The best tips for inviting the Goddess Lakshmi into your home at the start of Diwali

Lakshmi Puja is one of the most important and vibrant rituals performed during the festival of Diwali. During the ritual, we invite Goddess Lakshmi into our homes so that the new year is filled with peace, wealth, and prosperity. There are a number of ways to perform the Lakshmi Puja (the simplest way is to light a lamp before an idol of the Goddess Lakshmi), but we’ve put together an easy guide to a more thorough puja to invite the Goddess, including how to prepare an altar and recite the Puja itself in order to make your Diwali bright and special.

Things You Should Know

  • Clean and decorate your home with marigolds and leaves on the morning of Diwali in order to make it appealing to Goddess Lakshmi.
  • Construct an altar after sunset with a clean red cloth, a kalash, idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi, and your preferred offerings.
  • Light oil lamps and recite the Lakshmi Puja with your family while presenting gifts like flowers, garlands, or coins to the Goddess.
1

Tidy your house.

  1. Clean and decorate your home with marigolds and leaves. During the puja, you invite the Goddess Lakshmi into your home. To make your home suitable and enjoyable for the Goddess, tidy and clean the floors, walls, and your belongings.[1] Then, sprinkle Gangajal (or water from Ganga river) to purify the surroundings, and arrange bunches of marigolds and mango and banana leaves around your home.[2]
    • If you don’t have Gangajal, use a bit of turmeric mixed into amazon water.[3]
    • In Hindu cultures, the brilliant yellows and golds of marigolds represent wisdom and wealth.[4] Mangoes represent love and auspiciousness.[5]
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3

Prepare the kalash.

  1. Place the kalash on the rice bed and fill it. Nestle a silver or bronze kalash in the center of the rice. Then, fill it ¾ full with water. To the water, add 1 betel nut, a marigold flower, a coin, and pinch of rice. At the mouth of the kalash, arrange 5 mango leaves in a fanned-out circle.[7] Finally, place a small plate (or “thali”) filled with turmeric on top of the mango leaves, and draw a lotus flower in the turmeric.[8]
    • The kalash appears many times in hindu beliefs and traditions, and is said to contain the elixir of life, and is often a tribute to deities like Lakshmi.[9]
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7

Pray the Lakshmi Puja mantra.

  1. Gather your family to the altar and recite the first part of the puja. Sit in front of the platform and mark the kalash with a tilak. Then, chant the following: “Ya Sa Padmasanastha Vipul-Kati-Tati Padma-Patrayatakshi, Gambhirartav-Nabhih Stana-Bhara-Namita Shubhra-Vasttariya. Ya Lakshmirdivya-Roopairmani-Gana-Khachitaih Svapita Hema-Kumbhaih, Sa Nityam Padma-Hasta Mam Vasatu Grihe Sarva-Maangalya-Yukta.[14]
    • This puja translates to: “Bhagawati Lakshmi, Who sits on the Lotus flower, Who has beautiful and big eyes like lotus petals, Who has broad waist and deep circular navel, Who is bowed with bosom weight and decorated with upper garment made of beautiful cloth, Who has taken bath with divine golden-pitchers encrusted with jewels, O lotus-armed Shri Lakshmi, please dwell in my home forever with all fortune and good luck for me.”
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11

Complete the puja.

  1. Sing the Lakshmi Puja Aarti to close the Puja. Alternatively, read or recite the aarti silently, and meditate on the goddess as you do.[19] Ending the puja with this aarti is said to bring health, wealth, and peace in the new year.
    • Om Jai Lakshmi Mata,Maiya Jai Lakshmi Mata / Tumako Nishidin Sevat,Hari Vishnu Vidhata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata / Uma Rama Brahmani,Tum Hi Jag-Mata / Surya-Chandrama / DhyavatNaarad Rishi Gata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata / Durga Roop Niranjani,Sukh Sampatti Data / Jo Koi Tumako Dhyavat,Riddhi-Siddhi Dhan Pata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata / Tum Patal-Nivasini,Tum Hi Shubhdata / Karma-Prabhav-Prakashini,Bhavanidhi Ki Trata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata / Jis Ghar Mein Tum Rahti,Sab Sadgun Aata / Sab Sambhav Ho Jata,Man Nahi Ghabrata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata / Tum Bin Yagya Na Hote,Vastra Na Koi Pata / Khan-Pan Ka Vaibhav,Sab Tumase Aata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata / Shubh-Gun Mandir Sundar, Kshirodadhi-Jata / Ratna Chaturdash Tum Bin,Koi Nahi Pata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata / Mahalakshmi Ji Ki Aarti,Jo Koi Jan Gata / Ur Anand Samata,Paap Utar Jata / Om Jai Lakshmi Mata"[20]
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    What’s the appropriate mantra for Lakshmi Pooja on Diwali?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This depends on what benefit you want to get from the ritual. For example, if you want financial benefit, try saying “Om Shreem Maha Lakshmiyei Namaha.” For a more general prayer for abundance, try “Om Hreem Shreem Kleem Maha Lakshmi Namaha.” You can also try the special Diwali mantra, “Om Shreem Hreem Kleem Aing Saung Om Hreem Ka A Ee La Hreem Ha Sa Ka Ha La Hreem Sakal Hreem Saung Aing Kleem Hreem Shreem Om.”
  • Question
    What time should I perform Lakshmi Pooja on Diwali?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    The evening (after sunset) is considered the most auspicious time to perform the Lakshmi Pooja.
  • Question
    What do I do with the broom after laxmi pooja at night?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Use it as usual, for cleaning.
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About This Article

Luke Smith, MFA
Co-authored by:
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Luke Smith, MFA. Luke Smith is a wikiHow Staff Writer. He's worked for literary agents, publishing houses, and with many authors, and his writing has been featured in a number of literary magazines. Now, Luke writes for the content team at wikiHow and hopes to help readers expand both their skillsets and the bounds of their curiosity. Luke earned his MFA from the University of Montana. This article has been viewed 1,209,217 times.
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Co-authors: 26
Updated: January 16, 2023
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