The Festival of Light Begins at Home
Diwali is the most celebrated festival in India — five days of light, prayer, sweets, and the renewal of the home. But at its heart, Diwali is a domestic occasion. The grandest celebrations happen not in public squares but in living rooms, in mandirs, in the quiet moment when the diya is lit and the family stands together before the goddess.
This is a complete guide to the Diwali puja for your home mandir — what to prepare, how to perform the rituals, and how to bring the full meaning of the festival into your home.
The Five Days of Diwali
Dhanteras (Day 1). The auspicious day for purchasing silver and gold. Bring a new Laxmi or Ganpati idol into the home today if you are adding to your mandir. In the evening, light thirteen diyas at the entrance of the home and perform a brief puja to Lord Dhanvantari.
Choti Diwali / Naraka Chaturdashi (Day 2). The day Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura. Fourteen diyas are lit in the morning before sunrise. This is a day of purification — of the body and the home.
Diwali / Lakshmi Puja (Day 3). The main night. The home is lit with diyas from dusk. The Lakshmi Puja is performed at the auspicious muhurat (usually between 6–8pm, varying by location and year). This is the centrepiece of the Diwali puja.
Govardhan Puja (Day 4). Dedicated to Lord Krishna and his lifting of Mount Govardhan to shelter the people of Vrindavana. Performed in the morning.
Bhai Dooj (Day 5). The celebration of the brother-sister bond, parallel in spirit to Raksha Bandhan.
The Lakshmi Puja — Step by Step
The Lakshmi Puja is the ritual heart of Diwali. Performed on the main night, it invites Goddess Laxmi into the home and asks for her blessing for the year ahead.
Prepare the mandir. Clean the mandir space thoroughly. Place a fresh red or yellow cloth beneath the idols. Arrange fresh flowers — marigold, lotus, or jasmine. Set out the puja thali with kumkum, haldi, rice, incense, and a diya.
The deities. Goddess Laxmi is placed at the centre. Lord Ganpati is placed to the right — he is invoked first. Lord Krishna or other family deities are placed in their positions.
The puja. Begin with the Ganesh invocation (Vakratunda Mahakaya). Proceed with the Laxmi Puja Vidhi: Avahana (invitation), offering of water, flowers, incense, diya, and naivedya (sweets — traditionally kheel batasha). Conclude with the Laxmi Aarti.
The diyas. After the puja, light diyas throughout the home — at the entrance, in the mandir, on the windowsills, on the roof if accessible. The light is the offering to the goddess and the signal to the neighbourhood that Laxmi is welcome in this home.