Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2026

Dates around the world · 2026

Date source: drikpanchang.com (New Delhi, Edison, New Jersey, San Jose, California, London, Toronto, Sydney). Dates are taken from the cited published panchang for each region and year; regions we could not verify are left out.

How to observe

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1. 1During the day, clean the home and draw rangoli at the entrance. Rangoli powder, rice flour or flower petals all work, and a ready-made rangoli mat is handy on a shared doorstep. Hang a toran of marigolds or mango leaves at the door.
2. 2Before the muhurat, set up the chowki: a low stool or small table covered with a red cloth. Place Lakshmi and Ganesha (idols or a picture), a kalash of water with mango or betel leaves and a coconut, and a plate with coins, jewellery or your account books.
3. 3Everyone bathes and puts on clean or new clothes. Sprinkle a little water, with a few drops of Ganga jal if you have it, over the puja space and the family.
4. 4At the muhurat for your city, light the main ghee diya and take a sankalp: your name, the day, and what you pray for.
5. 5Worship Ganesha first. Recite Vakratunda Mahakaya and offer flowers, roli, durva grass if you can find it, and a laddoo or modak.
6. 6Worship Lakshmi with kumkum, haldi, akshat, flowers (a lotus if you can get one), kheel-batashe and sweets. Recite what you have time for: the Shri Suktam, the Kanakadhara Stotram (common in South Indian homes), the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam or the Lakshmi Chalisa. Many families also say the Kuber mantra over the coins and books.
7. 7Do the aarti together: Jai Ganesh Deva, then Om Jai Lakshmi Mata.
8. 8Light diyas around the home, at the threshold and on the balcony if your building allows it. Many families keep one lamp burning through the night; in an apartment with smoke alarms an electric diya for the night is a common choice.
9. 9Share prasad and sweets, call or visit elders, and take their blessings. Fireworks only where local rules allow: in England and Wales they are permitted until 1 AM on Diwali night, while US states, Canadian cities and Australian states each have their own rules.
10. 10Apartment note: keep every diya on a steel plate or tray, away from curtains, rangoli powder and smoke detectors, with a glass of water nearby. Camphor and agarbatti smoke set off alarms easily, so open a window. Never leave a flame alone.

Customs differ by family and region. Follow your family tradition and temple where they differ from these steps.

What you will need

• Lakshmi and Ganesha idols or a picture. Indian grocery stores (Patel Brothers in the US, and the Indian shops in Southall, Wembley, Leicester, Brampton or Harris Park) and temple shops stock them in the Diwali weeks. A framed picture is enough.
• Chowki and red cloth: a low stool or side table, with any clean red or yellow cloth. A dupatta works.
• Kalash: a steel, brass or copper lota with water, five mango leaves and a coconut. Some Indian grocers sell mango leaves before Diwali; betel leaves are the usual substitute. Coconuts are in most supermarkets.
• Ganga jal: small sealed bottles are sold at Indian grocers. If you have none, use clean water.
• Diyas: clay diyas with ghee or oil and cotton wicks. Electric diyas or LED tealights for the rest of the home if your building is strict about flames.
• Kumkum, haldi, akshat (unbroken rice), and flowers. Lotus is traditional but hard to find abroad; marigolds, roses or any fresh flowers are fine. Marigold garlands are sold at Indian grocers in Diwali week.
• Kheel (puffed rice) and batashe. If the Indian store has run out, plain puffed rice from an Asian grocer and mishri (sugar candy) are common substitutes.
• Sweets, fruit and dry fruit for bhog. Durva grass for Ganesha if you can find it; skip it if not.
• Coins, jewellery, or account books for the Lakshmi and Kubera puja.
• Agarbatti and camphor, used near an open window. Rangoli colours, rice flour or flower petals for the doorway.

Texts to recite

• Vakratunda MahakayaVakratunda Mahakaya is a two-line Sanskrit shloka to Lord Ganesh and one of the most widely recited. It asks the Lord with the curved trunk, radiant as ten million suns, to keep all our work free of obstacles. Tradition says it before any puja, study, journey or new venture, and many people chant it 11, 21 or 108 times on Wednesdays and on Ganesh Chaturthi.
• Shri SuktamShri Suktam is the oldest hymn to Goddess Lakshmi, a Vedic prayer of fifteen mantras from the khila (appendix) hymns of the Rig Veda. It asks Agni to bring Lakshmi, golden and never departing, into the home and to drive out poverty. A sixteenth verse, given here, tells the devotee to recite the fifteen mantras daily; families chant it at Lakshmi puja, on Fridays and on Diwali night.
• Kanakadhara StotramKanakadhara Stotram is a Sanskrit hymn to Goddess Lakshmi that tradition credits to Adi Shankaracharya. In 18 verses it asks for Lakshmi's compassionate glance to fall on the devotee, and a closing verse says that one who recites it daily becomes like Kuber. Tradition says that when young Shankara first sang it for a poor woman, Lakshmi showered golden amla fruits on her house; people recite it on Fridays, Akshaya Tritiya and Diwali.
• Mahalakshmi AshtakamMahalakshmi Ashtakam is a short Sanskrit hymn of eight verses in which Indra praises Goddess Mahalakshmi. Every verse ends with "Mahalakshmi Namostu Te", "O Mahalakshmi, I bow to you", and three closing verses describe the merit of reciting it. Families recite it on Fridays, during Navratri and at Lakshmi puja on Diwali.
• Lakshmi ChalisaLakshmi Chalisa is a devotional hymn of forty chaupais to Goddess Lakshmi in simple Awadhi Hindi, framed by an opening doha and sortha and two closing dohas. It recalls her rising from the ocean of milk and her birth as Sita, and asks her to live in the devotee's heart and home. Families read it on Fridays, on Sharad Purnima and on Diwali night.
• Kuber MantraThe Kuber mantra "Om Yakshaya Kuberaya Vaishravanaya Dhanadhanyadhipataye" is the best-known prayer to Kuber, treasurer of the gods, asking for wealth and grain. This page also gives the Vedic "Rajadhirajaya" mantra that South Indian temples chant in Mantrapushpam, and the short "Om Kuberaya Namah". Families chant them on Dhanteras and Diwali, usually 108 times on a mala.
• Jai Ganesh DevaJai Ganesh Deva is a Hindi aarti to Lord Ganesh and one of the most widely sung aartis in Hindu homes. It opens "Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva, Mata Jaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva" and has a refrain and five short stanzas about the one-tusked, kind Lord, one of which names "Sur Shyam". Most household pujas open with it, and it is sung on Wednesdays, on Sankashti Chaturthi and every evening of Ganesh Chaturthi.
• Om Jai Lakshmi MataOm Jai Lakshmi Mata is a Hindi aarti to Goddess Lakshmi, sung while waving the lamp at the end of Lakshmi puja. It has a refrain and seven short stanzas that praise her as Mother of the world and the source of prosperity and good qualities. Families sing it at Lakshmi puja on Diwali night and on Fridays.

Questions

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