Lakshmi Puja falls on Sunday 8 November 2026, in the evening, at pradosh around sunset. Most households know the ritual. What people ask about more often is the setting: where the mandir should sit, what belongs on the shelf, and how to lay out the lamps so the whole thing looks right rather than crowded.
Practice varies by region and by family, and where sources disagree this guide says so rather than picking one and calling it the rule.
Where the mandir should face
The most widely followed guidance places the mandir in the north east of the home, the direction associated with Ishanya, with the idols facing west so that the person praying faces east. East is the second choice where north east is not available.
The directions usually avoided are south and south west, and a mandir directly under a staircase, in a bathroom wall, or in a bedroom is discouraged in most readings. A separate small room or a dedicated alcove is the ideal, but a shelf in a quiet corner of the living room is what most flats actually allow, and that is fine.
One rule is more consistent than any of the above: the mandir should be somewhere that can be kept clean and undisturbed. That matters more than the compass.
Preparing the house first
The cleaning that precedes Diwali is not incidental to the festival, it is part of it. Lakshmi is believed to enter a house that has been cleaned and lit, which is why the deep clean happens before Dhanteras rather than after.
In practice, in the week before:
- Clean the mandir shelf itself, not just around it. Wash the idols if your family's practice allows it.
- Replace anything broken or chipped. Cracked diyas and damaged frames are traditionally not kept on the shelf.
- Clear the entrance and the threshold. The doorway is where the rangoli goes and where a toran hangs.
- Check you have wicks, ghee or oil, and enough diyas before the shops get impossible in the last week.
What goes on the shelf
A Lakshmi Puja setup is usually built around these elements, arranged left to right as you face the shelf:
- Ganesha to the left of Lakshmi. This is near universal. Ganesha is invoked first in almost every puja, and at Diwali the pair is worshipped together. Saraswati is added in many households, making the three.
- A raised platform or chowki covered with a red or yellow cloth, with the idols set on it rather than directly on the shelf.
- A kalash, filled with water, with mango leaves and a coconut, placed to the right.
- The lamps. At least one diya lit from ghee, plus as many tealights as the space takes.
- Offerings: flowers, preferably lotus or marigold, sweets, fruit, and betel leaves with supari.
- Account books or a symbolic ledger, in families that keep the tradition of Chopda Pujan, along with a coin or a small piece of metal bought on Dhanteras.
The one thing worth resisting is filling every inch. A shelf with room around the idols reads as reverent. A shelf packed edge to edge reads as storage.
Arranging the diyas
Two decisions matter more than the count.
Height. A flat row of identical lamps at one level looks static. Two or three heights, with a taller holder behind and lower ones in front, gives the shelf depth once the room lights go down. This is the single change that makes the biggest difference in photographs, and in person.
Openwork. A solid lamp lights itself. A pierced or openwork holder throws its pattern onto the wall behind it, so one tealight does the work of several. Our pooja and festive range, from the Shubh Labh Doorway Toran to the Kalash and Elephants holder, is built around exactly this: electroformed brass in an antique gold finish, cut through so that the light escapes.
The range covers the iconography of the season directly. The Shree Yantra holder is the geometric form associated with Lakshmi. Kuber, treasurer of the gods, gives the treasure chest design. Dhanvantari carries the health association that sits behind Dhanteras. The Lakshmi charan paduka design marks the footprints traditionally drawn from the doorway inward to invite her in. There is a Shubh Labh doorway toran for the entrance, and a Parvati and Ganesha holder for the shelf itself.
Beyond the mandir, a pair of sculptural candle holders such as the Bark Sculptural Pillar Holder on a side table or a console carries the same light into the rest of the room, which is where most guests actually stand.
The doorway
The entrance gets as much attention as the shelf, because it is the part of the house Lakshmi is believed to arrive through.
A toran across the top of the door frame, a rangoli on the floor, and a line of diyas along the threshold and the balcony edge are the standard three. Charan paduka footprints drawn from the door inward are common in North Indian households. If you have a name plate on the door, this is the week people notice it, which is why families who moved during the year often put one up just before the festival.
Timing on the night
Lakshmi Puja is performed at pradosh kaal, the period around and just after sunset, and most panchangs place the 2026 window in the early evening of 8 November. The exact muhurat shifts by city, because it is tied to local sunset. Check a panchang set to your own city rather than a national one.
The five days run: Dhanteras on Friday 6 November, Naraka Chaturdashi on Saturday 7 November, Lakshmi Puja on Sunday 8 November, Govardhan Puja on Monday 9 November and Bhai Dooj on Tuesday 10 November. Some panchangs place the last two a day later.
Ordering in time
Every piece we make is made to order. Over the festive season the workshop and the couriers both run slower than usual, so allow 14 days from order to delivery. For the mandir to be ready before Dhanteras on 6 November, order by Friday 23 October 2026. For Lakshmi Puja itself on 8 November, order by Sunday 25 October.
Shipping is free across India with no minimum order value.
For the tradition behind buying metal at the start of the week, see what to buy on Dhanteras. For gifting, see Diwali gift ideas for the home. If you are also rearranging the rooms before the festival, our guide to wall clock direction as per Vastu covers the same directional thinking applied elsewhere in the house.
The tealight and diya holders, and the rest of what is worth giving this season, are in Diwali gifts.