How to Do Lakshmi Puja at Home Without a Priest Step by Step

It is the evening of Diwali Amavasya. The house is clean and every puja item is ready. You called the priest three days ago, but he has ten homes to visit that evening and says he will not reach yours before nine. Many families end up sitting in front of the puja plate, unsure what comes first and what comes next. This post is for them. Here is a home version of Lakshmi Puja that you can complete yourself in thirty to forty-five minutes, step by step.

For the full map of the five-day festival, read our Deepavali 2026 complete guide.

Steps for Lakshmi Puja at Home Without a Priest

For other cities, see the series pillar guide. The full list of puja items is in Part 3 of this series. The order below is a home model; every family does a few steps a little differently. If your household has followed its own method for generations, keep to it.

First-timers usually worry most about which step, if skipped, makes the puja incomplete. The table below settles that. Doing the mandatory steps is enough; the optional ones are for when you have the time and patience.

Puja Step	Status
Lighting Lamp and Achamanam	Mandatory
Ganapati Puja	Mandatory
Sri Suktam Recitation	Optional (Ashtotharam can be done)
Account Books/Wealth Puja	Optional
Naivedyam and Harathi	Mandatory

Giving everyone a job makes the puja easier. One person looks after the lamps, one reads the names from the book, the children hand over flowers, and someone else gets the naivedyam and Harathi plate ready. A puja done together as a family has a beauty of its own.

Only four steps are essential: the lamp, Ganapati, naivedyam and Harathi. The rest depends on your patience.

What to Prepare in the Hour Before the Puja

The puja space does not need to be large. In an apartment, spread a red or yellow cloth on a low stool or small table and place the Goddess’s picture on it. A small rangoli under the stool gives the corner a festive look.

No idol or picture of Lakshmi at home? Pour water into a small pot, arrange mango leaves at its mouth and place a coconut smeared with turmeric and kumkum on top. This is a kalasham, and many Telugu homes worship it as the Goddess. The next day, the water is poured on the tulasi or other plants and the coconut is broken and shared as prasadam. Betel leaves work if mango leaves are not available.

For Ganapati, a turmeric Ganapati is the simplest choice. Mix two spoons of turmeric with a few drops of water into a stiff dough, place it in your palm and press it into a small cone. Add a dot of kumkum and set it on a betel leaf. It takes two minutes.

Keep everything on one plate within reach: turmeric, kumkum, akshatalu (rice mixed with turmeric), flowers, betel leaves and nuts, incense, camphor, matches, a pot of water with a small spoon (uddharini) and a small bell. Keep the naivedyam covered on a plate beside you. Getting up mid-puja to fetch something from the kitchen breaks your focus.

Put phones on silent and switch off the TV for that half hour. Bathing and wearing clean clothes before the puja is the usual practice. If you come home late and have no time to bathe, at least wash your hands, feet and face before you sit down.

Why Worship Ganapati First in Lakshmi Puja

Worshipping Ganapati before any puja is our tradition. A story in the Kumara Khanda of the Rudra Samhita in the Shiva Purana is cited as the source of this custom; it tells how Ganapati received the boon of being worshipped first so that every undertaking proceeds without obstacles. That is why the first bow goes to him, whether it is Lakshmi Puja, a vratam or a housewarming.

There is no single rule on whether Ganapati sits to the right or left of Lakshmi’s picture. It depends on family custom, so place him as your home always has. It is not right to call another family’s way wrong.

Some homes also place a picture of Saraswati, and in the North Indian style Ganapati, Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshipped together. In Telugu homes Ganapati and Lakshmi are usually the focus. You need not remove the pictures already in your puja room; simply place Lakshmi’s picture in the centre where everyone can see it.

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Setting Up the Puja Area and Lighting the Lamp

Lighting the lamp before you sit is the first step. Once it is lit, the mood of the room changes on its own.

1. Place a mat or a wooden plank (peeta) so that you are seated facing the East or North direction.
2. Place a brass or clay lamp stand in front of the deities’ images.
3. Pour sesame oil or cow ghee into the lamp, place two wicks, and light it.
4. After lighting the lamp, light incense sticks (agarbatti) to purify the surroundings.
5. Ensure the lamp burns steadily; close nearby doors slightly so the wind does not blow it out.

If the room is cramped and you cannot face east or north, do not worry too much about direction. Families also differ on the number of wicks: some use one, some two, some five. Filling the lamp about three-quarters full keeps it burning until the puja ends. Part 8 covers which oil and wicks to use.

Keep the lamp on a firm plate away from garlands, curtains and paper. Stand incense sticks in a small bowl of sand or rice so the ash does not scatter.

Achamanam and Sankalpam

After the lamp, this step prepares body and mind for the puja. Achamanam is the idea of purifying oneself within through three sips of water. Sankalpam means stating clearly before the deity who is doing this puja and why.

1. Take a little water in your right palm using the spoon (uddharini) and sip it three times while chanting ‘Keshavaya Swaha, Narayanaya Swaha, Madhavaya Swaha’.
2. For the fourth time, say ‘Govindaya Namah’, drop the water into the plate, and wash your hands.
3. Hold some yellow rice (akshatalu) in your hand, think of your name and gotram, and make a strong intention (Sankalpam) in your mother tongue: ‘I am performing this Lakshmi Puja for the well-being of my family.’
4. Place those rice grains near the deity’s picture.

A priest’s sankalpam names the year, month, tithi, gotram and everyone in the family. If you do not know these, a simple version is enough: “I, by this name, am performing Mahalakshmi Puja on this Diwali Amavasya for the well-being, health and prosperity of my whole family.” Said sincerely in your own language, it lacks nothing.

No uddharini? A small spoon works. If sipping the water is uncomfortable, some families simply touch it to the lips and let it go.

Ganapati Puja and Lakshmi Avahanam

For the puja to go smoothly, welcome Ganapati first and then Goddess Lakshmi.

1. First, place a turmeric Ganapati or a small Vinayaka idol on a betel leaf.
2. Offer some yellow rice and flowers to the turmeric Ganapati chanting ‘Om Gam Ganapataye Namah’.
3. Next, look at the picture of Goddess Lakshmi and wholeheartedly invite her into your home (Avahanam) by placing flowers near her picture.

Before offering flowers to Ganapati, many Telugu homes recite the verse “Shuklambaradharam Vishnum Shashivarnam Chaturbhujam, Prasanna Vadanam Dhyayet Sarva Vighnopa Shantaye”, one of the first verses children learn. If you remember it, say it here; if not, “Om Gam Ganapataye Namah” is enough.

Avahanam means inviting the Goddess into your home and onto your puja seat. It carries the same feeling as welcoming an honoured guest. That is why it is followed by asanam, padyam and arghyam: a seat, water for the feet and water for the hands. For each, a few grains of akshatalu or two drops of water from the spoon into the plate is enough. Explained this way, each step feels like hospitality rather than routine, and children take part with real interest.

Decoration, Archana and Sri Suktam

After avahanam comes the offering of services to the Goddess. Remember that devotion matters even if you do not know all the mantras.

1. Apply kumkum and turmeric dots to Goddess Lakshmi’s picture.
2. Decorate the picture with available flowers like lotuses or roses.
3. Recite the Lakshmi Ashtothara Shatanamavali (108 names), offering a flower or a pinch of kumkum for each name.
4. If possible, you can chant the Sri Suktam or play its audio while offering flowers.

Reading the 108 names takes about ten minutes. If that is hard, repeat “Om Mahalakshmyai Namaha” with devotion while offering flowers. Do not skip the puja for fear of mispronouncing; reading slowly from a book is entirely correct. A handful of loose flowers and one small garland are enough, and if flowers run short, a pinch of kumkum or a few grains of akshatalu can be offered for each name.

The Sri Suktam is a hymn to Lakshmi found among the Khila Suktas of the Rigveda and holds a special place in Lakshmi Puja. If the Sanskrit feels difficult, use a book in Telugu script or a reliable audio recording, and keep the phone beside the altar rather than on it.

If you run a business, this is the step to place your account books and cash box before the Goddess and mark them with turmeric and kumkum. For salaried families it is optional; you may place the household accounts book or your purse before her and bow.

Incense, Naivedyam and Harathi

In the final stage, offer naivedyam and perform Harathi.

1. Show the smoke of the incense sticks to the Goddess (Dhoopam).
2. Show the lit lamp once and bow (Deepam).
3. Offer the pre-arranged sweets or fruits as food (Naivedyam) and sprinkle a little water on them.
4. Light camphor on a Harathi plate, stand up, and wave it in a circular motion in front of the Goddess three times.
5. Finally, bow down completely (Sashtanga Namaskaram) and ask for forgiveness for any mistakes made during the puja.

Any sweet made at home works as naivedyam. Recipes for traditional offerings such as Paramannam, Pulihora and Poornalu are in Part 9. If there is no time, jaggery, bananas or coconut pieces are perfectly fine.

During Harathi, the family can stand, clap and sing whatever Harathi song they know. Do not hand the burning camphor plate to small children; let an adult hold it while the child touches it from the side.

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After the Harathi, sit quietly for a few minutes. Bowing together, taking the elders’ blessings and greeting one another is the natural close. Share the naivedyam as prasadam and send some to neighbours and those who help at home.

Many believe the puja lamp should not be put out immediately. If you keep it burning overnight, check it before bed, especially in homes with small children or pets. Many homes leave the puja items in place until the next morning. Put used flowers into a plant pot or at the foot of a tree rather than the bin.

Do not skip the puja because the muhurtham has passed. Starting within Pradosha Kalam is ideal, but a puja done with devotion at a time you can manage has full value. If this is your first time, write down what went well and what to improve. That note becomes your own puja book next Diwali.

Learn a little more each year, and within a few years you will perform the full puja confidently without a priest.

One Thing to Do Today

The night before the puja, clean the puja corner, set the stool, pictures and lamp in place, and keep the turmeric and betel leaf for the turmeric Ganapati ready on a plate.

In the Next Part

In many Telugu homes, women also observe Kedara Gowri Vratam on this same Amavasya. Is it on the 8th or the 9th in 2026, how is the toram with twenty-one knots made, and what does the vratam story say? The next part answers these questions.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to do Lakshmi Puja at home?

This simple home model, performed with devotion without a priest, typically takes about 30 to 45 minutes to complete.

Which direction should we face while sitting for the puja?

It is customary for the person performing the puja to sit facing either the East or North direction.

Who should be worshipped first in Lakshmi Puja?

According to the Shiva Purana, Lord Ganapati must be worshipped first to remove all obstacles, before starting the Lakshmi Puja.

What if I do not know how to chant the Sri Suktam?

If you cannot chant the Sri Suktam, you can recite the 108 names of Lakshmi (Ashtotharam) while offering flowers, or simply play the Sri Suktam audio.

Is it mandatory to worship account books?

No, it is not mandatory. Businessmen or those managing financial affairs voluntarily place their account books in front of the Goddess as a mark of respect.

Sources

Shiva Purana Rudra Samhita

Drik Panchang Lakshmi Puja Timings

Information checked: 21 October 2026. Dates and times follow Drik Panchang; final check on 5 November.

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A. Ravinder — decades of scriptural study, published Telugu author and spiritual practitioner.