When you are a newly-wed, you have all sorts of hopes and dreams in your mind. But, if you and your husband are staying away from his family (and yours too), you also have a countless number of responsibilities on your shoulders, like decorating the home, managing the budget, and so on.
During festivals, your responsibilities and duties increase even further. You have to organise and perform Diwali puja at home according to the proper traditions, without any help from the elder family members.
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During the time of Lakshmi puja for Diwali, one can get easily confused as to how to perform this major tradition in the right manner. All you women out there, here is all that you need to know about performing a traditional Diwali puja at home.
As for newly-wed women, who are living with their in-laws, you can use these tips to impress your mothers-in-law with your knowledge of traditions and rituals.
Diwali puja is done to worship goddess Lakshmi, who is considered to be the goddess of wealth. It is largely believed that goddess Lakshmi likes to shower her blessings on those homes that are neat and clean, and where people are warm and welcoming. So, get on the job along with your husband and clean your entire house properly. You will be surprised as to how much waste and junk you will throw after the cleaning is done. After this, clean your mandir with a fresh cloth and decorate it with lights and flowers.
Tip: If you do not have a mandir inside your home, then place a raised platform (chowki) in a corner of the room, preferably North-East, and spread a red cloth on it to perform the puja.
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Here are a few specific items that you will need for the puja:
1) A kalash (a metallic or an earthen pot), a thali (a plate), diyas (clay lamps), ghee, uncooked rice, kumkum (vermillion), turmeric, incense sticks, sweets, and a bell to ring during the aarti.
2) Idols of Lakshmi and Ganesha (you can also keep an idol of goddess Saraswati).
3) Flower garlands and rose petals.
4) Paan leaves or mango leaves.
5) Betel nut (supari), fruits, dry fruits, kheel and batasha.
6) Silver coins.
7) Panchamrita (a mixture of milk, curd, honey, sugar, and ghee. Can be easily prepared at home)
8) Milk, curd, honey, coriander and cumin seeds.
9) Gangajal (If not available, then use rose water).
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1) In front of your mandir, spread some rice making a flatbed. Place a kalash, filled three-fourth with water, on this rice bed.
2) Place your money, jewellery and other valuable items next to it on a clean cloth for it to be blessed by goddess Lakshmi.
3) Into the kalash, put a clean gold or silver coin, few fresh flowers, and a betel nut.
4) Now arrange the paan or the mango leaves around the mouth of the kalash in a neat circle.
5) Before placing the idols, purify the puja items by sprinkling Gangajal or rose water on them.
6) Take the idols of goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha and bathe them with water, curd, honey, and milk.
7) On a thali, draw a swastika with turmeric, and place Lord Ganesha, goddess Lakshmi and goddess Saraswati idols on it.
8) Put kheel in all the diyas and light them.
9) Offer fresh flowers, sweets, betel nut, nutmeg, coriander and cumin seeds, rice, kheel, batasha, some dry fruits, and fruits to the deities.
10) Put tilak (a mixture of kumkum, rice and water) on all the deities. Thereafter, on each other's forehead.
11) Tie a mouli (sacred red thread) on your and your husband's wrist.
12) Light the incense sticks, dhoop and perform the aarti of Lord Ganesha and goddess Lakshmi (if you don’t remember it by heart, read it out from a booklet).
13) Lastly, offer parsad to everyone in the house.
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These are the complete steps that you need to know to perform a Diwali puja at home. Although the basic steps remain the same, some elements may differ from family to family. So, do not shy away from asking for help and advice from elder members of your family.
With this guide in hand and blessings from your family members, you are all set to perform the traditional Lakshmi Puja all by yourself. Team BollywoodShaadis wishes all their readers a happy and a safe Diwali.
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