When does each Diwali day fall where you live?

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The thali in one list, each item marked

Samagri (सामग्री) means the materials of a rite. Each line below is marked: “Vidhi” means our Lakshmi Puja vidhi lists it; “Custom” means a household or regional addition; “Optional” means leave it out freely. Our vidhi sets a count for the diyas (small oil lamps; five), the cowries (21), the coin and the ledger (one each) and the chant (108). For every other item, take the quantity your family usually uses. If an item is missing, ask your own elder.

The date is Sunday, 8 November 2026, the Amavasya (new-moon) evening. Pradosh Kaal, the twilight window for the puja, opens at your own sunset: 5:32 pm in Delhi and 6:02 pm in Mumbai, for example. Look up your city first with the city-by-city Pradosh window. Lay out everything below before that minute.

• Chowki, the low platform that seats the deities. Vidhi.
• A red or yellow cloth to cover the chowki. Vidhi.
• Deities: images or murtis (sculpted figures) of Ganesha and Lakshmi. Vidhi. The vidhi does not require new images each year.
• Deities: images of Kuber (the treasurer of wealth) and Saraswati (goddess of learning). Optional.
• Kalash (a small water pot). Vidhi.
• Water to fill the kalash. Custom; our vidhi does not say what fills it.
• Mango leaves with the kalash. Vidhi.
• A coconut with the kalash. Vidhi.
• One silver coin, placed in front of the deities. Vidhi.
• One new ledger or exercise book, placed in front of the deities. Vidhi.
• A small heap of rice marked with kumkum (red powder), placed in front of the deities. Vidhi.
• Tray of tools: akshat (unbroken rice) with a little turmeric, kumkum, chandan (sandalwood paste), mauli (red thread), camphor, dhoop (incense resin) and agarbatti (incense sticks). Vidhi. Quantities: our vidhi sets none, so take what your family usually uses.
• Cloth to offer to the goddess, called vastra, in red or yellow. Vidhi.
• Lamps: five diyas (small clay or metal oil lamps), the central one with a long wick. Vidhi.
• Wicks, and ghee or oil to fill the lamps. Custom; our vidhi does not name the fuel.
• A brass or steel plate for the thali, the large plate that holds the offerings. Custom.
• Flowers: lotus, or rose or marigold if lotus is not available. Vidhi.
• Panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar) in a bowl. Vidhi.
• Fruit and banana. Vidhi.
• Sweets: kheer (milk-and-rice pudding), laddoo (round sweet balls) and batashe (small sugar candies). Vidhi.
• For the chant: a printed Shri Suktam, the fifteen-verse Vedic hymn to Lakshmi. Vidhi. If you are short of time, our vidhi gives a short form: Om Shreem Mahalakshmaye Namah, a short mantra (sacred phrase) to Lakshmi, chanted 108 times.
• Cowrie shells (small glossy shells): 21. Vidhi.
• Decoration: a rangoli (floor pattern) at the door and by the chowki, extra small diyas around the plate (in addition to the five), a ring of marigold petals. Optional; our vidhi mentions rangoli only in passing.

The kalash and the lamps

Our vidhi gives no reason for the mango leaves and the coconut. It does invoke the kalash with its own mantra before Lakshmi is invited, and it places the kalash to Lakshmi’s right.

Our vidhi lists five diyas. The central one has a long wick, is lit after sundown, and is meant to burn through the night of Amavasya. Fill the lamps and set the wicks the day before, so that on the evening the only job is to light them.

Our vidhi says not to extinguish the long-wick lamp deliberately. Our vidhi’s FAQ on the overnight lamp advises a sturdy diya in a safe place where it cannot tip over. Set the lamp in a deep vessel on a surface that does not burn, away from curtains and anything else that burns. If you cannot leave a flame unattended, ask your own elder what your family does, or ask Pandit Ji to talk it through with you.

Coin, ledger, rice, flowers and panchamrit

In front of the deities our vidhi places a silver coin and a new ledger, with the heap of rice marked with kumkum. Our vidhi gives no reason for the coin. If you already own a silver coin, there is no rule that says it has to be new.

The new ledger has a stated reason: our vidhi gives it as the symbolic launch of the new financial year. For a household without a business, our vidhi suggests a new exercise book.

Akshat (अक्षत) is rice, unbroken, mixed with a little turmeric and a drop of kumkum. The word means unbroken: the grain is offered whole.

The Shri Suktam is chanted while offering lotus. Our vidhi names lotus first and then accepts rose or marigold, so it is an accepted substitution. Our vidhi says to offer a flower at each verse if you have time.

The panchamrit is the five-part offering of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar. Our vidhi pours it over the murti as the bath (snana), then plain water. Make it fresh on Sunday afternoon.

For the naivedya, the food offered to the goddess, our vidhi names kheer (milk-and-rice pudding), laddoo, batashe and fruit, with banana. It names these offerings; how much of each, and which sweet your family prefers, is household custom.

What to buy when: a plan around the dates

Friday 6 November is Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali, when something metal enters the home. Sunday 8 November is Lakshmi Puja, the day this thali is for. Regional practice varies, so confirm the days with your own family.

• A week or more before: the chowki, the kalash, a brass or steel plate for the thali, lamps, wicks, ghee or oil, two red or yellow cloths (one to cover the chowki, one to offer as vastra), images of Ganesha and Lakshmi (and of Kuber and Saraswati, if you use them; both are optional), and a printed Shri Suktam. A coconut also keeps. These are easiest to buy early.
• By Dhanteras, Friday 6 November: the silver coin if you are buying one, the new ledger, plain rice, turmeric, kumkum, chandan, mauli, camphor, dhoop and agarbatti, ghee, honey and sugar for the panchamrit, and sweets that keep, such as batashe and laddoo, and the 21 cowries if your family uses them.
• Saturday 7 November: clean the home and the puja space, fill and wick the lamps, and plan the rangoli and other decoration. Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) is the oil-bath day. Its date depends on where you live. Our Naraka Chaturdashi guide under “Going deeper” has the date for your city.
• Sunday morning, 8 November: the items that spoil: flowers, leaves, fruit, banana, milk and curd, and the water for the kalash. If your shops are closed on Sunday, buy these on Saturday and keep them cool. Our vidhi sets up the chowki on the morning of Diwali, so lay the cloth and chowki that day.
• Sunday afternoon, before your sunset: make the panchamrit and the kheer, colour the akshat, set the thali in order of use, and light the lamps when the window opens.

If you cannot find an item: substitutions abroad

Lotus: use rose or marigold. Our vidhi accepts them, so the puja is not incomplete.

Mango leaves: our vidhi names no substitute, so ask your family’s pandit or elder which leaf they accept. If you have no elder to ask, ask Pandit Ji and say which tradition you follow.

Cowries: our vidhi lists 21. If your family has none, ask your own elder whether to go without them.

Ledger: a new exercise book is the household form our vidhi suggests.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions a household asks while it prepares.

• Do we have to buy a new idol? No. The vidhi does not mention one.
• We cannot get lotus. Is the puja incomplete? No. Our vidhi names rose or marigold as accepted when lotus cannot be had.
• Do we need the 21 cowries? Our vidhi lists them. The substitutions section above says what to do if you have none.
• Can we skip the ledger? If you do not keep accounts, a new exercise book is the suggested household form. If your family prefers to leave it out, ask your own elder.
• Can we begin after the Pradosh window closes? Pradosh Kaal, the twilight window that opens at your sunset, is the ideal time for the puja, and our vidhi says to light the central lamp after sundown. Our vidhi gives no rule for a late start or for a puja that runs past the close of the window, so ask your family’s pandit once. Our Lakshmi Puja muhurat guide explains how the window is reckoned.
• I live abroad and my shops are closed on Sunday. What changes? Buy the durable items by Friday. Buy the flowers, leaves, fruit, banana, milk and curd on Saturday and keep them cool. Use rose or marigold for lotus, and check with your own elder about the leaf for the kalash.

Going deeper

For the full procedure, from the sankalpa (the statement of intent) to the aarati (the offering of lamplight with song) and the closing steps, read the Lakshmi Puja vidhi. For the five days and the stories behind them, start with the Diwali at home guide or the Diwali 2026 festival guide. The days on either side have their own guides: Dhanteras for the purchase, Naraka Chaturdashi for the oil-bath day, whose date depends on your city, and Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj for the days after.

For the one number the thali depends on, the minute your window opens, use the daily panchang for your own city.