Next: about 25 Oct 2026
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja
On the full moon night after Durga Puja, Bengali homes paint rice-paste footprints for Lakshmi and the women of the house wear a clean or new saree.
What is worn for Kojagari Lakshmi Puja
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja falls on the full moon night of the month of Ashwin, a few days after Dashami. The name means a vigil, for it is said that the goddess walks the night and blesses whoever is awake. Women of the house draw alpona, patterns of rice paste, with small footprints leading in from the door, and offer the goddess puffed rice sweets, coconut and fruit. There is no strict dress, but the woman who does the puja usually wears a clean or new saree, often a cotton or silk one with a red or gold border, and a red bindi. The date shown is the night on which the full moon is up at midnight, and it can differ by a day between almanacs.
The sarees
Also part of it, and being written: Garad (The white and red silk of Bengali rites.).
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Sharada Purnima" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tant sari: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0, source