The Sharad Purnima puja is an evening and night worship of Lakshmi and the moon on the full moon of Ashvin, followed by kheer set out in the moonlight and eaten as prasad. In outline: clean the house and light lamps at dusk, worship Lakshmi (and Vishnu with her, in many homes), offer water to the rising moon, set the kheer under the open sky, keep awake for as long as you comfortably can, and share the kheer late at night or after bathing the next morning.
The full moon night for your city and the moonrise time are on the Sharad Purnima date page and on moonrise by city. This page does not repeat them; they shift with the year and the place.
Samagri: what to keep ready
- A picture or small idol of Lakshmi, and of Vishnu or Krishna if your family worships them together
- A chowki or low stool with a red, pink or white cloth
- Roli or kumkum, haldi, akshat (unbroken rice), a few flowers, especially white or lotus if available
- Ghee or oil lamps: one for the puja and a few more for the doorway, courtyard and terrace
- Incense, camphor if your family uses it
- A lota of clean water for the arghya to the moon, with a little milk, rice and a white flower in it if you wish
- Kheer: rice, full-cream milk and sugar or jaggery, with cardamom and a few dry fruits; many homes use a silver, steel or earthen bowl
- A fine cotton cloth or mesh cover for the kheer while it stands outside
- Batashe, makhana, coconut or sweets for the offering
- For Kojagiri in Maharashtra and Gujarat: milk with saffron, sugar, almonds and pistachio, or doodh-pauva (flattened rice in milk)
- A few grains of rice or wheat to hold while hearing the katha
Nothing here needs to be special. A clean steel bowl does the work of a silver one, and a printed picture of Lakshmi is as welcome as a brass idol.
Step by step
- Morning. Bathe and, if you are keeping a fast, take a sankalp in your own words: that you are keeping the Purnima vrat for the wellbeing of your home. Those not fasting simply begin the day with a short prayer.
- Clean and decorate. Through the day sweep the house, wash the doorstep and draw a rangoli, alpona or a few rice-paste footprints leading inward, as many families do for Lakshmi.
- Lamps at dusk. As the sun sets, light the lamps at the door, in the courtyard and on the terrace. In the spirit of Kojagiri the house is kept lit through the night.
- Set up the puja. Spread the cloth on the chowki, place Lakshmi's picture or idol on it, and Vishnu or Krishna beside her if that is your family's way. Place a kalash or lota of water, the lamp and the offerings.
- Ganesh first. Offer roli, akshat and a flower to Ganesh, then begin the Lakshmi puja.
- Lakshmi puja. Offer haldi, kumkum, akshat, flowers, incense and the lamp to Lakshmi. Offer batashe, makhana or sweets. A short name-mantra such as "Om Shri Mahalakshmyai Namah" can be repeated; many families also sing the Lakshmi aarti.
- Hear the katha. Sit with a few grains in your hand and hear the Sharad Purnima vrat katha, the story of the two sisters and of Lakshmi's question.
- Arghya to the moon. When the moon has risen and is clearly visible, go out to the terrace or courtyard with the lota. Offer the water slowly towards the moon, with the grains from the katha, and pray quietly. Those who fasted break the fast after this.
- Set out the kheer. Place the bowl of kheer where the moonlight falls on it: a terrace, a balcony railing, an open courtyard. Cover it with a fine cloth or net so that dust, insects and birds stay out. Many families first offer a little to Lakshmi and the moon.
- The night. Sit together, talk, sing bhajans or play quiet games, as Kojagiri families do. In many homes a second short Lakshmi puja is done around midnight, with fresh lamps.
- Prasad. Bring the kheer in, offer it once more at the puja place, and share it as prasad, either late at night or the next morning after bathing. In hot or humid places, eat it the same night or keep it cool rather than leaving it out until noon.
Checking the time
Two moments matter on this night: moonrise, for the arghya and for setting the kheer out, and the middle of the night, when Kojagiri families do the Lakshmi puja. Moonrise varies between cities by several minutes, so look up your own on moonrise by city. The date page also explains why the Kojagiri vigil and Sharad Purnima can fall on different days in some years, depending on when the Purnima is present at midnight. If your family begins the evening puja in a particular muhurta, the panchang for your city shows the tithi and the day's divisions.
Customs families keep
These are customs, not conditions; your family's way comes first.
- Many people wear white or light colours on this night, to match the moonlight.
- The house is kept clean and lit through the night, and the main door is often left a little open for Lakshmi.
- Some families sew or mend nothing on Purnima and keep the day free of quarrels.
- Many grandmothers have the family thread a needle in the moonlight, said to be good for the eyes.
- Some keep the kheer in a silver bowl; others in earthenware.
- Those who fast take water, milk and fruit through the day; pregnant women, the unwell and the elderly keep the evening puja without any fast, and a doctor's advice comes first.
Regional ways
- Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar: the Purnima fast, the story of the two sisters, arghya to the moon and kheer on the roof.
- Braj: Raas Leela and white darshan in the temples of Vrindavan and Mathura.
- Maharashtra: Kojagiri Purnima, with saffron milk boiled in the open and drunk after the moon has been seen in it; in many families the eldest child is honoured with an aarti on this night.
- Gujarat: Sharad Poonam, with garba late into the night and doodh-pauva eaten under the moon.
- Bengal, Assam and Tripura: Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, the main Lakshmi worship of the year, with alpona and a night vigil.
- Odisha: Kumar Purnima, when unmarried girls worship Kumar (Kartikeya) and the moon, and spend the evening in games and songs.
- Mithila: Kojagara, special for a newly married groom, whose in-laws send makhana, betel and gifts.
After the puja
Share the kheer with neighbours and anyone who visits. The next day many families start the Kartik month of lamps and early baths. Many homes also keep a full moon puja every month; its story is the Satyanarayan katha, and the next fast for married women in the north is Karwa Chauth.