LAKHSHMI PUJA

Lakshmi Puja (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी पूजा, romanized: Lakshmī Pūjā) is a Hindu occasion for the veneration of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and the supreme goddess of Vaishnavism. The occasion is celebrated on the amavasya (new moon day) in the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja (according to the amanta tradition) or Kartika (according to the purnimanta tradition), on the third day of Deepavali in most part of India. In Assam, Bengal, and Odisha, this puja is celebrated 5 days after Vijaya Dashami. According to popular belief, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Vishnu's wife, visits her devotees, and bestows good fortune and her blessings upon them. To welcome the goddess, devotees clean their houses, decorate them with finery and lights, and prepare sweet treats and delicacies as offerings. Devotees believe that the happier Lakshmi is during her visit, the more she blesses the family with health and wealth. In Assam, Odisha, and parts of Bengal, Lokkhi Puja or Lakshmi Puja (লক্ষ্মী পূজা) is performed on Ashvin Purnima day on the month of Ashvin, the full moon day following Vijaya Dashami and Durga Puja. This puja is also known as Kojagori Lokkhi Pujo. Women worship the goddess Lakshmi in the evening, after cleaning their house and decorating the floor of their houses with alpona, or rangoli. It is celebrated in the evening with all family members participating in decorating and cleaning home as part of the puja.in shanthalli near somvarpete taluk is important place during Diwali because Krishan killed narakashura near shanthalli near somvarpete.