💰 Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat (Friday) Puja Vidhi — step by step
The vidhi of the Vaibhav Lakshmi vrat (as in the vrat booklet) — sankalp for 11 or 21 Fridays; puja in the evening, facing east.
How to do Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat (Friday) — the steps
- Sankalp (first Friday): after the morning bath, before Mother Lakshmi — 'I (name) will keep the Vaibhav Lakshmi vrat for 11/21 Fridays for (wish); on completion I will do the udyapan'; the vrat is kept at home only — not while travelling; add that Friday later.
- Through the day: fruit or one meal (salt is allowed); purity of mind and speech, no gossip, remembrance of 'Jai Maa Lakshmi'.
- Evening puja: sit on an asana facing east; on a chauki a red or yellow cloth, a small heap of rice on it, on the heap a copper kalash filled with water, on the kalash a small bowl; in the bowl the gold or silver object (coin, ring, nose-ring — whatever you have; if none, a rupee coin).
- Place the picture of Lakshmi (Dhana Lakshmi — seated on a lotus, showering gold) and the Shri Yantra in front; ghee lamp, incense; bathe the gold/silver object in milk and panchamrit, rinse with clean water, wipe and place it in the bowl.
- Worship: turmeric, kumkum, akshat, red or pink flowers (lotus is best), attar; bow to the Shri Yantra and the picture and chant 'Om Shreem Hreem Shreem Kamale Kamalalaye Prasida Prasida Shreem Hreem Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah' 11, 21 or 108 times; remember the eight names of Ashta Lakshmi; Shri Sukta or the Lakshmi stotra if possible.
- Katha and aarti: read or hear the Vaibhav Lakshmi vrat katha (below — the story of Sheela); the aarti 'Om Jai Lakshmi Mata'; the offering — kheer (rice, milk, sugar, saffron) or a milk sweet; end with the Lakshmi stavan as in the booklet.
- Prasad: kheer to everyone at home; kalash water to the Tulsi or plants; rice to the birds; keep the gold/silver object safely (the same object for the whole vrat).
- Udyapan (11th/21st Friday): the same puja + invite 7 (or 11, 21) married women or girls, apply kumkum tilak, gift them the Vaibhav Lakshmi vrat booklet and kheer prasad (spreading the vrat is the essence of the udyapan); donate a Lakshmi picture, Shri Yantra or clothes as you can; coconut and chunri to Mata.
Puja samagri checklist
Shri Yantra, a gold or silver object, a copper kalash and kheer — the special list of Vaibhav Lakshmi.
- Picture or idol of Lakshmi (Dhana Lakshmi), Shri Yantra (picture/copper/silver), chauki, red-yellow cloth, asana
- Rice (for a fistful heap), copper or steel kalash (water), small bowl; gold or silver object — coin, ring, nose-ring, chain (or a silver/rupee coin)
- Panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar) and milk — to bathe the object; clean water, cloth
- Turmeric, kumkum, akshat, mauli, attar, rose water; red/pink/lotus flowers, garland
- Ghee lamp, incense, camphor, aarti plate, bell, conch
- Offering: kheer (rice, milk, sugar, saffron, cardamom) or milk sweets — peda, barfi; fruit, paan-supari, coconut
- The booklet 'Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat Katha' (Gujarati/Hindi), Lakshmi aarti, Shri Sukta
- Udyapan: kumkum, booklets, kheer, coconut-chunri, dakshina for 7/11/21 married women; Lakshmi picture or Shri Yantra for donation (as one can)
Kheer as the offering, milk sweets; fruit or one meal
Vaibhav Lakshmi loves kheer (rice, milk, sugar, saffron) or a milk sweet — offered in the evening puja and shared as prasad. On the vrat day one takes fruit or one sattvic meal (salt is not forbidden — nor is sour food, unlike the Santoshi vrat); no onion, garlic, meat or alcohol.
- Offering: saffron kheer (basmati rice, full-cream milk, sugar or mishri, saffron, cardamom, almonds-raisins), milk peda, barfi, rabri, coconut laddoo; lotus seeds (makhana) in some homes
- Vrat meal: fruit and milk, sabudana khichdi or kheer, water-chestnut-flour puri, potato curry; or one plain sattvic meal (dal, rice, roti, vegetable) — as the family does
- Udyapan prasad: kheer and the booklet to the married women; Brahmin or kanya bhojan as one can — kheer, puri, vegetable
- Forbidden: meat, alcohol, onion, garlic; gossip or slander on the vrat day (a rule of Lakshmi's day)
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Sankalp for 11 or 21 Fridays, puja at home only, in the evening facing east; add a travelling Friday later
- Shri Yantra + gold/silver object (bathed) + kheer offering + katha-aarti — all four are essential; remember the Ashta Lakshmi names
- At the udyapan give kumkum, booklet and kheer to 7 (or 11/21) married women or girls — spreading the vrat is the udyapan
- Clean the puja room and the house, light a Lakshmi lamp on Friday; give charity on the vrat day as you can
- Pregnant or ill: only the evening puja and katha instead of the fast; along with the wish for wealth, effort and saving too
❌ Don't
- Keeping the vrat while travelling or in another house; beginning without a sankalp; udyapan before 11 or 21 are complete
- Keeping the Santoshi Mata and Vaibhav Lakshmi vrats together — choose one (the booklet's instruction)
- Using a borrowed or someone else's gold/silver object — use your own; selling or pawning it during the vrat
- Slander, anger, lies, meat or alcohol on the vrat day; a torn or unclean Lakshmi picture
- Skipping or under-counting the married women at the udyapan — booklet and kumkum for at least seven
Vrat katha
The katha of Vaibhav Lakshmi (the story of Sheela): in a town lived a pious woman named Sheela, happily with her husband — both devoted to God, fond of charity. Then fortune turned — the husband fell into bad company and… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When to begin the Vaibhav Lakshmi vrat, and which Fridays fall in {Y}?
On any Friday — the first Friday of a Shukla Paksha is best; the list above gives the next twelve Fridays with month and paksha. Do not begin in an Adhika month or Pitru Paksha; a running vrat continues.
Is the puja in the morning or the evening?
In the evening as per the booklet (after sunset — pradosh/godhuli, timings above) facing east; sankalp and bath in the morning; fruit during the day.
What if there is no gold or silver object?
A silver or rupee coin works; in the katha Sheela used her nose-ring — any object of your own, not borrowed. Keep the same object for the whole vrat.
11 or 21 — how many Fridays?
Decide at the sankalp — usually 11; for a special wish (freedom from debt, marriage) 21. If one is missed, continue the count from the next Friday; add a Friday of the monthly period or travel later.
How is the udyapan done?
On the last Friday the same puja + kumkum tilak, the Vaibhav Lakshmi booklet and kheer prasad to 7 (or 11/21) married women or girls; coconut and chunri to Mata; a Lakshmi picture, Shri Yantra or clothes donated as one can.
Are salt and sour food allowed?
Yes — this is not the Santoshi vrat; fruit or one sattvic meal, no onion-garlic-meat-alcohol; the kheer offering is essential.
Can men keep it?
Yes — men keep it for business, debt and wealth; the method is the same; at the udyapan the gifts to the married women are given by the lady of the house.
🏠 Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat (Friday) 2026 — date, muhurat, full page · All vrat & festivals