The coming weeks: a planner

Gather

• ☐ An image of Dhanvantari or Vishnu, and of Lakshmi if your family includes her
• ☐ Roli, akshat, flowers, incense and a ghee lamp
• ☐ Sweets or fruit as naivedya
• ☐ A four-wick lamp (chaumukha diya) of clay or dough, with oil
• ☐ A heat-safe plate to set it on outside the door
• ☐ A metal utensil, silver coin or new broom, if your family buys one

Texts to practise

• Dhanvantari mantra

Story for the children

• The healer from the ocean

Gather

• ☐ A clean low platform (chowki) with a red or yellow cloth
• ☐ An image or idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi
• ☐ A kalash with water, mango leaves and a coconut, if your family installs one
• ☐ Rangoli colours, or rice flour, for the doorway
• ☐ Water in a small pot (lota) with a spoon; a little Ganga jal if you have it
• ☐ Roli or kumkum, haldi, akshat (unbroken rice) and mauli
• ☐ Flowers and garlands; a lotus if available
• ☐ Incense (dhoop or agarbatti) with a holder
• ☐ One main ghee lamp, camphor for aarti, and a bell
• ☐ Sweets (laddoo is customary for Ganesha), kheel-batashe and fruit
• ☐ Paan and supari, and a few coins as dakshina
• ☐ Account books or new purchases, only if your family places them for blessing
• ☐ If your family bathes the idol with panchamrit: milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar, and clean water to rinse
• ☐ Clay diyas, oil or ghee, and wicks
• ☐ Heat-safe trays or plates to set the lamps on
• ☐ A bucket of water or sand kept nearby

Prasad to make

• ☐ Panchamrit

Texts to practise

• Purification shloka (pavitrīkaraṇa)
• Lamp prayer (dīpa-jyoti)
• Remembering Ganesha (Vakratuṇḍa)
• Offerings to Ganesha
• Kalash shloka
• Invitation and offerings to Mahalakshmi
• Śrī Sūktam
• Ganesha aarti · Jai Ganesh Deva
• Lakshmi aarti · Om Jai Lakshmi Mata
• Flower offering and bowing
• Prayer for forgiveness (kṣamā-prārthanā)

Story for the children

• The lamps of Ayodhya

Gather

• ☐ Material to shape a small hill: cow dung, clay, flour or food, as your family does
• ☐ Flowers, small twigs and grass to decorate it
• ☐ An image of Krishna
• ☐ Roli, akshat, milk, a ghee lamp and incense
• ☐ Several home-cooked dishes for the Annakut
• ☐ Food or fodder for cows, if you can visit them

Texts to practise

• Govardhan aarti · Shri Govardhan Maharaj

Story for the children

• The hill that became an umbrella

Gather

• ☐ Roli or kumkum, and akshat
• ☐ A small ghee lamp
• ☐ Sweets, and dry fruit or coconut if your family uses them
• ☐ A seat for the brother, and a rice-flour square (chowk) if you draw one
• ☐ A meal the sister cooks or shares with her brother
• ☐ A gift from the brother

Texts to practise

• Tilak verse for Bhai Dooj

Story for the children

• Yamuna's invitation

Gather

• ☐ A soop (winnowing basket) and a daura (bamboo basket) to carry the offerings
• ☐ A coconut and five kinds of seasonal fruit
• ☐ A lota of water or milk for the arghya
• ☐ A lamp and incense for the ghat
• ☐ Thekua and the other prasad your family makes
• ☐ Kheer and roti for the Kharna evening
• ☐ A clean place by a river or pond, or a small pool or tub at home
• ☐ Warm clothes and water for the family members who are not fasting

Prasad to make

• ☐ Rasiya (jaggery kheer) for Kharna
• ☐ Thekua

Gather

• ☐ An image of Vishnu, or a Shaligram if your family keeps one
• ☐ Roli, akshat, flowers, incense and a ghee lamp
• ☐ A conch and a bell, if you have them
• ☐ Sugarcane stalks for a small canopy
• ☐ Water chestnuts (singhara), ber, seasonal fruit and sweets
• ☐ A large plate (parat) or basket to cover the offerings
• ☐ Rice-flour paste or geru (red ochre), if your family draws the feet

Texts to practise

• Remembering Vishnu · Śāntākāram
• Om namo bhagavate Vāsudevāya
• Waking the Lord · Uttiṣṭhottiṣṭha Govinda
• Waking the Lord · Tyaja nidrāṃ jagatpate
• Aarti · Om Jai Jagdish Hare

Gather

• ☐ The Tulsi plant, in a pot or the courtyard, watered and cared for
• ☐ Sugarcane stalks and flowers for the mandap
• ☐ A red chunri, bangles, bindi and other shringar items to adorn Tulsi as a bride
• ☐ A Shaligram, or an image of Vishnu or Krishna, as the groom
• ☐ Haldi, kumkum, sandal paste, akshat and flowers
• ☐ A ghee lamp, incense and a bell
• ☐ Sweets and fruit for prasad, and a meal for the family

Texts to practise

• Remembering Vishnu · Śāntākāram
• Tulsi aarti · Jai Jai Tulsi Mata

Gather

• ☐ A little Ganga jal for the bath water, if you bathe at home
• ☐ Clay diyas, ghee or oil, and wicks
• ☐ Leaf cups or a tray for floating lamps, where this is allowed
• ☐ Roli, akshat, flowers, incense and a ghee lamp
• ☐ Food, clothes or money to give, as your family does

Texts to practise

• Remembering Vishnu · Śāntākāram
• Om namo bhagavate Vāsudevāya
• Aarti · Om Jai Jagdish Hare