Dakshinavarti Shankh Lakshmi Puja Kit – Shankh, Mahalakshmi Yantra & Kamal Gatta Mala

Free energising

Energising: Rs. 499, free with this kit. Your shankh, yantra and mala go through a traditional puja with Vedic mantra recitation before dispatch. The sankalp is taken in your name and your gotra, entered at checkout. Select Unknown if you don't know your gotra and our pandit uses the standard sankalp.

Free energising. Personalised sankalp. Energised before dispatch. Free delivery on online payments.

About the Dakshinavarti Shankh

Shankhs come in two turns. Most of them open to the left and get blown during aarti. The Dakshinavarti opens to the right, which is rare in nature, and the Puranas tie that one to Lakshmi.

A Dakshinavarti is a shankh you keep. Water goes into it and gets used for abhishek, and the shell itself stays on the altar facing the deity through the year.

It's a natural shell, so the ridges and the shading vary from one piece to the next. Yours will run cream to pale brown with its own banding. A shell that looks machine perfect at a low price is usually moulded.

Using the shankh in your Diwali puja

Rest the shankh on the red cloth, mouth facing up, to the right of the Mahalakshmi Yantra.

Fill it with clean water on Diwali morning. Add a little gangajal if you keep some at home.

At your muhurat, pour that water over the yantra as abhishek, then wipe the plate dry and set it back in place.

Light the diya. Offer kumkum, akshat and a white or red flower to both the shankh and the yantra.

Chant Om Shreem Hreem Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah 108 times on the kamalgatta mala.

Sprinkle a little of the remaining shankh water around the house and over the family. That's the part most people remember from childhood.

Through the year, refill the shankh every Friday and keep the water in it overnight.

Add to your order

Free with this kit: a red cloth for the shankh.

Paid add-ons at checkout: a shankh stand to keep it steady on the altar, and a Gomti Chakra pack at Rs. 501 for the puja and for sharing with family.

Care

Empty the water out after the puja and wipe the shell dry with a soft cloth. Water left standing for days leaves a film inside.

Wash it with plain water two or three times a year. Skip soap and any cleaning liquid, because detergent dulls the natural shine.

Keep it out of direct sun for long stretches, which fades the colour over years.

Store it on the altar itself rather than moving it around the house. Tradition treats a placed shankh as settled.

Hold it by the body when you move it. The lip is the thinnest part of the shell and it chips easily.

Delivery and returns

Energising takes two to three days, then dispatch. Delivery usually runs seven to ten days.

Order by 2 November for Lakshmi Puja on 8 November. Delivery is free on online payments.

Every shankh ships with corner padding, since the lip takes the damage in transit.

Write to us within three days of delivery if yours arrives chipped, with the original item sent back for an exchange. Return shipping is paid by you.

Cancellation is open until dispatch. We don't refund a change of mind, since every kit is energised in your name first.