The cautionary stories in the Lakshmi Panchali are revealing about what Bengali tradition considers disrespectful to the Goddess of prosperity. You should not leave dirty vessels in the house. You should not keep a broom standing upright. You should not quarrel in the evening. You should not have an untidy, unwelcoming home. These are not arbitrary prohibitions — they describe the conditions under which prosperity cannot stay. Lakshmi is associated with cleanliness, order, and the gentle, consistent maintenance of the home. Neglect those things and she leaves.

The full moon of Ashwin has agricultural roots as well. This is the period after the autumn harvest in much of India — the rice is in, the fields are resting, and there is food in the house. Lakshmi Puja, performed at full moon when the night is bright and the earth is generous, is in part a harvest thanksgiving: gratitude for what the year has produced, and a prayer for continued abundance.

The Kojagari vigil connects to a story in the Skanda Purana: Lakshmi descends to earth on this full moon night and asks 'Ko jagarti?' — who is awake? Those who are found awake in worship receive her blessing; those who are sleeping miss her. This is why the traditional Lakshmi Puja is an all-night affair, with the women of the household staying up, reading the Panchali, and maintaining the puja through the night.

Across most of India, Lakshmi Puja is performed on Diwali — the new moon night of Kartik, roughly two to three weeks after the Bengali Kojagari Puja. In Bengal, the Diwali Lakshmi Puja is observed (particularly in communities with North Indian connections), but the primary annual Lakshmi Puja is definitively on the Ashwin Purnima — the Kojagari night. This difference in timing and emphasis is one of the clearest markers of how distinctly Bengali Hinduism runs on its own ritual calendar.

The alpana tradition of Lakshmi Puja is worth understanding separately. Alpana is the Bengali name for floor art made with rice paste (atap chaler gura mixed with water). The designs are drawn freehand, with a small cup or the fingers, directly on the floor — usually the puja room, the threshold, and the path from the threshold to the altar. The Lakshmi Puja alpana has specific motifs: the lotus (Lakshmi's flower), the owl (her vahana), footprints leading inward (the Goddess entering the house), and patterns of grain and abundance. These designs are not decorative in the way modern rangoli is decorative — they are ritual marks, drawn with specific intent, in specific places.