Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat Udyapan Vidhiवैभव लक्ष्मी व्रत उद्यापन विधि

The udyapan is the concluding ceremony of the Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat. When a devotee has kept the vrat for the number of Fridays promised in the sankalp (resolve), usually 11 or 21, though some take 51 or 101, the udyapan is done on the last of those Fridays. According to tradition a vow is considered complete only after its udyapan, so devotees prepare for this day with special care. This page explains when the udyapan is done, what to prepare, the steps of the puja and how the katha books are gifted.

When to do the udyapan

The udyapan is done on the final Friday of your sankalp. If you resolved to keep 21 Fridays, it is done on the 21st Friday on which you actually kept the vrat. As a matter of common practice, a Friday that is skipped (for example during menstruation, illness or travel) is simply not counted, and the vrat continues the next Friday, so the count is not broken; the udyapan then falls on the Friday that completes the count. Customs vary, so follow your family's tradition where it differs.

Like the weekly puja, the udyapan puja is usually done in the evening, around dusk, though some families do it in the morning. If you have not yet begun the vrat, the vrat start date page explains how to choose an auspicious Friday to begin.

What to prepare

The udyapan uses the same items as every Friday puja, with a few additions. The full list for the weekly worship is on the puja samagri page.

• The usual setup: a chowki with a red cloth, a picture of Maa Vaibhav Lakshmi (ideally with the Shri Yantra), akshat (rice) for the heap, a copper or brass kalash of water, and a small bowl with a gold or silver ornament, or a coin if you have none.
• A ghee lamp, incense, red flowers, kumkum or roli, haldi and sandal paste.
• Kheer for the main prasad, and any other sweet offering you wish to add.
• A whole coconut to offer to the goddess.
• Copies of the Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat Katha book: 7, 11, 21, 51 or 101, as you are able.
• Kumkum for the tilak of the women who will receive the books, and a small gift for each if you wish, such as fruit, sweets or another modest item.

The number of books is chosen according to one's means. Tradition asks for devotion, not display, so there is no need to stretch the household budget.

Udyapan vidhi step by step

1. Keep the fast through the day as on other vrat Fridays. Bathe in the morning, wear clean clothes (often red or white) and keep remembering Maa Lakshmi. Pregnant women, the sick, the elderly and people on medication should take a doctor's advice and may keep a lighter vow; this is not a substitute for medical advice.
2. In the evening, set up the chowki facing east as usual: the red cloth, the picture of the goddess, the heap of rice, the kalash on it and the bowl with the ornament on the kalash.
3. Light the lamp and incense. Offer flowers, kumkum, haldi and sandal, and bow to the Shri Yantra and the eight forms of Lakshmi.
4. Read the Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrat Katha with full attention, as on every Friday.
5. Recite the vrat mantra or a simple mantra such as ॐ श्रीं श्रियै नमः or ॐ महालक्ष्म्यै नमः.
6. Offer the kheer as naivedya and place the coconut before the goddess.
7. Sing the aarti "Om Jai Lakshmi Mata".
8. Pray with folded hands: thank the goddess for helping you complete the vow, ask forgiveness for any mistakes made over the weeks, and ask her to fulfil your wish and to bless everyone, as she blessed Sheela in the katha.
9. Gift the katha books to the women who have come, as described below.
10. Afterwards, apply a little kumkum from the puja as tilak or keep the ornament safely, pour the kalash water into the tulsi plant, distribute the prasad and break the fast with one sattvic meal.

Gifting the katha books

Gifting the book is the special feature of this udyapan. The idea, as told in the katha itself, is that the story and the vrat should reach more homes, so that other women in difficulty may also turn to the goddess with faith. This custom is also why the small katha booklet spread so widely.

Invite women from the family, the neighbourhood or friends. Apply a kumkum tilak to each one, then offer the book with both hands along with prasad and, if you wish, a small gift. Married women and young girls are both commonly included. The book is given respectfully, as a sharing of something sacred, not as charity. If some of the women cannot come on the day, many families give them their books soon afterwards with the same respect; customs differ, so an elder of the family can guide you.

After the udyapan

With the udyapan the vow is complete. Keep the katha book and the picture of the goddess in a clean, respectful place. Many devotees later take the vow again, making a fresh sankalp for a new number of Fridays and starting again on a Friday of Shukla Paksha. Whether or not you continue, the qualities the vrat encourages, such as patience, kind speech, a clean home and respect for women and elders, are meant to stay with you.

Frequently asked questions