Diwali evening comes down to one corner of the house. On Lakshmi Puja (8 November this year), the family gathers in front of the mandir, the diyas are lit, and for an hour that small space is the most important room in the home. It is worth getting ready for.
Here are nine ways to dress up your pooja room for Diwali 2026, from a free clean-up to a complete new look. Most of them take an afternoon.
Ordering for Diwali? Orders placed by 25 October usually arrive before Diwali. Everything below is printed to order in India and delivered free, and during our Shubh Aarambh Utsav you save up to ₹600 automatically at checkout.
1. Start with a clean, uncluttered mandir
Before adding anything, take things away. Clear out old flowers, used agarbatti sticks and anything that has collected on the shelf over the year. Polish the brass and silver with tamarind or lemon, and lay a fresh cloth under the murtis. Diwali cleaning traditionally begins with the home, and the mandir is the best place to start. It costs nothing, and every idea below looks better on a clean base.
2. Hang a backdrop behind the murti
This is the single biggest change you can make. Most home mandirs sit against a plain wall, and that wall is what you see behind your deities in every photo and video call this Diwali. A printed fabric backdrop turns it into a temple setting in about ten minutes.
Carved temple arches are the most popular choice, because the arch frames the murti the way a real mandir sanctum does. The Golden Arch Maroon Peacock Backdrop has a deep maroon centre under a gold arch with twin peacocks, rich without being busy. For a cooler palette, the Teal Palace Archway Peacock Backdrop brings in palace teal and gold.
Our backdrops start at ₹501 for 24 × 24 inches, with sizes up to 48 × 54 inches for a full floor-standing mandap. Our backdrop size guide shows how to measure for the right one.
3. Choose Diwali colours: red, maroon and gold
Red and gold are the colours most associated with Lakshmi Puja: red for auspiciousness, gold for prosperity. You don't need to repaint anything; a backdrop, a red cloth on the chowki and a few marigolds will carry the palette.
The Red and Yellow Arch Backdrop is the most festive of our designs, with hanging bells along the arch. The Golden Tree Backdrop is softer, a gold tree hung with marigold garlands, and suits homes that want warmth without bright red.
4. Bring in the lotus
Lakshmi is shown seated on a lotus and holding lotuses, so the flower belongs at the centre of a Diwali mandir. Float a few in a brass urli, draw a lotus in your rangoli, or let the wall carry it.
The Lotus Leaves Backdrop fills the space behind the murti with lotus blooms and leaves. On the wall beside the mandir, the Ornate Pink Lotus Mandala works as a single piece, and the Split Lotus Mandala Set of 2 hangs as a pair on either side of the mandir.
5. Give Ganesh, Laxmi and Saraswati their place together
In many homes Lakshmi Puja begins with Ganesha, and Saraswati is worshipped alongside for knowledge, along with the new account books. If your mandir is small, or you want the three together above it, wall art does the job without crowding the shelf.
The Ganesh Laxmi Saraswati Set of 3 comes in glossy acrylic, framed or unframed (see which finish to choose). It costs less as a set than buying the three separately, and the pieces are also sold singly: Ganesh, Laxmi and Saraswati. For a landscape backdrop with all three, see the Ganesh Laxmi Saraswati Backdrop.
6. Go for a heritage look with Pichwai and peacocks
Pichwai paintings come from the temple traditions of Nathdwara in Rajasthan, where they hang behind the deity. Their lotuses, cows and peacocks give a mandir a handcrafted, heirloom feel that suits homes with wooden furniture and brass.
The Pichwai Art Backdrop brings lotus, peacocks and elephants together in that style. The Peacock Full Bloom Backdrop puts a single peacock in full display at the centre, framed by lotuses.
7. Layer the light, safely
Use three layers of light: diyas in front of the murti, a string of warm fairy lights along the top of the backdrop or the mandir frame, and one soft lamp in the room so the mandir glows rather than glares. Warm white lights look far better in photos than multicoloured ones.
Keep diyas and candles on a brass plate, well in front of any fabric, curtain or paper decoration, and never leave them burning in an empty room. A backdrop should sit behind the murti, not behind the flame.
8. Add flowers, toran and rangoli
A marigold and mango-leaf toran over the mandir door or above the backdrop is the quickest way to make the space feel festive. Fresh flowers on the day, a small rangoli at the threshold and a kalash by the murti complete it. Real marigolds wilt within two days, so keep the fresh ones for Dhanteras and Lakshmi Puja and use cloth or paper torans for the rest of the week.
9. Short on space? Decorate upwards
A wall-mounted mandir or a single shelf in a 1BHK can look just as complete. Hang a 24 × 24 inch backdrop behind the shelf, or put one 8 × 8 inch acrylic of Ganesha or Lakshmi on the wall above it. Acrylic is light, glossy and mounts without drilling, which suits rented homes.
A simple rule for size: choose a backdrop about as wide as the table or shelf in front of it, or a few inches narrower, so it sits neatly behind the murti. The full size guide covers measuring inside a wooden mandir too.
| Your mandir or pooja table | Backdrop size to look at |
|---|---|
| Wall shelf or small mandir, up to 26 inches wide | 24 × 24 inches |
| Pooja unit, 26 to 32 inches wide | 26 × 36 or 30 × 40 inches |
| Floor mandir or chowki, 32 to 44 inches wide | 35 × 45 or 40 × 50 inches |
| Large pooja table, 44 to 52 inches wide | 48 × 54 inches |
Get it in time for Diwali
Every backdrop and wall art piece is printed to order for you and usually arrives within 4 to 7 business days. Order by 25 October 2026 to have it before Diwali on 8 November. Delivery is free across India, damaged items are replaced free, and the Shubh Aarambh Utsav saving of up to ₹600 is applied at checkout, no code needed.
Browse all backdrops and wall art, or message us on WhatsApp if you'd like help choosing a size. Buying for family as well? See our Diwali and griha pravesh gifts under ₹1,000. Shubh Deepavali from all of us at Atma Sanatan.