{
  "id": 18695251,
  "title": "What it means to worship sakshat Lakshmi on Diwali",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/what-it-means-to-worship-sakshat-lakshmi-on-diwali",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-07T10:52:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/what-it-means-to-worship-sakshat-lakshmi-on-diwali-10954713/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Diwali celebrations are centered around the Lakshmi Puja, a ritual where devotees welcome the goddess of wealth into their homes. In addition to Ganesha, the worship of Lakshmi is a significant part of the festival. However, some families in Delhi, like Gopal Seth's, follow an additional tradition of venerating sakshat Lakshmi, the living embodiment of the goddess. This is done through silver coins that have been passed down through generations, with their oldest coin dating back to the early 1900s.\n\nSeth's great-grandfather, Lala Mahesh Das, was a prosperous merchant and held a position in the early days of the Delhi Municipal Corporation. The family adds a new coin to their collection each year on Dhanteras, a day prior to Diwali. Seth reminisces about the coins minted in the early 1940s, alongside the oldest one featuring a bare-headed bust of King Edward VII.\n\nThe family believes that worshipping these coins symbolizes the worship of the sun, as the coins represent the tangible manifestation of wealth and prosperity. On the day of Chhoti Diwali, one day before Diwali, the coins are cleaned, bathed in a mixture of milk, curd, honey, ghee, and sugar, and then washed again before being offered vermilion and a sacred thread. This ritual is similar to a morning sun worship, where people offer water to the rising sun, believing it to be in its physical or sakshat form.\n\nOver time, the way families celebrate Diwali has evolved. In Seth's childhood, relatives would gather in one house for worship, and gift exchanges were limited to a few sweets and gold coins. Today, Diwali is a more intimate affair, with just immediate family members participating in the puja. The tradition of exchanging gold coins has since diminished, but the significance of the silver coins remains a cherished part of the Seth family's Diwali celebrations.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}