Rangoli is part of getting ready for Diwali: after the house is cleaned it is drawn at the door and the puja place to welcome Lakshmi. The simplest way is to lay a grid of dots first and then join them. Below are 17 designs, each shown step by step: the swastik, lotuses of eight and sixteen petals, a diya, Lakshmi’s footprints, a kalash, a kolam and a Tulsi chaura. Diwali 2026 is on Sunday, 8 November 2026.
The auspicious symbols and what they mean
Swastik Text / puja book
The word ‘svasti’ is made of ‘su’ (good) and ‘asti’ (is): may it be well. The swastik is the sign of that wish. In the Gita Press Diwali puja a swastik is drawn in roli or saffron-sandal on the account book, the money bag and the tijori before they are worshipped. In a rangoli its four arms turn to the right (clockwise), with a dot in each of the four quarters (the dots are custom).
Sources: Wikipedia: Swastika (the word ‘svasti’ = su + asti; Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 1283); Gita Press, Nityakarma-Pujaprakash: the Deepavali puja (swastika on the account book, money bag and tijori)
Lotus Text / puja book
Lakshmi is described seated on a lotus with a lotus in her hand: the verse read at the end of the Diwali puja calls her ‘sarasija-nilaye saroja-haste’ (dwelling in the lotus, lotus in hand). So a Diwali rangoli often has a lotus of eight or sixteen petals at its centre. The lotus is a main motif of Bengal’s Lakshmi puja alpana too.
Sources: ‘Sarasija-nilaye saroja-haste…’ (a verse read with the Shri Sukta; Kanakadhara Stotra, verse 15), checked on this site’s Diwali verses page; Wikipedia: Alpana (Bengal’s alpana; the motifs of the Lakshmi puja)
Lakshmi’s footprints Custom
For Diwali and the Kojagari Lakshmi puja small footprints are drawn from the door to the puja place, toes pointing into the house: the sign of Lakshmi coming in. This is a folk custom, not a rule of the texts. Drik Panchang calls them ‘Lakshmi Pada’ rangoli (in kolam, muggu and alpana too).
Sources: Drik Panchang: the rangoli, Lakshmi Pada and Hridaya Kamala designs listed on its Diwali and Lakshmi Puja Vidhi pages; Wikipedia: Alpana (Bengal’s alpana; the motifs of the Lakshmi puja)
Diya Text / puja book
Lamps in Kartik are prescribed in the Padma Purana: after sunset in the home, the cowshed, the temple and on the banks of water, the five days from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj above all. Drawing a diya in the rangoli, or setting real diyas on its four corners, is custom.
Sources: Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Kartika Mahatmya 95.1–9 (a four-coloured mandala at the Tulsi’s root for the udyapan) and 121.26–37 (lamps in Kartik), tr. Deshpande, Motilal Banarsidass; Gita Press abridged Padma Purana; Wikipedia: Rangoli (regional names, materials, the Diwali custom of welcoming Lakshmi)
Kalash Custom
A kalash with mango leaves and a coconut is installed in the puja, and is drawn in rangoli too. Wikipedia lists the vase, mango, fish and birds such as peacocks and parrots among rangoli’s main motifs. Drawing it as a motif is custom.
Sources: Wikipedia: Rangoli (regional names, materials, the Diwali custom of welcoming Lakshmi)
Chowk and mandala Text / puja book
Filling a chowk with colours at the place of worship is an old practice. The Padma Purana asks for a mandala adorned with four colours at the root of the Tulsi for the udyapan of the Kartik vow. A square grid is more common in North India and lines round a grid of dots (kolam) in the South.
Sources: Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Kartika Mahatmya 95.1–9 (a four-coloured mandala at the Tulsi’s root for the udyapan) and 121.26–37 (lamps in Kartik), tr. Deshpande, Motilal Banarsidass; Gita Press abridged Padma Purana; Wikipedia: Rangoli (regional names, materials, the Diwali custom of welcoming Lakshmi); Wikipedia: Kolam (lines drawn round a grid of dots, pulli kolam)
Before you start
- Sweep and wipe the place and let it dry; in the old way the floor was plastered with cow dung or clay.
- Materials: rice flour or chalk for white, geru or kumkum for red, turmeric for yellow, and flower petals.
- First lay the dots evenly with chalk; join the lines from the centre outwards, colours last.
- Take the colour in a pinch and let it fall slowly between thumb and forefinger; a small sieve helps for filling.
17 easy rangoli designs, step by step
The first picture of each design shows its dots; each next picture is one step further. These designs were drawn in code by SanatanBodh.
1. Swastik
The door, the puja stool, the first page of the account book
1. Lay 25 dots as in the picture.
2. From the centre dot draw a plus (+): up, down, left and right.
3. From each arm’s end turn clockwise: top to the right, right downwards, bottom to the left, left upwards.
4. Put a yellow dot in each of the four quarters.
2. Eight-petal lotus (ashtadal)
The centre of a rangoli, under a kalash or diya
1. Lay 17 dots as in the picture.
2. Draw a small circle round the centre dot.
3. From the circle draw eight petals out to the eight outer dots.
4. Fill the petals pink and the centre yellow.
3. Sixteen-petal lotus (shodashdal)
The centre of a large rangoli, the Lakshmi puja place
1. Lay 25 dots as in the picture.
2. Eight petals out to the eight inner dots.
3. Sixteen thin petals out to the sixteen outer dots, between and behind the inner ones.
4. A yellow circle in the middle with a white dot.
4. Diya
Both sides of the door, Dhanteras and Diwali
1. Lay 25 dots as in the picture.
2. Between the two lowest rows draw a bowl-shaped half moon from left to right.
3. From the top middle dot down to the bowl, a drop-shaped flame.
4. Bowl orange, flame yellow with red inside; dots round it.
5. Lakshmi’s footprints
From the door to the puja place, toes pointing inwards
1. Lay 4 dots as in the picture.
2. Two soles between the dots: heel down, toes up (towards the inside of the house).
3. Five round toes on each; fill them red (kumkum or geru).
6. Chowk
Under the puja stool, for the kalash
1. Lay 25 dots as in the picture.
2. Join the outer corner dots into a square.
3. Join the middle dots of the four sides into a diamond.
4. An inner square through the four inner dots; colour the spaces red and green in turn.
7. Eight-pointed star
The middle of a courtyard or veranda
1. Lay 17 dots as in the picture.
2. Join every other outer dot into a square.
3. The other four make a second, turned square: an eight-pointed star.
4. Fill the star blue, an octagon through the inner dots yellow, the centre red.
8. Dot-grid kolam
The everyday doorstep, the South Indian way
1. Lay 9 dots as in the picture.
2. Round each dot draw a diamond, large enough that its corners meet its neighbours’.
3. Fill the diamonds yellow and orange in turn.
4. Add small loops at the corners so the line seems to run on without a break.
9. Nine little flowers
The strip before the doorstep; easy for children
1. Lay 9 dots as in the picture.
2. Four petals round each dot: up, down, right and left.
3. Four small leaves between the petals, on the slant.
4. Flowers red and pink in turn, a yellow dot at each centre.
10. Kalash
The puja place, griha pravesh, Navratri
1. Lay 25 dots as in the picture.
2. A round pot over the lower three rows, a narrow neck above.
3. Five mango leaves from the neck and a coconut in the middle.
4. The pot red with a yellow band and a small plus mark.
11. Sun wheel
Chhath, Makar Sankranti, Sundays
1. Lay 25 dots as in the picture.
2. A circle through the twelve inner dots.
3. Triangular rays from the circle out to the twelve outer dots.
4. Rays orange, the circle yellow, a red dot in the middle.
12. Drop mandala
A large round rangoli, Diwali night
1. Lay 19 dots as in the picture.
2. Two circles from the centre: one through the inner dots, one through the outer.
3. Twelve drops between the circles, each pointing to an outer dot.
4. A six-petal flower inside, and white dots between the drops.
13. Lotus with four diyas
The Lakshmi puja place, Diwali
1. Lay 13 dots as in the picture.
2. An eight-petal lotus out to the eight inner dots.
3. A diya on each of the four corner dots, the flame pointing outwards.
4. Green leaves between the lotus and the diyas.
14. Six-petal flower
A small space, under the puja plate
1. Lay 7 dots as in the picture.
2. Straight lines from the centre to the six outer dots.
3. On each line a boat-shaped petal curving out on both sides.
4. Petals yellow and orange in turn, green circles on the outer dots.
15. Corner creeper
The corners of a room or courtyard, the four corners of a large rangoli
1. Lay 6 dots as in the picture.
2. From the corner dot, two lines along the two walls.
3. A quarter lotus at the corner: three petals out to the inner dot.
4. Leaves along both lines, small flowers on the dots.
16. Tulsi chaura
Kartik month, Dev Uthani Ekadashi and Tulsi Vivah
1. Lay 25 dots as in the picture.
2. A planter over the lowest two rows: wide below, narrower above.
3. A stem up from the middle with small leaves on both sides.
4. The planter red with a white plus, a diya in front.
17. Swastik in a border
The main door, Dhanteras and Diwali
1. Lay 41 dots as in the picture.
2. A swastik on the small inner grid, as in the first design.
3. A wavy creeper all round through the outer dots.
4. Yellow dots at the bends and small flowers at the corners.
Symbols and sources: sanatanbodh.in/en/festivals/diwali/rangoli/
Rangoli’s names across India
- Rangoli (Maharashtra, Karnataka, North India)
- Kolam (Tamil Nadu)
- Muggu (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana)
- Alpana (Bengal)
- Mandana (Rajasthan)
- Aipan (Uttarakhand)
- Aripan (Bihar, Mithila)
- Chowk purana (Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh)
- Sathiyo (Gujarat)
- Pookkalam (Kerala, of flowers for Onam)
Getting ready for Diwali
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a rangoli from dots?
Clean the floor and first lay dots at equal distances with chalk or rice flour (for example 5 × 5). Then join lines from the centre outwards, and fill the colours last. On this page the first picture of each design shows its dots, and each next picture one step further.
Why is rangoli made on Diwali?
By custom a rangoli at the door of a clean house welcomes Lakshmi; Drik Panchang says the same. It is a folk custom, not a rule of the texts. The Padma Purana asks for a four-coloured mandala at the root of the Tulsi for the udyapan of the Kartik vow.
Which way should Lakshmi’s footprints point?
By custom with the toes pointing into the house, from the door to the puja place, as if Lakshmi were walking in. It is a folk custom; follow your family’s way.
What is rangoli made with?
By tradition rice flour, chalk or lime, geru (red ochre), turmeric, kumkum and flower petals; coloured powders today. In South India the kolam is drawn with rice flour, and Kerala’s Onam pookkalam with flowers.
Which way do the swastik’s arms turn?
In the puja swastik the arms turn to the right, clockwise: the top arm to the right, the right arm down, the bottom arm to the left, the left arm up. A dot goes in each of the four quarters.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Swastika (the word ‘svasti’ = su + asti; Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 1283)
- Gita Press, Nityakarma-Pujaprakash: the Deepavali puja (swastika on the account book, money bag and tijori)
- ‘Sarasija-nilaye saroja-haste…’ (a verse read with the Shri Sukta; Kanakadhara Stotra, verse 15), checked on this site’s Diwali verses page
- Wikipedia: Alpana (Bengal’s alpana; the motifs of the Lakshmi puja)
- Drik Panchang: the rangoli, Lakshmi Pada and Hridaya Kamala designs listed on its Diwali and Lakshmi Puja Vidhi pages
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Kartika Mahatmya 95.1–9 (a four-coloured mandala at the Tulsi’s root for the udyapan) and 121.26–37 (lamps in Kartik), tr. Deshpande, Motilal Banarsidass; Gita Press abridged Padma Purana
- Wikipedia: Rangoli (regional names, materials, the Diwali custom of welcoming Lakshmi)
- Wikipedia: Kolam (lines drawn round a grid of dots, pulli kolam)
- Wikipedia: Lakshmi Puja (alpana for the Kojagari puja, rangoli at the door)
Something wrong? Report a mistake
