Why do Bengali families do Lakṣmī pūjā right after Durgā Pūjā?

on Kojāgarī Pūrṇimā, the full moon after Bijoyā, Lakṣmī is believed to visit homes asking “who is awake?”

Most Bengali homes worship Lakṣmī not on Dīpāvalī (when Kālī Pūjā is celebrated in Bengal) but on the full moon of Āśvina, five days after Bijoyā Daśamī. The name Kojāgarī comes from “ko jāgarti?”, “who is awake?”, the question Lakṣmī is said to ask as she visits homes that night, blessing those who stay awake, alert and prepared.

The floor is decorated with ālpanā, white rice-paste designs showing little footprints of Lakṣmī walking into the house, along with her owl and the paddy plant. A clay image or a decorated pot called Lakṣmīr ghaṭ is worshipped, and women often read the Lakṣmīr pāñcālī, a verse story of the goddess.

Offerings are simple and homely: khichuri, labra, nārkel nāḍu, puffed-rice moa and fruit. Many families keep a weekly Thursday Lakṣmī pūjā through the year as well.

Kojāgarī = “ko jāgarti?” — who is awake? · Source: common practice in Bengali households

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