How to Light Camphor for Aarti — and the 5 Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes
The right way to light camphor for a daily aarti — how much to use, where to place the lamp, which way to rotate it, and the five…
Sitaram Jaiswal 7 min
Every year the same two phone calls reach our counter: one in early October asking how much camphor a family actually needs, and one on Dhanteras evening from somebody who has run out. This checklist is an attempt to prevent the second call.
The five days, in order
- Dhanteras — evening lamp, purchase of metal, a short aarti.
- Naraka Chaturdashi — morning ritual, lamps at dusk.
- Lakshmi Puja — the main evening puja, the longest aarti of the five.
- Govardhan Puja / Annakut — morning puja, often with guests.
- Bhai Dooj — a short family aarti.
That is roughly seven to nine aartis across five days for a typical household, plus lamps burning through the evenings.
How much camphor you actually need
A home aarti uses one tablet; a longer puja with a full thali often uses two. Working from that:
| Household | Aartis across five days | Camphor to buy |
|---|---|---|
| Small family, one puja room | 7–9 | A 100g tablet pack covers Diwali and the months after |
| Large family, guests, two floors | 12–18 | A 100g pack plus a spare, or one 500g family pack |
| Temple, hall or community puja | 25+ | Slabs or the loose pack, not tablets |
Buy one size up rather than two, and store the rest properly — camphor keeps for months in an airtight tin, and the rules are in our storage guide. If your family also uses natural camphor for the main puja, a small Bhimseni pack is plenty for the whole season; the difference between the grades is explained here.
Agarbatti, dhoop and sambrani
- Agarbatti — two to three sticks a day across the house for five days. One Shivpriyay jar is comfortable for a family; add a zipper pouch if you are carrying some to a relative.
- Dhoop cones — one or two per day in the room that needs the most presence. A 240g box is more than enough.
- Sambrani — one cup each evening to close the day. A 150g box covers the season.
What goes on the thali
- Aarti lamp, wiped completely dry — the reason is in how to light camphor for aarti.
- Camphor tablets in a small steel dabba, not the open pouch.
- Diya, wicks, ghee or oil.
- Roli, akshat, haldi, kumkum.
- Flowers, a small bell, and a clean cloth.
- Agarbatti and a stand; a metal plate for dhoop or sambrani.
- Prasad, and a jug of water within reach.
Two weeks before: the shopping order
- Buy camphor and incense first — they are what sells out locally, and gift boxes go earliest of all.
- Test one tablet as soon as the pack arrives. Two minutes, one white plate; the method is in our purity guide. Diwali evening is the wrong time to discover a bad batch.
- Clean and dry every lamp, then keep them covered.
- Order gifts with a week in hand — our shipping and delivery timelines are longer in festival season, as everyone’s are.
Keeping a full house safe
With children and guests in the house, keep the camphor dabba out of reach, burn only on metal or stone, and never leave a lit lamp unattended near curtains or decorations. Crack a window during the long aartis — a closed room with several lamps and cones becomes heavy very quickly.
Buying for the whole season? Family packs, gift boxes and slabs, all made in Gorakhpur and dispatched across India.
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