Chopda Pujan and Muhurat Trading: Diwali's Money New Year

For most of India, the financial year starts on 1 April. But step into an old trading family's shop in Ahmedabad, Zaveri Bazaar or Burrabazar, and you will hear a different answer. For them, the real new year starts on Diwali.

Long before accounting software, Diwali was the day India's merchants closed their old books and opened new ones. That tradition is still alive, and it carries some of the soundest money advice you will hear all year.

Chopda pujan: worshipping the account books

On Diwali, many Gujarati, Marwari and Jain business families perform chopda pujan, also called sharda pujan. New account books, traditionally bound in red cloth and known as bahi khata, are placed before Lakshmi and Ganesha.

The first pages are marked with a swastik, the words Shubh and Labh (auspiciousness and profit) and the new year's date. Only after the puja are the first entries made. The old books are closed, debts are ideally settled, and the year begins on a clean page. For many of these families, the day after Diwali is New Year's Day itself, celebrated in Gujarat as Bestu Varas.

Muhurat trading: the stock market's Diwali puja

India's stock exchanges keep the custom alive in their own way. Every Diwali, the markets open for a short special session called Muhurat trading, marking the start of the new Samvat year. This year, NSE and BSE will hold it on Sunday, 8 November 2026, from 2:20 PM to 3:30 PM, to welcome Samvat 2083 (Business Standard).

Many investors place a small, symbolic order during the session. It is less about returns and more about intention: beginning the year by putting money to work.

Lakshmi puja: respect for money

At the heart of it is Lakshmi puja. Homes are cleaned, doors are left open and lamps are lit so that Lakshmi feels welcome. Many families place cash, coins and jewellery before her, and avoid lending or spending money on the day.

The belief underneath is simple, and surprisingly practical: wealth stays where it is respected.

Four lessons from the money new year

• Close your old books. Take twenty minutes to look at the year gone by. What came in, what went out, and what stayed?

• Settle what you owe. Traders tried to enter the new year without debt. Clearing a credit card balance before Diwali is the modern version.

• Write your Shubh Labh. Set one or two clear money intentions for Samvat 2083, written down where you will see them.

• Make a token start. Like a Muhurat trade, take one small step towards each intention this week.

We think about this tradition a lot at Multipl. The habit of planning money with intention, rather than reacting to it, is exactly what chopda pujan has been teaching for centuries.

Shubh Deepavali, and a prosperous Samvat 2083.

This is not investment advice.

Multipl is a AMFI registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN No. 319633).
*Based on historical returns of Liquid Fund category.
Disclaimer: Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.