Vaishravana · The treasurer of the gods · Guardian of the north

Kuber

Lord Kuber, also Lord Kubera and Vaishravana, is the god of wealth, the king of the yakshas and the guardian of the north. Chant his mantra, worship him with Goddess Lakshmi at Dhanteras and Diwali, and see when his days fall in your city.

His day
Thursday
Next: Thu 5 Nov
Next Kuber day
Dhanteras
In 5 days · Fri 6 Nov

His days, in your city

Dates and puja times for the city you pick

For New Delhi

Next Kuber day · In 5 days

Dhanteras

Friday 6 November 2026

Dhanteras puja

6:03 pm to 7:58 pm

His greatest day, two days before Diwali: Lord Kuber is worshipped with Goddess Lakshmi in the evening, and families buy gold, silver or a new vessel.

Every Thursday
Thu 5 NovHis day of the week
Diwali Lakshmi Puja
Sun 8 Nov5:55 pm to 7:51 pm

Chant the Kubera mantra

Kubera mantra · thirty-five syllables

ॐ यक्षाय कुबेराय वैश्रवणाय धनधान्याधिपतये।
धनधान्यसमृद्धिं मे देहि दापय स्वाहा॥

Om Yakshaya Kuberaya Vaishravanaya Dhanadhanyadhipataye,
Dhanadhanyasamriddhim me dehi dapaya svaha.

Om. To the yaksha, to Kubera, to Vaishravana, the lord of wealth and grain: give me wealth, grain and plenty, and see that they are given to me. Svaha.

यक्ष, कुबेर और वैश्रवण को, जो धन और अन्न के स्वामी हैं: मुझे धन, अन्न और समृद्धि दीजिए, और उन्हें मुझ तक पहुँचाइए। स्वाहा।

His best-known mantra, of thirty-five syllables, asks the lord of wealth for plenty. Many chant it 108 times on a mala at Dhanteras, after lighting a lamp before Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber.

His prayers

A simple Dhanteras or Thursday puja

Lord Kuber is worshipped above all on Dhanteras evening, with Goddess Lakshmi, and some chant his mantra on Thursdays. At home a short and calm puja is enough. Follow your family’s way where it differs.

  1. Clean the place of worship, and set the pictures or images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber on a clean cloth.
  2. Light a ghee lamp before them.
  3. Offer sandal paste, akshata, flowers and dhoop, saying Om Shri Kuberaya Namah with each.
  4. Chant the Kubera mantra 108 times on a mala.
  5. Offer sweets as naivedyam, and place anything new you have bought before them.
  6. Sing Om Jai Lakshmi Mata, wave the lamp in aarti, and share the prasadam.

What you need

  • Pictures or images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber
  • A ghee lamp
  • Sandal paste, akshata and flowers
  • Dhoop, incense
  • Sweets for naivedyam
  • A mala for the mantra

Prayers for the puja

Who is Kuber

Lord Kuber, also called Lord Kubera and Vaishravana, is the god of wealth and the king of the yakshas, who guard the treasures of the earth. He is the treasurer of the gods, the guardian of the north among the dikpalas and a lokapala, a protector of the world. Old images show him plump and adorned with jewels, holding a mace and a pot of wealth.

By tradition he is the son of the sage Vishrava, and so the half-brother of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana. He ruled the golden city of Lanka and flew in the Pushpaka vimana until Ravana drove him out and took both. He then worshipped Lord Shiva, who made him lord of wealth, and made his home at Alaka in the Himalayas, near Kailash.

Lord Kuber is a friend of Lord Shiva and is worshipped with Goddess Lakshmi, who gives wealth while he keeps it. Most families pray to him once a year, at Dhanteras and on the night of the Diwali Lakshmi Puja, with Lord Ganesha, and his temples stand from the hills of Uttarakhand to the Narmada and Tamil Nadu.

  • Kubera his Sanskrit name
  • Vaishravana the son of the sage Vishrava
  • Yaksharaja the king of the yakshas
  • Dhanapati the lord of wealth, also Dhanesha
  • Ekakshipingala the one with one yellow eye
  • Kuber Bhandari the keeper of the storehouse, as Gujarat calls him
His mantra

ॐ श्रीकुबेराय नमः

Om Shri Kuberaya Namah

I bow to Shri Kuber. It is his root mantra, said with each offering in his puja, and many chant it 108 times on Dhanteras.

श्री कुबेर को मेरा नमन। यह उनका मूल मंत्र है, जो उनकी पूजा में हर चढ़ावे के साथ बोला जाता है, और कई लोग धनतेरस पर इसे 108 बार जपते हैं।

A short prayer to start · the refrain of Om Jai Lakshmi Mata

ॐ जय लक्ष्मी माता, मैया जय लक्ष्मी माता।
तुमको निशिदिन सेवत, हरि विष्णु विधाता॥

Om Jai Lakshmi Mata, Maiya jai Lakshmi Mata,
Tumko nishdin sevat, Hari Vishnu Vidhata.

Glory to you, Mother Lakshmi! Vishnu and Brahma, the creator, serve you day and night.

हे लक्ष्मी माता, आपकी जय हो! भगवान विष्णु और सृष्टि रचने वाले ब्रह्मा जी दिन-रात आपकी सेवा करते हैं।

Dhanteras, Diwali and his days

When families worship him

  • Dhanteras

    Dhanatrayodashi, the Trayodashi of the dark half of Kartika (Ashvina where months end at the new moon), opens the five days of Diwali. In the evening families worship Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber together, many with Lord Ganesha and Dhanvantari too, chant his mantra and buy something new in gold, silver or metal for the home.

  • Diwali

    On the new-moon night two days later the Lakshmi Puja is kept, and Lord Kuber is worshipped beside her as the keeper of the wealth she gives. Traders open their new account books in the name of Goddess Lakshmi on this night.

  • Thursdays

    One devotional guide gives Thursday as a day for his mantra, with a fixed number of rounds on a mala each week. It is less widely kept than Dhanteras, and families follow their own custom.

What his symbols mean

  • The money pot

    The pot or bag of wealth he holds: the treasures of the earth, which he keeps and gives out.

  • The mace

    His weapon, the gada, which he holds in his images as the guardian of wealth.

  • The mongoose

    Named as his mount, and held in some of his images; in Buddhist art he is usually shown with one.

  • The north

    He is its guardian among the dikpalas, the guardians of the directions, and a lokapala, a protector of the world.

  • The Pushpaka vimana

    His flying chariot, which Ravana took from him with Lanka.

  • The nine treasures

    The Navanidhi, from Padma, the lotus, to Kharva: wealth in nine forms, each with a guardian of its own.

His stories

Lanka and the Pushpaka

By tradition Lord Kuber ruled the golden city of Lanka and flew in the Pushpaka vimana. His half-brother Ravana, son of the same father, fought him, drove him out and seized both the city and the chariot. Kuber turned to Lord Shiva in worship, and was made the lord of wealth.

The yellow eye

Once, the story goes, Lord Kuber saw Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and looked towards Parvati with his left eye. Her radiance burned the eye, and it turned yellow, so he is called Ekakshipingala. The tellings differ on why he looked: in one with jealousy, in another with a pure heart.

The loan to Venkateswara

When Srinivasa, Lord Venkateswara, married Padmavati, he borrowed from Lord Kuber to pay for the wedding. Tradition says the gifts pilgrims drop in the hundi at Tirumala help him repay the loan, even now.

Across India

North India

Dhanteras is his great day: Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber are worshipped together in the evening, with Lord Ganesha, and in many homes Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, too.

Uttarakhand

Among the old stone temples of Jageshwar, near Almora, a Shaiva place of pilgrimage, stands a temple of Lord Kuber.

Gujarat

On the bank of the Narmada at Karnali, near Vadodara, the temple of Kuber Bhandari keeps his murti beside a Shiva linga.

Tamil Nadu

At Rathinamangalam, near Vandalur on the edge of Chennai, Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kubera are worshipped together in the temple of Sri Lakshmi Kuberar.

Madhya Pradesh

At Khilchipura, about two kilometres from Mandsaur, stands a temple of Lord Kuber, the god of wealth.

Andhra Pradesh

At Tirumala, tradition remembers Lord Kuber as the lender of Lord Venkateswara’s wedding: the gifts in the hundi are said to repay him.

His temples

  • Kuber Temple, JageshwarJageshwar, Almora, Uttarakhand
  • Kuber Bhandari Temple, KarnaliKarnali, Vadodara, Gujarat
  • Sri Lakshmi Kuberar Temple, RathinamangalamRathinamangalam, Vandalur, Tamil Nadu
  • Kuber Temple, MandsaurKhilchipura, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh

Questions

When is Dhanteras in 2026?

Dhanteras, his great day, is on Friday 6 November 2026 in New Delhi, with the muhurat 6:03 pm to 7:58 pm. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.

Who is Lord Kuber?

The god of wealth, the king of the yakshas and the treasurer of the gods, guardian of the north. By tradition he is the son of the sage Vishrava and the half-brother of Ravana, who drove him from Lanka.

Why is Lord Kuber worshipped on Dhanteras?

Dhanteras opens the five days of Diwali and is kept for wealth and health. Families worship Goddess Lakshmi, who gives wealth, and Lord Kuber, who keeps it, together that evening, with Lord Ganesha and Dhanvantari, and buy something new in gold, silver or metal.

What is the Kubera mantra?

The best known is the mantra of thirty-five syllables: Om Yakshaya Kuberaya Vaishravanaya Dhanadhanyadhipataye, Dhanadhanyasamriddhim me dehi dapaya svaha. His root mantra is Om Shri Kuberaya Namah. Many chant either 108 times on Dhanteras.

Which day is Lord Kuber’s?

His great day is Dhanteras, with the night of the Diwali Lakshmi Puja. Some devotional guides give Thursday as a day for his mantra each week; it is less widely kept, so follow your family’s custom.

What are the nine treasures of Lord Kuber?

The Navanidhi: Padma, Mahapadma, Shankha, Makara, Kachchhapa, Mukunda, Kunda, Nila and Kharva, the lotus, the great lotus, the conch, the creature of the waters, the tortoise, a precious stone, the jasmine, the sapphire and the dwarf. The lists differ a little, and their nature was never fully explained.

Is Lord Kuber Ravana’s brother?

His half-brother. By tradition both are sons of the sage Vishrava by different mothers. Lord Kuber ruled Lanka first, and Ravana took the city and the Pushpaka vimana from him.

Why are Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber worshipped together?

Goddess Lakshmi gives wealth and Lord Kuber is its treasurer and keeper, so families pray to both for wealth that comes and stays. They are worshipped together at Dhanteras and Diwali, and as Lakshmi Kubera in temples such as Rathinamangalam.