Kartik (month) in the context of "Vikram Samvat"

Lakshmi Puja ( Odia: ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀ ପୂଜା, romanized: Lakṣmīpūjā), Sanskrit: लक्ष्मीपूजा, romanized: Lakṣmīpūjā, Bengali/Assamese: লক্ষ্মী পূজা is a Hindu occasion for the veneration of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and the Supreme Goddess of Vaishnavism. The occasion is celebrated on the amavasya (new moon day) in the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar month of Ashvin (according to the amanta tradition) or Kartika (according to the purnimanta tradition), on the third day of Deepavali (Tihar) in Nepal and most parts of India.

According to tradition, Lakshmi is believed to visit her devotees and bestow good fortune and her blessings upon them on this occasion. To welcome the goddess, devotees clean their houses, decorate them with finery and lights, and prepare sweet treats and delicacies as offerings. Devotees believe that the happier the goddess is during her visit, the more she blesses the family with health and wealth.

Vithoba (IAST: Viṭhobā), also known as Vitthala (IAST: Viṭṭhala), and Panduranga (IAST: Pāṇḍuraṅga), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu deity Vishnu in his avatar: Krishna. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his consort Rakhumai.

Vithoba is the focus of an essentially monotheistic, non-ritualistic bhakti-driven Varkari faith in Maharashtra and the Haridasa sect established in Dvaita Vedanta in Karnataka. Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur is his main temple. Vithoba legends revolve around his devotee Pundalik who is credited for bringing the deity to Pandharpur, and around Vithoba's role as a saviour to the poet-saints of the Varkari faith. The Varkari poet-saints are known for their unique genre of devotional lyric, the abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature dedicated to Vithoba includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa and the Marathi versions of the generic aarti songs associated with rituals of offering light to the deity. The most important festivals of Vithoba are held on Shayani Ekadashi in the month of Ashadha, and Prabodhini Ekadashi in the month of Kartika.