Gwinnett's Hindu community marks Diwali this Sunday, Nov. 8, as BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Lilburn hosts its Diwali and Chopda Pujan observance at the temple, 460 Rockbridge Road NW. The evening closes with a fireworks display over the temple grounds — part of a full week of festivities leading up to the Hindu festival of lights.
Two Sessions, One Festival Day
The mandir's Diwali Pujan runs from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday, followed that evening by Chopda Pujan from 7 to 8 p.m. During Chopda Pujan, new account books are sanctified to mark a fresh start for the year ahead — a tradition tied to the business and financial new year that follows Diwali in the Hindu calendar. The evening concludes with Maha Arti and what the mandir's own event listing calls “a vibrant fireworks display symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness.”
Part of a Full Week of Observance
Diwali's five-day arc began building earlier in the week: the mandir's calendar lists Dhan Teras and Lakshmi Pujan for Friday, Nov. 6, observed at home with auspicious puja windows shared through the mandir's mySatsang app, and a Hanuman Puja at the Lilburn mandir on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 6:45 to 8 p.m. Sunday's Diwali and Chopda Pujan caps that run of observances with the community's main in-person gathering of the week.
Plan Your Visit
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta is located at 460 Rockbridge Road NW, Lilburn, GA 30047, and can be reached at (678) 906-2277. The mandir, inaugurated in 2007, is one of the Atlanta area's best-known Hindu temples and lists its full events calendar — including Sunday's Diwali and Chopda Pujan — at baps.org/atlanta.
For a county that keeps growing more diverse by the year, Sunday's gathering in Lilburn is a reminder of how many different traditions now call Gwinnett home — and a visible, public way for neighbors of every background to take in the Festival of Lights up close.