Cite
MLA
“Mata Lakshmi.” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/devata/lakshmi/. Accessed .
APA
Hindu History. (2026). Mata Lakshmi. Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/devata/lakshmi/
हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम्। चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह॥
hiraṇyavarṇāṃ hariṇīṃ suvarṇarajatasrajām | candrāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha ||
Seated or standing on a full-blown lotus, holding lotuses in her upper hands, gold coins flowing from her lower right hand, the left in varada. As Gajalakshmi two elephants pour water over her from pitchers. On Vishnu’s chest she lives as the Shrivatsa mark.
01Born of the ocean
When the devas and asuras churned the ocean of milk with Mount Mandara and the serpent Vasuki, treasure after treasure came up. Then Shri herself rose, seated on a lotus, and the elephants of the quarters bathed her with golden pitchers. She looked over devas and asuras alike and placed her garland on Vishnu (Vishnu Purana 1.9; Bhagavata Purana 8.8). The Shri Sukta, recited at every Lakshmi puja, calls her golden, wearing gold and silver garlands, and asks Agni to bring her who never leaves.
02With every avatar
The Vishnu Purana says that as Hari takes birth, so does Shri: she was Padma with Vamana, Dharani with Parashurama, Sita with Rama and Rukmini with Krishna. At Tirumala she came as Padmavati, daughter of Akasha Raja, and her temple stands at Tiruchanur below the hills. In Sri Vaishnava teaching she is the purushakara, the mother who intercedes, so that the devotee approaches Narayana through her. The eight forms of Ashtalakshmi, from Adi Lakshmi to Vijaya Lakshmi, name the many kinds of wealth she gives.
03Diwali and the Lakshmi vratas
On the new-moon night of Kartik, homes are swept, lamps set at every door, and Lakshmi is worshipped with Ganesha after sunset; account books are opened for the new year. In Bengal and Odisha, Kojagari Lakshmi Puja falls on Sharad Purnima, and the household keeps awake because she asks, ko jāgarti, who is awake? In Andhra and Tamil Nadu, married women keep Varalakshmi Vratam on the Friday before Shravan Purnima. Fridays through the year are hers.
04Kolhapur and other seats
Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur, called Ambabai by Marathi devotees, is counted among the Shakti Peethas; on a few days each year the setting sun reaches through the doors to touch the murti, a festival called Kiranotsav. In Mumbai the Mahalakshmi temple by the sea keeps her with Mahakali and Mahasaraswati. The Hoysala temple at Doddagaddavalli, built in the early twelfth century, was raised for her. In Delhi the Lakshmi Narayan temple, consecrated in 1939, is known by the name of its builders, the Birlas.
In the texts
- Shri Sukta (Rigveda khila)
- Vishnu Purana 1.8–9
- Bhagavata Purana 8.8
- Lakshmi Tantra (Pancharatra)
