The Ashtalakshmi Stotram is a Sanskrit hymn addressed to the eight forms of Goddess Lakshmi, known together as Ashtalakshmi. Each verse names one form and asks her to protect and sustain the devotee. In Vaishnava and Smarta households across South India the stotram is recited on Fridays, during Deepavali, and in the weeks of Sharad Navaratri.
Unlike a single prayer for material wealth alone, the hymn moves through eight kinds of abundance that classical tradition holds dear: the primal grace of Adi Lakshmi, grain and food, courage, royal dignity, progeny, victory, learning, and material means. Devotees chant it as aradhana, often before a lit lamp, and many couple the recitation with a dedicated homa such as the Dhana Lakshmi Homa when the chart or the season points that way.
What follows is the stotram in clear transliteration, Devanagari where helpful, a plain meaning for each verse, and the practical method tradition recommends for daily or festival use.
The eight forms of Ashtalakshmi
Hindu tradition describes Lakshmi not as one fixed image but as eight complementary manifestations. Each form answers a distinct need of householder life, and the stotram addresses them in turn.
- Adi Lakshmi — the primeval form, consort of Vishnu, associated with enduring peace and the root of all other graces.
- Dhanya Lakshmi — the giver of food and grain; her worship is long standing among farming families and anyone who keeps a kitchen fire.
- Dhairya Lakshmi (also called Veera Lakshmi) — courage and fortitude when difficulty presses.
- Gaja Lakshmi — dignity, animal wealth, and the royal bearing once marked by elephants; she is shown flanked by gaja.
- Santana Lakshmi — the wealth of healthy progeny and the continuity of the family line.
- Vijaya Lakshmi — victory and successful completion of undertakings.
- Vidya Lakshmi — knowledge, clear speech, and the learning that tradition counts as true wealth; students often turn to her, and the house also performs the Vidya Lakshmi Homa in that spirit.
- Dhana Lakshmi — material means, gold, and the steady flow of household resources.
Taken together, the eight forms sketch a full picture of well-being rather than a single purse. That is why the stotram is recited as a complete cycle and not as isolated verses.
Ashtalakshmi Stotram lyrics with meaning
Below is a working text of the stotram in Roman transliteration, with a short meaning after each verse. Pronunciation guidance for Sanskrit chanting is set out in our note on how to chant a mantra correctly.
1. Adi Lakshmi
2. Dhanya Lakshmi
Ayi kali kalmaṣa nāśini kāmini, vaidika rūpiṇi vedamaye | Kṣīra samudbhava maṅgala rūpiṇi, mantra nivāsini mantranute || Maṅgala dāyini ambuja vāsini, deva gaṇārcita pāda yute | Jaya jaya he madhusūdana kāmini, dhanya lakṣmi sadā pālayamām ||
Meaning: O Dhanya Lakshmi, destroyer of the stains of the age, form of the Veda, risen from the milk-ocean, abode of mantra. Giver of auspiciousness, lotus-dweller, whose feet the hosts of gods honour — protect me always.
3. Dhairya Lakshmi
Jaya vara varṇini vaiṣṇavi bhārgavi mantramaye | Jaya jaya he madhusūdana kāmini, dhairya lakṣmi sadā pālayamām ||
Meaning: Victory to you, O beautifully hued one, Vaishnavi, Bhargavi, essence of mantra. O Dhairya Lakshmi, beloved of Madhusudana, protect me always with courage.
4. Gaja Lakshmi
Jaya jaya durgati nāśini kāmini, sarva phalaprada śāstramaye | Ratha gaja turaga padādi samāvṛta, parijana maṇḍita loka nute || Hari hara brahma supūjita sevita, tāpa nivāriṇi pāda yute | Jaya jaya he madhusūdana kāmini, gaja lakṣmi sadā pālayamām ||
Meaning: Victory to Gaja Lakshmi, who ends misfortune, who grants the fruit of every worthy act, surrounded by chariots, elephants and horses, praised by the world. Worshipped by Hari, Hara and Brahma, remover of affliction — protect me always.
5. Santana Lakshmi
Ayi khaga vāhini mohini cakriṇi, jaya jaya śabda nute | Sāgara sambhava maṅgala rūpiṇi, vaidika rūpiṇi vedanute || Paṅkaja vāsini deva supūjita, yogi janārcita pāda yute | Jaya jaya he madhusūdana kāmini, santāna lakṣmi sadā pālayamām ||
Meaning: O Santana Lakshmi, who rides the bird, enchanting one, bearer of the discus, risen from the ocean in auspicious form. Lotus-dweller, worshipped by gods and yogis — protect me always and bless the line of children.
6. Vijaya Lakshmi
Jaya kamalāsana sundari bhārgavi yajña maye | Jaya jaya he madhusūdana kāmini, vijaya lakṣmi sadā pālayamām ||
Meaning: Victory to you, beautiful one seated on the lotus, Bhargavi, essence of the yajna. O Vijaya Lakshmi, protect me always and grant the grace of success.
7. Vidya Lakshmi
Praṇata sukhaprada jñāna maye, ānanda rūpiṇi śāstra maye | Jaya jaya he madhusūdana kāmini, vidyā lakṣmi sadā pālayamām ||
Meaning: O Vidya Lakshmi, who gives ease to those who bow, form of knowledge and of the shastras, embodiment of bliss — protect me always.
8. Dhana Lakshmi
Dhanaṁ dhanaṁ dehi me, jaya jaya he madhusūdana kāmini | Dhana lakṣmi sadā pālayamām ||
Meaning: O Dhana Lakshmi, bestow the means of livelihood; beloved of Madhusudana, protect me always.
Phala shruti (traditional closing)
Classical texts close the hymn with a phala shruti stating that one who recites the stotra with shraddha is said to draw near the grace of Lakshmi in her sattvic aspect. Tradition presents this as the fruit of devoted recitation, not as a bargain or a guaranteed result.
How devotees recite the stotram
The usual practice is simple and does not require initiation. Sit facing east or north after a bath, light a ghee or oil lamp before an image or yantra of Lakshmi, and offer a few fresh flowers or unbroken rice. Recite the eight verses in order, ending with the phala shruti. Many households add the shorter Mahalakshmi Ashtakam on the same seat.
Check the day’s tithi, nakshatra and Rahu Kalam on the daily panchang before you fix the hour, especially if the recitation is part of a larger vrata. For festival dates such as Varalakshmi Vratam, Deepavali and the Navaratri Fridays, the festival calendar gives the current year’s observances.
When a priest leads the stotram inside a homa, the verses are chanted between ahutis while the sankalpa names the devotee and the gotra. At AstroBhava the same text is used in Lakshmi-centred rites under the finance and wealth homa group, performed at the Yagna Ashram in Pollachi, Coimbatore District and at the house’s temple partners, and telecast live to the sankalpa-holder.
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Eight Forms, One Hymn
Ashtalakshmi Stotram at a glance
- EIGHTforms of Lakshmi
- FRIDAYweekday most held
- 40 DAYSsame seat, same hour
Forms one to four
- Adi Lakshmi — primeval grace, enduring peace
- Dhanya Lakshmi — food and grain
- Dhairya Lakshmi — courage when difficulty presses
- Gaja Lakshmi — dignity, animal wealth, royal bearing
Forms five to eight
- Santana Lakshmi — progeny, continuity of the line
- Vijaya Lakshmi — victory, successful completion
- Vidya Lakshmi — knowledge and clear speech
- Dhana Lakshmi — gold and household means
The household seat
- Bathe, sit facing east or north
- Light a ghee or oil lamp
- Offer fresh flowers or unbroken rice
- Recite the eight verses in order
- Close with the phala shruti
No initiation required; recited as a complete cycle, not isolated verses
Kept on Fridays, at Deepavali and through Sharad Navaratri
aradhana · shraddha · consistency
ASTROBHAVA.COMVedic rituals, never a group ceremony, telecast live
Traditional significance of the hymn
Scriptural and puranic culture treats Lakshmi as the shakti who makes dharma, artha, kama and the approach to moksha workable in ordinary life. The Ashtalakshmi Stotram gathers that breadth into one short liturgy. Adi Lakshmi anchors the prayer in Vishnu’s eternal consort; Dhanya and Dhana speak to the granary and the purse; Dhairya and Vijaya steady the will; Santana guards the next generation; Vidya and Gaja lift learning and dignity.
Because the text is short, it fits both a five-minute morning seat and a full Friday puja. Priests often pair it with offerings of lotus, turmeric rice, and payasam, and with the lighting of two lamps. None of this is presented in the tradition as a mechanical fix for debt, illness or dispute; it is prescribed aradhana, offered so that the devotee may live under Lakshmi’s regard.
Those who wish to see how planetary periods colour a request for grace can open a free birth chart on the Kundli tool and read the running dasha before choosing a supporting homa or a longer japa count.
When the stotram is especially observed
Fridays (Shukravara) are the weekday most closely held for Lakshmi throughout Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The bright fortnight of the lunar month, the days of Sharad Navaratri, Varalakshmi Vratam, and the Deepavali Lakshmi puja are the high points of the year for this hymn.
Householders also take it up at the start of a new account year, at a house-warming after Vastu rites, and when a student begins a course of study — the last in the name of Vidya Lakshmi. Couples who keep a santana vrata sometimes add the Santana Lakshmi verse with extra attention, alongside other progeny-centred observances.
If an astrologer has pointed to a weak or afflicted Venus, or to a period that tradition links with strained resources, the stotram is often given as a daily discipline while a larger shanti or Lakshmi homa is arranged. The choice of rite is best settled through clear guidance rather than by collecting every available service; the free Ask Nirnaya guide can help match the need to the catalogue.
Questions devotees ask
Alamelu Ranganathan covers remedial practice — mantra, japa, charity and the fire rituals prescribed for each graha. She writes what tradition prescribes and no more than that.