Lakshmi Ganapathi Mantra
ॐ श्रीं गं सौम्याय गणपतये वरवरद सर्वजनं मे वशमानय स्वाहाIn Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.
Who Lakshmi Ganapathi is
Lakshmi Ganapathi is the manifestation of the elephant-headed deity addressed in conjunction with Śrī, the principle of auspicious amplitude. He is the twelfth of the thirty-two forms whose dhyana verses are collected in the Sritattvanidhi. There he is fair-complexioned and eight-armed, holding the pomegranate, the sword, the kalpalatā or wish-fulfilling creeper, the goad, the parrot, the noose and the jewel-pot, with the eighth hand granting boons, and he embraces his two consorts, Siddhi and Buddhi. His mantra joins śrīṃ, the seed of Lakshmi, to gaṃ, the seed of Ganesha. Tradition locates this form at the point where an obstruction is felt specifically in the sphere of livelihood, stores and the steady movement of means. He is the aspect addressed when the question before the household or the merchant is one of sustained provision rather than of travel, learning or battle.
The Form and Its Mantra
The iconography of Lakshmi Ganapathi comes from the Sritattvanidhi, a nineteenth-century compilation that gives dhyana verses for thirty-two forms of Ganesha, building on an older list of names associated with the Mudgala Purana. The form has no independent combat narrative; it is known through its image and its mantra. In the dhyana he is fair and eight-armed, holding the pomegranate, sword, wish-fulfilling creeper, goad, parrot, noose and jewel-pot, with the eighth hand granting boons, and he embraces his two consorts, Siddhi and Buddhi. His mantra, oṃ śrīṃ gaṃ saumyāya gaṇapataye varavarada sarvajanaṃ me vaśamānaya svāhā, belongs to the Mantra Mahodadhi and Sharada Tilaka tradition. It sets śrīṃ, the seed of Lakshmi, beside gaṃ, the seed of Ganesha, and addresses him as saumya, the gentle one. The reasoning behind the pairing is simple: Ganesha governs the doorway, Lakshmi the fullness that may pass through it.
The mantra, in six scripts
The seed mantra, and the form most devotees chant daily. No initiation is required — it is open to anyone, including a parent chanting for a child.
- ॐ
- oṃ — the sacred syllable
- श्रीं
- śrīṃ — seed syllable of Lakshmi
- गं
- gaṃ — seed syllable of Ganapati
- सौम्याय
- saumyāya — to the gentle one
- गणपतये
- gaṇapataye — to Ganapati
- वरवरद
- varavarada — O giver of the finest boons
- सर्वजनं
- sarvajanaṃ — all people
- मे
- me — to me
- वशमानय
- vaśamānaya — bring into accord
- स्वाहा
- svāhā — the call that closes an offering
More Lakshmi Ganapathi mantras
Lakshmi Ganapathi Dhyana Shloka
The verse recited to picture the deity before japa.
- बिभ्राणः
- bibhrāṇaḥ — holding
- शुकबीजपूरकमिलन्माणिक्यकुम्भाङ्कुशान्
- śukabījapūrakamilanmāṇikyakumbhāṅkuśān — a parrot and a citron, together with a jewelled pot and a goad
- पाशं
- pāśaṃ — noose
- कल्पलतां
- kalpalatāṃ — wish-fulfilling creeper
- च
- ca — and
- खड्गविलसज्ज्योतिः
- khaḍgavilasajjyotiḥ — radiant with the gleam of a sword
- सुधानिर्झरः
- sudhānirjharaḥ — a stream of nectar
- श्यामेन
- śyāmena — dark-blue
- आत्तसरोरुहेण
- āttasaroruheṇa — with a lotus held
- सहितं
- sahitaṃ — accompanied
- देवीद्वयं
- devīdvayaṃ — the pair of goddesses
- च
- ca — and
- अन्तिके
- antike — near, beside
- गौराङ्गो
- gaurāṅgo — fair-limbed
- वरदानहस्तसहितो
- varadānahastasahito — with a hand granting boons
- लक्ष्मीगणेशः
- lakṣmīgaṇeśaḥ — Lakṣmī Gaṇeśa
- अवतात्
- avatāt — may he protect
Source: Śrītattvanidhi (which attributes it to the Mudgala Purāṇa), dhyāna of Lakshmi Ganapathi, no. 12 of the 32 forms
The syllable people get wrong
The word saumyāya is the distinctive hazard of this mantra. Speakers commonly flatten the diphthong au into a short o, yielding ‘somyaya’. The correct sound keeps the full a-to-u glide before the m, then sounds my as one cluster and holds the long ā: saum-yā-ya.
When Lakshmi Ganapathi is chanted
Weekday. Tuesday
Questions
Have your chart read before you decide
Chanting is yours to do, and free. But which deity your situation calls for — and whether a mantra alone is the right response — depends on your chart. Sometimes it is; sometimes it is not.
- Over 30 years in the Guru–Sishya Parampara, from the age of five
- He reads every chart himself — 60 minutes, one to one, never delegated
- Charts are read only between sunrise and sunset, following tradition
Related
How to Chant
Mala, counts, timing and the mistakes that apply to any mantra.
Ganapathi Mula Mantra
The foundational mantra. Chanted at the start of any undertaking.
Vidya Ganapathi Mantra
For study, examinations and retention of what is learned.
Lakshmi Ganapathi Homa
The fire ritual, performed for you and telecast live.
Chanting is yours to do. Some things are performed for you.
Where a matter carries real weight, devotees sponsor the homa alongside their own practice. Performed for you and any family members you name, at our Yagna Ashram, in your name and gotra, on a muhurta calculated from your chart, and telecast live so you can watch it done for you.