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Mantra · Indra's eight couplets to Lakshmi on Garuda, terror of Kolasura

Mahalakshmi Ashtakam

नमस्तेऽस्तु महामाये श्रीपीठे सुरपूजिते । शङ्खचक्रगदाहस्ते महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

What the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam is

The Mahalakshmi Ashtakam is eight short couplets of praise to Mahalakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, followed by three verses that state what reciting it brings. The couplets are in the eight-syllable anushtubh metre, and all eight close on the same refrain, mahalakshmi namo'stu te, 'O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you'. The heading printed above verse 1 is indra uvacha, 'Indra said', and its closing colophon calls it the hymn to Sri Mahalakshmi made by Indra. The sequence moves from her appearance to her nature. Verse 1 seats her on the sri-pitha holding conch, discus and mace, Vishnu's own emblems; verse 2 puts her on Garuda as the terror of the demon Kolasura. Verses 3 and 4 list what she grants, from knowledge to both worldly enjoyment and liberation. Verses 5 to 7 turn to philosophy: without beginning or end, the primal shakti, gross, subtle and fierce at once, one with the supreme Brahman. Verse 8 returns to her figure, dressed in white.

Indra, Kolasura and the city of Karavira

Most modern editions say the hymn comes from the Padma Purana and is spoken by Indra. Its printed colophons name Indra as its maker, but none cites a chapter, so the Puranic setting rests on tradition. According to popular retellings, the demon Kolasura had seized heaven and the weapons of the gods were useless against him. They turned to Mahalakshmi, who came out in a warrior form mounted on Garuda and destroyed him with his army, and Indra's praise followed the victory. Verse 2 keeps the memory in a single compound, kolasura-bhayankari, 'she who struck fear into Kolasura', the only enemy the hymn names. A related legend is set at Kolhapur in Maharashtra, still called Karavira locally. The Karveer Mahatmya, a later text told in the voice of Sage Agastya, describes the goddess's war with a demon named Kolhasur. Local tradition adds that he asked her to leave the land to him for a hundred years, misused that time, was killed by her, and with his last wish had the city named after him. The Kolhapur image differs from the hymn's picture: it holds a mace, a shield, a matulinga fruit and a bowl, with a lion behind it.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiनमस्तेऽस्तु महामाये श्रीपीठे सुरपूजिते । शङ्खचक्रगदाहस्ते महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

Tamilநமஸ்தேஸ்து மஹாமாயே ஶ்ரீபீடே ஸுரபூஜிதே । ஶங்கசக்ரகதாஹஸ்தே மஹாலக்ஷ்மி நமோஸ்து தே ॥

Teluguనమస్తేఽస్తు మహామాయే శ్రీపీఠే సురపూజితే । శఙ్ఖచక్రగదాహస్తే మహాలక్ష్మి నమోఽస్తు తే ॥

Kannadaನಮಸ್ತೇಽಸ್ತು ಮಹಾಮಾಯೇ ಶ್ರೀಪೀಠೇ ಸುರಪೂಜಿತೇ । ಶಙ್ಖಚಕ್ರಗದಾಹಸ್ತೇ ಮಹಾಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ನಮೋಽಸ್ತು ತೇ ॥

Malayalamനമസ്തേഽസ്തു മഹാമായേ ശ്രീപീഠേ സുരപൂജിതേ । ശങ്ഖചക്രഗദാഹസ്തേ മഹാലക്ഷ്മി നമോഽസ്തു തേ ॥

EnglishRoman transliterationnamaste'stu mahāmāye śrīpīṭhe surapūjite | śaṅkhacakragadāhaste mahālakṣmi namo'stu te ||

“Salutations to you, great Maya, seated on the auspicious throne and worshipped by the gods. Holding conch, discus and mace in your hands, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.”

नमस्तेऽस्तु: namaste'stu — salutations be to you
महामाये: mahāmāye — O great Maya
श्रीपीठे: śrīpīṭhe — seated on the auspicious throne
सुरपूजिते: surapūjite — worshipped by the gods
शङ्खचक्रगदाहस्ते: śaṅkhacakragadāhaste — holding conch, discus and mace
महालक्ष्मि: mahālakṣmi — O Mahalakshmi
नमोऽस्तु: namo'stu — salutation be
ते: te — to you

Mahalakshmi Ashtakam lyrics in full

Eight verses of praise, followed by three on the fruit of reciting the hymn.

All 11 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam PDFAll 11 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

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Verse 1

नमस्तेऽस्तु महामाये श्रीपीठे सुरपूजिते ।
शङ्खचक्रगदाहस्ते महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

Salutations to you, great Maya, seated on the auspicious throne and worshipped by the gods. Holding conch, discus and mace in your hands, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Verse 2

नमस्ते गरुडारूढे कोलासुरभयङ्करि ।
सर्वपापहरे देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

Salutations to you who ride on Garuda and strike terror into the demon Kolasura. O Goddess who removes all sins, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Verse 3

सर्वज्ञे सर्ववरदे सर्वदुष्टभयङ्करि ।
सर्वदुःखहरे देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O all-knowing one, giver of every boon, terror to all the wicked. O Goddess who takes away all sorrow, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Verse 4

सिद्धिबुद्धिप्रदे देवि भुक्तिमुक्तिप्रदायिनि ।
मन्त्रमूर्ते सदा देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O Goddess who grants success and understanding, who bestows both worldly enjoyment and liberation. O Goddess whose form is always the mantra, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Verse 5

आद्यन्तरहिते देवि आद्यशक्ति महेश्वरि ।
योगजे योगसम्भूते महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O Goddess without beginning or end, primal power, great sovereign. Born of yoga and arising through yoga, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Verse 6

स्थूलसूक्ष्ममहारौद्रे महाशक्ति महोदरे ।
महापापहरे देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O you who are both gross and subtle, and supremely fierce; great power, vast in form. O Goddess who removes great sins, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Verse 7

पद्मासनस्थिते देवि परब्रह्मस्वरूपिणि ।
परमेशि जगन्मातर्महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O Goddess seated on the lotus, whose very nature is the supreme Brahman. Supreme ruler, mother of the world, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Verse 8

श्वेताम्बरधरे देवि नानालङ्कारभूषिते ।
जगत्स्थिते जगन्मातर्महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O Goddess clad in white, adorned with many ornaments. You who pervade the world, mother of the world, O Mahalakshmi, salutations to you.

Phala Shruti 1

महालक्ष्म्यष्टकं स्तोत्रं यः पठेद्भक्तिमान्नरः ।
सर्वसिद्धिमवाप्नोति राज्यं प्राप्नोति सर्वदा ॥

The verse says that a devoted person who recites this Mahalakshmi Ashtakam gains every accomplishment and always attains sovereignty.

Phala Shruti 2

एककाले पठेन्नित्यं महापापविनाशनम् ।
द्विकालं यः पठेन्नित्यं धनधान्यसमन्वितः ॥

The verse says that reciting it daily at one time of day destroys great sins, and one who recites it daily at two times is endowed with wealth and grain.

Phala Shruti 3

त्रिकालं यः पठेन्नित्यं महाशत्रुविनाशनम् ।
महालक्ष्मीर्भवेन्नित्यं प्रसन्ना वरदा शुभा ॥

The verse says that reciting it daily at three times of day destroys powerful enemies, and that Mahalakshmi remains ever pleased, auspicious and ready to grant boons.

The syllable people get wrong

In garuḍārūḍhe ('riding on Garuda', verse 2) both d-sounds are retroflex, ḍ and ḍh, with the tongue curled back, and the ā and ū are long, so it is said ga-ru-DAA-ROO-dhe. A flat dental 'garudarudhe' with short vowels loses the distinction the text is written with.

When the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam is chanted

Weekday. Friday

Questions

No human author is named. The text opens with indra uvacha, 'Indra said', so it is presented as Indra's own praise, and its closing colophon calls it the hymn to Sri Mahalakshmi made by Indra. Many modern editions add that it belongs to the Padma Purana. Its colophons do not give a chapter for that, so the Purana attribution is best read as the traditional one.

No, though the two are often confused. 'Ashtakam' here means a hymn of eight verses, and all eight address one goddess, Mahalakshmi, under different epithets. The hymn that names eight forms in turn, Adi Lakshmi, Dhanya Lakshmi and the rest, is the Ashtalakshmi Stotram beginning sumanasa vandita. That is a separate, modern composition in 32 lines, published in Chennai in the early 1970s by the Sri Vaishnava scholar U. V. Srinivasa Varadachariyar.

The hymn draws on the battle tradition behind it. Verse 1 addresses her as mahamaye, the great power of Maya through which the world appears, and verses 2 and 3 call her bhayankari, the one who terrifies Kolasura and all the wicked. Verse 6 goes further with maharaudre, 'supremely fierce', the same root as Rudra. The text sets this beside gentler images, the lotus seat in verse 7 and white clothing in verse 8, so both sides belong to one goddess.

The first says that a devoted person who recites the Ashtakam gains every accomplishment and attains sovereignty. The second and third grade the reward by how often it is read in a day: the verse says that once a day it removes great sins, twice brings wealth and grain, and three times destroys powerful enemies. The last line says Mahalakshmi then remains pleased, auspicious and ready to give boons. These are the text's own claims, reported as tradition.

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