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Lakshmi: the goddess of prosperity, her symbols and temples
लक्ष्मी
Lakshmi, also called Shri, is the Hindu goddess of fortune, prosperity and beauty, and the wife of Vishnu. Her picture hangs in almost every Indian shop, usually next to Ganesha, and on Diwali night houses are lit so that she can find her way in. Prosperity in her sense is wider than money: her four hands are read as the four aims of life, from wealth and love to right living and liberation.
Story
She rose from the ocean of milk when gods and demons churned it, and chose Vishnu. On Diwali night houses are lit so that she finds her way in; shops open new account books in her name.
Family and companions
Consort
Festivals
Diwali✅ Symbols and iconography
Almost every element of her image has a reading.
- Lotus — She sits or stands on a lotus and holds one: the flower that blooms clean even in muddy water, a sign of purity, self-knowledge and liberation.
- Elephants — As Gaja-Lakshmi she is flanked by one or two elephants: rain, fertility and royal power.
- Open hand — One open hand is held in a gesture of giving (dana): compassion and generosity, the prosperity she shares.
- Owl — Sometimes beside her: patient watching in the dark, and a reminder not to be blinded by wealth once it comes.
- Four arms, red and gold — Four arms for dharma, artha, kama and moksha (duty, wealth, love, liberation); a red sari with gold thread. Beside Vishnu she is shown smaller, often massaging his feet.
The key stories
The best-known story is the churning of the ocean of milk, the Samudra Manthana. Gods and demons, both mortal at the time, churn the ocean for amrita, the nectar of immortality, with Mount Mandara as the churning stick, the serpent Vasuki as the rope and [Vishnu](/en/deities/vishnu/), as the tortoise Kurma, holding it up. Among the treasures that rise from the waters is Lakshmi, holding a lotus. Offered the choice, she goes to the gods and, among them, chooses Vishnu. Several Puranas add an earlier birth, as Shri, the daughter of the sage Bhrigu.
Wherever Vishnu comes down to earth, she comes with him: as Sita beside [Rama](/en/deities/rama/), and as Rukmini or Radha beside [Krishna](/en/deities/krishna/). The Tirupati legend gives her a quarrel too. When the sage Bhrigu kicks Vishnu in the chest, the place where she lives, she leaves him; she is later born as Padmavati and marries him again as [Venkateswara](/en/deities/venkateswara/).
How she is worshipped
Lakshmi is worshipped at home and in the shop more than in temples. The doorstep rangoli and the lamps of Diwali are an invitation to her, and she is said to avoid an untidy house, which is why Diwali begins with cleaning. Married women keep the Varalakshmi Vratam for their husbands' wellbeing, and the Vaibhav Lakshmi fast is kept on Fridays. In the Sri Vaishnava tradition of the south, devotees approach Vishnu through her, as the one who intercedes.
The mantra on this page, Om shrim Mahalakshmyai namah, salutes her as the great Lakshmi. She first takes shape as a goddess in the Vedic hymn Shri Sukta, which contains the Lakshmi Gayatri; Adi Shankara's Kanakadhara Stotram is another well-known hymn to her.
Lakshmi temples
In most Vishnu temples she has her own shrine; in these she comes first.
Delhi
The [Laxminarayan Temple (Birla Mandir)](/en/delhi/laxminarayan-temple/), to Lakshmi and Narayana (Vishnu), built by the Birla family in 1933–1939 and opened by Gandhi on condition that people of every caste could enter.
Tirupati
The Padmavati temple at Tiruchanur, in Tirupati, run by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams; Padmavati is held to be Lakshmi and the consort of Venkateswara, and pilgrims to Tirumala traditionally visit her too.
Kolhapur and Mumbai
Mahalakshmi (Ambabai) at Kolhapur, one of the Shakti Peethas, with a crowned image of gemstone weighing about 40 kg; and Mumbai's Mahalaxmi temple, built in 1831, where Mahalakshmi stands with Mahakali and Mahasaraswati.
Puri and the south
In Puri, by tradition, Lakshmi supervises the kitchen of the [Jagannath](/en/deities/jagannath/) temple. In Tamil Nadu, the Ashtalakshmi temple in Chennai is dedicated to her eight forms.
Festivals
[Diwali](/en/festivals/diwali/) is her festival above all. On the new-moon night of Kartik families perform Lakshmi Puja together with Ganesha, lamps burn in every window, and shops open new account books in her name. Sharad Purnima, or Kojagiri, the full moon of Ashvin (October), is a night of thanks to her for the harvest. In Bengal she is worshipped during Durga Puja as Durga's daughter, and in Puri, during [Rath Yatra](/en/festivals/rath-yatra/), she sets out on Hera Panchami after Jagannath, who has left her behind.
❓ FAQ
Who is Lakshmi?
The Hindu goddess of fortune, wealth, prosperity and beauty, the wife and divine energy of Vishnu. With Parvati and Saraswati she forms the Tridevi, the three great goddesses.
What does Lakshmi symbolise?
Prosperity in a broad sense: material wealth, but also fertility, auspiciousness and spiritual wellbeing. The lotus she holds stands for purity and liberation.
Why do people pray to Lakshmi?
For prosperity, good fortune and the wellbeing of the household, above all at Diwali and on Fridays. Merchants pray to her when they open new account books.
Who is Mahalakshmi?
"Great Lakshmi": her title as the supreme goddess in some texts, and the name of her famous temples in Kolhapur and Mumbai.
What is the Lakshmi mantra?
A short one is Om shrim Mahalakshmyai namah, "homage to the great Lakshmi". The Lakshmi Gayatri from the Shri Sukta is also widely chanted.