Varalakshmi Puja or Vrata is a ceremony performed by women on the Friday before the full moon in the month of Sravana (July/August) and this year it falls on Friday, the 20th. It is commonly performed in the South Indian states of Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The puja is performed to take blessings of the Goddess Lakshmi, who is the Goddess of wealth and auspiciousness. As per legend, this vratam was recommended by Lord Shiva to his wife Parvati to gain wealth and prosperity. He tells her the story of a lady Charumati who was asked by the goddess Varalakshmi, in her dream, to do the vratam in order to fulfill her wishes. She performed the vratam along with other ladies in her village with great devotion. They offered the deity lots of delicacies and once the vratam was completed, they were amazed to find their bodies decked with expensive jewels and their homes full of riches. From then on, women started performing this vratam every year seeking wealth and prosperity in their families.
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The following octet is called the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam. This is a prayer to Goddess Maha Lakshmi who is also called “Shree” and represents wealth as well as auspiciousness. Sri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam originally appeared in Padmapuranam (Padma Purana). It is considered to have been chanted by Indra, the Lord of the Devas to propitiate Goddess Mahalakshmi.

This sing along version has text in Sanskrit, English and Tamil and meanings in English

The Sanskrit text and meanings are available here in a downloadable format

Shri Devi Gaytri audio is in the voice of my mother-in-law Mrs. K. V. Lalitha.

The following is a hymn in praise of Goddess Mahalakshmi, who is the Goddess of wealth and all auspiciousness.

The stotras are sung by my mother Mrs. K.V.Lalitha and Shree has compiled the slides with the Sanskrit transliteration.

Please wait for the video to load – the first time load may take a few minutes due to the high video quality.