Sukta
Shri Suktam
श्री सूक्तम्
The Śrī Sūktam is the foundational Vedic scriptural text dedicated to Goddess Mahalakshmi, appended as an authoritative Khilasūkta (supplementary hymn) to the fifth Mandala of the Rigveda. Rather than viewing material abundance as an obstacle to liberation, the Vedic seers recognized prosperity (Śrī) as a sacred, living divine energy that sustains righteousness (Dharma) in the universe. Invoking Lord Agni (Jatavedas) as the divine messenger, the hymn prays for the descent of the golden-hued, lotus-enthroned goddess who banishes her elder sister Alakṣmī (poverty, discord, and distress), filling the devotee's life with peace, cattle, gold, agricultural bounty, and auspicious grace.
- Deity
- Sri Mahalakshmi (The Supreme Divine Mother of Auspiciousness, Fortune, and Nurturance) / Agni-Jatavedas
- Tradition
- Rigvedic / Shakta / Sri Vaishnava / Smarta (Rigveda Khila-kanda)
- Purpose
- Eradication of chronic poverty, debts, financial stagnation, and misfortune (Alakṣmī-nāśa). Attaining stable, righteous wealth (Sthira Lakṣmī), gold, agricultural abundance, and prosperous business. Bestowing radiance (tejas), good reputation (kīrti), domestic harmony, and noble progeny. Essential Vedic recitation during Lakshmi-Kubera Homa, Diwali Lakshmi Puja, and Sri Yantra abhisheka.
- Source
- Rigveda (Khila-kanda, appended to Mandala 5) / Shakta & Sri Vaishnava Traditions
मूल पाठ
Sanskrit textॐ हिर॑ण्यवर्णां॒ हरि॑णीं सु॒वर्ण॑रज॒तस्र॑जाम् । च॒न्द्रां हि॒रण्म॑यीं ल॒क्ष्मीं जात॑वेदो म॒ आव॑ह
Oṁ hiraṇyavarṇāṁ hariṇīṁ suvarṇarajatasrajām | candrāṁ hiraṇmayīṁ lakṣmīṁ jātavedo ma āvaha
॥ १ ॥
तां म॒ आव॑ह॒ जात॑वेदो ल॒क्ष्मीमन॑पगा॒मिनी᳚म् । यस्यां॒ हिर॑ण्यं वि॒न्देयं॒ गामश्वं॒ पुरु॑षान॒हम्
tāṁ ma āvaha jātavedo lakṣmīmanapagāminīm | yasyāṁ hiraṇyaṁ vindeyaṁ gāmaśvaṁ puruṣānaham
॥ २ ॥
अ॒श्व॒पूर्वां र॑थम॒ध्यां ह॒स्तिना॑द-प्र॒बोधि॑नीम् । श्रियं॑ दे॒वीमुप॑ह्वये॒ श्रीर्मा॑ दे॒वी जु॑षताम्
aśvapūrvāṁ rathamadhyāṁ hastināda-prabodhinīm | śriyaṁ devīmupahvaye śrīrmā devī juṣatām
॥ ३ ॥
कां॒ सो᳚स्मि॒तां हिर॑ण्यप्रा॒कारा॑मा॒र्द्रां ज्वल॑न्तीं तृ॒प्तां त॒र्पय॑न्तीम् । प॒द्मे॒ स्थि॒तां प॒द्मव॑र्णां॒ तामि॒होप॑ह्वये॒ श्रियम्
kāṁ sosmitāṁ hiraṇyaprākārāmārdrāṁ jvalantīṁ tṛptāṁ tarpayantīm | padme sthitāṁ padmavarṇāṁ tāmihopahvaye śriyam
॥ ४ ॥
च॒न्द्रां प्र॑भा॒सां य॒शसा॒ ज्वल॑न्तीं॒ श्रियं॑ लो॒के दे॒वजु॑ष्टामुदा॒राम् । तां प॒द्मिनी॑मीं॒ शर॑णम॒हं प्रप॑द्येऽल॒क्ष्मीर्मे॑ नश्यतां॒ त्वां वृ॑णे
candrāṁ prabhāsāṁ yaśasā jvalantīṁ śriyaṁ loke devajuṣṭāmudārām | tāṁ padminīmīṁ śaraṇamahaṁ prapadye'lakṣmīrme naśyatāṁ tvāṁ vṛṇe
॥ ५ ॥
आ॒दि॒त्यव॑र्णे॒ तप॒सोऽधि॑जा॒तो वन॒स्पति॒स्तव॑ वृ॒क्षोऽथ बि॒ल्वः । तस्य॒ फला॑नि॒ तप॒सा नु॑दन्तु मा॒यान्त॑रा॒याश्च॑ बा॒ह्या अ॑ल॒क्ष्मीः
ādityavarṇe tapaso'dhijāto vanaspatistava vṛkṣo'tha bilvaḥ | tasya phalāni tapasā nudantu māyāntarāyāśca bāhyā alakṣmīḥ
॥ ६ ॥
उपै॑तु॒ मां दे॑वस॒खः की॒र्तिश्च॒ मणि॑ना स॒ह । प्रा॒दुर्भू॒तोऽस्मि॑ राष्ट्रे॒ऽस्मिन् की॒र्तिमृ॑द्धिं द॒दातु॑ मे
upaitu māṁ devasakhaḥ kīrtiśca maṇinā saha | prādurbhūto'smi rāṣṭre'smin kīrtimṛddhiṁ dadātu me
॥ ७ ॥
क्षुत्पि॑पा॒साम॑लां ज्ये॒ष्ठां अ॑ल॒क्ष्मीं ना॑शया॒म्यहम् । अभू॑तिमस॑मृद्धिं॒ च सर्वां॒ निर्णु॑द मे॒ गृहा॑त्
kṣutpipāsāmalāṁ jyeṣṭhāṁ alakṣmīṁ nāśayāmyaham | abhūtimasamṛddhiṁ ca sarvāṁ nirṇuda me gṛhāt
॥ ८ ॥
ग॒न्ध॒द्वा॒रां दु॑राध॒र्षां॒ नि॒त्यपु॑ष्टां करी॒षिणी᳚म् । ई॒श्वरी॑ग्ं सर्व॑भूता॒नां॒ तामि॒होप॑ह्वये॒ श्रियम्
gandhadvārāṁ durādharṣāṁ nityapuṣṭāṁ karīṣiṇīm | īśvarīgṁ sarvabhūtānāṁ tāmihopahvaye śriyam
॥ ९ ॥
मन॑स॒: काम॒माकू॑तिं वा॒चः स॒त्यम॑शीमहि । प॒शू॒नां रू॒पमन्न॑स्य॒ मयि॒ श्रीः श्र॑यतां॒ यश॑:
manasaḥ kāmamākūtiṁ vācaḥ satyamaśīmahi | paśūnāṁ rūpamannasya mayi śrīḥ śrayatāṁ yaśaḥ
॥ १० ॥
क॒र्दमे॑न प्र॑जाभू॒ता॒ म॒यि॒ सम्भ॑व क॒र्दम । श्रियं॑ वा॒सय॑ मे कु॒ले मा॒तरं॑ पद्म॒मालि॑नीम्
kardamena prajābhūtā mayi sambhava kardama | śriyaṁ vāsaya me kule mātaraṁ padmamālinīm
॥ ११ ॥
आप॑: सृ॒जन्तु॑ स्नि॒ग्धा॒नि॒ चि॒क्ली॒त व॑स मे॒ गृहे । नि च॑ दे॒वीं मा॒तरं॒ श्रियं॑ वा॒सय॑ मे कु॒ले
āpaḥ sṛjantu snigdhāni cikīta vasa me gṛhe | ni ca devīṁ mātaraṁ śriyaṁ vāsaya me kule
॥ १२ ॥
आ॒र्द्रां पु॒ष्करि॑णीं पु॒ष्टिं पि॒ङ्ग॒लां प॑द्ममा॒लिनीम् । च॒न्द्रां हि॒रण्म॑यीं ल॒क्ष्मीं जात॑वेदो म॒ आव॑ह
ārdrāṁ puṣkariṇīṁ puṣṭiṁ piṅgalāṁ padmamālinīm | candrāṁ hiraṇmayīṁ lakṣmīṁ jātavedo ma āvaha
॥ १३ ॥
आ॒र्द्रां य॒: करि॑णीं य॒ष्टिं सु॒व॒र्णां हे॑ममा॒लिनीम् । सूर्यां॑ हि॒रण्म॑यीं ल॒क्ष्मीं जात॑वेदो म॒ आव॑ह
ārdrāṁ yaḥ kariṇīṁ yaṣṭiṁ suvarṇāṁ hemamālinīm | sūryāṁ hiraṇmayīṁ lakṣmīṁ jātavedo ma āvaha
॥ १४ ॥
तां म॒ आव॑ह॒ जात॑वेदो ल॒क्ष्मीमन॑पगा॒मिनी᳚म् । यस्यां॒ हिर॑ण्यं॒ प्रभू॑तं॒ गावो॑ दा॒स्योऽश्वा᳚न् वि॒न्देयं॒ पुरु॑षान॒हम्
tāṁ ma āvaha jātavedo lakṣmīmanapagāminīm | yasyāṁ hiraṇyaṁ prabhūtaṁ gāvo dāsyo'śvān vindeyaṁ puruṣānaham
॥ १५ ॥
॥ फलश्रुतिः ॥ यः शुचिः॑ प्रय॑तो भू॒त्वा जु॑हु॒यादाज्य॒मन्व॑हम् । श्रिय॑: पञ्चद॑शर्चं च॒ श्रीका॑मः सत॑तं ज॒पेत्
|| Phalaśrutiḥ || yaḥ śuciḥ prayato bhūtvā juhuyādājyamanvaham | śriyaḥ pañcadaśarcaṁ ca śrīkāmaḥ satataṁ japet
॥ १६ ॥
पद्मानने॑ पद्मऊ॒रू पद्माक्षी॑ पद्म॒सम्भ॑वे । त्वं मां᳚ भजस्व॑ पद्माक्षी॒ येन॑ सौख्यं ल॒भाम्य॑हम्
padmānane padmaūrū padmākṣī padmasambhave | tvaṁ māṁ bhajasva padmākṣī yena saukhyaṁ labhāmyaham
॥ १७ ॥
अश्वदायै॑ गोदा॒यै धन॑दायै म॒हाध॑ने । धनं मे॒ जुष॑तां देवि॒ सर्वका॑मांश्च दे॑हि मे
aśvadāyai godāyai dhanadāyai mahādhane | dhanaṁ me juṣatāṁ devi sarvakāmāṁśca dehi me
॥ १८ ॥
पुत्रपौत्र॒ धनं॑ धा॒न्यं ह॒स्त्यश्वा॑दिगवे॒ रथ॑म् । प्रजानां॑ भव॑सि मा॒ता आ॒युष्म॑न्तं करो॑तु माम्
putrapautra dhanaṁ dhānyaṁ hastyaśvādigave ratham | prajānāṁ bhavasi mātā āyuṣmantaṁ karotu mām
॥ १९ ॥
ॐ म॒हा॒दे॒व्यै च॑ वि॒द्महे॑ विष्णुप॒त्नी च॑ धीमहि । तन्नो॑ लक्ष्मीः प्रचो॒दया᳚त्
Oṁ mahādevyai ca vidmahe viṣṇupatnī ca dhīmahi | tanno lakṣmīḥ pracodayāt
॥ २० ॥
ॐ शान्ति॒: शान्ति॒: शान्ति॑:
Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
Shri Suktam — recitation
अर्थ
MeaningVerse 1: O Agni-Jatavedas, invoke for me that Goddess Lakshmi who radiates like molten gold, who is deer-like in grace, who wears garlands woven of pure silver and gold, brilliant like the soothing moon, and completely golden in form.
Verse 2: O Jatavedas, bring unto me that Lakshmi who is ever-abiding and never departs, by whose grace I may obtain abundant gold, cows, horses, servants, and noble kinsmen.
Verse 3: I invoke Sri Devi, preceded by charging steeds, seated in the center of a celestial chariot, and awakened by the joyful trumpeting of royal elephants. May that divine Goddess Sri take delight in me!
Verse 4: I invoke that Sri who is adorned with a gracious smile, surrounded by an impregnable fortress of gold, compassionate and tender, blazing with divine light, completely contented and granting complete fulfillment to her devotees, seated on a lotus and lotus-hued herself.
Verse 5: I take refuge in that Sri who shines like the luminous moon, glowing with celestial fame, adored by the gods in all worlds, supremely generous, and holding lotuses in her hands. May my misfortune, ignorance, and poverty (Alakṣmī) perish forever; unto you alone I surrender!
Verse 6: O Goddess resplendent as the Sun! By your intense spiritual penance (tapas), the sacred Bilva tree was born as the sovereign among trees. May the sacred fruits of that Bilva tree cast out all internal ignorance and external obstacles of poverty (Alakṣmī).
Verse 7: May Kubera (the friend of the gods) along with Fame (Kīrti) and precious gems approach me! Having been born into this noble land, bestow upon me lasting renown, prosperity, and spiritual growth.
Verse 8: I eradicate that elder sister Alakṣmī (misfortune), who is repulsive with hunger, thirst, and filth. Banish, O Mother, all failure, deprivation, and lack of prosperity permanently from my household!
Verse 9: I invite that Goddess Sri who is perceived through divine fragrance, invincible, ever-nourished, rich in cattle dung (symbol of fertile agriculture and thriving herds), the sovereign Empress presiding over all living beings.
Verse 10: May I realize the noble desires and pure intentions of my heart and attain absolute truth in my speech! May the abundance of milk, cattle, nourishment, wealth, and radiant fame abide permanently within me.
Verse 11: O Kardama (sage / child of mud)! Progeny was born through you; dwell within me, O Kardama! Establish within my lineage your divine mother, Goddess Sri, who is adorned with a garland of pristine lotuses.
Verse 12: May the sacred, life-giving waters bring forth delightful things! O Chiklita (the son of moisture and fertility), reside in my home, and cause the Divine Mother, Sri Devi, to take up permanent residence in my family!
Verse 13: O Jatavedas, invoke for me that Lakshmi who is compassionate, who holds the lotus, who is the source of nourishment, golden-yellow in complexion, adorned with garlands of lotuses, soothing like the moon, and full of golden luster.
Verse 14: O Jatavedas, invoke for me that Lakshmi who is moist with mercy, who wields the royal staff of sovereignty, radiant like gold, crowned with golden ornaments, self-luminous like the Sun, and golden in nature.
Verse 15: O Jatavedas, bring to me that Lakshmi who never leaves, through whose constant grace I may continuously gain limitless gold, cows, maidservants, horses, and family harmony.
Phalashruti (Verses 16–20): Being pure, self-restrained, and devoted, whoever offers oblations of clarified butter daily and continually recites these fifteen verses with longing for spiritual and material fortune will attain lasting bliss. O lotus-faced Mother, whose eyes are like lotuses, who is born of the lotus, cherish me so that I may attain supreme well-being. Giver of horses, cows, and infinite treasures, grant me wealth and fulfill all righteous desires. You are the Mother of all creation; make me live a full, blessed, and long life. May the consort of Vishnu, Mahalakshmi, inspire and illuminate our intellect.
संदर्भ
ContextContext (English)
The Śrī Sūktam represents the earliest and most authoritative scriptural matrix of goddess veneration in the Vedic Samhitas. Belonging to the Khilas of the Rigveda, it bridges the patriarchal sacrificial imagery of the early Vedic hymns with the blossoming of the Shakta and Vaishnava traditions.
Theological and philosophical brilliance shines in its handling of prosperity:
The Intermediary Role of Agni: In verses 1, 2, 13, 14, and 15, the seeker addresses Agni (Jātavedas) rather than Lakshmi directly. In Vedic ontology, Agni is the cosmic priest (Purohita) and divine mouth through which humans communicate with unmanifest deities. Because the subtle presence of Sri cannot be seized by force or greed, Agni is invoked to purify the seeker’s mind so that prosperity descends without corrupting the soul.
The Dual Goddesses (Lakshmi vs. Alakshmi): In verse 8, the hymn acknowledges Jyeṣṭhā Alakṣmī (the elder sister of Lakshmi, representing lethargy, starvation, filth, and jealousy). The Vedic philosophy of Sri is holistic: true wealth (Śrī) cannot enter a space until Alakṣmī is actively acknowledged, denied entry, and completely expelled through cleanliness, truthfulness (Vācaḥ satyam), and right action.
The Lineage of Kardama and Chiklita: Verses 11 and 12 invoke the personified sages Kardama (associated with moist earth and tilled soil) and Chiklita (associated with sap, moisture, and agricultural fertility). Here, spiritual grace and empirical ecological health coalesce: wealth is not abstract coinage, but rich topsoil, flowing rivers, green pastures, and wholesome cattle.
प्रयोग
How it is traditionally usedHow It Is Used (English)
Sri Yantra & Idol Abhisheka: Chanted continuously by priests while anointing the consecrated Sri Yantra, Salagrama, or Mahalakshmi idols with milk, panchamrita, and rose water on Fridays (Shukravara) and Pournami (Full Moon).
Lakshmi Homa / Havans: Forms the liturgical core of the Sri Sukta Homa during Diwali, Akshaya Tritiya, and Navaratri, where oblations of pure cow's ghee, lotus seeds (Kamal Gatta), and Bilva fruits/leaves are offered with each verse ending in Svāhā.
Diwali & Dhanteras Liturgy: Recited during the evening Pradosham muhurta to welcome Goddess Lakshmi into clean, illuminated homes and commercial establishments while lighting traditional ghee lamps.
Daily Wealth & Harmony Sadhana: Practiced daily at dawn by householders and entrepreneurs to remove negative financial blockages, eliminate marital discord, and establish steady auspiciousness (Sthira Lakshmi).
Sources & References
Dharmartha presents traditional knowledge with respect for its sources. Practices vary by lineage and region; this material does not assert exclusive or universal authority.
Spot an error or have a suggestion?
Help us keep this accurate — report a mistake or suggest content for this page.
Your notes
Private reflections you can revisit anytime.
Questions & Discussions
Ask a question or start a discussion about this page.
- No questions or discussions yet — be the first.
Related Knowledge
Kanakadhara Stotram
कनकधारास्तोत्रम्
Adi Shankara's hymn to Lakshmi that is said to have showered gold — principal verses.
Purusha Suktam
श्री पुरुष सूक्तम्
The supreme cosmogonic hymn of the Vedic canon preserved in the Rigveda and Taittiriya Aranyaka of the Krishna Yajurveda, revealing the cosmic sacrifice (Yajña) of the Supreme Being (Puruṣa), from whose cosmic limbs the entire universe, natural elements, Vedic hymns, and social fabric manifest.The paramount cosmogonic hymn of the Vedic canon preserved in the Rigveda, Shukla Yajurveda, and Krishna Yajurveda (Taittiriya Aranyaka), delineating the supreme sacrifice (Yajña) of the primordial Cosmic Being (Puruṣa), from whose transcendental self the entire visible and invisible universe, natural cycles, sacred meters, and interdependent social orders manifest.
Continue your journey