HymnSanskritAncient (Puranic tradition, author given as Indra)
Mahalakshmi Ashtakam
महालक्ष्म्यष्टकम्
The Mahalakshmi Ashtakam is a short Sanskrit hymn in which the god Indra praises Mahalakshmi in eight verses, followed by three verses on the results of reciting it. It is among the texts most often recited at Lakshmi Puja, which this year falls on the evening of Sunday, 8 November 2026.
- Music
- Traditional
- In the video
- Rajshri Soul (chanting video)
- Context
- Eight-verse hymn to Mahalakshmi attributed to Indra, traditionally linked to the Padma Purana, with a three-verse phalashruti
- Year
- Ancient (Puranic tradition, author given as Indra)
- Language
- Sanskrit
- Added
- by Lyriccs Editorial Desk
Mahalakshmi Ashtakam lyrics with English translation
The Sanskrit Wikisource page is the base text. It has a few typing errors (for example sarvasuṣṭabhayaṅkarī in verse three, which should be sarvaduṣṭabhayaṅkari), so the readings in verses 1 to 11 follow the corrected edition at greenmesg.org. The opening salutation and the closing colophon are left out.
॥ इन्द्र उवाच ॥
|| indra uvāca ||
Indra said:
नमस्तेऽस्तु महामाये श्रीपीठे सुरपूजिते । शङ्खचक्रगदाहस्ते महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ १ ॥
namaste 'stu mahāmāye śrīpīṭhe surapūjite | śaṅkhacakragadāhaste mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 1 ||
Homage to you, Mahāmāyā, who dwell in the sacred seat of Shri and are worshipped by the gods, holding conch, discus and mace in your hands. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
नमस्ते गरुडारूढे कोलासुरभयंकरि । सर्वपापहरे देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ २ ॥
namaste garuḍārūḍhe kolāsurabhayaṅkari | sarvapāpahare devi mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 2 ||
Homage to you who ride on Garuḍa and strike terror into the demon Kolāsura, who take away every sin, goddess. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
सर्वज्ञे सर्ववरदे सर्वदुष्टभयंकरि । सर्वदुःखहरे देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ ३ ॥
sarvajñe sarvavarade sarvaduṣṭabhayaṅkari | sarvaduḥkhahare devi mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 3 ||
You who know all and grant every boon, who frighten all the wicked, who take away every sorrow, goddess. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
सिद्धिबुद्धिप्रदे देवि भुक्तिमुक्तिप्रदायिनि । मन्त्रमूर्ते सदा देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ ४ ॥
siddhibuddhiprade devi bhuktimuktipradāyini | mantramūrte sadā devi mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 4 ||
Giver of success and wisdom, goddess, giver of worldly enjoyment and of liberation, you who are the very form of the mantra, always. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
आद्यन्तरहिते देवि आद्यशक्तिमहेश्वरि । योगजे योगसम्भूते महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ ५ ॥
ādyantarahite devi ādyaśaktimaheśvari | yogaje yogasambhūte mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 5 ||
You who have neither beginning nor end, first power and great sovereign, born of yoga and sprung from yoga. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
स्थूलसूक्ष्ममहारौद्रे महाशक्तिमहोदरे । महापापहरे देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ ६ ॥
sthūlasūkṣmamahāraudre mahāśaktimahodare | mahāpāpahare devi mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 6 ||
Fierce in both the gross and the subtle, great power with a mighty womb, remover of great sins, goddess. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
पद्मासनस्थिते देवि परब्रह्मस्वरूपिणि । परमेशि जगन्मातर्महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ ७ ॥
padmāsanasthite devi parabrahmasvarūpiṇi | parameśi jaganmātar mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 7 ||
Seated on a lotus, goddess, in the form of the Supreme Brahman, supreme sovereign, mother of the world. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
श्वेताम्बरधरे देवि नानालङ्कारभूषिते । जगत्स्थिते जगन्मातर्महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तुते ॥ ८ ॥
śvetāmbaradhare devi nānālaṅkārabhūṣite | jagatsthite jaganmātar mahālakṣmi namo 'stu te || 8 ||
Clothed in white, goddess, adorned with many ornaments, abiding in the world, mother of the world. Homage to you, Mahālakṣmī.
महालक्ष्म्यष्टकं स्तोत्रं यः पठेद्भक्तिमान्नरः । सर्वसिद्धिमवाप्नोति राज्यं प्राप्नोति सर्वदा ॥ ९ ॥
mahālakṣmyaṣṭakaṃ stotraṃ yaḥ paṭhed bhaktimān naraḥ | sarvasiddhim avāpnoti rājyaṃ prāpnoti sarvadā || 9 ||
The person who recites this hymn of eight verses to Mahālakṣmī with devotion is said to gain every kind of success and, always, a kingdom.
एककाले पठेन्नित्यं महापापविनाशनम् । द्विकालं यः पठेन्नित्यं धनधान्यसमन्वितः ॥ १० ॥
ekakāle paṭhen nityaṃ mahāpāpavināśanam | dvikālaṃ yaḥ paṭhen nityaṃ dhanadhānyasamanvitaḥ || 10 ||
Recited once a day, it destroys great sins; recited twice a day, the reciter is said to be rich in wealth and grain.
त्रिकालं यः पठेन्नित्यं महाशत्रुविनाशनम् । महालक्ष्मीर्भवेन्नित्यं प्रसन्ना वरदा शुभा ॥ ११ ॥
trikālaṃ yaḥ paṭhen nityaṃ mahāśatruvināśanam | mahālakṣmīr bhaven nityaṃ prasannā varadā śubhā || 11 ||
Recited three times a day, it destroys great enemies, and Mahālakṣmī, gracious, boon-giving and auspicious, will be with him always.
Translation: Lyriccs (original translation). Transliteration: Lyriccs (IAST).
The story behind Mahalakshmi Ashtakam
The hymn is introduced with the words indra uvaca, Indra said, and tradition therefore treats the king of the gods as its speaker. Sources such as the Green Message stotra library place it in the Padma Purana, and the Wikipedia article on Lakshmi lists it among the stotras recited in her worship as a hymn by Indra. The Puranas were compiled over many centuries, so no fixed date or human author can be given, and this page records the text as traditional.
The first seven lines each end with the same refrain, namo 'stu te, homage to you, and the eight verses are built as a chain of epithets that name the goddess one quality at a time. Verse two calls her the terror of Kolasura. Devotees commonly connect this demon with Kolhasur, the demon Mahalakshmi is believed to have appeared to kill at Kolhapur in Maharashtra, where her best-known temple stands; the hymn itself does not name the place.
Verses nine to eleven are a phalashruti, the traditional closing section that says what the reciter may gain. They give a graded scheme: recite once a day, twice a day or three times a day. Printed versions agree on the eleven verses but differ in small spellings. Some online copies carry typing errors, for example a mistyped word in verse three, so the text here follows the corrected reading that is standard in published stotra collections.
What Mahalakshmi Ashtakam means
The eight verses do not tell a story. They describe the goddess in contrasts. She holds the weapons of Vishnu, the conch, discus and mace, and yet she sits on a lotus in white clothes. She is called a terror to the wicked and the remover of sorrow in the same verse. She is both gross and subtle, without beginning or end, and at the same time the mother of the world. That range is the point: Mahalakshmi here is not only the giver of wealth but the power behind creation.
The words bhukti and mukti in verse four are the key to how the hymn is usually read. Bhukti means worldly enjoyment and mukti means liberation, and the verse asks for both together. Verse seven goes further and calls her the form of the Supreme Brahman, so wealth in this hymn is placed inside a larger spiritual picture.
The last three verses are promises in the voice of tradition: success, grain and wealth, and the end of great enemies. Many reciters read the enemies as inner ones such as greed and fear, but the text leaves the reading open. At Diwali the hymn is chanted during Lakshmi Puja, and the daily scheme of one, two or three recitations is often used as a simple guide for how long to chant.
The translation below is Lyriccs' own and stays close to the Sanskrit. Epithets such as mahamaya and mahodare can be rendered in several ways, so no single English version is final.
Quick facts
- The hymn opens with indra uvaca, so tradition gives Indra as its speaker.
- It has eight verses of praise and three closing verses (phalashruti), eleven in all.
- Verse two names Kolasura, linked by devotees with the demon Kolhasur of Kolhapur.
- The phalashruti sets out a scheme of reciting once, twice or three times a day.
- In 2026 Dhanteras is on 6 November and Lakshmi Puja is on 8 November.