HymnSanskritVedic period (ancient, anonymous)
Shri Suktam
श्रीसूक्तम्
The Shri Suktam is a short Vedic hymn that asks Agni, the fire, to bring the goddess Shri-Lakshmi into the house of the reciter. It is chanted at Lakshmi Puja and during Diwali, which this year falls on 8 November 2026 (Lakshmi Puja).
- Written by
- Traditional (Vedic rishis)
- Music
- Traditional
- In the video
- Rajshri Soul (chanting video)
- Context
- Vedic hymn to Shri-Lakshmi, from the khila (appendix) of the Rigveda, fifteen core verses
- Year
- Vedic period (ancient, anonymous)
- Language
- Sanskrit
- Added
- by Lyriccs Editorial Desk
Shri Suktam lyrics with English translation
The text is the second ("other reading") version on the Wikisource page, verses 1 to 15, which is the core hymn. Verse 9 uses the form durādharṣām from the page's first version, because the second version has a stray letter there. The longer tail of verses recited in some traditions is not included.
हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् । चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥ १ ॥
hiraṇyavarṇāṃ hariṇīṃ suvarṇarajatasrajām | candrāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha || 1 ||
O Jātavedas, bring me Lakṣmī: golden in colour, shining, wearing garlands of gold and silver, bright as the moon, herself like gold.
तां म आवह जातवेदो लक्ष्मीमनपगामिनीम् । यस्यां हिरण्यं विन्देयं गामश्वं पुरुषानहम् ॥ २ ॥
tāṃ ma āvaha jātavedo lakṣmīm anapagāminīm | yasyāṃ hiraṇyaṃ vindeyaṃ gām aśvaṃ puruṣān aham || 2 ||
Bring me that Lakṣmī, O Jātavedas, the one who does not go away, through whom I may gain gold, cattle, horses and people.
अश्वपूर्वां रथमध्यां हस्तिनादप्रबोधिनीम् । श्रियं देवीमुपह्वये श्रीर्मा देवी जुषताम् ॥ ३ ॥
aśvapūrvāṃ rathamadhyāṃ hastinādaprabodhinīm | śriyaṃ devīm upahvaye śrīr mā devī juṣatām || 3 ||
I call upon the goddess Śrī, who comes with horses before her and rides amid chariots, who is awakened by the trumpeting of elephants. May the goddess Śrī be gracious to me.
कांसोस्मितां हिरण्यप्राकारामार्द्रां ज्वलन्तीं तृप्तांतर्पयन्तीम् । पद्मे स्थितां पद्मवर्णां तामिहोपह्वये श्रियम् ॥ ४ ॥
kāṃsosmitāṃ hiraṇyaprākārām ārdrāṃ jvalantīṃ tṛptāṃ tarpayantīm | padme sthitāṃ padmavarṇāṃ tām ihopahvaye śriyam || 4 ||
I call here upon Śrī: smiling, within a golden enclosure, moist with grace, blazing, content and giving contentment, standing on a lotus, lotus-coloured.
चन्द्रां प्रभासां यशसा ज्वलन्तीं श्रियं लोके देवजुष्टामुदाराम् । तां पद्मिनीमीं शरणमहं प्रपद्येऽलक्ष्मीर्मे नश्यतां त्वां वृणे ॥ ५ ॥
candrāṃ prabhāsāṃ yaśasā jvalantīṃ śriyaṃ loke devajuṣṭām udārām | tāṃ padminīm īṃ śaraṇam ahaṃ prapadye 'lakṣmīr me naśyatāṃ tvāṃ vṛṇe || 5 ||
Moon-bright, shining with glory, radiant, Śrī in the world, loved by the gods, generous: to her, lotus-dweller, I go for refuge. Let my misfortune perish; I choose you.
आदित्यवर्णे तपसोऽधिजातो वनस्पतिस्तव वृक्षोऽथ बिल्वः । तस्य फलानि तपसा नुदन्तु मायान्तरायाश्च बाह्या अलक्ष्मीः ॥ ६ ॥
ādityavarṇe tapaso 'dhijāto vanaspatis tava vṛkṣo 'tha bilvaḥ | tasya phalāni tapasā nudantu māyāntarāyāś ca bāhyā alakṣmīḥ || 6 ||
O you who are sun-coloured, from your heat the bilva tree, lord of the forest, was born; by that heat let its fruits drive away inner obstacles of illusion and outer misfortune.
उपैतु मां देवसखः कीर्तिश्च मणिना सह । प्रादुर्भूतोऽस्मि राष्ट्रेऽस्मिन् कीर्तिमृद्धिं ददातु मे ॥ ७ ॥
upaitu māṃ devasakhaḥ kīrtiś ca maṇinā saha | prādurbhūto 'smi rāṣṭre 'smin kīrtim ṛddhiṃ dadātu me || 7 ||
May the friend of the gods and Fame come to me, together with jewels. I am born in this kingdom; may she grant me renown and prosperity.
क्षुत्पिपासामलां ज्येष्ठामलक्ष्मीं नाशयाम्यहम् । अभूतिमसमृद्धिं च सर्वान् निर्णुद मे गृहात् ॥ ८ ॥
kṣutpipāsāmalāṃ jyeṣṭhām alakṣmīṃ nāśayāmy aham | abhūtim asamṛddhiṃ ca sarvān nirṇuda me gṛhāt || 8 ||
I destroy Misfortune, the elder sister, born of hunger, thirst and impurity. Drive out of my house all want and every lack of prosperity.
गन्धद्वारां दुराधर्षां नित्यपुष्टां करीषिणीम् । ईश्वरीं सर्वभूतानां तामिहोपह्वये श्रियम् ॥ ९ ॥
gandhadvārāṃ durādharṣāṃ nityapuṣṭāṃ karīṣiṇīm | īśvarīṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ tām ihopahvaye śriyam || 9 ||
I call here upon Śrī: known by her fragrance, hard to overcome, ever flourishing, rich in abundance, sovereign of all beings.
मनसः काममाकूतिं वाचः सत्यमशीमहि । पशूनां रूपमन्नस्य मयि श्रीः श्रयतां यशः ॥ १० ॥
manasaḥ kāmam ākūtiṃ vācaḥ satyam aśīmahi | paśūnāṃ rūpam annasya mayi śrīḥ śrayatāṃ yaśaḥ || 10 ||
May we attain the wishes of the mind and the truth of speech; may the wealth of cattle, food and beauty, and fame, rest upon me.
कर्दमेन प्रजा भूता मयि सम्भव कर्दम । श्रियं वासय मे कुले मातरं पद्ममालिनीम् ॥ ११ ॥
kardamena prajā bhūtā mayi sambhava kardama | śriyaṃ vāsaya me kule mātaraṃ padmamālinīm || 11 ||
Through Kardama creatures were born; Kardama, be present with me, and make Śrī, the mother wearing a lotus garland, dwell in my family.
आपः सृजन्तु स्निग्धानि चिक्लीत वस मे गृहे । नि च देवीं मातरं श्रियं वासय मे कुले ॥ १२ ॥
āpaḥ sṛjantu snigdhāni ciklīta vasa me gṛhe | ni ca devīṃ mātaraṃ śriyaṃ vāsaya me kule || 12 ||
May the waters bring forth smoothness and freshness; Ciklīta, dwell in my house, and make the divine mother Śrī dwell in my family.
आर्द्रां पुष्करिणीं पुष्टिं पिङ्गलां पद्ममालिनीम् । चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥ १३ ॥
ārdrāṃ puṣkariṇīṃ puṣṭiṃ piṅgalāṃ padmamālinīm | candrāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha || 13 ||
Bring me Lakṣmī, moist with grace, lotus-pond and nourishment, tawny-gold, wearing a lotus garland, moon-bright, golden, O Jātavedas.
आर्द्रां यः करिणीं यष्टिं सुवर्णां हेममालिनीम् । सूर्यां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥ १४ ॥
ārdrāṃ yaḥ kariṇīṃ yaṣṭiṃ suvarṇāṃ hemamālinīm | sūryāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha || 14 ||
Bring me Lakṣmī, moist with grace, a support and a staff, fair-coloured, wearing a golden garland, sun-bright, golden, O Jātavedas.
तां म आवह जातवेदो लक्ष्मीमनपगामिनीम् । यस्यां हिरण्यं प्रभूतं गावो दास्योऽश्वान् विन्देयं पुरुषानहम् ॥ १५ ॥
tāṃ ma āvaha jātavedo lakṣmīm anapagāminīm | yasyāṃ hiraṇyaṃ prabhūtaṃ gāvo dāsyo 'śvān vindeyaṃ puruṣān aham || 15 ||
Bring me that Lakṣmī, O Jātavedas, the one who does not go away, through whom I may gain abundant gold, cattle, maidservants, horses and people.
Translation: Lyriccs (original translation). Transliteration: Lyriccs (IAST).
The story behind Shri Suktam
The Shri Suktam belongs to the khila, the appendix of hymns that is attached to the fifth book of the Rigveda in the Bashkala tradition rather than to its main body. It is therefore not part of the main body of the Rigveda, but it is still one of the earliest texts to address Shri-Lakshmi as a fully personified goddess.
The hymn has fifteen core verses. The first two and the last three invoke Lakshmi herself, while the middle verses are addressed to Shri. Many printed versions add a longer tail of verses that are not part of the core hymn: a phalashruti (the benefits of reciting it), a Lakshmi Gayatri and later prayers. Because several of these were added over centuries, the number of verses recited varies from one tradition to the next.
Kardama and Ciklita, both named inside the hymn, are counted in tradition as sons of Shri, and the hymn is used as a mantra of the Vedic fire ritual. That is why it addresses Jatavedas, a name of Agni, as the messenger who can carry the request to the goddess. Today it is recited at Lakshmi Puja, on Fridays, in temples across India and in many homes, and it is widely taught to students of Vedic chanting.
What Shri Suktam means
The hymn is a request, but its picture of wealth is wider than money. Shri is gold-coloured and moon-bright, seated on a lotus and surrounded by elephants, which are signs of royal splendour. She is asked for gold, cattle and horses, but also for fame, food, the truth of one's speech and the wishes of the mind.
A second theme is the removal of her opposite. Verses five, six and eight ask for Alakshmi, misfortune, personified as hunger, thirst and poverty, to be driven out. The bilva tree, said in verse six to have grown from the goddess's own heat, is a reminder of how closely the hymn ties prosperity to the natural world: water, soil, lotus ponds and fertile land.
In the middle verses the poet asks Shri to stay, not simply to visit. The repeated word is vasaya, make her dwell, in my family. That wish for a lasting presence, as opposed to a passing windfall, is what most reciters mean when they chant it at Diwali.
The translation below is Lyriccs' own and stays close to the Sanskrit. Several words in the hymn (such as kamsosmita in verse four, or yashti in verse fourteen) are old and read differently by different commentators, so no single English rendering can be final.
Quick facts
- The Shri Suktam is found in the khila, the appendix, of the fifth mandala of the Rigveda.
- Its core is fifteen verses; the first two and last three invoke Lakshmi and verses 3 to 12 are addressed to Shri.
- The hymn asks Jatavedas, a name of Agni, to bring Lakshmi.
- It asks for Alakshmi (misfortune, hunger and poverty) to be driven out.
- In 2026 Lakshmi Puja falls on 8 November.