The Shri Laxmi Chalisa is a 40-verse devotional hymn dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, and beauty. As the divine consort of Lord Vishnu, she represents the glorious and benevolent aspect of the divine, bestowing both material and spiritual riches upon her devotees. This prayer is recited by millions to seek her blessings, overcome financial hardships, and invite auspiciousness and abundance into their lives.
This guide provides the complete lyrics of the Laxmi Chalisa, along with the traditional Aarti, in both Hindi (Devanagari) and English (IAST transliteration). It is followed by a detailed verse-by-verse meaning and commentary to help you connect with the grace and power of Maha Lakshmi.
Benefits of Chanting the Laxmi Chalisa
Reciting the Laxmi Chalisa with a pure heart, especially on Fridays, is believed to grant immense blessings. The key benefits include:
- Attainment of Wealth and Prosperity: The most well-known benefit is the attraction of wealth and the removal of financial difficulties. She is the goddess of Dhana (wealth) and Aishwarya (prosperity).
- Removal of Poverty and Debt: Sincere devotion to Goddess Lakshmi is said to alleviate poverty and help devotees clear their debts.
- Success in Career and Business: Chanting the Chalisa can help in overcoming obstacles in one’s profession or business, leading to success and recognition.
- Peace and Harmony in the Home: Her presence brings peace, happiness, and harmony to the family. A home where she is worshipped is said to be free of strife.
- Spiritual Upliftment: True wealth is not just material. Goddess Lakshmi also grants spiritual wealth, including wisdom, purity, and a generous heart.
Full Lyrics: Shri Laxmi Chalisa & Aarti
Here is the complete text of the hymn in Devanagari and English transliteration.
Doha (Introductory Couplets)
मातु लक्ष्मी करि कृपा करो हृदय में वास। मनो कामना सिद्ध कर पुरवहु मेरी आस॥ Mātu Lakṣmī kari kṛpā karo hṛdaya meṁ vāsa,Mano kāmanā sid`dha kara puravahu merī āsa.
सिंधु सुता विष्णुप्रिये नत शिर बारंबार। ऋद्धि सिद्धि मंगलप्रदे नत शिर बारंबार॥ Sindhu sutā Viṣṇupriye nata śira bārambāra, Ṛddhi siddhi maṅgalaprade nata śira bārambāra.
Chaupai (40 Verses)
(Full text of all 40 Chaupais follows in the verse-by-verse section below)
Doha (Concluding Couplets)
त्राहि त्राहि दुःख हारिणी हरो बेगि सब त्रास। जयति जयति जय लक्ष्मी करो शत्रुन का नाश॥ Trāhi trāhi duḥkha hāriṇī haro begi saba trāsa, Jayati jayati jaya lakṣmī karo śatruna kā nāśa.
रामदास धरि ध्यान नित विनय करत कर जोर। मातु लक्ष्मी दास पर करहु दया की कोर॥ Rāmadāsa dhari dhyāna nita vinaya karata kara jora, Mātu lakṣmī dāsa para karahu dayā kī kora.
Verse-by-Verse Meaning and Commentary
Doha (Introductory Couplets)
मातु लक्ष्मी करि कृपा करो हृदय में वास। मनो कामना सिद्ध कर पुरवहु मेरी आस॥ Mātu Lakṣmī kari kṛpā karo hṛdaya meṁ vāsa, Mano kāmanā sid`dha kara puravahu merī āsa.
- Meaning: O Mother Lakshmi, be merciful and reside in my heart. Fulfill my desires and grant my wishes.
- Commentary: The prayer begins with a direct and heartfelt plea, asking the Divine Mother not for external wealth, but for her divine presence to dwell within the devotee’s heart, which is the source of all true fulfillment.
सिंधु सुता विष्णुप्रिये नत शिर बारंबार। ऋद्धि सिद्धि मंगलप्रदे नत शिर बारंबार॥ Sindhu sutā Viṣṇupriye nata śira bārambāra, Ṛd
dhi siddhi maṅgalaprade nata śira bārambāra.
- Meaning: O Daughter of the Ocean, beloved of Vishnu, I bow my head to you again and again. O Bestower of prosperity, accomplishment, and auspiciousness, I bow my head to you repeatedly.
- Commentary: This verse establishes her identity as the daughter of the ocean (Sindhu Suta) who emerged from the Samudra Manthan, and as the divine consort of Lord Vishnu. The devotee bows in complete surrender, acknowledging her as the source of all success and blessings.
Chaupai (Main Verses)
Verse 1:
सिन्धु सुता मैं सुमिरौं तोही। ज्ञान बुद्धि विद्या दो मोहि॥ Sindhu sutā maiṁ sumirauṁ tohī, jñāna bud`dhi vidyā do mohī.
- Meaning: O Daughter of the Ocean, I meditate on you. Grant me knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom.
- Commentary: The first request is not for material wealth, but for inner riches: Jñāna (spiritual knowledge), Buddhi (intellect/discernment), and Vidyā (learning). This signifies that true prosperity begins with a wise and illuminated mind.
Verse 2:
तुम समान नहिं कोई उपकारी। सब विधि पुरबहु आस हमारी॥ Tuma samāna nahiṁ koī upakārī. Saba vidhi purabahu āsa hamārī.
- Meaning: There is no benefactor equal to you. Please fulfill our hopes in every way.
- Commentary: The devotee expresses faith in her unparalleled generosity and ability to fulfill all types of aspirations, both material and spiritual.
Verse 3:
जै जै जगत जननि जगदम्बा। सबके तुमही हो स्वलम्बा॥ Jai jai jagata janani jagadambā. Sabake tumahī ho svalambā.
- Meaning: Victory to you, O Mother of the world, Jagadamba! You are the sole support for everyone.
- Commentary: She is hailed as Jagadamba (Mother of the Universe), the fundamental support upon which all of creation rests. All beings are dependent on her grace.
Verse 4:
तुम ही हो घट घट के वासी। विनती यही हमारी खासी॥ Tuma hī ho ghaṭa ghaṭa ke vāsī. Vinatī yahī hamārī khāsī.
- Meaning: You reside in every single being. This is my special prayer.
- Commentary: This verse acknowledges her omnipresence, stating that she is the divine spark present in every heart (“ghat ghat”). The prayer is “special” because it comes from this understanding of intimate connection.
Verse 5:
जग जननी जय सिन्धु कुमारी। दीनन की तुम हो हितकारी॥ Jaga jananī jaya sindhu kumārī. Dīnana kī tuma ho hitakārī.
- Meaning: Victory to the Mother of the world, the maiden of the ocean! You are the benefactor of the poor and distressed.
- Commentary: Her role as a compassionate mother is emphasized. She is not just for the powerful, but is especially concerned with the welfare of the helpless and humble.
Verse 6:
विनवौं नित्य तुमहिं महारानी। कृपा करौ जग जननि भवानी॥ Vinavauṁ nitya tumahiṁ mahārānī. Kṛpā karau jaga janani bhavānī.
- Meaning: I pray to you daily, O Great Queen! Bestow your grace, O Mother of the world, Bhavani.
- Commentary: By addressing her as Maharani (Great Queen) and Bhavani (a name for Parvati), the devotee acknowledges her supreme royal status and her identity with the ultimate divine feminine energy.
Verse 7:
केहि विधि स्तुति करौं तिहारी। सुधि लीजै अपराध बिसारी॥ Kehi vidhi stuti karauṁ tihārī. Sudhi lījai aparādha bisārī.
- Meaning: In what way can I possibly praise you? Please take notice of me and forgive my transgressions.
- Commentary: A humble admission that human words are inadequate to describe her glory, coupled with a plea for forgiveness for any known or unknown mistakes.
Verse 8:
कृपा दृष्टि चितवो मम ओरी। जगत जननि विनती सुन मोरी॥ Kṛpā dṛṣṭi citavo mama orī. Jagata janani vinatī suna morī.
- Meaning: Cast your graceful glance upon me. O Mother of the world, please listen to my prayer.
- Commentary: The devotee seeks the “kripa drishti” – the glance of grace. In Hindu tradition, a single compassionate glance from a deity is enough to transform a person’s life.
Verse 9:
ज्ञान बुद्धि जय सुख की दाता। संकट हरो हमारी माता॥ Jñāna bud`dhi jaya sukha kī dātā. Saṅkaṭa haro hamārī mātā.
- Meaning: Victory to you, the bestower of wisdom, intellect, and happiness! O Mother, please remove our troubles.
- Commentary: This verse summarizes her benevolent powers: providing inner wisdom and outer happiness, and acting as the remover of all forms of crisis and distress.
Verse 10:
क्षीर सिंधु जब विष्णु मथायो। चौदह रत्न सिंधु में पायो॥ Kṣīra sindhu jaba Viṣṇu mathāyo. Caudaha ratna sindhu meṁ pāyo.
- Meaning: When Lord Vishnu churned the ocean of milk, fourteen gems were obtained from it.
- Commentary: This begins the narration of her divine origin from the Samudra Manthan (the great churning of the ocean), a pivotal event in Hindu cosmology.
Verse 11:
चौदह रत्न में तुम सुखरासी। सेवा कियो प्रभुहिं बनि दासी॥ Caudaha ratna meṁ tuma sukharāsī. Sevā kiyo prabhuhiṁ bani dāsī.
- Meaning: Among those fourteen gems, you were the embodiment of all joy. You chose to serve the Lord, becoming his devoted consort.
- Commentary: Of all the treasures that emerged, she was the most precious—the very essence of joy and fortune. Her first act was to choose Vishnu as her lord, symbolizing that wealth finds its true purpose when dedicated to the divine.
Verse 12:
जब जब जन्म जहां प्रभु लीन्हा। रूप बदल तहं सेवा कीन्हा॥ Jaba jaba janma jahāṁ prabhu līnhā. Rūpa badala tahaṁ sevā kīnhā.
- Meaning: Whenever and wherever the Lord took birth (as an avatar), you changed your form to serve him there.
- Commentary: This highlights her eternal bond with Vishnu. In every avatar, she incarnates alongside him in a form suitable to that incarnation to support his divine mission.
Verse 13-15:
स्वयं विष्णु जब नर तनु धारा। लीन्हेउ अवधपुरी अवतारा॥ तब तुम प्रकट जनकपुर माहीं। सेवा कियो हृदय पुलकाहीं॥ अपनायो तोहि अन्तर्यामी। विश्व विदित त्रिभुवन की स्वामी॥ Svayaṁ Viṣṇu jaba nara tanu dhārā. Līnheu avadhapurī avatārā. Taba tuma prakaṭa janakapura māhīṁ. Sevā kiyo hṛdaya pulakāhīṁ. Apanāyo tohi antaryāmī. Viśva vidita tribhuvana kī svāmī.
- Meaning: When Vishnu himself took a human form and incarnated in Ayodhya, you then appeared in Janakpur and served him with a joyful heart. The all-knowing Lord, renowned throughout the universe and master of the three worlds, accepted you as his own.
- Commentary: This sequence refers to the Ramayana. When Vishnu incarnated as Rama in Ayodhya, Lakshmi incarnated as Sita in Janakpur, fulfilling her eternal role as his divine partner. The all-knowing Lord Rama then accepted her as his wife.
Verse 16:
तुम सब प्रबल शक्ति नहिं आनी। कहँ तक महिमा कहौं बखानी॥ Tuma saba prabala śakti nahiṁ ānī. Kaham̐ taka mahimā kahauṁ bakhānī.
- Meaning: There is no power greater than you. How far can I even attempt to describe your glory?
- Commentary: The devotee again expresses the infinite and supreme nature of her power (Shakti) and the limitations of language to praise it fully.
Verse 17:
मन क्रम वचन करै सेवकाई। मन-इच्छित वांछित फल पाई॥ Mana krama vacana karai sevakāī. Mana-icchita vāñchita phala pāī.
- Meaning: One who serves you with their mind, actions, and words, receives their heart’s desired fruits.
- Commentary: This verse promises that holistic devotion—aligning one’s thoughts, speech, and deeds in service to her—is the key to having one’s wishes fulfilled.
Verse 18:
तजि छल कपट और चतुराई। पूजहिं विविध भाँति मन लाई॥ Taji chala kapaṭa aura caturāī. Pūjahiṁ vividha bhām̐ti mana lāī.
- Meaning: Leaving behind deceit, cunning, and cleverness, one should worship you in various ways with a devoted heart.
- Commentary: A crucial condition for receiving her grace is sincerity. One must approach her with a pure heart, free from trickery and ego, and with genuine devotion.
Verse 19-20:
और हाल मैं कहौं बुझाई। जो यह पाठ करे मन लाई॥ ताको कोई कष्ट न होई। मन इच्छित फल पावै फल सोई॥ Aura hāla maiṁ kahauṁ bujhāī. Jo yaha pāṭha kare mana lāī. Tāko koī kaṣṭa na hoī. Mana icchita phala pāvai phala soī.
- Meaning: Let me explain further about the state of one who recites this text with a devoted heart. They will not face any hardship, and they will obtain the fruit of their heart’s desire.
- Commentary: The author now begins to detail the specific benefits (Phalashruti) that come from reciting the Chalisa with sincere concentration: protection from suffering and the fulfillment of desires.
Verse 21:
त्राहि-त्राहि जय दुःख निवारिणी। त्रिविध ताप भव बंधन हारिणि॥ Trāhi-trāhi jaya duḥkha nivāriṇī. Trividha tāpa bhava bandhana hāriṇi.
- Meaning: Save us, save us! Victory to you, the remover of sorrow, the one who liberates from the three types of afflictions and the bondage of existence.
- Commentary: She is hailed as the one who frees souls from the “Trividh Taap” – the three categories of suffering (internal, external, and celestial) – and ultimately from the cycle of rebirth.
Verse 22-23:
जो यह चालीसा पढ़े और पढ़ावे। इसे ध्यान लगाकर सुने सुनावै॥ ताको कोई न रोग सतावै। पुत्र आदि धन सम्पत्ति पावै॥ Jo yaha cālīsā paṛhe aura paṛhāve. Ise dhyāna lagākara sune sunāvai. Tāko koī na roga satāvai. Putra ādi dhana sampatti pāvai.
- Meaning: Whoever reads or causes this Chalisa to be read, or listens to it or causes it to be heard with concentration, no disease will afflict them, and they will obtain progeny, wealth, and prosperity.
- Commentary: The benefits are extended not just to the reader, but also to those who share the prayer with others. The blessings include health and all forms of worldly and familial prosperity.
Verse 24-25:
पुत्र हीन और सम्पत्ति हीना। अन्धा बधिर कोढ़ी अति दीना॥ विप्र बोलाय कै पाठ करावै। शंका दिल में कभी न लावै॥ Putra hīna aura sampatti hīnā. Andhā badhira koṛhī ati dīnā. Vipra bolāya kai pāṭha karāvai. Śaṅkā dila meṁ kabhī na lāvai.
- Meaning: Those who are childless, without property, blind, deaf, leprous, or extremely wretched should have this text recited by a learned Brahmin, and should never hold any doubt in their heart.
- Commentary: This offers a specific remedy for those facing severe afflictions. The key is to have the prayer recited with pure intent by a Brahmin and to maintain unwavering faith.
Verse 26:
पाठ करावै दिन चालीसा। ता पर कृपा करैं गौरीसा॥ Pāṭha karāvai dina cālīsā. Tā para kṛpā karaiṁ gaurīsā.
- Meaning: If they have this recited for forty days, the Lord of Gauri (Shiva) will also bestow grace upon them.
- Commentary: This verse emphasizes the holistic nature of devotion. Worshipping the Divine Mother (Shakti) also pleases the Divine Father (Shiva), highlighting their inseparability. A forty-day period (a mandala) is a traditional timeframe for intensive spiritual practice to yield results.
Verse 27:
सुख सम्पत्ति बहुत सी पावै। कमी नहीं काहू की आवै॥ Sukha sampatti bahuta sī pāvai. Kamī nahīṁ kāhū kī āvai.
- Meaning: They will receive abundant happiness and wealth, and will never experience any scarcity.
- Commentary: This verse promises the ultimate material fruit of the prayer: a life of complete abundance, free from any form of lack or scarcity (kami).
Verse 28:
बारह मास करै जो पूजा। तेहि सम धन्य और नहिं दूजा॥ Bāraha māsa karai jo pūjā. Tehi sama dhanya aura nahiṁ dūjā.
- Meaning: One who worships you for twelve months—there is no one more blessed than them.
- Commentary: Consistent, long-term devotion (for a full year) is praised as the highest form of worship, leading to the greatest and most enduring blessings.
Verse 29:
प्रतिदिन पाठ करै मन माहीं। उन सम कोई जग में नाहिं॥ Pratidina pāṭha karai mana māhīṁ. Una sama koī jaga meṁ nāhiṁ.
- Meaning: One who recites this daily in their heart—there is no one in the world equal to them.
- Commentary: Even more than ritualistic worship, daily internal recitation and remembrance is extolled as the supreme practice, making the devotee unparalleled in their blessedness.
Verse 30:
बहु विधि क्या मैं करौं बड़ाई। लेय परीक्षा ध्यान लगाई॥ Bahu vidhi kyā maiṁ karauṁ baṛāī. Leya parīkṣā dhyāna lagāī.
- Meaning: In how many ways can I praise you? You can test this yourself with full concentration.
- Commentary: The author challenges the devotee to test the power of the prayer for themselves, expressing supreme confidence in its efficacy if practiced with faith.
Verse 31:
करि विश्वास करैं व्रत नेमा। होय सिद्ध उपजै उर प्रेमा॥ Kari viśvāsa karaiṁ vrata nemā. Hoya sid`dha upajai ura premā.
- Meaning: Whoever observes vows and rules with faith will achieve success, and divine love will blossom in their heart.
- Commentary: The fruits of the practice are not just success (siddhi) but also the blossoming of pure divine love (prema) in the heart, which is the ultimate spiritual attainment.
Verse 32:
जय जय जय लक्ष्मी महारानी। सब में व्यापित जो गुण खानी॥ Jaya jaya jaya lakṣmī mahārānī. Saba meṁ vyāpita jo guṇa khānī.
- Meaning: Victory, victory, victory to you, O Great Queen Lakshmi! You who are a mine of virtues, are present in all.
- Commentary: A triumphant declaration of her glory, acknowledging her as the source of all good qualities and as the all-pervading divine presence.
Verse 33:
तुम्हरो तेज प्रबल जग माहीं। तुम सम कोउ दयाल कहूँ नाहीं॥ Tumharo teja prabala jaga māhīṁ. Tuma sama kou dayāla kahūm̐ nāhīṁ.
- Meaning: Your radiant power is supreme in the world. There is no one as compassionate as you.
- Commentary: This verse perfectly balances her two key aspects: her immense, supreme power (teja) and her unparalleled compassion (daya).
Verse 34:
मोहि अनाथ की सुधि अब लीजै। संकट काटि भक्ति मोहि दीजे॥ Mohi anātha kī sudhi aba lījai. Saṅkaṭa kāṭi bhakti mohi dīje.
- Meaning: Please take notice of me, the orphan. Cut away my troubles and grant me devotion.
- Commentary: The devotee approaches her as a helpless orphan (anath) asking for a mother’s care. The prayer is again for the highest boons: removal of suffering and the gift of true devotion (bhakti).
Verse 35:
भूल चूक करी क्षमा हमारी। दर्शन दीजै दशा निहारी॥ Bhūla cūka karī kṣamā hamārī. Darśana dījai daśā nihārī.
- Meaning: Forgive my mistakes and oversights. Seeing my plight, please grant me your divine vision (darshan).
- Commentary: The devotee asks for forgiveness and for the ultimate grace: a direct vision or experience of the Divine Mother.
Verse 36:
बिन दरशन व्याकुल अधिकारी। तुमहिं अक्षत दुःख सहते भारी॥ Bina daraśana vyākula adhikārī. Tumahiṁ akṣata duḥkha sahate bhārī.
- Meaning: Without your vision, your rightful devotees are distraught; without you, they suffer immense and unending sorrow.
- Commentary: This expresses the deep yearning of the devotee, for whom separation from the divine is the greatest suffering.
Verse 37:
नहिं मोहिं ज्ञान बुद्धि है तन में। सब जानत हो अपने मन में॥ Nahiṁ mohiṁ jñāna bud`dhi hai tana meṁ. Saba jānata ho apane mana meṁ.
- Meaning: I have neither knowledge nor wisdom in my body. You know everything within your own mind.
- Commentary: A final surrender of the ego. The devotee admits their own ignorance and places full faith in the Goddess’s omniscience.
Verse 38:
रूप चतुर्भुज करके धारण। कष्ट मोर अब करहु निवारण॥ Rūpa caturbhuja karake dhāraṇa. Kaṣṭa mora aba karahu nivāraṇa.
- Meaning: Assuming your four-armed form, please now remove my suffering.
- Commentary: The devotee invokes her powerful four-armed form (Chaturbhuja), which is her most common iconographic representation, to actively intervene and end their troubles.
Verse 39:
कहि प्रकार मैं करौं बड़ाई। ज्ञान बुद्धि मोहिं नहिं अधिकाई॥ Kahi prakāra maiṁ karauṁ baṛāī. Jñāna bud`dhi mohiṁ nahiṁ adhikāī.
- Meaning: In what way can I praise you? I do not have sufficient knowledge or intellect.
- Commentary: The Chalisa ends as it began, with a statement of humility, acknowledging that the divine is always greater than our capacity to describe it.
Verse 40:
रामदास अब कहै पुकारी। करो दूर तुम विपति हमारी॥ Rāmadāsa aba kahai pukārī. Karo dūra tuma vipati hamārī.
- Meaning: Ramdas now cries out, “Please remove my calamities!”
- Commentary: The author, Ramdas, concludes with a final, direct, and powerful prayer for the removal of all adversity.
Shri Lakshmi Aarti
Verse 1:
ॐ जय लक्ष्मी माता, मैया जय लक्ष्मी माता। तुमको निशदिन सेवत, हर विष्णु विधाता॥ Oṁ jaya lakṣmī mātā, maiyā jaya lakṣmī mātā, Tumako niśadina sevata, hara viṣṇu vidhātā.
- Meaning: Om, Victory to you, Mother Lakshmi! You are served day and night by Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma.
- Commentary: The Aarti begins by hailing the Divine Mother and establishing her supreme status, as she is worshipped by the entire Hindu trinity.
Verse 2:
उमा रमा ब्रह्माणी, तुम ही जग माता। सूर्य चन्द्र माँ ध्यावत नारद ऋषि गाता॥ Umā ramā brahmāṇī, tuma hī jaga mātā. Sūrya candra mām̐ dhyāvata nārada ṛṣi gātā.
- Meaning: You are Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati; you alone are the Mother of the world. The Sun, Moon, and sages like Narada meditate on you and sing your praises.
- Commentary: This verse identifies her with the consorts of the Trimurti, signifying that she is the one Shakti behind all divine feminine forms. Her glory is sung by celestial bodies and the greatest of sages.
Verse 3:
दुर्गा रूप निरंजनि सुख सम्पति दाता। जो कोई तुम को ध्यावत ऋद्धि सिद्धि धन पाता॥ Durgā rūpa nirañjani sukha sampati dātā. Jo koī tuma ko dhyāvata ṛd
dhi siddhi dhana pātā.
- Meaning: In your form as Durga, you are flawless and the bestower of happiness and wealth. Whoever meditates on you attains prosperity, success, and riches.
- Commentary: Her fierce form as Durga is invoked as the source of all prosperity. Meditation upon her is described as the direct path to attaining both material (Riddhi, Dhan) and spiritual (Siddhi) success.
Verse 4:
तुम पाताल निवासिनि तुम ही शुभ दाता। कर्म प्रभाव प्रकाशिनि, भव निधि की दाता॥ Tuma pātāla nivāsini tuma hī śubha dātā. Karma prabhāva prakāśini, bhava nidhi kī dātā.
- Meaning: You reside in the netherworlds, and you are the giver of all good things. You illuminate the effects of karma and are the mistress of the ocean of existence.
- Commentary: Her presence is affirmed in all realms, even the netherworld (Patala). She is the bestower of auspiciousness and the one who makes the law of karma manifest, holding dominion over the entire ocean of worldly existence.
Verse 5:
जिस घर तुम रहती तहँ सब सद्गुण आता। सब संभव हो जाता मन नहीं घबराता॥ Jisa ghara tuma rahatī taham̐ saba sadaguṇa ātā. Saba saṁbhava ho jātā mana nahīṁ ghabarātā.
- Meaning: In whichever house you reside, all virtues enter. Everything becomes possible, and the mind does not fear.
- Commentary: This highlights a key benefit of her grace: her presence in a home brings not just wealth but also virtue (sadguna). With her, the impossible becomes possible, and the mind is freed from anxiety.
Verse 6:
तुम बिन यज्ञ न होते, वस्त्र न कोई पाता। खान पान का वैभव सब तुम से आता॥ Tuma bina yajña na hote, vastra na koī pātā. Khāna pāna kā vaibhava saba tuma se ātā.
- Meaning: Without you, no sacred rites can be performed, no one would have clothes to wear. The splendor of all food and drink comes from you alone.
- Commentary: All forms of prosperity, from the spiritual (yajna) to the most basic necessities like clothing and food, are depicted as flowing directly from her grace.
Verse 7:
शुभ गुण मंदिर सुंदर क्षीरोदधि जाता। रत्न चतुर्दश तुम बिन कोई नहीं पाता॥ Śubha guṇa mandira sundara kṣīrodadhi jātā. Ratna caturdaśa tuma bina koī nahīṁ pātā.
- Meaning: You are the beautiful temple of auspicious qualities, born of the ocean of milk. Without you, no one could have obtained the fourteen gems.
- Commentary: Her divine origin from the churning of the ocean is recalled. It is stated that without her, none of the other divine treasures (the 14 gems) could have been obtained, establishing her as the ultimate treasure.
Verse 8:
महा लक्ष्मीजी की आरती, जो कोई जन गाता। उर आनंद समाता पाप उतर जाता॥ Mahālakṣmījī kī āratī, jo koī jana gātā. Ura ānanda samātā pāpa utara jātā.
- Meaning: Whoever sings this Aarti of Mahalakshmi, their heart is filled with bliss, and their sins are washed away.
- Commentary: The final verses describe the fruits of singing the Aarti: the attainment of inner bliss and the purification from all sins.
Verse 9:
स्थिर चर जगत बचावे कर्म प्रेम ल्याता। राम प्रताप मैय्या की शुभ दृष्टि चाहता॥ Sthira cara jagata bacāve karma prema lyātā. Rāma pratāpa maiyyā kī śubha dṛṣṭi cāhatā.
- Meaning: You save the entire world, moving and unmoving, and bring love to our actions. This devotee seeks the auspicious glance of Mother Lakshmi.
- Commentary: The Aarti concludes with a prayer acknowledging her role as the savior of all existence and as the force that infuses actions with love. The devotee humbly asks for her benevolent and auspicious gaze.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Who wrote the Laxmi Chalisa? The Laxmi Chalisa was composed by a devotee named Ramdas, whose name is mentioned in the final concluding doha.
- What is the best day to recite the Laxmi Chalisa? Friday is the day dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi. Reciting the Chalisa on Fridays, especially during the evening twilight, is considered most effective. It is also a central prayer during the festival of Diwali.
- Why is Goddess Lakshmi associated with an owl? The owl, her vahana (vehicle), represents wisdom and the ability to see through the darkness of ignorance. It reminds the devotee that material wealth should be sought with wisdom and not lead to spiritual blindness.