Dhana Lakshmi: The Lakshmi of Wealth, Iconography, Stories and Worship

Dhana Lakshmi is the second of the Ashta Lakshmi. The word dhana means wealth in the widest sense: money, gold, possessions, the means of a comfortable life. She is the form that most people think of first when they think of Lakshmi, and the one that appears on the posters and calendars of shops and homes. The tradition is careful to say that she is one side of the goddess and not the whole of her.

This page describes her image, the tradition around her, where she is worshipped and what the customs are. We describe tradition, and nothing here is a promise of money.

Her place in the list

In every list of the eight that we know, Dhana Lakshmi is present, which makes her the steadiest of the group. She is second in most hymns, after Adi Lakshmi and before Dhanya Lakshmi. A few lists put Aishvarya Lakshmi, the Lakshmi of lordship and prosperity, in the eighth place, and where a list has both, the two forms overlap in meaning. The hub page gives the lists.

Form and iconography

Dhana Lakshmi is usually shown with six arms, which is more than Adi Lakshmi and shows that her gifts are many. The objects commonly described are the discus (chakra) and the conch (shankha), which are the signs of Vishnu; a pot or kalasha of gold; a bow and arrow; and a lotus. One hand gives the gesture of boon-giving (varada), or is shown pouring gold coins, and the sixth hand is raised in fearlessness. She is seated or standing on a lotus, with a crown and gold ornaments, and her sari is commonly red or yellow.

The mixture of the weapons of Vishnu with a pot of wealth is a point many devotional commentators make. Wealth in the tradition is not left on its own: it is held with the discus and the bow, which stand for protection and for the duty of using wealth well. The stream of coins is the part everyone remembers, but the image has more in it than that.

As with the other forms, painters and temples differ in details, so an image with a different set of objects is not a mistake.

The tradition around her

There is no Purana that tells a story for Dhana Lakshmi by name, and we do not invent one. What the tradition does offer are several older ideas that are brought together in this form.

The first is Kubera, the god of wealth and the keeper of the treasures of the gods, who is the lord of the north. In the older tradition it is Kubera who holds wealth and Lakshmi who gives fortune and grace, which is why the two are worshipped together on Dhanteras and Diwali in many homes. The second is the long line of hymns in which Lakshmi is called the giver of gold. The Shri Suktam (see the Shri Suktam page) opens with a request for gold and cattle, and goes on to ask for the goddess’s presence in the house, and the Kanakadhara Stotram (see the Kanakadhara Stotram page) is traditionally said to have been sung by Adi Shankaracharya as a boy to a poor woman who gave him a gooseberry, after which a shower of golden gooseberries is said to have fallen. We give that as the tradition tells it and cannot vouch for the details.

A third strand is the Puranic account of how Lakshmi left the gods when they had grown proud, and how the world lost its fortune until she was brought back by the churning of the ocean. In the form told in the Vishnu Purana it follows a curse by the sage Durvasa on Indra. The lesson drawn by the tradition is that wealth and pride do not sit well together. It is told in the Kurma page of the Dashavatara section.

What the form means

The commonest reading in devotional writing is a gentle one. Dhana Lakshmi is wealth that comes with right conduct and that is shared. The older Sanskrit word artha, one of the four aims of life, makes the same point: earning is a proper aim, alongside duty (dharma), pleasure (kama) and freedom (moksha), and it is meant to be kept in balance with the others. Many people take the form as an invitation to be thoughtful about money, and not simply to ask for more of it.

If money worries are real, the tradition does not say that prayer replaces a plan. A sound budget, honest work and proper advice from a qualified adviser are all part of the answer.

Where she is worshipped

Dhana Lakshmi has a shrine in each of the Ashtalakshmi temples, the best known being the Ashtalakshmi Kovil at Besant Nagar in Chennai, and the temple of the same name in Hyderabad. She is also worshipped in every home that keeps a Lakshmi puja. The great Lakshmi temples, such as the Mahalakshmi temples at Kolhapur and Mumbai, honour the whole goddess and include this aspect.

Check each temple’s own website or notice for visiting rules. We do not give timings or fees.

Festivals and customs

Her main days are Dhanteras and Diwali. On Dhanteras, the thirteenth day of the dark half of Ashwina, people buy a small piece of gold, silver or a new utensil, and in many homes worship Lakshmi and Kubera in the evening; the steps are on the Dhanteras puja page. On Diwali night the main puja follows, set out in the Diwali Lakshmi puja guide. Akshaya Tritiya is another day of gold, and many families begin a new venture on it.

Friday is the usual weekday of Lakshmi. In many homes a lamp is lit on that day and a coin or a small silver item is kept in the puja place. The Mahalakshmi Ashtakam and the Lakshmi aarti are the texts most often recited.

For readers who ask about wealth in a birth chart, the tradition of Lakshmi Yoga is explained on the Lakshmi Yoga page. A chart shows tendencies, not a certain result.

Frequently asked questions