Vijaya Lakshmi is the seventh of the Ashta Lakshmi. Vijaya means victory, and she is the Lakshmi of success: of an effort carried through, a contest won, a hard task completed. In some lists the form is called Jaya Lakshmi, from jaya, which also means victory, and the two names are used with little difference. A few lists name only one of the pair.
This page covers her image, the tradition around her, her worship and her festivals, and says where the sources differ. It is tradition set out as tradition.
The names Vijaya and Jaya
Jaya and Vijaya are among the most used words for victory in Sanskrit. Jaya is also the name that the tradition gives to the earliest form of the Mahabharata. Vijaya is the more elaborate word, and is the one in Vijayadashami, the festival of victory. Both are also the names of the two gatekeepers of Vishnu in the tradition, Jaya and Vijaya. They are not connected with this form except by the shared word, and we mention it so that readers do not confuse them.
Her place in the list
She is seventh in most hymns, after Veera Lakshmi and before Vidya Lakshmi, and she is in nearly every list of the eight. Where a list has Jaya Lakshmi, the place is the same. The hub page shows the other differences.
Form and iconography
She is usually shown with eight arms. The objects commonly listed are the discus and the conch, a sword and a shield, a lotus, a noose or a similar object, and the gestures of fearlessness and of boon-giving. She sits on a lotus, with a crown, and her sari is commonly red. Her images resemble those of Veera Lakshmi, and for good reason: the tradition sees courage and victory as neighbours, and the two forms are often shown side by side in a temple.
The difference that devotional writers draw is one of timing. Courage is what you need while the struggle is on, and victory is the outcome. The tradition adds that victory in its fullest sense is not a defeat of someone else but a success that is clean. A victory that takes away another person’s dignity is not what this form is taken to mean.
The tradition around her
No Purana tells of Vijaya Lakshmi by name, and we do not invent a story. The form draws on several older ideas that are tied to victory.
The first is the return of Lakshmi to the gods after the churning of the ocean, told in the Vishnu Purana and summarised on the Kurma page. The gods, who had lost their fortune, won it back, and the tradition links this return of rule with Lakshmi. The second is the old Indian belief that Shri and Vijaya go together: the king who is crowned is said to be joined with Lakshmi, and old praise of kings often pairs the two ideas. The third is the victory of the Goddess over Mahishasura, told in the Devi Mahatmya, which is celebrated on Vijayadashami; see the Durga Saptashati.
A fourth idea sits in the epics. The Ramayana tells that Rama defeated Ravana and was reunited with Sita, who is called an incarnation of Lakshmi, so that the victory of Rama is also the return of Lakshmi. The Rama page of the Dashavatara section tells the story.
What the form means
In devotional reading the form is about completion. A common remark is that success takes both effort and grace: the effort is the person’s and the grace is the goddess’s. Many people take it as a form to remember at an examination, an interview or the start of a business, as a quiet wish and not a guarantee.
The tradition does not claim that prayer ensures a result. Many things that people call victory are outside anyone’s control, and a calm reading of the form allows for that.
A last note on how the form is used. Many families do not ask Vijaya Lakshmi for a particular result at all. They remember her at the start of something that matters, such as a new school year, a journey or a first day at work, and ask for the strength to do it well and the grace to accept the outcome. That is a quieter use of the form than the word victory suggests, and it fits the tradition’s own habit of valuing the effort more than the prize.
Where she is worshipped
Vijaya Lakshmi, or Jaya Lakshmi, has a shrine in each Ashtalakshmi temple, including the Ashtalakshmi Kovil at Besant Nagar, Chennai, and the temple of the same name in Hyderabad. She is worshipped in home puja alongside the other forms. As with the others, we give no timings: check each temple’s own site.
Festivals and customs
Her great day is Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, the tenth day after the start of Navratri, when the victory of the Goddess over Mahishasura and of Rama over Ravana are both remembered; see the Dussehra page and the Vijayadashami puja guide. On that day people worship their tools, books and vehicles, and many begin new learning or work. The Navratri day by day page lays out the nine nights before.
Diwali is also a day for Lakshmi with the return of Rama; see the Diwali Lakshmi puja page. A Friday lamp and the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam are the usual quiet worship in many homes.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Who is Vijaya Lakshmi?
Vijaya Lakshmi is the form of Lakshmi who stands for victory and success. She is the seventh of the eight forms in most lists.
↳ Is Vijaya Lakshmi the same as Jaya Lakshmi?
Many lists use the two names for the same form, since Vijaya and Jaya both mean victory. A few lists name only one of them.
↳ What does Vijaya Lakshmi look like?
She is usually shown with eight arms, holding a discus, a conch, a sword, a shield and a lotus, with hands that give fearlessness and a boon. The set differs between temples.
↳ When is Vijaya Lakshmi worshipped?
Dussehra, the day of victory, is her natural day, along with Diwali and Fridays. Customs vary, so follow your family's way.
↳ Are Jaya and Vijaya here the same as Vishnu's gatekeepers?
No. The gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya are figures in the Vishnu tradition, and they share only the word for victory with this form of Lakshmi.