Om Jai Lakshmi Mata is the aarti sung to Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune and well-being, at the end of her puja. An aarti is a song of praise sung while a lit lamp is waved before the deity. This one is heard in homes and shops on Fridays and at Diwali, when families worship Lakshmi in the evening and sing it with a bell and clapping. It is also the aarti many families sing on Dhanteras, two days before.
The words name no author, and no date is known for it. It is built in the same form and sung to the same kind of tune as Om Jai Jagdish Hare, the aarti that tradition credits to Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri. That resemblance does not show that he wrote this one, and we have found nothing that ties it to him or to any other named person. Treat the author as unknown. The song calls Lakshmi by the names Uma, Rama and Brahmani, places her in the nether worlds and in the ocean of milk, and ends with the usual line of promise.
The text, transliteration and meaning
The aarti is a refrain and seven more couplets. The refrain, the first couplet, is repeated after each couplet in singing, so the song feels longer than the page. The spelling follows the majority of the printed versions we compared.
Refrain and first couplet
ॐ जय लक्ष्मी माता, मैया जय लक्ष्मी माता ।
तुमको निशदिन सेवत, हर विष्णु धाता ॥
Om jay lakshmi mata maiya jay lakshmi mata
Tumako nishadin sevat har vishnu dhata
MeaningVictory to Mother Lakshmi, victory to her. Day and night Hara (Shiva), Vishnu and Dhata (Brahma) serve you.
Couplet 2
उमा, रमा, ब्रह्माणी, तुम ही जग माता ।
सूर्य चन्द्रमा ध्यावत, नारद ऋषि गाता ॥
Uma rama brahmani tum hi jag mata
Sury chandrama dhyavat narad rishi gata
MeaningYou are Uma (Parvati), Rama (Lakshmi) and Brahmani, and you are the mother of the world. The sun and the moon meditate on you, and the sage Narada sings of you.
Couplet 3
दुर्गा रूप निरंजनि, सुख सम्पत्ति दाता ।
जो कोई तुमको ध्यावत, ऋद्धि सिद्धि धन पाता ॥
Durga rup niranjani sukh sampatti data
Jo koi tumako dhyavat riddhi siddhi dhan pata
MeaningIn the form of Durga, spotless and the giver of comfort and wealth. The text says that whoever meditates on you gains prosperity, accomplishment and riches.
Couplet 4
तुम पाताल निवासिनि, तुम ही शुभ दाता ।
कर्म प्रभाव प्रकाशिनि, भवनिधि की त्राता ॥
Tum patal nivasini tum hi shubh data
Karm prabhav prakashini bhavanidhi ki trata
MeaningYou dwell in the nether worlds too, and you alone give what is good. You make the power of karma shine, and you rescue from the ocean of worldly life.
Couplet 5
जिस घर तुम रहती, तहँ सब सद्गुण आता ।
सब सम्भव हो जाता, मन नहीं घबराता ॥
Jis ghar tum rahati tahan sab sadgun ata
Sab sambhav ho jata man nahim ghabarata
MeaningIn the house where you live, every good quality arrives. Everything becomes possible and the mind does not panic.
Couplet 6
तुम बिन यज्ञ न होते, वस्त्र न कोई पाता ।
खान पान का वैभव, सब तुमसे आता ॥
Tum bin yagya na hote vastr na koi pata
Khan pan ka vaibhav sab tumase ata
MeaningWithout you no sacrifice is performed and no one gets clothing. The plenty of food and drink all comes from you.
Couplet 7
शुभ गुण मन्दिर सुन्दर, क्षीरोदधि जाता ।
रत्न चतुर्दश तुम बिन, कोई नहीं पाता ॥
Shubh gun mandir sundar kshirodadhi jata
Ratn chaturdash tum bin koi nahim pata
MeaningYou are the beautiful abode of auspicious qualities, born of the ocean of milk. Without you no one gains the fourteen jewels that came from the churning of that ocean.
Couplet 8
महालक्ष्मीजी की आरती, जो कोई नर गाता ।
उर आनन्द समाता, पाप उतर जाता ॥
Mahalakshmiji ki arati jo koi nar gata
Ur anand samata pap utar jata
MeaningWhoever sings this aarti of Mahalakshmi, says the text, finds joy filling the heart and sin falling away. That is the song's own statement of faith.
Where the versions differ
Most printed versions agree line for line. The differences are small, and these are the main ones, with the reading used above first.
- Dhata or vidhata. The first couplet ends hara Vishnu dhata in most prints, naming Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, and Vishnu vidhata (Vishnu the creator) in two. The sense is close, but only the first form names all three of the great gods.
- Nishdin, nishidin or nisidin. The word for “day and night” is spelt three ways, and the page uses the most common.
- Uma, Rama, Brahmani, or Brahmani, Rudrani, Kamala. A second family of prints, found in a few bhajan collections, reads Brahmani, Rudrani, Kamala, tu hi hai jag mata in place of the second couplet’s first line. The page uses the longer-established Uma, Rama, Brahmani form, which most of the books print.
- Jis ghar tum rahti or jis ghar mein tum rahti. The words mein and tahan shift between versions, and the page uses the common one.
- Vastra na koi pata or vastra na ho pata. Nine prints read koi and seven read ho, which is the Gita Press reading. The meaning is much the same.
- Man nahin or man nahi. The page follows the majority spelling nahin, and the Gita Press prints nahi.
- Jo koi nar gata or jo koi jan gata. The page uses nar (a person), which more books print than jan.
- Paap utar jata. Two prints end the last line with paap shaman ho jata, meaning sin is stilled.
A different aarti to Lakshmi also circulates, beginning Jai Lakshmi mata, aadi shakti kahi tumko. It is a separate text, found in a very few books, and it is not covered here. Your temple or family may also sing more verses than the eight given here. That belongs to your tradition, and nothing here asks you to change it.
When and how it is traditionally sung
The aarti closes the puja. After the offerings of flowers, kumkum, sweets and coins or rice, a lamp is lit and waved clockwise before the image of Lakshmi while the family sings. The singers then pass their palms over the flame and touch their eyes. Many families sing it on Fridays, a weekday associated with her in popular practice, and in the evening on Diwali, when the main worship of the year is made. The steps of that worship are in the Diwali Lakshmi puja guide. It is also sung on Dhanteras, and the steps for that day are in the Dhanteras puja guide. Customs differ by region and family, and there is no single required time.
What the text says and what the tradition holds
The first two couplets give her names and her place: the great gods serve her, and she is Uma, Rama and Brahmani, the mother of the world. The third and fourth couplets describe her as the giver of comfort and wealth and as the one who rescues from worldly life. The fifth, sixth and seventh couplets say what her presence brings to a house: good qualities, calm, food and clothing, and the jewels that came from the churning of the ocean. The last couplet says that singing the aarti fills the heart with joy and removes sin.
Those lines are the text’s own statement of faith, and they are reported here as such and not as a promise. Devotees treat the aarti as a way to close the worship with gratitude. It does not replace practical help with money, work or health, and it makes no guarantee of wealth. For related texts to the goddess, see the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam and the Kanakadhara Stotram.
Pronunciation notes
Hindi final short a is not pronounced, so mata is “maa-taa” with the last vowel held long, and dhata is “dhaa-taa”. The breathy consonants dh, bh and kh carry a puff of air, as in dhyavat and vaibhav. The word tahan has a soft nasal ending, a hum through the nose. The conjunct in riddhi-siddhi looks heavy but goes smoothly once you say it slowly.
Related mantras and pages
- Diwali: the festival of lamps and the main Lakshmi worship of the year
- Diwali Lakshmi puja: the steps of the evening worship
- Dhanteras: the day two days before Diwali
- Mahalakshmi Ashtakam: a Sanskrit prayer of eight verses to Mahalakshmi
- Shri Suktam: the Vedic hymn to Shri, the goddess of fortune
- Om Jai Jagdish Hare: the aarti whose form this one shares
- All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis
How the text on this page is sourced. No edition of this aarti exists on Hindi or Sanskrit Wikisource, and we could not find a dated printed edition before 1960 that carries it. The words were therefore compared across twenty-seven printings and websites from different publishers, following the rule this site uses for popular devotional texts, and some of these may share an ancestor. They include the Gita Press, Gorakhpur books Nitya Karma Puja Prakash and its Aarti Sangrah, Stotra Ratnavali part 6, Isha Vandana, the Aarti Sangrah of the Rashtra Kavi Maithili Sharan Gupta Shodh Evam Sahitya Parishad (Bhopal), the Agarwal Boot House and Shiv Prakashan Mandir Arati Sangrahs, Sangopanga Dipavali Mahalakshmi Pujan Paddhati, Pooja Karma Praveshika, Japa Tapa or Vrata, Lakshmi Sadhana, several bhajan and vrat collections, and three websites (Bhakti Bharat, Sanskrit Documents and Drik Panchang). Each word printed above appears with identical spelling in two or more of these sources, and where readings differ the majority reading is taken. Nothing needed the Gita Press tie-break, and the places where the Gita Press prints differently are listed above. Transliteration is simplified for easy reading, and the meaning is written from the Hindi itself.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Who wrote Om Jai Lakshmi Mata?
The words name no author, and the date is not known. It shares its form with Om Jai Jagdish Hare, which tradition credits to Shardha Ram Phillauri, but nothing shows that he wrote this one, so the author is best described as unknown.
↳ When is the Lakshmi aarti sung?
It is sung at the close of Lakshmi puja, on Fridays, on Dhanteras and above all on Diwali evening. Customs differ by region and family, and there is no single required time.
↳ What does Om Jai Lakshmi Mata mean?
It means "victory to Mother Lakshmi". The couplets that follow name her as Uma, Rama and Brahmani, praise her as the giver of comfort and good qualities, and recall her birth from the ocean of milk.
↳ Why does my version have different words?
Aartis are passed on by singing, so small words, spellings and sometimes whole lines change between publishers. This page prints the reading found in the majority of the sources and lists the main differences above, and your family version is not wrong.
↳ Does the aarti promise wealth?
The text says that its singer finds joy in the heart and sin falling away, and the earlier couplets say that comfort and wealth come from her. These are the song's own statements of faith, and they are not a guarantee of any outcome in daily life.