Ashtalakshmi

Ashta Lakshmi
eight forms of wealth
Gaja Lakshmi, one of the Ashta Lakshmi
Devanagari	अष्टलक्ष्मी
Sanskrit transliteration	aṣṭa lakṣmī
Affiliation	forms of Lakshmi, Devi
Consort	Vishnu

Ashta Lakshmi, also spelled as Ashtalakshmi (Sanskrit: अष्टलक्ष्मी, Aṣṭalakṣmī, lit. "eight Lakshmis"), are a group of eight Hindu goddesses, secondary manifestations of Shri-Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, who preside over eight sources of wealth: "Wealth" in the context of Ashta-Lakshmi means prosperity, good health, knowledge, strength, progeny, and power. The Ashta Lakshmi are always depicted and worshipped in a group in temples.

The prayer Shri Ashta Lakshmi Stotram lists the Ashta Lakshmi as follows:

In some Ashta Lakshmi lists, other forms of Lakshmi are included:

The Ashta Lakshmi are all depicted seated on a lotus.

Adi Lakshmi

Dhana Lakshmi

Dhanya Lakshmi

Gaja Lakshmi

Santana Lakshmi

Dhairya Lakshmi

Vijaya Lakshmi

Vidya Lakshmi

The rise of the Ashta Lakshmi is directly proportional to the rising popularity of Ashta Lakshmi Strotam. Around the 1970s, a leading Sri Vaishnava theologian, Sri U. Ve. Vidvan Mukkur Srinivasavaradacariyar Svamikal, published a poem called Ashta Lakshmi Strotam dedicated to the eight Lakshmis. Narayanan comments: “Although these attributes (which represent the wealths bestowed by the Ashta Lakshmi) of Sri (Lakshmi) can be found in traditional literature, [..] the emergence of these eight (Ashta Lakshmi goddesses) in precisely this combination is, as far as I can discern, new.”

The Ashta Lakshmi are now widely worshipped both by Sri Vaishnava and other Hindu communities in South India. Occasionally, the Ashta Lakshmi are depicted together in shrines or in "framing pictures" within an overall design and are worshipped by votaries of Lakshmi who worship her in her various manifestations. In addition to emergence of Ashta Lakshmi temples since the 1970s, traditional silver articles used in home worship as well as decorative jars ('Kumbha') now appear with the Ashta Lakshmi group molded on their sides. Books, popular prayers manuals, pamphlets sold outside temples in South India; ritual worship and "a burgeoning audiocassette market" are also popularizing these "new" eight forms of Lakshmi.