भूयाद्भूयो द्विपद्माभयवरदकरा तप्तकार्तस्वराभा शुभ्राभ्राभेभयुग्मद्वयकरधृतकुम्भाद्भिरासिच्यमाना । रक्तौघाबद्धमौलिर्विमलतरदुकूलार्तवालेपनाढ्या पद्माक्षी पद्मनाभोरसि कृतवसतिः पद्मगा श्रीः श्रियै नः
bhūyādbhūyo dvipadmābhayavaradakarā taptakārtasvarābhā śubhrābhrābhebhayugmadvayakaradhṛtakumbhādbhirāsicyamānā | raktaughābaddhamaulirvimalataradukūlārtavālepanāḍhyā padmākṣī padmanābhorasi kṛtavasatiḥ padmagā śrīḥ śriyai naḥ
"Again and again: with two lotuses, with hands of fearlessness and boon, shining like molten gold, being sprinkled with water from pots held in the trunks of two pairs of elephants like white clouds; in spotless garments and unguents, with braided crown of hair, lotus-eyed, having made her dwelling on the chest of the Lotus-navelled, resting on a lotus — may Śrī always be for our good."
cd71887df9d0 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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A second meditation, and in it there is a feature worth reading it for: padma-nābha-urasi kṛta-vasatiḥ, "having made her dwelling on the chest of the Lotus-navelled." Padma-nābha, "Lotus-navelled," is a name of Viṣṇu; and it is said that Lakṣmī lives on His chest. This place, in Vaiṣṇava teaching, is fundamental and is called śrīvatsa: the mark on Viṣṇu's chest, where she resides.
It is worth noting that, amid the whole list of gold, elephants, and pots, her position is defined not by wealth but by dwelling place. That is, the goddess of abundance is defined by whom she is with; and this, to my mind, is the chief thing in her description. The Vaiṣṇava side holds to this and draws from it a conclusion worth citing.
Its rule is put thus: Lakṣmī does not give herself to those who seek her apart from Him. The reason is given by story and observation: wealth acquired apart from Him is called āsura in the Bhāgavatam, and does not last. Hence its practice knows no separate worship of Lakṣmī: they are honored together, and her name is placed before His — Sītā-Rāma, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa.
Let us add the elephants: two pairs, sprinkling her from pots. This is gaja-lakṣmī, "elephant Lakṣmī," her most ancient image, found in carvings long before these books; the elephants mean rain, and rain means harvest.