Varalakshmi (Mahalakshmi)
Varalakshmi Vratam
The Lakshmi who grants boons — one Friday's worship, eight Lakshmis' grace.
Tithi: The Friday before Shravana Purnima.
In the simplest words
South India's Friday for Lakshmi — a decorated kalasham becomes the goddess for a day, and families ask for the eight kinds of wellbeing.
The story & purpose
In Charumati's story, Lakshmi herself came in dream to a devoted woman of Magadha and asked to be worshipped on this Shravana Friday — and through her, every home that keeps the vratam receives Varalakshmi, 'the boon-giving one', who is all eight Lakshmis at once: wealth, grain, courage, progeny, victory, learning, and more.
The kalasham dressed as the goddess — coconut face, silk, jewels, mango leaves — is the vratam's centre. Women tie the nine-knotted saradu on the right wrist, and the evening ends with haldi-kumkum exchanged among neighbours: prosperity, in the south, is a shared thing.
What is done
Kalasha-Lakshmi
The kalasham set on rice, dressed as the goddess, and invoked with Lakshmi mantras.
Saradu / doram
The sacred nine-knot thread tied on the right wrist after puja.
Naivedya
Payasam, obbattu/poli, and betel offered; shared as prasada with haldi-kumkum.
Lakshmi jaap
Om Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah — 108 times before the kalasham.
Best timings
Puja in the morning or forenoon; the thread stays for the year in many homes.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
The vratam asks no temple — the goddess is installed at home, by the women of the house.
In 2026 the Friday falls on Purnima itself — Rakhi and Varalakshmi share the day.
The vratam is kept across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and in many Maharashtrian and Odia homes too.
Mantras of this festival
Note: A minority of 2026 panchangams observed 21 Aug (the Friday before Purnima-week). The widely-published date is 28 Aug. Follow your family's panchangam.