When it is sung
Sung at Lakshmi puja on Diwali night, on Fridays in many households, at Kojagiri Purnima, and at any puja for wealth and wellbeing. Diwali 2026 falls on 8 November.
- Diwali — Lakshmi Puja
Sung at the evening puja
Full text, with meaning
Each line of the verse, with its romanisation beneath and what the verse says after it.
Tek (the refrain)
ॐ जय लक्ष्मी माता, (मैया) जय लक्ष्मी माता।
Om Jai Lakshmi Mata, Maiya Jai Lakshmi Mata
तुमको निसिदिन सेवत, हर-विष्णु-धाता॥ टेक॥
Tumko nisidin sevat, Har-Vishnu-dhata
Meaning
Victory to mother Lakshmi. Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma attend on you night and day.
Verse 1
उमा, रमा, ब्रह्माणी, तुम ही जग-माता।
Uma, Rama, Brahmani, tum hi jag-mata
सूर्य-चन्द्रमा ध्यावत, नारद ऋषि गाता॥ ॐ जय०॥
Surya-Chandrama dhyavat, Narad rishi gata
Meaning
You are Uma, Rama and Brahmani — you alone are the mother of the world. Sun and moon hold you in mind, and the sage Narada sings of you.
Verse 2
दुर्गारूप निरंजनि, सुख-सम्पति दाता।
Durga-roop niranjani, sukh-sampati data
जो कोइ तुमको ध्यावत, ऋद्धि-सिद्धि-धन पाता॥ ॐ जय०॥
Jo koi tumko dhyavat, riddhi-siddhi-dhan pata
Meaning
In the form of Durga, untouched by any stain, you give ease and plenty; whoever holds you in mind receives abundance, attainment and wealth.
Verse 3
तुम पाताल-निवासिनि, तुम ही शुभदाता।
Tum patal-nivasini, tum hi shubh-data
कर्म-प्रभाव-प्रकाशिनि, भवनिधिकी त्राता॥ ॐ जय०॥
Karm-prabhav-prakashini, bhavnidhi ki trata
Meaning
You dwell in the depths and you alone give what is auspicious; you make the effect of action visible, and you carry people across the ocean of existence.
Verse 4
जिस घर तुम रहती, तहँ सब सद्गुण आता।
Jis ghar tum rahti, tahan sab sadgun aata
सब सम्भव हो जाता, मन नहिं घबराता॥ ॐ जय०॥
Sab sambhav ho jata, man nahin ghabrata
Meaning
Every good quality enters the house you live in; everything becomes possible there, and the mind is no longer afraid. The line is about anxiety, not luxury — what wealth removes is panic.
Verse 5
तुम बिन यज्ञ न होते, वस्त्र न हो पाता।
Tum bin yagya na hote, vastra na ho pata
खान-पानका वैभव, सब तुमसे आता॥ ॐ जय०॥
Khan-pan ka vaibhav, sab tumse aata
Meaning
Without you no sacrifice is performed and no cloth is obtained; the richness of food and drink all comes from you. This is the aarti’s central claim — that even ritual depends on material means.
Verse 6
शुभ-गुण-मन्दिर सुन्दर, क्षीरोदधि-जाता।
Shubh-gun-mandir sundar, kshirodadhi-jata
रत्न चतुर्दश तुम बिन, कोई नहिं पाता॥ ॐ जय०॥
Ratna chaturdash tum bin, koi nahin pata
Meaning
Beautiful temple of every auspicious quality, born of the ocean of milk: without you no one obtains the fourteen jewels. The line recalls the churning of the ocean, from which Lakshmi herself arose.
Verse 7 (closing)
महालक्ष्मी(जी)की आरति, जो कोई नर गाता।
Mahalakshmi ji ki aarti, jo koi nar gata
उर आनन्द समाता, पाप उतर जाता॥ ॐ जय०॥
Ur anand samata, paap utar jata
Meaning
Whoever sings this aarti of Mahalakshmi holds joy in the heart, and the weight of wrongdoing falls away.
About this aarti
Most aartis praise; this one argues. Verse 5 states plainly that without Lakshmi there is no yajna and no cloth — that the ceremony in the room, the lamp being circled, the clothes the family is wearing, all rest on material means. It is a defence of prosperity as a religious good rather than an embarrassment.
Verse 4 is the reason the aarti is sung in so many ordinary households on ordinary Fridays. What it promises is not riches but the end of a particular fear: “man nahin ghabrata” — the mind stops panicking.
The sixth verse places her at the churning of the ocean of milk, the samudra manthan, from which fourteen jewels emerged and Lakshmi with them. Calling her kshirodadhi-jata, ocean-born, ties the household lamp to that story.
At Diwali the aarti is sung at the Lakshmi puja after dusk, usually followed by Om Jai Jagdish Hare to close the ceremony.
A note on the text
The text follows the Gita Press Aarti Sangrah, the standard printed collection, from the scanned copy cited below. That copy spells the third-verse phrase ऋधि-सिधि; the standard printed form ऋद्धि-सिद्धि is used here, and वैभव and त्राता are given where the scan reads बैभव and ज्राता. Households differ over whether the fifth verse ends “सब तुमसे आता” or “सब तुमसे पाता”, and some editions carry an additional closing couplet; both are genuine variants.
Sources
These texts are in the public domain. The verse is reproduced from the cited source; the English meaning and the background notes on this page are original writing.