Varalakshmi Vratam

Varalakshmi Vratam
Varalakshmi Vratam
	Murti of Lakshmi decorated for the occasion
Observed by	South Indian Hindu women
Significance	Religious
Observances	Puja
2023 date	25 August
2024 date	16 August
Frequency	Annual

Varalakshmi Vratam (Sanskrit: वरलक्ष्मी व्रतम्, romanized: Varalakṣmī Vratam), also called Varalakshmi Puja, is a Hindu observance to propitiate the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.^[1] Varalakshmi is the manifestation of Lakshmi who grants boons (varam). It is a puja primarily performed by married Hindu women in the states of South India.^[2]^[3]^[4] This occasion is observed on the Friday before the day of the full moon - Purnima - in the Hindu month of Shravana, which corresponds to the Gregorian months of July – August.

The Varalakshmi Vratam is primarily performed by married women (sumangali), for their own well-being, and in order to ask the goddess to bless their husbands with health and longevity.^[5]^[6] Many believe that worshipping the aspect of Varalakshmi on this day is equivalent to worshipping the Ashtalakshmi– the eight aspects of Goddess MahaLakshmi, all of whom represent different forms of wealth.

^ Singh, K. S.; Halbar, B. G. (2003). Karnataka. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 113. ISBN 978-81-85938-98-1.
^ Flueckiger, Joyce Burkhalter (1 October 2020). Material Acts in Everyday Hindu Worlds. SUNY Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-4384-8013-8.
^ Monger, George P. (9 April 2013). Marriage Customs of the World: An Encyclopedia of Dating Customs and Wedding Traditions, 2nd Edition [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 399. ISBN 978-1-59884-664-5.
^ Kumar, Tumuluru Kamal (21 April 2015). Hindu Prayers, Gods and Festivals. Partridge Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4828-4708-6.
^ Fieldhouse, Paul (17 April 2017). Food, Feasts, and Faith: An Encyclopedia of Food Culture in World Religions [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 263. ISBN 978-1-61069-412-4.
^ Krishna, Nanditha (June 2010). The Book of Vishnu. Penguin Books India. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-14-306762-7.

[1] Singh, K. S.; Halbar, B. G. (2003). Karnataka. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 113. ISBN 978-81-85938-98-1.

[2] Flueckiger, Joyce Burkhalter (1 October 2020). Material Acts in Everyday Hindu Worlds. SUNY Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-4384-8013-8.

[3] Monger, George P. (9 April 2013). Marriage Customs of the World: An Encyclopedia of Dating Customs and Wedding Traditions, 2nd Edition [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 399. ISBN 978-1-59884-664-5.

[4] Kumar, Tumuluru Kamal (21 April 2015). Hindu Prayers, Gods and Festivals. Partridge Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4828-4708-6.

[5] Fieldhouse, Paul (17 April 2017). Food, Feasts, and Faith: An Encyclopedia of Food Culture in World Religions [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 263. ISBN 978-1-61069-412-4.

[6] Krishna, Nanditha (June 2010). The Book of Vishnu. Penguin Books India. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-14-306762-7.

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