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Karagre Vasate Lakshmi

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Evening aarti in a temple: a priest holds a five-wick brass lamp before the decorated deities, with devotees’ hands folded
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  1. Shloka

    कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः करमध्ये सरस्वती। करमूले तु गोविन्दः प्रभाते करदर्शनम्॥

    Karaagre vasate lakshmeeh karamadhye sarasvatee | Karamoole tu govindah prabhaate karadarshanam ||

    Word by word: karagre, at the front of the hand (towards the fingers); vasate, dwells; lakshmih, Lakshmi; karamadhye, in the middle of the hand; sarasvati, Saraswati; karamule, at the base of the hand (towards the wrist); tu, and; govindah, Govinda (Vishnu, Krishna); prabhate, in the morning; karadarshanam, looking at the hands. Meaning: Lakshmi dwells at the front of the palm, Saraswati in the middle and Govinda at the base; so on waking one should look at one’s palms.

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Meaning, sources and more prayers: sanatanbodh.in/en/prayers/karagre-vasate-lakshmi/

In short

“Karagre Vasate Lakshmi” is a Sanskrit verse said on waking while looking at one’s palms, a custom called kara-darshana. It says that Lakshmi dwells at the front of the palm, Saraswati in the middle and Govinda at its base. By tradition the day begins with this verse. Its original source and author are not reliably known.

Variants: in some homes the third quarter is ‘karamule sthita Gauri’ (Gauri, that is Parvati, at the base) and the fourth ‘mangalam karadarshanam’; the reading ‘karamule sthito Brahma’ is also found. The most common reading is the one given above. Some write ‘Lakshmi’ and ‘Govinda’ without the final visarga; by Sanskrit grammar the forms with visarga (lakshmih, govindah) are correct.

Frequently asked questions

When is this verse said?

By tradition right on waking, before getting out of bed, looking at the two palms held together. This is called kara-darshana.

Why are Lakshmi, Saraswati and Govinda placed in the palm?

A common explanation is that our hands are the means of wealth (Lakshmi), learning (Saraswati) and right action, so the day should begin by looking at them with respect. The verse itself does not give a reason.

Are there different versions?

Yes. Some say ‘karamule sthita Gauri’ instead of ‘karamule tu Govindah’, ending with ‘mangalam karadarshanam’, and some say ‘karamule sthito Brahma’. The most common version is ‘karamule tu Govindah prabhate karadarshanam’.

Sources

  1. Traditional morning verse
  2. Text compared on sanskrit.today and shlokam.org; variants: blog.practicalsanskrit.com

Something wrong? Report a mistake

Text checked against: sanskrit.today, shlokam.org, blog.practicalsanskrit.com