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Tirtha

daily special

Nitya Lakshmi Archana

नित्य लक्ष्मी अर्चनाNitya Lakṣmī ArcanāThe daily archana offered to Lakshmi, name by name.

A short daily rite — the Sri Suktam, the hundred and eight names with kumkum, and a lamp lit at the threshold at dusk.

From
₹1,100
Duration
30 min – 1 hr 15 min
Languages
en · hi · bn · ta · te · mr · gu
Performed as
At Your Home · At a Temple in India · Guided by Video
Choose a muhurat

Why this ritual

What the rite is for

This is the smallest of the rites on this platform and the one most often kept without a pandit at all. It takes half an hour. A lamp is lit at the threshold as the light goes, the Sri Suktam is recited — fifteen rks from the khila portion of the Rigveda — and the hundred and eight names of Lakshmi are said one at a time with a pinch of kumkum offered at each. The Kanakadhara Stotram, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is added where the household keeps it.

In tradition Sri is not only wealth. The Sri Suktam addresses her as the one who is present in gold and in cattle, in a swept house, in a fed guest, in the smell of rain on earth — abundance understood as a quality of a place rather than a quantity in it. That is why the rite is bound so closely to the threshold, the lamp and the sweeping that precedes it, and why it is kept daily rather than on great occasions.

Friday is the customary day, and the pradosh hour at dusk the customary time. Households abroad often book the remote archana at a temple in India for a Friday when they cannot keep it themselves.

Textual basis

Where it comes from

The Sri Suktam belongs to the khila portion appended to the fifth mandala of the Rigveda and is recited in every Lakshmi rite from a household lamp to a temple kumbhabhishekam. The Lakshmi Ashtottara Shatanamavali — the hundred and eight names — is drawn from the Puranic stotra literature and is the form used for archana, where each name is spoken separately with an offering. The Kanakadhara Stotram is attributed to Adi Shankaracharya and is closely associated with Kaladi in Kerala. Regional practice differs in the naivedya: batasha and mishri in the north, sweet pongal in Tamil households, narkel naru in Bengal, where Lakshmi Puja is also kept on the purnima after Durga Puja.

Vidhi

The rite, step by step

Timings are approximate and vary with the pandit's paddhati.

Samagri

What the vidhi calls for

And why each item is used.

  • Kumkum

    100 g

    A pinch is offered at each of the hundred and eight names. Keep it in a shallow dish so the hand can reach it without breaking the sequence.

  • Lotus or red flowers

    1 bundle

    A lotus where one can be had, otherwise red rose or red lotus-stemmed flowers. One is offered at the close of each rk of the Sri Suktam.

  • Cow ghee and cotton wicks

    250 g

    Two wicks in the threshold lamp and one at the shrine. The threshold lamp is not extinguished by hand.

  • Red cloth

    1 metre

  • Panchamrit

    250 ml

  • Batasha and mishri

    250 g

    The customary naivedya in the north. Tamil households offer sweet pongal instead, and Bengali households narkel naru.

  • Kamalgatta mala

    1 piece

    A rosary of lotus seeds, used where the household keeps a count of the Lakshmi mantra after the archana.

  • Cowrie shells

    11 piece

    Placed on the plate before the image and kept in the household’s cash box afterwards — an old custom recorded across regions.

  • Turmeric and akshat

    100 g

  • Dhoop and camphor

    1 bundle

  • Rangoli powder

    500 g

    For the threshold. White rice flour and ochre are the plainest and most widely used pair.

  • Namavali booklet

    2 piece

    The Sri Suktam and the hundred and eight names printed with transliteration, so anyone in the house can lead the archana.

Packages

What differs between tiers

Stated plainly: the counts, the number of pandits, and the time it takes.

  • Ek Din Archana

    One day’s archana at a temple in India, in your name and gotra.

    ₹1,100

    Duration
    30 min
    Pandits
    1 pandit

    Included

    • Sankalp with your name, gotra and nakshatra
    • Sri Suktam and the 108 names with kumkum archana
    • Deep and naivedya offered on your behalf
    • A photograph of the sankalp and the temple receipt

    in india

  • Shukravar Archana

    Most chosen

    The full home archana at the pradosh hour, with a pandit present.

    ₹2,100

    Duration
    1 hr
    Pandits
    1 pandit

    Included

    • Rangoli and threshold lamp before the rite begins
    • Shodashopachar puja of Lakshmi with Vishnu
    • Sri Suktam with a flower at each rk
    • 108 names with kumkum archana and Kanakadhara Stotram
    • Complete samagri and a namavali booklet to keep

    at home · guided

  • Mandala Archana

    Forty-eight days of daily archana at a temple, with a Friday reading at home.

    ₹5,100

    Duration
    1 hr 15 min
    Pandits
    2 pandits

    Included

    • Daily archana for a mandala of forty-eight days
    • Sri Suktam havan on the first and last day
    • A Friday sitting at home each week, in person or guided
    • Weekly note recording the day’s sankalp and offerings
    • Prasad couriered at the close of the mandala

    at home · in india · guided

Who performs it

Pandit requirement

One pandit who can recite the Sri Suktam with correct svara and lead the hundred and eight names at a pace the household can follow. For the guided mode we match a pandit who teaches patiently, since most families booking this intend to keep the rite themselves afterwards.

Questions

What families ask

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We will show you the auspicious windows for this rite, in your timezone and in India’s, and why each one was suggested.

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Traditional guidance, offered for reflection. Not medical, legal or financial advice.