Varalakshmi Vratam 2027 — Friday 13 August
వరలక్ష్మీ వ్రతం 2027
Shravana Shudda — last Friday before Purnima · Varamahalakshmi Vratam · Sinha Lagna 06:20 – 08:27 IST · Vrishabha Lagna 23:51 – 01:52 IST (Hyderabad)
Varalakshmi Vratam 2027 (also called Varamahalakshmi Vratam) falls on Friday, 13 August 2027. Friday observed by married women for their husband's long life, family prosperity, and progeny welfare. Worshipping Maha Lakshmi in her "Vara" (boon-granting) form. One of the most important vratas for Telugu/Kannada/Tamil married women. Primary observance: Kalash (Varalakshmi Kalasham) setup with mukut + coconut + mango leaves + nine-thread sacred yarn, Lakshmi Ashtottara, Lakshmi Sahasranama, Aishwarya Lakshmi mantras, distribution of toranas + tambulam to other married women (muthaide). Recommended muhurat: Sinha Lagna 06:20 – 08:27 IST · Vrishabha Lagna 23:51 – 01:52 IST (Hyderabad).
Varalakshmi Vratam 2027 — Date & Muhurat
| Festival Date | Friday, 13 August 2027 |
| Telugu Masa & Tithi | Shravana Shudda — last Friday before Purnima |
| Primary Muhurat | Sinha Lagna 06:20 – 08:27 IST · Vrishabha Lagna 23:51 – 01:52 IST (Hyderabad) |
| Alternative Names | Varamahalakshmi Vratam |
All timings computed using Lahiri Ayanamsa Swiss Ephemeris for Hyderabad (17.385°N, 78.486°E). For exact local timings in other cities use our Today's Panchangam tool.
Significance of Varalakshmi Vratam 2027
Friday observed by married women for their husband's long life, family prosperity, and progeny welfare. Worshipping Maha Lakshmi in her "Vara" (boon-granting) form. One of the most important vratas for Telugu/Kannada/Tamil married women.
Key Rituals on Varalakshmi Vratam 2027
Kalash (Varalakshmi Kalasham) setup with mukut + coconut + mango leaves + nine-thread sacred yarn, Lakshmi Ashtottara, Lakshmi Sahasranama, Aishwarya Lakshmi mantras, distribution of toranas + tambulam to other married women (muthaide).
Varalakshmi Vratam 2027 Puja Samagri Checklist (Shopping List)
Items to procure 1-2 days before Varalakshmi Vratam 2027:
| # | Item |
|---|---|
| 1 | Varalakshmi Kalasham (silver/copper) |
| 2 | New silk saree for Devi |
| 3 | Lakshmi mukut + jewellery |
| 4 | Akshat + kumkum + turmeric (lots) |
| 5 | Coconut + 5 mango leaves |
| 6 | 9-strand yellow thread |
| 7 | Yellow + white + red flowers |
| 8 | Tambulam (betel leaf + nuts + coins) |
| 9 | Naivedyam: pulihora, sweet pongal, payasam, ariselu |
| 10 | Camphor + ghee lamp |
| 11 | Banana leaves |
Regional Variations of Varalakshmi Vratam 2027
AP/Telangana: Most important festival for married women. Tamil Nadu: Varamahalakshmi Vratam same day. Karnataka: same. Maharashtra: not observed prominently. North India: not widely observed (Sankashti Chaturthi monthly instead).
Charumati, and the Vratam Parvati Asked For
Two accounts are given for this vratam and both explain the same thing — that it exists so that a household can ask for what it needs without an intermediary.
In the first, Parvati asked Shiva for an observance that a woman could keep at home, by herself, which would bring prosperity and wellbeing to her family. Shiva prescribed the Varalakshmi Vratam, to be kept on the Friday of the bright fortnight of Shravana, and told her the merit of it. Varalakshmi is Lakshmi in the form that grants the boon — vara — and the whole vratam is framed as a request made and answered.
In the second, from the Skanda Purana, Lakshmi appeared in the dream of a woman named Charumati of Kundinapura and told her to keep this vratam. Charumati was known for her devotion to her husband and her care of her household, and Lakshmi chose her for that reason. She performed it with the women of her town, and at the end of it, the account says, their ornaments and their houses were transformed. The detail that matters is that she did not keep it alone — she gathered the married women of the town and they kept it together, which is why the vratam still ends with the tamboolam given to other women.
This is a household observance rather than a temple one. There is no procession, no public ritual and no priest required. A woman sets up the kalasha in her own house, performs the worship herself, ties the thread on her own wrist, and invites the women of the neighbourhood to receive the tamboolam. It is among the most widely kept vratas in the Telugu, Tamil and Kannada country for exactly that reason.
Varalakshmi Vratam Puja Vidhi — Step by Step
The vratam is performed in the morning, and the auspicious window for it is in the panel above, computed for your city. Some families keep it in the evening instead, by long custom, and that is equally valid.
| Step | What is done |
|---|---|
| 1 | Preparation the previous evening — Clean the house, set out the mandapam, and prepare the turmeric threads, the muggu at the doorway and the mango-leaf toranam. The offerings are cooked fresh on the morning itself. |
| 2 | Bath and new or clean silk — Bathe early and wear a new or freshly washed silk saree, with the full mangalya alankaram. |
| 3 | Set the mandapam — Spread rice on a plantain leaf or a plate, place the kalasha on it, and set the mandapam on a low wooden seat or platform at a clean spot facing east. |
| 4 | Kalasha and the Lakshmi face — Fill the kalasha with rice or water, add turmeric, a coin, betel nut and a few gems or beads, close it with mango leaves and a coconut, and fix the Varalakshmi mukha to it. Drape it as a saree and complete the alankaram with a nose-ring, bangles and a garland. |
| 5 | Ganesha puja — Invoke Ganesha first with a turmeric pindi, as at the start of every household vratam. |
| 6 | Kalasha avahanam — Invoke Varalakshmi into the kalasha, offer the asana and the sixteen services in order. |
| 7 | Toram — the nine-knot thread — Prepare the toram: threads smeared with turmeric and tied with nine knots, with flowers worked in. Offer it to the Devi first, then tie it on the right wrist. It is worn until it is removed in the customary way. |
| 8 | Ashtottara and Sri Suktam — Offer the hundred and eight names with kumkuma archana, and recite the Sri Suktam and the Varalakshmi Vratha Kalpam — the account of the vratam itself. |
| 9 | Naivedyam of nine or five — Offer the prescribed count of preparations — payasam, pulihora, vada, undrallu or kudumulu, sweet pongal, appam, seasonal fruit, coconut and jaggery. Nine is the usual count, five where nine cannot be made. |
| 10 | Aarti, tamboolam and distribution — Camphor aarti, then tamboolam — betel leaf, nut, turmeric, kumkuma, bangles, a blouse piece and fruit — given to married women who are invited for it. This closes the vratam, and it is not complete without it. |
The kalasha is kept undisturbed for the day and taken down in the customary way afterwards, with the rice from it mixed into the household's rice and the water sprinkled through the house.
The Vratam Fast
A light fast is kept until the worship is finished, and the day is a feast afterwards.
| Form | What is customary |
|---|---|
| Upavasa till the puja | Nothing until the vratam is completed and the naivedyam offered, then the prasada and the meal. This is the usual form. |
| Phalahara | Fruit and milk before the worship where a full fast is not possible, particularly where the vratam is kept in the evening. |
| After the puja | A full festival meal from the offerings themselves — payasam, pulihora, vada and the rest. The offerings are the day's food. |
| Substituted observance | Anyone unwell, pregnant or nursing takes fruit and milk freely. The vratam is the worship and the tamboolam, not the abstinence. |
Who keeps it: married women keep it for the wellbeing of the household, and in many families unmarried daughters, widows and the women of the house all take part in the worship and receive the tamboolam. Households differ on this and the family's own custom is followed.
Mantras Chanted on Varalakshmi Vratam
These are the texts of the vratam, recited during the archana and before the naivedyam.
| Mantra | What it means |
|---|---|
| ఓం శ్రీం మహాలక్ష్మ్యై నమః Om Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah | The Lakshmi bija mantra, chanted with each kumkuma offering during the archana and used for japa through the day. |
| ఓం హిరణ్యవర్ణాం హరిణీం సువర్ణరజతస్రజామ్ | చంద్రాం హిరణ్మయీం లక్ష్మీం జాతవేదో మ ఆవహ || Om hiranya-varnam harinim suvarna-rajata-srajam, chandram hiranmayim Lakshmim jatavedo ma avaha | The opening verse of the Sri Suktam, the Vedic hymn to Lakshmi, recited during the abhishekam and the archana. |
| ఓం వరలక్ష్మ్యై నమః Om Varalakshmyai Namah | The salutation to the boon-granting form, said while tying the toram and while offering the naivedyam. |
| Kanakadhara Stotram — "Angam hare pulaka-bhushanam" | Adi Shankara's hymn to Lakshmi, recited on this day in many households after the ashtottara. |
Chant at whatever pace lets the words stay clear. Tradition counts attention, not speed, and a short count said with care is held better than a long one rushed. If a syllable is uncertain, follow your family priest or your temple's recitation rather than a transliteration.
How Varalakshmi Vratam Is Kept Region by Region
The vratam is kept across the southern states under slightly different names, with the kalasha and the toram common to all of them.
| Region | How the day is kept |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh and Telangana | Kept as Varalakshmi Vratam, among the most widely observed household vratas of the year. The kalasha with the Lakshmi mukha, the nine-knot toram, nine naivedyams and the tamboolam given to invited women are all kept, and the muggu at the doorway is drawn with particular care. |
| Tamil Nadu | Kept as Varalakshmi Viratham. A silver or brass Lakshmi face is fixed to the kalasham and the whole set dressed as a saree, kolam is drawn at the entrance, and the tamboolam with vethalai-paakku is given to the women who come. |
| Karnataka | Kept as Varamahalakshmi Habba. The kalasha is set on rice spread over a plantain leaf, obbattu and payasa are among the offerings, and the arishina-kunkuma exchange with the invited women closes the day. |
| Beyond the South | Kept by Telugu, Tamil and Kannada households wherever they live, and in diaspora temples as a group vratam with the kalashas set up side by side and the worship led together, which is closer to Charumati's own account than the household form is. |
The toram — the nine-knot thread and what it is for
The toram is the vratam's own mark. Threads are smeared with turmeric, nine knots are tied in them, flowers are worked in at the knots, and the whole thing is offered to the Devi before being tied on the right wrist of whoever is keeping the vratam.
The nine knots are read as the nine forms of Lakshmi, and in some accounts as the nine planets. What the custom does in practice is carry the vratam past the day it was performed on — the thread stays on the wrist and the request stays with it. It is removed in the customary way afterwards rather than cut off.
The turmeric on the threads is not decorative either. Turmeric is the mangalya substance of this whole class of observance, and it is present at every step of the vratam — the Ganesha pindi is made of it, the kalasha water carries it, the tamboolam includes it, and the toram is dyed with it.
Why the tamboolam closes the vratam
The vratam is not finished when the aarti is offered. It is finished when the tamboolam has been given, and this is the step most often shortened and least well understood.
The tamboolam is a tray — betel leaves and nut, turmeric and kumkuma, bangles, a blouse piece, coconut, fruit and a little of the prasada — handed to each married woman who has been invited for it, with the kumkuma applied and the blessing exchanged. The customary count is nine, or five where nine cannot be gathered.
Charumati's account is the reason. She did not keep the vratam alone; she gathered the women of her town and they kept it together, and the prosperity in the story comes to all of them. The tamboolam is what remains of that — the observance does not stay inside the house it was performed in.
More Questions About Varalakshmi Vratam
Who keeps Varalakshmi Vratam?
What is the toram and how long is it worn?
Do we need a Lakshmi face for the kalasha?
How many naivedyams are offered?
Can the vratam be done in the evening?
Is a priest needed for Varalakshmi Vratam?
Points Households Most Often Get Wrong
| # | Point |
|---|---|
| 1 | Finishing at the aarti and skipping the tamboolam — The giving to other women is the closing step of the vratam, not a courtesy after it. |
| 2 | Setting up the kalasha without keeping it undisturbed — It stays in place through the day and is taken down in the customary way, with the rice mixed into the household rice and the water sprinkled through the house. |
| 3 | Cutting the toram off — It is removed in the customary manner after the prescribed period, not cut. |
| 4 | Cooking the naivedyam the previous day — The offerings are made fresh on the morning of the vratam. The cleaning, the muggu, the toranam and the threads are the previous evening's work. |
| 5 | Treating it as needing a priest — It is a household vratam performed by the woman keeping it, and that is the point of it. A priest is not required at any step. |