Karagre Vasate Lakshmi — the waking verse
कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीःकरमध्ये सरस्वती ।करमूले तु गोविन्दःप्रभाते करदर्शनम् ॥
karāgre vasate lakṣmīḥ karamadhye sarasvatī | karamūle tu govindaḥ prabhāte karadarśanam ||
🔊 ka-raag-ray va-sa-tay lak-shmeeh · ka-ra-mad-hyay sa-ras-va-tee · ka-ra-moo-lay tu go-vin-dah · pra-bhaa-tay ka-ra-dar-sha-nam
📖 What it means
At the tip of the hand dwells Lakshmi; in the middle of the hand, Saraswati; at the base of the hand, Govinda. In the morning, look at your hand.
🔍 Word by word
| कराग्रे karāgre | at the tip of the hand — the fingers, which do the work |
|---|---|
| करमध्ये karamadhye | in the middle of the palm |
| करमूले karamūle | at the root of the hand, the wrist |
| प्रभाते prabhāte | at dawn |
| करदर्शनम् karadarśanam | the seeing of the hand |
🕰️ When it is used
On waking, before the feet touch the floor.
💡 Worth knowing
Whatever one makes of the deities, the instruction is striking: the first thing you look at each morning should be your own hands, where wealth, learning and everything else will actually come from.
🔬 Does it do anything?
A straight answer, with the evidence and its limits — including the claims that are popular and untrue.
More mantras
Om
The syllable taken as the sound of the whole — beginning, middle and end together.
Open →The Gayatri Mantra
We contemplate the glorious light of the sun, the giver of life. May it set our thinking in motion.
Open →Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
From the unreal lead me to the real; from darkness lead me to light; from death lead me to deathlessness.
Open →