Vīra Lakṣmī (वीर लक्ष्मी), also invoked as Dhairya Lakṣmī, the Lakṣmī of fortitude, is the aspect of the goddess of fortune that grants vīrya and dhairya, valour and steadfast courage. Her place in the Aṣṭalakṣmī makes an argument in the shape of a litany: that bravery is a species of wealth, as needful to a life as grain or gold, and as much the goddess's to give.
Iconography
Alone among the eight she is fully armed. She is shown in red garments, eight-armed, bearing the discus, conch, bow and arrow, sword or trident, alongside the palm-leaf book and the gestures of protection and giving. The pairing of weapons with the emblems of blessing is exact: the courage she grants is not aggression but the capacity to hold firm, to protect what is one's own, and to act without paralysis in adversity.
Worship
She has no major independent cult; her worship lives within the Aṣṭalakṣmī liturgy of South Indian temples and households, where she is petitioned by those facing obstacles, litigation, illness or fear. The tradition's insight, that fortune without fortitude cannot be kept, is embodied in her position among the eight: wealth in coin and grain stands on either side of her, and she stands guard over both.
Further reading
- Bhattacharyya, N. N. History of the Sakta Religion. Munshiram Manoharlal, 1996
- Coburn, Thomas B. Encountering the Goddess: A Translation of the Devi-Mahatmya. State University of New York Press, 1991
- Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine. University of California Press, 1986
- Kinsley, David. Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas. University of California Press, 1997
- Sircar, D. C. The Sakta Pithas. Motilal Banarsidass, 1973
See also
This entry was last revised on 31 July 2026.