Santana Lakshmi

Santana Lakshmi is the form of Lakshmi tied to children and the continuation of the family line. Santana means offspring. She is the one among the eight whose image is most domestic, and families have long approached her with prayers for the wellbeing of their children. Tradition does not promise results, and devotees treat her worship as a prayer of hope and gratitude rather than a transaction.

She has six arms and holds a child in her lap, along with a water pot, a sword, a shield and a lotus, while one hand shows the gesture of fearlessness. Her colour is white or pink. She has no fixed vehicle in descriptions. The mantra Om Shreem Hreem Shreem Santana-Lakshmyai Namah salutes her by name. A narrative attached to her speaks of a sage's wife who observed a forty-one day vow and received twin sons, though this is a devotional story and is not found in every list.

Related observances are Putrada Ekadashi, which falls twice a year in Pausha and Shravana, and Sankashti Chaturthi. Shrines include the Santana shrine at the Ashtalakshmi temple in Chennai and Santhana Krishna temple, Sholingur, as recorded in the temple tradition. Couples often pray together before her image, and the weekday is Friday like the others.