According to Skanda Purana, once Goddess Parvati asked Lord Shiva about a vrata that will

be beneficial to women. Lord Shiva then mentioned the importance of Varalakshmi Vrata,

which is most beneficial Vrata for women.

To illustrate the importance of the Varamahalakshmi Vrat, Lord Shiva narrated the story of

Charumati.

Pleased with Charumati’s devotion to her husband and family, Goddess Lakshmi appeared in

her dream and asked her to perform the Varalakshmi Vratha. She explained to her the

procedures of the Vrata.

The pious Charumati invited all her neighbors, friends and relatives and performed the

Varalakshmi puja as directed by Goddess Lakshmi. Soon after the puja, all the people who

participated in the puja were blessed with wealth and prosperity.

Story of Shyamabala and Varalakshmi Vrata

Another popular story associated with Varamahalakshmi Vrat is that of Shyamabala. King

Bathrasiravas and Queen Surachandrika had a daughter named Shyamabala. She was married

to a prince of neighboring kingdom.

Once when Shyamabala was in her parent’s palace, she saw her mother, Queen

Surachandrika, driving away an old lady. The old lady had asked the Queen to perform

Varalakshmi puja but the queen did not like a beggar advising her regarding pujas and

therefore drove her out.

A kind-hearted Shyamabala invited the old lady and listened to the greatness of Varalakshmi

Vrata. When she returned to her country, she performed the Vrata as directed by the old lady.

Soon her kingdom started prospering and the prince was appreciated for his good governance.

But parents of Shyamabala had to undergo numerous sufferings and there was suffering all

around. The king and queen lost all his wealth and people started revolting against their rule.

Hearing about the suffering in her parent’s kingdom, Shyamabala sent pots of gold but the

moment Queen Surachandrika set her eyes on them they turned into ashes.

Upon hearing this incident, Shyamabala realized that all this is the result of her mother

driving out the old woman from the palace. She realized that the old woman was Goddess

Lakshmi in disguise.

Shyamabala asked her mother to ask forgiveness to Goddess Lakshmi and perform the

Varalakshmi Vrata. She did so and was able to attain the previous glory.

Curse of Chitranemi

According to another story in the Hindu scriptures, the origin of Varalakshmi Vratha is

associated with a game of dice played between Lord Shiva and Parvati. Goddess Parvati who

was winning all the games was accused of cheating by Lord Shiva. So they decided to

appoint Chitranemi, a gana of Shiva, as the umpire.

Chitranemi ruled in favor of Lord Shiva and this angered Goddess Parvati who cursed him to

be a leper. Shiva asked Parvati to forgive Chitranemi and she agreed to revoke the curse if he

watched Varalakshmi Vratha performed by pious women. The tradition of Varalakshmi

Vratha started from then onwards.