Know About This Festival Of Goddess Lakshmi-Varalakshmi Vratham:

Varalakshmi Vratham is a Hindu festival and importantly the festival is to honor the deity of goddess Lakshmi who is the consort of Lord Vishnu. The practice is notably observed among married women in South India including in the regions such as Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. This festival is observed every year on the seventh day of Shravana month, which generally comes in the month of July-August and is related to Friday before the full moon.

Rituals and Significance:

Preparations

Women wash their house and adorn the place of worship by drawing geometrical designed known as Rangoli and flowers. They cover themselves in garments that are typical for the area and they wear ornaments.

Goddess Varalakshmi

This Goddess is Varalakshmi and people offer prayers along with fruits, flowers, and traditional sweets to her. They also do the aarti and sing various lovely songs on lord.

Vratham

An important ritual of the festival is keeping a vratham, which is a fast, during the day without water. Every evening married women pray for the welfare of the families and their success. Men wear Kankalam that is sacred threads tied on their wrist.

Puja

It is performed by a priest or an elderly woman who chant vedic hymns and tell the story behind Varalakshmi Vratham.

Offerings

Tasty gifts are rice, coconuts, bananas, areca nut betel leaves, and nuts for fertility and wealth. The prasad which is the sanctified food is shared with the family and friends.

Mythological fact:

According to mythology, Kaundinyapur was a town in the ancient Magadha Kingdom where a lady named Charumathi used to stay. In her dream, Mahalakshmi appeared to her because of her devotion to Goddess and asked her to pray to Varalakshmi or the Goddess of Boon. Varalakshmi is an alias of Lakshmi who is the deity of wealth. The prayer/worship has to be performed on the Friday before the full moon night in the Shravan month. When charumathi told her family about her feelings they asked her to do the pooja. Several other village women helped her in traditionally performing the puja.

Conclusion 

Varalakshmi vratham, also described as Varalakshmi Pooja or Varalakshmi Nombu, is a prominent festival leaving Hindu devotes in honor of Goddess Lakshmi. The Varalakshmi vratham or fast is invariably performed by the ladies and mainly the married women so as to attain the blessings of Varalakshmi, who is believed to be a form of Goddess Lakshmi. Varalakshmi showers ‘Vara’ or ‘Varam’ blessings.