Kanakadhara Stotram

// HARI OM //

Kanakadhara stotram is a very famous and holy script authored bynone other than Sri Sri Adi Sankaracharya. The story behind thestotram goes thus.Shankaracharya ones goes to a very poor woman's house for Biksha. Asis the tradition in olden days, you can never turn around a personwho comes for Biksha. That poor lady has just one amla (usili kaya in telugu) with her in her house. She had planned to eat it that day as she had nothing else with her. But when the jagadguru himself had come to her house for biksha, she couldnt help but give her only possession,the amla. Jagadguru immediately understands this. He comes into her courtyard and prays to lord mahalakshmi in 22 beautiful verses, starting as

// Angam Hare Pulaka bhooshana mashrayanthim //

At the end of this 22 verses, Goddess MahaLaksmi is so pleased with Sankaracharya that he gives him a darshan and grants him a boon. He says he being a sanyasi doesnt want anything, and instead asks goddess to grant wealth to this poor woman. Lakshmi is very pleased with sankaracharya as he doesnot want anything for himself and instead prays for the well being of others. She immediately rains golden Amlas on the poor womans house. She becomes very rich. At the same time, she offers one more boon to sankaracharya that whoever reads his slokas, from now on to be called as the Kanakadhara stotram, with full sincerity will be always blessed by goddess lakshmi with all wealth.

// Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavanthu //