On the shore of the Bay of Bengal at Besant Nagar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, stands the Ashtalakshmi temple, dedicated to the Goddess Lakshmi in all her eight forms — the Ashtalakshmi — who bestow the eightfold wealth of prosperity, grain, courage, progeny, victory, knowledge, and more. Built in the twentieth century in a distinctive multi-tiered design, the temple rises in several storeys, each enshrining a different form of the Goddess, so that pilgrims ascend to worship all eight aspects of Lakshmi in turn.
Set beside the sea with the waves almost at its walls, the temple is a serene and much-loved shrine of the Goddess of fortune, drawing great crowds, especially on Fridays and during the festivals of Lakshmi. Ashtalakshmi of Chennai is among the most beloved Lakshmi temples of the South.
