उपैतु मां देवसखः कीर्तिश्च मणिना सह।

प्रादुर्भूतोऽस्मीन् राष्ट्रेऽस्मिन् कीर्तिमृद्दिं ददातु मे॥ ७

upaitu māṁ devasakhaḥ kīrtiśca maṇinā saha |

prādurbhūto'smīn rāṣṭre'smin kīrtimṛddiṁ dadātu me || 7

Meaning: Let Kubera and the lord of fame come to me. I am born in this land that is blessed by You. Please bless me with fame and riches.

upaitu māṁ - (Upendra is younger brother of Lord Indra. Upa in generally prefixed to proper names upa may express in classical literature 'a younger brother', e.g. Upendra, the younger brother of Indra.). Here upaitu contextually means Kubera, lord of wealth. Therefore, upaitu māṁ here means let Kubera come to me along with his riches. A question may arise, why Kubera is being addressed here when Lakṣmī is the Goddess of wealth. Lakṣmī is Prakṛti under whose care all the activities in the universe happen. Though She is Supreme Goddess of wealth, there is Kubera who individually takes care of riches. Lakṣmī attends to higher prayers such as Liberation. Hence this verse is addressed to Her assistant Kubera.

deva sakhaḥ - friends of Kubera, probably referring to aṣṭadikpālaka, the gods guarding eight cardinals. (Śiva and Kubera are said to be great friends). It can be said that the aspirant not only prays for wealth, but also prays for his protection; hence, he is invoking friends of Kubera.

kīrtiśca – fame, renowned and glory. The aspirant not only wants wealth and protection, but also wants fame.

maṇinā saha – wealth is being explained. Wealth also includes rare precious gems, available only with Kubera. Aspirant wants wealth including precious gems. He seeks the help of Kubera to also protect him along with Kubera’s friends from thieves. He is not contended with wealth, and he seeks name and fame.

prādu bhūta asmīn rāṣṭra asmin – I am born in this blessed land, the land Blessed by Lakṣmī; this auspicious land Prakṛti ruled and controlled by Lakṣmī. This is my land, as I am born here. There is an indirect request to Kubera. ‘I am born in this auspicious land ruled by your Master Goddess Lakṣmī. Therefore, Kubera, it is your duty to give me what I have prayed for.”

kīrtim ṛddiṁ dadātu me – Please give me fame and prosperity. I need fame and prosperity as discussed above.

This aspirant is a very seasoned one. He asked for Liberation from Lakṣmī and asks for wealth and fame from Kubera. He also needed protection for his wealth, which he seeks from Kubera. This verse is addressed to Kubera.

क्षुत्पिपासामलां ज्येष्ठामलक्ष्मीं नाशयाम्यहम्।

अभूतिमसमृद्दिं च सर्वां निर्णुद मे गृहात्॥ ८

kṣutpipāsāmalāṁ jyeṣṭhāmalakṣmīṁ nāśayāmyaham |

abhūtimasamṛddiṁ ca sarvāṁ nirṇuda me gṛhāt || 8

Meaning: I drive away Your elder sister, who has thinned due to hunger, thirst and other impurities. O Lakṣmī! Please remove poverty and misfortune from my home.

After having addressed Kubera in the previous verse, the aspirant makes self-affirmation and then prays to Lakṣmī again.

kṣut pipāsā malāṁ - kṣudh means poverty; pipāsā means thirst and mala means bodily impurities. The elder sister of Lakṣmī is known as Jyeṣṭhalakṣmī who is indigence personified.

jyeṣṭha alakṣmī – elder sister of Lakṣmī, who is an embodiment of poverty, thirst and showered with bodily impurities. She has all types of inauspiciousness. Hence she is known as indigence personified.

nāśayāmi aham - nāśayitṛ means destroying; who is destroying? Aham or I am destroying. In order to retain auspicious Lakṣmī, the aspirant says that he is destroying Jyeṣṭhalakṣmī.

abhūtim asamṛddiṁ - abhūti means wretchedness and misery; asamṛddha means non-fulfilled wishes, unaccomplished, failing and other negativities.

ca sarvāṁ - and everything else of negativities and miserableness.

nirṇuda me gṛhāt - nirṇud means drive away. me gṛhāt means from my house.

Lakṣmī Tantra explains alakṣmī. “alakṣmī is regarded as being covered both inside and outside with dirt.”

Dispelling alakṣmī is mentioned twice in this verse - kṣut pipāsā malāṁ and abhūtim asamṛddiṁ. This is in the form of emphasis on dispelling inauspiciousness from the house of aspirant. This is not addressed to Lakṣmī. He himself affirms it. Why he has not made this as a prayer to Lakṣmī? He knows that Lakṣmī is already present in his house and when She is present, all negativities are driven away automatically. This is like mist going away when sun rises. He only prays to Lakṣmī, “Please remove poverty and misfortune from my home.”