KANAKADHARA SET large

Kanakadhara means “stream” (dhārā) of “gold” (kanaka). Kanakadhara Stotram is a hymn (stotra) composed in Sanskrit by the Sri Adi Sankaracharya.

One day, as a young boy, AdiSankaracharya was on bhiksha and happened upon the doorstep of a very poor Brahmin lady. Having nothing edible in her home, the lady frantically searched her house, only to find a single amla (gooseberry) fruit which she then hesitantly offered to Sankara. Sankara was so moved by the incredible kindness and selflessness of this woman that he burst forth into poetry and sang 22 stanzas in praise of Goddess Lakshmi.