Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has apologized for joking that Mahatma Gandhi used to run a gas station here, saying it was ''a lame attempt at humor.''

Mrs. Clinton, the junior Democratic senator from New York, made the remark on Saturday at a fund-raiser. During an event here for a Senate candidate, Nancy Farmer, Missouri's state treasurer, Mrs. Clinton introduced a quote from Gandhi by saying, ''He ran a gas station down in St. Louis.''

After laughter from many in the crowd of at least 200 subsided, the former first lady continued, ''No, Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader of the 20th century.'' In a nod to Ms. Farmer's underdog status against a Republican senator, Kit Bond, Mrs. Clinton quoted the Indian independence leader as saying, ''First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.''

After being approached by The Associated Press to clarify the remarks, Mrs. Clinton suggested in a statement Monday that she never meant to fuel any stereotype that certain ethnic groups were synonymous with operating America's gas stations. ''I have admired the work and life of Mahatma Gandhi and have spoken publicly about that many times,'' Mrs. Clinton said. ''I truly regret if a lame attempt at humor suggested otherwise.''