Lakshmi
Lakshmi, Hindu goddess of wealth, good fortune, beauty, and abundance. The wife of Vishnu, she is said to have taken different forms in order to be with him in each of his incarnations. Along with the goddesses Parvati and Saraswati, Lakshmi forms the divine trinity known as the Tridevi (tri, “three” and devi, “goddess”). She is widely worshipped across India; in addition to festivals in her honor, posters and images of the goddess are commonly found in households and shops. The name “Lakshmi” also occurs in common usage as a word meaning “auspicious” or “fortunate woman.”
Names and iconography
The name Lakshmi is derived from the Sanskrit roots laksh (“goal”) and laksha (“to perceive”), meaning “she who leads to one’s goal.” Her alternate names include Sri or Shri (“radiance”), Padma or Kamala (she of the lotus), Vaishnavi or Narayani (beloved of Vishnu and Narayan [a name for Vishnu]), and Bhuvaneshvari (“ruler of the universe”). The Skanda Purana (between the 6th and 13th centuries ce) identifies her as Mahadevi (“supreme Goddess”), Mahamaya (“supreme illusion”), Mahalakshmi (“supreme Lakshmi”), and Mahakali (“supreme Kali”). Names of certain fierce forms of the warrior goddess Durga are also occasionally applied to Lakshmi, among them Chandi, Chamunda, and Katyayani.
Lakshmi is represented in art and sculpture either by herself or with her husband, Vishnu. She is usually seated on a lotus flower—full-breasted, broad-hipped, beneficently smiling—and she is sometimes accompanied by a pair of elephants pouring water over her (an image commonly referred to as “Gaja Lakshmi,” gaja meaning “elephant”). Her vehicle is the white owl Uluka. She is commonly represented as a beautiful four-armed woman wearing red and gold, colors symbolizing good fortune and wealth. Two of her hands form mudras—both palms facing outward, one pointed up and the other down—gestures symbolizing blessing and beneficence. She is sometimes represented with a shower of gold coins falling from one palm.
Mythology
Lakshmi is mentioned in Hindu scriptures such as the Rigveda (c. 1500–1200 bce) by the name Shri and in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. She features prominently in the Skanda Purana and the Markandeya Purana (5th or 6th century ce). Numerous hymns called stotras and sutras are dedicated to her. The Lakshmi Tantra, a text extolling the goddess in particular and women in general, dates to the Pancharatra, a religious movement (late 3rd century bce) that contributed to the rise of Vaishnavism, a denomination of Hinduism in which Vishnu is the primary deity.
Origin
The most popular myth of the creation of Lakshmi is Samudra Manthana, or the churning of the ocean. In this account from the Vishnu Purana, devas (the male gods of the Hindu pantheon) and asuras (demons) were originally mortal and agreed to churn the Kshira Sagar (ocean of milk) together for amrita, an elixir that would grant them immortality. Several celestial beings and objects other than the amrita rose out of the ocean during the churning, among them Lakshmi. A negative, shadow version of the goddess, called Alakshmi (the prefix a meaning “not”), is also said to have emerged from the Samudra Manthana. Alakshmi, sometimes considered Lakshmi’s sister, is an embodiment of misfortune.
In a parallel story, Lakshmi is said to have been born to the sage Bhrigu and his wife, Khyati, and was given the name Bhargavi.
Consort of Vishnu
After emerging from the ocean of milk, Lakshmi opts to side with the devas over the asuras and chooses Vishnu as her consort. In this role, she becomes an integral part of the world order he oversees, and she is reborn each time he incarnates. Avatars of Vishnu are almost always accompanied by incarnations of Lakshmi: she is the axe-wielding warrior Parashurama’s wife, Dharani, the warrior king Rama’s wife, Sita, and the god Krishna’s beloved, Radha. Krishna’s many wives, among them Rukmini, are also considered to be earthly forms of Lakshmi. As Vishnu’s wife, Lakshmi has a purpose distinct from her identity as goddess of wealth. Her function in the capacity of consort is to intervene on behalf of the devotees praying to Vishnu for salvation. Although she does not grant salvation directly, it is generally regarded as expedient to appeal to her for deliverance, because she never refuses a supplicant and can be relied on to intercede with her husband.
Ashta Lakshmi
An important collective form of the goddess is the Ashta (eight) Lakshmi. Each of these eight manifestations presides over a separate source of wealth. In iconography, they are differentiated by the number of arms, color of garments, and attendant animals; the lotus flower, however, is common to all. The Ashta Lakshmi are
- Adi Lakshmi: regarded as the most ancient form; goddess of peace
- Dhana Lakshmi: goddess of material wealth
- Dhanya Lakshmi: goddess of agricultural wealth
- Gaja Lakshmi: goddess of animal or cattle wealth
- Santana Lakshmi: goddess who grants offspring
- Dhairya or Veera Lakshmi: goddess who grants patience or valor in battle
- Vijaya Lakshmi: goddess of victory
- Vidya Lakshmi: goddess of knowledge
Vijaya Lakshmi, a martial aspect of the otherwise benign goddess, is sometimes identified as Durga. Some versions of the Ashta Lakshmi contain these alternate forms: Aishwarya Lakshmi (goddess of auspiciousness), Saubhagya Lakshmi (goddess of good fortune), Rajya Lakshmi (goddess of majesty), and Vara Lakshmi (goddess who grants boons).
Worship
Lakshmi is worshipped both in homes and in temples across India. When she is venerated on her own, it is as the goddess of prosperity and luck; when she is worshipped with Vishnu, it is in her role as mediator between divinity and devotee. In most parts of the country, Lakshmi Puja is conducted during the festival of Diwali (Dipavali), held in the month of Karttika in the Hindu calendar (October–November). In the eastern states of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, and Tripura, the puja is held five days after Vijayadashami, which marks the conclusion of Durga Puja, a festival held in the month of Ashvin (September–October). In South India married women traditionally perform the Varalakshmi Vratam, a puja to the aspect of Lakshmi that grants boons, on the last Friday of the bright half of the month of Shravana (July–August). In this worship practice, her blessings are invoked for the good health and well-being of her female devotees and the longevity and success of their husbands. In households where Lakshmi Puja is celebrated, representations of her footprints are painted next to doorways to invite the goddess in.
Temples of Lakshmi are most commonly found in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala. Lakshmi is often depicted in one of two forms—Sridevi and Bhudevi—and worshipped with the aspect of Vishnu called Venkateshwara. Some temples, chiefly in Tamil Nadu state, are dedicated to the Ashta Lakshmi. A mountain cave in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir is regarded as a shrine to Vaishno Devi, a combined manifestation of Mahalakshmi, Mahakali, and Mahasaraswati. Vaishno Devi is credited with a potency equal to that of Vishnu himself, and the shrine is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus.
Lakshmi is also revered in Jainism and is venerated in Jain temples across India as the goddess of wealth and also of pleasure. She is considered the goddess of prosperity and abundance in some Buddhist traditions.