Lakshmi the
Hindu Goddess of Wealth
“Beautiful goddess seated on
a chariot, delighted by songs on lustful elephants, bedecked with
lotuses, pearls and gems, lustrous as fire, radiant as gold, resplendent
as the sun, calm as the moon, mistress of cows and horses – take away
poverty and misfortune bring joy, riches, harvest and children.”
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Draped in a red saree, bedecked
with gold ornaments, seated on a lotus, pot in hand, flanked by
white elephants, the image of Lakshmi adorns most Hindu homes and
business establishments.
Lakshmi, also called
Laxmi, is the goddess of wealth,
fortune, power, luxury, beauty, fertility, and auspiciousness. She
holds the promise of material fulfillment and contentment. She is
described as restless, whimsical yet maternal, with her arms raised
to bless and to grant her blessings.
Shri is the sacred
name of
Lakshmi. Shri is written atop most documents and spoken
before addressing a god, teacher holy man or any revered
individual. The word evokes grace, affluence abundance,
auspiciousness and authority. When the word is spoken or written an
aura of holiness is established. Whatever follows is imbued with
divine blessing. Just as the word “Om” is associated with the
mystical side of life, Shri is associated with the material side of
existence.
Lakshmi represents the beautiful
and bountiful aspect of nature. As Bhoodevi, the earth-goddess, she
nurtures life; as Shreedevi, the goddess of fortune, she bestows
power, pleasure and prosperity on those who deserve her grace. To
realize her, one must respect the laws of life and appreciate the
wonders of existence.
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Lakshmi’s Sacred
Narrative; Prajapati Raises the Earth
In the beginning, there was water everywhere. There was
nothing to eat and nowhere to live. Prajapati, the divine
patriarch, father of the gods and demons saw the plight of his
children and invoked Devi.
The goddess whispered into his ear,
“The earth lies trapped under the water. Raise it up.”
Prajapati took the form of a mighty
boar called Emusha, plunged into the sea and found the earth-goddess
Bhoodevi on the ocean floor. Placing her on his snout, he gently raised
her to the surface.
Prajapati then turned into Akupara, a
giant turtle and offered Bhoodevi a seat on his back.
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Shreedevi
Favors Bali
Seated on the celestial turtle,
the earth-goddess nurtured life in her bountiful arms. She offered
food and shelter to all.
The devas, gods, admired
her beauty; the asuras, demons, craved her wealth. They
fought many a battle over her. Finally, under the leadership of
Bali, the asuras emerged triumphant.
Impressed by Bali’s strength, the
goddess came to him as Shreedevi and crowned him king of the earth.
She offered him a throne, a footstool and held a parasol over his
head.
Shreedevi’s sacred white
elephants turned into clouds and sprinkled life-bestowing rain upon
the earth, watering fields and pastures so that crops grew
abundantly and cows gave plenty of milk. Everyone was happy with
Bali as their king.
Click here to see
all Lotus Sculpture's Statues of Lakshmi
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Vishnu’s Three
Steps
Power made Bali arrogant. He
declared, “The earth belongs to me; I can give anyone anything he
desires.”
These words greatly disturbed the
earth-goddess. She belonged to no one and certainly not a commodity to
be given to away as a gift.
Indra, leader of the devas,
meanwhile, bereft of Shreedevi’s grace had been reduced to poverty. He
approached Bali and begged for some land. To mock him, Bali pointed to
Vamana the dwarf and said, “I shall give you as much land as this little
one can cover in three strides.”
Vamana was no ordinary dwarf but
rather an incarnation of
Vishnu the Preserver.
As soon as Bali said this,
Vishnu began to grow in size, he turned into
a giant who strode across and claimed all of Bali’s Kingdom in two
steps. With his third step
Vishnu shoved Bali into the nether region.
Vishnu thus wrested control of the
earth for the gods.
Vishnu’s
Detachment
Vishnu, who had conquered the
earth for the gods, let Indra become king. “Don’t you want to be
lord of the universe and enjoy the splendors of the cosmos?” asked
Shreedevi.
“I desire nothing. By defeating
the demon Bali, I have done my duty. I seek no reward for it.”
These words of Vishnu pleased
Shreedevi.
Indra Angers
Bhoodevi and Shreedevi
The goddess said, “He who takes good
care of the earth-goddess Bhoodevi, wins the affection of Shreedevi,
goddess of fortune and becomes king of the cosmos.”
But Indra did not heed her words.
Soon after being crowned king, the leader of the devas, he
retired to the pleasure gardens. There, he drank wine, enjoyed song and
dance and neglected his royal duties.
The earth, left ungoverned was
plundered.
Bhoodevi’s lamentation fell on deaf
ears. This made Shreedevi very angry. She turned away from Indra.
Shreedevi
Disappears
“Wealth and power corrupted the
demon-king. Now, pleasure and comfort has weakened the god-king.
Neither holds on to dharma for long. Neither deserves my grace.”
So saying, the goddess dissolved herself in the ocean of milk.
Instantly a gloom descended upon
the world: it no longer reverberated with song and dance. Weapons
lost their power, gems their luster, men their vigor. Cows did not
give milk, fields became barren, and trees bore neither flower nor
fruit. The cosmos became a desolate place bereft of joy and
laughter.
Churning the Ocean of Milk
The goddess’s disappearance
caused panic in the three worlds.
“We must bring her back,” said
the gods.
“But how?” wondered the demons.
“By churning the ocean of milk,”
said
Vishnu.
With Mandara, king of mountains,
as the spindle and Akupara, king of turtles as the base, the
devas and the asuras created the cosmic churn. Using
Vasuki, the king of the serpents as the churning rope, they began
churning the ocean of milk.
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Lakshmi rises
The churn twisted and turned, the
ocean frothed and fumed, waves roared and spewed foam in every
direction. Eons passed. Nothing emerged. But the gods and demons were
determined to bring the goddess back and continued to churn the great
ocean.
Pleased by their efforts, the goddess
finally emerged as a
Lakshmi,
the desirable one, in all her
splendor.
Seated on a dew drenched Lotus,
dressed in red silk, bedecked in gold, she was the very embodiment of
affluence, abundance and auspiciousness.
As she rose, rasa, life giving
sap, began flowing in every direction. The earth palpated with life.
Joy filled the air.
The gods saluted her; the demons sang
songs to her glory.
Sacred elephants who hold up the sky
came from the eight quarters of the universe raised their trunks and
consecrated her with life sustaining water.
Birth of Alaskshmi
Along with
Lakshmi rose Alakshmi, the
goddess of barrenness and misfortune from the churning of the ocean
milk. She was ugly with matted hair, sunken cheeks, shriveled breasts
and coarse limbs.
Said the goddess, “Lakshmi will dwell
where there is nobility and righteousness, cleanliness and beauty,
virtue and compassion. Alakshmi will dwell elsewhere, attracted by
sloth, envy greed, lust and pride.”
And so it is that people who wish to
keep Alakshmi away keep their houses clean, their bodies beautiful and
their minds pure.
Gifts of Prosperity
With
Lakshmi came a cow called Kamadhenu with enough milk to feed the world for all eternity, a wish
fulfilling gem called Chantamani and a tree called Kalpataru that bore
every flower and fruit desirable. In her hand she held the basket of
bounty: the Akshaya Patra overflowing with grain and gold.
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Gifts of
Pleasure
With
Lakshmi appearance from the
ocean of milk came Kama the delightful god of pleasure. Riding his
parrot surrounded by bees and butterflies, this handsome god raised
his sugarcane bow and shot arrows dripping with desire into the
heart of every being. He roused the senses, excited the mind and
inspired the heart.
With Kama came Priti and Rati,
goddess of love and longing and Vasantathe lord of the spring.
Wherever they went flowers bloomed bees buzzed to welcome them with
offerings of nectar and pollen.
Behind
Lakshmi stood Rambha, the
beautiful nymph who knew 64 ways to pleasure the senses and Sura, the goddess of intoxicants who could soothe tired nerves and enchant
the mind with dreams.
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