Lakshmi

Popular image of Lakshmi

In Hinduism, Lakshmi or Laxmi (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी) is the goddess of wealth, light and fortune, as well as (secondarily) luck, beauty and fertility. Lakshmi is considered an alternate form of Devi. She is the Mother of the Universe and Vishnu's Shakti. Lakshmi is married to Vishnu, and also married his incarnations Rama (in her incarnation as Sita), Krishna (as Rukmini) and Venkateshwara (as Padmavati.) Lakshmi has a son named Kama. In Hinduism, money or wealth is considered to be a form of the Goddess Lakshmi.

Origin

Lakshmi evolved from the Milky Ocean, when gods and demons churned it for amrita, the divine nectar, along with a host of other items such as hälähala (cosmic poison), Chandra (the Moon), kalpa vriksha (benevolent divine tree), and the medicinal sage-god Dhanvantari holding the golden pot of amrita. Hence She is called the daughter of Milky Ocean.

Iconography

Physically Goddess Lakshmi is described as a fair lady, with four arms, seated on a lotus, dressed in fine garments and precious jewels. She has a benign countenance, is in her full youth and yet has a motherly appearance.

The most striking feature of the iconography of Lakshmi is her persistent association with the lotus. The meaning of the lotus in relation to Shri-Lakshmi refers to purity and spiritual power. Rooted in the mud but blossoming above the water, completely uncontaminated by the mud, the lotus represents spiritual perfection and authority. Furthermore, the lotus seat is a common motif in Hindu and Buddhist iconography. The gods and goddesses, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, typically sit or stand upon a lotus, which suggests their spiritual authority. To be seated upon or to be otherwise associated with the lotus suggests that the being in question: God, Buddha, or human being-has transcended the limitations of the finite world (the mud of existence, as it were) and floats freely in a sphere of purity and spirituality. Shri-Lakshmi thus suggests more than the fertilizing powers of moist soil and the mysterious powers of growth. She suggests a perfection or state of refinement that transcends the material world. She is associated not only with the royal authority but with also spiritual authority, and she combines royal and priestly powers in her presence. The lotus, and the goddess Lakshmi by association, represents the fully developed blossoming of organic life.

No description of Goddess Lakshmi can be complete without a mention of her traditionally accepted vehicle, the owl. Now, the owl (Ulooka in Sanskrit), is a bird that sleeps through the day and prowls through the night. In a humorous vein it is said that owing to its lethargic and dull nature the Goddess takes it for a ride! She is the handmaiden of those who know how to control it; how to make best use of her resources, like the Lord Vishnu. But those who blindly worship her are verily the owls or ‘Ulookas’. The choice is ours: whether we wish to be Lord Vishnu or the ‘Ulooka’ in our association with Lakshmi.

Hindus pray to Lakshmi the most on Diwali, the festival of lights. Accrding to tradition people would put small candles outside their homes on Diwali and hope Lakshmi will come to bless them.

The prefix Sri (also spelt as Shri, pronounced as shree) renders as 'one who takes delight in Sri' Lakshmi, meaning wealth, wealth of any kind. Primarily eight kinds of Wealth are established, associated with goddess Lakshmi. They are —

1)	आदि लक्ष्मी	Ädi Lakshmi	[Wealth a priori]
2)	धान्य लक्ष्मी	Dhänya Lakshmi	[Granary Wealth]
3)	धैर्य लक्ष्मी	Dhairya Lakshmi	[Wealth of Courage]
4)	गज लक्ष्मी	Gaja Laksmi	[Wealth of Animals]
5)	सन्तान लक्ष्मी	Santaana Lakshmi	[Wealth of Progeny]
6)	विजय लक्ष्मी	Vijaya Lakshmi	[Wealth of Victory]
7)	विद्या लक्ष्मी	Vidyaa Lakshmi	[Wealth of Knowledge]
8)	धन लक्ष्मी	Dhana Lakshmi	[Monetary Wealth]

And any thing that need be affluent gets the auspicious prefix or suffix 'Lakshmi', or 'Sri' like Rajya Lakshmi (Wealth of Empire), Shanti Sri (Wealth of Peace), etc. In modern India, common titles standing in for the English Mr. and Mrs. are Shri (also Sri or Shree) and Shrimati (also Srimati or Shreemati), as in "Sri Gupta" or "Srimati Mangeshkar".

Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped by those who wish for wealth or those who wish to preserve their wealth. It is believed that Lakshmi (wealth) goes only to those houses which are clean and where the people are hardworking. She leaves places which are unclean or where the people are lazy.

Laxmi is the patron goddess of Kolhapur city, Maharashtra.

Adapted with permission from Wikipedia.