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Lakshmi is the daughter of Sage Bhrigu, who took refuge in the ocean of milk while in exile. Lakshmi was born during churning of the ocean. As soon as the Gods saw Goddess Lakshmi they fell in love with her beauty. Her hand was given to Lord Vishnu, who is the embodiment of mercy and goodness and preserver and protector of the universe. Goddess Lakshmi was born as his consort every time Lord Vishnu incarnated. She was born as Princess Sita to Lord Rama and Radha and later Rukmni to Lord Krishna. Devotees believe that Lakshmi resides in a place where virtue, righteous- ness, truth and compassion prevail.
The golden coins falling on the ground from the front left hand of Lakshmi illustrate that She
provides wealth and prosperity to Her devotees. Her front right hand is shown bestowing blessings upon the devotees.
The two elephants standing next to the Goddess symbolize the name and fame associated with worldly wealth.
Worship of a mother goddess has been a part of Indian tradition since its earliest times. Lakshmi is one of the mother goddesses and is addressed as "mata" (mother) instead of just "devi" (goddess). As a female counterpart of Lord Vishnu, Mata Lakshmi is also called 'Shri', the female energy of the Supreme Being. She is the goddess of prosperity, wealth, purity, generosity, and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Goddess Lakshmi is regularly worshipped in home shrines and temples by devotees. A special prayer is offered to her annually on the auspicious day of Diwali (Festival of Lights), with religious rituals and colorful ceremonies specifically devoted to Her. |
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golden lining (embroidery) on Her red dress denotes prosperity. The idea
conveyed here is that the Goddess is always busy distributing wealth and
prosperity to the devotees. The lotus seat, which Lakshmi is standing
upon, signifies that while living in this world, one should enjoy its
wealth, but not become obsessed with it. Such a living is analogous to a
lotus that grows in water but is not wetted by water. The four hands
represent the four ends of human life: dharma (righteousness), kama
(genuine desires), artha (wealth), and moksha (liberation from birth and
death). The front hands represent the activity in the physical world and
the back hands indicate the spiritual activities that lead to spiritual
perfection. Since the right side of the body symbolizes activity, a
lotus in the back right hand conveys the idea that one must perform all
duties in the world in accordance with dharma. This leads to moksha (liberation), which is symbolized by a lotus in the back left
hand of Lakshmi.
The idea conveyed here is that a true devotee should not earn wealth merely to acquire name and fame or only to satisfy his own material desires, but should share it with others in order to bring happiness to others in addition to himself. Some pictures show four elephants spraying water from golden vessels onto Goddess Lakshmi. The four elephants represent the four ends of human life as discussed above. The spraying of water denotes activity. The golden vessels denote wisdom and purity. The four elephants spraying water from the golden vessels on the Goddess illustrate the theme that continuous self-effort, in accordance with one's dharma and governed by wisdom and purity, leads to both material and spiritual prosperity.
