Lakshmi
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In Hinduism, Lakshmi or Laxmi (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी) is the goddess of wealth 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.
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.
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 "Shri Gupta" or "Shrimati 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. It leaves places which are unclean or where the people are lazy.
Laxmi is the patron goddess of Kolhapur city, Maharashtra.
External links
- Description at Rudraksha Ratna (http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/mahalaxmi.htm) - A small portal on Goddess Mahalaxmi containing Mantra, Chalisa, Aarti, Siddhi Japa.
- Description at sanatansociety.org (http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses/lakshmi.htm)