Goddess Lakshmi: Birth, Names and links and art
Goddess Lakshmi or Laksmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, good luck, youth and beauty . She is the wife of the Great God Vishnu and they are often worshiped in tandem as Lakshmi-Narayana. She, like her husband, has many avatars when she descends to earth, just like Lakshmi who assumes different forms:
- Sita, wife of Lord Rama,
- Dharani, wife of Parashurama,
- Queen Rukmini, wife of Krishna,
- Padma, Hari's wife,
Lakshmi can also be called Lokamata, which means Mother of the world and Lola, which means Voluble, in reference to her apparently casual dispensation of good fortune.
Birth and name of Lakshmi
According to the Mahabharata, Lakshmi was born from the turmoil of the ocean of primitive milk by the gods and demons. After the intervention of Brahma and Vishnu, Lakshmi miraculously appeared from this sea of clarified butter dressed all in white and radiant youth and beauty.
For this reason, Goddess Lakshmi : is sometimes called Ksirabdhitanaya, the daughter of the sea of milk . Lakshmi immediately surrendered to the protection of Vishnu and for this reason it is said that he lives in his chest giving rise to one of the alternative names of the gods, Shrinivas which means The abode of Sri .
Sri means Prosperity, and is another one of Lakshmi's many names. According to Harivamsa, Lakshmi is the mother of Kama, the god of love and thus provides an interesting parallel to the Greek goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros . The first is also born from a rough sea.
Lakshmi is linked with the Lotus flower
The goddess is particularly associated with the Lotus flower and is sometimes referred to simply as the Lotus Goddess . In this regard, he is also a member of the Buddhist pantheon. The goddess has no temples built in her name, but she is particularly revered in a Hindu one where they make more suggestive celebrations, the annual Independence Day or the Festival of Lights, which is celebrated every October and November.
In a myth of Lakshmi she was a little fed up with her husband and went to live with the royal family of King Raja Akasha in southern India. There, she calls herself Padmavati, was finally found by an anguished Vishnu. Brahma and Shiva had actually conspired to fulfill their ideas and of course, they fell in love and married in a ceremony in which once again it is still commemorated today in the city of Tirupati in southern India.
How goddess Lakshmi is represented in art
In art, Goddess Lakshm i is often represented standing or sitting in a large lotus flower and with a pot of water, and the lotus flower in her hands, always blue or pink. With his other two hands he usually gives a sign of blessing and showers of coins to his faithful followers.
The goddess usually wears a pink sari and is accompanied by several traditional symbols of good luck such as painted elephants, adorned with flower garlands, often projecting water on their trunks.
Lakshmi appears regularly with her husband Vishnu in the temple decorative sculpture, for example, massaging her feet with lotus flowers, or mounted in her gigantic vehicle, the man-bird Garuda.
In the art of Cambodia, Goddess Lakshmi : is m st pically represented as a unique figure, a standing statue, with a tiara and holding a lotus bud . In Cham art the goddess is always seated and in addition to the lotus bud can also contain a snail shell. Finally, in the art of Java Lakshmi has a grain of rice, since she is considered the goddess of this important food.
AUTHOR: JoT333, editor of the great family of hermandadblanca.org