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Lakshmi: Hindu Goddess of Wealth

Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity. She is represented with four hands symbolizing the four goals of human life in Hinduism. Lakshmi is the wife and active energy of Lord Vishnu and descended to Earth as the consorts Sita and Rukmini when Vishnu took the avatars of Rama and Krishna. Archaeological evidence suggests the worship of Lakshmi as far back as the 1st millennium BC in India and Southeast Asia, where her iconography is also found in Hindu temples from that period.

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Karthik Kalaimani
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52 views1 page

Lakshmi: Hindu Goddess of Wealth

Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity. She is represented with four hands symbolizing the four goals of human life in Hinduism. Lakshmi is the wife and active energy of Lord Vishnu and descended to Earth as the consorts Sita and Rukmini when Vishnu took the avatars of Rama and Krishna. Archaeological evidence suggests the worship of Lakshmi as far back as the 1st millennium BC in India and Southeast Asia, where her iconography is also found in Hindu temples from that period.

Uploaded by

Karthik Kalaimani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lakshmi (Sanskrit:, lak m, lkmi) is the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity

(both material and spiritual). She is the wife and active energy of Lord Vishnu.[1] Her four hands
represent the four goals of human life considered important to the Hindu way of life
dharma, kma, artha, and moksha.[2][3] Representations of Lakshmi are also found
in Jain monuments. In Buddhist sects of Tibet, Nepal, and southeast Asia,
goddess Vasudhara mirrors the characteristics and attributes of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi with
minor iconographic differences.[4]
Lakshmi is also called Sri[5] or Thirumagal because she is endowed with six auspicious and divine
strength even to Vishnu. When Vishnu descended on the Earth as the avatars Rama and Krishna,
Lakshmi descended as his respective consorts: Sita (Rama's wife) and Rukmini (Krishna's wife).[6] In
the ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi. [7] The
marriage and relationship between Lakshmi and Vishnu as wife and husband, states Patricia
Monaghan, is "the paradigm for rituals and ceremonies for the bride and groom in Hindu weddings."[8]
Archaeological discoveries and ancient coins suggest the recognition and reverence for goddess
Lakshmi in the Scytho-Parthian kingdom and throughout India by the 1st millennium BC. [9]
[10]

Lakshmi's iconography and statues have also been found in Hindu temples throughout southeast

Asia, estimated to be from second half of 1st millennium AD.[11][12]


In modern times, Lakshmi is worshiped as the goddess of wealth. She is also worshipped as the
consort of Vishnu in many temples. The festivals of Diwali and Sharad Purnima (Kojagiri Purnima)
are celebrated in her honor.[13]

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