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While the great goddess as a cosmic force may be a deity of compelling dynamism and fearsome power, it is in the disguise of a gentle and beneficent giver of the devotees' desires, that the female divinities of India first appeared.
This role of the goddess, which fulfills wishes, has remained an enduring strength and consequence. In the ancient collection of sacred hymns, which is known as the Veda, this aspect of the goddess already becomes manifest. The two most shining examples in this context are The Great Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati.
The Goddess Lakshmi, who was also known as Shri, is personified not only as the goddess of fortune and wealth, but also as an embodiment of loveliness, grace, and charm. She is worshiped as a goddess, who grants both worldly prosperity as well as liberation from the cycle of life and death. Lore has it that Lakshmi arose out of the sea of milk, the primordial cosmic ocean, bearing a red lotus in her hand.
Each member of the divine triad, which includes Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and are known as the creator, preserver, and destroyer, wanted to have her for himself. Shiva's claim was refused for he had already claimed the Moon, Brahma had Saraswati, so Vishnu claimed her and she was born and reborn as his consort during all of his ten incarnations. Though retained by Vishnu as his consort, Lakshmi remained an avid devotee of Lord Shiva.
An interesting legend surrounds her devotion to this god, because every day Lakshmi had a thousand flowers plucked by her handmaidens and offered them to the idol of Shiva in the evening. One day, while counting the flowers as she offered them, she found that there were two less than a thousand. However, it was too late to pluck any more, because evening had come and the lotuses had closed their petals for the night. Lakshmi thought it inauspicious to offer less than a thousand.
Suddenly, she remembered that Vishnu had once described her breasts as blooming lotuses. She then decided to offer them as the two missing flowers. Lakshmi cut off one breast and placed it with the flowers on the altar. However, before she could cut off the other, Shiva, who was extremely moved by her devotion, appeared before her and asked her to stop. He then turned her cut breast into round, sacred Bael fruit, which is known as aegle marmelos, and sent it to Earth with his blessings, to flourish near his temples.
A few texts say that Lakshmi is the wife of Dharma. She and several other goddesses, all of whom are personifications of certain auspicious qualities, are said to have been given to Dharma in marriage. This association seems primarily to represent a thinly disguised wedding of Dharma, who had virtuous conduct, with Lakshmi as prosperity and well-being. The point of the association seems to be to teach that by performing Dharma one obtains prosperity. Physically, Goddess Lakshmi is described as a fair lady, who has four arms and is seated on a lotus, dressed in fine garments, and precious jewels.
About the Author
4Victor Epand is an expert consultant for Krishna art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books. Please visit these sites for mythology art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books.
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