For obvious reasons, Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, prosperity and wealth, is more sought after than Saraswati, the goddess of learning. Being the power and consort of Vishnu, the preserver, she is represented as the power of multiplicity and the goddess of fortune, both of which are equally necessary in the process of preservation.

‘Sri’ or ‘Lakshmi’, as depicted in the Vedas, is the goddess of wealth and fortune, power and beauty. Though there is scope for the supposition that ‘Sri’ and ‘Lakshmi’ are two separate deities, the description of them are so identical, that we are tempted to conclude that they represent one and the same deity. Some scholars opine that ‘Sri’ was a pre-Vedic deity connected with fertility, water and agriculture. She was later fused with ‘Lakshmi’, the Vedic goddess of beauty.

In her first incarnation, according to the ‘puranas’, she was the daughter of the sage ‘Bhragu’ and his wife ‘Khyati’. She was later born out of the ocean of milk at the time of its churning. She being the consort of Vishnu, is born as his spouse whenever he incarnates. When he appeared as ‘Vamana’, ‘Parsurama’, ‘Rama’,’ Krishna’, she appeared as ‘Padma’ (or ‘Kamala’), ‘Dharani’, ‘Sita’ and ‘Rukmani’. She is as inseparable from ‘Vishnu’ as speech from meaning or knowledge from intellect, or good deeds from righteousness. He represents all that is masculine, and she, all that is feminine.

‘Lakshmi’ is usually described as enchantingly beautiful and standing on a lotus, and holding lotuses in each of her two hands. It is because of this, perhaps, that she is named as ‘Padma’ or ‘Kamala’. She is also adorned with a lotus garland. Very often elephants are shown on either side, emptying pitchers of water over her, the pitchers being presented by celestial maidens. Her colour is variously described as dark, pink, golden-yellow or white. While in the company of ‘Vishnu’ she is shown with two hands only. When worshipped in a temple – separate temples for ‘Lakshmi’ are rather rare – she is shown seated on a lotus throne, with four hands holding ‘Padma’ (lotus), ‘Sankha’ (conch), ‘Amrit Kalasha” (port of ambrosia) and ‘bilva’ (fruit). Sometimes, another kind of fruit the ‘mahalinga’ (a citron) is shown instead of ‘bilva’. When shown with eight hands, bow and arrow, mace and discus are added. This is actually the “MahaLakshmi”, an aspect of “Durga”.

We can now attempt an explanation that is behind this highly symbolical picture. If Lakshmi is pictured as dark in complexion, it is to show that she is consort of Vishnu, the dark-god. If golden-yellow, that shows her as the source of all wealth. Of white, she represents the purest form of ‘prakarti’ (the nature) from which the universe has developed. The pinkish complexion, which is more common, reflects her compassion for creatures, since she is the mother of all.

Her four hands signify her power to grant the four ‘purusharthas’ (ends of human life), ‘dharma’ (righteousness), ‘artha’ (wealth), ‘kama’ (pleasure of flesh), and ‘moksha’ (beatitude).

The lotuses, in various stages of blooming, represent the worlds and beings in various stages of evolution.

The fruit stands for the fruits of our labours. However much we may toil and labour, unless the Mother is gracious enough to grant the fruits of our labour, nothing will be or any avail. If the fruit is a coconut – with its shell, kernel and water – it means that from her originate the three levels of creation, the gross, the subtle and the extremely subtle. If it is a pomegranate or a citron, it signifies that the various created worlds are under her control and that she transcends the all. If it is a ‘bilva’ fruit – which, incidentally, is not very tasty or attractive, but is extremely good for health – it stands for ‘moksha’, the highest fruit of spiritual life.

‘Amrit Kalasha’ also signifies the same thing, viz., that she can give us the bless of immortality.

In some of the sculptural depictions of Lakshmi, the owl is shown as her mount. It looks rather odd and strange that the goddess of fortune and beauty should have an ugly bird, the very sight of which is considered inauspicious, as her carrier! Once the symbolical significance of this oddity is unraveled, we will be in a better position to appreciate the poor bird and its compassionate mistress!

The word in Sanskrit for the owl is ‘uluka’. ‘Uluka’ is also one of the names of ‘Indra’, the king of Gods! Hence Lakshmi being the goddess of fortune could not have found a better person to ride on, than the king of gods, who personifies all the wealth, power and glory that a living being can aspire for in life. At the same time, here is a warning administered to the seekers of secular wealth, instead of spiritual wealth, by comparing even the glory of Indra to the ugliness of an inelegant and partially blind bird.

Based on the beautiful description given in ‘BhagavadGita’ we ca generous enough to compare our owl to the ‘sthitprajana’ (the man of steady wisdom). Then, the symbol would mean that Mother Lakshmi is the mistress of spiritual wisdom. Of we are not so generous, then we can learn a lesson from it in another way, viz., ‘Do not shut your eyes to the light of wisdom coming from the sun knowledge!’ Out of consideration for mankind, the all-compassionate Mother has kept this personification of ignorance under her control.

Anyone can perform a puja at a temple or home. It is said that those who pay attention to the Goddess of fortune every day, develop a clear channel of communication with her. Ma Lakshmi exists in a dimension far beyond our human struggles and sadness. From where she sits on her sacred lotus, she can guide us from darkness into the light, to greater fortune and more joy. Worship of Lakshmi indicates an appreciation of prosperity and a sense of responsibility towards it.

AstroMuni.com takes every care to perform following puja on behalf of its clients:

MahaGanapati Puja, Lakshmi Narayan Puja, MahaLakshmi Puja, MahaMrityunjaya puja, Maha Sudarshan Puja, Rudra Abhishkam, Saraswati Puja, Uma Maheshwara Puja, Vishnu Sahasrnam Puja, Surya Puja, Chandra Puja, Mangal Puja, Budh Puja, Guru Puja or Brihaspati Puja, Shukra Puja, Shani Puja, Rahu Puja, Ketu Puja and Navgrah Puja

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