Lakshmi
On Diwali night, every home lights lamps so that Lakshmi will find the way in. But the scriptures say she does not stay where she is merely wanted — only where she is honoured. Who is Shri, and what makes her stay?
The verse
Shri — the radiance of all good things
Lakṣmī comes from lakṣ, "to perceive, to mark" — she is the mark of good fortune, the sign of the auspicious. Her oldest name is Śrī: radiance, splendour, beauty, prosperity. Hindus write "Shri" before names and at the top of documents in her honour. She is wealth, but not only money — health, harvest, courage, children, wisdom and beauty are all forms of Lakshmi.
Born from the ocean of milk
When the gods and asuras churned the ocean for amrita, the waters gave up their treasures one by one: the wish-granting cow, the celestial horse, the moon. And then, standing on a fully opened lotus, holding lotuses in her hands, a goddess rose from the waves. The gods and the asuras both wanted her. Everyone fell silent, waiting to see whom she would choose…
The journey continues for members
- Whom she chose — and why
- Shri in the Vedas
- The eight Lakshmis
- Her symbols
- Festivals
- What Lakshmi teaches
Sources
- Shri Suktam — Rigveda khila
- Vishnu Purana — 1.9
- Bhagavata Purana — Canto 8