Bestowal of all kind of happiness, the wife of Lord Vishnu.
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| Goddess Lakshmi |
The Great Goddess or Maha Devi Lakshmi, who is the sustain-er of every element in this Universe, is considered to retain a supreme position in Hinduism. She reflects the internal power and active energy of Lord Vishnu. She is chiefly the goddess of prosperity and wealth, both material and spiritual. She is also known by her two other names, Shri Lakshmi and Kamla. Lord Vishnu embodied himself through 23 main aspects; and, goddess Lakshmi also reincarnated herself a number of times to accompany her husband as a consort. Some such examples can be cited as: She was Sita accompanying Lord Rama, She was Radha and Rukmani and Satyabhama accompanying Lord Krishna, She was Vishnu Priya accompanying Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Maha Lakshmi is considered to be related with auspiciousness and purity and symbolizes beauty, charm and prosperity. The word 'Lakshmi' is a combination of two words, first is "Laksh", meaning 'aim' or 'goal'; as she is the one leading us to our desire goal and the other is 'Mi' meaning giver. She is associated with 'Satwa Guna' or the natural properties of Truth and Purity.
Origin of Kamla or Lakshmi
Once upon a time, the terrible curse of sage Durwasha caused all the gods to lose their power and affluence. Consequently, goddess Lakshmi, who was the giver of wealth and property, also left the company of Lord Vishnu. In an effort to regain their lost power, the gods and demons united themselves to perform the task of Samudra Manthan (churning of the sea). In this process, they obtained 18 different types of precious gems, including goddess Kamala, who eventually got married to Lord Vishnu.According to Hindu mythology, during the event of Samudra Manthan or churning of ocean, all the Gods and Demons gathered together to churn the ocean with the purpose of obtaining the various priceless objects, which would make them powerful. Among those objects, 'Amrit', i.e., nectar or elixir was the most significant. During this process of churning they got eighteen different precious items, among which the seventeenth one was Goddess Kamlatmika Lakshmi and she was married to Lord Vishnu. But she was only Kamlatmika Lakshmi, and not 'Shri Lakshmi or Maha Lakshmi'. The prime 'Shri' is only one, who is well known as Shri Vidya Tripur-Sundari. She is worshiped as Shri Vidya Tripur-Sundari.To honor her faith and worship, she was given a special position among the Mahavidyas and awarded with the name of 'Shri'. She was blessed to get famous by this name. She represents the force of Satwa Guna, as she is Vaishnavi Shakti (those who follow the path of truth and purity).
She is closely linked with the symbols lotus and elephant. Lotus plays a significant role in Hinduism; it reflects purity and hygiene. Lotus grows in dirty mud, but there is not any presence of mud in a blooming lotus, it remains untouched by untidiness. Even the lotus is recognized as the flower that grows from the navel of Lord Vishnu, along with the birth of ‘Lord Brahma’, who is the creator of the Universe. As in Hinduism, it is believed that there is the existence of lotus in human body as well in the form of seven different chakras. During the process of meditation, it is presumed, that the eight petal lotus called ‘Asta Dala Kamal’ and the uncountable petal lotus called ‘Sahatra Dala Kamal’, bloom within the body.
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| Lord Vishnu with laskhmi |
'Asta' Lakshmi, Eight different aspect of Maha Lakshmi
She is well known by her eight main forms such as :1. Saubhagya Lakshmi, Bhairav : Narayan
2. Maha Lakshmi, Bhairav : Vasudev.
3. Tri-Shakti Lakshmi :
4. Samrajya Lakshmi, Bhairav : Hari
5. Siddha Lakshmi
6. Sri-Vidya Lakshmi (Goddess Sri-Vidya Tripur Sundari)
7. Raj Lakshmi (Goddess Kubjika)
8. Dhyna Lakshmi (Goddess Annapurna)
With these eight forms she creates the family of Asta Lakshmi.
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About her physical appearance;
About her physical appearance, she is beautiful, has a smiling face and appears charming with golden complexion. In the image portrayed of the goddess, she is being bathed with nectar that is carried by a group of elephants in golden pots. She holds lotus in both her hands and makes a gesture of ensuring boons and assurance by her other two hands. She is adorned with a golden sparkling crown crafted with precious gems and wears a beautiful silk saree, decorated with various valuable embellishments. She is seated on a lotus in the ocean and is surrounded by more and more lotuses. She has three lotus shaped eyes and bears the moon in the shape of a bright disc on her forehead.More about Goddess Lakshmi
Lord Vishnu is the Bhairava and husband of Goddess 'Shri-Lakshmi or Kamlatmika', hence she is evidently associated with the natural properties of 'Satwa Guna' (natural force of truth and purity). She is often linked with kingship, precious metals, gems and jewelries, such as, gold, silver, various gems like topaz, emerald, diamond etc. Kingship represents the royal authorities and their prosperity and she herself is the embodiment of royal authority. Among all the three parts of the universe, (namely, Earth, Heaven, Hades), wherever she is not present, weakness, poverty, misery strike in the form of her sister 'Niriti or Alakshmi or Dhumavati'. All the merchants worship her in their shops and houses during the festival of Diwali, as she is also related with business. A business is termed successful only if the turnovers are good and this can only be achieved through the blessings of goddess Lakshmi. She is most popular amongst all the Hindu deities and is worshiped in every home for prosperity, fertility and wealthiness or richness. But her worship in the form of 'Kamla' is only limited to Tantra. In Tantra also, she bestows her devotees with prosperity, good luck and wealth. Mostly throughout the Indian sub-continent, the society follows the principles of 'Satwa Guna', except in east India, She is worshiped on the day of 'Dipavali or Diwali' as the Goddess who generously confers upon wealth, prosperity, good luck and every happiness. People decorated their houses, shops etc. with lights. All the nooks and corners are alighted with earthen lamps and electric lights since evening throughout the night. Thus, 'Dipavali' is also called the festival of lights. She is strongly associated with light, she resides only in a lighted-up area and, on the contrary, her sister Alakshmi resides in darkness.Lord Vishnu, Husband or Goddess Maha lakshmi or Kamala
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| Lord Vishnu with goddess Lakshmi |
Lord Vishnu, who performs the role of preserving this entire universe, is also known by the names such as, Shri Hari, Shri Narayana and so on. He is also the husband of Kamla. The pious form of goddess Adhya Shakti is none other than Shri Hari. He resides amidst the Cheer Sagar (Ocean) and rests in a lying posture upon the Shesh Nag, the passionately destructive force generated out of Lord Vishnu is nothing but Yogamaya or Mahamaya, which is the soul source of energy of Lord Vishnu. The word Vishnu is closely associated with presence; the entity which is spread around all places as well as all elements is known as Vishnu. As a consequence, Hindu religion acknowledges the fact that the presence of Almighty can be felt in all elements and particles of the universe. The giant bird Garuda (vulture) is the carrier of Lord Vishnu. In order to safeguard all the gods as well as entire creation, Lord Vishnu had retained 23 forms of incarnation. According to the scriptures, Lord Vishnu has already made his appearance in 23 different forms, and his 24th and last occurrence would be witnessed towards the end of the Kalyuga.
A Brief description of the 24 incarnations of Lord Vishnu :
- Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanath Kumar Incarnation : When Lord Brahma had engrossed himself in the process of strict meditation, Lord Vishnu was quite satisfied with him and took incarnation in the form of his four sons; in this form, he had also retrieved all the knowledge that were lost during the event of Mahapralaya (the Great Holocaust) and had returned it to the sages.
- Varaha Avatar ( the Boar incarnation) : In this form, Lord Vishnu had maintained the stability of the world at the time of the Jala Pralaya ( the Devastating Flood). He had also killed the demon named Hiranyaksha.
- Narada Avatar (the Narada incarnation) : Narada is the son of Lord Brahma, who took birth out of Brahma's wish; he performed certain strict forms of meditation in order to praise the gods, and in this way, he became famous by the name of Devarshi (the sage of all gods). He always takes great care about the welfare of human beings.
- Nara-Narayana Avatar : Lord Vishnu adopted the form of a sage in order to protect the interest of human religion.
- Kapil Avatar : In this incarnation, Lord Vishnu provided advice regarding Saankhya Yoga.
- Dattatreya Avatar : In this form, the Lord gave advice regarding Yoga.
- Suyajna Avatar : This incarnation of Lord Vishnu had removed many of the adversities of the gods, lessened their worries and problems and came to be famous as Sri Hari.
- Rishabhdev Avatar : He was the founder of the Jaina religion, which is based with very tough non violence principle.
- Prithu Avatar : Prithu, the oldest and greatest king, who came into being through the shaking of the hands of King Wen. Prithu was also famous for ruling his kingdom following the path of truth and religion.
- Matsya Avatar (the Fish incarnation) : Through this incarnation, Lord Vishnu attempted to save the Creation by protecting the life-saving ark of Satyabrata at the time of the Water Holocaust.
- Kurma Avatar (the turtle incarnation) : At the time of Samudra Manthan (the churning of the sea), Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of a turtle in order to carry the Mandaranchal Mountain on his back.
- Dhanwantary Avatar : At the time of Samudra Manthan, the Lord appeared with the container of the magic potion known to cure all sorts of medical problems. He is also the sole authority of all types of medicines.
- Mohini Avatar : Lord Vishnu made his appearance in the form of a beautiful lady during Samudra Manthan and took away the container of the elixir from the demons to offer it to the gods.
- Nrishingha Avatar : In this incarnation, the Lord killed Hiranyakashipu, the king of demons in order to save the life of Prahlad, his most loyal devotee.
- Vaaman Avatar (the Dwarf incarnation) : Lord Vishnu used this incarnation in order to get back the three Lokas (heaven, earth and hades) from the capture of King Bali and return the same to the gods.
- Hayagriva Avatar : In this incarnation, Lord Vishnu killed the demons Madhu and Kaitava, and retrieved the Vedas to offer it back to Lord Brahma.
- Sri Hari or Grahya Avatar : Lord Vishnu listened to the prayer of Gajendra, and saved his life from the attack of the crocodile.
- Parshuram Avatar : In this form, Lord Vishnu took the lives of all the Kshatriyas (the royals) including King Sahastrabahu.
- Maharishi Vedvyasa Avatar : Through this incarnation, Lord Vishnu classified the Vedas, as well as re-created it. He was also the narrator of the great epic Mahabharata.
- Hansa Avatar (the Swan incarnation) : In order to attain salvation, He removed all the uncertainties that existed in the thoughts of the sages like Sanaka and others.
- Sri Ram Avatar : His main achievement in this incarnation was to destroy the demons including Ravana, and also to establish a kingdom based on religion and truth.
- Sri Krishna Avatar : He is supposed to cause death to all the non-followers of religious principles.
- The Buddha Avatar : Lord Vishnu made appearance in this incarnation in order to reduce the power of the demons, whose demolishing activities were crossing all limits.
- Kalki Avatar : The main objective of this incarnation is to bring an end to the injustice taking place all around and to establish the principles of religion. In this way, it is expected that we could again move back to the Satya Yuga.
Usually, His appearance is prominent with his four hands, and as a consequence, he is also famous by the name of Chaturvuja (one having four hands). He bears Sankha (the conch shell), Chakra (the wheel), Gada (the club) and Padma (the lotus) respectively in his four hands. The conch shell symbolizes knowledge, which is the principal theory behind the execution of the creation. The signification of the wheel is associated with Maya (illusion). The club is associated with the great power of the Almighty and it is also the root cause of the creation of the Universe. Last but not the least, the lotus signifies the generation of the universe. As he resides in Vaikuntha, he is also known as the Lord of Vaikuntha or Vaikunthapati. The community of the Vaishnavas is solely based on the principle of his thoughts, among which, the key role is played by the entity. Some of the chief features of the Vaishnavas include following the path of truth, non-violence, chastity, transparency, observing pure thoughts and policies etc. Lord Vishnu takes the position of the creator of this Universe and he possesses a substantial quality. Vaikuntha & Go-lok is considered to be the highest position in the three lokas, and Lord Vishnu resides as its head. He is also known to remove all our worries and troubles, and consequently, he is known as Hari (one who removes). In the Mahabharata, we can find that the 16th incarnation of Shri Hari, who was Lord Krishna, advised Arjuna about certain priniciples, the main purpose of which is to show correct way to a person who is in a a great dilemma. Inspired by this piece of advise, as mentioned in Bhagwadgita, Arjuna was motivated to take part in the battles once again. In Bhagwadgita, Lord Krishna showed his existence in each and every living being to Arjuna through the Biswarupa, in which Arjun saw every living and non living things, elements is in the body of him.
