Lakshmi

“ Lord Vishnu said, "My dear Lakshmi, I am not sleeping, but I am watching how wonderfully My energy is working. It is by this wonderful energy of Mine, by which I am controlling all things, and yet remain separate. And it is by remembering these divine activities of Mine, that the great devotees and yogis manage to free themselves from the wheel of birth and death, and attain that transcendental nature of Mine, which is eternal and free from all qualities."
Lakshmi said, "O, controller of all things. You are the goal of the meditation of great yogis. Nothing can go on without You. ”

“ Lakshmi, or Sri, who had her origin at the Churning of the Ocean, became the wife of Vishnu, and the goddess of beauty, love, and prosperity. She has had several human incarnations, and in each case was loved by the incarnation of Vishnu. She is Sita in the Ramáyana, and the beautiful herdswoman beloved by Krishna. Lakshmi is “the world-mother, eternal, imperishable; as Vishnu is all-pervading, she is omnipresent. Vishnu is meaning, she is speech; Vishnu is righteousness, she is devotion; Sri is the earth, and Vishnu is the support of the earth.” ”

“ This also brought her nearer to Roy. And what could she ask more?
But with the approach of the Dewáli, thoughts of the future came flocking like birds at sundown. Because, on Dewáli night, all tried their luck in some fashion; and Mai Lakshmi's answer failed not. The men tossed coin or dice. The maidens, at sunset, when the little wind of evening stirred the waters, carried each her chirágh—lamp of her life—and set it afloat on tank or stream, praying Mai Lakshmi to guide it safe across. If the prayer was heard, omens were favourable. If the lamp should sink, or be shattered, omens were evil. ”

“ There is on the other side of the sea a city named Karpúrasambhava;* [3] in it there is a king rightly, named Karpiiraka, he has a daughter, a lovely maiden, named Karpúriká, who appears like a second Lakshmi, deposited in security there by the ocean, having seen that the first Lakshmi had been carried away by the gods after the churning. And she, as she hates men, does not desire to be married, but she will desire it, if at all, when she sees you. ”

“ In the Egyptian story the Sekti of Heliopolis pounded the didi in a mortar to make "the giver of life," which by a simple confusion might be identified with the goddess herself in her capacity as "the giver of life". This seems to have occurred in the Indian legend. Lakshmi, or Sri, was born at the churning of the ocean. Like Aphrodite, who was born from the sea-foam churned from the ocean, Lakshmi was the goddess of beauty, love, and prosperity. ”

“ Sitā is Lakshmi and thou art Krishna and Vishnu the Preserver of people. For Rāvana's destruction thou hast assumed the human shape. Thou hast accomplished that work of ours, O thou the foremost of the pious. O Rāma, Rāvana hath been slain. Do thou go up to heaven delighted. Sure is thy godly energy and never goes for nothing thy prowess. O Rāma, never is fruitless thy view and the chanting of thy glory. And always successful shall be these persons on earth who shall be devoted unto thee. ”

“ Lakshmi is the chitti and Hari is the yupa; [196] Lakshmi is sacrificial fuel, and the reverend one is Kuça; The reverend one is Sāman, the Lotus-dwelling Sri is Udgiti; [197] Lakshmi is Swāhā, that Lord of the Universe,—Vāsudeva—is fire, the worshipful Sauri is Sankara, (the mistress of) Wealth is, O best of the twice-born one, Gauri. O Maitreya, Kesava is the Sun, the Lotus-seated one is the splendour thereof; Vishnu are the paternal manes, and the Lotus-throned one is Swadha, ever conferring gratification ”

“ Almost spent with their exertions, the gods appealed to Narayana for help, and he, renewing their vigour, directed them again to “insert the mountain and churn the waters.”
Their fresh and vigorous efforts were crowned with success. First of all the moon emerged from the waters, then “Lakshmi” [123] dressed in white, and wine, and the white steed, and then the celestial gem, Kaustuva, which graces the breast of Narayana. Lakshmi, wine, and the steed fleet as the mind, all came before the gods on high. Then arose the divine Dhanvantari himself with the white vessel of nectar in his hand. ”

“ The similarity to the Greek myth of Venus being born from the foam of the sea is remarkable.'
'In this description of Lakshmi one thing only offends me, that she is said to have four arms. Each of Vishnu's arms, single, as far as the elbow, there branches into two; but Lakshmi in all the brass seals that I possess or remember to have seen has two arms only. Nor does this deformity of redundant limbs suit the pattern of perfect beauty.' SCHLEGEL. I have omitted the offensive epithet.↑ Purandhar, a common title of Indra. ”

“ The first was the voice of the woman, speaking thus, "My daughter, unable to bear the sight of your woes, I, Lakshmi, sent one of my servants in the shape of a dog with the cowrie, which was in reality a mánik, and as the money you got on pawning it must be securely kept, I have with my husband, Náráyan, had this place built for you by Vishvakarma, our architect. Live here with your son, in wealth, luxury and peace. All I ask of you in return is to worship me yourself and persuade others to do so too." ”

“ He, by the force of his knowledge, thought that Lakshmī was not hard to win, resting though she were on the breast of Nārāyaṇa, terrible with the scars of the weapons of the demons of hell, and a strong shoulder hardened by the pitiless pressure of Mount Mandara as it moved to and fro. Near him knowledge spread wide, thick with many a tendril, and showed the fruits gained from conquered realms like a creeper near a tree. ”

“ They only made me think of the difference between Lakshmi, the Goddess of grace, who transmutes wealth into well-being, and the ugly god Mammon, who represents the spirit of insensate accumulation. The process of piling up has no ultimate end in view. ”

“ Sita's devotion is a household word to many a woman-child of India. Little Lakshmi follows the adventures of the loved heroine as she shares Rama's unselfish renunciation of the throne and exile to the forest with its alarms of wild beasts and wild men. She thrills with fear at Sita's abduction by the hideous giant, Ravana, and the wild journey through the air and across the sea to the Ceylon castle. ”

“ Then taking the vermillion paste on the fourth finger, Om like the Ocean you are vast, Indra loves you, with ghee when dropped you describe a continuous stain. You are noble, perhaps nobler than the fuel-wood, which paints everything black. The priest then holds a lotus flower in his hand and repeating the following, places it on the ghata, Om you are sri, you are beautiful, you are Lakshmi's self by day, and by night, you are the stars as beautiful as the Asvina, you are desired by us, loved by many, loved by all. ”

“ When Lakshmi said this, Tárávaloka, after bowing at the feet of bis father, mounted that celestial elephant, with her, and his wife, and his sons, in the sight of all the inhabitants of the hermitage, and surrounded by the kings of the Vidyádharas went through the air to their domain. There the distinctive sciences of the Vidyádharas repaired to him, and he long enjoyed supreme sway, but at last becoming disgusted with all worldly pleasures, he retired to a forest of ascetics. ”

“ Everyone has to die, the saint or the sinner, the rich or the poor. The body never remains for anyone. Arise and awake and be perfectly sincere. Our insincerity in India is awful; what we want is character, that steadiness and character that make a man cling on to a thing like grim death.
"Let the sages blame or let them praise, let Lakshmi come today or let her go away, let death come just now or in a hundred years; he indeed is the sage who does not make one false step from the right path." ”

“ Leaving Sribatsa to arrange his gold-bricks under the tree on the river-side we must follow the fortunes of his wife. Chintamani was a woman of great beauty; and thinking that her beauty might be her ruin, she, when seized by the boatmen, offered to Lakshmi the following prayer—"O Mother Lakshmi! have pity upon me. Thou hast made me beautiful, but now my beauty will undoubtedly prove my ruin by the loss of honour and chastity. I therefore beseech thee, gracious Mother, to make me ugly, and to cover my body with some loathsome disease, that the boatmen may not touch me." ”

“ His, who careless of her favor, standeth fearless in his own;
His, who for the vague to-morrow barters not the sure to-day—
Master of himself, and sternly steadfast to the rightful way:
Very mindful of past service, valiant, faithful, true of heart—
Unto such comes Lakshmi [9] smiling—comes, and will not lightly part.'
"What indeed," continued Slow-toes, "is wealth, that we should prize it, or grieve to lose it?—
'Be not haughty, being wealthy; droop not, having lost thine all;
Fate doth play with mortal fortunes as a girl doth toss her ball.'
It is unstable by nature. ”

“ And then he went to the temple of Maha Lakshmi, where he offered his obeisances, and then started to pray, "O Devi, whose heart is full of mercy, who is worshipped throughout the three worlds and who is the giver of all fortune and the mother of Creation. All glories to You, o shelter of all living entities. O fulfiller of all desires, You are the wonderful energy of Lord Achyuta, who is maintaining the three worlds. You are the Supreme Goddess. O protector of the devotees, all glories to You. ”

“ For this Lakshmī, who now rests like a bee on the lotus-grove of a circle of naked swords, has risen from the milk ocean, has taken her glow from the buds of the coral-tree, her crookedness from [78] the moon’s digit, her restlessness from the steed Uccaiḥçrava, her witchery from Kālakūṭa poison, her intoxication from nectar, and from the Kaustubha gem her hardness. (210) All these she has taken as keepsakes to relieve her longing with memory of her companions’ friendship. There is nothing so little understood here in the world as this base Lakshmī. When won, she is hard to keep ”

“ Sribatsa accordingly told his wife to make an opening in their mattress, and to stow away in it all the money and jewels they had. On the eve of leaving their house, Sribatsa invoked Lakshmi, who forthwith appeared. He then said to her, "Mother Lakshmi! as the evil eye of Sani is upon us, we are going away into exile; but do thou befriend us, and take care of our house and property." The goddess of good luck answered, "Do not fear; I'll befriend you; all will be right at last." They then set out on their journey. Sribatsa rolled up the mattress and put it on his head. ”

“ Like various other Oriya castes, the Gaudos worship the goddess Lakshmi on Thursdays in the month of November, which are called Lakshmi varam, or Lakshmi's day. The goddess is represented by a basket filled with grain, whereon some place a hair ball, which has been vomited by a cow. The ball is called gāya panghula, and is usually one or two inches in diameter. The owner of a cow which has vomited such a ball regards it as a propitious augury for the prosperity of his family. ”

“ I will never fulfil the desire of this lady proud of her son. I will inhabit the impracticable woods, and Rāma shall become the monarch. Let workmen lay out level roads in uneven tracts; and let those men that are adepts in threading places difficult to pass through, follow us." When the prince had spoken thus in behalf of Rāma, all those persons answered him in these excellent words, "For saying this, may Lakshmi seated on the lotus remain at thy side; inasmuch as thou wishest to confer the earth on the eldest son of the monarch!" ”

“ Behold the wise man that understandeth justice and coveteth not: Lakshmi knoweth his worth and seeketh him in his home.
180. The greed that looketh not beyond engendereth destruction : but the greatness that sayeth, I desire not, triumpheth over all. ”

“ In their prayers too they associate with the God that consort Lakshmi or Rukhmini, who gives wealth and prosperity—the benign divinity who with her lord preserves and maintains all living things and in loving-kindness intercedes for all who seek by love and submission to realize the Divine in the universe, be their sins manifold as the sands upon the shore. ”

“ Surely, Lakshmī is destroyed by persisting in the caprice of dwelling in Vishṇu’s bosom, that she does not approach thee in mortal form! But, nevertheless, do thou with thine arm, as the Great Boar with his circle of tusks, bear up for myriads of ages the weight of the earth, helping thy father.’ Thus saying, and offering homage with ornaments, dresses, flowers, and unguents, he dismissed him. Thereupon the prince, rising, and entering the zenana, visited Vaiçampāyana’s mother, by name Manoramā, and, departing, mounted Indrāyudha, and went to his palace. ”

“ Vrikshavaspa-niketa, and Chiravasas—these O Bharata, and many other Yakshas by hundred and thousands always wait upon Kuvera. The goddess Lakshmi always stayeth there, also Kuvera's son Nalakuvera. Myself and many others like myself often repair thither. Many Brahmana Rishis and celestial Rishis also repair there often. Many Rakshasas, and many Gandharvas, besides those that have been named, wait upon the worship, in that mansion, the illustrious lord of all treasures. ”

“ Once upon a time Sani, or Saturn, the god of bad luck, and Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck, fell out with each other in heaven. Sani said he was higher in rank than Lakshmi, and Lakshmi said she was higher in rank than Sani. As all the gods and goddesses of heaven were equally ranged on either side, the contending deities agreed to refer the matter to some human being who had a name for wisdom and justice. Now, there lived at that time upon earth a man of the name of Sribatsa, [1] who was as wise and just as he was rich. ”