Mata Lakshmi is one of the principal Goddesses in Indian mythology. She is the daughter of Maa Durga and the consort of Lord Vishnu. She is known as the Goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty and fertility.

Whenever Lord Vishnu descended the Earth with one of his avataars, he was accompanied by an avataar of Goddess Lakshmi. Along with Goddesses Parvati and Saraswati, she forms the holy Tridevi of Hindu Goddesses. Lakshmi’s name is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘lakshya’, which means ‘aim’ or ‘goal’.

Goddess Lakshmi is usually depicted as a beautiful and elegant woman of golden complexion, with four hands, sitting or standing on a full-bloomed lotus and holding a lotus. She is adorned with a lotus garland and has white elephants by her side. When she is shown along with Lord Vishnu, she is shown with two hands.

Goddess Lakshmi’s birth legend starts with the meeting between Lord Indra and Sage Durvasa. When Lord Indra had come to meet the sage, he was welcomed and showered with flowers and garland. Lord Indra put the garland on his elephant- Airavat’s head which the elephant threw down. Enraged at this, he cursed Lord Indra due to which the heaven as well as earth started collapsing. Gods started losing their energy, humans started becoming greedy and due to this the demons invaded and captured the two worlds. The Gods rushed to Lord Vishnu for help who suggested the churning of the ocean to restore back the power to the Gods by drinking the immortal Amrit. This is how the churning of the ocean- Samudra Manthan started which was a tug of war between the demons and the Gods. During the churning of the ocean, emerged Goddess Lakshmi on a full-blown Lotus. The Gods drank the Amrit and defeated the demons and got their heaven- Swarg and Earth and restored peace and order in the Universe. It is also believed that Lord Vishnu who was present during the Samudra Manthan was impressed with the beauty of Goddess Lakshmi an asked her to marry him. The Goddess agreed immediately and married him.  

It is also said that Goddess Lakshmi resides in the houses of people who have a good heart. In many villages and cities, it is said that Goddess Lakshmi is born when a girl-child is born in that house.  Devotees in India worship Goddess Lakshmi for her to grant wealth and success. During the festival of Diwali, devotees pay a tribute to Goddess Lakshmi by cleaning their homes, lighting lamps, doing rangoli, and doing Lakshmi Pooja and invite her to their homes to bless them with abundance, good luck, and prosperity.