Goddess Kamalātmikā - Wealth, Peace, Prosperity
She has four hands; in the rear two hands, she holds a lotus flower each and in the front hands she shows abhaya (removal of fear) and varada (conferring boons) mudras. She is extraordinarily radiant and is considered as an embodiment of auspiciousness and that is why she is just called Śrī, which means light, lustre, radiance, splendour, glory, beauty, grace, loveliness, prosperity, welfare, good fortune, success, auspiciousness, wealth, treasure, riches, etc. To add to Her grandeur, she is often depicted with either two white elephants, one on each side or four white elephants, two on each side, sprinkling nectar of bliss on Her. She is also known as Mahālakṣhmī, Śhakti of Nārāyaṇa/Viṣṇu.
She is worshiped more than any other goddesses of Mahāvidyās on two counts. One, She is the symbol of auspiciousness and secondly, she is the provider of material wealth. Like Śiva and Śhakti, where they become part of each other, say for example Ardhanārīśvara or Śakti sitting on the left lap of Śiva, Lakṣhmī is seated in the chest of Viṣhṇu and this part of the body of Viṣhṇu is called śrīvatsa. She is described with a radiant white saree denoting peace and bliss.
When the Amrutha Mathan took place for getting the nectar, she appeared from the ocean and joined Vishnu as His consort. She is also the mother of Manmatha, Lord Cupid. She is the youngest of the Dasamahavidya Devathas. She is golden in colour and wears lot of gold ornaments. She offers sowbhagya and prosperity to Her devotees through Sangha Nidhi and Padma Nidhi devathas. She occupies the central place of “Bindhu” in Sri Chakra.
Pañcadaśī mantra of Lalitāmbikā becomes Laghu Ṣhoḍaśī mantra by suffixing Lakṣhmī bīja (this is also known as rama bīja, where rama means pleasing, delighting, rejoicing, etc). Usage of this mantra in any other mantra increases the devotion to a particular god or goddess; this bīja acts as a catalyst and causes quicker fructification of a mantra. This bīja also causes fertility. There are stories which say that Indra prospers only due to Her Grace. Virtually all the Kings worshiped Her for prosperously sustaining their kingdoms. Her glories are explained in detail in Lakṣhmī Tantra. Pāñcarātra is one of the important Vaiṣhṇava doctrines and Lakṣhmī Tantra occupies a prime position amongst Pāñcarātra āgama. Lakṣhmī Herself says in this Tantra (50: 8-10) “I am His (Viṣhṇu/Nārāyaṇa) supreme eternal Śhakti known as Śrī. I am free from all blemishes. I fulfil all His (Viṣhṇu/Nārāyaṇa) desires and with the fragment of my own self as the foundation. I manifest both as pure and impure (being both good and bad at the same time is the unique omnipresent nature of Brahman). I am attached to all His functions and permanently remain in the state of perpetual absoluteness.” Her full glory is described in Śrī Sūktaṁ. In this hymn, Lakṣhmī is invoked to shower Her Grace for auspiciousness and material benefits. The hymn ends like this; “Invoke for me, Agni (Agni because Agni is supposed to carry our oblations to the respective gods), that Goddess Lakṣhmī who is ever unfailing, being blessed by whom I shall have wealth in plenty.”
Aṣṭalakṣmīs
These are eight of Her manifestations with different forms for different aspects of life, together called Ashta Lakshmi.- Adhilakṣhmī (She is known as Mahālakṣhmī or primordial force); Dhanalakṣhmī (wealth); Dhǎnyalakṣhmī (grains); Gajalakṣhmī (She is with elephants); Santāanalakṣhmī (progeny); Vīralakṣhmī (courageous); Vijayalakṣhmī (victorious) and Vidyālakṣhmī (knowledge). She may be known by numerous names but ultimately they all lead to eternal bliss at the feet of Lalitha Maha Bhattarika, the Adhi Sakthi.
