Gauri Kelkar - Little Monks Lakshmi

Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Lord Vishnus consort, is a versatile goddess who functions at two levels. She is a source of strength and inspiration for Lord Vishnu

and helps him whenever he is

called upon to save the world from evil. And at another level,

she showers blessings on all her devotees who worship

her with love and devotion, and turns her back on all

those who are immoral and

deceitful. The stories in this book explore her multi-faceted persona centred around both

these roles.

Little Monks

Original text, Gauri Kelkar, 2011 Series Editor: Richa Jha

Illustrated by Sandhya Sethumadhavan Cover design by Shilo Shiv Suleman and Sandhya Sethumadhavan

ISBN: 978-81-8328-274-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwisewithout the prior permission of the author and the publisher.

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Text

Contents

........

Preface 5

1. The Origin of Goddess Lakshmi 6

2. Goddess Lakshmi Chops Off Rahus Head 11

3. Goddess Lakshmi Takes Birth as Vedavati 15

4. Goddess Lakshmi is Born as Tulsi 19

5. Goddess Lakshmi Turns into a Mare 23

6. When Goddess Lakshmi Deserted Lord Indra 27

7. Goddess Lakshmi as Padmavati 31

8. Goddess Lakshmi Calms Down Lord Vishnu 36

9. Goddess Lakshmis Lesson to Prahlad 41

10. Balis Devotion to Goddess Lakshmi 46

Glossary 51

Preface

.......

akshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity, was one of the jewels to emerge out of the vast worldly ocean or the mahasagar during amrit manthan . As Lord Vishnus wife, she is considered to be the source of his supreme power and strength, and is also his constant companion in his different avatars on Earth to destroy evil.

Goddess Lakshmi is usually shown seated or standing on a lotus throne, or riding an owl. A symbol of grace, beauty, morality and wealthboth worldly riches and spiritual treasures, she showers her devotees with all round happiness and prosperity. While they hold a lotus and gold coins, her four hands represent the following: dharma or moral path, kama or desires, artha or wealth and moksha or liberation from birth and death.

Lakshmi is worshipped regularly and during the festival of Diwali, she is worshipped and prayed to on a grand scale on an occasion known as Lakshmipujan.

The Origin of

Goddess Lakshmi

......................

hen the universe rst came into existence , there were only two powerful racesthe gods or deva s and the demons or asura s. Though the gods and demons always fought with each other, they had the same father! It is said that the gods were born to Sage Kashyap and his rst wife, Aditi, and the demons, to his second wife, Diti.

Both the demons and the gods were very strong, but the demons always defeated the gods in wars. This constant ghting and losing caused great anxiety to the gods. What if, they thought to themselves, the demons become so powerful that they took over the Heavens or devalok forever? Where would they go?

So worried were they that they went to meet Lord Brahma,the creator of the universe, for a solution. However, Lord Brahma too was unable to address their woes . But do not fret ! We will go to Lord Vishnu. I am sure he will think of something to save us all, Lord Brahma assured the gods.

So they all went to Lord Vishnu, the most brilliant among the gods. When he heard this problem, he thought for a while and then said, There is only one way to make sure that you become stronger than the demons. You have to churn the vast ocean, the Kshirsagar. There are many valuable gems hidden in its great depths. Among them is a pitcher full of nectar ( amrit ). If you drink this nectar, you will become immortal and invincible. The gods were indeed happy. At last they had found a way to fi x this problem.

But then another problem cropped up . At that point of time, the entire universe was surrounded by water! How on earth were they going to churn this vast ocean! They certainly did not have the strength to do that all by themselves. But of course, Lord Vishnu had an answer to this as well! He said, First of all, you will need a powerful rope and a huge churner. You will also require a base where you will keep the churner. The gods then set to work.

They persuaded the great mount, Mandarachal to become the churner. Sheshnaga, the serpent (who is the seat of Lord Vishnu), uprooted the mountain! Another serpent,Vasuki, agreed to become the rope. Now was the question of the base. All the gods were puzzling over this. Suddenly, to their great surprise and delight they saw Lord Vishnu take on the form of a mighty tortoise! Now the gods were all ready to churn the ocean.

But how could it be that the gods were up to something and the demons would not nd out about it?

They learnt from their spies about the gods plan. They also heard about the special nectar that would make them powerful. So they went to the gods and told them, rather arrogantly , We have heard about this nectar that you are going to churn out of the ocean. We have thought about it and agreed to help you.