Lakshmi

Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, fortune and well-being, the consort of Vishnu in the Vaishnava tradition. She is shown seated or standing on a lotus, holding lotuses, often flanked by two elephants in the Gajalakshmi form. In Odisha she is Mahalakshmi, with her own shrine in the Jagannath temple at Puri, and she is closely tied to the Jagannath tradition. Women honour her on Thursdays in the month of Margasira, called Manabasa Gurubara, and she is also worshipped on Kumar Purnima and on Dipabali night.

The Vedic Sri Sukta praises Sri as radiant, golden and the giver of prosperity. In the Puranas, including the Vishnu Purana, Lakshmi rises from the ocean of milk when the gods and demons churn it for nectar, and she chooses Vishnu as her husband. She is said to take human form alongside his...