Maa Lakshmi, who is she?
Lakshmi is frequently shown wearing a red or green sari in contemporary artwork. Her lower right hand is lifted in the "do not be afraid" gesture, or Abhaya mudra, while the upper two of her four hands are holding lotus flowers.
Golden coins are dropping from her lower left hand, which has its palm facing out and is pointing downward. She is seated or standing atop a big red lotus blossom. Two elephants with their trunks erect are frequently present behind her. Sometimes these elephants "shower her with water from belly-round pots," as poet Patricia Monaghan puts it.
Lakshmi is thought to be Vishnu's spouse and the protector of dharma, or the cosmic order. As the power or shakti of Vishnu.
Lakshmi is thought to be the spouse of Vishnu, the guardian of cosmic dharma, who is also known as Vishnu. Lakshmi is Vishnu's equal and is an essential component of his being as Vishnu's shakti or power.
In fact, Shri appears to be the earliest name given to this goddess in Hindu writings, according to the materials I have researched as a specialist in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions. This word's original meaning of splendour refers to everything auspicious, including all the positive and lovely aspects of life. On the other side, the name Lakshmi denotes a mark, impression, or manifestation of Shri. The earliest works of Hindu literature, the Vedas, appear to use these two words to designate two separate goddesses.
These two deities, however, seem to have fused into a single goddess by the first century, which is the time of the writing of the "Puranas," or the ancient lore of the Hindu deities, known as Shri, Lakshmi, or Shri Lakshmi.
Lakshmi's beginnings are the subject of numerous legends. The most well-known of them, from the Vishnu Purana of the fifth century, has her emerging from the ocean while the Devas and Asuras, gods and anti-gods, churn it in order to obtain amrita, the elixir of immortality. She is described as the daughter of Bhrigu, a Vedic sage, and Khyati, his wife, in a different source, the ninth-century literature known as the Garuda Purana.
People who pray specifically to Lakshmi and light diyas in their homes in order to urge the goddess to come and bless them at the new year.