Editing Lakshmi (section)

==Manifestations and aspects==
[[File: Relief sculpture of the Hindu god Narayana with his consort Lakshmi (Lakshminarayana) in the Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu.jpg|thumb|right|Sculpture of Lord [[Vishnu]] and Goddess Lakshmi at [[Hoysaleswara Temple]] at [[Halebidu]]]]
Inside temples, Lakshmi is often shown together with [[Vishnu]]. In certain parts of India, Lakshmi plays a special role as the mediator between her husband Vishnu and his worldly devotees. When asking Vishnu for grace or forgiveness, the devotees often approach him through the intermediary presence of Lakshmi.{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=31–32}} She is also the personification of spiritual fulfillment. Lakshmi embodies the spiritual world, also known as [[Vaikuntha]], the abode of Lakshmi and Vishnu (collectively called [[Lakshmi Narayan]]a). Lakshmi is the embodiment of the creative energy of Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Charles Russell Coulter|author2=Patricia Turner|title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sEIngqiKOugC&pg=PA285|year=2013|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-96390-3|page=285}}</ref> and primordial [[Prakriti]] who creates the universe.<ref>{{cite book|first=Tracy|last= Pintchman|title=Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-c_j8Xggl0gC&pg=PA85 |year=2001|publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-5007-9|pages=84–85}}</ref>

[[File: Sheshashayi - Laxminarayan by DHURANDHAR MV.jpg|alt=|thumb|left|upright=1.15|An early 20th-century painting depicting Vishnu resting on [[Ananta-Shesha]], with Lakshmi massaging his feet.]]
According to ''[[Garuda Purana]]'', Lakshmi is considered as ''[[Prakriti]]'' (Mahalakshmi) and is identified with three forms {{mdash}} Sri, Bhu and Durga. The three forms consist of [[Satva]] ('goodness'),<ref name="mmwlak" /> [[rajas]], and [[Tamas (philosophy)|tamas]] ('darkness') gunas,{{Sfn|Pintchman|2001|p=82}} and assists Vishnu ([[Purusha]]) in creation, preservation and destruction of the entire universe. [[Durga]]'s form represents the power to fight, conquer and punish the demons and anti-gods.
{{Saktism}}

In the ''[[Lakshmi Tantra]]'' and Lakshmi Sahasranama of [[Skanda Purana]], Lakshmi is given the status of the primordial goddess. According to these texts, Durga and the other forms, such as Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati and all the Shaktis that came out of all gods such as [[Matrikas]] and [[Mahavidya]],{{Sfn|Gupta|2000|p=27}} are all various forms of Goddess Lakshmi.{{sfn|Gupta|2000|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}} In [[Lakshmi Tantra]], Lakshmi tells [[Indra]] that she got the name Durga after killing an asura named Durgama.{{sfn|Gupta|2000|p=52}} Indologists and authors Chitralekha Singh and Prem Nath says, "[[Narada Purana]] describes the powerful forms of Lakshmi as Durga, Mahakali, Bhadrakali, Chandi, Maheshwari, Mahalakshmi, Vaishnavi and Andreye".<ref>{{cite book |title=Lakshmi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpkRAQAAIAAJ |author1=Chitralekha Singh|author2=Prem Nath |publisher=Crest Publishing House|year=2001|page=20 |isbn=978-81-242-0173-2}}</ref>

Lakshmi, [[Saraswati]], and [[Parvati]] are typically conceptualized as distinct in most of India, but in states such as West Bengal and Odisha, they are regionally believed to be forms of Durga.<ref>Fuller, Christopher John. 2004. ''The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India''. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-691-12048-5}}. p. 41.</ref> In Hindu Bengali culture, Lakshmi, along with Saraswati, are seen as the daughters of [[Durga]]. They are worshipped during [[Durga Puja]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dNOT9iYxcMC&q=lakshmi+daughter+Durga&pg=PA986 |title=Concise Encyclopaedia of India|year=2006 |isbn=978-81-269-0639-0}}</ref>

In South India, Lakshmi is seen in two forms, Sridevi and [[Bhudevi]], both at the sides of [[Venkateshwara]], a form of Vishnu. Bhudevi is the representation and totality of the material world or energy, called the ''Apara Prakriti'', or Mother Earth; Sridevi is the spiritual world or energy called the ''[[Prakriti]]''.<ref name="anandrao167">{{cite book|author=Anand Rao |title=Soteriologies of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxGEy6m4N9kC&pg=PA167|year=2004|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-8258-7205-2|page=167|access-date=22 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035521/https://books.google.com/books?id=UxGEy6m4N9kC&pg=PA167|archive-date=26 December 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Edward Balfour|title=Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eoNRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA10|year=1873|publisher=Adelphi Press|pages=10–11|access-date=22 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035522/https://books.google.com/books?id=eoNRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA10 |archive-date=26 December 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to [[Lakshmi Tantra]], [[Nila Devi]], one of the manifestations or incarnations of Lakshmi is the third wife of [[Vishnu]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Hand Book of South Indian Images: An Introduction to the Study of Hindu Iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGPqAAAAMAAJ|page=96|author=T. N. Srinivasan|publisher=Tirumalai-Tirupati Devasthanams|year=1982}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC|page=176|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|year=1994|isbn=978-81-208-1098-3}}</ref> Each goddess of the triad is mentioned in [[Śrī Sūkta]], Bhu Sūkta and Nila Sūkta, respectively.<ref name="US438">{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Upinder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA438|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|date=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1677-9|page=438|language=en|access-date=15 December 2019|archive-date=13 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113185415/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA438|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC|page=177|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |year=1994|isbn=978-81-208-1098-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Proceedings of the 9th Session of Indian Art History Congress, Hyderabad, November 2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UrLWAAAAMAAJ |page=61|publisher=Indian Art History Congress |author=Chitta Ranjan Prasad Sinha|year=2000|quote=Of the four Vedas : Rig, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva, Puruşa Sukta of Rig Veda identifies Lord Vişņu as the Cosmic God . Sri Suktam, Bhu Suktam and Nila Suktam of Rig Veda reveals the glory of Lakşmi and her forms Sri, Bhū and Nila.}}</ref> This threefold goddess can be found, for example, in Sri Bhu Neela Sahita Temple near [[Dwaraka Tirumala]], Andhra Pradesh, and in Adinath Swami Temple in Tamil Nadu.<ref>Knapp, Stephen. ''Spiritual India Handbook''. {{ISBN|978-81-8495-024-3}}. p. 392.</ref> In many parts of the region, [[Andal]] is considered as an incarnation of Lakshmi.<ref name=Rao>{{cite book |title=Temples of Tamil Nadu|last=Rao|first=A.V. Shankaranarayana|publisher=Vasan Publications|isbn=978-81-8468-112-3|year=2012|pages=195–199}}</ref>
[[File:Ashtalakshmi.jpg|thumb|Ashtalakshmi - Eight forms of Lakshmi]]
[[Ashta Lakshmi]] (Sanskrit: {{Langx|sa|अष्टलक्ष्मी|lit=eight Lakshmis|translit=Aṣṭalakṣmī|label=none}}) is a group of eight secondary manifestations of Lakshmi. The Ashta Lakshmi presides over eight sources of wealth and thus represents the eight powers of Shri Lakshmi. Temples dedicated to Ashta Lakshmi are found in [[Tamil Nadu]], such as [[Ashtalakshmi Kovil]] near [[Chennai]] and many other states of India.<ref>[[Vidya Dehejia|Dehejia, Vidya]], and Thomas Coburn. ''Devi: the great goddess: female divinity in South Asian art''. [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]]. {{ISBN|978-3-7913-2129-5}}.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Ashta Lakshmi
| Adi Lakshmi
| The First manifestation of Lakshmi
|-
| Dhanya Lakshmi
| Granary Wealth
|-
| Veera Lakshmi
| Wealth of Courage
|-
| Gaja Lakshmi
| Elephants spraying water, the wealth of fertility, rains, and food.<ref>Dallapiccola, Anna. 2007. ''Indian Art in Detail''. Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-02691-9}}. pp. 11–27.</ref>
|-
| Santana Lakshmi
| Wealth of Continuity, Progeny
|-
| Vidya Lakshmi
| Wealth of Knowledge and Wisdom
|-
| Vijaya Lakshmi
| Wealth of Victory
|-
| Dhana / Aishwarya Lakshmi
| Wealth of prosperity and fortune
|}