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Hindu

Lakshmi

The Goddess of Fortune

Domain
Prosperity, Beauty & Luck
Alignment
Neutral Good
Element
Light
Relics of Power
Lotus of Abundance
Speak with Lakshmi

The full Codex

5 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.

The People

People
Hindu peoples
Region
Indian subcontinent
Period
c. 1500 BC – present

The Hindu deities have been worshipped for over three thousand years across the Indian subcontinent, from the Vedic hymns to the living Hinduism of today. Billions of devotees dedicate to them temples, festivals such as Diwali and Holi, and daily rituals in the home. It is one of the largest religious traditions still practiced in the world.

Diwali lights up India with oil lamps in honor of Lakshmi, and Holi celebrates spring with clouds of colored powder. At the Kumbh Mela, the largest pilgrimage on Earth, tens of millions bathe in the sacred rivers, and daily puja brings flowers, incense, and food to the altars.

At a glance

Lakshmi (Lakṣmī, also widely adored by the sacred title Śrī) is the supreme Hindu goddess of prosperity, material and spiritual wealth, royal fortune, divine beauty, and gracious compassion. In classical Vaishnava philosophy, she is the eternal, inseparable consort of Vishnu (Narayana), embodying the dynamic cosmic energy (Shakti) that sustains universal order and serving as the compassionate intercessor (Purushakara) who pleads for faltering souls before divine justice. The preeminent mythological account of her manifestation, expounded in the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana, recounts her emergence during the primeval Churning of the Milk Ocean (Samudra Manthan): as gods and demons agitated the cosmic waters, the radiant goddess arose seated upon a pink blossoming lotus, attended by four celestial white elephants who bathed her with jars of celestial dew, whereupon she freely chose Vishnu as her eternal husband by placing a garland upon his chest. In Vishnu's earthly descents, she invariably incarnates alongside him—manifesting as Sita in the Ramayana and as Rukmini in Krishna's life. Her worship reaches its annual peak during the luminous festival of Diwali.

8 min read · Reviewed on September 28, 2026 · How we research

Sacred symbols

Lotus, gold coins, the elephants and the owl

Family

Parents
Bhrigu (in Puranic genealogies)Khyati
Lakshmi
Children
Genealogy according to Rigveda Khilani (Śrī Sūkta); Vishnu Purana 1.8-9; Bhagavata Purana 8.8; Mahabharata, Adi Parva 18

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

  • Anonymous (Vedic tradition) / Wendy Doniger (ed.), Rigveda Khilani (Śrī Sūkta: Hymn to the Goddess of Fortune). translation: Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, The Rig Veda: An Anthology, Penguin Books, London, 1981. read
  • Parashara (attributed) / H. H. Wilson (trans.), The Vishnu Purana (Book 1, Chapter 9: The Churning of the Ocean and the Hymn to Sri). translation: Horace Hayman Wilson, John Murray, London, 1840. read
  • Vyasa (attributed) / Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare (trans.), The Bhagavata Purana (Book 8, Chapters 7 and 8: The Emergence of Lakshmi). translation: Ancient Indian Tradition & Mythology, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1976. read
  • Vyasa (attributed) / Kisari Mohan Ganguli (trans.), The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (Adi Parva, Section 18). translation: Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Bharata Press, Calcutta, 1896. read

Studies

  • David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988. open
  • Jan Gonda, Aspects of Early Viṣṇuism. N.V. A. Oosthoek's Uitgevers Mij, Utrecht, 1954. open
  • Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization (Edited by Joseph Campbell). Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1946. open
  • Alain Daniélou, The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism. Inner Traditions International, Rochester, 1991. open

Name and epithets

The Sanskrit theonym Lakṣmī (लक्ष्मी) is philologically rooted in the verbal root lakṣ (लक्ष्), which denotes the actions of observing carefully, perceiving, comprehending, marking, or aiming toward a designated purpose…

In the ancient sources

Rigveda Khilani (ऋग्वेद खिलानि), C. 1000–800 BCE. Early canonical Vedic litany in classical meters invoking Agni to convey the golden-hued goddess of the lotus and forever banish Alakshmi, the spirit of destitution.

The myths

The Curse of Durvasa and the Depletion of Heavenly Fortune. In the Vishnu Purana (1.9), the disruption of cosmic prosperity originated when the notoriously volatile ascetic Durvasa presented Indra with a fragrant celest…

Worship and archaeology

The veneration of Lakshmi permeates everyday Hindu home life, commerce, and agricultural labor, guided by the deep-seated theological conviction that she graces only clean, peaceful, and ethical households.

How the god was depicted

Treatises on traditional iconometry (Shilpa Shastras) prescribe for Lakshmi an aristocratic, radiant presence characterized by fair golden complexion (hema-varna) and deeply tranquil, motherly demeanor.

What scholars debate

. Within Indology and religious studies, scholars have focused on the historical convergence of two independent figures in the early Vedic era: Śrī, who initially personified royal glory, secular majesty, and political…

After antiquity

The veneration and visual imagery of Lakshmi traveled far beyond the borders of classical Hinduism. In Jainism, a vision of the goddess Lakshmi seated upon her lotus and anointed by elephants is counted among the fourte…

Did you know?

Coins issued under the classical Gupta Empire (4th to 6th centuries CE) frequently depicted the goddess Lakshmi seated on a lotus scattering gold on the reverse, establishing her role as patroness of royal currency and…

Codex relic

Lotus of Abundance. A golden lotus from whose petals coins pour forth, symbolizing prosperity that never ceases.

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