IndianLegion | Official Book 2020

Lakshmi Puja

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|LAKSHMI PUJA|
By- Elegiac_Damsel

Lakshmi, depicted as a serene and calm woman emanating an ethereal glow, clad in red, adorned in gold, seated on a lotus, the one evoked to welcome happiness into the household, the consort of the protector of the universe, is worshipped on Kojagari Purnima, the full moon night that precedes the new moon night marking Naraka Chaturdashi, or what one popularly celebrates as Deepawali.

In Bengal, the obeisance to the Goddess is made primarily by the household’s women in the evening after the house has been cleaned and decorated. The floors are beautified by the traditional Alpana designs traditionally made using rice flour paste. The festival signifies the entry of Lakshmi, signifying wealth, prosperity, and peace, into one’s household and the eviction of Alakshmi, the rumored elder sister of the Goddess. She is said to carry disharmony, discord, and unhappiness into the household.

In Odisha, the day is celebrated as Kumara Purnima. Gajalakshmi Puja is performed on this day, the festival being more elaborate in the Dhenkanal district of the state. Unmarried women are expected to keep a fast in the name of Goddess Lakshmi. It is believed that any woman or girl who can fast sincerely is blessed with a kumara (bridegroom) with the aura and grace of Lord Narayan, the consort of the Goddess. Several married women fast too for the well-being of their husbands and their household, praying for the sake of well-being and prosperity. Kumara Purnima generally marks the onset of the Hindu month of Kartik. Earlier, traders would set sail to travel to distant lands with the hope of expanding their business and inviting home Lakshmi in the form of hard-earned money. Nowadays, people sail paper boats and rafts in small localized water bodies to adhere to this ritual. This signifies a prayer to their ancestors, seeking them to bless them with happiness, wealth, and prosperity while casting away unhappiness and sorrow in the household by setting sail to the paper boats.

Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped according to the standard mandated rules that were supposedly proclaimed first in Avanti Nagar. This historical, ancient Indian city has been mentioned in several epics and stories. Having been reprimanded by the messenger of the Gods, Narad Muni, for deserting each household on earth and leaving every human and family to perish, The Goddess had justified her actions citing that humans were paying for their sins. They were deprived of grains because they had failed to respect the fact that their stomachs were filled. They were perishing with sorrow, unending quarrels, and illness because they had been unable to appreciate the presence of Lakshmi in their homes.
The wise sage Narad after hearing Ma Lakshmi’s version of the story, pleaded for mercy, for forgiveness to all mortals who had insulted her, pleading for their lives and one chance from the Goddess.
Deeply moved and touched, Lakshmi had descended on Earth after seeking advice from her soulmate, Narayan, to start the weekly ritual of Lakshmi Vrat.

In a copper, brass, or silver vessel, one must fill water, draw a swastika using vermilion on the surface, and keep on it five leaves of a mango tree that grow from one common branch, a whole heart-shaped betel leaf, a betel nut, a small banana, and some husked rice, flowers, and trefoil leaves. The married women of the household who are required to perform this ritual every Thursday, without fail, are also required to read the story of Goddess Lakshmi and the significance of the ritual. The story tells one what one must adhere to and instill in oneself to feel and keep Lakshmi around. The women after that ritual are asked to sport vermilion that signifies the sanctity and prosperity that marriage harbingers. A woman who never fails to perform the ritual is blessed with the steady presence of Goddess Lakshmi around, her household never runs out of grains, and quarrels and disharmony never disrupt the prosperity.

Known as Chanchala or as someone who isn’t stable or steady, Goddess Lakshmi is said to have a vacillating mind. She never stays in one place for a long time. For this very nature, one prays to her ardently, seeking her, seeking to possess her for the sake of happiness that one connects or equates to worldly gains.
Goddess Lakshmi is a heavenly deity who maintains cosmic balance in the universe. She is the epitome of a perfect woman, one who is strong, tolerant, blessed with love, commanding respect. However, she is also depicted as someone who doesn’t tolerate any insult towards herself. In a place where the Lakshmi of the household, or the household women, are mistreated, prosperity becomes a distant dream.
Expecting nothing but love and respect in return for everything she does is what Lakshmi is known and respected.

During Lakshmi Puja, she is welcomed home with love, offered her favorite sweets; coconut and jaggery-filled laddoos. The designs are drawn on the floor usually include footprints marked in a strict pattern, leading inside the house, towards the sanctora-Sanctorum. This signifies the entrance of the Goddess inside the house.

The Autumn full moon night that the Goddess descends upon the earth, she seeks to enter the house of devotees who seek her for peace and love, good health, and prosperity in the household. Ironically, even as the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi condemns materialistic thoughts and is someone who seeks purity in the intentions of those who seek her.

Blessed is the one whose home Lakshmi chooses to grace.
In alternative cultures and ethnicities, including North and West India and even Nepal, Lakshmi is worshipped alongside Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles during Diwali. In South India, during the nine days of the Autumn Navratri, the Goddess is honored for three days dedicated to her alongside Durga and Saraswati, the other two deities who together signify Trishakti.

Light a lamp in your household, and with pure intentions, seek the Goddess with sincerity. Her grace never fails to light up the darkest of all alleys, and her blessings never fail to keep the flowers blooming and the fields full of grains. Seek her for the qualities that define her, not the money or wealth that she supposedly owns. To seek Lakshmi, one must always respect the women in their household, for Ma Lakshmi is a mother, the very Goddess from whose grace each woman, each feminine entity, is born and blessed.

Indian Legion wishes you all a pleased Lakshmi Puja. May the Goddess bless you and light up your household.

#ind_legion

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