Laxmi Dewi

Laxmi is the beloved of Lord Narayan, also popularly known as Lord Vishnu. Everybody wants to please the Goddess of wealth and keep her appeased so as to have lot of wealth and peace.

According to the sculptures and paintings that have come down from ancient times, Owl is the carrier of Goddess Laxmi. If she travels with Lord Vishnu, she travels on the Garuda (Eagle). This travelling on both the animals has symbollic significance: An owl is supposed to be blind during the day and a wealthy person without the right kind of intellect cannot see beyond his richness. Therefore whenever Laxmi (The Goddess of Wealth) travels without Lord Vishnu she makes the person whom she visits metaphorically blind. However when the Goddess Laxmi travels with Lord Vishnu, She travels on a Garuda, which is the symbol of wisdom.

As a female counterpart of Lord Vishnu, Mata Lakshmi is also called "Shri", the female of the Supreme Being. Goddess Lakshmi means "Good Luck" to Hindus. The word "Lakshmi" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Laksya", meaning `aim` or `goal`, and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. Also `lakh` which means "one hundred thousand" as a monetary unit in India, is the first part of Lakshmi`s name, symbolizing her blessings that pour forth abundantly.

The story of Lakshmi`s birth begins when the Devas (minor gods) were in a race against the Asuras (demons) to obtain amrit (the nectar of immorality). The Devas consulted Vishnu who was on earth as Kurma, a tortoise. They decided they would churn the oceans for the amrit. They created to churn by the threading the serpent Vasuki around Mount Mandara. Kurma dived to the ocean floor and balanced Mount Mandara on his back.

In the grip of Kurma`s cosmic clutch, the mountain could not sink into the ocean bed. The gods churned and received the Nectar of Immortality from Lakshmi Devi and then fourteen treasures came to their hands. Lakshmi Chose Lord Vishnu as Her Consort. Vishnu carried Lakshmi from the ocean into His heaven. Each time Vishnu descends on earth as an avatar an avatar of Lakshmi accompanies him.

Dhurga Dewi

Goddess Durga according to popular Hindu conception is the divine daughter of Himalaya, and his wife, Menaka, a Manasputri of Brahma, the Creator. It is said in the Markandeya Purana that though she pervades the Universe, and is co-extensive with creation, yet she manifests and incarnates herself on special occasions with a view to help the Devas in the performance of their divine work. Though thus manifested and incarnated, she is neither limited nor conditioned but is Nitya or Eternal.

The goddess is also known as the wife of Lord Shiva and the mother of Laxmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartikeya. She has ten hands out of which she holds different arms in eight of her hands and conch and lotus in the rest two. Even the Pauranic Durga or Uma has been described as the Mother of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, and yet she has been depicted as the consort of the last-named God of the trinity.

She was born fully grown, created out of flames that issued from the mouth of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and other Gods embodied in their collective energy. All the Gods in the heaven had created her to kill a fierce demon called Mahisasura who had been terrorizing the Gods in heaven and the men on earth. She was armed with the arms of every God so that she could kill him. She sat on a lion and went and killed Mahisasura.

Goddess Durga as worshipped by the Hindus, is the Primordial Energy of the Universe that creates upholds and destroys. It is through Her that a vision or glimpse of the Absolute and Infinite is possible. She is neither the Dawn, nor the Night, nor the Sun, nor any beautiful and wonderful phenomenon of Nature; but she is the very essence on which everything that is subsists. She is the Brahmamaya through which the Universe has been manifested.

The Hindus try to realise this grand conception of Her in their life by symbolising Her in a figure of clay, and worshipping Her as the Primordial Energy of the Universe-the Mother of the Gods and of all Creation.

In West Bengal Durga Puja is celebrated with great pomp and show. She is considered to be a form of Shakti. The legend holds that Goddess Durga visits earth once in a year and the people treat her like a daughter. In other parts of the country the goddess is worshipped but in a different form and different way. This is because the goddess is known among the Hindu in various incarnations and forms.

As per as the figure of the goddess is concerned she has ten arms, three eyes and each of arms bear a weapon. Ten of her arms represent ten directions in Hinduism and it signifies that the goddess protects her devotees from all direction and all harms.

She has three eyes. The left arm represents desire, the right eye represents action and the central eye represents fire. The goddess is bound on a lion. A lion on the other hand symbolises power, determination and will. Thus it can be said that as the goddess has made the lion her slave it is obvious that she has power, will and determination which is suggestive of the fact that unless an individual possess the all the three qualities one will not be able to win over the demon of ego. All the arms which she holds in her ten arms is also symbolic and each has a separate meaning associated with it.

Thus it can be concluded saying that Goddess Durga with all her accessories is a way with the help of which the devotees are inspired to imbibe within them the spirit of power and determination of mind and character.

Shakti

In Hinduism, Shakti means energy or potency or the sacred force of the divine goddess. Shakti or the Divine Mother is represented as the consort of God. Shakti symbolizes the lively and the energetic entity of the female power. On one hand, in Shaktism, Shakti is worshiped as the Supernatural Being. On the other hand in Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Shakti personifies the active energy and power of male power or Purushas. Such as Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Shaivism. In Vaishnavism, Lord Vishnu`s Shakti counterpart is called Lakshmi, and in Shaivism, Lord Shiva`s female Shakti is his wife Devi Parvati.

Shaktism refers the Devi or the Goddess as the Supreme Brahman. Shakti is the one without a second, and is considered as the divinity of various forms. The Saktas believes that Shakti is the energetic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine. Lord Shiva, the male aspect of divinity, is solely transcendent, and his worship is generally referred to be secondary.

In Vaishnavism, Lord Vishnu signifies the Shakti. He is the active energy and power of male supreme deity. Vishnu`s Shakti consort is Goddess Lakshmi. In a school of Vaishnavism, Srivaishnavism, Lakshmi or Shri does not play any important part in the creative function of the Lord as Devi. Vaishnavism `Shakti` is the great creator and Shri is a part of Lord Vishnu. Like Vishnu is the father who stands for supreme justice, and Shri, the mother of the universe represents the element in the liberation of mankind.

As mentioned in the Smarta tradition of Hinduism, Shakti is represented as one of the five equal scripture-sanctioned forms of God in the panchadeva system.

It is also believed that Shakti is Lord Indra`s wife Sanchi or Indrani which means power. Indrani is said to be a part of a group of seven or eight mother goddesses called the Matrikas. The names of Matrikas are Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kumari, Varahi and Chamunda and/or Narasimhi. The Matrikas are considered Shaktis of most important Hindu Gods, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra, Skanda, Yama and Narasimha.

The goddess Shakti is also known as Amma in South India. Shakti is a sign of protection of the country, the punisher of evil people, the curer of diseases, and the one who gives happiness to the village. There are about fifty one Shakti Peethas which are centres of Shakti worship.

In Hinduism, Adi Shakti is the ultimate Shakti, the final feminine power inherent in all Creation. Devi Prakriti is a Shakti is the force that unifies Kundalini, Kriya, Itcha, Para, Jnana and Mantrika Shaktis. Each of Shaktis is unified in a chakra.

Maariamma

Goddess Mari or Mariamma or Maariamma or Amman means "mother". She the most prominent South Indian mother goddess and is related with Hindu goddesses Parvati and Durga.

Goddess Mari is represented as a beautiful young woman with a red-hued face, wearing a red dress. Mariamma is represented in a sitting posture with four hands, in which she holds a kind of drum called Damaru, a trident called Sula, a bundle of ropes called Pasa and a skull.

Mari is said to be the Goddess of Disease. She was considered the smallpox goddess before this disease was eradicated. Now she cures all so-called heat-based diseases like pox and rashes. Mari is also considered to be the Fertility goddess.

Her pagodas are found everywhere, usually at some distance from the villages, in groves in various parts of South India.

An annual festival is celebrated in her honour, which lasts eight days. The image of Goddess Mari is carried about every morning and evening. There is a procession carrying lights. In the night, the followers carry oil lamps in procession, which is a beautiful sight. The men bring goats, swine, and cocks, and behead them before the idol. They ask the goddess to protect them in the coming year from all evil. At this same time Rupakas are acted, and there is much dancing.

SRi Or ShRi

As said in the Hindu mythology, Sri or Shri is the name of Goddess Lakshmi. In the Vishnu, Garuda, Linga, and Padma Puranas, Sri is said to be born as the daughter of the divine sage Bhrigu who was the mind-born son of Lord Brahma.

Sri is usually considered to be the female energy of Lord Vishnu. Sri is inseparable from Vishnu and is therefore always there wherever Vishnu is. It is said that Vishnu is the sun and she its splendor; he is the moon and she is the radiance.

Sri is the goddess of wealth and fortune. Sri or Lakshmi is the personification of Love, from which dedication to God or Bhakti flows from. It is considered that through devotion or Bhakti that is Lakshmi, the soul (atma) is capable to reach God or Vishnu.

Devi Sri is also the embodiment of the Devine energy within human being and universe, called Kundalini. She also symbolizes the Spiritual World or Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha is the domicile of Vishnu and Sri (Lakshmi-Narayana), this is believed to be Heaven in Hinduism. She is also the Divine qualities of God and the soul. Sri is Lord Vishnu`s superior spiritual feminine energy or the Param Prakriti. The Param Prakriti sanitizes, makes one powerful and strengthens the individual. Thus She is called the Goddess of Fortune.