Ashta Lakshmi - the 8 different forms of Lakshmi

The myth :

The Ashtalakshmis are pretty popular down south. The eight are :

1. AdiLakshmi - or the Lakshmi for beginnings
2. Dhana Lakshmi - the Lakshmi for wealth
3. DhanyaLakshmi - the Lakshmi for food
4. GajaLakshmi - the Lakshmi for animal/cattle wealth
5. SantanaLakshmi - the Lakshmi for children/progeny
6. VijayaLakshmi - the Lakshmi for victory
7. Vidya Lakshmi - the Lakshmi for education
8. Veera Lakshmi - the Lakshmi for bravery

The ashtalakshmi stotram is recited for the blessings of these 8.

The philosophy :

I love the concept of the 8 lakshmis for it shows how women can represent all the different forms of wealth that is necessary for humanity.

Also, the 8 lakshmis remind me time and again that just one of the various symbols of prosperity (money) is not sufficient at all and we need to think about the other things which make up life as well. 

Why a Golu

The golu or bomma golu (court of dolls) is an integral part of the navrathri celebrations in a lot of south indian homes. There are numerous dolls depicting scenes from Indian mythology or everyday life arranged in different steps. Friends and neighbors are invited to look at the display and served delicious food and the stories are discussed with a lot of gusto.

How the golu came about to be displayed is also interesting.

During the time of Krishnadevaraya, there was a lot of de-silting of rivers going on and dams being constructed. The king wanted to revive pottery in his kingdom and asked the potters to make dolls from the clay available. The dolls represented a lot of things - gods, incidents from mythology, everyday life in the kingdom etc. The subjects then displayed the dolls in their houses - which the king and queen visited later. The dolls were arranged in multiple steps.

The first step had the kalash - a pot filled with rice and grains, covered with a coconut and mango leaves to symbolise prosperity and to hope for that prosperity to sustain through the next year. The wooden carvings of the king and queen, (marapachi bommai) were placed there. The next step had dolls of the numerous gods and demigods and the third depicted scenes from everyday life. The number of steps varied from 3 to as much as 11 depending on the prosperity of the subject. The golu tradition was revived by the Mysore Wodeyars and the devis statue is taken out in procession by the majestic elephants each year.

I love the golu dolls for they make it so easy for me to narrate the stories i grew up with and it serves as a constant reminder of my rich and lovely culture which is filled with powerful myths and lessons for life. I will spend some time writing about my dolls in the posts to come.

Navrathri - the nine days

Navrathri or Dusshera is perhaps my most favorite festival now as i fell in love with it as an adult. In the south, the 9 days of the festival are split into 3 days each for the three goddesses - Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati(Durga) and we revere them each day in different forms.

While there are numerous myths surrounding the festival and why we celebrate it with so much ado, I choose the stick to the story of Mahishasuramardini - the goddess who killed a demon no God could.

The myth :

The story goes that once there was a powerful demon called Mahisha who was half human and half buffalo. He had performed severe penance and Brahma had granted him a boon - he could not be vanquished by mortals or gods and for every drop of his blood split, he could give birth to another asura as powerful. Needless to say, after getting this boon, the man was uncontrollable. He wrecked havoc in heaven and earth and the gods hoped for deliverance. Shiva and Vishnu decided to go to a battle with the demon and they managed to destroy his forces. However, for every drop of his blood split, there were new Mahishas cropping up and for every drop of their blood, other Mahishas and so on. The battle went on for days and they finally prayed to the Mother for deliverance. Durga comes into the picture now, riding a lion. She fights with Mahisha and is able to kill him but she is not able to prevent the rebirth of the others through his blood. She calls for Kali who drinks every drop of blood that spills and Durga finally vanquishes the asura, the one who had underestimated the power of the mother goddess.

The philosophy :

This is one of my favorite stories as it shows the power of a woman who did what men couldn't. I also love it for she goes to a war, a man's war and still battles it out with wit and spirit. The physical prowess which women are not credited with, is what this goddess possesses. She doesn't charm him to death - she kills him in a battle.

Mahisha like a lot of men, so easily underestimated women - he sought for protection from men and gods but still conveniently ignored women. Gender bias aside, i think this story tells us never to underestimate the power of those we consider weak and never to think we are invincible - we are but human and we are mortal. A common cold can hurt us and make us take to our beds, no matter how allergy proof our houses are and how much we draw each month.

Another beautiful philosophy in this story is the role Kali plays. She does what ought to be done to stop him, even if it means stooping down to drink his blood. Gore aside, that deserves an applause.