The iconography of Goddess Lakshmi, from the Vedas to the modern masters of Indian painting

Goddess Laxmi with Vishnu. Lithograph showcards were inserted in cigarette boxes during the early 19th Century. (Express Archives)

Visual representations of Lakshmi in history

The Rig Veda mentions Lakshmi once, in the context of a ‘sign of good fortune’, and by the time of the Atharva Veda (c. 1000 BCE), the Goddess had developed a fairly evolved personality. Lakshmi is often called Sri, and Sri Lakshmi is a reference to the Goddess. The Indologist A L Basham’s magisterial ‘The Wonder That Was India’ says that the “Goddess of good luck and temporal blessing” is said in some legends to be “coexistent with Vishnu, but according to others she appeared in her full beauty, like Aphrodite, at the churning of the primeval ocean”.

The latter legend is associated with Vishnu’s ‘Kurma’ (Tortoise) avatar. After many divine treasures, including ‘Amrit’ (ambrosia) were lost in the Great Flood, Vishnu became a great tortoise and dived to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. “On his back”, Basham wrote, “the gods placed Mount Mandarin, and twining the divine snake Vasuki around the mountain, churned the ocean… From the churned ocean emerged ambrosia, and various other treasures, including the Goddess Lakshmi…”

Basham noted that Lakshmi is “usually portrayed as a woman of mature beauty, seated on a lotus and often with a lotus in her hand, attended by two elephants, who sprinkle water on her from their trunks”. Coins from Gandhara dated to the first century BCE show Lakshmi standing on a lotus, flanked by two elephants. Coins from around the same period found in Ayodhya, Kaushambi, and Ujjayini depict her as Gaja Lakshmi.

A coin from Indo-Scythian king Azilises’s reign, showing Gaja Lakshmi standing on a lotus. From the coins of Gandhara, 1st century BCE. (Via Wikimedia Commons)

Portrayals from around the second century seen on the railings of the Sanchi stupa in Madhya Pradesh, show her wearing kundalas (earrings) and jewels, flanked by foliage in some cases. In other places, she is seated on a lotus, flanked by the elephants that represent strength and loyalty. At the Ellora caves, she is seen with her husband Vishnu, and his ‘vahana’ (mount) Garuda.

By the Gupta period (4th to the 6th centuries CE), Lakshmi was held in the highest esteem. She appears on numerous coins from the period, including occupying the throne, and seated on a lion as ‘Simha-vahini’.

Popular depictions of Goddess Laxmi across India

Lakshmi is universally seen as embodying beauty and prosperity, and the association of the lotus with her is one of the defining features of the iconography of the Goddess. The lotus appears as an emblem of purity and enlightenment.

The most widespread representation of the Goddess today is as Gaja Lakshmi, seated or standing on a lotus and/ or with the flower in her hand, and with the elephants. In North India, coins often flow from one of her four hands, signifying material and spiritual wealth.

In West Bengal, where she is worshipped a couple of days after Vijaya Dashami (Diwali in Bengal is celebrated as Kali Puja), the Goddess is usually seen with her ‘vahan’, a snowy owl.

Across Eastern India, Lakshmi bestows eight specific types of blessings, known collectively as Ashta Lakshmi — these include Adi Lakshmi, who helps people fulfill their goals through wealth; Veera Lakshmi who, as symbols of bravery carries a discus, bow, arrow, and sword; and Santana Lakshmi, who holds a baby as a symbol of fertility.

In South India, Tanjore paintings most often have her seated on her golden couch, with lotuses and Gajas.

Paintings of Goddess Lakshmi on the inner walls of the Tanjore Big temple. (Via Wikimedia Commons)

The advent of calendar art, and depictions therein

With the establishment of the printing press in India, the imagery of Lakshmi began to be more widely circulated, as it became much more affordable to purchase her prints for household altars compared to paintings and idols that were costlier.

Lakshmi was one of the earlier deities to be printed as an oleograph — a print that resembles an oil painting — by Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), who is celebrated for his wide range of realistic portrayals of Indian Gods and Goddesses. His press was founded in 1894, and in one of his most popular prints, Lakshmi stands on a lotus in the middle of a stream, surrounded by fauna, and with mountains in the backdrop.

Hindu Goddess Lakshmi (1896), by Raja Ravi Varma. (Via Wikimedia Commons)

She wears a pink saree with a pale blouse and is moderately bejewelled. Instead of the two elephants that are traditionally seen on her two sides, Varma painted only one baby elephant, holding a garland. In two of her four hands, the Goddess holds lotuses.

After it became widely popular, Varma’s image was used in marketing and advertising, including on a calendar published by the Vinolia soap company, which had famously supplied products to the ill-fated ‘Titanic’.

Goddess Lakshmi in contemporary Indian art

Lakshmi continued to be a subject for artists over several decades, during which her imagery evolved. She has appeared in the works of numerous artists, with a range of connotations. In his 1990 acrylic on canvas, M F Husain painted her as part of the holy trinity of Ganesh, Lakshmi and Saraswati; in another Husain work she acquired a more cubist form with Ganesh on her lap.

As part of her photo-performance project, ‘Native Women of South India: Manners and Customs’ (2000-2004), N Pushpamala recreated Varma’s popular image of Lakshmi, posing as the Goddess draped in a red sari. Atul Dodiya painted the Goddess as Mahalaxmi in a 2002 art installation. Depicted on a foldable shop shutter, Dodiya’s work carried a social message against evils such as dowry.