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In Hinduism, Lakshmi or Laxmi (Hindi:
लक्ष्मी) is the goddess of fortune, as well as (secondarily) luck, beauty and
fertility. Lakshmi is considered an alternate form of Devi. Lakshmi is married to Vishnu, and also married his incarnations Rama (in her
incarnation as Sita), Krishna (as Rukmini) and Venkateshwara (as
Padmavati.) Lakshmi has a son named
Kama.
Lakshmi evolved from the Milky Ocean, when gods and demons churned it for amrita, the divine nectar, along with a host of
other items like, hälähala [cosmic poison,] Chandra [the Moon,] kalpa vriksha [benevolent divine tree,] and the medicinal
sage-god Dhanvantari holding the golden pot of amrita. Hence She is called the daughter of Milky Ocean.
The prefix Sri (also spelt as Shri, pronounced as shree) renders as 'one who takes delight in Sri' Lakshmi,
meaning wealth, wealth of any kind. Primarily eight kinds of Wealth are established, associated with goddess Lakshmi. They are
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1) आदि लक्ष्मी Ädi Lakshmi [Wealth a priori]
2) धान्य लक्ष्मी Dhänya Lakshmi [Granary Wealth]
3) धैर्य लक्ष्मी Dhairya Lakshmi [Wealth of
Courage]
4) गज लक्ष्मी Gaja Laksmi [Wealth of Animals]
5) सन्तान लक्ष्मी Santaana Lakshmi [Wealth of
Progeny]
6) विजय लक्ष्मी Vijaya Lakshmi [Wealth of Victory]
7) विद्या लक्ष्मी Vidyaa Lakshmi [Wealth of
Knowledge]
8) धन लक्ष्मी Dhana Lakshmi [Monetary Wealth]
And any thing that need be affluent gets the auspicious prefix or suffix 'Lakshmi', or 'Sri' like Rajya Lakshmi (Wealth of
Empire), Shanti Sri {Wealth of Peace) etc.
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