In the company of Vishnu, Lakshmi is shown with two hands only. Often, elephants are shown on each side, emptying pitchers of water over her, the pitchers being presented by celestial maidens. She is also adorned with a lotus garland. Lakshmi is enchantingly beautiful, and is standing on a lotus holding lotuses one in each of her hands and is called Padma, or Kamala. Vishnu represents all that is male and Lakshmi, all that is female. She is as inseparable from Vishnu as speech from meaning or knowledge from intellect, or good deeds from righteousness. When Vishnu appeared as Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, she appeared as Padma or Kamala, Dharani, Sita and Rukmini, respectively. As consort of Vishnu, she is born as his spouse whenever he incarnates. She was later born out of Ksheer Sagar (ocean of milk) while being churned during samudra manthan. According to the puranas, she was incarnated as the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and his wife Khyati. She is the power of multiplicity and the goddess of fortune, both of which are necessary for preservation. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, is known as the consort of Vishnu, the preserver. Diwali is a great occasion for people to get their homes painted, to buy new furniture and drapes and in general to “dress up” their homes for this special guest! A clean, lit-up environment for Lakshmi sets the stage for her to visit our homes on this auspicious night. The preparations begin days or weeks ahead with a thorough cleaning of the house from top to bottom. The focus of the Diwali puja is on creating an atmosphere in the home to make it suitable for an invitation to Goddess Lakshmi. One of the signature events on Diwali in most households is the riti of Lakshmi-Ganesha Puja – homage to Lakshmi and Ganesha. In 2016, Deepavali will be celebrated on October 30th (India), and is marked as a traditional New Year by many communities in India. The common folk of the kingdom of Ayodhya were so happy to have their native son and heir to the kingdom back in their midst that they celebrated by lighting lamps all over the land – hence the name Deepavali – which literally means ‘string of lights’. The festival, which celebrates among many things, the return of Lord Rama (of the Ramayana) to his native land of Ayodhya after completing fourteen years of stay in the forest with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. The biggest celebration for Hindus, the festival of lights (Diwali or Deepavali), is celebrated on the amavasya night of the month of Ashvin (usually in late October or early November).
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