Ashta Lakshmi 8 Goddess Idols are made of good quality brass metal, having excellent details.
The eight forms of Laxmi are:
1) Dhan Lakshmi or Vaibhav Lakshmi - Wealth of money and riches : "Dhan" and "Vaibhav" mean money, riches, fortune and income. It is the usual way we perceive and understand wealth. This wealth is of great importance to one who wishes to live an enriched and happy life.
2) Gaj Lakshmi - Wealth of Elephants or vehicles : "Gaj" means elephant and it symbolizes the vehicles we use to transport ourselves. It also means mobility in life and ease of travel.
3) Adi Lakshmi - Wealth of endless prosperity. Goddess of no beginnings or end : "Adi" means eternal existence. Adi Lakshmi signifies the never-ending nature of the Goddess. She has no start and no end. She is continuous. Wealth should therefore, flow continuously also. It too has always been there and always will be there.
4) Vijay Lakshmi - Wealth of victory, perserverance, courage, and confidence : "Vijay" means victory. This Goddess symbolizes the wealth of courage, confidence, fearlessness and victory. This wealth strengthens our character and keeps us moving along successfully on our life path.
5) Dhairya Lakshmi - Wealth of patience, strategy, planning, objectivity : "Dhairya" means patience. This wealth gives us the spiritual strength to face good and bad times with equal ease. It signifies the importance of planning and strategy in all our actions so we may move with caution and reach our target each time.
6) Dhanya Lakshmi - Wealth of grain, food, nourishment, and health : "Dhanya" means grain. Food is our most basic and most important wealth. We need food to sustain life. Being wealthy means we have abundance of food that keeps us nourished and healthy.
7) Vidya Lakshmi - Wealth of education, knowledge, skills : "Vidya" means knowledge. To be knowledgeable means that we have skills of various kinds. We have general information about our local, national, and international issues. We can partake in sharing information.
8) Santan Lakshmi - Wealth of children, legacy, family, friends, well wishers : "Santan" means children. Goddess Lakshmi symbolizes the social nature of man. We need each other. Children are our wealth. They are our future. The family is the basic unit of people who bring up their children. Life moves forward through its children.
Goddess Mahalakshmi appeared during the churning of the ocean, seated on a Lotus flower. This pleased the Devas to such an extent that they started reciting the Sri Suktham, a powerful hymn in favour of Goddess Lakshmi. All the Gandharvas bowed their head in obeisance to the Goddess. The Apsaras danced merrily to welcome Goddess Mahalakshmi. All the sacred rivers led by the holy Ganges surrounded Goddess Mahalakshmi so that she could bathe in their water Eight elephants surrounded the Goddess with golden kalashes in their trunks and performed her abhishekam. The enamoured ocean king offered the Goddess a Lotus that would never wilt. The divine architect Vishwakarma appeared within no time anointing the Goddess with gold ornaments. Even as the Devas were watching the events with rapt attention, Goddess Mahalakshmi entered the heart of Lord Sriman Narayanamurthy. The Devas chorused on witnessing the splendid event. Both Lord Narayana and Goddess Lakshmi presented themselves before the Devas in all their glory.
Goddess Mahalakshmi always resides in a place that is free of clutter. Clutter results in abundance of negative energy. So, if you wish to have Goddess Lakshmi besides you, ensure that your home and office are neat and clean and devoid of any unwanted clutter.
Make: Made in brass.
Brass is well known for its grasping capacity. It grasps the divine spirit upto 30%, when compared to other metals. The spiritual vibrations are attracted towards these shining idols easily.
Avg Dimensions: 5 inches (H) x 4 to 6.5 inches (W) x 5 inches (depth) (12.7 x 10 to 16.5 x 12.7 cm) approx
Total Weight: 8.6 kgs approx
Importance of Idol worship: Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to and flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it. Regular worship, Puja and other modes of demonstrating our inner feeling of recognition of Divinity in the idol unveils the Divinity latent in it. This is truly a wonder and a miracle. The picture comes to life. The idol speaks. It will answer your questions and solve your problems. The God in you has the power to awaken the latent Divinity in the idol. The lives of Mirabai, Sant Tukaram, Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Shri Yogananda are a few instances to prove the point. They proved beyond doubt that idol worship has its own brighter side and through simple faith and intense devotion one can realize God through it.
Idols are the "finite representation of the Infinite". As per Vishnu Samhita (ch 29, v 55-7), persuasively endorses the use of imagery (idols) and puts it: "Without a form how can God be mediated upon? If (He is) without any form, where will the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for the mind to attach itself to, it will slip away from meditation or will glide into a state of slumber. Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, remembering, however, that the form is a superimposition and not a reality."