***The **Lotus **Goddess ***
She has a beautiful golden complexion. She is being bathed by four large elephants who pour jars of nectar over her. In her four hands she holds two lotuses and makes the signs of granting boons and giving assurance. She wears a resplendant crown and a silken dress. I pay obeisance to her who is seated on a lotus in a lotus posture.1
Let Kamala protect us by her wonderful side-glances that delight the heart of Visnu. She is seated on a lotus, has a smiling face, and with her four hands holds two lotuses and makes the signs of giving favors and granting assurance. Her complexion is like the brightness of lightning. Her breasts are firm and heavy and are decorated with garlands of pearls.2
She is resplendent like the rising sun and wears a bright moon disc on her brow. She is adorned with a crown and necklace of jewels. She is bent down due to the weight of her large breasts, and in her hands she holds two lotuses and two bunches of rice shoots. She has three lotuslike eyes. She wears the *kaustubha *gem and has a smiling face.3
The name Kamala means “she of the lotus” and is a common epithet of the goddess Laksmi or Sri, who is said to adore lotuses and to be lotus eyed and surrounded by lotuses. Indeed, Kamala is none other than the goddess Laksmi. She is usually listed as the tenth and last of the Mahavidyas. Of all goddesses in the Mahavidya group, Kamala is the best known and most popular and has the oldest tradition of worship outside the Mahavidya context. Her usual position as last in line of the Mahavidyas (which is often interpreted as meaning the least significant, or the lowest, in a spiritual hierarchy) is in direct contrast with her importance outside the group. Compared to Kali, who is usually named as the first of the Mahavidyas, Kamala is a goddess with almost completely auspicious, benign, and desirable qualities. As we shall see below, she is associated or identified with a number of worldly blessings that preoccupy human beings and their ordinary religious practice: wealth, power, good luck, and safety.
The Early History of Srī
Early references to Kamala call her Sri and consistently associate her with positive qualities. Indeed, the name Sri means “auspicious.” For example, in the *Satapatha-brahmana *(11.4.3.1 ff.), she is identified with food, royal power, luster, fortune, and beauty. Her positive qualities and auspicious nature are elaborated in the *Sri-sukta, *an early hymn in her praise probably dating back to pre-Buddhist times.4 She gives wealth and other desired objects to her devotees (w. 1, 5,10,14), is beautiful and adorned with costly ornaments (w. 1, 4, 6, 13), and is associated with fertility and growth (w. 9, II, 13).
This hymn also associates Sri with the lotus and the elephant, both of which became central in her subsequent history and suggest important aspects of her character. The lotus seems to have two general meanings. First, it is related to life and fertility.5 On a cosmic scale, the lotus represents the entire created order. The cosmos as lotuslike suggests a world that is organic, vigorous, and beautiful. It is the fecund vigor suggested by the lotus that is revealed in Sri. She is the life force that pervades creation.
Second, especially in relation to Sri, the lotus suggests spiritual purity, power, and authority. The lotus seat is a common theme in Hindu and Buddhist iconography. Gods and goddesses, Buddhas and bodhisattvas, are typically shown seated or standing on a lotus. Like the lotus, which is rooted in the mud but whose blossoms are uncontaminated by it, these spiritual beings are understood to transcend the earthly limitations of the world (the mud of existence, as it were). Sri’s association with the lotus suggests that she symbolizes a certain perfection or state of refinement that transcends the material world, yet is rooted in it.
Sri’s association with the elephant suggests other aspects of her character that are ancient and persistent. One of the most common representations of Sri shows her flanked by two elephants that are showering her with water from their trunks.6 The elephants have two meanings. According to Hindu tradition, elephants are related to clouds and rain, and hence fertility.7 Second, elephants suggest royal authority. Kings kept stables of elephants, which they rode in processions and used in military campaigns. Kings were also held responsible for bringing timely rains and for the fertility of the land generally; their possession of elephants is probably related to that role too.8
Śrī-Laksmī’s Association with Male Deities
Sri (also known consistently as Laksml at a fairly early date in her history) is associated with several male deities, each of whom suggests aspects of her character. One of her earliest associations is with the god Soma, who is identified with plants and vegetative vigor. It is appropriate that Sri-Laksml, who is also identified with the vitality of plants, should be linked with him.9 Some texts say that Sri-Laksmi is the wife of Dharma. The connection here seems to relate proper social conduct (dharma) to obtaining prosperity *(sri).10 *
Many texts emphasize that in her relationship with the god Indra, royal authority and fertility arc central.11 Indra’s political fortunes are directly related to Sri-Laksmi in several myths. When she dwells with him, he prospers politically and economically. When she abandons him, or lives with one of his adversaries, he is bereft of royal authority and wealth. The myths make it clear that kingly power, authority, and prosperity are directly related to Sri and that without her a king cannot succeed.12
Sri-Laksmi’s association with Indra also underlines her identity with fertility and growth. The pair complement and reinforce each other in this respect, as he is strongly identified with bringing rain, a symbol of fertility, and his favorite weapon is the thunderbolt. There also seems to be phallic symbolism in his identification with the plow.
Sri-Laksmi’s association with the god Kubera is yet another example of her identification with wealth and vegetative growth and fertility. Kubera is related to wealth; he is said to be the possessor and distributor of wealth and to possess and guard the earth’s treasure. He is also said to be leader of the *yaksas, *creatures who dwell in the woods and forests and promote the growth of plants.13
Śrī-Laksmī and Visnu
Srl-Laksmi’s connection with the god Visnu is one of the most important features of her mythology and cult. In Hindu myth, their association begins as a result of the churning of the ocean of milk by the gods and demons, who seek the elixir of immortality *(a?trita). *In the process of churning, they stir up desirable objects and beings, among whom is Laksml. The lovely goddess is granted to Visnu, who is the leader of the gods in this myth.
In Hindu tradition, Visnu is strongly associated with kingship. He is depicted as a divine king. His *avatdras *(“descents” or incarnations) all serve to uphold the social and political order and promote dharma. He supports righteous kings on earth, through whom he is said to uphold society.14 Laksml, as the embodiment of royal authority, is appropriately linked to Visnu. Where she is present, royal authority prospers; where she is absent, it weakens and disappears.
Laksml is often portrayed as Visnu’s loyal, modest, and loving wife. She is described as occupied with domestic chores, such as cooking,15 and is typically depicted as subservient to her husband. Iconographically, she is often shown massaging Visnu’s feet and is much smaller than he. Her submissive position is clearly conveyed in an image from Badami, in which he sits on a high stool while she sits on the ground and leans on him, her right hand on his knee.16
In the Pancaratra school of thought, Laksml, along with Visnu, assumes a central cosmological role. Although Visnu is said to be the ultimate reality, he is almost entirely inactive, standing aloof from the cosmogonic process in which Laksml plays an active role.17 Her cosmic role is particularly striking in the *Laksmi-tantra, *a popular Pancaratra text, which says that she singlehandedly undertakes the creation of the universe with only one-billionth part of herself (14.3). The text describes Laksml as pervading the entire created order and as regulating the social and moral orders as well. In effect, in this text she takes over the roles of Visnu as creator of the universe and regulator of dharma.18
Laksml plays a quite different, but important, role in the Sri Vaisnava school of South India. In this case, Sri (Laksml) has a minor cosmological place, but a crucial role in the devotional economy of the school. She is the mediator between devotees and Visnu. Through her grace devotees are allowed to approach the Lord. She is described as an indulgent, forgiving mother who pleads the case of devotees to her husband. In the mythology of this school, Visnu is usually described as a just, mighty king who does not tolerate impurity or sin, who is inclined to punish devotees for the slightest offense. His stern, righteous character is balanced and moderated by Laksmi.19
The Worship of Lakṣmī
It is quite likely that Laksmi is the most popular of all Hindu deities. Associated as she is with wealth, prosperity, good luck, and fertility, she is very appealing and is known in every corner of the Indian subcontinent. She is as popular in the North as in the South and is as widely adored in cities as in small villages. Her images are everywhere. Several annual festivals are given in her honor. Of these, the Divali festival is the best known and most widely celebrated. The festival links Laksmi to three important and interrelated themes: prosperity and wealth, fertility and crops, and good luck during the coming year. During this festival, many people, especially merchants, worship their account books, invoking Laksmi to reside in them.20 Farmers arc enjoined to worship their crops as imbued with Laksmi’s presence. Cow dung is also worshiped as an embodiment of Laksmi’s fecund power.21 Laksmi’s association with good luck in the coming year is stressed in injunctions to gamble during Divali. She is also called upon to drive away her sister Alaksml, who is associated with bad luck and misfortune.
Kamalā among the Mahāvidyās
Kamala’s role among the Mahavidyas is a recent and minor part of her cult and worship in the Hindu tradition. Unlike other Mahavidyas, such as Dhumavati, Bagalamukhl, and Matarigi, who are barely known outside the Mahavidya group, Laksmi is an ancient and extremely popular goddess, worshiped throughout India in a variety of contexts and sectarian movements. Indeed, her inclusion among the Mahavidyas is not easily explained, and her place in Tantrism, the primary context of the Mahavidyas, seems somewhat out of character. It is also clear that Kamala has been selectively appropriated as a Mahavidya. That is, her iconography and her descriptions in *dhyana *mantras leave out certain aspects of her character and minimize certain roles that are important in her history and cult.
It is striking, for example, that as a Mahavidya Kamala is never shown iconographically or described in her *dhyana *mantras as accompanying Visnu. He may be mentioned, as in her *dhyana *mantras from the *Sarada**tilaka, *which say that she has glances that please Visnu or is called the beloved of Visnu,22 but for the most part he is absent. In this respect, Kamala is almost entirely removed from marital and domestic contexts. Her central role as mediator between devotees and Visnu in Sri Vaisnavism is completely missing in her Mahavidya incarnation. She does not play the role of model wife in any important way, and her association with proper dharmic or social behavior, either as an example of it or as the rewarder of it, is not important in the Mahavidya context.
Her association with elephants persists. In Mahavidya iconography and written descriptions, she is typically flanked by two or four elephants pouring water or nectar onto her from golden or jeweled containers. Thus the Gaja-laksml motif, one of her most ancient aspects, remains central in her Mahavidya form. As symbols of sovereignty and fertility, the elephants convey Laksmi’s association with these highly desirable qualities, which are often sought after or mentioned as rewards in the *phala **stotras, *the hymns concerning rewards (or “fruits”) that conclude many Mahavidya liturgical texts.
Kamala is often pictured or described as sitting alone on a lotus in the midst of a pond, with neither Visnu nor elephants. This is to be expected in the context of the Mahavidyas, where a premium seems to be put on the independence of the goddesses. For the most part, the Mahavidyas are seen as powerful goddesses in their own right. Their power and authority do not derive from association with male deities. Rather, it is their power that pervades the gods and enables them to perform their cosmic functions. When male deities are shown, they are almost always in supporting roles (literally, as when they are shown supporting Tripura-sundari’s throne) and are depicted as subsidiary figures.
It is also interesting to note that Vaisnava connections do not dominate Kamala’s incarnation as a Mahavidya. Although she is linked to Visnu from time to time, she is rarely associated with Vaisnava *avataras *or their consorts, as one might expect. She is rarely identified with Sita, Radha, or Rukminl, although she is sometimes associated with Varahl and Vaisnavl, two of the Saptamatrkas (seven mothers), with which group the Mahavidyas as a group are sometimes linked. In fact, Kamala in her Mahavidya form seems to be associated or identified as frequently with Siva or Siva’s consort as she is with Visnu. Her thousand-name hymn in the *Sdkta-pramoda, *for example, calls her Siva, Raudri, Gaurl, She Whose Bliss Is Siva, She Who Is Dear to the One Who Does the *Tandava *Dance, Satl, and Kapali.23 Again, this is in keeping with the tendency in Mahavidya texts to associate the goddesses with Siva, and consistent, too, with the accounts of the origins of the Mahavidyas, which usually feature Siva.
As a Mahavidya, Kamala also has become associated with fearsome qualities, which are almost entirely lacking in her cult and worship outside this context. Her hundred- and thousand-name hymns in the *Sakta**pramoda, *for example, call her Kalaratri (a fearsome name for Bali), She Who Wears a Garland of Skulls, She Whose Form Is Very Terrible, Ghora (awful), Bhima (terrible), and Tamas (darkness; literally, “she who is the *tamasguna”).24 *Although benign and auspicious qualities dominate her character as a Mahavidya, a fearsome, dangerous dimension is suggested in these epithets.
Another feature that characterizes the Mahavidya Kamala but is weak or absent from her worship and cult outside the Mahavidyas is her role as a demon slayer. Outside the Mahavidyas, Laksml is strongly associated with both Visnu and Durga, who are the demon slayers par excellence in Hindu mythology. Laksml herself, however, does not take an active part. She is primarily a witness to Visnu or his *avataras *while they slay demons or is displayed with Durga during Durga Puja, when she is said to be Durga’s daughter. There are female Vaisnavite goddesses who slay demons in the *Devi-mdhdtmya, *namely, Vaisnavi, Varahl, and Narasirhhl, but none of these is directly identified with Laksml in that text. Her hundred- and thousand-name hymns in the *Sdkta-pramoda, *however, at times give her epithets that directly identify her with the demon-slaying goddess Durga or one of Durga’s demon-slaying helpers. She is called, for example, Slayer of Madhu and Kaitabha, Slayer of Sumbha and Nisumbha, and Durga. Her thousand-name hymn also identifies her with the fierce Vaisnava goddesses Narasirhhl and Varahl.25
As in the Paficaratra tradition, where Laksml assumes a preeminent cosmic role, several epithets in her name hymns in the *Sdkta-pramoda *emphasize her elevated position as a cosmic queen or a transcendent philosophical absolute. She is called, for example, Mother of the World, Creator of All the Gods, Mistress of All, Mahasakti, Pranasakti (the life principle), Mahamaya, She Who Is Situated in the Middle of Countless Universes, Whose Form Is the Creation, Who Is the Cause of Creation, Who Is without Support (that is, who supports everything else and alone transcends the need for support), Who Is the Form of Highest Spiritual Bliss, Who Is the Three *Gunas *(the constituents of matter), Who Creates All, Whose Form Is Everything, and several other such designations.26
Kamala is also identified in these name hymns with several of the other Mahavidyas, most of whom share few characteristics with her and are notable for their fearsomeness. She is called, for example, Matarigl, Dhumavati, Tarini, Bhadra-kali, Mahakali, and Bhairavl.27
In appropriating the great and widely worshiped goddess Srl-Laksmi as a Mahavidya, the formulators of the Mahavidya tantric texts modified and tailored her character, it seems, to make her more suitable to the group. They stressed her independence from Visnu (as well as any other male consort with whom she is linked outside the Mahavidyas), although she is not entirely disassociated from him; they gave her fierce attributes; and they connected her with Siva. She retains her character, no doubt. She is definitely recognizable as Sri-Laksmi, but her portrait has been drawn selectively.
Finally, Kamala’s usual place as the tenth Mahavidya deserves some comment. In almost all lists of the Mahavidyas, Kamala is the last of the group. If this position is meant to convey her subsidiary or inferior position (or conversely, her superior position) in the group, the texts themselves do not comment upon it. Indeed, in those tantric texts that discuss and describe Kamala, she, like each of the others, is hailed as a great goddess and identified with absolute philosophical principles and transcendent cosmic functions. However, every one of my informants in Varanasi interpreted her tenth position as an indication that she is inferior to the other Mahavidyas and represents realities that are distant or opposite from Kali, who is taken to be the ultimate or highest expression of truth among the Mahavidyas.
A contemporary *sakta *informant contrasts tantric religion in the South, which he calls Sri *kula, *with tantric religion in the North, which he calls Kali *kula. *He describes Sri *kula *as the worship of Lakshmi and as seeking wealth and worldly comfort. Kali *kula, *on the other hand, is heroic and boldly confronts the darkness, demanding ultimate knowledge. Kali is described as a goddess with whom one must struggle, Laksml as one who pampers her devotees but ultimately is incapable of giving such supreme blessings as liberating knowledge.28
Swami Annapurnananda of the Ramakrishna Mission in Varanasi also said that Kamala represents a state of consciousness preoccupied with material well-being and security. That is, she represents the normal state of consciousness in almost all people and, as such, the starting point in the process of spiritual maturation. Kamala consciousness is what one seeks to restrain, overcome, and finally transcend. Kali consciousness, represented by the first of the Mahavidyas, is the ultimate goal.