LAKSHMI

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LAKSHMI

by Mantra & shlokas on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 3:57pm

Real Name: Lakshmi-Sri
Occupation: Queen of the Hindu gods, goddess of love, fortune and fertility
Legal Status: Citizen of Nirvana
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Lakshmi except as a mythological character.
Other Aliases: Kamala, Shri, Shakti, Devi, Sita (mortal avatar), Armaiti (Persian name), Gong de Tian (Chinese name)
Place of Birth: Mount Himavat (modern Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Tibet)
Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Himavat (father), Menahka (mother), Parvati, Sarasvati, Ganga, Yamuna, Uma (sisters), Vishnu (husband), Padma (daughter), Kama (son), Brahma, Shiva, Agni, Yama, (brothers-in-law), Ganehsa, Skanda (nephews), Kali, Vach (nieces), Kartikeya (nephew, deceased),
Group Affiliations: The Hindu Gods
Base of Operations: Amaravati in the realm of Nirvana

First Appearance: (historical) "Pantheons of the Megaverse" by C.J. Carella, (recent) Thor I #301

History: Lakshmi is one of the Apsaras, a group of water-goddesses descended from the primal being known as Himavat, a member of the extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Devas, who were worshipped by the ancient Vedic tribes of Ancient India and later the modern Hindu religion. Himavat was the great snow-god of the Vedic pantheon, and the waters trickling from his peaks into rivers and ravines were protected by his daughters, the Apsaras.

The Apsaras were water-deities that helped carry the pious into heaven and had emerged from the sea during the deluge which covered the earth during the Earth's primeval past. Among them, the most revered were Ganga who protected the sacred Ganges river, Parvati, wife of Shiva and Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu, who had helped lead the Devas to victory against the Rakshasas, the eternal enemies of the Hindu gods. Before her marriage to Vishnu, Lakshmi had been wooed by Indra the thunder-god, but he displeased her by trying to control her and the rain she sent to earth

Lakshmi made her home in the celestial city of Vaikunthia in the heaven of Nirvana, considered the highest level of existence in the Hindu faith. She gave birth to a number of goddesses, including Padma, the lotus-goddess, and Kama, the love-god, who incinerated by Shiva but restored to life or replaced with the body of Krishna. In the early Vedic pantheon, Lakshmi had been revered as a goddess of love, but in the Hindu religion, she was worshipped as goddess of fortune and  prosperity , her former role as love-goddess taken over  by Ratri, the former goddess of night

Vishnu meanwhile assumed the role of seven mortal avatars on earth; Lakshmi lived through at least avatars with him as his true love. In the first, she was born as the mortal cow-maiden, Sita, wife of Vishnu as the hero, Rama, and entered exile with him when he abdicated the throne of Ayodha for his brother. She was kidnapped by Ravanna, one of the Rakshasas, and carried off to the island of Ceylon. Rama and his brothers obtained the help of King Sugriva and General Hanuman of the monkey-gods to invade Ceylon from which they had been exiled and built a bridge to invade the island to rescue Sita. Unfortunately, Sita was not honored by the people of Ayodhya for having lived among the Rakshasas, even against her will and Rama reluctantly sent her away. Sita gave birth to his sons, Kusa and Lava in exile, and as s, they eventually returned to Ayodhya and told the passionate story of their parents' life to Rama. He is so moved by their story that he and his followers allowed Sita to return. 

In another avatar, Lakshmi is born as Radha, again of poor parents, and became the beloved of  the hero Krishna, her foster-brother. Krishna was a major hero in the Hindu religion by slaying demons, monsters and enemies of the gods, and had several wives and lovers, but Radha was his favored bride. It was the body of Krishna who was mystically revived to restore Kama to life. Lakshmi later regained her true form and rejoined Vishnu in the heaven of the Hindu gods

After the Third Host of the Celestials, Lakshmi and her sisters Parvati and Sarasvati united with the mother-goddesses from all the pantheons of gods once worshipped or still worshipped on earth. This gathering included Frigga of the Asgardian gods and Hera of the Olympian gods. The Celestials and threatened to sever the gods connections to earth if they did not cease trafficking with mortals and had predicted to return in a thousand years to decide if humanity was fit to exist. Frigga had asked the wives of the god-kings of earth to locate twelve human beings of pure genetic potential to serve as prime examples of humanity when the Fourth Host of the Celestials should occur. The Hindu goddesses had succeeded in locating Jahahanel Patel of the Brahmin caste at the turn of the century to be their representative and concealed him in an underground location where he was attended by several minor Hindu goddesses. When the Fourth Host occurred, the supreme mother-goddess Gaea who was the ancestor of all the gods of earth presented these twelve examples known as the Young Gods. The Celestials voted in favor of earth in view of the Young Gods and departed Earth with them into outer space.

Height: 6' 0"Weight: 345 lbs.Eyes: BlueHair: BlackUnusual Physical Features: In her true godly form, Lakshmi has four arms.

Strength Level: Lakshmi possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift (press) 75 tons under optimal conditions

Known Superhuman Powers: Lakshmi possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Devas or Hindu gods. Like all Devas, she is virtually immortal: she has not aged since reaching hood and cannot die by any conventional means. She is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If she were somehow wounded, her godly life force would enable her to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva or for a number of Hindu gods of equal power working together to revive her. Lakshmi also possesses superhuman strength and her Deva metabolism provides her with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Deva flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Hindu gods

Lakshmi also possesses the ability to tap into her shakti, her primal female energies, in order to create feats of magic. She can travel between dimensions, bestow positive energies ("good luck") upon mortals, conjure lightning bolts and control the weather. She is considered the symbol of the womb, immortality and spiritual purity and was often called upon to insure fertility. She has the ability to send her life force through avatars or mortal forms, having been born as the goddess Sita in ancient times, and reincarnating herself through various forms. Lakshmi is considered among the most powerful goddesses in the Hindu pantheon.

Comments: This bio includes Lakshmi's appearances in the Marvel Universe. She only appears behind the scenes of the DC Universe.