Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Diwali Day 4: लक्ष्मी पूजन Laxmi Poojan


Given the global meltdown, we can expect a lot of people praying to Goddess Laxmi to shield them from the impending havoc! And if muhurat trading is any indicator, she seems to be hearing their prayers.

Traditionally unlike his Gujarati neighbours who do chopdi poojan , Marathi Manoos does not give top priority to this day amongst all the Diwali days… probably due to his lack of entrepreneurial nature. But a must on this day in every Marathi household is the traditional Rangoli. Most significant are the patterns of footsteps made at the entrance. They signify the entry of Goddess Laxmi in the household. Also, the gold jewelery in the house is worshiped in addition to the five deities -

  • Ganesh, the god of intelligence and destroyer of impediments
  • Mahalaxmi, the goddess of wealth
  • Mahasaraswati, the goddess of learning
  • Mahakali, the goddess of mystic powers
  • Kuber, the treasurer of the gods
Legend has it that Laxmi is fickle minded. Hence you are supposed to worship a sitting idol so that she cannot “run away so easily"!
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