Lakshmi

Ringkasan

Lakshmi adalah dewi Hindu yang dikaitkan dengan kekayaan, keberuntungan, kemudaan, dan kecantikan, serta istri Vishnu.

Lakshmi is a Hindu goddess associated with prosperity, luck, youth, and beauty, and the wife of Vishnu.

Kisah dan tradisi

Lakshmi (juga ditulis Laksmi) adalah dewi kekayaan, keberuntungan, kemudaan, dan kecantikan dalam tradisi Hindu. Ia istri Vishnu, dan keduanya kerap dipuja bersama sebagai Lakshmi-Narayana. Ia juga disebut Lokamata ("ibu dunia") dan Lola ("berubah-ubah"), merujuk pada cara ia membagikan keberuntungan yang tampak tak menentu. Dalam Mahabharata, Lakshmi lahir dari pengadukan samudra susu purba oleh para dewa dan iblis. Setelah campur tangan Brahma dan Vishnu, ia muncul berbalut putih dan memancarkan kemudaan serta kecantikan, sehingga kadang disebut Ksirabdhitanaya. Ia segera berlindung kepada Vishnu dan dikatakan bersemayam di dada sang dewa, dari situ lahir nama Shrinivas. Sri, yang berarti kemakmuran, adalah salah satu nama Lakshmi. Lakshmi lekat dengan bunga teratai dan kadang disebut Dewi Teratai; dalam wujud ini ia juga termasuk dalam jajaran dewa-dewi Buddha. Ia tidak memiliki kuil atas namanya, tetapi terutama dipuja pada Diwali, Festival Cahaya tahunan. Dalam seni ia digambarkan berdiri atau duduk di atas teratai besar, memegang kendi air dan teratai, memberi isyarat restu, dan menghujani pengikutnya dengan koin. Pada pahatan hias candi ia kerap tampil bersama Vishnu. Vishnu Purana mengisahkan Sri muncul dari air, duduk di atas teratai mekar dan membawa teratai, lalu dimandikan oleh seekor gajah penjuru mata angin. Teks yang sama juga menyebut Sri sebagai putri Bhrigu dan Khyati yang kemudian keluar lagi dari lautan ketika diaduk. Di dalamnya Sri membantu Vishnu pada setiap penjelmaannya, antara lain menjadi Sita dan Rukhmini, dan kemiskinan dikatakan tidak menimpa mereka yang melantunkan himne untuknya. Seni dari berbagai tempat menampilkan Lakshmi dengan ciri berbeda: di Kamboja berupa arca tunggal yang berdiri dengan tiara dan kuncup teratai, dalam seni Cham ia selalu duduk dan dapat memegang kerang, dan dalam seni Jawa ia memegang butir padi. Kamalamika, "wanita teratai [merah]", adalah wujud tantra Lakshmi, dan sebagai Gaja-Lakshmi ia paling sering digambarkan dimandikan gajah surgawi.

Lakshmi (also written Laksmi) is a goddess of Hindu tradition linked with wealth, good fortune, youth, and beauty. She is the wife of Vishnu, and the two are often worshipped together as Lakshmi-Narayana. She is also called Lokamata ("mother of the world") and Lola ("fickle"), referring to her seemingly haphazard dispensation of good fortune. In the Mahabharata, Lakshmi is born when the gods and demons stir the primeval milky ocean. After Brahma and Vishnu intervene, she appears clothed in white and radiating youth and beauty, which is why she is sometimes called Ksirabdhitanaya. She immediately places herself under Vishnu's protection and is said to dwell on his chest, which gave rise to the name Shrinivas. Sri, meaning prosperity, is one of Lakshmi's names. Lakshmi is closely tied to the lotus flower and is sometimes simply called the Lotus Goddess, a guise in which she also belongs to the Buddhist pantheon. No temples have been built in her name, yet she is especially honored at Diwali, the annual Festival of Lights. In art she is shown standing or seated on a large lotus, holding a water pot and a lotus, making a gesture of blessing and showering her followers with coins. In temple decorative sculpture she often appears beside Vishnu. The Vishnu Purana tells how Sri arose from the water seated on a blown lotus and carrying a lotus, and was bathed by an elephant of one of the cardinal points. The same text also names Sri as born to Bhrigu and Khyati, and then coming out of the Ocean again when it was churned. In it Sri assists Vishnu in each of his incarnations, becoming Sita and Rukhmini among others, and poverty is said never to beset those who chant the hymn to her. Art from different places shows Lakshmi with different features: in Cambodian art a single standing statue with a tiara and lotus bud, in Cham art always seated and able to hold a conch shell, and in Javanese art holding a grain of rice. Kamalamika, the "[red] lotus lady", is a tantric form of Lakshmi, and as Gaja-Lakshmi she is most often depicted being bathed by heavenly elephants.

Konteks budaya

Menurut keterangan koleksi museum, Lakshmi adalah perwujudan Hindu bagi segala hal yang membawa pertanda baik dan kelimpahan.

According to the museum catalog entry, Lakshmi is Hinduism's embodiment of all that is auspicious and abundant.

Fakta utama

Budaya / Culture: Tradisi Hindu
Kawasan / Region: Asia Selatan
Klasifikasi / Classification: Deity
Kemampuan / Abilities: Membagikan keberuntungan

Nama lain / Alternate names

Laksmi, Lokamata, Lola, Ksirabdhitanaya, Sri, Lotus Goddess, Padmavati

Tahukah kamu? / Did you know?

Lakshmi tidak memiliki kuil yang dibangun atas namanya, tetapi ia terutama dipuja pada perayaan tahunan Diwali.

No temples have been built in Lakshmi's name, yet she is especially honored at the yearly Diwali festival.