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Lakshmi Quotes- Mantras – Hymns

Seated Hindu Goddess of wealth Lakshmi Metal statue — Click here to view all our beautiful Lakshmi statues

Mantras are believed to bring in harmony and peace of mind to the devotees who faithfully chant it to please their favorite deities. Chanting mantras can relieve mental stress, strain and even help in maintaining a normal heart rate. The word “mantra” is derived from two Sanskrit words “manas” and “trai“, which literally means “to free from the mind”. From recent medical studies it was found the chanting of mantras in the right form evokes the production and spreading of the certain chemicals in the brain, which improve the health and the mental status of the devotee.

As per Hindu mythology, each Hindu God is associated with a moola mantra which when chanted in the specified time and period, will serve different purposes. The most evoked mantras are devoted to Lord Ganesha, Shiva, Hanuman and the Hindu Goddesses Lakshmi, Durga and Devi.

The Goddess Lakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of wealth, luxury, beauty, power and prosperity. Her mantras are evoked by most of the entrepreneurs as they believe that She will be pleased and bring fortune to them. One of the most chanted mantra of Goddess Lakshmi is as follows:

“Sarvagyay Sarvavarday
Sarvadushtbhaydkree Sarvadukhaharay
Devi Mahalakshmi Namostutay”

Meaning: O Goddess Maa Lakshmi, you are aware of everything; you bestow blessing upon all and defend us from the evils. You remove all miseries of life. Oh auspicious one, I surrender myself to you.

“Siddhi Buddhipraday
Devi Bhuktimuktipradayeenee
Mantramurtay Sada Devi
Mahalakshmi Namostutay”

Meaning: O divine Maa, you are the one who gives me all success and intelligence. You bless me with all the worldly pleasures, wealth and freedom. The magical words in the mantra comprise your grace with form and Mother, I surrender myself to you, always.

“Aadhantarhitay Devi
Aadhshakti Maheshwari
Yogajay Yogasambhutay
Mahalakshmi Namostutay”

Meaning: O Mother Supreme, your art does not have a beginning or end. Your art is the primal power. Your art is born out of Yogic practice and manifested through yoga. O Mother auspicious, I bow to Thee.

“Sthulsukshmay Maharodray
Mahashakti Mahodray
Mahapaapharay Devi
Mahalakshmi Namostutay”

Meaning: O Goddess Lakshmi, your art gross and subtle, most awful and dominant. Your art encompass even the smallest things, and saves us even from the greatest sins. O Mother auspicious, I bow to Thee.

“Padnaasanstithay
Devi Parbrahmaswaroopeenee
Parmashree Jaganmatra
Mahalakshmi Namostutay”

Meaning: Maa Lakshmi, you reside in the heart of the faithful devotees and verily art the supreme Brahman. Your supreme art depicts that you are the mother of the universe. Promising Mother, I surrender to you.

Wood Statue of the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi — Click here to view the Lakshmi wood statue holding two lotus flowers

The Hindu Goddess Lakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu and is known as the Empress of Satyug. The Goddess is depicted in different forms, to bestow blessings and save the devotees from evils. Evoking the mantras of Goddess Lakshmi will bring peace and prosperity to your home or business.

Top 40 Hindu Blogs

Over the years of reading and researching Hindu gods and Hindu statues we have developed a fondness for many Hindu blogs. Here is our list of the top 40 Hindu blogs we read. Please take a look at them!

1.   Hindu Blog
2.   Hindu Devotional Blog
3.   Pakistan Hindu Post
4. Western Hindu
5.   Hindu Voice
6. Hinduism Facts | Facts about Hindu Religion
7. Himalayan Academy Blog
8.   India Divine
9.   Hindu Devotional Power
10. Rolling with Vishnu
11. Sathya Sai Baba – Life, Love & Spirituality
12. Accidental Hindu
13. Practical Sanskrit
14. Vachana-A-Week
15. Also Hindu
16. A Western Sri Vaishnava
17. A Soul’s Journey
18. drik Panchang
19. Hindu Existence
20. Hinduism Today
21. Internet Sacred Text Archive
22. Divya Jnana
23. jnana·nanda, the bliss of divine knowledge
24. Bliss of Hinduism
25. Hindu Adhyathmikam
26. Hinduism – A Scientific Way of Life
27. Only Hinduism for any Hindu….for every Hindu
28. Hinduism Beliefs
29. Navratri Pooja
30. Ganesh Wallpaper
31. Bharata Bharati
32. thepedalingpujari of thepacific
33. Hindu God Photo
34. Divya’s Cooking Journey
35   Sanatana Dharma
36. The Astro Junction
37. Bhadesia Hindu blog
38. Rajarshi14’s Blog
39. Jaisiyaram
40. Bamboo Thoughts

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Is your Hindu blog missing from this site? Please let us know if you think your blog should be listed. Email me at kyle@lotussculpture.com

The Story of Shiva and the Goddess Ganga

Shiva bronze statue — Bronze statue of Lord Shiva bringing the Goddess Ganga down to the earth in his matted hair

Most of the images and sculpture of Lord Shiva depict the River Ganga flowing from his matted hair. As with all symbols within Hindu iconography there is an interesting tale behind Shiva and the Hindu goddess Ganga. According to Hindu mythology, there was a powerful king in India named Sagar. He decided to conduct Ashwamedha Yagya, a horse sacrifice, to declare his supremacy over the gods. The king of Heaven, Indra grew jealous of King Sagar and decided to steal the ritual horse. Indra successfully abducted the horse and tied him in the ashram of Sage Kapil, who was silently meditating for many years. King Sagar ordered his 60,000 sons to search and find his sacrificial horse. After a long search they found the horse tied at the ashram and began assaulting the great sage thinking he was the culprit who stole the horse. The sage awoke from his trance and in his anger started to destroy all the sons of king Sagar who were accosting him. Anshuman, the grandson of King Sagar, pleaded for forgiveness. The sage told him that he could save his life by bringing the sacred river Ganga down from the heavens to purify the souls of him and his ancestors and help them to attain nirvana.

King Dilip, son of Anshuman pleaded with Lord Brahma to help them bring the Ganga to earth. He failed to appease Brahma so he passed the task to his son, Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha was able to please Brahma, who ordered Ganga to descent to Earth. The furious Ganga felt this as an insult and decided to destroy Earth with her force while descending from heaven. Bhagiratha was warned by Brahma that earth will not be able to hold Ganga while descending from heaven, so he must seek the help of Lord Shiva, the only one who can withstand the power of Ganga. Bhagiratha pleaded with Lord Shiva to help him and Shiva agreed to receive Ganga in his matted locks. Ganga was arrogant and tried to drown Shiva by pushing him to the core of the earth, but the mighty Shiva easily held her in his locks. Shiva’s tie was so strong that Ganga became helpless.

Lord Shiva wanted to teach Ganga a lesson, but instead released her in seven streams as he was satisfied with the prayers of Bhagiratha. The seven streams of Ganga are Bhagirathi, Janhvi, Bhilangana, Mandakini, Rishiganga, Saraswati and Alaknanda. Ganga became calm and followed Bhagiratha, who lead her to his ancestors and with her purity, released their souls.
There are a number of legends associated with Ganga and the different names she has at different places. This is but one.

Ganga is considered to be the most sacred river in India and it originates from the depths of Gangotri glacier. Ganga, otherwise known as Ganges, brings purity to human life. By bathing in her sacred waters one is purified to the core of their being.

Bhagiratha’s great effort in bringing Ganga to earth is known as “Bhagiratha Prayatna”. What would you consider to be the noble quality of Bhagiratha – his strong affection to his ancestors or his determination to meet any challenges to attain the ultimate goal?

The Vedas: Ancient Sanskrit Works of India

Sarswati holding the vedas — Bronze Meditating Saraswati Holding the Hindu Holy book, the Vedas

For those of you unfamiliar, the Vedas are the most sacred books of India, thought to be some of the earliest written works of their kind. Much like the Bible within the Christian religion, the Vedas hold the earliest religious writings of the Hindu religion. They are said to contain spiritual knowledge encompassing all aspects of living; a guide to Hindu thought and teachings. The word ‘Veda” translates to mean wisdom with their contents acting like a river of Hindu thought. Many believe that the writings are the language of the Hindu Gods, translated into words of human understanding. The laws within hold precedence and regulate Hindu society in social, domestic, legal, and religious matters still to this day.

Many wonder of the origin of the Vedas. We can only speculate as to when they first came into existence it was so long ago, however, by some they are thought to be the earliest works of human kind. Many believe that they were not written by humans at all, but by sages receiving sacred knowledge directly from the Gods themselves. Others believe that sages became enlightened with the ideas to write in the books through sacred transference of the Gods. Whether the Gods actually spoke to the sages or not, the knowledge within the Vedas is not only sacred, but still holds its magnificent power to this day.

The Vedas themselves are broken down into four main sections: hymns for singing, rituals for practice, theological thought, and philosophies. Although they are not widely read by followers in present days, the principles within are strictly followed.

In Hindu sculpture the Hindu goddess of Wisdom, Saraswati is often shown holding a copy of vedas. This is an apt book for the goddess of wisdom to carry as it holds the spiritual knowledge encompassing all aspects of living!

Quotes about the Hindu God Ganesh

“O, Elephant Faced One!
You are so near
and we are far from You.
You are in and we are out;
You are at home, while I’m a stranger.
Yet, You have destroyed my egoity.
I shall sing Your Praise forever
and lay my garland of songs at Your feet.”
Saint Nambiandiyadigal

“His four arms stand for His immense power in helping humanity. The noose and goad borne in two of His hands stand for His all-pervasiveness and grace. The broken tusk held in the right hand shows that He is the refuge for all. His huge belly is indicative of His tolerance and also signifies that all things, the entire Universe, are contained in Him. His feet stand for the bestowal of siddhi and buddhi, attainment of desires and knowledge. The modaka (sweet goody) in His hand is symbolic of jnana, conferring bliss. His mount, the shrew, represents the worldly desires which are to be overcome.”
M. Arunachalam, Festivals of Tamil Nadu

“He is worshiped with red flowers.
Unfailing, merciful, the origin of the worlds,
He appears at the beginning of creation, alone, beyond Nature, beyond the Cosmic Person.
He who meditates on His form
becomes great among the yogis”
Ganapati Upanishad

In sculpture the position of Lord Ganesh’s trunk has a symbolic meaning. If the trunk turns to the Ganesh’s left, that is the direction for success in the world. It is a position associated with grihastas, or householders. To his right, the trunk represents moksha, good for renouncing the world. When one chooses a Ganesh sculpture that is proper for their own spiritual path the trunk position is one thing that is good to keep in mind.

“In heaven Lord Ganesh will establish the predominance of gods, on earth that of people, in the nether world that of serpents and anti-gods”

~A Hymn from Sri Bhagavat-Tathva~

“Shiva asked his two sons, Kartikeya and Ganesh to circle the world and return. Kartikeya hurried off on his peacock but Ganesh simply walked around Shiva and Parvati. He explained that for him, his parents constituted the world. Shiva granted him a boon, saying that before undertaking any important task people would pray to Ganesh.”

“If you take home a stone and worship it in full faith, over a course of time you are bound to see the image of Ganesh.”

In the comments section below you are welcome to add any other prayers, quotes or sayings about Lord Ganesh that you may know. We will add them to the page as they are posted.

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