Haimabati Sen alludes to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, likening a woman, wife to one of her hosts/protectors/captors, Swarna. She justifies her allusion, saying the woman was “full of goodness and grace,” “as good humored as she was kind,” very affectionate towards Sen, and mother to a young daughter. (92)
Sen may have learned of Lakshmi in many ways, since the goddess is one of the more popular figures of the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons. The Mahabharata, which Sen read as a child, tells of Lakshmi’s generation from the primeval ocean, and the generation of her link to her husband, Vishnu. The pair are often worshipped in tandem, under their many guises: one example is the late-autumnal festival of Diwali, the festival of lights, commemorating a moment in the pair’s history, told in the Ramayana, as they acted under their respective incarnations as Rama and Sita.
Lakshmi is the goddess of good fortune, wealth, prosperity, health, purity, and beauty, and thus often appears alongside other symbols of good luck, gold coins and elephants, and is also strongly associated with the lotus flower. The success and prosperity she promises is not assured, however: she helps those who do not ask in greed, but with sincerity, virtue, bravery, and hard work.
The first image is ca.1875 ink and opaque watercolor of Lakshmi in the Kalighat style from West Bengal.
Sources
Cartwright, Mark. “Lakshmi” World History Encyclopedia. August 14, 2015. https://www.ancient.eu/Lakshmi/#:~:text=Lakshmi%20(or%20Laksmi)%20is%20the,in%20tandem%20as%20Lakshmi%2DNarayana.
“Lakshmi” BBC Religions. August 24, 2009. https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/deities/lakshmi.shtml.
Image Sources
“Lakshmi is the consort of Vishnu.” Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds. Regents of the University of Michigan, Department of the History of Art, Visual Resources Collections. https://vmis.in/ArchiveCategories/collection_gallery_zoom?id=491&search=1&index=32448&searchstring=
“Lakshmi, Consort of Vishnu, Visnu.” Calendar Print. Published by Ravi Varma Press (Ravi Varma F.A.L. Works), Malavli, Mahar. https://vmis.in/ArchiveCategories/collection_gallery_zoom?id=491&search=1&index=40793&searchstring=lakshmi
“Lakshmi” Terracotta. 1C CE. Kausambi, Uttar Pradesh, India. American Institute of Indian Studies. https://vmis.in/ArchiveCategories/collection_gallery_zoom?id=15&search=…