Ganesh, Lakshmi and Saraswati

Lord Ganesha is depicted with his family (Shiva, Parvati and Kartikeyan) as well as consorts (Riddhi and Siddhi). There are many paintings that depict Lord Ganesha with Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati. This article scrutinizes the relationship between Lord Ganesha with Saraswati and Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. She is the wife of Lord Vishnu and also known as Mahalaxmi. She is the source of strength to even Lord Vishnu, who is considered the strongest God in the Hindu religion. Lakshmi is also known as Thirumagal because she has six divine qualities. She is often shown with a lotus and dressed in a bright red sari. According to the Vishnu Purana, Lakshmi is the daughter of Bhrigu and Khyati. The goddess of misfortune, Alakshmi, is the sister of Lakshmi. Saraswati is goddess of skill, knowledge, music and arts. She is the consort of Lord Brahma. It was with the help of her wisdom that Brahma created the universe. She is often shown along with a peacock, a swan and is dressed in white. She is also known as the guardian deity in Buddhism. Earlier she was known as the river goddess and evolved with the qualities such as knowledge, skill, music and arts.

Many stories revolve around the relationship between Ganesha, Saraswati and Lakshmi. Certain theorists believe that Lakshmi and Saraswati are Ganeshas siblings. Lakshmi and Saraswati are also called Ganeshas shaktis or consorts. A more popular theory however relates Lord Ganesha to Lakhsmi as her son. This is how the story goes. When Lakshmi was bragging about her powers to Lord Vishnu, he told her that she will always be devoid of one power all her life- the power of motherhood. When Lakshmi realized the same she went to her friend Parvati to seek help. Parvati suggested that Lakshmi could adopt one of her sons and hence experience motherhood. In a random selection, Lakshmi chose Lord Ganesha and gave him her powers of prosperity and wealth. Lakshmi and Saraswati were always competing for supremacy against each other. Wherever Saraswati went, Lakshmi used to follow her. It is believed that if one prays for Saraswati, Lakshmi will follow. If Saraswati leaves, Lakshmi will leave with her. Lakshmi will leave behind her elder sister Alakshmi which will bring misfortune. Symbolically, prosperity or money follows when we hone our skills. Logically, Lakshmi and Ganesha have a common quality of bringing in wealth and prosperity. Also Saraswati and Ganesh have a common trait of being patrons of art and music as well as blessing devotees with skills. Hence the three deities are worshipped together as they denote common qualities. The nature of their relationship is not given in any scriptures. There are only glimpses of their relationship in ancient texts that supports the above hypothesis. All debates apart, the importance of invoking the names of these three deities together makes sense.

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