Ashta Lakshmi

This Sanskrit name depicts the eight incarnations of the goddess of wealth, ‘Lakshmi’ in the Hindu scriptures. Like the Mother Goddess Durga, who has nine appellations, the goddess Lakshmi has eight.

The South Indian jewellery has drawn inspiration from this special form of a Goddess in eight forms and adapted heavily from it. The Hindu religion consists of a symbol, the star of Lakshmi, an octagonal shape which represents the eight forms of the Goddess herself. She is always seen and presented at temples and other places in a set of the eight forms. They make for heavy and traditional ornaments and are a huge part of the temple jewellery collection which has takers year round. Temple jewellery is synonymous and reminders of the jewellery that used to be and still are adorned by the deity at the temple. Thus they are special, intricate and full of craftsmanship. With its popularity over the years, paintings and engravings of the elaborate ‘Ashtalakshmi’ have been donning temples, homes, silverware, and architectural surfaces.

Forms

Maha Lakshmi (The Great Goddess)
She is also known as ‘Adi Lakshmi’ or the primaeval form and served Lord Narayan, depicting her serving the universe. You can recognise her by the four armed Goddess with a lotus in one hand, a white flag in another and the other two in Abhaya mudra and varada mudra.

Dhan Lakshmi
She signifies all things related to the world, accomplishments, wealth and money. She is worshipped for her divine blessings in this regard.

Dhaanya-Lakshmi
Dhaanya Lakhmi is the most fulfilling image of the goddess. She sits on a lotus flower and has six hands. She wears green in a sari and is synonymous with year round abundance of food and sustenance.

Gaja-Lakshmi (The Elephant Goddess)
She is believed to be, interestingly, churned out of the ocean. This fiery goddess is draped in red, surrounded by two elephants by her side, royally bathed in water as she reside s on the lotus.

Santana-Lakshmi
She bestows the blessing of family life, the completion of one in a child, who has good health and prosperous life ahead. This commanding image of the Goddess is seen with a child resting on her lap, holding onto a lotus, has six arms loaded with a pitcher, a sword, a war shield, and others in abhaya mudra.

Veera-Lakshmi
Courage, strength, bravery and a heart of steel are her attributes. She is worshipped to overcome hardships and the struggles of life with a straight face.

Vijaya-Lakshmi or Jaya Lakshmi
After the Goddess of valour and courage, comes the one of victory and joy. She deals with every victory and goal achievement in life. She brings new meaning to life and opens new horizons for each one of us.

Vidya-Lakshmi
Vidya Lakshmi is all things education and knowledge. She is the provider of worldly knowledge, survival skills and a patron of fine artists.

Jewellery to love
Temple jewellery are big in South India, with a booming number of temples and world famous places of worship sprawling in our part of the world, temple jewellery are an irreplaceable part of our tradition. Brides here love to adorn in the ethnic designs alongside the very latest. The oxidised showing a tingle of age, kind of gold is a hot favourite among Hindu brides to go along with their beautifully woven silk sarees in red as well as the pristine beauty of the settu saree. Astalakshmi, Kaasu maala , Cheruthali kootam, or nagapada thaali add an air of elegance and mystery to the whole bridal look. These are hand-crafted by artisans here to perfection and in precise depiction of deities who adorn the sculptures and the walls of our temples. Necklaces of the Ashtalakshmi style are sure to spot all the appellations of the Goddesss Lakshmi, making for a very grand and eye-catching necklace. They are often paired with highly ornate jhumka earrings with similar work.

Vadanam
Ashtalakshmi jewellery, due to their larger size, since they depicts the Goddess in various forms are mostly found in vadanams or hip chains. It is difficult to miss out on this pure gold beauty, carved out of sheets of gold to resemble the temple architecture, faded with an ever so slight golden burn to provide a sense of antiquity. Ashtalakshmi vadanams are a speciality, consisting of a single plaque that goes around the waist depicting the goddess. It is lined with rubies and emeralds to bring out the colour.

There are varieties which are made in solid gold with the edges lined with pearl danglers that are stunning at sight and playful at the same time. Up your game and spot the diamond studded vadanam, where uncut diamonds are set into the design in an intricate floral setting to further elevate the style and add a touch of modernity to the traditional design.

Choker
The classic and evergreen choker necklace gets a sacred twist with the engravings of goddess Lakshmi. The ‘maanga’ style necklace is often spiced up with goddess lakshmi at the centre for a complete regal look.

Stone studded
Ashatlakshmi necklaces also are suspended on multilayered pearl chains that are quite the vision and further highlights the engraved pendant. The ever so precious Ashtalakshmi lockets in eight, suspended on maalas (meaning chains) have a lining of ruby going along the top making a great contrast on lighter and pastel outfits. The modern version of the Ashtalakshmi chokers have the goddesses lining one side and layers of bold uncut ruby on the other.

Pendant necklace
We have a thing of pendant necklaces and not just tiny ones but huge moulded figurines of deity are a hot favourite. Suspended on a variety of styles of which the ‘maanga maala’ style and ‘mullamuttu maala style’ are famous, these are absolute saree collaborations.

Make a complete set of your ornaments with the versatile Ashtalakshmi earrings and bangles. Jhumkas are a trending number these days and with temple art they are only made spot on. These danglers with the eight figurines of goddess Lakshmi going all around is fascinating and adds the sparkle to your face.

Ruby is a constant companion on these, adding an extra shine and sparkle to the decorative piece. Ashtalakshmi bangles go perfectly well with any kind of temple jewellery or pure gold jewellery. The petit coin surrounded by contrast ruby and emerald stones are delicate pieces of charm. The modern bracelet variety has a thick gold glossy structure on which an ashtalaskhmi locket is placed at the centre which is luxurious and is a class apart.