Devi Lakshmi: The Legacy of Wealth

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕿𝖜𝖔

Lakshmi hummed to herself as she collected flowers for the Narayana Pooja this evening. She picked only the most fragrant ones, refusing to let him have anything but the best. She sighed as she thought about the Lord of Vaikuntham, the man who had held her heart ever since the first day Narada had appeared in their Ashram to tell her of his deeds.

"Narayana Pooja, hm, Lakshmi?" a voice asked, causing Lakshmi to turn around.

She found herself face to face with Kavyamata Maa's only child, Shukra. She smiled sweetly at him, elbowing him lightly.

"If you must know, yes I am. Aren't you excited?"

He shrugged, playing with his dagger.

"Not really. I have better things to do than to worship the Devas. Such as teaching the Asuras for example."

Lakshmi frowned. She had never quite liked that Shukra had become the Guru of the Asuras, and she could tell her mothers didn't quite approve of it either. It was quite hard to tell with her father, as he wasn't one who showed his emotions much to anybody other than Lakshmi.

"Shukra?" Bhrigu asked, seeing his son.

The man flashed his father a grin, while Lakshmi ran into his arms.

"Appa, you're back!" she cried, holding him tight. "And just in time for the Narayana Pooja too!"

Bhrigu smiled upon seeing her enthusiasm.

"Do you have all the flowers?"

She nodded, holding out her basket which was filled with lotuses. Her father was satisfied and dismissed her. Lakshmi ran back to her room.

She still remembered the first time Narada had come to visit her. It had been mystical and beautiful, with dismal weather that caused most people to scorn that day.

It had been raining, storm clouds filling the sky outside. This didn't bother Lakshmi one bit, the colors just reminded her of the dark hue of Lord Vishnu. It was on such a day that DevaRishi Narada had appeared before parents and her.

"Narayana, Narayana." he said, bowing to her. "Pranam Mata."

Lakshmi was taken aback. Had the divine sage of the heavens just paid his respects to her? She was confused, but her father and mothers simply smiled, as though they expected this.

"Mata? Why are you calling me Mata?"

His mysterious eyes twinkled.

"With a soul as divine and pure as yours, how could I not?"

Lakshmi was still perplexed, yet it puzzled her that for some reason nothing felt out of place. She was tempted to pamper Narada a little, fuss over him as a mother would. What was wrong with her?

That was the first day that she had begun to hear about the various wonders of Vishnu, causing her to love him more than she already had. How one person could be so captivating, she will never know.

Lakshmi saw Bhrigu and Shukra leave the area, going somewhere to talk alone.

She smiled and hoped they could repair their somewhat damaged relationship.

Just then, she heard loud clamoring downstairs, and rushed down to investigate.

She saw Asuras assembled before her mothers, seemingly begging for shelter. Lakshmi whispered a prayer to Vishnu, before cautiously approaching them.

"I don't care what you sah, Khyati." Kavyamata said. "They are the students of my son. If they have nowhere else to go, then I will gladly protect them."