Lakshmi (Hindu)
Lakshmi is a Living Goddess for the Hindu People. When I started looking for information on her, I quickly saw how much data is out on the internet about her. The idea of being able to sift through it all was daunting. I found one website that gives an excellent overview of who Lakshmi is, from her origin to the present. Please go here to read it. Wikipedia has a huge amount of info.
According to wiki, Lakshmi is also an important figure in Jainism and Buddhism.
Throughout various texts and scriptures, she is incarnated at least 29 times in various myths/stories.
In many images of Lakshmi, she has 4 arms.
From Pratha:
A striking feature of Lakshmi’s iconography is her four arms, each representing different aspects of life and existence. These arms signify the four Purusharthas, or goals of human life in Hindu philosophy—Dharma (righteousness,) Artha (material prosperity,) Kama (fulfillment of desires,) and Moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death.) These four arms indicate that Goddess Lakshmi’s blessings encompass not just financial success but also ethical living, emotional fulfillment, and ultimate spiritual liberation. The harmonious balance of these four elements leads to a prosperous and meaningful life.
Question: as a goddess, if you could add
extra appendages to yourself,
what would they be, and why?
Tao-Talk 
❤️
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I’m really enjoying your series, Li. Apropos your q., I would love to grow another head cuz I keep losing mine all the time. 😉😂
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Dora, I love that! I wouldn’t mind having a couple of extra arms.
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Now, that’s a great question —I think I’d love a few extra arms …that way I could tick off most things on my to-do list that I currently struggle to finish, in the course of a day. :)
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I hear you, Esha.
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Keeping with the librarian theme, a third hand and arm, so you could hold the book securely and still turn the page. Also helpful is a lap that grows when reading to children until you can hold twenty children in your lap.
Erin Penn
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Erin, I love your wishes!
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I have seen the deity with four arms but knew nothing about it. This was so interesting. Financial, Ethical, Emotional and Spiritual balance are much to be desired and not easy to do. Maybe she needs another arm for Physical/Health to add to the mix.
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Karen, you are right, she has so many duties!
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Ah, Lakshmi… our meditation teacher talks about her all the time in relation to Hindi mantra meditation sessions she started running on Zoom at the beginning of Covid.
I’d use extra arms for healing and for shooing the unjust. A side benefit would be when carrying a grandkid and needing to open a door!
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Steve, I’m glad you and Sweety are acquainted with Lakshmi. Having extra arms would work well for you :)
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🙂
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Well, I’m just saying, sometimes it would be useful to have a few more fingers. I would be able to hold more.
Tony (Danab Cycle)
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Can you imagine a massage therapist with 10 fingers on each hand?
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I like the balance of the four arms.
But I myself have enough trouble with two. I wouldn’t mind a third eye though. (K)
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I love that idea. Or 4 eyes, 2 in the usual places, a 3rd one on the forehead and one on the back of your head. Would have to be careful when brushing your hair :)
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Indeed!
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A third arm would certainly be useful. Perhaps also an eye on the back of my head. And then of course there’s always wings!
https://nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2026/04/l-is-for-landscape-with-lisa.html
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Oh my, I totally forgot about wings. I would love to have a pair of wings, even if they only unfurled once a month, under the full moon :)
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From my time in India, I met a lot of women named Lakshmi. Now, I know why. I’m with Kerfe. I might be clumsier with four hands and would love an extra eye, maybe one at the back of my head (something my kids accused me of having). :)
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Brenda, I think all mothers have them :)
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Beautiful colouring, Lisa. Great colours.
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Gia, thank you :)
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My pleasure, Lisa. 🤓🥂
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Lisa, I was glad that you included that although Lakshmi is generally seen as the Goddess of Wealth, her four arms signify much more than just material success: “ethical living, emotional fulfillment, and spiritual liberation.”
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Josna, did you see the very end of the writing? It does mention those aspects. When I went to write about Lakshmi, I was overwhelmed with the quantity of info on her so included one link with a general overview and another with much more detail. Thank you for visiting and for noticing <3
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I did, Lisa, that’s why I wrote that–to say that I was glad you had mentioned these other qualities that are much more than material wealth.
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<3
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p.s. Josna, last but not least <3
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We do worship her. Every household in India has her idol. :-D
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Good to know, PH. She is worthy of worship.
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☀️👍🌼🌼👍👍💞💞
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