1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Lakshmi

LAKSHMI (Sans. for “mark,” “sign,” generally used in composition with punya, “prosperous”; hence “good sign,” “good fortune”), in Hindu mythology, the wife of Vishnu worshipped as the goddess of love, beauty and prosperity. She has many other names, the chief being Loka mata (“mother of the world”), Padma (“the lotus”), Padma laya (“she who dwells on a lotus”) and Jaladhija (“the ocean-born”). She is represented as of a bright golden colour and seated on a lotus. She is said to have been born from the sea of milk when it was churned from ambrosia. Many quaint myths surround her birth. In the Rig Veda her name does not occur as a goddess.