Image Caption: A collage of four traditional Hindu devotional prints arranged in a two-by-two grid, depicting Ashtalakshmi (the eight forms of Goddess Lakshmi), Navdurga (the nine forms of Goddess Durga), Dashavatara (the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu), and Ekadasha Rudras (the eleven forms of Lord Shiva). Beautifully depicted in traditional devotional artwork.
Ashtalaxmi, Navdurga, Dashavatara, Ekadasha Rudras. The eight identities of Laxmi, The nine lives of Durga, the ten incarnations of Vishnu, and the eleven manifestations of Shiva. This weekend, as many of us celebrate Golu and Navratri, we will broach this multiplicity of being, without allowing the same to exist within us. Â
The eight identities of Laxmi: Adi (whole), Dhana (wealth), Dhanya (grain), Gaja (Elephant), Santana (children), Dhairya (patience), Vijaya (victory), and Vidya (education), are characterized by necessity. These forms have been known to coexist in spacetime, interconnected by the nurturing core of a mother. Similarly, we are complex beings with coexisting personalities. Within me exists the feared protector, the confident student, the shy friend, the excited conversationalist, the dramatic sister, the stubborn critic, the romantic daydreamer, the curious observer, and the contemplative author (list is non-exhaustive, but I am already exhausted). As the world demands different things from us, we adapt, often guided by the same underlying principles. However, one thing is clear. Notice how the whole (Adi Laxmi) is considered primordial, original, existing since birth, and yet the most powerful. The most powerful version of us isn’t a singular, it is the acceptance of the entirety with its conflicting aspects.
The nine lives of Durga: Shailaputri (daughter), Brahmacharini (ascetic), Chandraghanta (wife), Kushmanda (empress), Skandamata (mother), Katyayani (warrior), Kalaratri (destroyer), Mahagauri (ascended), Siddhidatri (sage). These forms represent the chronologically ordered lives of Durga, not as reincarnations, but as successive stages of existence and transformation within one life. Which all of us have been through at least once in our life. I know I’ve been the child, the daughter, the sister, and the teenager, the young adult. Each version fades away, and yet leaves something behind. Our past versions are all a part of us but no longer exist, no matter how embarrassing or how beautiful they were. We must learn to love the people we have been, even as we make room for the people we are yet to become. For every life we live is fleeting, and each deserves to be lived to its fullest.
As for the Dashavatara and Ekadasha Rudras, I will not be writing about the men in this article, simply because I don’t want to. Maybe next year. I want society to understand one simple truth first: The same bone that makes a woman caring and motherly is also the one that can make her a fierce, terrifying warrior. Every woman I’ve ever met has always been angrier about the mistreatment of the woman she valued in her life than the pain she suffered on her own. So, she may forgive or forget, but I promise somewhere out there is a daughter, a sister, a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a sweetheart, a friend, or an aunty thinking: “How can someone treat such a beautiful soul with such lack of care.” And trust me, they won’t forgive, nor forget, only protect and worship her many identities and many lives.Â
Authored by Mahika Bagri