Goddess Lakshmi from her earliest mentions in ancient Hindu scriptures rules the realms of fertility, abundance, and auspiciousness. To emphasize Devi Lakshmi’s role as the bestower of the boons of progeny, fecundity of fields, and pleasantness in life, her icons illustrate the goddess as a youthful woman, who in Hindu tradition is the ideal symbol of productiveness and propitiousness. In this small brass goddess Lakshmi statue, Devi is a female brimming with youth, seated on a lotus throne or Padmasana in Swastikasana, an auspicious posture. She is in her popular four-armed form, carrying two lotuses and making the gesture of fearlessness (Abhaya mudra) and disseminating boons (Varada mudra) with her right and left primary hands, respectively. A Vaishnava Kiritamukuta crown with a sun-like Sirachakra (circular head ornament), dehri (circular earrings), Haara and Ratnamalika (necklaces), bracelets, and armlets embellish the divine limbs of Devi Lakshmi in this brass Lakshmi icon. Maa Lakshmi's eternal youthful form is expressed through her charming young face which mirrors the loveliness of a sixteen-year-old girl or Shodashi (a potent Tantric form of the great goddess, one of the Mahavidyas).
