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 Aṣṭa Ṛddhi Yuktām - Chandra Anand e-mail: chandra6267@yahoo.co.in Pics courtesy: Gokul Centre for Cultural Education December 15, 2024 The Gokul Centre for Cultural Education, Mumbai, and Dr Usha RK presented on 7th December 2024, at Saraswathi Auditorium, Mumbai, a premiere of 'Aṣṭa Ṛddhi Yuktām' extolling Goddess Lakshmi, consort of Lord Vishnu in her 8 forms. Ashtalakshmis are the eight manifestations of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, presiding over eight sources of wealth - spirituality, material wealth, agriculture, royalty, knowledge, courage, progeny, and victory.  Vaidehi Lal Rele The presentation began with the famous composition of Purandaradasa "Bhagyadha Lakshmi baramma" (Bowli, adi), soliciting her to come and grant us her divine grace. This was presented by Vaidehi Lal Rele with padartha bhava. A vivid sanchari of incarnation of Sita as Janaka's daughter was shown. Ashtalakshmis were presented with emphasis on important aspects of their form like their adornments, salient features, esteemed vehicle, understanding of their graces. Their adornments were described with gestures displayed to lyrics of Ashtalakshmi Stotram. Vahanams were honoured with a jathi composed and choreographed using the beej mantram relating to the respective Goddesses. Stories relating their grace was delineated from the mythological sources. The tanam form of singing was used as rhythmic background for the enactment of their stories wherein specific syllables relating to the vahanam or / and Goddess was integrated in the tanam's syllabic phrases. Sri Adilakshmi is a symbol of origination. मंत्र - ॐ श्रीं - Adilakshmi embodies srshti, sthiti, and laya as the entire creation comes full circle in her. The story enacted was Goddess Mahalakshmi's emergence from the churning of the milky ocean and becoming wife of Lord Vishnu. This form was presented by Shivaranjani Harish.  Sayani Chakraborty Sri Dhanyalakshmi is a symbol of strength and patience. मंत्र - ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं - Dhanyalakshmi represents the wealth of agriculture and nourishment. Dhanyalakshmi played a vital role in the Mahabharata. During the Pandavas' exile, she blessed Draupadi with the Akshaya Patra, a divine vessel that provided an unending supply of food. This divine blessing sustained the Pandavas through their years in the forest, thus showcasing her nurturing and protective grace. This form was presented by Sayani Chakraborty.  Shivaranjani Harish Sri Dhairyalakshmi is symbol of valor and courage. मंत्र - ॐ श्रीं श्रीं - She is also called Veeralakshmi for she is one who blesses the possessor with the strength to face problems in life. Dhairyalakshmi represents the courage to stand up for truth. In the present Kaliyuga, she stands as a guide showing us the right path and giving us strength to stand for ourselves and voice out for ourselves. Here, the story of Sage Brigu insulting Lord Vishnu by kicking on his chest was enacted. As she is placed on the chest by Mahavishnu, she has been disrespected. As she had been taken for granted by the divine men, expressing her disagreement, she takes a firm stand for herself by moving to Bhuloka and goes into deep penance and emerges with more powers thus highlighting immense courage, strength and power. Thus, a good precedent of self-empowerment has been set by Dhairyalakshmi. This form was presented by Shivaranjani Harish.  Arundhati Patwardhan Gajalakshmi is symbol of health and strength. मंत्र - ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं - Equipped with elements symbolising the balance between beauty and power, she resides in the hearts of her beloved bhaktas, a picture of divine womanhood. There are certain visuals or images in Indian mythology which are so pictorially rich, that it would be surprising if they didn't inspire artists to create or recreate them in their own art. Arundhati Patwardhan presented Gajalakshmi. She demarcated a great sense of symmetry and proportions in the way she sculpted the stage beautifully to capture the picturesque beauty of Lakshmi sitting on a lotus and surrounded by elephants.  Keerthana Ravi Sri Santanalakshmi is a symbol of family and children. मंत्र - ॐ ह्रीं श्रीं क्लीं - She blesses the childless with children. The happiness that a lady gets when she has children was very well expressed by Keerthana Ravi by playing with the children and taking care of them. Sri Dhanalakshmi is a symbol of auspicious destiny. मंत्र - ॐ श्रीं क्लीं - The Goddess grants material wealth, which also includes rain, mountain, forest etc. She rides an owl, a symbol of wisdom, signifying what is use of wealth without wisdom. Arundhati Patwardhan depicted the story wherein Adi Shankara receives an amla fruit for alms and in return composes the Kanakadhara Stotram, praying to her to bestow wealth on his benefactor. Sri Vidyalakshmi is symbol of wisdom and intelligence. मंत्र - ॐ ऐं ॐ - The Goddess provides wealth in the form of knowledge which helps in the intellectual development of the individual. The guiding force of the Goddess is essential to tap into the inner recesses of the human mind and realize the full potential of one's talent and capability. Here the story of Kalidasa attaining her grace and becoming stalwart in literature was enacted by Keerthana Ravi. Sri Vijayalakshmi is a symbol of success and Victory. मंत्र - ॐ क्लीं ॐ - Vijayalakshmi, whose name signifies "victory," is the divine embodiment of success and triumph, instilling hope, courage and inspiration in her devotees. Vijayalakshmi manifests as a fierce form of Mahalakshmi, transforming into Devi Durga, who vanquished the demon Mahishasura on the battlefield. Her divine intervention brought victory to the gods, reinforcing the eternal triumph of good over evil and was presented by Sayani Chakraborty A beautifully choreographed Thillana (Malayamarutam, adi) was performed by Vaidehi Lal Rele and all dancers as a finale. This rhythmic piece was composed particularly for this production on Goddess Mahalakshmi by Vidya Harikrishna, followed by Mangalam. For this presentation, guidance for dance was received from Sucheta Chapekar, Kiran Subramaniam, and Rama Vaidyanathan. For other, intellectual resources as stories and songs from our Vedic texts, stotras, and mantras; inputs from some scholars on mythology and religion - Aniruddha Ghanapathi, Radhakrishna G Seshappa and Himanshu Shrivatsa - were also taken. Music composition for this production was by Vidya Harikrishna. Performing on live music ensemble were - on vocals was Vidya Harikrishna, on nattuvangam was Jayalakshmi Anand, on mridangam was Prajesh Nair and on violin was B Anantharaman. It was an evening of Bharatanatyam enunciating the empowerment by divine grace and abundance.  Chandra Anand is a Bharatanatyam artiste and teacher. She has an MA in Bharatanatyam from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, and her series on 'Education in spiritual values through Bharatanatyam' is featured in narthaki.com. |
