Shri-Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of Prosperity, is here represented as Gaja Lakshmi (Elephant Lakshmi), who is one of the Eight Great Lakshmis (Ashta Maha Lakshmi). She is being lustrated by elephants grasping upside down ‘full vases’ (purna ghata) of sacred water. This iconographic form emphasizes Lakshmi as a mother goddess and fertility divinity.
Although her figure is effaced, she is crowned, wears standard jewelry, and stands in a stiff, frontal pose (samapada sthanaka) on a lotus in a shrine surrounded by a railing (vedika). The goddess has two arms. In her right hand, she likely holds a lotus. Her left hand rests on her ornate hip belt (katibandha). She is flanked by lush lotuses rising out of the lake or pond within the shrine railing. See also M.74.40.1, M.85.193.2, AC1993.239.7, and M.2000.165.2.
