goddess lakshmi is personified not only as the goddess of fortune and wealth but also as an embodiment of loveliness, grace and charm. she is worshiped as a goddess who grants both worldly prosperity as well as liberation from the cycle of life and death. lore has it that lakshmi arose out of the sea of milk, the primordial cosmic ocean, bearing a red lotus in her hand. each member of the divine triad- brahma, vishnu and shiva (creator, preserver and destroyer respectively)- wanted to have her for himself. shiva`s claim was refused for he had already claimed the moon, brahma had saraswati, so vishnu claimed her and she was born and reborn as his consort during all of his ten incarnations.