Alakshmi (Jyeshtha Devi) is a Hindu goddess of misfortune, poverty, laziness, and greed. She is the elder sister of Goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of fortune and prosperity. Wherever Lakshmi goes, she follows her. She resides wherever there is dirt, filth, crime, poverty, etc. She is depicted as naked, unkempt, and rides a donkey. Her offerings consist of chilies and limes.
Hindus believe when she enters a household she brings jealousy and malice. She causes fights within the house, and the family faces ruins and destruction.
The references of Alakshmi are in many Hindu scriptures, including but not limited to Padma Purana, Skanda Purana, Markandeya Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Garuda Purana, Linga Purana, and Gautami Mahatmya.
Meaning of the Names Alakshmi and Jyeshtha Devi:
Alakshmi is exactly the opposite of the goddess Lakshmi. The prefix A (अ), which in Sanskrit denotes opposite things. Therefore, Alakshmi means “the one who is opposite to Lakshmi” and represents everything opposite to her.
The word Jyeshtha in Sanskrit means “elder”. As she is the elder sister of the goddess Lakshmi, she got the name Jyeshtha Devi.
Different Names of Goddess Alakshmi or Jyeshtha Devi:
1. Dhumavati.
2. Nirriti.
3. Kalahapriya.
4. Daridara.
5. Jyeshthalakshmi.
6. Tavvai.
7. Kakkaikodiyol.
8. Dhumravarahi.
9. Dhumrakali.
10. Ekavena.
11. Moodevi.
What does Alakshmi look like?
Per the Padma Purana, she has a dark and big face, red eyes, white teeth, rough and tawny hair, tall, and an old body.
Per other beliefs, she has hoof-like feet and bull teeth. Her body is wrinkled with sunken cheeks and beady eyes. Donkey is her carrier. She is also depicted as the owl that accompanies the goddess Lakshmi.
Origin of Alakshmi:
It is believed that she is the Puranic version of the Vedic goddess Nirrti who is the goddess of death, decay, and misfortune. Goddess Nirrti has references in the Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Taittiriya Brahmana, and Shatapatha Brahmana.
“Soma and Rudra, expel the widespread sickness that has entered into our dwellings; keep off Nirṛti, so that she may be far away, and may prosperous means of sustenance be ours.”
– Rigveda 6.74.2
“Miserable, ill-favored, deformed, ever-railing (goddess), go to your mountain; with these exploits of Śirimbiṭha we scare you away.”
– Rigveda 10.155.1
Birth of Alakshmi:
1. Per the Padma Purana, When gods and Asura carried out Samudra Manthan (the churning of the ocean), Jyeshtha Devi also came out along with many other objects. As she came out before the goddess Lakshmi, she is also called Jyeshthalakshmi. It is believed that she was born out of the poison that dripped from the mouth of Vasuki.
“Then gods with their minds delighted churned the milky ocean. Then Alakṣmī (i.e., Evil Fortune), of a dark face and red eyes, having rough and tawny hair, and having an old body, sprang up.”
2. According to another story, Lakshmi was born from the radiance of Prajapati’s face while Alakshmi from his back.
3. Per the Kartika Mahatmya, she was born out of the mud, which was formed at the time of Mahapralaya when all existences in the purest form immersed into Narayana and all the impurities remained in the form of mud in the waters of the deluge.
Where does Alakshmi Stay?
When she came out of the ocean, she asked the gods, “What should I do?” The gods spoke to that goddess, the repository of misery: “O goddess, we are giving you a place in the homes of those men where quarrel takes place. O eldest one, accompanied by evil stays (there). Always remain, causing misery, in the houses of those men who speak cruel and false words and who the mean men eat at dusk. O eldest one, there is no doubt that your stay will be there where there are skulls, hair, ashes, bones, and chaff fire. Always remain, causing grief and poverty in the houses of those mean men who eat without washing their feet. Stay, always giving grief, and with dissension, in the houses of those who clean their teeth with sand, salt, or charcoal.
“O you eldest one, causing filth, your stay will be in the houses of those mean men who eat mushrooms and a left-over coconut. There is no doubt that you will stay in the houses of those men of sinful thoughts, who eat sesamum-flour, bottle-gourd, garlic, shoots of young plants, a species of kadamba (called Kalambaka), and onions. O you inauspicious one, always stay there (i.e., in that house) which is bereft of sacrifices (offered to) preceptors and gods, and bereft of gifts to guests, and where the sound of(the recital of) the Vedas is absent.
O you inauspicious one, always stay there, where there takes place quarrel between a husband and his wife, where no worship of the dead ancestors or gods takes place, and where there is (indulgence in) gambling. Causing sins and poverty, always stay in that place where there dwell men who are adulterers, who snatch away the wealth of others, and where brāhmaṇas, good men and old men are not honored.” – Padma Purana 4.9.7b-22
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra:
Per this text, the deity of the 19th lunar mansion of Mula Nakshatra is Nirriti, i.e., Alakshmi. She is the goddess of destruction having the power to ruin, destroy, or break up things.
Who is the Husband of Jyeshtha Devi?
Different texts give different answers to this question. Sage Uddalaka, Sage Duhsa, Demon Kali, the god of death,
1. Per the Padma Purana, the goddess Lakshmi came out of the sea After Alakshmi. Then all the gods requested Lord Vishnu to accept her, but she hesitated, saying, “O Lord, how do you desire to marry me, the younger (sister), without marrying the elder sister, Alakṣmī? Does the younger sister get married when the elder remains unmarried?”
Therefore, Lord Vishnu gave Alakshmi to Sage Uddalaka.
2. Per the Kalki Purana and the Mahabharata, Demon Kali is her husband.
3. According to another story, Alakshmi was upset because the goddess Lakshmi had Lord Vishnu as her husband and was living in Vaikuntha while she had neither husband nor an abode. Goddess Lakshmi then ordered that the god of death would be Alakshmi’s husband, and she would live where there was dirt, greed, hypocrisy, lust, etc.
The Markandeya Purana mentions Nirriti and Alakshmi as two separate goddesses, and that latter had 14 sons from the god of death.
“Nirṛti also was the wife of Mṛtyu, and Mṛtyu had another wife called Alakṣmī (Ill Fortune), and by the latter Mṛtyu had fourteen sons. These are his sons by Alakṣmī; they carry out Mṛtyu’s commands; they visit men at the times of dissolution; hear about them.” – Canto L.
How to drive the goddess Alakshmi away?
1. Alakshmi Nissarana (removal of Alakshmi) is a ritual done on the night of Lakshmi Puja to drive away Alakshmi from the home.
On this day, a new broom is bought and is worshiped. The woman of the house sweeps the house at midnight with it. The garbage is collected in a Supa (winnowing baskets) and thrown out of the house. Then, the noise is made with the Supa in every corner of the house. The woman says, ”Oh, food, wealth, Lakshmi come inside. Oh Daridra (Alakshmi), get out of the house as Lakshmi has come.”
“After the midnight passes thus, when men are asleep with half-closed eyes, the delighted women of the city begin to drive away Alakṣmī (Ill-luck, Misfortune) from their respective courtyards with winnowing baskets and small Ḍiṇḍima drums.” – Skanda Purana Book 2, 4.9.100
2. By practicing cleanliness, selflessness, discipline, and hard work also, one can keep Alakshmi away.
3. Lemons and chilies are the favorite foods of Alakshmi. Therefore, many Hindus hang it outside of their homes/shops. Alakshmi eats it and thus does not enter the house.
4. Worshiping goddess Saraswati also helps ward of Jyeshtha Devi.
5. Donating silk or cotton clothes at the Shraddha ceremony.
“He who gives at the Śrāddha ceremony silken cloth or cotton cloth obtains all excellent and desirable things. These destroy Alakṣmī (lack of brilliance or poverty) like the sunrise that destroys darkness.”
– Brahmanda Purana 3.16.36
Stories Related to Alakshmi:
1. Unsuccessful Marriage of Jyeshtha Devi:
After her marriage with Uddalaka, she went with him to his hermitage. The hermitage was serene, beautiful, and filled with chants of sacred hymns. But Alakshmi could not tolerate this environment and immediately ran out. Bewildered Uddalaka could not understand what had happened. He asked her the reason for her plight from the hermitage. Then she told him, ” I shall not stay there where the sound of (the recital of) the Vedas is heard, guests are honored, and sacrifices, etc. are (performed). So also I shall not stay there where a pair of lovers live, and where the dead ancestors are honored. I love a place where there are men engaged in gambling and taking away others’ wealth, and where there live adulterers. I am interested in that place where cow slaughter takes place, drinking is indulged in, so also where sins like the killing of a brāhmaṇa take place.”
Sage Uddalaka realized that he couldn’t live with her. So she took her to a forest and asked her to stay for a moment at the root of an Ashvattha tree till he returns after finding a place to stay, but he never returned. After some days, Alakshmi understood the situation and started crying. Her cry reached Vaikuntha to the goddess Lakshmi who requested Lord Vishnu to bring her to Vaikuntha.
When Lord Vishnu urged Alakshmi to come with him, she denied it. She told him that it was not in her nature to live at satvik places. Even if she came to Vaikuntha, she would bring all the negative things with her. Therefore, Lord Vishnu asked her to live in those homes where people quarrel, lie, gamble, and are amoral. The filthy places would be her abode.
He also blessed her that she would be worshiped every Saturday along with him under the Aswastha tree, which is one of his forms.
– Kartika Mahatmya and Padma Purana
2. The Trader and Jyeshtha Devi:
Once the goddess Lakshmi visited a trader who was her devotee. The trader welcomed her to his home, but soon he realized that the goddess Alakshmi was also following her.
So he said, “Goddess Lakshmi looks beautiful when she enters a home, and the goddess Alakshmi looks beautiful when she leaves a home.”
Therefore, Goddess Lakshmi entered his home, and Alakshmi left.
– Source Unknown
Conclusion:
The Goddess Alakshmi is nothing but the negative aspect of Lakshmi or goodness. She teaches us that we should not concentrate on accumulating wealth only but also should not let ourselves degrade morally; otherwise, she would enter our homes.
Image Credit: Quora