Alakshmī

Alakshmī is also called Jyeshṭhā, which means “the elder one”. She is the elder sister of Bhagavatī Lakshmī. Her name a-lakshmī means the opposite of Lakshmī. She stands for inauspiciousness, poverty and misfortune.

Before Lakshmī agreed to become the wife of Bhagavān Vishṇu, she set a condition. Her elder sister must be given a home and someone to care for her. Bhagavān Vishṇu gave Alakshmī to the ṛshi Uddālaka. She would not stay in his āśrama, so he left her under an Aśvattha tree. Then Bhagavān Vishṇu settled her in the Aśvattha for good.

Names

Her name Alakshmī is a-lakshmī, the negation of Lakshmī. It means the absence of wealth and the presence of misfortune. Her other name, Jyeshṭhā, means “the elder one”. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells her story in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116.

The condition of Lakshmī’s marriage

Lakshmī was about to become the wife of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Before the marriage she made a condition. Her elder sister Alakshmī must be given a home and a caretaker. Lakshmī would not leave her elder sister without care. This is told in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116.

Alakshmī is given to Uddālaka

Bhagavān Vishṇu agreed to the condition. He gave Alakshmī into the care of the ṛshi Uddālaka. Uddālaka’s āśrama was full of Veda recitation, tapas (austerity) and calm, and he lived as a brahmacārī, in strict self-control. Uddālaka accepted the task and left with Alakshmī for his āśrama. This is in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116.

She refuses the āśrama

When Uddālaka brought Alakshmī to his āśrama, she would not stay. She could not bear the constant sound of the Veda, the purity of the ascetic life and the power of sacred mantras. She found no place there. In the end Uddālaka left her under an Aśvattha tree (the sacred fig, Ficus religiosa) and went back to his āśrama without her. This is in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116.

She is settled in the Aśvattha

Alakshmī sat weeping under the Aśvattha tree, and her cry reached Bhagavān Vishṇu. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself is identified with the Aśvattha tree. The Aśvattha is one of his chief tree forms. He settled Alakshmī in the Aśvattha for ever. The tree became her lasting home. She could not wander any further, and she could not trouble householders who honoured the Aśvattha rightly. This is told in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116.

Honouring the elder for the sake of the younger

The Purāṇa teaches how to keep Lakshmī in the home. A person must honour Alakshmī through the Aśvattha tree. By honouring the tree in which the elder sister lives, the person meets the condition that Lakshmī herself set, that her elder sister be cared for. In this way the person welcomes the steady presence of the younger sister. If a person neglects the Aśvattha, Lakshmī leaves. If a person shows reverence to it, Lakshmī stays. This is in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116.

Alakshmī and Lakshmī

The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells that even Śrī Lakshmī, the most auspicious, cannot be gained without acknowledging Alakshmī and giving her a proper home. This is in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116