Our gracious host Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com has kindly published my guest post that features the Indian Goddess Lakshmi and my recipe for stir-fried lotus root. In my post, I have neglected to explain the link between the two, and anyway, why is Lakshmi always depicted sitting on a lotus flower?

Here is the answer, Beautiful People:

Legends say that Lakshmi – the goddess of wealth and wisdom – emerged seated upon a Lotus from the ocean of cosmic milk during its churning. This is why Lakshmi is known by many poetical epithets such as Padmini (abounding in lotuses), Padmapriya (lotus-lover), Padmavarna (lotus-hued) and Padma-uru (lotus thighed). In Sanskrit literature, the Lotus flower has been used as a descriptor of beauty. In her book The Lotus Symbol in Indian Art and Literature Santona Basu writes, “Human, particularly feminine beauty is set on par with the lotus, the ultimate example of beauty for the poets» (https://parogoodearth.com).

Now that you know the…