Research Paper
The Iconographic Evolution of Shri: Visual Representation, Vulnerability, and the Politics of Gender in Art Forms
Authors: Harshita Srivastava & K. Latha
Year: 2026, Volume: 17, Page/Article: 277-291, DOI: https://doi.org/10.47509/AA.2026.v17i.15
Abstract
This paper seeks to examine critically the theologically driven iconographic transformation of Lakshmi (Shri) (the Hindu Goddess of abundance). Tracing Lakshmi’s origins in Vedic Hinduism, one finds her image as a potent, independent deity who is widely revered for her ability to grant sovereignty to earthly kings. The existence of Gajalakshmi coins in the Kushana age is testament to her individuality, but is followed by the Vaishnava influence of the Gupta age; and finally with the onset of Puranic Hinduism and the growth in popularity of other devotional compositions, Lakshmi’s identity began being attached to Vishnu, as his rather submissive consort. This paper argues that such a transformation may be viewed as an act of disciplining and domesticating the feminine powers in Hinduism. Placing it within the contemporary framework of vulnerability and precarity, one may draw on Judith Butler’s theory of performativity, along with Jasbir Puar’s work, and assess this evolution as a reframing of Lakshmi ’s marital position not as co-existence of masculine and feminine divine energies, but as a kind of vulnerability that has been imposed due to patriarchal cultural developments.
The paper aims to problematize Lakshmi’s transformation as a mode of hampering the agency and autonomy of the divine feminine in religious thought. The methodology employed to conduct the analysis is primarily a visual one that synthesises iconographic representations, structural semiotics, and theological texts to assess the evolution of the varied forms of Lakshmi, along with her relational incarnation as Sita. The study of this iconographic evolution proves to be a relevant case study in advancing discourses on gender and art-history by demonstrating the impact of religious art on the social enforcement of conventional gender roles.
Keywords: iconography, gender, vulnerability, religion, Lakshmi, Shri.