The Harvest Goddess: When India and Mexico Dreamed the Same Divine
But if you look closely, this celebration is not just
about gold and fortune. It is about grain, soil, and the quiet gratitude of
those who live by the land.
The small details tell the story: rice sheaves placed
beside the altar, a boat filled with grains, vermillion and coconut shells
arranged in a wicker basket. These are not symbols of commerce; they are
emblems of harvest. The goddess who receives them was once not merely a patron
of wealth but the protector of crops—the Shashya Devi, the mother of
food itself.
Lakshmi:
The Forgotten Harvest Mother
Today, Lakshmi is known everywhere as the glittering
goddess of prosperity—her hands showering coins, her form framed in golden
light. Yet older traditions remember her differently. In eastern India,
particularly Bengal, Assam, and Odisha, she descends on Kojagori Purnima,
five days after Durga Puja ends—on the full moon night when the monsoon season
concludes and the harvest begins.
This is different from the Diwali Lakshmi Puja
celebrated in North India fifteen days later on the new moon (Amavasya),
where Lakshmi is worshipped primarily as the goddess of wealth and business
prosperity. In Bengal, the focus remains rooted in household abundance and
agricultural thanksgiving—a quieter, older tradition.
The
Three Faces of Abundance
Folk rituals speak of three Lakshmis, each tied
to a moment in the agricultural cycle, represented by three colored rice-paste
dolls:
- Green Lakshmi (Harita Devi)—honored before sowing in Falgun (February-March)
- Yellow Lakshmi (Swarna Lakshmi)—worshipped when the fields ripen in Ashwin
(September-October)
- Red Lakshmi (Aruna Lakshmi)—celebrated after the harvest in Aghran
(November-December)
Together they form a calendar of survival, a rhythm of
gratitude that long predates banks and bullion.
Ancient
Roots in Sacred Texts
she appeared as Shri—not a fully formed deity but a cluster of qualities: radiance, abundance, fertility, auspiciousness. Scholars believe she represents the survival of pre-Aryan indigenous goddess worship, possibly stretching back to the Harappan civilization (circa 5500 BCE).
Archaeological evidence confirms her ancient presence.
Her images appear on coins from the Gupta dynasty (4th century CE) and
sculptures from Kausambi (3rd century BCE). A small statuette discovered
in Pompeii, believed to depict Lakshmi and dating before 79 CE, shows
how far her worship had traveled across the ancient world.
The
Shadow Twin: Alakshmi
Over centuries, as Brahmanical Hinduism consolidated
power, the old harvest goddess with her earthy symbols—the owl, pig's tusk, and
Kubera's head—became problematic for elite religion. The solution? Create Alakshmi,
her shadow twin—the spirit of poverty, misfortune, and discord.
Even today, before Kojagori Purnima or Diwali, many
perform the ritual of Alakshmi Biday ("Farewell to Alakshmi"),
driving away the "inauspicious" goddess before welcoming Lakshmi.
This wasn't merely religious evolution—it was cultural negotiation, the tension
between indigenous agricultural worship and incoming patriarchal traditions.
Yet the older goddess endures quietly in Bengali
courtyards, her image drawn in white rice paste, her presence felt in the hum
of crickets and the scent of new grain.
Across
the Ocean: The Corn Mothers of Mexico
similar story.
To the Aztecs, corn (maize) was life itself.
Their creation myth says that humans were formed from maize dough, molded by
the gods. And like Lakshmi's triad of harvest forms, their world too was
watched over by three deities of corn—each one mirroring a stage of growth.
The
Triadic Corn Cycle
Xilonen ("tender ear of corn")—symbolized young maize, the first shoots
of hope. Her name evolved into the modern Mexican Spanish word elote,
meaning fresh corn. She was celebrated in July during the Huey Tecuilhuitl
festival, when young girls would impersonate the goddess, dancing to bring
forth abundance.
Centeótl ("dried maize deity")—the youthful maize god, represented the
ripening fields. Portrayed as a young man with yellow body coloring (like ripe
corn), he presided over the growing season. Interestingly, some scholars
believe Centeótl was originally female but was masculinized as Aztec society
became more patriarchal—an echo of similar tensions in India.
Chicomecoátl ("Seven Serpent")—reigned over mature, harvested corn. She was
ranked fifth among all Aztec deities by the Spanish friar Bernardino de
Sahagún, who documented their culture in the 16th century. The number seven
signified luck and creation, while "serpent" referred to the brace
roots of mature corn plants that emerge from the stem like small snakes.
Red
Earth, Paper Temples, and Sacred Vigils
Her festival, Huey Tozoztli, was held when the
crops ripened. Young women carried maize bundles in procession, singing and
dancing. Each family saved five ears of corn, wrapping them carefully in cloth
like newborn children and placing them in special wicker baskets until the next
season. These sacred cobs were never eaten—they were treated as living
embodiments of the maize spirits themselves, resting until they would
"awaken" for the next planting.
Just as Bengalis stay awake on Kojagori Purnima asking Ko
jagorti?, the Aztecs kept vigil through the night during their corn
festivals, singing to the goddess and thanking her for life. The parallels are
haunting: both traditions demand attention, wakefulness, gratitude. Both understand
that abundance requires vigilance.
Parallel
Visions of the Divine Feminine
Two civilizations, half a world apart, with no contact
between them, arrived at the same profound intuition: that food and fertility
are divine, and that womanhood—creative, cyclical, nurturing—embodies that
power most naturally.
The parallels read like poetry:
- Bengal: Three Lakshmis (Green, Yellow, Red) for
three harvest phases
- Mexico: Three corn deities (Xilonen, Centeótl,
Chicomecoátl) for three growth stages
Color as Sacred Language:
- Both use green for growth, yellow/gold for
ripening, red for completion and harvest
- Both associate red with the earth after harvest
Grain, Not Gold:
- Both offer rice/corn, not precious metals, as the
truest wealth
- Both treat stored grain as sacred, living entities
The Vigil Tradition:
- Both keep watch through the night under the moon
- Both ask: "Who is awake?" "Who
remembers what feeds us?"
Conflict with Patriarchy:
- India: The folk harvest goddess becomes "Alakshmi"
(inauspicious) as Brahmanical religion rises
- Mexico: Centeótl possibly shifts from female to
male; corn goddesses are subordinated to warrior gods
Evolution from Earth to Temple:
- Both goddesses expand from harvest deities to
broader prosperity/nourishment
- Both move from rural fields to urban temples, yet
retain agricultural symbolism
Even their challenges were alike. In India, as
patriarchal religion gained prominence, the rustic grain goddess was refined
into a goddess of wealth. In Mexico, as the Aztec empire rose, the maize
deities found themselves overshadowed by male warrior gods like Huitzilopochtli
and Tezcatlipoca. Yet neither culture could erase them entirely—because no
empire survives without food.
What
This Tells Us: Universal Truths in Human Worship
The story of these goddesses is the story of
civilization itself.
When humans first settled and planted seeds, the miracle
of growth must have seemed like magic—seeds dying in the earth, then returning
as life. Female reproduction offered the closest parallel: the mystery of life
emerging from within. To make sense of agricultural transformation, people
turned to what they knew: the power of birth, of the feminine, of nurture.
This pattern repeats across the ancient world:
- Demeter
in Greece
- Ceres
in Rome
- Renenutet
in Egypt
- Dewi Sri
in Java and Bali
- Mae Phosop
in Thailand and Laos
- Chicomecoátl
in Mexico
- Lakshmi
in India
All carry the same essence. All remind us that
prosperity began not with coins or conquest, but with grain. All represent
humanity's attempt to honor the forces that sustain us, to give thanks for the
abundance that keeps us alive.
As societies grew more complex, these goddesses evolved.
Lakshmi became the guardian of wealth, knowledge, and fortune; Chicomecoátl
came to represent nourishment itself—the food, drink, and spirit that sustain
humanity. Both moved from fields to temples, yet their roots stayed in the
soil.
Echoes
in the Modern World
Science may explain the seasons and the soil, but the
old rituals teach something different—attention. Staying awake for the
goddess is a way of staying awake to life: to the cycles that sustain us, to
the fragility of abundance, to the relationship between humans and the earth
that feeds them.
Perhaps that is why these traditions feel urgent again
in our century of climate crisis. When floods ruin harvests and cities forget
their farmers, when food systems break down and we lose touch with the source
of our sustenance, the goddess of the harvest returns, asking softly: Ko
jagorti?—"Who is awake?"
Who remembers that wealth begins with harvest?
Who stays vigilant to the cycles of planting and reaping?
Who offers gratitude before taking?
The questions are ancient. They are also timeless.
References
& Further Reading
On Goddess Lakshmi:
- Qz.com (2022). The ancient story of goddess
Lakshmi—bestower of power, wealth and sovereignty
- Wikipedia (2025). Lakshmi; Sharada
Purnima; Lakshmi Puja
- World History Encyclopedia (2015). Lakshmi
- Wisdomlib (2024). Description of Goddess
Sri-Lakshmi
- Temple Purohit. Goddess Lakshmi: Hindu Deity of
Wealth, Fortune & Divine Grace
On Kojagori Purnima Traditions:
- Discovering Kolkata (2018). Why Bengal celebrate
Lakshmi Puja on Kojagari Purnima
- Local Samosa (2024). Kojagari Lakshmi Puja: A
Unique Festivity in Bengali Households
- Slurrp (2024). Kojagori Lakshmi Puja: Peek Into
A Bengali Family's Food Traditions
On Aztec Corn Goddesses:
- Britannica (1998). Chicomecoatl
- Wikipedia (2025). Chicōmecōātl; Centeōtl
- Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chicomecoatl goddess
- Mexica (Aztec)
- Mexicolore (2025). Goddess of the month:
Chicomecoatl
- Mythlok (2024). Chicomecoatl: Goddess of
Agriculture
- Art Institute of Chicago. Head of Xilonen, the
Goddess of Young Maize
- Denver Art Museum. Maize Goddess Chicomecoatl
On Comparative Mythology:
- Wikipedia (2025). Demeter; Mother goddess;
History of Shaktism; List of agricultural deities
Closing
Note
Across oceans and eras, the same truth whispers through different
tongues: that wealth begins with harvest, and worship begins with gratitude.
Whether in Bengal's moonlit courtyards or Mexico's maize fields, humanity has
always paused to thank the earth before taking its gifts.
The goddess of the harvest never truly left us—she
simply waits for us to notice, to stay awake, and to remember what abundance
really means.
What are your thoughts on these
remarkable parallels? Have you experienced any harvest festivals or
agricultural traditions? Share your reflections in the comments below.
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