24 Festive Tasks: Door 14 – Diwali, Task 2:
Goddess Lakshmi in her eightfold form is referred to as the Ashta-Lakshmi. Vidya-Lakshmi is the 7th of her 8 forms. “Vidya” means knowledge as well as education, not just degrees or diplomas from the university, but real all-round education. Thus, this form of Goddess Lakshmi is the giver of knowledge of the arts and sciences. – Which character from a book that you read this year could be a non-Indian version of Vidya-Lakshmi?
Among the (many) books I reread this year were several entries from Ellis Peters’s “Brother Cadfael” series. One of the main reasons why I love this series is Cadfael himself — who is not only a highly knowledgeable man (particularly for his time, though he’d be seen this way even today), but also a very wise one; and one of whose great strengths is the way in which he shares his wisdom and guides other characters — overtly with the novices assigned to him, but gently and unobtrusively with many another character as well. I would have loved to have had Cadfael as my teacher in my younger days.
Related Posts
Project Page: The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael
Reviews and other Blog Posts:
Ellis Peters: A Morbid Taste for Bones
Ellis Peters: The Devil’s Novice
Ellis Peters: The Raven in the Foregate
Ellis Peters: The Rose Rent
Ellis Peters: Brother Cadfael’s Penance
CADFAEL (Carlton / Acorn Media) – TV series
Robin Whiteman & Rob Talbot: Brother Cadfael’s Herb Garden & Cadfael Country / Robin Whiteman: The Cadfael Companion / Ellis Peters: Strongholds and Sanctuaries
