MEDALLION DETAIL

This page may take a little longer to load. In order for you to see the detail in the medallion, I made the images a little larger than I usually do. A brief description of the images is below each medallion.

OBVERSE

The obverse side of the medallion contains likenesses of the goddess LAKSHMI on the left and LORD GANESH (the elephant headed god) on the right.
LAKSHMI is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. She also personifies beauty, grace, and charm. She is normally depicted seated on a lotus (as is seen here) with gold coins. Here she holds a pot of gold coins in her left hand.
GANISH has many functions in the Hindu pantheon. He is the Lord of Wisdom and the remover of obstacles. Hindus believe that he must be kept happy to ensure smooth passage on the road to accomplishment. For this reason, he is worshiped together with LAKSHMI during Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Then, LAKSHMI is worshipped for wealth and prosperity, while GANESH is worshipped first to ensure that any obstacles to obtaining wealth and prosperity are removed.
In the Northern and Western parts of India, the entrance of a house often has the symbol of an elephant or LORD GANISH to ward off mishaps and troubles. Thus, ensuring a peaceful stay in the house.

REVERSE

The reverse side of the medallion contains a stylized representation of the sound OM which is said to be the sound of the vibration from which the universe was created. Therefore, because OM precedes all things, it is used as an invocation to prayer and is a fundamental part of meditation.
The symbol for OM appears throughout India on temples, posters, and vehicles. It is commonly used as a symbol for Hinduism itself.