Do you wonder what these are for ? Why these are hung at Indian doors pointlessly ?
Well, in Vaishnava literature, Alakshmi, the twin sister of Lakshmi, is the goddess of misfortune. Just as nothing wonderful can be produced without the simultaneous by-production of waste, Lakshmi (fortune) is always accompanied by Alakshmi (misfortune). Those who ignore the twin sister of the goddess of fortune do so at their peril. Alakshmi is the goddess of strife. Unless she is acknowledged, fortune always brings with it calamity.
Lakshmi is associated with sweets, and Alakshmi with sour and pungent things. Sweets are therefore kept inside the house while sour lemons and pungent chilies are hung outside the house at the doorway. Lakshmi enters the house to eat sweets while Alakshmi eats lemons and chilies at the doorway and turns away satisfied. Both are acknowledged and respected but only one is welcomed.
FolkLore : The twin sisters, Lakshmi and Alakshmi, approached a merchant and asked him who of the two was more beautiful. The merchant knew the consequences of angering either one. So he said, Lakshmi is beautiful when she enters a house, and Alakshmi when she leaves it. Consequently, fortune entered the merchant's house and misfortune left it.
Source : Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik. (myth = mithya)
Well, in Vaishnava literature, Alakshmi, the twin sister of Lakshmi, is the goddess of misfortune. Just as nothing wonderful can be produced without the simultaneous by-production of waste, Lakshmi (fortune) is always accompanied by Alakshmi (misfortune). Those who ignore the twin sister of the goddess of fortune do so at their peril. Alakshmi is the goddess of strife. Unless she is acknowledged, fortune always brings with it calamity.
Lakshmi is associated with sweets, and Alakshmi with sour and pungent things. Sweets are therefore kept inside the house while sour lemons and pungent chilies are hung outside the house at the doorway. Lakshmi enters the house to eat sweets while Alakshmi eats lemons and chilies at the doorway and turns away satisfied. Both are acknowledged and respected but only one is welcomed.
FolkLore : The twin sisters, Lakshmi and Alakshmi, approached a merchant and asked him who of the two was more beautiful. The merchant knew the consequences of angering either one. So he said, Lakshmi is beautiful when she enters a house, and Alakshmi when she leaves it. Consequently, fortune entered the merchant's house and misfortune left it.
Source : Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik. (myth = mithya)