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As I discuss in this answer, one of the early movements that was important in the development of Vaishnavism was the ancient Pancharatra movement, whose sacred texts consist of detailed procedures to worship the sage Narayana, an ancient incarnation of Vishnu who was the twin brother of the sage Nara. (Nara and Narayana were the previous births of Arjuna and Krishna, respectively.) One of the Pancharatra texts is the Lakshmi Tantra, which takes the form of a dialogue between Indra and Vishnu's wife Lakshmi.

In any case, in this excerpt from the Lakshmi Tantra, Lakshmi describes to Indra the glories of the Sri Sukta, a famous hymn to Lakshmi from the Rig Veda:

My spotless garland made of silver lotuses is ever sparkling. All creators, who create the worlds are adorned with me (i.e. with my presence). In ancient times the forefather of the Rudras, (propitiating me as) Rajatasraj, went to mount Kailasha and became the lord of silver.

For those who don't know, the forefather of the Rudras is Shiva, as I discuss in this answer.

So my question is, what is the story of Shiva becoming the lord of silver after worshipping Lakshmi? I'm not sure what "the lord of silver" means. The translator just says that Shiva "is often compared to a silver mountain".

But are there any other scriptures which describe Shiva as becoming the lord of silver after worshiping Lakshmi? Also, on a side note there are many scriptures which describe Shiva worshipping Vishnu (like the Mahabharata chapter I discuss here), but I think this is the first reference I've seen to Shiva worshipping Vishnu's wife Lakshmi. Are there any other occasions where he worshipped Lakshmi?

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    Don't know about this incident but I have came across some texts where Goddess Parvati is sometimes referred as Lakshmi. One such text is from 'Bilvashtakam' in praise of the Bilva tree. As per Skanda Purana, Bilva tree was born from Goddess Parvati but Bilvashtakam says it differently, ie, 'Lakshmyaha stanat utpannam, Mahadevasya ch priyam' meaning 'Born from the heart of Goddess Lakshmi, the Bilva tree is ever dear to Mahadeva'. I think I definitely have seen some other texts as well where Lakshmi was used instead of Parvati, but can't recall others now.
    – Aby
    Commented Sep 7, 2015 at 8:10
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    @Aby - The Sri Suktham clearly says that Goddess Sri, Vishnu pathni is Bilva nilaya i.e. She resides in Bilva tree. Moreover the comment of yours is completely out of place and has got nothing do with the question. All names are related Goddess lakshmi only. if you read, Vishnu purana it clearly says, anything that male in this creation is Lord Vishnu and anything that is feminine in nature is Goddess Sri.
    – user808
    Commented Sep 7, 2015 at 9:59
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    @Aby - For your info Shankara in his upanishad commentaries has even said that name UMA applies to Vishnu pathni, Goddess Lakshmi, primarily. I know, it is hard to digest for shaivates and may be even to a few shaktas and also to some pseudo vaishnavas. But, Shankara has said it in his own commentary very clearly.
    – user808
    Commented Sep 7, 2015 at 10:02
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    @Keshav - Yes, i too heard the same in an upanyasam of Sri Vellukudi Krishnan, that Lord Shiva became the owner Kailasa which is called mountain of silver after worshiping Goddess Lakshmi.
    – user808
    Commented Sep 7, 2015 at 10:08
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    "the lord of silver" probably refers to mount Kailāsa, which scriptures often credit as being the abobe or heaven of Śiva. If you google you will see the actual mountain, which appears silver because of the snow. So it probably means Śiva is the Lord of his domain, situated at mount Kailāsa. As for your other questions, you may want to refer to the original Sanskrit text for 50.51-52: rājatairme srajaḥ padmai rājante ca srajo'malāḥ | rājitāśca srajaḥ sarve sraṣṭāro jagatāṃ mayā || 51 || > rajatasrajamityeva rudrāṇāṃ pravaraḥ purā | kailāse samupasthāya rajatādhipatāṃ yayau || 52 ||
    – Gabe Hiemstra
    Commented Jul 2, 2016 at 15:53

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