Select Naamas from Lalitha Sahasranaama (Mananam)
Introduction (from
Bhasyam)
Brahman is of two
kinds, with parts Sakala) and ' without parts * (Niskala). The
Sruti (Mud. Up., 1—4) says : " Two kinds of Brahman are to be
known, the Supreme (Para) and the ordinary (Apara)."
This is repeated in the Smrtis also. With parts ' is the ordinary (Apara)
aspect (of Brahman). It is of two kinds, one being the ruler of the
Universe, and the other the Universe itself ; it is said " for He is
the ruler of the
Universe and the Universe itself." Again, in another place, it is
said " Siva is the doer, Siva is the enjoyer, Siva is all this
Universe. Devi is the giver, and the enjoyer, and Devi is all this
universe " He is the cause of the creation and destruction of the
Universe and he is the Universe itself"
The Sruti also (Tai.-Up.II—6), "He desired may I he many". The
word
Devi Pr., says : "O wise one, this is the established
doctrine concerning Devi ; she is the Vedas, the sacrifices, the
heaven and all this Universe ; the Universe, immovable as well as
movable, is pervaded by Devi. She is all that is sacrificed to and
worshipped by the Devas ; and She is all that is food and drink ; manifold
in form and name, Devi is everywhere—in trees, in the earth, in the air,
in the ether, in water, and in fire."
Brahman without parts Niskala, is one only. All this is well explained to
Himavat by Devi in the Kurma Pr. " If you are unable to
meditate upon my Eternal and Supreme form, fix your attention on my
qualified form (Sakalarupa), and this, is infinitely changeable
with time and circumstance, can be grasped by the mind.
Whatever form of mine your mind is capable of grasping, meditate upon
that. O father, identify yourself with that, worship it. But my Niskala
form, bare consciousness, pure and calm, freed from all attributes, one
only, eternal and supreme ; that supreme abode can only be attained through knowledge (JnAna)
and with great difficulty."
With reference to the unqualified Brahman (Nirguna), all epithets (Sabdas)
are applied indirectly, as there exists the relation of similarity
(Tadatmya) between the qualified and unqualified Brahman.
In the Saura-Samhita. (of Skanda Pr.) Surya says to Yajnavalkya referring
to Maya : "It is impossible, O Sage, for me to
The Devi-Bhagavata Pr. also says, "What can I say ? Devi has
countless names, which have been composed by Brahma and other
devatas according to her different qualities and doings"
The Vayu Pr. thus gives the common effect of all names : " One
should repeat Devi's names in the forest, in water, on dry land, in places
where fear arises from tigers, wild animals, or thieves, and in all
diseases. That the name Devi should be continually repeated
when walking, sleeping, standing and eating ; thus doing,
he liberates himself from bondage."
The Vamakesvara tantra says, "If one aspirant thinks in his mind
one
Harivamsa also says : "Brahma, Visnu, Rudra, Moon, Sun, Fire, Air,
Asvins, Vasus, Visvedevas, Mahendra, Parjanya, Dhatr, Earth, ten quarters,
cattle, stars, planets, rivers, lakes, ocean, many Vidyadharas,
Serpents, Nagas, Eagles, groups of Gandharvas, Apsaras, are very pleased where the name of
Devi is recited"
The first of all
Mantras, The Guru, the king, is the root cause of all mantras : for it is
said, "The root of salvation is knowledge ; the cause of this is
the Lord Siva ; He is attained through the five-syllable mantra
The Suta-Samhita (IV, 88, 29 and 80) says : " All names are
attributed
||
dhyānam ||
aruṇāṃ
karuṇātaraṅgitākśhīṃ dhṛtapāśāṅkuśapuśhpabāṇacāpām |
dhyāyet
padmāsanasthāṃ vikasitavadanāṃ padmapatrāyatākśhīṃ
sakuṅkumavilepanāmalikacumbikastūrikāṃ
||atha
śrī lalitā sahasranāmāvalī ||
· The mother is usually
called upon in times of sorrow. The greatest world-mother is the only one
who is capable of removing the endless misery (of existence). We should
praise her as the mother so that she may be induced to show mercy to us.
She the spouse of Paramasiva, the Queen ParaBhattArika. Hence in order to
attain moksa she should be praised.
· Or, ma to measure. She is the measure of the whole universe.
· Mother here also
indicates that She has given birth to the entire universe. It indicates one of
the three main functions of the Supreme Being viz. creation
Auxilliary references for Reflection
matrudevo bhava pitrudevo bhava acaryadevo bhava
atithidevo bhava
Athadhiprajam mata purvarupam
pita uttararupam - Taittririya Upanisad - Sikshavalli
oṃ
śrīmahārāGYai namaḥ |
The
great empress.
Three
secret syllables of Sree Vidyaare hidden in this name. They are to be learnt
through an appropriate teacher, in a proper way.
The three
letters of Sreevidya are hidden here ; one of them is called SodasikalA (the sixteenth
and last part). For it is said, " That Kala (sixteenth) should be imparted
to a faithful student, devoted to his Guru."
oṃ
śrīmatsiṃhāsaneśvaryai namaḥ |
She
controls and rules the world seated on a great grand throne
Again,
Simha, pain. The grammarians say : " The word Simha came out of the root hints,
pain, Siva from the root Van desire ; these two words are formed by reversing their
respective letters like the word Pasyaka (seer) to Kasyapa"; Asana expelling,
and Is'vari powerful i.e., she is the destroyer of the Universe. Thus the S'ruti
(Tai.-Up. Ill, 2) says, " That into which they enter at
oṃ
cidagnikuṇḍasambhūtāyai namaḥ |
Who was
born from the altar of the fire of consciousness
Cit ~ pure
Brahman, and He is the altar of fire ; for He dispels the darkness of ignorance
AvidyA.
In the
stanza, " In the fire of consciousness that burns within uninterruptedly, without
fuel, dispelling the darkness of illusion " we see that consciousness is compared
with fire.
The commentary
in the Sakti- Sutras on the Sutra beginning " cidvahni ..." (the fire
of consciousness...) says " consciousness is fire because by its nature it
consumes the universe."
Note: Names
and Forms arise from Conciousness and abide in consciousness.
Consciousness
and the thing possessed of that is one and the same.
“Pure
energy of consciousness of the Highest Liord is said to be consciousness itself."
Agnikunda
~ signifies the altar where everything is consumed by fire. Just like Brahma
Vidya or Jnana Upadesam, reduces all perception of duality to every present
non-dual consciousness.
Ref:
Gita
Jnaanaagnih sarvakarmaani bhasmasaat kurute
tathaa.
Tat swayam yogasamsiddhah kaalenaatmani
vindati.
oṃ
kāmākśhyai namaḥ |
(i)
One with beautiful eyes.
oṃ
karāṅgulinakhotpannanārāyaṇadaśākṛtyai namaḥ | 80
One
who is alongwith the 10 forms of SreeNarayarja who emerged from the 10 fingers
The following
is from the Lalitopakhyana where it is well described : " From the right thumb
nail of the great Queen there sprang the divine, all-pervading Narayana in the form
of a great fish. . . . The ten Avataras having performed their respective onerous
tasks stood with folded hands before Mother Lalita saluting her."
Ref:
Sri Krishna Kota’s book – volume 1
132:
oṃ oṃ nirādhārāyai namaḥ |
Without
dependence. (Niradhara.) As she is the true support of the universe, she herself
nirAdhara
also refers to a type of worship (explained in Suta Samhita) : -
"
The internal worship is also of two kinds, one with support (sa Adhara), and the
other without support (NirAdhara i.e. as Samvit) and the latter is higher; the Sadhara
worship is by means of mental images, etc.; the niradhara worship is by pure intellect”
“In reality,
pure intellect means nothing else, but the supreme S'akti. Hence for the
destruction of Samsara, one should worship the supreme S'akti, the very self, the
witness, free from the glamour of the manifold universe. By one's own direct experience
of Mahesvari as the Self, She should be worshipped with much reverence ; this is
the worship which leads to salvation”
Kasmin
Pratishtita Iti Sve Mahimna Iti Hovaca [Chandokya Upanishad VII-24-1). It is
replied for the question "Where is that Brahmam stationed?" as; it is
consciousness without any support other than Self (i.e. Atman).
यत्र नान्यत्पश्यति नान्यच्छृणोति नान्यद्विजानाति स भूमाथ यत्रान्यत्पश्यत्यन्यच्छृणोत्यन्यद्विजानाति तदल्पं यो वै भूमा तदमृतमथ यदल्पं तन्मर्त्य्ं स भगवः कस्मिन्प्रतिष्ठित इति स्वे महिम्नि यदि वा न महिम्नीति ॥ ७.२४.१ ॥
Note: Conciousness
which is Pure Existence Alone is – all notions of duality arise and abide in
this one infinite reality. So as Pure Consciousness She alone is the Support of
everything. When we are instructed with Tat-Tvam-Asi Mahaavaakya – all difference
between Support and Supported vanishes, since Brahman Alone Is.
oṃ
nirañjanāyai namaḥ |
Stainless.
Anjana,
black, i.e., attached to ignorance because ignorance has the quality of veiling
(nature) owing to its quality of darkness.
The Yogavasistha
says, " Existence and non-existence of (desired) objects produce joy and sorrow.
O Rama ; impure inclination is termed ' attachment ' (sanga)."
The S'ruti
(S've. Up., 6-19) says, " Blameless and stainless." That is, she is free
from contact with ignorance ; because of the non-existence of ignorance, which is
pure illusion. The illusion means, that which corresponds to negation in the three
times.
oṃ
nirlepāyai namaḥ |
oṃ
nirmalāyai namaḥ |
This is repeated in the Smrtis also. With parts ' is the ordinary (Apara) aspect (of Brahman). It is of two kinds, one being the ruler of the Universe, and the other the Universe itself ; it is said " for He is the ruler of the Universe and the Universe itself." Again, in another place, it is said " Siva is the doer, Siva is the enjoyer, Siva is all this Universe. Devi is the giver, and the enjoyer, and Devi is all this universe " He is the cause of the creation and destruction of the Universe and he is the Universe itself"
The Sruti also (Tai.-Up.II—6), "He desired may I he many". The word
Devi Pr., says : "O wise one, this is the established doctrine concerning Devi ; she is the Vedas, the sacrifices, the heaven and all this Universe ; the Universe, immovable as well as movable, is pervaded by Devi. She is all that is sacrificed to and worshipped by the Devas ; and She is all that is food and drink ; manifold in form and name, Devi is everywhere—in trees, in the earth, in the air, in the ether, in water, and in fire."
Brahman without parts Niskala, is one only. All this is well explained to Himavat by Devi in the Kurma Pr. " If you are unable to meditate upon my Eternal and Supreme form, fix your attention on my qualified form (Sakalarupa), and this, is infinitely changeable with time and circumstance, can be grasped by the mind.
Whatever form of mine your mind is capable of grasping, meditate upon that. O father, identify yourself with that, worship it. But my Niskala form, bare consciousness, pure and calm, freed from all attributes, one only, eternal and supreme ; that supreme abode can only be attained through knowledge (JnAna) and with great difficulty."
With reference to the unqualified Brahman (Nirguna), all epithets (Sabdas) are applied indirectly, as there exists the relation of similarity (Tadatmya) between the qualified and unqualified Brahman.
In the Saura-Samhita. (of Skanda Pr.) Surya says to Yajnavalkya referring to Maya : "It is impossible, O Sage, for me to
The Devi-Bhagavata Pr. also says, "What can I say ? Devi has countless names, which have been composed by Brahma and other devatas according to her different qualities and doings"
The Vayu Pr. thus gives the common effect of all names : " One should repeat Devi's names in the forest, in water, on dry land, in places where fear arises from tigers, wild animals, or thieves, and in all diseases. That the name Devi should be continually repeated when walking, sleeping, standing and eating ; thus doing, he liberates himself from bondage."
The Vamakesvara tantra says, "If one aspirant thinks in his mind one
Harivamsa also says : "Brahma, Visnu, Rudra, Moon, Sun, Fire, Air, Asvins, Vasus, Visvedevas, Mahendra, Parjanya, Dhatr, Earth, ten quarters, cattle, stars, planets, rivers, lakes, ocean, many Vidyadharas, Serpents, Nagas, Eagles, groups of Gandharvas, Apsaras, are very pleased where the name of Devi is recited"
The Suta-Samhita (IV, 88, 29 and 80) says : " All names are attributed
Jnaanaagnih sarvakarmaani bhasmasaat kurute tathaa.
Tat swayam yogasamsiddhah kaalenaatmani vindati.
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