Lalitā Sahasranāma and Soundarya Laharī
Lalitā Sahasranāma and Soundarya Laharī
Correlated Entries inspired by Sri Bhāskararāya’s Saubhāgya-Bhāskara
Commentary w/ additional correlations highlighted.
The following entries
map each name of the Lalitā Sahasranāma for which the Saubhāgya-Bhāskara
commentary explicitly references a verse of Śaṅkara-Bhagavatpāda’s Soundarya
Laharī to that verse. Each entry presents the name with a word-by-word gloss, a
prose meaning, the relevant Soundarya Laharī verse in IAST, a translation, and
a short correlation paragraph. IAST is used throughout.
15: Aṣṭamīcandravibhrājadaḻikasthalaśobhitā
aṣṭamī – of the eighth lunar day | candra – moon | vibhrāja – shining,
resplendent | daḻika-sthala – forehead region | śobhitā – adorned, made
beautiful
She whose forehead is adorned
with the radiant brilliance of the crescent moon of the eighth lunar day,
shining with delicate and auspicious beauty.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 46
lalāṭaṃ lāvaṇyadyutivimalamābhāti
tava ya-
ddvitīyaṃ tanmanyē makuṭaghaṭitaṃ
chandraśakalam ।
viparyāsanyāsādubhayamapi sambhūya cha
mithaḥ
sudhālēpasyūtiḥ pariṇamati rākāhimakaraḥ ॥
46 ॥
Translation
Your forehead (lalāṭam) shines forth (ābhāti) with a pure
(vimalam) and graceful lustre (lāvaṇya-dyuti). I fancy (tan manye) it to be a
second (dvitīyam) crescent moon (candra-śakalam) attached (ghaṭitam) to Your
crown (makuṭa). If these two are placed in reverse (viparyāsa-nyāsāt) and
brought together (sambhūya mithaḥ), they become the full moon (rākā-himakaraḥ),
from which flows nectar (sudhā-lepa-syūtiḥ).
22: Tāṭaṅkayugalībhūtatapanodupamaṇḍalā
tāṭaṅka – ear-ornament (palm-leaf shaped) | yugalī-bhūta – become a
pair | tapana – the sun | uḍupa – the moon | maṇḍalā – orbs
She whose pair of ear-ornaments
are none other than the orbs of the sun and the moon themselves, which take
that form to beautify Her face.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 28
sudhāmapyāsvādya
pratibhayajarāmṛtyuhariṇīṃ
vipadyantē viśvē vidhiśatamakhādyā diviṣadaḥ
।
karālaṃ yatkṣvēlaṃ kabalitavataḥ
kālakalanā
na śambhōstanmūlaṃ tava janani tāṭaṅkamahimā
॥ 28 ॥
Translation
Even after drinking the nectar (sudhām apyāsvādya) which
removes the fear of old age and death, all the gods beginning with Brahmā and
Indra (vidhi-śatamakha-ādyāḥ) perish (vipadyante). But the frightful venom
(karālaṃ kṣvelam) which Śiva swallowed did not bring death (kāla-kalanā na
śambhoḥ). The root cause of this, O Mother, is the greatness of Your
ear-ornaments (tāṭaṅka-mahimā).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma presents the sun
and moon as becoming Her earrings - an
image of cosmic luminaries pressed into service as ornaments. Śaṅkara takes
this further: it is the power invested in these very tāṭaṅkas, badges of Her
wedded auspiciousness (saumaṅgalya), that shields Śiva from the fate of the
poison He consumed. The ornament becomes the source of Śiva's immortality; the
decorative becomes ontological.
27:
Nijasallāpa-mādhurya-vinirbhartsita-kacchapī
nija – one's own | sallāpa – speech, conversation | mādhurya –
sweetness | vinirbhartsita – put to shame, outshone | kacchapī – the vīṇā of
Sarasvatī (so named because its resonator resembles a tortoise)
She by the sweetness of whose
own speech the music of Kacchapī - Sarasvatī's
celebrated vīṇā - is put to shame (as it were)
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 66
vipañchyā gāyantī
vividhamapadānaṃ paśupatēḥ
tvayārabdhē vaktuṃ chalitaśirasā
sādhuvachanē ।
tadīyairmādhuryairapalapitatantrīkalaravāṃ
nijāṃ vīṇāṃ vāṇī nichulayati chōlēna nibhṛtam
॥ 66 ॥
Translation
When Sarasvatī on her vīṇā sings the manifold deeds of
Paśupati (vipañcyā gāyantī… apadānaṃ paśupateḥ), and You, with a nodding head
(calita-śirasā), utter words of praise (sādhu-vacane) for her playing,
Sarasvatī - finding the sweetness of
Your very utterance (tadīyair mādhuryaiḥ) drowns out the delicate notes of her
vīṇā-strings (tantrī-kalaravām apalapita) - quietly covers her own vīṇā with its cloth
(nijāṃ vīṇāṃ vāṇī nichulayati cholena nibhṛtam).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma name asserts in a
compound what Śaṅkara dramatizes in a scene. Both agree that the sweetness of
Devī's speech surpasses the music of Sarasvatī's vīṇā; but Śaṅkara turns it
into a tender tableau in which Sarasvatī herself becomes the witness to that
superiority and, abashed, wraps her instrument away. The Sahasranāma gives us
the verdict; Soundarya Laharī gives us the moment of the verdict being
pronounced.
29: Anākalita-sādṛśya-cibuka-śrī-virājitā
an-ākalita – not grasped, not ascertained | sādṛśya – likeness,
parallel | cibuka – chin | śrī – splendour, beauty | virājitā – shining forth
She who shines forth with the
splendour of a chin for which no likeness can be found - a beauty that knows no comparison.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 67
karāgrēṇa spṛṣṭaṃ
tuhinagiriṇā vatsalatayā
girīśēnōdastaṃ muhuradharapānākulatayā ।
karagrāhyaṃ śambhōrmukhamukuravṛntaṃ
girisutē
kathaṅkāraṃ brūmastava
chibukamaupamyarahitam ॥ 67 ॥
Translation
Your chin (cibukam) -
touched by the fingertip of the Snow Mountain in fatherly affection (karāgreṇa
spṛṣṭaṃ tuhinagiriṇā vatsalatayā), raised up again and again by Śiva in the
eagerness of kissing Your lips (girīśena udastam adharapāna-ākulatayā), a
handle for the mirror-flower that is Śambhu's face (karagrāhyaṃ śambhor
mukha-mukura-vṛntam) - how, O Daughter
of the Mountain, can we even describe it, this chin of Yours without a likeness
(kathaṅkāraṃ brūmas tava cibukam aupamya-rahitam)?
Correlation
The Sahasranāma declares the truth flatly - no parallel can be found for Her chin. Śaṅkara does not argue with the declaration; he demonstrates it. He gathers the three most intimate witnesses - the father who touches it, the husband who raises it, the metaphor of the mirror-handle - and with all these before him he throws up his hands: 'how shall we speak of it?' The poetic failure is itself the proof of anākalita-sādṛśya.
34:
Nābhyālavāla-romāli-latā-phala-kucadvayī
nābhi – navel | ālavāla – trench, basin (around a tree) | romāli – line
of hair | latā – creeper | phala – fruit | kuca-dvayī – her chest
She whose two stana appear as
the fruits borne by the creeper of the line of hair rising from the basin of
the navel.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 78
sthirō gaṅgāvartaḥ
stanamukularōmāvalilatā-
kalāvālaṃ kuṇḍaṃ kusumaśaratējōhutabhujaḥ
।
ratērlīlāgāraṃ kimapi tava nābhirgirisutē
biladvāraṃ siddhērgiriśanayanānāṃ
vijayatē ॥ 78 ॥
Translation
Your navel (tava nābhiḥ), O Daughter of the Mountain, is
triumphant as a steady whirlpool of the Gaṅgā (sthiro gaṅgā-vartaḥ); the basin
for the creeping plant of the hair-line that has its buds in the breasts
(stana-mukula-romāvali-latā-kalā-vālaṃ); a sacrificial pit (kuṇḍam) into which
the fire of the flower-arrowed Kāma is offered (kusuma-śara-tejo-hutabhujaḥ); a
pleasure-house of Rati (rater līlāgāram); the mouth of the cavern where lies
the siddhi for the meditation of Śiva's eye (bila-dvāraṃ siddher giriśa-nayanānām).
Correlation
The imagery may be understood at a deeper tattva level.
It is the cidākāśa, the space of consciousness, from which the universe appears as though emerging. This aligns with the well-known vision of Brahmā arising on the lotus from the navel of Viṣṇu. The intent is not physical origination, but a pointer to the same underlying principle. Extending this:
- The romāli-latā becomes the subtle channel of manifestation
- The kuca-dvayī (stana), seen as phala, can be contemplated as nourishment
- Thus, the “fruits” represent the sustaining principle of the universe
36:
Stanabhāra-dalan-madhya-paṭṭabandha-valitrayā
stana-bhāra – weight of the breasts | dalat – breaking, splitting |
madhya – waist, middle | paṭṭa-bandha – bandage, binding strap | vali-trayā –
the three folds (of the abdomen)
She whose three folds on the
abdomen appear as a binding-strap wrapped about the waist to keep it from
breaking under the weight of the breasts.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 80
kuchau sadyaḥsvidyattaṭaghaṭitakūrpāsabhidurau
kaṣantau dōrmūlē kanakakalaśābhau
kalayatā ।
tava trātuṃ bhaṅgādalamiti valagnaṃ
tanubhuvā
tridhā naddhaṃ dēvi trivali
lavalīvallibhiriva ॥ 80 ॥
Translation
Your two breasts (kucau), freshly perspiring, bursting the
bodice fastened to their slopes (sadyaḥ-svidyat-taṭa-ghaṭita-kūrpāsa-bhidurau),
chafing the roots of the arms, resembling golden pitchers (kanaka-kalaśābhau) - seeing this, Kāma (tanubhuvā), fearing Your
waist (valagnaṃ) might break from them, has bound it thrice (tridhā naddham), O
Devī, with creepers of the lavalī vine, as the three folds (trivali
lavalī-vallibhir iva).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma
personifies the trivalī as a paṭṭabandha around the waist. Both texts see the trivali as structural reinforcement - i.e. three gunas which is essentially maya through which the universe appears to exist.
40: Māṇikya-makuṭākāra-jānudvaya-virājitā
māṇikya – ruby | makuṭa – crown, cap | ākāra – shape, form | jānu-dvaya
– the pair of knees | virājitā – shining forth
She who shines with a pair of
knees shaped like ruby caps - hard, red,
and gleaming.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 82
karīndrāṇāṃ śuṇḍān
kanakakadalīkāṇḍapaṭalī-
mubhābhyāmūrubhyāmubhayamapi nirjitya
bhavatī ।
suvṛttābhyāṃ patyuḥ praṇatikaṭhinābhyāṃ
girisutē
vidhijñyē jānubhyāṃ
vibudhakarikumbhadvayamasi ॥ 82 ॥
Translation
Having vanquished with Your two thighs (ubhābhyām ūrubhyām)
both the trunks of the best of elephants (karīndrāṇāṃ śuṇḍān) and the
succession of golden plantain-stems (kanaka-kadalī-kāṇḍa-paṭalīm), You now
possess, O Knower of Ordinance (vidhijñye), with Your two well-rounded knees
(suvṛttābhyāṃ jānubhyām) - hardened by
Your obeisances to Your Lord (patyuḥ praṇati-kaṭhinābhyām) - the two frontal bosses of the elephant of
the gods (vibudha-kari-kumbha-dvayam).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma fixes the knees as
rubies - red and hard. Śaṅkara's verse
supplies the origin-story of that hardness: Her knees became firm from
constantly bending in obeisance to Her Lord. The name gives us the visible
result (makuṭākāra - cap-shaped and
hard); the śloka gives us the cause (praṇati-kaṭhina - hardened by reverence). The jewel-quality of
Her knees is thus, in Śaṅkara's reading, a record of Her devotion, not merely
an accident of anatomy.
41: Indragopa-parikṣipta-smaratūṇābha-jaṅghikā
indragopa – fireflies (lit. 'protected-by-Indra' red insects) | parikṣipta
– surrounded, strewn about | smara – Kāma (the god of love) | tūṇa – quiver |
ābha – resembling | jaṅghikā – (Her) shanks
She whose shanks resemble the
quiver of Kāma surrounded by fireflies -
tapering, reddish, and ablaze with gentle sparkles.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 83
parājētuṃ rudraṃ dviguṇaśaragarbhau
girisutē
niṣaṅgau jaṅghē tē viṣamaviśikhō bāḍhamakṛta
।
yadagrē dṛśyantē daśaśaraphalāḥ
pādayugalī-
nakhāgrachChadmānaḥ suramakuṭaśāṇaikaniśitāḥ
॥ 83 ॥
Translation
To defeat Rudra (parājetuṃ rudram), Kāma of unequal arrows
(viṣama-viśikhaḥ) has firmly made, O Daughter of the Mountain, Your two shanks
(jaṅghe te) into a pair of quivers each stocked with double the usual arrows
(dvi-guṇa-śara-garbhau niṣaṅgau). At their tips are seen the ten arrowheads
(daśa-śara-phalāḥ) in the guise of the nails of Your two feet
(pāda-yugalī-nakhāgra-cchadmānaḥ), made sharp by the single whetstone of the
crowns of the gods (sura-makuṭa-śāṇaika-niśitāḥ).
Correlation
In the Sahasranāma, the shanks are
Kāma's quiver. Śaṅkara presses the conceit further: if the shanks are the
quivers, then the toe-nails must be the arrow-heads emerging at the quiver's
mouth. And - since Kāma was once burnt
by Śiva - this is Kāma's revenge, now
rearmed by Devī Herself and whetted on the crowns of the gods who prostrate at
Her feet. The name plants the image; the verse arms it with ten arrows,
sharpened by devotion.
43: Kūrma-pṛṣṭha-jayiṣṇu-prapadānvitā
kūrma-pṛṣṭha – the back (shell) of a tortoise | jayiṣṇu – victorious
over, surpassing | prapada – the forepart of the foot (upper surface) | anvitā
– endowed with
She whose forefoot, in its firm
rounded beauty, surpasses even the back of a tortoise.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 88
padaṃ tē kīrtīnāṃ
prapadamapadaṃ dēvi vipadāṃ
kathaṃ nītaṃ sadbhiḥ kaṭhinakamaṭhīkarparatulām
।
kathaṃ vā bāhubhyāmupayamanakālē
purabhidā
yadādāya nyastaṃ dṛṣadi dayamānēna manasā
॥ 88 ॥
Translation
Your forefoot, O Devī - the abode of (all) fame (padaṃ te kīrtīnāṃ
prapadam), itself a no-abode of calamity (apadaṃ vipadām) - how was it brought by the good (kathaṃ nītaṃ
sadbhiḥ) to be compared with the hard shell of a tortoise (kaṭhina-kamaṭhī-karpara-tulām)?
And how, at the moment of Your wedding (upayamana-kāle), was it taken up with
both hands by the Destroyer of the Cities (purabhidā bāhubhyām) and placed upon
a grinding stone (dṛṣadi nyastam) - with
a heart of compassion (dayamānena manasā)?
Correlation
The Sahasranāma offers the
comparison confidently: Her forefoot is tortoise-shell-shaped and surpasses it.
Śaṅkara, characteristically, questions the very comparison - how can sages put such a gentle,
praise-abode of a foot next to a tortoise's rough shell? The Sahasranāma's jayiṣṇu
('surpassing') already anticipates the critique: the likeness fails because She
exceeds it. The verse's appeal to the wedding-scene of Her foot being placed on
the stone (aśma-ārohaṇa) only sharpens the point: even Śiva handled that foot
with dayamāna manasa - a caring heart - as if it could not bear the stone's
hardness.
47: Marālī-manda-gamanā
marālī – a female swan | manda – slow, gentle | gamanā – gait, way of
walking
She whose gait is slow and
graceful like the walk of a female swan.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 91
padanyāsakrīḍāparichayamivārabdhumanasaḥ
skhalantastē khēlaṃ bhavanakalahaṃsā na
jahati ।
atastēṣāṃ śikṣāṃ subhagamaṇimañjīraraṇita-
chChalādāchakṣāṇaṃ charaṇakamalaṃ
chārucharitē ॥ 91 ॥
Translation
The swans of Your palace (bhavana-kalahaṃsāḥ), as if to
begin their apprenticeship in the art of placing the foot (padanyāsa-krīḍā-paricayam
iva ārabdhu-manasaḥ), stumble along (skhalantaḥ) and do not abandon their play
of following Your steps (te khelaṃ na jahanti). Therefore (ataḥ), O One of
Beautiful Conduct (cāru-carite), Your lotus-foot (caraṇa-kamalaṃ) is seen to be
giving them their lesson (teṣāṃ śikṣāṃ) under the pretext of the jingling of
Your auspicious gem-anklets (subhaga-maṇi-mañjīra-raṇita-chalāt).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma fixes Her gait as
swan-like - marālī-manda-gamanā. Śaṅkara
inverts the comparison delightfully: it is not that She walks like the swans;
the swans are trying to learn to walk like Her, and failing. The tinkling of
Her anklets, he says, is in fact Her instruction-manual to them. The name
supplies the simile; the verse dissolves it - the simile was only a device, for in truth
the swans are the pupils, not the model.
48: Mahālāvaṇya-śevadhiḥ
mahā – great | lāvaṇya – beauty, loveliness | śevadhiḥ –
treasure-house, repository
She who is the great
treasure-house of all loveliness - the
container in which every beauty is gathered.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 12
tvadīyaṃ saundaryaṃ
tuhinagirikanyē tulayituṃ
kavīndrāḥ kalpantē kathamapi
viriñchiprabhṛtayaḥ ।
yadālōkautsukyādamaralalanā yānti manasā
tapōbhirduṣprāpāmapi giriśasāyujyapadavīm
॥ 12 ॥
Translation
To weigh Your beauty (tvadīyaṃ saundaryaṃ tulayitum), O
Daughter of the Snow Mountain, even the chief of poets beginning with Brahmā
(kavīndrāḥ virañci-prabhṛtayaḥ) can hardly find a way (kathamapi kalpante). Out
of their eagerness to behold it (yad-āloka-autsukyāt), the celestial women
(amara-lalanāḥ) in their minds (manasā) attain through meditation that state of
union with Giriśa (giriśa-sāyujya-padavīm) which is hard to reach even by
austerities.
Correlation
The Sahasranāma's mahā-lāvaṇya-śevadhiḥ
gives the conclusion as a ledger-entry: all beauty is deposited in Her, and the
account is closed. Śaṅkara explains why the account cannot be opened by anyone
else: even Brahmā and the greatest poets cannot weigh what is in that treasury,
and the celestial women - in wanting
simply to see it - inadvertently achieve
the rarest liberation. The name establishes Her as the repository; the verse
proves the repository's contents are incomparable by showing what mere longing
for them accomplishes.
54: Svādhīnavallabhā
svādhīna – under one's own control | vallabhā – beloved, husband | (in
compound: 'she whose beloved is under her own control')
She whose beloved (Śiva) is
under Her own sway - the consort of the
Lord who moves and acts only by Her will.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 1
śivaḥ śaktyā yuktō
yadi bhavati śaktaḥ prabhavituṃ
na chēdēvaṃ dēvō na khalu kuśalaḥ
spanditumapi ।
atastvāmārādhyāṃ
hariharaviriñchādibhirapi
praṇantuṃ stōtuṃ vā kathamakṛtapuṇyaḥ
prabhavati ॥ 1 ॥
Translation
If Śiva is joined with Śakti (śivaḥ śaktyā yuktaḥ), he is
able to create (śaktaḥ prabhavituṃ); if not (na cet evam), the god is not able
even to stir (devo na khalu kuśalaḥ spanditum api). Therefore, O One worshipped
even by Hari and Hara and Brahmā (hari-hara-viriñci-ādibhir api), how can one
who has done no meritorious deeds (kathaṃ a-kṛta-puṇyaḥ) be fit to bow to You
or praise You (praṇantuṃ stotuṃ vā prabhavati)?
Correlation
The Sahasranāma's
svādhīna-vallabhā makes a theological claim - She holds Her Lord under Her sway. Śaṅkara's
opening verse of the Soundarya Laharī gives that claim its full metaphysical
statement: without Śakti, Śiva cannot even spanditum, twitch. The name gives us
the domestic image (Her consort is at Her disposal); the verse reveals the
cosmological principle underneath (all divine action, including Śiva's, is
downstream of Her). They are two idioms for the same non-dual insight.
61: Sudhāsāgara-madhyasthā
sudhā – nectar, ambrosia | sāgara – ocean | madhya-sthā – situated in
the midst of
She who abides in the very
middle of the ocean of nectar.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 8
sudhāsindhōrmadhyē
suraviṭapivāṭīparivṛtē
maṇidvīpē nīpōpavanavati chintāmaṇigṛhē ।
śivākārē mañchē paramaśivaparyaṅkanilayāṃ
bhajanti tvāṃ dhanyāḥ katichana
chidānandalaharīm ॥ 8 ॥
Translation
In the middle of the ocean of nectar (sudhā-sindhor madhye),
surrounded by gardens of wish-yielding trees (sura-viṭapi-vāṭī-parivṛte), on
the Gem Island (maṇi-dvīpe), in the mansion made of cintāmaṇi gems (cintāmaṇi-gṛhe),
amid a grove of nīpa (kadamba) trees (nīpa-upavanavati), upon a couch whose
shape is Śiva Himself (śivākāre mañce) with Paramaśiva as the bed-spread
(paramaśiva-paryaṅka-nilayām) - only a
blessed few (dhanyāḥ katichana) worship You as the very Wave of Bliss of
Consciousness (cid-ānanda-laharīm).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma places Her sudhā-sāgara-madhyasthā - situated in the middle of the ocean of nectar. Śaṅkara's verse expands this single locative into the entire pilgrim's map: the ocean of nectar, the gem-island at its centre, the cintāmaṇi mansion on that island, the kadamba grove around the mansion, and at the heart of it all the Śiva-couch upon which She is seated. The name is the destination; the śloka is the route. Both converge on the same point: the innermost centre, where the few who are blessed find Her.
110: Kuṇḍalinī
kuṇḍalinī – the coiled one; the serpent-power coiled three and a half
times at the base of the spine
The Coiled One - the serpent-power that sleeps in the mūla-kuṇḍa
coiled around the liṅga three and a half times.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 10
sudhādhārāsāraiścharaṇayugalāntarvigalitaiḥ
prapañchaṃ siñchantī punarapi
rasāmnāyamahasaḥ ।
avāpya svāṃ bhūmiṃ bhujaganibhamadhyuṣṭavalayaṃ
svamātmānaṃ kṛtvā svapiṣi kulakuṇḍē
kuhariṇi ॥ 10 ॥
Translation
(Same as entries 15 & 16 - SL 10) … coiled like a serpent three and a
half times (bhujaga-nibha-madhyuṣṭa-valayaṃ), making Yourself into Yourself,
You sleep, O One who dwells in the hollow of the Kulakuṇḍa.
Correlation
The name simply calls Her 'the
coiled one.' Soundarya Laharī 10 supplies the picture of precisely what that
coiling looks like: bhujaga-nibha-madhyuṣṭa-valayam - three and a half coils, serpent-like, round
the liṅga at the kulakuṇḍa. The verse's svam-ātmānaṃ kṛtvā - 'making Herself into Herself' - is the yogic formula for Her self-withdrawal
after the descent: the same Śakti who rose to unite with Śiva in Sahasrāra now
returns, coils, and sleeps. The name is a noun; the verse is the myth the noun
contains.
112: Bhavānī
bhavānī – the Consort of Bhava (Śiva); also read as a vocative - 'O Bhavānī!' - addressing Her directly
The Consort of Bhava; She who
gives life to all beings - and the very
syllables by which the devotee merely tries to address Her already grant him
liberation.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 22
bhavāni tvaṃ dāsē mayi
vitara dṛṣṭiṃ sakaruṇā-
miti stōtuṃ vāñChan kathayati bhavāni
tvamiti yaḥ ।
tadaiva tvaṃ tasmai diśasi
nijasāyujyapadavīṃ
mukundabrahmēndrasphuṭamakuṭanīrājitapadām
॥ 22 ॥
Translation
One who, wishing to offer the stotra 'O Bhavānī, bestow upon
me Your merciful glance, slave that I am' (bhavāni tvaṃ dāse mayi vitara dṛṣṭiṃ
sakaruṇām), merely gets out the two words 'Bhavāni tvam' - which can also be read 'I may become You' - in that very moment (tad-aiva), You bestow
upon him Your own state of sālokya-sāyujya (nija-sāyujya-padavīṃ), whose feet
are worshipped with the luminous crowns of Mukunda, Brahmā, and Indra
(mukunda-brahmendra-sphuṭa-makuṭa-nīrājita-pādām).
Correlation
The verse turns upon a grammatical pun: bhavāni can be a vocative ('O Bhavānī!') or a first-person optative of bhū, 'may I become.' The devotee intends the address; Devī grants the meaning. This double-reading is exactly why bhavānī stands as one of the thousand names: it alone, among Her names, is both invocation and prayer-for-union in the same two syllables. The Sahasranāma records the name; Soundarya Laharī 22 discloses the grammar-miracle hidden in it.
226: Mahātantrā
mahā – great | tantrā – the tantra; She who is the Svatantra Tantra,
the 65th tantra surpassing all 64
The Great Tantra - She who is identical with the single
svatantra-tantra revealed by Śiva beyond the sixty-four, by which alone the
puruṣārthas are truly fulfilled.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 31
chatuṣṣaṣṭyā tantraiḥ
sakalamatisandhāya bhuvanaṃ
sthitastattatsiddhiprasavaparatantraiḥ
paśupatiḥ ।
punastvannirbandhādakhilapuruṣārthaikaghaṭanā-
svatantraṃ tē tantraṃ kṣititalamavātītaradidam
॥ 31 ॥
Translation
By the sixty-four tantras (catuḥṣaṣṭyā tantraiḥ), having
completely deceived the world (sakalam atisandhāya bhuvanaṃ sthitaḥ), Paśupati
remained - each of those tantras being
under the sway of the particular siddhi it yields
(tat-tat-siddhi-prasava-para-tantraiḥ). But then, at Your insistence (punas
tvat-nirbandhāt), He brought down to this earth (kṣiti-talam avātītarat) Your
one tantra - which alone joins together
all the aims of life (akhila-puruṣārtha-eka-ghaṭanā-svatantraṃ te tantraṃ).
Correlation
The name mahā-tantrā is epexegetic
of the verse. Śaṅkara says: Śiva promulgated sixty-four tantras that cheat the
world by giving only partial siddhis, but at Devī's insistence He issued a
sixty-fifth - Her own Svatantra Tantra - which grants all the puruṣārthas in one. The
Sahasranāma simply gives that tantra the name it deserves: the Great Tantra. It
is Her tantra, not as possession, but as identity - She is the Svatantra Tantra itself, and
therefore its revelation is Her self-disclosure.
232:
Maheśvara-mahā-kalpa-mahā-tāṇḍava-sākṣiṇī
maheśvara – the Great Lord (Śiva) | mahā-kalpa – the great world-period
(at the dissolution of which) | mahā-tāṇḍava – the great Tāṇḍava dance | sākṣiṇī
– witness
She who, at the great
dissolution, is the silent witness (and the answering Lāsya-dancer) of
Maheśvara's cosmic Tāṇḍava.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 41
tavādhārē mūlē saha
samayayā lāsyaparayā
navātmānaṃ manyē navarasamahātāṇḍavanaṭam
।
ubhābhyāmētābhyāmudayavidhimuddiśya
dayayā
sanāthābhyāṃ jajñē
janakajananīmajjagadidam ॥ 41 ॥
Translation
At Your Mūlādhāra (tavādhāre mūle) - together with Samayā who is engrossed in the
Lāsya dance (saha samayayā lāsya-parayā) - I consider Navātman to be the Dancer of the
Great Tāṇḍava of the nine rasas (navātmānaṃ manye navarasa-mahā-tāṇḍava-naṭam).
By You Two (ubhābhyām etābhyām), as Father and Mother (sa-nāthābhyām), with
intention of creation (udaya-vidhim uddiśya) out of compassion (dayayā), this
world was born (jajñe jagat idam).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma names Her as sākṣiṇī
- witness - of Śiva's Tāṇḍava. Soundarya Laharī 41,
however, shows that 'witness' is not passive: She witnesses by dancing the
answering Lāsya (saha samayayā lāsya-parayā). It is the interplay of His Tāṇḍava
and Her Lāsya that together produces the creation of the world. The name fixes
Her role as observer; the verse discloses that observing here is itself a dance
- and that the jagat is born precisely
from the tension between these two movements.
236: Catuḥṣaṣṭikalāmayī
catuḥṣaṣṭi – sixty-four | kalā – arts, tantras | mayī – consisting of,
identical with
She who is constituted of the
sixty-four arts (kalās), which are also the sixty-four tantras.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 31
chatuṣṣaṣṭyā tantraiḥ
sakalamatisandhāya bhuvanaṃ
sthitastattatsiddhiprasavaparatantraiḥ
paśupatiḥ ।
punastvannirbandhādakhilapuruṣārthaikaghaṭanā-
svatantraṃ tē tantraṃ kṣititalamavātītaradidam
॥ 31 ॥
Translation
(Same as #22 - SL 31)
By the sixty-four tantras (catuḥṣaṣṭyā tantraiḥ), having deceived the world,
Paśupati remained… and at Your insistence he issued Your Svatantra Tantra,
which alone joins together all the aims of life.
Correlation
Where #22 (Mahātantrā) reads SL 31
as pointing to the one Svatantra Tantra above the 64, #236 (Catuḥṣaṣṭikalāmayī)
reads the same verse in its other direction: those very sixty-four tantras - or sixty-four arts (kalās), as the
commentator glosses - are themselves Her
form. So the name states Her immanence in the 64, while #22 states Her
transcendence as the 65th. Both are aspects of the same verse: She pervades the
64 as Catuḥṣaṣṭikalāmayī and exceeds them as Mahātantrā.
281: Unmeṣa-nimiṣotpanna-vipanna-bhuvanāvalī
un-meṣa – opening (of the eyes) | ni-miṣa – closing | utpanna –
arising, being born | vipanna – perishing | bhuvana-āvalī – the succession of
worlds
She by whose opening and closing
of the eyes the succession of worlds is born and destroyed.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 55
nimēṣōnmēṣābhyāṃ
pralayamudayaṃ yāti jagatī
tavētyāhuḥ santō dharaṇidhararājanyatanayē
।
tvadunmēṣājjātaṃ jagadidamaśēṣaṃ
pralayataḥ
paritrātuṃ śaṅkē parihṛtanimēṣāstava dṛśaḥ
॥ 55 ॥
Translation
By the closing and opening of Your eyes (nimeṣa-unmeṣābhyāṃ),
the world undergoes dissolution and arising (pralayam udayaṃ yāti jagatī) - so the wise declare about You, O Daughter of
the Mountain-King. From the opening of Your eyes this entire world has arisen
(tvad-unmeṣāj jātaṃ jagad idam aśeṣaṃ); I suspect, therefore (śaṅke), that Your
eyes have given up blinking (parihṛta-nimeṣās tava dṛśaḥ) so as to save the
world from the dissolution (pralayataḥ paritrātum) that would follow their
closing.
Correlation
The Sahasranāma name states the
metaphysical fact directly: Her blink is creation-dissolution. Śaṅkara then
teases out a tender logical implication: if the closing of Her eyes causes
pralaya, and the world is nevertheless sustained, then She must have given up
blinking altogether - unblinking
precisely out of compassion for Her creation. The name gives the cosmological
principle; the verse discloses that the principle, in Her hands, becomes an act
of love.
289: Śruti-sīmanta-sindūrī-kṛta-pādābja-dhūlikā
śruti – the Vedas (personified as a woman) | sīmanta – the hair-parting
| sindūrī-kṛta – made vermilion, reddened | pādābja – lotus-feet | dhūlikā –
dust
She the dust of whose lotus-feet
reddens the hair-parting of Śruti (the Vedas) as the sindūra of a married
woman.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 2
tanīyāṃsaṃ pāṃsuṃ tava
charaṇapaṅkēruhabhavaṃ
viriñchissañchinvan virachayati
lōkānavikalam ।
vahatyēnaṃ śauriḥ kathamapi sahasrēṇa
śirasāṃ
harassaṅkṣudyainaṃ bhajati
bhasitōddhūlanavidhim ॥ 2 ॥
Translation
The tiny grains of dust (tanīyāṃsaṃ pāṃsum) from Your lotus
feet (tava caraṇa-paṅkeruha-bhavaṃ), which Brahmā gathers (viriñciḥ sañcinvan)
and with them fashions the worlds without defect (virachayati lokān avikalam);
which Śauri (Viṣṇu), with his thousand heads (sahasreṇa śirasām), somehow
manages to bear (vahaty enaṃ kathamapi); which Hara, after pounding it (saṅkṣudya),
uses as the ash for his body-smearing (bhajati bhasma-uddhūlana-vidhim).
Correlation
The Sahasranāma attributes to the dust of Her feet the ornamenting function - it is the vermilion on the parting of Śruti, Śiva's bride-in-wisdom. Śaṅkara in verse 2 details other fates of that same dust: Brahmā builds worlds from it; Viṣṇu's thousand heads bear it with difficulty; Śiva grinds it and smears it as bhasma. Between them, the two texts distribute the dust across four functions - ornament of Śruti, building-material of the cosmos, burden of the sustainer, ash of the destroyer. One speck of pādābja-dhūli does everything; the Sahasranāma names one of its roles, and Soundarya Laharī 2 lists the rest.
375: Kāmapūjitā
kāma – Kāma, the god of love | pūjitā – worshipped
She who was worshipped by Kāma
(the god of love, to regain his bodily form and the power to conquer).
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 5, 6
haristvāmārādhya praṇatajanasaubhāgyajananīṃ
purā nārī bhūtvā puraripumapi kṣōbhamanayat
।
smarō'pi tvāṃ natvā ratinayanalēhyēna
vapuṣā
munīnāmapyantaḥ prabhavati hi mōhāya
mahatām ॥ 5 ॥
dhanuḥ pauṣpaṃ maurvī
madhukaramayī pañcha viśikhāḥ
vasantaḥ sāmantō malayamarudāyōdhanarathaḥ
।
tathāpyēkaḥ sarvaṃ himagirisutē kāmapi kṛpām
apāṅgāttē labdhvā jagadida-manaṅgō
vijayatē ॥ 6 ॥
Translation
(SL 5) Even Smara (Kāma), bowing to You, with a body licked
up by Rati's eyes, becomes able to infatuate even the greatest of the great
sages. || (SL 6) A bow of flowers, a string of bees, five arrows, Vasanta as
his general, the Malaya breeze as his war-chariot - and yet (tathāpi), O Daughter of the Snow
Mountain, having obtained (labdhvā) some ineffable grace (kām api kṛpām) from
the sidelong glance of Your eye (apāṅgāt te), the bodiless one alone (ekaḥ anaṅgaḥ)
conquers the whole world (jagad idaṃ vijayate).
Correlation
Kāmapūjitā names a simple
historical fact: Kāma worshipped Devī. SL 5 and 6 between them tell us the two
things Kāma obtained by that worship - (i)
the power to infatuate even sages (vapuṣā… mohāya mahatām) and (ii) the
ability, though equipped only with fragile flower-weapons, to conquer the world
(jagad-idam anaṅgo vijayate). The name establishes the ritual act; the two
verses describe the two fruits of that act. Without Her apāṅga-glance, Kāma's
arms are a joke; with it, they become world-conquering.
392: Śrīkaṇṭhārdha-śarīriṇī
śrīkaṇṭha – the Blue-Throated (Śiva, named for the venom held in His
throat) | ardha – half | śarīriṇī – having the body of
She who has for Her body the
half of Śrīkaṇṭha - the Ardhanārīśvara
form.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 23
tvayā hṛtvā vāmaṃ
vapurapari-tṛptēna manasā
śarīrārdhaṃ śambhōraparamapi śaṅkē hṛtamabhūt
।
yadētattvadrūpaṃ sakalamaruṇābhaṃ
trinayanaṃ
kuchābhyāmānamraṃ kuṭilaśaśichūḍālamakuṭam
॥ 23 ॥
Translation
Having stolen (hṛtvā) the left half of Your body (vāmaṃ vapuḥ),
with a mind still unsatisfied (a-paritṛptena manasā), I suspect (śaṅke) that
the other half of Śambhu also has been stolen by You (śarīrārdhaṃ śambhor
aparam api hṛtam abhūt) - for (yad-etat)
this form of Yours is entirely of a red lustre (sakalam aruṇa-ābhaṃ),
three-eyed (tri-nayanaṃ), bent with the two breasts (kucābhyām ānamraṃ), and
crested with the bent crescent moon (kuṭila-śaśi-cūḍāla-makuṭam).
Correlation
The name asserts the Ardhanārīśvara reading: Her body is half of Śrīkaṇṭha. Śaṅkara then takes that premise and carries it one step further - you say She has taken His left half; but look at Her entire form, red as Aruṇa, three-eyed, crescent-crowned. She has therefore stolen His right half also. The name captures the doctrine (half-bodiedness); the verse pushes the doctrine to its limit (so complete is Her appropriation that She is wholly Him, while remaining Herself).
410: Śivaparā
śiva – Śiva | parā – beyond, above, highest
She who is beyond Śiva - above Him, the owner and guide of Śiva
Himself.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 1
śivaḥ śaktyā yuktō
yadi bhavati śaktaḥ prabhavituṃ
na chēdēvaṃ dēvō na khalu kuśalaḥ
spanditumapi ।
atastvāmārādhyāṃ
hariharaviriñchādibhirapi
praṇantuṃ stōtuṃ vā kathamakṛtapuṇyaḥ
prabhavati ॥ 1 ॥
Translation
(Same as #13 - SL 1)
If Śiva is joined with Śakti, he is able to create; if not, the god is not able
even to stir. Therefore, O One worshipped even by Hari, Hara, and Brahmā, how
can one who has done no meritorious deeds be fit to bow to You or praise You?
Correlation
Svādhīnavallabhā (#13) reads SL 1
as: 'Her Lord is under Her sway.' Śivaparā (#41) reads the same verse one step
further: She is not merely His controller - She is above Him (parā). The verse's logic
supports both: if Śiva without Śakti cannot spanditum, then Śakti is the prior
condition, the parā principle.
461: Subhrūḥ
su – beautiful | bhrū – brow, eyebrows
She of beautiful eyebrows.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 47
bhruvau bhugnē
kiñchidbhuvanabhayabhaṅgavyasanini
tvadīyē nētrābhyāṃ madhukararuchibhyāṃ dhṛtaguṇam
।
dhanurmanyē savyētarakaragṛhītaṃ ratipatēḥ
prakōṣṭhē muṣṭau cha sthagayati nigūḍhāntaramumē
॥ 47 ॥
Translation
Your two brows (bhruvau) slightly arched (bhugne kiñcit), O
destroyer of the fear of the worlds (bhuvana-bhaya-bhaṅga-vyasanini) - I consider them the bow of the husband of
Rati (dhanur manye… ratipateḥ), strung with a string (dhṛta-guṇam) by Your two
eyes that resemble bees (tvadīye netrābhyāṃ madhukara-rucibhyāṃ), held in his
left hand (savyetara-kara-gṛhītam), its middle (nigūḍhāntaram umē) concealed by
the wrist and fist (prakoṣṭhe muṣṭau ca sthagayati).
Correlation
The name Subhrūḥ makes the simple assertion - beautiful brows. SL 47 supplies the extended simile: these brows, slightly bent, are nothing less than Kāma's bow, strung by Her bee-eyes, held at the left fist (whose grip conceals the middle section of the brow - the region between them). So every element is identified: the bow is the brows, the string is the eye-glance, the archer's fist is where the brows join. The Sahasranāma names the beauty; Śaṅkara reveals the weapon it secretly is.
584: Mahāvidyā
mahā – great | vidyā – knowledge, mantra; here, the great mantric
knowledge of the Pañcadaśī / Ṣoḍaśī
The Great Vidyā - the supreme mantric knowledge by which Kāma
conquered his own consort and by which aspirants realize Devī.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 5, 6, 32
haristvāmārādhya praṇatajanasaubhāgyajananīṃ
purā nārī bhūtvā puraripumapi kṣōbhamanayat
।
smarō'pi tvāṃ natvā ratinayanalēhyēna
vapuṣā
munīnāmapyantaḥ prabhavati hi mōhāya
mahatām ॥ 5 ॥
dhanuḥ pauṣpaṃ maurvī
madhukaramayī pañcha viśikhāḥ
vasantaḥ sāmantō malayamarudāyōdhanarathaḥ
।
tathāpyēkaḥ sarvaṃ himagirisutē kāmapi kṛpām
apāṅgāttē labdhvā jagadida-manaṅgō
vijayatē ॥ 6 ॥
śivaḥ śaktiḥ kāmaḥ kṣitiratha
raviḥ śītakiraṇaḥ
smarō haṃsaḥ śakrastadanu cha
parāmāraharayaḥ ।
amī hṛllēkhābhistisṛbhiravasānēṣu ghaṭitā
bhajantē varṇāstē tava janani
nāmāvayavatām ॥ 32 ॥
Correlation
Mahāvidyā is pointed to three verses. SL 5-6 show what the Vidyā accomplishes (Kāma's power via Her grace); SL 32 shows what the Vidyā is (the Pañcadaśī/Ṣoḍaśī structure by which Her name is constituted). The name Mahāvidyā therefore binds together function (5-6) and form (32) of the Śrī-Vidyā. Tripura Rahasya, the commentary notes, specifies that Mahālakṣmī advised Kāma 108 names at the rate of twelve per syllable (9 × 12 = 108) - grounding the name concretely in the nine-syllable reduced form of the Pañcadaśī.
613: Kāvyālāpa-vinodinī
kāvya – poetry | ālāpa – conversation, utterance | vinodinī – delighter
in, taking pleasure in
She who delights in poetic
conversation - who makes poets of those
who worship Her, and who has Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī fanning Her with cāmaras.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 17, 47, 99
savitrībhirvāchāṃ
śaśimaṇiśilābhaṅgaruchibhiḥ
vaśinyādyābhistvāṃ saha janani
sañchintayati yaḥ ।
sa kartā kāvyānāṃ bhavati mahatāṃ bhaṅgiruchibhiḥ
vachōbhirvāgdēvīvadanakamalāmōdamadhuraiḥ
॥ 17 ॥
bhruvau bhugnē
kiñchidbhuvanabhayabhaṅgavyasanini
tvadīyē nētrābhyāṃ madhukararuchibhyāṃ dhṛtaguṇam
।
dhanurmanyē savyētarakaragṛhītaṃ ratipatēḥ
prakōṣṭhē muṣṭau cha sthagayati nigūḍhāntaramumē
॥ 47 ॥
sarasvatyā lakṣmyā
vidhiharisapatnō viharatē
ratēḥ pātivratyaṃ śithilayati ramyēṇa
vapuṣā ।
chiraṃ jīvannēva kṣapitapaśupāśavyatikaraḥ
parānandābhikhyaṃ rasayati rasaṃ
tvadbhajanavān ॥ 99 ॥
Correlation
This name draws three verses
because Kāvyālāpa-vinodinī is a threefold reality. (i) SL 17 specifies how one
becomes a poet - by contemplating Her
with the Vāg-devīs. (ii) SL 99 specifies what the poet gets - rivalry with Brahmā/Hari for Sarasvatī/Lakṣmī,
and ultimately the parānanda-rasa. (iii) SL 47's savyetara-kara is cited to
establish that Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī stand on Her right and left (with savya
meaning 'left' - the opposite of dakṣiṇa).
The name calls Her the delighter-in-poetic-speech; the three verses describe
the entry-route, the reward, and the tableau of attendants.
640: Vāgadhīśvarī
vāk – speech | adhi – supreme over | īśvarī – sovereign, mistress
The Supreme Sovereign of Speech - She from whom all letters, words, and
utterances issue; whose commissioning brought forth this Sahasranāma through
the Vāg-devīs.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 100
pradīpajvālābhirdivasakaranīrājanavidhiḥ
sudhāsūtēśchandrōpalajalalavairarghyarachanā
।
svakīyairambhōbhiḥ
salilanidhisauhityakaraṇaṃ
tvadīyābhirvāgbhistava janani vāchāṃ
stutiriyam ॥ 100 ॥
Translation
Just as the waving-of-lamps for the maker-of-day (the sun)
is done with the flames of lamps (pradīpa-jvālābhir divasa-kara-nīrājana-vidhiḥ);
just as the arghya-offering for the maker-of-nectar (the moon) is made with
droplets of water from moonstone (sudhāsūteś candropala-jala-lavair
arghya-racanā); just as the pouring of water back into the ocean satisfies the
ocean with its own waters (svakīyair ambhobhiḥ salila-nidhi-sauhitya-karaṇaṃ) - even so, O Mother (tava janani), this hymn
of praise (vācāṃ stutir iyam) to You (tavadīyābhir vāgbhiḥ) is made out of Your
own words (tvadīyābhir vāgbhiḥ).
Correlation
The name and the verse's closing
are in perfect accord: She is Vāg-adhīśvarī because, as SL 100 declares, even
the act of praising Her is performed with Her own words. There is no human
speech outside Hers; all stuti is Her self-offering to Herself. The name states
Her sovereignty over speech; the closing verse of the Soundarya Laharī supplies
the philosophical proof - the stotra
itself, being made of words, is proof of Her sovereignty, for without Her there
would be no words at all.
703: Sarvamohinī
sarva – all | mohinī – the deluder
The Deluder of All - She who causes the universal delusion by
which beings are bound to saṃsāra, and who issues the 65th tantra for their
release.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 31
chatuṣṣaṣṭyā tantraiḥ
sakalamatisandhāya bhuvanaṃ
sthitastattatsiddhiprasavaparatantraiḥ
paśupatiḥ ।
punastvannirbandhādakhilapuruṣārthaikaghaṭanā-
svatantraṃ tē tantraṃ kṣititalamavātītaradidam
॥ 31 ॥
Translation
(Same as #22 and #24 - SL 31) By the sixty-four tantras, having
deceived (atisandhāya) the world, Paśupati remained, each tantra being under
the sway of the siddhi it yields. At Your insistence, He brought down to earth
Your single tantra, which alone joins together all the aims of life.
Correlation
SL 31's word atisandhāya - 'having deceived' - is read by Bhāskararāya as the source of Her
name Sarvamohinī. Śiva's promulgation of the 64 tantras is itself a universal
delusion; but it is Devī's deeper purpose working through Śiva - She is the Sarvamohinī behind the cosmic
illusion, deluding beings so that they may eventually seek the 65th tantra and
be released. Where Mahātantrā (#22) and Svatantrā (#56) read SL 31 in terms of
liberation, Sarvamohinī reads the same verse in terms of bondage. Both are Her
work.
723: Svatantrā
sva – own, self | tantrā – tantra; independent
The Independent One - also the Svatantra-Tantra, the 65th tantra
which is Her own.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 31
chatuṣṣaṣṭyā tantraiḥ
sakalamatisandhāya bhuvanaṃ
sthitastattatsiddhiprasavaparatantraiḥ
paśupatiḥ ।
punastvannirbandhādakhilapuruṣārthaikaghaṭanā-
svatantraṃ tē tantraṃ kṣititalamavātītaradidam
॥ 31 ॥
Translation
(Same as #22, #24, #54 - SL 31) … At Your insistence, Paśupati
brought down to earth Your single Svatantra Tantra (svatantraṃ te tantraṃ),
which alone joins together all the aims of life.
Correlation
The word svatantra occurs almost verbatim in SL 31 - svatantraṃ te tantraṃ. Where #22 Mahātantrā names the 65th tantra as 'Great,' Svatantrā names it as 'Independent.' The name is virtually a citation. She is called Svatantrā because Her tantra is svatantra - depending on nothing else, yielding all the puruṣārthas by itself. The Sahasranāma here preserves SL 31's exact vocabulary.
738: Lāsyapriyā
lāsya – the feminine counterpart of Tāṇḍava; the graceful dance of
women | priyā – fond of
She who is fond of the Lāsya
dance - who Herself dances it as the
counterpart to Śiva's Tāṇḍava.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 41
tavādhārē mūlē saha
samayayā lāsyaparayā
navātmānaṃ manyē navarasamahātāṇḍavanaṭam
।
ubhābhyāmētābhyāmudayavidhimuddiśya
dayayā
sanāthābhyāṃ jajñē
janakajananīmajjagadidam ॥ 41 ॥
Translation
(Same as #23 and #57 - SL 41) At Your Mūlādhāra, together with
Samayā absorbed in Lāsya (saha samayayā lāsya-parayā), I consider Navātman to
be the Dancer of the Great Tāṇḍava…
Correlation
The key phrase lāsya-parayā in SL 41 - 'engrossed in Lāsya' - is the warrant for this name. While Maheśvara-mahā-kalpa-mahā-tāṇḍava-sākṣiṇī (#23) read the verse from Śiva's side (He dances the Tāṇḍava, She witnesses), Lāsyapriyā reads it from Her side (She Herself dances the Lāsya, which is what His Tāṇḍava is the partner of). So the same verse supports two names - one for Her as the Tāṇḍava's witness, one for Her as the Tāṇḍava's answering dancer.
798: Kāvyakalā
kāvya – poetry | kalā – art, craft, also a fraction
The Art of Poetry - and the one who knows the nine or ten poetic
rasas as a single continuous tasting.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 12, 51
tvadīyaṃ saundaryaṃ
tuhinagirikanyē tulayituṃ
kavīndrāḥ kalpantē kathamapi
viriñchiprabhṛtayaḥ ।
yadālōkautsukyādamaralalanā yānti manasā
tapōbhirduṣprāpāmapi giriśasāyujyapadavīm
॥ 12 ॥
śivē śaṛṅgārārdrā
taditarajanē kutsanaparā
sarōṣā gaṅgāyāṃ giriśacharitē vismayavatī
।
harāhibhyō bhītā
sarasiruhasaubhāgyajananī
sakhīṣu smērā tē mayi jananī dṛṣṭiḥ
sakaruṇā ॥ 51 ॥
Correlation
Kāvyakalā takes two verses because
kāvya operates by two axes: saundarya and rasa. SL 12 establishes that Her
saundarya is beyond even the great poets (so She is, in person, the unreachable
standard of all kāvya). SL 51 establishes that Her gaze itself performs the
full range of rasas. The two verses together justify the name: Kāvyakalā is She
whose beauty cannot be put into verse, and whose glance contains the entire
range of rasas that poetry attempts to capture.
857: Gānalolupā
gāna – singing, music | lolupā – greedy for, fond of
She who is greedy for song - fond of vocal music, of instrumental music,
and of Sāma-Gāna.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 66
vipañchyā gāyantī
vividhamapadānaṃ paśupatēḥ
tvayārabdhē vaktuṃ chalitaśirasā
sādhuvachanē ।
tadīyairmādhuryairapalapitatantrīkalaravāṃ
nijāṃ vīṇāṃ vāṇī nichulayati chōlēna nibhṛtam
॥ 66 ॥
Translation
(Same as #3 - SL 66)
When Sarasvatī on her vīṇā sings the deeds of Paśupati, and You, with a nodding
head, utter words of praise - Sarasvatī,
finding Your utterance drowns out her strings, quietly covers her vīṇā with its
cloth.
Correlation
#3 (Nijasallāpa…) read SL 66 as
demonstrating the sweetness of Devī's own voice. #64 Gānalolupā reads the same
verse for Her love of singing: She initiates the scene - it is Her praise for Sarasvatī's
performance, nodding and saying sādhu, that shows Her fondness for gāna.
Kālidāsa's Śyāmalādaṇḍaka (jaya-saṅgīta-rasike) is cited for the same idea. The
name identifies the taste; the verse depicts the moment of tasting.
861: Kāntārdha-vigrahā
kānta – the beloved (Śiva) | ardha – half | vigrahā – body, form
She whose body is the half of
Her beloved (Śiva) - the Ardhanārīśvara
form.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 23
tvayā hṛtvā vāmaṃ
vapurapari-tṛptēna manasā
śarīrārdhaṃ śambhōraparamapi śaṅkē hṛtamabhūt
।
yadētattvadrūpaṃ sakalamaruṇābhaṃ
trinayanaṃ
kuchābhyāmānamraṃ kuṭilaśaśichūḍālamakuṭam
॥ 23 ॥
Translation
(Same as #39 - SL 23)
Having stolen the left half of Your body, unsatisfied, I suspect You have
stolen the other half also. For this red, three-eyed, breast-bent, moon-crested
form is entirely Yours.
Correlation
Name 392 (Śrīkaṇṭhārdha-śarīriṇī) and name 861 (Kāntārdha-vigrahā) are twin names. The first uses the epithet Śrīkaṇṭha (the Blue-Throated); the second uses the generic kānta (the Beloved). Both refer to the same Ardhanārīśvara form, and both are anchored in SL 23. The repetition itself - two names for one reality, both pointing to the same verse - is the Sahasranāma's way of marking the Ardhanārīśvara identity as doctrinally central.
895: Yoninilayā
yoni – the yoni - here, the nine
triangles of the Śrī-cakra | nilayā – dwelling-place, abode
She whose dwelling is the Yoni - the nine-fold triangular configuration of
the Śrī-cakra, which is the Devī's body.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 11
chaturbhiḥ śrīkaṇṭhaiḥ
śivayuvatibhiḥ pañchabhirapi
prabhinnābhiḥ śambhōrnavabhirapi mūlaprakṛtibhiḥ
।
chatuśchatvāriṃśadvasudalakalāśratrivalaya-
trirēkhābhiḥ sārdhaṃ tava śaraṇakōṇāḥ
pariṇatāḥ ॥ 11 ॥
Translation
(Same as #45 - SL 11)
Your abode is arrayed together with four Śrīkaṇṭhas (Śiva-triangles) and five
Śiva-yuvatis (Śakti-triangles) - pierced
by the nine root-causes (navabhir mūla-prakṛtibhiḥ) including Śambhu - along with the four-and-forty peripheral
structures.
Correlation
Yoninilayā reads SL 11 with the accent on yoni = the nine triangles. Each of the nine (4 Śiva + 5 Śakti) is a 'yoni' in the yantra-technical sense - a generative triangle. She dwells in all nine. Lakṣmīdhara's commentary explicitly unfolds this reading. Where #45 (Yaśasvinī) read SL 11 in terms of Her fame-as-cakra, this name reads the same verse in terms of Her residence-in-the-triangles. Two names, two facets, one verse.
945: Vāmakeśvarī
vāmakeśvara – the Vāmakeśvara(-tantra); the Left-hand-path Lord |
īśvarī – the Goddess of, the one presiding over
The Presiding Goddess of the
Vāmakeśvara Tantra - which is the 65th
tantra of Śiva, the only one granting all the puruṣārthas.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 31
chatuṣṣaṣṭyā tantraiḥ
sakalamatisandhāya bhuvanaṃ
sthitastattatsiddhiprasavaparatantraiḥ
paśupatiḥ ।
punastvannirbandhādakhilapuruṣārthaikaghaṭanā-
svatantraṃ tē tantraṃ kṣititalamavātītaradidam
॥ 31 ॥
Translation
(Same as #22, #24, #54, #56 - SL 31) By the sixty-four tantras Paśupati
deluded the world; at Your insistence He brought down Your single Svatantra
Tantra which alone joins together all the puruṣārthas.
Correlation
Bhāskararāya, in his Setu-Bandha commentary on the Vāmakeśvara-Tantra (specifically its Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava section), identifies that very tantra with the 65th 'svatantra' tantra of SL 31. The name Vāmakeśvarī therefore names Devī as presiding over precisely the tantra which SL 31 is celebrating. Where Mahātantrā, Catuḥṣaṣṭikalāmayī, Svatantrā, and Sarvamohinī each read SL 31 along one axis (greatness, comprehensiveness, independence, delusion-source), Vāmakeśvarī identifies the specific textual form: the Vāmakeśvara-Tantra is the 65th.
972: Aśobhanā
a-śobhanā – un-non-beautiful = 'not not-beautiful' = always beautiful
The Always-Beautiful - She whose beauty is described in the entire
second half of the Soundarya Laharī.
Soundarya Laharī – general reference
(The commentator does
not here cite a single verse; see the note in the Correlation below.)
Correlation
(Bhāskararāya's reference is general, not to a single verse:
he observes that the second part of the Soundarya Laharī - verses 42 to 100 - is devoted entirely to the description of
Devī's beauty, starting from the crown (SL 42) and ending with the feet and the
closing praise.)
For this name the commentator does
not cite a single verse but the entire second half of the Soundarya Laharī.
Aśobhanā - 'always and everywhere
beautiful' - is substantiated by an
entire 59-verse head-to-foot description (keśādi-pādānta-varṇana) in Śaṅkara's
hymn. The Sahasranāma gives the principle; the Soundarya Laharī gives the
complete dhyāna. The name thus functions as an index: to unpack it is to read
verses 42–100 entire.
989: Vāñchitārthapradāyinī
vāñchita – desired | artha – goal, object | pradāyinī – bestower
The Bestower of the Desired
Goals - who needs no varada-mudrā,
because Her very feet grant more than what is sought.
Soundarya Laharī – Śloka 4
tvadanyaḥ pāṇibhyāmabhayavaradō
daivatagaṇaḥ
tvamēkā naivāsi prakaṭitavarābhītyabhinayā
।
bhayāt trātuṃ dātuṃ phalamapi cha
vāñChāsamadhikaṃ
śaraṇyē lōkānāṃ tava hi charaṇāvēva nipuṇau
॥ 4 ॥
Correlation
(Same as #5, #48, #60 - SL 4) Every other deity holds the
abhaya-varada mudrās with his hands. You alone do not display such gestures.
For, O refuge of the worlds, Your very feet are skilled both in protecting from
fear and in giving fruits beyond what was asked (phalam api ca vāñchā-samadhikam).
The match is nearly verbatim.
Vāñchita-artha-pradāyinī - 'giver of the
desired object' - is the Sahasranāma's
name for precisely what SL 4 describes: She does not even need to hold the
varada-mudrā, because Her feet alone give phalam api ca vāñchā-samadhikam.
Where the other vāñchā-samadhikam names (Kāmeśvara-prema-ratna…, Bhaktanidhi,
Kāmamālā) each approached this principle from a different angle,
Vāñchitārthapradāyinī is the plain declarative form of it. The name is the
verse's take-home.
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