Who is Śrī Lalitā Devī?
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Śrī Mātre namaḥ.
Who is Śrī Lalitā Devī? From Upāsya Devatā to the Upaniṣadic Brahman
A devotee of Ambāl (Divine Mother), when first encountering
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma, may naturally ask:
What is the tattvam, rūpam and itihāsam of Sri Lalitā
Devī? Who exactly is Śrī Lalitā Devī? Is She Pārvatī? Is She Durgā? Is She Lakṣmī?
Is She Sarasvatī? What is special about Srimad Lalitā Sahasranāma, and why does
our sampradāya accord it such an extraordinary position?
The simplest revelation is:
Śrī Lalitā Devī is Īśvarī = Brahman= Ātman (Self) = Guru
Śrī Lalitā Devī is not “yet another” Devī alongside Pārvatī, Lakṣmī,
Sarasvatī or Durgā. She is the one Parāśakti who appears through all these
forms.
At another level, She is Śiva and Śakti in inseparable
aikyam. At the culmination of the teaching, She is recognized as the nirguṇa, nirviśeṣa, advitīya Ātman
itself.
Sri Lalitā Sahasranāma takes the devotee through all these
levels without contradiction. Rūpam, līlā, mantra, upāsanā and Vedānta are
different doors into the same Sri Lalitā tattvam.
The ākhyāna: why does Sri Lalitā manifest?
The setting is the Srimad Lalitopākhyāna of the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa. Bhaṇḍāsura
has acquired tremendous power and progressively weakens the devas. When their
own śakti is no longer sufficient to overcome him, they seek the Supreme Śakti.
Sri Lalitā manifests for their protection and for the restoration of dharma.
The Sahasranāma captures the entire avatāra tattvam almost
immediately:
Chidagni-kuṇḍa-sambhūtā
4
Devakārya-samudyatā 5
She arises from the Chidagni-kuṇḍa, the altar of the fire of Consciousness, and
undertakes the work of the devas.
The expression Chid-agni, the “fire of Consciousness,” is
itself deeply suggestive. Fire, even at the adhibhautika level (i.e., worldly mundane level), has two
fundamental qualities: heat and light. Heat sustains life. Life on this planet,
and even the functioning of the body, depends upon the presence of the right
measure of heat. Light, on the other hand, illumines. It makes objects
available for perception, for knowledge.
Chid-agni elevates this imagery to the level of tattvam.
Chit is Consciousness, and agni is the fire that both sustains and illumines.
Thus Chid-agni points to Brahman as the very basis of life and the
Consciousness in whose light all experience becomes known.
The story therefore begins with a profound theological
statement. This is not merely the appearance of a powerful Goddess. It is
Parāśakti manifesting from Chit itself, from the very fire of Consciousness.
A great battle follows.
(as the Vedas often say - devāsurāḥ saṃyattā āsan - “The Devas and Asuras were engaged in conflict.”)
The battle is also described in the Sahasranāma. A unique trait of this particular Sahasranāma (story telling is also encompassed, for the purposes of teaching us).
Bhaṇḍāsura-vadhodyukta-śakti-senā-samanvitā 65, presents Her surrounded by the Śakti-senā prepared for the destruction of Asura Bhaṇḍa.
Sampatkarī, Aśvārūḍhā, Mantriṇī, Daṇḍanāthā or Vārāhī, Bālā and finally Mahāgaṇapati participate in this enormous divine operation.
The battle culminates in Kāmeśvarāstra-nirdagdha-sabhaṇḍāsura-śūnyakā 82, where
Kāmeśvarāstra destroys Bhaṇḍāsura
together with Śūnyaka.
But the ākhyāna is simultaneously an adhyātmika map.
- Bhaṇḍa represents the bound jīva, dominated by dehātma-buddhi, ahaṅkāra, rāga and the accumulated tendencies that keep one turned toward anātma.
- Viśaṅga (Banda’s aid) represents misdirected attachment.
- Viśukra (another aid of Bhanda) represents depletion of tejas and inner strength.
- Vighnayantra (which the asuras use) represents the complex of obstacles that prevents the mind from proceeding toward knowledge.
- The Śakti-senā is therefore also the array of divine powers through which these impediments are progressively removed.
The final destruction through Kāmeśvarāstra can then be
contemplated as the destruction of avidyā through Ātma-vidyā.
- ð The outer war gives us the līlā.
- ð The inner war gives us the sādhana.
- ð Its culmination gives us Vedānta.
The first revelation: She is Mother
The Sahasranāma could have begun by calling Her Brahman,
Parāśakti or Īśvarī.
Instead, its first word is: Śrī Mātā 1.
She is Mother. She is the measure.
The next two nāmas immediately expand the vision:
Śrī Mahārājñī 2, the great Empress.
Śrīmat-siṃhāsaneśvarī
3, the sovereign seated upon the glorious throne.
At the level of bhāva, She is our Mother. At the level of
sampradāya, She is Jaganmātā. At the level of siddhānta, the motherhood points
to jagat-kāraṇatvam.
The Upaniṣadic definition of Brahman is therefore already
implicit in Śrī Mātā 1:
yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante, yena jātāni jīvanti, yat
prayanty abhisaṃviśanti...
(says Sruti)
That from which beings arise, by which they are
sustained, and into which they ultimately resolve is Brahman.
Śrī Mātā also means, She is the measure – in what sense ?
All things we measure are bound by time, space,
cause-effect. But as Brahman, as pure consciousness, she is the ground of all
appearances, hence she is the immeasurable Self and as Īśvarī, she is the
measure of all things.
The name Mother therefore becomes a profound teaching. She
is not merely affectionate toward creation. Creation proceeds from Her, exists
in Her, and resolves into Her
(ā-brahma-kīṭa-jananī, 285 = She who is the Mother of all beings, from Brahmā down to the tiniest insect. - as part of verse 66)
Nor is this motherhood mentioned only once. The Sahasranāma deliberately returns to it across its entire arc. It begins with Śrī Mātā, establishing Her immediately as the Mother of all. In the middle we encounter:
mālinī haṃsinī
mātā malayācala-vāsinī
Again, She is Mātā. And the thousand names finally conclude
with Sri Lalitāmbikā, Sri Lalitā as Ambikā, the Mother.
Thus the Sahasranāma is, in one sense, held together by this single bhāva: She is Mother at the beginning, at the and in the present moment - when I'm writing, you are reading........ETERNALLY!!
Mother through the unfolding of the teaching, and Mother at its culmination.
What deepens is our understanding
of what “Mother” means. She begins as the Mother whom we adore, expands into
Jaganmātā, the cause and sustainer of the entire universe, and is finally
recognized as the very Ātma-svarūpam from which nothing is separate.
Is She Pārvatī, Durgā, Lakṣmī or Sarasvatī?
As the Sahasranāma unfolds, the question begins to dissolve.
She is Durgā, 190. She is Mahālakṣmī, 210.
She is Pārvatī, 246. She is Nārāyaṇī, 298. She is Umā, 633, and Gaurī,
635. Much later She is Sarasvatī, 704. She appears as Mahākālī, 751,
and Caṇḍikā, 755.
The great streams of Devī upāsanā are therefore gathered
into the same vision.
Sri Pārvatī emphasizes one relation and līlā. Sri Lakṣmī
another. Sri Sarasvatī another. Sri Durgā, Sri Kālī, Sri Chaṇḍikā and Sri Nārāyaṇī reveal yet other functions
and bhāvas. The forms are many because the functions through which Īśvarī
blesses the jīva are many. How
So no matter which form you had personally connected with in the past, or will in the future or in connection, right now - that name and form is verily identical with Śrī Lalitā Devī - NEVER HAVE ANY DOUBT ABOUT THIS.
The underlying Śakti is one.
The Sahasranāma makes this explicit through a remarkable
sequence:
- Sarveśvarī, 202, sovereign of all.
- Sarvamayī 203, She who has become all.
- Sarvamantra-svarūpiṇī 204, the essential form of all mantra.
- Sarvayantrātmikā 205, the Self of all yantras.
- Sarvatantrarūpā 206, the form of all tantras.
Later She is Svatantrā 723, absolutely independent,
followed immediately by Sarvatantreśī 724, sovereign of all tantra.
She is Īśvarī. The familiar Devīs are all Her
manifestations.
Sri Lalitā as Saguna Brahman: Pañcakṛtya Parayānā.
Having established Her as the universal Īśvarī, the
Sahasranāma identifies Her with the total cosmic order.
The sequence is extraordinarily precise:
Sṛṣṭikartrī
264, She who creates.
Brahmarūpā 265, appearing as Brahmā.
Goptrī 266, She who protects.
Govindarūpiṇī
267, appearing as Govinda.
Saṃhāriṇī 268, She who withdraws.
Rudrarūpā 269, appearing as Rudra.
Tirodhānakarī 270, performing concealment.
Īśvarī 271, the sovereign power of that function.
Sadāśivā 272, followed by Anugrahadā 273, the
giver of grace.
She therefore becomes Pañcakṛtyaparāyaṇā 274, wholly engaged in
the five cosmic functions. Srimad Lalitā Sahasranāma places this sequence in
verses 63 and 64.
This is Saguna Brahman.
Brahmā, Viṣṇu,
Rudra, Īśvara and Sadāśiva are not five realities standing independently
alongside Her. The one Īśvarī expresses Herself through these five cosmic
functions.
Just before this teaching, She is called Pañcabrahma svarūpiṇī 250.
Kāmeśvara and Kāmeśvarī: Śiva and Śakti
The same tattvam is then accessible to the heart as the
beautiful relation between Śiva and Śakti.
She is Śivā 52.
She is Kāmeśvarāṅkasthā
53, seated upon Kāmeśvara.
She is Śivasvādhīnavallabhā 54, whose beloved Śiva is
completely united with Her.
Later She is Mahākāmeśamahiṣī 233, the great Queen of
Mahākāmeśvara.
Manda-smita-prabhā-pūra-majjat-kāmeśa-mānasā (28), the radiance of Her gentle smile completely immerses the mind of Kāmeśa. This is one of the most beautiful expressions of their mutual love.
Kāmeśa-baddha-māṅgalya-sūtra-śobhita-kandharā (30), Her neck shines with the māṅgalya-sūtra tied by Kāmeśa. This is perhaps the most explicit marriage nāma.
Kāmeśvara-prema-ratna-maṇi-pratipaṇa-stanī (33), a profoundly intimate nāma, evoking Ammavāru embraced by Swami in an indescribable mutual ecstasy of love. Her very bosom is poetically spoken of as the pratipaṇa, the incomparable offering for the priceless jewel of Kāmeśvara’s prema.
Kāntārdha-vigrahā (861), She who constitutes half the form of Her beloved, strongly recalling Ardhanārīśvara, where Śiva and Śakti share one body.
Mahākāmeśa-mahiṣī (233), the great Queen and consort of Mahākāmeśa.
Sadāśiva-pativratā (709), the devoted consort of Sadāśiva. This brings the traditional pativratā ideal directly into Her description.
Sadāśiva-kuṭumbinī (911), She by whose very presence the kuṭumba of Sadāśiva comes into being and is sustained. Without Śakti, there is no family, no relational universe, indeed no manifested order.
As Ācārya says at the very opening of the Saundaryalaharī:
śivaḥ śaktyā yukto yadi bhavati śaktaḥ prabhavitum
na ced evaṃ devo na khalu kuśalaḥ spanditum api |
Śiva, united with Śakti, becomes capable of manifestation; without Her, even spandana, the slightest movement toward manifestation, is not possible.
Thus Sadāśiva-kuṭumbinī is much more than a charming reference to the divine household. It points to a deeper tattvam
Śambhu-mohinī (954), She who enchants Śambhu.
Essentially - They are jagataḥ pitarau, the Father and Mother of the entire universe.
Even though we can take delight in the Leela tattvam, of
them as the parents of the universe. The relation transcends Leela too.
Śiva is pure Consciousness. Śakti is the very power by which
that Consciousness appears as all manifestation. They may be distinguished for
purposes of teaching, upāsanā, and forming a relation with them as Divine
parents, but cannot be seen to be ultimately separate.
The Sahasranāma reserves its penultimate nāma for the
resolution:
Śivaśaktyaikyarūpiṇī
999.
She is the very form of the aikyam of Śiva and Śakti.
Sri Ramakrishna says "It is like fire and its power to burn. If you see the fire, you must recognize its power to burn also. You cannot think of fire without its power to burn, nor can you think of the power to burn without fire. You cannot conceive of the sun’s rays without the sun, nor can you conceive of the sun without its rays."
Then comes Lalitāmbikā 1000. The Sahasranāma concludes with verse 183:
śrīśivā śivaśaktyaikyarūpiṇī lalitāmbikā
The thousand names culminate in aikyam.
From Śiva-Śakti comes the entire dṛśya-prapañca
The next step is important.
If Ammavāru is Śakti, we should not imagine that Her domain
is restricted to some divine realm while the material universe exists
separately.
The Sahasranāma says:
Chicchakti 416
Cetanārūpā 417
Jaḍaśakti 418
Jaḍātmikā 419
The relevant portion of verse 90 states:
chicchaktiś cetanārūpā jaḍaśaktir jaḍātmikā.
She is Chit-Śakti manifest in the sentient. She is also the
power appearing through what we call jaḍa,
the insentient. Essentially what we call Jada or insentient, is only appearing to us that way, due to our ignorance of the Advaita Satyam. Once we recognize that Advaita Satyam - that Brahman Alone Is, then the whole world of sentient and insentient dissolve into one vision of Nonduality.
Therefore, the division between “spiritual” and
“material” cannot represent two independent ontological realities. Body,
senses, mind, objects, mountains, rivers, stars and galaxies all belong to the
field of Her manifestation.
She is Līlāklupta-brahmāṇḍa-maṇḍalā
648, for whom the entire brahmāṇḍa
is manifested as līlā. She is Sarvādhārā 659, the support of all. She is
Sadasadrūpadhāriṇī
661, appearing through manifest and unmanifest existence
One of the most striking nāmas is:
Mithyājagadadhiṣṭhānā
735.
She is the adhiṣṭhānam
of the mithyā jagat. It occurs in Lalitā Sahasranāma verse 142.
This is pure Vedāntic language.
A beautiful illustration of this comes from Śrī Chandrasekhara
Bhāratī Mahāsvāmī of Śṛṅgeri.
On one occasion, while instructing visiting Vedānta scholars, Mahāsvāmī pointed
out that the Śakti, the Īśvarī whom his holiness was worshipping with such
devotion, was non-different from Brahman itself, the adhiṣṭhānam of all appearances.
In upāsanā, She is Īśvarī, worshipped with nāma, rūpa and guṇa. In Vedānta, that very
reality is recognized as Brahman, the changeless adhiṣṭhānam upon which all nāma and rūpa appear. The
worshipped Devī and the Brahman revealed by the Upaniṣads are not two different
realities. The world does not enjoy an independent existence apart from its
adhiṣṭhānam. The wave has
no existence apart from water. An ornament has no existence apart from gold.
Every nāma and rūpa depends upon the underlying satyam.
That satyam is Ammavāru.
And the first part of that dṛśya-prapañca is this very
body-mind
We need not begin Vedānta by analysing distant galaxies. The
first dṛśyam
available for enquiry is our own upādhi.
“This is my body.”
“These are my senses.”
“This is my prāṇa.”
“These are my thoughts.”
“This is my buddhi.”
Each is known. Each changes. Each therefore belongs to the
realm of the known, the dṛśyam.
What, then, is the unchanging principle because of which all these changing
upādhis are known?
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma answers directly:
Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktā (708). She is completely free
from all upādhis.
She is Pratyak-chitī-rūpā (367), of the very nature
of inward Consciousness, and Pratyagrūpā (781), the innermost Self. She
is therefore not another subtle object hidden somewhere inside the body. As Chit
Śakti, She is the immediately evident, aparokṣa sva-svarūpam, the
Consciousness because of which body, senses, prāṇa,
mind and buddhi are all known.
The Sahasranāma repeatedly employs a teaching method that
our sampradāya calls adhyāropa-apavāda-nyāya.
In adhyāropa, attributes, forms and functions are
deliberately presented for the sake of understanding and upāsanā. Thus She is Viśvarūpā
(256), the universe itself. She is Chicchaktiḥ (416), the power of
Consciousness; Cetanārūpā (417), appearing as sentience; and Jaḍaśaktiḥ (418) and Jaḍātmikā (419), appearing
even as the apparently insentient universe.
In this vision, nothing is outside Ammavāru. The entire dṛśya-prapañcam, beginning with
one's own body-mind upādhi, is Her manifestation.
Then comes apavāda, the progressive removal of every
limiting notion we may have placed upon Her. She is Nirākārā (137),
without limiting form; Nirguṇā
(139), free from attributes; Nirupādhiḥ (154), free from upādhi; and finally Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktā
(708), completely untouched by every limiting adjunct.
The same method appears beautifully in avasthā-traya-viveka.
She is presented as the reality manifest through jāgrat,
svapna and suṣupti, but the teaching does not stop there. She is Turyā (262)
and immediately Sarvāvasthā-vivarjitā (263), free from all states. The
states are admitted first for enquiry, then their limitation is removed.
This movement from attribution to negation occurs repeatedly
throughout the Sahasranāma. Ammavāru is first made available to the mind
through nāma, rūpa, guṇa,
līlā, mantra and cosmic function. The same śāstram then refuses to let us
confine Her to any of them.
Thus the enquiry moves:
rūpam → all rūpams → dṛśya-prapañcam → one's own upādhis → Pratyagātman
→ nirupādhika Chit.
This is the remarkable pedagogical method of Śrī Lalitā
Sahasranāma. The Devī whom we first behold and worship as an exquisite rūpa is
gradually revealed as the adhiṣṭhānam
of every rūpa, and ultimately as the very Chit because of which any rūpa
can ever be known.
The dhyāna itself provides the clue:
aham ity eva vibhāvaye bhavānīm
Contemplate Bhavānī as the very “I”.
The upāsya Devī begins outside as though She were an object
of meditation. The mature upāsanā discovers that the consciousness in whose
light Devī, devotee, meditation, thought and world are all known is itself Her
deepest svarūpam.
This is why She becomes Pratyakchitīrūpā 367, whose
nature is inward Consciousness, and later Pratyagrūpā 781, the innermost
Self. (Stotra
Nidhi)
She is also Sarvāntaryāmiṇī 819, the indwelling reality in all beings.
(Stotra
Nidhi)
We have moved from Jaganmātā to Pratyagātman without
changing Devī.
Avasthā-traya viveka within the Sahasranāma
This becomes explicit in verses 62 and 63.
The Sahasranāma says:
viśvarūpā jāgariṇī
svapantī taijasātmikā
suptā prājñātmikā turyā sarvāvasthāvivarjitā
These correspond to Viśvarūpā 256; Jāgariṇī 257; Svapantī 258;
Taijasātmikā 259; Suptā 260; Prājñātmikā 261; Turyā 262; and
Sarvāvasthāvivarjitā 263.
Now the Māṇḍūkya
vision is brought directly into Devī upāsanā.
In jāgrat, there is the waking experiencer and waking world.
In svapna, the external waking world has disappeared, and
mind itself projects a dream world. Sri Lalitā is Taijasātmikā 259.
In suṣupti, both waking and dream dualities resolve. Sri Lalitā
is Prājñātmikā 261.
But She is also Turyā 262.
Those familiar with the Māṇḍūkya
Upaniṣad will immediately recognize the significance of the words used here.
Viśva, Taijasa and Prājña are the terms used for the jīva in the waking, dream
and deep sleep states respectively.
The Sahasranāma could have instead used the corresponding
cosmic expressions, Virāṭ,
Hiraṇyagarbha and Īśvara.
Yet it deliberately employs the terminology associated with the jīva in the
three avasthās.
By doing so, the Sahasranāma is implicitly, perhaps even
quite explicitly, pointing toward Brahma-jīva-aikyam: the same reality that is
understood as Brahman at the cosmic level is present as the experiencer through
Viśva, Taijasa and Prājña at the individual level.And the next nāma prevents us
from converting Turīya into a fourth temporary state:
Sarvāvasthāvivarjitā 263, Eventually She is that
Reality devoid of all notions of states.
Jāgrat comes and goes.
Svapna comes and goes.
Suṣupti comes and goes.
To whom? To that permanent awareness – Divine Mother, because
of which the presence and absence of each state is recognized.
That Chit - Awareness is Ammavāru.
Pañcakośa viveka is also inside Sri Lalitā Sahasranāma
Verse 91 gives another direct bridge to the Upaniṣads:
tattvāsanā tattvamayī pañcakośāntarasthitā.
The running stotra contains Tattvāsanā 424, followed
in the nāmāvalī tradition by the striking division Tat 425; Tvam 426; Ayi
427, and then Pañcakośāntarasthitā 428.
The Mahāvākya resonance is difficult to miss.
Then comes Pañcakośāntarasthitā 428: She who is
within the five kośas.
- ð Annamaya is observed.
- ð Prāṇamaya is observed.
- ð Manomaya is observed.
- ð Vijñānamaya is observed.
- ð Ānandamaya is also known.
None can therefore be the final subject.
The enquiry progressively moves inward until what cannot be
objectified remains: the self-revealing Chit, the Pratyagātman.
And because even the subtlest kośa is an upādhi, the
Sahasranāma later completes the teaching with: pañcakośāntarasthitā and
also sarvopādhi-vinirmuktā 708, She who is completely free from all
limiting adjuncts.
She is present through every kośa yet limited by none.
The Sahasranāma tells us directly that She is the Brahman
of the Upaniṣads
Srimad Lalitā Sahasranāma is Vedānta sāram. If learnt as a Brahmavidya Sastram, it can grant us both bhoga and moksha.
The Sahasranāma demonstrated and teaches us, how to dwell
upon and internalize the Vedānta tātparyam
She is Vedavedyā 335, that which is to be known
through the Veda, and Vedajananī 338, Mother of the Veda
More explicitly, She is:
Tatpadalakṣyārthā (363), the lakṣyārtha indicated by Tat,
namely Īśvara, with all incidental upādhis negated to reveal the underlying
Brahman.
Chidekarasarūpiṇī
(364), of the nature of undivided Chit, the one limitless source of all
fullness and rasa, recalling the Upaniṣadic declaration, raso vai saḥ.
Pratyakchitīrūpā (367), the very inward
Consciousness, immediate and aparokṣa, not an object to be experienced
elsewhere, but the objectless Awareness evident here and now.
Then:
Sarvavedānta-saṃvedyā
645, She who is known through all Vedānta. Lalitā Sahasranāma verse 128
places this declaration directly within the stotra.
Brahmātmaikya-svarūpiṇī 672, She whose very nature is the identity
of Brahman and Ātman (the Self)
Saccidānandarūpiṇī
700, whose nature is Sat-Chit-Ānanda.
Pratyagrūpā 781, the innermost Self.
Satyajñānānandarūpā 791, whose nature is satyam,
jñānam and ānanda.
And finally:
Sarvopaniṣadudghuṣṭā
852, She who is proclaimed by all the Upaniṣads. The name occurs in verse
159.
It would therefore be incomplete to describe Lalitā
Sahasranāma merely as a beautiful hymn to a goddess. The stotra itself says
that its Devī is the vastu revealed by Vedānta.
Nirguṇa
and Saguna are not two
This also resolves a common confusion.
At the Saguna level, She is Īśvarī 271, and Pañcakṛtyaparāyaṇā 274.
At the absolute level, the same Sahasranāma calls Her Nirākārā
137; Nirguṇā 139;
Niṣkalā 140; Niṣprapañcā 146; Nirupādhi 154; Nirīśvarā 155; and Nirvikalpā 177.
Nirīśvarā 155 should be understood carefully. It does
not deny Īśvara. She has already been worshipped as Īśvarī. At the level of
absolute reality, however, there cannot be another Īśvara standing above Her.
She is the ultimate!
She is Svatantrā 723. She depends upon nothing else.
Saguna Brahman is the same Brahman viewed through māyā
and cosmic function. Nirguṇa
Brahman is that very same reality free of every limiting description.
The progression is not from one to another. It is from rūpam
to svarūpam.
Why then spend so much time describing Her indescribable beauty?
Because the human mind does not ordinarily begin in nirviśeṣa-vastu.
It begins with nāma and rūpa.
ð
Therefore Sri Lalitā Sahasranama gives us a form
of extraordinary beauty.
ð
Her complexion, crown, eyes, smile, ornaments,
pāśa, aṅkuśa, sugarcane
bow and flower arrows become objects of dhyāna.
ð
The mind learns to dwell on Her rather than
scatter among innumerable worldly objects.
ð
Then Her līlā absorbs the mind.
ð
Then mantra disciplines the mind.
ð
Then Śrīcakra organizes the contemplative
universe.
ð
Then the sādhaka begins to recognize Her
everywhere.
ð
Finally the enquiry turns toward the one who is
doing the upāsanā.
This progression is beautifully encapsulated in Dhyāna-dhyātṛ-dhyeyarūpā 254.
ð
She is the dhyānam.
ð
She is the dhyātā, the meditator.
ð
She is the dhyeyam, the object meditated upon.
ð
Initially there appear to be three.
The culmination is aikyam.
Why Lalitā Sahasranāma is such a complete stotra?
A traditional analysis of stotra recognizes six important
dimensions: namaskāra, āśīḥ,
siddhāntokti, parākrama, vibhūti and prārthanā.
All six are extraordinarily developed here.
Namaskāra permeates the thousand nāmas. Āśīḥ is present because Ammavāru
is repeatedly revealed as the giver of protection, prosperity, knowledge,
health, dharma and mokṣa. Parākrama appears magnificently in the Bhaṇḍāsura episode. Vibhūti
unfolds as Śrīpura, Śrīchakra, mantra, tantra, yantra, Kuṇḍalinī, devatās and the entire
cosmic order. Prārthanā remains the natural disposition of the bhakta.
But what gives Lalitā Sahasranāma its unusual philosophical
depth is siddhāntokti.
ð
Avasthā-traya is here.
ð
Pañcakośa viveka is here.
ð
Upādhi viveka is here.
ð
Jagat-mithyātva and adhiṣṭhāna are here.
ð
Brahmātma-aikyam is here.
ð
The Mahāvākya is intimated here.
ð
Sat-Chit-Ānanda is here.
And all
of this is presented without ever asking the devotee to abandon his or her
personal iṣṭa-devatā, our own beloved Divine Mother, Ambāl.
The
very Ambāl whom we love, worship and invoke through a particular rūpa is
progressively understood in greater depth, as one’s svarūpa. Thus bhakti to Ambāl
evolves into parābhakti, by Her grace.
Ambal is the Real Guru and the Guru Sampradhaya
Śrī Mātre namaḥ.
Śrī Vāśinyādi Vāgdevatābhyo namaḥ.
Śrī Hayagrīvāya namaḥ.
Śrī Lopāmudrā-Agastya Divya-Dampatibhyāṃ namaḥ.
Śrī Dvādaśopāsakebhyo namaḥ.
Śrī Guru-Sampradāyebhyo namo namaḥ.
Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācāryāya namaḥ.
Śrī Bhāskararāya Svāmine namo namaḥ.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsāya namo namaḥ.
Śrī Gurubhyo namaḥ.
At this point, it is appropriate to pause and invoke the guru-sampradāya and the great upāsakas through whom this extraordinary vidyā has come down to us.
The source of the Sahasranāma is Ambāl Herself. The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa tradition tells us that Śrī Lalitā commanded the Vāgdevatās to compose a stotra consisting of Her thousand names. This is reflected even in the viniyoga of the Sahasranāma, which identifies Vāśinyādi Vāgdevatāḥ as its ṛṣis.
Vāśinī, Kāmeśvarī, Modinī, Vimalā, Aruṇā, Jayinī, Sarveśvarī and Kaulinī.
They are the divine powers of vāk, sacred speech. Their role is particularly significant because Lalitā Sahasranāma is itself a garland of words, yet those words are intended finally to reveal That which is beyond words.
There is also something beautiful about the fact that Ambāl does not directly recite Her own Sahasranāma. She commands the Vāgdevīs to do so. The infinite, which cannot itself be exhausted by speech, allows itself to be approached through divinely empowered speech.
And therefore the Sahasranāma begins its journey at the level of Vaikharī vāk, but eventually leads us inward through Madhyamā, Paśyantī and Parā. Indeed Lalitā Herself is named:
Parā (366), Pratyak-chitī-rūpā (367), Paśyantī (368), Paradevatā (369), Madhyamā (370), Vaikharī-rūpā (371).
The Vāgdevīs sing Her glory through words. The Sahasranāma eventually takes us to the very Chit from which words themselves arise.
From the Vāgdevīs to Hayagrīva and Agastya
The next great link for us is Śrī Hayagrīva Bhagavān, the embodiment of divine knowledge. It is Hayagrīva who teaches the Lalitā Sahasranāma to Agastya Maharṣi in the Lalitopākhyāna.
And Agastya should not really be contemplated in isolation here. Beside him stands Lopāmudrā, herself one of the great Śrīvidyā upāsikās. Thus, for the devotee, Lopāmudrā-Agastya Divya Dampatī form a particularly beautiful human doorway into this tradition.
The transmission may therefore be contemplated as:
Śrī Lalitāmbikā → the Eight Vāgdevīs → Śrī Hayagrīva Bhagavān → Lopāmudrā-Agastya Divya Dampatī → Guru-sampradāya → ourselves.
The Twelve Great Upāsakas of Devī
Śrīvidyā tradition also remembers twelve especially exalted upāsakas of Devī. A commonly cited traditional verse enumerates them as:
manuś candraḥ kuberaś ca lopāmudrā ca manmathaḥ |
agastir agniḥ sūryaś ca indraḥ skandaḥ śivas tathā |
krodha-bhaṭṭārako devyā dvādaśāmī upāsakāḥ ||
The twelve are Manu, Candra, Kubera, Lopāmudrā, Manmatha, Agastya, Agni, Sūrya, Indra, Skanda, Śiva and Krodha-bhaṭṭāraka, identified with Durvāsas.
Gurumūrtiḥ (603), She who is Herself the very form of the Guru. The Guru is therefore not regarded as something apart from Ammavāru. It is Her anugraha that assumes the form of the Guru and removes ignorance through jñānam.
And then:
Gurumaṇḍala-rūpiṇī (714), She who is the very form of the entire guru-maṇḍalam, the whole lineage of Gurus through whom the vidyā is revealed and transmitted.
This nāma occurs in a particularly beautiful sequence:
sampradāyeśvarī sādhvī gurumaṇḍala-rūpiṇī
She is Sampradāyeśvarī (711), the sovereign of the sampradāya, and Gurumaṇḍala-rūpiṇī (714), the very form of its entire lineage.
Thus, when we invoke Śrī Lalitāmbikā, the eight Vāgdevīs, Hayagrīva Bhagavān, Lopāmudrā and Agastya, and the succeeding Guru-paramparā, we are not invoking something outside Her. Ammavāru Herself appears as the Guru, and the entire Guru-maṇḍalam is Her own rūpam.
And there is room for kārya-siddhi for abhyudaya (worldly prosperity and holistic well being)
The Vedāntic culmination does not invalidate the ordinary
needs with which a devotee initially approaches Ammavāru.
The Sahasranāma itself includes:
- ð Kāmadāyinī 63, the giver of desired ends.
- ð Puruṣārthapradā 291, giver of the puruṣārthas
- ð Vighnanāśinī 451, destroyer of obstacles.
- ð Sarvārthadātrī 698, giver of all legitimate ends.
- ð Kṣipraprasādinī 869, She who becomes gracious quickly.
- ð Sarvāpadvinivāriṇī 913, remover of calamities.
- ð Vāñchitārthapradāyinī 989, bestower of the desired object.
There is therefore nothing improper about approaching Sri Lalitāmmavāru
for a particular need, taking an appropriate nāma, and performing nāma-japa
with śraddhā.
But the meaning of kārya-siddhi should mature with
the sādhaka.
ð
Initially, “May this difficulty be removed.”
ð
Then, “May I acquire the right viveka.”
ð
Then, “May my mind become fit for knowledge.”
ð
Finally:
“May the false distinction between myself
and Ammavāru disappear.”
That is the highest siddhi, not the attainment of something
newly produced, but the recognition of the nitya-siddha vastu as one’s
own sva-svarūpam.
As the Śruti declares:
yad eva sākṣād aparokṣād brahma, ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ
“That very Brahman which is immediate and direct, which is the innermost Self
of all.”
And this is the recognition expressed by the jñānīs
as sa nityopalabdhi-svarūpo'ham ātmā
“I am that Ātman whose very nature is ever-present Awareness.”
as cidānanda-rūpaḥ śivo’ham śivo’ham
The siddhi, therefore, is the aparokṣa recognition that the
Ammavāru sought through upāsanā is none other than the Chit-svarūpam that I
ever am.
So, back to the original question - who is Śrī Lalitā
Devī?
When I first need Her, She is Śrī Mātā 1, my Mother.
When I recognize Her cosmic sovereignty, She is Sarveśvarī
202 and Pañcakṛtyaparāyaṇā 274.
When I ask whether She is Pārvatī, Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, Durgā
or Kālī, the Sahasranāma answers by revealing all these forms within Her.
When I worship mantra, She is Sarvamantra-svarūpiṇī 204.
When I worship yantra, She is Sarvayantrātmikā 205.
When I enter tantra, She is Sarvatantrarūpā 206 and Sarvatantreśī
724.
When I look at the universe, She is Sarvamayī 203,
and its very adhiṣṭhānam
as Mithyājagadadhiṣṭhānā
735.
When I look within, She is Pratyagrūpā 781.
When I analyze waking, dream and deep sleep, She is Turyā
262, yet Sarvāvasthāvivarjitā 263.
When I enquire through the five kośas, She is Pañcakośāntarasthitā
428, yet Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktā 708.
When I ask what the Upaniṣads are ultimately revealing, She is Sarvavedānta-saṃvedyā (645), Brahmātmaikya-svarūpiṇī (672), and Sarvopaniṣad-udghuṣṭā (852).
And to teach us that very truth expounded by Sarva-Vedānta-śāstram, She Herself appears as Gurumūrtiḥ (603), the very form of the Guru, and as Gurumaṇḍala-rūpiṇī (714), the very form of the entire Guru-paramparā.
And finally She who is Śivaśaktyaikyarūpiṇī 999 (not two ~ Advaita), is my mother Sri Lalitā - Lalitāmbikā 1000.
So Śrī Lalitā Devī is Lalitāmbikā, our Mother, our Father, our Guru, our Deivam, the ever-shining Awareness, our own Self, the Ātman, as beautifully expressed in the nāma Pratyak-chitī-rūpā (367).
Epilogue
The journey of Sri Lalitā Sahasranāma therefore begins with Mother,
passes through the entire universe, enters one's own body, mind and states of
experience, crosses the five kośas, resolves Śiva and Śakti into aikyam, and
culminates in the Brahmātma-aikyam proclaimed by the Upaniṣads.
Śrī Śaṅkara,
in the fifth stanza of the Śrī Lalitā Prātaḥstotra-pañcakam, says:
prātar vadāmi lalite tava puṇya-nāma
kāmeśvarīti kamaleti maheśvarīti |
śrīśāmbhavīti jagatāṃ
jananī pareti
vāgdevateti vacasā tripureśvarīti ||
“At dawn I utter Your sacred names, O Lalitā: Kāmeśvarī,
Kamalā, Maheśvarī, Śāmbhavī, Jagatāṃ
Jananī, Parā, Vāgdevatā and Tripureśvarī.”
This is almost an answer in verse to the devotee’s original
question.
Is She Lakṣmī? Yes. She is Kamalā.
Is She Śiva’s Śakti? Yes. She is Maheśvarī, Śāmbhavī and Kāmeśvarī.
Is She Sarasvatī? Yes. She is Vāgdevatā.
And who is She beyond all these particular manifestations? She is Parā,
and Jagatāṃ
Jananī, the Mother of the entire universe.
It is always reassuring when our questions are answered by
the Ācārya himself. 😊
And yet, the teaching does not stop even with the
recognition of Lalitā as the universal Mother and the source of all
Devatā-rūpas. It takes us still further inward.
The Devī who is initially worshipped as upāsya-devatā
is ultimately recognized as one’s own sva-svarūpam.
This is why the dhyāna of Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma quietly
gives away the whole secret even before the thousand names begin:
aham ity eva vibhāvaye bhavānīm
“Bhavānī is to be contemplated as the very ‘I’.”
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