Lalita Sahasranama meanings per name
661. Sadasad-roopa-dhārinī
Meaning – Both sat (truth) and asat (falsehood, non-existence) are Her forms.
‘Sat’ is the supreme truth. It is one of the aspects of Paramatma (sat+chit+ ananda). ‘Asat’ is the destructible world visible to us which in reality is not true (non-existing). ‘Sat’ is that which is visible during meditation. ‘Asat’ is the world that is visible otherwise. ‘Sat’ is the chit shakti (power of conciousness). ‘Asat’ refers to the indriyas (senses) or avidya (ignorance).
662. Ashtamurthi (to be completed)
Meaning – This is Her form as Mother Nature (prakriti maata). She has taken on 8 forms known as Ashtamurti for the sustenance of this creation.
Shastras declare that Parabrahma has taken on 8 forms for the purpose of sustenance of this creation. These 8 deities are collectively known as ashta murtis. The truth is that the entire universe consists of only these 8 forms.
Yaa srishtir shrustu raadhya vahati vidhi hutam
Yaa havir yaa chahotri ye dve kAlam bhidataha
Shruti Vishaya gunA yA sthithA yApya vishwam
yA mAhu sarvabhuta prakrtariti yajA prAnina prAnavantaha
pratyakshAbhiprapannah tanu bhi ravatu vasthabhieshah.
The universal Lord has divided himself into 8 forms. First and foremost He took on the form of Lord Agni, to accept the havvisu from the beings and pass it on to the other deities.
663. Ajā-jetrī
Meaning – She helps the devotees conquer ignorance.
As per the Vedas, Aja stands for ajnana (ignorance).
664. Loka-yātrā-vidhāyinī
Meaning – She regulates the journey of life.
Loka yātra specifies our journey of life through the medium of the human body. Accepting the human body means we are on the loka yātra.
Every person soon upon waking should offer the following prayer –
Praatah sammutha yatavah priyArtham samsaara yaatra manu vartayishye.
‘O Mother, I do not know why you have blessed me with this body. Bless me that I use it in such acts today that would give you immense happiness’.
In the 3rd chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna preaches about karma and akarma –
Shareer-yaatraa-api ch te na prasidh-yed-karmanah.
Meaning- In this Shareera yātra or journey of life, performance of action is a must. Engage in those tasks that are obligatory because action is better than inaction. Even the maintenance of the body becomes impossible if him who is inactive.
It is the divine Mother who regulates this journey of life.
665. Ekākinī
Meaning –
a) She alone exists. ‘Ekāki’ is ‘one who is all alone’.
b) She is the form of the Sun.
Ekāki is a very popular name of Lord Sun. Vedas state- surya ekāki charat which means that the Sun travels all alone without seeking any company. With his luster he brightens up the entire universe. It is the Divine Mother who has filled this luster in him for distribution to the universe.
666. Bhūma Rūpā
Meaning – She is the personification of bliss (ānanda, bhūma).
Bhūma also refers to that which is very vast.
667. Nirdvaitā
Meaning –
She is non – dual.
Meaning – Only he who has conquered all feelings of duality can enjoy pure bliss (bhūma). Feelings of duality are the basis for all problems.
668. Dvaita-varjitā
Meaning – She destroys feels of dualism (dvaita) among her devotees.
With this we now step into Savitri-vidya This is the knowledge pertaining to the Sun God and the namas 669 (Annada) up to nama 700 (Saccidānanda-rūpiṇī) teach this. These names contain the knowledge pertaining to the Sun galaxy (Surya gola). Savitri-vidya also refers to Savitri- as in Satyavā-savitri story (found in aranya parvam of Mahabharata). Savitri was the wife of Prince Satyavan. When Satyavan died shortly after marriage, She with all her austerities managed to get her deceased husband back to life. Thus Savitri Vidya is also Sanjeevani-vidya (life-giving knowledge).
669. Annadā
Meaning – In Her form of Annapoorna, She grants anna (food) to all the beings.
In the very first name of Savitri vidya, the result (phala) of undertaking Savitri upasana (Savitri worship) is elaborated.
Not all food that we eat can be defined as ‘annam’. Only that food which passes on the traits of purity (Sattva guna) to the person consuming it can be defined as ‘Annam’. That food which causes a change/transformation in our intellect (buddhi) cannot be defined as annam.
Our Vedas have declared- Ahara shuddhou sattva buddhih-
Meaning – When the food is pure, then the intellect (buddhi, the inner senses) gets purified.
The Divine Mother blesses Her devotee with such pure food. From food comes knowledge (Jnana).
In the Annapurna stotram (hymn) Sri Adi Shankaracharya glorifies Her as –
nityānandakarī varābhayakarī saundarya ratnākarī
nirdhūtākhila ghora pāvanakarī pratyaksa māheshvarī |
Further down in the hymn, he extols Her as –
annapūrne sadāpūrne shankara-prānavallabhe |
j̇ñāna-vairāgya-siddhayarthaṃ bikshāṃ dehi ca pārvatī
O Mother! You are the giver of plentiful food. You are the prana (life force) of Shiva. Through this pure and sacred food, help me develop knowledge (jnana) and detachment/ renunciation (vairagya).
Food is always purified before eating. To achieve success in Savitri Vidya it is very critical that the upasaka (worshipper) maintains the purity of food that he eats. He should maintain stringent rules regarding the food intake. To highlight this, the result of conducting the Savitri vidya has been specified as first and foremost nama in this vidya.
Why does food play such a critical role? Food has a very powerful energy associated with it. The intellect (buddhi) and mind (manas) get formed because of the food we eat. When pure food is taken in the proper procedure at the right hours and in limited quantities it aids the growth of a pure intellect. Such pure intellect is essential to move in the path of worship, prayers etc. The Divine Motehr who blesses with such food is Annadā.
The stringent rules regarding food were born out of this. Our scriptures specify the places and houses where one can eat food. The source of the last meal eaten by a person before his death determines his future birth. This is because the person remains indebted (runa) to that person who provided him/her the last meal. He will have to be reborn in that house to repay this debt.
Under no circumstances should a person eat in that house/function in which he/she has been uninvited. Even when the person has been duly invited, there are many rules regarding food.
Impure food weakens the power of the senses (indriyas) and makes them act in opposition to the will. There are 3 types of defects that make food impure – Jāti dosha, Ashraya dosha and Nimitta dosha.
Jati dosha – In this, the very nature/ family/ class to which the food belongs gives it its defect. For example- onion and garlic. These have a stimulating/ exciting tendency. When such foods are eaten they produce restlessness of the mind and disturb the intellect (buddhi).
In addition, the person who consumes raw onion or garlic emits profuse strong odour and it is very difficult even to come within taking distance from him. This causes himsa (trouble) to others. Thirdly, these items when consumed regularly cause irritation in the stomach and result in acidity related issues. Therefore, even among vegetables, those that cause harm (himsa) to the self and to others have been declared as defective foods (jāti dosha).
Ashraya dosha – The Sanskrit word ‘ashraya’ means ‘shelter’. According to this, the nature of the person/ home from whom the food comes determines whether it is pure or not.
Each man has a certain aura around him and this aura gets transferred to every item/ thing that belongs to him or is touched by him. Just as milk stored in a copper (ragi) vessel turns impure due to contact, food (that has its source) coming from a wicked person/house will cause impure and wicked thoughts in the person who consumes it.
Nimitta dosha – This is the impurity that comes to food due to dirt, dust and other such agents in it. The impurities in the water used for plantation, the kind of manure used etc. can cause certain germs to breed in the vegetables (food). Thus it makes the food defective and unworthy for consumption.
Likewise, eating of meat is forbidden. Killing the animal for its meat causes it pain (himsa, injury) and hence should not be eaten.
670. Vasudā
Meaning – She showers the Savitri upasakas with gold (vasu). This subtly implies that She grants them liberation (moksha).