Devi: The Great Goddess
“The saints were respected, I am telling you in India, real saints were respected and they made different observations. Now when I read, say Adi Shankaracharya, I am amazed how he knows so many things about Me. He knows how My knee looks like, he knows how many lines I have on My back, how many. I mean it is very amazing how this man knows everything about Me. That means through his meditative power he could envisage Me. He never saw Me. The description and everything is so clear cut. Now if you say the Thousand Names of the Goddess, thousand names of the Goddess are so precise. I mean you can verify them in Me. I am just like that. Whatever it is good or bad, whatever is said about Me is there, is a fact; and it is the Knowledge of these people is most remarkable.” The Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh-DeviNavaratri Puja, Cabella, Italy—Sep. 27, 1992
The eternal, ageless Divine Feminine
“The Great Goddess, known in India as Devi (literally 'goddess'), has many guises. She is 'Ma' the gentle and approachable mother. As Jaganmata, or Mother of the universe, she assumes cosmic proportions, destroying evil and addressing herself to the creation and dissolution of the worlds. She is worshiped by thousands of names that often reflect local customs and legends. She is one and she is many. She is celebrated in songs and poems.
Devi is all-important in Hinduism, but there are also forms of female divinity in Buddhism and Jainsim. Today millions of Hindu men and women conduct regular pujas to Devi through one of her many manifestations. For some she is their primary deity while for others she is part of a greater pantheon. All Hindu goddesses may be viewed as different manifestations of Devi. In some forms she is benign and gentle, while in other forms she is dynamic and ferocious, but in all forms she is helpful to her devotees... .
There are many approaches to looking at Devi: chronological, religious, or by function. Here we have chosen to observe Devi through her six main functions, beginning with her most forceful and dynamic form and moving toward less potent forms.
Devi is first seen as cosmic force, where she destroys demonic forces that threaten world equilibrium, and creates, annihilates, and recreates the universe. Next, in her gentle, radiant dayini form, she is the gracious donor of boons, wealth, fortune, and success. As heroine and beloved, Devi comes down to earth and provides inspiring models for earthly women.
Devi is then seen as a local protector of villages , towns, and individual tribal peoples, where she is concerned only with local affairs. In her fifth aspect, Devi appears as semi-divine force, manifesting herself through fertility spirits, and other supernatural forms. Finally, she is also represented in woman saints, who are born on earth but endowed with deep spirituality and other-worldly powers.”1
"By you this universe is borne, By you this world is created, O Devi, by you it is protected.” (Devi-Mahatmya).
Throughout India, devotees honour Devi in their temples and at wayside shrines. Flowers garland her image with brightness, the light of countless lamps illuminate her presence and the blood of thousands of animals stains the stones of her altars crimson.
The Goddess is older than time, yet time itself. She is formless, yet to be found in all forms. Her presence is in all things, yet she transcends all things. She is ever-changing, yet eternally changeless. She is both the womb from which all life flows forth and the tomb to which all life returns. Devi the Shining One source of the life-giving powers of the universe, who is experienced by her ecstatic worshipers as the Primal Cause and Mother of the World.
Roots
Pre-dating the patriarchal Male Trinity by thousands of years, the Goddess was once worshipped throughout the ancient world. Now, only in India does her cult remain widespread and part of a vibrant, living tradition in which her presence empowers and stirs the hearts of her devotees with adoration and devotion.
The veneration of Devi can be traced as far back as 20,000 BC. A bone image of the Great Mother was discovered at Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh dating back to that period. She was also revered at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley from 2,500 BC. Closely associated with the land itself, villagers in rural India paid tribute to the Earth Goddess, adorning branches of trees and placing shrines within them which carried her image. Smooth, oval-shaped stones also marked her sacred sites.
Women were her channels and it was through them her rituals were performed, rites for the dead and ceremonies to promote fertility and fruitfulness of the land.
The Goddess reigned supreme until the patriarchal Aryans invaded the country in 1500 BC. The Harappan culture declined as these nomadic herding people initiated a new age in which their male Gods became predominent. But the worship of Devi could not be entirely suppressed. It was absorbed and transformed to accommodate the new situation.
The Goddess became united in a Divine Marriage with the Gods of the Male Trinity: Sarasvati with Brahma, Lakshmi with Vishnu, and Parvati, Kali and Durga with Siva. Once given a priestly blessing, veneration of the Goddess as the God's consort was incorporated in the regular rituals. As Sakti, she became the powerful spiritual energy without which the God was unable to act.
Facets
The Goddess is multi-faceted, known by myriad names and personified in many forms. As well as responding to the names of Parvati, Lakshmi, Sarasvati and Sakti, she also manifests under the titles of Gauri, Uma, Sati, Aditi, Maya, Ganga, Prakriti, Gayatri, Tara, Minaksi, Mahadevi, Kundalini, Durga, Kali, Chamunda and in many other guises.
The great mountain peaks of the Himalayas Annapurna, Nanda Devi and Chomo-Lung-Ma (known to Westerners as the world's highest mountain, Everest) all testify to her divine presence. Like the facets of a diamond, these varying forms of the Great Universal Energy that is Devi are merely reflections of the countless aspects that make the whole, the Absolute.
Creator and Preserver
As Virgin and Mother, the Goddess is considered to be the very spring from which every kind of love flows into the world. From the vast ocean of her being the morphogenetic field that produces all forms the Goddess gives birth to all living things. The pouring forth of this love-energy from her timeless, formless source into the field of time constitutes a sacred mystery.
Representations of the Goddess as a crouching woman giving birth to the manifold forms of her creation can be found in Indian art. As the Sky-Goddess Aditi, she pervades all space and is mother to the Gods so revered by the Indo-Aryans.
Maya the Sanskrit word for 'magic' and 'illusion' describes her role as the originator of all material things, all that is perceptible to the senses.
Displaying the protective and maternal side of her nature, she revels in her multitudinous manifestations and joyfully embraces the bounty of her gifts. Sculptures adorning Hindu temples frequently depict the Virgin Goddess as a young, beautiful and voluptuous woman. Sometimes she stands on her own, at others she is paired with her God-consort.
As Earth Mother, she is also a deity closely associated with Nature and fertility. Images of her priestesses, the Yoginis and Saktas, often incorporate organic forms such as branches or vines, symbolising Nature in its most instinctive form, proliferous and fruitful. Plants, leaves and flowers are commonly used in Indian medicine and, when they appear in portrayals of the Earth Mother they are considered to reflect the magical powers with which she is endowed.
Although on one level, her naked body signifies the physical beauty and attraction of the Eternal Feminine, it also symbolises the discarding of illusion and, therefore, freedom from attachment.
Adorned with jewels and ornaments, she represents all that is precious. She alone is the eternal jewel whose brilliance encompasses and illuminates the universe.
Carved images of the Goddess and her Yoginis formulate the visual language which conveys the essence of the philosophy lying at the core of her worship, which is so little understood by most Westerners. Gazing at sculptures depicting the joyous physical expression of love, they tend to miss the symbolism of the divine ecstasy associated with the union of male and female energies that transcend, transform and liberate the soul from the wheel of karma.
One of the most ancient cults of the Goddess is that of Sarasvati, who is both worshipped as a sacred river of the same name and as the instigator and protectress of the spoken word, as well as all intellectual and artistic pursuits.
One of the most recent forms of her manifestation is that of Bharat Mata, Mother India, a militant aspect of the Goddess that is much concerned with the cause of Hindu nationalism.
Another manifestation is that of the beneficent Lakshmi, bringer of prosperity and abundance. During the autumn festival of Diwali, people all over the country light lamps in her honour to guide her into their homes.
The Goddess is also revered as Sati the pre-Vedic Virgin Bride who epitomises the loyal and virtuous wife who is faithful to her husband even unto death. This idea of wifely perfection is dear to the Indian way of thinking. Although in a metaphysical sense it means Sati is totally at one with her own true being, it is also an ethical concept. Sadly, the idea of the 'perfect wife' who is faithful unto death developed into the practice of suttee, in which a dutiful spouse was expected to accompany her husband to the world beyond through self-immolation voluntarily or otherwise in the flames of his funeral pyre.
In her aspect of the Great Mother, Devi's devotees believe the presence of the Goddess exists within all her creations. She is their Mother. She gives them life. She nurtures them through her physical manifestations and she is present in their times of need. Through her worship, too, her devotees can transcend the world of illusion and reach out to her true being.
To know the Goddess is to experience Being-Consciousness and bliss itself. But Devi demands total surrender on the part of her followers before she condescends to reveal herself in her divine state. Her fervent devotees must learn to see her presence in all things. She must become the bedrock and the meaning of their life. Then, and only then, can they aspire to experience her blessings in their totality.
Even as in the psychological process of accepting the dark side of our own nature to achieve a harmonious wholeness, it is necessary to understand the Goddess in her terrible aspect also. For even as she is the bestower of life, as Kali the personification of all-consuming Time she is also its destroyer, to whom, at the appointed time, all manifested things return. They are absorbed into her being, there to await rebirth in yet another cycle of cosmic creation.
Destroyer
As Devimahatma, Mahadevi or Durga (one of her most ancient titles), the eternally existent mother who nurtures and protects her offspring, the Goddess's influence swept across North India and was particularly popular in the regions of Bengal and Rajasthan.
Famous for her prowess in battle, Durga the Unassailable used the strength of her will, her knowledge and force of action, to defeat the purveyors of evil and to vanquish the demonic forces upsetting the balance of the universe.
Riding on a lion or tiger, her multiple arms wielding auspicious weapons, she was Cosmic Energy personified. When her mission was fulfilled she returned to her mountain home, promising to nourish the earth and protect her worshipers, only returning should her divine force be needed again.
At the height of this great cosmic battle, Durga was aided by the awesome Kali, who burst from her forehead to devour or crush the army of demons. As Kali drank the seed-blood of her enemies, she rendered impotent the destructive phallic power of her assailants.
Black Kali represents the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess. With her dishevelled hair and lolling blood-drenched tongue, she presents a fearsome figure.
As the active power of Time, her three eyes look to past, present and future. Her thin waist is encircled by a girdle of human hands, symbolising the accumulated deeds of karma. Around her neck hangs a rosary of fifty skulls, each one inscribed with a magic letter of the Sanskrit alphabet representing the sacred word, or mantra, which vibrates within the primordial creative energy of the universe.
The Dark Goddess's four hands are also symbolic of her function: one wields a sword to cleave the threads of bondage, another grasps a severed head, representing the annihilation of the ego. Her two remaining hands are poised in gestures to dispel fear and inspire her devotees with spiritual strength.
Paintings and sculptures sometimes depict the fearsome Goddess standing on the inert body of her consort, Siva, awakening him into action with her sheer primordial power and energy.
As Smashanakali she resides in cremation grounds and her priestesses, the Dakinis or Skywalkers, undertake the role of Angels of Death.
Terrible though her aspect as Destroyer undoubtedly is, the mystical experience of the Goddess in this form can liberate the devotee from ego-consciousness and spiritually unite him with the Goddess in her oceanic formless state.
One of her most frequented temples is that of Kalighat in Kalikata, Anglicised to Calcutta, the city that derives its name from the Goddess.
During the three-day-long annual autumn festival of Durga Puja, seven or eight hundred male goats are slaughtered in her honour at Kalighat alone.
Before human sacrifice was prohibited in 1835, male children, too, were sometimes beheaded to placate Kali.
In today's festivities, an image of Durga is fashioned from clay, painted and lavishly decorated, then paraded through the streets and cast into the waters of the holy Ganges.
Symbolic representations
Abstract forms can also depict the Goddess in her various forms.
As Creator she is symbolised by a downward pointing triangle, the yoni, representative of female sexuality.
As Preserver, she takes the form of a straight line, and as Destroyer she is recognised in the form of the circle.
In her unmanifested state as the Source of all life, the Goddess is depicted simply as a dot, the bindu, or seed-state of her being.
Sakti
Tantric texts date back to about 600 AD, but the basis of many of their ideas go back to much earlier times. Even today, the worship of the Eternal Feminine as the cosmically creative energy of her consort Siva, is widely practised in Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, as well as India.
Tantrics practise the sexual adoration of the feminine life-force as Sakti and through controlled sexual intercourse maithuna seek to awaken the spirit within to a state of heightened awareness, breaking through the limiting physical boundaries to an ecstatic union with the divine in her Absolute and timeless state.
To raise the kundalini, or serpent power, so that the spiritual energies ascend through their psychic channels and energy centres within the subtle body the chakras to culminate in enlightenment, involves a number of processes. Methods such as meditation, breath control, the saying of mantras, the contemplation of yantras, visual symbols which concentrate the mind, all play an important role.
As Kundalini, the Goddess assumes the form of the ancient and powerful symbolic image of the serpent or snake, so shunned by Christianity.
Yet, in whatever form, Devi's magic still remains. As the Great Triple Goddess she is today widely worshipped throughout India.
To her followers, she is both the Energy which is life itself and the Source to whose depths all living things return.
At the time of Kali Yurga, or cosmic dissolution, her devotees believe the physically manifested universe will once again withdraw itself into the formless depths of the Goddess until a new gestation period commences and the cyclic rhythm of creation is once again set into motion.
"Who dares misery, love
And hug the form of death,
Dance in destruction's dance
To him The Mother comes.”
(Vivekananda).”2
Kash and his family meditated on different photographs of the Great Devi who incarnated Herself on Earth as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. Meditation was done either in the living room or the children's bedroom. There were considerable age differences between the different photos.
One particular day the father became curious again and began pondering which particular image of the Great Adi Shakti manifested in Kash's Sahasrara. Logically only one image of the physical Shri Mataji should manifest in his Thousand-Petal Lotus. But which one would it be and why that particular one? Or did She keep appearing sometimes youthful, at other times middle-aged, or even old.
Kash replied that normally the Great Divine Mother assumes the image that is being normally meditated on i.e., sari color, garland of flowers. However, if the photograph is changed and replaced, or meditation done in a different room with a different photograph, then She sometimes assumes that form.
Nevertheless, one fact is constant at all times: The Great Adi Shakti Shri Nirmala Devi always appears considerably younger in the Sahasrara, between 30-35-years-old, than Her physical being on Earth. Put simply, She always appears youthful and this feature remains constant. She is eternally ever young. (Arwinder and Lalita have confirmed this fact many times.)
There are other observations that he made:
1. According to him the Great Devi always wears a different sari every day. She does not wear any other type of attire, a fact subsequently corroborated by his younger brother, Arwinder. Sometimes Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi wears the exact sari as that in the photograph he meditates on.
(On September 1998, at 9.05 a.m. Kash was asked if Shri Mataji wore a particular sari again at other times. He replied that She did wear the same sari again.)
2. Her hair is normally always parted in the middle and flowing down to at least the waist. Sometimes they are held back loosely in a bun. Shri Mataji has a bindi on Her forehead at all times.
3. She never wears earrings but has a koka in Her nose. He is not sure about any necklace as the folds of Her sari are always draped across and over Her chest and shoulders.
4. The Great Goddess has five thin golden bangles on each wrist, and golden rings on Her left Vishuddhi and Agnya fingers. The right hand fingers do not have any rings.
5. The Great Adi Shakti always has a swastika on both Lotus Feet and there are golden rings on all toes, except the big toes.
6. She is always barefooted and has never been seen wearing any type of footwear. This fact was also confirmed by his siblings Arwinder and Lalita.
Note: On September 18, 1998 Lalita was asked if Shri Mataji wore shoes and the reply was She did. Her father told her to be sure and the reply was affirmative. He knew that she had made a mistake and probably had not observed Her Feet properly.
The next day at 9.10 a.m. Lalita, just after meditation, told her father that Shri Mataji did not have any shoes. This time she confirmed that the Great Adi Shakti was barefooted in her Sahasrara. (Lalita was never even asked to find out). Her brother Arwinder, who had also finished meditating, casually added, "Shri Mataji has no shoes.” Their father, solely for the sake of positive proof, asked her why was she sure this time and the reply was, "When I meditate with Her I can see She has no shoes.” In other words Lalita had just found out this fact after going into Nirvikalpa Samadhi a few minutes earlier. Her father asked, "You looked at Her Feet?” Lalita replied that she did.
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Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi “The saints were respected, I am telling you in India, real saints were respected and they made different observations. Now when I read, say Adi Shankaracharya, I am amazed how he knows so many things about Me. He knows how My knee looks like, he knows how many lines I have on My back, how many. I mean it is very amazing how this man knows everything about Me. That means through his meditative power he could envisage Me. He never saw Me. The description and everything is so clear cut.
Now if you say the Thousand Names of the Goddess, thousand names of the Goddess are so precise, I mean you can verify them in Me. I am just like that. Whatever it is good or bad, whatever is said about Me is there, is a fact; and it is the Knowledge of these people is most remarkable. How did they know that a Goddess is like that? Certain of My things which I also don't know but they are there, and they have described. Very surprising. So their meditative power in India was great.”
The Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh-Devi
Navaratri Puja, Cabella, Italy—Sep. 27, 1992
“Devi is the Divine Mother of the Hindu culture. Her name means"goddess.”She has many names and forms such as the warrior Durgha and the bloodthirsty Kali or she can be gentle as Parvati, mother of the elephant god Ganesha. Devi is the consort (wife) of Shiva which is Parvati. Shiva is the god of generation and destruction. Devi is the 'Mother Goddess,' meaning she is The Mother of all. In her hands she holds joy and pain, right hand; and life and death is held on her left hand. Devi is the god of nature and life because she brings rain and protects against disease. Devi is mild and loving. This was the personality of Devi as mother of life.
As mother of death, she is terrible. In her description, Devi has eight arms, only one arm has a sword. When she is fighting against evil, she is usually mounted on a lion or a tiger. Devi holds the universe in her wombs. Devi is the warrior Durgha when she is The Mother of death. Gods begged Durgha to kill and protect from the evil Mahisasura. Devi is in all the women's soul and she can also turn into the religious Uma.
Devi's diagram is called her mansions. In the middle of her forehead, she has a Bindu (drop or dot) which in some ways seems to be masculine. Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu is an incarnation of Devi. She is the goddess of creative power and represents all women in the universe.”
Kayur Shaha, www.pantheon.org
“Who is Devi?
The Great Goddess, known in India as Devi (literally 'goddess'), has many guises. She is 'Ma' the gentle and approachable mother. As Jagatmata, or Mother of the universe, she assumes cosmic proportions, destroying evil and addressing herself to the creation and dissolution of the worlds. She is worshiped by thousands of names that often reflect local customs and legends. She is one and she is many. She is celebrated in songs and poems.
"Always Blissful Mother," by Kamlalakanta Chakrabarti
Mother, you're always blissful.
You charmed destructive Shiva, you dance in your own joy, and clap your hands to keep time.
O Elemental, Eternal One!
Your form is empty space, yet the moon adorns your brow.
Where did you get your garland of severed heads, before the universe came into being?
You are the operator, and we nothing but machines that run by your rule.
We stay where you put us, and say what you make us say.
Cursing you, O Destructive One, restless Kamlalakanta says:
With the sword in your hand you've slaughtered my faith together with my disbelief.
Devi is all-important in the Hindu tradition, but there are also forms of female divinity in the Buddhist and Jain religions. Today millions of Hindu men and women conduct regular pujas to Devi through one of her many manifestations. For some she is their primary deity while for others she is part of a greater pantheon. All Hindu goddesses can be seen as different manifestations of Devi. In some forms she is benign and gentle, while in other forms she is dynamic and ferocious, but in all forms she is helpful to her devotees.
[DEFINITION: Hinduism is a fusion of many religious beliefs and philosophical schools Its origins are mixed and complex: one strand is traced to the Vedas, the sacred literature written around 1100 BC by the Aryans, a people who trickled steadily into the Indian subcontinent between 1800 and 1200 BC; the other strand drew upon the beliefs of the indigenous people of India especially their faith in the efficacy of fertility symbols and faith in the power of The Mother Goddess.]
[DEFINITION: Buddhism, a faith that originated in India about 2,500 years ago, embodies the teachings of the Buddha. He devised a code of actions and thoughts to free humankind from a continual state of desire and egotism. Jainism is a faith that originated in India in the fifth century B.C. which considered knowledge to be the ultimate way to salvation.]"
Smithsonian Institution, 1999
802) Sri Puratana
— The Primordial One.
— The Ancient One.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
806) Sri Param-jyotih
— The Ultimate Light.
—"There (in the Great Lotus Forest) the sun, moon and stars do not shine because She illumines the mind that illumine all of them.”Kathopanisad 5.15
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
807) Sri Param-dhama
— The Ultimate Light.
— The Ultimate Status.
— 'Yadgatva na nivartante taddhama paramam mama'"The State of Consciousness from which there is no return is My Ultimate State.” (Bha. Gi. 16-6)
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
808) Sri Paramanuh
— The Ultimate Atom.
— The Minutest Atom.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
809) Sri Parat-para
— The Ultimate of the Ultimate.
— The Ultimate beyond the Trimurti — Sri Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
814) Sri Amurta
— Beyond sense perception.
— Formless.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
816) Sri Muni-manasa-hamsika
— Ever dwelling in the minds of Yogis.
— The Female Swan in the Lake of the Great Lotus Forest.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
817) Sri Satya-vrata
— Dedicated to the Food of Truth.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
819) Sri Sarvantaryamini
— The Spirit
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
"Sarvantaryamini The indwelling spirit or power in everything, which produces action.” www.saksi.org
822) Sri Brahma-janani
— The Ultimate Mother of All.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
824) Sri Bahu-rupa
— Of Multiform Manifestations.
—"There are many forms of Her: the divine, human, animal, static and mobile. Hence She is known as Bahurupa.”Devi-Purana
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
826) Sri Prasavitri
— Entire Creation emanates from Her.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
827) Sri Pracanda
— Angry, Fearful.
—"For fear of Her the wind blows.”Taittiriya Upanisad 2.8
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
828) Sri Ajna
— The Command.
—"In the beginning from My Mouth, By My Command were born.”Linga Purana
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
831) Sri Pranesvari
—The Ruler of All Forms of Life.
—The Life of Life.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
836) Sri Vira-mata
— The Mother of the Forces battling the forces of evil.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
839) Sri Mukti-nilaya
— The Abode of Liberation.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
840) Sri Mula-vigraha-rupini
— The Primordial Power.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
841) Sri Bhavajna
— The Knower of All Thoughts.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
845) Sri Sastra-sara
— The Power behind all Scriptures.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
846) Sri Mantra-sara
— The Power behind All Mantras.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
848) Sri Udara-kirtih
— The Highest Fame.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
849) Sri Uddama-vaibhava
— Of Infinite Splendour.
— Limitless Greatness.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
850) Sri Varna-rupini
— Of the Form of Letters.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
851) Sri Janma-mrtyu-tapta-jana-visranti-dayini
— Bestower of Peace and Solace on those consumed by evils of life, death and old age.
— Endows True Knowledge of their Selves.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
852) Sri Sarvopanisadadudghusta
— Proclaimed by all the Upanisads.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
854) Sri Gambhira
— The Bottomless Lake.
—"The Ultimate Mother is to be visualised as a great and deep lake of Consciousness, uncomprehended by Space and Time.”Siva Sutra 1.23
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
858) Sri Kalpana-rahita
— Pure Consciousness.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
859) Sri Kastha
— The Final Truth.
—"She is the End and She is the Ultimate Path.”Kathopanisad 3.11
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
861) Sri Kantardha-vigraha
— Having half the form which is Female.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
866) Sri Aja
— The Unborn One.
— The One without Birth.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
870) Sri Antarmukha-samaradhya
— Worshipped by those with Inner Vision.
— Worshipped by those with introspection.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
871) Sri Bahirmukha-sudurlabha
— To be sought within.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
879) Sri Sudha-srutih
— Ambrosial Stream of Bliss.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
880) Sri Samsara-panka-nirmagna- samuddharana-pandita
— Rescues those drowning in Samsara; cycle of births and death.
—"Just as the tusk of Sri Varahavatara rescued the submerged earth, so also She rescues those drowned in the Sea of Births.”Saundarya-Lahari 3
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
889) Sri Visvabhramanakarini
— The Prime Mover of the Universe.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
891) Sri Vidrumabha
— The Tree of Knowledge
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
892) Sri Vaisnavi
— Female counterpart of Sri Vishnu bearing Sanka, Cakra and Gada.
— Sri Mahalaksmi, the Power of Sri Vishnu.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
893) Sri Visnurupini
— Sri Vishnu is one of Her Forms.
— The Primordial Power of Sri Mahesha has four different forms.
Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)
Notes
1. www.asia.si.edu
2. www.phhine.ndirect.co.uk
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