Lalita Sahasranama meanings per name
421. Vyāhṛtiḥ
Meaning – She manifests as the 7 invocations (Vyāhṛtiḥ) preceding the Gayatri mantra.
‘Bhu, Bhuva, Suvaha, Mahah, Janah, Tapah, Satyam’ are the 7 Vyāhṛtiḥ. Om is added to each of them and they are invoked before recitation of Gayatri mantra.
These are the 7 stages of consciousness from the gross to the subtlest. These are also called the 7 lokas or planes of existence both above and below us.
422. Sandhyā
Meaning – As She is the powerful energy who is born at Sandhya times, She is Sandhya Devi. She is worshipped at each Sandhya times.
There are 3 Sandhya times in a day. These are the junctions wherein 2 different times meet e.g.- night and morning, morning and afternoon, evening and night. These times are very powerful for meditation and worship and hence should not be wasted. The truteeya skanda (3rd skanda) of Srimad Bhagavatam tells the story of the birth of Sandhya Devi.
423. Dvijabṛnda-niṣevitā
Meaning – She is worshipped by the twice born i.e. those people who have undergone the sacred thread ceremony and have been initiated into Gayatri mantra.
Dvija also means birds. Just as the birds, tired after endless flying, come and rest on the branch of a tree, the mind, senses and the intellect that are tired after the entire day’s activities, reach her feet (worship Her) and rest there. In the form of sleep She is providing the much needed rest. Without such rest the beings will endlessly suffer.
424. Tatvāsanā
Meaning – Tattvas (the 24 secret principles that are the root of all this creation) are like a seat (asana) upon which She is seated.
The 24 principles behind this creation are- Mahat, ahamkara, mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), the 5 organs of perception (Jnanendriyas) and the 5 organs of action (karmedriyas), the 5 subtle elements (tanmatras) and the 5 physical gross elements (earth, water, fire, wind and space). Amongst them, Mahat is the principle of cosmic intelligence and is the fundamental source behind creation. This is the most superior/ subtlest principle that supports this creation.
Although the creation stems out of these principles, they are inert (jada) in themselves. As the Supreme Mother fills the life force (chaitanya) into them She is the root energy. Hence it is said that these principles are a seat upon which She is seated.
Tattvam is composed of 2 words- tat+ tvam. Understand the Supreme, understand His nature (bhava), His residence and His mind because understanding the Absolute helps us in understanding of the self.
425. Tat
Meaning – She can be understood only through ‘tat’. Tat means that.
Understanding Paramatma is the toughest subject and hence the Supreme essence has been defined as ‘that’ (tat) i.e. as an object. This is the first level of understanding. The Vedic statement ‘Tasmai namah’ means ‘Obeisance to that separate entity (‘tat’).
‘Tat’ is something that cannot be imagined as it is beyond space and time. He who is the power behind the individual existence, He who fills our intellect with Jnana, who gives the power of thinking on to the individual, is ‘tat’. The following verse explains ‘tat’-
Ekam eva adviteeyam sat naama roopa vivarjitam
Srushtehe pura adhunaabhsyaa tatrutvam taditeeryate.
Meaning – That which has no second (atma, Paramatma) and that which is alone and eternal (sat); that which has no name and form; that which remains the same at all times (changeless both before and after creation) is ‘tat’. This is the atma. This is God.
426. Tvam
Meaning – She alone manifests as the individual being.
Tvam means ‘you’ (eg- jeevaatma). ‘You are also Her form’ is the purport of this. Understanding of the Supreme essence is now a step closer with the understanding that the inner being inside us is none other than the Divine Mother.
‘Tubhyam namah’- Obeisance to you O mother who is residing within me! The following verse seeks to explain tvam-
Shrotur dehendrateeyam vastratratvam paderitam
Meaning – She is the intelligence and force (chaitanya) that is beyond the body and the sense of hearing. She causes the senses (indriyas) within the individual to function.
427. Ayi
Meaning – Ayi is the stage at the merger of Tat and Tvam. ‘You’ are ‘that’.
In the two earlier names one explained the object far away as ‘tat’ and the second explained the individual self as ‘tvam’. They explained that both entities were Her forms. Ayi now emphasizes that ‘You are none other than the Divine Mother’. ‘You are that’. Tat tvam ayi (or asi) represents a state of merger with Her.
‘Ayyai namaha’- Obeisance to Her who is everything. This is the true state of realization. This is the truth.
428. Pañca-kośāntra-sthitā
Meaning – She is seated within the 5 sheaths (Pancha koshās).
The living beings are made up of 5 sheaths also known as koshas. They are in the order of Annamaya kosha, Prānamaya kosha, Manomaya kosha, Vignānamaya kosha and Anandamaya kosha. The term kosha means enclosure, avarana, layer or covering. Each sheath is subtler than the one preceding it.
The outermost sheath covering the being is the sheath of food or Annamaya kosha. This is the physical body. This enclosure is created out of the food (anna) that the being partakes. The being originates out of food and it is out of food that he sustains.
The second is the Prānamaya kosha or the sheath of vital energy. The vital energy enters and enables the being to connect to the external world. It controls the vital actions of the being. The third is the Manomaya kosha or the sheath of mind. It is at the level of thoughts and emotions and thus controls the fourth and fifth sheaths (prānamaya and annamaya koshas).
The fourth is the Vignanamaya kosha- the sheath of experience. The combination of food, vital energy and mind give the being an experience. This is the vignana. He develops the feeling of ‘I’ (individual identity). This is the process through which all beings are created.
Anandamaya kosha is the sheath of bliss. This is the fifth and subtlest of all the sheaths. This is purely to be experienced.
She resides within these sheaths.
With this name, the Śivadūtī vidya concludes. These 24 names corresponded to the 24 syllables in the Gayatri Mantra (which is said to represent the 24 cosmic principles).
In the names below, the form of the Divine Mother Gayatri is extolled.
429. Niḥsīma-mahimā
Meaning – Her greatness is incalculable and immeasurable.
There is no cap to the amount of blessings She can grant.
Verse 97 of Soundarya Lahiri describes Her using the very same words Nisseema mahima –
Girām āhur devim Druhina-grhnim āgamavido
Hareh patnim padmām Hara-sahacharim adri-tanyām
Turiya kāpi tvam duradhigama-nihsīma-mahima
Maha-māyā visvam bhramayasi parabrahmam mahisi
Meaning – O Supreme Mother! Scholars, the masters of agamas have described You as Saraswati (wife of Brahma). You have been described as Lakshmi (Vishnu’s wife) and as Parvati (wife of Shiva). But you, O Mother, are the main source from which these 3 goddesses get their powers. You are in the fourth state i.e. tureeya state. Your greatness is endless. You are the mahā-māya who puts this entire world under the supreme illusion.
430. Nitya-yauvanā
(During recitation, gap should not be given between nitya and youvana. It should be read as Nisseema mahima (pause) Nitya-yauvanā mada shaalini).
Meaning – She is eternally young. She always remains as a 16 years old young maiden.