Supreme Brahman






षडङ्ग-देवातायुक्ता (386)

ṣaḍaṅga-devādāyuktā

ṣaḍ (six) + aṅga (parts) means six parts.  For every mantra there are six parts and each such part is under the control of a god/goddess called aṅaga devatā-s of the presiding deity.  These six parts are heart, head, tuft of hair, arms, eyes and weapons.  Before and after the recitation of a mantra, the deities of these parts are worshipped in our bodies by touching the respective body parts with fingers.  This is with regard to the external worship. 

This nāma says that She is surrounded by these six aṅaga devatā-s. 

षाङ्गुण्य-परिपूरिता (387)

ṣāḍguṇya-paripūritā

She is endowed with six qualities that are considered auspicious.  They are prosperity, righteousness, fame, material wealth, wisdom and dispassion.  Dispassion because, She will not show any special favours to a select few, transcending the law of karma.






नित्य-क्लिन्ना (388)

Nitya-klinnā 

Her ever compassionate nature is referred here.  Nitya-klinnā is the name of a tithi nityā devi (third day of the lunar fortnight). 

निरुपमा (389)

Nirupamā 

She is without comparison. 

निर्वाण-सुख-दायिनी (390)

Nirvāṇa-sukha-dāyinī

Nir (freed) + vāṇa (derived from bāṇa, meaning body).  When mind is freed from body, it leads to bliss. When higher level of consciousness is reached, physical body is forgotten.  When bodily afflictions are dissolved, what is derived is eternal bliss.  She confers this bliss to those who worship Her.







नित्या-षोडशिका-रूपा (391)

Nityā-ṣoḍaśikā-rūpā

This refers to the sixteen deities representing sixteen lunar days and they are worshipped in Śrī Cakra.  The sixteenth deity is Lalitāmbikā Herself.  These fifteen deities are said to represent fifteen bīja-s of Pañcadaśī mantra and Lalitāmbikā as the sixteenth deity representing ṣodaśī mantra.  ṣodaśī mantra has sixteen bīja-s, the additional bīja being श्रीं (śrīṁ), the  Lakṣmī bīja. ṣodaśī mantra is considered as the most powerful mantra of all.  This is the mantra meant only for the final liberation. 

श्रीकण्ठार्ध-शरीरिणी (392)

Śrīkaṇṭhārdha-śarīriṇī

She has half the body of Śiva. Śrīkaṇṭha is another name of Śiva, since He holds poison in His throat.  Śrī also means poison and kaṇṭha means throat.






प्रभावती (393)

Prabhāvatī

She is endowed with the power of effulgence.  She is surrounded by eight devi-s each representing one of the aṣṭama siddhi-s.  They are very powerful and illuminant and known as aṇimā, laghimā, mahimā, īśitva, vaśitva, prākāmya, prāpti and sarvakāma.

These eight devi-s are called prabha.   Prabhāvatī is the One who is surrounded by prabha-s.

प्रभारूपा (394)

Prabhārūpā

She is said to be in the form of Supreme light. 

प्रसिद्धा (395)

Prasiddhā

She is highly celebrated.  She is in the form of inner Self of all living beings. 

परमेश्वरी (396)

Parameśvarī

She is the supreme ruler.





मूलप्रकृतिः (397)

Mūlaprakṛtiḥ

Prakṛti is the root of  all creations.  This is also known as the Brahman with attributes or saguṇa Brahman.  Śaktī is called mūlaprakṛtiḥ because She is the part of Brahman without which creation is never possible.

अव्यक्ता (398)

Avyaktā 

Avyakta is the state of prakṛti in its un-manifested form,  the first stage of the Brahman that cannot be explained, as this is the purest form,  without parentage.  This stage is also known as turya or the fourth state of consciousness.  It is the non-dualistic state, where the Brahman without a second is realized. 

व्यक्ताव्यक्त-स्वरूपिणी (399)

Vyaktāvyakta-svarūpiṇī

It   is vyakta (manifested) + avyakta (un-manifested) svarūpiṇī.  She is both in the manifested and un-manifested form.  Vyakta means perishable and a-vyakta means imperishable. The soul-Brahman relationship is cited here.  This nāma means the first signs of creation and final liberation are both caused by Lalitāmbikā.





व्यापिनी (400)

Vyāpinī

She is all pervading.  Because She is mūlaprakṛtiḥ and avykatā, She is all pervading.  

विविधाकारा (401)

Vividhākārā

She has many forms. 

She is the Supreme Mother or Brahma rūpa. As the sustainer, She is Viṣṇu rūpinī .

As the destroyer, She is Rudra rūpā.  As a witness to the total dissolution, She is mahā pralaya sākṣiṇī.

विद्याsविद्या स्वरूपिणी (402)

Vidyāvidyā svarūpinī 

She is the form of knowledge and ignorance.  Vidyā is not just knowledge. 

It is the supreme knowledge leading to self-realization.  Avidyā is the opposite of vidyā.  In the stage of avidyā, one continues to be associated with performing rituals like fire rituals, external worship etc.  Only when avidyā dissolves into vidyā, the final liberation is attained.





महा-कामेश-नयन-कुमुदाह्लाद-कौमुदी (403)

Mahā-kāmeśa-nayana-kumudahlāda-kaumudī


Mahā-kāmeśa is Śiva, nayana – eyes, kaumuda – the moon which shines bright during the  second half of November and first half of December (the month of Kārttika), kumuda – lotus flower.  

On seeing Lalitāmbikā, Śiva’s eyes become wide open like lotus flower blossoming when the moon shines.





भक्त-हार्द-तमो-भेद-भानुमद्-भानु-सन्ततिः (404)

Bhakta-hārda-tamo-bheda-bhānumad-bhānu-santatiḥ

She dispels the darkness of ignorance of Her devotees. This is compared to the sun dispelling the darkness when it rises.

Benefits of worship






सद्यः-प्रसादिनी (383)

Sadyaḥ-prasāidinī

She bestows Her grace immediately for those who seek Her within.

विश्व-साक्षिणी (384)

Viśva-sākṣinī  

She is the witness of the universe.

साक्षिवर्जिता (385)

Sākṣivarjitā

But She is without witness.  The existence of the Supreme form of the Brahman cannot be witnessed by anyone.

Secret Worshipping






रहोयाग-क्रमाराध्या (381)

Rahoyāga-kramāradhyā

This nāma and the next one discuss about worshipping Her secretively. Secretive worship means worshipping Her internally without resorting to external rituals. Worshipping Her within is considered as a powerful tool to realize Her, as only Her subtlest form Kundalini can be worshipped within. 

रहस्तर्पण-तर्पिता (382)

Rahastarpaṇa-tarpitā

This nāma could be interpreted as ‘secretive oblations’ , wherein all dualities are sacrificed into the internal fire (fire generated in mūlādhāra cakra to keep the body alive).

Sabda Brahman



परा (366)

Parā

In the next few nāma-s Her Śabda (sound) Brahman form is going to be discussed.  The literal meaning of ‘Brahman’ is growing, developing, swelling, expanding, evolving etc.

In a human being  Brahman or Maya or the Absolute is said to be in the form of kuṇḍalinī energy ,posited in mūlādāra cakra or base cakra.  Sound originates from this Absolute form. There are three stages in manifestation of the Absolute. Its called  parā in the unmanifested form and is considered as supreme and is full of energy.





प्रत्यक्-चिती-रूपा (367)

Pratyak-citī-rūpā

Pratyak means turned towards the inner soul and cit means consciousness.  She is in the form of inner consciousness which is known as inner Self.

पश्यन्ती (368)

Paśyantī

Paśyantī is the second stage in the evolution of sound, the primary stage being Para. 

परदेवता (369)

Paradevatā

She transports power to other gods and goddesses, meaning that She is the supreme amongst gods and goddesses.





मध्यमा (370)

Madhyamā

The next higher level of paśyantī is madhyamā.  This stage is called intermediary stage between the origin and the end of speech. 

वैखरी-रूपा (371)

Vaikhari-rūpā 

Vaikhari is the fourth and final form of sound in its evolution.  This is the state wherein the sound is heard.

भक्त-मानस-हंसिका (372)

Bhakta-mānasa-haṁsikā 

Hamsa means Swan. 

The swans have a few exceptional qualities. If water and milk is mixed, swans consume only the milk leaving water alone. This nama says that one should take cognizance of only good things, leaving bad things aside, though the world exists as the mixture of the two.  She acts as a Swan in the minds of Her devotees.





कामेश्वर-प्राण-नाडी (373)

Kāmeśvara-prāna-nāḍī

She is the vital force of Kāmeśvara, the Supreme form of Śiva. The eternal Śiva cannot function without Śaktī and by the effect of Her māyā the universe exists today. That is why She is called the life energy of Śiva.

कृतज्ञा (374)

Kṛtajñā 

She is aware of all the actions of the universe. She is capable of transcending the secrecy or privacy, which ignorant men think that nobody is capable of hearing or seeing.  

Kṛtajñā also means "a person who includes within himself all the good things that other people do.  He is the sum total of all good things in the world".

काम-पूजिता (375)

Kāma-pūjitā 

She is worshipped by the lord of love Manmatha.





शृङ्गार-रस-संपूर्णा (376)

Śṛṅgāra-rasa- saṁpūrṇā

She is in the form of essence of love. 

ज़या (377)

Jayā

She remains victorious.  She is the embodiment of victory.

जालन्धर-स्थिता (378)

Jālandhra-sthitā

Jālandhara pīṭha refers to the heart cakra, where the sound is further refined, to become madhyama, the penultimate stage of sound before its actual delivery.  This is one of Her Śabda Brahman forms.





ओड्याण-पीठ-निलया (379)

Oḍyāṇa-pīṭha-nilayā

She dwells  in the oḍyāṇa-pīṭha, the fourth pīṭha of the gross body. The fully developed sound at this stage is delivered in the form of vaikari.  The oḍyāṇa-pīṭha, corresponds to the throat cakra or viśuddhi. 

बिन्दुमण्डल-वासिनी (380)

Bindumaṇḍala-vāsini

She dwells in the bindu maṇḍala. The bindu is the central dot of Śrī Cakra where She resides along with Her consort Kāmeśvara. This point of Śrī Cakra is considered as the most powerful point because it is the abode of both Kāmeśvara and Kāmeśvarī.

Kshetra and kshetragna


 The few coming namas talk about the physical body and the subtle body, that is, kshetra and Kshetrajna.





क्षेत्र-स्वरूपा (341)

Kṣetra-svarūpā 

Kṣetra is gross physical body and kṣetrajña is the soul,  subtle body. Kṣetra is perishable, whereas the knower of Kṣetra, kṣetrajña is eternal and imperishable.

She is said to be in the form of  kṣetra and Shiva is said to be Kshetrajna. 

क्षेत्रेशी (342)

Kṣtreśī 

Wife of Kṣetrajña (Śiva) is Kṣtreśī (Śaktī). It is like Bhairava and Bhairavī

क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञ-पालिनी (343)

Kṣetra-kṣetrajña-pālinī

The protector of both kṣetra and Kṣetrajña.  She protects both viz. the gross body and the soul.





क्षय-वृद्धि-विनिर्मुक्ता (344)

Kṣaya-vṛddhi-vinirmuktā

She is beyond growth and decay. These are associated with all mortals. 

क्षेत्र-पाल-समर्चिता (345)

Kṣetra-pāla-samarcitā

Ksetra, the body is protected (Pala) by panchabhuta,  five elements. Each of these five elements is represented by a demigod. She's worshiped by them also.





विजया (346)

Vijayā

She is always victorious.

विमला (347)

Vimalā

She is devoid of impurities. 

वन्द्या (348)

Vandyā 

She is adorable. We adore someone by merely seeing him and without even knowing him.  This happens because he draws divine energy from the cosmos and this gets reflected through his body as vibrations.  Such vibrations are normally drawn through an orifice in the crown cakra and also through medulla oblongata which is situated beneath the back of our head.

The third eye, the pineal gland and the back head cakra are placed in a straight line.  When one is able to look within through the ājñā cakra, the energy generated passes through the pineal gland and gets released through the back head cakra and in the process cleanses bio-plasma body.  This process not only accelerates one’s spiritual progress but also rarely confers some super human powers (siddhi-s). 

वन्दारु-जन-वत्सला (349)

Vandāru-jana-vatsalā

She loves Her devotees like a mother who loves her children.





वाग्वादिनी (350)

Vāgvādinī 

She prompts speech or She is in the form of speech itself.  She is the origin of speech, She is Vāgvādinī.

वामकेशी (351)

Vāmakeśī

Wife of Vāmakeśvarā is Vāmakeśī.  Śiva introduced twenty eight tantra-s (as per Śaivasiddhānta) to the universe and one among them is called Vāmakeśa tantra.  This deals only with Her worship, hence She is called Vāmakeśī. 

Vāma has innumerable meanings such as beautiful, splendid, Śiva, Durgā, Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, a beautiful woman, wife, left side, etc.  Keśa means hair.  Then this nāma also means a beautiful woman (Goddess) with a beautiful hair. 

वह्नि-मण्डल-वासिनी (352)

Vahni-maṇḍala-vāsinī

She lives in the sphere of fire. Vahni means fire. The sphere of fire is said to be in mūlādhāra cakra and in ākāś or ether.





भक्तिमत्-कल्प-लतिका (353)

Bhaktimat-kalpa-latikā

Kalpa is a divine creeper that grants boon to those who sit under it.   Latika means spread over. She gives boon to Her devotees spread over the humanity, like the divine creeper, kalpa. 

पशु-पाश-विमोचनी (354)

Paśu-pāśa-vimocanī

Paśu-s are the individual souls and pāśa is the bondage . 

Ignorance is the cause for bondage that veils the true Brahman. She relieves her devotees from this bondage.





संहृताशेष-पाषण्डा (355)

Saṃhṛtāśeṣa-pāṣaṇḍā

She destroys all those who act against the principles of Veda-s.

सदाचार-प्रवर्तिका (356)

Sadācāra-pravartikā

She removes the innate ignorance of the soul to realize the Brahman.  Sat refers those who perform noble deeds and ācāra means the righteous acts performed by them. She makes the ignorant people to pursue the righteous path to realize the Brahman.





तापत्रयाग्नि-सन्तप्त-समाह्लादन-चन्द्रिका (357)

Tāpatrayāgni-santapta-samāhlādana-candrikā

By Her sheer grace and moon like presence, she destroys the miseries caused by afflictions and showers happiness to Her devotees.





तरुणी (358)

Taruṇī

She is eternally youthful

तापसाराध्या (359)

Tāpasārādhyā

She is worshipped by ascetics.

There is yet another interpretation. Tāpa means bondage which is the root of all miseries.  Sārādhyā is split into sāra (essence) + ā (deep) + dhyā (dhyān or meditation).  The bondage arising out of saṁsāra can only be removed by meditating on Her. 

तनुमध्या (360)

Tanumadhyā

She has slender waist.

There is a meter by name tanumadhya. Meter or chandas refers to the number of alphabets or words in a verse as per Sanskrit literature.  She is said to be in the form of this meter. An example for such a reference can be found in Bhagavad Gīta X.35. Krishna says Gāyatrī chandasāmahaṁ (गायत्री चन्दसामहं) meaning that He is in the form Gāyatrī meter. 

तमोsपहा (361)

Tamopahā

Tamas means ignorance and its main components are mental darkness, ignorance, illusion, error. Tamo guṇa is one of the three guṇa-s.  An ignorant person is said to have tamo guṇa.  She is said to remove this ignorance.





चितिः (362)

Citiḥ

She is in the form of eternal knowledge. Cit can be explained as pure knowledge that helps in realizing the Brahman.

तत्पद-लक्ष्यार्था (363)

Tatpada-lakṣhyārthā

Tat means that and pada means word. Tatpada (that word) means THAT referring the Brahman. She's the embodiment of THAT. 

चिदेक-रस-रूपिणी (364)

Cideka-rasa-rūpiṇī

She is the essence of knowledge.





स्वात्मानन्द-लवी-भूत-ब्रह्माद्यानन्द-सन्ततिः (365)

Svātmānanda-lavī-bhūta-brahmādyānanda-santatiḥ

The sum total of bliss of Gods like Brahma and others is only a droplet of Her bliss.