Lalitha Sahasranama’s dhyan sloka gives huge and valuable inputs about Her physical appearance. When we meditate on her, we can meditate on this form. Sindhooraruna vigraham - Sindoorammeans the kumkum kept on women’s forehead, which is always red in colour. Arunam means the colour of sun rise, which is also red. The complexion of Lalitha is red. Why her complexion is referred twice - one example is referring to the colour of the kumkum, and another example referring to the colour of sun at the time of his rise. Is it not enough if her complexion is compared with any one of the two? It was felt by vak devis to emphasize the deep red colour of Her complexion one example was not enough and hence two examples were cited. Vigrahaam means her form. Thrinayanaammeans three eyed. Generally all devas and devis said to have three eyes. Third eye should not be taken in its literal sense. Third eye is the eye of jnana. If you acquire jnana your third eye will be opened automatically. Gods have more jnana than us. That is why Gods are described with the third eye. These three eyes represent the sun, the moon and the agni (the god of fire).
Manikya mouli spurath – She is wearing a crown studded with ruby stones (ruby stones are red in colour). Her crown also has moon (mouli). Thara nayaka shekaram – thara means stars. Moon is said to be the chief of stars. She is wearing in her crown the chief of stars, viz. moon. Wearing the moon in her shining crown is emphasized by referring to the moon twice. Probably we can also say that the rubies are shining red with the aid of the moon light. Smitha mukim: – smitha - smile, mukim – face. She has a smiling face or She is always smiling. Generally all the Gods do have smiling faces. Then what is special with Lalithambigai? The answer is given in 48th nama ‘maha lavanya shevathi:’ She is the embodiment of all the beauty in the universe and there is no other beauty which can be compared to Her. She is referred as ‘the brahman’ in various namas. “The Brahman” is the ultimate joy.
Lalithambigai is the combination of beauty and joy. Beauty is with reference to the physical body and joy is related to the mind. The joyful mind is reflected in Her physical body, adds luster to Her beauty. It is said that face is the index of mind. You can easily identify a person from his face. There will be ‘tejas’ or shine in his face, who does a lot of upasana. (upasana – various types of worshiping shakti, such as japa, pooja, chanting of mantra, havana or homa, meditating her, etc ) When a person gets such a tejas by merely worshipping Her, will there be any words to describe Her Brahma tejas? Idol worship: Worshipping an idol is individual’s choice. You cannot say whether it is right or wrong. It depends upon one’s mental makeup. If someone finds manifestation difficult, he can with the aid of an idol or a picture can visualize that form of God. But, when you take up idol worship, you have to necessarily follow the prescribed rituals.
When pooja and other rituals are done with great devotion and sincerity, you can over a period of time certainly observe changes in the face of the idol or picture. The cosmic energy you are generating during the rituals gets transferred to the idol and the idol becomes energized. No doubt idol worship is secondary, but you can begin with idol worship before realising the Brahman within. Smitha mukim can be interpreted in this context also. We will continue our discussions on dhyan sloka in the next postings.
Anonymous
July 11, 2011 09:15 AM
Sir,U are doing a real great job by trying to uplift the dumb souls like us by imparting great spiritual knowledge for free through your blog.I was searching the Net for understanding the meanings of lalitha sahasranamam and fortunately i came to your site.It was real great explanation.Hope I can follow through all your posts on lalitha sahasranamam to understand the deep meanings of each namam.
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910
July 16, 2019 09:23 PM
Sir, as she is called tripura sundari, and mentioned at several places there is no beauty like her in the three worlds. What exactly is beauty? How can we measure beauty? How can we say that she is the most beautiful of the three worlds? It's an individual's perspective, right? I may not see the same beauty in a person/thing/whatever that you see in that, right? So, I would like to know from you what exactly is beauty. Thank you.
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Svarupanandanatha
July 17, 2019 09:03 AM
"Sundari is not the ordinary beauty of form (which is more properly an aspect of Kamala).The highest beauty does not lie in any object, though it is not apart from objects. The highest beauty is of perception – to "hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, and Eternity in an hour," as the poet Blake so eloquently wrote. Beauty derives from the light of consciousness that is irradiated through objects. It is never really contained in any object. Hence beauty can never pass away but merely has manifold forms for its revelation. The light of beauty we see in things is thus the light of our own awareness. Discovering this we contact the well springs of infinite delight within us. This is part of the revelation of Sundari. The beauty of perception occurs only when the mind is cleansed from the known, when consciousness is cleared of its conditioning and rests in pure awareness without any residue of memory. Then whatever we see is irradiated with the light of eternity and is effulgent with the glory of our own Self as the Universal Being. Otherwise the residue of our thoughts and emotions, like a dark film, obstructs the subtle and transparent beauty and presence in things, though we may be able to perceive clearly their physical characteristics. Sundari represents the ultimate beauty of pure perception which arises when we see all the universe in ourselves, when we see all nature as a reflection of the reality of consciousness. Sundari is thus the beauty of nature but as seen through the spiritual eye of unity – the vision that all the universe is Brahman – that there is nothing but God above, below, within, without, to the north, south, east or west, past, present or future. Sundari thus is the Goddess of Vedantic knowledge, which is the knowledge of the Supreme Self or Divine. She teaches us that all is the self and that the world is Brahman or the Absolute. From her perspective Samsara is Nirvana; the world of illusion is merged into the Absolute. Hence she is the form of the Goddess most beloved among Vedantic Swamis and teachers. She represents the knowledge of the Supreme Self." https://www.kamakotimandali.com/srividya/dasha.html
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910
July 17, 2019 01:07 PM
I didn't get the specific answer that I was looking for. But, thanks for taking your valuable 'time' and replying. My quest for knowledge wouldn't end here and I will post the answer once I find it, by the grace of my mother goddess. And my mother goddess is my Guru and she shows me the way. She has always been with me, supported me from failing in every situation of life. :)
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WICCA
July 17, 2019 09:33 PM
Dear 910, What you are trying to define as"beauty" or the concept of "beauty" are attached to prejudices or things that you learnt by a limited self experience. Thats why every person has their own concept of beautiness. Tripurasundari is a poetic form that refers that the happines, love, etc. experienced with lalitha goes beyond concepts and prejudices.you cannot measure beauty, love, happines, war. Those are concepts based on ego/self/limited experiencie. Sundari goes beyond all concepts and limitations. Thats why the old wise men and women made the effort of defining her/his/it as the supreme beauty, but words are still not enough to describe the "infinite". In few words is just poetry to begin to understand the "infinite".
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WICCA
July 17, 2019 09:33 PM
Dear 910, What you are trying to define as"beauty" or the concept of "beauty" are attached to prejudices or things that you learnt by a limited self experience. Thats why every person has their own concept of beautiness. Tripurasundari is a poetic form that refers that the happines, love, etc. experienced with lalitha goes beyond concepts and prejudices.you cannot measure beauty, love, happines, war. Those are concepts based on ego/self/limited experiencie. Sundari goes beyond all concepts and limitations. Thats why the old wise men and women made the effort of defining her/his/it as the supreme beauty, but words are still not enough to describe the "infinite". In few words is just poetry to begin to understand the "infinite".
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910
July 18, 2019 10:22 AM
Thank you, WICCA, for your explanation. Got your point and I strongly agree that she is beyond all concepts and limitations. As you mentioned, she is the infinite. In a poetic way, only she knows the ends of this universe. Keep smiling :)
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Aditya
July 18, 2019 02:04 PM
I want to share a very popular story in Tantric Lore about Divine Mother Lalitha Tripurasundari. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa after getting Kali Siddhi/Darsha, did chanting of different Deities. He said that he could see the physical form of Devata after doing just doing one mala. He said that he had vision of many Devis but Lalitha Devi was the most beautiful of all the Devis he saw. He said SHE had such a Surreal Beauty that he could not be able to express the Beauty of the Divine Mother. Thats why SHE is considered the most beautiful Mother.
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910
July 18, 2019 03:30 PM
Thank you, Aditya. Hope we could see her just like the saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsa did. Let her grace be on all of us :)
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Mnx
July 18, 2019 11:26 PM
This site is a Spiritual treasure. To understand Mother's saundraya, understanding, "Saundarya Lahiri", is a must. Please go through, https://www.manblunder.com/articles/soundarya-lahari
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910
July 19, 2019 01:31 PM
@Mnx, it's truly a spiritual treasure. Thanks for your suggestion. I will try my best to understand all the 100 Saundarya Lahari verses :)
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