LALITHA, THE YOGINI

A Yogic Exploration of the sacred text Lalitha Sahasranama

And she says, one can worship her, only if she wishes you to do so!

Well! I believe she has blessed me that I am itching to write about her. When I took this plunge to write about Lalitha, it came from the interest when I randomly heard someone saying that it is all Yoga.

Like many others, I was one amongst many who heard it as a morning prayer mindlessly. It would take a lifetime to understand her enormity, and still, I take this small step to unleash the brilliance of one of the most popular and widely read texts  THE LALITHA  SAHASRANAMA.

Sahasranama means 1000 names, And you would be surprised to know that out of the 1000 names, the name Lalitha comes at the very end on the thousandth name. And you would also be surprised that not one name is repeated out of the 1000 names unlike the other Sahasranama, like the VISHNU sahasranama. And every name has a yogic connection.

LALITHA the Spontaneous, Lalitha the Playful, Lalitha the most Beautiful. One who is free, One with utmost clarity, The one who rose from the fire of Consciousness, One who is worshipped by 64 crore yoginis, Lalitha the Goddess of YOGIS.

Adorned with precious gems and jewels, sitting in Siddhasana with her one leg on a pot of rubies, her body emanates like the vermillion red smeared on a dawn sky and she rising like from the radiance of a thousand suns, shining bright, Lalitha, the manifestation of Shakti, Lalitha the energy form of Shiva,  this WOMAN, this GODDESS, the Universal Mother, this enchanting beauty, the Tripura Sundari, LALITHAMBIKA.

The Lalitha Sahasranama{LS} is a sacred text from the Brahmanda Purana of the 4th century, which appears in the chapter of discussion between Hayagriva and Sage Agastya.[Hayagriva is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu who has a head of a horse and is called the Storehouse of Knowledge. Sage Agastya is one of the sages of the yore and also is a star of the constellation]. At the request of Agastya, Hayagriva teaches him about the 1000 names of  Lalitha. The composition is believed to be done by the eight Vaag Devis, upon the command of the Goddess herself. Vaag/vak devis- Vasini, Kameshwari, Aruna, Vimala, Jayani, Modini, Sarveshwari, Kaulini. 

THE YOGA PHILOSOPHY  in Lalitha Sahasranama

-The Lalitha sahasranama explains the manifestation of the goddess, for the destruction of the demon called Bandasura. The success of Lalitha Devi is the Ajnana[Ignorance] removed by Jnana [Knowledge].

- It gives details about the construction of Sreepura, a beautiful city at the crest of Mount Meru in the form of SriChakra. The Yogic correlation with Cosmos, Tanmatras, Trigunas, Pancha Mahabhutas, chakras, and many more.

The Tripuravasini and its yogic importance

Describing the Goddess.

The LS starts with Dhyana verses by meditating upon her form and the qualities of the mother. 

Below is the description

•  The beauty of Goddess Lalitha in the first few verses describes her from head to toe.

The Kameshwari with long dark hair which smells of fragrant flowers, her eyelids the doorway to the house of the god of love, her eyes like the fish playing in the crystal clear waters, nose studs shining brighter than the stars, the sun, and the moon as her ear studs, who possess the body of a golden red color, her body parts shines and radiates beauty in the highest form. The text describes the voluptuous beauty with firm breasts, a thin waist with a three-fold stomach, feather-like fine hair rising from her navel, rounded thighs, knees that shined like precious gems, feet that resembled the back of a tortoise, and toes that looked like flames of the lamp, she was draped in red silk, with a red tilak, her skin flawless shining like the morning glory. She had a string of golden beads around her stomach which accentuated her form. She possessed the beauty of the heavens, she was the heaven herself. 

• The names then go on to extoll Devi in all her achievements, powers, and forms.

She has four hands

In her upper left hand, she holds a bow made of Sugarcane, which depicts the Mind. From the mind, it arises the desire to create.

In her upper right hand, she holds five flowers which are like the five arrows which depict the five sense organs - the 5 Tanmatras, hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell.

These two upper left and right hands are to cut the desires in our hearts and bring us to her feet.

The weapon in her lower left hand is a noose, which depicts Attachment, to drag us back to her lap when we are misbehaving, or out of practice and discipline.

The weapon in her lower right hand is a Goad, which shows Anger by gently prodding us when we are distracted. 

Their union is Harmony or Samarasa

• The next few names of Lalitha talk about the union 

She sits on the Pancha Brahmas, the 5 BRAHMAS- Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara, and Sadashiva. She is described as the Panchabhuta swarupini. These are like the 5 legs to her throne, they are motionless without her The Shakti.

It also appears that the seat she sits directly on is the Shiva in a supine posture, which depicts Shiva as the passive consciousness and Lalitha the Shakthi as the active consciousness.

The SHIVA is the Atman, the subject, SHAKTHI is the Body and Mind, the object which is ever active to perform karmas. Together they form one. Together they are Atmarathi.

 Together they are LALITHAMBIKA.

Shivashakthi rupini lalithambika- She is both Shiva and Shakthi
Prakasha Vimarsha maha maya swarupini- She is both Prakasha and Vimarsha
Lalitha is Purusha, and Lalitha is Prakruthi.
Lalitha is what is a thought and the thought herself.
Lalitha is knowledge and also one that can be attained by knowledge.
Lalitha is everything that exists and everything beyond existence too.
Lalitha is Para Brahman. 
Lalitha is Universal consciousness.

                      She is both Maya and Mercy, she shows you pleasure like the Manmatha and also pokes you to instill discipline. The yogic correlation from the above -The embodiment of the powers of creation, protection, and destruction. She is the manifestation of Durga, Kali, Shakti, and Rajarajeshwari.

• THE SRI CHAKRA and Lalitha the Tripura Sundari 

Tripura Sundari means the transcendental beauty of the three cities. 

                          She is called Tripura because it is similar to the triangle (triangle) that symbolizes the yoni and forms her circle. She is also known as Tripura as her mantra has three clusters of letters. She is called Tripura because she is manifested in Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as the creator, preserver, and destroyer of the universe.

Here the 3 cities can be correlated with YOGA in many other ways.

The Tripura - 3 cities with-

1. Body, Mind, Spirit.
2. Trigunas-Sattva RajasTamas
3. Will(Iccha shakti), Knowledge(Jnana shakti), Action(Kriya shakti)
4. Atma(Individual Self), Antaratma(Inner Body), Paramatma(Supreme Self)
5. the Knower, the means of Knowledge, the object of Knowledge
6. Surya (Sun), Chandra (moon), Agni (fire)
7. Sristi(creation), Sthithi(preservation), Laya(Dissolution)
8. Subject(mata), Instrument(mana), Object(meya)
9. Waking(Jagrat), Dream(Swapna), Dreamless sleep(Susupti)
10. Past, Present, Future

The Srichakra - She resides in Sreemannagara(Sri chakra) on Mount Meru.

• Then the verses go to describe the SRINAGARA

The Meru is the three dimensions of the Sri Chakra. If we returned to the two dimensions of Sri Chakra, imagine that the Bindu in its center is the peak of a mountain. Then imagine that the mountain is built up in tiers, each tier being one of the circles of triangles or lotus petals, with the outermost square representing ground level. Now, imagine a vertical spine down the center of the mountain, then at each point that the spine and a tier intersect, there is a chakra. The peak represents Mount Meru, the abode of the Gods.

The Sri chakra embodies the three divisions of the cosmos, representing goddesses in three worlds.

• Sun, Atmosphere, and Earth mirror the individual by body, breath, and consciousness.
• It also represents the three parts of the body. Neck to Head, Neck to Navel, Navel and below
• The 5 triangles in the Srichakra represents the  Pancha Mahabhutas  (5 Elements)- Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether
• The Srichakra is also associated with the Chakras of the Human Body.  The Sri chakra matches with the 6 chakras in the body from the outside to the inside. The count of 50 chakras matches with the 50 of the petals of the chakra. 4 of Mooladhara, 6 of Swadhistana, 10 of Manipura, 12 of Anahata, 16 of Vishuddhi and 2 of Ajna which sums up to 50 chakras.
•  Sahasrara chakra.  A 1000-petalled lotus corresponds to the infinity of the innermost triangle.
• The text in many verses mentions the goddess residing in different chakras.
• The central dot is where the goddess resides and can be correlated with the Bindu or the nectar in Yogic terms. This represents the cosmic union of Shiva and Shakthi.
• The Srichakra represents the Union of the masculine and feminine divine.

Five downward pointing triangles representing Devi intersect with four upward pointing triangles representing Siva, forming 43 triangles including the central triangle. From the five Shakti triangles comes creation and from the four Shiva triangles comes dissolution. The union of five Shaktis and four Fires causes the chakra of creation to evolve. At the centre of the Bindu of the Shri Yantra is Kamakala, which has three bindus. One is red, one is white and one is mixed. The red Bindu is Kurukulla the Female form, the white Bindu is Varahi the Male form, and the mixed Bindu is the union of Shiva & Shakti – the individual as the potential Shri Chakra. 

(To know more about SriChakra, and to read the Sahasranama and its English translation, visit the website given in the link below.)

• YOGINI

The names of Lalitha from 475 to 534 discuss the seven chakras of kundalini and Sahasrara. Each chakra is presided over by a deity called a yogini (with seven in total). Lalita herself is described as being present in the form of the kundalini energy at the Muladhara chakra at the bottom of the spine. Since the kundalini energy has to transcend the other chakras to reach the Sahasrara chakra from the Muladhara chakra, worshipping the respective yoginis of each chakra is paramount.

What is, is pure Being; what shines, is pure Consciousness; what is dear, is Bliss.

So here is the Maha-Tripura Sundari who assumes all forms. You and I and all the world and all divinities and all besides are the Maha Tripura Sundari.
The path of the Goddess is quick and also Esoteric, and is also filled with danger since it involves de-constructing oneself and then arriving at a new synthesis. This divine shakti is gained by raising our consciousness chanting her names and turning inward into a state of bliss.

LALITHAMBIKA, the Yogini, the one who transcends the state of duality.

I  have tried to extract a very small percentage of the yogic depth from the text. Leave me comments if you liked reading it and also enlighten me if you have more points to add.

So next time you listen to Lalitha Sahasranama, you will know the sacred text in totality is YOGA. 

This time you will not just hear, but listen. 🙏

Thank you.

Dr. Yashaswini B Raj

Bibliography

The Story of Goddess Lalitha and Significance of Lalitha Sahasranamam - TemplePurohit - Your Spiritual Destination | Bhakti,

 Shraddha Aur Ashirwadhttps://srilalithatripurasundari.wordpress.com/lalita-sahasranama/impact-of-chanting-lalitha-sahasranama/sri-lalitha-tripura-sundari-a

Sri Lalitha Sahasranamam - 1000 Names of Lalitha Devi from Brahmanda Purana - TemplePurohit - Your Spiritual Destination | Bhakti, Shraddha Aur Ashirwad

Lalita Sahasranama - Wikipedia