LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 64,65

Devarshi-gana-sanghata-stuyamanatma-vaibhava (64) From this nama to nama 84, Her slaying of demon Bhanadasua is described. Deva+rishi+gana. Deva means gods and goddesses, rishi means sages and gana means demi gods. Agni purana says that there are seven types of ganas. For example ‘Rudra ganas’ means the assistants or helpers to Shiva. There is a separate stanza (11) in Sri Rudram offering prayers to Rudra ganas. Rishis mean great sages like Vasihtar, Naradar, etc. Naradar is also called Devarishi. She is worshipped by gods, goddesses, sages, demigods and goddesses. Stuyamanatma means worshipping. Vaibhava means all pervading. Only Brahman or Pramatman is all pervading. Devas and rishis will not worship anybody below the grade of the Supreme Brahman. So this indirectly implies her status of nirguna Brahman. It is also said that sage Narada (deva rishi) approached Lalithai to slay demon Bhandasura who was causing immense trouble to devas and rishis. The deeper meaning of this nama - demons here mean the ego arising out of ignorance. Lalithai is approached by them to absolve them of their ego, as She alone is capable of absolving them. Sins are committed because of ego. Bhandasura-vadhodyukta-shakthi-sena-samanvita (65) She is ready with her army to wage a war against Bhandasura. Her army consists of various goddesses mentioned in Sri Chakra. There is a story associated with this nama. Manmata, the god of love was burnt by Shiva to ashes. Ganesha, playfully collected the ashes of manmata and created a man. Brahma, the lord of creation on seeing Ganesha’s act said ‘bhanda, bhanda’ meaning well done. That was why the demon was named as Bhandasura. Since Manmata was burnt by the fierce fire of the third eye of Shiva, Bhandasura was said to be all powerful. He was an embodiment of all evils. Bhanda also means bondage. Shiva Sutra 2 says ‘Jnanam bhandaha’. The explanation given to bhandha is limited knowledge. This means ignorance is the cause for bondage. Bondage means attachments, desires etc. Since lack of knowledge is the cause for duality, it is called bondage. If you have knowledge, you will say ‘I am That (Brahman)’. Innate nature or unconditioned state of mind is called anava mala. This state of mind is called innate because, the mind does not realise the Brahman as a result gets bonded. Liberation is needed to get out of this bondage. This liberation is possible only with knowledge. There is another interpretation for such a situation in Shiva Sutra 6 which says that by intense awareness, the various shakthis (various acts of Shakthi) are united causing the disappearance of the universe (maya or illusion and duality), leaving the supreme consciousness (the Brahman) to be realized. This process is nothing but self-realization. The secretive meaning of this nama is – Lalithai is ready to give us liberation from the cycles of birth and death, provided we have inclination to know about her. Bhandasura is an embodiment of ignorance and resultant evil acts. She is ready to wage a war against ignorance and its associated acts. Shakthi sena means her different acts, not just creation, sustenance and dissolution. Her different acts are symbolically represented by various goddesses represented in Sri Chakra. We will discuss more about these goddesses later in this series.