LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 997 - 998

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Śrīmat-tripura-sundarī (997)

Shiva is known as Tripura. Tri means three and pura means a fortress, a castle etc. And Tripura means three fortresses. Three fortresses refer to the three unique acts of Shiva, the creation, sustenance and dissolution. Each of these acts is supervised by Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. Since Shiva is the overall controller of all these acts, He is known as Tripura-Sundara (Sundara is a suffix indicating his handsome appearance). It is said that Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra are the parts of Shiva’s body. His consort is known as Tripura Sundari (Sundari is the feminine gender of Sundara). This has been explained in nama 787 ‘Tripureśi’.

In Vāmakeśvarīmatam (IV.4), Shiva addresses Bhairavi “Dear One! Tripura is the ultimate primordial Shakthi, the light of manifestation. She, as Mātṛkā, through Her gross and subtle aspects give birth to the three worlds. At dissolution, She is the abode of all things (meaning the tatvas or principles), still remaining Herself (nama 571). After She emanates, there is no need for the Lord (Shiva). Devoid of Shakthi, He cannot act.”

Tripura also means Vāmā, Śikhā and Jyeṣṭā, the three deities presiding over the three lines of the innermost triangle of Sri Chakra looking after creation, sustenance and dissolution. Each of the lines of this triangle is known as pura or a fort. Since She is the ultimate unified Shakthi controlling the three puras, She is known as Tripura.

She as the Brahman causes the process of manifestation through the three kūtās of Panchadasi mantra referring respectively to iccchā Shakthi, jnana Shakthi and kriyā Shakthi. Hence, She is known as Mahā Tripura Sundari (mahā means supreme).

{Further reading: She is Adi Shakthi from whom all the triads (tripura) are derived. Adi Shakthi is the sum total of all the energy forms, the cause of material creation. Time to time, this divine energy manifests itself in various forms and shapes that we are able to see. The entire universe is filled either with matter or with energy. In other words, what we call as void is filled with gravitational force or electromagnetic fields. It has been proved scientifically, that the universe was much smaller that it appears today and will expand further leading to the ultimate collapse known as annihilation. The expansion of the universe stops at some point of time and the universe begins its contraction. When the contraction is complete, the universe reaches its original state of Big Bang. Shakthi as the kinetic energy and as the Supreme administrator causes the conception, expansion and contraction (the three primary acts of Shakthi, each in the form of a pura; hence She is known as Tripura Sundari). The kinetic energy is derived from the static energy or the original source of the Big Bang known as Shiva.}

Śrī Śivā (998)

The Supreme energy of Shiva personified as His wife. Shiva also means liberation. She has been addresses as Shiva in nama 53. In this nama Vak Devis have prefixed Śrī to Śivā as they wanted to declare Her most auspicious form to world. Śrī is the Lakshmi bija and the form of Lakshmi is considered as one of the most auspicious forms. The one who is able to visualise Her as Śrī Śivā is drenched in bliss as he is going to have a view of Shiva-Shakthi combine in the next nama and to ultimately merge with Her in the last nama of this Sahasranamam. Realisation can take place only in the advanced stage of bliss.

The final phase of the worshipper is being portrayed through this nama. The merger of the feminine energy known as kundalini before its final union (the next nama) with the masculine principle known as Shiva indicating the culmination of spiritual practice.

Shiva means the purity of the highest order. Mandukya Upanishad (7) says, “prapañcopaśamam śāntam śivam” which means the total cessation of the world as such, the sum total of that is good, one without a second is the Brahman (it means to say that śivam is all that is good).

Yajur Veda (IV.v.10) says” yā te rudra śivā tanuḥ śivā viśvāhabheṣajī” (Sri Rudram 10.3) which means ‘that auspicious form of yours, Oh Rudra! which is auspicious and ever healing’. Maha Narayana Upanishad (21) also says “May the Supreme, who is the ruler of all knowledge, controller of all created beings, the preserver of the Vedas and the one overlord of Hiranyagarbha, be gracious (shivah) to me.”

Vak Devis should have chosen to place this nama at the end as they would have liked to articulate the enlightened and transformed vision of the mystic for whom Her paradoxical omnipresence has become a perceivable experience. This nama is the prologue to the next nama, the most significant one as it discourses the macrocosmic conceptualisation.