VERSE 11

ह्रींकारेश्वरि तप्तहाटककृतैः स्थालीसहस्रैर्भृतं
दिव्यान्नं घृतसूपशाकभरितं चित्रान्नभेदं तथा।
दुग्धान्नं मधुशर्करादधियुतं माणिक्यपात्रे स्थितं
माषापूपसहस्रं अम्ब सफलं नैवेध्यमावेदये॥

hrīṁkāreśvari taptahāṭakakṛtaiḥ sthālīsahasrairbhṛtaṁ
divyānnaṁ ghṛtasūpaśākabharitaṁ citrānnabhedaṁ tathā|
dugdhānnaṁ madhuśarkarādadhiyutaṁ māṇikyapātre sthitaṁ
māṣāpūpasahasraṁ amba saphalaṁ naivedhyamāvedaye||

“O Mother, presiding over hrīṁ! I offer to You in several gold vessels, excellent rice mixed with ghee and pulses along with vegetables. I also offer mixed rice in golden vessels. I offer in a vessel made of rubies, rice mixed with honey and sugar, thousands of round fried cakes made up of dhal and curd rice along with different fruits. I mentally submit to You these eatables for Your consumption.”

This verse begins with the fifth and last bīja (hrīṁ ह्रीं) of the second kūṭa viz. kāmarāja kūṭa of Pañcadaśī mantra.

She is addressed as the mother of the bīja hrīṁ. Lalitā Sahasranāma 301 adores Her as Hrīṁkārī ह्रींकारी.

She is in the form of māyā bīja hrīṁ. Hrīṁ is also called śākta praṇava or śaktī praṇava, which means that the worshippers of śaktī, call hrīṁ as praṇava bīja of Śaktī. This is also known as Bhuvaneśvarī bījā. Praṇava is the supreme ॐ. The power of hrīṁ bīja is as powerful as ॐ. That is why in Pañcadaśī mantra, every kūṭa or group ends with the bīja hrīṁ. Hrīṁ is the combination of ha (ह) + ra (र) + ī (ई) + ma (म) + bindu (.). Ha refers to manifestation, ra indicates involution (action of enfolding, the action of māyā), ī indicates perfection and the bindu, a dot on top of the bīja controls all the three. Therefore hrīṁ means manifestation, involution and perfection. The appearance of the bodily form enfolded by perfection is the literal meaning of the bīja hrīṁ. This means that māyā or illusion is causing a veil around the Brahman and this veil can be removed only if one realizes the Supreme Consciousness of Śaktī. Unless the kinetic energy (Śaktī) is fully realized, it is not possible to feel the pulsation of Śiva, the static energy. In fact this bīja can also be called as Śiva-Śaktī bīja as ha stands for Śiva bījā and kāmakalā - īṁ (ईं) stands for Śaktī bīja. The bīja ra (र) conjoins these two bīja-s to form a single Śiva-Śaktī bīja. The role of ra in any bīja is significant. The sound of ra is the chief of all the sounds. Whenever hrīṁ is chanted, it endues peace and auspiciousness.

In any bīja the bindu is important and most of the bīja-s have bindu. For example take the letter ha (ह). When a dot is placed at the top of this ha it becomes haṁ (हं). Without bindu an alphabet remains as an alphabet and becomes a bījā only if a ‘dot’ is placed above the alphabet. The bindu though tiny, is yet very powerful. There are three major sub divisions in a bindu leading to the union of Śiva and Śaktī, from where the three exclusive actions of the Brahman viz. creation, sustenance and destruction originate. The three major sub divisions are bindu representing Śiva, bīja representing Śaktī and nāda representing their union. A bindu above ha, one of the alphabets of hrīṁ spells like haṁ. This bīja haṁ, a component of hrīṁ represents creation (h), sustenance (a) and destruction (ṁ) the three functions of the Brahman.

The bindu undergoes subtle changes from its origin to delivery. It originates as Parā Śaktī and gets modified as paśyantī, madhyamā and delivered at vaikari. At the time of delivery it undergoes modifications through eight stages) by deriving power from five basic elements and gets blessed by Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra. It begins its journey from the heart cakra with the letter ‘a’ (अ), moves to the throat chakra and conjoins with ‘u’(उ) and further goes up to palate where it conjoins with ‘ṁ’ (मं), the three components of OM (a + u + ṁ). From the palate it moves to forehead where it derives its cosmic energy received through the crown cakra, enters the world of śūnya ( cosmic vacuum) where no energy operates, moves further up towards the top of the skull establishing a link through brahmarandhra with mahā śūnya (the great cosmic vacuum), where the Creation takes place. When it moves further, the creation becomes transcendental energy and the life begins to exist out of the Self illuminating cosmic brilliance. That is why bindu is said to be in the form of a luminous dot like the sun, born out of the union of Śiva and Śaktī. There is no differentiation between the bīja hrīṁ and Śiva-Śaktī combine, the point of origin and the point of annihilation of this universe.

The aspirant makes offering to Her in golden vessels. Brahman is often compared to the sheen and luster of gold by Upaniṣad-s. Lalitā Sahasranāma dhyāna verse describes Her complexion as hemābhāṁ, meaning that She is golden complexioned. Further, while making offerings to gods and goddesses, the vessels in which they are offered are generally made of gold, not only because of expression of respect but also for the sanctity of the metal. Secondly, the aspirant offers everything to Her only through his clean mind, that is fully pervaded by Her. While thinking about Her, he chooses only the best. He has mentally conceived varieties of preparations prepared out of ghee, pulses and grains, rice, milk, etc and make all the offerings to Her.

In particular, She has a great liking for pāyasanna, which is made of rice, milk, sugar and other condiments like saffron, cardamom, camphor, etc. Lalitā Sahasranāma 480 is pāyasanna-priyā. Pāyasanna is mentioned as dugdhānnaṁ in this verse (dugdha means mixed with milk or filled with milk). While offering pāyasanna, he chooses a vessel made of best quality of rubies, known as māṇikya, one of the highly valued precious gems. Lalitā Sahasranāma dhyāna verse says ‘māṇikya mauli sphurat’, which means that She is wearing a crown studded with ruby stones, where planet moon is also placed.

Original rubies if worn properly drives away sadness, evil thoughts wicked spirits, nightmares, etc. It is also said that original rubies if worn are capable of forewarning impending evils and misfortunes, by changing its colour from the original dark red to black. Once the misfortune had passed away, it regains its original colour (Source: Maṇimālā, an ancient treatise on gems).

At the end of this verse, the aspirant has offered to Her, the best of food items that he can visualize. He not only chooses the best food items, but also chooses the vessels in which they are offered. He chooses those vessels that are liked by Her. She always likes red, as red represents compassion. This has been repeatedly explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma. Thus he offered a great feast for Her in his mind.