धुनोतु ध्वान्तं नस्तुलितदलितेन्दीवरवनं
घनस्निग्धश्लक्ष्णं चिकुरनिकुरुम्बं तव शिवे।
यदीयं सौरभ्यं सहजमुपलब्धुं सुमनसो
वसन्त्यस्मिन्मन्ये वलमथनवाटीविटपिनाम्॥

dhunotu dhvāntaṁ nastulitadalitendīvaravanaṁ
ghanasnigdhaślakṣṇaṁ cikuranikurumbaṁ tava śive |
yadīyaṁ saurabhyaṁ sahajamupalabdhuṁ sumanaso
vasantyasminmanye valamathanavāṭīviṭapinām ||

dhunotu – remove; dhvāntaṁ - darkness; naḥ - ours;  tulita dalita indīvara vanaṁ - in the forest of fully blossomed blue lotus flowers (Nymphaea Cyanea); ghana snigdha ślakṣṇaṁ - thick, soft and lustrous; cikura nikurumbaṁ - thick hair; tava śive – O! Consort of Śiva; yadīyaṁ saurabhyaṁ sahajam upalabdhuṁ - the hair having natural fragrance; sumanasa – divine fragrant flowers; vasanty asmin manye – I presume they live there; vala mathana vāṭī viṭapinām – belonging to the divine garden of Indra.

“O! Consort of Śiva! Your dark, thick, naturally fragrant, soft, lustrous hair appear like a forest of fully blossomed blue coloured lotus flowers, removes our darkness of ignorance. I presume that divine flowers in Indra’s garden live in your hair to get their fragrance.”

Parāśakti’s hair is described in this verse, after having described Her crown in the previous verse.  Śaṁkarācārya contemplates Her hair as a thick forest, full of fully blossomed blue colour lotus flowers. He further says that divine flowers reared in Indra’s garden take a sojourn (verse says living there) in Her hair to derive their fragrance.

This is a sterling description on two counts. One, the natural fragrance of Her hair. Even the divine flowers that are reared in Indra’s garden derive their fragrance only from Her hair. Flowers in Indra’s garden are the most fragrant of all the flowers. Even these flowers derive their fragrance only from Her hair. This means that highly fragrant flowers on earth like, jasmine, etc become incomparable. Secondly, he describes Her hair as lustrous blue in colour. Śaṁkarācārya’s description of Her hair is in no way different from Vāk Devi-s description of Her hair. Vāk Devi-s in Lalitā Sahasranāma 185 say, nīlacikurā, meaning that Her hair is in indigo colour.

There are two interpretations possible for indigo (blue) colour of Her hair. In the previous verse, it has been described that Her crown is made up of innumerable precious gems, whose shine cause a rainbow. These gems get reflected in Her naturally shining thick black hair and make the hair appear in indigo colour. Another possible interpretation is given in my Lalitā Sahasranāma book for nāma 185, which is reproduced below.

“Ājñā cakra is associated with indigo colour (nīla).  Nīla-cikura could mean the back head cakra, situated just behind ājñā cakra at the back of the head (just above medulla oblongata) that is fully covered by hair.  Priests have their tuft in the back head cakra. When back head cakra is well developed, one can see anything happening in the world.  It also helps in establishing cosmic commune. This cakra is considered to be highly secretive in nature.  Some are of the opinion that tuft is kept here in order to prevent others from noticing this place.  The area in which this cakra is located protrudes predominantly, when fully activated. Cikura also means a mountain, possibly indicating this protrusion.  This cakra receives cosmic energy.  In other words, by developing nīla-cikura (back head cakra), one can realize Her Self illuminating form, which is indigo in colour.”

Ājñā cakra controls the mind. If ājñā cakra is fully active, it means that mind is under control. Mundane mind is naturally prone to sensory afflictions. When ājñā cakra is activated, mind becomes pure dispelling the darkness of ignorance, leading to maiden experience of bliss and this message is subtly conveyed through this verse.