Lalitā Sahasranāmam 55–60
Channel: Consciousness Research Centre
Date: 2020-03-17

This series is classified Vivartha-vāda | Rāja-yoga | Suśupti | Viśuddhi-cakra
55. Sumeru-madhya-śṛṅgasthā सुमेरु-मध्य-शृङ्गस्था 
From this nāma till 63, the narration of Her abode begins. Sumeru means She lives in the midst of the Meru Mountains. Vāc-Devīs in nāma 52 said that Lalitai is seated on the left thigh of Śiva, union of static and dynamic energies. Now they are discussing about her palace. Meru mountain range has three peaks, and if a line is drawn connecting them, a triangle is formed. In the midst of this triangle there is a taller peak than the other three where Lalitai resides. Sage Durvāsa in his masterpiece Lalithā-stava-ratna says: “I salute the three peaks (the shorter ones) which are abodes of Brahma, Viṣṇu and Śiva. In the midst of these peaks, there is another peak much higher than the other three. Golden rays are beautifying this peak, and I worship it.”

56. Śrīman-nagara-nāyikā  श्रीमन्-नगर-नायिका 
She owns this auspicious and wealthy city called Śrī Nāgara. There are two narrations about this Śrī Nāgara. One is found in Durvasa’s Lalithā-stava-ratna and another in Rudra-Yāmala (as told to Pārvatī by Śiva). The former says that Śrī Nāgara was constructed by celestial architect Viśvākarma. Rudra Yāmala says that Śrī Nāgara is in the midst of the ocean of milk as an island called Ratnadvīpa (an island formed of precious gems). In the midst of Śrī Nāgara there is another city called Śrī Vidyā that is surrounded by twenty-five walls, each wall representing a tattva. She is the queen of this place, from where She performs all Her three acts of creation, etc.

57. Cintāmaṇi-gṛhāntasthā चिन्तामणि गॄहान्तस्था 
She lives in a palace constructed of Cintāmaṇi, one of the most valuable gems. This gem is supposed to give whatever is desired. This palace is on the northern side of the city Śrī Nāgara. All the gods and goddesses go to this place to worship Her. This is supposed to be the place of origin of all mantras. Worshipping this place eradicates all mental afflictions. 

58. Pañca-brahmāsana-sthitā पञ्च-ब्रह्मासन-स्थिता 
She is seated on a throne made up of five Brahmans. The five Brahmans are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Īśāna and Sadāśiva (some say Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Mahādeva and Sadāśiva). Śiva, Mahādeva, Sadāśiva and Kāmeśvara are different forms of Śiva. Each form represents different acts. Saundarya-Laharī 92 says: “Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra and Īśvara form the support of Your throne, and Sadāśiva is the seat of Your throne.” This nāma affirms Her highest authority of the universe. But surely the Vāc-Devīs could not have meant to name Brahmā, Viṣṇu etc as support of Her throne and Sadāśiva as Her seat. There is another interpretation for this Pañca-Brahman. This could possibly mean the basic elements. We have five cakras in our body (mūlādhāra to viśuddhi) and each of these cakras represents an element. Mūlādhāra represents the earth element, svādhiṣṭhāna represents water, maṇipūraka represents fire (some are of the opinion that svādhiṣṭhāna is fire element and maṇipūraka is water), anāhata represents air and viśuddhi represents ākāśa or space element. Lalitai is sitting on these five elements, each element forming four legs of Her throne and one forming the seat.

59. Mahāpadmāṭavī-saṁsthā महापद्माटवी-संस्था 
She dwells in a great forest full of lotus flowers. Lotus flower grows only in water. Nature’s bounty has been mentioned here. Big mountains with high peaks were referred earlier. Now indirectly the water bodies are mentioned. Mahāpadma also refers to a type of elephant. 
This nāma talks about the crown sahasrāra-cakra, situated above the six cakras of our body. A minute aperture in the center of sahasrāra is called brahmarandhra or padmāṭavī. The divine energy enters human body through this aperture only. Human contact with higher planes is established through this aperture. This aperture is connected to all the six cakras. Lalitai conjoins Her consort Śiva in sahasrāra. This nāma talks about Her domicile in the middle of a thousand-petaled lotus or sahasrāra.

60. Kadaṁbavana-vāsinī कदंबवन-वासिनी 
She lives in the middle of kadaṁba trees whose flowers have divine fragrance. Her cintāmaṇi-graha is surrounded by a forest of kadaṁba trees.  Nature’s greenery is mentioned here. By such narrations, Vāc-Devīs describe Her pṛthivī-tattva, as Mother Nature. She is also called Mother Earth. There are twenty-five walls around Her cintāmaṇi-graha, each wall representing a tattva. This kadaṁba-vāna (forest) is situated between the walls of gold (eighth wall) and silver (seventh wall).

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