Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 249: Shri Panca pretasanasina (OM pa ~ nchapretAsanAsInAyai namaH)

In Namams 249 to 274, the Divine Mother’s Five functions and Her Five Isvara forms are described.  

The Divine Mother sits on the seat made of five deities, whose divine energies have subdued or not there with them. 

Her seat in the universe or in Sricakra is made with such five deities without their energies with them, (some may call them as corpses). Four of the deities are standing as the legs of the chair. And Sadashiva is in lying position on the Divine Mother’s seat, as described in Sricakra. All five murthies are in the Divine Mother’s abode in the universe and or in Sricakra, holding Her seat.  

The five deities are: Brahma, Visnu,Rudra, Isvara and Sadashiva. They are five Brahmans (See Namam 58 “Panca brahmasana sthita”). The Divine Mother has assigned to them, five functions to help Her in running the universe. The five functions are: creation, preservation, suppression, expression and destruction or dissolution. During the pralaya, they stop their jobs in order to enter into the Divine Mother. 

One becomes a corpse or the one without life when the soul or the inner Existence leaves the body. Here the deities mentioned have  subdued subsided or hidden  from their energies. 

If Lord Shiva is separated from the Divine Mother, He will be without the His Sakti or Energy. He will be then similar to the condition above. The question is, can we really separate the five deities from their Saktis which they are receiving from the Divine Mother? 

Brahma uses the Vamasakti which he gets from the Divine Mother for activity of creation. Without the Vamasakti, He is powerless as a deity. In the same manner, without the sakti from the Divine Mother, Vishnu, Rudra, Isvara and Sadashiva also cannot perform their assigned tasks. 

Pancha or ‘the five’ referred to may also be indicative of five elements (Panch-Bhutas): Earth, Water, Fire, air and Space (Ether). The Divine Mother with Her pure Existence lives in this universe made of five elements. 

This Namam can be interpreted that, since all five murthies surrendered and are absorbed inside the Divine Mother, they become powerless during the pralaya. 

 

The Divine Mother in Sricakra with Five deities holding Her seat

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 29 September 2020. 

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.       The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar.

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3EoRFDzDoU&t=7s