Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 295: Shri Ambika (OM ambikAyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed. 

The Divine Mother is the mother of the universe. 

Ambika means mother. The Divine mother is caring for all universal creatures with Her motherly affection and love. The souls are at various levels; She is caring for each of them based on their needs. The devotee starts to understand the Divine Mother’s motherly love and kindness. Sri Ramakrishna Pramahansar is the best example. He was always thinking about Her. He was cared by Her. She gave the jnana to him. Likewise, the Divine Mother cares for each and every universal creature. So She is called the universal mother, Ambika. 

Ambika is the great mother;  She hass Iccha, jnana and kriya saktis within Her. 

Ambika is also night. Like our own biological mother, the Divine Mother compulsorily provides rest and peace to evry universal crature. The Divine Mother is worshipped as Ratri Devi also. 

Ambika is sleep. Devi Mahtmikam 5-25 records, “Ya Devi sarva bhooteshu nidra roopena samsthita namasthasyai, namasthasyai namasthasyai namo naha.” This is emphasizing the need to worship the Ratri Devi and to have enough sleep for the universal creatures. In human life, half of our time is spent in sleep, with ignorance as Maya is controlling us.

Ambika also means Sarasvathi, the earth and the embodiment of Saktis Iccha, jnana and kriya (the power of will, knowledge and action). Namam 658: Iccha sakti, jnana sakti kriya sakti svarupini with the meaning that She is in the form of the powers of will, knowledge and action. We will discuss in details as we reach Namam 658. 

 Maya (illusion) also has the synonyms or meaning as ratri (night) and nidra (sleep). The Gita 11-69 says, ‘what is night to all beings, in that self-controlled man keeps awake, where all beings are awake, that is night for the sage who sees.”Clearly that night is the darkness created by Maya, and the self-controlled man is awake when others are enveloped by the dark of ignorance. Thus the sleep and night imply the nature of Maya. Ambika is thus the embodiment of Maya. “Night represents the great Devi and day represents the Lord Shiva” according to Sastras. 

The Divine Mother’s speed of doing things is the best. No one can stand against Her speed. Harivamsam says only Narayana, a version of Mahvishnu can stand against Her speed. Devi Bhagavatam says that Nidra Devi has absorbed Vishnu and Hayagreeva, so they can stand the Divine Mother’s speed of doing things.

 

Goddess Tripurasundari.

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 15 November 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.