Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 469: Shri Vama devi (ōṃ vāmadēvyai namaḥ)

In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in detail. 

The Divine Mother is the spouse of Vamadeva (Lord Shiva). 

Vama has many meanings, namely:  left side, beauty, Lord Shiva and a sect of people who pray to the Divine Mother in secret ways. 

In form and structure, the Vamadeva’s beauty attracts all universal beings to Him. Such praise shows Vamadeva and the Divine Mother are one and the same in unison in Brahman, like fire and its hotness. Vamadeva and Vamadevi are both same in form. To get attracted to such form isa form of  worship to the Divine Mother. 

Lord Shiva is known also as Ardhanarisvarar. The left side is called vama part. Since the Divine Mother occupying the left side of Lord Shiva, She, is called Vamadevi. Lord Shiva has four faces representing four sides and one face looking upwards. With these five faces, Lord Shiva is praised as Panchmukhan. Vamadeva is one of the five beautiful forms of Lord Shiva. As in Adthanarisvarar, he is having the Divine Mother on his left side; he gets the beauty from the Divine Mother. He wins over the left side the Divine Mother; He looks towards north.

The faces towards west, east, north, and south are called Sadyojadha, Tatpursha, Vamadeva and Aghora respectively; the fifth face is Esana is looking upwards. The Divine Mother is facing northeast side; She is Vamadevi. 

Vama also means karma and She controls all the karmas of the universal beings. She is the deity for Vama path worship. Dakshina-charam south looking path worship is common for Lord Shiva. But the left side Vama path is specifically for the Divine Mother’s worship; as such She is called Vamadevi. 

We have seen vama is “left side”. ShivaPurana says,” The beautiful face of Lord Shiva that faces north, red as vermillion is called Vama.” This is Vamavyuha, one of the five forms; we talked above, of Lord Shiva. 

Vama is also means “good” and the “fruit of karma”. The Divine Mother is the presiding deity of everything that is good and of all the fruits of action or karma. As vama is beautiful, the Divine Mother is the abode or store of beauty. Truth, Auspiousness and Beauty (Satyam, Shivaman Sundaram) are the attributes of Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother. 

Vamacara is left-hand path of the Divine Mother worship and Vamadevi is the presiding deity for that form of worship. According to Devi Purana, “Vama is opposite or inverted path; the Divine Mother gives Her bliss through this path, hence She is remembered as Vamadevi”. (Please refer earlier Namam 332: Vama Nayana with the meaning that the Divine Mother has beautiful eyes.)

Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother as in Ardhanareivarar

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 08 May 2021.

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 Chithbavandar.