Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 552: Shri Sarva mrtyu nivarini (ōṃ sarva mṛtyunivāriṇyai namaḥ)

The Goddess Divine Mother Guards Her devotees from all kinds of deaths. 

The Divine Mother stops or blocks all kinds of deaths including diseases for Her devotees. The humans born must die; this happens in the universe continuously. There is no one who can stop this process. The Divine Mother is not trying to stop all diseases and deaths. Then how to establish this Nama’s interpretation? 

By taking food, the humans are postponing their death. By eliminating the troubles from five elements (Like Akasa) temporally the death is postponed. Damaged body’s destruction cannot be avoided. From the death of a human, the soul takes another human’s body and starts afresh. For example, the Sun is setting in one place but is rising in another part of the globe. When the physical body is destroyed, the soul is ready to start in a new human’s body. So, for the soul, there is no death. Soul takes on new human bodies and thereby getting matured. The Divine Mother is recasting all universal souls. So, She, is giving new bodies to the souls to enable the souls move towards the Brahman’s eternal life. Those bodily deaths are not affecting the soul is the concept to be understood here, so that they are being saved from death by the Divine Mother. 

Mrtyu is death due to old age; if the body is destroyed and dies, it is called death due to time factors. If one lives 120 years due to nine stars effect is called full life. The death due to time and age may happen at the end of 120 years. But due to karma effects and due to mental sickness etc., the human dies, it is called untimely death. There may be thousands of reasons. The Divine Mother eliminates such deaths in humans. This Nama is the mantra to eliminate the death in humans. Maha mrtyu mantram is recited to get salvation without any further birth and death for the soul. 

Karma effects which cause rebirth of the soul in a new human body are also the cause of death. After death, the soul takes a new body due to karma effect. These are forms of death. She is showing by death of humans, the ultimate Brahman status for the soul. She saves the soul by emphasizing the Brahman to it. 

Death can come from old age (Kala mrtyu), or it can be an early untimely death (Akala mrtyu). The Divine Mother’s will can postpone both kinds of death. 

“Lead me from death to immortality” is a well-known prayer. The statement in Sruti, “Knowing It only, does one transcend death; there is no other path known for this,” is proof of the fact that the Divine Mother’s grace enables one to transcend death. “He who knows Him thus cuts as under the fetters of death.” (Svetasvatara Upanisad lV.15)

The  Divine Mother guards Her devotees form all kinds of death.

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 30 July 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 Sithbavandar