Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 651: Shri Vijjnatri (ōṃ vijJṇātryai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother knows the whole truth of the physical universe. 

She is with knowledge of both Physical materials and spiritual experience. Sun’s brilliance cannot be seen by our naked eye; what we can see is a minute brightness of the Sun. That Sun light expands and explains his brightness on its own. For all items with brightness or without brightness, the Sun’s bright light helps to identify and understand them. 

The Divine Mother’s immense knowledge is such a similar huge thing. As She is holding and explaining such knowledge, we cannot understand such full knowledge. So, She has the name Vijjnatri to reflect the knowledge source She is. 

She has understood all the truth about all universal things. She is not visible, yet She is controlling the universe. How to believe such a thing? When we think that this universe is functioning smoothly without anyone controlling it, we may start to believe that there is no need for a creator. However, for anything in this universe, we see a creator behind such a thing. In similar line of thought, to create this universe, an immense Shakti is needed. The Divine Mother is the Shakti which creates and regulates the universe. Our souls with limited knowledge, manifest into higher knowledge level which is behind all understanding of the universe. If we cannot understand anything, we can say that there are not many things in this universe. The Divine Mother with Her immense knowledge lives in every soul as Vijjnatri to educate the souls. 

Jnana and Vijjnana are used simultaneously to mean knowledge. For example, “Brahman is Sathyam, jnanam and anandam (existence, knowledge and infinity) and again “Brahman can be viewed as Vijjnanam and anandam (Knowledge and bliss).” However, the distinction is that all material knowledge is vijjana and spiritual knowledge is jnana. The knowledge which is known through study is vijnana and that arising from (spiritual) experience is jnana. In a way, vijjnana is translated as knowledge and jnana as wisdom. 

So, this Nama can be interpreted as “She who knows everything that is material or physical. Also, it can mean that She knows through special experience. Vijjnantri also means “She who protects all knowledge.”

The Divine Mother (in Sarasvati form) knows the whole truth

 C N Nachiappun

Singapore, 06 November 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