Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 47: Shri Marali Manda Gamana (OM marAlImandagamanAyai namaH)


The Divine Mother has a slow and gentle manner of walking (gait).Her walking is compared here to that of a swan.

With Her all powerful and omniscient (knowing everything in this universe) status, does the Divine Mother really need to have any anxiety at all? So She is relaxed and Her walking (gait) is slow, steady and gentle.

The Divine Mother’s lotus feet and swan are waterborne. Swans are attracted to lotus stalks.

This namam can be viewed to mean that swans taught their gait to the Divine Mother. In return, the swans learnt their squeaking sound from the Divine Mother’s anklet tinkle or a steam of sweet sound coming out from Her anklets.

Some ancient great sages had expressed different views on the Divine Mother’s gait or slow and gentle walk. All poets imagine beyond facts and truth.

Mahakavi Kalidasa thought that the Divine Mother got Her gait from the swans. Whereas the Adi Sankarar another great sage in Soundariya Lagari 91 st verse recorded that the swans learned their slow walking from the Divine Mother. He continued saying that swans first failed to walk, but the Divine Mother with all Her passion for the devotees taught the swans to walk by making them to follow Her anklets tinkle or sweet sound. He further expressed that there can be no comparison in the universe for the Divine Mother’s walking with Her feet adorned with anklets which tinkle with sweet sounds.

Perhaps, to lighten up on our intellect, we may need to understand the secret in the Divine Mother’s gait or slow and soft walk. That will help us to follow Her like the swans mentioned in this beautiful simple namam to learn the knowledge we seek from Her to eliminate our ignorance and darkness.

Close meaning of words used:
Marali: female swan 
Manda: slow, moving slowly or softly, sluggish, inert, soggy
Gamana: manner of going, moving, going
Manda Gamana: a very mild movement
Swan: a large water bird with a very long flexible neck, short legs webbed feet usually living in rivers and lakes, mostly whitish in colour. In some (western) cultures, swan is considered as a symbol of motherhood, love, devotion and partnership.
Gait: a slow and gentle manner of walking.


C N Nachiappun
Singapore, 11 March 2020.

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