Monday, July 6, 2020

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 181: Shri Mrtyu mathani (OM mRRityumathanyai namaH)

In Namam 132 to 187, the Divine Mother’s Japarupam or Formlessness will be the described.

The Divine Mother destroys the death (scriptural meaning mortality) for Her devotees.

 

There is basic difference between the Divine Mother and Her devotees. She appears, in form-full aspect, when creating the universe. And, She returns formless, during Pralaya or destruction of the universe. The meaning of PRALAYA is a period of dissolution or destruction of the manifested universe at the end of a Kalpa according to Hindu philosophy.    

 

The devotee goes through Samsara Sagara. The soul which had taken a birth must go through the death. The soul graduates to higher status by this Samsara Sagara. On reaching higher status, the soul seeks liberation by worshipping and surrendering to the Divine Mother. The Divine Mother gives Her grace to the devotee to surmount this Samsara cycle. She clears the devotee’s last birth.

 

There is a cycle, first comes the day, time, then the  Sayaana-Sandhya or dawn of the evening, then follows the night, and then the Pratah-Sandhya or the early dawn, and then again begins the next day. The devotee may be happy during the day time and may have fear during the night time.

 

The changing states of death and life that of the morning dawn and the evening dawn, which is part of the Samsara cycle. The devotee needs to overcome the fear of death. He needs to understand that the destruction of the body does not affect the soul. He should seek the Divine Mother’s blessings to clear his Samsara cycle.

 

Yama, the Lord of death, says in Kathopanisad (I -11- 10): I know that treasure is transient, for the eternal is not obtained by the things which are not eternal. Therefore the Naciketa fire (a vedic ritual) has been propitiated by me with perishable things and I have obtained the eternal”. This means that Yama’s own Lord of death position has to be attained through merit and it is not eternal. The Divine Mother is powerful and can unseat him as lord of death and have a new person in that seat.

 

Goddess is full of compassion for her devotees so she takes upon herself the duty of Rudra and kills  Mruthyu (yama), like what Lord Shiva did in the case of Markandeya. It is not only killing Mruthyu but also eliminating the fear of death for Her devotees.

 

This Namam can mean that the Divine Mother saves the devotees from Yama (Samsara Sagara, the birth and death cycle). She merges the devotees in Herself and blesses them with eternal status. Thus the Divine Mother’s grace helps to eliminate the fear of death in Her devotees.

 

 

C N Nachiappun           

Singapore, 23 July 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.


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