Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 318: Shri Raksasaghni (OM rAkShasaghnyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed.

The Divine Mother is the slayer of the entire demons’ races. 

The Divine Mother fully destroys the evil persons. From time to time there are asuras, like Bhandasura born with the capabilities to cause immense damage and trouble to other universal creatures. Since the Divine Mother is in all good and bad souls in the universe, we can sense that She, Herself is taking the asuras role as well. When the weak creatures seek Her help to be saved from the evil forces, She comes out to destroy the asuras and save Her devotees. Asuras are capable of creating the major health crisis and major accidents etc. The Divine Mother has the power to destroy and kill such asuras. 

Brahma’s deep hunger had turned out as asuras. When the asuras got out of Brahma’s body, to satisfy their hunger, they started eating all universal things. People who were troubled and caught by such asuras’ actions, appealed to Brahma for saving them; asuras made such weak creatures to cry out to Brahma; Brahma sought the Divine Mother’s help. She destroyed such asuras causing trouble to the universal things. 

When the creatures are weak small and sick without anyone to help them and without anyone’s sympathy to be helped out by the hard hearted asuras, the Divine Mother’s power comes in and destroys the hard hearted asuras. 

There are two types of human tendencies: One is leaning towards the divine and the other is to lean towards the demonic. The Gita (ix.12) Lord Krishna explains these two types: The demonic type is “of vain hopes, of vain actions, of vain knowledge, devoid of discriminations partaking only of the delusive nature of raksasas and asuras”. They take pride in their vain abilities and become heartless. In such individuals, the quality of Tamas is very high and they negate God. On the contrary, the divine type “partake of the nature of the devas, worship Me with their mind turned to none other, Knowing Me as the imperishable source of all beings.” The persons of the divine type will be constantly engaged in good deeds.

Both types of human tendencies are always found in the universe; the Divine Mother destroys the raksasic vasanas in Her devotees, as well, in addition to destroying the evil asuras.

 

The Divine Mother as Goddess Durgha 

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 08 December 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