Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 343: Shri Kshetra kshetrajna palini (OM kShetrakShetraj ~ napAlinyai 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 protector and knower of the field or human body or matter; therefore She the protector of the human body and embodied soul. 

The Divine Mother is managing and protecting the Kshetra (the human body) and the Kshetrajna (embodied soul). The Universal Mother is protecting all universal beings and also the total universe. Each embodied soul, treats the human body as Kshetra, through the Divine Mother’s grace. 

Due to its karma, the soul is embodied in a human body; with subsequent the Divine Mother’s worship, it is gaining divinity; embodied soul assumes that the human body as its own self. Again, due to karma, the soul, after a period of time, leaves the human body. Meanwhile the soul assumes the current human body as ‘mine’ and it is called Kshetrajna; it understands Kshetra or the human body where it is attached. The soul also understands the need for all its actions through the body and minds are to be dharma based. The Divine Mother protects both Kshetra and Kshetrajna. 

The karma based embodied soul is being helped to eliminate its vasana and to become a divine Kshetrajna by the Divine Mother’s grace. She also helps the Kshetrajna to mature to reach the Brahman. 

This Namam is to be considered with two earlier Namams 341 Kshetra svarupa and 342 Kshetrasi. 

The Vishnustuti mentions, “The body is known in the world as the ‘field’ (Kshetra). 

The lord Krishna says in Gita, “This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field (Kshetra) and who know it is called the knower of the field (Ksetrajna) by those who know them.” Gita (Xlll-2) 

The Linga Purana says, “The sages call the twenty-four tattvas by the name Kshetra and the Purusa (the enjoyer of the Kshetra) by the name, Ksjetrajna.” There are twenty-five tattvas in all, according to the Sankhya system; so twenty-four tattvas are known as Kshetra and the Purusa is the twenty-fifth, by the name, the Kshetrajna. The followers of Sankhya system are referred to as, “Knower’s of twenty-five categories.” 

Vayu Purana says, “The unmanifested (avyakata) is known as Kshetra and the Brahman as Kshetrajna.” And in the Brahna Purana, “Kshetras are the bodies and the soul united with them, the enjoyer, according to him, of the pleasure is the Kshetrajna.” 

The Manu Smruti says,” He who prompts the embodied souls to act is Kshetrajna, the one who performs the actions in bhutatman (the self in the form of elements) and the one who, through the body, enjoys the pleasure and pain is jiva.” 

We know of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ on the basis of body. Not many know that Truth is not the body but it is the embodied soul. The Divine Mother protects both Kshetra and Kshetrajna (body and soul), even before the jiva realises this principle.

 

The Divine Mother as Rajarajeswari.

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 02 January 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 Chithbavandar.