Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 378: Shri Jalandhara sthita (OM jAlandharasthitAyai namaH)

Namams 373 to380 are describing, the Divine Mother’s Shakti  Peetams where She is residing.

The Divine Mother resides in the Jalandhara pita. 

The Divine Mother takes the Vishnumukhi rupa; She resides in Jalandhara. Each Kshetra gets its importance for three reasons; the Murthy or deity gives the Kshetra a key importance. Sri Ramakrishna explains this as follows: The cow’s blood is all over its body but we get the milk only at the right place. The Punya Kshetra is similar to the cow. Any Kshetra’s punya is due to many yogins doing the tapas there where ultimate Brahman’s presence is felt. The deity in that place gets the fame due to such prayers. The ancient elders had prayed into the statues made of stone or metals such as gold, the Brahma mantra to make it gain the Shakti. By praying to the deity in the key Kshetras, the devotee gets blessings and jnana knowledge. The devotees travel to different key Kshetras to accumulate their blessings and jnana knowledge. This Namam is to remind such actions needed by the devotees to gain the blessings and jnana knowledge. 

Yogashastra states that Jalandhara is the Vishuddhi chakar in the throat region in human body. The Divine Mother resides there as the embodiment of Brahma-as-sound.

Padma Purana says that the Divine Mother resides in Jalandhara and  it is called “Vishnumukhi”.

 

Additional Note: In his commentary on this Namam and human body chakaras, Shri Anna from Ramakrishna Mission had said the Jalandhara is associated with Vishuddhi chakar and Odyana is associated with Ajna chakar; where as in commentary by Shri C V Ramakrishan Sastry (Reference Book) had said Jalandhra is linked to Ajna chakar and Odyana is linked to Vishuddhi chakar.

 

     The Divine Mother as Vishnumukhi

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 06 February 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