Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 683: Shri Shobhana sulabha gatih (ōṃ śōbhanāsulabhāgatyai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother is attained through an auspicious and easy path. Shobhana can be said to be shining, salvation; Sulabha means easily attained; Gati means the path or fruit.

The Divine Mother grants shobhanam (salvation) to Her devotees. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha are four purusha goals., Dharma is the goal of the soul (jiva) in its current birth. Dharma Putra of Pandavas followed dharma with full focus. As a result, he got easily material wealth, Brahman or salvation and other good things, through the Divine Mother’s blessings. Depending upon the maturity level of the souls, the Divine Mother grants the attainment of Brhman to all beings in this universe.

The goal of shobhanam is salvation. There are examples, that sages only looked for salvation and not anything else in their life. Those who get the blessings of the Divine Mother enjoy shobhanam (salvation). Such salvation is easily attainable through the Divine Mother’s worship.

Gati has many meanings such as result, goal or fruit, the place to reach, directional action, the after effect of karma action, and jnana. shobhanam or salvation is got from the Divine Mother, who grants punya and eternal happiness (Brahman). The Divine Mother is easily attainable, so She is Sulabha. So, the Brahman is easily attainable. Although it looks like three Namams together namely, Sobhana, Sulabha and Gati, as Bhaskaraya says, it is only single Namam. For those who think it is difficult to worship the Divine Mother, She, is Sobhana asulabha gati, with the meaning that She is not easily attainable.

The Divine Mother guides and shows a bright and easy path to salvation or merging with the Brahman for those who worship Her. even a simple hunter Kannappan attained immorality with his sincere devotion to Lord Shiva. Total surrender and love for the chosen deity here, it is the Divine Mother, are the most important attributes needed for attaining salvation.

An alternate interpretation of this Namam is “Sobhana asulabha gaiti”, which means that the Divine Mother is not easily attained. The reason being that one who reaches or attain Her State does not return to samsara (Death and Birth) cycle, that is not to be reborn. Brahma Purana says that a jiva (Soul) attains the fruit of the fifteen-syllabled Panchadasi mantra only in his last birth.

One other way to interpret this Namam is that “whoever worships the Divine Mother becomes righteous in life.” The Divine Mother bestows glory which is difficult to obtain (asulabha gati). The lives of those are in vain, who do not hear the “Devi Bhagavata “or worship the Original Prakrti, says the Devi Bhagavata.

The Divine Mother is attained easily.

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 08 December 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 Sithbavandar