Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 740: Shri Lajja (ōṃ lajjāyai namaḥ)

From Nama 684 to 741 the glories of the Divine Mother are discussed.

The Divine Mother exists as modesty in living beings.

Lajja means modesty. ‘Salutations to the Divine Mother who dwells within all beings in the form of modesty,” says Devi Mahatmya.

The Divine Mother is in modesty form. For a human to show off achievements in small issues is a sign of ignorance or weakness. Deep sea is calm but at the surface the waves are showing up their existence. Waves are an indication of instability. The deep sea is showing its permanence. A female, she will not exhibit anything outwardly. She will hold back modestly to show her cultural maturity. For the wide universe, the Divine Mother is the prime cause of its existence. Yet, She is very modest and holds Her strength and modesty within Her. It is a sign of wisdom. Those who worship the Divine Mother should not promote or publish their worship of Divine Mother. If any person praises such devotees, they ought not to be pleased. In such instances, the devotees’ modesty should be with them.

The Divine Mother is in modesty (Lajja) form. To keep away from bad or evil things is a form of modesty. Family culture or background, education and surroundings prevent humans from doing or getting evil things due to their modesty. The Divine Mother is in such modesty form. ‘Hreem’ seed syllable has one meaning as Lajja. The Divine Mother is in that seed syllable (Bija Akshara) Hreem form.

Bashfulness (reluctance to draw attention to oneself or shyness) is the external sign of noble birth and modesty. It should not be taken as a sign of weakness. It is like an ornament to one’s character. In fact, Fear (accam in Tamil), Artlessness (Madam in Tamil), Modesty (Nanam, in Tamil) and Aversion (Pairppu in Tamil) are four important attributes of noble women.

The Divine Mother exists as modesty in living beings.

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 03 February 2022; Updated 20 April 2025.

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