Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 802: Shri Puratanas (ōṃ purātanāyai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother is primordial.

She is ancient and precedes everything in this universe. We call this universe ancient. When we analyze the greatness of this universe, it goes beyond time. We usually think that time can eat up all things, but the Divine Mother is so powerful, She eats up the time itself. Nothing precedes the Divine Mother. She is timeless. She creates, nourishes and dissolves infinite arrays of universes in fraction of second. See Nama 281: “Unmesa nimisotpanna vipanna bhuvanavalih” with the meaning “She who causes a series of worlds to arise and disappear with the opening and closing of Her eyes.”

As the Divine Mother is the cause and source of creation, She is primordial, She is indeed ancient. Since the entire universe arose from Her, it is evident that She precedes everything else in this universe, to be called Puratana.

The Divine Mother is ancient.

 

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 05 April 2022; updated 21 June 2025.

 

References:

1.   The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamis AparnaSan 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