Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 805: Shri Pushkarekshana (ōṃ puṣkarēkṣaṇāyai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother’s eyes are like lotus petals.

It is customary to compare beautiful eyes to lotus petals. Here it is the Divine Mother who has eyes like lotus petals. The universe was initially in lotus form and later bloomed. The Divine Mother eyes exhibit such blossoming.

There is an island named Pushkaram. There are seven major islands on earth. For Pushkara Island, the symbol is lotus. The Divine Mother resides on Pushkara Island also. A banyan tree is also called Pushkaram. Banyan tree is the King of trees in the forest.

During pralaya, when the universe is sinking in water, the Divine Mother shows Her affection to Shiva and worked on recreating the universe.

There is a story in Padma Purana relating to this Nama. It is said that Pushkara is a planetary conjunction when the Sun is in Vishaka constellation, and the Moon is in Krittika constellation. Then there is antagonism between the Sun and the Moon. Since the Divine Mother continues to look at them without blinking Her eyes to avoid conflict, She is called Pushkarekshana.

Padma Purana describes an image in which the universe is a lotus with its upward petals as the world of barbarians and downward petals as the world of demons and serpents. The earth is pictured as originating from the pericarp of the lotus. Pushkarekshana describes the Divine Mother, whose eyes are fixed on the protection and wellbeing of the earth formed in such manner.

The Puranas describe Vishnu, at the time of Great Dissolution, as an infant lying on banyan leaf on the island of Pushkara. There, Vishnu Himself, is referred to as Pushkara. Since the Divine Mother beheld that infant with motherly affection, She became” Pushkarekshana” (the one with eyes on Pushkara).

Pushkara also means water. In this case, it means that the Divine Mother is the one who nourishes and protects four types of waters for devas, humans, manes and demons.

 The Divine Mother’s eyes are like lotus petals. 

 

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 08 April 2022; updated 21 June 2025.

 

References:

1.   The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayis Aparna 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