Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 882: Shri Yajna kartri (ōṃ yajJṇakartryai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother performs sacrificial rites.

The Divine Mother is the cause of all sacrifices which are best liked by the Shiva. Like the Sun and its light, Shiva and His Shakti, the Divine Mother have the same Rupam. Action, material wealth and status are the things claimed by immature and ignorant people.  Those who do proper Yajna or sacrifice, do not have such ignorant claims. They understand that all Yajna are happening with the Divine Mother’s grace. The fully heated iron can be shaped into the desired shape, but the one who is running the heating furnace decides the levels for hitting such hot iron. Those matured individuals, Yajna Murtis, leave their actions to the Divine Mother who os like the hitting instrument furnace holder. ‘I’ the ahamkara, (ego, pride, arrogance, or haughtiness) is fully taken out from their minds. The worldly desires are taken out. They only want to reach Brahman. Their highly mature status is due to the Divine Mother’s grace. By doing Yajna (sacrifice), their goal is to attain the Yajna Rupam, the Divine Mother. The Divine Mother is called Yajna Kartri.

To perform Yajna, we need people who know the correct procedures. The Divine mother is in people who know the Yajna procedures. The spouse of the person who is offering Yajna also has the part to play in doing the sacrifice. The Divine Mother is in such spouse’s form as well.

There is an incident referred to in ancient texts. When Brahma was performing a Yajna, he asked His spouse Sarasvati Devi to be with Him. Sarasvati Devi was having a discussion with another Davi. She did not turn up for Yajna performance as asked by Brahma. This led Brahma to get Gayatri Devi to sit with Him while he was performing the Yajna. This Gayatri Devi has reference to Gayatri Mantram recited daily by people.

Separately, the Gayatri Mantra is a prayer for enlightenment, essentially stating: "Om, earth, sky, heaven. We meditate on the divine radiance of the Supreme Sun, which inspires and illuminates our intellect". The mantra calls upon the creative power of the Sun (Savitur) to remove ignorance and guide us toward truth and a higher consciousness.

 The Divine Mother performs sacrificial rites.

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 24 June 2022; updated 03 September 2025.

 

References:

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