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Title: The Greatness of Mahalakshmi
Dear SrImathi Jayasree Saranathan :
 
You had asked a detailed question about PurushakAram
and the roots for the word and the formation of the word
thru the union of two words ( Purusha and AakAaram ).
 
I had written a  note for the Bhakthi list in Feb 1996 ,
which has bearing on the subject .
 
SrI Devi serving as a mediatrix and providing SipArsu
fro the transgressing jeevans and interceding successfully
on behalf of the Jeevans to gain the good will of Her Lord to
protect them and grant them the parama parushArTam of
Moksham is he display of PURUSHAKAARAM  by PirAtti.
 
The Sanskrit adage is :
 
" yEvam purushakArENa vinA dhaivam na siddhyathi "
 
Without our Mother's intercession , the Lord is not attainable.
He turns the other way unless the sipArsu for anugraham
comes from the "AaakAra Thraya Sampannai " , His Devi .
 
AakAram means a mine , a rich , undiminishing source of
anything .AakAram also means form or category . She is
knownm for three kinds of undiminishing Isvaryam ( Aakaara
Thrayam) :
 
AakAra-thraya sampannAm Aravindha-nivAsineem
asEsha jagadhesithreem vandhE Varadha vallabhAm
 
--Prapanna PaarijAtha slOkam
 
The three aakArams linked to Her that saves the sinning
jeevans are furhter elaborated by NadAthUr AmmAl in
His SrI Sookthi of Prapanna PaarijAtham based on
Lakshmi Tanthram:
 
" aparAdhaikasakthAnAm anarhANAm chiram nruNAm
  Bharthrur-AasrayaNE  poorvam svayam PURUSHAKAARATHAAM
 
VaalabhyEna-anuthishtantheem VaathsalyAth-upabrhmaNeem
upAya samayE Bharthu: Jn~Ana-sakthyAdhivardhineem
mukthAnAm bhOgaBrudhyayyarTam soundaryAdhi-vivardhineem 
 
(Meaning): " I salute the consort of the bestower of  boons 
(Varadha VallabhA ), who by being the beloved of the Lord , 
previous to their (Sinning Jeevan's) having recourse to Her Lord , 
occupies of  Her own accord , the position of mediatrix to men --
tomen who are solely addicted to sinful deeds and are for a long time 
unworthy of attention by Her Lord and promotes affection , mercy 
and such other fellings in her Lord , who at the time of His becoming 
the means (upAyam) , fosters knowledge , energy and other 
auspicious  attributes in Him , who for the enhancement of the enjoyments
of the freed (muktha jeevans) augemnts the qualities of beauty etc .
She is endowed with the three capacities (aakArams) of being the means
(UpAyathvam) , being the goal/end( upEyathvam ) and PurushakArathvam
(being a Mediatrix) .She dwells inn the lotus (aravindha nivAsini) and is
the ruler of the whole world .
 
Thus PurushakAram is one of the three roles that She plays
and helps us gain Moksham .She is thus the AakAra Thraya
Sampannai.
 
The six meanings of the SrI Sabdham given to us by our
AchAryAs gores in to detail about the three AakArams
including the PurushakAram ( second of the six meanings:
SrayathE ). She approaches Her Lord for us. In this context ,
PurushakAram The PirAtti elected as the upAyam by
the chEthanam desiring Moksham to gain access to Her Lord
becomes PurushakAram .In the worldly context , when a purushan
desiring a phalan approaches another one to gain access to
the one who can grant him his wish makes use of PurushakAram .
Te One who intercedes on behalf of the desiree with the one who can
fulfil the wish is recognized as displaying  PurushakAram.
 
There are six pramANams for the bhAvam of PurushakAram:
(1) arTa svabhAvam (2) anushtAnam (3) lOka dhrushti
(4) GurUkthi (5) Sruthi and Smruthi .
 
In the dhvaya manthram , the first "SrI " sabdham in the poorva
BhAgam stands for the PurushakAram exercised by  PirAtti
to join the erring jeevan with the sacred feet of Her Lord .
Thus She becomes PurushakAram and UpAyam.The SrI
sabdham in the Utthara bhAgam of the Dhvya manthram
relates to Her accepting the SaraNAgathy of the Jeevan
as the havis with Her Lord and displaying yEka sEshithvam
as a MiTunam ( Divine couple).
 
I will stop here since the posting has already grown long.
 
SrIman NaarAyaNAya Nama:
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
 
You are here: Sri Vaishnava Home Page : Bhakti List : Archives : September 1996

The Greatness of Mahalakshmi

From: V. Sadagopan (75041.3037_at_CompuServe.COM)
Date: Fri Sep 13 1996 - 19:08:12 PDT

Dear Members of the Prapatthi group :

Few months ago , I wrote about the Mahalakshmi Krithis
of Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshithar . I just came across an article
that I had prepared even earlier that I could not find at that time . 
You may find it interesting and Useful .Here it is :

********** THE GREATNESS OF SRI MAHALAKSHMI *************
In the PancharAtra smahitA , Maha Vishnu explains to his senior 
disciple VishvaksenA ,the nature and attributes of His consort , 
Sri Mahalakshmi . He states that She is the resting place of all 
Gurus ,ruler of all worlds , eternal and imperishable. He elaborates 
further on their relationship:" Just as the Universe is pervaded by me
both in essence and quality , all this is pervaded by Her also . Therefore,
She is the disposer and ruler of all.... She is pervaded by me and 
similarly ,I , the Lord am also pervaded by Her. The difference 
between me and Her is that She, who is the ruler of all is subservient to me .
To Her as well as the Universe that I am the Lord ,is well known in Vedas.

In the same PancharAtra SamhitA , Sri  Mahalakshmi herself 
has explained Herself and Her consort , their pervasion and 
rulership. Sri Vatsya Varada Guru , the author of the illustrious 
work on SaranAgathi known as Prapanna ParijAtha has elaborated 
on the relationship between the divine couple as  follows : 
" That supreme energy of Brahman , which is as is lustre to the moon,
is the Goddess Lakshmi , who is coexistent with Brahman in all His 
conditions , and who is in His own nature and is indestructible. "

The sage Parasara , author of Vishnu PurAnam explains further the 
nature and significance of Sri Mahalakshmi : "She is eternal, the 
mother of the universe , the glory of Vishnu and imperishable. Just
as Vishnu is all pervading so also is She-- among Gods, animals
and humans , the glorious Hari is the masculine name and Lakshmi
is the feminine name. O MaitreyA ! There is nothing higher than  these 
(two)..... I salute that consort of the bestower of boons (Varadavallabha ) ,
who of Her own accord , occupies the position of mediatrix to men 
(and women) prior to their surrender to Her Lord; these men (and
women ) are solely addicted to sinful deeds and are for a long time 
unworthy of salvation. She promotes affection , mercy and such other 
feelings for these sinners in Her Lord .She fosters knowledge , energy
and other  attributes in them at the time of His becoming the means of 
their salvation.  She is endowed with the threecapcities of UPAYATVA
(being the means) ,UPEYATVA ( being the end) and PURUSHAKAARA
( being the mediatrix) --and is the ruler of the whole world .

Sri Mahalakshmi tatvam (concept ) is central to Sri Vaishnavism.
To the Sri VaishnavAs , She is known as SRI DEVI and She never 
leaves the side of Her consort. Ancient Gurus of Sri Vaishnavite tenet 
have recognized the centrality and significance of Her role in granting
salvation to the erring jeevans. They have praised in superb verses
Her qualities of mercy and compassion for Her suffering children , Her
intercession on our behalf with Her Lord , Her incarnations with Him , 
the redeeming power of Her glance ,and Her other myriad Kalyana
GunAs. Foremost among the celebrations of Sri Devi's auspicious 
attributes is the Kila rk of the Rig Vedam known as Sri Sooktham. 
Upanishads , Puranams and Ithihaasas have also saluted Her. 
Illustrious Acharyas such as Yamuna Muni ( Chathusloki ) , Ramanuja 
(Saranagathi Gadhyam ) , Kuresa (Sri Sthavam ) , Parasara Bhattar
( GuNarathna Kosam ) , Vedantha Desika ( Sri Sthuthi ) and Adi Sankara
(Kanaka Taraa Sthtram ) have offered their humble salutations and 
received Her blessings .

**** THE MEANING OF THE WORD SRI ****

The word Sri is a profound word with deep meanings .
Six different and yet complimentary meanings are indicated
by this word "SRI " according to Swami Desikan . Following the 
tradition  of his preceptors , he has made it clear  that Prapatthi
to Her precedes the one at the feet of Her Lord to attain freedom 
from the cycles of deaths and births. 

Let us now dwell on the six different meanings of the celebrated 
word SRI . The first meaning is  based on the intrepretation that
She makes Her  Lord listen to our pleas . This quality confers 
the attribute , SrAvayathi . Our Acharya states in this context that Her 
consort , Sriman Narayana will not go against Her request and therefore  
will listen to the appeal of Prapannas .

Before She makes Her consort listen to us , She has  to listen first
to our plaintive cries. This aspect of Her listening to our appeals 
is described a sthe guna of Srunothi , which serves as the second
meaning. After listening to our cries for help , She makes us fit for 
recommendation to Her Lord. This act is described as 
Sreenaathi , the third meaning of  Her name. By blessing us with Bahgavat
Anubhava Poorthi (Completion of the enjoyment of Her Lord's 
attributes) and Kaimkarya Poorthi (Completion of service to Him 
on this earth ) , She exercises the Sreenaathi Quality. In view of 
Her intensive compassionate listening and preparing us for 
recommendation , She is very much sought after as a refuge 
by the PrapannAs . This aspect of becoming sought refuge 
gives  the fourth meaning of Her name as Sreeyathe. 

After listening to us and after preparing us for Her Lord's 
attention , She beseeches Her consort  for our protection.
By this act, She demonstrates the attribute of the fifth meaning ,
Sraayathi of Sri Sabdham. By making Her Lord listen to and accept 
Her recommendations  on our behalf ,she dispels our difficulties 
and earns as a result the sixth meaning Srunaathi for Her name .
Thus Her  name of Sri carries the six complimentary meanings 
-- SREEYATHI, SRAAYATHI , SRUNOTHI , SRUNAATHI ,
SRAAVAYATHI AND SREENAATHI--and these explain Her 
paramount  role in conferring us the supreme bliss of Moksham .

Sri Devyai Nama:

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan  
              
     

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