The
relevance of Soundarya Lahiri in Diwali
06.11.2013,
Mumbai
The origin of Shakti worship can be
traced to such Vedic texts as Sri Suktam, Durga Suktam, Bhu Suktam and Devi
Upansihads. In Mahabharata, there is a reference to Shakti worship - Before
entering the Matsya Kingdom for spending the last year of his exile, Dharmaputtra
prays to Durga and before the commencement of Kurukshetra war, Lord Krishna
asks Arjun to get off the chariot and pray to Goddess Durga. In the Ramayan
too, Lord Ram invokes the blessings of the Divine Mother before his battle with
Ravan. Rukmini worships at the shrine of Ambika before her marriage. Shakti is
worshiped as Uma in the Himalayas, Amba in Kashmir, Visalakshi in Varanasi,
Bhavani in Maharashtra and Kali in Bengal and by various other names in
different parts of the country.
As opposed to other religious texts
glorifying the Devi, Adi Shankaracharya calls her “O! Parabrahmamahisi” which
means you are more than Vakdevata/consort of Brahma, Lakshmi/consort of Vishnu
and Parvati/consort of Shiva. Thou art the Fourth/Turiya of inconceivable and
limitless majesties, the indeterminable Mahamaya who revolves the wheel of this
world.
Legend
has it that the seer was on his way to Mount Kailasa where he was gifted with
the manuscript of Soundarya Lahari by Mahadev himself. Lord Nandi unwilling to
part with the esoteric verses took back a part of it and what remained in the
hands of Shankara was a treasure comprising 41 verses. Compelled to complete
the 100 verses Shankaracharya composed 59 additional verses extolling the
beauty and grandeur of Lalita Tripurasundari. These verses are called Keshaadipada / head-to-toe
description of the Mother and offer samsara.
In the path of liberation, there are no material pleasures but for those
engaged in the worship of Tripurasundari liberation is a way of life!
Bhawana
Somaaya/ @ bhawanasomaaya
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