Sri Krishna Mangal







Edition V: Religion
Lalita Sahasranamam

Certain Vital Statistical Data

Just as every letter and word of the Vedas are protected through various methods like - padam, kramam, ghanam etc. Similarly the letters and the words of Lalita Sahasranamam are also protected from interpolation, mutilation etc. through axioms called CHALARNA SUTRAS or PARIBHASHA SUTRAS. In this issue of SRIKRISHNAMANGAL, we are dealing with some these methods. Instead of quoting the Sutras and analyzing them in details, we propose to enumerate the statistical data they convey.

The division of the 1000 names on the basis of the number of letters in each name:

Number of Letters in Name
Number of Words
1 letters 3
2 letters 72
3 letters 139
4 letters 281
5 letters 120
6 letters 58
7 letters 2
8 letters 240
10 letters 7
11 letters 3
12 letters 3
16 letters 72
Total 1000

The division of the 1000 names on the basis of the staring letter of each name:

Though there are50 alphabets in the Sanskrit language, not all of them are used as the beginning letters for the thousand names of Sri Lalita. Only 32 letters are used again and again. How many times each letter has been used are given below:

The division of the slokas

Poorva Bhaga 51 Slokas
Main Part 182.5 Slokas
Phalashruti Bhaga 86.5 Slokas
Total 320 Slokas

Genders of the names

As Devi can be contemplated as masculine, feminine or formless, Her names also are rendered in all the three genders.

GUNANIDHIH, ATMA, ROGAPARVATA DHAMBHOLIH, MAHALAVANYA SEVADHIH; are masculine gender.

TAT, BRAHMA, PARANDHAM, SADHU, PARAMJYOTHIH ARE NEUTER GENDER.

INDECLINABLES ARE SVADHA AND SWAHA.

ALL THE REST ARE FEMININE.

Meters of the slokas

The slokas in Lalita Sahasranamamas are composed in Anushtup meters, which consist of 32 letters divided into 4 quarters of eight letters each.

The utterance of "OM"

Omkara should be uttered both before and after each name of LALITHA; the former to protect the mantra from slipping and the latter to protect it from overflowing.

Division of the Sahasranamam into 10 Shathakas

A Shathaka is a group of 100. The author of Paribhashamandalam, Sri Narasimha Yajva has divided the thousand names into 10 groups of 100 names each and tells us the name with which each Shathakam begins.

1st Name Sree mata
101st Name Manipoorantharudhitha
201st Name Sadhgathi priya
301st Name Hreemkari
401st Name Vividhhakara
501st Name Gudanna preethamanasa
601st Name Dharandholitha dheerghhakshi
701st Name Dheshakalaa parichchinna
801st Name Pushta and
901st Name Nadharoopini

The number of names in the lalitha sahasranama starting with specific words

Thri 21
Kula 9
Shree 12
Kama 16
Vi 39
Guna 3 Gunanidhih, Gunapriya & Gunatheetha
Ni 60
Tham 1 Thamboola pooritha mukhee
Bindu 3 Bindumandala vasini, Baindavasana & Bindutharpana Samthushta

Conclusion

Thus, through various checks and balances, these paribhasha sutras have helped devotees of Sri Lalitha to protect their sacred and secret granthas Lalitha sahassranamam from interpolations and manipulations.

(Note:- There are 40 paribhasha sutras; but we have dealt onlywith a few of them. Some of the other sutras deal with the number of letters in each of the thousand names and also how to differentiate between similar looking names).