| Vedanta Spiritual Library |
Lalithambal Shobanam
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
[This popular poem which used to be daily recited by thousands of ladies in Iyer
homes in Tamil Nadu is a summary of Lalithopakhyanam found in Brahmanda Purana.
It is narrated by Hayagreeva (Horse faced incarnation of Lord Vishnu) to sage
Agasthya as per his request. The Upakhyanam in the Purana is written in Sanskrit
and the Iyer women considered Lalitha as their Goddess (Possibly the only
Goddess who fought a huge war) and some one composed a summary in the colloquial
language used in households. The ladies used to learn it by heart and start
singing it immediately after their bath. They used to complete it approximately
when their house hold chores were completed. Somehow in the beginning of
twentieth century, this prayer was very much popular in the Palakkad iyer homes
and not that much popular in the Tamil Iyer homes. Each stanza of the prayer
ends with Shobanam repeated twice. Shobanam means a prayer that everything
should turn out to be good. The iyer women believed that there were two devas
who were floating in the sky who keep on repeating "Let it happen" in short time
intervals. So they thought bad wishes should never be made for, if it coincides
with the saying of the devas, it would really happen. The repeating of Shobanam
was primarily for this. If it is told several times, some time it would coincide
with the blessing of the devas and all good will happen to us. Now a summary of
the story told in the Lalithambal Shobanam / Lalithopakhyanam. (for a detailed
summary, please read the story given at: shaktisadhana.org/Newhomepage/sadhana/..
/lalita.pdf) The devas were being troubled by asuras called Daruka and Soora who
had a boon that they could only be killed by a son of Shiva. At that time Sathi
the wife of Shiva had died and Lord Shiva was doing penance. Sathi was born as
the daughter of the Himalaya Mountain. So the devas requested Manmatha, the god
of love to shoot an arrow on Lord Shiva. He woke up, opened his third eye and
burnt Manmatha in to ashes. Later Viswakarma, the deva architect made a doll out
of the ashes of Manmatha. Lord Shiva not only gave him life but also gave him
lot of boons. Lord Brahma gave him the name of Banda. Though initially this
Bandasura was pious, later he waged a war against devas. The devas found out
only the Goddess who would marry Shiva can kill her. Then as per the advice of
Brahma they prayed. Lalitha Devi (The Goddess who can be easily pleased /
Goddess who is playful) took incarnation. She married Kameswara (the handsome
gentleman form of Lord Shiva) and later she killed Bandasura and his huge army.
After that listening to the plea of Rathi Devi (wife of Manmatha) she brought
back the god of love to life. The Shobanam also gives detailed description of
Sri Pura where the Goddess lived. This story is also told in Lalitha Sahasra
Nama. People interested can check my introduction to Laitha Sahasra nama at
www.celextel.org/stotras/devi/lalitasahasranamam.html I have not given the
transliterated version of the stotra thinking that it would not be of much use.
People interested can hear the entire stotra in www. mediafire. com/?yd1daoy0mhc
as sung by Smt. Veda Valli.]
1. We are singing this auspicious Lalithambal shobanam so that auspicious things
will occur. Let the pretty Ganapathi, Subrahmanya and Goddess Saraswathy come
before us and protect us. Let the 33 crore devas, Indra, the holy trinity,
Brahmins who have learned Vedas, let the goddess who presides over the figure
with 43 triangles and Lord Shiva who is known as Lord Kamesa protect us.
The penance of sage Agasthya in Kanchipuram to please Goddess Kamakshi.
2. The primeval Brahmin sage Agasthya who used to travel all over the world
worshipped Jyothi Kamakshi in Kanchipuram and did penance. Lord Vishnu came
before the husband of Lopa Mudhra holding conch, wheel and a book in his right
hands.
Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
3. Sage Agasthya did sixteen types of hospitality with great devotion, saluted
him with his entire body, and prayed him by Vedas and stood there. That
Hayagreeva with the penance of the sage born out of a pot and told, "You have
worshipped me well, Agasthya. What do you need?" Let good things happen. Let
Good things happen.
4. Hearing the nectar like words of the horse faced one, the son of Mithra
Varuna told, "Oh God who gives protects and blesses, please give me the boon
that I ask. I beg you to tell me a method by which the ordinary people are able
to realize the divine in this Kali age." Let good things happen. Let Good things
happen.
5. To Agasthya who requested a boon favouring the ordinary people, Hayagreeva
told, "Oh Agasthya, this question has been earlier answered to sage Chyavana.
But since you have asked, I will tell you. Please hear this with love and
concentration. Let all people hear." Let good things happen. Let Good things
happen.
6. Hayagreeva told, "To those men who knew about God due to the blessing of Adhi
Parasakthi, there is no problem, if they fall in to the trap of illusion."
Hearing this sage Agasthya asked after saluting Hayagreeva "Please tell me about
the different forms of Adhi Parashakthi." Let good things happen. Let Good
things happen.
7. That Hayagreeva saluted Adhi Parashakthi in his mind and the lotus like feet
of Goddess Parvathi and agreed to tell all that sage Agasthya has asked. He then
went along with Agasthya to his hermitage and there Agasthya made him to sit on
a suitable seat and asked with lot of humility. Let good things happen. Let Good
things happen.
8. When sage Agasthya asked Hayagreeva with love, "Oh God, All the sacred books
have been born from you. So please tell me the incarnation of the great Goddess
in detail." He started telling about the incarnations of Goddess Parvathi. Let
good things happen. Let Good things happen.
The starting of the telling about the greatness of the Goddess by Hayagreeva.
9. The Parashakthi does not have either beginning or end and she is the basis of
the entire world. It is simply not possible for any one to tell about all her
shining forms, but I would try to tell you about her forms to the best of my
knowledge. First she came to help Lord Brahma when he meditated on her. Let good
things happen. Let Good things happen.
10. Once upon a time when Devendra was taking a round the three worlds on his
white elephant, he lost all his senses and due to his pride, did not bother to
salute Lord Shiva or the Goddess Parvathi. So Shiva sent sage Durvasa to control
his pride. And that Durvasa gave a garland in the hands of Indra. Let good
things happen. Let Good things happen.
11. Due to his pride, Indra received the Garland and kept it on the head of the
elephant. And that elephant took it using his trunk and put it on the earth and
trampled it and seeing this sage Durvasa became very angry and cursed Indra. The
Goddess told him, was this not your pride that made you do this. Let good things
happen. Let Good things happen.
12. After the sage cursed and left, Indra came back to his town and became
scared on seeing ill omens and sent word to Bruhaspathi his teacher. When he
came, he offered a seat to his teacher and saluted him and told him thus, "Ill
omens are being seen in my country. So please sir, tell me a way out." Let good
things happen. Let Good things happen.
13. The teacher of devas told Indra, "The result of all the actions has to be
undergone. If you do a sinful act, it does not go away by doing redemption. It
would not go away by some other act. I am telling you, the only antidote for sin
is God Vishnu." Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
14. "Murder, theft, hurting, alcohol, thinking about some body else's wife are
the fearful five great sins. If these are done out of ignorance depending on the
caste of the sinner, there is redemption but for Brahmahathi (killing of
Brahmins) there is no redemption in the Sasthras, Indra. For the sin of theft I
would tell you a story, Indra." Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
15. "One thief in Kanchipuram, who was practicing theft, buried all his
treasures in the middle of the forest. A hunter who was a thief of a thief
followed him and took away all the wealth that was buried." Let good things
happen. Let good things happen.
16. "He gave all that wealth to his wife and she after storing them addressed
her husband and told," due to the curse of Valmiki, wealth would not increase
for hunters. So if you do the charity that I tell, you would be benefited." Let
good things happen. Let Good things happen.
17. "Obeying her wise words, that hunter went to villages, gardens and temples
and with devotion gave all the wealth as charity to Brahmins. After a long tie
when the hunter and huntress were about to die, the messengers of Yama as well
as the messengers of Vishnu and Brahma came to take them to their lands." Let
good things happen. Let Good things happen.
18. "Sage Narada told them that for 12 years they will have the form of a wind.
For the redemption for stolen wealth is charity. So those who did have the
wealth, due to the grace of God lost their sins and got blessings. See Indra,
those wealthy people attained salvation." Let good things happen. Let Good
things happen.
19. "Only the king who protects the people can punish the guilty and if ordinary
people sacrifice a cow, the Goddess will get angry and burn them. In the fire
sacrifice of King Yuvanaswa, devas fought with each other for the spoils and
Lord Brahma portioned the offerings properly and distributed to them." Let good
things happen. Let Good things happen.
20. "There is hell for those who drink Alcohol, which is one year for every drop
that they drink. By enjoying some body else's wife the longevity of a person is
diminished and also they would get sickness for their sin and eventually suffer
in hell. By desiring for some one else's wife, Ravana died. Duryodhana died
because of Panchali. To those who never desire another man's wife, there is
never a problem." Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
21. "Along with drinking and desiring some else's wife the great sins are five.
Why I told you this is because you have committed all these sins. The sins which
do not have redemption get destroyed by the repetition of the 15 syllable mantra
of the Goddess. But please do not do such sins. I shall tell you now, Indra,"
Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
22." Some time before, you and the devas had employed Viswaroopa, the son of
Dhadha as your priest and he never did any bad things to you. You killed him
without any justice due to the fact that his uncle was an Asura. And due to the
murder of Viswaroopa, you got sin of Brahma hathya." , Let good things happen.
Let Good things happen.
23. "Lord Vishnu knowing about your sin, took the pity on you and divided this
sin in to four parts and asked earth, ladies, trees and river to accept them and
gave them the boons that they asked. And then you again got Brahma hathya by
killing Vruthra the father of Viswaroopa who came in fire." Let good things
happen. Let Good things happen.
24. "Apart from that sage Durvasa has cursed you sufficiently. So you would
suffer greatly. I am telling this based on that omens that I see. Indra, you do
not have any sparkle in your world and the devas have become like people without
food and the Brahmins of the world have become misers. I see lot of bad signs."
Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
25. When Guru was telling such stories to Indra, One asura king called Malaka,
tapping on his chest came along with asuras and surrounded Amarapathi(city of
Indra) and drove away all the devas from that town. The devas went to Indra and
Brahma and told the news. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
26. Brahma after hearing all this stories told the demoralized Indra thus, "We
cannot do anything about this and so I shall tell you a way out which I can
think of. Only Lord Vishnu can help you and so go and appeal to him." And
hearing this all of them went near Lord Vishnu. Let good things happen. Let Good
things happen.
27. They all saluted the form of Vishnu who was lying on Adhi sesha and sang his
praises and told him about the sufferings that all of them were undergoing. "Oh
Lord, How is it that you do not know about our problems. Were you sleeping?",
Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
28. "Pease kill asuras like Malaka and bring stability to Indra. We are
wandering here and there, hiding our real forms, and does this not bother you."
The God who travels on Garuda told them seriously, I shall tell you a trick by
which you would never die." Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
29. "You go and tell the asuras that if we both drink nectar neither you will
die nor we will die, and so let us churn for getting nectar. After telling this,
you bring all the asuras here. Then they will do the work and you only will
drink the nectar." Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
30. "You then put lot of medicinal herbs in the ocean of milk, without waiting,
use the Mandhara Mountain as the churn and the serpent Vasuki as rope, if you
churn the ocean of milk, from there, the pot of nectar will emerge. Definitely
it is only for you. You only will eat it." Let good things happen. Let Good
things happen.
The churning of the ocean by devas and asuras
31. When the devas went and told the agreement of Lord Vishnu to the asuras who
have lost their anger, hearing that and considering that it is true, they
quickly collected the four herbs and put it in the ocean of milk together. Let
good things happen. Let Good things happen.
32. They made the Mandhara mountain as the churn, tied it three times by the
serpent Vasuki and the asuras held Vasuki's head and the devas held its tail and
started the process of churning as per the orders of Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva,
Brahma and the sages came to see this. Let good things happen. Let Good things
happen.
33. When he saw that the Mandhara Mountain was not stable and was getting
drowned in the water, Lord Vishnu became a tortoise and lifted the mountain up
and he was also present on the top along with devas. He was armed with his conch
and wheel and decided to fool the asuras and give nectar only to devas. Let good
things happen. Let Good things happen.
34. Then due to the pain caused by the pulling, Vasuki vomited the burning
poison and that started burning all those it touched. And all people started
running away from there. Then to avoid danger to his devotees Lord Parameshwara
drank all the poison. Then all, people sang the praise of Lord Shiva and
recommenced the churning. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
35. First Parijatha flower, Kamadhenu and the gems came and were given to Lord
Indra. The ladies as well as the baby moon came then. They were passed to Indra
and Lord Shiva respectively. Lot of jewels an then came the pot of nectar. Then
arose from the sea, Danwanthri and afterwards Goddess Lakshmi. Lakshmi went
along with Vishnu. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
Incarnation of Mohini, gifting nectar o devas after fooling the asuras. Birth of
Hariharaputhra.
36. Those cheering asuras took the pot of nectar and started running away.
Without knowing what to do Devas chased and caught them. And seeing that a fight
has broken out between them, Lord Vishnu, meditated on the Goddess of illusion
and then he took the form of Mohini and enchanted the asuras. Let good things
happen. Let Good things happen.
37. That Mohini happily stood in between those who were fighting, she wore
anklets with bell, peacock feather and other ornaments of the leg. She was
dressed in good quality silk and wore over it a Mekala (golden belt) and she
wore gems on her hips. She also wore an incomparable blouse and bangles in her
hand. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
38. She had lips as red as pomegranate and as soft as silk. She had eye brows
like the bow of the God of love. She wore ear globes and nasal stud and her
black hair was made in to a pretty braid. And seeing her prettiness asuras
stopped their fight and were puzzled as to who she is and started surrounding
her. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
39. Then that Mohini told the asuras, "Oh sirs, if you are fighting, then give
me the nectar to me so that I would give a small quantity to all devas and give
the pot with nectar back to you. If you think I would do it, without further
thought give the pot of nectar to me." Thus she enchanted the asuras. Let good
things happen. Let Good things happen.
40. The foolish asuras gave her the pot of nectar as they were enchanted by her
sat in a line and the devas also sat in a line. The asuras were thinking, "she
is raining the nectar and when she serves it with a golden ladle, her shining
bangles and jingling foot chain are moving." thus seeing her the asuras kept
quiet. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
41, When the pot became empty when everything was served to the devas, the ladle
touched the bottom of the pot and there was a sound because of it. The foolish
asuras did not know even this. But Rahu and Kethu understood the deceit and they
hid amidst the devas and along with Sun and the moon, Rahu and Kethu also drank
the nectar. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
42. To the Gods like Sun and the moon. She served the nectar and when Sun and
moon informed Mohini about Rahu, she cut off the head of Rahu and threw it in
the sky and that great lady kept the empty pot in front of asuras and vanished.
Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
43. Then the asuras could not see Mohini and saw only the empty pot and they all
waged a war against the devas. And by the strength of their mace, the devas beat
back the asuras and drove them to the nether world of Patala. The devas prayed
Lord Vishnu and happily stayed in the heavens. Let good things happen. Let Good
things happen.
44, Sage Narada rushed to Lord Shiva and told about all this. And immediately
Shiva came on to the banks of ocean of milk and told Vishnu, "You took a pretty
form using illusion. Please show me that form once." Agreeing to that Lord
Vishnu vanished. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
45. When the consort of Parvathi saw every where, he saw a garden and there in
the garden, one very pretty lass was playing with the ball. Seeing her Lord
Shiva left Parvathi went and hugged that pretty lady. Immediately Hari hara
puthra was born and he uplifted the world. Let good things happen. Let Good
things happen.
46. Mohini also vanished and Shiva got out of that trance and along with
Parvathi he rode on his bull and reached Kailasa and lived there. As told
earlier first he came to save Brahma and now he has come as Mohini. Hear
further. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
47. In the greatness of Goddess Lalitha, in the one lakh crore part of her fame
we would tell only a little. There is no doubt that to those who hear this with
devotion all auspicious things will happen. In her previous birth as daughter of
Daksha disregarding the words of Shiva, the god of the universe, she went to the
Fire sacrifice conducted by her father. Let good things happen. Let Good things
happen.
48. The father did not tell her, "Oh child, have you come" and the Goddess
waited patiently. Later that Daksha did not offer the offerings in the fire
sacrifice to Lord Shiva. Seeing that he has stopped her husband's right, she did
not want to be daughter of Daksha and jumped in to the fire and reappeared in
another form. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
49. Hearing this Lord Shiva pinched off, the head of Daksha and later brought
the fire sacrifice to a conclusion, and started doing penance on the north side
of Himalayas in front of Ganges The King of the mountains understanding from
Narada that Parvathi was the wife of Rudra, made her to do service to the God
Shiva. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
50. When the God was doing penance like this, Darukasura and Soora were born and
they got the boon that they should not be killed by any one except the son of
Lord Shiva. Not able to bear the punishment given by Daruka to them, the devas
sent the God of love to enchant Lord Shiva and told him, "Oh Manmatha please
make the Lord live with the Goddess." Let good things happen. Let Good things
happen.
51. As per the wishes of the devas, Manmatha with his arrows hit at the God and
the Goddess, the God got angry and burnt Manmatha in to ashes by his third eye.
Goddess was scared and ran away and as per the advice oh her father started
doing penance. Viswakarma took the ashes of Manmatha made it in to a paste and
made it in to a human form. Let good things happen. Let Good things happen.
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