LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM
महाभोगा महैश्वर्या महावीर्या महाबला ।
महाबुद्धिर् महासिद्धिर् महायोगेश्वरेश्वरी ॥ ५५॥
Mahabhoga Mahaishvarya Mahavirya Mahabala Mahabhudir Mahasirdhir Mahayogeshvareshvari 55
महावीर्या (221)
Mahavirya (221)
Meaning:
This Namah is unique in the sense that the term Virya has several meanings. Generally it means courage, power, luster, dignity, energy, etc.
Devi is the reservoir of all these qualities and She provides these qualities to Her devotees depending upon the depth of devotion.
Interpretation:
Here again, Maha refers to the greatest quality and Virya can be assigned any of the qualities mentioned above. Let's consider that it refers to Energy.
Virya, when defined as Energy, falls into the following three categories 1.Samanaha Virya - the Energy as armour 2.Prayoga Virya - the Energy as Practice 3. Parinishta Virya - the Energy as accomplishment. All the three refer to Devi.
Lord Shiva as Mahavirya
1 of 2: Quote from Shiva Sahasranamam
In the Koti Rudra Samhita of Shiva Purana, Bhagavan Vishnu eulogized Lord Shiva by a thousand names which had come to be known as the Shiva Sahasranamam. It contains the name Mahavirya
कालयोगी महानादो महोत्साहो महाबलः ।
महाबुद्धिर्महावीर्यो भूतचारी पुरन्दरः
2 of 2 Quote from Linga Puranam
Panchabrahma incarnation is a description of Lord Shiva found in Linga Purana where the Lord appears during various Kalpas in various forms such as Sadyojatam, Vamadevam, Agoram etc.
ततोऽपस्यान्महतेजाः प्रादुर्भूतं कुमारकम् | कृष्णवर्णं महावीर्यं दीप्यमानं स्वतेजसा |
In his incarnation as Aghora, the Lord appears as black coloured (some say Krishna varna means blue colour), full of energy and magnificent with his own glory. Here the term Maha Virya means full of energy.
From the above two references, we can conclude that Devi gets the name Maha Virya in her capacity as consort of Lord Shiva.
Adi Shankara's Quote on Maha Virya
In the commentary on the Taittiriya Upanishad by Sureshvaracharya, disciple and the first Shankaracharya of Sri Singeri Sarada Peetam, called Taittiriya Vartika, we find the term Maha Virya mentioned.
In the Bhashya to the verse from Brahmananda Valli भीषाऽस्माद्वातः पवते| भीषोदेति सूर्यः | भीषाऽस्मादग्निश्चेन्द्रश्च| Adi Shankara writes
वातादयो महावीर्यः स्वतन्त्र बहुशालीनः |
तेऽपि भीताः प्रवर्तन्ते ब्राह्मणोऽपि महत्तमः |
Wind (Vayu) and other gods such Surya, Indra and Agni) are very powerful gods; they are independent, very mighty (महावीर्यः) and are endowed with great luster. In spite of these, they, too, are engaged in their works being afraid of Brahman.
Author's Notes:
Two messages are being conveyed to the devotees by this Namah of Devi.
The very fact that the Namah applies to both Devi and Lord Shiva suggests that Brahman is one. Like the saying All roads lead to Rome, whatever be method of worship, whoever be the deity the prayer is addressed to, it ultimately reaches Devi.
Secondly the uni-minded worshiper of Devi, the Sadhaka will ensure Devi showering upon them such qualities like courage, power, luster, dignity, energy, etc.
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