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S Subramaniam

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM - Namah # 111

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM

@ S. Subramaniam



बिसतन्तु तनीयसी (111)

Bisatantu Taniyasi (111) 


Meaning:

Devi is as slender as the fiber of the lotus stalk.

Interpretation:

Here Bisatantu refers to the stalk of lotus flower and the word Tanyasi (from tanyas) means thin, slender or delicate. Thus Devi is described as the one who is as slender as a the fiber of a lotus stalk, when she is in Mooladhara  Chakra. 



There are many references for this description. These descriptions ultimately point to the path of kundalini. When kundalini ascends through this middle canal it shines like lightning - should be the correct interpretation of this namah says noted scholar Sri Bhaskaraya. 


Quote from Soundarya Lahari:


In Soundarya Lahari Sloka #7, we find the following description of Devi:

परिक्षीणा मध्ये परिणतशिच्चन्द्रवदना

Parikshhina Madhye parinata sharat chandra vadana. 


ParikshIna Madhye:  ‘Kshina’ means ‘lean’ . The adjective ‘pari’ indicates  that the leanness is extra-ordinary. Thus ‘parikshina madhye’ means  she is really very slender in Her middle. The miracle is that this ‘slender’ waist covers the whole universe is how Adi Shankara wonders about Devi. 


Author's notes:



The earliest reference to the word Bisa (बिस) is found in the Rig Veda verse no. VI. 61.2  refers to  Bisa as “lotus stalks”, representing a type of vegetable.


Atharva Veda also makes a mention about Bisa. It denotes the radical fibres of the lotus, which seem to have been eaten as a delicacy as early as the times of the Atharvaveda. It is mentioned in the Aitareya Brahmana and the Aitareya Aranyaka.


Interestingly in the 17th century book Bhojana kutuhala we find a comparison of food prepared from Bisa or lotus stalk with Anupamamsa or the meat of animals living in marshy lands. 


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