LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM
@ S. Subramaniam
[ 47 Nishchinta Nirahankara Nirmoha
Mohanashinee ]
मोहनाशिनी (163)
Mohanashini (163)
Meaning:
Devi destroys all forms of confusions from the minds of her devotees.
Interpretation
Moham (=ekatva jnanadananda) nasayati iti says the Sanskrit saying
Devi who destroys the delusion arising out of avidya ( lack of knowledge - ignorance) from the minds of the devotees by giving them knowledge. Devi is thus not only a Mohanasini but with it a Gnana Dayini too.
According to Shiva Purana Moha is one of the five kinds of Avidya or ignorance such as tamas, moha, mahamoha, tamisra and andha tamisra. Praying to Lord Shiva removes such avidyas says the holy text.
In Devi Mahatmyam
The word Moha finds mention in several places in the Devi Mahatmyam - most relevant being in Chapter 1 where Devi, the Mahamaya, is mentioned as the remover of such ignorance that engulf the entire universe.
Tathapi mamatavarte Mohagarte nipatitah Mahammya ॥
Mahamaya hareschaisa taya sammohyate jagat ॥
Author's Notes:
Mohanasini, in modern day context can also be understood to mean Destroyed of stress. Devi destroys stress. For this, the devotee has to apply his mind and meditate upon Devi.
With so much information available at the click of the button, in today's context, the word Moha / Avidya / Ignorance has become quite irrelevant.
Though there is no more ignorance, things such as confusion and lack of clarity do exist. There is a problem of plenty. We are not able to put the right thing at the right time, in the right proportion and in the right perception. This results in a constant mismatch between objective and time factor leading to stress.
Though the term Moha doesn't directly indicate stress (there are other equivalent words in Sanskrit to describe stress - such as
उद्विग्नता Udvignata and आयास Ayasa) in today's context Moha also includes stress
Meditating upon Devi will remove such kinds of stress. For its Devi alone who is described as Mohanasini can remove stress of any nature.
Disclaimer: All matters contained in this article are the property of www.templesofasia.com. The opinions expressed in this article are purely that of the author. The author alone is responsible for the accuracy, authenticity, completeness and validity of all the information in the article.
Comments