In Shakti Upasana, we come across a large number of sacred hymns which describe the beauty, valour, alankar and so on of Aadi-Parashakti in different forms. Some of these sacred hymns are in the form of namavali (names). They may contain 108 or 1008 names. In Sahasra-namavali the Goddess is worshiped by reciting 1000 names.
Goddess Lalita devi (also known as Shakti, Parvati, Durga) is described in detail in Brahmanda Purana. Lalita Sahasranaam is a sacred hymn which occurs in Lalitopakhyan chapter of Brahmanda Purana. This is a sacred hymn chanted by Shakti worshipers. Lalita devi is known as the Goddess of bliss. This sahasranaam defers from the other sahasranaamas. Not a single name in this sahasranama is repeated. None of the names in this sahasranama carry conjunctions like TU (तु) , API (अपि), CA (च) etc. In the sacred hymns, these conjunctions have no meaning. They are added to keep the rhythm.
Lalita sahasranaam is said to have been composed by 8 Vak-devis namely Vashini, Kameshwari, Modini, Vimala, Aruna, Jayinee, Sarweshwari and Koulini, on the command of the great Goddess Lalita. It is believed that one can worship Lalita Devi, only if she wishes to do so. This sahasranaam stotra is in the form of a dialog between Lord Hayagriva (an avatar of Mahavishnu) and sage Agastya. There are 2 versions about the place where sage Agastya was initiated into this text, namely
1) Tirumeeyachur near Kumbhakonam near Tamil Nadu
2) Upanishad Brahman mutt at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.
Most of the sacred hymns that we come across have been composed by Vyasa maharshi. However Lalita Sahasranaam was composed by Vak-devis. This sahasranaam is used in Shakti-worship i.e. worship of Lalita, Parvati, Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati, Kamakshi, Meenakshi, Bhagawati and so on. The worship is done in the form of parayana (reciting or listening to recitation) or archana (abhishek) and homa (havan).
Of the three Lords - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, Mahesh is considered as the in-charge of Moksha (destruction). He did not get along well with his father-in-law, Daksha (father of Sati). In order to snub Lord Shiva, Daksha did not invite Him for the great fire sacrifice (yagnya) that he conducted. Sati went to the yagnya, not heeding the Lord’s advice of not to go. She was talked in a abusive manner about Her husband and Her husband was insulted. Unable to bear the insult of her husband, She jumped into the fire. Hearing this news, Shiva became ferocious. He started performing ugra-tandava. Lord Vishnu and other Devas and other rishis, pacified Him. Daksha was killed and Sati was brought back to life. At Sati's request Daksha was given life and was fitted with a goat’s head. Parameshwar went into a deep meditation after the above incident.
Union of Paramashiva and Parvati:
Demon Surapadma was causing miseries to Devas and rishis by interfering in there sacred activities. He had a boon by which he could be killed only by a son born to Paramashiva and Parvati. To wake up Paramashiva from deep meditation so that he could unite with Parvati, Devas deputed the God of Love (Manmatha). Manmatha threw arrows of love towards Shiva to wake him up from His deep meditation. Upon waking up Shiva became very furious and and opened His third eye and burned the God of Love into ashes.
Upon knowing about Manmatha burnt to ashes, Rati Devi, wife of Manmatha, went into deep sorrow. At the behest of Devas and Rati devi, Shiva stared at the ashes in order to get Manmatha back to life. From the ashes rose an asura called Bhandasur. With his maya he made all the world impotent. Bhandasur along with his brothers ruled from the city of Shonithapura. He had the asura Guru Shukracharya as his adviser. Unable to bear the cruelty and trouble of Bhandasur, the sages and Devas sought the advice of the sage Narada. He advised them to conduct a yagnya (fire sacrifice). During this yagnya, Goddess Lalita (Lalita Tripura Sundari) rose from the sacred fire (Chid-agni-kunda).
Lalita Sahasranaam describes Goddess Lalita’s beauty and Her marriage to Lord Kameshwara (Lord Shiva). It describes in detail the fort where she resides and the destruction of asura Bhandasura. This story is described in first 84 names of first 34 shlokas. All together there are 1000 names in the 182 shlokas.
Description of Goddess Lalita's Beauty:
Shlokas from this stotra contain description of Goddess Lalita Devi as she rose from the sacred fire. The Goddess Lalita, who rose from the fire was extremely beautiful beyond description. She had dark thick long hair which were smelling like Champaka and Punnaga (a flower in coastal region of South India) and Ashoka flower. She had a thick Tilak on Her forehead which was made from the scent of musk deer. She had beautiful eye-lids which appeared to be the gate of God of Love. The eyes resembled like a fish playing in the lake of her face. The studs of her nose were shining more brightly than the stars. The studs on her ear were like Sun and Moon. Her cheeks were like mirror of Padma-raga (a kind of pink sapphire stone which radiates a mixture of red and orange colors). She had rows of beautiful white teeth. She was chewing beetle nut leaves (tambul) with camphor. Her voice was sweeter than musical note emanating from Veena of Saraswati. She had such an enchanting smile that Lord Shiva could not take his eyes off Her. Then the stotra goes on to describe the ornaments which she was wearing. Then it describes her beauty in detail. In all she was so bewitching that she stole the heart of Kameshwara (Lord Shiva). She was given in marriage to Kameshwara and made to reside in Srinagara on top of Mahameru Parvata (mountain).
Srinagara, abode of Lalita Devi:
The next part of the sahasranaam deals with the description of Srinagara where she resides. Lalita Devi (also known as Kameshwari) rules from this Sripuram / Srinagara).
This place is described as the one which supports the world from the top of the Meru Parvat which is covered by trees and creepers which are golden in color, which is the abode of Devas; where Deva-kanyas and Devis are singing in a sweet and melodious voice. Meru Parvat is supported by Brahma-loka at East direction, by Vishnu loka at Southeast and by Rudra-loka at Northwest. At center of this lokas lies the peak called as Pattinam or Srinagara. This was created by the architect of the universe, Vishwakarma. It spreads in 8 direction and nagara is shining from the light of jewels and diamonds. The peak is about 4000 miles in height and at the top of this peak lies Srinagaram.
The Srinagaram where Goddess Lalita Devi resides, has 25 forts surrounding it. They are made of (in order) 1) Iron 2) Bronze 3) Copper 4) Lead 5) Brass 6) Panchadhatu 7) Silver and 8) Gold. Forts 9 to 4 are made of various gem stones. 15) pearl 16) Emerald 17) Koral 18) Nine gems 19) mixture of gems and precious stones 20) Fort of mind 21) Fort of intelligence 22) Fort of pride (ahankara) 23) Fort of sunlight 24) Fort of Moonlight 25) Fort of Sringar.
In the 8th fort (i.e. Kadamba fort), has its presiding deity – Shamala. 15th is the abode of Ashta-dikpalas. 16th is the abode of commander in chief of Devi’s army i.e. Varahi-Dandini. Various yoginis live in 17th fort. 18th fort is the residence of Vishnu. 20th is the abode of Tara devi. 21st is the residence of Varuni. 22nd fort is Kurukulla (fort of pride). 23rd is abode of Martanda-bhairava. 25th is the abode of Manmatha (Lord of Love). Then the description of center of Srinagara is described in the namavali.
The great lotus forest (stated as Maha-Padmavana) is situated at center of the Sripuram.
Inside this lotus fort is the house of holy thoughts (Chintamani gruha). On the North-east of this house is Chidagni Kunda. On both sides of its Eastern gate, the houses of Mantrini and Dandini are situated. The Chaturmanya devis act as guards on 4 gates of this gruha. Within the gruha lies the Srichakra. At the center of this chakra, there is Bindu-peetha. This Bindu-peetha is known as Sarva-ananda-maya i.e. Universal happiness. The throne of Lalita Devi known as Pancha-bramhasana is situated on the Bindupeetha. Maha Tripurasundari (Lalita Devi) sits on this throne. The Chakra is decorated by the following attributes. The square around the Chakra is called as Trilokya Mohana i.e. most beautiful in all 3 worlds. There is 16 petal lotus called Sarvasha-paripurakam, full-filler of all desires. The 8 petal lotus is known as Sarva-samkshobhanam. The 16 cornered figures known as Sarva-soubhagyam. The external 10 cornered figure is known as Sarvartha-sadhakam (which is supposed to give all assets i.e. sarva arthas). The internal 10 cornered figure is called Sarva-rakshakaram (the protector of all). The 8 cornered figure is called as Sarva-rogaharam (destroyer of all diseases). The triangle is called Sarva siddhipradam, the one that gives all kinds of siddhis. As stated the Bindu-peetha is called as, Sarva-anandamayam.
Destruction of Bhandasura:
The stotra then describes destruction of demon Bhandasura. Unable to bear the harassment and torture of Bhandasura, Devas prayed to Goddess Lalita to annihilate Bhandasura. The Shakti devis who occupied the chakra namely Anima, Mahima, Bramhi, Koumari, Vaishnavi, Mahendri, Chamunda, Mahalaxmi, Neetya and Aavarna devataas, accompanied Lalita for the war against Bhandasura. The elephant regiment was led by Sampatkari, cavalry was led by Ashwarudha, the army was commanded by Dandini, riding on her chariot Girichakra. She was assisted by Mantrini, riding on the chariot, Geya chakra. A fire created by Jwalamalini, protected the army of Parashakti who rode at the center on the chariot of Chakra. A large portion of Bhandasura army was destroyed by Nithya Parakrama. Son of Bhandasura was killed by Bala Tripurasundari and his brothers Vishunga and Vishuka were killed by Mantrini and Dandini. A blockade of army Lalita was created by the asuras with the help of Vighna-yantra. With the aid of Kameshwara, Lalitha created Ganesha and broke the Vighna yantra. Hence Ganesha is known as Vighneshwar. The asuras, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu and Ravana were created by Bhandasura. The 10 avatars of Vishnu were created Lalita Devi from her finger tips to destroy these asuras. Bhandasura army was destroyed by Devi by using Pashu-patastra. By using Kameshwara-astra, She killed Bhandasura. At this juncture the Gods and rishis, praised Her by showering flowers.
Then Lalita Devi for the benefit and boon of the world, recreated the God of Love – Manmatha. Lalita sahasranaam gives above story in 1st 84 names of the 34 shlokas. Since Lalita Sahasranaam contains lots of spiritual secrets it is also known as Rahasya Sahasra Nama.
It is stated that recitation of Lalita Sahasranaam during Navaratri is considered to be one of the best forms of worshiping her.