Conclusion of Lalita Saharanama: PHALA SRUTI [58-74]

[Guest guest]

58. Listen now, and know the results of worshiping the Great Devi with

this Sahasranama, in the Sri Chakra, on Fridays.

 

59. Your every desire in this world will be fulfilled; you will obtain

prosperity and be blessed with children and grandchildren;

 

60/61. And after enjoying all of your desires, you are sure to obtain

in the end the state of Lalita Sayujya [identity with Lalita], which

is so hard to reach that it is coveted even by Siva.

 

61/62. If you entertain a thousand Brahmanas with food (consisting of

payasa, apupa, and representing the six rasas), with devotion, while

chanting this Sahasranama, Lalita will be pleased with you and grant

you Samrajya [salvation].

 

62/63. For the devotee who chants this supreme hymn without hoping for

any specific, selfish result, there is nothing in all the Three Worlds

that is unattainable.

 

63/64. Such a devotee will gain Brahma Jnana, by which s/he will be

freed from all misery.

 

64. The devotee who longs for wealth will get wealth; the devotee who

courts fame will get fame.

 

65. Likewise, the devotee who thirsts for knowledge will, by the

chanting of this Sahasranama, become learned. O Muni! There is no

other hymn equal in merit to this one, which confers both worldly

attainments and salvation at the same time!

 

66. This Sahasranama should, therefore, be repeated by persons

desiring both bhukti [worldly enjoyments] and mukti ; and

also be those who are in any of the four Asramas.

 

67. To atone for the imperfect practice of one's dharma in this Kali

Yuga -- which is notable for the prevalence of sin and dereliction of

duty among the people -- there is no protective mantra except for the

repetition of this Sahasranama.

 

68. Listen: Reciting the names of Vishnu is certainly preferable to

ordinary talking.

 

69. And reciting a single name of Siva is preferable to reciting a

thousand names of Vishnu. But reciting a single name of Devi is

preferable to reciting a thousand names of Siva!

 

70. There are crores [tens of millions] of thousand-name hymns to

Devi, O Kumbha-Sambhava! And of all those, ten are said to be the best.

 

71. And of those ten most holy thousand-name hymns, this Sahasranama

is the very best of all, and should therefore be recited daily to ward

off the dangers of the Kali Yuga.

 

72. Of course, the ignorant do not recognize this hymn to Devi as the

best. Some devote themselves to the names of Vishnu; others to the

names of Siva.

 

73. Rarely in this world do you find one who is devoted to the names

of Lalita.

 

74. For it is only by reciting the names of other deities in crores of

previous births that sufficient faith is generated to recite the names

of Sri Devi.

 

[...]

 

(TO BE CONTINUED)