Śrī Stotra
The Śrī Stotra is a hymn to Bhagavatī Śrī Lakshmī. Indra once sang it to Lakshmī to make his royal fortune firm. Pushkara teaches it to Paraśurāma in the Agni Purāṇa, chapter 237, in the long Rājadharma section (the teaching on the duties of a king).
The stotra praises Śrī as the consort of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the mother of all beings and the source of all that is auspicious. She gives both bhukti (enjoyment in this world) and mukti (freedom from rebirth). The same vara (boon) that Lakshmī gave to Indra is promised to every person who recites it.
The setting
Chapter 237 of the Agni Purāṇa stands in the Rājadharma section as a hymn to the devī of royal prosperity. Pushkara tells Paraśurāma that Indra once praised Śrī Lakshmī to make his kingdom’s wealth (rājya-lakshmī) firm. In the same way a king should sing this praise of Śrī before he goes to war and seeks victory.
The hymn
The hymn is spoken in the voice of Indra, who speaks to Śrī Lakshmī. Its meaning is this.
Salutation to Lakshmī, mother of all the worlds. She arose from the ocean (samudra-sambhavā). Her eyes are like fully opened lotuses (vikasita-kamala-netrā). She lives for ever on the chest of Vishṇu (Vishṇu-vakshaḥ-sthitā). O purifier of all the worlds (loka-pāvanī)!
You are Siddhi. You are Svāhā. You are Svadhā. You are Saṃdhyā. You are Rātri. You are Prabhā. You are Bhūḥ. You are Medhā. You are Śraddhā. You are Sarasvatī in her full form. You are the One who shines, the giver of mukti, Muktirūpā-dātrī. O Devī!
You are Yajña-vidyā (the knowledge of the yajña), Mahā-padyā (the great lotus knowledge), Guhya-vidyā (the secret knowledge) and Ātma-vidyā (knowledge of the Self). You are Ānvīkshakī (the science of reasoning), Trayī (the threefold Veda), Vārtā (the science of farming and trade) and Daṇḍanīti (the science of rule). All these are your forms.
You are saumyā (gentle and kind). Because you are so, this whole world, filled with you, is gentle. O Devī! Who else but you could live in the body of Deva-deva Bhagavān Vishṇu? He carries the mace (gadā), his form is the essence of all yajñas, and all yogins meditate on him.
When you left them, the three worlds were destroyed at once. Now, held up by you, they flourish again. O Mahādevī! Those on whom your glance falls receive, always and without a break, wife, sons, home, friends, grain and wealth.
Those people on whom your eye rests find health (ārogya), prosperity (aiśvarya), the destruction of enemies (śatru-paksha-vināśana) and happiness (sukha). None of these is hard for them to reach.
You are the mother of all beings. Deva-deva Bhagavān Vishṇu is the father. All this moving and unmoving universe is filled by you and by Mahāvishṇu together.
O all-purifying one (sarva-pāvanī)! May you never leave my fame (kīrti), my treasury (dhanāgāra), my granary (anna-koshṭha), my home (gṛha), my household (parivāra), my body (śarīra) or my wife (bhāryā).
O you who live on the chest of Mahāvishṇu (Śrī-Mahāvishṇu-vakshaḥ-sthale-nivāsinī)! May you never leave my sons, my friends, my cattle or my ornaments.
O nirmalā (spotless one)! Those whom you have left are left by truth, by purity of conduct and by all virtues such as śīla (good character). Those on whom you look, even if they have no natural virtue, receive from you all good qualities of character, noble birth and prosperity.
O Devī! The one I see (the one who has your grace) is truly praiseworthy, truly virtuous, truly blessed, truly well-born, truly wise, truly brave and truly courageous. He is the support of all the worlds. O you who are dear to Vishṇu (Vishṇu-vallabhā)! When you turn away from a man, his character, his virtue and all his qualities at once become worthless.
Even the tongue of Brahmā cannot tell all your qualities. O Padmākshī! O Devī! Be kind to us. Never, never leave us.
The epithets of Śrī
The stotra calls Śrī by many names. These are some of them.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Samudra-sambhavā | She who arose from the ocean |
| Vikasita-kamala-netrā | She with fully opened lotus eyes |
| Vishṇu-vakshaḥ-sthitā | She who lives on Vishṇu’s chest |
| Loka-pāvanī | Purifier of all the worlds |
| Muktirūpā-dātrī | Giver of mukti in her very form |
| Saumyā | Gentle and auspicious |
| Mahādevī | The Great Devī |
| Sarva-pāvanī | The all-purifying one |
| Nirmalā | The spotless one |
| Padmākshī | She with lotus eyes |
| Vishṇu-vallabhā | She who is dear to Vishṇu |
The stotra names Śrī as Yajña-vidyā, Ātma-vidyā, Daṇḍanīti and the other kinds of knowledge listed above.
The phalaśruti
At the end of the Śrī Stotra, Pushkara tells the phalaśruti, the fruit of reciting it. Bhagavatī Śrī, praised in this way by Indra, gave him the fulfilment of his desires (kāma), a firm royal fortune (rājya-sthairya) and victory in battle (yuddha-vijaya). She also said:
“Those who recite this stotra and those who listen to it, I shall give them bhukti and mukti as a vara.”
So Pushkara tells Paraśurāma that every human being should always (sarvadā) read and listen to the Śrī Stotra.
Use by a king
Before a king goes to war (vigraha), he should recite this stotra as Indra taught it, for Indra himself recited it to keep his rājya-lakshmī.
Sources
- Agni Mahā Purāṇa, chapter 237