738. Lāsyapriyā
Lāsyapriyā reveals the Divine Mother as the one who delights in Lāsya, the graceful and beautiful dance traditionally associated with the feminine expression of divine artistry. The name symbolizes her joy in beauty, creativity, harmony, and cosmic play, teaching that the universe itself is a graceful expression of the infinite freedom and bliss of pure Consciousness.
Lāsyapriyā (लास्यप्रिया)
This is the 738th name of the Lalitā Sahasranāma.
After revealing the Divine Mother as Muktirūpiṇī, the embodiment of liberation itself, the Sahasranāma now returns to a beautiful and graceful aspect of the Goddess:
Lāsyapriyā: She who delights in Lāsya; She who is fond of the graceful feminine dance; She who rejoices in the gentle and beautiful expression of divine play.
This name complements the earlier name Naṭeśvarī and introduces a more specifically feminine aspect of the cosmic dance.
1. Literal Meaning
Word-by-word
Lāsya – the graceful, gentle, and expressive dance traditionally associated with the Divine Mother
Priyā – fond of, delighted in, beloved of
Literal translation
"She who loves Lāsya."
or
"She who delights in the graceful feminine dance."
or
"She who is fond of the dance of beauty, grace, and joy."
2. Traditional Meaning
The commentators explain:
The Goddess is called Lāsyapriyā because she delights in Lāsya, the graceful dance traditionally associated with Pārvatī and the feminine expression of divine art.
Just as Śiva is associated with the powerful Tāṇḍava dance, the Goddess is associated with the gentle and elegant Lāsya.
3. What Is Lāsya?
In traditional Indian aesthetics:
Tāṇḍava
The vigorous and majestic dance associated with Śiva.
Lāsya
The graceful, delicate, and beautiful dance associated with the Goddess.
Lāsya expresses:
beauty,
tenderness,
elegance,
creativity,
joy.
4. The Divine Origin of Lāsya
According to traditional accounts, after witnessing Śiva's Tāṇḍava, the Goddess manifested Lāsya as its complementary expression.
Thus:
Tāṇḍava symbolizes power.
Lāsya symbolizes beauty.
Together they represent the completeness of existence.
5. Devotional Meaning
For devotees, Lāsyapriyā signifies:
divine grace,
beauty in movement,
joy in creation,
artistic inspiration.
The Mother delights in harmony, elegance, and aesthetic expression.
6. Why Does This Name Follow Muktirūpiṇī?
The sequence is subtle and profound.
Muktirūpiṇī
The Mother is the absolute freedom of pure Consciousness.
Lāsyapriyā
How does that freedom express itself?
As divine play, beauty, creativity, and joy.
Freedom flowers into spontaneous expression.
7. Relation to Naṭeśvarī
Earlier the Sahasranāma praised the Mother as Naṭeśvarī, the Mistress of the Cosmic Dance.
Now the specific character of that dance is revealed.
Naṭeśvarī describes her sovereignty over the cosmic dance.
Lāsyapriyā describes her delight in its graceful and beautiful aspect.
8. Śākta Meaning
In Śākta philosophy, creation itself is a manifestation of divine beauty.
The universe is not merely functional.
It is also:
artistic,
harmonious,
expressive,
beautiful.
Lāsya symbolizes this aesthetic dimension of the Divine Mother's play.
9. The Symbolism of Grace
Lāsya is more than physical dance.
It represents:
effortless movement,
spontaneous creativity,
harmonious expression,
joyful manifestation.
These qualities characterize the Mother's cosmic activity.
10. Advaita Vedāntic Meaning
Now the deeper layer.
A profound insight
Why does the universe appear at all?
The hidden teaching
As divine play.
Freedom and Expression
The Absolute lacks nothing.
Therefore creation cannot arise from need.
It arises from fullness.
Lāsya symbolizes this spontaneous expression of fullness.
Beauty as a Reflection of Truth
Human beings are naturally drawn to beauty.
This attraction reflects the deeper reality of harmony and wholeness.
The Mother is the source of all beauty.
The Dance of Consciousness
Every movement in the universe is a movement within Consciousness.
Lāsya symbolizes the graceful aspect of that movement.
The Joy of Manifestation
The universe is not merely a mechanism.
It is a living expression of Consciousness.
The Mother delights in this expression.
Thus she is Lāsyapriyā.
Beyond Movement
Though she delights in the dance, she remains beyond it.
The dancer, the dance, and the joy of dancing arise within her infinite nature.
Relation to Earlier Names
Observe the progression:
Naṭeśvarī: Sovereign of the cosmic dance.
Muktirūpiṇī: The freedom underlying all existence.
Lāsyapriyā: The joyous and graceful expression of that freedom.
The Sahasranāma now reveals the beauty hidden within liberation itself.
The Non-Dual Meaning
At the highest level, Lāsyapriyā signifies the Divine Mother's delight in the spontaneous and graceful manifestation of Consciousness. The universe is her dance, beauty is her expression, and bliss is the rhythm of her play.
A Deeper Contemplation
The name Lāsyapriyā introduces a dimension of beauty and tenderness into the philosophical grandeur of the Sahasranāma.
The Mother is not merely:
the substratum of the universe,
the giver of liberation,
liberation itself.
She is also beauty.
She is grace.
She is joy.
The symbolism of Lāsya is especially profound.
Where Tāṇḍava expresses majesty and transformative power, Lāsya expresses charm, elegance, and loving creativity.
Together they reveal the complete nature of reality.
The sequence after Muktirūpiṇī is beautiful.
The Mother is absolute freedom.
Yet that freedom is not static.
It expresses itself as art, beauty, and divine play.
From a devotional perspective, Lāsyapriyā reveals the Mother as the lover of beauty and graceful expression.
From an artistic perspective, she is the source of dance, music, and aesthetic inspiration.
From a Śākta perspective, she is the graceful aspect of the cosmic Śakti.
From an Advaitic perspective, she is the spontaneous expression of infinite Consciousness manifesting as beauty and harmony.
The Mother is both the stillness of liberation and the dance of creation.
Ultimately, Lāsyapriyā teaches that the Divine Mother delights in the graceful dance of creation. As the embodiment of beauty, harmony, and joyful expression, she reveals that the universe is not merely a process but a work of divine artistry arising from the fullness of infinite Consciousness.
To contemplate Lāsyapriyā is to recognize the beauty, elegance, and sacred play that pervade existence and to see every expression of harmony as a reflection of the Divine Mother's eternal dance.
One-line Essence
Lāsyapriyā reveals the Divine Mother as the lover of graceful dance, beauty, harmony, and divine play.
