810. Pāśahastā
Pāśahastā reveals the Divine Mother holding the sacred noose, a symbol of attraction, attachment, grace, and spiritual transformation. The noose represents both the power that binds beings to worldly existence and the divine love that draws them back toward their true nature. As the ruler of bondage and liberation alike, the Mother guides every soul from limitation to ultimate freedom.
Pāśahastā (पाशहस्ता)
This is the 810th name of the Lalitā Sahasranāma.
After revealing the Divine Mother as Parātparā, the Supreme Reality beyond all conception, the Sahasranāma now returns to a familiar and beloved iconographic form of Lalitā Tripurasundarī:
Pāśahastā: She who holds the pāśa (noose) in her hand; She whose noose binds, attracts, guides, and ultimately draws souls toward herself.
This name marks a beautiful transition from the transcendental to the personal. The Infinite Mother, beyond all thought, now appears before the devotee holding her divine implements.
1. Literal Meaning
Word-by-word
Pāśa – noose, cord, bond, fetter
Hastā – hand, one who holds in the hand
Literal translation
"She who holds a noose in her hand."
or
"The Goddess bearing the noose."
2. Traditional Meaning
In the traditional iconography of Lalitā Tripurasundarī, the Mother holds four principal implements:
Pāśa (noose)
Aṅkuśa (goad)
Sugarcane bow
Five flower-arrows
The pāśa is one of her most important symbols.
Thus she is called Pāśahastā.
3. What Does the Pāśa Represent?
At the outer level, a noose binds.
Spiritually, the pāśa symbolizes:
attachment,
attraction,
affection,
bondage,
the power that draws things together.
The Mother holds the power of bondage and liberation in her own hand.
4. The Noose of Love
Many Śrīvidyā commentators give a beautiful interpretation:
The pāśa represents love (rāga) and divine attraction.
The Mother draws devotees toward herself with cords of grace and affection.
Thus the pāśa is not merely a weapon.
It is an instrument of divine love.
5. Why Does This Name Follow Parātparā?
The sequence is deeply meaningful.
Parātparā
The Mother is beyond all thought and description.
Pāśahastā
Yet that same transcendent reality becomes accessible through a personal form.
The Infinite takes a form that devotees can love, worship, and meditate upon.
6. Śākta Meaning
In Śākta philosophy, the Mother governs both:
bondage (bandha),
liberation (mokṣa).
The pāśa symbolizes her power over both.
She binds beings to worldly experience through Māyā.
She also draws them back to herself through grace.
7. The Three Bonds
Many traditions speak of spiritual bondage through:
ignorance (avidyā),
karma,
attachment.
The Mother holds the pāśa because she alone has the power to remove these bonds.
The one who binds is also the one who releases.
8. Devotional Meaning
For devotees, Pāśahastā is profoundly comforting.
The Mother's noose is not a symbol of punishment.
It is the loving cord with which she:
protects,
guides,
gathers her children.
Like a mother holding a child close, she draws souls toward their true home.
9. Advaita Vedāntic Meaning
Now the deeper layer.
A profound question
If the Mother is Parātparā, beyond all duality, why does she hold a noose?
The hidden teaching
Because duality itself is part of her play.
The Noose of Māyā
The world appears through the power of Māyā.
Beings become identified with:
body,
mind,
individuality.
This apparent limitation is symbolized by the pāśa.
Who Holds the Noose?
Importantly, the seeker does not hold the noose.
The Mother does.
This means bondage itself operates under divine law.
Nothing is outside her control.
The Noose of Grace
The same power that creates attachment to the world can become longing for the Divine.
When spiritual awakening begins, the noose changes direction.
Instead of binding the soul to the world, it draws the soul toward the Mother.
Attraction Toward the Self
At the highest level, the pāśa represents the irresistible attraction of the Self toward itself.
Every spiritual longing is the Mother's noose gently pulling the seeker home.
The Paradox
The Mother:
binds,
liberates.
She veils,
she reveals.
She is Māyā,
and she is the destroyer of Māyā.
This mystery is contained in the simple image of the pāśa.
Relation to Earlier Names
Observe the progression:
Parātparā – Beyond all thought and categories.
Pāśahastā – The same Supreme Reality appearing in a compassionate form, holding the noose of attraction, bondage, and grace.
The Sahasranāma now moves from pure metaphysics back into sacred symbolism.
The Non-Dual Meaning
At the highest level, Pāśahastā signifies the Divine Mother as the power governing both bondage and liberation. The noose represents the force by which Consciousness appears as individuality and the grace by which individuality returns to Consciousness.
A Deeper Contemplation
The name Pāśahastā reveals a profound spiritual truth hidden within a simple iconographic symbol.
The Mother's noose is not merely an object held in her hand.
It represents one of the deepest mysteries of existence.
Why are beings bound?
Why do they seek freedom?
The answer to both questions is the Divine Mother.
The sequence after Parātparā is especially beautiful.
The Mother is first revealed as the Absolute beyond all attributes.
Then she appears before the devotee holding a noose.
The transcendent becomes intimate.
The infinite becomes approachable.
From a devotional perspective, Pāśahastā is the loving Mother who draws her devotees close through the bonds of grace.
From a symbolic perspective, the noose represents attachment, attraction, and the power that binds all existence together.
From a Śākta perspective, she governs both bondage and liberation.
From an Advaitic perspective, the pāśa symbolizes the play of Māyā through which the One appears as many and through which the many return to the One.
The Mother holds the noose because she alone governs the entire journey from bondage to freedom.
Ultimately, Pāśahastā teaches that the Divine Mother holds in her hand the power that both binds and liberates. Through her noose, beings are drawn into the play of existence and ultimately drawn back toward their divine source. The same force that creates attachment becomes, through grace, the longing for union with the Divine.
To contemplate Pāśahastā is to recognize that every spiritual aspiration is the gentle pull of the Mother's noose drawing the soul toward its eternal home.
One-line Essence
Pāśahastā reveals the Divine Mother as the holder of the noose of divine attraction, governing both bondage and liberation.
