Lalita Devi — Dhyana Shloka

This dhyana (meditation) shloka is recited before the Lalita Sahasranama to fix the mind on the form of the Goddess. It describes Lalita Tripura Sundari — the supreme Mother — in vivid, jewel-like detail.

She is red like sindoor (vermilion), three-eyed, crowned with rubies, wearing the crescent moon, smiling gently. In her hands she holds a jewelled cup and a red lotus. She rests her feet on a jewelled vessel.

The purpose of a dhyana shloka is to give the mind a luminous, precise form to rest on during meditation or puja — making the formless divine approachable through form.

The Lalita Sahasranama is found in the Brahmanda Purana, in the section called Lalitopakhyana. It was narrated by the sage Agastya.

Lalita Tripura Sundari (also called Rajarajeshvari or Shodashi) is one of the ten Mahavidyas — forms of the Goddess Shakti — and is especially central to the Shri Vidya tradition of Tantra.