One way of celebrating the glory of Gods and Goddesses is to describe their figure from head to feet which is called “ Kesadi padanta varnana.” Every part of the idol is described in detail with the entire embellishments up to the feet of the deity. Another method of enjoying the beauty of the Lord is to start from the feet and progress up to the head of the Godly figure which is called “Padadi Kesanta Varnana--from the feet to the head and the hair of the God or Goddess! The beginning of Sri Lalita Sahasra Nama Stotra follows the first type of description. Starting from the “ Simhasana” She occupies, it describes the rising sun radiance of Sri Mata, Her four shoulders with pasa, ankusa, sugarcane bow, and the arrows representing the “Pancha tanmatras.” She has totally engulfed the entire world with her radiance of the rising sun! Flowers like champaka, Asoka and Punnaga adorn Her locks! Her eyes are similar to the fish cris crossing Her lake like face! Her nose gay defeats the brilliance of the shining stars! She has the sun and the moon as her ear studs or rings called thatankas! Her forehead sparkles like the mirror made out of the precious Padmaraga stone! She has stolen the heart of of Her spouse Kamesa with a smile! Her neck shines with the ‘Mangalya’ tied by Her Lord Kamesa!
Following the tradition, Sri Sankara, after tracing the path of Sri Mata in various Chakras and describing the effect and efficacy of Her “Pada dhuli’ which the Trimurtis apply to carry on their duties, is enthralled by the crown or Kireeta that She wears! Says Sankara, “ O Mother!” Your golden Crown is decked with the precious stones of the twelve Suryas or “ Dwadasa Adityas!” One who meditates on you and tries to describe You thus shall definitely mistake the crescent on Your head shining with coruscating brilliance, for a rainbow!
Sankara indulges in metaphorical description of of Devi's kirita. The precious stones are not the ordinary stones! They are the twelve suns embedded firmly on Her crown! One is enough to shed brilliant light. How about the twelve suns radiating their brilliant light at once? The different hues of the twelve suns fall on the crescent moon on Her head and create an illusion that it is not the moon but a rainbow due to refraction of light! This illusion makes Sri Mata much more beautiful!
We are under the impression that it is Lord Siva alone who is adorned with the crescent moon. Sri Mata who is, “ Sivakameswarankastha Siva swadhina vallabha” too has the crescent on her head! We find Sri Mahaganapati also wearing the crescent on His head! Who are these Adityas? They are the progeny of Aditi and Kasyapa prajapati. Generally all the Devas are considered as ‘Aditeyas’. The progeny of Diti, other wife of Kayapa are called ‘Ditijas’ or ‘Asuras’ while the Devas are named as 'Suras’!
According to Sankara, the twelve Suryas who deck the brilliant crown of Sri Mata are: 1 Dhata 2 Aryama 3 Mitra 4 Varuna 5 Indra 6 Viswavan 7 Twashta 8 Vishnu 9 Amshuman 10 Bhaga 11 Pusha and 12 Parjanya! It is because of Her they glow and offer life giving light and heat! Hence it is not for nothing that they occupy the crown of Devi They beautify themselves by remaining on her crown! The look of Sri Mata and the diffusion of the light of the twelve Adityas save the world and its inhabitants!
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