Shri

For other usages, see Sri (disambiguation)

Sanskrit Grammer

Sri, Shri or Shree (Devanagari श्री, official IAST transliteration Śrī) — with a pronunciation halfway between sree and shree— grammatically belongs to the feminine subjunctive gender in Sanskrit language and is used as a title of veneration, a Hindu honorific stemming from the Vedic conception of prosperity. It signifies the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu, who symbolises beauty, wealth and grace.

Significance

It is an epithet of some Hindu gods, as well as a prefix to the names of men and women who are considered great or holy, or who derive their power from that which is holy.

When used as a title for gods, Śrī is sometimes translated into English as Lord, but this is quite inaccurate and it is generally agreed that Śrī is best left untranslated.

It is also one of the names of Ganesha, the Hindu god of prosperity. The origin of the word Sri dates back to the day when Lord Ganesha lost his head while protecting her mother Pārvatī. That is the reason He is the first to be worshipped in all the 'yagyas'.

In the Manusmriti, which is a text written by Manu in the Sanskrit language, mentions "Brahma yatha pitra, Vishnu yatha matha Sri tatha matrapitrasya nirmat" means "like Brahma to father, Vishnu to mother, Shri is father and mother of originator".

General Usage

It also enters as an emphatical compound (which can be used in a multiple: shri shri, or sri sri sri, etc.) in princely styles, notably in Darbar Shri, Desai Shri, Khan Sahib Shri Babi, Malek Shri and Thakur Shri.

It is used in the name of the country Sri Lanka, meaning venerable island.

Sri is also the standard honorific (akin to Mr. in English, Effendi in Turkish, Thiru in Tamil etc.) and the word is often used as a respectful affix to celebrated or revered names of persons and is not gender-specific. However, the lack of knowledge in the grammatical nuances has resulted in the title for women as Shrimati (abbreviated Smt).