Did you know that the word Shri is found in the collection of 98 "apocryphal" hymns of the Rigveda which refers to affluence and abundance?
Shri (also Sri) as a title of respect, as defined in the English Oxford Dictionary, is used before the name of a man, a god, or a sacred book. Its earliest reference is in the Rigvedic apocryphal hymns, 98 Khilānis or appendices of Sri Sukta. The goddess Śhri appears in several earlier Vedic hymns also, and is the personification of auspicious and royal qualities. Shri Sukta is perhaps the first text in which the homology between Shri and Lakṣmi is drawn.
Shri or Lakṣmi is also the personification of the spiritual energy within us and universe called 'kuṇḍalini'. Also, She embodies the Spiritual World or Vaikuṇtha; the abode of Lakṣmī-Narayaṇa or Viṣhhu. Shri if used by itself and not followed by any name then it refers to the supreme consciousness i.e. God. This honorific is also part of many place names.
The Shri Sukta describes Shri as " glorious, ornamented, royal, lustrous as gold, and radiant as fire, moon and the sun. She is addressed as the bestower of fame, bounty and abundance in the form of gold, cattle, horses and food; and is entreated to banish her sister alakṣmī (misfortune), who is associated with need, hunger, thirst and poverty. The hymn also associates Śrī with (agrarian) fertility and she is described as the mother of Kārdama (mud), moist, perceptible through odour, dwelling in cow dung and producing abundant harvest"
The word Shri (Devanagari: श्री), a feminine word of Sanskrit origin, is transliterated as Sri, Sree, Shree, Si or Seri. used widely as a polite form of address. It is also widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages as a title of veneration for deities and saints,.
Shri is a combination of abundance and happiness and as Vishnu makes it happen hence he is called Shri-pati.
In the epic Ramayana related Hanuman Chalisa, composed by saint Tulsidas, in the first sentence “Shrīguru charana saroja raja nija mana mukuru sudhāri।“, the first word used is Shri before the word guru which refers to Sita, consort of Rama as the guru of Hanuman.
In Hindu iconography, as deified as Moolavigrahas (principal deities in sanctum sanctorum) or as Utsava vigrahas (processional deities),
Lakshmi manifests as Shri next to Vishnu as the embodiment of intangible value, and Bhudevi as tangible assets.
The name Srivaishnavism is derived from two words, Sri and Vaishnavism. The Sanskrit Vedic word Sri refers to goddess Lakshmi as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and god Vishnu who are together revered in this tradition.
In the Vidyaraṃbhaṃ (a ceremony of initiation into the characters of the syllabary) ceremony of a young child, "Om hari shri ganapataye namah" is drawn on sand or in a plate of rice grains by the child, under the direction of a Guru or Priest.
It is also used as Sri Yantra, a mystic symbol used in the Shri Vidya school of Hinduism.
In Numerology, Shri represents destiny number 9 (Shri is 1+8+9+9=27=2+7=9). People with this name are said have deep inner sense to serve humanity and share with others money, knowledge and experience, and also creative and artistic ability.
Another usage is as an emphatic compound, which can be used several times as Shri Shri, or Shri Shri Shri, etc., as in the case of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, Sri Sri Ravishankar. Sri 108 is Used by spiritual leaders (Sanyasis) and Sri 1008 is also used as in the name i as in the case of Sri 1008 Satyatma Tirtha.
Some of the Indian musical ragas are called as Shri, Shree Ranjani, Bagashree, Dhnashree, Malashree, Jayantashree, and Rageshree.
Many Hindu names of men commonly start with "Sri", such as, Srihari, Srinivasan, Sriraaman, Srikanth, Sridharan, Srivathsarngan etc for women as Srimathi, Srilata, Sripriya, Sridevi, Srividhya etc. Women are addressed as "Srimathi" and men as "Srimaan", which generally equvated to English words 'Ladies and Gentlemen!' Derived forms of address are Shrimati (abbreviated Smt) for married women and Sushri for women (regardless of marital status)
Sages and Saints are addressed with the word "Srimadh", like Srimad Vaalmiki, Srimad Aadhivansatakopan, Srimad Ramanujacharya, etc.
There is also a common practice of writing Shri as the first word centralised in line at the beginning of a document or letter.
The Sikh religious text is addressed with the honorific as the Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Similarly, the festival of enacting the Ramayana is addressed as Sri Ramlila.
India's fourth highest civilian honours is called Padma Shri.
Narasipur Char
