Nepalese currency with the honorific Shri on the very top

Sri (Sinhala)

Sri (Devanagari: श्री, IAST; Śrī) is a Sanskrit word, with a primary meaning of radiance, or diffusing light.^[1] It is often used as a title of veneration.

[edit] Etymology

In Sanskrit grammar, Sri belongs to the feminine subjunctive gender but nowadays it is used as a masculine name prefix, equivalent to 'Mister' in English. It is gender-specific in Sanskrit, but the assumption that it is masculine has resulted in the titles of Shrimati (abbreviated Smt) for married women and Sushri for women (independent of marital status).

It may also be found written in Roman script as Shri, Shree, Siri, Sree or Seri. It is used in most languages of the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia (Indonesian: Seri,Telugu: శ్రీ, Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ, Tamil: ஸ்ரீ, Thai: ศรี or ศิริ; ). It is usually used as an honorific. It is thought that this use may stem from the Puranic conception of prosperity^{[citation needed]} and is frequently used in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.

The honorific can also be applied to objects and concepts that are widely respected, such as the Sikh religious text, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Similarly, when the Ramlila tradition of reenacting the Ramayana is referred to as an institution, the term Sri Ramlila is frequently used.

[edit] Significance

Sri' is an epithet of some Hindu gods. When used as a title for gods, Śrī is sometimes translated into English as Lord.

Sri Devi (or in short Sri, another name of Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu) is the devi (goddess) of wealth according to Hindu beliefs.

Śrī is one of the names of Ganesha, the Hindu god of prosperity. The origin of the word Sri is traced to the account of Lord Ganesha losing his head while protecting his mother Pārvatī. This is why he is the first to be worshiped in all the yagyas.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Current usage

Sri, along with the forms Srimati and Susri, is often used by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains as a respectful affix to the names of celebrated or revered persons.

There is a common practice of writing Śrī as first word centralised in line at the beginning of a document.

Another usage is as an emphatic compound (which can be used in multiple: sri sri, or sri sri sri, etc.) in princely styles, notably in Darbar Sri, Desai Shri, and Thakur Sri or as in Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a Hindu spiritual Guru and leader.

[edit] Indian Music

Its usage is common as a raga name, either as a prefix or postfix. Some examples of Carnatic ragas are Sri, Dhanyasri and Sriranjani.

[edit] Place names

It is used in the name of the country Sri Lanka, in Sri Perambadur, a town in the State of Tamil Nadu, and in Srinagar where nagar, means a city.

[edit] References

1. ^ Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon