Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in languages of South Asia, South and classification schemes for Southeast Asian languages, Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay language, Malay (including Indonesian language, Indonesian and Malaysian language, Malaysian), Javanese language, Javanese, Balinese language, Balinese, Sinhala language, Sinhala, Thai language, Thai, Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi language, Hindi, Nepali language, Nepali, Malayalam language, Malayalam, Kannada language, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer language, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', Shiri, Shree, ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, but also as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for local rulers. Shri is also another name for Lakshmi, the Hinduism, Hindu goddess of wealth, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra.

Etymology

Maharaja Sri Gupta inscription on the Allahabad pillar Samudragupta inscription

Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the meaning of the root verb as "to cook, boil, to burn, diffuse light", but as a feminine abstract noun, it has received a general meaning of "grace, splendour, beauty; wealth, affluence, prosperity". The word may also be used as an adjective in Sanskrit, which is the origin of the modern use of shri as a title. From the noun, is derived the Sanskrit adjective "śrīmat" (śrimān in the masculine nominative singular, śrīmatī in the feminine), by adding the suffix indicating possession, literally "radiance-having" (person, god, etc.). This is used in modern vernacular as form of address ''Shrimati'' (abbreviated Smt) for married women, while ''Sushri'', (with "su", "good", added to the beginning), can be used for women in general (Ms., regardless of marital status).

Spelling and pronunciation

In Devanagari script for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and other languages, the word is combination of three sounds: (), () and (, long ''i''). There are two conventions in India to transliterate the consonant (ISO 15919, ISO: ) to English: some use ''s'' (which in narrower transcription represents only ) as in ''Sri Lanka'' and ''Srinagar'', while others use ''sh'' as in ''Shimla'' and ''Shimoga''. Similarly, (; ) is also transliterated to English in two different ways as ''ri'' and ''ree'', although the latter is non-standard in Hindi. Hence this word may be rendered in English as Shri (the standard spelling), Shree, Sri or Sree; Some other transliterations used are Shri, Shiri, Shrii. Whatever the translitertion may be, it's pronunciation remains the same. Sanskrit is written in many other Indian scripts as well, each of which has its own equivalents of these Devanāgari letters; the Sanskrit pronunciation remains the same regardless of script.

Usage

''Shri'' is a honorific, polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." or "Ms.". ''Shri'' is also frequently used as an epithet of some Hindu gods, in which case it is often translated into English as ''Holy''. Also, in language and general usage, ''Shri'', if used by itself and not followed by any name, refers to the supreme consciousness, i.e. god. ''Sridevi'', also rendered ''Shri'', is an epithet and name of Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu, the goddess of prosperity and wealth in Hinduism. The Vedas speak of Shri as a goddess, who personified ten qualities coveted by other divine beings: food, royalty, holiness, kingdom, fortune, sovereignty, nobility, power, righteousness, and beauty. The Vedic ''Shri'' is believed to have identified with later conceptions of Lakshmi, as the embodiment of royalty and dignity. ''Shri'' is one of the names of Ganesha, the Hindu god of prosperity. ''Shri'' is also used as a title of the Hindu deities Rama, Rāma, Krishna, Saraswati and sometimes Durga, Durgā.

Repetition

''Shri'' may be repeated depending on the status of the person. * Shri: for anybody * Shri 2: honorific, guru, e.g. Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader), Ravi Shankar, Abhi Joshi * Shri 3: title used by former hereditary Prime Ministers of Nepal (example- Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana) * Shri 4: title used by Divine factor, e.g. Afactor Abinash * Shri 5: title used by former King of Nepal, Maharajadhiraja (e.g. ''Shri pānch ko sarkār'', His Majesty's Government, where ''ko'' indicates genitive case (possessive, 'of His Majesty') * Shri 108: used by spiritual leaders * Shri 1008: used by spiritual leaders (e.g. Satyatma Tirtha, Shri 1008 Satyatma Tirtha)

Other current usage

There is a common practice of writing ''Shri'' as the first word centralised in line at the beginning of a document. During the Vidyāraṃbhaṃ ceremony, the mantra "''Om hari shri ganapataye namah''" is written in sand or in a tray of rice grains by a child, under the supervision of a Guru or Priest#Hinduism, Priest. Another usage is as an emphatic compound (which can be used several times: ''shri shri'', or ''shri shri shri'', etc.) in princely styles, notably in Durbar (court), Darbar Shri, Desai Shri, and Thakur (Indian title), Thakur Shri or Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, the founder of the social and spiritual movement Ananda Marga (the Path of Bliss). The honorific can also be applied to objects and concepts that are widely respected, such as the Sikh religious text, the Guru Granth Sahib, Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Similarly, when the Ramlila tradition of reenacting the Ramayana is referred to as an institution, the term Shri Ramlila is frequently used.

Indian music

The use of the term is common in the names of ragas (musical motifs), either as a prefix or postfix. Some examples are Shree (Carnatic raga), Shree, Bhagyashree, Dhanashree, Jayashree, Subhashree, Itishree, Jiteshree, and Shree ranjani.

Other languages

South and Southeast Asia

Place names

The honorific is incorporated into many Location (geography), place names. A partial list follows: *Srimangal, Bangladesh *Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh, a Shiva, Siva temple, also one of the holiest places of worship for Hindus. *Srikakulam, a town in northern Andhra Pradesh. *Sri City, an integrated township located on the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu border. *Srikshetra, Shri Kshetra, name of the Puri Jagannath Dham, Odisha. One of the Char Dham, four Dhams in the Hindu religion. * Sree Mandira is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath (Krishna) and located in the coastal town of Puri in Odisha. * Sri Lanka, an island country at the southern tip of India. * Sriperumbudur, Sri Perumbudur, a town in the state of Tamil Nadu * Srirangam, Sri Rangam, an island zone in the city of Tiruchirapalli, in Tamil Nadu. * Shrinagar, Srinagar, ''nagar'' meaning "city", is the capital of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir * Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the administrative capital of Sri Lanka. * Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred fig tree in the Mahamewna Gardens, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. * Srivijaya, a former kingdom centered on Sumatra, Indonesia. * Sriwijaya University, located in South Sumatra, Indonesia * Thai honorifics#Si/Sri, Sri (), pronounced and usually transliterated ''Si'' in Thailand place names: :''Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya'' (), formal name of the city and province of Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya :Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nakhon ''Si'' Thammarat () city and province :Sisaket (disambiguation), Sisaket () city and province * Wat Si Saket, Wat ''Si'' Saket in Vientiane, Laos. * Bandar Seri Begawan, Bandar ''Seri'' Begawan, the capital of Brunei. * Seri Menanti, the royal town of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. * Banteay Srei, a 10th-century Hindu temple in Angkor, Cambodia * Srey Santhor, a district located in Kampong Cham Province, Kampong Cham, Cambodia.

References

Titles in India Honorifics Prefixes Lakshmi