{{short description|Sanskrit honorific}} {{Redirect-multi|3|Sri|Shree|Sree||Shri (disambiguation)}} [[File:Shri-symbol.svg|thumb|right|alt=The Sanskrit letter Sri|The Sanskrit character {{Transliteration|sa|śrī}} in the Devanagari script]]
'''Shri'''{{efn|Other spellings include '''Shree''', '''Sri''', '''Sree''', '''Shrih''' and '''śrī'''.}} ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|r|iː}};<ref name="oxford">{{cite web |title=Shri |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/shri |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030060633/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/shri |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 30, 2019 |website=Lexico |publisher=Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref> {{Langx|sa|श्री|translit=Śrī}}, {{IPA|sa|ɕriː|pron}}) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific.<ref name="oxford"/>
The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Hindi, 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. In Tamil it evolved to Tiru.
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.
"Shri" is also used as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for individuals.
"Shri" is also an epithet for Hindu goddess Lakshmi, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra.
==Etymology== {{wikt|Shri}} [[File:Maharaja Sri Gupta inscription on the Allahabad pillar Samudragupta inscription.jpg|thumb|{{center|1=20px11px11px11px12px15px14px15px14px<sub>12px</sub><br>''Mahārāja10pxShrī10pxGupta''<br>"Great King, Lord Gupta"}}in Gupta script, on the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta (4th century CE).<ref>Full inscription, {{cite book |last1=Fleet |first1=John Faithfull |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol. 3 |date=1888 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49403/page/n197 1]-17 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49403}}</ref>]] Monier-Williams's dictionary gives the meaning of the root verb {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|''śrī''}} 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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Sir Ralph Lilley |author-link=Ralph Lilley Turner |author2=Dorothy Rivers Turner |title=A comparative dictionary of the Indo-Aryan languages. |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.4.soas.198140 |access-date=22 April 2010 |orig-year=1962 |date=January 2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=London |page=736 |quote='''śhrīˊ''' 12708 '''śhrīˊ''' feminine ' light, beauty ' R̥gveda, ' welfare, riches ' Avestan (Iranian) Pali Prakrit ''sirī'' – feminine, Prakrit ''sī'' – feminine ' prosperity '; Marāṭhī – ''s'' honorific affix to names of relationship (e.g. āj̈ā – ''s'', ājī – ''s'') Jules Bloch ''La Formation de la Langue Marathe'' Paris 1920, page 412. – Sinhalese ''siri '' ' health, happiness ' (Wilhelm Geiger ''An Etymological Glossary of the Sinhalese Language'' Colombo 1941, page 180) a loanword from Pali <-> See addendum śrḗyas –, śrḗṣṭha – . See Addenda: śrīˊ – occurring for the first time in Addenda : śrīparṇī – . |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121215020900/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.4.soas.198140 |archive-date=15 December 2012 }}</ref><ref name=Apte>{{cite book|last=Apte|first=Vaman Shivaram|title=Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary|year=1957–59|publisher=Prasad Prakashan|page=1575|quote=1 Wealth, riches, affluence, prosperity, plenty; ... -2 Royalty, majesty, royal wealth;... -3 Dignity, high position, state;... -4 Beauty, grace, splendour, lustre;... -5 Colour, aspect; ... -6 The goddess of wealth, Lak-ṣmī, the wife of Viṣṇu;... -7 Any virtue or excellence. -8 Decoration. -9 Intellect, understanding. -1 Super- human power. -11 The three objects of human existence taken collectively (धर्म, अर्थ and काम). -12 The Sarala tree. -13 The Bilva tree. -14 Cloves. -15 A lotus. -16 The twelfth digit of the moon. -17 N. of Sarasvatī, (the goddess of speech). -18 Speech. -19 Fame, glory. -2 The three Vedas (वेदत्रयी);... -m. N. of one of the six Rāgas or musical modes. -a. Splendid, radiant, adorning. (The word श्री is often used as an honorific prefix to the names of deities and eminent persons; श्रीकृष्णः, श्रीरामः, श्रिवाल्मीकिः, श्रीजयदेवः; also celebrated works, generally of a sacred character; श्रीभागवत, श्रीरामायण)&c.; it is also used as an auspicious sign at the commencement of letters, manuscripts &c}}</ref>
The word {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|śrī}} 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 (regardless of marital status).
=== Spelling and pronunciation === In Devanagari script for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and other languages, the word {{angle bracket|{{lang|sa|श्री}}}} is a combination of three sounds: {{lang|sa|श्}} ({{Transliteration|sa|ISO|ś}}), {{lang|sa|र्}} ({{Transliteration|sa|ISO|r}}) and {{lang|sa|ई}} ({{Transliteration|sa|ISO|ī}}, long ''i''). There are two conventions in India to transliterate the consonant {{lang|sa|श्}} (ISO: {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|''ś''}}) to English: some use ''s'' (which in narrower transcription represents only {{lang|sa|स्}}) as in ''Sri Lanka'' and ''Srinagar'', while others use ''sh'' as in ''Shimla'' and ''Shimoga''.<ref name="phonetics">{{cite arXiv|eprint=1701.08655|class=cs.CL|first1=Shrikant|last1=Malviya|first2=Rohit|last2=Mishra|title=Structural Analysis of Hindi Phonetics and a Method for Extraction of Phonetically Rich Sentences from a Very Large Hindi Text Corpus|last3=Tiwary|first3=Uma Shanker|year=2017|pages=2}}</ref> Similarly, {{lang|sa|री}} ({{Transliteration|sa|ISO|rī}}; {{lang|sa|र् + ई}}) is also transliterated to English in two different ways as ''ri'' and ''ree'', although the latter is non-standard in Hindi.<ref name="phonetics" /><ref name="un-ref">{{Citation|author=United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|title=Technical reference manual for the standardization of geographical names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mh8u32ANQxAC|year=2007|publisher=United Nations Publications, 2007|isbn=978-92-1-161500-5|quote=... ISO 15919 ... There is no evidence of the use of the system either in India or in international cartographic products ... The Hunterian system is the actually used national system of romanization in India ...}}</ref> Hence this word {{lang|sa|श्री}} may be rendered in English as Shri (the standard spelling), Shree, Sri or Sree; some other transcriptions used are Shiri and Shrii.
Sanskrit is written in many other Indian scripts as well, each of which has its own equivalents of these Devanāgari characters.
==Usage== [[File:Ravi Varma-Lakshmi.jpg|thumb|Shri is an epithet of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.]]
''Shri'' is a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." or "Ms.".<ref name="Measures1962">{{cite book|author=Howard Measures|title=Styles of address: a manual of usage in writing and in speech|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zfg9AAAAYAAJ|access-date=19 January 2011|year=1962|publisher=Macmillan|pages=136, 140}}</ref>
''Shri'', also rendered ''Sridevi'', is an epithet of Lakshmi.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lochtefeld|first=James G.|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|year=2001l|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8|language=en|page=640}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=2023-09-26 |title=Lakshmi {{!}} Goddess of Wealth, Fortune & Prosperity {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lakshmi |access-date=2023-10-01 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=2023-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022160658/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lakshmi |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Herman |first1=Phyllis K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=97EYBwAAQBAJ&dq=vedic+shri+lakshmi&pg=PA57 |title=The Constant and Changing Faces of the Goddess: Goddess Traditions of Asia |last2=Shimkhada |first2=Deepak |date=2009-03-26 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-0702-9 |pages=56 |language=en |access-date=2022-12-03 |archive-date=2023-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621084320/https://books.google.com/books?id=97EYBwAAQBAJ&dq=vedic+shri+lakshmi&pg=PA57 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Other current usage== There is a common practice of writing ''Shri'' as the first word centralised in line at the beginning of a document.
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 Darbar Shri, Desai Shri, and 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 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.
A common Sikh greeting is “''Sat Shri Akaal'' (Gurmukhi: ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ)”, meaning “Truth is divine and eternal”. Shri here is used to denote divinity or godliness.
===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, Bhagyashree, Dhanashree, Jayashree, Subhashree, Itishree, Jiteshree, and Shree ranjani.
==Other languages==
=== South and Southeast Asia === {| class="wikitable" |- ! Language/Script !! Form !! Notes |- | Bengali || শ্রী || |- | Balinese || {{lang|ban|ᬰ᭄ᬭᬷ}}, {{lang|ban|ᬰ᭄ᬭᬶ}}, or {{lang|ban|ᬲ᭄ᬭᬶ}} (all read as ''sri'') || Comparable to the Javanese usage: a particle prefixed to royal names, the goddess of rice-culture. |- | Burmese || {{lang|my|သီရိ}} (''thiri'') and {{lang|my|သရေ}} (''tharay'') || See Tamil below. |- | Dhivehi |ސިރީ (''siree'' or ''sirī'') |Used in the full titles of sultans and kings |- | Gujarati || શ્રી || |- | Gurmukhi (Punjabi) || ਸ਼੍ਰੀ || |- | Javanese || {{Jav|ꦯꦿꦷ}}, {{Jav|ꦯꦿꦶ}}, or {{Jav|ꦱꦿꦶ}} (all read as ''sri'')|| Often used to address royal or venerated figures, such as the King of Yogyakarta, '''Sri''' Sultan Hamengkubuwono and the title "Sri Bhaginda" (equivalent to "your majesty"), and for names of deities, such as the Javanese rice goddess Dewi Sri. In modern Javanese, it is a common part of proper names of Javanese people, e.g the name of Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Indonesian marine corps officer Lt. Col Sri Utomo. "Sri" is also a widely used name in Java used for names of placements, organizations, institutions, etc |- | Kannada || {{lang|kn|ಶ್ರೀ}} (''Sri'' or ''Sree'')|| |- | Khmer || {{lang|km|ស្រី}} (''Srey'') and {{lang|km|សេរី}} (''Serey'') || |- | Lao || {{lang|lo|ສີ}} (''Si'') and {{lang|lo|ສຣີ}} (''Sri'' or ''Sree'') || |- |Maithili |𑒬𑓂𑒩𑒲 (shri/shree) | |- | Malay (including Malaysian and Indonesian varieties)|| Jawi: {{lang|ms|سري}}, Latin: ''Seri'' (Malaysian)<br>''Sri'' (Indonesian) |Often used as a title of veneration for honorific titles in Malay kingdoms and sultanates. This includes the honorific title for the Sultan of Brunei: ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka '''Seri''' Baginda Sultan'' Hassanal Bolkiah and King of Malaysia: ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia '''Seri''' Paduka Baginda''. It is also used for the name of places in the Malay world such as Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei and Siak Sri Indrapura city in Sumatra, Indonesia
Usage of "Sri" in Indonesia is used for honorary titles for a king or other great person, for example the King of Yogyakarta '''Sri Sultan''' Hamengkubuwono and ''Sri Baginda'' which means "Your Majesty", and is also used for people's names, mainly Javanese people such as Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani, Indonesian marine officer Lt. Col Sri Utomo, Indian-Indonesian businessman Sri Prakash Lohia, etc. It also refers to the Javanese rice goddess "Dewi Sri". "Sri" is also used as names of companies, placements, institutions, etc (e.g — Sriwijaya Air, Sriwijaya University, etc).<br> The oldest recorded word of "Sri" founded in Indonesia was written in the Mulawarman inscription founded in Kutai, East Kalimantan dating back to the 4th century AD which read: '''''sri'''matah '''sri'''-narendrasya, kundungasya mahatmanah'' (meaning: ''"the maharaja Kudungga, who was very noble"'') |- | Malayalam || ശ്രീ (''Sri'' or ''Sree'')|| |- | Meitei (Manipuri) || {{lang|mni|{{Script|Mtei|ꯁ꯭ꯔꯤ}}|}} (transliterated as ''"shri/shree/sri/sree"'' in Meitei script) || Used as honorific as in Shri Biren and Shri Shri Govindaji Temple |- |Nepal Bhasa (Newari) |𑐱𑑂𑐬𑐷 (Sri) | |- | Odia || ଶ୍ରୀ || |- | Philippine languages / Baybayin|| ᜐ᜔ᜇᜒ (Sri or Si or Sree) || Formerly used as an honorific title for rulers in old Indianized precolonial states and polities in the Philippines, such as Sri Lumay of Cebu or Sri Bata Shaja of Butuan or Sripada/Sipad of Lupah Sūg or Sikatuna of Bo-ol. |- | Sinhala || ශ්රී (''Sri'' or ''Sree'') also ශ්රී (''Sri'' or ''Sree'') or සිරි (''Siri'')|| Meaning "resplendent", as in ''Sri Lanka'', "Resplendent Island". |- | Tamil || ஸ்ரீ (''Sri'' or ''Sree'') || The Tamil equivalent tiru is also used. |- | Telugu || శ్రీ (''Sri'' or ''Sree'')|| |- | Thai || {{lang|th|ศิริ}} (''Siri'') and {{lang|th|ศรี}} (''Sri'' or ''Sree'' or ''Si'') || Used in many Thai place names, as seen below. |- | Vietnamese/Cham || ''Chế'' || Vietnamese transcription of honorific name prefix used among the Cham ethnic minority. |}
===Place names=== The honorific is incorporated into many place names. A partial list follows: *Sriharikota, India *Srimangal, Bangladesh *Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh, a 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. *Shri Kshetra, name of the Puri Jagannath Dham, Odisha. One of the 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. * Sri Perumbudur, a town in the state of Tamil Nadu * Sri Rangam, an island zone in the city of Tiruchirapalli, in Tamil Nadu. * Srinagar, ''nagar'' meaning "city", is the capital of the union territory of 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. * Siak ''Sri'' Indrapura, the capital seat of Siak Regency. It was the place of the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura. * Sri ({{lang|th|ศรี}}), pronounced and usually transliterated ''Si'' in Thailand place names: :''Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya'' ({{lang|th|พระนครศรีอยุธยา}}), formal name of the city and province of Ayutthaya :Nakhon ''Si'' Thammarat ({{lang|th|นครศรีธรรมราช}}) city and province :Sisaket ({{lang|th|ศรีสะเกษ|italic=unset}}) city and province :''Si'' Racha ({{lang|th|ศรีราชา}}), the namesake town of Siracha hot sauce<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dean |first1=Sam |title=What Does the Word Sriracha Mean? |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/what-does-the-word-sriracha-mean |website=Bon Appétit |date=7 March 2013 |access-date=23 April 2024 |archive-date=4 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904034728/https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/what-does-the-word-sriracha-mean |url-status=live }}</ref> * Wat ''Si'' Saket in Vientiane, Laos. * 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, Cambodia. * Serei Saophoan, the capital city of Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia.
== References == {{Notelist}} <references />
Category:Titles in India Category:Honorifics Category:Prefixes Category:Lakshmi