Sri Lankan Philanthropists

Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific.

The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, 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 Hindu goddess of wealth, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra.

Etymology

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 ( 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: ) 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 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 Rāma, Krishna