śrī lalitā sahasranāma pūrvapīṭhikā

The opening chapter that stands before the Lalita Sahasranama in the Brahmanda Purana, and the part of it most often left unread. Agastya has already heard the story of Lalita from Hayagriva and asks for what is still missing; the fifty verses that follow are Hayagriva's answer, which is less a hymn than a reason. He explains why the thousand names exist at all, why they are necessary rather than merely meritorious, and what qualifies a person to receive them, before ending on the line that hands over to the litany itself: now I shall speak the thousand names, hear them with faith. Read on its own, it is the argument the Sahasranama assumes and does not make.