Sri For other usages , see Sri ( disambiguation ) Sanskrit Grammar Sri , Shri or Shree ( Devanagari श्री , official IAST transliteration Śrī ) — with a pronunciation halfway between sree and shree — grammatically belongs to the feminine subjunctive gender in Sanskrit language and is used as a title of veneration , a Hindu honorific stemming from the Vedic conception of prosperity . It signifies the goddess of wealth , Lakshmi , the wife of Vishnu , who symbolises beauty , wealth and grace . Significance It is an epithet of some Hindu gods , as well as a prefix to the names of men and women who are considered great or holy , or who derive their power from that which is holy . When used as a title for gods , Śrī is sometimes translated into English as Lord , but this is quite inaccurate and it is generally agreed that Śrī is best left untranslated . It is also one of the names of Ganesha , the Hindu god of prosperity . The origin of the word Sri dates back to the day when Lord Ganesha lost his head while protecting his mother Pārvatī . That is the reason He is the first to be worshipped in all the ' yagyas ' . In the Manusmriti , which is a text written by Manu in the Sanskrit language , mentions `` Brahma yatha pitra , Vishnu yatha matha Sri tatha matrapitrasya nirmat '' means `` like Brahma to father , Vishnu to mother , Sri is father and mother of originator '' . General Usage Sri is also the standard honorific ( akin to Mr. in English , Effendi in Turkish , Thiru in Tamil etc . ) . Sri/Shri is often used as a respectful affix to celebrated or revered names of persons and is not gender-specific . However , the lack of knowledge in the grammatical nuances has resulted in the title for women as Shrimati ( abbreviated Smt ) . It also enters as an emphatical compound ( which can be used in a multiple : shri shri , or sri sri sri , etc. ) in princely styles , notably in Darbar Shri , Desai Shri , Khan Sahib Shri Babi , Malek Shri and Thakur Shri . Names of Countries It is used in the name of the country Sri Lanka , meaning venerable island . Hinduism Śruti | Smriti | Denominations | Hindu deities | Gurus and Saints | Schools of Hinduism | Karma and Dharma | Moksha | Yoga | Mantras | Jyotish and Ayurveda v · d · e Categories : Hindu texts | Honorifics | Titles in India | Grammatical moods | Sanskrit terms | Terminology In other languages : Italiano | 日本語 | Русский | Svenska 