The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
“Many a great man has successfully worked the Kundalinī to the Sahasrāra, and effected her union with the Sat and Chit. Of these stands foremost the great and farfamed Shangkarāchārya, a humble pupil of one of the students of Gaudapādāchārya, the author of the well-known ‘Subhagodaya’ (52 slokas). Having well acquainted himself with the principles contained in this work, Shri Shangkarā- chārya received special instructions based upon the personal experience of his Guru. And adding his own personal experience to the above advantages, he composed his famous work on the Mantra-shāstra, consisting of 100 slokas; the first forty-one of these forming the ‘Ānanda-Laharī,’ and the rest forming the ‘Saundarya-Laharī’; the latter apostrophises the Devī as a being who is beauteous from head to foot.
“‘Ānanda-Laharī’ may be said to contain the quintessence of the Samayāchāra. The work is all the more valuable because the author teaches it from personal experience. Lengthy commentaries are written on almost every syllable of the text. The value attached to the work may be adequately understood by the following theory. Some hold that Shiva is the real author of ‘Ānanda- Laharī,’ and not Shangkarāchārya, who was but a Mantradrashtā or Rishi—i.e., one who realised the process and
1 See also Ānandagiri’s Shangkaravijaya and Mādhava’s Shangkaravijaya (Ch. XI; see also ib., where Shrīchakra is mentioned).
2 Ānandalaharī, 14. I have translated this hymn under the title
“Wave of Bliss”.
gave it to the world. No less than thirty-and-six commentaries on this work are now extant. Among them we find one written by our great Appaya Dīkshita. The commentaries are not entirely different, but each has its own peculiar views and theories.
“As for the text of ‘Ānanda-Laharī,’ it contains fortyand-one slokas. According to some commentators, the slokas are 35 in number; some recognise only 30, and according to Sudhāvidyotinī and others only the following slokas constitute the text of ‘Ānanda-Laharī’: 1—2, 8—9, 10—11, 14—21, 26—27, 31—41. In my opinion, also, the last statement seems to be correct, as the other slokas treat only of Prayogas (applications of Mantras) for worldly purposes.¹ Only a few of these Prayogas are recognised by all the commentators; while the rest are passed over as being entirely Kārmic.
“As has been remarked already, ‘Ānanda-Laharī’ is but an enlargement of the work called Subhagodaya by Gaudapāda, who is the Guru of the author’s Guru. That work gives only the main points, without any of the characteristic admixture of illustrations, etc., above noticed.
“Of all the commentaries on ‘Ānanda-Laharī’ Lakshmīdhara’s seems to be the most recent; yet in spite of this it is the most popular, and with reason, too: Other commentaries advocate this or that aspect of the various philosophical schools; but Lakshmīdhara collates some of the views of others, and records them side by side with his own. His commentary is in this way the most elaborate. He sides with no party;² his views are broad and liberal. All schools of philosophers are represented in his commentaries. Lakshmīdhara has also commented on many other works on Mantrashāstra, and is consequently of much high repute. So his commentaries are as valuable to both ‘Ānanda-Laharī’ and ‘Saundarya-Laharī’ as Sāyana’s are to the Vedas.
1 Thus, vv. 13, 18, 19 are said to treat of Madana-prayoga—that is, application for the third Purushārtha or Kāma (desire).
2 He seems to be very adverse to the Uttara or Northern Kaula School, and if his views are accurately reproduced by the Pandit he is not always correct as to their teaching.—A. A.
“Lakshmīdhara seems to have been an inhabitant of Southern India; the observances and customs he describes all point to this conclusion; the illustrations he adduces smack invariably of the South, and even to this day his views are more followed in the South than in the North. He has also written an elaborate commentary on Gaudapāda’s Subhagodaya. The references to that in the commentary to this work, and the commentator’s apology here and there for repeating what he has written on the former occasion, lead to the inference that the author had for his life-work the commentary on the original book.
“Achyutānanda’s commentaries are in Bengali characters, and are followed as authority in Bengal even to this day.¹ Various commentaries are followed in various places, but few have risen to be universally accepted.
“There are only three or four works treating of Prayoga (application); I have had access to all of them. But here I have followed only one of them, as being the most prominent and important. It comes from an ancient family in Conjeeveram. It contains 100 slokas. The Yantras (figures) for the Mantras contained in the slokas, the different postures of the worshipper, and similar prescriptions, are clearly described in it to the minutest detail.
“There seems to be some mystical connection between each sloka and its Bijākshara.² But it is not intelligible,p. 272 nor has any of the Prayoga Kartās¹ explained the same.
1 I have followed this commentary also in my “Wave of Bliss”.— A. A.
2 Bīja or root-mantra.—A. A.
“The following is a list of commentaries written upon ‘Ānanda-Laharī’; some of them include ‘Saundarya- Laharī’ also:
“Many a great man has successfully worked the Kundalinī to the Sahasrāra, and effected her union with the Sat and Chit. Of these stands foremost the great and farfamed Shangkarāchārya, a humble pupil of one of the students of Gaudapādāchārya, the author of the well-known ‘Subhagodaya’ (52 slokas). Having well acquainted himself with the principles contained in this work, Shri Shangkarā- chārya received special instructions based upon the personal experience of his Guru. And adding his own personal experience to the above advantages, he composed his famous work on the Mantra-shāstra, consisting of 100 slokas; the first forty-one of these forming the ‘Ānanda-Laharī,’ and the rest forming the ‘Saundarya-Laharī’; the latter apostrophises the Devī as a being who is beauteous from head to foot.
“‘Ānanda-Laharī’ may be said to contain the quintessence of the Samayāchāra. The work is all the more valuable because the author teaches it from personal experience. Lengthy commentaries are written on almost every syllable of the text. The value attached to the work may be adequately understood by the following theory. Some hold that Shiva is the real author of ‘Ānanda- Laharī,’ and not Shangkarāchārya, who was but a Mantradrashtā or Rishi—i.e., one who realised the process and
1 See also Ānandagiri’s Shangkaravijaya and Mādhava’s Shangkaravijaya (Ch. XI; see also ib., where Shrīchakra is mentioned).
2 Ānandalaharī, 14. I have translated this hymn under the title
“Wave of Bliss”.
gave it to the world. No less than thirty-and-six commentaries on this work are now extant. Among them we find one written by our great Appaya Dīkshita. The commentaries are not entirely different, but each has its own peculiar views and theories.
“As for the text of ‘Ānanda-Laharī,’ it contains fortyand-one slokas. According to some commentators, the slokas are 35 in number; some recognise only 30, and according to Sudhāvidyotinī and others only the following slokas constitute the text of ‘Ānanda-Laharī’: 1—2, 8—9, 10—11, 14—21, 26—27, 31—41. In my opinion, also, the last statement seems to be correct, as the other slokas treat only of Prayogas (applications of Mantras) for worldly purposes.¹ Only a few of these Prayogas are recognised by all the commentators; while the rest are passed over as being entirely Kārmic.
“As has been remarked already, ‘Ānanda-Laharī’ is but an enlargement of the work called Subhagodaya by Gaudapāda, who is the Guru of the author’s Guru. That work gives only the main points, without any of the characteristic admixture of illustrations, etc., above noticed.
“Of all the commentaries on ‘Ānanda-Laharī’ Lakshmīdhara’s seems to be the most recent; yet in spite of this it is the most popular, and with reason, too: Other commentaries advocate this or that aspect of the various philosophical schools; but Lakshmīdhara collates some of the views of others, and records them side by side with his own. His commentary is in this way the most elaborate. He sides with no party;² his views are broad and liberal. All schools of philosophers are represented in his commentaries. Lakshmīdhara has also commented on many other works on Mantrashāstra, and is consequently of much high repute. So his commentaries are as valuable to both ‘Ānanda-Laharī’ and ‘Saundarya-Laharī’ as Sāyana’s are to the Vedas.
1 Thus, vv. 13, 18, 19 are said to treat of Madana-prayoga—that is, application for the third Purushārtha or Kāma (desire).
2 He seems to be very adverse to the Uttara or Northern Kaula School, and if his views are accurately reproduced by the Pandit he is not always correct as to their teaching.—A. A.
“Lakshmīdhara seems to have been an inhabitant of Southern India; the observances and customs he describes all point to this conclusion; the illustrations he adduces smack invariably of the South, and even to this day his views are more followed in the South than in the North. He has also written an elaborate commentary on Gaudapāda’s Subhagodaya. The references to that in the commentary to this work, and the commentator’s apology here and there for repeating what he has written on the former occasion, lead to the inference that the author had for his life-work the commentary on the original book.
“Achyutānanda’s commentaries are in Bengali characters, and are followed as authority in Bengal even to this day.¹ Various commentaries are followed in various places, but few have risen to be universally accepted.
“There are only three or four works treating of Prayoga (application); I have had access to all of them. But here I have followed only one of them, as being the most prominent and important. It comes from an ancient family in Conjeeveram. It contains 100 slokas. The Yantras (figures) for the Mantras contained in the slokas, the different postures of the worshipper, and similar prescriptions, are clearly described in it to the minutest detail.
“There seems to be some mystical connection between each sloka and its Bijākshara.² But it is not intelligible,p. 272 nor has any of the Prayoga Kartās¹ explained the same.
1 I have followed this commentary also in my “Wave of Bliss”.— A. A.
2 Bīja or root-mantra.—A. A.
“The following is a list of commentaries written upon ‘Ānanda-Laharī’; some of them include ‘Saundarya- Laharī’ also:
No commentary for this page.