The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
Some read the passage as “Chatur-bhāgaveda”; thus read the meaning practically is the same. If the Sanskrit text is read “Mukhāmbhoja-lakshmī-chatur-bhāgaveda,” the meaning would be, “the four different Vedas enhance the beauty of his lotus-faces”.⁴
As opposed to the opinion that Brahmā holds the four Vedas in his arms, the Vishva-sāra Tantra in the Brāhmī-dhyāna says: “Meditate on Brāhmī (Shakti) as red in colour and garbed in the skin of the black antelope, and as holding the staff,⁵ gourd,⁶ rosary of Rudrāksha beads,⁷ and making the gesture dispelling fear.”⁸ And in the Sapta-shatī Stotra⁹ it has been said that
1 Veda is used to mean four, there being four Vedas.
2 I.e., Hiranya-garbha.
3 Hangsa, or, as some say, goose or flamingo. See Woodroffe’s
“Garland of Letters” p. 155.
4 The allusion is to the belief that the four Vedas came out of the four mouths of Brahmā.
5 Danda.
6 Kamandalu.
7 Aksha-sūtra.
8 That is, the Abhaya-mudrā. The hand is uplifted, the palm being shown to the spectator. The four fingers are close together, and the thumb crosses the palm to the fourth finger.
9 Mārkandeya Chandī.
Shiva and Shakti are to be meditated upon as having the same weapons.
Also cf. Yāmala: “The Ādi-Mūrti¹ should be meditated upon as making the gestures of dispelling fear and granting boons,² as also holding the Kundikā³ and rosary of Rudrāksha beads, and adorned with fine ornament.”
This is how She should be meditated upon. The rest requires no explanation.
Brāhmī Shakti.
2 That is, the Varadamudrā, the hand being held in the same position as in note 8, p. 19, but with the palm held horizontally instead of vertically.
3 Kamandalu: a vessel with a gourd-shaped body, and handle at the top, used for carrying water, generally by ascetics.
Verse 7
HERE dwells the Devī Dākinī¹ by name; her four arms shine with beauty, and her eyes are brilliant red. She is resplendent like the lustre of many Suns rising at one and the same time.² She is the carrier of the revelation of the ever-pure Intelligence.³
COMMENTARY
In this Shloka the Author speaks of the presence of Dākinī Shakti in the Ādhāra-padma. The sense of this verse is that in this Lotus the Devī Dākinī dwells.
“She is the Carrier of the revelation of the ever-pure Intelligence”⁴ (Prakāsham vahantī sadā-shuddha-buddheh)—that is, she, Dākinī Shakti, enables the Yogī to acquire knowledge of the Tattva (Tattva-jnāna). By meditating on her, which is part of Yoga practice, one acquires Tattva-jnāna. This Devī is the presiding Divinity of this region.
Cf. “The mouth⁵ (the lotus) has the letters Va, Sha (palatal),
Sha (lingual), and Sa, and is presided over by Dākinī.”
1 Dākinī and the other Shaktis of this class are in some Tantras called the Queens of the Chakras, and in others the door-keepers thereof.
2 That is, according to Vishvanātha, she is very red.
3 Shuddha-buddhi—i.e., Tattva-jnāna.
4 If the word “sadā” is read separately from “shuddha-buddhi,” it becomes an adverb qualifying “vahantī,” and the passage would then mean that “she ever carries revelation of Divine Knowledge”.
5 Vaktra. This is possibly the transcriber’s mistake for “Padma”= lotus.
“Dākinī, Rākinī, Lākinī, Kākinī, as also Shākinī and Hākinī, are the queens of the six respective Lotuses.”¹ Elsewhere is given the Dhyāna of Dākinī thus: “Meditate on her, the red, the red-eyed Dākinī, in the Mūlādhāra, who strikes terror into the hearts of Pashus,² who holds in her two right hands the Spear³ and the Khatvānga,⁴ and in her two left hands the Sword⁵ and a drinking-cup filled with wine. She is fierce of temper and shows her fierce teeth. She crushes the whole host of enemies. She is plump of body, and is fond of Pāyasānna.⁶ It is thus that she should be meditated upon by those who desire immortality.” Elsewhere she is described as “bright with a Tilaka⁷ of vermillion, her eyes ornamented with collyrium, clad in black (antelope’s skin) and decked with varied jewels,” etc.
On the authority of the above passage, which occurs in a Dhyāna of Dākinī, she should be meditated upon as clad in black antelope skin.
The Devas Brahmā and others are to be meditated upon as having their faces down or up according to the frame of mind (Bhāva) of the Sādhaka.
The Shāktānanda-tarangginī⁸ quotes the following from the
Māyā Tantra:
“Pārvatī asked: How can they be in the Lotuses which have their heads downward bent?
1 The Shāktānanda-tarangginī places them in a different order. See P. K. Shāstrī’s edition, p. 75.
2 The unillumined. See Introduction to Author’s Mahānirvāna.
3 Shūla.
4 A staff surmounted by a human skull.
5 Khadga, a kind of sword used in the sacrifice of animals. Some read Kheta.
6 A kind of milk pudding made of rice boiled in milk with ghee and sugar.
7 Here the mark borne by woman between the eyebrows showing that her husband is living—an auspicious mark. The Saubhāgyaratnā- kara says that Dākinī abides in Tvak Dhātu.
Some read the passage as “Chatur-bhāgaveda”; thus read the meaning practically is the same. If the Sanskrit text is read “Mukhāmbhoja-lakshmī-chatur-bhāgaveda,” the meaning would be, “the four different Vedas enhance the beauty of his lotus-faces”.⁴
As opposed to the opinion that Brahmā holds the four Vedas in his arms, the Vishva-sāra Tantra in the Brāhmī-dhyāna says: “Meditate on Brāhmī (Shakti) as red in colour and garbed in the skin of the black antelope, and as holding the staff,⁵ gourd,⁶ rosary of Rudrāksha beads,⁷ and making the gesture dispelling fear.”⁸ And in the Sapta-shatī Stotra⁹ it has been said that
1 Veda is used to mean four, there being four Vedas.
2 I.e., Hiranya-garbha.
3 Hangsa, or, as some say, goose or flamingo. See Woodroffe’s
“Garland of Letters” p. 155.
4 The allusion is to the belief that the four Vedas came out of the four mouths of Brahmā.
5 Danda.
6 Kamandalu.
7 Aksha-sūtra.
8 That is, the Abhaya-mudrā. The hand is uplifted, the palm being shown to the spectator. The four fingers are close together, and the thumb crosses the palm to the fourth finger.
9 Mārkandeya Chandī.
Shiva and Shakti are to be meditated upon as having the same weapons.
Also cf. Yāmala: “The Ādi-Mūrti¹ should be meditated upon as making the gestures of dispelling fear and granting boons,² as also holding the Kundikā³ and rosary of Rudrāksha beads, and adorned with fine ornament.”
This is how She should be meditated upon. The rest requires no explanation.
Brāhmī Shakti.
2 That is, the Varadamudrā, the hand being held in the same position as in note 8, p. 19, but with the palm held horizontally instead of vertically.
3 Kamandalu: a vessel with a gourd-shaped body, and handle at the top, used for carrying water, generally by ascetics.
Verse 7
HERE dwells the Devī Dākinī¹ by name; her four arms shine with beauty, and her eyes are brilliant red. She is resplendent like the lustre of many Suns rising at one and the same time.² She is the carrier of the revelation of the ever-pure Intelligence.³
COMMENTARY
In this Shloka the Author speaks of the presence of Dākinī Shakti in the Ādhāra-padma. The sense of this verse is that in this Lotus the Devī Dākinī dwells.
“She is the Carrier of the revelation of the ever-pure Intelligence”⁴ (Prakāsham vahantī sadā-shuddha-buddheh)—that is, she, Dākinī Shakti, enables the Yogī to acquire knowledge of the Tattva (Tattva-jnāna). By meditating on her, which is part of Yoga practice, one acquires Tattva-jnāna. This Devī is the presiding Divinity of this region.
Cf. “The mouth⁵ (the lotus) has the letters Va, Sha (palatal),
Sha (lingual), and Sa, and is presided over by Dākinī.”
1 Dākinī and the other Shaktis of this class are in some Tantras called the Queens of the Chakras, and in others the door-keepers thereof.
2 That is, according to Vishvanātha, she is very red.
3 Shuddha-buddhi—i.e., Tattva-jnāna.
4 If the word “sadā” is read separately from “shuddha-buddhi,” it becomes an adverb qualifying “vahantī,” and the passage would then mean that “she ever carries revelation of Divine Knowledge”.
5 Vaktra. This is possibly the transcriber’s mistake for “Padma”= lotus.
“Dākinī, Rākinī, Lākinī, Kākinī, as also Shākinī and Hākinī, are the queens of the six respective Lotuses.”¹ Elsewhere is given the Dhyāna of Dākinī thus: “Meditate on her, the red, the red-eyed Dākinī, in the Mūlādhāra, who strikes terror into the hearts of Pashus,² who holds in her two right hands the Spear³ and the Khatvānga,⁴ and in her two left hands the Sword⁵ and a drinking-cup filled with wine. She is fierce of temper and shows her fierce teeth. She crushes the whole host of enemies. She is plump of body, and is fond of Pāyasānna.⁶ It is thus that she should be meditated upon by those who desire immortality.” Elsewhere she is described as “bright with a Tilaka⁷ of vermillion, her eyes ornamented with collyrium, clad in black (antelope’s skin) and decked with varied jewels,” etc.
On the authority of the above passage, which occurs in a Dhyāna of Dākinī, she should be meditated upon as clad in black antelope skin.
The Devas Brahmā and others are to be meditated upon as having their faces down or up according to the frame of mind (Bhāva) of the Sādhaka.
The Shāktānanda-tarangginī⁸ quotes the following from the
Māyā Tantra:
“Pārvatī asked: How can they be in the Lotuses which have their heads downward bent?
1 The Shāktānanda-tarangginī places them in a different order. See P. K. Shāstrī’s edition, p. 75.
2 The unillumined. See Introduction to Author’s Mahānirvāna.
3 Shūla.
4 A staff surmounted by a human skull.
5 Khadga, a kind of sword used in the sacrifice of animals. Some read Kheta.
6 A kind of milk pudding made of rice boiled in milk with ghee and sugar.
7 Here the mark borne by woman between the eyebrows showing that her husband is living—an auspicious mark. The Saubhāgyaratnā- kara says that Dākinī abides in Tvak Dhātu.
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