The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)

Cf. Rākinī-dhyāna elsewhere: “Meditate on Rākinī, who is blue of colour (Shyāmā). In Her hands are a spear,⁴ a lotus, a drum⁵ and a sharp battle-axe.⁶ She is of furious aspect. Her three eyes are red, and her teeth⁷ show fiercely. She, the Shining Devī of Devas, is seated on a double lotus, and from one of her nostrils there flows a streak of blood.⁸ She is fond of white rice,⁹ and grants the wished-for boon.”

As Rākinī is within another lotus¹⁰ in this Lotus, therefore should the six Shaktis everywhere be understood to be in a red lotus as in the Mūlādhāra.

1 Dwells (Bhāti): the Sanskrit word literally means “shines”— ‘here’ that is, in the Svādhishthāna.

2 Of the colour of a blue lotus (Nīlāmbujodara-sahodarakāntishobhā); lit., Her radiant beauty equals the interior of the blue lotus.

3 Matta-chittā; for she drinks the nectar which drops from Sahasrāra. She is exalted with the divine energy which infuses Her.

4 Shūla.

5 Damaru.

6 Tangka.

7 Dangshtra—i.e., She has long projecting teeth.

8 Raktadhāraikanāsām. The Saubhāgyaratnākara has Raktadhātvekanāthām, that is, she who is the Lord of Raktadhātu.

9 Shuklānna.

10 There is another smaller Lotus in each of the main lotuses on which the Shakti sits,

p. 46

Verse 18

HE who meditates upon this stainless Lotus, which is named Svādhishthāna, is freed immediately from all his enemies,¹ such as the fault of Ahangkāra² and so forth. He becomes a Lord among Yogīs, and is like the Sun illumining the dense darkness of ignorance.³ The wealth of his nectar-like words flows in prose and verse in well-reasoned discourse.

COMMENTARY

In this verse is described the benefit derived from the contemplation of the Svādhishthāna Lotus.

“Svādhishthāna.”—“By Sva is meant the Para-Linga (Supreme Linga), and hence the Lotus is called Svādhishthāna.”⁴

“Fault of Ahangkāra and so forth” (Ahangkāra-doshādi).— By this is implied the six evil inclinations: Kāma (lust), Krodha (anger), etc. These six,⁵ which are the six enemies of Man, are destroyed by contemplation on the Svādhishthāna Lotus. By contemplation upon it are also destroyed the darkness of Māyā, and Moha,⁶ and the Sun of knowledge (Jnāna) is acquired. The rest is clear.

1 That is, his enemies the six passions.

2 Egoism. See Introduction.

3 Moha.

4 This is from v. 58 of Ch. XXVII of the Rudra-yāmala.

5 viz., Kāma (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (delusion), Mada (pride), Mātsaryya (envy), which all arise from a sense of mineness (Ahangkāra).

6 Ignorance, illusion, infatuation,

Summary of Verses 14 to 18

The Svādhishthāna Chakra is of the colour of vermilion, and has six petals. On its six petals are the six letters Ba, Bha, Ma, Ya, Ra, and La, with the Bindu placed thereon. They are of the colour of lightning. In the pericarp of this Lotus is the region of water in the form of an eight-petalled Lotus, with a half-moon in its centre. This region is white. Inside this latter is the Varuna Bīja “Vang,” seated on a Makara, with a noose in his hand. In the lap of the latter (i.e., in the hollow of the Bindu) is Vishnu seated on Garuda. He has four hands, and is carrying the Shangkha (conch shell), Chakra (discus), Gadā (mace), and Padma (lotus). He is dressed in yellow raiment, wears a long garland (Vana-mālā) round his neck, the mark Shrīvatsa and the gem Kaustubha on his breast, and is youthful in appearance. On a red lotus in the pericarp is the Shakti Rākinī. She is Shyāma-varnā,¹ and in her four hands she holds the Shūla (spear or trident), Abja (lotus), Damaru (drum), and Tangka (battle-axe). She is threeeyed and has fierce projecting fangs,² and is terrible to behold. She is fond of white rice,³ and a stream of blood runs from Her nostril.

(Here ends the second section)

1 See note to v. 11.

2 Kutila-dangshtrā.

8 Shuklānna.

Verse 19

ABOVE it,¹ and at the root of the navel, is the shining Lotus of ten petals,² of the colour of heavy-laden rain-clouds. Within it are the letters Da to Pha, of the colour of the blue lotus with the Nāda and Bindu above them. Meditate there on the region of Fire, triangular in form and shining like the rising sun. Outside it are three Svastika marks,³ and within, the Bīja of Vahni himself.⁴

COMMENTARY

The Manipūra Chakra is described in this and the two following verses.

“Shining lotus of ten petals” (Dashadala-lasite)—i.e., the
Lotus which shines by reason of its ten petals.

“Of the colour of heavy rain-clouds” (Pūrnamegha-prakāshe) —i.e., of a dark hue.

“Within it are the letters,” etc. (Nīlāmbhoja-prakāshair upahitajathare dādi-phāntaih sachandraih).

The ten letters from Da (cerebral) to Pha, with the Bindu placed above them, are of the colour of the blue lotus, and are each of them on the ten several petals. The letters are Da, Dha, Na, Ta, Tha, Da, Dha, Na, Pa, Pha. By Sachandraih which qualifies Varnaih is meant that the letters have Bindu and Nāda over them, for these two go together.

1 Svādhishthāna.

2 The Manipūra Chakra, the seat of the Element of Fire the sign of which is a triangle. See Introduction.

3 An auspicious mark; v. post.

4 That is, “Rang,” the Seed-mantra of Fire.

5 Shangkara reads Dasha-dala-lalite—i.e., the charming lotus of ten petals.

“Like the rising Sun” (Aruna-mihira-samam)—i.e., like the young sun.

“Svastika Marks.¹—These three marks or signs are on three sides of the triangle.