The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
2. The Ādhāra (receptacle) of Sudhā (nectar) is Sudhādhāra, by which is meant the Moon; Āsāra is what flows therefrom, a stream. Now, what flows from the Moon is Nectar, which is silvery; hence the whole word means “the silvery beams of the moon”. This adjective proves that the qualified noun is white or transparent like the moon. Shedding=Vimunchan.
3. Āsāra may, again, mean “what is uttered,” “word”.
Sudhādhāra=receptacle of sweetness, which is a quality of nectar;
1 As appears from the Commentary post, this may be variously translated as follows: “By shedding a constant and profuse stream of nectar resembling the silvery beams of the Moon,” or “By unremitting and nectar-like words strong for the destruction of the darkness of delusion,” or “By constant repetition of the word which is nectar-like in its mercy and contains the essence of the Brahma-mantra.”
2 That is, the Lord as the possessor of the six forms of Aishvaryya.
3 Self-controlled, whose mind is unified with the object of worship.
p. 116
hence Sudhādhārāsāram=nectar-like or ambrosial word. The meaning of Niravadhi would then be “at all times,” and Atitarām would mean “powerful in destroying the darkness of ignorance or delusion”. Vimunchan should then mean “uttering”.
4. Sudhā, again, may mean “nectar of mercy,” and Sāra is “essence”—i.e., the essence of Brahma-mantra; and Dhārā is a stream (continuous repetition) of the merciful word containing the essence of the Brahma-mantra.
“Instructs the Yati,” etc. (Bhagavān nirmala-mater yateh svātma-jnānam dishati).
“Yati.”—He whose mind intently rests upon the Devatā of his worship.
Knowledge by which, etc., Paramātmā (Svātma-jnāna): Svam= Jīvātmā and Ātmā=Paramātmā; and Jnāna¹ that by which one knows—namely, the Tāraka-brahma-mantra, which leads to a knowledge of the Paramātmā, and thereby helps the worshipper to realise the oneness of the Jīvātmā and Paramātmā. Dishati= Upadishati (instructs). The above qualifying expressions imply that the qualified noun is the Guru, as instructions regarding Tāraka-brahma-mantra proceed from Him. So it qualifies “Parama-shiva” in the preceding verse, as He is the Guru. Cf. Guru-tattva-nirūpana in Lalitā-rahasya.
After describing Guru as “the well-known and excellent Purusha who is ever fond² of enjoyment with the Self (Ātma-ratipriya),” it goes on to say: “His beloved is the lustrous One who may be gained with difficulty by the Brahma-vartma (Brahman road). The Parama Brahman is but the effulgence of Her lotus feet.”
By the above passage is meant that the great beauty of Her lotus feet overspreads the heart-lotus of Parama Shiva who is Para Brahman. The place for the feet of the lustrous (Tejo-rūpā) Beloved (Shakti) of the Guru is on the breast of the Guru,³ and not on that of any other Purusha. Hence Paramas Shiva and the Guru are one and the same.
1 Jnānā is spiritual knowledge or wisdom, and Vijnānā is the knowledge of the material world (science).
2 i.e., who is engrossed in.
3 This is in praise of Shakti, without whom Shiva is Shava
(a corpse) and unable to move.
The Nirvāna Tantra also says¹: “In the Lotus in the head is
Mahādeva—the Parama Guru: there is in the three worlds no one,
O Deveshi, who is so deserving of worship as He. O Devi,
meditate on His form,² which includes all the four Gurus.”³
This Parama Shiva is outside the triangle in the pericarp, and above the Hangsah of which we speak below.
The Kangkāla-mālinī Tantra⁴ says: “In the pericarp of this Lotus, O Deveshī, is the Antarātmā, and above it the Guru. The Mandalas of Sun and Moon are also there.” And after having spoken of the presence of different things in their order up to Mahā-shangkhinī, it then proceeds: “Below it, O Deveshi, is the Trikona (triangle), placed in the Mandala of Moon; and having meditated there on the undecaying Kalā, (one should meditate) within it upon the seventeenth Kalā, by name Nirvāna, which is like a crescent” (Kutilā).⁵
1 This passage occurs in the 3rd Patala of the Nirvāna Tantra (Rasika Mohana Chattopādhyāya’s Edition, p. 3), and is in answer to the following question of the Devi: “The Deva who is in the Turīyadhāma (the fourth state) is unquestionably the Paramātmā: if he be placed in the Lotus in the head, how can obeisance be made to him outwardly?” That is, How can the Sādhaka bow to him who is in the head which is itself bowed?
2 The passage as quoted by the Commentator reads “Tadangsham” (his part); in R. M. Chattopādhyāy’s Edition it reads “Tadrūpam” (his form), which reading is here adopted.
3 i.e., Guru, Paramaguru, Parāparaguru, and Parameshthiguru.
4 This passage occurs in Pataia II (p. 3 of R. M. Chattopādhyāya’s Edition), which in its entirety runs thus: “In it (Sahasrāra), O Deveshi, is the Antarātmā, and above it Vāyu, and above Mahānāda is Brahmarandhra. In the Brahmarandhra is Visarga, which is Eternal Peace and Bliss. (Peace—Niranjana, which also means stainless, free from delusion.) Above it is the Devī Shangkhinī, the Creatrix, Maintainer, and Destructress. Having meditated on the Triangle placed below, He thinks that Kailāsa (the paradise of Shiva) is there. O Mahādevī, by placing the undisturbed Chetas (heart or mind) here one lives in bliss to the full term of one’s life (Jīva-jīvī) free from all ills, and for such a one there is no rebirth. Here constantly shines Amā Kalā, which knows neither increase nor decay, and within it, again, is the seventeenth digit, known as Nirvāna Kalā. Within Nirvāna Kalā is the fiery Nibodhikā. Above it is unmanifested Nāda, effulgent as ten million suns. It is the excellent Nirvāna Shakti, the cause of all. In this Shakti it should be known that Shiva who is changeless and free from illusion abides.”
5 See Jnānārnava Tantra, XXIV, 36.
p. 118
The above passage speaks of the presence of Amā Kalā, and so forth, within the triangle in the Chandra Mandala. The Guru therefore is below them and above Antarātmā. Now, if it be asked how it is that, the Kangkāla-malinī having placed the Guru over the Antarātmā, the Guru is spoken of as placed above Hangsah? the answer is that the Antarātmā and the Hangsah are one and the same.
Cf. Guru-dhyāna in Kangkāla-malinī¹: “Meditate on your Guru seated on a shining throne (Siṁhāsana) placed on the excellent Antarātmā between Nāda and Bindu,” etc. Also elsewhere: “Meditate on your Guru, who is the image of Shiva Himself, as seated on the Hangsa-pītha which is Mantramaya.” Also cf. the Annadā-kalpa Tantra²: “Meditate on your Guru in the white Lotus of a thousand petals in the head; He is Parama Shiva seated on the Hangsa among the filaments.”
On a careful consideration of the above authorities, the identity of Hangsa with Antarātmā becomes clear. By the expression “one’s own Guru, who is Parama Shiva,” it is to be understood that Parama Shiva Himself is the Guru.
The following passage, which relates to the Sahasrāra, shows that Parama Shiva is in the triangle: “Within (or near) it (Sahasrāra) is the lightning-like Triangle, and within the Triangle are the two Bindus which make the imperishable Visarga. There in the empty void is Parama Shiva.”
These conflicting views lead to the conclusion that the Guru is within the triangle in the pericarp of the upturned Lotus of twelve petals, below the pericarp of the Sahasrāra and inseparable from it. This has been made clear in the Pādukā-panchaka Stotra.³ From these passages it is not to be inferred that the Guru is within the triangle in the pericarp of the Sahasrāra. The triangular Hangsa is below the middle triangle; otherwise it would conflict with the authority of the Kangkāla-mālinī Tantra.
“He pervades all things as their Lord” (Samāste sarveshah)— i.e., in this pericarp dwells He who is the Lord of All. Now, by saying that Parama Shiva is there it has been said that Īshvara (Lord) is there; then why this repetition? But there is an object in so doing, as the following qualifying expressions will show. The Sarvesha (Lord of All) is the Hangsah—i.e., He is the Mantra “Hang-Sah.”
1 Patala III.
2 This quotation is not traceable in Prasaunakumāra Shāstrī’s Edition of this Tantra.
3 See notes to v. 7 of the Pādukā-Panchaka.
Cf. Prapancha-sāra: “She whose name is Tattva is Chinmātrā¹: when by proximity to the Light she wishes to create,² She becomes massive (Ghanibhūya) and assumes the form of Bindu. Then in time She divides Herself in two: the one on the right is Bindu, and that on the left side is Visarga. The right and left are respectively distinguished as male and female. Hang is the Bindu, and Sah is the Visarga; Bindu is Purusha, and Visarga is Prakriti; Hangsah is the union of Prakriti and Purusha, who pervade the Universe.”
2. The Ādhāra (receptacle) of Sudhā (nectar) is Sudhādhāra, by which is meant the Moon; Āsāra is what flows therefrom, a stream. Now, what flows from the Moon is Nectar, which is silvery; hence the whole word means “the silvery beams of the moon”. This adjective proves that the qualified noun is white or transparent like the moon. Shedding=Vimunchan.
3. Āsāra may, again, mean “what is uttered,” “word”.
Sudhādhāra=receptacle of sweetness, which is a quality of nectar;
1 As appears from the Commentary post, this may be variously translated as follows: “By shedding a constant and profuse stream of nectar resembling the silvery beams of the Moon,” or “By unremitting and nectar-like words strong for the destruction of the darkness of delusion,” or “By constant repetition of the word which is nectar-like in its mercy and contains the essence of the Brahma-mantra.”
2 That is, the Lord as the possessor of the six forms of Aishvaryya.
3 Self-controlled, whose mind is unified with the object of worship.
p. 116
hence Sudhādhārāsāram=nectar-like or ambrosial word. The meaning of Niravadhi would then be “at all times,” and Atitarām would mean “powerful in destroying the darkness of ignorance or delusion”. Vimunchan should then mean “uttering”.
4. Sudhā, again, may mean “nectar of mercy,” and Sāra is “essence”—i.e., the essence of Brahma-mantra; and Dhārā is a stream (continuous repetition) of the merciful word containing the essence of the Brahma-mantra.
“Instructs the Yati,” etc. (Bhagavān nirmala-mater yateh svātma-jnānam dishati).
“Yati.”—He whose mind intently rests upon the Devatā of his worship.
Knowledge by which, etc., Paramātmā (Svātma-jnāna): Svam= Jīvātmā and Ātmā=Paramātmā; and Jnāna¹ that by which one knows—namely, the Tāraka-brahma-mantra, which leads to a knowledge of the Paramātmā, and thereby helps the worshipper to realise the oneness of the Jīvātmā and Paramātmā. Dishati= Upadishati (instructs). The above qualifying expressions imply that the qualified noun is the Guru, as instructions regarding Tāraka-brahma-mantra proceed from Him. So it qualifies “Parama-shiva” in the preceding verse, as He is the Guru. Cf. Guru-tattva-nirūpana in Lalitā-rahasya.
After describing Guru as “the well-known and excellent Purusha who is ever fond² of enjoyment with the Self (Ātma-ratipriya),” it goes on to say: “His beloved is the lustrous One who may be gained with difficulty by the Brahma-vartma (Brahman road). The Parama Brahman is but the effulgence of Her lotus feet.”
By the above passage is meant that the great beauty of Her lotus feet overspreads the heart-lotus of Parama Shiva who is Para Brahman. The place for the feet of the lustrous (Tejo-rūpā) Beloved (Shakti) of the Guru is on the breast of the Guru,³ and not on that of any other Purusha. Hence Paramas Shiva and the Guru are one and the same.
1 Jnānā is spiritual knowledge or wisdom, and Vijnānā is the knowledge of the material world (science).
2 i.e., who is engrossed in.
3 This is in praise of Shakti, without whom Shiva is Shava
(a corpse) and unable to move.
The Nirvāna Tantra also says¹: “In the Lotus in the head is
Mahādeva—the Parama Guru: there is in the three worlds no one,
O Deveshi, who is so deserving of worship as He. O Devi,
meditate on His form,² which includes all the four Gurus.”³
This Parama Shiva is outside the triangle in the pericarp, and above the Hangsah of which we speak below.
The Kangkāla-mālinī Tantra⁴ says: “In the pericarp of this Lotus, O Deveshī, is the Antarātmā, and above it the Guru. The Mandalas of Sun and Moon are also there.” And after having spoken of the presence of different things in their order up to Mahā-shangkhinī, it then proceeds: “Below it, O Deveshi, is the Trikona (triangle), placed in the Mandala of Moon; and having meditated there on the undecaying Kalā, (one should meditate) within it upon the seventeenth Kalā, by name Nirvāna, which is like a crescent” (Kutilā).⁵
1 This passage occurs in the 3rd Patala of the Nirvāna Tantra (Rasika Mohana Chattopādhyāya’s Edition, p. 3), and is in answer to the following question of the Devi: “The Deva who is in the Turīyadhāma (the fourth state) is unquestionably the Paramātmā: if he be placed in the Lotus in the head, how can obeisance be made to him outwardly?” That is, How can the Sādhaka bow to him who is in the head which is itself bowed?
2 The passage as quoted by the Commentator reads “Tadangsham” (his part); in R. M. Chattopādhyāy’s Edition it reads “Tadrūpam” (his form), which reading is here adopted.
3 i.e., Guru, Paramaguru, Parāparaguru, and Parameshthiguru.
4 This passage occurs in Pataia II (p. 3 of R. M. Chattopādhyāya’s Edition), which in its entirety runs thus: “In it (Sahasrāra), O Deveshi, is the Antarātmā, and above it Vāyu, and above Mahānāda is Brahmarandhra. In the Brahmarandhra is Visarga, which is Eternal Peace and Bliss. (Peace—Niranjana, which also means stainless, free from delusion.) Above it is the Devī Shangkhinī, the Creatrix, Maintainer, and Destructress. Having meditated on the Triangle placed below, He thinks that Kailāsa (the paradise of Shiva) is there. O Mahādevī, by placing the undisturbed Chetas (heart or mind) here one lives in bliss to the full term of one’s life (Jīva-jīvī) free from all ills, and for such a one there is no rebirth. Here constantly shines Amā Kalā, which knows neither increase nor decay, and within it, again, is the seventeenth digit, known as Nirvāna Kalā. Within Nirvāna Kalā is the fiery Nibodhikā. Above it is unmanifested Nāda, effulgent as ten million suns. It is the excellent Nirvāna Shakti, the cause of all. In this Shakti it should be known that Shiva who is changeless and free from illusion abides.”
5 See Jnānārnava Tantra, XXIV, 36.
p. 118
The above passage speaks of the presence of Amā Kalā, and so forth, within the triangle in the Chandra Mandala. The Guru therefore is below them and above Antarātmā. Now, if it be asked how it is that, the Kangkāla-malinī having placed the Guru over the Antarātmā, the Guru is spoken of as placed above Hangsah? the answer is that the Antarātmā and the Hangsah are one and the same.
Cf. Guru-dhyāna in Kangkāla-malinī¹: “Meditate on your Guru seated on a shining throne (Siṁhāsana) placed on the excellent Antarātmā between Nāda and Bindu,” etc. Also elsewhere: “Meditate on your Guru, who is the image of Shiva Himself, as seated on the Hangsa-pītha which is Mantramaya.” Also cf. the Annadā-kalpa Tantra²: “Meditate on your Guru in the white Lotus of a thousand petals in the head; He is Parama Shiva seated on the Hangsa among the filaments.”
On a careful consideration of the above authorities, the identity of Hangsa with Antarātmā becomes clear. By the expression “one’s own Guru, who is Parama Shiva,” it is to be understood that Parama Shiva Himself is the Guru.
The following passage, which relates to the Sahasrāra, shows that Parama Shiva is in the triangle: “Within (or near) it (Sahasrāra) is the lightning-like Triangle, and within the Triangle are the two Bindus which make the imperishable Visarga. There in the empty void is Parama Shiva.”
These conflicting views lead to the conclusion that the Guru is within the triangle in the pericarp of the upturned Lotus of twelve petals, below the pericarp of the Sahasrāra and inseparable from it. This has been made clear in the Pādukā-panchaka Stotra.³ From these passages it is not to be inferred that the Guru is within the triangle in the pericarp of the Sahasrāra. The triangular Hangsa is below the middle triangle; otherwise it would conflict with the authority of the Kangkāla-mālinī Tantra.
“He pervades all things as their Lord” (Samāste sarveshah)— i.e., in this pericarp dwells He who is the Lord of All. Now, by saying that Parama Shiva is there it has been said that Īshvara (Lord) is there; then why this repetition? But there is an object in so doing, as the following qualifying expressions will show. The Sarvesha (Lord of All) is the Hangsah—i.e., He is the Mantra “Hang-Sah.”
1 Patala III.
2 This quotation is not traceable in Prasaunakumāra Shāstrī’s Edition of this Tantra.
3 See notes to v. 7 of the Pādukā-Panchaka.
Cf. Prapancha-sāra: “She whose name is Tattva is Chinmātrā¹: when by proximity to the Light she wishes to create,² She becomes massive (Ghanibhūya) and assumes the form of Bindu. Then in time She divides Herself in two: the one on the right is Bindu, and that on the left side is Visarga. The right and left are respectively distinguished as male and female. Hang is the Bindu, and Sah is the Visarga; Bindu is Purusha, and Visarga is Prakriti; Hangsah is the union of Prakriti and Purusha, who pervade the Universe.”
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