The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
Below Visarga (which is the upper part of the Brahmarandhra, in the situation of the fontenelle) and the exit of Shangkhinī Nādī is the Supreme White (or, as some call it, variegated) Lotus of a thousand petals (S.N., vv. 40—49), known as the Sahasrāra, on which are all the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, omitting according to some the Vaidik Lakāra, and according to others Ksha. These are repeated twenty times to make the 1,000, and are read from beginning to end (Anuloma), going round the Lotus from right to left. Here is Mahāvāyu and the Chandramandala, in which is the Supreme Bindu (O), “which is served in secret by all the Devas”. Bindu as such implies Guna, but it also means the void of space, and in its application to the Supreme Light, which is formless, is symbolical of its decaylessness. This subtle Shūnya (Void), which is the Ātmā of all being (Sarvvātmā), is spoken of in S.N., vv. 42—49. Here in the region of the Supreme Lotus is the Guru, the Supreme Shiva Himself. Hence the Shaivas call it Shivasthāna, free of all illusion, and the abode of bliss where the Ātmā is realised. Here, too, is the Supreme Nirvāna Shakti, the Shakti in the Parabindu, and the Mother of all the three worlds. He who has truly and fully known the Sahasrāra is not reborn in
1 V. 121, Lalitā-Sahasranāma.
the Sangsāra, for he has by such knowledge broken all the bonds which held him to it. His earthly stay is limited to the working out of the Karma already commenced and not exhausted. He is the possessor of all Siddhi, is liberated though living (Jīvanmukta), and attains bodiless liberation (Moksha), or Videha Kaivalya, on the dissolution of his physical body.
In the fourteenth verse and commentary thereon of the Ānandalaharī the Deity in the Sahasrāra is described.¹
“She is above all the Tattvas. Every one of the six centres represents a Tattva. Every Tattva has a definite number of rays. The six centres, or Chakras, are divided into three groups. Each of these groups has a knot or apex where converge the Chakras that constitute that group. The names of the groups are derived from those of the Presiding Deities. The following table clearly puts the above:
NO.
NAME OF
CHAKRA
NAME
OF
TATTVA
NO. OF
RAYS
OF
TATTVA
NAME OF
GROUP
NAME OF CON- VERGING POINT
REMARKS
1
2
Mūlādhāra Svādhishthāna
Bhū
Agni
56
62
Agni- Khanda
Rudragranthi
In Sahasrāra the rays are numberless, eternal and unlimited by space.
3
4
Manipūra
Anāhata
Apas
Vāyu
52
54
Sūrya
Vishnugranthi
There is another Chandra here whose rays are countless and ever-shining.
5
6
Vishuddhi Ājnā
Ākāsha Manas
72
64
Chandra
Brahmagranthi
p. 360
1 See Pandit R. Ananta Shāstri’s Ānandalaharī, p. 42 et seq. The passage within quotation marks is taken from that work.
See “Wave of Bliss,” by A. Avalon.
“Lakshmīdhara quotes the Taittirīyāranyaka in support
of his commentary, from which we have taken the notes
above given. The extracts which he makes from ‘Bhairava
Yāmala’ are very valuable. In discoursing about Chandra,
Shiva addresses (vv. 1—17, Chandrajnānavidyāprakarana)
Pārvati, his consort, thus:
“‘Welcome, O Beauty of the three worlds, welcome is Thy question. This knowledge (which I am about to disclose) is the secret of secrets, and I have not imparted it to anyone till now. (But I shall now tell thee the grand secret. Listen, then, with attention’:)
“‘Shrīchakra (in the Sahasrāra) is the form of Parā- shakti. In the middle of this Chakra is a place called Baindava, where she, who is above all Tattvas, rests united with Her Lord Sadāshiva. O Supreme One, the whole Cosmos is a Shrīchakra formed of the twenty-five Tattvas —5 elements + 5 Tanmātras + 10 Indriyas + Mind + Māyā, Shuddhavidyā, Mahesha, and Sadāshiva.¹ Just as it is in Sahasrāra, so cosmically, also, Baindava is above all Tattvas. Devī, the cause of the creation, protection, and destruction, of the universe, rests there ever united with Sadāshiva, who as well is above all Tattvas and ever-shining. Uncountable are the rays that issue forth from Her body; O good one, they emanate in thousands, lacs—nay, crores. But for this light there would be no light at all in the universe . . . 360 of these rays illumine the world in the form of Fire, Sun, and Moon. These 360 rays are made up as follows: Agni (Fire) 118, Sun 106, Moon 136. O Shankari, these three luminaries enlighten the macrocosm as well as the microcosm, and give rise to the calculation of time—the Sun for the day, the Moon for thep. 148p. 149 night, Agni (Fire) occupying a mean position between the two.’¹
1 Māyā to Sadāshiva are the Shiva Tattvas described in the Introduction.—A. A.
“Hence they constitute (or are called) Kāla (time), and the 360 days (rays) make a year. The Veda says: ‘The year itself is a form of the Lord. The Lord of time, the Maker of the world, first created Marīchi (rays), etc., the Munis, the protectors of the world. Everything has come to exist by the command of Parameshvarī.’
“Dindima takes a quite different view of this verse. He interprets it as meaning that, having already described the Antaryāga (inner worship), the author recommends here the worship of the Āvarana Devatās—i.e., Deities residing in each of the Chakras or centres—without propitiating whom it is impossible for the practitioner to lead the Kundalinī through these Chakras. He enumerates all the 360 Deities and describes the mode of worshipping each of them.
“There are other commentators who understand the 360 rays esoterically, and connect the same with the 360 days of the year, and also with the human body. Every commentator quotes the Taittarīyāranyaka, first chapter, to support his views. Thus it seems that Taittarīyāranyaka contains much esoteric matter for the mystic to digest. The first chapter of the Āranyaka referred to is chanted in worshipping the Sun. It is called Ārunam because it treats of Arunā (red-coloured Devī).”²
An Indian physician and Sanskritist has expressed the opinion that better anatomy is given in the Tantras than in the purely medical works of the Hindus.³ It is easier, however, to give a statement of the present and ancient
1 See “Wave of Bliss,” ed. A. Avalon.
2 Pp. 42—45 of Pandit Ananta Shāstrī’s Ānandalaharī.
3 Dr. B. D. Basu, of the Indian Medical Service, in his Prize Essay on the Hindu System of Medicine, published in the Guy’s Hospital Gazette (1889), cited in Vol. XVI, “Sacred Books of the Hindus,” by Professor Benoy Kumar Sarkar.
Below Visarga (which is the upper part of the Brahmarandhra, in the situation of the fontenelle) and the exit of Shangkhinī Nādī is the Supreme White (or, as some call it, variegated) Lotus of a thousand petals (S.N., vv. 40—49), known as the Sahasrāra, on which are all the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, omitting according to some the Vaidik Lakāra, and according to others Ksha. These are repeated twenty times to make the 1,000, and are read from beginning to end (Anuloma), going round the Lotus from right to left. Here is Mahāvāyu and the Chandramandala, in which is the Supreme Bindu (O), “which is served in secret by all the Devas”. Bindu as such implies Guna, but it also means the void of space, and in its application to the Supreme Light, which is formless, is symbolical of its decaylessness. This subtle Shūnya (Void), which is the Ātmā of all being (Sarvvātmā), is spoken of in S.N., vv. 42—49. Here in the region of the Supreme Lotus is the Guru, the Supreme Shiva Himself. Hence the Shaivas call it Shivasthāna, free of all illusion, and the abode of bliss where the Ātmā is realised. Here, too, is the Supreme Nirvāna Shakti, the Shakti in the Parabindu, and the Mother of all the three worlds. He who has truly and fully known the Sahasrāra is not reborn in
1 V. 121, Lalitā-Sahasranāma.
the Sangsāra, for he has by such knowledge broken all the bonds which held him to it. His earthly stay is limited to the working out of the Karma already commenced and not exhausted. He is the possessor of all Siddhi, is liberated though living (Jīvanmukta), and attains bodiless liberation (Moksha), or Videha Kaivalya, on the dissolution of his physical body.
In the fourteenth verse and commentary thereon of the Ānandalaharī the Deity in the Sahasrāra is described.¹
“She is above all the Tattvas. Every one of the six centres represents a Tattva. Every Tattva has a definite number of rays. The six centres, or Chakras, are divided into three groups. Each of these groups has a knot or apex where converge the Chakras that constitute that group. The names of the groups are derived from those of the Presiding Deities. The following table clearly puts the above:
NO.
NAME OF
CHAKRA
NAME
OF
TATTVA
NO. OF
RAYS
OF
TATTVA
NAME OF
GROUP
NAME OF CON- VERGING POINT
REMARKS
1
2
Mūlādhāra Svādhishthāna
Bhū
Agni
56
62
Agni- Khanda
Rudragranthi
In Sahasrāra the rays are numberless, eternal and unlimited by space.
3
4
Manipūra
Anāhata
Apas
Vāyu
52
54
Sūrya
Vishnugranthi
There is another Chandra here whose rays are countless and ever-shining.
5
6
Vishuddhi Ājnā
Ākāsha Manas
72
64
Chandra
Brahmagranthi
p. 360
1 See Pandit R. Ananta Shāstri’s Ānandalaharī, p. 42 et seq. The passage within quotation marks is taken from that work.
See “Wave of Bliss,” by A. Avalon.
“Lakshmīdhara quotes the Taittirīyāranyaka in support
of his commentary, from which we have taken the notes
above given. The extracts which he makes from ‘Bhairava
Yāmala’ are very valuable. In discoursing about Chandra,
Shiva addresses (vv. 1—17, Chandrajnānavidyāprakarana)
Pārvati, his consort, thus:
“‘Welcome, O Beauty of the three worlds, welcome is Thy question. This knowledge (which I am about to disclose) is the secret of secrets, and I have not imparted it to anyone till now. (But I shall now tell thee the grand secret. Listen, then, with attention’:)
“‘Shrīchakra (in the Sahasrāra) is the form of Parā- shakti. In the middle of this Chakra is a place called Baindava, where she, who is above all Tattvas, rests united with Her Lord Sadāshiva. O Supreme One, the whole Cosmos is a Shrīchakra formed of the twenty-five Tattvas —5 elements + 5 Tanmātras + 10 Indriyas + Mind + Māyā, Shuddhavidyā, Mahesha, and Sadāshiva.¹ Just as it is in Sahasrāra, so cosmically, also, Baindava is above all Tattvas. Devī, the cause of the creation, protection, and destruction, of the universe, rests there ever united with Sadāshiva, who as well is above all Tattvas and ever-shining. Uncountable are the rays that issue forth from Her body; O good one, they emanate in thousands, lacs—nay, crores. But for this light there would be no light at all in the universe . . . 360 of these rays illumine the world in the form of Fire, Sun, and Moon. These 360 rays are made up as follows: Agni (Fire) 118, Sun 106, Moon 136. O Shankari, these three luminaries enlighten the macrocosm as well as the microcosm, and give rise to the calculation of time—the Sun for the day, the Moon for thep. 148p. 149 night, Agni (Fire) occupying a mean position between the two.’¹
1 Māyā to Sadāshiva are the Shiva Tattvas described in the Introduction.—A. A.
“Hence they constitute (or are called) Kāla (time), and the 360 days (rays) make a year. The Veda says: ‘The year itself is a form of the Lord. The Lord of time, the Maker of the world, first created Marīchi (rays), etc., the Munis, the protectors of the world. Everything has come to exist by the command of Parameshvarī.’
“Dindima takes a quite different view of this verse. He interprets it as meaning that, having already described the Antaryāga (inner worship), the author recommends here the worship of the Āvarana Devatās—i.e., Deities residing in each of the Chakras or centres—without propitiating whom it is impossible for the practitioner to lead the Kundalinī through these Chakras. He enumerates all the 360 Deities and describes the mode of worshipping each of them.
“There are other commentators who understand the 360 rays esoterically, and connect the same with the 360 days of the year, and also with the human body. Every commentator quotes the Taittarīyāranyaka, first chapter, to support his views. Thus it seems that Taittarīyāranyaka contains much esoteric matter for the mystic to digest. The first chapter of the Āranyaka referred to is chanted in worshipping the Sun. It is called Ārunam because it treats of Arunā (red-coloured Devī).”²
An Indian physician and Sanskritist has expressed the opinion that better anatomy is given in the Tantras than in the purely medical works of the Hindus.³ It is easier, however, to give a statement of the present and ancient
1 See “Wave of Bliss,” ed. A. Avalon.
2 Pp. 42—45 of Pandit Ananta Shāstrī’s Ānandalaharī.
3 Dr. B. D. Basu, of the Indian Medical Service, in his Prize Essay on the Hindu System of Medicine, published in the Guy’s Hospital Gazette (1889), cited in Vol. XVI, “Sacred Books of the Hindus,” by Professor Benoy Kumar Sarkar.
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