Introduction

For the benefit of those who do not know about the Paramacharya here is a brief biographical note:

Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal (1894 - 1994), also called the Paramacharya, was the
sage of Kanchi in Tamilnadu, India, who was so simple, humble, profound, enlightened, compassionate,
scholarly and full of Grace that he naturally and effortlessly touched the hearts of men and women, prince
and pauper, around the world. Ascending to the Headship of the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt at the age of
thirteen as the 68th pontiff in the line of succession from Adi Sankara, he ministered to the needs of the
afflicted and the distressed and spread the message of compassion and of a return to the most treasured
ancient values. After a mission like this full of action for almost half a century which included a 30-year
walking pilgrimage of the entire subcontinent of India, he laid down his headship and devoted his time, for
the next forty years, to severe penance for universal welfare. Not one of those thousands who had his
darshan every day missed to feel the soul-stirring presence of 'the Living God' in their veins.

A small note on the objective of this digest.

The name Digest itself is too much of a claim by this writer, who is currently
studying the discourses in Tamil (on Soundaryalahari a 100-sloka piece, in Sanskrit)
of the Paramacharya, in Deivathin Kural meaning, The Voice of God in Tamil, in
the sixth volume of the seven-volume series of that name, recorded by and, rewritten
in, the inimitable style of, Ra. Ganapathi. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, it appears
has published an English summary of this. But instead of trying to read that English
version, I decided to test myself whether I had understood at least a part of the
Acharyas thoughts. The best way of testing oneself is to try to communicate to others.
There are a number of readers interested in the subject. Some of them know Tamil and
probably would have read Ra Ganapathis book in the original. Some others may have
read the English version. The purpose of this digest is TO BRING THE ADVAITA PART
(and the relevant questions that arise usually in the discussions that are very common
in the discussions on advaita) TO THE FOCUS AND ACQUAINT OURSELVES WITH THE
PARAMACHARYAS VIEWS, WONDERFUL ELABORATIONS AND COMMENTS ON THE
SUBJECT. In consonance with this objective, it is not the intention to cover all the
slokas even out of the 42, the only ones which the Paramacharya himself has covered
in full (he has covered another 37 in part, another 10 just in passing, and has not
touched at all the remaining 11, which are sloka Nos.19, 32, 68, 72, 76 to 81, 85). Even
within the exposition of a particular sloka, large portions may have to be omitted by
me. In spite of all this the Digest contrary to the meaning of the word - is likely to
be rather long. It is broken into 20 (only an estimate as of now) web pages (around
5000 words each). Note that the original extends to 744 pages (pp.577 to 1321 of the
sixth volume). The attempt shall be made, therefore, to be as brief as possible. But,
wherever it is found that the Paramacharyas already lucidly forceful and simple
explanations cannot be digested through a further precis or summary, one will have
to resort to almost a close (or free !) translation of his words as reported by Ra.
Ganapathi. And also note that, (1) I, as the digest writer, cannot be expected to dwell
on those portions of the discourses that are not reasonably clear to me, and (2) it may
be easy to pull out just a sentence here or there from what I write and see wrong or
absurd meanings in it; if this happens let us remember to go back to the Paramacharya
himself and try to understand his explanations in entirety, rather than spend time at
straws in VKs imperfect digest. With these preliminary words let me start on this
venture, which is actually a swAdhyAya-yajna, that is, a yajna of study. May the
Paramacharya himself as well as my own Guru and father, (late) Sri R. Visvanatha
Sastri, guide me in this endeavour and see that I dont misrepresent either the
Paramacharya or the Soundaryalahari !

On the organization of the Digest

The entire exposition is by the Paramacharya. So the first person pronoun,
wherever it occurs, is his. The I of advaita-vedanta is always within quotes.
Additional explanations given by Ra. Ganapathi are so acknowledged.
Parenthetical remarks by him, like with a smile, after a small pause etc. that
all refer to the speaker, the Paramacharya, are repeated, if at all, as they are in
the original, within parentheses. My own remarks, if any, shall be properly
demarcated. And note that the Paramacharya most often refers to Adi
Sankaracharya as Our Acharya.

(V. Krishnamurthy)




A Digest of Paramacharyas Discourses on Soundaryalahari

-1-

How could Adi Sankara, who preached the jnAna mArga, have
promoted this work (Soundaryalahari) of bhakti? It cannot be his, say
some who profess Philosophy. But our Acharya was not a professor
who isolated philosophy as a separate discipline. Having written very
profoundly on advaita and its deepest implications in his several
Bhashyas and the other works of his, he promoted the spiritual pursuit
of the common man by writing and talking about the need to follow
ones swadharma by Karma and Bhakti. His intent was to raise the
common man from his own level. For this purpose he went from one
pilgrim centre to another all his life and composed hymns after hymns
and also established yantras in temples.
The philosophers argue: JnAni says everything is One. But Bhakti
can happen only when there is the duality of the devotee and the deity.
Therefore, they say, the jnAni can never be a bhakta. These
philosophers cannot themselves claim to have the Enlightenment of
advaita ! But there have been those who could have so claimed, like the
sage Suka, Madhusudana Saraswati or Sadasiva-brahmam. If we carefully
study their lives we will know that they were devotees of God in the
fullest sense of the word and have themselves written works of Bhakti.
Even in our own times Ramakrishna Paramahamsa has been a great
devotee of Mother Goddess and Ramana Maharishi has done works of
devotion on God Arunachalesvara. Again, on the other side, great
devotees like Manikka-vasagar, Nammazhvar, Arunagiri-nathar,
Tayumanavar, etc. have themselves been convinced advaitins, and this
is reflected in innumerable flashes in their compositions.
If a jnAni should not do a Bhakti composition, then I would say that he should not
also do a work of jnAna. Why am I saying this? Let us go back to the definition of a
jnAni. The world is all mAyA; the thinking of people as if they were separate separate
jIvAtmAs is nothing but Ignorance - with such a conviction through personal
experience, they have thrown away that Ignorance as well as its basic locus, the mind,
and they live in the non-dualistic state of I am everything such should be the status
of the jnAni; shouldnt it be so? Such a person preaching, or writing a book, even if it be
about the subject of jnAna is it not a contradiction? Unless such a person thinks there is
a world outside of him and there are jIvAtmAs outside, how can he think of teaching?
Teaching whom? And when we look at it this way, all those great teachers of jnAna
should really not be jnAnis ! What power will there be for such a teaching about jnAna
from teachers who are not jnAnis themselves?
-2-

On the other hand what do we observe in our experience? Whether it is the teaching
about jnAna in the Gita, or the Viveka Chudamani of our Acharya, or the Avadhuta Gita
of Sri Dattatreya or the teaching in the Yoga-vASiShTa, or a song of Tayumanavar even
when we just read these we feel we are being taken beyond the curtain created by mAyA to
some distant peaceful state of Calm. Just by reading, in ones spiritually ripe stage, such
teachings, there have been people who have renounced the world and reached the state of
Bliss-in-one-Self !. If these teachings had not been written from that spiritual apex of
Experiential Excellence, how could such things have ever happened?
Therefore, however much by your intellectual logic, you argue whether a jnAni can
get bhakti, how the jnAni can do any preaching and so such possibilities cannot exist and
so on, these are certainly happening, by the Will of the Lord which is beyond the Possible
and the Impossible.
It is only the Play of the Lord that the jnAni, who is non-dualistic internally,
appears to do things in the dualistic world. His mind may have vanished, mAyA might have
been transcended by him; but that does not mean that the outside world of jIvAtmAs has
disintegrated. What do we gather from this? There is a Super-Mind which does all this
and in some mysterious way is compering and directing the entire universe. And it also
means that it is the same Supra-Mind that is making the minds of men revolve in the
illusion of mAyA. It is that Power which is known in advaita scriptures as saguNa-
brahman or Isvara. In the scriptures devoted to shakti or Shiva , whenever they call the
Actionless nirguNa-brahman as Shivam they call this saguNa-brahman as shakti,
parA-shakti or ambAL. Just as that nirguNa-brahman exhibits itself and acts as the
saguNa-brahman, so also, it must be presumed, that the enlightened jnAni also does his
external actions and that again, is the work of the saguNa-brahman!
What is the path of jnAna? It is the effort through self-enquiry and meditation for
the eradication of the mind and vanquishing of mAyA. But the other path is to dedicate
oneself and all ones thoughts and actions to that very parA-shakti (who produced this
mAyA on us) with an attitude of devotion. It is like giving the house-key to the thief himself
! However much the parA-shakti may play with you and toss you and your mind hither
and thither, Her infinite compassion cannot be negated. Only when we separate and rejoin,
we realise the value of that union. To pray to Her for that reunion and for Her to get us
back to Her in answer to our prayers this is the great Leela of Duality wherein She
exhibits Her Infinite Compassion ! So when one prays with Bhakti for such release She
releases Him by giving Him that Wisdom of Enlightenment.
It is wrong to think that the goal of Bhakti lies in the dualistic attitude of being
separate from God. It is by this wrong assumption that people ask the question: How can a
jnAni exhibit Bhakti? In the very path of Bhakti wherein it appears there is an embedded
duality, the same Bhakti would lead the practitioner to the stage where he will ask: Oh God
! May I be one with You ! This is the subtle point which the questioning people miss. When
that stage comes to the devotee, the very parA-shakti known as kArya-brahman or saguNa-
brahman will bless him with that jnAna that takes him to the non-dual kAraNa-brahman
or nirguNa-brahman.
Not everybody can practise the path of jnAna that brings the realisation of the
mahA-vAkyas by sravaNa (hearing), manana (thinking and recalling) and nididhyAsana
(contemplating). Only when the mind vanishes one can realise the Self as the Absolute
brahman. If that is so, the real question is: How to kill the truant mind, which refuses to be
subdued, much less vanquished ? The very effort of vanquishing the mind has to be done
by the mind only. How can it kill itself ? The palm can slap another; but it cannot slap
itself. Though we are thus brought to a dilemma, there is a supreme power which has
created all these minds. So instead of self-effort to kill our minds, we should leave it to the
parA-shakti and surrender to Her. Instead of falling at the feet of the witness for the
prosecution we fall at the feet of the prosecutor himself ! Then She will help us quell the
mind; She will grace us with the necessary jnAna.
-3-

Either She might totally eradicate your mind and give you the peaceful state of I
am shiva (shivoham) or She might tell you from within:
Look, after all, all this is My Play. The Play appears real to you because of mAyA.
I shall totally erase that mAyA-view for you. Then you can also be like me, with that calm
non-dual bliss inside and having on the outside a mind which is untouched by mAyA.
Thereby you can also be a witness to all this worldly Dance. You will thus see yourself in
Me and see Me in all the worldly multiplicities. In other words instead of making the mind
non-existent, your mind will then be full of Me
And She might make you just exactly that way. But I know your worry. You
constantly worry about the impossibility of transcending mAyA, of eradicationg this
worldly vision and of vanquishing the mind. You keep worrying to the extent of almost
weeping over it. To such a weiling seeker She replies:
Why do you worry and weep like this? You are worrying that you cannot discard
the world from your view. But you forget that the world was not your making. This Sun
and Moon, mountains, trees, oceans, animal kingdom, and the millions of living beings and
categories all this was not created by you.
When that is so, you are worrying about the little you that you are, and you
forget that this little you also was not your creation. Instead of thinking all this is not only
one but one with Me, your mAyA-clouded view makes you think they are all different and
distinct. And even that mAyA-view that clouds you, again was not your making!
My dear child, you are caught up in the web of the world, a mind and a mAya-
cloud -- all this is My making. Did I not make Krishna say to you: mama mAyA
duratyayA ? (My mAyA is intranscendable). I have also told you there that it is daivI
(made by the Power of God). If you had made it all, then you could have overcome them.
But it was all made by Me in the fullness of Power.
You jIvas have only little fragments of that Power. So if you cannot eradicate the
world, the mind and the mAya that I have made, you dont have to cry over it. It is not in
your Power. It has to take place only by My Grace. Come nearer to Me through Devotion !
I shall do the eradication in proper doses for you.
That somebody is able to control his mind and is able to walk on the path of jnAna
that again is My own Grace. It is I who have granted that privilege to him. What appears
as many and different must be seen as one. To crave for that view is what is called
advaita-vAsanA. One gets it only by My Grace.
(Now the Paramacharya, who has been talking in the words of the Mother Goddess,
continues on his own).
There is another novelty here. Even the jnAni who has had the non-dual
Enlightenment, still enjoys the play of mAyA. He sees the different things; but knows they
are all one. Just as a spectator of a play who is not playing any role in it, the jnAni enjoys
the playful novelties of mAyA and revels in his devotion to that parA-Sakthi who is the
author of it all. To be keeping such jnAnis in this dual-non-dual state is also the work of
Mother Goddess. Mark it. It is not that the jnAni is showing Devotion just for the sake of
others only. No, By himself he is indeed thinking
( I think the Paramacharya is here
letting out an autobiographical tip ! -- VK)

What a pleasure to witness this dualistic play of the non-dualistic One ! What a
multiplicity of beauty, panoramic variety and continuity of Love ! . Thus revelling in that
blissful vision, he continues to pour out his own love (bhakti) to that Transcendental Power
from the bottom of his heart. This tribute to the jnAni has been given by the great Teacher
Suka himself.
(Cf. Bhagavatam 1-7-10:
AtmArAmAshca munayaH nirgranthA apy-urukrame;
kurvanty-ahaitukIm bhaktim itham-bhUta-guNo hariH. meaning,
Those who revel in the Self, even though rid of all attachments,
show a causeless bhakti towards the Lord, just naturally.)

On the one hand the devotee who has yet to get the Enlightenment enjoys the
devotional state for the very reason of getting the Enlightenment; on the other hand, the
one who is already enlightened and is a jIvan-mukta shows his bhakti for the sake of
enjoyment of that bhakti and not for any other reward or purpose.

-4-

(The Paramacharya continues to speak the words, as if, of the Goddess):
Thus I am the One who gives this new Bhakti in the state of jnAna. And I will be
the One who will give you that jnAna to you, my devotee, when the time is ripe. Dont you
worry. You have come to Me as your Mother. I will take care of you. The bondage in
which I threw you shall be removed from you by Myself. You need not have to keep on
crying for Release. Once you know I am the only One there is, hold on to that steadfastly;
there is no question of Release thereafter. Release from what?
Let jnAnis think that they will get the Ultimate Peace only when the duality-
awareness goes away from them and let them go their own way of Enquiry of the Self.
When you feel you dont have the interest or the stamina to go that way, dont feel bad or
incomplete. Come through the path of Love. See the multiplicities. But instead of seeing
them as different and separate, try not to forget that the basis of all of them is the single
Me. Love Me from your heart and view everything through Love. Encompass everything in
Love. I shall raise you to the Ultimate Enlightenment by My Love and Grace.
Thus arises the godly experience that is blessed by the Mother Goddess. By Mother
Goddess I also mean the Lord-God, the paramAtmA, and also the individual favourite
deity of each of us. It is the same supreme Power that engulfs you into the mAyA, that
graces you as saguNa-brahman and also takes you to that blissful state of jnAna.
Finally let me also say this. By the very fact that the jnAni writes a book on jnAna, it
must follow that he should also write on Bhakti. For, writing a book means communicating
with others. So that means he has accepted the presence of a world of duality in which he
has to communicate and educate. The jnAni as he is, must have already descended to this
world of duality and decided to raise the commonfolk to his level. He who knows that the
source of all this duality is that Infinite Compassionate Godprinciple, would ipso facto
have no compunctions for making a hymn of praise for that Ultimate in Its saguNa form.
And he also knows that it is that very same Power that prods him on to make this hymn.
So where is the contradiction here?
But if you contend that he is writing jnAna works for the benefit of the world
loka-sangrahArtham without any kartRtva-buddhi -- the awareness of doership then
with the same non-awareness of doership he can write both jnAna works and bhakti works.
What and where is the difference? The World-welfare (loka-kalyANam) is the purpose. It
is the Lord who is effecting the welfare through the hands and mouth of these chosen
jnAnis. And the most efficient way for the jnAni, the Lord knows, to reach the masses, is
to propagate hymns of praise of the divine, pilgrimage to holy centers, installation of mystic
yantras, and all the way down to ritual worship.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are three superlative hymns of praise on Mother Goddess in the form of
Lalita. Chronologically they are: AryA-dvishati (also called lalitA-stava-ratnam) a 200-
sloka piece by Sage Durvasa; Soundarya-lahari which is actually made up of two parts
Ananda-lahari , a 41-sloka piece brought from Kailas by Adi Sankara and Soundarya-
lahari the 59-sloka piece composed by Adi Sankara himself, the two pieces together going
by the popular name of Soundarya lahari by Adi Sankara; and Panca-shati (a 500-sloka
piece) by the poet Muka.
Durvasas Arya-dvishati gives us a spiritual experience of the presence of the
Almighty-Goddess in the very words of AryA-dvishati. In this he describes the complicated
structure of the Sri-chakra . The Goddesss Grace descends on those who read and recite
such hymns of praise composed by great devotees who have already merited the descent of
Her Grace on them. Durvasa, Adi Sankara and Muka are three such. Such Grace exhibits
itself first in the eloquence of these hymns. And the result is, the devotee who revels in the
recitation and repetition of these hymns, himself gets that eloquence and flow of language
and of speech.
The Goddess gave such an eloquence to Muka. Muka means dumb. We do not
know what name he had before. But from the moment he composed the five hundred
slokas in Her praise, we have known him as the poet Muka !. Both the AryA-dvishati and
the MUka-pancashati bring to our vision the majestic splendour of the form of Mother
Goddess like an expert painters masterly painting. The third one, the Soundarya-lahari is
the crowning glory of all three and of all hymns of praise of the Mother Supreme.

-5-

Of Soundaryalahari it may be said that there never was one like it, nor ever will be.
It has a perennial charm that does not satiate. And its majestic eloquence is unbeatable. In
his bhaja-govindam our Acharya uses very elementary words because it happens to be the
alphabet of Vedanta. But here he is describing the undescribable. So he uses words very
precisely. Consequently the vocabulary turns out to be difficult. But the words chosen
only add to the lilting charm of the poetry that he weaves. The metre used is shikariNI,
meaning that which is at the apex. It has 17 syllables for each of the four lines.

Through the descriptions of the Goddesss form that make up the latter 59 slokas,
he brings ambaal right before our mental eyes in all Her majesty, grace and splendour and
overwhelms us by the bliss which the very words and metaphors pour on us. Just as a
master-sculptor dedicates each movement of his chisel to the object of his sculpture, he
transforms each word, as it were, by his own spiritual experience of the Goddess and thus
in turn we readers feel the words themselves constitute the Goddess.

It is not only blissful poetry, but blessed poetry. Such blessedness arises not because
of any flowery language, but by the fact the Acharya is himself blessed ! Mother, this
hymn is nothing but a composition of yours in your own words (tvadIyAbhir-vAgbhiH
tava janani vAcAm stutir-iyam Verse no.100), says he in the concluding line.
Inspirations of great saints and sages, not only benefit mankind by their inspired poetry,
but bring to successive generations, an inspired contact with the great men, even long after
they have passed away. Thus our Acharya in enabling us to have a darshan of the
Goddess herself, gives us, in addition, a darshan of himself !

The concept of intense devotion does not care for the language used, or for the
manner of worship. It is the intensity of devotion and depth of feeling that matter. But
getting that intensity and depth is the most difficult thing. That is exactly what eludes us.
Now that is where the beauty of such blessed poetry like Soundaryalahari excels. Whether
you understand it or not, whether you pronounce the words correctly or not, the very
attempt itself of reciting it produces in you the needed bhakti! This is the word-power of
the words of such blessed poetry. The vibrations of the words give us all the material and
spiritual success. We have only to keep the objective of bhakti steadfast in our minds.
Everything else just follows.

Of all the stotras that our Acharya has done, it is the Soundaryalahari that is the
topmost. The aShTottara-nAmAvaLi of the Acharya has the nAmA soundarya-laharI-
mukhya-bahu-stotra- vidhAyakAya namaH meaning: prostrations to the one who
composed many stotras with soundaryalaharI as the prime one. Of the bhAshyas that he
wrote, brahma-sUtra-bhAshya towers supreme; of his expository works, viveka-
chUDAmaNi is prime and of all his works of bhakti, the Soundarya-laharI tops the list.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SundarI, the beautiful, is Her name. Tripura-sundari or mahA-tripura-sundari
both derived from the root name, SundarI, is the Goddess propitiated by the great mantra
called shri-vidyA. Of the many names of ambaal, such as PArvatI, durgA, KALI, BAlA,
BhuvaneshvarI, etc., it is the sundari name that goes with RAja-rAjesvari, the Queen-
name of all the scriptures that talk of and dwell on the Mother Goddess. Sage
Ramakrishna has said: I have seen many forms of Gods and Goddesses; but I have never
seen one more charming than Tripura-sundari ! The word soundaryam pertains to
SundarI and means The Beauty.

But the beauty of it all is, that the name Tripura-sundarI or any of the other
(synonymous) names of the same form, namely, LalitA, RAja-rAjeshvarI, KAmAkshI
or KaAmeshvarI do not occur anywhere in the text, including its title ! Even the other
descriptive names of the Goddess like hima-giri-sutA (daughter of Himalaya mountain),
or simply, giri-sutA, shivA, bhavAnI, umA, satI, pArvatI, chanDI occur only at one or
two places. General attributed names, like jananI, mAtA, ambA, devI meaning either
mother or goddess, -- which commonly go with all feminine deities -- occur at a few
more places, but even they are few.

While he begins with shivaH-shaktyA, the most potent name of ambaal, namely
shakti, gets mentioned. Shakti means power. It is the absolute brahmans power or
energy that ambaal personifies. So this name tells everything about the Goddess. And it
comes in the very beginning, but never after.
(In sloka no.32, the word shakti appears
but there it is a code-word for a syllable in ambaals mantra).

Finally, one more point regarding occurrence of names. The role of a woman has
three stages: as daughter, as wife, as mother. The last two roles certainly do get mentioned
very often in stotras pertaining to a feminine deity. But the Soundaryalahari uses the
daughter-reference such as himagiri-sute, tuhina-giri-kanye, more often. And again,
when the first part of 41 slokas ends, he ends by referring to janaka-jananI , the mother-
father role of both Isvara and IsvarI of the whole universe.

-6-

(This part, which digests pp.675 to 686 of the original, is entitled: The title: Ananda-
lahari advaitam and ShAktam. The matter was rather terse to me. But the
Paramacharya himself concludes by saying: What is finally to be understood as the
essence is the following: . I use this summary of his own and mostly translate it as
closely as I can. VK)

The shAkta philosophy (ShAktam) talks of Shivam in place of the actionless
substratum Brahman. Even if it is actionless, it is Cit, knowledge, says advaita. In place
of this Cit, ShAktam talks of Cit-Shakti or simply, Shakti. The Brahman of advaita
peacefully rests in itself. In ShAktam, on the other hand, the peaceful Shivam has the
Shakti, power or energy, that manifests as knowledge potential (Cit-Shakti) and this
manifestation is its play as the multiplicity of the universe. In advaita there is no second.
What appears as the universe is only an appearance created by mAyA. MAyA has no
relationship with Brahman. What it is, and how it came all this is inexplainable. That
research is not necessary. What is needed is how to get out of it and obtain the personal
realisation of the basic Brahman behind. And hence the path of jnAna. In ShAktam, it is
claimed that the play of duality starts by the Will of Shivam coupled with Shakti. Even
here there is a role of mAyA-Shakti. But we shall dwell on it later.

It is Brahman that appears as jIva, through the effect of mAyA. If one follows the
path of jnAna and transcends mAyA, then jIva realises itself as Brahman, says advaita. In
ShAktam also it says that the jIva and Shivam are basically the same and actually become
the same in the state of moksha; particularly in the Shri-vidyA scriptures it is specifically
accepted so. Dvaitam, VishishhTAdvaitam, SiddhAnta-shaivam (Shaiva-siddhantam),
ShrIkaNTa-shaivam (ShivAdvaitam), Kashmiri Saivism in this order, the philosophies
start from a concept totally distinct from advaita, gradually nearing and ultimately
becoming very near to advaita.

And in ShrIvidyA the identity of jiva with Brahman is clearly stipulated. The two
philosophies differ only in the concept of creation. In advaita, duality is said to be only an
imagination and so is to be totally negated. In shAkta philosophies, duality is said to be
created by parA-Shakti, the energy of Brahman. It is also the parA-Shakti that grants the
moksha, which is the identity of Brahman and jIva in eternal peaceful bliss. This bliss is
called shivAnandam and/or shAntAnandam in the shaivite schools, and cidAnandam in
the shAkta schools.

There is no difference in the concept of moksha as the realisation of the one-ness of
jIva and Brahman, between advaita schools and the Shri-vidyA tantra of the shAkta
schools. The philosophy of advaita takes creation as a vivarta (a false appearance,
manifestation, of reality) whereas the Shri-vidyA school takes it as AbhAsa (an
effulgence of a reflection). That the sun appears as a reflection in water is AbhAsa. In
the same way the universal Cit-Shakti reflects itself with a limitation and becomes the jIva
as well as the universe -- this is the shAkta concept of creation. But without the original
object called the Sun there could be no reflection. So in basics it comes back to the advaita
concept. But the shAkta holds that to the extent there is an object with its reflection, there
is a phenomenal reality for jIva and the universe. It does not hold that it is mithyA which
is the advaitins contention.

It is the latter part of Soundaryalahari that dwells on the beauty (saundaryam) of
ambaals form.The former part dwells on Her Shakti. It is called Ananda-lahari. The
identity between Shakti and Cit is referred to in the word cidAnandalaharI in verse no.8
of Anandalahari. bhajanti tvAm dhanyAH katicana cidAnanda-laharIm, meaning, Only
the most fortunate few (recognize you and) worship you as the flood of knowledge-bliss
(cidAnanda). Note here that while for every reader of the Soundaryalahari portion the
whole beauty of Mother Goddess is fully experiential, in the Anandalahari portion the
people who can experience the bliss of the Shakti-lahari, that is, the cidAnanda-lahari, are
only the few fortunate (katicana dhanyAH) !

The close correlation between advaita and the various shAkta schools, particularly
the Shri-vidyA tantra school, has been used by our Acharya who is aware that many
cannot follow the abstract path of jnAna. And that is why perhaps he chalks out a path
whereby one starts from the leela of creation of duality and goes forward along the path
of Shri-vidyA and finally ends up in advaita itself. In accordance with this, even when he
composed many stotras on Shiva and VishNu, he never goes deep into the shivAgama or
vaishNava-Agama nuances but dwells mainly on the bhakti and consequent emotions only.
On the other hand when he worked on Soundarya-lahari, the first part, Anandalahari,
even though it is said that he only brought it (from Kailas) and not composed it is totally
a shAkta scripture. The sum and substance of the twin work of Ananda-lahari and
Soundarya-lahari seems to be: advaita is The path; if not, the next (alternative) is Shri-
vidyA !

In fact, Shri-vidyA is the connecting cord between advaita and all that is dvaita. It
unifies the shAntam-Shivam-advaitam with Shakti, the creator of duality, and therefore, of
the universe. In LalitA-sahasranAma also, the last name is lalitAmbikA and the last but
one is shiva-shakty-aikya-rUpiNI. And this takes us to the very beginning sloka of
Soundarya-lahari !

-7-


Shivas-ShaktyA yukto yadi bhavati shaktaH prabhavitum
na ced-evam devo na khalu kushalaH spanditum-api /
atas-tvAm-ArAdhyAm hari-hara-virinchAdibhir-api
praNantum stotum vA katham-akRtapuNyaH prabhavati // 1 //
(The Paramacharya stays on this sloka
from p.687 to p.806 in the original.
So we are likely to have several sections,
upto DPDS 17, on this. VK)
ShaktyA yuktaH bhavati yadi Only if yoked with shakti
ShivaH devaH (even) Lord shiva
shaktaH has the ability
prabhavitum to create the world;
evam na cet -- if not so (yoked),
kushalaH na (He) is not capable
spanditum api even to make a move.
khalu Isnt it so?
ataH Therefore,
katham prabhavati how is it possible
akRta-puNyaH (for) one who has not accrued any (spiritual) merits
praNantum to do prostrations to
stotum vA -- >or to praise (by hymns)
tvAm You
hari-hara-virinchAdibhir-api ArAdhyAm
who are worshipped even by Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma and the like?

(To get the total meaning, please read the English portions above in the order in which they
are presented above. The Paramacharya does the same thing, but presents it in the order in
which it will make sense in the Tamil language. He usually does not give the total meaning
in one go. VK)

Here is embedded the most important ShAkta doctrine that the parAshakti is higher
than the Triad of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. It is only by Her will and action that even the
actionless nirguNa Shivam gets into action through the Triad and the cosmic process of
presentation of Duality starts. Everything in the universe moves because of You, Oh
parAshakti; when that is so, even the prostration to you or praise of you by a devotee does
not happen by itself. And then by implication our Acharya brings out the point that when
ambaal grants the power to somebody of praising Her, She does not give it to all and
sundry but only to those who have spiritual merits.

And again then, by one more implication, one can take it to mean that the one who
is doing the stotra now, namely, the Acharya himself, must, ipso facto, be of great spiritual
merit. Is that what he means? Is he so devoid of humility that he praises himself by
implication? No. Later in sloka 57 he is going to say: snapaya kRpayA mAm-api ( that is,
pour your glance of compassion, EVEN on poor me) and again in sloka 84, mamApi
shirasi dayayA dehi caraNau (EVEN on my head please place your feet). So the only way
we should interpret the present sloka is: You can move even the immutable Shivam into
action. It is You therefore who have given even me, who does not have any spiritual merit,
the capability that you usually grant only to the meritorious ! It is You who have moved my
senses of speech into the action of hymnising You !

Prostration is by the body (kAyam). Praising through a hymn is by speech (vAk). By
implication the mind (manas) is also mentioned. Thus in the very first sloka the dedication
to Her by manas, vAk and kAyam has been done. And naturally, the completeion of this
dedication in the form of Atma-samarpaNam dedication of ones self in fullness
comes in the very last sloka (#100).

There is a parallel observation in the very first sloka of Viveka-chUDAmaNi.
muktir-no-shata-koTi-janma-sukRtaiH puNyair-vinA labhyate, meaning, Unless one
has earned spiritual merit in 100 crores of births, one cannot go the jnAna mArga and
obtain moksha. But note: our Acharya does not say explicitly, in this major work of
bhakti, that only by spiritual merit you can go along the path of Bhakti or jnAna or for
that matter any noble path. Whereas, in the Viveka chUDAmaNi, which is a work on the
path of jnAna, -- mistakenly appropriated by people who think that that is the way to
avoid the traditional worship of deities !-- right in the 3
rd
sloka, he says that Seeking a
proper guru and starting on the path of jnAna occurs only by the Grace of God
deivAnugraha-hetukam!

The bottom line of this sloka is that Shiva earns His place and prestige only when
He is united with Shakti. But the words Shiva and Shakti have been placed in the sloka in
that order, with Shiva first. This indicates that the dependence is mutual; neither of them is
to be lower in hierarchy or glory. THERE IS NO HIGHER OR LOWER BETWEEN THIS
ORIGINAL DIVINE COUPLE. They have an equality, samam in Sanskrit and this is the
origin for the word samaya to get the meaning of religion or tradition in Hindu
culture. In the ShAkta and Shaiva scriptures the word samayAcAra is used to denote the
path of worship, that is done mentally through the noblest attitude of devotion arising from
the bottom of the heart. The reason for the word samaya therein is that there are five
categories in which Shiva and Shakti are considered equal in that regimen of worship.

One: In their names. Shiva and ShivA; hamsa and hamsI; bhairava and bhairavI;
even, samaya and samayA.
Two: In their forms: KAmeshwara and KAmeshwari are both maroon in colour,
each has four hands, three eyes, the half-moon adorning their heads, the same four
weapons bow, arrow, pAsha (noose) and ankusha (spear) -- in the four hands.
Three: In their location: the same peak of Meru; the center of the Ocean of nectar in
MaNi-dvIpa; the same central bindu of shrI-chakra.
Four: In their function: It is the same five-fold function called pancha-kRtya
namely, Creation, Protection, Dissolution, tirodhAna or mAyA, Grace or anugraha leading
to moksha.
Five: In their benediction to the world.

-8-

But, though the work begins with the name of Shiva, the ShAkta school will still find
in the very name of Shiva itself, the dominance of the feminine Shakti ! In the very word
Shiva there is the vowel i along with the consonant sh. The vowels I (as in feel) and
i (as in fit) are themselves names of ambaal. All consonants are letters pertaining to
Shiva and all vowels pertain to Shakti. This is a general rule. In addition the letters I and
i are supposed to be the very forms of ambaal. Just as the actionless immutable brahman
has a symbolic praNava or Om, so also the brahman coupled with Shakti, the kArya-
brahman, has a symbolic seed letter called the praNava of Shiva-Shakti. And in that
praNava, the letter corresponding to Shakti is I.

There is Vedic authority for this. Also in the ShrI sUkta the form of ambaal as
Lakshmi who resides in the heart-lotus is mentioned as manifesting in the vowel I and the
surrender is made to that manifestation. Note that one of the many sanctities of the word
ShrI is derived from this.

Thus the first word of of the first sloka, though it begins with Shiva is actually a
propitiation to the feminine Shakti. For, from the word Shiva if we remove the vowel i
and bring the consonant sh to its first position sha, the word becomes shava meaning
a dead body ! Thus the word shiva gets its life from the vowel i , which is the seed
letter for Shakti. Also note that the popular word for saguNa-brahman in Vedanta is
Ishwara, which begins with the sound I. This is quite in accordance with its role as the
dynamic active Lord who takes care of the creation and propels the entire universe.

(For those who know the Tamil language
here are two more interesting observations: VK)
In Tamil the consonants and vowels are known as body-letters (mey-ezhuttu) and
life-letters (uyir-ezhuttu) respectively . So in the praNava of Shiva-Shakti, the Lord
corresponds to the body-letter and the Goddess corresponds to the life-letter. And this
coordinates with the thought that Shiva is the body and Shakti is the soul.
Secondly, in Tamil parlance it is common to say: If you have the power (shakti) to
do this, do it; otherwise stay quiet as shiva (shivane-enRu iru) ! This again coordinates
with the thought that Shiva is the actionless substratum and Shakti is the switch that
switches everything into action!
Throughout his bhAshyas and all his minor works, our Acharya is never tired of
repeating: All worldly activities are mAyA; one should aspire to realise and become the
changeless and actionless nirguNa brahman. Thus the immutable Shivam is the object of
all his writing and advice. What produces movement out of that brahman was called mAyA
by him and he spared no pains to paint that mAyA in uncomplimentary colors and warn us
strongly against getting into her clutches.
But the very same Acharya, now, in the first sloka of Soundaryalahari, exclaims
with great admiration of Shakti (that very same mAyA): Oh, Goddess, without you even
Shiva cannot move!
How can the same person talk in two contradictory ways like this? Which is true? If
one of them is not true, can the Acharya tarnish his name by speaking an untruth?

If you look at these things only by logic, you will not get anywhere. The definition of
Truth does not come by logic. WHATEVER WILL DO GOOD TO WHOMSOEVER IT
IS INTENDED, THAT SHOULD BE STATED LOVINGLY; THAT IS TRUTH
(SATYAM). For those who can tread the path of jnAna, he recommended retirement from
the world. For those who have yet to evolve to that stage of spiritual maturity, he
recommended the path of Bhakti and Karma; this will make them reach the kArya-
brahman through worldly actions of work and worship. When one does not have an
evolved attitude to a certain path, it is counterproductive to advise him go that path. So it is
not a question of being logical; it is a question of seeing the psycho-logical (!) perspective.
The ancients called it adhikAri-bheda, that is, difference in prerequisite qualifications.

Secondly, it is not just that he understood the psychology of different types of
seekers of spirituality and preached accordingly. It is more. Both the advices he gave,
though seemingly opposite, are true, each at a particular stage of evolution. In the
phenomenal world, creation and the universe and the activator of all of them, namely,
Ishwara, are all real certainly. But when we enquire into the root cause of all this, we find
that the more basic Reality is the Existent Self-in-itself that is actionless but through a
miraculous magic wand of mAya brings about all this moving world.

Thus, when an Acharya or the scripture compares two paths or two objects of
worship and speaks of one as the better or greater of the two, it does not always mean that
the other thing, that had a lower estimate, is worthless. That which our Acharya talked
about as the thing to be discarded, namely, perception of duality, in all his works that
very same thing he now praises to the sky, saying that this is what you have to hold
steadfastly in the bhakti-mArga. In one case it is duality, in the other case it is sva-
svarUpa-anu-sandhAnaM (remaining steadfast in ones own Self).

-9-

There are two statements. One says: Even Shiva, only when united with you, Oh
Shakti, is able to monitor the whole world. And the other statement says: The Triad
formed of Hari, Hara and BrahmA worship Shakti. Both these statements are contained in
the 1
st
sloka. Are Shiva and Hara different? Are they not the two names of the same deity?
Why two names, and two actions? Is one the Prime Mover (corresponding to the word
spanditum) and the other the one who worships (corresponding to the word
ArAdhyAm)? Are they not both the same?

Of course, advaita says all are the same One. But the very origin of this stotra is not
to stay at the level of advaita. Everything may be the same One ultimately, but on the
surface, they are seen to be different. So Hara is one, Shiva is another. The Shiva who is
said to be moved is the Shivam enunciated as the first principle in the scriptures of the
ShAkta and Shaiva schools. Hara is the Rudra who is in charge of the function of
dissolution among the five functions of the Almighty. Hara comes from the root verb
har to destroy, to eradicate, to nullify.

(At this point, the Paramacharya begins to explain at length
the technicalities about the five cosmic functions.
What follows is a much-condensed digest. VK)
It is the same paramAtmA who became the three members of the Triad for the
discharge of the three functions of Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution. For all the three
functions the power source is ambaaL, the parA- Shakti. It is the explicitly expressed
power of brahman. So we may call it para-brahma-Sakti. It is not only the power for the
Triad but it is the power source for the entire universe of the animate and the inanimate.
By calling it para-brahma-Shakti, let us not think it is different from para-brahman itself.
For, when the shakti of an entity is separated from it, whatever it be, the very fact of its
being that entity is lost. To give a mundane example, a ten-horsepower motor loses the very
fact of motorship if the horsepower is taken away from it. Therefore the para-brahma-
shakti is para-brahman itself. But the para-brahman can also remain in itself without
exhibiting or exploiting or manifesting its power. When the parabrahman so rests in
itself by itself as itself, it is known in ShAkta parlance as Shivam.

It is from that calm nirvikAra (changeless) state of the First Principle that we have
all come to this jIva state with a mind and all its runaway associates called the senses.
Only when we merge in that ShAnti (Peace) back again it may be said that we have reached
our true state and transcended the mAyA effect, the bondage of samsAra. That blissful
state of moksha is so calm and peaceful because it is now the same as being brahman,
which naturally, is calm and actionless without exhibiting its latent shakti. In our daily life
we may observe that if somebody is totally inactive, unresponsive and unaffected by
anything, we refer to him jocularly (at least in the Tamil world) as para-brahmam !

Thus we are constrained to view Shiva as para-brahman and ambaaL as para-
brahma-shakti. Though neither of them exists without the other, we may allow ourselves
the privilege of speaking of them AS IF they are different. Without para-brahma-shakti,
the world would not be there. Now we have to consider two more cosmic functions in
addition to the three well-known to all of us. We were nothing but the calm Shiva-svarUpa
once; from that state somehow the real nature has been forgotten and we have arrived at
this ignorant state of a jIva and we find ourselves in a revolving cycle of samsAra without
the knowledge of our true state. The power which has done this to us must also be the same
para-brahma-shakti. And by the example of several sages and saints who, though thrown
into the vortex of samsAra like ourselves, have obtained the Enlightenment which took
them back to that moksha state, beyond the mAyA enchantment, it is clear that this
function of gracing the spiritually merited ones with moksha is also done by the para-
brahma-shakti.

These two functions are called tirodhAna and anugraha respectively. The
meaning of the root verb tiras is to be secretive or to hide. It is from the verb tiras that
the Tamil word tirai (meaning, curtain) has come. It is mAyA that blinds the real thing
from us by a tirai (curtain). Just as the three functions of creation, sustenance and
dissolution have been assigned (by the para-brahma-shakti) to BrahmA, Vishnu and Rudra
(Hara), so also Her assignee for the tirodhAna function is called Ishvara (also
maheshvara) and that for the anugraha function is called SadAshiva. The first three
functions are subject to mAyA. This mayic activity is in the control of Ishvara. Release
from mAyA is granted by SadAshiva.
These are the five cosmic functions. Together they are called the five-fold activity
(pancha-kRtyam) of the Lord. This concept of pancha-kRtyam is also mentioned by the
Shaiva schools. The very word panca-kRtyam means and involves activity. And as we
know, no activity is possible without the kArya-brahman (para-brahma-shakti) coming in.
So we can take it that the original source is parAshakti. She does it through the five agents
of Hers, namely the five forms of divinity mentioned above. The shAnta (calm) Shivam in
its nascent state cannot act. When action takes place it takes place through parAshakti in
the form of the five-fold functions. Shivam by itself does not produce the action. But it is in
Shivam, the parabrahman, that the first vibration for action sprouts, by its own Shakti.
But even before the action there must have been a will. This will is called the icchA-Shakti.
On the basis of this icchA -- the first wish, as it may be called, and the Upanishad also
says: akAmayata the kriyA-shakti (the power of Action) begins the pancha-kRtya-leelA.
Thus, what was the parabrahman by itself in itself, willed to become. It is for this divine
will that the Upanishad uses the word kAma, meaning desire. This desire is not to be
taken in any derogatory sense. It is pure Divine Will from Being to Becoming. Thus the
first evolute from brahman is this divine kAma. So the shakti that is the origin of this is
called Kameshvari and the Shivam in which this kAma sprouted is therefore called
Kameshwara.

-10-

The first evolute from brahman is the desire (kAmam) that the leela of the
manifestation of the universe should take place. So the Kameshvara-Kameshvari evolute
is the first couple. She (Kameshvari) might later be called Lalitambaal or Raja-
Rajeshvari but He (Kameshvara) is never called Laliteshvara or Raja-Rajeshvara.
Again She is Tripura-sundari which name is the origin for the titling of this composition
as Soundaryalahari , but there is no Tripurasundara .
All these latter names of Shakti have come because She is the Creator, Monitor and
Queen of this entire universe. That is why, as soon as the lalitA-sahasranAma begins with
the name ShrI-mAta, the next two names are Shri-mahArAjnI, and ShrImat-
simhAsaneshvarI. For these two names there is no masculine counterpart of the name.

When brahman chose to become saguNa-brahman, the initial spark was that
desire to become. So the Kameshvari-Kameshvara couple arose and is rightly named so.
The panchakRtya is for the world to arise and go on from there. Thus the desire to produce
multiplicity out of Herself is the kAmam. But along with this desire is also the act (in the
form of mAyA) of separating the created multiplicity from the reality of the Creator. Is
this not then a cruel desire? No. The ultimate aim is to bring back everything into the
source. Then why do it at all? That is the Cosmic Play. The very desire to exhibit into a
multiplicity is based on the joy of bringing back everything together into the one and only
source.

The para-brahma-Shakti exhibits itself into five functions. Thus we have a five-fold
aspect of brahma-Shakti, created by itself from itself. So these five aspects are represented
in a peculiar form where Kameshvari is sitting on the left lap of Kameshvara. The seat on
which they are sitting facing the East, has four legs, namely Brahma (Creation), Vishnu
(Sustenance), Shiva (Dissolution), and Ishvara (mAyic curtain); the seat itself is SadAshiva
(moksha-anugraha). These five are called the five brahman-s . And this explains the name
panca-brahma-Asana-sthitA for the Goddess.
There is also another name panca-preta-Asana-Aseena meaning She who is
seated on the seat of five preta-s preta, meaning dead body --. The brahman-s of the
earlier name are here called preta-s, because, if the five functions had not been assigned to
them, they are nothing, - like the motor without the horsepower ! Even for Kameshvara,
she is the life-giving Shakti and therefore the name Kameshvara-prANa-nADI which
occurs both in Lalita-sahasranama and in Trishati.

Now let us come to the word spanditum. The hara-rudra has been assigned the
duty of samhAra, this is a full duty, so to say. On the other hand, the Shiva that is the
absolute brahman has just been moved moved from within! This movement is the
spandanam. The Shivam was like a calm, ripple-less, vibration-less peaceful lake; and in
that lake, the first ripple, the first vibration, the first movement took place in the form of
kAmam. The agent for this was the cit-Shakti of brahman itself. She, the cit-Shakti, not
only became two, namely the willing power (icchA-Shakti), and the acting power (kriyA-
Shakti), but made the icchA rise in brahman itself and this making was itself Her first act
of creation!

Let us analyze this still further. Before someone desires he should first recognize
that he is. When we are in deep sleep we dont desire. So the event of desire rising in
brahman, must be preceded by the awareness of self-existence. Brahman was just existing
in itself, but was it aware that it was existing as such? The very event of cognition by
brahman, as it were - that I am brahman is itself an act of the spandana-effect of
Shakti.

This experience of brahman of the act of recognizing itself has a technical name in
Vedanta. It is parAhantA. ahantA is the thought I am. When we wrongly think that
our real I is body-mind-intellect, it is called ahantA the word derived from aham.
When the supreme Absolute, which is the origin of all the ahams in the world, thinks of
itself as I it is supreme ahantA, that is, para-ahantA. In devotional literature, it is
customary to call parAShakti the parAhantA form of Shivam and thus arises the name
parAhantA-svarUpiNI for ambaal.
Indeed the feeling of I-ness that arises in the immutable brahman, is the
spandana caused by Shakti and that is what personifies her. Our Acharya brings this
effectively by using the word Aho-purushhikA in Sloka No.7. The word means that She is
the personification of the thought I am brahman of brahman !

The ShAkta school conception of Shiva and Shakti sometimes appears to involve a
duality there. Thus they contend that it is Shakti that caused the movement. Acharyas
sloka also seems to say so. But the Acharya, while appearing to be talking dvaita he has
built his advaita into it by using the word spandanam. In what was Knowledge-Absolute,
the thought of I arose from within. This internal pulsation is the spandanam. The word is
very precisely placed here. Because spandanam by its very meaning negates anything
external. It is internally caused. Something like what you say in modern science about the
central nucleus bursting of its own accord.

But even the ShAkta schools cannot place Shiva and Shakti as two separate things.
Because Shiva and Shakti are like the lamp and its light, the flower and its fragrance,
honey and its sweetness, milk and its whiteness, word and its meaning. Thus they cannot be
separated from each other. Even though the credit for the spandanam is given to Shakti, it
is not as if She and He are separate. This mutual dependence of the two should be kept in
our mind always.

-11-
(Digest of pp.737-743, Deivathin Kural 6
th
Vol. 4
th
imprn.)

The mutuality of Shiva and Shakti should be in our minds all the time. When hard
core ideas from philosophy are made into poetic extravaganzas, both for the poetic
excellence and for the liberties taken with a view to making the devotees revel in their
devotion, it is natural to exaggerate or make out-of-the-way comparisons. Thus at one time
it may be said that Shiva is greater than Shakti and at another time quite the opposite. In
every one of these presentations one should not forget the equality, nay, the identity of the
two. Keeping this clearly in his mind, our Acharya, though he built into the first sloka the
idea that it was Sakthi who made Shiva move, he takes care to see that the prodding for the
movement does not come from outside. She is inside Him and therefore the word
spandanam.

In Kashmir Saivism this internal spandanam is emphasized very well. Though we
call it Kashmir Shaivism, the propagators of that philosophy did not give it that name.
Trika-shaivam is its name. For it focusses on three principles; pashu, pati and pAsham.
pratyabijnA-shAstra is also another name for the same. To know the fact that Shiva
principle is Atman is pratyabijnA. The literal meaning of pratyabijnA is to know a thing
truly as it is. Another name for this school of philosophy is spanda-shAstra !

According to that shAstra, Shiva and Shakti together form the parabrahman. All
the universe is a reflection of that parabrahman. By saying this it does not mean that the
reflection is outside of brahman. Nor does it think of a kevala-shivam ( shivam and
shivam alone) that has no connection with the universe. Since the parabrahman, according
to this school, is shiva as well as shakti, the reflection (AbhAsa) is due to the presence of
shakti. And even then, it is not like light and its reflection, wherein we think of the
reflection outside of the light. No. There can be nothing outside of shakti. Siva-shakti is one.
Within that one there comes an internal spandanam and the duality is presented. Again the
presentation is not outside of brahman. Just as a reflection shows itself in the mirror,
there is nothing outside of the mirror. The word spanda is exploited in Kashmir Shaivism
to establish two things. One is that the universe is not outside of brahman and two, Shakti
itself is not an external action on brahman. Shakti is abhinnam non-separate from
shivam.

Among the various shaiva darshanas, what comes nearest to our Acharyas advaita
is this spanda-shAstra. On moksha both say the same thing. But instead of saying that the
universe is mithyA, created by mAyA, this school includes not only mAyA as well as the
Ishvara of advaita vedanta in their shakti. According to them there are 36 fundamentals.
Of these shivam is the first and shakti is the next. But immediately they say that the shivam
which is sat (Existence) has always the cit-shakti within it. Therefore shivam is sat-cit.
The Ananda appears when the play of reflection, producing the universe, starts as a sport.

In order to accommodate those who cannot take the strenuous jnAna-mArga of
advaita, our Acharya has adopted in this work of bhakti, the concepts of spandanam and
those of pashu, pati and pAsham from the shaiva shAstras. In sloka No.99 he says: He
who worships ambaal, throws off the attachment (pAsham) to the animal self (pashu) and
enjoys the nectar of the bliss of param-Ananda. Obviously when composing the
SoundaryalaharI. he must have had in mind several objectives, such as: This hymn to
Ambal should raise Her to the skies so that in the devotees it should generate bhakti
towards Her exclusively (ananya-bhakti); it should reach the pinnacle of poetical
excellences and respect all poetic traditions; it should also be concordant with the religious
traditions of ShrI-vidyA-tantra; even though it may not stress the advaita point of view
exclusively, since anyway shRI-vidyA and advaita are not discordant, it should be able to
touch upon advaita though tangentially. Instead of saying that the Acharya had these
objectives we might say that ambaal had already predetermined his objectives for him.

Even though these are the basic purposes which we see have all been fulfilled in the
hymn, it should be said to the credit of our Acharya that, because of his steadfast holding to
advaita, and of his great respect for ShrI-vidyA, and of his natural poetic talent, he did not
regiment himself as to be circumscribed by preconceived limitations. It is our good fortune
that he allowed his talent and imagination to express itself freely and soar as high as it
liked. Such a freedom has resulted in one of the most excellent hymns which excels in
poetry, in mysticism, in devotion, in spirituality and in religious tradition. And in this
process, the flood of ideas that gushed forth from him includes without bias some of the
philosophical concepts and thoughts that came to the forefront, long after his time, like
those of Saiva-siddhanta, Kashmir Shaivism, visishTAdvaita, and dvaita.

The schools that I just mentioned of course took their present form only after the
time of our Acharya. But the original ideas from which these schools sprang were there
from earliest times. In fact advaita also had its origin long before our Acharya. But it was
he who streamlined it and presented it as a siddhAnta. In the same way the Acharyas of the
other schools who came only later to our Acharya, pulled out the ideas which were
already there and established their siddhantas. It is the greatness of Adi Sankara that he
was able to see by his erudition and farsight the other points of view also even before they
had been established as a popular school.

-12-
(Digest of pp.743-760 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
Vol. 4
th
imprn.)

I was saying that our Acharya , had included ideas from the non-advaita schools
also. These ideas as well as those of advaita had their origin long before their chief
proponents propagated them formally as a siddhanta. So Soundarya lahari being a work
of bhakti leaning a little on the side of the Shakta schools, has these ideas also in it. It
talks about the spandanam of brahma-Shakti and praises, in superlative terms, the
Shakti that caused it. But there is no such idea of spandanam in the advaita shAstra of
Adi Sankara.

The Brahman of advaita is motionless, and changeless. This immutable Brahman
was, according to advaita, neither moved from outside nor perturbed from the inside. The
multiple presentations that resulted through the Creation process was just due to mAyA,
which, with the base (adhAra) of Brahman, somehow initiated it. It is only an appearance
according to advaita and that is why mAyA is criticised and recommended to be negated.
Our Atman is nothing but that very nirguNa Brahman. If we do not know it, it is because
mAyA has done its work of hiding the Reality from us.

But it is that very same mAyA that the Soundaryalahari now has taken to the skies
and praised as Shakti, as a power greater than even the Triad of Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva. Though it does not use the word mAyA here, it uses the word Shakti and from
the very fact that Shakti is the root cause for creation of the universe, it is clear it must be
the same as the mAyA of advaita.

In advaita the nirguNa Brahman is unrelated to the saguNa Brahman which
produces and monitors the whole universe by mAyA Shakti. For, nirguNa Brahman just is;
it can never be related to or predicated with anything. The miraculous way in which mAyA
exhibits that Brahman, as Brahman with name and form and all the associated
multiplicity, is analogous to the way we see in a dimly lit twilight the appearance of a snake
in a rope. Clearly there is no relationship between the appearing snake and the rope which
is the support for the appearance.

However, the Shaktam that the Acharya projects to us has a mAyA Shakti which is
not unrelated to Brahman. There is no brahma-Shakti talked about in advaita. Here in
ShAktam, it is brahma-Shakti that is important. That is the ambaal. One of her aspects is
the magic wand of mAyA. Not only that. She is Herself the jnAna-Shakti (the power of
cognitive self-recognition) which is diametrically opposite to mAyA; and further it is the
icchA Shakti (the power of wilful self-emanation) and kriyA Shakti (the power of creative
act) also. She stands inseparable from the Shivam which is the nirguNa Brahman of
ShAktam which, however, is a shade different from the nirguNa Brahman of advaita.

The identity of Shiva-shakti is important here. Identity does not mean just a union.
It is a total oneness. It is identity in the sense there is only one. Being one and only one is
what is called Aikyam or identity. In Lalita Sahasranama, after calling Her Shivaa, the
next name is Shiva-Shaktyaikya-rUpiNI. This Shiva is only a close fit to the brahman of
advaita. So, unionizing with Him, and relating with Him, moving Him, She has done as a
couple, all the Creation of the Universe and the monitoring of it. Whenever there is a
Shakti , there must be a locus standi (Ashrayam, Base) for it. The concept of, say, a Shakti
of ten pounds of weight does not arise unless there is something to which the weight can be
related or referenced. A fragrance or a colour is certainly an abstract Shakti, but it has to
have an Ashrayam for it to exist as a fragrance or a colour. Thus for every shakti there is
an Ashrayam. The Shakti that is the origin for all the known Shaktis has itself an
Ashrayam and that is the Shivam-brahman.It is the Shakti of that brahman. So it cannot
be separated from its Ashrayam. You cannot separate the whiteness from milk, or the taste
of milk from milk. So by the expansion of Shakti whatever happens there is Shivam also in
that expansion. In all actions of Shakti Shivam has to be present.

When Shakti, the ambaal, grants moksha to the jIva, the jIva attains the changeless
nirguNa state, say the Shakta works like the ShrI-vidyA. Even then that nirguNa state has
also the Shakti in it!. It is said that Shakti itself revels in enjoyment of bliss in its own
creation of the universe of duality. But it is not even right to say that the play of creation is
for enjoyment. Because if you accept this, it would mean that when there is no creation,
Shakti is without that bliss! So instead of saying that She indulges in Creation for
enjoyment of bliss, we should rather say that it is the very Bliss that is part of Her that
exhibits itself as the creation.

Let me now explain the subtle difference between the mAyA of advaita and the
different Shaktis of the Shaiva and ShAkta schools. Starting from the Shivam-Brahman,
they talk of 36 principles.According to the Shaiva-siddhanta school, the first five are
called pure mAyA and the latter 31 belong to the category of impure mAyA.

Shivam is the first. Next there come three different shaktis, namely, cit-shakti,
jnAna-shakti, vidyA-shakti. These correspond to three different dimensions of cit. When it
pertains to the non-dual shiva-shakti, it is cit. When it pertains to the seed-knowledge of
duality for the purpose of creation it is called jnAna. In the next stage it is aware both of its
non-dual state and its potential for the sprouting out into multiplicity, and then it is called
(pure) vidyA. After these three, come the next, now the fifth in order, namely the kriyA
shakti which is the executing part. Only thereafter, starting from the sixth principle, it is
mAyA and all its evolutes.

All this importance given to Shakti in the Shaiva and Shakta schools is avoided in
advaita, with all the evoluted appearances from Brahman being branded as the effect of
mAyA and we being asked to discredit them.

But even in the way the Shaiva and Shakta schools go, the question can be asked;
Somehow or other, it is the hierarchy of these Shaktis that bind us to this samsAra. Why
then praise that Shakti and worship it with hymns like Soundaryalahari?

This is the key question. The answer is, mAyA Shakti even in the Shakta schools
does not end there. It is also the jnAna Shakti as we saw above. And the bottomline of it all
is that this same Shakti as jnAna Shakti graces us with Knowledge and Enlightenment in
the end. And in the meantime She shows Infinite Love towards us in order to take us back
into her fold. That is the greatest anugraha that She does for us. And that is why we
worship Her and pray to Her for Release.

-13-

(Digest of pp.760 -766 of Deivathin Kural 6
th
vol. 4
th
imprn.)

(The Paramacharya devotes one more discourse now on mAyA;
now dwelling on the status of mAyA in advaita,
vis--vis, the path to Enlightenment -- VK)

All the Shakta schools, adopt an interesting strategy with respect to mAyA.
Whatever bondage is created by mAyA, they make it all related to the divine. Though
jnAna and mAyA are at opposite ends, the very world, mind and senses created by mAyA
are channelised into Love and the pure Beauty of the Mother Goddess, so that one is
blissfully involved in the worship and prayers aimed at Her. Once the mind is unified in
this noble direction, it is then not difficult to get involved into enquiry about the Self.
Thus our Acharya also has adopted the same strategy of going towards jnAna by
resorting to the very objects created by that which is opposite to jnAna. In other words, the
thought of God, worship, listening to stories about His glory, temple worship, getting
emotionally enraptured in stotra recitation, raising the tempo of spiritual involvement by
continuous japa leading to the correct mood for meditation these constitute the means by
which one follows the bhakti path thus preparing oneself for the path of jnAna that is the
ultimate. And hence the Saundaryalahari.

The mAyic effect cannot be easily discarded. A tremendous amount of discretion
(viveka) and dispassion (vairagya) might be needed. In the absence of these the distractions
of the sensory world will be constantly pulling us away. And when such pulls are very
strong, one should not despair of the hopelessness in making progress in spirituality. It is
for this reason that the Acharya, without asking us to discard the mayic effects totally, as
he would do to a more spiritually mature seeker, asks us to get involved in bhakti, puja,
worship, devotional recitation and music. If everything of the world is made to relate to the
divine in this way, the mAyA-created world can be gradually won over. It is like using a
certain type of gloves when working with high voltage electricity. The shock of the system
will not be there and at the same time one has a control over it.

Now what I am going to tell you may surprise you in that it comes from me. I was
talking about the mayic creations. They provide the background for the spiritual sAdhanA.
There is a sAdhanA, a sAdhaka, and the karma of sAdhanA. This triplet is certainly all
mAyA. So what we do is to use mAyA itself to fight mAyA. This is indeed a strategy to
reach advaita-bhAva. The very fact of a guru teaching you is nothing but Duality. But that
itself can lead to advaita-siddhi. Like a lion roaring in the dream and waking you up, so
also the mayic dream in which we are all in can be wiped off by a gurus words doled out
in the world of duality.
Granting that the very act of sAdhanA implies duality, the Acharya, does not
hesitate to bring in, into his stotras, the many sAdhanAs that have goals even
contradictory to advaita. When every propitiation of the divine is certainly a dvaita act,
why shy at the rituals of the non-advaita schools? So without reservation he allows his
imagination to go the path of other siddhAntas also. That is why, we hear in
Soundaryalahari, ideas from dvaita, visishTAdvaita, shaivam and shAktam.

Another important point has to be mentioned. Since all creation is mAyA, according
to advaita, it is not to be thought that advaita avoids all talk about Shakti. In Chandogya
Upanishad, at one point, it says: The paramAtmA is full of all karmas, all desires, all
fragrance and all tastes. It desired akAmayata and that is how the One became the
Many as said in Taittiriyopanishad. Not finding any satisfaction in being alone, it wanted a
partner and this desire resulted in it becoming two as pati and patni so says Brihad-
Aranyakopanishad (I -4- 3 ). Those two were the father and mother of the entire human
race, according to the same Upanishad.

The Brahma-sUtra (II-1-30) also says: sarvopetA ca tad-darshanAt The
Upanishads say that the paramAtman is thus endowed with all shakti.

Our Acharya does not just gloss over such statements. Just because they talk about
mAyA he does not overlook their mention. In his bhAshya he emphatically says: shakti-
yuktA parA devatA. Since he himself has defined mAyA as anirvacanIya (that which is
inexpressible or unexplainable), he is not afraid of questions like: Where did the Shakti
come from. In the matter of brahman one cannot ask questions like How is it possible?
in the same manner as one would ask when being presented with material matter and
worldly concepts. The profound and majestic truths about brahman cannot be learnt by
logical quibbling, but only by what the Vedas have declared. (Brahma-sUtra-bhAshya: II
1 31).

Therein he says: The talk of creation arises only when, instead of being in that
samAdhi state as brahman, we begin to think and talk about brahman. When the nirguna
brahman which is nothing but pure cit, is talked about in relation to Creation which is just
avidya-kalpitam (imagined by ignorance), it is said to have sarva-shakti-yogam says the
Acharya. Shivas-ShaktyA yuktah is just this !

Following this the Brahma sutra says: lokavattu leelA kaivalyam (II1-33). The
world creation is just leela. The Acharya concludes his bhashya on this with the words:
When the vedas talk about srishTi, it is not about the nirguNa absolute brahman. It is
only a view, name-and-form view, of Duality imagined by ignorance ; it is only a
phenomenal reality. But though he goes in this strain, he also admires the leela of the
Lord. It may appear as a great achievement from our angle this Creation but for Him
it is only just a play !

-14-
(Digest of pp.766-774 of Deivathin Kural, Vol.6, 4
th
imprn.)

There is also the Upanishad authority for saying that the non-dual brahman sprouts
out the world of duality by sheer internal vibration. This is in Katopanishad. All this world
arises from the life force called prANa and moves thereon. The word for moves that is
used is Ejati. Ejanam and Kampanam both mean movement, but not by any external
force. We may also interpret it as vibration from the inside. Brahma sutra also uses the
word kampanAt. When the Acharya writes the bhashya for this he writes: This prANa
which causes the vibration is not simple air. It is the very brahman itself !
(It is to be noted that in this portion of the bhAshya,
Adi Sankara has used the very words spandam and pratyabhijnA,
which are the words for Kashmir Shaivism,
without anywhere hinting that the words come from there.)

We can get many more such authorities to confirm that as far as the phenomenal
reality is concerned, there is a creation with mAyA as the cause. Whenever these passages
occur, they also concur with many of the thoughts of the ShAkta scriptures.
Let us not think that the Acharyas outpourings in the Soundaryalahari is just a
mixture of several viewpoints! We should keep an open mind and let ourselves go along
with the flood of poetry that comes and simply concentrate in the ambaal with faith and
humility. Then we can get the maximum joy out of it.
(Now follows a general, but remarkable, advice of the Paramacharya on
How to approach the Soundaryalahari . VK)

When the scriptures or shAstras talk about deep philosophical principles which
have themselves a divine character, they present certain descriptions allegorically. We
should not misunderstand these allegories. In fact the word allegory itself is not the right
word here. When esoteric principles are deliberately personified, that is allegory. The
profound ideas of the shAstras or the purANas are not just mental creations of the author.
It is parAShakti Herself who opens out those principles in those forms to great rishis or
persons who have reached the siddhi in the mantras.
If this world is taken to be real, then more real are the principles and stories that
help us throw off our shackles and reach our True State. Even today if we can do the japas
and dhyAnas in the proper manner, and melt our hearts in intense devotion, those forms
can be seen as we see each other in the outside world. And when such divine sights occur
our ordinary views of each other would pale into insignificance. The Love and Bliss that
such sights generate will take us to the realisation of the Ultimate. Therefore it is not right
to say that everything is an allegory.

To get back to what I was saying earlier, these divine forms which personify esoteric
fundamentals, might contradict what we consider to be normal, right, decent, and
beautiful in the ordinary mundane world. Just because of that it is not correct to conclude
that the original reality itself is not right, decent and beautiful.
Similar things can be said of the poetic traditions and the culture of classic
literature. Or even of sculpture, painting or architecture.

In all these, our norms cannot be the standards of ordinary worldly life. Works like
Soundarylahari, which are simultaneously devotionally divine hymns and poetic
excellences, have to be approached in the right manner in order to obtain the fullest
benefit from them. Our minds have to be open and clean. The ShrI-vidyA shAstras
describe in esoterically romantic terms how Shiva, who is nothing but the Absolute
Brahman, coupled with Kameshvari, the personification of the icchA (Will) of Shiva, cause
creation to happen. Such matters occur in Soundaryalahari also.
All these years the upAsakAs (intense devotees) without any prejudice followed the
path of ShrI vidyA and have been able to discard all the faults like desire and the like. And
Muka-kavi puts this with poetic emphasis in his pancha-Shati: Mother, you caused
desire to rise even in Shiva who burnt to ashes the very desire personified in the form of
Manmatha; that is why You are able to eradicate the internal faults like desire in jIvas and
give them Enlightenment.

The punchline here is the fact that our people of ancient times had the right
approach to such works of art, poetry and devotion. The Guru-shishhya-paramparA took
care to see that such works were handed over only to those who could be expected to have
the right approach. Whether the work was religious or poetical, mystical or secular, they
would, when communicating with the public, only touch such delicate works and not
elaborate upon them in detail. Accordingly, when the common man meets with any
situation wherein there is an idea, concept, story or character, apparently repugnant to
him, he does not get distracted, because his main aim always was to take only those things
which suited his taste and which were recommended to him by elders.
Thousands of years have passed like this. And our people have followed the
traditional paths without ever giving place to indecent imaginations or wrong
interpretations. The common man knew that there must be some sense in those deep and
profound things because great men say so and he would not unnecessarily probe into them.
Not that he was not rational-minded; it only means that he had an unshaking faith in
tradition and also he was aware of his own limitations.

But then the printing press arrived; and times changed. .



-15-

(Digest of pp.774-793 of Deivathin Kural Vol.6, 4
th
imprn)


The printing press came as a revolution. And it became the order of the day for
anybody to write on anything, publish it and put it in the hands of anybody. One of the
earliest effects was that profound ideas got mundane interpretations in the hands of the
uninitiated. As independent human beings each one felt that whatever strikes his mind is
right and each one made his own interpretations. Neither the authors of books had the
strength of practice behind them; nor the readers had any intention to try and experience
what they read. Several readers were just curious and nothing more. Or they were
interested in a so-called academic research mostly for purposes of self-glorification and
recognition in the material world. How can any spiritual benefit arise from these?

Thus arose two major setbacks in the culture. The first one is that those who were
traditionally equipped to do the upAsanAs and were also fit to do them, preferred the
glamour of modern days to break off from their traditions. And the second one is that all
and sundry took to these difficult upAsanAs without proper guru or training. It is not
clear, I must confess, which is the major disaster.

I know that I may be criticised and commented that I have a vested interest in
saying all this. But having started to talk on Soundaryalahari publicly, I cannot but give
you this warning. Let me conclude by saying that there is nothing wrong in approaching
shAstras like Soundaryalahari as an aid to get Mother Goddesss Grace and thereby to go
upward in the spiritual ladder. It is enough you know that it is great. Just with that
approach if you recite it, ambaal will give you the necessary mental strength and maturity
to reach higher levels of spirituality. Automatically the ultimate object of realisation would
also be obtained by Her anugraha.

The mantras and their esoteric meanings have to be safeguarded like nuclear
secrets. If you really want to get them, approach the proper guru and if he thinks you have
the requisite qualifications he will tell you. In this connection I will tell you an important
matter. I am touching it, so that you may not touch it ! The name Kundalini and all the
associated cakras are being talked about by every one now, especially ever since Sir John
Woodroffe wrote about The Serpent Power. I am not finding fault with him. I only thank
him for bringing to light the fact that our ancients had great things to tell the world in spite
of modern advances in science. My only warning to you is that without a proper initiation
no mantra or japam will help anybody. It is like having costly electrical and electronic
equipment in your house without a power connection. The same thing with these mantras
and kundalinI yoga. Without the guru power they will not work.

That is not the only thing. There is more in it. The power that comes through these
electrical words of the mantras, can also give you a shock because you may not be properly
insulated. Only when it comes from the guru, it gets properly secreted within bounds; if it
exceeds the bounds, that is if the insulation is not there, it will only burn you ! My own
suggestion to book-writers is that when they publish such things, let there be a popular
edition which avoids the profound matters of mantra secret. And let there be a limited
circulation book which does get into those secrets, but such classified books must be made
available only with the authorization of the proper guru. I think, from my platform, it is
my duty to say this.

Finally what is wanted is a rapport with the author. A devotee, a poet and a
vidhushaka (the Royal Fool or Clown in the Kings Court) these three have a great
licence to do or write what they want. Of these our Acharya was both a devotee and a poet.
So there is a bhakti-bhAva in everything he writes and there is also a poetic licence
exhibited in pieces like the Soundaryalahari. In classical literature, there is always a
respectable status for this freedom which a poetic or devotional piece enjoys. Of the many
such licences we can refer here to nindA stuti (where you actually criticise the deity you are
supposed to praise), praise one of the divine couple to the extent of bringing down the other
of the pair and so on. If we look at these with a humility and an open mind for poetic
exaggeration, we may also enjoy them. Now come to the first sloka.

Shiva is the husband and ambaal is the wife. It is only by Her power that even He
moves this is the content of the first sloka. One might ask: Just to boost up the glory of
Mother Goddess does one have to descend to such a level as to bring God Himself to the
level of saying that He is simply a nonentity? The esoteric principle here is that the
immutable Brahman expresses itself only by the unfolding of the cit-shakti. The poetic
principle involved here is that the beloved, being the fair sex, is always to be given the
credit and so He moves only when She moves Him is also acceptable. Thus on both
counts, the presentation is enjoyable.

-16-
(Digest of pp.794 - 802 of Deivathin Kural Vol.6, 4
th
imprn)

Now let us come to modern Science and see whether there is any correlation with
the set of ideas relating to Shivam and Shakti. Matter is inert and its nature is inertia. But
we know that inert matter undergoes internal changes and in due course evolves into more
complicated matter and finally the universe itself. What is the power which made inert
matter non-inert?
(Readers, please note that these talks of the Paramacharya
probably date back to the thirties or the forties
of the 20
th
century ! VK)
In atomic science they talk about the interconvertibility of matter and energy. This
energy is our shakti. This is what makes inert matter non-inert. So Shivam, the immutable
brahman, has to be compared to the inert matter of science; but the comparison is not
right since, brahman is consciousness so not jaDam (that which has no consciousness),
whereas inert matter of science is jaDam. Further, in the convertibility of matter into
energy there is a difference for, when matter becomes energy, the matter that has become
energy is now not there as matter. But in our philosophies, when energy shoots forth from
Shivam, the Shivam still remains the same Shivam.

After the Relativity theory of Einstein, science has come nearer to advaita vedanta
and the shAkta schools. Time and Space are relative concepts, as far as I have understood
these scientific theories. Brahman is the only absolute. Everything else is relative, says
vedanta. Anything that appears as real, does so because it is resting on the brahman-
canvas. This appearance as reality, is the relativity of science and the mAyA of advaita
Vedanta. Science which talks of the relativeness, does not say what is the absolute. The only
absolute is brahman , according to our religious scriptures as well as philosophical schools.
Though western knowledge makes a distinction between religion and philosophy, sanAtana
Dharma does not make any distinction between the two. In it the two are inseparable like
Shiva and Shakti ! And that Absolute has been experienced as Atman by our great sages.
That is the soul of all souls.

But this fact has evaded science. Even if the scientists one day accept it in theory,
they will have to say its proof is not within our jurisdiction; go to the shAstra of
Spirituality to know it. Science can explain, through its laws, only certain movements of
the grand cosmic dance of parAShakti; whereas it is incapable of showing a path for
becoming the Absolute by quelling the live Mind that vibrates in an integrated way
together with all the vibrations of the universe. Nor is it the goal of Science. Only religious
scriptures can show you the way. But even then, the final gates will be opened only by
ambaal. Who else, except the One who originally separated us from the Absolute, can
reunite us with that Absolute?

It is unfair on our part to find fault with science for what is beyond science. In the
same way protagonists of science must realise that there is a limit to their scientific quest.
They have no right to say that what transcends their science is wrong or false. That the two
are complementary must be felt by both sides. It will be fascinating to discover that several
scientific truths have been enunciated, though in a different way, by some of our scriptural
findings.

Why not think of the proton with a positive charge in the centre of the nucleus, as
Shiva and the electron with the negative charge that goes round, as ambaal?

There is a still center for everything which is its peaceful center. Even though it
has no vibration it is not the emptiness nor it is of zero potential. The equilibrium which we
aim at when we weigh a weight, is this still center. Every object has a center of gravity.
Even in a dreadful storm, there is a storm center. Always the energy radiates from such a
center and that is why movement and action are produced. It is that center which may be
called Shivam and the energy that radiates from it and revolves about it is ambaal.

When something is positive and the other is negative, it does not appear to be
equivalent. So to arrive at equivalence there is another way of looking at it. Instead of
saying that one is in the center and the other revolves around it, think of each as half and
half. That is the ardha-nArIshvara form. The right side is Shiva (positive), and the left side,
ambaal (negative). This may be justified by the fact that the heart is on the left side and
supplies the life for the entire body. If it does not work properly, the right side also
cannot work: na khalu kushalaH spanditum api, as the sloka 1 says.
(The ParamAcharya goes on like this irrepressibly !
It must be enjoyed in the original.
But I have to rush forward to take the readers
to the other slokas. So I am omitting a few pages. VK)

Another observation about left and right. What is right in the original is shown
as left in the reflection. And what is left, becomes the right. The non-dual nirguNa-
brahman-Consciousness when it gets reflected in the mirror of mAyA, becomes the saguNa
brahman that creates and monitors the dualities of the universe. This is an accepted
principle of the advaita school. In other words IT IS SHIVA THAT GETS REFLECTED
IN MAYA AND BECOMES THE AMBAAL!
(Emphasis mine VK)

-17-
(Digest of pp.802 - 820)

I was saying: It is Shiva Himslf who gets reflected in the mirror of mAyA and
becomes ambaal. If you ask the advaitin, What is this mAyA, he will reply: It is not
possible to say what it is. You know it is called mAyA, magical ! So it will not allow us to
understand it. The ShAkta school will say: Even mAyA is only a part of ambaal.. I
already told you that mAyA occurs only at the stage where Shivam becomes the jIva,
according to ShAktam. That the jIva does not know that it is itself Shivam, is mAyA. It is
the work of mAyAShakti that makes it incomprehensible for jIva to know the Permanent
Eternal One and mistake the ephemeral things as permanently existing.

It is at this point that the object and its reflected image analogy leads to the positive
and negative. What we said earlier pertained to electricity. But now we shall take the
positive-negative phenomenon of photography. In the positive, light is light and dark is
dark. In the negative on the other hand, light is dark and dark is light. That is the
Ignorance which shows what exists as not existing and non-existence as existence. This is
the handiwork of mAyA ! We are all submerged in this mAyA and since ambaal is
responsible for this, we call Her, mAyA.

But to top it all, we should not forget that, the very ambaal who does all this play of
mAyA, is Herself the Most Compassionate One, and those of us who can surrender to Her
as the Only Refuge, will be graced by Her and made to cross the mAyA-curtain !

Now we can make the meaning of the first sloka more meaningful.The very fact that
the Acharya says that it was ambaal who activated the first movement in Shivam gives a
clear hint to us, that the reverse movement of the universe going back to that immutable
Shivam has again to be triggered only by Her Grace.

All the movements which resulted in the jIvas and the universe coming up are
together called (cosmic) evolution. This is not Darwins evolution. In his case it is
something where lower level beings transform in due time to higher levels. In Vedanta, the
brahman at the apex expands into the universe and living beings. This outward expansion
of subtle principles into gross matter is called evolution. The principles are taken to be 36
by some and 24 by some. Having become the jIvas, our goal should now be to go back to
the source. That going back is moksha.

All the things in the expanded mode have to get back into the internal mode and
merge in brahman. That is ascent (ArohaNam). The descent of jIvas and the universe from
brahman is avarohaNam. The terms expansion and merging seem to be better.
Expansion of brahman is Evolution and the merging into brahman is Involution. All of
us have evolved from brahman; not by ourselves but by the Will and Action of ambaal. We
cannot involve into brahman except by Her Will and Grace. Even though, in her cosmic
Play, She seems to have given us a role for ourselves, we can never complete the
Involution without Her Grace. The electrical switch makes the fan rotate. Only the same
switch can stop it from rotating. Thus the same Cause which made us evolve has to work
again to make us involute into brahman. So we have to pray to Her. This is where bhakti,
jnAna and yoga come in.

What is incomprehensibly divine would be made comprehensible by the divine itself
if we cultivate intense love for that divine. This intense love is bhakti. If we have that, the
divinity then would descend to make itself comprehensible to us. It is this bhakti-rasa
coupled with the poetic rasa that our Acharya gives us in the form of Soundaryalahari.

So with all this introduction based on Sloka 1, we may now go forward. Sloka 2
elaborates the words hari-hara-virincAdhibihir-api ArAdhyAM (you who are
worshipped even by Vishnu, Shiva and BrahmA and others) of Sloka 1. Here it says that
only by Her Grace these three great divinities discharge their functions of Creation,
Sustenance and Dissolution. And this they do just by the power of the dust of the holy feet
of the Mother Goddess! This praise of the divine dust is carried over into Sloka 3 also. It
(the divine dust) is the rising sun for the darkness of the Ignorant, the flower-bunch giving
out the honey of wisdom for the Dull-witted, and the wish-fulfilling godly gem for the
Poor.

Sloka 4 continues to dwell on the glory of the Divine Feet but does it very subtly.

tvad-anyaH pANibhyAM abhaya-varado daivata-gaNaH
tvam-ekA naivAsi prakaTita-varAbhIty-abhinayA /
bhayAt trAtuM dAtuM phalam-api ca vAnchhA-samadhikaM
sharaNye lokAnAM tava hi charaNAveva nipuNau // 4 //

daivata-gaNaH: The multitude of gods
tvad-anyaH : other than You
abhaya-varado: grant abhaya (=fearlessness) and boons
pANibhyAM: by the hands
tvam-ekA asi: You are the only one
na-eva: not at all
prakaTita-vara-abhIti-abhinayA: exhibiting boon (giver) fearlessness (giver) by
your mudras.
sharaNye: Oh Refuge
lokAnAM : for all the worlds
hi: indeed
tava: Your
charaNau-eva: feet alone
nipuNau: (are) expertly efficient
trAtuM : to protect
bhayAt : from fear
dAtuM api ca: and also to give
phalam: the fruit, the result
vAnchhA-samadhikaM: more than what one wishes.

(As in sloka 1, to get the total meaning, please read the
English portions above in the order in which they are
presented above. The Paramacharya does the same
thing, but presents it in the order in which it will make
sense in the Tamil language. He usually does not give
the total meaning, initially, in one go. We shall follow
the same arrangement in the succeeding slokas also.
VK)

-18-
(Digest of pp.820-824 )


Other than You, all divines are seen with their mudras of abhaya (fearlessness)
and vara (Boon). In other words they show by their hands that they give abhaya and vara.
This is the meaning of the first half of the sloka. But it does not mean that ambaaL would
not grant abhaya and vara. In fact in the Mayavaram temple She is known as abhaya-
ambikA. One of Her other names is vara-pradAyini, the benefactor of boons.

In fact the Acharya only means that She doesnt have to give abhaya and vara by
Her hands. Her divine feet alone are capable of granting what other deities do by their
hands. The very word kAryaM in Sanskrit (which means, the act or action) goes back
to the word kara meaning hand. So the other divines have to take effort to do the action
of giving vara and abhaya. You, Oh Goddess, can do anything by the very sankalpa
(determination). Even the fivefold cosmic actions beginning with creation are done by You
just by wiggling the eyebrows (kshaNa-calitayoH brU-latikayoH sloka 24 meaning: by
the movement, for a moment, of the eyebrows). Whether it is to protect devotees from fear,
or it is to give them more than what they want through their wishes, She does it by just
being there. By taking refuge at Her feet, the devotee achieves his wishes. She is the refuge
of the entire universe.

Note the expert use of the words sharaNye and charaNau. The first comes from
the word sharaNa meaning refuge. She is the Ultimate Refuge for the whole world. The
second word comes from charaNa meaning foot. Her feet are the Refuge; because the
feet themselves are capable of granting our wishes, by just being there. Just as flowers,
without doing any action, radiate fragrance.

When one asks for the removal of fear, that is, fearlessness (abhaya), the positive
response from the deity could only be the removal of fear; there is nothing more to be
given. On the other hand, whatever other wish one asks for fulfillment, there can always be
something more than that wish and thus She nay, just the grace of Her divine feet -
ggives the devotee more than what he wants.

A question may arise. Why is fearlessness sought separately? Can it not be given
as one of the many wishes, by the Goddess? Why is it separated from the general category
of boons?

(The following paragraphs are so exquisite in the original
that I chose to translate them literally word by word ! VK)

Fearlessness (abhaya) is not a commodity that is given and taken. It is actually
another name for advaita. Only when there is duality there is fear says the Brihad-
AraNyakopanishad (1.4.2). If there is only one thing there is, from what can fear arise?
Only when there is a second entity fear arises in relation to it. If one thinks even of the
tiniest distinction in brahman, then fear arises. Even wise men, if they think of brahman as
another distinct object, are ceased of fear, so says Taittiriya-upanishad (II 7).

The moment we think of brahman as different from us and as a God with
qualities, we get into the mood of bhakti out of fear. Even the westerners talk about the
God-fearing nature as mans noblest quality. When will that fear go? It will go only when
the non-duality conviction arises that there is no jIvatman distinct from Ishvara. In that
state of the Existence of One without a second, where is the scope for a boon-giver and a
boon-receiver two entities? The symbolic exhibition of the abhaya-mudrA in the deitys
hand is in fact a formless (esoteric) principle only. There is no giving, no taking, there. It is
a supreme state and the mudrA is only a symbol for it. The Lord may be eradicating fears
from the smallest fears, through those of birth and death, to the largest fear, namely that of
duality, that of separation from Him; but the actual state of fearlessness is only the non-
dual state. And that is why, it does not form part of the category of boons.

To the same question the scholars of the other (dvaita) schools cite the bhava-bhIti
that is, the fear of the cycle of births and deaths, as the major fear to be removed by Divine
Grace and that is why, they say, abhaya is kept separate from the other boons; and they
stop there.

The abhaya mudrA is shown by the upward extended palm of the right hand.
Other schools of philosophy say that this right hand points to the Divine worlds like
Vaikunta and Kailasa in the upper worlds. But we advaitins say that it indicates the non-
dual state which is vast and boundless like the wide space (AkAsha) up above.

(The translation-mode ends here. VK)

The hand which shows the boon-giving status is the left hand but with the palm
facing us and extending downwards. I want this and I want that is itself indicative of a
lower state. Just as the actionless advaita state of abhaya belongs to the Shiva side,
namely the right side, the hand which shows the boon-giving Grace legitimately belongs to
the action-packed Shakti side of the divine form. The left palm is extending downwards;
what does it point to? It points to the divine feet, which is the last Refuge. Hold on to My
Feet, says the Goddess, That is the greatest boon for you.

The show of mudrA is technically called abhinaya. To exhibit whatever mood
there is internally, by the expression in the face, or by a symbolic gesture of the hands or
feet is called abhinaya. Particularly, that shown by the fingers of the hands is called a
mudrA. It is the science of tantra that prescribes the mudrAs. The science and art of
dancing has adapted only these mudrAs.

The bottomline of this sloka is to say that all this business of hand mudras belongs
only to the other deities. Ambaal does not show any of these mudras. Obviously one is
thinking here of the Goddess Lalita-tripura-sundari only.

- 19 -
(Digest of pp.824-831 )

The Goddess LalitA-Tripurasundari, as affirmed in this sloka. does not have the
vara-abhaya hands, (vara = boon; abhaya = fearlessness). She has the sugarcane-bow and
the arrow of flowers in those two hands. Note however, the Acharya himself says in Sloka
70 that She has all Her four hands indicative of abhaya and vara.

Let us not make the mistake of thinking that this sloka means that all other deity-
forms have the vara-abhaya hands. There are several without these hands. Think of
Vighneshvara (Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity) whom we see at every nook and
corner (in India). What about the figure of the dancing Nataraja? He has only the abhaya
hand but no boon-giving hand. Minakshi of Madurai does not have these two hands.

The Vishnu deity (of almost all temples) Himself, though He has four hands with
conch, disc, mace and lotus --, has no vara-abhaya hands. Varada-rAja the name
meaning the king of boon-giving deities -- in Kanchipuram, inspite of His name, does not
have the vara hand; He has the mace in that hand ! Maha-lakshmi, the Goddess of
Wealth, almost invariably, has the vara-abhaya hands. But the Goddess of Learning,
Sarasvati, does not have either.

Durga, most of the times, has an abhaya by the right hand, while the
corresponding left hand is on the thigh this situation being called Uru-hastam . Some of
the Subrahmanya deity-forms have the same configuration. Balaji of Tirupati has the
vara-mudrA in the right hand, while His left hand is an Uru-hastam. Thus the statement
of this sloka Other than You, all other deities show the vara-abhaya mudrA by their
hands is to be considered a poetic exaggeration only.

(At this point the Paramacharya begins
an elaborate introduction to slokas 5 and 6,
thereby dwelling on the topic:
Is it legitimate for God to bless one to desire ? -VK)

So far in the first three slokas the stotra does not say specifically which deity is being
praised. Even in the fourth sloka there is just a clue that the deity is without the vara-
abhaya hands. How many hands there are, or what are in those hands? these questions
are left open. In the next two slokas, the clue is given (sloka 5) that it is that deity that
prodded a desire in mahA-vishNu to take the form of mohini and create sensual impulses
even in Lord Shiva and it is also the same deity (sloka 6) which gave even to the God of
Love (manmatha) the power to disturb even the minds of great sages and saints. And thus
we get the idea that the deity of this stotra could be the Kameshvari that we spoke of, in the
beginning when we discussed the original Desire that sprouted out in brahman itself to
express Itself.
(See DPDS -9 and 10. VK)

The major purpose of bhakti is to quell all desires and get attracted to that Infinite
source of Bliss. While that is so, how is it legitimate for a bhakti-stotra to praise that very
deity as One who encouraged and manouvred the powers that be, to fall in Love? In spite
of our reverence to the Acharya, we have to raise this question sometimes. The world-view
has to disappear in order for Divine Enlightenment to appear; but here the deity is praised
for having engineered the creation of that world ! Knowledge arises only after all kAma
(Desire) has been eradicated; but here She is glorified as having been that very Power who
gave the power to the God of Desire for generating Desire. Does it mean, then, that
Desire itself is Divine Grace?

It all means that opposite forces have to exist. We have to contend with both. If
there were no enemy, internally, to struggle against, life could be totally without any
challenges and therefore uninteresting. If everything was going smoothly, then we would
not even recognize good as good. The cross-currents of conflicting powers exist for the
purpose of proving to us that good will survive and surface at the end. The desire in
brahman resulted in the creation of the universe. The desire in the living results in the
world of the living growing up.

Note another interesting marvel. What we consider as good has something bad in
it and vice versa. To understand this subtlety of Creation and carry on our struggle in this
drama of the world is the art of living in fullness. Desire (kAma) and Anger (krodha) are
wrong; but this is only a generalised statement. Looked into deeply, even they have good
in them. There should be a desire for good and anger against bad. In fact it is not
only not wrong, but essential. In the same way, what appears to be good will have bad
hidden in it.

On top of this all there are two important things to note. One is the Lords shower
of Grace; and the other is our surrender to Him. Both are products of Creation; without
the existence of evil and the necessity to fight it, Grace and Surrender have no meaning. On
His side, the highest He does is Grace or Anugraha. On our side, the highest we can do is
Surrender. TO ACCEPT THAT WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING EXCEPT TO
SURRENDER TO HIM IS THE APEX OF ALL THAT WE CAN DO ! You will know it
when you do it !
(Note: Emphasis mine VK)

- 20 -
(Digest of pp. 831-836 )

Even if millions of people do not go the right way what is of significance is that one
of them will see the difference between good and bad and make the total surrender to Her
and get Her shower of Grace for him to see that he (the jIva) and the Ultimate are one. Not
all the seeds of the fruits of a tree grow into a full tree. In the whole world of living beings
even if one in a million achieves that Infinite fullness of Man the purpose of Creation is
fulfilled. That probably is ambaals idea of Creation.

But again, those who do not so achieve the Fullness are not to be considered wasted
or damned. There is no eternal damnation in our scriptures. Acharya Madhva propagated
that idea. Maybe he thought that at least the dread and fear of eternal damnation would
motivate people into reforming themselves to be good. Even an extremely sinful person has
a way of ultimate redemption -- that is the creed of our religion.

Once there was a king. An ordinary commoner was told by him, on an important
mission, to come and see him in his camp. But the commoner entreated the king to give
him some kind of an authentification, like a ring or something, which would gain him the
entry to the kings presence when he presented himself at the camp. The king gave him
such a ring; but the ring did not have his (the kings) seal. It had the seal of the enemy king.
The commoner was perplexed. Why is this king giving him a ring which would only be
identified as the enemys? The king himself removed his doubt by saying: There are so
many of my own couriers and courtiers who have obtained from me my authentified ring
so that they can meet me any time they like. The line of such people would be so large at
any time, that you would not get anywhere near me when you come to meet me. But if they
see the seal of the enemy king in your hands they would take you to be a spy and would
present you before me in no time !

This perhaps is the strategy of ambaal ! Desire, Anger and the whole gang of bad
things are Her own Grace to us in the form of authentified rings, so that we may go to
Her soon. Once Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, asked Krishna to keep giving her
difficulties and miseries all the time so that she will never forget the Lord ! In other words,
in the mystery of creation, unhappiness itself is a divine blessing in disguise.

Again, the opportunity of showering Grace on an individual does not stop with that
person. It continues to pour on all the offsprings of that person in the same way. At this
point one is tempted to say that, in spite of the general Hindu prayer that there should be
no more births, the very fact that there are offsprings is itself a shower of Her Grace. How
else can the balance of karma of jIvas be exhausted? If there was no kAma in the world
those who die with a large balance of karma would have to go unredeemed. Thus it is
ambaals grace that there is kAma as one of the four objectives or purposes of life.

And the scriptures come to our help by earmarking four stages of life in which one
of the stages, namely, grihastAshrama (the householder-stage) is set apart for giving vent to
our legitimate desires. Just as there are exceptions to every rule, for this general rule of
creation also there are certain exceptions in the form of a few, - very few -, who take to the
fourth ashrama (sannyasa) without having to go through the second ashrama of a
householder.

Another final point. Whoever has the power and the means to create should have
also the power and the means to bring the end to creation and the created. The ambaal has
the power to create and spark the desire in us; and therefore She has also the power to free
us from that creation and release us from the desire that overpowered us. The obverse of a
coin has always a reverse. So the same (obverse) power which originates kAma in human
beings, has also the (reverse) power to say, in respect of certain blessed individuals, to that
kAma, Dont go near such and such persons !

So Manmatha, the God of all sensualities, who overpowers us by the power which he
got from ambaal, has however to obey Her when She says: Thus far and no further. The
slokas 5 and 6 which talk of the power of Manmatha has this implication for the devotees of
ambaal, though the slokas do not say so; they only talk of the obverse of the coin, not its
reverse ! And that, the unsaid reverse, is the significance of those two slokas, especially for
those of us who can surrender to Her through recitation of these slokas. Her leelA is: From
advaita through desire to dvaita; and then, ultimately, to advaita through Her Grace and
Compassion!

Now we shall go over to sloka 7. Here comes, for the first time, a graphic description
of the form of Kameshvari (Raja-rajeshvari, LalitA-tripura-sundari), the deity of praise in
Soundaryalahari. Even here, no name is mentioned; in fact, throughout the hymn, the
name does not occur.

21
(Digest of pp. 856-860 of Deivathin Kural Vol.6, 4
th
imprn)

kvaNat-kAnchI-dAmA kari-kalabha-kumbha-stana-natA
parikshhINA madhye pariNata-sharac-candra-vadanA /
dhanur-bANAn pAshaM sRNimapi dadhAnA karatalaiH
purastAd-AstAM naH puramathitu-rAho-purushhikA // 7 //

kAnchI-dAmA: (She who is) wearing the girdle with jewelled bells
kvaNat: tinkling and jingling (of jewels)
kari-kalabha-kumbha-stana-natA: (She who is made to) lean forward by the breasts that
resemble the forehead of an young elephant
parikshhINA madhye : (She who is) slender in the middle (of the body)
pariNata-sharac-candra-vadanA: (She whose) face is like the autumnal full moon
dadhAnA karatalaiH : (She who is) wearing in Her hands
dhanur-bANAn: the bow and arrows
pAsham: the noose
sRNim-api : (and) also the goad
Aho-purushhikA : (She who is) the Iness ( =Ego, in the positive sense)
pura-mathithuH: of the destyroyer of (the demon named) pura i.e. of Lord Shiva
AstAM : may She appear
purastAt : before
naH : us.
(Please see DPDS 10
for an explanation of Aho-purushhikA - VK)

A girdle is called mekhalA. If there are tingling bells in it it is called kAnchI.
The name raNat-kiNkiNi-mekhalA that occurs in the LalitA-sahasranAma is just this
kvaNat-kAnchI-dhAmA, namely, the jingling girdle with bells. The string of bells is also
called maNi. So kAnchI is also known as mani-mekhalA.

In Tamil literature Mani-mekhalai is one of the five great epics. The heroine of
that epic is Manimekhalai. At the end of the story she finally comes to the town of Kanchi
where she feeds the poor from her inexhaustible vessel (akshaya-pAtram). This work
Manimekhalai is slanted towards Buddhistic religion. Accordingly the heroine reaches
salvation after getting the initiation from a Buddhistic Guru. But the incident of feeding
the poor from an akshaya-pAtram is a traditional story of the Goddess Kamakshi of
Kanchi from age-old times. Even in the Sangam Age (of Tamil) there was a woman by
name KAmak-kaNNi which is nothing but the Sanskrit KamAkshi. Well, all this is a
digression from my thought that Mani-mekhalai finally comes to the town (Kanchi)
which has the same name as hers!

By the mention of KanchI the author has hinted at the deity of his devotion. There
are scores of feminine deities in this country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. KshIra-
bhavAni (in Kashmir), Bhagavati (in Kerala), ChamunDeshvari and ShAradAmbA (in
Karnataka), JnAnAmbA, BhramarAmbA and Kanaka-durgA (in Andhra), TulajA
BhavAni (in Maharashtra), ambAji (in Gujarat), Vindhya-vAsinI and anna-pUrNeshvarI
(in Uttarpradesh), KALi (in Bengal), KamAkhyA (in Assam), VaishNavI (in Jammu) and
finally, MeenAkshI, akhilANDeshvarI, dharma-samvarddhanI, KamalambAL,
BalAmbAL, and Shiva-kAma-sundarI (in Tamilnadu).

(Note: The Paramacharya does not seem to have
mentioned the names of the regions in the above list.
These names have been supplied
by Ra. Ganapathi in a footnote.
The Paramacharya seems to have
just reeled off the names of the deities only. VK)

Thus there are several several deity-forms of ambAL. But, there is only one deity which
conforms to the form of LalitA-tripura-sundari as delineated in the ShrI-vidyA tantra
with certain characteristic physical features and arms and weapons and that is the deity
KamAkshi of Kanchipuram. The author of Soundaryalahari who does not mention the
name of the deity of his devotion throughout the text, has perhaps hinted it here, by using
the word KanchI-dAmA !

The word dAmaM means twisted rope or string. It was because YashodA bound
child Krishna with a dAmaM around his waist, He is called dAmodara (udara means
stomach). KanchI-dAma is so named because the jewel-belled girdle is made up of twisted
golden strings. When ambaaL gracefully walks over, not only the ornaments round her
ankles but the jewels of the girdle also jingle !

The whole earth is personified as BhUmA-devI. When one visualises that form, the
geographical location of the navel for that form on the earth is said to be Kanchipuram.
When the girdle with bells is also imagined at its location on the waist, the facade of that
girdle comes at the position of that navel; and that is why the kshetra (place) also gets the
name of Kanchi !

A girdle which circles the globe must be really big. When that is supposed to be the
ornament around the waist of ambaaL, then that waist also should be big. But that is not
so, says the description: parikShINA madhye. kShINa means lean . The preposition
pari indicates that the leanness is extra-ordinary. Thus parikShINA madhye means
She is really very slender in Her middle. The miracle is that this slender waist covers the
whole universe. The macro within the micro !

Let it be. But what about the face? The face is the mukhya (= important,
significant) part. It is from the word mukhya the word mukha (face) arose. How is
ambaaLs face? She is pariNata sharat chandra-vadaNA. Her face is like the moon, with
all the coolness and the whiteness of the autumnal full moon. Later, (in the 63
rd
sloka), the
Acharya puts this thought in more poetic terms: smita-jyotsnA-jAlaM tava vadana-
chandrasya which, in effect, means your moon-like face radiates miraculous moonlight
through its smile.

Another point. The second line of the sloka has two words both beginning with
pari : parikShINA and pariNata. When you read the whole line the sound of the
alliteration creates a pleasant feeling. Such beauties are the specialities of great poets.

Note by VK: At this point I checked all the slokas of Soundarya-lahari. Almost all of them have in
their second and fourth lines
such alliterations or similar-sounding words which create the lilting effect
which the Paramacharya mentioned even earlier.
Just a few examples:
Sloka 1: Na cedevam devam devo; praNantum stotum;
Sloka 7: parikShINA pariNata;
purastAd AstAm, puramathithuH ;
Sloka 17: saha janani sanchintayati;
Vacobhir-vAgdevI-vadana;
Sloka 97: patnIm, padmAm; hareH, hara-sahacarIm;
Bhramayasi, parabrahma-mahiShI.


- 22

(Digest of pp.861-866 of Deivathin Kural Vol.6, 4
th
imprn)


The third line of the seventh sloka is:
dhanur-bANAn pAshaM sRNimapi dadhAnA karatalaiH.

Holding by the hands the bow, the arrows, the noose and the goad is the meaning.
sRNi means ankusha, the goad. These four are the specifics that determine now the
deity of dedication in this stotra. And so we may be certain now that the deity that is being
praised is the deity of the ShrI vidyA mantra, namely lalitA-tripura-sundari or
Kameshwari. If we are not very technical about it, it is also the same as Raja-Rajeshwari.
When ambaaL is in this form, She has four hands, with the noose and goad in the two
upper hands and the bow and arrows in the two lower hands. Manmatha, the God of Love
has the same bow of sugarcane and the same arrows of flowers.

There are two things: rAga (attachment and liking); and dvesha (hate and dislike).
The former gives rise to kAma (desire) and the latter gives rise to krodha (anger). Desire
and anger have to be kept in control. Of course all these are born out of the great divine
mAyic play of ambaaL. And by the same leelA of ambAL, they disappear by Her Grace
(anugraha). The very thought that they will so disappear by Her Grace will help us fight
against them.
rAga-swarUpa-pAshADhyA , meaning, She who holds the noose, which is rAga
in physical form -- is one of Her many names in the lalitA-sahasranAma. Similarly,
another name is krodhA-karAnkushojjvalA, meaning, She who shines by the goad, which
is krodha in physical form.

Of the twin of Desire and Anger, desire has the form of ambaaLs noose (pAshaM).
When you talk of yama-pAshaM it is the noose. When you talk of mothers pAsham
(tAip-pAshaM, in Tamil) it is her attachment and affection and therefore her concern, her
desire (AshA). It is the desire that binds us. It binds us like a rope.

Anger has the form of ambaaLs goad. Anger pierces you like a goad. But it does
not pierce the other man on whom you are angry. He may go away just like that,
indifferently. Our anger pierces only ourselves. The pierce of the goad will be felt by us
only. And we hurt ourselves. Modern science tells us how energy is wasted during anger
and how much. What is more interesting is the further scientific fact with which our
scriptures agree that whereas we exhibit anger (krodhaM) at something we dont like and
thus waste energy, the energy loss is more while we like something, desire it and happily
indulge in that desire (kAmaM). In fact, Desire is the hita-shatru enemy in the disguise
of a friend.

The words pAsham and ankusham both ring a bell and bring the elephant to
our minds. The elephant is always tethered by a heavy chain to an anchor. The chain is
actually a rope of attachment (pAshak-kayiru, in Tamil) for the elephant. The twins
kAma and krodha are elephant-like in their strength; so they have to be controlled with
effort in the same way an elephant is controlled by a pAsham (rope) and ankusham
(goad). The man who rides and monitors the elphant uses the goad to control it. The
elephant-like evils of Desire and Anger are both in the mind. So it is the mind that has to
be controlled. In fact in Sivanandalahari (sloka 96) our Acharya compares the human
mind to a madhepa, meaning, a mad elephant.

Our ambaaL is always shown with a pAsham (noose) and ankusham (goad). This
itself is Her leelA. They are Her important accessories. This is one way of looking at it.

Another way is this. She shows pAsham (affection, attachment) to us; so with the
pAsham in her hand she binds us and pulls us away from all our worldly pAshams
(attachments) and makes us come back to Her with the cry Oh Mother!. And that gives us
the attachment to the attachmentless Divine. PatratrAn patru (in the language of
Valluvar, in Tamil)! Again, when we fall into the Anger mode, She brings her ankusham
(goad) on us and subdues our anger, by that very ankusham which stands in her hand as
the personification of Anger (krodham) ! When Desire is unfulfilled it turns into Anger.
The same Desire and Anger, in Her hands, in the form of the noose and the goad, become
the cure for the two evils in human minds.

Though our sloka in the Soundaryalahari mentions bow and arrow first and then
mentions the noose and goad, it is the noose and goad that are special to ambAL.
Manmatha the God of Love has the same bow and arrows both of which he uses to get
mankind downward into sensuality. His bow draws mans mind into sensuousness and his
five arrows affect the five organs of cognition.
But the same bow and five arrows in the hands of ambaaL work in a positive way as
is vindicated by two names (that appear just immediately after the two names about rAga
and krodha I mentioned a little while ago) in lalitA-sahasranAma, namely, mano-
rupekshhu-kodanDA and pancha-tanmAtra-sAyakA.

The former means: (She who has) the bow of sugarcane, the sugarcane being the
figuration of the mind. The latter name means: (She who has) the five arrows that are the
figurations of the five tanmAtras (= subtle principles behind the senses).
The same sugarcane bow, which in Manmathas hands, draws man downward into
sensuality, in Her hands, leads us upward by producing the desire for moksha. The same
five arrows of flowers, which in Manmathas hands, lead mans five senses outward toward
sense objects, in ambaals hands, makes us desire, to see Her divine form, to hear the
melody of music in devotion to Her, to taste the sweetness of the nectar flowing from Her
Grace, to smell the fragrance of the flowers that adorned Her, and to feel the touch of Her
lotus feet.

- 23

(Digest of pp.866-869 of Deivathin Kural Vol.6, 4
th
imprn)

Just a change of place of the weapons changes their purpose and effects! The same
bow and arrows, that, in the hands of the God of Love, were the cause of mans downfall
into the sensual world, become, in the hands of the Mother Divine, the switches for turning
our mind and senses towards the Eternal Bliss of Her Presence. It is something like the
knife in the hands of the thief; if the same knife were in our hands, he runs away! When we
submit to that magical switch of Hers, we overflow with bhakti; and this together with the
outpouring of Her Grace drenches us in the flood of that spiritual Bliss, and we forget
ourselves as separate entities. When we delude ourselves as separate it is mAyA ; this is the
worst state of existence. When we forget ourselves as separate it is Knowledge; it is the best
state.

Thus when we see that a change of place transforms the worst into the best, we may
learn a lesson. Why not transfer all the beautifications and dressing-up that we do for
ourselves into ornamentations and dresses for ambaal, thereby transforming their effect?
When we decorate ourselves it BRINGS IN the Ego. When we decorate Her, it BRINGS
DOWN our Ego. Decoration in Sanskrit is alankAram; and ego is ahamkAram. If we do
the alankAram to Her, our ahamkAram is gone !

In short, the flower-arrows in ambaals hands grace us with the needed sense-
control and the sugar-cane bow in Her hands bestows on us control of our mind. Nothing
else is needed for Enlightenment ! As Muka-kavi says in Pancha-shati, Mother! Whereas
You sparked desire in Shiva Himself who had burnt the Lord of Desire to ashes, the same
You, in our case, eradicate desires in the desire-filled Jivas.

Mind and the five senses are together counted as six instruments for the human
being. Instruments are called karaNas in Sanskrit. The six karaNas of man are like the
caraNas (feet) of a bee. So the jIva itself is nothing but a six-footed bee with six
instruments of action. The analogy becomes apt when we think of the bee merging into the
depths of a flower with all its (six) feet stuck in that depth. For, the jIva has to work its way
to stick its six instruments out into the lotus of the divine feet of the Mother. This is the idea
which our Acharya himself later builds into Sloka 90 of Soundaryalahari: nimajjan
majjIvaH karaNa-caraNaH shhaT-caraNatAm, meaning, plunging (into Your lotus feet),
may this jIva of mine with its six instruments as the feet (become) the six-legged bee .

The important thing to note here is what has not been said. It is not said that the
mind and the five senses should submit themselves to the bow and arrows of ambaal. It is
only said that they should dissolve themselves into the divine feet. Recall from sloka 4 that
She need not give abhaya and vara by Her hands; Her feet themselves are capable of doing
that. In this sloka 7, instead of the vara and abhaya mudras in the two hands, the bow and
arrows are mentioned. They have been said to give the mind-control and the sense-control.
But one may question: Why cant these controls be also a Grace from Her feet? That is
why it has been said that the mind and the five senses should merge in the lotus of Her feet
as a bee gets lost inside the flower. The noose and the goad in the other two hands would
then be not necessary at all to quell the Desire and Anger in the human mind.

But then, the question arises: Why four hands, instead of just two?
(These things are not amenable to logic, said the Paramacharya earlier. But here he does not repeat
himself. VK)

That the four hands add to the beauty of this beauty Queen is to say it naively. But
remember She is the Queen of the Universe. The majesty of that status is shown by the bow
and arrow in the two forehands. But She is also the Benefactor of the bliss of Moksha;
therefore She is the Queen of the Empire of Enlightenment (jnAna-sAmrAjyam). Raga
(Attachment) and dvesha (hatred, enmity) are two arch-villains that constitute the obstacle
to moksha. These two are killed by the noose and the goad in Her other two hands, thus
establishing that She is the Queen of jnAna-sAmrAjyam.

The bow and the arrows in the forehands has also another significance. What we
have to surrender to Her feet, namely our mind and the senses, She draws by Her own
initiative to Herself; the bow draws the mind and the arrows the senses, to Herself. It is as
if a loving mother says to her child: Dear child, why do you have to fall at my feet; I will
take you onto my lap!

This whole sloka is a fit sloka for meditation. It reminds us that the bow and arrows
that turned the Ishwara Himself the Supreme who is nothing but a bundle of Knowledge,
cit into a creation-mode through the artifice of making Him fall in love with Ishwari,
who thereby became Shiva-kAma-sundari; that same bow and arrows now draw the
medley of minds and senses of the jIvas and keep them under its control, thus protecting
them (spiritually). In fact the bottom line is that even this action of drawing and
protecting is not done by the bow and arrows but by just Her feet.

Indeed weapons in the hands of Gods and Goddesses are powerful not because they
are weapons but because they are given that Power by the supreme shakti, that is, ambaaL.
What She is said to do by Her weapons and other instruments is all just Her Will. She wills
it and it is done. What a mysterious play! Just catch hold of Her feet. That is enough. She
wills to shower Her Grace and there is a downpour of abhaya (fearlessness), vara (boon),
control of the five senses, control of the mind, and what-have-you!. As a cosmic play, She
may use Her weapons, or She may not; She may show mudrAs or She may not.

- 24

(Digest of pp.869-883 of Deivathin Kural Vol.6, 4
th
imprn)

Having described Her four arms and what She held in them, having portrayed Her
general physical features including the autumnal full moon of the divine face, the sloka 7
ends with the svarUpa-lakshaNa (Inherent Definition) of ambaal. This is the core of the
core. She is the personification of the I ness of the Absolute Brahman. I have talked
about it earlier. In other words She is the cit-shakti Itself. She is jnAna in form. She is
jnAna-ambaaL.
purastAd AstAm naH May She appear before us. May She become cognizable
for us. Note the use of the word us (naH) here. Our Acharya is praying for us all. It is
not me, but us. The purpose of the graphic description in this sloka is for us to keep Her
before our mental vision.

There is a Tamil stotra called abhirAmi-antAdi. This is a stotra by a great devotee
abhirAmi-bhattar on the Goddess known by the name of abhirAmi in TirukkaDavUr. The
form of abhirAmi has four hands with vara and abhaya in the two forehands and lotus and
bead-necklace (aksha-mAlA) in the other two hands. The stotra has 100 verses. Right in the
second verse the author describes how the Goddess gave darshan to him, as having in Her
four hands, the bow, the arrows, the noose and the goad. In the last verse of his poem he
gives the same description of the Goddess.

The next sloka of Soundaryalahari (Sloka No.8) describes her location, her own
world in the Cosmic Geography. Just as Shiva has Kailas, VishNu has Vaikuntham, She
has Her own, but there are actually two locations for Her. One is the central peak, called
the peak of Meru.The other is called the City of ShrI (ShrI-puram or ShriI-nagaram) in the
Ocean of Nectar (amRta-sAgaram). But the descriptions of the residence of ambaal in
either of them is the same. This sloka (No.8) sudhA-sindhor-madhye gives the
description of the ShrI-nagaram. Right in the centre of the Ocean of Nectar; surrounded
by the forest of five kinds of divine trees; in the island called maNi-dvIpam; therein in the
Garden of kadamba trees; in the palace of gems called cintAmaNi. right on the seat of the
five brahmAs;

(Re: the five brahmAs, see DPDS 10. VK)

And right there, She is seated, as an inundation of Bliss that is of pure Cit,
Knowledge. This is what one has to visualize in ones meditation.

After this sloka come two slokas, nos.9 and 10, wherein we are told how to propitiate
ambaal through the Kundalini Yoga and mantra yoga. Sloka 9 describes how one achieves
the bliss of advaita by moving the Kundalini shakti through the six chakras (also called
lotuses). From bottom up, in these chakras, the kundalini shakti is in the form of the five
elemental principles earth, water, fire, air, and space and then in the sixth, as the mind
principle. The nADi (nerve, approximately) which has all these chakras is called the
sushhumnA nADi.
When Kundalini is taken up via this nADi through all these chakras and finally is
unionised with the shiva-tattva in the thousand-petalled lotus at the top of the head, that is
when She causes the realisation of the bliss of advaita. What is in the micro is also in the
macro. When ambaaL is in her virAT (universal expansion) state, the five elemental
principles and their origin, the mahat principle, are all in the experience of a yogi who sees
them in the kundalini chakras. And that very mahat, which is the Cosmic Mind, merges
itself in the brahman, namely, the shivam in the sahasrAra (thousand-petalled) chakra,
thus causing the advaita-siddhi.

This experience of the rasa (flavour) of advaita is actually the experience of the
taste of nectar, says the next sloka (#10). When advaita is experienced there cannot be two
things: one, the taste and two, the One that gives that taste, namely ambAL; and much
less another thing called a jIva. So the word experience is just a formality (upacAram
in Sanskrit) for saying what cannot be said formally. However, just before that
experience and after it, there is something like a sentiment similar to an experience, the
benefactor of that experience and the recipient of that experience in fact, a triad or
tripuTi.
I talked of lotuses earlier. They are not lotus flowers of our familiar village pond.
The lotus flower of a pond blooms only in sunlight. In moonlight they close up. On contact
of the heat of fire they disintegrate. On the other hand, in these kundalini lotuses, whether
it is agni-khaNDam, sUrya-khaNDam, or candra-khaNDam, the lotuses corresponding to
the khaNDam blossoms, when the kundalini reaches there. And in the end, the full moon
itself blooms the thousand petalled lotus at the top of the head. And the nectar of moonlight
flows from the moon.

That is the rasa, the flavour, the juice, the essence. Who is giving that rasa? It is
the ambaal. Her divine feet is there in the reflection of the moon as the Gurus Grace. That
is where indeed the nectar flows from. That it flows from the moon is only a way of saying.
The one who receives and realises the flow of that nectar-rasa is the jIva. But the advaita
bhAvanA (attitude) that She is Herself the rasa and She is also the rasAsvAda, the
taster of the rasa this feeling will also be there.

Maybe you are all thinking : (The Speaker) is neither going into the subject of
Kundalini, nor is allowing us to go near it. How, in the world, can we ever have such
profound experiences? At least he (the speaker) could have gone on without mentioning
these!

Well, it is not necessary to have them as the Kundalini yoga.

-25-

(Digest of pp.883-887 of Deivathin kural)

Note: This is a difficult part. So I have given almost
a close translation rather than a Digest. - VK

It is not necessary to go the Kundalini way. Whatever path you take, whatever
method of upAsanA (spiritual worship) you follow, without having to go through the
regimen of the kundalini yoga, if you sincerely follow any one path with an one-pointed
faith, you will, when you reach a certain advanced stage, get those breathing-in and
breathing-out experiences exactly as you would, in a yoga sAdhanA, all by itself. You may
not even feel it. It will get transformed by itself. In a still more advanced stage, when we are
in one-ness with the object of our upAsanA, the breathing may even be stationary in the
kumbhaka state.

In ordinary mundane activities of ours we usually exhale by the left nostril. On the
other hand, the same exhaling, if you carefully observe it, will come by the right nostril,
when you have just had a noble elevating experience of peace like the darshan of a deity or
of a saintly sage. At a higher stage, the exhaling will be equal in both nostrils, to the extent
that, it will then be only one step short of staying in the kumbhaka state, but at the same
time, without any tendency to suffocate, the whole system being light and comfortable all
these changes in the breathing will certainly occur.
And thus, at the end, one may even reach the penultimate state to advaita-siddhi,
namely, the movement of breath reaches the top, touches the divine feet of ambaal and the
nectar starts flowing! Even in our ordinary day-to-day life, if we have an extraordinary
experiencee of happiness, we sometimes suffocate and swoon; that is actually a reflection of
the taste of kumbhakam. That also is a fragment of a fragment of the experience of the
sprouting of the nectar at the top of the head !

I am telling you all this just to point out that even in the path of bhakti such
superlative experiences do occur.
Just have a look at the great devotional songs and poems of confirmed devotees of
God, like the shaiva saints of Tamilnadu, the vaishnava Alvars, the devotees from
Maharashtra, Bengal, North India, Sufi saints, and also of Christianity. All these songs will
only flash the many yogic experiences and spiritual experiences of enlightenment.

It is not just yoga and jnAna. We should also mention the experience of Love,
premA. When we talked of fundamentals like ichA-shakti, Kameshvara and Kameshvari, it
is all very subtle and pure Love. The word kAmam brings to our mind various
connotations. It may be thought that the fact of a sannyasi talking about it strikes a
discordant note. But in reality, in terms of an esoteric context there is no fault there. It only
indicates by symbols that Shakti intertwined with the substratum of Peace is what creates
Creation. There is nothing wrong here. That is why ambaal brings the experience of
premA (Love) along with those of yoga and of jnAna, to many great people, at the very end
of their sAdhanA.

In the evolution of the Origin into multiplicity, the very first thing that happens is
the icchA (Wish, Desire) and the Love-pair. So also, at the very end of the sAdhanA for the
involution of the jIva into the Source, the sAdhakA goes through the nAyikA stage just
before the last stage of the Union with the Supreme. That is the stage of identity with
Shakti. That is when there is an anguish for union with the nAyaka, that is, Shivam. It is in
that anguish one surrenders totally with the attitude: I am incapable of doing anything. It
is all Your Wish.

Then even that desire to merge in Shiva disappears and there remains only the Will
of the Lord. In other words, the involution that the jIva made with deliberate effort merges
in that first evolution of Shiva. At that point, as far as that jIva is concerned, Shiva
Himself, without expanding in evolution, involutes within Himself and receives the jIva into
Him. Think of a flood of flowing water. Put some object into it. The waves will toss it back
and forth and push it over to the bank. This is natural. But when there is a great vortex in
the current, it takes the object into itself and consumes it. This is what happens here also.

(In the above paragraph Ra Ganapathi in his Tamil version
does not use any Tamil or Indian language word
for Involution and Evolution.
Obviously, the Paramacharya himself must have used
these english words only. VK)

The first wish of Shiva, and the last wish of the jIva together coalesce into a
symbolic Love here! We can get confirmations for this from the songs of great devotees
across the world and acoss religions. The songs of Manickavasagar and Mirabhai have
excellent parallels in the songs of Sufi Saints and Christian mystics. It is all an experience
of Yoga, jnAna and PremA.

Though we have said that it is the wish of Shiva and wish of jIva , it is all only the
cit-movement of ambaal only. Only when the complete merger has taken place it is shivam.
So when we say that He takes something into Him, that action itself is Hers only.

I just talked about the highest yoga-experiences that occur in the path of bhakti.
Without going into yogic sAdhanA or tAntric sAdhanA, if one follows the bhakti path with
the attitude: All this is beyond me, Oh Mother, You are my Refuge, then even the self-
pride that I am doing a great sAdhanA will not arise. The Mother Herself will lift up even
the lowliest and grant him the highest experience.

One might feel let down that he cannot get that flow of nectar from the full
moonlight-glow that occurs when the prANa-shakti reaches the thousand-petalled lotus
called sahasrAra. One need not regret the absence of this experience. pariNata-candra-
vadanA says the sloka 7. That full-moon-face is easy to be kept in mind. Stick to it. Think
of the nectar flowing from the graceful glance from those eyes and the nectar of the blissful
smile of that face . She gives you what you thought about and grants you the internal light
of the moon and an internal flow of nectar.

26-

(Digest of pp.887-892 of Deivathin Kural)

Let those who have the capacity to go through the path of Kundalini yoga go that
way. For us,the easier bhakti path which holds doggedly to The Mother is enough. What
they can get, She will give the same to us. Maybe She will take us also to that path, after a
certain stage and give us those experiences. Maybe She will also tell some of them who have
gone through that difficult terrain, Enough of this and bring them back to stay quiet in
a total attitude of surrender.

Right in the sloka (No.10) where it talks about the flow of amrita in the nADis, let us
see how the sloka winds up. It does not wind up with the idea that the eternal flow of nectar
at the point where the prANa Shakti reaches the head, brings the non-dual union of the
jIva with the Absolute; but it ends up by saying: the Kundalini in the form of that prANa
Shakti descends through Chakra after Chakra and winds itself up in the mUlAdhAra
Chakra, where it again goes to sleep.
It is the winding and whirling up that gave it the name of Kundalini. When a
snake sleeps it winds and whirls up. In fact all animals do it. They dont stretch their limbs
and sleep. Some winding up will be there. But it is the snake that winds up totally in the
form of a kunDala (ear ornament).The parAShakti whose power is infinite, exhibits Herself
in each of us only a fragment of a fragment. All the remaining power of the parAShakti is
the sleeping Kundalini.

Well. Instead of continuing the talk of the flow of amrita and the blissful sensation
of it, I have now come down to the talk of the sleeping state of ambaal in us commonfolk.
What is the meaning of this kind of ending such a profound discussion? Yes, there is a
meaning. So long as the thought that I have done a great yoga-sAdhanA is there, even
great yogis will have to tumble down to the normal ground-level state. And so, mark it,
even if one goes high up to the kundalini yoga stage, the only key that will unlock the door
is the attitude of surrender which says: It is not me; It is You, Oh Mother!

In the next sloka (# 11), the Shri Chakram (also called the Shri Yantram) is
described. The very mention of ShrI VidyA pUjA implies the pUjA of Shri Chakram.
Every deity has a Yantram exclusively associated with it. But those who do Shiva pUjA and
or VishNu pUjA do not usually keep the corresponding Yantrams in the pUjA. Maybe in
temples under the various altars of the deities the corresponding Yantrams would have
been formally installed. But in households where Shiva or VishNu pUja is done only the
BANa lingam or the SalagrAmam is kept, but not the Yantram. In the panchAyatana pUjA
which includes worship of ambaaL one keeps the stone called svarNa-rekhA-ShilA. But
when you worship ambaal alone, you dont keep that ShilA. Only Shri Chakram is kept.
In some places along with the Chakram, an image with hands and feet may also be kept.

The regimen of worship for any deity has both mantra and Yantra associated
with it. A certain sequence of sounds, repeated often and often gets the beatification of the
presence of that devatA (divinity) prescribed by it. Just as each devatA has a physical form
with limbs, so also each devatA has a form in a stringed sequence of sounds. It is called the
sound-form, just as the recitation of mantras aims at the mantra-form.
In addition there is the Yantra-form for each devatA. The form has lines, triangles,
enclosures, circular or otherwise; these are not just geometrical figures. Each of them has a
meaning and significance. They have extraordinary power. Each Yantram is set to absorb
and bring into focus the paramAtmA in the form of that devatA. In addition to the
repeated mental recitation of the mantra, one does pUja to the Yantram also. Within the
triangles of the Yantras and other enclosures, the seed-syllables (bIja-aksharas)
corresponding to the mantra pertaining to the devata would be inscribed. The very devatA
that is the life of an idol with arms and feet is also considered to be brought alive in the
corresponding Yantram, In fact the Yantram is even more comprehensive; for it includes
the native residence of the devatA and all its accessory deities within itself.

The Mother Goddess, whom we call ambaal, has many forms like Meenakshi,
durgA, Bhuvaneshvari, ShAradAmbikA etc. Each of these has its own Yantram. But it is
very common that even the worshippers of these forms do only the Shri Chakra pUjA,
rather than the pUjA of the particular mUrti (form). This is so not only in houses, but in
temples also. Famous durgA temples have only Shri Chakra installed therein. Sringeri has
ShAradAmbAl as the main mUrti; however the Yantra PujA is for Shri Chakram. All this
goes to show the importance of the Shri Chakram.
Lines, circles, squares, figures formed by these all these configured into a Chakra
along with a centre point (madhya-bindu), is called a Yantram. Only such a design has the
power to bring into focus the power of the particular devatA in fact it is an infinite power
and so may be called (with a smile) a Divine Design. (This is Paramacharyas own word).
These designs collect and absorb divine energy and have the power to radiate that energy .

In the Shri Chakra, the central portion is circular. There are nine triangles there.
They criss cross one another, thus producing forty-three triangles. The central dot is also
considered to be one triangle. Together the triangles number forty-four. These forty-four
triangles are classified into six AvaraNas. The straightforward meaning of this word
AvaraNa is what hides. Here it should be taken to mean track, corridor, row, or
prAkAra in Sanskrit. If several people crowd around one individual, the latter is naturally
hidden. So they form an AvaraNam around him. The central dot is also taken as one
AvaraNam just as it is taken also as a triangle. In fact around it the other forty-three
triangles constitute five AvaraNas. Together with it we talk of six AvaraNas. Outside of
these six AvaraNas annd forty-four triangles, there are three rounds or corridors. They
constitute three more AvaraNas and thus we have nine AvaraNas in all. You would have
heard of Dikshidars nava-AvaraNa compositions in music. The ShAstras describe and
enunciate who lives in what AvaraNa, what is the principle involved, who is the adhi-
devatA, what kind of anugraha (Grace) they can bestow, what mudrA is to be shown to
them and so on. The compositions of Dikshidar go through all this in brief.

Out of the outermost three AvaraNas (rounds) of the total nine, the two inner are
made up of lotus petals arranged in two circles. The ninth AvaraNa is a design looking
like three compound walls; but now it is not a circular structure but of square design. The
whole thing is a unique design with an infinite divine potential.

But beware. One has to be careful.

-27-
(Digest of pages 892-898, Deivathin Kural (in Tamil), Vol.6, 4th imprn)

A Yantra means that every bit of it whether a line or a circle or an angle, has to be of the
right size and proportioin as prescribed. It cannot err even a little this way or that way.
Just as a mantra, with a wrong incantation, produces contrary effects, so also a small
mistake in the design of the Yantra can cause havoc. In the Shri yantra again, if the apex of
the central triangle faces west instead of east, as it should, results can just be the opposite.
So when you sit opposite to it for the worship, the apex should be on the side nearer to you
and not on the farther side. One has to be really more careful with the pUja of a Yantram
than that of an idol (vigraha), in terms of the ritualistic dos and donts. In modern times
many have turned over to Shri Cakra pUjA in their homes, a few merely for the pride of it,
another few because it is the fashion, and yet another few out of ignorance. But the
injunctions are not being followed properly. Consequently, loss of peace is on the increase.

It is not enough to just wish for great observances. We should be able to observe the
shastraic injunctions correctly. We should be able to perform exactly as was demonstrated
to us and passed on to us by our elders. Only then we will reap the right benefits. Certainly
Shri Chakra has been eulogised in the Shastras to the sky. But the very same ShAstras
have also prescribed a certain regimen for such pUjA. By taking the attitude I will do my
personalized pUjA in my own way not only will you miss the promised or expected results,
but actually it will turn out to be counter-productive.

A Yantra is not just the residing seat of a devatA; it is the devatA itself. It is not just a
representation, or a copy. It is not a substitute for the devatA. It is the devatA itself. It is
the presentation of the devatA and not a re-presentation. More so in the case of ambaal.
For, Her Divine Presence is very special in Her Yantra. It is because of this that ambaal-
pUjA is mostly done to Her Yantra than to Her most beautiful physical form.

[At this point, Ra Ganapathi, (the Boswell of Paramacharya),
adds the following note:
Usually we talk greatly of the name and form of devatAs.
But generally, in the case of feminine deities,
the name takes a lesser role. And in the case of ShrI Vidya mantras,
the name is not there at all. Only the seed syllables are dominant.
Again, though the devatA of Shri Vidya, namely Tripurasundari,
is as shown by her name itself of very beautiful form,
instead of the worship of her form
This question was asked of the Paramacharya .
He expressed concurrence with the above statement
and joined in expressing his own astonishment that this is so.
But he did not choose to give any explanation. ]


In addition to the two natural locations for Her, namely, the Ocean of Nectar and the Meru
peak, one should add Her Yantram as another place of Her permanent residence. No, no, I
just committed two errors. The Shri Chakra is not just Her residence. The Shri Chakra is
Herself ! This was the first error. The second one is that the Shri Chakra is not like the
Ocean of Nectar or the Meru peak where She is said to reside. Even in those two places,
She resides only in the ShriChakra, though now magnified million times.

When She is in the Meru peak, the AvaraNas are piled up peak upon peak in a three-
dimensional manner. It will be in the form of an upright cone. Such a three dimensional
configuration of Shri Chakra is called Meru-prastAram. People call it just Meru
colloquially. When the Chakra is two dimensional it is said to be bhU-prastAram. A
mixture of the two, where the beginning AvaraNas rise higher and higher, but later the
latter AvaraNas are all in the same plane, is called ardha-Meru (ardha means semi). A
pUrNa-Meru is that which has all the AvaraNas in the Meru-prastara style. In our Mutt at
Kanchipuram and in Tiruvidaimarudur MukAmbal sannadhi, what you find is pUrNa-
Meru. In Mangadu it is ardha-meru. In the Kamakoshtam at Kanchipuram it is bhU-
prastAram.

The Shri Chakra, ShrI VidyA, ShrI MatA, ShrI puram all pertain to the devI, the Mother
Goddess, LalitA-tripurasundari. The prefix ShrI is the prefix usually given for respect and
has no extra connotation of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity and Wealth. The Chakras
and the mantras associated with other devatAs are distinguished by by their name itself
carrying the name of the devatA as in, Shiva-Chakram, Sudarshana-Yantram,
ShhaDakshhara-Chakram, etc. Only in the case of LalitA-tripurasundari, the Chakram,
the Yantram are known as The Chakram, The Yantram, The Mantram.


The Shri Chakram depicts the advaitic identity of Shiva and Shakti. That is why the two
kinds of Chakras of Shiva and Shakti are intertwined. The (four) triangles with the apex
upward are known as Shiva cakras and the (five) triangles with apex downward are known
as Shakti Chakras. The angles at which these interesect, the lotus petals on the outer
corridors, the circular lines, the square design at the outermost, all have specific
prescriptions; these are given in Shloka 11.
All this is not to be read or studied like reading fiction or for acadmeic interest. They have
to be seriously learnt straight from a Guru. They have to be preserved as such. I did not
want to omit them completely and therefore I just touched upon these. But dont take them
lightly !



-28-

(Digest of pp.898-903 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Shloka 12 talks about the extraordinary beauty and charm of the Devi. With a
poetic excellence it says: Much has been said in detail and with precision about Your
Yantra the lines, the planes, the circles and the squares. But to describe You and Your
physical feature excellences, it doesnt seem to be possible. No poet has ever succeeded in
that task!.

BrahmA is the Adi-kavi, the most ancient poet. The Bhagavatam refers to him in
this fashion in the very first Shloka. The Goddess of Learning, Sarasvati, is his Shakti. Who
can therefore be a greater poet? He has composed stotras on every devatA you can
imagine. All the divines usually go to him for redress of their grievances. He takes them to
the concerned God, either Shiva, or Vishnu or Devi, etc. Every time he sings praise of the
particular God whom they are approaching for help. His stotra on ambaal in the work
called sapta-shati is famous. But even he could not describe the beauty of ambaal as it is.
The first half of Shloka 12 goes as follows:

tvadIyam soundaryam tuhina-giri-kanye tulayitum
kavIndrAH kalpante kathamapi virinchi-prabhRtayaH /

tuhina-giri-kanye: Oh Goddess, Daughter of the Himalayas
tulayitum: to weigh (or assess)
tvadIyam: Your
soundaryam: beauty
kavIndrAH: great poets
virinchi-prabhRtayaH: (like) Brahma and others
kalpante: (only) imagine
kathamapi: somehow (in feeble ways).

Virinchi means BrahmA. prabHRtayaH: and the others of the kind. They tried to
describe Your beauty tvadIyam soundaryam. The word tulA stands for a pair of
weighing scales. In one pan of the scales we put the object to be weighed and in the other
pan we place the weight whose weight we know. In other words when we dont know the
weight of something we calculate it by comparing it with something whose weight we know.
So when you dont know how to describe the beauty of ambaal, what we do is to look for
something whose beauty we know. Such a weight we know is known by the name of
analogy or example. The face is like the moon, the eyes are like lotuses, the hair on the
head is like a beehive all these are examples and analogies, which help us to comprehend
the weight of the beauty of ambaal, in terms of known weights.

So what the poets do is to imagine newer and newer examples with great effort.
This effort of imagination by the poet is denoted by the word kalpante in the Shloka.
kalpanA is imagination. They only imagine an example. They are not able to arrive at the
real thing, is what the Shloka says. The fact they are not able to do it, is gracefully hinted at
by the Shloka in the words kathamapi kalpante.

The Yantra-form of the Goddess has been outlined with precision. But Her physical
form eludes imagination. Attempts by even the great Brahma and others to find suitable
examples have only failed.

To describe the form, somebody should have seen it in full. Has anybody seen it?
No. Of course it is not right to say that She has never been seen at all. Because we have
several poet-devotees who have had a flash of Her and in the wake of that flash have
composed wonderful devotional poetry. Even in the case of the greatest of devotees, to
whom She might have given darshan, maybe one got to see Her lotus feet, another the
Graceful eyes, and another the bewitching smile in the face. Like that some part of Her
may have caught the eyes of even these devotees; but never the full form!

Then who has seen Her full beauty? Only the Lord, Her husband, Lord
Shiva. Indeed She took this very beautiful form in order that He may be involved in the
leelA of Creation. And thus She became Tripura-sundari, the beautiful. So Her physical
form has been totally dedicated to Him. Though Her full beauty is not visible for our
perception Her fullest Grace and Compassion are available for every one of us.

That Her full beauty is perceptible only to Her Lord is not said in so many blunt
words. It is nicely couched in a subtle poetic extravaganza which comes in the next two
lines of the same Shloka. (Shloka #12):

Yad-AlokautsukyAd-amara-lalanA yAnti manasA
tapobhir-dushhprApAm-api girisha-sAyujya-padavIm //12 //

yat : (of) which (beauty) (This goes with Your beauty in the first half).
amara-lalanAH : the divine damsels
Aloka-autsukyAt : because of their curiosity to have a complete look
yAnti : reach
manasA : mentally
girisha-sAyujya-padavIm : the unity status with Lord Shiva
dushhprApAm : that is inaccessible
tapobhir-api : even by great penances.

The divine damsels who are particularly thought of here are the famous quadret:
RambhA, Urvashi, tilottamA and MenakA. They are supposed to be superlatively
beautiful. Even they, having seen a little of the beauty of ambaaL, have considered
themselves insignificant, in relation to ambaals beauty. They are naturally curious to get a
look at the complete beauty of Mother Goddess. But they also know they cannot have that
complete picture, because the Goddess is totally dedicated to the Lord and Her complete
beauty is not perceptible to any one else. So what do they do? Only the Lord knows Her
fullest beauty. So they want to be one with Him, the Lord Shiva. This is the Shiva-sAyujya-
padavI. Then and only then, they can have an idea of the complete beauty of ambaaL.

But that Shiva-sAyujya status is not so easy to obtain. And what exactly is this
sAyujya?

-29-

(Digest of pp.903 - 909 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

To reach the world of the ishhTa-devatA (Chosen favourite deity) and live in that
world is called sAlokya-padavI. The next stage is the sAmIpya stage. This is the stage where
one lives in the beatific presence of that God. The next stage which is sArUpyam is the
process of becoming that very form by continuously meditating on the form. The ultimate
is the sAyujya-padavI where one becomes in essence the object of ones adoration. This is an
identity status, both in form and essence.

There are devotees of Shiva who seek that sAyujya padavI in their unquenchable
thirst for becoming one with the Lord. In their case the sAyujyam is an end in itself. On the
other hand, the divine damsels (go back to Shloka 12) who are seeking that sAyujya status
with Lord Shiva do not seek it as an end, but as a means to be able to see the beauty of the
Supreme Goddess. It is an irony that in the hands of these damsels even the greatest goal
(sAdhyam) of shiva-sAyujya status has become a sAdhanA (means) for the sadhyam (that is,
that which is sought, and therefore, a further goal), the darshan of the fullest beauty of
ambaal!

Well, just because these damsels have sought that status is it going to be within their
reach? It is something which is inaccessible even for the hardest penance. These damsels
know only to disturb and destroy the penances of the rishis. The sense-control needed for
the hard penance is beyond their reach. So what do they do? They only try to achieve it
mentally. But that status indeed is not reachable even by the mind. yan manasA na
manute says the Upanishad, meaning, What cannot be thought of even by the mind. The
bottomline therefore is, even they cannot ultimately know the beauty of ambaal!

It is to be noted that this shloka, which elevates the beauty (soundaryam) of ambaal
to its apex, is actually in the midst of the first part, that is Ananda-lahari.

Another shloka (#14) describes ambaal as the personification of Time (kAlam).There
are six seasons in a year. These 360 days of the year are the 360 rays of light emanating
from the infinite Light of Shakti. Each of the Chakras represents one of these seasons and
there are as many rays there as there are days in the corresponding season.For instance, in
the mUlAdhAra Chakra, there are fifty-six rays, corresponding to the fifty six days of
vasanta-ritu (the spring season). She thus contracts Herself as a ritu in Time and stays as
such in that Chakra. In reality She transcends Time; She is kAlAtItA. It is in that
transcendent state, She manifests as the divine Feet in the thousand-petalled Chakra,
beyond the six Chakras. The pair of Her lotus feet tava padAmbuja-yugam -- is there
in that sahasrAra Chakram.

Amidst the Anandalahari shlokas I will now pick up one shloka (#15) which depicts
Her, not in Her lalitA form, but in another form consistent with the ShrI VidyA tantra.

Sharat-jyotsnA shuddhAM shashi-yuta-jaTA-jUTA-makuTAM
vara-trAsa-trANa-sphaTika-ghuTikA-pustaka-karAM /
sakRn-na tvA natvA katham-iva satAM sannidadhate
madhu-kshhIra-drAkshhA-madhurima-dhurINAH paNitayaH//

satAM: For (those) noble ones,
sakRt : just once
natva: having prostrated
tva : to You
Sharat-jyotsnA-shuddhAM : who is as pure and white as the autumnal moonlight
shashi-yuta-jaTA-jUTA-makuTAM: who has the crown of matted hair that includes
the moon, and
vara-trAsa-trANa-sphaTika-ghuTikA-pustaka-karAM: who holds in the (four) hands,
the boon mudrA, the fear-protection mudrA, the crystal bead necklace, and the
book
Katham-iva : why (would)
paNitayaH : the speech capabilities
madhu-kshhIra-drAkshhA-madhurima-dhurINAH: which are pregnant with the
sweetness of honey, milk and grapes
na sannidadhate: not accrue?

Here the Goddess depicted is the the Goddess of Speech, (vAg-devi or Sarasvati), but
without Her usual VINA in Her hand.

The word sharad becomes very apt when one refers to Goddess Sarasvati. It is in
sharad-ritu (the autumnal season) that we do pUjA to Sarasvati. She is called ShAradA
because of that. Our Acharya had a special affinity to the ShAradA name. Sarasvati is very
important to him because we know he reached the peak of excellence in scholarship.

ShAradA is one of the more important names of Sarasvati. It indicates
simultaneously the perfect purity of whiteness and the cool Grace that combines
pleasantness and goodness. Very often sha and sa get interchanged in tradition. In north
India there is the custom of referring to ShAradA as SaradA. The latter word means,
SAra-dA, the One who graces you with the essence (sAram) of Knowledge.This may be
another reason why the Acharya had an affinity toward the name. The name of the deity he
installed in Sringeri is ShAradAmbAL. In spite of the fact that he had a liking towards this
name, just as he never mentioned either lalitA or Tripura-sundari in this stotra, he did not
also mention ShAradA. Still, by the words Sharad-jyotsnA in the beginning of this shloka,
he reminds us of ShAradAmbAl.

The second line of the shloka talks about the four hands. Two of the hands show the
vara (boon) and abhaya (fearlessness) mudrAs. Earlier it was said in shloka 4 that all others
other thanLalitAmbAL show the vara-abhaya mudrAs. So in this shloka he presents
Saraswati with the vara-abhaya mudrAs. The dual word trAsa-trANa indicates the
abhaya. For trAsa means fear and trANa means protection. Protection from fear is
just abhaya, fearlessness.

SphaTika-ghuTikA is the crystal bead necklace. In Sanskrit it is called aksha-
mAlA. This is the same as akshara-mAlA. The akshharas are the alphabets. The 51
letters of the Sanskrit alphabet from a to kshha correspond each by each to the beads in
the necklace; that is why it is called akshara-mAlA, also called aksha-mAlA. Here I have
to tell you a very important component of the ShAkta tradition and scriptures.

-30-

(Digest of pp.909 - 915 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)


The aksharas, alphabets, are very important for ShAktam. Each letter has a basic
sound principle associated with it. The very creation is by the vibration of sound waves.
The elemental principle of AkAsha produces, through vibration, subtle sounds, and from
these sounds creation starts, from that the mantras, and the vedas that are full of mantras.
The subtle principle underlying AkAsha, that is, the tanmAtra associated with AkAsha, is
sound . The key concept in ShAktam is the cycle of evolution and involution and so, the
sound principle runs as its life-line. On one side Shaktam has the artha-prapancham, the
universe of matter, where the fundamental principles are Shiva-tattvam, Shakti-tattvam,
sadAshiva-tattvam, Ishvara-tattvam and shuddha-vidyA tattvam which take you through the
evolutionary stage from the para-brahman to the universe of matter and being. On the
other side there is the sabda-prapancham, the unvierse of sound. It starts from the most
subtle one called parA. Including this there are five sound (shabda) principles. After
parA there is pashyantI, then madhyamA.

The subtle sound parA cannot be heard by human ear and cannot be vocalised by
human voice. It is in fact the root source, the substratum, of all sounds. When that gets a
little focussed just a little and materialised, it becomes pashyantI. In other words,
what was without purpose and was just plain and simple sound-root, namely, parA ,
became inclined towards being heard and being spoken and so in that direction solidified
slightly and thus pashyantI arose. So pashyantI has a purpose!. The very word itself
means seeing, looking forward. parA had no purpose; but when the purpose arises, it
becomes pashyantI.

Next comes the actual subtle sound, called madhyamA. This is not produced by
any human voice. It arises by itself. This is therefore midway between the subtle sound of
pashyantI and the actual sound of the human voice, which is physical. Hence the name
madhyamA, which means what is in the middle. This is a self-generated sound. It is
therefore also called anAhata. Ahata means what is forced or externally generated.
That which is not forced or not generated externally, is the anAhata sound.

All that is externally generated is Ahata. In this category come all sounds, that
human voice produces, by the vibration of air through the larynx, and all instrumental
noises produced by the blow of air or by beat of drum or by the friction of matter with
matter, metal with metal.

After parA, pashyantI, and madhyamA comes the speech that man produces with
effort. This is called vaikharI. This is classified into two: just mere noise is called dhvani
--- when a child cries, or when we just laaugh loudly or weep aloud; that which is
recognisable as such and such a sound is called varNa. This varNa is the akshhara or
the alphabet. There are 51 specified akshharas.

The five principles of the artha-prapancham are usually equated with the five sound
principles. In fact the latter are more important, because it is by the vibration of these
sounds that the artha-universe began.

Now let us come to the five elemental principles in which Ambaal manifests Herself
in the kundalini cakras. Starting from mulAdhAra, upwards to the vishuddhi Chakra, the
tattvas of earth, water, fire, air and AkAsha are proceeding from the concrete to the subtle
ones. This is the artha-prapancham. The five elemental sound principles are also
manifested in the kundalini Chakras, but in the reverse order. It is in the mulAdhAra
Chakra that the most fundamental sound energy parA is present. So from the
mulAdhAra to vishuddhi, they go from the subtle to the concrete, thus ending up with the
most concrete one of the human voice, namely, the varNa category of vaikhari.

The 51 sounds of the alphabet are called mAtRkAs. The word mAtRkA means
mother. An young mother who moves and mingles with us in our own childish world is
called mAtRkA. A royal mother with a higher status is called mAtA. She is the mahA-
rAjnI of LalitA-sahsranAma. But She is also the mAtRkA-varna-rUpiNI, meaning She is
in the form of the varnas (=aksharas) or the mAtRkAs. In ShAkta scriptures the aksha-
mAlA and the book are indicative of the shabda-prapancham. That is why ambaal is holding
them in the other two hands.

The ShrI vidyA mantras are made up of pure aksharas only. It is the Mother
Goddess Herself who takes the forms of these sounds. Those who do the mantra-japa are
being blessed by Her through these sounds. Her Grace makes even the kundalini yoga
achievable by the vibrations of the nADIs at the japa of the mantras. We, in addition, get
many of our other desires fulfilled. Not only this. By repeating these sound vibrations we
get even the darshan of Her physical form.Thus Her entire leelA takes place in this
universe of sounds and sound vibrations. All that I said now is about the akshharas only.

When we combine these akshharas in various combinations we get the various
words and nAmas and also the stotras. In fact even the Vedas arose like this.

In the ShrI vidyA mantra there are three kUTas, spheres of influence. The first
one is called vAgbhava-kUTam. It means that it arises from vAk, speech. The entire
mantra is the form of ambaaL. And in that form, the face is vAgbhava-kUTam. In the
scriptures and stotras of ShAktam, it is very often said that She gives excellence of speech
to Her devotees. In this very sloka (#15) that is what it says. Why all this importance to this
Grace of the Goddess? Let me explain.

1
(Digest of pp.915-920 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The power of speech is endowed by parA-shakti only to the human species. As a
special gift from Her it must be really important for us. If we have any good sense in us we
would use it only for noble purposes. The shakti of speech that She has given us should be
used only to reach Her again.

The greatness of the power of speech lies in this. Its greatness lies in using it, not just
to get great experiences for oneself but for further transmitting them to others also. This
can be done only by the faculty of speech. It is for such sharing that the parA-shakti has
given us, Her children, this unique faculty. What greater benefit could there be in life for
the power of speech?

When a Guru teaches a certain path of sAdhanA, he appends to it a number of strict
injunctions to be followed. On the other hand a poet perhaps is able to give a similar thing
in the form of pleasing enjoyable music. It is the Grace of ambaal that has made such a
thing possible by endowing us all with the faculty of speech. That is why we praise vAk-
Shakti. It is LalitAmbika who graces us thus and this shloka says She does it in the form of
vAg-devi, that is Sarasvati. Just once if we bow down to Her, good souls get the excellence
of the faculty from Her.

Note however that satAm is the word used. Not everybody but only those noble
souls who can be classified as sAdhu would be endowed. The excellence of speech is
compared to the excellence of sweetness of three kinds: honey, milk and grapes. They can
be easily swallowed and digested. On the spiritual side, the speech faculty would help
them receive messages full of sense and assimilate them in their innermost hearts; and all
this by just one prostration. Instead of saying in prosaic words that they will be endowed
with such faculties the poet in the Acharya says: Why would not they be endowed with
such faculties?

Just a word about the play with the sound of the word natvA. It is used two times.
One time to mean natvA, that is, (having) prostrated; and another time to mean na tvA
meaning, not You. Here it is two words na and tvA . The word na goes with
sannidadhe (endowed, graced) so that it gives the meaning: (Why would they) be not
endowed. The You goes with the earlier word natvA thus meaning prostrated to You.

kavIndrANAM cetaH kamala-vana-bAlAtapa-ruciM
bhajante ye santaH katicid-aruNAm-eva bhavatIM /
virinchi-preyasyAs-taruNatara-sRGgAra-laharI-
gabhIrAbhir-vAgbhir-vidadhati satAM ranjanam-amI // 16 //

ye katicit santaH : Those few righteous persons who
bhajante : worship
aruNAm eva bhavatIM: You who are nothing but aruNA , that is, the colour of
crimson personified
bAlAtapa-ruchiM: (and) who are the rising Sun to
kavIndrANAM cetaH kamala-vana: the forest of lotuses (in the form of) the minds of
great poets,
amI : they
ranjanaM vidadhati: give rapturing excitement
satAM ; to the noble souls
gabhIrAbhir-vAgbhiH: by majestic and profound words
taruNa-tara-sRGgAra-laharI : that is a flood of love which is youthfully fresh
virinchi-preyasyAH : from the beloved of Brahma, i.e., from Sarasvati.

In the previous shloka the talk was about the all-white vAgdevI. The same Sarasvati
is now talked about in her dynamic (rajo-guNa) form. Just before sunrise, it is all crimson
in the east and we call it the rising of aruNa. The word aruNa means crimson-red. The
charioteer of the Sun is of that colour; so he is called aruNa. Here aruNA is the
personification of the crimson colour and this is Sarasvati in Her rajo-guNa form. When
She is meditated in this form She gives the speech-excellence, where love is dominant.
Love belongs to rajo-guNa. It is therefore usually symbolised as crimson. So it is quite
fitting that aruNA-devi graces one with Love.

But mark it. It is not the usual natural romantic love of the worldly kind. It is the
esoteric Love of the partnership of Kameshvara and Kameshvari. Those who can
comprehend it in that light are the righteous ones (santaH). In the previous shloka, one is
said to obtain poetic excellence by worshipping the all-white pure Sarasvati. The poetry
that springs out of this grace would also be white, sAtvic and would have the consequence
of giving wisdom and dispassion. Such a wisdom and dispassion can be experienced as
an expression of Love. That occurs only to the noble souls (satAM) . It is to their
satisfaction that the devotees of Sarasvati sing. It is these noble souls who were said (in
the previous shloka) to obtain the sweetness of speech, equal in sweetness to madhu
(honey), kshIra (milk) and drAkshA (grapes). And in this shloka the same noble souls are
being joyfully entertained by the worshippers of Sarasvati, the Crimson (aruNA):
vidadhati satAm ranjanam amI. Those who were poets in the previous shloka, have
now become connoisiurs !

The poets of the previous shloka were those noble persons who obtain the
proficiency for poetry from ambAL. Among those noble persons those who reach the
nAyikA-bhava (attitude of the beloved) towards the Almighty are only a few (katicit);
these are the ones who can sing of Her Love in the proper manner.
The ecstasy they enjoy and give in singing is called ranjanaM. There is a pun on
this word here. It is made up of two words ram and janam. The consonant ra itself
denotes red. It stands for two kinds of fires. One is the ordinary one; and the other is
the fire of love (kAmAgni). ram + janam means that which causes red. It means to
cause love that is red. The redness here indicates ripeness. When a fruit is ripe it is deep
red. The reddening of the mind is to make it fully mature and ripe for receiving the
Fullness that is God. The noble persons who are now singing by the Grace of ambaal in
the form of arunA (red Sarasvati), are mature enough to produce the esoteric redness of
ram. So the poetry comes out of them in a wave of Love (ShRngAra-lahari). They are
actually deep and profound words (gabhIrAbhir-vAgbhIh). On the surface they appear to
be love and romance. But deep within it, there are gems of philosophy there.

Goddess Kameshvari has herself the name aruNA. Recall Her dhyAna-shloka:
aruNAM karuNA-tarangitAkshhIM. Here our Acharya is actually invoking the eight
armed Goddess: with bow, arrow, noose and spear (that go with Kameshvari) in four of
the hands and with varam, abhayam, aksha-mAlA and book (that go with Sarasvati) in the
other four hands. This is the aruNa-Sarasvati with eight hands, talked about by our
elders.

32
(Digest of pp.921-924 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

In the next shloka (#17) the talk is about the unique sArasvata-siddhi (the siddhi of
all Speech and Learning) obtained by the contemplation of LalitA-Tripurasundari
surrounded by the vAg-devatAs (the Gods of speech). The name vAg-devatA, if used in the
singular, denotes Sarasvati Herself. When it is used in the plural, it denotes eight divinities.
They are assigned as follows to the various aksharas (letters of the alphabet):
One for the sixteen vowels;
One for the five letters starting with ka;
Similarly one for each set of five letters starting respectively with cha, Ta, ta, and pa;
One for ya, ra, la and va;
One for sha, shha, sa, ha, La, kshha.

Thus there are eight vAg-devatAs for the 51 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet.The first
of these is called vashinI. Therefore all the eight are called vashinI, etc. devatAs
(vashinyAdi devatAH) or simply, vashinI devatAs. These are the ones who sang the Lalita-
sahasranAma at the behest of ambaal Herself. In the seventh AvaraNa (always you count
from outside) of the ShrI Chakra, there are eight triangles; that is where these eight
devatAs are seated, surrounding ambaaL.

(Unfortunately for us the Paramacharya does not quote
the shloka #17 and give his word-by-word meanings,
though he explains most of it
For the sake of completeness I give below
the shloka and supply a word-by-word meaning
from what I understand from His Holinesss discourse
and from other sources. VK)

savithrIbhir-vAcAM shashi-maNi-shilA-bhanga-rucibhiH
vashinyAdyAbhis-tvAM saha janani samcintayati yaH /
sa kartA kAvyAnAm bhavati mahatAM bhangi-rucibhiH
vacobhir-vAg-devI-vadana-kamalA-moda-madhuraiH // 17 //

yaH samcintayati : He who reflects on
tvAM : You
janani : Oh Mother,
vashinyAdyAbhiH saha : along with the vashinI-devatAs
vAcAM savithrIbhiH : who are the Generators of Speech
shashi-maNi-shilA-bhanga-rucibhiH : who have the colour of the broken moonstone
gem,
saH : he
mahatAm kAvyAnAM kartA bhavati : becomes the author of great poetic
compositions
vacobhiH ; through words
bhangi-rucibhiH : (which have) the taste of art and wit
vAgdevI-vadana-kamalA-moda-madhuraiH : (and which have) the sweet fragrance of
the lotus face of vAg-devI (Sarasvati).

(I now continue the Paramacharyas comments VK)

These eight vAg-devatAs constitute the Mothers of speech. That is why the shloka
No.17 which prays for excellence in speech begins with savithrIbhir vAcAM . In traditional
literature there is a gem known as chandrakAnta gem which is crystal-like and which
will melt in moonlight. The vAg-devatAs have that kind of crystal colour in which moon
reflects in a dazzling manner. In one shloka ambaal was depicted as pure white like the
moonlight (sharat-jyotsnA shuddhAm - #15). In another She is aruNA, red (#16). In this
shloka (#17) the aruNa, that is ambaal, is sitting surrounded by the vAg-devatAs,
majestically like a Queen with all Her attendants. Whoever can meditate on this scene
(sancintayati yah) gets the literary capacity and competence to compose great epic poems.
In fact he gets the fluency and the power of speech which only great writers have.
And the shloka uses a specific word here: mahatAm bhangi rucibhiH . The word
ruci means taste, or flavour. Taste certainly has an association with the tongue and
the food which it tastes. But the shloka adds on to this the flavour by the nose also. The
food taste was indicated by the last line of shloka (#15) where it was said that the speech
prompted by ambAL has the taste of honey, milk and grapes. Now in this shloka that
speech is likened to a profound flavour, not of any ordinary one, but of that which
emanates from the lotus face of Her who is the single vAgdevI integrating all the eight
vAgdevIs! Not only that. We can infer from this that it is not simply the speech that
emanates through the poetry of the devotee has the divine flavour; the people who read
and recite that poetry would also get that divine flavour.!!
The fact that ambaaL graces and bestows the faculty of speech is mentioned in the
latter part of Soundaryalahari several times. Shloka #75 says that, fed by Her breast milk
one is endowed with magnificient poetic capabilities. Shloka 99 says that the SArasvata-
Grace that She endows makes even Brahma, the pati of Sarasvati, envious. The holy water
that washes Her feet can make even the dumb to sing poems (Shloka 98). Obviously our
Acharya takes pleasure in talking about this aspect of ambaaLs Grace. Maybe he wants us
all to read and recite his stotras, thereby get the Grace of the Mother and also get the vAk-
siddhi (speech excellence) that She will certainly grant. That is why, it appears, he is never
tired of repeating this.
The word shashi-maNi-shilA means moon-gem-stone literally. Because of the
fact that the dark patch on the moon appears like a rabbit (shasha in Sanskrit), the moon
is known by the word shashi. The word hima-kara also denotes the moon, meaning
thereby that there flows icy water from the moon. So hima-kara-shilA also represents the
same moonstone gem , known as chandrakAnta stone in Tamil. sudhA is nectar and
sudhAkara is also the name of the moon, because it is also said that there flows nectar
from it. Just as it was said that the attendants of ambaal have the colour of the moonstone
(#17: shashi-maNi-shilA), it is said in shloka #20, that he who can meditate on ambaal
Herself in the form made up of the moonstone (hima-kara-shilA), She who is the daughter
of hima-giri (Himalayas) and is therefore hima-giri-sutA, will pour sudhA on him,
sudhA meaning nectar and sutA meaning daughter. In fact it says more.

33
(Digest of pp.925-929 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

kirantIm-angebhyaH kiraNa-nikurumbA-mRta-rasaM
hRdi tvAm-Adhatte hima-kara-shilA-mUrtim-iva yaH /
sa sarpANAM darpaM shamayati shakuntAdhipa iva
jvara-plushhTAn dRshhTyA sukhayati sudhA-dhAra-sirayA // 20 //

saH yaH : He who
Adhatte : establishes
tvAM : You
hRdi : in (his) heart
hima-kara-shilA-mUrtim-iva: as the form made of moonstem gem
kirantIM : which shoots forth
angebhyaH : from all its parts
kiraNa-nikurumbA-mRta-rasaM : the nectar essence through clusters of its rays,
shamayati : cools down
sarpANAM darpaM : the energy of snakes
shakuntAdhipa iva : like Garuda
sukhayati : (and) relieves
dRshhTyA : by just an eye-glance
sudhA-dhAra-sirayA : (that is) full (as it were) of the flow of nectar
jvara-plushhTAN : those who are suffering the deadly heat of fever.

The importance of this shloka is in its impact on the eradication of disease. All kinds
of diseases afflict people. People who come to those of us like me, mostly come to pray to us
for removal of this sickness or that. In fact that tells me how many different kinds of
illnesses and afflictions are there in the world. Our Acharya certainly would know all that
and for sure he would have known the remedies for all of them. But he must have thought
of posterity on these lines: They cannot think of me as God. Even those who grant the
avatarhood, would think of me only as a jnana-avatar and so would think of praying to me
only for jnAna and vairagya (dispassion).

When people of modern times physically see a spiritually great person, they get to
know many of his characteristics and activities. So, in addition to thinking of him as a
jnAni or saint, they also think of him as father, as mother, child, doctor, a go-getter for a
job or a marriage alliance, and what not; they pray for all these and get the anugraha. But
when one is no more, he is only thought of as a jnAni and only as a benefactor of
enlightenment and nothing more. Of course, if he is considered a siddha, he is prayed to
for material welfare even after his physical frame is no more. And we think of our Acharya
only as a jnAni. So he must have naturally thought Let me leave some stotras for posterity
so that they get their sicknesses removed by recitations of these. He left behind him a
Subrahmanya bhujangam for this very purpose. And in this Soundarya lahari too, there
are several shlokas mainly for eradication of disease.

The whole of Soundaryalahari, as I already said, is a mantra-shAstra. Each of its
shlokas can give certain specific results when it is used for a mantra-japam. For instance,
there are shlokas for
Learning and Education (Sarasvatis Grace of VidyA) : Shloka nos. 3, 12, 15, 16, 17,
60, 64, 75, 96, 98, 99;
Wealth and Prosperity (lakshmis Grace) : Shloka nos.23, 45, 71, 91,99;
Grace of both Sarasvati and Lakshmi: 96, 99;
Proficiency in music: 66, 69
Being blessed with a son : 6, 11, 46, 98
A long-gone relative to return from his journeys: 9
parakAya-pravesham (to jump into another body) : 30, 84
Warding off evil spirits: 24, 37, 85, 90
To counter the bad influence of planets: 48
jnAna, mukti and sac-chid-Ananda: 27, 63, 73, 84, 97, 99.

[Please let it be noted that the Paramacharya
only listed the various results that accrue from the shlokas.
Specific numbers of shlokas associated with the specific results
are reproduced here from a note
appended by Ra. Ganapathi.VK]

If one does a recitation (pArAyaNam) of the shlokas without desiring any particular
favour, one gets the realisation of either the saguNa-brahman or the nirguna-brahman,
depending on the attitude of the devotee. Even if one has a desire to be fulfilled, each shloka
will give its own reward. The first shloka and the last shloka are known to be sarva-siddhi-
pradam and they will fulfill all ones desires.

Some shlokas, by their very meanings, allow us to infer what results will accrue
from reciting them. I say infer because, they may not bluntly say what results will accrue.
Shlokas which bluntly say so are few, like the ones we saw earlier (shloka 17) and the
present shloka (#20). Even here, the statement is only that if such and such an upAsanA is
done such and such a result will accrue. Only later commentators, who came in the sishya-
paramparA (lineage of disciples) of our Acharya have listed the specifications of the
upAsanA, how they should be done, what yantra to be used, how many days the pUjA or
japam should be done and similar requirements.

I was saying that we could infer from the meanings of certain shlokas the results
that will accrue. Ashamed at the excellence of speech of ambaal Herself Sarasvati winds
up Her play on the VINA (# 66). The three lines on the neck of ambaal are the boundary
lines between the three kinds of rAga-categories, so that they may not mix with each other,
says Shloka 69. It is clear that a japam of either of these two shlokas will result in
proficiency of music.

Shloka #28 has the thought that even after drinking the nectar the divines do not
live beyond the deluge (pralaya), whereas Lord Shiva, even after drinking the deadly
poison, continues to live. It is easy to infer that by doing a mantra japam of this shloka, one
gets a long life, poison or no poison.

But there are many more shlokas where we cannot in any way infer what results
will accrue from a mantra-japam of the shloka.

34
(Digest of pp.929-935 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

I was saying that there are many shlokas where we cannot in any way infer what
results will accrue from a mantra-japam of the shloka. Shloka 35, for instance, says that
ambaal lives in the six chakras as the five elements and the mind. It is said that this shloka
has the effect of curing tuberculosis. Obviously there seems to be no connection. Like this
there are several shlokas where the meaning and the results said to accrue from it are
totally disconnected. It all means that the vibrations of the sounds created,the words
themselves, not their meanings, have that effect. We may make a doll in the shape of a red
chili, with sugar as the material base; the outer will look like a hot chili, whereas the whole
material is sweet. In the same way the meanings of the words may be something, but the
power of the words as a mantra may be something else.

Also, the same shloka may give different, almost contradictory, results for different
persons. Shloka no.84 (ShrutInAM mUrdhAno) has been said to give the power of leaving
ones own body and getting into the body of another. But the same shloka has also been
earmarked as a sAdhaNA for moksha!. One has to remember, in such cases, it is the
attitude of the devotee in question that comes into play. The attitude of the upAsakA (the
practitioner of the sAdhanA) has a value. Depending on the needs and desires of the
upAsaka, the results will vary. Honey can induce sleep in some one who is habitually a non-
sleeper; and the same honey, in the case of a lazy and constant dozer, may produce
wakefulness and alertness. Thus the same shloka might give different results depending on
the mental make-up of the user. Shloka 63 (smita-jyotsnA-jAlaM) is a sAdhanA shloka
for the merging of jIva in brahman; but if one does not want this high noble effect, it will
give the other effect of attracting people to oneself! Again, Shloka 73 which talks about the
breast feeding of ambaals milk and the consequent effects on Ganesha and Subrahmanya
can lead to two different results: if the goal is jnAna, the mantra-japam of this shloka with
that as goal, will lead step by step from the blessedness of celibacy all the way up to the
obtaining of brahma-jnAna; on the other hand if the same shloka is used as a mantra by a
lactating mother who is lacking the necessary breast-milk, she will have her problem
solved.

Here is a lemon. It has several uses. It can be used in a garland of lemons for the
Goddess. It can be used to give a lemonish touch to an edible combination of vegetables. It
can be used as dirt remover while cleaning vessels. It can be used for a medicinal purpose.
It may also be used in occult practices. In the same way, the effect of a word or word-
vibrations can vary over a wide spectrum. That is why, the ideal way is to have the
attitude: I dont want this or that. Whatever you think as good for me, Oh Mother, give
me that. Even if you dont want to give anything, let me do the recitation for just the love of
it.

Whether you want it or not, there are effects of such recitation. For instance, the
shloka #44 beginning with tanotu kshhemaM nas-tava vadana soundaryalahari gives a
general cure for all ailments and sicknesses. Specific cures for specific diseases of the body
have also been noted for several shlokas. Each of these only trumpets the power of shabda (
sound ). There is a shloka for the cure of diseases of the eye and the ear. Your eyes have
an extent up to the ears says the shloka (#52) gate karNApyarNam ... ime netre. Just by
thinking that ambaals eyes extend up to the ears, the power of sound is so much that the
diseases of both the eyes and ears are cured! Here it appears there is some kind of
correlation between the effects of sound and the meanings of the words which make the
sound. In another shloka (#58), though both these (eyes and ears) are mentioned, the effect
is said to be cure of all diseases. What is the logic behind this? You cannot answer the
question. We have only to say Sound value is such!
We started all this account from Shloka #20 which contains the mantra for two
kinds of ailment one, a poisonous bite and two, fever.Let us go to that shloka now.

AmbaaL is thought of as having a form that shoots forth amRita-rasa (nectar
essence) through the rays emanating from every part of Her body. Hers is that kind of
form which is crystal-like in colour that reflects moonlight with a cool and delightful shine;
it is a colourless colour. And nectar springs forth from every spot of that form. The very
thought of this divine feat gives us a cooling effect. One who meditates on this himself gets
the qualities of nectar. What is the opposite of nectar? Poison. That is why no poison, no
snake can touch him!.

Poison is the opposite of nectar. The opposite of snakes is Garuda. Actually there
are two opposites of a snake. One is Garuda; the other is a peacock. Lord Vishnu has
Garuda as his vehicle and Lord Subrahmanya has peacock as his vehicle. But the same
Vishnu is also reclining on the snake. And Subramanya is Himself called Nagaraja (the
King of snakes). All this looks self-contradictory.

The snake has two facets. When it sleeps as the kundalini shakti in a person it only
promotes lust. Even the little prANic energy in them is lost in that lust. Therefore the snake
in that situation is said to be poisonous and evil. It is this poison that Garuda and the
peacock destroy. When the poison is eradicated, the same snake of the kundalini, when it
rises to the sahsrAra cakra, it pours forth nectar! Now it is a good snake - not the
corresponding Tamil word, which means a deadly snake! The fact that energy is lost
because of lust is accepted by all. But the same energy becomes immortal energy (nectar-
flow) by yoga is not generally accepted by people; and that too, by the people, who have
never done the experiment!

- 35
(Digest of pp.935-942 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

I was saying that the same human energy that is wasted by lust becomes the
powerful nectar by yoga. Whereas the former is understood by every one easily, the latter
fact is always questioned and debated. The difficulty in the belief comes from the
observation that even great yogis that we hear about, ultimately, maybe after a few
hundreds of years, die. What is missed in the understanding here is the fact that the
nectar-flow that yoga talks about and the nectar-drink that the divines are said to have
partaken are both different, totally different. That divine drink of amRit has nothing to
do with any spiritual uplift or the progress of the soul.

The divine drink of nectar that emanated from the churning of the milk ocean is
just like one more medicine. It has no power to take care of the resident of the body, the
Atman. It only takes care of the body and protects it from becoming old and from
decaying. Have you ever heard that the devas like Indra and others who drank that amRit
have become Realised Souls? Their only goal has been endless sensual enjoyment. At least
for the human species, sensual enjoyment tires one out after some time since the body ages;
so a human being has every chance of turning to something more permanent, something
spiritual. The devas on the other hand have no way of learning by experience that sensual
enjoyment is not the end of it all.

If the nectar-flow at the apex of the Kundalini yoga could only cause the non-decay
of the body and nothing more, I am sure real yogis would not have gone the path of the
kundalini yoga. After all they were after an eternal bliss, not an eternal body. The flow of
amRit from the thousand petalled lotus seat in the sahasrAra-chakra is just a step prior to
the Realisation of advaita. In addition to that it certainly can give to the body, so long as it
lasts, an enviable health. But it is mainly intended to shower the divine unlimited bliss. A
yogi devoted to the ShAkta tradition may not discard the body and the universe as mAyA,
in the same way as a jnAni would do. He would only look at everything as the leelA of
ambaal. Therefore so long as he wants it, he is given the power to watch this leelA of
ambaal. But in due course of time, maybe several hundreds of years, it will strike him to
want to merge with that Ultimate. And at that time his body will also fall.

I told you of two kinds of serpent: the good one and the bad one. The former is
what gives the nectar. The latter gives only poison. It is this latter one that is destroyed by
the peacock of Lord Subrahmanya and the Garuda-vehicle of Lord Vishnu. When the
former (the good one, the nectar-showering serpent) is the form of Subrahmanya, we say
He is nAga-rAja, the King of snakes. It is the same one that Lord Vishnu is having as his
bed-rest. It is the same one that Lord Nataraja is having around his raised foot. And it is
the same one who came as Patanjali and taught the yoga-shAstra, where, even if the
kundalini yoga is not particularly mentioned, the kundalini that arises out of that yoga is of
the serpent form.

Besides the peacock and Garuda, there is one more enemy of snakes. That is the
nakulam or mongoose. One of the names of ambaal is nakuleshvari. It is actually the
name of MantriNI the chief Minister in the universal kingdom of Queen Lalita-ambaal.
The latter keeps only the portfolio of gracing the devotees and delineates the other duties of
administration of the entire universe to MantrinI. The sahasranama name mantriNI-
nyasta-rAjya-dhUH meaning, She who has delineated the responsibility of the burden of
administration to MantriNi arises from this fact. ShyAmaLA and Raja-mAtangI are
other names of this MantriNI. Meenakshi of Madurai is also the same. She is the
nakuleshvarI, who shakes up the sleeping serpent-power in the mUlAdhAra Chakra and
opens up the treasury of the Atman to us. The mUlAdhAra has another name kulam.
The kundalini sleeps in the kula-kunDa. What wakes it up is the nakuli. This word
arises from nakulam which should be broken up as na kulam to mean, not kulam, and
therefore the opposite of kulam.

Of the three enemies of the serpent, Garuda is important; because he is also the one
who brought the amRit to the serpents after fighting even the King of the divines, Indra.
That the serpents could not partake of the amRit, is a different story. The fact that Garuda
is the opposite of the serpent and of its poison and has connections with the story of the
divine nectar is what is made capital of in #20 of Soundaryalahari.

He who meditates on ambaal in Her moonstone form which radiates rays of amRit,
can conquer the poison of the serpent like Garuda, the King of birds. Not only that; by his
very look, such a person eradicates, in anybody else, the poison of an extreme fever. By
meditating on the Goddess as the One who pours amRit, his own body system gets the
amRta-nADI, perhaps from the sahasrAra-chakra and so his glance, his sight, itself is
enough of a cure for the poison of the fever.

The eight vAg-devatAs are themselves of the moonstone colour. Their seat is in the
eight triangular portions of the eight-sided AvaraNa in the ShrI-chakra. This AvaraNa is
itself called sarva-roga-hara-chakram, that is, the chakra that eradicates all diseases. All
of this is due to the effect of mantras.

Though the crystal colour of the moonstone is what is praised above as the colour of
ambAL to be meditated upon, the colour of the devatA of ShrI-vidyA mantra is red or
crimson. This colour of the Goddess has been praised, two slokas earlier (#18) but since it
talks of vashIkaram (captivation into submissiveness) I did not want to mention it. But
still I want to tell you how the redness is important.


Thus spake the Paramacharya.

-36--
(Digest of pp.942-950 )

In Soundaryalahari, as well as in many similar works, there is mention about
attaining a most attractive form, captivating women into submission by means of mantra,
and such matters. These should not be taken literally. What does it mean to bring another
into submission to you? It only means that you are already submitting yourself to such
practices. To appropriate a lot of property simply means to allow oneself to be
appropriated by that thought of proprietorship. To want to bring somebody else into
submission implies that you are already submissive to such thoughts. Thereafter there is
no question of bhakti towards ambaal or of surrendering to Her. Our Acharya would never
have meant to make us slaves to such mean desires.

What he intended must therefore be to warn us well ahead so that we can steer clear
of such desires and aspirations. Just as all rivers fall and get absorbed into the sea, so also
all desires should get absorbed in oneself, never to rise up again says the Gita. That is the
kind of shAnti, Peace, that our Acharya would have advocated. It is the captivation by
oneself of all desires and the absorption of all of them into oneself that the Acharya must
have meant by the power of vashyaM, meaning, captivation into submission. All the
three worlds become a woman who submits to the jnAni in submission this is the vashyam
that he talks about in Sloka No.19; not the captivation of a woman into submission for
lustful objectives.

Now let me come, as I promised, to the importance of the red colour of ambaal. It
is the colour of the eastern sky when the sun is just rising. Kameshvari is of that colour.
What is so great about it? There is some physics of light here and there is also the
philosophy of creation and dissolution. Red is at one end of the spectrum. When a colour is
visible it means the light wave corresponding to that colour is the only thing that has not
been absorbed by the medium that transmits the light. Whatever colour is reflected, that
shows up; and whatever colours are absorbed, they do not show up. When white shows up
it means none of the colours is absorbed, all of them are reflected and they merge into one
colour, white. When dark shows up it means all the waves of light are absorbed and there is
no reflection.
Of the three gunas, shuddha-satvaM, or pure satvaM, is the one that does not keep
any of the three for itself and therefore it is pure white, like milk. It is taken to be indicative
of the para-brahman, though the latter transcends all the colours and the gunas. On the
other side, the colour that keeps all the colours within itself and does not let any reflection
out is black and this is the colour of tamas. It is pure Ignorance. The in-between guna is
rajas, the kriyA-shakti. It is red in colour because it is the first colour that separates itself
from the pure white sunlight and forms the beginning of the projection of the other colours
and creations.

From the pure white of satvaM to the total darkness of tamas, the entire spectrum
and variety of creation -- all of them have come from the parabrahman, through the first
emanation of the red Kameshvari. The kriyA (Action) that projects the jIvas from
brahman, and the kriyA that takes the jivas back to brahman both the kriyAs are those
of the parA-shakti who rose up as the all-red Kameshvari from the first thought of the
Ultimate.Therefore red is indicative of Creation and is therefore the colour of Creator
BrahmA. The activity of life is all due to the flow of blood which is red in colour. The
Sanskrit word for blood is rakta which also means red. Creation is done by a poet also;
so the poetic talent, kavitvam is also taken to be red.

There are differences in the redness of rajas. The seeds of kundumani, the fruit of
bitter gourd, and pAdirip-pazham are all red.

(Note by VK: (1) The botanical name for kundumani
is Abrus precatorius.
The seeds of this contain
poisonous proteins.
(2) I am not able to get the English name
for pAdirippazham).

But the first one is poisonous, the second is bitter though good for health, while the
third is sweet as well as good for health. In rajas also, there is the rajas that binds, the
rajas that keeps a goal of moksha and the rajas that lifts you up to moksha. The redness
of Kameshvari is of the third type. It is that redness which has to be meditated upon, says
shloka #18, as the one that engulfs all the region from the sky to the earth. The words
saraNi and lahari both mean a flood. ShrI stands for the beauty of ambaal. ShrI
saraNi mentioned in #18, is therefore nothing but Her Soundarya-lahari, the flood of
Beauty.
The mention of ambaals Supreme Beauty (Slokas 12 and 18) in this part of
Ananda-lahari, in spite of its yantra, mantra and esoteric occupations, is to tell us that all
this is to lead us on to the darshan of that supreme beauty of ambaals form, described in
the latter part, namely, Soundaryalahari. That physical form of course is contained in the
head-to-foot description; but the redness that radiates from that form is a light that fills
up the universe!

--37

(Digest of pp. 950-958 )

In the sahasra-nAma ( (poem of )one thousand names) of Lalita there is a long
series of names which describe the divine form from head to foot. Naturally the hands have
a due place there. But the hands and the weapons held in them are talked about even
before the head-to-foot description starts. The weapons are not said to be just held, but
they are built into an esoteric description. The weapons pAsham, ankusham, bow and
arrow are each given a philosophical meaning. The pAsham (noose) is called rAgam
(desire) there.

rAga-svarUpa-pAshADhyA: Desire is the noose which binds. So She has the noose
of Desire in Her hands. But the desire is not the wrong desire, it is the desire that binds
one to ambaal. At that point there shoud be no hate or dvesham. That is why there is an
ankusham (goad). And then there are the bow and arrow to help us bind our mind and
senses to the Ultimate. Only after this the darshan of ambaal in Her head to foot physical
form will be obtained. But even before that form is visible, what one sees is the vast spread
of the red colour everywhere. So the name that occurs just before the first name in the
head-to-foot description is nijAruNa-prabhA-pUra-majjat-brahmANDa manDalA,
meaning, She immerses the entire universe in Her crimson effulgence. The same idea is
said in the second line of Shloka 18:
divaM sarvAM urvIM aruNima-nimagnAM.
In several places in the Soundaryalahari, we find the same descriptions as in Lalita
SahasranAma almost in the same words.

The forehead of ambaal is like an inverted half-moon :
dvitIyaM tan-manye makuTa-ghaTitaM chandra-kalashaM (Shloka 46);
ashhTamI-chandra-vibhrAja-daLika-sthala-shobhitA (L.S.)

If She opens Her eyes, it is Creation; if She closes them, it is Dissolution:
nimeshonmeshAbhyAM praLayam-udayaM yAti jagatI (Shloka 55);
unmeshha-nimishhotpanna-vipanna-bhuvanAvaLiH (L.S.).

Not even a tree bearing precious gems (vidruma-latA) can equal the enchanting lips
of ambaaL:

dantachhada-rucheH pravakshye sAdRshyam janayatu phalaM vidruma-latA (Shloka
62);
nava-vidruma-bimba-shrI-nyakkAri-radanacchadA (Lalita-sahasranama).

The jingling of the gems in the anklets of ambaals feet is described in both almost
in the same words:

Subaka-maNi-manjIra raNita- ... charaNa-kamalaM (Shloka 91);
sinjAni-maNi-manjIra-maNDita-shrI-padAmbujA (L.S.)

The idea that ambaaLs very speech can beat the sweetness of the vINA-music of
Goddess Sarasvati, epitomised in the Lalita-shasranama line
nija-sallApa-mAdhurya-vinirbhatsita-kacchapI,
is developed in a whole Shloka No.66 of Soundaryalahari.

While giving examples and analogies to various parts of the form of ambaal, when it
comes to the chin of ambAL, both the Lalita sahasranama and the Soundaryalahari, say
that it is devoid of all analogies:
Katham-kAram brUmas-tava chubukam-aupamya-rahitaM (Shloka 67);
anAkalita-sAdRshya-chubuka-shrI-virAjitA (L.S.)

Before the radiance of the pair of lotus feet of ambaal, the real lotus pales into
insignificance, according to the Lalita-sahasranama line:

pada-dvaya-prabhA-jAla-parAkRta-saroruhA.

This idea is developed elaborately in Shloka 87 where the Acharya shows in how
many ways the divine feet pales the lotus into insignificance. Lotus withers away in snow.
But ambaal, whose house of birth as well as the house of marriage both are in Himalayas,
the feet are always excelling in snow. Lotus droops during night; but the divine feet beam
with freshness. The lotus has the Goddess Lakshmi within it (and would not give it!),
whereas the divine feet of ambaal dispense wealth and prosperity (that is, Lakshmi) to all
who touch them. Thus the divine feet are always one up, -- so ends the Shloka (#87)
himAnI hantavyaM .....

While the Acharya has done stotras on Vishnu and Shiva giving a head-to-foot
description of the deities, he has shown great originality in the fund of his innovative
descriptions and analogies. Then why did he not do it here in the case of ambaal? Why did
he have to borrow from the Lalita Sahasranama? It shows only the Acharyas humility and
the high pedestal on which he places the Lalita-sahasranama.

Now let us follow the main trend of our coverage of Soundaryalahari. In Shloka 21
he talks about the flood of absolute bliss in brahman that is experienced by one who has
reached the apex in KunDalini yoga. This flood is legitimately called by him AhlAda-
lahari. AhlAda means happiness, joy, bliss.

And now comes one of the most easy-worded, but profoundly meaningful Shloka,
#22.

--38

(Digest of pp. 958-963 )

The next shloka is of great interest. Even in the portion of Anandalahari, which is
supposed to be mainly the esoteric content of the ShAkta scriptures, there are shlokas
which reflect the pure bhakti sentiment coupled with excelling poetry. One such shloka is
No.22. In this shloka one is lifted from the dvaita-bhakti to an advaita-like stage where
there is a symbiosis of bhakti, shakti and jnAna.

bhavAni tvam dAse mayi vitara dRShhTiM sakaruNAM
iti stotuM vAnchan kathayati bhavAni tvam-iti yaH /
tadaiva tvaM tasmai dishasi nija-sAyujya-padavIM
mukunda-brahmendra-sphuTa-makuTa-nIrAjita-padAM //22 //


bhavANi Oh Mother bhavAni. Bhava is the name of Shiva. The Shakti of Bhava
is BhavAni.
tvam vitara : Please (you) cast
dRShhTiM : (your) glance
sakaruNAM : (which is) coupled with Grace and Compassion
mayi : on me
dAse : (who is your) servant.
vAnchan : Wishing
iti stotuM : to praise thus,
yah: whoever
kathayati :says
bhavAni tvaM iti : bhavAni tvaM ,
tadaiva (= tadA + eva) : then and there, (that is, even before you complete the
remaining words dAse mayi vitara dRShhTiM sa karuNAM)
tvaM : You
dishasi : grant, give
tasmai : to him
nija-sAyujya-padavIM : your own sAyujya status.
(We shall come to the fourth line of the stanza later)

The marvel here is, that the devotee has not yet said the full prayer of his, namely:
Oh Bhavani, You please cast on me, your servant, your glance of compassion and
grace. He has just said: Oh Bhavani, You ! That itself is sufficient for the
Goddess to pour Her maximum Grace of Her own sAyujya status on the devotee.
This is the implication of the words tadA-eva in the beginning of the third line of
the stanza. The very moment one says bhavAni tvaM, he is granted the Grace. How
is this? And what is this sAyujya status that is being granted?
(The sAyujya concept was described
in the first paragraph of DPDS 29 - VK)
The sAyujya status is that which becomes one with the Object of Adoration. But
what is being said here is not the oneness with the nirguNa-brahman. Why am I
saying this? Now go to the fourth line of the shloka.

Mukunda: vishnu
Brahma : creator brahma
Indra : Indra, the King of the divines
sphuTa-makuTa : the shining crown
nIrAjita-padAM : the feet which have been offered the ceremonial waving (nIrAjana)
of lights before them.

And thus, the last line means, in conjunction with the third line, Then and there,
You give him your sAyujya status, (which earns them) Your feet that have been
given the nIrAjana (waving of lights) by the Gods Vishnu, Brahma and Indra who,
by falling at Your feet, have had their shining crowns touch your feet and thus have
offered worship to it.

It is the sAyujya status (the identity in form and essence) that privileges the devotee
to enjoy the worship of even the Gods, through their nIrAjana to the Divine Feet,
with which there is identity now.

If one reaches advaita-sAyujya (identity) with the Ultimate, things will not be like
this; for there is no form there and there are no feet to be worshipped! And then
there will be no gods in name and form. The advaita sAyujyam is the oneness with
the Ultimate nirguna-brahman where there is no more universe. So what is said in
this shloka is not the sAyujya of advaita.

It is the supreme brahman which manifests itself as the First Cause in terms of
parAshakti. She is the Queen of this Universe and She adminsiters this whole
universe by Her own agents such as Brahma and Indra. It is those divine agents
who fall at Her feet in obeisance. It is in that state that the individual soul (jIvAtma)
becomes one with the parAshakti in its sAyujya status. It is that sAyujya that is
spoken of here.

The interesting fact is that even the advaita shAstras do speak of this state.
Of course the goal of the advaita scriptures is not this. The peaceful nirguNa state
without any mention of shakti or of any action is the goal of advaita. But the
Ishvara that advaita talks of does get into action! It is He (taking the place of
parAshakti of the shAkta schools) who does all the leelA with the devotee. That is
why, even though the Ultimate is something in which there should be no talk of the
rise of desire or the occurrence of determination (sankalpa), the Upanishads do
speak like Whatever objects He desires, they appear by His very desire. (yam
kAmam kAmayate saH asya sankalpAd-eva samut-tishhTanti --Chandogya U. VIII -
2). This means just that He has the quality of aishvarya, namely, the godliness of
being parAshakti.

Even if the person goes via the path of jnAna and looks forward to the
advaitic union in nirguNa brahman, the parAshakti catches hold of him, as it were,
on the way and makes him play along with Her in saguNa-sAyujyam (identity with
Ishvara, the aspect of brahman with form) in the world of action! But the play does
not end there. He soars even higher spiritually. He is now in identity with the
parAshakti, the Director of the entire universe and all its play. It is in that state he
enjoys the bliss of union with the saguNa Ultimate. It is a state where there is the
apex of Devotion and also the sense of advaita-jnAna a perfectly peaceful and
blissful state.
--39

(Digest of pp. 964 - 969 )

Thus the identity (sAyujyam) that shloka 22 talks about in its third line has
something to do with jnAna, bhakti and shakti. It is not the brahman-realisation spoken of
in advaita.
Now we shall take up the pun on the words bhavAni tvaM in the shloka. As soon as
the devotee utters the words bhavAni tvaM as a beginning for his full sentence: bhavAni
tvaM dAse mayi vitara dRshhTim sakaruNAM the Goddess is ready to grant him the highly
merited sAyujyam (identity) with Her. What is so powerful in those two words bhavAni
tvaM? This is where the poet has played with Sanskrit grammar.

The word bhavAni can be interpreted in two ways one as a noun, and another as
a verb. The verbal root is bhava. This itself gives the two meanings. When bhava is a
noun it is a name of Lord Shiva. In this context bhavAni would mean the consort of
bhava, that is, ambaal. bhava as a verb would mean be or become. In this context,
bhavAni would mean Let me become or Let me be. So bhavAni tvaM would mean
May I become You. Remember that in Sanskrit a sentence accommodates changing the
order of the words in the sentence without affecting the meaning.

Ambaal is an ocean of compassion and grace. So when a devotee seeks the identity
with Her by the two simple words bhavAni tvaM, She doesnt wait for his further words;
She simply grants the sAyujya-status then and there ! But the irony of it is, he, the
devotee, considers himself too low in the spiritual ladder to merit anything great and he
has no conception of what honourable return from the Goddess awaits him. Just a glance
towards this poor me, Oh Mother! this is all what he pleads for. Note that the poet uses
the word yah, meaning, whoever. So the devotee does not have to be a great sAdhu. He
could be any one. He may not even know that there is a status called sAyujyam with
ambaaL! The couple of words bhavAni tvaM has such an effect even on ordinary persons
who recite it.

The Almighty is the Lord. I am only a servant This is the attitude of the devotee in
the first line of the shloka. Of course it is an attitude of duality, not advaita. But even to
such a person who only wants to be a servant of the Goddess, ambaal hands over in a
platter the very advaita itself. Certainly this is saguNa-advaitam. But would She not also
grant him, in due course, the nirguNa-advaitam?

Take the case of Hanuman. He was always steeped in the concept dAsohaM,
(dAsaH + ahaM) meaning, I am your servant. dAsa means servant. By the very fact
that he was steeped in that concept of dAsohaM all his life, he reached the advaitic stage
of sohaM (saH + ahaM), which means, I am He (That). What this shloka says is that
ambaal transforms every one who comes to Her with the attitude of dAsohaM, to the
apex stage of sohaM! It is a stage which is difficult for countless persons who struggle
for the realisation of aham brahmAsmi and for even still more who ceaselessly meditate
on the words tat-tvaM-asi of the guru. While many of them find it an inaccessible ideal,
it is granted even to the ordinary person who sincerely comes to ambaal with the two
words bhavAni tvaM though with something else in mind.

We have still not finished with bhavAni tvaM. So far we considered bhavAni tvaM
as two words. But bhavAni-tvaM can also be considered as a single word. Then it means
the state of being bhavAni or parA-shakti. The structure of the single word is something
like amaratvaM which means the state of being immortal and like kavi-tvaM which
means poetic talent. So the moment the devotee says bhavAni tvaM ambaal takes it as a
request for bhavAni-tvaM and She grants the bhavAni-tvaM to him. In other words She
gives Her own status, namely the status of sAyujya with Her to him.

Remember the devotee has not even begun his petition to Her. But even before He
asks in full, She is ready to give him not only what he asks but even more. Recall the
vAnchA-samadhikaM of shloka 4, where it was said that Her feet are capable of gracing
the devotee with more than what is wished!
At this point the Paramacharya
makes a very subtle comment about Adi Shankara,
which is exquisite. It also shows
the bhakti which he has towards
(the Acharya) Adi Shankara. I am giving the following
paragraph (almost) in exact translation,
so that it can be enjoyed in the original. VK

When we see this, something remarkable strikes us. Suppose somebody is a great
scholar in a language and without any knowledge-arrogance he is also a sincere devotee of
the Goddess, to the extent that he considers himself as nothing but a lowliest servant of
ambaal, -- all this is actually a description of the Acharya himself -- such a one never
ignores even the commonest of people, but discovers a deep content even in their ordinary
comments and speeches. Such profound contents will certainly be granted to him (at his
stature) as an experience, by ambaal. But when he says that such an experience will be
given by ambaal even to the common man, why would She not give it to him who has the
greatness of heart to see the profound in the profane! The stanza of KuraL (in Tamil)
which says: From whomsoever whatsoever is heard, to see the Truth in that is
Knowledge gets a new meaning here. Knowledge may as well be taken to mean
Experiential Knowledge!

--40

(Digest of pp. 970 - 973 )

In the Vaishnava tradition, they do not accept the attributeless non-dual brahman,
but they do talk about One-ness with the state of the Almighty Mahavishnu, along with all
His powers. But even when they say this, out of deference to propriety, they make an
exception to what one can obtain. The exception is LakshmI-patitvaM, that is, the state of
being the spouse of Lakshmi. Naturally whatever powers and states of Mahavishnu you
may aspire for and actually get, becoming the spouse of Lakshmi is taboo. In the same
manner in the branch of philosophy called ShivAdvaitam, they talk of oneness with Lord
Shiva, but they make a similar exception, for the same reason of propriety. All this is
because, the destination in both these schools of philosophy is a couple, such as Narayana-
Lakshmi or Shiva-Parvati. The very fact that one has to make an exception throws a
shade of doubt on the other statements of objectives.

One would like not to make any exception at all. That is where this shloka (#22)
opens the door for us. It says: Dont aspire to become Narayana or Shiva; Dont have your
object of meditation the divine form of Narayana or Shiva, with the purpose of becoming
one with it. Pray that you should become one with the form of the Mother, that is ambaal
or Lakshmi. In their capacity of universal Mother, they will not only accept your prayers
but will also give you that identical oneness with them. That Lakshmi or that ambaal are
themselves internally in oneness with Vishnu and Shiva respectively. So when a jIva
merges in the Mother, the Mother takes him along with Her and merges the jIva in either
the Vishnu-form or the Shiva-form, thus granting you the Vishnu-sAyujyam or the Shiva-
sAyujyam. This shloka therefore gives the right strategy for us to become one with the
Almighty at the same time not transgressing the elementary propriety of pati-patnI.

To say it shortly, first you become the mother then the father. So first it is the
oneness of filial affection. When the mother becomes one with the father, it is the apex of
all bhakti attitudes, namely the attitude of nAyikA. And that is what takes us to the
ultimate advaita so say the great rishis and saints who have gone through it all! Go back
now and enjoy the imagery in shloka No.12, where the divine damsels in order to
understand the beauty of ambaal, imagine their oneness with Lord Shiva and expect to get
a glimpse of the full beauty of ambaa.

Thus in this single shloka, the Acharya has brought in advaitam and dvaitam,
philosophy as well as a delightful pun, service to the Lord as well as the concept of the
nAyikA (beloved of the Lord) bhAva -- all blended together.

To top it all we have one more thing to enjoy about this shloka. This is in the fourth
line. It talks about the Divinities like Vishnu, BrahmA and Indra falling at the feet of the
Goddess and the divine feet get the nIrAjana (Reverential waving of Lights) from such
great Gods. In fact Soundaryalahari has three such nIrAjanas. One in this shloka, one in
shloka 30 and one in the very last shloka (#100).

The situation in #30 is not the accidental utterance of words of Shloka 22, which
meant identification with the Absolute in the generous interpretation of the poet. There it is
not just any one, yah. He is not even just a devotee and a scholar. It is far more than that.
He has risen above the dAsohaM stage and has reached the sohaM stage. It is the stage
where the conviction that I am one with You (= tvAm-aham iti sadA bhAvayati yah). He
lives in that continuous identification with the Absolute. To such a one, says the Acharya
(in #30), even the Cosmic Fire of Dissolution is just a nIrAjana (waving of Lights) only.
Because it is so to the Mother Goddess. And it is therefore also so to one who has
continually identified with Her.

The third nIrAjana comes in the very last shloka where the Acharya offers this
Soundaryalahari itself as a waving of Lights to that Sun-like Light, that is the ambaa
Herself in Her capacity as the Source of all Speech and Learning. The words of the
Soundaryalahari are words which emanated from Her. So Her own words form the
nIrAjana to Her.

These three nIrAjanas can be classified as one for Creation, one for Sustenance and
one for Dissolution. But not in that order. They come in the order: Sustenance, Dissolution
and Creation. The devi-praNava is umA. The letters come in the order: u (which is the
letter for Sustenance, for it represents Vishnu ); ma (which is the letter for Dissolution,
for it represents Rudra) and a (which is the letter for Creation, for it represents
BrahmA). The first nIrAjana talks about the worship by Vishnu, BrahmA and Indra. It is
significant that this listing of the divines begins with Vishnu, thus indicating that we are
talking about the nIrAjana meant as an offering of the Sustenance function. The second
nIrAjana (#30) corresponds to the Dissolution function is already built into the very words
the conflagration of Cosmic Dissolution proves only to be the nIrAjana (mahA-
samvartAgnir-viracayati nIrAjana-vidhiM).

How does the third nIrAjana (#100) correspond to the Creation function? I shall
explain this now.

Thus spake the Paramacharya.

- 41 -
(Digest of pp.974- 979 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The waving of lights that is mentioned in the last shloka, the third nIrAjanaM of the
whole work, has a specific reason. The Acharya says that the entire work is actually Hers,
and therefore it is fitting, he says, to visualise the work itself as a nIrAjanaM to the goddess.
Mother Goddess created this universe out of Her own wish and imagination. In the same
way though the poet may have created this work, the words are actually Hers and so She is
the Origin for the work. So from that Infinite source of Light, a fragment of a lighted
camphor is taken out and used as nIrAjanaM to Her, through this work. In other words the
whole work shows only a fragment of Her Infiniteness. And that is why the third
nIrAjanaM (Shloka 100) corresponds to Creation. Thus Soundaryalahari has three
wonderful nIrAjanaMs built into it.

Let us now come back to shloka 22, where the first nIrAjanaM is taking place. The
nIrAjanaM here is nothing but the dazzle of the crowns in the heads of BrahmA, VishNu
and Indra.

The interesting point here is the omission of Rudra, the third of the Divine Triad. If
you are talking of the divine cosmic functions, the triad must include Rudra, certainly. But
the purpose here is different. It is to show the supremacy of Mother Goddess over
everything. The three divines mentioned here are, Indra, the King who maintains the
divine world, Vishnu, the One who maintains the entire world, and Brahma, the One
Creator to whom all the divines and all the universe make their first appeal, whenever
there is a universal crisis. So the maintenance of the created world is the thing in question
here. That is why I told you earlier that this nIrAjanaM is the sthiti-nIrAjanaM (the
waving of lights corresponding to the Sustenance function). For that very reason also,
Rudra, the God of Dissolution function, is not mentioned.

Further there is an esoteric purpose. The attributeless brahman transcends the
three qualities satva, rajas and tamas. Of these three, the first is usally associated with the
Sustenance Function and with Vishnu. The second, with the Creation function and
BrahmA. The third is associated with the Dissolution function and with Rudra. In the case
of jIva, the same three are the waking state (where we do the maintenanace function of
carrying on the activities of life), the dream state (wherein we, out of our own mind, create
endless varieties) and the deep sleep state (wherein all is quiet and is dissolved). But even
in that deep sleep state, there is a life within, which is unaffected by any of the three; that is
the turIyaM, familiarly called caturthaM (the fourth) in Mandukya Upanishad. The three
states of awareness waking, dream, sleep pertain to the jIva; therefore it is what
happens in the microcosm (the pinDa). The three states of Creation, Sustenance and
Dissolution, pertain to the Ishvara; this is what happens in the macrocosm (the aNDa).

The fourth, turIyaM, is common to both. That turIyaM or attributeless brahman,
which is the substratum behind the saguNa-brahman, that is Ishvara, is the very same
turIyam that lies as the Atman , the substratum of the three states of the jIva.

Why did I get into all this metaphysics? It is to tell you that the samhAra state,
namely Dissolution is what is nearest to the turIya, the Brahman. Neither in the jAgrat
(waking) nor in the svapna (dream) is the jIva as restful and unperturbed as in the turIya-
samAdhi state. But he is so in the sushhupti (deep sleep) state. But again that calm that he
obtains in the sushhupti state is not an experiential calm. It is so only in the samAdhi
state. That is of course true. However, when compared to the jAgrat and svapna states, the
sushhupti state is the one nearest to the turIya-samAdhi state. In the Cosmic level also, it is
the samhAra-rudra that is nearer to the peace of para-brahman than the Creator BrahmA
or the Maintainer Vishnu. It is that para-brahman that is called Shivam in the ShAkta
literature. Rudra is samhAra-mUrti, Ishvara is the tirodhAna-mUrti who is responsible for
the mAyA phenomenon and SadAshiva is the anugraha-mUrti, responsible for the grant of
moksha. And then beyond the three there is the para-brahman that is shivaM. In spite of
this classification, in general parlance and tradition, rudra, Ishvara, SadAshiva and
Shivam are usually identified as the same whereas the creator brahmA and the sthiti-kartA
Vishnu are taken only as brahmA and VishNu.

What we have said about Shiva also applies to Mother Goddess. The parA-shakti
which is the fullest dynamic expression (shakti) of para-brahman, is usually talked about as
identical with Parvati, the consort of Rudra but not Sarasvati or Lakshmi. Even in
Soundaryalahari She is addressed as hima-giri-sute or tuhina-giri-tanaye and not as
Sarasvati or Lakshmi.
The bottomline of it all is this. It is only for Rudra there is an identity with Shiva;
not for the murtis BrahmA or VishNu. Here the context is the nIrAjanaM in the form of
the crowns falling at the feet of ambaa. And in this context it was not decent to bring in
Shiva or Rudrain this part of Soundaryalahari where the emphasis is on philosophy and
tantra. In the later part, where there is a free licence for poetic imagination, we have
instances where even Shiva falls at the feet of the Goddess, the context however being that
of Love.

It may be pointed out, in objection to what I have said above, that even in this first
part, in shloka 25, it says: It is enough to make one offering at Your feet. That itself is
equivalent to an offering to the divine triad. Because they have placed their heads at your
feet in obeisance, the offering at your feet to your feet is also automatically made to those
three.
But a careful study of shloka 25 tells a different story.

- 42

(Digest of pp.978 - 981 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

I was telling you about the non-mention of Rudra in shloka #22. And that led me on
to shloka #25, which we shall scrutinise now in order to understand that, in keeping with
the esoteric nature of Anandalahari, the subtlety of the pati-patni relationship between the
murtis of shiva and ambaa has not been damaged there. For there is not even a loophole
therein to bring the identity of Rudra and Shiva.
(Note: Though the Paramacharya does not get into
Shloka #25 in detail, in order for us to understand
the key point he makes about it, I give below
my own word-by-word translation of #25,
for the benefit of readers. VK)

trayANAM devAnAM triguNa-janitAnAM tava shive
bhavet-pUjA pUjA tava caraNayor-yA viracitA /
tathA hi tvat-pAdodvahana-maNipIThasya nikaTe
sthitA hyete shashvan-mukullita-karottamsa-makuTAH // 25 //

yA pUjA : The worship
viracitA : done
tava caraNayoH : at They Feet
bhavet : becomes, as it were,
pUjA : the worship
trayANAmM devAnAM : of all the three deities (Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra)
tava triguNa-janitAnAM : who were born of Thy three guNas
tathA hi: Indeed it is this way.
Ete : These gods
sthitAH shashvat ; are stationed, ever,
maNipIThasya nikaTe : in proximity to the seat of gems
tvat-padodvahana : that bear Thy feet
mukulita-karottamsa-makuTAH: with their joined palms held (in salutation to Thee)
above their diademed heads

[Now we shall go back to
the Paramacharyas explanations: VK)

The three divinities mentioned here are referred to as triguNa-janitAnAM,
meaning, those who have their origins in Thy three guNas, satva, rajas and tamas. Rudra
is the only one who has the tamas as the source. Since he is said to be born (janitAnAM)
of tamas, it is tantamount to saying that he is born of Her and therefore He is Her
offspring. And this justifies his falling at Her feet. Since the topic here is to say that the
pUjA of the Divine Triad (born of Her guNas) is actually embedded (included, implied) in
the pUjA of Mother Goddess, the deity Rudra, who is generally equated with Shiva, has to
be included here. But whenever one wants to develop the theme that even great divines
worship the devI, (as in shloka 22) one uses Mukunda, BrahmA and Indra without
mentioning any of the names Rudra, Shiva or Ishvara which names are identified with
Shiva. All the divines disappear in the Grand Dissolution, while the one who doesnt
disappear even at the time of the Dissolution, is not here at the scene of falling at the feet!

Lest I forget, let me now itself dwell on a subtle point regarding the nIrAjanaM
corresponding to the Grand Dissolution (mahA-pralaya) (shloka 30).
(Again, as before, I give below the shloka #30
and its meaning, though the Paramacharya
does not choose to give the word-by-word meaning: VK)

svadehodbhUtAbhir-ghRNibhir-aNimAdyAbhir-abhito
nishhevye nitye tvAm-aham-iti sadA bhAvayati yaH /
kim AshcaryaM tasya trinayana-samRddhiM tRNayatA
mahA-samvartAgnir-viracayati nIrAjana-vidhiM //30//

nitye : Oh the Eternal One,
nishhevye : Oh the One adored by all,
yah : He who
sadA : always
bhAvayati : thinks of (meditates on)
tvAM : You
abhitaH : (You, who are) surrounded
ghRNibhiH : by rays
svadehodbhUtAbhiH : emanating from ones own body
aNimAdhyAbhiH : such as aNimA and the like,
aham iti : as I,
kim Ashcaryam : What wonder is there (meaning, No wonder) that
tasya : for him
triNayatA : (who) makes into insignificance
trinayana-samRddhiM : the glory of the three eyed (Shiva),
mahA-samvartAgniH : The Great Fire of Dissolution
viracayati : is (only) a performance of
nIrAjana-vidhiM : the rite of waving of Lights.


The content here is this: Those who meditate with a complete (advaitic)
identification with ambaa, are themselves offered the nIrAjanaM by the Fire of the Grand
Dissolution. But in an earlier shloka, (#26), it is said that BrahmA, Vishnu and all other
divines disappear at the time of that mahA-pralaya, but Shiva alone remains, sporting with
Her. The question now arises: How come, in shloka 30, it talks as if the tvAm-aham
worshippers (that is, those who have identified themselves with Mother Goddess) survive
during the Great Dissolution and receive the nIrAjanaM of the mahA-pralaya?

Yes, it is alright --, in the following sense. If they had been different from ambaa,
they would have certainly been destroyed in the Dissolution. But they are in advaitic
oneness with ambaa. They are the tvAm-aham upAsakas. They are the I am one with
You entitites. In other words they are one with the devi. Of course this devi is not the
attributeless (nirguNa) one. How can there be a nIrAjanaM for the nirguNa? The first line
of Shloka 30 means You who are surrounded by divine powers like aNimA, which are all
rays emanating from Your own body. This itself says we are talking of the saguNa form
only here. The identity or oneness (sAyujyaM) that is talked about here is the same as the
bhavAni-tvam idea of shloka 22.

But again one may question: Then, why are they talked about as separate and as if
they are separately receiving the nIrAjanaM of the Fire of Dissolution?. Though they may,
in their identity with the Mother, have a feeling that they are themselves doing the play of
Dissolution, along with that, there will be a symbiotic feeling of appreciation and bliss at
the sight of the divine leelA taking place right before them.

Let us note clearly that never can a jIvAtmA attain the identity of being the doer of
Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution. To be in that kind of complete oneness with the
saguNa-brahman in total advaitic identification is an impossibility. The peak of experience
can only be the feeling as if it is itself doing the activities of the saguNa-brahman. The
feeling can be very deep and profound. But never can it become the original. In order to
compensate for this gap in complete identification, one is graced by Ishvara with this apex-
like experience of being witness to the divine deeds. In fact, let me venture to say, that the
very purpose of being a saguNa brahman may well be to grant this experience to that single
one in a million!

- 43

(Digest of pp.982 - 987 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The very deed of ambaa in keeping some people on the border of duality and non-duality is
probably for the purpose of making them see the Cosmic Play of Dissolution. Naturally
such people will not be engulfed in that play of Dissolution, because they are themselves
privileged spectators of the play! These are the I-am-one-with-You people (of shloka 30).
Even when it is said in shloka 26 that He (Shiva) is the only one who survives the praLaya,
the I-am-one-with-You people who are those in identification with Shakti are, by the
very reason of their being very privileged spectators of the Pralaya, are not consumed by
the pralaya. They are one with Her. There is no contradiction between the shlokas.

This concept of being consumed by pralaya needs further clarification. Though we use the
word Shiva generally, so long as He is the Kameshvara or the attributeless shivam He
cannot be consumed by pralaya. But when He is one of the divine triad, as the Rudra in
charge of Dissolution, or the Maheshvara in charge of the tirodhAna function, or the
SadAshiva of the anugraha function, he will not be there after the pralaya, because there
is no pancha-kRtyam (the five Cosmic Functions) once the pralaya is over. The
Kameshvara who is non-distinct from ambaa, and the nirguNa-shivam which is the
substratum of them both are the only ones which are there. The eternal truth and existence
of nirguNa-satyaM need not have to be re-emphasized or re-affirmed. So when we talk of
who survives the pralaya it is only ambaa and the Kameshvara-shiva who is One with Her.
This is what is referred to in Shloka 26 when it says viharati sati tvat-patirasau (meaning,
Your husband alone is in the play). Read along with the word para-brahma-mahishhi
(Shloka 97), we should have meant only the para-brahman by the word tvat-patiH in #26.
But in the case of para-brahman, there is no question of any action like playing or
sporting (viharati); that is why the interpretation of Kameshvara-shiva (who is non-
distinct from ambaa) for tvat-patiH in Shloka 26.

In the shloka where it talks of the I-am-one-with-You-people it says even the wealth or
prosperity of Shiva Himself is nothing before them. With great gymnastics of sound effect
it says: trinayana-samRddhiM triNayataH (that is, even the majesty of the three-eyed
One is like straw before the wind). Why was it said like this? Shiva might be Ishvara; but
the aishvarya (Wealth) that gave Him that name, came from the parA-shakti. Without
Her action, there is no Shiva, no Wealth of any kind for Him. Even if there was anything in
terms of authority or jurisdiction, He shares it with so many other divinities to each of
whom She has allotted responsibilities as well as the associated authority and wealth of
Power. On the other hand, the I-am-one-with-You people are one with Her and so they
enjoy all Her aishvarya in fullness. So they are the greater ones!

I must warn you here. Let us not be carried away by this poetic devotional exaggeration.
There is no separate identity for either of Ishvara and devi. In fact what is Hers is His and
what is His is Hers.

A final subtle point. I just talked about the greatness of the I-am-one-with-You-people.
But notice that they are not saying You are one with me; that is where there is also a
modesty revealed. One of the mahA-vakyas is aham brahma asmi that is, I am brahman.
Another is: ayam Atma brahman, that is, This Atman, in other words, what is cognised
as jIvAtman, is nothing but brahman. These two mahA-vAkyas and the essence of I-am-
one-with-You of shloka 30 are all the same. However, those who look only at the word-
sequence of the mahAvAkyas, are likely to misunderstand them as saying : The person
who is in this jIva-bhava is calling himself brahman instead of correctly understanding:
It is brahman that is this jivAtma.

But when the mahAvakya comes forth from the mouth of the Guru it creates no such
confusion. Because it says: That is what you are and clearly implies That has become
you. In fact it indicates Without you there is nothing to be called I. And thus modesty
is automatically oozing out here. This is what the conviction I am one with You also
disseminates. Along with it, there is also the grandeur of the association with the
aishvarya of the Almighty. All these ideas have gone into the Acharyas expressive line
trinayana-samRddhiM triNayataH.

The bottom line is this: The jIva which is in identity with the Mother Goddess and the Lord
who is non-distinct from Her, both are ever there.

I referred to shloka 26 above. It talks about how when everything and every one gets
dissolved in the pralaya, only the Lord Shiva along with ambaa are remaining in sport. It
mentions the disappearance of the others one by one. The Creator BrahmA reaches his
end. Vishnu arrives at a dead stop. The God of Death (kInAsha) himself dies (
vinAshaM bajati). The Divine Treasurer (dhanadaH) also perishes without any help
from all his wealth (nidhanam yaati). Notice the gymnastics in the poetry here, which
describes the gymnastic sport of the divine couple during the process of Dissolution of the
Universe. Even during such a great pralaya (mahA-samhAra), ambaas spouse (patiH)
alone survives! Reason: Your tATanka-mahimA. This is what is taken up in shloka 28.

- 44

(Digest of pp.987 -993 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

sudhAm-apy-AsvAdya prati-bhaya-jarA-mRtyu hariNIM
vipadyante vishve vidhi shatamakhAdyA divishhadaH /
karALaM yat kshhvelaM kabaLitavataH kAla-kalanA
na shambhos-tan-mUlaM tava janani tATangka-mahimA // 28 //

AsvAdya api : Even after having consumed
sudhAm : the nectar
prati-bhaya-jarA-mRtyu-hariNIM : (which) eradicates the dreadful old age and death
vishve divishhadaH : all the divines
vidhi-shatamakhAkhyAH : like BrahmA, Indra and others
vipadyante : meet their end (at the time of pralaya).
Yat : (But) the fact that
shambhoH : for Lord Shiva
kabalitavataH : who had consumed
karALaM kshhvelaM : the terrible poison (of KalakuTa)
kAla-kalanA na : there is no submission to Time
tan-mUlaM : has its reason (in)
janani : Oh Mother
tava tATangka-mahimA : the Glory of Your ear-ornament (tATangka).

We have always been led to believe that some one who has consumed he most dreadful
poison has to meet his end, whereas some one who has taken the nectar will be immortal.
What is happening here is exactly the reverse. All the divines who had partaken of the
nectar have all to disappear at the Deluge whereas the Lord who has consumed the most
dreadful hAlAhala, is standing as the lonely survivor after the Deluge.

What is more, this partition of the Lord on the one side and all the other divines on the
other side is also happening in the context of Service to the Mother Goddess. Mukunda,
Brahma and Indra and all those divines fall at Her feet with their crowns touching Her feet
(#22), while the crownless dweller of the burial ground is distinguished as unique. The
punchline of this remark is that those who fell at Her feet are destroyed in the praLaya, but
He who did not so prostrate before Her is unaffected by the praLaya!

There is even another shloka (#29) which says that She runs to welcome the one who did
not serve, and while so running, tramples on the crowns of those that chose to serve Her
and fall at Her feet!
[Since the Paramacharya elaborates rather lengthily
on this reference to shloka 29 here,
I am giving it here with meanings and all,
though he has not yet finished his discussion of #28. VK ]

kirITaM vairinchaM parihara puraH kaiTabha-bhidaH
kaThore koTIre skhalasi jahi jambhAri-makuTaM /
praNamreshh-veteshhu prasabham-upayAtasya bhavanaM
bhavasyA-bhyutthAne tava parijanoktir-vijayate // 29 //

vijayate : Remarkable (= to be noted) are
tava parijanoktiH : the words of your maids-in-attendance,
abhyuthAne : at the hasty stir to welcome
bhavasya : Lord Shiva
upayAtasya : (who) had come
bhavanaM : home
prasabham : suddenly, unannounced.
praNamreshhu eteshhu : Amidst all these prostrating (divines)
parihara : avoid
vairincham kirITam : the crown of Creator Brahma;
purah : in front (of you)
skhalasi : you are trampling (over)
kaThore koTire : the heavy crown
kaitabha-bhidaH : of the enemy of Kaitabha ( = Vishnu)
jahi : (also) avoid
jambhAri makuTam : the crown of the enemy of jambha (= Indra).

Among the many names of the Creator Brahma, the Acharya most often uses the name
virinchi (See shlokas nos.1, 2 and 12 for example). The word rinchati means creates .
The prefix vi before the word adds a special effect to that action indicated by rinchati. In
other words, Creator Brahma does the creation work most effectively and with dedication.
Therefore he is virinchi.

Kaitabha-bhit denotes the One who vanquished the asura Kaitabha; therefore it is Vishnu.
When He was in yoga-nidrA, the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha attacked the Lord BrahmA,
patent in the region of the divine navel of Lord Vishnu. And Brahma sang a song of praise
of lord Vishnu so that He may wake up. The Lord obliged by shaking up the Goddess
Yoga-nidrA, and vanquished the two asuras. Goddess Yoga-NidrA is none else but the
Mother Goddess. It is quite fitting therefore that Vishnu is remembered here as Kaitabha-
vid; because it is Kaitabha that connects Vishnu, Brahma and parA-shakti in the same
cosmic event.
His (Vishnus) crown is not just an ordinary one. It is solid, not hollow in its material. Why
is it solid? The reason comes in the stotra called Vishnu-pAdAdi-keshAnta-stotra of the
Acharya himself. kRta-makuTa-mahAdeva-linga-pratishhTe meaning thereby that the
crown of Vishnu is in the form of a shiva-linga. Now comes the ironical situation!. It is this
crown that the maids-in-attendance of ambaa are wanting her not to trample over. It is the
shiva-linga-formed crown on the head of Vishnu that is now at the feet of ambaa! And that
is what She is about to trample, in her hurry to welcome Her Lord, when He arrives home
suddenly. When Bhakti and Love are in full flood, as in the case of Kannappars
behaviour, none can default any action, even if it looks like one that is faulty!

The context in which this happens is still more interesting. Bhava is returning to his
bhavanam this is the context. Bhava means Shiva. Bhavanam means home. He is
returning home unexpectedly and ambaa, as soon as She became aware of this, She hastens
to welcome Him in the tradition of a traditional pati-vratA. prasabhaM means in great
haste and excitement. And here comes a word abhyuthAnaM that has great significance.

abhyuthAnaM adharmasya does it not ring a bell? It is the Lords promise in the Gita,
that he will come whenever there is a damage to dharma. In that context, abhyuthAnam
means rising to the occasion. But now Soundaryalahari adds another meaning to that
word abhyuthAnaM. It also means rising to welcome or welcoming. This sets up an
interesting thought in my mind. Why not we appropriate this meaning in the shloka of the
Gita also. Then it would mean:
abhyuthAnam adharmasya = the welcome offered by adharma.
In other words, to make the Lord come down as an avatar, a welcome strategy would be
adharma. It was the adharma of a Ravana, of a Hiranyakashipu, of a Kamsa that brought
in three great avatars of the Lord!. But let us not carry the analogy too far. We should also
remember what finally happened to these carriers of the welcome banner!

We have strayed too far from the shloka 28, which was our main discussion point. Let us go
back to it now.

- 45

(Digest of pp.996-1000, 1015 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The feat that Shiva survives even the kAla-kUTa poison, that stays in his throat is
the glory of the ear-ornament of ambaa this is the content of Shloka 28. In other words
Shivaa (meaning, ambaa) is the medicine for Shiva. This thought goes back to the Vedas. In
the Rudram chapter of Krishna Yajur veda, the 2
nd
mantram of the 10
th
anuvAkam says:
Oh Rudra!, You have a form which includes the most auspicious form of parAshakti,
which is a cure for the entire universe and which is in total unison with your form, let that
bless us to live a full life. In other words, it says there are two bodies for the Lord; when it
shows up as Rudra it is frightening (ghora). When it shows up as Shiva it is
auspicious, because He has also this other body which is the one in unison with Shivaa
(ambaa).

[Note by VK: The Paramacharya does not usually
quote vedic passages in public during his speeches,
though he may give the purport of such passages.
This is the mantram that he is referring to:
yA te rudra shivaa tanuuH shivaa vishvAha bheshhajI /
shivaa rudrasya bheshhajI tayaa no mRDa jIvase //]

In the world of duality, there is good as well as bad. Both come from the same
Absolute Reality that is God. It is not as if one comes from God and the other comes from
Satan. This is not acceptable to our scriptures. The same Almighty is the Rudra of
destruction and is also the most compassionate, most peaceful Shiva.

When we talk of the ghora form, the word ghora includes all that is bad like
anger, sorrow etc., though the direct meaning of ghora is frightful. The opposite
form called aghora-mUrti includes all that is good. When we look at worldly life, we have
the feeling it is bad that is predominant. That is why our elders call this samsAra a
ghora-samsAra. But it is not totally ghoram nor does it end as ghoram. Now and then
some peace, some happiness is mixed up with it. This is like a medicine which is graced to
us by the Lord. Probably it is divine will that this worldly life has to be a mixed life of good
and bad. Maybe bad is intended to be more in abundance, so that we would all want to
get away from this and reach our Real Nature of Atman. I said Maybe because how can
anybody know what was the divine intention?

Just as there are medicines for diseases, for this ghora events of life, there is a
medicine of shivam! But even that does not cure the illness totally. We get hungry and we
eat to satisfy the hunger. But hunger is not for ever satisfied! Again we get hungry and
again we have to eat! So also the ghora part of life comes again and again and the shivam
part gives us the medicine every time. That medicine is called SHIVAA -- say the vedas.
They say: Oh Lord! Do you know what converts your Rudra-body into the shiva-body?
It is the extended shiva, namely SHIVAA. Therefore SHIVAA is also the universal cure
for everything! This is the declaration of the mantram from Rudram referred to above.

The matter does not end there. She is not just vishva-bheshhajI . The Shruti
continues: She is also Rudrasya bheshhajI, the medicine that will bring down the
roudra (=frightening) nature of Rudra and transform it into a karuNa (=
compassionate) nature.

Indeed we think that Shivaa is just the consort of Shiva and that is why She has
been called Shivaa. But the above words of the vedas go to the extent of saying that only
when the medicine of Shivaa is applied to Rudra, Rudra becomes Shiva ! It is further
confirmed by the fact that the auspicious form of Rudra is not referred to by the masculine
term Shiva tanuu (the Shiva body) but it is declared to be the feminine word Shivaa
tanuu. Thus the body is the one coming from the Mother concept. So the attitude is that of
the mother, and the physical form is the fathers. It is the Shivaa bheshhajI that converts
Rudra into Shiva.

The incident of Shiva drinking the poison that came out from the Ocean of Milk,
and retaining it in his throat, for the purpose of saving those of the world outside, namely
all the divines and those in his Cosmic stomach, namely the entire universe, is graphically
pictured in a Sivanandalahari shloka (#32), wherein the poet-author (The Acharya)
wonders Was it a siddha-gulika that you put into your mouth?. Siddha-gulika refers to
a medicine from the Siddha-vaidya-shAstra. It is interesting to note that this links well with
the bheshhajI-word (bheshhaja medicine; bheshhajI Doctor) that is being used here
in the veda-mantra.

This idea that the Lord has within Himself another body which is wholly that of
Shivaa and the usual idea that the Lord has an ardha-nArishvara (half-male, half-female)
form are together combined in another shloka (#23) where ambaa is branded as one who
has appropriated for Herself the entire body of Her husband! :

tvayA hRtvA vAmaM vapur-aparitRptena manasA
sharIrArdhaM shambhor-aparaM api shangke hRtam abhUt /
yad-etat-tvad-rUpaM sakalam aruNAbhaM trinayanaM
kuchAbhyAm AnamraM kuTila-shashi-chUDAla-makuTaM //23//

yad-etad : The fact that
tvad-rUpaM : this form of Yours
sakalam aruNAbhaM : is fully red
trinayanam : (and) having three eyes
kuchAbhyAm Anamram : (and) is bent because of the breasts
kuTila-shashi-chUDAla-makuTaM : incomplete-moon-hair dress-crown , meaning,
(and) having a crown of hairdo with the half moon in it,
shangke : makes me doubt (that)
vAmaM vapuH hRtvA : having taken the left side of the body
aparitRptena manasA : but not being satisfied (with it),
aparaM sharIrArdhaM : another half of the body
shambhoH : of Shiva
api : also
hRtaM abhUt : has been appropriated
tvayA : by You

Thus spake the Paramacharya.

- 46 -

(Digest of pp.1015 -1027 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The very beginning of the shloka tvayA hRtvA brands ambaa as a thief!
You have already appropriated half of His body. And you were not
satisfied. Now You have appropriated the other half also.

The gymnastics of words is delightful. In aparitRptena there is an
apari. This is is in the first line. In the second line there is aparam.
This latter means other. But apari is the opposite of pari. pari-
tRptena means: by one who is fully satisfied. The pari stands for fully.
So apari-tRptena means: by one who is not satisfied fully. Having taken
only half the body how can She have a full satisfaction? She had only a
partial satisfaction ! That is what is indicated by the apari-tRptena.

It is the left side of the Lords body that belongs to ambaa. This is the age-
old tradition. That is how the Acharya expected to see ambaa when he
sought Her darshan. But what did he see? He expected to have a darshan
of Father and Mother in the ardha-nArishvara form. But what he saw was
the Mothers form, including the right side. Father is crystal-white and
Mother is crimson-red. But what he saw was sakalam aruNAbham
fully crimson-red. He expected to see a masculine form on the right side,
but what he saw was kuchAbhyAm-Anamram. So the Acharya concludes
-- in poetic fancy, of course that the other (right) half of Shivas
masculine body also has been taken over by ambaa. Note that Shiva
Himself is described in the vedas as taskarANAm patiH the head of all
the thiefs! But ambaa has executed a theft on Himself, by stealing the
other remaining half of His body though She had been, with great
condescension, given half of His body (the left side) already!

And it is delightfully interesting to note that the poet in the Acharya does
not say that the other half of the body has also been captured. He dares
not, even in poetic fancy, make that charge assertively against ambaa. He
only says shangke I suspect !

Let us analyse it still further. When one says I suspect, one should give
reasons. He has already given two reasons: Wholly crimson-red is one;
the features of the chest is another. But this is not enough. To support
his charge further, he gives two more, which clinch the issue. These are
the two features: trinayanam (three eyes) and kuTila-shashi-chUDAla-
makuTaM (crown that includes the half moon in it). These two are
exclusively the features of Lord Shiva. His name, even according to the
vedas is tryambaka. In the preliminary mantras to the rudra-prashna,
the dhyAna-shloka beginning with ApAtALa-nabhasthalAntha ... the
second line describes Him as jyoti-sphATika-linga-mouli-vilasat-
pUrnendu .. which means that as the shiva-linga, He has the full moon
on His top. When the same devatA is figured anthropomorphically as a
Person, He would have on His head, only a half moon . Thus the three
eyes and the crescent moon belong to the Lord. But when the Acharya
had the darshan he saw both these in ambaa Herself!

In fact the darshan he had was of Kameshvari, the devatA of
Soundaryalahari. Kameshvari has a third eye in Her forehead. In the
meditating shloka of LalitA-sahasranAma, the shloka begins with
sindhUra-aruNa-vigrahAM. The sindhUra colour ascribed to the form
here is the crimson-red colour, indicated by sakalaM aruNAbhaM in our
current shloka. Following that, the dhyAna-shloka goes on next to
trinayanam (three eyed). Thus the red colour and the three eyes are
natural to the form of Kameshvari. But in the present shloka (#23) the
Acharya takes the stance, in his poetry, that the former (namely, the red
colour) is naturally Hers, whereas the latter (namely, the three eyes) has
been appropriated from the Lords form!

Continuing the dhyAna-shloka, we have the expression tArA-nAyaka-
shekharAm meaning, who has the Moon on Her head. This the
Acharya has used in his shloka as kuTila-shashi-chUDAla-makuTAM.

Thus the Acharya has made a nindA-stuti (Praise by pointing out faults) of
ambaa by using the same four characteristics which ambaa has, according
to the dhyAna-shloka, namely, red colour, three eyes, crescent moon on
the head and the feminine form. But two of them he says ambaa has
appropriated from the Lord. In fact it is the Acharya who has appropriated
two of the four all of which rightfully belong to Her, by accusing Her of
appropriating those two from Her Lord.

It is not that the Acharya did not know. He certainly would know that all
four are natural characteristics of LalitAmbA. trinayanA (The three-
eyed) is one of Her names occurring in the LalitA-sahasranAma. chAru-
chandra-kalAdharA is also another. In ShymALA-danDaka of Kalidasa,
we have him addressing Her as chandra-kalAvatamse (She who has
ornamented Her head with the Crescent Moon). Thus ambaa does have
these two characteristics as Her own. In pictures of olden times I have
myself seen Her being depicted thus. But the ordinary commonfolk still
think that the concepts of three eyes and crescent moon on the head
are exclusively those of Lord Shiva. And, the Acharya, in his poetic
excitement, joins the commonfolk and creates a nindA-stuti!

There is still another angle! The shloka under discussion revels in the
idea of ambaa having appropriated the Lords characteristics and also his
right half. But the poetic world knows that it is the other way round. It is
the Lord who has appropriated Her characteristics and legitimately what
is due to Her!

In the ardha-nArishvara form the third eye is common to both the
masculine and the feminine forms. It is by the third eye He consumed
Manmatha, the God of Love, to ashes. So the credit of that consumption
should go half and half to both the Lord and ambaa. But who is known as
Kama-dahana-mUrti? It is He. Similarly when KAla, the God of Death,
was attempting to get the Shiva-devotee MarkanDeya into his death-
noose, he was vanquished by the left leg of the Lord, and thus He has
earned the name Kala-samhAra-mUrti and known as such as the world
over. But the left leg in the ardha-nArIshvara form actually belongs to
ambaa and so the credit for vanquishing Kala should go wholly to ambaa.
Thus on both counts it is He that should be faulted for appropriation and
not She!

Well, we could go on like this. But the final essence of all this discussion
is that there is no appropriation on either side. It is all One form and One
Supreme. The Lords form is totally in Her and Her form is totally in His.
LalitA Herself is Shiva-shakty-aikya-rUpiNI; this advaita is the
bottomline of the whole thing.

[At this point the Paramacharya becomes silent
and starts talking in a measured low voice]

Alright, the form is totally red; it is ambaa. But if one begins to look at
the form in its various parts, amidst the redness, there is visible only the
third eye and the crescent moon at the top. That reminds us of the Lord.
But if you look for Him He is not there. Nothing except those two
characteristics of His are visible. It is probably this experience that
prompted the Acharya to say:
[Now the Paramacharya raises his voice]

Oh! You got half the body as your own; and now you have taken over the
whole body!

None can partition the Shiva-experience. You cannot have it piecemeal;
you have to have the whole of it. This is what ambaa has done!

- 47
(Digest of pp.1028 -1032 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

japo jalpaH shilpaM sakalam-api mudrA-virachanA
gatiH prAdakshhiNya-kramaNam ashanAdy-Ahuti vidhiH /
praNAmaH samveshaH sukhaM akhilaM AtmArpaNa-dRshA
saparyA paryAyaH tava bhavatu yan-me vilasitaM // 27 //

(The word-by-word meaning comes out in the Paramacharyas explanation itself; so it is
not given separately)

Whatever actions we do everything must be in dedication to ambaa this is the sum and
substance of this shloka. Worship, japam, showing mudrAs by the fingers of the hand,
circumambulation, prostration, offering in the fire with the chanting of mantras in
propitiation of ambaa all these are usually done in honour of ambaa by Her devotees.
Yes, all these have to be done. But the matter should not end there. Doing all this for a
portion of the time, and then for the rest of the time getting fully immersed in material
matters of the world, is exactly what should be avoided. It is not like A few hours for
ambaa; and the rest of the time for me and my worldly activities. All the time everything
should become a worship, everything should be a japam, a homam and an offering. That is
how we should change our life style. Not only the devotees, but all should be able to do this.

But how is this possible? Is this feasible? Dont I have to bathe? Dont I have to eat, sleep,
mix with people, do my work in the world? I hear you are all raising these questions
immediately. You may say that even the great so-called jnAnis (enlightened ones) are
certainly doing all these routine activities of worldly life. So what is wrong?

Let it be. She as the Divine Mother has to perform Her leelA. That is alright. But how is it
that the jnAnis, who know it is all Her leelA, are still working in the mundane world? You
should also be like those jnAnis. Be in the world, not of the world. Maybe it is not possible
just immediately. But gradually, you can train yourself to be so. Effort and constant
practice are needed. For the present, start convincing yourself that your bathing, eating,
talking, sleeping, walking, and all these ordinary activities are all happening because of
Her Shakti without which by yourself you cannot do a single thing. Constantly tell
yourself that this is so. Slowly keep widening this belief for evcery action of yours.

When you recognize that you are eating because of the power She has given you to eat, you
would not have the heart to send rubbish stuff into your stomach. When the belief settles in
that it is ambaa that makes you walk, you will hesitate twice before wasting it on going to
the races or the movies. When you know that it is by Her Grace you are talking, you would
not waste it on gossiping or scolding another or discussing disgusting material. When we
are aware of the fact that hands and feet are working because of Her, we would stop using
them for doing wrong things.
Gradually, in due time, this conviction has to spread to your mental activities also. In other
words, the egoistic thought of I am planning this or that will give way to the thought Let
Her get this done, if She wishes. This change in the thought processes is important because
it is through the mind all the mAyic changes and troubles of the world emerge. And they
prevent the nullifying of the mind and the entry into jnAna mArga. Once we transfer the
responsibilities to the Divine Mother, the impact of the mind will slowly disappear.
Thereafter, whether She keeps us talking, walking or eating or She keeps us without any of
these, in any case, we would be peaceful at the bottom of our heart. It is to reach that state,
to pray for that state to be possible, that this shloka has been given to us by the Acharya.

japo jalpaH: jalpa means talk, whether it is meaningful or not. So all this talk should
be a japam. In other words, it is the state of whatever we talk becoming an offering of
japam for Her.
There are several mantras like BalA, ShhoDashI, and panchadashI. All these mantras
are done in a japa form. We are not saying that they should not be done. But ultimately,
the japa as a separate activity has to disappear and the conviction should occur that
whatever we talk is a japa offering to Her.
sakalaM shilpam-api mudrA-virachanA: Whatever I do by my hand, let it be a mudrA
that one does in Your pUjA. Here shilpam must be taken to mean any kind of work.
Unfortunately the tamil word shilpam means only sculpture. Maybe because Man
produces forms just as the Creator creates human beings.
gatiH prAdakshhiNya-kramaNaM : Whatever movement I do let it be a
circumambulation of You. Wherever I go let me have the feeling that I am doing a
pradakshhiNA of You.
ashanAdi : food, etc. Since the etc. is there it means not only food that is eaten, but food
that is consumed by the other senses like eyes and ears. So all sensual experiences are
covered.
Ahuti vidhiH : Let them be the offerings given to the sacred fire lit for You.
In fact all eating is done only after giving the first five morsels to the five prANas. In the
Gita also, the Lord says that He it is who digests the food by being VaishvAnara as
JATharAgni in the stomach. Once we have the conviction that it is He that is sitting inside
and consuming what we send through the mouth, then we would not be sending in wine
and meat for His consumption. The same logic applies to the sensual consumption by eyes,
ears, skin, and nose. Everything is experienced by Him and so let us dare not send in
undesirable things.

praNAmas-samveshaH : Let my very sleeping be a namaskara done to You. Once we
realise that our lying down for rest is nothing but a namaskaram at the feet of ambaa, that
would itself give us total peace and relaxation.

Why carry on this list in detail. It is not necessary to do special japa, homa, namakara and
such rituals. Whatever we naturally do , let it be our pUja to You this is the meaning of
sukham akhilam AtmArpaNa-dRshA saparyA paryAyaH tava bhavatu yan me vilasitaM.
Here saparyA means pUjA. paryAya has many meanings, one of which is substitute.
So this gives the meaning: Let whatever I do be a substitute for the pUjA to be done to
You.

- 48

(Digest of pp.1033 - 1037 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Note the words sukham-akhilaM-AtmArpaNa-dRshA in the third line of shloka 27.

sukham means without strain, naturally. The word is very significant here. Since our
mind is not in our control, it becomes a great strain to make it subscribe to a moralistic
routine. But if we train our mind to think that everything is the work of ambaaL, the
attempt to become moralistic slips into a natural frame wherein the goal is attained
effortlessly. Because, when we have surrendered everything to Her, the mind starts doing
what is natural to it, namely, it behaves like a pure mind. And that is the road to eternal
happiness.

The words AtmArpaNa-dRshA is the life-line of this shloka; not only of this shloka, but of
all Hindu scriptures. This is the Atma-nivedanaM, the last of the nine-fold bhakti
methodologies enunciated in the Bhagavatam. It is also the complete Surrender described
in all Bhakti literature and particularly in the Bhagavad-Gita. The expression literally
means: By the attitude which is ready to lay ones life at Her feet. Only when that
attitude is present, all talk becomes a japa, all action becomes a mudrA, and so on for the
rest. Let things become like this through the attitude of Atma-samarpaNaM (laying ones
life at the feet). The word bhavatu in the last line stands for this plea. A person who can
do this surrender, would have his whole life sanctified as a pUjA to Her Almighty.

An exactly analogous thought almost in the same words has been given in Shiva-mAnasa-
pUjA by the Acharya himself.

AtmA tvaM girijA matiH sahacarAH prANAH sharIraM gRhaM
pUjA te vishhayopa-bhoga-racanA nidrA samAdhi sthitiH /
sancAraH padayoH pradakshhiNa-vidhiH stotrANi sarvA giro
yad-yat karma karomi tat-tad-akhilaM shambho tavA-rAdhanaM //

You Lord Shiva are my AtmA; my mind is ambikA, the daughter of the Mountain; my five
prANas are the GaNas that serve you; my body is your temple; all my involvement in
sensual experience is your pUjA; my sleep is the samAdhi state; my wanderings on my feet
constitute Your pradakshhiNa; whatever I talk shall be your praises; whatever I do O
shambho, all that shall be a propitiation of You.

Such a dedication of everything at the feet of the Lord is what is prescribed by the Lord in
the Gita:

Yat-karoshhi yad-ashnAsi yaj-juhoshhi dadAsi yat /
Yat-tapasyasi kaunteya tat-kurushhva mad-arpaNaM // IX -27

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in the homa-fire, whatever you
give away, whatever intense concentration you do all that should be offered to Me.

There is nothing that I do Good or bad, Am I the doer? Such expressions of total
surrender are everywhere in the works of Nayanmars, Alvars and also the saints of other
religions. It is this kind of total surrender that gives the destination of ones birth, namely,
jIvan-mukti.

What is talked of as the cessation of mind in the path of jnAna becomes the total
surrender in the path of bhakti. Both are AtmArpaNaM only. Both have the same result,
namely, jIvan-mukti Release (even) while alive!

To sum up, the body does what it does because it is being made to do so by the jIva within
it; so also what all this jIva does is because it is being made to do so by a Supreme jIva-
Shakti behind it and that is the Mother Goddess. For that Shakti, not only this Jiva is the
body but all the jIvas nay, in fact the entire Universe is the body. So whatever happens in
the Universe is because of Her. Once this idea settles deeply in our minds then there will be
no problem of laying our lives at Her feet (Atma-samarpaNaM).

The concept that ambaaL is pervading the whole universe immanently is elaborated in two
shlokas (#34, 35) by the Acharya.

sharIraM tvaM shambhoH shashi-mihira-vakshhoruha-yugaM
tavAtmAnaM manye bhagavati navAtmAnaM anaghaM /
atah sheshhas-sheshhI-ity-ayam-ubhaya-sAdhAraNatayA
sthitas-sambandho vAM sama-rasa-para-nanda-parayoH //34//

Bhagavati : Oh Goddess,
Manye : I think
tvaM : You
shashi-mihira-vakshhoruha-yugaM: (who) have the Sun and the Moon as your breasts,
shambhoH sharIraM : (are) the body of Shiva,
anaghaM : (and) the spotless
navAtmAnaM : (Ananda-bhairava, i.e. Shiva) who has nine facets (of presentation)
tava AtmAnaM : (as) your AtmA.
ataH : Therefore
ayam sambandhaH : this relationship
sheshhaH sheshhI iti : of the accessory and the principal
vAM : between You two
sama-rasa-parAnanda-parayoH : who are ParAnanda and ParA, the enjoyers of the same
Infinite Bliss
sthitaH : is poised
ubhaya-sAdhAraNatayA : as a mutual common factor.

You are the body of Lord Shiva, O Goddess thus begins the verse. Earlier it was said
that the whole body of the Lord has been appropriated by Her. But now are we talking of
the crimson-coloured body with a crescent moon and a third eye? No. We are talking of
this vast cosmos of million universes which together constitute His virAt-svarUpa (cosmic
form). That cosmic body is ambaaL, says the verse. The life-giving force for that entire
cosmos is the Absolute Reality, the para-Brahman.

Mark it! What is being said here seems to be contrary to what was declared in the very first
shloka shivaH shaktyA yuktah ....Without Shakti, Shiva cannot even move that was the
statement there. So it appeared as if Shiva is an inert body and ambaaL is the life-giving
force. Here it is being said that She is the body and ... !

No contradiction is intended or implied. There are two viewpoints.

49
(Digest of pp.1038 -1044 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The first shloka says that She is the soul and He is inert without Her presence. This shloka
(#34) says that He is the soul and She is His body. There are two viewpoints here.

I must have myself said in interpreting the first shloka that He is inert without Her. To
be precise, it is not He is inert without Her, but He is inert-like without Her. The Shiva
that we spoke of in Shloka #1, is the actionless, attributeless, nameless Brahman. That
Brahman can never be called something that is inert, devoid of cit or Consciousness. But
it is something to which we cannot attribute the act of cognizing itself. In that sense there is
no awareness of being complete-in-itself. It is in this sense, the word inertness is used
when talking of Brahman. So it is as good as inert. The as if part here is the punchline.
The Brahman, that does not know(!) itself -- this to become the Brahman that knows
itself is due to the jnAna-shakti and that is ambaa. It is this jnAna-shakti, that now brings
its own ichhA-shakti and kriyA shakti, and the process of Evolution starts. So the nirguNa-
Brahman, until it knows itself, is inert and the shakti that makes it, as it were, know itself,
is its soul it is in this sense the first shloka talks of He is inert without Her!

Shloka 34 is talking about kArya brahman. Ishvara is SaguNa-brahman. When Shakti as
Kameshvari prompts Him, He creates the entire Universe and is involved in the cosmic
functions. It is in this context the entire Universe is His body and the soul within is the
kArya-shakti that is Ishvara. The icchA shakti that is Kameshvari prompts the
Fundamental Reality that is Brahman.

The contention of advaita however is: It is Brahman that, through MayA, becomes saguNa
Brahman which transacts its cosmic functions. There is no separate chaitanyaM (life,
consciousness) for mAyA. It is inert. It gets a chaitanyaM from Brahman, hides Brahman
and projects the universe instead, in Brahman. The administration of this universe takes
place by the same Brahman but now as Ishvara coupled with mAyA.

Brahman is shivaM and ambaa is mAyA I have already told you so. It is because of mAyA
that the Universe exists. So one can speak of the Universe itself as mAyA and therefore the
form of ambaa. That mAyA is inert; it shines because of brahma-chaitanyaM. Therefore
ambaa is spoken of as the body and the shiva who is in the place of Brahman can be spoken
of as its soul. This is why sharIraM tvaM shambhoH You, Mother, are the body of
Shiva!.

In Sankhya school of philosophy, it is almost the same. Purushha is the basic Truth
behind all jIvas. PrakRti is the basic cause for the Universe. The two are like body and
soul, according to Sankhya. Scholarly opinion holds that the contention of shloka 34,
namely, that ambaa is the body of the Lord and the universe itself is ambaa (through the
words shashi-mihira-vakshhoruha-yugaM) is more akin to Sankhya than to advaita. The
reasoning goes like this:

Brahman is hidden by mAyA. Brahman appears as the universe and this is the projection of
mAyA. Of these two things, it is the hiding part that is dominant whenever we talk of
mAyA. Even in ordinary parlance, we say the thing disappeared like mAyA!. On the other
hand prakRti, instead of being associated with the hiding part, is usually emphasized in
the case of what appears as Nature. PrakRti gets the dominant emphasis whenever we talk
of the universe appearing in the place of Absolute Reality. In Sankhya, the 24 tattvas like
the five elemental fundamentals, pancha tanmAtras, and then the senses, etc. all are
focussed on the Universe and its constitution (=make-up). Even advaita shAstras have
accepted the 24 fundamental tattvas more because of the importance given to it by
traditional scholars. In advaita sAdhanA, these have no recognized place. In the practical
sAdhanA of an advaitin, knowing about the 24 fundamentals is neither advantageous nor
disadvantageous. The transformation of prakRti into the Universe and its living beings is
important only in Sankhya.

Though the beginning of this shloka (34) takes us back to Sankhya and advaita, the later
ideas take us to the two traditions in ShAkta school, namely, the Kaula and the Samaya. In
fact even the idea that ambaa is the body of the Lord and the Universe itself is ambaa -- has
also a basis in the ShAkta scriptures. Kaulam is the tradition wherein one does external
worship with yantram, deity and all. Samayam is that which does the pUjA esoterically in
the heart-space (hRdayAkAsha).

Irrespective of any of these philosophies, what is important to note in this shloka is the
Acharyas refusal to forget the motherly love inherent in the Mother Goddess. Though
ambaa is depicted as the cosmic Form of the Lord, the Acharya does not have the mind to
leave it as an inert form or body. He keeps thinking about the Mother as the Mother of
the Universe and its beings and therefore Her breast-feeding of Her children is hinted at by
the mention of shashi-mihira-vakshhoruha-yugam! That the Sun and the Moon are the
life-givers of everything in the universe is a scientifically accepted fact. Therefore the
Mother who protects us as anna-poorNeshvari also feeds our lives through the Sun and the
Moon. Poetically, in the language of Bhakti, they are the ones who feed us with life-
sustaining breast-feed and that is why they are the two breasts of the Cosmic Form that is
ambaa.

It is customary to talk of the Sun and the Moon as the two eyes of the Lord. In
Soundaryalahari itself, shloka 48 says that Your right eye is the Sun that brings out the
day; and your left eye is the Moon that creates the night. In Lalita Sahasranama ambaas
ear-ornaments are said to be the Sun and the Moon. But over and above all this, it is this
shloka that touches us most, because it makes us the Mothers children who are breast-fed
by the Sun and the Moon as Her breasts.

- 50

(Digest of pp.1045 -1050 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

We have not yet done with Shloka 34. The Sheshha-SheshhI-bhAva (The Principal and the
Accessory concept) that comes in the third line of the verse has tremendous conceptual
significance.

sharIraM tvaM shambhoH indicates that ambaa is the body and Shiva is the soul. Since
the body is usually taken as containing the soul one should not think that soul is a
property of the body. It is not like the purse is in my pocket; so the purse is my property.
By thinking like that one commits the foolishness -- as the Acharya himself mentions in his
ShaTpadI-stotra of thinking that the Ocean is the property of the Waves; the Wave is not
the property of the Ocean! The fact that the waves are the only thing visible from the
outside and the calm water beneath is not visible, does not mean that the waves possess
the ocean beneath them! So also with body and soul. If the soul (life) leaves the body, the
body becomes rotten and decays. The soul goes and takes another body. Therefore it is the
body that is possessed by the soul. The soul is the possessee and the body is the property
of the possessee. In Sanskrit the word svaM indicates the possessed property. It is from
this word svaM the word svat and the Tamil word sottu (meaning property or
possession) are derived.

When svam is the possessed property, the possessee is svAmi. It is the Lord who is the
svAmi for the whole universe, because everything is His, in His possession, His property.
The possessor-Lord is called SheshhI. Sheshha is the one owned by the SheshI. Soul is
the sheshhI and body is sheshha.

This concept of jIvas and Universe as the body and the Lord as the soul and on the same
basis as sheshha and sheshhI is an important tenet of the vishishhTAdvaita school of
Ramanujacharya.

If the Lord is taken to be the nirguNa Brahman as per advaita, then ambaa was first said
to be the I-consciousness of the Lord, by the Acharya. The first half of the very first shloka
meant only that. Then in shloka #7, explicitly ambaa was said to be Aho-purushhikA. In
this kind of thing, there is no distinction between sheshha and sheshhI; the shiva and shakti
are in indivisible unison. But looking at the phenomenal world of duality, the talk arises
about the divine Triad, and the divinities in charge of the five cosmic functions. And in this
state they are able to function only with the help of a fragment of Her Shakti. Just by the
dust of Her feet they are able to do what they have to do (shloka 2). Or by just the winking
of Her eyes (shloka 24). These shlokas point to the fact that She is the Mistress of the whole
show; in other words, She is the SheshhI; and these divinities are the sheshhas who do Her
bidding. Even the alternates of Shiva, namely, Rudra, Maheshvara and SadAshiva who
belong to the same category, are also sheshhas and She is the SheshhI for them too.

Over and above all this, from the minutest earthworm all the way up to the Cosmic
Divinities of the five functions, all of them have been created and given life by the
presence of Her Shakti within. So She is the SeshI to all of them . In other words all of us
are Sheshas, accessories, for that SheshI, the principal.

This shloka also tells us in its second line how She is the SheshhI and He is the Sheshha.
Ishvara is nine-faceted these nine facets starting with Time and ending with jIva.
[Note by VK: The nine facets referred to here are:
KAla, Kula, nAma, jnAna,citta,
nAda, bindu, KalA and jIva]
That is the navAtmA that is mentioned in the shloka. For all of these the life giving shakti is
ambaa. So She is the SharIrI or SheshhI. And Ishvara, who has the nine aspects, is
Sheshha.

Now change the viewpoint. You will see that He is the SheshhI and She is the Sheshha. For,
She being Shakti, Energy, Power, there must be someone who wields that Shakti, Power
and Energy. That is the Lord Shiva! Even when He is the saguna-Brahman or the kArya-
Brahman, He is the Ishvara who is the soul of everything in the universe as the First Cause
and the effects, namely, all that is animate and inanimate, His body, that is, ambaa. So She
becomes the Sheshha.

The simple meaning of SheshhaM is Remainder. So the original, which ought to be far
more than the SheshhaM, is the SheshhI. That is the paramAtman. From that fullness of
the paramAtman all this world has emerged, which appears to be infinite and full. After
emerging from fullness, what has emerged seems to be full. This is what the upanishadic
mantra (pUrnamadaH pUrnamidaM) says. In other words it only tells us that the
paramAtman is the SheshhI and we are all his Sheshha. Ambaa is manifesting as all the
multitudinous universe and the life within is the Shambhu-Brahman. Therefore sharIram
tvam shambhoH. Ambaa is the sheshha and He is the Sheshhi.

Thus the Acharya here does not make any distinction between the different viewpoints of
ShAktaM, ShaivaM, VishishhTAdvaitam, Sankhyam and advaitam. The universe that is
discardable as mAyA in advaita is here talked of as the body of the paramAtman. When
you think of nirguNa-Brahman, the question of soul and body, sharirI and sharira, sheshhI
and sheshha does not arise. But in the phenomenal world when we view things from our
mundane angle, the universe is said to be the body and the indwelling paramAtman the
sharIrI very much as in vishishhTAdvaita philosophy.

The Acharya says in this shloka that this Sheshha-SheshhI bhAva is equally the
characteristic of both. Already the samaya school of ShAktaM talks of five equalities
between Shiva and Shakti.
[VK : See DPDS 7]
And here the Acharya has added one more equality, namely the Sheshha-SheshhI bhava!

Just as the universe is visible so also the body is visible. So long as the mind is there both
the body and the universe will certainly be visible. When the mind is inactive as in sleep, or
in sedation or in samAdhi, there is no universe, body or activity of the senses. Where is the
distinction in that state, between body and its life or soul, who is the sharIrI, what is the
sharIra, who is the SheshhI, who is the Sheshha? In sleep and in sedation, there is no
duality because nothing is cognized. For the jnAni who is in the samAdhi state, again there
is no universe or phenomenal activity because of the absence of mind. There is no jIvAtma
being monitored or enlivened by the ParamAtman. To comprehend the presence of
these two, function of the mind is necessary. Is it the state like sleep or sedation where there
is nothing? No. That is not a state of complete void; it is a state of One-ness, namely the
presence of the One without a second! This is how advaita has been established by the
Acharya.

But other than that jnAni, the experience of every one else has to see everything starting
from the mind and going all the way to the five fundamental elements as pervaded by
ambaa. And that is what the Acharya is training us to do. As a beginning for this
perception he says Brahman (shivam) is the soul and the unvierse (ambaa) is the body.

And he goes on to say in this next shloka (#35), that mind itself, which is the cause for all
duality, is ambaa.

Thus spake the Paramacharya

51
(Digest of pp.1050 -1055 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

manas-tvaM vyoma tvaM marud-asi marut-sArathir-asi
tvam-Apas-tvaM bhUmis-tvayi pariNatAyAM na hi paraM /
tvameva svAtmAnaM pariNamayituM vishva-vapushhA
cid-AnandA-kAraM shiva-yuvati-bhAvena bibhRshhe //35//

manaH tvaM You are the mind. Mother, it is this mind that is
responsible for all the truant behaviour and all the consequent troubles;
but even that mind is You yourself. I may ask you, O Mother; Who are
you? even this question is rising only in my mind and that again is You!

In the path of jnAna, they talk of the destruction of the mind. But here
we are told that the mind itself is ambaa. The advantage in convincing
oneself that the Mother Goddess Herself is our mind, is that it paves the
way for stopping all further truant behaviour and thus inviting further
troubles. It is by such practice one ends up with the void where there is
no mind; it is actually not void, but is called jnAna-AkAsha, that is,
Knowledge-space. Maybe it is not visible now. So what? Right now what
you are able to see is the blue vast sky; learn to see that it is also ambaa.

Vyoma tvaM -- You are Space. Not only just Space. You are the five
elements. The thing next to AkAsha is air; and that is also You. marud-
asi air are you. marut means air (VAyu). Hanuman is called
MAruti because He is the son of marut.

At the next level there is agni, fire. That is also your another form. Even
the Veda says: agni-varnAM, tapasA jvalantIM, -- of the colour of agni,
shining by the fire of penance. Fire travels the way the wind blows,
therefore it is called marut-sArathiH. Fire has marut (Wind) as its pilot!

tvaM ApaH. tvaM bhUmiH You are Water. You are the Earth.

Ambaa is in the form of the five fundamental elements and so manifests
Herself in the five chakras in the body, from mUlAdhAra to Vishuddhi.

Where is the need for elaboration one by one? There is nothing where
You are not manifest. tvayi pariNatayAM na hi paraM. The
pariNatAyAM means that ambaa Herself has become all this. na hi
paraM shows that there is nothing more supreme (paraM) than Her.

All that was said so far constitute the first two lines of the shloka. In the
latter two lines, it says: In order to make yourself pervade the whole
universe, You Yourself as the consort of Lord Shiva manifest in the form
of Knowledge-Bliss.

The fullness is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss (sat-cid-AnandaM). Shiva is not
only just sat (Existence), but also Knowledge and Bliss. As Knowledge it
knows. As Bliss it is blissfully happy. This knowing and being happy are
the effects of ambaa. That is why She is called cid-Ananda-lahari
(Shloka 8). What is the reason for this expression of knowledge and Bliss?
The third line of the shloka answers this.

tvaM eva svAtmAnaM pariNamayituM vishva-vapushhA meaning, For
the purpose of your pervasion as the entire universe, You took the
Knowledge-Bliss Expression in the role of the consort of Shiva.

The brahman knowing itself and revelling in the Bliss of that Knowledge
does not just end there; the expansion as Knowledge and Bliss is for the
purpose of manifesting itself as the Universe This is the kind of thought
in this shloka. It is out and out a ShAkta doctrine. It is not there in
advaita. When advaita school dwells on Creation, they say: It is all
because of mAyA; the questions of How and Why do not lead us anywhere.
The whole business is to discard this mAyA and rest in the base, the
substratum . So where is the need for research about How this came and
for what purpose? On the other hand, in the traditions of Bhakti, like
ShAktaM, they give you reasons for Creation that the same Cit (that is,
Supreme Consciousness) manifests as several fragments of consciousness
and the same Ananda (that is, Supreme Bliss) manifests as several
fragments of Bliss, and that Creation is enable us to watch the play of
that Universe. According to them it is that drama that we take to be
wholly real and we consequently are immersed in that mAyA. Even in this
mAyic universe what flows is only that Consciousness-Bliss (cidAnanda-
rasam); in the same way as the substratum of existence being called
shiva-yuvati. If only we realise that all this creation of universe is to
make us enjoy Her play, Her drama, Her expansion, then we can delight in
that blissful view of the miracle, and in turn, be immersed in that
CidAnanda.

Note that the word pariNAma (transformation) has been used twice.
There is no transformation concept in advaita. In advaita, Brahman does
not get transformed, as milk does into curd. The changeless brahman
appears as the universe through mAyA that is the advaitic contention. It
is Sankhya that talks of the universe as the transformation of PrakRti.
Even there they dont say that it is the transformation of the Purusha,
but it is so only of PrakRti. Our Acharya has adopted that tenet here and
used the form of that tenet as given by the ShAkta tantra.

It will be interesting to research into how much the Acharya condescends
to stray away from advaita in order to accommodate the various tastes of
people with the purpose of lifting them up. One may question: Could he
do such things, ever?. The only answer could be: Only a compassionate
one such as the Acharya can!

There is a branch of Kaula called uttara-kaula. They interpret shiva-
yuvati as follows. Shiva-yuvati does not mean the consort of Shiva. It
is Shivam itself that encompasses the Shiva-tattva within itself and
manifests as the yuvati, the feminine consort. The SahasranAmam also
has svAdhIna-vallabhA which means She who has her husband in her
control. A little stretching of that meaning will indicate that She has Him
within Herself. And this will help us to be confirmed of the Acharyas
words na hi paraM (there is nothing other than Herself) in this shloka.

-52-

(Digest of pp.1056 - 1060 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

I was saying how the Acharya is helping us to keep Her sarva-
vyApakatvaM (Her pervasion of everything) always in our memory.
Memory is in the mind. And he has begun this shloka (#35) with the
words manas-tvaM (You are my mind). All our problems arise in the
mind and so mind is the source, origin of all our troubles. But if we start
thinking that, that Mind itself is ambaaL, then we have nowhere else to
go! We have got it! Mind has now to be turned to what is within. It is not
necessary to kill it root and branch. Even if it turns outside and looks at
the world, we now know that all the five elemental fundamentals are
nothing but ambaaL. vyoma tvaM - SSpace is You; marud-asi Air is
You. ... tvayi pariNatAyaM na hi paraM There is nothing that is not a
transformation of Yourself. Thus we see everything as ambaaL. And the
mind which sees and enjoys these sights is also the same Mother.

If one trains oneself to this way of viewing everything as The Mother, in
due course, we will obtain the same Knowledge-Bliss experience even in
this play of Creation. Our little little pleasures sensual or otherwise -
and our fragments of knowledge all merge in that supreme Bliss and
Knowledge. And we become the cid-Ananda svarUpa itself. We become
one with the Shiva-yuvati, the Reservoir of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss
itself. What else is there beyond that?

In the museum of the former Baroda state, there is a manuscript which
has a picture for every shloka of Soundaryalahari. One copy of it is in
Philadelphia Art Museum. I have already told you of this in another
connection. A Professor from the University of Pennsylvania sent three
pages from that collection to our Professor in the University of Madras
and asked for clarification. In it there is a remarkable picture even for
this shloka (#35), which obviously would not seem to admit any pictorial
representation.

To wind up let me give you the gist of the two shlokas #s 34 and 35. It is
ambaaL who is the body of Ishvara. Body here includes both the gross and
the subtle. The gross body is mentioned in the sharIram tvam shloka.
The subtle body is referred to in manas-tvam shloka. This mind could
be our own mind or the supreme Mind called Mahat, which is the origin
for all the five elemental fundamentals. It is from that Mahat all the five
elements originated, until they finally became this universe. That is why
There is nothing other than You. Though You are called the body of the
soul called shambhu, You are the one who is indistinguishable between
soul and body; You yourself have expanded as this universe.

There is a little echo here of the siddhAnta of Shri Ramanuja, in the
concept of the body and soul, applied to the universe (Shakti) and the
Ultimate (Shambhu). However, finally the shloka winds up with the
words cidAnandAkAraM, thus ending up with advaita. The ambaaL is the
Knowledge source (cin-mUlaM); She is also the Bliss source (Ananda-
mUlaM). But these two cannot be separated from the Existence source
(san-mUlaM). None of the three can be kept in isolation; just as in a sweet
dish we cannot separate the form, the taste and the smell. So the cit and
Ananda cannot be separated form their base, the sat. To manifest to the
world this Knowledge and this Bliss , the One Reality appears as two and
takes the posture of shiva-yuvati. This is only a bhAva, an attitudinal
posture.

After the manas-tvaM shloka, there follow five shlokas (#s 36 to 40)
which depict how the divine couple take their seats in the kunDalini
chakras representing AkAsha, Air, Fire, Water and Earth (mentioned in
the order of evolution from the subtle to the gross). In each chakra they
have a distinct name, different function, and unique characteristics. But
the one characteristic that is common to all of them is the Supreme
Compassion. In #36, they shine (in the AjnA chakra) with the effulgence
of millions of Suns and Moons and lift up the devotee to a status higher
than the Sun, the Moon and the Fire. In the next, (in the vishuddhi
chakra) they radiate, from their pure crystalline source, the infinite
coolness like some supreme moonlight thus eradicating the obstacle of an
inner darkness. Just as the mystical bird cakora consumes moonlight,
the devotees enjoy that mystic coolness.

In #38, residing in the anAhata chakra the couple is now in the form of a
hamsa couple. The hamsa word should indicate the parama-hamsa
characteristic of a sannyAsi, a jnAni of advaitic enlightenment. It is that
seat from which the praNava mantra OM generates by itself. It is the
praNava that is the source of all words. It is the dialogue of this divine
hamsa-couple that is the source of all eighteen vidyAs. And they swim in
the mAnasa lake (that which pertains to the mind) drinking the honey of
brahmAnanda (Bliss of brahman) oozzing out from the lotus of
Knowledge. The traditional hamsa has the unique characteristic of being
able to separate water from milk. In the same way this unique divine
hamsa couple separates the bad things that we do, takes only the good
things and blesses us with their Grace.

The couple has been depicted as doling the same thing together in the
three chakras above. But when we come to the svAdhishhTAna chakra
(shloka #39), the superior compassion of the Mother dominates. This
chakra corresponds to the Fire element. This is where the Lord opens his
Third Fire Eye and completes his Dissolution function. While the flames
of the angry Rudra destroy the universe, with Her dayArdrA dRshTih
(the look that is wet with Compassion), through the gracious and cooling
effect of that glance She comforts the whole universe. We may wonder
here: Can the Father be ever equivalent to the Mother?. As if to answer
our question the poet uses the word samayA here to refer to the
Mother Goddess confirming thus the principle that, though the two
might appear to be different for the outside world, in essence they are one
and the same.

But the Lord Himself (shloka #40) in the MaNipUraka-chakra is the dark
blue rain cloud that pours cool showers on the universe thus quelling
the Fire that He Himself raised and thus preparing for a further creation.
And it is then that ambaal brilliantly lights up by Her lightning.

And thus we come to the last (#41) of the part called Ananda-lahari.

tavAdhare mUle saha samayayA lAsya-parayA
navAtmAnaM manye nava-rasa-mahAtANDava-naTaM /
ubhAbhyAm-etAbhyAM udaya-vidhim-uddishya dayayA
sanAthAbhyAM jajne janaka-jananImat jagad-idaM // 41 //

manye : I meditate
mUle AdhAre : in the mUlAdhara chakra
tava : of Yours
navAtmAnaM : the form of Shiva called Ananda-bhairava, with his nine
facets
nava-rasa-mahA-tANDava-naTaM : [nine-rasas- grand style tANDava-
dance] that is, who dances in a grand style the tANDava dance (peculiar to
the masculine world), incorporating the nine rasas,
samayayA saha : along with samayA, another equivalent form of You
lAsya-parayA : (who is) involved in the dance lAsya, peculiar to the
feminine world.
idam jagat : This universe
jajne : becomes
janaka jananImat : endowed with Father and Mother
etAbhyAM ubhAbhyAM : by this couple,
sanAthAbhyAM : who mutually resonate with each other
uddishya : aiming at
udaya vidhiM : the regeneration rule
dayayA : with compassion.

-53-
(Digest of pp.1061 - 1071 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Shloka #41 is the last shloka of Ananda-lahari. It propitiates ambaaL
along with Lord Shiva in the lowest chakra, that is, mUlAdhAra. It is
remarkable to note that this shloka as well as shloka #34 have both
mentioned navAtmAnaM for Lord Shiva. From #34 to #41 the topic has
been the divine couple. With this shloka the discussion on the chakras is
completed. So in addition to interpreting navAtmA as the nine-faceted
(starting from Time etc.) Shiva, we can also interpret it as six chakras
plus the three granthis (knots) together making a set of nine, for which
He is the Atman.

lAsya is the dance that is characteristically feminine. It is delicate,
gentle and polished. On the other hand the masculine dance tANDava
would be noisy, forceful and aggressive. In tANDava what is important is
nRttaM in which the assemblage of beats (tALa) and nuances in the
pace (gati) and march (jati) of the dance dominate. In lAsya it is the
bhAva (face expression of mental states) that dominates. Hence the
traditional association of words like masculine and feminine with these
dance forms.

Lord Shiva is called mahAnaTaH, the great dancer. mahAkAlo
mahAnaTaH is part of the list of names of Shiva in amara-kosha.
Without His dance there cannot be any movement in the world. Even
when the world is to dissolve, He has to do the dance of destruction!
Since the first shloka has already said that His very movement itself is
due to Her, it follows that every movement in the Universe is because of
Her. She lets Him do the magnificent dance and She also joins with her
lAsya. It is this ever-lasting dance of this divine couple that is the reason
for the multifarious movements that we beings make with our physical
bodies, or the varied physical reactions that our nerves exhibit in
concordance with the attitudinal expressions that invade us through
anger, sorrow, or lust. When we are engulfed in sorrow, why should the
eyes twitch? When we are invaded by anger why do the lips twitch? It is
all because the Lord is within us and He goes through His dance covering
all the nine rasas, that are expressed by the lAsya of ambaa. All these are
related to the varying attitudes that engulf us.

There are also dances without the attitudinal expressions. All the world is
making periodic revolutions. The planets are going round the sun. The
wind blows. Everything is a dance. The fire is a dance of the flames. Water
is dancing through its floods. These are tANDava without bhAva. But
they cause various bhAvas in us. When the breeze blows past us we feel
happy. But the same wind when it blows fiercely as a storm, we feel the
bhAva of fear. And so on. This is what has been said in this shloka.
Ananda-bhairava (the Lord) and Ananda-bhairavi (ambaa) are doing this
tANDava-lAsya dance. And we meditate on this scene in mUlAdhAra-
chakra. Ananda-bhairavi is the name of a raga in music. But here it
goes also with dance.

maheshvara-mahAkalpa-mahAtANDava-sAkshhiNI is one of the names
of ambaa in LalitA-sahasranAma. There it is the tANDava dance of the
Lord at the time of Dissolution, that She is watching as a witness. But the
tANDava dance described in this shloka is the dance of Creation. So She
joins in it with Her lAsya.

Ananda joy, happiness, bliss usually goes with excitement and dance.
The divine couple are dancing with the fullness of Ananda in them. But we
should not think therefore we can take liberties with them. That is why
the disciplining bhairava name is associated with their names. bhairava
indicates anger, fear and the like. All for disciplining us. But the bhairava
nature is only temporary. It is Ananda that is permanent. And the
greatest Ananda is universal compassion. Hence the word dayayA in this
shloka.

The word dayA means compassion. Where do they show the dayA in
this dance of creation? The very creation is the compassionate act. For
without creation how do we, with all our baggage of sins behind us, ever
reach Him ultimately? It is to help all the souls to have opportunities of
redemption that a creation starts after every dissolution. This greatest
act of compassion is done by the Dance of Creation of this divine couple.
Hence dayayA! udaya-vidhim uddishya means with the purpose of
regulated creation.

The divine couple therefore is the Father and Mother of the universe.
janaka-jananI. Let the world not feel that there is no one visible to take
care of it. There is an invisible father and mother. The world (jagat) has
become janaka-jananImat, endowed with a father and mother and
therefore also sanAtha, that is, (endowed with) a care-taking Lord. In
fact our children feel that if even one of the parents is not there, they are
anAtha (orphaned). So when both of them are there we are not anAtha
but sanAtha.

But wait. There is a greater subtlety. The word sanAtha used in the
shloka is not about our being anAtha or sanAtha. The word actually
used is sanAthAbhyAm that goes with ubHAbhyAM etAbhyAM. Therefore
sanAthAbhyAM refers to the divine couple. In other words it is they,
each one of them individually, who needs a nAtha (care-taking overlord),
because they have nobody above them. But if you carefully read the
shloka the correct meaning will spark; it is not somebody else who is
taking care of them as their Lord there is nobody but it is they
themselves, namely Shiva the Lord and ambaaL the Shakti, who are
taking care of each other. Each is a nAtha for the other. There is no
Shiva without Shakti; and no Shakti without Shiva. In one viewpoint, He
is the SheshhI (the Principal) and She is the Sheshha (the Accessory); in
another viewpoint, She is the Principal and He is the Accessory. When He
drinks the poison She protects Him and when She is in the form of the
daughter of Daksha and later the daughter of the Mountain King, He
protects Her. This mutual support and protection that this divine couple
give each other is the mysterious divine symbiosis that all the Shiva
Agamas, and mantra shAstras, and the Tamil Tirumandiram talk about
eloquently. Tirumandiram verse No. 333 says By the grace of the
ShaktimAn, Shakti dispenses Her Grace and by the grace of Shakti, the
ShaktimAn dispenses His Grace.

In the Trichinopoly Rock Fort Temple dedicated to the Lord, His
manifestation there is TayumAnavar .
(Tamil word meaning, He who became also the Mother
there is a whole story behind it,
wherein He appears at the right time as the Mother-nurse
who helps a lonely woman-devotee deliver her baby - VK)

But though He has become the mother, the temple dedicated to Him has
also a sannadhi for ambaa, the Mother. It is in the precincts of this
temple that all the shlokas of Anandalahari have been engraved on the
walls.

Thus with the auspicious account of the divine couple becoming the
Father and the Mother of the whole universe, the Anandalahari portion of
Soundaryalahari ends.

-54-

(Digest of pp.1072 - 1085 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

(Note by VK: At this point the Paramacharya looks back on the Anandalahari portion and
describes in the form of an overview how Shiva and Shakti have been dealt in different
relationships within this first part of Soundaryalahari).

The capability of moving the immovable impregnable Father of the Universe is Her
greatest glory. Soundaryalahari starts with that glorious idea in the very first shloka. He is
the executor of the Dissolution Function of the Universe. But even that function could be
done only by the power of the dust of Her feet, says the 2
nd
shloka. His relationship with
Her is like our relationship to Him. In other words She is in the place of a Goddess for
Him, as is confirmed by the word ArAdhyAm in the first shloka. A little later (in #7) She
is His Self-awareness personified Aho-purushhikA . In the next shloka He is Her equal,
She as Kameshvari sitting on the lap of the Kameshvara form of Shiva (parama-shiva
paryangka-nilayAM). This is where they are together the twin form of saguNa-brahman, as
King and Queen of the five cosmic functions. Shloka 9 (sahasrAre padme saha rahasi
patyA viharase You are revelling with your husband in the sahasrAra-lotus) depicts Her
as the saguNa-brahman coalescing within Him, the nirguNa-brahman. Another shloka (#11)
depicts how they are situated in unison in the ShrI-chakra. And in the next shloka it talks
of how as an ideal pati-vratA, She reveals Her full form only to Him. But after twelve
shlokas later, (shloka #23) She has not only taken half His body but has captured the
remaining half also.

The next shloka (#24) needs more than a passing mention.

[Shloka 24 is not quoted by the Paramacharya
but since he deals with it in detail,
I am giving the shloka below
without the word-by-word meaning.
These meanings automatically come forth
in his explanations. V. K.]

jagat-sUte dhAtA harir-avati rudraH kshhapayate
tiraskurvan-netat svam-api vapur-Ishas-tirayati /
sadA pUrvas-sarvaM tadidam-anugRHNAti ca shivaH
tavAjnAm-Alabhya kshhaNa-calitayor-bhrUlatikayoH //24//


It begins in the style of shloka 2 where the Trinity is spoken of as doing their work only
with Her grace. jagat-sUte dhAtA Brahma originates the universe. hariH avati
Vishnu protects and maintains it. rudraH kshhapayate Rudra destroys. Not stopping
here, it goes on to talk also about the remaining two cosmic functions and the deities in
charge of those functions. One of them is Ishvara who carries out the tirodhAna aspect.
Ishas-tirayati is what the shloka says: The Lord Isha deludes by His mAyA. And all this
happens by mandate (tava AjnAm-Alabhya) from ambaaL. kshhaNa-calitayoH bhrU-
latikayoH by the subtle movement, for a second, of Her eyebrows! The absorption by
mAyA is not only of the universe and all creation but of the Trinity also: Brahma, Vishnu
and Rudra. Not only that; He himself disappears into the fifth functionary namely
SadAshiva. svam-api vapuH Ishas-tirayati Isha makes His own body disappear.

sadAshivaH is the name of the fifth cosmic functionary. The shloka names him sadA-
pUrvaH shivaH meaning, shiva with a prefix of sadA.
At this point, one should note how a funny situation is implied here by the poet. The five
cosmic functionaries are lower in hierarchy to ambaaL and her pati Lord Shiva. But one of
those functionaries, namely the One who dispenses Grace has the name which means
Always Shiva. And in order that the meaning should strike us in the face, the poet,
instead of using the straight word sadA-shiva, uses the construction Shiva with a prefix
of sadA .

Shloka #24 therefore shows the Lord as Rudra, Ishvara and SadAshiva in the relationship
of functionaries under the suzerainty of ambaaL.

In the next shloka (#25) the Trinity are considered to be at the feet of ambaaL, but by that
very reason, they are also worshipped; because, those who propitiate ambaal offer their
flowers in obeisance at the feet of the Mother and the flowers do fall on the crowns of the
Trinity, which are in prostration at those divine feet. In #25, by using the expression
trayANAM devAnAM triguNa-janitAnAM, they can be considered as born of ambaaL and
therefore She is their jananI.

In #26, when everybody meets their end, even in the time of the Grand Dissolution (mahA-
samhAra) , the Lord is depicted as sporting with Her. The Grand Dissolution, seemingly a
negative mode, is actually a great anugraha from the Almighty to the Universe; for, the
millions of jIvas are brought back from their karmic whirl into the fold of the Supreme.
mahA-samhAre asmin viharati sati tvat-patirasau : Here the key word is viharati. It
means plays in joy, generally; but it also means destroys.The sanskrit words haraNaM,
apaharaNaM, samharaNaM, viharaNaM, apahAraM, samhAraM , vihAraM all of
them can be used interchangeably. So taking the words tvat-patiH viharati , we have to
interpret it as Your husband is engaged in Destruction.

This interpretation leaves ambaaL out of the business of Destruction. He does it and She
watches it. The authority for this interpretation comes from Lalita-sahasranAmam where
She gets the name: maheshvara-mahAkalpa-mahAtANDava-sAkshhiNI. I have already
mentioned this in my explanation of shloka #41. The interesting point here is that She is the
sAkshhI and He is the actor in the action of mahA-samhAra. A similar sAkshhI status for
Her is given in the great pilgrimage centre of Chidambaram, where the Lord performs the
tANDava dance of Creation, while the ambaaL there, is a silent witness!

But in shloka #9, as we have seen just a little while ago, the word viharasi is used for
ambaaL herself. In the context there, it is the union of Shiva and Shakti. This is the last
stage of Involution. It is the union of jIvAtmA and paramAtmA. There is no negative of
Destruction there. There is only the flooding of nectar in fullness in the Jiva. It is actually a
delightful experience for the jIva when the kunDalini reaches the sahasrAra. So the word
viharaNaM for ambaal is quite apt with the meaning of joyful play.

Among the various relationships of Shiva and Shakti, there is also the guru-shishhya
relationship.

-55-

(Digest of pp.1086-1091 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Almost all the Agamas, Tantras and Samhitas are supposed to have been taught by the
Lord to ambaaL.

[Note by Ra. Ganapati: Generally,
rites of worship follow the Agamas,
Tantras and Samhitas according to
the deity that is being worshipped
Shiva, Devi or Vishnu]

This guru-shishya relationship with the Lord as guru and ambaaL as shishyaa, comes in
shloka #31.
[I am giving shloka 31 here along with its translation,
though the Paramacharya does not do so,
but still discusses it in detail. V.K.]

catuH shhashhTyA tantraiH sakalam-atisandhAya bhuvanaM
sthitas-tattat-siddhi-prasava-paratantraiH pashupatiH /
punas-tvan-nirbandhAd-akhila-purushhArthaika-ghaTanA-
svatantraM te tantraM kshhiti-talaM avAtItarad-idaM //31//

pashu-patiH Lord Shiva
sthitaH - remained as if fulfilled
atisandhAya after having deceived
sakalaM bhuvanaM all the world
catuH-shhashhTyA tantraiH with the sixty four tantras
tattat-siddhi-prasava-paratantraiH. (that that result generating --worldy fulfillments)
which expound practices that result in one or other of various psychic powers and worldly
fulfillments.
punaH But again,
tvan-nirbandhAt by Your insistence,
avAtItarat (He) revealed
kshhiti-talaM (to the ) world
idaM this
te tantraM Thine own tantra,
svatantraM independent (of all the others)
akhila-purushhArthaika-ghaTanA (which is) capable of conferring all the purushhArthas
(by itself)

The Lord taught the various 64 tantras (means or strategies for attaining an end) to the
world. But each one of them can give a certain type of worldly benefit, not more. In some
sense this is a curtain of delusion thrown on the people of the world. The four
purushhArthas (objectives of life) are dharma, artha, kAma and mokshha. All these can be
had in one stroke by resorting to the Shri VidyA tantra. The Lord knew this. Then why did
he not teach that also to the world? In fact the Shri VidyA tantra not only gives the worldly
benefits but also takes one to the level of Brahman-realisation, because it makes all worship
internal and focusses the entire physical and mental body toward that Ultimate goal of
brahman-experience. So the Mother Goddess insisted that the Lord should teach this also
to their worldly children.

The word nirbandhAt is very aptly put. It was She who involved the actionless brahman
somehow into being the cause of the Cosmic World-play. But what happened? The play
became so involving that it became a cosmic dance for Him. The dance of the five cosmic
functions; then the samhAra dance, where the parA-shakti is only a non-participating
witness! And then there are the seven different dances called ajapA-dance, kukkuTa-dance,
and so on. In addition to this there is the nine-fold dance mentioned in shloka 41. Over and
above this there are the 64 leelas, like bikshATanaM, tripura-dahanAm, and jalandhara-
vadha not to speak of the 64 leelas particularised in the temple-city of Madurai, where
Meenakshi reigns. Not only he is involving himself in a pluralistic capacity, but He has also
manouvred to distract the populace into the 64 tantras that give worldly benefits and
retained the supreme Shri VidyA Tantra which could give the advaitic realisation to them.

It is at this point ambaaL decided to insist that they be taught the Shri VidyA tantra. It is of
course the worship of ambaaL. But instead of Herself propagating it, She wanted this
husband of Hers, this guru of Hers, to bring it to the world. This shows three
characteristics of the Mother Goddess. Firstly, Her conjugal devotion to the pati; secondly
Her respect for Her guru; and thirdly Her infinite compassion on Her children, the people
of the world. It need not be emphasized it is the third quality, the motherly affection, that
shows uppermost here.

The Shri VidyA tantra has several greatnesses of which one is the fact that it is the most
concordant with the vedic route. Of course all the tantras can be adapted to the vedic
route; but some of them do present obstacles to such vedic adaptation. So there is a
necessity to speak of tantras which are concordant with vedic practices and which are not.
It was our Acharya who established the pure vaidic pUjA and instilled life into it. It is true
that even this pUjA contains some of the mantras which owe their origin to the tantra way.
When he initiated the vaidic pUjA rituals in connection with the upAsanA following the
Shri VidyA tantra, he followed only the samayAchAra discipline.

It is this tantra that he calls te tantraM (Your tantra). In other words it is Hers, and She
got it initiated into the world by the Lord Himself by insisting on it (nirbandhAt). And
again, it is interesting to note that in all those other tantras, very often only a lower
hierarchical position is given to Shiva. On the other hand, it is in this tantra which is
delibrately called te tantraM , that there is a perfect equality (samaya) between Shiva
and Shakti!

Looking back at the Anandalahari portion we see that Shiva and Shakti have been
represented in several different roles Shiva, as Her Majestys most obedient servant; as
Husband with an equal role; as a functionary so positioned by Her; as Husband only in
name; as Guru; as devotee ; even as a son. And again, ambaaL has been depicted
severally, as half of His body; as one who has appropriated even the other half of Shivas
body; as life-saver; and as the motive force who moves Him.

In spite of all this, what is most important in this Anandalahari section are the two shlokas
32 and 33 where the esoteric nuances of the Shri VidyA tantra are mentioned. The later part
of the hymn is a description of the physical form of the Goddess; whereas the first part is
the representation of that form through the akshharas. Any deity for that matter has two
forms one physical and the other, the form of sound. This Anandalahari part is the
sound-form (shabda-svarUpa) of ambaaL. The physical form is a vision for the eyes. The
sound-form is to be heard by the ears, articulated by the tongue through speech. In fact the
physical form actually emanated from the sound. Only by the japa of the sound the other
form becomes visible. Of course the same thing also means that it is the physical form that
is the goal and the japa of the sound or the akshharas is only a means for that end. And
thus we come to the end of Anandalahari looking forward to that goal of viewing the
delightful physical form of ambaaL.

The Acharya ends the Anandalahari portion with the mention of janaka-jananI the
Father and the Mother, of the whole universe. So the philosophical part is going to be set
aside now and we go on to see the physical form of the Mother in all its infiniteness of
Grace, Compassion and Beauty.
Thus spake the Paramacharya

56
(Digest of pp.1091- 1098 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

VaidarbhI rIti and GaudI rIti are two styles in Sanskrit poetry. The former conveys
delightful thoughts by very gentle words, flowing like a river of honey. The latter, which
originated in Bengal, has not only difficult thoughts, but they are also expressed in a high-
sounding noisy style. The Acharya has used both the styles in Soundaryalahari. He has just
finished the Anandalahari portion with the mention of jananI, thus bringing the Goddess
as near as a Mother to us. But, lest that should make Her very familiar and simple for us,
and lest that might make us under-estimate Her majesty and grandeur, he starts the
Soundaryalahari portion, with a bang, through the 42
nd
shloka, with a complicated thought
and with a torrent-like flow of language.

The subject is the description of ambaals head. We see in the shloka the dazzling shine of
the bright hot sun and the cooling comfort of gentle moonshine, through the poets
imagination and his language.

Gatair-mANikyatvaM gagana-maNibhis-sAndra-ghaTitaM
kirITaM te haimaM himagiri-sute kIrtayati yaH /
sa nIDeyac-cchAyAc-cchuraNa-shabalaM chandra-shakalaM
dhanuH-shaunAsIraM kim-iti na nibadhnAti dhishhaNAM // 42 //


himagiri-sute : Oh Daughter of the snow-capped mountain
yaH : Whoever
kIrtayati : describes
te : your
haimaM kirITaM: golden crown
sAndra-ghaTitaM: studded densely with
mANikyatvaM gataiH gagana-maNibhiH: the (twelve) suns that have become the precious
ruby stones (on the crown)
kim saH na nibadhnAti dhishhaNAM: why would he not record the idea (that)
chandra-shakalaM: the crescent moon (on the crown)
nIDeyac-cchAyAc-cchuraNa-shabalaM : (birds nest shadow reflected shine enveloped
- variegated colour) which reflects the variegated colours from the shadows of the (gems) in
that nest (of the crown)
dhanuH-shaunAsIraM iti : is (nothing but) Indras bow (rainbow)?

The whole metaphor pours like a torrent from the heavens as Ganga did on Shivas head.
Once this description of Ambas crown on the head is done in this shloka, the style changes
from the next shloka to a softer one. Chandra-sekhara is a name of the Lord, because the
half moon is on His head. Already in shloka No.23 Devi was described as having the Moon
on Her hairdo. So She is also Chandra-sekhari. Shiva has also the name Surya-sekhara
because in many of the Shiva-kshhetras, there are certain days on which the rising Suns
rays directly fall on the linga in the sanctum sanctorum. Here we have also a Surya-
shekharI, because not just one Sun but twelve Suns are supposed to be sitting in the form of
ruby gems on the crown of Devi. The very first line of the shloka thus brings before us the
grandeur of Her enthralling form with the blinding dazzle of twelve suns radiating from
the gems of Her crown.

The use of the word hima-giri-sute is significant. hima means snow. So hima-giri-
sutA means the daughter of the snow-capped mountain. The first line has brought the
heat of twelve suns in the picture. As a contrast the second line cools it off and brings in
the coolness of hima-giri. Also the daughter of hima-giri that is Parvati is said to be of
cool greenish colour. It is Sati, the daughter of Daksha who immolated herself in the Fire of
Daksha-yajna; and the same Sati, immediately after that heat of the immolation, was born
in Her next birth as the daughter of the Himalayas, fresh as green, in the form of hima-giri-
sutA, called Parvati. In modern times in the time of jnAna-sambandhar, the argument with
the Jain saints ended up only after the palm leaves of his devotional songs (tevAraM)
survived the heat of the fire into which they were placed, and they emerged as green leaves
with the writing unscathed.

The crown on the head of Devi is made of gold. hema means gold. haimam means made
of gold. In Kenopanishat, the Goddess appears as Brahma VidyA and teaches the divines
led by Indra. There the word used for the Goddess is haimavatI . Our Acharya interprets
it in two ways: one, as hima-giri-sutA, namely Parvati and the other as, the One who
shines with the shine of hema, that is a golden shine. It is perhaps his intention to show
the connection with the Upanishad that the Acharya in the very first shloka of the
Anandalahari portion, uses both the words hima-giri and hema. To boot, let us
remember that in the Upanishad, Her disciple was Indra; and here also Indra-dhanus is
mentioned as dhanuH shaunAsIraM, the rainbow.

The golden crown is studded with suns as gems. So the suns are specks on the crown;
but on the crown there is the big crescent moon. In the real world the Sun is far far bigger
than the Moon. Here it is the other way. The moon pours out nectar as well as the cool
snow. So its cool downpour from the moon are the snowflakes on the crown. The bright
light from the sun-gems falls on them and gets refracted as a multi-coloured rainbow: This
is the nIDeyac-chAyAcchuraNa-shabalam. This extraordinary poetic imagination -- that
the self-effulgent moons rays receive the suns light and thereby the rainbow appears --
beats all scientific understanding. That, of course, is the privilege of poetic liberty.

In the very first shloka that starts describing the beauty of ambaaL, the idea of white light
being refracted into the several constituent colours of the rainbow is brought in, as if to
indicate esoterically that the nirguNa brahman manifests itself as the varied multipliciy of
the universe by the magic of parAshakti.

But why imagine refraction? One can also imagine it to be reflection. Instead of taking
that the light of the Sun falls on the cool rays of the moon and in that flow of cool snow it
becomes the multicoloured rainbow, one can also imagine that there are several suns whose
lights are in various colours and they get reflected in the mirror-like crescent moon and
produces the rainbow effect.

In fact the poet here implies that it is not just his imagination; this is what anybody would
say if he wants to describe the multicoloured radiance from the gems of the golden crown
on the head of the Goddess.
Another point which comes out here is the modesty of the Acharya in underplaying himself
and speaking so highly of others who might be in his position of describing the Devis
glory. The modesty with which he begins this very first shloka of the Soundarylahari part
goes on till the very end.

57
(Digest of pp.1107- 1114 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

tanotu kshhemaM naH tava vadana-soundarya-laharI
parIvAha-srotaH saraNiriva sImanta-saraNiH /
vahantI sindUraM prabala-kabarI-bhAra-timira-
dvishhAM bRndaiH bandhIkRtam-iva navInArka-kiraNaM //44//

[Since the word-by-word meaning is
automatically coming out of
the Paramcharyas explanations,
it is not given here separately. VK]
This shloka has an added significance since it has contributed to the title of the stotra
soundarya-laharI.
naH kshhemaM tanotu : Let there devolve auspiciousness on all of us. Thus begins the
shloka auspiciously. What is supposed to devolve the auspiciousness?
sImanta-saraNiH : The line of the parting of hair (on the head). SImanta is the parting
of hair. saraNiH means path, route, line, wave, flow. The particular meaning will depend
on the context. Here it is line. The word SImanta-unnayanaM denotes a special ritual
that is done for pregnant women for the benefit of the foetus. The ritual consists of
drawing a line along the sImantaM of the woman with the chanting of certain mantras.
This is good for the foetus. The word sImantaM is a union of sImA and antaM. SImA
means boundary, here, the boundary that parts the two sides of the hair. Its antam is the
end of that boundary. Technically it should have been sImAntaM but the middle long a
has been shortened. This is actually an exception to the usual grammatical rule. A similar
exception, but in the opposite direction, takes place in the name VishvAmitra where it
should have been only Vishvamitra, thus meaning, friend of the world. On the other hand
as VishvAmitra (Vishva + amitra) it now means the enemy of the world. Again this is
an unusual grammatical exception.

So SImantaM means the end of the boundary or border. Of what is it the border or
boundary? For a human body there are two boundaries. One is the foot and the other is
the head. In the boundary that is the head, the line of parting of the hair goes up to the
position of brahmarandra and ends there. So it is called the end of the boundary or
sImantaM.
Goddess Mahalakshmi permanently resides in five places. A lotus, the frontal lobe of an
elephant, the hind part of a cow, the spine on the back of a bilwa leaf, and the sImantaM of
a sumangali.

It is interesting to note that the Acharya has used vadana-soundarya-laharI (waves of
beauty of the face) in this shloka and this has become the title of the whole stotra. We do
not know who made it the title, but what we may conclude is that it is quite apt. What is
further interesting is the fact that this beauty-wave occurs in the shloka where the sImanta
of the Devi is talked about. It is this flood of facial beauty that should bring us the
auspiciousness that we need. tanotu kshhemaM naH tava vadana-soundarya-laharI.

Now let us find out what is so special about the sImanta here. vahantI sindUraM : It (the
sImantaM : the parting in the hair) bears the vermilion. The word sindUraM also means
red lead which is used for medicinal purposes in Siddha medicine. In North India almost
all Ganesha deities would be totally soaked in this sindUraM. And in the same way they
would do it for the Anjaneya deity also. Maybe the indication is that the beginning and the
end are the same!

In traditional books, kumkumaM is spoken of as sindUraM. The Veda-mAtA (Mother
Goddess representing Shruti) bows down in obeisance to ambaa. It is the kumkumaM from
the sImantam of Veda-mAtA that has sprinkled itself on the feet of ambaa. This idea
occurs in LalitA-sahasranAma. SImanta-sindUri is the expression there. It is in the
parting of the hair that kumkumaM is applied. On the forehead however, that is, between
the eyebrows where one applies the tilakam what is applied is kastUri-tilakam -- this is
what one gathers from the sahasranAma. Recall the name: mukha-chandra-kaLankAbha-
mRga-nAbhi-visheshhakA. It says, just as there is a spot (kaLanka) on the disc of the
moon, so also is the kastUri-dot on the face of ambaa. This name occurs (in the
sahasranAma) between the name that describes the forehead (aLika-sthala) and the name
that describes the eyebrows (cillikA). Therefore it is clear that the name mukha-chandra-
kaLankAbha- ... describes the centre of the eyebrows. So kumkumaM at the parting of the
hair (SImanta-sindUri) as well as the kumkumaM at the centre of the eyebrows both are
called sindUraM by the Acharya.

According to the shAstras, the place where sumangalis (women with living husbands) have
to adorn the kumkumaM is the parting of the hair, at the place where it starts from the
forehead. The practice of adorning the centre of the eyebrows is only a cosmetic addition.
It is at the centre of the eyebrows where one concentrates the Supreme. It is in that
manner one wears the vibhUti or sandal-paste, etc. at that spot; so also kumkumaM is also
applied there. Whatever it be, the characteristic of a sumangali is only the kumkumaM at
the parting of the hair. Women of olden days applied the kumkumaM first at the parting of
the hair and then only on the forehead between the eyebrows.

The location of the central parting of the hair is a kind of residential address of the
Goddess Bhagya-lakshmi of Prosperity. Goddess ambaa has the kumkumaM along the
entire parting of the hair. That is what this shloka says. SImanta-saraNI means only that.
In fact as the shloka goes, it appears that there is a round spot of kumkumaM at the point
where this saraNI (the path) starts at the top of the forehead and thereafter along the
path of the parting, it goes as a streak of red. There is no greater bliss than the pleasure of
visualising ambaa with this SImanta-sindhuram. In other words the place of residence of
mahAlakshmi has been decorated with kumkumaM. In fact there is much more in this.

58
(Digest of pp.1115 -1119 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

[Note by VK: The delightful commentary in Tamil
of the Paramacharya on this shloka, #44,
has been really a difficult one for me
to present in English (in DPDS 57, 58 and 59).
The superb majesty of his discourse
should be enjoyed in the original]

In the Assembly of ambaa, on both sides of Her, Lakshmi and Saraswati are said to be
fanning Her. This is what the name sa-cAmara-ramA-vANI-savya-dakshhiNa-sevitA says
in the Lalita-sahasranAma. Instead of having them as Her assistants, She has them both as
Her very eyes this is what the name kAmAkshhi means. kA means Saraswati and
mA means Lakshmi. And akshha means eye. So kAmAkshhi is the One who has
kA and mA as Her eyes!

Later, shloka 64 says that Saraswati dwells in Her tongue. In fact, the grace of ambaa in
bestowing power of expression to devotees is well known. That is why Saraswati is spoken
of as dwelling in Her own tongue. And the poet in the Acharya plays gymnastics with the
word japa in that shloka, where it says: Your tongue defies the japa (hibiscus) flowers in its
redness because it is constantly engaged in the Japa (mantra-repetition) that gives
expression to the glories of Lord Shiva; the redness of Her tongue is so intense that the
Goddess of Speech, Saraswati, who dwells therein, gets Her crystal-like white complexion
changed into the colour of a ruby (noted for its reddishness). We already saw in Shloka 16
that poets have spoken of Her as shRngAra-laharI in Her form as the red Saraswati
(aruNa-saraswati).

Thus, of the two fanning divines, one of them, Saraswati, is elevated to the position of
residing in the divine tongue of ambaa. So, the other of them, namely Lakshmi, is now
elevated in this shloka (#44), to even a higher position, namely, the top of the divine head
itself. Lakshmi resides in the sImanta of ambaa; and it is that Lakshmi who is decorated
with the kumkuma-ornamentation of redness.

So the parting of the hair goes like a white streak amidst the jet black forest of hair
(cikura-nikurumbaM of shloka 43) which looks like waves of blue-black on either side of
it. It is the whiteness of the sImanta (parting line) that is usual; but here ambaas sImantaM
has been made reddish by the sindUraM. So the blackness of the locks of hair on either side
and the redness of the parting line make the imagination of the poet run riot. Many of us
do not appreciate such poetic licence, because of our preoccupation with the utilitarian
value of everything we see or experience. But a poet does not just see beauty; he invents
original analogies and that is what makes us enjoy both the poetry and the devotional
sentiment built into it.

prabala-kabarI-bhAra-timira-dvishhAM bRndair-bandhIkRtaM iva navInArka-kiraNaM -
- these are the words.

arka is the Sun. arka-kiraNaM means the Suns ray. navIna is new. So navIna-arka-
kiraNaM means the rays of the rising Sun. Certainly it is reddish. Only when the Sun
comes up higher and higher it loses its redness of appearance and becomes pure white. But
at the point of rising it is red. The Acharya sees the sImanta-sindUraM on the divine head
as one of the red rays of the rising Sun. At the beginning of the parting, namely at the top
of the forehead, the sindUraM is a big dot (red) and so is the Sun itself (rising) and the
saraNi, namely the line of parting, is the red ray emanating from that Sun.

prabala-kabarI-bhAra-timira-dvishhAM bRndair-bandhIkRtaM. Does this not sound like a
cluttering chatter of teeth? Why this hard construction ? The very words speak of a
thunderous noise of battle. Who is battling with whom? The talk is about the sImanta-
saraNi. Then who is warring with it?

kabarI-bhAra-timiraM means the darkness shown by the jet black dense hair. The
adjective prabala prefixed to it, indicates a further strength to that darkness. When
something is strong it can be expected to be aggressive also, in the worldly ways of
thinking. So whom will this darkness challenge or contest? Only Light. What is opposed to
darkness is light. It is the sun which dispels the darkness of the night and brings the day.
It is not even just the sun; it is the morning sun that night considers as the harbinger of its
doom. Because darkness never sees the full Sun. As soon as the first ray of the morning
sun appears, darkness has to wind up and run.

And here, while darkness is in the form of ambaas hair, the morning sun has appeared in
the form of the sindUraM on the top of the forehead. It is the crimson ray of the morning
sun that is represented by the sindUraM-coloured parting of the hair. And it is this parting
that prevents the darkness on either side to become one large mass of darkness. Further, it
is the darkness of the hair that has been pampered by oil, shampoo, and flowers as has
been indicated by the words ghana-snigdha-shlakshhNaM (luxuriant, soft and oily) in
shloka #43. Because it has been pampered it has become prabala (exceedingly strong)
now. And that gives it the courage to dare challenge the redness of the sImantaM!
59
(Digest of pp.1122 -1128 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Darkness of night is the dominating factor all night. But the moment the rising sun with its
crimson rays shows up, darkness has to flee. It has always been the unfulfilled ambition of
darkness to settle this score with the young sun. And here is ambaa having all the worlds
darkness, as it were, collected in her hair. But She has also brought the young sun in the
form of the sindUra-spot right in the midst of this dark forest of hair. It is a life-time
opportunity for darkness. With gusto it swallows all the rays emanating from that sun, for
once. But still there is one single ray of crimson which goes straight across the centre of all
this dark hair. It is that crimson which gives a decorating hue to the black hair. And it is
the jet black background which brings out the majesty of the crimson parting of hair.

Thus we can see darkness having vanquished all but one ray of the bright rising sun. Why
did it not go all the way by its challenge and overpower that one remaining ray also? But
for that single ray remaining in its place, how would it be established that darkness had
vanquished the bright sun and its rays? It is the one remaining ray of the sun that tells us
that the other rays have been vanquished.

[Note by VK: Though the Paramacharya did not say this,
I can hear him saying: Dont you remember,
in the Sundara Kanda, every time Hanuman vanquishes
an entire army, he spares one person,
so that he may go back to Ravana
and say what happened in the battle!]

dvishhAM bRndaiH means by the gangs of enemies. It is from the root dvishh that the
word dveshha, meaning hate is derived. bRndaM means a crowd, a gang. The crowd
of hair on ambaas head flows wave after wave and so looks like armies of black ready for
fight. bandIkRtam-iva means as if imprisoned. It is the rising sun in the form of the
sImanta-sindUraM that is imprisoned here by the armies of black hair.The word
bandIkRtaM is significant. Not only have all the crimson rays of the rising sun been
vanquished, but even that one remaining ray has been imprisoned by the dark army
surrounding it on either side so densely that it cannot move this way or that way!

Incidentally, if one wants divine presence, the parting of the hair has to be straight in the
centre not this side or that side of the hair on the head. And the sindUraM has to come
from pure turmeric, not from any other artificial source.

Among the many meanings of bandhaM one is imprisonment. The meaning of
bandIkRtaM is be imprisoned. The difference is between the active and the passive. So
here bandIkRtaM iva means as if imprisoned.

Well, what has all this fight between darkness and light -- to do in the devotional stotra
soundarya-laharI? In shloka 43, it was said that Her black braid of luxuriant locks of
hair itself will eradicate the dense darkness of ignorance in us. In the same way he says in
this shloka that the sImantaM (parting of hair) which in a sense has been imprisoned by
the black forest of hair on either side, will grace us with all prosperity. In fact the
sImantam is the residence of Lakshmi the Goddess of Prosperity. Its imprisonment is only
an imagination; bandIkRtam-iva as if imprisoned is the word. Now we shall see the
other side of this sImantaM. We shall indeed see its greatness. I began with what appeared
to be its negative side because I wanted to end up this shloka with the positive side. The
Acharya of course begins this shloka only with the positive.
Now look at the first two lines:
tanotu kshhemaM naH tava vadana-soundarya-laharI
parIvAha-srotaH saraNiH iva sImanta-saraNiH /

Great poets do not waste their words. So when our Acharya uses laharI, parIvAhaM,
srotas and saraNI, which all convey more or less the same meaning flood, there should
be something deeper in it. Yes, there is a deeper point. There are shades of differences in
the meaning. laharI is the bubbling, wavy and noisy water-flow. parIvAhaM is the real
flood of water which simply marches forward. srotas could even be a silent rivulet.
saraNI is a straight flow of water, like that in an artificial canal. What starts as a laharI ,
widens up into a parIvAhaM and then flows like a controlled river srotas between two
banks and finally is channelised into a canal saraNI.

This is how ambaaLs beauty starts from Her face as a laharI and spreads like a pravAha.
When it touches the top of the forehead it becomes a srotas. The banks on either side of this
srotas is the hair on either side of the sImantaM. Actually the flood of beauty cannot be
dammed by the forest of hair. What is the greatness of ambaaLs beauty if one can dam it
by holding it between two banks? vaktra-lakshmI-parIvAhaM (the flood of beautiful
brilliance) says lalitA-sahasranAmaM. The brilliance starts from the face and overflows as
a flood into the locks of hair on the head but is contained in the form of a saraNi
sImanta-saraNi between the dense forest of hair on either side. It is this brilliance
(lAvaNya) of the Mother Goddess that bestows prosperity and happiness to all Her
devotees. And since it all starts from the face, he calls it vadana-soundarya-laharI. And
legitimately, the whole work has been named we do not know by whom Soundarya-
laharI.

This shloka tanotu kshhemaM naH properly meditated on, will bring us divine help in
controlling our mind and all its evil tendencies dvishhAm bRndaiH by which we are
all imprisoned bandIkRtaM.

60
(Digest of pp.1130 -1140 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Here comes one shloka (#46) where the Acharya has done delightful innovation with the
simple idea of the moon-like divine face.

lalATaM lAvaNya-dyuti-vimalaM AbhAti tava yat
dvitIyaM tan-manye makuTa-ghaTitaM candra-shakalaM /
viparyAsa-nyAsAd-ubhayam-api sambhUya ca mithaH
sudhA-lepa-syUtiH pariNamati rAkA-himakaraH // 46 //

lalATaM is the forehead. lAvaNya-dyuti is the beautiful Light. vimala means faultless.
AbhAti, shines. So the first two lines mean: The forehead that shines in the pure
brilliance of its divine beauty may be thought of (manye I think) as the second form of
the crescent moon of your crown. makuTa-ghaTitam candra-shakalaM means the crescent
moon that ornaments the crown. In other words what is said is that there is the cresecent
moon on ambaas head.

Traditionally, we all know that both Ishvara and Ambaa have only the third day moon on
their head, not the half moon or ashhTamI-candra.In all images of both these deities we
could have noticed that the third day moon (the figure of the moon on the third day of its
appearance) embedded in their head, would be showing the sharp corners of the curves on
both sides as two dots. If it is the ashhTamI-candra (the half moon ) that is depicted, we
would also see the diameter joining those end points. In a crescent moon this diameter
would not show nor would the remaining portions of the moon though we can imagine
the full figure of the moon by mentally completing the crescent into a full moon. It requires
quite an imagination to visualise this. But the key to this is the pair of sharp corners in
which the crescent ends.

On the other hand the semi-circular forehead of Ambaa is actually a half-moon. No portion
of the half-moon is missing here. In the sahasranAma also it is said of her forehead (aLika-
sthala) : ashTamI-candra-vibhrAjad-aLika-sthala-shobitA.

Thus we have a cresent moon above, and also below it in the form of the forehead the half
moon. Now comes the fun in the third and fourth lines:
ubhayam api these two. The half moon in the crown and the half moon in the forehead.
mithaH mutually, with respect to each other.
viparyAsa-nyAsAt joined in the reverse order. viparyAsa means the opposite order.
They have to be joined in the reverse order because, the half moon in the crown is in the
form of the lower half of a full moon and the half moon of the forehead is of the form of the
upper half of a full moon.

So we have to join them in the reverse order. sambhUya means attached. What is the
means of attaching them? It is the sudhA-lepa-syUtiH of the moon itself. sudhA means
nectar. lepa is paste or gum. syUtiH means stitching or sewing. In fact the English
word sew comes from syUtiH of Sanskrit. Thus if one attaches the half moon on the
head of ambaa and the half moon of her forehead, with the former as the lower part and
the latter as the upper part, and use the nectar which oozes out of the moon for pasting
them then the full moon itself shines! rAkA himakaraH pariNamati!

The next shloka (#47) is more complicated. But it is the complication and the poetic
inventiveness that make us stay long at the shloka and therefore longer in the thought of
ambaa.

Bhruvau bhugne kimcit bhuvana-bhaya-bhanga-vyasanini
tvadIye netrAbhyAM madhukara-rucibhyAM dhRta-guNaM /
dhanur-manye savyetara-kara-gRhItaM ratipateH
prakoshhTe mushhTau ca sthagayati nigUDhAntaram-ume // 47 //

bhruvau kimcit bhugne : frowning a little. bhruvau means the pair of eyebrows.
When the eyebrows are contracted either in anger or in thought, we are said to frown.
Incidentally, the Sanskrit word bhrU must have originated the English word brow and
also the tamil word puruvaM, all meaning eyebrow! Here we are talking about the
eyebrows of ambaa. If the frowning is complete, the natural bend in the eyebrows
disappears and they align themselves in a straight line. Here ambaaLs eyebrows are not
contracted in anger, but they are more bent than normal; that is why, the word kimcit is
used. She is frowning in the thought of encountering a fear for Her children, namely, us,
the people of the world.

The words bhuvana-bhaya-bhanga-vyasanini mean sorrowed (by compassion) with the
worry of the need to destroy the fear (of samsara) of all the world. She is a flood of bliss,
certainly Ananda-lahari. But She is constantly thinking about how to redeem this world
from its endless misery of ignorance and consequent suffering in samsara. It was Her snap-
of-the-finger decision once that created the five Cosmic functionaries for the good of the
world; cf. kshhaNa-calitayoH bhrU-latikayoH - by a movement of Thy creeper-like
brows - of shloka #24.

Of course it is not explicitly stated that Her frowning is because of Her worry about the
world. It could even be because of Her alertness at the onset of a bhaya, danger to Her
beloved children of the world. If She is intending to eradicate the fear from people even
before the danger occurred, then bhuvana-bhaya-bhanga-vyasanini does not fit here. Only
when the situation is confronted with a danger, and a consequent fear in the people, only
then the bhanga (destroying) of that bhaya makes sense. We can go on analysing the
verse-line in this manner endlessly. That is the beauty of the poetry in this shloka!

But note, whether it is sorrow or anger that is the cause of the frowning, it is not a thing for
enjoyment; on the other hand, the Acharya here seems to be enjoying the scene with all his
heart. So the contracting of the eyebrows is not the usual kind. It is more profound than
that. And that is the content of the other three lines of the shloka. In short, the words
dhanur-manye of the third line are the key to this puzzle. I think it is the bow, says he.
That is, the two eyebrows are thought of as one bow. But the wonder here is that both the
eyebrows are considered not as two bows but one single bow. dhanur-manye in the
singular. Then what about the gap between the two eyebrows, where there is no growth of
hair? Actually there should not be; for, as a Tamil preoverb goes, if the brows meet, it
harbingers destruction of everything kUDina puruvam kuDiyaik-keDukkuM.

So then how come, the two eyebrows are compared to a single bow? Whose bow? Is it just a
comparison? What is great about all this except some poetic gymnastics? We shall see.


Thus spake the Paramacharya

61
(Digest of pp.1141 - 1151 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)
(Shloka #47 continued)

The Acharya does not see the two eyebrows of ambaa as two bows. He conceives of both of
them as one bow not as one arc from bottom to top, but as two arcs of the same bow. It
appears as if a skilful archer is at the point of stringing his arrow through the bow,
everything is in tension, and one can see even the little vibration as a wave of the two arcs.
Thus the two eyebrows together constitute a single bow. But mark it! At the centre, there is
a gap. Between the eyebrows, just above where the nose begins, there is a gap in what
appears as the bow. Not only there is this gap in the bow, but the bow string also has a gap;
for in the same shloka the Acharya is saying in the second line that the two honey-beetle-
like black eyes of ambaaL and their brilliance constitute the bowstring. And this bowstring
has a gap in the middle because there is the nose-ridge that is dividing it. If both the bow
and the bowstring have gaps right in the middle, then where is the bow, where is the
string? Then the whole analogy will crumble.

So we have to probe a little more deeply. The bow is Manmathas bow ratipateH
dhanuH. What is the authority or rationale for thinking of it as Manmathas bow? The
rationale is:

tvaDIye netrAbhyAM madhukara-rucibhyAM dRta-guNaM.

dRta-guNaM: with the bow-string held
tvadIye netrAbhyAM: by Your eyes
madhukara-rucibhyAM : that shine and move about like honey bees

The two black honey-bee-like eyes of ambaaL are radiating a brilliance, which is not static,
but is superlatively dynamic; they are moving this side and that side fast enough to cover
all the beings in the world so that the dRshhTi of ambaaL may shower grace and
compassion on them. This fast movement of the honey-bees (eyes) gives the visual illusion
of an infinite line of black sparkling dots and that is what makes the bowstring! And
remember, only Manmatha has such a bow-string made up of honey-bees. And that is why
ratipateH dhanuH is not unreasonable in this context. And whom is he (manmatha)
aiming at by this bow and arrow? Obviously Lord Shiva. Any time He is prone to go away
and sit in isolation as Dakshinamurti. Then who will be there with Mother Goddess to look
after the world? It was She who put Him in this seat of One of the Triad, with a specific
duty and also as Ishvara and Sadashiva with duties of anugraha and tirodhana.

We are still to untangle the problem of the bow and bowstring not falling apart in the
middle since they appear to have gaps in the middle. The solution of the riddle is found in
the words (fourth line and part of the third line):
savyetara-kara-gRhItaM prakoshhTe mushhTau ca sthagayati nigUDhAntaraM ume
prakoshhTa is wrist. mushhTi is clenched fist. sthagayathi means hides. nigUDHa :
not visible. antara : interspace. So far we have arrived at the following meaning: By the
wrist and clenched fist is hidden an interspace, that is (therefore) not visible.

Let us now visualize the imagery which the poet is bringing before us. An archer (here, it is
Manmatha) is holding the bow. The hand holding the bow will have its clenched fist in the
middle of the bow and thus it is the fist that is hiding the middle of the bow. Similarly the
other hand will have its wrist in front of the middle of the bowstring and thus will hide that
middle. Thus if we do not further think about it, both the bow and the bowstring will have
a vacant space in their middle. And a little more observation will tell us that it is the wrist
and the fist that are filling up the corresponding hidden space and so neither the bow nor
the bowstring is in two pieces. This is how the pair of eyebrows of ambaaL with the vacant
(browless) middle and the two eyes with the nasal ridge in the middle exhibit a bow and
bowstring with their middle hidden by the fist and the wrist respectively.

Now we have to further enquire which hand is doing what. The words savya-itara-
gRhItaM (meaning, held by the other-than-right hand) tell that story. Even in the very
next shloka which talks about the right and left eyes of ambaa as the Sun and Moon
respectively, savya is used for right , though savya also means left in most other
places.

Incidentally, there are some Sanskrit words which have valid contradictory meanings for
the same word. chhAyA stands for both shadow and light. nyAsa means
abandonment as well as seizure. shiti means both black and white.

In this shloka it is important to understand which hand is holding the bow and which hand
is ready to shoot off the arrow. Recall also that Manmatha is also capable of shooting
arrows with left hand just as Arjuna is. But if he is shooting the arrow with the left hand
the bow will be in his right hand. We are watching this, standing before ambaaL.

First understand that Manmatha has to be in a horizontal lying posture a little below the
level of the eyebrows of ambaal to shoot the arrow upward; because the line of eyes
(bowstring) is below and the central stem of the bow (line of eyebrows) is above. Now if
Manmatha is holding the bow (of eyebrows) in his right hand and we are looking at it
from his left ( because on his right is ambaals face, so we cannot be looking from that side),
the two things that are in our view at the middle portion of the whole system are: one, his
right fist closing in on the middle of the bow and two, his right forearm on the farther side
from us. What we see of the fist is only the fingers closing in on the middle of the bow, but
they cannot completely hide the bow as much as they would if we were seeing from the
other side. From the other side we would have seen only the back portion of the palm and
that would have completely hidden what he is holding. Again, coming to the right forearm
hiding the middle of the bowstring, there is no chance at all for such hiding, for the
forearm is on the farther side.

On the other hand, if he were holding the bow by his left hand the back portion of the
clenched fist would be completely, really completely hiding the middle of the bow; not only
that, the forearm (the prakoshhTa) being between us (the viewer) and the bowstring, would
be completely hiding the middle of the bowstring. And this is exactly what is happening.
The interspace between the eyebrows of ambaal is hidden in the poets imagery, by
manmathas prakoshhTa (forearm and wrist) - and the nasal ridge causing the
discontinuity in the line of the moving eyes in the poets imagery, this is hidden by the
mushhTi (clenched fist).

This, I think, is what the shloka depicts in the last two lines of this four-line verse! But
dont think that it is all only poetical gymnastics only. There is a great significance for this
shloka beyond the gymnastics of its imagery.


- 62
(Digest of pp.1152 - 1158 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Among the several great achievements of ambaaL is the fact that She gave life to
Manmatha who was earlier burnt to ashes by the Lord Himself. She did it so that the play
of Creation could go on. But then She also was concerned about the welfare of the created
world. The waywardness and indiscipline of people of the world, did bother Her. As the
Mother of the Universe She wanted the Father also should join Her in the activity of
redeeming the millions of the world. Instead of helping Her in this direction He, the Lord,
had the propensity to retire into seclusion for penance. She knitted her eyebrows at the
thought of this.

That very frown of Hers became an encouraging factor for Manmatha who was now alive
by Her Grace. Making Her own knitted eyebrows his bow, He came to Her help. He
assured Her that he (Manmatha) will keep the bow (of Her eyebrows) in readiness so that
the very moment Lord Shiva shows any propensity to retire into aloofness, he can release
his arrow and change His mind. During that earlier occurrence when he tried this he was
burnt to ashes by the Lord; this happened because He was at that time trying it on his own,
with a great air of confidence built by his own ego. But now, in all humility, he says that he
will take refuge in Her own face and use Her own eyebrows and eyes for his equipment of
bow and bowstring. By the very fact that it is now Her own divine act, it wont result in
failure as in the earlier case!

Thus it is the frown of the eyebrows that causes everything. It is at the control of that frown
that the entire Universe and its divine functionaries are all functioning. No doubt therefore,
that if we take refuge in the same eyebrows by meditating on them, the bad influence of
manmatha will not be on us!
--------------------------------------------------
Now the Acharya comes, in the description of ambaaL from head to foot, to Her eyes. In
the previous shloka (#47) itself, there was a casual mention of the black honey-bee-like eyes.
But in that shloka the dominant factor was the eyebrows. Now we come to the eyes proper.
This shloka #48 talks about the three eyes of ambaal and the importance of the third eye.

ahas-sUte savyaM tava nayanaM arkAtmakatayA
triyAmAM vAmaM te sRjati rajanI-nAyakatayA /
tRtIyA te dRshhTiH dara-dalita-hemAmbuja-ruciH
samAdhatte sandhyAM divasa-nicayor-antaracarIM //48 //

tava: Your
savyaM nayanaM: right eye
sUte: causes
ahaH: the day
arkAtmakatayA: it being of the form of the Sun, (or) possessing the definitive characteristic
of the Sun
rajanI-nAyakatayA: Being of the form of the Moon (the Lord of night)
te vAmaM (nayanaM): Your left eye
sRjati: creates
triyAmaM: the night.
te: Your
tRtIyA dRshhTiH: third eye
dara-dalita-hemAmbuja-ruciH: (which resembles) the red golden lotus slightly in bloom
samAdhatte: beautifully generates
sandhyAM: the two sandhyAs, i.e. the two twilights
antaracarIM: which come in between
divasa-nishayoH: day and night.

The eye-balls of the right and left eyes of ambaaL are like black honey-bees. The third eye
however is different; it is crimson-red like melted gold. This is the agni-netra of the Mother.
The first two eyes are, according to all shAstras and purANas except of course the
Purushha-sUkta the Sun and the Moon. The central eye, usually referred to as lalATa-
netra is agni, Fire.

The first line says: Because your right eye is of the form of the Sun, it generates the day-
time. Note that the word savyaM is used here for right as opposed to vAmaM for left
(see the second line).

hemAmbuja is golden lotus. The Meenakshi temple in Madurai has the sacred tank called
the tank of the golden lotus. It is ambaals third eye that is the golden lotus there.

It is interesting to note that while the two eyes denote the progenitors of day and night,
the third eye which is between the two eyes must generate the intervening time
(sandhyA) between day and night. And, incidentally, this shloka therefore establishes that
ambaaL is Time itself; kAla-svarUpiNi.

The Mother does not stop by just creating day, night and the two sandhyAs. The three
Cosmic Functionaries who take care of the triple acts of creation, protection and
dissolution, are created by Her (shloka #53). Without distinguishing between the colours of
the three eyes, the lines of red, white and black are depicted as rajas, satva and tamas and
these originate the three functionaries, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who, at Her bidding, do
the acts of creation, protection and dissolution.

But Shloka 55 presents the Compassionate aspect of the Mother and compensates for the
possible impression of Her as the ultimate progenitor of Destruction at the Dissolution
time. If You close Your eyes, the world gets destroyed. And when You open them, the
world is created again. The presently created world should not be destroyed that is what
Your Mother instinct feels. That is why perhaps, Oh Mother, You are not winking Your
eyes says the Acharya in the 55
th
shloka thus echoing the general understanding in the
Hindu world that the divines dont wink their eyes at all.

In another shloka #54, the three colours white, red and black which stand for satva, rajas
and tamas are presented from a different perspective. The river Ganga is white. It comes
from Shivas matted hair. Yamuna river is black, because it has an inseparable
relationship with Krishna. The third one is Saraswati which is invisible but flows under
Ganga and Yamuna as an underground current. In stead of Saraswati, the Acharya takes
the Sone river, which is red. The meaning of SoNa is red. If Ganga is taken as Shiva and
Yamuna is taken as Vishnu, then the SoNa river is to be taken as ambaaL. It is ambaals
favourite son Vighneshvara who presents Himself as the red Sona-bhadra stones that are
available in plenty in the Sone river-bed. The three lines, white, black and red, in ambaals
eyes represent the Triveni of Ganga, Yamuna and SoNa. Therefore it is anaghA that is,
sinless. The dRshhTi, glance that emanates from that sinless confluence of the three great
rivers will eradicate all our sins. Let it sanctify us, winds up the Acharya, as a prayer
that benefits, in his usual style, not only the one who says this but all of us!

63
(Digest of pp.1159 - 1163 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Here is a shloka which combines, by a poetic artifice of metaphorical meanings, the divine
glance of ambaaL with several (actually, eight) meritorious locations (kshetras) in the land
of Bharat.

vishAlA kalyANI spuTa-rucir-ayodhyA kuvalayaiH
kRpAdhArAdhArA kimapi madhurAbhogavatikA /
avantI dRshhTis-te bahu-nagara-vistAra-vijayA
dhruvaM tat-tan-nAma-vyavaharaNa-yogyA vijayate // 49 //

te dRshhTiH : Your eye-glance
vijayate : excels in glory (with qualities of being ---)
vishAlA: broad,
kalyANI : auspicious,
ayodhyA kuvalayaiH : invincible (even) by the blue lilies
spuTa-ruciH : (in) brilliant clarity,
AdhArA kRpAdhArA :the basis for the flood of compassion,
kimapi madhurA: indescribably sweet,
bhogavatikA: pleasurable,
avantI : protective, and
bahunagara-vistAra-vijayA : with victories spread over several cities,
tat-tan-nAma-vyavaharaNa-yogyA : well befitting the names of cities indicated by those
qualities,
dhruvaM : certainly.

Of these, the four names ayodhyA, dhArA (Bhojas capital), madhurA, avantI (Ujjain)
are well known as the names of cities.
VishAlA (coming at the beginning of the verse) is also one such; it is the other name of
Badrinath. Recall the slogan-cry of devotees: Jai bhadri-vishAl! In the Valmiki
Ramayana when Rama and Lakshmana are taken by Vishvamitra to Mithila, on the way
they pass through the city of VishAlA.
In the Kannada region, there is a KalyANi in the district of Bidar. In the days of the
Acharya that region was called Kuntala, with its capital at Kalyani. In later days when the
Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi came to an end, but again emerged as a powerful influence, it
came to be known as the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty.

BhogavatI is another city. This is known as kambath in Gujarat. The Englishmen called it
Cambay. That is why the name of Gulf of Cambay came up.
VijayA is another city. It is not the Vijayanagar of Hampi in Bellary District of Karnataka.
Nor is it the Vijayanagaram of Srikakulam District of Andhra, where the famous Gajapati
kings ruled. In order to distinguish these two Vijayanagaras, the Hampi Vijayanagara
was called Vijaya and the Andhra Vijayanagara was called Viziya by later English
Historians. It was the Hampi Vijayanagara that became the seat of the famous
Vijayanagara Empire in later days; because the city was named VidyA-nagara by
Bhukkaraya. But that was in the 14
th
century. Neither this nor the Andhra Viziya was
there at the time of the Acharya. So the Vijaya that he has immortalised in this verse
must be something else, probably the Kurukshetra of the Mahabharata. The last shloka of
the Gita says: Where there are Krishna and Arjuna, there rules Vijaya also!. It may be
this Vijaya is referring to Kurukshetra. It is interesting to note that Arjuna was himself
also known as Vijaya.

These eight cities are not ordinary places. The relationship of ambaaL to them all is
because of the fact that Her eye-glance (dRshhTi) while falling on the entire universe fell
in addition with an extra force on these eight places. And, to boot, the meanings embedded
in the names of these eight cities, also fit as a characteristic of the dRshhTi of ambaaL. This
is shown by the extra meaning imbedded in these words in addition to them being simple
proper names of cities.

The Commentators wax eloquent on the precise meanings of vishAlA dRshhTi, kalyANI
dRshhTi and so on for all the eight epithets for the glance of ambaaL. I do not remember
them all. But let me now tell you generally what all this means.

At this point, Ra. Ganapathy, the writer of these records,
supplies the following footnote.
Lakshmidharas bhashya on Soundaryalahari
describes these eight kinds of eye-glances thus.
vishAlA dRshhTi shows an inner satisfaction.
kalyANI shows the miraculous nature of the dRshhTi.
ayodhyA is the smile shown by the very eyeballs.
dhArA is that enchanting glance of the lover.
madhurA is what is shown by contracted eyes.
bhogavatI is the glance shown by friendly affection.
avantI is the innocent look.
vijayA is the side glance emanating from the position of
the eyeball moving to the extreme corner of the eye.


The breadth of coverage of the glance of ambaal is vast and so it is vishAlA. It also
generates auspiciousness for the whole world; so it is kalyANI.
Now let us come to ayodhyA. This name could have come to the capital of the state ruled
by the Ikshvaku kings by one of two reasons. Their headquarters must have been so well
protected by moats and fortresses that they were invincible. Or perhaps, they were
considered so invulnerable that nobody came to fight with them. On both contacts their
place is ayodhyA! But the point here is, in what way the name fits ambaals eye-glance?
First of all, dRshhTi itself is a word for eyes. Poetic liberty with eyes compares it with
blue lilies. Going one step higher, poetic licence even plays havoc with the roles of
upamAna (example) and upameya (that which is exemplified); thus they interchange the
roles of upamAna and upameya. In the current context, it is not uncommon to say the
eyes which belittle the blue lilies. And then one gets to be more aggressive and says in the
war of comparison, the eyes are the winners over the blue lilies. It is in this strain the
Acharya says eyes which are invincible by the blue lilies. And this invincibility is what is
built into the word ayodhyA!

It is ambaals eye-glance that bestows the rain of compassion, that is, it is the basis
(AdhAra) for the rain (dhArA) of compassion (kRpA). Therefore it is kRpA-dhArA
AdhArA, thereby doubling the use of the sound dhArA which is the name of the famous
capital of Bhoja. And does it not indicate also the generosity of King Bhoja whose awards
always excelled in their profusion because they were always given with both hands rather
than a single hand, thus doubling the size of the benefaction?
64
(Digest of pp.1164 -1174 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Sweetness is the innate characteristic of ambaals form. So how sweet would be her
dRshhTi, in particular! Therefore it is madhurA. The corresponding city in North India is
Mathura. But here it is the Madhura of the Tamil region.

Bhogavati is said to be a place in Prayag (modern Allahabad). But the shloka talks about
nagaras only. So a part of Prayag cannot be what he is referring to. Also Bhogavati is
also the name of a city in the nether-world and also the name of Ganga which flows in the
three worlds. But the Acharya is talking here only about cities on Earth, none of these
would be the Bhogavati that he is referring to. So it must refer to only Cumbath in
Gujarat, which has however lost its good old name of Bhogavati!

Well, how does that name fit as a description of ambaals eye-glance? The word means
deserving of experience. If only ambaals glance can fall on us, what greater experience
can we think of, other than the bliss such a glance will bestow on us?

avantI means that which protects. It is ambaals eye-glance that is a great force of
protection for us. The city named Ujjain also has the name avantI. In fact the name once
belonged to both the city as well as the kingdom of which it was the capitol. Later, in order
to avoid confusion, the kingdom continued to be called avantI while the capitol was
named Ujjain. Later it appears that the capitol was also called VishAlA.

A final observation. Ambaals dRshhTi certainly falls on the whole universe and therefore
on all the cities of the world. But these eight have been highlighted because the divine
glance has all the qualities indicated by the names of these cities; and that is what makes
the poet in the Acharya express his delight through this shloka.

The next shloka (#50) makes a direct connection between poetic talent and ambaals eyes,
by bringing in a comparison between Her third eye and the other two eyes:

kavInAM sandarbha-stabaka-makarandaika-rasikaM
kaTAkshha-vyAkshhepa-bhramara-kalabhau karNa-yugalaM /
amuncantau dRshhTvA tava nava-rasAsvAda-taralau
asUyA samsargAd-alika-nayanaM kimcid-aruNaM // 50 //

dRshhTvA: Having seen
tava: Your
kaTAkshha-vyAkshhepa-bhramara-kalabhau : (side-glance pretext honeybees young)
two eyes resembling the young of honey-bees,on the pretext of (casting) side-glances
amuncantau: not leaving
karNa-yugalaM : the two ears
sandarbha-stabaka-makrand-aika-rasikaM : (poetry bouquet honey exclusive tasting)
which enjoy the exclusive taste of honey dripping from the bouquet of poetic sentiments
kavInAM : of the poets
nava-rasa-AsvAda-taralau : and eager in tasting the nine rasas
alika-nayanaM : the third eye (on the forehead)
asUyA-samsargAt: out of jealous hostility
kimcid-aruNaM : (has become) slightly reddish.

The key word here is asUyA-samsargAt . Where came this hostility? Why? To whom?
These are the interesting subtleties of the Acharyas composition in this shloka. The
redness of the third eye is usually attributed by poets to the traditional association of agni
(fire) with the third eye, just as the other two eyes are associated with the Sun and the
Moon. But the eye that goes with the Sun should then be associated with heat and the other
eye with the coolness of the Moon. That way there will be a distinction between the two
eyes. The Acharya naturally wanted to deviate from this stereotyped analogy of the three
eyes to the Sun, the Moon and agni. He assumes therefore that all three eyes were
naturally of the same colour originally, but now because of the feeling of jealousy on the
part of the third eye towards the other two eyes, it became red!

And, he gives a legitimate reason for this jealousy. The word sandarbha means
opportunity or circumstance. In the context of this shloka it means that kind of exquisite
poetry which coordinates characters, events, circumstances, words, flight of imagination,
metre, and everything connected with poetry. When poets make a bouquet out of such
excellent poetry, all the nine sentiments rasas flow out like honey. This is the honey that
is exclusively enjoyed by the ears of ambaaL. Her eyes are themselves long and when the
side glances are there, the ends of the eyes reach the ears! And that is how the eyes partake
of the poetic honey that has already been poured into those ears by poets. Enjoying this
taste of honey the eyes would not leave the ears (amuncantau). Since the eyeballs are so
fascinated by that enjoyment, they do not come off from the ears; they are compared to the
young ones of honey-bees which get stuck in the depths of the honey-full stems of flowers!

But here, in the poets imagination, ambaaL is playing a trick with Her devotees. She has a
duty of pouring out compassion and grace on the people of the world. If She is only
enjoying the flattering stotras poured into Her ears to such an extent that even Her eyes get
stuck in extending their side-glances up to the ears, then She will be failing in Her duty of
compassion to the rest of the world. Hence the use of the words kaTAkshha-vyAkshhepa.
On the pretext of a side-glance She is allowing Her eyeballs to move sideways up to the
ears. This side-glance pretext is for the world to be blessed with Her infinite compassion. In
other words She is achieving both by Her side-glance one is pouring out Her Grace on the
world and two, the eyes themselves are sharing with the ears the honey-taste of the poetic
fancies that reach the ears.

What are these poetic fancies? They are all about the Lord. But this idea is not there in this
particular shloka. By sheer habit I just used the words about the Lord. But it is not all
mine. In shlokas 60 and 66, where Saraswati Herself is singing praises and Mother Lalita is
listening with enjoyment, it is said vividham-apadAnaM pashupateH, meaning the varied
leelas of Lord Shiva.

Another shloka which talks about the fact that Mother Lalita is enjoyhing the music of
Sarasvati is shloka #60. There are two laharis in this shloka. sarasvatyAs-sUktIH
amRta-laharI kaushalaharIH are the beginning words. We have already seen various
laharis: Ananda-lahari; Soundarya-lahari; cidAnanda-lahari; shRngAra-lahari. In this
shloka (#60) though it looks like there are two laharis, in actual fact there is only one,
namely, amRta-lahari. The other one, kaushala-hari is not a lahari. It means that
which captivates the kaushala (talent). The content of the first line of shloka #60 is to say
that the words (actually, prayers sUktis) of Sarasvati capture even the flooding flow of
nectar (amRta-lahari). Earlier in shloka #50, it was said that the ears store up the honey of
praises from poets. Here the same ears are said to be the small receptacles (chuLuka-
pAtraM) of those prayers given out by no less than the Goddess of Learning Herself. When
the ears are so personified, the clang of the ear ornaments (kuNDala-gaNaH) when Mother
Lalita nods Her head in appreciation, is said to be the cries of hear hear of those ears in
appreciation of Sarasvatis praises.

65
(Digest of pp.1174 -1179 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

After having described how the eyes enjoy the nine rasas poured out by poets into the ears
of the Mother, now the Acharya tells us how the eyes themselves show the dance of the nine
rasas:

Shive shRngArArdrA tad-itara-jane kutsana-parA
saroshhA gangAyAM girisha-carite vismayavatI /
harAhibhyo bhItA sarasiruha-soubhAgya-jananI
sakhIshhu smerA te mayi janani dRshhTis-sakaruNA // 51 //

It is the eyes that can show all the different rasas that reflect the status of the mind. The
ears are simply of no use for this task. The lips of course can reflect anger (by twitching in
a certain way) and sorrow (by twitching in a different way). Sometimes they also show
happiness by showing a slight movement peculiar to a smile. But the one organ in the body
which shows out all the attitudes that exist internally is the eye. Whether it is love, disgust,
anger, wonder, fear, courage, comic mirth, compassion, or serenity, for all these the eye is
the indicator. In dramatics the rasa of compassion is also shown by the sorrowful eye, but
the rasa of divine compassion (karuNA) is recognised in dance forms only by the eye. The
artist when bringing to life his picture or painting, takes the greatest care on his depiction
of the eyes for it is through them that he brings out the state of mind of his subject. A slight
alteration in the presentation of the eyeballs will change the entire bhAva of the painting.
Equal care has to be taken of the eyes by the actor or actress in a play. All this world is a
play of the Mother. And She showers all the rasas through Her eyes. And that is what is
taken up in this shloka.

In what context is the shRngAra rasa (the sentiment of Love) dominant? Naturally in Her
relationship with the Lord. Shive shRngArAdrA: The eyes are wet by the rasa of Love
towards Shiva. His crystal whiteness is flooded by Her redness and thus draws Him into
the shRngAra rasa as is talked about in shloka 92.

The expression of Love is something that attracts. The opposite of this is not the fear or
terror (raudra rasa) that is generated by anger. Anger has always a reason. Love is blind.
So Love has no reason or rhyme. The opposite of it is the bhIbatsa rasa (the sentiment of
disgust) that also has no reason. We have many things in us that are disgusting both
physically and mentally. But ambaa the Universal Mother takes all of us in Her arms. How
can She have any rasa of disgust? Yes, She has when some male other than Her Lord,
comes to Her not as Her child, but as an adult. Even Lord Shiva came to Her in disguise
once, with tales of blame on Shiva and that is the time when She exhibits the bhIbatsa rasa
as exquisitely described by Kalidasa. By just closing the eyes also, She may exhibit the
disgust.

tad-itara-jane kutsana-parA: tad-itara means other than He (Shiva). kutsana-parA
means full of disgust. jane: in the people. kutsana is the same as bhIbatsa.

When does She show Her raudra rasa the rasa of extreme anger? saroshhA
gangAyAM. rosha and roudra are the same. When the Lord is keeping another woman
right on the top of His head that is what Shiva is doing with GangA She is naturally
angry. He gave Her only half His body; whereas the other woman is sitting on his head!
She is not angry with Him; She is a pati-vratA. But She shows Her anger on GangA! By a
poetic ruse the Acharya here gives Her the feeling of an ordinary human female!

adbhuta is another rasa. It is the wonder expressed at something extra-ordinary. girisha-
carite vismaya-vatI: vismaya is wonder. GirIsha and Girisha are both names of Lord
Shiva. GirIsha is Giri-Isha, that is, the Lord of the Kailas mountain. Girisha means the
One who resides in Kailas mountain. His history is full of wonders and miracles. The
destruction of Tripura, the burning of Manmatha, the vanquishing of GajAsura, the
silencing of Kala, the killing of the asura andhaka, the consumption of the HalAhala
poison, the roaming about as a mendicant (BikshhATanaM), the tANDava dance of
Nataraja, and the 64 leelas in the kshhetra of HalAsya (Madurai) all these and many
more! That the Actionless (nishh-kriyaH) Ultimate got involved in all these numerous
actions was itself due to ambaa -- that is why the Soundaryalahari started. She wonders at
the Leela-actions of the Lord and we wonder at Her miraculous prompting that made Him
do all the actions!

The next is bhayAnakaM, the rasa that expresses fear. She as the Universal Mother is
abhaya-vara-pradA, the dispenser of abhaya, fearlessness and vara, boon. How can She
have fear? Yes, She has. The poet in the Acharya says She is harAhibhyo bhItA afraid of
the snakes on the person of the Lord! Actually the very snake depicted around a Shiva-
linga is Herself in the form of the KunDalini in every jIva. And still She is afraid of
Shivas snakes! This is another divine play!

The rasa of vIra, that is, courage, is certainly visible in Her great leelas of the destruction
of MahishhAsura and BaNDAsura, where She could be seen as the very personification of
vIraM. But the Acharya could not possibly bring himself to link Her vIraM with such
destructive episodes. Instead he says sarasIruha-soubhAgya-jananI the One who
generates the brilliance of the lotus. Lotus-brilliance is red. Redness indicates the rasa of
vIraM. In fact he could have said that She excels the brilliance of the lotus. For he does
not want even that slight hint of a competition or battle implied in the word excels. So he
says She generates (jananI) the brilliant redness of the lotus.

One more observation about the word jananI. There is also an alternate reading as
jayinI. This means the One who wins. Her eye certainly wins the brilliance of the lotus.
In this reading, the concept of winning is explicitly stated. Whether it is winning or
generating, what is significant here is that it is the very eyes of the Mother that do these
actions directly. So far the rasas that we have seen earlier like anger, fear, wonder, etc.
are all only shown as a reaction to something else by the eyes. Whereas, this vIra rasa is
not a reaction by the eyes, it is an action performed by the very eyes!

sakhIshhu smerA -- humorous among Her friends. The mischievous look that She would
exhibit in Her humorous conversations with friends is what is enjoyed by the Acharya here.

The remaining of the nine rasas are: shoka that is sorrow which is also exhibited as
karuNA (divine compassion) and shAnta that is serenity.

Thus spake the Paramacharya

66
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th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The next rasa is karuNa-rasa, that is, the rasa of pitiability and miserability. This is also
called shoka-rasa, the rasa of sorrow and misery. But the Acharya does not want to depict
ambaa in this rasa. Earlier in shloka 47 also, when he used the words bhuvana-bhaya-
bhanga-vyasanini, though She was shown to have had feelings of sorrow (vyasanini) for
the people of the world, it was more because of Her karuNA (divine compassion) that She
was sad, than because of the bhuvana-bhaya, the horror of samsAra of the people. She
wanted to help them rid of this bhuvana-bhaya and so She was intent on bhuvana-bhaya-
bhanga, namely the destruction of the fear of the world; and thus it was more an
expression of karuNA (compassion) than karuNA (=shoka, sorrow). In the same way here
also it is the karuNA-rasa that exhibits itself; thus the shoka-rasa is only shown by
implication from the rasa of divine compassion, that comes out of the words te mayi janani
dRshhTis-sakruNA meaning, Oh Mother, Your glances that show different rasas, are full
of compassion when falling on me.

Note the use of the word mayi (on me), here. All along the Acharya was using the word
naH (to us, on us), whenever he was asking for the Grace or blessing to descend from the
divine. But now the matter is so personal that he makes himself the representative of the
entire world, and asks for the Grace to descend on him, and through him to every reader of
this shloka. All the other rasas can be objectified as operating on a third person, but the
KaruNA-rasa has to be received as a divine blessing by each and every one.

The shloka is over. But we have covered only 8 rasas so far. Where is the ninth rasa,
shAntaM that of peace and serenity? The rasa that is a unification of all these eight rasas
into one is the shAnta rasa. It is the basic rasa from which all others emerge! It is the Shiva
rasa. The first word shive in this shloka denotes that. In the beginning of
Soundaryalahari, in the very first shloka, we were told that without Shakti, ShivaM is
nothing but shAntaM. This shloka begins with shive and thereby indicates that it is that
shAnta state that became dynamic and evolved into the other eight rasas. The whole stotra
of Soundaryalahari depicts ambaaL as the kArya-brahman; so the shAnta state of Hers
where there is no action has been only subtly indicated here.

Another interesting observation!. The stotra itself begins with Shiva. This shloka, which is
exactly in the middle of the whole stotra it is the beginning of the 51
st
shloka begins with
shive. Thus Shakti occurs in the very centre of the whole stotra, just as the shiva mantra
occurs in the middle of the four vedas.

There is another tradition in the science of alankAra however on the concept of shAnta-
rasa. According to this tradition, there are only eight rasas. ShAntaM is not a rasa at all.
Experience, experiencer, feeling, excitement all these and their original sources together
constitute what is called a rasa. But in the state of shAnta, all these have no place; for they
are all dormant therein. Then how can we call it a rasa? But there is quite an opposite
tradition in the same alankAra school of experts. They have detailed in their writings
what originates the shAnta rasa, what would be its background, what are the symptoms,
and what are the accessories for this rasa and so forth. They call shAnta rasa the rasa of
all rasas!

But the argument about there being only eight rasas doesnt seem to be acceptable to the
Acharya; for he has used the words nava-rasAsvAda-taralau (shloka 50), nava-rasa-
mahA-tANDava (shloka 41).

There is also a tradition where not only shAntaM is the ninth rasa but there is one more
rasa added to the list, namely vAtsalya. Acharyas words mayi janani dRshhTis-
sakaruNA (May your glance, Oh Mother, be on me!) remind us that She is the Mother
Supreme and this manner of the Acharya making himself a child of the Mother, is exactly
what brings the vAtsalya rasa also! Thus the Acharya has explicitly mentioned eight rasas
and implicitly brought in the other two rasas all in reference to that single organ, the eyes
of the divine!

There is a lot of beauty implicit in Soundaryalahari. One of these is the mention of
Meenakshi. This also concerns the eye. Meenakshi itself means the fish-eyed. Her
very fame from ancient times has always been centred upon the beauty of her eyes. Of such
a great Devi, apparently neither of the two great works on Devi have spoken. These two are
Lalitasahasranama and Soundaryalahari. But this is only a first impression. If we
carefully look into these works, we would come to know there is no necessity to default
them for this.

For, though there is no explicit mention, Meenakshi is implicitly mentioned in
Lalitasahasranama. In fact it is this very implicitness that adds a a greater importance to
that. vaktra-lakshmI-parIvAha-calan-mInAbha-locanA is one of the names in the
sahasranama. vaktra-lakshmI means the brilliance of ambaals face. It is like a great flood
(parIvAha). When the dalliance of the face runs as a flood of water, there ought to be fish
in that flood! Where are the fishes? The long long eyes of ambaa are the fishes. locana
means eye. (lokana means sight or glance. By the very fact that it is seen, the world
is called loka). The locana that resembles a fish generates the word mInAbha-
locanaM. Instead of saying MinAkshhI explicitly, it is mentioned as MinAbha-locanA.
Well, that takes care of one default!

In Soundaryalahari, where the shloka 49 talked about the relationship of Her eyes to
various cities, madhura occurs. So by giving the name of the city of Minakshi, we may
take it Minakshi has been mentioned. In addition to this there is shloka 56.

67
(Digest of pp.1186 -1188 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The first two lines of Shloka 56 are:

tavAparNe karNe japa-nayana-paishunya-chakitAH
nilIyante toye niyatam-animeshhAH shapharikAH /

tavAparNe has to be broken as tava aparNe. aparNA is the name of ambaa. The name
aparNA means She who did not even eat the leaves. In her manifestation as the daughter
of the Mountain King, when She was doing penance in order to be wedded to Lord Shiva,
She adopted such a terrific self-discipline, wherein, She did not even have the fallen leaves
as Her food.
aparNe: Oh Goddess, who has the name aparNA,
niyataM : certainly,
shapharikAH: the female fishes
nilIyante : hide themselves
toye: in water
japa-nayana-paishunya-chakitAH: (talking eyes tell-tale trembling) trembling in fear
that Your eyes (that extend up to the ear) are perhaps carrying tales of slander (about
them)
tava karNe: to Your ears.

Why do fish never swim in the upper regions of the ocean and instead always stay in deep
waters? The Acharya here imagines an interesting reason. They see ambaals eyes which
extend up to Her ears. She is always rolling Her eyes on all sides in order that not a single
being in the universe misses Her blessed glance of protection. And so they now and then
reach the extremities of the eye and appear as if they are touching the ears! And the fishes
think that is when the eyes say something secretive into the divine ears. They think
defensively that the devis eyes are perhaps telling tales about them (the fishes); because
they always think that the fish-eyed looks of the devi are only competing with them as
rivals in terms of fast movements. And naturally they are afraid the devi might take it on
them and therefore they stay in deep water! They know that if they are really put to test
they will lose in competition with ambaals eyes both in the beauty as well as in fast
movement.

In the Meenakshi temple at Madurai, there is the tank called The tank of the Golden
Lotus. There are no fishes in that tank. The folklore is that they dont come there because
they know they cannot compete with the beauty of the eyes of Goddess Meenakshi. Thus
the Acharya in making a comparison of ambaals eyes with fishes and in painting a picture
for us of the fishes not wanting to show up before Her, has really subtly hinted to us of
Goddess Meenakshi in this shloka!

This takes care of the other default namely, that in Soundaryalahari, where is the
mention of Meenakshi?

One more observation on this shloka before we move on . This is about the word
animeshhAH. It means without winking the eyes. By the way, the word nimeshha
means a unit of time equal to about one-fourth of a second. The Tamil word nimishhaM
meaning a minute must have come from this nimeshha. That ambaal does not wink Her
eyes was effectively used by the Acharya in just the previous shloka (#55). There he says
that Creation and Dissolution take place just during the winking of Her eyes. And so in
order to prevent this universe (that has been created at the opening of Her eyelids) from
dissolution She does not wink Her eyes at all !. Here the general traditional belief that the
divines do not wink their eyes has been used by the Acharya as a remarkable expression of
Her protective feeling towards the whole universe. But we can also look at it in another
way. The fraction of a second during which the winking takes place may deny the
Compassionate Divine Glance to Her children of the world; and maybe that is why She
does not wink Her eyes!

But how can the same non-winking of eyes apply to fish? Of course there is the traditional
belief that fishes by nature dont sleep. But again this belief has been elevated to a poetic
imagination by the Acharya visualising that the fish dont wink because they, being afraid
of the effect of slander about them by Her eyes, want to be alert all the time against any
attack by Her even while they hide themselves in deep water!

Next comes one of the most touching shlokas (#57) of Soundaryalahari. Here we have to
melt our hearts in prayer. Maybe this particular shloka was done by the Acharya when He
was overcome by Her KaruNA in all its fullness. But the Acharya shows his humility even
here. Instead of saying Your Grace has descended on me with all its overflowing fullness,
he says, in talking of Her Grace, Would it not also reach me? Look at the humility of our
Acharya in spite of his being at the apex of Bhakti, JnAna, Spiritual Power and Poetic
Excellence!

Indeed all the great nAyanmars, and Alwars, when they sing about their love of God vie
with each other in expressing the sentiment of humility coupled with grief and self-pity.
Oh Lord, Would you not condescend to shower your grace on this poor little devotee of
Yours? this is the running theme in many of their compositions. Our Acharya also does
this. My own opinion is this. These great giants of devotion do not have to belittle
themselves so much. They are all already realised souls. But they sing in this strain because
they want us ordinary folk to be able to appeal to the Almighty in that strain. Ignorant as
we are, we lack that humility and we dont even know how to pray. And that is why they
give us the very words to pray with that kind of humility. And here, in this shloka #57,
ambaal has prompted our Acharya to pray to her in that style with superlative humility!

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dRshA drAghIyasyA dara-dalita-nIlotpala-ruchA
davIyAmsaM dInaM snapaya kRpayA mAm-api shive /
anena-ayaM dhanyo bhavati na ca te hAnir-iyatA
vane vA harmye vA samakara-nipAto himakaraH //57 //

dRshA denotes by the eye as also by the glance.
drAghIyasyA means longer than anything. The comparison is with any thing else in the
world. Therefore the expression dRshA drAghIyasyA connotes the eye-glance that can
outreach any distance. In other words ambaals glance falls on those even in the farthest
corners of the universe. And naturally it does not distinguish among them; it falls on all of
them equally.

dara-dalita-nIlotpala-ruchA : Usually ruchi is taken to mean the taste that the tongue
feels. But the feeling of light that is associated with the eye-sense is also called ruchi. In
shloka #48 earlier, the Acharya used dara-dalita-hemAmbuja-ruchiH the ruchi
corresponding to the golden lotus slightly in bloom for ambaals third eye. Thus the light
of fire that comes from the third eye is the golden lotus and the other two eyes are blue
water-lilies (nIlotpala). The two sounds of la in nIlotpala give the soft gentle touch of
sweetness to the description. It befits the deity whose name itself lalitA contains the
same two soft sounds of la. Just as an expert jewel-maker chooses the right colour and
nature of the gem-stones to be studded in his jewels so as to maximise the attractiveness
and majesty of the jewel that he makes, the poet in the Acharya chooses his words
meticulously to fit the subject and produce the delightful sound effect!

The nIlotpala radiates cool beauty. The coolness compares to the compassion that radiates
from the graceful eye-glance of ambaal. And it permeates the whole universe. This
radiation is not the eye-blinding brilliance of the golden lotus (hemAmbuja) which belongs
to the third eye. The Lords opening of the third eye is known to radiate terror. We have
no instance of ambaals opening of Her third eye. So what is prayed for here is the
nilotpala-glance of the right and left eyes.

Then there is the qualification dara-dalita for the nIlotpala. When the waterlily is fully
closed but ready to blossom, the cool shine of the moon falls on it and it starts to open up.
dalita indicates the just-opened state of the petals of the lily. dara meaning, a little --
indicates that the blossoming is not full but very little. If the lily opens out fully, it wont
give the eye-shape. Nor is it totally a bud. Only a closed eye would look like a lily-bud. And
we know that ambaal never closes her eyelids! She has to cast Her glance on all the world
all the time!

Nor can we say Her eyes are fully open. Actually such a fully open look from the eyes
would not radiate compassion; only in anger the eyes will radiate such a full stare. In a
compassionate look, the eyelids are half closed and half-open. In complete shAnta (Peace)
state the eyes will be almost closed though a little of it is visible. So when ambaal casts Her
graceful compassionate glance, the eyes have the half-blossomed state of the nIlotpala. It is
in this state that the flower also has a subtle attraction, for what is inside is not visible, but
what is inside is also showing a little! A poet also enjoys and revels in such a state where he
dares not say something explicitly but still is not totally implicit.

When you look at a nIlotpala petal, it shows up as blue in the outer fringes but as you look
more and more inside and follow it up to its base, the blue colour fades and brightens up
into white. This happens even in the petals of a red lotus. Thus when a nIlotpala flower
shows up as a silken blue with a polished oily surface, with no other colour spoiling the
blueness, then it must be only in its half-blossomed state. When it has fully blossomed, the
white colour at the bottom will begin to show up. Hence the words dalita ( just blossomed)
and dara (only a little). What an accurate matching of words!

Now let us go to the second line of the shloka:

davIyAmsaM dInaM snapaya kRpayA mAm-api shive

Note that the first line had a number of words sounding with da. dRshA, draghIyasyA,
dara, and dalita. And the same flooding of words with da continues even in the second
line: davIyAmsaM and dInaM. And again the sound effects of drAghIyasyA and
davIyAmsaM are the same. All this is of course gymnastics of words. That is only the tip
of the iceberg. The gymnastics of the contents of the words is thousand times more superb.

davIyAmsaM is also a word denoting a degree of comparison just as drAghIyasyA was in
the first line. davIyAmsaM denotes farther than anything. So it indicates the person who
is praying is farthest removed from Her. dInaM indicates lowliness, pitiability,
worthlessness,and a state of total fright. All these meanings are together applicable here.
The Acharya has put in this word so as to have all its meanings relevant here.

Such a lowly person is to be bathed (snapaya) in the rain of compassion from the Mother
Goddess. But where is the rain of compassion supposed to come from? It is not from; it
is by. By Her glance. By Her kaTAkshha glance of grace.

But if you look at the first line there doesnt seem to be any need for such a prayer. For
drAghIyasyA is the nature of Her eye-glance; that means it is far-reaching and covers the
entire world. Not only it covers universally every one, but it does not also make any
distinction from person to person. So there is no reason to assume that somebody has been
left out.
Why then is this prayer snapaya kRpayA meaning, please deign to bathe (this devotee)
in Your compassion?
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(Shloka 57 continued)

snapaya kRpaya mAm-api shive Bathe even me by Your grace, Oh Mother : Why this
prayer, when the first line of the shloka has already assured us that ambaals
compassionate glance is drAghIyasyA , that is, it reaches the farthest corners and extends
to every one without any distinction? That is because this lowly one (dInaM) is
davIyAmsaM (far removed even from the ordinary range of people in that sense, the
lowliest). And the Acharyas stamp of humility comes out not only in these two words, but
in the additional word mAM api meaning, even me. He asks for ambaals grace even
on this poor me.

The whole thing implies My Mother! You have probably kept me so far removed from
you, because I do not deserve the universal kaTAkshhaM (divine glance of grace) that you
bestow on all. I am probably of such poor spiritual merit. But now I pray to you. Would
you not deign to cast your glance even on me?! Please do not just glance, but really bathe
me by a downpour of your grace (snapaya kRpayA).

Why this poor self-estimation? Obviously, the Acharya is praying for all of us. We usually
do not deign to rise to this pedestal of humility when we pray to God. Because our ego
prevents us from becoming so humble. But the Acharya is teaching us how to pray. It is
said that Jesus took all our sins on himself and got himself crucified on the Cross. Here the
Acharya is speaking for us and taking on himself all our faults as if they are his and pleads
for Divine Mothers Grace to descend on him (for us) in the fullest sense!

The Acharya usually prays for all of us; he uses the word naH (cf. Shlokas 7 and 44). But
in shloka #51, where he was referring to the nine rasas oozing forth from Her eyes, he used
mayi (on me), which was a little puzzling to us. But the explanation for that comes here.
The Compassionate Glance mentioned there happens to be the subject of this shloka #57.
By itself Her divine glance is dRAghIyas, that is, reaches the farthest. Therefore nobody
need pray to Her for that Glance. But here the speaker (the Acharya) considers himself the
lowliest of all; so he has to pray for that divine benefit of Her Glance. And that is why in
shlokas 51 and 57 he uses mayi !

[Note by VK: In shlokas 22 and 51 also,
the Acharya uses the word mayi.
But the Paramacharyas explanation
fits there also !]

The followers of the tradition of Shri Krishna Chaitanya, who follow the dvaita-bhAva
bhakti, are well known for their attitude of extreme humility in their prayers to God. But
in that kind of modesty our Acharya excels them here!

Well ! You have yourself accepted that you have been banished from My Grace and that
too deservingly, by your own admission. Then why do you still pray to Me? ambaaL
might ask. And the Acharya, as if anticipating this possible rejoinder from ambaal, puts in
the third and fourth line of this shloka:
anena ayaM dhanyo bhavati na ca te hAnir-iyatA
vane vA harmye vA sama-kara-nipAto hima-karaH //

Though I am undeserving according to shastraic rules and regulations, where comes a rule
or restraint when pure love is the principal matter? There are things which have an
equanimous relationship with everything else irrespective of norms and regulations. In fact
this kind of equanimous view is what the Gita raises to the sky. There have been people of
that kind; and there are things of that kind. Take for instance the moon. It is always hima-
karaH that which makes everything cool. The moon does not make any distinction as to
which place on earth should receive its cool moonlight. Does he make any discrimination
between a high tower and a low pit? Whether it is a forest (vane vA) or a mansion
(harmye vA) he pours his moonlight equally. Neither does he pour more of it in the
quadrangle of the kings palace nor does he pour less of it in the shrubs of the thorny
forest. He is samakara-nipAtaH that is, one who falls equally everywhere. In the same
way, can you not Oh Mother, dispense your cool Grace on me, even though I am covered
by the rough and tough dirt of worldly sins!

In other words, all this argument is to say that the Mother Goddess should not take into
account my quality; She should have sama-dRshhTi!

But then it appears the ambaal raises another question. Suppose the weight of your sins
boomerangs back on my kaTAkshha (divine Graceful Glance) itself? And the Acharya
replies: na ca te hAnir-iyatA. iyatA: by this. te: for you. hAniH na: there is no loss.
The additional word ca makes the te as te ca, meaning, for you too.

Your dRshhTi, glance, will not be affected by the object on which it falls. Just like the
moon. Its light falls on all and sundry; but the moon itself is not affected by any such object
on which its light falls. When the moon itself is not affected by the object that benefits by it,
what to speak of Your compassionate Glance. On whomsoever it may fall, even though it be
a faulty object such as me, how can it affect Your dRshhTi? na ca te hAnir-iyatA By this
you are not affected either.

When it is said that for you too there is no loss, then there should be something else
mentioned which has necessitated that word too. Just as you too there has to be a me
on the other hand. The answer is in the expression anena ayaM dhanyo bhavati This
person (namely, I) also becomes blessed.

The moment Your compassionate Glance falls on someone, that someone is blessed with
infinite bliss. You also do not lose anything. I get everything. That very undeservingness
which removed me farthest from you has now been more than compensated by the beatific
of Your dRshhTi.

The Acharya has composed this shloka only for us to get that treasure of beatification of
Her Grace. We all live in this world seeking to decorate ourselves with fame, honour,
position, power and what not. But all this alankAra (=decoration) is nothing before what
that alankAra of Her benign Grace that can bring in the ultimate jnAna to us in no time.

The shloka ends with samakara-nipAto himakaraH. By this he pleads with ambaal for her
equanimous view of all. It is this very sama-darshana that is the view which sees
everything as brahman along advaitic lines that the poet MUka praises in Shloka 48 of
his AryA-shatakaM. Just as this Soundaryalahari shloka talks of moonlight falling equally
on the forest as well as the mansion, MUka kavi compares vipinaM (forest) and
bhavanaM (House) and says that one who has ambaals graceful glance will consider
both of these equanimously. Three things bother man. Lust, Anger and Fear. Fear
disappears by ambaals Grace; even the forest becomes a home for him. Friend and Foe
become equal to him. In other words the anger in the enemy disappears. And thirdly even
an inert stone is not any lower in esteem than the sweet lips of an young girl; in other
words, lust flies away from him. The bathing in Her Grace drives away all these three and
gives one the treasure of advaita. The dhanya (blessedness) that this shloka talks about is
the one who has obtained the dhana (treasure) of that advaita.

Oh What a beautiful shloka! Deserves to be meditated on over and over again!

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There is a subtle matter of yoga-shAstra in shloka #61. In the order of description of the
divine form from head to foot, the next, after the eyes, is the nose.

asau nAsAvamshaH tuhinagiri-vamsha-dhvaja-paTi
tvadIyo nedIyaH phalatu phalam-asmAkam-ucitaM /
vahaty-antar-muktAH shishira-kara-nishvAsa-galitaM /
samRddhyA yat-tAsAM bahir-api ca muktAmaNi-dharaH // 61 //

tuhina-giri-vamsha-dhvaja-paTi : (Snow-mountain - lineage flag ) Oh Flag of the House of
the Mountain of Snow,
asau tvadIyaH nedIyaH nAsAvamshaH : this nose of Yours, which is more like the hollow
bamboo staff of that flag --
phalatu : May it bestow
asmAkaM : on us
ucitaM phalaM : the appropriate fruit.
vahati : (it -- that is, the staff-like nose --) contains
antaH : in its inside,
muktAH : pearls.
yat tAsAM samRddhyA : for it is out of their abundance
bahir-api ca : that even on the outside
muktAmaNi-dharaH : (there appears) a nasal pendant, in the form of one pearl,
shishira-kara-nishvAsa-galitaM : (moon-cooled outgoing breath pushed out) pushed out,
as it were, by the moon-cooled breath of the left nostril.

It is natural for the bamboo to be hollow. Ambaals smooth nose has also the hollows of the
nostril. And it is natural for ambaal to have nasal pendants. Here we are talking of pearl
pendants cf. muktAmaNi-dharaH. In Madurai and Kanyakumari, the diamond nasal
pendant of the Goddess is famous. tArA-kAnti tiraskAri nAsAbharaNa-bhAsurA is one of
the names in Lalita Sahasranama. It means She excels even the lustrous light of the stars by
means of the dalliance of Her nasal ornaments. A star radiates light of all colours. The light
of the star is also of the diamond-type. So the ornament that is spoken of here in the
Lalitasahasranama must also be a diamond nasal ornament. A pearl never radiates
several colours. The tradition of pearl nasal pendant (muthu-mookuthi in Tamil)
always associated with ambaaL shows that perhaps at one time it was the pearl pendant
that must have been dominantly in vogue.

The fullness of both masculine and feminine beauty is usually talked about in respect of
Lord Krishna. So the deities of Krishna always show a nasal pendant. There is a famous
shloka starting with the words kasturi-tilakaM .... praising Krishna, in which you get the
words nAsAgre nava-mouktikaM brand new pearl ornament at the tip of the nose .

Here the Acharyas citing of pearl pendant as the nasal ornament for ambaaL contributes
well to the metaphor of the bamboo flag-staff. When a bamboo is of an excellent variety,
there is an ancient tradition (handled as such by poets respectfully) that such a bamboo
contains pearls inside it. A similar belief is there with respect to the frontal globe
(mastakaM) of an elephant and also with respect to sugarcane. Indeed in shloka 74 of
Soundaryalahari the Acharya tells us that ambaals chest is adorned with a necklace made
of pearls got from the frontal globe of Gajasura, slain by the Lord. In the present shloka,
ambaals nose which is, as it were, the hollow bamboo staff, is visualised to contain pearls
as per the tradition about the bamboo.

But wait! Tradition says there are pearls within the bamboo, not outside it! Here the nasal
pendant of ambaal is outside the nose. Isnt it a flaw in the analogy?

The Acharya takes care of this beautifully. It is through the hollow of the nose (bamboo)
that ambaal is exhaling her breath. When air passes through the hollow of a bamboo there
results the music of the flute. Here the nasal breath exhales the pearls that are inside and
pushes them out as a nasal pendant! It is the breath of the Almighty that is said to
constitute the Vedas. The ultimate content of the Vedas is Mukti, the final Release. Mukti
and mukta (pearl) are handled by poets for purposes of rhyme. Here the Acharya says
that it is the mukti that is exhaled by ambaal in the form of the mukta!

There is a further play of words in the use of vamsha. This word means bamboo. Recall
the shloka beginning with the words vamshI-vibhUshhita-karAt in praise of Krishna. It
means that His hand is adorned by the flute of the bamboo. The same vamsha also means
lineage. So ambaal is addressed as the flag of the lineage of the Mountain King tuhina-
giri-vamsha-dvaja-paTi.

Now let us take up the Yoga matter, hidden in this shloka. The breath that comes out of
ambaals nose and that brings the pearls outside is spoken of as coming out of the left
nostril. But there is no word in the shloka which directly means left nostril. The only
words are shishira-kara-nishvAsa-galitaM.

nishvAsa is exhalation;
uchvAsa is inhalation;
galita means expelled (out).
shishira-kara is what indicates the left nostril, though its direct meaning is just the
moon. Note that shishira and hima mean the same thing, namely, cold. Whenever the
Acharya talks of the moon in relation to ambAl, he uses hima-kara or shishira-kara
meaning that which gives a soothing of cold. Thus shishira-kara-nishvAsa-galitaM means
that which is exhaled by the moon-exhalation. How this becomes the left- nostril-
exhalation is the hidden secret of Yoga in this shloka.

According to yoga-shAstra, when the mind is drawn towards desire or anger or the like,
the inhalation is by the left nostril and exhalation by the right. On the other hand, when the
mind stays deep in noble thoughts, the inhalation is by the right nostril and exhalation by
the left. When there is no thought passing through the mind the breath stays as kumbhaka
without exhalation or inhalation. AmbaaL is always engrossed in the most noble thought of
compassion. So She inhales by the right nostril and exhales by the left!

Now the chandra-nishvAsa (moon-exhalation) of ambaal is explainable from Yoga. There
are three nADis in the human body through which the spiritual current passes. On the
right of the spinal column there is the pingala, on the left there is the iDA and the
central one is sushhumnA. Since there is identity between JivAtmA and ParamAtmA, the
names moon for the left eye, sun for the right eye and agni for the third eye translate
into the names moon channel for iDA on the left, and sun channel for pingala on the
right. Hence the meaning of shishikara-nishvAsa is exhalation by the left nostril!

Thus spake the Paramacharya

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Smita-jyotsnA-jAlaM tava vadana-candrasya pibatAM
cakorANAm-AsId-ati-rasatayA canchu-jaDimA /
atas-te shItAmshor-amRta-laharIm-Amla-rucayaH
pibanti svac-chandaM nishi nishi bhRshaM kAncika-dhiyA // 63 //

This is another shloka of poetic charm, now dealing with the charm that flows from
ambaals smile. Earlier in shloka 42 She was said to have the moon in Her crown. Now Her
face (vadanaM) itself is the moon (vadana-candra). VadanaM also means mouth. The root
word vad is to speak. Satyam vada Speak the truth. Therefore one can say that the
primary meaning of vadana is mouth. But here it is vadana-candra the moon-like
face. There is no expression like moonlike mouth!

Moonshine flows from the moonlike face. The moon in the sky displays a dark spot on it.
But ambaals face-moon (vadana-candra) has, in its centre, arrays of sparkling teeth.

tava: Your
Vadana-candrasya : moon-like face
Smita-jyotsnA-jAlaM : (smile moonlight luminous sweep) luminous sweep of the
moonshine of your smile

In other words, it is the smile that illuminates as moonlight from your face. Now what
happens to this moonlight? The cakora bird drinks it. There is a tradition in Sanskrit
literature that the cakora bird feeds on the nectar flowing from moonlight rays.

pibatAm cakorANAM : of the cakora birds which drank

Here the cakora birds have drunk the moonlight flowing from ambaals face. What then
happened to the cakora birds? They became insensitized by saturation of the sweetness of
the drink.

ati-rasatayA: by the extreme sweetness
canchu: the peaks
cakorANAM : of the cakora birds
jaTimA AsIt : became numb (were numbed).

Now how to correct this? The cakora birds were intelligent enough to make the correction
themselves.

ataH: Therefore (i.e., because of the numbness of their peak)
te : these cakoras
Amla-rucayaH: (seeking to have) a taste of the sour
bhRshaM : heavily
pibanti : drink
nishi nishi : night after night
amRta-laharIM : the wave of nectar (i.e., the moonlight)
shItAmshoH: of the cool-rayed moon,
svacchandaM : to their hearts content
kAncika-dhiyA : taking it to be the sour antidote (for the satiation of sweetness).

Usually it is the privilege of Sanskrit poets to take great pride in fancying that the cakora
birds drink the nectar flowing from moonlight for their very sustenance. This certainly
makes the category of cakora birds unique among all birds or beings, because they are the
only ones which live on just moonlight. But our Acharya soars higher, in his poetic fancy,
over all other poets. He makes the cakora birds even higher on the scale by saying that they
drink the grandest nectar that flows from ambaals smile. That makes the ordinary
moonlight nectar pale into insignificance because it is, as depicted here, a sour drink when
pitted against the divine drink of moonlight flowing from the smile of ambaals moonshine-
face.

In the first part, Anandalahari, it was said that Lord Shiva is the only one who survives
even the pralaya whereas these divines who partook of the nectar would all be consumed
by that pralaya. And the reason was said to be that ambaal Herself is the Nectar of
Consciousness, far superior to the material nectar and it is the eternal association with Her
that protects Him. Now we know that, even superior to that material nectar churned out of
the milk ocean, there is the Nectar of the smile from Her moonshine face. So higher than
the Nectar of Consciousness (chaitanya-amritam) is the nectar of Her Beauty (saundarya-
amRtam), which is Her form, nay, Her face; not even that, it is Her smile from that face.

All this the poet in the Acharya could have said simply that Her smile is more fascinating in
beauty than moonlight. On the other hand he brought in the cakora bird, made moonlight
the tasteful food for the cakora and pronounced ambaals smile sweeter than that taste.
Putting together all these ideas, we see that it is the wave of Consciousness (chaitanya-
laharI) that becomes a tasty food for the eyes by becoming the wave of ambaals beauty
(Soundarya-laharI) and becomes also a tastier-than-nectar object for the tongue. Thus
Chaitanya (Consciousness), Soundarya (Beauty) and Madhurya (Tasteful excellence) all
of these are in essence Her shower of Love. It is that moonlight shower of Love that we
should be consuming, in the form of cakoras, deliciously relishing the moon light-food!

Maybe we are not able to eat moonlight like the cakora. But we take delight in eating our
own food under moonlight, especially on a full moon night. The moon then cools the very
atmosphere that surrounds us and makes it very pleasant to us. The full moon is certainly
very pleasant to all of us. But the Sun of Wisdom is not so pleasant. Ignorance is darkness;
wisdom is light. Though the wisdom is given by jnAna-sUrya (the Sun of Wisdom), it may
also be unpleasantly hot, because it is the Sun that is giving it. On the other hand the moon
gives both light (of wisdom) and pleasant experience. The Goddess of jnAna (JnAna-
ambaal) removes our Ignorance while at the same time being pleasant. In the Purushha
sUkta we are told that mind arose from the moon. So the mind should be both cool and
pleasant. That is why ambaal who is most pleasant to us is always associated with the
moon. She Herself resides in the region of the moon. Chandra-maNDala-madhyagA says
the sahasranAma. And that is again the reason why the Pournami (full moon) day is
important for ambaal and we do special pUjA for ambaal on that day.

She wears the Moon on Her head. In the head of the Yogi She descends as the full moon
and pours out the nectar. For us laymen also, our Acharya has brought to us the
moonshine of Her smile.May we cherish and remember it for ever. May we become the
little cakoras drinking to our hearts content the nectar-shower of Her Grace!
72
(Digest of pp.1218 -1221 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)


raNe jitvA daityAn-apahRta-shirastraiH kavacibhiH
nivRttaish-caNDAmsha-tripura-hara-nirmAlya-vimukhaiH /
vishAkh-endro-pendraiH shashi-vishada-karpUra-shakalA
vilIyante mAtas-tava vadana-tAmbUla-kabalAH //65 //

caNDAmsha-tripura-hara-nirmAlya-vimukhaiH: (Chandas share - Shiva leavings
looking away) : Rejecting the offering-remnants of Shiva as the share of the devotee
Chanda,
vishAkh-endro-pendraiH : the celestials KumAra, Indra and Vishnu
jitvA : after having conquered
daityAn : the asuras
raNe : in battle,
nivRttaiH : return to you
mAtaH : Oh Mother,
apahRta-shirastraiH : with their head-dresses (helmets, etc.) removed
kavacibhiH : but with their armour-jackets on,
tava vadana-tAmbUla-kabalAH : (eager to receive) as Your gracious gift (Prasada) the betal
rolls used by You
vilIyante : and chew them
shashi-vishada-karpUra-shakalAH : (until) they dissolve along with the moon-white pieces
of refined camphor contained in them.

Just in the previous shloka (#64) the Acharya has said that Goddess Saraswati who dwells
on the tip of Her tongue, gets Her crystal-like white complexion changed into the colour of
a red ruby because of the ruddiness of the tongue that defies the japa (habiscus) flowers in
its redness. I have already told you about this.
(Note by VK: See DPDS 58)

Here this shloka talks about the symphony of red and white that the betal-chewing gives to
ambaals tongue. You may ask wherefrom comes this whiteness. Betal-chewing only
produces a reddish tinge.

I take resort to the words shashi-vishada-karpUra-shakalAH. Maybe the Acharya
thought : We only talked about the white Saraswati at the tip of ambaals tongue
becoming red. But while writing bhashyas, and while composing stotras we have been
propitiating only ShAradA the white Goddess. Then why not bring Her whiteness into
ambaals tongue that dwells on the betal rolls?!

That the mouth is full of betal rolls is a characteristic attribute that we use in all our
descriptions of a sumangali. Even the Sahasranama says of Her: tAmbUla-pUrita-mukhI,
meaning, The One whose mouth is full of chewing betal. Ambaal, who is Auspiciousness
personified should always be visualised by us only this way.

There is nothing that can excel the leavings of her tAmbUla (betal roll). It is called
tAmbUla-ucchishhTaM (betal-leavings). Only we humans have to consider another
humans food-leavings as something demeaning. That of ambaal is sacred. Our body is
nothing but meat. But the divine body is akshhara. It encompasses all from a to kshha.
That is why it is called akshhara, which also means immutable. The divine body is
nothing but all the mantras personified; because no mantra goes outside of a to kshha.
Over and above all that, it is Love personified. And hence it is that Her betal leavings are
most sacred.

And who is receiving it? Not just a devotee, a poet or a rishi. Her own son, KumAra; Her
own devotee, Indra, who received Brahma-vidyA from Her (refer Kenopanishad); and Her
own masculine form in the form of Vishnu. The Acharya has woven a really marvelous
dramatic scene in which these three receive Her betal leavings.

senAnInAM aham skandaH, says Krishna in the Gita. I am KumAra among the
warriors of the world. His trident (Vel, in Tamil) is victorious, wherever it appears. Its
very name is shakti. It is nothing but parA-shakti Herself. And it was this KumAra who
went as the chief of all the divine forces to wage war with the enmies of the divines.
Naturally the King of the divines, Indra, goes along with Him. Vishnu has another name
Upendra because He was born as a son (VAmana) to the same parents that bore Indra.
Thus these three, VishAka (KumAra), Indra, and Upendra (Vishnu) are returning to
Mother Goddess after their victory over the asuras. The first thing that they look for is the
gift of ambaals betal leavings.

Earlier to the brith of KumAra, once the divines did win over all the asuras. That was
when they were all puffed up with pride. They thought it was their own Power (shakti) that
brought them the victory. The parA-shakti made them realise how incomplete their Power
was, in each one of them. She put before them a piece of straw which stood like a rock
before all their might. This story of their becoming just a speck of dust in the presence of
the supreme Shakti is told very graphically in Kenopanishad. It was only after this that
Indra, among them all, immediately became very humble and he was taught the Brahma
Vidya by ambaaL.

KumAra, Indra and Vishnu very modestly want to offer their victory over the asuras, at
the feet of ambaal and partake as prasad, of Her betal leavings. Ambaal usually revels in
feeding others rather than enjoying the food Herself. Different varieties of sweet dishes are
usually accepted by Her as offerings, not for Her own sake, but for the sake of Her
devotees. For Herself She is content with the betal rolls!. But then, who eats all that food in
Her house? It is the Lord!so that He may not go begging for food in His style as a
BikshhATana (the roaming mendicant). When the three divines return from their
victorious war, it was just the time when the Lord had finished His dinner. But they (the
celestials) did not care for the Prasad of Lord Shiva because they were heading towards
ambaal for Her betal leavings!

And the Acharya excels here, by ascribing a reason to this action of the three celestials.
73
(Digest of pp.1221 - 1226 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)


The three celestials KumAra, Indra and Vishnu did not care for Shivas prasAdam,
because they were heading towards Ambaals betal leavings. The Acharya excels here by
ascribing an enjoyable reason for this action of theirs. chaNDAmsha-tripura-hara-
nirmAlya-vimukhaiH not having their mind on Shivas prasAdam because it is the share
of ChanDa!. (tripura-hara is Shiva). The first prasAdam of food left over by Shiva
belongs rightfully to ChanDa (ChanDikeshvara). This is the rule. All the world considers
this offering of Shivas prasAdam first to Chandikeshvara as our foremost obligation and
privilege. It is remarkable that ChanDa was born in this human world just like us all, but
rose later to become the fifth deity after the primal four, namely, Shiva, Parvati,
Vighneshvara and Subrahmanya. In all Shiva temple festivals these five deities are the ones
that are taken out in procession. To receive Shivas prasAdam after it has been offered first
to this saintly devotee, ChanDa, is truly a great blessing to all of us.

But to KumAra, the very offspring of Shiva Himself, to Vishnu who shares half the form of
Shiva in the manifestation as Shankara-Narayana and to Indra the king of all the divine
world, it must be demeaning to receive Shivas prasAdam after it has been offered to a
human, ChanDa, however saintly he may be. All this is built into the expression
chaNDAmsha-tripura-hara-nirmAlya-vimukhaiH. Here vimukha can also be interpreted
to mean turning their faces away from.

Next comes their dress while presenting themselves before ambaal. The head dress worn on
the field or when they are on duty, by the soldiers in the army, are usually taken off when
they want to show respect. Here the three celestials take off their head dress before they
enter the presence of ambaal.

But the question arises: Why did the Acharya say in shloka #25 that the crowns of Brahma,
Vishnu and Indra are doing the neerajana ceremony to Her divine feet at which they were
prostrating.? Why again did he say in shloka #29 that when She started in haste to walk
over to welcome the homecoming Lord, She ran the risk of tumbling over the crowns of
Brahma, Vishnu and Indra, who were then prostrating at Her feet? The situation in both
cases is clear that they were prostrating with the crowns still on their heads.

Well, the only explanation could be that in their intense mood of devotion that
overwhelmed them at those times, they just forgot (!) the formality of the obligation to
remove their crowns from their heads in the august presence of ambaal.

Let us now come to the tAmbUla-ucchishhTaM the betal leavings. It has only been said
that these three celestials consumed or swallowed the betal prasAdam of ambaal. There is
no mention, however, of the fruit of such an action, or about what fruits will accrue to the
chewing of the betal leavings. Of course we can infer that, to these war-lords who have
come back victorious after a war with the asuras, more victories are bound to accrue in the
future by the blessing of ambaal.

On the other hand, that the fruit of taking the tAmbUla ucchishhTaM of ambaal gives
extraordinary poetic talent, is borne out by the fact that three great poets Kalidasa,
Kalamegar, and Mukar -- became great poets only by the power of the tAmbUla-
prasAdam from ambaal. It was the mahAkAli of Ujjain, AkhilAnDeshvari of
Jambukesvaram and KamAkshhi of Kanchi, respectively, who blessed these three. Our
Acharya himself has composed a stotra called ambAshhTakaM ,

[Note by VK:
I am not able to locate this stotra.]

wherein he says that ambals betal leavings will endow one with poetic talent that will ride
higher than the stately gaits of a high-class race-horse. The very style of that shloka, such
as:

kavitva-paripATI .... koTI-kulA-dadhika-tATImudhara-
mukhavITI-rasena tanutAM

mimics the beat of the hoofs of the racing horse!

Whereas according to Soundaryalahari, what bestows the poetic talent is (in shloka #75)
Her breast milk, or (in shloka #98) the water that has washed Her feet. Nowhere is it
mentioned that the tAmbUla-ucchishhTaM of ambaal would bestow poetic talent. In
shloka #98 it is said that the poetic talent that is usually granted by the tAmbUla-
ucchishhTaM of Saraswati is already bestowed by the charana-tIrtha, the water that has
washed the feet of ambaal. In that sense the charaNa-tIrtha is placed higher in the ladder
of spiritual benefaction. The red paint on the feet makes the water that washes it reddish as
the betal juice. kalita-alaktaka-rasam : the water that gets mixed up with the deep red of
lac. alaktaka is lac. lAkshhaa is also lac. Both sanskrit words could very well be the
source of the English lac. And again alaktaka is what becomes arakku in Tamil.

As a student when will I have the opportunity to drink that charaNa-tIrtha? , wails our
Acharya in that shloka. The words prakRtyA mUkAnAm-api (meaning, even for those
who are dumb by nature) indicate that even the dumb (mUka) ones can become great poets
by that charaNa-tIrtha. The Acharya here is perhaps seeing into the future, when one day
there would exactly be such a mUka-kavi!
74
(Digest of pp.1226 -1236 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

vipanchyA gAyantI vividham-apadAnaM pashupateH
tvayArabdhe vaktuM calita-shirasA sAdhu vacane /
tadIyair-mAdhuryair-apalapita-tantrI-kala-ravAM
nijAM vINAM vANI nichulayati cholena nibhRtaM // 66 //

There is a whole dramatic scene here. It takes place in the very presence of ambaal.
Ambaal is sitting totally relaxed and listening to a music performance. Whose music? That
of Saraswati Herself! The word VANI meaning, Saraswati, occurs in the fourth line of the
shloka. She is playing on the Veena. Simultaneously She is also singing. The very Goddess
of Arts, Music and all Knowledge is performing. One can only imagine the infinite
grandeur of the sweet richness of such a performance.

VipanchI means Veena. ParIvAdinI also means Veena. The Veenas belonging to
particular celestials have particular names. Naradas Veena is called mahatI. That of
Tumburu is KalAvatI. Saraswatis is KacchapI. The word kacchapa means tortoise.
The drum of Saraswatis Veena is in the shape of a tortoise. Hence it is called kacchapI.
Prof.Sambamurti (of Madras University) says that even today we can see it in the
Phillipines, where they call it katjapI. In Lalita Sahasranamam we have the name: nija-
sallApa-mAdhurya-vinirbhatsita-kacchapI. It means One whose speech is more melodious
than kacchapI, the Veena of Saraswati. It is the idea contained in this single line that has
been elaborated by our Acharya in a full shloka (#66) of Soundaryalahari and transformed
into a fascinating dramatic scene!

VipanchyA gAyantI: playing on the Veena.

But I translate it as playing on the Veena and vocally accompanying it also. Why do I
make this rendering? Because of the words:

Vividham-apadAnaM pashupateH : Variegated anecdotes pertaining to Lord Shiva.

How can these anecdotes be also performed by Saraswati without being vocalised? The
surest way to please ambaal is to sing the praise of Her Lord. And the Glory of the Lord is
endless. Saraswati is singing and praising the infinite glories of Lord Shiva. Naturally
ambaal is enjoying both the music of the Veena and the singing of the Lords glories.

Now let us come to the second line of the shloka.

Calita-shirasA : by the nodding head. Now and then She nods Her head in approval and
appreciation. A nodding of the head (shirah-kampa) can show more delicacy of
appreciation than by an applause of the hand (karaH-kampa). Whether it is in music, or in
writing, or in studies or in sports, one requires appreciation. And reciprocally, it is the
appreciation of the audience or the respondent that provides further inspiration to the
musician, writer, student or sportsman. The same thing is happening here. Ambaal is
enjoying in appreciation and Saraswati is going on playing on the Veena and singing.

tvayA-Arabdhe vaktum sAdhu vacane : When you started speaking appreciative words.

It appears ambaal suddenly, instead of silently nodding Her head, also began to applaud
orally by saying a few appreciative words: sAdhu, sAdhu. These words mean Good,
Good. They are the Sanskrit equivalent of the English usage: hear, hear. But as soon as
these words were spoken by ambaal something dramatic happened. This is the punchline of
the story. It is in the third and fourth lines of the shloka.

tadIyair-mAdhuryair-apalapita-tantrI-kala-ravAM : (By their sweetness degraded
strings music) Before the sweetness and melody of those words the sweet sound of the
Veena paled into insignificance.

Just one or two words only must have come from ambaal. tvayA Arabdhe means just
when you began to speak. In our own way of thinking there could be nothing sweeter and
more melodious than the music of Saraswatis Veena; for She is the Goddess of Music. If
there could be something more pleasant it must be Her own voice. But now the few words
that stemmed forth from ambaal, have transformed all that into nothing. Saraswati
stopped her singing when She realised the overpowering sweetness of ambaals voice. Not
only that. Her Veena-music also has been over-powered. What did She do to Her Veena?

nijAM vINAM vANI niculayati cholena nibhRtaM :

vANI : Saraswati
niculayati : hides
nijAM vINAM : Her own Veena
cholena : by (its) cover, (in its case)
nibhRtaM : so that it will not show up.

Saraswati draws the cover on Her Veena and hides it! In other words She accepts that Her
Veena is nothing before the sweet voice of ambaal and stops it then and there.

Ambaal, though She had all the musical sweetness in Her own voice, intended to honour
Saraswati by nodding Her head all along and also saying the appreciative words SAdhu.
But instead of encouraging the performer to perform more, it resulted in the performer
bowing down and stopping the performance. This incident brings into focus the greatness
of both Saraswati and ambaal.Saraswati hung down Her head in shame and stopped
singing. But what does the Veena do? Even after being stopped, the music of the Veena
has a characteristic reverberation (anuraNanam, in Sanskrit; rIngAram in Tamil), due to
the resonating vibrations of the strings. So Saraswati quickly silences it by hiding it under its
own cover (cholena nibhRtaM).

We can go on thus enjoying the scene by visualising it in various ways, scene after scene in
this drama.

Maybe it was different. Maybe ambaal was not appreciating the music but was nodding
Her head to the vividham-apadAnaM pashupateH -- the different stories of the glories of
Lord Shiva -- maybe that was what was being enjoyed by Her in appreciation. Suddenly
Saraswati might have realised this, at the time when ambaal opened Her mouth to say
SAdhu.

There could be no end to such speculations of ours on the scene. On the whole the shloka
brings out the melodious sweetness of Her voice, in addition to all the beauty of form that
the other shlokas have been revealing all along. There can be no doubt that by meditating
on this shloka one gains excellence both in music and the composition of it.

75
(Digest of pp.1236 -1243 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

gale rekhAs-tisro gati-gamaka-gItaika-nipuNe
vivAha-vyAnaddha-praguNa-guNa-sankhyA-pratibhuvaH /
virAjante nAnAvidha-madhura-rAgAkara-bhuvAM
trayANAM grAmANAM sthiti-niyama-sImAna iva te // 69 //

The intensive knowledge in music and musical technicalities of the Acharya is manifest in
this shloka. The words gati, gamakaM, gItaM and grAmaM are technical words
understood well only by musicologists. One should actually refer to the latter part of
Bharatas nATya-shAstra, SangIta-ratnAkaraM of Sarangadeva and caturdaNDi-
prakAshika of Venkata-makhi. I have only an incomplete knowledge of these.

Gati is procedure or path. It denotes one of two kinds: deshi and mArgaM. The
former is more regimented like a train on its rails. The latter keeps changing with the
times and caters to latest tastes.
GamakaM is undulation. It has five subtly different varieties in it.
GItaM of course is song. But it is not just the text (sAhitya) of the song; it also includes the
svaras.
Eka-nipuNa is unequalled excellence. So ambaa is the Gati-gamaka-gItaika-nipuNA that
is, unequalled Mistress of the musical technicalities of gati, gamakaM and gItaM.

GrAmaM the word occurs in the fourth line of the shloka means the three-fold
classification of rAgas, according to the shadja, madhyama and gAndhAra svaras. As music
arises in the voice box of the body and as the voice box is situated in the neck, the Acharya
is saying that these three grAmas are manifesting themselves as the three lines in the neck
of ambaal. Of course all women would have these three lines or folds in their neck. But that
is because originally ambaal is having these three lines in Her neck! Men have Adams
apple in their neck, which is absent in women. The western story is that the original man
ate the Eden Garden apple and that started his involvement in the samsAra of the world.
The Indian story is that the Lord swallowed the KAlakuTa poison which was, according to
ambaals request, stifled at the position of the throat of the Lord and that is why the bulge
is showing in all male human necks. Both the stories only go to show that we all have the
same origin and we are all brothers born of the same Father, irrespective of the religion we
may profess. In one case the very nutritious apple that keeps the doctor away becomes the
original source of this dreadful samsAra. In the other case the dreadful poison sits there in
the throat of the Lord without harming anyone. Both are cosmic mysteries.

All forms of men are nothing but the Lord and all forms of women are just ambaal. This is
what the Adams apple of the male neck and the three lines in the female neck tell us.

The great saint Appar has sung a song beginning with the words mAdar piRaikkaNNiyAn
in the kshetra of Tiruvaiyaru. He saw the male and female forms of the elephant, chicken,
peacock, swan and parrot and had the spiritual experience of visualising all of them as the
divine couple, Shiva-Shakti. kaNDen-avar tiruppAdam, kaNDaRiyAdana kaNDen, says he
His divine feet did I see; things that had never been visualised, did I witness. If we care
to use our intelligence and look for the Divine around us with intense Bhakti we can also
have this darshan of Shiva-Shakti always and everywhere.

Shiva is white; Shakti is red that is the way we have explained how the changeless White
Shivam (Cause) sprouted out as the Red Kameshvari (Effect). Just like this Shiva-Shakti,
the white-red coexistence can be seen in many of our worldly matters. In fact once we
begin to recognize this spectacle in all matters of this world as well as of the other world,
we would be amazed as if we have had the very darshan of Shiva-Shakti. Particularly, what
pertains to the male is white and what pertains to the female is red this principle will help
us get into the spiritual sAdhanA of witnessing Shiva-Shakti all around us.

The tejas of man is called shuklaM (white) and that of woman is called shoNitaM (red).
What he wears on his forehead is white vibhUti and what she wears is red
kunkumamM. In the nAmaM of the Vaishnavas, it is the white part that belongs to the
Lord, whereas the red part is that of the Mother Goddess. In fact that is why it is called
Shri-chUrNaM the powder of the Goddess. What man dons is white veshti and what
she does is the saree, which is kusumbA (red). The word kusumbA means saffron. That is
the ideal colour for the wedding saree (kUraip-puDavai). aruNaruNa-kausumbaM, where
ambaals saree is described as the reddest of the red.

Again, in this interplay of red and white, we have our own blood which has both red cells
and white cells. Just as in ambaals red, the white of Shivam is merged, so also the red
corpuscles of the blood dominate the whiteness of the white corpuscles and show the colour
of blood as red!

In the ordinary decorative drawings (kolam, in Tamil) in front of the house or the deity,
though the kolam is in white, it is usually bordered by red. For the same reason the
markings on the outside walls of temples are in red and white. Even though the inside deity
may be a Vishnu deity (whose colour is blue), the outside walls are striped only with white
and red.

If it is an abhishekam of the deities, we have milk and honey. If it is the fragrance we have
pachaik-karpuram (which is green) and saffron. If it is offering of flowers through an
archana, we have jasmine (white) and arali (red). If it is food that is offered, we have curd
rice (called dadhyannam) and sarkaraip-pongal. Even with the ordinary white idli, we
combine the red chili powder or sambar!

Here the idli is bland and peacefully white; whereas the chili powder that goes with it is
fearfully red! White is Peace and Red is Power and Action. So when we want to stop a war
we show the white flag. A revolutionary activity is manifested by a red flag. Thus Shiva-
Shakti is all around us in the forms of Peace and Rajas (activity). But again, nor should we
separate Shiva and Shakti as two different entities; and that is what exactly is shown by the
symbiosis of red and white corpuscles in the blood. The white corpuscles fight with the
invasion of disease and the red ones nurture us with oxygen. When there is bloodshed in a
battle, it is the red cross that brings relief and cure!

Even in the ordinary colour spectrum, it is red that shows up first on the side of white. The
opposite colour that is violet is on the other extreme. It is this violet (linked with blue) that
is the direct opposite of the peaceful Shivam, that goes with Vishnu who denotes Vishnu-
mAyA sharing the colour with Vishnu-DurgA and MahA-kALi. It is the Shiva-kAmeshvari
that has contact with both the Peace of Shiva on the one side and the dynamism of MAya
on the other side. For the same reason, in the apex work of philosophy called pAdukA-
mantram, the Light that is the Cause of all that is gross as well as subtle is called
traipuram mahas and when one talks of the unfoldment of the same as Jiva and the
Universe it is mentioned as rakta-shukla-prabhA-mishraM -- red and white confluent
effulgence thereby indicating both the outward dynamism of the Effect and the inward
Peace of the Cause.

Thus spake the Paramacharya

76
(Digest of pp.1243-1248 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Shloka 69 continued:

The Shiva-factor and the Shakti-factor that are respectively manifest in the male and the
female, are most explicitly manifest in the bulge of Adams apple in man and the three lines
on the neck of woman. These are the three lines that are referred to as gale rekhAs-
tisraH by the Acharya. The verse also allows us to interpret it as showing that She is
expert in all the three facets gati, gamakam and gItam of music. In addition to this
implicit indication, he explicitly says in the fourth line of the shloka: The boundaries
between the different grAmas based on the shadja, gAndhAra and madhyama in
music are what is shown by the three lines on Thy neck trayANAM grAmANAM sthiti-
niyama-sImAna iva te (gale rekhAs-tisro virAjante).

Recall trayANAM devAnAM triguNa-janitAnAM from Shloka 25. [See DPDS-45]. The
triad of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra were said therein to have originated from the three
guNas. Here the trayANAM grAmANAM also mentions along with it the three guNas in
line 2.

What is stated in line 2, namely, vivAha-vyAnaddha-praguNa-guNa-sankhyA-
pratibhuvaH that is, A reminder of the strands of the auspicious string made by twisting
several threads and well tied round the neck at the wedding ceremony. This refers to the
most auspicious wedding of Goddess Parvati and the Lord. The direct meanings however
are:

vivAha-vyAnaddha : wedding tied well.
guNa-sankhyA: consisting of a certain number of guNas.
praguNa : noble guNas.
pratibhuvaH: that which authenticates, guarantees.

These direct meanings do not add up to an easily understood message. The guNa-
sankhyA refers to the number three, coming from the three guNas satva, rajas and tamas.
But when it comes to praguNa he is talking of strands of string, because guNa also
means strand. And praguNa means auspicious strands. And this is what brings in the
mangala-sUtra (auspicious marriage thread) that is tied at the time of the wedding
ceremony. In other words, it means that three noble strands of string have been twisted to
make the mangala sUtra for the Goddess. And it is these three strands that are recalled
pratibhuvaH by the three lines on the neck of ambaa. Of course, in addition, we can also
interpret that the three lines implicitly stand for the three guNas also.

There are those who say that the pANi-grahaNaM (holding of the hand) is the deciding
religious rite for the wedding. The tying of the mangala-sUtra may not be the tradition in
many areas. But the very fact that the Acharya has mentioned it here in connection with
the wedding of God and Goddess, gives it a unique importance. The holding of hand is
an event that does not leave any trace of itself after the event. On the other hand it is the
mangala-sUtra that permanently stands out as a distinguishing mark of married status to
women and is also respected by all as such. At the time when the solar months of Aquarius
(mAshi, in Tamil) and Pisces (panguni, in Tamil) coalesce, it is the mangala-sUtra that is
greatly and duly worshipped by women. Even in the Lalita Sahasranama, we have
kAmesha-baddha-mAngalya-sUtra-shobhita-kandarA She whose neck is adorned with
the mangala-sUtra fastened thereon by Her consort Kameshvara.

Another point. The Acharya says only guNa meaning strand of thread. In modern
times, women replace the marriage thread by a golden chain and a heavy tirumangalyam
and rolling balls (kuNDu, in Tamil) on either side of it. It is very inappropriate. The
alleged plea is that the string becomes dirty in due course of time. If you coat it with
turmeric every day it wont become dirty.

There is a five-fold (pancakaM) mention of triads in this shloka: The three lines on the
divine neck, the three musical nuances gati, gamakaM and gItaM, the three guNas, the
three grAmas of music and finally, the three strands of mangala-sUtra.

A sound musical tradition aims at the preservation of its age-old purity. The classification
in terms of grAmas is not supposed to be mixed up. It is to show the distinctness of the
three grAmas that the three lines on the divine neck are so distinct, says the Acharya. All
this emphasizes the need for a certain discipline in following the music traditions.

When music is performed as nAdopAsanA (a dedicated worship of nAda-brahman)
with bhakti, then that music itself will lead to Self-Realisation. When one merges in the
disciplined musical confluence of shruti and laya, that merger itself becomes the merging
in the Atman. Entaro mahAnubhAvulu -- sang Tyagaraja, the great nAdopAsaka (the
worshipper of nAda-brahman) and he was one such great soul-experiencer
(mahAnubhAva) of the musical trinity. All three of the trinity were great souls who attained
this Self-Realisation through the path of Devotional Music. Interestingly, all these three
flourished in the same time frame within the past one and a half centuries.

Incidentally, I have added a sixth triad to the five-fold triads (of this shloka) that I spoke of
earlier!

Though the three qualities of satva, rajas and tamas are only three in number they give rise
to an infinite number of quality-combinations in the worldly characters that we experience.
So also, just from the seven svaras of music, with various permutations and combinations
according to the three grAmas, the musical world has generated numerous rAgas. This is
what is mentioned in the shloka as nAnAvidha-madhura-rAgAkara-bhuvAM meaning,
those which generate the mine of multifarious melodious rAgas . Here the word those
goes with of the three grAmas (trayANAm grAmANAM) in the fourth line.

The word rAga-Akara is significant. Just as a mine gives out gold and gems as you dig
deeper and deeper, so also the subtleties of the seven svaras yield numerously different
rAgas as you delve deep. The word Akara means mine. The ocean yields gems (ratnas)
and that is why it is called ratnAkara. The commonly used words karuNakara and
dayAkara should mean only a mine of compassion and grace rather than one who
shows compassion or grace.

Again the word madhura in nAnAvidha-madhura-rAga-bhuvAM is also significant.
madhura means sweet and melodious. What is not sweet or melodious should not form
part of music. All this meticulous use of words in this verse show how knowledgeable the
Acharya is in the subtleties of music and its understanding. Obviously he was himself a
gati-gamaka-gIta-eka-nipuNaH Master of the musical technicalities of the procedure,
undulations and song of music!
77
(Digest of pp.1252-1265 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

Shloka #75 says further about the breast milk of ambaa. It generates, says the shloka,
everything superlatively noble like wisdom, compassion, beauty, knowledge, and the arts.
sArasvatam iva, meaning, everything for which Sarasvati is the source. They all flow like
a flood from the heart hRdayataH payaH pArAvAraH. It was that milk of wisdom, Oh
Mother, that you fed to that child of the Dramila country. And that child became a noted
poet among great composers kavInAM prouDhAnAM ajani kamanIyaH kavayitA.

prouDha-kavi means a poet rich with poetic talent. The feminine word prouDhA
denotes a girl who has attained puberty. Just as the physical tejas attains maturity, a
person whose poetic talent has attained perfection and maturity is called a prouDha-kavi.
Ironically, a prouDha-kavi is also prone to be proud! And in the poetry that flows from
such a one there is likely to be a mischievous air of superiority. It may not appeal to the
heart. But the milk of wisdom, which flows like a flood from this ocean of SArasvata,
generates poetic inspiration that captivates the heart. By using the words payaH
pArAvAraH parivahati the milk ocean flows like a flood the Acharya has added one
more lahari, namely, the lahari of breast milk that represents all that is great in the
Mother, to the various laharis mentioned in Soundaryalahari -- cidAnanda-lahari,
shRngAra-lahari, etc. When this kshhIra-lahari (the flood of milk) is tasted by the
dramila-shishu (Tamil child), the latter becomes a poet who composes captivating songs
that make him distinguished among even prouDha composers!

Now who was this dramila-shishu? The immediate feeling is that it should be the well-
known Sambandar, also known as JnAna-sambandar of the Tamil region, who flourished
in the seventh century A.D. But the Acharyas time was in the sixth-fifth century B.C.,
approximately.

[ Here the Paramacharya takes for granted
his own elaborate thesis-like discussion
on the date of Shankara,
that runs to hundreds of pages,
in his earlier discourses. These have been recorded
by Ra. Ganapati in the 5
th
volume of his book
Deivathin Kural. So I am not able to enter into that topic here. VK]

The story about the child JnAna-sambandar is that the Mother Goddess fed her breast milk
to the three-year old child and the child burst into ecstatic singing glorifying Lord Shiva
and Parvati. Commentators on Soundaryalahari opine that a similar incident did happen
in the case of the Acharya himself when he was a child and therefore conclude that the
dramila-shishu refers to the Acharya himself! Instead of saying I have that experience
he is saying it in third person, in all modesty. But even here one can ask: How come the
Acharya talks about his own poetic talent in such superlative terms? Is this in keeping with
his well-known modesty? Well, the point to note here is that the matter is not about poetic
talent. The significant point is the glory of the milk of wisdom that flows from ambaal.
Actually the Acharya has talked about himself as the farthest of the lowly (daviyAmsaM
dInaM) in shloka #66. And the significance now is that even such a lowly person has
reached poetic heights of excellence by the divine milk of wisdom.

On the correct interpretation of dramila-shishu there have been controversies from very
early times. Several commentators have debated this issue. No definite conclusion has been
accepted by all. But let us not stay on that issue. What we need is not the correct meaning
of dramila-shishu but the truth that we should seek that wisdom that flows incessantly
like milk from ambaals grace!

shrutInAM mUrdhAno dadhati tava yau shekharatayA
mamApy-etau mAtaH shirasi dayayA dhehi caraNau /
yayoH pAdyaM pAthaH pashu-pati-jaTA-jUTa-taTinI
yayor-lAkshhA-lakshhmIH aruNa-hari-cUDAmaNi ruciH // 84 //

mAtaH : Oh Mother,
yau tava caraNau : Those feet of Yours (which)
shrutInAM mUrdhAnaH : the crests of the vedas (namely, the Upanishads)
dadhati : bear
shekharatayA : as (their) head ornament,
yayoH : for which (feet)
pashu-pati-jaTA-JUTa-taTinI : the river (Ganga) in the matted locks of hair of Lord Shiva
pAdyaM pAthaH : (become) the water-offerings at the feet,
yayoH : for which (feet)
aruNa-hari-cUDAmaNi-ruciH : the red brilliance of the diadem of Vishnu
lAkshhA-lakshhmIH : (becomes the brilliance of red lac,
dhehi : please condescend to keep
etau : such feet
mama shirasi api : on my head, too
dayayA : out of compassion.

The description of Mother Goddess from head to foot finally comes to the divine feet. The
divine feet are requested to be placed on this devoteess (The Acharyas) head. This is a
kind of Guru DikshhA, that is, spiritual initiation by the Guru. But it is not openly said to
be so. Because, such initiations always have to be guarded as secret. Kenopanishad details
how the Mother Goddess appeared to the devas and gave spiritual initiation to Indra, their
King. The words umA haimavatI, strI bahu-shobhamAnA used in that narrative are
the only instances where the Absolute is specifically mentioned as manifesting as Guru in
the vedas. The deities Shiva or Vishnu are never mentioned in the Vedas in the capacity
of Guru. The two times Shivam and Vishnu are mentioned are in Mandukyopanishad and
Kathopanishad; but in both cases it is a state that is described and not a Person. It is
therefore in the fitness of the wisdom of the vedas that the Acharya here describes the
divine feet of ambaa as the head ornament of the Upanishads!

The praise of the divine feet goes on for several shlokas. In shloka 88, the Acharya asks:
Mother, How did thy Consort, Lord Shiva, with all His softness (dayamAnena manasA)
towards You, have the heart to place them with his hand on a hard granite grinding stone
at the marriage rite? -- upayamana-kAle, bAhubhyAm AdAya dRshhadi nyastaM. The
word upayamana stands for a marriage ceremony. Just as upanayana stands for the rite
that initiates a boy into the spiritual path, by initiating him into the Gayatri, so also the
upayamana stands for the rite that initiates a girl into married life. In this rite the
bridegroom places the feet of the bride on a granite pasting stone as a part of the rite. The
Mother Goddess Herself is considered here by the Acharya as an ordinary bride going
through the same marriage rite.

The act of placing the feet on a granite stone attains a spiritual significance in the context of
ambaal. For this we have to go to Shivaananda-lahari shloka #80 where the Acharya asks:
Oh Lord! Why are You dancing on this hard granite? On the auspicious day of Pradosha
why cant You dance on a softer surface, in fact made up of flower offerings? Is it because
you have anticipated that I will be born with a hard heart on this earth and You have to
dwell and dance in that hard rock-like heart? Taking cue from this we can now interpret
this shloka #88 of Soundaryalahari as saying: Oh Mother, the Lord is having compassion
towards You and wants to train You to dance along with Him in the hard hearts of people
of this earth. That is why He is placing Your soft feet on the hard granite as a preview for
Your feet!

It is those divine feet of ambaaL that have to be meditated on by us for melting our hearts.
There is no other way! Particularly it is our ego that stands solidly like a rock between us
and mokshha. And that is why, for our sake, the Acharya has put in the words mama api
in shloka #84.

78
(Digest of pp.1265-1283 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

The shloka # 91 also is in the same trend of praise of Devis feet. Usually poets describe the
gait of their heroic women as hamsa-gati, the gait of swans. But in #91, the Acharya
reverses this analogy. He says that it is the swans that learn their gait from the beauty of
ambaals gait! In compassion with the swans Her divine feet actually demonstrate how to
produce that graceful gait, but in the act of this demonstration they (the feet) indeed teach
the swans the theory of this gait! teshhAM shikshhAM AcakshhANaM, says the shloka.

And how is this teaching done? She is having anklets on Her feet, studded with precious
gems. subhaga-maNi-manjIrac-chalAt the auspicious jingling of the gem-studded
anklet, is the pretext of teaching! The jingling of the gems is poetically extolled as the words
of the teaching. Earlier in Shloka #60, it was said that the clang of her ear ornaments, as
She shakes Her head in appreciation of Sarasvatis speech, seem to be appreciative words
spoken by Her. Thus the jingling of the ear ornaments of ambaa was the appreciation of
Sarasvati in #60 and here in #91, the jingling of the gems of Her anklet turns out to be the
teaching of the swans, which are the vAhanas of Sarasvati!

Having described and praised in his inimitable poetry all the different parts of the divine
body and thus having immersed us in the waves (lahari) of beauty (soundarya) of ambaaL,
the Acharya finally comes to the seat on which that Fullness of Form is seated. This is
shloka #92. Therein he also mentions the crimson glory (rAga-aruNatayA) which the
entire body emanates. In Lalita sahasranama, the description of the devi begins with
udyat-bhAnu-sahasrAbhA the effulgence of thousand rising suns and then goes on to
describe the form from head to foot. Here for a change, the Acharya first describes the
form from head to foot and finally ends up with the composite Glory of the whole Form.
The crimson redness of ambaal makes even the assumed whiteness of Lord Shiva appear as
the red KAmeshvara. The redness indicates creation just as the rising sun is the harbinger
of activity. The Mother-Father role for the whole universe has to be taken up and that is
why KAmeshvara becomes overpowered by redness and becomes, as it were, the
embodiment of erotic sentiment. (sharIrI shRngAro rasa iva).

But once the world is created it needs all the infinite compassion of the Mother. In fact the
very purpose of creation seems to be to manifest that Compassion. The brahman, without a
second, cannot show any compassion or love because there is no second. When it
manifested as Shiva-shakti, as partners in a sati-pati relationship, the love that arose is
called shRngAra. When the same love directs itself to the created world, it is called
karuNA (Compassion). So the shRngAra rasa of shloka #92 becomes the karuNA-rasa of
shloka #93. And this is proclaimed with a poetic gymnastics of words:
jagat trAtuM shambhor-jayati- kAcid-aruNA

jagat trAtuM : For the purpose of protecting the universe,
karuNA : the Compassion
shambhoH: of Shivam, the Immutably white
kAcid-aruNA : as the indescribable redness, that is, ambaaL
jayati : shines gloriously.

Thus the Shiva-Shakti advaitam is established.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Acharya has a motherly affection towards all humanity in the sense that they should
never succumb to the lower instincts of man. Having talked about the shRngAra (Love) of
the divine couple, the Acharya wants to issue a warning to posterity, lest mankind may slip
into an error. This error could be of two kinds. One might take liberties with the worship
of the divine through yantras and mantras, emphasized in the Ananda-lahari part; and,
because, the divine has been said to be the Mother and Father of the universe, one might
construe it as a licence to take liberties with that Universal Parent-couple.

Yes, you can treat them as your Mother and Father and worship them as you like, pouring
forth all your love. But in that case there should be no yantras, nor should you bring in
any mantras for invoking them. Mantras and Yantras have to be used only with the proper
ritualistic sanction and discipline. When these latter are absent, just go about your
worship by doing Soundaryalahari as a devotional recitation and no more. In fact I know
many of you do only that. There is nothing wrong in it. And I am constrained to say many
of you and not All of you. For there are people who get into such spiritually advanced
scriptures for curiosity, for academic research, or for enjoyment of literature, without
observing the need to control their sensual distractions. Such failure to follow ethical and
religious discipline is the second potential error, of the two errors that I talked about.

Obviously the Acharya does not want his beautiful poem on the beauty of the divine to end
with the whimper of a mundane rude warning to the public not to be swept into the
profane. He issues the warning, however, in the subtlest terms. Instead of saying:
Whatever you do with this stotra, do it with great discipline of mind and control of the
senses, he indicates, in shloka #95, what awaits those who approach Her without the
necessary self-discipline and regulatory mind. In modern times I see some people write
without any sense of shame at the fact that they are only fanning the fumes of basal
instincts of man. Not only that, they seem to justify such writing and use alibis like
Realism. When one provokes another to fall down in ethical and moral standards, the
provocateur accrues more sinful discredit to himself than the one who has been provoked
into sin. And that is why, as an author, the Acharya takes great care to see that his readers
do not fall into any trap of sin. So in shloka #95 he paints what happens if you fail to follow
discipline.

purArAter-antaHpuram-asi tatas-tvac-caraNayoH
saparyA-maryAdA tarala-karaNAnAm-asulabhA /
tathA hyete nItAH shata-makha-mukhAH siddhim-atulAM
tava dvAropaAnta-sthitibhir-aNimAdyAbhir-amarAH // 95 //

asi: You are
antaHpuraM : in the inner apartments, (as Consort)
pura-arAteH : of the Destroyer of the cities (that is, of Lord Shiva)
tataH : and therefore
saparyA-maryAdA : the proper regimen and privilege of worship
tava caraNayoH : of Your feet
asulabhA : (is) difficult to attain
tarala-karaNAnAM : for those with fickle senses, or of unregenerate mind.
tathA : Thereby
ete shata-makha-mukhAH amarAH : these deities headed by Indra
nItAH hi: are led, indeed, (only up to)
atulAM siddhiM : an unparalleled achievement
aNimAdyAbhiH : by the psychic powers like aNimA, etc.
dvAropAnta-sthitibhiH : who are stationed in proximity to the gates (which are only
peripheral to Your mansion ).

This shloka employs a negative compliment to those of fickle senses, who are said to reach
atulAm siddhiM (matchless siddhi). But Who is giving them this achievement? Only those
who stand at the Gates of the Royal mansion, far removed from the sanctum sanctorum of
ambaas inner apartments. These are the attendants of ambaal stationed in the outermost
rounds (AvaraNas) of Her navAvaraNa mansion (the nine round Shrichakra). In fact
they stand even outside the outermost round. They are the ten devatas, eight of them
representing the eight siddhis (the psychic powers) aNimA, mahimA, etc. So the deities who
propitiate them have to stand only at the same outer rounds of the Devis mansion and
naturally get only what these attendant devatas can give them. And the Acharya satirically
calls, almost in contempt, what they bestow to the seeker, as atulAm siddhiM (matchless
psychic power). Thus indirectly the Acharya is saying that we should aspire to reach not
these siddhis, which are given by the dvAropAnta-sthitAH those who guard the gates --
but we should aim far beyond.

Shiva-Shakti couple, in their inner apartments, have to be understood in the esoteric sense.
The right understanding will not come to those who are still imprisoned by their minds.
Even the poetic descriptions in the stotra should not draw us to the state in which the very
celestials like Indra find themselves only just at the gates of the mansion and not inside!
Only those who honour and welcome the mental discipline and the strict regimen required
for a valid entry into the Royal Mansion, beyond what the fickle-minded celestials can
reach, should ever attempt to do the Shri Chakra worship. Once that welcoming desire is
planted in the mind, naturally ambaal will lead us to the understanding and following of
all the rules of the rituals that constitute the Shri Chakra Puja. This is the message of this
shloka. What a beauty that the Acharya has driven it all so nicely and softly into us,
without a single harsh word about the consequences of unregulated and indisciplined
worship!

- 79 -
(Digest of pp.1287-1295 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

girAm Ahur-devIM druhiNa-gRhiNIM Agamavido
hareH patnIM padmAM hara-saha-carIM adri-tanayAM /
turIyA kApi tvaM duradhigama-nissIma-mahimA
mahAmAyA vishvaM bhramayasi para-brahma-mahishhI //97//

Agama-vidaH : Those who know the scriptures
AhuH : declare (You)
girAM devIM : as the Goddess of Speech,
druhiNa-gRhiNIM : the wife of Brahma the Creator
padmAM : (as well) as Lakshmi,
hareH patnIM : the wife of Lord Vishnu
adri-tanayAM : (and as well) as Parvati, the daughter of Mountain-King,
hara-saha-carIM : the Consort of Lord Shiva.
tvaM : (But) You, (on the other hand),
turIyA : are the fourth (higher than the other three),
kA api : not to be delimited as This or That,
duradhigama-nissIma-mahimA: of unique glory that is both unfathomable and limitless,
para-brahma-mahishhI : (in fact) the Queen-Consort of the Absolute brahman
mahA-mAyA : (being) the great Cosmic mAyA
bhramayasi : revolving and compering
vishvaM : the entire universe.

The distinctive keyword in this shloka (#97) is the unusual expression para-brahma-
mahishhI. All along, the Soundaryalahari has been saying that the parA-shakti is the
highest with sovereign power. In order to show to the world their Father and Mother, that
Shakti brought in a KAmeshvara and gave him the status of a husband to Her. That was
our understanding. Here the words Queen-Consort of the Absolute brahman have
significant connotations. It means that the para-brahman is the sovereign and ambaal is
next to him, as his wife. The word mahishhI means Queen-Consort. One who herself
rules is not called a mahishhI; she would be called mahA-rAjnI or cakra-vartinI.
rAjA and rAjnI have the same connotations, except one is male and the other is female.
So also chakravarti and cakravartinI. But there is no pair of words mahishha and
mahishhI; the King is not called mahishha. Actually mahishha is an asura who was in
the form of a buffalo! Mahishhi is a unique word used for the Queen-consort, the second
in command, of a King. Corresponding to that meaning of mahishhI there is no male
word mahishha!

The stotra began with saying that it is She who makes Him move. And at several places we
have been told that it is She who is the Agent-Provocateur for every action in the world.
She is the One who takes care of Him even at the time of dissolution. After all this, when
he comes to the end of the stotra the Acharya winds up with Her as the dutiful patni of
Him who is the all-in-all. In fact She Herself would like it only this way. Is She not the One
who is writing all this poetry through the pen of the Acharya?

Now let us go to the rest of the shloka. Though the last word is para-brahma-mahishhI,
earlier he mentions Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati the Consorts of the Trinity of Divines
and then only brings in the ParAshakti that is KAmeshvari, the consort of the turIyaM
that is brahman. Just in the previous shloka (#96), he had said: There are those who have
courted and attained Sarasvati though She is the wife of Brahma. There are all the rich
who are called ShrimAn, because Shri, that is Lakshmi, resides with them, though She
belongs to Lord Vishnu. But nobody can fault You as having deserted your husband.
Therefore You are the greatest in chastity! There is an implied let-down here of Sarasvati
and Lakshmi. The Acharya clears himself of this let-down, in the present shloka #97. The
Teacher of advaita that he is, he cannot afford to make distinctions between deities. He is
the one who gave all importance to the name of Sarasvati, by creating ShAradA Pitham and
Sringeri where all the worship is for ShAradambAl. The dasha-nAmi classification of
renunciates has two of the categories named as Sarasvati and BhArati; note that no other
deity gets into the names of the dashanAmis. In the same way, he was the one who
composed the famous kanaka-dhAra-stavaM on Lakshmi. In fact it was his first
composition!

So the very first thought of the shloka is to clear any distinction between deities. It is to
ambaa he says You are the One who is known as Sarasvati the Goddess of Speech, and
You are the One who is also known as Mother Lakshmi. This is not a casual statement
from him, says he. The knowers of the Vedas themselves say so (AgamavidaH AhuH), he
adds humbly. And then it is You who is also Parvati, the wife of Rudra. All are
parAshakti. And this is nothing but advaita. And this advaita prompts him to mention the
turIyam, the Fourth.

According to ShAkta philosophy and also according to Shaivam, there are Divinities for
the Five Cosmic Functions. The Absolute Truth is beyond. Not like this in advaita. Vedic
authentication of advaita comes from Mandukya Upanishad. The dream state of every jIva
is Creation, the waking state is Sthiti (Sustenation) and the sleeping state is Dissolution; and
that which is still awake even in that sleep state is the Fourth, that is brahman. In the
same strain, in this shloka, the Acharya goes to the turIyaM after mentioning the three
shaktis of the Trinity; he does not go to the other two of the cosmic functions.

The Shakti of brahman is not specially talked about by him in advaita. Nor can we say it
is never talked about. Right in the commentary of the very first sUtra, in Brahma-sutra-
bhAshhya, The Acharya, detailing the lakshaNa of brahman in the words nitya-shuddha-
buddha-mukta-svabhAvaM , he adds sarvajnaM; by this addition it is therefore accepted
that this One (ekaM) also admits of sarvaM ( a multiplicity) and all that is known by
This. Later, more explicitly, he adds another lakshaNa: sarva-shakti-samanvitaM
(possessing all powers). Further in the commentary on II-1-30, sarvopetA ca tad-
darshanAt, the duality status is recognised and he says brahman has a varied shakti-yoga.
Here shakti-yoga means that which coeexists with shakti. This is what becomes the para-
brahma-mahishhI in the language of ShAktaM, as in this shloka of Soundaryalahari.

One direct disciple of the Acharya was SarvajnAtman. He was the last disciple. He is one
of the leading exponents of advaita. Listen to him in Samkshhepa-ShArIrakaM III-228,
229. In Shuddha-advaita there is nothing like Shakti, leelaa or creation. However, even for
those with such faith, there is a place for karma and upAsanA. Seen from that vyavahAra
perspective, the cit (Brahman, Consciousness) takes a role of shakti and with its inert
mAya-avidyA power, creates the universe. Yet, in the advaita works of the Acharya the
aim is not to direct attention to this dance of Shakti. Without giving any importance to
Brahma-shakti, he always discards creation as the work of mAyA and calls on us to think of
the turiya-brahman beyond. Mostly he does not even refer to the shakti or energy that is
beyond a gender specification. When that is so, what to talk of Her as the patni of
brahman!

But the same Acharya, the teacher of brahma-vidyA, now talks as the teacher of Shri Vidya
and shows the way to those who have a taste in this direction. And the way is KAmeshvari,
the para-brahma-mahishhI. The Shri Vidya tantra also has the same aim as advaita-
sAyujyaM. Thus he combines the turIya at the goal of the jnAna path of advaita and the
Shiva-Shakti concept in the Bhakti path.

Incidentally when he says turIyA in the feminine, not only does that mean the parAshakti
beyond the three of Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati, it also means that turIyA is the patni
of the turIyaM that is brahman.

Notice that there is a unification of advaita Vedanta with ShAktam here. The parAshakti of
the ShAkta philosophy is identified with the mAyA of advaita Vedanta. When it is spoken of
as duradhigama-nissIma-mahimA (of unfathomable and boundless glory) the language is
of ShAktam. For in advaita mAyA is considered to be tuchhaM and therefore to be
discarded as an incomprehensible anirvacanIyaM. But here it is the glorious parAshakti!

Our Acharya is matchless when it comes to his role as a spiritual teacher. In
Soundaryalahari he has talked both advaita and Shri Vidya and has made a beautiful
symbiosis of the two philosophies so as to be palatable, enjoyable and adaptible to both the
Vedantins and the Shri Vidya followers. And this has been possible because, as I have told
you in the beginning, Shri Vidya is nearest to advaita, among all schools of thought.

In the beginning he talked about the capability of Shakti making the first prompting that
makes Him move. And now at the end he makes the same Shakti as the prime mover of
everything in the universe: vishvam bhramayasi. Naturally this compering and revolving
includes all the motion of the universe. Krishna in the Gita talked only of the movement of
the living when He said: bhrAmayan sarva-bhUtAni. By that He meant only the
movement of the minds of living beings. But here the Acharya has included the movement
of not only the living (cetana) but also of the non-living (acetana), by the use of the word
vishvaM.

This mAyA or parAShakti that makes both the living and the non-living dance to Her
tunes, is the same one who as Mother Goddess graces all of us not only with everything
mundane but finally the very Bliss of brahman ( parAnanda-rasaM). This is the content
of Shloka 99.

80
(Digest of pp.1295 -1306 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

sarasvatyA lakshhmyA vidhi-hari-sapatno viharate
rateH pAtivratyaM shithilayati ramyeNa vapushhA/
ciraM jIvan-neva kshhapita-pashu-pAsha-vyatikaraH
parAnandAbhikhyaM rasayati rasaM tvad-bhajanavAn // 99//

The modesty of our Acharya is well-known. It is going to exhibit itself again in the next
shloka #100 where he says, in winding up the stotra, that nothing is his, it is all ambaals
work. So he does not give any phala-shruti (a list of what one achieves by reading this
stotra; phala means fruit, consequence, reward) as is usual with all devotional
compositions. Instead, he gives, in this shloka #99, a different form of phala-shruti, wherein
he says what an upAsana of ambaal would give a devotee (tvad-bhajanaVAn, meaning, one
who propitiates You), and thus indirectly hinting to us something like a phala-shruti. The
first part of this stotra is the form of Her in mantra and tantra. The second part is the form
of Her physical beauty. Thereby the whole stotra becomes Her very Self. So the recitation
of this stotra is itself an upAsanA. The reciter is the bhajanavAn.

What does the bhajanavAn get? The only answer could be: What will he not get?
Whether it is of this world (iha) or of the other world (para), he will get everything. One
might say, from a Vedantic point of view, that iha-phala is no phala at all. But who has
that kind of maturity that does not want mundane rewards of this world? One has to start
from the tastes of this world and move on to discard them only gradually. The movement
from the iha (meaning here, now) to the para (meaning distant, subsequent) has
to go from stage to stage in the natural course of ones evolution. It is in this context that
this shloka details both the iha-phala and the para-phala as rewards for the upAsaka.
Both the kinds of rewards may be put together under four heads: Knowledge, Wealth,
Beauty, Life. Of these the first one goes along with both iha and para.

Knowledge is obtained by Learning. The Goddess of Learning is Sarasvati. But ambaal
Herself gives all that is given by Sarasvati to such an extent that even Brahma, the
Creator, is envious of such a devotee who has got all the learning that Sarasvati can bestow.
Brahma the Creator, the consort of Sarasvati, was all along thinking that he was the sole
beneficiary of Sarasvatis favours. Remember that Brahma with his four faces always
chanting the four vedas is the repository of all knowledge. Still he feels that the devotee
who is favoured by ambaal with all that Sarasvati has ever given Him, is a kind of
competitor to Him vis-a-vis Sarasvati. How come, this human devotee of ambaaL has
more favours of the Sarasvati-type than what I myself have! is the Creators feeling. This
is part of the first line of the shloka. SarasvatyA vidhi-sapatno viharate.

The other part of the first line lakshhmyA hari-sapatno viharate says the same thing of
Vishnu, whose consort is Lakshmi. Again , ambaals Grace gives Her upAsaka, all favours
of the Lakshmi type meaning, wealth and prosperity -- that Vishnu Himself is envious!

The Acharya mentions Sarasvati before Lakshmi. In other words, he talks of Knowledge
before Wealth. If the choice is given to us we might want to put Wealth before Knowledge.
I am sure that if God were to suddenly appear before us and ask us what we want, most of
us nay, almost all of us would ask for wealth, as our first priority. Wealth is the one
thing that never satiates the human mind.

Certainly, Knowledge, Wealth, and Beauty are all desired by every one. But it is Wealth
that gets the first seat in this. There is an interesting irony here. As far as wisdom and
knowledge are concerned, none of us would call oneself unwise or unknowing. Even if we
do not know we usually like to pose as one who knows! We dont take extraordinary efforts
to make an improvement to our real knowledge. The same story with Beauty. None of us
would like to be told that there is no beauty in us. And we would not like others also to
think of us otherwise. In the case of Knowledge we may be slack in making efforts to
improve. But in the case of Beauty every one of us takes elaborate pains to improve our
presentation and appearance. This is the story with Knowledge and Beauty.

On the other hand, in the case of wealth, we all behave differently, almost contrarily. We
may have wealth but we would not like other people to know about it. Always we make a
plea for our need to have more and we go about taking that posture. In the case of
Knowledge and Beauty, we pose as if we have them even if we do not have them. In the case
of Wealth it is the opposite! This is the irony, which clearly establishes that, among the
three, Wealth is our first preference.

But our Acharya mentions Knowledge first and then only Wealth. This only shows his
infinite concern for us. However much he may know our minds and their predeliction for
wealth in preference to knowledge, he wants to do good to us by influencing us in favour of
the one thing that he knows will only do good to us. Because if wealth is accrued before the
wisdom to use that wealth properly, there is every chance that such wealth will be lost in no
time. His thinking goes along with Taittiriyopanishad where, the prayer is for medhA
(Right knowledge) (1.4.1) and then it says Thereafter (tataH) give me wealth (1.4.2). His
own Bhaja Govindam also emphasizes this in artham-anartham bhAvaya nityaM.

In an earlier shloka (#97) he said You are Sarasvati, You are Lakshmi, Parvati also; and
You are the source of them all, because You are the Queen-Consort of the Absolute
Brahman He did not call Sarasvati or Lakshmi as the Goddess of Learning or the
Goddess of Wealth. Instead He made them the Shaktis corresponding to the sRshhTi
function and the sthiti function. In apposition to the fact that they were the Shaktis
corresponding to Cosmic functions, ambaal was placed as the Universal Shakti integrated
into the parabrahman itself. And thereby She becomes the source of all other Shaktis. So the
Learning and Wealth which are the domains of Sarasvati and Lakshmi, have their original
source in ambaal. Naturally, by propitiating ambaal, the other two also are obtained.

And thirdly, ambaal is the original source of Power for the God of Love, namely KAma. In
fact Her own name is KAmeshvari, KAmAkshhI and KAmakoTi. It is that KAma who was
reinstated by her by being given a new life. It is he who reigns over the third fundamental
desire of man, namely, Beauty. That is why when somebody possesses all the beauty that
we can think of, we say the person is a Manmatha in physical form. The stotra that talks
predominantly of the soundarya (beauty) of ambaal, is now said to give the beauty that
man desires. In the case of Sarasvati and Lakshmi, they were feminine; so it was said (in
the first line) that a devotee of ambaal gets knowledge (Sarasvatis gift) and wealth
(Lakshmis gift) in such abundance that their own husbands were envious of the recipient.
Now Manmatha is male and so when his bounty of beauty is bestowed on the devotee due to
ambaals Grace, his own wife Rati, becomes suspicious of the identity of the recipient
whether he is Manmatha himself! This is the content of the second line of the shloka.

Well, Knowledge, Wealth and Beauty all three have been obtained. Are these enough?
What if the recipient does not live long? Then that itself will negate everything else! That is
why all our scriptures include in their benedictions, dIrghAyuH as the first blessing.
Without long life and the implied good health, everything else is of no value.

And this is what is promised in the third line of the shloka. This is the most (materially)
significant benefit to the upAsaka. ciraM jIvanneva says the shloka. But as one goes on in
ones life, living long, in due time he gets into the thought process: All these days I have
obtained everything of value in this world (iha) in terms of knoledge, wealth and beauty,
- all by ambaals Grace. Let me hereafter work through the same upAsanA of ambaal, for
betterment of my after-life. And then, what happens, is said in the third and fourth line of
the shloka:

ciraM jIvanneva kshhapita-pashu-pAsha-vyatikaraH
parAnandA-bhikhyaM rasayati rasaM tvad-bhajanavAn

He who propitiates You, namely Your upAsaka, lives long, is able to discard the pashu-
pAsha knot and enjoys the infinite bliss of BrahmAnanada.

So long as a JIva revolves in the quagmire of the senses and their natural attractions, the
JIva is nothing but an animal (pashu). That is when the bond of karma anchors him to the
concept of janma (birth and death). It is that bond that is called pAshaM. It makes him
revolve again and again in the samsAra cycle. It is the sword of jnAna that cuts it asunder.
And then he is no more a pashu. He becomes Shiva, the pashu-pati (the Lord of the pashu).
The parAnandaM supreme bliss of advaita is then the essence (rasa) of his experience.
Note that the Acharya uses his words very carefully. He does not say he experiences that
rasa. If he wanted to say so he would have used the words pibati (drinks, consumes) or
AsvAdayati (tastes). But he has put in the word rasayati meaning, he becomes the rasa
(essence) himself and it is that becoming that is termed as rasayati. In other words there is
no duality of the experiencer and the experienced. There is only one rasa. It is advaitam!

The great teacher of advaita uses two concepts of what is going to develop in future as the
great Shaiva siddhanta. This shows his universality of outlook. Also, all along he has been
propagating Soundaryalahari according to the ShAkta schools of thought. Accordingly
Shakti was placed in the dominant position. But when he ends the stotra he raises Shiva to
dominance and effortlessly throws in two important concepts -- namely pashu and
pAsha -- of the Shaiva canon.
-------------------------------

The flood of beauty of Mother Goddess is now terminating. All floods have to terminate in
a sea or ocean. This flood (lahari) of words has now to merge in the ocean of shabda-
brahman. The Acharya uses the word salila-nidhi which is the same as jala-nidhi that
means ocean.

pradIpa-jvAlAbhir-divasakara-nIrAjana-vidhiH
sudhA-sUtesh-candropala-jala-lavair-arghya-racanA /
svakIyair-ambhobhiH salila-nidhi-sauhitya-karaNaM
tvadIyAbhir-vAgbhis-tava janani vAcAM stutir-iyaM // 100 //

vAcAM janani: Oh Mother who generated Speech,
divasakara-nIrAjana-vidhiH : (just as one does) the light-waving ritual to the Sun-God
pradIpa-jvAlAbhiH : by the flames of a lamp,
arghya-racanA : (just as) the offering of the arghya ritual
sudhA-sUteH : to the moon
candropala-jala-lavaiH : by the water drops that ooze out of the moonstone in contact with
moonlight,
salila-nidhi-sauhitya-karaNaM : (just as) offering ritual bathing to the ocean
svakIyaiH ambhobhiH : by its own water,
tava iyaM stutiH : (so also is) this stotra on You
tvadIyAbhiH vAgbhiH : composed of Thine own words.

An elaborate explanation is needed for this final shloka.

81
(Digest of pp.1307 - 1321 of Deivathin Kural, 6
th
volume, 4
th
imprn.)

(Shloka 100 Continued).
The great Acharya always does something different from other poets. Usually they all end
their work with a phala-shruti a listing of all the good things that will accrue by the
reading, recitation and repetition of the stotra just finished. Here our author is himself a
unique combination of the deity of the stotra and Her own Lord. So we would expect the
last shloka of the stotra to be a magnificent phala-shruti that soars far higher than the
ordinary. But what do we find?

Instead of trying to soar higher, he actually makes himself the humblest of the humble.
Why talk of phala-shruti for such an apology of a stotra, that has just been done by Her
Grace? What accrues to whomsoever that worships Her has already been told in shloka
#99. Let me stop there. Whatever happens in the world, whether highly commendable or
not, all that is founded on Her Will. If everything turns out to be commendable then that
may not contribute to the variety that is the spice of Her leela. That is why perhaps She
encourages and prompts some low-level achievements also, for the very purpose of
highlighting really higher ones! This stotra is one of such promptings of Hers. She is the
Source of everything and so this is also Her child. And I am placing Her child at Her own
feet. This is the spirit of the final shloka #100. In shloka #27 the Acharya laid himself at
Her feet that was his Atma-samarpaNaM. Now he is placing this child of Hers at Her own
divine feet.

Thus he does not show it off as something worthy of being submitted to Her as an offering.
He thinks that it is absurd to make such a submission. This absurdity reminds him of three
other absurdities that are current in the world. And this is what makes the final shloka.

The word divasa-kara means one who produces the day (divasa), therefore, the Sun.
When a deity in the form of an idol of worship is located in the innermost sanctity of a
garbha-griha in a temple then a waving of camphor flame makes sense because it really
lights up the dark sanctum sanctorum and brightens up the deity with all its decorations.
But what can a poor camphor flame do to brilliant sunlight? In fact it is the other way. The
brilliance of sunlight actually dampens any light that may be emanating from the camphor
flame! The devi is the fullest Effulgence of the Shakti that is Speech (Vak). Before that
Light, what can this poor stotra of mine do in terms of lighting up anything? This is the
attitude in which the Acharya is submitting his work at Her feet and compares his action to
the absurd action of lighting up camphor and showing it as an offering to the Sun-God!

Every time he talks of the hot Sun he immediately refers to the cold moon! Here also the
second example of absurdity (2
nd
line of the shloka) is about the moon. Worship is being
done to the Moon-God. In any ritual worship, there are usually three offerings by means of
water. One is pAdyaM (that which is offered for washing the feet). The second is
arghyaM (that which is offered in the hands). The third is AcamanIyaM (that which is
offered to be taken in by the mouth). Technically, arghyaM means that which is valued
most. Therefore that formality has a special value. Now in one such pUjA that the
Acharya might have witnessed, probably something like the following took place.

There are two gem-stones talked about in ancient literature. They are Moon-stone and
Sun-stone. Probably these were there in ancient times and are now extinct. The sunstone
draws into itself the rays of the Sun and radiates heat. Almost like a concentration through
a lens. The moonstone is just the opposite. It absorbs moonlight into itself and pours out
cool water! Now what some one did in the worship of the Moon was to take that water
poured out by the moonstone and offer it to the Moon-God as an arghyaM! candra-
upala is moonstone. upala is stone. And the moon itself is called sudhAsUti because
moon is said to pour out nectar by its light. sudhA is nectar.

There is a gradation of absurdities in the two absurdities cited. Camphor has an
independent existence outside of the Sun. The only dependence of camphor on the Sun may
be that camphor may not light up if it is continuously exposed to an absence of any light or
heat. On the other hand, the case of the moonstone pouring out water is totally dependent
on the moon, because it is the moonlight that makes it give out water. Thus the absurdity
of using the water from the moonstone to offer arghyaM to the Moon is a greater absurdity
than the camphor flame being shown to the Sun!.

The third absurdity (from the third line of the shloka) is still more absurd. And the
Acharya must have witnessed it many a time because he has travelled from coast to coast in
the entire country. For example he must have seen it in Rameshvaram where people dip in
the Ocean and offer worship to the Ocean-God Varuna. Any ritual worship has, as one of
its sixteen formalities, a ritual bathing, called abhishhekaM. How does one do
abhishhekaM to the ocean? Is it not funny? Abhishhekam to the Ocean! But they all do
it. The Acharya himself must have done it when he went to Rameshvaram. What do they
do? They take some drops of water from the ocean itself and sprinkle it on the ocean with
the mantra beginning with : Apo-hishhTA mayo bhuvaH. (Oh Water! You are conferring
bliss) ..... If millions of people over the centuries have done this kind of worship of
Varuna during their bath in the ocean, then why cant I, says the Acharya, take a few
words from that ocean of Vak (Speech) and offer it to Herself, the Goddess of all Speech?.

The word sauhityaM in the third line of the shloka, is generally taken to mean the ritual
act of tarpanaM (offering a little palmful of water) but the word actually means that
which is most beneficial or pleasant. In our country which is generally hot, the most
pleasant thing is to give a bath. So I extended its meaning to abhishekam or bath, in the
pUjA to the Ocean. Anyway it increases the intensity of the absurdity still further and so
suits the context well!

Look at the gradation among the three examples. The Sun and Camphor are two distinct
entities. The water oozing out of the moonstone gem, though caused by moonlight, still is
different from the moon. But in the case of water being taken out of the sea and being
offered to that sea of water itself, there is no medium involved; the water is the same. So the
third example brings you to the peak of absurdity. And this quite naturally fits with the
attitude of the Acharya when he thinks that what he has composed is nothing but the words
of ambaal Herself. She is addressed as vAcAm janani -- meaning, the origin, the source, of
everything that has anything to do with Speech -- in the fourth line. What has been done
is what You Yourself have composed in Your own words. It is all Yours. There is nothing
of mine there. This is how the Acharya makes a complete surrender. He does not even use
the words samarpaNaM or arpaNaM meaning dedication. But it is clear that he has
offered his entire self to the Goddess. The jIvAtmA has totally negated itself and there is
only the paramAtmA thereafter. By means of the bhakti stotra of Soundaryalahari the
Acharya has shown us what it is to reach the Self-Realisation of Oneness with the Ultimate.

And, most of all, he shows to us the peak of modesty. vidyA-vinaya-sampanna say our
ShAstras. Here is the colossal example of vidyA (Learning) and vinaya (Modesty). If nothing
else, we should learn this from the Acharya. His advaita lesson may not penetrate into our
head. But this lesson in modesty that he teaches us should. Any time we feel heavy in our
head, the thought must come: Whatever I think I am is Her Grace. And that thought will
help us lighten the burden of I-ness in the head. Even the inhaling breath is given by Her; it
is Hers. If only it had been ours we would never die!

If we thus start living as an instrument in the hands of ambaal, it will lead us to an advaita
state of merging in Her. This lesson of being nothing but an instrument in Her hands and
negating oneself as the doer is what this shloka tells us as the final teaching of all brahma-
vidyA. Because it is this lesson and the consequent living of it (abhyAsa) that takes us on
to an advaita-anubhava (experience of non-duality). This is the phala-shruti that is unsaid
here by the Acharya. It is the phala (reward, fruit) that asks for no phala! Only when there
is a doer there is a phala for the doer. When the doer himself has been negated, there is
no question of phala.

How does one negate and dissolve oneself and be only Her instrument ? Only by thinking
of Her. We do not even know what the Universal parAshakti is like? So thinking of that
parA-shakti is an impossibility. But here in this Soundaryalahari our Acharya has brought
Her to us in a beautiful form from head to foot. Her form itself is nothing but Beauty and
he has added beauty to it by his beautiful play of words. Looking at, and thinking about,
that beauty from head to foot, in all the details that the Acharya has brought to us, is the
only antidote for the ego in which we are all steeped in. She has blessed us all with our
intellects and with the facility to use our speech and mind. Use all this in Her favour as a
decoration. What She gave us, give it back to Her. That will kill our ego. Not only speech,
but any art or science that we are capable of -- make it as an ornament for Her. In that
attitude of humility every activity of ours will take us up the spiritual ladder. Whatever we
then do will become a sAdhanA to reach Her.

When one thus merges in the flood of Her beauty through these delightful stanzas of
Soundaryalahari, maybe he will himself accrue all those qualities of beauty. Maybe not.
But one thing is certain. In the eyes of the world he will appear to have become so endowed
with all the beauties of the Mother Herself. For he has taken the nectar of Wisdom and the
Milk of Love that flows from Her and so he should naturally be bubbling with that divine
bliss that She has given him.

He might have a bald head. But the world will be attracted to him as if he has the kirITaM
te haimaM (cf. #42) quality! His face may have all kinds of distortions. But others would
gather round him to see his vadana-soundarya-laharI (cf. #44). Maybe he has squint eyes;
but it would be dara-dalita-nIlotpalaM (cf. #57) for the others. His uncouth mouth will
appear to surpass the beauty of vidruma-latA or bimba (# 62). Even when his body is
disproportionate and unattractive, because of the bhakti and Divine Love with which he is
full he would shine so well as to be said: jayati karuNA kAcid-aruNA (cf. #93). Every
movement of his would benefit the rest of the world as to say there is nothing better than
this lakshmI-caraNa-tala-lAkshhA-rasaM or nava-nalina-rAgaM (cf. #71). Every step
that he takes would make us melt in respect; and that is the karaNa-caraNa-shhaT-
caraNaM-type (cf. #90) of jIva which merges in that lotus feet of Hers. Thus one who dips
into the stotra that is Soundaryalahari, would become ultimately a veritable Soundarya-
lahari (flood of beauty)! There is no doubt that, with the blessings of our Acharya, The
Mother of the Universe to whom we bow in prostration, by means of these Soundaryalahri
shlokas, will gradually, but steadily, lead our Atman to become, ultimately, one with that
Ocean of Bliss.!
Concluded.

Thus spake the Paramacharya

Aum Shri Matre namaH / tvadIyAbhir-Angila-vAgbhiH janani idam guror-
bhAshhaNAkhyaM gadya-vyAkhyanam gurvanugrahAt samkshhiptaM samAptam ca / lokAs-
samastAs-sukhino bhavantu // Aum tat sat //
Salutations to The Auspicious Mother. Oh Mother! By the Grace of the Guru (The
Paramacharya), this prose commentary named Discourses of the Guru has now been
summarised and also completed, in words of English which are Your own. May all the
Universes turn out to be happy. Aum tat sat.

Source - http://www.krishnamurthys.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS.html