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प्रसन्नवदनम् ध्यायेत् सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये||
श्रीगुरुभ्योनमः
शिवः शक्तिः कामः क्षितिरथ रविः शीतकिरणः
स्मरॊ हंसः शक्रस्तदनु च परामारहरयः।
अमीहृल्लॆखाभिस्तिसृभिरवसानॆषु घटिता
भजन्तॆ वर्णास्तॆ तव जननि नामावयवताम्॥
(सौन्दर्यलहरि-32)
The first few namas of the Sahasranama Stotra correspond to the gross form of Amma, holding a noose, a goad, a sugarcane bow and flower arrows. The later namas, pertaining to the war between Bhandasura and Amma describing Amma’s army and the war feats bespeak the Para/Supreme Consciousness nature of Amma. The subsequent namas that we are going to read about, refer to a subtle form of Amma.
For any deity, apart from the gross form, we have three more forms, namely subtle (yantra), subtler (mantra) and subtlest (kundalini sakti/energy). Tantras are elaborative procedures described for awakening the subtlest energy with the help of mantras and yantras. यंत्रं मन्त्रमयं प्रॊक्तम् दॆवता मन्त्ररूपिणी (कुलार्णव तंत्र – 6.85) The gross and these three subtle forms of any deity are inseparable. This is evident from the two sets of namas in the Sahasranama Stotram, Sarva-Mantra-Swarupini, Sarva-Yantramtika, Sarva-Tantra-Rupa and Maha-Tantra, Maha-Mantra, Maha-Yantra.
The fourteen namas that we are going to discuss, are grouped into three parts which have a similar structure. The first three namas correspond to the mantra, the next two to the yantra, and the last nine, to the tantra. Let us understand the secret behind this arrangement.
Mananaat traayate iti mantra – A mantra is one that protects the chanter. Mantras are highly secretive and are not to be uttered in public. A Guru, with the utmost compassion, would instruct/initiate (upadesam) an ardent disciple, with appropriate mantra(s). However, our seers who are the wellwishers of mankind, have bestowed upon us with mantra-concealed verses, whereby, just by reciting the sloka, one would receive the benefit of mantrajapa, without initiation.
AdiSankara Bhagavatpada encrypted the Panchadasi in the Soundaryalahari sloka शिवः शक्तिः कामः… The same Panchadasi is given in the following verse of Tripuropanishad.
कामॊयॊनिः कामकला वज्रपाणिर्गुहा हसा मातरिश्वाsभ्रमिंद्रः।
पुनर्गुहा सकला मायया च पूर्च्यॆषा विश्वमाता ss दिविद्या ॥
(त्रिपुरॊपनिषद् – 8)
In this verse, Panchadasi’s fifiteen letters/bijas are concealed in the words काम, यॊनि, कामकल, वज्रपाणि, गुह, ह्-स, मातरिश्व, अभ्रम्, इंद्र, गुह, स-क-ल, माय.
The Panchadasi mantra is split into three parts/kootas, Vagbhava, Kamaraja and Sakti, containing 5, 6, and 4 letters in order. Bhaskararaya encoded these three koota mantras, in the following slokas of Varivasya rahasya.
Vagbhava Kootam:
क्रॊधीशः श्रीकंठारूढः कॊणत्रयम् लक्ष्मीः।
मांसमनुत्तररूढम् वाग्भवकूटम् प्रकीर्तितम् प्रथमम् ॥
Kamaraja Kootam:
शिवहंस ब्रह्म वियच्चक्राः प्रत्यॆकमक्षरारूढाः
द्वैतीयकम् कूटम् कथितम् तत् कामराजकूटम्॥
Sakti Kootam:
शिवतॊवियतॊ मुक्तम् तृतीतमॆव शक्तिकूटाख्यम्
हृल्लॆखानाम् त्रितयम् कूटत्रितयॆपिSयॊज्यमन्तॆ स्यात्॥
(वरिवस्यारहस्यम् - 1.9-11)
Mantra, being the subtler form of a deity, the deity invoked by the mantra and the mantra are the same.
तद्विमर्शस्वभावा हि
सा वाच्या मंत्रदॆवता । (तंत्रलॊकः 16.286)
In the subsequent three namas of the Sahasranama stotra, Vagdevatas present the correspondence between the three kootas of the Panchadasi mantra and the gross form of Amma.
श्रीमद्वाग्भवकूटैकस्वरूपमुखपङ्कजायैनमः
Pranams to Amma who has the Vagbhavakoota of the Panchadasi mantra as Her lotus like face.
कंठाथःकटिपर्यंतमध्यकूटस्वरूपिण्यैनमः
Pranams to Amma who has the Madhyakoota of the Panchadasi mantra as the mid-portion.
शक्तिकूटैकत-आपन्नकट्यथॊबागधारिण्यैनमः
Pranams to Amma who has got the third koota, the Saktikoota of the Panchadasi mantra as Her lower body portion below the waist.
Let us try to understand the Siva-Sakti tattva of these three namas.
मंत्राः वर्णात्मकाः सर्वॆ वर्णाः सर्वॆ शिवात्मकाः (शिवसूत्रविमर्शिनि 2.3)
Letters are the soul of mantras, while Siva is the soul of letters.
The gross form is always perceivable whereas a mantra is secretive. Since it has been said that व्यक्तमम्बामयम् सर्वम् अव्यक्तम् तु महॆश्वरम् all that is manifested is, Amba and unmanifested corresponds to Maheswara. Accordingly, in these three namas, the three kootas correspond to Maheswara and the gross form corresponds to Amma.
Also,
कत्रयम् हद्वयम् चैव शैवॊ भागः प्रकीर्तितः।
शक्त्यक्षराणि शॆषाणि ह्रींकार उभयात्मकः ॥
Three ka-s and two ha-s of the Panchadasi mantra correspond to Siva and the rest to Sakti. Hrim corresponds to both.
According to this, the Vagbhava and Sakti kootas contain only one Siva-akshara while Kamaraja or Madhya koota has three Siva-aksharas. Vagdevatas seem to have indicated the single Siva-akshara in the corresponding namas by using eka (one) in the mantra/Siva part of the namas.
The next two namas relate to the yantra of Amma, namely Sri-yantra/Sri-chakra.
यथा हि सर्वतत्त्वमय शरीरस्य विभक्तत्वगादि सन्तानतन् त्रितयस्य तदा विभागप्रकाशविमर्श विश्रांतिधाम हृदयपदमुच्यतॆ – तथैव भगवतॊ भैरवनाथस्य तदिदम् विभक्ततत्त्वभुवनादिमयम् विश्वरूपम् परामर्शसारम् – पज्चाशद्वर्णमयम् शरीरम् तस्य तदविभाग परामर्शसारमिदम् हृदयम् (परत्रिशिकालघुवृत्तिः – 9th Sloka’s commentary)
The way the shining Consciousness is associated with the corporeal body made up of various combinations of the five fundamental elements, yet not different from it, in a similar way, the mantra of Bhairavanatha is also associated with His Viswaroopa Sarira/Cosmic body of 51 letters, but not different from it.
श्रीचक्रम् शिवयॊर्वपुः
Consciousness – Corporeal body connection is similar to the Sri Vidya mantra- Sri-chakra yantra. Thus, namas containing aatma and kalebara, मूलमंत्रात्मिका, मूलकूटत्रयकळॆबरा together correspond to the Sri Vidya yantra namely, the Sri-chakra with Panchadasi mantra as its soul.
Tantra related namas:
श्रीविद्यॆत्यहमाख्याता श्रीपुरं मॆ पुरं भवॆत्
श्रीचक्रं मॆ भवॆच्चक्रं श्रीक्रमः स्यान्मम क्रमः॥
(त्रिपुरारहस्यम् माहात्म्यखण्डम् – 53.46)
It is said in Tripura Rahasya that, Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari assures MahaLakshmi Devi “I will be addressed as Sri Vidya; Sri Pura will be my city; Sri-chakra will be my Chakra and the tantra (puja-krama) of Sri will be my tantra.”
The Sri Vidya tantra, is the procedure of worshipping Amma with the help of Sri-yantra and Panchadasi mantra. The Sri-yantra, made up of nine avaranas/enclosures, has got nine deities presiding over each enclosure and Sri-tantra involves reverencing of these nine forms in order, MahaTripuraSundari, Tripura-amba, Tripura-Siddhamba, Tripura-Malini, Tripura-Sri, Tripura-Vasini, Tripura-Sundari, Tripuresi and Tripura, corresponding to the nine avaranas of the Sri-chakra (Brahmanda Purana 3.36).
त्रिकॊणम् मंडलम् चास्यास्त्रिपुरम् तु त्रिरॆखकम्
मंत्रम् तु अक्षरम् ज्ञॆयम् रूपम् त्रयम् पुनः
त्रिविधा कुण्डलीशक्तिस्त्रिदॆवानाम् च सृष्टयॆ
सर्वम् त्रयम् त्रयम् यस्मात् त्रिपुरा तॆन सा स्मृता ॥
(कालिकापुराणम् – 63.55-57)
Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari: Ever existing blissful Supreme Consciousness (ParamBrahma)
Tripura-Amba: Contemplates Tripura’s creation
Tripura-Siddhamba: Sets up stage (Siddham) for the Tripuras; creation of eight fundamental prakritis
Tripura-Malini: Symbolic of the orderliness of Tripuras
Tripura-Sri: Symbolic of the opulence of Tripuras
Tripura-vasini: Resides in Tripuras
Tripura-Sundari: Lady of the Tripuras
Tripura-Isi: Rules over the Tripuras
Tripura: She Herself becomes the Tripuras, enjoying the Kulamrita
The next nine namas of the Sahasranama stotra, correspond respectively, to the nine Chakra-nayikas, worshipped during the Sri-Chakra archana. Let us see the correspondence between these nine namas of the stotra and the nine chakresis. It may be noted that Vagdevatas listed them in the Samhara krama, the order of involution.
It may be noted that all the nine names of the presiding deities (Chakranayikas) of avaranas of the Sri-chakra, symbolic of three cities (Tripuras), contain Tripura. Vagdevatas however, grouped them according to the trika tradition, namely apara, parapara and para. Amma’s names associated with the avaranas from Trailokya mohana chakra up to Antardasara contain kula while those corresponding to the Bindu and Trikona chakras, contain samaya. What are these kula and samaya?
जीवः प्रकृति तत्त्वम् च दिक्कालाकाशमॆवच
क्षित्यप्तॆजॊवायवश्च कुलमित्यभिदीयतॆ ॥ (महानिर्वाणतंत्रम् – 7.97)
Jiva, Prakruti, directions (dik), time and five elements (Ether, Sky, Fire, Water and Eath) are known as kula. Thus, this kula induces a sense of duality.
As we have already observed in the microcosmic context, the chakras starting from Muladhara, upto Ajna, are associated with the apara tattvas and these tattvas are the root cause of duality. Since Sri-chakra and corporeal body are structurally similar, this, in turn, means, chakras starting from the Bhupura to Antardasara, correspond to the apara tattvas. This is the reason behind Vagdevatas using Kula for the namas associated with these chakras.
The liberation signifying the two para tattvas namely, Siva-Sakti conjoined and Siva-Sakti in complete unison, correspond to Samaya. This is the reason behind Vagdevatas using Samaya for the last two Chakranayikas.
Parapara tattva, the middle tattva is associated with the Lalata chakra. This tattva, being in between apara and para tattvas, signifies a state beyond duality, but still does not correspond to the samaya state, a state of eternal unison with the Supreme Consciousness.
Now, let us look at the namas (in the order of involution):
कुल-अमृत-ऎक-रसिका – One who relishes only the nectar flowing in the path of kula
Bhupura/Muladhara - Trailokya Mohana Chakra; Chakreswari – Tripura
कुलसंकॆतपालिनी – Kula sanketa /Tripura; Paalini - ruler
One who rules over kula and its constituents
Shodasa dala pamda/Swadhishtana - Sarvasaparipuraka Chakra; Chakreswari – Tripuresi
कुलाङ्गना – kula/Tripura; angana – sundari
Ashtadala padma /Manipuraka – Sarva samkshobhini Chakra; Chakreswari – Tripura Sundari
कुलांतस्था – Kula/Tripura; amtastha – one who lives in
Chaturdasara /Anahata – Sarva saubhagya-dayaka Chakra; Chakreswari – Tripura vasini
कौलिनी – Deity associated with Kula/Tripuras
Bahirdasara /Visuddhi – Sarvaartha-sadhaka Chakra; Chakreswari – TripuraSri
कुलयॊगिनी – Kula/Tripura Yogini-union/connection
As we have observed, Kula means a group. Kula in the present context refers to the chakras/avaranas of the body/Sri-chakra. In general, there is no order or relatonship associated with the members of a group. However, the chakras/avaranas of Sri-chakra are ordered/connected. This nama having Yogini along with kula, refers to the binding/connection between the chakras. As Kulayogini, Amma maintains the order of these chakras/Tripuras. This nama corresponds to the Antardasara Chakreswari Tripura Malini, because mala or chain means order/connection.
Antardasara /Ajna – Sarva rakshakara Chakra; Chakreswari – Tripura Malini
अकुला – One who is devoid of Kula
As observed earlier, kula induces a sense of duality. In akula state, all the apara tattvas of the aspirant, merge into eight fundamental tattvas, corresponding to a state which is beyond duality. An aspirant, either could attain liberation by realizing the higher para tattva with sustained practice or fall onto the lower plane of apara tattvas, due to lack of control.
Ashtakona/Lalata – Sarva rogahara Chakra; Chakreswari – Tripura Siddhamba
समयांतस्था – One who is in Samaya; One who is ever conjoined with Lord Siva.
Trikona /Sahasrara – Sarva siddhiprada Chakra; Chakreswari – Tripuramba
समयाचारतत्परा – One who is an ardent follower of Samaya tradition; One who is ever in the blissful conjugation of Lord Siva
Bindu/Brahmarandhra– Sarva anandamaya Chakra; Chakreswari – Maha Tripura Sundari
नित्यम् यस्तव मातृकाक्षरसखीम् सौभाग्यविद्याम् जपॆत्
संपूज्याखिल चक्रराजनिलयाम् सायंतनाग्निप्रभाम्।
कामाख्यम् शिवनाम तत्त्वमुभयम् व्याप्यात्मना सर्वतॊ
दीव्यन्तीम् इय तस्य सिद्धिः अचिरात् स्यात् त्वत्स्वरूपैकता॥
(दॆवीमहिम्नस्तवम् -15)
Amma not only grants wishes but also bestows liberation to those aspirants who worship Her reigning the Sri-chakra with the Saubhagya Vidya (Panchadasi) mantra.
Praying LalitaMahaTripuraSundari,
श्रीमात्रेनमः
