Saundaryalaharī (11-20)

 Verse 11

चतुर्भिः श्रीकण्ठैः शिवयुवतिभिः पञ्चभिरपि
प्रभिन्नाभिः शंभोर्नवभिरपि मूलप्रकृतिभिः।
चतुश्चत्वारिंशद्वसुदलकलाश्रत्रिवलयत्रिरेखाभिः
सार्धं तव शरणकोणाः परिणताः॥

caturbhiḥ śrīkaṇṭhaiḥ śivayuvatibhiḥ pañcabhirapi
prabhinnābhiḥ śaṁbhornavabhirapi mūlaprakṛtibhiḥ|
catuścatvāriṁśadvasudalakalāśratrivalayatrirekhābhiḥ
sārdhaṁ tava śaraṇakoṇāḥ pariṇatāḥ||

caturbhiḥ śrīkaṇṭhaiḥ - four triangles of Śiva; śivayuvatibhiḥ - triangles of Śakti; pañcabhirapi – five in number; prabhinnābhiḥ- entirely different; śaṁbho – Śiva; navabhirapi mūlaprakṛtibhiḥ - thus making the nine basic triangles; catuścatvāriṁśad – forty four; vasudalakalāśra – eight and sixteen petals; trivalaya – three circles; trirekhābhiḥ - three lines; sārdhaṁ - adding up; tava – Your; śaraṇakoṇāḥ pariṇatāḥ - become Your triangular Abode.

“Four triangles of Śiva, five triangles of Śakti, eight and sixteen petals, three circles and three lines thus making forty four in number form Your Abode.”

This verse explains Śri Cakra.  Śri Cakra is made up of forty four triangles. There are four upward facing triangles known as Śiva chakras and five downward facing triangles known as Śakti chakras and the intersection of these nine triangles form 44 triangles. The inner most triangle is the bindu. When bindu is not considered as a triangle, then there will be only 43 triangles with the bindu in the center.

Encircling these 44 triangles, there are two lotuses. The inner lotus has eight petals and the outer lotus has 16 petals. Outside these lotuses there are three circles and outside these three circles, there are three lines with openings on the four sides. These four openings represent entry and exit points of Śrī Cakra. Realization happens when one enters through these four openings. Creation happens when one exits through these four openings. The former is movement towards Her and the latter is movement away from Her.

One has to enter the Śrī Cakra from the outermost square.  All the three squares put together is known as trailokaya-mohana that deludes the three stages of consciousness.  This is the first enclosure of Śrī Cakra.  This enclosure is ruled by Tripurā Devi.  Each āvaraṇa, known as enclosure is ruled by a presiding deity and has an independent yogini.  Yogini of the first āvaraṇa is known as prakaṭa yogini.  In the outermost walls there are ten goddesses representing ten siddhi-s (super human powers), in the middle wall, there are aṣṭa māta-s (eight devi-s like Brāhmī, Vārāhi, etc).  Their spouses are the aṣṭa Bhairava-s (Asitāñga, Ruru, etc).  In the inner wall there are ten goddesses representing the ten mudra-s (hand gestures - Lalitā Sahasranāma 977) like, yoni mudra (Lalitā Sahasranāma 982), trikhaṇḍā (Lalitā Sahasranāma 983), etc. Therefore, in the first enclosure there are 10 + 8 + 10 = 28 goddesses.  Entry into Śrī Cakra is to be made from the opening just below the apex of the innermost triangle, facing the worshipper.  After worshipping all the twenty eight goddesses and after obtaining permission from them, one has to move to the next enclosure. 

The second enclosure is known as sarvāśa-pari-pūraka that enlivens the spiritual hopes of the practitioner. This enclosure is ruled by Tripureśī and the yogini for this enclosure is Gupta yogini.  The second enclosure is the sixteen petal lotus inside the three circles and no worship takes place in the three circles. Each of the sixteen petals is ruled by a goddess and each petal has one vowel of Sanskrit (Sanskrit has sixteen vowels). After worshipping these sixteen goddesses and after obtaining permission from them, one has to proceed to the next enclosure. 

The third enclosure is known as sarva-saṁkṣobhaṇa that crusades for spiritual aspirations. This is the eight petal lotus.  The presiding deity of this enclosure is Tripurasundarī and the yogini is Guptatara yogini.  There are eight goddesses in each of the petals. After worshipping them and after obtaining permission from them, one has to enter the first set of triangles of Śrī Cakra. 

The fourth enclosure is known as sarva-saubhāgya-dāyaka, which provides all spiritual and material comforts.  It has fourteen triangles and presided over by Tripuravāsinī.  The concerned yogini is Saṁpradāya yogini.  Each petal is ruled by a goddess.  After worshipping them and after obtaining permission from them, one has to proceed to the next enclosure.  

The fifth enclosure is known as sarvārtha-sādhaka, which makes the worshipper spiritually prosper and has ten triangles.  The presiding deity is Tripurāśrī and the concerned yogini is kulottīrṇa-yogini. Each triangle is presided over by a goddess. After worshipping them and after obtaining permission from them one has to proceed to the next covering.

The sixth āvaraṇa has again ten triangles and is known as sarva-rakṣākara cakra, which protects the worshipper from the inflictions of saṃsāra. This enclosure is known as inner ten triangles and the previous triangle is known as exterior ten triangles. This āvaraṇa is presided over by Tripuramālinī and the yogini is Nigarbha Yogini.  Each of the triangles is presided over by a goddess.  After worshipping them and after their permission, one has to proceed to the next enclosure. 

The seventh āvaraṇa is sarva-roga-hara cakra the remover of all mental afflictions. It has eight triangles also known as vasu koṇa representing the eight vasu-s (according to Bṛhadāraṇayaka Upaniṣad (III.ix.) aṣṭa vasu-s or eight Vasu-s are Āpa, the water; Dhruva, the pole-star; Soma, the Moon;  Dhava or Dhara;  Anila, the Wind;   Anala or Pāvaka, the fire;  Pratyusha, the dawn; and Prabhāsa, the light).  The presiding deity is Tripurāsiddhā and the yogini is Rahasya yogini.  Each of the triangles is presided over by a Vāc Devi, the authors of this Sahasranāma.  Vāmakeśvarīmatam (verses 60-63) says that all the Sanskrit alphabets are ruled by these eight Vāc Devi-s.  Apart from what is said in the above scripture, all the triangles and lotus petals are inscribed with Sanskrit alphabets.  This triangle is just outside the inner most triangle (Lalitā Sahasranāma 986). After worshipping these eight goddesses, one proceeds to worship the armouries of Lalitāmbikā.

The eighth enclosure is just outside the central bindu which is the innermost triangle. This is where the spiritual attainments begin and culminate at the bindu within. Outside this triangle, the weaponries of Lalitāmbikā are placed. The weapons are described in Lalitā Sahasranāma 8, 9, 10 and 11. After worshipping Her weaponries, one enters the eighth enclosure, known as sarva siddhi pradhā and is ruled by Tripurāmbā and the concerned yogini is Atirahasya yogini. There are three goddesses who are worshipped at the three corners of the triangle and Lalitāmbikā is worshipped at the central point, the bindu.

Outside this inner most triangle the fifteen tithi nitya devi-s are worshipped.  Each tithi represents one lunar day.  One’s guru lineage is also worshipped in three parallel lines drawn outside the upper portion of the inner most triangle. In this place, one’s guru, guru’s guru and guru’s guru’s guru are worshipped.  Along with them several celebrated gurus are also worshipped.  Worshipping guru is an important aspect of Śrī vidyā cult. 

The ninth enclosure is the bindu.  This is known as ‘sarvānanda-maya cakra’, the ultimate bliss, where self unites with ever existing and omnipresent Self (the Brahman) here. This is presided by Śrī Mahā Tripurasundarī also known through various other names such as Lalitāmbikā, Rājarājeśvarī, Mahā Kāmeśvarī, etc who is the ultimate Goddess of this universe, the Supreme Mother. The concerned yogini is Parāparāti rahasya yogini (Parāparāti rahasya means the supreme secret). Beyond this point, those who are not initiated into ṣodaśī cannot proceed.  Those who are initiated into ṣodaśī are blessed to worship Her again at the bindu with Her ultimate mantra and trikhanda mudra. This cakra or the enclosure or āvaraṇa is the highly secretive in nature, where the conjugation of prakāśa and vimarśa (Śiva and Śaktī) form of creation takes place.  Here Śaktī sits on the left lap of Śiva and They together shower Their grace on those who seek Them.

When a practitioner is afflicted with worldly ties, known as saṃsāra, enters Śrī Cakra, he is gradually endowed with knowledge and by the time he reaches the supreme bindu, he is totally transformed. The bindu stands for both creation and absorption.  A practitioner stands totally absorbed when he enters the bindu from the first āvaraṇa.  If an absorbed practitioner again indulges in saṃsāra, he is re-created making his exit from the bindu to the outermost cakra. 

Totally, one hundred and thirteen goddesses are worshipped in Śrī Cakra. Śrī Cakra is enclosed by Śrī Nagara, where exists twenty five forts.  In between the forts there are huge places where all the other gods and goddesses reside.  The nine coverings of Śrī Cakra are compared to six psychical cakra-s beginning from mūlādhāra to ājñā, sahasrāra, kula sahasrāra and akula sahasrāra. Śrī Cakra is not a mere geometrical representation of creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealing and re-creation; it is the known expression of evolutionary cosmology which is superimposed on a miniscule existence of a human being.  Scriptures point out that human body is just a replica of Śrī Cakra.

Generally, Śrī Cakra is compared to the moon, which has sixteen phases known as kalā with 27 constellations. If we add 16 with 27, the result is 43, which is the number of triangles in Śrī Cakra. Bindu is not included here. Bindu is the central point where Parāśakti happily stands united with Her Consort Śiva. Bindu is the sahasrāra in the human body, where the union between Śiva and Śakti takes place. In Śrī Cakra, this union is macrocosmic in nature and in a human body, when She unites with Śiva, in the form of kuṇḍaliṇī, it is microcosmic in nature.

The number of triangles represent 36 tattva-s and seven dhātu-s (constituents of the body) comprising of chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and procreative fluids. If we add 36 tattva-s and seven dhātu-s, the resultant factor is 43 and this represents the 43 triangles of Śrī Cakra.

With this in mind, one has to meditate on Her at the bindu, the central point of Śrī Cakra.

 Verse 12

त्वदीयं सौन्दर्यं तुहिनगिरिकन्ये तुलयितुं
कवीन्द्राः कल्पन्ते कथमपि विरिञ्चिप्रभृतयः।
यदालोकौत्सुक्यादमरललना यान्ति मनसा
तपोभिर्दुष्प्रापामपि गिरिशसायुज्यपदवीम्॥

tvadīyaṁ saundaryaṁ tuhinagirikanye tulayituṁ
kavīndrāḥ kalpante kathamapi viriñciprabhṛtayaḥ|
yadālokautsukyādamaralalanā yānti manasā
tapoubhirduṣprāpāmapi giriśasāyujyapadavīm||

tvadīyaṁ saundaryaṁ - Your beauty; tuhina giri kanye – daughter of snow clad mountain; tulayituṁ - comparing by examination; kavīndrāḥ - the best of poets; kalpante kathamapi – incapable of even after taking great pains; viriñci prabhṛtayaḥ - Brahmā and others; yat-āloka-autsukyād – eager to notice Your beauty; amaralalanā – celestial women; yānti – attain; manasā – mentally; tapoubhir – by way of intent meditation; duṣprāpām api – difficult to attain; giriśa-sāyujya-padavīm – becoming one with Śiva.

“Daughter of snow clad mountain! Brahmā and other best of poets are not able to draw a comparison to Your beauty even after taking strenuous pains. The celestial women, eager to have a glimpse of Your beauty, mentally contemplate You to become one with Śiva, which is difficult even through penance.”

Parāśakti, also known as Pārvatī is the daughter of Kind of Mountains known as Parvatarāja (Parvata means mountain range). Because She was born to Parvatarāja, She is known as Pārvatī (Pārvatī means mountain stream).

Brahmā is the god of creation. He is always busy in compiling Vedas. He is a great scholar and is considered as the best poet. His consort is Saravati, is the goddess of letters.  Even they are not able to draw comparison to Her beauty, as obviously, Her perpetual beauty cannot be compared. Comparison is only between two equals, as no one has the kind of beauty She has. Though Brahmā being the creator, he is not able to draw comparison to Her beauty and Sarasvati, being the goddess of letters is unable to draw a comparison to describe Her beauty. This inexplicable beauty drew Śiva towards Her.

The most beautiful of the celestial damsels, such as Rati, wife of Manmatha and others want to have a glimpse of Her beauty. They could not go anywhere near Her. As they somehow want to have a look at Her and began to think about Her all the time. This perpetual thinking about an object is called meditation. In fact this is the true meditation. Their entire attention was focussed only on Her and they had no other thoughts. As a result of their single pointed focus, they became one with Śiva Himself. In fact, they never thought about Śiva and their entire contemplation was only on Her beauty. Still they became one with Śiva. This goes to prove that Śiva and Śakti are not different.  Śakti is nothing but the independent power of authority of Śiva. Śiva has transferred all His power to Her to create, sustain and dissolve the universe. Therefore, unless She is realized, Śiva can never be realized. This is described in Lalitā Sahasranāma 727, Śiva-jñāna-pradāyinī. Wind can be realized through movements, fire can be realized through heat and Śiva can be realized through Śakti.

There are four types of consciousness.  They are sālokya, sarūpa, samībha and sāyujya.  Beyond this is kaivalya.  Sālokya is the stage where one performs ritual worship, worshipping Her idols or portraits. In sarūpa, the aspirant leaves idol worship and does not differentiate himself from Her.  In samībha he goes near Her and in sāyujya stage he merges with Her and ultimately with Śiva.  These are the stages of one’s consciousness that finally lead to kaivalya.  One has to progress from one stage to another and this progression happens depending upon the level of spirituality.  By being spiritual does not mean one has to be religious.  Spirituality transcends religious affinities, though religion forms the foundation of spirituality.  This verse subtly conveys the stage of sāyujya, as the celestial damsels become one with Śiva. The duration of meditative sessions do not matter. Meditation is a process when one’s awareness is fixed on Her and all other thought processes are totally suspended.

The level of consciousness is the foremost factor in meditation.  Three normal states of consciousness are awakened state, sleep state and deep sleep state. These are the three stages of intensity of sleep. In the first state, the intensity of sleep is totally absent. In the same way, meditation also has different intensities depending upon one’s ability to move his consciousness. The quality of consciousness is the sole factor to determine the quality of meditation.  Meditation will be of no use, unless one establishes a firm contact with pure cosmic energy from where necessary energy is provided to the universe for creation and sustenance.  The cosmic energy is the source of all energies and is derived from Her.  This energy in its miniscule form is known as speech, sound, vision, light, etc.  Whether one likes it or not, this cosmic energy is present in and around a person.  It is omnipresent.  Attempting to understand the original source of this energy is known as the path of spirituality.  To pursue this path, one requires supreme knowledge, which is different from the routine process of learning.  This knowledge cannot be effectively acquired from books or through lectures. This can be attained only by exploring the inner self by inquiring who am I.

Intensive meditative practice enables a person to access the supreme level consciousness.  For example, the level of awareness in the active state and in dream state is both external and internal.  In the state of deep sleep state, the level of awareness is only internalized.  No one knows what is happening around him in deep sleep state.  In the same way, a person in the shallow stage of meditation is aware both externally and internally.  In the deep stage of meditation, he becomes thoughtless and therefore totally fixed internally.  He stands disconnected from external influences and is able to sustain his single pointed focus.  This is where the meditation really advances to the next stage.  This is the fourth level of consciousness, the first three being awake, shallow sleep and deep sleep.  The fourth level of consciousness can be classified into two sub-stages, shallow meditative stage and deep meditative stage.  One can easily differentiate between these two stages. In the first stage (shallow), the preliminary effect of tranquilizing is felt which could last for a few seconds to a few minutes. A feeling of relief is also felt.  At this moment, he does not seem to want anything in life.   A sort of happiness is realized not amounting to bliss.  This is the symptom of upcoming blissful stage.  Having experienced this stage he wants to experience again and again which prompts him to spend more time in enjoying this experience.  Therefore, reaching this stage of meditation is difficult and once this is reached, rest of the meditative process happens automatically leading to the deep meditative stages. 

As one progresses, the quality of meditation also increases finally leading to emancipation or Self-realization. Emancipation is enlightenment, the logical conclusion to meditative process.  The progress in meditation can be monitored with the duration of remaining in intense awareness.  Though this is not possible and also not advisable to make such a calculation, it is possible to mentally calculate the duration of intensive awareness from the level of relaxation and happiness.  From a few seconds in the beginning to a couple minutes now is a good progress.  But this does not mean that one should meditate for only a couple of minutes.  The process is like takeoff of an aircraft to reach higher altitudes and then to descend to land.  In the same way, in meditation the consciousness level starts from the lowest level (routine level of awareness that is witnessed during the awakened stage), reach the highest level, remain there for a few seconds to a few minutes and ultimately come back to the normal stage of awareness.  The quality of the meditation depends upon the time taken to reach the highest level of consciousness and the duration of sustaining at that level.  The human brain is the main factor in managing the different level of consciousness.  Meditation is not without scientific proof, but it does not need any scientific proof, as one undergoes personal experience. There can be no better proof than personal experience. The celestial damsels described in this verse are not merely celestial beauties. They represent each and individual human being and Śaṁkarācārya by drawing comparison to them, laid down rules for intent meditation, through which alone, one can attain liberation. Śaṁkarācārya alone is capable of conveying such subtle conveyances through such types of verses, as he was endowed with the Grace of the Divine Couple.

 Verse 13 

नरं वर्षीयांसं नयनविरसं नर्मसु जडं
तवापाङ्गालोके पतितमनुधावन्ति शतशः।
गलद्वेणीबन्धाः कुचकलशविस्रस्तसिचया
हठात्त्रुटयत्काञ्चयो विगालितदुकूला युवतयः॥

naraṁ varṣīyāṁsaṁ nayanavirasaṁ narmasu jaḍaṁ
tavāpāṅgāloke patitamanudhāvanti śataśaḥ |
galadveṇībandhāḥ kucakalaśavisrastasicayā
haṭhāttruṭayatkāñcayo vigālitadukūlā yuvatayaḥ ||

naraṁ - man; varṣīyāṁsaṁ - appearing old;  nayana virasaṁ - ugly to look at; narmasu jaḍaṁ - without any pleasure or amusement; tava apāṅgāloke patitam – on whom Your side glance has fallen; anudhāvanti – running after; śataśaḥ - in hundreds; galad veṇī bandhāḥ - loosened hair; kuca kalaśa visrasta sicayā – loosened upper garments exposing bosoms; haṭhāt truṭayat kāñcayo – their waist bands breaking down; vigā lita dukūlā – making their clothes fall down; yuvatayaḥ - young damsels.

“When Your side glance falls on an old man ugly to look at and who has no interest in pleasures, hundreds of young women run after him not realizing that their hair, upper garments and waist bands have loosened and disrobed them.”

The verse talks about the power of Her fraction-of- a-second glance, that too sideways. There is difference between Her direct glance and side glance. Direct glance is capable of offering liberation whereas, Her side glance showers physical, mental and material wealth. This is explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma 590 kaṭākṣa-kiṅkarī-bhūta-kamalā-koṭi-sevitā. This nāma says that when She glances sideways, as mentioned in this verse, millions of Lakṣmī-s (goddess of wealth) attend on Her. Therefore, it is obvious, that Her side glance gives material wealth and pleasures.

According to the gross interpretation of this verse, She glances sideways on an old and ugly looking man who had lost interest in worldly pleasures. Immediately, hundreds of young women run after him, not realising that their robes are falling down exposing their bodies. This means that the old man regains his youthfulness. Though the verse is erotically presented, a person of Śaṁkarācārya’s calibre would not have composed merely for erotic expression.

The old man on whom Her side glance had fallen attains elevated mental state, beyond the materialistic world. He gets transformed into a yogi by spiritual enlightenment happened due to Her glance. The women who are described here are paśu-s. Paśu means unenlightened individual soul. These paśu-s go after an enlightened soul to learn and practice spiritual path with an intent to attain liberation. In their urgency and eagerness to know Her through him, they forget everything about the material world, which is described in this verse as robes. This also conveys that when an aspirant is ready for liberation, She sends a spiritual Guru on Her own to teach the aspirant during his final journey towards liberation. This argument augurs well with the saying that when the time is ripe, one gets a Guru without any efforts from the aspirant’s side. In fact, She is waiting to offer liberation as She is full of compassion and concern for Her children (human beings). She is Śrī Mātā.

By composing this erotic verse, Śaṁkarācārya probably could have sent a clear message to youngsters thus; “Be what you are and do what you like. But spend sometime in thinking about the Divine Mother. She will not only give you material wealth and pleasures, but will also guide you through true spiritual Gurus towards Her. In the midst of your busy routine, please spend sometime in contemplating Her. I am not asking you to visit holy places. I am merely asking you to visualize Her at least for sometime in a day. She will give you the best and She knows what to give you.”

 Verse 14 

क्षितौ षट्पञ्चाशद्द्विसमधिकपञ्चाशदुदके
हुताशे द्वाषष्टिश्चतुरधिकपञ्चाशदनिले।
दिवि द्विःषट्त्रिंशन्मनसि च चतुःषष्टिरिति ये
मयूखास्तेषामप्युपरि तव पादाम्बुजयुगम्॥

kṣitau ṣaṭpañcāśaddvisamadhikapañcāśadudake
hutāśe dvāṣaṣṭiścaturadhikapañcāśadanile |
divi dviḥṣaṭtriṁśanmanasi ca catuḥṣaṣṭiriti ye
mayūkhāsteṣāmapyupari tava pādāmbujayugam ||

kṣitau – earth; ṣaṭ pañcāśad – six and fifty (fifty six); dvi samadhika pañcāśad -  two above fifty (fifty two); udaka – water; hutāśa – fire; dvā ṣaṣṭika – two and sixty (sixty two); catur adhika pañcāśad – (four above fifty) fifty four; anile – air; divi – ether or ākāśa; dviḥṣaṭ triṁśa – seventy two; manasi – mind; ca – and; catuḥ ṣaṣṭir – sixty four; iti – thus; ye mayūkha -  luster of light; teṣām api – the rays of light; upari – above or upwards; tava – Your; pāda ambuja yugam – pair of lotus feet (ambuja – lotus).

“Fifty four rays of pṛthivī tattva, fifty six rays of water tattva, sixty two rays of fire tattva, fifty four rays of air tattva, seventy rays of ākāśa (ether) tattva, sixty four rays of mind tattva, all originate from Your lotus feet in the middle of sahasrāra.”

This verse is based on psychic chakras of kuṇḍalinī meditation. Each of the tattvas mentioned in this verse is directly related to chakras of kuṇḍalinī meditation. Tattva means principle.

TATTVA	CHAKRAS	NUMBER OF RAYS
Pṛthivī tattva	mūlādhāra  - base	56
Water tattva	svādhiṣṭhāna - coccyx	52
Fire tattva	maṇipūraka - navel	62
Air (vāyu) tattva	anāhata - heart	54
Ākāśa (ether) tattva	viśuddhi - throat	72
Mind (manas) tattva	ājñā – forehead	64
TOTAL RAYS		360

This verse talks more about subtle form of worship. Parāśakti has three types of worship and they are gross, subtle and subtlest. Gross worship is worshipping Her in different forms. Subtle worship is worshipping Her as kāmakalā (Lalitā Sahasranāma 322). Her subtlest form of worship is worshipping Her kuṇḍalinī form (Lalitā Sahasranāma 110). The five elements of the cosmos in their microcosmic forms represent the five psychic centres of the human body. The mind, the most important and exclusivity of humans form the sixth psychic centre. Above all these psychic centres is sahasrāra and this verse says that Her lotus feet contemplated at the centre of the sahasrāra causes illuminating rays that enter these psychic centres and radiate from them. These rays are known as kalā, which literally means a small part of anything. For example, minutes are the kalā-s of an hour, seconds are the kalā-s of a minute, etc. In the same way, days are the kalā-s of a year.

There are two types of years; one is based on the sun and the other is based on the moon. The calendar based on the sun is called solar year and consists of 365.25 days and the calendar based on moon consists of 354.37 days. Solar calendar is based on the movement of sun through the twelve zodiacal signs. Sun takes 365.25 days to traverse through all the twelve zodiac signs and the moon takes only 354.37 days to traverse through all the twelve zodiacs. Each day of the lunar calendar forms one kalā of the moon and therefore the total kalā-s of a lunar year is 354.37. 360 is arrived at by adding 354.37 + 365.25 / 2 = 359.81 days and rounded off to 360. Each of these 360 days is represented by a kalā of the moon. These 360 rays are spread to six psychic centres as detailed in the chart above. It is also said that the kalā-s radiating from Her feet is 372 and not 360.

The six psychic centres are categorised into three groups known as khaṇḍa-s and each khaṇḍa is presided by sun, moon and fire, the three primary objects that rediffuse the Light of the Śiva. These diffusing objects are in Her body and in Her Pañcdaśī mantra. The Light originates from Śiva and He is known as prakāśa and Śakti reflects His Light and She is known as vimarśa. This is with relation to macrocosmic plane. Whatever happens in the macrocosmic plane also happens in the microcosmic plane. In the macrocosmic plane, the objects of light get their illumination from Her macrocosmic form and in the microcosmic plane, objects of light get their illumination from Her feet contemplated in the centre of the crown chakra, also known as sahasrāra. This light can be seen by an aspirant during his/her intent stages of meditation.

The psychic centres are grouped under three khaṇḍa-s and they are sūrya khaṇḍa, candra (or soma) khaṇḍa and agni khaṇḍa.  The two psychic centres mūlādhāra and svādhiṣṭhāna come under agni khaṇḍa; maṇipūraka and anāhata come under sūrya khaṇḍa; viśuddhi and ājñā come under candra khaṇḍa. Each of these khaṇḍa-s are controlled by a knot known as granthi. mūlādhāra and svādhiṣṭhāna come under Brahma granthi; maṇipūraka and anāhata come under Viṣṇu granthi and viśuddhi and ājñā come under Rudra granthi. Agni, sūrya and candra are placed just above these granthis and redistribute the rays to the two chakras under them. Unless these granthi-s are pierced, one cannot reach sahasrāra.

Mūlādhāra represents pṛthivī tattva; pṛthivī means the earth. Mūlādhāra is the closest point to the earth and this chakra gets 56 of the 360 rays from Her lotus feet. It must always be remembered that She only diffuses the Light of Śiva. Śiva and Śakti in their united form is the cause for creation.  Creation is based on the tattvas. Different philosophies describe different tattvas.  Trika philosophy mentions about 36 tattvas and Sāṃkhya philosophy mentions about 27 tattvas. Tattvas are generally associated with external worship. Internal worship is worshipping Her in Her subtlest kuṇḍalinī form. Whether worship is done externally or internally, 360 rays are arrived at. Since the manifestation happens by both Śiva and Śakti the number of rays amounting to 180 are doubled.

Externally worship is made in six triangles of Śrīcakra and internally, She is worshipped in the six psychic centers. These rays are not just rays, but they represent a tattva in external worship and the petals of each chakra in mental worship. These rays are also mediated in the form of mātṛka-s (alphabets of Sanskrit) in these chakras. Lalitā Sahasranāma 577 is mātṛkā-varna-rūpiṇī.

To sum up, 360 rays originate from Her lotus feet in sahasrāra that get reflected through three khaṇḍa-s, fire, sun and the moon. Rays do not mean just the light, but also the cosmic energy. Without the cosmic energy that is being sent to these chakras, existence itself is not possible. Chakras have also been discussed in verse 9. These three luminaries (fire included) reflect the rays of light received from Her feet to the respective chakras. These luminaries also represent the three nāḍi-s, iḍā, piṅgalā and suṣumna. Both sun and moon or iḍā and piṅgalā unite with fire or suṣumna, which alone is capable of providing the vision of Her illuminating feet.  These luminaries are situated just above the granthi-s, also known as knots. Unless these knots are pierced, the origin of these rays, Her feet cannot be realized. This is with reference to internal worship, also known as chakra meditation. Externally, worship happens in Śrīcakra. When Her radiating feet are seen, one is liberated.

 Verse 15

शरज्ज्योत्स्नाशुद्धां शशियुतजटाजुटमकुटां
वरत्रासत्राणस्फटिकघटिकापुस्तककराम्।
सकृन्न त्वा नत्वा कथमिव सतां संनिदधते
मधुक्षीरद्राक्षामधुरिमधुरीणाः फणितयः॥

śarajjyotsnāśuddhāṁ śaśiyutajaṭājuṭamakuṭāṁ
varatrāsatrāṇasphaṭikaghaṭikāpustakakarām |
sakṛnna tvā natvā kathamiva satāṁ saṁnidadhate
madhukṣīradrākṣāmadhurimadhurīṇāḥ phaṇitayaḥ ||

śaraj jyotsnā śuddhāṁ - bright and pure like autumnal moon; śaśi yuta jaṭā juṭa makuṭāṁ - adorning a crown studded with crescent moon on your plaited hair; vara trāsa trāṇa sphaṭika ghaṭikā pustaka karām – with your four hands having vara mudra, abhaya mudra, a rosary of crystal beads and a book; sakṛnna tvā natvā – having prostrated before you only once; katham iva satāṁ - how good men could; saṁ nidadhate – not bringing in; madhu – honey; kṣīra – milk; drākṣā – grapes (probably referring to raisin); madhurima dhurīṇāḥ - more sweeter than; phaṇitayaḥ - flowing of words.

“Parāśakti! You appear splendorous like the spotless autumnal moon. You are adorning a crown on you braided hair with the crescent moon. You grant boons and offer protection with your two hands and in the other two hands you hold a crystal bead and a book. If a sincere devotee prostrates before You only once, why he will not get flow of words sweeter than honey, milk and raisins?”

The grosser meaning of the verse is that the one who worships Her, contemplating the above form, will become an excellent poet. Let us have a look at Her.  She appears splendorous and spotless. A comparison is drawn to the autumnal moon. In the first place, why a comparison is made to the moon? Secondly, why the autumnal moon?  She is compared to the moon on two grounds. Moon is cool and also graciously nurtures. Sun, on the other hand cannot be looked at all as it will blind our biological eyes. Sun does not graciously nurtures like moon. Moon has the power to nourish and grow certain precious herbs. Flowers like lotus bloom only on seeing moon. When compared to the sun, the moon appears beautiful. Sun is usually associated masculine gender and the moon with the feminine gender. Since Parāśakti is the embodiment of Grace, beauty and compassion, She is always compared to the moon. The autumnal moon is also known as the harvest moon. The full moon in autumnal season is closer to the equinox and is capable of growing plants, like the sun; because of this, it is known as harvest moon. As She is revered as the universal mother in Lalitā Sahasranāma, Śaṁkarācārya chooses the autumnal moon to make a comparison to Her, as She carefully nourishes the universe like a mother nourishing her child. In verse seven, he has described Her as śaraccandravadanā  (She has a face resembling like the autumnal moon). These kinds of objective comparisons are necessary to enable us to understand and visualize Her better. Right visualization is important for proper meditation. This is the reason why all the mantra japa-s have dhyāna verses.

Śaṁkarācārya again mentions moon in this verse in another context. She is wearing a crown and in the crown there is aṣṭamīcandra (eighth face of the moon), which appears beautiful with even curves on both sides. Lalitā Sahasranāma 15 says that Her forehead looks like aṣṭamīcandra. Śiva has crescent moon at the top of His head and as She is no way different from Him, the crescent moon of Śiva is seen on Her also.

She is described in this verse with four hands. It is important to recall the conveyance of the verse 4, which said, “You are the ultimate recourse of the universe. All other gods and goddesses use their two hands to grant refuge and boons to their devotees by means of two mudrā-s - abhaya and varada. But You do not use Your hands for this. Instead Your sacred feet are capable of offering refuge and boons more than what is prayed for.” But this verse says that She shows abhaya and varada mudras, which is in contradiction of the verse 4. But, in reality, this is not a contradiction. This speaks of the mind of the aspirant at different points of time. When he sees Her lotus feet, the aspirant feels that he gets everything from Her pinkish lotus feet. In this verse, the aspirant advances further in his spiritual pursuit. He conceives Her in this verse with four hands. There are interpretations which say that this is the form of Sarasvati, the goddess of letters, and that is why She carries a book and a garland of rosary beads in Her hands. Whatever be the arguments, an advanced spiritual aspirant contemplates Her depending on his mental status at the time of contemplation. For example, the dhyāna verse of Her ṣoḍaśī mantra says that She also holds a book, a mālā of crystal beads, abhaya and varada mudras in Her hands. The dhyāna verse of Bālā mantra also describes this on the basis of the dhyāna verse of ṣoḍaśī mantra.

Her abhaya mudra removes mortal fear in the minds of Her devotees and Her vara mudra gives boons to Her devotees. These two mudras or hand gestures do not mean that She protects the aspirant from the fear of death and grants him whatever he wants. A true devotee will only seek final liberation from Her. Such a devotee fully realizes the pains of transmigration. He prays to Her to offer him liberation and till such time he is liberated in this life itself, he prays to Her to protect him from the jaws of death. Once he is liberated in this life, he continues to exist as jīvanmukta and dies after all his karmas are spent.

Mālā of crystal beads and the book refer to the manifestation of the universe. The rosary bead has 51 crystal beads which represent the 51 alphabets of Sanskrit language. This is also described by Vāk Devis in Lalitā Sahasranāma 483 akṣamālādi-dharā. The book that She holds contains different permutations and combinations of the alphabets leading to the manifestation of the universe through sound. These two hands also impart spiritual knowledge to the aspirant, as a result of which he seeks liberation in this life itself. When he gains enough knowledge, the aspirant is also able to compose verses in Her praise. Because he has meditated on the 51 alphabets of Sanskrit in the form of the rosary beads along with the book that contains different combinations of these alphabets, he is blessed with the talent of composing verses singing Her praise. His neologism of words becomes sweeter than the combination of honey, milk and raisin. Thus, the four hands described in this verse together offer liberation to the aspirant.  It is important to know that all the verses of Saundaryalaharī should not be taken as a series. Each verse gives different meanings and interpretations and never contradicts any of the other verses as they are not meant to mean that way.

Manifestation of the universe through sound is discussed elaborately in Lalitā Sahasranāma 366 to 371

 Verse 16

कवीन्द्राणां चेतःकमलवनबालातपरुचिं
भजन्ते ये सन्तः कतिचिदरुणामेव भवतीम्।
विरिञ्चिप्रेयस्यास्तरुणतरशृङ्गारलहरी
गभीराभिर्वाग्भिर्विदधति सतां रञ्जनममी॥

kavīndrāṇāṁ cetaḥkamalavanabālātaparuciṁ
bhajante ye santaḥ katicidaruṇāmeva bhavatīm |
viriñcipreyasyāstaruṇataraśṛṅgāralaharī
gabhīrābhirvāgbhirvidadhati satāṁ rañjanamamī ||

kavīndrāṇāṁ - of great poets; cetaḥ kamala vana bāla atapa ruciṁ bhajante – those who adore You as the sun at dawn, which makes their minds to blossom forth as if their minds are a group of lotus flowers; ye santaḥ katicid - those great men; aruṇām eva bhavatīm – the Goddess having the radiance of the sun at dawn; viriñci preyasyās – Sarasvatī, who is dear to Brahmā; taruṇa tara śṛṅgāra laharī – waves of passion flowing from youthfulness; gabhīrābhir vāgbhir- majestic words; vidadhati – perform; satāṁ rañjanam amī – happiness to the poets.

“The great poets who adore You as red and radiating like the sun at dawn which makes all the lotus flowers to blossom become capable of delighting the group of learned men with their magnificent words as if they are waves of emotions emanating from the passionate and youthful Sarasvatī, who is dear to Brahmā.”

The verse says that those who contemplate Her in the colour of the sun at dawn become capable of composing excellent literary works. They get the flow of words as if erotic sentiments originating from the passionate and youthful consort of Brahmā. Their literary works bring delight to the learned people. Flow of passion is compared to the flow of words.

Almost all the Scriptures describe Parāśakti as deep red in colour (complexion). Lalitā Sahasranāma dhyāna verses describe Her “aruṇāṁ karuṇā-taraṁgitākṣīṁ”, which means “She is like the rising sun with waves of compassion in Her eyes”. There is another dhyāna verse which says, “sindūrāruṇa-vigrahāṁ” meaning that Her body is red in complexion. There are many such instances in various Scriptures, which unanimously declare Her as red in complexion.  Redness is associated with compassion. This verse says tht the poets get extraordinary powers to compose literary works, on two counts. First, they have to contemplate Her in the colour of rising sun; as a result of their single pointed concentration on Her, due to Her compassion which can also be described as Her Grace, they get the flow of words without any impediments. As a result, their literary works are appreciated by noble and great men. The quality of taste towards different aspects of life differs from person to person. Śaṁkarācārya was very careful in choosing his words, as he perfectly suits the poets described in this verse. He did not say that these works are appreciated by all; but he says that their literary works are appreciated by learned men. He did not speak about all the flowers, but mentions only lotus flowers. Only learned men can understand and appreciate the contextual usage of certain words. Apart from the choice of words, the purported meaning of the words also needs to be appreciated. A poet is more concerned with the appreciation he gets from the critics, than getting monetary benefits. A poet derives immense satisfaction when others appreciate his work. The contextual reference in this verse is the mind of the poet when his literary works are applauded. His mind becomes active like a lotus flower on seeing the dawn of the sun.

The poet gets immense ability to compose awe inspiring works because She bestows Her Grace on him, as he meditates on Her as dark red in complexion. She likes to be meditated with dark red colour, as this colour declares Her compassion. After all She is Śrī Mātā, the universal Mother. When Her Grace is bestowed on him, the poet gets the flow words like waves springing up from the ocean. The flow of words occurring in his mind is compared by Śaṁkarācārya to the erotic flow of youthfulness from goddess Sarasvatī. Once the erotic thoughts begin to flow, it becomes more and more powerful and in the same way, the revelation of composition of words happens in the mind of the poet becomes more intent.

This verse also says that it is not enough to have a poet. The world needs to have high quality audience who are capable of differentiating between an awesome literary work and a mundane literary work. As far as this verse is concerned, the listeners are those, who have acquired literary skills by mastering differnt literary works. In a song (taken here as an example), there are two aspects; one is the lyrics and another is the melody. There are many who listen and appreciate the melody that has not being discussed here. But there are very few who understand the lyrics and appreciate the song. Melody and rhythm can be appreciated by anybody, but to appreciate the lyrics, one needs to have literary knowledge. This verse talks about this kind of knowledgeable audience. They are compared to the lotus flowers that bloom during dawn. A typical example is Lalitā Sahasranāma composed by Vācdevī-s, which does not have any melody, but is full of gross and subtle meanings. Nobody could have thought of better words to elucidate Her greatness. This is because that Vācdevī-s are blessed by Her to compose such a chef-d'oeuvre.

Sarasvatī is the consort of Brahmā. Brahmā and Sarasvatī make the divine couple who preside over knowledge and literary works. The right words manifest in the minds of the poets, like the flow of erotic thoughts in the mind of the consort of Brahmā. If śṛṅgāra is taken to mean mutual enjoyment, then it can be said that the poets and the audience mutually enjoy the literary works. Without the right kind of audience, poet cannot be sure whether his work is good and without a proper poet, audience also cannot enjoy the creative literary works. Therefore, it is mutual dependence between the poet and the audience.

In Vāmakesvarīmatam (I.112 – 113), Śiva tells Devi the following: “One should meditate on Devi, resembling a lotus, like the early morning rays of the sun, like a hibiscus or pomegranate flower, red as ruby……”. When Her Consort Śiva Himself describes Her complexion as deep red, there cannot be any other opinion about Her complexion. Śiva is in crystal complexion and when She sits by His side, Her red gets reflected through His crystal like body, making them appear as the sun at the dawn.

Though mythologically we declare Sarasvatī as the spouse of Brahmā, Vedas describe Her differently. For example Taittirīya Samhitā (Yajur Veda) (I.viii.22.3) says the following:

“pra ṇo devī sarasvatī vājebhirvājinīvatī dhīnāmavitryavatu  प्र णो देवी सरस्वती वाजेभिर्वाजिनीवती धीनामवित्र्यवतु”, which means may the Goddess Sarasvatī full of plentitude with the life force, guardian of thoughts, protect us with care.

 Verse 17

सवित्रीभिर्वाचां शशिमणिशिलाभङ्गरुचिभिः
वशिन्याद्याभिस्त्वां सह जननि सञ्चिन्तयति यः।
स कर्ता काव्यानां भवति महतां भङ्गिरुचिभिः
वचोभिर्वाग्देवीवदनकमलामोदमधुरैः॥

savitrībhirvācāṁ śaśimaṇiśilābhaṅgarucibhiḥ
vaśinyādyābhistvāṁ saha janani sañcintayati yaḥ |
sa kartā kāvyānāṁ bhavati mahatāṁ bhaṅgirucibhiḥ
vacobhirvāgdevīvadanakamalāmodamadhuraiḥ ||

savitrībhir vācāṁ - source of speech or formation of words; śaśi maṇi śilābhaṅga rucibhiḥ - the splendorous beauty of the moonstone after cutting it; vaśinya adyābhis – Vaśini and other vāc devi-s (eight in number) worshiped in the seventh āvaraṇa of śrīvidhyā navāvaraṇa pūjā (they are the composers of Lalitā Sahasranāma); tvāṁ - You; saha – in company; janani – Parāśakti, the Supreme Mother; sañcintayati yaḥ - who contemplates You; sa kartā kāvyānāṁ bhavati mahatāṁ - he becomes a composer of excellent poetic works; bhaṅgirucibhiḥ - dressed with splendor; vacobhir – words; vāgdevī vadana kamala āmoda madhuraiḥ - adding luster to the lotus like face of Sarasvatī.

“The one who meditates on You, surrounded by eight vāc devi-s appearing like a cutout moonstone, attain the capacity to compose splendorous poetic works like epics, hymns, etc adding luster to Sarasvati’s lotus like face.”

The verse says that one should meditate on Her along with eight vāc devi-s. They are worshipped in Śricakra navāvaraṇa pūjā in the seventh āvaraṇa. Sanskrit has 51 alphabets consisting of 16 vowels and 36 consonants. Vaśinī vācdevī ppresides over the 16 vowels; Kāmeśvarī vāgdevī presides over ka (क) varga; Modinī vāgdevī presides over ca (च) varga; Vimalā vāgdevī presides over ṭa (ट) varga; Aruṇā vāgdevi presides over ta (त) varga; Jayinī vāgdevī presides over pa (प) varga; Sarveśvarī vāgdevī presides over ya, ra, la and va (य, र, ल and व) and Kaulinī vāgdevī presides over śa, ṣa, sa, ha, ḻa and kṣa (श, ष, स, ह, ळ and क्ष). Each varga referred above has five alphabets. Therefore, vowels – 16; ka, ca, ṭa, ta and pa varga-s x 5 = 25 consonants; last two varga-s 10 alphabets make 51 alphabets of Sanskrit (varga means a set of letters).  There are two nāma-s in Lalitā Sahasranāma that talk about these alphabets and they are 577 mātṛkā-varṇa-rūpinī and 833 pañcāśat-pīṭha-rūpiṇī.  These eight vāgdevī are known as Vaśinyādi vāgdevī-s and they have composed Lalitā Sahasranāma at Her command. These vāgdevī-s are very close to Parāśakti. Hence Śaṁkarācārya says that one should meditate on Her along with these vāgdevī-s. This is based on the fundamental principle that what one constantly thinks, he becomes that. Another fundament point that is often missed out is that She confers only liberation and not material wealth. She will only smile at those who seek material wealth and prosperity and nothing more than that. Hence, one has to contemplate on Her along with vāgdevī-s, who alone provide the capacity to compose.

The verse says that the eight vāgdevī-s appear like a freshly cut moonstone, which is also known as candrakānta. The original candrakānta stone is pure white in colour. If the stone is cut into two pieces or broken, the pure whitish nature of the stone will be clearly visible. It is said that this stone is formed by solidifying of moon’s rays and gets dissolved by moon’s light. This is often used as astrological remedy. The original stone has the capacity to give wealth. Śaṁkarācārya had enormous visualising capacity. He draws comparison of moonstone to vāgdevī-s because the moonstone is capable melting. The melting substance of the moonstone is compared to the formation of alphabets, then words and then sound. This description of vāgdevī-s has its own significance. When She sits near Śiva, Her red complexion gets radiated through the crystal complexion of Śiva and they together appear like the sun at dawn. But, in this verse Her complexion does not get radiated through the moonstone like vāgdevī-s because moonstones are not translucent like the crystal complexion of Śiva. She appears in Her red complexion and vāgdevī-s appear in moonstone-like complexion. The point driven home by Śaṁkarācārya in this verse is that Her bright red colour is marginally diffused by vāgdevī-s, so that She can be meditated with a cool appearance like candrakānta stone. If the meditation of the devotee is powerful enough, he gets power to compose epics and hymns. Words flow to him from vāgdevī-s, like the melting moonstone. Original moonstone melts in no time when it is placed in the moonlight. In the same way, the one who meditates on Her with eight vāgdevī-s get the flow of words to compose epics and hymns.

On seeing those who compose epics and hymns, Sarasvatī’s face becomes more lustrous. First, Sarasvatī is happy due to the Grace of Parāśakti, poets get flow of thoughts and words. Secondly, as She is the presiding goddess for letters, her face becomes more gleaming (gleaming because she also gets shine in her face due to Her radiating light) because more and more epics and hymns are composed. Since she presides over these letters (created by vāgdevī-s), naturally she derives immense happiness that is getting reflected in her face. It is also explained that such compositions have natural fragrance. Goddess Sarasvatī is also described in verse 99.

 Verse 18

तनुच्छायाभिस्ते तरुणतरणिश्रीसरणिभिः
दिवं सर्वासुर्वीमरुणिमनिमग्नां स्मरति यः।
भवन्त्यस्य त्रस्यद्वनहरिणशालीननयनाः
सहोर्वश्या वश्याः कति कति न गीर्वाणगणिकाः॥

tanucchāyābhiste taruṇataraṇiśrīsaraṇibhiḥ
divaṁ sarvāsurvīmaruṇimanimagnāṁ smarati yaḥ |
bhavantyasya trasyadvanahariṇaśālīnanayanāḥ
sahorvaśyā vaśyāḥ kati kati na gīrvāṇagaṇikāḥ ||

tanu cchāyābhiste – the radiance of the body appearing as shade; taruṇa taraṇi śrī saraṇibhiḥ - radiant red appearing like the sun at dawn; divaṁ sarvam urvīm aruṇimani magnāṁ - the sky and the earth engulfed in the radiating red; smarati yaḥ - the one who contemplates; bhavantyasya – he who exists; trasyad vana hari ṇa śālīna nayanāḥ - the frightened eyes of young wild deers; sahorvaśyā – celestial damsels like Ūrvaśī; vaśyāḥ - become attracted to; kati kati – how many; na – negation; gīrvāṇa gaṇikāḥ - heavenly damsels.

“Celestial beauties like Ūrvaśī, whose eyes appear like the frightened eyes of young deers in the forest, get attracted to the one who contemplates that the sky and the earth are completely submerged in Your red radiant lustrous bodily form, appearing like the sun at the dawn.”

The message conveyed through this verse is that the one who meditates on Her form as deep red, attains immense energy and he attracts everyone in the world. His meditation on Her with deep red complexion gives the meditator youthful and attractive form that is capable of influencing everyone’s mind towards him. When one is showered with divine energy, which can happen purely out of Her Grace, he becomes vibrant with the power of divine energy endowed on him, which attracts everyone towards him. This is Her play to make spiritual novices pursue the spiritual path that ultimately leads to liberation. He uses these meditators as Gurus and season these novices.  Her red form not only refers to Her compassion but also indicates Her subtlest kuṇḍalinī form. Kuṇḍalinī rests at the mūlādhāra chakra as deep red in colour. This is the reason for contemplating mūlādhāra chakra as deep red.  

On the grosser side, there are two conveyances in this verse. The one who meditates on Her in deep red form gets vibrating energy called tejas (glow of human body). This tejas is capable of attracting even the most beautiful celestial beauties like Ūrvaśī, Ramba and others.  These celestial damsels, though are attracted towards him, their inner fear of going anywhere near him is expressed through their fearful eyes. Their fearful eyes are compared to the fearful eyes of young deers in the forest who are always scared of any movements of predaceous animals around them. Such fear is reflected in the eyes of these celestial damsels. Though they are passionate, they are scared of going anywhere near him. On one side, their concupiscence and on the other side their fear, both is reflected through their eyes and as a result of which, their eyes appear like the eyes of young deers in the forest. Eyes of deers will always be looking for something and during this time, their eyes appear very wide.

Subtly, this verse is said to convey kāmakalā bīja (īṁ ईं) that is being described in the next verse. It is also said that this verse refers to the second kūṭā known as kāmarāja kūṭā. This kūṭā refers to the portion between Her neck and hip; hence kāmarāja kūṭā is also known as madhya kūṭā or the middle group. This is being discussed in the next verse.

 Verse 19

मुखं बिन्दुं कृत्वा कुचयुगमधस्तस्य तदधो
हरार्धं ध्यायेद्यो हरमहिषि ते मन्मथकलाम्।
स सद्यः संक्षोभं नयति वनिता इत्यतिलघु
त्रिलोकिमप्याशु भ्रमयति रवीन्दुस्तनयुगाम्॥

mukhaṁ binduṁ kṛtvā kucayugamadhastasya tadadho
harārdhaṁ dhyāyedyo haramahiṣi te manmathakalām |
sa sadyaḥ saṁkṣobhaṁ nayati vanitā ityatilaghu
trilokimapyāśu bhramayati ravīndustanayugām ||

mukhaṁ binduṁ kṛtvā – visualizing face as bindu;  kucayugam adhastasya – below the bindu, (visualizing) your bosoms; tadadho – below that (bosoms); hara ardhaṁ - half of ‘ha’; dhyāyedyo – contemplating; haramahiṣi te – You, Consort of Śiva; manmatha kalām – the kalā of Cupid; sa sadyaḥ saṁkṣobhaṁ nayati - surely leads to agitation in the mind;  vanitā ityatilaghu – of women easily; trilokimapyāśu – quickly the three worlds; bhramayati – captivation; ravīndustanayugām – having sun and moon as the pair of bosoms.

“The one who meditates on Your Kāmakalā form with Your face as bindu; below Your face, Your two bosoms and still below that, the triangle, the creative aspect of Śiva causes immediate agitation in the minds of women  of three worlds, who have sun and moon as their bosoms towards the aspirant.”

This verse speaks about a meditation of Her kāmakalā form, which is Her subtler form. Her subtlest form is kuṇḍalinī. She is worshipped in different gross forms. Before understanding this verse, one needs to understand Her kāmakalā form, as described in Lalitā Sahasranāma 322 kāmakalārūpā is reproduced below. Kāmakalā is the Sanskrit bīja ईं (īṁ).

“She is in the form of kāmakalā.  This is Her subtler form which is known only to Her spouse Śiva.  The subtlest form is Her kuṇḍalinī form in sahasrāra, where She conjoins Her spouse.  Kuṇḍalinī in lower cakra-s does not become subtlest and it attains the subtlest form only in sahasrāra. Kāma refers to the object of adoration, the object that is desired.  Here, Śiva becomes the most desired of all, as He is the Supreme Reality or Paramārtha.  Śiva being the Supreme Ruler, He is addressed as Kāmeśvara.  By addressing Him thus, He not only becomes the object of desire (Kāma), but also becomes the Supreme Ruler (Īśvara). This how He becomes Kāma + Īśvara = Kāmeśvara. Kalā refers to vimarśa form of Śiva, Mahātripurasundarī. Śiva alone is Self-illuminating and Śaktī illuminates the universe with the brilliance of Śiva. Their conjoined form is Kāmakalā.

Kāmakalā consists of three bindu-s (dots) forming a triangle and below this triangle there is an inverted triangle (hārda-kalā) where the three kūṭa-s of Pañcadasī mantra are placed.  From this lower inverted triangle all triads are born which ultimately leads to the creation of this universe.  The two parallel dots are Her bosoms by which this universe is nurtured and a single dot above these two dots is Her third eye.  Kāma means intent to create and kalā refers to a part of the main object, in this case, Śiva. The conjugation of Kāma and kalā leads to the manifestation of Kāmeśvara and Kāmeśvarī forms.  Śiva and Śaktī unite only in their kāma forms i.e. kāma + īśvarī and kāma + īśvara.  These two, are Their highest forms that cause Creation.  She is known as ‘Mahā-tripura-sundarī’ in the Kāmakalā form and is also known as bindutraya samaṣti rūpa divyākṣara rūpiṇi.  Mahā means supreme, tripura means three cities (could mean entire triads, the cause for creation that are ruled by Her).  The deeper meaning of tripura is Her three actions viz. creation, sustenance and destruction.  Sundarī means beauty.  So ‘Mahā-tripura-sundarī’ means the beautiful and Supreme Mother, who creates, nourishes and dissolves.  These three acts are subtly mentioned in Kāmakalā. 

The three bindu-s are extremely powerful.  They represent sun, moon and fire. Bindu is called the highest light.  The highest form of light naturally should be the origin of light from which all others should have emerged.  Self illuminating light is Śiva and that is why He is called as prakāśa form.  Śaktī reflects and distributes the light received from prakāśa form and that is why She is called as vimarśa form.  Vimarśa can be explained as knowledge with reasoning. The light of Śiva will not be reflected unless Śaktī is by His side.  These three bindu-s are therefore the three different forms of Śaktī and each of which represent three divine energies viz. Vāma, Jyeśta and Raudrī.  These goddesses represent Her three acts of creation, nourishment and absorption.  This is as far as the upper triangle is concerned.  It must be remembered that there is no triangle here but only three bindu-s (Bindu-s are further elaborated in nāma 905).  It is called as a triangle because if these dots are joined by straight lines, a triangle is formed. 

This upper conceived triangle is coupled with the lower hārda-kalā or the lower inverted triangle.  Each of the three lines of the triangle represents the three kūṭa-s of Pañcadasī mantra.  From this lower triangle which is formed out of the three kūṭa-s of the supreme Pañcadasī mantra, all other mantra-s are born leading to the creation of the universe.  Thus the lower triangle is known as the organ of creation from which the universe was created.  In the upper triangle the two lower bindu-s mean the sustenance or nourishment and the upper most triangle is the bindu for destruction.  These bindu-s are also known as sun, moon and fire possibly indicating sustenance (sun-without which the universe cannot function), sustenance (moon – moon is the symbolic representation of love) and fire (one of the qualities of fire is destruction).   This can be in fact compared to the three kūṭa-s of Pañcadasī where the kūṭa-s are also known as agni (fire) kūṭa, Sūrya (sun) kūṭa and Chandra (moon) kūṭa. 

It is not appropriate to provide a detailed interpretation, which should be known only from a learned guru of Śrī Vidya cult.  But those who do not have a guru, but are deeply attached to Śrī Mātā, the Divine Mother MĀ, should not be deprived of the opportunity to know the significance of Kāmakalā. Hence, a moderate interpretation is given here.  The usage of this Kāmakalā in ṣoḍaśī mantra in an appropriate place will provide early siddhi of the mantra.”

This verse talks about two triangles, upper and lower or one above the other. Her face and Her two bosoms form the upper triangle and Her organ of manifesting the universe form the lower triangle. The verse says that Her face is the bindu and below the face is Her two bosoms and below the bosoms is the Yoni from where the universe emerges. The lower triangle is described as the half of Sanskrit ha ह, which refers to इ (i, but pronounced as e). If we look at the formation of इ, it forms a part of ह and hence the verse says hara ardhaṁ - half of ‘ha’.  Kāmakalā is formed by placing a ‘U’ known as ardhacandra (half-moon) on the top of इ and one bidu above the ‘U’. It will look like this  . This is called lower triangle and in this triangle, the three kūṭā-s of Her Pañcadaśī mantra are placed. While facing the triangle, the right side of the triangle is vāgbhava kūṭa (ka e ī la hrīṁ क ए ई ल ह्रीं); upper side of the triangle is kāmarāja kūṭā (ha sa ka ha la hrīṁ ह स क ह ल ह्रीं) and the left side of the triangle is Śakti kūṭā (sa ka la hrīṁ स क ल ह्रीं).  From this inverted triangle, which is known as the Yoni of the universe or Brahmayoni, the entire manifestation happens. This is also explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma 895 yoninilayā. 

The verse begins by saying that one should meditate on Her face, which is known as the bindu and Her two bosoms below Her face. The diagram above will explain this further. When an aspirant is able to meditate on this sutler form of the Divine Mother, as described in this verse, becomes highly energetic and is attracted by damsels in all the three worlds, including celestial damsels. It is also said that the celestial damsels have sun and moon as their bosoms. In spite of having sun and moon as their bosoms, they are still attracted to the one who meditates on Her kāmakalā form.  Kāmakalā is subtly described in this verse as manmatha kalām, which can also said to mean erotism.  There are interpretations which say Her bosoms is described as sun and moon. When an aspirant meditates on Her form described above, women of all the three worlds become passionate towards him. This is because he visualizes Her in the form of Pañcadaśī mantra, which is the source of the universe.

Many things can be discussed on this verse. An aspirant can attain perfection only if he dissociates himself from physical attractions and this verse is one of the tests that one has to pass. This verse can also be explained as the three nāḍī-s discussed in kuṇḍalinī meditation - iḍa, piṅgala (two bosoms) and suśumnā and their convergence is at Her face. Ājñācakra can be explained as the bindu in Her forehead. This also can be explained as tantric initiation of kuṇḍalinī.

The underlying principle in this verse is meditation. She can be attained only through meditation, by using Her Pañcadaśī mantra. A successful aspirant is spiritually born (second birth in this birth itself) from this mantra, which is called as Her yoni, moves up towards Her bosoms and spiritually nourished by Her. She allows him to move up towards Her ājñācakra where She merges this Yogi with Śiva. Spiritual birth can be considered as the second birth in this life itself,  with an exclusive purpose of attaining liberation by merging with Śiva. She alone is capable of doing this, not even Śiva. Hence, Lalitā Sahasranāma 727 addresses Her śivajñānapradāyinī.

If the three worlds are interpreted as the three states of consciousness, active, dream and deep sleep states, then it means that She prevails in all the three states of consciousness or the aspirant stays in the state of Bliss in all these three states of human consciousness.

The interpretation of this verse is based on tantra śāstra-s and too much of disclosure is prohibited by Tantra Scriptures. They say that one should learn all these from a learned Guru. However, close to everything is explained in this interpretation.

 

Verse 20

                  किरन्तिमङ्गेभ्यः किरणनिकुर्म्बामृतरसं

हृदि त्वामाधते हिमकरशिलामूर्तिमिव यः।
स सर्पाणां दर्पं शमयति शुकुन्ताधिप इव
ज्वरप्लुष्टान् दृष्ट्या सुखयति सुधाधारसिरया॥

kirantimaṅgebhyaḥ kiraṇanikurmbāmṛtarasaṁ
hṛdi tvāmādhate himakaraśilāmūrtimiva yaḥ |
sa sarpāṇāṁ darpaṁ śamayati śukuntādhipa iva
jvarapluṣṭān dṛṣṭyā sukhayati sudhādhārasirayā ||

kirantim aṅgebhyaḥ - radiating from the body; kiraṇa nikurumhba amṛta rasaṁ - ambrosia formed out of the rays; hṛdi – heart; tvām ādhate – who meditates on You; himakara śilāmūrtim iva – an idol made out of moonstone; yaḥ - the aspirant; sa – he, the aspirant; sarpāṇāṁ darpaṁ śamayati – destroying the ego of snakes; śukunta ādhipa iva – like Garuḍa; jvarapluṣṭān – the one who suffers from fever; dṛṣṭyā – looks; sukhayati – cures; sudhā dhāra sirayā – flow of nectar like a stream.

“The one who meditates on Your form as sculptured in moonstone, visualising the flow of ambrosia like a stream, radiating from the rays emanating from Your body, his mere looks alone will cure the ailments, like the mere sight of the King of Birds Garuḍa destroying the ego of snakes.”

Moonstone is known as candrakānta. “It is cool and cooling ...transparent, very much liked by Śiva, and when worn removes ‘chill poverty’ and baneful astral influences (source: Maṇimāla – Vol II).” Since this stone is the favourite of Śiva, Śaṁkarācārya asks to meditate on Her form, as the one sculptured in candrakānta stone. This stone appears like the crystal complexion of Śiva and is radiating.  Candrakānta stone generates nectar in moon light and the nectar gets solidified when the moon light disappears. It is like Śakti becoming happy on seeing Śiva. When an aspirant meditates Her form made out of candrakānta stone, radiating powerful rays and from these rays visualising the secretion of ambrosia, his mere looks on someone who suffers from fever and other ailments will instantaneously cure. There is a specific reference to fever in this verse because, the candrakānta stone is a coolant. This is based on the fact that on what form one meditates, he/she becomes the subject of meditation. There are three aspects in a perfect meditation – the one who meditates, the form on which on meditates and the process of meditation itself. When all the three become one, objects are dissolved and there exists only the subject. When an aspirant meditates on Her cool form, radiating cool rays and from which ambrosia is secreted, the one who meditates becomes one with Her and attains all Her qualities. When such a person merely glances on someone who suffers from fever (also other ailments), he immediately gets cured. This is compared to the fear caused in the minds of snakes, subduing their ego, on seeing Garuḍa. Snakes have higher degree of ego, not in literal sense, but on poetic parlance. Ego can exist only when the mind exists. Garuḍa is the dreadful enemy of snakes.

It is to be understood that She is lustrous by Herself, not only because of being the Consort of Śiva, but Her very nature is radiating as per Lalitā Sahasranāma 452 tejovati, which says that from Her illumination, other luminaries such as sun derive their light. This verse subtly conveys that Her sincere devotees attain the power to heal ailments. Devotees here refers to those who visualize and contemplate Her in deep meditative stages and not those who are yet to advance to the higher levels of spiritual path. When such devotees become one with Her in deep trance, they attain all Her qualities. In the state of deep trance, there takes place subtle commune between the meditator and Parāśakti (at this point, there exists no dualities, hence there is no subject or object; both become one) where She endows certain powers to the meditator. This is because, his mind at this stage becomes totally inactive, and as result his consciousness is entirely focussed on Her. Thus he becomes one with Her. This happens only in the state of turya and beyond. This is how Vedas were revealed to sages and saints.

This verse also conveys the secretion of ambrosia during kuṇḍalinī meditation at sahasrāra that drips down to the throat where it is processed and sent to the nervous system. This secretion should not be swallowed. When this ambrosia is processed at the throat chakra, the processed ambrosia is sent to the various parts of the body to keep the body in good shape. This ambrosia acts as a vaccine to prevent any types of disease to the body. Such a person, who is known as yogī, can cure majority of the ailments by his mere glance. However, the cure depends upon one’s karmic imprints.  

By reciting this verse, it is said that one can eradicate the evil influence of ill placed Rahu in one’s horoscope. This verse can also give relief to snakebites.