verse51
शिवे शृङ्गारार्द्रा तदितरजने कुत्सनपरा
सरोषा गङ्गायां गिरिशचरिते विस्मयवती।
हराहिभ्यो भीता सरसिरुहसौभाग्यजननी
सखीषु स्मेरा ते मयि जननि दृष्टिः सक्रुणा॥
śive śṛṅgārārdrā taditarajane kutsanaparā
saroṣā gaṅgāyāṁ giriśacarite vismayavatī |
harāhibhyo bhītā sarasiruhasaubhāgyajananī
sakhīṣu smerā te mayi janani dṛṣṭiḥ sakruṇā ||
śive śṛṅgāra ārdrā – Soft and tender love for Śiva; tat itara jane – none except Him; kutsanaparā – expression of seriousness; saroṣa – full of anger; gaṅgāyāṁ - with Gaṅgā; giriśa carite – adventures of Śiva; vismayavatī – full of amazement; hara ahibha – fear from snakes adorned by Śiva; bhītā – frightened; sarasiruha saubhāgya jananī –resulting in redness like a lotus flower; sakhīṣu smerā – smiling at Her friends; te mayi janani dṛṣṭiḥ sakruṇā – Your compassionate glance at me.
“Your glance at Śiva expresses soft and tender love; Your glance all others except Śiva is full of seriousness; Your glance at Gaṅgā is full of anger; when You listen to the adventures of Śiva, your glance expresses amazement; when You notice snakes on Śiva, You express fear making Your face red like a lotus flower in a pond; when you look at your friends, You smile; when You look at me, Your glance is full of Grace.
This verse is one of the master pieces of Śaṁkarācārya. This verse elucidates eight types of Parāśakti’s expressions. The same Parāśakti under different circumstances express different types of emotions.
1. On seeing Śiva, Her Consort, She expresses tender and soft love.
2. On seeing others except Śiva, She expresses seriousness.
3. On seeing Gaṅgā at the top of Śiva’s head, She expresses anger.
4. On hearing Śiva’s adventures acts, She is amazed.
5. On seeing snakes on Śiva, which He wears as ornaments, She expresses fear.
6. On becoming furious, Her eyes become red, like red lotus flowers in a water body.
7. On seeing Her friends, She sports a smile.
8. On seeing Her devotee, She showers Her Grace.
This verse is a poetic masterpiece. Her emotions change according to the situations. When She is adored as Brahman, how can there be change of expressions in Her according to different situations? When She is Brahman, how can She show favour to someone and be angry with someone? When we can think in these lines, Śaṁkarācārya surely would have thought about this. This verse describes Brahman with attributes, who is also known as saguṇa Brahman. These expressions are possible, only if one is afflicted with three types of guṇa-s, sattva, rajas and tamas (purity and knowledge, passion and action, ignorance and inertia) commonly known as triguṇa. Lalitā Sahasranāma 984 is triguṇa, which means that She is an embodiment all these three guṇa-s. Ego and intellect originate from these guṇa-s. When Lalitā Sahasranāma says that She is triguṇa, it refers to Brahman with attributes, also known as saguṇa Brahman or Brahman with attributes. Without attributes, also known as guṇa-s, creation cannot happen. Thus, this verse subtly conveys that She is the cause for creation. Since, this verse describes Her as an embodiment of three guṇa-s, She is able to express different emotions. Typically, this verse explains how guṇa-s play vital role in one’s life. Unless these guṇa-s are transcended, liberation is not possible. Kṛṣṇa says (Bhagavad Gīta XIV.20) “Having transcended the aforesaid guṇa-s, which have caused the body, and freed from birth, death, old age and all kinds of sorrow, this soul attains the Supreme Bliss.”
Again, Lalitā Sahasranāma 139 is nirguṇa, which means that She is without guṇa-s, also known as nirguṇa Brahman. This nāma contradicts what is said in nāma 984. By saying so, Lalitā Sahasranāma drives home the point that She is Brahman without attributes. The difference between nirguṇa Brahman and saguṇa Brahman is significant and is explained in great detail in Lalitā Sahasranāma. Former is Pure Brahman, who always stands as a witness doing nothing, whereas the latter is the Power of Brahman. This is known as Śiva and His Power Śakti. This verse describes Her as saguṇa Brahman. Being saguṇa Brahman, She expresses different types of emotions that are commonly seen in all human beings. The underlying idea of this verse is that one should transcend these guṇa-s to reach the logical goal of spiritual path.
When She is with Śiva, She expresses tender love for Him. When Her body is so tender, the love expressed by Her towards Śiva cannot be different. They are inseparable like a word and its meaning. When She looks at others, this expression of love is lost and Her looks become different for different persons. She becomes serious when She deals with all others, except Śiva. Holy rive Ganges is worshipped as a goddess. She is seated on the top of Śiva’s plaited hair. Though there are stories regarding this, the fact is different. Śiva is always in perpetual meditation. Parāśakti is present within Him in Her subtle form Kuṇḍalinī and plays within His head and as a result of this, His head emits fire. In order to balance the intent and unbearable heat, Gaṅgā is present on the top of His head to prevent the heat from spreading. Only from this fire, known as kālāgni, He annihilates the universe. He uses His third eye to emit this fire. One seeing Gaṅgā at the top of His head, Parāśakti becomes upset and looks at Gaṅgā angrily. Several sages and saints used to tell Her adventures of Śiva, particularly His destruction of Tripura (three worlds in the sky, middle and earth; Tripura subtly conveys three guṇa-s, which need to be destroyed to attain Her Grace). When they describe His adventures, She is amazed with His heroic acts. When She is near Śiva, She is frightened by the presence of deadly snakes which Śiva wears as His ornaments. On seeing evil doers (demons), She becomes terribly angry and as a result, Her face becomes red like a lotus flower in a pond. Lotus flower in a pond is specifically mentioned in this verse. Śaṁkarācārya’s knowledge is exemplary. He has not merely mentioned lotus flower, but he says lotus flower in a pond. This is because lotus flower loses its original deep red colour after taking it out from the pond. Apart from this intended meaning, he also emphasises that Her face is as fresh as an un-plucked lotus flower. She has lot of friends, with whom She plays in Her palace known as Cintāmaṇi surrounded by small sized bushes and celestial tress in the island of Maṇidvīpa situated in the middle of the nectarine ocean. And finally Śaṁkarācārya affirms that She is showering Her Grace on him. He never pleaded with Her for Her Grace; he simply affirms that She is showering Her Grace on him. In spirituality, such affirmations are extremely important, rather than simple prayers.
Thus, in this verse, Śaṁkarācārya describes eight types of normal human emotions which are inherent in human mind. He subtly conveys that these emotions have to be transcended to attain Her. He says that She is not different from us, as She exists within and can be attained with ease by developing love for Her. When we begin to love Her, She begins to shower Her Grace. Her Grace cannot be attained by mere devotion, as devotion is part of dualism or Dvaita philosophy.
verse52
गते कर्णाभ्यर्णं गरुत इव पक्ष्माणि दधती
पुरां भेत्तुश्चित्तप्रशमरसविद्रावणफले।
इमे नेत्रे गोत्राधरपतिकुलोत्तंसकलिके
तवाकर्णाकृष्टस्मरशरविलासं कलयतः॥
gate karṇābhyarṇaṁ garuta iva pakṣmāṇi dadhatī
purāṁ bhettuścittapraśamarasavidrāvaṇaphale |
ime netre gotrādharapatikulottaṁsakalike
tavākarṇākṛṣṭasmaraśaravilāsaṁ kalayataḥ ||
gate karṇābhyarṇaṁ - approaching Your ears; garuta iva – like feathers of a bird; pakṣmāṇi – eye lashes; dadhatī – wearing; purāṁ bhettuḥ - destroyer of three worlds, viz. Śiva; citta praśama rasa vidrāvaṇa phale – disturbing mental peace; ime netre – these eyes; gotrā dharapati kulottaṁsa kalike – O! The excellent one in the lineage of Haimavān, the king of snow clad mountains; tava – Yours; ākarṇākṛṣṭa smara śara vilāsaṁ - extended up to Your ears like the shining arrow of Manmatha; kalayata – make.
“O! Parāśakti! The excellent one in the lineage of Haimavān (Her father), the king of snow clad mountains! Your eyes extend up to Your ears and Your eyelashes appear like feathers of a bird. Your eyes disturb tranquillity of Śiva, as they appear (as they are extended up to the ears) like a shining arrow of Manmatha.”
Parāśakti’s eyes are lustrous and beautiful to look at, as they are elongated and almost nearing Her ears. Elongated portion appears like an arrow of Manmatha. Her eye lashes are so soft and appear like feathers of a bird. Such beautiful eyes distract the mind of Śiva. The significant aspect of this verse is about the disturbance in the placid mind of Śiva, the cause of which is Her eyes, which are compared the arrows of Manmatha, the god of love. This verse does not say that Śiva looks into Her eyes nor She looks at Him. Therefore, this verse does not speak about physical attraction to cause any distraction in the mind of Śiva.
The verse mentions about Parāśakti’s lineage, which is widely present in Mount Himalayas, which is full of greenery and streams. There are a number caves in Himalayas in which a number of sages and saints meditate perpetually. Śaṁkarācārya says that She is the most beautiful woman in the entire lineage of Haimavān.
Another point subtly conveyed through this verse is a message for spiritual aspirants. Even the best of sages and saints had been lured by divine damsels and as a result of which they had lost the connection with Divinity, which they could only re-establish after a long time. The acts of Cupid are always very powerful and he has the power to enter into a placid mind and make it susceptible to amorous thoughts and actions. Divine Grace attained by meditating for several years could be lost in no time. Advancing in spiritual path is very difficult and falling from the heights of spiritual path is easy and happens in no time. The verse points out that if normal aspirants are affected by the influence of Manmatha, it is difficult to come over the resultant urge. Mind has to be strong to overcome this influence. Hence, it is said that one should have a strong base while pursuing spiritual path.
Subtle information conveyed is that eyes are the most important organs that play vital role in attracting people. Eyes are also used to pass energy between Guru and his disciple. It is called netradīkṣā, initiation through eyes. Only the best of Gurus can do this. Some Gurus do not establish eye contract with everyone. If they establish eye contact, it means initiation into spiritual path. Initiation into mantra path is different from initiation into spiritual path. The former should lead to the latter to attain perfection in spiritual path.
verse53
विभक्तत्रैवर्ण्यं व्यतिकरितलीलाञ्जनतया
विभाति त्वन्नेत्रत्रितयमिदमीशानदयिते।
पुनः स्रष्टुं देवान् द्रुहिणहरिरुद्रानुपरतान्
रजः सत्वं बिभ्रत्तम इति गुणानां त्रयमिव॥
vibhaktatraivarṇyaṁ vyatikaritalīlāñjanatayā
vibhāti tvannetratritayamidamīśānadayite |
punaḥ sraṣṭuṁ devān druhiṇaharirudrānuparatān
rajaḥ satvaṁ bibhrattama iti guṇānāṁ trayamiva ||
vibhakta traivarṇyaṁ - three different colours (the colours are red, white and black and this is described in the next verse); vyatikarita līlāñjanatayā – mixing (applying is implied) beautiful collyrium; vibhāt – splendid; tva netra tritayam idam – these three eyes of Yours (as discussed in verse 50); īśāna dayite – O! Beloved Consort of Śiva; punaḥ - again; sraṣṭuṁ - the act of creation (sraṣṭṛ - a creator); devān – gods and goddesses; druhiṇa hari rudrān uparatān – Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra after their disappearance; rajaḥ satvaṁ bibhrat tama iti guṇānāṁ trayam iva – carrying these three guṇa-s rajas, sattva and tamas.
“O! Beloved Consort of Śiva. Your three splendid eyes shine with three different colours, when well mixed collyrium is applied to Your eyes and these three colours appear like three guṇa-s rajas, sattva and tamas. This appears as if You have decided to re-create three Gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra, after annihilation.”
These verses talk about the Grandeur of Parāśakti. We can fully understand Her only through these human-like descriptions. Śaṁkarācārya using his highest knowledge gives us a broad idea to enable us to contemplate Her. In the previous verse, Her two eyes were discussed and in this verse, all the three eyes are described, but the description in this verse is totally different from verse 50.
In normal human eyes, there will be traces of redness in the white background (this white membrane is known as sclera). Blood vessels run through sclera and depending upon one’s mental status, these blood vessels get enlarged and become visible, causing red tinge. But Her eyes do not turn red because of anger. It turns red because of compassion. The colour of compassions is said to be red and She is described with red complexion as She is an embodiment of compassion.
The first dhyāna verse of Lalitā Sahasranāma is explained thus and this forms the base for this verse.
sindūrāruṇa-vigrahāṃ tri-nayanāṃ māṇikya mauli sphurat
Sindūrāruṇa-vigrahāṃ - sindūram means the kumkum kept on women’s forehead, which is red in colour. ārunam means the colour of sun rise, which is also red. The complexion of Lalitā is red. Why Her complexion is referred twice - one is the reference to the colour of the kumkum, and another reference is to the colour of sun at the time of its rise? Vāc Devi-s could have felt the need to emphasize the deep red colour of Her complexion and could have thought that one example was not enough and hence two examples could have been cited. vigrahāṃ means Her form. trinayanāṃ means three eyed. Third eye mentioned here is not in its literal sense. It is the eye of jñāna. If one acquires jñāna, his third eye will be opened on its own. That is why Gods are described with three eyes. These three eyes represent the sun, the moon and the agni (fire), possibly indicating ājñā cakra.
Now we have white colour and red colour. The back colour is Her eyes is caused by a special mixture of collyrium* applied to the corners of Her eyes. This collyrium is applied to Her manually as She has no traces of tamo guṇa, which is represented by black colour. Application of collyrium enhances the beauty of the eyes and if the collyrium is prepared at home according to Ayurveda, it is said to cool the eyes. These three colours, white, red and black represent three guṇa-s sattva, rajas and tamas respectively and represent creation, sustenance and destruction and are presided over by three Gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra. They are also annihilated during dissolution. This is described in Saundaryalaharī (verse 20) which says, “O! Faithful Consort of Śiva! At the time of great dissolution, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Yama, Kubera, Indra and other gods cease to exist. But Your Consort Śiva alone enjoys with You even during the great dissolution.” She wants to recreate the annihilated universe due to compassion and to take care of the orderly process of creation, sustenance and destruction, She recreates Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra to recommence their respective jobs. As She creates them through Her eyes, this verse explains the origin of their recreation.
{*Further reading – how to make collyrium at home: Take an earthen lamp and will it with castor oil. A think wick should be made using well washed white cotton cloth. Take a copper plate and apply the past by powdering sweet-flag (acorus calamus) and mixing it with pure water. When the paste has dried on its own (should not be exposed to sun light), light the lamp and place the copper plate above the lighted lamp so that soot can form on the side where the paste is applied. After a few hours, there will be a formation of thick black soot in the form of powder. Take this powder with clean hands and mix it with clean castor oil. Collyrium is now ready for use.}
{Further reading on guṇa-s: She is in the form of three guṇa-s or qualities viz sattvic, rajas and tamas. Sattva guṇa means the quality of purity and knowledge. The presence of other two guṇa-s is not very prominent in sattva guṇa as this guṇa is endowed with the highest purity. Rajo guṇa is the activity of passion. Tamo guṇa is inertia or ignorance. These two guṇa-s have higher trace of other guṇa-s. Guṇa-s are the inherent qualities of prakṛti. Ego and intellect originate from guṇa-s that are present in all the evolutes of prakṛti at once, but distributed in unequal proportions in each individual. The predominant guṇa that prevails in an individual is reflected through his thoughts and actions.}
verse54
पवित्रीकर्तुं नः पशुपतिपराधीनहृदये
दयामित्रैर्नेत्रैररुणधवलश्यामरुचिभिः।
नदः शोणो गङ्गा तपनतनयोति ध्रुवममुं
त्रयाणां तीर्थानामुपनयसि संभेदमनघम्॥
pavitrīkartuṁ naḥ paśupatiparādhīnahṛdaye
dayāmitrairnetrairaruṇadhavalaśyāmarucibhiḥ |
nadaḥ śoṇo gaṅgā tapanatanayoti dhruvamamuṁ
trayāṇāṁ tīrthānāmupanayasi saṁbhedamanagham ||
pavitrī kartuṁ naḥ - to purify us; paśupati parādhīna hṛdaye – wholeheartedly surrendered to Śiva; dayā mitrai netraiḥ - compassionate eyes; aruṇa dhavala śyāma rucibhiḥ - splendorous with red, white and black; nadaḥ - rivers; śoṇo gaṅgā – Śoṇo, Ganges; tapana tanaya– daughter of sun, known as river Yamuna; iti – thus; dhruvam – surely; amuṁ - this; trayāṇāṁ tīrthānām – these three rivers; upanayasi saṁbhedam anagham – destroys our sins.
“The one who has wholeheartedly surrendered unto Śiva! The One who has compassionate eyes shining with red, white and black colours! You have given us the holy confluence of three rivers, Sone, Ganges and Yamuna, to wash off our sins.”
It is believed that by taking bath in holy rivers wards off one’s sins. Here Śaṁkarācārya talks about the confluence of three sacred rivers Sone, Ganges and Yamuna and if one takes bath in this sacred confluence, all his sins, it is believed will be washed off. It is said that Parāśakti, who has wholeheartedly surrendered to Śiva, has created this confluence out of compassion for the humanity. Waters of Sona River is said to be red in colour; waters of Ganges is said to be white in colour and waters of Yamuna is believed to be black in colour. However, śyāma also means dark blue and possibly Śaṁkarācārya should have used the word to mean dark blue waters.
The tinges of these colours were already described in the previous verse and the previous verse said that through these colours, She creates three guṇa-s, which in turn cause creation. In addition to this description, Śaṁkarācārya speaks about Her wholehearted surrender to Śiva. This appears to be out of context. But Śaṁkarācārya is not a person who says something out of context. So, there should be some subtle conveyance through this verse. He subtly conveys the benefit arising out of kuṇḍalinī meditation. The three nāḍi-s iḍā, piṅgala and suṣumna are referred through these three rivers. These three nāḍi-s join together at ājñācakra, also known as third eye. In Her subtlest form kuṇḍalinī, She ascends through suṣumna nāḍi to conjoin Her Consort Śiva at sahasrāra. There are two aspects in this interpretation. An aspirant who could activate ājñācakra is able to ward off his sins. After leaving ājñācakra, She proceeds to sahasrāra to surrender unto Śiva. Whole hearted surrender can be interpreted to mean that there will no two separate entities such as Śiva and Śakti at sahasrāra. They both merge together to become one and there exists only Śiva. This phenomenon is known Śiva-Śakti ikya and is discussed in Lalitā Sahasranāma 999. A yogi who is able to experience Her presence in ājñācakra and the presence of both Śiva and Śakti at sahasrāra will have all his sins annihilated. However, this situation is possible only for those, whose karmic accounts permit this to happen. It can also be said that unless karmic account permits, even ājñācakra will not be activated.
verse55
निमेषोन्मेषाभ्यां प्रलयमुदयं याति जगती
तवेत्याहुः सन्तो धरणिधरराजन्यतनये।
त्वदुन्मेषाज्जातं जगदिदमशेषं प्रलयतः
परित्रातुं शङ्के परिहृतनिमेषास्तव दृशः॥
nimeṣonmeṣābhyāṁ pralayamudayaṁ yāti jagatī
tavetyāhuḥ santo dharaṇidhararājanyatanaye |
tvadunmeṣājjātaṁ jagadidamaśeṣaṁ pralayataḥ
paritrātuṁ śaṅke parihṛtanimeṣāstava dṛśaḥ ||
nimeṣa unmeṣābhyāṁ - by winking of Your eyes; pralayam udayaṁ yāti jagatī – universe is annihilated and recreated; tava - Your; iti āhuḥ santa - thus say wise; dharaṇidhara rājanya tanaye – O! Daughter of King of Mountains; tvat unmeṣāt jātaṁ - arising out of Your eye winks; jagat idam aśeṣaṁ - entire universe; pralayataḥ - from annihilation; paritrātuṁ - to protect; śaṅke – I think; parihṛta nimeṣās – not winking; tava dṛśaḥ - Your eyes.
“O! Daughter of King of Mountains! Wise men say that the universe is annihilated and re-created by winking of Your eyes. But, I think that the entire is universe is protected by You, by not winking Your eyes.”
The underlying concept of this verse is difference in perception. Different people think differently. Some speak out of experience and some speak out of knowledge gained through texts. Out of the two, undoubtedly speaking through one’s experience is superior. Śaṁkarācārya says that he does not think what others say is true as his perception is different from others. When others say that the universe is created and annihilated merely by Her wink, Śaṁkarācārya looks at the same concept differently and with more emphatic positive attitude. Wise men say that She annihilates and re-creates the entire universe by a wink of Her eye. Śaṁkarācārya does not disagree with this, but he says that the universe is sustained by Her by not winking Her eyes. If She winks, either the universe will get annihilated or re-created. Both interpretations convey the same quality of Parāśakti, but how the quality is interpreted is different.
One’s perception depends upon one’s inherent qualities. In every human being, all the three guṇa-s are not in equal proportions. A person with sattva guṇa will not think about past and future and in this verse past and future is represented by, annihilation and re-creation, one after the other; but will think only about his present status. Śaṁkarācārya thinks about the present and the present stage is that the universe continues to exist.
Another point driven home by this verse is that creation, sustenance and annihilation, the three main acts of Brahman is done by Her and not by Śiva. Śiva is full of Light and hence He is known as Prakāśa; whereas Śakti is Vimarśa who reflects the Light of Śiva. Śiva does not partake in any actions and He always remains as the Self within. He is nirguṇa Brahman, Brahman without attributes. She is saguṇa Brahman, Brahman with attributes. Without Her, Śiva cannot reflect His Light. Śiva has unique power and He has transferred this power to Śakti, who takes care of the entire universe on His behalf. When She creates, sustains and annihilates, She performs these acts only on behalf of Śiva. This message is conveyed through this verse.
Lalitā Sahasranāma 281 Unmeṣa-nimiṣotpanna-vipanna-bhuvānavalī also conveys the same meaning and is interpreted thus: Unmeṣa means opening eye lids and nimiṣ means closing of eye lids. The creation and dissolution of the universe happens at the wink of Her eyes. When She opens Her eyes, universe is created and when She closes Her eyes, universe is dissolved (vipanna). She does these crucial acts with great ease. This nāma actually highlights the ease with which the Brahman creates and dissolves this universe. This nāma conveys the subtle nature of the cosmic creation. Kashmiri texts interpret Unmeṣa as the externalising of icchā śakti, the commencement of world process. Unmeṣa also means the unfoldment of spiritual consciousness, which is attained by focussing on the inner consciousness.
verse56
तवापर्णे कर्णेजपनयनपैशुन्यचकिताः
निलीयन्ते तोये नियतमनिमेषाः शफरिकाः।
इयं च श्रीर्बद्धच्छदपुटकवाटं कुवलयं
जहाति प्रत्यूषे निशि च विघटत्य प्रविशति॥
tavāparṇe karṇejapanayanapaiśunyacakitāḥ
nilīyante toye niyatamanimeṣāḥ śapharikāḥ |
iyaṁ ca śrīrbaddhacchadapuṭakavāṭaṁ kuvalayaṁ
jahāti pratyūṣe niśi ca vighaṭatya praviśati ||
aparṇa – O! Parāśakti (aparṇa means either Durgā or Pārvatī); tava karṇe japa nayana paiśunya cakitaḥ- afraid of Your eyes that go near Your ears to telltale; nilīyante toye – decided to hide themselves in water; niyatam animeṣāḥ - constantly, without blinking; śapharikāḥ -female fish; iyaṁ ca śrī – even Goddess Lakṣmī; baddha cchada puṭakavāṭaṁ -closing the doors made of petals; kuvalayaṁ - blue lily; jahāti – abandoned; pratyūṣe – during dawn; niśi ca – during night; vighaṭatya praviśati – making forceful entry.
“O! Parāśakti! Female fish, fearing that Your eyes could say some gossip to Your ears, decide to hide themselves in water, without even blinking their eyes. Goddess Lakṣmī who wants to be present near Your eyes during daytime abandons water lilies and makes a forceful entry into blue water lilies only in the night to open them again.”
A masterly visualization by Śaṁkarācārya and he could not have conceived this scene without having Her direct vision. Aparṇa refers to Pārvatī, Consort of Parameśvara. Whatever forms Śiva takes, She also takes the same form. For example, when He is Bhairava, She becomes Bhairavi; when He is Śiva, She is Śakti; when He is Maheśvara, She is Maheśvari, etc. Even in names, they are not separated.
This verse again adores Her eyes. Her eyes reaching near Her ears is already described in verse 52, which said gate ime netre gate karṇābhyarṇaṁ (these eyes approaching Your ears). On seeing Her eyes ending very close to Her ears, female fish are scared that Her eyes could telltale in Her ears and hence keep vigil on Her eyes without even blinking their eyes and continue to remain in waters. But what is the telltale female fish are afraid of? Female fish think that Her eyes appearing like them could say something bad about them (female fish) into Her ears and on hearing this, if She becomes angry, they fear that they could be destroyed. Fish do not know that She is an embodiment of compassion and because of their ignorance, they could not understand Her compassion and look at Her differently. This is the difference between human mind and other animals. Human mind is Her gift to humanity. She has given a higher level of mind to humanity where mind can be tuned in such a way that they can be made thoughtless in order to contemplate Her to attain liberation. Liberation is possible only through mind.
There is yet another comparison. Water lilies blossom only in the night. Goddess Lakṣmī fearing that Parāśakti could become angry with Her if She (Lakṣmī) is not present in Her (Parāśakti) eyes, leaves Her (Parāśakti) eyes when She (Parāśakti) closes Her eyes in the night to make the water lilies blossom. Seat of Lakṣmī is lotus flower, which is described in this verse as water lilies.
This verse also highlights the point that one need not worship any other gods or goddesses when She is worshiped with Pañcadaśī or Ṣoḍaśī mantras. The point here is that when someone is worshipping the Supreme authority, where is the need for worshipping Her assistants. If one does so, it is a clear exhibition of their lack of faith in Her. Faith is the most important factor in Self-realization.
If one is able to meditate on Her properly and intently, Her vision is possible in mind. Depending upon the level of the meditator, different visions are possible at different levels. Generally, it will be the form with which we contemplate Her. Over a period of time, this vision also fades away leaving only a bright Light for contemplation. Spiritual path has also different stages and if one does not move forward quickly, liberation could be postponed to subsequent births.
verse57
दृशा द्राघीयस्या दरदलितनीलोत्पलरुचा
दवीयांसं दीनं स्नपय कृपया मामपि शिवे।
अनेनायं धन्यो भवति न च ते हानिरियता
वने वा हर्म्ये वा समकरनिपातो हिमकरः॥
dṛśā drāghīyasyā daradalitanīlotpalarucā
davīyāṁsaṁ dīnaṁ snapaya kṛpayā māmapi śive |
anenāyaṁ dhanyo bhavati na ca te hāniriyatā
vane vā harmye vā samakaranipāto himakaraḥ ||
dṛśa – look; drāghīyasya – lengthy; daradalita nīlotpala rucā – having the beauty of fully blossomed blue water lilies; davīyāṁsaṁ - farther away; dīnaṁ - miserable; snapaya kṛpaya – bathing with compassion; māmapi śive – me too; O! Parāśakti! anena - because of this; ayaṁ dhanya bhavati – I am fortunate; na ca te hāni iyatā – it is no loss for You; vane vā – on the forest; harmye vā – on the palace; sama kara nipāta – fall of his rays equally; himakaraḥ - moon.
“O! Auspicious Parāśakti! Please look at me, who am far away from You and in a miserable condition. Shower Your compassion on me through Your beautiful and lengthy eyes appearing like fully blossomed water lilies. By doing so, it is no loss for you like moon shedding his rays both in a forest and in a mansion.”
It is a prayer from Śaṁkarācārya. He says that he is not able to go anywhere near Her, as She is always surrounded by gods like Brahmā, Indra and others. Earlier verses said that they also vie with each other to reach as close to Her as possible. He seeks Her Grace from a faraway place by drawing comparison to moon’s rays which falls on all the places equally. Śaṁkarācārya seeks Her Grace from a distance, as he knows that She is omnipresent. This is the meaning of this verse.
But, the message conveyed through this verse is subtle and different. When She is omnipresent, what is the need for going anywhere near Her? When She is able to look at the entire universe from the place where She sits, what is the need for going near Her and being one amongst the crowd? Suppose one visit a temple and waits in a queue for hours to have darśan of the presiding deity of the temple, he would have both mentally and physically exhausted by the time he nears the sanctum sanctorum. Power of divine thought and feeling also would have faded away with impatient waiting time. Śaṁkarācārya, who is fully aware of this, seeks Her Grace from the place he stands. He knows that Her eyes can shower Grace in any nook and corner of the universe.
Secondly, worshipping in a particular form falls under duality in spiritual path, which always begins with duality. Her Grace and subsequent liberation is possible only in non-dualistic practice. By continuing to worship Her as someone different from us, one merely expresses lack of spiritual knowledge, which is considered as the supreme knowledge. Only spiritual knowledge leads to realisation of mahāvākya-s such as “I am That” or “Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi”. These mahāvākya-s are revealed through Upaniṣad-s, Bhagavad Gītā, Brahmasūtra, etc, which are the essence of highest spiritual knowledge. Without trying to realize Her within, if one wastes his or her precious human birth only in dualistic worship, there is no salvation for him or her. What is present within us is present everywhere. Only because of this uniqueness, She is adored as omnipresent. It is unique because, Brahman alone is omnipresent.
Another interesting aspect of this verse is that Śaṁkarācārya had taken moon for comparison and not sun. Parāśakti is always compared to moon as She represents all the sixteen kalā-s (rays) of the moon and each of these kalā-s form one lunar day. She is present in the form of Pañcadaśī mantra on full moon days and in the form of Ṣoḍaśī mantra on new moon days. Secondly, sun is hot and She is always compassionate and hence, moon is taken as comparison and not the sun. Compassion and heat cannot go together. When moon shines, its rays fall on all objects without discrimination of being good or bad, big or small. In the same way, for Her everyone is equal. However, Her Grace depends upon how powerful we are able to think about Her. It is not the worship that gives Her Grace, but true love for Her instantaneously gives Her Grace. She knows the difference between worship and contemplation or meditation, as She is the cause for this duality in the form of māyā. Though proper worship leads to proper contemplation, they are almost like North Pole and South Pole.
Śaṁkarācārya could have thought this way while composing this verse. “I am still noticing people going around and wasting their precious time. They are not making any efforts to realize the Omnipresent Brahman. I have revealed this through several of my verses and hymns. Either they don’t understand what I preach or they are not simply concerned to follow what I preach. This time, let me make myself as an example. I wish everyone understands at least this time, Her omnipresent nature and seek Her within to attain liberation. My only wish is that everyone should get liberated from the pains of transmigration.” (Śaṁkarācārya has expressed this thought through Brahma Sūtra, Vivekacūḍāmaṇi and his commentaries on Upaniṣad-s. The same message is conveyed by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad Gītā.)
The message conveyed through this verse is that Her Grace is possible to attain, provided it is sought in an appropriate manner. Appropriate manner can be explained as sādhana or practice. It is important to visualize Her in mind. Unless the mind is cleansed of mundane thoughts, contemplating Her effectively is not possible. When contemplation is too intent, it is possible that Her eyes become visible during meditation. Particularly, in the initial stages of good meditation, this happens more frequently, which is a clear sign of perfect meditation. No special efforts are necessary to see Her eyes in the mind and this vision purely depends upon one’s level of contemplation.
With this verse, adoring Her compassionate and Gracious eyes is concluded.
verse58
अरालं ते पालीयुगलमगराजन्यतनये
न केषामाधते कुसुमशरकोदण्डकुतुकम्।
तिरश्चीनो यत्र श्रवणपथमुल्ल्ङ्घ्य विलासन्
अपाङ्गव्यासङ्गो दिशति शरसन्धानधिषणाम्॥
arālaṁ te pālīyugalamagarājanyatanaye
na keṣāmādhate kusumaśarakodaṇḍakutukam |
tiraścīno yatra śravaṇapathamullṅghya vilāsan
apāṅgavyāsaṅgo diśati śarasandhānadhiṣaṇām ||
arālaṁ - curved; te – Your; pālī yugalam – space between eyes and the lower lobe of the ears; agarāja nyatanaye – O! Daughter of King of Mountains; na keṣām ādhate – will it not cause in everyone; kusuma śara kodaṇḍa kutukam – beauty of Manmatha’s bow; tiraścīnaḥ yatra – wherein placed horizontally; śravaṇapatham ullṅghya – beyond ears; vilāsan – gleaming; apāṅga vyāsaṅga – seeing with outer corner of the eyes (side glance); diśati – giving; śara sandhāna dhiṣaṇām – appearing like fixing an arrow.
“O! Daughter of King of Mountains! Curved space between Your eyes and outer ear lobes (probably referring to the place where sphenoid bone is placed) cause curiousness in everyone as they mistake it for Manmatha’s bow. When You see through the outer corner of Your eyes, it causes radiance and appears like fixing an (flower) arrow to the bow.”
This verse describes the place between outer corner of Her eyes and earlobes. This place appears curved and hence compared to the bow of Manmatha. A comparison is drawn to Manmatha’s bow because, it is made of soft flowers and when the bow is in the hands of Manmatha, who is a symbol of handsomeness, enhances the beauty of the bow. Everyone mistakes the place between Her eyes and ears as Manmatha’s bow. When there is a bow, there has to be an arrow. Here, Her side-glance is described as flower arrow.
It is also said that when She glances sideward, Her looks cause mental disturbance in the mind of Śiva, who had burnt Manmatha to ashes. Couple of points can be argued on this. One, it talks about love between Śiva and Śakti and therefore subtly conveys creative aspect of Divine. The possible second argument is that love forms part of life, where love does not merely get restricted to amorous feelings. Going by the saying that Love is God where love can be interpreted to mean love and compassion for others. When anger and hatred sprout in one’s mind, the mind becomes fully corrupted and Divine manifestation is not possible in afflicted minds. Positive thoughts lead to positive mental attitude, which includes love and compassion for others. Only in this state of mind, She begins to manifest.
Here is a quick meditation involving eyes and ears. By focussing both the eyes on the ears, one can feel the vibrations in ājñā cakra and these vibrations attain potency after a few minutes. If the attention is paid on this vibration, one can enter into bouts of trances lasting for a few seconds to a minute or two.
verse59
स्फुरद्गण्डाभोगप्रतिफलितताटङ्कयुगलं
चतुश्चक्रं मन्ये तव मुखमिदं मन्मथरथम्।
यमारुह्या द्रुह्यत्यवनिरथमर्केन्दुचरणं
महावीरो मारः प्रमथपतये सज्जितवते॥
sphuradgaṇḍābhogapratiphalitatāṭaṅkayugalaṁ
catuścakraṁ manye tava mukhamidaṁ manmatharatham |
yamāruhyā druhyatyavanirathamarkenducaraṇaṁ
mahāvīro māraḥ pramathapataye sajjitavate ||
sphurad gaṇḍābhoga – lustrous cheeks; pratiphalita tāṭaṅka yugalaṁ - a pair of reflective ear rings; catuś cakraṁ - four wheels; manya – appearing as; tava mukham idaṁ - this face of Yours; manmatha ratham – Manmatha’s chariot; yam āruhya – mounting on that chariot; druhyati – fighting; avaniratham - earth as chariot; arkendu caraṇaṁ - having sun and moon as wheels; mahāvīro māraḥ - the great hero Manmatha; pramatha pataye – Śiva.
“Your face with a pair of ear rings that reflect on Your lustrous cheeks appear to me as the chariot of Manmatha with four wheels. Manmatha sitting on this chariot fights against Śiva, who uses earth as His chariot and sun and moon as its wheels.”
Parāśakti is wearing a pair of earrings, which are glittering in nature. These reflective earrings get reflected in Her shining cheeks and appear as additional pair of earrings (two original earrings and two reflective images on Her cheeks). These ear rings are compared to the four wheels of chariot of Manmatha. Parāśakti is always fond of Manmatha; hence She resurrected him without a form, after he was burnt by Śiva. The verse says that Manmatha after mounting on the seat of this chariot of four wheels decides to fight against Śiva, who appears to have ascended on earth the earth using it as a chariot and using sun and moon as its wheels. This is the gross interpretation of this verse.
Manmatha represents amorous thoughts and actions. By attempting to induce Śiva. He got himself burnt. Śiva is a perfect Yogi and is always associated with purity of thoughts and actions. Śiva is the source of Light to this universe and hence He is known as Prakāśa. There cannot be any trace of darkness in this Light. He is beyond three guṇa-s. He is neither, sattva, nor rajo nor tamo guṇa. When there is no guṇa, it means purity. Manmatha wanted to somehow induce Śiva and he has not learnt from his past mistakes. His only hope was Her compassion towards him, because he used to worship Her with his own Pañcadaśī mantra, that is being widely practiced today. Ultimately, it turned out to be a romantic skirmish between Śiva and Śakti. The face of Parāśakti was so beautiful, finally Śiva also succumbed to Her beauty, as explained in Saundaryalaharī (verse 5) “...Viṣṇu, only after having worshipped You, attained the form of a woman and disturbed Śiva. Cupid also worshipped You and attained good looks and using the charm of his wife Rati and other beautiful celestial women enticed even saints and sages.”
The verse speaks about creative aspect of Brahman. Creation can happen only if Śiva and Śakti exist in unison.
verse60
सरस्वत्याः सूक्तिरमृतलहरीकौशलहरीः
पिबन्त्याः शर्वाणि श्रवणचुलुकाभ्यामविरलम्।
चमत्कारश्लाघाचलितशिरसः कुण्डलगणो
झणत्कारैस्तारैः प्रतिवचनमाचष्ट इव ते॥
sarasvatyāḥ sūktiramṛtalaharīkauśalaharīḥ
pibantyāḥ śarvāṇi śravaṇaculukābhyāmaviralam |
camatkāraślāghācalitaśirasaḥ kuṇḍalagaṇo
jhaṇatkāraistāraiḥ prativacanamācaṣṭa iva te ||
sarasvatyā - Goddess Sarasvatī; sūkti – wise saying; amṛta laharī – flow of nectar; kauśala harī – take away the goodness; pibantyāḥ - drinking; śarvāṇi – Śiva’s Consort; śravaṇa culukābhyām – You ears, appearing like hands hollowed to hold water; aviralam – contagiously; camatkāra ślāghā calita śirasaḥ - nodding in approval; kuṇḍala gaṇa – pair of ear studs; jhaṇatkāraiḥ tāraiḥ - loud jingling; prativacanam ācaṣṭa iva te – You reply in approval.
“O! Śiva’s Consort! The wise saying of Goddess Sarasvatī contagiously flow like nectar into Your ears, which appear like hollowed palms holding water. When You nod in approval, your ear studs make jingling sound, which resembles Your utterances in approval.”
Goddess Sarasvatī presides over knowledge and She elucidates sacred sayings in the Royal Court of Parāśakti. Royal Court is implied here, as Parāśakti does not need any sacred sayings, as knowledge itself originates from Her. Obviously, this scene refers to Her Royal Court, where She is seated as Rājarāhesvarī (Lalitā Sahasranāma 684). When all gods and goddesses have assembled, Goddess Sarasvatī could be imparting highest knowledge contagiously and continuously. Highest knowledge means ways and means to know Brahman. (Not all gods and goddesses are realized souls). This knowledge impartation is compared to uninterrupted flow of nectar. When honey is poured from one vessel to another, it flows without break and similarly, the highest knowledge is offered in Her court without any interruption. While approving and appreciating the wise sayings of Sarasvatī, Parāśakti nods Her head. When She nods Her head, the ear studs worn by Her make loud jingling sound, which is comprehended as Her saying ‘good’ or ‘very good’, etc.
Some scholars are of the opinion, that it is only Parāśakti who speaks and not Sarasvatī. This seems to be irrational, as Sarasvatī obviously cannot nod to what Parāśakti says. This is in accordance with Lalitā Sahasranāma 614 sacāmara-ramā-vāṇī-savyadakṣiṇa-sevitā, which says, that Goddess Lakṣmī (Ramā) and Goddess Sarasvatī (Vāṇī) stand by Her side and fan Her. This concept is also endorsed in Saundarya Laharī verse 99, Lalitā Triśatī nāma-s 63 and 194.
These types of verses are useful in contemplating Her with a form.
verse61
असौ नासावंशस्तुहिनगिरिवंशध्वजपटि
त्वदीयो नेदीयः फलतु फलमस्माकमुचितम्।
वहत्यन्तर्मुत्ताः शिशिरकरनिश्वासगलितं
समृद्ध्या यत्तासां बहिरपि च मुक्तामणिधरः॥
asau nāsāvaṁśastuhinagirivaṁśadhvajapaṭi
tvadīyo nedīyaḥ phalatu phalamasmākamucitam |
vahatyantarmukttāḥ śiśirakaraniśvāsagalitaṁ
samṛddhyā yattāsāṁ bahirapi ca muktāmaṇidharaḥ ||
asau – here; nāsā vaṁśa – bamboo like nose; tuhina giri vaṁśa dhvajapaṭi – flag (belonging to a Kingdom/Nation) belonging to the King of Himalayas; tvadīya – Yours; nedīyaḥ - quickly; phalatu – reward; phalam asmākam ucitam – consequent effects on us; vahati antar mukttāḥ - carrying a pearl within; śiśirakara niśvāsa galitaṁ - pushed out by the cool breath using candranāḍī (during exhalation through left nostril); samṛddhya – abundantly endowed; yat tāsāṁ - out of this; bahir api ca – outside too; muktāmaṇi dharaḥ - wearing a pearl.
“O! The most revered in the Himalayan Kingdom! Your bamboo like nose, quickly reward our desires and consequent effect on us. Pearls formed within your nose are pushed while you breathe out through your left nostril (and adore your nose as a nose ring).
This verse is purely a poetic visualization of Parāśakti by Śaṁkarācārya. There are subtle conveyances in this verse. One is that Her nose is compared to a bamboo stick. Bamboo is drawn as a comparison due to several factors. It is believed that rain drops falling on bamboo become pearls. When this bamboo stick is blown, it is said that the pearls fall down from the other end. It is also conveyed that Her nose becomes broader towards the end like a bamboo shoot. Whether it is a bamboo shoot or an oyster, pearl is always formed inside, invisible to the naked eyes, emphasising the fact that She should be realized within the body. Secondly, air can be blown through a bamboo shoot after making some modifications. The movement of air through bamboo and Her nose are compared. Flutes are made out of bamboo shoots and they are capable of producing cool (pleasant) melodies. Why Śaṁkarācārya had chosen bamboo as an example? Bamboo trees do not produce fruits and contextually, fruits mean material desires. Just like a bamboo tree, Śaṁkarācārya had no material desires and because of this, She literally poured Her Grace on him. Material desires always pull down spiritual aspirations.
There are two subtle nādī-s through which inhalations and exhalations happen. One is known as iḍā or candranāḍī (left nostril) and the other is piṅgala or sūryanāḍī (right nostril). These two nādī-s keep the body temperature constant, irrespective of the climate. Piṅgala nādī belongs to the sun and makes the body to warm up. Iḍā nāḍī belongs to the moon and cools down the body. By nature, breathing switches from one nostril to another nostril alternatively to maintain constant body temperature. A yogi could make his prāṇa enter through the central canal of the spinal cord (known as citriṇī), which ultimately ends at brahmarandra, (known as orifice of Brahman, also known as Brahma nāḍī) which leads him to the perpetual state of Bliss and ultimate liberation. By referring to candranāḍī, probably Śaṁkarācārya could be referring to liberation, as candranāḍī represents Her and sūryanāḍī refers to Śiva. Iḍā and piṅgala conjoin near shoulder joints and if one practices kuṇḍalinī meditation, he could feel stiffness, if a proper posture is not practiced. Keeping both the upper arms away from the body (body to elbow should be at least 4”) is important during this meditation.
When Parāśakti exhales, the air that comes out is cool and as a result of this, pearls are formed inside Her nostrils which fall down due to the force of air breathed out and these pears adore Her nose externally forming a nose ring. But these pearls are different from ordinary pearls. These pearls are shining like stars and adore Her nose. Lalitā Sahasranāma (20) says, tārākānthi-tiraskāri-nāsabharaṇa-bhāsurā, which is explained thus: “She is wearing a nose stud that outshines the stars. Her nose stud is made up of rubies and pearls. Tārā means stars. Tārā also means two goddesses Maṅgalā and Śuklā. Śuklā has later come to be known as Śukrā. Possibly these Maṅgalā and Śukrā could mean the two planets Mars and Venus. Each planet governs certain precious stones. Planet Mars rules ruby that is red in colour and Venus rules diamond (Mani Mālā II.79). It can also be said that these two planets adorn Her nose. This also indicates that worshipping Her wards off the evil effects of planets.”
By drawing a comparison to a national flag, Śaṁkarācārya establishes Her supremacy in Her Kingdom, Mount Himalayas, where Meru is situated. Meru means mountain. She lives with Her Consort on the top of Mount Himalayas, which is known as Mount Kailāsa.
verse62
प्रकृत्या रक्तायास्तव सुदति दन्तच्छदरुचेः
प्रवक्ष्ये सादृश्यं जनयतु फलं विद्रुमलता।
न बिम्बं तद्बिम्बप्रतिफलनरागादरुणितं
तुलामध्यारोढुं कथमिव विलज्जेत कलया॥
prakṛtyā raktāyāstava sudati dantacchadaruceḥ
pravakṣye sādṛśyaṁ janayatu phalaṁ vidrumalatā |
na bimbaṁ tadbimbapratiphalanarāgādaruṇitaṁ
tulāmadhyāroḍhuṁ kathamiva vilajjeta kalayā ||
prakṛtya āraktāya – natural red; tava sudati – Your beautiful white teeth; danta cchada ruceḥ - parting of (Your) beautiful lips; pravakṣye sādṛśyaṁ - identify the similarity; janayatu phalaṁ - giving benefits; vidrumalatā – coral creeper; na bimbaṁ - not the bimba fruit ( Cephalandra Indica); tat bimba pratiphalana rāgāt aruṇitaṁ - that bimba fruit reflecting the redness of Your lips; tulām adhyāroḍhuṁ - attaining the state of equality; katham iva – nevertheless; (na) vilajjeta kalayā – not embarrassed; kalayā – even by a bit.
“O! Devi, the One with beautiful white teeth! I want to establish similarity between Your beautiful parting lips that are red in colour with something else (that is known to common man). I want to give benefit to the coral creeper and not to the bimba fruit, as bimba fruit simply reflect the redness of Your lips. Will not the bimba fruit be embarrassed at least by a bit, when this comparison is made?”
Śaṁkarācārya had the Divine vision of Parāśakti. When one is able to visualize a form with great concentration, such visions are possible. As Śaṁkarācārya was contemplating Her form all the time, he could easily enter into trance and experience Her vision. Though contemplation is necessary, one has to mandatorily enter into the state of trance, to have such Divine visions. How to enter into trance has already been explained in the article HOW TO ATTAIN DIVINE GRACE. Trance is the result of living in the state of Bliss. Only a purified mind is all that is needed to enter into the state of Bliss. Therefore, whatever Śaṁkarācārya says in Saundaryalaharī is not his imagination, but due to the divine visions he had. Imagination has limitations and minute details cannot be ideated so meticulously. From the way he describes Her, clearly proves that he was able to “see” Her, whenever he wanted to have Her darśan. This verse goes to prove that he composed this verse by sitting before Her (in his mind). A close similarity can be drawn between the origin of Vedas and many of Śaṁkarācārya’s compositions. Both were composed only mentally, by connecting to Divinity.
This verse says that Parāśakti has beautiful white teeth. The beauty of Her white teeth is seen through Her parted lips, that are dark red in complexion. Her lips are always parted because, She always smiles at Her devotees. Śaṁkarācārya wanted to compare at least to a certain extent, the deep red complexion of Her lips to some of the objects known to common man like us. He thought about two things; coral creeper and bimba fruit (also known as kanduri-ki-bel). Coral creeper does not yield fruits and hence, it cannot be compared. The only alternative is bimba fruit. However, he is not satisfied with this comparison, as he feels that bimba fruit merely reflects the redness of Her lips and these fruits do not have natural redness. Unimaginable poetic parlance! As bimba fruits know that they do not have natural redness and when they are compared to the lips of our own and ever Gracious Parāśakti, bimba fruits feel embarrassed for comparing them to the gracious lips of Lalitāmbikā.
If someone contemplates on the narration of this verse, he or she is bound to have Her Grace.
verse63
स्मितज्योत्स्नाजालं तव वदनचन्द्रस्य पिबदां
चकोराणामासीदतिरसतया चञ्चुजडिमा।
अतस्ते शीतांशोरमृतलहरीमाम्लरुचयः
पिबन्ति स्वच्छन्दं निशि निशि भृशं काञ्चिकधिया ॥
smitajyotsnājālaṁ tava vadanacandrasya pibadāṁ
cakorāṇāmāsīdatirasatayā cañcujaḍimā |
ataste śītāṁśoramṛtalaharīmāmlarucayaḥ
pibanti svacchandaṁ niśi niśi bhṛśaṁ kāñcikadhiyā ||
smita jyotsnā jālaṁ – Your smile appearing like a splendorous moonlight night; tava vadana candrasya – on Your face appearing like the moon; pibadāṁ - drinking; cakorāṇām – Cakora birds, Greek partridges (which survive only on moonlight); āsīt – had; ati rasatayā – repletion (eating until no more can be consumed); cañcu jaḍimā – tongue losing its sense; ataḥ te – hence they (the birds); śītāṁśoḥ amṛta laharīm – waves of nectar from the moon; āmla rucayaḥ - sour taste (like tamarind); pibanti – drinking; svacchandaṁ - following their own will; niśi niśi – every night; bhṛśaṁ - without hesitation; kāñcika dhiyā – considering it sour gruel.
“Cakora birds, (Greek partridges) considering Your beautiful face and its smile as the moon, drank repletely the nectar of Your smile and as a result of this repletion, their tongues have lost their taste buds. In order to set this right, they go in search of real moonlight considering its rays as sour gruel.”
Cakora birds live only on moonlight. They are able to generate a sort of nectar from the moonlight and survive. They have a strange capacity. When they see a poisoned food, their eyes turn red. The habitation of these birds is mountains of South Europe. They mistook Parāśakti’s face and the beautiful smile as the moon and as a result, they have generated more than normal nectar. This nectar was much more delicious than the nectar they tasted until now. As the nectar generated from the face of Parāśakti was much more delicious, they drank the nectar more than they can (repletion) and as result of which, their tongues have lost the sensitivity of taste buds. As a curative measure, they now go the real moonlight to drink its nectar considering the nectar generated out of the moonlight as sour gruel (which tastes like tamarind) every night. For having tasted the Divine Nectar for a day, they drink the nectar of the moon every day.
This is a typical example of Divine Grace. When an aspirant, with absolute faith (like the birds which faithfully believed that Parāśakti’s face is moon) contemplates on Her, She on Her own showers Her Grace on the aspirant. Descent of Divine Grace is very important during higher levels of spiritual sādhana. During higher levels of spiritual sādhana, the state of thoughtfulness during meditation, when the aspirant sitting in a secluded place looks for Her within, disconnecting his consciousness from the external world completely. When Her Grace descends, the aspirant enters into the state of Bliss, which is the prelude to realization. Realization can happen only in the state of Bliss. Perfect result of spiritual practice will be like this; sādhana à Grace à Realization à liberation à state of sthitaprajña à death à becoming one with Brahman.
verse64
अविश्रान्तं पत्युर्गुणगणकथाम्रेडनजपा
जपापुष्पच्छाया तव जननि जिह्वा जयति सा।
यदग्रासीनायाः स्फटिकदृषदच्छच्छविमयी
सरस्वत्या मूर्तिः परिणमति माणिक्यवपुषा॥
aviśrāntaṁ patyurguṇagaṇakathāmreḍanajapā
japāpuṣpacchāyā tava janani jihvā jayati sā |
yadagrāsīnāyāḥ sphaṭikadṛṣadacchacchavimayī
sarasvatyā mūrtiḥ pariṇamati māṇikyavapuṣā ||
aviśrāntaṁ - continuously, without interruption; patyuḥ - Your Consort (Śiva); guṇa gaṇa kathā amreḍana japā – repeatedly dwelling (reciting, explaining) on His Grandeur; japāpuṣpa cchāyā – in the colour of hibiscus flower (which is red in colour); tava – Your*; janani – O! Divine Mother; jihvā jayati sā – *(Your) tongue conquers; yat agra āsīnāyāḥ - who inhabits at the tip of (Your) tongue; sphaṭika dṛṣadacchaccha vimayī – having a complexion like that of a crystal; sarasvatyā mūrtiḥ – form (body) of goddess Sarasvatī; pariṇamati māṇikya vapuṣā – turning into the colour of ruby (gem).
“O! Divine Mother! Your tongue has turned into deep red like a hibiscus flower, as You are repeatedly talking about the Grandeur of Your Consort Śiva! Goddess Sarasvatī having a crystal like complexion and residing in the tip of Your tongue turns red like that of a ruby (due to the redness of Your tongue).”
This verse is in praise of the tongue of Parāśakti. By nature, tongue of everyone is red in color. But the tongue of Parāśakti, by nature is red in color. She constantly talks about the Grandeur of Śiva to everyone. How Her tongue turns deep red, like hibiscus flower, when She speaks about Her Consort Śiva? The only possible interpretation is that Her tongue too can blush! Śaṁkarācārya could have thought only this way, as there is no other possibility of Her tongue becoming so red in colour. There is one possibility as explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma 559, tāmbhūla-pūrita-mukhī, which says, that the betel leaves turn Her lips into red colour. But this is absolutely ruled out, as She will never talk about the Glories of Her Consort with betel leaves in Her mouth, which is not considered as an act of etiquette. Her tongue blushes when She talks about Her Consort Śiva, an idea only Śaṁkarācārya can conceptualize.
It is said that goddess Sarasvatī lives in the tongue of Parāśakti. Sarasvatī is pure crystal in complexion, like her twin brother Śiva (According to ancient mythology, Brahmā and Lakṣmī, Viṣṇu and Umā, Śiva and Sarasvatī are twins). The complexion of Sarasvatī turns into deep red like a ruby stone. Reference to ruby is very interesting. Śaṁkarācārya could have used any other comparison to explain this red colour of Sarasvatī; but he had chosen ruby stone because, ruby stone is transparent and reflects the colour of the tongue of Parāśakti. The crystal complexion of Sarasvatī appears deep red in colour simply because of the radiance of Her deep red tongue.
The verse also subtly conveys that those who worship Her, need not worship any other gods or goddesses.
(Further reading: In terms of complexion both Śiva and Śaktiappear as red. Lalitai is red in complexion. Śiva is pure white like a spatika (crystal). The specialty of spatika is that it gets reflected with the colour of the properties nearby. When Lalitai sits by the side of Śiva or on the lap of Śiva, His translucent crystal complexion also appears as red. The gods and goddesses, who witness this glorious scene compare this to the rising sun. This scene could lead to an inference that Śaktī is more potent than Śiva as Śiva only reflects the colour of Śaktī. Both of them hold the same four weaponries.)
verse65
रणे जित्वा दैत्यानपहृतशिरस्त्रैः कवचिभिः
निवृत्तैश्चण्डांशत्रिपुरहरनिर्माल्यविमुखैः।
विशाखेन्द्रोपेन्द्रैः शशिविशदकर्पूरशकलाः
विलीयन्ते मातस्तव वदनताम्बूलकबलाः॥
raṇe jitvā daityānapahṛtaśirastraiḥ kavacibhiḥ
nivṛttaiścaṇḍāṁśatripuraharanirmālyavimukhaiḥ |
viśākhendropendraiḥ śaśiviśadakarpūraśakalāḥ
vilīyante mātastava vadanatāmbūlakabalāḥ ||
raṇe jitvā daityā - victorious in war with demons; apahṛta śirastraiḥ - having taken their head gears; kavacibhiḥ - remaining only with armours on their chests; nivṛttaiḥ - returning (from wars); caṇḍa aṁśa – that portion meant for Caṇḍikeśvara; tripura hara nirmālya vimukhaiḥ - ignoring the remains of Śiva’s food (which is meant for Caṇḍikeśvara); viśākha indra upendraiḥ - Skanda (son of Śiva), Indra, Viṣṇu; śaśi viśada karpūra śakalāḥ - camphor, (edible camphor) as pure white as moon; vilīyante – melting away (due to proper chewing); mātaḥ - O! Divine Mother! tava – Yours; vadana tāmbūla kabalāḥ - mouth full of betel leaves.
“O! Divine Mother! Skanda, Indra, Viṣṇu, etc after winning their war against demons, come to you with their head gears removed, but still wearing armours on their chests, ignoring the remains of food of Śiva, meant for Caṇḍikeśvara, directly go to you to have a portion of the betel leaves mixed with pure edible camphor in your mouth.”
This verse re-emphasizes the Supremacy of Parāśakti. Skanda is said to be the mythical son of Śiva and Pārvati. He, along with Indra and Viṣṇu is known for annihilating demons, who cause imbalance in the world of dharma. Demons are repeated offenders and sinners, who are unwilling to correct themselves. They need to be annihilated in order to maintain proper dharma in the world. Skanda, Indra and Viṣṇu after annihilating the demons, as directed by Her, report to Her, straight from the battle field with their protective coverings. They do not have time to remove their protective coverings, as they have to report to Her immediately. But when they stand before Her, they remove their head gears, as a mark of respect. She commands such a respect.
There is reference about Caṇḍikeśvara in this verse, who is seen in Śiva temples. Those who visit Śiva temples have to report to him saying that they are not taking away any belongings of Śiva. He is a bodyguard of Śiva and there is a story about this. When Caṇḍikeśvara was very young, he used to be an ardent devotee of Śiva. When his father prevented him in worshipping Śiva, he killed his father and at this time, at the plea of his mother, Śiva resurrected his father and took Caṇḍikeśvara with Him and appointed him as His guard. Caṇḍikeśvara only eats the leftovers of Śiva and it is exclusively meant for Him. Skanda, Indra and Viṣṇu, though noticed this leftover, were not inclined to take the leftovers of Śiva and instead went to Parāśakti, not only to report to Her, but also waiting for leftovers of Her tāmbhūla (chewing of betel leaves along with karpūra vīṭikā - Lalitā Sahasranāma 26, which includes edible camphor, which is white in colour). It is said that the leftovers of Her tāmbhūla is capable of giving immense knowledge.
This verse talks about Her Grace.
verse66
विपञ्चया गायन्ती विविधमपदानं पशुपतेः
त्वयारब्धे वक्तुं चलितशिरसा साधुवचने।
तदीयैर्माधुर्यैरपलपिततन्त्रीकलरवां
निजां वीणां वाणी निचुलयति चोलेन निभृतम्॥
vipañcayā gāyantī vividhamapadānaṁ paśupateḥ
tvayārabdhe vaktuṁ calitaśirasā sādhuvacane |
tadīyairmādhuryairapalapitatantrīkalaravāṁ
nijāṁ vīṇāṁ vāṇī niculayati colena nibhṛtam ||
vipañcayā gāyantī –playing her (Sarasvatī) vīṇā and singing along with its melody; vividham apadānaṁ paśupateḥ - various glories of Śiva; tvaya – by you; ārabdha – commenced; vaktuṁ - mind set to speak; calita śirasa –nodding the head (in approval); sādhu vacane – appreciative voice; tadīyaiḥ mādhuryaḥ - due to the sweetness of the voice; apalapita tantrī kalaravāṁ - ridiculing the soft melody of her vīṇā; nijāṁ vīṇāṁ - her (Sarasvatī’s) vīṇā; vāṇī – Sarasvatī; niculayati colena nibhṛtam – covers her vīṇā silently.
“Goddess Sarasvatī plays on her vīṇā (an Indian classical instrument with strings, known as Indian lute) various glories of Śiva. While listening to this pleasing musical melody, You nod Your head in approval (approving the glories of Śiva) and begin to appreciate by saying (such as good, very good, excellent, etc). On hearing Your melodious voice, Sarasvatī was highly embarrassed, as Your sweet voice ridicules her vīṇā as well as her singing. Feeling ashamed, she quietly puts back the cover for her vīṇā.”
This verse is in praise of Her voice. Sarasvatī is the goddess, who presides over knowledge and arts, which includes music. Being the goddess of music, Sarasvatī sings various glories of Śiva and while singing, she also plays her vīṇā. Parāśakti is carefully listening to her music and being happy with the songs and melody, She nods Her head in approval. At some point of time, She openly appreciated both the meaning and the melody of Sarasvatī’s songs by not only nodding Her head in approval, but also saying good, excellent, etc. When Sarasvatī heard Her voice, she felt ashamed, as Her voice was much more melodious and sweeter than her singing and the melody of her vīṇā. Unable to bear this humiliation, she stood up and covered her vīṇā.
Lalitā Sahasranāma 27 is Nija-sallāpa-mādurya-vinirbhartsita-kacchpī and is explained thus: “Sarasvatī’s vīṇā is called kachapi. It produces a superb melody, in the hands of Sarasvatī Devi, the goddess for fine arts. The voice of Lalitai is more melodious than Sarasvatī’s vīṇā.
Another important aspect of this verse, which is subtly conveyed, is that one need not worship any other gods or goddesses, if one wholeheartedly worships Parāśakti, who encompasses every aspect of creation. Similarly, one can perform any pūjā in Śrī Cakra.
verse67
कराग्रेण स्पृष्टं तुहिनगिरिणा वत्सलतया
गिरिशेनोदस्तं मुहुरधरपानाकुलतया।
करग्राह्यं शंभोर्मुखमुकुरवृन्तं गिरिसुते
कथंकारं ब्रूमस्तव चुबुकमौपम्यरहितम्॥
karāgreṇa spṛṣṭaṁ tuhinagiriṇā vatsalatayā
giriśenodastaṁ muhuradharapānākulatayā |
karagrāhyaṁ śaṁbhormukhamukuravṛntaṁ girisute
kathaṁkāraṁ brūmastava cubukamaupamyarahitam ||
karāgreṇa spṛṣṭaṁ tuhinagiriṇā - touching Her with tip of his fingers by Himavān (Her father); vatsalatayā – affectionately; giriśenodastaṁ - lifted by Śiva; muhur – repeatedly; adharapāna – kissing; ākulatayā – intensity of desire (with agitated mind); karagrāhyaṁ - held in His (Śiva) hand; śaṁbhoḥ - Śiva; mukha mukura vṛntaṁ - handle for Your mirror like face; girisute – O! Parāśakti; kathaṁkāraṁ brūmaḥ - how can this spoken of; tava cubukam – Your chin; aupamya rahitam – without comparison.
“Himavān, Your father lifts You chin affectionately. Śiva repeatedly lifts Your chin with intent to kiss your lips and His hands appear like a handle to Your mirror like face. This scene is without comparison.”
This verse speaks about Parāśakti’s chin. Himavān, Her father touches Her chin with great affection. But, Śiva, Her Consort, repeatedly lifts up Her chin with an intention to kiss Her lips. When Śiva lifts Her chin, His arm appears like a handle to a mirror, where Her face is compared to a mirror. Her mirror like face is bright and shining and Śiva’s hand touching Her chin appears like a handle to the mirror. Śaṁkarācārya says that there is no comparison to this scene.
Lalitā Sahasranāma 29 is anākalita-sādṛśya-cibuka-śrī-virājitā and is explained thus: “She has the most beautiful chin”.
verse68
भुजाश्लेषान्नित्यं पुरदमयितुः कण्टकवती
तव ग्रीवा धत्ते मुखकमलनालश्रियमियम्।
स्वतः श्वेता कालागरुबहुलजम्बालमलिना
मृणालीलालित्यं वहति यदधो हारलतिका॥
bhujāśleṣānnityaṁ puradamayituḥ kaṇṭakavatī
tava grīvā dhatte mukhakamalanālaśriyamiyam |
svataḥ śvetā kālāgarubahulajambālamalinā
mṛṇālīlālityaṁ vahati yadadho hāralatikā ||
bhuja aśleṣa nityaṁ - always embracing by hands; pura damayituḥ - the burner of tripura (three worlds), Śiva; kaṇṭakavata – goose bumps; tava grīvā iyam dhatte – Your neck shows; mukha kamala nāla śriyam – the auspiciousness of (Your) face (neck) appearing like lotus stalk; svataḥ śvetā – naturally bright white; kālāgaru bahula jambāla malinā – darkened by the application of fragrant paste (it is the paste made from agaru, which is black in colour); mṛṇālī lālityaṁ -beautiful like lotus stalk; vaha iti – causing this; yat adhas – below that (neck); hāra latika – garland of pearls.
“Śiva always embraces you by keeping His hands on the nape of Your neck. When He does this, You develop goose bumps and this gives an impression that Your neck appears like a lotus stalk with bristles. Pure white pearl necklace below Your auspicious face, appear dark in colour due to black paste of agaru, which also appears like a lotus stalk.”
There are four types of visualization for Śiva and Śakti. One, they are in two different places. For example, when Śiva dances during cosmic annihilation, She witnesses His Cosmic dance from a distance, says Lalitā Sahasranāma 232, maheśvara-mahākalpa-mahātāṇḍava-sākṣiṇī. Their next posture is sitting on Royal Throne, where She sits by His side. The third posture is that She is sitting on the left lap of Śiva. Their last posture is ardhanārīśvara form, where She occupies Śiva’s left side. Śaṃkarācārya visualizes in this verse, a posture beyond their commonly known postures.
This verse says that Śiva is sitting by Her side, putting His hand around her neck. Because of this, She gets goose bumps and when the goose bumps appear in Her neck, Śaṃkarācārya sees Her neck as the stalk of lotus. Lotus stalk though soft, has minute bristles in it. If Her neck is the stalk of the lotus flower, Her face becomes the lotus flower itself. How does Her face look like? It is like a lotus flower and as white as a pure pearl necklace that She is wearing. But the pure white pearl necklace that She is wearing, has become dark in colour due to the frequent application of black coloured fragrant paste made out of arugu (bark of a tree). This half-white pearl necklace is also compared to the black roots of lotus stalk.
verse69
गले रेखास्तिस्रो गतिगमकगीतैकनिपुणे
विवाहव्यानद्धप्रगुणगुणसंख्याप्रतिभुवः।
विराजन्ते नानाविधमधुररागाकरभुवां
त्रयाणां ग्रामाणां स्थितिनियमसीमान इव ते॥
gale rekhāstisro gatigamakagītaikanipuṇe
vivāhavyānaddhapraguṇaguṇasaṁkhyāpratibhuvaḥ |
virājante nānāvidhamadhurarāgākarabhuvāṁ
trayāṇāṁ grāmāṇāṁ sthitiniyamasīmāna iva te ||
gale –neck; rekhāstisro –three lines; gati gamaka gītaika nipuṇe – expert in singing with gati and gamaka (both associated with the way in which vocal music is rendered); vivāha vyānaddha praguṇa guṇa saṁkhyā pratibhuvaḥ - reminding the auspicious thread made of three strings, tied during marriage (māṅgalyasūtra); virājante – embellishing; nānāvidha madhura rāgākara bhuvāṁ - the source of multitude of pleasing melodies; trayāṇāṁ grāmāṇāṁ - three musical notes (ṣaḍja, gāndhāra and madhyama); sthiti niyama sīmāna iva – boundaries delimiting musical notes; te – Your;
“You neck (containing vocal cord), which has the expertise of singing melodious tunes, has three lines. They remind us about the auspicious thread (māṅgalyasūtra) tied in your neck by Śiva, which is made of three intertwined (yellow) threads. The three lines also appear like boundaries delimiting musical notes.”
Śaṁkarācārya describes Her neck. He says that there are lines in Her neck. Three lines around the neck is described as the sign of auspiciousness in sāmudrikalakṣaṇa (study of body parts and its effects). On seeing these three lines, Śaṁkarācārya could immediately recollect about tying of māṅgalyasūtra on Her neck by Śiva during their marriage. Māṅgalyasūtra is made of three intertwined yellow colour threads and after intertwining, the thread that is to be tied becomes thick and in the centre of this thick thread , māṅgalya is fixed and the loose ends are kept open. Māṅgalya is explained as an object of auspiciousness that conveys happiness. An ordinary poet could have stopped at this point. But Śaṁkarācārya goes further and says that these lines not only reminds him about māṅgalyasūtra, but also reminds him about the boundary lines between musical notes. There are seven basic musical notes known as saptasvara (seven musical notes/sound) and these notes are sa, ṛ, gā, ma, pa, dha and ni and these notes are known as ṣaḍja, ṛṣabha, gāndhāra, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata and niṣāda. Out of these seven only three, which are mentioned in this verse are known as grāma. Since Śaṁkarācārya was expert in anything, including music, he chose only the three grāma-s to describe the three lines in Her neck. This also indirectly explains the qualities of a great Guru. A Guru should know almost everything, not merely mantras and rituals. From these lines, which are compared to grāma, all other musical notes originate. Therefore, he also establishes that everything originates from Her.
Further reading: According to Hindu Scriptures, a marriage has many ceremonies, out of which most important ceremonies are:
1. Kanyādāna, where the girl is given as a gift to groom’s family. This is only a gift and no monetary or material transactions are involved. Bride’s father is the one, who gives the gift to the groom.
2. Saptapadī, where the groom holding the big toe of the right foot of the bride and makes her to walk seven steps. While holding her big toe, groom’s right hand thumb should be facing upwards.
There are other rituals too, but tying māṅgalyasūtra is not mentioned in the ancient texts. It is important that kanyādāna should be performed during auspicious muhūrta. Someone could say that saptapadī should also be done during muhūrta. Muhūrta is 1/30 of 24 hours, which means 48 minutes, which represent time duration of two stars (nakṣatra-s). There are 30 muhūrta-s in a day and each muhūrta also has a name.
verse70
मृणालीमृद्वीनां तव भुजलतानां चतसृणां
चतुर्भिः सौन्दर्यं सरसिजभवः स्तौति वदनैः।
नखेभ्यः संत्रस्यन् प्रथममथनादन्धकरिपोः
चतुर्णां शीर्षाणां सममभयहस्तार्पणधिया॥
mṛṇālīmṛdvīnāṁ tava bhujalatānāṁ catasṛṇāṁ
caturbhiḥ saundaryaṁ sarasijabhavaḥ stauti vadanaiḥ |
nakhebhyaḥ saṁtrasyan prathamamathanādandhakaripoḥ
caturṇāṁ śīrṣāṇāṁ samamabhayahastārpaṇadhiyā ||
mṛṇālī mṛdvīnāṁ - soft like stalk of lotus; tava – Your; catasṛṇāṁ - four fold; caturbhiḥ - four; saundaryaṁ - beauty; sarasija bhavaḥ - Brahmā (god of creation); stauti – praising ; vadanaiḥ - faces; nakhebhyaḥ - finger nails; saṁtrasyan - fearing; prathama mathanāt – because of the previous incident; andhaka ripoḥ - Śiva’s; caturṇāṁ śīrṣāṇāṁ - existing four heads; samam- similarly; abhaya hasta arpaṇa dhiyā – saving, by extending Your hand.
“Your four hands are very soft like lotus stalk. Once upon a time, Śiva nipped off Brahmā’s head using His finger nails. Scared of this and in order to retain his existing four heads, Brahmā came to You and praised Your four soft hands seeking Your protection.”
On the grosser side, Śiva cut the fourth head of Brahmā and there are several stories associated with this incident. Fearing that Śiva could cut off his remaining four heads, he goes to Parāśakti and sings Her praise, seeking Her protection. Brahmā went to Her thinking that he can be saved by Her hand with abhaya mudra. In order to save himself, Brahmā has totally forgotten that She does not show abhaya mudra and Her feet are capable of protecting from miseries (Saundaryalaharī verse 4). He himself worshiped Her feet, which is explained in Saundaryalaharī verse 3 and 22). However, dhyāna verse of Mahāṣoḍaśī mantra says, “pāṇibhyāṁ varadā abhayaṁ ca dadhatīṁ brahmādisevyāṁ parāṁ” which means, She also has abhaya and varada mudras, but this is applicable only in that particular form of manifestation. In fact, Mahāṣoḍaśī mantra is meant only for those, who are about to be liberated. But, Brahmā is a liberated god head, who takes care of the entire creation and works under Her command. When Brahmā goes to Her seeking protection, it clearly speaks about Her Supremacy.
Brahmā originally had five heads. There are various interpretations about his fifth head. One of his heads was cut off by Śiva for having told a lie. There is another version saying that the fifth head was burnt by Śiva’s third eye for having disrespected Him. According to another version, fifth head of Brahmā was cut off by Kālabhairava, a form of Śiva. Another version says that Brahmā has fallen in love with Sarasvatī, his consort and spent most of his time with her. There are different versions about the origin of Sarasvatī. Some texts say that Sarasvatī is Brahmā’s daughter and Brahmā created her using his mind power. When Brahmā fall in love with Sarasvatī, Śiva became furious and chopped off his fifth head. There are other interpretations too.
This verse clearly establishes Her Supremacy and even god heads like Brahmā have to surrender to Her. She is the ultimate saviour.
verse71
नखानामुद्योतैर्ननवनलिनरागं विहसतां
कराणां ते कान्तिं कथय कथयामः कथमुमे।
कयाचिद्वा साम्यं भजतु कलया हन्त कमलं
यदि क्रीडल्लक्ष्मीचरणतललाक्षारसचणम्॥
nakhānāmudyotairnanavanalinarāgaṁ vihasatāṁ
karāṇāṁ te kāntiṁ kathaya kathayāmaḥ kathamume |
kayācidvā sāmyaṁ bhajatu kalayā hanta kamalaṁ
yadi krīḍallakṣmīcaraṇatalalākṣārasacaṇam ||
nakhānām udyotaiḥ - splendour of Your nails; nava nalina rāgaṁ - just blossomed lotus flower; vihasatāṁ - mocking laughter; karāṇāṁ te – Your hands; kāntiṁ - Your splendour; kathaya kathayāmaḥ - how can it be explained; katham – narrate; ume – Umā; kayā cid vā – somehow; sāmyaṁ - equality; bhajatu kalayā hanta – possibly can attain; kamalaṁ - lotus; yadi krīḍat lakṣmī caraṇa tala lākṣārasa caṇam - henna shining in the feet of Lakṣmī residing in the lotus flowers.
“O! Umā! The nails in Your hands (finger nails) make lotus flowers to blossom. Splendour of Your nails, make mockery of the radiance of just blossomed lotus flowers. Please tell me, how can I describe such beautiful hands of Yours? These lotus flowers got their radiance from the feet of Lakṣmī, who resides within lotus flowers and who sports henna in her feet. Even then, there cannot be any equality to Your splendour.”
This verse talks about Parāśakti’s hands. Śaṁkarācārya could not find appropriate words to describe Her splendorous hands. It seems to be a tough job for him as if he is explaining Brahman, who cannot be described through words; but there is no other go except to draw comparisons to explain Him. For example, Brahman is more radiant than millions of suns put together, etc. Similarly, Śaṁkarācārya finds it difficult to describe Her hands. If this is the case with hands, how can Her full form be described? This is beyond human comprehension. That is why, Śaṁkarācārya made an attempt to describe Her through 100 verses of Saundaryalaharī.
Śaṁkarācārya thought about closest possible similarity to describe Her hands. He says that goddess Lakṣmī, Consort of Viṣṇu resides in lotus flowers. She has applied henna paste in her feet, which turned her feet deep red in colour and the lotus flowers derive their luster only from the feet of Lakṣmī and even then this comparison is not even the closest possible comparison to describe Parāśakti’s hands.
This verse can be contemplated like this. Parāśakti’s nails are deep red in colour. The bright red radiance of Her nails get reflected in Her shining hands. If this can be compared to the just blossomed red lotus flower, people will laugh out loud for making this irrelevant comparison. But, there is no other way to describe Her radiant hands. So, Her hands cannot be compared to anything that is known to us. This is like making futile attempts to describe Brahman.
Umā is the name given to Her by Her mother. When She was too young, She used to practice austerities in order to attain Śiva as Her Consort. Her mother at that time used to tell Her not to practice austerities at such a tender age. Umā is explained like this. U stands for O! Child! and mā stands for ‘do not practice austerities’. “O! Child! Do not practice austerities” is later known as Umā.
Twelve verses from verse 72 to 83 involve physical description of Parāśakti.
verse84
Twelve verses from verse 72 to 83 involve physical description of Parāśakti. It is always believed that Śaṁkarācārya was an incarnation of Śiva and thus every aspect of Her is known to Śaṁkarācārya. I consider that such narrations should not be discussed in a public domain and hence, interpretations of these verses have been left out. Kāñci Paramācārya has chosen not to interpret many verses of Saundaryalaharī saying that one should be extremely careful in worshipping Divine Mother.
Verse 84
श्रुतीनां मूर्धानो दधति तव यौ शेखरतया
ममाप्येतौ मातः शिरसि दयया धेहि चरणौ।
ययोः पाद्यं पाथः पशुपतिजटाजूटतटिनी
ययोर्लाक्षालक्ष्मीररुणहरिचूडामणिरुचिः॥
śrutīnāṁ mūrdhāno dadhati tava yau śekharatayā
mamāpyetau mātaḥ śirasi dayayā dhehi caraṇau |
yayoḥ pādyaṁ pāthaḥ paśupatijaṭājūṭataṭinī
yayorlākṣālakṣmīraruṇaharicūḍāmaṇiruciḥ ||
tava – Yours; yau caraṇau – those feet; śrutīnāṁ mūrdhāna – crown of Vedas viz. Upaniṣad-s; dadhati –wearing; śekharatayā - wearing as crown; etau – Your feet; mama śirasi api dayayā dhehi – place (Your feet) on my head out of compassion; yayoḥ pādyaṁ pāthaḥ - (which is like) washing Your sacred feet; paśupati jaṭā jūṭa taṭinī – is that the river (Ganges) who resides in the matted hair of Śiva; yayo – those feet of Yours; lākṣā lakṣmīḥ - splendorous henna (which turns the feet into deep red); aruṇa hari cūḍāmaṇi ruciḥ - (is that due to) the brilliance of cūḍāmaṇi gem of Viṣṇu’s crown?
“O! Parāśakti! Out of compassion for me, please keep Your feet on my head too. Your feet are considered as crown which Upaniṣad-s adorn. Your feet are cleansed by waters of Ganges, who resides at the top of Śiva’s matted hair. I also think that the redness of Your feet (due to the application of henna) is due to cūḍāmaṇi gem of Viṣṇu’s crown.”
The verse says that She is worshiped by everyone including Śiva and Viṣṇu. This is conveyed in this verse in the most subtle manner. She is not being just worshiped by Śiva and Viṣṇu, but also prostrate before Her, keeping their heads very close to Her feet. Śaṁkarācārya subtly conveys this by saying that waters of Ganges in Śiva’s matted hair cleanse Her feet (offering water to the feet of gods and goddesses is part of rituals and this is known as pādaprakṣālana). This is possible only if Śiva bends down before Her to pay His respects to Her. When He bends, waters from Ganges fall on Her feet in order to wash Her feet. This does not mean that Ganges cleanses Her feet. In order to pay Her respects to Her, Gaṅgā also moves slightly forward and while doing so, Ganges stealthily falls at Her feet to cleanse herself (Gaṅgā). She has attained impurity because everyone washer their sins by taking bath in river Ganges. A question may arise that when she is residing on Śiva’s head, where is the need for Gaṅgā to get cleansed by Parāśakti. Śiva does not attend to these minuscule activities and it is only Her, who alone can make a person eligible to merge with Śiva. This aspect is also subtly conveyed here.
Her feet appear deep red in complexion. This is Her natural complexion as described in dhyāna verses of Lalitā Sahasranāma (Sindūrāruṇa-vigrahāṃ and aruṇāṃkaruṇā-taraṃgitākṣīṃ); and Mahāṣoḍaśī mantra japa (sindūrāruṇa vigrahāṁ). Her feet are not just red in colour, but they are radiating too. Śaṁkarācārya wonders whether this is due to the cūḍāmaṇi gem embedded in Viṣṇu’s crown. When Viṣṇu brings His head down in order to pay His respects, Her feet become more splendorous with deep red colour. Some Scriptures say that Viṣṇu is Her elder brother.
Śaṁkarācārya does not want anything from Her. After personally seeing that both Śiva and Viṣṇu place their heads on Her feet in order to pay their respects, he only pleads with Her to keep Her feet on his head, so that he attains eternal liberation.
Crown of Vedas is various Upaniṣad-s, as Upaniṣad-s prescribe ways and means to attain Brahman, who is elucidated through Vedas. In other words, the subtle conveyance Vedas are in the form of various Upaniṣad-s. Vedas also elucidate Brahman through various conveyances; but they are interpreted on the grosser side. Since Upaniṣad-s are easier to understand, when compared to Vedas. Hence, Upaniṣad-s are revered as the crown of Vedas. The meaning is also conveyed in Mūkapañcaśatī (pādāravindaśtakam – verse 24). He says, “Your sacred feet are the ultimate end of essence of Vedas (Upaniṣad-s)”. When one understands the conveyances of Upaniṣad-s, he needs nothing more to attain liberation.
verse85
नमोवाकं ब्रूमो नयनरमणीयाय पदयोः
तवास्मै द्वन्द्वाया स्फुटरूचिरसालक्तकवते।
असूयत्यत्यन्तं यदभिहननाय स्पृहयते
पशूनामीशानः प्रमदवनकङ्केलितरवे॥
namovākaṁ brūmo nayanaramaṇīyāya padayoḥ
tavāsmai dvandvāyā sphuṭarūcirasālaktakavate |
asūyatyatyantaṁ yadabhihananāya spṛhayate
paśūnāmīśānaḥ pramadavanakaṅkelitarave ||
namovākaṁ brūmo – expressing the words of obeisance; nayana ramaṇīyāya – delightful to eyes; padayoḥ tavāsmai dvandvāyā – These two feet of Yours; sphuṭa rūci rasālakta kavate – due to the brilliance of henna applied on them (feet); asūyati atyantaṁ - highly jealous; yat abhihananāya – kicked with Thy feet; spṛhayate – desirous of (longing for); paśūnām īśānaḥ - Lord of all beings, Your Consort Śiva; pramadavana – delightful garden; kaṅkeli – ashoka tree; tarave – O! The Incomparable One!
“I pray aloud (with verses, hymns and nāma-s, as they are generally recited aloud) to Your beautiful pair of feet, which shine with henna applied around Your feet. The ashoka tree in Your joyous garden is being kicked by You. On seeing this, Your Consort Śiva becomes jealous of this ashoka tree.”
There are two separate aspects in this verse. First aspect is worshipping Her sacred feet by Śaṁkarācārya (or by us). It is important to note in this verse that Her feet are praised with vocal prayers. This goes to prove that mantras should be recited mentally and hymns, verses and nāma-s are to be recited aloud. This also confirms that Her feet alone is capable of granting all our spiritual desires. Falling at Her feet towards total surrender is known as caraṇagata. Caraṇagata means falling at one’s feet, which is different from śaraṇāgati or total surrender. Caraṇagata is surrender through body and śaraṇāgati is surrender through mind. What Śaṁkarācārya refers here is Caraṇagata, falling at Her splendorous pinkish feet. Thus, in the first part of this verse, Ācārya speaks about prostration at Her feet. This also means that Ācārya sees Her in Her bodily form. As his contemplation and visualization were so powerful, he could see Her with his biological eyes. Ramakrishna Paramahaṁsa also had this experience.
It is believed that ashoka trees blossom when kicked by auspicious women. Auspicious women can be explained as those, who perpetually remain immersed in Her thoughts (this also applies to men). Parāśakti, being the most auspicious woman (because of Her Śrī Mātā stature) kicks the ashoka trees that are grown in Her garden (where She plays with Her friends). Śiva is jealous of this ashoka tree as He thinks that Her gentle kicks belong only to Him. But this cannot be the intended meaning of this verse.
Let us take ashoka tree as part of the material world as reference to paśu is made in this verse. Paśu contextually means individual souls, devoid of spiritual aspirations. The sustenance aspect of the universe is taken care by Śakti, who is the kinetic energy of Śiva. Pleasure referred in this verse as joyous garden is the material world that is full of activities. By first worshipping Her feet and later talking about kicking ashoka tree and Śiva’s jealous clearly indicates that Śiva is happy with the manner in which She handles creation and sustenance, which are subtly conveyed through ashoka tree and their blossoming. Śiva is always the static energy and Śakti is the kinetic energy. This is what is conveyed through this verse in a subtle manner. Śiva’s jealousy is due to the fact that He is not able to create and sustain the paśu-s all by Himself. He knows that He can’t do that. If He stops meditating even for a fraction of second, annihilations will be initiated. Śakti represents the Power of Śiva.
verse86
मृषा कृत्वा गोत्रस्खलनमथ वैलक्ष्यनिमितं
ललाटे भर्तारं चरणकमले ताडयति ते।
चिरादन्तःशल्यं दहनकृतमुन्मूलितवता
तुलाकोटिक्वाणैः किलिकिलितमीशानरिपुणा॥
mṛṣā kṛtvā gotraskhalanamatha vailakṣyanimitaṁ
lalāṭe bhartāraṁ caraṇakamale tāḍayati te |
cirādantaḥśalyaṁ dahanakṛtamunmūlitavatā
tulākoṭikvāṇaiḥ kilikilitamīśānaripuṇā ||
mṛṣā kṛtvā gotra skhalanam atha – all of a sudden, by mistake (wantonly) calling another woman with her family (lineage) name; vailakṣya nimitaṁ - (hanging down His head) due to embarrassment; lalāṭe bhartāraṁ caraṇakamale te – kicked Your Consort’s forehead with Your lotus feet; cirāt antaḥ śalyaṁ - long time acrimony; dahanakṛtam unmūlitavatā – totally burnt (by Śiva); tulā koṭi kvāṇaiḥ; jingling sounds of tiny bells in Her anklets; kilikilitam– sounds expressing happiness; īśāna ripuṇā – Śiva’s enemy.
“Śiva intentionally called Parāśakti by some other woman’s name. In anger, Parāśakti kicked on Śiva’s third eye, and Śiva hanged His head due to embarrassment. Manamtha who watched this scene made joyful sounds (giggling) which are like the jingling sounds from the tiny bells in Her anklets.”
This verse should be read along with the previous verse. In the previous verse, it is said that on seeing Her kicking ashoka tree in Her garden, Śiva became jealous of ashoka tree and wanted to have a kick from Her lotus feet. This is being explained in this verse. Parāśakti is very fond of Śiva, says Lalitā Sahasranāma 409, Śivapriyā. In fact, She is in no way different from Śiva. She is not a separate entity and She is one with Śiva all the time. If they are separated for a fraction of a second, the annihilation of the universe will get triggered. That is why, Lalitā Sahasranāma 999 said Śivaśaktyaikyarūpiṇī, categorically says that She is not different from Śiva.
The same concept is expressed in Saundaryalaharī (verse 34) “O! Parāśakti! Your appear as the body of Śiva. I consider You as the sinless (meaning Pure) Śiva. The nine primary and secondary characteristics are common to both of You and both of You remain in the state of overwhelmed interdependency resulting in Blissful state.”
The present verse is an exemplary thought process of Śaṁkarācārya. This is called True Love for the Divine. There is no point in worshiping Her, keeping Her in a pedestal. This is dualism. In dualism, true blissful state and liberation can never be attained. Since Śaṁkarācārya (some Scriptures say that he is one of the incarnations Śiva) of was literally playing with Her, he could think of such wonderful descriptions. When we get such thoughts, we may consider these thoughts as Divine curse. No, such thoughts are not Divine curses; they are the reflection of our closeness to Divine, be it Śakti or Śiva. These kinds of worships are for Saguṇa Brahman (Brahman with forms and attributes). When these forms disappear without any efforts from our side, we move on from Saguṇa Brahman to Nirguṇa Brahman, where our merger with Brahman takes place, either in this birth or at least in the next birth. In the next birth, we always continue our spiritual journey, from where we have left in this birth.
Relationship between Śiva and Śakti is often depicted in romantic way. This is more predominant in Tantra Scriptures. Saundaryalaharī is one of the prominent Tantric Scriptures; hence these types of descriptions remain scattered throughout this epic, more profound in the second part known as Saundaryalaharī. This has already been explained.
Śiva was very jealous of the ashoka tree and He was carefully planning to get a kick from Her soft pinkish feet. He thought about some idea. Ideas are in plenty with Śiva, as He only revealed 64 tantra-s to the world through Her. Śiva wantonly called Her using some other name. She was very upset and became furious instantaneously. In the height of anger, She kicked on the third eye of Śiva. When She kicked on His face, Her anklets produced mild jingling sounds, as Her anklets have many minute bells. This jingling sound is compared to the giggling sound of Manmatha, who was burnt by Śiva, when he tried to play his trick on Śiva. It is only Parāśakti, who resurrected him and gave him a bodiless form. So, when Śiva was hit by Her, Manmatha, who was nursing vengeance against Śiva became happy. But he could not express his happiness openly as he knew that he will surely lose even the bodiless form. Hence, he only giggled, which only synchronised with the jingling sound of Her anklets.
This verse exhibits the poetic rhetoricalness of Śaṁkarācārya and should not be taken literally
verse87
हिमानीहन्तव्यं हिमगिरिनिवासैकचतुरौ
निशायां निद्राणं निशि चरमभागे च विशदौ।
वरं लक्ष्मीपात्रं श्रियमतिसृजन्तौ समयिनां
सरोजं त्वत्पादौ जननि जयतश्चित्रमिह किम्॥
himānīhantavyaṁ himagirinivāsaikacaturau
niśāyāṁ nidrāṇaṁ niśi caramabhāge ca viśadau |
varaṁ lakṣmīpātraṁ śriyamatisṛjantau samayināṁ
sarojaṁ tvatpādau janani jayataścitramiha kim ||
himānī hantavyaṁ - destruction (melting) of mass of snow; himagiri nivāsaika caturau – dwelling on the peak of snow clad mountains; niśāyāṁ nidrāṇaṁ - closed during nights; niśi caramabhāge ca viśadau – blossoming both during days and nights; varaṁ lakṣmī pātraṁ - the seat for Lakṣmī; śriyam – prosperity; atisṛjantau samayināṁ - bestowing on those who follow the path of samayācāra (orthodox worship); sarojaṁ tvatpādau – Your lotus like feet; janani – O! Parāśakti; jayataḥ citram iha kim – is there any doubt about this? (victory for Your feet over lotus flowers).
“O! Parāśakti! Your lotus feet remain fully blossomed both during day and night and are capable of showering Grace on those, who worship You by practicing samayācāra. But, lotus flowers, which are the seat of Lakṣmī wither in snow and shrunk during nights. Therefore, Your feet have established their supremacy.”
Śaṁkarācārya says in this verse that samayācāra is better than vāmācāra (left hand practice predominantly advocated in certain Tantra śāstra-s, involving five M-s). This is the most significant aspect of this verse. By worshipping Her through samayācāra (righteous path), a true devotee gets Her perpetual Grace. It is indirectly said that those who follow vāmācāra will not get Her perpetual Grace. If at all, those who practice vāmācāra enters into the state of bliss (not Bliss), it is only temporary.
Samayācāra can be explained as internal worship, as against vāmācāra, which is purely based on left hand worship. Samayācāra can also be explained as the righteous path as against vāmācāra, which can be practiced only after years of practice and this is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Kulārṇava Tantra is the main authority on this type of worship, which involves elaborate rituals. The effect of the rituals, it is said, is to purify one’s mind and consciousness. Hence it is called “citta-śodhana-sādhana”. Perfect practice leads to awakening and unification of three śakti-s, icchā, jjñāna and kriyā. Generally, these śakti-s are awakened by one’s guru who would have attained mastery over his senses. Such practices are followed close to full moon days. There is always a unison of physical body, subtle body (emotions arising in the mind) and spiritual body (soul). When this conglutination is in perfect conjunction, it causes bliss. But, this is not advised as it is not ethical and is to be frowned upon (According to me, this is to be totally condemned, as such initiations accrue more sins and consequent karmas). Literally speaking, vāmācāra involves purely ritualistic worship. But, opposite is the case with samayācāra, which is explained in detail in Lalitā Sahasranāma 98. Samayācāra is purely a mental worship, which yields quicker and better results.
The subtle message conveyed through this verse is about the supremacy of mental worship (samayācāra), which will have Her Grace perpetually as opposed to ritual worship, as described in vāmācāra. In samayācāra also, wide ranges of ritual worships are there, which ultimately cleanses one’s mind leading to superior form of mental worship, as explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma 98. As we know that meditating Her pinkish feet triggers instant experience of powerful Bliss, which is capable of making us enter into nirvikalpasamādhi.
verse88
पदं ते कीर्तीनां प्रपदमपदं देवि विपदां
कथं नीतं सद्भिः कठिनकमठीकर्परतुलाम् ।
कथं वा बाहुभ्यामुपयमनकाले पुरभिदा
यदादाय न्यस्तं दृषदि दयमानेन मनसा॥
padaṁ te kīrtīnāṁ prapadamapadaṁ devi vipadāṁ
kathaṁ nītaṁ sadbhiḥ kaṭhinakamaṭhīkarparatulām |
kathaṁ vā bāhubhyāmupayamanakāle purabhidā
yadādāya nyastaṁ dṛaṣadi dayamānena manasā ||
padaṁ te kīrtīnāṁ prapadam – Your feet are known for their inexplicable grandeur; padaṁ devi vipadāṁ - O! Devi! (Your feet are) beyond the reach of any possible misfortunes; kathaṁ nītaṁ sadbhiḥ - how then the great poets; kaṭhina kamaṭhī karpara tulām – compared them (Your feet) to the hard shell of tortoise; kathaṁ vā bāhubhyām upayamana kāle – how did He (Śiva) with His two hands, during marriage ceremonies; purabhidā – Śiva; yat ādāya nyastaṁ - dṛaṣadi – a rock stone (used for mashing, etc); how did He place (Your foot); dayamānena manasā – with soft mind (with compassion).
“Your feet are known for their grandeur and they remove all misfortunes (by contemplating on them). I wonder, how great poets have compared Your feet to the shell of tortoise. Śiva took great care in lifting Your feet with His two hands and placing them on the rock stone during Your marriage with Him.”
It is believed that this verse does not find a place in the original composition of Śaṁkarācārya.
This verse conveys several things. First, it says that by attaining Her feet, no misfortune can ever happen to the devotee. Hence, the verse indirectly asks us to worship Her feet. For the purpose of contemplation, the softness of Her feet is described. Śaṁkarācārya also wonders how such tender feet can be compared to the hard shell of tortoise by other poets. Lalitā Sahasranāma 43 is Kūrma-pṛṣṭha-jayiṣṇu-prapadānvitā (the arch of Her feet is far more beautiful and curvier than tortoise’s shell). Śaṁkarācārya also wonders how Śiva, by using His two hands, very carefully held Her soft feet and kept them on the mashing stone during marriage ceremony. Śiva used extreme care while placing Her feet on the stone, fearing that Her feet could get hurt if they are placed on the stone in a normal way. He is so concerned about Her.
Tortoise is often compared to a strong mind. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad Gītā (II.58) says, “A yogi withdraws all his sensory afflictions, like a tortoise withdrawing all its limbs, his mind is said to be stable.” Possibly, those poets could have thought about this, when they say that Her feet are like tortoise shell.
During marriage ceremonies, there is one specific ritual called “aśmārohaṇam” (अश्मारोहणम्), which literally means ascending on a stone. A mashing stone is kept on the northern side of the fire pit, known as homakuṇḍa. During this ceremony, the groom by holding brides right palm, lifts her right foot with his left hand and by holding her big toe and place it on the stone. They go back to the fire and make oblations and this process is repeated three times. There are mantras associated with this ritual. The meaning of the mantra is “mount on this stone. During rough times, let your mind be as strong as this stone.” After this, silver rings are fixed on her second toes by the groom. Śaṁkarācārya says in this verse that Śiva takes Her foot in His left hand with great care, so that it is not hurt by the stone. Incomparable compassion and concern for His Consort! Śiva and Pārvatī, as father and mother of the universe set examples for every aspect of marital life. Poet Kālidāsa says in his Raghuvaṃśa “jagataḥ pitarau vande pārvati parameśvarau (जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वति परमेश्वरौ).”
There are several references to this Celestial Marriage. Liṅgapurāṇa (chapter 133) elaborately describes the list of attendees. It is Viṣṇu, who made the kanyādāna (giving a girl in marriage). During this time, divine drums were sounded, divine damsels danced, all the four Vedas were recited, and all gods and goddesses chanted Their praise.
With regard to the comparison of Her feet with the hard shell of tortoise, it is often done, because there is nothing else that can be compared to the shape of Her feet. This is described in Sampuṭīkaraṇa, an ancient Scripture on body parts.
शिवे शृङ्गारार्द्रा तदितरजने कुत्सनपरा
सरोषा गङ्गायां गिरिशचरिते विस्मयवती।
हराहिभ्यो भीता सरसिरुहसौभाग्यजननी
सखीषु स्मेरा ते मयि जननि दृष्टिः सक्रुणा॥
śive śṛṅgārārdrā taditarajane kutsanaparā
saroṣā gaṅgāyāṁ giriśacarite vismayavatī |
harāhibhyo bhītā sarasiruhasaubhāgyajananī
sakhīṣu smerā te mayi janani dṛṣṭiḥ sakruṇā ||
śive śṛṅgāra ārdrā – Soft and tender love for Śiva; tat itara jane – none except Him; kutsanaparā – expression of seriousness; saroṣa – full of anger; gaṅgāyāṁ - with Gaṅgā; giriśa carite – adventures of Śiva; vismayavatī – full of amazement; hara ahibha – fear from snakes adorned by Śiva; bhītā – frightened; sarasiruha saubhāgya jananī –resulting in redness like a lotus flower; sakhīṣu smerā – smiling at Her friends; te mayi janani dṛṣṭiḥ sakruṇā – Your compassionate glance at me.
“Your glance at Śiva expresses soft and tender love; Your glance all others except Śiva is full of seriousness; Your glance at Gaṅgā is full of anger; when You listen to the adventures of Śiva, your glance expresses amazement; when You notice snakes on Śiva, You express fear making Your face red like a lotus flower in a pond; when you look at your friends, You smile; when You look at me, Your glance is full of Grace.
This verse is one of the master pieces of Śaṁkarācārya. This verse elucidates eight types of Parāśakti’s expressions. The same Parāśakti under different circumstances express different types of emotions.
1. On seeing Śiva, Her Consort, She expresses tender and soft love.
2. On seeing others except Śiva, She expresses seriousness.
3. On seeing Gaṅgā at the top of Śiva’s head, She expresses anger.
4. On hearing Śiva’s adventures acts, She is amazed.
5. On seeing snakes on Śiva, which He wears as ornaments, She expresses fear.
6. On becoming furious, Her eyes become red, like red lotus flowers in a water body.
7. On seeing Her friends, She sports a smile.
8. On seeing Her devotee, She showers Her Grace.
This verse is a poetic masterpiece. Her emotions change according to the situations. When She is adored as Brahman, how can there be change of expressions in Her according to different situations? When She is Brahman, how can She show favour to someone and be angry with someone? When we can think in these lines, Śaṁkarācārya surely would have thought about this. This verse describes Brahman with attributes, who is also known as saguṇa Brahman. These expressions are possible, only if one is afflicted with three types of guṇa-s, sattva, rajas and tamas (purity and knowledge, passion and action, ignorance and inertia) commonly known as triguṇa. Lalitā Sahasranāma 984 is triguṇa, which means that She is an embodiment all these three guṇa-s. Ego and intellect originate from these guṇa-s. When Lalitā Sahasranāma says that She is triguṇa, it refers to Brahman with attributes, also known as saguṇa Brahman or Brahman with attributes. Without attributes, also known as guṇa-s, creation cannot happen. Thus, this verse subtly conveys that She is the cause for creation. Since, this verse describes Her as an embodiment of three guṇa-s, She is able to express different emotions. Typically, this verse explains how guṇa-s play vital role in one’s life. Unless these guṇa-s are transcended, liberation is not possible. Kṛṣṇa says (Bhagavad Gīta XIV.20) “Having transcended the aforesaid guṇa-s, which have caused the body, and freed from birth, death, old age and all kinds of sorrow, this soul attains the Supreme Bliss.”
Again, Lalitā Sahasranāma 139 is nirguṇa, which means that She is without guṇa-s, also known as nirguṇa Brahman. This nāma contradicts what is said in nāma 984. By saying so, Lalitā Sahasranāma drives home the point that She is Brahman without attributes. The difference between nirguṇa Brahman and saguṇa Brahman is significant and is explained in great detail in Lalitā Sahasranāma. Former is Pure Brahman, who always stands as a witness doing nothing, whereas the latter is the Power of Brahman. This is known as Śiva and His Power Śakti. This verse describes Her as saguṇa Brahman. Being saguṇa Brahman, She expresses different types of emotions that are commonly seen in all human beings. The underlying idea of this verse is that one should transcend these guṇa-s to reach the logical goal of spiritual path.
When She is with Śiva, She expresses tender love for Him. When Her body is so tender, the love expressed by Her towards Śiva cannot be different. They are inseparable like a word and its meaning. When She looks at others, this expression of love is lost and Her looks become different for different persons. She becomes serious when She deals with all others, except Śiva. Holy rive Ganges is worshipped as a goddess. She is seated on the top of Śiva’s plaited hair. Though there are stories regarding this, the fact is different. Śiva is always in perpetual meditation. Parāśakti is present within Him in Her subtle form Kuṇḍalinī and plays within His head and as a result of this, His head emits fire. In order to balance the intent and unbearable heat, Gaṅgā is present on the top of His head to prevent the heat from spreading. Only from this fire, known as kālāgni, He annihilates the universe. He uses His third eye to emit this fire. One seeing Gaṅgā at the top of His head, Parāśakti becomes upset and looks at Gaṅgā angrily. Several sages and saints used to tell Her adventures of Śiva, particularly His destruction of Tripura (three worlds in the sky, middle and earth; Tripura subtly conveys three guṇa-s, which need to be destroyed to attain Her Grace). When they describe His adventures, She is amazed with His heroic acts. When She is near Śiva, She is frightened by the presence of deadly snakes which Śiva wears as His ornaments. On seeing evil doers (demons), She becomes terribly angry and as a result, Her face becomes red like a lotus flower in a pond. Lotus flower in a pond is specifically mentioned in this verse. Śaṁkarācārya’s knowledge is exemplary. He has not merely mentioned lotus flower, but he says lotus flower in a pond. This is because lotus flower loses its original deep red colour after taking it out from the pond. Apart from this intended meaning, he also emphasises that Her face is as fresh as an un-plucked lotus flower. She has lot of friends, with whom She plays in Her palace known as Cintāmaṇi surrounded by small sized bushes and celestial tress in the island of Maṇidvīpa situated in the middle of the nectarine ocean. And finally Śaṁkarācārya affirms that She is showering Her Grace on him. He never pleaded with Her for Her Grace; he simply affirms that She is showering Her Grace on him. In spirituality, such affirmations are extremely important, rather than simple prayers.
Thus, in this verse, Śaṁkarācārya describes eight types of normal human emotions which are inherent in human mind. He subtly conveys that these emotions have to be transcended to attain Her. He says that She is not different from us, as She exists within and can be attained with ease by developing love for Her. When we begin to love Her, She begins to shower Her Grace. Her Grace cannot be attained by mere devotion, as devotion is part of dualism or Dvaita philosophy.
verse52
गते कर्णाभ्यर्णं गरुत इव पक्ष्माणि दधती
पुरां भेत्तुश्चित्तप्रशमरसविद्रावणफले।
इमे नेत्रे गोत्राधरपतिकुलोत्तंसकलिके
तवाकर्णाकृष्टस्मरशरविलासं कलयतः॥
gate karṇābhyarṇaṁ garuta iva pakṣmāṇi dadhatī
purāṁ bhettuścittapraśamarasavidrāvaṇaphale |
ime netre gotrādharapatikulottaṁsakalike
tavākarṇākṛṣṭasmaraśaravilāsaṁ kalayataḥ ||
gate karṇābhyarṇaṁ - approaching Your ears; garuta iva – like feathers of a bird; pakṣmāṇi – eye lashes; dadhatī – wearing; purāṁ bhettuḥ - destroyer of three worlds, viz. Śiva; citta praśama rasa vidrāvaṇa phale – disturbing mental peace; ime netre – these eyes; gotrā dharapati kulottaṁsa kalike – O! The excellent one in the lineage of Haimavān, the king of snow clad mountains; tava – Yours; ākarṇākṛṣṭa smara śara vilāsaṁ - extended up to Your ears like the shining arrow of Manmatha; kalayata – make.
“O! Parāśakti! The excellent one in the lineage of Haimavān (Her father), the king of snow clad mountains! Your eyes extend up to Your ears and Your eyelashes appear like feathers of a bird. Your eyes disturb tranquillity of Śiva, as they appear (as they are extended up to the ears) like a shining arrow of Manmatha.”
Parāśakti’s eyes are lustrous and beautiful to look at, as they are elongated and almost nearing Her ears. Elongated portion appears like an arrow of Manmatha. Her eye lashes are so soft and appear like feathers of a bird. Such beautiful eyes distract the mind of Śiva. The significant aspect of this verse is about the disturbance in the placid mind of Śiva, the cause of which is Her eyes, which are compared the arrows of Manmatha, the god of love. This verse does not say that Śiva looks into Her eyes nor She looks at Him. Therefore, this verse does not speak about physical attraction to cause any distraction in the mind of Śiva.
The verse mentions about Parāśakti’s lineage, which is widely present in Mount Himalayas, which is full of greenery and streams. There are a number caves in Himalayas in which a number of sages and saints meditate perpetually. Śaṁkarācārya says that She is the most beautiful woman in the entire lineage of Haimavān.
Another point subtly conveyed through this verse is a message for spiritual aspirants. Even the best of sages and saints had been lured by divine damsels and as a result of which they had lost the connection with Divinity, which they could only re-establish after a long time. The acts of Cupid are always very powerful and he has the power to enter into a placid mind and make it susceptible to amorous thoughts and actions. Divine Grace attained by meditating for several years could be lost in no time. Advancing in spiritual path is very difficult and falling from the heights of spiritual path is easy and happens in no time. The verse points out that if normal aspirants are affected by the influence of Manmatha, it is difficult to come over the resultant urge. Mind has to be strong to overcome this influence. Hence, it is said that one should have a strong base while pursuing spiritual path.
Subtle information conveyed is that eyes are the most important organs that play vital role in attracting people. Eyes are also used to pass energy between Guru and his disciple. It is called netradīkṣā, initiation through eyes. Only the best of Gurus can do this. Some Gurus do not establish eye contract with everyone. If they establish eye contact, it means initiation into spiritual path. Initiation into mantra path is different from initiation into spiritual path. The former should lead to the latter to attain perfection in spiritual path.
verse53
विभक्तत्रैवर्ण्यं व्यतिकरितलीलाञ्जनतया
विभाति त्वन्नेत्रत्रितयमिदमीशानदयिते।
पुनः स्रष्टुं देवान् द्रुहिणहरिरुद्रानुपरतान्
रजः सत्वं बिभ्रत्तम इति गुणानां त्रयमिव॥
vibhaktatraivarṇyaṁ vyatikaritalīlāñjanatayā
vibhāti tvannetratritayamidamīśānadayite |
punaḥ sraṣṭuṁ devān druhiṇaharirudrānuparatān
rajaḥ satvaṁ bibhrattama iti guṇānāṁ trayamiva ||
vibhakta traivarṇyaṁ - three different colours (the colours are red, white and black and this is described in the next verse); vyatikarita līlāñjanatayā – mixing (applying is implied) beautiful collyrium; vibhāt – splendid; tva netra tritayam idam – these three eyes of Yours (as discussed in verse 50); īśāna dayite – O! Beloved Consort of Śiva; punaḥ - again; sraṣṭuṁ - the act of creation (sraṣṭṛ - a creator); devān – gods and goddesses; druhiṇa hari rudrān uparatān – Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra after their disappearance; rajaḥ satvaṁ bibhrat tama iti guṇānāṁ trayam iva – carrying these three guṇa-s rajas, sattva and tamas.
“O! Beloved Consort of Śiva. Your three splendid eyes shine with three different colours, when well mixed collyrium is applied to Your eyes and these three colours appear like three guṇa-s rajas, sattva and tamas. This appears as if You have decided to re-create three Gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra, after annihilation.”
These verses talk about the Grandeur of Parāśakti. We can fully understand Her only through these human-like descriptions. Śaṁkarācārya using his highest knowledge gives us a broad idea to enable us to contemplate Her. In the previous verse, Her two eyes were discussed and in this verse, all the three eyes are described, but the description in this verse is totally different from verse 50.
In normal human eyes, there will be traces of redness in the white background (this white membrane is known as sclera). Blood vessels run through sclera and depending upon one’s mental status, these blood vessels get enlarged and become visible, causing red tinge. But Her eyes do not turn red because of anger. It turns red because of compassion. The colour of compassions is said to be red and She is described with red complexion as She is an embodiment of compassion.
The first dhyāna verse of Lalitā Sahasranāma is explained thus and this forms the base for this verse.
sindūrāruṇa-vigrahāṃ tri-nayanāṃ māṇikya mauli sphurat
Sindūrāruṇa-vigrahāṃ - sindūram means the kumkum kept on women’s forehead, which is red in colour. ārunam means the colour of sun rise, which is also red. The complexion of Lalitā is red. Why Her complexion is referred twice - one is the reference to the colour of the kumkum, and another reference is to the colour of sun at the time of its rise? Vāc Devi-s could have felt the need to emphasize the deep red colour of Her complexion and could have thought that one example was not enough and hence two examples could have been cited. vigrahāṃ means Her form. trinayanāṃ means three eyed. Third eye mentioned here is not in its literal sense. It is the eye of jñāna. If one acquires jñāna, his third eye will be opened on its own. That is why Gods are described with three eyes. These three eyes represent the sun, the moon and the agni (fire), possibly indicating ājñā cakra.
Now we have white colour and red colour. The back colour is Her eyes is caused by a special mixture of collyrium* applied to the corners of Her eyes. This collyrium is applied to Her manually as She has no traces of tamo guṇa, which is represented by black colour. Application of collyrium enhances the beauty of the eyes and if the collyrium is prepared at home according to Ayurveda, it is said to cool the eyes. These three colours, white, red and black represent three guṇa-s sattva, rajas and tamas respectively and represent creation, sustenance and destruction and are presided over by three Gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra. They are also annihilated during dissolution. This is described in Saundaryalaharī (verse 20) which says, “O! Faithful Consort of Śiva! At the time of great dissolution, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Yama, Kubera, Indra and other gods cease to exist. But Your Consort Śiva alone enjoys with You even during the great dissolution.” She wants to recreate the annihilated universe due to compassion and to take care of the orderly process of creation, sustenance and destruction, She recreates Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra to recommence their respective jobs. As She creates them through Her eyes, this verse explains the origin of their recreation.
{*Further reading – how to make collyrium at home: Take an earthen lamp and will it with castor oil. A think wick should be made using well washed white cotton cloth. Take a copper plate and apply the past by powdering sweet-flag (acorus calamus) and mixing it with pure water. When the paste has dried on its own (should not be exposed to sun light), light the lamp and place the copper plate above the lighted lamp so that soot can form on the side where the paste is applied. After a few hours, there will be a formation of thick black soot in the form of powder. Take this powder with clean hands and mix it with clean castor oil. Collyrium is now ready for use.}
{Further reading on guṇa-s: She is in the form of three guṇa-s or qualities viz sattvic, rajas and tamas. Sattva guṇa means the quality of purity and knowledge. The presence of other two guṇa-s is not very prominent in sattva guṇa as this guṇa is endowed with the highest purity. Rajo guṇa is the activity of passion. Tamo guṇa is inertia or ignorance. These two guṇa-s have higher trace of other guṇa-s. Guṇa-s are the inherent qualities of prakṛti. Ego and intellect originate from guṇa-s that are present in all the evolutes of prakṛti at once, but distributed in unequal proportions in each individual. The predominant guṇa that prevails in an individual is reflected through his thoughts and actions.}
verse54
पवित्रीकर्तुं नः पशुपतिपराधीनहृदये
दयामित्रैर्नेत्रैररुणधवलश्यामरुचिभिः।
नदः शोणो गङ्गा तपनतनयोति ध्रुवममुं
त्रयाणां तीर्थानामुपनयसि संभेदमनघम्॥
pavitrīkartuṁ naḥ paśupatiparādhīnahṛdaye
dayāmitrairnetrairaruṇadhavalaśyāmarucibhiḥ |
nadaḥ śoṇo gaṅgā tapanatanayoti dhruvamamuṁ
trayāṇāṁ tīrthānāmupanayasi saṁbhedamanagham ||
pavitrī kartuṁ naḥ - to purify us; paśupati parādhīna hṛdaye – wholeheartedly surrendered to Śiva; dayā mitrai netraiḥ - compassionate eyes; aruṇa dhavala śyāma rucibhiḥ - splendorous with red, white and black; nadaḥ - rivers; śoṇo gaṅgā – Śoṇo, Ganges; tapana tanaya– daughter of sun, known as river Yamuna; iti – thus; dhruvam – surely; amuṁ - this; trayāṇāṁ tīrthānām – these three rivers; upanayasi saṁbhedam anagham – destroys our sins.
“The one who has wholeheartedly surrendered unto Śiva! The One who has compassionate eyes shining with red, white and black colours! You have given us the holy confluence of three rivers, Sone, Ganges and Yamuna, to wash off our sins.”
It is believed that by taking bath in holy rivers wards off one’s sins. Here Śaṁkarācārya talks about the confluence of three sacred rivers Sone, Ganges and Yamuna and if one takes bath in this sacred confluence, all his sins, it is believed will be washed off. It is said that Parāśakti, who has wholeheartedly surrendered to Śiva, has created this confluence out of compassion for the humanity. Waters of Sona River is said to be red in colour; waters of Ganges is said to be white in colour and waters of Yamuna is believed to be black in colour. However, śyāma also means dark blue and possibly Śaṁkarācārya should have used the word to mean dark blue waters.
The tinges of these colours were already described in the previous verse and the previous verse said that through these colours, She creates three guṇa-s, which in turn cause creation. In addition to this description, Śaṁkarācārya speaks about Her wholehearted surrender to Śiva. This appears to be out of context. But Śaṁkarācārya is not a person who says something out of context. So, there should be some subtle conveyance through this verse. He subtly conveys the benefit arising out of kuṇḍalinī meditation. The three nāḍi-s iḍā, piṅgala and suṣumna are referred through these three rivers. These three nāḍi-s join together at ājñācakra, also known as third eye. In Her subtlest form kuṇḍalinī, She ascends through suṣumna nāḍi to conjoin Her Consort Śiva at sahasrāra. There are two aspects in this interpretation. An aspirant who could activate ājñācakra is able to ward off his sins. After leaving ājñācakra, She proceeds to sahasrāra to surrender unto Śiva. Whole hearted surrender can be interpreted to mean that there will no two separate entities such as Śiva and Śakti at sahasrāra. They both merge together to become one and there exists only Śiva. This phenomenon is known Śiva-Śakti ikya and is discussed in Lalitā Sahasranāma 999. A yogi who is able to experience Her presence in ājñācakra and the presence of both Śiva and Śakti at sahasrāra will have all his sins annihilated. However, this situation is possible only for those, whose karmic accounts permit this to happen. It can also be said that unless karmic account permits, even ājñācakra will not be activated.
verse55
निमेषोन्मेषाभ्यां प्रलयमुदयं याति जगती
तवेत्याहुः सन्तो धरणिधरराजन्यतनये।
त्वदुन्मेषाज्जातं जगदिदमशेषं प्रलयतः
परित्रातुं शङ्के परिहृतनिमेषास्तव दृशः॥
nimeṣonmeṣābhyāṁ pralayamudayaṁ yāti jagatī
tavetyāhuḥ santo dharaṇidhararājanyatanaye |
tvadunmeṣājjātaṁ jagadidamaśeṣaṁ pralayataḥ
paritrātuṁ śaṅke parihṛtanimeṣāstava dṛśaḥ ||
nimeṣa unmeṣābhyāṁ - by winking of Your eyes; pralayam udayaṁ yāti jagatī – universe is annihilated and recreated; tava - Your; iti āhuḥ santa - thus say wise; dharaṇidhara rājanya tanaye – O! Daughter of King of Mountains; tvat unmeṣāt jātaṁ - arising out of Your eye winks; jagat idam aśeṣaṁ - entire universe; pralayataḥ - from annihilation; paritrātuṁ - to protect; śaṅke – I think; parihṛta nimeṣās – not winking; tava dṛśaḥ - Your eyes.
“O! Daughter of King of Mountains! Wise men say that the universe is annihilated and re-created by winking of Your eyes. But, I think that the entire is universe is protected by You, by not winking Your eyes.”
The underlying concept of this verse is difference in perception. Different people think differently. Some speak out of experience and some speak out of knowledge gained through texts. Out of the two, undoubtedly speaking through one’s experience is superior. Śaṁkarācārya says that he does not think what others say is true as his perception is different from others. When others say that the universe is created and annihilated merely by Her wink, Śaṁkarācārya looks at the same concept differently and with more emphatic positive attitude. Wise men say that She annihilates and re-creates the entire universe by a wink of Her eye. Śaṁkarācārya does not disagree with this, but he says that the universe is sustained by Her by not winking Her eyes. If She winks, either the universe will get annihilated or re-created. Both interpretations convey the same quality of Parāśakti, but how the quality is interpreted is different.
One’s perception depends upon one’s inherent qualities. In every human being, all the three guṇa-s are not in equal proportions. A person with sattva guṇa will not think about past and future and in this verse past and future is represented by, annihilation and re-creation, one after the other; but will think only about his present status. Śaṁkarācārya thinks about the present and the present stage is that the universe continues to exist.
Another point driven home by this verse is that creation, sustenance and annihilation, the three main acts of Brahman is done by Her and not by Śiva. Śiva is full of Light and hence He is known as Prakāśa; whereas Śakti is Vimarśa who reflects the Light of Śiva. Śiva does not partake in any actions and He always remains as the Self within. He is nirguṇa Brahman, Brahman without attributes. She is saguṇa Brahman, Brahman with attributes. Without Her, Śiva cannot reflect His Light. Śiva has unique power and He has transferred this power to Śakti, who takes care of the entire universe on His behalf. When She creates, sustains and annihilates, She performs these acts only on behalf of Śiva. This message is conveyed through this verse.
Lalitā Sahasranāma 281 Unmeṣa-nimiṣotpanna-vipanna-bhuvānavalī also conveys the same meaning and is interpreted thus: Unmeṣa means opening eye lids and nimiṣ means closing of eye lids. The creation and dissolution of the universe happens at the wink of Her eyes. When She opens Her eyes, universe is created and when She closes Her eyes, universe is dissolved (vipanna). She does these crucial acts with great ease. This nāma actually highlights the ease with which the Brahman creates and dissolves this universe. This nāma conveys the subtle nature of the cosmic creation. Kashmiri texts interpret Unmeṣa as the externalising of icchā śakti, the commencement of world process. Unmeṣa also means the unfoldment of spiritual consciousness, which is attained by focussing on the inner consciousness.
verse56
तवापर्णे कर्णेजपनयनपैशुन्यचकिताः
निलीयन्ते तोये नियतमनिमेषाः शफरिकाः।
इयं च श्रीर्बद्धच्छदपुटकवाटं कुवलयं
जहाति प्रत्यूषे निशि च विघटत्य प्रविशति॥
tavāparṇe karṇejapanayanapaiśunyacakitāḥ
nilīyante toye niyatamanimeṣāḥ śapharikāḥ |
iyaṁ ca śrīrbaddhacchadapuṭakavāṭaṁ kuvalayaṁ
jahāti pratyūṣe niśi ca vighaṭatya praviśati ||
aparṇa – O! Parāśakti (aparṇa means either Durgā or Pārvatī); tava karṇe japa nayana paiśunya cakitaḥ- afraid of Your eyes that go near Your ears to telltale; nilīyante toye – decided to hide themselves in water; niyatam animeṣāḥ - constantly, without blinking; śapharikāḥ -female fish; iyaṁ ca śrī – even Goddess Lakṣmī; baddha cchada puṭakavāṭaṁ -closing the doors made of petals; kuvalayaṁ - blue lily; jahāti – abandoned; pratyūṣe – during dawn; niśi ca – during night; vighaṭatya praviśati – making forceful entry.
“O! Parāśakti! Female fish, fearing that Your eyes could say some gossip to Your ears, decide to hide themselves in water, without even blinking their eyes. Goddess Lakṣmī who wants to be present near Your eyes during daytime abandons water lilies and makes a forceful entry into blue water lilies only in the night to open them again.”
A masterly visualization by Śaṁkarācārya and he could not have conceived this scene without having Her direct vision. Aparṇa refers to Pārvatī, Consort of Parameśvara. Whatever forms Śiva takes, She also takes the same form. For example, when He is Bhairava, She becomes Bhairavi; when He is Śiva, She is Śakti; when He is Maheśvara, She is Maheśvari, etc. Even in names, they are not separated.
This verse again adores Her eyes. Her eyes reaching near Her ears is already described in verse 52, which said gate ime netre gate karṇābhyarṇaṁ (these eyes approaching Your ears). On seeing Her eyes ending very close to Her ears, female fish are scared that Her eyes could telltale in Her ears and hence keep vigil on Her eyes without even blinking their eyes and continue to remain in waters. But what is the telltale female fish are afraid of? Female fish think that Her eyes appearing like them could say something bad about them (female fish) into Her ears and on hearing this, if She becomes angry, they fear that they could be destroyed. Fish do not know that She is an embodiment of compassion and because of their ignorance, they could not understand Her compassion and look at Her differently. This is the difference between human mind and other animals. Human mind is Her gift to humanity. She has given a higher level of mind to humanity where mind can be tuned in such a way that they can be made thoughtless in order to contemplate Her to attain liberation. Liberation is possible only through mind.
There is yet another comparison. Water lilies blossom only in the night. Goddess Lakṣmī fearing that Parāśakti could become angry with Her if She (Lakṣmī) is not present in Her (Parāśakti) eyes, leaves Her (Parāśakti) eyes when She (Parāśakti) closes Her eyes in the night to make the water lilies blossom. Seat of Lakṣmī is lotus flower, which is described in this verse as water lilies.
This verse also highlights the point that one need not worship any other gods or goddesses when She is worshiped with Pañcadaśī or Ṣoḍaśī mantras. The point here is that when someone is worshipping the Supreme authority, where is the need for worshipping Her assistants. If one does so, it is a clear exhibition of their lack of faith in Her. Faith is the most important factor in Self-realization.
If one is able to meditate on Her properly and intently, Her vision is possible in mind. Depending upon the level of the meditator, different visions are possible at different levels. Generally, it will be the form with which we contemplate Her. Over a period of time, this vision also fades away leaving only a bright Light for contemplation. Spiritual path has also different stages and if one does not move forward quickly, liberation could be postponed to subsequent births.
verse57
दृशा द्राघीयस्या दरदलितनीलोत्पलरुचा
दवीयांसं दीनं स्नपय कृपया मामपि शिवे।
अनेनायं धन्यो भवति न च ते हानिरियता
वने वा हर्म्ये वा समकरनिपातो हिमकरः॥
dṛśā drāghīyasyā daradalitanīlotpalarucā
davīyāṁsaṁ dīnaṁ snapaya kṛpayā māmapi śive |
anenāyaṁ dhanyo bhavati na ca te hāniriyatā
vane vā harmye vā samakaranipāto himakaraḥ ||
dṛśa – look; drāghīyasya – lengthy; daradalita nīlotpala rucā – having the beauty of fully blossomed blue water lilies; davīyāṁsaṁ - farther away; dīnaṁ - miserable; snapaya kṛpaya – bathing with compassion; māmapi śive – me too; O! Parāśakti! anena - because of this; ayaṁ dhanya bhavati – I am fortunate; na ca te hāni iyatā – it is no loss for You; vane vā – on the forest; harmye vā – on the palace; sama kara nipāta – fall of his rays equally; himakaraḥ - moon.
“O! Auspicious Parāśakti! Please look at me, who am far away from You and in a miserable condition. Shower Your compassion on me through Your beautiful and lengthy eyes appearing like fully blossomed water lilies. By doing so, it is no loss for you like moon shedding his rays both in a forest and in a mansion.”
It is a prayer from Śaṁkarācārya. He says that he is not able to go anywhere near Her, as She is always surrounded by gods like Brahmā, Indra and others. Earlier verses said that they also vie with each other to reach as close to Her as possible. He seeks Her Grace from a faraway place by drawing comparison to moon’s rays which falls on all the places equally. Śaṁkarācārya seeks Her Grace from a distance, as he knows that She is omnipresent. This is the meaning of this verse.
But, the message conveyed through this verse is subtle and different. When She is omnipresent, what is the need for going anywhere near Her? When She is able to look at the entire universe from the place where She sits, what is the need for going near Her and being one amongst the crowd? Suppose one visit a temple and waits in a queue for hours to have darśan of the presiding deity of the temple, he would have both mentally and physically exhausted by the time he nears the sanctum sanctorum. Power of divine thought and feeling also would have faded away with impatient waiting time. Śaṁkarācārya, who is fully aware of this, seeks Her Grace from the place he stands. He knows that Her eyes can shower Grace in any nook and corner of the universe.
Secondly, worshipping in a particular form falls under duality in spiritual path, which always begins with duality. Her Grace and subsequent liberation is possible only in non-dualistic practice. By continuing to worship Her as someone different from us, one merely expresses lack of spiritual knowledge, which is considered as the supreme knowledge. Only spiritual knowledge leads to realisation of mahāvākya-s such as “I am That” or “Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi”. These mahāvākya-s are revealed through Upaniṣad-s, Bhagavad Gītā, Brahmasūtra, etc, which are the essence of highest spiritual knowledge. Without trying to realize Her within, if one wastes his or her precious human birth only in dualistic worship, there is no salvation for him or her. What is present within us is present everywhere. Only because of this uniqueness, She is adored as omnipresent. It is unique because, Brahman alone is omnipresent.
Another interesting aspect of this verse is that Śaṁkarācārya had taken moon for comparison and not sun. Parāśakti is always compared to moon as She represents all the sixteen kalā-s (rays) of the moon and each of these kalā-s form one lunar day. She is present in the form of Pañcadaśī mantra on full moon days and in the form of Ṣoḍaśī mantra on new moon days. Secondly, sun is hot and She is always compassionate and hence, moon is taken as comparison and not the sun. Compassion and heat cannot go together. When moon shines, its rays fall on all objects without discrimination of being good or bad, big or small. In the same way, for Her everyone is equal. However, Her Grace depends upon how powerful we are able to think about Her. It is not the worship that gives Her Grace, but true love for Her instantaneously gives Her Grace. She knows the difference between worship and contemplation or meditation, as She is the cause for this duality in the form of māyā. Though proper worship leads to proper contemplation, they are almost like North Pole and South Pole.
Śaṁkarācārya could have thought this way while composing this verse. “I am still noticing people going around and wasting their precious time. They are not making any efforts to realize the Omnipresent Brahman. I have revealed this through several of my verses and hymns. Either they don’t understand what I preach or they are not simply concerned to follow what I preach. This time, let me make myself as an example. I wish everyone understands at least this time, Her omnipresent nature and seek Her within to attain liberation. My only wish is that everyone should get liberated from the pains of transmigration.” (Śaṁkarācārya has expressed this thought through Brahma Sūtra, Vivekacūḍāmaṇi and his commentaries on Upaniṣad-s. The same message is conveyed by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad Gītā.)
The message conveyed through this verse is that Her Grace is possible to attain, provided it is sought in an appropriate manner. Appropriate manner can be explained as sādhana or practice. It is important to visualize Her in mind. Unless the mind is cleansed of mundane thoughts, contemplating Her effectively is not possible. When contemplation is too intent, it is possible that Her eyes become visible during meditation. Particularly, in the initial stages of good meditation, this happens more frequently, which is a clear sign of perfect meditation. No special efforts are necessary to see Her eyes in the mind and this vision purely depends upon one’s level of contemplation.
With this verse, adoring Her compassionate and Gracious eyes is concluded.
verse58
अरालं ते पालीयुगलमगराजन्यतनये
न केषामाधते कुसुमशरकोदण्डकुतुकम्।
तिरश्चीनो यत्र श्रवणपथमुल्ल्ङ्घ्य विलासन्
अपाङ्गव्यासङ्गो दिशति शरसन्धानधिषणाम्॥
arālaṁ te pālīyugalamagarājanyatanaye
na keṣāmādhate kusumaśarakodaṇḍakutukam |
tiraścīno yatra śravaṇapathamullṅghya vilāsan
apāṅgavyāsaṅgo diśati śarasandhānadhiṣaṇām ||
arālaṁ - curved; te – Your; pālī yugalam – space between eyes and the lower lobe of the ears; agarāja nyatanaye – O! Daughter of King of Mountains; na keṣām ādhate – will it not cause in everyone; kusuma śara kodaṇḍa kutukam – beauty of Manmatha’s bow; tiraścīnaḥ yatra – wherein placed horizontally; śravaṇapatham ullṅghya – beyond ears; vilāsan – gleaming; apāṅga vyāsaṅga – seeing with outer corner of the eyes (side glance); diśati – giving; śara sandhāna dhiṣaṇām – appearing like fixing an arrow.
“O! Daughter of King of Mountains! Curved space between Your eyes and outer ear lobes (probably referring to the place where sphenoid bone is placed) cause curiousness in everyone as they mistake it for Manmatha’s bow. When You see through the outer corner of Your eyes, it causes radiance and appears like fixing an (flower) arrow to the bow.”
This verse describes the place between outer corner of Her eyes and earlobes. This place appears curved and hence compared to the bow of Manmatha. A comparison is drawn to Manmatha’s bow because, it is made of soft flowers and when the bow is in the hands of Manmatha, who is a symbol of handsomeness, enhances the beauty of the bow. Everyone mistakes the place between Her eyes and ears as Manmatha’s bow. When there is a bow, there has to be an arrow. Here, Her side-glance is described as flower arrow.
It is also said that when She glances sideward, Her looks cause mental disturbance in the mind of Śiva, who had burnt Manmatha to ashes. Couple of points can be argued on this. One, it talks about love between Śiva and Śakti and therefore subtly conveys creative aspect of Divine. The possible second argument is that love forms part of life, where love does not merely get restricted to amorous feelings. Going by the saying that Love is God where love can be interpreted to mean love and compassion for others. When anger and hatred sprout in one’s mind, the mind becomes fully corrupted and Divine manifestation is not possible in afflicted minds. Positive thoughts lead to positive mental attitude, which includes love and compassion for others. Only in this state of mind, She begins to manifest.
Here is a quick meditation involving eyes and ears. By focussing both the eyes on the ears, one can feel the vibrations in ājñā cakra and these vibrations attain potency after a few minutes. If the attention is paid on this vibration, one can enter into bouts of trances lasting for a few seconds to a minute or two.
verse59
स्फुरद्गण्डाभोगप्रतिफलितताटङ्कयुगलं
चतुश्चक्रं मन्ये तव मुखमिदं मन्मथरथम्।
यमारुह्या द्रुह्यत्यवनिरथमर्केन्दुचरणं
महावीरो मारः प्रमथपतये सज्जितवते॥
sphuradgaṇḍābhogapratiphalitatāṭaṅkayugalaṁ
catuścakraṁ manye tava mukhamidaṁ manmatharatham |
yamāruhyā druhyatyavanirathamarkenducaraṇaṁ
mahāvīro māraḥ pramathapataye sajjitavate ||
sphurad gaṇḍābhoga – lustrous cheeks; pratiphalita tāṭaṅka yugalaṁ - a pair of reflective ear rings; catuś cakraṁ - four wheels; manya – appearing as; tava mukham idaṁ - this face of Yours; manmatha ratham – Manmatha’s chariot; yam āruhya – mounting on that chariot; druhyati – fighting; avaniratham - earth as chariot; arkendu caraṇaṁ - having sun and moon as wheels; mahāvīro māraḥ - the great hero Manmatha; pramatha pataye – Śiva.
“Your face with a pair of ear rings that reflect on Your lustrous cheeks appear to me as the chariot of Manmatha with four wheels. Manmatha sitting on this chariot fights against Śiva, who uses earth as His chariot and sun and moon as its wheels.”
Parāśakti is wearing a pair of earrings, which are glittering in nature. These reflective earrings get reflected in Her shining cheeks and appear as additional pair of earrings (two original earrings and two reflective images on Her cheeks). These ear rings are compared to the four wheels of chariot of Manmatha. Parāśakti is always fond of Manmatha; hence She resurrected him without a form, after he was burnt by Śiva. The verse says that Manmatha after mounting on the seat of this chariot of four wheels decides to fight against Śiva, who appears to have ascended on earth the earth using it as a chariot and using sun and moon as its wheels. This is the gross interpretation of this verse.
Manmatha represents amorous thoughts and actions. By attempting to induce Śiva. He got himself burnt. Śiva is a perfect Yogi and is always associated with purity of thoughts and actions. Śiva is the source of Light to this universe and hence He is known as Prakāśa. There cannot be any trace of darkness in this Light. He is beyond three guṇa-s. He is neither, sattva, nor rajo nor tamo guṇa. When there is no guṇa, it means purity. Manmatha wanted to somehow induce Śiva and he has not learnt from his past mistakes. His only hope was Her compassion towards him, because he used to worship Her with his own Pañcadaśī mantra, that is being widely practiced today. Ultimately, it turned out to be a romantic skirmish between Śiva and Śakti. The face of Parāśakti was so beautiful, finally Śiva also succumbed to Her beauty, as explained in Saundaryalaharī (verse 5) “...Viṣṇu, only after having worshipped You, attained the form of a woman and disturbed Śiva. Cupid also worshipped You and attained good looks and using the charm of his wife Rati and other beautiful celestial women enticed even saints and sages.”
The verse speaks about creative aspect of Brahman. Creation can happen only if Śiva and Śakti exist in unison.
verse60
सरस्वत्याः सूक्तिरमृतलहरीकौशलहरीः
पिबन्त्याः शर्वाणि श्रवणचुलुकाभ्यामविरलम्।
चमत्कारश्लाघाचलितशिरसः कुण्डलगणो
झणत्कारैस्तारैः प्रतिवचनमाचष्ट इव ते॥
sarasvatyāḥ sūktiramṛtalaharīkauśalaharīḥ
pibantyāḥ śarvāṇi śravaṇaculukābhyāmaviralam |
camatkāraślāghācalitaśirasaḥ kuṇḍalagaṇo
jhaṇatkāraistāraiḥ prativacanamācaṣṭa iva te ||
sarasvatyā - Goddess Sarasvatī; sūkti – wise saying; amṛta laharī – flow of nectar; kauśala harī – take away the goodness; pibantyāḥ - drinking; śarvāṇi – Śiva’s Consort; śravaṇa culukābhyām – You ears, appearing like hands hollowed to hold water; aviralam – contagiously; camatkāra ślāghā calita śirasaḥ - nodding in approval; kuṇḍala gaṇa – pair of ear studs; jhaṇatkāraiḥ tāraiḥ - loud jingling; prativacanam ācaṣṭa iva te – You reply in approval.
“O! Śiva’s Consort! The wise saying of Goddess Sarasvatī contagiously flow like nectar into Your ears, which appear like hollowed palms holding water. When You nod in approval, your ear studs make jingling sound, which resembles Your utterances in approval.”
Goddess Sarasvatī presides over knowledge and She elucidates sacred sayings in the Royal Court of Parāśakti. Royal Court is implied here, as Parāśakti does not need any sacred sayings, as knowledge itself originates from Her. Obviously, this scene refers to Her Royal Court, where She is seated as Rājarāhesvarī (Lalitā Sahasranāma 684). When all gods and goddesses have assembled, Goddess Sarasvatī could be imparting highest knowledge contagiously and continuously. Highest knowledge means ways and means to know Brahman. (Not all gods and goddesses are realized souls). This knowledge impartation is compared to uninterrupted flow of nectar. When honey is poured from one vessel to another, it flows without break and similarly, the highest knowledge is offered in Her court without any interruption. While approving and appreciating the wise sayings of Sarasvatī, Parāśakti nods Her head. When She nods Her head, the ear studs worn by Her make loud jingling sound, which is comprehended as Her saying ‘good’ or ‘very good’, etc.
Some scholars are of the opinion, that it is only Parāśakti who speaks and not Sarasvatī. This seems to be irrational, as Sarasvatī obviously cannot nod to what Parāśakti says. This is in accordance with Lalitā Sahasranāma 614 sacāmara-ramā-vāṇī-savyadakṣiṇa-sevitā, which says, that Goddess Lakṣmī (Ramā) and Goddess Sarasvatī (Vāṇī) stand by Her side and fan Her. This concept is also endorsed in Saundarya Laharī verse 99, Lalitā Triśatī nāma-s 63 and 194.
These types of verses are useful in contemplating Her with a form.
verse61
असौ नासावंशस्तुहिनगिरिवंशध्वजपटि
त्वदीयो नेदीयः फलतु फलमस्माकमुचितम्।
वहत्यन्तर्मुत्ताः शिशिरकरनिश्वासगलितं
समृद्ध्या यत्तासां बहिरपि च मुक्तामणिधरः॥
asau nāsāvaṁśastuhinagirivaṁśadhvajapaṭi
tvadīyo nedīyaḥ phalatu phalamasmākamucitam |
vahatyantarmukttāḥ śiśirakaraniśvāsagalitaṁ
samṛddhyā yattāsāṁ bahirapi ca muktāmaṇidharaḥ ||
asau – here; nāsā vaṁśa – bamboo like nose; tuhina giri vaṁśa dhvajapaṭi – flag (belonging to a Kingdom/Nation) belonging to the King of Himalayas; tvadīya – Yours; nedīyaḥ - quickly; phalatu – reward; phalam asmākam ucitam – consequent effects on us; vahati antar mukttāḥ - carrying a pearl within; śiśirakara niśvāsa galitaṁ - pushed out by the cool breath using candranāḍī (during exhalation through left nostril); samṛddhya – abundantly endowed; yat tāsāṁ - out of this; bahir api ca – outside too; muktāmaṇi dharaḥ - wearing a pearl.
“O! The most revered in the Himalayan Kingdom! Your bamboo like nose, quickly reward our desires and consequent effect on us. Pearls formed within your nose are pushed while you breathe out through your left nostril (and adore your nose as a nose ring).
This verse is purely a poetic visualization of Parāśakti by Śaṁkarācārya. There are subtle conveyances in this verse. One is that Her nose is compared to a bamboo stick. Bamboo is drawn as a comparison due to several factors. It is believed that rain drops falling on bamboo become pearls. When this bamboo stick is blown, it is said that the pearls fall down from the other end. It is also conveyed that Her nose becomes broader towards the end like a bamboo shoot. Whether it is a bamboo shoot or an oyster, pearl is always formed inside, invisible to the naked eyes, emphasising the fact that She should be realized within the body. Secondly, air can be blown through a bamboo shoot after making some modifications. The movement of air through bamboo and Her nose are compared. Flutes are made out of bamboo shoots and they are capable of producing cool (pleasant) melodies. Why Śaṁkarācārya had chosen bamboo as an example? Bamboo trees do not produce fruits and contextually, fruits mean material desires. Just like a bamboo tree, Śaṁkarācārya had no material desires and because of this, She literally poured Her Grace on him. Material desires always pull down spiritual aspirations.
There are two subtle nādī-s through which inhalations and exhalations happen. One is known as iḍā or candranāḍī (left nostril) and the other is piṅgala or sūryanāḍī (right nostril). These two nādī-s keep the body temperature constant, irrespective of the climate. Piṅgala nādī belongs to the sun and makes the body to warm up. Iḍā nāḍī belongs to the moon and cools down the body. By nature, breathing switches from one nostril to another nostril alternatively to maintain constant body temperature. A yogi could make his prāṇa enter through the central canal of the spinal cord (known as citriṇī), which ultimately ends at brahmarandra, (known as orifice of Brahman, also known as Brahma nāḍī) which leads him to the perpetual state of Bliss and ultimate liberation. By referring to candranāḍī, probably Śaṁkarācārya could be referring to liberation, as candranāḍī represents Her and sūryanāḍī refers to Śiva. Iḍā and piṅgala conjoin near shoulder joints and if one practices kuṇḍalinī meditation, he could feel stiffness, if a proper posture is not practiced. Keeping both the upper arms away from the body (body to elbow should be at least 4”) is important during this meditation.
When Parāśakti exhales, the air that comes out is cool and as a result of this, pearls are formed inside Her nostrils which fall down due to the force of air breathed out and these pears adore Her nose externally forming a nose ring. But these pearls are different from ordinary pearls. These pearls are shining like stars and adore Her nose. Lalitā Sahasranāma (20) says, tārākānthi-tiraskāri-nāsabharaṇa-bhāsurā, which is explained thus: “She is wearing a nose stud that outshines the stars. Her nose stud is made up of rubies and pearls. Tārā means stars. Tārā also means two goddesses Maṅgalā and Śuklā. Śuklā has later come to be known as Śukrā. Possibly these Maṅgalā and Śukrā could mean the two planets Mars and Venus. Each planet governs certain precious stones. Planet Mars rules ruby that is red in colour and Venus rules diamond (Mani Mālā II.79). It can also be said that these two planets adorn Her nose. This also indicates that worshipping Her wards off the evil effects of planets.”
By drawing a comparison to a national flag, Śaṁkarācārya establishes Her supremacy in Her Kingdom, Mount Himalayas, where Meru is situated. Meru means mountain. She lives with Her Consort on the top of Mount Himalayas, which is known as Mount Kailāsa.
verse62
प्रकृत्या रक्तायास्तव सुदति दन्तच्छदरुचेः
प्रवक्ष्ये सादृश्यं जनयतु फलं विद्रुमलता।
न बिम्बं तद्बिम्बप्रतिफलनरागादरुणितं
तुलामध्यारोढुं कथमिव विलज्जेत कलया॥
prakṛtyā raktāyāstava sudati dantacchadaruceḥ
pravakṣye sādṛśyaṁ janayatu phalaṁ vidrumalatā |
na bimbaṁ tadbimbapratiphalanarāgādaruṇitaṁ
tulāmadhyāroḍhuṁ kathamiva vilajjeta kalayā ||
prakṛtya āraktāya – natural red; tava sudati – Your beautiful white teeth; danta cchada ruceḥ - parting of (Your) beautiful lips; pravakṣye sādṛśyaṁ - identify the similarity; janayatu phalaṁ - giving benefits; vidrumalatā – coral creeper; na bimbaṁ - not the bimba fruit ( Cephalandra Indica); tat bimba pratiphalana rāgāt aruṇitaṁ - that bimba fruit reflecting the redness of Your lips; tulām adhyāroḍhuṁ - attaining the state of equality; katham iva – nevertheless; (na) vilajjeta kalayā – not embarrassed; kalayā – even by a bit.
“O! Devi, the One with beautiful white teeth! I want to establish similarity between Your beautiful parting lips that are red in colour with something else (that is known to common man). I want to give benefit to the coral creeper and not to the bimba fruit, as bimba fruit simply reflect the redness of Your lips. Will not the bimba fruit be embarrassed at least by a bit, when this comparison is made?”
Śaṁkarācārya had the Divine vision of Parāśakti. When one is able to visualize a form with great concentration, such visions are possible. As Śaṁkarācārya was contemplating Her form all the time, he could easily enter into trance and experience Her vision. Though contemplation is necessary, one has to mandatorily enter into the state of trance, to have such Divine visions. How to enter into trance has already been explained in the article HOW TO ATTAIN DIVINE GRACE. Trance is the result of living in the state of Bliss. Only a purified mind is all that is needed to enter into the state of Bliss. Therefore, whatever Śaṁkarācārya says in Saundaryalaharī is not his imagination, but due to the divine visions he had. Imagination has limitations and minute details cannot be ideated so meticulously. From the way he describes Her, clearly proves that he was able to “see” Her, whenever he wanted to have Her darśan. This verse goes to prove that he composed this verse by sitting before Her (in his mind). A close similarity can be drawn between the origin of Vedas and many of Śaṁkarācārya’s compositions. Both were composed only mentally, by connecting to Divinity.
This verse says that Parāśakti has beautiful white teeth. The beauty of Her white teeth is seen through Her parted lips, that are dark red in complexion. Her lips are always parted because, She always smiles at Her devotees. Śaṁkarācārya wanted to compare at least to a certain extent, the deep red complexion of Her lips to some of the objects known to common man like us. He thought about two things; coral creeper and bimba fruit (also known as kanduri-ki-bel). Coral creeper does not yield fruits and hence, it cannot be compared. The only alternative is bimba fruit. However, he is not satisfied with this comparison, as he feels that bimba fruit merely reflects the redness of Her lips and these fruits do not have natural redness. Unimaginable poetic parlance! As bimba fruits know that they do not have natural redness and when they are compared to the lips of our own and ever Gracious Parāśakti, bimba fruits feel embarrassed for comparing them to the gracious lips of Lalitāmbikā.
If someone contemplates on the narration of this verse, he or she is bound to have Her Grace.
verse63
स्मितज्योत्स्नाजालं तव वदनचन्द्रस्य पिबदां
चकोराणामासीदतिरसतया चञ्चुजडिमा।
अतस्ते शीतांशोरमृतलहरीमाम्लरुचयः
पिबन्ति स्वच्छन्दं निशि निशि भृशं काञ्चिकधिया ॥
smitajyotsnājālaṁ tava vadanacandrasya pibadāṁ
cakorāṇāmāsīdatirasatayā cañcujaḍimā |
ataste śītāṁśoramṛtalaharīmāmlarucayaḥ
pibanti svacchandaṁ niśi niśi bhṛśaṁ kāñcikadhiyā ||
smita jyotsnā jālaṁ – Your smile appearing like a splendorous moonlight night; tava vadana candrasya – on Your face appearing like the moon; pibadāṁ - drinking; cakorāṇām – Cakora birds, Greek partridges (which survive only on moonlight); āsīt – had; ati rasatayā – repletion (eating until no more can be consumed); cañcu jaḍimā – tongue losing its sense; ataḥ te – hence they (the birds); śītāṁśoḥ amṛta laharīm – waves of nectar from the moon; āmla rucayaḥ - sour taste (like tamarind); pibanti – drinking; svacchandaṁ - following their own will; niśi niśi – every night; bhṛśaṁ - without hesitation; kāñcika dhiyā – considering it sour gruel.
“Cakora birds, (Greek partridges) considering Your beautiful face and its smile as the moon, drank repletely the nectar of Your smile and as a result of this repletion, their tongues have lost their taste buds. In order to set this right, they go in search of real moonlight considering its rays as sour gruel.”
Cakora birds live only on moonlight. They are able to generate a sort of nectar from the moonlight and survive. They have a strange capacity. When they see a poisoned food, their eyes turn red. The habitation of these birds is mountains of South Europe. They mistook Parāśakti’s face and the beautiful smile as the moon and as a result, they have generated more than normal nectar. This nectar was much more delicious than the nectar they tasted until now. As the nectar generated from the face of Parāśakti was much more delicious, they drank the nectar more than they can (repletion) and as result of which, their tongues have lost the sensitivity of taste buds. As a curative measure, they now go the real moonlight to drink its nectar considering the nectar generated out of the moonlight as sour gruel (which tastes like tamarind) every night. For having tasted the Divine Nectar for a day, they drink the nectar of the moon every day.
This is a typical example of Divine Grace. When an aspirant, with absolute faith (like the birds which faithfully believed that Parāśakti’s face is moon) contemplates on Her, She on Her own showers Her Grace on the aspirant. Descent of Divine Grace is very important during higher levels of spiritual sādhana. During higher levels of spiritual sādhana, the state of thoughtfulness during meditation, when the aspirant sitting in a secluded place looks for Her within, disconnecting his consciousness from the external world completely. When Her Grace descends, the aspirant enters into the state of Bliss, which is the prelude to realization. Realization can happen only in the state of Bliss. Perfect result of spiritual practice will be like this; sādhana à Grace à Realization à liberation à state of sthitaprajña à death à becoming one with Brahman.
verse64
अविश्रान्तं पत्युर्गुणगणकथाम्रेडनजपा
जपापुष्पच्छाया तव जननि जिह्वा जयति सा।
यदग्रासीनायाः स्फटिकदृषदच्छच्छविमयी
सरस्वत्या मूर्तिः परिणमति माणिक्यवपुषा॥
aviśrāntaṁ patyurguṇagaṇakathāmreḍanajapā
japāpuṣpacchāyā tava janani jihvā jayati sā |
yadagrāsīnāyāḥ sphaṭikadṛṣadacchacchavimayī
sarasvatyā mūrtiḥ pariṇamati māṇikyavapuṣā ||
aviśrāntaṁ - continuously, without interruption; patyuḥ - Your Consort (Śiva); guṇa gaṇa kathā amreḍana japā – repeatedly dwelling (reciting, explaining) on His Grandeur; japāpuṣpa cchāyā – in the colour of hibiscus flower (which is red in colour); tava – Your*; janani – O! Divine Mother; jihvā jayati sā – *(Your) tongue conquers; yat agra āsīnāyāḥ - who inhabits at the tip of (Your) tongue; sphaṭika dṛṣadacchaccha vimayī – having a complexion like that of a crystal; sarasvatyā mūrtiḥ – form (body) of goddess Sarasvatī; pariṇamati māṇikya vapuṣā – turning into the colour of ruby (gem).
“O! Divine Mother! Your tongue has turned into deep red like a hibiscus flower, as You are repeatedly talking about the Grandeur of Your Consort Śiva! Goddess Sarasvatī having a crystal like complexion and residing in the tip of Your tongue turns red like that of a ruby (due to the redness of Your tongue).”
This verse is in praise of the tongue of Parāśakti. By nature, tongue of everyone is red in color. But the tongue of Parāśakti, by nature is red in color. She constantly talks about the Grandeur of Śiva to everyone. How Her tongue turns deep red, like hibiscus flower, when She speaks about Her Consort Śiva? The only possible interpretation is that Her tongue too can blush! Śaṁkarācārya could have thought only this way, as there is no other possibility of Her tongue becoming so red in colour. There is one possibility as explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma 559, tāmbhūla-pūrita-mukhī, which says, that the betel leaves turn Her lips into red colour. But this is absolutely ruled out, as She will never talk about the Glories of Her Consort with betel leaves in Her mouth, which is not considered as an act of etiquette. Her tongue blushes when She talks about Her Consort Śiva, an idea only Śaṁkarācārya can conceptualize.
It is said that goddess Sarasvatī lives in the tongue of Parāśakti. Sarasvatī is pure crystal in complexion, like her twin brother Śiva (According to ancient mythology, Brahmā and Lakṣmī, Viṣṇu and Umā, Śiva and Sarasvatī are twins). The complexion of Sarasvatī turns into deep red like a ruby stone. Reference to ruby is very interesting. Śaṁkarācārya could have used any other comparison to explain this red colour of Sarasvatī; but he had chosen ruby stone because, ruby stone is transparent and reflects the colour of the tongue of Parāśakti. The crystal complexion of Sarasvatī appears deep red in colour simply because of the radiance of Her deep red tongue.
The verse also subtly conveys that those who worship Her, need not worship any other gods or goddesses.
(Further reading: In terms of complexion both Śiva and Śaktiappear as red. Lalitai is red in complexion. Śiva is pure white like a spatika (crystal). The specialty of spatika is that it gets reflected with the colour of the properties nearby. When Lalitai sits by the side of Śiva or on the lap of Śiva, His translucent crystal complexion also appears as red. The gods and goddesses, who witness this glorious scene compare this to the rising sun. This scene could lead to an inference that Śaktī is more potent than Śiva as Śiva only reflects the colour of Śaktī. Both of them hold the same four weaponries.)
verse65
रणे जित्वा दैत्यानपहृतशिरस्त्रैः कवचिभिः
निवृत्तैश्चण्डांशत्रिपुरहरनिर्माल्यविमुखैः।
विशाखेन्द्रोपेन्द्रैः शशिविशदकर्पूरशकलाः
विलीयन्ते मातस्तव वदनताम्बूलकबलाः॥
raṇe jitvā daityānapahṛtaśirastraiḥ kavacibhiḥ
nivṛttaiścaṇḍāṁśatripuraharanirmālyavimukhaiḥ |
viśākhendropendraiḥ śaśiviśadakarpūraśakalāḥ
vilīyante mātastava vadanatāmbūlakabalāḥ ||
raṇe jitvā daityā - victorious in war with demons; apahṛta śirastraiḥ - having taken their head gears; kavacibhiḥ - remaining only with armours on their chests; nivṛttaiḥ - returning (from wars); caṇḍa aṁśa – that portion meant for Caṇḍikeśvara; tripura hara nirmālya vimukhaiḥ - ignoring the remains of Śiva’s food (which is meant for Caṇḍikeśvara); viśākha indra upendraiḥ - Skanda (son of Śiva), Indra, Viṣṇu; śaśi viśada karpūra śakalāḥ - camphor, (edible camphor) as pure white as moon; vilīyante – melting away (due to proper chewing); mātaḥ - O! Divine Mother! tava – Yours; vadana tāmbūla kabalāḥ - mouth full of betel leaves.
“O! Divine Mother! Skanda, Indra, Viṣṇu, etc after winning their war against demons, come to you with their head gears removed, but still wearing armours on their chests, ignoring the remains of food of Śiva, meant for Caṇḍikeśvara, directly go to you to have a portion of the betel leaves mixed with pure edible camphor in your mouth.”
This verse re-emphasizes the Supremacy of Parāśakti. Skanda is said to be the mythical son of Śiva and Pārvati. He, along with Indra and Viṣṇu is known for annihilating demons, who cause imbalance in the world of dharma. Demons are repeated offenders and sinners, who are unwilling to correct themselves. They need to be annihilated in order to maintain proper dharma in the world. Skanda, Indra and Viṣṇu after annihilating the demons, as directed by Her, report to Her, straight from the battle field with their protective coverings. They do not have time to remove their protective coverings, as they have to report to Her immediately. But when they stand before Her, they remove their head gears, as a mark of respect. She commands such a respect.
There is reference about Caṇḍikeśvara in this verse, who is seen in Śiva temples. Those who visit Śiva temples have to report to him saying that they are not taking away any belongings of Śiva. He is a bodyguard of Śiva and there is a story about this. When Caṇḍikeśvara was very young, he used to be an ardent devotee of Śiva. When his father prevented him in worshipping Śiva, he killed his father and at this time, at the plea of his mother, Śiva resurrected his father and took Caṇḍikeśvara with Him and appointed him as His guard. Caṇḍikeśvara only eats the leftovers of Śiva and it is exclusively meant for Him. Skanda, Indra and Viṣṇu, though noticed this leftover, were not inclined to take the leftovers of Śiva and instead went to Parāśakti, not only to report to Her, but also waiting for leftovers of Her tāmbhūla (chewing of betel leaves along with karpūra vīṭikā - Lalitā Sahasranāma 26, which includes edible camphor, which is white in colour). It is said that the leftovers of Her tāmbhūla is capable of giving immense knowledge.
This verse talks about Her Grace.
verse66
विपञ्चया गायन्ती विविधमपदानं पशुपतेः
त्वयारब्धे वक्तुं चलितशिरसा साधुवचने।
तदीयैर्माधुर्यैरपलपिततन्त्रीकलरवां
निजां वीणां वाणी निचुलयति चोलेन निभृतम्॥
vipañcayā gāyantī vividhamapadānaṁ paśupateḥ
tvayārabdhe vaktuṁ calitaśirasā sādhuvacane |
tadīyairmādhuryairapalapitatantrīkalaravāṁ
nijāṁ vīṇāṁ vāṇī niculayati colena nibhṛtam ||
vipañcayā gāyantī –playing her (Sarasvatī) vīṇā and singing along with its melody; vividham apadānaṁ paśupateḥ - various glories of Śiva; tvaya – by you; ārabdha – commenced; vaktuṁ - mind set to speak; calita śirasa –nodding the head (in approval); sādhu vacane – appreciative voice; tadīyaiḥ mādhuryaḥ - due to the sweetness of the voice; apalapita tantrī kalaravāṁ - ridiculing the soft melody of her vīṇā; nijāṁ vīṇāṁ - her (Sarasvatī’s) vīṇā; vāṇī – Sarasvatī; niculayati colena nibhṛtam – covers her vīṇā silently.
“Goddess Sarasvatī plays on her vīṇā (an Indian classical instrument with strings, known as Indian lute) various glories of Śiva. While listening to this pleasing musical melody, You nod Your head in approval (approving the glories of Śiva) and begin to appreciate by saying (such as good, very good, excellent, etc). On hearing Your melodious voice, Sarasvatī was highly embarrassed, as Your sweet voice ridicules her vīṇā as well as her singing. Feeling ashamed, she quietly puts back the cover for her vīṇā.”
This verse is in praise of Her voice. Sarasvatī is the goddess, who presides over knowledge and arts, which includes music. Being the goddess of music, Sarasvatī sings various glories of Śiva and while singing, she also plays her vīṇā. Parāśakti is carefully listening to her music and being happy with the songs and melody, She nods Her head in approval. At some point of time, She openly appreciated both the meaning and the melody of Sarasvatī’s songs by not only nodding Her head in approval, but also saying good, excellent, etc. When Sarasvatī heard Her voice, she felt ashamed, as Her voice was much more melodious and sweeter than her singing and the melody of her vīṇā. Unable to bear this humiliation, she stood up and covered her vīṇā.
Lalitā Sahasranāma 27 is Nija-sallāpa-mādurya-vinirbhartsita-kacchpī and is explained thus: “Sarasvatī’s vīṇā is called kachapi. It produces a superb melody, in the hands of Sarasvatī Devi, the goddess for fine arts. The voice of Lalitai is more melodious than Sarasvatī’s vīṇā.
Another important aspect of this verse, which is subtly conveyed, is that one need not worship any other gods or goddesses, if one wholeheartedly worships Parāśakti, who encompasses every aspect of creation. Similarly, one can perform any pūjā in Śrī Cakra.
verse67
कराग्रेण स्पृष्टं तुहिनगिरिणा वत्सलतया
गिरिशेनोदस्तं मुहुरधरपानाकुलतया।
करग्राह्यं शंभोर्मुखमुकुरवृन्तं गिरिसुते
कथंकारं ब्रूमस्तव चुबुकमौपम्यरहितम्॥
karāgreṇa spṛṣṭaṁ tuhinagiriṇā vatsalatayā
giriśenodastaṁ muhuradharapānākulatayā |
karagrāhyaṁ śaṁbhormukhamukuravṛntaṁ girisute
kathaṁkāraṁ brūmastava cubukamaupamyarahitam ||
karāgreṇa spṛṣṭaṁ tuhinagiriṇā - touching Her with tip of his fingers by Himavān (Her father); vatsalatayā – affectionately; giriśenodastaṁ - lifted by Śiva; muhur – repeatedly; adharapāna – kissing; ākulatayā – intensity of desire (with agitated mind); karagrāhyaṁ - held in His (Śiva) hand; śaṁbhoḥ - Śiva; mukha mukura vṛntaṁ - handle for Your mirror like face; girisute – O! Parāśakti; kathaṁkāraṁ brūmaḥ - how can this spoken of; tava cubukam – Your chin; aupamya rahitam – without comparison.
“Himavān, Your father lifts You chin affectionately. Śiva repeatedly lifts Your chin with intent to kiss your lips and His hands appear like a handle to Your mirror like face. This scene is without comparison.”
This verse speaks about Parāśakti’s chin. Himavān, Her father touches Her chin with great affection. But, Śiva, Her Consort, repeatedly lifts up Her chin with an intention to kiss Her lips. When Śiva lifts Her chin, His arm appears like a handle to a mirror, where Her face is compared to a mirror. Her mirror like face is bright and shining and Śiva’s hand touching Her chin appears like a handle to the mirror. Śaṁkarācārya says that there is no comparison to this scene.
Lalitā Sahasranāma 29 is anākalita-sādṛśya-cibuka-śrī-virājitā and is explained thus: “She has the most beautiful chin”.
verse68
भुजाश्लेषान्नित्यं पुरदमयितुः कण्टकवती
तव ग्रीवा धत्ते मुखकमलनालश्रियमियम्।
स्वतः श्वेता कालागरुबहुलजम्बालमलिना
मृणालीलालित्यं वहति यदधो हारलतिका॥
bhujāśleṣānnityaṁ puradamayituḥ kaṇṭakavatī
tava grīvā dhatte mukhakamalanālaśriyamiyam |
svataḥ śvetā kālāgarubahulajambālamalinā
mṛṇālīlālityaṁ vahati yadadho hāralatikā ||
bhuja aśleṣa nityaṁ - always embracing by hands; pura damayituḥ - the burner of tripura (three worlds), Śiva; kaṇṭakavata – goose bumps; tava grīvā iyam dhatte – Your neck shows; mukha kamala nāla śriyam – the auspiciousness of (Your) face (neck) appearing like lotus stalk; svataḥ śvetā – naturally bright white; kālāgaru bahula jambāla malinā – darkened by the application of fragrant paste (it is the paste made from agaru, which is black in colour); mṛṇālī lālityaṁ -beautiful like lotus stalk; vaha iti – causing this; yat adhas – below that (neck); hāra latika – garland of pearls.
“Śiva always embraces you by keeping His hands on the nape of Your neck. When He does this, You develop goose bumps and this gives an impression that Your neck appears like a lotus stalk with bristles. Pure white pearl necklace below Your auspicious face, appear dark in colour due to black paste of agaru, which also appears like a lotus stalk.”
There are four types of visualization for Śiva and Śakti. One, they are in two different places. For example, when Śiva dances during cosmic annihilation, She witnesses His Cosmic dance from a distance, says Lalitā Sahasranāma 232, maheśvara-mahākalpa-mahātāṇḍava-sākṣiṇī. Their next posture is sitting on Royal Throne, where She sits by His side. The third posture is that She is sitting on the left lap of Śiva. Their last posture is ardhanārīśvara form, where She occupies Śiva’s left side. Śaṃkarācārya visualizes in this verse, a posture beyond their commonly known postures.
This verse says that Śiva is sitting by Her side, putting His hand around her neck. Because of this, She gets goose bumps and when the goose bumps appear in Her neck, Śaṃkarācārya sees Her neck as the stalk of lotus. Lotus stalk though soft, has minute bristles in it. If Her neck is the stalk of the lotus flower, Her face becomes the lotus flower itself. How does Her face look like? It is like a lotus flower and as white as a pure pearl necklace that She is wearing. But the pure white pearl necklace that She is wearing, has become dark in colour due to the frequent application of black coloured fragrant paste made out of arugu (bark of a tree). This half-white pearl necklace is also compared to the black roots of lotus stalk.
verse69
गले रेखास्तिस्रो गतिगमकगीतैकनिपुणे
विवाहव्यानद्धप्रगुणगुणसंख्याप्रतिभुवः।
विराजन्ते नानाविधमधुररागाकरभुवां
त्रयाणां ग्रामाणां स्थितिनियमसीमान इव ते॥
gale rekhāstisro gatigamakagītaikanipuṇe
vivāhavyānaddhapraguṇaguṇasaṁkhyāpratibhuvaḥ |
virājante nānāvidhamadhurarāgākarabhuvāṁ
trayāṇāṁ grāmāṇāṁ sthitiniyamasīmāna iva te ||
gale –neck; rekhāstisro –three lines; gati gamaka gītaika nipuṇe – expert in singing with gati and gamaka (both associated with the way in which vocal music is rendered); vivāha vyānaddha praguṇa guṇa saṁkhyā pratibhuvaḥ - reminding the auspicious thread made of three strings, tied during marriage (māṅgalyasūtra); virājante – embellishing; nānāvidha madhura rāgākara bhuvāṁ - the source of multitude of pleasing melodies; trayāṇāṁ grāmāṇāṁ - three musical notes (ṣaḍja, gāndhāra and madhyama); sthiti niyama sīmāna iva – boundaries delimiting musical notes; te – Your;
“You neck (containing vocal cord), which has the expertise of singing melodious tunes, has three lines. They remind us about the auspicious thread (māṅgalyasūtra) tied in your neck by Śiva, which is made of three intertwined (yellow) threads. The three lines also appear like boundaries delimiting musical notes.”
Śaṁkarācārya describes Her neck. He says that there are lines in Her neck. Three lines around the neck is described as the sign of auspiciousness in sāmudrikalakṣaṇa (study of body parts and its effects). On seeing these three lines, Śaṁkarācārya could immediately recollect about tying of māṅgalyasūtra on Her neck by Śiva during their marriage. Māṅgalyasūtra is made of three intertwined yellow colour threads and after intertwining, the thread that is to be tied becomes thick and in the centre of this thick thread , māṅgalya is fixed and the loose ends are kept open. Māṅgalya is explained as an object of auspiciousness that conveys happiness. An ordinary poet could have stopped at this point. But Śaṁkarācārya goes further and says that these lines not only reminds him about māṅgalyasūtra, but also reminds him about the boundary lines between musical notes. There are seven basic musical notes known as saptasvara (seven musical notes/sound) and these notes are sa, ṛ, gā, ma, pa, dha and ni and these notes are known as ṣaḍja, ṛṣabha, gāndhāra, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata and niṣāda. Out of these seven only three, which are mentioned in this verse are known as grāma. Since Śaṁkarācārya was expert in anything, including music, he chose only the three grāma-s to describe the three lines in Her neck. This also indirectly explains the qualities of a great Guru. A Guru should know almost everything, not merely mantras and rituals. From these lines, which are compared to grāma, all other musical notes originate. Therefore, he also establishes that everything originates from Her.
Further reading: According to Hindu Scriptures, a marriage has many ceremonies, out of which most important ceremonies are:
1. Kanyādāna, where the girl is given as a gift to groom’s family. This is only a gift and no monetary or material transactions are involved. Bride’s father is the one, who gives the gift to the groom.
2. Saptapadī, where the groom holding the big toe of the right foot of the bride and makes her to walk seven steps. While holding her big toe, groom’s right hand thumb should be facing upwards.
There are other rituals too, but tying māṅgalyasūtra is not mentioned in the ancient texts. It is important that kanyādāna should be performed during auspicious muhūrta. Someone could say that saptapadī should also be done during muhūrta. Muhūrta is 1/30 of 24 hours, which means 48 minutes, which represent time duration of two stars (nakṣatra-s). There are 30 muhūrta-s in a day and each muhūrta also has a name.
verse70
मृणालीमृद्वीनां तव भुजलतानां चतसृणां
चतुर्भिः सौन्दर्यं सरसिजभवः स्तौति वदनैः।
नखेभ्यः संत्रस्यन् प्रथममथनादन्धकरिपोः
चतुर्णां शीर्षाणां सममभयहस्तार्पणधिया॥
mṛṇālīmṛdvīnāṁ tava bhujalatānāṁ catasṛṇāṁ
caturbhiḥ saundaryaṁ sarasijabhavaḥ stauti vadanaiḥ |
nakhebhyaḥ saṁtrasyan prathamamathanādandhakaripoḥ
caturṇāṁ śīrṣāṇāṁ samamabhayahastārpaṇadhiyā ||
mṛṇālī mṛdvīnāṁ - soft like stalk of lotus; tava – Your; catasṛṇāṁ - four fold; caturbhiḥ - four; saundaryaṁ - beauty; sarasija bhavaḥ - Brahmā (god of creation); stauti – praising ; vadanaiḥ - faces; nakhebhyaḥ - finger nails; saṁtrasyan - fearing; prathama mathanāt – because of the previous incident; andhaka ripoḥ - Śiva’s; caturṇāṁ śīrṣāṇāṁ - existing four heads; samam- similarly; abhaya hasta arpaṇa dhiyā – saving, by extending Your hand.
“Your four hands are very soft like lotus stalk. Once upon a time, Śiva nipped off Brahmā’s head using His finger nails. Scared of this and in order to retain his existing four heads, Brahmā came to You and praised Your four soft hands seeking Your protection.”
On the grosser side, Śiva cut the fourth head of Brahmā and there are several stories associated with this incident. Fearing that Śiva could cut off his remaining four heads, he goes to Parāśakti and sings Her praise, seeking Her protection. Brahmā went to Her thinking that he can be saved by Her hand with abhaya mudra. In order to save himself, Brahmā has totally forgotten that She does not show abhaya mudra and Her feet are capable of protecting from miseries (Saundaryalaharī verse 4). He himself worshiped Her feet, which is explained in Saundaryalaharī verse 3 and 22). However, dhyāna verse of Mahāṣoḍaśī mantra says, “pāṇibhyāṁ varadā abhayaṁ ca dadhatīṁ brahmādisevyāṁ parāṁ” which means, She also has abhaya and varada mudras, but this is applicable only in that particular form of manifestation. In fact, Mahāṣoḍaśī mantra is meant only for those, who are about to be liberated. But, Brahmā is a liberated god head, who takes care of the entire creation and works under Her command. When Brahmā goes to Her seeking protection, it clearly speaks about Her Supremacy.
Brahmā originally had five heads. There are various interpretations about his fifth head. One of his heads was cut off by Śiva for having told a lie. There is another version saying that the fifth head was burnt by Śiva’s third eye for having disrespected Him. According to another version, fifth head of Brahmā was cut off by Kālabhairava, a form of Śiva. Another version says that Brahmā has fallen in love with Sarasvatī, his consort and spent most of his time with her. There are different versions about the origin of Sarasvatī. Some texts say that Sarasvatī is Brahmā’s daughter and Brahmā created her using his mind power. When Brahmā fall in love with Sarasvatī, Śiva became furious and chopped off his fifth head. There are other interpretations too.
This verse clearly establishes Her Supremacy and even god heads like Brahmā have to surrender to Her. She is the ultimate saviour.
verse71
नखानामुद्योतैर्ननवनलिनरागं विहसतां
कराणां ते कान्तिं कथय कथयामः कथमुमे।
कयाचिद्वा साम्यं भजतु कलया हन्त कमलं
यदि क्रीडल्लक्ष्मीचरणतललाक्षारसचणम्॥
nakhānāmudyotairnanavanalinarāgaṁ vihasatāṁ
karāṇāṁ te kāntiṁ kathaya kathayāmaḥ kathamume |
kayācidvā sāmyaṁ bhajatu kalayā hanta kamalaṁ
yadi krīḍallakṣmīcaraṇatalalākṣārasacaṇam ||
nakhānām udyotaiḥ - splendour of Your nails; nava nalina rāgaṁ - just blossomed lotus flower; vihasatāṁ - mocking laughter; karāṇāṁ te – Your hands; kāntiṁ - Your splendour; kathaya kathayāmaḥ - how can it be explained; katham – narrate; ume – Umā; kayā cid vā – somehow; sāmyaṁ - equality; bhajatu kalayā hanta – possibly can attain; kamalaṁ - lotus; yadi krīḍat lakṣmī caraṇa tala lākṣārasa caṇam - henna shining in the feet of Lakṣmī residing in the lotus flowers.
“O! Umā! The nails in Your hands (finger nails) make lotus flowers to blossom. Splendour of Your nails, make mockery of the radiance of just blossomed lotus flowers. Please tell me, how can I describe such beautiful hands of Yours? These lotus flowers got their radiance from the feet of Lakṣmī, who resides within lotus flowers and who sports henna in her feet. Even then, there cannot be any equality to Your splendour.”
This verse talks about Parāśakti’s hands. Śaṁkarācārya could not find appropriate words to describe Her splendorous hands. It seems to be a tough job for him as if he is explaining Brahman, who cannot be described through words; but there is no other go except to draw comparisons to explain Him. For example, Brahman is more radiant than millions of suns put together, etc. Similarly, Śaṁkarācārya finds it difficult to describe Her hands. If this is the case with hands, how can Her full form be described? This is beyond human comprehension. That is why, Śaṁkarācārya made an attempt to describe Her through 100 verses of Saundaryalaharī.
Śaṁkarācārya thought about closest possible similarity to describe Her hands. He says that goddess Lakṣmī, Consort of Viṣṇu resides in lotus flowers. She has applied henna paste in her feet, which turned her feet deep red in colour and the lotus flowers derive their luster only from the feet of Lakṣmī and even then this comparison is not even the closest possible comparison to describe Parāśakti’s hands.
This verse can be contemplated like this. Parāśakti’s nails are deep red in colour. The bright red radiance of Her nails get reflected in Her shining hands. If this can be compared to the just blossomed red lotus flower, people will laugh out loud for making this irrelevant comparison. But, there is no other way to describe Her radiant hands. So, Her hands cannot be compared to anything that is known to us. This is like making futile attempts to describe Brahman.
Umā is the name given to Her by Her mother. When She was too young, She used to practice austerities in order to attain Śiva as Her Consort. Her mother at that time used to tell Her not to practice austerities at such a tender age. Umā is explained like this. U stands for O! Child! and mā stands for ‘do not practice austerities’. “O! Child! Do not practice austerities” is later known as Umā.
Twelve verses from verse 72 to 83 involve physical description of Parāśakti.
verse84
Twelve verses from verse 72 to 83 involve physical description of Parāśakti. It is always believed that Śaṁkarācārya was an incarnation of Śiva and thus every aspect of Her is known to Śaṁkarācārya. I consider that such narrations should not be discussed in a public domain and hence, interpretations of these verses have been left out. Kāñci Paramācārya has chosen not to interpret many verses of Saundaryalaharī saying that one should be extremely careful in worshipping Divine Mother.
Verse 84
श्रुतीनां मूर्धानो दधति तव यौ शेखरतया
ममाप्येतौ मातः शिरसि दयया धेहि चरणौ।
ययोः पाद्यं पाथः पशुपतिजटाजूटतटिनी
ययोर्लाक्षालक्ष्मीररुणहरिचूडामणिरुचिः॥
śrutīnāṁ mūrdhāno dadhati tava yau śekharatayā
mamāpyetau mātaḥ śirasi dayayā dhehi caraṇau |
yayoḥ pādyaṁ pāthaḥ paśupatijaṭājūṭataṭinī
yayorlākṣālakṣmīraruṇaharicūḍāmaṇiruciḥ ||
tava – Yours; yau caraṇau – those feet; śrutīnāṁ mūrdhāna – crown of Vedas viz. Upaniṣad-s; dadhati –wearing; śekharatayā - wearing as crown; etau – Your feet; mama śirasi api dayayā dhehi – place (Your feet) on my head out of compassion; yayoḥ pādyaṁ pāthaḥ - (which is like) washing Your sacred feet; paśupati jaṭā jūṭa taṭinī – is that the river (Ganges) who resides in the matted hair of Śiva; yayo – those feet of Yours; lākṣā lakṣmīḥ - splendorous henna (which turns the feet into deep red); aruṇa hari cūḍāmaṇi ruciḥ - (is that due to) the brilliance of cūḍāmaṇi gem of Viṣṇu’s crown?
“O! Parāśakti! Out of compassion for me, please keep Your feet on my head too. Your feet are considered as crown which Upaniṣad-s adorn. Your feet are cleansed by waters of Ganges, who resides at the top of Śiva’s matted hair. I also think that the redness of Your feet (due to the application of henna) is due to cūḍāmaṇi gem of Viṣṇu’s crown.”
The verse says that She is worshiped by everyone including Śiva and Viṣṇu. This is conveyed in this verse in the most subtle manner. She is not being just worshiped by Śiva and Viṣṇu, but also prostrate before Her, keeping their heads very close to Her feet. Śaṁkarācārya subtly conveys this by saying that waters of Ganges in Śiva’s matted hair cleanse Her feet (offering water to the feet of gods and goddesses is part of rituals and this is known as pādaprakṣālana). This is possible only if Śiva bends down before Her to pay His respects to Her. When He bends, waters from Ganges fall on Her feet in order to wash Her feet. This does not mean that Ganges cleanses Her feet. In order to pay Her respects to Her, Gaṅgā also moves slightly forward and while doing so, Ganges stealthily falls at Her feet to cleanse herself (Gaṅgā). She has attained impurity because everyone washer their sins by taking bath in river Ganges. A question may arise that when she is residing on Śiva’s head, where is the need for Gaṅgā to get cleansed by Parāśakti. Śiva does not attend to these minuscule activities and it is only Her, who alone can make a person eligible to merge with Śiva. This aspect is also subtly conveyed here.
Her feet appear deep red in complexion. This is Her natural complexion as described in dhyāna verses of Lalitā Sahasranāma (Sindūrāruṇa-vigrahāṃ and aruṇāṃkaruṇā-taraṃgitākṣīṃ); and Mahāṣoḍaśī mantra japa (sindūrāruṇa vigrahāṁ). Her feet are not just red in colour, but they are radiating too. Śaṁkarācārya wonders whether this is due to the cūḍāmaṇi gem embedded in Viṣṇu’s crown. When Viṣṇu brings His head down in order to pay His respects, Her feet become more splendorous with deep red colour. Some Scriptures say that Viṣṇu is Her elder brother.
Śaṁkarācārya does not want anything from Her. After personally seeing that both Śiva and Viṣṇu place their heads on Her feet in order to pay their respects, he only pleads with Her to keep Her feet on his head, so that he attains eternal liberation.
Crown of Vedas is various Upaniṣad-s, as Upaniṣad-s prescribe ways and means to attain Brahman, who is elucidated through Vedas. In other words, the subtle conveyance Vedas are in the form of various Upaniṣad-s. Vedas also elucidate Brahman through various conveyances; but they are interpreted on the grosser side. Since Upaniṣad-s are easier to understand, when compared to Vedas. Hence, Upaniṣad-s are revered as the crown of Vedas. The meaning is also conveyed in Mūkapañcaśatī (pādāravindaśtakam – verse 24). He says, “Your sacred feet are the ultimate end of essence of Vedas (Upaniṣad-s)”. When one understands the conveyances of Upaniṣad-s, he needs nothing more to attain liberation.
verse85
नमोवाकं ब्रूमो नयनरमणीयाय पदयोः
तवास्मै द्वन्द्वाया स्फुटरूचिरसालक्तकवते।
असूयत्यत्यन्तं यदभिहननाय स्पृहयते
पशूनामीशानः प्रमदवनकङ्केलितरवे॥
namovākaṁ brūmo nayanaramaṇīyāya padayoḥ
tavāsmai dvandvāyā sphuṭarūcirasālaktakavate |
asūyatyatyantaṁ yadabhihananāya spṛhayate
paśūnāmīśānaḥ pramadavanakaṅkelitarave ||
namovākaṁ brūmo – expressing the words of obeisance; nayana ramaṇīyāya – delightful to eyes; padayoḥ tavāsmai dvandvāyā – These two feet of Yours; sphuṭa rūci rasālakta kavate – due to the brilliance of henna applied on them (feet); asūyati atyantaṁ - highly jealous; yat abhihananāya – kicked with Thy feet; spṛhayate – desirous of (longing for); paśūnām īśānaḥ - Lord of all beings, Your Consort Śiva; pramadavana – delightful garden; kaṅkeli – ashoka tree; tarave – O! The Incomparable One!
“I pray aloud (with verses, hymns and nāma-s, as they are generally recited aloud) to Your beautiful pair of feet, which shine with henna applied around Your feet. The ashoka tree in Your joyous garden is being kicked by You. On seeing this, Your Consort Śiva becomes jealous of this ashoka tree.”
There are two separate aspects in this verse. First aspect is worshipping Her sacred feet by Śaṁkarācārya (or by us). It is important to note in this verse that Her feet are praised with vocal prayers. This goes to prove that mantras should be recited mentally and hymns, verses and nāma-s are to be recited aloud. This also confirms that Her feet alone is capable of granting all our spiritual desires. Falling at Her feet towards total surrender is known as caraṇagata. Caraṇagata means falling at one’s feet, which is different from śaraṇāgati or total surrender. Caraṇagata is surrender through body and śaraṇāgati is surrender through mind. What Śaṁkarācārya refers here is Caraṇagata, falling at Her splendorous pinkish feet. Thus, in the first part of this verse, Ācārya speaks about prostration at Her feet. This also means that Ācārya sees Her in Her bodily form. As his contemplation and visualization were so powerful, he could see Her with his biological eyes. Ramakrishna Paramahaṁsa also had this experience.
It is believed that ashoka trees blossom when kicked by auspicious women. Auspicious women can be explained as those, who perpetually remain immersed in Her thoughts (this also applies to men). Parāśakti, being the most auspicious woman (because of Her Śrī Mātā stature) kicks the ashoka trees that are grown in Her garden (where She plays with Her friends). Śiva is jealous of this ashoka tree as He thinks that Her gentle kicks belong only to Him. But this cannot be the intended meaning of this verse.
Let us take ashoka tree as part of the material world as reference to paśu is made in this verse. Paśu contextually means individual souls, devoid of spiritual aspirations. The sustenance aspect of the universe is taken care by Śakti, who is the kinetic energy of Śiva. Pleasure referred in this verse as joyous garden is the material world that is full of activities. By first worshipping Her feet and later talking about kicking ashoka tree and Śiva’s jealous clearly indicates that Śiva is happy with the manner in which She handles creation and sustenance, which are subtly conveyed through ashoka tree and their blossoming. Śiva is always the static energy and Śakti is the kinetic energy. This is what is conveyed through this verse in a subtle manner. Śiva’s jealousy is due to the fact that He is not able to create and sustain the paśu-s all by Himself. He knows that He can’t do that. If He stops meditating even for a fraction of second, annihilations will be initiated. Śakti represents the Power of Śiva.
verse86
मृषा कृत्वा गोत्रस्खलनमथ वैलक्ष्यनिमितं
ललाटे भर्तारं चरणकमले ताडयति ते।
चिरादन्तःशल्यं दहनकृतमुन्मूलितवता
तुलाकोटिक्वाणैः किलिकिलितमीशानरिपुणा॥
mṛṣā kṛtvā gotraskhalanamatha vailakṣyanimitaṁ
lalāṭe bhartāraṁ caraṇakamale tāḍayati te |
cirādantaḥśalyaṁ dahanakṛtamunmūlitavatā
tulākoṭikvāṇaiḥ kilikilitamīśānaripuṇā ||
mṛṣā kṛtvā gotra skhalanam atha – all of a sudden, by mistake (wantonly) calling another woman with her family (lineage) name; vailakṣya nimitaṁ - (hanging down His head) due to embarrassment; lalāṭe bhartāraṁ caraṇakamale te – kicked Your Consort’s forehead with Your lotus feet; cirāt antaḥ śalyaṁ - long time acrimony; dahanakṛtam unmūlitavatā – totally burnt (by Śiva); tulā koṭi kvāṇaiḥ; jingling sounds of tiny bells in Her anklets; kilikilitam– sounds expressing happiness; īśāna ripuṇā – Śiva’s enemy.
“Śiva intentionally called Parāśakti by some other woman’s name. In anger, Parāśakti kicked on Śiva’s third eye, and Śiva hanged His head due to embarrassment. Manamtha who watched this scene made joyful sounds (giggling) which are like the jingling sounds from the tiny bells in Her anklets.”
This verse should be read along with the previous verse. In the previous verse, it is said that on seeing Her kicking ashoka tree in Her garden, Śiva became jealous of ashoka tree and wanted to have a kick from Her lotus feet. This is being explained in this verse. Parāśakti is very fond of Śiva, says Lalitā Sahasranāma 409, Śivapriyā. In fact, She is in no way different from Śiva. She is not a separate entity and She is one with Śiva all the time. If they are separated for a fraction of a second, the annihilation of the universe will get triggered. That is why, Lalitā Sahasranāma 999 said Śivaśaktyaikyarūpiṇī, categorically says that She is not different from Śiva.
The same concept is expressed in Saundaryalaharī (verse 34) “O! Parāśakti! Your appear as the body of Śiva. I consider You as the sinless (meaning Pure) Śiva. The nine primary and secondary characteristics are common to both of You and both of You remain in the state of overwhelmed interdependency resulting in Blissful state.”
The present verse is an exemplary thought process of Śaṁkarācārya. This is called True Love for the Divine. There is no point in worshiping Her, keeping Her in a pedestal. This is dualism. In dualism, true blissful state and liberation can never be attained. Since Śaṁkarācārya (some Scriptures say that he is one of the incarnations Śiva) of was literally playing with Her, he could think of such wonderful descriptions. When we get such thoughts, we may consider these thoughts as Divine curse. No, such thoughts are not Divine curses; they are the reflection of our closeness to Divine, be it Śakti or Śiva. These kinds of worships are for Saguṇa Brahman (Brahman with forms and attributes). When these forms disappear without any efforts from our side, we move on from Saguṇa Brahman to Nirguṇa Brahman, where our merger with Brahman takes place, either in this birth or at least in the next birth. In the next birth, we always continue our spiritual journey, from where we have left in this birth.
Relationship between Śiva and Śakti is often depicted in romantic way. This is more predominant in Tantra Scriptures. Saundaryalaharī is one of the prominent Tantric Scriptures; hence these types of descriptions remain scattered throughout this epic, more profound in the second part known as Saundaryalaharī. This has already been explained.
Śiva was very jealous of the ashoka tree and He was carefully planning to get a kick from Her soft pinkish feet. He thought about some idea. Ideas are in plenty with Śiva, as He only revealed 64 tantra-s to the world through Her. Śiva wantonly called Her using some other name. She was very upset and became furious instantaneously. In the height of anger, She kicked on the third eye of Śiva. When She kicked on His face, Her anklets produced mild jingling sounds, as Her anklets have many minute bells. This jingling sound is compared to the giggling sound of Manmatha, who was burnt by Śiva, when he tried to play his trick on Śiva. It is only Parāśakti, who resurrected him and gave him a bodiless form. So, when Śiva was hit by Her, Manmatha, who was nursing vengeance against Śiva became happy. But he could not express his happiness openly as he knew that he will surely lose even the bodiless form. Hence, he only giggled, which only synchronised with the jingling sound of Her anklets.
This verse exhibits the poetic rhetoricalness of Śaṁkarācārya and should not be taken literally
verse87
हिमानीहन्तव्यं हिमगिरिनिवासैकचतुरौ
निशायां निद्राणं निशि चरमभागे च विशदौ।
वरं लक्ष्मीपात्रं श्रियमतिसृजन्तौ समयिनां
सरोजं त्वत्पादौ जननि जयतश्चित्रमिह किम्॥
himānīhantavyaṁ himagirinivāsaikacaturau
niśāyāṁ nidrāṇaṁ niśi caramabhāge ca viśadau |
varaṁ lakṣmīpātraṁ śriyamatisṛjantau samayināṁ
sarojaṁ tvatpādau janani jayataścitramiha kim ||
himānī hantavyaṁ - destruction (melting) of mass of snow; himagiri nivāsaika caturau – dwelling on the peak of snow clad mountains; niśāyāṁ nidrāṇaṁ - closed during nights; niśi caramabhāge ca viśadau – blossoming both during days and nights; varaṁ lakṣmī pātraṁ - the seat for Lakṣmī; śriyam – prosperity; atisṛjantau samayināṁ - bestowing on those who follow the path of samayācāra (orthodox worship); sarojaṁ tvatpādau – Your lotus like feet; janani – O! Parāśakti; jayataḥ citram iha kim – is there any doubt about this? (victory for Your feet over lotus flowers).
“O! Parāśakti! Your lotus feet remain fully blossomed both during day and night and are capable of showering Grace on those, who worship You by practicing samayācāra. But, lotus flowers, which are the seat of Lakṣmī wither in snow and shrunk during nights. Therefore, Your feet have established their supremacy.”
Śaṁkarācārya says in this verse that samayācāra is better than vāmācāra (left hand practice predominantly advocated in certain Tantra śāstra-s, involving five M-s). This is the most significant aspect of this verse. By worshipping Her through samayācāra (righteous path), a true devotee gets Her perpetual Grace. It is indirectly said that those who follow vāmācāra will not get Her perpetual Grace. If at all, those who practice vāmācāra enters into the state of bliss (not Bliss), it is only temporary.
Samayācāra can be explained as internal worship, as against vāmācāra, which is purely based on left hand worship. Samayācāra can also be explained as the righteous path as against vāmācāra, which can be practiced only after years of practice and this is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Kulārṇava Tantra is the main authority on this type of worship, which involves elaborate rituals. The effect of the rituals, it is said, is to purify one’s mind and consciousness. Hence it is called “citta-śodhana-sādhana”. Perfect practice leads to awakening and unification of three śakti-s, icchā, jjñāna and kriyā. Generally, these śakti-s are awakened by one’s guru who would have attained mastery over his senses. Such practices are followed close to full moon days. There is always a unison of physical body, subtle body (emotions arising in the mind) and spiritual body (soul). When this conglutination is in perfect conjunction, it causes bliss. But, this is not advised as it is not ethical and is to be frowned upon (According to me, this is to be totally condemned, as such initiations accrue more sins and consequent karmas). Literally speaking, vāmācāra involves purely ritualistic worship. But, opposite is the case with samayācāra, which is explained in detail in Lalitā Sahasranāma 98. Samayācāra is purely a mental worship, which yields quicker and better results.
The subtle message conveyed through this verse is about the supremacy of mental worship (samayācāra), which will have Her Grace perpetually as opposed to ritual worship, as described in vāmācāra. In samayācāra also, wide ranges of ritual worships are there, which ultimately cleanses one’s mind leading to superior form of mental worship, as explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma 98. As we know that meditating Her pinkish feet triggers instant experience of powerful Bliss, which is capable of making us enter into nirvikalpasamādhi.
verse88
पदं ते कीर्तीनां प्रपदमपदं देवि विपदां
कथं नीतं सद्भिः कठिनकमठीकर्परतुलाम् ।
कथं वा बाहुभ्यामुपयमनकाले पुरभिदा
यदादाय न्यस्तं दृषदि दयमानेन मनसा॥
padaṁ te kīrtīnāṁ prapadamapadaṁ devi vipadāṁ
kathaṁ nītaṁ sadbhiḥ kaṭhinakamaṭhīkarparatulām |
kathaṁ vā bāhubhyāmupayamanakāle purabhidā
yadādāya nyastaṁ dṛaṣadi dayamānena manasā ||
padaṁ te kīrtīnāṁ prapadam – Your feet are known for their inexplicable grandeur; padaṁ devi vipadāṁ - O! Devi! (Your feet are) beyond the reach of any possible misfortunes; kathaṁ nītaṁ sadbhiḥ - how then the great poets; kaṭhina kamaṭhī karpara tulām – compared them (Your feet) to the hard shell of tortoise; kathaṁ vā bāhubhyām upayamana kāle – how did He (Śiva) with His two hands, during marriage ceremonies; purabhidā – Śiva; yat ādāya nyastaṁ - dṛaṣadi – a rock stone (used for mashing, etc); how did He place (Your foot); dayamānena manasā – with soft mind (with compassion).
“Your feet are known for their grandeur and they remove all misfortunes (by contemplating on them). I wonder, how great poets have compared Your feet to the shell of tortoise. Śiva took great care in lifting Your feet with His two hands and placing them on the rock stone during Your marriage with Him.”
It is believed that this verse does not find a place in the original composition of Śaṁkarācārya.
This verse conveys several things. First, it says that by attaining Her feet, no misfortune can ever happen to the devotee. Hence, the verse indirectly asks us to worship Her feet. For the purpose of contemplation, the softness of Her feet is described. Śaṁkarācārya also wonders how such tender feet can be compared to the hard shell of tortoise by other poets. Lalitā Sahasranāma 43 is Kūrma-pṛṣṭha-jayiṣṇu-prapadānvitā (the arch of Her feet is far more beautiful and curvier than tortoise’s shell). Śaṁkarācārya also wonders how Śiva, by using His two hands, very carefully held Her soft feet and kept them on the mashing stone during marriage ceremony. Śiva used extreme care while placing Her feet on the stone, fearing that Her feet could get hurt if they are placed on the stone in a normal way. He is so concerned about Her.
Tortoise is often compared to a strong mind. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad Gītā (II.58) says, “A yogi withdraws all his sensory afflictions, like a tortoise withdrawing all its limbs, his mind is said to be stable.” Possibly, those poets could have thought about this, when they say that Her feet are like tortoise shell.
During marriage ceremonies, there is one specific ritual called “aśmārohaṇam” (अश्मारोहणम्), which literally means ascending on a stone. A mashing stone is kept on the northern side of the fire pit, known as homakuṇḍa. During this ceremony, the groom by holding brides right palm, lifts her right foot with his left hand and by holding her big toe and place it on the stone. They go back to the fire and make oblations and this process is repeated three times. There are mantras associated with this ritual. The meaning of the mantra is “mount on this stone. During rough times, let your mind be as strong as this stone.” After this, silver rings are fixed on her second toes by the groom. Śaṁkarācārya says in this verse that Śiva takes Her foot in His left hand with great care, so that it is not hurt by the stone. Incomparable compassion and concern for His Consort! Śiva and Pārvatī, as father and mother of the universe set examples for every aspect of marital life. Poet Kālidāsa says in his Raghuvaṃśa “jagataḥ pitarau vande pārvati parameśvarau (जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वति परमेश्वरौ).”
There are several references to this Celestial Marriage. Liṅgapurāṇa (chapter 133) elaborately describes the list of attendees. It is Viṣṇu, who made the kanyādāna (giving a girl in marriage). During this time, divine drums were sounded, divine damsels danced, all the four Vedas were recited, and all gods and goddesses chanted Their praise.
With regard to the comparison of Her feet with the hard shell of tortoise, it is often done, because there is nothing else that can be compared to the shape of Her feet. This is described in Sampuṭīkaraṇa, an ancient Scripture on body parts.
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