Introduction
The Śāradātilaka, “The forehead mark of Śāradā (Sarasvatī)”, is an important compendium on mantraśāstra compiled by Lakṣmaṇadeśika (also known as Lakṣmaṇadeśikendra or Lakṣmaṇācārya). It is a voluminous work, comprising some 3,500 stanzas (the exact number depending on the edition). Calling itself a Tantra (1.5d), it professes to present “the essence of the Tantras” (1.4) and information on rites (vidhi) involving yantras and mantras of deities (1.5). The Śāradātilaka (ŚT) is divided into twenty-five chapters, the number twenty-five corresponding to the number of constituents (tattva) of the Sāṃkhya system (25.87). According to the commentary by Rāghavabhaṭṭa (p. 916, 13–16 on ŚT 25.87), the first chapter deals with matter (mūlaprakṛti), providing as it does details about the creation. The following twenty-three chapters, which contain information on the initiation (dīkṣā) and on the mantras and rites relating to a large number of deities, are throughout concerned with prakṛtivikṛti, while the final chapter, on yoga, turns its attention to spirit (puruṣa). Chapters 1 and 2 are more philosophical in nature, and provide the theoretical framework. They deal with cosmogony and the evolution of sound, with mantras and their purification through the use of certain diagrams, and with other essentials of mantraśāstra. Chapters 3 to 5 focus on rites preceding initiation and on the initiation itself. The bulk of the work deals with the mantras and the visualization of the form of a large number of deities and the rites associated with their worship, in the tradition of Smārta texts.
The ŚT is partially based on the Prapañcasāra (PS), traditionally ascribed to the Advaitin Śaṃkara, who flourished between 650 and 800. However, there is no evidence for his authorship or for such an early date of the composition. The ŚT is in any case later than the PS, and presents its material more systematically and in a slightly expanded form. It is for this reason that the ŚT has become more popular, but both texts have been widely quoted by authors, and their descriptions of deities are cited as authoritative. A special feature of both texts is that they frequently supplement such descriptions with (often lengthy) hymns of praise (stotra) to the deities described.
Recently Alexis Sanderson (2009: 252) has argued that the PS and the ŚT were quite likely composed in the twelfth century. Revising an earlier assumption that the PS is a work from South India (Sanderson 1990: 35), he has further suggested that the PS and the ŚT were written either in Orissa or are based on the religious tradition of Orissa (Sanderson 2007: 232–3; 2009: 252). We do not have much information on either of the authors. In Bühnemann (2001: 3–5) I have shown that the author of the PS also wrote a commentary (bhāṣya) on the Nṛsiṃhapūrvatāpanīya-Upaniṣad in which he quotes the PS. I have also discussed the printed editions of the PS and extant commentaries (2001: 5–10). The author of the ŚT, Lakṣmaṇadeśika, was erroneously identified with Lakṣmaṇa(gupta), a teacher of Abhinavagupta who flourished in the tenth century.Footnote 1
The ŚT's importance can be seen from the large number of texts that quote it as authoritative. Among them are several smṛti and many Tantric texts. The latter category includes the Vanadurgā-Upaniṣad, Mahīdhara's commentary on the Mantramahodadhi (written in 1588/89), Gīrvānendra Sarasvatī's Prapañcasārasārasaṃgraha (sixteenth or seventeenth century?), the Śrīvidyārṇavatantra (seventeenth century?), the Merutantra (seventeenth century?), the Prāṇatoṣiṇī by Rāmatoṣaṇa Vidyālaṃkāra (composed in 1820) and the Śrītattvanidhi, compiled by Mummadi Kṛṣṇarāja Wodeyar (nineteenth century). The seventeenth-century Tantrasāra (TS) by Kṛṣṇānanda Āgamavāgīśa draws heavily on the ŚT's descriptions of the deities, at times referring to this work as “the Śāradā” or as “the Nibandha”, but often quoting verses without attribution. Texts on sculpture, such as the c. sixteenth-century Śilparatna by Śrīkumāra of Kerala, also quote the ŚT.
The ŚT's importance can also be judged from the number of extant commentaries. We know of more than a dozen on the work. The most important is the ṭīkā entitled Padārthādarśa by the learned Rāghavabhaṭṭa (RB). According to the author himself (p. 917, 27–8), it was completed in Vārāṇasī on 15 December 1493.Footnote 2
In his introduction to the edition of the ŚT published in 1933 (ŚT1), p. 1, A. Avalon reports that the text of the ŚT was first published by Rasik Mohan Chaṭṭopādhyāya in Calcutta in 1880 in Bengali script, and shortly afterwards by Jīvānand Vidyāsāgar in Devanāgarī script. Although neither of these editions was available to me, I suspect that the first edition is identical with a text included in the collection titled Vividhatantrasaṃgraha compiled by R.M. Chatterji and published in the years 1877–84. Again, I was unable to access this text. Avalon further reports that the first edition of the text with the commentary by RB was published in Vārāṇasī in saṃvat 1953, either a misprint for (saṃvat) 1943 (1886 ce) or else erroneously converted by him to the year 1886 ce instead of 1896. In 1884, the ŚT was printed together with the Gūḍhārthadīpikā (GD) commentary (ṭīkā) on it by Mādhavabhaṭṭa, at the Gaṇeś Prabhākar Press in Vārāṇasī. In 1933 Avalon published the text, edited by Aṭalānanda Sarasvatī, in two volumes, along with RB's commentary, based on several manuscripts through the Sanskrit Press Depository, Calcutta (ŚT1). This edition has been reprinted several times as one volume. Another edition that includes RB's commentary was prepared by M. Jha Bakshi and published by Jai Krishnadas-Haridas Gupta in Vārāṇasī in 1934; it was reprinted in 1963 and 1986 (ŚT2). There are small differences between the texts of ŚT1 and ŚT2, ranging from one to seven additional verses per chapter. The total number of verses is 3,461 (ŚT1) and 3,519 (ŚT2).
Chapter 25, the final chapter of the ŚT and the focus of this article, deals elaborately with yoga and contains valuable information on practices related to the awakening of the kuṇḍalinī and to the haṃsaḥ mantra. The yoga taught in the ŚT combines elements we normally associate with different systems. In particular, we find some features of systems usually labelled as haṭhayoga, and aspects of mantra practice as well. The chapter also contains references to the methodical knowledge of the rise or predominance of the gross elements (bhūtodaya, also known as svarodaya) and its connection with the six rites of magic. At the end, chapter 25 provides details of Lakṣmaṇadeśika's genealogy (25.83–6): Lakṣmaṇadeśika's great-grandfather, Mahābala, authored a work called Muktiphala; his grandfather had the title Ācārya-Paṇḍita; while the name of his father was Śrīkṛṣṇa.
This chapter is important for several reasons. It provides an insight into the teachings on yoga codified in a comparatively early text, one predating such treatises on yoga as the Matsyendrasaṃhitā (thirteenth century), the Yogakāṇḍa of the Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā (thirteenth century?Footnote 3) and the Gorakṣaśataka ascribed to Gorakhnāth (also known as Gorakṣanātha, extant in several recensions, the earliest dating perhaps from the thirteenth or fourteenth century) – not to mention well-known texts on haṭhayoga such as the Śiva-Saṃhitā (which dates perhaps from the fifteenth century). The presentation is clear and well structured, but rather condensed. This conciseness suggests that the author assumed that the subject matter was familiar to his readership and that he needed only to summarize what had been dealt with more elaborately elsewhere. His major source was certainly the PS, but the earlier material on yoga he summarizes must have included sections from Śaiva Tantras. It is clear that chapter 25 is partially based on a section of chapter 19Footnote 4 of the PS, which addresses the praṇava (oṃ). Similarities between the two chapters of these texts are listed below:
Except for these similarities, however, the chapters are differently structured and do not always address common topics. There are also differences of substance between them. The lists of yamas and niyamas, for example, do not match up.
Lakṣmaṇadeśika's important chapter is quoted as authoritative in a number of texts. The Prapañcasāravivaraṇa (PSV), a commentary ascribed to Śaṃkara's disciple Padmapāda, quotes the descriptions of the yogic postures (āsana) contained in chapter 25 of the ŚT without attribution.Footnote 5 Kṛṣṇānanda's TS cites extensively from chapter 25. (I have identified forty-seven of the eighty-nine stanzas of this chapter in the later text.Footnote 6) Devīgītā 5.1–26 reproduces ŚT 25.1–27 with small variants (see Brown 1998: 161–78 for this passage). The commentary by Kālīcaraṇa (K) on Pūrṇānanda's Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa, which originally formed chapter 6 of the Śrītattvacintāmaṇi (written in Bengal in 1577), quotes stanzas from different chapters of the ŚT and from RB's commentary on it. Chapter 25 is cited three times in the commentary, even though two of the quotations appear to be taken not directly from the ŚT but from other works that cite it.Footnote 7 Finally, Western scholars have not failed for their part to explore the rich content of this chapter (e.g. Gupta 1979: 163 ff.).
A very rough and unreliable translation of chapter 25 is included in “The Śārdā-Tilaka Tantram: English translation with notes and yantras by a board of scholars”,Footnote 8 published by Sri Satguru Publications in Delhi in 1988, pp. 277–84. This book can at best be described as a summary of the contents of the ŚT; its many misprints frequently distort the meaning. In 2001 I published a new edition of the text of chapter 25 with a translation as appendix 3 (pp. 337–66) to volume II of “The iconography of Hindu tantric deities” (Bühnemann 2001). In the same volume I also published a new edition of the text with a translation of chapter 1 of the ŚT as appendix 2 (pp. 309–35). In his review of the volume in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Third Series, 14, 2004, pp. 280–82, C.K. Wedemeyer wrote: “[O]ne laments the fact that such valuable work risks being overlooked by textual scholars, ‘hidden away’ as it is in a book on iconography” (p. 281). I now take the opportunity to publish my edition and translation of chapter 25 again so as to make it available to a larger audience. I have updated information regarding the author and provenance of the PS and ŚT and have improved on the edition and translation of the chapter and the notes.
Summary of the contents
Lakṣmaṇadeśika begins this chapter by stating his intention to explain the aṣṭāṅ-gayoga, that is the yoga with eight limbs or parts (1ab). He briefly summarizes four definitions of yoga given by different schools (1cd–3ab). Accordingly, yoga is: (1) the identity of the individual Self (jīva) and the (supreme) Self ([parama-]ātman); (2) the knowledge of the identity of Śiva and the Self; (3) the knowledge of Śiva and Śakti; and (4) the knowledge of the eternal being (purāṇapuruṣa). RB identifies these views in his commentary as the teachings of the: (1) Vedāntins, (2) Śaivas, (3) followers of the Uttara Āmnāya and (4) the dualist Vaiṣṇavas. Lakṣmaṇadeśika then lists the six enemies of the Self: desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride and jealousy (3cd–4). While Lakṣmaṇadeśika notes in verse 3cd that these need to be conquered before one practises yoga, he states in 5ab that they should be conquered by the practice of the eight-limbed yoga. This inconsistency may be due to the fact that the author has compiled information from different sources.
The eight limbs (aṅga) of yoga are listed as: (1) yama, (2) niyama, (3) āsana, (4) prāṇāyāma, (5) pratyāhāra, (6) dhāraṇā, (7) dhyāna and (8) samādhi (5cd–6). Thus they are identical with those found in the Yogasūtras of Patañjali (2.29). However, while the Yogasūtras list five yamas and five niyamas (2.30, 2.32), the ŚT lists ten each (7–9ab). The ten yamas are specified as abstaining from harming others, truthfulness, refraining from theft, celibacy, forbearance, sincerity, patience/forgiveness, steadfastness, moderation in eating, and purity. The ten niyamas are listed as austerity, contentment, acceptance of the Vedic tradition (āstikya), charity, worship of the deity, listening to the doctrines, modesty, discernment, repetition of the mantra, and offering of oblations in the fire. Lakṣmaṇadeśika's lists are similar to the ones found in later texts, such as the Yogakāṇḍa of the Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā, and in Yoga-Upaniṣads (e.g. Darśana-Upaniṣad 1.6 and 2.1, Śāṇḍilya-Upaniṣad 1.4 and 2.1, Varāha-Upaniṣad 5.12cd–14ab and Triśikhibrāhmaṇa-Upaniṣad 2.32cd–34ab).
The following five postures (āsana) are enumerated as the third limb of yoga: padmāsana, svastikāsana, bhadrāsana, vajrāsana and vīrāsana, and are described individually (9cd–16ab). As one would expect, the definitions and names of the postures are not identical in all texts on yoga, an issue which I will not discuss further here.
Next comes the control of breath (prāṇāyāma), which consists basically of inhaling through the left nostril for a duration of sixteen morae, retaining the breath for sixty-four morae and exhaling through the right nostril for thirty-two morae (16cd–18). This practice is gradually lengthened and also done in reverse order (19). Prāṇāyāma accompanied by mantra repetition, etc., is defined as the “filled” (sagarbha) prāṇāyāma, while the form involving breathing only is said to be the “empty” (agarbha, vigarbha) prāṇāyāma (20–21ab). The first stage of practice is characterized by sweating, the second by trembling and the third by leaving the ground/levitation (21cd–22). Prāṇāyāma should be practised until the third stage is achieved.
The fifth limb of yoga is pratyāhāra, defined as the withdrawal of the sense organs from their objects (23). The sixth limb is dhāraṇā, which is the fixation of the vital air (prāṇa) on the sixteen parts of the body (24–5). These parts are known as “places” (sthāna) in the PS, as “vital points” (marmasthāna) in the Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā, and as “supports” (ādhāra) in various other texts. The type of meditation (dhyāna) described as the seventh limb of yoga has the chosen deities as objects (26) and is therefore termed “filled” in RB's commentary. The eighth and last limb is absorption (samādhi), defined as the constant contemplation (bhāvanā) of the identity of the individual Self and the supreme Self (27).
This discussion of the eight-limbed yoga is followed by what can be called a form of kuṇḍalinīyoga. The body is described, starting from the “bulb” (kanda), the place in which the subtle channels (nāḍī) originate, located between anus and penis (28–9). The three principal channels are iḍā (left), piṅgalā (right) and suṣumṇā (in the centre of the spine and the head). Inside the suṣumṇā is citrā, a channel connecting to the place on the top of the skull called the brahmarandhra (30–4). The kuṇḍalinī rests in the form of a serpent in the mūlādhāra, the lowest of the six energy centres called lotuses or wheels (cakra), which are topped by the sahasrāra/sahasradala (35–9ab).
The following section addresses the practice of repeating mantras, beginning with a recommendation for suitable seats for practitioners (39cd–40ab). The methodical knowledge of the rise or predominance of the gross elements (bhūtodaya, also known as svarodaya) is defined. The breath touches different parts of the nostrils at different times, which is taken as an indication that one of the elements is predominant. Each element has a seed (bīja) syllable, which is repeated at the time of the predominance of the element. The six rites of magic (ṣaṭ karmāṇi) should be performed when certain elements are predominant (40cd–44). When one blocks the sense organs with one's fingers and meditates on the identity of the Self, the vital breath (prāṇa) and the mind (manas) while retaining one's breath, the inner sound (nāda) is heard and the knowledge of the haṃsaḥ arises (45–50ab). Haṃ-saḥ is the sound heard with exhalation and inhalation, also called the “non-recitation” (ajapā) Gāyatrī. Haṃ is considered male (puṃs, puruṣa), and saḥ female (prakṛti). With constant practice of the haṃsaḥ mantra, the stage is reached in which the mantra reverses itself and, after the application of a saṃdhi rule, becomes so ’haṃ (“He I am”). In the next stage the letters s and h disappear, and after vowel substitution the mantra becomes the sacred syllable oṃ, referred to as the praṇava (50cd–53).
Stanzas in praise of oṃ follow (54–7), along with verses eulogizing the golden puruṣa in the solar disc (58); Viṣṇu reclining in the Milk Ocean (59); Viṣṇu identified with the eternal being (purāṇapuruṣa) (60); and Śiva (61). The union that produces a residue or a seed (sabījayoga) and the union that produces no residue or a seed (nirbījayoga), which is the dissolution in Śiva, are specified (62–3). Many stanzas follow, which describe the kuṇḍalinī's ascent from the mūlādhāra along the suṣumṇā channel through the energy centres up to the sahasrāra, in which the kuṇḍalinī unites with Śiva and returns to the mūlādhāra with the stream of nectar from the lunar disc in the upper part of the head (64–79). The female/left half of the androgynous (ardhanārī) form of Śiva is eulogized (80–1), and finally the fruit of yoga praised (82). Lakṣmaṇadeśika gives some information about his genealogy at the end of this chapter, starting from his great-grandfather (83–7). Two stanzas again eulogize the female half of the androgynous Śiva and conclude the chapter (88–9). The following is a table of the chapter's contents:
(0.) Introduction (1ab)
1. Definitions of yoga according to four schools (1cd–3ab)
2. The group of six enemies (3cd–4)
3. The yoga with eight limbs (5–27)
3.1 The ten yamas (7)
3.2 The ten niyamas (8–9ab)
3.3 The five āsanas (9cd–16ab)
3.3.1 padma (10cd–11)
3.3.2 svastika (12)
3.3.3 bhadra (13–14ab)
3.3.4 vajra (14cd–15ab)
3.3.5 vīra (15cd–16ab)
3.4 prāṇāyāma (16cd–22)
3.5 pratyāhāra (23)
3.6 dhāraṇā (24–5)
3.7 dhyāna (26)
3.8 samādhi (27)
4. Kuṇḍalinīyoga and the body (28–39ab)
4.1 The (ādhāra)kanda (28–29ab)
4.2 The three principal channels (nāḍī) (29cd–35)
4.3 The kuṇḍalī/kuṇḍalinī (36–39ab)
5. The practice of mantra repetition (39cd–57)
5.1 The seat (39cd–40ab)
5.2 The knowledge of the arising of the elements (bhūtodaya) and the repetition (japa) of the seed (bīja) syllable of the predominant element (40cd–44)
5.3 The inner sound (nāda), the haṃsaḥ mantra and the syllable oṃ (45–53)
6. Stanzas (54–82) eulogizing
6.1 The praṇava/the syllable oṃ (54–7)
6.2 The golden puruṣa in the solar disc (58)
6.3 Viṣṇu reclining in the Milk Ocean (59)
6.4 Viṣṇu as the eternal being (purāṇapuruṣa) (60)
6.5 Śiva (61)
6.6 The union with Śiva that produces a seed (sabījayoga) (62)
6.7 The union with Śiva that produces no seed (nirbījayoga) (63)
6.8 Śakti kuṇḍalī/kuṇḍalinī (64–79)
6.9 The female/left half of Śiva in his androgynous form (80–81)
6.10 The fruit of yoga (82)
7. The author's genealogy (83–7)
8. Stanzas eulogizing Pārvatī who occupies the female/left half of the body of Śiva in his androgynous form (88–9)
(9.) Colophon (89+)
Lakṣmaṇadeśika uses the following metres in this chapter:
Anuṣṭubh (1–54, 80 and 89)
Indravajrā (55, 85)
Upajāti (58, 59, 62, 63, 74, 83, 86)
Mandākrāntā (72)
Mālabhāriṇī combined with Viyoginī (68)
Mālinī (73)
Śārdūlavikrīḍita (56, 61, 64–7, 69–71, 77–8, 82)
Śikhariṇī (88)
Vasantatilakā (57, 60, 75, 79, 81, 84, 87)
Hariṇī (76)
Since the ŚT chapter presents its subject matter in a very concise form, the study of texts addressing similar topics in more detail is essential. In addition to RB's commentary, I have consulted and referred to texts such as the Gorakṣaśataka ascribed to Gorakhnāth (also known as Gorakṣanātha), which is extant in several recensions, the earliest dating perhaps from the thirteenth or fourteenth century; the Yogakāṇḍa of the Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā (13th century?Footnote 9), and the Śiva-Saṃhitā, dating perhaps from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. All of these texts are later than the ŚT. There is some similarity between verses in chapters 1–4 of the Yogakāṇḍa of the Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā and a section of this chapter of the ŚT, but the former gives more detailed descriptions of practices and the overall context is different.
The new edition of the text of chapter 25 which follows is based on the following sources: three editions of the ŚT (ŚT1, ŚT2 and the text printed in the edition of Mādhavabhaṭṭa's Gūḍhārthadīpikā [GD]), the passages as quoted in Kālīcaraṇa's commentary (K) on the Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa and in Kṛṣṇānanda's TS. In addition, I have consulted the following six manuscripts:
BISM1 Manuscript no. 29, 1862, preserved in the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak Mandal, Puṇe, folios 452b.7–463b.9; it includes RB's commentary and dates from 1774 ce;
BISM2 Manuscript no. 51, 208, preserved in the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak Mandal, Puṇe, folios 142b.7–146b.11; it is incomplete and ends after verse 73;
BISM3 Manuscript no. 52, 461, preserved in the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak Mandal, Puṇe, folios 245a.2–252a.7; the manuscript is damaged and incomplete, containing only verses 1–22ab, 37cd–77b and 86 to the end;
BORI1 Manuscript no. 255/A.1883–84, preserved in the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Puṇe, folios 139b.13–142b.15 (1852 CE); the manuscript is incomplete and ends after verse 83b;
BORI2 Manuscript no. 950/1887–91, preserved in the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Puṇe, folios 111a.5–114a.12;
BORI3 Manuscript no. 972/1887–91, preserved in the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Puṇe, folios 252a.8–256b.4; the manuscript is incomplete and ends after verse 57.
Obvious writing mistakes such as the omission of visargas have not been noted in the critical apparatus.
Bibliography and abbreviations
Texts and translations
Darśana-Upaniṣad. See Yoga-Upaniṣad-s, pp. 152–85.
GD Gūḍhārthadīpikā by Mādhavabhaṭṭa
Śāradātilaka-gūḍhārthadīpikā-sahita. Vārāṇasī: Gaṇeś Prabhākar Press, 1884.
Gorakṣaśataka. Gorakṣaśatakam (with introduction, text, English translation, notes, etc.), critically edited by Svāmī Kuvalayānanda and S.A. Shukla. Lonavla: Kaivalyadhāma S.M.Y.M. Samiti, 1958, 1974 (reprint).
Kālīcaraṇa (K) on Pūrṇānanda's Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa
Paramahaṃsa-pūrṇānanda-yati-viracita-ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇam. Kālīcaraṇakṛtayā ślokārthapariṣkāriṇyā ṭīkayā śaṅkarakṛtayā ṣaṭcakrabhediṭippaṇyā viśvanāthakṛtayā ṣaṭcakravivṛtyākhyayā ṭīkayā ca sametam. Śivaprokta-pādukāpañcakam. Kālīcaraṇakṛtayā amalākhyayā ṭīkayā sahitaṃ. Prathamasaṃskaraṇe Tārānātha Vidyāratna-sampāditam. Tṛtīyasaṃskaraṇe…Pañcānana Tarka-Sāṃkhya-Vedāntatīrtha-sampāditam. Kalikātā: Āgamānusandhāna-Samiti, 1941.
Mālinīvijayottaratantra
The Yoga of the Mālinīvijayottaratantra: Chapters 1–4, 7, 11–17. Critical Edition, Translation and Notes by S. Vasudeva. Pondicherry: Institut français de Pondichéry, 2004.
Matsyendrasaṃhitā
Matsyendranātha's Compendium (Matsyendrasaṃhitā): A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of Matsyendrasaṃhitā 1–13 and 55 with analysis by C. Kiss. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, submitted to Oxford University, 2009.
Nṛsiṃhapūrvatāpanī-Upaniṣad (bhāṣya)
In The Complete Works of Sri Sankaracharya. Vol. 8: Commentaries on the Upanishads. Srirangam: Vani Vilas Press, 1913; Madras: Samata Books, 1983 (revised edition): 757–910.
PKD Prayogakramadīpikā. See PS1
PS1 Prapañcasāra
Prapañcasāratantra. With the Commentary Vivaraṇa by Padmapādācārya and Prayogakramadīpikā revised and documented by A. Avalon and edited by A. Sarasvatī. 2 vols. Calcutta: Sanskrit Press Depository, 1935; Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1981 (reprint in one vol.).
PS2 Prapañcasāra
The Complete Works of Sri Sankaracharya. Vols. 19–20. Srirangam: Vani Vilas Press, 1913; Madras: Samata Books, 1983 (revised edition).
PSV Prapañcasāravivaraṇa See PS1
RB Rāghavabhaṭṭa See ŚT
Śiva-Saṃhitā
The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition and an English Translation by James Mallinson. Woodstock, New York: YogaVidya.com, 2007.
ŚT1 Śāradātilakatantra Śāradā-Tilaka Tantra. Text [with Rāghavabhaṭṭa's Padārthādarśa] with Introduction. Edited by A. Avalon. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1982 (reprint).
ŚT2 Śāradātilaka
Śāradātilakam of Śrī Lakṣmaṇadeśikendra with Padārthādarśa Commentary by Śrīmad Rāghava Bhaṭṭa. Edited by Mukund Jha Bakshi. Varanasi: Chaukhambha Sanskrit Sansthan, 1986 (third edition).
Triśikhibrāhmaṇa-Upaniṣad See Yoga-Upaniṣad-s, pp. 116–61
TS Tantrasāra
Brihat Tantrasara by Sadhaka Chudamani Krishnanand Agamavagish. Edited and rendered into Devanagari script by R.K. Rai. Varanasi: Prachya Prakashan, 1985.
Vanadurgā-Upaniṣad.
In: Un-Published Upanishads. Edited by the Pandits of Adyar Library under the Supervision of C.K. Raja. Adyar: Theosophical Society, 1933, 426–67.
Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā (Yoga Kāṇḍa)
Vasiṣṭha Saṃhitā (Yoga Kāṇḍa). (Revised Edition.) Editors and Commentators: Philosophico-Literary Research Department. Lonavla: Kaivalyadhama S.M.Y.M. Samiti, 2005.
Yoga-Upaniṣad-s
The Yoga-Upaniṣad-s with the commentary of Śrī Upaniṣad-Brahmayogin. Edited by A. Mahadeva Sastri. Adyar: The Adyar Library and Research Centre, 1920.
Yogatattva-Upaniṣad See Yoga-Upaniṣad-s, pp. 363–89
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Bühnemann, G. 2001. The Iconography of Hindu Tantric Deities. Vol. II: The Pantheons of the Prapañcasāra and the Śāradātilaka. Groningen: Egbert Forsten.
Gode, P.K. 1953. “Date of Rāghavabhaṭṭa, the Commentator of Kālidāsa's Abhijñāna Śākuntala and Other Works – Last Quarter of the 15th Century (1475–1500 A.D.)”. Studies in Indian Literary History, Vol. 1. Bombay: Bhāratīya Vidyā Bhavan, 429–36.
Gupta, S. 1979. “Modes of worship and meditation”, in S. Gupta, D.J. Hoens and T. Goudriaan, Hindu Tantrism. Leiden and Cologne: E.J. Brill.
Kiss 2009. See Matsyendrasaṃhitā.
Sanderson, A. 1990. “The visualization of the deities of the Trika”, in L'image divine: Culte et méditation dans l'hindouisme. Études rassemblées par A. Padoux. Paris: Éditions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 31–88.
Sanderson, A. 2007. “Atharvavedins in tantric territory: the Āngirasakalpa texts of the Oriya Paippalādins and their connection with the Trika and the Kālīkula, with critical editions of the Parājapavidhi, the Parāmantravidhi, and the *Bhadrakālīmantravidhiprakaraṇa”, in A. Griffiths and A. Schmiedchen (eds), Atharvaveda and its Paippalāda Śākhā: Historical and Philological Papers on the Vedic Tradition. Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 195–311.
Sanderson, A. 2009. “The Śaiva age: the rise and dominance of Śaivism during the early medieval period”, in S. Einoo (ed.), Genesis and Development of Tantrism. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 41–349.
Vasudeva 2004. See Mālinīvijayottaratantra.
Wedemeyer, C.K. 2004. “Review of: G. Bühnemann, The Iconography of Hindu Tantric Deities”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Third Series, vol. 14, 280–82.
New edition of the text
pañcaviṃśaḥ paṭalaḥ Footnote 10 |
atha yogaṃ pravakṣyāmi sāṅgaṃ saṃvitpradāyakam Footnote 11|
aikyaṃ jīvātmanor āhur yogaṃ yogaviśāradāḥ ‖ 1 ‖Footnote 12
śivātmanor Footnote 13abhedena pratipattiḥ Footnote 14pare viduḥ |
śivaśaktyātmakaṃ Footnote 15jñānaṃ jagur āgamavedinaḥ Footnote 16 ‖ 2 ‖
purāṇapuruṣasyānye jñānam āhur viśāradāḥ |
jitvādāv ātmanaḥ śatrūn kāmādīn yogam abhyaset ‖ 3 ‖
kāmakrodhau lobhamohau tatparaṃ madamatsarau |
vadanti Footnote 17duḥkhadān etān ariṣaḍvargam ātmanaḥ ‖ 4 ‖
yogāṣṭāṅgair imān Footnote 18jitvā yogino yogam āpnuyuḥ |
yamaniyamāv Footnote 19āsanaprāṇāyāmau Footnote 20tataḥ param ‖ 5 ‖
pratyāhāraṃ dhāraṇākhyaṃ dhyānaṃ sārdhaṃ samādhinā |
aṣṭāṅgāny āhur etāni yogino yogasādhane ‖ 6 ‖
ahiṃsā satyam asteyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ kṛpārjavam Footnote 21 |
kṣamā dhṛtir mitāhāraḥ śaucaṃ ceti yamā daśa ‖ 7 ‖
tapaḥ saṃtoṣa Footnote 22āstikyaṃ dānaṃ devasya Footnote 23pūjanam |
siddhāntaśravaṇaṃ Footnote 24caiva hrīr Footnote 25matiś ca japo hutam Footnote 26 ‖ 8 ‖
daśaite niyamāḥ proktā Footnote 27yogaśāstraviśāradaiḥ |
padmāsanaṃ svastikākhyaṃ bhadraṃ Footnote 28vajrāsanaṃ Footnote 29tathā ‖ 9 ‖
vīrāsanam iti proktaṃ kramād āsanapañcakam |
ūrvor upari vinyasya Footnote 30samyak pādatale ubhe ‖ 10 ‖
aṅguṣṭhau ca nibadhnīyād Footnote 31dhastābhyāṃ vyutkramāt Footnote 32tataḥ Footnote 33 |
padmāsanam iti proktaṃ yogināṃ hṛdayaṃgamam Footnote 34 ‖ 11 ‖
jānūrvor antare Footnote 35samyak kṛtvā pādatale ubhe |
ṛjukāyo viśed yogī svastikaṃ tat pracakṣate Footnote 36 ‖ 12 ‖
sīvanyāḥ pārśvayor nyasyed Footnote 37gulphayugmaṃ suniścalam |
vṛṣaṇādhaḥ pādapārṣṇī Footnote 38pāṇibhyāṃ Footnote 39paribandhayet ‖ 13 ‖
bhadrāsanaṃ samuddiṣṭaṃ yogibhiḥ Footnote 40pūjitaṃ param Footnote 41 |
ūrvoḥ pādau kramān nyasyej Footnote 42jānvoḥ pratyaṅmukhāṅgulī Footnote 43 ‖ 14 ‖
karau nidadhyād Footnote 44ākhyātaṃ vajrāsanam anuttamam |
ekaṃ Footnote 45pādam adhaḥ kṛtvā vinyasyorau tathetaram ‖ 15 ‖
ṛjukāyo viśed Footnote 46yogī Footnote 47vīrāsanam itīritam Footnote 48 |
iḍayākarṣayed vāyuṃ bāhyaṃ ṣoḍaśamātrayā ‖ 16 ‖
dhārayet pūritaṃ yogī catuḥṣaṣṭyā tu mātrayā |
suṣumṇāmadhyagaṃ samyak dvātriṃśanmātrayā śanaiḥ ‖ 17 ‖
nāḍyā piṅgalayā cainaṃ Footnote 49recayed yogavittamaḥ |
prāṇāyāmam imaṃ Footnote 50prāhur yogaśāstraviśāradāḥ ‖ 18 ‖
bhūyo bhūyaḥ kramāt tasya vyatyāsena samācaret |
mātrāvṛddhikrameṇaiva samyag dvādaśa ṣoḍaśa ‖ 19 ‖
prāṇāyāmo hi dvividhaḥ sagarbho ’garbha eva ca |Footnote 51
japadhyānādibhir yuktaṃ sagarbhaṃ taṃ Footnote 52vidur budhāḥ ‖ 20 ‖
tadapetaṃ vigarbhaṃ ca Footnote 53prāṇāyāmaṃ pare viduḥ |
kramād abhyasataḥ Footnote 54puṃso Footnote 55dehe svedodgamo ’dhamaḥ ‖ 21 ‖
madhyamaḥ kampasaṃyukto bhūmityāgaḥ paro mataḥ |
uttamasya guṇāvāptir yāvac chīlanam iṣyate Footnote 56 ‖ 22 ‖
indriyāṇāṃ vicaratāṃ viṣayeṣu nirargalam |
balād āharaṇaṃ tebhyaḥ pratyāhāro ’bhidhīyate ‖ 23 ‖
aṅguṣṭhagulphajānūrusīvanīliṅganābhiṣu Footnote 57 |
hṛdgrīvākaṇṭhadeśeṣu Footnote 58lambikāyāṃ tato Footnote 59nasi ‖ 24 ‖
bhrūmadhye mastake mūrdhni dvādaśānte yathāvidhi |
dhāraṇaṃ prāṇamaruto dhāraṇeti nigadyate ‖ 25 ‖
samāhitena manasā caitanyāntaravartinā Footnote 60 |
ātmano Footnote 61’bhīṣṭadevānāṃ Footnote 62dhyānaṃ dhyānam ihocyate ‖ 26 ‖
samatvabhāvanā Footnote 63nityaṃ jīvātmaparamātmanoḥ |
samādhim āhur munayaḥ proktam aṣṭāṅgalakṣaṇam ‖ 27 ‖
ṣaṇṇavatyaṅgulāyāmaṃ Footnote 64śarīram ubhayātmakam |
gudadhvajāntare Footnote 65kandam utsedhād dvyaṅgulaṃ viduḥ ‖ 28 ‖
tasmād Footnote 66dviguṇavistāraṃ vṛttarūpeṇa śobhitam |
nāḍyas tatra samudbhūtā mukhyās tisraḥ prakīrtitāḥ Footnote 67 ‖ 29 ‖
iḍā vāme sthitā nāḍī piṅgalā dakṣiṇe matā Footnote 68 |
tayor madhyagatā Footnote 69nāḍī suṣumṇā vaṃśam āśritā ‖ 30 ‖
pādāṅguṣṭhadvaye Footnote 70yātā śiphābhyāṃ Footnote 71śirasā punaḥ |
brahmasthānaṃ samāpannā somasūryāgnirūpiṇī ‖ 31 ‖
tasyā madhyagatā nāḍī citrākhyā yogivallabhā |
brahmarandhraṃ vidus tasyāṃ padmasūtranibhaṃ Footnote 72param Footnote 73 ‖ 32 ‖
ādhārāṃś ca vidus tatra matabhedād anekadhā |
divyamārgam idaṃ prāhur amṛtānandakāraṇam ‖ 33 ‖
iḍāyāṃ saṃcarec candraḥ piṅgalāyāṃ divākaraḥ |
jñātau yoganidānajñaiḥ suṣumṇāyāṃ tu tāv Footnote 74ubhau ‖ 34 ‖
ādhārakandamadhyasthaṃ trikoṇam atisundaram |
jyotiṣāṃ nilayaṃ divyaṃ prāhur āgamavedinaḥ ‖ 35 ‖
tatra vidyullatākārā kuṇḍalī paradevatā |
parisphurati sarvātmā suptāhisadṛśākṛtiḥ ‖ 36 ‖
bibharti kuṇḍalī śaktir ātmānaṃ haṃsam āśritā Footnote 75 |
haṃsaḥ prāṇāśrayo nityaṃ prāṇo Footnote 76nāḍīsamāśrayaḥ Footnote 77 ‖ 37 ‖
ādhārād udgato Footnote 78vāyur yathāvat sarvadehinām |
dehaṃ vyāpya svanāḍībhiḥ prayāṇaṃ kurute bahiḥ ‖ 38 ‖
dvādaśāṅgulamānena tasmāt prāṇa itīritaḥ |
ramye mṛdvāsane śuddhe paṭājinakuśottare ‖ 39 ‖
baddhvaikam āsanaṃ yogī yogamārgaparo bhavet |
jñātvā bhūtodayaṃ dehe vidhivat prāṇavāyunā ‖ 40 ‖
tattadbhūtaṃ japed Footnote 79dehadṛḍhatvāvāptaye Footnote 80sudhīḥ |
daṇḍākārā gatir Footnote 81bhūmeḥ puṭayor ubhayor adhaḥ Footnote 82 ‖ 41 ‖
toyasya pāvakasyordhvagatis Footnote 83tiryaṅ nabhasvataḥ |
gatir vyomno bhaven madhye bhūtānām udayaḥ Footnote 84smṛtaḥ Footnote 85 ‖ 42 ‖
dharaṇer udaye kuryāt stambhanaṃ vaśyam ātmavit |
śāntikaṃ pauṣṭikaṃ karma toyasya samaye vasoḥ ‖ 43 ‖
māraṇādīni maruto vipakṣoccāṭanādikam |
kṣveḍādināśanaṃ Footnote 86śastam udaye ca vihāyasaḥ ‖ 44 ‖
aṅgulībhir dṛḍhaṃ baddhvā karaṇāni samāhitaḥ |
aṅguṣṭhābhyām ubhe śrotre tarjanībhyāṃ vilocane ‖ 45 ‖
nāsārandhre madhyamābhyām Footnote 87anyābhir vadanaṃ dṛḍham |
baddhvātmaprāṇamanasām Footnote 88ekatvaṃ samanusmaran Footnote 89 ‖ 46 ‖
dhārayen marutaṃ Footnote 90samyag yogo ’yaṃ yogivallabhaḥ Footnote 91 |
nādaḥ saṃjāyate tasya kramād abhyasataḥ Footnote 92śanaiḥ Footnote 93 ‖ 47 ‖
mattabhṛṅgāṅganāgītasadṛśaḥ Footnote 94prathamo dhvaniḥ |
vāṃśikāsyānilāpūrṇavaṃśadhvaninibho Footnote 95’paraḥ ‖ 48 ‖
ghaṇṭāravasamaḥ Footnote 96paścād ghanameghasvanopamaḥ Footnote 97 |
evam abhyasataḥ Footnote 98puṃsaḥ Footnote 99saṃsāradhvāntanāśanam ‖ 49 ‖
jñānam utpadyate ’pūrvaṃ Footnote 100haṃsalakṣaṇam avyayam |
puṃprakṛtyātmakau proktau bindusargau manīṣibhiḥ ‖ 50 ‖
tābhyāṃ kramāt samudbhūtau bindusargāvasānakau |
haṃsau tau puṃprakṛtyākhyau haṃ pumān prakṛtis tu saḥ ‖ 51 ‖
ajapā kathitā tābhyāṃ Footnote 101jīvo yām Footnote 102upatiṣṭhati Footnote 103 |
puruṣaṃ svāśrayaṃ Footnote 104matvā prakṛtir nityam āsthitā Footnote 105 ‖ 52 ‖
yadā tadbhāvam āpnoti tadā so ’haṃ Footnote 106iyaṃ Footnote 107bhavet |
sakārārṇaṃ hakārārṇaṃ lopayitvā tataḥ param |
saṃdhiṃ kuryāt pūrvarūpaṃ Footnote 108tadāsau praṇavo bhavet ‖ 53 ‖Footnote 109
parānandamayaṃ Footnote 110nityaṃ caitanyaikaguṇātmakam |
ātmābhedasthitaṃ yogī praṇavaṃ bhāvayet sadā ‖ 54 ‖
āmnāyavācām Footnote 111atidūram ādyaṃ
vedyaṃ svasaṃvedyaguṇena Footnote 112santaḥ |
ātmānam ānandarasaikasindhuṃ Footnote 113
paśyanti tārātmakam Footnote 114ātmaniṣṭhāḥ ‖ 55 ‖Footnote 115
satyaṃ hetuvivarjitaṃ śrutigirām ādyaṃ jagatkāraṇaṃ
vyāptasthāvarajaṅgamaṃ Footnote 116nirupamaṃ caitanyam antargatam |
ātmānaṃ ravivahnicandravapuṣaṃ Footnote 117 tārātmakaṃ saṃtataṃ
nityānandaguṇālayaṃ sukṛtinaḥ paśyanti ruddhendriyāḥ ‖ 56 ‖Footnote 118
tārasya saptavibhavaiḥ Footnote 119paricīyamānaṃ
mānair agamyam aniśaṃ Footnote 120śrutimaulimṛgyam Footnote 121 |
saṃvitsamastagam Footnote 122anaśvaram acyutaṃ tat
tejaḥ paraṃ bhajata sāndrasudhāmburāśim ‖ 57 ‖Footnote 123
hiraṇmayaṃ dīptam Footnote 124anekavarṇaṃ
trimūrtimūlaṃ nigamādibījam |
aṅguṣṭhamātraṃ puruṣaṃ bhajante
caitanyamātraṃ ravimaṇḍalastham ‖ 58 ‖Footnote 125
dhyāyanti dugdhābdhibhujaṅgabhoge
śayānam ādyaṃ kamalāsahāyam |
praphullanetrāmbujam Footnote 126añjanābhaṃ
caturmukheṇāśritanābhipadmam Footnote 127 ‖ 59 ‖Footnote 128
āmnāyageyacaranaṃ Footnote 129ghananīlam udyac-
chrīvatsakaustubhagadāmbujaśaṅkhacakram |
hṛtpuṇḍarīkanilayaṃ jagadekamūlam
ālokayanti kṛtinaḥ puruṣaṃ purāṇam ‖ 60 ‖Footnote 130
bindor Footnote 131nādasamudbhavaḥ samudite nāde jagatkāraṇaṃ
tāraṃ tattvamukhāmbujaṃ parivṛtaṃ varṇātmabāhuvrajaiḥ Footnote 132 |
āmnāyāsyacatuṣṭayaṃ Footnote 133puraripor ānandamūlaṃ vapuḥ
pāyād vo Footnote 134mukuṭendukhaṇḍavigaladdivyāmṛtaughāplutam Footnote 135 ‖ 61 ‖Footnote 136
piṇḍaṃ bhavet kuṇḍalinī śivātmā
padaṃ tu haṃsaḥ sakalāntarātmā |
rūpaṃ bhaved Footnote 137bindur anantakāntir Footnote 138
atītarūpaṃ śivasāmarasyam ‖ 62 ‖Footnote 139
piṇḍādiyogaṃ śivasāmarasyāt
sabījayogaṃ pravadanti santaḥ |
śive layaṃ nityaguṇābhiyukte
nirbījayogaṃ phalanirvyapekṣam ‖ 63 ‖Footnote 140
mūlonnidrabhujaṅgarājamahiṣīṃ Footnote 141yāntīṃ suṣumṇāntaraṃ
bhitvādhārasamūham āśu vilasatsaudāmanīsaṃnibhām Footnote 142 |
vyomāmbhojagatendumaṇḍalagaladdivyāmṛtaughaiḥ Footnote 143patiṃ Footnote 144
saṃbhāvya svagṛhaṃ gatāṃ punar imāṃ saṃcintayet kuṇḍalīm ‖ 64 ‖Footnote 145
haṃsaṃ nityam anantam avyayaguṇaṃ svādhārato nirgatā
śaktiḥ kuṇḍalinī samastajananī haste gṛhītvā ca tam |
yātā śaṃbhuniketanaṃ parasukhaṃ tenānubhūya Footnote 146svayaṃ
yāntī Footnote 147svāśrayam arkakoṭirucirā dhyeyā jaganmohinī ‖ 65 ‖
avyaktaṃ parabindum añcitaruciṃ Footnote 148nītvā śivasyālayaṃ
śaktiḥ kuṇḍalinī guṇatrayavapur vidyullatāsaṃnibhā |
ānandāmṛtamadhyagaṃ puram idaṃ candrārkakoṭiprabhaṃ
saṃvīkṣya svapuraṃ gatā bhagavatī dhyeyānavadyā Footnote 149guṇaiḥ ‖ 66 ‖
madhyevartma samīraṇadvayamithaḥsaṃghaṭṭasaṃkṣobhajaṃ
śabdastomam atītya tejasi taḍitkoṭiprabhābhāsure Footnote 150 |
udyantīṃ samupāsmahe navajavāsindūrasaṃdhyāruṇāṃ Footnote 151
sāndrānandasudhāmayīṃ paraśivaṃ prāptāṃ parāṃ devatām ‖ 67 ‖
gamanāgamaneṣu jāṅghikī Footnote 152sā
tanuyād yogaphalāni kuṇḍalī |
uditā Footnote 153kulakāmadhenur eṣā
bhajatāṃ kāṅkṣitakalpavallarī ‖ 68 ‖Footnote 154
ādhārasthitaśaktibindunilayāṃ nīvāraśūkopamāṃ
nityānandamayīṃ galatparasudhāvarṣaiḥ prabodhapradaiḥ |
siktvā ṣaṭ sarasīruhāṇi vidhivat kodaṇḍamadhyoditāṃ
dhyāyed bhāsvarabandhujīvarucirāṃ saṃvinmayīṃ Footnote 155devatām ‖ 69 ‖Footnote 156
hṛtpaṅkeruhabhānubimbanilayāṃ vidyullatāmatsarāṃ Footnote 157
bālārkāruṇatejasā bhagavatīṃ Footnote 158nirbhartsayantīṃ tamaḥ |
nādākhyaṃ padam ardhacandrakuṭilaṃ saṃvinmayaṃ Footnote 159śāśvataṃ
yāntīm akṣararūpiṇīṃ vimaladhīr dhyāyed vibhuṃ tejasām ‖ 70 ‖
bhāle pūrṇaniśāpatipratibhaṭāṃ Footnote 160nīhārahāratviṣā
siñcantīm amṛtena devam amitenānandayantīṃ tanum |
varṇānāṃ jananīṃ tadīyavapuṣā saṃvyāpya Footnote 161viśvaṃ sthitāṃ
dhyāyet samyag anākulena manasā saṃvinmayīm Footnote 162ambikām ‖ 71 ‖
mūle bhāle hṛdi ca vilasadvarṇarūpā savitrī
pīnottuṅgastanabharanamanmadhyadeśā Footnote 163maheśī |
cakre cakre galitasudhayā siktagātrā Footnote 164prakāmaṃ
dadyād ādyā Footnote 165śriyam avikalāṃ vāṅmayī devatā vaḥ Footnote 166 ‖ 72 ‖Footnote 167
nijabhavananivāsād uccarantī vilāsaiḥ
pathi pathi kamalānāṃ cāruhāsaṃ vidhāya |
taruṇataraṇikāntiḥ kuṇḍalī devatā sā
śivasadanasudhābhir dīpayed ātmatejaḥ ‖ 73 ‖Footnote 168
ādhārabandhapramukhakriyābhiḥ
samutthitā kuṇḍalinī sudhābhiḥ |
tridhāmabījaṃ śivam arcayantī
śivāṅganā vaḥ śivam ātanotu ‖ 74 ‖Footnote 169
sindūrapuñjanibham indukalāvataṃsam
ānandapūrṇanayanatrayaśobhivaktram |
āpīnatuṅgakucanamram anaṅgatantraṃ
śaṃbhoḥ kalatram amitāṃ śriyam ātanotu ‖ 75 ‖Footnote 170
nayanakamalair dīrghādīrghair alaṃkṛtadiṅmukhaṃ
vinatamarutāṃ koṭīrāgrair nighṛṣṭapadāmbujam |
taruṇaśakalaṃ cāndraṃ bibhrad ghaṭastanamaṇḍalaṃ
sphuratu hṛdaye bandhūkābhaṃ kalatram umāpateḥ ‖ 76 ‖Footnote 171
varṇair arṇavaṣaḍdiśāravikalācakṣurvibhaktaiḥ kramād
ādyaiḥ sādibhir āvṛtān Footnote 172kṣahayutaiḥ ṣaṭcakramadhyān imān |
ḍākinyādibhir āśritān paricitān brahmādibhir daivatair
bhindānā paradevatā trijagatāṃ citte vidhattāṃ mudam Footnote 173 ‖ 77 ‖Footnote 174
ādhārād guṇavṛttaśobhitatanuṃ Footnote 175nirgatvarāṃ Footnote 176satvaraṃ
bhindantīṃ kamalāni cinmayaghanānandaprabodhottarām Footnote 177 |
saṃkṣubdhadhruvamaṇḍalāmṛtakaraprasyandamānāmṛta- Footnote 178
srotaḥkandalitām Footnote 179amandataḍidākārāṃ śivāṃ bhāvayet ‖ 78 ‖
ānandamaulim Footnote 180aniśaṃ śrutimaulimṛgyam
ardhendubhūṣaṇam Footnote 181adhiṣṭhitasarvalokam |
bhaktārtibhañjanaparaṃ padam īśvarasya
dadyāc chubhāni niyataṃ vapur ambikāyāḥ ‖ 79 ‖Footnote 182
mañjusiñjitamañjīraṃ vāmam ardhaṃ maheśituḥ |
āśrayāmi jaganmūlaṃ yan mūlaṃ vacasām api ‖ 80 ‖Footnote 183
sthūlendranīlaruciraṃ kucabhāranamraṃ
bhāsvatsubhūṣaṇagaṇaiḥ Footnote 184pravibhaktaśobham Footnote 185 |
viśvaikamūlam aniśaṃ śrutimaulimṛgyam
ardhaṃ maheśitur akhaṇḍitam āśrayāmaḥ Footnote 186 ‖ 81 ‖Footnote 187
dikkālādivivarjite Footnote 188paraśive caitanyamātrātmake Footnote 189
śūnye kāraṇapañcakasya vilayaṃ kṛte Footnote 190nirālambane |
ātmānaṃ viniveśya niścaladhiyā nirlīnasarvendriyo
yogī yogaphalaṃ prayāti sulabhaṃ nityoditaṃ niṣkriyam ‖ 82 ‖Footnote 191
mahābalāya praṇato 'smi tasmai
saṃvillatāliṅganaśītalāya Footnote 192 |
yenārpitaṃ muktiphalaṃ vipakvam
āmnāyaśākhābhya Footnote 193upāśritebhyaḥ ‖ 83 ‖Footnote 194
tasmād abhūd akhiladeśikavāraṇendraḥ Footnote 195
ṣaṭkarmasāgaravihāravinodaśīlaḥ |
yasya trilokavitataṃ vijayābhidhānam
ācāryapaṇḍita iti prathayanti santaḥ ‖ 84 ‖Footnote 196
tannandano deśikadeśiko ’bhūc
chrīkṛṣṇa ity abhyuditaprabhāvaḥ |
yatpādakāruṇyasudhābhiṣekāl
lakṣmīṃ parām aśnuvate kṛtārthāḥ Footnote 197 ‖ 85 ‖Footnote 198
ācāryavidyāvibhavasya tasya
jātaḥ prabhor lakṣmaṇadeśikendraḥ |
vidyāsv aśeṣāsu kalāsu sarvāsv
api prathāṃ yo mahatīṃ prapede ‖ 86 ‖Footnote 199
ādāya sāram akhilaṃ nikhilāgamebhyaḥ
śrīśāradātilakanāma cakāra tantram |
prājñaḥ sa eṣa Footnote 200paṭalair iha tattvasaṃkhyaiḥ
prītipradānavidhaye viduṣāṃ cirāya ‖ 87 ‖Footnote 201
anādyantā Footnote 202śaṃbhor vapuṣi kalitārdhena vapuṣā
jagadrūpaṃ śaśvat sṛjati mahanīyām api giram |
sadarthāṃ Footnote 203śabdārthastanabharanatā śaṃkaravadhūr
bhavadbhūtyai Footnote 204bhūyād bhavajanitaduḥkhaughaśamanī ‖ 88 ‖Footnote 205
sukhadā dātṛsubhagā śaṃkarārdhaśarīriṇī |
granthapuṣpopahāreṇa prītā naḥ pārvatī sadā ‖ 89 ‖Footnote 206
iti śrīśāradātilake pañcaviṃśaḥ paṭalaḥ ‖
Translation
1ab) Now I shall explain yoga with [its] limbs,Footnote 207 which grants knowledge.
1cd–3ab) Those versed in yoga say that yoga is the identity of the individual Self (jīva) and the [supreme] Self ([parama-]ātman). Others know [yoga] as the knowledge of the identity of Śiva and the Self. The knowers of the Āgamas have declared [that yoga] is the knowledge of Śiva and Śakti. Other learned [men] say [that yoga] is the knowledge of the eternal being (purāṇapuruṣa).Footnote 208
3cd) [Only] after first conquering the Self's enemies – desire and the rest – should one practise yoga.
4) They call the following, which cause suffering, the group of six enemies of the Self: desire and anger, greed and delusion, [and] following these, pride and jealousy.
5ab) Having conquered them, by means of the eight limbs of yoga, Yogins will doubtlessly attain union (yoga) [of the individual Self with the supreme Self].
5cd–6) Yogins call the following the eight limbs in yoga practice: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, followed by pratyāhāra, the [limb] called dhāraṇā, [and] dhyāna together with samādhi.Footnote 209
7) The ten yamas are: abstaining from harming [others]; truthfulness; refraining from theft; celibacy; forbearance; sincerity; patience/forgiveness; steadfastness; moderation in eating; and purity.Footnote 210
8–9ab) The knowers of the yogaśāstra call the following [practices] the ten niyamas: austerity, contentment, acceptance of the Vedic tradition (āstikya), charity [and] worship of the deity; also listening to the doctrines, modesty and discernment, repetition of one's mantra (japa) [and offering] oblation[s] [in the fire].Footnote 211
9cd–10ab) Five postures (āsana) are described one after the other: padmāsana, the [āsana] called svastika, bhadra[-āsana] and vajrāsana as well, [and finally] vīrāsana.
10cd–11) Having placed the soles of both feet properly on both thighs in inverted order,Footnote 212 [the Yogin] should then grasp both big toes with both hands. The lotus posture (padmāsana), which is dear to Yogins, is prescribed thus.Footnote 213
12) Having placed the soles of both feet properly between both knees and thighs, the Yogin should sit with erect body; this they term the svastika [posture].
13–14ab) He should place both ankles very firmly on either side of the perineum; he should hold the two heels of [his] feet steady with both hands below the scrotum.Footnote 214 [Thus is] taught the auspicious posture (bhadrāsana); it is highly honoured by Yogins.
14cd–15ab) He should place both feet, one after the other, on both thighs;Footnote 215 he should place both hands, his fingers turned towards [himself], on both knees. [This is] called the most excellent diamond posture (vajrāsana).
15cd–16ab) Having put one foot below and having placed the other one on the thigh, the Yogin should sit with erect body; thus the heroic posture (vīrāsana) is described.
16cd–18) The Yogin should draw the outside air in by the iḍā [channel] [i.e. through the left nostril] for [the duration of] sixteen morae. He should properly retain the inhaled [air], which has entered the centre of the suṣumṇā [channel], for sixty-four morae; and the supreme knower of yoga should [then] slowly exhale it through the piṅgalā channel [i.e. through the right nostril] for thirty-two morae. This the knowers of the yogaśāstra call prāṇāyāma.
19) He should practise again and again, step by step, in the reverse orderFootnote 216 to this, with gradual increments of morae [for], properly, twelve [or] sixteen [prāṇāyāma cycles].
20–21ab) Prāṇāyāma indeed is twofold [in nature]: “filled” (sagarbha) and “empty” (agarbha). [Some] wise [persons] know the [form of] [prāṇāyāma] linked with the repetition of a mantra (japa) and with dhyāna, etc. as the “filled” [form], while others know the prāṇāyāma without it [i.e. without such a connection] as the “empty” (vigarbha) [form].
21cd–22) [The form of prāṇāyāma] of a man who practises gradually [which is characterized by] the appearance of sweat on the body is considered to be the lowest. The one associated with trembling is the middle [form]. [The one characterized by] leaving the ground [i.e. levitation] is the supreme [form]. Repeated practice is prescribed until the qualities of the supreme [form of prāṇāyāma] are acquired.Footnote 217
23) The forceful disengagement of the sense organs, which move unrestrainedly among the [sense] objects, from these [latter] is called the withdrawal [of the senses] (pratyāhāra).Footnote 218
24–5) The fixing of the prāṇa wind, according to the [proper] procedure, on the big toes, the ankles, the knees, the thighs,Footnote 219 the perineum, the penis, the navel, the areas of the heart, neck [and] throat, on the soft palate, then the nose, on the centre of the eyebrows, on the head,Footnote 220 on [the upper part of]Footnote 221 the head [and] on the dvādaśānta [i.e. the brahmarandhra]Footnote 222 is called fixation (dhāraṇā).
26) Meditation (dhyāna) on one's chosen deities with a concentrated mind, which abides within the [supreme] consciousness, is called in this context meditation (dhyāna).Footnote 223
27) The sages call absorption (samādhi) the constant contemplation (bhāvanā) of the identity of the individual Self and the supreme Self.Footnote 224
[Thus] the characteristics of the eight-limbed [yoga] are stated.
28) The body, which has a length of ninety-six finger breadths, consists of both.Footnote 225 They know the kanda Footnote 226 to be two finger breadths between anus and penis.Footnote 227
29) It shines in the form of a circle measuring twice its [breadth] [i.e. four fingers in diameter].Footnote 228 In it the channels (nāḍī) originate. The three principal [channels]Footnote 229 are stated [as follows]:
30) The channel [called] iḍā is situated on the left; the piṅgalā is held to be on the right. The channel [called] suṣumṇā, located between the two, lies in the backbone.
31) The [suṣumṇā] moves in both big toes, through the two roots,Footnote 230 and then through the head [until it] reaches the brahman's place [i.e. the brahmarandhra], having [throughout] the form of the moon, the sun and fire.
32) Located in its centre is the channel called citrā, dear to Yogins. They know, inside of it [i.e. in the citrā],Footnote 231 the brahmarandhra,Footnote 232 the supreme, which resembles a string of lotuses.Footnote 233
33) And they know the ādhāras Footnote 234 in the [suṣumṇā], [variously] manifold depending on different opinions.
This they call the divine path, the cause of the bliss of immortality.
34) The moon certainly moves in the iḍā, the sun in the piṅgalā. These two, for their part, are known to be inside the suṣumṇā by those who know the primary cause of [their] union.
35) The knowers of the Āgamas describe an extremely beautiful triangle located inside the kanda in the ādhāra;Footnote 235 [it is] the divine abode of the [three] lights [i.e. the sun, the moon and fire].
36) In it the kuṇḍalī,Footnote 236 the supreme deity, throbs in the form of a streak of lightning, the core of everything, having a form similar to a sleeping serpent.
37) The kuṇḍalī Śakti abides in the haṃsaḥ [and] supports the [individual] Self. The haṃsaḥ always depends on the prāṇa; the prāṇa depends on the channels (nāḍī).Footnote 237
38–9ab) Since the wind, which moves out from the ādhāra, pervading the body of all beings, makes [its] departure (prayāṇa) [to] the outside, as is its nature, through its own channels – to a distance of twelve fingers – therefore it is called prāṇa.Footnote 238
39cd–40ab) The Yogin, having assumed a posture on a comfortable, soft seat, which is pure [and] overspread with a cloth, a deerskin and kuśa [grass],Footnote 239 will doubtless be devoted to the yoga path.
40cd–41ab) The wise man, having come to know of the methodical arising of the elements in the body through [the action of] the prāṇa wind should repeat [the syllableFootnote 240 corresponding to] each element to obtain firmness of body.
41cd–42) The course of the earth [element] is in the shape of [i.e. passes along] the bridge [of the nose], [and] that of the water [element], down the two nostrils. The upward course belongs to fire; horizontal is [the course] of the wind. [The course] of ether would [then] be in the centre [of the nostrils]. [Thus] the arising of the elements is laid down.
43–4) When the earth [element] arises, the knower of the [individual] Self should perform [the rites of] immobilization [and] subjection; the rites of appeasement [and] prosperity when water [arises]; when fire [arises], [the rites of] liquidation, etc.; when wind [arises], [the rite of] eradicating opponents, etc.; while [the rite of] destroying by poison, etc.Footnote 241 is prescribed when ether [arises].
45–7ab) The attentive [Yogin], having blocked the sense organs firmly with [his] fingers – having firmly blocked both ears with the thumbs, [his] eyes with the index fingers, [his] nostrils with the middle fingers, [his] mouth with the others – [and] recalling the identity of the [individual] Self, the prāṇa and the mind, should retain the wind properly. This yoga is dear to Yogins.Footnote 242
47cd) With gradual practice, the inner sound (nāda) will slowly arise.
48) The initial sound is like the humming of an intoxicated female bee; the following [sound] is similar to the sound of a flute filled with wind from the mouth of a flute player.
49–50ab) Afterwards [the sound] is similar to the sound of a bell [or] like the roaring of dense clouds.Footnote 243 For a man who practises in this way, unprecedented knowledge arises, which destroys the darkness of worldly existence, is undecaying [and] is characterized by haṃ and saḥ.
50cd) The bindu and [vi]sarga are said by wise men to be identical with [respectively] male (puṃs) and female (prakṛti).
51) From these two came into being haṃ and saḥ [respectively] one after the other, [the first] ending in a bindu, and [the second in] a [vi]sarga. They are called the male and the female: haṃ is male and saḥ is female.Footnote 244
52) The two define the ajapā [Gāyatrī] [i.e. the haṃsaḥ mantra],Footnote 245 which the [individual] Self approaches.Footnote 246 The female (prakṛti) eternally resorts to the male (puruṣa), considering [him her] refuge.
53) When [ajapā] reaches [a state of] identification with the [two], then it [i.e. the ajapā] becomes so ’haṃ.Footnote 247 Having elided the letter s [and] the letter h [in so ’haṃ] furthermore, one should connect [what remains] according to the pūrvarūpa Footnote 248 [rule]. This then becomes the praṇava [i.e. oṃ].Footnote 249
54) The Yogin should always contemplate the praṇava, which partakes of supreme bliss [and] is eternal, whose one self-defining quality is [supreme] knowledgeFootnote 250 [and] which abides in [its] identity with the [supreme] Self.
55) Those who are good, being firmly established in the Self, behold the Self, the primeval, which is extremely remote from the words of the Vedas [and] which can be known in virtue of its being cognizable to itself – an ocean containing wholly the elixir of bliss; that whose nature is tāra [i.e. oṃ].
56) Persons of merit, those who have restrained [their] sense organs, behold the Self, [which is] the inner supreme consciousness; the truth; the uncaused; the origin of the words of the Vedas; the cause of the worlds; that which embraces [both] the stationary and the mobile; the incomparable one; whose form is [luminous like] the sun, fire and the moon; as that whose nature is tāra [i.e. oṃ]; the eternal; [and] the abode of the quality of eternal bliss.
57) Worship that supreme light,Footnote 251 which is apprehended through the seven parts of tāra,Footnote 252 which cannot be understood by measurements / means of knowledge, is constantly sought after in the Upaniṣads, pervades everything in the form of consciousness, is imperishable, firm [and] an ocean of concentrated nectar.Footnote 253
58) They worship the golden puruṣa, [who is] the root of the trimūrti [i.e. Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva]; radiant; variegated; the seed of the Vedas, etc.; the size of a thumb; pure consciousness; [and who] resides in the solar disc.Footnote 254
59) They meditate on [Viṣṇu] as reclining upon the coil of a serpent in the Milk Ocean – [as] the primeval one – whose companion is Kamalā [Lakṣmī]; whose lotus-like eyes are dilated; [and] who has the [dark] lustre of collyrium, the four-faced [Brahmā] having taken refuge on the lotus [growing from his] navel.
60) The blessed ones behold the eternal being (purāṇapuruṣa),Footnote 255 whose feet are praised by the Vedas, who is dark like a [rain] cloud, who holds the śrīvatsa, the kaustubha, the mace, the lotus, the conch and the wheel,Footnote 256 whose abode is the lotus of the heart, [and] who is the single root of the worlds.
61) From the bindu Footnote 257 the nāda arises, [and] once the nāda comes into being tāra, the body of the enemy of [Tri]pura [i.e. Śiva] [can become] the cause of the worlds. May [that body] protect you, that which has the constituents (tattva)Footnote 258 as [its] lotus-like face; which is endowed with many arms that equate to the syllables [of the alphabet]; whose [additional]Footnote 259 four faces are the Vedas; which is the root of bliss; [and] which is flooded with a mass of divine nectar streaming from the moon digit on [its] diadem.
62) The “solid mass” (piṇḍa)Footnote 260 is doubtlessly the kuṇḍalinī, equivalent to Śiva; the “position” (pada), on the other hand, is doubtlessly the haṃsaḥ,Footnote 261 the inner Self of all. The “form” (rūpa) is doubtlessly the bindu of infinite lustre; the blissful union (sāmarasya) with Śiva is “form transcended” (atītarūpa).Footnote 262
63) Those who are good speak of the union with the piṇḍa and the others,Footnote 263 through blissful union [with Śiva], as the [type of] union that produces a seed (sabījayoga). The dissolution into Śiva, who is endowed with the quality of being eternal, [they call] the [type of] union that produces no seed (nirbījayoga), [that is, the type] which is indifferent to rewards.
64) One should think of this kuṇḍalī, the chief queen of the great serpent awake in the root [cakra], as moving in the suṣumṇā, as quickly piercing through the group of ādhārasFootnote 264 like a blazing lightning [bolt], as worshipping [her] husband with streams of divine nectar flowing from the lunar disc located in the etheric lotus,Footnote 265 [and] as returning to [her] house.Footnote 266
65) Śakti, the kuṇḍalinī, the mother of all, should be meditated upon as emerging from her own [i.e. mūla-]ādhāra, and as having taken in hand that haṃsaḥ,Footnote 267 which is eternal, infinite [and] of imperishable qualities, [and then] going to Śaṃbhu's [i.e. Śiva's] residence, [and] after herself experiencing supreme bliss with him, returning to her own abode [i.e. the mūlādhāra] – she who has the lustre of ten million suns [and] who beguiles the world.
66) Venerable Śakti, the kuṇḍalinī, having led the unmanifest supreme bindu Footnote 268 of elegant lustre to Śiva's abode, should be meditated upon, [she] whose form [embodies] the three qualities,Footnote 269 who resembles a streak of lightning, who – having beheld this city located inside the nectar of bliss, which [city] shines like ten million moons and suns – goes to her own city [i.e. the mūlādhāra]; [she] who by virtue of the qualities is spotless.
67) We worship the supreme deity, who, having on the way passed beyond the mass of soundsFootnote 270 produced from the agitation [caused by] the fusion of the two winds [prāṇa and apāna], ascends into the lightFootnote 271 that shines with the lustre of ten million lightning [bolts], [the deity] who is red like the fresh javā/japā [flower], red lead and the dawn, who has reached the supreme Śiva [and] who partakes of the concentrated nectar of bliss.
68) May that kuṇḍalī, who moves between going and coming, bestow the fruits of yoga. When she has ascended, this [kuṇḍalinī] is a wish-[granting] familyFootnote 272 cow [and] a wish-[granting] creeper for those who worship [her].
69) One should meditate on the deity who abides in the bindu inside the Śakti located in the [mūla-]ādhāra [triangle],Footnote 273 who resembles an awn of wild rice [in shape], who ascends to the centre of the bow [i.e. the area between the eyebrows],Footnote 274 who partakes of eternal bliss, who has sprinkled the six lotuses according to proper procedure with showers of excellent streaming nectar which grant knowledge, who has the [red] lustre of a shining bandhujīva [flower, and] who is full of knowledge.
70) One of pure mind should meditate on the venerable woman who abides in the solar disc of the heart lotus; who rivals a streak of lightning [in brightness], who dispels the darkness with [her] lustre, red like the rising sun; who goes to the place, called nāda,Footnote 275 curved like the half moon; who is full of knowledge [and] is eternal; [and] who has imperishable form [and] rules over the [three] lights [i.e. the sun, the moon and fire].
71) One should meditate on Ambikā properly, with unperturbed mind – [she] who is full of knowledge, who in [i.e. by virtue of her] foreheadFootnote 276 defeats the full moon, who sprinkles the god [Śiva] with profuse nectar having the [white] lustre of snow and a pearl necklace, who delights the body, who is the mother of syllables, [and] who abides, having pervaded everything with her form.
72) May the primeval mother, the deity partaking of speech, whose form [is full of] the syllables that shine in the root [centre], on the forehead and in the heart,Footnote 277 bestow unimpaired prosperity on you – the great lady, the middle of whose body is bent down under the burden of [her] fleshy high breasts, [and] whose limbs are sprinkled with nectar streaming in abundance over each cakra.
73) May that deity, kuṇḍalī, ascending with graceful movements from her home abode, having cast a sweet smile on the lotuses pathway after pathway, increase the lustre of the Self with nectar from Śiva's house, she who has the lustre of the rising sun.
74) May Śiva's consort, the kuṇḍalinī, raised by means of such practices (kriyā) as the ādhārabandha,Footnote 278 [she] who worships Śiva, the seed of the three abodes,Footnote 279 with nectar, bestow auspiciousness on you.
75) May Śaṃbhu's wife bestow infinite prosperity – [she] who resembles a heap of red lead [in colour], [bears] the moon digit as [her] head ornament, whose face shines with three eyes filled with bliss, who is bent by [her] slightly fleshy high breasts, [and] who is the sourceFootnote 280 of sexual desire.
76) May Umāpati's wife shine in [your] heart – [she] who adorns the directions with [her three] lotus-like eyes, which are both wide and narrow;Footnote 281 whose lotus-like feet are rubbed by the tips of the diadems of the gods as they bow down; who bears the digit of the waxing moon [on her head]; who has round pitcher-like breasts; [and] who has the [red] lustre of the bandhūka [flower].
77) May the supreme deity of the three worlds bestow joy in [your] mind – [she] who pierces those centres of the six cakras in sequence, which [centres] are surrounded by the syllables, divided into [groups of] four, six, ten, twelve, sixteen and two, which [syllables] begin with a, include kṣa and ha Footnote 282 [or else] begin with sa, etc. [in reverse order]; these [cakras] are sought refuge in by Ḍākinī and the others, [and] frequented by deities, [namely] Brahmā and the others.
78) One should contemplate Śiva's consort, whose body is adorned with the circles [= coils?] of the [three] guṇas,Footnote 283 who emerges from the [mūla-]ādhāra quickly, who [then] pierces the lotuses, who is full of intelligence, dense bliss and knowledge, who pours out streams of nectar that flow forth from the moon in the agitated [but] unmoved sphere/disc (dhruvamaṇḍala),Footnote 284 [and] who has the form of a dazzling lightning [bolt].
79) May the form of Ambikā always bestow auspicious [things] – [a form] which is crowned by bliss, which is constantly sought after in the Upaniṣads, which [bears] the half moon as [its head] ornament, presides over the whole world, which is attentive to dispelling [its] devotees’ suffering, [and] which is the seat of Īśvara.
80) I turn to the left, [female] half [of the body] of Maheśitṛ [i.e. of the androgynous Śiva], which displays soft tinkling anklets, which is the origin of the worlds, [and] which is also the origin of words.
81) We continuously turn to Maheśitṛ's [female] half, which is as radiant as a big sapphire, is bent down under the burden of [her] breast; whose beauty is shared by multitudes of shiningly beautiful ornaments; which is the sole root of the universe; [and] which is constantly sought after in the Upaniṣads.
82) The Yogin attains the fruit of yoga easily, which is always shining [and] devoid of activity, for he has shut down all sense organs [and] with a steady mind caused the Self to merge into the supreme Śiva, who is devoid of place, time, etc., who has the nature of pure consciousness, who is void [of attributes, and] who is without support [i.e. self-supported], having dissolved the group of five causes.Footnote 285
83) I bow to that Mahābala,Footnote 286 who is cooled by the embrace of the creeper of knowledge, by whom the ripe “Fruit of Liberation” (Muktiphala) has been offered from the branches of the Veda [tree] to those who approach [him].
84) From that [Mahābala] was born the most excellent elephant among all teachers, who habitually sported playfully in the ocean of the six rites (of magic) (ṣaṭkarmasāgara),Footnote 287 whose victorious title Ācārya-Paṇḍita, spread out over the triple world, good people proclaim.
85) His son was Śrīkṛṣṇa, a teacher of teachers [and a man] of elevated power, by bathing in the nectar of compassion of whose feet those who are [so] blessed enjoy supreme prosperity.
86) Of that lord, who possessed an ācārya's wealth of knowledge, Lakṣmaṇadeśikendra [was] the son, who obtained great fame in all [branches of] knowledge (vidyā) and all [performing] arts (kalā).
87) This wise man here composed the Tantra named the illustrious “Forehead mark of Śāradā” (Śāradātilaka), taking the complete essence from all the Āgamas [and making the number of] chapters [the same as] the number of constituents (tattva) [i.e. twenty-five], with the object of long giving joy to learned [people].
88) May the wife of Śaṃkara, who is without beginning and end, be [mindful of] your prosperity, who with [her] body, whose [one] half is merged into the body of Śaṃbhu, regularly creates the form of the worlds and the worshipful speech (i.e. the Veda) of true meaning, who is bent down under the burden of [her] breasts, namely words and [their] meaning, [and] who extinguishes the flood of suffering that occurs in worldly existence.
89) [May] Pārvatī always [be] pleased with [my] offering of the flower of [this] literary work, [she] who grants us happiness, is favourable to donors, [and] whose body is half Śaṃkara.
Thus [ends] the twenty-fifth chapter in the illustrious Śāradātilaka.
