English (machine translation)

Translation of Laghustutih (vrittisameta) (Laghustutiḥ (vṛttisametā))

Language: English
Extent: 310 passages, 19,861 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-10) of in.sampradaya.general.devistotra.laghustuti · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…

Text

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Together with the commentary composed by Śrī Rāghavānanda.

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By the Superintendent for the Publication of Sanskrit Texts,

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In Trivandrum,
By command of the illustrious and most exalted Mahārāja Śrī Mūlam Tirunāl Rāma Varma Kulaśekhara,
At the Government Press, by its Superintendent,

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Together with the commentary composed by Śrī Rāghavānanda.

She whose unique embodiment is the consciousness transcending the universe, who yet consists of the universe here,
Who shines forth, who is constantly worshipped by virtuous souls whose delusion of duality has been shattered —
May she, the beloved of the great lord, protect with trust us who in our hearts think 'I am [she]', who are tormented by the suffering of worldly existence,
Bereft of any other refuge, who have grasped her feet.

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The venerable Laghubhaṭṭāraka, having himself attained identity with the nature of supreme consciousness — accomplished through the realization of the oneness of the Self with the supreme consciousness, which is also called the descent of supreme power obtained through the compassionate sidelong glance of the best of gurus worshipped without deceit —, whose mass of the noose of all blemishes has vanished, and in whom supreme bliss has manifested, desiring that other people too may attain the state of supreme consciousness through this hymn illuminating the supreme deity's true nature, glory, and specific powers, saw with his own eyes the people drowned in the ocean of suffering beginning with birth and ending with death due to their ignorance of that [truth]. His heart overwhelmed with compassion, invoking a blessing upon them, he begins the hymn:

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"Bearing in the middle of the forehead the brilliance as if of Indra's bow,
Spreading all around upon the head a pure white radiance as if of the moon,
Ever present in the heart like the light of the sun during the day,
May this Tripurā, consisting of light and consisting of speech, swiftly sever your sin with her three quarters!"

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p. 2)

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"As if of Indra's..." [and so forth].

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"A blessing, an obeisance, or an indication of the subject matter is its opening,"

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according to this rule, the blessing, being stated first, follows here in the beginning the path of propriety. The indication of the subject matter is made only as subordinate to that [blessing]. Thereby the subject of this jewel of a hymn, which has the form of the deity of the mantra, is revealed; and by the blessing the purpose, characterized by instantaneous liberation, is revealed. Here, all are bound souls bound by the noose of māyā, their bodies scorched by the threefold suffering. Even among them, whether under the authority of injunction or purely out of self-will, those men who kill animals [or: bound souls], all of them are eligible here provided they possess devotion to the guru and the deity, as is understood from the non-specific phrasing. As has been said:

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"One fallen from all means should take refuge in the Kula path."

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Thus. And by everyone being eligible, the extreme purity and abundant fruit of this hymnal treatise are revealed, just like the flow of the Bhāgīrathī and of speech, etc. By the turn of phrase "may she sever your (vaḥ = yuṣmākam) sin," because he has himself fulfilled all desires and his sole motive is the grace of others, his own divine nature is also revealed, by which this hymnal treatise might be accepted by all as intrinsically valid. Surely no virtuous person who is not a destroyer of himself would knowingly plunge into the Vaitaraṇī-like flow of words of even an eminent twice-born born in the family of Vasiṣṭha and consecrated with the forty sacraments, if he has not cast off the mass of his nooses, if the state of divinity has not manifested in him, and if he has not fulfilled his desires. And although this has been commented upon abundantly by former sages in summary and at length, it is now examined according to ability in summary and at length by the foremost sage named Rāghavānanda, who abides in the manual of his own purification, just as the water of the Bhāgīrathī, the Sarasvatī, etc., though frequented by ancient people, is enjoyed by people of today for their own purification. Here, meter is of two kinds: moric meter and syllabic meter. There, where five feet of four morae each are arranged and verses are composed with them, that is a moric meter, as the pathyāryā, etc. Where, on the other hand, a set of eight metrical feet is formed using three syllables each and a text is composed depending on that, that is a syllabic meter.

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And within that, there is the descent of meters such as uktā and atyuktā, which have four quarters measured by increments of one syllable each, their quarters increasing by one syllable each up to utkṛti, ending with quarters measured by twenty-six syllables. Beyond that are the daṇḍaka meters such as the caṇḍavṛṣṭipravāha. Among them, this collection of verses constituting the hymn possesses the meter named śārdūlavikrīḍita, belonging to the meter called atidhṛti, whose quarter is measured by nineteen syllables. Here, this first verse introduces the nature of the mantra of Tripurā and its deity. Then the next two

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reveal the fruit of worshiping the reality characterized by its first seed syllable's deity, respectively through the predominance of subtle sound and drop, and through the predominance of the seed syllable. The fourth aims at the fruit of worshiping the deity of its second seed syllable. The fifth follows the fruit of worshiping the deity of the third seed syllable. The sixth proclaims the fruit of the method of recitation of that mantra. The seventh illuminates the fruit of meditation upon the deity common to the three seed syllables of that mantra. Then three verses have as their subject the fruit of meditation upon the deity of each individual seed syllable. The eleventh expounds the fruit of meditation upon the formless syllable situated in the second seed syllable. The twelfth makes known that worship of this yields visible fruits such as omniscience and universal dominion. The thirteenth speaks to the fact that without worship of this, even by endless other means, the experience of enjoyment and liberation right in this life is difficult to attain for embodied beings.

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The fourteenth conveys the particular fruit of practice for one qualified to worship this. The fifteenth teaches the goddess's form transcending the phenomenal world. The sixteenth is the helmsman for determining her form consisting of the phenomenal world, which is composed of words and referents. The seventeenth teaches the particular glory of the supreme goddess to be meditated upon by those desiring particular objectives, as well as her name. The eighteenth has as its subject the regular recitation of her mantra. The nineteenth has as its subject the regular recitation of her names. The twentieth proclaims that because this hymn has the consciousness of Tripurā as its subject and is itself composed of mantra, it ought to be studied by the virtuous. The twenty-first

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[The twenty-first verse] establishes this point: because, by the force of the grace of the guru and deity alone, this [stotra] arose spontaneously, unhindered, and deliberately even from me of little learning, it is to be accepted by great souls as intrinsically valid like the scripture itself. This is the summary of the ultimate essence of the meaning of the hymn. Now the meaning of each individual verse is also expounded in order there. She, who is experienced by all people in the form of the dualistic phenomenal world consisting of cognizer, means of valid cognition, and object of valid cognition, is not separated by space, time, and so forth. Because she is the locus of the appearance and disappearance of this [world], she is devoid of distinctions such as cognizer and so forth, and her form is beyond the phenomenal world, consisting of unbroken consciousness. For this very reason, her reality is not seen by anyone who lacks devotion to her. She is characterized by three states, [or] cities.

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For this very reason, she has three cities, hence she is renowned as Tripurā; may [this] goddess [cut through] your—[that is,] of you, her worshipers—sin (agham), [which] fundamentally consists solely in ignorance of the reality of the self, [namely] the threefold impurity differentiated into āṇava, māyīya, and kārma [impurities]; swiftly (sahasā), in no long time; forever (sadā), without ever rising again; cut through (chindyāt), [meaning] may she destroy it by becoming visible in her own nature: such is the grammatical connection. And likewise the scripture [says]:

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“The inner light of the essential nature itself is the imperishable Parā Vāc, / upon whose essential nature being seen, entitlement ceases.”

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Thus [it is said]. “Whose essential nature is seen within” is how it should be construed. And the Bhagavadgītā [says]:

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“Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance; thereby living beings are deluded. / But for those whose ignorance has been destroyed by knowledge of the self,

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their knowledge, like the sun, illumines that supreme [reality]. / Those whose intellects are directed toward That, whose selves are That, who are established in That, whose highest goal is That,

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go to non-return, their taints washed away by knowledge.”

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Thus [it is said]. What is her essential nature? In response to this, it was said: “consisting of light, consisting of speech.” The uncircumscribed reflective awareness of “I” (ahaṃvimarśa) that is the intrinsic nature of the supreme Lord, whose form is sheer illumination and who is the self of all beings, is expressed by the word “light” (jyotis). As it is said in the Rahasyāgama: “One’s own consciousness is the goddess Tripurā.” Characterized by the articulation of that reflective awareness, consisting of the pratyāhāra of all letters beginning with ‘a’ and ending with ‘ha’, and forming the essence of all sacred scriptures,

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according to the rule stated in the venerable Bhagavadgītā: “Of letters I am the letter ‘a’, and of compounds I am the dvandva,”

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and according to the rule stated by the teacher: “Now, having pervaded the universe, it is designated as ‘ha’,” the word “ahaṃ,” whose form is composed of the letters ‘a’ and ‘ha’ having attained the state of a dvandva compound, neuter gender, and singular number, [and which is] renowned as the imperishable, Parā, and the great mantra, is signified by the word “speech” (vāc), because of the Upaniṣadic text: “It knew itself alone: ‘I am Brahman.’”

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And from the venerable Anuttaranirṇaya: / “He who sees the Self directly by the Self through the nature of full I-awareness, / devoid of artificial I-awareness, he truly sees.”

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And so, by this phrase “she is consisting of light and consisting of speech”,

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the meaning of the secret scripture is revealed: / “We praise consciousness, identical with the universe and transcending it, the heart of the supreme Lord, / vibrating in the form of Parā and the other powers.” / These transcendent and immanent forms of the goddess mentioned here as “she” are renowned not only in the Āgamas, but in the Upaniṣads as well:

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“The supreme, eternal universe, Nārāyaṇa, Hari,”

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and in the Bhagavadgītā, in the seventh chapter:

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“Earth, water, fire, wind, ether, mind, intellect, / and egoity: thus is my nature divided eightfold.

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This is the lower one; but know my other, higher nature, / which has become the living soul, O mighty-armed one, by which this world is sustained!”

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and so forth; and in the thirteenth chapter:

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“This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field; / he who knows this is called the knower of the field by those who know it,”

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and so on, as taught [there], and as graciously explained by the teachers in the Prapañcasāra: “Prakṛti and Puruṣa are both eternal,” and so forth. With the expectation, “By what practice, then, would the goddess become inclined toward cutting away sin?”, in order to reveal the means, the places of worship, the objects, and the spiritual practices, he speaks of the three states of the goddess consisting of light and consisting of speech, beginning with [the words] “aindrasya” and so forth. In the middle of the forehead (madhyelalāṭam): in the middle of the forehead, in the ājñā center; bearing a luster like Indra’s bow [the rainbow]. Residing in the heart lotus and extending up to the eyebrow-center lotus, a form of mere white, red, and black light, having three parts—the meaning is that she is to be worshiped with the kāmabīja. In the head, in the dvādaśānta lotus, spreading all around a white splendor like that of the cool-rayed moon. Residing in the ājñā lotus, pervading that far, having the form of a radiance resembling moonlight—the meaning is that she is to be worshiped with the śaktibīja. In the heart (hṛdi): in the heart lotus; remaining like the luster, the radiance, of the sun of warm rays that has risen and is positioned in the day; residing in the mūlādhāra lotus, with a luster extending up to the heart lotus, having the form of light resembling the rising sun—the meaning is that she is to be worshiped with the vāgbhava [seed syllable]. As stated in the venerable Saubhāgyahṛdaya:

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“In the yoni [resembling] a mass of gold, in the heart radiant like a flash of lightning, / in the ājñā like the moon is your splendor, O supreme goddess!”

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Thus [it is said]. This is the manner of praise. As for the manner of extracting the mantra, because it will be stated at the end: “Where in the first verse the method of mantra extraction is clearly stated in the order of one, two, and three words, by the syllables corresponding to the numbers of those lines,” in this verse the seed syllables of Śrī Bālā are extracted as the first, second, and third syllables, respectively, in the first, second, and third lines. The visarga in the word “sarvataḥ” is extracted prior to the ‘sau’ syllable, because the letter ‘sa’ arises from it. By the ‘t’-affixation in “sarvataḥ,” the Anuttara is also extracted. By separating the two, the distinction between pure and so forth is indicated. Because it was said that the method of mantra extraction was stated along with its specifications, those very specifications are extracted right here. How? ai ī au; aiṃ ī au; aiṃ īṃ au; aiṃ īṃ auḥ: thus.

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Thus [ends the commentary].

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First, the varieties [beginning with] the pure [form] are included right here, and so they have been extracted along with [it]. Thus, "always dwelling in *aha*" means dwelling in *a-kāra* and *ha-kāra*. "Because of the cool-rayed [moon, which is] the bindu on the head, shedding radiance everywhere," that is, holding the splendor of the power that flashes forth supreme illumination and reflective awareness—by this, the great mantra that is the seed syllable of all mantras has been extracted. "In all [seeds] dwelling in *ha*," that is, dwelling in *ha-kāra*, [yields] *haiṃ klīṃ hsauḥ*; thus the mantra of Tripurāvāsinī has been extracted. "Everywhere," "swiftly," [and] "dwelling with *ha*," that is, being present with *ha-kāra* and *sa-kāra* along with *i*, yields *hai hī hsau*; [this is] the middle four-part mantra of Tripurāśrī. *hsaiṃ hsklīṃ hsauḥ*. "Swiftly," "dwelling in the eternal burning": eternal burning is fire possessing the quality of burning; "dwelling in that," namely in *repha*, [yields] the middle five-part mantra of Tripurādevī: *hsraiṃ hsklrīṃ hsrauḥ*. "Everywhere,"

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"swiftly," "always dwelling in *aha*," and "spreading the luster *klīṃ*," that is, the radiance consisting of *ka-kāra* and *la-kāra* that causes splendor—this yields the all-five-part mantra of Tripurāsiddhā: *hsklraiṃ hsklarīṃ hsklraiḥ*. Right there, "because of the moon, the letter *ṭha*, on whose head the letter *ḍa* is situated above, and causing radiance, splendor, everywhere"—this yields the glorious twelve-and-a-half-part mantra of Tripurāmbikā: *hsklrḍai hsklrdī hsklrdauḥ*. These four also have forms beginning with *sa*: *śai śklīṃ śauḥ*, and so on. Likewise, the six mantras beginning with Bālā can end in a visarga, end in a bindu, end in both bindu and visarga, or be devoid of both, and so on; this should be inferred according to traditional teaching. By the first seed syllable and the final seed syllable of the Bālā [mantra], ending in bindu and visarga, all the vowels are made manifest.

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How? From the combination in *guṇa* of the sounds *i* and *a*, *e* arises. Then from the combination in *vṛddhi* of *e* with the sound *a*, *ai* arises. And thus,

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the six vowels *a*, *ā*, *i*, *ī*, *e*, *ai*, as well as the fifteenth vowel in the form of the bindu, are included in the first seed syllable. Likewise, from the combination in *guṇa* of the sounds *u* and *a*, *o* arises. From its combination in *vṛddhi* with the sound *a*, *au* arises. And thus the remaining four vowels *u*, *ū*, *o*, *au*, as well as the visarga consisting of the sixteenth vowel, are included in the final seed syllable. The two vowels *ṛ* and *ṝ* are merely variant forms of *repha*, and *ḷ* and *ḹ* of *la-kāra*. The visarga pronounced in reverse order is *ha-kāra*, and in the middle seed syllable is *ka-kāra*. Therefore, by seizing the first and the last phonemes, by the principle of the tongs, all consonants are grasped. And *kṣa-kāra* is apprehended through *sa-kāra* and *ka-kāra*. Thus the mātṛkā consisting of fifty phonemes has also been extracted here. And when the mātṛkā is extracted, all mantras, yantras, tantras, Vedas, śāstras, epics, Purāṇas, poetry, drama, linguistic varieties, musical varieties, and hymn varieties are indicated, because all this consists of it. Hence it is said: "There is no mantra higher than the mātṛkā." Thus in the third seed syllable, the form of the nominative case ending *su*, *au*, *jas* is obtained. And since that pertains merely to the meaning of the nominal stem, the six cases beginning with the accusative are included right within it; for it is only the meaning of the nominal stem, possessing specific states, that exists as the case-roles such as the direct object. Thus all seven case endings are also extracted in this Tripurā by the final seed syllable. Moreover, the thirty-one principles of reality beginning with earth and ending with māyā are grasped here by the *sa-kāra* that pervades all, because they are perceived as existent (*sat*). And by the *au-kāra*, the five principles of reality beginning with śuddhavidyā and ending with Śiva are grasped. Because it arises from the powers of anuttara, ānanda, unmeṣa, and ūnatā, and because it is itself their composite whole and a particular power, it has the nature of the five powers. And these are ultimately just the powers of consciousness, bliss, will, knowledge, and action, which constitute the five principles of reality beginning with Śiva and ending with śuddhavidyā. And the thirty-six principles of reality shine forth in the final seed syllable. As it is said:

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"Just as a great tree exists in the form of potency within a banyan seed, / so does this world of the moving and unmoving exist within the heart seed syllable."

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Thus. By means of the visarga in the form of upper and lower bindus, the primary principle of reality known as Paramaśiva and Parābhaṭṭārikā, which is the locus of the manifestation and dissolution of all principles of reality, is also comprehended: this is the general indication. Thus, because she is joined with three abodes, forms, and seed syllables, [which are] words synonymous with *pura*, she is etymologized as "Tripurā". And this points implicitly to other etymologies. How? She is Tripurā because of existing prior (*purā*) to the three, [namely] fire, water, and food (*tejas*, *ap*, *anna*); as the scripture says: "In the beginning, my dear, this was being alone,

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one only, without a second. It saw: it created fire; that created water; those created food." Or because of having three forms such as fire, since an effect does not exist apart from its cause, and from the scripture: "A modification is merely a handle for speech, a name; clay alone is the truth; such, my dear, is the instruction." Likewise, because of existing prior to the three worlds, or having their form; thus because of existing prior to the three Vedas, or having their three forms; because of existing prior to the three gods, or having their form; because of existing prior to the sun, fire, and moon, or having their form; because of existing prior to the three [factors] beginning with the cognizer, or having their form; because of existing prior to the three powers, or having their form; and so on. Here, the great mantra was prior; she alone is named Tripurā because her three seed syllables consist of paśyantī, madhyamā, and vaikharī. Here, the first [power of speech] is the unceasing reflective awareness of unlimited I-ness belonging to the Supreme Lord, who is the innermost self of all. The second consists of the reflective awareness of I-ness delimited by the body and so forth. The third consists of the reflective awareness of this-ness within one's own self, in objects such as blue and pleasure elsewhere than the bound cognizers of the body and so forth. The fourth consists of its expansion: such is the distinction. The non-statement "by three *pura*s" and the statement "by three *pada*s" is intended to recall scripture. The scripture beginning with "Speech is measured in four *pada*s" should be brought to mind here. In this hymn, the word *tripurā* denotes the deity. Elsewhere, it should be understood as denoting the mantra. || 1

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Having thus taught in general the mantra, deity, place of worship, and fruits of Tripurā, now, desiring to teach its particulars, [the author] first describes in two verses the greatness of the first seed syllable, which exists threefold through the distinction of nāda, bindu, and bīja, and whose deity is situated threefold through the distinction of formless, with form and formless, and with form:

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That subtle measure which rivals the rising of a slender, gleaming shoot of a cucumber vine,
stationed always in your first vāgbhava seed syllable—that we meditate upon as you.
Knowing her thus as the power Kuṇḍalinī, resolved upon the activity of generating the universe,
men do not again suffer the state of an embryo in a mother's womb. || 2

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‘That subtle measure’: by the first of these two, he describes the fruit of worshiping the bindu along with subtle sound and along with its deity to be nothing less than the severance of all sins. Although the severance of sins was taught in the previous verse as the result of the Tripurā-

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mantra in general, nevertheless this beginning is undertaken to consider the specific fruits; thus it is taught that liberation alone is the fruit of worshiping the bindu along with subtle sound. The vocative address ‘O Goddess’ is to be supplied here as well from the subsequent verse. She is called Goddess (devī) because she sports within herself alone through the fivefold cosmic activities characterized by the creation, maintenance, dissolution, concealment, and grace of the universe, or because she consists of self-luminous consciousness; hence the address to her. Or, Goddess means she who is the undivided reflective awareness of the ‘I’ that is the essential nature of the God, the Great Lord who consists solely of self-luminosity and is the inner Self of all. Or, Goddess means she who illuminates, by virtue of entry into her own light in the form of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, the artificial cognizers characterized by void, intellect, vital breath, and body, as well as the objects contained within them such as pleasure, pain, blue, and yellow, along with their cognitions. ‘In yours’: belonging to you, concerning you. ‘In the first vāgbhava seed syllable’: in the seed syllable named vāgbhava, situated in the four-petaled mūlādhāra within the center of the yoni among the nine yonis at the pericarp of the lotus, having a triangular form. ‘Stationed’: existing in its center, consisting of bindu with subtle sound. ‘That subtle measure’: the kalā. ‘Which rivals the rising of a slender, gleaming shoot of a cucumber vine’: ‘cucumber vine’ is the urvāru creeper; ‘the rising of a slender, gleaming shoot’ is the emergence of its tendril, an emergent, curved, fine filament; ‘rivaling’ means resembling, having a similar form and consisting of light; she who is renowned in the treatises as the power Kuṇḍalinī. ‘Her, resolved upon the activity of generating the universe’: having the nature of Parā, Paśyantī, and so forth, producing the phenomenal universe of words and meanings by way of the fifty phonemes. ‘Always’: even at all three times of worship. ‘Knowing’: having worshiped her as one's own Self. ‘Men do not again suffer’: do not undergo ‘the state of an embryo situated in a mother's womb’, because they have themselves attained the state of being the father and mother of the universe. ‘Thus we meditate’: we determine with certainty. ‘We’: we who are devoted to you. || 2

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Having thus stated that liberation is the fruit of worshiping the bindu along with subtle sound, he states by the argument ‘how much more so’ (kaimutikanyāya) that the fruit of worshiping the seed syllable is mastery of speech, the supreme means for bringing about knowledge, which is its instrument:

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Having seen a terrifying object, even if someone suddenly cries out ‘ai, ai’
due to an involuntary impulse, O Bestower of boons, without even the bindu on the syllable,

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even for him, O Goddess, as soon as your grace swiftly descends, words pouring forth
a liquid stream of nectar in beautiful verses will surely issue from the hollow of his mouth! || 3

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‘Having seen a terrifying’: she is called ‘Bestower of boons’ because she gives the entire wealth of desired objects to the practitioner; the vocative form is ‘O Bestower of boons!’ ‘In this world’: in this mundane realm. ‘By whichever man, suddenly’: unexpectedly. ‘Having seen a terrifying object’: such as a snake. ‘Due to an involuntary impulse’: due to another intention, even from a cause like fear. ‘Even without the bindu, the first syllable is uttered as “ai, ai”’: even for him, once your grace has occurred,

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‘For fire surely burns even when touched unintentionally,’

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according to this rule, once the descent of your glance has occurred; ‘swiftly’: instantly. ‘Words pouring forth a liquid stream of nectar in beautiful verses’: ‘beautiful verses’ are statements endowed with poetic qualities and exceedingly sweet, and these are themselves the liquid stream of nectar; discharging that, thus described. Words of such nature issue forth, manifesting spontaneously from the cavity of the mouth. ‘Surely’: this is certain. The implication is: how much more so for one who practices the complete seed syllable according to the ritual rules with that single desire! || 3

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Intending that even a single portion of the second seed syllable bestows eloquence, how much more so the whole of it, he says:

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O Eternal One! If some rare wise man on earth understands that other seed syllable of your mantra,
the kāmarāja, even when formless, bestows the grace of Sarasvatī—
that syllable which the twice-born pronounce distinctly at the beginning of the narrative of Satyatapas,
which they recite on every new-moon day, after bringing it to intimate union with the syllable oṃ… || 4

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‘O Eternal One!’: O Eternal One, whose consciousness is uninterrupted by the three divisions of time! ‘Which kāmarāja’: that which bears the name kāmarāja. ‘That other, second seed syllable of your mantra’. ‘Formless’: even when devoid of the consonants ‘ka’ and ‘la’. If someone on earth understands that it ‘bestows the grace of Sarasvatī’: that it confers the grace of Sarasvatī, that person, even if rare, insignificant, or a child, becomes a wise sage. Why? ‘Reciting the narrative of the sage Satyatapas on every parvan day’: on every new moon; that syllable which the twice-born…

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Regarding "craving the abode of the praṇava": in that beginning where the praṇava itself is the abode, the foundation, craving it, that is, dependent upon it, having reduced [it] to "īṃ," making it consist of only that much form, they utter it clearly and loudly. Because it has the same meaning and purpose as the praṇava, its result is determined to be the realization of the truth of Tripura-Sarasvatī; this is what is stated. And likewise the Śruti [states]: "He who has abandoned his companion that knows with him has no share even in speech; whatever he hears, he hears in vain, for he does not know the path of virtuous action." The meaning of this is: even in speech, that is, in a specific seed syllable of a mantra, [the companion] that knows with him, that is, is inhering, eternally related; the companion, which equally declares, proclaims a specific meaning, that companion which is a phoneme recited in unity and devoted to a single meaning—whoever has abandoned, deserts [it], his share, the fruit belonging to the reciters of that, is not, does not come to be at all. Illustrating that very point, it shows: "whatever," etc. He who hears this form of the phoneme "īṃ," receives it from the teacher, if he hears it as "alaka," that is, devoid of the letters "ka" and "la," that is, receives it only as "īṃ" in the nature of a mantra, then he does not know, does not experience, the path, that is, the way, the fruit characterized by subjugating the three worlds, belonging to virtuous action, that is, merit born of the recitation of the kāmabīja. Rather, he would only be liberated from the bondage characterized by the perception of the entire dualistic phenomenal world. Since this has the same meaning as the praṇava, having the same fruit is inevitable. And that it has the same meaning is determined from the fact that at the beginning of the narrative of Satyatapas, in place of the tāra (oṃkāra), this very [seed syllable] is installed by all the brāhmaṇas. And the praṇava is taught by the Upaniṣad as having liberation as its sole fruit and the reality of the self as its sole object: "Meditate upon the Self thus as Om; cast away other words; this is the bridge to immortality." Alternatively: if he hears "īṃ" without the "la" and "ka," then he does not know, that is, does not consider high or esteem, the path of virtuous action, of all merit, even the status of Brahmā, Indra, Rudra, and the rest; the meaning is that he experiences the bliss of Brahman right here by himself. Or else, he does not know even the path of virtuous action, what then to say of the path of wrongdoing? Devoid of both together with their fruits, he becomes liberated—this is the meaning.

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"Upon the cessation of demerit and merit, which the tranquil ascetics, / fearless of rebirth, attain—homage to that whose essence is liberation."

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Thus [it is said]. Alternatively, if he hears this "īṃ" without [the consonants "ka" and "la"], then, of one who has virtuous action, whose sacrifices, donations, and austerities are excellent, whose good deeds have all borne fruit,

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no one here knows the path, the track, the way of movement, the bodily existence or conduct; the meaning is that this person becomes of unprecedented vision. According to the Śruti: "All that comes together in him, whatever good creatures do, he who knows that which he knows." All rituals have the knowledge of Brahman as their fruit. And the intention is that this arises for the practitioner of this right here [in this life], since hearing, reflecting, and meditating on the Vedānta have visible results. And the Smṛti [states]:

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"Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection; / even of those who strive and have attained perfection, scarcely one knows Me in truth."

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Thus [verse] 4.

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Now he states the fruit of the worship of the third seed syllable:

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That third seed syllable of Yours, possessing moon-like radiance, whose efficacy in instantly producing eloquence / is perceived by the wise, I bow to with my mind. / May "aur" also, following Sarasvatī, be for the destruction of the waters of dullness; / the word "gauḥ" is situated in speech; that which brings attainment without "ga" is invariable. (5)

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"That," etc. The address "O eternal one!" is to be supplied here as well. Which "instantly," in no time at all, "in producing eloquence," in producing poetic composition, "whose efficacy is perceived by the wise," whose power has been witnessed; and which possesses moon-like radiance, expressing a luminous form similar to that moonlight; "that third seed syllable of Yours," I bow to that at all times. For what purpose? To this he states: "may it be," etc. The analysis of the words is: "may auḥ for you also, following Sarasvatī, be for the destruction of the waters of dullness; the word gauḥ is situated in speech; that which brings attainment without ga is invariable." That which, becoming the word "gauḥ," is situated in speech, Sarasvatī, invariably, being regularly its signifier, and which, without "ga," the letter "ga," brings attainment, becomes a specific mantra that grants the grace of Sarasvatī;

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due to the teacher's statement: "The four diphthongs are mantras accomplishing all aims."

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By the word "vaḥ" (of you), the second-person pronoun, the Goddess is understood. Belonging to you (vaḥ), following Sarasvatī, belonging to the third seed syllable of Yours, that "auḥ",

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may the word "aur" also be for us for the destruction of the waters of dullness, for the destruction of the flood of delusion. The imperative is used in the sense of the optative. And the optative is used in command: with the certainty of the mind that it must inevitably take place. And with the letter "sa" included, what more need be said?—this also is the meaning. Thus, by the four verses beginning with "yā mātrā," [the seed syllables] have been taught individually and in purity: aiṃ, īṃ, auḥ. I do not resort to the third seed syllable having only poetry as its fruit, because that is an incidental fruit; rather, I resort to it as having the cessation of ignorance, which is the seed of all calamity, as its fruit—this is the intention. (5)

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Now, how should these seed syllables be recited, with what desires, and by whom? To this he states:

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Each single, flawless seed syllable of Yours, O Goddess, with consonant or without consonant, / gathered into a kūṭa, or separately placed in sequence, or set in reverse order— / aiming at whatever desire, by whatever rule, or even by any manner, contemplated / or recited, swiftly fulfills that and all of it for men. (6)

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[On the words] "Each one" (ekaikam): O Goddess, each single seed syllable belonging to you, with consonants or without consonants, or either with consonants or without consonants; even when with consonants, whether compound [in combinations] of two and so forth or joined with six consonants; there too, whether separately or not separately; even when not separate, whether arranged in regular order, or else situated in inverted order; having in view whatever desire, such as dharma and the rest; by whatever procedure—by an injunction, or in the order of the nyāsa of the limbs, seers, and so on, or in the order of merely remembering the sandals of the revered guru, or indeed without performing anything at all; recited in its own form, meditated upon in the form of the deity denoted by it, or contemplated in a formless manner, in a manner both with form and formless, or in a manner with form; of men—of all human beings, even of women, Śūdras, and so forth, not merely of Brāhmaṇas, wandering ascetics, and the like; whatever desire, the desired object; all, completely; swiftly, in this very life, recited or meditated upon, makes fruitful—this is stated with the intention of the oneness of mantra and deity. As the scripture states:

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"Contemplating the oneness of the deities, the gurus, and the mantras with oneself,"

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and so forth. The reason for everyone's eligibility is [given by the word] "flawless" (anagham). The meaning is that, because it is inherently pure like the water of the Bhāgīrathī, it is fitting to be resorted to by all. Here, four pure varieties have been stated previously, and the six beginning with Kalasundarī have been revealed. Among them, through the divisions ending with pure bindu and so on,

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there is a fourfold nature; thus there are twenty-four varieties. There too, in the four combinations of two and so forth, there is a twofold nature by the division into sādi and hādi; thus their varieties are eightfold. And among them, each has a fourfold variety; thus there are forty. And the pure varieties are four. Therefore there are forty-four mantras. Among them, when reciting the three seed syllables separately, there is no consideration of order or disorder. Of the seed syllables of Bālā and the rest, each has a fourfold nature by division into pure and so forth. In the combinations of two and so forth, the state of being hādi and the state of being sādi are also to be grasped there individually. When there is collective recitation, then in projection the recitation is in order; in withdrawal and maintenance, it is out of order. There, when ending with the last, first, and first seed syllables, it is withdrawal; when ending with the second seed syllable, it is maintenance. Intending this very point, the knowers of antiquity have said:

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"First, first, and not first; middle, middle, and not middle; / last, last, and not last—Tripurā quickly grants accomplishment."

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And:

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"Ādinātha is said to be the seer of these, and Laipeya the meter; / the deity is the goddess Tripurā; the sixfold limbs are [formed] by their own [syllables] uttered twice.

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For those desiring dharma, speech, and accomplishment, the order in recitation should be projection; / for those seeking wealth and desire, the order of maintenance has been sung by the wise in recitation.

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For all who desire liberation, however, the order of withdrawal is declared; / they also know this principle in the rule for the nyāsa of the syllables of the mantra."

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"Aiṃ, O egg-born Goddess, bliss born of the limbs! Nu hi ka ri, I worship the command. Aiṃ, salutation to the supreme lineage of the revered guru's sandals. Klīṃ, to the non-supreme; sauḥ, to the supreme-non-supreme. Aiṃ, O lord Anantānandanātha! O goddess Anantānandanāthī! Salutation to the sandals of the revered guru. Klīṃ, O lord Avatāranātha! O goddess Avatāranāthī! Salutation to the sandals of the revered guru. Sauḥ, O lord Śrīsiddhanātha! O goddess Śrīsiddhanāthī! Salutation to the sandals of the revered guru." Again, endowed with the words "lord" and "goddess" for the sandals of the supreme guru. Again, "the sandals of one's own guru"; thus nine sandals of the revered guru are to be known here. "Aiṃ, salutation to the two red feet. Sauḥ, salutation to the two white feet. Klīṃ, salutation to the two red-and-white feet. Aiṃ klīṃ sauḥ, salutation to the two mixed red-and-white feet." Thus, the secret tetrad of feet

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having remembered on the head at the end of the sandals of the revered guru, in the left, right, middle, and uppermost places in the pericarp of the thousand-petaled lotus located in the dvādaśānta, and having placed [them]; having bowed to Gaṇeśa in the mūlādhāra and to the Goddess with her retinue in the heart with the root mantra; having performed the purification of the palms, the three claps, the tying of the directions, and the rampart of fire with the weapon mantra; having placed the seed syllables of Bālā in the navel, the heart, and the eyebrow center; having touched the heart and repeated it four times; having made the self-protection at the end, saying: "O revered queen of Tripurā, protect myself!"; having performed three breath-controls repeated three, six, and twelve times with the root seed syllables in the order of exhalation and the rest; having pervaded four times with the combined and separate root seed syllables; having produced the tetrad of bodies—the general, the causal, the subtle, and the gross—which have as their sole ultimate reality the egg of power, the egg of māyā, the egg of prakṛti, and the egg of earth; having placed the mātṛkā enclosed by the root [mantra] in direct and reverse order:

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"Then from the navel to the feet, from the heart to the navel, / and from the head to the heart: in this order / let one place with the three seed syllables; and on the palm of the hand called left / and right, a pair; and the third on both.

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On the head, the secret place, the heart, the triad of eyes, the two ears, the mouth, / on the two shoulders, the back, the two elbows, and the orb of the navel, let one place."

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Having placed the syllables of the mantra on the body according to the order taught by the teacher, and having placed the hexad of limbs and the triad of the seer and so forth; having remembered: "Aiṃ is the seed syllable, sauḥ is the power, klīṃ is the pin; the application is for the purpose of achieving the grace of the goddess Śrī Tripurā"; having performed the installation of life-breath, saying: "Āṃ hrīṃ kroṃ ya ra […] may the vital breaths of the goddess Śrī Tripurā be the vital breaths here; thus may the individual soul of the goddess Śrī Tripurā be situated here; thus may all the senses of the goddess Śrī Tripurā—speech, mind, eye, ear, smell, and breaths—having arrived right here, abide happily for a long time, svāhā, haṃsaḥ saṃ laṃ"; having formed the gestures of the rosary, book, protection, and boon, saying: "Salutation to the rosary, to the book, to protection, to the boon-giver"; having assumed the yoni gesture with "aiṃ"; having meditated, having worshipped according to rule with sixteen or five mental offerings; having made an offering to Brahman with the mantra of offering to Brahman, and an offering of the self with the mantra of offering the self; having attained oneness through the root mantra, having oneself become the form of the deity; having taken the rosary received from the guru, anointed with fragrant scent and well-fumigated, one should perform the recitation of the mantra. And that recitation is threefold, through the division into voiced, whispered, and mental. As it is said:

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"When one pronounces the mantra with the voice with clear sound, words, and syllables, / in high, low, and circumflex tones, that sacrifice of recitation is voiced.

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One should pronounce the mantra slowly, slightly moving the lips; / one oneself should perceive a slight sound: that recitation is remembered as whispered."

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"Meditation that follows the string of syllables, from letter to letter and from word to word, / [and consists in] repeated reflection upon the word and its meaning—that is called mental recitation."

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Thus. Then, at the end of recitation, having contemplated the Goddess separately, as if in front of oneself:

"O protector of the most secret of secrets, accept the recitation performed by me! / May there be accomplishment for me, O Goddess, through your grace, O you who abide in the heart!"

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Offering the recitation at the feet of the Goddess with this mantra, one should perform three breath-controls, three pervasive touches, and the nyāsa of limbs, seers, and so forth. This is the general summary of the recitation of the mantra of Tripurā. Its detailed explanation, however, is to be sought elsewhere. May there be auspiciousness. [Verse] 6.

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Regarding the question, "Contemplated or recited—in what manner should the contemplation be done?", since the formless nature has been taught as consisting of light and consisting of speech, and because the nature with form and formlessness together has been taught in [the verse beginning] "like Indra's [rainbow]", he teaches the remaining form of the Goddess that is with form in five verses, beginning with "on the left".

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"Holding a book in the left [hand], granting fearlessness, with a rosary in the right, / her hands gracious in bestowing boons on devotees, radiant as camphor and jasmine, / gazing with a soft radiance from eyes having the splendor of blossoming lotus petals— / those who do not cherish you with their mind, O Mother, whence could poetic power come to them?"

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"On the left" and so forth. O Mother! O Mother of the universe! Those who do not cherish you with the mind, [that is,] do not meditate on you, and do not recite your mantra with speech—whence would poetic power, [that is,] visionary insight and omniscience, come to them? From nowhere. But for those who do cherish you, whence could there be an absence of poetic power? What kind of you? In four hands: on the left, from above to below in order, holding a book and granting fearlessness, [that is,] holding the gesture of fearlessness; on the right, with a rosary, her hands gracious in granting boons to devotees, [that is,] holding a rosary of crystals and holding the boon-granting gesture; radiant as camphor and jasmine, [that is,] shining brilliantly like camphor and like jasmine; gazing with a soft radiance from eyes having the splendor of blossoming lotus petals: "blossoming" means blooming,

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opening; the lotus endowed with that—the splendor of its petal, [that is,] its inner petal; those whose eyes have a splendor like that, their glance, [that is,] looking or seeing, which is soft, [that is,] moist with the fluid of compassion, and full of radiance—she who possesses that. She is adorned with purely white garments, ointments, and garlands, and bears a crescent moon held in the mass of her matted hair—thus it should be understood. [Verse] 7.

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Having thus explained the form to be meditated upon that is common to the three seed syllables, as well as the fruit of attending upon it characterized by omniscience, he now describes the specific form to be meditated upon and its fruit in the dvādaśānta, mūlādhāra, and heart lotus according to the order of śakti, kāmarāja, and vāgbhava:

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"Those who meditate upon you abiding at the crown of the head, possessing a clear and lovely splendor like a cluster of white lotuses, / showering, as it were, the head with streams of nectar— / from within their mouths, unceasingly, with open and distinct letters and words, / speech issues forth, O Bhāratī, like the tossing waves and billows of the river of the gods!"

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"Those who... like a white [lotus]" and so forth. O Bhāratī! Those who meditate on you abiding at the crown of the head, from within their mouth, unceasingly, [that is,] without effort, speech issues forth; like the tossing waves and billows of the river of the gods: "river of the gods" means the Gaṅgā; like its billows, [meaning] its large waves, and its tossed, [meaning] restless, waves, [that is,] currents. What kind of speech? Having open and distinct letters and words: having blossoming, [that is,] uncontracted, distinct letters, and words capable of expressing their respective meanings, composed of exceedingly serene letters—such is what is meant. Meditating [upon her] of what color? Possessing a clear and lovely splendor like a cluster of white lotuses: having a splendor that is clear, [meaning] white, and lovely, [meaning] delightful, like a cluster of white lotuses, [that is,] like a heap of white water-lilies. Engaged in what action? Showering, as it were, the head of the practitioner with streams of nectar flowing from her own body. The word "as it were" (iva) is an ornament of the phrase.

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"At the crown of the head, one should meditate on her whose form is radiant with book, rosary, boon-granting, and the rest, / who is of the nature of Śiva and Śakti, with a splendor white as jasmine and the moon." [Verse] 8.

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Having thus taught the form to be worshipped by those desiring righteousness and other aims through the vāgbhava and other seeds, wishing to teach the form to be meditated upon by those desiring love, he states the specific meditation and fruit of the second seed syllable:

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"Those who, with single-minded attention, behold even for an instant this sky veiled by a mass of vermilion powder through your radiance, / and the earth as if submerged in an expanse of dissolved red lac, / to them women with eyes like frightened fawns, languishing with the fever of the bodiless god of love, surely become subject."

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"Those who... vermilion" and so forth. The vocative "O Bhāratī!" continues from the previous verse.

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"Or, having meditated upon the seed syllable of the god of love residing in the secret place, / red as a hibiscus and streaming with red nectar, and placing the woman to be won within it, / the clever man surely subjugates her."

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Because it is thus graciously stated by the teachers, because it will be said in a later verse here, "those who... in the mind", and because no specific location is mentioned here, it is understood that this is a meditation on the form abiding in the ādhāra lotus. And there is no contradiction between what precedes and what follows; for just as with specific modes of worship, a specific locus is also intended for a specific effect. Previously, the worship of all [three seeds] was stated for the sake of omniscience; now the result of dharma and the rest is stated for each single seed syllable, and thus the distinction is established. Furthermore, the ādhāra lotus is the Kāmagiri seat and the abode of Kāmeśvarī; the Śrīsaubhāgyamārga also reinforces this point. O Bhāratī! Those who, even for an instant, behold this sky, [meaning] the atmosphere, as if veiled by a mass of vermilion powder, and also the earth as if submerged in an expanse of dissolved red lac, [that is,] flooded by a stream of liquid alaktaka—by what? Through your radiance: through the expanse of luster of the holy form of you who are intensely red in color, spread out everywhere. Having done what? Being single-minded, [that is,] having one-pointed minds. Having sat down properly on one's seat, having destroyed defects through breath-controls, having withdrawn the sense faculties along with the mind from their objects—such is the meaning. Or, "single-minded" means those who ascertain through the guru, through scripture, and through experience that their own self is indeed you in that form,

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