Kamakalavilasa 26

26

The seed, that is, the yoni, the cause, of the moving and unmoving—that is, the animate and inanimate—that are yet to be, that will come into being: this is the meaning. Objection: Just as Śiva's being the creator of the world is not tenable without divine power, so too the supreme power cannot be a cause without Paramaśiva; how then is it said that she is "the seed of the moving and unmoving yet to be"? To this he replies: "the spotless mirror for the reflective awareness of Śiva's nature." Śiva's essential nature is characterized as "I"; reflective awareness of it is the reflective apprehension, the knowledge whose form is "I"; in making that shine forth, she is a spotless mirror, that is, skillful in fully illuminating it: this is the meaning. Just as some exceedingly handsome king, having closely observed his own reflection on the surface of a pure mirror placed before him, knows that reflection as "I", so too the Supreme Lord, closely contemplating his own divine power, which is subordinate to him, realizes his own true nature. (2)