Selections from the shAkta upaniShads - 3

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Contributed by Anand Hudli

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Continuing with the selections from the bahvR^ichopaniShad,

 

 

saiva puratrayaM sharIratrayaM vyApya bahirantaravabhAsanyantI

deshakAlavastvantarAsaN^gAnmahAtripurasundarI vai pratyak.h

chitiH || 4 ||

 

 

She alone, having pervaded the three cities, the three bodies,

illuminating inside and outside, and in association with space,

time, and objects, is the MahAtripurasundarI indeed, the Inner

Consciousness.

 

Notes based upaniShad brahma yogin's commentary:

 

1) The previous passage referred to the Goddess as the parA shakti

or Power Supreme, also the vidyAs beginning with ka, ha, and sa,

and as the nirguNa Brahman and being present in the AUM and all

words.

 

The upaniShad now affirms that the devI thus situated is also, by

the Brahman aspect, the inner Consciousness (pratyak chiti) that

illuminates everything.

 

yA-evaM sthitA sA-eva brahmAtmanA sarvAvabhAsaka-pratyakchitir-

bhavet.h

 

2) The three cities, puratrayaM, are the gross, subtle, and causal

bodies (sharIratrayaM) associated with both the individual

(vyaShTi) and cosmic (samaShTi) aspects. The gross body

(sthUla-sharIra), subtle body (sUxma-sharIra) and the causal body

(kAraNa-sharIra) are described in detail in the vivekachUDAmaNi

and other works.

 

3) The devI, as the Power of Consciousness, illuminates externally

the world of names and forms, and internally the various vR^ittis

or activities of the mind. In reality, everything both external and

internal is Consciousness, the Self only. So the commentator says:

 

bahiH nAmarUpavikArajAtaM antaH kAmAdivR^ittisahasraM cha

svAtiriktaM nAstIti prakAshayantI ||

 

4) The three bodies, gross, subtle, and causal, correspond to the

three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep respectively. At

the individual level, the Consciousness, which becomes associated

with the vyaShTi (individual) ajnAna, is called PrAjna, taijasa,

and vishva, in the three states respectively. At the cosmic level,

the same Consciousness is associated with samaShTi (collective)

ajnAna. Corresponding to PrAjna, taijasa, and vishva, are, at the

cosmic level, Ishvara, HiraNyagarbha, and virAT respectively. Thus

it is that all the objects in time and space can be described in the

context of these three bodies or three states of waking, dream, and

sleep.

 

The inner Consciousness is the One that illuminates all the

three states or bodies. So it is the Inner Consciousness that

is said to pervade all these three states of bodies (tripuraM).

By the process of proper knowledge of the Self, the three bodies are

reomoved or taken apart as superimpositions (adhyAropa's) are

removed from the Self.

 

The devI, in the form of the Atma-vidyA, is called the mahA-tripura-

sundarI, because She takes apart (dArayati) excellently (sutarAM)

the three bodies, which are super-imposed on the Self (Atman) as

effects of avidyA, (tripurasundarI) and thus She is great (mahatI).

That tripurasundarI Herself is the Inner Consciousness.

 

 

desha-kAla-vastvantarAsaN^gAt.h samyagjnAnAtmanA tripuraM

sharIratrayaM tadupalaxitAvidyApadatatkAryajAtaM sutarAM

dArayatyapahnavaM karotIti mahatI cha sA tripurasundarI cha

mahAtripurasundarI vai tripurasundaryeva pratyakchitiH ||

 

Anand