Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari(DPDS-79)

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Namaste.

Recall the Note about the organization of the ‘Digest’,

from DPDS – 26 or the earlier ones.

V. Krishnamurthy

A Digest of Paramacharya’s Discourses on Soundaryalahari -

79

(Digest of pp.1287-1295 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume,

4th imprn.)

 

girAm Ahur-devIM druhiNa-gRhiNIM Agamavido

hareH patnIM padmAM hara-saha-carIM adri-tanayAM /

turIyA kApi tvaM duradhigama-nissIma-mahimA

mahAmAyA vishvaM bhramayasi para-brahma-mahishhI //97//

 

Agama-vidaH : Those who know the scriptures

AhuH : declare (You)

girAM devIM : as the Goddess of Speech,

druhiNa-gRhiNIM : the wife of Brahma the Creator

padmAM : (as well) as Lakshmi,

hareH patnIM : the wife of Lord Vishnu

adri-tanayAM : (and as well) as Parvati, the daughter of

Mountain-King,

hara-saha-carIM : the Consort of Lord Shiva.

tvaM : (But) You, (on the other hand),

turIyA : are the fourth (higher than the other three),

kA api : not to be delimited as This or That,

duradhigama-nissIma-mahimA: of unique glory that is both

unfathomable and limitless,

para-brahma-mahishhI : (in fact) the Queen-Consort of the

Absolute brahman

mahA-mAyA : (being) the great Cosmic mAyA

bhramayasi : revolving and compering

vishvaM : the entire universe.

 

The distinctive keyword in this shloka (#97) is the unusual

expression “para-brahma-mahishhI”. All along, the

Soundaryalahari has been saying that the parA-shakti is the

highest with sovereign power. In order to show to the world

their Father and Mother, that Shakti brought in a

Kameshvara and gave him the status of a husband to Her.

That was our understanding. Here the words “Queen-Consort

of the Absolute brahman” have significant connotations. It

means that the para-brahman is the sovereign and ambaal is

next to him, as his wife. The word “mahishhI” means

Queen-Consort. One who herself rules is not called a

“mahishhI”; she would be called “mahA-rAjnI” or

“cakra-vartinI”. ‘rAjA’ and ‘rAjnI’ have the same

connotations, except one is male and the other is female.

So also ‘chakravarti’ and ‘cakravartinI’. But there is no

pair of words ‘mahishha’ and ‘mahishhI’; the King is not

called ‘mahishha’. Actually ‘mahishha’ is an asura who was

in the form of a buffalo! ‘Mahishhi’ is a unique word used

for the Queen-consort, the second in command, of a King.

Corresponding to that meaning of ‘mahishhI’ there is no

male word ‘mahishha’!

 

The stotra began with saying that it is She who makes Him

move. And at several places we have been told that it is

She who is the Agent-Provocateur for every action in the

world. She is the One who takes care of Him even at the

time of dissolution. After all this, when he comes to the

end of the stotra the Acharya winds up with Her as the

dutiful ‘patni’ of Him who is the all-in-all. In fact She

Herself would like it only this way. Is She not the One who

is writing all this poetry through the pen of the Acharya?

 

Now let us go to the rest of the shloka. Though the last

word is “para-brahma-mahishhI”, earlier he mentions

Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati – the Consorts of the

Trinity of Divines –and then only brings in the ParAshakti

that is Kameshvari, the ‘consort’ of the turIyaM that is

brahman. Just in the previous shloka (#96), he had said:

“There are those who have courted and attained Sarasvati

though She is the wife of Brahma. There are all the rich

who are called ‘ShrimAn’, because Shri, that is Lakshmi,

resides with them, though She belongs to Lord Vishnu. But

nobody can fault You as having deserted your husband.

Therefore You are the greatest in chastity!” There is an

implied let-down here of Sarasvati and Lakshmi. The Acharya

clears himself of this let-down, in the present shloka #97.

The Teacher of advaita that he is, he cannot afford to make

distinctions between deities. He is the one who gave all

importance to the name of Sarasvati, by creating Sharada

Pitham and Sringeri where all the worship is for

Sharadambal. The dasha-nAmi classification of renunciates

has two of the categories named as ‘Sarasvati’ and

‘Bharati’; note that no other deity gets into the names of

the dashanAmi’s. In the same way, he was the one who

composed the famous ‘kanaka-dhAra-stavaM’ on Lakshmi. In

fact it was his first composition!

 

So the very first thought of the shloka is to clear any

distinction between deities. It is to ambaa he says “You

are the One who is known as Sarasvati the Goddess of

Speech, and You are the One who is also known as Mother

Lakshmi”. This is not a casual statement from him, says he.

The knowers of the Vedas themselves say so (“AgamaviduH

AhuH”), he adds humbly. And then it is You who is also

Parvati, the wife of Rudra. All are parAshakti. And this is

nothing but advaita. And this advaita prompts him to

mention the turIyam, the Fourth.

 

According to ShAkta philosophy and also according to

Shaivam, there are Divinities for the Five Cosmic

Functions. The Absolute Truth is beyond. Not like this in

advaita. Vedic authentication of advaita comes from

Mandukya Upanishad. The dream state of every jIva is

Creation, the waking state is Sthiti (Sustenation) and the

sleeping state is Dissolution; and that which is still

awake even in that sleep state is the Fourth, that is

brahman. In the same strain, in this shloka, the Acharya

goes to the ‘turIyaM’ after mentioning the three shaktis of

the Trinity; he does not go to the other two of the cosmic

functions.

 

The ‘Shakti of brahman’ is not specially talked about by

him in advaita. Nor can we say it is never talked about.

Right in the commentary of the very first sUtra, in

Brahma-sutra-bhashya, The Acharya, detailing the ‘lakshaNa’

of brahman in the words

“nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta-svabhAvaM” , he adds

“sarvajnaM”; by this addition it is therefore accepted that

this ‘One’ (ekaM) also admits of ‘sarvaM’ ( a multiplicity)

and all that is ‘known’ by This. Later, more explicitly,

he adds another lakshaNa: “sarva-shakti-samanvitaM”

(possessing all powers). Further in the commentary on

II-1-30, “sarvopetA ca tad-darshanAt”, the duality status

is recognised and he says brahman has a varied shakti-yoga.

Here ‘shakti-yoga’ means that which coeexists with shakti.

This is what becomes the “para-brahma-mahishhI” in the

language of ShAktam, as in this shloka of Soundaryalahari.

 

One direct disciple of the Acharya was SarvajnAtman. He

was the last disciple. He is one of the leading exponents

of advaita. Listen to him in ‘Samkshhepa-ShArIrakaM’

III-228, 229. “In Shuddha-advaita there is nothing like

Shakti, leelaa or creation. However, even for those with

such faith, there is a place for karma and upAsana. Seen

from that vyavahAra perspective, the cit (Brahman,

Consciousness) takes a role of shakti and with its inert

mAya-avidyA power, creates the universe”. Yet, in the

advaita works of the Acharya the aim is not to direct

attention to this dance of Shakti. Without giving any

importance to Brahma-shakti, he always discards creation as

the work of mAyA and calls on us to think of the

turiya-brahman beyond. Mostly he does not even refer to the

shakti or energy that is beyond a gender specification.

When that is so, what to talk of Her as the ‘patni’ of

brahman!

 

But the same Acharya, the teacher of brahma-vidyA, now

talks as the teacher of Shri Vidya and shows the way to

those who have a taste in this direction. And the way is

Kameshvari, the ‘para-brahma-mahishhI’. The Shri Vidya

tantra also has the same aim as advaita-sAyujyaM. Thus he

combines the turIya at the goal of the jnAna path of

advaita and the Shiva-Shakti concept in the Bhakti path.

 

Incidentally when he says ‘turIyA’ in the feminine, not

only does that mean the parAshakti beyond the three of

Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati, it also means that ‘turIyA’

is the patni of the ‘turIyaM’ that is brahman.

 

Notice that there is a unification of advaita Vedanta with

ShAktam here. The parAshakti of the ShAkta philosophy is

identified with the mAyA of advaita Vedanta. When it is

spoken of as ‘duradhigama-nissIma-mahimA’ (of unfathomable

and boundless glory) the language is of ShAktam. For in

advaita mAyA is considered to be ‘tuchhaM’ and therefore to

be discarded as an incomprehensible anirvacanIyaM. But here

it is the glorious parAshakti!

 

Our Acharya is matchless when it comes to his role as a

spiritual teacher. In Soundaryalahari he has talked both

advaita and Shri Vidya and has made a beautiful symbiosis

of the two philosophies so as to be palatable, enjoyable

and adaptible to both the Vedantins and the Shri Vidya

followers. And this has been possible because, as I have

told you in the beginning, Shri Vidya is nearest to

advaita, among all schools of thought.

 

In the beginning he talked about the capability of Shakti

making the first prompting that makes Him move. And now at

the end he makes the same Shakti as the prime mover of

everything in the universe: “vishvam bhramayasi”. Naturally

this compering and revolving includes all the motion of the

universe. Krishna in the Gita talked only of the movement

of the living when He said: “bhrAmayan sarva-bhUtAni”. By

that He meant only the movement of the minds of living

beings. But here the Acharya has included the movement of

not only the living (cetana) but also of the non-living

(acetana), by the use of the word “vishvaM”.

 

This mAyA or parAShakti that makes both the living and the

non-living dance to Her tunes, is the same one who as

Mother Goddess graces all of us not only with everything

mundane but finally the very Bliss of brahman (“

parAnanda-rasaM”). This is the content of Shloka 99.

 

 

To be Continued

 

Thus spake the Paramacharya

PraNAms to all advaitins and Devotees of Mother Goddess.

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

Also see the webpages on Paramacharya's Soundaryalahari :

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS.html