bhashyam

November 28, 2006

I am also posting part of the Bhasyam for the 3rd verse by Sankaracharya

“The dust of Thy feet is the Island City, wherefrom takes place the luminous sunrise of spiritual

illumination, driving away the over-casting darkness of ignorance in the hearts of devotees. The same speck of

dust forms the cluster of flower buds, from which gushes forth the nectar of consciousness, enlightening the

dull-witted. To those in the grip of chill penury, these dust particles form a veritable necklace of wish-yielding

Chintamani) gems. And for those drowned in the ocean of earthly, limited existence of births and deaths

Samsara), it forms the tusk of Lord Varaha” – 3

The present verse is a continuation of the adoration of the dust of Sridevi’s lotus-feet, described in the previous

verse. The importance of the dust to the cosmic functioning of the universe has been brought out in the previous

Shloka. In the present one, how the dust impels ignorance (Avidya), dullness, poverty and attachment to worldly life in

the case of mortals, is described.

When the sun does not shine, the world is shrouded in darkness. Light is essential for making things around us

perceivable. So also ignorance (Avidya i.e. lack of knowledge of the supreme Paramatman) envelops the soul and

makes man incapable of knowing the reality of the soul (Jiva) and its identity with the supreme Brahman. At dawn, to a

person standing on the seashore, the sun seems to rise from an island in the middle of the sea. As the sun rises,

darkness is dispelled and the entire world becomes active. The dust on Amba’s feet is here seen as the spiritual sun

that dispels ignorance and promotes true knowledge. In the second line of the Shloka, Chaitanya, which is the power

that kindles the mind to know and understand the reality of Jiva, is spoken of as a cluster of flowers of Kalpaka tree. Thetree here actually means Atma Jnana. In the next line, reference is made to the celestial gem Chintamani, which is capable of granting all desires of its possessor. The speck of dust of Amba’s feet grants man’s earthly desires and spiritual aspirations too. It may be noted that the abode of Devi is Chintamani Griharaja and her Maya Bija is also called Chaitanya mantra. The last line draws a comparison between the particle of dust of Amba’s feet and the tusk of

‘Muraripu’. Mura, a demon, was killed by Krishna and consequently Bhagavan Vishnu got the epithet ‘Muraripu’. In this

context, it refers to the incarnation of Vishnu as Varaha, the wild boar. A demon named Hiranyaksha stole Bhudevi

(earth personified as a goddess) and disappeared with her into the nether world (Patala). At that time, Lord Vishnu

incarnated as a huge wild boar, reached Patala, killed the demon and redeemed the earth from him and rose above the

sea with the earth in his tusk. Even so, the dust of Amba’s feet can salvage human beings from the cycle of births and

deaths and lead them to eternal bliss. This verse connotes the importance of the worship of Amba’s holy feet, for those

who desire worldly happiness and also for those who desire to shed off the inner darkness of Avidya to obtain the

knowledge of the Self and the consequent attainment of liberation or Moksha – the supreme goal of mankind. Thus it is

rightly said: “Where there is enjoyment, there is no liberation. The vive versa is also true. But for the worshippers of

Tripurasundari, both enjoyment and liberation become easily available”. Thus, to those who lack the knowledge of the

atman, Amba dispels ignorance; to the dull-witted, she grants discriminatory powers and to the needy she bestows

much more than what they desire for. Eventually, she is the resurrector from worldly bondages. It is rightly said in the

scriptures:This verse is indicative of the Kamaraja mantra that is to be meditated upon by the votaries of Srividya. The verse also encodes the Shatkoota Vaishnavi Vidya (the form of Srividya worshipped by Mahavishnu) and the Nandikeshwara Vidya (the form of Srividya propagated by Nandikeshwara). The Kamaraja Matrika should be meditated upon as effulgent with the radiance of myriads of morning suns, holding in her four hands the rosary of crystal beads,

the sugarcane bow, Cupid’s five arrows and the Holy Writ, as having three eyes and wearing the crescent moon as her

crest-jewel. The Dhyana of Sridevi in the form of Kamaraja Matrika is as follows:

bAlArkakoTiruchirAM sphaTikAkShamAlAm

kodaNDamikShujanitaM smarapa~nchabANAn .

vidyAM cha hastakamalairdadhatiiM trinetrAM

dhyAyetsamastajananIM navachandrachUDAm ..

This Shloka is also indicative of the great Vagbhava Maha Bija. This Bija is composed of ‘a’, the first letter of the Rig

Veda, ‘a’, that of Sama Veda and ‘i’, that of Yajur Veda, constructed as Aim with the nasal Ardhamatra of the

Upanishads. This Trayimayi Maha Vidya has the virtues of dispelling Avidya or ignorance with the first ‘a’, of removing

Jadatva or non-sentience with the second ‘a’, and of bestowing one’s heart’s desires with ‘i’ and Kaivalya with the Ardha

Matra, representing the essence of the Upanishads.

As the internal darkness, accumulated during numberless births, is so intense as to occupy every nook and

corner of the mind of the person harboring it. Hence, the word ‘Mihira’ (meaning ‘Sun’) in the first verse may actually

refer to the twelve Adityas rising simultaneously with all their effulgence from their island abode, so as to drive away

even the smallest vestige of such darkness. The twelve Adityas are: Dhatr, Mitra, Aryaman, Rudra, Varuna, Surya,

Bhaga, Vivaswat, Pushan, Savitr, Tvastr and Vishnu. The ‘ignorant’ that the Shloka refers to are those who are not

possessed of Vidya. It refers to those who simply indulge in the observance of Jyotishtoma and other rituals according

to the rules prescribed in the Karma Kanda without any effort to acquire the liberating knowledge. The ignorant are also

those who are under the delusion that the world entirely depends on Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra or the three Gunas

Satva, rajas and Tamas, while in reality, it hangs on the mercy of Amba, whose dependents these three Gods are.

The first line of the stanza implies that the Devi dispels the darkness of those covered in Avidya by imparting the

true knowledge of Ishwara. The second line indicates the dispelling of the ignorance of the Sankhyas who believe that