Soundarya Lahiri--verse 7

[Guest guest]

kvanatkanchi dama karikalabha kumbhastana nata

parikshine madhye parinata sarac-candra vadana

dhanurbanan pasam srunimapi dadhana karatalaih

purastadastam nah puramadhitu-raho purishika

(with) the musical tones of an ornamental girdle around a slim waist; a face like a full moon in clear autumnal sky; holding in the hands a bow, arrows, noose and a goad;

you are the supreme, indivisible power that reigns in the heart of the conqueror of pura;

and Oh(mother) ! you are the cause of (his) manliness and power

In this verse and following one, Adi Sankara elaborates on the nature of shakti. She is the unitary power that that commands all. She is energy not contained in a particular form and infinite in time and space. But for the worshipper, she is the consort of Siva. She is the classically beautiful woman of the hills with bells jingling on her waist ornament. She is the huntress who carries weapons. In some accounts, Siva and Parvati are described as hunters in jungles, wearing clothes and ornaments typical of the hilly/jungle inhabitants of India. The goad(sruni) she holds is significant. Sruni specifically, is the spiked stick used to control elephants. This is the means she uses to goad and control the mighty form of Siva. She is the undisputed master of his inner self. The devotee however should contemplate on her as the wife of Siva, mother of Kumara and Ganesha living in Kailas, served by powerful and fierce warriors and with great sages chanting hymns in praise of

Siva-parvati. She is the perfection of female form. She is the one to whom women pray to grant a long life to their husbands and as goddess of chastity. She protects the Haldi and Kumkum ( a symbol of conjugal bliss) of women. She is the mother in the eternal pair of parents of these worlds.

The word "nah" in the last line has the same meaning as in Gayatri mantra. It emphasises forcefully a unision, an undivided totality. And "Purishika" conveys the domination of Devi like " Bhargo Devasya Dimahi " in the same mantra.

The intricacy of Soundarya Lahiri lies in the detailed description of beautiful feminine form, from head to toes starting with verse 42.

Groups of women do Soundarya Lahiri Parayanam, happily chanting verses giving an intimate description of this form. They have no hesitation as they can easily imagine them selves as women serving a queen. Women in a queen's palace, bathe her, dress her and decorate her adoring and singing in praise of her divine female beauty while performing their tasks.

Sanskrit poets too were never diffident about description of women and eroticism even in devotional poetry. It is just the excellence of poetry that mattered. Similarly in sculpture.

There are some people who see a contradiction in a Sanyasi(monk) writing about female beauty. A great poet need not directly experience something he is writing about. The poet( Tennyson?) did not see the " Charge of the Light Brigade " but still wrote one of the best poems in English. He used his imagination which is a gift of the poets. The descriptions given by Sankara are standard part of Sanskrit poetry including various puranas etc. Being an unsurpassed scholar who mastered all knowledge and literature existing in his time, he may have borrowed them from other poets and converted in his own style. This happens all the time in literature Similarly, in his philosophical works he had distilled and presented the essence of an ancient knowledge dating back to vedic times. There fore there is no need to be defensive and invent elaborate explanations for this contradiction.

One can i) enjoy the poetry ii) enjoy the music, since musicians have already set the verses into beautiful classical Ragas iii) chant or

iv) do upasana as per methods prescribed by authentic souces and a good teacher/initiator

Yantra is a simple square with Bijakshara KLEEM in the centre.

Expected result of upasana is relief from pressure , harassment or threat from enemies/competitors.

 

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[Guest guest]

, venkat bhasksr

<sitam_subba wrote:

>

> kvanatkanchi dama karikalabha kumbhastana nata

> parikshine madhye parinata sarac-candra vadana

> dhanurbanan pasam srunimapi dadhana karatalaih

> purastadastam nah puramadhitu-raho purishika

>

 

May the great Pride (incarnate) of the Vanquisher of the (three)

Pura-s, with a jingling girdle, (slightly) bent (under the weight

of) the breasts resembling the frontal globes of a young elephant,

slim in the waist, with a face (bright) like the autumnal fullmoon,

and wielding a bow, arrows, a noose and a goad with Her hands, stand

forth before us!

 

The great Pride (incarnate) of the Vanquisher of the (three) Pura-s—

According to DiNDima, a commentary, Siva is very fond of worshipping

in this form the Devi, to whom he is so devoted. AhopurusikA—the

Samskrt equivalent of' `Pride', may be construed in two different

ways; `Aho' is the interjection indicating surprise, `Purusa' is the

PratyagAtman, which is the same as the `Aham', `I'. Hence the

abstract noun from the compound formed would mean `the Pride

incarnate,' which, being of the redoubtable MahAdeva, is the `great

Pride incarnate'; or `Aho' means the `Atman', `I', which

with `Purusa' would mean, `verily, I am the Purusa `; hence' Aho-

purusikã', means `the state of being such Purusa possessed of the

self-consciousness indicative of having the Sakti as his Devi.' Pura-

mathitr-----is Siva who is the vanquisher of the three Pura-s; this

may also be construed as `the extractor of the three syllables,'

forming the Tripurã.-bija, `Aim Klim Sauh', which, according to the

RudrayAmala, the great god extracted as the essence, after churning

the Samskrt Alphabet therefor, even as one churns the curds for the

extraction of butter.

 

The coupling of the words `Pura-mathituh' and `AhopurusikA,' in a

way, indicates the necessity for the worship of the two conjointly,

so beautifully elaborated in the first stanza. Jingling—so as to be

heard in the heart-lotus of the meditating Yogin. Wielding a bow,

etc.—The Devi carries in her lower left arm the sugar- cane bow with

a string of bees, in her lower right arm the five arrows of Kamala,

Raktakairava, KahlAra, IndIvara, and Sahakãra flowers; in her upper

left arm the PAsa, noose, shining like coral, and in her upper right

arm the Añkusa, goad, shining like the crescent.

 

These weapons of the Dcvi are said to assume the Sthüla (gross), the

Süksma (Mantramaya), and the Para (Vasanãmaya) forms. The first of

these has been indicated above. As for the subtle form assumed by

them, the bow is of the form of the syllable `tham' the five arrows

of the forms of `DrAm', `DrIm', `Klim', `BlUm' and `Sah', the PAsa

of' `HrIm' and the Añkusa of `Krom'. As for the PararUpa in the form

of VãsanA, the bow is the Manas, the five arrows are the five

Tanmãtra-s, sound, touch, etc., passions constitute the PAsa, while

anger is the Añkua. Before us—i.e. in our Hrdaya-kamala; moving from

the ManipUra on to the AnAhata of the heart-lotus, while we are in

the act of meditating on the Devi. The resplendent form of the Devi

is of three aspects, gross, subtle and of the form of Vasanã. The

Sthüla form has been described above; the SUksma aspect is of the

form of the PaNcadasAksarI or the SodasAksarI, as the case may be;

and the Para aspect is the Kundalini-sakti itself. The esoteric

significance of this stanza is that Siva, the PrakAsa, becomes

conscious of himself, only when reflected in the Devi, the

VimarsAmsa.

 

>From this stanza is said to be derived the VaSinIbija, `blUm `,

thus: `b' from the word `BAnAn', `1' from `Karatalaih', `ü'

from `Pura-mathituh', and the Bindu from `AstAm'.

 

 

The Ocean of Beauty. Saundarya-Lahari of Sri Samkara Bhagavatpada

Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri and T.R. Srinivasa Ayyangar

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

Why is the bow of sugar cane? This could not make an effective weapon,

could it? And with the string of bees, well this must be symbolic

rather than actual.

 

Why the string of bees? It would seem that the most effective aspect

of the bee is her sting. Why not an arrow of bees? Would not the

string of bees sting the fingertips of the Divine archer here?

 

I have seen this written of before and must confess my confusion.

 

pr

 

, "NMadasamy" <nmadasamy wrote:

>

> , venkat bhasksr

> <sitam_subba@> wrote:

> >

> > kvanatkanchi dama karikalabha kumbhastana nata

> > parikshine madhye parinata sarac-candra vadana

> > dhanurbanan pasam srunimapi dadhana karatalaih

> > purastadastam nah puramadhitu-raho purishika

> >

>

> May the great Pride (incarnate) of the Vanquisher of the (three)

> Pura-s, with a jingling girdle, (slightly) bent (under the weight

> of) the breasts resembling the frontal globes of a young elephant,

> slim in the waist, with a face (bright) like the autumnal fullmoon,

> and wielding a bow, arrows, a noose and a goad with Her hands, stand

> forth before us!

>

> The great Pride (incarnate) of the Vanquisher of the (three) Pura-s—

> According to DiNDima, a commentary, Siva is very fond of worshipping

> in this form the Devi, to whom he is so devoted. AhopurusikA—the

> Samskrt equivalent of' `Pride', may be construed in two different

> ways; `Aho' is the interjection indicating surprise, `Purusa' is the

> PratyagAtman, which is the same as the `Aham', `I'. Hence the

> abstract noun from the compound formed would mean `the Pride

> incarnate,' which, being of the redoubtable MahAdeva, is the `great

> Pride incarnate'; or `Aho' means the `Atman', `I', which

> with `Purusa' would mean, `verily, I am the Purusa `; hence' Aho-

> purusikã', means `the state of being such Purusa possessed of the

> self-consciousness indicative of having the Sakti as his Devi.' Pura-

> mathitr-----is Siva who is the vanquisher of the three Pura-s; this

> may also be construed as `the extractor of the three syllables,'

> forming the Tripurã.-bija, `Aim Klim Sauh', which, according to the

> RudrayAmala, the great god extracted as the essence, after churning

> the Samskrt Alphabet therefor, even as one churns the curds for the

> extraction of butter.

>

> The coupling of the words `Pura-mathituh' and `AhopurusikA,' in a

> way, indicates the necessity for the worship of the two conjointly,

> so beautifully elaborated in the first stanza. Jingling—so as to be

> heard in the heart-lotus of the meditating Yogin. Wielding a bow,

> etc.—The Devi carries in her lower left arm the sugar- cane bow with

> a string of bees, in her lower right arm the five arrows of Kamala,

> Raktakairava, KahlAra, IndIvara, and Sahakãra flowers; in her upper

> left arm the PAsa, noose, shining like coral, and in her upper right

> arm the Añkusa, goad, shining like the crescent.

>

> These weapons of the Dcvi are said to assume the Sthüla (gross), the

> Süksma (Mantramaya), and the Para (Vasanãmaya) forms. The first of

> these has been indicated above. As for the subtle form assumed by

> them, the bow is of the form of the syllable `tham' the five arrows

> of the forms of `DrAm', `DrIm', `Klim', `BlUm' and `Sah', the PAsa

> of' `HrIm' and the Añkusa of `Krom'. As for the PararUpa in the form

> of VãsanA, the bow is the Manas, the five arrows are the five

> Tanmãtra-s, sound, touch, etc., passions constitute the PAsa, while

> anger is the Añkua. Before us—i.e. in our Hrdaya-kamala; moving from

> the ManipUra on to the AnAhata of the heart-lotus, while we are in

> the act of meditating on the Devi. The resplendent form of the Devi

> is of three aspects, gross, subtle and of the form of Vasanã. The

> Sthüla form has been described above; the SUksma aspect is of the

> form of the PaNcadasAksarI or the SodasAksarI, as the case may be;

> and the Para aspect is the Kundalini-sakti itself. The esoteric

> significance of this stanza is that Siva, the PrakAsa, becomes

> conscious of himself, only when reflected in the Devi, the

> VimarsAmsa.

>

> From this stanza is said to be derived the VaSinIbija, `blUm `,

> thus: `b' from the word `BAnAn', `1' from `Karatalaih', `ü'

> from `Pura-mathituh', and the Bindu from `AstAm'.

>

>

> The Ocean of Beauty. Saundarya-Lahari of Sri Samkara Bhagavatpada

> Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri and T.R. Srinivasa Ayyangar

>

[Guest guest]

I don't think it is a weapon in a military sense, but a siddhic tool,

a symbolic imagination of something having to do with nectar. Since

the sugarcane is sweet and the bees are attracted to this and they

also create nectar from flowers. But maybe they have something to do

with the all-pervasive vibration of OM, these humming creatures who

feed on life force.

 

>Why is the bow of sugar cane? This could not make an effective weapon,

>could it? And with the string of bees, well this must be symbolic

>rather than actual.

>

>Why the string of bees? It would seem that the most effective aspect

>of the bee is her sting. Why not an arrow of bees? Would not the

>string of bees sting the fingertips of the Divine archer here?

 

--

Max Dashu

 

Art in Goddess Reverence

http://www.maxdashu.net

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

I have read that Maa Lalita's sugarcane bow is meant to represent her

mastery over the mind and perception. Her five flowery arrows represent the

five senses.

 

Bee's are a tantric symbol as well, symbolizing love, sweetness, divine

bliss and union with Prakriti.

>

>

--

-Santo

"Aum Shanti Shanti Shantih."

[Guest guest]

I ran across a modern sculpture of Karaikkalammaiyar, the great

Shaivite avadhuti (avadhutaa? what is the right word for a female

avadhuta?) There are other older bronzes of her online, found this

during a search:

www.lotussculpture.com/ 16b40shiva.htm

--

Max Dashu

Suppressed Histories Archives

http://www.suppressedhistories.net

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