taruNa taraNi

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From :- krishnarao (lanka.krishnarao)

Subject :- taruNa taraNi

" SrIguruh sarvakAraNaBhUtA Saktih |

SrImahAgaNAdhipatayE namah ||

" taruNA taraNi "

" tanucchAyABhistE taruNataraNi SrI dharaNiBhih

sarvAm urvIm aruNima nimagnAm smarati yah |

Bhavantyasya trasyad vanahariNa SAlIna nayanAh

sahOrvaSyA vaSyAh katikati na gIrvANa gaNikAh || "

This is the 18th SlOka in " soundarya lahari " of SrI

AdiSankarAcArya. Commonly understood meaning of this verse runs as

follows.

" O Mother! When one meditates upon the grandeur of your

brilliant physical structure, which is bright red, like the rising

sun, in which the earth, heaven and whole of the universe is immersed,

all the celestial damsels like " UrvaSi " etc., are becoming restless

with passion and fervor having the eyes of a frightened deer. Then

what to say about ordinary womenfolk?

Almost all of the commentators said that this is a

mAdana prayOga and useful for attracting the desired women. But is it

proper to say that the AcArya would ever have advised any of the

persons to go after women folk in the name of `kAma puruShArtha ?!

Impossible. There must be some other esoteric meaning behind it. In

my view ….

" yE sindUra parAga punja pihitAm twat tEjasA dyAmimA

murvIncApi vilIna yAvakarasa prastAra magnAmiva |

paSyanti kShaNamapyananya manasastEShAm ananga

-

jwaraklAnta

srasta kuranga SAvaka dR^iSo vaSyA Bhavanti dhR^ivam|| "

mahAkavi kALidAs also says the same in the `laghu stavam',

but with a little clarification additionally as " ananya manasah " . It

means that the red effulgence of paradEvata engulfing the whole

universe including the sky and earth is not different from our own

" swaswarUpam "

" dEvI SrIlalitA j~nEyA jana vaSyE ca pATalA "

Here we have to take the sense that our body itself is a

town (puram). and all the `indriyas' (sense organs) are its

inhabitants. Then the meaning of the above would be as, " to control

our indriyAs we have to meditate SrIlalitAdEvi as red coloured. "

There are two different versions of this SlOka, one for the

word " taruNa taraNi " making it as " ataruNa taraNi " by the insertion of

an `akArapraSlESha'. `taruNa taraNi' means the midday sun and

`ataruNa taraNi' means the morning sun. For both the words it gives

the same indication of " the suShumnA nADi " of the `sUrya manDalam'

(solarplexes). By saying " taruNataraNi SrIdharaNiBhih " , it gives the

meaning of the `pITha BhUmi' (base) of the the `kuNDalini'. If we

take the other version as " SrIsaraNiBhih " , it indicates the " row of

`ShatkamalAs' (`mUlAdhAra' etc., six divine lotuses) " . by saying " tE

tanucChAyABhih " , on the whole it is illustrating the crowded mass of

the brilliant effulgence of the `kuNDalini'. That is amazingly

" duShpradharSham and dushprEkShyam " . This red colour was described

with a similitude by one poet as,

" taruNa taraNi kAnti vrAta samsarga rangat

kamaladaLa nikAya prAyakAma praBhOrmih |

aBhinava ravi raSmi dyOtita prAcya BhUbhR^it

ChiKara lasadaSOka smEra puShpOpamAnah || "

When we perform `sammOhana nyAsA " saying ,

" mUlavidyAm smR^itwA tatpraBhayA jagadaruNam viBhAvya " and then while

saying

" mama SatrUnnigR^ihNAmi " it was also said that

" sAdhyamapyaruNam viBhAvayEt " . Yes! even the reprehensible enemy

should be looked at in red colour. The tempestuous emotional

disturbances in our internal senses, which are the real cause for all

the excitation of the " idantA rUpa " visualizations are actually our

enemies. That is why,

" ahami praLayam kurvannidamah pratiyOginah |

parAkramaparO BhunktE swaBhAvam aSivApaham || "

For those `viira puruShAs', who do aim at " pUrNAhambhAva " , the

adaptation of " rajOguNam " for the devastation of the enemies who

create the differential distinctiveness of the external world is also

essential.

The magnificent and attractive external impression in the form

of " idanta " in the dhyAnaSlOka of " bAlA Tripura sundari " as " aruNa

kiraNa jAlai ranjitASAvakASA " is really the deliberation of wrath

(AmarSAtmaka vimarSarUpam) against the internal enemies. The degree

of such deliberations are expressed in sixteen `dhAturUpAs' as

" SONAni Bhauma tIkShNAmSu tAmra kumkuma takShakAh gunjEndragOpa

KadyOta vidyut kunjara bindavah |

dR^ig bimbAdhara jihvAsR^Ij`mAmsa sindUra dhAtavah || "

This `aruNa varNam' (red colour) is nothing else but the

" mAyASakti " that which engrosses the whole universe while being in

unison un-different with `paramaSiva'.

" samasta BhuvanABhOga kavalIkR^ita jIvitA

mahA swamahimAkrAnti swasthAhankR^iti BhUmikA |

kramENatu tatO~nanga paryantam prOllasantyapi

SarIrAnanga paryantam Ekaivam uBhayAtmikA || "

In this connection, while doing japa, there is a suggestion to

meditate upon this `aruNa varNam' as,

" swa vibhutwa sarvasyAkrAntyA sarvasyApi swa - -

SarIratvEna

sarvatrAhantA buddhE rudayEna swa SarIrasyEva

sarva SarIrANAm swa vaSam vadatA avaSyam BhAvah || "

It is essential to imagine as if his own authority has spread

all over and keeping his own " ahanta " in every thing as he feels in

his own body. Also, one should aspire that all things should be under

his control, as he is having upon his own body. This kind of

imagination is called " swIya mahatwa vyApti " . " Om aim hrIm SrIm

vyApinyai namO namah SrIm "

Having that kind of " vyApti " , " swasthAhamkR^iti BhUmikA " means

remaining in the fundamental basis of the unswerving `parAhanta'. She

is making all the universes into a morsel of food spreading her

`samaShti rUpa' `swIya mahatwa vyApti' and adopting the " samhAra krama

japam " .

While doing such type of `japam', concentrating upon the

brilliantly glowing, red cobweb-thread like form and deeply immersed

into it, (`aruNima nimagnam' or `aruNa maNi magnAm' both gives the

same meaning.) When entered and deeply immersed into that thread like

mantrAkShara rUpa kuNDalini, it appears in the above said sixteen

dhAtu rUpa illuminations one after another. Going deeper and deeper,

that luminous flux appears as " ataruNa taraNi " (the rising sun) and

then " taruNa taraNi " (youthful Sun), and that is called " kOti Surya

praBhA bhAsuram " .

" tatO~nangaparyantam prOllasntyapi kramENatu SarIrAnanga

paryantam " means, the above said kundalini is rising upwards from the

`swAdhiShTAna and all other cakras in an order, up to " ananga

paryantam " that is up to the `kAmESwara Siva' who has no limbs or body

form at all, but only the invisible `bindu rUpa' form. Again from

`brahmarandhra' down to the " SarIrAnanga paryantam " signifying the

" anAhata Siva " . This kind of repeatedly going upward and coming

downward again and again was described as " trasyad vanahariNa SAlIna

nayanAh " . " cancala swarUpinyai namO namah "

" EkaivamuBhayAtmikA " indicates that this kuNDalini is the

`Siva' and it is the `Sakti' also. " Siva Sakti dwandwa rUpiNyai namO

namah " , She is `the' desired woman for us all.

One of the auxiliaries of the `ShODaSAkShari mahA mantra',

the trio " Om hrIm SrIm " is always assigned in the thigh region(Uru

pradESam). That is why this trio was named as " UrvaSi " . In the

purANAs it was said that " UrvaSi " was born in the thighs of " nArAyaNa

muni " .

From the `pUrNabindu' which is really the `praNava' (Om), two

bindus have expounded out. They are the other " hrIm and SrIm " . It is

the `visarga' which has separated from the `bindu' in the beginning.

This is the form of " agnIShOmatmakam " , which has separated from the

" sUrya manDalam " . This `hrImkAra' and `SrImkAra' are the individual

forms of " prakASa " and " vimarSa "

" hrIsca lakSmIsca tE patnyau " So elaborates the `puruSha

sUktam'. `hrImkAram' is " mAyA bIjam " and the " SrimkAram " indicates

the " kAla bIjam " which symbolizes death. The first `bIjAkSharAs' of

these two `bIjas' are " ha " and " Sa " denotes as " ha " indicates

`jIvatwa' (life) and " Sa " indicates the " mR^ityu " (death). Both of

these will always be inter-traversing into each other. It is not

possible to distinguish which is `hrIm' and which is `SrIm'. Only

because of this traversal gestures, ever-changing fluctuations are

being experienced in this world. These gestures are indicative of

vacillation, and hence equated with the word " trasyad vanahariNa

SAlIna nayanAh "

Whoever understands the secret of this yOga of these two

bIjAs, understands the mystery of " mAya " and he becomes eternal

" mR^ityunjaya " . For the " Bhairava " who has meditated upon the

`samaShti' of these three bindus, called as " kAmakala " , the " mAyA

swarUpiNi " " kAli " too has become his `pAda dAsi'. Then what to say

about the ordinary damsels ?

Yours in the service of the mother,

krishnarao