śāktaṃ vā vaiṣṇavaṃ vāpi śaivaṃ vānyaṃ tathā punaḥ ॥ 11
vārāṇasyāṃ japed yo hi māsatrayaṃ varānane ।
prātaḥkālaṃ samārambha yāvanmadhyandinaṃ bhavet ॥ 12
avaśyaṃ mantrasiddhiḥ syāt satyameva susiddhide ।
nirvāṇaṃ tasya deveśi tvavaśyaṃ jāyate śive ॥ 13
mahāśmaśānaṃ deveśi ānandakānanaṃ tathā ।
avimuktaṃ mahādevi tathā gaurīmukhaṃ punaḥ ॥ 14
vārāṇasī mahākṣetraṃ kālīrūpaṃ parātparam ।
tatra yad yat kṛtaṃ devi kiṃ tasya kathayāmi te ॥ 15
yoginītantrasya ekādaśapaṭalaḥ
The dhyāna of Bālā tryakṣarī as Kāmākhyā (ongoing note) along with Kāmeśvara mantra and dhyāna
Dhyāna of vāgbhavabīja (aiṃ)
sindūrapuñjasaṃkāśāṃ trinetrāṃ tu caturbhujām
vāmoṛdhve puṣpakoḍandaṃ dhṛtvādhaḥ pustakaṃ tathā
dakṣiṇoṛdhve pañcabāṇānakṣamālāṃ dadhatyadhaḥ
caturṇāṃ kuṇapānāṃ tu pṛṣṭhe’nyaṃ kuṇapāntaram
nidhāya tasya pṛṣṭhe tu samapādena saṃsthitām
jaṭājūṭārdhacandreṇa samāvaddhāśirodharām
nagnāṃ trivalibhedena cārumadhyāṃ manoharām
sarvālaṅkārasampūrṇāṃ sarvāṅgasundarī śubhām
sravaddraviṇasandohāṃ sarvalakṣaṇasaṃyutām
Dhyāna of kāmabīja(klīṃ)
bandhūkapuṣpasaṅkāśāṃ jaṭājūṭendumaṇḍitāṃ
sarvalakṣaṇasampūrṇāṃ sarvālaṅkārabhūṣitaṃ
uddyadraviprabhāṃpadmoparyukteṣu susaṃsthitāṃ
muktāratnāvalīyuktā pānonnatapayodharām
valīvibhāgacaturāmāsavāmodamoditām
netrāhlādakarīṃ śubhrāṃ kṣobhaṇīṃ jagatāṃ tathā
trinetrāṃ yonimudrāyāmoṣdhāsasamāyutām
navayauvanasampannāṃ mṛṇālābhacaturbhujām
vāmārdhve pustakaṃ dhatte akṣamālāṃ tu dakṣiṇe
vāmenābhayadāṃ devīṃ dakṣiṇārdhve varapradām
sravadraktaughasūryābhāṃ śiromālāṃ tu bibhratīm
āpādalambinīṃ kalpadrumamāsādya saṃsthitām
kadambopavanāntasthāṃ kāmāhlādakarīṃ śubhām
dvitīyāṃ tripurāṃ dhyāyedevaṃrūpāṃ manoharām
Dhyāna of the third bīja(ḍāmara/mohanabīja) (sauḥ)
tṛtīyaṃ tripurārūpaṃ śṛṇu vetālabhairavaṃ
javākusumasaṅkāśāṃ muktakeśīṃ śubhānanām
sadāśivaṃ hasantaṃ tu pretavad vinighāya vai
hṛdaye tasya devasya hārddhaapadmāsanāsthitām
raktoṛtpalairmiśritāṃ tu muṇḍamālāṃ padānugām
grīvāyāṃ dhārayantīṃ tu pīnonnatapayodharām
caturbhujāṃ tathā nagnāṃ dakṣiṇārdhve’kṣamālinīm
varadāṃ tadadho vāme jaganmāyāṃ tathābhayām
adhastu pustakaṃ dhatte trinetrāṃ hasitānanām
sravadrudhirabhogārtaṃ tathā sarvāṅgasundarīm
evaṃvidhaṃ tṛtīyaṃ tu rūpaṃ dhyāyet tu pūjakaḥ
ādyaṃ tu vāgbhavaṃ rūpaṃ dvitīyaṃ kāmarājakam
ḍāmaraṃ mohanaṃ cāpi tṛtīyaṃ parikīrtitam
mantratrayaṃ tathaikatra kṛtvā ca manumūrtayaḥ
kartavyā ekatastatra madhyarūpe niveṣayet
Blog author’s own note:mantratrayaM=bIjatrayaM
Dhyāna of kāmeśvara(hauṃ) (nātha kāmeśvaraṃ devaṃ prāsādena prapūjayet)
nāthaṁ kāmeśvaraṁ tatra ekavaktraṁ caturbhujam |
bhasmaśvetaṁ madhyahṛdi raktapuṣpaistu kuṅkumaiḥ || 124 ||
triśūlaṁ ca pinākaṁ ca vāmahastadvaye sthitam |
utpalaṁ bījapūraṁ ca dakṣiṇadvitaye tathā || 125 ||
śvetapadmoparisthaṁ ca dhyātvā madhye prapūjayet |
The shaiva/vaiShNava presences on kAmAkhyA nIlAchala according to the kAlikA purANa
Someone should map the shaiva prescences in nIlAchala hill to the shiva shrines actually present there,which would be
1. kAmeshvara(corresponds to the vAmedeva li~Nga named kAmeshvara mentioned in the kAmAkhyAmAhAtmyam just before the traipura vidhi is mentioned)
2. koTili~Nga(sharabheshvara) (yo’sau sharabhamUrtirme madhyakhaNDaprachaNDakaH/mahAbhairavanAmAbhut koTili~NgAhvayastu me//)
3. kambaleshvara(harihara/sha~NkaranArAyaNa)
4. aghora in the kAmAkhyA cave(if someone could help me out about the exact location?I couldn’t identify when I went in)…the corresponding verse in the KP seems to be yacchaghorAhvAyaM shIrShaM tatkAmAyAstu dakShiNe/pIThe bhairavanAmA tu gadite paramArthibhiH//
5. kedAreshvara (kedArasaMj~nakaM kShetraM madhyasthaM siddhakAmayoH/)
6. A li~Nga at the bottom of the saubhAgyakuNDa. It is visible on mahAshivarAtri when the kuNDa is drained then apparently?
7. pANDunAtha=seems to be invoked both as varAha(varAhaH pANDunAthAkhyAH sthitastatra hariryataH) and as the nArAyaNa aShTAkShari in a later chapter of the purANA
8. kAmuka vaTuka seemingly in the main cave of kAmAkhyA itself
9. Amratakeshvara(sadyojAta) (sadyojAtAhvayam shIrShaM pIThe tvAmrAtakeshvara…says the kAlikA purANa’s kAmAkhyAmAhAtmyam,62nd chapter)
10. heruka bhairava apparently
11. bhuvaneshvara bhairava identified with tatpuruSha…bhuvanesha in the cave of bhuvanAnanda
12. siddheshvara identified with IshAna (IshAnAkhya shivo yatra tat siddheshvarasanj~nakaM/shilArupaM siddhakuNDaM madhyasthaM viddhi bhairavaM)
This post should be read in conjunction with this post and this post on other shrines on the nIlAchala hill. I would be glad if someone took a lead and published where exact correspondences to the places mentioned that are less clear(like bhuvaneshvara). The article will be updated as I get new information.
On theological reasons behind a very common Durga / Caṇḍikā dhyana
Normal Reason: rAghava bhaTTa says so and is ratified by the author of prapancha sAra and IshAna shiva in his paddhati. Spiritual reason: The great and the high warlock, aghora parameshvara holds a trishUla in his hands… and according to the devI saptashatI the same shUla is given to chaNDikA parameshvari… for the D700 verily saysshUlaM shUlAd vinishkR^iShya… As per kShemarAja’s commentary on the weapons being held by aghora parameshvara, he says about the shUla: ..”ichChA GYAna kriyAyogi svAtantrya shakti daNDena trishUlena pAshatraya shAtanaM” “Striking down the three bonds [ego, karma, illusion] with the staff of absolute autonomy (svātantrya-śakti), which is conjoined with the powers of Will, Knowledge, and Action (icchā-jñāna-kriyā).”
A set of sixty-four yoginīs of Kāmākhyā(supplemented by the Kālikā purāṇa)
Brahmāṇī,Caṇḍikā,Raudrī,Gaurī,Indrāṇī,Kaumārī,Vaiṣṇavī,Durgā,Nārasiṁhī,Kālikā,Cāmuṇḍā,Śivadūtī,Vārāhī,Kārtikī,Māheśvarī,Śaṅkarī,Jayantī,Sarvamaṅgalā,Kālī,Kapālinī,Medhā,Śivā,Śākambharī,Bhīmā.Śāntā,BhrāmarīRudrāṇīAmbikā,Kṣemā,Dhātrī,Svāhā,Svadhā,Aparṇā,Mahodarī,Ghorarūpā,Mahākālī,Bhadrakālī,Bhayaṅkarī,Kṣemaṅkari,Ugracaṇda,Caṇḍogrā,Caṇḍanāyikā,Caṇḍā,Caṇḍavatī,CaṇḍīMahāpriyaṅkarī,Balavikaraṇī,Balapramathanī,Manonmathanī,Sarvabhūtadamani,Umā,Tārā,Mahānidrā,Vijayā,Jayā
followed by a set of yoginis mentioned as śailaputryādi which are: śailaputrī,guptakāmā,Śrīkāmā(Caṇḍikā),vindhyavāsinī(Caṇḍaghaṇṭā/Candraghaṇṭā),koṭīśvarī,vanasthā,pādadurgā(Katyayani),dīrgheśvarī and bhuvaneśvarī.
The verses dealing with them are posted below
brahmāṇī caṇḍikā raudrī gaurīndrāṇī tathaiva ca || 39 ||
kaumārī vaiṣṇavī durgā nārasiṁhī ca kālikā |
cāmuṇḍā śivadūtī ca vārāhī kārtikī tathā || 40 ||
māheśvarī śaṅkarī ca jayantī sarvamaṅgalā |
kālī (ka)pālinī medhā śivā śākambharī tathā || 41 ||
bhīmā śāntā bhrāmarī ca rudrāṇī cāmbikā tathā |
kṣemā dhātrī tathā svāhā svadhā’parṇā mahodarī || 42 ||
ghorarūpā mahākālī bhadrakālī bhayaṅkarī |
kṣemaṅkarī cogracaṇḍā caṇḍogrā caṇḍanāyikā || 43 ||
caṇḍā caṇḍavatī caṇḍī mahāpriyaṅkarī tathā |
balavikaraṇī devī balapramathanī tathā || 44 ||
manonmathanī caiva hi sarvabhūtasya damanī |
umā tārā mahānidrā vijayā ca jayā tathā || 45 ||
pūrvoktāḥ śailaputryādyā yoginyaṣṭau tathā kramāt |
tābhirabhiśca sahitāścatuṣṣaṣṭiśca yoginīḥ || 46 ||
pūjayed maṇḍalasyā(ntā?ntaḥ) sarvakāmārthasiddhaye |
nānāvidhaṁ tu naivedyaṁ pānaṁ pāyasameva ca || 47 ||
moḍakāpūpapiṣṭādi devyai samyak pradāpayet |
evaṁ tu pūjayed devīṁ kālikāṁ kāmadāyinīm || 48 ||
bhaktiyukto naro bhūtvā sarvān sa labhate priyān |
mahocchvāsā mahādevī mahāmāyā tu sā smṛtā || 49 ||
The central deity according to both the sources alluded to is Tripurā of the three syllables that corresponds to the Goddess Bālā,although She is visualized as a collection of three Goddesses akin to most traditions of Caṇdī navārṇa today. In this case,each goddess corresponds to each syllable of the mantra.
Curwen on the fall of Rome and other things
People on twitter have had big debates about when the Fall of Rome was-was it when the Goths took it , viz. Romulus Augustus, in the late 400s AD? was it in 1453 when the Ottomans overran Byzantium?I don’t think so in either case.
I think it was when the Flame of Vesta was extinguished , by order of the Christian emperor / his lot and Roman religion was suppressed. because, quite literally … they stopped bieng Roman when that happened. And in antiquity that element aroudn the Flame going out – well, that woudl, overtly, be viwewed as the life of the city … extinguished. At least till relit. They stopped being Roman and then tottered on for a few more decades till the Goths.
What Macaulay wanted to do to Hindu India was done to Roman Rome. When it came to the Flame of Vesta – there was a procedure,straightforward if .. not someting one wanted to have to do. To rekindle said flame from the Sun. However, to re-light the flame of a .. wel, a religion, a people,that is not so simple. Once it goes out,once it is allowed to gutter and dwindle and turn to ashes and ember it is very difficult to go the opposite way -Curwen replied to themself a warning, therefore, to – well, we do not take our religoin and its heritage, its multi-millennia unbroken span , for granted but yes, were it to be as … suppressed as the Romans wound up , or the Germanics wound up a devil of a time getting it back. even without the .. thousand yeras, thojusand five hundred … of additional time to forget that those two spheres have had .
Of course, this brings me to antoher thought. Basically it was rathert noted that POland, being a country / realm , located on a bunch of flat plains on the main invasion route eithetr direction in Eastern Europe was therefore in perma-danger of being overrun and overriden – overwritten in fact and usualy taht would mean the potential .. end of the thing except in amidst the rising great powers , and the realization that it was likely taht .. basically Poland was going to get overrun and ‘incorporated’ , sooner or later ,,, the Poles decided to try something different sow the ‘seeds’ , embed the ‘roots’ of Polishness in such a broad and deep fashion amonst the people rather than just an assimilatable – or executable – elite and Poland would still be around, Polishness would still bre around for such time , one day in the perhaps distant future when those great powers were battened back down again, and there would be scope for Poland, the (nation-)state to spring back into existence. And lo … thoug hit took .. what, four centuries? it worked.
The Ogha-traya(the lineage of the divine,siddha(perfected) and human teachers) of Bālā Tripurāsundarī’s tradition as described in two hymns
Divyaugha(the Divine transmission/flow [of the tāntrika teaching]). In this case,they seem to be deifics of certain technical terms of advaya śaivāgama(Nondual Śaiva tantra would be a close enough translation). The terms which would be specific to the traipura tradition building on the older Śaiva tradition would be kāma and kāmeśvara. Amṛta hearkens back to the older Mṛtyuñjaya/Mṛtyujit based based traditions,a technical excursus of which is provided here and an introduction on the Netra tantra,centred on the nectarine Rudra Tryambaka/evolute Amṛteśvara(Lord of Nectar). As noted by the author of that blog:
…the bhairava srotas underwent a syncretic development with a much earlier independent stream of the mantra-mArga, i.e. the worship of mR^ityu~njaya. This resulted in the system of amR^iteshvara bhairava and amR^iteshvarI which is expounded by the netra tantra.
- Prakāśānanda
- Parameśānanda
- Paraśivānanda
- Kāmeśvarānanda
- Mokṣānanda
- Kāmānanda
- Amṛtānanda
After the transmission/flow of teachings amongst the divyaugha,comes the siddhaugha(the transmission/flow of tantrik teachings in the line of the perfected ones). In this case,they are the five faces of Śiva,deifics of a famous pentad of 5 mantras in Śaivism known as the Pañca-Brahma-s.
- Īśāna
- Tatpuruṣa
- Aghora
- Vāmadeva
- Sadyojāta
After the divyaugha and siddhaugha,comes the mānavaugha(the first humans who brought down the tantrik tradition as expounded in the hymn). In this case they are
- Gaganānanda
- Viśvānanda
- Vimalānanda
- Madanānanda
- Ātmānanada
- Priyānanda
And then one goes on to worship the immediate quartret of gurus(one’s own guru,his guru,his guru’s guru and that figure’s guru) before going on to worship other figures in the Goddess’ retinue. The hymn in question is the Bala Khadgamala stotra.
The 1000 names of Bālā as ascribed to the Rudrayāmala tantra have a slightly variant list
The divyaugha there consists of
- Prakāśānandanātha
- Śivānandanātha
- Śaktyānandanātha
- Samayānandanātha.
- Kauleśa and Devī are mentioned though I am not sure if they are epithets for Śiva and Śakti in this case.
In this case the gurus are the dialogic union of Śiva-Śakti/deifics of this contexts
Klinnāṅgānandanātha, Vedānandanātha, and Sahajānandanātha are the siddhaugha gurus listed in this tradition of the hymn. Their names are significant and reflect on the nature of the Goddess on Her practical manifestation.
The human gurus in the 1000 names are listed as Vimalānandanātha, Madanānandanātha, Bhuvanānandanātha, and Svātmānandanātha.
On the praise of the wife,from the Annadākalpa
strīsaṅginā sadā bhāvyamanyathā na prasīdati।
kṣubdhāyāṃ yoṣiti kṣubdhā sadā devī na saṃṣayaḥ॥
sā cedbhavati saṃkṣubdhā danamāyuśca nāśayet।
vṛthā sadakṣiṇo homo yadyapriyakaraḥ striyaḥ॥
buddhirbalaṃ yaśorūpamāyurvittaṃ sutādayaḥ।
naśyanti tasya sarvāṇi yoṣinnindāparasya ca॥
mātāpitrorvaraṃ tyāgastyājya śambhustathā hariḥ।
varaṃ devī parityājyā naiva tyājyā svakāminī।
varaṃ janamukhānnindā varaṃ vā garhitaṃ yaśaḥ॥
varaṃ prāṇā paritryājyā na kuryādapriyaṃ striyāḥ।
na dhātā nācyutaḥ śambhurna ca vā sā sanātanī॥
yoṣidapriyakartāraṃ rakṣituṃ na kṣamo bhavet।
śmaśānasādhanaṃ nātra na citā śavasādhanām॥
yoṣitpūjanamātreṇa annapūrṇā susiddhidā॥
iti annadākalpe siddhisādhanādivivaraṇaṃ nāma ṣoḍaśaḥ paṭala
Namaḥ Śrīmahākālāya
From the sahasranāma of the viśvasāra tantra
śmaśānastho mahārudro mahākālo digambaraḥ .
kapālakarttṛkā vāme śūlaṃ khaṭvāṅgadakṣiṇe ..
bhujaṅgabhūṣitāṅgo’pi bhasmāsthimaṇimaṇḍitaḥ .
jvalatpāvakamadhyastho bhasmaśayyāvyavasthitaḥ ..
viparītaratāṃ tatra kālikāṃ hṛdayopari .
peyaṃ khādyaṃ ca coṣyaṃ ca tau kṛtvā tu parasparam ..
From the Mahākālasādhanā of Sumatibhadra,an otherwise unknown author
viśvābjasūryamadhyasthaṃ pratyālīḍhaṃ bhujadvayaṃ.
kṛṣṇavarṇaṃ mahāraudraṃ nāgābharaṇamaṇḍitam..
kartri-kapālā-śūlaṃ ca muṇḍamālā pralambitaṃ
mahātejaṃ śravadrudhiraṃ lalajihvaṃ bhayānakam..
From the Mahākālasādhanā of Karuṇā/Karuṇācala,disciple of Līlāvajra(also the author of another sādhanā on Kurukullā)
nīlāmbhoja-tamāla-kajjala-ghanacchāyo navīnārkavanniḥsīma prasarapratīcyakiraṇajvālāruṇo locana.
daṃṣṭrākoṭīkarālabhāsvaralasadvaktrāntarāle bhramanbhīṣmaśrīrasanastanuttamamahākālo jagatpiṅgalaḥ..
sanmaitrīkaruṇāṃ tathaiva muditāṃ dhyāyadupekṣāṃ tataḥ kuryāt kalmaśadeśanādimakhilaṃ śrīmadgurorājñayā.
sarvākāravatīmanantasugataprajñāmayā śunyatā sañcintya sphuṭanīlahūṃkṛtimataḥ saṃbhogavaccintayet..
tadbījaṃ bhagavantamugrakiraṇajvālāvalīḍhāmbaraṃ sanmūrtocchaladandhakārapaṭalacchāyaṃ mahābhīṣaṇām.
kharvaṃ kharvapīvaraṃ pravikaṭakuṇḍorudaṃṣṭrāṅkuraṃ prasyandan ghanāsrapiñjarabṛhatsṛkkopakaṇṭhasthalaṃ..
visphūrjad ghanarociraṃ varamaṇivyāsaktapādadvayaṃ dhātāraṃ paridhānamaṃṣuvilasat śārduladehacchadaṃ.
antarbhrāntanipīta pinḍitaghanadhvāntaughamukhāruṇapraṣṭhodbhrāmaramaṇḍalābhavipulajvālaṃ ca netratrayam..
bibhrāṇaṃ pariveṣṭya vāmabhujayordaṇḍaṃ triśūlaṃ tathā haste sāsrakapālamekamaparaṃ caikāṃ mahākartarīm.
dhyāyādurdhvaniveśanaṃ naraśiraḥsrakṣaktapīnorasaṃ vidyutpuñjakarālakuntalacayaśmaśrutkaṭasya śrīyaṃ..
Posted for information and as personal notes for this year’s Mahāśivarātri.
On the imagery of the Gaṇapati mentioned in the krama of tripurA and shArikA
The Ucchiṣṭagaṇapati mentioned in the first lines is also mentioned with an identical mantra in the Buddhist sādhanāmāla,albeit just as Gaṇapati. His description from that compliation of sādhanās runs(in rather ungrammatical Sanskrit) thus: bhagavantaṃ gaṇapatiṃ raktavarṇaṃ jaṭāmukuṭakirīṭīnaṃ sarvābharaṇabhūṣitaṃ dvādaśabhujaṃ lambodaraikavadanaṃ ūrdhvaparyankatāṇḍavaṃ trinetramapyekadantaṃ savyabhujeṣu kuṭhāra-śara-aṅkuśa-vajra-khaṭvaṅga-śūlaṃ ca vāmabhujeṣu mūṣala-cāpa-khaṭvāṅga-asṛk-kapāla-śuṣka-māṃsakapālaphaṭkaṃ ca raktapadme mūṣikopari sthitamiti. No mention of any distinct rites are there in the sādhanā,only just japa.
padmavajra 