{"collection":"tantra","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/tantra/htg/htg16.htm","path":"tantra/htg/htg16.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/tantra/htg/htg16.htm","text":"Hymns to the Goddess, by John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon), [1913]\n1\nI CONTEMPLATE the good Guru who is Light itself,\u00a03\n Sitting with his \u015aakti\u00a04\n In the lotus of the head,\u00a05\n Two-armed, gracious, very gracious,\n Whose moon-like face is full of grace,\n Making with his hands the gestures which grant boons and dispel fear.\u00a06\n2\nSuch as recite 7 thy primordial golden b\u012bja\n\u015aR\u012aM,\u00a01\n Attain all prosperity and fortune.\n3\nO Mother!\n He who contemplates Thy second b\u012bja,\n Adorned by numbers of Devas,\n \"HR\u012aM,\"\u00a02\n Gains all prosperity.\n4\nThe chiefs of men who meditate upon Thy b\u012bja,\n Lustrous as the sun,\n\"KL\u012aM,\"\u00a01\n Charm the three worlds,\n And by recitation thereof become like unto \u012a\u015bvara.\n5\nO beloved of the enemy of Smara!\u00a02\n Those who contemplate Thy body\u00a03 thrice\u00a04 and recite these three b\u012bjas\u00a05\n Render their enemies speechless,\n Lak\u1e63m\u012b shines in their house,\n And they become the God of Love\u00a06 to women.\n6\nThe presiding Devat\u0101 of Speech\n Blesses their mouth with poetry and prose.\n Harmful animals cause them no harm,\n Even the Suras\u00a07 salute them.\nTheir feet are the head ornaments of kings,\u00a01\n The siddhis\u00a02 are in their hands,\n Malignant stars relinquish them.\n7\nLet the S\u0101dhaka meditate upon an eight-petalled lotus\u00a03\n Set upon a throne studded with various gems,\n Placed upon an altar\n Standing on the floor of a jewelled house\n Amidst a forest of P\u0101rij\u0101ta trees.\u00a04\n8\nLet him then meditate upon two angles\u00a05 in the lotus,\n And the Dev\u012b Herself in the lotus as follows:\n Her lustre is that of molten gold,\n With earrings\u00a06 on her ears,\n Three-eyed, of beauteous throat,\n Her face like the moon,\n And bending from the weight of Her breasts.\u00a07\n9\nShe holds in many arms, decked with diamonds and other gems,\nTwo lotuses, a noose,\u00a01 bow, golden goad,\u00a02 and flowery arrows.\u00a03\n Her body is adorned with great jewels,\n Slender is She of waist\u00a04 and beautifully girdled.\u00a05\n10\nHer lotus feet glitter with beautiful anklets,\u00a06\n Crowned, adorned, and gracious,\n Holding two white fly-whisks,\u00a07 a mirror, jewel-case,\u00a08 and a box filled with camphor.\u00a09\n11\nCreatrix of the three worlds,\n Destructress of the pain of the world,\n Destructress and ruler of the world,\n Ever full of Bliss,\nHalf of the letter H\u0101;\u00a01 of the nature of the three-fold Bindu,\u00a02\n The threefold \u015aakti,\u00a03\n It is Her I worship.\n12\nThe Sadhaka who, having thus for a long time contemplated Her\n On a yantra\u00a04 set before him,\n And welcomed\u00a05 her with great devotion,\n Worshipping Her with Svayambhu flower\u00a06\n Attains, even though he be of the lowest\u00a07 siddhi\u00a08 in the caturvarga.\u00a09\n13\nWhoever after having done worship\u00a01\n Of \u015ar\u012b,\u00a02 \u015ar\u012bpat\u012b,\u00a03 P\u0101rvat\u012b,\u00a04 \u012a\u015bvara,\u00a05 Rat\u012b,\u00a06 and K\u0101madeva,\u00a07\n Together with the \u1e62\u0101danga Devat\u0101\u00a08 of the Dev\u012b,\n Recites\u00a09 the mantra on Thy yantra,\u00a010\n Becomes a King among men.\n14\nHaving worshipped the two nidhis,\u00a011 \u015aankha and Padma,\n On the two sides of the lotus,\nAnd the Mah\u012b\u1e63\u012bs,\u00a01 regents of the quarters,\u00a02 and their weapons,\n Attains, even though he be of the most vile,\u00a03 the eight siddhis\u00a04 of \u015aiva.\n15\nThou art the earth, Vidh\u0101tr\u012b,\u00a05 creatrix of the world;\u00a06\n Thou art water, and in the form of Vi\u1e63\u1e47u preserveth the world;\n Thou art fire, and in the form of Rudra destroyeth the world;\n Thou existeth in the form of Ai\u015bvarya;\u00a07\n Thou art the air of the world.\n16\nThou art the primeval\u00a05 and auspicious one,\u00a08\n Spouse of \u015aambhu,\u00a09 refuge (of Thy worshippers).\nWho ever moves in the Brahmarandhra\u00a01 of the world\n The supporter of all, yet Thyself without support.\n The only pure One in the form of ether.\u00a02\n O Bhav\u0101n\u012b! be gracious to me.\n17\nThou hast humbled the pride even of the R\u1e63is\n By plunging them into the ocean of the world.\n Thou art intelligence and bliss and light itself.\u00a03\n How, then, can I know thee?\n O Bhav\u0101n\u012b! be gracious to me.\n18\nO Bhav\u0101n\u012b! even an ignorant man\u00a04\n Who, meditating on Thy form, recites\u00a05 Thy mantra a lakh of times\n Acquires all poetic power,\n And those things in the three worlds which are most difficult of attainment.\n O Bhav\u0101n\u012b! be gracious to me.\n19\nThou art that which supports\u00a06 and that which is supported.\u00a07\n Thou pervadeth the world,\nAnd art in the form of the world which is pervaded by Thee.\u00a01\n Thou art both negation\u00a02 and existence.\u00a03\n O Bhav\u0101n\u012b! be gracious to me.\n20\nThou art the atom\u00a04 and ever-pervading.\u00a05\n Thou art the whole universe.\n No praise of Thee is sufficient.\n Yet Thy qualities prompt me to sing Thy praise.\n O Bhav\u0101n\u012b! be gracious to me.\n21\nTo him who reads and recites\u00a06 at morn, noon, and evening\n This most secret hymn,\n There is nothing impossible in the three worlds, Such an one attains Thy nature.\u00a07\n O Bhav\u0101n\u012b! be gracious to me.\n91:1 Tripu\u1e6d\u0101 and Tripur\u0101 are separate Dev\u012bs, but the former is antargat\u0101 of Tripur\u0101--that is, forms part, is included in, and a particular manifestation of Tripur\u0101. In the same way the Dev\u012bs Ekaja\u1e6da, N\u012blasarasvat\u012b, Ugrat\u0101r\u0101, Mahogr\u0101, are each antargat\u0101 of T\u0101r\u0101.\n91:2 Tantras\u0101ra, p. 571.\n91:3 Praka\u015basvar\u016bpa. Prak\u0101\u015ba is light and manifestation.\n91:4 Spouse.\n91:5 That is, the Sahasr\u0101rapadma.\n91:6 That is, he is making the two mudr\u0101s called vara and abhaya respectively.\n91:7 Literally, \"make japa\".\n92:1 As is frequently the case in T\u0101ntrik works, the mantra is not given in the text, but must be spelt out. Thus the Sanskrit is vakamvahnisamstham trimurty\u0101 praju\u1e63tam sa\u015b\u0101nkenayuktam--that is, as \"vakam with vahni attended by trimurti, combined with \u015ba\u015b\u0101ngka.\" Vakam = \"\u015a\" (t\u0101lavya). Vahni is the \"fire.\" = \"r,\" trim\u016brti = the long vowel \u012b, and \u015ba\u015b\u0101ngka, the moon in \"whose lap is the hare,\" or \"man in the moon\" = \"m\" (anusv\u0101ra). \u015a + r + i + m = \u015br\u012bm the Lakshm\u012bb\u012bja (see the \u0100dyak\u0101l\u012bstotra of Mah\u0101nirv\u0101\u1e47a Tantra).\n92:2 Literally, Nabhovahni (not v\u0101yu, as the text has it, for the v\u0101yu b\u012bja is yam); mi\u015bram (not mitram as Prasanna Kum\u0101ra Sh\u0101str\u012b\u2019s edition has it); tatov\u0101manetram sudh\u0101 dh\u0101mavimbam niyojyaik\u0101vaktram--that is, nabhas combined with vahni, and then v\u0101manetra and the receptacle of nectar (the moon) applicable in the case of Ekavaktra. Nabhas = \"ha\" or \"bha\" (here the former), vahni = \"ra,\" v\u0101manetra = long \u012b, and the moon is anusv\u0101ra (\"m\"), H + r + \u012b + m = Hr\u012bm, known as the m\u0101y\u0101 b\u012bja. Then the \u015bloka more clearly points to the b\u012bja meant by saying it is that applicable to Ekavaktra. The latter is the Bhairava of Bagal\u0101mukh\u012b, whose b\u012bja is also Hr\u012bm.\n93:1 Literally, Virinchim k\u1e63itistham tatov\u0101manetram vidhum n\u0101dayuktam--that is, virinchi, k\u1e63iti and v\u0101manetra, together with moon combined with n\u0101da. Virinchi = \"ka\", k\u1e63iti = \"La,\" v\u0101manetra =long \u012b, the moon = \"m\" (anusv\u0101ra). K + l + \u012b + m = Kl\u012bm. The three elements of the mantra are given--viz., \u015ar\u012bm, Hr\u012bm, Kl\u012bm--but the actual b\u012bja of Tripu\u1e6d\u0101 is \u015ar\u012bm, Hr\u012bm, Kl\u012bm, Hr\u012bm, \u015ar\u012bm, Kl\u012bm, Kl\u012bm, \u015ar\u012bm, Hr\u012bm.\n93:2 The Deva of love (K\u0101ma), of whom \u015aiva is described as the enemy, for he burnt him with the fire of his eye (see p. 40, note 1).\n93:3 Anga.\n93:4 Literally, make japa. \"Thrice,\" as follows \u015ar\u012bm, Hr\u012bm, Kl\u012bm, Hr\u012bm, \u015ar\u012bm, Kl\u012bm, Kl\u012bm, \u015ar\u012bm, Hr\u012bm.\"\n93:5 See last note.\n93:6 The beautiful youth K\u0101ma. Cf. Verse 5 of Karp\u016br\u0101distotra.\n93:7 The Devas.\n94:1 That is, he sets his feet on the heads of kings.\n94:2 The great powers, a\u1e47im\u0101, laghim\u0101, etc. (see p. 18, note 6).\n94:3 The heart lotus (not an\u0101hata) in which the I\u1e63\u1e6dadevat\u0101 is worshipped.\n94:4 One of the celestial trees (see HYMN \"Wave of Bliss\", post).\n94:5 Yoni. There are five yonis or \u015bakti angles in the \u015ar\u012bcakra.\n94:6 Ku\u1e47\u1e0dala.\n94:7 Subak\u1e63ojanamr\u0101m.\n95:1 P\u0101\u015bakam.\n95:2 Angku\u015ba.\n95:3 Pu\u1e63pav\u0101n\u0101m (see Comm. Lalit\u0101, verse 2) According to the Yoginih\u1e5bdaya, the noose is Ichch\u0101; the goad, jn\u0101na; and the bow and arrows the k\u1e5by\u0101 \u015baktis respectively.\n95:4 Sumadhy\u0101m.\n95:5 She wears a candrah\u0101ra, so called because it has a moonlike ornament in its centre.\n95:6 Tul\u0101kota.\n95:7 C\u0101mara or chowrie, the bushy tail of the C\u0101mara (the yak; bos grunniens), used as a fly-whisk or fan, an insignia of royalty, and also used as a streamer on the heads of horses.\n95:8 Karanda--alangk\u0101ra p\u0101tra.\n95:9 Samudgam, translated in the Bengali as a p\u0101n-box with camphor, which is put into p\u0101n (betel).\n96:1 Hak\u0101r\u0101rddhavar\u1e47\u0101m--that is, She is K\u0101makal\u0101-svar\u016bp\u0101 (see \u0100dy\u0101k\u0101l\u012bstotram, p. 43, and the K\u0101makal\u0101vil\u0101sa, cited in the Lalit\u0101 sahasran\u0101ma, verse 73.) Another name for K\u0101makal\u0101svar\u016bp\u0101 is K\u0101mapurasvar\u016bp\u0101. The half Ha resembles a bindu, of which there are three--viz., the bindu at the base of the triangle from which the A-ka-tha triko\u1e47a emanated and the visargah above. See K\u0101l\u012bcarana's commentary on the P\u0101duk\u0101pancakam, in The Serpent Power.\n96:2 Tribindusvar\u016bp\u0101--there are three such in K\u0101makal\u0101.\n96:3 Jn\u0101na, ichchh\u0101, and k\u1e5by\u0101 \u015baktis of the Dev\u012b.\n96:4 Diagram used in T\u0101ntrik worship (see Introduction to Tantra \u015a\u0101stra.)\n96:5 With the \u0101v\u0101hana mantra--viz., iha \u0101gacha iha \u0101gacha, iha tishtha, iha tishtha atra adishth\u0101nam kuru mama puj\u0101m, grih\u0101na. (\"Come here, come here! Stay here, stay here! accept my worship\").\n96:6 See M\u0101t\u1e5bk\u0101bheda Tantra. The word pu\u1e63pa (flower) has here a technical sense. Pu\u1e63pa\u015babdena atra riturucyate. M\u0101t\u1e5bk\u0101bhedatantra pram\u0101n\u0101nus\u0101rena anur\u0101y\u0101h kany\u0101y\u0101h prathama eva riluratr\u0101 uccyate. Tantr\u0101ntaretu viv\u0101hit\u0101y\u0101h eva b\u0101l\u0101y\u0101h rituratra vivak\u1e63itah.\n96:7 P\u0101mara, one who is low or vile, a very contumelious term.\n96:8 Success, perfection, fruition.\n96:9 That is, Dharma (religion, piety), artha (wealth), K\u0101ma (desire and its fulfilment), and Mok\u1e63a (liberation). (See Introduction to Tantra \u015a\u0101stra).\n97:1 P\u016bj\u0101.\n97:2 Lak\u1e63m\u012b.\n97:3 Vi\u1e63\u1e47u.\n97:4 Dev\u012b as daughter of Himavat.\n97:5 \u015aiva.\n97:6 Spouse of K\u0101ma, the God of Love.\n97:7 The God of Love.\n97:8 That is, the six \u0101varana or attendant Devat\u0101s on the Dev\u012b.\n97:9 Makes japa of.\n97:10 See Introduction to Tantra \u015a\u0101stra.\n97:11 There are eight gems or treasures (nidhi) of Kubera--viz., padma, mah\u0101padma, makara, kachchapa, mukunda, n\u012bla, nanda, \u015bankha. The M\u0101rka\u1e47\u1e0deya Pur\u0101\u1e47a gives the meaning of nidhi in the following \u015bloka (\"Lak\u1e63m\u012b is the presiding Devat\u0101 of the vidy\u0101, called Padmin\u012b. The nidhis are Her supporters. Listen while I speak of them\"):\n98:1 That is, the \u015aaktis Br\u0101hm\u012b, etc.\n98:2 The lokap\u0101las or guardians of the points of the compass (N., N. W., W., S. W., N.E., E., S.E., and S. Indra, Yama, Varuna, Kubera, Vivasvat, Soma, Agni and V\u0101yu).\n98:3 P\u0101mara.\n98:4 A\u1e47im\u0101, Laghima, etc.\n98:5 Vidh\u0101tr\u012b = Creatrix; but both the terms Vidh\u0101tr\u012b and Creatrix of the world are used in the text.\n98:6 The six ai\u015bvarya are \u015ar\u012b (beauty and auspiciousness), V\u012brya (power), j\u00f1\u0101na (Wisdom), Vair\u0101gya (dispassion), K\u012brti (glory) and M\u0101h\u0101tmya (greatness). Bhagav\u0101n is He who is possessed of these six ai\u015bvarya. All these are in the Dev\u012b who is hence called Bhagavat\u012b (see Dev\u012b Bh\u0101g. Pr., Saktirahasya; Bh\u0101skarar\u0101ya, op. cit., verse 65), and as here, Ai\u015bvarya r\u016bp\u0101.\n98:7 \u0100dy\u0101.\n98:8 \u015aiv\u00e9, voc. of \u015aiv\u00e9, feminine of \u015aiva.\n98:9 \u015aiva.\n99:1 The opening in the top of the head, whence in the case of yogis the soul on death issues.\n99:2 \u0100k\u0101\u015bakalp\u0101.\n99:3 Prak\u0101\u015basvar\u016bp\u0101.\n99:4 Mandaceta.\n99:5 Makes japa.\n99:6 \u0100dh\u0101ra\u015bakti.\n99:7 Tv\u0101m\u0101dheyar\u016bp\u0101.\n100:1 Jagatvy\u0101pyar\u016bp\u0101.\n100:2 Abh\u0101va, the last of the seven categories of Kan\u0101da's system (Vai\u015be\u1e63ika S\u016btra). Thus darkness is the abh\u0101va of light.\n100:3 Bh\u0101va.\n100:4 A\u1e47u.\n100:5 Vibhu.\n100:6 Makes japa.\n100:7 Svar\u016bpam labhante--that is, he attains that form of liberation which is known as sv\u0101r\u016bpya mukti (receiving the same form as that of the Devat\u0101 worshipped).","title":"Hymns to the Goddess: From Tantra: Tripu\u1e6d\u0101 (Tripu\u1e6d\u0101stotram) from the Tantras\u0101ra","type":"page"}