{"collection":"tantra","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/tantra/htg/htg29.htm","path":"tantra/htg/htg29.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/tantra/htg/htg29.htm","text":"Hymns to the Goddess, by John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon), [1913]\n1\nO BHAV\u0100N\u012a,\u00a01 the four-headed Lord of creatures,\u00a02 is not able to worship Thee,\n Nor even the five-headed destroyer of the Tripur\u0101,\u00a03\n Nor the six-headed commander of the celestial hosts,\u00a04\n Nor even the thousand-headed Lord of serpents.\u00a05\n If, then, they cannot, tell me who else is able so to do?\n2\nO Dev\u012b! how can we speak of Thy qualities,\n Which are not to be described by any Nigama,\u00a06\n As the sweetness of ghee,\u00a07milk, the grape, and honey\nCannot be distinguished and described by words,\n But may be perceived by the tongue only;\n In like manner Thy beauty can be seen only by the eyes of Parame\u015bvara.\u00a01\n3\nWe ever pray to Thee, O Gaur\u012b!\u00a02\n Youthful daughter of the Lord of mountains.\n Beautiful is the betel\u00a03 in Thy mouth\n And the collyrium on Thy eyes;\n Beautiful, too, are the saffron on Thy forehead,\n The necklet of pearls on Thy throat,\n Thy silken garment and the glittering gold waist-ornament on Thy large hips.\u00a04\n4\nMay Bhagavat\u012b,\u00a05 Sat\u012b,\u00a06 whose lotus eyes sparkle,\u00a07\n Spouse of \u015aambhu,\u00a08 on the slope of whose breasts\n Rests a beautiful garland of the flowers of the Mand\u0101ra tree,\u00a09\n Whose earring is the pleasing sound from the v\u012bn\u0101,\u00a010\nWho stoops (from the weight of her breasts),\u00a01\n Whose beautiful swaying gait is that of the female elephant\u00a02--\n May that Bhagavat\u012b be ever victorious!\n5\nO beauteous Apar\u1e47\u0101!\u00a03\n Bestow the fulness of happiness on me,\n Thou whose limbs art covered\n With ornaments of gold and gems glittering like the newly risen sun,\n Whose eyes are beautiful as those of a doe,\n Of whom \u015aiva is a part,\u00a04\n Who is of the golden colour of lightning,\n Beauteous in yellow garments and tinkling anklets.\n6\nShines forth does the Dev\u012b born in the snowy mountains. 5\nHer beautiful hands are like a red leaf.\u00a01\n She is adorned with beautiful flowers and pearls.\n Her head, by its weight of hair, seems covered by a swarm of bees.\u00a02\n It is She with whom \u015aiva seeks shelter,\n Who stoops from the weight of Her breasts,\u00a03\n Whose words are sweet,\n The Destructress of ills,\u00a04\n Ever and in all places pervading,\u00a05\n Tender creeper\u00a06 of Intelligence and Bliss.\u00a07\n7\nOthers worship with reverence the plant with leaves and particular qualities,\n But I know that Apar\u1e47\u0101 alone in this world should be worshipped.\u00a08\n Then the old \u015aiva garmented with space\nSurely grants to Thy worshipper the fruit of full liberation. 1\n8\nThou art the Mother of all Vedas,\n The regulator of all dharmas\u00a02\n And the root of all wealth--\n Thou whose lotus feet are worshipped even by the wealth-giver.\u00a03\n O Mother! Thou art the primal cause of all desires.\n Victrix of Kandarpa,\u00a04 Thou art the seed of liberation for the good.\u00a05\n Thou art the Spouse of the Parabrahman.\u00a06\n9\nAlthough my mind be fickle and wanting in great devotion to Thee,\n Yet by Thy mercy Thou should look auspiciously upon me.\n The cloud gives sweet water to the mouth of the C\u0101taka\u00a07 bird.\nI know not by what (good) fate my mind is directed. 1\n10\nO virtuous One, from the corner of Thine eyes\n Cast now a glance of kindness upon me;\n Neglect so to do is not proper on Thy part,\n Seeing that I have reached the refuge of Thy initiation.\n Alas! the creeper of desire,\u00a02 whose very name shows that it gives desire,\n Yet cannot give that which is desired,\n What difference is there between it and any other common creeper?\n11\nI, though I have sought refuge with other Devat\u0101s,\n Have yet placed full trust in Thy lotus feet.\n If, nevertheless, your heart is not timely set on me,\n Then with whom shall I in my helplessness seek shelter,\n O Mother of the big-bellied one!\u00a03\n12\nAs iron touched by the touchstone becomes at once gold,\nAs the water of the roadway mixed with that of the Ganges becomes pure,\n In like manner will not my heart,\n Greatly soiled though it be by my great sins\u00a01\n Become pure if attached with devotion to Thee?\n13\nO \u012a\u015b\u0101n\u012b,\u00a02 as the old Lotus-Born\u00a03 and others have said,\n The rule is that if others than Thyself art worshipped,\n Only the particular fruit desired is gained;\n But Thou giveth more even than is asked for.\n Make me, then, ever attached to Thee by day and night.\n14\nO Spouse of the great Lord of the three worlds!\u00a04\n Most pleasant is Thy abode,\n The walls whereof glitter with various gems and crystals,\n Whereon Thy image is reflected.\n On the summit of Thy abode the quivering light waves of the moon (are shed).\n Therein dwell Mukunda,\u00a05 Brahm\u0101, and other Devas.\n It is ever victorious.\n15\nThy dwelling is in Mount Kail\u0101sa.\u00a01\n Thy worshippers are Brahm\u0101, Indra, and other Devas.\n All are subservient to Thee in the three regions.\u00a02\n The number of siddhis\u00a03 join their palms (in adoration before Thee.).\n \u015aiva is Thy lover;\n Therefore, O Daughter of the Lord of mountains\u00a04\n Nothing is equal to Thy fortune.\n16\nThe old bull is (\u015aiva's) carrier.\n Poison is his food;\u00a05 space is his dwelling;\n The cremation ground is his playground;\u00a06\n Serpents are his ornaments.\nAll things in the world are known to the enemy of Smara;\u00a01\n But the wealth of all this is due to the greatness of Thy fortune,\n O Mother!\n17\nThe Lord of Pa\u015bus,\u00a02 besmeared with ashes, sits in the cremation ground.\n From his nature arises the force which destroys the world.\n Out of compassion for the whole world, He held the poison in his throat.\u00a03\n O Kaly\u0101\u1e47i!\u00a04 in all this I see the fruit of his companionship with Thee.\n18\nO Daughter of the mountain,\u00a05\n When Gang\u0101 had seen Thy great beauty,\n She was afraid,\u00a06 and turned to water;\n Then \u015aiva, seeing her sad, lotus-like face,\n In his mercy made a dwelling for Her on his own head.\u00a07\n19\nO Bhagavat\u012b,\u00a01 the Creator having with his own hands taken Thy bathing water\n Mingled with liquid sandal, musk, saffron, and flowers,\n And the dust of Thy moving feet,\n Created therewith the lotus-eyed women of the city of the Devas.\u00a02\n20\nIf one but contemplates Thee, in play with Thy maidens,\n In pleasing springtide with its flowers and creepers\n Upon the lake, beautiful with many a blossoming lotus and flocks of geese,\n The waters of which are rippled by the breeze from the Malaya mountain,\u00a03\n From such an one all fevered ills\u00a04 pass away.\n180:1 Bhava is \u015aiva, and is His name in the watery form of the a\u1e63\u1e6dam\u016brti (eight forms). The V\u0101yu Pur\u0101\u1e47a says that He is called Bhava because all things come from Him and subsist in water. The Dev\u012b is Bhav\u0101n\u012b as the Spouse and giver of life to Bhava.\n180:2 Brahm\u0101.\n180:3 \u015aiva.\n180:4 K\u0101rtikeya, son of \u015aiva.\n180:5 Ananta on whom Vi\u1e63\u1e47u reposes.\n180:6 Generally \u015a\u0101stra and in special technical sense Tantra in which the Dev\u012b is the Guru.\n180:7 Clarified butter.\n181:1 The supreme Lord.\n181:3 T\u0101mb\u016bla, or pan, which is chewed.\n181:4 Prithukatitate.\n181:5 Feminine of Bhagav\u0101n.\n181:6 Dev\u012b as daughter of Dak\u1e63a (see Introduction).\n181:7 Ambhoruhacatulacak\u1e63u. Literally, the lotus eye is ever moving, now glancing here, now there. Motionless eyes in women are not considered beautiful.\n181:8 \u015aiva.\n181:9 One of the five heavenly trees in the garden and city (Amar\u0101vat\u012b) of Indra--viz., Mand\u0101ra, P\u0101rij\u0101ta, Sant\u0101na, Kalpavrik\u1e63a, Harichandana.\n181:10 The stringed instrument of that name borne by the Dev\u012b as Sarasvat\u012b.\n182:1 N\u0101tang\u012b. So also the Annapur\u1e47\u0101 dhy\u0101na represents the Dev\u012b as giver of food \"stooping from the weight of Her great breasts\" (annaprad\u0101na nirat\u0101mstanabh\u0101ranamr\u0101m, and see verse 6 post).\n182:2 M\u0101tang\u012bruciragati bhang\u012b bhagavat\u012b.\n182:3 Name of the Dev\u012b. According to the K\u0101lik\u0101, and Brahm\u0101 Pur\u0101\u1e47as the Dev\u012b, as the daughter of Himavat, renounced even leaves as food (a-par\u1e47\u0101 = without leaf); hence she is called by Devas Apar\u1e47\u0101. According to another derivation, the name comes from apa (removing), rina (debt). So Bh\u0101skarar\u0101ya, who gives it, says in his Dev\u012bstava; \"When you have not discharged your debt to me, though I respect your name, O \u015aiv\u00e9 why are you not ashamed to bear the name of Apar\u1e47\u0101?\" (discharger of debt)? According to the Nirukta, parna = falling. Apar\u1e47a = free from falling.\n182:4 That is, it is by Her favour that \u015aiva forms part of Her.\n182:5 Him\u0101drehsambh\u016bt\u0101--that is, the Him\u0101laya, hence She is also called Girij\u0101 (mountain-born).\n183:1 Either from their natural colour or because dyed with lac.\n183:2 The bee goes to the lotus; the bees (her hair) settle upon her (lotus) face.\n183:3 Kuc\u0101bharanat\u0101 (see note 1, p. 182).\n183:4 Disease (ruj\u0101nghantr\u012b).\n183:5 Literally, one who goes (gantr\u012b).\n183:6 Latik\u0101. Dim, of lat\u0101 creeper to which woman is compared, for she clings to her husband as the creeper to the tree. Hence worship with woman in the T\u0101ntrik Pancatattva is called lat\u0101s\u0101dhana.\n183:7 Cid\u0101nanda which, with sat (being), constitutes the nature of the Supreme Being (Parabrahman).\n183:8 That is, some worship a particular Devat\u0101 to gain a particular result--e.g., Sarasvat\u012b for learning, Lak\u1e63m\u012b for wealth etc.; but \u015aankar\u0101c\u0101rya worships the supreme Apar\u1e47\u0101, whom the Devas worship, who is without qualities, and does so only to give Her honour.\n184:1 Full kaivalya mok\u1e63a, liberation above the various p\u0101da, s\u0101lokya, etc. (see p. 59, note 1), for mukt\u012b is of various kinds.\n184:2 Law of religion, duty, etc.\n184:3 That is Kubera, Deva of wealth.\n184:4 A name of K\u0101ma, God of Love (see p. 40, note 1) .\n184:5 Sat\u0101m. She gives liberation to them.\n184:6 The Supreme Being, for it preceded \u015aakti, as \u015aruti says, \"Sa aikshata,\" etc. As the \u015a\u0101rad\u0101 Tilaka (chap. i.) says: \"Saccid\u0101nanda vibhav\u0101t sakalat parameshvar\u0101t, \u0101s\u012bchchaktist\u012bton\u0101don\u0101dbindusadmudbhavah.\n184:7 A bird (cuculus melanolcucus) which is said to live on raindrops.\n185:1 That is, just as the c\u0101taka is given something, though it does not and cannot pray for it, so what the writer of the hymn receives must, since his devotion (bhakti) is so small and lacking in the force of prayer, be due to some undisclosed merit acquired as the result of past karma.\n185:2 Kalpalatik\u0101--that is, a creeper which, like the kalpa tree, grants all desires that may be asked of it.\n185:3 Gane\u015ba.\n186:1 Tattatp\u0101paih. Literally, \"those particular sins\"--the sins of the hymnist who knows what they are.\n186:2 Feminine of \u012a\u015ba (Lord).\n186:3 Brahm\u0101..\n186:5 Giver of liberation--that is, Vi\u1e63\u1e47u.\n187:1 See Introduction to Tantra \u015a\u0101stra.\n187:3 Great powers, such as a\u1e47im\u0101, laghim\u0101, etc., the power of becoming extremely light or heavy, of entering into things, etc., which, in their fulness, constitute the ai\u015bvarya of the Lord (\u012a\u015bvara), and in a lesser degree of those who approach His nature.\n187:4 Him\u0101laya, for Dev\u012b was the daughter of the Mountain-King Himavat.\n187:6 Dak\u1e63a, in the Bh\u0101gavata Pur\u0101\u1e47a, reproaching \u015aiva, says: \"He roams about in dreadful cemeteries, attended by hosts of ghosts and spirits, like a madman, naked, with dishevelled hair, wearing a garland of dead men's skulls and ornaments of human bone, pretending to be \u015aiva (auspicious), but in reality A\u015biva (inauspicious), insane, beloved by the insane, the Lord of Bh\u016btas (ghosts and spirits), beings whose nature is essentially darkness\" (Muir, O\u1e62\u1e6c., iv. 738). The cremation ground is His abode, for there the passions are burnt away.\n188:1 God of Love, whom \u015aiva consumed.\n188:2 Pa\u015bupati: a name of \u015aiva: as to Pa\u015bu (see Introduction to Tantra \u015a\u0101stra). Here the equivalent of Lord of men.\n188:4 Beneficent one. According to the Padma Pur\u0101\u1e47a Dev\u012b is worshipped as Kaly\u0101\u1e47\u012b in the Malaya mountain, to which reference is made in verse 20.\n188:6 Bh\u012btaiv\u0101s\u012bt, or may be abashed.\n188:7 J\u0101hnav\u012b, whence Gang\u0101 is called J\u0101hnav\u012b. When Gang\u0101 fell from Heaven, \u015aiva first held Her in the locks of his hair, until Her anger at being called down by Bhag\u012bratha had abated. She then fell into the Bindu lake, whence issue the seven sacred streams. One branch followed Bhag\u012bratha wherever he went, and on the way flooded the sacrificial flame of the muni J\u0101hnu. In his anger he drank up its waters. Bhag\u012bratha's work seemed to be fruitless. But after intercession, the muni allowed the waters to flow from him, and as so, issuing from him, the Ganges is called his daughter J\u0101hnav\u012b.\n189:2 Amar\u0101vat\u012b, the city of Indra.\n189:3 See note to verse 17.\n189:4 Literally, fever-produced disease (jvarajanitap\u012bd\u0101pasarati).","title":"Hymns to the Goddess: From \u015aankar\u0101c\u0101rya: Waves of Bliss (\u0100nandalahar\u012b)","type":"page"}