yajvan
03 November 2010, 05:24 PM
hariḥ om̐
~~~~~~
namasté
I thought I would offer some ideas on matṛikācakra and mālinīcakra from the view of kaśmir śaivism.
We will see what the interest is by other HDF members and that will determine the depth and breath of the offer.
My references will be from the works of svāmī lakṣman-jū , abhinavagupta-ji, utpalācāra, pāṇini-ji, and other beacons of truth
that have offered their wisdom on this matter¹. In every case I see myself as the śiṣya (student) offering what I know for one's kind consideration.
Any blemishes or mis-takes can only be attributed to me.
Overview
The study of mātrikācakra or the study/theory of akṣarāṇām within the saṃskṛtā ~alphabet~ is part of the richness of this knowledge.
Mātrikā means little mother. Mālini¹ or śrī devī, means She who wears a garland (mālā), in this case 50 akṣarā of the saṃskṛt alphabet.
Through various posts we can address some of the insights this great language has to offer from the view point of śiva & śrī devī's influence.
Now then
That said , we can say atha अथ , or 'now then' let's begin. We will see in an upcoming post the relevance of this word as both śiva & śrī devī
reside in atha.
The study of mātrikācakra has much to do with the highest śakti of sound-word or parāvāk. When we talk akṣara¹ or the sound syllables (phonemes) of saṃskṛtā , they all reside between a to kṣa. In mātrikācakra there are 50 akṣara as we will count visarga (ḥ) and anusvāra¹ that make up the 16 vowels ( svara¹).
The difference between mātrikācakra and mālini is the arrangement letters . With mātrikā the arrangement is ordered with vowels first ( 16 of them) followed by consonants ( 34 of them) . With Mālini vowels & consonants are interspersed.
This notion of saṃskṛtā residing between a to kṣa is a beautiful thing in itself. If we look at a + kṣa we have akṣa. This akṣa is a seed of which rosaries are made i.e. a garland, a mālā, and we are back to mālini or śrī devī , the one with the garland of seed sounds , akṣara, around Her neck. Yet if we go a little further we can have akṣa + ra and have akṣara.
This akṣara means syllable, but it also is defined as imperishable ( brahman), unalterable, śiva. It is śrī devī that wears the imperishable, the infinite in sounds as a garland. This can only be done by one that is Supreme, unsurpassable, anuttara¹.
This infers beyond doubt that She and śiva are one and the same - they are a+kṣa+ya or akṣaya , exempt from decay. But why then do we talk of 2 ? The pair are 1 ( rudrayāmala ; yāmala = 'paried', twin ) . Many tantra's are in the form of question-and-answer. When truth is to be revealed then śiva looks to Himself for the questions to reveal the truth and there we have śiva and śakti in a conversation, yet it is just Himself. It would be like separating wet from water, light from flame to suggest they are different.
This highest level of of teaching is called para-sambandha in which the questioner and the answerer are one and the same.
The a,b,c's
When we talk of alphabet in saṃskṛtā it is not the English version to think of - a,b,c, d, e,f,g, etc. Saṃskṛtā is all about sound form. So 'a' अ or short a in saṃskṛtā is of the sound of 'ah' like in the word but, or in the word America. It is not the sound in English when one says 'a' or 'aye'. We will see in the the next few posts these sounds and not letters ( even though we use letters to form them) will provoke some new thoughts on this matter.
Please be mindful that the posts are not to teach saṃskṛtā's alphabet called devanāgarī some call nāgarī but to look at the brillance that is contained therein, the world of varṇādhva (varṇa+ādhva the way of letters, sounds, syllables).
praṇām
words & references
Books as references
pāṇini grammar by Kapil Kapoor
Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Kaśmir Śaivism - The Secret Supreme
Parā-trīśikā nivaraṇa
Pratyabhijñāhṛdayaṁ
The Yoga of Mālinīvijayottara Tantra
mālini - garlanded , crowned , encircled or surrounded ; the wife of a garland-maker
akṣara - sound, vowel, syallable; akṣara also means imperishable ; a name for śiva or viṣṇu ; some write ákṣarā and is therefore femine gender
visarga - emission; sending forth , letting go . That is why is is associated with śiva , as he 'sends forth' creation from Himself, śiva.
This visarga is written as : in saṃskṛtam. Offically it is not part of the saṃskṛta alphabet but is part of the ~rules~ of saṃdhi
saṃdhi , some write sandhi - In general, containing a conjunction or transition from one to the other . More specifically according to the Monier-Williams Saṃskṛt Dictionary, saṃdhi is a euphonic junction of final and initial letters in grammar .
The diacritic ं is how anusvāra is depicted . Some times you will see it like this ṃ or like this ṁ. It is used both to indicate the nasalization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasalization) of the vowel and represent the letter m or n. It will look like this in saṃskṛtā. पं
The diacritic ः is visarga and looks like this in saṃskṛtā पः We sometimes call it the 'after sound' or a distinct audible aspiration.
Lets add one more to our discussion The diacritic ँ called chandrabindu, and is usually not included in saṃskṛtā charts . It is used interchangeably with the anusvāra to indicate nasalization of the vowel, primarily in vedic notation and looks like this पँ
svara - a vowel which can be dīrgha or long, hrasva or short, and pluta meaning prolated or elongated
anuttara - see this HDF post for more in-depth conversation : http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=6548 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=6548)
~~~~~~
namasté
I thought I would offer some ideas on matṛikācakra and mālinīcakra from the view of kaśmir śaivism.
We will see what the interest is by other HDF members and that will determine the depth and breath of the offer.
My references will be from the works of svāmī lakṣman-jū , abhinavagupta-ji, utpalācāra, pāṇini-ji, and other beacons of truth
that have offered their wisdom on this matter¹. In every case I see myself as the śiṣya (student) offering what I know for one's kind consideration.
Any blemishes or mis-takes can only be attributed to me.
Overview
The study of mātrikācakra or the study/theory of akṣarāṇām within the saṃskṛtā ~alphabet~ is part of the richness of this knowledge.
Mātrikā means little mother. Mālini¹ or śrī devī, means She who wears a garland (mālā), in this case 50 akṣarā of the saṃskṛt alphabet.
Through various posts we can address some of the insights this great language has to offer from the view point of śiva & śrī devī's influence.
Now then
That said , we can say atha अथ , or 'now then' let's begin. We will see in an upcoming post the relevance of this word as both śiva & śrī devī
reside in atha.
The study of mātrikācakra has much to do with the highest śakti of sound-word or parāvāk. When we talk akṣara¹ or the sound syllables (phonemes) of saṃskṛtā , they all reside between a to kṣa. In mātrikācakra there are 50 akṣara as we will count visarga (ḥ) and anusvāra¹ that make up the 16 vowels ( svara¹).
The difference between mātrikācakra and mālini is the arrangement letters . With mātrikā the arrangement is ordered with vowels first ( 16 of them) followed by consonants ( 34 of them) . With Mālini vowels & consonants are interspersed.
This notion of saṃskṛtā residing between a to kṣa is a beautiful thing in itself. If we look at a + kṣa we have akṣa. This akṣa is a seed of which rosaries are made i.e. a garland, a mālā, and we are back to mālini or śrī devī , the one with the garland of seed sounds , akṣara, around Her neck. Yet if we go a little further we can have akṣa + ra and have akṣara.
This akṣara means syllable, but it also is defined as imperishable ( brahman), unalterable, śiva. It is śrī devī that wears the imperishable, the infinite in sounds as a garland. This can only be done by one that is Supreme, unsurpassable, anuttara¹.
This infers beyond doubt that She and śiva are one and the same - they are a+kṣa+ya or akṣaya , exempt from decay. But why then do we talk of 2 ? The pair are 1 ( rudrayāmala ; yāmala = 'paried', twin ) . Many tantra's are in the form of question-and-answer. When truth is to be revealed then śiva looks to Himself for the questions to reveal the truth and there we have śiva and śakti in a conversation, yet it is just Himself. It would be like separating wet from water, light from flame to suggest they are different.
This highest level of of teaching is called para-sambandha in which the questioner and the answerer are one and the same.
The a,b,c's
When we talk of alphabet in saṃskṛtā it is not the English version to think of - a,b,c, d, e,f,g, etc. Saṃskṛtā is all about sound form. So 'a' अ or short a in saṃskṛtā is of the sound of 'ah' like in the word but, or in the word America. It is not the sound in English when one says 'a' or 'aye'. We will see in the the next few posts these sounds and not letters ( even though we use letters to form them) will provoke some new thoughts on this matter.
Please be mindful that the posts are not to teach saṃskṛtā's alphabet called devanāgarī some call nāgarī but to look at the brillance that is contained therein, the world of varṇādhva (varṇa+ādhva the way of letters, sounds, syllables).
praṇām
words & references
Books as references
pāṇini grammar by Kapil Kapoor
Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Kaśmir Śaivism - The Secret Supreme
Parā-trīśikā nivaraṇa
Pratyabhijñāhṛdayaṁ
The Yoga of Mālinīvijayottara Tantra
mālini - garlanded , crowned , encircled or surrounded ; the wife of a garland-maker
akṣara - sound, vowel, syallable; akṣara also means imperishable ; a name for śiva or viṣṇu ; some write ákṣarā and is therefore femine gender
visarga - emission; sending forth , letting go . That is why is is associated with śiva , as he 'sends forth' creation from Himself, śiva.
This visarga is written as : in saṃskṛtam. Offically it is not part of the saṃskṛta alphabet but is part of the ~rules~ of saṃdhi
saṃdhi , some write sandhi - In general, containing a conjunction or transition from one to the other . More specifically according to the Monier-Williams Saṃskṛt Dictionary, saṃdhi is a euphonic junction of final and initial letters in grammar .
The diacritic ं is how anusvāra is depicted . Some times you will see it like this ṃ or like this ṁ. It is used both to indicate the nasalization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasalization) of the vowel and represent the letter m or n. It will look like this in saṃskṛtā. पं
The diacritic ः is visarga and looks like this in saṃskṛtā पः We sometimes call it the 'after sound' or a distinct audible aspiration.
Lets add one more to our discussion The diacritic ँ called chandrabindu, and is usually not included in saṃskṛtā charts . It is used interchangeably with the anusvāra to indicate nasalization of the vowel, primarily in vedic notation and looks like this पँ
svara - a vowel which can be dīrgha or long, hrasva or short, and pluta meaning prolated or elongated
anuttara - see this HDF post for more in-depth conversation : http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=6548 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=6548)