visarga and other ideas...

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

I wrote this in another post¹,

Also – what then is this ḥ ? It is called visarga¹ (ḥ) or visarjanīya. In saṃskṛt it is written as a colon or : This is not the same 'h' that is written like this ह or ha.

Maybe a bit more time on this visarga¹ (ḥ) would be of value.

Within (non dual) kaśmir śaivism each akṣara (sound form) plays an important part as the expansion of śiva and śakti into all forms.
There are several scriptures one can read to get a better understanding of this. I will add these in the reference section below.

We are told by kṣemarāja within his commentary called called śivasūtravimarśinī¹ ( 2nd chapter), that this sound form visarga¹ (ḥ) or visarjanīya takes on 3 forms within kaśmir śaivism. Due to tṛka ( trika) view of Reality the 3 fall in line with para , parāpara and apara forms. That is supreme, mixed, and lower in rank, some say inferior , respectively. This visarga is viewed as 3 kinds.

• ā – para visarga or the supreme energy (śakti properly spelled as śaktiḥ¹ ) of creation pertaining to śiva – this in kaśmir śaivism is also called ānanada śakti
• ḥ - parāpara visarga or the medium śaktiḥ of creation pertaining to śiva
• ha – apara visarga is the lower level of śaktiḥ of creation and is aligned to the individual

This ā is formed by a+a = ā. It is the 2nd sound form within saṃskṛtam’s devanāgarī script or phonemes. This ‘a’ is considered anuttara or supreme and represents śiva. Who then represents ā ? None other then śaktiḥ, the energy-side of śiva or the expanision of śiva.

ḥ or parāpara visarga is depected as the : symbol in saṃskṛt. The two dots (bindu) are considered śivaḥ & śaktiḥ. This bindu (dot, drop) also written as vindu (knowing) are tightly coupled.
This bindu is another name for anusvāra, or the the dot over a letter; it looks like this ṁ. In fact the term anusvāra = anu+ svāra

• anu = aṇu = fine, minute, ~ dot~.
• svāra = sound ; svara = vowel.

So this anusvāra is the sound that comes after the vowel (represented by a ~fine~ dot) . So, aṁ or अं. If you recall the notion of visarga is depicted as the : symbol in saṃskṛt, when we see it used as anusvāra (aṁ or अं). It tells us no matter how diverse the universe is, the highest is the knower (vindu). And it directly infers that it is śivaḥ
because all vowels are ‘owned’ by śivaḥ , and He is none other then anuttara , the highest vowel ‘a’, from which all other sounds arise from. Said another way, there is unity in the midst of diversity. We may see differences, but there is no separation; there is the undelying unity of all things and this is Being.

But what of this final ha or ह ? It is aligned to the individual . But where is this alignment ? It is in one’s breath. Each inward breath comes with this sound of ‘ha’. If one takes the time to quietly listen, we will find this ‘ha’ in each inward stroke of the breath.

Now what is quite interesting to me is the following. Kṣemarāja-ji informs us that this ‘ha’ is part of a group called ūṣmā. This term ūṣmā = ūṣman = heat, glow. This group are the sibilants or s, ś and ṣ. The ūṣmā group are then s, ś , ṣ , ha , written like this - sa, śa , ṣa , ha.
So, what is the significance of this ūṣmā group ? We can take a look in the next post.

iti śivaṁ

• From this post: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=121640&postcount=3
• by kṣemarāja and is called śivasūtravimarśinī. This says the examination, knowledge discussion (vimarśa) of the śiva sutra-s.
• śaktiḥ is in its nominative singular grammatical format.
• prātipadika the crude form or base of a noun , a noun in its uninflected state.
• vocative case - A vocative expression is an expression of direct address, wherein the identity of the person being spoken to is set forth expressly within a sentence i.e. directly accessing
• Rules - all this is outlined in pāniṇi-ji's work called aṣṭādhyāyī, meaning 'eight chapters' ; He laid down about 3,900 rules for all of classical ( vs. vedic) saṃskṛt grammar.
• anusvāra - the ~after-sound~ ; the nasal sound which is marked by a dot above the line , and which always belongs to a preceding vowel one last idea for consideration…
• References:
  • One book I use is calledDimensions of Pāniṇi Grammar - The Indian Grammatical System by Kapil Kapoor, ISBN 81-246-0331-6
  • śivasūtravimarśinī by svāmī lakṣman-jū
  • the mālinīvijayottaratantra - its focus is that of tattvajaya ( the ~conquest~ of reality)

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Maybe a bit more time on this visarga¹ (ḥ) would be of value.

Visgarga is defined as ‘sending forth , letting go , liberation , emission , discharge’. This seems to make sense as it is the aspirated sound after a vowel .
As with the word ending in ‘a’ this visarga (ḥ) is the aspirated sound that comes while the mouth is still in the ‘a’ position; it is ~like~ saying nama + ha , but the ‘ha’ is
the aspirated ~puff~ for lack of a better term that comes out from the mouth , pressed out (sent forth) by the slight pushing out of the stomach muscles for the additional ‘puff’ to
come out. It is not a forceful puff, but ~like~ a puff and is called aspirated.
We could dis-assemble the word and look at is as vi+sarga.

• Some think this ‘vi’ comes from ‘dvi’ meaning two parts. It makes sense as the example given (nama + ha) suggests that the final ‘a’ of nama is coming in two parts i.e. that which is sounded, and that which is also carried forth with visarga (ḥ) , hence two parts.
  • Another notion of ‘two parts’ is how visgara is depicted in devanāgarī script as the colon symbol : suggesting two bindu ( top and bottom dots)
• sarga is defined as ‘letting go’.

Yet could there be a deeper meaning to these terms ? Me thinks there is.

• Sarga is also defined as emission, creation. This term is also found as a name of śivaḥ in the mahābhārata¹ i.e. the 148th name ( if I counted correctly) within the śivaḥ sahasranāma (1008 names of śivaḥ).
  • So, would could then say this letting go (sarga) is how all of creation comes into existence as it is the emission from śivaḥ.

Yet , what of this term vi + sarga ? If we ‘buy in’ to the notion of letting go and it is none other than the Supreme that is doing this. How can we sew in the notion of this vi ?
I think the answer lies in the notion that vi in its nominative form is vis. This term means to move, cast , or throw. Hence it is sarga(śivaḥ) who emits or cast, or throws , who ‘lets go’ creation.

For some, the conundrum now becomes there are 2. There is śivaḥ and there is sarga ( His creation). Within (non dual) kaśmir śaivism
and other non-dual schools this is not an issue. Creation is not outside the Supreme. In fact some would suggest if you asked this question to śivaḥ He might answer what is this 'outside' you talk of ? There is no place I am not; how can there be two when I am without break or pause ¹?

iti śivaṁ
words

• mahābhārata- anuśāsana parvan; some call this the 13th book of the 18 books/divisions/sections of the mahābhārata
  • some think there are 8 different versions of the śivasahasranāmāstotra that are contained within the various śāstra
• without break or pause - is some times called avicchinnātaparamārthaṁ, uninterrupted, yet the word I often use is satatoditam (satata + udita)
  • turyātīte bheda ekaḥ satatodita ityam || tantrāloka 10.283