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Thread: ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

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    ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~

    Namasté

    I thought to begin a conversation on the first śloka of Abhinavagupta-ji's Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa.
    The core of the śloka lies in the subject-matter Śrī Devī is asking Śiva - that of khecarī-samatā. Yet before this idea can be discussed, I thought it necessary to lay a foundation first.

    In the next post I would like to take up this conversation on khecarī-samatā to the best of my ability and ask for any insights or corrections from those that have knowledge on this matter.

    That said, I thought with the 1st post within the uttara section of HDF it would be worthy of reviewing the first word of the śloka, anuttaraṃ, which contains uttara.

    Śrī Devī uvāca
    anuttara kathaṃ deva
    sadyaḥ kaulika-siddhidam
    yena vijñātamatreṇa
    khecarī-samatāṃ vrajet ||
    • Śrī Devī uvāca - Śrī Devī said
    • anuttara -अनुत्तर - best, excellent, chief - (yet more discussion to expand this word is below)
    • kathā कथा - is conversation or talk, yet also means 'what should one say of?' or 'how should one speak of ?'
    • deva देव - God; hevenly, divine; in this sloka Śiva is being addresses as deva
    • sadyas सद्यस् - 'at once' ; on the same day , in the very moment
      kaulika-siddhi : there are 4 interpetations for this word combination offered in Parā-trīśikā Vivaraa. I will address the
      other interpretations in a furture post… best to start with these below:
      • kaulika कौलिक - belonging to a family or race , ancestral , customary or heritable in a family ; this also means happening within kula
      • kula कुल - is also defined as the body; also means the residence of a family , seat of a community , inhabited country
      • siddhi सिद्धि - is accomplishment; skill, perfection.
    • yena येन - by whom or by which
    • vijñātamatreṇa:
      • vijñā - vi+jñā: vi वि -to discern, distinction of + jñā ज्णा to know; tama तम - most desired; in high degree; treṇa I am unsure of this, yet as of today see it as trāṇa त्राण shelter, protection.
    • khecarī खेचरी - is defined as the power of flying; It means that which moves within kha ख or ākāśa empty space ; This is the area I wish to spend more time on in an upcoming postsamatā समता - sameness
    • varja व्रज - station or closure; varja can also means roaming, yet in this sloka, it’s the achievement of this 'station'
    What this says in my words¹ (I look for corrections & amplifications to this view)
    Śrī Devī said,
    in what way or what means (kathaṃ) O Lord (deva) does the unsurpassible Supreme (anuttara) can immediately (sadyaḥ) bring about, or by which means (yena) the achievement (siddhidam) of this most desired, or highest (tama) shelter (trāṇa) of wisdom (vijñā) that will occur within this body i.e. within this existing 'i consciousness' to achieve the station (varja) with Universal Divine Consciousness (khecarī-samatā).

    Here is how anuttaraअनुत्तर्ं may also be viewed. An+uttara. Uttara उत्तर means superior , chief , excellent , dominant; it also means more, additional, better, more excellent. When the prefix of 'an' is added ( or 'a' , 'an' is used before the vowel 'u') it is considered 'not'. Hence an+uttara means not additional. That is, there is no addition one can make, hence anuttaracannot be surpassed, no additions to it is possible, therefore it is Supreme.

    Abhinavagupta informs us that this anuttara is Supreme¹ Divine Consciounsess and therefore the experient of all that there is. That is, there is no other who can have It as the object of his/her experience - hence it is the Self-Luminious Universal Consciousness that cannot be surpassed.
    The truth of this Divine Consciousness is that its continuity is uninterrupted - it is present in everything and cannot be escaped from because it is ubiquitous, there is no place where it is not. This truth will be key to the appreciation of khecarī-samatā ; that is why understanding this anuttarato the best of our ( my) abilities will assist in the comprehension of khecarī-samatā.

    There are 16 ways Abhinavagupta expains anuttara e.g. a+nut+tara, anut + tara, an ' to breathe', etc. but will leave these definitions for another time or application. This is the beauty of this word.

    praṇām

    words and references
    • The book is Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa. This tantric text is the work of Abhinavagupta-ji. It is suppose to be the essence of the Rudrayāmala tantra, hence my great interest in this body of work. My copy is called Abhinavagupta Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa, by Jaideva Singh - ISBN number 978-81-208-0472-2
    • Note this wisdom is stimulated from the works of Abhinavagupta-ji. I take no authorship to its original thought, but am privilaged to have access to this knowledge. Any errors in explanation can only be attributed to me.
    • Here is how this translation reads by Jai Deva Singh, verbatim:
      The exalted goddess said ( to Bhairava) : O God, how dow the unsurpassable divine Consciousness bring about immediately the achievement of the identity of the empirical I with the perfect I consciousness of Śiva which comes about in the very physical body and by the mere knowledge of which one acquires sameness with the Universal Consciousness-power (khecarāī)
    • Some know this work as Parā-trīśikā, and think it points to 'the thirty verses of the Supreme'. Yet this work has 37 verses.

    Abhinavagupta-ji sees the title differently - as The Supreme Goddess of the Three. The notion of tying (sambandha) the title (abhihāna) to the subject matter (abhidheya) is also a learning opportunity for the reader.
    • Supreme as parama परम - best , most excellent , extreme limit
    Last edited by yajvan; 28 January 2009 at 01:21 PM. Reason: spelling correction
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~

    Namast

    Continuing the post from above i.e.
    The core of the śloka lies in the subject-matter Śrī Devī is asking Śiva - that of khecarī-samatā

    Śrī Devī uvāca
    anuttaraṃ kathaṃ deva
    sadyaḥ kaulika-siddhidam
    yena vijātamatreṇa
    khecarī-samatā vrajet ||
    The definitions for the above śloka can be found in the 1st posting.

    A quick view of these words in question
    • khecarī खेचरी - is defined as the power of flying; It means that which moves within kha ख or ākāśa empty space;
    • samatā समता - sameness
    • varja व्रज - station or closure; varja can also mean roaming, yet in this sloka, its the achievement of this 'station'
    More in-depth view
    khecarī is kha + carī. It will not be necessary to explain 'kha' is the locative case of 'khe' ; I wish to only focus on 'kha'.
    This 'kha' is a cavern or hollow , that is, vacuity , empty space, air , ether, or ākāśa. The beauty of this word relates Kha and Kham to Brahman ( we find this in the Upaniṣads). That is this notion of pure unbounded space, worthy of an example of Brahman. And carī or cara चर is that which is moving ( walking, wind, movement).

    Hence we come to Abhinavagupta-ji's view that khecarī is that which, while stationed in Brahman, moves about. Thus we can consider this (dynamic) Divine Consciousness. Here is what I find of interest:

    Observation 1
    When this Divine Consciousness is manifest in us we experience it as active thought, senses, emotions. Every experience is from this Divine Consciousness. Why? Because we are not outside of it.

    If you recall from the 1st post I mentioned the following:
    The truth of this Divine Consciousness is that its continuity is uninterrupted - it is present in everything and cannot be escaped from because it is ubiquitous, there is no place where it is not.
    We do not live with 'you' , 'me' , and 'them' and then there is this Divine Consciousness some place else, remotely away. We are part and parcel of and in it.

    Observation 2
    Within our perceptions - as we see , smell, taste, touch, have a thought that may be delightful, passionate, or wrathful, each one of
    these perceptions or emotions may be clamoring for attention, for some gratification or satisfaction. They are distinct and independent in their own right and may appear to have nothing to do with this Divine Consciousness. This is khecarī vaiṣmaya.

    We know the meaning of khecarī from above but what now of this new word vaiṣmaya वैषम्य ? It means uneven-ness, difficulty , trouble , distress , calamity. This is where the person is acting in an individual/disengaged manner. That is, the person has not realized the connection of his/her consciousness with anuttara, with Divine Consciousness. The person is living in ignorance of his/her true nature - there is this disparateness, this separation, difficulty and distress, there is vaiṣmaya. I see this as moha मोह - error, bewilderment , perplexity , distraction.

    This is what Śrī Devī is asking Bhairava is the first sūtra - how or by what means Lord can the Supreme (anuttara) bring about immediately (sadyaḥ) an end to this consciousness (vaiṣmaya) and bring one to the highest (tama) shelter (trāṇa) of wisdom (vijā), that is khecarī-samatā?
    Again we know the definition of khecarī, now what of samatā ? Samatā is sameness, even-ness. But of what? The even-ness
    Of the Divine Consciousness found everywhere, as there is no place it does not reside in. It even resides in every passion (kāma) or
    wrath (krodha).

    Śrī Devī is looking for the answer to the achievement (siddhi) or unfolding of khecarī-samatā. This is vastu वस्तु i.e. the thing in question, that She wishes Bhairava brings to light.

    praṇām

    words and references
    • Ka and Kham in the Upaniṣads: Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.10.5; Bṛhadaraṇyaka Upaniṣad - Khila Kanda -Oṁ Kham Brāhma Brāhmaṇa
    • Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.10.5 reference http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe01/sbe01087.htm
    • Abhinavagupta-ji's view of khecarī says it this way: Khe brahmaṇi abhedarūpe sthitvā carati iti khecarī
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~

    Namasté
    Śrī Devī continues and says the following:
    etad guhyaṃ mahāguhyaṃ
    kathayasva mama prabho
    • etad एतद्- in this manner , thus , so , here , at this time , now
    • guhyaṃ or guhya गुह्यto be covered or concealed or hidden or kept secret , concealable , private , secret
    • mahāguhyaṃ is maha +aguhyaṃ : Maha मह we know as great, mighty, strong; aguhyaṃ = a+ guhyaṃ or 'not' + guhyaṃ or hidden
    • kathayasva is kathaya + sva -or- katha+yasva
    • kathā कथा - is conversation or talk, yet also means 'what should one say of?' or 'how should one speak of ?'
    • ya - joining;
    • sva स्व - my own, thy own , his own , her own , our own
    • yasva यस्व - 'yas' - to strive after + 'va' - addressing or conciliation (to make compatible; reconcile)
    • mama मम or ma - me, 1st person.
    • prabho or prabhā प्रभा-splendour , radiance , beautiful appearance ; to illuminate or shine forth;
    My view¹ of this śloka:
    Now (etad) tell me so I understand (kathayasva) my (mama) Lord (as prabhā, splendor, radiance)
    largely or greatly (maha) unhidden (aguhya) yet reamins secret or concealed (guhyaṃ)


    Another view offered in Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa ( which I find most attractive):
    Tell me this secret, this greatest secret O Lord, who are (is) my very Self.
    Śrī Devī can say this ' who are my very Self ' .We know and understand Śiva and Śakti are One. In the śloka 'prabhā' is a noun for Śakti.

    What I have learned to appreciate from Abhinavagupta-ji's teaching here is the following:
    It is only when the Truth of parā, the chief matter, the highest is to be described or revealed then the dialog (vastu - the subject matter) begins with Śrī Devī and Bhairava.

    Its said, it ( the conversation or the Q&A ) decends to the paśyantī level. What is this paśyantī?

    • paśya is to see , behold;
    • paś is to see with the spiritual eye;
    • paśyantī is She that looks on, the Divine view of the universe , that of samatā समता - sameness, unity, fullness (bhūma).
    Abhinavagupta-ji says it this way:
    This is all what is meant to be said here. Self who is the natural state of all existents ( beings ) who is self-luminous, amusing Himself (Siva), and which both the questioner (praṣṭṛ) as Devī and the answerer as Bhairava are only Himself, enjoys self-reflection.

    Hence the divine dialog is a monoluge, self-reflection, self recollection.

    praṇām

    words
    • Any errors in explanation can only be attributed to me.
    • praṣṭṛ प्रष्टृ - one who asks or inquires
    • praśna प्रश्न - a question; a subject of inquiry , point at issue
    Last edited by yajvan; 29 January 2012 at 10:01 AM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~

    Namasté

    From post 2 above:
    This is what Śrī Devī is asking Bhairava is the first sūtra - how or by what means Lord can the Supreme (anuttara) bring about immediately (sadyaḥ) an end to this consciousness (vaiṣmaya) and bring one to the highest (tama) shelter (trāṇa) of wisdom (vijñā), that is khecarī-samatā?
    Again we know the definition of khecarī, now what of samatā ? Samatā is sameness, even-ness. But of what? The even-ness
    Of the Divine Consciousness found everywhere, as there is no place it does not reside in. It even resides in every passion (kāma) or
    wrath (krodha).
    The notion of khecarī samatā is the experience one has. That is, no matter what one experiences i.e. sound (śabda) , forms and color (rūpa), taste (rasa), smell (gandha), or touching (sparśa), the sameness of the Divine is not lost.
    All are viewed/experienced as an expression of the Divine. It is said by Abhinavagupta-ji that even one iota of ignorance of this anuttara that may still arise within the native amounts to a contrary state of mind.
    That is, differentiated consciousness¹ is still pending. It is this contrary state that constitutes (or brings about) saṃsāra (birth-after-birth).

    Note the beauty of this word saṃsāra. It is sa + s. This word sa is often seen in these posts e.g. samatā from above. Note that sa brings us to sam which is union , thoroughness,completeness. And this sis to run away, escape,to push aside. It is also noted as being below.
    Hence this saṃsāra is being below or running away from completeness, from union. The reason for re-birth is not completing this union, this wholeness. But with what? With anuttara, with the Supreme.

    praṇām

    words
    • saṃsāra संसार - going or wondering through; passing through a succession of states , circuit of mundane existence , transmigration;
    • saṃsāra is sa-s below.
    • differentiated consciousness - duality of experience; multiplicity; The individual is not firmly seated as yet in the SELF. Objects of the senses still hold the individual's awareness in full attention with each experience i.e. the awareness is captured in the experience.
      Some call this differentiated consciousness vikalpa विकल्प - variation , combination , variety , diversity , manifoldness ; difference of perception; false notion.
    Last edited by yajvan; 02 February 2009 at 02:25 PM. Reason: added vikalpa to words and references
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  5. #5
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    Re: ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~

    namasté

    Within the preamble ( introduction) of this great work, parā-trīśikā vivaraṇa, abhinavagupta-ji's gives his adoration to both ( ubhayam) his parents seen as jananī¹ ( mother) and janakaḥ¹ (father).

    Now what is interesting (to me) is how he co-mingles the qualities of mother and father with the Divine. The example offered is the word pañcamukaguptaruciḥ.

    pañca+mukha+gupta+ruciḥ
    In passing one would see this pañca+mukha+gupta+ruciḥ as the 5 =pañca , mukha= faces or mouths , gupta = hidden or consealed , ruci = luster, splendor or beauty. When one sees this '5 faces', the initial indication is that of śiva's 5 powers or attributes . They are consciousness, bliss, will, knowledge and action.

    So this would say the splendor of the 5 powers ( of śiva) that are hidden or consealed i.e. not readily appearent to us humans in its Supreme form. None the less its a beautiful way of offering śiva in a conversation.


    Yet here is the mastery of abhinavagupta-ji's knowledge of saṃskṛtam and his ability to apply it to have more then one meaning. This pañca was mentioned as '5'. It is also pañcan , defined as 'to spread out the hand with 5 fingers' .

    So if we click down one level we will see pañc is rooted in pac and is defined as 'to spread out' . Now we take pañca+mukha and it means to spreadout or open + the mouth (mukha). So pañcamukha is one whose mouth is wide open.

    This is another way of describing a lion , the one with the wide open mouth ( as if roaring). 'Lion' in sanskṛt (saṃskṛtam) is siṁha. Siṁhagupta is the condensed form of narasiṁha+gupta or narasiṁhagupta, abhinavagupta's father.

    Hence with pañca+mukha+gupta+ruciḥ abhinavagupta-ji brings recognition to the Divine and to his father at the same time. ( brilliant!)


    We can take a look at his mother vimalā ( stainless, pure) in the next post.
    praṇām

    words

    • jananī - is queen-mother; generating , begetting , producing , causing
    • janaka - a progenitor , father ; generative , generating , begetting , producing , causing
    • guptám - secretly or privately
      • gupté - a hidden place
    Last edited by yajvan; 26 December 2011 at 09:12 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  6. #6
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    Re: ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~
    namast

    Post 1 above offered the following,
    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    Śrī Devī uvāca
    anuttaraṃ kathaṃ deva
    sadyaḥ kaulika-siddhidam
    yena vijātamatreṇa
    khecarī-samatāṃ vrajet ||


    Śrī Devī said,
    in what way or what means (kathaṃ) O Lord (deva) does the unsurpassible Supreme (anuttara) can immediately (sadyaḥ) bring about, or by which means (yena) the achievement (siddhidam) of this most desired, or highest (tama) shelter (trāṇa) of wisdom (vijā) that will occur within this body i.e. within this existing 'i consciousness' to achieve the station (varja) with Universal Divine Consciousness (khecarī-samatā).
    There is a very important point that abhinavagupta-ji brings out in this offer of his parā-trīśikā vivaraṇa. It is the kula (kaulika) of khecarī-samatā. What does this mean ?

    Kula = the residence, abode, high station, habitation . And as aforementioned khecarī-samatā = Divine Consciousness. When we add these two together ( if this could be done) then we have cidaikātmya. That is we have cid + aikātmya which is identity (aikātmya) with cid.
    This cid
    = cit = knowing, attentiveness, comprehension, purity. It also means awake , to recover consciousness.

    So, what is the point here ? One attains the abode or station of knowing, being the identity of Divine Consciousness - remembering or recovering one's consciousness ( cit) of one's status.

    So, why bring this up? Often we are told that mokṣa is the release from; from suffering, pain, from bondage ( of the sense feeling of being the body). These things may be true, but above all else it is the identification (aikātmya) with the Supreme Self, the Divine. While mokṣa may be liberation, all well and good, but it is all about one's alignment to the Supreme.

    It seems like a finer to point to consider but such is the wisdom of abhinavagupa-ji. It adds much value to a conversation. It is like saying how to do fill the room with brightness and purity ? Some may say push out the darkness ( ignorance) deal with this moha. Yet the wise say just bring the light, open the curtains and one will find the darkness has no place to hide.

    iti śiva
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  7. #7
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    Re: ślokas from Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~
    namast
    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    So, what is the point here ? One attains the abode or station of knowing, being the identity of Divine Consciousness - remembering or recovering one's consciousness ( cit) of one's status.
    The great commenter on the paramārthasāra, muni yogarāja , says the following:

    ayameva paro dharmo yadyogenātmadarśanam |

    this (ayam) is certainly (eva) the highest (paro) dharma , to see (darśanam) the Self (ātma) by (yad or because) of yoga

    iti śivaṁ


    1. paramārthasāra is in essence the work of śeṣa patajali ( some call ādiśeṣa ) consisting of 85 śloka-s . Abhinavagupta-ji then took the 85 and expanded it to 105, and adapted it to the advitīya (~ non dual~, without a second) kaśmir śaivism POV for one's kind use.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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