Pancakshara Mantra

[Arjuna]

Namaste Sarabhanga!

Namaste Arjuna,
Sadyojata is Bhu; Vamadeva is Vayu, Aghora is Jala; Tat-purusha is Teja; and Ishana is Akasha.
The Sun rises in the East, and Sadyojata is the “First Born” ~ in the East.
Vamadeva (or Bhairava) relates to the Pitris ~ in the South.
The Sun sets in the West, and the “Fearless” Aghora faces that virtual death ~ in the West.
Tat-purusha is Rudra, who always dwells in the North.
And Ishana is Sadashiva ~ the upper face of the Linga.
There are some justifiable variations on this, although I have not encountered your particular “South Indian” version before.

Well, i don't think the version i described is specifically South Indian;

Na Ma Shi Va Ya as Prithivi etc upto Akasha i knew from my deshika who was a Tamil brahmana; the same i read in Shivaya Subramunia Swami's book, "Shivena Saha Nartanam." Thus in South India i assume this as accepted tradition — i am not sure of the North.

Correspondence of Five Faces with directions as i remember was provided by Mark Dyczkowsky in "Canon of Saivagama" and is probably based on Shaivagamas. And correspondence of Faces with elements i think i have seen for example in Mantra-mahodadhi (but i may mistake).

I will try to check up the sourses. It is becoming more interesting
Maybe something can be found in Vinashikha-tantra and some of 28 Shaivagamas. Problem is that i have none of them... But some secondary sources may also help.

And what is the source of Ur version?

[Znanna]

Va व represents the Ocean, the Sky, the World, or Manifest Existence.
And Va is a Cloth, a Weaver, or a Dwelling, and it also indicates Strong Motion (as an Arrow).

Vam वं is the Varuna Bīja.

Vā वा means to Go or to Blow.

Ya य means Who or Which, and also indicates a Goer or Mover, a Carriage, the Wind, Light, or the Sky.
And Ya is both Yama (Rein or Restraint) and Yoga (Union).

Yam यं means One to Whom, and it is known as the Vāyu वायु (Wind) Bīja.

Vāya वाय indicates Weaving or a Weaver, and implies Tantra (Loom).

Ā आ is a doubling of A अ, and it indicates Going Towards or Similarity.

Ākāra belongs to the Aśvinau (Twin Charioteers) and it spans Va and Ya, which are the first and last Semivowels (Antahstha ~ Standing Between), uniting Ocean with Sky, and spelling Vāyu.

Wow. Thanks for that!


Love,
ZN

[sarabhanga]

Namaste Arjuna,

Na is Akasha, as Ishana or Sadashiva ~ above (or north-east);
Ma is Tejas or Agni, as Tatpurusha or Rudra ~ to the north;
Shi is Jala or Ap, as Aghora or Pashupati ~ to the west, with Varuna;
Va is Vayu, as Vamadeva or Bhairava ~ to the south, with Yama and the Pitris; and
Ya is Bhu or Prithivi, as Sadyojata or Mahadeva ~ to the east, with the Adityas.

And the Pranava is below (or south-west, with the Nairirita), as the foundation of the whole edifice.

Some variation arises from alternate readings of a two-dimensional yantra as three-dimensional linga; but any serious changes to the given pattern really need to be justified with respect to the various established relationships in this whole coherent world-view.

Vayu and Agni are commonly attributed to the north-west and the south-east, respectively, although the reasoning is slightly different; and that may explain the switching of Agni and Vayu in some explanations of the Shiva Linga or Pancakshara Mantra.

I cannot point to any particular text that spells any of this out ~ in fact, this whole thread on Pancakshara is a synthesis of many years of meditation on the various hints given by my Gurus and clues found rarely scattered though diverse scriptures and commentaries.

[Arjuna]

Namaste Arjuna,
Na is Akasha, as Ishana or Sadashiva ~ above (or north-east);
Ma is Tejas or Agni, as Tatpurusha or Rudra ~ to the north;
Shi is Jala or Ap, as Aghora or Pashupati ~ to the west, with Varuna;
Va is Vayu, as Vamadeva or Bhairava ~ to the south, with Yama and the Pitris; and
Ya is Bhu or Prithivi, as Sadyojata or Mahadeva ~ to the east, with the Adityas.
And the Pranava is below (or south-west, with the Nairirita), as the foundation of the whole edifice.

Namaste Sarabhanga,

Perhaps these two traditions (till now we know of only two) are related to Pravritti and Nivritti versions of Panchakshari-vidya. It resembles a case with Bala and Panchadashi in Shrividya, which has similar variations. And even more it resembles the succession of Yoginis in so-called Shachchakra.

This may be interesting for U as a Shakta parallel. Kaula-tantras usually give the succession of 6 Yoginis in this way:
Dakini (Prithivi), Rakini (Jala, or Agni acc to Saundarya-lahari and Hadi-krama), Lakini (Agni, or Jala), Kakini (Vayu), Shakini (Akasha), Hakini (Tattvatita).
But in Lalita-sahasranama they have a reverse order: Sakini, Kakini, Lakini, Rakini, Dakini and Hakini. Only the last one, Pranava, is at the same place, Ajna, while other five go in reversed manner.

Regarding direction and Faces, i have found a source of my version: M.S.G. Dyczkowsky in "The Canon of the Saivagama and the Kubjika Tantras of the Western Kaula Tradition" provides it on pp. 31—32, noting that "this system of classification is common to the Siddhantagamas as a whole and appears to have originated with them." Specifically he mentions Kamikagama (one of 28) as a source.
As i remember, Subramunia Swami somewhere gives a similar classification where Sadyojata stands for West, Vamadeva for East etc.

The 6th Face, lower Amnaya or Shaivasrotas, is of particular interest. Tirumantiram speaks of it as a Face of Anugraha-shakti, and Kaula-tantras mention it as a secret Face or Mouth of Yogini — which is a reference to the Yoni. This Yogini-mukha is the basic source of all Kula tradition, Rahasyamnaya of Shaivism.

In any case, thank U for sharing this scheme of Faces that U know. I am fond of such things

[Arjuna]

Namaste Sarabhanga,

Could U please tell is the practice of "rotating" of Panchakshari bijas present in Northern tradition of Shaivism and among Nathas?
It exists in South, and i guess U know what i speak about.

[Arjuna]

Tirumantiram provides the same model of Panchavaktra as per Siddhantagamas:

1741 Names of the Five Faces of Sadasiva
To recount the Five Faces where His Grace abounds
Thus it is:
The Northward Face is Vama
The Westward Face is Satyojata
The Eastward Face is Tatpurusha
The Southward Face is Aghora
The Upward Face is Isana.

1742 How Sakti dwells in the Five faces of Sadasiva
In the shining Isana face is Sakti's Crown;
In the Tatpurusha face is Her Visage
In the Aghora is Her Heart and Waist;
In the Vama face are Her Feet blessed.

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/reso...ntraSeven.html

[sarabhanga]

Namaste Arjuna,

By “rotating the bijas” do you mean different versions that start with each of the different bijas? If so, then yes ~ this is generally understood.

There are two basic Pancaksharas (namaH shivAya and shivAya namaH), although only the former is sanctioned by the Vedas.

And there are five Pancaksharas altogether:

na maH shi vA ya ~ maH shi vA ya na ~ shi vA ya na maH ~ vA ya na maH shi ~ ya na maH shi vA

[sarabhanga]

If the Rudra Gayatri is considered as Sadyojata (who traditionally greets the dawn); and if Bhairava is considered as Rudra (who traditionally dwells with Kubera and all the Ganas in the north); and if Aghora is considered as Yama (who traditionally dwells with the Pitris in the south); and if Sadyojata is relegated to the western “sunset” face (as the “old way” that has been replaced by a new perspective) ~ then the Tirumantiram version may be justified.

Tirumular wrote in Tamil, and his Tirumantiram is surely a later South Indian Shakta variation of the original Pashupata Shaiva doctrine.

[Arjuna]

Tirumular wrote in Tamil, and his Tirumantiram is surely a later South Indian Shakta variation of the original Pashupata Shaiva doctrine.

Namaste,

Tirumantiram was written about 6th century C.E. acc. to scientific dating. Thus he is not much later than original Shaivagamas. Perhaps the same Rishi (one of the Rishis more likely) who brounght Shaiva-siddhanta into South could have written Tirumantiram!

And version of Tirumantiram seems to be exactly the same as that of Siddhantagamas. The only thing i am not sure is the 6th "hidden" Face, which may be a Shakta doctrine (but may be just a correlation of Murugan!).

[Arjuna]

And there are five Pancaksharas altogether:
na maH shi vA ya ~ maH shi vA ya na ~ shi vA ya na maH ~ vA ya na maH shi ~ ya na maH shi vA

Yes, i was speaking about these. And do U know where this teaching is given in Shaivagamas (or elsewhere)? I know it from oral tradition and as i remember it is also present in Tirumantiram.