Verse 7 – Srividya and Samayācāra

ததியுறு மத்திற் சுழலும் என்ஆவி தளர்விலதோர்
கதியுறும் வண்ணம் கருது கண்டாய்; கமலாலயனும்,
மதியுறு வேணி மகிழ்நனும், மாலும் வணங்கிஎன்றும்
துதியுறு சேவடியாய்! சிந்துரானன சுந்தரியே.

tatiyuṟu mattiṟ cuḻalum ĕṉāvi tal̤arvilator
katiyuṟum vaṇṇam karutu kaṇṭāy; kamalālayaṉum,
matiyuṟu veṇi makiḻnaṉum, mālum vaṇaṅkiĕṉṟum
tutiyuṟu cevaṭiyāy! cinturāṉaṉa cuntariye.

Translation: I have got caught in the ever-ending cycle of transmigration that churns my soul similar to a staff that churns the butter milk pot. You have ensured that this soul would reach its ultimate destination. O beautiful damsel with a reddish face, your feet are worshipped by the trinity Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra ever.

tatiyuṟu – In the butter milk pot, mattiṟ - the staff that is used to churn the butter milk

cuḻalum – spinning/ revolving, tal̤arvilator – without rest.

In the yester years before electric appliances became commonplace, buttermilk would be churned manually with the help of a staff tied to a pillar. The staff would be immersed in the pot and would be continuously churned in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions. The alternate motions of the churning, would eventually separate the butter to start floating up to the top. Bhattar in this stanza, quotes this example in order to explain the cycle of transmigration.

The alternate motions of the staff in the pot, signifies the soul undergoing rebirth and again and again. This cycle of transmigration stops only when the soul realizes Brahman, which is equated to the butter separating from the curd. Just like the butter not dissolving in the curd after the churning, the soul that realizes Brahman will not get into the cycle of transmigration again. The transmigratory experience of the soul also happens without any rest, as the karma binding the individual souls causes immediate rebirth.

Arunagirinathar in his works on Tirupugazh # 848 states the following –

cŏl piḻai varāmal uṉaik kaṉakkat tutittu niṟpatu
varāta pavak kaṭattil cuḻaṟṟi

சொல் பிழை வராமல் உனைக் கனக்கத் துதித்து நிற்பது
வராத பவக் கடத்தில் சுழற்றி ...

Translation: Instead of repeating the sacred names that extol you and grant salvation, I go on spinning in the pot of transmigration due to ignorance. Pavam -transmigration, Katam – Pot, Cuḻaṟṟi – spin/revolve

Katiyuṟum vaṇṇam karutu kaṇṭāy – Ensured that the soul reaches a good state. Bhattar in this line praises Devi, as She has ensured that Bhattar’s soul, instead of getting caught in the transmigratory cycle, reaches a better state. The words Karutu, could subtly mean contemplation and kaṇṭāy means Dhyana - to perceive. Those who worship Devi, may by Her grace, will reach an elevated spiritual state, is the key message in this stanza, as they exit the transmigration cycle.

Saundarya Lahari verse#25 denotes a similar interpretation in which it says that the trinity offer pūja to Her in the lines -

trayāṇāṁ devānāṁ triguṇajanitānāṁ tava śive
bhavetpūjā pūjā tava caraṇayoryā viracitā |

When all the celestials worship Her, it is implicit that Her devotees get the blessings of all the celestial devatas. It does not make sense for Her devotee to go to a different devata at any time, as they are just another manifestation of Parādevi Herself. Bhattar emphasizes the devotion to only one form of  Devi in many stanzas, when it comes to individual ritualistic worship. If we take the previous stanza in to account, one who has the soḍaśi mantra upadeśa, should only stick to soḍaśi mantra and not deviate from it, by picking up multiple mantras to chant or recite for a specific purpose, as it hampers the fruition of the mantras. Shri Ravi Guruji has clearly mentioned that such deviations will hamper the results in his commentary on the verse#25 of Saundarya Lahari.

kamalālayaṉum – the one on lotus / Brahma / Tiruvarur Thyagaraja swamy, 
matiyuṟu veṇi makiḻnaṉu – the one with a crescent moon, Rudra, Puranic Śivā, mālum – Viṣṇu, vaṇaṅkiĕṉṟum – Ever worships, tutiyuṟu – Praises, cevaṭiyāy! – Lotus feet of, cinturāṉaṉa – The one with red face, cuntariye – beautiful lady.

Devi is constantly worshipped by the holy trinity i.e, Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra. Her feet is adorned by the trinity always. Shri Ravi Guruji’s commentary on Saundarya Lahari verse # 2 explains that Brahma creates all the worlds with the dust of Devi’s feet, which is sustained by Viṣṇu and destroyed by Rudra. Here the trinity can also be equated with the triads(Śivā, Śakti and Nara) of Trika philosophy.  The same triad in the Tamil Śaivite philosophy is called as “Pati, Pasu and Pasam”. The below verse #115 from Tirumantiram speaks on this triad.

பதிபசு பாசம் எனப்பகர் மூன்றில்

பதியினைப் போற்பசு பாசம் அனாதி

பதியினைச் சென்றணு காப்பசு பாசம்

பதியணு கிற்பசு பாசம் நில் லாவே. 3

Pati (God), Pasu (Soul) and Pasa (World) are Eternal
They speak of the Three--Pati, Pasu and Pasa;
Beginningless as Pati, Pasu and Pasa are:
But the Pasu-Pasa nears not the Pati supreme:
Let but Pati touch! the Pasu-Pasa is as naught.

(Courtesy: bhagavadgitausa.com)

Pati is Śiva, Pasu is the jīvātma and Pasam is the śakti who connects the Jīva either to the material world or to the source of creation. Thus, just like Śivā, Śakti is also eternal. Śakti is grace and power of Śiva - the ultimate, who is also known as Brahman in the Vedantic texts. The grace of Śiva, is manifested only through Śakti and it is through Śakti the Jīva reaches the ultimate and gets liberated. All manifested forms in the manifested world, are thus only Śakti, including the manifested and unmanifested forms. Thus, to reach the ultimate, the grace is required and to obtain the grace, the worship of Śakti in various forms are prescribed in Śrīvidyā and other Daśa Mahāvidyā methods of worship. As the trinities are also created beings of Devi, they worship Her to carry on their activities with grace and also for liberation.

The word kamalālayaṉum also denotes the Tyāgarāja Swamy of Tiruvarur, who symbolizes the mulādhāra kṣetra in the Śaivite philosophy. The Devi who is seated in a separate temple is called as Kamalāṃbika. The word also denotes the one inside the lotus, which could also mean the Heart centre where the Ātman dwells. Once this Ātman is realized, the person becomes ever blissful, which is denoted by makiḻnaṉu (happy) and also becomes Śiva. Such a person can also perform the acts of sustenance and destruction. Śiva Sūtra Verse III.13 states Siddhaḥ svatantrabhāvaḥ सिद्धः स्वतन्त्रभावः॥ (sūtra III.13), Shri Ravi Guruji’s commentary states - “When the aspirant has achieved such an independence, he automatically realizes his inherent svātantryaśakti, that is capable of controlling every aspect of the universe”, which further attests the interpretation for this verse on Devi.

This entire stanza also subtly conveys the Prāṇāyāma and Granthi bhedana in samayācāra meditative practices of Śrīvidyā. The movement of the stick in the curd pot, is nothing but the inhalation and exhalation of breath in an individual, and the stick and rope, symbolize the firm holding of breath. The final product i.e., butter, is the result of obtaining the irrevocable understanding of Ātman in an individual. Such a practice of prāṇāyāma, will lead to the unknotting of Brahma granthi, Viṣṇu granthi and Rudra granthi respectively. The one who does this practice of contemplating the Ātman either in the six dominant lotuses or cakras, or at the heart centre, will realize both Śakti and Śiva eventually. A Similar stanza from Tirumantiram Verse #568 reproduced below, further elucidates this explanation.

568. ஏறுதல் பூரகம் ஈரெட்டு வாமத்தால்

ஆறுதல் கும்பம் அறுபத்து நாலதில்

ஊறுதல் முப்பத் திரண்டதி ரேசகம்

மாறுதல் ஒன்றின்fகண் வஞ்சக மாமே

Puraka Kumbhaka Resaka – Alternate cleansing of Nāḍis.
Purakam is to inhale by left nostril for mātras (instant) of six and ten.
Kumbhakam is to retain that breath for mātras four and sixty.
Resakam is to exhale thereafter, for mātras of two and thirty.
Thus alternate from left to right and right to left with Kumbhakam in between.

(Source : bagavadgitausa.com)

Translation: Purakam is the left nostril inhalation for 16 counts and Kumbakam is the retention for 64 counts and Recakam is the right nostril exhalation for 32 counts. Alternating this method between left and right nostrils is called vañcakam.

Shri Ravi Guruji in his articles on breathing exercises has advocated this method as a practice before commencing meditation.

Thus, in this stanza, Bhattar gives us a glimpse into the samayācāra practice of Srividya subtly.

This article is wirtten by Shri Arun who can be contacted at arun.radhakrishnan25@gmail.com