Verse 4 - Invocation of Siva Shakti

மனிதரும் தேவரும் மாயா முனிவரும் வந்து சென்னி

குனிதரும் சேவடிக் கோமளமே! கொன்றை வார்சடைமேல்

பனிதரும் திங்களும், பாம்பும், பகீரதியும் படைத்த

புனிதரும் நீயும் என்புந்தி எந்நாளும் பொருந்துகவே.

maṉitarum tevarum māyā muṉivarum vantu cĕṉṉi

kuṉitarum cevaṭik komal̤ame! kŏṉṟai vārcaṭaimel

paṉitarum tiṅkal̤um, pāmpum, pakīratiyum paṭaitta

puṉitarum nīyum ĕṉpunti ĕnnāl̤um pŏruntukave.

Translation: Men, Celestials, and Ageless Saints bow down and place their crowns at your beautiful lotus feet. The Lord who is adorned with golden shower flowers and bedecked on the forehead with a moon emitting cool rays, as well as a snake wrapped on His body and Bhāgīrathi - river Ganges, on his matted locks of hair, is beside you at all times. May you and the pristine Lord, be ever present in my mind at all times.

Worship of the Divine Mother has been undertaken by many at various times and places. The worship of the Divine Mother is not limited to only a specific group of beings, She is the Divine Mother and the manifested form of Brahman. The Creation has sought Her grace through various means from time immemorial. Men of all classes have worshiped Abirāmi, which can be inferred by the word maṉitarum. To quote a few references - in Devī Māhātmyaṁ, King Suratā and Vaiśyā Samādi worshipped Her to invoke Her blessings. History states that Kalidasa was a devi upāsakā who composed the famous Śyāmalā Daṇḍakam. In the recent past, we have seen eminent poets like Subramanya Bharathi aka Bharathiyar, who was an upāsakā of Devi.

Men from time immemorial have worshipped Devi to obtain boons. All Devi upāsakās obtained name, fame, and wealth, as they sought blessings from Abirāmi. This can be widely seen from the lives of these great personalities. It is important to note that men became great after worshipping Her and not necessarily that great men worshipped Her. Lords Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, the famous incarnations of Maha Viṣṇu had worshipped Devi during their times of distress, to obtain strength and overcome the troubles encountered. For instance, Lord Rāma worshipped Devi in the form of Durga before the battle with Rāvaṇa. Devī Bhāgavataṁ was recited and worshipped to ensure Lord Kṛṣṇa’s safe return, when Lord Kṛṣṇa went in search of retrieving the famed Śamantakamaṇi, for which he was falsely accused of stealing. Manu, the foremost among men, worshipped Abirāmi and it is recorded in Lalitā sahasranāma as Manu-vidyā मनु-विद्या (238). King Suratā becomes the Manu for Sāvarṇi Manvantarā and Vaiśyā Samādi attains ultimate wisdom, as a result of worshipping the Divine Mother.

tevarum - All Celestials. Abirāmi’s worship was undertaken by all celestial beings for their welfare. Lalitā Upākhyānam recounts the appearance of Lalitā in Brahmāṇḍa purāṇa and narrates the incidents of turmoil between the celestial Devas and their step-brothers Asurās. When there were times of tribulations for the celestial Devas accompanied by an incessant torment by the Asurās leading to their exile, the celestials turned to Abirāmi for intervention by invoking Her in fire rituals and offering themselves as sacrifice. She appeared out of that same fire pit that contained the bodies of the celestials and hence She is called as Cidagnikuṇḍa-saṃbhūtā चिदग्निकुण्ड-संभूता (4) in Lalitā Sahasranāma. The subtle interpretation conveyed here is that She appeared out of the Cit-consciousness of the celestials. Here celestials refer to those who have raised their consciousness to the level of a celestial being or purified their mind and intellect to such an extent, that they can witness the appearance of Abirāmi in their consciousness. The storyline given in the Purāṇas, can always be interpreted in both gross and subtle terms. As She appeared out of the sacrificial fire to help the celestials, Lalitā sahasranāma calls her Devakārya-samudyatā देवकार्य-समुद्यता (5).

Kandar anubūthi, an experience of the ultimate, by Saint Aruṇagirināthar, states as follows -

நாதா, குமரா நம என்று அரனார்

ஓதாய் என ஓதியது எப்பொருள் தான்?

வேதா முதல் விண்ணவர் சூடும் மலர்ப்

பாதா குறமின் பத சேகரனே.

nātā, kumarā nama ĕṉṟu araṉār

otāy ĕṉa otiyatu ĕppŏrul̤ tāṉ?

vetā mutal viṇṇavar cūṭum malarp

pātā kuṟamiṉ pata cekaraṉe.

Translation by Swamiji N.V Karthikeyan: (Sourced from http://www.arunagirinathar.in/p/the-esoteric-kandar-anubhuti-ebook.html )

"Prostrations, O Lord Kumāra!" — So, please tell, when Śiva the Great, implored You for Upadeśa, what secret did You impart? Brahma and the gods, on their heads, adorn Your Lotus-Feet! O Lord, You adorn your head with the huntress' Feet!

“O Lord Skanda! Brahma and other gods adorn their heads with Thy Lotus-Feet, while You adorn Your head with that huntress’ (Valli Devi) Feet! ‘Lord Kumāra, Prostrations to You! (Be gracious to) Instruct Me.’ -- So please tell, when Lord Śiva beseeched You, what was the (Secret) Teaching that You imparted to Him?”

Translation from Author: Lord Śiva, prayed to you with your Kumāra Pañcākṣarā as “kumārā namaḥ” and requested you to impart the secret teachings, please teach me as well, that which you have taught to Lord Śiva, O Skanda your lotus feet are adorned by Brahma and other celestials on their heads, though you collect the footprints of / adorn your head with the feet of Goddess Valli.

Abirāmi and Lord Skanda, in this context display their unity in terms of imparting the teachings to celestials and men alike. It is to be noted that when the consciousness of men is raised to the level of a celestial, the Lord imparts the complete teaching as the Guru and leads the sādhakā to liberation. In the context of the Kandar anubūthi, Lord Śiva, Brahma and other celestial beings adorned the feet of Lord Skanda on their heads and requested for imparting the secret teachings of the Vedas. Thus, when Bhattar refers to tevarum in Abirāmi Anthathi, he subtly conveys that the consciousness of Men, which when elevated to tevarum - as celestials, the secret teachings towards liberation will be imparted by Lord Skanda or Abirāmi, in one of their various forms. Since Lord Skanda is the Guru of Śiva, he is the Guru of all of us and thus taking the form of one’s Guru, He will teach us the knowledge of the ultimate.

māyā muṉivarum - Ageless / immortal saints / Sage Mārkaṇḍeya. As inferred by the Sthala Purāṇam of Thirukaḍaiyur Kṣetra, Lord Śiva appeared and killed Lord Yama with a kick from his left foot to save sage Mārkaṇḍeya from impending death. Because of this grace, sage Mārkaṇḍeya attained immortality and eternal youth. Therefore, the term māyā muṉivarum also refers to Mārkaṇḍeya. However, if we continue to interpret this term along with the context of men, celestials and saints in that order, it also means that once men become refined in their consciousness and reach the level of celestials and after getting imparted with the sacred teachings of the Lord on Ātma darśana, the same men become immortal and conquer death, hence the term māyā muṉivarum. Here deathlessness is achieved because men achieve the state of liberation and are freed from the cycle of birth. Since they achieve the state of no birth, they achieve deathlessness. For achieving such a state of liberation, men, celestials and sages, adore the feet of Abirāmi, as stated in vantu cĕṉṉi kuṉitarum cevaṭik komal̤ame - they come and bow down at the beautiful lotus feet of Abirāmi.

cevaṭik komal̤ame kŏṉṟai vārcaṭaimel - Lotus feet of Abirāmi are on the Matted locks of Śiva. Kandar anubūthi also states this interpretation in verse 36 as seen earlier with reference to Lord Skanda adorning the feet of Valli on His head, mentioned in the line kuṟamiṉ pata cekaraṉe. Bhattar also makes the same inference in the coming poems, especially in stanza 35 starting with the words tiṅkaṭ pakaviṉ maṇamnāṟum.

As Śiva and Skanda are Gurus of the world who have propitiated Abirāmi, Lalitā Sahasranāma notates and honours them as Śivārādhyā शिवाराध्या (406) - She is worshipped by Śiva. Śiva and Skanda being Gurus, have demonstrated to the world how to worship the Divine Mother by their own acts. Arunagirinathar in his Tirupugazh calls Skanda as Vīrācarya, as Skanda did the worship of Abirāmi in the warrior like Vīra bhava and thereby became the commander of the celestial armies. Lord Śiva on the other hand, gave the tantra sastras to the world and as the foremost Ādi guru of Abirāmi worship, performed the same act for the benefit of all sādhakās. As Gurus, they meditated on the lotus feet of Abirāmi / Valli and have shown us the right way of worship and meditation.

In the Śaiva philosophy, out of the five sabhas or theaters where the dance of Lord Natarāja is performed, Tiruvālaṅgāḍu is one of them. This place is referred to as Ratna Sabha. Situated in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, this serene temple is the house of Lord Natarāja and the dance in this place is called Ūrdhva Tāṇḍava, wherein He lifts His left leg upward and reclines it towards His matted crown. Since He lifted His leg in this fashion, the dance is also named Ūrdhva Tāṇḍava. The subtle message conveyed here is that the Lord’s dance in this pose will propel one’s consciousness upward. When one worships Śakti, She takes you to the crown of Śiva or makes you equal to Śiva, which is nothing but the knowledge of Śiva. Devotees having a darśan of the Lord and understanding the meaning of this dance, will benefit surely by propelling their spiritual knowledge.

One of the 63 nayanmars, a female saint named Karaikkal Ammayar, used to walk on her head to this place to obtain the darśan of the Lord. In her poems, she establishes that the darśan of the Lord’s dance in Tiruvālaṅgāḍu, will absolve one from all their sins. The subtler meaning of Tiruvālaṅgāḍu or banyan forest, is the Sahasrāra cakra. Just like multiple branches of a banyan tree, Sahasrāra petals are countless and the darśan of the Lord in Sahasrāra is symbolically denoted by lifting the left leg up, which is the śakti bhāga of Śiva, which is again raising one’s kuṇḍalini śakti to the crown. The meaning conveyed by the upward dance, is nothing but the dance of Śiva and Śakti in their union within the sādhakā’s Sahasrāra. Thus, the line cevaṭik komal̤ame kŏṉṟai vārcaṭaimel in its subtlety, conveys the realization of the self, which confers the realization of Śiva. When Ravi Guruji once said “Ātman Ātmanena paśyati - Ātma can be seen only by Ātma” he meant that the Self can be realized only by the Self. Thus by becoming Śiva, one realizes Śiva.

Paṉitarum tiṅkal̤um, pāmpum, pakīratiyum paṭaitta puṉitarum - Śiva the pure, is adorned with a moon generating a very calming sensation and a cool atmosphere. He is also wrapped by a snake on His body and the river ganges flows in the hairlocks on the top of His head. As Abirāmi’s śakti - kuṇḍalini śakti goes to the crown chakra, a person becomes pure like Lord Śiva. Further, as one becomes pure, the cool rays of the moon act upon him and dissolve one’s karma, as a result of which, the serenity of the mind is realized. Just as a snake is ever alert on the object in front of it, the mind being pure and free from modifications is ever alert on the awareness of self, and as the Ganges washes down the sins of mortals on the earth, this realization of Śiva or Atman, absolves the sins and prepares the sādhakā for his next leg of journey i.e., Śivajñāna or knowledge of Śiva which is also liberation. The realization of the Self alone in the Sahasrāra is not realization, as put down by Ravi Guruji. One must go to the state of Paramaśiva or Mahāśūnya to get liberated. This destination is prayed by Bhattar in the line nīyum ĕṉpunti ĕnnāl̤um pŏruntukave - which means “O Abirāmi, you along with your consort be in my consciousness forever”. This can happen only when the Paramaśiva state is realized and the knowledge of Brahman is firmly established in the sādhakā, making him the same as Śiva.

Bhattar in this verse speaks about the devotees of Abirāmi, the benefits accrued due to Her worship, and the ultimate realization of Self as Śiva.

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