Verse 5 – Seat of Śakti

பொருந்திய முப்புரை! செப்புரை செய்யும் புணர்முலையால்
வருந்திய வஞ்சி மருங்குல் மனோன்மணி! வார்சடையோன்
அருந்திய நஞ்சு அமுதாக்கிய அம்பிகை! அம்புயமேல்
திருந்திய சுந்தரி அந்தரி பாதம்என் சென்னியதே.

Pŏrundiya muppurai! Śĕppurai śĕyyum puṇarmulaiyāl
Varundiya vañji maruṅgul manonmaṇi! Vārsaḍaiyon
Arundiya nañju amudākkiya ambigai! Ambuyamel
Tirundiya sundari andari pādamĕn śĕnniyade.

Translation: She is established in Tripurā. Has bosoms that defy/define the tensile strength of copper. Her slender waist is burdened by the heaviness of her bosoms. She is known by the name Manonmanī. The poison drunk by the Lord, who has matted hair as His crown, was converted into nectar by Her grace. She is the beautiful one who is seated on a lotus. She stands in the sky without any support and it’s Her feet that are placed upon my head.

Pŏrundiya – Completely fit in muppurai – Tripurā / three worlds. This nomenclature has multiple interpretations, starting with the Purāṇas, Śākta philosophy and Vedānta. Let's go over each of those and relate their significance in this verse. The asuras tormented the worlds with their flying castles, which were also named Tripurā. Lord Śiva was approached by the celestial beings to vanquish the asuras to restore order in the worlds. Lord Śiva goes to the battle alone, making the sun and moon the wheels of His chariot. Vāsuki the celestial snake as the bowstring and Mount Meru as His bow. He left for the battle with just a single arrow in a quiver and the arrow was none other than Nārāyaṇa. On the battlefield, Lord Śiva destroyed the Tripurā of the asuras with a smile and the single arrow from His quiver. This form of Lord Śiva is called Tripurā Saṁhāra Mūrti and His consort is called Tripurā.

Tripurā also denotes all triads in existence. The most common triad is the three states of existence. Namely, the states of being awake, dreaming, and deep sleep. These are the normal three states that people experience. However, beyond these three states, a fourth exists and is called Turiya. Śiva Sutra 1.7 states  Jāgratsvapnasuṣuptabhede turyābhogasambhavaḥ. From the commentary of Shri Ravi Guruji, it is clear that the Turiya state exists concurrently with the other three states of wake and sleep. However, this is not experienced by most people, until a higher state of meditation is established. As Devi is the embodiment of Māya, She exists in all the three states of the triads, as well as in the final state of Turiya. Hence, She is called Tripurā.

The term Tripurā also denotes the existence of the three bodies viz gross, subtle, and causal. Śakti, due to Her existence in all the three layers and being the force behind the existence of the three bodies, is called Tripurā.

In the Śrīcakrā, the Śakti’s of Lalitā exist as Mahā Kāmeśvarī, Mahā Vajreśvarī and Mahā Bhagamālini, responsible for Creation, Sustenance and Destruction respectively. Lalitā being the embodiment of all the three forms of Śakti, is known as Tripurā. Tirumantiram verse 401 states thus -

அளியார் முக்கோணம் வயிந்தவந் தன்னில்

அளியார் திரிபுரை யாமவள் தானே

அளியார் சதாசிவ மாகி அமைவாள்

கருமங்கள் ஐந்துசெய் வாளே.

Translation:

From Bindu by Orderly triangle denoted

The honeyed Śakti Tripurā devolved;

She became the Compassionate Sadāśiva

She it is, who’s the five merciful deeds performer.

Author’s Translation: From the Bindu, emerges the triangle. The one who is embodied in the Bindu triangle is Tripurā. She embodies Sadāśiva as She is seated upon Him and is the cause of the five actions i.e. Creation, Sustenance, Destruction, Illusion, and Benefaction. This further elucidates, that She as Śakti, expands from the Bindu into the inner triangle that houses the three forms of Śakti starting from Mahā Kāmeśvarī, traversing to Mahā Vajreśvarī and ending in Mahā Bhagamālini. As she is the cause of this triangle, she is called Tripurā. Lalitā Sahasranāmam also refers to this attribute as Trikoṇāntara-dīpikā त्रिकोणान्तर-दीपिका (597)

At the individual level, the karmas that one accrues are categorized into three, i.e. Sañcita, Prārarbdha and Āgamiyaṁ. Devi is the one who manages the karmic accounts and is responsible for their timely delivery. She being the controller of the cycle of life as Bhava-cakra-pravartinī भव-चक्र-प्रवर्तिनी (843), delivers the results of karma to the individuals. As Māya, She administers the three types of Karma and hence is also called Tripurā.

As She is the cause, constituent and effect of all the triads in existence viz. morning-noon and night, three gunas satva-rajo and tamo, knower-knowledge and known, etc., Devi is thus known as Tripurā.

Lalitā Sahasranāmam speaks about the triads of Devi in the following attributes -

Tripurā त्रिपुरा (626), Trijagad vandyā त्रिजगद् वन्द्या (627), Trimūrtiḥ त्रिमूर्तिः (628), Tridaśeśvarī त्रिदशेश्वरी (629), Tryakṣarī त्र्यक्षरी (630). She is the head of the three cities, worshipped by people of the three worlds. She is the cause of the actions of the holy trinity Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra. She is the śakti of the trinity and has three akṣaras as her mantra aiṁ-klīṁ-sauḥ and also the Pranava Aum with the syllables A-U-Ma.

Her bodily description in the Sahasranāmam also is done in three stages i.e. from head to neck, neck to waist, and waist to toe, denoting her mantra is Trikūṭā त्रिकूटा (588)

Śĕppurai śĕyyum puṇarmulaiyāl – Her bosoms are firm as that of copper / She defines the existence of the entire Creation / She nurtures the Creation with Her bosoms.

Lalitā Triśati states that her bosoms are firm and circular in the nāma kaṭhinastanamaṇḍalā कठिनस्तनमण्डला. With Her bosoms, She nurtures the entire Creation. This affirmation can also be supported by Her supreme Pañcadaśī mantra, where the second kūṭa ha-sa-ka-ha-la-hrīm stands for Sustenance. As Sustenance is the most difficult act, this kūṭa is lengthier than the other two kūṭas of the mantra. This is one reason that most of the stotras keep referring to Her bosoms at many places totally in awe of Her capability and mercy, as She nurtures and sustains the universe.

Varundiya vañji maruṅgul – Her slender waist is burdened due to the heaviness of Her bosoms.

Tirumantiram verse 402 also refers this as follows:

வாரணி கொங்கை மனோன்மணி மங்கலி

காரணி காரிய மாகக் கலந்தவள்

வாரணி ஆரணி வானவர் மோகினி

பூரணி .(1).போதாதி போதமு மாமே.

Translation:

She is Manonmanī, the ample-bosomed;

Maṅgalī, the ever auspicious;

Varaṇī of elephant form

Araṇī of haunting forests

Mohinī of tempting beauty

Pūraṇī--the Perfect Being,

Cause-Effect conjoint in one

Source: https://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/TirumantiramTamil-EnglishAll.htm

Author’s Translation: The one who has bosoms tied with a belt, is known as Manonmanī. She is ever auspicious, embodied in the cause and its action. In the form of an elephant, dwelling in the forests, seduces the beings of the sky. She, is the one who is completely perfect and is the epitome of ultimate knowledge.

From Ravi Guruji’s commentary on Manonmanī मनोन्मनी (207), it is understood that when the triads dissolve and the aspirant is ready for the merger, the stage is called manonmana. She is also called as Manonmanī as She is beyond the perception of thoughts and actions.

Vārsaḍaiyon Arundiya nañju amudākkiya ambigai! – She converted the poison into nectar, which was drunk by Lord Śiva. The act of Sustenance is repeatedly referred to in this verse, even when Lord Śiva drank the poison, Devi converts that into nectar and averts further catastrophe. This is another reason to refer to Her bosoms in this verse, as it denotes protection and sustenance of the entire existence. As Śiva represents all of existence, She protects Him from the poison, otherwise the entire Creation would plunge into deeper darkness. Soundarya lahari verse 28  states that Śiva was protected from the poison merely due to the glory of Her tāṭaṅka.

Ambuyamel – on the lotus, Tirundiya – with discipline, Sundari – Devi/beautiful lady andari – one who is in the sky, pādamĕn śĕnniyade. – your feet are on my head.

Bhattar exclaims the mercy of Devi who sits on the lotus and who pervades the sky, has placed Her feet on his head. In the Śaiva philosophy, the act of blessing a disciple by the guru is done by placing the guru’s feet on the disciple's head, which is known in Tamil as “Thiruvaḍi dīkṣā”. It is believed that Lord Śiva provided this Dīkṣa to Manickavasagar and a few other nayanmar. Similarly, as Devi is the ultimate Guru,  She alone can provide the ultimate knowledge. Her feet are ever placed on the feet of Bhattar, as he is always in contemplation of the ultimate knowledge or supreme consciousness, which is none other than Devi.

In another interpretation, if the lotuses mentioned in the verse are considered as the major cakras of the body, Devi is the one who aligns it and with a disciplined meditation on the cakras, She as Antarī, provides the knowledge of Śiva in the dvādaśānta space, which is twelve inches above one’s head. As she is above the head and pervading the space, she is also called Antarī. Disciplining cakras is nothing but clearing the blockages to make the free flow of the primordial kuṇḍalini śakti in the body. Bhattar also refers to the kuṇḍalini meditation practice in this verse.

The word lotus is also specifically used to denote the heart cakra or the seat of ātman, subtly conveying the contemplation of the heart cakra that will eventually lead to the emancipation of one’s soul with the grace of Śakti.

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