विशुद्धौ ते शुद्धस्फटिकविशदं व्योमजनकं
शिवं सेवे देवीमपि शिवसमानव्यवसिताम्।
ययोः कान्त्या यान्त्याश्शशिकिरणसारूप्यसरणेः
विधूतान्तर्ध्वान्ता विलसति चकोरीव जगती॥

viśuddhau te śuddhasphaṭikaviśadaṁ vyomajanakaṁ
śivaṁ seve devīmapi śivasamānavyavasitām |
yayoḥ kāntyā yāntyāśśaśikiraṇasārūpyasaraṇeḥ
vidhūtāntardhvāntā vilasati cakorīva jagatī ||

viśuddhau te – Your viśuddhi cakra; śuddha sphaṭika viśadaṁ - like a pure crystal; vyoma janakaṁ - creator of ākāśa (sky or space); śivaṁ - Śiva; seve devīm api – I worship Parāśakti; śiva samāna vyavasitām – (came to conclusion that She is in) equality with Śiva; yayoḥ - whose (Śiva and Śakti); kāntya – effulgence; yāntyā śaśikiraṇa sārūpya saraṇe - glowing like the radiance of rays of the moon; vidhūta antardhvānta – covered by darkness of ignorance; vilasati – shining; cakor īva – like the female game bird; jagatī - universe.

“I worship Your viśuddhi cakra, which appears like a clear crystal, similar to Śiva, the Creator of ākāśa. I conclude that You too have the same qualities as that of Śiva. By the effulgence radiating from both of You (Śiva-Śakti), which glows like rays of the moon, the universe which remained covered by darkness is illumined, like the game bird rejoicing in the light of the moon.”

Previous verse spoke about ājñācakra, which is related to mind. Viśuddhi cakra that is spoken of in this verse is related to one of the five principle elements, ākāśa. Ājñācakra represents the Divine Will of Śiva to create. When He decided to created, He first created ākāśa. Taittirīya Upaniṣad (II.1) explains this by saying, “from the Self came space (ākāśa) …” From space, other elements (pañcabhūta-s) originated and ultimately beings were created.

(Kuṇḍalinī is directly related to creation. Śiva is always present in sahasrāra. At the time of creation, He comes down to ājñācakra, where He develops His desire to create. Ājñācakra represents mind. When He has decided to create, He first creates space (ākāśa), in viśuddhi cakra, air in heart chakra, fire in navel chakra, water in svādhiṣṭhāna chakra and finally earth, the grossest of all the five elements in the base chakra.)

In the previous verse, Śaṁkarācārya said that he was able to see Śiva in the ājñācakra of Parāśakti. In this verse, he says that he sees both Śiva and Śakti in the viśuddhi cakra (throat chakra) of Parāśakti. Because of the presence of Śiva (He is known as Sadāśiva here) in Her viśuddhi cakra, which normally radiates blue colour, now appears like a crystal, which is the complexion of Śiva. Śiva is devoid of any colours and always appears like a transparent crystal. Generally, if Śakti sits by Śiva’s side or on His left lap, Her bright red complexion gets diffused in His crystal complexion and they both together appear as the bright red sun at the dawn. Once, gods mistook their appearance for rising sun.  (Meditating on Parāśakti at the time of dawn and dusk will yield quick results.) But, Lalitā Sahasranāma (476) says that yogini by name Ḍākinī, who is presiding over viśuddhi cakra has mild red complexion.

Because of the presence of Śiva and Śakti together, viśuddhi cakra of Parāśakti radiates like the rays of the moon. There are two important points that are to be noticed here. Śiva by nature is very hot, like fire. Śrī Rudram says kālāgni rudrāya, where kālāgni means the fire that arises from Śiva at the time of annihilation of the universe (fire at the time of annihilation is caused by the collision of the various planets in the universe. When Śiva triggers annihilation, gravitational force is withdrawn, causing collision of the planets).  But, because of the presence of Śakti, who always remains by His side and whose mere presence cools down the nature of Śiva,  Śaṁkarācārya is able to see cool rays emanating from both of them. This is another instance of their interdependence. Without Śiva, there is no Light and without Her, the Power of Śiva’s Light would burn the entire universe. Śiva’s Light is too powerful and fierce and She alone can diffuse that Light by controlling the heat of His kālāgni. Śiva is Prakāśa and She is Vimarśa.

There is one more interpretation possible. At the time of initial creation, only Śiva was there. Śiva is full of Prakāśa or Self-illumination. Since His Light could not be reflected to the universe, Śiva created Parāśakti to reflect His Light to the universe. As soon as Śakti came into existence, the universe was illuminated, as She alone is capable of reflecting His Light. This is with regard to macrocosm. With regard to microcosm, darkness means spiritual ignorance. When Śiva and Śakti are contemplated together, spiritual ignorance of the contemplator is removed, leading to realization of the Self.

The Supreme mantra of all mantras is known as paraprāsāda mantra and this mantra is known as “hamsa” mantra. In this mantra, “ha” refers to Śiva and “sa” refers to Śakti. This is the combination of one’s exhalation and inhalation. It can also be said that paraprāsāda mantra originates from Her viśuddhi cakra, where both Śiva and Śakti are realized.

There is a reference to a type of bird known as cakora birds, which will fly only in the moon light. In the same way, if both Śiva and Śakti are contemplated with a clean mind, devoid of any thought processes, spiritual ignorance is removed due to their Grace, leading to realization. The aspirant becomes identified with Them and this state is known as sārūpya.  {Liberation is of four types: Sālokya, co-existence with the Lord in His world.  Sārūpya, attaining the same form as that of the Lord.  Sāmīpya, proximity as that of the Lord. Sāyujya, absorption into the Lord Himself. The first one progressively leads to the last one.  But the thought process of identifying the self with the Lord (sāyujya) leads to fast track emancipation.}