Match Play

awareness, or has merely bodha {cinmdtrasydpi) b u t not svdtantrya, th ere is the kriydJakti (i.e., even his cinmdtratd or bodha is a subtle form of kriydSakti). T h a t compactness (ghanatd) accruing a t vis- arga-paday according to the m ode as described earlier (uktanityd) is produced by the group of six Saktisy viz., ay dy iy iy uy fi; or anut- taray dnanday icchdy Uandy unme$ay and Qnatd. T hus the five classes o f city dnanday icchdyjHdnay and kriyd m ultiplied by six iaktis (anut- tar a etc.) referred to above become thirty. W ith the addition of

th e six referred to above,the total becomes thirty-six tattvas. T hus Siva-6(/a i.e. svara (vowel) becoming condensed through

its autonom y and abiding in the fdkta-rdpa in a iakti form as kusuma (blood) is called yoni i.e. a consonant. 3 (By the com bi­ nation of Siva-^i/a and $dkta-yoniy there is universal m anifestation).

T h a t red sperm o f Sakti or female principle according to the principle referred to before, consisting of three angles viz., grdhya (object), grahana (knowledge), grdhaka (subject) when m ingled w ith the semen of Siva or m ale principle becomes the place of procreation (visargapada) or external expansion. I t is only by th e m eeting o f both Siva and Sakti th a t there is the activity o f pu$pa or the female creative red sperm, i.e. in the female aspect, it is known as yoni or female organ of generation because o f its fitness for m ating by the Siva aspect or male. Therefore, th a t red sperm (kusumam eva) itself being three-angled represents the^ani o r female organ o f generation. A t this stage, the triad o f grdhya or prameya (object), grahana or pramdna (knowledge), grdhaka or pramdtd (subject) symbolizes clearly the three forms of soma (m oon), sUrya (sun), agni (fire), ffitiySthitiySarjihdrayiddy pihgaldy

176 Pard-Trtiikd- Vivarana susumnd, dharma, adharma, and m ixed form o f the two i.e. dharmd- dharma. T h e triadic Sakti o f the Suprem e is known as Bhairavi. T h e m eeting point or union of Siva an d Sakti now appears in the form o f a hexagonal (fafkona) mudrd and being the spot an d basis of the generation of m anifestation is designated as yoni or the female organ o f generation. (W hile both Siva an d Sakti are separately triadic, their union is hexagonal) . 6

In the chapter on khandacakravicdra in K ubjikam ata, it is w ith reference to this m atter th a t it has been declared: “ T here is mahdmdyd above mayd who is the very em bodim ent o f bliss because o f her being o f a triangular aspect.” Therefore, the union o f Siva a n d Sakti w hich is represented by semen (bija) an d ovum (kusu~ ma) being fused into one compactness should be worshipped by oneself in the form o f his Self. This is w hat has been advised in T rik ata n trasara:

“ T h e spiritual aspirant who experiences his identity w ith the incipient unity o f Siva-Sakti found in icchd-iakti an d w ith their com pact unity found in jnana-Sakti should worship the highest tria d o f the union o f the triangular aspect of Siva and the triangu­ lar aspect o f Sakti.”

Therefore, though th e condensation o f the phonemes becomes distinct only in the vaikhari or gross aspect, yet it abides prim arily in the suprem e verbum (pardvdk) which is all inclusive (sarvasarvd- tmaka).

In th a t (i.e. in para), even th e organs o f speech (sthdna) such as thro at, lips an d m anner of articulation (karana) are all-inclu­ sive. This is the special point to be noted. Even inw ardly one m utters an d envisions. T his is a m atter of distinct experience. T h eir difference is due to the various organs o f utterance, for audition is the very life o f th e letters. M oreover, even a child, w hen he is being tau g h t the use of words, learns th e names o f various objects by m uttering the words within. Even while h e thinks in the opposite way or in an uncertain way, so long as he uses his m ind, he does know som ething. All understanding is due to use of words. So letters which are produced by contrac­ tion o f the th ro at (samvdra), expansion of th e th ro a t (vivdra), which are unaspirated (alpaprdna) an d which are aspirated (mahdprdna) w ith th e aid of breath and sound are present, ac­ cording to their ap propriate nature, inw ardly (in madhyamd an d

Abhinavagupta 177 paJyanti,) as they are in vaikhari). O therwise (i.e., if it were not so) then on account of there being no difference in the letters produced by the sam e organ o f articulation, the powers o f the senses uttering the letters separately would disappear even in vaikhari. Besides diversity o f ideas like ‘I hear* (in vaikhari) a n d ‘I heard* (in madhyamâ an d paiyanti) ; ‘I see* (in vaikhari) an d ‘I saw’ (in madhyamâ an d paJyanti); ‘I id eate’ (in vaikhari) an d ‘I ideated’ (in madhyamâ and paSyanti) would otherwise be impos­ sible (i.e., if these diversities were not present in the inner states). So by this repeatedly thought-out reasoning, entering m ore an d m ore in the interior, cherish th a t consciousness w hich is a mass o f awareness an d is all-inclusive, 6 and therefore the abode o f g u ttu ral

an d labial energies (also), an d in w hich inheres th a t creative I-consciousness, viz. aharp. which is the very quintessence o f auto­ nomy, which is th e venerable phonem e, the highest mantra, a n d is (always) inherent within. I f one were to object, “ in th a t undiff­ erentiated mass o f consciousness, how can there be a division like: this is the organ of utterance, this the articulation, this the letter etc.?” m y reply would be: “ th a t unbounded, absolute freedom brings abo ut in the suprem e Self of every one different appreh en ­ sions like ‘this is a j a r ’ (external o b jec t); ‘this is happiness’

(internal o b ject); ‘this is knowledge’ (pramâna); ‘I am the kno- w er’ (pramâtâ or su b ject).” In this diversity o f experiences w h at an d how m uch is the exertion?7

Therefore one and the same venerable suprem e verbum (ekaiva parâbhaf(ârikâ)y being all inclusive, abides as the highest L ord in all, w hether stone, tree, anim al, m an, god, R u d ra, pralayâkala or vijhânâkala (kevali), M an tra, M antreSvara, M antram ahesvara a n d others. Therefore, M âtfkâ whose body consists o f letters (and sounds) which reside in various stations as their very soul either in indistinct (asphufa) or im perceptible (avyakta) way as in madhyamâ or in d istin c t (sphufa) or perceptible (vyakta) way as in vaikhari is declared as the efficacious potency o f mantra

(mantravirya).

Similarly it is said th at the same note produced a t different places in different instrum ents like the vinâ, vipanci (a vinâ w ith nine strings), kacchapi (another vinâ w ith a tortoise-shaped sound­ b o ard ), muraja (a kind of dru m ) is said to be belonging to th e same register (ekasthâna) . 8

178 Pard-TrUikd- Vivararia Similarly, the basic or the starting note (sthdyi svara) in diff­ erent registers, such as bass (mandra), m iddle (madhya) and upper

(lard) is said to be th e same. Similarly the same phonem e is produced in some creatures from different organs. For instance, it is found th a t in crows, the sounds lk a \ ‘(d an d Va* are pro­ duced jointly by so m any organs, such as stom ach, anus, th ro at, palate. T hough they (ka, fa, ra etc. o f crows) are indistinct, they are all right in themselves, being phonem e, an d a phonem e a p a rt from M dtjkd is impossible. I f it is said th a t certain phone­ mes are separate from M dtjkd, and being indistinct and m eaning­ less, they are useless, therefore, they should not be accepted, we say th a t this is no t correct. T here is usefulness even o f an indi­ stinct phonem e, such as the sound of a muraja (a kind of d ru m ) or of an ocean in as m uch as it is helpful in bringing about joy or sorrow. W hat othei utility is desired? In Saiva Sastra also, mostly those have been chosen as mantra whose phonemes are indistinct, for instance (indistinct sound of pranava in ) ardhacan- dra etc. are said to be the very essence of a mantra. I t is also said th a t the mantra a t th e stage o f nirodhini makes only a hissing sound. T h e (indistinct) sound of bell, cym bal etc. which strikes th e ear h as also been (agreeably) indicated in the teaching ab out ndda- yoga. I t has been said in Guhyayogin! T a n tra : “ As the horse neighs, as the tam e ox bellows, as the lion roars, as the camel produces a g u ttu ral sound, even so the powerfulyoginis (balddhikdh) by m u tt­ ering a mantra (of indistinct sound) draw down the very life of paius (em pirical beings). This is the application o f mahdmantra

which is used in draw ing towards oneself even th a t w hich cannot be overpowered” . This is only an expedient.

In fact, “ I t is the inn er sound th a t is mantra” . Mahdmantras which have distinct an d m eaningful phonemes can be easily used both by you and us.

Therefore, the indistinct sound also is definitely o f th e form o f phonem e, ju st as a ja r placed even a t a distance is j a r all the same. This is settled. T h a t a phonem e, though produced in different places, through the difference o f prdna, like th a t o f a b ird or kettle-drum etc., is the same phonem e—this is also settled. T herefore w hat the sage Patafljali says, viz. “ T here can be a knowledge of the sound of all beings to the yogi,” is fully realized by m e now. Otherwise how can th a t which is a commingling

Abhinavagupta 179 o f word, object and idea {fabddrthapraiyaydndrji) by m utual im ­ position (itaretarddhydso) , an d th a t acquisition o f Suprem e Genius which can distinguish them in their m inutest detail by m eans of a com bined operation {sarjiyama) o f dhdrand (concentration), dhydna (m editation ) and samddhi (entranced atte n tio n ) on each of them separately an d in th e knowledge of the cooing of birds etc. w ithout th eir distinct phonem e (asphufa varna)? W hen those indistinct phonem es also (i.e. the asphufa or indistinct phonemes like those of birds e tc .) acquire the status of words which have perfectly clear m eaning (lit., whose m eanings are really identical w ith those words) like distinct phonemes (varndndmiva) , then according to the principle m entioned, the cooing o f birds and even the sounds of kettle dru m etc. become full o f m eaning. T h en as the cooing o f birds has some m eaning, even so the sound o f drum m ay be indicative o f either conquest or defeat (in b attle). I t is from th a t point o f view only th a t the different Sutras o f Sik§a (the sci­ ence of proper articulation and pronunciation o f words) etc., according to some (hay and visarga are to be pronounced ‘from th e chest’, according to others, they are to be pronounced ‘from th e root o f the teeth ’, can have some sense, not a t all other­ wise. T his is the reason why on the basis o f slight difference, gram m arians being in do ubt about the different forms of pho­ nemes have increased the list of phonemes to sixty-four by con­ sidering th e following as different phonem es:

1. JihvdmUllya and upadhmdniya from visarjaniya.10

2. T h e five yama akjaras: nurji, Hurji, nurjxy nurjiy murji as different from the five nasal phonemes nay Ha, nay na, ma though they are only varied forms o f the la tte r. 11

3. By taking the varied form o f day $(ha, y a y ray lay vay k$a by m eans o f a short form o f articulation as different from those letters.

I n this division o f phonemes, there is th e same difference between f an d r as between vowel an d consonant. I t has been said in T rikaratnakula also: “ T he M dtfkd whose variety has been deter­ m ined by m ultiplying eight by eight (8 x8 = 64) alone should

be considered as kulacakra (i.e. iakti cakra).12 T h a t kulacakra per­ vades the entire universe. T h e difference o f these 64 phonemes has been determ ined in detail in the work ‘M atrkajfianabheda*.

180 Pard-Trtfikd-Vivarana H ere (i.e. in T rik a ), there is no fondness for th a t procedure for integral wholeness or perfection is the essence of this system. So, there is such m ethod of the entrance into the supreme conscious­ ness everywhere. W hether in jndnaSakti (sahkalpyamdnah) or in kriyafakti (kriyamdnah), every object rests on the superb splendour o f th e mantra of suprem e verbum , viz. the pure, creative I-con- sciousness (vimarfatma) which is one’s essential n atu re (svarupa- bhuta) and which is non-mdyiya (non-em pirical) and unconven­ tional (asanketika). I t is th a t state which is lauded by all the schools o f philosophy as indeterm inate (nirvikalpa). T h a t splen­ dour o f the suprem e mantra {paramantramahah) is present in earth category etc. both in unm ixed or mixed state in the form of vowels (bija) an d consonants (pin^la) in phonemes like cka’ etc. O th er­ wise there would have been no difference between the deter­ m inate different pairs o f knowledge, such as M eru-m ountain and Ju ju b e fruit, w ater and fire, j a r (an external experience) and pleasure (an inner experience) an d their indeterm inate know­ ledge. Even determ inate knowledge (vikalpa) w hich arises only from the heediessness (of the indeterm inate state) would have followed the same p a th (i.e. in th a t also there would not have been m utual distinction). O n the contrary, it could not have been able to m ake the distinction-less indeterm inate state as the basis o f all distinctions. T h e fact is th a t the mantra (of I-consciousness or pardvak) which transcends all conventionality is tau g h t as the object of worship by the all-knowing teachers even when they know th a t th a t mantra is the source o f all th e m utually distinctive conventions. I t is, indeed, in th a t non-conventional splendour o f th e suprem e verbum (vdnmahasi) i.e. into aham (I) th a t all em ­ pirical (mdyiya) conventional symbols so term inate th a t they i.e., th e mdyiya (em pirical) symbols attain identity w ith th a t trans­ cendental, non-conventional mantra, viz., aham. T h e only signi­ fication of those em pirical (mdyiya) conventional symbols con­ sists in the attainm en t o f the experience of the essential n atu re o f the non-conventional, there is no other signification of these sym­ bols. By constant repetition when one enters the sphere of the non-conventional, one recollects clearly th a t the consciousness of the word ‘go’ (cow) attained in a rem ote past (or in a previous life) and later, on the occasion o f conventional use, the conscious­ ness attainable of a visible cow— both m erge ultim ately in a higher