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Hinduism: Hymn to Kali
VERSE 5
O MOTHER, they who recite Thy charming Bija, composed of the first of
the group of letters, 1 followed by Vahni, 2 Rati, 3 and beautified by
Vidhu, 4 thrice, the Kürca Bija 5 twice, and thereafter, O Smiling Face,
the Lajja 6 Bija twice, followed by the two Thas, 7 they, O Spouse of
the Destroyer of the Deva of Desire 8 contemplating Thy true form, 9
become themselves the Deva of Love whose eyes are as beautiful as the
petals of the lotus which Lakṣmi holds in Her playful dance. 10
COMMENTARY
'Whoever' (Ye, ye)
Even the most sinful. The Kalikularahasya says, 'Whoever he be who
remembers Durga with or without reverence is delivered from evil and
attains the supreme end.'
'Recite' (Japanti)
Meditate upon.
'Thy Bija'
[Durgarama SiddhantavagiSa calls it the nine syllabled Bija.]
First letter (Vargadyaṁ)
The aspect of Consciousness (Cinmayarūpa) which is the beginning of
creation.
Placed on Vahni (Vahnisaṁsthaṁ)
Full of Tejas.
'Associated' (Vidhu-rati-lalitaṁ)
That is cooling and beautiful.
p. 57
'Thrice' (Trayaṁ)
'That is the three aspects of Sattva, Rajas, Tamas.
'Kürca'
Is Sabdabrahman.
'Lajja'
Is Brahman associated with Maya.
'Two Thas'
Svaha the revealing Sakti of Fire.
'Smiling face' (Smitamukhi)
Because She is always blissful.
'Spouse of the Destroyer' (Smara-hara-mahile)
Sakti of Siva who is the Destroyer of passionate Desire; that is She
destroys the lust, anger and so forth of Her Sadhakas.
'Thy true form' (Svarūpaṁ)
That which is not different (in essence) from Jivatma. Svarūpa is
explained here as the Rūpa of Sva, that is atma, meaning the Oneness of
Paramatma and Jivatma. Kalika-Sruti says, 'One should always think of
atma as Kali'. Kalikulasarvasva says, 'He who worships the spouse of
Siva thinking that his atma is Kalika's atma and meditating on the Siva-like
Guru is SadaSiva Himself.' Yogini-Tantra says, 'He who thinks, even if
it were for a moment, "I am Brahman" to him the Devi gives unending
fruit. One's own body should always be thought of as the body of the
Iṣtadevata. And so the whole world should be considered as Her body.'
[Durgarama explains Svarūpa in the following ways: (a) The true form is
that indicated in the previous or following verses. (b) It is that of
the nine-syllabled Mantra. (c) It is that indicated by the letters
composing the Mantra. For instance Varada-Tantra says that in 'Kriṁ', K
is Kali, R is Brahma, I is Mahamaya, Nada is the Matrix of the universe
and Bindu is the Dispeller of Sorrow. In 'Hūṁ', H is Siva, Ū is Bhairava,
Nada means the Supreme and Bindu is the Dispeller of Sorrow. In Hriṁ, H
is Siva, R is Prakṛti,
p. 58
[paragraph continues] I is Mahamaya, Nada the Generatrix by the Universe
and Bindu the dispeller of pain. Contemplation on Mantras constituted of
these letters reveals their Caitanya. Japa of Mantra without knowing its
Caitanya is useless.]
'Become themselves' (Kamarūpa bhavanti)
They acquire the power of assuming whatever form they desire and of
charming the whole world with their beauty.
Footnotes
56:1 p. 58 That is, Ka.
56:2 Deva of Fire, or Ra.
56:3 Sakti of Kama, God of love, or long i.
56:4 The moon, or Nada-bindu. The Bija is, therefore, K + r + i + ṁ =
Kriṁ.
56:5 That is, Hūṁ.
56:6 Hriṁ, literal meaning of Lajja, is modesty.
56:7 Or Svaha, Sakti of Agni. The mantra is, then, Kriṁ, Kriṁ, Kriṁ, Hūṁ,
Hūṁ, Hūṁ, Hriṁ Svaha, or the nine-lettered Vidya, or feminine mantra,
which ends with Svaha (see ViSvasara-Tantra).
56:8 Smarahara or Siva, who destroyed Manmatha with fire from his
central eye of wisdom when the latter sought to distract him by passion
from his Yoga. The Devi, according to the Brahmavaivarta-Puraṇa,
restored Manmatha to life (see as to this Bhaskararaya's Commentary on
the Lalita, verse 34).
56:9 Svarūpaṁ, that is true form as described in the first and other
verses (V).
56:10 Lakṣmi is associated with, holds, and stands on the lotus, hence
Her titles—Kamala, Padma, Padmalaya, Padmadharini (see Lakṣmistotra in
Tantrasara, p. 577, Rasik Mohan Chatterjee's edition).
from Hinduism: Hymn to Kali
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