[Advaita-l] taruNa taraNi

[krishnarao lanka]

>From :-     krishnarao (lanka.krishnarao at gmail.com)
Subject :-  taruNa taraNi
                                   "SrIguruh sarvakAraNaBhUtA Saktih |
                                      SrImahAgaNAdhipatayE namah ||

                                  "taruNA taraNi"
       "tanucchAyABhistE taruNataraNi SrI dharaNiBhih
         sarvAm urvIm aruNima nimagnAm smarati yah |
         Bhavantyasya trasyad vanahariNa SAlIna nayanAh
         sahOrvaSyA vaSyAh katikati na gIrvANa gaNikAh ||"
               This is the 18th SlOka in "soundarya lahari" of SrI
AdiSankarAcArya.  Commonly understood meaning of this verse runs as follows.
              "O Mother!  When one meditates upon the grandeur of your
brilliant physical structure, which is bright red, like the rising sun, in
which the earth, heaven and whole of the universe is immersed, all the
celestial damsels like "UrvaSi" etc., are becoming restless with passion and
fervor having the eyes of a frightened deer.  Then what to say about
ordinary womenfolk?
              Almost all of the commentators said that this is a mAdana
prayOga and useful for attracting the desired women. But is it proper to say
that the AcArya would ever have advised any of the persons to go after women
folk in the name of 'kAma puruShArtha ?!  Impossible.  There must be some
other esoteric meaning behind it.  In my view ….
        " yE sindUra parAga punja pihitAm twat tEjasA dyAmimA
         murvIncApi vilIna yAvakarasa prastAra magnAmiva |
         paSyanti kShaNamapyananya manasastEShAm ananga


-jwaraklAnta
         srasta kuranga SAvaka dR^iSo vaSyA Bhavanti dhR^ivam      ||"
            mahAkavi kALidAs also says the same in the 'laghu stavam', but
with a little clarification additionally as "ananya manasah".  It means that
the red effulgence of paradEvata engulfing the whole universe including the
sky and earth is not different from our own "swaswarUpam"
            "dEvI SrIlalitA j~nEyA jana vaSyE ca pATalA"
           Here we have to take the sense that our body itself is a town
(puram). and all the 'indriyas' (sense organs) are its inhabitants.  Then
the meaning of the above would be as, "to control our indriyAs we have to
meditate SrIlalitAdEvi as red coloured."
          There are two different versions of this SlOka, one for the word
"taruNa taraNi" making it as "ataruNa taraNi" by the insertion of an
'akArapraSlESha'.  'taruNa taraNi' means the midday sun and 'ataruNa taraNi'
means the morning sun.  For both the words it gives the same indication of
"the suShumnA nADi" of the 'sUrya manDalam' (solarplexes).  By saying
"taruNataraNi SrIdharaNiBhih", it gives the meaning of the 'pITha BhUmi'
(base) of the the 'kuNDalini'.  If we take the other version as
"SrIsaraNiBhih", it indicates the "row of 'ShatkamalAs' ('mUlAdhAra' etc.,
six divine lotuses)".  by saying "tE tanucChAyABhih", on the whole it is
illustrating the crowded mass of the brilliant effulgence of the
'kuNDalini'.   That is amazingly "duShpradharSham and dushprEkShyam".  This
red colour was described with a similitude by one poet as,
                     "taruNa taraNi kAnti vrAta samsarga rangat
                      kamaladaLa nikAya prAyakAma praBhOrmih |
                      aBhinava ravi raSmi dyOtita prAcya BhUbhR^it
                      ChiKara lasadaSOka smEra puShpOpamAnah ||"
                  When we perform 'sammOhana nyAsA"  saying ,
"mUlavidyAm smR^itwA tatpraBhayA jagadaruNam viBhAvya" and then while saying
"mama SatrUnnigR^ihNAmi"  it was also said that
"sAdhyamapyaruNam viBhAvayEt".  Yes! even the reprehensible enemy should be
looked at in red colour.  The tempestuous emotional disturbances in our
internal senses, which are the real cause for all the excitation of the
"idantA rUpa" visualizations are actually our enemies. That is why,
     "ahami praLayam kurvannidamah pratiyOginah |
      parAkramaparO BhunktE swaBhAvam aSivApaham ||"
        For those 'viira puruShAs', who do aim at "pUrNAhambhAva", the
adaptation of "rajOguNam" for the devastation of the enemies who create the
differential distinctiveness of the external world is also essential.
        The magnificent and attractive external impression in the form of
"idanta" in the dhyAnaSlOka of "bAlA Tripura sundari" as "aruNa kiraNa jAlai
ranjitASAvakASA" is really the deliberation of wrath (AmarSAtmaka
vimarSarUpam) against the internal enemies.  The degree of such
deliberations are expressed in sixteen 'dhAturUpAs' as
"SONAni Bhauma tIkShNAmSu tAmra kumkuma takShakAh gunjEndragOpa KadyOta
vidyut kunjara bindavah |
dR^ig bimbAdhara jihvAsR^Ij`mAmsa sindUra dhAtavah ||"
       This 'aruNa varNam' (red colour) is nothing else but the "mAyASakti"
that which engrosses the whole universe while being in unison un-different
with 'paramaSiva'.
    "samasta BhuvanABhOga kavalIkR^ita jIvitA
     mahA swamahimAkrAnti swasthAhankR^iti BhUmikA |
      kramENatu tatO~nanga paryantam prOllasantyapi
     SarIrAnanga paryantam Ekaivam uBhayAtmikA ||"
        In this connection, while doing japa, there is a suggestion to
meditate upon this 'aruNa varNam' as,
"swa vibhutwa sarvasyAkrAntyA sarvasyApi swa -                  -SarIratvEna
 sarvatrAhantA buddhE rudayEna swa SarIrasyEva
sarva SarIrANAm swa vaSam vadatA avaSyam BhAvah ||"
         It is essential to imagine as if his own authority has spread all
over and keeping his own "ahanta"  in every thing as he feels in his own
body.  Also, one should aspire that all things should be under his control,
as he is having upon his own body.  This kind of imagination is called
"swIya mahatwa vyApti".  "Om aim hrIm SrIm vyApinyai namO namah SrIm"
Having that kind of "vyApti", "swasthAhamkR^iti BhUmikA" means remaining in
the fundamental basis of the unswerving 'parAhanta'.  She is making all the
universes into a morsel of food spreading her 'samaShti rUpa' 'swIya mahatwa
vyApti' and adopting the "samhAra krama japam".
         While doing such type of 'japam', concentrating upon the
brilliantly glowing, red cobweb-thread like form and deeply immersed into
it, ('aruNima nimagnam' or 'aruNa maNi magnAm' both gives the same meaning.)
 When entered and deeply immersed into that thread like mantrAkShara rUpa
kuNDalini, it appears in the above said sixteen dhAtu rUpa illuminations one
after another.  Going deeper and deeper, that luminous flux appears as
"ataruNa taraNi" (the rising sun) and then "taruNa taraNi" (youthful Sun),
and that is called "kOti Surya praBhA bhAsuram".
          "tatO~nangaparyantam prOllasntyapi kramENatu SarIrAnanga
paryantam" means, the above said kundalini is rising upwards from the
'swAdhiShTAna and all other cakras in an order, up to "ananga paryantam"
that is up to the 'kAmESwara Siva' who has no limbs or body form at all, but
only the invisible 'bindu rUpa' form. Again from 'brahmarandhra' down to the
"SarIrAnanga paryantam" signifying the "anAhata Siva".  This kind of
repeatedly going upward and coming downward again and again was described as
"trasyad vanahariNa SAlIna nayanAh". "cancala swarUpinyai namO namah"
         "EkaivamuBhayAtmikA" indicates that this kuNDalini is the 'Siva'
and it is the 'Sakti' also.  "Siva Sakti dwandwa rUpiNyai namO namah",  She
is 'the' desired woman for us all.
         One of the auxiliaries of the 'ShODaSAkShari mahA mantra', the trio
"Om hrIm SrIm" is always assigned in the thigh region(Uru pradESam). That is
why this trio was named as "UrvaSi".  In the purANAs it was said that
"UrvaSi" was born in the thighs of "nArAyaNa muni".
         From the 'pUrNabindu' which is really the 'praNava' (Om), two
bindus have expounded out.  They are the other "hrIm and SrIm".  It is the
'visarga' which has separated from the 'bindu' in the beginning.  This is
the form of "agnIShOmatmakam", which has separated from the "sUrya
manDalam".  This 'hrImkAra' and 'SrImkAra' are the individual forms of
"prakASa" and "vimarSa"
         "hrIsca lakSmIsca tE patnyau"  So elaborates the 'puruSha sUktam'.
 'hrImkAram' is "mAyA bIjam" and the "SrimkAram" indicates the "kAla bIjam"
which symbolizes death.  The first 'bIjAkSharAs' of these two 'bIjas' are
"ha" and "Sa" denotes as "ha" indicates 'jIvatwa' (life) and "Sa" indicates
the "mR^ityu" (death).  Both of these will always be inter-traversing into
each other.  It is not possible to distinguish which is 'hrIm' and which is
'SrIm'.  Only because of this traversal gestures, ever-changing fluctuations
are being experienced in this world.  These gestures are indicative of
vacillation, and hence equated with the word "trasyad vanahariNa SAlIna
nayanAh"
         Whoever understands the secret of this yOga of these two bIjAs,
understands the mystery of "mAya" and he becomes eternal "mR^ityunjaya".
 For the "Bhairava" who has meditated upon the 'samaShti' of these three
bindus, called as "kAmakala", the "mAyA swarUpiNi" "kAli" too has become his
'pAda dAsi'.  Then what to say about the ordinary damsels ?
 Yours in the service of the mother,
krishnarao

-- 
L.Krishnarao