The Vision of Śiva · Chapter 3

The Vision of Śiva — Chapter 3

शिवदृष्टि

Śivadṛṣṭi


Chapter 3 99 verses

Begin reading Verse 1
  1. 1 atha śakteḥ parāvasthā yairbhaktyā parigīyate | yuktyā prakāśito … Now, that supreme state of Power which is devoutly celebrated by some — (in truth) it is…
  2. 2 na śivaḥ śaktirahito na śaktirvyatirekiṇī Śiva is never devoid of Power, nor is Power separate (from Śiva).
  3. 3 śivaḥ śaktastathā bhāvānicchayā kartumīhate | śaktiśaktimatorbhedaḥ śaive jātu … Śiva, being empowered, thus intends by his will to create the existing things;
  4. 4 sāmarthyaṃ yadi kalpyeta tannāmānantyameva vā If (Śiva's) capacity were posited as something (distinct from him), then indeed an…
  5. 5 śaktimāneva śaktiḥ syācchivavatkaraṇārthataḥ The Power-possessor himself would be (his own) Power — just as (he is) Śiva — by reason…
  6. 6 muñcato'pi nijāṃ śaktiṃ svātantrye jñānamāpatet Even when he releases his own Power, in his autonomy (self-sovereignty) knowledge (of it)…
  7. 7 mantrastambhanatāyāṃ hi nāsau vahnistadocyate (Objection by analogy:) Indeed, when fire is rendered powerless to burn by a mantra, it…
  8. 8 yadyauṣṇyāvyatirekatve dṛṣṭānto dāhakāśrayāt (We answer:) the example (in fact supports us) — given that heat is inseparable (from…
  9. 9 2śaivaiḥ sadbhirvāca eva paśyantyādikrame sthitāḥ | kalpitāstairaśaivatvamātmanaḥ pratipāditam By certain worthy Śaivas, (levels) of speech alone are posited as established in the…
  10. 10 śaive vāca indriyatvamatha nādādinoditā | tadabhyāse phalāvāptiḥ sūkṣmamantrasvarūpatā In the Śaiva (scripture) speech is (assigned) the status of a sense-faculty;
  11. 11 kathitā kālapādādau nādākhyaṃ yatparaṃ tviti | parāparādibhedaśca tatraiva … It is spoken of in the Kālapāda and elsewhere — 'that supreme which is called resonance…
  12. 12 naitanna vācaḥ kathitaṃ patiśabdasya varṇitam This is not so: what is described (as supreme there) is not (predicated) of speech, but…
  13. 13 tathā cāha kheṭapālaḥ śabdarāśerviśeṣatām And accordingly Kheṭapāla speaks of the special (status) of the totality of phonemic…
  14. 14 svāyambhuvasya ṭīkāyāṃ bāḍhamityādinā guruḥ | tathā mataṅgaṭīkāyāṃ vyākhyāniguruṇoditam In his commentary on the Svāyambhuva, the master (states it) with words such as…
  15. 15 tatra vā tadupāyatvātparatvenopacāritā Or there (if speech is called 'supreme,' it is only) figuratively designated as 'supreme'…
  16. 16 tadupāyātparatvaṃ ceddīpāderapyupāyatā If supremacy (is granted) merely from being a means to that, then a lamp and the rest are…
  17. 17 tasmātsamagrākāreṣu sarvāsu pratipattiṣu | vijñeyaṃ śivarūpatvaṃ svaśaktyāveśanātmakam Therefore, in all (their) complete forms, in all cognitions whatsoever, the nature of…
  18. 18 piṇḍe vā kaṭikāyāṃ vā kiṃ suvarṇatvamiṣyate Whether in a lump or in a bar, is goldness not (equally) acknowledged?
  19. 19 na bhūṣaṇe kuḍalādau yathā tatra svaśaktitaḥ | rūpakatvaṃ … (Goldness is) not (present only) in an ornament such as an earring;
  20. 20 tathecchayā samāviṣṭastathā śaktitrayeṇa ca | tathā tathā sthito … So, pervaded by will and by the triad of powers, (Śiva) abides in this way and that as…
  21. 21 ityukte'tra samākṣepaḥ pakṣasyāsya vidhīyate | ādau tāvadvikāritvaṃ śivatattvasya … When this has been said, an objection against this position is raised here: first of all,…
  22. 22 nānāvikārarūpeṇa jaḍataivamavasthitā | tathā sāvayavatvaṃ ca parādhīnatvameva ca (Objection continues:) Thus, in the form of manifold modifications, insentience would…
  23. 23 nyūnatvādi vināśitvaṃ tathollaṅghananiṣkṛtiḥ — deficiency and so forth, perishability, and likewise transgression and the (need for)…
  24. 24 yatropari na hastādi neyamīśvarasaṃnidhau | tatra pādavihārādeḥ sphuṭameva … (Objection:) Where one must not (raise) the hand and so on above, this (impropriety…
  25. 25 evaṃ sati samagrasya vyavahārasya bhaṅgitā | tathaivaṃ saṃpravṛttau … (Objection:) This being so, the whole of conventional transaction collapses;
  26. 26 nānāvādaiḥ svasiddhāntaiḥ sākamatra virodhitā | sarvabhāvaśivatvena nāstitā bandhamokṣayoḥ (Objection:) Here (your view) is in conflict with the various doctrines and with one's…
  27. 27 tadabhāvāddevaguruśāstrocchedo bhavettarām | nirarthakatvaṃ śāstrasya karaṇe tannirūpaṇe (Objection:) And from the absence of these (bondage and liberation), the abolition of…
  28. 28 sarveṣāmeva muktatve sthite kasyopadeśyatā | dharmādharmau nasaṃ baddhau … (Objection:) If all alike are (already) liberated, then who is there to be instructed?
  29. 29 tataśca śivadharmādervedāderakṛtārthatā | nimittasamavāyayādikāraṇeṣu samānatā (Objection:) And from that, the Śivadharma scriptures, the Veda, and the rest become…
  30. 30 pṛthivyādikalpanayā kalpanāvān śivo bhavet | śivatattve sānubhave paśyantītulyatā … (Objection:) By being figured as earth and the rest, Śiva would be subject to (false)…
  31. 31 icchāvatkāryaniṣpattyā punaricchāntarodgame | śivasya heturvaktavyo yadarthaṃ sā navodgatā (Objection:) Since he is possessed of will, when one effect is accomplished and then a…
  32. 32 viśvasyāsatyarūpatvaṃ yairvākyairvarṇitaṃ kvacit | śivoktaistairvirodhaḥ syātsarvasatyatvavādinaḥ (Objection:) The unreality of the universe is somewhere described by statements spoken by…
  33. 33 tadātmano hi sthūlasya sūkṣmasyātha vikāritā (Objection:) For him whose very self is that (universe), whether gross or subtle,…
  34. 34 kṣīramāyāprakṛtivadyāvataścaiva yāvatī | śivasya tādṛgātmamutpadyetātra yogivat (Objection answered, our position:) Like milk, Māyā, or prakṛti (transforming) — to…
  35. 35 icchayā sarvabhāvatvamanekātmatvameva ca | nātra svātmavikāreṇa janayedbhāvamaṇḍalam By will (he assumes) the being of all entities and even a multiplicity of selfhood;
  36. 36 yathā na yogino'stīha nānāsainyaśarīrakaiḥ Just as for a yogin (who conjures an army) there is here no (real) division of himself by…
  37. 37 vibhāgastadvadīśasya madhyotkṛṣṭanikṛṣṭakaiḥ | bhāvairnāsti vibhedatvamathavāmbudhivīcivat — just so, for the Lord there is no real division through the middling, superior, and…
  38. 38 tatra vicitvamāpannaṃ na jalaṃ jalamucyate | na ca … There the water that has entered into the wave-state is not (then) called 'water' (as…
  39. 39 niścalatve'pi hi jalaṃ vīcitve jalameva tat | vīcibhistadviśiṣṭaṃ … Indeed, in stillness it is water, and in the wave-state too that is just water;
  40. 40 ata eva parecchāto na jaḍatvamavasthitam | pṛthivyāditattvagaṇe jaḍatvaṃ … For this very reason, by the will of the Supreme no (true) insentience obtains;
  41. 41 na tathā jaḍatā kvāpi tathāgre suvicāritaiḥ | varṇayiṣyāma … — (in fact) there is no real insentience anywhere;
  42. 42 svecchāto bhāvarūpatve parādhīnā kutaḥ sthitiḥ When (Śiva) takes the form of existing things by his own will, whence could there be any…
  43. 43 kṣīravadyadi vocyeta parādhīnaṃ jaḍaṃ bhavet | etayaiva diśā … And if it were objected, 'like milk (Śiva would then be) dependent on another and…
  44. 44 abhagne svasya rūpatve śuddhanyūnādikaṃ kutaḥ | patadgrahādike hemni … When one's own nature is unbroken, whence (could there be) purity, deficiency, and the…
  45. 45 sthitameva na hemno'sya kācidasti vibheditā | caṇḍālasadmago vahnirna … The goldness remains the very same;
  46. 46 tathaiva syādathocyeta vahneḥ saṃskāracodanā | śāstreṣu varṇitā kasmātkāryārthaṃ … Just so it would be (with all things).
  47. 47 na svarūpavibhāgo'tra tathā tasya vyavasthiteḥ | saṃjñākaraṇamātraṃ tadvyavahārāya … Here there is no division of essential nature, since its (Śiva's) condition remains fixed;
  48. 48 vyavahāro'pyavidyā no tathātveneśvarasthitiḥ | tenaiva vā tathā kḷptastathā … For us, even conventional transaction is not (a product of) nescience;
  49. 49 hemapiṇḍe hemataiva syāccenna mukuṭādike If (you say) goldness exists (only) in a lump of gold, not in a crown and the like (—…
  50. 50 satkṛtau tadvinirṇeyaṃ yā collaṅghanacodanā (So too) in the rites of honoring (the deity), that (same principle) is to be determined…
  51. 51 evaṃ pravartane tasya na nimittasamudgamaḥ Thus, in his activity (of creation) there is no arising of any (external) efficient cause.
  52. 52 yadi svarūpavibhraṃśācchāktarūpādikalpanā | tadvaktavyaṃ nimittatvaṃ kimarthaṃ rūpamūjjhati If the assumption of the Śākta form and so on (came) from a lapse of his essential…
  53. 53 śaktitrayasvarūpatvaṃ sarvaṃ yatrāstyavasthitam (But our view:) where everything exists established as the nature of the triad of powers…
  54. 54 nimittaṃ kalpyate tatra nimittaṃ tatra kalpyatām | atathātve … Where a causal occasion (genuinely) needs to be posited, there let it be posited — namely…
  55. 55 purā śāntasvarūpatvaṃ paścāttādṛgavasthitiḥ | śānte śivatvaṃ sthūle'pi śivatvaṃ … (Objection:) Formerly (he was) of tranquil essence, afterward (in) such an (active)…
  56. 56 tatra kā śāntatā brūhi śakteḥ kiṃ vastutā na … (We answer:) Tell me, what (special) tranquillity is there (in the supposedly quiescent…
  57. 57 aṅgārarūpe kiṃ vahnau vahnitā na kriyātmake | jvālādike'tha … Is there fire-ness in fire that has the form of (smouldering) charcoal, but not when it…
  58. 58 niricchā na ca śakyeta vaktumevaṃ kadācana | asti … Nor could it ever be said that (that state) is devoid of will;
  59. 59 naiṣā kriyā bhavati kiṃ niricche kiṃ kriyā bhavet … — is this not (already) action?
  60. 60 atha citratvamatrāsti bhāvapuñje na tacchive | śivasya tatsvarūpatvaṃ … (Objection:) Now this variegation exists in the aggregate of entities, not in Śiva.
  61. 61 apekṣya bhāvavaicitryaṃ tasya tebhyo vicitratā | sarvaṃ śivātmakaṃ … In dependence on the diversity of entities, his variegation (derives) from them;
  62. 62 jalāharaṇaśaktaśca ghaṭo yadi na bhaṇyate | ghaṭaḥ kevala … And if a pot, capable of fetching water, is not (on that account) called just 'a pot' by…
  63. 63 nānāvādairno virodhaḥ kathanīyamihāgrataḥ | uktaṃ vā kālapādādāvāgopālāṅganādinā There is no conflict with the various doctrines — this is to be explained further on;
  64. 64 tadaikyaṃ kheṭapālo'pi prāha yā kācana sthitā | śaktiḥ … Kheṭapāla too proclaims that oneness: whatever power abides in the entire class of…
  65. 65 eko rudra itītyādi śrūtāvuktaṃ tathā paraḥ 'Rudra is one' and so forth is declared in the Veda, and likewise elsewhere.
  66. 66 puruṣaḥ sarva evedamitihāsādiṣūditam | maheśasyāṣṭamūrtitvaṃ yāvatpārthivamūḍhatā 'This Person is all this' — so it is stated in the epics and elsewhere;
  67. 67 sā'rodīditi vede'sti nārthavādo nirarthakaḥ | vidhyaṅgatvena cetsattā nāsatyasyāṅgatā … 'He wept' (and the like) occurs in the Veda;
  68. 68 bandhamokṣau na bhidyete sarvatraiva śivatvataḥ (Objection restated:) Bondage and liberation are not (then) distinguished, because of…
  69. 69 vijñānamīdṛksarvasya kasmānna syādvimohitā | saivaiṣā sā ca saṃsāro … (We answer:) Why should not everyone have such cognition (of universal Śiva-hood)?
  70. 70 vibhinnaśivapakṣe tu satye dārḍhyaṃ paratra no | pratītimātramevātra … But on the view (of dualists) that Śiva is separate (from the world), if (Śiva alone) is…
  71. 71 nāsatye satyabuddhitvakhaṇḍanātrāsti kācana | kathanaṃ sarvasāmyāya vivādihananāya ca (On our view) there is no refuting of a 'cognition of reality' as applied to the unreal…
  72. 72 tadātmatve nāsti bandhastadabhāvānna mokṣaṇam (Objection:) When (the world) has Śiva as its very self, there is no bondage;
  73. 73 kimarthaṃ guruśāstrādi cettathā tadavasthiteḥ | devasya śāstrādbodhena kiṃ … (Objection:) If (you ask) 'for what purpose then are teacher, scripture, and the rest?
  74. 74 sa evetthaṃ svecchayāste tatkartṛtvena bodhyataḥ (We answer:) He himself abides in this manner by his own will — as the agent of that…
  75. 75 sa eva buddharūpatve tathā bhavati tatkṣaṇam | sa … He himself, in the form of the awakened, thus becomes (awakened) at that very instant;
  76. 76 vāditvaprativāditve kasmāccettasya tatsthite If (you ask) 'why then the roles of proponent and opponent (in debate)?
  77. 77 vyavahārāya vā sarvaṃ vyavahāro na vastugaḥ | svarūpaṃ … Or (this multiplicity exists) for the sake of (everyday) transaction;
  78. 78 sarvamekena rūpeṇa yadvicāryaṃ tathāgrataḥ How everything is (to be understood) under a single form is to be examined accordingly,…
  79. 79 dharmādharmaiśca saṃbandhastathā tacchivasaṃsthiteḥ | tatphalāphalayogena yuktatā tasya tatsthiteḥ The connection with merits and demerits likewise (holds) because of that abiding of Śiva…
  80. 80 nimittasamavāyayādivaicitryaṃ tadvicitratā | kāraṇasyaikarūpatve na doṣastritayātmatā The diversity of (causes) — efficient, inherent, and so on — is his own diversity;
  81. 81 samavāyī tadicchaiva tadyogaḥ sahakāraṇamm The inherent cause is his very will;
  82. 82 na pṛthivyādike tasmin kalpanā saṃpravartate (Therefore) no (false) imagining comes into play with regard to that (Śiva manifesting)…
  83. 83 tathātvenaiva kḷptatvāttadetatkalpanā bhavet | tadeva tatkalpitaṃ kiṃ satye … Because it is fashioned precisely as being so, this (manifestation) would (only on the…
  84. 84 kaṭake'sti suvarṇatvaṃ kuṇḍale kalpanāsti kim | citravahnāvaśokādau kalpanā … In a bracelet there is goldness;
  85. 85 śivatattve sānubhave paśyantyā na samānatā (Even though) the Śiva-principle is endowed with experience, there is no parity with…
  86. 86 satyāni svātmarūpāṇi paśyato na samānatā For him who sees (the world's contents) as real and as his own self, there is no parity…
  87. 87 paśyantyātho śivāvasthā kriyāphalasamāptitaḥ | kriyāyā vātha prārambhe kalpanīyā … (Objection:) Now, the Śiva-state (of pure quiescence must be posited) by 'seeing' —…
  88. 88 na ca vāstyantarāle'tra sā daśā yāhi kevalā (We answer:) But there is here no such state in the interval — none, that is, that is (a…
  89. 89 prasarpatyaparecchaiva punaranyā tathāvidhā Another will indeed streams forth, and then yet another of the same kind (so there is no…
  90. 90 yatrātmānubhavāniṣṭhā tatrecchā ca na kiṃ bhavet And where (he is) reposing in the experience of his own Self — would not will too be…
  91. 91 upalāderjaḍatve'pi śivatvaṃ te kathaṃ sthitam (Objection:) Given the insentience even of a stone and the like, how can its being Śiva…
  92. 92 saphalāyāṃ samāptāyāṃ kriyāyāṃ samanantaram When a fruit-bearing action is completed, immediately afterward —
  93. 93 kriyāntarecchāsaṃbhūtau tannimittamanantatā | yato'sti śivaśaktīnāṃ tāśca nityamavasthitāḥ — at the arising of the will for a further action, (there is) an endlessness occasioned…
  94. 94 īśvarasya svatantrasya kenecchā vā vikalpyate And by what (external cause) could the will of the autonomous Lord be construed (as…
  95. 95 viśvatucchatvavākyānāṃ vairāgyādyarthavādinām (As for) those statements declaring the universe worthless — they serve as eulogistic…
  96. 96 ekasminneva dehe tu vibhedātparamāṇugāt But in one and the same body, because of differentiation extending down to the atom (a…
  97. 97 ekādhiṣṭhānato vāpi teṣāmapi na dūṣaṇam — or even (granting that), from there being a single substrate (Śiva) underlying them,…
  98. 98 tāvadekacitsvarūpaśivaprasaraṇena vā — or rather, (it is all unified) by the streaming-forth of Śiva, whose nature is the one…
  99. 99 pātañjalādīśvareṇa na sāmyamavibhedataḥ | iha tadvanna vijñeyaṃ tasmātsarvaṃ … There is no parity with the God of the Patañjala (Yoga) and other systems, because of…