The Essence of the Tantra · Chapter 3

The Essence of the Tantra — Chapter 3

तन्त्रसार

Tantrasāra


Chapter 3 34 verses

Begin reading Verse 1
  1. 1 yad etat prakāśarūpaṃ śivatattvam uktam tatra akhaṇḍamaṇḍale yadā … As for that Śiva-principle of the nature of Light which has been described — when one is…
  2. 2 na hi sa raso mukhyaḥ tatkāryavyādhiśamanādyadṛṣṭeḥ For that taste is not the real one, since its proper effects, such as the curing of…
  3. 3 nāpi gandhasparśau mukhyau guṇinaḥ tatra abhāve tayor ayogāt … Nor are that smell and that touch real, since in the absence there of the substance…
  4. 4 na ca tau na staḥ dehoddhūlanavisargādidarśanāt And yet it is not that those two do not exist at all, since one observes such things as…
  5. 5 śabdo 'pi na mukhyaḥ ko 'pi vakti iti … The sound too is not the real one, since the echo is heard as though coming from…
  6. 6 evaṃ yathā etat pratibimbitaṃ bhāti tathaiva viśvaṃ parameśvaraprakāśe Thus, just as this appears as a reflection, in exactly that way does the universe appear…
  7. 7 nanu atra bimbaṃ kiṃ syāt mābhūt kiñcit "But surely, what would the original object here be?
  8. 8 nanu kim akāraṇakaṃ tat hanta tarhi hetupraśnaḥ tat … "But surely, then, is it without any cause?
  9. 9 svarūpānāmarśane hi vastuto jaḍataiva syāt āmarśaś ca ayaṃ … For if there were no reflection upon its own nature, there would in truth be mere…
  10. 10 tatra mukhyās tāvat tisraḥ parameśvarasya śaktayaḥ anuttarecchonmeṣa iti … Among these, then, there are first three principal powers of the Supreme Lord: the…
  11. 11 atra ca prācyaṃ parāmarśatrayaṃ prakāśabhāgasāratvāt sūryātmakaṃ caramaṃ parāmarśatrayaṃ … And here the prior triad of reflective awarenesses, because its essence is the…
  12. 12 yadā tu icchāyām īśane ca karma anupraviśati yat … But when action enters into Will and into Lordship — which is then spoken of as "that…
  13. 13 tad etad varṇacatuṣṭayam ubhayacchāyādhāritvāt napuṃsakam ṛ ṝ ḷ … This tetrad of phonemes — ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, ḹ — because it bears the tinge of both, is neuter…
  14. 14 anuttarānandayoḥ icchādiṣu yadā prasaraḥ tadā varṇadvayam e oṃ … When there is an outflow of the Absolute and Bliss into Will and the rest, then arises…
  15. 15 tatrāpi punar anuttarānandasaṅghaṭṭāt varṇadvayam ai au iti There too, again, from the intense conjunction of the Absolute and Bliss, arises the pair…
  16. 16 sā iyaṃ kriyāśaktiḥ tad eva ca varṇacatuṣṭayam e … This is the power of action, and it is precisely the tetrad of phonemes e, ai, o, au.
  17. 17 tataḥ punaḥ kriyāśaktyante sarvaṃ kāryabhūtaṃ yāvat anuttare pravekṣyati … Then again, at the end of the power of action, the whole of what has become effect,…
  18. 18 tatas tatraiva anuttarasya visargo jāyate aḥ iti Then, in that very (Absolute), the emission of the Absolute arises — that is, ḥ.
  19. 19 evaṃ ṣoḍaśakaṃ parāmarśānāṃ bījasvarūpam ucyate Thus the group of sixteen reflective awarenesses is said to be of the nature of seeds…
  20. 20 tadutthaṃ vyañjanātmakaṃ yonirūpam Arisen from that is the consonant-set, which is of the nature of the womb.
  21. 21 tatra anuttarāt kavargaḥ śraddhāyāḥ icchāyāḥ cavargaḥ sakarmikāyā icchāyā … Among these: from the Absolute comes the k-class;
  22. 22 icchāyā eva trividhāyā ya ra lāḥ unmeṣāt vakāraḥ … From Will, which is threefold, come the semivowels y, r, l;
  23. 23 ity eva eṣa bhagavān anuttara eva kuleśvararūpaḥ Thus this Lord is just the Absolute itself, having the form of the Lord of the Kula.
  24. 24 tasya ca ekaiva kaulikī visargaśaktiḥ yayā ānandarūpāt prabhṛti … And his is one single Kaula power of emission, by which, vibrating forth through this…
  25. 25 sa ca eṣa visargas tridhā āṇavaḥ cittaviśrāntirūpaḥ śāktaḥ … And this emission is threefold: the Āṇava, of the nature of the repose of the mind;
  26. 26 evaṃ visarga eva viśvajanane bhagavataḥ śaktiḥ Thus the emission alone is the Lord's power in the generation of the universe.
  27. 27 ity evam iyato yadā nirvibhāgatayā eva parāmarśaḥ tadā … Thus, when the reflective awareness of this whole extent is taken in an entirely…
  28. 28 pṛthak aṣṭakaparāmarśe cakreśvarasāhityena navavargaḥ ekaikaparāmarśaprādhānye pañcāśadātmakatā When the eightfold groups are reflected upon separately, together with the lords of the…
  29. 29 tatrāpi sambhavadbhāgabhedaparāmarśane ekāśītirūpatvam And there too, when the possible distinctions of parts are reflected upon, there is the…
  30. 30 vastutas tu ṣaṭ eva parāmarśāḥ prasaraṇapratisañcaraṇayogena dvādaśa bhavantaḥ … In truth, however, there are only six reflective awarenesses;
  31. 31 tā eva etāḥ parāmarśarūpatvāt śaktayo bhagavatyaḥ śrīkālikā iti … These very powers, because they are of the nature of reflective awareness, are the divine…
  32. 32 ete ca śaktirūpā eva śuddhāḥ parāmarśāḥ śuddhavidyāyāṃ parāpararūpatvena … And these pure reflective awarenesses, themselves in the form of powers, at the level of…
  33. 33 māyāyāṃ punaḥ sphaṭībhūtabhedavibhāgā māyīyavarṇatāṃ bhajante ye paśyantīmadhyamāvaikharīṣu vyāvahārikatvam … At the level of māyā, again, with their distinctions of difference now solidified, they…
  34. 34 atrāpi pūrvavat na mantrādiyantraṇā kācid iti Here too, as before, there is no regulation whatsoever by mantra and the like.