The Essence of the Tantra · Chapter 8

The Essence of the Tantra — Chapter 8

तन्त्रसार

Tantrasāra


Chapter 8 93 verses

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  1. 1 yad idaṃ vibhavātmakaṃ bhuvanajātam uktaṃ garbhīkṛtānantavicitrabhoktṛbhogyaṃ tatra yad … This totality of worlds that has been described, consisting of cosmic expansion and…
  2. 2 yat tu katipayakatipayabhedānugataṃ rūpaṃ tat tattvaṃ yathā pṛthivī … But whatever form runs through only this or that limited set of differentiations, that is…
  3. 3 tatra eṣāṃ tattvānāṃ kāryakāraṇabhāvo darśyate sa ca dvividhaḥ Now the causal relation among these principles is set forth, and it is twofold.
  4. 4 pāramārthikaḥ sṛṣṭeś ca The ultimately real and that of (empirical) creation.
  5. 5 tatra pāramārthika etāvān kāryakāraṇabhāvo yad uta kartṛsvabhāvasya svatantrasya … Of these, the ultimately real causal relation amounts to just this: that the Blessed…
  6. 6 kalpitas tu kāryakāraṇabhāvaḥ parameśecchayā niyatiprāṇayā nirmitaḥ sa ca … The constructed causal relation, on the other hand, is fashioned by the will of the…
  7. 7 tatrāpi ca parameśvarasya kartṛtvānapāya iti akalpito 'pi asau … And even therein, since the Supreme Lord's agency never lapses, this ultimately real…
  8. 8 pāramārthike hi bhittisthānīye sthite rūpe sarvam idam ullikhyamānaṃ … For only when the ultimately real form is present, serving as the canvas-like ground, can…
  9. 9 sā hi samastabhāvasandarbhamayī svatantrasaṃvedanamahimnā tathā niyatanijanijadeśakālabhāvarāśisvabhāvā pratyekaṃ vastusvarūpaniṣpattisamaye … For that assemblage, composed of the entire fabric of existents through the glory of…
  10. 10 ity evaṃ saṃvedanasvātantryasvabhāvaḥ parameśvara eva viśvabhāvaśarīro ghaṭāder nirmātā … Thus the Supreme Lord alone, whose nature is the autonomy of consciousness and whose body…
  11. 11 tasmāt sāmagrīvādo 'pi viśvaśarīrasya saṃvedanasyaiva kartṛtāyām upodbalakaḥ Therefore even the doctrine of the causal assemblage merely corroborates the agency of…
  12. 12 merau hi tatrasthe na bhavet tathāvidho ghaṭaḥ For if the potter were situated on Mount Meru, a pot of that very kind would not come…
  13. 13 evaṃ kalpite 'smin kāryatve śāstreṣu tattvānāṃ kāryakāraṇabhāvaṃ prati … Thus, when this status of being an effect is taken as constructed, the multiplicity of…
  14. 14 tatra nijatantradṛśā taṃ kalpitaṃ darśayāmaḥ Now we set forth that constructed (causal relation) according to the view of our own…
  15. 15 tatra parameśvaraḥ pañcabhiḥ śaktibhiḥ nirbhara ity uktam sa … It has been said that the Supreme Lord is replete with the five powers.
  16. 16 citprādhānye śivatattvam ānandaprādhānye śaktitattvam icchāprādhānye sadāśivatattvam icchāyā hi … When consciousness predominates, there is the Śiva-principle;
  17. 17 atra ca tattveśvarāḥ śivaśaktisadāśiveśvarānantāḥ brahmeva nivṛttau eṣāṃ sāmānyarūpāṇāṃ … And here the lords of these principles are Śiva, Śakti, Sadāśiva, Īśvara, and Ananta —…
  18. 18 iyati sākṣāt śivaḥ kartā aśuddhaṃ punar adhvānam anantāparanāmāghoreśaḥ … Over just this much (the pure path) Śiva is directly the agent.
  19. 19 tatra loliko 'pūrṇam anyatārūpaḥ parispandaḥ akarmakam abhilāṣamātram eva … Therein the craving is an incomplete state, a stirring having the form of otherness;
  20. 20 rāgatattvaṃ tu karmāvacchinno 'bhilāṣaḥ The principle of Attachment (rāga), by contrast, is desire delimited by a particular…
  21. 21 karma tu tatra karmamātraṃ buddhidharmas tu rāgaḥ karmabhedacitra … The object there is a mere object;
  22. 22 so 'yaṃ malaḥ parameśvarasya svātmapracchādanecchātaḥ nānyat kiñcit vastv … This impurity arises from the Supreme Lord's will to veil his own self, and is nothing…
  23. 23 sa ca malo vijñānakevale vidyamāno dhvaṃsonmukha iti na … And that impurity, though present in the one isolated by gnosis (vijñānākala), is on the…
  24. 24 pralayakevalasya tu jṛmbhamāṇa eva āsta iti malopodbalitaṃ karma … But for the one isolated by dissolution (pralayākala) it remains in full operation;
  25. 25 aṇur nāma kila cidacidrūpāvabhāsa eva tasya cidrūpam aiśvaryam … The soul, indeed, is just the appearing of both a sentient and an insentient form: its…
  26. 26 evaṃ kalāditattvānāṃ dharāntānām api dvairūpyaṃ nirūpyam In this way the twofold nature is to be ascertained for the principles beginning with…
  27. 27 atra ca dvairūpye pramāṇam api āhur abhinavaguptaguravaḥ And regarding this twofold nature, the venerable masters of Abhinavagupta state a proof…
  28. 28 yat saṅkalpe bhāti tat pṛthagbhūtaṃ bahir api asti … Whatever appears in conception exists externally too, as something separate, with a…
  29. 29 tathā ca māyākalādikhapuṣpāder api eṣaiva vartanī iti kevalānvayī … And so this same procedure applies even to Māyā, kalā, and the rest, as well as to a…
  30. 30 anena ca māyākalāprakṛtibuddhyādiviṣayaṃ sākṣātkārarūpaṃ jñānaṃ ye bhajante te … And by this means, those who attain knowledge of the form of direct realization, having…
  31. 31 evaṃ sthite māyātattvāt viśvaprasavaḥ This being so, the bringing-forth of the universe proceeds from the Māyā-principle.
  32. 32 sa ca yady api akramam eva tathāpi uktadṛśā … And although that (bringing-forth) is in fact non-sequential, still, from the standpoint…
  33. 33 so 'pi ucyate tatra pratyātma kalādivargo bhinnaḥ That too is now described.
  34. 34 tatkāryasya kartṛtvopodbalanādeḥ pratyātmabhedena upalambhāt sa tu vargaḥ kadācit … Because its effect — the reinforcing of agency and so on — is observed as differing from…
  35. 35 sa ca parameśvaraśaktipātavaśāt tathā bhavati iti vakṣyāmas tatprakāśane And it becomes so by the force of the Supreme Lord's descent of power (śaktipāta) — this…
  36. 36 aśuddhas tu tadviparītaḥ The impure (group), on the other hand, is the opposite of that.
  37. 37 tatra māyātaḥ kalā jātā yā suptasthānīyam aṇuṃ kiñcitkartṛtvena … There, from Māyā arises kalā, which yokes the soul — as good as asleep — to a limited…
  38. 38 evam anyonyaśleṣāt alakṣaṇīyāntaratvaṃ puṃskalayoḥ Thus, because of their mutual coalescence, the difference between the soul and kalā…
  39. 39 māyāgarbhādhikāriṇas tu kasyacid īśvarasya prasādāt sarvakarmakṣaye māyāpuruṣaviveko bhavati … But for some soul, by the grace of a presiding agent contained within Māyā, upon the…
  40. 40 prakṛtipuruṣaviveko vā yena pradhānādho na saṃsaret Or a discrimination of prakṛti from the soul, whereby it would not transmigrate below the…
  41. 41 malapuruṣaviveke tu śivasamānatvam But when the impurity is discriminated from the soul, there is equality with Śiva.
  42. 42 puruṣapūrṇatādṛṣṭau tu śivatvam eveti But when there is the vision of the soul's full perfection, there is the very state of…
  43. 43 evaṃ kalātattvam eva kiñcitkartṛtvadāyi na ca Thus it is the principle of kalā alone that bestows a limited agency, and not.
  44. 44 kartṛtvam ajñasya iti ...for agency belongs to the ignorant soul (alone).
  45. 45 kiñcijjñatvadāyiny aśuddhavidyā kalāto jātā sā ca vidyā buddhiṃ … Impure Knowledge, which bestows limited knowership, arises from kalā.
  46. 46 buddher guṇasaṅkīrṇākārāyā vivekena grahītum asāmarthyāt This is because the intellect, whose form is intermingled with the qualities (guṇas), is…
  47. 47 tasmāt buddhipratibimbito bhāvo vidyayā vivicyate Therefore an object reflected in the intellect is discriminated by Knowledge.
  48. 48 kiñcitkartṛtvaṃ kiñcidbhāgasiddhaye kvacid eva kartṛtvam ity atra arthe … Limited agency, for the sake of accomplishing the "limited" portion, comes down to this…
  49. 49 na ca avairāgyakṛtaṃ tat avairāgyasyāpi araktidarśanāt Nor is that (attachment) produced by non-detachment, since absence of attachment is…
  50. 50 vairāgye dharmādāv api raktir dṛśyate Even in a state of detachment, attachment toward virtue and the like is observed.
  51. 51 tṛptasya ca annādau avairāgyābhāve 'pi antaḥstharāgānapāyāt And in the case of one who is satiated with food and the like — even where there is no…
  52. 52 tena vinā punar avairāgyānutpattiprasaṅgāt For without that (underlying attachment), it would follow that non-detachment could never…
  53. 53 kālaś ca kāryaṃ kalayaṃs tadavacchinnaṃ kartṛtvam api kalayati … And Time, measuring out the effect, also measures out agency as delimited by that effect.
  54. 54 kāryakāraṇabhāve 'pi asyā eva vyāpāraḥ tena kalāta eva … In the causal relation too the operation belongs to this very (Necessity).
  55. 55 tad idaṃ māyādiṣaṭkaṃ kañcukaṣaṭkam ucyate This set of six beginning with Māyā is called the six sheaths (kañcukas).
  56. 56 saṃvido māyayā apahastitatvena kalādīnām uparipātināṃ kañcukavat avasthānāt (They are so called) because, consciousness having been thrust aside by Māyā, the…
  57. 57 evaṃ kiñcitkartṛtvaṃ yat māyākāryaṃ tatra kiñcit tv aviśiṣṭaṃ … Thus, in the limited agency that is an effect of Māyā, the "limited" is the qualifier…
  58. 58 idānīṃ viśeṣaṇabhāgo yaḥ kiñcid ity ukto jñeyaḥ kāryaś … Now the qualifier portion, which was called "the limited," is to be understood as both…
  59. 59 atra caiṣāṃ vāstavena pathā kramavandhyaiva sṛṣṭir ity uktaṃ … And here it has been said that, by the ultimate approach, the creation of these is barren…
  60. 60 kramaś ca vidyārāgādīnāṃ vicitro 'pi dṛṣṭaḥ kaścid rajyan … And the sequence of Knowledge, Attachment, and the rest is seen to be manifold: one…
  61. 61 tena bhinnakramanirūpaṇam api rauravādiṣu śāstreṣu aviruddhaṃ mantavyaṃ tad … Therefore the description of a divergent sequence in the Raurava and other scriptures…
  62. 62 yatra sukhaṃ bhogyarūpaprakāśaḥ sattvam duḥkhaṃ prakāśāprakāśāndolanātmakam ata eva … Therein pleasure is the illumination of the object as enjoyable, which is sattva;
  63. 63 tritayam api etat bhogyarūpam This triad too is of the nature of an object of experience.
  64. 64 evaṃ kṣubdhāt pradhānāt kartavyāntarodayaḥ na akṣubdhād iti Thus a further effect arises from the agitated primal substance, not from the unagitated…
  65. 65 kṣobhaḥ avaśyam eva antarāle abhyupagantavya iti siddhaṃ sāṅkhyāparidṛṣṭaṃ … Since agitation must necessarily be admitted in the interval (between prakṛti and its…
  66. 66 sa ca kṣobhaḥ prakṛtes tattveśādhiṣṭhānād eva anyathā niyataṃ … And that agitation of prakṛti comes about only through the presiding of the lord of the…
  67. 67 tato guṇatattvāt buddhitattvaṃ yatra pumprakāśo viṣayaś ca pratibimbam … Then, from the principle of the qualities, arises the principle of intellect, upon which…
  68. 68 buddhitattvāt ahaṅkāro yena buddhipratibimbite vedyasamparke kaluṣe pumprakāśe anātmani … From the principle of intellect arises the I-maker (ahaṅkāra), by which there is, in the…
  69. 69 ata eva kāra ity anena kṛtakatvam asya uktaṃ … For this very reason the element "kāra" (in ahaṅkāra) declares it to be a product.
  70. 70 tac ca śuddhaṃ vimarśa eva apratiyogi svātmacamatkārarūpo 'ham … And that pure (I-awareness) is reflective self-awareness alone, without any correlate, of…
  71. 71 eṣo 'sya ahaṅkārasya karaṇaskandhaḥ This is the instrument-trunk of that I-maker.
  72. 72 prakṛtiskandhas tu tasyaiva trividhaḥ sattvādibhedāt But the nature-trunk of that same (I-maker) is threefold, through the division into…
  73. 73 tatra sāttviko yasmāt manaś ca buddhīndriyapañcakaṃ ca tatra … Of these, from the sāttvika one arise the mind and the five faculties of knowledge.
  74. 74 śrotre tu śabdajananasāmarthyaviśiṣṭa iti yāvat ghrāṇe gandhajananayogyatāyukta iti … In (producing) the organ of hearing it is distinguished by the capacity to produce sound,…
  75. 75 kartraṃśaś ca ahaṅkāra eva tena mukhye karaṇe dve … And the agent-aspect is just the I-maker.
  76. 76 na ca kartavyasāṅkaryamuktād eva hetoḥ kriyā karaṇakāryā mukhyaṃ … Nor (is this objectionable), for by the very reasoning already given about the…
  77. 77 sa ca pañcakaḥ anusandhes tāvattvāt And it is a set of five, because the kinds of intentional purpose are just that many.
  78. 78 tathā hi bahis tāvat tyāgāya vā anusandhiḥ ādānāya … To explain: outwardly, the intentional purpose is either for releasing, or for grasping,…
  79. 79 antaḥ prāṇāśrayakarmānusandhes tu vāgindriyam tena indriyādhiṣṭhāne haste yat … But for the intentional purpose of inward action grounded in the breath, there is the…
  80. 80 anye tu rājasān mana ity āhuḥ Others, however, say that the mind arises from the rājasa (I-maker).
  81. 81 anye tu sāttvikāt mano rājasāc ca indriyāṇi iti Yet others say that the mind arises from the sāttvika (I-maker) and the faculties from…
  82. 82 bhoktraṃśāc chādakāt tu tamaḥpradhānāhaṅkārāt tanmātrāṇi vedyaikarūpāṇi pañca But from the experiencer-aspect, which veils — that is, from the I-maker in which tamas…
  83. 83 śabdaviśeṣāṇāṃ hi kṣobhātmanāṃ yad ekam akṣobhātmakaṃ prāgbhāvi sāmānyam … For of the particular sounds, which are of the nature of agitation, that one which is…
  84. 84 evaṃ gandhānte 'pi vācyam The same is to be said for the rest, up to and ending with odor.
  85. 85 tatra śabdatanmātrāt kṣubhitāt avakāśadānavyāpāraṃ nabhaḥ śabdasya vācyādhyāsāvakāśasahatvāt There, from the agitated sound-subtle-element arises ether, whose function is the giving…
  86. 86 śabdatanmātraṃ kṣubhitaṃ vāyuḥ śabdas tu asya nabhasā virahābhāvāt The agitated sound-subtle-element is air;
  87. 87 rūpaṃ kṣubhitaṃ tejaḥ pūrvaguṇau tu pūrvavat The agitated color-element is fire;
  88. 88 rasaḥ kṣubhita āpaḥ pūrve trayaḥ pūrvavat The agitated taste-element is water;
  89. 89 gandhaḥ kṣubhito dharā pūrve catvāraḥ pūrvavat The agitated odor-element is earth;
  90. 90 anye śabdasparśābhyāṃ vāyuḥ ityādikrameṇa pañcabhyo dharaṇī iti manyante Others hold that, by the sequence "air arises from sound and touch," and so on, earth…
  91. 91 guṇasamudāyamātraṃ ca pṛthivī nānyo guṇī kaścit And earth is merely an aggregate of qualities;
  92. 92 asmiṃś ca tattvakalāpe ūrdhvordhvaguṇaṃ vyāpakaṃ nikṛṣṭaguṇaṃ tu vyāpyam And in this collection of principles, that which has successively higher qualities is the…
  93. 93 sa eva guṇasya utkarṣo yat tena vinā guṇāntaraṃ … And this is precisely the superiority of a quality: that without it another quality is…