(Note: This written piece was transcribed from a recording of Sri Harshaji’s talk in Seattle. I have left out the portions I could not follow)
Acārya Amr̥tavāgbhava salutes his Guru and iṣṭadēvatā through these verses, while in a state of spiritual ecstasy.
यत्प्रसादादिदं लब्धं रहस्यं पावनं परम् |
कोपभट्टारकं वन्दे तमनुग्रहविग्रहम् ||
yatprasādādidaṃ labdhaṃ rahasyaṃ pāvanaṃ param |
kopabhaṭṭārakaṃ vande tamanugrahavigraham ||
By whose grace have I obtained this sacred secret, in that graceful form of Krōdhabhaṭṭāraka, I seek refuge.
He begins by invoking his Guru, Lord Durvāsā, who is famously called ‘Krōdhabhaṭṭāraka’ on account of his famed anger. However, by further describing the Great Sage as ‘anugrahavigraha’ or the very personification of grace, he clarifies that anger is simply a līlā of the great incarnation of Paramaśiva, and essentially a form of his Grace. The secret referred to here is the esoteric science of śāmbhava mahāyōga, which was received by Acārya Amr̥tavāgbhava through the grace (tīvra śaktipāta) of Lord Durvāsā.
वाक्कामशक्तिमहितं कोटिबालार्कसन्निभम् |
पापकालानलं बालमिष्टं दैवतमाश्रये ||
vākkāmaśaktimahitaṃ koṭibālārkasannibham |
pāpakālānalaṃ bālamiṣṭaṃ daivatamāśraye ||
I seek refuge in my iṣṭadēvatā (personal Deity) who is of the form of vāk, kāma, and śakti bījas, who is resplendent like a million rising suns and who is the great final fire that destroys all sins.
Next, the Acārya invokes the grace of his iṣṭadēvatā, who is Bālā Tripurasundarī. It is said in Garbhakulārṇava Tantra that though Mahātripurasundarī appears to sādhaka in various forms such as (i) mantra (Bālā, Pañcadaśī, Shōḍaśī), (ii) yantra (various kinds of śrīcakra), (iii) dhyāna mūrti (four-handed Bālā as described by the verse aruṇakiraṇajālaiḥ, four-handed Lalitā as described by caturbhujē candrakalāvatamsē or the ten-handed Shōḍaśī as described by cāpaṁ cēkṣumayam) – her form as mantrarāja (Bālā, Pancadaśī, Shōḍaśī) is most helpful to the sādhaka (āpta). Hence, the Acārya chooses to invoke the great Goddess in her form as the mūla-mantra which is composed of three bIjas: vāk (also called vāgbhava), kāma (called kāmarāja) and śakti (also called parā). The effulgence of the great Goddess who is both the mantra and mantra-dēvatā is described as equaling a thousand rising suns. He also describes the fruit (phala) of upāsanā of this mantra as the destruction of sins – which in this context refers to the dissolution of malatraya (āṇava, kārmika, māyika). As most of the descriptions here apply also to Lalitā Tripurasundarī (Pañcadaśī, Shōḍaśī), the Acārya further specifies that his iṣṭadēvatā is of the form of a child (Bālā).
Having described the mantra-svarūpa of Bālā Tripurasundarī, the Acārya now proceeds to invoke her dhyāna-mūrti.
कोटिविद्युत्प्रतीकाशं फुल्लकल्हारबिन्दुगम् |
पुस्तमालाभयवरकरं दैवतमाश्रये ||
koṭividyutpratīkāśaṃ phullakalhārabindugam |
pustamālābhayavarakaraṃ daivatamāśraye ||
In that Deity, I seek refuge, who is effulgent like a thousand flashes of lightning, who is seated at the center of a fully bloomed lotus and who sports in her hand a book, akṣamālā, and the gestures (mudrā) of abhaya and vara.
The dhyāna described here follows the traditional dhyAna of Bālā Tripurā – aruṇakiraṇajālaiḥ. Dēvī here is also described as the awakened kuṇḍalinī śakti (vidyullatēva bhāsvarā) who has ascended to the center of the Sahasrāra bindu-chakra (Crown). Fully-bloomed lotus, here representing Sahasrāra, is symbolic of expansive and pure non-dual awareness or consciousness, which is the goal of śāmbhava mahāyōga. Dēvī thus here is represented as both the goal and the path, and as the essence of upāyatraya, as well as anupāya.
समस्तकल्पनामूलमरुणं करुणाघनम् |
ललितं कामवरदमिष्टं दैवतमाश्रये ||
samastakalpanāmūlamaruṇaṃ karuṇāghanam |
lalitaṃ kāmavaradamiṣṭaṃ daivatamāśraye ||
I seek refuge in that Deity who is the root cause of all creations (imaginations), who is of a deep red hue, intensely compassionate, of playful countenance and granting desired boons.
Having invoked his iṣṭa-dēvatā Bālā Tripurasundarī, the Acārya also invokes Mahātripurasundarī (who, while being non-different from Bālā in essence, is also the next progression in śrīvidyā upāsanā), by using the words, Lalitā, and kāmavaradā. He begins by describing Parāmbā as the root cause of all tattvas, bhuvanas, desires, creations etc., thus establishing her form as Mahāprakāśa. He next calls her ‘aruṇā’ invoking her aspect as Mahāvimarśa or śakti, or more technically, her esoteric form as Mahākāmakalā. He then proceeds to invoke her as intensely compassionate. Every deity is an energetic archetype, and qualities attributed to Deities are those that we want in ourselves or directed towards us. Thus, karuṇā is the most valuable quality one should invoke in his iṣṭa-dēvatā amidst various kalyāṇa-guṇas and doing the same is especially easy in the case of Parāmbā whose very form as the Supreme Mother personifies limitless compassion. Even the famous dhyāna-ślōka ‘aruṇāṁ karuṇātaraṅgitākṣīm’ eulogizes Her by highlighting her aspect of ‘karuṇā’. We have talked about her ‘āruṇya’ and ‘kāruṇya’ elsewhere.
The sāmarasya of Prakāśa and Vimarśa is reflected not only in the mūlavidyā (Mahāṣōḍaśī) but also in the Mahāpādukā mantra. Thus, Parāmbā is invoked here verily as Gurumūrtisvarūpiṇī (remember the sahasrākṣara samaṣṭi-puśpāñjali mantra?) and the most intense expression of her kāruṇya or compassion is the form of dēśika (the teacher). One does not attain Parāmbā’s grace through the Guru, but rather, one attains a Sadguru only through the Grace of Parāmbā and her grace materializes as the śaktipāta dīkṣā conferred by the dēśika. Thus, the Acārya invokes his Guru in the first verse and Gurumūrtisvarūpiṇī in the last. This makes this entire hymn qualify as ‘Guru Stotra’. Abheda of Guru and dēvatā is the most essential character of advaya śaivāgama as well as of śrīvidyā.
Note also that the word ‘kāma’ is of three-fold significance. At the first look, it talks of the natural quality of Parāmbā to grant a sincere upāsaka all his desires. While cintāmaṇi is the wish-fulfilling gem, Mahātripurasundarī is present within a mansion made of countless such gems (cintāmaṇigr̥ha); would one need to say anything more about the wish-fulfilling nature of śrīvidyā? Be it jñāna, yoga, and mōkṣa, or aiśvarya or ārōgya, or vaśya or māraṇa, upāsakas have various kinds of desires based on their samskāra and vāsanā and śrīvidyā is incredibly fast and effective in fulfilling each of them. Also, kāmavaradā here refers to the Deity who is ‘gracious to kāma’ and kāma can be Manmatha, the cupid or Mahākāma (Kāmēśvara). The great grace awarded to kāma or Manmatha is the kādi-vidyā and Acārya here indicates that as his stream of upāsanā or paramparā.
While Kāmēśvara is the Guru in dakṣiṇa and pūrva-kaula paths, Kāmēśvarī is the preceptor in the uttara-kaula path, where Parāśakti is herself Shiva (śrīśivā), and śiva-śaktyaikyarūpiṇī and is also beyond the concepts of śiva, śakti, their abheda and everything else that may be (Lalitāmbikā). A great Siddha from Gujarat who lived till about the last decade and had mastered śrīvidyā and the vidyā of our most beloved Ucchiṣṭa Gaṇanāyaka, once told me after I debated with him for a few hours trying to show off my study of (jaḍa) vēdānta and āgama, “You think it is simple Math that śiva+śakti = Lalitāmbikā? If only her limitless and mysterious svarūpa was that simple or easily categorizable as Brahman or śūnya or something else!” After much deliberation and sādhanā over the last thirty years, I find that nothing is truer than this statement. Lalitā sahasranāma refers to this concept, as does Triśatī (labdhapatiḥ); and our own Kāmākṣī Parābhaṭṭārikā sits solitary as the Great Compassionate Mystery who existed before every concept, of śiva, śakti, their union, of everything and anything else. If one can let go of one’s own rigid definition of what She is or what She is not, the Grace begins to flow, unobstructed by the filters of conditioning. The path is one of intense learning, and even more intense practice, which leads one to an equally arduous path of unlearning.
कर्णोपान्ततरङ्गितकटाक्षनिष्यन्दिकण्ठदघ्नकृपाम् |
कामेश्वराङ्कनिलयां कामपि विद्यां पुरातनीं कलये ||