Part XIX — Nāmas 791–843 (Ślokas 151–157): The Treasure of Rasa, the Antaryāmin, and the Wheel of Becoming
ॐ श्रीमात्रे नमः · oṃ śrīmātre namaḥ
The treasure of rasa, the antaryāmin, and the wheel of becoming
Part XIX traverses fifty-three names — seven ślokas — through territory that gathers many of the hymn's main motifs and adds new ones. It opens with the Taittirīya triad sounded yet again, now in the order satya, jñāna, ānanda (truth, knowledge, bliss) — a deliberate echo of Saccidānanda-rūpiṇī (700) and a return to the supreme Vedāntic definition. The names of art and aesthetics follow — she is the garland of arts, the wish-yielding cow, the assumer of every form; the treasury of arts (also a name of the moon), the very art of poetry, the knower of rasa, and — as the 800th name — the treasure-hoard of rasa itself. The lotus-cluster closes: she is the lotus and the lotus-eyed. Then the great Param- garland: supreme Light, supreme Abode, the supreme Atom (the smallest, paired immediately with Parātparā, the highest-of-the-high — the One who is both least and greatest); the noose-bearer who binds, the noose-cutter who frees — a perfect non-dual pair. The hymn rises to the Mūrtā-Amūrtā pair (formed and formless together, echoing Vyaktāvyakta), the ever-satisfied, the swan in the lake of the sages' minds, the true-vowed, of truth-form, and the great Bṛhadāraṇyaka name — Sarvāntaryāminī, the indwelling-controller of all (Yājñavalkya's teaching to Uddālaka, BU III.7). Then the Brahma-names: she is Brahmā's Śakti, Brahmā/Brahman, the Mother, the many-formed, worshipped by the wise; bringer-forth, fierce, the very Command, the foundation, of manifest form. She is Lord of breath, giver of breath, of the form of the fifty śakti-pīṭhas (a great Tantric topo-image), the unbound, the solitary, mother of heroes, mother of space itself. The movement closes in the liberation-names — Mukundā (the Feminine Liberator), abode of liberation, the root-body form — and in three Bhava- names that gather the whole arc: knower of every bhāva, destroyer of the disease of bhava, and — the closing image — Bhava-cakra-pravartinī, the turner of the wheel of becoming.
॥ श्रीललितासहस्रनामस्तोत्रम् ॥
The Thousand Names — Ślokas 151–157 (Nāmas 791–843)
Śloka 151
सत्यज्ञानानन्द-रूपा सामरस्य-परायणा ।
कपर्दिनी कलामाला कामधुक् कामरूपिणी ॥ १५१॥
satya-jñānānanda-rūpā sāmarasya-parāyaṇā |
kapardinī kalā-mālā kāma-dhuk kāma-rūpiṇī ǁ 151 ǁ
The śloka opens with the Vedāntic triad named once again — this time as satya, jñāna, ānanda (the explicit Taittirīya phrasing), echoing Saccidānanda-rūpiṇī (700, Part XVII). Then Sāmarasya-parāyaṇā — devoted to the equipoise of Śiva and Śakti, a great term whose precise Kaula-Samaya / Trika resonance belongs to the parampara. The Kāma-names recall the kāma-arc burnt → revived → offered (Part II, Part XI): she is the wish-yielding cow, and the assumer of any form at will.
791. सत्यज्ञानानन्दरूपा — Satya-jñānānanda-rūpā
Translation: Whose form (rūpa) is satya, jñāna, and ānanda — Truth, Knowledge, and Bliss.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the form of Truth, Knowledge, Bliss” — the Taittirīya triad sounded in its explicit form (the Taittirīya defines Brahman as satyaṃ jñānam anantam, “real, knowledge, infinite,” and the brahmānanda-vallī rises through the bliss-measurements to the supreme). The apavāda: this is Saccidānanda-rūpiṇī (700) renamed, with the same Vedāntic content — only the second pair (jñāna, ānanda) is the same, while satya here replaces sat, deepening to “truth” the bare “being.” She is Truth-Knowledge-Bliss, the absolute Self that one is.
Śrī Vidyā: Satya-jñānānanda-rūpā is of the form of Truth, Knowledge, Bliss; the Taittirīya triad (satyaṃ jñānam anantam) named explicitly — echoing Saccidānanda-rūpiṇī (700), the Goddess as the absolute Self.
792. सामरस्यपरायणा — Sāmarasya-parāyaṇā
Translation: Devoted (parāyaṇā) to sāmarasya — the equipoise (sama-rasa, equal-savour) of Śiva and Śakti.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “devoted to sāmarasya” — to the perfect equipoise of Śiva and Śakti. The apavāda: sāmarasya literally is “same-savour,” the state in which two distinct things share one taste — applied to Śiva and Śakti, it names the non-difference of consciousness and its self-knowing power, the supreme union (recall Vimarśa-rūpiṇī, the self-touching of consciousness; Ardha-nārīśvara). She is wholly given to this equipoise — her very nature is the sāmarasya. (The precise technical content of sāmarasya in the Trika/Kaula-Samaya tradition belongs to the initiate.)
Śrī Vidyā: Sāmarasya-parāyaṇā is devoted to the equipoise of Śiva-Śakti; the Goddess given to sāmarasya (the “same-savour,” the supreme non-difference of consciousness and its self-knowing) — the technical Trika/Kaula content held in the parampara.
793. कपर्दिनी — Kapardinī
Translation: Kapardinī — consort of Kapardin (Śiva with the matted-locks); the female form of Kapardin.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Kapardinī — consort of Kapardin, a great epithet of Śiva (the “one with matted locks,” the Vedic ascetic-form; named in the Rudra-praśna of the Yajurveda). The apavāda: as Sadāśivā is the feminine of Sadāśiva, Kapardinī is the feminine of Kapardin — she is the Vedic Śiva in her own form; the matted-locks ascetic Lord is herself. (And she is the female ascetic too, the matted-locked Goddess — the female counterpart of the great Vedic Rudra.)
Śrī Vidyā: Kapardinī is consort of Kapardin (Śiva with the matted locks, the Vedic Rudra of the Yajurveda's Rudra-praśna); the Goddess as the feminine of the great Vedic Śiva, the matted-locked Lady.
794. कलामाला — Kalā-mālā
Translation: Kalā-mālā — wearing the arts/kalās as a garland (mālā).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “garlanded with the arts” — wearing all kalās as a flower-mālā. The apavāda: kalā is at once a fraction/digit (recall Kalātmikā, Cit-kalā) and an art — the sixty-four arts that perfect the cultured being (and the sixteen kalās of the moon as a sub-figure). She wears them all (recall Catuḥ-ṣaṣṭi-kalā-mayī, of the sixty-four arts). Beauty by every art; learning as her ornament.
Śrī Vidyā: Kalā-mālā is garlanded with the arts/kalās; the Goddess wearing all kalās as her ornament (the sixty-four arts; the sixteen lunar digits) — learning as her beauty.
795. कामधुक् — Kāma-dhuk
Translation: Kāma-dhuk — the wish-yielding cow (Kāmadhenu / Kāma-duh); she who milks every desire.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the wish-yielding cow” — Kāma-dhenu, the divine cow of plenty in Indian myth, who grants whatever is wished. The apavāda: as Kalpa-tarū (the wish-tree) is among her trees, so Kāma-dhenu is among her forms; she is the inexhaustible source from which every desired good is milked. The Goddess as the abundance-itself behind every fulfilment. (And inwardly, she yields the supreme kāma — the desire for liberation — when that desire arises.)
Śrī Vidyā: Kāma-dhuk is the wish-yielding cow (Kāma-dhenu); the Goddess as the inexhaustible source of every wished good — outwardly the cow of plenty, inwardly the yielder of the supreme kāma (the desire for liberation).
796. कामरूपिणी — Kāma-rūpiṇī
Translation: Kāma-rūpiṇī — assuming any form at will (kāma-rūpa); also, the deity of the Kāmarūpa pīṭha.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of any form at will.” The apavāda: kāma-rūpa is the power to take whatever form one wishes — a power of the gods and the great yogins; she has it supremely (recall Bahu-rūpā to come; Vividhākārā). And Kāmarūpa is also a great śakti-pīṭha in Assam (where Sati's yoni fell, sacred to the Goddess as Kāmākhyā); she is its deity. The free-form Goddess, and the deity of the supreme Tantric pīṭha.
Śrī Vidyā: Kāma-rūpiṇī assumes any form at will (kāma-rūpa); the Goddess of free-form power — and the deity of the great Kāmarūpa śakti-pīṭha (Kāmākhyā in Assam, where Satī's yoni fell).
Śloka 152
कलानिधिः काव्यकला रसज्ञा रसशेवधिः ।
पुष्टा पुरातना पूज्या पुष्करा पुष्करेक्षणा ॥ १५२॥
kalā-nidhiḥ kāvya-kalā rasa-jñā rasa-śevadhiḥ |
puṣṭā purātanā pūjyā puṣkarā puṣkarekṣaṇā ǁ 152 ǁ
The śloka unfolds in nine names, half art-and-rasa, half lotus-and-antiquity. She is the treasury of arts (also a name of the moon as the bearer of the sixteen lunar digits), the very art of poetry, the knower of rasa, and — as the 800th name — the very treasure-hoard of rasa: a fitting milestone. Then the four pu-alliterating qualities and the lotus-pair.
797. कलानिधिः — Kalā-nidhiḥ
Translation: Kalā-nidhiḥ — the treasury (nidhi) of arts (kalā); (also) a name of the moon.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the treasury of the kalās” — the storehouse of all the arts (sixty-four classical arts, the sixteen lunar digits). The apavāda: kalā-nidhi is also a celebrated name of the moon, who bears the sixteen digits and is depleted and replenished in the lunar month; she is the moon, and the Goddess whose own being is the inexhaustible hoard of every kalā. Both readings: she is the moon (recall Bālendu-vibhūṣitā; Indu-mukha), and the storehouse of art.
Śrī Vidyā: Kalā-nidhiḥ is the treasury of arts and (homonymously) a name of the moon (bearer of the sixteen digits); the Goddess as the storehouse of all kalās and as the moon herself.
798. काव्यकला — Kāvya-kalā
Translation: Kāvya-kalā — the very art (kalā) of poetry (kāvya); poetry-art personified.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the art of poetry.” The apavāda: kāvya is the great Sanskrit literary tradition — Kālidāsa, Bhavabhūti, the Rāmāyaṇa, the entire literary heritage; she is its very kalā, the art that underlies all of it (recall Kāvyālāpa-vinodinī, delighting in poetic discourse). When true poetry is composed, she composes; the poet is her instrument.
Śrī Vidyā: Kāvya-kalā is the art of poetry; the Goddess as poetic art itself — the great Sanskrit literary tradition (Kālidāsa, Bhavabhūti, the epics) her composition through the poets who are her instruments.
799. रसज्ञा — Rasa-jñā
Translation: Rasa-jñā — the knower (jñā) of rasa (the essential aesthetic and spiritual savour).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the knower of rasa.” The apavāda: rasa is one of the great words of Indic thought — the “essential savour” of a thing; in poetics, the eight or nine aesthetic emotions (śṛṅgāra, vīra, karuṇa, etc., and śānta the ninth); in Vedānta, the essence-as-such (the Taittirīya: raso vai saḥ, “he is verily rasa”); she knows them all (recall Cidekarasa-rūpiṇī, of the one savour of pure consciousness). The connoisseur of every essence.
Śrī Vidyā: Rasa-jñā is the knower of rasa; the Goddess as connoisseur of every essential savour — the aesthetic rasas of poetics, and the Vedāntic rasa (Taittirīya: raso vai saḥ, “he is verily rasa”).
800. रसशेवधिः — Rasa-śevadhiḥ
Translation: Rasa-śevadhiḥ — the treasure-hoard (śevadhi) of rasa.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the treasure-hoard of rasa.” The apavāda: śevadhi is a buried treasure, an inexhaustible hoard; she is the very hoard of rasa — not only the knower (Rasa-jñā) but the source from which every rasa is drawn (recall Karuṇā-rasa-sāgarā, ocean of the savour of mercy). And the deeper sense: as Saccidānanda-rūpiṇī she is ānanda, and ānanda is the supreme rasa (the Taittirīya's raso vai saḥ; rasaṃ hy evāyaṃ labdhvānandī bhavati — “he is verily rasa; for, having obtained rasa, one becomes blissful”). The treasure of rasa is the supreme Self. (As the 800th name, fitting milestone — the savour at the heart of all things is her hoard, and her hoard is the deathless ānanda.)
Śrī Vidyā: Rasa-śevadhiḥ is the treasure-hoard of rasa; the Goddess as the inexhaustible source of every essential savour (deepening Rasa-jñā) — and the supreme rasa of the Taittirīya, the ānanda of the Self (raso vai saḥ). The 800th name.
801. पुष्टा — Puṣṭā
Translation: Puṣṭā — nourished, well-fed, full; abundant.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “well-nourished” — puṣṭā, full and abundant. The apavāda: nourishment in every sense — bodily abundance, fullness of vitality, completeness of being (recall the Tuṣṭi-Puṣṭi pair among her quality-goddesses, śloka 94; Annapūrṇā, food-full). And the deeper sense: she is the well-fed because she nourishes all — by giving, she is full; by feeding, she is nourished. (As is said of the moon, she gives and remains entire.)
Śrī Vidyā: Puṣṭā is well-nourished and abundant; the Goddess full of every nourishing fullness — paired with Tuṣṭi-Puṣṭi (her quality-goddesses), the one who feeds all and is feeding.
802. पुरातना — Purātanā
Translation: Purātanā — the most ancient; the primordial.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the most ancient” — primordial, before time. The apavāda: purātana (older than purāṇa, older than “old”) is the Vedic eternity-word; she is before all that has come into being (recall Anādi-nidhanā, śloka 69, without beginning or end; Ādi-śaktiḥ, the primal Power). The supreme is not “old” but ancient — the always-already, before which there is no “before.”
Śrī Vidyā: Purātanā is the most ancient; the Goddess as the primordial (older than purāṇa, before all that has come into being) — Anādi-nidhanā, the always-already.
803. पूज्या — Pūjyā
Translation: Pūjyā — to be worshipped; worthy of devoted worship.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the one worthy of worship” — pūjya, fit for pūjā. The apavāda: pūjā is the central act of devotional religion; she is its proper object — the supreme of all the objects worshipped, and the only finally-worthy one (every pūjā, in the end, is to her). The worship-worthy: by being worshipped one is purified.
Śrī Vidyā: Pūjyā is worthy of worship; the Goddess as the proper object of pūjā — the supreme of all worship-objects, and the only finally-worthy one (every pūjā in the end to her).
804. पुष्करा — Puṣkarā
Translation: Puṣkarā — the lotus; (also) a great pilgrimage-place (Puṣkara in Rajasthan).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Puṣkarā — “the lotus” (recall the lotus motif: Padma-nayanā, Padmāsanā, Padmarāga, the lotus of the heart at every cakra). The apavāda: she is the great lotus of consciousness, the open flower of the heart in which the Self is revealed. And Puṣkara is also a great tīrtha (the famous Puṣkara in Rajasthan, sacred to Brahmā); she is its deity. The lotus, and the lotus-place.
Śrī Vidyā: Puṣkarā is the lotus (and the great pilgrimage-place Puṣkara in Rajasthan); the Goddess as the open flower of consciousness — the lotus of the heart and the deity of the tīrtha.
805. पुष्करेक्षणा — Puṣkarekṣaṇā
Translation: Puṣkarekṣaṇā — lotus-eyed (puṣkara-īkṣaṇa); whose eyes are like lotus-petals.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: Her eyes are “like lotus-petals” — wide, soft, dark-blue or dark, with the gentle curve of the open puṣkara (recall Padmākṣī, Cāru-dṛk; the dhyāna verses' lotus-eyes). The apavāda: lotus-eyes are the standard image of beauty in Indic poetry; the Goddess wears them in her supreme form. And esoterically, the lotus-eye is the eye that looks not outward but inward, lotus-like in its calm — her eyes see the Real.
Śrī Vidyā: Puṣkarekṣaṇā is lotus-eyed; the Goddess's wide, lotus-petal eyes (standard image of beauty; recall Padmākṣī, the dhyāna verses) — outwardly beautiful, inwardly calm and lotus-like, seeing the Real.
Śloka 153
परंज्योतिः परंधाम परमाणुः परात्परा ।
पाशहस्ता पाशहन्त्री परमन्त्र-विभेदिनी ॥ १५३॥
paraṃ-jyotiḥ paraṃ-dhāma paramāṇuḥ parātparā |
pāśa-hastā pāśa-hantrī para-mantra-vibhedinī ǁ 153 ǁ
The great Param- garland — four supreme-names — and a beloved non-dual pair. She is the supreme Light, the supreme Abode, the supreme Atom (the smallest, paired immediately with the highest-of-the-high, Parātparā). Then the binder-and-releaser pair: noose in hand, and noose-cutter — she who casts the noose of māyā and she who cuts it. The śloka closes with a Tantric protective name (the precise content held in the parampara).
806. परंज्योतिः — Paraṃ-jyotiḥ
Translation: Paraṃ-jyotiḥ — the supreme (parā) Light (jyotis).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the supreme Light.” The apavāda: jyotis is light — the sun's light, the lamp's, the inner light of consciousness; paraṃ jyotis is the highest light, beyond all derived lights (recall the Chāndogya's image of the “light beyond the sun” — jyotirṣāṃ jyotis, “the Light of lights” of the Muṇḍaka/Kena). She is that light by which all lights shine; the self-luminous consciousness in which every illumination is. (Recall Sva-prakāśā, self-luminous, Part XIII.)
Śrī Vidyā: Paraṃ-jyotiḥ is the supreme Light; the Goddess as the “Light of lights” (Muṇḍaka/Kena jyotirṣāṃ jyotis) — the self-luminous consciousness in which every illumination is.
807. परंधाम — Paraṃ-dhāma
Translation: Paraṃ-dhāma — the supreme (parā) Abode (dhāma).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the supreme Abode.” The apavāda: dhāma is dwelling-place, splendour, and (in the Gītā) the supreme Goal — the “supreme Abode” of the Lord, the going to which is the return-not-again (Gītā XV.6: tad dhāma paramaṃ mama, “that is My supreme abode”). She is that Abode — the place to which the realised do not return, the eternal home of the Self.
Śrī Vidyā: Paraṃ-dhāma is the supreme Abode; the Goddess as the Gītā's paramaṃ dhāma (XV.6, the supreme Abode of the Lord, return-not-again) — the eternal home of the Self.
808. परमाणुः — Paramāṇuḥ
Translation: Paramāṇuḥ — the supreme Atom (parama-aṇu); the smallest of the small.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Paramāṇuḥ — “the supreme Atom,” the smallest of the small. The apavāda: in classical Indian thought paramāṇu is the irreducible particle (the Vaiśeṣika's atomic theory), the smallest measure of matter; she is named here as that — and paired immediately with Parātparā, the highest of the high. The same supreme is the smallest and the greatest — recall the Kaṭha's aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān, “smaller than the small, greater than the great.” The cosmos's whole, in her atomic point; her vastness, in her smallness.
Śrī Vidyā: Paramāṇuḥ is the supreme Atom (the smallest of the small); the Goddess as the Kaṭha's aṇor aṇīyān (Upaniṣadic smaller-than-the-small) — paired with Parātparā: the same supreme is both atom-point and the highest of the high.
809. परात्परा — Parātparā
Translation: Parātparā — higher (parā) than the highest (parāt); beyond the beyond.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “higher than the highest.” The apavāda: parā is “highest” already, parāt parā is “higher than the highest” — the supreme that surpasses every supreme (the Kaṭha's mahato mahīyān, “greater than the great”). And paired with Paramāṇuḥ just before, the great non-dual pair is sounded: she is the smallest of the small and the highest of the high; the limit at both ends is herself — and beyond both. (To be paired with Parāparā (790) just sounded: there she was the supreme-and-not-supreme; here she is the supreme of supremes.)
Śrī Vidyā: Parātparā is higher than the highest; the Goddess as the Kaṭha's mahato mahīyān (greater-than-the-great) — paired with Paramāṇuḥ (smallest of the small): the same supreme at both extremes, and beyond both.
810. पाशहस्ता — Pāśa-hastā
Translation: Pāśa-hastā — with the noose (pāśa) in her hand (hasta).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “noose-in-hand” — wielder of the pāśa, the binding rope. The apavāda: pāśa is one of her four classical attributes (along with aṅkuśa, the goad, and the sugarcane-bow and flower-arrows of the dhyāna); the noose with which she binds — the cosmic pāśa by which beings are tied to saṃsāra (the Pāśupata tradition's central image: paśu, the bound creature, pāśa, the binding, pati, the lord). She holds the noose by which the bound are bound. (Recall Rāga-svarūpa-pāśāḍhyā, śloka 2, where her noose was the form of attachment itself.)
Śrī Vidyā: Pāśa-hastā is noose-in-hand; the Goddess wielding the cosmic pāśa by which beings are bound to saṃsāra (the Pāśupata paśu-pāśa-pati triad; her bow-and-noose in the dhyāna's four attributes).
811. पाशहन्त्री — Pāśa-hantrī
Translation: Pāśa-hantrī — the destroyer (hantrī) of the noose (pāśa); she who cuts the bond.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the noose-cutter.” The apavāda: paired with Pāśa-hastā just before, this is the great non-dual pair — the same Goddess who casts the noose of māyā also cuts it. The supreme creates the bond, and the supreme alone releases (recall Paśu-pāśa-vimocinī, Part XII, releaser of beings from bondage). The noose is hers; the cutting is hers; the bound are hers, and the freed are hers. (Bandhana and mokṣa are both her work — a single act in two faces.)
Śrī Vidyā: Pāśa-hantrī is the destroyer of the noose; paired with Pāśa-hastā — the same Goddess casts the noose of māyā and cuts it (cf. Paśu-pāśa-vimocinī). Bondage and liberation alike her work, a single act in two faces.
812. परमन्त्रविभेदिनी — Para-mantra-vibhedinī
Translation: Para-mantra-vibhedinī — sunderer (vibhedinī) of hostile / opposing mantras (para-mantra).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the sunderer of opposing mantras.” The apavāda: para-mantra here is read as “the mantras of others” — hostile mantras employed against the devotee in abhicāra (Atharvan magical practice); she breaks these, protecting her devotees from such assault. (In the Tantric tradition, defensive mantra-practice is a recognised art; she is the supreme deity who renders all hostile mantra-power ineffective.) The precise upāsanā belongs to the parampara — the open meaning is the Goddess's protection of her devotees from every magical assault.
Śrī Vidyā: Para-mantra-vibhedinī sunders opposing mantras (para-mantra); the Goddess's protection of her devotees from hostile abhicāra — the precise defensive upāsanā held in the parampara.
Śloka 154
मूर्तामूर्ता नित्यतृप्ता मुनिमानस-हंसिका ।
सत्यव्रता सत्यरूपा सर्वान्तर्यामिनी सती ॥ १५४॥
mūrtā amūrtā nitya-tṛptā muni-mānasa-haṃsikā |
satya-vratā satya-rūpā sarvāntar-yāminī satī ǁ 154 ǁ
This śloka contains the great Mūrtā/Amūrtā pair (formed and formless, echoing Vyaktāvyakta-svarūpiṇī, śloka 86) and the supreme Upaniṣadic name Sarvāntaryāminī — the inner controller indwelling all, the great teaching of Yājñavalkya to Uddālaka Āruṇi in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad III.7 (the antaryāmin-brāhmaṇa). “He who, dwelling in the earth, is other than the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body the earth is, who controls the earth from within — He is your Self, the inner controller, the immortal” — and so through every element, every world, every faculty.
813. मूर्ता — Mūrtā
Translation: Mūrtā — with form (saguṇa); the Goddess in her manifest, formed aspect.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Mūrtā — “with form” — the Goddess in her saguṇa, embodied aspect: every mūrti (image, icon, manifest form) is herself. The apavāda: paired immediately with Amūrtā next — she is form, and (next breath) formless; the two together echo Vyaktāvyakta-svarūpiṇī (śloka 86), and Sad-asad-rūpa-dhāriṇī. The supreme is at once formed (so that devotion may have an object) and formless (so that knowledge may have its summit).
Śrī Vidyā: Mūrtā is with form (saguṇa); the Goddess in her manifest, formed aspect — every mūrti herself, paired immediately with Amūrtā (formless): the supreme is both, echoing Vyaktāvyakta-svarūpiṇī (śloka 86).
814. अमूर्ता — Amūrtā
Translation: Amūrtā — without form (nirguṇa); the Goddess in her unmanifest aspect.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Amūrtā — “without form” — the Goddess in her nirguṇa, unmanifest aspect. The apavāda: the supreme is finally beyond every form (recall Nirākārā, śloka 44; Niṣkalā). The pairing with Mūrtā is the central Vedāntic distinction saguṇa-nirguṇa: the same supreme is both (formed for the devotee's sake, formless in itself), and the highest knowledge is that the two are one.
Śrī Vidyā: Amūrtā is without form (nirguṇa); the Goddess in her unmanifest aspect — paired with Mūrtā (formed): the central Vedāntic saguṇa-nirguṇa distinction held as one in her (cf. Nirākārā, Niṣkalā).
815. नित्यतृप्ता — Nitya-tṛptā
Translation: Nitya-tṛptā — eternally satisfied; ever-content, lacking nothing.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “eternally satisfied.” The apavāda: tṛpti is the deep satisfaction that ends all longing; she is in it always (recall Nitya-tṛptā in the Vedānta-sāra's definition of jīvanmukti). The supreme lacks nothing, desires nothing, is at home in itself — the perfect rest at the heart of being. And the devotee, knowing her, becomes nitya-tṛpta; satisfaction without cause is her gift.
Śrī Vidyā: Nitya-tṛptā is eternally satisfied; the Goddess as nitya-tṛpti (the Vedānta-sāra's jīvanmukta-quality) — the perfect rest of the supreme that lacks nothing, and the satisfaction-without-cause given to the devotee.
816. मुनिमानसहंसिका — Muni-mānasa-haṃsikā
Translation: Muni-mānasa-haṃsikā — the (female) swan (haṃsikā) in the Mānasa-lake of the sages' minds (muni-mānasa).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the swan in the sages' minds.” The apavāda: a lovely image — the mānasa is the celestial lake on Mount Kailāsa (Mānasarovar, beloved of swans) and also the “mind” (manas); the haṃsa-swan is the symbol of the discriminating sage (the swan said to separate milk from water as the sage separates the Real from the unreal); the muni, the silent sage, is one whose mind has become this lake — and she is its swan, gliding there in serene play. (Recall Bhakta-mānasa-haṃsikā, swan in the devotee's mind, Part XII; and the haṃsa mantra-bird so'ham.) Her seat is the contemplative's still mind.
Śrī Vidyā: Muni-mānasa-haṃsikā is the swan in the Mānasa-lake of the sages' minds; the Goddess gliding in the still mind of the muni (recall Bhakta-mānasa-haṃsikā; the haṃsa as discriminating sage; the so'ham mantra).
817. सत्यव्रता — Satya-vratā
Translation: Satya-vratā — of the vow (vrata) of truth (satya); whose observance is Truth.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the truth-vow.” The apavāda: satya-vrata is the supreme dharmic vow — to speak no untruth, to be at one with truth — held by the great sages (Vasiṣṭha, Manu Satyavrata); she is the goddess of this vow (recall Satya-sandhā, true to her word, śloka 135). Her vow is truth itself; the seeker who holds Satya-vrata is upheld by her.
Śrī Vidyā: Satya-vratā is of the truth-vow; the Goddess as the supreme dharmic vow of truth (recall Satya-sandhā; Manu Satyavrata); her vow truth itself.
818. सत्यरूपा — Satya-rūpā
Translation: Satya-rūpā — whose form (rūpa) is Truth (satya).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the form of Truth.” The apavāda: satya is the foundational word — the Real, the True; she is its very form (recall Satya-jñānānanda-rūpā of this part, śloka 151; Satyānanda-svarūpiṇī, Part XV; satyasya satyam of the Upaniṣad — “the truth of the truth”). The supreme is truth itself, embodied.
Śrī Vidyā: Satya-rūpā is of the form of Truth; the Goddess as satya embodied — the Upaniṣad's satyasya satyam (“the truth of the truth”), recalling Satya-jñānānanda-rūpā (791) and Satyānanda-svarūpiṇī.
819. सर्वान्तर्यामिनी — Sarvāntar-yāminī
Translation: Sarvāntar-yāminī — the inner controller (antar-yāmin) of all (sarva); indwelling and governing every being.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the inner controller of all.” The apavāda: this is the great Upaniṣadic antaryāmin-brāhmaṇa (Bṛhadāraṇyaka III.7), where Yājñavalkya answers Uddālaka Āruṇi's question with the threefold formula repeated through earth, water, fire, sky, air, sun, quarters, moon, stars, and so on — and through breath, speech, mind, and the inner faculties: “He who, dwelling in X, is other than X, whom X does not know, whose body is X, who controls X from within — He is your Self, the inner controller, the immortal.” She is named here as that very antaryāmin — the supreme Self indwelling and ruling all from within, all-pervadingly. The pratyag-ātman (recall Pratyag-rūpā, 781) is named once more in its inner-controller aspect. (One of the deepest Upaniṣadic teachings, sounded in a single name.)
Śrī Vidyā: Sarvāntar-yāminī is the inner controller of all (the Bṛhadāraṇyaka III.7 antaryāmin-brāhmaṇa, Yājñavalkya to Uddālaka — “He who, dwelling in X, is other than X, whose body is X, who controls X from within — He is your Self, the inner controller”); the Goddess as the indwelling Self in every being, paired with Pratyag-rūpā (781).
820. सती — Satī
Translation: Satī — the true / the chaste; (also) Satī, the Goddess (Pārvatī's earlier birth as Dakṣa's daughter).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Satī — “the true,” the chaste, and the name of Pārvatī's earlier birth (Dakṣa's daughter, who immolated herself when her father insulted Śiva). The apavāda: satī from sat, “being / truth” — she is the true, the existent; and the great myth of Satī (whose body, divided by Viṣṇu's discus, fell to earth in fifty-one places, founding the śakti-pīṭhas — to be named in śloka 156 as Pañcāśat-pīṭha-rūpiṇī) is recalled here. She is the truth-as-virtue and the divine prototype of the consort who is faithful unto death.
Śrī Vidyā: Satī is the true/chaste, and the name of Pārvatī's earlier birth (Dakṣa's daughter, whose body — divided by Viṣṇu's discus — fell as the fifty śakti-pīṭhas, to be named ahead as Pañcāśat-pīṭha-rūpiṇī); the Goddess as truth-virtue and as the great Satī of the myth.
Śloka 155
ब्रह्माणी ब्रह्म जननी बहुरूपा बुधार्चिता ।
प्रसवित्री प्रचण्डा ज्ञा प्रतिष्ठा प्रकटाकृतिः ॥ १५५॥
brahmāṇī brahmā jananī bahu-rūpā budhārcitā |
prasavitrī pracaṇḍā ājñā pratiṣṭhā prakaṭākṛtiḥ ǁ 155 ǁ
This śloka holds ten names — the canonical Bhāskararāya division splits the compound “brahma-jananī” into two (Brahmā + Jananī), and reads “pracaṇḍā''jñā” as Pracaṇḍā + Ājñā (verified by Parasakthi's anchor Bahu-rūpā = 824). The Goddess is named as Brahmā's Śakti, as Brahmā itself, and as the Mother; many-formed, worshipped by sages; the bringer-forth, fierce; the divine Command, the foundation, of manifest form.
821. ब्रह्माणी — Brahmāṇī
Translation: Brahmāṇī — the Śakti / feminine of Brahmā; one of the Sapta-Mātṛkās.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Brahmāṇī — “the Śakti of Brahmā,” the feminine of the creator-god (and named again, as in the earlier Brāhmaṇī/Brāhmī of Part XVI). The apavāda: as one of the Sapta-Mātṛkās (the Seven Mothers — Brahmāṇī, Vaiṣṇavī, Maheśvarī, Indrāṇī, Kaumārī, Vārāhī, Cāmuṇḍā/Nārasiṃhī), she is named in her creator-Śakti aspect (recall Maheśvarī, śloka 145, named as another). The one Lalitā under the names of the great Mātṛkās.
Śrī Vidyā: Brahmāṇī is the Śakti of Brahmā; the Goddess as one of the Sapta-Mātṛkās (the Seven Mothers — Brahmāṇī's creator-aspect) — the one Lalitā under each of the great Mātṛkā-names.
822. ब्रह्म — Brahmā
Translation: Brahmā / Brahman — the creator-god; (more deeply) Brahman, the Absolute.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Brahmā/Brahman — “the creator, the Absolute.” The apavāda: in the canonical Bhāskararāya division, the compound “brahma-jananī” splits as Brahmā + Jananī — “she is Brahmā/Brahman; she is the Mother” — and the two together affirm her identity with the supreme creator-Absolute (recall Brahmātmaikya-svarūpiṇī, 672, the identity of Brahman and Ātman). She is Brahmā (the masculine creator) and Brahman (the Absolute) — the gender of the noun is finally indifferent to her, who is sovereign over both.
Śrī Vidyā: Brahmā is the creator-god and Brahman the Absolute (the Bhāskararāya canonical split of brahma-jananī → Brahmā + Jananī); the Goddess as Brahman itself — paired with Jananī (Mother), recalling Brahmātmaikya-svarūpiṇī (672).
823. जननी — Jananī
Translation: Jananī — the Mother; the generatrix.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Jananī — “the Mother,” the generatrix of all (recall Aneka-koṭi-brahmāṇḍa-jananī, mother of the countless cosmoses; Viśva-mātā; Ambā). The apavāda: the simplest, dearest name — she is the Mother, and to call her this is to say everything. Paired with Brahmā just before: she is Brahman, and she is Mother; the Absolute is the Mother (a great affirmation, fitting after Pratyag-rūpā and Sarvāntar-yāminī).
Śrī Vidyā: Jananī is the Mother / generatrix; paired with Brahmā (Brahman) — the Absolute is the Mother — recalling Aneka-koṭi-brahmāṇḍa-jananī, Viśva-mātā, Ambā. The simplest, dearest name.
824. बहुरूपा — Bahu-rūpā
Translation: Bahu-rūpā — of many (bahu) forms (rūpa); multi-formed.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of many forms” (recall Vividhākārā, of manifold form; Kāma-rūpiṇī, of any form at will). The apavāda: the one Goddess takes the many forms — Pārvatī, Durgā, Kālī, Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, the Mātṛkās, the Nityās, every village goddess and every great Devī; she is the same one, in bahu-rūpa. The non-duality of all goddess-forms in the one supreme Goddess.
Śrī Vidyā: Bahu-rūpā is of many forms; the one Goddess in all her many forms (Pārvatī, Durgā, Kālī, Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, the Mātṛkās, the Nityās) — the non-duality of all goddess-forms in the one supreme Goddess.
825. बुधार्चिता — Budhārcitā
Translation: Budhārcitā — worshipped (arcitā) by the wise (budha).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “worshipped by the wise” — by the budhas, those of awakened intellect (the root budh, “to be awake,” is the root of buddha). The apavāda: hers is the worship of the wise — the discriminating, the awakened-in-mind, those who have come to the Goddess through understanding (recall Vidyā-vidyā-svarūpiṇī; Vidvad-rūpā). Worship by knowledge is the highest worship; the awakened adore her.
Śrī Vidyā: Budhārcitā is worshipped by the wise (the awakened-in-mind, budha from budh, to wake); the Goddess as the deity of those who come through understanding — worship by knowledge the highest worship.
826. प्रसवित्री — Prasavitrī
Translation: Prasavitrī — the bringer-forth, the generatrix (from prasava, birth/emanation).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the bringer-forth” — prasavitrī, the feminine of prasavitṛ (cf. Savitṛ, the Sun-deity who “impels”). The apavāda: prasava is birth, the emanation of the world from its source; she is the impeller of prasava, the cosmic generator (recall Sāvitrī of śloka 136 — also from the same root). Closely linked to Jananī: she is Mother as “bringer-forth.”
Śrī Vidyā: Prasavitrī is the bringer-forth/generatrix (feminine of Prasavitṛ, the impeller — cf. Savitṛ the Sun, and Sāvitrī of śloka 136); the Goddess as the cosmic generator of prasava (emanation, birth).
827. प्रचण्डा — Pracaṇḍā
Translation: Pracaṇḍā — fierce; vehement; (also) one of the Nityā goddesses.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Pracaṇḍā — “fierce, vehement” (recall Caṇḍikā of śloka 145). The apavāda: the fierce face of the Mother, especially toward the unrighteous; and Pracaṇḍa-Caṇḍī is one of the Nityā goddesses, her sixteen aspects (recall Nityā-ṣoḍaśikā-rūpā). The Goddess in her vehement aspect — feared by demons, loved by devotees.
Śrī Vidyā: Pracaṇḍā is fierce/vehement (paired with Caṇḍikā, śloka 145; one of the sixteen Nityā goddesses); the fierce face of the Mother, feared by demons, loved by devotees.
828. आज्ञा — Ājñā
Translation: Ājñā — Command; the divine Command-faculty; (also) the Ājñā-cakra at the brow.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Ājñā — “Command,” the divine commanding-power. The apavāda: ājñā reads on many levels — the supreme Command by which all that is, is (her word and the world are one — Satya-sandhā); the kingly command (she is the Empress); and the Ājñā-cakra at the brow, the cakra of command and discrimination, sixth of the six (named in śloka 38 as Ājñā-cakrāntarālasthā, dwelling in the Ājñā-cakra; and named as one of the great cakras in the Yoginī ascent of Part XIV). She is Command itself.
Śrī Vidyā: Ājñā is Command (the divine commanding-power, the kingly command, and the Ājñā-cakra at the brow — sixth of the cakras, named in śloka 38 as Ājñā-cakrāntarālasthā); the Goddess as Command itself, her word and the world one.
829. प्रतिष्ठा — Pratiṣṭhā
Translation: Pratiṣṭhā — Foundation, established-firm-place; the steady support.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Pratiṣṭhā — “Foundation, steady support” (recall Supratiṣṭhā, śloka 130, the firm-foundation). The apavāda: pratiṣṭhā is the standing-firm, the established place; she is the Foundation on which all rests — the substratum already named (Mithyā-jagad-adhiṣṭhānā, 735). The world stands because she stands. (And ritually, pratiṣṭhā is the consecration of an image, the “establishing” of the deity in it — she is the deity who is established.)
Śrī Vidyā: Pratiṣṭhā is Foundation, steady support; the Goddess as the foundation on which all rests (paired with Supratiṣṭhā, 660; Mithyā-jagad-adhiṣṭhānā, 735) — and the consecrated presence in every pratiṣṭhita image.
830. प्रकटाकृतिः — Prakaṭākṛtiḥ
Translation: Prakaṭākṛtiḥ — of manifest (prakaṭa) form (ākṛti); plainly-visible.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of manifest form” — prakaṭa, in plain view. The apavāda: paired against Guhya-rūpiṇī (707, of secret form), this is her open, visible face — she who is hidden (in the heart-cave) is also manifest (in every form before the eye); the same Goddess hides and reveals. Prakaṭa and Guhya, both her. (And the Tantric distinction Prakaṭa-/Gupta- yoginīs of the Śrī-Cakra — the outward and inward circles — is in this complementary pair.)
Śrī Vidyā: Prakaṭākṛtiḥ is of manifest form (paired against Guhya-rūpiṇī, 707, of secret form); the Goddess's open, visible face — Prakaṭa and Guhya both her (cf. the Prakaṭa-/Gupta- yoginīs of the Śrī-Cakra circles).
Śloka 156
प्राणेश्वरी प्राणदात्री पञ्चाशत्पीठ-रूपिणी ।
विशृङ्खला विविक्तस्था वीरमाता वियत्प्रसूः ॥ १५६॥
prāṇeśvarī prāṇa-dātrī pañcāśat-pīṭha-rūpiṇī |
viśṛṅkhalā vivikta-sthā vīra-mātā viyat-prasūḥ ǁ 156 ǁ
At the centre of this śloka stands a great Tantric topo-image: Pañcāśat-pīṭha-rūpiṇī, “whose form is the fifty (pañcāśat) śakti-pīṭhas.” In the Devī-Bhāgavata and Tantric tradition, the body of the goddess Satī (named just at the end of śloka 154), when divided by Viṣṇu's discus, fell to earth in fifty-one places (some lists give fifty), each becoming a great śakti-pīṭha sacred to her — Kāmākhyā (yoni), Vārāṇasī (earring), Jvālāmukhī (tongue), and so on; she is named here as the very form of these fifty seats. Her body is the sacred geography of India.
831. प्राणेश्वरी — Prāṇeśvarī
Translation: Prāṇeśvarī — the sovereign (īśvarī) of breath/life (prāṇa); the Lord of life.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “sovereign of prāṇa.” The apavāda, deepening Prāṇa-dā (783) and Prāṇa-rūpiṇī (784): she does not only give and embody prāṇa — she is its Lord. The cosmic life-force is hers to direct; each breath obeys her (recall the Praśna Upaniṣad's teaching of prāṇa as Brahman). The Goddess of the breath of every living being.
Śrī Vidyā: Prāṇeśvarī is the sovereign of prāṇa; deepening Prāṇa-dā (783) and Prāṇa-rūpiṇī (784) — the Goddess as Lord of the cosmic life-force (Praśna Upaniṣad's prāṇa-as-Brahman), each breath obeying her.
832. प्राणदात्री — Prāṇa-dātrī
Translation: Prāṇa-dātrī — the giver (dātrī) of breath/life.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “giver of breath,” deepening Prāṇa-dā (783) by repetition with the feminine dātrī. The apavāda: the gift is renewed — every breath given, every life-force sustained. Two names side by side (Prāṇeśvarī and Prāṇa-dātrī) emphasising the same teaching: she rules prāṇa and gives it; every inhalation her grace.
Śrī Vidyā: Prāṇa-dātrī is the giver of breath (echoing Prāṇa-dā, 783, in feminine form); the Goddess giving and sustaining the life-force — paired with Prāṇeśvarī: she rules prāṇa and gives it.
833. पञ्चाशत्पीठरूपिणी — Pañcāśat-pīṭha-rūpiṇī
Translation: Whose form (rūpa) is the fifty (pañcāśat) śakti-pīṭhas (seats of the Goddess).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the form of the fifty pīṭhas.” The apavāda: the great Tantric topo-image — Satī's body (named at 820), divided by Viṣṇu's discus when Śiva bore her corpse in grief, fell to earth in fifty-one places (some lists: fifty), each becoming a śakti-pīṭha — Kāmākhyā in Assam (yoni), Vimalā at Puri (feet), Jvālāmukhī at Kāṅgrā (tongue), Vārāṇasī (earring), Jayantī, Tārā-pīṭha, Hingulāj, Mahā-lakṣmī of Kolhāpur, and so on; her body is the sacred geography of India. To pilgrimage to any pīṭha is to come to her body — a body distributed across the land, holding the land sacred. (And esoterically, the fifty pīṭhas correspond to the fifty mātṛkā letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, recall Mātṛkā-varṇa-rūpiṇī, śloka 117: the alphabet and the pīṭhas, one fifty-fold body.)
Śrī Vidyā: Pañcāśat-pīṭha-rūpiṇī is of the form of the fifty śakti-pīṭhas; the Goddess as Satī's distributed body (the pīṭhas where her limbs fell — Kāmākhyā, Jvālāmukhī, Vārāṇasī, etc.), the sacred geography of India — and (esoterically) the fifty mātṛkā letters of the alphabet (cf. Mātṛkā-varṇa-rūpiṇī, śloka 117).
834. विशृङ्खला — Viśṛṅkhalā
Translation: Viśṛṅkhalā — unbound, fetter-less (vi-śṛṅkhalā = without the śṛṅkhala / chain).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Viśṛṅkhalā — “unbound.” The apavāda: śṛṅkhalā is a chain or fetter; vi-śṛṅkhalā is free of all chain (recall Svatantrā, śloka 140; Viśṛṅkhalitā). The supreme is free — bound by nothing; and she gives this freedom to her devotees, who in her are unfettered. (Paired by sound with Vivikta-sthā next: the unbound, who dwells in solitude.)
Śrī Vidyā: Viśṛṅkhalā is unbound, fetter-less; the Goddess as absolute freedom (cf. Svatantrā, 723) — paired with Vivikta-sthā: the unbound who dwells in solitude.
835. विविक्तस्था — Vivikta-sthā
Translation: Vivikta-sthā — dwelling (sthā) in solitude (vivikta); in the secluded place.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “in the solitary place” — vivikta, the secluded, the apart. The apavāda: vivikta-deśa is the solitary spot for meditation (the Gītā: “in a clean place, seated in a stable seat… alone, with mind controlled”); she dwells there — found by those who withdraw. And inwardly, the vivikta is the discriminating awareness (the same root as viveka) — she dwells in the discriminating consciousness. The Goddess of solitude and of viveka.
Śrī Vidyā: Vivikta-sthā dwells in solitude (the secluded spot for meditation, the Gītā's vivikta-deśa); the Goddess of solitude and (by root viveka) of the discriminating consciousness — found by those who withdraw.
836. वीरमाता — Vīra-mātā
Translation: Vīra-mātā — the mother (mātā) of heroes (vīra).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “Mother of heroes.” The apavāda: outwardly, she brings forth heroes — the warrior-saints, the dharma-defenders, the spiritual warriors (recall Vīrārādhyā, śloka 149); the supreme is the mother of every vīra. And inwardly, the seeker who is vīra (courageous, the middle class of the Tantric ācāra-classification, recall Vīrārādhyā) finds in her his mother — she nurtures the brave.
Śrī Vidyā: Vīra-mātā is the mother of heroes; the Goddess who brings forth the warrior-saints and dharma-defenders (recall Vīrārādhyā, 777) — outwardly, mother of every vīra; inwardly, mother of the courageous seeker.
837. वियत्प्रसूः — Viyat-prasūḥ
Translation: Viyat-prasūḥ — mother (prasū) of space/ether (viyat).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “mother of space.” The apavāda: viyat is space, the sky, the ether (ākāśa); from her, space itself is born — the first emanation in the Sāṃkhya/Vedānta cosmology (recall Viyad-ādi-jagat-prasūḥ, śloka 117, mother of the world beginning with space; Parākāśā, 782, the supreme Space). Out of her come the elements, beginning with space; the cosmic geometry rests in her womb.
Śrī Vidyā: Viyat-prasūḥ is mother of space/ether; the Goddess from whom the first element (ākāśa) is born (paired with Viyad-ādi-jagat-prasūḥ, śloka 117, and Parākāśā, 782) — out of her come the elements, beginning with space.
Śloka 157
मुकुन्दा मुक्तिनिलया मूलविग्रह-रूपिणी ।
भावज्ञा भवरोगघ्नी भवचक्र-प्रवर्तिनी ॥ १५७॥
mukundā mukti-nilayā mūla-vigraha-rūpiṇī |
bhāva-jñā bhava-roga-ghnī bhava-cakra-pravartinī ǁ 157 ǁ
The closing śloka of this part gathers the great arcs into liberation. She is Mukundā — the feminine form of one of Viṣṇu's great names (Mukunda, “giver of mukti”), now the Liberator-feminine; abode of liberation; of the form of the root-body (the primordial image of the supreme). And then the three Bhava-names that hold the whole cycle: knower of every bhāva (mood, state, emotion); destroyer of the disease of bhava (saṃsāra); and — the great closing image — Bhava-cakra-pravartinī, the turner of the wheel of becoming. She who sets the wheel turning is she who stops it.
838. मुकुन्दा — Mukundā
Translation: Mukundā — the Liberator (feminine of Mukunda, a great Vaiṣṇava name of Viṣṇu).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Mukundā — “the Liberator,” the feminine of Mukunda, one of the great names of Viṣṇu (mukti-da with euphonic compression: “giver of mukti”). The apavāda: as Maheśvarī is the feminine of Maheśvara (Śiva), and Brahmāṇī of Brahmā, so Mukundā is the feminine of Mukunda (Viṣṇu); the supreme Vaiṣṇava name is named here in her form. She gives mukti, as Mukunda gives mukti — and the same Self is named here under both genders. (The Goddess as Viṣṇu in her own form — the non-duality of the great deities in her, recall Hari-brahmendra-sevitā, śloka 69.)
Śrī Vidyā: Mukundā is the Liberator (feminine of Mukunda, one of Viṣṇu's great names — mukti-da); the Goddess as Viṣṇu in feminine form, the non-duality of the great deities in her (cf. Maheśvarī, Brahmāṇī).
839. मुक्तिनिलया — Mukti-nilayā
Translation: Mukti-nilayā — the abode (nilayā) of liberation (mukti).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “abode of liberation.” The apavāda: nilaya is the dwelling-place, the home; mukti dwells in her — to come to her is to be at the home where mukti resides (recall Muktidā, Mukti-rūpiṇī, śloka 142; Kaivalya-pada-dāyinī). The liberated abide in her; she is where liberation lives.
Śrī Vidyā: Mukti-nilayā is the abode of liberation; the Goddess as the home where mukti resides (paired with Muktidā, Mukti-rūpiṇī, 736-737; Kaivalya-pada-dāyinī) — the liberated abide in her.
840. मूलविग्रहरूपिणी — Mūla-vigraha-rūpiṇī
Translation: Whose form (rūpa) is the root (mūla) image (vigraha); the primordial body/icon of the supreme.
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the root-image form.” The apavāda: mūla-vigraha is the original, primary image of the deity — the prototypical body from which all other forms derive (in a temple, the principal stationary image; cosmically, the original form of the supreme). She is that — the original vigraha, the root from which the many forms (Bahu-rūpā, 824) branch (recall Divya-vigrahā, śloka 124; Aṣṭa-mūrtiḥ). The supreme has a “root-form” — and it is herself.
Śrī Vidyā: Mūla-vigraha-rūpiṇī is of the root-image form; the Goddess as the primordial vigraha from which all other forms (Bahu-rūpā) branch — the original body/icon of the supreme (paired with Divya-vigrahā, śloka 124; Aṣṭa-mūrtiḥ).
841. भावज्ञा — Bhāva-jñā
Translation: Bhāva-jñā — the knower (jñā) of bhāva (mood, feeling, state, intention).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the knower of bhāva.” The apavāda: bhāva is many things — feeling, mood, state of being, intention, attitude; she knows them all — every bhāva in every heart (recall Sarvāntar-yāminī, the inner controller of all, just sounded; she knows because she indwells). The Goddess of every inward state — knower of the heart's secrets.
Śrī Vidyā: Bhāva-jñā is the knower of bhāva (mood, feeling, state, intention); the Goddess who knows every inward state (recall Sarvāntar-yāminī, 819 — she knows because she indwells).
842. भवरोगघ्नी — Bhava-roga-ghnī
Translation: Bhava-roga-ghnī — the destroyer (ghnī) of the disease (roga) of bhava (becoming, saṃsāra).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the destroyer of the disease of bhava” — of saṃsāra. The apavāda: bhava is the round of becoming, and the “disease of bhava” is the chronic suffering of being bound to it (recall Roga-parvata-dambholiḥ, the thunderbolt to the mountain of disease, śloka 144); she is the destroyer — the cure for the disease that no other medicine cures (the Mṛtyu-dāru-kuṭhārikā, the axe to the tree of death). To come to her is to be cured of the disease of being unhealed.
Śrī Vidyā: Bhava-roga-ghnī is the destroyer of the disease of bhava/saṃsāra; the Goddess as the supreme cure for the chronic disease of being bound to becoming (paired with Roga-parvata-dambholiḥ, 748; Mṛtyu-dāru-kuṭhārikā, 749).
843. भवचक्रप्रवर्तिनी — Bhava-cakra-pravartinī
Translation: Bhava-cakra-pravartinī — the turner (pravartinī) of the wheel (cakra) of becoming (bhava).
Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the turner of the wheel of becoming.” The apavāda: bhava-cakra is the wheel of saṃsāra, the cycle of birth-and-death turning unceasingly through countless beings (recall Yugandharā, bearer of the yugas; the great wheel-of-time of the Gītā's vision). She turns this wheel — the same Goddess who, just before, destroys the disease of bhava, also turns the very wheel; she who turns it can stop it. And paired with the Mukti-names just sounded: the wheel turns by her, and her grace alone steps the seeker off the rim. (A fitting close — the whole cycle of saṃsāra, and its source and its end, gathered in one name.)
Śrī Vidyā: Bhava-cakra-pravartinī is the turner of the wheel of bhava; the Goddess setting the wheel of saṃsāra turning — paired with Bhava-roga-ghnī and the Mukti-names: she who turns the wheel is she who stops it; her grace alone steps the seeker off the rim. A fitting close.
Devanagari per the sanskritdocuments.org recension (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Uttarakhaṇḍa; Hayagrīva–Agastya saṃvāda); numbering per the arunachala / Bhāskararāya canonical 1000-count. Transliteration, translation, and commentary original to this edition. — End of Part XIX.
