Lalitā Sahasranāma — Part XX — Nāmas 844–897 (Ślokas 158–166): The Refuge of Those Afflicted, the Unborn, and the Unchanging Self

Part XX of the complete Vedāntic and Śrī-Vidyā commentary on the 1000 names of the Divine Mother. Nāmas 844–897 (Ślokas 158–166): The Refuge of Those Afflicted, the Unborn, and the Unchanging Self

Part XX — Nāmas 844–897 (Ślokas 158–166): The Refuge of Those Afflicted, the Unborn, and the Unchanging Self

ॐ श्रीमात्रे नमः · oṃ śrīmātre namaḥ

The refuge of those afflicted, the unborn, and the unchanging Self

Part XX traverses fifty-four names — nine ślokas — through territory of profound Vedāntic and Tantric weight. It opens with three essence-names: she is the essence of prosody (the Veda's metres), of śāstra (the sacred sciences), of mantra. Then the slim-waisted beauty-trope, the noble-fame, the unrestrained splendour, the form of every varṇa. The next śloka contains one of the hymn's most beloved single names — a long compound that names her as the bestower of rest upon those afflicted by birth, death, and old age — and proclaims her as the supreme proclaimed by every Upaniṣad, of the nature of the śāntyatīta-kalā (the highest in the Tantric kalā-hierarchy, beyond peace). The hymn ascends through the Gambhīrā-Gaganāntasthā cluster — depth, dwelling at sky's edge, glorious-pride, song-loving — and arrives at one of the great non-dual paradoxes: she is the supreme limit (Kāṣṭhā), without a lover (Akāntā), and the half-body of her Beloved (Kāntārdha-vigrahā) — alone in herself, and inseparable from Śiva (Ardha-nārīśvara). She is freed from cause-and-effect (a clear Vedāntic naming), wave-tossed by love-play, with shining golden earrings, bearer of a play-body. Then perhaps the most decisive non-dual word in the whole hymn — Ajā, “the Unborn” (Gauḍapāda's ajāti-vāda, the supreme teaching that there is no birth, no change, no plurality at all). She is free of decay, charming and quickly-pleased; worshipped by the inward-turned, hard-to-reach for the outward-turned — a great pair on the direction of attention. The Three-fold names follow (Veda, life-aims, three cities); the Without-Disease, Without-Support, and — beautifully — Svātmārāmā, “delighting in her own Self” (the Bṛhadāraṇyaka teaching that the Self is the truly dear). The hymn arrives at a great saving name — “expert at the uplifting of those drowned in the mud of saṃsāra” — and through the Yajña-cluster (fond of yajña, the sacrificer, of the form of the sacrificer) into the Dharma-and-Wealth names, the Vipra-priyā / Vipra-rūpā pair, and the cosmic Revolver. The closing śloka holds the Vaiṣṇavī-Viṣṇu-rūpiṇī names; the great paradox Ayoniḥ (without womb, unborn) paired with Yoni-nilayā (abiding in the womb / yoni — a major Tantric image); and the Gītā's Kūṭasthā, “the Unchanging” (XII.3, XV.16) — the immovable Self at the centre of all change, closing in Kula-rūpiṇī.

॥ श्रीललितासहस्रनामस्तोत्रम् ॥

The Thousand Names — Ślokas 158–166 (Nāmas 844–897)

Śloka 158

छन्दःसारा शास्त्रसारा मन्त्रसारा तलोदरी ।
उदारकीर्तिर् उद्दामवैभवा वर्णरूपिणी ॥ १५८॥

chandaḥ-sārā śāstra-sārā mantra-sārā talodarī |
udāra-kīrtir uddāma-vaibhavā varṇa-rūpiṇī ǁ 158 ǁ

Three essence-names open the śloka — she is the very essence of meter (the Veda's prosody), of śāstra (the sacred sciences), and of mantra. The supreme is the heart of all three foundational arts of the tradition. Then the slim-waisted, noble-famed, unrestrained-glorious; and of the form of every varṇa — letter and class alike.

844. छन्दःसारा — Chandaḥ-sārā

Translation: The essence (sāra) of meter (chandas).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the essence of meter” — the heart of chandas, the Vedic prosody. The apavāda: chandas is one of the six vedāṅgas (the limbs of the Veda) — the science of metre by which the Veda is sung; she is its essence (recall Sarvopaniṣad-udghuṣṭā to come, proclaimed by all the Upaniṣads). The Veda's metres are heard because she is in them; chandas-truth is her truth in measured form.

Śrī Vidyā: Chandaḥ-sārā is the essence of meter; the Goddess as the heart of Vedic prosody (chandas, one of the six vedāṅgas) — the metres of the Veda her sound-form.

845. शास्त्रसारा — Śāstra-sārā

Translation: The essence (sāra) of śāstra (the sacred sciences).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the essence of śāstra” (recall Śāstra-mayī, śloka 137, made of the śāstras). The apavāda: where Śāstra-mayī was her body the corpus of śāstra, here she is its essence — the kernel within every legitimate teaching. To penetrate any true śāstra to its essence is to come to her.

Śrī Vidyā: Śāstra-sārā is the essence of śāstra; the Goddess as the kernel within every sacred science (deepening Śāstra-mayī, śloka 137) — to penetrate any true śāstra to its essence is to come to her.

846. मन्त्रसारा — Mantra-sārā

Translation: The essence (sāra) of mantra.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the essence of mantra” (recall Sarva-mantra-svarūpiṇī, śloka 52, the form of all mantras). The apavāda: every mantra has its potency, and she is its essence — the power by which the mantra works, the consciousness without which mere syllable is mere sound. The caitanya (consciousness) of mantra is herself. (Triad with Chandaḥ-sārā and Śāstra-sārā: she is the essence of the three foundational sound-arts — prosody, science, mantra.)

Śrī Vidyā: Mantra-sārā is the essence of mantra; the Goddess as the mantra-caitanya — the consciousness without which mantra is mere sound, the power by which mantra works (cf. Sarva-mantra-svarūpiṇī, śloka 52). The triad with Chandaḥ-sārā and Śāstra-sārā.

847. तलोदरी — Talodarī

Translation: Talodarī — slim-waisted (with a belly like a tala, palm-leaf); of slender abdomen.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “slim-waisted” — tala, a palm-leaf, names the slender slat-shape of her belly. The apavāda: the kāvya-trope of feminine beauty (the slim waist contrasting the full breasts and hips) is here a name of the supreme; the loveliness of the form (recall Komalāṅgī, of tender limbs; the entire descriptive arc of Parts I-II) does not vanish in the high metaphysical stretches but recurs as a delicate counterpoint. Beauty held within wisdom.

Śrī Vidyā: Talodarī is slim-waisted; the Goddess's slender abdomen (the kāvya beauty-trope of tanu-madhyā; recall Komalāṅgī) — loveliness as a delicate counterpoint within wisdom.

848. उदारकीर्तिः — Udāra-kīrtiḥ

Translation: Udāra-kīrtiḥ — of noble (udāra) fame (kīrti); of elevated renown.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: Her fame is “noble” — udāra = generous, lofty, exalted. The apavāda: kīrti is renown, and hers is the supreme renown — the fame of the supreme, sung through every age (recall Puṇya-kīrtiḥ, of holy fame; Mahā-yaśasvinī). The Goddess's renown is noble because she is the noble; her name is great because she is great.

Śrī Vidyā: Udāra-kīrtiḥ is of noble fame; the Goddess's exalted renown (recall Puṇya-kīrtiḥ; Yaśasvinī) — sung through every age.

849. उद्दामवैभवा — Uddāma-vaibhavā

Translation: Uddāma-vaibhavā — of unbridled (uddāma) splendour (vaibhava); of unrestrained majesty.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of unbridled splendour” — uddāma, “unrestrained, ungovernable,” and vaibhava, splendour, glorious majesty. The apavāda: the supreme is unrestrained — no bound holds her; her glory is not measured but free (recall Niḥsīma-mahimā, the boundless glory). Glory without limit, splendour without check.

Śrī Vidyā: Uddāma-vaibhavā is of unbridled splendour; the Goddess of unrestrained majesty — glory without limit (cf. Niḥsīma-mahimā), splendour beyond every measure.

850. वर्णरूपिणी — Varṇa-rūpiṇī

Translation: Varṇa-rūpiṇī — of the form (rūpa) of the varṇas (the letters / the classes).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the form of the varṇas.” The apavāda: varṇa reads two ways — the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet (recall Mātṛkā-varṇa-rūpiṇī, śloka 117, of the mātṛkā letters) and the four classes (varṇas) of the Vedic dharmic order (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra); she is the form of both — the alphabet's letters and the social order's four-fold structure. The cosmic order (varṇāśrama-dharma) is her body, and the alphabet is her body — twin readings of one name.

Śrī Vidyā: Varṇa-rūpiṇī is of the form of the varṇas — both the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet (cf. Mātṛkā-varṇa-rūpiṇī, śloka 117) and the four classes of the dharmic order (brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-vaiśya-śūdra); the alphabet and the social order, twin bodies.

Śloka 159

जन्ममृत्यु-जरातप्त-जनविश्रान्ति-दायिनी ।
सर्वोपनिषदुद्घुष्टा शान्त्यतीत-कलात्मिका ॥ १५९॥

janma-mṛtyu-jarātapta-jana-viśrānti-dāyinī |
sarvopaniṣad-udghuṣṭā śāntyatīta-kalātmikā ǁ 159 ǁ

Three names, but each of enormous weight: a great refuge-name; the supreme proclamation of all the Upaniṣads; and the highest of the five kalās of the Tantric kalā-hierarchy. The first name names her as the resting-place of every weary creature; the second as the goal of every Upaniṣadic teaching; the third as the supreme beyond even śānti itself.

851. जन्ममृत्युजरातप्तजनविश्रान्तिदायिनी — Janma-mṛtyu-jarātapta-jana-viśrānti-dāyinī

Translation: The giver (dāyinī) of rest (viśrānti) to people (jana) afflicted (tapta) by birth (janma), death (mṛtyu), and old age (jarā).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the giver of rest to those scorched by birth, death, and old age.” The apavāda: the three great heats of the human condition — to be born (and forget what one is), to age (and watch the body decline), to die (and meet the great unknown) — are tāpa, the burning suffering of saṃsāra; she gives viśrānti, the rest, the cessation of this burning. The Bhagavad-Gītā's viśrānti (the rest of the Self in itself) and the supreme refuge of the Mahāyāna and Tantra are gathered here — she is where the burning jīva rests. (The whole long compound is one name, fittingly long for the long suffering it heals.)

Śrī Vidyā: Janma-mṛtyu-jarātapta-jana-viśrānti-dāyinī is the giver of rest to people afflicted by birth, death, and old age; the Goddess as the refuge for those scorched by the three great heats (janma, mṛtyu, jarā) of saṃsāra — the rest of the Self in itself.

852. सर्वोपनिषदुद्घुष्टा — Sarvopaniṣad-udghuṣṭā

Translation: Sarvopaniṣad-udghuṣṭā — proclaimed (udghuṣṭā) by all (sarva) the Upaniṣads.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “proclaimed by all the Upaniṣads.” The apavāda: every Upaniṣad — the ten great ones (Īśa, Kena, Kaṭha, Praśna, Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Aitareya, Taittirīya, Chāndogya, Bṛhadāraṇyaka) and the Upaniṣadic corpus as a whole — proclaims one and the same supreme; she is what they all proclaim (recall Sarva-vedānta-saṃvedyā, śloka 128, known by all Vedānta). The teaching of every Upaniṣad converges in her — the mahāvākyas (“that thou art”; “I am Brahman”; “all this is Brahman”; “Consciousness is Brahman”) point at her single reality. The Upaniṣads speak only of her.

Śrī Vidyā: Sarvopaniṣad-udghuṣṭā is proclaimed by all the Upaniṣads; the Goddess as the one supreme proclaimed by every Upaniṣad (cf. Sarva-vedānta-saṃvedyā) — the four mahāvākyas converging in her, the Upaniṣads speaking only of her.

853. शान्त्यतीतकलात्मिका — Śāntyatīta-kalātmikā

Translation: Of the nature (ātmikā) of the kalā beyond (atīta) śānti (peace) — the Śāntyatīta-kalā, supreme of the five Tantric kalās.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the nature of the kalā beyond peace.” The apavāda: in the Tantric kalā-hierarchy (the Śaiva theory of the five gross “arts” or stages of manifestation), there are five kalās — Nivṛtti, Pratiṣṭhā, Vidyā, Śānti, and Śāntyatīta (the “beyond-peace”); the last is the highest, the supreme transcendence beyond even the peace of withdrawal — the unconditioned, the absolute peace beyond all relative peace. She is its very nature. (The precise inner detail of the five kalās belongs to the Trika/Śaiva tradition's initiates.)

Śrī Vidyā: Śāntyatīta-kalātmikā is of the nature of the Śāntyatīta-kalā — the highest of the five Tantric kalās (Nivṛtti, Pratiṣṭhā, Vidyā, Śānti, Śāntyatīta) in the Śaiva kalā-hierarchy, the “beyond-peace”; the precise inner detail held in the parampara.

Śloka 160

गम्भीरा गगनान्तस्था गर्विता गानलोलुपा ।
कल्पना-रहिता काष्ठा कान्ता कान्तार्ध-विग्रहा ॥ १६०॥

gambhīrā gaganāntasthā garvitā gāna-lolupā |
kalpanā-rahitā kāṣṭhā akāntā kāntārdha-vigrahā ǁ 160 ǁ

Eight names, half “G-” alliterating and half holding a great non-dual paradox. She is deep, sky-dwelling, gloriously proud, eager for song; without imagination, the supreme limit, without a lover, and the half-body of her Beloved. The pair Akāntā / Kāntārdha-vigrahā (without lover / sharing her Lover's body) is one of the deepest non-dual statements of the hymn — she is alone-in-herself (the supreme One) and inseparable from Śiva (Ardha-nārīśvara), both at once.

854. गम्भीरा — Gambhīrā

Translation: Gambhīrā — deep, profound; of unfathomable depth.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “deep” — gambhīrā, of unfathomable depth (recall Niḥsīma-mahimā, of boundless glory; the depths of the Mahā-sāgara). The apavāda: the supreme is not on the surface, not in the easily-accessible — and yet (Sulabhā-gatiḥ) easily reached by those who go in; she is deep, and her deep is one's own deeper-than-the-deep Self. The Goddess's depth is the heart's depth.

Śrī Vidyā: Gambhīrā is deep, profound; the Goddess of unfathomable depth (cf. Niḥsīma-mahimā) — her deep one's own deeper-than-the-deep Self.

855. गगनान्तस्था — Gaganāntasthā

Translation: Gaganāntasthā — dwelling (sthā) at the end (anta) of the sky (gagana).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She abides “at the sky's end.” The apavāda: gagana is the sky, gagana-anta is its farthest reach — the supreme dwells beyond all space (recall Deśa-kālāparicchinnā, uncircumscribed by space and time; Parākāśā, supreme Space). And inwardly, the gaganānta is the open sky of pure consciousness in which all phenomena rise and set — she dwells there.

Śrī Vidyā: Gaganāntasthā dwells at the end of the sky; the Goddess beyond all space (cf. Parākāśā) — and in the open sky of pure consciousness (cidākāśa) in which all phenomena rise and set.

856. गर्विता — Garvitā

Translation: Garvitā — proud (in the grand, supreme sense); glorious; majestic.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Garvitā — “proud,” in the supreme rather than the petty sense. The apavāda: ordinary pride is the false self's swelling; supreme “pride” is the legitimate self-knowledge of the supreme — the “I am Brahman” of the Upaniṣads as her own knowledge of herself (recall Aham-rūpiṇī, the deep “I”; Garvitā means she who knows her own supreme worth). The supreme is rightfully majestic; her “pride” is the supreme's own dignity.

Śrī Vidyā: Garvitā is proud/majestic (in the supreme sense); the Goddess's legitimate self-knowledge — the ahaṃ brahmāsmi as her knowledge of her own supreme worth (the supreme's own dignity).

857. गानलोलुपा — Gāna-lolupā

Translation: Gāna-lolupā — eager (lolupa) for song (gāna); fond of music.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “eager for song.” The apavāda: song (gāna) is one of her great loves — the Sāma-veda is sung, the bhajan and kīrtan are sung, the divine names are sung; she is the lover of song (recall Mantriṇī her minister, lute-bearer; Naṭeśvarī of the cosmic dance). To sing her praises is to please her — sustained throughout the bhakti tradition.

Śrī Vidyā: Gāna-lolupā is eager for song; the Goddess fond of gāna (the Sāma-Veda's song, bhajan, kīrtan, the divine names) — the bhakti tradition's enduring intuition (cf. Mantriṇī the lute-bearer; Naṭeśvarī).

858. कल्पनारहिता — Kalpanā-rahitā

Translation: Kalpanā-rahitā — without (rahita) imagination / mental construction (kalpanā).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “without kalpanā” — without mental construction. The apavāda: kalpanā is the imagining-mind's activity — its constructions, projections, conceptual overlays (the “snake” imagined on the rope is kalpanā); she is free of it (recall Nirvikalpā, śloka 49; Nirvikāra; Niṣprapañcā). The supreme is what is when the mind ceases its constructing — the bare Real, prior to every kalpanā. (And she is reached by nir-vikalpa-samādhi, by the cessation of mental construction.)

Śrī Vidyā: Kalpanā-rahitā is without mental construction (kalpanā); the Goddess as the bare Real prior to every conceptual overlay (cf. Nirvikalpā, śloka 49; Niṣprapañcā) — reached by nirvikalpa-samādhi, the cessation of kalpanā.

859. काष्ठा — Kāṣṭhā

Translation: Kāṣṭhā — the supreme limit; the highest point; the climax/goal.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Kāṣṭhā — “the supreme limit.” The apavāda: kāṣṭhā is the highest point reached (the “furthest mark”), the climax of any movement; she is the kāṣṭhā of every path — beyond her there is no further point to reach. The supreme as the highest goal, the limit at which the seeker arrives and rests (recall Sad-gati-pradā, giver of the good goal; Sulabhā-gatiḥ, the easily-reached goal).

Śrī Vidyā: Kāṣṭhā is the supreme limit; the Goddess as the highest point of every path (cf. Sad-gati-pradā, Sulabhā-gatiḥ) — beyond her no further mark to reach.

860. अकान्ता — Akāntā

Translation: Akāntā — without a lover (a-kāntā); the supreme that is alone in herself.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Akāntā — “without a lover.” The apavāda: a striking name, paradoxical at first — the consort of Śiva named “without consort.” The deeper sense: the supreme One has no “other” to love; in herself, in her nirviśeṣa aspect, she is alone — no second to be beloved (the Brahman beyond all relation). Paired immediately with Kāntārdha-vigrahā next, the paradox completes: she is alone in herself (Akāntā) and inseparable from Śiva (Kāntārdha-vigrahā); both, simultaneously. The Advaita's ekam evādvitīyam (“one only, without a second”) sounded as a name.

Śrī Vidyā: Akāntā is without a lover; the Goddess as the supreme alone-in-herself (nirviśeṣa, no second to be beloved) — paired with Kāntārdha-vigrahā: alone in herself, and inseparable from Śiva; the Advaita's ekam evādvitīyam sounded in one name.

861. कान्तार्धविग्रहा — Kāntārdha-vigrahā

Translation: Of the half (ardha) body (vigraha) of her Beloved (kānta) — the Ardha-nārīśvara form.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the half-body of her Beloved.” The apavāda: this is the great Ardha-nārīśvara image — the Lord whose right half is Śiva (male) and left half is Pārvatī (female), one body of two natures; she is named here as the Goddess's-half of that image (recall the dhyāna's image of Śiva-Kāmeśvarāṅkasthā, seated on Śiva's lap). And paired with Akāntā just before, the non-dual paradox is complete: she is without consort (Akāntā, alone-in-herself), and the half-body of her consort (Kāntārdha-vigrahā, inseparable from Śiva) — both at once, for in the non-dual she is one with Śiva, having no other to be lover-with, being herself the “half” of the One that includes them both.

Śrī Vidyā: Kāntārdha-vigrahā is the half-body of her Beloved (the Ardha-nārīśvara form, Śiva-Pārvatī as one body); paired with Akāntā — without lover, and half her Lover's body — the supreme non-dual paradox of one Goddess at once self-alone and inseparable from Śiva.

Śloka 161

कार्यकारण-निर्मुक्ता कामकेलि-तरङ्गिता ।
कनत्कनकताटङ्का लीला-विग्रह-धारिणी ॥ १६१॥

kārya-kāraṇa-nirmuktā kāma-keli-taraṅgitā |
kanat-kanaka-tāṭaṅkā līlā-vigraha-dhāriṇī ǁ 161 ǁ

862. कार्यकारणनिर्मुक्ता — Kārya-kāraṇa-nirmuktā

Translation: Free (nirmuktā) from cause (kāraṇa) and effect (kārya); beyond causation.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “free of cause and effect.” The apavāda: every manifest thing is bound in the chain of causation (kārya-kāraṇa-bhāva), every effect determined by its cause; the supreme is free of this — she is neither the effect of anything (uncaused) nor the cause of anything (in the deepest sense — for in non-duality there is nothing other than her to be caused). She is the unconditioned (recall Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktā, 708, freed from every upādhi; Ajā, “the unborn,” coming up next). The supreme is beyond the causal nexus.

Śrī Vidyā: Kārya-kāraṇa-nirmuktā is free from cause and effect; the Goddess as the unconditioned beyond the causal nexus (cf. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktā; Ajā ahead) — neither the effect of anything nor (in non-duality) the cause of anything other.

863. कामकेलितरङ्गिता — Kāma-keli-taraṅgitā

Translation: Wave-tossed (taraṅgitā) by love-play (kāma-keli); rippling with the play of love.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “wave-tossed by love-play.” The apavāda: paired with the high metaphysical Kārya-kāraṇa-nirmuktā just before, this is the immediate counterpoint — the supreme is freed from causation, and is at the same time playfully rippling with the wave-play of love with Śiva. The same Goddess: above causation, and yet within the cosmic līlā of love (recall the Lalitā-name itself, “she who plays”). The pair holds the non-dual whole.

Śrī Vidyā: Kāma-keli-taraṅgitā is wave-tossed by love-play; the Goddess playfully rippling with the love-play of Śiva (the cosmic līlā, recall Lalitā — “she who plays”) — paired with Kārya-kāraṇa-nirmuktā: above causation, and within the dance of love.

864. कनत्कनकताटङ्का — Kanat-kanaka-tāṭaṅkā

Translation: With shining (kanat) golden (kanaka) earrings (tāṭaṅka).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: Her earrings are “shining gold.” The apavāda, as with the Tāṭaṅka-yugalī-bhūta-tapanoḍupa-maṇḍalā of śloka 8 (her earrings as sun and moon discs): the earrings recur — here as shining gold, ornaments of her royal beauty. (The descriptive thread persists; even amid the Kārya-kāraṇa names, the beautiful ornament of the form is remembered.)

Śrī Vidyā: Kanat-kanaka-tāṭaṅkā has shining golden earrings; the Goddess's royal ornament (recall the sun-and-moon earrings of Tāṭaṅka-yugalī-bhūta-tapanoḍupa-maṇḍalā, śloka 8) — beauty held within wisdom.

865. लीलाविग्रहधारिणी — Līlā-vigraha-dhāriṇī

Translation: Bearer (dhāriṇī) of a play-body (līlā-vigraha) — a body assumed for sport.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She bears a “play-body” — a vigraha assumed in līlā. The apavāda: every divine descent and every divine form is taken in līlā, sport (recall Līlā-kḷpta-brahmāṇḍa-maṇḍalā, the cosmos as her play, śloka 128); her vigrahas — Pārvatī, Durgā, Kālī, Lalitā — are taken for the sport of grace, not by any necessity. The Goddess plays at having a body; her bodies are her play-clothes.

Śrī Vidyā: Līlā-vigraha-dhāriṇī bears a play-body; the Goddess's vigrahas (Pārvatī, Durgā, Kālī, Lalitā) taken in līlā-sport, not by necessity (cf. Līlā-kḷpta-brahmāṇḍa-maṇḍalā, śloka 128) — her bodies her play-clothes.

Śloka 162

अजा क्षयविनिर्मुक्ता मुग्धा क्षिप्र-प्रसादिनी ।
अन्तर्मुख-समाराध्या बहिर्मुख-सुदुर्लभा ॥ १६२॥

ajā kṣaya-vinirmuktā mugdhā kṣipra-prasādinī |
antar-mukha-samārādhyā bahir-mukha-sudur-labhā ǁ 162 ǁ

At the centre of this śloka stands one of the most decisive non-dual words in the hymn — Ajā, “the Unborn.” This is Gauḍapāda's ajāti-vāda, the supreme Advaita teaching that there is no birth, no change, no plurality at all — the world's apparent arising is itself an appearance, and the Self is unborn-unchanging. The śloka closes with the great pair on the direction of attention: she is easily worshipped by those who turn inward, hard for the outward-turned to attain.

866. अजा — Ajā

Translation: Ajā — the unborn; (also) the female goat / the primordial nature.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Ajā — “the unborn.” The apavāda: aja is one of the great Upaniṣadic words for the supreme — “unborn, undying, undecaying” (the Kaṭha and the Gītā use it of the Self: na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit); Gauḍapāda's Māṇḍūkya-kārikās build the supreme teaching of ajāti-vāda from it — “there is no birth” of anything, ever, in the strictest sense, for what truly is, is unborn. She is the unborn — and (taking ajā as the feminine of aja) the primordial unborn she-goat of the Śvetāśvatara IV.5: the one female that, red, white, and dark, brings forth many of her own colour — the unborn prakṛti from which all is born. Both senses: the unborn Self, and the unborn prakṛti; the supreme is both, finally one.

Śrī Vidyā: Ajā is the unborn; the Goddess as Gauḍapāda's ajāti-vāda, the supreme Advaita teaching of non-birth (Māṇḍūkya-kārikās; the Gītā's na jāyate) — and the unborn red-white-dark she-goat of Śvetāśvatara IV.5 (the unborn prakṛti); both finally one.

867. क्षयविनिर्मुक्ता — Kṣaya-vinirmuktā

Translation: Kṣaya-vinirmuktā — free (vinirmuktā) from decay (kṣaya).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “free from decay.” The apavāda: kṣaya is the wasting-away, the diminution of any finite thing; she is utterly free of it — the unwaning, the eternal. Recall the lunar paradox of Kalā-nidhiḥ (the moon waxes and wanes, but as kalā-nidhi holds all the digits) — she who is the moon is also without decay; she is the moon whose digits never diminish.

Śrī Vidyā: Kṣaya-vinirmuktā is free from decay; the Goddess as the unwaning, the eternal — paired with Ajā (the unborn) and the lunar paradox of Kalā-nidhiḥ (the moon whose digits never diminish in her).

868. मुग्धा — Mugdhā

Translation: Mugdhā — charming, innocent; (in literary use) the young heroine of unselfconscious beauty.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Mugdhā — “charming, innocent.” The apavāda: mugdhā is the classical category of feminine beauty — the young nayikā whose loveliness is unselfconscious, fresh, ingenuous; the Goddess in this aspect is the supreme as innocent, beyond every contrivance. The deepest knowledge is the freshest knowing; she who is the supreme is also mugdhā — pre-reflective, unforced, of pristine simplicity.

Śrī Vidyā: Mugdhā is charming/innocent (the literary nayikā-class of unselfconscious beauty); the Goddess as the supreme in pristine simplicity — pre-reflective, unforced, the deepest knowledge as the freshest knowing.

869. क्षिप्रप्रसादिनी — Kṣipra-prasādinī

Translation: Kṣipra-prasādinī — quickly (kṣipra) pleased (prasādinī).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “quickly pleased.” The apavāda: the supreme Mother does not require long austerity to give her grace — a single sincere turning toward her draws her presence (recall Sulabhā-gatiḥ, the easily-attained Goal; Sukhārādhyā, easy to worship). She is moved by the heart, not the years of effort; quick to bless the one who turns to her.

Śrī Vidyā: Kṣipra-prasādinī is quickly pleased; the Goddess giving her grace at the heart's first sincere turning (cf. Sulabhā-gatiḥ, Sukhārādhyā) — moved by love, not the count of years.

870. अन्तर्मुखसमाराध्या — Antar-mukha-samārādhyā

Translation: Worshipped (samārādhyā) by the inward-turned (antar-mukha) — by those whose attention is turned within.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “worshipped by the inward-turned.” The apavāda: antar-mukha is the attention turned inward, toward the indwelling Subject (recall Pratyag-rūpā, 781; Sarvāntar-yāminī, 819); she is most fully reached by inward-turned worship — the meditation, the Self-inquiry, the silence — rather than only by outward ceremony. Paired with Bahir-mukha-sudurlabhā next.

Śrī Vidyā: Antar-mukha-samārādhyā is worshipped by the inward-turned; the Goddess most fully reached by inward worship (meditation, Self-inquiry, silence) — paired with Pratyag-rūpā (781), Sarvāntar-yāminī (819).

871. बहिर्मुखसुदुर्लभा — Bahir-mukha-sudur-labhā

Translation: Hard (sudur-labha) for the outward-turned (bahir-mukha) to attain.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “hard for the outward-turned to attain.” The apavāda: paired with Antar-mukha-samārādhyā — the same Goddess who is easily-worshipped by the inward-turned is sudur-labha, very hard to obtain, for the bahir-mukha, those whose attention is turned outward (chasing sense-objects, name-and-form, the world's flux). The supreme is at one's inmost self; to seek it outward is to look in the wrong direction. The great pair on the direction of attention is one of the hymn's most practical instructions.

Śrī Vidyā: Bahir-mukha-sudur-labhā is hard for the outward-turned to attain; the Goddess at one's inmost Self — paired with Antar-mukha-samārādhyā: easy for the inward-turned, very hard for the outward-turned. The hymn's most practical instruction on the direction of attention.

Śloka 163

त्रयी त्रिवर्ग-निलया त्रिस्था त्रिपुर-मालिनी ।
निरामया निरालम्बा स्वात्मारामा सुधासृतिः ॥ १६३॥

trayī tri-varga-nilayā tristhā tripura-mālinī |
nirāmayā nirālambā svātmārāmā sudhā-sṛtiḥ ǁ 163 ǁ

872. त्रयी — Trayī

Translation: Trayī — the threefold (Veda) — the Ṛk, Yajus, and Sāman.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Trayī — “the threefold,” the three Vedas (Ṛk, Yajus, Sāman; the Atharva being added later for the four). The apavāda: the Veda is the supreme śabda-pramāṇa (verbal authority); she is its substance — the threefold Veda is her body (recall Veda-jananī, Vedavedyā). The Vedic revelation is herself revealed.

Śrī Vidyā: Trayī is the threefold Veda (Ṛk, Yajus, Sāman); the Goddess as the substance of the Veda (cf. Veda-jananī, Vedavedyā) — the Vedic revelation herself revealed.

873. त्रिवर्गनिलया — Tri-varga-nilayā

Translation: Tri-varga-nilayā — the abode (nilayā) of the three aims of life (tri-varga: dharma, artha, kāma).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the abode of the three life-aims” (echoing Tri-varga-dātrī, śloka 146, the giver of the three). The apavāda: the three puruṣārthas — dharma, artha, kāma — abide in her; she is their dwelling, the supreme Lady in whom every legitimate worldly aim has its home (recall Sarvārtha-dātrī). They are not other than her.

Śrī Vidyā: Tri-varga-nilayā is the abode of the three life-aims (dharma, artha, kāma); the Goddess as their dwelling (deepening Tri-varga-dātrī, 760).

874. त्रिस्था — Tristhā

Translation: Tristhā — three-placed; dwelling in the three (states / cities / worlds / guṇas).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “three-placed” — dwelling in the three. The apavāda: tri applies on many levels — the three states (waking, dream, sleep — recall Viśva-rūpā/Jāgariṇī/Svapantī/Taijasa/Suptā/Prājñātmikā of śloka 62-63), the three bodies (gross, subtle, causal), the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas — recall Tri-guṇātmikā, 763), the three worlds, the three cities (Tripurā). She is in all the threes — and (Tripureśī) sovereign of them.

Śrī Vidyā: Tristhā is three-placed; the Goddess dwelling in every triad (three states, three bodies, three guṇas, three worlds, three cities) — and sovereign of them all (cf. Tripureśī, 787).

875. त्रिपुरमालिनी — Tripura-mālinī

Translation: Tripura-mālinī — garlanded by (mālinī) the three cities (tripura).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “garlanded by the three cities.” The apavāda: deepening Tripurā, Tripureśī — the “three cities” (read on the levels named above) are gathered around her as a garland; she wears them, the triadic structure her ornament. The Lady of the Three Cities is also garlanded by them — sovereign and adorned at once.

Śrī Vidyā: Tripura-mālinī is garlanded by the three cities; the Goddess wearing the triadic structure as ornament (deepening Tripurā, Tripureśī) — sovereign of the three and adorned by them.

876. निरामया — Nirāmayā

Translation: Nirāmayā — without disease (āmaya); ever-healthy, sound.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “without disease.” The apavāda: āmaya is disease; she is utterly free of it — and beyond bodily health, the “disease” of saṃsāra does not touch her (recall Sarva-vyādhi-praśamanī, queller of all diseases; Bhava-roga-ghnī, destroyer of bhava's disease, 842). The Goddess's unfailing wholeness; and the wholeness she gives.

Śrī Vidyā: Nirāmayā is without disease; the Goddess's unfailing wholeness (cf. Sarva-vyādhi-praśamanī; Bhava-roga-ghnī) — the disease of saṃsāra not touching her, and her wholeness given to her devotees.

877. निरालम्बा — Nirālambā

Translation: Nirālambā — without support (ālambana); self-supporting; needing nothing to lean on.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “without support.” The apavāda: ālambana is what one leans upon (in yoga, the meditation-object the mind takes hold of; in metaphysics, the basis on which a thing rests); she needs none — she is her own foundation (recall Niḥsīma-mahimā, Svatantrā, Sarvādhārā: she is the support of all but is herself supported by nothing). The unsupported supporter of all.

Śrī Vidyā: Nirālambā is without support; the Goddess as the unsupported supporter of all (cf. Niḥsīma-mahimā, Svatantrā, Sarvādhārā) — her own foundation.

878. स्वात्मारामा — Svātmārāmā

Translation: Svātmārāmā — delighting (ārāmā) in her own Self (sva-ātman).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She “delights in her own Self.” The apavāda: ārāma is delight, sport, garden; she takes her delight in her own Self (recall Yājñavalkya to Maitreyī, “not for the sake of the husband is the husband dear, but for the sake of the Self is the husband dear” — the Self is the truly dear, recall Priyaṅ-karī, 731). The supreme is at home in itself, delighted by itself — needing nothing else for its joy; and her devotees, knowing her as their Self, delight in the same delight. Self-rejoicing is her nature.

Śrī Vidyā: Svātmārāmā is delighting in her own Self; the Goddess's self-rejoicing (the Bṛhadāraṇyaka teaching of the Self as the truly dear, cf. Priyaṅ-karī, 731; Yājñavalkya to Maitreyī) — needing nothing else for her joy.

879. सुधासृतिः — Sudhā-sṛtiḥ

Translation: Sudhā-sṛtiḥ — the stream (sṛti) of nectar (sudhā); the flow of amṛta.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the nectar-stream.” The apavāda: sudhā is the amṛta, the deathless nectar (recall Sudhā-sāgara-madhya-sthā, dwelling in the midst of the nectar-sea, śloka 23; Sudhā-sārābhi-varṣiṇī, raining the essence of nectar from the Sahasrāra); she is the very flowing of this nectar — the continuous descent of grace, the trickle of amṛta that revives and immortalises. The Goddess as the stream of the deathless.

Śrī Vidyā: Sudhā-sṛtiḥ is the stream of nectar; the Goddess as the continuous descent of amṛta-grace (cf. Sudhā-sāgara-madhya-sthā, śloka 23; Sudhā-sārābhi-varṣiṇī from the Sahasrāra) — the deathless flowing.

Śloka 164

संसारपङ्क-निर्मग्न-समुद्धरण-पण्डिता ।
यज्ञप्रिया यज्ञकर्त्री यजमान-स्वरूपिणी ॥ १६४॥

saṃsāra-paṅka-nirmagna-samuddharaṇa-paṇḍitā |
yajña-priyā yajña-kartrī yajamāna-svarūpiṇī ǁ 164 ǁ

The śloka opens with a single great compound name — the saving image of the supreme as expert at uplifting those drowned in the mire of saṃsāra — and then the Yajña-trio: fond of sacrifice, the sacrificer, of the form of the sacrificer (the yajamāna). She is the rescuer; she is the rite; she is the rite's performer.

880. संसारपङ्कनिर्मग्नसमुद्धरणपण्डिता — Saṃsāra-paṅka-nirmagna-samuddharaṇa-paṇḍitā

Translation: Expert (paṇḍitā) at the lifting-up (sam-uddharaṇa) of those drowned (nirmagna) in the mud (paṅka) of saṃsāra.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “expert at the uplifting of those drowned in the mire of saṃsāra.” The apavāda: saṃsāra is here a paṅka (mud, mire, swamp) — sticky, dragging-down, hard to leave; the jīva caught in it sinks; she is paṇḍitā, expert, at sam-uddharaṇa, lifting-out. The image is intimate: not the cyclone, not the thunderbolt of the simile-quartet (śloka 143), but the careful, expert hand reaching down into the mud to lift up the one who could not lift himself. (One of the dearest images of the saving Mother in the whole hymn — bhakta-vatsalā in her most personal aspect.)

Śrī Vidyā: Saṃsāra-paṅka-nirmagna-samuddharaṇa-paṇḍitā is expert at lifting up those drowned in the mire of saṃsāra; one of the dearest saving images of the hymn — the supreme as bhakta-vatsalā, the careful expert hand reaching down into the mud to lift up the helpless.

881. यज्ञप्रिया — Yajña-priyā

Translation: Yajña-priyā — fond (priyā) of sacrifice (yajña).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “fond of yajña.” The apavāda: deepening Yajña-rūpā (769, of the form of sacrifice) and Mahā-yāga-kramārādhyā (śloka 56, worshipped by the great yāga-rites); the Goddess loves the yajña, both outward and inward — the offering of self at every level pleases her. Hers is the joy in every right offering.

Śrī Vidyā: Yajña-priyā is fond of sacrifice; the Goddess loving every right yajña, outward and inward (recall Yajña-rūpā, 769; Mahā-yāga-kramārādhyā, śloka 56) — joy in every right offering.

882. यज्ञकर्त्री — Yajña-kartrī

Translation: Yajña-kartrī — the sacrificer (kartrī, feminine of kartṛ); she who performs the yajña.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the sacrificer.” The apavāda: not only fond of yajña, not only its form — she is the one who performs it. The cosmic yajña, by which the worlds are upheld (the Gītā: yajñāt bhavati parjanyaḥ, “from sacrifice, rain”), is hers — she conducts the great rite of cosmic order. And inwardly, the seeker's yajña (the offering of self) is her work in him; the doer of the offering is herself.

Śrī Vidyā: Yajña-kartrī is the sacrificer; the Goddess as the performer of the cosmic yajña (by which the worlds are upheld, Gītā III.14) — and the doer of the inner yajña within the seeker.

883. यजमानस्वरूपिणी — Yajamāna-svarūpiṇī

Translation: Of the very form (sva-rūpiṇī) of the yajamāna (the patron / instituting performer of the sacrifice).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the form of the yajamāna.” The apavāda: the yajamāna is the patron and instituting performer of the rite — the one in whose name and for whose benefit the yajña is performed; she is even that. The Yajña-trio fits together: she is fond of yajña, the performer of yajña, and the institutor of yajña — the offering, the offerer, and the offered-to all one (the great non-dual yajña-theology already sounded at Yajña-rūpā, 769).

Śrī Vidyā: Yajamāna-svarūpiṇī is of the very form of the yajamāna; the Goddess as patron/institutor of the rite — the Yajña-trio completing the non-dual yajña-theology of Yajña-rūpā (769): the offering, offerer, and offered-to all one.

Śloka 165

धर्माधारा धनाध्यक्षा धनधान्य-विवर्धिनी ।
विप्रप्रिया विप्ररूपा विश्वभ्रमण-कारिणी ॥ १६५॥

dharmādhārā dhanādhyakṣā dhana-dhānya-vivardhinī |
vipra-priyā vipra-rūpā viśva-bhramaṇa-kāriṇī ǁ 165 ǁ

884. धर्माधारा — Dharmādhārā

Translation: Dharmādhārā — the foundation (ādhāra) of dharma; the support of right order.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the foundation of dharma.” The apavāda: dharma — the right order of being, the moral and ritual law that upholds the world — rests upon her; she is its ādhāra (recall Sarvādhārā, supporter of all; Pratiṣṭhā, foundation). When dharma weakens, she descends to restore it (the Gītā: yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati) — she is its very ground, and the source of every avatāra that restores it.

Śrī Vidyā: Dharmādhārā is the foundation of dharma; the Goddess as the support of right order (cf. Sarvādhārā, Pratiṣṭhā) — and (the Gītā's yadā yadā hi) the source of every avatāra that restores dharma when it weakens.

885. धनाध्यक्षा — Dhanādhyakṣā

Translation: Dhanādhyakṣā — overseer (adhyakṣā) of wealth (dhana).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “overseer of wealth.” The apavāda: as Mahā-lakṣmī she is wealth herself, and as adhyakṣā she presides over its distribution — what is legitimately given, taken, owned, used (recall Kośa-nāthā, lord of treasuries, 690; Vasudā, giver of wealth). The Goddess of legitimate prosperity, by which dharmic life is supported.

Śrī Vidyā: Dhanādhyakṣā is overseer of wealth; the Goddess of legitimate prosperity (paired with Kośa-nāthā, 690; Vasudā) — presiding over wealth's right distribution.

886. धनधान्यविवर्धिनी — Dhana-dhānya-vivardhinī

Translation: Dhana-dhānya-vivardhinī — the increaser (vivardhinī) of wealth (dhana) and grain (dhānya).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She “increases wealth and grain.” The apavāda: the practical face of her sovereignty over artha — she multiplies her devotees' wealth (gold) and grain (food); not by chance but by her conscious giving (recall Annapūrṇā, the food-full; Lakṣmī-vatī). Material plenty as her gift, given to those who keep her dharmic order.

Śrī Vidyā: Dhana-dhānya-vivardhinī increases wealth and grain; the Goddess multiplying her devotees' dhana (gold) and dhānya (food) — material plenty as her gift to those who keep her dharmic order (cf. Annapūrṇā).

887. विप्रप्रिया — Vipra-priyā

Translation: Vipra-priyā — dear (priyā) to brahmins (vipra).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “dear to brahmins.” The apavāda: vipra is the brahmin — the keeper of the Veda, the scholar, the priest; she is dear to them (the great Devī upāsanā has historically been kept by brahmin lineages, the Hayagrīva-Agastya saṃvāda of this very text being among them). And she is dear because they are the keepers of her teaching — the bond is mutual (paired with Vipra-rūpā next).

Śrī Vidyā: Vipra-priyā is dear to brahmins (the keepers of the Veda, the Hayagrīva-Agastya saṃvāda of this very text); the Goddess and her brahmin devotees mutually dear (paired with Vipra-rūpā).

888. विप्ररूपा — Vipra-rūpā

Translation: Vipra-rūpā — of brahmin (vipra) form (rūpa); embodying brahminhood.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of brahmin form.” The apavāda: deepening Vipra-priyā — she does not merely love brahmins, she is brahmin-form, embodying the brāhmaṇa-ideal of learning, teaching, ritual purity, and devotion to Veda. Inwardly, every true seeker (regardless of birth-varṇa) becomes vipra-form by becoming a vessel of the Veda's truth — and she is that vessel itself.

Śrī Vidyā: Vipra-rūpā is of brahmin form; the Goddess embodying the brāhmaṇa-ideal (learning, teaching, ritual purity, devotion to Veda) — inwardly, the vessel of Vedic truth that every true seeker becomes.

889. विश्वभ्रमणकारिणी — Viśva-bhramaṇa-kāriṇī

Translation: Viśva-bhramaṇa-kāriṇī — the maker (kāriṇī) of cosmic (viśva) revolution (bhramaṇa).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the maker of cosmic revolution.” The apavāda: bhramaṇa is turning, revolution — the spinning of the worlds around their axes, the procession of the celestial bodies, the great cosmic gyre (recall Bhava-cakra-pravartinī, the turner of the wheel of becoming, 843, just before this Part). She makes the cosmos spin — the great motion of the universe is her doing. (And inwardly, the “revolution” is the spinning of saṃsāra; she who turns the wheel can stop it.)

Śrī Vidyā: Viśva-bhramaṇa-kāriṇī is the maker of cosmic revolution; the Goddess turning the great cosmic gyre (recall Bhava-cakra-pravartinī, 843) — the worlds' spinning her doing, and (inwardly) the revolution of saṃsāra she alone can stop.

Śloka 166

विश्वग्रासा विद्रुमाभा वैष्णवी विष्णुरूपिणी ।
अयोनिर्योनिनिलया कूटस्था कुलरूपिणी ॥ १६६॥

viśva-grāsā vidrumābhā vaiṣṇavī viṣṇu-rūpiṇī |
ayonir yoni-nilayā kūṭasthā kula-rūpiṇī ǁ 166 ǁ

The closing śloka of this part gathers four great themes. The Cosmic Devourer (echoing Mahā-grāsā, 752). The Vaiṣṇavī / Viṣṇu-rūpiṇī pair (the one Lalitā as Viṣṇu in feminine form). The non-dual paradox Ayoniḥ / Yoni-nilayā — without womb (unborn, beyond origin) and abiding in the womb (the great Tantric yoni-image). And the Gītā's Kūṭasthā — “the Unchanging,” the immovable Self at the centre of all change — closing in Kula-rūpiṇī, of the kula-form.

890. विश्वग्रासा — Viśva-grāsā

Translation: Viśva-grāsā — the cosmic devourer; she who swallows the universe.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “the cosmic devourer” (deepening Mahā-grāsā, 752). The apavāda: at pralaya, she swallows the cosmos (Mahā-pralaya-sākṣiṇī); and continuously, all that is, is being eaten back into her (Mahāśanā, 753) — the cosmic in-gathering by which her own self-display is taken back into herself. The great mouth of Kālī, into which the worlds disappear.

Śrī Vidyā: Viśva-grāsā is the cosmic devourer; the Goddess swallowing the universe at pralaya (deepening Mahā-grāsā, 752; Mahāśanā, 753) — the great in-gathering of her own self-display.

891. विद्रुमाभा — Vidrumābhā

Translation: Vidrum-ābhā — coral-bright (with the lustre, ābhā, of coral, vidruma).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: Her radiance is “like coral.” The apavāda: vidruma is coral, the deep red precious branched mineral of the sea (recall Nava-vidruma-bimba-śrī, lips like fresh coral and bimba-fruit, śloka 9); her colour is again named — the red of coral, of the dawn, of kuṅkuma. The aruṇa-thread persists; she is red.

Śrī Vidyā: Vidrum-ābhā is coral-bright; the Goddess's coral-red radiance (cf. Nava-vidruma-bimba-śrī, śloka 9; the persistent aruṇa-thread of her colour).

892. वैष्णवी — Vaiṣṇavī

Translation: Vaiṣṇavī — the Śakti of Viṣṇu; one of the Sapta-Mātṛkās.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Vaiṣṇavī — the feminine of Viṣṇu, his Śakti. The apavāda: one of the Sapta-Mātṛkās (recall Maheśvarī, 750; Brahmāṇī, 821); paired with Viṣṇu-rūpiṇī next, the supreme is named as Viṣṇu's Śakti and as Viṣṇu's very form. The non-duality of the great deities in her, sounded again.

Śrī Vidyā: Vaiṣṇavī is the Śakti of Viṣṇu (one of the Sapta-Mātṛkās); the Goddess as Viṣṇu's feminine — paired with Viṣṇu-rūpiṇī: Śakti and form alike.

893. विष्णुरूपिणी — Viṣṇu-rūpiṇī

Translation: Viṣṇu-rūpiṇī — of the form (rūpa) of Viṣṇu; embodying Viṣṇu.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the form of Viṣṇu.” The apavāda: deepening Vaiṣṇavī — she is not only Viṣṇu's Śakti but Viṣṇu's very form (recall Mukundā, the feminine Liberator, 838; Govinda-rūpiṇī, śloka 63; Govinda-rūpiṇī, of Govinda's form). The supreme deity-of-preservation is herself; the great Vaiṣṇava theology comes home in her, as the Śaiva and Śākta do. (The non-dual identity of Viṣṇu and the Goddess at the summit of their respective theologies.)

Śrī Vidyā: Viṣṇu-rūpiṇī is of the form of Viṣṇu; the Goddess as Viṣṇu's very form (deepening Vaiṣṇavī; cf. Govinda-rūpiṇī, śloka 63; Mukundā, 838) — the Vaiṣṇava theology coming home in her, the non-dual identity of Viṣṇu and the Goddess.

894. अयोनिः — Ayoniḥ

Translation: Ayoniḥ — without a womb (yoni); without origin; unborn.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “without a womb” — without origin. The apavāda: yoni is the womb / the source / the origin; a-yoni is the one without origin — beginningless, the unborn (recall Ajā, 866). The supreme is uncaused, having no womb that bore her (recall Anādi-nidhanā, śloka 69, without beginning or end). Paired with Yoni-nilayā next, the great non-dual paradox returns.

Śrī Vidyā: Ayoniḥ is without a womb / without origin (the unborn, beginningless); the Goddess as uncaused (cf. Anādi-nidhanā; Ajā, 866) — paired with Yoni-nilayā: without origin, and dwelling in the origin.

895. योनिनिलया — Yoni-nilayā

Translation: Yoni-nilayā — abiding (nilayā) in the womb / origin / yoni.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She “abides in the womb.” The apavāda: yoni is the womb and (esoterically, in the Tantric image) the female generative principle — the supreme abode of all that is born; she dwells there. The paradox with Ayoniḥ is the non-dual whole: she is without womb (in herself, unborn, beginningless) and abiding-in-the-womb (in her emanative aspect, the source from which all is born) — both at once, like Ajā the unborn she-goat of the Śvetāśvatara who yet brings forth many. (The Tantric yoni-image, with its esoteric depth, belongs to the parampara.)

Śrī Vidyā: Yoni-nilayā abides in the womb/yoni; paired with Ayoniḥ — without womb (in herself, unborn) and abiding in the womb (the source from which all is born); the great non-dual paradox echoing Ajā (the unborn yet bringing forth) of the Śvetāśvatara — esoteric Tantric yoni-depth held in the parampara.

896. कूटस्था — Kūṭasthā

Translation: Kūṭasthā — the unchanging (kūṭa-stha, “standing as a peak / standing as an anvil”); the immovable Self.

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is Kūṭasthā — “the Unchanging.” The apavāda: this is one of the great Vedāntic terms — the Bhagavad-Gītā (XII.3) speaks of those who worship the akṣaraṃ avyaktaṃ kūṭa-stham acalaṃ dhruvam (“the imperishable, unmanifest, unchanging, immovable, fixed”); and the Fifteenth Chapter (XV.16) names the akṣara puruṣa as kūṭa-stha, the unchanging one of the two persons (the perishable and the imperishable, recall Kṣarākṣarātmikā, 757). She is that — the immovable Self at the centre of all change, the unchanging witness of every change (recall Sākṣi-varjitā, the witness; Pratyag-rūpā, 781). The supreme Self of the Gītā in one name.

Śrī Vidyā: Kūṭasthā is the unchanging; the Goddess as the Gītā's kūṭa-stha (XII.3, XV.16 — the imperishable, unmanifest, immovable, fixed Self) — the immovable centre of all change, paired with Kṣarākṣarātmikā (757) and Pratyag-rūpā (781) as the supreme Self of the Gītā.

897. कुलरूपिणी — Kula-rūpiṇī

Translation: Kula-rūpiṇī — of the form (rūpa) of the kula (the family/lineage/totality/Tantric group).

Adhyāropa–Apavāda: She is “of the kula form.” The apavāda: kula has many senses — family/lineage, totality, the Kaula tradition's kula (the group-organism of the Goddess and her circle of Yoginīs); she is the form of all (recall Kulottīrṇā, gone beyond all kula, 714; Kaulinī, śloka 37). Both: she is in the kula (in every lineage, every family, every Tantric group) and beyond it (Kulottīrṇā). A fitting close to this part — the embracing-and-transcending Goddess.

Śrī Vidyā: Kula-rūpiṇī is of the kula form (family/lineage/totality/the Kaula group-organism); the Goddess as the form of every kula — paired with Kulottīrṇā (714, gone beyond all kula) and Kaulinī (śloka 37): in the kula and beyond it. A fitting close.

Devanagari per the sanskritdocuments.org recension (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Uttarakhaṇḍa; Hayagrīva–Agastya saṃvāda); numbering per the Bhāskararāya canonical 1000-count (verified by Parasakthi anchor Vipra-rūpā=888). Transliteration, translation, and commentary original to this edition. — End of Part XX.