ശതരുദ്രീയം

智山学報（Journal of Chisan Studies）, 2002

1. Path to the goal (vajradharatva/buddhatva) described by Ratnarakṣita in his Padminī, chapter 22. kuta iyaṃ deśanāvaicitrīty āha, mandapuṇyānīti (22.6c). mandapuṇyā hi sattvāḥ krameṇa vinayam upayāntīti bhāvaḥ. athavā mandapuṇyānāṃ sattvānām arthāya mantranaye devatākāramātrātmikadeśanā. devatākāraṃ hy āśritya dharmādikāyabhāvanā, tām āśritya śūnyatākaruṇātmaprajñopāyayuganaddhabhāvaneti. etā mantranaye dvividho mārga utpattyutpannakramarūpo hetuphalātmakaḥ pradarśitaḥ. ayaṃ ca śīghraṃ buddhatvam āvahed (22.7d) iti. vīryaśālina ihaiva janmani buddhatvalābhāt. 2. Bhartṛhari s Vākyapadīya 3.7.45: nirvartyaṃ ca vikāryaṃ ca prāpyaṃ ceti tridhā matam | tatrepsitatamaṃ karma caturdhānyat tu kalpitam || Cf. A. 1.4.49 kartur īpsitatamaṃ karma 3. The vajradharatva is beyond reasoning, it is attained only through śraddhā tad etat sarvam asāram, tarkāgamyatvād uktārthasya. uktaṃ ca sūtrālaṃkāre niśrito niyato vyāpī sāṃvṛtaḥ khedavān api | bālāśrayo matas tarkas tasyāto viṣayo na tat || * XVIIIth Congress of the IABS, Toronto, 2017. © Please do not quote any part of this paper without the authors permission.

ABSTRACT: A tantric hymn in praise of the feminine divine, and describing her aniconic form (the Śrīyantra) as well as physical form, Saundarya Lahari is a complex and coded “mālā-mantra.” Believed to be composed by Ādi Saṇkara (ca. 8th century CE), this hymn in one hundred (or one hundred and three) stanzas is reputed for its mystical and magical effects. Over the centuries, it has become a tradition in itself with over thirty five commentaries propounding esoteric meanings, encoded seed-syllables (bījākśaras) and other mantras within the verses, explaining the tantric cosmology and prescribing ritual procedures to accompany the hymn. The chanting of Saundarya Lahari is popular in contemporary India as a devotional practice. As a mystical sound formula, mantras are typically considered untranslatable. In a mantra, sound is privileged over meaning. Its sounds and their combinations are believed to result in specific, intended effects, and the meaning of words (if any) are regarded peripheral— more useful as aids to concentration, directed will (saṁkalpa) or memorization, and for the production of devotional emotions (bhava) in the chanter. There are multiple manuals and handbooks in many languages (including English) and which include translations of the verses as well as commentaries and religious prescriptions. These have created as if an impenetrable fortress around the hymn for the general reader who may be a chanter or even heritage learner, rather than a tantric initiate. My own study of the hymn took the form of memorization, repetition, and translation as a way to form a personal bond with it. How to attempt an inter-semiotic translation, catch the meaning - albeit outer meaning - while including an expressive rhythm and maybe even the governing syllables of some of the verses? How to reproduce the syntax of Sanskrit with primary clauses often linked to multiple secondary clauses and yet maintain clarity? How to draw attention to connotations? The concepts in Saundarya Lahari are quintessentially Indian – and one needs to formulate a strategy for terms from tantra and yoga like “kuṇḍalini” or “cakra,” descriptive concepts like “maṇidvīpa,” and references like “tāṇḍava.” Mythological references have a backstory—and while translations may have to weighed down with footnotes, might it also be possible to aim for coherence without footnotes? My paper is about working with these questions and problems; I will share examples from my drawing board using the source-text, interlinear translation, my assumptions and the resulting translation.

Vedanta Kesari, July , 2024

The 121st Sukta in Rigveda’s 10th Mandala is attributed to Rishi Hiranyagarbha, identified as the son of Prajapati.1 Prajapati is the Devata, denoted by ‘Ka’. This Sukta, using Trishtup Chandas (meter), consists of 10 mantras. The Sukta’s title derives from both its Rishi and Devata. Interchangeably used, Prajapati and Hiranyagarbha represent the conscious creative force. The Taittiriya Samhita2 supports their synonymous usage. It is to be noted that Hiranyagarbha is stated as the oldest teacher of Yoga. This analysis aims to explore the profound meanings embedded in the two mantras each in every part and complete the discussion in five parts. The third and fourth Mantras are discussed in this part 2.

The purpose of this article is to classify the vast compilation of the scriptures, the sahitya of Sanatana dharma, in a pictorial form associated with Vedic and the post Vedic literature that accompanied Vedas. The most ancient literature of Bharata classified as Shruti and Smriti treatise are framed in two self-explained pictorial forms for an easy understanding of the literary creations of ancient India.

The Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya (“An Analysis of the Conditioned and the Unconditioned”) is a learned Buddhist scholastic work by an otherwise little-known paṇḍita, Daśabalaśrīmitra (c. late 12th to early 13th c., Magadha/East India). The original Sanskrit was hitherto thought lost; we could access the work only in Tibetan translation. This paper presents the only known Sanskrit fragment, (re-)discovered in the Cambridge University Library (Ms. Or. 157.2).