Mālinīvijayottaratantra (Malini Vijaya uttara Tantra): Chapter 3 (pure) - Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir

After the Great Lord spoke to the Great Goddess so in the second chapter, She opens here the third chapter called 'Mantroddhāra' (The selection or extraction of mantra-s) with more questions for Him. He produces Jagadānanda because gives the viewpoint in which the entire universe is perceived only as being Himself.

Now Śakti confirms the Śiva's teachings in the previous chapter. Not only that, She says that She has understood everything from beginning to end.

Now She wants to receive teachings about the 'mantra-s', which are always denoters (subjects) and never something being denoted (objects). She wants to know about the mantra-s of Śiva, the three goddesses (Parā, Parāparā and Aparā), etc.

And Śiva is then going to please the Great Goddess by means of a long dissertation about mantra-s. These mantra-s come, without any interruption, from immemorial time, through the eternal relationship of Guru-disciple. In other words, the Guru passes a mantra over to his disciple and the latter gets Liberation with this mantra. Next, this disciple becomes a Guru and hands the same mantra over to his own disciple, and so on and on.

I explain the whole set of 12 stanzas from the 5^th one to the 16^th one under the 16^th stanza.

I explain the whole set of 12 stanzas from the 5^th one to the 16^th one under the 16^th stanza.

I explain the whole set of 12 stanzas from the 5^th one to the 16^th one under the 16^th stanza.

I explain the whole set of 12 stanzas from the 5^th one to the 16^th one under the 16^th stanza.

I explain the whole set of 12 stanzas from the 5^th one to the 16^th one under the 16^th stanza.

I explain the whole set of 12 stanzas from the 5^th one to the 16^th one under the 16^th stanza.

I explain the whole set of 12 stanzas from the 5^th one to the 16^th one under the 16^th stanza.

The Power of the Great Lord (i.e. Śakti) is inherent in Him (i.e. in Śiva), viz. She 'naturally' belongs to Him. There is nothing artificial in this. If you get Him, you get Her, and if you get Her then you get Him too. When He wishes to manifest the universe, She becomes His Icchāśakti (Power of Will) in order to proceed to such universal manifestation. Next, She becomes His Jñānaśakti (Power of Knowledge) by feeling: 'This knowable or object is like this and not otherwise!'. Finally, when She is trying to actualize the universe which was only an idea in the Mind of the Supreme Self, She becomes His Kriyāśakti (Power of Action) in the process. So, She feels: 'Let this thing become so!'.

And after this first creative movement, She has to assume all the aspects of the creation. In this way, She becomes a gazillion of things. But anyway, She never became anything, because She is totally one with Her Lord (with Śiva). She is called 'thought-gem' since She fulfills all the desires Her Master has, i.e. She manifests for Him all the objects which He desired, as it were.

Next, when She becomes Mātṛkā (the mysterious un-understood Mother of all the letters), She is divided in two ways, viz. into vowel and consonant. A vowel is called 'bīja' or 'seed' because it fertilizes the 'yoni' (lit. womb, uterus), that is, the consonant. This is clearly understood if you consider the consonants in this light: You cannot pronounce them without the help of a vowel. For example, 'k'... how to pronounce it properly without the help of a vowel? It is not possible to adequately utter it without the support of a vowel. For instance: 'ka'... now it is easily utterable. So, vowels are seeds which make the consonants or wombs fruitful. Without vowels, the consonants would be just like barren women, unable to procreate. But anyway, the vowels can be pronounced by themselves, that is, without the help of any consonant. All in all, vowels are divine while consonants (in general) are not divine.

Śiva is vowel and Śakti is consonant in this scheme. Yes, everything is Śiva in the end, because Śiva and Śakti are one. This one Reality is divided into two only for the purpose of being studied then.

The Sanskrit alphabet in its traditional form contains 8 varga-s or groups of letters:

1. A-varga (Vowels), whose presiding deity is Yogīśī or Yogīśvarī or Mahālakṣmī
2. Ka-varga (Gutturals), whose presiding deity is Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī
3. Ca-varga (Palatals), whose presiding deity is Māheśī or Māheśvarī
4. Ṭa-varga (Cerebrals), whose presiding deity is Kaumārī
5. Ta-varga (Dentals), whose presiding deity is Vaiṣṇavī
6. Pa-varga (Labials), whose presiding deity is Yāmyā or Vārāhī
7. Ya-varga (Semivowels), whose presiding deity is Aindrī or Indrāṇī
8. Śa-varga (Sibilants, Sonant Aspirate + Kūṭabīja --the conjunct kṣa formed from 'ka + sa' but very often considered to be a letter in itself--), whose presiding deity is Cāmuṇḍā

Now, the alphabet presented in its traditional form 'does not' include Kūṭabīja (the letter kṣa), but when it does, Kūṭabīja is usually assigned to the eighth varga or group (Śa-varga). See:

Chart 1: Traditional Mātṛkā arrangement of the Sanskrit alphabet plus the letter 'kṣa' and the respective presiding deities

Vowels

A-varga

a

ā

i

ī

u

ū

ṛ

ṝ

ḷ

ḹ

e

ai

o

au

aṁ

aḥ

Consonants

First Group

Subgroups

Hard

Soft

Unaspirate

Aspirate

Unaspirate

Aspirate

Nasals

Ka-varga

ka

kha

ga

gha

ṅa

Ca-varga

ca

cha

ja

jha

ña

Ṭa-varga

ṭa

ṭha

ḍa

ḍha

ṇa

Ta-varga

ta

tha

da

dha

na

Pa-varga

pa

pha

ba

bha

ma

Second Group

Ya-varga

ya

ra

la

va

Third Group

Śa-varga

śa

ṣa

sa

ha

kṣa

Well, the question of the million is: If there are 8 varga-s or groups, why did the Lord say this above twice?: 'She is divided... in nine ways', and also '... (Therefore,) according to the division of the varga-s or groups of letters, (She appears) in nine ways'. Simple: Kūṭabīja sometimes is regarded as forming its own separate varga, i.e. a Kṣa-varga. In this special case, the total of varga-s would be 9 and not 8. Now that portion of the text should be clear. Look at this:

Chart 2: What the last portion of the previous alphabet looks like when 'kṣa' is isolated and forms its own varga or group

Consonant 'kṣa' abandons the Śa-varga and forms its own 'varga' or 'group'
Śa-varga (eighth one)	śa ṣa sa ha
Kṣa-varga (ninth one)	kṣa

Now the Kṣa-varga constitutes the brand-new 9^th varga. When Śakti appears in this way, a new deity arises: Śiva-Śakti. This goddess will become the presiding deity of the A-varga (the group of vowels), and the other goddess (the one previously presiding over the A-varga) becomes the presiding deity of the new Kṣa-varga. Look again at the previous arrangement (if the Sanskrit alphabet is divided in 8 varga-s):

1. Yogīśī or Yogīśvarī or Mahālakṣmī (presiding over the A-varga)
2. Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī (presiding over the Ka-varga)
3. Māheśī or Māheśvarī (presiding over the Ca-varga)
4. Kaumārī (presiding over the Ṭa-varga)
5. Vaiṣṇavī (presiding over the Ta-varga)
6. Yāmyā or Vārāhī (presiding over the Pa-varga)
7. Aindrī or Indrāṇī (presiding over the Ya-varga)
8. Cāmuṇḍā (presiding over the Śa-varga)

But if the Kṣa-varga (the ninth group of letters) is created, then the order slightly changes (I highlighted in bold letters the change):

1. Śiva-Śakti (presiding over the A-varga)
2. Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī (presiding over the Ka-varga)
3. Māheśī or Māheśvarī (presiding over the Ca-varga)
4. Kaumārī (presiding over the Ṭa-varga)
5. Vaiṣṇavī (presiding over the Ta-varga)
6. Yāmyā or Vārāhī (presiding over the Pa-varga)
7. Aindrī or Indrāṇī (presiding over the Ya-varga)
8. Cāmuṇḍā (presiding over the Śa-varga)
9. Yogīśī or Yogīśvarī or Mahālakṣmī (presiding over the Kṣa-varga)

And because She shines as 50 rays, these 9 varga-s or groups of letters contain 50 letters. This is the sense.

Śakti, the Power of Śiva or Śambhu, is called the denoting One in the scriptures. This is because She is the Source of all the mantra-s (the denoters or subjects). That is why when one repeats a mantra, his goal is Śakti and not Śiva. But again, when you get Śakti you get Śiva. So, in the end, the mantra method ends in formless Śiva. Śakti is the Face of Śiva, i.e. She makes Him have a form which can be realized by the sincere spiritual aspirants.

Now, in the stanza 13, Śiva analyzes the last 8 varga-s or groups of letters out of the 9 varga-s already enunciated (the vowels are excluded here). And not only this but He also says that the set of eight groups of letters is known as Aghora, etc. in succession. What is this? I will explain it to you:

Śiva is referring to the male consorts of the śakti-s mentioned in the upcoming Parāparā's mantra (which will be explained later in this chapter). These male consorts, if my memory serves me well, are the 8 Vijñānākala-s awakened by Śiva (see Mālinīvijayottaratantra I, 18-21). In turn, these male consorts have eight associate deities, which were already mentioned above (i.e. Māheśī or Māheśvarī, Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī, etc.) but the goddesses Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī and Māheśī or Māheśvarī along with Yāmyā or Vārāhī and Aindrī or Indrāṇī exchange their respective positions now. So, according to this teaching, the eight groups of letters would look like this:

1. Śiva-Śakti (presiding over the A-varga - Vowels) ------> Śambhu (this group is excluded in the stanza 13)
2. Māheśī or Māheśvarī (presiding over the Ka-varga) ------> Aghora
3. Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī (presiding over the Ca-varga) ------> Paramaghora
4. Kaumārī (presiding over the Ṭa-varga) ------> Ghorarūpa (or Ghora, plainly)
5. Vaiṣṇavī (presiding over the Ta-varga) ------> Ghoramukha
6. Aindrī or Indrāṇī (presiding over the Pa-varga) ------> Bhīma
7. Yāmyā or Vārāhī (presiding over the Ya-varga) ------> Bhīṣaṇa
8. Cāmuṇḍā (presiding over the Śa-varga) ------> Vamana
9. Yogīśī or Yogīśvarī or Mahālakṣmī (presiding over the Kṣa-varga) ------> Pibana (or Pivana)

Now this should look a little more clear for you.

Regarding the stanza 14, I want to make this point very clear:

The order given in the stanza 14 for the 8 groups of letters (not the 9 ones in this case) is not the real order of the deities with reference to the respective varga-s or groups of letters. In the stanza, the author (Śiva) arranged the names of the goddesses in a way which meets the meter requirements. What do I mean by all this? First, the order given in the stanza is as follows:

1. Māheśī or Māheśvarī
2. Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī
3. Kaumārī
4. Vaiṣṇavī
5. Aindrī or Indrāṇī
6. Yāmyā or Vārāhī
7. Cāmuṇḍā
8. Yogīśī or Yogīśvarī or Mahālakṣmī

But the real order, according to the traditional way, is like this:

1. Yogīśī or Yogīśvarī or Mahālakṣmī
2. Brāhmaṇī or Brāhmī
3. Māheśī or Māheśvarī
4. Kaumārī
5. Vaiṣṇavī
6. Yāmyā or Vārāhī
7. Aindrī or Indrāṇī
8. Cāmuṇḍā

The Power of God also became 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, each of them having two special presiding deities (Rudra and Rudrāṇī). There are 16 Rudra-s and 16 Rudrāṇī-s for the vowels and 34 Rudra-s (plus 34 Rudrāṇī-s) for the consonants. Śiva is about to mention their names next.

I explain the whole set of 8 stanzas from the 17^th one to the 24^th one under the 24^th stanza.

I will only give the names of the Rudra-s, because the names of their consorts (the Rudrāṇī-s) are easily created by transforming the masculine noun being assigned as a name into its feminine form (e.g. Jaya ---> Jayā). These Rudra-s and their wives are eternally liberated, i.e. they never got Liberation but they were created like this, liberated from the start:

Chart 3: The famous 50 Rudra-s assigned to the vowels and the consonants of the Sanskrit alphabet

The group of fifty Rudra-s
Assigned to the 16 vowels	Amṛta, Amṛtapūrṇa, Amṛtābha, Amṛtadrava, Amṛtaugha, Amṛtormi, Amṛtasyandana, Amṛtāṅga, Amṛtavapu, Amṛtodgāra, Amṛtāsya, Amṛtatanu, Amṛtasecana, Amṛtamūrti, Amṛteśa and Sarvāmṛtadhara
Assigned to the 34 consonants	Jaya, Vijaya, Jayanta, Aparājita, Sujaya, Jayarudra, Jayakīrti, Jayāvaha, Jayamūrti, Jayotsāha, Jayada, Jayavardhana, Bala, Atibala, Balabhadra, Balaprada, Balāvaha, Balavān, Baladātā, Baleśvara, Nandana, Sarvatobhadra, Bhadramūrti, Śivaprada, Sumanāḥ, Spṛhaṇa, Durga, Bhadrakāla, Manonuga, Kauśika, Kāla, Viśveśa, Suśiva and Kopa

Since Śiva and Śakti are the residences of all these mantra-s, there is no limit to their number. This is very simple to understand.

By means of this method, i.e. by means of His teachings. Aghora is another name for Anantabhaṭṭhāraka, the chief of all the Mantra-s (experients or knowers of Sadvidyā --tattva or category 5--) who manifested 70 million mantra-s.

So, it was Aghora who made Śakti become the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet along with their respective sounds. He did so by agitating the Power of the Lord, i.e. His Svātantryaśakti or Power of Absolute Freedom.

Mātṛkā (the mysterious un-understood Mother) is Śakti as the source of all letters. When the disciple finally understands this point, viz. that all his thoughts and words are just the manifestation of the Power of Śiva (His Śakti), when he finally realizes that all these things are not different from Śakti, then at that time, Mātṛkā stops being Mātṛkā (the un-understood Mother) and becomes Mātṛ (the Mother) or the One who provides him with infinite Bliss. And this is not otherwise. According to Trika Shaivism there are three means to the attainment of Liberation: Śāmbhavopāya, Śāktopāya and Āṇavopāya. This process of finally understanding the un-understood Mother happens at the end of Śāktopāya, which directly sends the disciple to Śāmbhavopāya. When Śāmbhavopāya is attained, then Liberation is practically at hand.

All the living beings in this universe are pervaded by such letters. What does it mean? It means this, for example: 'You are so intelligent!', and you feel very well, or 'You are such a fool!', and you feel very bad. When someone can stay undisturbed in the face of this kind of phrases, that person is not pervaded by letters, i.e. he is liberated. So, can you use this method to detect liberated people? Not really, because that divine person knows what you are doing and can cheat you back by behaving himself like a common person, i.e. acting as if pervaded by praises or insults. Liberated ones are then known by other liberated ones and not otherwise.

And all the scriptures, which consist of letters forming words, sentences, etc., are obviously arising from letters again and again. This is very easy to understand.

According to the divisions of 'kārya' (effects), i.e. according to the divisions of the three kinds of effects (non-dualism, non-dualism/dualism and dualism). These three portions are the three celebrated Aghorā-s, Ghorā-s and Ghoratarī-s powers, which are nothing else than Parā, Parāparā and Aparā powers. So, despite the Power of the Great Lord contains innumerable divisions, it is said that there are three main manifestations of Hers.

These are Aparā powers --non-supreme powers as they create only duality--. They only love liberated people but hate the rest. They are extremely dangerous if you lack knowledge about the Self, because they will throw you down and down if your Śiva's viewpoint (i.e. 'All is Śiva!') fails or is completely absent (as in the case of the ignorant people).

These are Parāparā powers as they are a mixture of supreme and non-supreme, i.e. they are partly non-dualistic and partly dualistic. These powers are specially dangerous in the case of spiritual aspirants since they generate attachment to the fruits of good and bad actions (e.g. 'I am not advancing in Yoga', in this case, the aspirant is attached to his actions and respective fruits, hence he is worried about the final outcome of his efforts). In this smart way, they block the path to Liberation very effectively.

These are the powers who bestow, in His name, Liberation on the multitude of conditioned individuals who are all the time afflicted by the massive sickness known as Saṁsāra (Transmigration full of misery). The sages call them Parā powers as they are supreme.

The term 'words in first person' indicates 'Śiva' (Śivatattva and Śaktitattva - categories 1 and 2). The term 'words in second person' indicates 'Śakti' (Sadāśivatattva, Īśvaratattva and Sadvidyātattva - categories 3, 4 and 5). Finally, the term 'words in third person' indicates 'nara' (from Māyātattva down to Pṛthivītattva - categories 6 to 36). Abhinavagupta explains this very well in his Parātrīśikāvivaraṇa here and here. Anyway, in spite of all Her never-ending divisions and expansions, one should always remember that Śakti is only 'one'.

This division into the three abovementioned śakti-s will undergo even another division soon.

Nyāsa is the act of placing one's own hands on different parts of body while repeating mantra-s. The purpose in this has to do with attaining identification with particular deities, or else, with achieving full identification between the macrocosm and the microcosm, etc. Here Mālinīnyāsa (the nyāsa in which you place the hands on different parts of your own body while repeating the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet arranged in the Mālinī way, i.e. with vowels and consonants mixing with each other) is recommended. While the well-known Mātṛkā arrangement of the Sanskrit alphabet is based on separating vowels from consonants as shown in my explanation under the stanza 16 in this chapter, i.e. like this:

a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ e ai o au aṁ aḥ
ka kha ga gha ṅa ca cha ja jha ña ṭa ṭha ḍa ḍha ṇa ta tha da dha na pa pha ba bha ma ya ra la va śa ṣa sa ha kṣa

the Mālinī arrangement joins vowels and consonants together, i.e. it mixes them like this:

na ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ tha ca dha ī ṇa u ū ba ka kha ga gha ṅa i a va bha ya ḍa ḍha ṭha jha ña ja ra ṭa pa cha la ā sa aḥ ha ṣa kṣa ma śa aṁ ta e ai o au da pha

In a nutshell, in the explanation of Mālinīnyāsa starting in the next stanza, each of these letters in this specific order will be associated with different areas of the body.

And all this is always for the sake of the Body of Śakti, viz. the final goal in doing nyāsa is to attain the Śakti aspect (Sadāśivatattva, Īśvaratattva and Sadvidyā tattva-s) and not to attain either the Śiva aspect (Śivatattva and Śaktitattva) or the nara aspect (tattva-s from Māyā down to Pṛthivī). This is so because the root of all mantra-s is Śakti and not Śiva or nara. This root is Aham or I-consciousness. All in all, when one repeats a mantra, the attention is always going in the end to the root of the mantra, i.e. I-consciousness. In other words, the goal in repeating mantra-s is to realize this Śakti aspect or I-consciousness. This is the meaning.

My explanation of the stanzas 37 to 41 will occur under the stanza 41.

My explanation of the stanzas 37 to 41 will occur under the stanza 41.

Now the aṅganyāsa (the act of placing the hands on different areas of the body while repeating various mantra-s). This practice has as its goal the transformation of the gross physical body into a divine reality by means of assigning sacred sounds to different parts of such physical body. The final result is the promotion of the owner of this physical body to higher states of consciousness. Hence all the effort and time invested in this special practice.

In this case, the aṅganyāsa will be accompanied by the repetition of the Sanskrit alphabet in its Mālinī arrangement:

na ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ tha ca dha ī ṇa u ū ba ka kha ga gha ṅa i a va bha ya ḍa ḍha ṭha jha ña ja ra ṭa pa cha la ā sa aḥ ha ṣa kṣa ma śa aṁ ta e ai o au da pha

This teaching given from the stanza 37 to the first half of the stanza 41 here, in Mālinīvijayottaratantra, is also given by Abhinavagupta in the chapter 15 of his venerable Tantrāloka (from stanza 121 to the first half of the stanza 125). I will write these stanza-s of Tantrāloka right now. Anyway, even with the Abhinavagupta's exposition, it is not enough to understand five confusing things in this aṅganyāsa: The meanings of 'garland of skulls, śūlaśikhā, śūladaṇḍa, kapāla and milk'. To explain these mysterious terms, I have to resort to the commentary that Jayaratha wrote on Abhinavagupta's Tantrāloka. There is no warranty that this topic will be elucidated anyway, but I do not see another way of shedding light on the meanings of these five words. But first the stanzas in Tantrāloka (chapter 15), which are very similar to the ones in Mālinīvijayottaratantra here:

(The letter) 'Na' (is assigned to) the śikhā --lit. flame-- and 'ṛ', 'ṝ', 'ḷ' (and) 'ḹ' (to) the headband --lit. garland of skulls--. 'Tha' (is assigned to) the (top of the) head. And on the forehead, on the right and on the left, 'ca' (and) 'dha' (are assigned to) the eyes --right and left, respectively--, 'ī' (to) the nose (and) 'ṇa', 'u' and 'ū' (to) the ears, oh You who are endowed with mudrā-s or seals.

'Ba', the ka-varga (consisting of) 'ka, kha, ga, gha and ṅa' (plus) 'i' (and) 'a' (are to be positioned) in mouth, teeth, tongue and speech, in succession. 'Va', 'bha' (and) 'ya' (are to be positioned) in throat, right shoulder and left shoulder, (while) 'ḍa' and 'ḍha' in the arms.

(The letter) 'ṭha' (is positioned) in both hands, 'jha' and 'ña' (are assigned) to the fingers (of the right and left hands), 'ja', 'ra' and 'ṭa' (are positioned) in śūlaśikhā, śūladaṇḍa and kapāla. 'Pa' (is assigned) to the heart, 'cha' and 'la' (are assigned) to both portions of the chest --right and left ones--, 'ā' (is assigned) to the milk, 'sa' (is assigned) to the Self, (and) visarga --i.e. 'aḥ'-- (is assigned) to the general prāṇa. The letter 'ha'-- is said to be (assigned to) the (special) prāṇa. 'Ṣa' and 'kṣa' remain in belly and navel. 'Ma', 'śa', 'aṁ' and 'ta' remain in buttocks, genitals --and anus too--, and both thighs. Likewise, the letters 'e' and 'ai' (are assigned) to the knees. (And) the two next (letters) --i.e. 'o' and 'au'-- (are assigned) to the shanks --right and left, respectively--, (while the final two letters,) viz. 'da' and 'pha' remain in the feet.||121-125a||

Now, I will analyze the commentary by Jayaratha on these stanzas in his Tantrālokaviveka (the scholarly commentary on Tantrāloka) in order to trace an satisfactory interpretation about the abovementioned five mysterious terms. And in the process, I will explain other things too:

Regarding the first mysterious word ('śiromālā', lit. garland of skulls), Jayaratha specifies this: 'The garland of skulls (is) what holds skulls|'. Well, this adds nothing really. My translation as 'headband', i.e. as the area of the head covered by a headband looks more useful here.

With respect to the next three mysterious words, 'śūlaśikhā, śūladaṇḍa, kapāla', contained in the expression 'śūlakapālake' in the stanza 39 of Mālinīvijayottaratantra, Jayaratha specifies this: '(The letters) ja and ra (are) the trident together with the shaft. Therefore, in the shaft of the trident the letter ra (remains and) in (its) prongs the letter ja (remains). By means of placing the (right hand) turned upward, the form of the trident appears before one's very eyes|'.

Next Jayaratha quotes a stanza from Siddhātantra, in which the trident and its shaft are assigned to the right hand (hence I translated like this above). Nothing is said about the 'kapāla' (skull) and the letter 'ṭa'. But Jayaratha quotes later a stanza of venerable Triśirobhairava, in which it is clearly stated that the letter 'ṭa' is in the left hand. Really, Jayaratha did not expand a lot about this topic of the trident and the skull in the right and left hands.

With reference to the last mysterious word, 'milk', which is connected with the letter 'ā', Jayaratha is not commenting anything at all. Nevertheless, Abhinavagupta, in other portions of his Tantrāloka, considers 'milk' to be 'Amṛta' or the Nectar of Immortality, i.e. the Highest Consciousness.

Very well, these five mysterious words are now elucidated to a certain extent. But there is still the explanation of certain things: I translated "... 'sa' (is assigned) to the Self, (and) visarga --i.e. 'aḥ'-- (is assigned) to the general prāṇa. The next one --i.e. 'ha'-- is said to be (assigned to) the (special) prāṇa...". In this I was following the commentary by Jayaratha to the letter. See: "'Jīva' (is connected with) Self as well as (with) general prāṇa| Due to (their) close union, (there is) indication of those two --viz. of Self and general prāṇa-- as being one --i.e. Self and general prāṇa, because of their close union, are indicated as being one and the same thing--. For that reason, the letter 'sa' (is positioned) in the Self in person while visarga --i.e. 'aḥ'-- (is positioned) in the (general) prāṇa| (And) the letter 'ha' --called 'prāṇa' here-- (represents) special (prāṇa)|". Now it is very clear!

To translate all these things which are so cryptic is always super complicated. I have done my best here in attempting to explain in simple words all this which is so complex and difficult always. And now, to finish this elucidation, a complete chart with the letters following the Mālinī arrangement plus their respective assigned realities:

Chart 4: Aṅganyāsa of Mālinī or placing the hands on various parts of the body while uttering Sanskrit letters following the Mālinī arrangement

Nº of stage	SANSKRIT LETTER IN THE MĀLINĪ ARRANGEMENT (transliterated)	ASSIGNED REALITIES (transliterated)	ASSIGNED REALITIES (translated)
1	na	śikhā	flame (in the position of the famous tuft on the head, read the last three stages in Meditation 6 for clarification)
2	ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ	śiromālā	lit. garland of skulls (it is the area around the skull occupied by a headband)
3	tha	mastakam	(top of the) head
4	ca	dakṣanetra	right eye
5	dha	vāmanetra	left eye
6	ī	nāsā	nose
7	ṇa u ū	śrutī	ears
8	ba	vaktra	mouth
9	ka kha ga gha ṅa	dantāḥ	teeth
10	i	jihvā	tongue
11	a	vāk	speech
12	va	kaṇṭha	throat
13	bha	dakṣaskandha	right shoulder
14	ya	vāmaskandha	left shoulder
15	ḍa	dakṣabhuja	right arm
16	ḍha	vāmabhuja	left arm
17	ṭha	hastāḥ	both hands
18	jha	dakṣaśākhāḥ	fingers of the right hand
19	ña	vāmaśākhāḥ	fingers of the left hand
20	ja	śūlaśikhā	the three prongs of the trident (in the right hand)
21	ra	śūladaṇḍa	the shaft of the trident (in the right hand)
22	ṭa	kapāla	skull (in the left hand)
23	pa	hṛt	heart
24	cha	dakṣastana	right portion of the chest
25	la	vāmastana	left portion of the chest
26	ā	kṣīra	milk
27	sa	jīvaḥ	Self
28	aḥ	sāmānyaprāṇa	general vital energy
29	ha	viśiṣṭaprāṇa	special vital energy
30	ṣa	udara	belly
31	kṣa	nābhi	navel
32	ma	kaṭi	buttocks
33	śa	guhya	genitals and anus
34	aṁ	dakṣoru	right thigh
35	ta	vāmoru	left thigh
36	e	dakṣajānu	right knee
37	ai	vāmajānu	left knee
38	o	dakṣajaṅgha	right shank
39	au	vāmajaṅgha	left shank
40	da	dakṣacaraṇa	right foot
41	pha	vāmacaraṇa	left foot

Now, these stanzas have been more or less elucidated, I think.

To understand all this one should resort to the Chart 4 under stanzas 39 to 41. I will explain the stanzas 42 to 50 under the 50^th stanza.

To understand all this one should resort to the Chart 4 under stanzas 39 to 41. I will explain the stanzas 42 to 50 under the 50^th stanza.

To understand all this one should resort to the Chart 4 under stanzas 39 to 41. I will explain the stanzas 42 to 50 under the 50^th stanza.

To understand all this one should resort to the Chart 4 under stanzas 39 to 41. I will explain the stanzas 42 to 50 under the 50^th stanza.

To understand all this one should resort to the Chart 4 under stanzas 39 to 41. I will explain the stanzas 42 to 50 under the 50^th stanza.

What Śiva did is the following: He encoded the mantra of the Parāparā (the goddess Parāparā who is the aspect of Śakti generating unity in diversity) by mentioning the different realities associated with Sanskrit letters instead of 'directly' mentioning the letters themselves. But before continuing with my analysis, what is the Parāparā goddess really? This goddess is one of the three main aspects of the Goddess (Śakti, the Power of Śiva).

At first, this Śakti remains only as Icchāśakti (Power of Will) in Śaktitattva (category 2). She is only Will to manifest, but there is no plan yet, let alone an actual manifestation. This first aspect of Hers is called Parā (Supreme). The only Knowledge here is Knowledge about Śiva Himself. There is no universe being known at all. Another name for this pure Will of Śiva is Svātantrya or Absolute Freedom. Freedom for what? Freedom to manifest whatever thing at Will.

Later, in order to perform the development of the 'universal plan', Jñānaśakti (Power of Knowledge) appears and mixes with Icchāśakti (Power of Will). This is the category 3 (Sadāśivatattva). This mixture of Will and Knowledge is the second aspect of Hers (of Śakti). She is then called Parāparā (Supreme-nonSupreme). Here Knowledge is about Śiva as well as about the universe who has been determined or planned. There is Will to manifest and a determination or plan too carried out by the Power of Knowledge. That is why Śiva defined Jñānaśakti before (in the stanza 6 of this chapter) like this: "By announcing with determination that 'This knowable or object is like this and not otherwise!'". All in all, Jñānaśakti determines or plans the universe.

Finally, in order to actualize the aforesaid determination or plan regarding the universe, Kriyāśakti (Power of Action) appears and mixes with Icchāśakti and Jñānaśakti. This is the category 4 (Īśvaratattva). This mixture of Will, Knowledge and Action is the third aspect of Hers (of Śakti). She is then called Aparā (nonSupreme). Here Knowledge is only about the universe who has been produced. There is Will to manifest, a determination or plan plus an actual production of such universe (i.e. Icchāśakti, Jñānaśakti and Kriyāśakti). That is why Śiva defined Kriyāśakti before (in the stanza 7 of this chapter) like this:"'Let this thing become so!'". All in all, Kriyāśakti actually brings about the universe.

Now I will explain this Parāparā's mantra. First I will put the mantra both in Devanāgarī and IAST:

Oṁ aghore hrīḥ paramaghore huṁ ghorarūpe haḥ ghoramukhi bhīma bhīṣaṇe vama piba he ruru rara phaṭ huṁ haḥ phaṭ

'Oṁ, oh Aghorā, hrīḥ, oh Paramaghorā, huṁ, oh Ghorarūpā, haḥ, oh Ghoramukhī, oh Bhīmā, oh Bhīṣaṇā, oh Vamanī, oh Pibanī, ruru rara phaṭ huṁ haḥ phaṭ'

The mantra contains 39 syllables. Apart from bījamantra-s (one-syllabic mantra-s), it contains the Vocative cases of eight deities: Aghorā, Paramaghorā, Ghorarūpā, Ghoramukhī, Bhīmā, Bhīṣaṇā, Vamanī and Pibanī. So, if you have some knowledge about Sanskrit declension, you would say that the Vocative cases of those eight words are like this: Aghore, Paramaghore, Ghorarūpe, Ghoramukhi, Bhīme, Bhīṣaṇe, Vamani and Pibani. Anyway, you read in the mantra: Aghore, Paramaghore, Ghorarūpe, Ghoramukhi, Bhīma, Bhīṣaṇe, Vama and Piba. What happened here? Abhinavagupta explains very well why 'Bhīme, Vamani and Pibani' were written by Śiva as 'Bhīma, Vama and Piba'. He does so in the chapter 30 (stanzas 21 and 22) of his famous Tantrāloka. After this, Abhinavagupta explains more things about this mantra. Also, this mantra is used to purify (to make a person conscious of) the 36 tattva-s by assigning the different words to specific tattva-s. This is again explained by Abhinavagupta in the chapter 16 (from stanza 213 up to stanza 216).

Besides, the first portion, from 'Oṁ' up to 'he', is Śākta (pertains to Śakti) while the second portion, from 'ru ru' right to the end, i.e. right to the final 'phaṭ', is Śaiva (pertains to Śiva). This Parāparāmantra is used in rituals related to the deities of the Parāparā aspect of the Goddess. The eight deities invoked (Aghorā, Paramaghorā, etc.) are the śakti-s of the eight Vijñānākala-s awakened by Śiva, which are mentioned in the stanza 21 of the first chapter of this Mālinīvijayottaratantra. Other names for these 8 deities are: Māheśī (or Māheśvarī), Brāhmaṇī (or Brāhmī), Skāndī (Kaumārī), Vaiṣṇavī, Aindrī (or Indrāṇī), Yāmyā (or Vārāhī), Cāmuṇḍā and Yogīśī (or Yogīśvarī or Mahālakṣmī), who are the abovementioned deities of the varga-s or groups of letters (see stanza 14 in this chapter). OK, it is enough for now.

And at the end of the stanza 50 the Aparā's mantra is announced. It will be developed in the stanza 51.

What Śiva did is the following: He encoded the mantra of the Aparā (the goddess Aparā who is the aspect of Śakti generating diversity) by mentioning the different realities associated with Sanskrit letters instead of 'directly' mentioning the letters themselves. This goddess is one of the three main aspects of the Goddess (Śakti, the Power of Śiva). These aspects were already described by me under the 50^th stanza.

Now I will explain this Aparā's mantra. First I will put the mantra both in Devanāgarī and IAST:

Hrīḥ hūṁ phaṭ

No meaning. Just three bījamantra-s.

The mantra contains 3.5 syllables as phaṭ contains 1.5 syllables (pha + ṭ = 1 + 0.5). This Aparā mantra is used in rituals related to the deities of the Aparā aspect of the Goddess.

Short explanation but meaningful.

Here Śiva simply announces that the Aparā's mantra has been taught in the stanza 51 and that the Parā's mantra is about to be proclaimed in the upcoming stanzas. Anyway, He said something very important about the Parā's mantra: That the rest of mantra-s become propitious when combined with the Parā's mantra. That is why the Parā's mantra is abundantly used in conjunction with other mantra-s during rituals and invocations.

Śiva just describes what happens to the great Yogī who is perfectly aware of this mantra, i.e. of its meaning and of its being rooted in Aham or I-consciousness full of Absolute Freedom.

A Yogī like this can inform about the past or the future.

What Śiva did is the following: He encoded the mantra of the Parā (the goddess Parā who is the aspect of Śakti generating unity) by mentioning the different realities associated with Sanskrit letters instead of 'directly' mentioning the letters themselves. This goddess is one of the three main aspects of the Goddess (Śakti, the Power of Śiva). These aspects were already described by me under the 50^th stanza.

Now I will explain this Parā's mantra. First I will put the mantra both in Devanāgarī and IAST:

Sauḥ

No meaning.

The mantra contains 1 syllable. This Parāmantra is used in rituals related to the Parā aspect of the Goddess. The letter 'sa' covers all the 31 tattva-s from Pṛthivītattva (category 36) up to Māyātattva (category 6). The letter 'au' covers the categories 5, 4 and 3 (Sadvidyātattva, Īśvaratattva and Sadāśivatattva). Finally, the visarga 'ḥ' (which is not directly mentioned by Śiva) covers the first two categories: Śivatattva and Śaktitattva. This supreme mantra has been very well explained by Kṣemarāja in his Parāprāveśikā.

Another short but meaningful explanation.

This Great Mantra is like cintāmaṇi (the jewel which yields all desires) indeed. And, this is very important, the Parā's mantra must never be given to someone who is not a disciple or a devotee. I would add that this holds true for all the spiritual teachings in general, not only this mantra.

The one receiving the Parā's mantra must consider Śiva, Śakti and Guru to be one Reality. If someone fails to do this, he should never receive this Great Mantra till he develops this attitude of triple unity.

The disciple can receive the Parā's mantra only when he has pleased his Guru by using his body (i.e. by using his body to serve his Guru), substances (i.e. by using different substances during his worship of his Guru, e.g. incense, camphor, ghee, etc.), purification of his understanding (i.e. by using his new understanding forged by the hard study of Śiva's scriptures), purification of his actions (i.e. by using his actions which are now carried out while there is at the same time a focus on the unity of all the things), good qualities (i.e. by using the good qualities he received from the Great Lord such acceptance, faith, patience, etc.).

When the Guru is that pleased with the diligent good disciple, then he will give the disciple this Parā's mantra which will bestow on the latter the fruit known as Liberation from Saṁsāra (transmigration replete with misery).

To understand this complicated subject, it is better to use a table. See here:

Chart 5: The śākta portion of the Parāparā's mantra [Oṁ aghore hrīḥ paramaghore huṁ ghorarūpe haḥ ghoramukhi bhīma bhīṣaṇe vama piba he] which is assigned to the eight goddesses

NAME OF THE EIGHT YOGINĪ-S WHO ARE THE LIMBS OF THE PARĀPARĀ'S MANTRA (transliterated)	ASSIGNED PORTION OF THE PARĀPARĀ'S MANTRA (transliterated)	VARGA BEING PRESIDED BY THE YOGINĪ (transliterated)
Brāhmī	Oṁ aghore hrīḥ (5 letters/syllables)	ka kha ga gha ṅa (ka-varga)
Māheśvarī	paramaghore huṁ (6 letters/syllables)	ca cha ja jha ña (ca-varga)
Kaumārī	ghorarūpe haḥ (5 letters/syllables)	ṭa ṭha ḍa ḍha ṇa (ṭa-varga)
Vaiṣṇavī	ghoramukhi (4 letters/syllables)	ta tha da dha na (ta-varga)
Vārāhī	bhīma (2 letters/syllables)	pa pha ba bha ma (pa-varga)
Indrāṇī	bhīṣaṇe (3 letters/syllables)	ya ra la va (ya-varga)
Cāmuṇḍā	vama (2 letters/syllables)	śa ṣa sa ha kṣa (śa-varga)
Yogīśvarī	piba he (3 letters/syllables)	a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ e ai o au aṁ aḥ (a-varga)
Eight goddesses of the Parāparā's mantra	Oṁ aghore hrīḥ paramaghore huṁ ghorarūpe haḥ ghoramukhi bhīma bhīṣaṇe vama piba he (30 letters/syllables)	The complete Sanskrit alphabet containing 50 letters

Next, Śiva mentioned the vocative cases (including 'he' whose meaning is 'oh!') of the goddesses of the Parāparā's mantra (with the exception of 'vama' and 'piba'). So, here I will put the names of these goddesses and the respective numbers of letters/syllables, which totals 22 letters/syllables as specified by Śiva:

1. Aghore ---> A-gho-re ---> (3 letters/syllables)
2. Paramaghore ---> Pa-ra-ma-gho-re ---> (5 letters/syllables)
3. Ghorarūpe ---> Gho-ra-rū-pe ---> (4 letters/syllables)
4. Ghoramukhi ---> Gho-ra-mu-khi ---> (4 letters/ syllables)
5. Bhīma ---> Bhī-ma ---> (2 letters/syllables)
6. Bhīṣaṇe ---> Bhī-ṣa-ṇe ---> (3 letters/syllables)
7. He ---> He ---> (1 letter/syllable)

Next, Śiva joined the letter 'sa' with the group of long vowels (ā, ī, ū, ai and au plus ṁ, along with aḥ), so creating the sounds: sāṁ, sīṁ, sūṁ, saiṁ, sauṁ, saḥ. And according to His teachings, they should be used together with adverbs of the jāti class (e.g. svāhā, vaṣaṭ, vauṣaṭ, huṁ, namaḥ or phaṭ). These sounds are used in the rituals, obviously, as they constitute the limbs of the three Vidyā-s, i.e. the Parā, Parāparā and Aparā goddesses. As during the ritual one tries to get fully identification with all these higher realities, he should consider all these mantra-s to be the limbs of his own body. Additionally, when the same letter 'sa' is endowed with the five short vowels (a, i, u, e and o plus ṁ - and, though formally speaking, 'e' and 'o' are long vowels, in this context they must be considered to be short), the result of this combination (viz. saṁ, siṁ, suṁ, seṁ, soṁ) is the mouths of such goddesses, i.e. one's own mouth. All this is completely explained by Abhinavagupta in the chapter 30 of his Tantrāloka.

At the end of the stanza 61, Śiva announces the mantra-s furnished with five 'Oṁ'. Anyway, He will mention only four in the next stanzas. OK, this elucidation has been more than enough, I guess.

Abhinavagupta explains this mantra in the stanza 38 inside the chapter 30 of his Tantrāloka.

This mantra is described by Abhinavagupta in the first half of the stanza 39 in the chapter 30 of his Tantrāloka. In my opinion, the length really is eight syllables and a half and not only eight, as phaṭ contains 1.5 syllables.

This mantra is described by Abhinavagupta in the second half of the stanza 39 in the chapter 30 of his Tantrāloka.

This mantra is described by Abhinavagupta in the second half of the stanza 41 in the chapter 30 of his Tantrāloka. Anyway, the fifth mantra furnished with 'Oṁ' is absent here, in Mālinīvijayottaratantra (at least in the version I am using). However, Abhinavagupta mentions this missing fifth mantra called 'Netram' in the second half of the stanza 40 and the first half of the stanza 41 in the chapter 30 of his Tantrāloka. It looks like this: 'Oṁ juṁ saḥ'.

This is confirmed by the stanza 42 in the chapter 30 of Abhinavagupta's Tantrāloka. You must add these long vowels: 'ā, ī, ū, ai, au'. In this way, the first bījamantra-s would look like this: 'lāṁ, līṁ, lūṁ, laiṁ and lauṁ. The same procedure must be used with the other letters, i.e. with 'ra', 'ṭa', 'kṣa', 'va' and 'ya'.

And when the same consonants are provided with these short vowels, viz. 'a, i, u, e and o' (plus 'ṁ'), then the sounds arising from these combinations are regarded as the weapons of those three abovementioned gods: e.g. 'laṁ, liṁ, luṁ, leṁ and loṁ'.

Those combinations of vowels are described by Abhinavagupta in the stanzas 43, 44 and first half of the 45 in the chapter 30 of his Tantrāloka. Such vowels (ī, ā, a, i) must be repeated in conjunction with adverbs of the jāti class (viz. svāhā, vaṣaṭ, vauṣaṭ, hūm̐, namaḥ, phaṭ). All these six adverbs are used during the aṅganyāsa while placing the hands on six specific points: head, eyes, top of the head, shoulders, heart and arms.

Finally, Śiva, after his long and cryptic description of the mantra-s to be selected, asked His Consort (His Supreme Power) about other questions She can have. Obviously, all these questions bringing His profound answers are always for the yogī-s to be able to become fully liberated Yogī-s, i.e. fully conscious of their essential identity with the Great Lord. This is the purport.

And now a chart compiling all the mantra-s selected/extracted by Śiva, which are sacred to His followers:

Chart 6: All mantra-s selected/extracted by Śiva in this third chapter

SHORT EXPLANATION	MANTRA-S (transliterated)
Mantra of the Parāvidyā (Supreme Level)	Sauḥ
Mantra of the Parāparāvidyā (Supreme - nonSupreme Level)	Oṁ aghore hrīḥ paramaghore huṁ ghorarūpe haḥ ghoramukhi bhīma bhīṣaṇe vama piba he ruru rara phaṭ huṁ haḥ phaṭ
Mantra of the Aparāvidyā (nonSupreme Level)	Hrīḥ hūṁ phaṭ
Bījamantra-s —i.e. one-syllabled mantra-s— (first group)	sāṁ sīṁ sūṁ saiṁ sauṁ saḥ
Six adverbs of the jāti class	svāhā vaṣaṭ vauṣaṭ huṁ namaḥ phaṭ
Bījamantra-s —i.e. one-syllabled mantra-s— (second group)	saṁ siṁ suṁ seṁ soṁ
Brahmaśiras: First mantra endowed with initial Oṁ	Oṁ amṛte tejomālini svāhā
Śikhā: Second mantra endowed with initial Oṁ	Oṁ vedavedini hūm̐ phaṭ
Varma puruṣṭutam: Third mantra endowed with initial Oṁ	Oṁ vajriṇe vajradharāya svāhā
Pāśupataṁ Param: Fourth mantra endowed with initial Oṁ	Oṁ ślīṁ paśu hūm̐ phaṭ
Netram: Fifth mantra endowed with initial Oṁ (really not selected/extracted by Śiva in this third chapter, but mentioned as the missing mantra with initial Oṁ by Abhinavagupta in his Tantrāloka)	Oṁ juṁ saḥ
Bījamantra-s of Indra, Viṣṇu and Brahmā (third group)	lāṁ līṁ lūṁ laiṁ lauṁ rāṁ rīṁ rūṁ raiṁ rauṁ ṭāṁ ṭīṁ ṭūṁ ṭaiṁ ṭauṁ kṣāṁ kṣīṁ kṣūṁ kṣaiṁ kṣauṁ vāṁ vīṁ vūṁ vaiṁ vauṁ yāṁ yīṁ yūṁ yaiṁ yauṁ
Bījamantra-s of Indra, Viṣṇu and Brahmā —their weapons— (fourth group)	laṁ liṁ luṁ leṁ loṁ raṁ riṁ ruṁ reṁ roṁ ṭaṁ ṭiṁ ṭuṁ ṭeṁ ṭoṁ kṣaṁ kṣiṁ kṣuṁ kṣeṁ kṣoṁ vaṁ viṁ vuṁ veṁ voṁ yaṁ yiṁ yuṁ yeṁ yoṁ
Mātṛgaṇa: Mantra of Viṣṇu and Prajāpati	ī ā a i

OK, it is enough. I stop from revealing what is so holy and secret for now!