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Bhagavadgita Pages, Chapters 1 to 18

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Tirumantiram Epilogue TMTM01  TMTM02 TMTM03 TMTM04

V.Krishnaraj

CHENNAI: January 19, 2010. The State government will favourably consider setting up a publication house for Tamil religious books, said K. R. Periyakaruppan, Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.

Speaking at a function organised here on Sunday to launch the 10-volume series of the English translation of Tirumandiram, he said such a publication house would showcase to the world the greatness of Tamil language.

Tirumandiram, written by Tirumular, comprises over 3,000 verses. The religious poetic work, written more than 1,500 years ago, consists of a dozen chapters that praise Lord Shiva, deal with spirituality and ethics, yoga and tantra. The English translation has been done by a team of scholars and edited by T.N. Ganapathy.

Tantra Two, 0337-0548

Tirumantiram

Agastyam, 0337-0338

The earth is moving out of its normal axis. Siva ordered Agastya to go and sit in Tapas on the globe’s upswing side and restore the balance. Agastya Muni unerringly, like the rising of the sun, lighted the sacrificial fire and performed tapas (penance).

Comment: It was a marriage of Siva and Parvati at Kailas in Himalayas . Narada Muni read Parvati’s horoscope and predicted that a naked Yogin, without parents and qualities (attributes: Nirguna), free from lust, not seeking honors, and scruffy in manners and dress would be her husband. The parents Himavat and Mena sank into depression. Little did they knew then that it was the Lord of universe who would become their son-in-law. Narada identified the prospective bridegroom. They were unhappy about the inauspicious side of Siva. Parvati was delighted knowing that her future husband would be the God of gods. She grew in beauty and grace like the digits of the waxing moon. Narada Muni assured the parents that by penance, Parvati will claim half the body of Siva, the Lord would become androgynous and she will be seated on his lap for ever.  After much distress, Mena accepted Lord Siva when he appeared as a handsome young bridegroom. Gods, celestials, Gurus, Munis and people gathered in Kailas for the wedding. South of India was depleted of all people for they all went for the wedding. Bhudevi (goddess of earth) was a little tilted from redistribution of weight. Siva immediately ordered Agastya Muni to go to South India to restore the balance; such is the power and weight of  tapas (penance) of Agastya Muni. The earth’s axis and balance were restored. This legend says that Savism and Tapas were exported from North India and found a thriving home in South India . End of comment.

Eight Heroic Deeds of Siva, 0339-0346

Antaka, more ferocious than the God of Death and endowed with divine boons, harassed men and gods; the celestials lodged a complaint with Siva, who destroyed him with his trident. Daksa was the son of Brahma and challenged the Lord’s authority. The Lord cut his head off and put a goat’s head in its place, which should serve as an object lesson and stop others from challenging his universal authority. The Lord’s feet are all-pervasive and life-sustaining. Brahma and Mal (Vishnu) challenged his authority; Siva cut off one of the five heads of Brahma and asked Achuta (Vishnu) to fill the skull of Brahma with his blood.  Thus Siva put them in their place. Jalandhara was a titan and the son of Varuna. He received a boon that he would not be killed by anyone. Comment: Jaladhara was very arrogant for he knew that no one could kill him. He found a match in an inanimate object to be his killer. He (Jaladhara) had an eye on Parvati, the consort of Siva and sent a messenger-scalawag Rahu to persuade Siva to give up Parvati for Jaladhara, for Siva, being an ascetic and frequenter of cremation grounds, would not deserve or need a consort. Like a reflex, thunder and flash emanated from Siva’s third eye. Soon a leonine being with a whip-like tongue and fiery eyes appeared in front of the messenger Rahu. He had the appearance of the man-lion avatar of Vishnu, Narasimha and was ready to devour Rahu, who begged Siva that he being a Brahmin and messenger did not deserve to die and he sought his protection from Siva’s eye-born man-lion. Siva, out of compassion, asked his gana (servant) to leave Rahu alone. Jaladhara, coming to know of Rahu’s failure to bring Parvati, went to battle Siva, who drew a line around him in a circle, which transformed itself into a wheel. Siva persuaded him to lift the wheel up to his neck, which, being a test of his strength,  would make him eligible to fight with him.  Jaladhara lifted the wheel up to his neck; the wheel spun on orders from Siva and severed his head. That was the end of Daitya Jaladhara. End of Comment. 

The Primal Lord wears the sacred River Ganga on his crimson matted locks. The ignorant say that he destroyed three cities, but what he destroyed was a triad of malas: Anava, Karma and Maya. The celestial lit sacrificial  fires, which rose to the heavens out of which came an elephant, Gajasura which attacked Siva on orders from the celestials. Siva peeled the skin of the elephant and wore it as raiment. Siva made the same sacrificial fires to consume them. The kundalini fire rose from Muladhara up the spine to Brahmaranda, and destroyed god of Death himself. That happened in Kadavur. Comment: Mrikandu Muni, a devotee of Siva was asked to make a choice between a stupid son with a long life and a gifted son with a short life of 16 years. He chose the latter and when the boy died at 16 years of age, the minions of Yama came to take his life. They could not do so, because he was worshipping Siva Lingam at that time. The god of Death himself came to take his life. Markandeya was praying and the noose of Yama landed around Markandeya and the Lingam he embraced, out of which emerged Siva himself in fury and thunder. Siva killed Death with his trident, but later revived him back to life under the stipulation that the youth (Markandeya) would live and remain sixteen for ever. End of Comment.

The Lord was seated in yogic meditation. Kama came along to disturb his meditation, but was destroyed by Siva. Comment: Siva, the destroyer, was in meditation for sometime, which resulted in the increase in the population of earth and a heavy burden on Mother Earth.  The gods sent Kama (god of love) to shoot flowery Harshana (one of the five erotic arrows) on Siva and disturb his penance at the precise moment he woke up to receive his Divine Consort Parvati.  He also by his magical power created an ambience of spring in the air, earth, and trees, conducive to love. Siva woke up from meditation, took one look at Parvati, and could not stop enjoying and articulating his appreciation of beautiful features of Parvati, who, in the privacy of Siva’s presence, lay bare gracefully, with sidelong glances. Siva felt like two persons, one imbibing the beauty of Parvati and another Yogi of all yogis bent on control of the senses. He felt that if seeing is great pleasure, embracing must offer even greater pleasure. Suddenly it dawned on him that he was stung by Kama ’s arrows and bitten by love. How could that happen to a Yogi of yogis, who have complete control over their senses? The Paramayogi Siva addressed Parvati in a loving manner and wondered aloud to her, how he became a victim to Kama and how that downfall is harmful to his excellent reputation as the Lord of Vairagya (desirelessness). He advised Parvati, in a spirit of detachment, not to sit by his side on the couch, and looked around for he felt uncomfortable in being aroused. He felt that the Vairagin and Yogi (in him) was associating with a wife of someone else; such was the depth of his Vairagya.  Kama continued to shoot the arrows at Siva with no effects. Siva's anger was coming to surface. A fire rising from the third eye of Siva incinerated Kama into ashes. That incident happened in Korukkai. End of comment. Linga Puranam.

0347-0352.  

Saying that she will reach the sacred Feet of the ancient Lord, Parvati became the daughter of the mountain king (Himavat) and performed penance. Comment: Parvati, the daughter of Mountain King Himavat and Mena entered into tapas to marry Siva. Parvati is sakti in Siva. End of comment. The Lord is within the reach of all his devotees whose devotion is true and to whom he gives Grace bountifully. Brahma and Vishnu, to find the ends of Linga went around the worlds and oceans for eons with no avail. The Lord is the effulgent Light with no ends. He rewarded Achuta with Divine discus and Brahma with Jnana’s sword. The Purest of the Pure Lord conferred Grace to Ravana, who out of self-conceit, lifted Mount Kailas with his 20 shoulders and suffered humiliation when the Lord gently pressed it down with his toe.

Ravana shaking Mount Kailash. Siva pressing toe on Ravana. credit: exoticindia.com. It is obvious that ancient sacred texts recorded earthquakes in the Himalayas in ancient times.

Big earthquakes of magnitude 8 or larger have been recorded in the Himalayas in 1803, 1833, 1897, 1905, 1934, and 1950. The present one in 2005 was of the magnitude of 7.6.  Dr. Molnar was a co-author of a 2001 article in the journal of Science that looked at the history of Himalayan (Kailas) earthquakes and how much tectonic stress is building up as the Indian subcontinent crashes into Asia.

The Indian subcontinent slides northward about 1.6 inches a year as part of the natural movement of continental plates. Half of that motion is absorbed farther to the north in Asia, but the other half goes to pushing up the Himalayan mountains, continually building up strain in the rocks.

Dr. Wesnousky and his colleagues have found that one or two mega-earthquakes, magnitude 8.5 to 9, struck sometime in the 1400's or 1500's. He said it was not yet clear whether the faults all broke at once or whether two sections broke at different times to cause two quakes.

Dr. Wesnousky said indications so far were that it took a fault 1,000 years to build up enough strain to unleash a mega-earthquake. Because the last mega-earthquakes occurred about 500 years ago, the next mega-earthquakes could be several centuries in the future. On the other hand, a section of the fault near Nepal may not have broken since about the year 1100, so it may be due.

 NYTimes.com 11/07/2005

Dandi, knowing the way of the hereafter, gathered sand, shaped it into a Linga and poured five products of cows on it; seeing the boy’s doings, his father smacked the boy and destroyed the Lingam with his feet. The boy became very angry, and hit his parent’s leg hard with a sword. The Lord gave Dandi his own garland of flowers to play with. The Devas came there with long-drawn withering faces and grief, worshipped and pleaded with Siva, saying “We pray to you.” The God of great fame said, “Arise.” Comment: Dandi, a Brahmin lad, who doubled as a cowherd, made sand Lingams and worshipped and poured on it five products of cow. Ablution is an important ceremony in the worship of Siva. His father kicked the Lingam saying that he was wasting the precious cow’s milk on a sand Lingam. The boy was so angered by his father’s disrespectful act, that he hit him hard with a sword, resulting in death of his father. Siva appeared in front of the boy, blessed him, presented him his own garland, and revived his father back to life. End commentary.

Daksha’s Sacrifice, 0353-0366.

●353: When Father-God walked on to the raging fire of Daksha’s sacrifice, his wrath knew no bounds. The Devas ran in all directions having not completed the sacrifice. Comment: Daksha was one of the ten sons of Brahma, a secondary creator (Prajapati) born of sexual union between Brahma and Aditi.  Brahma’s first and only mind-born sons were not interested in sexual reproduction and therefore Brahma out of frustration fathered Daksha, who willingly carried out his father’s legacy of sexual reproduction. Daksha, Vasistha, and Marici held a great sacrifice for which all gods, demigods, celestials, gurus, munis and sages including Siva, Brahma, and Vishnu were invited, and present. When Daksha walked into the assembly hall, all except Siva rose up and applauded Daksha, who was so offended by the perceived slight that he spoke very disparagingly of Siva, who was married to Daksha’s daughter Sati, also known as Dakshayini.  Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are ontologically superior to Daksha, but Daksha felt that he deserved respect from his son-in-law, Siva.  Daksha did not have a good opinion even before the sacrifice, because Siva looked poor by external appearance. There is a reason for it. Siva does not own anything, not even a house; He is a Yogin and Vairagin, One who has no desires, possessions. Daksha called Siva names: spoiler; mental dwarf; a refuge of the refuse, destitute and poor; boorish demigod; monkey’s eyes; a Sudra unfit to learn Vedas; a crematorium-dweller; wearer of a garland of skulls and bones; sloven. Daksha regretted his decision to have given his daughter in marriage to Siva on the recommendation of his father, Brahma. Daksha washed his hands and mouth and went to pile some more insults on Siva. Daksha’s sacrifice was performed to increase the material prosperity of the world. Siva was a renouncer and wanted no part in it.  Daksha left the assembly hall abruptly in a fury against the advice of Brahma and other gods. Daksha did not allow Siva to savor the oblations of the sacrifice. Nandisvara, Siva’s close associate was very angry with Daksha for the egregious treatment of Siva. Nandisvara spoke to the assemblage, saying that they who participated in the sacrifice were materialistic, considered body superior to Soul, the repository of transcendental knowledge and therefore, would lose that sacred knowledge. He further said that since Daksha considered body over soul and sex-life over spiritual life, he would soon acquire the face of a goat. They who have vidya-buddhi, avidyam, and karma-mayam (material knowledge, ignorance, and delusion of karma) would be castigated to a life of repeated births and rebirths. Nandisvara cursed all the Dvija-kulayas (the twice-born Bahmanas) for their materialistic pursuits in the performance of the sacrifice, by saying that the Brahmanas of their ilk – Vedas-for-sale, Vedas-for-livelihood—would be wandering beggars, glorifying wealth, creature comforts and satiation of senses.  Bhrgu Muni came upon the stage and dished out counter-curses: the Siva followers were heretics. Siva never uttered one word in the assemblage and left the assembly hall. Years passed without incident. Puffed with false pride, Daksha arranged another sacrifice; this time he did not invite Siva, which is against all the canons of sacrifice—no sacrifice was complete without Siva. Daksha’s daughter, consort of Siva, heard the news over the celestial grapevine. She saw finely attired celestials and their consorts whisk by by aerial cars on their way to Daksha’s sacrifice. Sati felt left out for she wanted to meet her mother, sisters and their consorts at the sacrifice, which was the place to be then. She pleaded with Siva to attend the sacrifice. Siva tried to reason with her as follows: Daksha’s learning, austerity, wealth, beauty, youth, and pedigreed heritage were vitiated by his wickedness, lack of judgment, and failure to see the greatness of exalted Souls. They (Siva and Sati) should not visit Daksha clouded by poor judgment, suspicious mind, and anger. He dissuaded her from attending the ceremony, for he foresaw death of Sati, and of Daksha who would inflict indignity on Siva, the Supreme Being. Against the advice of Siva, Sati left Siva for Daksha’s sacrifice. Daksha and his followers, except his sisters and her mother, did not come near Sati to greet and hug her.  Not received and addressed by her father Daksha, she refused to take the exalted seat or presents offered by her mother and sisters. Seeing that sacrificial offerings were not reserved for Rudra (Siva) which was mandatory according to the canons of sacrifice, Sati, Siva’s spouse flew into a rage and leveled criticism against the Brahmanas and Daksha as follows: Brahmanas have more regard to wealth over Soul. They failed to recognize and praise the greatest Soul in the universe, Lord Siva. His two-syllable name SIVA, when uttered, erased the sins. Brahma wore the flowers that fell from the feet of Lord Siva. She told her father in the assembly hall that she was ashamed to own the body born of Daksha, who offended the most exalted Soul, Siva. She, thereafter, went into deep meditation to remove the body inherited from her father and the last impurities from her soul, commanded the air and fire to come to her limbs and removed consciousness from her body; her body went into flames subsequently. Unmindful of the self-immolation of Sati, Bhrgu Muni continued to pour oblations on the fire, Daksinagni (Daksha’s fire), chanting Yajurveda which had the power of destroying the obstructers of the sacrifice; the opponents scattered in all directions from the force of the mantras.

Narada, the omniscient Muni, told Lord Siva about Daksha’s insult of Sati and Siva, self-immolation of his consort, Sati, and the routing of his attendants by Bhrgu Muni. Siva’s rage at this personal loss knew no bounds. He pulled one of his beautiful locks, jumped up on his feet, laughed like thunder and flung the lock on the ground. From that dashed lock, that looked like a flash of lightning, rose a gigantic being whose form scraped the skies with a thousand arms, with three eyes shining like a sun, dark complexion like a cloud, fierce teeth, a garland of skulls, matted locks resembling ropes of fire, and a host of weapons at the ready. That was Virabhadra, a part manifestation of Siva in his fierce form. He immediately sought and received his mission which is to destroy Daksha and Daksha’s sacrifice. After circumambulating Siva, Virabhadra left like a thunder, hoisting his trident, and with Siva’s ganas at tow, he ran towards Daksha. He was so powerful that even Death could not defy him. Dust rose from the earth, the ankle bells of the ganas jingled, the army was on the march. Daksha’s Brahmanas, their wives and other attendees saw a great cloud of dust obscuring the sky, and wondered what it was and where it was coming from. There was no wind, there were no hanging clouds, it was not from the cows, and it was not from the gang of thieves. What else could it be?  "Is it the end of the world?" Daksha’s wife had premonition of danger on account of her husband’s evil act and his (their) innocent daughter Sati’s death. Could it be Rudra in rage? She had vision of Rudra: matted hair, his long arms flailing with terrible weapons, his trident, his thunderous roar and laughter, his screwed eyebrows, his horrible teeth. The attendees showed signs of panic and imminent doom: their eyelids twitched, their faces contorted, they turned pale from fright, they wobbled, and they murmured. What was this world coming to? Suddenly out of nowhere, waddling dwarfs appeared and ran amok in their midst knocking them off their feet. They never saw an army of dwarfs in their life. Was this for real? This must be a bad dream. They came in all shades and colors, mostly red-brown and yellow. They had alligator faces and abdomens to match. They surrounded the whole sacrificial arena and raised a ruckus frightening the attendees. Some of them started knocking down the pillars supporting the eastern and western parts of the sacrificial hall. Some of them waddled off and destroyed the quarters housing the sacrificer, the priests, and their wives.  Assembly hall, kitchen, and utensils also suffered destruction. They passed urine on and doused the sacrificial fires and later destroyed the barricades around the sacrificial pit. The priests and the Devas were molested, and their wives were threatened. Bhrigu Muni, who spoke ill of Siva and his followers, was bound by Maniman; Virabhadra tied down Daksha. The priests and the Devas took off in different directions.  Bhrgu Muni was caught by Virabhadra unawares and before he knew what happened, his mustache and beard of which he was so proud and which he stroked in bravado during the ceremony, were yanked out of his face and were hanging dripping blood from the hands of Virabhadra. To add to humiliation, they were exhibited in public.  Bhaga was next in line for Virabhadra’s fury. Bhaga turned his eye towards Daksha and winked, when he was slandering Lord Siva. An act of revenge by Virabhadra: He knocked Bhaga down and gouged out his eyes.  Pusa had his teeth knocked out by Virabhadra for smiling and showing his teeth to Daksha while the latter was slandering Siva.  Virabhadra had no match to offer any resistance; he was the manifestation of Siva and his fury; none could resist his onslaught. He proceeded to "dress" Daksha. Daksha was on the ground in a trice with the foot of Virabhadra planted on his chest. Virabhadra with one swing of the sword cut his head, which was still clinging to the body and neck; he waited for a moment, and thought how the animals were sacrificed; a second swing completed the job. Immediately, the head rolled off and was tossed into the sacrificial fire. Brahma foresaw this tragedy and did not attend the sacrifice. The Devas and other attendees went to Siva in Kailas and propitiated him. Shiva was eulogized by gods and had a plan for the slain and mutilated beings. A goat’s head was attached to the body of Daksha who woke up as if he was in slumber.  Bhaga, whose eyes were gouged out, was allowed to look at his share of the sacrificial offerings through the eyes of Mitra. Bhrgu Muni had the beard and mustache of a goat attached to his face. All damages were ameliorated one way or another. Daksha was now free from his malice towards Siva.  End of comment. ●

●354-361: Hari tried to assert his superiority, but was quickly put down and sent to the netherworld. Soon the Lord forgave him and bestowed boons on him. Everyone at the Daksa’s sacrifice received justice according to their merits. The yogis performing Kundalini experience Siva's (Kundalini) energy rising from Muladhara plane to Sahasrara plane. Hari, Brahma, Daksha, the Sun, the Moon, the Fire, Indra and other gods lost their body parts according to their merits and demerits: limb, face, nose, hand and shoulder; thus, lacking Siva’s Grace, the High, the Mighty and the Handsome were mutilated and disfigured for having challenged Siva. The gods who recite audibly the mantras, use Pranava to uncoil the Kundalini power which rises from Muladhara with the help of Ajapajapa (chantless chanting through inhalation and exhalation). The Lord destroyed the Asura’s city and protected the holy sacrificial pits. Having been defeated, Daksha and others performing unholy sacrifices, repented and begged for forgiveness; Siva blessed them and gave them knowledge of enlightenment.

Deluge, 0362-0366

When the rising tide of waters submerged the earth, Siva rescued Vishnu, Brahma and other gods, when they sought his refuge. He saved the mortals from the raging mountain of fire and the swelling oceans. When Brahma committed an infraction, he was punished by decapitation of one of his five heads.

Vishnu received the Discus, 0367-370

Vishnu overcome with arrogance and ego lost his discus, when Lord Siva of the Silver Mountain made it to fly off from Vishnu. It went around the seven worlds. When Vishnu prayed to Siva, he received half the Chakra (discus) for its power was so great that one half became the body of Sakti and the other half became the discus of Vishnu. Lord Vishnu sent the discus to cut the head of Veerabhadra, but Siva sneezed and that developed into a storm and brought down the discus.

A garland of Skull and bones, 0371

The Lord wears the skulls and bones of defeated gods as a garland so that they do not become dust; the Lord one day would redeem and restore them to their past glory out of his Grace. (According to Kundalini, the fifty skulls of Kundalini Devi represent the 50 letters of Sanskrit alphabet, each rising from the primordial Sound and subsiding in Devi at sublation.)

Expedition in search of head and feet of Siva, 0372-0380

Brahma and Mal (Vishnu) were fighting with each other to establish supremacy, but the Lord manifested himself as a column of Fire. They went ahead to look for its ends. Tirumular says that he knew through Lord Siva’s Grace that the column of Fire rose beyond the seven worlds. The Lord is body, life and consciousness. He pervades this space and supports the universe. Vishnu and Brahma went seeking the end of the fiery column of Linga, but failed to do so. Adored and begged by Devas, Vishnu established their supremacy over the Asuras by asking Asura Mahabali to give him three feet of his land and thus strode the heavens and the earth by two steps and gained the third foot of land by stepping on the head of Bali . Brahma was praised by the Rishis. Brahma and Vishnu were arguing over the dominance of one over the other. Siva is the soul inside Vishnu who sleeps on a bed of snake in the high seas and the four-headed Brahma who is seated on the lotus flower. They are of the same essence. Tirumular says that the Lord granted him the Grace, as he became his devotee. Brahma and Vishnu did not seek refuge at his feet. Siva revealed himself to Brahma as the dazzling Divine Light.

Creation, 0381-0410

Paraparam has neither beginning nor end. Paraparam, the Supreme God, joined with Paraparai, Siva’s Supreme energy and Param was born in Pure Light.  Param upon union with Parai gave birth to Nada. Nada united with Bindu with the birth of Nada-Bindu from which Siva and Sakti were born. From Siva came Jnana; from Sakti came Iccha and Kriya. Sakti is the mother of Maya. Siva, who made maya to appear, is very far away from it.  Way back in time, Paraparam and Paraparai united, as did Nada and Bindu, and Sadasiva and Sakti.  Mahat (Maan) was thus born (V384). Space, air, fire, water, and earth were born of Maya in succession. From Maya came the subtle elements Tanmatras, from which the gross elements were born. Siva, the He-She creates this universe. He has five sons: Sadasiva, Mahesvara, Rudra, Brahma and Vishnu. Holy Nandi, that is Sadasiva, unites with Maan Sakti or Mahat and the universe blossoms forth in gentle unfolding. From Fire came Water, from Wind came Light, from Space came Sound, and from Water came Earth. The Primal One, the Lord of the Celestial Beings created this vast universe with the help of Brahma, the four-headed creator and preserved the universe in the stomach of Vishnu who regurgitated the seven worlds for Brahma to proceed with creation. By pure Consciousness, the Supreme Lord, Siva, who stays on top of Mount Kailas, created this universe through the lotus-seated Brahma and ocean-dwelling Vishnu. The Primal One, Lord Siva, is the First cause; he is Brahma; he is Vishnu; he is Veda; he is sound and matter; he is all love and compassion. He is the rarest of the Rubies, though easy of reach and love. He is the Light within Brahma. He orders death and birth in his Grace; when creation starts, he, the compassionate One, pervades and expands in all directions. The pure One creates all; he created me too (Tirumular); he is the life in me; he is my guide; he creates jivas, bodies, tattvas and settings (conditions and circumstances) according to one’s karma; and he is the repository of all liberated souls.  He stands refulgent with his ornament of bones and Konrai flowers; his resplendent form exceeds the luster of red-hot gold. He is the repository of all souls. He and She started playing; thereby, all this is produced; the seasons appear; their holy union brings this creation to fruition. Siva enters Bhuvanapati (Rudra); he enters the discus-wielding Lord, Vishnu; he enters the lotus-seated Lord, Brahma; he does all their respective functions. Anava Sakti in union with Bindu caused the birth of five Gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Sadasiva and Mahesvara), who perform the five functions of creation, preservation, destruction, grace and veiling. Being born of Anava sakti, they were not devoid (were full) of it (anava malam). Comment: Verse 398 states that even gods are burdened with Anava mala (I-ness, ego, and mineness). End of comment.

V399: Maya (female gender connotation) in union with Bindu gave rise to three Mayas: Suddha, Asuddha and Prakrti. Bindu (male gender connotation) was born of Nada, which was born of Parai. This is the natural play of the renunciating Parasivan. Gracious Tiripurai (Parvati) became Sadasiva. She performs the five karmas (actions). Comment: Gracious Tiripurai, born of Bindu, is the personification of Maya which gave rise to five manifest gods and the elements. Triangle is the sign of Tiripurai in the words of Tirumular. Parvati or Tiripurai, the consort of Siva, is his Sakti or power. End of comment.)

She is Manonmani with beautiful breasts, she is Mangali, the auspicious; she is Arani roaming the forests; she is Mohini of extraordinary beauty; she is Poorani, the perfect Being. She is cause and effect in One and Consciousness beyond consciousness. It was Sadasiva who pervades Mahesvara, Hara, Mal (Vishnu), and the lotus-seated Brahma; thus, One became five.

It was Sadasiva who created the seven worlds, who protected the seven worlds, who destroyed the seven worlds, and who is the life and soul of the seven worlds. Our Lord is of the color of red lotus and of fire; he cut asunder the fetters of birth (and rebirth) brought on by Maya-induced pasam (fetters) of the cloud-colored Lord Vishnu.

Siva is eight directions. He is the Great Nandi who brings the body and soul together in birth. He stands in the heart of those reluctant men and seeks them. That I know very well. He creates the seven worlds, he maintains the seven worlds, he destroys the seven worlds, and he is life of the worlds.

Nathan (Siva) joins the two (Sadasiva and Mahesvara) and engages in 'blending and mixing' the impure matter. The two asked the Lord what they should make. The Lord confers his grace (instructions) on them. 

He creates 400,000 (four times100 thousand) species and pervades all of them as life within. Those men, who call it false or untrue, get the reward of enveloping darkness. The sun, moon, Agni, the celestials (Balars), the space, air, fire, water and earth, the sound, word, mind and the rest: all these are born of Maya in union with Bindu (Vindu).

Preservation, 0411-0420

               He pervades as Light and Darkness, he remains the same in honor and dishonor (praise and reproach), he pervades body and life, and he remains constantly in my thoughts. He stands as directions and celestials, he stands as body, life and tattvas, he stands as sea, mountain and valley, and he is the head (Supreme Lord) of the whole universe. He stands as body, life, world, sea, dark clouds, and pouring sky. He remains everywhere and stands as Lord of path of Truth that never closes. He is the eight directions, he is the body and life, he is the Great Nandi, he pervades life, he brings the body and the soul together at birth, he stands in the heart of hesitant souls, and he seeks them from their hearts. I know this from his habit (of seeking hesitant souls.) One time he stands as pure Light, one time he stands as a hurricane, one time he rains, and one time he is a Mayin (Vishnu). He stands as love, wisdom, and calmness; he stands as pleasure and in union with pleasure, he stands as beginning and end of Time; and he abides in five elements with love. He creates the world with utmost focus, he gives life and birth, he does big and small things, he is the potter who spins and makes the pots, he does more and he is mighty. He is life inside and body outside; he is pure spirit, and expansive and infinite space; he is effulgent Light; he is Consciousness and breathes life into the body, and he is Nandi. It is a wonder that he maintains innumerable lives in this universe. After dissolution, he absorbs them into himself. He supports the Seventh World, the destination of the yoga path. Fire rituals do not help you, though you may seek him hard; he is far away from you. Seek him in earnest love and fall prostrate at his feet on the ground. Seek him in your many lives, he will grant you immortality.

Destruction, 0421-0430

  The Lord incinerated the space, the oceans, and the asuras; fire is the Lord’s arrow on hand. There are three layas (lysis or dissolution). I (Tirumular) saw one of them, Kalpanta.  Everything was uprooted and destroyed. It was like the pot full of boiling rice. The mountains and valleys were burnt to ashes. The earth, the snow-clad mountains, the seven seas, the sky were enveloped in great fire. The fire of Muladhara chakra rises and spreads; the sky and earth look alike (lost their distinction).  The woman of noble birth (River Ganga) descended from the cloud-shrouded and rain-drenched mountains; the waters spread in eight directions and soaked the earth. And the waters drained into and accumulated in the deep pit, the ocean, which sings the praise of the Lord, chanting OM. The fire consumed that ocean too. Sleep is daily dissolution; the next dissolution is beyond sleep; pure dissolution is when the soul remains actionless; salvation by dissolution is attaining the Lord’s True Grace. Daily dissolution is to leave –transcend-- two bodies (gross and subtle); the other dissolution is of the Mayaic body; pure dissolution is of the mind and its cognates in the Infinite; Salvation by dissolution is the True Grace of Siva. Daily dissolution is to remove the instruments (the senses); pure dissolution is the freedom of the soul; Salvation-dissolution is the true Grace of Siva. The daily dissolution is the long repose (death); the other one has no beginning (Anaadi: long repose of the soul); pure dissolution is to immerse in Siva’s Grace; thus, the salvation-dissolution are four. That plant—soul-- sprang from the Beginning-Void (Siva); it returns to the Void; it becomes one with the ancient Void. It is the fate of the protector, Vishnu (and Brahma) to dissolve in the Void. That Void is that which dissolves that plant (soul). Destroy the accumulating karmas. There is the master (Lord) who deals death to the karma. He gave us the body and mind with all the attendant 'hodge-podge- mix' (Tattvas); he gave us abundant wisdom (to discriminate).  

Obscuration, 0431-0440  

●He is within you; He is the Jyoti (Light) within; He never leaves you ever; though He and your heart stay together, the heart does not know His form.

●The Lord gave me the sweet life; he confined me in Pasa’s miseries; He hooked the muscles on to the skeleton, and  clothed them with skin, animating them with a spark of life; He then rushed me into the jaws of death.

●God Madhavan gave happiness, as the three Lords, Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra assembled my body with internal organs. We do not know the treasure-trove he left inside us.

●He is the Light in our eyes; He is Isa in love with us; He is in the form of He, She, and Neuter; with praise on their tongues and feelings in their heart, they (the ignoramus) seek not the path to the lofty pond.

●He (the Lord) is a delight to both the world and the celestials. The ancient Piran (Lord) showers Grace on us. He is of the form of the spiraling pure white flame, dispelling the darkness of the chamber of the soul from within, with his wisdom.

●My body and soul yearn for your Grace in loud voice, expressing desires. In the world of incongruity (one incongruous from another), you are the expansive form of unity, which you conceal from our seeing (sight). (purport: God is the pervasive unitary force in the world of incongruous elements like desires, and pleading voices of the body and soul for Grace, which he conceals from our vision.)

●I held Isa (Siva) inside me in concealment; he stood in Grace and revealed himself, coming down and causing exultation in me. That (revealing Grace) pleases him.

●There stood (Sadasiva) as One; he stirred Mahesvara into action, then Hara, Tirumal, and the lotus-seated Brahma; thus, Siva became all of them—five.  (Siva is the One who became Sadasiva, Mahesvara, Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.)

● The Supreme Siddha has his Pasa under restraint. Seated down on this shore, he seeks the Grace up there.  But you, sitting on the banks of Ganges River, remain unwashed and dirty.

●One clay becomes many vessels; the One pervades many forms (all living beings). Eye (as one) sees many things; it does not see itself. Annal (God) stands in like manner.  Comment:  Siva is One but has five forms; he delegates each one to do a special function. Mahesvara, the surrogate of Siva, performs the function of obscuration, veiling of Grace of God.  It is concealment of Grace. Seeking or receiving Grace of God is neither a passive act nor an entitlement.  The purpose of obscuration is to propel the Jiva or soul to seek God in the inner recesses of the soul, shrouded in darkness and ignorance, which block the Light of Siva. End of comment. 

◄►Grant of Grace, 0441-0450◄►

●The wind blows in eight directions. He is the undulating ocean that surrounds the great earth; he is the fire and the sky. Let it be known that he ties and unties the body that holds life. Comment: Sadasiva undoes what Mahesvara does: Grace in the place of obscuration. Obscuration is rite of passage for the soul to go from impure state of the Malas to a pure state of Grace. Grace is the end point, when the last of the three Malas—Anava Mala—is extirpated. Tying means putting the building blocks (Tattvas, elements) together to form the body; untying means the building blocks involute (retrograde involution) into Siva. This raises an interesting question in this age of cloning. Are we in our scientific arrogance try to take over the functions of God in cloning people? According to Tirumular, Tying and Untying (Creation and dissolution) are the functions of the Lord. This is revealed wisdom of the Lord to Tirumular. Click: primer_in_saiva_siddhanta.htm End of Comment. 

●They, who desire Nada that soars high and sparkles with splendor at the pinnacle, obtain joy and do not have to face Naman (Death or Yama). He is the creator and the carpenter (Architect / Creator) of the vast universe and the three Lights, the Sun, the Moon and the Fire.

●The potter who mounts the clay on the potter’s wheel makes shapes which fancy his mind. Like the potter, our Lord Nandi shapes the world in every which way he wants.

Credit: kamat.com

●He is the Supreme Lord, who has the bull as his mount. He maintains an army of demons (bhutham). He offers this world as a gift to us; his attributes alone are the best attributes. He of the matted locks lives in my thoughts.

●As a favor, he created the seven worlds; he created many eons; he created the five gross elements; he created life and body.

●He created the seven worlds; long ago, he created the Devas; long ago, he created many beings; he stood as the (uncreated) Param.

●The Primal One created the five gross bhutas (elements); the Primal One created the endless eons; the Primal One created countless Devas; The Primal One created and supported them all.

●He transcends the limitless space of the seven worlds. You cannot finger him as someone of meager means (Eliyan: poor man; man, easy of access).  Siva becomes 'many many' jivas. He is One Namban (Siva, God) of this entire world.

●Inside he is the Light; outside he is one body. He is the most desired object of the heaven’s immortals.  He, of the holy body, is worthy of praise of the earthbound celestials (Siddhas). He is the Great Ruby of your eyes and the knowledge itself. 

● He is the holy form of the universe that no one knows. He is the limitless space of the universe and the space in the pot too. He is the water in the milk.  Knowing that His goodness—Grace-- remains unabated gives me sukham (happiness).

◄►Production of embryo, 0451-0491◄►

●From what departed in my past life, the twenty-five tattvas, he creates my precious life from inside the globe of womb; the Primal One, that he is, knows what he creates of me is what he only knows.

●Above the Muladhara plane, the kundalini fire rages (remains). The red tender feet of the fetus float in the waters of the womb. The sweet life lays in wait for its onward journey; he gives the ten pranas to the infant.

● When the two (parents) joined in pleasure, the Lord of the heavens ordained the house of sorrow (human body), grief of pasa, and quality of life on this earth. He ordained it at the hour of happy union.

●They, who saw the end of birth, know how the 25 tattvas entered the purusha’s body. No one else knows. The two forms went seeking the womb-pit and fell into it. At insemination, the first five elements, five Pranas, five elements, five Tanmatras, five sense organs, and five subtle elements entered and remained hidden inside the center of the forehead (of the fetus).

●As Vayu (air) spreads the fragrance of the blossoming flower all around, the Prana pervades the jiva and unfolds at the appointed time.

●The eight elements (that eventually leave) enter, the eighteen elements enter, and Muththan (Siva) is resident in all these elements. There are nine gates and the Kundalini serpent. If the charioteer (Siva) does not have a hand in this, the fetus may as well be a piglet.

● Male dominance in reproductive union begets an infant with Tamasic quality of Rudra-Siva; female dominance begets an infant with Sattvic quality of Hari; equality of both begets an infant with Rajasic quality of Brahma; all three gunas in equal proportion beget a king. 

●The vital elements of the two joined to form an infant with Jiva which dwelled in many bodies in the past, and is under the influence of Maya and mind.

●460 In gravid womb, the soul enjoys Turiya; later, Maya and her eight relatives (evolutes or derivatives) arouse it from its sleep state and confer Consciousness: thus speak the sacred and true words of scriptures.

There lays in solitude that life in the womb where MAyA and her Tattvas induct the life, consciousness, memory, quality, and speech and confer the eight attributes: Dharmam, Jnanam, Vairagyam, Aisvaryam, Adharmam, Ajnanam, Avairagrayam, Anaisvaryam. This is what the sacred scripture say in truth.

● He strung and tied the skeletal frame with tendons and muscles; he laid down the blood vessels coursing through the body-house for life to move in. Him I seek with good conduct.

●He is milk-white and bright as the sun; he is wholesome and pervades the whole body; he drenches Agni’s (fire) rage in Muladhara plane; he ordained this in many diverse ways.

●Every day the harmful karma hounds the Jiva-fetus; he devised many ways to protect the fetus: bathing it in water, protecting the fetus from the vindictive pasas (bondage/impurities) by encircling it, keeping it from scalding by (mother’s) Muladhara fire.

●The silver (Velli = silver, Vital generative fluid also known as cukkilam) that originated from tubular structures mixed with the vaginal blood (curonitam) and gave birth to an infant, whose body measures eight finger-lengths of its own hand, inhaling eight  finger-length breath and exhaling four finger-length breath. Comment: Air currents are measured in inches, feet, digits and finger lengths: a digit is 0.75 inches long for adult standard. The standard for the air current is 6 feet or 96 digits. As you inhale and exhale, the length of the disturbed air current from the nose could range from a hypothetical 0 to 6 feet. In Indian mythology and sacred writings, the vaginal or uterine blood (curonitam) plays the role of female gamete, while the male gamete is specifically identified as seed or sperm. It is portrayed that the womb serves more as fertile ground for the seed to grow than a place where (or in the Fallopian tube) fertilization takes place followed by formation of blastocyst (embryo) in the uterus and later the fetus. Another prevailing belief  is the pregnant female is always blamed for the sex of the fetus, while, in fact, it is the sole responsibility of the inseminating man. It is possible that the health of the X-bearing or Y-bearing sperm  and the  maternal environmental conditions in situ where fertilization takes place may dictate the development of male or female fetus. It is said that excess of semen in comparison to uterine blood leads to the conception of male child while the reverse leads to the conception of female child. When they are in equal amounts, a "neuter" is conceived. Twenty-two units of uterine blood is equal to fourteen units of semen; this combination produces a "neuter" fetus; the other variations are obvious. Half a unit is the critical amount  that determines the female neuter from the male neuter. The male neuter   develops along male line while the female neuter develops along the female line. it appears that the Tantric doctors had advanced knowledge of intersex  (ambiguous genitalia). Their clinical knowledge of medicine and external anatomy were fairly advanced, while they lacked advanced knowledge of internal organs. They knew the obvious that the testis was the site of semen production, while the they were not aware of the hidden ovaries in the females. Ardhanaresvara (He-She Form of Siva) gives a clue that Indian sacred texts were familiar with the idea that man is half female and half male (heterozygous) in his genetic makeup (XY). End of comment)

●The Pure One entered bhogam (coition); he brought his generous bequest of 31 tattvas (31? –36) into the sheath (body); he created a body (Mut-tai = egg, body) wrapped in delusion.

●The foolish five senses take birth in the body and later died; the Jiva remaining in the Andam (egg, earth, or universe) subside in Nada. (Comment: Siva, Sakti, Nada and Bindu form the Quadplex, the basis, on which all constructs of Saiva Siddhanta are built. I name this quadplex as Tetralogy (four entities) of Saiva Siddhanta. See file:Sound.htm. End of Comment.

●Isa mounted my body on to a (delicately balanced) leaf-like device; with the accuracy of a weighing machine, he placed the five senses, hooked up the 30 tattvas, and brought together the nine openings in body-furnace. (Comment: Nine openings: two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, mouth, one genital, and anus. Note by the author: Anatomically this is at variance for a female (10 openings), for the female has one opening for urination and a separate one as genital tract, where as in the male, the phallus serves both as generative and urinating organ. Tattvas: Various philosophers number the Tattvas differently; it may have contextual relevance: 25, 26, 30, 36, 96) End of comment)

● Joyous two fashioned the body-clay; a vessel of sorrow was born. The furnace blazed; out came the pot with nine openings and eighteen tattvas.

●You do not know the six maladies of the body, you do not separate from its great qualities, you know the siddhis within them, and you understand five elements make the body.

 Maladies of Body and Soul

● He gave the body, he gave life, he gave nine shuttered passages, and I hold hands with Isa who set up the (divine Jnana) fire (of thousand-petalled Sahasrara of Kundalini) inside the lotus-like head.

●The Lord is the Great Light; I seek him everywhere. He is the Primal Womb, kindling the fire of life; he stirs up the viscid liquid (vital generative fluid) and confers a form to it. (Comment: The Quadplex, Siva, Sakti [Power], Nada [Sound] and Bindu [Light]. Siva is the Supreme Light, Sakti is the womb, the viscid liquid gets a fillip from Nada, and bathing in the light of Bindu, it assumes a manifest form. End of comment)

● Light (infant) blossoms (is born) after the bud (mot-tu = bud, glans) meets the blossom; it is a fragile bubble in the watery mass, a mere shadow on earth below wrapped in subtle body made of  eight sheaths. (Comment: Tirumular says the individual soul is wrapped by sheaths or kosas and is a microcosm of the Great soul. End of comment)

●Of the eight, five are Indriyas (senses), and three are karanams (cognitive instruments). He puts the body-bag (physical body, not the bag that carries the dead body) with the glue of desire and tied it and in due course of time unties it.

●It assumed a name and form; to remove the Pasu Pasam (soul’s impurities), he created earth and tattvas; thus say the Vedas.475

●There is no Grace but Hara’s; there is no Grace but of Hara, who bestows life. He bestows love and friendship of foster-mother

●The Jyoti that dispelled darkness and the woman (Sakti) caused the creation of all lives and pervaded them all. That is the Greatness!

● Seed of life grows like a steady flame and appears as Male, Female or hermaphrodite. The path (ritual observances) of father and mother at the time of union helps determine what the Lord chooses as the sex of the fetus. Such is the controlling power of the Brilliant Master.

●When masculinity dominates, the infant is male. When the femininity dominates, the infant is female. When both are equal, a hermaphrodite is born. If the masculine force is in plenty (at the time of union), the infant will rule over the entire earth. If there is paucity of force, there is no conception.

●After insemination, if man breathes five times, the infant will live for 100 years; after insemination, if man breaths four times, the infant will live for 80 years on this earth. Yogi, who is expert in breath control while he engages in coitus, can control his emission and breath.

●After emission, if the man is short of breath, the infant will be a dwarf. If a man has shallow breaths, the infant will be lame. If the breath is halting in the middle of the act, the infant will be a hunchback. These (criteria) do not apply to woman.

●If the mother is a hoarder of excess feces at the time of union, the infant will be retarded. If the mother’s urine is in excess, the infant will be a mute. If both exceed, the infant will be blind. This is the way a mother’s condition affects the infant.

●If the breathing occurs through the right nostril (Pingala breath) at the time of emission, the infant will be a male. If breathing occurs through the left nostril (Ida breath), the infant will be a female. If the descending Apana breath opposes the ascending Prana breath, twins will be born. If breathing is equal in both nostrils, a hermaphrodite will be born. 

●If male and female breath are equal, the infant will be beautiful. If breaths are inconsistent, there will be no conception. 

● Infant grows in the womb, thriving on the Light-Milk (?Bindu-Light), shining like the sun’s golden rays and taking the proper form.

● It grows to its full size by ten months. At the correct time it will come to the earth. It grows because of Maya.  Who will ever know that Formless Maya?

● The donor knows not; the recipient knows not; the creator knew, though he did not tell anyone. The Lord who utters the Truth stays there. I heard how base this maya can be.

●The two met seeking pleasure. It was born in pasa’s misery and brought up to adulthood. Having grown to adulthood, he seeks the Ancient Lord who is more ancient than this world. 

●The cuckoo bird deposits its egg in the crow’s nest; the crow entertains no suspicion, tends to the chick and watches it grow. It does not move it or expel it. It does not ask why. As the crow tends to cuckoo’s egg and chick in its confusion and ignorance, so does Maya tends to the fetus in the womb.

●The Lord supports the root, the sprout, the plant, the bush, and the fruit; so he offers each one its own (proper) pleasure (and consideration); he stands with each and satisfies its needs.

●The Lord is of infinite Greatness and Might; yet he 'mixes' with the insignificance of this body. The God of gods is beyond the knowledge of the denizens of heaven. Yet, by Tapas, he is knowable.

●As the salt comes from the wavy ocean, the dissolved tattvas came from Para to give form to the body and take birth in this world in the body; coming into birth for this body thus is Supreme Grace.

◄►Three Categories of Jivas, 0492-0500◄►

●Life came about from Sakti-Siva Play. Jiva was in a pure Kevala state enveloped in Turiya from which Jiva separated and united between the two Mayas. The Lord entered Citta (mind) and made it all Sivamayam (Siva in essence). Comment: Kevala in this context means the individual soul or Jiva was in a pristine Mukti (liberation) state enjoying Turiya, the fourth dimension beyond normal consciousness.  There are three states: Kevala, Sakala and Suddha. End of comment.

●There are ten groups of souls (Pasus): Vijnanakalars with four subdivisions, Pralayakalars with three, and Sakalars with three. 

●Vijnanakalars are of four subgroups: those in Anava state, those who are self-realized, those who reached the status of Eight Vidyesvaras, and those who belong to the 70 million Manthra Nayakas. The latter are realized beings free from ego or Anava.

●The Pralayakalars are of three subgroups: those who attained Mukti, those who still have bondage of Anava and Karma malas, and those who belong to 108 Rudras. The Sakalars still have all three malas.

●There are three subgroups of Sakalars: those who attained siddhis, those who attained Mukti, and those who have attained neither. The latter wallow in three malas, with no will to conquer them.

● They who rid themselves of five malas become Siva; free from blemish, they are siddhas; they attained Jivan Mukti; they cut asunder pasu pasam, Jiva’s bondage; they ended the cycle of births and rebirths. They realized the Tattvas.

● Vijnanakalars are of three types. There are those who still abide in Anava mala. There are in all nine classes of jivas in various stages of development. Comment: Sakti-Nipatam is the conferment of Grace to a soul when it is ripe. Ripening process is development of the soul from imperfection to the stage of Paramukti.

 ●Vijnanakalars get physical bodies by dint of karma. By doing holy acts they enter the womb of the celestials and gain Jnana form. By constant practice, they receive eternal wisdom and become Siva Himself.

●The Vijnanakalars remove all Anava mala and lose the memory of Jiva. They become Bindu and Nada, having attained oneness with Siva Tattva. The Sakalars carry a load of three impurities: Anava, Maya and Kanma. Comment: Losing memory of Jiva is a good thing. Loss of memory means the Jiva or the individual soul has removed the faulty notion that it (Jiva) is finite, when it attains liberation or mukti; Jiva's fountainhead is Siva and therefore it cannot be finite. But earthbound souls (fools) are so wrapped up in malas or impurities and body sheaths, they think they are finite as their body. End of comment.

◄►The Worthy ones, 0501-0504 ◄►

Give a little (the size of a sesame seed) to Sivajnani; you will gain perfection (siddhi), heavenly bliss and mukti. If you give a world of gold to an ignoramus, you will lose your power and joy (bhogam). 

●Death devours lives at suitable moment; the Lord seizes the life of the seizer of life (Yama/Death). Nathan (Lord) confers grace to those who know him well; the few who realize his greatness become Devas.

●I (Tirumular) never let go off him from the time I was 'a fetus' (in the womb); I sought after his feet and the Truth; having given up untruth, I sought the Lord with matted locks and holy feet which are like a lamp that does not need any oil.

●Let what happens happen; let what perishes perish. Let what goes go; let what comes come. The Great Nandi is the protector (Kaavalan); he reveals (Kaat-tu) and is a realized Being (kandavan). He does favor like a sister would.

◄►The Unworthy ones, 0505-0508 ◄►

●Milking and drinking of milk from a barren cow, however much green grass you tenderly feed her, are comparable to charity given to those lacking virtue (seelam) and religious austerity (No-n-bu) and crops raised out of season.

●Give only to those who pursue Yoga, Yama, Niyama and entertain love (for God); giving to those who do not entertain love (for God) is the greatest of all crimes (perum-pizai).

●He who gives to Isa (God), Guru, and the desireless is morals teacher, who do not enter the hell meant for the perpetrator of five Great Sins who does not know the consequences. Comment: Ati-pancha-pathakan = great-five-sinner: he who is guilty of heinous crimes of killing, lying, stealing, drinking, and abusing one’s guru. Here abusing one’s Guru means the student under a Guru has illicit sexual relations with the spouse of the Guru, euphemistically characterized as defiling or violating the bed of Guru by student (sishya). End of comment.

●Though you give a mountain of wealth to any one who does not show reverence (Anjali: bringing two palms together in prayer), both (you and recipient) will go into the hellhole (naraka-kuzi = hellhole).

◄►Sacred Waters, 0509-0514◄►  

●509: Within this body, sacred waters are many (Tirtham); to ward off and destroy Karma, they do not dive into the waters of the body. They are full of spiritual ignorance (Kallam) and are not learned (in spiritual ways); they wander far and wide over the hills and dales (in search of sacred waters and holy places). Comment: Tirtham: ceremonial purity, sacred bathing ghat, water used in bathing an idol, water used in washing the feet of holy men, water dispensed by priest to devotees and worshippers in the sanctum sanctorum. It is a holy site and a place of pilgrimage, usually found on the banks of rivers and bodies water. It is sacred for special reasons such as visit by a god or a guru. Tirtha could be a mountain, a pond, a stone, a tree, a forest (Vrndavana) or anything that is designated as sacred by a particular sect. Thirtha yatra is pilgrimage to holy places. To drink tirtha, to die at Tirtha, to visit a Tirtha, to live in a Tirtha, to think of Tirtha are liberating to the soul. The diety of Tirtham is called Tirtha-pada (Holy Feet). The devotees are called Tirtha-padiyas (common appellation for Vaishnavites). continued

Certain parts of the body are also Tirthas: The fingertips are sacred to the gods, the root of the thumb is sacred to Brahman, the web space between the thumb and the index finger is sacred to the manes (Pitrs), and the root of the 5^th finger is sacred to Ka (Prajapati) –Laws of Manu 2.58-60. Before any important act, a Brahmana or a king washes hands and sips water (Acamana) out of the cup of the hand in a ritual fashion. Arjuna shot his Brahmastra after Acamana. Sati gave up her body after performing Acamana. Observant Brahmanas perform Acamana before and after meals and at Sandhya (transitional and junctional times of day—dawn, noon, dusk).  Some do acamana before bodily functions such as urination.  Hands should be washed before acamana. It appears that handwashing as a good habit has been in practice in India from time immemorial. End of comment.

●The Lord appears cool for those who love him; he does not appear so for those indulged in satiation of senses.  He helps those who practice breath control. He abides in the Cinthai (thoughts) of the sage.

●The Lord is the Consciousness inside us; yet, the spiritually ignorant do not make any efforts to know him. They, burdened with karma, are not eligible for divine illumination (Panthar) and their evil runs like a flood into a ditch.

● The Immortals (Amarar) know the ancient primal Lord. Take a dip in the Ganges that descends from the Lord’s head and adore him. You will be freed of Malas, accrue good merits (punyam), and reach his heaven.

●They drop (something) in the ocean and look for it very hard in the lake. Their folly is beyond compare. They know not that steady Nandi entered their body carrying Supreme Grace and remains there.

●Mix it did, the body turned black; Mix it did, the body turned red; mix it did, the body turned white; the water removed the mixed colors. (Comment: There are three Gunas or modes of behavior, given three colors: Tamasa Guna, darkness and sluggishness, was assigned black color; Rajas, motion and passion, red color; and Sattva, virtue and goodness, white color. Water, the Grace of God, removed those impurities. End of Comment.)

◄►The Sacred Temple, 0515-0520◄►

●If a fixed Lingam is uprooted and erected in another shrine, even before the move, the kingdom will perish; he will be struck by the great disease (peru-noi) before he dies. So said the Great Nandi, the protector. Comment: Peru-No-i: literally means the great disease. It means most likely lepromatous leprosy, which is very disfiguring for the sufferer.  It also means rinderpest, a cattle disease, characterized by fever, diarrhea, and skin and mucus membrane lesions. End of comment)

●If he removes one stone from the built temple wall, it will destroy the crowned king. Though he is a Muni or a Vedic Scholar, all will come to ruin according to the ordaining of the Lord.

●The diseases abound; there will be no rains; the king dwindles in his power and ability to prosecute a war; if worship of the Lord, who kicked Yama (Kur-rum), lapses in the temples.

●If Siva (Munnavan) puja halts or is prevented, the king’s fortunes dwindle, evils abound, and burglary and theft (kannam-kalavu) increase: The sacred Kasi Nandi declares these with emphasis.

● Let true Brahmana (Paar-paan = seer) perform worship (arcci-t-tal) to the Lord (Piraan); otherwise, war will envelop the country; wicked diseases (Pollaa-viyaati) will rage in the country; famine will ravish the country: thus declared the Great Nandi with precognition.

●When the celestials appealed to our Lord (em-perumaan) with cries of “O Lord,” at the prospect of war with the mighty demon (Asura), the Supreme Being (Tar-Paran) called on six-faced god with coral-hued body to kill the Asura.

◄►Darsan of the downward-looking face, 0521-0525◄►

●On the throat of downward looking face, there is darkness; they do not know the purpose behind swallowing the poison. He with the garland of white skulls and spreading matted locks supports this vast universe and the eight directions.

●Men live on this globe, surrounded by the seas, utter lies and flattery. He knows why his throat looks blue and who made it so. If you tell the truth, he who is worshipped by the celestials will make them bow their heads to you.

●Nandi, rising high in the middle of the blazing fire, stands as Siva; He pervades and circumambulates the world; he is of the crimson color of the evening sun; He is the downward-looking face –Adhomukha.

●Adhomukha is an ancient One; Adhokukha animates everything everywhere; Sadasiva is the ancient Lord with the lotus eyes; Adhomukha is the Lord of the eons’ end or destruction of the world.

●Listen to how Adhomuka became the huge flower; Adhomukha expanded itself as a hundred (worlds); the Limitless sakti that is Adhomukha became the enduring Adhomuka.  

◄►Blasphemy against Siva, 0526-0529◄►

●They, with thoughts born of clear wisdom, seek him in love (Alivu) and reach the world of Celestials. If he (a lowlife) slights (Ekaz) Isan (Siva) as a common god of easy access (Eliyan), his position is like that of a parrot in the clutches of cat’s claw.

●Devas and Asuras wither (wasted lives) and die, if wisdom is not realized. Only they, who seek the Lord full of love and grace, comprehend the Truth. (Comment: Muli = dry. Daanavar = Asuras =descendants of Danu.  Ali = love, clemency, grace. Tali-tal = to comprehend clearly. Vili-tal: to die, perish, to be ruined. Dannvar = demons or asuras. Danu is the daughter of Daksha (progenitor) and wife of Kasyappa, the common father of both Suras and Asuras (gods and demons). As you see the gods and demons are half brothers. End of comment)

●The Asuras and Devas entertained enmity towards Lord Siva, fell into enmity against each other and met destruction. Whatever may be the enmity, even a faked one in jest, gets greater by a factor of one to ten.

●They, knowing that God is within them and thinking that they are god themselves, indulge in worldly pleasures, and lose all thoughts of Isan (Siva). (Comment: Vikirtan: God as different from the world. The Rishis know that God resides within them and therefore think they are gods themselves, different from all other beings. That is their downfall.)

◄►Abuse of Guru, 0530-0536◄►

●The lowlifes do not take care of their parents; they inflict abusive language on their relatives. The truly blessed follow the path of the learned; others are not so.

●Guru taught one-letter mantra of One Reality (oru porul: One Reality, God). He, who uttered the injurious words against an eminent scholar, takes birth as a dog, lives the life of a dog for one Yuga (Mahayuga = 4.32million years), will take birth again as a worm and die in the dirt.

●Intimidation of a virtuous wife, devotees, and Tattva Jnanis brings his wealth and life to a fatal and grievous end. I swear this as truth and mandate of Sadanandi.

●He, who has inflicted hurt feelings to an ascetic who teaches one-letter Mantra, takes birth as a dog one hundred times, and subsequently as a low-caste person and suffers a mean death.

●If devotees of Isan suffer mental anguish (distress of heart), the nation, the people and their honor will come to ruin. Thrones of Vasavan and the kings will suffer destruction: I swear this is the mandate of Nandi. (Vasavan: the chief of Vasus = Indra, the chief of gods. Remember, Indra is only a chief of gods. He is not God, who is Siva)

●Jnanam (wisdom) will not remain and there will be decay of the path of goodness, if falsehood is uttered in the presence of Guru. The right path from antiquity will disappear from memory; all other paths will decay, leading to famine. (san-marga-sat-guru: virtue-path-good-guru)

●Who will discard a great gem on hand and suffer the fate of shouldering a heavy stone? Who will abandon butter, milk and curds on hand and eat the bitter (Kaip-pu)?  Will they ever match the wisdom of the Jnani?

◄►Abuse of Mahesvara, 0537-0538◄►

 ●Andan Adiyavar lives by alms; they who show enmity to and speak disparagingly of Andan Adiyavar will fall into the lowly hell. (Andan = God or Ruler of earth and heaven. Adiyavar: the devotee who serves at the feet of the Lord or slave of God)

●Those who slander the Jnani will not come to any good; those who pay homage to the Jnani will benefit from their good deeds and expunge all evil deeds. Those, who come under his auspices, enter Siva Bhogam. (‘Not coming to good’ here means that good karma will not bear any fruits. ‘Expunge all evil deeds’ means that bad karmic deeds will be erased, nullified and not bear any bad results.  Siva Bhogam: Spiritual experience of the soul, when the individuality merges in Siva.)

◄►Exercising patience, 0539-0542◄►

●In the heart and mind of those who stood firm, there lies a wall lizard (Lacerta geco of Vairagya yoga), holding his nose and mouth. Here lies in the tortured and withered cintai (mind) the succulence of great endurance. (Comment: Wall lizard is known for its tenacious suction toe pads. It means that the Yogi is tenacious in his yogic practice. I understand that ‘holding nose and mouth’ means Kechari Yoga. It consists of carrying the tongue backwards and flipping the tip of tongue backwards behind the soft palate and finding the posterior choanae—the back opening of the nostrils—and blocking one of the posterior nasal openings [Chaonae]. Now the tip of the tongue is under the sphenoidal sinus over which is the pituitary gland. Energy is said to flow from the tip of the tongue through the sphenoidal sinus walls to the pituitary gland and then to pineal body. This energy is compared to the fire under the pot in the stove. The aim is to experience oneness with the Supreme. The practitioners say that it is difficult and recommend not cutting the frenulum of the tongue to help the tongue achieve a longer reach. This yogic practice corresponds to the sixth Ajna Chakra of kundalini Yoga. Consult Yogic practitioners for further assistance. End of comment.)

●Countless number of Devas including Mal (Vishnu) and Adhi Brahma, whose king he (Siva) is, gathered in the assembly hall, bowed at the feet of the Lord of milk-white complexion and praised him saying that he exceeds in Jnana (wisdom) and grace.

●The Lord is ripe in wisdom; he is the king amongst us; his army (of devotees) grows (in numbers) and prays to him with palms held together. He is the creator of the material body and the most ancient of celestial Beings.  Worship him and receive his grace.

●By force or by many other means, in the house and in the yard, the Lord trained you to become mellow. He performs his dance on the crematorium grounds; his dances are many and limitless.

◄►To seek the guidance of the sages, 0543-0548◄►

●He walks with those who go (run) after God; he lives in this world with those who sing his praise.  Devar-Piran (God) confers grace to those who seek him. I seek the feet of those I associate with.

●You may shake like a tender shoot when you are in distress; but you do not love the Lord with your heart. O Heart, what will you do when you are in distress? Would you go with me to the place where the Lord gives refuge?

● The Knowledgeable seek the head (Lord) of Amarar (Celestials). They who seek will receive Siva Tattva. Truth will confer eternal grace in abundance. It is such great bliss to associate with great men. 

●The holy have kinship with the Lord. He, of the matted locks, whose fame is far and wide in this world, blesses those who seek him in the silence of their hearts. They will attain to the golden feet of our father. When you reach Siva, you reached the destination of the righteous path.

●I went with the devotees of the Lord’s devotees and reached the City of Lord Siva of fire-colored body, the keeper of weapons. The gatekeepers (those who stood at the gate) announced the arrival to the Lord, who invited the devotees who appealed to the Lord in chorus for succor. Comment: The devotee is called Adiyaar, which means ‘he who serves at the feet of his Lord or master.’ Adiyaar’s adiyaar is the foot-server of the foot-server. Serving the devotee of the devotee of the Lord carries as much merit as serving God himself. End of comment.

●The Greatness of the devotee shows in the splendor of his wisdom. The great devotee will swim in the whirlpool of birth and conquer it. The deserving realized soul will remain immortal. I joined them who have abundance of grace.

End Tantra Two