bhaskaracharya-srividya ( by harshanand_16 )

KAMAKALAVILASA is written by the great PUNYANANDA YATI, a great

siddha and not bhaskararaaya(who belonged to kaadi tradition....and

k.vilasa expounds haadi)!!!!!

 

Namastripurasundaryai!

Namo kaameshwarraaya!

 

Parabrahman is of the form of formless, atributeless, unending

eternal Aananda or bliss.Due to maaya which originates from Brahman

itself, it acquirs 'I'ness and duality.Then Jiavtava

predominates.Jiva thinks that his true self as the physical body and

senses...seperate from the cosmos and the Brahman.

 

This ignorance of duality is in the form of various aavaraans or

breaks. As you go beyond each one of these and reach bindu, in the

path of sadhana, mother reveals as true and pure consciousness ,or

indeed as Paramatman.

 

This is the basic aim and also the principle of Srividya and

srichakra pooja. Srichakra the greatest of all the known mystic

symbols is a complete representation of microcosm and macrocosm.

It's representation would require expalnation running to hundreds of

pages.I drop this discussion for now!

 

To worship the divine in srichakra(actually in the body which is

actually the best sriyantra), the mantra required is srividya.Vidya

refers to mantras of female deities and mantra to those of male

deities.However this is the only one referred to as both vidya and

mantra since it refers to parabrahman alone and no lesser aspects.

Though navarna and other mantras are found in atharvana veda ,,,,onl

this mantra finds sanction of vedas...(in the first three

vedas...accepted by all). Bhaskararaya, has elaborated the

significance and meaning of this vidya ,as eing the third secretive

most version of Gayathri in his classic work varivasyarahasya.There

ar numerous works by celebrated authors who have expalined this like

kamakala vilasa etc.

 

This is the only vidya credited to be accepted by the vedas and of

conferring both bhoga and moksha. This is to be obtained by a person

in his last birth as a frit of all his past sadhana and virtues.The

siddhi of thsi mantra is complete identification with brahman and

becoming oine with Lalitha. Tantra shastra initiates pupils according

to their capabilities,tastes and samskaaras, succesively into

saura,vaishnava,gaanapathya,shaiva and shaaktha tantras.Srividya is

credited to be the aggregate of the ten mahavidyas, by the most

ancient and popular tantra,Rudrayamala, dating back to vedic

times.Srividya si noteasily obtainable. India is of the form of

srichakra with the southern part forming the trikona and the bindu

in Kanchi kamakoti peetham.

 

 

 

Srividya may be classified into three types.

 

1. kaadi....kali krama

2. haadi...sundari krama

3. saadi....tara krama

 

Though panchadashi mahamantra is the summation of all the three. The

important gurus of this tradition are:

Sadashiva kaameshwara

Siva

narayana

brahma

manu

chandra

indra

nandi

ganapathy

durvasa

agasthya

lopamudra

kubera

manu etc

 

The great yuga gurus are Dakshinamurthy,

Dattatreya,Hayagriva,Paramananda Bhairava and Adi Shankaracharya!

Before one can receive Srividya one has to achieve the mantras of the

six quarters or dimensions of srividya.The mantras ....being prelims

to srividya are :

 

PORVAAMNAYA.....EASTERN QUARTER

--------------

SUDDHA VIDYA, baala, dvaadashaardhaa, mathangi, gayathri, ganapathi

vidyas( kshipra-ugra-natya-ucchistha-lakshmi-trailokyamohana-haridra-

shakthi-varada-vijaya-navaneetha-arka-mahaganapathi's),

subrahmanya,mrityunjaya,neelakantha,tryambaka,jaatavedagni and

pratyangira.

 

-----------------

THE SOUTHERN QUARTER

---------------

 

Saubhagya vidya, bagalaamukhi, maha vaaraahi, vatuka bhairava,

tiraskarini,maha

maya,aghora,sarabheshawara,khadgaravana,veerabhadra, rudra,

shaasthaa, brahmaastra, vayavyastra, bhairava(anga-aghora-bheema-

vijaya-rakta-kaala-samhara-swarnaakarshana

bhairava's),Dakshinamurthy(medha-prajnaa-lakshmi-keerthi-samhara-

saamba-veera dakshinamurthy mantras).

 

 

-----------------

WESTERN QUARTER

-----------------

 

Lopamudra,bhuvaneshwari, annapoornaa,

kamakala,sudarshana,garuda,kartaveeryarjuna,narasimha,rama, seetha,

krishna, gopala(raja-anna-santana-vidya gopalas),dhanvanthari,

 

indrajaali,mahamaya,indra,vayu,yama,chitragupta,kubera,agni,varuna,ind

rakshi,dattatreya, narayana ashtakshari and vasudeva dvadashi.

 

-----------------

NORTHERN QUARTER

-----------------

 

Tureeyamba, mahaardhaa, ashwaroodha,

mishramba,mahalakshmi,vagvadini,Durga(

moola-shoolini-jwaaja-lavana-shanthi-aasuri-shabari-bhraamari-vana-

ati durgaa mantras), dkashinaa kaali, maha kali, guhya kali, taara,

navarna chandi, nakuli, pulindini, renuka, matrika, and swayamvaraaa

kala.

 

-----------------

THE QUARTER ABOVE...OORDHVA

-----------------

 

Paraa shodashi, laghu shodashi,para bhattarikaa, para shambhavam,

para shambhavi, praasaada, dahara,hamsa,maha brhama vakya's, shiva-

shakthi-kaula panchakshari's,taraka mantra.

 

----------------

THE QUARTER EYOND--ANUTTARA

----------------

 

Maha panchadashi brahmavidya

Mahaa shodasi shatkoota rajarajeshwari vidya

 

 

Varivasya Rahasya is a great explanatory treatise on shakta agamas.

According to scriptures, Parabrahman can be worshipped both

internally and externally. In the external mode, Chakra and Bimba etc

are used. All the services are done to these in a symbolic way. In

internal way mother is thought of as in three forms : Sthoola

(gross)...sookshma(subtle).....para(escoteric). Gross form has the

form of physicality..and is viewable by adepts in mantra. Subtle form

is made of Matrikas or letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. para is a

form of pure energy-consciousness.

 

 

SriDevi appers to sadhakas of highest calibre as the

turiyaa....beyond the three as the undifferenciated...bliss-

personified Brahman.The aim of all scriptures is the attainment of

this state. All the vedas and vedangas were brought out by Ishwara

at the beginning of the present cycle of creation. Since vedas are

oceanic, Vedasara is Gayathri. Gayathri has two forms: ordianry and

escoteric.

 

The ordinary form is the well-known 24 lettered, tripaada gayathri.

Only highly qualified sadhakas are granted the 8 lettered turiya pada

of gayathri.

 

Srividya is the second form of Gayathri which is escoteric.It is an

incomparable way to nirvana and has to be obtained from Guru

parampara. Each letter of Srividya has it's own class of meaningas

and presiding deities, meter, color, etc. It is very necessary to

chant a mantra with the complete knowledge of it's meaning.

 

Varivasya Rahasya is a work that deals with the various meanings of

the vidya. It proves with lucidity, the oneness of this vidya with

all the upanishads and mahavakyas. It has two amshas or parts and has

107 verses.It is composed by the great siddha Bhaskararaya Makhin,

with a commentary too called prakasha. (However in Kanchipuram i

happened to come across a manuscript of this work, written in telugu,

with some additional verses and another commentary on prakasha by

some unknown author. This has 234 verses and I hear it is at present

in Saraswathi Mahal library. Any one interested to read it can

obtain a copy of my hand written copy.)

 

Though the present work explains 8 various meanings of the vidya, a

pious Namboodari from kerala has written a wonderful work which

expalins the vidya in 108 ways.The great yogi of sringeri sharada

peetham, Sri Sri Sachidananda Shivaabhinava Narasimha Bharathi

Mahasannidhanam read this in detail and has sanctioned authenticity

to it.

 

Namo namaste kamakoti!

 

Bhaskaracharya lived in 15 century A.D.He was born in Vishwamitra

Gothra as the son of Gambheear raya and konamamba in a city called

Bhaaga. He learnt 18 vidyas under narasimha adhwari. He inherited

sharada upasana from his father in early childhood. He also learnt

Gaudatarka from Gangadhara Bajapeyi. He resurrected the prominanace

of Atharvaan Veda and re-popularized Devi Bhagavatham and Adhbhuta

Kaandam of Ramayana. He defeated many followers of Vallabha and

Madhwa pandits in debates and conducted somayaga in benares. He was

inintiated into poornabhisheka by shivadatta shukla. He settled in

Bhaskararajapuram, named after him by King of Tanjore. He attained

mukti in Madhyarjuna. He has composed great works in vedanta-mimamsa-

grammar-Bhasya-nyaya-kavya-smriti-stotra-veda and mantrashastra. His

important works in Mantra shastra are :

1. khadyota-commentary to Ganapathi sahasra nama...

2. Chandarlaambaa mahatmya teeka....

3. Naathanavaratnamaalaamanjooshaa....

4. Bhavanopanishad

 

5. Bhasya.....shree sookta

6. bhasya.....kaulopanishad

7. bhasya....tripuropanishad

8. bhasya.....Saubhagyachandrodaya (commentary to saubhagya

bahskara)

9. Tripurasundari Bahya varivasya (srichakra pooja manual)....

10. Ratnaaloka(commentary on Parashurama kalpa sutra)

11. Guptavathi(commentary on Durga sapthashathi)

12. Shatashlokee(essence of Chandi)

13. Malaamantroddhaar (collection of 15 Khadgamalas of

RajaRajeshwari).

14. Saubhagya Bhaskara(commentary on Lalitaasahasranamam)

15. .VarivasyaRahsyam and Setubandham( commentary on

nithyashodashikarnavam a part of vamakeshwara tantra) are examples of

his superhuman literary skills wher in he quotes from all known

scriptures and are called Prasthana trayam of Srividya.

 

Namastripurasundaryai!

 

 

devi_bhakta

 

Thanks for the information on Bhaskararaya, the great exponent of

Srividya -- for members unfamiliar with that system/sect, it is one

of the more sophisticated and developed philosophies of Goddess

worship.

 

Bhaskararaya (c. 1675-1750) wrote the most prominent commentary on

the "Devi Mahatmyam," Shaktism (Goddess Worship)'s answer to the

Bhagavad Gita -- essentially its 'Bible' . He also wrote the greatest

commentary on the "Sri Lalita Sahasaranama," another major scripture

of Goddess worship.

 

Our respected member, harshanand, is extremely knowledgeable on the

details of his work.

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe