(article is written by Atmanandanatha, and was located on devipuram.com)
Maha sodasi- A New view
The Srividya mantra sastra give the utmost importance to Sri Sodasi
Mahamantra – the sixteen lettered Maha mantra – ‘Rajyam deyam siro deyam na
deyam Sri SodasAkshari’ give away your empire or even your head (i.e. give up
your life itself) never reveal the Sodasakshari mantra. It is kept in most secret,
hidden from view of general or even initial level initiates. In Upanishats (both
tripura and devi) the uddara (sequential revelation) of Pancadasi ( the fifteen lettered mantra) is found viz. ‘kamo yoni kamakala…’, also Sri
Bhagavat pada sankara in saundaryalahari talks of the Pancadasi – ‘siva sakthi
kamah….’ Rahasya nama sahasra unfolds this mantra step by step –‘AtmavidyA
mahAvidA srividyA kAmasevita Sri
SodasAksharI vidyA’. Parasurama in his kalpasutra has hidden it, no direct
reference is found.
Generally Sri Bala Maha mantra is imparted along with Maha Ganapati
mantra for the entry level initiate, then he proceeds to the Pancadasi Maha
mantra – the fifteen lettered mantra. In South Indian traditions the laghu
Sodasi mantra- the sixteen lettered- is also imparted. Finally at purnabhisheka,
Maha Sodasi mantra is imparted. Certain traditions prohibit the verbal transmission
of the mantra Maha Sodasi by Sri Guru, he is directed to write in sand or paddy
or rice on plate and immediately clear it and he can verbally pronounce the
mantra on constant prayer from the disciple only once in small tone.
In tantras of Sri Kula the Gnanarnava and paramanandatantra reveal
this mantra; this mantra is mentioned in the Srividya ratna sutras, attributed
to Sri Gaudapada, the paramaguru of Bhagavat pada sankara, as of 28 letters.
The three kutas of pancadasi in the middle will have to be considered as three,
instead of fifteen, to bring the count to sixteen. Thus justifying the name Sodasi
given to this Maha mahtra.. There is hidden mention of this in sakthi mahimna
stotra of Durvasa maharishi in the first verse
‘srI mAtah tripure parAtparatare devI trilokI mahA
sawndaryArNava manthanodbhava sudhA prAcurya varNojjvalam
udyatbhAnu sahasra nUtana japApuShpaprabham te vapuh
svAnte me sphuratu trikoNanilayam jyotirmayam vAngmayam’.
{‘srI’ is lakshmi bija, ‘mA’
ia hrllekha bija; ‘ath’ means after that; ‘tripura’ is bala in a different
order; ‘I’ is pranava; ‘para’ is hrllekha; ‘ paratara is laskhmi bija; trilokI
is panacadasi; mahAsawndarya is parabija; ‘arNavamantha….jjvalam’ is vag bija;
udyatbhAnu…prabham’ is manmatha bija; te vapuh is hrllekha; svAnte means in the
end; ‘me’ can be split as mA+I where in mA is lakshmi bija nad I is the essence
of this mantra kamakala}. We can also find it coded in rajarajesvari astaka in
the lines ‘panaca praNava dvi repha janani’ (panca refers to the five sakthi
bijas, then pranava which is Omkara, then two of the aforesaid sakthi bijas
with ‘r’ {repha is agni bija} – the maya and sri bijas, then janani refers to pancadasi
maha mantra and finally the reverse of initial five bijas is inferred) All this
secrecy is lost now, we can find this mantra in all SriVidya printed texts.
Let us examine the word ‘SodashAksharI’
with ‘KaTaPaYadi’ secret code technique. ‘Sa’ denotes six, ‘Da is three, ‘sha’
is five, ‘ksha’ is zero and ‘ra’ is two. On the whole we get a count of sixteen;
the zero in the middle will signify that this mantra is parama ‘pujya’. Thus the name itself holds the
identity of the number of bijas in this mantra. The sequence also is inferred
by the numbers said above; by adding six and two the first eight bijas are realised,
next three refers the pancadasi kutas and five to the bijas at the end. (The
name of the adored deity LalitAmbika
when decoded with the above technique will be 3+3+6+ 3+1=16)
Why is there such a hue and cry for the secrecy? Any special status
for this combination of bijas is there? Initiates in this Maha mantra think
that this is an expansion of the pancadasi only.
There is a very special reason behind this importance being given to
this mantra. We shall now explore into the meaning of this chain of bijas initially
and their import on the sadhaka by this japa.
Verbal meaning
a.The traditional view
The following is found in olden texts wherein the sequence of bijas
is explained.
‘sriIm’ denotes the Parasiva sate wherein the prakasa and vimarsa
are inherent.
‘hrIm’ denotes the creative urge in the un-manifested.
‘klIm’ denotes the start of the process of creation with the maya tatva by parabrahman
‘aim’ the Parabrahman with the Ego- consciousness.
‘sauh’ The ardhanarisvara, ‘sa’ denotes the active male principle – the siva which creates and the fourteenth vowel
(au) denotes the sakti which causes this
creation and visraga(:) denotes the created universe.
‘om’ the divine couple parvati paramesavara
‘hrIm’ the divine couple vani and brahma
‘srIm’ the divine couple lakshmi and narayana
‘ka 5’ is the prayer to remove the ignorance
‘ha 6’ is the emergence of the identity with Brahman
‘sa 4’ is the attainment of the undivided consciousness after
removal of all stains
(See pancadasakahsri article for a more detailed explanation)
‘sauh aim’ the universe in the form of fire, Sun and moon
‘klIm hrIm’ the five elements which make up this universe ( k-
water, l – earth, h- space and r the fire, air is inferred)
‘srIm’ the bija denotes the individual who enjoys this universe, he
prays to the Universal consciousness as above and realises that he is not
different from the Brahman.
b. A new view
The new view was revealed by Brahmasri G Venkata Narasaiah of Guhanada
Mandali. The meditation of the mantra will
follow the path of kamakala of which is creation, sustenance, prayer of the
aspirant and final dissolution into the Parabrahman. Following is whatsoever
was grasped by the mind due to the grace of Sri Guru.
‘srIm’ the first bija will represent the Parabrahman after a cycle
of creation, sustenance and dissolution, so this is after dissolution of time .which
can be likened to a wave less sea.
‘hrIm’ now the spanda-movement for creation starts, this is the
primordial urge to create, which can be
called the iccha sakti.
‘klIm’ this will represent creation of thirty five tatvas from
sakthi symbolized by ‘k’ to prthvi symbolized by ‘l’ by the Kamakala ‘I’. This
is subtle creation, the gynana sakti
‘aim’ – this will be the first gross element space, which is
characterized by sound – the vowel ‘aim’ is the creative force. This is kriya
sakti.
‘Sauh’- this tells us the reason for this creation. This bija is
called the hrdaya –heart bija of Sri Devi, which is full of compassion without
expectations (avyaja karuNa) and Leela of devi to create a stage as before
(yatha pUravamakalpayan) for the jivas in the previous cycle of creation to
enjoy their merit and de-merit (papa / puNya) and finally try to get salvation
from this cycle of birth and re-birth.
‘Om’ will symbolize the Parvati
paramesvara couple. Since they were the last to dissolve into the parabrahman
during dissolution, they will emerge first during creation.
‘hrIm’ will symbolize the Vani Brahma couple, the creator.
‘srIm’ will symbolize the Lakshmi- Vishnu couple, the controller of
the world drama. This also signifies the heart knot (hrdaya granthi) which is
the cause for the individual to be tied to this body consciousness.
This individual who is in the ocean of samsara, on search of eternal
bliss will surrender to the guru who takes him step by step to the final
destination of universal bliss. This path of srividya is shown by the Sri Guru.
The first kuta is a prayer by the aspirant ‘ka-5’ – Oh! Parabrahma svarupini~
please remove the veil of duality; ‘ha-6’ please grant the knowledge that the
whole world is Siva sakti svarupa; ‘sa-4’ please let me remain in this state
always and remove this state of knowing to permanent bliss. (Please see article
on panacadasi mantra meaning)
‘sauh’ will signify the grace of Sri Guru as said above
‘aim’ denotes the four Maha vakyas instructed by him ( see nivasatu
hrdi Bala article)
‘klIm’ As seen before this will denote the tatvas, here the tatvasodhana
in the navavarana puja as instructed by the Sri Guru.
‘hrIm’ will signify the first spanda as said already, here this will
be the experience of this spanda by the aspirant on continuous tatva sodhana in
the pujas.
‘srIm’ is the parabrahman as indicated above , here is the merging
of the aspirant into the parabrahma and continuous experience of universal
bliss.
Meditative technique
The meditative technique was revealed by Sri Amritanadanatha (Sri
Prahlada sastriji) of Devipuram Andhra Pradesh, which follows the above meaning.
Although revealed by two different Gurus, the similarities in both are
astounding, thus we find that all gurus are reflection of the Initial preceptor
(Adinatha). Following is whatsoever was grasped by the mind due to the grace of
Sri Guru.
‘srIm’- Meditate on the a immoveable golden hue engulfing the whole
world.
‘hrIm’- Meditate on a small motion like liquefaction in this golden
hue and its movement.
‘klIm’- the molten gold will now condense into a red ball in the
sodasantha( six inch above the head orifice – the crown)
‘aim’- this red ball will now transform into a pure white light and will
start to descend on to the top of the head.
‘sauh’- this white light takes the form of Sri Guru at the
dvadasanta (two spaces above the crown), this is the place of the Sri
Gurupaduka
‘Om’ – The guru now pierces the
orifice on the crown and descends into the body of the disciple
‘hrIm’- The Guru now will reach the mid-eyebrow centre (agyna cakra)
and activate it. This will signify the thought process and deep inner meditation
by the disciple on the grace of Sri Guru
‘srIm’- The Guru will reach the heart centre (anahata cakra) and
will untie a knot there. This knot can
be visualized as akin to the shoe lace knot which is opened by pulling at the
ends. The removal of illusion (beda buddhi) by the Supreme grace is indicated
here.
‘ka-5’ Thus when knot is untied, visualize a cover which was over
the body being dropped from the head, so the Face is uncovered now, which is
the face of Sri Lalitha devi (Ref: parasurama sutra: sairIrakancuko siva eva
jivah; and Lalitha sahasranama ‘ srimatvagbhavakutaika………….katyadhobhagadhriNi)
‘ha-6’ The cover further drops down from neck to navel visualize the
body being transformed into that of Sri Lalitha devi, the four hand holding the
noose, goad, sugarcane bow and five flowers as arrows.
‘sa-4’- Further the cover drops to below the feet, that part also
gets transformed into that of Sri Lalitha Devi
‘sauh’- Now the inner Guru who has graced this transformation will
merge with this body of the deity Sri Lalitha devi and will pick up the cover
which has fallen down, this will signify the Individual ego –the cause of this
cover.
‘aim’- visualize this cover being transferred on to a white light,
while being hurled out.
‘klIm’- Let this white light hit the sodasanta and get transformed
into a red hue
‘hrIm’ – Let this red hue
disperse into the world after being transformed into a molted golden hue
‘srIm’- Let this golden hue engulf the whole world including this
body of SriLalitha/Sri Guru ( which was previously the individual) and remain
so for ever.
This is a very powerful meditation technique, so please try this
very slowly. Only once per day visualization at the initial level is
recommended.
Pa~nca devata and MahaSodasi
The Parasurama kapla sutra is a primary text on the srividya path
which prescribes individual attendance to five deities at allotted time in a
day. They are ganapaty, sundari in the pre-noon, syamala in the after noon,
varahi in the night, para in the pre dawn (brahma muhUrtha). In order to get the
full benevolent grace of the central Maha Vidya Sundari, the devotion to the
others is a pre-requisite. Sundari is
represented by the 15 lettered Pancadasi Maha mantra, Ganapaty mantra has 28
letters, Matangi has 98, Varahi has 112 and para is a single syllable.
On deep mediation Maha Sodasi was found to be a convergence of the
other four deities with Sundari. The first three bijas will represent the
ganapati mantra, which also starts with these bijas in it. Next ‘Aim’ will
refer to varahi mantra which starts with the same bija. ‘Sauh’ will refer to
para. Next ‘Om hrIm srIm ka15’ is the sushupti
srividya, the jagrat being ‘om ka15’ the svapna being ‘om hrIm ka15’. Thus this
will include the other two vidyas also. Next ’sauh aim klim’ is again the Moksha
dayaini Bala vidya, who is the child form of Sri lalitha. In the end is ‘klIm
hrIm srIm’ which are found in the middle of the RajaMatangi vidya. Thus we find
that Mahasodasi is the convergence of all deities instructed by Sri Parasurama.
In certain lineages there is a special dhyana sloka for this Sodasi Maha
mantra which explicitly beckon the deity as ‘Sodasi’
‘cApa~ncekshumayam parsUna
visikhAn pAsA~nkusau pustakam
maNikyakshasrajavaram
maNimayIm vINAm sarojadvaye
pANibhuAm abhatyam varam
ca dadhatIm brahmAdisevyAm parAm
sindUrAruNa vigrahAm
bhagavatIm tAm sodasIm Asraye’
The free translation will run as: ‘Let us take refuge in the Queen
Sodasi, her red splendor form, attended by Brahma and other gods, holding the
sugarcane bow, flowery arrows, noose, goad, book, rosary of red ruby gems, the veena,
gestures of dispelling fear and granting boons in her lotus like hands.’
The above meditation verse also
gives us a clue to the unification of the panca devatas said in Parasurama
kalpa.
The first four- sugarcane bow, flowery arrows, noose and goad will
refer to Sundari srIvidya. The red hue is that of ganapaty whose mediation
verse refers ‘soNA~ngam.’ The book
and rosary will refer to Balambika –dhyana sloka refers ‘japavaTIkA pustaka’; transforming the rosary to the gyana mudra,
since both point to the knowledge in action, we can find para bhattarika per
her dhyana ‘mudra pusta’. The vina is
found in the hands of Matangisvari as ‘sadvINAm’.
The gestures of dispelling fear and granting boons is found in Varahi dhyana as
‘abhItim’ and ‘varAn’. Thus the ten hand form of Sri Sodasi described above will
be a unified power of the panca devata as said in parasurama kalpa.
Dasamahavidya in MahaSodasi
On deeper meditation, for a simple question- what is the difference
between Sodasi or Sundari, the third of Dasamahavidyas and this Maha Sodasi, it
was revealed that these sequence of bijas are also representative of the Dasa
mahavidyas itself. Thus being the complete unison of powers of the
DasaMahavidyas, this Maha Sodasi is indeed very powerful in granting all
wishes, while taking the aspirant to experience the highest Brahman.
Let us see an individual correspondence of the bijas
‘Srim hrIm kLIm’ – the fisrt three bijas are found in the beginning
of Mahaganapati mantra and hence a benevolent and obstacle removing power of
this mantra is unfolded
‘Srim hrIm kLIm aim’ – these bijas are the beginning of the Parcanda
candika, the chinnamasta mantra, which is the sixth Maha vidya which runs as ‘srim
hrim klim ai vajravairocanIye hUm hUm phaT svaha’
‘sauh’ will relate to highest and pre-creative power expressed as
DhUmavati, the seventh Mahavidya
‘Om” called as taraka mantra or pranava will relate to tarA , the second Maha vidya ‘hrIm’ will
relate to the maya or bhuvanesi bija, thus the fourth Mahavidya Bhuvanesi
‘srim ka 15’ will relate to
the third Maha vidya the Sodasi or Sundari, the positioning of the sodasi bija at the beginning is there
in certain sampradaya. Also we can look at the three kutas, shorter version of
this is in the form of Bala Maha mantra, which is the seed for the
tripurabhairavi the fifth Maha vidya
‘sauh’ , the second para bija
will relate to the mighty Para Bhattarika, the supreme goddess of Universal
consciousness.
‘aim’ – the vowel will relate to Matangi, the ninth Mahavidya, who
represents the sound force
‘klIm’ – Tantric dictionaries say ‘ra’ / ‘la’ is interchangeable. So
substituting ‘ra; in the kama bija will see
the emergence of dakshina kalika, the Adya – the first of All Maha vidya
‘hrIm’- Taking the ‘la’ from the above bija we can see the emergence
of bagalamukhi, the eighth Mahavidya with her bija ‘hlrIm’
‘srIm’ – this will relate to the last (tenth)of Maha vidyas the
kamalatmika.
In certain traditions the above mantra is called Sodasi and another
mantra is imparted which is called Mahasodasi. This mantra can be found in Trailokhyamohana
kavaca as revered (revealed) by Maha deva as ‘klIm hrIm srIm Aim klIm sauh ka 15 strIm aim krom krIm Im hUm.’ This
mantra also has a correspondence with the dasa mahavidyas.
‘klIm’- ‘k’ represents Brahman, which is also represented by ‘h’. So
substituting this we will find this to be Bagalamukhi the eighth Mahavidya as
‘hlIm’. The ‘r’ deficient bija of Bagala is also accepted by tantras.
hrIm ’- the Maya bija will represent Bhuvanesi, the fourth Maha vidya
‘Aim klIm sauh’ will correspond to the fifth tripura bhairavi
Mahavidya since her seed lies in the Bala mantra, which is seen here.
‘ka-15’ will correspond to the Sundari the third Mahavidya and also
the sodasi by adding the thrid bija
‘srim’.
‘strIm’ is the special bija of Tara
the second Mahavidya
‘Aim’ will represent the matangi the ninth Mahavidya
‘krom’ will symbolize ‘krodha bhairava’ the consort of the sixth
Maha vidya , chinnamasta.
‘krIm’ directly refers to the AdyA dakshiNa kalika
‘Im’ – this is the last maha Vidya Kamakatmika, sri suktam unfolds
her as ‘tAm padminIm Im saraNamaham
prapadye’
‘hUm’ is the seventh Mahavidya, Dhumavati her seed sound ‘U’ is
there.
There is a special meditative verse for this mantra, wherein the
deity is explicitly called MahaSodasi. The eight armed form will hold the
weapons of Sundari and DakshiNa kali. Since the ten vidyas will come under
either kali Kula or Sri Kula, these deities are mediated as the union of the
dasaMahavidya in Maha Sodasi
‘candrArkAnala koTi
nIradarucam pAsA~nkusAmAsugAn
muNdam khadgamabhayamIkshvarIvaram
hastAmbujairaShTabhih
kAmesAna sivoparisthitasadAm
trayakshAm vahantIm parAm
sri cintAmaNi mantra bIja
vapuShIm dhyAye mahA SodasIm
A translation would runs thus: ‘Let us meditate on Maha Sodasi, the
physical form of Sri Cintamani mantra, the highest Consciousness, with three
eyes, seated top on Siva Kamesvara in eternal union, holding in her eight hand,
the noose, goad, arrows, sugarcane bow, severed head, sword, gestures of dispelling
fear and granting boons, Of the color of Fire- red, with the brilliance of
crores of sun, but soothing as crores of moon light, along with a shade of black,
like the rain bearing clouds’.
The Red color, brilliance, the noose, goad, arrows, sugarcane bow
and Kamesvara will point to sundari .The tinge of black like rain bearing
cloud, severed head, sword, gestures of dispelling fear and granting boons and
Siva (mahakala) will relate to the dakshina kalika. So this meditative verse
points to the unification of all deities of the Dasa Mahavidya under Sri and
kali kula in Maha Sodasi.
Thus we find
that Mahasodasi mantra is powerhouse of the Dasamahavidya and the panca devatas
of Parasurama kalpasutra, hence greatness
is attributed to this mantra. This Maha mantra guarantees liberation (Moksha)
in this birth itself. Hence it is the duty & responsibility
of Guru to ensure that such a great secret mantra, Maha Shodasi, should be
given only to that disciple who is highly evolved, possessing
a very high level of Chittha
Shuddhi (which is possessing a mind free from any egoistic stain) and
wholly involved in deep, serious Devi Upasana already with Ganapathy
& Bala, Matangi, Varahi and Sundari (Pancadasi). It should not even be
exposed to “Pasu" category of upasakas & should be kept as a
"Rahasya" away from them. Only after ascertaining that the sishya has
progressed well with in sadhana, the Guhya
Artham to merge with Devi (Moksha) through Shodasi is revealed. Moksha
as per Sri Vidya is "Jeevan Mukti"- liberation while living, as
detailed in Yoga Vasishtam, Ashtavakra Gita etc.
