Sri MahaVarahi Mediation

(written by Atmanandanatha, and was located on devipuram.com) 

Sri MahaVarahi Mediation

O Loveable guru! Guide us in darkness, lead us to light

Sri Maha Varahi Devi, the boar faced sakthi, emerged out of the five flowery arrows of Sri Lalitha. She was made the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. There was a special charka (chariot) for her to ride- the kiri charka. The chariot was pulled by 1000 boars, and the charioteer was stambhini Devi. Her chariot had all the devatas of the devaloka, especially Sri Dhanvanatri- the God of physician and the Asvini duo – the physician of God’s (it is beautiful to note the strategy and compassion that medical care along with warfare was there). She also had different mounts for riding- The buffalo, the lion called simhaghosha, the black antelope with white chest. She was praised with 12 names on her march to war, which is found in the ritual manuals. During the war when Visukra engaged in magical warfare by throwing a vighna yantra, she along with Mantrini were not affected and prayed to Sri Lalitha to remove this obstacle. Again on the third day of battle, when the tarshAstra (weapon causing thirst) was discharged by vishanga, she commanded the Liquor sea (sudha sindu) in the form of a man, who was in her enclosure, to quench this thirst. On the successful completion, granted him a boon of usage in sacrifices. Finally she engaged with Vishanga (The enemy commander-in-chief) and pulled him with her plough and killed him with her pestle. Her kiri chakra was always moving in step with Sri Chakra and geya chakra (of Sri Syamala).

Pathoruha pItagatAm pathotaramecakAm kuTiladamsTrAM kapillAkshI

trinayanAm ghanakuca kumbhAm pranata vAnchitavadanyAm

daksordhvatorarikatkaw muslamabhItim tantanyatavat

shamka khetahalavaran karair dhadahnAm smaraMI VARTaLim

Her mantra has 112 syllables and is mediated in the Agnya chakra, along with her anga uapanga, pratyanga devatas and the Varahi gurupaduaka during the morning rasmi mala mantra recitation. We shall try to meditate on her while doing her dhyana.

Pathoruha pItagatAm: Seated on a lotus. Meditate on a very thin stream of light from the muladhara touching the Agnya Chakra while repeating ‘Aim’ and a lotus blooming in the Agnya chakra while repeating ‘glaum’

pathotaramecakAm:  Of the colour of rain bearing clouds- grey or black. Meditate on the form of the Devi seated on the lotus while repeating – ‘Aim namo bhagavati’. Here we can think of the devi wearing golden ornaments, since bhagavati means one who is with bhaga – i.e. aisvarya (richness) which is denoted a with golden ornaments.

kuTiladamsTrAM:  Having curved tusks (teeth). Meditate on the curved tusks (teeth) while repeating ‘vArtAli vArtAli’. Since teeth are required for vArta- speech.

kaplilAkshI trinayanAm: Having three red eyes. Since the eyes are meditated as sun moon and fire ( sOmasUryAgni locana) a big size is indicated here. Meditate while repeating ‘vArAhi vArAhi varAhamuki varAhamukhi’- since the varaha avatar – third avatar of Sri Vishnu lifted the world from the seas, a huge form is required for this. Hence a huge form with a boar face is meditated here.

daksordvadorarikatkaw muslamabhItim tantanyatavat shamka khetahalavaran karair dhadahnAm:  From the upper right hand meditate on the discus, sword, Pestle and gesture of removing fear. Similarly from the left upper hand the conch, shield, plough and the gesture of granting boons.

 While meditating on the uppermost right hand with the discus repeat ‘andhe andhini namah’- since anadhana means blindness, a great light by the discus- the chakra- causes temporary blindness, so one can turn this sense organ inside. On uppermost left hand with the conch repeat ‘rundhe rundhini namah’- rundhana is to cut, a great sound while blowing the conch will cut our mind thoughts, so we cannot be disturbed by the outside world. In the next pair of hands meditate on the sword and shield, repeat ‘jambhe jambhini namah’- since the sword cuts (our ego) and the shield protects us from any onslaught.

In the next pair of hands meditate on the pestle and plough, repeat ‘mohe mohini namah’- This body is likened to a field, (Gita says ‘idam sarIram kaunteya kshetram ityabidhIyate’) and our past karmas are like seeds. Hence sowing and reaping like a corn the karmas are multiplied. For this a good body is required and plough represent the act of sowing and reaping the past (prarabhda) karmas. The husk in the seed is the ‘kartrutva buddhi’ – sense of the ego, that ‘I’ do the acts. Removal of the husk by the pestle, which is offering them to our upasya devata, the seed does not germinate (agamika karmas). In the next pair of hands meditate on the gestures of dispelling fears and granting boons, repeat ‘stambhe stambhini namah’- sthambhana is fixing in one spot. Resting the mind on the one Brahman is the dispelling of fear (dvitIyat vai bhayam bahvati) which is the greatest boon. These are the subtle five arrows of Sri Lalitha from which Varahi Devi has come forth.

ghanakuca kumbhAm pranata vAnchitavadaanyAm- Having pot like breasts and giving all boons to her devotees. The breasts are likened to the seen world (see kamakala dhyanam). Varahi is said to have ‘nigrahAnugraha kshamah’ by Sri Parasurama- Having great skill and destroying enemies. Meditate on this while repeating ‘sarva dusta….Thah Thah’.  pradusTa are enemies who have a mask, behave like friends. Immobilising the speech, mind, eyes, mouth, movement and tongue is indicative of withdrawal from the world and immersing in the self. The four ‘Thah’ Tha is prakruti tattva and ah is visarga the world which issued form the prakruti, this is indicative of the four states of the individual the waking, sleeping, deep sleep and ever consciousness. Devi Varahi will slowly take us from the first state to the fourth state, which is the best of boons.

smaraMI VARTaLim-  Thus I remember (meditate) on Sri Varahi. Uninterrupted awareness is Devi Varahi personified so this is mediated while repeating ‘hum’ removal of   other thoughts and ‘astrAya phaT’ is the arrow which goes straight to the mark, which is the atma saksatkara.

The twelve names are:

i.              pancami: The fifth devi, she is the fifth of the eight matruka devis, also she is the power behind sadasiva the fifth karanesvara as his anugraha sakthi

ii.             daNdanAtha: Commander in chief of the armed forces of Sri Lalita

iii.            sanketa: secret coded, being in the army has secret codes

iv.            samayesvari- Lord of the path where there are rules and restrictions, samaya is the path of ullasa from Arambha to the fourth state prauda, wherein the aspirant has to follow rules and regulations.

v.             Samayasanketa- secret code in the Pooja path, since Pooja is the sadhana and battle personified we have to understand the meaning and the philosophy behind every act in the Pooja, she confers on us this understanding.

vi.            varAhi- the divine power behind the varaha avatar of Sri Vishnu , who lifted the world from the sea, hence a huge form is indicated here

vii.           potriNi: boar faced. Since boar has an ability to float and swim in waters, she has the ability to keep her devotees afloat and steer them in the world.

viii.          sivA: Ever auspicious . Since devi is ever pure awareness she is ever auspicious

ix.            vArtAli: Lord of speech. As seen above the varaha avatar used the tusks to lift the world, having big tusks are indicated here. Philosophically they indicate the Vedas which are the sure means for being lifted up.

x.             mahAsena: Having great army. The body with flesh, bones, blood are her armies, so maintaining this body in good condition which is the boon of this devi is indicated here.

xi.            Agnya cakersvari: Lord of the agyna cakra (mid eyebrow). All individual effort will be up the sadhaka to raise the kundalini up to agnya cakra , here the agnya – the order of the devi is required to move further to the sahsarara, which is the grace of the divine mother through the Sri Guru.

xii.           arighni:  ari is the enemy and ghna is to kill , so this is the remover of the enemies. Ari also means the cakra, which is indicative of time (kala cakra) ghna is to kill. So she is above time (kala) the next tatva is niyati ( rule) so she is upholder of rules (see nama iv)

a. Laghu Varahi Meditation

O Lord Dattratreya , kula guru, shower your blessings in this venture

 “MahArNave         nipatitAmuddharantIm         vasundharAm

MahAdamshtrAm mahAkAyAm namAmyunmatta bhairavIm”

The above is the meditation verse (dhyana sloka) of Sri Laghu Varahi Devi, who is the anga devata, primary attendant, of Sri Maha Varahi. Laghu means easy, so this Devi is easy to approach and confers boons with a little effort form us. She takes part in the war of Sri Devi Lalitha with Bhandasura and slays malada, on the first day.

Her mantra in Nityotsava (as per my guru parampara) is “Lm vArAhi LLm unmatta bhairavi padukabhyo namamh”.

(Note: Parasurama Kaplasutra says ‘harah sabindur vApUrvarAhi  sthANuh sa bindurunmattapadam’ – Ramesvara suri decodes both hara and sthanu as the tenth vowel, since decoding is by taking the equivalent in the srikhandai nyasa we find ‘LLm’ the divine couple for hara and kundodari and ‘Lm’ is for sthanu and dIrghajihvA. Hence the above mantra decoded thus in the parampara)

This is an attempt to find the mantra in the dhyana sloka.

MahArNave nipatitAmuddharantIm vasundharAm: She is meditated as one who the uplifted earth when it fell into deluge of water. This is the anecdote of the third avatar of Vishnu; the boar (Varahamurti) lifted the earth on his curved tusks. The female aspect of this form is “vArAhi”, found in the mantra.

MahAdamshtrAm: She is meditated of having big tusks (teeth). Ekaakshara kosa a tantric dictionary identifies ‘Lm” with source of devas (L kara devayoni syAt). Reversing deva we get Vedas, replacing this, the above gets modified as ‘source of Vedas’. Vedas are ’big’- both in size and philosophical content, and teeth are essential for their recital with exact pronunciation. Equating these it follows that the big tusks (teeth) are the source of the Vedas which is “Lm” found in the mantra

mahAkAyAm :She is meditated of having a huge form. Referring to the first Para, we can conclude a huge form is necessary to lift the earth. Again Ekaakshara kosa refers “LLm” as the mata. (LL Karo mAtA sadbiruchyate). One of the meanings of mAtA is immeasurable and hence a huge form is indicated which is found in the dhyana.

namAmyunmatta bhairavIm:  I salute the unmatta bhairavi. Pairing the eight matrka devi’s with the eight bahirava’s we find that the partner of Varahi, the fifth matrka devi, is unmatta bhairava. She being his sakthi is called “unmatta bhairavi” found in the mantra. NamAmi means ‘I Salute’. Traditionally salutation is by falling at the feet, Hence “PAdukAbyo Namah” is found in the mantra.

The philosophy of the above: Uplifting the earth from the deluge of water implies development of the individual consciousness to the universal bliss from the midst of    worldly life- the deluge of water. Big tusks and huge form indicate the path for developing the consciousness which are the Vedic path (Sri Vidya) and meditation of her universal form respectively. ‘Padukabhyo’ refers to sandals of the Guru which are both the means (guide) and end (experience of the bliss). Mala represent the three impurities – ANanvA. MAayIkA and kArmikA; Da means to give. The asura Malada represents the individual ego caused by the three impurities- ananva, mayika and karmika. Devi Laghu Varahi represents the Divine mother in the form of Guru, who develops the individual to experience the universal bliss by leading him on the path laid in the Vedas (Sri Vidya).

Mediatation guide: While repeating”Lm” imagine the big curved tusk, “Varahi” imagine the lifting of the earth from waters, “LLm” imagine the big lustrous form of the devi, “unmatta bhairavi” imagine her being seated on the left lap of her bhairava – unmatta with gestures of dispelling fears and bestowing boons (abhaya and varada), “PadukAbhyo namah”, imagine the couple being transformed into guru dampati and that the aspirant falls at their feet, resting his head on them.

O Guru please accept these thoughts- flowers as an offering at your feet

b. Svapna Varahi Meditation

O Lord Datta, shower your blessings on us!!

‘Svapne shubhAshubham bhavi shAsantIm bhaktha karyayoh

Dussvapna nAshinIm vande varahIm svapna nAyikAm’

The above is the meditation verse (dhyana sloka) of Sri Svapna Varahi Devi, who is the pratyanga devata, secondary attendant, of Sri Maha Varahi. Svapna means dreams. Jagrat – the waking state which is true for self and the others (people), while svapna – the dream state is true for the self alone. Thus we find this Devi is the one who shows individual attention the sadhaka for his spiritual growth i.e. the Guru. She takes part in the war of Sri Devi Lalitha with Bhandasura, riding on a horse and slays mangala, on the third day. Mangala means auspicious. Therefore we can infer that this Devi, riding the horse (a personification of the mind) removes the notion of auspicious and inauspicious from the sadhaka, while keeping him fixed on the idea that every thing is mangala - siva- auspicious.

Her mantra in Nityotsava is “Om hrim namo vArAhi ghore svapnam Thah Thah svAhA”

This is an attempt to find the mantra in the dhyana sloka.

‘Svapne shubhAshubham bhavi shAsantIm bhaktha karyayoh: She is meditated as one who foretells the auspicious or inauspicious future of devotes in their dreams. This is expressed as ‘Hrim’, the maya bijakshara which is all knowing and all revealing.

Vande: This means- I bow, which is expressed in the mantra as ’namo’

‘varahIm svapna nAyikAm’- The ruler of dreams Varahi is meditated here. This is the Guru who shows individual attention to the aspirant, which is found in the mantra as ‘vArAhi’.

Dussvapna nAshinIm  -  Remover of the ill omen dreams is meditated  here. This is expressed as ‘ghore svapnam Thah Thah’. Gora svapnam is the idea of duality and the division of auspicious and inauspicious. ’Tha’ is prakruti tatva and ah is the visarga- the coming forth of the world from prakruti.  Repetition is to enforce the idea that all this in the world are an expression of divine and everything is auspicious.

‘svAhA’  is the remaining  in this state forever.

c. Tiraskarini- Mediation

Our most humble salutations to the lineage from

Lalitha-Kamesvara to our guru

With a prayer

to dispel the darkness called ignorance by lighting the lamp of knowledge in our minds

“MuktakesIm   vivasanAm   sarvAbharana   bhUshitAm

svayoni darsana unmuhyat pasu vargAm namAmyaham”

The above is the meditation verse of Tiraskarini, the pratynaga Devi of Sri Varahi, the commander-in-chief of Devi Lalita. (Anga devata is the primary attendant, upanga devata is the attendant to the primary and pratynga devata is the attendant to the secondary attendant). During the war with Bhandasura, seven of this commanders, sons of kIkasA, named balAhaka,, sUcImukha, phAlamukha, vikarNa, vikatAnana, karAlAksha, and karataka ventures into the battle. They had obtained a boon from the sun that he would shine in their eyes during a fight, immobilise and burn the enemy. In consequence to the boon sun glowed in their eyes and the army of Devi Lalita is immobilised. Immediately Devi Lalita ordered the pratyanga devata of Sri Varahi, Tiraskarini to remove this obstacle. Devi Tiraskarini wore a dark colour armour, alighted her chariot called “TamOliptA” (painted with darkness) drawn by dark horses and fiercely engaged in battle with them. She discharged an arrow, like a black serpent called “andhAstrA” (causing blindness), covering their vision and slays them. On the third day she slays kuntisheNa.

Her mantra in Nityotsava is “Aim namo bhagavaty mahAmAye pasu janamanascakshustiraskaranam kuru kuru hum phat svAhA”

This is an attempt to find the mantra in the dhyana sloka.

MuktakesIm vivasanAm: She is meditated naked and with loose hair. These are indicative of the delusion-less (mayatita) nature of the Devi. This is found in the mantra as “mahAmAye”.

sarvAbharana bhUshitAm: This means that she wears lustrous golden ornaments. The splendour and greatness of the Lord (Isvara) are called Richness (Aisvarya). Bhaga also means richness. One who had this richness (Bhaga), indicated by golden ornaments is called “bhagavaty”.

svayoni darsana: ‘Looking at her genital organ’ is the verbal translation. Replacing the meaning of genital organ (yoni) as ‘the source of creation’, the above gets modified to seeking the source of creation’ or rather as ‘an inquiry into the source of the feeling ‘I’’. This is verily the vagbhava bija “Aim”[ This is a condensation of the four Vedas from their first letters: Rg veda: agni mIle ; Yajur veda: ishetvOrje ; Sama veda: agnaAyAhi & atharva veda: samnodevi. i.e. a+i+a+m= Aim. This also represents the four mahavakyas].We can identify this as the path guided by Bhagavan Ramana which is the inquiry to the source of the feeling of ‘I’.

unmuhyat pasu vargAm:  This means that she deludes the uninitiated person, who is called pasu. This is found as such in the mantra “pasu janamanascakshustiraskaranam kuru kuru”.

namAmyaham: NamAmi means salutation and aham refers to the individual. Put together, this means “I salute”. “Namo” is found in the mantra. Na refers to the opposite sense and ma to the individual consciousness. Hence put together, means negation of the individual consciousness. Aham is “hum phat svAhA”. Hum refers to withdrawal of the senses, phat to the extinguishing of the individual ego and svaha to the emerging of the unlimited bliss. Aham has the condensed sense import of the withdrawal of senses, eradication of ego and by their constant practice the emergence of bliss.

The philosophical import of sun being present in the eyes of the commanders:

The Sun represents the activity of common people. While treading the Sri Vidya path the aspirants use the five “M”’s as directed by the Guru. The army of Devi Lalita is the force that guides us in this search for self-realisation and the battle is sadhana personified. .The seven commanders represent the common, uninitiated people who degrade the usage of the five “M”’s with their traditional views.

The mother of these commanders is kIkasA which means hardened mind, without piety.

1. BalAhaka: BalAhaka is the cloud; hence this refers to people who cast a shadow of doubt on the practices of Sri Vidya without proper understanding.

2. sUcImukha: sUcI is needle and mukha is face, esp. the mouth and hence words issuing from it. This represents people who prick the aspirant with their sharp words against the sadhana quoting Vedic view without understanding them.

3. PhAlamukha: Phala is forehead indicating mind as well as scientific intelligence and mukha as said earlier refers to word, hence implies thinking. So this represents both people who are pseudo-thinkers or logical scientific thinkers referring to Vedas to degrade this path.

4. VikarNa: Karna is the ear and the adjective ‘vi’ implies crookedness. Hence this represents people who are the gossip mongers attributing various misinterpretations to the usage of the Five “M”.

5. VikatAnana: vikata is humour and Anana means the face esp. the mouth. We find the ill-humoured person poking fun at these practices from Vedic view point.

6. KarAlAksha: karAla means frightful and aksha means eyes. This represents people who are afraid of the practices and hence are mortified

7. Karataka: Karata is the atheist, who tries to humiliate the practice of five “M” while posing as a believer.

The immobilisation of the army is the forlorn state of the aspirant with a halt in the sadhana. Devi Tiraskarini is personification of that form of the Divine Mother, who protects us from the prying eyes of the uninitiated common man., instils in the aspirant a sense of righteousness in the practices of Sri Vidya and guides him to the goal of self realisation.

Let us humbly prostrate and offer these thoughts

at the feet of the Guru , who has inspired them