ததியுறு மத்திற் சுழலும் என்ஆவி தளர்விலதோர்
கதியுறும் வண்ணம் கருது கண்டாய்; கமலாலயனும்,
மதியுறு வேணி மகிழ்நனும், மாலும் வணங்கிஎன்றும்
துதியுறு சேவடியாய்! சிந்துரானன சுந்தரியே.
tatiyuṟu mattiṟ cuḻalum ĕṉāvi tal̤arvilator
katiyuṟum vaṇṇam karutu kaṇṭāy; kamalālayaṉum,
matiyuṟu veṇi makiḻnaṉum, mālum vaṇaṅkiĕṉṟum
tutiyuṟu cevaṭiyāy! cinturāṉaṉa cuntariye.
Translation: I have got caught in the ever ending cycle of transmigration that churns my soul like that of staff that churns in the butter milk pot. You have ensured that this soul would reach its ultimatum. Oh the beautiful damsel with a reddish face, your feet are being worshipped by the Brahma, Viṣṇu śivā and Rudra ever.
tatiyuṟu – In the butter milk pot mattiṟ – the staff that is used to churn the butter mik
cuḻalum – spinning/ revolving tal̤arvilator – without rest
In the yester years before using machineries, the buttermilk will be churned manually with the help of a staff tied to a pillar, immersed in the pot, and would be continuously churned. The churning will be done in both clockwise and anticlockwise motions. The butter milk because of this alternate motions, the butter would eventually get separated and start floating up in the pot. Bhattar in this stanza quotes this example in order to explain the cycle of transmigration.
The alternate motions of the staff in the pot shows the soul being continuously taking the birth and eventually die only to take another birth again. This cycle of transmigration will only stop if the soul realizes Brahman, which is equated to butter coming out of the curd, just like butter cannot get dissolved again in the curd, the soul that realizes Brahman will not go in to transmigration. The transmigratory experience of the soul also happens without any rest, as the karma binding the individual souls cause immediate rebirth.
Arunagirinathar in his works on Tirupugazh # 848 says
cŏl piḻai varāmal uṉaik kaṉakkat tutittu niṟpatu
varāta pavak kaṭattil cuḻaṟṟi
சொல் பிழை வராமல் உனைக் கனக்கத் துதித்து நிற்பது
வராத பவக் கடத்தில் சுழற்றி …
Translation : instead of repeating your sacred names and praising you, I go on spinning in the pot of transmigration. Pavam -transmigration Katam – Pot cuḻaṟṟi – spin/revolve
Katiyuṟum vaṇṇam karutu kaṇṭāy – Ensured that the soul reaches a good state. Bhattar in this line praises Devi as she has ensured that Bhattar’s soul instead of getting caught in the transmigratory cycle, reaches a better state. The words Karutu also could subtly mean contemplation and kaṇṭāy means Dhyana/ to see. Those who worship Devi, with her grace reaches a good state is the key message in this stanza, as they exit the transmigration cycle.
Soundarya Lahari verse#25 denotes a similar interpretation in which it says that the trinity does puja to her in the lines
trayāṇāṁ devānāṁ triguṇajanitānāṁ tava śive
bhavetpūjā pūjā tava caraṇayoryā viracitā |
When all of the celestials worship her, it is implicit that her devotees get the blessings of all the celestials or devatas. It does not make sense for her devotee to go to a different devata at any time as they are just another manifestation of Paradevi herself. Bhattar emphasizes the devotion to only one form of Devi in many stanzas when it comes to individual ritualistic worship. If we take the previous stanza in to account, one who has the soḍaśi mantra upadesha, should only stick to soḍaśi mantra and not deviate from it by picking up multiple mantras to chant or recite for a specific purpose, as it hampers the fructification of all of the mantras. Shri Ravi Guruji has clearly mentioned such deviations will hamper the results in his commentary on the verse#25 of Soundarya Lahari.
kamalālayaṉum – the one on lotus / Brahma / Tiruvarur Thyagaraja swamy
matiyuṟu veṇi makiḻnaṉu – the one with crescent moon, Rudra, Puranic Śivā, mālum – Viṣṇu vaṇaṅkiĕṉṟum – Ever worships tutiyuṟu – Praises cevaṭiyāy! – Lotus feet of cinturāṉaṉa – The one with red face cuntariye – beautiful lady.
Devi is constantly worshipped by the holy trinity i.e, Brahma, Viṣṇu śivā and Rudra. Her feet is adorned by the trinity always. Shri Ravi Guruji’s commentary on Soundarya Lahari verse # 2 explains that Brahma creates all the worlds with the dust of Devi’s feet, which is sustained by Viṣṇu and destroyed by Rudra. Here the trinity can also be equated with the triads(Śivā, Sakti and Nara) of Trika philosophy. The same triad in the Tamil Saivite philosophy is called as “Pati, Pasu and Pasam”. The below verse #115 from Tirumantiram speaks on this triad.
பதிபசு பாசம் எனப்பகர் மூன்றில்
பதியினைப் போற்பசு பாசம் அனாதி
பதியினைச் சென்றணு காப்பசு பாசம்
பதியணு கிற்பசு பாசம் நில் லாவே. 3
Pati (God), Pasu (Soul) and Pasa (World) are Eternal
They speak of the Three–Pati, Pasu and Pasa;
Beginningless as Pati, Pasu and Pasa are:
But the Pasu-Pasa nears not the Pati supreme:
Let but Pati touch! the Pasu-Pasa is as naught.
Courtesy : bhagavadgitausa.com
Pati is Śivā, Pasu is the jivatma and Pasam is the sakti who connects the Jiva either to the material world or to the source of creation. Thus just like Śivā, Sakti is also eternal. Sakti is grace and power of Śivā, the ultimatum who is also known as Brahman in the vedantic texts. The grace of Śivā is manifested only through Sakti and it is through Sakti the Jiva reaches the ultimate and gets liberated. All manifested forms in the manifested world are thus only Sakti, including the manifested and unmanifested forms. Thus to reach the ultimate the grace is required and to obtain the grace the worship of Sakti in various forms are prescribed in Srividya and other Dasa Mahavidya methods of worship. As the trinities are also created beings by Devi, they worship her to carry on their activities with grace and also for liberation.
The word kamalālayaṉum also denotes the Tyāgarāja Swamy of Tiruvarur, which symbolizes the muladhara kshetra in the Saivite philosophy. The Devi who is seated in a separate temple is called as Kamalāṃbika. The word also denotes the one inside the lotus, which could also mean the Heart centre where the Atman dwells. Once this Atman is realized, the person becomes ever blissful, which is denoted by makiḻnaṉu (happy) and also becomes Śivā. Such a person can also do the acts of sustenance and destruction.Śiva Sutra Verse III.13 states Siddhaḥ svatantrabhāvaḥ सिद्धः स्वतन्त्रभावः॥ (sūtra III.13), Shri Ravi Guruji’s commentary states as “When the aspirant has achieved such an independence, he automatically realizes his inherent svātantryaśakti that is capable of controlling every aspect of the universe” , which further attests the interpretation for this verse on Devi.
This entire stanza also subtly conveys the Pranayama and Granti bhedana in samyachara meditative practices of Srividya. The movement of the stick in the curd pot is nothing but the inhalation and exhalation of breath in an individual, and the stick and rope symbolizes the firm holding of breath. The final product i.e., butter is the resultant of obtaining the irrevocable understanding of Atman in an individual. Such a practice of pranayama will lead to the unknotting of Brahma granti, Viṣṇu granti and Rudra granti respectively. The one who does this practice of contemplating the Atman either in the six dominant lotuses or chakras or at the heart centre will realize the Sakti and Śivā eventually. A Similar stanza from Tirumantiram Verse #568 reproduced below further elucidates this explanation.
568. ஏறுதல் பூரகம் ஈரெட்டு வாமத்தால்
ஆறுதல் கும்பம் அறுபத்து நாலதில்
ஊறுதல் முப்பத் திரண்டதி ரேசகம்
மாறுதல் ஒன்றின்கண் வஞ்சக மாமே
Puraka Kumbhaka Resaka Alternated–Cleansing of Nadis
Purakam is to inhale by left nostril matras six and ten
Kumbhakam is to retain that breath for matras four and sixty
Resakam is to exhale thereafter for matras two and thirty
Thus alternate from left to right and right to left
With Kumbhakam in between
Source : bagavadgitausa.com
Translation : Purakam is the left nostril inhalation for 16 counts and Kumbakam is the retention for 64 counts and Rechakam is the right nostril exhalation for 32 counts. Alternating this method between left and right nostrils is called vanchakam.
Shri Ravi Guruji in his articles on breathing exercises has advocated this method as a practice before commencing meditation.
Thus in this stanza Bhattar gives a glimpse in to the samayācāra practice of Srividya subtly.
Abirami Samayam 