01/03/2020 Matrika, Malini and their Kashmirian Origin

Nirvāṇa Sundarī
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Matrika, Malini and their Kashmirian Origin
By admin on Sep 28, 2013 | In Srividya, Darshana
Posted on:
- Dr. Balajinnatha Pandit All All
In category:
The peculiar type of Shaivism, for which Kashmir is famous, entered there
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some time in the eighth century and developed as a distinct school of
All Words
philosophy in the ninth century. But it appears that the tradition of the use of
|| bhairavo.ahaṃ śivo.aham || Some Word
alphabet in theological practices of Siddhas was already prevalent there long
before the development of Kashmir Shaivism. It was adopted by the Shaiva Archives Entire phrase

Siddhas to the system of worship with the help of Bīja mantras. The worship of February 2020 (6)
Shiva in the form of phallic figures and idols, the use of the repetition of śiva January 2020 (7)
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mantra, the tradition of the worship with the help of the Bīja mantras and many December 2019 (7)
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other Tāntric traditions of sādhanā had become popular in Kashmir right from November 2019 (8) Archives
the prehistoric periods of history. The peculiar type of Kashmir Shaivism October 2019 (7) Categories
contributed a special type of theistic, monistic and absolutist philosophy of September 2019 (10)
Shaivism to it and developed its elaborate Trika system of Tāntric theology. Recent Posts
August 2019 (12)
Both such elements, combined into one, are being known now as Kashmir Nabhi Chakra
July 2019 (1)
Shaivism. It adopted many theological elements already prevalent among the Sarvavyadhiprashamani Sarvamrtyunivarini
June 2019 (17)
Shaivas and one of such highly important elements, which was of Tāntric Sri Mahaganapati Mantraraja
May 2019 (3)
origin, was the system of using letters and syllables as the targets of Kirtimukha
April 2019 (4) PanchapretAsanAsInA
contemplative meditation. Siddha Mātṛkā, the alphabet of the Siddhas, was
February 2019 (2) AmnAyabhedasamsevyA TripurA SarvatomukhI
adopted by the authors of Kashmir Shaivism to their theology of the Trika
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system and it appeared there in the forms of Mātṛkā, Mālinī and Bīja mantras.
The word ‘Mātṛkā’ attained highest popularity in its use for an alphabet and Categories DurgA GurumaNDala

manuscripts are even now known in Sanskrit as Mātṛkās, the works appearing All Ashtananam tam sharanam prapadye

in the written alphabetical form. It is thus more ancient than the appearance Arts Commentators on Tantra

and growth of Kashmir Shaivism which adopted and popularized it in its Bhakti Srividya Laghu Krama Diksha Vidhi of Unmatta

practical aspect. The ancient Siddhas of Kashmir propagated it in the hoary Darshana Bhairava

past. Siddhas in other parts of India adopted it and it became thus the alphabet Oriental/New Age Kamakala

of Siddhas throughout the whole of India and continued to maintain such Society Svachchandanathaya namo namaste

position at least up to the time of śaṅkarācārya and some generations of his Srividya Thiruppavai

followers. It spread in South East Asia in the early centuries of Christian era Yoga Kumari Puja

and continues there even now as the alphabet used in writing Tāntric mantras Thirumeeyachur Sri Lalitambika
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of mystic character and in the system of meditation conducted with their help.
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A colored photograph of an idol of Fire god, Vahni, established in a temple in Samputikarana for Srikula Mantras
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Japan, appeared in ‘Hindu Vishwa’, in its issue of April, 1977. The appearance Guhyakali and Guhyasundari
of the idol is Tāntric in character. It bears the name of the deity written in A Note on Kula and Kaula Tantra
Japanese and Sanskrit as ‘Vanhan’, a corrupted form of the word ‘Vahni’. Such The Lalitopakhyana
form of the word reveals another Tamilian linguistic tradition evident in names Sri Guruguha
like Raman, Krishnan etc. The name of the deity is written in two different Sri Sridhara Swami of Varadahalli
scripts. In Japanese it is written in the script of that country, but in Sanskrit it Harasiddhi Devi, Ujjain
is written in an Indian script the letters of which belong, without any doubt, to Panchamundi - Navamundi Asana and Kali, Tara &
the śāradā script of Kashmir, as it is prevalent at present, though these are Srividya
written vertically and not horizontally in accordance with the Japanese system The Murtis of Varaha and Nrisimha
of writing. It proves that Siddhamātṛkā, the alphabet of the Siddhas, had Sharabheshvara
reached up to Japan in the ancient times. The tradition of the use of Shadanvaya Shambhava Krama of
siddhamātṛkā in all religious matters must have been carried to such far away Pashchimamnaya
countries by Buddhist monks who practiced Zen yoga which is a corrupted form Sri Subrahmanya Gadyam
of śāmbhavayoga of the Tāntric Shaivism of Kashmir. śāmbhavayoga in Sarvaraksha Nyasa
Kashmir Shaivism, being aided by the impression of the theistic absolutism of Sri Durga Dvatrimshannamamala
that school of Shaiva monism, leads a practitioner to the realization of the Vajrakubjika
innermost nature of the self as it shines at the highest step of Turyā, the state of Sri Kamalambika
spontaneous self-revelation. But the same yogic practice, supported by the Pashu Bali
impressions of Buddhist nihilism, cannot lead beyond apavedya suṣupti, a state Shubha Navaratri
of deep sleep. That is the main difference between śāmbhava yoga of the Trika Kundalini Shakti Nyasa
system aand the Zen Buddhism of Japan. It was carried to Japan, China and Prana Vidya
Mongolia by a Buddhist monk of Tamilnadu who was named Bodhidharma.
Bodhi Buddha in the Puranas
That explains the Tamilian influence visible in the name ‘Vanhan’. Sri Muttusvami Dikshitar and Kadi-vidya
Nityotsava and Saubhagyodaya
The Bīja mantras like hrīṃ, śrīṃ, klīṃ, aiṃ etc., do not denote any Hadi Krama of Srikula and Kalikula
conventional meaning based on saṅketa. The same is the fact with regard to the A Sanskrit talk on Srividya Upasana
letters of Mātṛkā and Mālinī. Such letters and syllables do not even indicate The Yoginis of Narasimha Vyuha
anything through lakṣaṇa, because the conditions necessary for its working do Pratyaksha Ganapati
not arise there at all. Just as some peculiar sounds and their peculiar Anga-vidya Krama of Bhagavati Guhyakali

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01/03/2020 Matrika, Malini and their Kashmirian Origin
combinations, existing in poetic art, arouse certain feelings in listener and Mahamahishamardini
illuminate certain poetic peculiarities like madhura and ojas guṇas in him Shabda as Pramana
through the majestive power of such sounds (known in the alaṅkāraśāstra as A list of available Shakta Upanishads dealing with
vyañjanā vṛtti), so do the Bīja mantras, contemplated upon through specific Srividya Krama
methods of Tāntric theology, reveal and illuminate certain aspects of pure I- Vajrayana and Srisailam or Shriparvata
consciousness, and arouse certain hidden spiritual powers in a practitioner.
abhinavagupta advaita agama aghora «akashabhairava

Bīja mantras give rise to certain wonderful powers in a practitioner and fulfill kalpa» akshobhya andolika anga annapurna «appayya

his worldly wants in addition to leading him towards self-realization. These are dikshita» atman avarana bagalamukhi bauddha

commonly used by all sects and schools of Tantra. Mātṛkā and Mālinī are the bhagavatpada bhairava bhairavi bhakti bhashya
elements of higher Yoga not known to all the Tāntric sects and schools. These bhaskararaya bimbambika brahma brahmasutra
are the special property of the Trika system of the Shaiva monism of Kashmir «brindavana saranga» buddhism chinnamasta
alone. A practitioner of śāmbhava Yoga, using the fifty letters and sounds of dakshinamurti darshana dhumavati dhyana durga
Mātṛkā, realizes himself as the only existent infinite and pure I-consciousness, guhyakali homa japa jayanti jiva kalasankarshini kali
not egotic in character, but shining as an absolutistic self-awareness, bearing in kamakala kamakshi karma kaula krishna lalita «lalita
it the manifestation of the whole phenomenal existence as a reflection of its sahasranama» linga lingayat «m s subbulakshmi»
own divine powers brought about by its own playful and divine will. He «madhusudana sarasvati» mahakala mahashodashi
visualizes his divine powers as the sixteen vowel-sounds and letters from ‘a’ to
mahavidya mantra matangi maya moksha narayana
‘aH’ and discovers all the phenomenal tattvas from earth to śakti, shining as the
nyaya panchadashi panchakshari pancharatra
consonant sounds and letters from ‘ka’ to ‘kSha’. Such yogic practice to see
«pandit jasraj» para pashupata pramana prasada
one’s pure I-consciousness as the absolute infinite reality beautified by the
rudrayamala sadhanamala samhita samputa
wonderful reflections of all phenomena, shining as identical with it, without
«sangeetakalanidhi smt m s subbulakshmi»
even the slightest manifestation of diversity, is the Mātṛkā Yoga of Kashmir
«sangeetakalanidhi sri g n balasubramaniam» «saubhagya
Shaivism. The ancient Shaiva Siddhas of Kashmir discovered it, practiced it,
bhaskara» shaiva shakti shankara shankaracharya
attained perfect success in its practice and taught it to curious aspirants without
any restrictions. Siddhamātṛkā was already prevalent among the ancient shiva «shiva purana» shodashi shrividya siddhanta
Siddhas in Kashmir, even before the elaborate development of the yoga of siddhi «sri muttuswami dikshitar» «sri
Mātṛkā and Mālinī and was used in Tāntric sādhanā practiced with the help of thyagaraja» srikula srividya sthala stotra tantra tara
mystic syllables called Bīja mantras. It had already been carried to other trika tripurasundari upasana vaikhanasa vajrayana
regions of Kashmir by such ancient Siddhas and had become popular with vijnanavada virashaiva yantra yoga
Tāntric practitioners in the South and śaṅkarācārya practiced such sādhanā in
the 8th century A.D. Kashmir is this the original home of the use of alphabet in
the theological practices of Mātṛkā, Mālinī and Bīja mantras.

Note: Mahāmaheśvara ācārya Abhinavagupta, in his Soḍaśa Mātṛkādhīśvara

Stava (you can find that on our Stotras page), describes the Mātṛkā Prakriyā of
Mahāśāmbhava yoga. The sixteen forms of śiva that represent the sixteen
vowels (‘a’ to ‘aH’) manifest in various śakti-spandas and encode in them the
mysteries of śāmbhava yoga sādhanā. These sixteen forms are: amṛta,
amṛtapūrṇa, amṛtābha, amṛtadrava, amṛtaugha, amṛtormi, amṛtasyandana,
amṛtāṅgada, amṛtodgāra, amṛtāsya, amṛtatanu, amṛtaniṣecana, amṛtamūrti,
amṛteśa, sarvāmṛtadhara. It is a Siddha Stotra that can free one of various
bodily afflictions, diseases and poisons - Sri Kamakoti Mandali

Tags: abhinavagupta, alphabet, amriteshvara bhairava, bija mantras,

bodhi
bodhidharma , buddhism, i-consciousness, japan, kashmir shaivism,
mahahameshvara, malini, matrika, matrika prakriya, nihilism, shakti spanda,
shambhava yoga, shiva, shodasha matrikadhishvara stava, siddha matrika,
siddhas, siddhis, tantra, trika, turya, vahni, zen

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