ĪŚVARA Once Devī told Himavān who, according to the Hindu religion, God is, and how creation takes place from Īśvara (God). The famous discussion about Godhood, called Devīgītā is quoted hereunder.
(1) Ahamevāsa pūrvaṁ tu nānyad kiṁcit nagādhipa / Tadātmarūpaṁ cit saṁvit Parabrahmaikanāmakam. // (Before the creation of the universe commenced, I alone was; there was nothing else. Then I was called Parabrahman, Citsvarūpī, Saṁvitsvarūpī and Ātmarūpī).
(2) Apratarkyamanirdeśyamanaupamyamanāmayam / Tasya kācit svataḥ siddhā śaktirmāyeti viśrutā // (That form is beyond discussion (Apratarkyam); beyond description (Anirdeśyam); incapable of being compared (Anaupamyam); beyond birth, death youth, old age etc. (Anāmayam). In this form of mine resides māyāśakti.
(3) Na satī śā nāsatī sānobhayātmā virodhataḥ / Etadvilakṣaṇā kācidvastubhūtāsti sarvadā // (That māyāśakti cannot be said to be existing or not existing. Thus it is neither existing nor not existing. The statement existing and not existing is subject to the error, paradox. That great force exists always in me with the pair of aspects.
(4) Pāvakasyoṣṇateveyamuṣṇāṁśoriva dīdhitiḥ / Candrasya candrikeveyaṁ Mameyaṁ sahajā dhruvā // (Fire does not exist without heat, nor Sun without light nor Moon without its rays. Just like this, that māyāśakti is coeval with me. It is permanent.
(5) Tasyāṁ karmāṇi jivānāṁ Jīvāḥ Kālāśca sañcare / Abhedena vilīnāḥ syuḥ Suṣuptau vyavahāravat // (Just as all actions, feelings and even the sense of time remain latent in deep sleep, even so all the actions and emotions of all living beings lie absorbed in Māyā).
(6) Svaśakteśca samāyogādahaṁ bījātmatāṁ gatā / Svādhārāvaraṇāttasyadoṣatvaṁ ca samāgatam // (I am myself the source of this Māyā; but it has a strange power called āvaraṇa which hides my real nature).
(7) Caitanyasya samāyogād nimittatvaṁ ca kathyate / Prapañcapariṇāmācca Samavāyitvamucyate // (Being joined to Caitanya (Brahman) Māyā becomes the material as well as the immediate cause of the universe (Prapañca).
(8) Kecittām tapa ityāhustamaḥ kecijjaḍāṁ pare / Jñānaṁ māyāṁ pradhānaṁ ca prakṛtiṁ śaktimapyajām // (This māyā is referred to differently by different people as tapas, tamas, jaḍa, jñāna, māyā, pradhāna, prakṛti and ajā.).
(9) Vimarśa iti tāṁ prāhuḥ Śaivaśāstraviśāradāḥ / avidyāmitare prāhurvedatatvārthacintakāḥ // (Experts in Śaiva philosophical thought refer to this māyā as vimarśa and Vedic seers call it avidyā).
(10) Evam nānāvidhāni syuḥ nāmāni nigamādiṣu / tasyāḥ jaḍatvaṁ dṛśyatvāt jñānanāśāttato'satī // (Thus Vedas refer to māyā by various names. Because of visibility māyā is called jaḍa, and because it is destructive of true knowledge it is called asat).
(11) Caitanyasya na dṛśyatvaṁ dṛśyatve jaḍameva tat / svaprakāśaṁ ca caitanyaṁ na pareṇa prakāśitam // (Caitanya (Effulgence) is not visible. What is seen is jaḍa (material expression). Caitanya is self-illuminating; it is not illuminated by something else).
(12) Anavasthādoṣasatvānna svenāpi prakāśitam / Karmakartṛvirodhaḥ syāttasmāttaddīpavat svayam //
(13) Prakāśamānamanyeṣāṁ Bhāsakaṁ viddhi parvata / ata eva ca nityatvaṁ Siddhaṁ samvittanormama // (If caitanya is not self-illuminating then it is subject to the drawback of Anavasthādoṣa (Absence of finality). If Caitanya does not possess the quality of light and illumination there should necessarily be something else, which illuminates it, and there should again be something to illuminate that which illuminates Caitanya. And, it continues ad infinitum. This state of no conclusion is called anavasthā doṣa. Also one thing cannot be, at the same time, the subject (actor) and the object of action, and that invites the draw-back of paradox. Therefore, O King of mountains! understand that Caitanya is self-illuminating and it illuminates other things by its own illumination. And this, therefore, proves that my Caitanya is eternal).
(14) Jāgratsvapnasuṣuptyādau dṛśyasya vyabhicārataḥ / saṁvido vyabhicāraśca nānubhūtosti karhicit // (All visible things go on changing in the three states of awaking, dream and deep sleep. But, like visible things Caitanya is not subject to change, and does not experience the three states).
(15) Yadi tasyāpyanubhāvastarhyayaṁ yena sākṣiṇā / anubhūtaḥ sa evātra śiṣṭaḥ saṁvidvapuḥ purā // (If it is argued that it (Caitanya) experiences the three states then there must be something else as ‘witness’ for the experience. But, since it is established as self-illuminating there cannot be something else as ‘witness’.
(16) Ata eva ca nityatvaṁ proktaṁ sacchāstrakovidaiḥ / ānandarūpatā cāsyāḥ parapremāspadatvataḥ // (Because of the above reasons experts in the science of philosophy hold that this Caitanya is eternal, and that, since it is the basis of bhakti which assumes the form of absolute love, it is ānandarūpa).
(17) Mā na bhūvaṁ hi bhūyāsamiti premātmani sthitaṁ / sarvasyānyasya mithyātvādasaṁgatvaṁ sphuṭaṁ mama // (No living souls think ‘I am not’. Every body cherishes always his self-importance, the ‘I’. It is present there in every living soul in the form of love. This fact itself proves that I am different from all material objects).
(18) Aparicchinnatāpyevamata eva matā mama / tacca jñānaṁ nātmadharmo dharmatve jaḍatātmanaḥ // (That I am indivisible is quite definite. Knowledge is not an attribute of the soul (ātman) but is the very form of the soul itself. If knowledge were only an attribute of the soul it (soul) should have been material (jaḍa) and it is quite a certitude that the soul is not material, because knowledge is the very nature of the soul).
(19) Jñānasya jaḍaśeṣatvaṁ na dṛṣṭam na ca saṁbhavi / Ciddharmatvaṁ tathā nāsti Ciraścid nahi bhidyate // (The soul is pure knowledge without any touch of the jaḍa. It is also pure existence. It is one and indivisible).
(20) Tasmādātmā jñānarūpaḥ sukharūpaśca sarvadā / satyaḥ pūrṇopyasaṁgaśca dvaitajālavivarjitaḥ // (The ātman (soul) is therefore jñānarūpa (of the nature of pure knowledge), Sukharūpa (of the nature of pure joy) and satyarūpa (of the nature of absolute truth). It is unattached to anything and free from duality).
(21) Sa punaḥ kāmakarmādiyuktayā svīyamāyayā / pūrvānubhūtasaṁskārāt kālakarmavipākataḥ //
(22) Avivekācca tattvasya sisṛkṣāvān prajāyate / abuddhipūrvaḥ sargo'yaṁ kathitaste nagādhipa //
(23) Etaddhi yanmayā proktaṁ mama rūpamalaukikam / avyākṛtaṁ tadavyaktaṁ māyāśabalamityapi //
(24) Procyate sarvaśāstreṣu sarvakāraṇakāraṇam tattvānāmādibhūtaṁ ca saccidānandavigraham //
(25) Sarvakarmaghanībhūtamicchājñānakriyāśrayam / hrīṁkāramantravācyaṁ tadādi tatvaṁ taducyate // (Impelled by the Vāsanās of previous actions the Māyā- śakti proceeds to create the world, beginning with the 24 tattvas. My form which is immaterial and unmanifested is praised by all śāstras to be the cause of all causes and the basis of all tattvas. It is also the basis of all knowledge, action and volition and realizable only through the hrīṁkāra mantra).
(26) Tasmādākāśa utpannaḥ śabdatanmātrarūpakaḥ / bhavet sparśātmako vāyustejorūpātmakaṁ punaḥ //
(27) Jalaṁ rasātmakaṁ paścāt-- tato gandhātmikā dharā / śabdaikaguṇa ākāśo vāyussparśaravānvitaḥ
(28) Śabdasparśarūpaguṇaṁ teja ityucyate budhaiḥ / śabdasparśarūparasairāpo vedaguṇāḥ smṛtāḥ //
(29) Śabdasparśarūparasagandhaiḥ pañcaguṇā dharā / tebhyobhavan mahatsūtraṁ yalliṁgaṁ paricakṣate //
(30) Sarvātmakaṁ tat saṁproktaṁ sūkṣmadeho'yamātmanaḥ / avyaktaṁ kāraṇo dehaḥ sa coktaḥ pūrvameva hi // (From this primordial principle the five elements (pañcabhūtas) were born. The first of these is ether which is the element of sound because sound travels through ether (śabda-tanmātra-rūpa). Then air
[vāyu] gave rise to the sense of touch and so air is called sparśarūpa. This vāyu again gave rise to Agni (Vāyoragniḥ). Then came water which corresponds to the sense of taste (rasarūpa). From water came earth which is gandharūpa (the source of smell) (Udakādbhūmiḥ). Ākāśa (ether) has only one guṇa, namely sound. Vāyu (air) has two guṇas--Sabda and Sparśa (Sound and touch). Agni has three guṇas:--rūpa, śabda and sparśa. Jalaṁ (water) has four guṇas--śabda, sparśa, rūpa, and rasa. The last element--earth--has five guṇas--śabda, sparśa, rūpa, rasa and gandha. From these five tanmātrās is born the liṅga-śarīra or sūkṣma-śarīra).
(31) Yasmin jagadbījarūpaṁ sthitaṁ liṅgodbhavo yataḥ / tataḥ sthūlāni bhūtāni pañcīkaraṇamārgataḥ //
(32) Pañcasaṁkhyāni jāyante tatprakārastvathocyate / pūrvoktāni ca bhūtāni pratyekaṁ vibhajeddvidhā // The jagat (universe) remained in embryo form (bījarūpa) in these pañcatanmātrās. Then by the process of Pañcīkaraṇa all the gross material objects were created. These pañcabhūtas were first divided into two (each was divided into two). Then by a process of the combination of these ten parts different substances were born as detailed in the following stanzas.
(33) Ekaikaṁ bhāgamekasya caturdhā vibhajed gire / svasvetaradvitīyāṁśe yojanāt pañca pañca te // [Each half of each of these five bhūtas is again subdivided into four parts. These 1/8 parts are joined to the other halves and by combining them in other fractions the material bodies (sthūlaśarīras) of all beings are mad].
(34) Tatkāryaṁ ca virāṭ dehaḥ sthūladeho yamātmanaḥ / pañcabhūtasthasatvāṁśaiḥ śrotrādīnāṁ samudbhavaḥ // Virāṭdeha (Cosmic body) is the sum total of these individual material bodies. The inner conscience and bodily organs like ear etc. originate from the gentle and pure aspects of the five elements.
(35) Jnānendriyāṇām rājendra! pratyekaṁ militaistu taiḥ / antaḥkaraṇamekaṁ syād vṛttibhedāccaturvidham //
(36) Yadā tu saṁkalpavikalpakṛtyaṁ tadābhavettanmana ityabhikhyam / syād buddhisaṁjñaṁ ca yadā pravetti suniścitaṁ saṁśayahīnarūpam //
(37) Anusandhānarūpaṁ taccittaṁ ca parikīrtitam / ahaṁ kṛtyātmavṛttyā tu tadahaṁkāratāṁ gatam (Antaḥkaraṇa, due to differences in state assumes four forms. When once conception and doubt arise in a subject, then it is called mind. When there is no doubt, but there is assuredness it is called understanding (buddhi). The function of examining a subject again and over again belongs to citta. To think of ‘I’ is egoism or ahaṁkāra).
(38) Teṣāṁ rajoṁśairjātāni Kramāt karmendriyāṇi ca / pratyekaṁ militaistaistu prāṇo bhavati pañcadhā //
(39) Hṛdi prāṇo gude'pāno nābhisthastu samānakaḥ / kaṇṭhadeśepyudānassyādvyānaḥ sarvaśarīragaḥ // (From the coarse (rājasic) aspects of the five senseorgans originate the five organs of action like word, foot, hand, excretory and the genital organ, and also the five prāṇas (breaths) called prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna and vyāṇa. Prāṇa is located in the heart, apāna in the anus, samāna in the nābhi (navel) udāna in the throat and vyāna all over the body).
(40) Jñānendriyāṇi pañcaiva pañcakarmendriyāṇi ca / prāṇādi pañcakaṁ caiva dhiyā ca sahitam manaḥ //
(41) Etat sūkṣmaśarīraṁ syān mama liṅgaṁ yaducyate / Tatra yā prakrtiḥ proktā sā rājan dvividhā smṛtā // (Organs of knowlege 5, of actions 5, and prāṇas 5, and buddhi 1, mind 1, the body is composed of these 17 factors). This forms the Sūkṣmaśarīra whose prakṛti is two-fold (as mentioned below).
(42) Satvātmikā tu māyā syādavidyā guṇamiśritā / svāśrayaṁ yā tu saṁrakṣet sā māyeti nigadyate // One is pure māyā and the other is avidyā possessing properties).
(43) Tasyāṁ yat pratibiṁbaṁsyādbimbabhūtasya ceśituḥ sa Īśvaraḥ samākhyātaḥ svāśrayajñānavān paraḥ //
(44) Sarvajñaḥ sarvakartā ca sarvānugrahakārakaḥ / avidyāyāṁ tu yat kiṁcit pratibiṁbaṁ nagādhipa // (Brahmacaitanya reflected in this māyā is Īśvara (God). That Īśvara is the same as the ātman (soul), brahman absolute, creator of everything, omniscient, and the cause of all blessings. The soul reflects to a small extent in avidyā also).
(45) Tadeva jīvasaṁjñaṁ syāt sarvaduḥkhāśrayaṁ punaḥ / dvayorapīha saṁproktaṁ dehatrayamavidyayā // (This jīva is the receptacle of all sorrows. Due to vidyā and avidyā both get three kinds of bodies).
(46) Dehatrayābhimānāccāpyabhūnnāmatrayaṁ punaḥ / prājñastu kāraṇātmā syāt sūkṣmadehī tu taijasaḥ //
(47) Sthūladehī tu viśvākhyastrividhaḥ parikīrtitaḥ / evamīśopi samprokto jīvasūtravirāṭpadaiḥ //
(48) Prathamo vyaṣṭirūpaśtu samaṣṭyātmā paraḥ smṛtaḥ / sa hi sarveśvaraḥ sākṣāt jīvānugrahakāmyayā //
(49) Karoti vividhaṁ viśvaṁ nānābhogāśrayaṁ punaḥ / macchaktiprerito nityaṁ mayi rājan prakalpitaḥ. // He who is attached and is proud about the material body is called Viśva; he who attaches importance to the subtle body is called Taijasa, and he who is aware of the causal body is called Prājña. The jīva is Vyaṣṭisvarūpa (has individuality) but Īśvara is Samaṣṭyātmaka [embraces all the jīvas]. Īśvara works impelled by my power).