Verse 4

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 4:

अथाधारपद्मं सुषुंनाख्य-लग्नं ध्वजाधो गुदोर्ध्वं चतुह्-शोण-पत्रं ।
अधोवक्त्रमुद्यत्-सुवर्णाभवर्णैः वकरादिसान्तैर् युतं वेद-वर्णैः ॥ ४ ॥

athādhārapadmaṃ suṣuṃnākhya-lagnaṃ dhvajādho gudordhvaṃ catuh-śoṇa-patraṃ |
adhovaktramudyat-suvarṇābhavarṇaiḥ vakarādisāntair yutaṃ veda-varṇaiḥ || 4 ||

Now we come to the Ādhāra Lotus.^[1] It is attached to the mouth of the Suṣuṃnā, and is placed below the genitals and above the anus. It has four petals of crimson hue. Its head (mouth) hangs downwards. On its petals are the four letters from Va to Sa, of the shining colour of gold.

Commentary by Śrī-Kālīcaraṇa:

After having described the Nāḍīs, the Author describes the Mūlādhāra-Cakra in detail in nine verses beginning with the present.

“It is attached to the mouth of Suṣuṃnā” (Suṣuṃnākhya-lagna [lagnaṃ]).—The petals^[2] are on four sides of the place where the Kanda^[3] and Suṣuṃnā meet.

“Below the genitals and above the anus” (Dhvajādho-gudorddhva [gudorddhvaṃ]).—‘From below the root of the genitals to Suṣuṃnā.

“Four petals of crimson hue” (Catuḥśoṇa-patra [patraṃ]).—The four petals are red in colour. Śoṇa is the crimson colour of the red lotus.

“On its petals are the four letters from Va to Sa” (Vakārādisāntair- yutam veda^[4] varṇaiḥ). The four letters are Va, Śa (palatal), Ṣa (cerebral), and Sa.^[5] On each of the petals of the six Lotuses the letters of the alphabet are to be meditated upon, going round in a circle from the right (Dakṣiṇāvartena). Cf. Viśvasāra-Tantra: “The petals of the Lotuses are known to contain the letters of the alphabet, and should be meditated upon as written in a circle from the right to the left.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

That is, Mūlādhāra-Cakra, so called from its being at the root of the six Cakras; see hence to v. 11, post.

[2]:

See Introduction.

[3]:

V. p. 7, ante,

[4]:

Veda-varṇa: Veda stands for “four”. There are four Vedas, and the learned sometimes use the word Veda to mean four—i.e., the number of the Vedas.

[5]:

See Introduction.