Verse 24: Bali

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 24:

यच् चतुर्विधम् इदं विभासते तत्त्वरूपम् अमृतान्तराकृति ।
तस्य पञ्चमपदे लयक्रिया संमतं बलिचतुष्टयं तथा ॥ २४ ॥

yac caturvidham idaṃ vibhāsate tattvarūpam amṛtāntarākṛti |
tasya pañcamapade layakriyā saṃmataṃ balicatuṣṭayaṃ tathā || 24 ||

This fourfold set of tattvas, whose inner aspect is nectar, shines forth. The set of four bali oblations should be understood as the practice of dissolving that [four-fold set of tattvas] into the reality of the fifth.

Notes:

In Śaivism, the thirty-six tattvas are classified into three groupings known as ātmatattva, vidyātattva, and śivatattva. These three sets function less as a way to organize reality and more as a shortcut to ritually purifying all of the thirty-six tattvas during preliminary rites such as ācamana, sipping water infused with mantras before the worship begins.

A common way of performing this part of the pūjā is as follows:

आत्मतत्त्वं शोधयामि स्वाहा
विद्यातत्त्वं शोधयामि स्वाहा
शिवतत्त्वं शोधयामि स्वाहा
सर्वतत्त्वं शोधयामि स्वाहा

ātmatattvaṃ śodhayāmi svāhā
vidyātattvaṃ śodhayāmi svāhā
śivatattvaṃ śodhayāmi svāhā
sarvatattvaṃ śodhayāmi svāhā

The inclusion of sarvatattva as a fourth grouping is understood to be the summation, or aggregate of all thirty-six tattvas and would be identified as Paramaśiva—the thirty-seventh tattva. The exact correspondences between each of the tattvas, varies significantly through texts and traditions, but can generally be organized as follows:

ātmatattva: pṛthvī, jala, tejas, vāyu, ākāśa, gandha, rasa, rūpa, sparśa, śabda, upasthā, pāyu, pāda, pāṇi, vāc, ghrāṇa, rasana, cakṣus, tvac, śrotra, manas, ahaṃkāra, buddhi, prakṛti, puruṣa, niyati, kāla, rāga, vidyā, kalā, māyā.

vidyātattva: śuddhavidyā, īśvara, sadāśiva, śakti.

śivatattva: śiva.

sarvatattva: paramaśiva.

The Yogakhaṇḍa of the Manthānabhairavatantra correlates these three tattva groupings with the dhāmatraya, or three luminaries known as the fire, sun and moon.^[1]

The fourth chapter of the Rauravasūtrasaṅgraha teaches:

शिवशक्तिकलाः सर्वा एताः सर्वज्ञभाषिताः ।
योगमोक्षसुखैश्वर्यधनवीर्यप्रदाः शुभाः ॥ ४५ ॥
विद्यातत्त्वम् इदं पुंसां तृतीयं सार्वकामिकम् ।
शिवतत्त्वविधानज्ञो ज्ञात्वा सिद्ध्यति नेतरः ॥ ४६ ॥
शिवात्मविद्यातत्त्वानि त्रीण्य् एतान्य् अनुपूर्वशः ।
विदित्वा साधकः क्षिप्रं मन्त्रसिद्धिम् अवाप्नुयात् ॥ ४७ ॥

śivaśaktikalāḥ sarvā etāḥ sarvajñabhāṣitāḥ |
yogamokṣasukhaiśvaryadhanavīryapradāḥ śubhāḥ || 45 ||
vidyātattvam idaṃ puṃsāṃ tṛtīyaṃ sārvakāmikam |
śivatattvavidhānajño jñātvā siddhyati netaraḥ || 46 ||
śivātmavidyātattvāni trīṇy etāny anupūrvaśaḥ |
viditvā sādhakaḥ kṣipraṃ mantrasiddhim avāpnuyāt || 47 ||

"All these powers of Śiva and Śakti are taught by the omniscient one. They are auspicious, and they bestow Yoga, liberation, happiness, lordship, wealth, and potency. The Vidyātattva for all desires is the third. Those who know the practice of the Śivatattva are perfected by knowing it, no one else. These are the three: the Śiva, Ātma, and Vidyā tattvas, in order. By knowing them, an adept perfects the mantra immediately."^[2]

Aghoraśivācārya, the famous twelfth century C.E. Śaiva Saiddhāntika ācārya of Cidambaram taught the ācamanavidhiḥ in his influential Kriyākramadyotikā (dated to 1157 C.E) in this way:

om hāṃ ātmatattvāya svadhā oṃ hīṃ vidyātattvāya svadhā oṃ hūṃ śivatattvāya svadhā

In this verse, Amṛtānanda teaches that the inner nature (antarākṛti) of all the tattvas, organized by the four groups explored above, consists of amṛta. In the second half of the verse, Amṛtānanda relates the four sets of tattvas to the four types of bali, the sacrificial offerings often performed in tantric rituals.

There are several types of bali rites, largely based on the complexity of the worship. In general, bali is often offered to the primary deity being worshiped through an intermediary deity, such as is described in the Bhāvanopaniṣad, "Kurukullā is the balidevatā of the mother."^[3] While Amṛtānanda does not name the four bali offerings specifically, the key to this verse can be found in the nineteenth chapter of the Gandharvatantra, which describes four bali offerings that are to be performed to four devatās (Baṭuka, Yoginī, Kṣetrapāla, and Gaṇeśa) at the four entrances to the Śrīcakra.

Amṛtānanda closes his contemplation on the four sets of tattvas and the four bali offerings by envisioning them dissolving into the supreme reality of the fifth, just as the four bali sacrifices are offered unto the deity and the tattvas dissolve into pure consciousness. While Amṛtānanda does not specify what the fifth is, he is likely referring to the fifth stage in the Kālīkrama conception of manifestation, known as bhāsā (pure illumination). It is also possible that he might be referring to the fifth state of consciousness, known as turyātīta. Regardless which "fifth" he is referring to, it should be understood to mean the highest reality of supreme consciousness, a persistent theme throughout the Cidvilāsastava, and one that Amṛtānanda will specifically revisit in verses thirty-five and thirty-seven.

Five modes of perception-cosmogony, as taught in certain texts of the Kālīkrama:

1) sṛṣṭi: emanation;
2) sthiti: sustenance;
3) saṃhāra: withdrawal;
4) anākhya: the nameless;
5) bhāsā: pure radiant illumination;

Five states of consciousness:

1) jāgrat: the waking state;
2) svapna: the dreaming state;
3) suṣupti: the deep sleep, dreamless state;
4) turya: the fourth state, a supreme level expounded in the Upaniṣads as supremeconsciousness.;
5) turyātīta: the "beyond the fourth state.”;

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

candrāgnir avibhedana vidyā ātmā śivas tridhā. See Dyczkowski 2009, Introduction Vol 1, 453, fn. 4.

[2]:

Translation by Ben Williams.

[3]:

kurukullā balidevatā mātā | See Mira 1976, 9.