3. The Trimūrtti Concept and Pañcadaivatya Concept

Apart from Śaivism, Śāktism and Vaiṣṇavism the Yogopaniṣads highlight the Trimūrtti concept and Pañcadaivatya concept also.

The Dhyānabindūpaniṣad describes the Trimūrttyadhyayana through the practices of the prāṇāyamas like pūraka, kuṃbhakka, and recaka which represent the deities of Viṣṇu, Brahma, and Śiva respectively:

caturbhujaṃ mahāviṣṇuṃ pūrakeṇa vicintayet ||
kumbhakena hṛdisthane cintayet kamalāsanam ||
recakena tu vidyātmā lalāṭasthaṃ trilocanam || ^[1]

Again the Pāśupatabrahmopaniṣad describes Rudra, Viṣṇu, and Brahma as the increased forms of the triguṇas of tamas, sattva, and rajas respectively:

The Brahmavidyopaniṣads, as ponited out earlier describes the concept of pañcadaivatyam such as Brahma,Viṣṇu, Rudra, Maheśvara and Acyuta. Each occupies the body regions of the heart, neck, throat, forehead and tip of the nose respectively.

On the bases of its mātras it is stated:

ekamātro dvimātraśca trimātraścaiva bhedataḥ |
ardhamātrā parā jñeya tat ūrdhvaṃ parātparam ||
pañcadhā pañcadaivatyaṃ sakalaṃ paripaṭhyate |
brahmaṇo hṛdayasthanaṃ kaṇṭhe viṣṇu samāśritaḥ ||
tālumadhye sthito rudro lalāṭasthe maheśvaraḥ |
nāsāgre acyutaṃ vidyāttasyānte tu paraṃ padam || ^[2]

Here the finite Ātman is described with the deities. Brahma, Viṣṇu , and Rudra are treated as the finite existence (jīva) with one mātras as ‘A’, Maheśvara is measured by two mātra of ‘Au’ and Acyuta is measured by three mantras of ‘AUM’ and the ‘Param’, the Supreme Brahman (paramātman), the infinite, is measured by half mātra.

The Yogatattvopaniṣad describes the dhāraṇas of five Brahmans in the region of pañcabhūtas, such as Pṛthvi region denoting brahmadyāna, apāh region devoted to Viṣṇudhyāna, tejah region denoting Rudradyāna. Vayu region pertaining to Īśvaradhyāna and the ākāśa region concerned with the Sadāśivadhyāna.

This is stated in the Bhāṣya as:

pṛthvīśabdena pāthirvamaṇḍalamucyate tataḥ pārthive |
abmaṇḍale viṣṇudhyānaṃ tatphalaṃ cāha-jānoriti |
vahnimaṇḍale rudradhyānaṃ tatphalaṃ cāha-pāyoriti |
vāyumaṇḍale īśvara tatphalaṃ cāha-hṛdayamiti |
ākāśamaṇḍale sadāśivadhyānaṃ tatphalaṃ cāha-bhrūmadhyāditi |^[3]

Through these dhāraṇas of the Brahmans, a yogi can contain the consecutive elements like the earth that leads to deathlessness, water that leads to water fearlessness and deathlessness due to water, fire that leads to burnlessness, air that leads to deathlessness by air and space provides ability to fly. Thus these dhāraṇas make a yogi comfortable and provides him robustness to his body.

Thus the Yogopaniṣads are highly influenced by the religious thoughts of Hinduism like Śaivism, Śāktism, and Vaiṣṇavism. These religious thoughts present the consecutive deities and ultimate and these can be attained through the yoga practices. Most of these twenty upaniṣads describe the deities in more or less the same manner; one and the same upaniṣad describes the multiple deities as the ultimate. From these it can be understood that, like all other literary works, the Yogopaniṣads also subject the society to the religious practices in accordance with the regional and periodical changes that occur in the society to a great extent.

Through Śaivism the Yogopaniṣads introduce different Śaivite concepts like Paśupati, Pāśu, Mala etc. These concepts are very much related to yoga and Vedānta. These terms belong to the consecutive terms like Brahman, Īśvara, jīva or sādhaka, karma, ajñāna or avidya etc., respectively. In Śaivism Śakti is treated as one of its aspects. Śiva is treated as an entity without a second. They also illustrate Śaivism with an advaitic view. Here, when a yogi realises himself as Śiva he becomes Śiva himself or he attains oneness with Śiva.

In Śaivism Śakti is treated as a personal God which represents Devi or a woman deity. Here the yogopaniṣad, identifies this deity with the kuṇḍalinīśakti The Yogadarśana provides different roles to almost all deities in the body as an aid for the yoga practice. These principles are mostly applied in the tantra; and, on the basis of it, their emerged a kind of yoga named Haṭhayoga, which exhibits the occult nature of body and the mystic forces accumulated in it. Thus the tāntric reflections of yoga play a good role in the Yogopaniṣads. This Śākta siddhānta reflects the dual principle such as Śiva and Śakti. Thus it may be treated as a Dvaita philosophy as that of Vaiṣṇavism, where Nārāyaṇa and Lakṣmi are the two entities. Because of this, the Nārāyaṇattva concept reflects the Viśiṣṭādvaita also. The Yogopaniṣads present Viṣṇu as the mahāyogi, who is treated as a model and who becomes a light for the yogins. So it presents him as puruṣottama. Vaiṣṇavism call kaivalya as the parmapada and bhakti as its means. So also it is dualistic and Viśiṣṭādvaitam in its nature.

The Yogopaniṣads assimilate different means for the attainment of one and the same entity, that is mokṣa, This mokṣa concept is expressed here differently as Īśvara, Śiva, Śakti, Viṣṇu, Brahman etc. Again they often indicate some concepts by different terms. This also shows the greatness and validity of the same. In fact, as the name upaniṣads indicates the Yogopaniṣads are primarily treated as the providers of brahmañjāna through the versatality of their contents.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Dhy.b.U.30,31,32

[2]:

Bra.V.U.39-42

[3]:

Yogatattva-upaniṣad 84-103com.