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 Tantrāloka (Tantraloka): Chapter 24 - stanzas 1 to 24 - Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir

Antyeṣṭiprakāśana - Normal translation


 Introduction

photo 61 - peacock featherThis is the only set of stanzas (from the stanza 1 to the stanza 24) of the twenty-fourth chapter (called Antyeṣṭiprakāśana).

This work was written by the great Master Abhinavagupta and is a compendium of Tantra in all its facets. Tantrāloka is the most important and voluminous work of the greatest Trika Master. Abhinavagupta was also the teacher of eminent Kṣemarāja and lived about 975-1025 AD in Kashmir.

This treatise whose name is Tantrāloka is a complete encyclopedia of Tantra. Since it is a very advanced text in Trika Shaivism, there is no surprise if a neophyte finds it difficult to understand. To start to understand it, the level of the reader must be the one of a real disciple in Trika Shaivism. If this requirement is not met, then there will be a lot of confusion and constant disappointment. Because in spite of my great efforts to explain the things so easily as possible, to study this treatise requires some spiritual caliber. In this system, sometimes it is not possible even to write about certain topics due to the extreme limitation of the words. Because in the end, all this knowledge has to do with 'states', and it is extremely difficult to write about 'states' in a precise way. Abhinavagupta has done his best to accomplish this formidable task of writing about what is superior and intangible. Anyway, despite his incredible skills to carry out this, he is not revealing everything. It is not because he is all the time hiding things from the reader, but because he is sometimes hiding and on other occasions he just cannot write about some extremely subtle topics because of the limitation of the words.

Goal of life is Liberation. Man has searched for freedom always in human history, but according to Trika Shaivism that is not real Liberation. Real Liberation does not mean that your body should be free from some prison and things like that. Real Liberation amounts to attaining His Svātantrya or Absolute Freedom. When the Great Lord's Svātantrya is achieved, then you see unity in all the things, i.e. you stop seeing duality as before. All is forever identified with Svātantrya, with Him, and that is the end of the story called 'you in bondage'. From this point on nothing will get in your way, because if something apparently gets in your way, that is Svātantrya again. This constant awareness of unity in all is real Freedom. There is no other attainment greater than this!

Keeping the above in mind, now read Tantrāloka and experience Supreme Delight, dear Śiva.

Important: All that is in brackets and italicized within the translation has been added by me in order to complete the sense of a particular phrase or sentence. In turn, all that is between double hyphen (--...--) constitutes clarifying further information also added by me.

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 Stanzas 1 to 10

अथ श्रीतन्त्रालोके चतुर्विंशतितममाह्निकम्।
Atha śrītantrāloke caturviṁśatitamamāhnikam|

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अथ शाम्भवशासनोदितां सरहस्यां शृणुतान्त्यसंस्क्रियाम्॥१॥
Atha śāmbhavaśāsanoditāṁ sarahasyāṁ śṛṇutāntyasaṁskriyām||1||

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सर्वेषामधरस्थानां गुर्वन्तानामपि स्फुटम्।
शक्तिपातात्पुराप्रोक्तात्कुर्यादन्त्येष्टिदीक्षणम्॥२॥

Sarveṣāmadharasthānāṁ gurvantānāmapi sphuṭam|
Śaktipātātpurāproktātkuryādantyeṣṭidīkṣaṇam||2||

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ऊर्ध्वशासनगानां च समयोपहतात्मनाम्।
अन्त्येष्टिदीक्षा कर्तव्या गुरुणा तत्त्ववेदिना॥३॥

Ūrdhvaśāsanagānāṁ ca samayopahatātmanām|
Antyeṣṭidīkṣā kartavyā guruṇā tattvavedinā||3||

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समयाचारदोषेषु प्रमादात्स्खलितस्य हि।
अन्त्येष्टिदीक्षा कार्येति श्रीदीक्षोत्तरशासने॥४॥

Samayācāradoṣeṣu pramādātskhalitasya hi|
Antyeṣṭidīkṣā kāryeti śrīdīkṣottaraśāsane||4||

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यत्किञ्चित्कथितं पूर्वं मृतोद्धाराभिधे विधौ।
प्रतिमायां तदेवात्र सर्वं शवतनौ चरेत्॥५॥

Yatkiñcitkathitaṁ pūrvaṁ mṛtoddhārābhidhe vidhau|
Pratimāyāṁ tadevātra sarvaṁ śavatanau caret||5||

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श्रीसिद्धातन्त्रकथितो विधिरेष निरूप्यते।
अन्तिमं यद्भवेत्पूर्वं तत्कृत्वान्तिममादिमम्॥६॥

Śrīsiddhātantrakathito vidhireṣa nirūpyate|
Antimaṁ yadbhavetpūrvaṁ tatkṛtvāntimamādimam||6||

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संहृत्यैकैकमिष्टिर्या सान्त्येष्टिर्द्वितयी मता।
पूजाध्यानजपाप्लुष्टसमये नतु साधके॥७॥

Saṁhṛtyaikaikamiṣṭiryā sāntyeṣṭirdvitayī matā|
Pūjādhyānajapāpluṣṭasamaye natu sādhake||7||

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पिण्डपातादयं मुक्तः खेचरो वा भवेत्प्रिये।
आचार्ये तत्त्वसम्पन्ने यत्र तत्र मृते सति॥८॥

Piṇḍapātādayaṁ muktaḥ khecaro vā bhavetpriye|
Ācārye tattvasampanne yatra tatra mṛte sati||8||

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अन्त्येष्टिर्नैव विद्येत शुद्धचेतस्यमूर्धनि।
मन्त्रयोगादिभिर्ये च मारिता नरके तु ते॥९॥

Antyeṣṭirnaiva vidyeta śuddhacetasyamūrdhani|
Mantrayogādibhirye ca māritā narake tu te||9||

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कार्या तेषामिहान्त्येष्टिर्गुरुणातिकृपालुना।
न मण्डलादिकं त्वत्र भवेच्छमाशानिके विधौ॥१०॥

Kāryā teṣāmihāntyeṣṭirguruṇātikṛpālunā|
Na maṇḍalādikaṁ tvatra bhavecchamāśānike vidhau||10||

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 Stanzas 11 to 20

केचित्तदपि कर्तव्यमूचिरे प्रेतसद्मनि।
पूजयित्वा विभुं सर्वं न्यासं पूर्ववदाचरेत्॥११॥

Kecittadapi kartavyamūcire pretasadmani|
Pūjayitvā vibhuṁ sarvaṁ nyāsaṁ pūrvavadācaret||11||

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संहारक्रमयोगेन चरणान्मूर्धपश्चिमम्।
तथैव बोधयेदेनं क्रियाज्ञानसमाधिभिः॥१२॥

Saṁhārakramayogena caraṇānmūrdhapaścimam|
Tathaiva bodhayedenaṁ kriyājñānasamādhibhiḥ||12||

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बिन्दुना रोधयेत्तत्त्वं शक्तिबीजेन वेधयेत्।
घट्टयेन्नाददेशे तु त्रिशूलेन तु ताडयेत्॥१३॥

Bindunā rodhayettattvaṁ śaktibījena vedhayet|
Ghaṭṭayennādadeśe tu triśūlena tu tāḍayet||13||

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सुषुम्नान्तर्गतेनैव विसर्गेण पुनः पुनः।
ताडयेत कलाः सर्वाः कम्पतेऽसौ ततः पशुः॥१४॥

Suṣumnāntargatenaiva visargeṇa punaḥ punaḥ|
Tāḍayeta kalāḥ sarvāḥ kampate'sau tataḥ paśuḥ||14||

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उत्क्षिपेद्वामहस्तं वा ततस्तं योजयेत्परे।
प्रत्ययेन विना मोक्षो ह्यश्रद्धेयो विमोहितैः॥१५॥

Utkṣipedvāmahastaṁ vā tatastaṁ yojayetpare|
Pratyayena vinā mokṣo hyaśraddheyo vimohitaiḥ||15||

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तदर्थमेतदुदितं नतु मोक्षोपयोग्यदः।
इत्यूचे परमेशः श्रीकुलगह्वरशासने॥१६॥

Tadarthametaduditaṁ natu mokṣopayogyadaḥ|
Ityūce parameśaḥ śrīkulagahvaraśāsane||16||

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साध्योऽनुमेयो मोक्षादिः प्रत्ययैर्यदतीन्द्रियः।
दीक्षोत्तरे च पुर्यष्टवर्गार्पणमिहोदितम्॥१७॥

Sādhyo'numeyo mokṣādiḥ pratyayairyadatīndriyaḥ|
Dīkṣottare ca puryaṣṭavargārpaṇamihoditam||17||

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तद्विधिः श्रुतिपत्रेऽब्जे मध्ये देवं सदाशिवम्।
ईशरुद्रहरिब्रह्मचतुष्कं प्राग्दिगादितः॥१८॥

Tadvidhiḥ śrutipatre'bje madhye devaṁ sadāśivam|
Īśarudraharibrahmacatuṣkaṁ prāgdigāditaḥ||18||

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पूजयित्वा श्रुतिस्पर्शौ रसं गन्धं वपुर्द्वयम्।
ध्यहङ्कृती मनश्चेति ब्रह्मादिष्वर्पयेत्क्रमात्॥१९॥

Pūjayitvā śrutisparśau rasaṁ gandhaṁ vapurdvayam|
Dhyahaṅkṛtī manaśceti brahmādiṣvarpayetkramāt||19||

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एतेषां तर्पणं कृत्वा शतहोमेन दैशिकः।
एषा सान्न्यासिकी दीक्षा पुर्यष्टकविशोधनी॥२०॥

Eteṣāṁ tarpaṇaṁ kṛtvā śatahomena daiśikaḥ|
Eṣā sānnyāsikī dīkṣā puryaṣṭakaviśodhanī||20||

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 Stanzas 21 to 24

पुर्यष्टकस्याभावे च न स्वर्गनरकादयः।
तथा कृत्वा न कर्तव्यं लौकिकं किञ्चनापि हि॥२१॥

Puryaṣṭakasyābhāve ca na svarganarakādayaḥ|
Tathā kṛtvā na kartavyaṁ laukikaṁ kiñcanāpi hi||21||

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उक्तं श्रीमाधवकुले शासनस्थो मृतेष्वपि।
पिण्डपातोदकास्र्वादि लौकिकं परिवर्जयेत्॥२२॥

Uktaṁ śrīmādhavakule śāsanastho mṛteṣvapi|
Piṇḍapātodakāsrvādi laukikaṁ parivarjayet||22||

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शिवं सम्पूज्य चक्रार्चां यथाशक्ति समाचरेत्।
क्रमात्त्रिदशमत्रिंशत्रिंशवत्सरवासरे॥२३॥

Śivaṁ sampūjya cakrārcāṁ yathāśakti samācaret|
Kramāttridaśamatriṁśatriṁśavatsaravāsare||23||

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इत्युक्तोऽन्त्येष्टियागोऽयं परमेश्वरभाषितः॥२४॥
Ityukto'ntyeṣṭiyāgo'yaṁ parameśvarabhāṣitaḥ||24||

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 Further Information

Gabriel Pradīpaka

This document was conceived by Gabriel Pradīpaka, one of the two founders of this site, and spiritual guru conversant with Sanskrit language and Trika philosophy.

For further information about Sanskrit, Yoga and Indian Philosophy; or if you simply want to comment, ask a question or correct a mistake, feel free to contact us: This is our e-mail address.



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