Now, the phrase that concerns us here is specifically śabdarāśi-kalā-the powers represented by the phonemes of language. Because of that capacity, we have the power of language. Śabdarāśi is a synonym for mātṛkā (literally, ‘matrix’), which refers to the power inherent in language, a power made possible by vimarśa-śakti, our innate capacity for reflective awareness or meta-cognition: that is, consciousness becoming aware of itself. Let’s investigate a bit more about what śabdarāśi-kalā connotes. More precisely, this phrase refers to the divisions of finite power ( kalās) expressed as the mass ( rāśi) of phonemes or linguistic sounds ( śabda). In the end of verse two, she offers her first possible answer to her own question, saying: “Is it the śabdarāśi-kalā(s)?”-that is to say, the mysterious powers inherent in the very sounds of language (specifically the sacred language of Sanskrit). Let us look at the answers Bhairavī proposes one by one. The first sees reality as diversified in fifty ways (since śabdarāśi-kalā refers to the pulsations of energy underlying the fifty phonemes of the Sanskrit language), the second in nine ways, the third in three ways, and the fourth in two ways.

Note that each of these can be understood as covering the whole of reality. Nāda & bindu, the Resonance and the Point? (see below) Śakti-traya, the three goddesses of the Trika lineage? (see below, and also the Trika chapter of Tantra Illuminated), or Śabdarāśi-kalā, the powers embodied in the Sanskrit alphabet? (see below, and also ch. Is the ultimate reality attained through: Does it consist of the powers that inhere in the mass of phonemes? || 2 || Or, amongst the awesome forms of Bhairava, is it Navātman? Or is it the trinity of śaktis (Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā) that constitute the three ‘heads’ of Triśirobhairava? || 3 || Or does it consist of the Resonance and the Point ( nāda and bindu)?. Triśiro-bheda-bhinnaṃ vā kiṃ vā śakti-trayātmakam || 3 || Kiṃ vā navātmabhedena bhairave bhairavākṛtau | Is it one of these or something else altogether?” Her exact words are:

She is saying, “I have listened carefully to the Śaiva teachings, so I know these are some possible answers to my question, but I need more clarity. She shows that she is qualified to ask this question by offering seven possible answers to her own question (of which we’re exploring the first four in this post). This is the part we are coming to now, the end of verse two into verse three, as well as the beginning of verse four. Then, she shows that she has in fact done her homework. She is asking “What is that which, if we know it experientially, there is nothing more that needs to be known? That which makes all other knowledge trivial by comparison - that’s what I want to know about.” When she asks “What is the nature of ultimate reality?” (or, more literally, “What appearance or form most accords with reality?”) she is effectively asking about what is ultimately true, and about which spiritual practice connects us with that truth. Remember that in the very first verse, Bhairavī said that she has heard everything Bhairava has taught: the entire teaching of the Trika, all the scriptures generated by their union up to that point. Already knowing the answer, she asks for the benefit of us, for the benefit of those who are eavesdropping, as it were, on the whole conversation. So let’s get into it.īhairavī, the goddess, asked Bhairava, her beloved, the ultimate question. I am happy to be one of the first teachers to do so publicly. It’s important to understand the traditional teachings that the text puts into play here, at the beginning, as possible answers to the question, “What is the nature of ultimate reality?” These initial allusions to esoteric concepts within the Tantrik tradition set the bar for the reader, implying that only one well-versed in the practice teachings of Tantrik Yoga can fully understand and successfully undertake the subtler practices of the VBT.Īs far as I know, none of the published versions of the VBT really break down these esoteric concepts with any clarity or any detail. It requires a bit of intellectual labor to do so, but I think it’s worth it. Right here at the beginning we encounter a section of the original text that has been almost entirely ignored by other translators, mostly because they didn’t understand these verses. In verse two of our text, Bhairavī asked Bhairava “What is the true nature of reality?” And in the following two verses, she proposes seven possible answers to her own question.

Synonym subsume