The

Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra
“Praise to the Heart of Auspiciousness”

by Śivānanda

(thirteenth century, South India)

translated by Dr. Ben Williams

with an introduction and notes to each verse by Brian Campbell
and an original melodic rendering by Sheela Bringi

published by Tripurā Tallikā

2024
This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license,
which permits reproduction in any medium or format in an unadapted form only, for non-
commercial purposes only, and only as long as attribution is given to the creators. CC BY-NC-
ND includes the following elements:

BY: Credit must be given to the creators.

NC: Only non-commercial uses of the work are permitted.

ND: No derivates or adaptations of the work are permitted.

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra “Praise to the Heart of Auspiciousness” © 2024 by Ben Williams

and Brian Campbell is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
International. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
4.0/

Published by:
Tripurā Tallikā
First Edition: July 2024
www.tripuratallika.org
T
ripurā Tallikā is a small group of Śrīvidyā practitioners working to make high quality
Śrīvidyā texts, and related knowledge, accessible to practitioners worldwide. Our goal
is to revitalize knowledge in the Śrīvidyā tradition, its foundational texts, practices,
and rich history through our publications and work. Key to our mission is providing our
publications open access and free of charge, thereby ensuring that the widest audience can
access them. Our mission is guided by our values: Wisdom, Excellence, and Responsibility. With
deep gratitude to our respective gurus, and with their full blessings, Tripurā Tallikā is an
independent research and publishing group.

Dr. Ben Williams is an intellectual historian focused on Indian religions and the history of
Śaiva tantra. He has also received extensive training in Indian philosophy, literature, and
aesthetics in Sanskrit sources. Ben received a bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from the
University of Vermont, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and completed his Ph.D. in the
Department of South Asian Studies at Harvard University. He currently serves as an Assistant
Professor of Hinduism at Naropa University, where he is chair of Naropa's MA program in Yoga
Studies. Ben is currently working on a monograph on the medieval luminary Abhinavagupta, as
well as two collaborative translation projects.

Brian Campbell is a practitioner of Śrīvidyā (Śrīvidyopāsaka) who is passionate about Śaivism,

Kaula tantra, and Indic religious traditions. Brian trained for several years with hereditary
priests in South India, and London, and has made multiple pilgrimages to India since first
becoming wholly captivated with meditation and ritual worship while in high school. Brian
earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley; a master's degree from
the University of Chicago; and continued on as Ph.D. student in the Religious Studies
Department at the University of California, Davis for several years. Currently working outside
of the academy, Brian continues his research and writing and enjoys sharing it with wider
audiences.

Sheela Bringi is a sacred music artist and educator trained in North Indian classical, devotional,
and Western musical traditions. A singer and instrumentalist, she plays the harp, harmonium,
and bansuri. Sheela has studied under renowned North Indian maestros like Pt. G.S. Sachdev
and Ust. Aashish Khan, and continues her studies in Hindustani voice with Sri Subhashish
Mukhopadyay. Her two mantra music albums, 'Shakti Sutra' and 'Incantations,' have received
critical acclaim from media outlets like NBC News, NPR, and Public Radio International.
Sheela teaches at Naropa University in Boulder, CO, and is co-founder and a lead teacher in the
Sacred Sound Lab, an online school for Indian devotional music. She holds an MFA in North
Indian Music from the California Institute of the Arts and performs and teaches globally.

Listen to the original musical composition of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra by Sheela Bringi at

www.tripuratallika.org/saubhagyahrdayastotra

4
 Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................4
Introduction: Śivānanda and the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra .................................................................5
Verse 1...................................................................................................................................................12
Verse 2 ..................................................................................................................................................14
Verse 3 ..................................................................................................................................................16
Verse 4 ..................................................................................................................................................18
Verse 5 ..................................................................................................................................................19
Verse 6 .................................................................................................................................................20
Verse 7...................................................................................................................................................23
Verse 8 ..................................................................................................................................................25
Verse 9 ..................................................................................................................................................27
Verse 10 ................................................................................................................................................28
Verse 11.................................................................................................................................................29
Verse 12 ................................................................................................................................................30
Verse 13 .................................................................................................................................................35
Verse 14 ................................................................................................................................................36
Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra: Text & Translation......................................................................................38
Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................41
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 5 of 45 Śivānanda

Introduction: Śivānanda and the

Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra
Śivānanda, also known as Śivānandamuni, Śivānandanātha, and Śivānandayogin ( . c. 1225-1275),1
is one of the earliest interpreters of the tantric tradition of goddess worship known as Śrīvidyā.
Hailing from South India, Śivānanda was a prolific commentator, author, and the first
Śrīvidyācārya (teacher of Śrīvidyā) in South India to write a commentary, Ṛjuvimarśinī, on the
Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇavatantra—the principal text of the Śrīvidyā tradition. Other early commentators
on this important tantra include Jayaratha from Kashmir ( . c. 1225-1275), who is more well-
known for writing the only commentary (entitled Viveka) on Abhinavagupta's masterpiece,
Tantrāloka; Vidyānanda ( . c. thirteenth century); Amṛtānanda ( . c. 1325-1375); and most famously,
Bhāskararāya Makhin (1690-1785). Of these foundational commentators, it is Bhāskararāya
alone who has retained the highest level of prestige within the minds and hearts of the vast
majority of contemporary Śrīvidyā practitioners. Unfortunately, Śivānanda's reputation, fame,
and importance has largely been eclipsed, thus leaving him virtually unknown outside of small
groups of academic specialists and lineages of Śrīvidyā fortunate enough to appreciate his
writings.

Śivānanda, like many gurus within the Śrīvidyā tradition, was a householder, further showcasing
that titles such as muni, yogin, and ānanda/ānandanātha are not only for ascetic renouncers
(sannyāsins), but a wide variety of religious specialists. Initiatory names that end with ānanda
(bliss) are used in certain orders of Śaṅkarācārya's famous ten orders of monasticism (daśanāmi
sannyāsa), but by no means all of them, and should not be confused with ānandanātha (lord of
bliss) suffixes that several tantric traditions bestow with their initiatory names.

Śivānanda was the son of Pratiṣṭhānanda, had a son named Cidānanda, and a grandson named
Śrīkaṇṭhānanda2— who composed a seventy-verse paddhati (ritual manual) for the worship of
Tripurasundarī entitled the Niṣkalākramacarcā.3 The great Kaula master, Maheśvārananda ( . c.
1275-1325) of Cidambaram, refers to Śivānanda as his paramaguru (teacher's teacher) and even
quotes Śivānanda's Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra twice in his Parimala commentary on the
Mahārthmañjarī.4

Śivānanda was deeply influenced by Śrīvidyā's immediate Kaula and Śaiva predecessors including
the Trika-Krama synthesis of the great Śaiva master and polymath, Abhinavagupta ( . c. 975-1025

1 Following Sanderson 2007, 416.

2 Khanna 1986, 21.

3 Dyczkowski 1992, 287.

4 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra is cited in the elucidation of verses two and twenty-seven.

fl
fl
fl
fl
fl
fl
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 6 of 45 Śivānanda

C.E.) and the highly influential Pratyabhijñā tradition developed at the hands of Somānanda ( .
c. 900-950) and Utpaladeva ( . c. 925-975).5 Śivānanda was not only indebted to these important
teachers from Kashmir, but even claims in his Ṛjuvimarśinī commentary that Śrīvidyā in his
saṃpradāya (lineage) originated from Kashmir.6 Śivānanda's grand-disciple, Maheśvarānanda,
echoes this understanding in his Mahārthamañjarī by citing this exact line from his paramaguru.7

In addition to his Ṛjuvimarśinī commentary on the Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇavatantra, Śivānanda also

wrote a commentary, entitled the Dīpikā, on the Śambhunirṇayatantra. This rare tantra belongs
to a largely unknown South Indian Kaula lineage called Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava, or simply
Śāmbhava.8 This lineage was closely related to the more well-known Kubjikā centered
Paścimāmnāya tradition,9 but placed the primary emphasis on Bhairava as Navātman with
Kubjikā as his consort, rather than worshiping Kubjikā as the principal deity.10 The
Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava appears to have been a dual system of Kubjikā and Tripurā worship that
flourished in conjunction with the Dakṣiṇāmnāya tradition of worshiping Kāmeśvarī/
Tripurasundarī that would eventually be known by its more popular name, Śrīvidyā.11

Maheśvarānanda proclaims in his Mahārthamañjarī that he is initiated into the

Saubhāgyaśāmbhava tradition, which might be an elevated form of the Saubhāgyasaṃpradāya,12
or as professor Sanderson points out, “a Dvandva compound denoting the pairing of the two
cults of Tripurasundarī (Saubhāgya) and Kubjikā (the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava).”13 It seems this
lineage fell out of favor as Śrīvidyā grew in importance and social standing, but much remains
unclear as sources are unpublished and await future study.

Important aspects of the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava tradition remain hidden ‘in plain view’
throughout Śrīvidyā. Salient examples include the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhavaraśmikrama,14 an intricate

5 Dating following Sanderson 2007, 411.

6 sampradāyasya kāśmīradeśobhūtatatvāt yoginīpradhānatayā vidhāyāḥ prākṛtabhāṣāviśeṣatvāc ca yathāsampradāyaṃ tasya vyavahāra ity

upadeśaḥ in Dwiveda 1985, 114. This verse is also cited in Dyczkowski 2004, 48 and Cox 2006, 15.

7 Parimala commentary on verse seventy-one.

8 Sanderson 1988, 687; 2002, 2-3; 2014, 76-77, fn. 304.

9 The 'western transmission' of the four principal Kaula traditions, see Sanderson 1988, 681-690.

10 Sanderson 1988, 687.

11 Sanderson 2002, 3.

12 Saubhāgyasaṃpradāya is an early name for the tradition of worshiping Tripurasundarī. For a brief overview of this name see
pg. 10 below.

13 Sanderson 2014, 76-77, fn. 304. See Dwiveda 1992, 1: yasmād anuttaramahāhradamajjanaṃ me saubhāgyaśāmbhavasukhānubhavaś ca
yasmāt tatsvātmacitkramavimarśamayaṃ gurūṇām ovalli yugmam uditoditavīryam īḍe.

14 Sri Chakra 2001.

fl
fl
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 7 of 45 Śivānanda

ritual worship of Tripurasundarī as the sun of consciousness who, along with a number of
attendant deities, fill each of the six principal cakras of the practitioner's body with rays of light.
A simplified version of this practice is encoded within the fourteenth verse of the Saundaryalaharī.
Amṛtānanda's disciple, Umākānta, wrote an entire treatise on practices from this tradition in a
short work entitled the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhavakrama, which includes citations from the
Śambhunirṇaya as well as the Kubjikāmatatantra,15 but, unfortunately, remains unpublished. It is
likely that the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava tradition was wholly absorbed into Śrīvidyā, Śaiva Siddhānta,
and other major traditions, such as those found within the Matysendrasaṃhitā, as historical
developments took place in South India over the centuries. The Śambhunirṇayatantra, as well as
Śivānanda's Dīpikā commentary, are both unpublished.

In addition to his learned commentaries, Śivānanda also wrote several original compositions
including an early ritual manual for the daily worship of Tripurasundarī, entitled the
Subhagodayaprabhā, and a trilogy of texts entitled the Subhagodaya, Subhogodayavāsanā, and
Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra. These three texts collectively outline the worship (Subhagodaya), esoteric
contemplation (Subhagodayavāsanā), and praise (Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra) of the goddess
Tripurasundarī. Śivānanda, and his trilogy of texts, were studied as the subject of a pioneering
dissertation by Dr. Madhu Khanna in 1986, but also remains unpublished.16

Śivānanda, like Amṛtānanda, belonged to the Hādividyā lineage of Śrīvidyā, meaning the
principal mantra of Tripurasundarī begins with the syllable HA, as opposed to the more popular
and well-known Kādividyā lineage that teaches her principal mantra begins with the syllable
KA. Śivānanda's guruparaṃpara (lineage of teachers) includes many names that will be
immediately familiar to those fluent in the now famous Khaḍgamālāmantra, although likely
without the larger historical background he indirectly provides in his Ṛjuvimarśinī commentary
and that was first recognized in-print by Professor Sanderson as follows:

asmadgotramahattaraḥ prasiddhabahvapadāno bhojadevadṛṣṭacamatkāro |

mahādeśikapravaraḥ śrīmān dīpakācāryo daṇḍakakartā ||

“The venerable Dīpakācārya, author of the [Tripurasundarī]daṇḍaka[stotra], the foremost of

my lineage, the best of great Gurus, whose many noble deeds are famous, whose miracles
were witnessed by Bhojadeva.”17

Following Śivānanda's assertion that Dīpakācārya was contemporaneous with Bhojadeva, who
was very likely the ruler of Dhārā from 1018-1060, Professor Sanderson estimates dates for the
mānavaugha in Śivānanda's guru lineage as follows:18

15 Sanderson 2014, 73, fn. 284.

16 Khanna 1986.

17 Sanderson 2007, 416, fn. 619.

18 Sanderson 2007, 416, fn. 620. Śivānanda provides his guru lineage, including the current of the divine one’s (divyaugha)
association with the well-known cosmic time cycles (yuga) in his Ṛjuvimarśinī commentary; see Dviveda 1985, 222.
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 8 of 45 Śivānanda

Śivānanda's Guru Lineage

Divyaugha (the current of the divine ones)

Paramaśiva
Caryānātha
Oḍḍanātha (tretāyuga)
Ṣaṣṭhanātha (dvāparayuga)
Mitreśanātha (kaliyuga)

Siddhaugha (the current of the accomplished ones)

Lopāmudrā*
Agastya
Kaṅkalātāpasa19
Dharmācārya
Muktakeśinī*
Dīpakācārya (1025-1075)

Mānavaugha (the current of humans)

Jiṣṇudeva (son of Dīpakācārya) (1050-1100)

Mātṛgupta (1075-1125)
Tejodeva (1100-1150)
Manojadeva (1125-1175)
Kalyāṇadeva (1150-1200)
Ratnadeva (1175-1225)
Vāsudevamahāmuni (1200-1250)
Śivānanda (1225-1275)

19 Kaṅkālatāpasa is an important siddha guru listed by Śivānanda, Vidyānanda, and Amṛtānanda. He is also famously known as
Kālatāpana, which is a variant spelling that Bhāskararāya privileges.
* Both Lopāmudrā and Muktakeśinī were women, a noteworthy fact given that most lineage holders in Śrīvidyā were men. See
Śivānanda’s assertion that she was a yoginī who was ‘graced’ by Dharmācārya in Dwiveda 1985, 223.
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 9 of 45 Śivānanda

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra appears to be one of the earliest devotional hymns to the goddess
Tripurasundarī. The text was first edited and published in Sanskrit by Professor Vrajavallabha
Dwiveda as an appendix to his 1985 critical edition of the Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇavatantra. The
Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra praises the goddess Tripurasundarī in fourteen verses that identify her
with the highest principles of reality, as well as permeating the entirety of creation with radiant
bliss. Filled with foundational Śaiva doctrine, esoteric kuṇḍalinī practices, deep contemplation,
and praise, the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra presents a complete picture of the majestic and alluring
nature of the all-auspicious and sublime goddess, Tripurasundarī.

In the final verses of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra, Śivānanda mentions the stotra is “a secret that
fulfills all desires,” “uniquely dispels all afflicted conditions,” and should be, “recited by devotees as
a practice in every ritual worship [of the Goddess].” Essentially unknown to the overwhelming
majority of contemporary Śrīvidyā practitioners, this rare and important hymn likely played an
important role in the early ritual worship of Tripurasundarī. Precisely when the
Saubhāgyahṛdaystotra was forgotten within the larger community of Śrīvidyā practitioners remains
unclear. Maheśvarānanda's two citations in his Mahārthamañjarī20 and Amṛtānanda's three
citations in his Dīpikā commentary on the Yoginīhṛdayatantra,21 provide clear evidence that it was
being studied at least two generations after Śivānanda, but beyond that references are few.22

It is, of course, entirely possible that the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra was never popularized outside of
small groups of initiated practitioners, nor was it meant to be recited by non-initiates, or
lineages outside of Śivānanda’s lineage. Regardless, its publication in 1985 by Professor Dwiveda
marked a turning point in its availability to the larger Śrīvidyā community. We can only hope
that this 2024 publication and translation in English, for the benefit of the international
Śrīvidyā community, would have pleased Śivānanda based on a poignant aspiration he gives for
his teachings in the last verse of his Subhagodaya:

prasṛtā bhāratījyotsnā śivānandendumaṇḍalāt |

kudeśikamahāgharmasantaptaiḥ sevyatām ciram ||

“May those who have been burned by the intense heat of corrupt teachers bask in the cool
radiance of speech emanating from the sphere [/lineage of teachers] of the moon that is
Śivānanda.”23

20 Commentary on verses two and twenty-seven.

21 Verses 1.2, 2.74, and 3.102.

22 Professor Sanderson (2014, 76-77, fn. 304) points out an interesting reference to the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra by an ascetic named
Śaṅkara in his Padyavāhinī.

23 Translation by Ben Williams.

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 10 of 45 Śivānanda

As a closing note, it is worth mentioning that in many instances the early Śrīvidyā tradition was
actually known as the Saubhāgyasaṃpradāya (the auspicious tradition), as well as
Traipuradarśana (the lineage of Tripurā).24 These names were sidelined as Śrīvidyā eclipsed them
both as the preferred name for the tradition of worshiping Tripursundarī. The term saubhāgya
(from su-bhagā) invokes Tripurā's auspicious, beautiful, creative, and blissful nature. The
Tripurārahasya māhātmyakhaṇḍa teaches in its twenty-fifth chapter that the fifteen-syllabled
mantra of Tripurasundarī is actually called the Saubhāgyavidyā and is taught alongside the
Saubhāgyāṣṭottaraśatanāmastotra (the auspicious hymn of one hundred and eight names), and the
Saubhāgyanavaratnastotra (the auspicious hymn of nine gems).25

In line with this understanding, several of Śivānanda's works begin with “saubhāgya,” as does
Amṛtānanda's ritual manual, the Saubhāgyasudhodaya. Furthermore, Amṛtānanda, in his Dīpikā
commentary on the Yoginīhṛdayatantra, repeatedly mentions the principal mantra of
Tripurasundarī as the Saubhāgyavidyā26 and explicitly teaches in his commentary on 2.17 that it
consists of fifteen syllables.27 Elsewhere in his Dīpikā commentary (2.1, 3.112) Amṛtānanda refers
to Tripurasundarī’s fifteen syllabled mantra as “Śrīvidyā,” particularly when describing how it
relates to the fifteen properties of the pañcamahābhūtas (five great elements) and the
Nityākalādevīs (goddesses of the individual lunar days). These references, along with a brief
mention in his Saubhāgyasudhodaya28 are perhaps three of the earliest mentions of “Śrīvidyā” as
the principal mantra of Tripurasundarī.

In contemporary Śrīvidyā practice the term saubhāgya often evokes a form of Tripurasundarī's
mantra known as the Saubhāgyapañcadaśī—a combined form of her principal fifteen-syllabled
mantra known as the Pañcadaśākṣarī and the primary mantra of Bālātripurasundarī known as the
Tryākṣarī.

24 Padoux 2013, 3.

25 For an English translation, see Rao 2011, 257.

26 See Amṛtānanda's Dīpikā commentary on 2.1, 2.7, 2.14, 2.17, 2.54-56, 2.65, 2.72, 2.77, 3.91, 3.97, 3.105, and 3.151.

27 śrīsaubhāgyavidyāvayavapañcadaśākṣarāṇām artho bhāvārthaḥ.

28 Saubhāgyasudhodaya 2.20: sṛṣṭyādibhedabhinnaśrīvidyāvarṇayugalanavakātmā navanādavargarūpā mātā sā madhyābhidhā vitatā.

 The

Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra
“Praise to the Heart of Auspiciousness”
meter: Anuṣṭup, final verse: Mālinī
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 12 of 45 Verse 1

Verse 1

त हः परमं नौ कृ प र तम् ।
अशेषिव भेदा पू ह कं वम् ॥ १ ॥
tan mahaḥ paramaṃ naumi kṛtyaiḥ pañcabhir aṅkitam |
aśeṣaviśvābhedātma pūrṇāhantātmakaṃ śivam || 1 ||
I offer salutations to that extraordinary illuminating power adorned by the five cosmic acts,
whose non-dual essence encompasses the universe—Śiva, the all-embracing identity.

Notes:

In his opening verse of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra, Śivānanda praises Śiva as mahas (illuminating
power), referring to his supreme ‘all-embracing identity’ that pervades all of reality as pure
consciousness. This verse is clearly influenced by the Pratyabhijñā philosophy of Śaiva
nondualism, which was the first system of Indic thought to comprehensively develop, articulate,
and expound the doctrine that the Self, as the universal subjective experience of “I”
(ahaṃbhāva), alone exists.29

Although the doctrine of the Self can be found in a number of significant Upaniṣads and their
commentaries by important figures such as Śaṅkarācārya, the experience of the Self according
to the Pratyabhijñā tradition differs substantially from these earlier traditions.30 Perhaps most
notable is that within Pratyabhijñā, the individual ego doesn't dissolve away as the product of
mistaken knowledge (avidyā) about an illusory world (māyā). Rather, the individual ego is
universalized as the single supreme ego, revealed as Śiva. This singular consciousness not only
pervades the entirety of creation, but imagines and creatively enacts the universe—something
the attribute-less, creator-less, and immutable Advaita Vedāntic conception of ultimate reality
cannot do.

Śivānanda further characterizes Śiva by his performance of five actions (pañcakṛtya) that
structure the experience of reality consisting of sṛṣṭi (emanation), sthiti (preservation), saṃhāra
(dissolution), tirodhāna (concealing), and anugraha (revealing). The Lalitāsahasranāma teaches that
Tripurasundarī is “pañcakṛtyaparāyaṇa” the one performs, and is devoted to, these same five
actions.31 Bhāskararāya mentions in his Saubhāgyabhāskara commentary on the Lalitāsahasranāma
that the meaning of this name can be found in the Pratyabhijñāh daya32—yet another instance
where important teachers from within the Śrīvidyā tradition point to works from Kashmir to
help illuminate their tradition. Śiva's five acts, as well as their correlation with the four cardinal

29 Dyczkowski 2004, 29-49.

30 For a preliminary study on the differences between Advaita-Vedānta and the Pratyabhijñā of Kashmir see Singh 1985.

31 Pañcakṛtyaparāyaṇa is the 274th name in the Lalitāsahasranāma. See Paṇśikar 1935, 80.

32 The Pratyabhijñahṛdaya is a concise work by Kṣemarāja, a disciple of Abhinavagupta. Bhāskararāya writes: etad artha
pratyabhijñāh daye dra avya . See Paṇśikar 1935, 80.
न्म
श्वा
ṛ
मि
त्म
ṣ
ṭ
त्यैः
र्णा
न्ता
ḥ
ञ्च
त्म
भि
ङ्कि
शि
ṛ
ḥ
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 13 of 45 Verse 1

directions (plus an upper direction) and the pañcamahābhūtas (five great elements) are given in
the Kālottaratantra as follows:33

Face of Sadāśiva Action Direction Element

Sadyojāta sṛṣṭi west pṛthvī (earth)

Vāmadeva sthiti north jala (water)
Aghora saṃhāra south agni (fire)
Tatpuruṣa tirodhāna east vāyu (air)
Īśāna anugraha upper ākāśa (space)

Śivānanda was greatly influenced by teachings of the great Śaiva masters from Kashmir
including Abhinavagupta, whom he cites numerous times in his Ṛjuvimarśinī commentary on
the Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇavatantra.34 Abhinavagupta, in his Īśvarapratyabhijñāvimarśinī on
Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā 1.1.5, teaches about the single supreme all-knowing subject (Śiva) as
follows:

paratvaṃ kevalam upādher dehādeḥ sa cāpi vicārito yāvan nānya iti viśvaḥ pramātṛvargaḥ
paramārthata ekaḥ pramātā sa eva cāsti | tad uktaṃ prakāśa evāsti svātmanaḥ svaparātmabhir iti |
tataś ca bhagavān sadāśivo jānātīty ataḥ prabhṛti krimir apo jānātīty antam eka eva pramātā ||

“Otherness (paratva) only comes from limiting conditions (upādhi) such as the body, and these
[limiting conditions themselves], as soon as they are investigated, [turn out] not [to be]
different [from the universal self]; therefore the entire multiplicity of the subject is in reality
one single subject (ekaḥ pramātā), and this [subject] alone exists. This has been said [by
Utpaladeva]: “Only conscious light (prakāśa) exists by itself, as oneself as well as the self of
others”. And therefore, from “The Lord Sadāśiva knows” to “even a worm knows”, it is one
single subject [who knows].”35

33 Dyczkowski 2023 VIII, 12, fn. 24.

34 Khanna 1986, 58.

35 Translation by Ratié 2007, 315.

 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 14 of 45 Verse 2

Verse 2

धा िवभ य तृ ित मात् ।
एक महसे त नमः सकलच षे ॥ २ ॥
tridhā vibhaktaṃ yad vastu stotṛstutyastutikramāt |
ekasmai mahase tasmai namaḥ sakalacakṣuṣe || 2 ||
Salutations to that one illuminating power, the eye that sees through all beings, a reality that
transforms into these three: the poet, the praise poem, and the object of praise!

Notes:

In this verse, Śivānanda continues to praise Śiva as mahas, but this time as the nondual source of
all knowledge that transforms into the three foundational aspects of knowing—found
pervasively across Indic thought as prameya (knowledge), pramāṇa (the method of knowing),
pramātṛ (the knower). Śivānanda relates this epistemological triad to his own stotra in that he
(the author), the text he is writing (Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra), and the object of praise (the goddess
Tripurasundarī), are all transformations of the single illuminating power of consciousness known
as Śiva.

This verse has a close parallel to an opening verse in Somānanda's Śivadṛṣti that offers
salutations to the omnipresent Śiva as follows:

asmadrūpasamāvi a svātmanātmanivāra e |
śiva karotu nijayā nama śaktyā tatātmane || 1||

“May Śiva, who has penetrated my form by warding himself off by means of his own self, pay
homage to his (all-)extensive self by means of his own power.”36

Abhinavagupta, in his Kramastotra, teaches about this same triadic relationship between the Self,
the poet, and praise in a slightly more detailed manner as follows:

vim śya svātmāna vim śati puna stutyacarita

tathā stotā stotre praka ayati bhedaikavi aye |
vim aś ca svātmā nikhilavi ayajñānasamaye
tad ittha tvatstotre 'ham iha satata yatnarahita || 2 ||

“Becoming fully aware of the innate Self, one then realizes that its activities are worthy of
praise. The poet then makes [that Self] manifest in a hymn of praise, which is based on
duality. And the moment there is a cognition of any object, one’s own self is realized. Thus, I
constantly praise you effortlessly.”37

36 Translation by Nemec 2011, 100.

37 Translation by Ben Williams and James Reich.

त्रि
स्मै
ṛ
ṛ
ḥ
ṣ
ṭ
ṃ
क्तं
स्मै
द्व
स्तु
स्तो
ṣ
ṃ
ṭ
ḥ
ṭ
स्तु
ṛ
त्य
ḥ
स्तु
ṣ
क्षु
क्र
ḥ
ṃ
ṣ
ṇ
ṃ
ḥ
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 15 of 45 Verse 2

bhava prājyaiśvaryaprathitabahuśakter bhagavato

vicitra cāritra h dayam adhiśete yadi tata |
katha stotra kuryād atha ca kurute tena sahasā
śivaikātmyaprāptau śivanatir upāya prathamaka || 6 ||

“O Śiva, if the diverse activities of God whose divine energies expand through his vast
sovereignty rest in the Heart, then how could there be praise? But there is. Therefore, bowing
to Śiva is the preeminent means for the sudden realization of oneness with Śiva.”38

38 Translation by Ben Williams and James Reich.

ṃ
ṃ
ṃ
ṃ
ṛ
ḥ
ḥ
ḥ
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 16 of 45 Verse 3

Verse 3

रा तां परां वाचं प िद मा याम् ।

नानािवधरसाकारमहानुभव िपणीम् ॥ ३ ॥
smarāmi tāṃ parāṃ vācaṃ paśyantyādikramāśrayām |
nānāvidharasākāramahānubhavarūpiṇīm39 || 3 ||
I contemplate that supreme speech (parāvāc), the ground for the sequence beginning with
visionary speech (paśyantī); [that speech] has the nature of the immediacy of direct experience in
the form of a diverse array of aesthetic sentiments.

Notes:

Contemplations on the nature of language permeate Indic religious and philosophical thought.
Language, as both śabda (sound), as well as the goddess Vāc, plays a vital role in Śaiva tantra and
is further amplified in Kaula tantra where the goddess of language is homologized with the
dynamism of nondual consciousness and encompasses four levels. The idea that language exists
in four parts, and of which only one is audible to human ears, stretches back to the Ṛgveda
(1.164.41, 10.71, 10.125). The great fifth century C.E. Sanskrit grammarian Bhartṛhari further
developed this idea by teaching about three principal levels of language known as paśyantī
(visionary), madhyamā (middle), and vaikharī (embodied)—although some scholars believe he
actually includes a supreme (parā) all-pervasive ground of language in his concept of the
universal śabdabrahman.40 Regardless, four aspects of language known as parā, paśyantī,
madhyamā, and vaikharī become the standard model for conceiving of language and are
described within Kaula tantra as early as the Kālīkulakramasadbhāva (2.73, 2.89). These four
aspects are briefly summarized as follows:

1. parā - The supreme nondual dynamism of consciousness—the power of consciousness to

signify, comprehend, and create awareness, meaning, differentiation, and reality—the power
of consciousness to become aware of itself.

2. paśyantī - The pure “seeing” or visionary level of language that is beyond the dualizing
dichotomy of subject and object. Paśyantī is immediate apprehension before thought is
divided between śabda (sound-unit) and artha (meaning).

3. madhyamā - The “middle” level of language that is fully dependent upon duality and a
division between a subject and an object. Madhyamā is unarticulated, silent, and the “mental”
aspect of language that comprises thought.

4. vaikharī - The audible level of language that is articulated and spoken aloud. Vaikharī is the
level of language that humans generally communicate in.

39Following Sanderson's (2007 415, fn. 617) preference for nānāvidharasākāra, as opposed to Dwiveda's published
nānāvidharasākārāṃ, based on two reported manuscripts from Dwiveda, as well as a Kashmirian manuscript of the
Tripurasundarīstotra reported by Sanderson.

40 See Aklujkar 1970, 67-70.

स्म
मि
श्य
न्त्या
रू
क्र
श्र
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 17 of 45 Verse 3

In this verse, Śivānanda contemplates the single supreme level of speech (parāvāc) as the source
of the other three beginning with paśyantī and teaches that language, through its various
'aesthetic sentiments,’ is a conduit for the direct experience of reality. This is a teaching that
highlights the liberatory, rather than binding, power of language.

The Yoginīhṛdayatantra (1.38-40) correlates the four levels of language with four important Śaiva
goddesses and their corresponding energies:

Level Goddess Energy

parā Ambikā śāntā

paśyantī Vāmā icchā
madhyamā Jyeṣṭhā jnāna
vaikharī Raudrī kriyā

Śivānanda opens his Subhagodayavāsanā with a beautiful contemplation on all the levels of
language as they relate to the blossoming of a flower:

parābhūjanmapaśyantīvallīgucchasamudbhavā |
madhyamāsaurabhā vaikhary akṣamālā jayaty asau || 1 ||

“The garland of letters as embodied speech reigns supreme—that is the fragrance of

intermediate speech, which emanates from the blossoming creeper of visionary speech born
from the earth: Parā[vāc].”41

41 Translation by Ben Williams.

 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 18 of 45 Verse 4

Verse 4

देशकालपदा य यथा यथा ।

त पेण या भाित तां ये सांिवदी ं कलाम् ॥ ४ ॥
deśakālapadārthātma yad yad vastu yathā yathā |
tattadrūpeṇa yā bhāti tāṃ śraye sāṃvidīṃ kalām|| 4 ||
I take refuge in that dynamic power of consciousness! That [alone] shines forth as every reality
that can be experienced in time and space, in all of their diverse modes of being.

Notes:

The nondual schools of tantric Śaivism, especially as developed by the great Kashmir Śaiva
masters such as Somānanda, Utpaladeva, and Abhinavagupta, provided a doctrinal basis upon
which several important Śrīvidyā commentators interpreted their own deity-specific revelation
and doctrines. One of the defining features of nondual Śaivism is that consciousness is not a
static observer, or a detached witness, as it is in other schools of Indic thought such as Advaita
Vedānta. In the nondual tantric Śaiva view, consciousness participates, expands, enjoys, and
becomes the world of experience in an all-encompassing form of nonduality. From within the
Śrīvidyā tradition, the Yoginīhṛdayatantra (1.56) teaches:

cidātmabhittau viśvasya prakāśāmarśane yadā |

karoti svecchayā pūrṇavicikīrṣāsamanvitā || 56 ||

“When [the supreme radiance] is endowed with desire to completely transform by her own
will, she creates manifestation and contemplation of the universe on the screen of the self,
which is consciousness.”42

In this verse, Śivānanda describes Tripurasundarī as the dynamism of consciousness (sāṃvidī kalā).
Amṛtānanda uses this same term to describe the goddess as the central deity of the Śrīcakra in the
nineteenth verse of his Cidvilāsastava and cites this verse of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra twice in his
Dīpikā commentary on the Yoginīhṛdayatantra: first, in his commentary on chapter 1.2 where he
explains how knowledge about the secret heart of the yoginī leads directly to the khecara state, and
second in his commentary on chapter 2.74 where explains that the goddess exists beyond all parts
and divisions.

42 Translation by Golovkova 2019, 113.

त्त
द्रू
र्था
त्म
द्य
द्व
श्र
स्तु
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 19 of 45 Verse 5

Verse 5

मूलािदिबलप महा पुरसु ।

या तनु तिड तां भजे भवशातनीम् ॥ ५ ॥
mūlādibilaparyantaṃ mahātripurasundari |
yā tanus te taḍitprakhyā tāṃ bhaje bhavaśātanīm || 5 ||
O Tripurasundarī, I worship your form that brings mundane existence to an end, flashing like a
streak of lightning from the root [center] to the space of the crown.

Notes:

The rise of kuṇḍalinī (subtle creative life-force energy) can take on a number of different forms,
both sudden and sequential, as it awakens within the human body. In this verse, Śivānanda
describes worshiping a form of Tripurasundarī that destroys worldly existence, thereby
liberating the practitioner from the cycle of birth and death. Śivānanda relates this awesome
form of the goddess to an electrifying experience of the sudden rise of kuṇḍalinī that “flashes
like a streak of lightning” through the principal cakras beginning with mūlādhāra (root center)
and ending with brahmarandhra (top of the head).

The Vijñānabhairavatantra teaches a strikingly similar meditation in its twenty-ninth verse that
instructs one to meditate upon the rise of kuṇḍalinī in the form of lightning (taḍidrūpām). From
within the Śrīvidyā tradition, the thirtieth chapter of the Gandharvatantra also teaches a
meditation on kuṇḍalinī in the form of lightning as follows:43

tām eva tvāṃ punar vacye bhāvanām āntarātmikām |

mūlādibrahmarandhrāntaṃ sphuradvidyullatākṛtim || 57 ||
dhyāyet kuṇḍalinīṃ devi tadvidyāsvararūpiṇīm |
ṣaṭcakrabhedinīṃ devīṃ bindutrayātmikāṃ parām || 58 ||

“O Goddess, I will teach you once more this inner empathic meditation: Visualize the
supreme goddess Kuṇḍalinī in the form of a streak of lightning flashing from the root center
to the top of the head. As the sonic essence of the Vidyā, She pierces the six centers and is
embodied as three bindus.”44

43 Grateful to André Padoux (2013, 68) for this Gandharvatantra chapter and verse reference.

44 Translation by Ben Williams.

स्ते
र्य
त्प्र
न्तं
ख्या
त्रि
न्द
रि
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 20 of 45 Verse 6

Verse 6

योनौ कनकपु भं िद िव टो लम् ।

आ यां च सं काशं मह व महे ॥६॥
yonau kanakapuñjābhaṃ hṛdi vidyucchaṭojjvalam |
ājñāyāṃ candrasaṃkāśaṃ mahas tava maheśvari || 6 ||
O Maheśvarī, your illuminating power shines like a treasury of gold in the source, a brilliant
burst of lightning in the heart, and a luminous moon in the center between the eyes.

Notes:

In this verse, Śivānanda describes the radiance of the goddess shining in three important centers
along the central axis of the practitioner's body: at the womb (yoni), heart (hṛdaya), and the space
between the eyebrows (ājñā). Śivānanda uses the term yoni in this verse, calling attention to the
ambiguity of whose body is actually being described: a female practitioner; a male practitioner
whose body has been mantrically identified with the goddess through rituals of superimposition
(nyāsa); or perhaps the Goddess herself?

Regardless of whose body is being referred to, the experience of luminosity shining in these
three centers, where kuṇḍalinī is often described as being temporarily impeded by knots
(granthi)45 and other limiting factors,46 can be found across tantric texts and traditions. When
read in conjunction with the previous verse that describes the sudden rise of kuṇḍalinī, this verse
could very well be describing a more sequential rise of kuṇḍalinī.

The Lalitāsahasranāma correlates these three centers with the three kūṭas (groups) of fifteen
syllables that constitute the principal mantra of Tripurasundarī, known as the Pañcadaśākṣarī—
the first kūṭa is related to the Goddess's face, the second kūṭa to the center between her throat
and hips, and the third kūṭa to her womb.47 It is worth noting that the Lalitāsahasranāma gives
these correlations in a descending order, from the face down rather than from the womb up.

The ritual worship of deities can take on various orders and sequences (krama). Two principal
sequences stand out within Śrīvidyā, and related Kaula traditions, known as the uttara
(northern) course and the dakṣiṇa (southern) course. In the uttara course, there is a descent from
an upper location such as brahmarandhra to a lower center such as mūlādhāra. The ascending
dakṣiṇa course is just the opposite, starting from a lower center and ascending to a higher one.
Both of these sequences are used in practices such as nyāsa48 and are also related to ascending

45 Thebrahma-granthi, viṣṇu-granthi, and rudra-granthi are found at these locations. See names 99-104 of the Lalitāsahasranāma in
Paṇśikar 1935, 54-55.

46 See verse 17 of the Cidvilāsastava.

47 śrīmadvāgbhavakūṭaikasvarūpamukhapaṅkajā ||
kaṇṭhādhaḥkaṭiparyantamadhyakūṭasvarūpiṇī |
śaktikūṭaikatāpannakaṭyadhobhāgadhārinī || in Paṇśikar 1935, 52.

48 The visualized installation of mantras onto the body and objects used in ritual worship.
ज्ञा
न्द्र
ञ्जा
हृ
स्त
द्युच्छ
श्व
ज्ज्व
रि
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 21 of 45 Verse 6

and descending flows of kuṇḍalinī—perhaps modeled on the upward and downward flows of
prāṇa within the body.49 It is the ascending dakṣiṇa course which is most widely known and
propagated today, largely because it was popularized through Sir John Woodroffe's publication
“The Serpent Power” in 1919, although both orders clearly exist within Śrīvidyā and the larger
tantric corpus.

The ninth verse of the Saundaryalaharī describes the ascending dakṣiṇa course as follows:50

mahīṃ mūlādhāre kamapi maṇipūre hutavahaṃ sthitaṃ svādhiṣṭhāne hṛdi marutamākāśamupari |

mano'pi bhrūmadhye sakalamapi bhittvā kulapathaṃ sahasrāre padme saha rahasi patyā viharase || 9 ||

“You pierce earth in mūlādhāra cakra, water in the maṇipura cakra, fire in the svādhiṣṭāna cakra,
wind in the anāhata cakra and the ether above that, and mind in the cakra between the brows;
thus You pierce the entire kula path and then take pleasure with Your Lord in the secrecy of the
thousand-petal lotus.”51

Later, in verses thirty-five to thirty-seven, the descending uttara course is described as follows:

manastvaṃ vyoma tvaṃ marud asi marutsārathir asi tvam āpastvaṃ bhūmis tvayi pariṇatāyāṃ na hi
param | tvam eva svātmānaṃ pariṇamayituṃ viśvavapuṣā cidānandākāraṃ śivayuvati bhāvena bibhṛṣe || 35 ||

tavājñācakrasthaṃ tapanaśaśikoṭidyutidharaṃ paraṃ śaṃbhuṃ vande parimilitapārśvaṃ paracitā |

yam ārādhyan bhaktyā raviśaśiśucīnām aviṣaye nirāloke'loke nivasati hi bhālokabhuvane || 36 ||

viśuddhau te śuddhasphaṭikaviśadaṃ vyomajanakaṃ śivaṃ seve devīm api śivasamānavyavasitām |

yayoḥ kāntyā yāntyāḥ śaśikiraṇasārūpyasaraṇeḥ vidhūtāntardhvāntā vilasati cakorīva jagatī || 37 ||

“You are mind, You are air, You are wind and the rider of the wind, You are water, You are
earth, beyond You as You evolve there is nothing higher, there is only You, and when You
transform Yourself by every form, then You take the form of consciousness and bliss as a way
of being, O Śiva's youthful one! (35)

I salute the supreme Śambhu who abides in Your ājñā cakra, shining with the radiance of
countless suns and moons, at His side embraced by Highest Consciousness; by worshiping
Him with devotion, we begin to live in that region of light beyond the reach of sun and moon
and fire too, the place no sorrow can touch. (36)

In Your viśuddhi cakra I worship Śiva as clear as pure crystal, the source of air itself, and I also
worship the Goddess, in act the same as Śiva; by the radiance of these two as they travel the

49 See Bodewitz 1987.

50 Grateful to Sthaneshwar Timalsina (2015, 2, fn. 11) for referencing these Saundaryalaharī verses.

51 Translation by Clooney 2005, 50.

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 22 of 45 Verse 6

path to a oneness in form with the moon's rays, the universe has banished its inner darkness
and dances with joy like a partridge.”52 (37)

The Saundaryalaharī continues to list all of the principal cakras in the descending uttara course
down to mūlādhāra in verse forty one.

The Lalitāsaharanāma lists the order of the cakras in relation to its description of the principal
dhātu yoginīs (Ḍakiṇī, Rākinī, Lākinī, Kākinī, Sākinī, Hākinī, and Yākinī), who are listed in the
descending uttara course (from viśuddhi to mūlādhāra). The yoginīs are listed in this way following
their sequence of worship in the yoginīnyāsa (the mantric installation of yoginīs)—one of the six
principle nyāsa rites used in the Śrīvidyā tradition. Although not explicitly mentioned in the
Lalitāsahasranāma, according to related sources such as the Kubjikā tantras and the
Matsyendrasaṃhitā, the yoginīs are worshiped in this descending uttara course to invoke their
anugraha (grace), as their worship in the ascending dakṣiṇa course is said to bring about their
nigraha (punishment).53 Furthermore, when the dhātu yoginīs are worshiped in the descending
uttara course, they are correlated with an auspicious set of goddesses, whereas when they are
worshiped in the ascending dakṣiṇa course, they are linked with inauspicious set of goddesses.54
The reasoning behind these powerful associations might have to do with the fact that the
ascending dakṣiṇa course is taught to bring about dissolution (saṃhāra) whereas the descending
uttara course invokes emanation (sṛṣṭi).55

Given these teachings, it becomes clear why the yoginīnyāsa and the Lalitāsahasranāma list the
dhātu yoginīs, and the six principal cakras, in the descending uttara course: it summons the grace
of the yoginīs and invokes benevolence and creativity.

52 Translations by Clooney 2005, 55-56.

53 Kiss 2021, 129-131.

54 Heilijgers-Seelen 1994, 140-146.

55 Kiss 2021, 130.

 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 23 of 45 Verse 7

Verse 7

सृतामृतर घस तचराचराम् ।
भवािन भवशा भावया मृते रीम् ॥ ७ ॥
prasṛtāmṛtaraśmyaughasantarpitacarācarām |
bhavāni bhavaśāntyai tvāṃ bhāvayāmy amṛteśvarīm || 7 ||
To calm worldly existence, O Bhavānī, I visualize you as Amṛteśvarī, Goddess of Nectar, who
satiates the universe of sentient beings and objects with an outpouring mass of rays of nectar.

Notes:

Amṛteśvarī (the goddess of nectar) is a specialized tantric goddess found in several Indic
religious traditions including Vajrayāna Buddhism and Śrīvidyā.56 Also known as Amṛteśī,
Vāruṇī, Sudhāmālinī, Ānandabhairavī, and Sudhādevī, Amṛteśvarī emerges from the amṛta
(nectar) produced in the famous purāṇic 'churning of the cosmic ocean' story—in which a
number of substances and deities are born in the devatā's quest for the nectar of immortality.
Understandably, Amṛteśvarī is often connected with nectar, purification, rituals that nourish
life, and intoxicating bliss. Her intimate association with alcohol is hardly a secret and is
discussed openly in the Lalitopākhyāna and other texts within the Śrīvidyā tradition. Goddesses
who are described as being fond of alcohol are not at all uncommon in Kaula tantra, and within
Śrīvidyā they are exemplified in deities such as Laghuśyāmalā,57 Amṛteśvarī, and even
Tripurasundarī.58

Within Śrīvidyā, Amṛteśvarī plays an important role in the Lalitopākhyāna (35.29), where she is
named as Vāruṇī and Sudhāmālinī and is the commander of a fleet of boats within the buddhi-
prākāra (fortress of the intellect)—one of the many compounds within Śrīpuram (the abode of
the goddess). Professor Gudrun Bühnemann recounts her imagery as follows:

“Vāruṇī's body complexion is red, her cheeks are reddish from intoxication and her hair is
adorned with pārijāta flowers. She holds a (jeweled) goblet filled with wine (madirā) on which
water-lilies float and in the other hand a jeweled vessel containing a piece of meat. The goddess's
two hand-held attributes are a domesticated version of a pair of attributes often displayed by

56 Būhnemann 2017.

57Umānandanātha's Nityotsava commentary on the Paraśurāmakalpasūtra describes Laghuśyāmalā as holding a cup of wine
(madhupātrikāṃ) in the following visualization: gṛhītamadhupātrikāṃ madavighūrṇanetrāñcalām. See Sastri 2000, 104.

58 Although perhaps controversial in certain orthodox circles, it should be noted that the Lalitāsahasranāma proclaims
Tripurasundarī is kādambarīpriyā (fond of kādambarī [an alcoholic liquor made from the Kadamba tree that is mentioned by
Abhinavagupta in his Tantrāloka (15.169) in the context of his defense of offering wine in worship] name 330); vāruṇīmadavihvalā
(she who is intoxicated with vāruṇī, name 333); madaśālinī (she who shines with a divinely intoxicated splendor, name 431);
madaghūrṇitaraktākṣī (she whose eyes are reddened from intoxication, name 432)—Bhāskararāya's Saubhāgyabhāskara
commentary on this name explicitly states her eyes are red and intoxicated from the consumption (pāna) of alcohol: madena
ghūrṇitāni raktāni cākṣīṇi yasyāḥ...mado madyaṃ lakṣaṇayā tatpānam, see Paṇśikar 1935, 112; mādhvīpānālasā (she who is intoxicated
from drinking, name 575); and mattā (she who is intoxicated, name 576). The sixth verse of the Tripursundaryaṣṭaka further
describes the goddess as holding a cup of wine and whose eyes are reddened with intoxication: gṛhītamadhupātrikāṃ
madavighūrṇanetrāñcalām.
प्र
श्म्यौ
न्त्यै
त्वां
न्त
र्पि
म्य
श्व
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 24 of 45 Verse 7

Tantric deities: the bindu(mudrā) (explained in note 4) and the skull-cup (kapāla). The bindumudrā
corresponds with the essence (tattva)mudrā in Śaiva texts, which, according to texts such as the
Nityotsava, is formed by joining the ring finger and thumb of the left hand.”59

Aside from her appearance in the Lalitopākhyāna, Amṛteśvarī is perhaps more well-known to
practitioners who perform Śrīcakra pūjā where she is invoked and worshiped as Sudhādevī
within the consecration of the viśeṣārghya (specialized offering).60 In this context, Sudhādevī is
simultaneously a goddess, as well as the amṛta (nectar) invoked during the ritual worship. In
Cidānandanāthar's (Nedimindi Subramania Aiyar) foundational 1938 Śrīvidyā ritual manual,
entitled “Śrīvidyā Saparyā Paddhatiḥ,” Sudhādevī is envisioned using the exact meditational
form as taught in the Parākrama of the Paraśurāmakalpasūtra (8.16) and is worshiped with sixteen-
items.61 The Paraśurāmakalpasūtra envisions Sudhādevī as two-armed goddess who holds a pot of
nectar (amṛtakalaśa) and a piece of meat (piśita), which is likely fish.62

During the final consecration of the viśeṣārghya, a number of mantras are chanted including,
“AMṚTE AMṚTODBHAVE AMṚTEŚVARI AMṚTAVARṢIṆI AMṚTAṂ SRĀVAYA
SRĀVAYA”63 which clearly invokes Amṛteśvarī's emergence from the nectar of immortality
(amṛtodbhave) and her association with the showering (varṣiṇī) and outpouring (srāvaya) of
nectar. Amṛteśvarī is an important goddess within the Śrīvidyā tradition who purifies and
transforms offerings, liquids, and consciousness into nectar and bliss.

In this verse, Śivānanda envisions Amṛteśvarī as drenching all the beings and objects in the
universe with intoxicating nectar, thereby ending the cycles of birth and death. Amṛtānanda
cites this verse of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra in his Dīpikā commentary on the Yoginīhṛdayatantra
(3.102) when describing how one is to visualize the goddess Amṛteśī within the consecration of
viśeṣārghya.

It is often described in tantric literature that after kuṇḍalinī's ascent, there is an inundation of
the world with nectar. When read in conjunction with the previous two verses that describe the
ascent of kuṇḍalinī through the dakṣiṇa course, this verse may very well be hinting at the second
downward (uttara) course of kuṇḍalinī, associated with grace (anugraha), nectar (amṛta), and
creation (sṛṣṭi).

59 Bühnemann 2017, 249.

60 Aiyar, 1938, 34 and Yoginīhṛdayatantra 3.102.

61 Aiyar,
1938, 34 and Paraśurāmakalpasūtra 8.16: tāṃ cinmayīṃ ānandalakṣaṇām amṛtakalaśapiśitahastadvayāṃ prasannāṃ devīṃ
pūjayāmi namaḥ svāhā.

62 Two-armed tantric goddesses who hold a (skull) cup of amṛta and a fish are actually common features of several tantric
goddesses including Vārāhī; see Buhnemann 2017, 242.

63 Aiyar 1938, 39.

 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 25 of 45 Verse 8

Verse 8

व कला पदं त म भुवनमेव च ।

इ ष देवे भाित िय दा िन ॥ ८ ॥
varṇaḥ kalā padaṃ tattvaṃ mantro bhuvanam eva ca |
ity adhvaṣaṭkaṃ deveśi bhāti tvayi cidātmani || 8 ||

Phonemes, phases of energy, linguistic units, principles of reality, mantras, and worlds—this
entire sixfold path of the universe, O Empress of the Gods, shines within you, the very nature of
consciousness.

Notes:

The ṣaḍadhvan (six-fold path) is a foundational Śaiva doctrine consisting of six initiatory paths
that lead one to the ultimate reality of Śiva.64 Traditionally used in conjunction with different
types of initiation, through time the six-paths became a central organizing principle in the
development of Śaiva doctrine. It is described in several foundational texts that the initiating
guru would lead an aspirant through one, if not several, of these paths—thereby purifying the
novice by exhausting their immanent karma in future births (and worlds) by bringing them
closer to the power of the cosmos, awareness, and Śiva.65

The ṣaḍadhvan is often understood in relation to the two foundational concepts of signification
in Indic thought: vācaka (that which expresses) and vācya (that which is expressed)66—further
showcasing the preeminence of language as the fundamental model for understanding reality.
Ṣaḍadhvan

vācaka śabda: subjective reality—that which expresses

supreme: varṇa: the totality of phonemes

subtle: mantra: individual letters-words
dense: pada: words-sentences

vācya artha: objective reality—that which is expressed

supreme: kalā: the forces of reality

subtle: tattva: the principles of reality
dense: bhuvana: the various worlds

64For a brief overview of the six-paths, see Lakshmanjoo 2015, 11-13; for an extended scholarly account, see Padoux 1990, 330-371;
and for an English translation of Abhinavagupta's comprehensive interpretation, see Dyczkowski 2023 VII.

65 Goodall et al. 2015, 43.

66 Translations of vācaka and vācya following Padoux 1990, 50.

त्य
र्णः
ध्व
ट्कं
शि
त्त्वं
न्त्रो
त्व
चि
त्म
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 26 of 45 Verse 8

It is generally taught that by transversing one path, all the paths are transversed. Within the
tantric commentarial tradition, including in several key works from foundational teachers of
Śrīvidyā, all six paths are described as existing within the deity, and pure consciousness, alone.

Abhinavagupta teaches in the eleventh chapter of his Tantrāloka that all six paths are essentially one:

evaṃ māmātṛmānatvameyatvair yo 'vabhāsate |

ṣaḍvidhaḥ svavapuḥśuddhau śuddhiṃ so 'dhvādhigacchati || 83 ||

ekena vapuṣā śuddhau tatraivānyaprakāratām |

antarbhāvyācarec chuddhim anusandhānavān guruḥ || 84 ||

“This six-fold Path manifests in this way as noetic consciousness, subject, object and means
of knowledge. It is (all) purified if (any one) of its own bodies is purified. The teacher (who)
contemplates (and unites the Path) (anusaṃdhānavat) should purify (the entire Path of his
disciple) by purifying (just) the body (of just) one (of them), in such a way that the others are
also included within it.”67

From within the Śrīvidyā tradition, Amṛtānanda teaches in his Cidvilāsastava that the six paths
are aspects of one's own Consciousness as follows:

āsanāni navacakrasaṃvidām udbhavasthitilayās triśastriśaḥ |

aṅgaṣaṭkaracanā ṣaḍadhvanām aṃśatāvagatir ātmasaṃvidaḥ || 13 ||

“The seats [of the Goddesses of the Śrīcakra] are the arising, sustaining, and dissolution of
the cognitions of the nine circuits [of the Śrīcakra], three by three. The performance of
[installing the Goddess’s body] in six parts of the [practitioner's] body is understanding the
six courses [of the entire world] as aspects of one’s own Consciousness.”68

This verse of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra is cited by Maheśvarānanda in his Parimala commentary

on the twenty-seventh verse of his Mahārthamañjarī that teaches how the six-paths are related
to the union of Śiva and Śakti as follows:

yad adhvanām ca ṣatkaṃ tatra prakāśārthalakṣanam ardham |

vimarśaśabdasvabhāvam ardham iti śivasya yāmalollāsaḥ ||

“There are six courses, half of which are characterized by objectivity and conscious light; the
other half are in the nature of the Word and awareness. This is how Śiva shines forth and
unfolds in the form of a couple.”69

67 Translation by Dyczkowski 2023, VII, 74.

68 Translation by Williams 2023, 38.

69 Translation by Padoux 1990, 336, fn. 14.

 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 27 of 45 Verse 9

Verse 9

अना तािदकाला म तम् ।

उ लय मात काशवपुिष िय ॥ ९ ॥
anāśritādikālāgnirudrāntaṃ citram adbhutam |
unmīlayasi mātas tvaṃ prakāśavapuṣi tvayi || 9 ||

O Mother, you dynamically display the extraordinary image of reality shining within your body
of light—from the supreme independent pinnacle [Anāśritaśiva] down to the Rudra of cosmic
dissolution.

Notes:

Śivānanda previously described the goddess as the saṃvidkalā (dynamism of consciousness) that,
“shines forth as every reality that can be experienced.”70 In this verse, Śivānanda describes the
sum total of reality as shining within her body of light (prakāśavapuṣi).71 Taken together, these
two descriptions reveal the goddess as both lighting up and permeating every form of existence,
as well as being permeated by this dynamic display of reality that constitutes her ultimate form.

Śivānanda uses the term, “anāśritādikālāgnirudrāntaṃ” (beginning with anāśritaśiva and ending
with kālāgnirudra) to refer to the entire spectrum of the thirty-six tattvas (from śivatattva to
pṛthvītattva). Confirming that Kālāgnirudra refers to pṛthvītattva, Abhinvagupta teaches in the
ninth chapter of his Tantrāloka:

tathāhi kālasadanād vīrabhadrapurāntagam |

dhṛtikāṭhinyagarimādyavabhāsād dharātmatā || 3 ||

“In this way, (for example, the reality principle that extends) from the abode of Kālāgni up to
the world of Vīrabhadra is Earth, because the power to sustain (dhṛti) (physical objects),
solidity (kāṭhinya), and weight (garimā) etc. manifest (in the worlds and things belonging to
this tattva).”72

70 See verse four.

Her “body” in this verse should be understood to be, as Professor Padoux clarifies in relation to the Śrīcakra, “a cosmic
71

embodiment of the Goddess, not as a concrete body or form.” See Padoux 2013, 170, fn. 33.

72 Translation by Dyczkowski 2023, VI, 5.

न्मी
श्रि
सि
स्त्वं
ग्नि
रु
प्र
द्रा
न्तं
चि
त्र
त्व
द्भु
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 28 of 45 Verse 10

Verse 10

यिददं भासते देिव नाम प या कम् ।

काशवपुिष नाित ते ॥ १० ॥
yad idam bhāsate devi nāmarūpakriyātmakam |
prakāśavapuṣi tvattas tat sarvaṃ nātiricyate || 10 ||

All this—name, form, and action, shines, O Goddess, within your body of light and none of it
surpasses You.

Notes:

In this verse, Śivānanda further reinforces that everything shines (bhāsate) within
Tripurasundarī's body of light (prakāśavapuṣi), a description perhaps borrowed the Kālīkrama
tradition where the supreme goddess is often identified with the sun, illumination (bhāsā), and
other solar imagery.73 Śivānanda concludes this verse by teaching that nothing surpasses the
goddess, a teaching reminiscent of the 300th name of the Lalitāsahasranāma that proclaims the
goddess is beyond all name and form (nāmarūpavivarjitā).74

73 Wenta 2021.

74 See Lalitasahasranāma in Paṇśikar 1935, 87.

प्र
त्व
त्त
स्त
त्स
रू
र्वं
क्रि
रि
त्म
च्य
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 29 of 45 Verse 11

Verse 11

ने िदजालकोपा सन लया ।
वारं वारं या देिव पािदमधु से ते ॥ ११ ॥
netrādijālakopānte hṛtpadmāsanalīlayā |
vāraṃ vāraṃ tvayā devi rūpādimadhu sevyate || 11 ||

Dancing upon the throne of the [yogī’s] heart lotus, O Goddess, you continually revel in the
intoxicating wine of visual forms and other [sensations] at the threshold of the array of senses.

Notes:

In this potent verse, Śivānanda exquisitely describes an elevated form of worship where the
goddess drinks in, like an intoxicating wine, the blissful activity of the practitioner's senses
precisely at the threshold (upānte) of where they meet objects of experience. This verse also
hints at an aesthetic form of deity pervasion (āveśa) where the goddess moves within the being
of the practitioner, enjoying the objective world through their senses.

Similar practices and states of awareness that couple the enjoyment of outer sensations with
maintaining firm awareness and stability within the center of one's own being are described in
several tantric sources as Bhairavīmudrā and śaktivikāsa.75

The Kakṣyāstotra teaches a similar practice of maintaining complete awareness in the midst of
engaging the senses through perception:

sarvāḥ śaktīś cetasā darśanādyāḥ sve sve vedye yaugapadyena viṣak |

kṣiptvā madhye hāṭakastambhabhūtas tiṣthan viśvādhāra eko' vabhāsi ||

“[If] you project the vision and all the other powers [of the senses] simultaneously everywhere
onto their respective objects by the power of awareness, while remaining firmly established in
the centre like a pillar of gold, you [will] shine as the One, the foundation of the universe.”76

This verse of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra is cited by Maheśvarānanda in his Parimala commentary

to verse two of his Mahārthamañjarī.

75 See Bansat-Boudon and Tripathi 2011, 343; Dyczkowski 1987, 157-162.

76 Translation by Dyczkowski 1987, 158.

त्रा
त्व
न्ते
रू
हृ
त्प
द्मा
ली
व्य
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 30 of 45 Verse 12

Verse 12

सं िव समा िवषयानमृतासवान् ।
योिगनां षय जा िह स दा ॥ १२ ॥
saṃviddevyaḥ samākramya viṣayān amṛtāsavān |
yogināṃ preṣayanty ārye tvatpūjārthaṃ hi sarvadā || 12 ||

To venerate You, O Noble Lady, the Goddesses of Awareness forever pervade the sense objects
of yogīs and reveal them as distillations of nectar.

Notes:

The goddesses of awareness (saṃviddevīs) play an important role in many tantric traditions
including as deities of the senses and as goddesses who bestow initiation to practitioners.77 In
this verse, Śivānanda presents a heightened form of Kaula practice (kulācāra) where the
practitioner's senses are divinized as the saṃviddevīs and through their awakened interaction
with sense objects, the latter are revealed to be pure nectar.

In contradistinction to many mainstream and orthodox religious traditions that teach engaging
with the senses hinders spiritual practices by expending energy outwards, upsetting the vital
energies, and overexciting the mind, several kulācāra practices (such as described in this verse)
teach that subtle meditations upon the senses can actually lead to heightened states of
awareness. The immediate background to more comprehensively understanding such practices
is the well-known Kaula doctrine that the human body is a maṇḍala. Within Śrīvidyā it is taught
the body, with its nine openings, is the Śrīcakra78 and its many goddesses are actually taught to
be the senses.79 Maheśvarānanda teaches in his Mahārthamañjarī that the goddesses of the
senses (karaṇadevatās) reside along with Śiva within the body of the practitioner in the following
verse:

aṇḍamaye nijapiṇḍe pīṭhe sphuranti karaṇadevyaḥ |

prasphurati ca paramaśivo jñānanidhis tāsāṃ madhye || 34 ||

“The goddesses of the senses pulse radiantly in the scared seat (pīṭha) that is one's own body
consisting of the universe. And in their midst shines Supreme Śiva, the treasure of
consciousness.”80

Similar practices to what Śivānanda is describing in this verse can be found throughout Kaula
tantras and are often focused on maintaining stable awareness of the sequential (krama)

77See Abhinavagupta's description in Tantrāloka 4.42 of the sāṃsiddhika guru who is initiated and consecrated as a teacher by the
goddesses of his own consciousness in Dyczkowski 2023, III, 55.

78 See Bhāskararāya's commentary on the Bhāvanopaniṣad, verse three.

79 For precise correlations see the Kāmakalāvilāsa verses 40-45.

80 Translation by Dyczkowski 2009, Introduction Vol I, 723.

द्दे
व्यः
प्रे
न्त्या
क्र
म्य
र्ये
त्व
त्पू
र्थं
र्व
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 31 of 45 Verse 12

unfolding of consciousness through experiencing and recognizing their flows81 in sensory

perceptions and enjoyments. By paying close attention to the flux of how consciousness comes
into being, the practitioner expands their subjectivity and awareness of the dynamic structure of
consciousness and reality. Meditating on perception through the senses is not meant to increase
sensory enjoyments—one doesn't need to practice spiritual disciplines to enjoy their senses! On
the contrary, when practiced by qualified adepts, subtle meditations on perception and sensory
enjoyment can actually lead the senses, prāṇa (subtle life-force), and the mind back to their
origin in pure luminous consciousness and are a hallmark of Kaula yogic practice. The
Vijñānabhairavatantra teaches that what sets the practitioner apart from other living beings is
that the practitioner pays attention to the subtle relationship between the subject and object in
every experience.82

The interaction between the senses and objects of the world is often described within Kaula
tantras as the meeting of siddhas and yoginīs, a union which, just as Śivānanda describes, is said to
produce nectar from their mutual interaction and enjoyment. The fifth verse of the
Vātūlanāthasūtra83 teaches:

siddhayoginīsaṁghaṭṭān mahāmelāpodayaḥ || 5 ||

The Great Union arises by the union of Siddhas and Yoginīs.

Anantaśaktipāda explains in his commentary to this verse:

siddhāś ca yoginyaś ca tāḥ siddhayoginyaḥ viṣayakaraṇeśvarīrūpāḥ |

tāsāṃ saṃghaṭṭaḥ saṃgamo grāhyagrāhakobhayasaṃśleṣaḥ
parasparāgūraṇakrameṇāliṅganam | tena āliṅganena sadaiva
mahāmelāpodayaḥ mahāmelāpasyāhantedantātmakadvayavigalanāt
niruttaracidvyomni satataṃ mahāsāmarasyātmakasya sarvatra pratyakṣatayā
udayaḥ samullāso bhavati ity arthaḥ | vedyavedakadvayāprathanapravṛttyā
paramādvayasamāveśaḥ sarvatrāvasthita ity uktaṃ bhavati || 5 ||

“The Siddhas and Yoginīs are the objects of sense and the goddesses of the senses,
respectively. Their ‘union’ is their intimate coming together (saṁgama), the close (mutual)
conjunction (saṁśleṣa) of both subject and object, and (their) embrace (āliṅgana) by the
process of (their) mutual implication (āgūrṇana). It is by that embrace that ‘the Great Union
arises’ at all times. (In other words) by the falling away of the two, namely, the subjectivity and
objectivity of the Great Union, the Great Oneness (mahāsāmarasya) pours forth constantly,

81Following emanation (sṛṣṭi), stability (sthiti), dissolution (saṃhāra), the inexplicable state (anākhya), and sometimes a fifth state
of pure illumination (bhāsā).

82 Vijñānabhairavatantra 106.

83 The Vātūlanāthasūtra is an important text from the Kālīkrama tradition. It was first published in Sanskrit, with an English
translation, in the famous Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies (KSTS) in 1923 by Pandit Madhusudan Kaul Shastri. Swami
Lakshmanjoo taught this important text to several of his students, who also published translations, including Lilian Silburn
(1959), Mark Dyczkowski (2019), and Bettina Bäumer (2021). Swamiji's teachings on this text, based on audio recordings of his
lectures, were published (in English) in 1996 by the Ishwar Ashram Trust.
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 32 of 45 Verse 12

completely and everywhere as a direct immediate experience within the Sky of unexcelled
consciousness. What is taught (here) is that penetration (and mystic absorption) into the
supreme non-dual (reality) takes place everywhere by the ongoing power of the absence of
the perception of the two, namely, subject and object.”84

Abhinavagupta, in the fourth chapter of his Tantrāloka, describes how the intimate union of
subject and object, just like sexual union, produces nectar as follows:

yathā yoniś ca liṅgaṃ ca saṃyogāt sravate 'mṛtam |

tathāmṛtāgnisaṃyogād dravatas te na saṃśayaḥ || 131 ||

“Just as the (female) yoni and (male) liṅga stream forth nectar by (their) union, similarly, no
doubt, the fire of the subject and the moon (amṛta) (of the object) exude (nectar) by (their)
union.”85

The Mahānayaprakāśa of Arṇasimha echoes these teachings regarding the blissful union of the
contact between consciousness and sense objects in the following verse:

grāhyagrāhakasaṁśleṣād analpāhlādanirbharā |
yā saṁvid rājate saiva mahāmelāpavigrahaḥ || 127 ||

“The consciousness that shines, full of the great bliss (āhlāda) that comes from the contact
between subject and object, is the form of the Great Union.”86

From within the Śrīvidyā tradition, Amṛtānanda in his Dīpikā commentary on the
Yoginīhṛdayatantra (2.79) describes how the yoginīs of the senses are forms of consciousness and,
as Dr. Mark Dyczkowski has pointed out, the first half-verse87 is cited by Jayarātha in his Viveka
commentary on the Tantrāloka,88 thereby providing an interesting continuity between these two
Kaula traditions. Amṛtānanda teaches in his commentary:

yatra yatra militā marīcayas tatra tatra vibhur eva jṛmbhate |

tatsatāṃ hi niyamāvalambanaṃ dhyānapūjanakathā viḍambanā ||
iti prāmāṇikavacanoktarītyā mātṛmānameyasaṃvido yoginyas tāsāṃ melanam
antarmukhībhāvena parapramātṛviśrāntiḥ athavā brāhmyādyaṣṭakārcanārthaṃ
sāmayikaśakticakramelanaṃ yoginīmelanam tatrodyuktaiḥ

“The All-pervasive Lord (vibhu) Himself blossoms forth wherever the rays (of the senses)
unite. For those who possess that same Being and who do not (need to) take the support of
rules and regulations (niyama), (all) talk of meditation and (outer) worship is deceit. The

84 Verse and commentary translated by Dyczkowski 2019, 6-7.

85 Translation by Dyczkowski 2023 III, 177.

86 Translation by Dyczkowski 2023, III, 504.

87 yatra yatra militā marīcayas tatra tatra vibhur eva jṛmbhate.

88 Dyczkowski 2023 I, 43, fn. 119.

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 33 of 45 Verse 12

yoginīs are (forms of) consciousness as subject, means and object of knowledge. Their union is
(their) repose in the supreme perceiver brought about by (their) introverted state. Or else (it
can be understood to mean) union together equally in the one wheel of energies in order to
worship the groups of eight (Mothers), Brāhmī and the rest. This is the union of the yoginīs.”89

Concerning the liberatory power of the senses, Abhinavagupta directly incorporates a number
of verses from the fifteenth chapter of the Mālinīvijayottaratantra in the seventeenth chapter of
his Tantrāloka that precisely qualify what types of sensory activities are liberating and what types
are binding as follows:

bandhamokṣāv ubhāv etāv indriyāṇāṁ jagur budhāḥ |

nigṛhītāni bandhāya vimuktāni vimuktaye || 112 ||

etāni vyāpake bhāve yadā syur manasā saha |

muktāni kvāpi viṣaye rodhād bandhāya tāni tu || 113 ||

ity evaṁ dvividho bhāvaḥ śuddhāśuddhaprabhedataḥ |

indriyāṇāṁ samākhyātaḥ siddhayogīśvarīmate || 114 ||

“The wise have said that both bondage and liberation are (conditions) of the senses.
Restrained, they serve to bind (the soul), liberated (from restraint, they serve as a mean to)
liberation. These (senses) are liberated if they are, along with the mind, in (the one) all-
pervading state. (But) by being restricted somewhere to (a particular) object, they bind (the
soul). Similarly, it is said in the Siddhayogeśvarīmata that the state of the senses is of two kinds,
according to whether they are pure or impure.”90

Utpaladeva teaches in his Śivastotrāvalī that for devotees the senses are actually the path to
worship, venerate, and contemplate the deity and reality as follows:

sarva eva bhavallābhahetur bhaktimatāṃ vibho |

saṃvinmārgo’yam āhlādaduḥkhamohais tridhā sthitaḥ || 10 ||

“The path of the senses is threefold,

Marked by pleasure, pain, and delusion.
For the devotee this is the path
That leads to your attainment.”91

In terms of specific practices oriented at recognizing the bliss of consciousness within the body
and sensory enjoyments, the Vijñānabhairavatantra teaches:

jagdhipānakṛtollāsarasānandavijṛmbhaṇāt |
bhāvayed bharitāvasthām mahānandas tato bhavet || 72 ||

89 Translation by Dyczkowski 2023 I 49, fn. 119.

90 Translation by Dyczkowski 2023 IX, 188.

91 Translation by Rhodes-Bailly 1987, 30.

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 34 of 45 Verse 12

gītādiviṣayāsvādāsamasaukhyaikatātmanaḥ |
yoginas tanmayatvena manorūḍhes tadātmatā || 73 ||

yatra yatra manas tuṣṭir manas tatraiva dhārayet |

tatra tatra parānandasvarūpaṃ sampravartate || 74 ||

yatra yatrākṣamārgeṇa caitanyaṃ vyajyate vibhoh |

tasya tanmātradharmitvāc cil layād bharitātmatā || 117 ||

“One should meditate on the state of fullness [filling one’s body] arising from the blossoming
of delight in the pleasing taste of food and drink. From that [meditation], one attains
supreme bliss. (72)

The Yogī who has merged with the incomparable delight of savoring sense objects such as
music, becomes one with that [blissful state]. This takes place by the expansion [of that
delight] in the heart by being totally immersed in it. (73)

Wherever the mind delights, let it become steadily focused upon that. In any such
experience, the nature of the ultimate bliss becomes manifest. (74)

Wherever consciousness of the all-pervasive Lord manifests through the medium of

perception, an all-embracing fullness arises, because that [object of perception], which has
the property of a sensory experience, dissolves into consciousness.”92 (117)

92 Verse translations by Ben Williams.

 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 35 of 45 Verse 13

Verse 13

सौभा दयं गु वान न योिगना ।

समाराधनपू तं सकलकामदम् ॥ १३ ॥
saubhāgyahṛdayaṃ guhyaṃ śivānandena yoginā |
samārādhanapūrtyarthaṃ stutaṃ sakalakāmadam || 13 ||

The yogī Śivānanda offers as praise this Saubhāgyahṛdaya (‘Heart of Auspiciousness’), a secret
that fulfills all desires, to complete the worship [of Tripurasundarī].

4
ग्य
हृ
र्त्य
र्थं
ह्यं
स्तु
शि
न्दे
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 36 of 45 Verse 14

Verse 14

इित िवर तमेतत् पुरं मा किटतपरमा योिगव पजु म् ।

सकलदु तरोग सनान का ितयजनिवधानं से तां भ यु ॥ १४ ॥
iti viracitam etat traipuraṃ stotram āptaṃ prakaṭitaparamārthaṃ yogivaryopajuṣṭam |
sakaladuritarogadhvaṃsanānanyakāryaṃ pratiyajanavidhānaṃ sevyatāṃ bhaktiyuktaiḥ || 14 ||

Thus this praise poem dedicated to Tripura[sundarī] is concluded. Clearly manifesting the
ultimate reality, delighting the best of yogīs, it uniquely dispels all afflicted conditions. Let it be
recited by devotees as a practice in every ritual worship [of the Goddess].

Notes:

In his concluding verse, Śivānanda proclaims that the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra brings about the
realization of ultimate reality and confirms that he envisions the recitation of his stotra as a new
addition to Śrīvidyā ritual manuals amongst practitioners everywhere.

In the sixty-third verse of his Subhagodaya, Śivānanda further mentions that the Saubhāgyahṛdaya
should be recited at the conclusion of Śrīcakra pūjā as follows:

varivasyāṃ vidhāyetthaṃ sajapaṃ sahutakriyam |

saha kāmakalādhyānaṃ saubhāgyahṛdayaṃ smaret || 63 ||

“Having completed the pūjā in this way together with the subsequent rites of japa and homa,
one should recite the ‘Heart of Auspiciousness’ and along with it contemplate the
Kāmakalā.”93

इित वान मुिनिवर तं सौभा दय समा म् ॥

iti śivānandamuniviracitaṃ saubhāgyahṛdayastotraṃ samāptam ||

This concludes the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra composed by Śivānandamuni.

93 Translation by Ben Williams.

शि
रि
चि
न्द
ध्वं
त्रै
चि
स्तो
न्य
त्र
र्यं
प्तं
प्र
ग्य
प्र
हृ
स्तो
त्रं
र्थं
प्त
व्य
र्यो
क्ति
ष्ट
क्तैः
Appendix
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 38 of 45 Appendix

Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra: Text & Translation

Verse 1
त हः परमं नौ कृ प र तम् ।
अशेषिव भेदा पू ह कं वम् ॥ १ ॥
tan mahaḥ paramaṃ naumi kṛtyaiḥ pañcabhir aṅkitam |
aśeṣaviśvābhedātma pūrṇāhantātmakaṃ śivam || 1 ||
I offer salutations to that extraordinary illuminating power adorned by the five cosmic acts,
whose non-dual essence encompasses the universe—Śiva, the all-embracing identity.

Verse 2
धा िवभ य तृ ित मात् ।
एक महसे त नमः सकलच षे ॥ २ ॥
tridhā vibhaktaṃ yad vastu stotṛstutyastutikramāt |
ekasmai mahase tasmai namaḥ sakalacakṣuṣe || 2 ||
Salutations to that one illuminating power, the eye that sees through all beings, a reality that
transforms into these three: the poet, the praise poem, and the object of praise!

Verse 3
रा तां परां वाचं प िद मा याम् ।
नानािवधरसाकारमहानुभव िपणीम् ॥ ३ ॥
smarāmi tāṃ parāṃ vācaṃ paśyantyādikramāśrayām
nānāvidharasākāramahānubhavarūpiṇīm || 3 ||
I contemplate that supreme speech (parāvāc), the ground for the sequence beginning with
visionary speech (paśyantī); [that speech] has the nature of the immediacy of direct experience in
the form of a diverse array of aesthetic sentiments.

Verse 4
देशकालपदा य यथा यथा ।
त पेण या भाित तां ये सांिवदी ं कलाम् ॥ ४ ॥
deśakālapadārthātma yad yad vastu yathā yathā |
tattadrūpeṇa yā bhāti tāṃ śraye sāṃvidīṃ kalām || 4 ||
I take refuge in that dynamic power of consciousness! That [alone] shines forth as every reality
that can be experienced in time and space, in all of their diverse modes of being.

Verse 5
मूलािदिबलप महा पुरसु ।
या तनु तिड तां भजे भवशातनीम् ॥ ५ ॥
त्रि
स्म
त्त
न्म
स्मै
मि
द्रू
स्ते
श्वा
क्तं
र्था
र्य
त्प्र
न्तं
त्म
स्मै
द्व
मि
ख्या
स्तु
त्म
द्य
स्तो
द्व
त्रि
श्र
त्यैः
र्णा
श्य
स्तु
न्त्या
स्तु
रू
न्ता
ञ्च
त्य
न्द
त्म
भि
स्तु
रि
क्र
क्षु
ङ्कि
क्र
श्र
शि
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 39 of 45 Appendix

mūlādibilaparyantaṃ mahātripurasundari |
yā tanus te taḍitprakhyā tāṃ bhaje bhavaśātanīm || 5 ||
O Tripurasundarī, I worship your form that brings mundane existence to an end, flashing like a
streak of lightning from the root [center] to the space of the crown.

Verse 6
योनौ कनकपु भं िद िव टो लम् ।
आ यां च सं काशं मह व महे ॥६॥
yonau kanakapuñjābhaṃ hṛdi vidyucchaṭojjvalam |
ājñāyāṃ candrasaṃkāśaṃ mahas tava maheśvari || 6 ||
O Maheśvarī, your illuminating power shines like a treasury of gold in the source, a brilliant
burst of lightning in the heart, and a luminous moon in the center between the eyes.

Verse 7
सृतामृतर घस तचराचराम् ।
भवािन भवशा भावया मृते रीम् ॥ ७ ॥
prasṛtāmṛtaraśmyaughasantarpitacarācarām |
bhavāni bhavaśāntyai tvāṃ bhāvayāmy amṛteśvarīm || 7 ||
To calm worldly existence, O Bhavānī, I visualize you as Amṛteśvarī, Goddess of Nectar, who
satiates the universe of sentient beings and objects with an outpouring mass of rays of nectar.

Verse 8
व कला पदं त म भुवनमेव च ।
इ ष देवे भाित िय दा िन ॥ ८ ॥
varṇaḥ kalā padaṃ tattvaṃ mantro bhuvanam eva ca |
ity adhvaṣaṭkaṃ deveśi bhāti tvayi cidātmani || 8 ||
Phonemes, phases of energy, linguistic units, principles of reality, mantras, and worlds—this
entire sixfold path of the universe, O Empress of the Gods, shines within you, the very nature of
consciousness.

Verse 9
अना तािदकाला म तम् ।
उ लय मात काशवपुिष िय ॥ ९ ॥
anāśritādikālāgnirudrāntaṃ citram adbhutam |
unmīlayasi mātas tvaṃ prakāśavapuṣi tvayi || 9 ||
O Mother, you dynamically display the extraordinary image of reality shining within your body
of light—from the supreme independent pinnacle [Anāśritaśiva] down to the Rudra of cosmic
dissolution.
प्र
त्य
न्मी
र्णः
ज्ञा
ध्व
श्रि
सि
ट्कं
श्म्यौ
न्द्र
ञ्जा
शि
न्त्यै
स्त्वं
त्त्वं
ग्नि
त्वां
न्त
हृ
रु
प्र
र्पि
न्त्रो
द्रा
त्व
स्त
न्तं
चि
द्युच्छ
चि
म्य
त्र
श्व
ज्ज्व
त्व
त्म
रि
श्व
द्भु
 The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 40 of 45 Appendix

Verse 10
यिददं भासते देिव नाम प या कम् ।
काशवपुिष नाित ते ॥ १० ॥
yad idam bhāsate devi nāmarūpakriyātmakam |
prakāśavapuṣi tvattas tat sarvaṃ nātiricyate || 10 ||
All this—name, form, and action, shines, O Goddess, within your body of light and none of it
surpasses You.

Verse 11
ने िदजालकोपा सन लया ।
वारं वारं या देिव पािदमधु से ते ॥ ११ ॥
netrādijālakopānte hṛtpadmāsanalīlayā |
vāraṃ vāraṃ tvayā devi rūpādimadhu sevyate || 11 ||
Dancing upon the throne of the [yogī’s] heart lotus, O Goddess, you continually revel in the
intoxicating wine of visual forms and other [sensations] at the threshold of the array of senses.

Verse 12
सं िव समा िवषयानमृतासवान् ।
योिगनां षय जा िह स दा ॥ १२ ॥
saṃviddevyaḥ samākramya viṣayān amṛtāsavān |
yogināṃ preṣayanty ārye tvatpūjārthaṃ hi sarvadā || 12 ||
To venerate You, O Noble Lady, the Goddesses of Awareness forever pervade the sense objects
of yogīs and reveal them as distillations of nectar.

Verse 13
सौभा दयं गु वान न योिगना ।
समाराधनपू तं सकलकामदम् ॥ १३ ॥
saubhāgyahṛdayaṃ guhyaṃ śivānandena yoginā |
samārādhanapūrtyarthaṃ stutaṃ sakalakāmadam || 13 ||
The yogī Śivānanda offers as praise this Saubhāgyahṛdaya ('Heart of Auspiciousness'), a secret
that fulfills all desires, to complete the worship [of Tripurasundarī].

Verse 14
इित िवर तमेतत् पुरं मा किटतपरमा योिगव पजु म् ।
सकलदु तरोग सनान का ितयजनिवधानं से तां भ यु ॥ १४ ॥
iti viracitam etat traipuraṃ stotram āptaṃ prakaṭitaparamārthaṃ yogivaryopajuṣṭam |
sakaladuritarogadhvaṃsanānanyakāryaṃ pratiyajanavidhānaṃ sevyatāṃ bhaktiyuktaiḥ || 14 ||
Thus this praise poem dedicated to Tripura[sundarī] is concluded. Clearly manifesting the
ultimate reality, delighting the best of yogīs, it uniquely dispels all afflicted conditions. Let it be
recited by devotees as a practice in every ritual worship [of the Goddess].
प्र
त्रा
द्दे
ग्य
व्यः
रि
प्रे
हृ
चि
त्व
र्त्य
न्त्या
त्व
र्थं
क्र
ध्वं
ह्यं
त्त
न्ते
स्तु
म्य
र्ये
स्त
शि
त्रै
रू
त्व
हृ
त्स
त्प
त्पू
रू
र्वं
स्तो
न्य
द्मा
न्दे
क्रि
त्र
र्थं
र्यं
ली
रि
त्म
प्तं
प्र
व्य
च्य
प्र
र्व
र्थं
व्य
र्यो
क्ति
ष्ट
क्तैः
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 41 of 45 Works Cited

Works Cited
Primary Sources

Cidvilāsastava: The Cidvilāsastava: Hymn to the Play of Consciousness. Translated by Ben

Williams with an Introduction and Notes by Brian Campbell. Tripurā Tallikā. 2023.
www.tripuratallika.org/cidvilasastava

Gandharvatantra. Gandharvatantram edited by Ram Chandra Kak and Harabhatta Shastri. His
Highness Rajarajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shri Harisinghji Bahadur, GCSI,
GCIE, KCVO, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir from the original manuscript in His
Highness' private library. Srinagar. 1934.

Kramasadbhāva: National Archives, Kathmandu. MS. no.1-76; NGMPP reel no. A 209/23. The
text was provisionally edited by Mark Dyczkowski and made available on https://
muktabodha.org

Kramastotra of Abhinavagupta. See Silburn 1975.

Lalitasahasranāma with the commentary (Saubhāgyabhāskara) of Bhāskararāya:

brahmāṇḍapurāṇottarabhāgīyaṃ lalitāsahasranāma
bhāskararāyapraṇītasaubhāgyabhāskarākhyabhāṣyopetam, ed. Wasudeva Laxman Śastri
Paṇśikar. Bombay: Pāṇḍuraṅga Jāwajī. 1935.

Lalitopākhyāna: Lalitopakhyana from the Uttarakhanda of the Brahmandapurana. edited by T.N.K.

Tirmulpad. Pāndurang Jāvajī (Proprietor of the Nirnaya-Sāgara Press). Bombay. 1918.

Mahārthamañjarī: Mahārthamañjarī with Parimala, Maheśvarānanda. Edited by Vrajavallabha

Dwiveda. Varanasi: Sampurananda Sanskrit University. 1992.

Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava with the commentaries of śivānanda (Ṛjuvimarśinī) and Vidyānanda

(Artharatnāvalī), ed. Vrajavallabha Dviveda, Varanasi: Sampurnananda Sanskrit
Vishvavidyalaya. 1985.

Nityotsava: Nityotsava of Umānandanātha (Supplement to Paraśurāma-kalpa-sūtra). edited by A.

Mahadeva Sastri. Oriental Institute Vadodara. 2000.

Paraśurāmakalpasūtra: Paraśurāmakalpasūtra with Rameśvara's Commentary edited by A.

Mahadeva Sastri. Oriental Institute Baroda. 1950.

Ṛgveda: Jamison, Stephanie W., and Joel P. Brereton. The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of
India. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2014.

Saubhāgyasudhodaya of Amṛtānanda. --> Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava.

The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 42 of 45 Works Cited

Saundaryalaharī: Saundaryalaharī edited and translated by Norman Brown. The Saundaryalahari,

or, Flood of Beauty. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1958.

Subhagodaya of Śivānanda. --> Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava.

Subhagodayavāsanā of Śivānanda. --> Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava.

Śivastotrāvalī: Shaiva Devotional Songs of Kashmir: A Translation and Study of Utpaladeva's

Shivastotravali. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1987.

Tripurārahasya, Māhātmyakhaṇḍa: Śrī Tripurārahasyam Māhātmyakha am; Sanskrit Text with

English Translation. Rao, Lakshmana and T. B., and E. K. Das (eds). First edition.
Bengaluru: śrī Kailasamanidweepa Trust, 2011.

Tripurasundaryaṣṭaka <https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_devii/tripurasun8mean.html>

Vijñānabhairavatantra: Vijñābhairavaḥ anvayārtha-rahasyārthavyākhyā (saṃskṛta-hindī) saṃvalitaḥ,

ed. Vrajavallabha Dvivedī. Varanasi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1984.

Yoginīhṛdayatantra with the commentary of Amṛtānandayogin: Yoginīhṛdayam

amṛtānandayogikṛtadīpikayā, bhāṣānuvādena ca sahitam, ed. Vrajavallabha Dviveda. Delhi.
Motilal Banarsidass, 1988.

Secondary Sources

Aklujkar, Ashok Narhar. The Philosophy of Bhartṛhari's Trikāṇḍī. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
Harvard University. 1970.

Aiyar, Nedimindi Subramania. Śrīvidyā Saparyā Paddhatiḥ. Madras: Sri Brahma Vidya Vimarsini
Sabha. 1938.

Bansat-Boudon, Lyne and Kamalesha Datta Tripathi. An Introduction to Tantric Philosophy : The
Paramarthasara of Abhinavagupta with the Commentary of Yogaraja. London: Routledge.
2011.

Bäumer, Bettina. “Vatulanatha Sutras: A series of Lectures,” YouTube videos, December 23, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHROeEJSfAPSLoJrKRSz4dVlQmuTdRLZR

Bodewitz, H.W. Prāṇa, Apāna, and Other Prāṇa-s in Vedic Literature. Madras: The Adyar Library
and Research Centre. 1987.

Bühnemann, Gudrun. “Churned from the Milk Ocean, Invoked into a Skull-Cup: The Goddess
Vāruṇī in Nepal.” Berlin Indological Studies. Volume 23, pp. 215-264. 2017.

Cox, Whitney. Making a Tantra in Medieval South India: The Mahārthamañjarī and the Textual
Culture of Cōḷa Cidambaram. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. The University of Chicago. 2006.
ṇ
ḍ
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 43 of 45 Works Cited

Dyczkowski, Mark S.G. Tantrāloka: The Light On and Of the Tantras with the Commentary Called
Viveka by Jayaratha. Anuttaratrikakula. Volumes I-XI. 2023.

Vātūlanātha Sutra with the commentary of Anantaśaktipāda. Unpublished course from

Anuttaratrikakula. 2019. https://www.anuttaratrikakula.org/vatulanathasutra/

Manthānabhairavatantram Kumārikākhaṇḍaḥ: Section Concerning the Virgin Goddess of the

Tantra of the Churning Bhairava. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts
and D.K. Printworld. Volumes 1-14. 2009.

“Self-Awareness, Own Being, and Egoity.” A Journey in The World of Tantras. Varanasi:
Indica Books. 2004.

The Stanzas on Vibration the Spandakarika with Four Commentaries: The Spandasamdoha by
Ksemaraja, the Spandavrtti by Kallatabhatta, the Spandavivrti by Rajanaka Rama, the
Spandapradipika by Bhagavadutpala. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1992.

The Doctrine of Vibration : An Analysis of the Doctrines and Practices of Kashmir Shaivism.
Albany: State University of New York Press. 1987.

Golovkova, Anna. “From Worldly Powers to Jīvanmukti: Ritual and Soteriology in the Early
Tantras of the Cult of Tripurasundarī.” The Journal of Hindu Studies. Volume 12, Issue 1.
May, 2019.

Goodall, Dominic, et al. The Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā: The Earliest Surviving Śaiva Tantra.
Pondicherry, India: Institut Francais de Pondichery. 2015.

Heilijgers-Seelen, Dory. The System of Five Cakras in Kubjikāmatatantra 14-16. Groningen, the
Netherlands: E. Forsten. 1994.

Kiss, Csaba. The Yoga of the Matsyendrasa hitā: A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of
Chapters 1-13 and 55. Pondichery: Institut Francais de Pondichery, 2021.

Khanna, Madhu. The Concept and Liturgy of the Śrīcakra Based on Śivānanda's Trilogy.
Unpublished dissertation. Oxford University. 1986.

Lakshmanjoo, Swami. Kashmir Shaivism : The Secret Supreme. Third ed. Culver City, California:
Lakshmanjoo Academy. 2015.

Vātūlanātha Sūtra: With an Exposition of Aphorisms in English. Ishwar Ashram Trust.

Srinagar, Kashmir. 1996.

Nemec, John. The Ubiquitous śiva : Somānanda’s śivad i and His Tantric Interlocutors. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. 2011.

Padoux, André and Roger-Orphé Jeanty. The Heart of the Yoginī: Yoginīhṛdaya, a Sanskrit Tantric
Treatise. New York: Oxford University Press. 2013.
ṃ
ṛ
ṣ
ṭ
The Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra 44 of 45 Works Cited

Padoux, André. Vāc, the Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras. Albany: State University of
New York Press. 1990.

Ratié, Isabelle. “Otherness in the Pratyabhijñā philosophy.” Journal of Indian Philosophy. 35:
313-370. 2007.

Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva Literature.” Journal of Indological Studies. Kyoto. 24&25, 2012-2013,
pp.1-113. 2014.

“The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir.” In Goodall, Dominic and André Padoux (eds).
Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d'Hélène Brunner / Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène
Brunner. Collection Indologie 106. Pondicherry: IFI/EFEO, 2007. pp.231-442 and
(bibliography) pp.551-582. 2007.

“Remarks on the Text of the Kubjikāmatatantra.” Indo-Iranian Journal, 45, pp.1-24. 2002.

“Saivism and the Tantric Traditions.” in S. Sutherland, L. Houlden, P. Clarke and F.

Hardy (eds.), The World's Religions. London: Routledge, pp. 660-704. 1988.

Silburn, Lilian. Hymnes aux Kālī. La roue des énergies divines, Institut de Civilisation Indienne. Paris:
Diffusion de Boccard. 1975.

Vātūlanātha Sūtra : Avec Le Commentaire D’anantaśaktipada. Paris: E. de Boccard. 1959.

Singh, Jaideva. Vedānta and Advaita Śaivāgama of Kashmir: A Comparative Study. The
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Calcutta 700 029. 1985.

Sri Chakra: The Source of the Cosmos. Navarathri Malar 2001. The Journal of the Sri
Rajarajeswari Peetam, Rochester, NY 14543. 2001.

Timalsina, Sthaneshwar. “Text as the Metaphoric Body: Incorporation of Tripurā in

Saundaryalaharī.” Zeitschrift für Indologie und Südasienstudien. 31: 1-32. 2015.

Wenta, Aleksandra. “From the Sequence of the Sun-Goddess (bhānavīkrama) to Time-

Consumption (kālagrāsa): Some Notes on the Development of the Śākta Doctrine of
the Twelve Kālīs.” Journal of Indian Philosophy. 49: 725-757. 2021.

Woodroffe, Sir John. The Serpent Power; Being the Shat-Chakra-Nirūpana and Pādukā-Panchaka: Two
Works on Tantrik Yoga. London: Luzac. 1919.
TRIPURĀ TALLIKĀ
www.tripuratallika.org