Nature of Sakti in Pancastavi and Saundarya Lahari

Mystical Elements in Devotional Framework

Abstract

This paper takes a look at the two pre-medieval Sanskrit devotional texts to see how they delineate the cosmic power as ?akti, the highest principle considered to be beyond all philosophical conceptualization. Acarya Shankara’s Saundarya  Lahar? and Dharmachraya’s Pancastav? both are esoteric hymnal compositions on the divine feminine that bear significant resemblance. To begin with the paper explores the questions of historicity associated with both the texts and moves on to discuss various esoteric elements hidden within the devotional framework in the texts. In concordance with the tantric framework, these hymns contain codified mantras, elaborate descriptions of the mandalas of divine feminine, and the yantras associated with the mantras and mandalas. The idea is to present the complex layers of meaning that the verses attempt to reveal only partially. Both Shankaracharya and Dharmachraya composed these hymns in devotional mode, hence they wrap the tactic dimensions behind the poetic visualization of the attributes, beauty and grace of respective goddesses. This is in keeping with the conventional idea that the potent secrets of tantra vidya are handed down by an accomplished master to a disciple through initiation and other rituals. The paper is an attempt to exposit the ideas of mantroddh?ra, the extraction of the seed syllables; the depiction of mandala-s of the divine mother,  the y?ntrasvar?pa or the geometric depiction of the mother; and the divine mother as kundalin? ?akti in the two texts of Pancastav? and Saundarya Lahar?. In a way, it offers a comparative overview of the treatment of the above mentioned elements by the two authors.