Cakra-samvara Tantra-m [‘wheel-magic loom’]

(S`ri-Heruka Abhidhana), Chapters XX-XXIV [on secret codes]

p. 243-245 (cap. XX) meanings of symbolic gestures of yogini-s

p.

indicated by yogini : her own __

by __ it (them)

its meaning

243

left hand

 

"I salute [thee]."

 

ring-finger

 

(salutatory response)

 

belly

 

"We are hungry."

 

brow

 

"I come from space."

 

mouth

inserting finger into

"I am eating."

 

tongue

lolling

"I have eaten."

 

knee

 

"I am exhausted."

 

fingertips

 

"I have rested."

 

teeth

gnashing

"I am eating flesh."

 

frown

 

"I am bound."

 

garud.a

flapping arms (fn. 2)

"I am free."

244

right hand

 

"Do thus!"

 

ear

 

"Stay!"

 

fingernail

with fingernails

"The corpse is being conducted [hither]." ("Death is certain." – fn. 7)

 

earth

scratching

"Today I will enter the man.d.ala [i.e., assembly of the committed (fn. 8)]."

 

cibuka (chin)

 

"Protect my son."

 

earth

scratching with left thumb

"The elder protects me."

245

eyen

opening

"Do thus!"

 

knuckles

scratching (licking – fn. 12)

"Lying in bliss."

pp. 243-244 (cap. XX) countersigns to symbolic gestures of yogini-s

p.

gesture by yogini

response to it by yogin

243

maketh fist

pat.t.is`a (touching headband – fn. 3)

 

indicateth her hair

gaze with strange expression

 

displayeth fingernail

shew khat.vanga staff

244

shaketh her limbs

"two fangs" (vajra-fists at both sides of mouth – fn. 6)

pp. 246-247 (cap. XXI) countersigns to symbolic gestures of yogini-s [derived from Guhyaka = females of "yaks.a class of spirits" (p. 247, fn. 8)]

p.

gesture by yogini : sheweth her own __

response to it by yogin : shew his own __

246

crown

head

 

forehead

cheek

 

tooth

tongue

 

lips

chin

 

neck

belly

 

hands

forearm

 

buttocks (tri-kat.ika ‘triple buttocks’ [!] – fn. 3)

earth (point at – fn. 2)

 

teats

chin [again!]

 

belly

navel

 

"secret" (dharma-udaya = ‘vulva’ – fn. 4)

penis

 

thigh

anus

 

knee

shank

 

feet

sole

 

finger-joint (fn. 5)

fingernail

 

earth (point at)

sky (point at)

246-7

sky (point at)

sun (point at)

247

"river" (gesturing in air – fn. 6)

"ocean" (2 hands fluttering in space – fn. 7)

pp. 248-249 (cap. XXII) "distinctive" symbolic anga-mudra-s (‘limb-gestures’) of yogini-s, with their significations

p.

indicated by yogini : her own __

its signification

248

one finger

"Welcome."

 

two fingers

"[Thou art] truly welcome."

248-9

"eye gesture" (pointing with her left middle-finger – p. 249, fn. 6)

her assertion that she will be dedicated to him "for as long as she lives" (p. 249)

p. 249 (cap. XXII) "distinctive" countersigns to anga-mudra-s (‘limb-gestures’) of yogini-s {did these originate in the political state of Anga?} these are praeliminary to displaying of "the true vision" (psychic powers?)

indicated by yogini : her own __

response to it by yogin : indicate his own __

middle-finger

forefinger

ring-finger

tongue

"trident" (3 fingers on forehead – fn. 8)

"lance" (touch little-finger to thumb – fn. 8)

head

the parting in the hair

the ground (point at)

mouth

frown

the parting in the hair [again!]

teeth

lips

neck

mouth [again!]

forehead

eye

pp. 250-255 (cap. XXIII) signs & insignia of d.akini-s (‘witches’) [d.akini-s are distinguished from yogini-s in that "The d.akinis, truly going, return in an instant." (p. 252) {This is the well-known transvection of witches, their ability to do projection of the astral body, or else of the aitheric double.}]

p.

 

{comparative}

250

"The devoted woman who is pleased with him should be enjoyed by the hero, [like] the earth."

{in the manner of the earth-goddess Gaia being impraegnated (GM 25.b) by semen from rape of the goddess Athene by Hephaistos?}

p. 251, fn. 4

[according to Viravajra] "worship the yoga-samvara (‘yoke-magic’)" would allude to "the wheels of the ... body."

{is this samvara the meshing between horizontal and vertical sets of gears in the body?}

252

"Gazing backwards, the alteration of her face, the knitting of her brow, and her unchanging countenance -- ... thus ... the d.akini should be quickly recognized."

{altered into scowling at impiety, with seriousness expressed in her brow, and unchanging (unamused) in the praesence of irreligious frivolity – so can be witch be recognized}

252, fn. 10

[according to Viravajra & Tson Khapa] "circular lines drawn or marked on the yogini’s forehead" {cf. Kuklops "with concentric rings on the forehead" (GM 3.2)}

{but the Yoruba initiate is adorned with concentric rings, centred on the top of the head, painted on the shaven scalp (AO, p. 350).}

252, fn. 10

[according to Sac^en] "above the navel of that d.akini are three lines"

{scarification of the belly of females is common in Africa and among South American Indians}

254

"her mouth gapes, opened in the shape of a vajra. Then her voice is again always embellished with the tone of the cuckoo. In her house there should be ... the form of a vajra, together with a mirror, and the form of a sword, together with a mirror. The flag-staff, [that is] {sexual} intercourse, should always

{her mouth she openeth in order to receive the vajra (euphemism for the penis of any non-related male?). The cuckoo is the thornaks [as Zeus insinuated himself between the teats of his own sister Hera (GM 12.a)], indicating her receiving her own brother[’s penis?] between her teats. As the flag-staff is the male’s penis [p. 255, fn. 15], the flag may be, rather than simply "female sexual organs" [loc. cit.], the G-string worn by her, which may be simply pushed aside (rather than removed) by the male [as commonly a woman’s panties are in the case of forcible rape].}

255

be known by means of a mirror."

{The whorish (GM 24.a) goddess Demeter hath, in her temple at Akakesion, a mirror (GG 8.37.2-10 = DC2, "Arkadia XI").}

AO = Sandra T. Barnes : Africa’s Ogun. IN U Pr, 1997.

GG = Pausanias : Guide to Greece.

DC2 = http://www.theoi.com/Cult/DemeterCult2.html

pp. 256-261 (cap. XXIV) symbolic language

p.

term

its literal meaning

its symbolic (canting) meaning

256

potan-gi

[boat-going]

(respectful salutation)

 

prati-potangi

[towards boat-going]

(respectful reply)

 

gamu

[going (gamuka)]

I go

 

lumba

[torment]

I come

 

deha-m

body

town (nagara-m)

 

gr.han.a-m

 

wooden vessel (cat.uka-m)

 

biran.a (= viran.a – fn. 4)

[a fragrant grass, Andropogon muricatus]

heart

 

kau-rava

[evil roar]

death

256-7

ghan.t.a

bell

corolla

257

ali

falsehood (alika – fn. 7)

head

 

karan.a

[causing]

belly

 

varaha

swinish

hair

 

s`ravan.a

hearing

ears

 

amr.ta-sthana

ambrosia-place

vulva (fn. 9)

 

manthana

churning-stick

penis (fn. 9)

 

sam-agama

encounter

man [warlock-man]

 

talika

cover

d.akin.i (witch-woman)

 

naraka-m

Hell

man.d.ala

 

amuka-m

"such-and-such"

charnel-ground

 

kakhila

kampilya (fn. 10)

gate

257-8

s`vasana

blow-hard (panting) [Agni-yoga]

brahmin

258

pari-dhi

enclosure, fence

ks.atriya

 

vi-rati

abstention

vais`ya

 

krura

cruel

s`udra

 

anta-stha

outsider

can.d.ala

 

pangulika

[limping, lame]

house {its shingles for pangolin’s scales?}

259

d.akini (fn. 17)

witch

sister (bhagini)

 

medaka

liquor

water

 

gr.han.i

astrologic mansion

house

 

amuka-sthana (fn. 20)

"such and such a place"

whence coming? (kutas agamanam?)

 

gandha-vahani

scent-carrying

thirst

 

kiran.a

ray of light

flower

 

tu-lamba

[tu-lamba ‘efficient suspense’ (tul-amba ‘lift eyen’)]

laughter

 

daras

cleaving

teeth

 

vr.s.t.i

rain

restraining

259-60

tripti

satisfaction

entreaty (vijn~apti)

260

dhur-yu

[burden-harness]

outside

 

dhuma-priya

mist-fond

cloud

 

sanu

summit

mountain

 

sarit-as

streams

rivers (nadi-as)

 

anguli

finger

limb

 

vadana

face, countenance

mouth (mukha – fn. 24)

 

rajika

stripe

tongue

 

a-dana

withholding

teeth

 

pankti

troop

flag

 

chandas

chanter

rosary

 

cala

moving

wind

 

pra-vaha (fn. 25)

carrying along

boat

 

pas`u

domesticated beast

feral beast (mr.ga)

 

yanti

they go

man.d.ala

 

sama-m

pair

crossroad

 

phalgu-sam

[feeble ...]

living being

261

adhi-aka

[superintendant]

royal officialdom

{re "cala" :- The Zen koan (F, SKRS, BK), 29th in the Mumonkan, about whether ‘moving’ should imply ‘wind’ or ‘flag’, may (though evident in case of ‘wind’) imply, in the case of ‘flag’, that all entries in the symbolic signification column be moved downward by 2 places. The answer ‘mind’ (which may imply that the mind’s function is to count, as is done on a ‘rosary’; or perhaps to calculate, as is done on an abacus, the nigh congener to the rosary) may imply that all entries in the symbolic signification column be moved downward by just 1 place; it is the compromise between displacement by 2 places or no displacement at all.}

F = http://www.ralphmag.org/AR/why.html

SKRS = http://www.bigbridge.org/fictkabbott.htm

BK = http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/05/a-broken-koan.html

pp. 260-261 (cap. XXIV) syllabic symbolism {common to Tantrik handbooks in India}

p.

term

its literal meaning

its symbolic (canting) meaning

260

maha-ks.ara-m

great syllable

great corpse (maha-s`ava-m) [maha-sava-m (as per fn. 28) would be ‘great pressing’]

 

ga

 

goat [galastani ‘nanny-goat’]

 

na / na

 

human [nara]

260-1

go

[ox]

bull

261

ma

 

buffalo [mahis.a]

 

bha

 

eating

 

ha

[abandon, quit]

"

 

ho

 

satisfied

 

hri

shame (fn. 35)

shame

pp. 259, 261-262 (cap. XXIV) symbolic gestures by touching some body-part

p.

touching __

meaning

259

teeth

I hunger.

261

breast

forest-dwelling (vanam sthiti)

 

mouth

[I have] eaten.

 

teeth [again!]

[I am] satisfied.

 

s`unya-m ‘void’ (= female’s vagina – fn. 36)

Engage thou in sexual union [with me]! (fn. 37)

262

thigh (woman’s – fn. 38)

[Do it] thus from above! It is not [done] from below.

David B. Gray (tr.) : The Cakrasamvara Tantra (S`riherukabhidhana). American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia U, NY, 2007. pp. 243-262.