Some notes on the Kaula Upanishad – I
I’ve had a copy of the Kaula Upanishad, as translated by into English by the late Mike Magee in 1995, kicking around on various computers for a while now, but only recently have thought to take a close look at it. As Kaula texts go, I suspect it is rather a late one. A Sanskrit edition was published by Sir John Woodroffe in 1922, so it has been available for a good while now. The only commentary I’m aware of is by the eighteenth-century luminary Bhāskararāya. As far as I know, it has not received any scholarly attention. What follows are some brief notes on this text up to verse 7. I’m drawing on Mike’s translation, presented first, with alternatives for some of the other verses. I freely admit that this has been hard going, revealing just how fragmentary my understanding of this text is. Probably best then, to take everything with a pinch of salt.
1 “May the Kaulika triumph! May Varunī triumph! May truth triumph! May Fire triumph! May all living things triumph.”
Alternatively:
“Om, may the Kula be peaceful, may Varuni be peaceful, may purity be peaceful, may Agni be peaceful, may all be peaceful and well-being abound.”
This first verse is an injunction for deities to dispell any obstacles that might arise. Kaulika here, is Śiva, the wielder of Kula. In Tantrāloka, 3:66-67, Abhinavagupta states “(this freedom) is Kaulikī, the Supreme Power from whom the Lord is never separated. She is endowed with the unfolding (perception) of Kula (which is the energy) of this god (Bhairava, who is) Akula (symbolized by the phoneme A).1
Vārunī (also called Surā) is a goddess of fluidity, wine and intoxication. She is also known as Amṛtādevī. She is one of several deities invoked into a skull-cup of wine during Kaula ritual. She is the embodiment of samarasa.
śuddhiḥ – Mike has translated this term as “truth” has a wider meaning relating to purification – ritual purification, or purification of the senses.
Next is Agni (Fire) – the ancient Vedic deity who is a significant tantric deity – the Śāradātilaka for example, assigns the eight forms of fire to the body of the aspirant in rites of initiation.
There is a deliberate sequence of powers here, but its meaning eludes me. It seems to me that what is being declared here is that all beings share oneness with Śiva, although I also think there is more to it.
2 Hail to the Absolute, Hail to Earth. Hail to Fire. Hail to Air. Hail to Guru! You are like the Cosmos! You are that, self-evidently! I will speak of the Divine Law. I will speak the truth! That must protect me! That source of speech must protect me! Protect me! Protect my speech! Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Or:
“Salutations to Brahman. Salutations to Earth. Salutations to the Waters. Salutations to Fire. Salutations to Air. Salutations to the Gurus. You are the visible one. You are the visible one. I will speak of You. I will speak of the cosmic order. I will speak of truth. May that protect me. May that protect the speaker. Protect me. Protect the speaker. Om. Peace, peace, peace.”
This second verse, on the surface at least, seems simple enough. The devotee declares his or her non-difference from the Absolute (Brahman), the elements, and the lineage of teachers. I wonder though, is the reference to Brahman as the Absolute an influence from Classical Advaita Vedānta?
3 Now the investigation into Dharma. (It is) knowledge and mind. It is the unified cause of both knowledge and liberation. Siddhi emanating from one’s own being arises from liberation.
Alternative: Now, the inquiry into Dharma. Knowledge and intellect are knowledge, the sole cause of liberation. Liberation is the attainment of the Selfhood of all.
A terse statement of the Kaula position on liberation. I’ll unpack this a bit, with the aid of Abhinavagupta. Tantrāloka 1.22: “Well then, it is proclaimed here (unanimously) in all the scriptures that ignorance is the cause of transmigration, and knowledge is the sole cause of liberation (from it).
“The same is said in the venerable Mālinīvijayottara (thus): ‘(The wise) prefer (the view that) Impurity (mala) is ignorance (not a material substance as the dualists maintain). It is the cause of (Karma, which is) the sprout of transmigratory existence (saṁsāra). 1.23.2
Here Abhinavagupta is stating the nondual Śaiva view that liberation can only be achieved by the attainment of knowledge of the all-encompassing reality, due to the grace of Śiva. He refutes the perspective of the Siddhāntas (dualist Śaivas) that this knowledge can be brought about by ritual action alone. (see this post for a brief account of Siddhānta doctrine).
4 The five objects of the senses constitute the expanded Cosmos. Of all this Knowledge is the essence. Yoga is liberation.
Or:
The five objects are the phenomenal world. They are of the nature of knowledge. Yoga is liberation.
The world arises from the senses that are themselves the activity of Pāra-Śakti. I take “yoga” here to refer to the cessation of discriminatory thought.
5 The absolute without parts (Adharma) is the creator. Ignorance is the same as knowledge. Ishvara, the Lord is the Cosmos. The eternal is the same as the transitory. Knowledge is identical with the absence of knowledge. Adharma is Dharma. This is liberation.
Firstly then, Ishvara = Śiva, that is to say, consciousness. That’s simple enough. Ishvara implies lordship.
Tantrāloka 1.26: “Therefore, it is said in the Śivasūtras that (binding) ignorance is (partial) knowledge (jñāna), which is the lack of perception (prathā) of the true nature of the object of knowledge (jñeya) in its totality (sāmastyena).”
1.27: “This is the point made by reading the aphorisms ‘the Self is consciousness’ and ‘knowledge is bondage’ alternatively, together and seperately.”
Knowledge is consciousness. Ignorance is incomplete knowledge. The things we perceive, tables, chairs, the colour blue, etc., do exist. However, we perceive them due to the limitations of the senses as separate to each other, but not as aspects of the universal nature of all. Ignorance here, is incomplete, dualistic knowledge. Yet even ignorance is part of the play of Śiva.
6 The five bonds constitute the essence of real knowledge. The Pinda is the producer (of all). In that is liberation.
Maybe the “five bonds” in this context are the five kañcukas? Pinda, I’m not sure about. It could be the body, it might be a synonym for kundalini-sakti. It could be the familiar statement that for the Kaula practitioner, the body is the vehicle for liberation, as much as it is the contraction of universal consciousness. I’m reminded of a verse in Abhinavagupta’s Dehasthadevatācakrastotra (‘Hymn to the Circle of Deities Within the Body’):
“I praise Bhairava full of bliss, of the nature of consciousness, who is always worshipped by the deities of senses, in the lotus of the heart, with the offerings of joy, on their own objects.”
7 This is real knowledge. Of all the senses the eye is the chief. One should behave in a way opposite to that expected. One should not do this devoid of rightness. All this is the essence of Shambhavi.
Śāmbhavī is an important tantric goddess – the embodiment of Śiva’s grace.
“Of all the senses the eye is the chief.”- Presumably a reference to our true nature – Śiva, who is light (prakāśaḥ) and reflective awareness (vimarśaḥ).
“One should behave in a way opposite to that expected.”
It is frequently assumed that the Kaulas do not follow social rules, or, as some twentieth-century commentators on this tradition (such as Julius Evola), that they have risen above the rules of common humanity and are not tied to ordinary morality. I believe this to be incorrect. The Kulārṇava Tantra, for example, is full of rules that the pracitioner should follow. It continually stresses the importance of devotion to the guru and describes in great detail how one’s guru is to be treated. For example, one verse proscribes farting in front of one’s guru.
Hence, I feel, the qualifying statement that “One should not do this devoid of rightness.” Whilst not bound by conventional dharmas (i.e. worldly concerns), the implication is to act in accordance with the ethical insight that arises from liberation, and act with humility and compassion towards all beings.
“I who have obtained, thanks to the benevolence of the Supreme Lord, the benefits that derive from being his servant – a state that is very difficult to achieve – being ashamed of my solitary success, shall by the method that will here be described, enable the whole of mankind to recognize their Lord, in order to gain my complete fulfilment through the attainment also by them of the Supreme Reality.” Utpaladeva, Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā.
That’s enough for now.
Further Reading
Tantrāloka The light on and of the Tantras. With the Commentary called Viveka by Jayaratha, Translated with extensive explanatory notes by Mark Dyczkowski.2023.
kaulopaniṣad can be downloaded from the Muktabodha Digital Library.
