Tantric Tattvas
“The God, whose nature is a free consciousness, whose characteristic is the supreme light, due to his own intrinsic nature and as a result of his enjoyment of the sport of concealing his own nature, becomes the atomic, finite self, of which there are many. He himself, as a result of his own freedom, binds himself here by means of actions whose nature are composed of imaginary differentiations. Such is the power of the God’s freedom that, even though he has become the finite self, he once more truly attains his own true form in all its purity.”
Abhinavagupta
The late Mike Magee makes these observations in this essay Śrī Jvālāmukhī Devī:
“These tattvas are the cause of much confusion and are often viewed as if they were an emanationary system. This seems quite incorrect. The first two tattvas are Śiva and Śakti. These two are inseparable. Surrounding them are the three Śaktis of the supreme called Iccha, Jnana and Kriya. It is these three who give rise to all triangles, that is to say to all creation. It is this multitude of Śaktis which collectively is Maya. Maya is limitation through delusion. This delusion is caused by the number of possibilities. Maya Tattva is said to wear five kanchukas or bodices. Two of these are parallels of Śiva and Śakti — limitation in respect of space and time. These two primordial restrictions give rise to three others, which themselves are reflections of Iccha, Jnana and Kriya. The first is limited desire, the second limited knowledge and the third limited activity. An individual deluded by Maya consists of Śiva and Śakti under the terms Puruṣa and Prakṛti. Puruṣa is the embodied Śiva, Prakṛti the embodied Śakti. Being deluded by Maya, the three primordial Śaktis of Iccha, Jnana and Kriya take the form of ego (ahankar), intelligence (buddhi) and memory or Association (manas). Incarnated in the five elements of space, fire, air, earth and water, the embodied being has five powers to sense, five powers to act, and five Impressions. These together make the 36 tattvas. It is the delusion of Maya which prevents an individual from realising her or his oneness with Śiva-Śakti and the three primordial Śaktis of Iccha, Jnana and Kriya.”1
To try and shed some light on the 36 Tattvas, I’m going to offer some brief notes on each of the five pentads.
The five verities
- Śiva
- Śakti
- Icchā
- Jñāna
- Kriyā
The Pure Creation
At the “top level” as it were – the source of everything is the limitless, utterly transcendent Paraśiva, who is beyond all human comprehension and unknowable.
Then there’s Śiva as he is understood to manifest himself – the Instrumental Cause of all creation and the one who sets in motion the five fundamental activities which give rise to the world – Emission, Protection, Reabsorption, Concealment, and Grace. This form of Śiva is held to have a “body” composed of mantras, which can be visualised, worshipped, and meditated upon.
Śiva-Tattva
Śiva-Tattva is sometimes conceived as the first “outward” movement of ParamŚiva. It is sometimes described as the “static” aspect of universal consciousness – the “support” and root of all things and potentialities in the world.
Śakti-Tattva
Śakti-Tattva is the “activity” of Śiva – from Her the rest of the Tattvas arise. There is no real separation between Śiva & Śakti. Śakti (at this level) is said to be “full of bliss” – sometimes called Ānandaśakti.
Will, Knowledge, Action
Related to Śiva-Śakti are the so-called “three corners” – Icchasakti (primal power of Will – also referred to as Sadāśiva or Sādākhya), Jñānaśakti (primal power of knowledge – also referred to as Īśvara) and Kṛyāśakti (primal power of action – also referred to as Sadvidyā).
The Limitations of Maya
- Action
- Knowing
- Desire
- Time
- Fate
The ‘Impure’ Creation
The next pentad that Mike grouped under the umbrella term of the “limitations of Maya” governs the manifestation of limited consciousness. It is the power of Mayaśakti, working through five aspects, acting to “veil” the essential nature of Śiva-Śakti. These are:
Kalā (action)
Kalā is the first Kañcuka – the Limitation of Action, i.e. the “contraction” of Kṛyāśakti. Kalā is the root of notions of limitation (“I can’t do that”) and is the root of Karma.
Vidyā (knowledge)
Vidyā is the second Kañcuka – the Limitation of Knowledge – the contraction of Jnanaśakti and the root of erroneous notions of knowing (“I don’t know that”)
Rāga (desire)
Rāga is the third Kañcuka – the contraction of Icchaśakti and the Limitation of Will. It is the root of Desire, in the sense of “I need this” or “I lack this”, and thus the source of all attachments.
Kāla (time)
Kāla is the fourth Kañcuka – the contraction of Anandaśakti (“Supreme bliss”) and infuses the erroneous notion of Time.
Niyati (Fate)
Niyati is the fifth Kañcuka – the contraction of cicchśakti (the Power of Consciousness) and gives rise to the notion of Space (as in “I am here, and that is over there”)
NB: Sometimes Mayaśakti is regarded as a 6th Kañcuka.
In brief, it is kalā that is the root of our feelings of being helpless, having limited power & abilities. Vidyā gives rise to the experience of limited knowledge & understanding, Rāga gives rise to the sense of being weak-willed, at the mercy of attachments & desires; kāla veils the supreme infinite moment and gives rise to the experience of sequential time; and Niyati veils the supreme all-pervasiveness of consciousness and gives rise to the sense of seperation from all other “things” in the universe.
The Empirical Individual
- Puruṣa
- Prakṛti
- Ahaṃkāra
- Buddhi
- Manas
Puruṣa
Here, Puruṣa is the individual Śiva-spark residing in all beings. It is Śiva who has “cloaked himself” with Maya and her Kañcukas (whilst at the same time, remaining utterly free and transcendent).
Prakṛti
Prakṛti is the condition in which the three powers are contracted again, so that Jnanaśakti becomes the Guṇa Sattva, Icchaśakti the Guṇa Rajas, and Kriyaśakti the Guṇa Tamas.
Śiva-as-Puruṣa “beholds” his Śakti, and she now appears to be composed of the three Guṇas.
Buddhi
Buddhi is the first evolute of Prakṛti – the Intellect. The Guṇa Sattva (the power of knowledge) is predominant. Buddhi is the faculty by which we decide upon a particular course of action. It is the source of discrimination, giving us the ability to categorise things as one thing or another (i.e. “that is a tree”, “that is a Mars bar.”)
Ahaṃkāra
Ahaṃkāra’s main quality is that of “self-appropriation”, and the Guṇa Rajas (the power of will) is predominant. It is the Ahaṃkāra which gives rise to the “I-identification” with a particular action or concept – “I don’t like Mondays”; or “I’m taking the rubbish out.”
Manas
Manas is sometimes called the “net of thoughts” – it is both the source and the “governor” of the Sense-powers and Action-powers. Manas is predominantly Tamasic ( the power of action). It cooperates with the sense-powers to build up distinct perceptions, and it also builds images and concepts.
As with the Saṃkhyā tattva schema, Ahaṃkārana, Buddhi & Manas are collectively referred to as the Antaḥkaraṇa or “inner organ”.
The Ten Instruments, Five Impressions, Five Elements
The Instruments of Sensing, the Instruments of Action, the Five Impressions and the Five Elements are given the same correspondence as in the Saṃkhyā scheme:
| Sense-Power | Action-Power | Tanmātra | Bhūta |
| Hearing | Speaking | Sound | Space |
| Touching | Grasping | Touch | Air |
| Seeing | Walking | Form | Fire |
| Tasting | Excreting | Taste | Water |
| Smelling | Generation | Smell | Earth |
The Instruments of Sensing
Otherwise known as the Jnanendriyas, these are the five “powers” of perception (predominantly Sattvic in essence). They are not the sense-organs in the material sense, but the Śaktis that enable those particularised perceptions to occur.
The Instruments of Action
Otherwise known as the Karmendriyas (predominantly Rasajic in essence) these are the “powers” that enable the modes of action to function. It can be tricky to differentiate between the “power” and the “organ” that carries out that power. Let me give an example. “Grasping” is normally associated with the hands. However, if you’re dexterous, you can also “grasp” with your toes, and there’s also the mental concept of “grasping” an idea. So the Action-Power of “grasping” can be understood as the Śakti primarily concerned with “grasping” things in the world, however that action is performed.
The Five Impressions
These are the Tanmātras (predominantly Tamasic). We can think of them as basic patterns or impressions which enable us to make sensory distinctions. So the Hearing-impression allows us to recognise sounds as particular sounds, if that makes sense.
The Five Elements
Also known as the Mahābhūtas, they are predominantly Tamasic in essence. Again, the five elements do not merely correspond to the material elements. Earth (privithi) constitutes everything that is solid in nature. Water (apas) constitutes the essence of liquidity. Fire (tejas) is the essence of heat; Air (vayu) is the essence of all that is gaseous; and Space (akasa) is the matrix in which the entire physical world exists. The “Instruments of Sensing” and the “Instruments of Action” both arise from the activity of Manas – “born” of the Antaḥkaraṇa’s desire to perceive and act upon the world. By the same token, the Antaḥkaraṇa “manifests” the Tanmatras and the Mahābhūtas in order to have objects to experience and enjoy.
Footnotes
- See also The Philosophy of Tripura Tantra.
