Shiva and Sati - A Question

[srivijaya]

Could anyone please explain the spiritual significance of this story for a Shaivite contemplative.

The Ancient Legend of Sati

Dakshayani, one of the forms of the mother-goddess, was a daughter of Daksha Prajapati, a descendant of Brahma. She was married to Shiva but Daksha did not acknowledge Shiva's divine powers. Once King Daksha was celebrating a great sacrifice (yajna) to which neither Dakshayani nor Shiva were invited. Dakshayani, however, went to the her father�s yajna uninvited but was greatly insulted by Daksha. As a result of her ill-treatment, she threw herself into the sacrificial fire and perished. Hence she came to be known as Sati, the chaste one.

When the news of Sati�s death reached her husband, Shiva became inconsolable and rushed to Daksha's yajna. After the destruction of Daksha�s sacrifice, he wandered over the earth in the dance of destruction (tandava nritya) with Sati�s dead body on his shoulder. The gods now became anxious to free Shiva from his infatuation and made a conspiracy to deprive him of his wife�s dead body. Thereupon Vishnu, while following Shiva, cut Sati�s dead body on Shiva�s shoulder piece by piece with his discus (chakra).

The places where pieces of Sati�s body fell then became Peethas, i.e, holy seats or resorts of the mother-goddess. In all of these peethas, mother-goddess is represented to be constantly living in some form together with a Bhairava, i.e. a form of her consort Shiva. Bhairava is always present as a minor deity in the Shakti-Peethas and has a dog as his companion.

It is believed that parts of Sati�s feet fell in Chintpurni.

http://www.geocities.com/chintpurni1/legend.html

Namaste

[TatTvamAsi]

Namaste,

Interesting story: Sati & Shiva.

The fact that Daksha is a prajapati (mind-born son of Brahma) is significant. At the end, when he is beheaded, he receives a head of a goat after he repents and accepts Shiva.

My opinion, as I am no Vedic scholar, of this story is that the import is two-fold: one of Shiva's prominence (as compared to even that of a prajapati) and the devotion of a woman to her lord (husband) and vice-versa; as after Sati immolates herself, she is born in a fisherman community and Shiva comes there in the guise of a young lad who kills a shark (Nandi) to win the girl's (Sati's) hand in marriage.

In fact, someone correct me if I'm wrong, I think during the battle of Daksh'a yajna, "Badrakali" is created from Shiva's hair and she quells all the demons that are invoked by the rishis at the yajna (Bhrigu etc.).

With the superb computer technology and animation techniques available today, Hindu epics, puranas, stories would be THE BEST MOVIES IN THE WORLD!! We just need the funding, effort, and sensitivity of the directors of the projects!

I can't wait to see the animated Ramayana in 2010 (by Disney I think)!

[MahaHrada]

we should look into the matter a litle more deeply and ask why did daksha exclude shiva from the sacrifical worship? The answer is that shiva is ghora as well as aghora, he is frightful as well as peaceful when he is frightful he is leading an impure lifestyle if beheld form the orthodox viewpoint, he is often clad in nothing but ashes taken from the funeral pyre, he is wearing snakes instead of the yajnopavita, he is using intocixant drinks, and hangs around at unclean places(smashans-burning grounds) with shady characters like vampires and ghuls (vetalas and bhutas). In short he is not exactly the kind of husband a father is proud to invite to his beautifuly arranged yajna.
Now his daughter of course is angry and dissapointed and also wants to teach her father a lesson, that it is a must to have sacrifical items prepared for shiva in such a great yajna, and he should be invited to partake, since -though he does not look familar and nice, he is nonetheless most dignified, he is even the most powerful and important among the devas, because he is the dissolver and therefore he is the only immortal one among the devas,(since the agent of dissolution cannot be dissolved) and she knows that he will eventually cause, asuming the form of Mahakala the great time, the dissolution of all that has ever come into existence, including the other deities. She cannot allow that her father thinks that the gods that shine in temporal glory only are those worthy of praise, but he that cannot be destroyed is unworthy of sacrifice, though it is to him all and everything must submit at the end of time, and must be sacrificied due to the natural laws of the universe?

So what to do to prevent such a spoilt sacrifice done by her own father which would have dire consequences, for her and everybody else also, if carried out in the way envisioned ?

Sati knows all the glory and function of shiva, in fact nobody else than her can fully know about shivas act of destruction, because she is an aspect of devi, and the devi is the only witness conscious at the time and after the dissolution of the universe (Mahapralaya) when all other devas have sunk into oblivion.

In the Lalita sahasranama Devi is called therefore:
"Maheshvara mahakalpa mahatandava sakshini" meaning: The witness of the dance of destruction that Mahesvara does at the end of time.

That is the reason why she knows that the ultimate sacrifice every jiva, and that includes the devas, will one day be submitted to, and no one can escape, is the destruction in the fire of shiva at the end of the mahakalpa. And therefore ultimately all sacrifices go to shiva alone, and he is doing the Maha Tandava to pleasure Shakti. If that is not taken into account the sacrifice is spoilt.

Adi Shankaracharya, who was also a great shakta, is expressing this thought, exalting the Devi above even shiva, in saundaryalahari in the following way:

svadehodbhUtAbhir-ghRNibhir-aNimAdyAbhir-abhito
nishhevye nitye tvAm-aham-iti sadA bhAvayati yaH /
kim AshcaryaM tasya trinayana-samRddhiM tRNayatA
mahA-samvartAgnir-viracayati nIrAjana-vidhiM //30//

nitye : Oh the Eternal One,
nishhevye : Oh the One adored by all,
yah : He who
sadA : always
bhAvayati : thinks of (meditates on)
tvAM : You
abhitaH : (You, who are) surrounded
ghRNibhiH : by rays
svadehodbhUtAbhiH : emanating from one’s own body
aNimAdhyAbhiH : such as aNimA and the like,
aham iti : as “I”,
kim Ashcaryam : What wonder is there (meaning, No wonder) that
tasya : for him
triNayatA : (who) makes into insignificance
trinayana-samRddhiM : the glory of the three eyed (Shiva),
maha-samvartAgniH : The Great Fire of Dissolution
viracayati : is (only) a performance of
nIrAjana-vidhiM : the rite of waving of Lights.

Sati´s act of throwing herself into the yajna is reminding us of the same fact elucidated by Adi Shankara , which is that she is indestructible and meditation and union with her, will change the great fire of dissolution merely into a perfomance of waving of lights in worship to her.

The sacrifice of offering up of oneself in the fire of a homa kunda (sacrifical fire pit) in a symbolic way is a most important part of many internal and external spiritual practices and also part of dikshas (viraja homa in sannyas diksha and similar sacrifices in agamic dikshas), where the sadhak is endowed with a new subtle body free from karma and consisting of mantra.

(This is only a short digression or remark linked with another thread.
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?p=25738
Like it is said in shiva sutras cittam mantrah, the mind of the sadhak is mantra , after the guru has done the internal fire sacrifce and the disciple has reinforced this by his own sadhana the normal sukshma sharira , impressed with karma and other doshas, is destroyed in the fire of the sacrifical pit, and exchanged with a different divine body. This idea has entered buddhism as well. In Vajrayana the Buddha has developed the trikayas and does not manifest through the usual subtle body.This I mention just to show that quotes from the shiva sutras etc. are sometimes only practical when the basic course of sadhana is correctly apllied,
Without diksha you usually have no mantra body, without mantra body you cannot become aware of the essence of the mantra body, and therefore the three verses of the second part of the shiva sutras do not apply to a non-iniitiate. This i mention only to show tantra is too complicated to venture into it without guidance.)

The whole subject of the offering into fire is prominent in Yoga and Tantra mostly in secret practicies connected with the regulation of prana and nadis, there are also even more deeper levels of interpretation of the interaction of agni(fire) surya(sun) soma (moon) in the body connected to the internal way the Yajna is done, so there is still a lot more to ponder upon and look for deeper esoteric levels of interpretation.

The sacrifice of the ego the karma and the impurities, but also sense impressions and desires, as fuel into the internal agni is a most sacred act superior to the outward performance of the sacrifice done with ghee, food and other objects.
Ultimately all external offerings implicate an offering of the limited self, or parts of that self. Sati is therefore reminding her father of the internal meaning of the sacrifice which meaning he did obviously not remember anymore.

Shakti Pithas

The topic of the shakti pithas that arose, according to the puranic account from the different members of the devi, according to other accounts the sacred places arose because of a journey of the devi throughout bharat, is intrinsically linked to the tantric tradition.

Besides being a reminder that bharat is the body of the devi, they demarcate places where the presence of shakti is imposed like as a stamp (mudra) on the objective world, prakriti, even if the whole of the material universe is identical to the devi, especially bharat is considered her very own body on this planet, and in bharat again there are sacred places where she is most powerfully present, assuming different natural formations.

These formations are the pithas. These power places are not only visited physically by pilgrimage but also transfered from the macrocosm and imposed upon and integrated into the material and subtle body (nadi system) and prana of the tantric sadhaka during sadhana by the practice of Pitha Nyasa.
In that way his own body becomes connected to the body of devi as bharata mata. I like to remind again, that tantra philosophy does not accept the unreality of matter as in buddhism and mayavada, but prakriti is concrete and real and equated with shiva and shakti in an inextricable union (samarasya), of knower, means of knowledge, and known, the divine is both transcendent and immanent.

The concept of the pithas has been taken over by Vajrayana but sadly there it looses its full significance and beauty, since buddhism is non theistic and does not belive in the reality of matter and the immanence of the divine shakti in formations of the natural landscape.

By the way the important swayambhu stupa in Nepal is similarly to the concept of the shakti pitha belived to once have been a natural representation of the adibuddha in the form of a natural blue flame, this same flame was regarded also as a manifestation of adinath shiva. Later the stupa was built around the flame, and i heard stories that only in this century did the stupa cool down, before it was warm and that could be felt physically when touching the surface, due to the fire that is supposed to be still enclosed in the Stupa.

I myself was living near there in the 80ies and there are some places where one could still ignite the water of a small stream with a match because of the natural gas that is occuring in the mixture, so the story of the huge blue flame is not a so called legend, it is based on facts.

The shakti pitha at Jwalamukhi H.P. is another sacred shakti place connected with flames that are natural and self ignited gas flames, here the tongue of sati fell down. The flame shape of course reminds one of a tongue.

Of course the reason why Shiva immediately started his tandava dance of destruction for her, was because he knew that with her sacrifice she was enacting exactly that very moment of the revealation of her indestructible nature during Mahapralaya.

In the end of that story her divine marks where stamped into the very fabric of the universe right into the very atoms of the punyabhumi. Now in destroying the earth he would have destroyed her very body. Thats why his dance calmend down and the earth was saved from premature destruction.

[atanu]

Namaste Friends,

Very valuable inputs have been provided and all perspectives are correct. Devoid of key inputs from Vedas and Satapatha Brahmana, the story will however, not make full sense.

This is the Svistakrit Sacrfice that is called "Well Offered". Till a sacrifice is well offered it will not be complete and Prajapati - the offerer, the leader of the rite will have a severed-impaired intelligence.

Shiva is the Atman, full sthanu (immovable absolute). He is called Vastavya -- the residual truth. Rig Veda says that Rudra is never separated from the highest Shakti. Rig Veda also says that Rudra yieldeth to no second. In fact He is ONE WITHOUT A SECOND. There is no question of shakti separating out as a second and dying.

Vishnu is called fast moving and far striding. Rig Veda says that Vishnu owns the highest Shakti.

Sati is the consort of Sat-Vastavya Rudra and Sati is manifestation of the movement, Vishnu, which in one sense is Maya, since it now appears to have partitioned the Shakti.

But there was never any partition and there will never be any partition and Shiva-Sati-Vishnu are one Atman of Prajapati.


Prajapati sacrifices with everything and to every Deva yet leaving out his own Atman. He fails to sacrifice self to the Self.

The story is from the view point of beheaded Prajapati who lacked knowledge of Shiva Atman and forgot that his so-called daughter shakti is eternally of Shiva, of Atman. He then perceives (Rig Veda says invents) Shiva's angry dance, the movement, which is the Vishnu -- the Universe as fragmenting Shakti -- which being all pervasive can never be fragmented, which never dies, and which never separates from Shiva-Vishnu Vastavya.

Satapatha Brahamana

1:7:3:13. [The Hotri continues to recite]: 'May he sacrifice to his own greatness!' When, on that occasion, he asks him (Agni) to bring hither the deities, he also makes him bring hither his own greatness; but before this no worship of any kind has been offered to 'his (Agni's) own greatness:' and he therefore now gratifies him, and thus that (fire) has been established so as to prevent failure on his (the sacrificer's) part. This is the reason why he says 'may he sacrifice to his own greatness.'

-----------------------------

BG

13. 17. And undivided, yet He exists as if divided in beings; He is to be known as the supporter of beings; He devours and He generates also.

13. 18. That, the Light of all lights, is beyond darkness; it is said to be knowledge, the Knowable and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all.

13.28 Samam sarveshu bhooteshu tishthantam parameshwaram;

Vinashyatswavinashyantam yah pashyati sa pashyati.

13. 28. He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord, existing equally in all beings, the unperishing within the perishing.

13.29 Samam pashyan hi sarvatra samavasthitameeshwaram;

Na hinastyaatmanaa’tmaanam tato yaati paraam gatim.

13.29. Because he who sees the same Lord dwelling equally everywhere does not destroy the self by the self, he goes to the highest goal.

-------------------------

Prajapati failed to see the same Lord dwelling equally everywhere and in himself and thereby destroyed the self by the self. Thinking that Shiva is another person outside of me and also outside of others is the mistake. Sacrifice remains incomplete till self is sacrificed to Self.


Om Namah Shivaya

[atanu]

SVETASVATARA UPANISHAD.

FOURTH ADHYAYA.

16. He who knows Siva (the blessed) hidden in all beings, like the subtile film that rises from out the clarified butter, alone enveloping everything, he who knows the god, is freed from all fetters.

17. That god, the maker of all thing, the great Self, always dwelling in the heart of man, is perceived by the heart, the soul, the mind; they who know it become immortal.

18. When the light has risen, there is no day, no night, neither existence nor non-existence; Siva (the blessed) alone is there. That is the eternal, the adorable light of Savitri, - and the ancient wisdom proceeded thence.

Om Namah Shivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~

atanu writes

Shiva is the Atman, full sthanu (immovable absolute). He is called Vastavya -- the residual truth

Very rewarding reading atanu and MahaHrada, thank you both for your posts.


And who is this sati?
We can look at satī सती , She is considered Truth (sat) personified. This connnects nicely to atanu's 'residual truth' offered above.
Satī सती also means good and virtuous; this word satī later becomes suttī, a faithful wife; satī is also fragrant earth.
sāti साति too, is gaining, winning or acquisition - what is key here is sa.
sa स by itself is considered a noun for Śiva and/or Viṣṇu; a noun for knowledge, or meditation.
If we extend the a and make it sā सा it becomes giving, bestowing, granting. And who does this? Lakṣmī or Gaurī, sā another name for them both.

And as mentioned satī is grounded in sat सत् - truth, being, existence, that which really is, entity or existence , essence (sāra) and culminates in sattā which is (feminie) existence, being, and brings us back to satī.

Hence satī & sattā + sat : satī ( Śrī Devī ,Pārvatī, Gaurī, Śaivī is śakti) + sat (Śiva¹, Maheśvara) together , are One or Paramārtha - the highest purpose, Paramātman or the Supreme Self, many call Parameśvara the Supreme Lord that is unsupassible (anuttara - without equal).

pranams

words

We know Śiva is called dakṣādhvaraharāya, the Destroyer (hara) of Dakṣa's sacrifice (adhvara):

• Dakṣa दक्ष is able, fit, adroit, expert, clever, dexterous, industrious , intelligent. Dakṣa was one of the prajāpati-s ( lord of creatures) created by Brahmā i.e. Marīci , Atri , Angiras , Pulastya , Pulaka , Kratu , Vasiṣṭha , Pracetas or Dakṣa , Bhṛgu , Nārada. The Mahābhārata mentions 14;
• adhvara अध्वर is sacrifice, also means non-injuring; this is rooted in dhvṛ ध्वृ which means to bend , cause to fall , hurt , injure; hence a+dhvṛ is to not (a) injure (dhvṛ);
• hara हर is taking away , carrying off , removing , destroying.
• Hence Śiva is recognized as the Destroyer (hara) of Dakṣa's sacrifice (adhvara).

[srivijaya]

These power places are not only visited physically by pilgrimage but also transfered from the macrocosm and imposed upon and integrated into the material and subtle body (nadi system) and prana of the tantric sadhaka during sadhana by the practice of Pitha Nyasa.
In that way his own body becomes connected to the body of devi as bharata mata. I like to remind again, that tantra philosophy does not accept the unreality of matter as in buddhism and mayavada, but prakriti is concrete and real and equated with shiva and shakti in an inextricable union (samarasya), of knower, means of knowledge, and known, the divine is both transcendent and immanent.

The concept of the pithas has been taken over by Vajrayana but sadly there it looses its full significance and beauty, since buddhism is non theistic and does not belive in the reality of matter and the immanence of the divine shakti in formations of the natural landscape.

Dear Friends,
The replies to my initial question have far exceeded any expectations, or any hopes I had for a reply. I wish to express my gratitude to all of you for taking the time to reply in such a complete and profound manner.
It is impossible to convey joy on the internet but it has been a long time since I have read such wonderful posts on any forum.

As you know, I am Buddhist but a somewhat eclectic and non-conventional one at that. As MahaHrada knows from our correspondence elsewhere, I am also a practitioner of Highest Yoga Tantra of the Samvara cycle, and I greatly value his knowledge in this area. I would agree with him that some Buddhist schools impede, or hinder the full understanding of the process with an insistence on according intellectual teachings of emptiness a crucial status. This creates a tension within the practice, as an element is introduced which is clearly out of place. In a non-dualistic framework, even considerations of emptiness (however one defines it) are superfluous and counterproductive. My experience of other Buddhist schools has helped me to see that even within Buddhism there are paths which do not rely on such teachings. On one hand we risk reifying profound states into 'objects' to be beheld dualistically. On the other hand we risk a futile process of negating all objects of knowledge in a nihilistic way.

It is truly the razor's edge upon which we walk.

What has been written parallels non-conceptual insight I have gained through practice and I have drawn some radical conclusions from that insight. I figured that this story was of critical importance in unlocking the deeper aspects of truth.

Atanu wrote "But there was never any partition and there will never be any partition and Shiva-Sati-Vishnu are one Atman of Prajapati."
It is the process of this partition, in a conventional sense, which interests me. The fact that the Devi is scattered throughout the body of the contemplative. A pathway to the ultimate union - the non-dualistic merging of the two can be intuited when we understand how and why the partition took place. It has parallels with ideas of the Anima.

There is one more story I have encountered, which I think illustrates what we are discussing very wonderfully:

Story associated with Trimbakeshwar
At the time of the marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvati, all the Devarshis gathered together. Brahmadev, the creator of the Universe, seeing the beauty of Parvati, had a discharge of semen. Lord Shiva observing this, offered him water of Ganges, the purest water and said, "you will wipe off your sin by this water". Brahmadev kept the holy water in his kamandalu (a particular container made out of dried fruit carried by Sadhus) and was purified by its bath.

http://www.nashik.com/travel/trimbakeshwar.html

This would seem to indicate the mind (Brahmadev) which, having moved away from the ultimate state of Shiva, dualistically objectifies the Devi and does not understand the union of which Atanu wrote.

Would my assessment be correct here?

Namaste

[MahaHrada]

What i like to emphasise again and again is that the tantra is averse to the Mayavada doctrine.
In other words it belives that the physical universe is the the very body of the Shakti. Shiva appears as akula and shakti as kula, Shiva is the one consciousness without parts (akula) and shakti the mirror in which this consciousness experiences all imaginable relative realities.

The one is definend as light from a lamp (prakasha) the other as reflecting objects (vimarsha), giving rise to visibilty, this is the metapher.
Vision is only possible when both come together, light and reflection.

These polarities are considered to be in a state of advaita, which means not two, it does not mean one, they are not (a) two (dvaita).

Which means that when we realise the aim of amritva or shivatva, union with shiva or nectar of immortality, it is not necessary to move from a state of diversity to a state of oneness.

On the contrary it is to realise that diversity and unity exist in a blurred state (as in quantum physics) it is non-dual or not-two with unity.

So unity or formless cosnciousness remains in his state, the particular remains in his state, unity is realised, but that does not affect the difference, it remains.

If we consider that we have to move a certain way from duality and impurity towards unity, we apparently think these two differ from each other, that is not the import of advaita as understood in the tantras.

In the tantra wherever you look whether at a natural formation of stones or a flame of gas, a murti, another human being, all theses particulars are perceived as shakti, so there is no need to go to any other place, be it an imagined spiritual goal of moksha or real like a pilgrimage spot, you have to elimnate the error, the error, the maya, or impurity is that you do not realise the full identity of the kula with the akula.

Mapping the pithas on the body shows that we do not necessarily need to visit these places in the real world, they also exist as places of power within us.

In the kula system the akula (brahman of the upanishads) is not exalted above the lowest ladder of the particular.

It teaches you to live in totality, there is no break in the experience, everything is absolutely equal (state of sama in nath parampara) to any other thing.

Like my guru�s guru used to say "Nath yogis turn ashes to god and gods to ashes."

But to reach into that state it is extremely important to become aware that advaita in tantra does not mean one but not two.

That is to mean, though two thing seem apparently different and stay different, both partake of the same essence, it is the state of our consciousness which decides whether we can see a god or only ash.

I will cite lakshman joo here about the kula: In the practice of the kula system you have to realise the totality of the universe in one particle.
and:
siva which is realized in prithvi tattva is the same level the same reality of siva which is realized in siva tattva.

So in this system it is irrrelevant whether you are engaged in the process of contemplation of the formless or the form.

Like it is said in Vajrayana also Samsara is equated with Nirvana.

This is a radically differring approach then the advaita vedanta that atanu is propagating, where all notions of difference are considered as not really existing but are only temporarly caused by maya.

Here in the tantra we celebrate every particular as a real existent and visible manifestation of shakti, non dual with the formless shiva, and we do not need to move from the particular to the one, creating a duality as it where between illusion and the real, instead we consider the highest state as amritatva or shivatatva, the blissful state of realisation of non duality between the particular and the formless.

Here nothing needs to be changed, everything is perfect as it is, the only imperfection is that we do not realise exactly that inborn state of natural perfection (sahaja) and therefore are caught up in diverse illusions and desires. A similar idea is taught in vayrajana dzog chen, which emanated from the udiyana pitha.

[srivijaya]

Here nothing needs to be changed everything is perfect as it is, the only imperfection is that we do not realise exactly that inborn state of natural perfection (sahaja) and therefore are caught up in diverse illusions and desires. A similar idea is taught in vayrajana dzog chen, which emanated from the udiyana pitha.

Indeed. Well said. Very much equates with Dzog Chen as you rightly point out. I think the doctrine of Spanda concurs with this view. I absolutely agree that introducing the concept of 'illusion' can lead to much proliferation.

namaste

[atanu]

Atanu wrote "But there was never any partition and there will never be any partition and Shiva-Sati-Vishnu are one Atman of Prajapati."
It is the process of this partition, in a conventional sense, which interests me.

Namaste Srivijaya,

I do not know whether the following will interest anyone or not? Nonetheless.

The process of separations are depicted in a few stories of Sataptaha Brahmana. Prajapati is one overlord, the primeval man of whom we are all parts. What was separated by Prajapati at the beginning of time by his notions continue to take effect even today with us.

In one instance, Prajapati BrahmA (Rudra only as per Rig Veda) was eluded by Usha, his own light, his own dauhgter, to lust. This brought out anger in form of Rudra, who snipped off a head of BrahmA. But that separation gave rise to a vidya called Madhu Vidya from Dadhichi Rishi to heal the defective sacrifice.

Second, separation takes place when Vishnu is said to have swelled with Pride. At that time also. Vishnu's head was severed and Vishnu's body (the firmament) and the Vishnu's head (the Sun) became as if separate. On this occassion also, a sacrifice named Pravargya was instituted to heal the separation.

Third instance, of ignorance of indwelling Shiva already depicted above, led to Svistakrit sacrifice -- sacrificing one's own agni by agni. Recognising one's own life and one's own intelligence as from the indwelling God.

There is a fourth instance where separation does not take place but all joy leave Indra. Indra immensely disliked Bheda (duality) and thus killed Visvarupa --fathered by Visvakarma, who became extremely angry and prohibited Indra from participating in Soma sacrifice. Indra forcibly took away Soma but could not digest it, which went out through all pores of Indra, making Indra lifeless but not dead. Aswins and Saraswati restored Indra to His glory. Saraswati and Aswins again employed Madhu Vidya to bring Indra to life.
----------------------

Let us go through this very intersting set of verses. Mental agnis, as I understand refer to the desires. Agni is equated to warmth, desire, and death, yama.

Sataptha Brahmana

Part IV THIRD BRÂHMANA.

10:5:3:1. Verily, in the beginning this (universe) was, as it were, neither non-existent nor existent; in the beginning this (universe), indeed, as it were, existed and did not exist: there was then only that Mind.

10:5:3:2. Wherefore it has been said by the Rishi (Rig-veda X, 129, 1), 'There was then neither the non-existent nor the existent;' for Mind was, as it were, neither existent nor non-existent.

10:5:3:3. This Mind, when created, wished to become manifest,--more defined, more substantial: it sought after a self (body). It practised austerity: it acquired consistency. It then beheld thirty-six thousand Arka-fires of its own self, composed of mind, built up of mind: mentally alone they were established (on sacrificial hearths) and mentally built up; mentally the cups (of Soma) were drawn thereat mentally they chanted, and mentally they recited on (near) them,--whatever rite is performed at the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that was performed mentally only, as a mental performance, on those (fires or fire-altars) composed of mind, and built up of mind. And whatever it is that (living) beings here conceive in their mind that was done regarding those (mental Agnis):--they establish them (on the hearths) and build them up (as fire-altars); they draw the cups for them; they chant on (near) them and recite hymns on them,--of that extent was the development of Mind, of that extent its creation,--so great is Mind: thirty-six thousand Arka-fires; and each of these as great as that former (fire-altar) was.

10:5:3:4. That Mind created Speech. This Speech, when created, wished to become manifest,--more defined, more substantial: it sought after a self. It practised austerity: it acquired consistency. It beheld thirty-six thousand Arka-fires of its own self, composed of speech, built up of speech: with speech they were established, and with speech built up; with speech the cups were drawn thereat; with speech they chanted, and with speech they recited on them--whatever rite is performed at the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that was performed by speech alone, as a vocal performance, on those (fires) composed of speech, and built up of speech. And whatever beings here speak by speech that was done regarding those (fires): they establish them and build them up; they draw the cups for them; they chant on them and recite hymns on them,--of that extent was the development of Speech, of that extent its creation,--so great is Speech: thirty-six thousand Arka-fires; and each of these as great as that former (fire-altar) was.

10:5:3:5. That Speech created the Breath. This Breath, when created, wished to become manifest,--more defined, more substantial: it sought after a self. It practised austerity: it acquired consistency. It beheld thirty-six thousand Arka-fires of its own self, composed of breath, built up of breath: with breath they were established, and with breath built up; with breath the cups were drawn thereat; with breath they chanted and with breath they recited on them,--whatever rite is performed at the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that was performed by breath alone, as a breathing-performance, on those (fires) composed of breath, and built up of breath. And whatever beings here breathe with breath that was done regarding those (fires):--they establish them, and build them up; they draw the cups for them; they chant on them and recite hymns on them,--of that extent was the development of Breath, of that extent was its creation,--so great is Breath: thirty-six thousand Arka-fires; and each of these as great as that former (fire-altar) was.

10:5:3:6. That Breath created the Eye. This Eye, when created, wished to become manifest,--more defined, more substantial: it sought after a self. It practised austerity: it acquired consistency. It beheld thirty-six thousand Arka-fires of its own self, composed of the eye, built up of the eye: by means of the eye they were established, and by means of the eye built up; by the eye the cups were drawn thereat; by means of the eye they chanted and recited hymns on them,--whatever rite is performed as the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that was performed by the eye alone, as an eye-performance, on those (fires) composed of eye, and built up of the eye. And whatever beings here see with the eye that was done regarding those (fires):they establish them and build them up; they draw the cups for them; they chant on them and recite hymns on them,--of that extent was the development of the Eye, of that extent its creation,--so great is the Eye: thirty-six thousand Arka-fires; and each of these as great as that former (fire-altar) was.

10:5:3:7. That Eye created the Ear. This Ear, when created, wished to become manifest,--more defined, more substantial: it sought after a self. It practised austerity: it acquired consistency. It beheld thirty-six thousand Arka-fires of its own self, composed of the ear, built up of the ear: by means of the ear they were established, and by means of the ear built up; by the ear the cups were drawn thereat; by means of the ear they chanted and recited hymns on them,--whatever rite is performed at the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that was performed by the ear alone, as an ear-performance, on those (fires) composed of ear, and built up of the ear. And whatever beings here hear with the ear that was done regarding those (fires):--they establish them and build, them up; they draw the cups for them; they chant on them and recite hymns on them,--of that extent was the development of the Ear, of that extent its creation,--so great is the Ear: thirty-six thousand Arka-fires; and each of these as great as that former (fire-altar) was.

10:5:3:8. That Ear created Work, and this condensed itself into the vital airs, into this compound, this composition of food; for incomplete is work without the vital airs, and incomplete are the vital airs without work.

10:5:3:9. This Work, when created, wished to become manifest,--more defined, more substantial: it sought after a self. It practised austerity: it acquired consistency. It beheld thirty-six thousand Arka-fires of its own self, composed of work, built up of (or by) work: by work they were established, and by work built up; by work the cups were drawn thereat; by work they chanted and recited hymns on them,--whatever rite is performed at the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that was performed by work alone, as a work-performance, on those (fires) composed of work, and built up of work. And whatever beings here work by work that was done regarding those (fires);--they establish them and build them up; they draw the cups for them; they chant on them and recite hymns on them,--of that extent was the development of Work, of that extent its creation,--so great is Work: thirty-six thousand Arka-fires; and each of these as great as that former (fire-altar) was.

10:5:3:10. That Work created the Fire,--Fire, doubtless, is more manifest than Work, for by work (sacrificial performance) they produce it, and by work they kindle it.

10:5:3:11 This Fire, when created, wished to become manifest,--more defined, more substantial: it sought after a self. It practised austerity: it acquired consistency. It beheld thirty-six thousand Arka-fires of its own self, composed of fire, built up of fire: with fire they were established, and with fire built up; with fire the cups were drawn thereat; with fire they chanted and recited hymns on them;--whatever rite is performed at the sacrifice, whatever sacrificial rite there is, that was performed with fire alone, as a fire-performance, on those (fires) composed of fire, and built up of fire. And whatever fire beings here kindle that was done regarding those (fires):--they establish them and build them up; they draw the cups for them; they chant on them and recite hymns on them,--of that extent was the development of Fire, of that extent its creation,--so great is Fire: thirty-six thousand Arka-fires; and each of these as great as that former (fire-altar) was.

10:5:3:12. These fires (altars), in truth, are knowledge-built; and all beings at all times build them for him who knows this, even whilst he is asleep: by knowledge alone these fires (altars) are indeed built for him who knows this.

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The Prajapati-Purusha demarcated the knowledge (Pragnya Ghana, consciousness) into functions, parts and shapes and that arrangement persists. It is Vishnu who cuts up Shakti as if in parts, but mentally only.

When Speech (Sati) in form of Work (led by desires in the form of agni) and finally in form of Jihva- tongue of fire, leaves the Mind (Shiva), there is Universe. There is only one way to unite them -- to see the connecting consciousness afforded by silence of body, speech, and mind (obtained by kripa).

Om Namah Shivaya