grierson sharada

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On the Sarada AlphabetAuthor(s): George GriersonSource: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, (Oct., 1916), pp.677-708

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JOURNALOF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY1916XVII

ON THE SARADA ALPHABETBy Sir GEORGE GRIERSON, K.C.I.E., M.R.A.S.

fTlHE earliest account of the Sarada alphabet with whichI am acquainted is that contained in Leech's"Grammar of the Cashmeeree Language " in the JASB.,vol. xiii, pp. 399 ff., 1844. Leech gives the forms only

of the vowels and of the simple consonants, and does notdeal with the combinations of consonants with vowels orwith conjunct consonants. As the subject is one of someinterest, I here give complete tables, showing not onlythe simple vowels and consonants, but also all possiblecombinations of these, as they occur in this alphabet.The characters have all been written for me by my friend

Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Mukunda Rama Sastri ofSiinagar, and may therefore be accepted with the fullestconfidence. Two plates illustrating the alphabet werepublished by

Burkhard in his edition of the KasmirSakuntala (Vienna, 1884), but I think it will be foundthat the following tables are much more complete.The Sarada alphabet is based on the same system asthat of the Nagari alphabet. It is most nearly related tothe Takrl alphabet of the Panjab Hillsl and to the Landd,or "clipped", alphabet of the Panjab, and through them

1See JRAS. 1904, pp. 67 ff.jras. 1916. 44

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3/33

678 ON THE SARADA ALPHABET

to the Gurmukhl alphabet, but, unlike them, and likeNagari, it puts the letters sa and ha at the end of thealphabet, and not after the vowels. Kashmir, is calledthe Sdradd-lcsetra, or holy land of the goddess Sarada,and this is no doubt the origin of the name of thealphabet, although Elmslie, in his Kdshoniri Vocabulary(London, 1872), s.v. Shdradd, mentions a tradition that itis so called in honour of one Saradanandana, who is saidto have first reduced the Kashmiri language to writing.In India proper, when the alphabet is written down, itis usually preceded by the invocation Om oiaonah siddham,

Om, reverence, established.1 In. Kashmir a slightlydifferent formula of invocation is employed, viz. Oohsvasti ekaoh siddhaoh, Om, hail one, established. Asregards the word ekam, one, it is

a curious fact that,while, in writing the invocation, the words ooh, svasti,and siddhaoh are fully written out?thus, ^T, ^rf%,and "ftpir?the word ekam is not written. Instead wehave the mystic sign ^no, which is named in Kashmirioku sam gor, and .is read as ekaoh. So that what iswritten in the Sarada character is ^ff ^t^f **nv> tNfread as ooh svasti ekam siddham. The traditionalexplanation of this is as follows : In order to master thetheory of maoitras in Kashmiri Saivism, it is necessary tolearn the meaning or power of each letter composinga onantra, or the ondtrlcd-cakra. Each letter of thealphabet represents some mystic object. The vowelsrepresent the various saktis, the twenty-five consonantsfrom ka to ma represent the twenty-five lower tattvas,and the other letters the higher tattvas, while ksarepresents the prdoia-bija or Life-seed.2 In this way the

1 Cf. Biihler, On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet, p. 29(Vienna, 1895), and Hoernle, on "The 'Unknown Languages' of

Eastern Turkistan ", JRAS. 1911, p. 450. Buhler translates siddham,success.2A full account of the Mdtrkd-cdkra will be found in Kseniaraja'sSivasutravimarsini, ii, 7, translated in the Indian Thought Series, No. II.



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ON THE SARADA ALPHABET 679

letter a represents the jndna-sakti. It also indicates theSupreme (anuttara) and Solitary (alcula = JcvZdttirna)Siva. The sign ^*TO? is composed of three parts. Thehorizontal line ? represents the letter a, i.e. also Siva;the twTo perpendicular strokes 11 represent the othervowels, and also the saktis; and the two curved marks>j (/ represent a plough Qiala), and hence all theconsonants, which are called by grammarians

" hai". Thewhole sign therefore represents all the vowels plus theconsonants, or, in other words, the entire alphabet. Onthe mystical side it also represents Siva plus all thesaktis and tattvas, i.e. Siva and all his developments inthe way of so-called creation.

In the Kashmiri name oku sam gor, oku means " one "," non-dual" ; sam is a contraction of samvittva, or condition of para samvit, the Supreme Experience ; and goris for goru, it has been inquired into (and thereforeunderstood). With, siddham added the whole means" the supreme monist experience has been mastered (forit has been established in the agamas) ". Ekam siddhamhas the same meaning.

A less mystical interpretation has been kindly given tome by Professor Barnett. He points out that the siddhamis probably derived from the first siitra of the Katantra,which runs siddho varnasamamnayah, i.e. "the traditionalorder of the letters is established (as follows) ", and thatthis grammar was, over a thousand years ago, the mostpopular handbook in Northern India1 and the Buddhistregions of Central Asia. The mark ^nrv is evidentlyone of the sacred symbols used at the commencement orend of any important writing, such as are referred to byBuhler on p. 85 of his Indische Paldeographie, and haspractically the force of a sign of punctuation. A not

1When I was in India its use in Northern India seems bo have beenconfined to Eastern Bengal, where I studied it with the local Pandits.In the rest of Bengal the Mugdhabodha was in general use.



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very dissimilar sign will be found at the end of the platefacing p. 281 of vol. ii of Rajendra Lala Mitra's Noticesof Sanskrit Manuscripts (C3Ej()- Taking this sign asone of punctuation, it would be natural to mark this firstdivision-point by mentally interjecting ekam, as a distantecho of the numbering of the first sutra of the Katantra,and in course of time the word ekam would becomepetrified, the meaning would be forgotten, and a newmystical meaning given to it.In those parts of Northern India with wrhich I amacquainted there are, except in the Panjab, no specialnames for the various letters. H a is called a-kdra,

^ ka is called ka-kdra, and so on. In the Gurmukhialphabet, used in the Panjab, it is different. Here thevowels have each its own name. Thus, initial ^ a iscalled dird, non-initial T d is called d-kannd, and so on.The consonants are also named by enunciating each twiceand doubling the consonant mentioned the second time.Thus cR ka is called kakkd, ^ kha is called khakkhd,and so on.

In the schools of Kashmir this Panjab system is carriedmuch further. Every vowel form and every consonanthas its separate individual name. Most of these nameshave no definite meaning apart from this connotation,and, as names of letters, do not seem to have beeninvented on any regular system. Even each syllable ofdm svasti, and of siddham, and the sign ^^ for ekam,has its own name. I give these names in the followingtables, written in the Nagari and Sarada characters,with a transliteration into the Roman character. Asthese names are not Sanskrit, but are in the Kashmirilanguage, the system of transliteration followed is thatwhich is applied to Kashmiri, and which differs slightlyfrom the transliteration of the corresponding Nagari orSarada letters wrhen used for Sanskrit.



6/33

VOWELS,tc.t>r-6-3-ashmiriamen ashmiriamenashmiriamen o

Roman.agan.arada.^oman._Bemarks'

oohJ tNt^Tffs^r**? ohkdrdmvarPit*J?oyamo

**i%j3f%^?l^W^#vw*e

e/camttufcfi^ft^h?b)g^^^Vf^^^ff)/c**am/dreads/cara.si%frf^*T^^f*edive

ddhamq?^*j*^damaramherereo

sonantspiratesinashmiri.

-a 1T^E5*#/ahayiX^\?T3/i"eyeve-i T c> *f


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Vowels,tc.continued).?

to

-dr-?--ashmiriamenashmiriamenashmiriamen d

Roman.agari.arada.T_...emarks.

JNagari.arada.oman.t 1 ^T ^PC

"ST* -**^^

ariLnthflr3tRft*^fw#paJo -wIê?hwru^ ??R*[T3>^f^*ôpaldi a-u *s -i *|Îf1/G?|;r /cMr# w

e name as for the initial form.Thus,IFr is called /co'y kahas

re, or renan reunder

/co?;a,.e. r under /ca. Ef ?Wl^DfO*W$]r*khavr*g

-f ameamesorhenitialorm.hus,ficfsalledovahasaiakhavil.

I*%Z ?**/i?Itytvtt

-/??ameamesorhenitialorm.hus,flsalledovahasaieyeve.

I%Pffacr|sfl*r*13?Usav-/ ^ *?. Samename asortheinitial form, as a



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a^ sîfl" talavye^"*>5ondfi j

aiTI> TîT^1*otei

-ai^tT&*rfooijor

m I

fit^Ft

^ **utho o

-o > I ~x I ^ "9|>IP1o/^ s/^r" ot&* ^f*^"3^5?RFs/lic^ au-auffiTfT^tjSjfitZWJk?shiahdy

^^R^^Vttlgftônaspher*aoh >^r(lJ xT^ "qq^

^^55S5

.ad*sandra phyoo*1

; ^t ^t^ ^: *?#^r^â^[^t t^]J^/lJ-]hyorh.

o 3 ffgT^J^fta

f??JS*?K*l3

zihwdonuliye

"

^ ?D îJWpffa ÛVFîtwupadhmdniye

1 TrfT*rj*frff/orith"avingThus,fsalled

| killed")kovanoonth.

S ftST55^"*Tduddau"alf")Avagraha.

_;_'i__^



9/33

CONSONANTS

-:?.-:-.-f*

tt---ashmiriamenashmiriamenashmiriamend

Roman.agari.arada.T_-n->emarks.

&agari.arada.oman.

ka\Rh*/#rova

kha?fsfft?gfirr6Vha

galt IIPCinJTIagara

gr/ia-TTTT^T^f]**?***"*grcte*a

cai-5^^T*/?sdtuvtsa/ia C tz^ $fcmfre/*,o?mofta

jairtJfj?/$r2%*a

jha j*flf^fl] ?/fcnrfji**]oshinajha]heashmirii of nr *??rT$fzny r*p^~fe?honahup ne language does

notossessheletterha.



10/33

taT>*rfeF?/j4p?cr-ondtathaR;-*rrer*lhoar-ondtha

da-5/udaheashmirif^Pdakada[dha]

language doesna|jrTRjttw]JJ^*V


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(continued).

gg

_;_:_Ci

-ot-6-1-ashmiriamenashmiriamenashmiriamen r,

Roman.agari.arada.T_-1-demarks.

*Nagari.arada.oman.yat^**a/?/e racff??a/caala ft$rmfp*^jatfa va$ruashea

CO ***

sa?Thtikarhesa*ffiltx;Toi#?**?>/tor*hesa]heashmiri

saW*T9^1usaanguageoes

not

possess

thelettera.

IT^f I *?**5 fea>\f%^t?^>^ifc*Solieth*shera?Rft^.^r^rjra/caovra



12/33

3na?tf**[^(^^sj^fjnsfzdyiahasaihonahiscompoundhas^ n>)

jpAw*?we)o special name,

ands implyspeltut,honahupe=a) underdy*a

te ?pfaTsjsfsod^udaorodu

5j| There is noequivalent

forhis letter in Sarada. >_;_ >

>

the only difference between the

characters

for ma and sa is that

.*

cornerfheormers ound,hilenheattertsointed.

H Ci00 -J



13/33

Gonsonaoitsollowedyowels.?Asnagari,heon-initialormfowelssedhents x>precededyonsonant.namingheyllable,rksara,oormed,xceptnheasesfheowelsr,,,nd,heamefheonsonantstteredirst.hissollowedyheamefheon-initial

itself.Thus,theamef ka is kov ka, and that of non-initial a

ahdy,ndheksaraedshereforeamedovaahdyd.n ostasesheamefheowel

islightlylteredoso ppearnhegentrativease,hileheamefheonsonantnon-initial e iscalled

hondhe dative of which is hooije, and

kov kahooijeke.

- #f, I, and I is different.

Hereitishe consonant that is put into

is governed by the postpositiontai,under. Thus, from kov ka we

Kovahasai eansndera",ndrsalledovahasaieoiave,.e.enavenderova, orndera.imilarlyorhethers.t illubsequentlyeeenhat,oarsomenclatureese four vowels are treated as ifheywere

theecond members of co

wholes amednherinciplehatsollowednheasefonjunctonsonants.

Theollowingablehowsowachksaras amed.ithwoxceptionsheonsonantemployedsa.heamesndormsorundurerregular,ndnheirlaceivehe

namesndormsorhundhuespectively.hesereuiteegular.



14/33

shmirinameinagari. Kashmiri name in Roman.

/cajjpffcfova

t^f ^5

^fT^T^RTkov ka wahdy lea

kiik?tWi^t^%ovanilnth^i

ki3[faqjjkovar nth^rd%Ichu *? | ^^ ^ 'fS* ^

,ch?nilchachftri ,chw w

^t5 ^ ^J ^?JchSn*khar khlir^ khil

3f *i ^^ ^f ^ rTsT^*Pf

^?ovahas tai renav rekfjRt^TR?^T*T?^[ovahasaiakhavu

klE)Rf5R^[ovahasaieyevel ^| ^b ^^ ^?m


15/33

IrregularormationsNon-initials, shownnhisable,suallyndicatedyhortluntriangleuspendedfromheopine,hus*.therxamplesreFhd,?a,9a,nda,amedespectivelykhooiihaahdyhd,sdtuvsaahdysa,ova ahdya,ndadur*aahdyd.heetters

na,Pa,*a,nd*aavelreadyimilartrokenheight,nd,ithon-initial,thistrokendheollowingowelombinentoindfemicirclerollowriangle^)alled

kundalivahdy.hus?

.

ro

Koman.agari.arada.ashmiriamenagari.ashmiriamenoman._ _:_,__to

nagT?(V$Hfi^f%T^T^TTdrugiauoidalialidydjaUT?ltR^f%f*TfT%*aundaliahdyd toT-^nfegRTftrffT*Tlr-mdtaundaliahdyaj

naUT"?>Rlf^Ti^f%ff*ITTdnaguriauoidaliahdyd

w

- -,-.-H

Theamehangesccurhennyfheboveonsonantsppearssmemberfonjunct

consonant.orxampleseeelownderhatead.

Thesualormfon-initialsluntriangleyingntside,hus,uspendedromheconsonant,snhunheablen.p.3.hisignsalledhuru.therxamplesre[und

5u,amedespectivelysdtuvsahurisundr-mdtalinr*u.heettersa,a,ha,a,a,ta,lia,ndaootakehisorm,utuffixheowerartfnitial,J,amedopalo,



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instead.heesultantignesemblesagari,.esideshepelt-outamesualithhese

conju-ncts,hesearticularonjunctsachaveamefheirwn.hus?

S ihc_

gU"gspeltutn ashmiriashmiriamespeltutnashmiriashmiriameo,?Nagariharacter).Nagari).Romanharacter).Roman).

kuJ3)?TcfitR^T^TR*[ft*ucdhoasaiopaloukdu guJTFTTtT*[^^tftTftJuagarlasaiagariu

wopal

wo&j

jhnJTfil?Jf^fTX^l[TTftl?ff|f^ZV/oshiiiasaiopalooshinalitcr*u?

nuJj|Tjf?P^f*T|^f^?Tuc/io?ia>/m^'e_aihonahutine>^tT ITwopaJ%vohuri nu >rfucn?lFRt?J^fnuduasaiopaloudahur1u

^5^5TTcftRt,RWtcfTJu


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When u is added to a conjunct consonant ending in rait takes the following forms :?^ 'd i=3g c3 H Kashmiri name in xr , _g ,J aagarL Kashmiri name m Roman.

7tfm ?ji 3g? ofitw ^Rrf^f ^Tt *J /cov 7cadutarikh khurl kmkhru ^ ^ %t?J


18/33

ON THE SARADA ALPHABET G93

akmras with u have, except rw, no special name. Thedescriptive spelling out is a sufficient name. Thus?

g a l Kashmiri name (Nagari Kashmiri name (Roman3 $ ,Sharacter). character).J__ ___?___ 'n _ _

ku ^ 4?i 3Rt^ ?R? cf*fW^^ ^T^ kov kahas tai wopal ba iigu i\ Q *I*T?{^^ rf*fW^^t T ^31 a0av Qahas taiwopal bd iijhu fl T? îfir^ Î^C c *tIR^f zoshin zahas tai wopal

7sr\ \3Sbd il?~lil \ ^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^ ^^ khonaphup nehas taiTsr\ ôpal bd ilda ^ ? ff ^?3; cf 1^ m ^ dud dahas tai ivopalbailtu ^ ^ cft^3^ ri^fW m ^R tov tahas taiwopal ba iibhu *J J> î^ ^1^ < *[^T ^T boy*bahas tai ivopal bd ii^fi **L % iPirSTO^WjJWWfT^ shekar shkhas tai wopalbd iiru ^ >_ TT ^TT ^ (T^l^W) rd ar khara rd

Conjunct ConsonantsThe

followingis a list of

conjunctconsonants. Their

names are based on their component parts, the firstmember being put into the dative, governed by tai, below.Thus kka is called kov kahas tai kov ka, i.e. kou ka underkov ka, or ka under ka; kca is called kov kahas tai tsdtuvisa, i.e. tsdtuv tsa under kov ka, or ca under ka; and so on.

When ya is the second member of a conjunct consonantit takes the form c_, which is named ^cff^l shxitarikh.

Thus, ^ kya is written 3\, and is called ^t^ ^ ^ptfT*|*(% ov ka shutarikh kya, and so on for the others.When ra is the second member of a conjunct consonantit takes the form Jk., which is named ^crfT^ duiarikh.

Thus, VRkra is written î, and is named ^ftcf cR


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fl 1.4cjl ij-5 ice17Hcja a e a a e a a grt 53 ^ rt & *&o rt Jz; *c?

Hu IS 3S I lchya W *E Inlclia ^ {JJ7t7c7ia ^55 3i 7t7ira Tj| n^ oilchya ^Jtairc cn^ oikhyd ?TT S7 L 3; #;Kl ^ 5 il STkca g ?) ?u/a mJ S. ^ _. (/o3a i? ni . _/cua ^Tff ^) ^ ngya ^j g,, f- (7o37ta ^ SL . _ _ to7cto Tff $\ w#2/a ^5JT ?

Arfrya ip f?gma 1M

iighoxx ^ S^ktva gj ^ ^ ^ & %7irt* ^T ^Ma W 3?> ^ ^ iighran ^7c?/iiva< sra *> giya 2* ? gpfoiya ?W fi ff7l7ia ^ ?f nya ^j ^

A^a g?q ^ ghnya \W g nfcma m % cjhma V* ?* ^ ^%a ? ti ,,ya ? ^ cchm __kra ^ ^ g]tra jt yjt _7


20/33

ON THE SAHADA ALPHABET 695

G .j-;ce __ '-5ci fl i-Icia a g a & g sal?cece ice tce o /a UT jrf ^.9??7/a f^^ fc/r/7/a ^J ^ ?n.RZ WT ^ tsya Wf ^



21/33


a a g a a g s a ?> gP3 fc; v/_ p_j ?$ v/_ PS ?; *c/_

?/ma TQ if nka ^ if pva ^ Jfthya SZJ g. wfrc ?iT S 2)m ^ y;

wfa/a ^Jf j psva x^ ?g' j n?ra n^f ^dg,M f - w?/ia * * h(Jha ^ ** I 4 ?*, ^ * V* ** $dda * * ndra * ^ I bda * ***?" * ^ ucZAam a ^? * KMha W * n_Am ** ^

* 1 Wdc%? ? ? , wm _. ^ bba W 3dna * ? W2h*


22/33


Cl h-4 isil i,h ici fl_r^ C3^H_I ^5.^a & g a a g a a gmra ^T y^ rb/ia H 5 *ra T 5.wZa ^ *f r?na ^ Jj iri/a Wt ?.mra ^cf y rya ^f 5" i_a "3T J{Wa ^ ? rfVa ^ 5

i/3/(t 32J 5 rva 3 ^ ?i;ya *^ Syva ^ 5 rsa lj fl _\


23/33


a & c a _p u a &j> crt & ^ rt tz; -co rt Es -a?stra T^ V s?ua ^T *? 7i?*a ^ ?staa *JH V sonya Wt 4g hoia j[ ^ps?/ta ^f ^p si/a ^T g /una TR Jps?ia ^ j# sra ^T -JT 7ij/a ip jgS7ii/a *?*TJf sua ^ |f hm 5 J^?2?a W *Q ssa W ^ Ida ^5 ^Jspha ^G V s7ia ^f -*? /wa 5 j;

Numeralsr> xt- * 4- j- Kashmiri Kashmiri TransRoman. Nagari. Sarada. (Nftgftrl)> (^radri), Oration.

1 S o ^RTi -qmf akh29 515 ??1?>J Wt3 9 3 35J ? fr#4 * ?*H ^*/


24/33


APPENDIXThe Alphabet in Saiva Mysticism

As very little is known regarding the mystic characterattributed to the letters of the alphabet in Kashmir6aivism, I have obtained the following account of thiscomplicated subject from Mahamahopadhyaya PanditMukunda Rama oastrl. It was written by him inSanskrit, and it is so full of technical terms of andreferences to Saiva philosophy that only an expert inthe subject could interpret it. Professor Barnett hasmost kindly come to my rescue, and the followingtranslation is from his competent hand. Everyone whois interested in this branch of mysticism will be gratefulto him for the care and labour that he has expended

inorder to guide us laymen through a maze of considerableintricacy. Additions and notes by Professor Barnetthimself are enclosed between square brackets.

The account is interesting from another point of view.It contains a quotation from a hitherto unknown treatise,the Mahd-oxaoja-poxxkdsa. The importance of this workconsists in the fact that it was not written in Sanskrit,but in an old form of Prakrit from which apparentlymodern Kashmiri is descended. The passage quoted istantalizingly short, but I am endeavouring to obtaina copy of the complete work, which promises to throwmuch light on the disputed question as to what form ofPrakrit was current in North-Western India in ancienttimes.

{Note.?According to the Agamas, Paramesvara by theagency of his Sakti stirs up the Bindu (also called Sivatattva, Kundalini, Suddha-maya, Kutila, 6abda-brahma,Sabda-tattva, etc.). The Bindu is the insentient materialcause whence in consequence of this disturbance arise thesix Adhvans (viz. the Mantra, Pada, Varna, Bhuvana,



25/33


Tattva, and Kalti Adhvans); and it is the real substrateof all differences of condition (e.g. rise and dissolutionof the cosmos) which are described as uf)ddhis to theunconditioned Siva. The Bindu is a parigraha-sakti or" possessed Power" of Siva, but is in no sense identicalwith him.

From the Bindu there emerges the Pranava, and fromthe latter the letters, forming the Varnadhvan, of whichthe consonants are lifeless bodies and the vowels theirlife; the combinations thereof form eighty-one words,the Padadhvan, whence are produced eleven spells, theMantradhvan. The Varnas, Mantras, and Padas togetherform the Vedas and Agamas.The Tattvadhvan is composed of the Bindu or Sivatattva, the Sadasiva-tattva (an efflux from the Binduwithout change in the equipoise of the Powers of Actionand Will in Paramesvara), MaheSvara-tattva or lsvaratattva (when Will is depressed and Action intensified inthe Bindu), and Suddha-vidya-tattva (when the reverseis the case).

Some identify the Siva-tattva with the Nada, and theSakti-tattva with the Bindu. But the Pauskaragamastates clearly that the Bindu is as described above, andthat it is that whence the "complex of sound", ndddtmikoyogah, arises immediately, in which it moves, and intowhich it dissolves (ii, 3).]

The utterance oku sam g6ru", and its sign ^m>.The object of using this sign is this. In the first placethe upper horizontal line ?- indicates the letter a, that is

to say the Uppermost (anuttara), or Siva, transcendingthe Kulal and secondless (akula advaitasvarupa). The[ The Kula consists of Jiva (individual soul), Prakrti (primal iimtter)>

space, time, ether, earth, water, fire, and air. The state of grace inwhich all these are conceived as one M'ith Brahma or Siva is Kuldcdra.On this basis is built up the Kaula or Kaulika cult, which differs from



26/33


two middle perpendicular lines indicate all the vowels froma onwards, while the two outer curved lines o c representa plough (hata), and therefore indicate all the consonants(hai). The whole sign >*ro therefore indicates the totalityof all the letters from a to h.

Its utterance " oku sam goru".?oku, One, absolute,secondless ; sam, the principle of Consciousness (samvittattva); g6ru, known by the Intuition of the Ego. Supply"by all". This "One", the Syllabic indicating thesecondless Brahma and expressed as a unity, is established(siddha) in all mystic Agamas. The sense is : The

Supreme Lord's secondless Power (Sakti), which consistsof the Uppermost (Anuttara) and the Visarga, and (thus)begins with a and ends with ha?which has the form ofpure Consciousness, which contains in germ the wholeuniverse, and inwhich the principles of being are perfectlycomprehended?bestows transcendental power (siddhi),viz. enjojnnent and salvation.In the various Agamas it is laid down that the Wordbrahma (sabda-brahma), consisting of the letters froma to ha, and having the form of a secondless Consciousness,exists as the total universe.To this efFect are two verses in the book Mahd-nayaprakasa, consisting of verses composed in very ancientvernacular, viz. :

akula chntta vyapaka bodhdrani Ikulagata ahall satta gnmuna II

ganthi-cakka-adlulra-vidharana Isdnekarup)a alclcai vij ay una II

the Sakta cult in being more gross (besides details of ritual, etc.). It isexpounded in the Mahdnirrdim-tantra, vii, 95 it, and elsewhere, ibid. ;and a plain unvarnished account of its ritual, in all its nastiness, is givenin Tarunacarya's Kularahasya. See also the account in Visvakosa,s.v. Kvldcdra. The speech of Bhairavfmanda in Bajasekhara's Karpura

mavjari (Konow's transl., p. 285) gives a good idea of the Kaula asothers saw him.]



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The meaning of it is: akula, form transcending theKula l; chutta, touching ; vydp>aka, omnipresent; bodhdraoii, seat of the rise of perception ; then kulagata,existing in the Kula ; ahali, having the form of ahalti.e. of the consonants without a, this being a compoundformed with the elision of the middle word (a-vaoyita-halbecoming a-hal), i.e. being in the form of consonants, butbeing

devoid of this a, which has the form of a definiteline2; iatta, Power, the Power Ahalii.

Or again (we may derive ahali thus) : lati, she takesor pervades the letters a and /ia, the first and the lastsounds (of the alphabet), as she consists in utterance ofthe letters.Or again: ahal is she in whom there exists no hai, no

consonant; scil. the Kundalini in the form of breath, notwritten down, only in the course of utterance.Ganthi'Cakka-ddhdoxx-vidhaoxioia, shatterer of bonds,

circles, and bases; guonuna, murmuring, buzzing, as itwere, let her make a noise, utter a sound. From herplace the Ahala, scil. the Power consisting of the powerof upward breath?shattering in her condition of uprisingthe bonds, circles, and bases?opening a passage for herselfto rise aloft?shall reveal herself, becoming manifest insound. [This refers to the Tan trie notion which identifiesSakti with the Kundalini force resting coiled round theLinga in the onulddhdoxi of the microcosm.] Sd alckai,although thus secondless in character ; anekao*ui>a, manifold ; vijayuoia, may she prosperTo the same effect (it is said) in the Aondvdsyatr ions ikd:

yd 'sau paoxipiaoxxh sdntah sivah sao'vagato onahdn Iap>ranieyo hy a?ia?i?a? ca vydp>l sao*vesvaox?svarah ||tasydsti sahaja saktih sarvasaktionayi j>aox% I

1 See the preceding footnote.[2 Scil. the top horizontal line in the figure >*1XI'.]



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icchdjndnakriydtvena saivaikd bahudhd sthitd IItasya uditarupdya ye bheddh kdryato gatdh \tan antas tu samdhrtya sdmarasye Hve sthitd II

"That Siva who is at once Higher and Lower, still,omnipresent, great, beyond scope of (logical) perception,and boundless, all-pervading, lord of all lords, possessesa congenital Higher Power which is constituted of allpowers. Though One only, She exists in various forms asWill, Thought, and Action. The divisions which issue asproducts from Her when She is in the State of beingaroused, She when in equilibrium gathers together withinHerself, and (then) She rests in Siva."

The object of study being then the Power, as it is said inthe Agamas:sthxdd visvatanur devi suksmd cinmatrariLpini\para nityodita santa brahmasattasvardpini II"The Goddess when gross forms the body of the

universe; when subtile, She has only the form of spirit:Higher, Eternal is She called, still, essentially composed ofthe being of Brahma."

(The author of the Maya-nay a-]irakdsa) thrice praisesfirstly the Goddess (mentioned) at the end (above) as being

Higher, scil. in the words ahda ch.utta vydpaka bodhdru.ni,next (the Goddess) in the subtile form, as both Higher andLower, scil. in the words kulagata . . . vidhdrana ; andthen (the Goddess) in gross form, as Lower, scil. in thewords anekariipa :and (he means to say as follows): "She,though appearing in three forms, is one," and "may Shebe successful in Her essential nature of Selfhood, asidentical with the Self : pervading the akula sphere; andacting as arani (fire-stick), scil. mother, to perceptions,i.e. phenomena ;and manifold in form, though one, may sheconquer Essentially consisting in infinite manifestation.



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704 ON THE SAHADA ALPHABET

may She without check, by repulse of opponents, prosperin sole monarchy, i.e. in empire ".l

[The author then proceeds to expound in detail thetheory of the revelation of the Power in the form of theletters, with which may be compared the Siva-sutoxi

vionarsioii, ii, 1, 3, 7, and 19, etc., in the Kashmir Series of

t1 The following extract from Shrinivas Iyengar's translation ofSiva-sntra-vimarsinl, in Indian Thought, vol. iii, p. 360, note, throwslight on the subjects above dealt with. The spelling of Sanskrit wordshas been altered to agree with the system of transliteration used in this

paper:?" Para Sakti is the mother of the universe. She may be conceived asSiva-sakti, the consciousness of Isvara. She is Consciousness, Pure,Universal, and Unlimited. Hence she is Independence {svacchanda);she is the vibratory energy that drives the cosmos. Being consciousness,she is sjmibolized * by Light; as the light of the sun makes the wholeworld visible, so she makes cognition desire and muscular action visibleto the man that exercises these functions, i.e. she makes him aware ofthem. Man in his own real nature is Siva, but attached to a body and

mind. When these latter act, i.e. when cognition, etc., take place, sheturns his attention on them and makes him identify himself with them.She is hence Malia-Maya, the great deceiver. She is also Maha-Sakti,the driver of the cosmos ; in this she is symbolized by Sound, the greatestmanifestation of energy outside us. As Sound symbolizes this aspect ofher, individual sounds are the bodies, physical manifestations of partsof her, viz. her attendant divinities, devis, yoginis, Saktis, etc. Bythemselves, these sounds that constitute the mantras are merely, as it

were, dead sound ; they become vitalized when one acquires mantravlryaaud makes the mantras charged with mystic power (Sakti). This isdone by the 4


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ON THE SARADA ALPHABET 705Texts and Studies, with Mr. Shrinivas Iyengars translation (Indian Thought, vol. iii), and then he goes on to

give the following account of the mystic significance ofeach letter, with which the curious reader may comparethe exposition in Siva-sutra-vimarsini, p. 60 f.]A : the first element in the conception of the Uppermost

Ego, perfect egoity essentially transcendental innature.A : the sinking to rest in that same (perfect egoity), hencethe Power of Joy, consisting in the combinationof two as.

I: the Power of Will, styled Aghora, consisting of aninstinct towards external self-manifestationamidst the union consisting of the equilibriumof Siva.

I : the same when mistress (Uitrl) and, as it were, fallento rest in the Self, hence composed of thecombination of two i's.U : the Power of Thought in the form of an opening out

(unmem) of a universe, while there is in (thePower of) Will an instinct outwards.U: a condition revealing deficiency in the principle ofConsciousness, owing to the excess of the objectof thought, while this (Power of Thought) is stillundivided like (the image) of a town in a mirror.

R, li : as the twofold Will reposing upon the realm of theVoid touches the luminous principle (tejas) bythe agency of the Power of Thought, it revealsitself in the sound 11 like the lightning-flash andthe lightning.1

L, L: when the same (Will) advances far in the realm ofthe Void, and owing to a certain deficiency ofthe Power of Thought assumes the form of woodand stone, it reveals itself in the same way as1See note on next page.



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the lightning-llash and lightning,1 by means ofthe sound L because of its solid nature; hencethese things (wood, etc.) are similarly eternal,because they sink to rest solely in the Self. Theterm "neuter" is applied, because (the { and I)are unable to generate any other radical letter(bija, a mystical letter forming the essential partof the spell of a deity), owing to their lack ofinstinct outwards.

E: a triangular radical (bija) due to the predominance ofthe Uppermost whilst the Uppermost and Joyare proceeding in Will, (its triangular formbeing) because of the equilibrium of Will,Thought, and Action.

AI: a prolongation owing to greater (vocalic ?) sound, asa result of the extreme extension of the sametwo (scil. the Uppermost, represented by a, andJoy, represented hy d) inWill (the letter i) andthe Mistress (the I).

O : having the form of an extension of the Uppermostand Joy, due to the desire for manifestationoutwards, in the Power of Thought (when thelatter is) in the condition in which the universe

opens out into manifestation.AU: as this is an extreme prolongation of the same

(vowel o), it is a trident-radical letter (tonsodahija), because Will, Thought, and Action aredistinct in it.

[l Cf. Siva'Sfitra-vimarsim, p. GI, and n. 39, ibid. The note saj's:"As the illumination {vidj/Olana) of the lightning-Hash, i.e. the latteris slightly superior, so the same Will, taking the form of the letter R, islike the lightning-flash ; the illumination of the latter, i.e. a slightsuperiorit}' (of the former), is the Ti, and the sound It is the seed ofFire, consisting of radiance.

Similarly, Will when resembling the lightning-Hash is L ; and so tospeak the illumination of the same, being slightly superior, is L, and thosound L, being solid of nature, is the seed of the Earth."]



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AM : a Power-inspired intuition for the first time of theuniverse, so far (as it }Tet exists), as being theBindu, because it consists of sensation.

AH : an intuition of the predominance of Power in theabove-mentioned Uppermost (when the latter is)in unbroken union with the Power of Joy, (sothat the Uppermost and the Power of Joy areintuited) as being in the form of the Visarga.

The Powers of the Supreme Lord are five; each ofthese Powers again is capable of a fivefold combination.Hence the K-sevies issuing from the Uppermost, theG'-series arising from Will when in her essential form,the ^'-series springing from the same Will when she is inthe double form of being disturbed and not disturbed, thejT-series, and P-series which arises from the opening out(of the Power so as to form a universe), have each fivemembers. Of these the presiding goddess of the A -seriesis Brahmi, that of the if-series is Mahesvaii, and theiressential nature is that of the five elements of primitive

matter, scil. earth, water, fire, wind, and ether. Of theO-series the presiding goddess is Varahi, and they havethe five subtile elements, scil. smell, fluidity, form, touch,and sound. Of the 2T-scries the presiding goddess isKaumarl, and they have the five organs of action, scil.penis, anus, foot, hand, and speech - organs. Of the^'-series the presiding goddess is Camunda, and they havethe five organs of perception,

scil.smell-organ, tongue, eye,skin, and ears. Of the P-series the presiding goddess isCarcika, and they have the five tattvas, scil. thought

organ, Buddhi, Ahaih kara (personal egoity), Prakrti(Primal Matter), and Purusa (individual soul).The semi-vowels have the four tattvas, Niyati, Rfiga,Kal a, and Vidya [see Kashmir Shaivism, p. 75 ff'., 153 f.],and Maya and Kala arc included in them [see ibid.].The letters sa, sa, and sa represent Isvara, Sadasiva, and



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Power; the ha is a grosser form of the above-mentionedVisarga.In order to show that in the pratydhdra composed ofthe Uppermost and the letter ha (sc\\. ah, the Visarga) thewhole universe, composed of objects and terms of speechand constituting the Six Adhvans,1 sinks to rest in theUppermost, the ku(a-bija (topmost radical) ksa is shownat the end (of the alphabet), because it is a compound ofthe letter 7ca,which is the Uppermost, and of the letter sa,which is composed of Power. Thus the determination ofthe letters.

Similarly we have above explained the nature of theradical ^mp, which is composed of the Great Spells, andindicates Siva as identical with Consciousness composingthe thirty-six Tattvas.[Regarding the above, see kiiva-sutra-vimarsini, pp. 45(and note) and 101, with Shrinivas Iyengar's translation,

ut supra. The Sakti, by combination with objects, isdivided into two (bljas or vowels and yonis or consonants),into nine (nine vargas of letters), and into fifty (letters in

all). She thus becomes mdlinl or a series. From herissue, after the twelve vowrels, bindu and visarga, twentyfive letters, ka~ma, corresponding to the universe (the/ca-series coining from the Sakti of a, the ca-series fromthat of i, etc.); then come the four letters ya, ra, la, va,

which are called antastha because they are established inthe Purusa as the sheath (kaiicnka), consisting of niyati,kald, rdga, vidyd, etc. (see Siva-sutra-vimarsini, p. 62);then come sa, sa, sa, ha, called ns?na because they emerge(nnmisita) when differentiation vanishes and unity ofbeing is grasped (ibid.); then conies the ksa or prdna-bija,composed of ka from Anuttara, and sa from ha, or Andhata,and hence = aham, the consciousness of all being in self, theuniverse formed by the Saktis Anuttara and Anahata.]

1 [Namery, the Mantra, Pada, Varna, Bhuvana, Tattva, and Kala

grierson sharada

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