पञ्चमतत्त्वलक्षणम्, पञ्चतत्त्वलक्षणम्The mark of the fifth tattva; the marks of the five tattvas
Verse 108
महानन्दकरं देवि प्राणिनां सृष्टिकारणम् । अनाद्यन्तजगन्मूलं शेषतत्त्वस्य लक्षणम् ॥ १०८ ॥
mahānandakaraṁ dēvi prāṇināṁ sṛṣṭikāraṇam | anādyantajaganmūlaṁ śēṣatattvasya lakṣaṇam || 108 ||
Translation
That which makes great joy, Devī, the cause of the creation of living beings, the root of the world without beginning or end: that is the mark of the last tattva.
Word by word
- mahā
- great
- ānanda
- joy
- karaṁ
- which makes
- dēvi
- Devī
- prāṇināṁ
- of living beings
- sṛṣṭi
- of the creation
- kāraṇam
- the cause
- anādi
- without beginning
- anta
- or end
- jagat
- (jagat) of the world
- mūlaṁ
- the root
- śēṣa
- of the last
- tattvasya
- tattva
- lakṣaṇam
- the mark
Meaning
The fifth tattva is maithuna, sexual union. Its marks: it gives great joy; it is the cause by which living beings come to be; and it is "the root of the world without beginning or end". In Tantric thought the union of Śiva and Śakti, consciousness and power, is the source of the world; human union, understood rightly, mirrors it. The text names it soberly, by its place in the order of things. What the Tantra prescribes here is its own teaching, given as the text presents it; taking up any practice is a matter for one's tradition and teacher.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
See the commentary on verse 106.