1 See Sanderson (2007: 230–32) for a detailed discussion; see also Bühnemann (2001: 145–8) for the misidentification of Lakṣmana(gupta) with Lakṣmaṇadeśika.

2 See Gode (1953: 436) for this calculation.

3 For this date, see the introduction to the edition of the text, p. 32.

4 This chapter corresponds to chapter 18 in the edition of the Works of Śaṃkara.

5 ŚT 25.12 = PSV, p. 226, 23–4; ŚT 25.13 = PSV, p. 226, 25–6; ŚT 25.14cd–15ab = PSV, p. 226, 27–8; ŚT 25.15cd–16ab = PSV, p. 227, 15–16.

6 ŚT 25.9–16ab = TS, p. 432, 14–27; ŚT 25.28–41ab = TS, pp. 486, 14–486, 32; ŚT 25.41cd–44 = TS, p. 366, 13–17; ŚT 25.45–68 = TS, pp. 486, 32–488, 14.

7 ŚT 25.1cd–3ab = K, p. 67, 19–22, commenting on verse 51 of the Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa (with variants and ascribed to the Māyātantra); ŚT 25.33ab = K, p. 9, 19, commenting on verse 6 and ŚT 25.45cd–47ab = K, p. 40, 13–16, commenting on verse 36 (with minor variants and as part of a quotation from an unidentified source).

8 The names of the translators are unspecified with the exception of chapter 11, which names R. Shastry Kavalakh as the translator.

9 For this date, see the introduction to the edition of the text, p. 32.

10 paṭhalaḥ ŚT1.

11 °prakāśakam BORI3.

12 Metre in verses 1–54: Anuṣṭubh.

13 jīvātmanor BORI2, GD, ŚT2.

14 °ttiṃ BISM23, BORI2, GD, K, ŚT2.

15 śaktyātmakaṃ tathā K instead of śivaśaktyātmakaṃ jñānam.

16 °vādinaḥ K.

17 āhur ŚT2 with v.l. vadanti.

18 yogāṣṭāṅgāni BORI3 instead of yogāṣṭāṅgair imān.

19 °yamaṃ BISM2, BORI13, GD.

20 āsanaṃ prāṇāyāmaṃ BISM1, BORI13.

21 °bam ŚT1; the reading dayārjavam appears in the Varāha-Upaniṣad, the Darśana-Upaniṣad and the Triśikhibrāhmaṇa-Upaniṣad. Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 1.38 represents a parallel to this verse:

ahiṃsā satyam asteyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ dhṛtiḥ kṣamā |

dayārjavaṃ mitāhāraḥ śaucaṃ caiva yamā daśa ‖

22 The reading °ṣam appears in BORI1, the Varāha-Upaniṣad, Darśana-Upaniṣad and Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā.

23 The reading īśvarasya is found in the Varāha-Upaniṣad and Darśana-Upaniṣad; Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 1.53b reads īśvara.

24 °smaraṇaṃ BORI3.

25 dhīr BISM2.

26 The reading vratam appears in the Varāha-Upaniṣad, Darśana-Upaniṣad and in Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 1.53d.

27 °tāḥ GD, ŚT12.

28 vajraṃ BISM13, BORI2, GD, ŚT12.

29 bhadrāsanaṃ BISM13, BORI2, GD, ŚT12.

30 °nyaste ŚT2.

31 dvau ca ba° BISM2 instead of ca nibadhnīyād.

32 °kramā GD, °krameṇa PSV.

33 tu PSV.

34 °maiḥ BORI3.

35 udare BISM13, BORI2, antaraṃ BORI13, antarā PSV.

36 PSV reads in pāda cd: ṛjukāyo viśed etad āsanaṃ svastikaṃ viduḥ ‖

37 nyasya BISM1, BORI123, TS.

38 pārśvapādau BISM123, BORI13, PSV, TS, pārṣṇipādau ŚT1, v.l. ŚT2.

39 °bhyo BISM1.

40 yogināṃ BORI3.

41 parikalpitam TS instead of pūjitaṃ param.

42 nyasya BISM2, BORI13, TS.

43 °gulīḥ PSV, jānunoḥ prāṅmukhāṅguli TS instead of jānvoḥ pratyaṅmukhāṅgulī.

44 vida° BORI3.

45 eka GD, ŚT2.

46 °śen TS.

47 mantrī TS.

48 udāhṛtam PSV.

49 caiva BORI3.

50 iti BORI2, idaṃ GD.

51 BISM123, BORI23 omit pādas ab.

52 tad BISM13.

53 tu BISM2.

54 °yasatāṃ BORI2, °yasyataḥ ŚT2.

55 puṃsāṃ BORI2.

56 īṣyate GD.

57 °gulphajānvandhusīvanī° BISM2, °sīkanī° GD.

58 °deśena BORI3.

59 tathā BISM2.

60 °tinām GD.

61 °ny BISM12, BORI123.

62 ātmany abhī° GD, ŚT12 for ātmano ’bhī°. ŚT1 gives the above reading in parentheses.

63 samasta° BORI1, GD, ŚT2, °bhāvanaṃ BORI23.

64 ṣaṇna° GD, ŚT1.

65 guhya° BORI1.

66 tasya BISM12, BORI13, GD, TS.

67 samīritāḥ BORI13.

68 sthitā BORI1, matāḥ TS.

69 madhye gatā BORI1.

70 °yaṃ BISM12, BORI123, TS.

71 śikhābhyāṃ TS.

72 °bhāṃ BORI3.

73 °rām BORI3.

74 tā GD.

75 °tam BORI3.

76 °ṇā BISM12, BORI1, TS, °ṇa GD.

77 nāḍīpathāśrayāḥ BISM123, BORI123, TS, nāḍīpathāśrayā GD.

78 udbhūto BORI3, utthito TS.

79 yajed TS.

80 °dehaṃ dṛḍhatvāvāptayet GD, dehaṃ dṛ° ŚT2, dehe dṛ° TS.

81 gato BORI13.

82 api TS.

83 °yorddhaṅ gatis BISM123, BORI123, GD, ŚT1, °yordhve gātas TS.

84 udayāḥ BORI13, udarāḥ GD.

85 °tāḥ BORI1.

86 kṣudrādi° ŚT1, kṣveḍādi° in parentheses, kṣveḍādināśane TS.

87 ca madhyābhyām K, madhyābhyām TS.

88 baddhvā me prāṇa° K.

89 tan manuṃ smaran K instead of samanusmaran.

90 mā° BISM12, BORI123, GD, K, ŚT2, TS.

91 yonibandhataḥ BISM12.

92 abhyasyataḥ TS.

93 śivaḥ BISM1.

94 °bhṛṅgāvalīgītasa° BORI1, TS.

95 With BISM23, vaṃśakāsyānilā° BISM1, vāṃśikasyānilā° BORI13, ŚT1, vaṃśikāsyānilā° BORI2, vaṃśikāsyāvilā° GD, ŚT2, vaṃśī kāṃsyānilāpūrṇa° TS.

96 °ravaḥ samaḥ BORI2, GD.

97 °samo ’paraḥ BISM123, GD, dhvanimeghasamo ’paraḥ BORI2.

98 abhyasatāṃ BORI2, abhyasyataḥ TS.

99 puṃsāṃ BORI23.

100 Conjectured: ŚT12 read pūrvam.

101 tasya BORI3.

102 Conjectured:’yam BISM123, BORI123, GD, ŚT12.

103 °te BISM13, BORI2, GD, TS.

104 tv āśrayaṃ TS.

105 ātmanaḥ BISM12, BORI13, v.l. RB (p. 906, 21), TS, ātmanā GD, ŚT2, āśritā BORI2.

106 ’yam BORI1. I have added the nasal to the m since it is an essential component of the syllable here.

107 ayaṃ GD, ŚT12.

108 °rūpas BISM1, BORI3, GD, ŚT1.

109 BISM2 omits this verse; ŚT2 treats 53a–d as one verse and 53ef–54 as one verse.

110 paramānandamayaṃ TS.

111 °vādām BORI3.

112 svayaṃ vedaguṇena BORI1, svasaṃveda° BORI3, susaṃ° TS.

113 °saikasaṃdhiṃ ŚT1.

114 te tārakam TS.

115 Metre: Indravajrā.

116 vyāptaṃ sthā° BISM2, BORI1, TS.

117 ravicandravahniva° BORI13.

118 Metre: Śārdūlavikrīḍita.

119 pañcavi° TS.

120 agamyavapuṣaṃ BORI3 instead of agamyam aniśaṃ.

121 °gṛhyam BORI3.

122 saccitsamastagaṃ BORI2, ŚT2, saṃvitsamastam amalam varacyutaṃ TS instead of saṃvitsamastam anaśvaram acyutam.

123 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

124 dīpam GD.

125 Metre: Upajāti. GD and ŚT2 insert verse 89 here.

126 °netrotpalam TS.

127 °mukhena° BISM123, BORI1, GD, ŚT12, TS, °khenāñcitanābhi° v.l. ŚT1.

128 Metre: Upajāti.

129 Suggested emendation, āmnāyagaṃ dvicaraṇaṃ BISM2, āmnāyagaṃ dvivaraṇaṃ BISM3, GD, ŚT1, āmnāyavāgvivaraṇaṃ BORI1, āmnāyagranthivacanaṃ ŚT2, āmnāyagranthicaraṇāṃ BISM1, BORI2, āmnāyagaṃ tricaraṇaṃ TS.

130 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

131 bindau BISM23.

132 With BORI2, TS, varṇātmakair bhūtajaiḥ BISM123, BORI1, ŚT1, varṇātmakair bhūjajaiḥ GD, ŚT2.

133 Suggested emendation, °yāsyāṅghricatuṣṭayaṃ BISM123, BORI12, GD, ŚT12, °yāsyāṅghricaturmukhaṃ v.l. ŚT1.

134 no TS.

135 °vilasaddivyā° TS; °ghaplutam BISM1, BORI123, GD, ŚT12, TS.

136 Metre: Śārdūlavikrīḍita.

137 smṛtaṃ BORI1, TS.

138 amandakāntir BORI12, GD, v.l. ŚT1, TS.

139 Metre: Upajāti.

140 Metre: Upajāti.

141 °rājasadṛśīṃ BISM123, BORI2, GD, TS.

142 °dāminī° GD, ŚT2, TS.

143 With v.l. ŚT1 and TS, °taugha BISM23, BORI2, GD, ŚT12.

144 plutiṃ BISM2, plutāṃ GD, ŚT2, TS, plutaṃ ŚT1.

145 Metre 64–7: Śārdūlavikrīḍita.

146 tenānunīya BORI1.

147 yātī BORI1.

148 parabindusaṃcitaruciṃ BORI1, TS instead of parabindum añcitaruciṃ.

149 dhyeyā na vedyā ŚT1.

150 °bhābhāsvare BORI1, TS.

151 °japā° BISM13, BORI12, GD, ŚT2.

152 jīvikā BORI1, lāṅghikī GD, v.l. ŚT1.

153 muditā BISM123, BORI12, GD, ŚT 12.

154 Metre: Mālabhāriṇī (pādas 1 and 3) combined with Viyoginī (pādas 2 and 4). I would like to thank Professor Michael Hahn for identifying this combination of metres.

155 saccinmayīṃ BORI2, saṃcinmayīṃ GD, ŚT1, saṃvinmayīṃ v.l. ŚT1.

156 Metre 69–71: Śārdūlavikrīḍita.

157 °latābhāsvarāṃ BORI1.

158 °tā ŚT2.

159 saṃcinmayīṃ BORI2, GD.

160 °pratijaṭān GD, °pratijaṭāṃ ŚT1, °pratibhaṭān BISM3, ŚT2.

161 Suggested emendation, saṃprāpya BISM123, BORI12, GD, ŚT12.

162 saṃcinmayīṃ BISM1, BORI2, GD, v.l. ŚT1.

163 °bharavinaman° GD, °bharalasanma° v.l. ŚT1.

164 °trī BORI2.

165 ādyāṃ GD.

166 naḥ ŚT2.

167 Metre: Mandākrāntā.

168 Metre: Mālinī.

169 Metre: Upajāti.

170 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

171 Metre: Hariṇī; BORI12 omit this verse.

172 āvṛtā BORI1, ŚT2.

173 °daḥ BISM, GD, ŚT2.

174 Metre 77–8: Śārdūlavikrīḍita.

175 °tanur GD, ŚT2.

176 nirgatvarīṃ BORI12, GD, liṅgatrayaṃ ŚT1. RB, p. 915, 17 gives the readings nirgacchantīṃ and nirgatvarīṃ.

177 °dhoddharāṃ GD, °ram ŚT2.

178 °karapraspanda° ŚT2.

179 °kandanibhām v.l. ŚT1.

180 °mūlam BORI12.

181 °bhūṣitam BORI1.

182 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

183 Metre: Anuṣṭubh.

184 °svabhū° BORI2.

185 paribhaktaśobham BORI2.

186 °yāmi BORI2, ŚT2.

187 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

188 °taiḥ BORI1.

189 °tmike GD.

190 Suggested emendation, nīte BORI12, GD, ŚT12.

191 Metre: Śārdūlavikrīḍita.

192 °latāliṅgita° BORI12.

193 Suggested emendation, °śākhābhir BORI1, GD, ŚT12, °śākhāśritebhyaḥ BORI2 instead of °śākhābhya upā°.

194 Metre: Upajāti.

195 °deśikabā° ŚT1; °dra ŚT2.

196 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

197 °thaḥ BORI2.

198 Metre: Indravajrā.

199 Metre: Upajāti.

200 eva GD.

201 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

202 °tāt BISM3, GD, ŚT1.

203 With BISM3, °ta BORI2, °to GD.

204 bhavet bhū° ŚT2.

205 Metre: Śikhariṇī.

206 Metre: Anuṣṭubh. ŚT2 inserts this verse after verse 58; BISM1 omits it.

207 The eight limbs, beginning with yama and niyama, are enumerated in verses 5cd–6.

208 RB, pp. 893, 15–894, 24 identifies the four schools whose definitions of yoga are summarized here roughly as the Vedāntins, the Śaivas, the followers of the Uttara Āmnāya and the dualist Vaiṣṇavas. PS 19.14 gives a much more general description of yoga as the vision of the formless ātman.

209 See Patañjali's Yogasūtras 2.29 and Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 1.33 for these limbs.

210 A similar list appears in Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 1.38. PS 19.17a–c specifies the following eight yamas: truthfulness; refraining from harming (others); equanimity (samatā); steadfastness; refraining from theft; patience/forgiveness; sincerity; and passionlessness (vairāgya). Purity (śauca) is listed as one of the niyamas in PS 19.18. Patañjali's Yogasūtras 2.30 list only five yamas: abstaining from harming [others], truthfulness, refraining from theft, celibacy and non-acceptance [of gifts].

211 A similar list appears in Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 1.53, with oblation (huta) being replaced with observance (vrata). PS 19.17d–18 gives a list of only six niyamas: regular [Veda] recitation (svādhyāya), austerity, worship, observances (vrata), contentment and purity. Patañjali's Yogasūtras (2.32) list the following five niyamas: purity, contentment, austerity, regular [Veda] recitation and devotion to Īśvara (īśvarapraṇidhāna).

212 I.e. one grasps the toes with one's hands crossed behind the back so that one's right hand holds steady the big toe of the right foot placed on the left thigh, and one's left hand the big toe of the left foot resting on the right thigh (RB, p. 897, 25–7). This posture is elsewhere called the “bound lotus posture” (baddhapadmāsana).

213 A similar description appears in Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 1.71.

214 The feet are crossed: the right ankle is on the left side, and the left ankle on the right side, of the perineum (RB, p. 898, 10).

215 RB, p. 898, 18 explains that the feet are placed at the root of the thighs of the same leg. The palms of the hands are turned upwards.

216 Previously the ratios were 16 – 64 – 32 for inhalation, retention and exhalation. The reverse order would be 32 – 64 – 16.

217 For a similar statement, see Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 3.22–3.

218 A similar verse appears in Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 3.58.

219 PS 19.52d lists the anus (guda) instead.

220 PS 19.53c specifies lalāṭāgra, the upper portion of the forehead; cf. also RB, p. 900, 9, who explains the “head” as the place where the forehead and the hair meet.

221 Cf. PS 19.53cd and RB, p. 900, 9–10. The brahmarandhra, the “opening of brahman”, is a small opening on the top of the skull near the fontanel; its name is based on a belief expressed in the older Upaniṣads that it is a place from which the ātman can leave the body to unite with the brahman.

222 RB identifies the dvādaśānta (a place at the distance of twelve fingers) as the brahmarandhra, the “opening of brahman”. Verses 24 to 25 enumerate sixteen body parts, based on the list of fifteen places called sthānas in PS 19.52cd–53 (there the throat is omitted). Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 3.62–4 lists eighteen almost identical places as the “vital points” (marmasthāna); for a somewhat different list of eighteen marmasthānas, see Triśikhibrāhmaṇa-Upaniṣad 2.129cd–133ab. These places are elsewhere called “supports” (ādhāra); cf. the reference in verse 33.

223 RB, p. 901, 15 calls this the “filled” meditation.

224 For a similar definition, see Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 4.59 and 6.59cd.

225 RB, pp. 901, 29–902, 9, basing himself on the first chapter of the ŚT, offers the following possible explanations of what the two entities might be: Śiva and Śakti, fire and the moon, or semen and blood.

226 The kanda (“bulbous root”, especially of a lotus), more specifically known as the kandayoni elsewhere, is a structure named after its shape, above which the kuṇḍalinī rests and from which the nāḍīs emerge.

227 For a similar statement, see Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 2.10.

228 The size is confirmed by a statement in Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 2.11.

229 ŚT 1.42 further lists seven secondary channels.

230 RB, p. 902, 12 glosses śiphābhyām as mūlābhyām. The two roots may be the kanda (cf. verse 28) and the mūlādhāra.

231 See Śiva-Saṃhitā 2.18 and 5.160 for a similar statement.

232 The term seems to refer here to a channel called brahmanāḍī or brahmarandhra.

233 The citrā, also called the citriṇī, is inside the suṣumṇā. It is in fact the citrā which resembles a string of lotuses, since the lotuses are strung on it (cf. Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa, verse 2).

234 Ādhāra means literally “support”. The term seems to include certain places in the suṣumṇā (including the energy centres called wheels [cakra] or lotuses); cf. verse 64 and also the sixteen places listed in verses 24–5. RB, p. 902, 13 notes that different authorities specify the number of ādhāras as twelve, sixteen or many. His list, quoting an unidentified source, includes the six energy centres (RB, pp. 902, 14–903, 16; cf. also K, p. 37, 12–16 on Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa, verse 33).

235 I.e., the mūlādhāracakra.

236 The kuṇḍalī or kuṇḍalinī (derived from the word kuṇḍala – “a ring, coil”) is energy in the form of a coiled serpent.

237 Haṃsaḥ is the sound of exhalation and inhalation produced by the individual Self. The following verse explains how prāṇa depends on the nāḍīs. It moves from the mūlādhāra up and out through its nāḍīs, i.e. through the īḍā and the piṅgalā channels, which terminate in the nostrils.

238 For a similar statement, see Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 2.7. Gorakṣaśataka 40 also derives the word prāṇa from prayāṇa.

239 The cloth is placed on top and the kuśa grass below the deerskin. See also Bhagavadgītā 6.11cd: cailājinakuśottaram.

240 The syllable of the earth element is laṃ, vaṃ is the syllable of water, raṃ of fire, yaṃ of wind and haṃ of ether.

241 The variant reading kṣudra, a technical term, gives the meaning “an evil (magical act)”.

242 For a similar description, see Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 3.37–8.

243 The ŚT describes only four sounds; RB, p. 905, 14–23 (quoting two texts), Matsyendrasaṃhitā 4.17–4.19ab and some other sources list ten sounds; see the discussion in Vasudeva (2004: 273–80).

244 For a similar statement, see PS 4.17–19.

245 The sound haṃ-saḥ, that of, respectively, exhalation and inhalation, is known as the “non-recitation” (ajapā) Gāyatrī.

246 Cf. RB, p. 906, 20, who gives the synonym ārādhayati.

247 The syllables of the haṃsaḥ mantra reversed become so ’haṃ (“He am I”), after application of the saṃdhi rule according to which the final aḥ of saḥ becomes o (see Pāṇini 6.1.109 eṅaḥ padāntād ati, quoted by RB, p. 906, 26). The words “He am I” refer to the supreme Self.

248 The s of so is elided and so is the h of haṃ. Then pūrvarūpa is applied. This grammatical term signifies the substitution of a letter for itself and the following letter (or, in other words, the reduction of two successive letters to the first of them). Accordingly, the vowel o takes the place of itself and of the following vowel a. The final word after the combination of the o with the ṃ is oṃ.

249 Cf. the similar statement in PS 4.19cd–21.

250 RB, p. 907, 11 explains caitanyam as jñānam.

251 The light which contains nectar may here be the seventeenth digit of the moon, the nirvāṇa kalā, inside the sixteenth digit known as the amā kalā. Both are crescent-shaped; cf. the description in Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa 42–8.

252 The seven parts of oṃ are a, u, m, bindu, nāda, śakti and śānta (cf. PS 2.60cd–61ab, 19.43 and RB, p. 907, 27).

253 A similar verse is found in ŚT 6.67.

254 Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 4.49 describes the golden puruṣa in the solar disc as an object for the “meditation with attributes” (saguṇadhyāna).

255 The eternal being (purāṇapuruṣa) has already been mentioned in verse 3.

256 This description is somewhat unspecific. The iconographic form is most likely a four-armed Viṣṇu bearing the śrīvatsa mark, wearing the kaustubha gem and holding a mace, lotus, conch and a wheel in his hands (cf. PS 37 and ŚT 59).

257 I.e. the drop [of energy]. RB, p. 909, 13–4 states that it equates to Śiva and is the nasal sound of oṃ.

258 RB, p. 909, 14 specifies the number of constituents here as twenty-four, not twenty-five (as in his commentary, p. 916, 13 on ŚT 25.87).

259 I assume that the author had a five-headed form in mind, whose central head is made up of the constituents and whose other four heads are the Vedas.

260 RB, p. 909, 15 explains piṇḍa as the praṇava (oṃ), because it consists of a-u-m.

261 Cf. the statement in verse 37.

262 The terms piṇḍa, pada, rūpa and rūpātīta refer to four stages of creation (cf., e.g., Goudriaan and Gupta in Gupta, Hoens and Goudriaan 1979: 61, 178). These four are also said to correspond to four cakras: piṇḍa to mūlādhāra, pada to anāhata, rūpa to ājñā and rūpātīta to sahasrāra.

263 Cf. verse 62, which refers to piṇḍa, pada, rūpa and atītarūpa.

264 For the term ādhāra, see verse 33.

265 The reference is to the thousand-petalled (sahasradala) lotus, also called the thousand-spoked wheel (sahasrāracakra), on top of the head (cf. RB, p. 909, 26), which is added to the list of six cakras, but often not included as one of them. ŚT 25.69c and 77b clearly refers to the six cakras/lotuses.

266 I.e. to the mūlādhāra (RB, p. 909, 27).

267 The haṃsa, the wild goose, is a symbol of the individual Self. The individual Self (jīvātman) utters haṃ-saḥ with each exhalation and inhalation (cf. also RB, p. 910, 17).

268 Cf. the statement about the bindu in verse 62.

269 The three qualities are said to form her three coils (valaya), cf. ŚT 5.128c. According to Śiva-Saṃhitā 2.23 and 5.79, the kuṇḍalinī has three and a half coils, while Vasiṣṭha-Saṃhitā 2.16 and Gorakṣaśataka 30 refer to an eightfold coil.

270 I.e. śabdarāśi, the mass or totality of sounds, a stage of phonetic emanation associated with the mūlādhāra. This stanza describes the kuṇḍalinī's ascent from the mūlādhāra.

271 This is a reference to the supreme Śiva.

272 The word kula has multiple meanings and can also refer to Śakti.

273 RB offers two possible interpretations. First he states that śakti is the triangle in the mūlādhāra, inside of which is the dot (bindu), which is the abode of the kuṇḍalinī (RB, p. 911, 13–4). Alternatively, inside the triangle in the mūlādhāra is the seed syllable of Kāma, also known as the śakti seed syllable. Its nasal is the bindu, which is the kuṇḍalinī’s abode (RB, p. 911, 14–21).

274 RB, p. 911, 23 explains that this is the ājñācakra in between the eyebrows.

275 RB, p. 911, 25 seems to read nātha (“lord”), instead of nāda. K, p. 48, 18–9 on Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa, verse 39, speaks about the nāda in the form of a half moon, which is one of the seven causal forms (kāraṇarūpa). These are bindu, bodhinī, nāda, mahānāda, kalā añjī, samanī and unmanī. The first three are considered to be the three causal forms and aspects of Śakti: above the ājñā energy centre there is the bindu, identical with Śiva; above it is the Śakti bodhinī, having the shape of half a mora; this is followed by the nāda, which consists of the union of Śiva and Śakti and is like a half moon.

276 This is a reference to the ājñācakra; cf. RB, p. 911, 27.

277 The three places [lotuses or wheels] are described one by one in the preceding verses 69–71.

278 The (mūla-)ādhārabandha is probably identical with the mūlabandha, the root lock, a yoga practice to awaken the kuṇḍalinī.

279 The three abodes are the sun, the moon and fire (cf. RB, p. 45, 26).

280 RB, p. 912, 23 glosses anaṅgatantram as anaṅgapradhānam.

281 RB, p. 912, 24 explains that the eyes appear wide because of their side-long glances and narrow due to the goddess's bashfulness about her glances.

282 Ha and kṣa are the two final syllables of the alphabet. The fifty syllables of the alphabet are inscribed on the petals of the six lotuses, one syllable on each petal, in the following way (cf. ŚT 5.130cd–135 and also RB, p. 913, 18–12; different texts show variants):

For a discussion of the correspondences between the lotuses and the Yoginīs according to different traditions, see Kiss 2009: 78–9.

283 RB, pp. 914, 28–915, 17 understands guṇavṛtta differently. He explains it as referring to the circle inside the triangle in the root cakra. The qualities (guṇa) are sattva, rajas and tamas (cf. verse 66). K, p. 61, 7 on Ṣaṭcakranirūpaṇa, verse 49 quotes an unidentified source according to which the circle is the kuṇḍalinī Śakti, endowed with the three qualities.

284 I.e. the thousand-petalled (sahasradala) lotus; cf. verse 64.

285 The five causes are specified in RB's commentary, p. 915, 19–21 as upādāna, samavāyin, nimitta, prayojaka and sahakārin.

286 Mahābala is the name of the author's great-grandfather, author of the work titled Muktiphala.

287 It is uncertain whether this statement also refers to a work entitled “The ocean of the six rites”.