The Chummā-saṅketa-prakāśa (“Light on the Intimations called the Chummās”) is an unpublished text surviving in a single manuscript originally from Kashmīr but held in an archive in Berlin since colonial times. The text is composed in two languages, Old Kashmiri and Sanskrit, both written in the Śāradā script (see the image below).
The second folio of the only surviving manuscript of the Chummā-sanketa-prakāśa (the first folio is lost, probably forever).
The Sanskrit portion of the text belongs to the Krama branch of nondual Śākta-Śaiva Tantra, being composed by the Krama master Niṣkriyānanda Nātha sometime between the ninth and thirteenth centuries of the common era. But the Old Kashmiri part of the text is claimed to be the revelation through oral transmission of the ancient Siddhas and Yoginīs, especially the latter. And this fits with a claim that we find elsewhere in Krama literature, namely that the highest most esoteric teachings are received only from the mouths of the enlightened Yoginīs. Such teachings are seen in the tradition as direct and unmediated. As the Chummā-saṅketa-prakāśa itself says, in its concluding verses, “This incomparable instruction that has come forth directly from the source (garbha) now shines in its fullness forever through the supreme collection of 105 chummās given here . . . it opens up with full intensity in the hearts of good people [only] through oral transmission.” (trans. Sanderson, modified slightly) Note that here the word for ‘source’ also means ‘womb’.
Chummās, then, are comparable to sūtras, except that they are composed in the vernacular instead of Sanskrit and are claimed to derived from the oral teachings of the Yoginīs. The word chummā itself is vernacular, not Sanskrit, and it is perhaps no coincidence that it is a feminine noun in contrast to the masculine sūtra; in this sense, then, it forms a counterpart to the word vidyā contrasted with mantra, for vidyā is the term for a goddess-mantra in the Kaula branch of the tradition.
The Chummā-saṅketa-prakāśa was brought to the attention of the scholarly community by Alexis Sanderson in his monumental 200-page article “The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir” but so far no one has translated it. I’ve long been fascinated by this unique text, and have finally undertaken its translation, though I anticipate it will be some time before it is complete.
Since the first page of the manuscript is lost, perhaps forever, my translation begins in midstream, as it were. Our author, Niṣkriyānanda Nātha, offers a rare autobiographical account of his initiation by the powerful Siddha master who transmitted the chummās to him. Watch this video if you would like this fascinating introductory portion of the text read to you, along with a brief introduction contextualizing the scripture:
And now the translation of the text commences. Please note: what follows is straight translation, with no commentary from me. Such commentary will be added later, when I publish my translation in book form. This post presents the text up until Chummā #14, which corresponds to Sanskrit verse #60.
The Chummā-sanketa-prakāśa
. . . due to the intensity of his gaze falling upon me, I immediately toppled to the earth (bhūmi) like a tree cut at its root. Lying there, I was suddenly overcome with a state (bhūmi) unsurpassable, unparalleled, not dependent on external or internal faculties, incomprehensible to the mind (aprameya), free from fear and pain, transcending the power of the dichotomies of time,[1] pervading yet transcending the Radiant Abodes (dhāman), unlocalizable, neither instantaneous nor sequential, overflowing with a flood of wonder and supreme joy beyond touch, beyond bliss (nirānandā), beyond possession or relation (nirāveśā), free from confusion about existence and non-existence, thoughtful yet thoughtless, by nature free of cognition and the stain of the latent traces thereof. In that state I remained, motionless, for a long time. Then, somehow, by the power of his grace, I awakened somewhat, dizzy with amazement (camatkāra) at the refreshing delight of that unprecedented consciousness, overcome with wonder, and giddy with irrepressible joy (nityānanda). Since all concept of ‘self’ had departed, and I was [now] averse to the prolixity of scripture, I asked a question of that Siddha Lord with the manuscript in his hand: “Oh lord, I have experienced by your grace the extraordinary, carefree state that is difficult to attain. Tell me, how may I perceive it constantly, everywhere, in every way, master?”
Then that great one, staying completely silent, cast a glance full of immediacy into the upper atmosphere. [By the power of his gaze,][2] the unlocatable Supreme Word who is one with Śiva emerged from her abode, the highest heavens. She articulates Herself as the various levels of representation culminating in the spoken word (vaikharī) yet transcends the totality (kula) of those levels. She is free of the need for any substrate, and it is She whom we call Bhairavī, her nature unlocalizable. Because She bestows, eternally and without divisions (abheda-), [the experience of] the supreme Wilderness (aṭavī) without [need for a] fixed abode, [that state which] is Bhairavī herself, free from all obscurations, she is also known as the Wandering Wild One (Aṭavīla[3]), the embodiment of the ever-fresh Void (nityodita-kha), the supremely beautiful embodiment of perfect fusion with the extraordinary/unsurpassable Rays of Consciousness.
She laughingly said to me, “Why have you been so arrogant? Of what use is this net of scriptural knowledge (śāstra-jāla)? Even now you have not shaken off your delusion! O learned one, look at the manuscript in the hand of Siddhanātha. You who would reach the farther shore of [the wisdom of] the Krama, know that its five knots, [still] firmly bound, represent the power of the five senses, and its two rings are the ornaments (vigraha) called ‘waking’ and ‘dreaming’. Hear in brief [the teaching] of the two protective boards [of the manuscript]. The exhale with its seven flames/peaks is said to be the upper board, and the lower board has the form of the inhale. In reality, I abide as these two flows. These two boards are [also] taught as the unfolding of the sequences of immanence and transcendence, and as immersion into the activated and and quiescent expansions. Above is the expansive, full-[bodied] Power, whose nature is the Unfolding. Below is the one whose body is emaciated, the sovereign Power that devours [all]. Break open these two boards, and through [the power of your] awareness behold in the Center the Supernal Void beyond the Great Void, free of the transient and the eternal, contactless, the Supreme Spaciousness, unlocalizable and unsurpassable, transcending all! It is unmanifest yet eternally exists in everything, free of all veils, the supreme end of the process of Creation, Stasis, and Dissolution, the devouring of Time itself—your own inner nature, and the scope of all your activity.”
Suddenly I experienced the ultimate Reality in this very way, and abandoned completely the net of scriptural learning without remainder. Then the wise Siddha Lord, [likewise] transcendent of the need for scriptural elaboration, gazed at me and suddenly said, “Noble-minded son! You are [now] qualified and fit for this Great Krama, difficult to access.” Filled with compassion, the Master enlightened me concerning the teaching of the extraordinary chummās, together with their detailed explanation, difficult to understand for even the greatest yogis.
Due to [internalizing] that teaching, I suddenly ascended to the great imperishable domain of Immediacy (sāhasa), becoming blessed with the state of total awakeness (suprabuddha). In the same way, I will teach in its fullness that unprecedented (apūrva-), inexpressible [wisdom] that dissolves the flood of mental rumination (vikalpa) in the supernal Reality that I realized through the grace of the Siddha Lord. You have been devoted to all the pilgrimage sites, remaining always like a devout & pious person, yet even now you have not attained the Supreme Repose [in the Absolute]. Why continue to wander with your mind full of doubts, my child? Enough! You are now ready for the highest wisdom! I will teach you in proper sequence the eternally-proclaimed (satatodita) oral tradition (mukhāmnāya) just as I received it: that teaching beyond philosophy, beyond the [four] Kaula traditions, [even] beyond the [scriptural] Krama teaching (melāpa), ultimately free from the distinction of worshipped and worshipper. Listen, with mind one-pointed, with awareness blossomed open: listen to the full expanse of the secret teachings that are worthy of being known.
With a heart-mind scented by Your grace, and through the power of my own essence (svarasa), I will now, in this very moment, with clear language, teach in fullness the supreme nonlocal tradition (sampradāya) of the Chummās: Your incomparable words situated on the path to Reality. || 36-37 ||
***
Chummā 1: Liṅgu abhijñānu || 1 ||
The Point of Fusion is [the means of] Recognition
Sanskrit commentary: That in which all cognitions, arising in relation to both internal and external [phenomena], gradually (krama-yogena) merge with the untouchable Supreme Space, which is beautiful with the bliss of stillness, that is, the unlocalizable Supreme Śiva, beyond [the dichotomy of] manifest vs. unmanifest states: that is taught [in this oral tradition] as the supreme ‘Liṅga’, transcending all, highly celebrated due to its universality, and eternally distinct from the three worlds by virtue of the recognition of [it as] the Self.
***
Chummā 2: Araṇi samudāyu || 2 ||
It arises from [the union of the two] ‘kindling sticks’.
Sanskrit commentary: This Supreme Power, which is not different from Śiva, arises nonsequentially, spontaneously activing as the ultimate Unfolding (unmeṣa). The intense fusion (saṃghaṭṭa) of the mantras of the two ‘kindling sticks’ is the Great Arising (mahodaya) of perfect unification (sāmarasya). From it comes the arrival of desireless/unselfish vision (? … ajratā?).
***
Vṛndakathā: the Teaching of the Multitude [NB: in the margins]
“Just as the mass of stars together with the moon and sun, always shine in the heavens just so the pure multitude of rays expands in the abode of the sky of intangible awareness.”
(after Sanderson’s Skt. gloss)
***
Chummā 3: Cakreśī-melaku || 3 ||
Union with the Goddesses of the Circle
Sanskrit commentary: From this, the [cognitive] activities within the unveiled supreme space (…nibāma?) [occur] due to the flowing forth of the countless radiant manifestations of awareness, [and appear as] the rays of the Goddesses of the Circle, devoid of the [usual] group of [culturally constructed] deities, [but rather] fused with the pervasion of their sacred union (militā) in the nonlocal brilliant state.
***
Chummā 4: Kālagrāsu || 4 ||
Time is devoured
Sanskrit commentary: In that state, that which takes the form of the operations of Emission, Stasis, and Dissolution, Time itself, is dissolved in the quiet & indistinct vibration (asvara) of non-sequential Awareness—that is called the Devouring of Time [in our system].
***
Chummā 5: Karaṇku sumāti || 5 ||
Devotion appears in the senses
Sanskrit commentary: The radiant display consisting of the Joy of Awareness, having the nature of Willing, Knowing, and Acting, is the very form of the senses; in it one attains a blossoming that is †attached to reverence (pūjrakta)†.
***
Chummā 6: Manumati paricāraku || 6 ||
the mind and intellect become servants
Sanskrit commentary: In the ultimate Divine Union (melāpaka) of the opposites [experienced as] the expansion of subject and object, i.e. in the equipoised state of perfect fusion (sāmarasya) arising from the ‘friction’ of the Great Copulation, the mind and intellect become servants in that very [state], i.e. in the radiant abode of unveiled Awareness.
***
Chummā 7: Ahamiti ghaṭṭanu || 7 ||
friction of the ego
Sanskrit commentary: Then the intense friction of the ‘I-sense’ (ahaṃkāra), which has limited and unlimited aspects, [moves through] a process of transgression-and-transcendence, and the rare [practitioner] shines brightly, free of its [limited] operations.
***
Chummā 8: Phala nirvāṇu || 8 ||
the fruit is liberation/extinction
Sanskrit commentary: In that extraordinary silent state of reality [now directly] perceived at all times, due to the causeless joyful vibration that is the fruit [of the ego-resolution (described in the previous verse)], a nonconceptual & nonverbal [kind of] discernment is set in motion. (verse 50)
***
Chummā 9: Rami ekāyanu || 9 ||
S/he who is the ‘Centre of Union’ plays
Sanskrit commentary: As a result, S/he who is the Centre of Union,[1] whole & complete and pervading all, plays & sports without falling [from her nature] as she performs every action of every kind everywhere.
[1] ekāyana: centre of union, absorption in one, absolute devotedness to one, unity; a path accessible only to one; the only way or manner of conduct; closely attentive to one object.
***
Chummā 10: Parādyāvanvryā || 10 ||
the levels of Speech unveiled
Sanskrit commentary: Therefore, the Speech [of such a one] always arises from her undivided freedom, expressing all four levels of the Word, manifesting dual and nondual layers of meaning simultaneously. Even when the various sense-capacities become active in worldly life, her Speech does not deviate from its nature as [an expression of] the Supreme Spaciousness, but remains unwavering[ly aligned with essence-nature].
***
Chummā 11: Nṛttagītaprayāsu || 11 ||
exuberant dancing and singing
Sanskrit commentary: Thus, abiding in [the state of] Being known [to us] as Śiva, i.e. the radiant abode of unsurpassable Awareness, there are boundless spontaneous upsurges of Dancing on the part of the ‘rays’—i.e. the senses and the limbs of the body—and likewise Singing of the ‘words’, [i.e. the four levels of Speech]. Such activity is simply the arising of the Play of Immersion in non-immersion (i.e., in everyday life).
***
Chummā 12: Ovallī ajanu || 12 ||
Born from lineage transmission
Sanskrit commentary: Due to the satiation of the Great Lord who is the Ultimate [reality of] Self, the natural festival** of the waves of delight that form the body (kula) of Infinite Will [arises]. The teachings of the [Tantrik] lineages are the ‘bodies’ of the masses of consciousness that expand as this universe of [name and] form and so on; through them, one performs the highest worship. || 56-57 ||
***
Chummā 13: Anubhava śānti || 13 ||
Peace from Direct Experience
Sanskrit commentary: Thus, in this Wheel of Saṃsāra, through the wonder and delight of constant Direct Experience, and due to devouring [all forms of] limited experience, for that rare person who knows the true nature of the Self and [thus] remains ever satisfied, with delighted mind, in everyday life, Supreme Peace shines.
***
Chummā 14: Kula-madhu peyu || 14 ||
the honey-wine of ‘Kula’ is to be tasted
Sanskrit commentary: Kula is said to be supreme Shakti (parā śakti), the essence of the Intangible [reality]; that indeed is the Centre to be tasted [and enjoyed] as the total dissolution of all limited powers—as the total melting together of all the segments of reality. || 60 ||
***
TO BE CONTINUED!
Notes to the introductory frame story:
[1] kāla-akāla-kalā-uttarā, where the first two terms also refer to auspicious vs. inauspicious times.
[2] tad-adhiṣṭhānatas could mean “by the power of his gaze” or “from her abode”. If the latter, it paradoxically contrasts with aniketana, having no abode or location. We might be tempted to choose that reading because of the recurrent theme of conceptual paradox in the passage, but Sanderson went with the former reading.
[3] Sanderson, fn359 on page 339 of Śaiva Exegesis: “I surmise that the origin of this unusual name is a narrative in which Aṭavīla was a Siddha who had assumed the appearance of a member of a forest (aṭavī) tribe. Such a narrative is seen in the Krama in the case of Vidyānanda, the disciple of Ni.skriyānanda, who is described . . . as śābara-rūpa-dhṛk ‘having the appearance of a Śabara’. The same is reported of the Siddha Lokeśvara in the literature of the Buddhist Yoginītantras. . . . Śabara/ Aṭavī-śabara, Pulinda, and Bhilla, are the usual names applied to such tribal people in Sanskrit literature, where they are portrayed as fierce dark-skinned hunters living in the mountainous and forested region of the Vindhya, who plunder passing travellers and propititate the goddess Durgā Vindhyavāsinī with human sacrifices. The hypothesis that the name Aṭavīla points to another instance of this primitivist theme gains further support from the fact that A.dabilla, which . . . is probably the same name, occurs with Śabara/Pulinda in Tantrāloka 29.38 and the Kulakrī.dāvatāra quoted by Jayaratha in his commentary on that verse in a list of six Lodges (gharam), namely Śabara/Pulinda, A.dabilla, Pa.t.tila, Karabilla, Ambi/Ambilla, and Śarabilla, associated with the six sons of Macchanda and Ko˙nka.nāmbā.”
~~~
Join me at Tantra Illuminated for more teachings! Including a Webinar series on the Chummās!