Materials for the contemplation of the Twelve Kālīs, the most important and most ‘secret’ doctrine of the Krama lineage, collated in one place (and translated) for the first time online. (Translations by me unless otherwise noted.) Part One is here. For a summary overview of the Twelve Kālīs, read this post first. And please note, the materials presented below require the explication of a qualified ācārya to be fully understood. Here the translations alone are presented, for those who already have the necessary background to understand them.
9. Paramārkakālī – Absorber of the Supreme Sun.
The Emanation of Subjectivity.
Abhinavagupta’s Tantrasāra: Then She also absorbs (kalayati) the ‘lord’ of the sense-faculties (i.e., the ahaṃkāra, that by means of which individualized consciousness represents itself as the agent of its cognitions and actions).
Paramārkakālī ~ ‘She who dissolves/resorbs the supreme sun (that is the ahaṅkāra)’ ~ sṛṣṭi of pramātṛ
Tantrāloka:
sa eva paramādityaḥ pūrṇa-kalpas trayodaśaḥ |
karaṇatvāt prayātyeva kartari pralayaṁ sphuṭam || 4.164 ||
kartā ca dvividhaḥ proktaḥ kalpitākalpitātmakaḥ |
kalpito deha-buddhyādi-vyavacchedena carcitaḥ || 4.165 ||
kālāgnirudra-saṃjñāsya śāstreṣu paribhāṣitā |
kālo vyavacchit-tad-yukto vahnir bhoktā yataḥ smṛtaḥ || 166 ||
saṁsārākḷptikḷptibhyāṁ rodhanād drāvaṇāt prabhuḥ |
anivṛtta-paśūbhāvas tatrāhaṅkṛt pralīyate || 167 || ||
This same faculty of I-generation (ahaṃkāra), the ‘supreme sun’ that is the 13th, the basis of the other 12 faculties, is on its way to becoming full of self-awareness (on the point of awakening), but it still falls somewhat short of that (pūrṇa-kalpa). It is itself only an instrument, and so clearly it is inevitable that it, too, dissolves into the agent who deploys these instruments (viz., individuated consciousness). ~ Now scripture informs us that the agent is of two kinds: fabricated and unfabricated (i.e., natural). We have been taught that the fabricated agent is circumscribed by the body, mind, and vital energy, (so it is the individual self). In the technical jargon of the Krama’s scriptures, it is given the name Kālāgnirudra (the blocker/dissolver of the fire of time). [Why is it called Kālāgnirudra?] As the experiencer in the world, this individual subject is called agni (fire) [because he is burning up the effects of his past actions through experiencing their consequences in his current incarnation]. And as such, he is conjoined with kāla (time), and so he is Kālāgni because he is subject to time as the circumscriber of all his experiences. ~ He is Kālāgnirudra because he blocks and dissolves by making and unmaking his state of bondage in the world [through his actions]. As such, he is an agent, but one whose contraction into [the state of] a bound soul has not yet come to an end. It is into this factitious agent that the ahaṃkāra now dissolves. ~ Sanderson
ERAKA’s Krama-stotra:
Astodita-dvādaśa-bhānu-bhāji yasyāṃ gatā bhargaśikhā śikheva |
Praśānta-dhāmni dyuti-nāśam eti tāṃ naumy anantāṃ Paramārkakālīm ||
I offer reverence to the infinite Paramārkakālī within whom, sharing in the rising and setting of the twelve suns, the flame of [egoic] radiance has entered [and dissolved], like a flame loses its light <when its radiance is extinguished || in the peaceful abode.>
I offer salutations to the infinite Paramārkakālī. The limited identity (ahaṃkāra), which is a radiant sun, enters into that [Kālī] who makes the twelve suns [of the senses] that have been active come to rest, like a flame that loses its light when extinguished. (Ben Williams)
I bow to that endless Paramārkakālī, (otherwise called) Bhargaśikhā (the Sun which is the Flame of Lord Śiva) within Whom the twelve suns (of the faculties) have risen and set, Who is like a flame (śikhā), the radiance (of which) is extinguished in the peaceful abode (of pure consciousness). (Mark D.)
I bow to that infinite Paramārkakālī, Who in Her appeased flame shares the twelve suns already consumed. It is in Her that the ego (ahaṅkāra) succeeds in destroying its own light, as an appeased flame in an appeased fire. (SLJ)
Which means, the Pramātṛ-Saṃvidīśvarī devī being śūnya, remains in a tranquil state. The twelve ādityas in the form of the indriyas that rise and set are destroyed within her self-form, who enjoys the miracle. And that crest of the supreme radiance namely ahaṃkāra i.e. the Paramāditya, ends his own radiance and gets assimilated in it (the supreme radiance). This store of unending light is known as Paramārkakālī, and is lauded by me, which means after dissolving in her the [false] pramātṛtā like body, etc., I enter into her self-form. ~ Śrī-krama-naya-pradīpikā
ABHINAVA’s Krama-stotra:
samagrāsakālīṃ krama-virahitā sātmani muhur
niveśyānantāntar-bahalita-mahā-raśmi-nivahā |
parā divyānandaṃ kalayitum udārādaravatī
prasannā me bhūyāt hṛdaya-padavīṃ bhūṣayatu ca || 24 ||
Entering into Herself at every moment, the infinite Kālī who is free of sequentiality devours everything equally. Her multitude of Great Rays powerfully burgeon inwardly. May that supreme Goddess (parā), endowed with munificent care to cause [us] to attain divine bliss, become pleased with me and adorn the realm of my heart!
Instantly drawing into herself the entire series of the sense faculties, the supreme infinite Goddess [Paramārkakālī,] beyond sequence, in whom the great-rayed (sun of the ego) densely flows within, is endowed with the powerful and noble intention to generate divine bliss. May She be gracious to me and beautifully adorn the realm of my heart! (Ben Williams)
Having penetrated within Herself instantly at each moment (muhur), the Kālī who, devoid of succession, consumes everything equally is a multitude of great rays that, endless, inwardly grow compact (and strong). May she, the Supreme (Goddess) Parā who is the receptacle of (the most) exalted respect, be pleased with me to generate divine bliss, and adorn the plane of (my) heart. (Mark D.)
SUMMARY: Stage 9. Absorbing the ahaṃkāra into individuated consciousness (kalpita-kartā, the fabricated doer) -> 10. Absorbing that constructed separate self (kālāgnirudra) into the unconstructed self, the universal Subject.
10. Kālāgnirudrakālī. Absorber of the Separate Self. The Persistence of Subjectivity.
AG’s TS: Then it also withdraws (kalayati) the constructed, separate (māyīya) subject (i.e., individuality itself).
Kālāgnirudrakālī ~ ‘She who absorbs the one who blocks & dissolves the fire of time’ ~ sthiti of pramātṛ
So’pi kalpita-vṛttitvād viśvābhedaika-śālini |
vikāsini mahākāle līyate ’ham-idaṃ-maye || Tantrāloka 4.168 ||
etasyāṁ svātma-saṁvittāv “idaṁ sarvam ahaṁ vibhuḥ” |
iti pravikasad-rūpā saṁvittir avabhāsate || 4.169 ||
Since this agent is an entity whose functioning is factitious, it too must dissolve. It does so into the true agent of cognition, who is known in the Krama as Mahākāla (lit., great black/time). This true, non-factitious self is completely immersed in the oneness of the totality, free of all contraction, embodying the equating of ‘this’ with ‘I’. For within Mahākāla’s self-awareness, there shines the all-embracing realization that he is all-pervading and that all this is none other than himself. ~ Sanderson
Given that it is artificial in the way that it functions, that [limited subjectivity] too dissolves into the expansive [natural] subject, overflowing with unity with everything, [in Krama termed] Mahākāla, consisting [of the Awareness] “[All] this is I.” || 168 (Williams) ~ In this consciousness of one's own Self shines forth an expansive Consciousness (in the form of) ‘I, the Omnipresent One, am all this.’ || 169 (Pradīpaka)
ERAKA’s Kramastotra:
Kāla-kramākrānta-dineśa-cakra-kroḍīkṛtāntāgni-kalāpa ugraḥ |
kālāgnirudro layam eti yasyāṃ tāṃ naumi Kālānalarudrakālīm ||
I offer reverence to that Kālāgnirudrakālī into whom dissolves the fierce Time-Fire Rudra—a mass of inner fire that has ended the wheel of the senses’ mastery, oppressed by the sequence of time.
I bow to Kālāgnirudrakālī, within Whom the Rudra of the Fire of Time dissolves away, the fierce one Who is the aggregate of (the energies) of the inner fire that has embraced (and absorbed into itself) the Wheel of the Sun pervaded by the procession of time. (Mark D.)
2nd verse on Kālāgnirudrakālī cited by Jayaratha: perhaps also by Eraka?— “I salute the Kālī of the Rudra of the Fire of Time, Who is inflamed with thousands of (fiery) forms (that rise out of) the Abode of Fire, She Who destroys the entire universe and everywhere devours the body of death.” (Mark D.)
The Pramātṛ-rupā saṃvitti namely Kālāgnirūdra, has slayed the pramāṇa maṇḍala in the form of the twelve ādityas filled with the five functions of Kāla (Sṛṣṭi, sthiti, saṃhāra, anugraha and pidhāna) in her own fire. Assimilating the maṇḍala of the light of pramāṇa within herself, imbued with terrifying radiance, that limited Pramātṛ-rupā Kālī is dissolved in that Parā Kālī, which is Kālāgnirūdrakālī who destroys even the pramātā endowed with supreme radiance namely Kālāgnirūdra, and is lauded by me – which means I dissolve in that supreme radiance the I-ness resting in body, prāṇa, puryaṣṭaka etc. in the section of non-self. ~ Śrī-krama-naya-pradīpikā
ABHINAVA’s Krama-stotra:
pramāṇe saṃlīne śiva-pada-lasad-vaibhava-vaśāt
śarīra-prāṇādir mita-kṛtaka-mātṛ-sthiti-mayaḥ |
yadā kālopādhiḥ pralaya-padam āsādayati te
tadā devī yāsau lasati mama sā syāc chivamayī || 25 ||
When the faculties that produce conditioned cognition (pramāṇa) have dissolved due to the majestic power shimmering & dancing in the Śiva-state, the body, life-force, and other aspects that comprise the persistence of limited and factitious subjectivity, all conditioned by time, dissolve into You. May I experience the Goddess who shines at that moment as one with Śiva! (Williams & Wallis)
When the means of knowledge has merged (into consciousness) by the glorious power that is playing on Śiva’s plane, if the body and the vital breath etc. and the adjunct of time, which is the abiding state (sthiti) of the limited, artificial perceiver, attains the play of destruction, may the goddess who flashes forth playfully (lasati) then, be for me of Śiva’s nature. (Mark D.)
SUMMARY: 9. Absorbing the ahaṃkāra into individuated consciousness (kalpita-kartā, the fabricated doer) -> 10. Absorbing that constructed separate self (kālāgnirudra) into the unconstructed self, the universal Subject -> 11. Absorbing that universal Subject (mahākāla) into the infinite.
11. Mahākālakālī. Absorber of the Transcendent Subject.
It withdraws (kalayati) the [universal] Subject too, which is on the threshold of abandoning [all trace of] contraction and excited to reach full expansion. ~ AG’s TS (“In stage 11 this state of the universal self dissolves into the pure, undivided light that is the absolutely transcendent state of the subject.”—S.)
Mahākālakālī ~ ‘She who absorbs Great Time [the transcendent Subject]’ ~ saṃhāra of pramātṛ
Tato ’ntaḥ-sthita-sarvātma-bhāva-bhogoparāgiṇī |
paripūrṇāpi saṃvittir akule dhāmni līyate || Tantrāloka 4.170 ||
pramātṛ-vargo mānaughaḥ pramāś ca bahudhā sthitāḥ |
meyaugha iti yat sarvam atra cin-mātram eva tat || 171 ||
Next this awareness too dissolves, being withdrawn in turn into the ground at the core of all manifestation. For although it is fully expanded, it is colored by the experience of its identity with the totality that it encloses. Here (in this 11th stage), everything—all knowers, all means of knowledge, all cognitions, and all objects of cognition—are experienced as nothing but pure Consciousness. ~ Sanderson
Next consciousness dissolves into the core reality that is beyond that Totality (the akula-dhāman), since although it is all-embracing, it is colored by the experience of its own being (ātma-bhāva) enveloping all things. The entire collection of subjects, the totality of means of knowledge, the many existent cognitions, and all the objects of cognition—all of these are here experienced as nothing but pure Consciousness. (Williams, slightly altered by Wallis)
ERAKA’s Krama-stotra:
naktaṃ mahābhūta-laye śmaśāne dik-khecarī-cakra-gaṇena sākam |
kālīṃ mahākālam alaṃ grasantīṃ vande hy acintyām anilānalābhām ||
I venerate that Kālī who who is beyond conception, who appears like fire in a powerful wind, fully devouring Great Time (Mahākāla). Together with her band, the circle of Yoginīs roaming through space (khecarī) in all directions, She dwells at Night in the ‘charnel ground’ that is the dissolution of the [five] Great Elements. (Williams & Wallis)
I praise Kālī Who, by Night in the cremation ground where the great Elements dissolve away, devours the Great Time along with the host of the congregation (cakra) (of Yoginīs) who move in the Void of the directions; She Who, inconceivable, shines like a fire (kindled by) the wind. (Mark D.)
I bow to that inexpressible Mahākālakālī Who resides in the cremation ground, where during the night all the Five Great Elements are dissolved. As a fire powerfully excited by wind, She enthusiastically swallows the Great Lord of Time (Mahākāla) along with the wheel of the energies governing the ten directions. (SLJ)
In the great night of the void of external light in the form of differentiation, where the five Mahābhūtas get dissolved, i.e. the state where deha-pramātṛtā, prāṇa-pramātṛtā, puryaṣṭaka-pramātṛtā, and śūnya-pramātṛtā get slayed – In this way, in the śmaśāna (cremation ground) in the form of the heart filled with light, situated in place of the jñānendriyas and karmendriyas, the Cinmaheśvarī devī along with the Khecarī energies, ingests even Mahākāla through sarva-bhāva i.e. appropriating him, and in keeping with this mode, endowed with unimaginable greatness, equal to vāyu and agni, and also as a result of ingesting Mahākāla, she is called Mahākālakālī and is lauded by me, i.e. I enter into that unimaginable self-form of her. ~ Śrī-krama-naya-pradīpikā
ABHINAVA’s Krama-stotra:
prakāśākhyā saṃvit krama-virahitā śūnya-padato
bahir līnātyantam prasarati samācchādakatayā |
tato ’py antaḥsāre galita-rabhasād akramatayā
mahākālī seyaṃ mama kalayatāṃ kālam akhilam || 26 ||
That Consciousness known as the Light of Creation (prakāśa), free of sequentiality, completely dissolved, flows out from its void state (śūnya-pada) as an act of concealment. Then too, nonsequentially, it passionately hastens to melt into its inner essence [like a river rushes toward the sea]—therefore, may that Mahākālī, who is even now here, measure out all my time.
That Awareness called the Light of Consciousness, devoid of sequence, completely dissolved, powerfully flows out from the state of emptiness as the act of concealment. Since she is non-sequential and because of melting powerfully into Her inner Essence, for me that Mahā[kāla]kālī consumes Time in its entirety. (Williams)
Consciousness, called Light, devoid of succession, merges externally and flows internally from the plane of the Void as that which covers over (and obscures all). Then also, as free of succession, She falls away into the inner essence with great force. May this Mahākālī generate (and process) all my (allotted) time. (Mark D.)
Artist unknown.
SUMMARY: 9. Absorbing the ahaṃkāra into individuated consciousness (kalpita-kartā, the fabricated doer) -> 10. Absorbing that constructed separate self (kālāgnirudra) into the unconstructed self, the universal Subject -> 11. Absorbing that universal Subject (mahākāla) into the Infinite. 12. The timeless, unlocated, nameless ground of the entire process, that absorbs even the infinite [and is the basis for the next iteration of the Cycle].
12. Mahābhairavacaṇḍograghorakālī.
The Nameless Ground of Subjectivity.
AG’s TS: Hence, She projects-and-withdraws even that fully expanded aspect.
Mahā-bhairava-caṇḍogra-ghora-kālī ~ ‘She who projects all (mahā) subjects (bhairava), objects (caṇḍa), cognitions (ugra) and means of cognition (ghora)’
Tantrāloka:
iyatīṃ rūpavaicitrīm āśrayantyāḥ svasaṃvidaḥ |
svācchandyam anapekṣaṃ yat sā parā parameśvarī || 4.172 ||
imāḥ prāg-ukta-kalanās tad-vijṛmbhocyate yataḥ |
The ultimate Goddess, the last of the 12, is simply the unconditioned autonomy that one’s Consciousness manifests as it deploys this great diversity of forms. (/ . . . the independent freedom of one’s innate Awareness that is projecting this diverse array of forms.) For scripture reveals that these ideations (kalana) that I (Abhinavagupta) have just explained are how She manifests herself. ~ trans. Sanderson
ERAKA’s Krama-stotra:
Krama-traya-tvāṣṭra-marīci-cakra-sañcāra-cāturya-turīya-sattām |
vande mahābhairavaghoracaṇḍakālīṃ kalākāśa-śaśāṅka-kāntim ||
I venerate Mahābhairavaghoracaṇḍakālī, beautiful as the moon shining in the sky of energies (kalā): as the transcendent fourth state, she skilfully turns the wheel of the rays that constitute the creative power (tvāṣṭra) of the Krama triad.
I venerate that Mahābhairavaghoracaṇḍakālī, a lovely moon in the sky of energies. She is the supreme fourth state, ever skillful at spinning the Wheel of Radiance that is the creative power of the three processes [of emanation, sustenance, and dissolution]. (Ben Williams)
I praise Mahābhairavaghoracaṇḍakālī, She Who is beautiful with the Moon (that shines) in the Void of Energy (kalākāśa), the essential being of the Fourth state which is the skilful power (cāturya) to set in motion the wheel of the rays of the architect (tvāṣṭra) of the three processes (of emanation, persistence, and withdrawal). (Mark D.)
Highest salutations to Mahā-bhairava-ghora-caṇḍa-kālī, shining like the moon in the light of [space/time:] kalākāśa. She is the reality of the Fourth State, expert in spinning the wheel of the supreme sun, the rays of [the light of Consciousness:] prakāśa. To this Supreme Goddess, weaver of the three-fold succession of creating, protecting and destroying this entire universe, I constantly bow. (SLJ)
Radiant with the three kramas namely prameya, pramāṇa and pramātā, related to the Sun, impelled within the twelvefold maṇḍala of rays of light i.e. that intensity pulsating with the nature of expansion of the world, leads to the Parapramātṛ-rupā Saṃvit-cakreśvarī taking the form of the anākhya being of Turīya, and also whose amā kalā in the form of Kālasaṅkarṣiṇī is everywhere imbued with illumination, shining in the cidākāśa like the splendor of the Moon situated in the sky. That Mahābhairavaghoracaṇḍakālī endowed with all characterstics is lauded by me, i.e. I dissolve the deha-praṇa-puryaṣṭaka- and the śūnya- of pramātṛ pada within her self-form, and I enter into her self-form beyond limitations, full of bliss and rasa. ~ Śrī-krama-naya-pradīpikā
ABHINAVA’s Krama-stotra:
tato devyāṃ yasyāṃ parama-paripūrṇa-sthiti-juṣi
kramaṃ vicchidyāśu sthitim atirasāt saṃvidadhati |
pramāṇaṃ mātāraṃ mitim atha samagraṃ jagad idaṃ
sthitāṃ kroḍīkṛtya śrayatu mama cittaṃ citim imām || 27 ||
Then, while the Goddess whose ultimate state is complete fullness sudden cuts off all sequentiality, she [also] ordains & maintains [an underlying] stability, out of great love (atirasa). Embracing the [limited] experiencer, its faculties of cognition, its phenomenal experience, and this whole world [which is the field of experience], may my mind repose in this unwavering Awareness [which is their ground].
SUMMARY of the last five stages of the Cycle: 8. Absorbing the 12 faculties into the ahaṃkāra -> 9. Absorbing the ahaṃkāra into individuated consciousness (kalpita-kartā, the fabricated doer) -> 10. Absorbing that constructed separate self (kālāgnirudra) into the unconstructed self, the universal Subject -> 11. Absorbing that universal Subject (mahākāla) into the Infinite. 12. The timeless, unlocated, nameless ground of the entire process, that absorbs even the infinite [and is the basis for the next iteration of the Cycle].
NOTE that each Kālī of these five Stages (except, perhaps, the last) constitutes an action, not a state.
OṂ!