Mantra Shastra, Medha Dakshinamoorthi

Conversations by Sri P.S Ramanarayan, Pt. Sanjay Rath, Sri PVR Narasimha Rao

Dear Sanjay, Visti, Hari & Prabhakaran,

Namaste. Please refer the previous mail in connection with Ista and Mantra. Visti had a question about usage of Mantra addressing Kartikeya as Ista. Sanjay had stated that he preferred Ista to be Sowmya and that if Kartikeya Mantra is to be given, then an additional beeja relating to removal of poison may be added.

Now we see a mail coming up in the form of a 'Dakshinamoorthy Shloka' by Narasimha(Mars). i was wondering the way the Almighty carefully takes up each wave of vibration and strokes it affectionately!

Mars is extremely comfortable in South/dakshin. Makara is the exaltation sthana of Mars where dakshinayana ends and uttarayana begins. Makara is the kshetra where Guru expresses himself through Mars. Mars reminds me of
Dakshinamoorthy. You may feel as to why Yama should be linked to Dakshinamoorthy! Yama the controller is dharmaswaroopi. Gyana means complete transformation(8th house related activity - Vimsamsa).

Rath: The Kalachakra directions are based on *who blocks what* or on *who controls what*. Thats what Kala is all about. The NE direction has the digbala of Jupiter whereas Rahu sits in the NE doorway in the Kalachakra. So naturally Rahu's job is to block the access or path to Guru. Similarly Mars has the digbala or fighting and killing strength (Mrityu is the son of Mars) in the southern direction and the God of Peace Jupiter/Guru has the power to block or control this destruction and is made to sit in the southern direction. This powerful form of the Guru that blocks death and destruction is Dakshinamurthy and this is not Mars but Jupiter.

Yama is not linked to Dakshinamurthy in any way to the best of my knowledge. Yama is the God of death and is linked to Saturn and as you have pointed out this direction is also linked to the sign Capricorn which ruled burial grounds and burning ghats for dead bodies. Hence Yama is linked to southern direction due to the *sign* Capricorn which rules the places for the dead. Similarly Indra the king of the Gods sits in the eastern direction as Mesha (Aries) is the Royal sign of the natural zodiac and the king must sit here in the eastern direction.

In conclusion, Dakshinamurthy is the Guru bala of the Kalachakra to block the digbala of Mars and Yama is linked to saturn through the sign Capricorn. Indra is linked to the eastern direction due to Arieswhich is the royal sign.



Karma-dahana(burning of karmas) paves the way for Gyana. Mars sits outside the dakshinayana boundary while Guru(Sadasiva) sits outside the Uttarayana boundary. One can visualise this easily. Guru is debilitated in Makara. This is akin to the embrace of Sadasiva and Skanda and an upliftment of Skandha. In kataka you will see Skandha existing in the third eye of the Lord as a 'tilaka'. Third eye is the origin/womb (garbha) of Agniputra. Makara is the expression of Agni.

Skanda gave explanation for Pranava and was called as Sivagurunathan. This does not mean that the Almighty Sadasiva who is the cause doesnot know the meaning of Pranava. This was done to honour the Agniputra Skanda by
conferring upon him the Gurutwa. Skandha who was handed the Velayudha by MA Parasakthi did not kill the asura Surapadma but transformed him. The physiology of the asura ofcourse underwent a change. One half became
Kukutta(cock) and the other half became Mayura(peacock). The cock(AK/ahankara { concept of 'I'} of the asura) took up a place in the dwaja(flag) while the peacock(mamakara (concept of 'mine'}became his vahana/vehicle.

Rath:Yes thats right. I may add that Kartikeya is Sivagurunathan due to the Mahavakya's he spoke of (refer Shiva Purana). Thats why Kukuti vrata and Mayuri vrata...ok it fits wonderfully into the Bagala tantra and Somanatha (head of Shiva).


If Subrahmanya is considered as the sarpa/snake then he is the highest form of Sarpa known as Kundalini.

Rath: Thats for all deities, lets not get carried away.

Kundalini jagran is for the seeker who has the vairaghya. Here in comes the brilliance of Sanjay where he feels that Mantras are not mere sounds. Mantras are meant for transformation. This Subramanya invocation is sure to
give results.

When the Guru who is to give the mantra is not ready yet then the mantra is not to be given. i feel this is the message which Sanjay wanted to convey.

There is so much to say in this but the mail is becoming lengthier.

Rath: Go on Ram, you are speaking sense. People insisting on mantras like bargaining for bread is a sad state.

Mantra is a spontaneous exuberance of pranic shakti of a fellow traveller called *guru* that follows the churning of karmic ocean by the 54 devas and 54 asuras knotting the kundalini snake around the heart lotus mountain within our bodies. So many actors are involved in here that it cannot be controlled. Unless Shiva has drunk the poison, how can the nectar come. Thats why I was suggesting that the poison destroying bijaksara (seed syllable) be added to the mantra of Skanda so that the native can at first have the poison destroyed and then alone come to the light of amrita that is being distributed by Mohini. Incidentally the name *mohini* is from Moha and has the kaama bijakshara as the giver of amrita - kliiM.


To sum up, if one is able to identify his Ista through a Guru in a graha then the navagraha becomes a anugraha/blessing. The jyotisha should necessarily consult his Ista before giving the Ista devatha mantra. Ista devatha Mantras are not mere sounds and are meant for transformation(8th house)/complete knowledge.

Rath: Yes I insist on this. He who has the light can give light, and our light can come from our Ista devata only. The eighth house you mention is a secret I have kept for sometime. Most of the dvadasakshari mantra are of the
type *om namo bhagavate vaasudevaaya* - 4 words, 12 akshara and mantra devata is in 8th house. Thats the key to transformation.


Last but not the least Mars has the power and potency to bring back the jeeva to this jambudweepa(mrityu loka - this means whether it is Saylorsborg or it is Mmubai everything comes under Jambudweepa) with a sole intention of
driving the jeeva to completley realise the helpless state of Ahankara. The moment the jeeva thinks that he is supreme and that another world exist(other than Sivasakthi) you are brought to this dweepa/island and till you realise the
parents(original) you are retained here. The moment you realise, your asuric qualities are converted into a vahana and the ahankara converts itself into flag of wisdom and the upward surge(rasing) takes place.

Kartikeya is a task master indeed.

Sorry for the length.

Best wishes.

Astrologically & spiritually yours,
p.s.ramanarayanan.

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Pranaam Sanjay and Rama Narayanan,

That was an illuminating discussion. The discussion on Kala Chakra is very interesting!

I just want to add my 2 cents regarding the meaning of "Medha Dakshinamurthy".

Dakshina not only means "south" as you are discussing, but it means "right" (opposite of "left") too. Of course, when one faces east, one's right hand side is in the southern direction and that may be why the right hand is called "dakshina hastam".

Medha means intelligence. What is the seat of intelligence? Normally we consider the brain as the seat of intelligence. Dakshinaamurthy is dakshina+amurthy. Amurthy means a formless entity. So "Medha Dakshinaamurthy" may be roughly translated as "the formless entity in the right brain". What is it?

If we study the basics of yoga and modern neuroscience, this can become clearer.

The right half of the brain controls the left part of the nervous system and the left half of the brain controls the right part of the nervous system. There is a cross over in the medulla. Though Lord Medha Dakshinamurthy's name is associated with the right side (dakshina), he is depicted as sitting with his left (vaama) leg up.

Modern science says that structured logic is performed by the left half of the brain and inutition and unstructured logic is performed in the right half of brain. That may be why left-handed cricket batsmen tend to look more free-flowing, intuitive and elegant (e.g. David Gower, WV Raman, Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly etc). The nervous reflexes associated with left part of the body (and hence the right brain) are used by them more pre-dominently and hence the reflexes are more intuitive.

In Yoga, the nervous channels of Pingala and Ida are associated with fire and water (Sun and Moon). In terms of modern terminology, they correspond to sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. One system plays a stimulating (fiery) role and the other plays a soothing (watery) role. Structured logic is fiery in nature and unstructured intuition is watery in nature.

Medha Dakshinamurthy is depicted as a guru who teaches without speaking a word. He sits in jnaana mudra in silence and knowledge comes automatically. This seems to point at the intuition within us, which taps to the universal source of knowledge! This intuition that contributes to unstructured learning is "the formless entity of the right brain" and it gives us knowledge thru silence. Medha Dakshinamurthy is stationed in our right brain as the formless entity called intuition and teaches us everything.

Lord Medha Dakshinamurthy is often portrayed as teaching to four youthful sons of Brahma, who epitomize spiritual purity - Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanatkumara. These are the rulers of the four chaturthamsas of signs (like dasa dikpalakas for dasamsa). I have always felt that Chaturthamsa (D-4) is not used to its fullest by most astrologers. Chaturthamsa shows "bhagya" according to Parasara. If one restricts "bhagya" to the residence, one cannot understand why chaturthamsas are ruled by these four Kumaras. Anyway, I will write my thoughts on what these four Kumaras symbolize and also the chaturthamsa links in an email later.

One thought before I finish. Many beejaksharas (seed syllables) used in mantras have rakaara or lakaara, which activate/feed the sympathetic and parasympathetic channels. Ra is fiery and La is watery. For example, "Kreem" and "Kleem" have totally different purposes, though they are very similar. Similarly, "Shreem" and "Shleem" have totally different purposes. Ancient Hindu sages and Yogis carefully studied and chronicled the impact of various sounds on various subtle energy channels. Today, people look at mantra sastra as some kind of magic that helps one fulfil cheap material desires and they forget the most essential basics of mantra sastra. The ultimate purpose of mantra and tantra is to control oneself and rise spiritually.

Let me end this rather long-winding rambling with a beejakshara that can activate the right brain. Try meditating on the beeja "dhleem" in jnaana mudra for a few hours and you'll see the difference!

May Jupiter's light shine on us,
Narasimha