kāvyakaṇṭha vāsiṣṭha śrī gaṇapati muni viracitam umāsahasram
Uma Sahasram
aṣṭatriṃśaḥ stabakaḥ - pādākulakavṛttam
The thirty-eighth Stabaka, entitled **Daśamahāvidyāḥ — “The Ten Great Wisdom-Powers”**, presents the Mahāvidyās not as separate goddesses but as **distinct functional manifestations of the one supreme Śakti**. Muni first traces consciousness through the subtle centres—from the heart-lotus to the two-petalled centre, the thousand-petalled lotus, the body and the sensory world—and then describes its inward return. Within this yogic framework he identifies Lalitā, Aindrī/Chinnamastā, Bhadrakālī, Bhairavī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Jyeṣṭhā, Tārā, Mātaṅgī, Bagalā and Kamalā as different modes of the same Divine Power. The title is therefore justified by a distinctly **yogic and philosophical interpretation of the Mahāvidyā tradition**.
A major insight of the Stabaka is that the apparent plurality of these powers arises from **difference of function, not difference of ultimate essence**. Kālī is the power of transformation, Aindrī the concentrated force revealed when the cranial barrier is broken, Bhuvaneśvarī the consciousness spread through objective experience, Jyeṣṭhā the state in which all manifestation is withdrawn, Tārā the *paśyantī* form of Vāk, Mātaṅgī its expressive manifestation through speech, Bagalā the power of arrest or restraint, and Kamalā the outwardly diffused splendour of Śakti. Muni then converts these doctrines into practice, showing how each power may be approached through awareness, prāṇa, silence, udgītha, praise, āsana and inner concentration.
This Stabaka especially demonstrates Muni’s expertise in **Śākta Tantra, Kuṇḍalinī-yoga, Vāk-tattva, subtle-body doctrine and contemplative psychology**. His method is characteristically synthetic: traditional deity-forms are interpreted through direct structures of consciousness and yogic experience rather than treated only iconographically. The brisk **Pādākulaka metre** allows him to present complex correspondences with unusual compactness and clarity. The concluding verse summarizes the whole teaching beautifully: the one Śakti of Parameśvara becomes infinitely manifold, and these verses reveal **both Her many forms and the corresponding paths of worship and realization**.
aṣṭatriṃśaḥ stabakaḥ - pādākulakavṛttam
daśamahāvidyāḥ
dūrīkurutād duḥkhaṃ nikhilaṃ durgāyāstaddarahasitaṃ naḥ ।
racitasyāmbhomṛdbhyaṃ yadabhūllepanamamalaṃ brahmāṇḍasya ॥ 926 ॥
jantau jantau bhuvi khelantī bhūte bhūte nabhasi lasantī ।
deve deve divi dīpyantī pṛthagiva pūrṇā saṃvijjayati ॥ 927 ॥
daharasarojād dvidalasarojam dvidalasarojāddaśaśatapatram ।
daśaśatapatrāddehaṃ dehāt sakalaṃ viṣayaṃ saṃvid vrajati ॥ 928 ॥
vahnijvālā samidhamivaiṣā sakalaṃ dehaṃ saṃvitprāptā ।
pṛthagiva bhūtā vyapagatavīryā bhavati sadhūmā saṃsārāya ॥ 929 ॥
atrānubhavassukhaduḥkhānāmatrāhaṅkṛtiranṛtā bhavati ।
atraivedaṃ sakalaṃ bhinnaṃ pratibhāseta prajñāskhalane ॥ 930 ॥
daśaśatapatrād dvidalasarojam dvidalasarojāddaharasarojam ।
avataratīśā yeṣāmeṣā teṣāmantarnityā niṣṭhā ॥ 931 ॥
athavā dehādāvṛttassannanyatamasyāmāsu sthalyām ।
ādhārasthe kulakuṇḍe vā sthitadhīrnityāṃ niṣṭhāṃ labhate ॥ 932 ॥
daśaśatapatre śaktirlalitā vajravatī sā dvidalasarōje ।
daharāmburuhe bhadrā kālī mūlādhāre bhairavyākhyā ॥ 933 ॥
khelati lalitā dravati sthāne chinnagranthini rājatyaindrī ।
baddhakavāṭe bhadrā kālī tapasā jvalite bhairavyākhyā ॥ 934 ॥
yadyapi kālīvajreśvaryo syātāṃ bhinne iva piṇḍeṣu ।
ojastattvasyaikyādaṇḍe na dvau śakterbhedau bhavataḥ ॥ 935 ॥
evamabhedo yadyapi karmadvaidhāt dvaidhaṃ tatrāpi syāt ।
saiva pacantī bhuvanaṃ kālī saiva dahantī śatrūnaindrī ॥ 936 ॥
piṇḍe cāṇḍe jaṅgamasāraḥ śuddhā prajñā sundaryuktā ।
viṣayadaśāyāṃ deśībhūtā seyaṃ bhuvaneśvaryākhyātā ॥ 937 ॥
śūnyaprakhyā yā cillīnā pralaye brahmaṇi janmiṣu suptau ।
kabalitasakalabrahmāṇḍāṃ tāṃ kavayaḥ śreṣṭhāṃ jyeṣṭhāmāhuḥ ॥ 938 ॥
nidrāvismṛtimohālasyapravibhedaissā bhavamagneṣu ।
eṣaiva syādyuñjāneṣu dhvastavikalpaḥ ko'pi samādhiḥ ॥ 939 ॥
aindrī śaktirvyaktabalā ced bhinne syātāṃ śīrṣakapāle ।
tasmādetāṃ caturavacaskāḥ paribhāṣante chinnaśiraskām ॥ 940 ॥
bhavati parā vāgbhairavyākhyā paśyantī sā kathitā tārā ।
rasanidhimāptā jihvāraṅgaṃ mātaṅgīti prathitā seyam ॥ 941 ॥
piṇḍe cāṇḍe stambhanaśaktirbagalā mātastava mahimaikaḥ ।
sarve vyaktāḥ kiraṇāḥ kamalā bāhyo mahimā bhuvanāmba tava ॥ 942 ॥
bodhe bodhe boddhaśśaktiṃ saṅkalpānāṃ paścādbhāntīm ।
avimuñcanyo manute dhīro yatkiñcidvā lalitāvati tam ॥ 943 ॥
dṛṣṭau dṛṣṭau draṣṭuśśaktiṃ locanamaṇḍalamadhye bhāntīm ।
avimuñcanyaḥ paśyati dhīro yatkiñcidvā tamavatyaindrī ॥ 944 ॥
prāṇasamīraṃ vidadhānamimaṃ nityāṃ yātrāmatra śarīre ।
caraṇe caraṇe pariśīlayati sthiradṛṣṭiryastamavati kālī ॥ 945 ॥
sthūlavikārān parimuñcantyā nirmalanabhasi sthitayā dṛṣṭayā ।
majjantyā vā daharākāśe lokeśvaryāḥ karuṇāṃ labhate ॥ 946 ॥
sarvavikalpān paribhūyāntarvimalaṃ maunaṃ mahadavalambya ।
kevalamekastiṣṭhati yo'ntastaṃ sā jyeṣṭhā kurute muktam ॥ 947 ॥
mūle sthityā bhairavyākhyāṃ tārāṃ devīmudgīthena ।
sevetāryo viditarahasyo mātaṅgīṃ tāṃ guṇagānena ॥ 948 ॥
āsanabandhādacalo bhūtvā ruddhaprāṇo bagalāṃ bhajate ।
abhito vyāptaṃ vyaktaṃ tejaḥ kalayan kamalākaruṇāṃ labhate ॥ 949 ॥
ekavidhādau bahubhedā'tho śaktiranantā parameśasya ।
sabhajanamārgaṃ gaṇapatimuninā pādākulakairevaṃ vivṛtā ॥ 950 ॥