Balinese Vedic Heritage (4)

Om suryatidam nirmalam satatam| candramrtvat
sakalam| sa sadasiva sa suryam idapyam
jagatvam| brahma surya surya prabhavam|
mahesvaram mahadevam sambhu sankaras ca
sivam sadasivam paramasivam| tava suksmam
paramgataya tava sa surya| padmanabha
narayana indram suryaprakasam| catur-bhumim
asamam asisam krstam sukham sajanam|
sthavarajangamam lata vrksa sapraroham mrga
prajadhipati| om sivam sarva sakala maranam|
nada vindvam bhaskaram omkaram ekaksaram|
kalagnika-suryam tryaksara angam panca
brahmanam dvyaksaram| narayanaskanda
ganapati kumarastri siva surya sa etad
atharvaveda sirodhite.
Om this is the eternal illuminating pure sun,
the soothing ray emanating moon. The Sun of
Sadasiva, the cosmic Brahma sun, the all
shining sun, The Great Master (Mahesvara),
The Great Lord (Mahadeva), The Self born One
(Sambhu), The Attractive One (Sankara), The
Auspicious (Siva), The Ever Auspicious
(Sadasiva), The Most Auspicious (Paramasiva),
The Subtlest One (Suksma), The Sun of highest
ultimate goal (paramgata). The Sun of the Lord
with lotus-like navel (Padmanabha), sustainer
of the whole universe (Narayana), and the King
of all kings (Indra). Without parallel in the
fourteen worlds, the blissful Lord of saintly
persons, humans, animals, trees, vines, and
other creatures. The highest Lord of all beings
(Prajadhipati). The most auspicious Om, the
end of everything, the lustrous nada and bindu
of the Single Syllable Om. The fire of the Sun of
the time. Embodiment of three syllables, five
Brahmas, and two syllables. The Supreme
Narayana, Skanda, Ganapati, Kumara, Devi,
Siva, and Surya. Thus the head meaning of
Atharvaveda has been studied.

Note: This Sirah describing the truths of
mystical meditation with Sun as the object,
representing Sriman Narayana, The Spiritual
Supreme Sun. In one sense, I saw this Sirah as
expansion of Brahma-gayatri. I am
recommending you to read Srimad Pejavar
Swamiji’s (H.H. Sri Vishwesa Tirtha
Sripadangalavaru) commentary on Gayatri-
mantra and Gayatri-mahima-madhuri of Srimad
Mahanidhi Swamiji, for better understanding
about this Narayana-Sun concept. This Sirah
also has Tantric colour. Mantra meditation
takes elaborately by Tantra-sastra. The Balinese
Vaishnavism and Saivism focused on older form
of Tantric worship. They don’t stress primarily
on Deity worships such in common Vaishnava-
agama-sastra (Pancaratra or Vaikhanasa), or
Saiva-agama-sastra. They have combine form of
Tantra path and Vedic path of elaborate
sacrificial ritual. For daily worship, they don’t
use installed Deities or even salagramam as an
object of devotion and meditation, but it was
the Sun. They saw their beloved Deity in the
sun. Then they invoked the same Deity into
Kumbha or Kalasha. The Balinese today have no
Deity worship, but they still maintain this
Kumbha-puja. Some centuries ago, all the sects
of Panchopasana-devata (Surya, Devi, Ganapati,
Siva, Vishnu, and also Skanda) was exist in Bali,
but after the disappearance of other not so
popular sects, these forms of worship only
perform by both minor Vaishnavites and
Saivites Brahmins who built the majority and
was believed has absorbed all kind of other
devata’s worships into its fold. This kind of
Tantric worship, made Balinese have their own
agama, centred on Sun. So for the spiritual
need of laymen, a fifteenth century famous
Saiva High Priest from Java, called Dvijendra,
came to Bali after the fall of Bilvatikta by
Islamic forces, and organized the installation of
Padmasana Collumn, The Lotus Throne of The
Sun, in Balinese temples. This kind of worship
also has resemblance with Khamba- worships in
Orissa or Pillar-like form of Lord Sudarshana in
Puri Jagannath. May be all these practises in
Bali were based on the authority of our
Atharvaveda Sirah.
Another things that take my concern is the case
of aksaras that interpreted differently by me
and some other friends. Unfortunately in Bali
we have no more authoritative Tika or Bhasya
for this Atharvaveda Sirah. My view is a
Vaishnavite one. So Ekakshara means Omkara,
no doubt. Tryaksara referred to Am-kara, Um-
kara, and Ma-kara. Panca-brahma-aksara, in
accordance with the previous Sirah means Na-
Ra-Ya-Na-Ya. Dvyaksara were Na-Ma. Sri
Parasara Bhattar’s Astasloki is recommended
reading in this regard. So I understand this
Sirah as representing Lord Narayana in His
Astaksara-mantra and as Antaryami of the Sun.
My Saiva friend agree with my Ekaksara and
Tryaksara, silent about Dvyaksara, but
different on Panca-brahma. He said they were
Na-Ma-Si-Va-Ya, representing the five form of
Lord Sadasiva (Tat Purusa, Vamadeva,
Sadyojata, Aghorasiva, and Ishana) and then
wholly referred to Paramasiva-mantra. Then
my Vajrayana Buddhist friend also agrees with
my ekaksara and tryaksara. But the Panca-
brahma means the mantra of five-dhyani
(Vairochana, Amogasiddhi, Aksobhya,
Ratnasambhava, and Amitabha). Dvyaksara
were Am-Ah, the syllables of Advaya-tattva,
The Buddha Divarupa or Mahavairochana, and
Advaya-jnana, The Buddha Womb
Prajnaparamita. It is interesting to know that
from these Sirah came some Tantric thoughts.
Then from this Tantric view, we have different
forms of Supreme Deity. But the most
interesting is, the three lineages of hereditary
Brahmins, Vaishnavite, Saivite, and Tantric
Buddhist, still exist in Bali today.