Random Meditations Through Her 1000 Names - XI

Panchatanmatrasayaka - She who holds the five tanmatras as arrows.

Now a question may arise as to if the five bhutas (akasa, vayu, agni, jala and prithvi) are nothing but similar to the five elements in other philosophies like Greek. In fact, pre-Christian Greek tradition did speak of the five elements which has been discarded as crude initial steps into science. So, how can the five tanmatras associated with the five ‘bhutas’ be any different?

The deity who emerges from the bow is Mantrini . She is described in texts as the dark coloured Shyamala. She as Matangi has a tribal form. Her ear rings are made of dried palm leaves and she wears wild flowers. Being associated with music, the chariot she rides has seven layers and makes music as it moves. The deity who manifests from the arrows of tanmatras is Dandanatha who rides the kirichakra. Kiri is the wild boar. Either the chariot is boar shaped or it can be considered as pulled by the boars. This chariot is five layered. Later she kills Vsukra - the asura of inimical illumination. Mantrini carries veena the string musical instrument.

In the Western culture, the relation between music and physical universe has a long history. It is traced back to the idea of ‘music of spheres’ of Pythagoras (570-490 BCE). Pythagoras asserted that this is a music that could not be heard physically. Brian L Silver, in his acclaimed book on the history of both science and philosophy of science, sees in this 'an echo here of the ancient Hindu belief that, apart from audible sound, there was an 'unstruck sound' inaudible to man.' (‘Ascent of Science’, Oxford University Press, 2000).

Thus, the four names from eight to eleven make the Goddess the embodiment of the physical participatory musical universe we live in and also makes us meditate on Her further.