The Aṅga-Pradakṣiṇa Namaskāra Vinyāsa (Sequence)
After reminding us that all Namaskāra sequences are simultaneously engaged physically (kāyikā), mentally (manasā), and vocally (vācakā) [18]. Nīlakaṇṭha briefly references all of the Vīraśaiva Tantras as sources for his summary of this ‘Aṅga-Pradakṣiṇa’ Namaskāra practice, the third and final of three Namaskāra sequences engaged at the respective daily sandhyās or transitional junctures of the sun. We now turn to Nīlakaṇṭha’s well-detailed Tantric sources, much of which is taken from a detailed description of postures found in two Vīraśaiva texts in particular, the Aṃśu Tantra (chapter 51) and to a lesser extent the Ajita Tantra (chapter 76).
To my knowledge, no source text has yet been traced by scholars to any Namaskāra sequence of any kind, despite the fact that these movement meditation practices are ubiquitous throughout the Tantric corpus and form an essential part of the daily yoga sādhana prescribed in all Tantric lineages.
As mentioned, Both of these Vīraśaiva Tantras call this Namaskāra sequence the aṅga-pradakṣiṇa-vidhiḥ, the ‘ritualized sequence’ (vidhi) of engaging ‘the body (aṅga) in a series of forward movements’ (pradakṣiṇa) which complete a circle. In this case, each posture seems to be an exact mirror opposite of its opposing pose, all of which represent parts of a circle, or of the lunar orb waxing through the first set of eight poses and waning through the last set of eight, with the first and ninth postures representing the new and full moon, respectively. Our two Tantras tell us that this sequence culminates when the yogin has taken on the daṇḍa-namaskāra, the full prostration upon the ground, performed with the two arms of the yogin drawn forward in añjali mudrā, which follows the eight-body part daṇḍa pose (aṣṭāṅga namaskāra) [19]. The Aṃśu Tantra equates this with the ninth pose (navamaṃ) enumerated here in our aṅga-pradakṣiṇa Namaskāra sequence [20]. The process of rising off the ground following the full prostration is aligned with the passage into the zodiac sign of Taurus (vṛṣabha), which heralds forth the advent of Spring, or re-birth. This is in keeping with a common Tantric trope in which the flow of the 12 months of the year are superimposed upon the twelve poses of the morning Namaskāra sequence [21].
The ninth posture is described as extending from the shape of an embryo (garbha) into that of prostrate staff. How one moves from the eighth pose into a daṇda-prostration is likely be via a squat-like pose (paryaṅkāsana), indicative of a woman giving birth, similar to posture #9 depicted above. For jumping back from a paryaṅka(squat) posture into a prostrate position, followed by the drawn-in posture of an embryo, is frequently indicated in the Namaskāra prescriptions found throughout the Tantras. In any event, the Aṃśu Tantra tells us that each position in the sequence centers on the culminating ninth posture as an ‘embryo-based’ mini-postural sequence, one which includes fully prostrate daṇḍavat pose, [22] a point made even more explicit in the Ajita Tantra [23].
The Aṃśu names eight other postures of this sequence in the order performed. The first is the savya (‘to the right’) posture, the second is the apasavya (‘to the left’) posture, the third is the savyāpasavya (‘right-left’ posture), the fourth is the cakra (‘circle’) posture, the fifth is the padma (‘lotus’) posture, the sixth is the siṃha (‘lion’) posture, the seventh is the śṛṅkhala (‘horn’ or ‘tusk’) posture, and the eighth is the nāga (‘snake’) posture [24]. As depicted in modern illustrations of the Chandra Namaskāra sequence, as the Aṅga-Pradakṣiṇa sequence is known today, each, as mentioned, is replicated by its mirror opposite in order to complete the full descending and ascending series comprising this ‘cakra-vinyāsa’ (‘circle-sequence’) [25]. These eight poses begin and end at the ‘direction of Indra’ (East - indrādi cendra-paryantaṃ), and follow the elliptical movements of a bee in that they simultaneously may traverse the horizontal axis governed by the eight directions with the vertical axis, indicated by the ninth and tenth directions, that is to say ‘upwards and downwards’ [26]. For the first and second poses, we are simply told that from an initial standing position, one (leans) to the right, and then to the left, respectively, which seems likely to be the movements which are today called 'crescent moon' poses [27]. For subsequent postures, the author indicates the focal point of the pose with the word ‘prāsāda’, or grace offering, as the body, previously charged with mantras, is now understood to be the moving vehicle of Śiva’s grace.
Shiva Rea pictured moving through a version of the Chandra Namaskāra sequence as seen in Yoga Journal, 2012
Next, one engages the third posture called the ‘right-left’ pose (savyāpasavya). Here, the ‘prāsāda’ or focal point is the heart center from wherein one’s left and right sides draw into a point of balance. This is indicative of the somasūtra employed in Indian rituals (below) where the liṅgam receives the bath of ghee through a receiving copper pipe, which represents the suṣumnā nāḍī through which one draws down the nectar of immortality (amṛta) from the crown lotus. Thus we can see how the body is literally understood as the physical manifestation of the maṇḍala. In other Tantric sources, such as the 16th century Tattvacintāmaṇī of Pūrṇānanda, this is called 'Durgā Pose,' and is described as 'six-cornered' (ṣaṭkoṇa) posture. A standing squat pose with tarms raised, the six corners' are the hands, feet, and the knees. 'Durgā' is the name by which this 'savyāpasavya' posture is still known today.
āgneyīñca tato gatvā namaskāraḥ prakīrtitaḥ | ṣaṭkoṇākhyo namaskāro durgāyāḥprītidāyakaḥ || -Tattvacintāmaṇi of Pūrṇānanda, 16th century, p. 717
The next posture is the Chakra Pradakṣiṇa, the 'forward movement of the wheel' or 'circle' posture. That this posture segues directly from the former is obvious, for we are told that in this movement one engages a ‘staff’ or stick-straightening vinyāsa(vaṃśa vinyaset). This entails standing straight up (sthitvā) by way of the peak of the head (śirordhve), presumably as one straightens out each limb (as a straight ‘staff’) from the prior pose so that a circle (cakra) may now be drawn around the extended parts of the body (pose #4). [28]. The Tattvacintāmaṇi (16th century) knows this as the 'Triangle-shaped pose (trikoṇavat)', perhaps because the lower half of the body, with the legs straight and the feet spread apart, resembles a triangle. Today this posture is often called the 'Star Pose.'
dakṣiṇād vāyavīṃ gatvā diśaṃ tasyaś ca śāmbhavīm | tato'pi dakṣiṇāṃ gatvānamaskāras-trikoṇavat || -Tattvacintāmaṇi of Pūrṇānanda, 16th century, p. 717
Next is another standing pose that the Aṃśu Tantra calls padma-pradakiṇa, or ‘moving right (clockwise) around the lotus, as the yogin now leans to the right towards the central mūrti of the maṇḍala. Thus, one is engaging movement of the arms through a circular rotation which, we are told, simulates the circumambulation of a bee around the petals of a lotus (bhṛṅgavad-bhramaṇaṃ). The reference here is to the full rotation of the arms in a circle, half of which will be experienced in poses 4-5, the other half in poses 13-14. The movement enumerated through poses 4 and 5 represents the first half of the circle, or half-moon. Poses 13 and14 represent the other half, coming full circle. These four postures reflect the circling of a bee completely around the petals of the lotus, and through all eight directions on the compass (aṣṭa-dig-bhramaṇaṃ) [29]. In other words, the ‘prāsāda’ offering is the pathway traced by the extended arms via the first and second padma-pradakṣiṇa poses (#5, #13) together. In pose #5, the arms rotate in a vertical half-circle, covering the first four directions on the compass, while the other four directions are traversed in pose #13, the mirror opposite of pose #5, delineating a full rotation traversed by the arms. Incidentally, the Tattvacintāmaṇi calls this posture the 'Half-Moon' pose (ardha-candram), which is not surprising (p. 717).
Next is the sixth pose, the ‘lion’ (siṃha-pradakṣiṇaṃ). Here, we are told that the 'prāsāda' point of focus is the joint of the neck (kṛkā), from which añjali mudrā is offered to the earth, with the two feet spread apart from each other. One is to extend añjali while lowering (patita) in the direction of the ‘fire,’ meaning towards the center of the maṇḍala or along one out-stretched leg; since, we are told, the two feet are spread apart from each other. For the opposite pose (#12) the feet are reversed [30]. This is followed by the ‘tusk’ or ‘horn’ posture (śṛṅkhala-pradakṣiṇa), the seventh pose, which entails a partial rotation (ābhramaṇa) of the body from the prior pose, wherein one comes into this position with the hips (kaṭi) lowered as the point of offering (añjali) towards the earth. The hip is the focal point of the body’s curvature, wherein one forms the shape of an elephant’s tusk, reminiscent of the crescent moon, for poses 7 and 11 [31].
Finally, for the 8th posture called the 'snake' (nāga-cakra), we are told that the feet and the fingertips of either hand are placed in such a way that the practitioner takes on the ‘shape of the rim of a wheel’ [32]. This pose is better explained by the Vidyārṇava Tantra, which provides supplemental detail to the Aṃśu Tantra’s description. It reports that the ‘Mantra Master’ (mantrī) or Tantric Yogin should ‘perform the sequence of Ananta’ (anantaṃ vinyasen mantrī) the multi-hooded serpent upon which Viṣṇu sleeps, for whom the pose is probably named [33].
One is to pivot forward out of the prior pose, so that the toes of the left foot point draw upward ‘in the direction of Īśāna (Northeast),’ as the crown of the head (brahmarandhra) draws up towards Brahmā, meaning straight upward, as depicted in pose #8. The Vidyārṇava appears to skip the ‘embryo’ sub-sequence described for the transitional ninth pose (described above), one which includes a full prostration upon the earth followed by the ‘eight body-part’ pose (aṣṭāṅga namaskāra), instead linking the eighth and tenth poses in a singular, sweeping movement. The flowing movement between the two, as presented by the Vidyārṇava, is quite reminiscent how a pair of poses is taught by Shiva Rea (pictured left) in her ‘Chandra Namaskāra’ sequence, called ‘Spontaneous Flowing Half-Squat’ (sahaja-ardha-mālāsana). For the Vidyārṇava similarly prescribes that one should transition between the 8th pose directly into the 10th, which represents the mirror image of the 8th. This movement is led by the left hip (sphik), with one’s back facing upward, while the fingertips of both hands are drawn towards the right side (dakṣāṃsa-pṛṣṭha pāṇy-agra), presumably along the ground. The furthest extent of this movement is denoted when the toes of the right foot turn upward.
The Vidyārnava tells us that by effecting these two sweeping, interconnected ‘Ananta’ poses (numbers 8 and 10), one manifests the square shape of mūlādhāra[34]. This is perhaps clarified by the Aṃśu Tantra, which reports that by performing this mirroring pair of poses, one manifests the squared shape of the svastika – which comes to light if poses #8 and #10 are superimposed upon each other [35].
