40. Above all these, in the vacant space wherein is Shankhinii Naadii, and below Visarga is the Lotus of a Thousant Petals [i.e., the Sahasraara]. This Lotus, lustrous and whiter than the full Moon, has its head turned downward. It charms. Its clustered filaments are tinged with the color of the young Sun. Its body is luminous with the letters beginning with A, and it is absolute bliss [kevalaananda-ruupam].

41. Within the Saharaara is the full Moon, without the mark of the hare [i.e. the "Man in the Moon"], respendant as in a clear sky. It sheds its rays in profusion, and is moist and cool like nectar. Inside it, the Candra Mandala, constantly shing like lightning, is the Triangle and inside this, again, shines the Great Void [Shuunya; i.e. the Parabindu], which is served in secret by all the Suras [i.e. Deities].

42. Well concealed, and attainable only by great effort, is that subtle Bindu [Shuunya], which is the chief root of Liberation and which manifests the pure Nirvaana-Kalaa with Amaa-Kalaa. Here is the Deva who is known to all as Parama-Shiva. He is the Brahman and the Aatmaa of all beings. In Him are united both Rasa and Virasa, and He is the Sun which destroys the darkness of ignorance [ajnaana] and delusion [moha]. [A Shakta commentary adds, "His beloved is the lustrous One [i.e., Shakti] who may be gained with difficulty by the Brahman Road (brahma-vartma). The Para-Brahman is but the effulgence of Her lotus feet." Other commentaries place both Shakti and Shiva as one and the same as the aspirant's Guru.]

43. By shedding a constant and profuse stream of nectar-like essence, the Bhagavaan instructs Yatis [i.e. those whose minds are unified with the object of their worship] of pure mind in the knowledge by which they realize the oneness of the Jiivaatmaa and the Paramaatmaa. He pervades all things as their Lord, who is the ever-flowing and spreading current of all manner of blass, known by the name of Hamsah Parama, or Parama-hamsah.

44. The Shaivas call it the Abode of Shiva; the Vaishnavas call it Parama Purusa; still others call it the the place of Hari-Hara [Vishnu and Shiva combined into a single form]. Those who are filled with a passion for the Lotus feet of the Devi call it the excellent Abode of Devi; and other great sages [Munis] call it the pure place of Prakriti-Purusa [i.e., Shakti-Shiva].

45. Those most excellent persons who have controlled their minds [citta] and known this place are never again born in the Wandering [Samsaara; the world of birth and rebirth], as there is nothing in the three worlds which binds them. Their minds being controlled and their aim achieved, they possess complete power to do all that they wish, and to prevent that which is contrary to their will. They ever move toward the Brahman. Their speech, whether in prose or verse, is ever pure and sweet.

46. Here is the excellent sixteenth Kalaa of the Moon [i.e. Amaa-Kalaa; see Verse 42 above - DB]. She is pure, and resembles the young Sun in color. She is as thin as the hundredth part of a fiber in the stalk of a lotus. She is lustrous and soft like ten million lightning flashes, and is downturned. She is the receptacle of the stream of excellent nectar which comes from the blissful union of Para and Paraa [i.e. Shiva and Shakti].

47. Inside Amaa-Kalaa is Nirvaana-Kalaa [again referring back to Verse 42 above - DB], more excellent than the excellent. She is as subtle as the thousandth part of the end of a hair, and of the shape of the crescent moon. She is the ever-existant Bhagavatii [Goddess], who is the Deity who pervades all beings. She grants divine knowledge, and is lustrous as the light of all the suns shining at one and the same time.

48. In the middle of the Nirvaana-Kalaa shines the Supreme and Primordial Nirvaana-Shakti; She is lustrous like ten million suns, and is the Mother of the three worlds. She is extremely subtle, like the ten-millionth part of the end of a hair. She contains within Her the constantly flowing stream of happiness [prema], and is the life of all beings. She graciously carries the knowledge of the Truth [Tattva] to the minds of the sages.

49. Within Her is the everlasting place called the Abode of Shiva [according to Vishvanaatha, "the Unmanii state of Shakti, where there is neither kaala (time) nor kalaa (space)" - DB], which is free from Maayaa, attainable only by Yogiis, and known by the name of Nityaananda. It is replete with every form of bliss, and is pure knowledge itself. Some call it the Brahman; others call it the Hamsa. The wise describe it as the Abode of Vishnu, and the righteous speak of it as the ineffable place of knowledge of the Aatmaa, or the Place of Liberation. [As the Padma-Puraana puts it, "Shaivas, Sauras, Ganeshas, Vaishnavas and Shaktas, all verily come to me like rain water to the ocean." - DB].

"Above the end of the Susumna Nadi is the Lotus of a Thousand Petals; it is white and has its head downward turned; its filaments are red. The 50 letters of the alphabet from A to La, which are also white, go round and round its thousand petals 20 times. On its pericarp is Hamsah, and above it is the Guru, who is Parama-Shiva Himself. Above the Guru are the Suurya and Candra Mandalas, and above them Mahaavaayu. Over the latter is placed Brahmarandhra, and above it Mahaa-shankhinii.

"In the Mandala of the Moon is the lightning-like triangle within which is the 16th Kalaa of the Moon, which is fine as the hundredth part of the lotus fiber, and of a red color, with its mouth turned downward. In the lap of this Kalaa is the Nirvaana-Kalaa, subtle like the thousandth part of the end of a hair, also red and with mouth downward turned. Below Nirvaana-Kalaa is the Fire called Nibodhikaa, which is a form of Avyakta-naada. Above Nibodhikaa and within Nirvaana-Kalaa is Para-Bindu, which is both Shiva and Shakti. The Shakti of this Para-Bindu is the Nirvaana-Shakti, wo is Light [Tejas] andd exists in the form of Hamsah, and is subtle like the ten-millionth part of the end of a hair. That Hamsah is Jiiva. Within the Bindu is the void (Shuunya) which is the Brahma-pada (place of the Brahman).