The Journal of Hindu Studies Volume Issue 2014 (Doi 10.1093/jhs/hiu023) Stephen, M. - The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

The Journal of Hindu Studies Advance Access published July 7, 2014
The Journal of Hindu Studies 2014;138
doi:10.1093/jhs/hiu023
The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

Michele Stephen*
Independent scholar
*Corresponding author: michelestephen63t@gmail.com
The term yoga has become part of Western popular culture and carries its own
particular meanings in that context. In Bali today one comes across all kinds of
yoga, most of it coming from outside sources and geared to tourist needs and
tastes. Balinese interest in this imported yoga is attested to in the many popular
publications on the topic in Indonesian to be found in supermarkets and books
shops throughout the island. At the same time, yoga is a term that occurs in
Balinese contexts removed from these recent Western influences, most saliently
in the Balinese written tradition of sacred texts. Confusion inevitably arises over
the use of the term yoga, even amongst Balinese themselves, since not only is
the term used quite differently in these different contexts, but also because the
yoga referred to in the Balinese lontar texts was, and still is, essentially esoteric and
secret knowledge not available to the general populace. In other words, the majority of Balinese, i.e. those who are not able to read the texts which are written in
languages no longer spoken, are themselves confused as to what is the nature of
the yoga referred to in the Balinese scriptures, and how it might relate to the ideas
and practices described as yoga by the foreigners who come seeking it in Bali. I
examine here a group of esoteric practices, which clearly predate modern reformism, showing that they constitute nothing less than the backbone of a distinctively
Javano-Balinese yoga grounded in Tantric doctrines derived from South Asia.
Ten sacred letters (dasaksara),1 together with the ongkara (O:) form the basis of
various mystic and contemplative practices described in Balinese lontar texts usually categorised as tutur. Although the dasaksara are not unknown in the literature,
the practices based on them are much richer, more extensive, more cohesive, and
more deeply grounded in philosophical and ritual elements deriving from South
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Abstract: In Bali today one encounters many kinds of yoga, most of it coming
from outside sources and geared to tourist needs and tastes. At the same time,
yoga is a term that occurs in Balinese contexts far removed from these Western
influences, most saliently in the Balinese tradition of sacred texts. This article
focuses on a group of esoteric practices based on the ten sacred syllables
(dasaksara), showing that such practices clearly predate modern reform movements and constitute nothing less than the back bone of a distinctly JavoBalinese yoga grounded in Tantric doctrines derived from South Asia.
Asia, than has so far been acknowledged or, I think, even recognised by Western
scholars.2 This article examines these practices, discusses their uses, and points to
elements that clearly derive from Tantric Saivism.3 My aim is not to identify
specific Sanskritic or South Asian texts as the sources of the Balinese material
a task that must await future research by textual scholarsbut rather to identify
commonalities in symbolic patterns and modes of thought. I will, however, draw
attention to certain striking parallels with the Linga P+ra>a that might indicate a
common textual source or actual derivation.
The Balinese yoga texts
Although the dasaksara are referred to in many Balinese lontar, these texts remain
largely unknown and inaccessible to Western scholars. Acri (2006, 2011a, 2011b,
2013) has recently drawn attention to the key importance of two categories of
lontar texts, the tutur and tattva, pointing out that these provide nothing less than
the basis for a Balinese scriptural corpus. Although a few tattva have been translated into English (Acri 2011b, p. 153), the tutur and the usada textsthose most
often dealing with the dasaksarahave been almost entirely passed over (Stephen
2005, p. 104; Acri 2006, pp. 20809; 2011b, pp. 14349). Transcriptions and translations into Indonesian of several tutur, however, have now been published by
government agencies in Bali,4 indicating their importance in Balinese eyes and
making such material more widely available.
My interest in these obscure texts came about indirectly. As a cultural anthropologist I did not expect when I began research in Bali to have to engage seriously
with textual material, other than what had been published in translation. I soon
found, however, that the Balinese I consulted, regardless of whether they were
simple farmers or educated elite, kept referring me to the lontar texts whenever I
asked about such matters as dreaming and states of consciousness, the topic of my
research. Since the texts clearly constituted the ultimate authority on such matters in Balinese eyes, I felt I had to know something about what they might contain. As little material existed in translation in English, I commissioned a Balinese
scholar expert in Old Javanese, the language of the texts, to translate some for me
into Indonesian. The manuscripts I obtained that referred to dreams and states of
consciousness were almost invariably concerned with magic or with what the texts
themselves described as yoga. Based on my previous work on dreams in
Melanesian cultures (Herdt and Stephen 1989; Stephen 1995), I was not surprised
by the first, but I was intrigued by the latter, as what I then knew about Balinese
culture did not suggest that such played a prominent role prior to modern revisionist trends in Bali. The tutur texts proved to be puzzling, but also fascinating,
and because the material they covered seemed so important yet still largely unknown, I continued to seek them out. If nothing else, I reasoned, they would
provide me with the basis of information on which to question knowledgeable
Balinese. The more I attempted to engage with the lontar texts, the more I began to
Michele Stephen
The Aji Saraswati text

I have chosen to base the discussion here on a transcription and translation into
Indonesian of the Tutur Aji Saraswati6 published by the Dinas Kebudayaan Bali in
2004. This is a comparatively short text comprising three slightly different versions of essentially the same material, with only the last version offering instructions concerning death.7 The material covered in the Aji Saraswati is almost
identical to that contained in the unpublished Siwa Linga Suksma, including the
instructions concerning death; either might have provided the source of the other.
I have chosen to use the published version as it is more easily available and less
realise that without a clearer understanding of them, not only dreams and states of
consciousness but the essential nature of Balinese religion would remain largely
unknown territory, despite all that has been written and published on that topic. I
persisted with the texts, despite the difficulties of dealing with transcriptions and
translations, simply becauseeven in this rough formthey threw so much light
on the social actions I could observe.
In the course of my searches I came across many texts referring to yoga and to
the dasaksara (see Appendix). I found that they fell roughly into two basic groups.
There were those concerned mainly with death, dying, and achieving liberation
(moksa) and those concerned with healing, protection, and obtaining magical
powers. At first I thought I was dealing with quite separate mystical practices
but eventually it became clear that the various texts were describing different
parts of the same practiceone part dealing with uses in life, and the other with
death. Two texts I obtained, Siwa Linga Suksma and Tutur Aji Saraswati,5 focus just on
the dasaksara, providing a description of their nature and origins, and instructions
as to how to use them to achieve health and healing in life, and to achieve moksa at
death. A third text I obtained, the Tutur Tungked Gumi, which deals with the
dasaksara among several other topics, also clearly demonstrates the link between
the rituals to be used in life and those related to death, as does a fourth unpublished text, the Tutur Sayukti.
The specific impetus to explore the dasaksara, and to write this article, came
about as a result of my ethnographic observations of Balinese death rituals
(Stephen 2010). It was when I discovered the ten sacred letters inscribed on symbols of the dead persons body (pangawak) (See Fig. 14) and painted on the shrouds
(kajang) in which the body is wrapped, that I realised they were the same symbols I
had previously seen in written texts and that they appeared to provide a summary
of the yoga expounded there. To check my observations I consulted a number of
Brahmana priests (pedanda), considered to be the experts in such matters, who
confirmed my assumptions that the dasaksara used on these mortuary symbols
were in essence summaries of yoga described in texts. At this point it seemed
worthwhile to return to the texts I had collected and read them from this new
perspective.
. . . yoga was a remounting of those stages through which the absolute poured
itself out to form our manifold universe. This universe was a continuum, a
single reverberation, out of the primal essence that was brahman, down into
subtle (s+kXma) and gross (sth+la) forms of life and matter. All was interconnected, both structurally and materially; and because all being contained a
trace of absolute brahman (in the form of the individual soul, the @tman)
within, all was potentially, and thereby virtually, one with the universal essence. Yogic practice, meditation and insight (jn@na) were the means to realizing, in the gnoseological sense of the word, this inner potential.
It is within such a framework of thought that the Balinese yoga texts need to be
placed.
The Tutur Aji Saraswati covers the following topics, each of which I will discuss in
some detail.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The origins of the dasaksara

Preliminary practices
Visualising the ten letters
Compressing the ten letters to the two
Using the rwa bineda in life;
Dissolving the O: and facing death.
dependent on my interventions. The structure indicates that the text, like many
other lontar, is a collection of notes complied on similar or related topics, presumably copied originally from different manuscripts, the scribe being unwilling to
summarise or synthesise the different accounts. Based on comparison with several
other texts (see Appendix), I consider the Tutur Aji Saraswati as providing a clear,
representative statement of the dasaksara and their uses.
The yogic meditation described in the Aji Saraswati consists in the contracting
of the multiplicity of creation, and the body of the practitioner, to the one
Absolute, O:, often said to be the greatest mantra in all Hinduism (Danielou
1991, p. 39; Flood 1996, p. 222). The process begins with two of the most revered
mantra of Saivism, the pancabrahmans and the m+la-mantra, in Bali referred to as
the panca brahma and the panca tirta (Nala 2006, p. 118). The five syllables
comprising each combine to give rise to the ten (dasa) aksara. The ten letters
are then compressed to the three components of the O:A, U, Mand finally to
O:, until all is absorbed into n@da and Paramasiva. Thus in its basic form, the
practice described in this Balinese text is classically Saiva and Tantric, as will be
immediately apparent to those readers familiar with Saiva philosophy. We are
evidently dealing with the yoga of reabsorption, or laya yoga, whereby the
multiplicity of the created universe is returned to the unity from which it
originated. White (1996, pp. 334) expresses this cosmological view with considerable sensitivity:
Michele Stephen
The origins of the Dasaksara and the cosmic significance of sound
The Aji Saraswati text begins by referring to the origins of the aksara. The ten
letters, it explains, derive from a compression of the 18 letters of the Balinese
syllabary, plus a modre and a swalita character.8 The syllabary itself is divine, the
text shows, emanating from Sang Hyang Sandhirekha (Secret Letter/Sign), who is
stated to be the god of gods, and to be present in the tips of the hair (Aji Saraswati,
p. 29). From Sang Hyang Sandhirekha emerges Ekajalaresi, whose yoga creates
Sang Hyang Rahu.9 Sang Hyang Rahu brings into existence all kala (Skt: k@la), a
term which indicates not only demons and destructive forces in general, but also
time. Then with the emergence of time, Sang Hyang Ketu10 brings into existence
the syllabary consisting of the eighteen letters HA NA CA RA KA DA TA SA WA LA
MA GA BA NGA PA JA YA NYA, adding a swalita and a modre to make a total of
twenty letters.
Since he is identified as the god of gods, Sang Hyang Sandhireka evidently
refers to Paramasiwa, who is the highest level of the godhead and in other
similar texts is said to exist in the human body in the tips of the hair.11
Giving Paramasiwa the title of Holy Secret Letter/Sign (Sang Hyang
Sandhireka) emphasises that the potential for the emergence of the syllabary
is contained in the very highest and most pure point of creation. I am not able
to identify Ekajalaresi, but since he is identical with, or emanates directly from
Paramasiwa, and since the demon time is produced by his yoga, it is clear he
must be a form of Siwa, as it is Siwa/Siva who creates time (Danielou 1991, p.
201).12 The next entity to emerge is Sang Hyang Ketu (Holy Sign) who is attributed with actually bringing the syllabary into being. This indicates that the
letters of the syllabary themselves emerged with the existence of time, and
from the same divine source. Following the logic of the emanation of the
tattva according to Saiva cosmology, these three titlesSandhireka, Ekajalaresi,
Ketushould be understood as referring to different levels of emanation of Siwa,
and can be equated with Paramasiwa, Sadasiwa, and Siwa, or Siwa Guru, titles
more commonly employed in the tutur literature.
To appreciate the implications of such cryptic statements about origins, they
should be placed more generally within the context of Saiva Tantric traditions
concerning sound, the word, and the emanation and reabsorption of the universe. The creative power of sound, and the letters which manifest it, are given
great prominence in Brahmanical thought (Danielou 1991, pp. 3740; Flood 1996,
pp. 22829), and especially in Tantric traditions (Padoux 1990). White (1996, p.
43) refers to the phonematic emanation of the universe that characterises
Tantric speculation. According to Hoens (1979, p. 90), In no human civilization
speculation on sound and word has played such a lasting and important role as
in the Indian culture. Sound plays a key role in theories of how the entire
cosmos emerges from a single point and periodically returns to it. In the
Saiva view, cosmic creation takes place in several orderly stages, each stage of
The process of emanation, related to speech, is variously described depending

on texts and schools; however, it appears generally as unfolding from an initial
luminous vibration or sound (n@da), which is an extremely subtle state of pure
phonic energy, which through a series of transformations will become less
subtle, forming a concentrate or drop (bindu) of sound-energy, from which,
when it divides itself, worlds, humans, and language will come forth. This
creative evolution of the Word is also described as occurring through four
successive stages, or else through the gradual emergence of fifty phonemes
(var>a), the mother energies (m@tPk@) of creation.
Sound, and the letters that represent it, do nothing less than bring into being all
the myriad objects contained in the material world. The letters themselves are
said to be eternal, akXara (Danielou 1991, pp. 23738; Padoux 1990, p. 13): the
same term is employed in the Javano-Balinese texts we are considering. In
Ku>nalina yoga the fifty phonemes/graphemes of the Sanskrit syllabary, representing the total contents of the universe, are depicted on the petals of the lotus
that comprise the six cakras in the human body. As these cakras are pierced by
the roused Ku>nalina, the universe, with its contents, are reabsorbed back along
with the letters into her. Clearly, the idea that the material world is brought into
being, and can be returned to its origins via lettered sound, is central to
Ku>nalina yoga.
Such may not be the source from which the Javano-Balinese texts derive, since
recent research by Acri (2006, 2011a) indicates a Saiddh@ntika origin for them
rather than the non-dualist Kashmiri traditions that are usually associated with
the Ku>nalina yoga described by Padoux and others. Nevertheless, the Balinese
emanation being termed a tattva. The classic Saiva system lists 36 tattva
(Padoux 1990, p. 77), although the actual number varies according to different
sources and traditions (Acri 2011a, p. 427). Creation starts from a pure, undifferentiated, perfect Consciousness termed Paramasiva. The rule of emanation is
that the more subtle entities give rise to more coarse entities, until finally the
original pure Divine Consciousness devolves through many complex steps into
the gross material world (Davis 1991, pp. 435). At the same time, the tattva
may be reabsorbed back into their origins, which provides the logic for the
yoga of reabsorption. Versions of these theories concerning the emanation
and reabsorption of the tattva are known in Bali and are described and
expounded in texts termed tattwa, such as the WPhaspati-tattwa (Acri 2011a,
pp. 61931).
According to the various Tantric traditions, the sound (sabda) that is experienced in the material world is derived from more subtle potentials that precede it
in the process of cosmic emanation. The production of human speech mirrors the
cosmic process (Hoens 1979, pp. 968; Flood 2006, p. 152). Padoux (1990, p. 51)
explains:
Michele Stephen
practices, which have been dubbed Alphabet mysticism by some Western scholars, are evidently grounded in very similar concepts concerning the nature of
sound, speech and the eternal letters. As it is the case in early Saiddh@ntika
Sanskrit literature, the Ku>nalina force is not referred to by name in
the Balinese texts considered, which rather use epithets like amPtasanjawana
the nectar of immortality; nevertheless, the yoga both the Sanskrit and
Balinese sources describe is based on visualising the reabsorption of the letters
of the syllabaryonly in this case it is the letters of the Balinese syllabary.
The next section of the Aji Saraswati text consists of a brief but significant
reference to preliminary yoga practices (Aji Saraswati, p. 29). It states that the
modre character along with nine letters (HA NA CA RA KA DA TA SA WA) become
the dasasila, the Ten Virtuous Form of Conduct, while the swalita and the
nine remaining letters (LA MA GA BA NGA PA JA YA NYA) become the
dasabayu, the Ten Breaths. The two meet and thus give rise to the Ten
Letters (dasaksara). This rather condensed statement needs unpacking to appreciate its import.
The dasasala are defined in the Old Javanese-English Dictionary (Zoetmulder 1982, p.
377), as per the WPhaspati-tatttwa (Sudarshana Devi 1957, p. 106), as the ten kinds
of good conduct and are listed thus:
ahings@
brahmacarya
satya
awyawah@rika
astainya
akrodha
gurususr+X@
sauca
@h@ral@ghawa
apram@da
While noting that the term dasasala does not occur in the South Asian Sanskrit
literature, Nihom (1995, p. 213) identifies the ten kinds of good conduct as the 5
yamas and 5 niyamas listed in the Panc@rthabh@Xya commentary to the
P@supatas+tra, which itself is likely to represent a reelaboration of earlier versions
of the list found in S@nkhya and P@tanjala Yoga texts. Recent studies by Acri
(2011a, pp. 51415, 2013, pp. 245) have also explored and confirmed these parallels. Furthermore, as Nihom (1995, p. 211) observes, the WPhaspati-tattwa explicitly sets out that the dasasala are to be understood and used as the foundation of
a yoga practice:
S@dhana means the yogic path, which has as effect the ten salas. The ten salas
promote yoga. . . . . The ten salas guard the yogaswara in his sam@dhi (Sudarshana
Devi 1957, p. 106).
Preliminary practicesYamas, Niyamas, and Pr@>@y@ma
The dasasala are thus the moral injunctions and restraints prescribed for the
Balinese yogin as preparatory for undertaking a yoga practice.
In turn, the dasabayu prove to be the 10 winds (pr@>a) in the body as specified in
Sanskrit texts belonging to several different Saiva traditions (cf. Acri 2011a, p. 458),
as well as in the system of Classical, i.e. P@tanjala, yoga. We find in the WPhaspatitattwa (Sudarshana Devi 1957, p. 93) that the ten winds are listed as pr@>a, ap@na,
sam@na, ud@na, wy@na, n@ga, k+rma, kPkara, dewadatta, dhananjaya. The control of
these ten winds or breaths, pr@>@y@ma, constitutes the very first of the six stages,
parts or ancillaries constituting Saiva yoga (Xanangayoga) known from both
Sanskrit and Javano-Balinese sources.
If we return to the cryptic statement in the Aji Saraswati that the ten sacred
syllables emerge when the ten virtuous forms of conduct and the ten winds
meet, we can appreciate that this should not be read as a meaningless or
purely mythological account of origins. What it states is that the dasasala
(yama and niyama) along with pr@>@y@ma (control of the ten bodily breaths),
combine to provide the foundation of the yoga practice based on the ten syllables. Evidently the Aji Saraswati text takes for granted a familiarity with the
moral injunctions, physical restraints, postures and breath control that are the
necessary pre-requisites, and therefore just briefly refers to them (as we have
seen, they are described in detail in other Balinese texts, such as the WPhaspatitattwa), and proceeds without further ado to describe the practices involving the
dasaksara.
In popular Western understandings, yoga is considered to be primarily a set of
physical techniques for exercising and cleansing the body, but in fact these bodily
techniques only constitute preliminary efforts to fit the adept for the mental and
spiritual disciplines that are his primary goals. The classical yoga of Patanjali
comprises eight stages or ancillaries (aXb@nga yoga), the first four stages being
concerned with actions: yamas, niyamas, @sanas, and pr@>@y@ma. The remaining
four stages consist of deepening stages of mental concentration and meditative
consciousness: praty@h@ra, dh@ra>@, dhy@na, and sam@dhi (Gupta 1979, p. 165; Acri
2011a, pp. 51011, 2013, pp. 1824). In Saiva, as well as Buddhist, Tantric circles,
yoga was usually considered to consist of six stages, with the rest regarded as
preliminaries;13 furthermore, the focus on bodily postures in Hatha yoga was regarded somewhat disdainfully by T@ntrikas (Gupta 1979, p. 165). S: ana>ga yoga, the
yoga of six stages, omitted the yamas, niyamas, and @sanas, while adding an extra
stage of meditative consciousness termed tarka (reflection) (Vasudeva 2004, pp.
36972, 2011a, p. 511). Since this is the kind most commonly found in Indonesia
and Bali (Ensink 1974, pp. 19899; Acri 2011a, p. 510; 2013, pp. 1822), and given the
treatment of the yamas and niyamas as mere preliminaries, it seems only reasonable to assume that the Aji Saraswati describes a form of Xana>ga yoga such as
described in the WPhaspati-tattwa. How the five stages of consciousness involved in
Xana>ga yoga might relate to the specific instructions given in the Aji Saraswati will
be discussed later.
Michele Stephen
Visualising the ten letters: investing the body with the emanated universe
Having established the divine origins of the letters and briefly referred to the
moral injunctions and physical disciplines, including breath control (pr@>@y@ma
/ the ten bayu) required to undertake the tasks about to be described, the Aji
Saraswati text moves directly to instructions for visualising the letters in the body
of the practitioneri.e. instructions for the first stage of mental concentration to
be achieved. Each letter is assigned a specific organ of the body, a direction and a
color (Aji Saraswati, p. 21):
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
on the heart, east, white is the color

on the liver, south, red is the color
on the kidneys, west, yellow is the color
in the north, on the gall bladder, the color is black
in the base of the liver and is five colored
in the lungs, southeast, the color is pink
in the urung-urung gading,14 southwest, orange is the color
the northwest, on the spleen, the color is green
in the northeast, in the chest cavity, the color is blue
in the centre on the top of the liver, and has five colors.
This provides specific information as to how and where the letters are to be
visualised and the precise order in which they are to be placed in the body. Two
steps are involved: first the cardinal directions (east, south, west, north, in that
order) and the centre are visualised and then the intermediate directions (southeast, southwest, northwest, northeast) and centre (see Figs 1 and 2).
Though not explained in the text, presumably because it was self-evident to
the Balinese s@dhaka, the ten letters are not simply randomly selected letters of
the syllabary, but in fact are ten syllables making up two of the most famous
Saiva mantra: the pancabrahmans, SA, VA/BA, TA, A, I, and the m+la-mantra,
nama$ siv@ya. As is well known, mantras play a key role in Tantric Saivism,
being considered to represent in sound form the particular energies and
powers of deities (Tucci 1961, pp. 467). Deities thus have mantra bodies.
Siva is said to operate in the material realm via this mantra body of power
(Davis 1991, p. 48).
The five brahmamantra, or pancabrahmans, are based on five aspects of Siva, in
his Sad@siva form, viz. Sadyoj@ta, V@madeva, TatpuruXa, Aghora, and `s@na, each
representing one of Sivas fundamental activities in the world. `s@na possesses
the activity of grace, TatpuruXa the activity of veiling, Aghora that of reabsorption, V@madeva of maintenance and Sadyoj@ta of emission (Davis 1991, p. 48).
The five are also linked to the five directions, five colours, and associated with
the linga, the supreme manifestation of Sivas power, an association which is
SA
BA
TA
A
I
NA
MA
SI
WA
YA
10
famously represented in the 6th century temple to Siva at Elephanta

(Kramrisch 1981, pp. 17879; Collins 1988, p. 91;). Siva as the ruler of the
five directions of space Danielou (1991, pp. 21011) is represented by the
five brahmamantras, which may become separate deities. Davis (1991, p. 50)
explains that Saiva texts establish a whole series of associative connections
linking the brahmamantras to the five kal@s, the five elements, the thirty-six
tattvas, the parts of the body, the worlds, and so on: in short, to all basic
constituents of the cosmos. Kramrisch (1981, pp. 18283) provides a diagrammatic summary of Siva as the five mantra, demonstrating these and further
correspondences, and concludes that they hold the total reality of Siva, transcendent and immanent.
The m+la, or root mantra of Saivism, nama$ siv@ya, is explained thus by
Kramrisch (1981, p. 182):
Five is the sacred number of Siva. Each of the five letters or syllables of the
mantra of Siva, nama$ siv@ya, has its equivalents on many levels of realization,
while together the five syllables say Obeisance to Siva, signifying the assent
and total commitment to Siva by his devotee.
Figure 1. Visualising the five aksara - SA, BA, TA, A, I.
Michele Stephen
11
In the Linga P+ra>a (10.4853), Siva declares:

I am to be adored by the twice-born in the form of the five-faced deity with the
five-syllabled mantra (Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 47).
The pancabrahmans and the m+la mantra are among the most frequently employed,
and considered to be the most efficacious, of all Saiva mantra. To impose (ny@sa)
these mantra on to some entity is to give that entity the powers of Siva, to enable
it to act as a Siva (Davis 1991, p. 48). The Linga P+ra>a (27.37) instructs that
worshipping the linga involves identifying with Siva by the use of these two
mantras:
[the devotee must] transform himself into the body of lord Siva and begin to
worship him.
After purifying the body, he shall perform the rite of Ny@sa of the m+la mantras.
Everywhere the five Brahmans (Sadyoj@ta etc.) shall be fixed with the Pra>ava
in order.
In the highly splendid aphorism viz., Nama$ Siv@ya the Vedas are present in
subtle form. Just as the holy fig tree is present in the subtle seed of Nyagrodha
so also the great Brahman is present in the great and splendid aphorism, all by
Himself in a subtle form (Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 107).
Figure 2. Visualising the ten aksara - SA, BA, TA, A, I, NA, MA, SI, WA, YA.
12
`s@na for his coronet, TatpuruXa for his face, Aghora for his heart, V@madeva for
his private parts, Sadyoj@ta for his feet (Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 64).
When the adept is instructed in the Aji Saraswati to recite the aksaras SA BA TA
A I and to visualise them in his body, it is clear that he is bringing the cosmos
into being in his inner reality and divinising his own body. The process is
continued with the adept visualising the letters of the m+la-mantra in his
body, following the order of the intermediate directions, beginning with NA is
the south-east and ending with YA in the centre. In the case of both mantra, the
placement is from left to right, or clockwise (pradaksina), indicating the process
of cosmic emanation is taking place. The five directions and the five aksaras thus
expand out to become ten aksaras, representing the multiplex totality of the
emanated universe (Fig. 2).15
Ma>nalas, and the nawa sanga
Tucci (1961, pp. 4950) in his classic study of ma>nala notes that the five faces of
Siva, each assigned a different colour and direction, form the five segments of a
ma>nalathe four cardinal directions and the centre. The ma>nala, Tucci (1961, p.
23) observes, represents the whole universe in its essential plan, in its process of
emanation and of reabsorption. It is not a static plan of space, but is revolving
according to the movements of emanation away from the centre and reabsorption
back towards the centre. The usual representation is a flower, usually the lotus.
The four or eight petals of the flower arranged around the centre symbolize the
spatial emanation of the One to the many (Tucci 1961, p. 27). It is a symbol
common to both Saiva and Buddhist Tantrism. The Linga P+ra>a (77.8694)
Composed of the two supreme mantra in combination, as specified here in the

Linga P+ra>a to be used especially for the worship of Siva, the Balinese dasaksara
are evidently a most powerful invocation of the deity.
Should the reader be inclined to think that such understandings were not
available to the Balinese adept, we find explicit explanations in Balinese texts
of the significance of the pancabrahmans as the body of Sad@siwa. Describing the
emanation of the cosmos from paramasiwatattwa to the next level, the WPhaspatitattwa refers to Sad@siwa as residing in the centre of a lotus composed of his four
sakti (cadusakti). From the centre of the lotus, Sad@siwa utters mantra as he takes
form, the mantra constituting his body`s@na as the head, TatpuruXa as the
mouth, Aghora as the heart or liver (hati), W@madeva as the genitals,
Sadyoj@ta as the body, and with the syllable AUM as the whole (Sudarshana
Devi 1957, p. 78). This list is virtually identical to analogous lists found in
Sanskrit Saiva Tantras as well as P+ra>as of Saiva persuasion, among which is
the Linga P+ra>a (17.82):
Michele Stephen
13
provides striking examples, such as when the devotee is instructed to make a lotus
ma>nala with fifty petals:
Beginning with the petal in the east and proceeding gradually he shall fix the
syllables in the petals along with the Rudras. O sages of good holy rites,
the syllables are to begin with the Pra>ava and end with Namas (Shastri [ed.]
1973, p. 385).
Examples of eight-petalled lotuses and the cardinal and intermediate directions

are also found in the Linga P+ra>a (e.g. 19.619; 21.115; 31.34; Shastri [ed.] 1973,
pp. 6689; 6778; 748). These 8-fold forms are also to be found on ancient Javanese
monuments and in Javano-Balinese texts (Acri and Jordaan 2012, pp. 283, 288, 292).
The Balinese dasaksara are visualised as forming such a ma>nala, as we can see in
Balinese illustrations and descriptions of them (e.g. Hobart 2003, p. 217; Stephen
2005, pp. 126, 128, 129; Nala 2006, p. 114) and as they are described in the texts. The
letters are depicted in a circle, following the order of the cardinal and intermediate directions, and when shown in relation to the human body, they are placed on
the central part of the trunk of the body. The instructions in the Aji Saraswati show
that the ten letters are all located in or identified with internal organs of the
bodythe heart, the liver, the kidneys, the gall bladder, the lungs, the spleen and
so on. Figures 1 and 2 represent the instructions for the first two steps of the
visualisation involving the emanation of the universe. They make evident that this
ma>nala in the self is identical with the nawa sanga, or ider-ider, the cosmic map so
prevalent in Balinese culture (Stephen 2005, pp. 12630), with the dasaksara appearing on the petals of the lotus and in the centre.
The elaborate classification of the contents of the physical world provided by
the nawa sanga is demonstrated in Lovrics (1987, pp. 701) study. The figure she
provides closely resembles the 5-fold categorisations provided by the brahmamantras described by Kramrisch (1981, pp. 18283) and Davis (1991, p. 50) previously
mentioned. Both schema provide a basic grid of the four cardinal directions and a
centre and are associated with the five faces of Siva, and five colourswhite, red,
yellow, and black, with crystal or multi-colours in the centre. The Balinese version,
however, associates the five brahmamantras with different directions from those
listed in the Li>ga P+ra>a: SA to the east, BA to the south, TA to the east, A to the
north and I in the centre.16 The colours are the same, however, and are attributed
to the same five faces. Furthermore, the ordering given in the Balinese texts
follows the emergence of the five faces, beginning with SA, as described in the
Linga Pur@>a (1116; Shastri [ed.] 1973, pp. 4758).
All Balinese are familiar with the nawa sanga, or pengider-ider, and the directions,
colours and deities represented on it. When the adept is instructed to identify
these letters, directions and colours with the interior of his own body, there can be
no doubt that he experiences (or is intended to experience) himself as the totality
of the universe, invested with the powers of the Lord of Space, Siva. The placement
14
Compressing the ten letters to the two: reabsorbing the body and universe
The letters are now to be imagined as turning in the opposite direction, indicating
a contraction of the universe and of the body. The adept is instructed to compress
the ten aksaras to five, in fact back to the pancabrahmans, SA, BA, TA, A, I. 18 This is
achieved by visualising the rotation of the syllables so that WA enters A, SI enters
TA, MA enters BA and NA enters SA (Fig. 3). The instructions concerning the rotation indicate the specific direction in which it must be made. Whereas in the first
two steps the syllables were placed clock-wise (pradaksina) on the directions,
symbolising outward expansion, they are now rotated in the opposite direction,
anti-clockwise (prasawya), indicating the return or reabsorption.
In the next step, the five letters are compressed into three, the tri aksara. This is
achieved by again rotating the syllables in a specific way, SA entering BA, i.e.
moving in a clockwise direction; and TA moving to A, also clockwise (Fig. 4). We
need to remember that the adept is picturing these movements in his mind. In this
way SA and BA combine to become A, TA and A become U, and YA and I in the
centre become MA. The original circle or ma>nala formed by the ten syllables now
becomes a vertical line (Fig. 5) composed of the three letters A, U, M, which rep19
resent the three sounds that make up the sacred OM
: . To each of these letters the
adept must now add the ardhacandra symbol (shaped as a half moon), the windhu
(bindu, represented by a circle) and the n@da (a pear-shaped dot). This addition
changes the pronunciation of each letter, so that A U M becomes ANG UNG MANG,
which constitutes the tri aksara (Fig. 6).
Following this, the adept must compress the tri aksara to become two. This is
achieved by visualising the syllable UNG changing to become AH, which then assumes the form of an ongkara symbol standing on its head (ongkara sungsang). The
syllable ANG becomes ongkara ngadeg, an ongkara standing upright in the usual
manner. The middle element, MANG, must be thought of as disappearing into s+nya
of the dasaksara on the internal organs suggests the well-known Tantric practice of
ny@sa, which plays an important role in Saiva ritual in achieving the divinisation of
the body. It consists of touching parts of the body while intoning mantra, thus
transforming the physical body into a body of mantra such as that possessed by
Siva (Brooks 1990, p. 270; Davis 1991, pp. 478). Extensive use of ny@sa is made in
another Balinese yoga text, S+rya-Sevana, which forms the daily practice of the
pedanda Siwa (Stephen n.d., pp. 1315).17
In imposing the brahmamantra and the m+la mantra on himself, the Balinese
adept identifies himself with Sad@siva in the lotus, whom, as we have already
observed, is described in the WPhaspati-tattwa as emanating his mantra body by
means of the brahmamantra. Once the world in the self has been manifested in
all its magnificence in the inner vision of the adept, and the emanation of
the universe is complete, the next task is to follow the cosmic path of
reabsorption.
Michele Stephen
Figure 4. Compressing the five aksara to three.
Figure 3. Compressing the ten aksara to five.
15
16
Figure 6. A, U, MA becomes ANG, UNG, MANG.
Figure 5. The three aksara become A, U, MA.
Michele Stephen
17
(emptiness) and becomes windhu (Fig. 7). Having thus reduced the three syllables
to two, namely ongkara sungsang and ongkara ngadeg (Fig. 8), they must now be
located in the adepts body. The ongkara ngadeg is to be pictured on the chest,
throat, and tongue, while the ongkara sungsang is to be imagined on the forehead,
eyebrows, the space between the eyebrows, and the nose (Fig. 9). The text states
that the reversed ongkara takes the form of amerta and the standing ongkara the
form of fire: these constitute the rwa-bhineda (two different, the split two) (Aji
Saraswati, p. 36).
Using the Rwa Bhineda in life
Protecting the self from magical attack by placing the soul in the heart
The text (Aji Saraswati, p. 22) explains that the rwa-bhineda consists of two ongkara:
ongkara ngdeg, which has the nature of fire that burns all impurities, and ongkara
Figure 7. ANG, UNG, MANG are compressed to become ANG and AH.
Once the rwa-bhineda has been clearly established in the adepts inner vision it can
be used to several different ends according to the Aji Saraswati. These include:
protecting the self from magical attack, purifying the self of sickness and sin, and
purifying and healing others.20
18
Figure 9. Ongkara ngadeg and ongkara sungsang, the rwa-bhineda, visualised as placed in the body.
Figure 8. ANG and AH become ongkara ngdeg and ongkara sungsang respectively.
Michele Stephen
19
sungsang, which has the nature of amerta.21 These are linked to the syllable ANG,
located at the navel, and AH at the crown of the head. The adept must see in his mind
the two meeting, water falling on fire and producing vapour, which becomes the
atma or soul (Fig. 10).22 Once the soul appears, the adept must take it and place it in
his heart. Safely stored there, the text explains, it cannot be found by any enemy,
including those with magical powers, sorcerers and witches. Finally, the adept must
visualise the sky and earth becoming one. This action of realising the atma in visible
form and then enclosing it in the safety of the heart is presented as an aim in itself,
serving to protect the practitioner from all enemies and mystical attack.23
In order to purify the self from sickness and sin, the adept is instructed to visualise
the arrangement of the ten letters as previously described, i.e. to start the visualisation again at the beginning (Aji Saraswati, p. 23). When the ten are reduced to
the two, the rwa-bhineda, he must imagine flames like a mountain in the sky and
that all the dirt in his body is firewood and oil that he puts into the fire (Fig. 11).
Then he imagines that all the sickness and impurities have been reduced to ashes
and recites the mantra Ong awighna win@s@ya namah.
Figure 10. Using the rwa-bhineda: fire and water meeting in the body to produce vapour, which
becomes the soul and must be placed in the heart.
Purifying the self of sickness and sin
20
The visualisation is continued by imagining amerta in a precious water container

(dyun manik)24 located in the brain (see Fig. 12). Reciting the syllables ANG AH, the
adept causes the amerta to flow down, whereupon it transforms into the ongkara
sungsang (the reversed ongkara) located in the upper part of the cranial vault
(diagram 12). The flow continues to the end of the nose and falls on to the n@da
of the ongkara ngadeg, which is on the end of the tongue, (Fig. 12) and then collects
in the windhu rahasyamukha (a cavity at the base of the neck) and is then termed
the cucupu mas (the golden phial).25 Then the adept must imagine that the amerta is
filled with clouds and that the phial containing it breaks. He imagines that amerta
is raining everywhere, and that this rain washes away all the ashes of his sickness,
falls into the river and is washed to the sea (Fig. 13). He must imagine that the flow
is to the puser tasik (the centre of salt/the ocean) which is located at the hairs on
the first joint of the big toe and from there flows out into the bhuwana agung (the
external world) (Aji Saraswati, p. 24).
The adept, having used this practice to cleanse himself of all sickness and
impurities, is now prepared to set up a place to worship whoever is his chosen
deity (Aji Saraswati, p. 24).26 He is enjoined to purify himself every night by using
the rwa-bhineda (Aji Saraswati, p. 36), indicating that the rituals the text describes
are part of a regular spiritual practice or s@dhana.
Figure 11. Using the rwa-bhineda: all dirt and sin in the body is burnt up and reduced to ashes.
Michele Stephen
21
Healing and purifying others

The text clearly states that the same method used to purify and heal the self can be
used to treat other people. However, the instructions given are somewhat cryptic.
They begin with a mantra to make holy water, while holding flowers and a kalpika.27 Then there is a mantra to say when sprinkling the tirta (holy water) on the
patient, then three mantra to recite when making offerings that are given as part
of the rite,28 followed by three more mantra to be used in various ways (Aji
Saraswati, pp. 2627). These passages of the text are more like disjointed notes
than the clear instructions that have preceded them. The other two versions (Aji
Saraswati, pp. 3233; 38) say even less on the topic. However, what is clear is that
the adept is to heal others by first purifying himself with the yoga practice of fire
and water based on the rwa-bhineda, and thus empowered for the task, he proceeds
to make holy water to give to the patient by investing this water with the power of
mantra. In other words, the adept through his yoga practice is able to transfer the
amerta that he has accessed within himself to a mediumwaterwhich can subsequently confer purifying and vivifying properties to another person.29
Figure 12. Causing the amerta stored in the brain to flow down into the golden phial at the base
of the throat.
22
The role of the dasaksara in healing rituals has been referred to in several recent
studies by Western scholars (Lovric 1987, pp. 703; 756; Zurbuchen 1987, p. 96;
Rubinstein 2000, p. 59; Hobart 2003, pp. 21519), who indicate that such practices
are part of the living culture, and not mere textual curiosities.
Ku>nalina, khecaramudr@, and bhed@beda (unity in difference)
These purifications with fire, washing away of ashes, reversals, meetings of nose
with tongue, secret containers of amerta in the brain, and flooding of the body with
amerta to purify and heal that are described in the Aji Saraswati will seem only too
familiar to those conversant with the Tantric literature from South Asia.
It is clear that visualising the rwa-bhineda is the aim of the compression of the
dasaksara and that meditating on it is the means to obtaining and exercising yogic
powers in life (cf. Ensink 1974, pp. 20205). The Aji Saraswati text provides no
explanation of the nature of the rwa-bhineda, beyond stating that it is composed
of the two ongkara and represents fire and amerta. This is presumably because the
adept is assumed to already understand, as is explained in other Balinese texts,
Figure 13. Visualising the golden phial breaking, releasing the amerta to flow down the body,
washing away the ashes to the sea.
Michele Stephen
23
Above, male semen, moon, soma, nectar, Siva, fluidity and coolness are identified with an upper well; and below, female uterine blood, sun, fire, energy, the
Goddess, desiccation, and heat . . . (White 1996, p. 243).
The aim of yogic practice in all cases is to unite the two and thus obtain the long
life, health and magical powers that are conferred by the nectar that flows from
this meeting. The rwa-bhineda of the Balinese texts is clearly an expression of the
same pervasive theme in yogic thought; indeed the very term means the two
different and derives from Sanskrit. Previously (Stephen 2005, p. 97), I have
drawn attention to the rwa-bineda as an important concept in Balinese mysticism
but one which did not appear to have a clear Saiva or Tantric parallel. Evidently
this assessment needs revising as the additional material present here demonstrates a close correspondence with Tantric themes (see e.g. Goudriaan 1979, p.
54; White 1996).
The symbol used to designate the rwa-bhineda, the two ongkara meeting at the
head, with the upper element reversed to achieve this, and the description of their
location on head, nose, throat, and tongue, and the meeting of nose and tongue,
bring to mind another well known ritual of Habhayoga referred to as the
khecaramudr@ (White 1996, pp. 25258). This practice involves the turning backwards of the tongue until it enters the opening at the back of the soft palate (the
inside of the nose meeting the tip of the tongue), with the aim of thereby releasing
the flow of nectar stored in a secret place in the head (Flood 1996, p. 100; White
1996, p. 254; Mallinson 2007, pp. 1824).
The burning up of the body, reducing it to ashes and then washing these away
with amerta from the golden phial at the base of the neck as described in the Aji
that such represents the basic duality in the self and the universe (see Soebadio
1971, p. 11). The two different, fire and amerta, are pradana and purusha, the
creative principles that give rise to the individual soul and the physical universe;
they are the god and goddess, Siwa and Uma in the self (Stephen 2005, pp. 712,
107, 114; Nala 2006, pp. 13132). To bring about their meeting or unionas in
causing amerta to fall on fire to make apparent the soul, or to consume the body
with fire and then flood it with amertais to gain control of the this creative
potential in the self for yogic ends. Although the term Ku>nalina is not employed,
nor is any serpent power referred to, nevertheless, the rising of fire up from the
navel to meet amerta falling from above, conveys the same significance, the union
of god and goddess to obtain the nectar that purifies, heals and brings new life.
Acri (2011a, p. 533) makes reference to similar practices relating to amPta and
Ku>nalina in other Javano-Balinese texts.
White (1996, pp. 24052) has identified as a key theme in Tantric thought that of
bhed@bhedaunity in difference. Images of polar opposites existing in the body,
he shows, take many formsserpents, birds, the substances used in alchemy,
wellsbut the opposites represented are the same:
24
The tantric worshipper or initiate who has transformed his own being through
these processes becomes capable, in turn, of transforming other beings, indeed,
the entire universe, through his limitless powers.
In subsequent work, White (2009) has radically revised the recent Western idealisation of yogins as purely holy men and spiritual teachers, demonstrating instead
their prowess in all kinds of magic including sorcery and black magic. Gavin Flood
(2003, pp. 21112) also draws attention to the importance of magic in the Tantras.
Given these new understandings of the sinister side of the yogins role, the
proliferation of the Balinese aksara practices into magic and even sorcery becomes
more comprehensible. In the Balinese usada texts, which are as little known to
Western scholars as the tutur texts,30 are to be found endless elaborations on the
aksara as the basis of healing rituals (e.g. Nala 2006), including, according to Nala
(2006, p. 130), rites to kill.31 Popular understandings of yoga would tend to obscure
this connection between yoga and magic. The extraordinary embellishments and
elaboration of the dasaksara in the usada texts, the wariga (calendars)32 and the
magic texts demonstrates that these practices, far from being modern importations, are woven into the very fabric of traditional Balinese culture.33
Saraswati also closely resembles Tantric rituals of bh+tasuddhi (Gupta 1979, p. 136;
White 1996, p. 272; Flood 2000, pp. 50911) in which the elements of the body are
purified by fire and water. Bh+tasuddhi plays an important role in Tantric rituals in
the process of preparing the divinised body, through which the adept will act as a
deity. It aims to purify the five bh+ta (or elements, earth, water, fire, wind, and
ether) that comprise the physical body by reabsorbing them to their source. Just as
we find in the Aji Saraswati text, it involves the removal of the soul, the burning of
the body to ashes and the washing away of the ashes. However, the bh+tasuddhi
described in South Asian sources is usually preparatory to creating a divine body
composed of mantra and usually followed by the ritual of ny@sa, (Gupta 1979, p.
136; Brooks 1990, p. 270; White 1996, pp. 17980) where the mantras are imposed to
form the mantra body. Another Balinese text, S+rya-Sevana (Hooykaas 1966), describes rituals identical with bh+tasuddhi and ny@sa (Stephen n.d., pp. 115), so we
have other evidence that these rituals are known in Bali, but the dasaksara practices seem to combine the same elements in a different way, beginning with the
imposition of mantra, then moving to manipulations of fire and amerta.
The aim of all these various practices, be they Ku>nalina yoga, laya yoga or the
Balinese yoga of the rwa-bhineda described here, is to access the nectar or amPta
that exists in the human body as a secret potential. The yogin strives to initiate
and control the flow of the divine liquid, either flooding his body with it, or
drinking it to obtain power and bliss (Mallinson 2007, pp. 21). In this way he
prevents aging and disease, obtains magical powers (siddhi) and even immortality.
Furthermore, the adept is able to transfer to or use these powers on behalf of
others. As White (1996, p. 272) puts it:
Michele Stephen
25
The rwa-bhineda clearly expresses classic Tantric themes familiar from South
Asian Sanskrit sources. The symbol of the two ongkara reversed so they meet at the
head may well be a Javano-Balinese innovation devised as part of the process of
adapting Sanskritic teachings to Javano-Balinese scripts. By means of it the whole
yoga practice of the dasaksara can be expressed in the form of written symbols.
Dissolving the O: and facing death
The final section of the Aji Saraswati deals with the yogic means to face death.
Using the aksara in life, as we have seen, requires reabsorbing the self and the
universe to the creative duality of the rwa-bhineda, fire (api) and amerta, ANG AH,
purusa/pradana. By bringing about various meetings between these pairs, the self
and the external world can be purified and vivified, conferring health, long life,
and bliss.
At death, the text explains, one can choose which of several heavens one
might prefer. In the self, the rwa-bhineda must now be reversed so that AH is
on the navel and ANG above (see Fig. 14 for the placement of the dasaksara on
the pangawak, a symbol of the body at death). Instead of bringing about a meeting of the two, as is required for the uses in life, the creative duality must now
be separated, allowing the soul to return quickly to heaven (Aji Saraswati, p. 38).
Meditation on the aksara MANG will lead to the heaven of Iswara, on ANG to the
heaven of Brahma, on UNG to the heaven of Wisnu, while meditation on ONG
(drawn in the text as a circle surmounted by the ardhacandra, windu and nada) is
required to achieve Siwas heaven. After enjoying two thousand years in heaven,
the adept will return to world as a great teacher or as a noble member of a
ruling family.
Alternatively, the adept can chose to achieve mokXa, ultimate freedom from the
cycle of births and deaths, by meditating on the reabsorption of the ongkara. This
involves the identifying of ones liver, gall bladder, and heart with the components
of the upper part of the ongkarai.e. the ardhacandra (half moon), the windu (circle)
and the nada (pear-shaped dot). These three in turn must be assimilated to Siwa,
Sadasiwa, and Paramasiwa, thus when the heart is visualised as dissolving into the
nada, so the soul is dissolved into Paramasiwa or s+nya, the final dissolution (Aji
Saraswati, pp. 3839). The Aji Saraswati does not attempt to explain these correspondences between the adepts internal organs, the parts of the ongkara and the
levels of the godhead but simply assumes knowledge of them. However, they are
the subject of other texts such as those mentioned earlier; the Jn@nasiddh@nta in
particular provides very extensive explanations of correspondences between the
parts of the body, the parts of the ongkara, and the tattva, the stages of the emanation of the universe (see, e.g. Soebadio 1971, p. 147). According to the principle
that what is in the bhuana alit (microcosm) is the same as what is contained in the
bhuana agung (macrocosm), the whole universe is present in the human body, thus
26
Figure 14. A line drawing of the pangawak, symbol of the body of the deceased, inscribed with the
dasaksara and ANG and AH.
meditation upon the appropriate parts brings about cosmic consequences, namely
guiding the atma to its ultimate goal.
Unlike the sections on the uses in life, this section on facing death consists of
statements of possibilities rather than instructions for practice, and represents but
Michele Stephen
27
Closing all the gates, locking up the mind in the hPdaya,

Fixing his breath within the head, rapt in yogic meditation;
Who so departs leaving the body uttering AUMBrahman in one syllable
repeatedly thinking on Me [Krishna], he reaches the highest state.
(trans. Gandhi 2003, p. 70)
Thus the Linga Pur@>a (91.44-45, 4952) describes how the yogin must meditate on
the O: at the time of death:
If he becomes exhausted due to the practice of dh@ra>@, the wind begins to
function upwards. He shall fill the body with the wind along with the O:k@ra.
The yogin identifying himself with the O:k@ra shall merge himself in imperishable being. He shall become imperishable thus.
The yogin identical with the O:k@ra becomes identical with the imperishable
Being. Pra>ava is the bow, ?tman is the arrow and Brahman is the target. It
should be pierced by one who does not err. He shall be concentrated therein as
a bare summary of information given in other more comprehensive texts dealing

with death and liberation, such as the Jn@nasiddh@nta.34 The focus of the meditations is giventhe aksara, Ang Ung Mang and so on, and the pra>avabut precise
methods are lacking. The reader of the Aji Sarawati would need either to consult a
guru or search for other texts in order to gain further guidance at this point. What
I think this version of the Aji Saraswati shows is that the adept who aims to
undertake a full s@dhana leading ultimately to mokXa must first establish a yoga
practice with the daily rituals of burning by fire and flooding with amerta, thereby
experiencing deep meditation, until finally he will be well prepared to enter
sam@dhi and face death when the time comes.
The logic of the practice, as a whole, as constituting a cosmic reabsorption, or a
form of laya yoga, now becomes apparent. It begins with the syllabary and the
dasaksara as the embodied selfand the manifested physical universeand
then returns the many to the creative duality from which all originatedthe
rwa-bhineda/purusa/pradana. When death comes, this duality is returned to One,
the Ongkara, which is finally absorbed back into the divine and ultimate consciousness from which all originated, Paramasiwa. This mirrors the cosmic process of
emanation and reabsorption as described in other Balinese texts, such as the
WPhaspati-tattva and the Bhuwanakosa (3.80, Gautama 2009, p. 29), which states
succinctly: All the world with its contents emerges from the Lord Siwa and disappears back into the Lord Siwa (sakweh ning jagat kabeh, mijil sangkeng Bhab@ra
Siwa ika, lana ring Bhab@ra Siwa ya).
The O: or O:k@ra, the oldest and most venerated of all Hindu mantras (Padoux
1990, p. 14), is considered to be the sound of the absolute which manifests the
cosmos (Flood 1996, p. 222). Meditation on the dissolution of the O: at death is a
classic theme, attested to in a famous quotation from the Bhagavad-Gat@ (8.1213):
28

in regard to the arrow. The single-syllabled word O: is hidden in the cavity
(Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 483).
S: aoanga yoga and the five stages of yogic absorption

Now that we have seen how the actions outlined in the Aji Saraswati text combine
to form a whole, I wish to return finally to the question of the stages of meditative
consciousness that it describes. The yoga of the six stages (Xanangayoga), which is
usually encountered in Javano-Balinese Saiva texts (Acri 2011a, pp. 51012, 2013),
considers pr@>@y@ma to constitute the first stage, characterised by the physical
practice of breath-control, while the five psychic stages of mental absorption
make up the remainderpraty@h@ra (sensory withdrawal), dhy@na (visualisation),
This description echoes similar passages of Javano/Balinese texts, such as chapters

5 and 10 of the Jn@nasiddh@nta. Although the Aji Saraswati does not employ precisely
these words, they offer a perfect metaphor for the practices it describes. The
pra>ava, including ardhacandra, windhu, and nada, provides the bow to project
the soul to the ultimate goal, Paramasiwa/mokXa. An analogous simile is found
in the Tattvajn@na (see Acri 2011a, p. 552). These similarities with the Linga Pur@>a,
and other parallels described earlier, such as the use of the pancabrahman-mantras
and the m+la-mantra, the five faces of Sad@siva, the directions and colours, and the
ma>nala symbolism, all combine to suggest that the Linga Pur@>aitself a late
medieval pastiche including portions from various Tantric scripturesmight
share a common source with the Javano/Balinese texts describing the yoga of
the dasaksara. Furthermore, they raise the question of what might be the relationship between the P@supata Yoga described in the Linga Pur@>a and the Balinese
practices examined here.35 However, these are issues that must await further
research. It is clear, however, that the yoga for dying described in the Aji
Saraswati and other related texts, encompasses ancient and classic themes in
Saiva thought.36
The connection of the dasaksara with death rituals in Bali has attracted little
attention from scholars.37 Hooykaas (1964, p. 37) notes the pervasive use of the
dasaksara in all kinds of ritual, including mortuary rituals, but gives little account
of how they are employed. Recently, however, I have discussed their role in cremation rituals (Stephen 2010), indicating their continuing importance in Balinese
ritual life. It is evident that the yoga described in the Aji Saraswati, far from being a
forgotten relic of the past, plays an important part of the rituals performed at
death, just as it does in the rites of healing and magic. Furthermore, the dasaksara
are connected to the nawa sanga, which in turn provides the organisational model
for so many activities and rituals, including the panca yadnya, the five basic kinds
of rituals performed in Bali.38 The more they are examined, the more practices
based on the dasaksara will be found to pervade every aspect of Balinese life.
Michele Stephen
29
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
visualisation of the 10 aksara

contraction of the 10 to five
contraction of the five to 3
contraction of the 3 to 2
the meeting of the rwa-bhineda
praty@h@ra
dhy@na
dh@ra>@
tarka
sam@dhi
As the diagrams indicate, the nature of the visualisations change noticeably at

stage five (see Fig. 9 onwards), moving from letters, colours and geometric shapes
to more plastic imagery of fire consuming the body and amerta overflowing from
golden vessels and flooding the body.39
Another Balinese text, the WPhaspati-tattva (Sudarshana Devi 1957, pp. 10406),
describes Xananga yoga in some detail, not only listing its parts but giving definitions of each. Although the same entities we have discussed are listed, they are
numbered a little differently with pr@>@y@ma given as the third not the first part,
thus: 1 praty@h@ra 2 dhy@na 3 pr@>@y@ma 4 dh@ra>@ 5 tarka 6 sam@dhi. Different texts,
however, tend to give slightly different lists and definitions (Acri 2011a, p. 511).
The Jn@nasiddh@nta (Soebadio 1971, pp. 18387), for example, lists the same six
components as the WPhaspati-tattva, but provides definitions of each state of consciousness, which suggest that those being described specifically pertain to the
final extremely subtle stages of reabsorbing the pra>ava at death, and not to uses
in life. What is clear is that Xananga yoga is concerned with achieving several stages
of increasing mental absorption, leading to the highest state of identity with the
deity or ecstasy (sam@dhi). The dasaksara practice likewise involves deepening
stages of meditative consciousness, requiring a complete focusing on inner reality
and prolonged concentration on complex, imagined manipulations of letters, colours and soundsto the point that the internal imagery becomes a powerful experience of removing ones soul and placing it in the heart. Following which, the
body is purified with fire, reduced to ashes, and then bathed in the water of
immortality. If this final stage does not involve sam@dhi, it must come close to
it. Indeed the final verses of the WPhaspati-tattva refer to exactly such a process
dh@ra>@ (fixation or concentration), tarka (examination), and sam@dhi (absorption

or ecstasis).
The Aji Saraswati, as we have seen, describes 5 stages of visualisation, with a new
task undertaken at each step: (i) the imposition of the ten letters on the body (ii)
the contraction of the ten letters to five (iii) the contraction of five to three, (iv)
the contraction of the three letters to two and (v) using the two different, the rwabhineda, to access the inner fire and amerta. I suggest that the initial visualising of
the ten aksara, their shapes, sounds, colours, and their places in the body constitutes praty@h@ra, moving from sensory perception to a vividly imagined inner
reality. The next three stages, as the practitioners focus is drawn inwards towards
the centre, might be seen to correlate with dhy@na, dh@ra>@, and tarka, finally
leading to sam@dhi, thus:
30
Conclusion
I have argued that the dasaksara constitute the basis of a type of Xananga yoga
which, although it demonstrates various distinctive features, is deeply rooted in
Saiva and Tantric modus cogitandi. It provides the adept with a comprehensive
s@dhana, or spiritual practice, that includes methods to purify and heal the self,
to purify and heal others, to control others through magic, to face death and
achieve the heaven of ones choice, and finally to achieve liberation. Today
many, if not most, scholars are inclined to attribute any philosophical or mystical
elements in Balinese religion, which evidently derive from South Asia to recent
developments, which are by them regarded as being primarily the efforts by
Balinese intellectuals to reform and redefine Balinese religion that began in the
previous century and continue today. The dasaksara are a phenomenon that not
merely challenges but refutes such assumptions, being so deeply rooted in Balinese
ritual life in practice, and in Balinese textual traditions, that it is impossible for
them to be recent importations. Ironically, it seems, Western scholars, and
whereby the stain of sin is burnt by the fire of yoga, after which the five (or seven)
amPtas arise and the yogin attains sam@dhi (Sudarshana Devi 1957, pp. 10608).
My point in paying such close attention to these states of consciousness is to
show how the Aji Saraswati, and other texts like it, provides practical instructions
for a yogic s@dhana. In the past, I think, most Western scholars have tried to read
the tutur texts as philosophy, theology or worship and finding them incomprehensible as any of these, put them aside. My aim has been to show that if this and
similar Balinese texts are read as practical instructionsshorn of philosophic justifications or explanationsfor a daily practice, then they make much better sense.
However, and this is crucial, they need to be placed in the context of cultural
knowledge provided by other texts as I have shown here.
These findings support Acris (2006, pp. 112; 2011a, pp. 15253) useful distinction
between tutur and tattwa texts, tattwa being more philosophic in orientation, while
the tutur are focused on practice. The Aji Saraswati, and the other tutur I have
termed Balinese yoga texts, refer to but do not examine or explain the philosophical concepts on which they are based. The more philosophical texts, the
tattwa, explain general principles but do not provide the detailed instructions
required for practice. The two need to be read in conjunction; without the
tattwa, the tutur become incomprehensible notes, while the tattva alone give
little sense of how the knowledge might be put to use. Furthermore, texts such
as the WPhaspati-tattwa provide clear evidence that the Saiva and Tantric concepts I
have identified in the tutur were explicitly known or available to those persons
performing the practices. Without such texts, it might be difficult to establish that
I am not simply reading into the text what I want to find there. The tattwa are thus
the first step to creating a more solid foundation on which to interpret the practice-oriented texts.
Michele Stephen
31
following them many modern Balinese intellectuals, have yet to realise that the
dasaksara practices are indeed yoga and that the old Balinese tutur texts are full of
accounts of Xananga yoga.
********
Acknowledgements
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Michele Stephen
33
Notes
1 The spelling of Sanskrit and Old Javanese words follow the modern Balinese spelling
conventions when they are referred to in a Balinese context, or quoted from editions of texts that follow those norms. Otherwise I follow the internationally established norms for the spelling of Sanskrit, and the norms used by Zoetmulder in his
Old Javanese-English Dictionary. Of course, instances of overlap and/or ambiguity
could not be avoided.
2 Several western scholars have described the dasaksara. Hooykaas (1964, p. 37), for
example, stresses their pervasive importance in Balinese ritual and religion but
provides little detail. Rubinstein (2000, p. 43) has coined the term alphabet mysticism to refer to these practices which she discusses at some length. Hobart (2003,
pp. 21519) examines the dasaksara in the context of healing. Zurbuchen (1987, p.
53) refers to linguistic mysticism; however, she is concerned with the whole concept of language as a mystical entity or force, observing that while the study of
language and written texts is not exactly the same as the study of mystic truth in
Bali, the two are very closely related (1987, p. 61). Lovric (1987), like Hobart,
discusses the dasaksara in context of healing. I have previously described the dasaksara as featuring in Balinese yoga texts (Stephen 2005, pp. 8687), and the role they
play in death rituals (Stephen 2010, pp. 42932). These studies all indicate that the
dasaksara are part of living ritual and continue to have relevance to Balinese life.
3 The complex traditions of Saivism and their relationship to Tantrism have been the
subject of important new research in recent years (see for example Sanderson 1988,
2009; Flood 2003, 2006).
4 See, for example, published texts in Appendix I.
Stephen, M., 2002. Returning to original form: a central dynamic in Balinese ritual.
Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 158.1: 6194.
Stephen, M., 2005. Desire divine and demonic: Balinese mysticism in the paintings of I Ketut
Budiana and I Gusti Nyoman Mirdiana. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Stephen, M., 2010. The yogic art of dying, Kundalina yoga, and the Balinese Pitra Yadnya.
Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 166.4: 42674.
Stephen, M., n.d. A tantric S@dhan@: S+rya-Sevana Revisted. Unpublished paper.
Sudarshana, D., 1957. WPhaspati-tattwa: a old Javanese philosophical text. Nagpur:
International Academy of Indian Culture.
Tucci, G., 1961. The theory and practice of the Mandala: with special reference to the modern
psychology of the unconscious. Translated from the Italian by Alan Houghton Brodrick.
London: Rider & Company.
Tutur Aji Saraswati. Denpasar: Dinas Kebudayaan Provinsi Bali, (2004).
Vasudeva, S., 2004. The yoga of the M@linavijayottaratantra. Pondicherry: IFP/EFEO.
Weck, W. W., 1976. Heilkunde und Volkstum auf Bali. Jakarta: P. T. Intermasa[Stuttgart
(1937)].
White, David G., 1996. The alchemical body: Siddha traditions in medieval India. Chicago and
London: University of Chicago Press.
White, David G., 2009. Sinister yogis. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Zoetmulder, P. J., 1982. Old Javanese-English Dictionary, 2 Vols. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Zurbuchen, Mary S., 1987. The language of the Balinese shadow theater. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.
34
5 It is not unusual to find lontar texts containing virtually identical material given
completely different titles. Since letters are the subject matter, it is not surprising
that the scribe refers to the Goddess of writing and literature in the title he gave to
his work, even though there is no mention whatsoever of Saraswati in the text nor
is it concerned with literature. The title Siwa Linga Suksma (the Subtle Linga of
Siva)seems to indicate better the mystic and yogic aims of the text, which contains many references to Siwa. However, I have chosen to follow the published
version here.
6 Rubinstein makes frequent reference to the Tutur Aji Saraswati, quoting nine different manuscripts (2000, p. 41). She states, however, that these texts do not explain
the uses to which the alphabet mysticism is put, nor do they explicate the application of alphabet mysticism in a manner comprehensible to the lay person (2000, p.
58). I am unable to say how her versions of the text compare with that which I
consulted prepared by the Dinas Kebudayaan (2004), but as we shall see this version
explicitly focuses on the uses of the dasaksara, as does the Siwa Linga Suksma.
7 The first version comprises pages 1928, the second version pages 2833, and the
third pages 3340 (Tutur Aji Saraswati, Dinas Kebudayaan, 2004). I will refer to
whichever version provides the most information on the aspect I am discussing,
which I think is only following the intention of the scribe who has noted down
different versions of the same practice because each provides slightly more or
different detail on the same topics.
8 See Rubinstein (2000, pp. 489) and Zurbuchen (1987, pp. 578) for a discussion of
modre and swalita characters. Rubinstein (2000, pp. 266, 268) defines modre as sacred
configuration of letters; classification of these letters and swalita as mystical
symbol ang/a:; classification of these symbols.
9 According to Zoetmulders Old Javanese-English Dictionary (1982, p. 1480), Rahu is the
demon whose head is immortal. In the Sanskritic traditions, R@hu the Seizer is a
demon supposed to cause eclipses by seizing the sun and moon; having become
immortal through drinking the AmPta produced by the churning of the Ocean, he is
beheaded by ViX>u, his head becoming there upon fixed in the stellar sphere.
10 According to Zoetmulder (1982, p. 861), ketu is a Sanskrit word for sign, flag, or
banner. The word ketu in Sanskrit means also bright, and in fact ketu is one of the
two astral bodies behind eclipsesthe other being R@hu. I thank Andrea Acri for
drawing my attention to this and the above Sanskrit parallel.
11 For example, the Tutur Aji Mayasandi (p. 37) states, Thus is to be uttered; that you
should use as a means to worship the Lord Paramasiwa, He who embodies the God
from the nada, who was previously said to reside in the tips of the hairs (Mangkana
koncaranira, ya pangabaktinta ring Bhatara Paramasiwa, Sang pinaka Hyang ing Nada
winuwus nguni ring tungtung ing rambut). (Diacriticals absent in the original). My
thanks to Andrea Acri for checking the translation of this passage.
12 In Balinese mythology, Kala is the monstrous son of Siwa and Uma (Stephen 2002).
13 As such, they are usually placed (and described) before the ancillaries, such as in the
case of the WPhaspati-tattwa (cf. Acri 2011a, p. 512).
14 According to Lovric (1987, p. 70) urung-urung are channels in body; with the golden
channels being the spinal nerves. However, according to Zurbuchen (1987, p. 55),
urung urung gading refers to the intestines.
Michele Stephen
35
15 Zurbuchen (1987, p. 54) comes to a similar conclusion, In uttering the dasaksara,

one in effect recreates the dimensions of the universe with all its ordered variation,
at the same time naming the higher order principle that subsumes it all.
16 The directions as given in the Linga Pur@>a are: East, TatpuruXa; South, Aghora;
West, Sadyoj@ta; North, V@madeva; `s@na, upwards or in the centre (Kramrisch 1981,
p. 184).
17 This raises the question of the relationship between the yoga described in the Aji
Saraswati and the yoga described in S+rya-Sevana, the daily practice of Brahman
priests (Pedanda Siwa) which I have elsewhere described as a Tantric s@dhana
(Stephen n.d.). Although they comprise similar elements, there are very significant
differences as well but to follow them here would take us too far from the present
topic.
18 There is a panca aksara series, viz. mang, ang, ong, ung, yang, which is a compression
of the pancabrahmans and the m+la mantrathe panca brahma and panca tirta in Bali
(Nala 2006, p. 118)but our text specifies the pancabrahmans.
19 The places in the body where these letters are located in not specified in the text,
but the placement as given in the diagram follows the logic of the described
compression and is confirmed by Nala 2006, p. 124; on the pangawak (Fig. 14)
and the kajang (symbols used in the death rituals) they are placed in the same
positions.
20 Although Rubinstein (2000, p. 58) states that the Adi Sarasawati does not explain the
uses of the sacred letters or the practices based on them, the text I am using here
does explicitly explain how to use the dasaksara. The uses in life are discussed in
most detail in the first of the three versions (Aji Saraswati, pp. 2228), so I shall
follow this account.
21 Amerta (amPta) is the water of immortality, which in the self is believed to be located
in a secret place in the brain. Accessing it is the aim of the dasaksara practice, as it is
the goal of Ku>nalina yoga.
22 In the other two versions given in the Aji Saraswati (pp. 31, 36) the atma is said to
then become Siwa.
23 I have found it a common theme that people in Bali when beginning spiritual
practices usually fear they will draw the attention of competitors and rivals and
thus feel vulnerable to mystical attack. The fact that using the dasaksara begins with
this defensive and protective ploy thus seems particularly appropriate.
24 A dyun is a water pot made in varying sizes, usually of earthenware and carried by
women on their heads. The term manik suggests that the pot is either made of a
precious substance, such as gold or silver, or else is embellished with jewels.
25 More information about the precise locations in the body would be required to
compare these with other yoga texts and teachings; however, for my purposes here,
the general picture of what is taking place is clear enough. I will point at some
possible Sanskrit parallels below.
26 This mention of preparing a place to worship the deity of ones choice suggests
bh+tasuddhi rituals, which may have as their primary aim preparing the adept for
worship but no further mention is made of a deity or linga in the text. However, it is
possible that knowledge of the rituals to worship the iXbadevat@ are simply taken for
granted and thus not included here.
36
27 A kalpika is a ritual device made of hibiscus leaf and used with flowers when making
holy water for purification (tirta panglukatan), which indicates that the holy water
being made here is not tirta amerta (as is made at temple festivals) but tirta panglukatan, used in purification and healing.
28 The offerings (banten) mentioned are peras, tehenan, and segehan, all of which
are associated with purification rites with tirta panglukatan (holy water for
purification).
29 According to Zurbuchen (1987, p. 54) pedanda (Brahmana priests) use the dasaksara
to make holy water. This raises the question of what kind of holy water, as there are
several. Furthermore, the pedanda uses the more elaborate rites described in S+ryaSevana, to prepare tirta amerta daily (Stephen n.d.). Perhaps pedanda employ the
dasaksara to prepare tirta panglukatan for purification and healing, yet S+rya-Sevana
includes rites to prepare it as well. The village priest, the pemangku, is said only to
nunas tirta, request holy water, as he is not considered able to make it. But it is
evident in the text that whoever is competent in the dasaksara yoga is able to
prepare tirta panglukatan.
30 Lovrics thesis (1987) is an exception, but it has not been published and thus
unfortunately is not widely available. She provides a brief discussion of healing
in connection with the dasaksara (Lovric 1987, pp. 7073). Wecks (1976) study also
drew on the usada texts, but being published in German, has not been available to a
wider audience.
31 The importance of the dasaksara in healing and magic is attested to in the numerous
publications in Indonesian on these topics that have been produced in recent years
by Balinese authors. Nalas (2006) work is a good example. A manuscript referred to
in the Appendix I, entitled Pancamahabhuta (p. 1), refers to the dasaksara, tryaksara,
and panca aksara as the source of all magic, including pangiwa (magic of the left
side/sorcery), usada (healing), pragolan (talismans), negep (magic for invulnerability),
panestian (shape changing), and piwelas (magic to control others). The elaboration of
the dasaksara in the so-called magic-drawings (rarajahan) is also an area of use yet
to be explored in depth (Hooykaas 1980).
32 Another important area of mystical knowledge connected with the dasaksara is the
wariga, or Balinese calendar. This is broad and complex topic, there being several
rather than one calendar, and is of great importance in Balinese ritual. However, I
am unable to explore this connection further here. The Aji Saraswati (p. 19) makes
reference to the wariga in connection with the aksara in its first paragraph.
33 According to Hobart (2003, p. 218) healers using the dasaksara begin by focusing on
the spirit siblings, the kanda empat. Nala (2006, p. 111) refers a connection with the
kanda empat and the pancabrahmans, but does not explain it. I have heard comments
from Balinese informants supporting this link between the kanda empat and the
dasaksara, but as yet I am unable to trace it with confidence as the information I
have so far consists of assertion rather than clear explanation. However, since both
the kanda empat and the dasaksara are linked to the nawa sanga, it is evident that
there is an important connection here. Furthermore, the kanda empat according to
explanations informants give of them, and as they are described in numerous lontar
texts, are foundational also to magic and healing. Exploring the relationship
between the two is a task that must await further research.
Michele Stephen
37
Appendix I
The 18 texts listed here in no sense provide a comprehensive overview of the
existing material, or even all that I have consulted, but rather represent examples
of the kinds of texts that deal with the dasaksara, yoga, and facing death. My
impression is that there remains a wealth of similar material to be identified
and translated. Three groups emerge from the material I collected: (a) texts for
priests and yoginsthese focus on dissolving the O: and its parts, on facing death,
achieving mokXa, and if dreams are mentioned, it is in relation to states of consciousness (b) texts for healershealing, medicines, the kanda empat, and magic are
the main concerns; if death is mentioned, obtaining one of the 3 heavens is
described rather than mokXa. When dreams are discussed, how to get rid of
them, or to interpret their symbols in relation to world affairs, are the main
concerns (c) texts providing the link between the dasaksara and dissolution of
34 A much longer study would be required to try to do justice to texts I have categorised here as intended for priests and yogins, and that deal extensively with
death and attaining mokXa. See my previous study (Stephen 2010) and Appendix I.
35 The nature of the P@supata yoga described in the Linga Pur@>a and its relationship
with earlier P@supata scriptures has yet to be fully explicated (Bisschop 2005,
p. 272). Flood (2003, p. 207) refers to instructions in the P@supatas+tras concerning
the yogin meditating on the five sacred mantra of Siva along with the syllable o: in
order to unite his soul with Sivaan idea that seems to aptly describe the practice
outlined in the Aji Saraswati. Further research on Javano-Balinese texts may in the
future throw some light on this matter, especially as the importance of P@supata
influences in Java and Bali is becoming more evident (Nihom 1994, 1995, 1996;
Stephen 2005, p. 97; Acri 2008).
36 On this practice, referred to as sadyotkr@nti or utkr@nti, violent expulsion [of the
breath through the fontanel], in both Sanskrit and Javano-Balinese Saiva texts, see
the remarks by Vasudeva (2004, pp. 39597, 40209) and Acri (2011a, pp. 52223).
37 Although they have written extensively on the dasaksara, Rubinstein (2000), Lovric
(1987) and Hobart (2003) do not discuss their role in mortuary ritual. Zurbuchen
(1987, pp. 467) does refer to the use of the aksara on the pangawak, a symbol of the
body, and on the kajang or shroud in which the body is wrapped, but does not
connect them with the yoga of compressing the dasaksara.
38 The Linga Pur@>a (26.13-15; Shastri [ed.] 1973, pp. 10405) refers to the five sacrifices
Brahma, Deva, ManuXya, Bh+ta and PitP and with worship done to north or east or
north-east (as in Bali). Perhaps these provide the origin of the Balinese panca
yadnyawhich consist of the rsi yadnya, dewa yadnya, manusa yadnya, bhuta yadnya,
and pitra yadnya. The Balinese rsi yadnya pertain largely to rites for Brahman priests
(pedanda) and thus might possibly be correlated with sacrifices for Brahma(ns). It
may be, however, that this 5-fold classification in Bali is a comparatively recent
introduction; further investigation on the matter is required.
39 Vivid visualisation practices are characteristic of Saiva Tantric traditions (see
e.g. Sanderson 2009; Flood 2006, pp. 17274).
38
the O: to achieve liberation at death. These are rough divisions only, as many
texts are collections of notes, thus topics often overlap.
Published text:
Tattwa Kala: Kantor Dokumentasi Budaya Bali, Denpasar, 2000.
(c) Texts Linking Uses in Life and Death of the Dasaksara
Siwa Linga Suksma: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no IIIb.5173.
Tutur Sayukti: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no number.
Tutur Tungked Gumi: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no IIIb.4435.
Published text:
Tutur Aji Saraswati: Denpasar, Dinas Kebudayaan Provinsi Bali, 2004.
Note on Figures and Drawings

These original paintings and drawings were prepared for this article by I Gusti
Nyoman Mirdiana. Figures 113 represent the Balinese artists impressions of the
description of the stages of yoga/meditation on the dasaksara as described in this
article and based on the Tutur Aji Saraswati (Dinas Kebudayaan Bali 2004). Figure 14
represents the line drawings made on the pangawak, a symbol of the body used in
cremation ritual.
(a) Texts for Priests and Yogins:

Adji Mayasandi: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no IIIc.5252.
Amerta Kundalini: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no IIIb.1414/40.
Sastra Reka: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no IIIc.4237.
Tutur Dalem Turaga: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no IIIb.4927.
Published texts:
BhuwanasankXepa: Denpasar, Kantor Dokumentasi Budaya Bali, 1995.
Jn@nasiddh@nta: cf. Soebadio 1971.
Kajian Naskah Lontar Tutur Kum@ratatwa: Denpasar, Dinas Kebudyayaan Propinsi
Bali, 2003.
Lontar Kamoksan: Kajian Teks dan Terjemahan: Denpasar, Dinas Kebudyayaan
Propinsi Bali, 2001.
Sang Hyang Mah@jn@na: Denpasar, Kantor Dokumentasi Budaya Bali, 1995.
Tutur Bhuwanakosa: cf. Gautama 2009.
(b) Texts for Healers
Pancamahabhuta: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no IIIb.310/12.
Tutur Dalem Gading: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no number.
Tutur Sayukti: Gedong Kirtya, Singaraja, no number.

The Journal of Hindu Studies Volume Issue 2014 (Doi 10.1093/jhs/hiu023) Stephen, M. - The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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The Journal of Hindu Studies Volume Issue 2014 (Doi 10.1093/jhs/hiu023) Stephen, M. - The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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The Journal of Hindu Studies Advance Access published July 7, 2014

The Journal of Hindu Studies 2014;138

The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

The Aji Saraswati text

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

The origins of the dasaksara

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The origins of the Dasaksara and the cosmic significance of sound

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

The process of emanation, related to speech, is variously described depending

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Preliminary practicesYamas, Niyamas, and Pr@>@y@ma

The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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on the heart, east, white is the color

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

famously represented in the 6th century temple to Siva at Elephanta

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Figure 1. Visualising the five aksara - SA, BA, TA, A, I.

In the Linga P+ra>a (10.4853), Siva declares:

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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Composed of the two supreme mantra in combination, as specified here in the

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Examples of eight-petalled lotuses and the cardinal and intermediate directions

The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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Figure 4. Compressing the five aksara to three.

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Figure 3. Compressing the ten aksara to five.

The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

Figure 6. A, U, MA becomes ANG, UNG, MANG.

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Figure 5. The three aksara become A, U, MA.

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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Purifying the self of sickness and sin

The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

The visualisation is continued by imagining amerta in a precious water container

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Healing and purifying others

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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Dissolving the O: and facing death

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The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

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Closing all the gates, locking up the mind in the hPdaya,

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a bare summary of information given in other more comprehensive texts dealing