The Shambhunirnaya Tantra (IAST: Śambhunirṇaya Tantra) received a commentary, entitled Dīpikā (the lamp), by Śrīvidyā’s foundational South Indian guru and commentator Śivānanda (fl.c. 1225-1275), also known as Śivānandamuni, Śivānandayogin, and Śivānandanātha. Among his contributions is the famed Ṛjuvimarśinī commentary on Śrīvidyā’s principal text (the Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava Tantra) and a number of original compositions on the worship of Tripurasundarī including the Subhagodaya, Subhagodayavāsanā, Subhagodayaprabhā, and Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra. Śivānanda also wrote multiple unpublished works on the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava tradition, of which his Dīpikā commentary on the Śambhunirṇaya Tantra is foundational and fortunately includes a short commentary on the Pañcaślokaja Paraguhya Stotra.
In his Dīpikā, Śivānanda reveals his deep understanding and affinity with the Trika tradition by citing multiple Kashmirian authorities including Utpaladeva’s Śivastotrāvalī (multiple citations), Abhinavagupta’s Tantrāloka (15.161), and the Parātrīśikā (28). Śivānanda’s chosen verse from the Tantrāloka highlights the sanctifying power of arghya (sacred liquid offering) by equating it with the sacred rays of the sun of Śiva, a central theme of Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava doctrine. Śivānanda’s cited verse from the Tantrāloka, as translated by Dr. Mark Dyczkowski, reads as follows:
arghapātrāmbuvipruḍbhiḥ spṛṣṭaṃ sarvaṃ hi śudhyati |
śivārkakarasaṃsparśāt kānyā śuddhir bhaviṣyati || 15.161 ||
“Anything touched by the drops of water in the sacrificial vessel is purified. What purification could there be other than (the one that comes about by) contact with the rays of the sun that is Śiva?”
Śivānanda also cites the Tantrāloka multiple times in his Ṛjuvimarśinī commentary on the Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava Tantra, showcasing his intimate knowledge of the Kashmiri tradition of nondual Śaivism.
Read more about Śivānanda, the Śambhunirṇaya Tantra, and the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava tradition in the Pañcaślokaja Paraguhya Stotra (Supremely Secret Hymn of Five Verses) from the Śambhunirṇaya Tantra.
