The world is like a painting on the wall - says Lakshmitantra a Paancharaatra text

[V Subrahmanian]

The world is like a painting on the wall - says Lakshmitantra a Paancharaatra text

लक्ष्मीतन्त्रम्/अध्यायः ४३

https://sa.wikisource.org/s/1tq8

श्रीः---

मयि वा भित्तिभूतायां चित्रवत् संस्मरेज्जगत्।

स्तिमितापारगम्भीरे फेनपिण्डं यथाम्बुधौ ।। 32 ।।

Mahalakshmi's words to Indra:

View this world as a painting on me who am akin to a wall. Know that this world is like a mass of foam on the vast deep ocean.

What does this mean?

A painting cannot exist without a base called the wall. Sea water itself looks foamy. Thus this Mother Lakshmi is the basis of the world. This world has no existence apart from that substrate.

This couple of examples from the Pancharatra text is one of the most famous in Advaita:

स्मरतो दृश्यते दृष्टं पटे चित्रमिवार्पितम्।

यत्र येन च तौ ज्ञेयौ सत्त्वक्षेत्रज्ञसंज्ञकौ॥

Shankaracharya's Upadesahasri

याऽनुभूतिरजाऽमेयाऽनन्ताऽऽत्मानन्दविग्रहा ।

महदादिजगन्मायाचित्रभित्तिं नमामि ताम् ॥

Opening verse from Vimuktaatman's 'Ishtasiddhi'.

पश्यामि चित्रमिव सर्वमिदं द्वितीयं

तिष्ठामि निष्कलचिदेकवपुष्यनन्ते ।

आत्मानमनन्तमद्वयसुखैकरूपं

पश्यामि दग्धरशनामिव च प्रपञ्चम् ||

The 10th-century CE Sarvajnatmamuni's Samkshepashasariraka

4.54

सत्तत्त्वमाश्रिता शक्तिः कल्पयेत्सति विक्रियाः।

वर्णा भित्तिगता भित्तौ चित्रं नानाविधं तथा ॥ ५९ ॥ 2.59

Panchadashi of Sri Vidyaranya

जगच्चित्रं स्वचैतन्ये पटे चित्रमिवार्पितम् ।

मायया ,तदुपेक्ष्यैव चैतन्यं परिशेष्यताम् || 6.289

There is one very long chapter called Chitradeepa Parakaranam in Panchadashi. This allegory has been explored in great detail there.

With the help of the Brahman principle called Sat, this Shakti creates various worlds, like colors create different images on the wall.

जडाजडविभागोऽयमजडे मयि कल्पितः ।

भित्तिभागे समे चित्रचराचरविभागवत् ॥ १९॥

Advaitamakaranda of Lakshmidhara Kavi

The water-foam analogy is also popular in Advaita. Some examples:

न च समुद्रादुदकात्मनोऽनन्यत्वेऽपि तद्विकाराणां फेनतरङ्गादीनामितरेतरभावापत्तिर्भवति Brahmasutra Bhashya 2.1.13

जलबुद्बुदफेनादीनामिव सलिलव्यतिरेकेणाभावः

Brihadaranyaka 2.4.11 Commentary

Thus we find these well-known illustrations of Advaita in the Pancharatra text.