The 36 Tattvas and Their Significance

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The 36 Tattvas Or Components Of Nature

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Pasu The Deluded Soul
Pati the Lord of Creation
Pati and Pasu
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Shakti, the Energy of
Siva
Shakti And Maya
Symbolism of Siva
The Worship of
Sivalingas
The 36 Tattvas
Siva--Ideal of Manhood
How To Worship Lord
Shiva

By Jayaram V

History Of Saivism

Tattvas are parts or principles or aspects of nature. Their presence or absence, combination and
permutation play an important role in the creation of the diversity of worlds, their objects and

Evolution Of Saivism

beings, individual bodies, limbs and organs. In short their aggregation and segregation constitute

Saivism In Southern

the building blocks of the whole material manifestation.

tattva, saivism, Shiva, siva

Book

Web

Blog

Lord Siva and His Worship

by Swami Sivananda
1992 - 263 pages
books.google.com

India
Siva and Vishnu

Video

The meaning of tattva

Sects Of Saivism
Saiva Siddhanta

One of the most popular expressions found in the Upanishads is "Tattvamsi" which means "Thou

Vira Saivism
Kashmiri Saivism

art That", which is used in many schools of yoga as a meditative mantra. Tat means "that" tvam

Gorakhnatha Saivism

immanent, or macrocosm and microcosm, or Godhead and also the individual.

Tantra, Its Mystic and Scientific

by Lalan Prasad Singh
2010 - 214 pages
books.google.com

means "you" or "the individual". Thus tattvam means that which is both transcendental and

Pasupatha Saivism
The Ganapatya Sect

Shiva Sutras: The Supreme

by Swami Lakshmanjoo
2007 - 352 pages
books.google.com

The significance of tattvas

Saiva Pantheon
Ganesha
Skanda Kumara
Shakti

Whether they belong to Hinduism or not, Indian philosophers have been familiar with the
concept of tattvas since ancient times. It is difficult to find an Indian school of philosophy that do
not deal with this subject. Even the atheistic schools talk about it. So important is the concept

The Yoga of Kashmir Shaivism

by Swami Shankarananda
2006 - 352 pages
books.google.com

that even Jainism and Buddhism have their own version of tattvas.

Saiva Texts
The Samkhya school of Hinduism made the concept of tattvas their central philosophy while
Devi Gita

detailing the process of creation. The Samkhya school of philosophy identifies 24 tattvas that are

Siva and Saivism Sects

used in creation. In Samkhya there is no divine element or para tattva. The Vedanta school of

Shakti as Mantra
The Siva Sutras

philosophy accepts these 24 tattvas with some improvements. They also recognize a supreme or

Sacred Places of Mother

tattva as the highest. Beyond Siva tattva is the atattva, which is not counted among the 36. The

Goddess
Worship Of The World

names of the 36 tattvas and their descriptions are as below.

Mother
Eightfold Yoga and
Mantra Siddhi

divine tattva which is absent in the Samkhya. Saivism identifies 36 tattvas and considers Siva

Siva (Chit)

Shakti (Kriya)

Kshamapana Stotram
Ardha Nareeswara
Ashtakam
Bilwashtakam
Chandrasekharashtakam
Chidambareswara
Stotram
Daridraya Dahana Shiva
Stotram
A Prayer to Kalabhairava
Lingashtakam
Shiva Nama
Malyashtakam
Shiva Mangalashtakam
Margabandhu Stotram
Maha Mrityunjaya
Stotram
Nathopadesa Storam
Shiva Panchakshara

Sadasiva (Jnana and Kriya)

Stotram
Parameshwara Stotram
Pasupathyashtakam

Iswara (Jnana and Kriya)

Pradosha Mahatmyam
Shiva Raksha Stotram
Satha Rudriyam
Shiva Sadakshara
Stotram

Kashur The Kashmiri Speaking

by Mohini Qasba Raina
unknown
books.google.com

Atattva - ParaSiva or formless absolute Brahman who is beyond all the tattvas, symbolized by
sivalinga, experienced in the state of samadhi

Prayers
108 Names of Lord Shiva
Shiva Aparadha

Siva Linga
by N. K. Singh
2004 - 213 pages
books.google.com

Sudda-Vidya (Jnana and Kriya)

11

Maya

Shakti-tattva is again subdivided into

following five
6

Kaala (time)

Niyati (space)

Vidya (material knowledge)

Raga (passion)

10

Kala (power)

1- 5 are
Iswaratattvas.
They belong
to the pure
worlds.

Living Liberation in Hindu Thought

by unknown
1996 - 278 pages
books.google.com

6-10 are
Shaktitattvas.
11-16 are
recognized
as
atma-tattvas
.
17 - 36 are
prakrititattvas.
Through
them
Prakriti
manifests
gross
bodies,
organs,
senses,
senseobjects and
other things
of gross
material.

These are atma tattvas. The atma-tattvas

Prabuddha Bharata: Or Awakened

by Swami Vivekananda
2007
books.google.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Related Links
The 36 tattvas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An Introduction to Tattvas
The 36 Tattvas
Smkhya Tattvas
The Samkhya Philosophy and 24 Principles of
Creation
The Wheel As A Symbol Of Creation With God As Its
Hub
Kapila and the Samkhya yoga
The Sankhya Philosophy of Kapila

Books On Tattva & Tattvas

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http://www.saivism.net/articles/tattvas.asp

Sadasivashtakam
Shiva Sahasra Namam

12

Purusha

13

Buddhi (wisdom)

14

Ahamkara (ego)

Shivashtakam

15

Manas

Shiv Chalisa

16

Prakriti

Samkarashtakam
Sasakti Shiva Navakam
Shiva Mahimnah
Stotram

(11-15) and the prakriti tattvas (17-36) manifest

themselves in the jivas as their physical,
mental and subtle bodies. The five shakti
tattvas (1-5) veil the five Siva-tattvas (6-10)
which give rise to limitations of experience and
awareness. Atma-tattvas perpetuates these
limitations till the jivas are liberated.

Veda Sara Shiva

Sthavam
Sri Viswanatha
Suprabathashtakam

17-36

Prakriti-tattva is again subdivided into the following 20

17-21

Five Gnanendriyas

The 5 Gnanendriyas

Shiva Thandava Stotram

Thiruvempavai

17 Srotra

The Thousand Names of

18 Tvak

Lord Siva
Vaidyanatha Ashtakam

19 Chakshu

Vaidyanatha

20 Jivha

Five Karmendriyas

collection of speeches and writings ~ V

Subrahmanya Iyer
Planetary Influences Upon The Tattvas ~ Ella
Adelia Fletcher
The Evolution And The Universality Of The
Tattvas ~ Ella Adelia Fletcher
Jivan Tattva ~ Bartholomew
Bhakti-Tattva-Viveka ~ Bhaktivinoda Thakur
The Tattva-Muktavali - Webster's Bulgarian
Thesaurus Edition ~ Purnananda Chakravartin

The 5 Karmendriyas

Thesaurus Edition ~ Purnananda Chakravartin

The Science of Breath and the Philosophy of

23 Pani
24 Pada
25 Payu
26 Upastha
Five Tanmantras

Kalapa ~ S. M. Srinivasa Chari

An inquiry into truth, or, Tattva vicara: A

Panca Tattva ~ Steven Rosen

Guru Tattva
The Tattva-Muktavali - Webster's Arabic

22 Vak

27-31

Fundamentals of Visistadvaita Vedanta: A

Study Based on Vedanta Desika's Tattva-Mukta-

21 Ghrana

Namaskaram

22-26

Tattva-Sandarbha: Sacred India's Philosophy of

Ecstasy ~ Swami B.V.Tripurari

The 5 Tanmantras
27 Shabda
28 Sparhsa
29 Rupa

the Tattvas: Translated from the Sanskrit, With

Introductory and Explanatory Essays on
Nature's Finer Forces ~ Rama
Tattva-Muktavali - Webster's French Thesaurus
Edition ~ Purnananda Chakravartin The TattvaMuktavali - Webster's English Thesaurus
Edition ~ Purnananda Chakravartin
The Tattva Muktavali ~ Purnananda Chakravartin
The Tattvas ~ Rama Prasad
The Science of Breath and the Philosophy of
the Tattvas: Translated from the Sanskrit, With
Introductory and Explanatory Essays on
Nature's Finer Forces ~ Rama

30 Rasa
31 Gandha
32-36

Five Mahabhutas

The 5 Mahabhutas
22 Akasha 33
23 Vayu 33
24 Agni 34
25 Apa 35
26 Prithvi 36

The significance of the number 36

The symbolic significance of the number 36 has been very beautifully explained by Yogacharya
Sri Somananda

in the following lines:

Does it matter whether there are twenty-five or thirty-six Tattvas? The answer is that it does
matter. Lord Shiva is the Lord of Yoga and His tradition teaches that the Tattvas are 36 in
number. For the sake of harmony and unity, all Yogic traditions must agree with this.
However, there is another important reason. The number "36" is a sacred number which has a
special meaning in Yoga. Indeed, it has many different meanings or one meaning with many
different facets, like a diamond. Strictly speaking, this must be revealed by the Teacher to the
disciple. We may nevertheless disclose some of it so that the seeker may acquire a taste of the
infinitely profound, unsurpassed and incomparable Wisdom of Yoga Dharma.
1) "30" represents the Moon (the thirty-day lunar month of the Indian calendar is called "Maasa"
or "Moon", in Sanskrit) which is the symbol of Lord Shiva; and "6" represents the Six Disciplines
of Yoga (physical postures, breath-control, detachment, concentration, meditation, union with
Shiva); the Six Paths (Shadadhvaa: mantra, varna, pada, kalaa, tattva, bhuvana); and the Six
Chakras or Sthalas; which are the Path that leads to Shiva.
2) By further applying the Yogic method of numerological interpretation, "36" will be explained
as follows. "3" signifies that Shiva is Three-times the Greatest: He is the Greatest on Earth (the
Terrestrial Plane); the Greatest in the Air (the Astral Plane); and the Greatest in Heaven (the
Celestial Plane).
"6" is made up of "5" and "1" . "5" signifies that Shiva is the Lord of the Five Divine Powers
(Intelligence, Bliss, Will, Knowledge and Action) and the Performer of the Five Divine Acts
(Creation, Preservation, Dissolution, Obscuration and Illumination or Salvation).
"1" (One) signifies that the Supreme Lord is the All-Powerful, Unique, Ever Existing One Who
alone exists and Who holds the totality of all things within Himself. Therefore, "5" and "1", being
inseparable, are taken together as "6". Thus by writing "3" and "6" we arrive at the sacred
number "36". This is the innermost, secret meaning.
3) In terms of external reality which is the domain of multiplicity, when multiplied by the base
"10", it yields "360" which is the number of days in a year; the number of degrees in a circle,
etc. It stands for the Totality of Being or All-Encompassing Supreme Reality Itself.
In brief, it represents a symbol of completeness. In practice, therefore, the number "36" (or
360) symbolises man's (and the World's) Revolution or Completion of the Circle of Life and
return to the original Point of departure.
This Spiritual Revolution is not a return to the past but a return to the Ever Present, Ever-Living
Truth that nourishes all life. It is a return that must be urgently effectuated by the modern World
for the Salvation of all Souls and the Establishment of Divine Life on Earth.
Finally, if we add "3" and "6", we obtain the number "9". "Nine" ("Nava") in the Sanskrit
Language, also means "New", thus indicating the advent of a New World Order based upon the
Eternal Principle of All-Encompassing Unity and Harmony, that is to say, the Supreme Eternal
Law of Heaven (Sanatana Dharma) which must prevail over all other laws as Shiva (the Supreme

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Intelligence) Himself decreed at the beginning of time.

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