22) Tāṭaṅka-yugalī-bhūta-tapanoḍupa-maṇḍalā
The Sun and the Moon have become pendents to Her ears.
In meditation the cool orbs of the sun and moon are seen as a consequence of following the sound channel wherever it leads.
This cause effect relationship between sound and light forms is described as a pendent. The sun is the creative energy of the cosmos, it is the king of the day. The moon is the queen of the night, waxes and wanes creating moods of hope and gloom; it represents the mind, the bindu. The womb of moon is filled by the light of the sun during the bright half of the month and is emptied of it during the dark half of the month. The moon empties its light contents into the subconscious mind, to become the inspiration behind love and fear and such other deep rooted emotions.
This cosmic love exchange between the sun and the moon is related to the life cycle (menstrual cycle) of woman. The biorhythm follows the cosmic rhythm. Passions wax and wane with the waxing and waning of the moon. If one loses the self centeredness and becomes cosmic centered, one can see the sun, moon and the earth all at once by appropriate positioning in space. To such a person, there are no waxing and waning cycles, because one sees the full moon all the time, and the sun does not set. The seven great sages are therefore described as the seven stars in the saptaṛṣi maṇḍala, meaning they have become invariant parts of the cosmos. Viewed from that distance, the sun is just another star, and the moon and earth can't even be seen. Such then is the detachment of the sages for this world.
Source: Śrī Amṛtānandanātha Saraswatī "Sudhā Syandinī Bhāṣyaṃ" Typed Manuscript
(an incomplete commentary on Lalitā Sahasranāma)
