You are on page 1of 350

THE KASHMIR SERIES

OF

TEXTS AND STUDIES.

tfcxte

jmrt

tudiw.

No.

XXXI.

THE

SWACCHANDA=TANTRA
WITH COMMENTARY
BY

KSHEMARAJA.
EDITED WITH NOTES
BY
f>ANDlT

MADHUSUDAN KAUL SHASTRl,

M. A., M. o.

L.,

Superintendent Research Department,

JAMMU AND KASHMIR SRINAGAR.

STATE,

Published under the Authority of the Government of


His Highness Lieut.-General Maharaja

Sir

PRATAP SINGH SAHIB BAHADUR,


0. C. S.
I.,

G. C.

I.

E.,

MAHARAJA OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE.

BOMBAY
1921.

t
1

AT THE 'NlKNAYA-SAGAR

PRESS.

869005

II

II

3*

All rights reserved


Shcrlge, at the
*

).

Printed by

Ramchandra Yesu
23,

Nirnaya-sagar' Press

Kolbhat Lane, Bombay.

Published by Pandit Madhusudan Kaul Shastrl,M. for the Research Department,

A.,M.

o. L,,

Jammu

and Kashmir State, SRINAGAR.

SRIS\VACCHANDA*TANTRAM,

PREFACE,
1 present edition of the Swacchanda-Tantram " " is based on collation of the \vith the Uddyota

The

following manuscripts:

Belongs to Pandita Raja Ram S'astri, late Principal of the Rajakiya Pathas'ala, Srinagar. The Ms. is an old one and written out on old Kashmiri

A.

paper in S'arada character. It is generally correct. A copy of the same by Pandita Sridhara Gadaroo, who
formerly worked in this
this
office,
lies in

the Library of

Department.

B. This was written out by Rajanaka Ratnakantha in 1608 Anno S'aka as is manifest from the
It is very of the first Patala. old and Kaula Sahib of Pandita Kantha belongs to Purushayar, Character, old S'arada. Paper, Srinagar, Kashmir.

colophon

1.

The

Calcutta

Honourable Sir John Woodroffe of the High Court was found by my predecessor to use

the edition of this book prepared by this Department, and Pandita Kara Bhatta, a Pandita of this Department, was suspected to have given him assistance by way of supplying

him with the edited text of this Department. But the Home Minister, Jammu and Kashmir State, after instituting full enquiries in the matter, record in this office.
2.

dropped

it

for reasons

on

The colophon runs thus


?&!%
(

(
*'.

f^fic^t
e
;

^T

*<?TJFi'3

^T

TO^rflM

5^<:

been copied by

) <5TFto *M ^, me Ratna Kantha

in

4762) 1608 S'aka year,

i. e.

Has

corresponding to the Laukika year 4762."

II

PREFACE.
Leaves, worm-eaten and repaired here and
is

Kashmiri.
there.

The Ms.
Slips

bound

in

leather

and

carefully

preserved. herein.
C.

of pen

are

occasionally

met

with

This Ms. belongs to Pandita Lasa Dutta of It is written out on Kashmiri paper in Srinagar. S'arada character. It does not seem to be very
old

and there are some mistakes sparsely found


In preparing this

in

the book.
for the press the Pandits as have, usual, contributed their Department mite to make the edition really useful and interesting

Tantram

of this

by

their

Sanskrit

learned labour and scholarly help for the knowing public, especially for those who are
lore.

keenly interested in the Tantrik


deserve

For

this

my

heartfelt thanks.

The English

staff

they too

has similarly won my thanks as it has in every way facilitated the preparation of the book for the Press.

MADHUSUOAN HAUL.

SRNSWACCHANDA--TANTRAM,

INTRODUCTION.
Introductory.
The Swacchanda-Tantram
initiates into the secret
is

Tantras of the Dakshina-chara as

one of the leading it panegyrises and

worship of Ayhora, the Right 1 Unlike Mrgendra & Matanga, Tantras of the Dakshindchdra where the doctrines discussed are understood to represent the

mouth

of the Swacdianda-Lhairava.

dualistic school of philosophy, the Swacchanda-Tantra adheres to the purely monistic side or the Adwaita System of the Saiva Philosophy and is considered to be one of the best authorities on the Saivaistic Initiation

or
(

Siva

Dikshd,
)

its

cheif

theme being meditation


2

The very name of the Updsand book indicates its inborn tendency towards the pure monism which, to distinguish it from other systems of
and
ritual (

Kriyd ).

philosophy,

may

safely

be designated as the Trika

system of Kashmir.
1

Swacchanda-Bhairava
Is'dna,

ia

represented as having the

five

Sadyojdta, Vdmadeva, & Aghora, (respectively representing, in name, U'rdhva Vaktra,


faces

Tatpurusha,

Purva Vaktra, Pas'chimo, Fakira, Dakshiya Vaktra, & Vdma Vaktra) which are the symbols of His fivefold glory i. e. The same divine Chit, A'nanda, Icchd, Jndna & Kriyd.
faces

are said to be the five respective sources of Urdhvd-

mndya, Ptirvdmndya, Pas'chimdmndya, Dakshindmqdya Vdmdmndya,


2

&

Swacchanda
S'aivaisra,

is

synonymous with Swatantra or one


Free Will,
the

possessed of

Swdtantrya or

keynote of the

Kashmir

IV

INTRODUCTION,

Trika System.
of Kashmir seems to be very old and only a few vestiges reminiscent of its predominant influence in the past are found lingering in some of the

The Trika System

families in

Kashmir.
is

The term Tikkoo

The family of the Tikkoos. ( Cf. an Apabhrams'a of TriJea ). This

system has been peculiarised by its native tendency to discuss doctrines and practices in the light of pure monism and consequently to emphasise the difference
in
its

outlook

from

those

of

other

philosophical

systems which teach ttoe^eternal Saiva faith in the aspects of Bheda ( diversity ) and Bheddbheda ( diversityin-unity ).

Divine Authorship of theTantra.


Just like

regarded as an

other Tantras, Swacchanda Tantra is Agama S'dstra and, hence, of superhu-

It takes the form of a dialogue Bhairava, Perusal of a few introductory verses leads us to understand that the present Tantra is an abstract of the original Swacchanda Tantra

man

authorship.

between Devi

&

which

have been a very voluminous Tantra 1 consisting of a hundred crore of verses and consequently
is

said to

baffling the

Iron

power of study by men particularly in the Age wherein shortlivedness, penury, and mental
prevail,

and moral lassitude

Commentary.
only commentary now available on the Swacchand-Tantram is known by the name of

The

INTRODUCTION.

"Uddyota". That there were several commentaries on the Tantram in question before is evidenced by a few allusions confronted with here and there in the volume of the book. The first reference that we come across on page 4, Patala II of the Smicchanda Tantra,
viz., (

commentary on the Tantra without any mention either of its name or the author. Further on, we find the second reference
of another
etc.,

us about the existence

^ T%^*farftnfTn:

etc. etc.), clearly

convinces

leaf

119,

Ms.

B,

Pat. X.) which, in plain terms, gives us the name of one of the commentaries anterior to the " Uddyota"
as Vrhat Tikd, at the

same time making us acquainted


}

with the author's

own name, mz.

Bhullaka Edjdnaka.

Xo
of

definite

information can be had about this author


also.

Vrhattika.

compositions
far

The same uncertainty is felt about his The method of interpretation is


Uddyota.
Several in-

different

from that of the

dications induce us to believe that profane meanings were given to the hallowed sentences by the followers of the dualistic systems of S'aiva Philosophy, ( Cf. the references on pages 75 and 72 of the II Patala). Other commentaries, to all intents and purposes, seem to have run on the dualistic lines though there is no

confession made by Kshemaraja thereabout. The commentaries most probably did exist during his time, but neither of them is to be had at present.
explicit

The Author
The author
Kshemaraja
in

of the Uddyota.

as

of the commentary, the Uddyota, is is evident from the fifth verse

the

beginning

of

the
in

commentary,
.

which

is

The commentary

explains the

moot points

pure monism, which author is, it is believed,


tive of the fact that

the Tantra in the light of endeavour on the part of the

first of its kind and is indicasome of the pre-S'iva-Sutra-Tantras

VI

INTRODUCTION;

were commented upon on the lines of dualism nay a triad pluralism, the corroboration whereof is made by of verses at the end of the commentary (Uddyota), which runs as under:
I.

ii.

ill.

I.

"The

venerable

Swacchand-Tantra does not


Its
viz.,
is

brook the

dualistic interpretation.

such a notion, for dualism; any such theory doctrine of "Free-Will".


shattered to pieces
II.

very name has the theory of


to

opposed

the

People, under the inebriation due to constant imbibing of the dualistic view, do fail to perceive the Reality in the nature of the free and pure Chit.
III.
It
is,

therefore, that the

commentary

called

Uddyota (lit. blaze of light), surcharged, as it is, with the ambrosia of pure monism, is here undertaken to remove the dark notions that hang about as a result of
the dualistic interpretations handed

down

to us.

Kshemaraja's Parentage.

veil

of mystery

Kshemardja.

From

the

hangs over the parentage of verses 1 at the end of the

(Stav. oh P. 130 Scries X.)

1XTUODUCTIOX,
Vivrti
this

VII

on Stawachintdmani
it

Xo.

of

the series of

Department),

is

manifest that he lived at the

Vijaycs'wara, the modern Bijbiftdra ( in Kashmiri Vyajibror ), a town about thirty miles off Srinagar on the eastern side, where he, being once requested, or rather

encouraged by one S'tirdditya, son of one Gundditya, commented upon Ndrdyana Bhatta's Stawachintdmani. No mention of Silrdditya alluded to above has been

made

in

the

Kashmir Rdjatarangini, which


little

fact

suggests that he had, presumably, done thing to attract the notice of the historian

or no-

Kalhana and

to place himself far above the masses.

Date of Kshemaraja.
to exercise his brain very much in with the problem of the time of Kshemaraja, grappling as it will be at once got at by catching hold of the fact that he feels proud to share the honour of pupilage to

One has not

Mahamaheswaracharya Abhinava Gupta, who,


mitted on
the
all

as ad-

Xth

hands, lived either in the latter half of or in the early part of the Xlth century A. D.

Kshemaraja's Style of Commenting.


Kshemaraja's style of commenting is modelled upon that of Abhinava Gupta, the voluminous writer on the Adwaita S'aiua Philosophy. It is philological,
vigorous, generally pithy
ally,

the author does

full

but to the point. Occasionjustice to the text with due

attention to the

to express his deep erudition S'aivaism of Kashmir.

economy of words pregnant enough in the field of Adwaita

Works by the Author.


The
chief existing
( i

works of Kshemaraja

are:

Vimars'ini on the'S'iva Sutras.


Vivrti on Stavachintamaui.

2 )

(3) Utpalastotravali Tika.

VIII

INTRODUCTION
(4) Parapraves'ika. ( 5 ) Swacchandoddyota.
6 ) Vijfianabhairavoddyota. (7) Netra-Uddyota. ( 8 ) Pratyabhijna Hrdaya.
(

Spanda Nirnaya. Spanda Sandoha. ( 1 1 ) Dwanyaloka-lochanoddyota. (12) Tika on Samba-paiichas'ika.


(

10

Another work namely Tattwa sandoha viz., ( ShatTrimsattattwa sandoha) has been ascribed to Kshemardja by Mr. J. C. Chatterji (see his Kashmir 'SaivaismP ag e 35) which seems to be open to objection, as several quotations from the Dipika (Comm. on Yogini Hrdaya by Amitananda Natha, pupil to Punya-nanda Natha ) on Yogini Hrdaya, clearly entitle Amitananda Natha to the authorship of the book in question.

Arrangement Observed in the Swachhandatantram.


The
chapters.

Tantram

consists

of

fifteen

Patalas

or

No

sense of

harmony seems

to have ad-

equately been used in the arrangement of the chapters as some of them are imp roportionally lengthy while the others are very small. The names of the Patalas
are given below, each ject it deals with:
(1) *T*?teTC:
I

one of them indicating the sub-

(2) ar^frffrc:!
(3)

(6)

(7)
(8)

INTRODUCTION,
(11)

IX

(12)

vTK1Tf^*J

TORT

(15)

Conclusion,
In
best
fine,

the Swacchanda-Tantram
S'astras.

is

one of the
discussed

Mantra

The dogmatic formulas

therein can be apprehended only with the aid of the best S'aiva Teachers of the Valley. What with its fascinating treatment of the Ritual or S'aivaistic Initiation,

Mantra
the

what with its description of charms and the and lastly, what with its dealings with and wondrous powers of the Yoga, occult
S'akti,

Swacchanda-Tantra ranks high among other Tantras as it chiefly aims at the realization of the Adwaita Tattwa or the height of spirituality which is but an
unalloyed
bliss.

3rd

NmT^o.}

MADHUSUDAN KAUL.

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