Jivotpatti Adv Brahman

Jivotpa
utpa back to advaita brahman
Jivotpa
Was Amalananda a Pāncarātra-enthusiast (PE)?

In order to give the erroneous impression to their gullible readers, the bloggers have been propaga ng
the unfounded idea that Amalananda has approved the ‘jivotpa ’ of the Pancharatra doctrine in
discreet disagreement with the Bhashya of Shankara. That such a mischievous propaganda is without
any basis but merely a result of bigotry is established in the sequel thereby exposing the bigots.
What the Bhashya says: in BSB 2.2.42 in par cular about the ‘jivotpa ’:
य न दमु ते — वासु वा ङ्क ण उ ते, सङ्क णा , नन इनत, अ मः — न

वासु वसं का मा नः सङ्क णसं क जीव नतः स वनत, अनन दददो सङ्गात् ;उ नतम जीव
अनन दयो दो स न् ; तत नैवा भगव मो त्, ण कायष नवलय सङ्गात् ;
नत नत च
आचायो जीव नतम् — ‘ना ऽ ते ष ता ’ ( . सू. २-३-१७) इनत । त दसङ्गतै क ना ॥
Transla on:
//Further regarding what the Bhāgavatas say: From Vāsudeva originates Sankarṣaṇaḥ…..we have to say
this: It is impossible for the jiva named sankarṣaṇa to originate from vāsudeva the paramātmā since
there will be the bunch of defects such as anityatva, ephemerality. If the jiva were to be origina ng,
defects
such as ephemerality will accrue. Hence its a aining Mokṣa by merging with Bhagavān would not be
possible. When the e ect (jiva) a ains (merges with) the cause (Bhagavan) it (the jiva the e ect) will get
dissolved. Further, Bādarāyaṇa the Teacher, will deny the origina ng of the jīva in the Brahma sūtra
2.3.17 ‘The individual soul has no origin, because the Vedic texts do not men on this and because the
soul is known from them to be eternal.’ Accordingly this assump on (of the Pāncarātra/Bhāgavaas) is
unjus able. //
The above is all what the Bhāṣya says about this aspect of ‘jīvotpa ḥ’ in the adhikaraṇam.
Amalananda, in the Kalpataru, has said:
What the (Vedānta)siddhān n wishes to say in the wake of the Pāncarātra conten on (holding the jiva to
be origina ng) is:
2
· The Pāncarātram is a product of human intelligence while the Veda is not so since it is given out
by the Lord in the manner of breathing out, during the me of every crea on.
· Since the shru does not admit of the jivotpa , the Pāncarātra, by virtue of its being given out
by the Lord, Bhagavān, who cannot be admi ed to be ignorant of the Vedic posi on, admi ng it
(jivotpa ) is to be considered to be gauṇa, that is, not absolute.
By the above idea conveyed by the Kalpataru, the blogger has concluded that Amalānanda, the author of
the Kalpataru, has admi ed the Pāncarātra doctrine to be free of any defects.
That such is not the case is evident from the following facts:;
Amalānanda, perhaps sensing that what he said in the Kalpataru could give room to the
misconcep on as that of the blogger, has taken pains to give the clari ca on in the
‘Śāstradarpaṇam’, his other work that is a brief commentary of the en re lot of adhikaraṇas of
र्े
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the Brahmasutras. This is a work in verse form for which his own commentary is appended. In
this work for that par cular adhikaraṇam Amalananda says over and above what he said in the
Kalpataru:
य नप जीवो तेः तान तथानप मो न म् अ व । नव पलये पनाशात्

मो फलभा योगात् इनत ।
[Even though the idea of ‘jiva origina ng’ does not contradict the non-dual nature of Brahman,
yet there is indeed this contradic on concerning (the jiva a aining) mokṣa. The e ect, upon
dissolving in the cause, undergoes fundamental destruc on, and it would not be capable of
being a candidate for libera on.]
It is this part of the Amalānanda’s commentary that completely annotates the Bhāṣyam cited at
the beginning. It should be noted that the Bhāṣyam did not say anything about the Pāncarātra
view of jivotpa that could be salvaged by trea ng it as gauṇam. All that the bhāṣya has stated
about this idea of jivotpa is what has been cited in the beginning and Amalānanda completely
agrees with Shankara on whatever Shankara says on this.
What would be the consequence of accep ng the blogger’s unfounded view that ‘Amalananda
accepts the Pāncarātra posi on on jivotpa ’?
3
First, there will be no way than concluding that Amalānanda is disagreeing with the Bhāṣhyam
of Shankara. And further, that Shankara is ignorant of the aspect that Amalānanda said in the
Kalpataru (that the jivotpa of the Pāncarātra should be taken as not absolute but gauṇa). But
such is not the case since, Shankara, following the Sūtrakāra Bādarāyaṇa, has admi ed
jivotpa , in Vedanta, in the sūtra: 2.3.16 ‘ पा य त प शो भा वभानव त्’.
[…….in rela on to the soul (jiva) it must be in a secondary sense…’bhkātaḥ = gauṇa’.]
Shankara says in that bhāṣyam: भा र् जीव ज ण प शः । [ …but this reference to the
birth and death of the soul (jiva) is only in a secondary sense. ]
Thus both Veda Vyasa and Shankara know very well that the jiva’s birth spoken of in the
Vedanta is only in the secondary sense. It is only this that Amalananda, out of compassion, is
poin ng out in the Kalpataru and giving a sugges on to the Pāncarātras that if they hold the
jivotpa in their system to be in the secondary sense then on that count they will not be
contradic ng the Veda. This by no means amounts to the Kalpataru accep ng the Pāncarātra on
this count. Far from endorsing the Pāncarātra doctrine, Amalananda is poin ng to a possibility of
raising the Pāncarātra to the level of Advaita Vedanta. This is because, according to
Shankara’s introductory words to this sūtra bhāṣyam, the Bhāgavata school has accepted the
Supreme Reality to be both the instrumental and the material cause. For Shankara, any system
that does this has to be akin to Vedanta. As such the inert world and the jivas are vivarta of
Brahman. While there is no ques on of the inert world a aining mokṣa, there is indeed the need
for explaining the jiva a aining mokṣa. This is because it is the sen ent jiva that is iden fying
itself as a samsārin. Since according to the Pāncarātra the jiva is a kārya, e ect, of
Paramātman, there is no way there will be the possibility of the jiva a aining to the Paramātman,
in terms of Vedanta, for mokṣa. For, as per Vedanta a kārya, e ect, is jaḍa and anitya. The jiva
cannot be admi ed to be of this nature. This is the essence of Shankara’s bhāṣya pertaining to
this aspect of the bhāgavata school. And this has been completely upheld and reproduced, nay,
restated, faithfully by the Bhāma and the Śāstradarpaṇa. In fact the Kalpataru endorses the
other defects, also having rami ca ons of the utpa yasambhava-defect, in the subsequent
sutras of that adhikaraṇa. It is not as though the pāncarātra has been rejected owing to a
‘minor’ defect; it is wholesale rejec on as far as the pāncarātra as a doctrine is concerned. The
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other major embarrassment to the Pāncarātra doctrine is that the last Sutra in that adhikaranam
says that it is contradictory (to the Veda). Shankara says: it is a product of veda nindā to which
Amalananda has not shown any resentment, which he should have done if he had been a PE.
4
The Kalpataru endorses the Bhāma idea that this doctrine is ‘apasiddhānta’, self contradictory,
self-defea ng. All the defects are brought out in the Bhāṣya elaborately.
Saying that the Kalpataru accepts the Pācarātra (even on this count) amounts to a serious aw
and impropriety. Not only does it amount to Amalananda indic ng Shankara of ignorance of the
Pāncarātra doctrine but also, in greater measure, ends up in Amalananda accusing Veda Vyasa
too of ignorance of the Pāncarātra doctrine. How? The very sutra 2.2.42 is worded:
‘utpa yasambhavāt’ which translates to ‘Owing to the impossibility of origin’. It is on this ground,
hetu, that is, because the jivotpa , an impossibility, is admi ed in the Pāncarātra, that this
doctrine is rejected. If, as it is wrongly thought that Amalānanda is admi ng the jivotpa of the
Pāncarātra as gauṇa and therefore non-contradictory to the Veda, then it amounts to saying that
‘Amalananda (alone) is right and both Veda Vyasa and Shankara are wrong.’ If Veda Vyasa
(and Shankara) who have accepted jivotpa in Vedanta as gauna are not accep ng that in the
Pāncarātra there must be a reason and that is that they (the Pāncarātras) have not accepted the
jivotpa as gauna and not given any clue thereof. That is why Veda Vyasa has even worded
the sūtra thus: ‘Owing to the impossibility of origin.’ If this impossibility itself is thwarted, then
the very sūtra becomes meaningless and a waste. This is the consequence of the blogger’s
unfounded claim that ‘Amalananda accepts the Pāncarātra on the grounds of jivotpa being
gauṇa.’ How one’s bigotry throws to the wind all rules of propriety of even indic ng Veda Vyasa
of ignorance!!
What clinches Amalānanda’s true view about the Pāncarātra is his conclusion in the
Śāstradarpaṇam that is cited above. It is this conclusion that eminently, completely, brings out
his total agreement with Shankara and therefore, with Veda Vyasa. For, what all Shankara (and
the Bhāma ) have said about jivotpa in that sutra bhāṣhya/vyākhyāna has been brought out by
Amalananda in utmost faithfulness in that conclusion:
य नप जीवो तेः तान तथानप मो न म् अ व । नव पलये पनाशात्

मो फलभा योगात् इनत ।
[Even though the idea of ‘jiva origina ng’ does not contradict the non-dual nature of Brahman,
yet there is indeed this contradic on concerning (the jiva a aining) mokṣa. The e ect, upon
dissolving in the cause, undergoes fundamental destruc on, it would not be capable of being a
candidate for libera on.]
5
For Shankara, a system can be admi ed only when the ul mate mokṣa is that of the Vedanta
where the jiva realizes itself to be none other than Brahman. This is possible only if the jiva is
not an origina ng en ty (utpa mān) but only Brahman with the avidyopādhi that makes it think
itself as a jiva. Since all this is not possible in the Pāncarātra doctrine it is rejected four mes in
four sūtras for various reasons in that adhikaraṇa by Veda Vyasa and Shankara. Shankara
rejects this doctrine for the h me again in the Daśaślokī by explicitly naming it ‘na
tatpāncarātram…’ [The Vedan c Supreme is not that taught by the Pāncarātra’]. This work has
been authen cated by Madhusudana Saraswa in his ‘Siddhāntabindu’ (which is a commentary
on the Daśaślokī’) who endorses Shankara’s rejec on of the Pācarātra doctrine.
In fact Sri Appayya Dikṣita too (in the kalpataru-parimala for this adhikarana) has cited proof for
the inadmissibility of the Pācharātra (for its being unvedic) from the words of the Vaikhānasa
doctrine.
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Thus, there is no way that Amalānanda is a Pāncarātra-enthusiast. He has the greatest regard
for the Veda, Veda Vyasa, Shankara and Vācaspa Misra. He will not say anything that is
against these luminaries.
Amalananda cannot be regarded as a Pāncarātra-enthusiast (PE) for these addi onal several
crucial and incontrover ble reasons:
1. He is an Advai n. No PE will approve of Advaita. That is why Ramanuja and
Madhva who are known PEs have rejected Advaita, not caring for the grave
‘bhāgavata apachāram’ they both have commi ed by calling Shankara an anādi
pāpavāsanāvān [‘one endowed with beginningless sinful tendencies], ignorant
of all disciplines, and an asura who was born illegi mate. It is this Shankara that
the bloggers want to aunt as a vaiṣṇava.
2. Amalananda is a Hari-Hara abheda vādin just like all Vedan ns right from Veda
Vyasa, Shankara, Sureśwara, etc.
3. Amalananda equated Hari and Hara for paying obeisance: Hari-hara vigraham
dadhānam (in the Kalpataru) and in the Śāstradarpaṇam just as Veda Vyasa
has singled out Hari and Hara to pair them for depic ng as non-di erent. This
is not any ‘abheda in the pāramārthika level’. For, to state that
everything/everyone is non-di erent is a statement of ta vam, truth, and not a
6
stu of those. Contrary to this, the Hari-Hara pair has been singled out for
namaskara as parameśwaras by Amalananda, Sridhara Swamin, etc.
4. He called Hari and Hara as Parameśwaras which blasphemy no PE will dare to
commit.
5. He composed special verses on Śiva’s glory within the body of the Kalpataru
which no PE would do.
6. Above all, he authen cated the Prapanchasāra as that of Shankara, a work that
has everything that is inimical to the PE. It teaches that several devatās are
muk -givers, world-creators, etc.
7. He composed a special verse on the greatness of Ganapa as giving everything
to his devotee as to make him free of wants (which is only mokṣa) within the
body of the Kalpataru, (which is quite in accordance with Shankara in the
Prapanchasāra and Sarvajnātman in his invocatory verse holding Ganapathy as
‘viśvakṛt’ = Creator of the World. In other words Sarvajnātman considers
Ganapathy also as Parameśwara) which no PE would ever do.
8. Amalananda cited verses from the Yajnavalkya smṛ that speak of the mokṣagiving
capacity of Surya, Skanda and Ganapa worship. This smri says this
with regard to the pitṛs too even as Shankara does in the Prapancasāra. No PE
would consider this as authorita ve.
9. Above all, Amalananda honours Vācaspa Misra as a Brahmajnāni which no
PE would do.
In their despera on to add numbers to their ‘Vaiṣṇava’ denomina on the bloggers try to enlist
Shankara, Amalananda, etc. who are great names in the horizon of Vedanta. To meet this end
they throw to winds rules of syntax, propriety and decency. Unless exposed they will go
unques oned and their gullible readers will be the unfortunate losers.
Om Tat Sat
utpa back to advaita
utpa back to advaita brahman
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panca bhuta prapanca utpa not adevaita only gauna to merge the same back to
Full text of "Panchapadika Vivaranam of Prakasatma Yati"

The latest is the present work Pancha Padika Vivaranam of Prakasatma Ya ... Soon a er these arose
divergent developments in 1 n1etaphysis of Advaita ..... In the same manner the sravana vidhi. does not
come into con ict with the 'atma vakya'. ...... We can only say that the silver has gone back to its earlier
state'1.
n But take the case of «pratyabhijna\ object has been cognised some me back and me it is recognised
now to be the same. : This does not ...
Sri Guru Tattva: PRAMANA-TATTVA
pratyaksa, anumana, arya, upamana, arthapa , abhava, sambhava,. aithihya, and centha, one will ...
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PRAMANA-TATTVA
Srimad-Bhagavatam Describes the Four Kinds of Evidence.
Appendix 1
sru h pratyaksamai hyam anumanam catusthayam
pramanesvana-vasthanad vikalpat sa virajyate
There are four kinds of evidence by which reality may be known:

revela on, percep on, history and hearsay and inference. (Bhag. 11.19.17)
Manu-samhita Describes Three Kinds of Evidence.
Appendix 2
pratyaksas-canumananca sastranca vividhagamam
trayam suviditam karyam dharma-suddhim-abhisata
If one wants to understand what is reality, one must consider the

three kinds of evidence: Vedic evidence, percep on, and inference. (Manu 12.105)
The Ancient Vaisnava Madhva Muni Explains the Three Kinds of Evidence.
Appendix 3
pratyakse 'ntarbhaved yasmad-a thyam tena desikah
pramanam trividham prakhyat tatra mukhya sru r-bhavet
Since hearsay is included in percep on, Madhvacarya has said that

the means of proper knowledge are three, among which sru , or revela on,
is the highest. (Prameya-ratnavali 9.2)
Divine Sound is the Best Evidence for Understanding Reality
Appendix 4
yadyapi pratyaksanumana-sabdaryopamanarthapa yabhava-
sambhavai hya-cesthakhyani dasa pramanani viditani, tathapi bhrama-
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pramada-vipralipsa-karanapatava-dosa-rahitavacanatmakah sabda eva
mulam pramanam
If one carefully examines the ten kinds of evidence, namely

pratyaksa, anumana, arya, upamana, arthapa , abhava, sambhava,
aithihya, and centha, one will nd that all of them are contaminated with
the four defects of material life: chea ng, imperfect senses, illusion, and
mistakes. Therefore of all of these, revela on, sru , is considered to be
superior for it is above the four defects. Sru is, therefore, the root of all
evidence. (Ta va-Sandarbha, Sarva-samvadini)
Appendix 5
pramanera madhye sru -pramana pradhana
sru ye mukhyartha kahe, sei se pramana
jivera asthi-vistha dui sankha-gomaya
sru -vakye sei dui mahapavitra haya
svatah-pramana veda satya yei kaya
"laksana" karile svatah-pramanya-hani haya
[Caitanya Mahaprabhu said] Although there is other evidence, the

evidence given in the Vedic version must be taken as foremost. Vedic ver-
sions understood directly are rst-class evidence. Conchshells and cow dung
are nothing but the bones and the stool of certain living en es, but accord-
ing to the Vedic version they are both considered very pure.
The Vedic statements are self-evident. Whatever they state must be ac-
cepted. If we interpret according to our own imagina on, the authority of
the Vedas is immediately lost. (Cc. Madhya 6.135-137)
- Brahma vidya rahasyam part 2(a scintific expotion
It is not This is real Advaita on which so many unnecessary controversies have ... It is this that reaches
another Atma, gets back and builds up ...... This Prapanca which shows itself to us in various varie es,
various colours, ...... Since there is nothing else here except Jagat for Jivotpa the Jagat also is Satya.
Sri Tantralokah - Volume II (Sanskrit Text with English
Tantraloka is a magnum opus of the Indian Tantrika-world, wri en in ... the period men oned here of
Guhyasamajatantra, Prapancasaratantra is the ... Recently the sixteenth, i.e. the advaita philosophy of
Samkara is published
Descrip on
Foreword
Abhinavagupta's magnum opus 'The Tantraloka' is a great work in the ambience of
tantragama trea se. This precept of right descrip ons of almost all branches of saiva and
sakta agama. The right will to translate the en re work into English (direct from Samskrta) is
re ected in the mind of Mr. Gautam Cha erjee. As the result, the transla on work of the ten
chapters has been completed with illustrious explanatory notes. I pray to Lord Siva, who
blesses with his Trisula of powers i.e. will, knowledge and ac on, may accomplish the
transla ons of the en re work. I believe, all the scholars of the tantragama will appreciate this
work with their blessings.
Situated on the upper por on of the Trisula of Jnanaguru Lord Samkara, Kasi, represents the
whole world, so it is quite natural that people from Bengal come here and stay. In such a
family, on 18th August 1963 (Bhadrapada masa), this child was born to enhance the joy of his
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mother Meera and father Amaresh Chandra Cha erjee, in order to ourish the grace of his
lineage as his su sign is Leo (simhasthasurya).
Sisyaprajneva bodhasya karanam guruvakyatah', by such blessings from scriptures, the
spiritual mother Rangama blessed and elevated this fortunate. A er comple ng his educa on
in science subjects from Banaras Hindu University, he cul vated his skill in the eld of
musicology, and dram art. He performed his teachings in these subjects in Mahatma Gandhi
Kashi Vidyapith. His mother Smt. Meera Devi was ini ated (consecrated) by the asce c
Rangama and bene ted by the teachings of great sages like Anandmayi Ma. M.M. Gopinath
Kaviraja and others.
By the blessings of these great digni es, Gautam's interest arisen the spirituality. He
mastered himself by the grace of great scholars like Swami Lakshman Joo, Sri Govind Gopal
Mukhopadhyay, Thakur Jaideva Singh and others in the area of literature, music art and
Pratyabhijnasastra. He interviewed art stalwarts such as Satyajit Ray, Kumar Gandharva,
Kelucharan Mohapatra, Nirmal Verma Badal Sircar and others and published it with the
concerned seminars. He had keen interest in journalism so he enriched the journals
Dharmayug, Svatantra Bharat, Rastriya Sahara and the Hindu with his talent, and got great
fame.
At present, with Abhinava Gupta Academy, busy with the scholarly works regarding
Natyasastra and Pratyabhijnasastra, researches and seminars, Mr. Cha erjee is constantly
engaged to accomplish his right resolves. I wish for the success of his zeal.
In 2006, he published his own collec on of ten plays (as a playwright) 'Dasarupaka' in Hindi.
In the preface of this book, he has discussed the ideas of his own and other scholars. Here, the
e ort is praiseworthy but we can not approve every idea presented in this preface. Here
discussed topics as the Buddhist tantras are inspired by Gautam Buddha, there are e ects of
Tantras on Natyasastra, the period men oned here of Guhyasamajatantra, Prapancasaratantra
is the work of Adya Samkaracarya, the use of the word Sandha Bhasa (the twilight or upside
down language) are expected to have genuine proofs. We must not forget that the Jains are
more harmonious to the na on than the Buddhists.
In the English transla on of 'the Tantraloka', Mr. Cha erjee has wri en valuable notes as
required by the help of several works with great pain and hard work. His e ort in this respect
is very much appreciable. I stop myself by saying that this method should be followed in the
en re work.
Back of the Book
Tantraloka is a magnum opus of the Indian Tantrik world, wri en in the Tenth Century, in
the light of Kashmir Saivism by the great polymath Sri Abhinavagupta. This great work does
31/07/2015 Sri Tantralokah Volume II (Sanskrit Text with English Transla on, Translitera on of Chapter
Two, Three, Four)
le:///C:/Users/Raghav/Desktop/Sri%20Tantralokah%2 .html 3/17
not only include all the philosophical and Tantrika essence of monis c Kashmir Saivism but is
also o en considered the apex of Indian Tantrika Philosophy. Abhinavagupta explains in detail
in its thirty seven chapters the al inclusive vision and way to truth, the Prakasa state of
Parama Siva. This publica on is the rst a empt to unfold this Prakasa (Light) for the Englishspeaking
horizon.
Gautam Cha erjee, wel known writer, President, Abhinavagupta Academy, has a lineage of
Pt. Ishvara Chandra Vidyasagar, with deep Sanskrit tradi on and has been a close associate of
Thakur Jaidev Singh. His two books (collec on of plays), related to Kashmir Shaivism, have
already been published. At present, working on the inte in uence of Indian Classical Music
and Agam.
'R cogni on of Actor' is his forthcoming book.
Introduc on
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The philosophy of Indian Philosophy is not priori. But the worship of Siva or Rudra goes back
to the Vedas. If we consider the excava on of Mohenjodaro and Harappa as pr vedic
(according to John Marshall's view over the Indus Valley Civiliza on, and also the views from
R.C. Majumdar and A.D. Pusalkar), we can come across the found image of Pasupa , as
Pulaskar writes, the representa on of male gods, the most remarkable is a thre faced deity,
has at least three concepts which are usually associated with Siva viz. that he is (i) trimukha
(threefaced), (ii) pasupa (lord of animals, in Kamira Saivism, the term 'pasu' means
individual soul, pasa means maya and pa means Lord), and (iii) yogisvara or Mahayogi. The
rst two aspects are apparent from the seal itself. The deity is si ng cros legged in a
padmasana posture with eyes turned towards the p of the nose which evidences the
yogisvara aspect of the deity. It has been suggested by some scholars that the Siv cult was
borrowed by the Ind Aryans from the Indus culture but as there is a reference to Siva in the
Rigveda itself. Siva may not be a later intruder in the Hindu pantheon.'
Again, in the Yajurveda we have the Satarudriya. The Tai riya Aranyaka tells us that the
whole universe is the manifesta on of Rudra. Some of Upanisads, the Mahabharata and some
Puranas glorify Siva or Rudra. We nd Rudra in the Atharvaveda, Brahmanas, Upanisada and
Sutras.
In the Puranas, Siva is demonstrated with two aspects, benevolent and malevolent. Siva is
generally worshipped by 'linga' i.e. phallic form and 'in the shape of man' i.e. anthropomorphic
from (greek anthropos means man, morphe means shape). The puranas invariably present
Siva with a single head whereas the installa on of Siva's image with ve heads
(pancamukhasiva), we nd in religious place of worship like Varanasi (or Kasi), in both the
Visvanatha temples. We also nd lingas with ve faces (pancamukhalingas), also known as
pancavaktra (Pancavaktra mohadevah in Skanda Purana). The Ardhanarisvara form of Siva is
too found in the Puranas. And nally the twent seventh chapter of the Vayu Purana explains
in detail the eigh old from of Siva. Rudra, Isana, Pasupa , Mahadeva,Nilalohita, Sankara,
Siva, Sadasiva, Sambhu, Vyomakesa, Trinetra, Trilocana, Tryambaka, Virupaksa, Nilakantha,
Nilagriva, Srikantha, Si kantha, Astamur , Santa are few names, we can nd these for Siva in
the Puranas.
In Indian Philosophy, linga originally meant symbol or sign of crea on, gramma cally it is sex,
and etymologically, linga and langala (plough, as Przyluski studied) are of austr asia c origin
and the same thing. In nigama and agama, therefore we nd clear traces of Siva from the
ancient me, historically and religiously, as an essen al cult. The sacred literature of the
Saivas is called Saivagama. Srikantha places it side by side with the Vedas. Madhavacarya
refers to the four schools of Saivism Nakulis pasupata, Saiva, Pratyabhijna and Rasesvara in
his percept 'Sarvadarsanasamgraha, wri en in twel h century. Here men oned Saiva
indicates the dualis c school of Siddhanta saiva, the belonging of Madhavacarya.
A er six long centuries, Pandita Isvaracandra Vidyasagara found the copies of this precept
'Sarvadarsana samgraha' in the late nineteenth century. During this dark period, people were
unaware of saivism and saivagamas of ancient India. No other traces were there in moghul
period. Pt. Vidyasagara found one copy of the same Samskrta script in Kolkata and two more
copies from Kasi. He edited the en re script, consis ng of een major philosophies of ancient
and medieval India and 142, Bibliotheca India) in 1853. Pt. Vidyasagara was then principal of
the Samskrta College, Calcu a. A er receiving this book with Samskrta text, E.B. Cowell and
A.E. Gough translated it into English with een philosophies and published it by indica ng in
the index that Madhavacarya had compiled sixteen philosopies. Recently the sixteenth, i.e. the
advaita philosophy of Samkara is published from Adyara Library and Research centre, Adyara,
Chennai in 1999. Klaus K. Klostermaier has translated the Samskrta text into English.
Therefore he was actually Vidyasagara ji who brought about this great work of Madhavacarya
into light so that, a er the English version by Cowell and Gough, the whole world, we came to
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know about Kashmira Saivism or the philosophy of Pratyabhijna and scholars traced the major
works of this no dualis c school from the Kasmiri Panditas for the very rst me in late
nineteenth and early twen eth centuries.
Therefore he was actually Vidyasagara ji who brought about this great work of Madhavacarya
into light so that, a er the English version by Cowell and Gough, the whole world, we came to
know about Kashmira Saivism or the philosophy of Pratyabhijna and scholars traced the major
works of this no dualis c school from the Kasmiri Panditas for the very rst me in late
nineteenth and early twen eth centuries.
In his preface Pt. Vidyasagara writes: writes: There are two manuscripts (of
Sarvadarsanasamgraha) in Calcu a, one in the Library of the Sanskrit College, and the other
in that of the former manuscripts was su ciently correct. But scru nizing it with the care
necessary for publica on, I collected it with the copy in the Society's Library and found that
without the more manuscripts, the readings in several passages in which the two manuscripts
di er, could not be reconciled. No other manuscripts were however procurable in Bengal, but
by good fortune I procured three manuscripts from Benares. These were of essen al service to
me, and it was only a er carefully colla ng them with the texts in Calcu a and that I have
been able to edit the work. I feel it my duty here to express my great delega ons to Mr.
Edward Hall, late of the Benaras College, through whose kind exer ons the Bengares
manuscripts were received.
Hence the Saiva system (or systems) came to the no ce of the modern scholars in 1858 A.D.
The fou The Nakulis Pasupata system, the Saiva system, the Pratyabhijna or Recogni ve
system ans the Resesvara or Mercurial syste among sixteen systems appeared for the rst
me when these published in the Bibliothica Indica. Inspite of that, the Pratyabhijna Sastra
remained unknown to the modern scholars. In the years 1875, G. Buhler discovered in
Kasamira (Kashmir), the works composed by Kashmiris under the general name Saiva Sastra.
The available Literature shows that there were eight system of the Saiva Philosophy asPasupata,
Siddhanta, Nakulisa Pasupata, Visistadvaita Saiva, Visesadvaita Saiva, Nandikesvara
Saiva and Monis c Saiva of Kashmira. Abhinavagupta, the great polymath of Kashmira, has
categorized these as three Saiva systems Dvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Advaita. Besides the four
among sixteens in Sarvadarsanasamgraha, we nd two more sect Kapalika and kalamukha, in
Yamuna's Agamapramanya. Saivism is again divided into Vira Saivism (or Sak visistadvaita)
and Saiva Siddhanta. The former is also known as Ligayata (or Satasthala). Though according
to Sripa Pandita, Vira Saivism is Visesadvaita and not Sak Visistadvaita. Scholars regarded
this as Sak Visistadvaita. K.C. Pandey puts this is the category of Visesadvaita. I consider this
as sak visistadvaita on the authen c basis of Puranas and my revered guru Pt. Vraja Vallabha
Dvivedi. Saiva Siddhanta calls itself Suddhadvaita, the name while Vallabha's school bears.
Whereas Vallabha means by the word 'Suddha' 'that which is free from the impurity of Maya
(mayasambandharahita) and by the word 'Advaita's 'the No dual Brahman', Saiva Siddhanta
takes the word 'Suddha' in the sense of 'unquali ed' and the word 'Advaita' in the sense of
'Dvaita devoid of duality' which means that di erence is real in existence. That means, though,
ma er and souls are real yet they are not opposed to Siva but are inseparably united with Him
who is the supreme reality. This suggests the in uence of Aprthaksiddhi of Ramanuja. Saiva
Siddhanta agrees with Madhava in giving them substan ve existence. Siddhanta Saiva is
dualis c and Madhavacarya had faith in this dualis c philosophy.
Saiva Siddhanta recogonizes eighteen Agamas whereas Saivagamas are twenty eight. In
Sarvadarsana samgraha, chapter seventh, the saiva darsana talks about Srimad Mrgendra,
Karana, Kirana, Bahudaivatya, Puskara and Tantra doctrines. Colebrook found ve books of
Saiva sutras. He says, one is in the ve, called the Pasupa sastra, which is probably the work
Two, Three, Four)
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quoted by Madhava in his account of the Nakulisa Pasupatas.
Saiva Siddhanta is known as Southern Saivism and Pratyabijna or Kashmira Saivism
represents the Northern Saivism. It was primarily dualis c. This Northern school is known as
Pratyabhijna or Trika or Spanda system as Kashmira Saivism. In short, historically, Siv sutra
(these have been revealed to Vasugupta, as it is said). Vasugupta's (eighth century) spanda
karika or Spandamrta, Somanand's (ninth century) Siva drs , Utpaldeva's (son and disciple of
Somanand Nath, tenth century) Pratyabhijn sutra, Abhinavagupta's (950 1025, disciple of
Laksmanagupta) Tantraloka, Pratyabhijnavimarsini, Paratrimsika Vivarana and Paramarthasara
(mainly), Ksemaraja's (pupil and cousin of Abhinavagupta) Sivasutravimarsini, Spandasandoha
and Spandanirnaya, Kallata's (chief disciple of Vasugupta) Svarupa and Vibhu Spanda and
Vijnana Bhairava and some of the most important works of this system. Spandasandoha, by
Ksemaraja, is a commentary on the rst verse of Spandakarika, and Spandanirnaya, is a
commentary on the rst verse of Spandakarika, and Spandanirnaya, a commentary on the
Whole book. Actually he has divided karikas into four sec ons. The commentary on the rst
sec on consis ng of twenty ve verses is Svarup spanda, second sec on is Sahajavidyodaya
and the third is Vibhu spanda.
This system is based on Saiva agamas. Saiva literature or trika system can be vividly and
broadly divided into three disciplines: Agama Sastra, Spanda sastra and Pratyabhijna Sastra.
In their verbal meanings, the words or terms 'agama' and 'tantra' are di erent. These are
acros c words like 'bhairava'. But the Saiva literature regarding Agama Sastra can be
considered or named as tantra. These are Malinivijaya, Svacchanda, Mrgendra, Rudrayamala,
Sivasutras, Vijnanabhairava, Tantraloka etc. Spanda sutras or Spanda Karikas are Spanda
sastra. Sivadrs , Isvarapratyabhijna (and its vimarsini and vivr vimarsini), Paramarthasara
and pratyabhijnahrdayam are Pratyabhijna Sastra. We put the Tantraloka (magnum opus,
work in twelve volumes by Abhinavagupta) and Tantrrasara (or tantralokasara, the essence of
Tantraloka, in one slim book) in the category of Pratyabhijna Sastra. Pratyabhijna is Recogni on.
This Samskrta word 'Pratyabhijna' has the same connota on and ver meaning as'
abhhijna and 'abhijnana', meaning Recollec on or Remembrance of what is forgo en which we
knew before. We nd this word in ancient texts like Logic or Nyaya Sutras of Gautam,
Paccabhija in Buddhism and for the same verbal meaning, 'Anagnorisis' in Greek literature.
Pratyabhijna is r cogni on, to recognize, slightly di erent from remembrance. A lov sick
woman cannot get any consola on and joy even though her lover may be present near her
un l she recognizes him. The moment recogni on dawns she becomes all joy. She does not
need to remember. She recognizes him at once because she had not forgo en him. She knew
her before, and knows him even from vismr (forge ulness) to smr (remembrance) is
abhijnana, like in the story of Dusyanta and Sakuntala. The simile of the lov sick woman is
else to the purpose of pratyabhijnna than the simile of Dusyanta. Let us take the later simile
as approach. The remembrance takes place into the mind of Dusyanta as sphota, i.e. the
meaning of something explodes into the mind of Dusyanta so that he is now able to recognize
Sakuntala as his wife which he had forgo en. Similarly, the modern pandits of Kashmir
Saivism say that 'I have forgo en that I am world of su ering, for I am wondering in this
world of su ering, for I know but have forgo en, so remembrance is must. Now I have the
remembrance that 'I am that' or 'you are me' i.e. 'tat tvam asi'. This is Recogni on and this at
once overcomes bondage. The liberated soul becomes one with Siva and ever enjoys the
mys c bliss of oneness with Lord and dissolves into Jivanamuk .
And the other approach is that 'There is' and I have to recognize there is that which is, that 'I
am that' that emp ness, the Siva. And this can happen in one single life, happen in one single
moment. This en re world is full of reality. The word 'reality is derived from 'res', thing (like
the word 'true' derived from La n 'verus', means 'that which is', or German 'wahr', the English
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root meaning of the word 'True' is 'honest and faithful'. And the root of the English word
'thing' is fundamentally the same as the German 'bedingen', means to condi on, to set the
condi ons or determine). Hence the reality is that which is condi oned in me and space,
subject to birth, grow decay and death. So this world of such realit where every 'thing' is
interrelated, interdependent is actually the content of human consciousness, as J. Krsnamur
used to say. Whereas Siva means that which is good, benevolent, tranquility, ecstasy,
freedom, all in absolute sense. Reality is rela ve, really. We can look at this reality outside and
inside, as witness, put the things in order and can negate the order. Emp ness happens in
Two, Three, Four)
serene silence. Because thought is thing or things are thoughts, as Bishop Berkeley used to
say. N thin ness is the void or emp ness within the human consciousness which exists as
'that is' as Samkara, means, sam (in Indian Dramaturgy, sama is the permanent emo on,
sthayi bhava of santa rasa, Abhinavagupta has described in his commentary 'Abhinava Bhara
of Indian dramaturgy Natyasastra of sage Bharata in detail where he talks about sahrdaya who
is having a mind of 'vimala pra bha'. Adhikari catra vimalapra bhanasalihrdayah. This pure
intelligence, he also describes in the third ahnika of Tantraloka as a key word nirmalatva, the
stainless purity) karo i samkara, means, He who puts out or ex nguishes all the animal
impulses as dross which are nothing but the though constructs or idea on, vikalpas, is
Samkara. This ci a, full of real things, thoughts can transform into ci (the technical term of
Kashmira Saivism for pure consciousness), devoid of all vikalpas. And Kashmira Saivism
provides that an individual soul can start with a pure thought, suddha vikalpa that I am Siva
and this en re world is my own grand splendour, vibhu or vilasa out of my own svatantrya.
So primarily Kashmira Saivism was a philosophy of dualismahanta and idanta, subjec ve and
objec ve consciousness and a er that is spread out all over the realm of wisdom as visvahanta
or visvamaya and visvo rna, immanent and transcendent. This is the central philosophy of
Kashmira Saivism, emerged in the ninth century A.D. as a monis c saivism. He is Anu ara,
state of Parama Siva, the Highest Self, the Absolute, one than whom nothing is higher, the
rst vowel 'a', the Prakasa aspect of 'a'. Vimarsa is his glory, this world, contrast to Samkara's
maya. Here it is posi ve, crea ve, vimarsa aspect of the Absolute Reality.
'Tantraloka's is a crea on of Acarya Abhinavagupta, a compendium of all tantra texts available
in several forms as works, akara grantha, a mine of great wisdom where each and every
perspec ve of tantra (is regarded as Sru or Agama, revela on as opposed to a Smr or
Nigama, "Tradi on, pancama veda, 'Sru sakhavisesah', Nisvasata va Samhita, one of the
oldest available tantra, comprehend meaning to hold it all togethe that Tantra is the
culmina on of the esoteric science of the Vedanta and the Samkhya. Another old Tantrika
text, 'Pingalamata' says, the Tantra, rst communicated by Siva, came down through
tradi on. It is Agama with the characteris cs of chandas (Vedas). Vaidika mahavakyas, like
Prapancasara. Tanyate vistarayate jnanam anena, i.e. by which knowledge is pread or
developed is Tantra) is elaborately explained. It seems at rst glance that this is a grantha of
upasana, text of worship rituals, at a great extent it is but actually this consists of the en re
philosophical wisdom of Kashmir Saivism, that's why this is put in the pratyabhijna sastra, not
in the category of agama sastra, for it contemplates (manana or vicara) over the principles
(ta vas) and pratyabhijna sastra is actually manana sastra or vicara sastra.
So this system says simply that jiva is siva. Siva himself has ve doings, pancakrtyakammanifesta on
(srs ), maintenance, (sthi ), withdrawal from manifesta on (samhara),
concealment (vilaya or svarupagopan) and grace (anugraha or sak pata or svaprakasa).
Ucyate vastuto'smakam Siva eva yathavidhah
svarupagopanam krtva svaprakasah punastatha.
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(Tantraloka, chapter one, sloka 223)

So, Siva, by his fourth doing, has forgo en that he is Siva and considered himself as jiva. He
has to r cognize himself again by his own grace and the recogni on dawns that He is Siva.
This is just as caitanya. Caitanya plays and a emp ng into caityana, contempla ng one
caitanya to be caitanya again. This is His parasak or samvid sak or citpra bha who is trying,
the niscayatmikasak the answering mind of individual soul, Krsna (as in Pancaratra)
some mes Bhairava (as in matangatantra, by the use of anpratyaya of taddhita, is not
matangatantra, this is 'Matanga paramesvaragama', not of dual siddhanta saiva, but saiva
agama) and some mes Bhairavi (as in the Saktatantra) according to M.M. Pt. Gopinatha
Kaviraja. Jiva is samsayatmika sak , the ques oning mind as Arjuna in Gita or bhairavi in
Vijnan Bhairava This state is Sadasiva.
svayamevam vibodhasca tatha prasno aratmakah
Two, Three, Four)
gurusisyapade'pyesa dehabhedo hyata vikah.
Libera on or salva on (muk or moksa) is the meaning, goal and eve relevant light of Asian
country India and Indian philosophy. From pr Vedic period to this post modern age, this
essence of Indian philosophy is s ll remaining. In quantum, libera on does not depend on
me or space, on birth and death. It is simply Sel realiza on depends on this life only, here
and now. In one single verse, Acarya Abhinavagupta has put it in an impeccable way before
the messy conglomera on of several concerning to salva on or moksa. He says:
mokso hi nama naivanyah svarupaprathanam hi sah
svarupam catmanah samvinnanya atra tu yah punah.
Meaning, the salva on is nothing else but the essen al nature or form of one's own self, the
awareness of one's true nature. This is named Atmasamvit in Pratyabhijna philosophy.
This voluminous work Tantraloka consists of thirty seven chapters (ahnika). This last (Sloka) of
the last chapter is:
idamabhinavaguptaprombhitam sastrasaram.
siva nisamaya tavat sarvatah srotratantrah
tava kila nu resa sa hi tvadrupacarcetyabhinavaparitusto
lokamatmikurusva.
(O Siva! Please listen to this work, not work but the principles, sastrata va, which is presented
in the best form by Abhinavagupta for you are omniscient. This is my praise or eulogy for you.
Since this is the discussion or commenda on about your form as beauty, so assimilate the
world by sa sfying with this eve new praise.)
The pratyabhijna philosophy talks about thirty six principles, the Atman, The process of
manifesta on through Maya, The Transcendent Parama Siva, Five principles of the Universal
subjec Object, The limited individual experience with the three coverings (Kancukas), Two
Principles of the limited individual subject object, principles mental opera on, The principles of
materiality are some main doctrines of the Pratyabhijna system.
So, to recognize that emp ness, full of ac ve energy as Parama Siva, is the principle of Recogni on
philosophically. Tantraloka o ers its prac cal side as well. Here the light is
conspicuously visible and impeccably inescapable. This system, historically, is found from the
me of Tryambaka and Durvasa. This system, historically, is found from the me of
Tryambaka and Durvasa. This system is also known as Trik sasana, Trika sastra and Trika
Darsana from Rahasya Sampradaya and Sivagama. We nd a lineage or karma from
Vasugupta and Somananda (9th century) and ll the disciples of Abhinavagupta (11th
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century). In Kashmira, Abhinavagupta is regarded as Mahamahesvara. His origin & lineage,

father Narsimhagupta and ancestor Atrigupta shi ed to Kashmira from Kannuja (U.P.) by the
king Lalitaditya (of Kashmir) in 8th century A.D. according to the version of Abhinavagupta,
Bandyopadhyaya, Mukhopadhyaya, Gangopadhyaya and Bha acharyas were shi ed to Kolkata
from Kannauj, the then capital of the state of Gurjar Pra hara in 9th and 10th century, now
known as U ar Pradesh, as described by Asit Kumar Bandyopadhyaya in his book 'Bangalira
I hasa') Laksamanagupta was Abhinavagupta's teacher. Narsimhagupta, Utpaldeva,
Bha atauta were his other teachers. He has created so many Independent trea ses as
Tantraloka, Tantrasara, Bodhpancadasika, Paratrimsika vivarana, Devibhujanga (found in
Visvabhara ), Malinivijayavar ka, Bhagavad Gitartha samgraha, Paramarthasara, Abhinava
Bhara (Natyasastra vivr ), Dhvanyolokalocana,
Isvarapratyabhijnavivr vimarsini, Anu aras ka etc. Ksemaraja and Jayaratha were his
Two, Three, Four)
disciples. Jayaratha has made commentary on his 'Tantraloka'.
I have translated this work 'Tantraloka' from the original samskrta text of the K S T S
(Kashmir series of text and studies) and found the other texts are inescapably incorrect.
Somananda regards sage Durvasa as his manasa guru, in the similar way I regard Acarya
Abhinavagupta as my manasa guru. Prof Vrajavallabha Dvivedi who has wri en his foreword in
my ini a ng volumes of Tantraloka. Is my revered teacher in the area of Agama and
Samskrta. By dint of their grace, I am presen ng these volumes. The en re work will be
concluded in twelve volume, as I hope. This is the second volume, including the ahnikas two,
three and four.
This work determines that the caitanya is always there with the forgo en Siva as jiva as grace
without which one can not perform his trident (Trisula). This is truly the Anu ara state, (or
Anu ars dhama, as Abhinavagupta stated this term in the 37th chapter of his commentary on
Natyasastra and at the end of second ahnika of Tantraloka) the fourth witnessing state of jiva
as AUM who is simply aware of what Gautam Cha opadhyaya is performing as forgo en Siva
or jiva with His powers of will, knowledge and ac on. Only these are the powers in the energy
eld of capacity of an individual soul which one can do without knowing des ny but the grace
is there. Sak can breath the power and instruc on of Siva to perform. When one recognizes
his or her beloved, at once becomes the grace the Siva. This is Love, uncondi onal, agape. The
serene silence.
Back of the Book
Tantraloka is a magnum opus of the Indian Tantrik world, wri en in the Tenth Century, in
the light of Kashmir Saivism by the great polymath Sri Abhinavagupta. This great word does
not only include all the philosophical and Tantrika essence of monis c Kashmir Saivism but is
also o en considered the apex of Indian Tantrika Philosophy. Abhinavagupta explains in detail
in its thirty seven chapters the al inclusive vision and way to truth, the Prakasa state of
Parama Siva. This publica on is the rst a empt to unfold this Prakasa (Light) for the Englishspeaking
horizon.
GautamCha erjee, wel known writer, President, Abhinavagupta Academy, has a lineage of
Pt. Ishvara Chandra Vidyasagar, with deep Sanskrit tradi on and has been a close associate of
Thakur Jaidev Singh. His two books (collec on of plays), related to Kashmir Shaivism, have
already been published. At present, working on the inte in uence of Indian Classical Music
and Agam.
'R cogni on of an Actor' is his forthcoming book.
Content
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5-Translations of Mândûkya Upanishad Verse 7 - Advaita .

ekâtma pratyaya sâram prapañca upasamam - the mo on and ... brings back 99% of TM ini ates, all the
me, in spite of the vicissitudes of life.
In a message dated 6/5/2002 10:15:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
sunderh writes:
> It would be highly desirable to discuss the 7th mantra of

> Mandukya Upanishad, Gaudapada's karikas #10-18 in Agama Prakarana,
> and Shankara's Bhashya on both.
>
Mândûkya Upanishad Verse 7
Below are ve transla ons of this verse, whereby all of the ne , ne

stu is pre y obvious and in agreement. It is interes ng, however, to
explore and expand upon an expression in the last 1/3 of this verse in more
detail:
ekâtma pratyaya sâram prapañca upasamam - the mo on and extension (hence

energy transforma ons) of the mental uctua ons of this One Self (are the
source of) the expansion and development of calmness and tranquility (in all
the world)
Yes, so very profound. Indeed, this is the single most profound and always
most dependably repeatable event of the TM experience, and that which always
brings back 99% of TM ini ates, all the me, in spite of the vicissitudes
of life. I never knew this was in Mândûkya un l just now. Of course, I
never looked. Amazing!
ekâtma - one self
pratyaya - thoughts, mental uctua ons, content of mind, cogni ons,

no ons, presented idea, awareness, intui on, consciousness, understanding,
belief, feelings, emo ons, convic on, trust, faith, assurance, no on of
dis nc on
sâram (course, mo on, stretching out, extension; rmness, strength, power,

energy, substance, essence
prapañca - expansion, development, manifesta on, manifoldness, diversity,

ampli ca on, di usely
upasamam - becoming quiet, calmness, tranquility, stopping, relaxa on,

allevia on, cessa on, pa ence
ALSO:
Con nuing immediately therea er is:
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sântam sivam advaitam - peace, grace, and non-duality.
Wow! All of this from that one self, ekâtma. And it is the experien al
truth, over and over again. I see so many su ering folks around me, but
hardly a one will (wants to) take no ce of such a thing. It just remains
unbelievable and most prefer the alterna ve they choose of su ering,
some mes deep su ering, annihila ng the value of their material estates
while lying in deep pain in a hospital bed. Even at this stage, most cannot
(will not) hear such a message. Sad (<English).
Thank you Sunder for bringing up this topic.
jai guru dev,
Edmond
-------------------------
Mândûkya Upanishad Verse 7
S Radhakrishnan
(Turîya is) not that which cognises the internal (objects), not that which
cognises the external (objects), not what cognises both of them, not a mass
of cogni on, not cogni ve, not non-cogni ve. (It is) unseen, incapable of
being spoken of, ungraspable, without any dis nc ve marks, unthinkable,
unnameable, the essence of the knowledge of the one self, that into which the
world is resolved, the peaceful, the benign, the non-dual such, they think,
is the fourth quarter. He is the self; He is to be known.
Juan Mascaro
The fourth condi on is Atman in his own pure state: the awakened life of
supreme consciousness. It is neither outer nor inner consciousness, neither
semi-consciousness, nor sleeping-consciousness, neither consciousness nor
unconsciousness. He is Atman, the Spirit himself, that cannot be seen or
touched, that is above all dis nc on, beyond thought and ine able. In the
union with him is the supreme proof of his reality. He is the end of
evolu on and non-duality. He is peace and love.
Swami Nikhilananda
Turiya is not that which is conscious of the inner (subjec ve) world, nor
that which is conscious of the outer (objec ve) world, nor that which is
conscious of both, nor that which is a mass of consciousness. It is not
simple consciousness nor is It unconsciousness. It is unperceived,
unrelated, incomprehensible, uninferable, unthinakable, and indescribable.
The essence of the Consciousness manifes ng as the self (in the three
states), It is the cessa on of all phenomena; It is all peace, all bliss,
and non-dual. This is what is known as the Fourth (Turiya). This is Atman,
and this has to be realized.
Swami Gambhîrânanda
They consider the Fourth to be that which is not conscious of the internal
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world, not conscious of the external world, nor conscious of both the worlds,
nor a mass of consciousness; which is unseen, beyond empircal dealings,
beyond the grasp (of the origins of ac on), uninferable, unthinkable,
indescribable; whose valid proof consists in the single belief in the Self;
in which all phenomena cease; and which is unchanging, auspicious, and
non-dual. That is the Self, and that is to be known.
Swami Prabhavananda
The Fourth, say the wise, is not subjec ve experience, nor objec ve
experience, nor experience intermediate between these two, nor is it a
nega ve condi on which is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness. It is
not the knowledge of the senses, nor is it rela ve knowledge, nor yet
inferen al knowledge. Beyond the senses, beyond the understanding, beyond
all expression, is The Fourth. It is pure unitary consciousness, wherein
awareness of the world and of the mul plicity is completely obliterated. It
is ine able peace. It is the supreme good. It is One without a second. It
is the Self. Know it alone!
vaiShNava bhakti mArga - 1 - Sri Kamakoti Mandali

bhairavo.ahaṃ śivo.aham || ... parabrahmAnande sakalasuravandye svarasataH ... Thus, jIvotpa vAda
of the pAncharAtra is rejected as avaidika by ... Unlike the shAkta systems, though a sthi of advaita
seems to exist ...
vaiShNava bhak mArga - 1
By admin on Jul 27, 2009 | In Darshana
parabrahmAnande sakalasuravandye svarasataH

kShatadvandvAmandAkRî danujakandA~Nkurahare |
shriyaH kande nandAtmaja uditachandrasmitamukhe
mukunde spando me bhavatu manaso dvandvavirateH ||
hare krShNa hare krShNa hare krShNa hare hare |

hare rAma hare rAma hare rAma hare hare ||
This ar cle aims to present before As kas a high-level overview of the various vaiShNava sampradAya-s.
Much of this has been already captured by scholars such as baladeva upAdhyAya, mahAmahopAdhyAya
shrI gopInAtha kavirAja, shrI krShNasVami aiyyangAr, mahAmahopAdhyAya haraprasAda shAstrI,
nIlakaNTha dave, mysore mu ukrShNa shAstrI and others. A quick and precise overview is perhaps what
is missing in these exhaus ve compendiums. As a part of our e ort to visit every possible branch of Arya
(simply meaning venerable) darshana, such a summary is being a empted here. With growing
disinterest within the Aryas and the pseudo-intellectual threat posed by bauddha, mlecCha, turuShkAdi
pa tas, every branch of sanAtana dharma needs to be studied, discussed and ac vely propagated, more
so those dealing with bhagavad-bhak . For this to happen, it is rather important to rise above sectarian
prejudices and see the usefulness of each such darshana, at least in the sopana krama.
sAtvata/pAncharAtra
The oldest of the vaiShNava schools are the bhAgavata and pAncharAtra schools. The upAsya devatA of
the pAncharAtra school is vAsudeva – this word is interpreted to mean sarvavyApaka or all-pervading.
On account of ShaD-guNas of vAsudeva, he comes to be called as bhagavAn:
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j~nAna-shak -balaishvarya-vIrya-tejAMsyasheShataH |
bhagavacChabdavAchyAni vinA heyairguNAdibhiH ||
The Lord complete with these six quali es (i.e. jnAna, shak , bala, aishvarya, vIrya, tejas) and devoid of
all heya guNas - is referred to as bhagavAn. The mode of his worship, named pAncharAtra, is de ned
di erently in di erent scriptures:
a. Shan parva of mahAbhArata describes pAncharAtra as a mahopaniShat that arises from the
shrImukha of shrImannArAyaNa and as encompassing the essence of the four Vedas and sAmkhya-yoga.
The term pancha is thus indica ve of four Vedas plus sAmkhya-yoga.
b. nArada pAncharAtra derives the term pancha from the number of vivechya viShayas in these
scriptures – parama-ta va, muk , bhuk , yoga and samsAra. rAtra is explained to mean jnAna and the
knowledge of these ve concepts is de ned as pAncharAtra. This de ni on nds support in ahirbudhniya
samhitA as well.
c. According to Ishvara samhitA, the ve sacred weapons of the Lord incarnated as sages – shANDilya,
aupagAyana, maunjAyana, kaushika and bhAradvAja. Pleased with their penance on totAdri, bhagavAn
vAsudeva instructed them into the secret of ekAyana veda. Based on the number of seers, this
instruc on was completed in ve nights leading to the name - pAncharAtra.
d. According to pAdma tantra, the name pAncharAtra denotes the superiority of this shAstra over other
shAstras. That shAstra, compared to which the other ve shAstras (such as pAshupata etc.) are dark like
the night, is called pAncharAtra.
e. According to viShNu samhitA, the ve mahAbhUtas or the corresponding ve viShayas (such as
shabda, rUpa etc.) are termed pancharAtra-s. As the study of this shAstra results in the rise of the sun
named parama-ta va that destroys these rAtri-s, it is known as pAncharAtra.
Some features of pAncharAtrAgama are held to be anukUla to shru and smr and hence acceptable.
These are:
1. paramAtman, through mere desire, assumes various forms.

2. According to pAncharAtra, there are ve vyApAras or ac vi es that please the Supreme:
a. abhigamana – entering the devagrha, having restrained the kAya, vAk and chi a.
b. upAdAna – the collec ng of pUjA dravya
c. ijyA – deva pUjA
d. svAdhyAya – japa of mantras such as aShTAkShara and study of scriptures
e. yoga – medita ng on the Supreme Lord
All these can be grouped under Ishvara-praNidhAna which is not opposed by either shru or smr .
However, the theory of chaturvyUha does not nd vedic sanc on and hence is considered anAdaraNIya.
According to pAncharAtra doctrine, from the rst vyUha named vAsudeva, the second named
sa~NkarShaNa vyUha is originated. These two respec vely represent the paramAtmA and the jIvAtmA.
Pradyumna or manas originates from samkarShaNa and from pradyumna is born aniruddha vyUha
represen ng ahamkAra. To summarize, the theory of four vyUhas claims the utpa of jIvAtmA from
paramAtmA. But according to shru , jIva is nitya and hence cannot be born as the sense of utpa of jIva
would result in his anityatA. Thus, jIvotpa vAda of the pAncharAtra is rejected as avaidika by AchAryas
such as shankara bhagavatpAda. Appayya dIkShita sees vaikhAnasa samhitA as favorable to vedic
thought, but does not extend the same approval to pAncharAtra.
The shrIvaiShNava AchArya-s have le no stone unturned to prove that the pAncharAtra mata is
unopposed to shru in every way. According to rAmAnuja, the utpa yasambhavAdhikaraNa of the
brahmasUtra supports the cause of pAncharAtra as opposed to its khaNDana that shankara interprets in
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his bhAShya. Even before rAmAnuja, yAmunAchArya a empted the same in his work Agama-prAmANya.
Adop ng the paddha of mImAmsA, vedAnta deshika and bhaTTAraka vedo ama try to establish the
same in their works pAncharAtra rakShA and tantrashuddhi. According to them, pAncharAtra is related
to the ekAyana shAkhA of the veda and the word pAncharAtra is traced back to shatapatha brAhmaNa
where the descrip on of pAncharAtra satra is seen. The nArAyaNIyopAkhyAna of mahAbhArata declares
vedAnukUlatva of pAncharAtra. According to bhArata, a group of seven sages named chitrashikhaNDins
extracted the essence of the shru to create a shAstra named pAncharAtra. King uparichara vasu is said
to have learnt this shAstra from bRîhaspa and he performed a gigan c vedic sacri ce where pashu
was subs tuted by la yava. Thus, a notable feature of pAncharAtra, true also for sAmkhya-yoga, is the
unacceptability of pashu himsA in yajnas. But this does not negate their devo on to yajnas. When the
Lord appears to nArada as described in pAncharAtra, he sports in his hands vedi, kamaNDalu, maNi,
upAnaha, kusha, ajina, daNDakAShTha and hutAshana, indica ng his svarUpa as yajna-mUr .
According to Ishvara and pArameshvara samhitA-s, sage shANDilya performed a penance towards the
end of dvApara and obtained the knowledge of ekAyana veda from samkarShaNa. He taught the sAtvata
vidhi embedded within this veda to his disciples sumantu, jaimini, bhrgu, upagAyana and maunjAyana.
The word ekAyana is here interpreted as the single-most or best path to mokSha. The word ekAyana
nds men on in the chAndogya upaniShad:
Rîgvedam bhagavo.adhyemi yajurvedam sAmavedamatharvANam vAkovAvyamekAyana~ncha |
The word ekAyana is seen as referring to nI shAstra by shankara whereas rangarAmAnuja interprets this
to mean ekAyana shAkhA. It is also held by some that the kANva shAkhA of shukla yajurveda is also
known as ekAyana shAkhA. This no on nds puShTi in jayAkhya samhitA where aupagAyana, described
as a master of prapa shAstra, is an exponent of kANva shAkhA. utpalAchArya of kAshmIra, in his
spandapradIpikA, quotes various verses from pAncharAtra shru and upaniShad. Prof. upAdhyAya and
krShNasvAmi ayyaingAr point us to a possibility that these verses belong to ekAyana shAkhA. It is also
ascertained that during the mes of utpala, pAncharAtra was classi ed into three groups: shru ,
upaniShad and samhitA.
We have dealt in detail with pAncharAtra samhitA-s before. This ar cle can be accessed here.
The chief topics discussed in the pAncharAtra samhitAs are four in number:
1. jnAna – the rela on between brahma, jIva and jagat and the process of crea on.
2. Yoga – the means for muk and related techniques.
3. kriyA – the construc on of temples, installa on of idols etc.
4. charyA – descrip on of Ahnika, Archana, japa, utsava etc.
According to pAncharAtra siddhAnta, parabrahma is advitIya, anAdi, ananta, duHkharahita and endless
bliss. He is like a great ocean free of waves. While he is the Ashraya sthAna of aprAkrta guNa-s, he is at
the same me untouched by prAkrta guNa-s. As he is not bound by desha, kAla and AkAra, he is pUrNa,
sarva-vyApaka and nitya. He is also beyond idamtA (svarUpa), IdrktA (prakAra) and iya A (parimANa). As
he is resplendent with the six auspicious quali es, he is referred to as bhagavAn. On account of his
presence within all bhUtas, he is referred to as vAsudeva. As he is the shreShThatama among the Atma-s,
he is called paramAtmA. Thus, owing to his special a ributes, he is variously referred to as avyakta,
pradhAna, ananta, aparimita, achintya, brahma, hiraNyagarbha, shiva etc.
To pAncharAtrika-s, both saguNa and nirguNa forms of brahma are acceptable. He is neither the past,
nor the present or the future. He is without a beginning or an end. On account of being devoid of
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prAkrta guNa-s, he is nirguNa but he is also saguNa due to the a ribu on of shaDguNa-s. The ShaD-
guNas are explained as existent solely for the sake of prapancha vyApAra.
Now, coming to our favorite part, the sAmAnya samjnA for the immeasurable shak of the lord is
lakShmI. The Lord is shak mAn and his shak is ramA. Unlike the shAkta systems, though a sthi of
advaita seems to exist between the Lord and his shak , there really is no advaita as during pralaya, when
the prapancha a ains laya, there is no nitAnta aikya between lakShmI and nArAyaNa. They seem to be
eka-ta va but vastutaH are not the same. While an avinAbhAva sambandha between them is accepted,
like that in the case of dharma-dharmI, ahamtA-aham, chandrikA-chandramA, Atapa-sUrya etc., there
s ll is a bheda between shak and shak mAn. Thus, one can see here the same rela on that one nds
between shiva and shak in some of the shaivAgamas. Ahirbudhinya samhitA clearly dis nguishes
between shak and shak mAn in all stages. This shak , mainly represen ng the svAtantrya of the Lord,
appears in various forms due to guNa-vaishiShTya, as AnandA, svatantrA, lakShmI, shrI, padmA etc. In
the beginning of crea on, bhagavatI appears in two forms: kriyAshak and bhUtashak . The samkalpa or
the desire of the Lord towards crea on of the Universe is called kriyAshak and the pariNa of the jagat
from this samkalpa gets termed as bhUtashak . The icChAshak of the Lord is denoted by lakShmI and
kriyAshak by sudarshana. Accompanied by these two shak s, the Lord conducts the vyApara such as
srShTi, sthi etc. When devoid of these, there is no indulgence of the brahma in any ac vity. The grace of
lakShmI is the chief cause behind the crea on of the universe.
The srShTi is of two kinds: shuddha and shuddhetara. jayAkhya samhitA sees the antarbhAva of three
kinds of srShTi within the aforesaid two – shuddha, prAdhAnika and brahma sargas. Similar to the
occurrence of the rst wave in the silent ocean that causes a s r, the unmeSha of the svAtantrya shak
in brahma leads to its associa on with the ShaDguNas. This ini al rise of lakShmI is termed as
guNonmeSha or shuddha-srShTi. The Lord then assumes four kinds of avatAras for the sake of loka
kalyANa:
a. vyUha
b. vibhava
c. archA
d. antrayAmI
Due to the predominance of two guNas taken at a me, from the previously listed set of ShaDguNas, the
three vyUhas are created, saMkarShaNa, pradyumna and aniruddha. samkarShaNa vyUha is
characterized by the prAdhAnya of jnAna and bala, pradyumna by aishvarya and vIrya and aniruddha by
shak and tejas. We explained earlier the sequence of utpa of these vyUhas as explained by shankara
but that is opposed to the krama detailed in the ahirbudhniya samhitA which sees all the three vyUhas
directly origina ng from vAsudeva.
Vibhava is really what is popularly considered as an avatAra of nArayaNa and they are thirty-six in
number. Of these, mukhyAvatAras grant mokSha whereas the upAsanA of gauNAvatAras grants one
bhuk . padmanAbha, dhruva, trivikrama, kapila, madhusUdana etc. are listed as vibhavas.
Idols made of gold, silver etc., when sanc ed according to prescribed procedures, are considered
avatAras of the Lord. As the Supreme manifests as mUr here to accept worship from the devotees, he is
referred to as archAvatAra.
The form of the Lord which resides in the heart of all creatures, inspiring them to indulge in various
thoughts and ac ons, is called antaryAmI svarUpa. This kalpanA of antaryAmI svarUpa seems to be
based on the concept of antaryAmI puruSha discussed in upaniShads such as the bRîhadAraNyaka.
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While this is the popular theory, there is no aikamatya regarding srShTi-krama within the pAncharAtra
samhitA-s. Causality of pAncharAtra shares similari es with sAmkhya but only to an extent. While prakr
is vyAprtA even without the assistance of puruSha in sAmkhya, in the case of pAncharAtra, she is
strewed by the brahma ta va before becoming ac ve towards crea on. Like the movement is seen in a
metal only in the presence of a magnet, the sanchalana of prakr is only in the presence of the puruSha
here; this concept nds support in the gItA shAstra as well.
The jIva is anAdi, aparicChinna and chidAnanda-ghana and always inspired by bhagavAn. Both jIva and
jagat are the manifesta ons of vilAsa or play of the svAtantrya shak of nArAyaNa. The samkalpa of the
Lord, known as sudarshana, though manifests in in nite ways, the chief manifesta ons are srShTi, sthi ,
vinAsha, nigraha and anugraha. Though jIva is vyApaka, shak mAn and sarvajna, the nigraha shak of
the Lord actualizes rodhAna of the vibhutva, shak ma va and sarvajnatva of the jIva, making it aNu,
kinchitkara and alpajna. This nigraha shak is referred to by various names such as mAyA, avidyA,
mahAmoha, hrdayagranthi etc. Thus, though inherently free, jIva is bound and experiences jA , Ayu and
bhoga based on pUrva karma. On seeing the miseries of the baddha jIva, the naturally compassionate
Lord gives birth to his krpA right from the center of his heart and this shak is called anugraha-shak or
vaiShNavI. This shak is also termed as shak pAta by the tantras. The mel ng of the heart of the parama
puruSha on seeing the miseries of the jIva results in his grace. At this stage, the shubha and ashubha
karma of the jIva a ain samatva and are negated. At this stage, bandha transforms itself into sAdhana
for mokSha and mumukShutA sprouts in jIva.
puNya-pApa
There were some queries on karma, puNya, pApa etc. but the method of enquiry adopted was
somewhat incorrect; it is karma mImAmsA that shall present the required answers and not vedAnta.
The mImAmsA sUtra says:
dvividham karma shubhamashubham cha ||
Every ac on has an equal and opposite reac on, so states the law of karma. For every kriyA, the utpa
of the phala or fruit is in the avasthA of pra kriyA. Hence it is said:
avashyameva bhoktavyam kRîtam karma shubhAshubham ||
That ac on which is predominantly sA vika in nature leads to shubha phala. That which is amangala
vAsanAtmaka and dominated by tamas leads to ashubha phala. Like the various dvandvas in the crea on
(night-day, light-shadow etc.), the two facets of karma phala are also true and not imaginary
[sargadvandvanimi am tat]. Shubha phala may lead one to pitrloka, svarga loka or to jIvanmuk in the
sopAna krama. Ashubha phala may lead to naraka, apamRîtyu, pretayoni, duHkha yoni etc. Thus, it is
these two upward (Urdhvaga ka) or downward (adhoga ka) streams that are collec vely known as
puNya and pApa. Again, these lead one to sukha or duHkha [sukhaduHkhopalabdhistAbhyAm]. By
sA vika karma, one’s antaHkaraNa becomes Atmonmukha and thus a ains Atma-ra . On the contrary,
under the in uence of rajah and tamas, antaHkaraNa becomes vimukha from the Atman and a ains
misery. The klesha is simply caused by this vimukhatva of the antaHkaraNa from the Anandamaya
svarUpa which is the Self. Moreover, all this is of utmost importance to the human being who, on
account of adhikAritva on puNya and pApa, is the center of AvAgamana chakra:
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mAnuSheShu maharaja dharmAdharmau vyavasthitau |
sampUrNAvayavA jIvA martyapiNDaM gatAstataH ||
Every yoni lower to that of the human is asampUrNa as jIva is said to possess pUrNAvayava in manuShya
yoni alone. On account of this, the adhikAra for both dharma and adharma rests here. While the e ects
of puNya and pApa are anubhavagamya in this very birth, their e ect encompasses any of the fourteen
worlds that the jIva may a ain. bhUlokAntargata pitrloka and the six worlds above that are said to be
devasukhamaya. The seven nether worlds are said to be AsurI-sukhamaya. Thus, all these fourteen
worlds are for the sake of sukha-bhoga and the di erence lies only in the nature of sukha. It is the
martyaloka which is a combina on of sukha and duHkha. Pretaloka, naraka and others are exclusively for
duHkha-bhoga. It is again prArabdha samskAra that translates into not only jA , Ayu, and bhoga, but also
prakRî , pravRî , shak and samskAra. One should refer to an earlier discussion we had on AkAsha-
traya (chi a, chit and mahAkAsha-s) for further insight. The bo om-line is: karma, pApa, puNya are real
and hence anubhava gamya and cannot be dismissed as imaginary or irrelevant. But one cannot and
should not live in constant fear of this two-edged sword. And the clever way out is to surrender to the
lotus feet of paramashiva bhaTTaraka - ini ally through demonstra ve words (japa, stotra), thoughts
(manana, dhyAna) and ac ons (saparyA, namana, homa, pAdasevA) and gradually through convic on
and other subtle facul es.
tRîShNAture chetasi jRîmbhamANAm

muShNAnmuhurmohamahAndhakAram |
puShNAtu naH puNyadayaikasindhoH
kRîShNasya kAruNyakaTAkShakeLiH ||
Personali es of bauddha nyAya - 1

By admin on May 7, 2009 | In Darshana
asa~Nga
asa~Nga is most probably the rst Buddhist AchArya to establish vij~nAnavAda on the basis of tarka. He
was the rst Buddhist philosopher to introduce the pa~nchAvayavI parArthAnumAna of the naiyAyika-s
into the eld of study of vij~nAnavAda. He is also the source of numerous axioms of vAdakalA used ll
the current day by Buddhist theologians. These axioms or rules are similar to those of gautama popular
within the school of nyAya. Though maitreya had already discussed vAdakalA in his work saptadasha
bhUmishAstra, asa~Nga’s handling of this topic far exceeds that of his guru both in terms of depth and
detail.
Arya asa~Nga took birth in gAndhAra in 450 A.D. Ini ally he was an adherent of the vaibhAshika
sampradAya but later turned to vij~nAnavAda a er coming in contact with AchArya maitreya. asa~Nga
was the elder brother of vasubandhu, known as the second Buddha in Buddhist circles. The greatest
contribu on of asa~Nga is his bauddha nyAya or pramANa-shAstra, which is available to us today in the
seventh and sixteenth chapters of mahAyAnAbhidharma-saMyukta-sa~Ngi shAstra. His thoughts on
nyAya however do not contradict those of maitreya.
asa~Nga accepts four pramANas: pratyakSha, anumAna, upamAna and Agama. As an a~Nga of anumAna,
he also accepts pra j~nA and other avayavas. Thus, the in uence of prAchIna gautamIya nyAya on
asa~Nga is dis nctly evident.
Vasubandhu
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Vasubandhu was ini ally a sarvAs vAdin and later turned to vijnAnavAda under the in uence of his
brother asanga. Vasubandhu’s contribu on to the school of vjnAnavAda is incomparable. This statement
can be even expanded to include en re Buddhism. The vaibhAShika school nds itself frequently
expressing gra tude ot vasubandhu as well. Of the thirty-two wri en works of vasubandhu available
today, three are of importance from the standpoint of nyAya.
While these three works do not seem to have been translated to Tibetan, incomplete Chinese
transla ons of vAda-vidhi are available sca ered across Asia. From a close examina on of the available
por on of this work, a striking similarity to gautamIya nyAya becomes clear. It is known that Hiuen Tsang
gathered these three works during his visit to India. Apart from these three works, a Chinese transla on
of another work named tarka-shAstra is also available. This work cons tutes of three chapters, the rst
one dealing with a commentary of the panchAvayava-s. The second chapter deals with jA or asadu ara
and the third with the twenty-two nigraha-sthAnas. This indicates another important aspect, the
in uence of vAtsyAyana on vasubandhu. According to vasubandhu, there needs to be a prayoga of
panchAvayava-s in vAda, two for bodha (which are pra j~nA and hetu).
There is also a no on that vAda-vidhi is a part of the larger work tarka-shAstra.
Di~NnAga
In the arena of bauddha nyAya, di~NnAga is second only to vasubandhu. Even with the expansive
ourishing of the four schools of Buddhism, bauddha nyAya saw li le development ll about fourth
century. Though nAgArjuna authored an independent work on nyAya in the third century, it was merely
an examina on of gautamIya nyAya siddhAnta. The concepts of nyAya popularized by maitreya, asanga
and vasubandhu were not only based on vijnAnavAda but borrowed heavily from vaibhAShika siddhAnta
as well. The credit of establishing bauddha nyAya on the canvas of pure vijnAnavAda goes undoubtedly
to di~NnAga. His key contribu on was to separate nyAya from darshana and dharma and establish it as
an independent branch of knowledge.
The me of di~NnAga is established to be around h century. It is also believed that di~NnAga was a
disciple of vasubandhu and belonged to Southern India. It can be guessed that he received instruc on
into bauddha dharma from some vAtsIputrIya AchArya. Owing to several disagreements with his guru,
he migrated to Magadha for instruc on. Those were the mes when vasubandhu was known throughout
India as pra buddha.
Di~NnAga challenged various philosophers to debates during his travels in Nalanda, Odissa and
Maharashtra. He even expressed disagreement with his own guru vasubandhu at mes. Not only does
he face cri cism from udyotakarAchArya, vAchaspa and other As ka naiyAyikas, but also from several
jaina tArkikas. His disciple and commentator dharmakIr is cri cal of his guru at places as well.
All wri en works of di~NnAga re possibly related to nyAya. His independent works on nyAya include
pramANa samucchaya, nyAyapravesha, AlamvanaparIkShA, hetuchakra samarthana, nyAyamukha,
Alamvana parIkShAvr and trijAla parIkShA. Of these, pramANa samucchaya is the pathapradarshaka
grantha of bauddha nyAya. Various smaller essays of di~NnAga are available in Chinese and Tibetan
languages today. He himself later collected these essays with extensive notes in six volumes: pratyakSha,
sarvArthanumAna, parArthanumAna, hetudrShTAnta, apoha and jA . A commentary on these by
jinendra buddhi is available currently.
Di~NnAga rejects the panchAvayava-s of gautamIya naiyAyikas and accepts only three – pra jnA, hetu
and udAharaNa as angas of anumAna. The cri que of the lakShaNa of pratyakSha and anumAna - as
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expounded by gautama and vAtsyAyana - by di~NnAga is so empha c and extensive that
udyotakarAchArya has authored an en re vAr ka for the khaNDana of the siddhAnta-s of di~NnAga. shrI
kumArila bhaTTapAda extensively refutes the theories of di~NnAga in his shloka-vAr ka.
pAshupata siddhAnta - 1
By admin on Jun 23, 2009 | In Darshana
- By jnAnakunjastha mahAmahopAdhyAya shrI gopInAtha kavirAja
The sarvadarshana samgraha of mAdhavAchArya devotes a chapter to the treatment of the philosophical
doctrines and teachings of the pAshupatas. It seems therefore clear that as early as the fourteenth
century of the Chris an era the sect had assumed such importance that it claimed recogni on as a
dis nct theologico-phlosophical school. From a careful study of the earlier literature it would appear that
the sect is much older than the days of mAdhava. Udayana (1000 AD) refers to it in his nyAyakusumAnjali
and the author of nyAyasAra wrote a work viz. gaNakArikA, dealing with the pAshupata categories.
Uddyotakara, the author of nyAyavAr ka (500 AD), calls himself a pAshupatAcharya. The purANas and
even the mahAbhArata contain numerous references to this sect. the brahmasUtras of bAdarAyaNa
include a sec on in the second pAda of chapter II, refu ng the views of the adherents of this sect.
The earliest history of this sect is shrouded in mystery. In the vedic literature, the word pashupa indeed
occurs in various places (atharvaNa samhitA 11,2,28, vAj. Sam 16,28, pArask. GrhsUtra 2,8, Ashv.
GrhsUtra 48) but only as a synonym of Rudra. It has not got there that technical meaning which we nd
invariably a ached to it in subsequent pAshupata literature. This sect was of course known to the
mahAbhArata. The vAmana purANa classi es the worshippers of shiva linga under four groups:
a. Shaiva
b. pAshupata or mahApAshupata
c. kAladamana
d. kApAlika
It observes that all these sects had their origin in brahmA. The pAshupata sect was represented by
maharshi bharadvAja and his disciple, rAjA somakeshvara. The shaiva sect was led by shak , son of
vasistha and guru of gopAyana. The kAladamana sect was represented by Apastambha, the guru of
krAtheshvara. Dhanada or kubera headed the kApAlika sect and had a disciple named arNodara, who
was a shUdra by caste; dhanada is described as a mahAvra n. It is also stated in the shiva purANa that
vAsudeva krShNa learnt the pAshupata system from uamanyu, the elder brother of dhaumya.
We have now no means of ascertaining the extent of the early literature of this sect or its details. But
from the statement of the shiva purANa, it appears that the original doctrines of the sect were contained
in four samhitAs compiled by ruru, dadhIchi, agastya and upamanyu. The atharvashira and some other
upaniShads belong to this sect. The philosophical posi on of the school is based on a sUtra work called
pAshupata shAstra panchartha darshana and a ributed to maheshvara. This work was in ve chapters
(hence called panchAdhyAyI) and commented on by rAshikara, the supposed twenty-eighth and last
incarna on of shiva. mAdhavAchArya, keshava kAshmIrI and rAmAnanda (on kAshI khaNDa) refer to this
work. bhAsarvajna wrote eight kArikAs, called gaNakArikA dealing with the pAshupata doctrines. An
unknown author commented on these kArikAs – ratnaTIkA. The same wrote a work called
satkAryavichAra. samskArakArikA is a manual trea ng of pAshupata rituals. Harada a was one of the
earlier authors of this school, but no detail regarding life or works is known. The yogachintAmaNi of
shivAnanda speaks of a work named nakulIsha yogaparAyaNa which evidently belongs to this sect.
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The historical founda on of the sect, evidently a subsequent branch of the original school, is a ributed
to one nakulIsha, who was an inhabitant of karavana near modern Broach in the Boroda state. His name
appears in various forms viz. lakulIsha, laguDIsha etc. The origin of the name is not known, but it is
surmised that he was so called on account of his always holding a cudgel in his hand. The bairAgIs of this
sect bear this characteris c even now. It is di cult to determine the age of this early shaiva preacher. He
is believed to have been an incarna on of shiva. It is stated in vayu purANa that simultaneously with the
appearance of shrI krShNa as vAsudeva, shiva manifested himself as lakulI at a place, thence called
kAyAvarohaNa, now corrupted into Karwana. A temple of lakulIsha is s ll seen there. An inscrip on is
found in the neighborhood of the temple of Ekalingaji, at a distance of 14 miles from Udaipur. The shiva
purANa refers to lakulI of kAyAvarohaNa as one of the sixty-eight forms of shiva.
According to this purANa, lakulI had four disciples who prac ced the pAshupata yoga and besmeared
their bodies with ashes and dust. The names of these four heroes are: kushika, gArgya, mitra and
kauruShya. The Chintra Inscrip on alludes to this story. In this descrip on however, the name of the
third disciple, as give above appears as maitreya. Though the synchronism of vAsudeva krShNa and
lakulIsha, as pointed out by the purANa, is hardly capable of being established, the age of the shaiva
teacher remains s ll unse led. Farquhar believes that lakulIsha was a historical person and lived
between the ages of mahAbharata and vAyu purANa. The age of this purANa, according to him, is
300-400 AD. Hence lakulIsha is placed at an earlier date. Fleet says that the gure of shiva with club
found on the coins of the kushAn king HuviShka represents lakulIsha.
1. kArya
The kArya is threefold: vidyA, kalA and pashu.
vidyA is a quality of the pashu, and is of two kinds: knowledge (bodha) and ignorance (abodha). The
former is essen ally either vivekapravr or avivekapravr , but from the standpoint of object it is
fourfold or vefold. The vivekapravr is manifested by a valid source of knowledge and is called chi a. It
is by means of the chi a that an animal is conscious of the light of chaitanya. The second tye pf vidyA
(abodha-vidyA) is described as pashvartha-dharmAdharmikA. ratnaTIkA observes that the character of
vidyA as a guNa is from the standpoint of pAshupata system, but according to vaisheShika it would be
dravya.
kalA is dependent on a conscious agent and is itself unconscious. It is of two kinds: kArya and kAraNa.
The former is of then types: the ve ta vas (prthvI etc.) and the ve guNas (rUpa etc.). The la er is of
three kinds: ve senses, ve motor organs and three inner organs (buddhi, ahamkAra and manas).
The pashu is either sAnjana (endowed with body and senses) or niranjana (bere of body and senses).
2. kAraNa
kAraNa, literally a cause, is the name of pa (Ishvara, God). He is the anugrAhaka of all crea on and
destruc on. He is one and without a second. His classi ca on is based on a di erence of guNa and
karma only. The kAraNa is independent in this system and is not dependent on karma and other factors.
He is pa which implies possession of in nite power or knowledge and ac on i.e. possession for all mes
of aishvarya. He is Adya or the Primal One, i.e., possesses natural powers.
3. Yoga
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It is de ned as the communion between Atman and Ishvara through the medium of chi a. There are two
varie es of yoga – one is kriyAtmaka (ac ve) in the form of japa, dhyAna etc. and the other stands for
cessa on of all ac on (kriyoparama). The la er kind is technically known as samvidga . The fruit of yoga
in this system is not kaivalya (as in sAmkhya and pAtanjala) but realiza on of Supreme Power
(paramaishvarya) accompanied by end of pain.
4. Vidhi
Vidhi is the name of a func on which aims at dharma or artha. It is twofold, being primary or secondary.
The primary vidhi is charyA, which is of two kinds: vrata and dvAras. The vratas are thus enumerated:
a. Ash bath
b. Ash bed (bhasmasnAnashayyA)
c. upahAra or niyama consis ng of:
- Laughter or hasita, which aTTahAsa (side-spli ng laughter with lips gaping wide)
- Song or gIta (in praise of Shiva)
- Dancing or nrtya
- huDukkAra involving the u erance of the sound ‘huDuk’ in the manner of an ex-bellowing. This sound
is produced from the contact of the tongue with the palate (probably some kind of tAlavya kriyA?)
- Obeisance or namaskAra
d. Japa
e. Circumambula on or pradakShiNa
The dvAras are:
a. krAthana or the showing of the body during waking moments as if it were in sleep.
b. Spandana or the quivering of the limbs as under the in uence of vAyu.
c. maNDana or going in the manner of one su ering from injury in the leg, or rather limping.
d. shRî~NgAra or showing oneself by means of one’s physical ero c movements (vilAsAH) as if one is in
passion at the sight of a beau ful and youthful lady.
e. avitatkaraNa or performing an evil ac on condemned by the world in the manner of one devoid of
sense of discrimina on.
f. avitadbhAShaNa or u ering of meaningless, contradictory words.
The secondary vidhi is what is subsidiary and auxiliary to the primary vidhi, i.e., anusnAna and
bhakShocchiShTa.
5. duHkhAnta
With the pAshupatas duHkhAnta means, not only the nega on of sorrow but also realiza on of Supreme
Lordship (paramaishvarya). duHkhAnta is of two kinds: anAtmaka and sAtmaka. The former is absolute
cessa on of all pain. The la er is realiza on of power which consists in drk-kriyAshak . Drk-shak
(=dhIshak ) is really one, but is called ve-fold through di erence of object, viz. shravaNa, manana,
vijnAna and sarvajnatva. Similarly kriyAshak too, though one, is described as three-fold through
upachAra – manojavitva, kAmarUpitva and vikaraNadharmitva. The word darshana means knowledge of
everything amenable to sight and touch – subtle, distant and closed. The perfect knowledge of every
shabda is shravaNa, of every thought is manana, of every shAstra through text and sense is vijnAna; and
omniscience is the perfect knowledge, eternally shining, of all ta vas in regard to all things, said or
unsaid, either in summary or in detail or severally. Manojavitva is the power of doing something
instantaneously. kAmarUpitva is the power of controlling any form simply at will and under the stress of
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karma. vikaraNadharmitva is the power of doing or knowing anything (nira shaya aishvarya
sambandhitva) without any organ.
rAdhA
By admin on Jul 25, 2009 | In Darshana, Bhak
taptakA~nchanagaurA~Ngi rAdhe vrndAvaneshvari |

vrShabhAnusute devi praNamAmi haripriye ||
The word rAdhA originates from 'rAdh' associated with the vRîddhau dhAtu and on adding the upasarga
A, the sense of ArAdhanA or archanA is a ained. In the rg veda, where indra is ascribed great
importance, he is described as rAdhAnAm pa and this associa on seems to have con nued with
viShNu, who gradually came to be described as bhuvanasya rAjA and rAdhAnAm pa . nIlakaNTha
chaturdhara – a commentator on the mahAbhArata, traces rAdha to the rk atAriShurbharatA … [3/33/12]
where the word surAdhA occurs. In this rk, surAdhA is interpreted as gopis represented foremost by
rAdhA and krShNa by the word shIbha. The next authority considered by some vaiShNavas is of the
upaniShad: rAdhopaniShad and rAdhikAtApanIyopaniShad. rAdhopaniShad describes rAdhikA as the
antarangabhUtA and AhlAdinI shak of shrI krShNa. rAdhikA tApanIya describes her as the foremost
among the nAyikA’s of krShNa. The allegory of krShNa carrying the padadhUli of rAdhA on his forehead,
which is an important aspect of many madhura bhak schools, nds a men on in this quasi upaniShad.
A popular work which showcases rAdhA as the primary among the consorts of vAsudeva is the
gAthAsaptashatI, wri en somewhere in the rst century. While describing the shrngAra lIlA of krShNa, it
is said here: “O krShNa, you are dispelling the speck of dust on rAdhA’s face through your mukhamAruta
(blowing of air) and thus reducing the pres ge of other gopikA-s”. Bhandarkar associates rAdhA with the
chief goddess of the Abhirs of Syria and the assump ons he makes to arrive at this specula on are
ques onable. It cannot be denied however that the Abhirs had se led in the Indian sub-con nent before
the rst century as the vAyu purANa lists the vamshAvaLI of Abhir Kings.
The next popular references to rAdhA seems to be in the pancha tantra, which probably originated in the
Gupta period. As for the purANas, viShNu, harivamsha and bhAgavata purANas do not explicitly men on
rAdhA. The purANas which glorify rAdhA are matsya, padma and brahmavaivarta. Matsya purANa
describes rAdhA as the chief deity worshipped in vrndAvana but no men on is made of the prema of
rAdhA and krShNa. The bhAgavata purANa, which abundantly deals with madhurA bhak , is silent in this
regard as well. During the descrip on of rAsalIlA, there is men on of the priyatamA sakhI of krShNa and
the word used here is anayArAdhitA. Some commentators of bhAgavata purANa, like vishvanAtha
charavartI, hold this to be the indica on of apratyakSha vidyamAnatva of rAdhA in this important
episode. Shukadeva, a follower of the nimbArka mata, in his siddhAntapradIpa, interprets the use of
word rAdhita in bhAgavata to mean rAdhayA yuktaH. He envisions the hetubhUtatva of rAdhA in the
vihAra lIlA-s of krShNa and argues that gopanIyatA is the reason for the omission of reference to rAdhA
by shuka. Elsewhere in the bhAgavata, one can see the verse, rAdhasA svadhAmni brahmaNi rasyate
namaH. Here, the reference is to the shak or aishvarya of the Brahman, and this naturally nds a
convenient interpreta on as referring to rAdhA.
Brahmavaivarta purANa deals at length with the lIlAs of rAdhA and krShNa. The signi cance of the word
rAdhA is explained thus in the same purANa:
rAshabdocchAraNAt bhakto rA muk M sudurlabhAm |

dhAshabdocchAraNAt durge dhAvatyeva hareH padam ||
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The same purANa describes the origin of rAdhA from the pArshva bhAga of krShNa in goloka and her
avataraNa in vraja maNDala. She is said to have taken birth in the house of vRîShabhAnu and kalAvatI in
varAha kalpa. She is also described to have later married a vaishya named rAyaNa.
The problem posed by many scholars is the overall weight carried by brahmavaivarta purANa in terms of
an quity, authen city etc. Popular vaiShNava works also refrain from quo ng the episodes of rAdhA as
described in this purANa.
There are also works such as the dashAvatAra charita of kShemendra and the vikramArkadevacharita
which refer to rAdhA as krShNa prANa-priyA. gItagovinda is probably responsible for the current day
image of rAdhA as the primary nAyikA of krShNa. It appears that it was nimbArka mata that rst
popularized the yugalopAsana of rAdhA and krShNa, followed by chaitanya, vallabha, rAdhAvallabha and
other vaiShNava schools.
Garga samhitA refers to krShNa as hari and rAdhA as kamalAlayA [haristvam kamalAlaye.ayam].
According to viShNudharmo ara, ramA is visualized with two hands when meditated beside nArayaNa
and as chaturbhujA when meditated on individually [prthakchaturbhujA kAryA devI simhAsane shubhe].
This is clearly the lakShaNa that the mUr of rAdhA adopts, and can be used to establish abheda
between rAdhA and ramA. This very descrip on of dvibhujA lakShmI ts that of rAdhA sta oned beside
krShNa that nds a place in skanda purANa. devIbhAgavata purANa is another important source to
understand the mUr lakShaNa of rAdhA, where she is described as vahnishuddhA shukadharA
nAnAlamkArabhUShitA etc. Brahmavaivarta describes her thus:
sharatpArvaNakoTIndushobhAmRîShTashubhananA |
charusIman nI chArusharatpamkajalochanA ||
Again, gItagovinda kAvya shapes much of the image of rAdhA as seen today in pictures, idols and
descrip ons.
A Periodic grouping of dvai ns and advai ns

Group 1
dvai ns:
kaNAda, gotama
advai n:
krShNa-dvaipAyana (vyAsa)
Group 2
dvai ns:
vAtsyAyana, prashastapAda, udyotakara
advai ns:
gauDapAda, govindapAda, shankara bhagavatpAdAchArya, padmapAdAchArya, sureshvarAchArya,
hastAmalakAchArta, to(tro)TakAchArya
Group 3
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dvai ns:
bhAskara, shivAditya, jayanta bhaTTa
advai ns:
sarvaj~nAtmamuni, avimuktAtma bhagavAn, bodhaghanAchArya, prakAshAtmaya
Group 4
dvai ns:
udayana, shrIdhara, vallabha, pArthasArathi mishra, yAmunAchArya, yAdavaprakAsha, rAmAnujAchArya,
shrIkaNTha, nimbArkAchArya
advai ns:
shrIharSha mishra, kRîShNa mishra, chidvilAsa
Group 5
dvai ns:
gangeshopAdhyAya, vardhamAnopAdhyAya
advai ns:
Anandabodhendra bhaTTaraka, AnandapUrNavidyA sAgara, j~nAno amAchArya
Group 6
dvai ns:
madhvAchArya, trivikrama, padmanAbha
advai ns:
chitsukha, sha~NkarAnanda, shrIdhara svAmin, pratyaksvarUpa bhagavAn, amalAnanda ya
Group 7
dvai ns:
akShobhya tIrtha, vedAnta deshika, sudarshanAchArya
advai ns:
bhAratI tIrtha, vidyAraNya, sAyaNAchArya
Group 8:
dvai ns:
jayatIrtha, ra~NgarAmAnuja, anantAchArya
advai ns:
anubhU svarUpAchArya, narendragiriprakAshAnanda sarasvatI
Group 9:
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dvai ns:
shankara mishra, pakShadhara mishra, raghunAtha shiromaNi, vAchaspa mishra, vallabhAchArya
advai ns:
mallaNArAdhya, nRîsimhAshrama, nArAyaNAshrama, ra~NgarAjAdhvarI, appayya dIkShitendra,
sadAnanda yogIndra, rAmatIrtha, bhaTTojI dIkShita, ra~Ngoji bhaTTa
Group 10:
dvai ns:
vyAsarAja, shrInivAsa tIrtha
advai ns:
madhusUdana sarasvatI, balabhadra, ve~NkaTanAtha, dharmarAjAdhvarIndra
Buddhist Tantra - 1
By admin on Jun 18, 2009 | In Oriental/New Age
[Many seem to hold Buddhist Tantras as being close to Hindu Tantras because of the similarity in rituals
or mantras. But a core principle or view that guides these rituals is what really determines the outcome
of the ritual and thus, the two cannot be clubbed together. Buddhism is as di erent from Hinduism as
Chris anity or other religions, if not more. One should look beyond the garb of culture which creates a
misnomer of similarity between the concepts of the two systems. Two systems cannot be judged based
on rituals or prac ces alone as philosophy is what really de nes a philosophical system. Rituals and other
aspects are useful but secondary elements of a philosophical framework. As Tathagata says, the same
ritual when employed by a Hindu gives a di erent result and a di erent one when used by a Buddhist as
the goals are di erent, the view behind the ac vity is di erent and the en re percep on that is key to
achieving the fruit of the ritual is di erent. While this aspect of right view is subtle, it does really make a
di erence when a lo y goal is considered. Please note that the author of the piece below is biased
towards mahAyAna and some of the things he states should be taken with a pinch of salt. This ar cle, for
what it’s worth, can be a good starter for the ignorant who see the two systems as same or similar based
on popular prac ces or cultural exchanges. We can consider Jainism next.]
- By Dr. Benoytosh Bha acharya
Both Hindus and Buddhists were alike proli c writers of Tantras and the literature extant on them is
wonderfully extensive. One of the reasons why the word ‘Tantra’ cannot be de ned but can only be
described is because of the fact that an astonishing number of subjects come within its purview, not to
speak of its own numerous subdivisions. The Buddhist Tantras in outward appearance are similar to the
Hindu Tantras but in reality there is no similarity between them neither in subject-ma er, nor the
philosophical doctrines embodied in them, nor in religious principles. This is not to be wondered at since
the aims and the objects of the Buddhists are widely di erent from those of the Hindus. It is di cult to
determine when and under what circumstances the word ‘Tantra’ came to be employed in the sense in
which it is used in this literature, nor is it possible to trace the origin of the Tantras or the people who
rst introduced them. To any careful student of Sanskrit literature it will be evident that when the
magical prac ces become extremely popular with one sec on of the Indian popula on, the other
sec on takes them up and incorporates them in its religion, mostly in a modi ed form so as to suit its
own requirements and tenets; and this process or emergence and relapsing goes on con nually.
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The Vedic sacri ces as performed by the orthodox Brahmanic society in the very earliest mes a racted
a large number of converts on whom the orthodoxy laid down its founda on, and it can very easily be
imagined from what we nd now that people in those days looked upon these sacri ces and the
Brahmins performing them with awe and reverence. The sacri ces were at one me very popular,
especially in the pre-Buddhis c period, and as a ma er of fact, no undertaking of any consequence was
hazarded without a sacri ce immediately preceding it. Sacri ces were performed mostly for obtaining
happiness in this, the next and future lives. Buddhism came in when sacri ces were the order of the day
and when numerous animals were immolated and eaten in huge assemblies. In Ashoka’s me, we nd
sacri ces and the free use of meat in the assemblies very popular. That the very rst of a long series of
rock edicts of Ashoka should deal with the stoppage of such assemblies displays the great in uence that
sacri ces with their cooked meat exercised on the minds of the Indian people. On the dismemberment
of the Mauryan Empire, the sacri ces prohibited by the Buddhist Emperor revived with great vigor under
the sAmavedI Shungas and two sacri ces were performed on a grand scale in the very capital of the king
who insulted the orthodox sacri ce.
Though Buddha is known to have been antagonis c to all sorts of sacri ces, necromancy, sorcery, magic
or mys cism, he nevertheless is credited with having given instruc ons on mudrAs, maNDalas, yogas,
tantras etc., so that prosperity in this world, by virtue of these, could be a ained by his less advanced
disciples who seemed to care more for this world than for the nirvana preached by him. It is also a social
fact that India in Buddha’s me was so steeped in magic, sorcery, tantra and mys cism, would hardly be
able to withstand popular opposi ons. A clever organizer as the Buddha was, he did not fail to no ce the
importance of incorpora ng such prac ces in his religion to make it popular from all points of view and
thereby a ract more adherents. A clear proof of this is to be found in his doctrine of Iddhis which were
obtained by the more advanced disciples. The means of a aining Iddhis or Iddhipado are also indicated.
In Cullavaya V.8 Buddha condemns Bharadvaja for wantonly showing his miraculous power for a bowl of
sandal wood. It does appear that he himself ever stressed on tantras. So long we were ignorant about
the Buddha’s a tude towards the tAntric prac ces excep ng a few meager references in Pali literature
and were unable to determine the me of their introduc on in Buddhism but shAntarakShita and his
disciple kamalashIla brought out this connec on very forcibly in the ta vasamgraha and its commentary,
sta ng fully the reasons which made the Buddha to incorporate them in his system:
Yato.abhyudayaniShpa ryato niHshreyasasya cha |

Sa dharma uchyate tAdRîk sarvaireva vichakShaNaiH ||
taduktamantrayogAdi niyamAdvidhivatkRîtAt |
praj~nArogyavibhutvAdidRîShTadharmA.api jAyate ||
kamalashIla adds:
tena bhagavatoktashchAsau mantrayogAdiniyamashche vigrahaH | yogaH samAdhiH | Adishabdena

mudrAmaNDalAdi parigrahaH ||
Tantra has been prac ced by the Buddhists since the me of the Buddha, but unfortunately we do not
possess any connected account of them except for a few works on the dhAraNIs which were translated
into Chinese early at the beginning of the Chris an Era. These dhAraNIs are only unmeaning strings of
words which are said to confer great merit when mu ered repeatedly for a number of mes. Then
comes the worship of Buddha in the prajnApAramitA with all the paraphernalia of worship such as we
nd in the tAntric worship for obtaining worldly happiness. Then follows the di erent recensions of
prajnApAramitA, its sUtra, hrdayasUtra, its dhAraNI, the recita on of all of which confers the bene t of
reading the whole of the prajnApAramitA.
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Side by side, the paurANika literature a racted a large number of people by their wonderful stories
holding out a promise of an award of merits to be gained by hearing the purANas and prac cing the rites
and observances recommended therein and worshipping the gods described in them. Moreover, the
concep on of Gods and Goddeses in the paurANika literature was so very a rac ve that the Buddhists in
later mes could not help incorpora ng the idea of godhead in their religion. And when they actually did
this, they dei ed all important personali es of Buddhism, together with the dei ca on of a large
number of Buddhis c ideas and philosophical concepts along with a few purely Hindu gods such as
gaNesha, sarasvatI etc. The Buddhists busied themselves with producing a variety of literature on the
Tantras, and during the tAntrik age thousands of works were wri en. These works were readily
transmi ed through the Himalayan passages to Tibet, Mangolia, and thence to China and Japan. The
Tantric works, especially of the Buddhists, whose originals in Sanskrit are lost, are now preserved in
transla ons in the pages of the Tibetan Tangyur. The developments on Tantra made by the Buddhists and
the extraordinary plas c art they developed did not fail again to create an impression on the minds of
the Hindus, and they readily incorporated many ideas, doctrines and gods, originally conceived by the
Buddhists in their religion and literature. A bulk of the literature which goes by the name of the Hindu
Tantras arose almost immediately a er the Buddhist ideas had established themselves, though a er the
Tantric Age, even up to the last century.
Having thus given a survey of the history of tAntrik literature and the mutual interchange of ideas,
doctrines and concepts in this branch of literature, we will now proceed to give a de ni on or rather a
descrip on of what is ordinarily meant by the word ‘Tantra’. many scholars have tried to show what
Tantra contains but each and every one of their descrip ons are par al and insu cient; they are bound
to be so because the writers of Tantras were most erra c and never followed any de nite plan.
Moreover, the de ni on which holds good in the case of the Hindu Tantras is not found adequate when
applied to the Buddhist branch of this literature. Therefore the de ni ons of Tantra as given by cri cal
students are not unlike the descrip on of an elephant given by a number of blind men.
The Hindus will not call any work a Tantra which does not include the following subjects among many
others, for instance, the stories of the crea on, destruc on, mys c charms, a descrip on of the abode of
the gods, and of holy places, the du es of men in the four stages of life, a descrip on of nocturnal
beings, the origin of psychic powers and celes al trees, of the posi on of the stars, descrip on of vows
and observances, dis nc ons between purity and impurity, account of the du es of the king, the
customs of the age, and of the rules of law and of spiritual subjects. The Hindus dis nguish this shAstra
from two others of a similar kind which go by the names of Agama and yAmala. They treat of certain
subjects which are not covered by the descrip on of the tantra given above. The characteris cs of
Tantra, yAmala and Agama are given in almost every important Hindu Tantric work. The de ni ons are
not all alike and rarely give a complete idea, and all the de ni ons taken together will not su ce to give
a true account of the en re contents of this enormous literature. In the de ni on given above, it will be
seen that specula ons on alchemy, medicine, divina on, astrology, horoscopy and many similar subjects
are not included in it though they frequently appear in tAntric literature.
Similar features present themselves in the Tantras of the Buddhists and, the range of the numerous
subjects treated in this literature will be evidenced by the two volumes of the Catalogue of Tibetan
Tangyur in the Bibliotheque Na onale in Paris so far published by P. Cordier. To understand the bulk of
the tAntric literature of the Buddhists, we must rst take into account that it is distributed among the
three grand divisions into which later Buddhism was divided, namely, vajrayAna, sahajayAna and
kAlachakrayAna. Besides these there were other minor yAnas with no marked individuality, such as the
tantrayAna, the bhadrayAna, etc., which may be said to have originated from the vajrayAna, the principal
yAna among the three men oned above. Moreover, we must also consider the numerous divisions of
each of these three powerful yAnas and many less powerful systems in all of whom the Buddhist tAntric
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literature showed its great interest. The tAntric literature was mainly wri en by the vajrAcharyas, and
the Siddhas whose number is reputed to be eighty-four.
The Buddhist Tantras belong more properly to mahAyAna and not hInayAna with its subdivisions of
shrAvakayAna and pratyekayana, though it is quite possible that their followers had also some sort of
magical prac ces current amongst them. Works like sAdhanamAlA seem to lead us to infer that the
Tantras were a development of the yogAchAra school which evolved out of the shUnyavAda of the
mAdhyamikas; but the form or the branch of the mahAyAna that was directly responsible in this ma er
seems to be a ter um quid which is known as vajrayAna, and about which very li le is known to the
students of Buddhism. In sAdhanamAlA, the word mahAyAna occurs twice and from these references we
can assume that the tAntric religion was only an outcome of mahAyAna and that the vajrayAna
acknowledged its suzerainty. The mahAyAna in the opinion of the vajrAyanists, is co-extensive with what
they called dharma, which they considered as eternal and to which was given a more important place in
later Buddhism, than that was assigned by Buddha himself. The word shUnya occurs almost on every
page of sAdhanamAlA but so far as it can be ascertained, this shUnya does not represent the shUnya as
conceived by the mAdhyamika school. To the mAdhyamikas both the subject and the object are shUnya
in essence; there is no reality either of the mind or of the external world. Obviously, this is a posi on
which is not desirable for the vajrAyanists because to them a posi ve aspect in the vijnAna is absolutely
necessary. Moreover, the mAdhyamika school is not referred to anywhere in sAdhanamAlA except in one
place where it is in the form of an epithet, mAdhyamikarucheH, to one of the authors of the sAdhanas,
namely dharmAkarama . But if the sAdhana itself is analyzed, ample evidence will be found to prove
that it belongs more to yogAchAra than to mAdhyamika. Though the word yogAchAra occurs in the
sAdhanamAla only twice, vijnAnavAda as formulated in this school of thought is explained in many
places and this leads us to infer that the vajrAyana is a direct development of the yogAchara school and
the vijnAnavAda it inculcates.
vajrayAna is characterized as the path which leads to perfect enlightenment or what they call in Sanskrit
anu arasamyaksambodhi. vajrAyana literally means the ‘adaman ne path’ or vehicle, but its technical
meaning is the ‘shUnya vehicle’ wherein shUnya is used in a special sense to represent vajra – “shUnyata
is designated as vajra because it is rm, and sound, and cannot be changed, cannot be pierced, cannot
be penetrated, cannot be burnt, and cannot be destroyed”.
The mahAyanists di er from the hInayAnists in several important points, though for both of them the
realiza on of shUnyatA which leads to cessa on of su erings is impera ve. But the methods followed by
the two branches of Buddhism are widely di erent, if not altogether antagonis c. The hInayAnists are
very keen on obtaining libera on for themselves by their own e orts, without looking into the condi on
of su ering humanity. They obtain nirvana and freedom from su erings and the consequen al repe on
of births and rebirths, and virtually an ex nc on of Self altogether. But it must be remembered that even
if they are able to gain nirvana, they cannot know the perfect truth or remove the veil which conceals
the transcendental truth, nor can they impart the knowledge of salva on to others.
The mahAyanists on the other hand do not care for their own salva on; they are more solicitous about
the deliverance of their fellow creatures who are in the grip of constant su ering than about their own.
They are not afraid of the samsAra or the cycle of birth and rebirth in the same sense as the hInayAnists
are, but they are always ready to undergo any troubles and su erings if these lead even in a small
measure to the spiritual upli ment of all beings. This ideal of a mahAyanist nds expression in the
karaNDavyUha where the example of avalokiteshvara bodhisa va is set up, who refused to accept his
nirvana, thought fully en tled to it, un l all creatures of the world were in possession of the Bodhi
knowledge and obtained freedom from the worldly miseries. They therefore keep their chain of vijnAna
ever ac ve for the bene t of all. it is said that the mahAyanist, or more properly a bodhisa va, obtains
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omniscience only a er he has crossed the ten bhUmis such as are described in the dashabhUmikA
shAstra. This may be considered the goal of every bodhisa va and can be obtained either by following
the tenets of the shUnyavAda or the vijnAnavAda. The mAdhyamika theory of nirvana is shUnya or a
state about which neither existence, nor non-existence, nor a combina on of the two nor a nega on of
the two can be predicated. But in yogAchAra, which seems to be only a la er development of the
original shUnyavAda, the element of vijnAna or a posi ve element is present in addi on to shUnya or the
nairAtmya. The Bodhi mind is a chain of vijnAna which is changing every moment, the vijnAna of the
previous moment giving rise to the vijnAna of the next moment with the same memory, quality,
conforma ons etc., and this process goes on un l the vijnAna a ains either omniscience or ex nc on or
nirvana a er having eliminated all impuri es. But once omniscience has been a ained the chain of
consciousness will not strive further for nirvana but will engage itself in the spiritual upli of all beings; it
can only get rest when the whole world is delivered.
Now this is the sort of nirvana to which the vijnAnavAdins will lead their followers. In this nirvana, as we
have already pointed out, there are two elements: vijnAna and shUnya. The vajrayAna which is the direct
outcome of the vijnAnavAdin school introduced a new element, or the element of mahAsukha or
‘eternal bliss’ and happiness. It introduced further the theory of the ve dhyAni Buddhas each presiding
over one of the ve skandhas or elements and formulated the theory of kulas or families of each of the
dhyAni buddhas emerging out of them in mes of need. It introduced the worship of shak s in
Buddhism for the rst me, and a host of other things including a large number of gods and goddesses,
their sAdhanas, panegyrics etc.
It is indeed very di cult to point our nger to the scripture from which Buddhist Tantra drew its
inspira on; but a perusal of Padmavajra’s guhyasiddhi, a grossly tAntric work, leads us to infer that it was
the guhyasamAja which was regarded as the most authorita ve work of the school. Padmavajra not only
advocates the doctrines, tenets and theories embodied in the guhyasamAja in all ma ers but also gives a
succinct digest of the work which he designates shrIsamAja in his trea se. Other writers also, for
instance, indrabhU in his work jnAnasiddhi, acknowledges the guhyasamAja as a work of great
authority and gives a summary of some of the chapters and topics dealt with in this work. Thus, it
appears to us quite probable that this was the original work from which tantra drew its inspira on. It is
believed to have been delivered in an assembly of the faithful by the sarvatathAgata kAyavAkchi a. The
work which is wri en in the form of a sangI is considered as highly authorita ve, even now, amongst
vajrayAnists and is regarded as one of the Nine Dharmas of Nepal. This is probably the rst work of the
Buddhist Tantra school and asanga quite conceivably may have had something to do with it, as it is
commonly believed that the Tantras were introduced by him, from the tuShita heaven where he was
ini ated in mys cism by maitreya. But of course, this view cannot be said to be de nite, or to be based
on su ciently strong evidence, and it is very doub ul whether we will ever be in a posi on to trace the
origin of the tantra in the most precise manner possible.
It cannot be denied that in the very beginning of early Buddhism and even when mahAyAnism sprang up
in later mes, a very strict discipline was enjoined on the followers of the faith. On the bhikShus the
rules were very strictly put into opera on; for instance, they must not have anything to do with women,
must not take any food that is forbidden etc. Wine, esh, sh, appe zers and many similar objects of
enjoyment were specially forbidden. The rules were indeed good and were very a rac ve in the me of
Buddha but inasmuch as they were unnatural, their followers could be expected to follow them only for
a certain me but not always or for centuries. It was wholly absurd to expect obedience to such strict
disciplinary measures from all members of the sangha even in Buddha’s life me, if not for centuries a er
his mahAparinirvANa. The members of the sangha must have revolted from me to me against these
unnatural rules of discipline and party quarrels on such points were already in evidence in the second
great Council when the mahAsAnghikas were expelled from the Church by the sthaviras because the
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la er were unwilling to make any concessions on ten minor points of discipline. Rebellion against the
rules on broader and more important ma ers of discipline must have been in existence amongst the
monks, but they could not create a party of their own which would su ciently be able to cope with the
orthodox sec on which was sure to go against them and denounce them as here cs. Those monks who
saw salva on only in leading a natural life went on devising plans and probably by wri ng what we call
the original Tantras which were secretly handed down through their trusted disciples who could prac ce
the rites only in secret. These Tantras are in th form of sangI s and are said to have been delivered by
the Buddha in an Assembly of the Faithful. It is in this sangIi form that all new ideas were introduced
into Buddhism and the sangI s, we must remember, were very powerful agencies in the introduc on of
innova ons.
The orthodox followers of the faith were sure to challenge anything that had not been said by the
Buddha and that seems to be reason for the great popularity of the sangI literature. The original
Tantras of Buddhism were also therefore in the Sangi form wherein were inculcated doctrines which
were diametrically opposed to the teachings of Buddha. Easy methods leading to happiness in this world
were held out in this literature; easy paths leading to salva ons were shown; great parade was made of
the merits to be gained by the repe on of the mantras, dhAraNIs, panegyrics and worship of gods. But
everywhere any casual reader can detect a desire on the part of the authors to thwart all unnatural rules
and regula ons imposed on the followers. These disciplinary rules and regula ons gradually slackened
down one a er another and ul mately when the vajrayAnists gained in power and got an overwhelming
majority a general revolu on was declared against the mahAyAna orthodoxy which in course of me
dwindled to nothingness as it was powerless to ght against the growing disorder among the tAntrics.
The vajrayAnists were however conscious that they were doing something which was against religion
and morality, and covert hints to jus fy their ac ons are not altogether infrequent in their literature.
Indulgence in ve makAras cannot be directly described as conducive to the good of anybody in any
religion; to gain emancipa on through the agencies of women such as was advocated in vajrayAna did
not also fail to create a baneful impression on the minds of their followers. Hence we nd on their part,
like their Hindu counterparts, a keen desire to jus fy their broad principles, and examples of this kind
may prove interes ng. The responsibili es of the Bodhisa va indeed are very heavy entailing untold
sacri ces. They have to sacri ce everything for the good of su ering humanity; they have to sacri ce
their family, children, worldly enjoyments for the bene t of all beings in order to lead them to the path
of salva on. The Bodhisa vas cannot obtain their salva on even if they are en tled to it. If these
Bodhisa vas commi ed li le mistakes such as taking wine, being in the company of women, indulging in
good food, sh, meat etc., these certainly could not be taken into account in view of the colossal
sacri ces the Bodhisa vas were required to make daily for the good of the others.
Later on this idea changed, and the vajrayAnists gave a blank charter by boldly declaring that there is
nothing in the world that cannot be done by the Bodhisa va who has taken a vow to emancipate the
world. It is of course very interes ng to note in this connec on that ul mately in the tAntric literature,
the vow to emancipate the world was reduced to a mere conven on, and though every vajrayAnist had
to express this pious wish, indulgence in all ac ons for which common men are ordinarily doomed to hell
were the only things prac ced by them to a ain Siddhi. indrabhU who was one of the greatest di users
of tantra says in his jnAnasiddhi that by those iden cal ac ons which make ordinary men rot in hell for
hundreds of crores of cycles, the yogis obtain emancipa on. They went a degree s ll further and in an
authorita ve tAntric work, we nd the following s ll bolder declara on:
sambhogArthamidam sarvam traidhAtukamasheShataH |

nirmitam vajranAthena sAdhakAnAm hitAya cha ||
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But the sAdhaka has to see that his mind is not troubled or that he is not a ached to anything, meaning
thereby to any special food or woman. If the mind is troubled once, emancipa on is considered di cult
to obtain. Anangavajra says, “Without prajnApAramita emancipa on is not possible, and prajnApAramitA
resides in women. Emancipa on can only be obtained by coming in contact with any woman of low
origin or high or whether mother, sister or other rela ves”. vajrayAnists went beyond due limits in their
spite against the strict rules of morality, and they violated all of them and plunged headlong into the
worst immorality, which has been characterized by Raja Rajendra Lal Mitra in the following most
signi cant words:
“Seeing however that the work in which they occur is reckoned to be the Sacred Scripture of millions of
intelligent human beings, and their counterparts exist in almost the same words in Tantras which are
held equally sacred by men who are by no means wan ng in intellectual facul es of a high order, we can
only deplore the weakness of human understanding which yields to such delusions in the name of
religion, and the villainy of the priesthood which so successfully inculcates them.” Probably in the course
of me, the vajrayAnists would have stepped back and brought in a more healthy tone to their religion,
but by the me a reac on could set in Mohammadans struck with force.
Further, the vajrayAna incorporated many leading tenets of mantrayAna which was a form of mahAyAna
Buddhism, where mantras, mudrAs, maNDalas and gods were given the greatest prominence for the
a ainment of Siddhis and nirvana. The earliest book of this class is the Vidyadharapitaka which has been
characterized by Hiuen Thsang as belonging to the canonical literature of the mahAsAnghikas. But this
unfortunately is not available to us in original Sanskrit and we cannot say anything with regard to its
subject ma er or the par cular tenets inculcated therein. But the case of the other work en tled the
manjushrImUlakalpa discovered by the world famous scholar the late mahAmahopAdhyAya T Ganapa
Shastri is otherwise. The text of the book which forms a part of the vaipulya-sUtras of the mahAyAna
school is decidedly the earliest work of mantrayAna available at present. It is wri en in the sangI form,
and in the same style as other mahAyAna sUtras are, in prose and verse, and in an archaic style very
closely resembling the gAthA style. This book must have been very popular even a er the destruc on of
Buddhism in India as will be evident from the fact that the book was copied only about four hundred
years back in a monastery of Southern India. The manjushrImUlakalpa deals with the formulae and
prac ces which lead to the material prosperity of the followers of mahAyAna, and probably belongs a er
the me of the composi on of the amitAyus sUtra which ushered in the concep ons of amitAbha or
avalokiteshvara for the rst me in mahAyAna. The amitAyus sUtra was rst translated into Chinese at a
period between A.D. 148 and 170 and hence the me of its composi on may be xed at about 100 A.D.
or a li le later. The manjushrImUlakalpa in that case would be only about a hundred years later than the
amitAyus sUtra. If we take guhyasamAja as the very rst and the most authorita ve work of the
vajrayAna school, we must admit also that much me must have elapsed between the age of
manjushrImUlakalpa and the age of guhyasamAja.
The beginning of the sangI in the mUlakalpa is in the orthodox style in opposi on to the tAntric style
which is decidedly later and where in the very opening scene Buddha is introduced in the company of a
large number of women instead of an assembly of pure and pious bodhisa vas as in the case of the
earlier sangI s. The doctrine of the ve dhyAni Buddhas or even their names and mudrAs and their
families are all absent in the mUlakalpa while all these are present in the guhyasamAja. Moreover, the
mantras and mudrAs which were later on systema zed in the vajrayAna book are found sca ered in the
body of the text of the mUlakalpa in a disorganized manner. The mantras of some of the dhyAni Buddhas
themselves are found in the mUlakalpa though not exactly with the same meaning or form in which they
are met with in the guhyasamAja. Furthermore, the example of a Bodhisa va disobeying all rules and
obtaining emancipa on by the ve makAras and other generally prohibited rites – something that Hindu
tantra later absorbed – has not made its appearance in the mUlakalpa. The kalpa indeed speaks of the
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mantrayAna but it does not refer to vajrayAna which is men oned for the rst me in guhyasamAja.
Under these circumstances, we may be jus ed in calling the mUlakalpa as one of the earliest
mahAyAna sUtra works on which perhaps is based the original founda on of the vajrayAna system. But
one careful will not fail to no ce that the mUlakalpa is the product behind which there is a history of
development of several centuries. And probably, if we could go to the root of this mantrayAna, we would
have voiced the opinion of shAntarakShita and kamalashIla that instruc ons on Tantras, mantras,
mudrAs and maNDalas were delivered by Buddha himself for the bene t of such of his followers who
cared more for the material prosperity than the spiritual. Again, this goal seems to be re-stated
di erently over a period of me as a aining both spiritual and material bene ts simultaneously.
We can see thus that the vajrayAna took into account all the good things, tenets, philosophical no ons
and theories, and incorporated all that was best in Buddhism and probably in Hinduism also, and it was
owing to this that it a ained great popularity. It sa s ed everybody, the cultured and the uncultured,
the pious and the habitual sinners, the lower and the higher ranks of people and devotees. The
vajrayAna which was in essence as very “demoralizing” religion so to say that went against all the
teachings of Buddha and of great patriarchs of Buddhism, could be popular only because it could cater
for all tastes and because it was cosmopolitan in character.
It is di cult to suggest the exact place where the Buddhist Tantra originated. The introduc on of Shak
worship in religion is so un-Indian that we are constrained to admit it as an external or foreign in uence.
Some of the Tantras also support this view, like nityA tantra as pointed by harabhaTTa shAstri. But these
tAntrikas who incorporated shak worship into their religion had some strongholds of their own from
where the Tantras were disseminated amongst the Indian public and became popular. In the
sAdhanamAlA, we nd men on of four pIThas or sacred spots of the vajrayAnists, namely, kAmAkhyA,
shrIhaTTa, pUrNagiri and UDDiyAna. The iden ca on of the rst two is certain. Both are situated in the
province of Assam. kAmAkhyA is now known both as kAmAkhyA or kAmarUpa which is a few miles o
from Gauha . shrIhaTTa or sirihaTTA is modern Sylhet. The iden ca on of the two others has given rise
to much specula on and theorizing. pUrNagiri is some mes iden ed with modern Poona but this is
very doub ul. uDDiyAna is by far the most frequently men oned among the four pIThas and its exact
situa on is a ma er of great controversy. L A Waddel iden ed this uDDiyAna with udyAna in the Swat
Valley. M Sylvain Levi will place uDDiyAna somewhere in Kashgarh. M M Haraprasad Shastri de nitely
placed it in Orissa. We supported the third theory in several instances and assigned grounds. indrabhU
is described as a king of uDDiyAna, and guru padmasambhava as his son. Padmasambhava married a
sister of shAntarakShita in the la er’s na ve place in Zahor. shAntarakShita belonged to the royal family
of Zahor, and therefore it is hardly possible that the king of this place would allow his daughter to be
married to a vagabond who comes from such a long distance as Kashgarh or Swat, being driven out of
the kingdom by his father indrabhU . We can explain this marriage only if uDDiyAna and Zahor are
believed to be nearer to each other. Moreover, uDDiyAna is men oned along with kAmAkhyA and
sirihaTTa which, as we can see, are very near each other.
uDDiyAna, according to the authority of Pag Sam Jon Zan, is the place where tAntric Buddhism rst
developed. In the history of the eighty-four siddhas uDDiyAna is described as containing 500,000 towns
and divided into two kingdoms. In the one called Shambhala indrabhU ruled, and in the other lankApurI
jalendra ruled, whose son had for his wife indrabhU ’s sister lakShmImkarA who became a Siddha a er
which indrabhU handed over the kingdom to his son. This also does not clear up our di cul es but the
iden ca on of uDDiyAna becomes dependent on that of lankApuri which is generally iden ed with a
peak in the amarakaNTaka mountain, a place in Assam, Central India or Ceylon. Now if we accept the
iden ca on of Lanka in Assam, then uDDiyAna will have to be located in the same country probably in
the Western part of it, and this seems to be more likely as kAmAkhyA and Sylhet are both situated in
Assam.
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Moreover, the rst siddhAchArya Luipa in the Pag Sam Jon Zan is described as sprung from the sherman
caste of uDDiyAna who rose to be the writer in the employ of the king of uDDiyAna and was then known
as samantashubha. He ment sharvarIpA who ini ated him into the mysteries of tantra. but in the
Tangyur Catelogue he is characterized as a mahAyogIshvara and what is important, as a Bengali!
Haraprasad Shastri discovered some Bengali songs composed by him and published them in his now
classical work Bauddha Gan O Doha with a short account of the author and his songs in the introduc on.
luipA seems to have composed a book of songs en tled luhipAdagI kA, which is now preserved in
Tibetan transla on only and from which only a few songs are extant in the original language.
Buddhist Tantra - 2
There is then an apparent discrepancy in the two statements about the na ve place of Luipa, the
tes mony of Pag Sam Jon Zan will take it to be uDDiyAna whereas the Tangyur Catelogue will have it in
Bengal. There is, however, in our opinion no discrepancy in the two statements because LuipA can
belong to uDDiyAna and s ll be a Bengali. The iden ca on of uDDiyAna not being se led under the
circumstances enumerated above it is quite possible to locate it in Bengal. If however lankApura, the
counterpart of uDDiyAna is located according to Prof. Jacobi in Assam, then uDDiyAna also will have to
be located in Assam possibly in the Western part of it which also is a part of Bengal. It is then in
uDDiyAna that tantra rst developed and was probably transmi ed to the other pIThas kAmAkhyA,
sirihaTTa and pUrNagiri and thence to the rest of India.
From the foregoing it will appear that it is indeed very di cult to trace the origin of the strange religion
of vajrayAna, that also greatly in uenced current day Hindu Tantra, but it is much more di cult to
a empt to build a chronology of vajrayAna. But a beginning has to be made somewhere. Let us a empt,
therefore, to make out a beginning in a way which may be above adverse cri cism. The Buddhists
generally believe that the tantras were introduced into Buddhism by Asanga, the elder brother of
Vasubandhu, who ourished as we have shown elsewhere between AD 280 – 360. But what he taught
and what he introduced the history does not tell. We may however hold that he introduced something
very ques onable into Buddhism. The accounts of tArAnAtha point unmistakably to the fact that the
tAntric knowledge was handed down in secret in a period between Asanga and Dharmakir ; but the
material to construct the chronology of vajrayAna literature consists in some important guru paramparAs
or the succession lists of Gurus and disciples through whom a par cular Tantra has been handed down.
Two such lists prove very valuable in determining the chronology of vajrayAna: one given in the Tangyur
Catelogue of P Cordier and another in the Pag Sam Jon Zan quoted in the edi on of the chakrasamvara
tantra by the late Kazi Dawasam Dup.
The rst gives the succession as follows: Padmavajra, Anangavajra, Indrabhu , Lakshmi, Lilavajra,
dArikapA, Sahajayogini ChintA, Dombi Heruka. The second succession list on which we can rely for the
present is the list of Gurus and disciples through whom Chakrasamvara Tantra was handed down,
namely: Saraha, Nagarjuna, Shavaripa, Luipa, Vajraghanta, Kacchapa, Jalandhari, Krishnacharya, Guhya,
Vijayapa, Tailopa and Naropa.
It is natural to assume that the tAntric gurus were very par cular about their succession lists and each
important Tantra may be believed to have a list of this kind. When these Tantras were translated into
Tibetan the translators occasionally noted down the tradi on of the Tantras as it was handed down
through a succession of Gurus and disciples. It is in this way some lists have been preserved and at
present cons tute our only authen c material in determining the chronology of this extensive literature.
The two lists above stated are pre y long cover a considerably long period, and seem to be fairly
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authen c. In these two lists, the point of contact is represented by Jalandhari who in the second list was
the rst to profess the Hevajra Tantra and to compose a work on the subject.
When we x the me of Saraha we prac cally go to the root of the Buddhist Tantra or tantrayAna,
because Saraha is reputed to be one of the chief promulgators of tantra. both tArAnAtha and the author
of Pag Sam Jon Zan admit that Saraha was one of the earliest writers and di users of tAntric doctrines
and prac ces. While men oning the origin of some of the most important tantras, tArAnAtha gives us
the informa on that Saraha (633 AD) introduced the buddhakapAla tantra, luipA (669 AD) the
yoginIsancharyA, kambala and padmavajra (693 AD) the hevajra tantra, krShNAchArya (717 AD) the
sampuTa laka, lalitavajra (693 AD) the three divisions of the krShNaymAritantra, gambhIravajra the
vajrAmrta, kukkurI (693 AD) the mahAmAyA and Pito the kAlachakra. It is interes ng to note that the
name of Saraha has also been placed on the top of the succession list of a Tantra of no less celebrity than
the Chakrasamvara Tantra and that the names of at least four among the Gurus in tArAnAtha’s list are in
chronological order, namely, Saraha, Luipa, Padmavajra and Krishnacharya in accordance with the
proposed calcula on.
Let us now see how the account of Saraha as given by tArAnAtha is corroborated by the author of the
Pag Sam Jon Zan. According to him, rAhulabhadra or Saraha was the name of a Buddhist sage born of a
Brahmin and a DAkinI, in the city of rAjnI. He was an adept both in Brahminical and the Buddhist lores
and ourished during the reign of king chandanapAla of prAchya. He worked some miracles in the
presence of king ratnaphala and his Brahmin minister and thereby converted them to the Buddhist faith.
A erwards he became the high priest of nAlanda. It is also related of him that he visited Orissa where
from one Covesa Kalpa he learnt the mantrayAna, and from there proceeded to Maharashtra. There he
united in Yoga with a female asce c who had approached him in the guise of an archer’s daughter.
Having performed the mahAmudrA ritual with her, he a ained Siddhi. He was thenceforward called
Saraha. He used to sing Doha of mys cism and thereby converted 5000 people and their king to
Buddhism. He composed a large number of works in Sanskrit and several among them are preserved in
the Tibetan Tangyur. All our authori es, namely, tArAnAtha, the author of Pag Sam Jon Zan and the
Chakrasamvara succession list are agreed on one point at least that SarahapAda, also known as
SarahapA, Sarahabhadra and rAhulabhadra, was one of the earliest Buddhists responsible for di using
the tAntric knowledge and popularizing it.
The next author of importance is nAgArjuna (AD 645) who is, of course, di erent from the author of the
same name who is regarded as the founder of the mAdhyamika school of Buddhist philosophy. Absurd
accounts are recorded about the life of this nAgArjuna and wild stories are told of his stupendous
magical feats. M Wallester, a er a thorough inves ga on of the accounts of nAgarjuna from Tibetan and
Chinese sources, has come to the conclusion that there was no such person as nAgArjuna existent on the
face of the earth. From his learned and scholarly observa ons it can be easily seen that the Tibetan
sources have hopelessly mixed up together the accounts of the nAgArjuna the disciple of ashvaghoSha
with the nAgArjuna who was a disciple of Saraha. One ourished in the rst and second quarter of the
second century and was the guru of Aryadeva, while the other ourished somewhere in the middle of
the seventh century, the two names thus being separated by nearly ve hundred years. But as these two
are taken erroneously to mean one and the same person a serious confusion has arisen. The Chinese
version which does not take into account the tAntric nAgArjuna is less confusing though it also abounds
in absurd stories about his life. We are not, however, here concerned with the accounts of nagArjuna,
the founder of the mAdhyamika school, but we can easily prove the second ot the tAntric nAgArjuna to
be a historical person and a follower of vajrayAna. Two sAdhanas of his are recorded in the
sAdhanamAlA one for the worship of vajratArA while the other relates to the worship of ekajaTA. It is
dis nctly said that nAgArjuna rescued this sAdhana from the country of Bhota which may be iden ed
with Tibet. The worship of ekajaTA appears to have been current in Tibet, and the goddess probably
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belonged to the primi ve Bon religion of that country, and it was nAgArjuna who for the rst me
introduced this goddess into Buddhism. We can thus see that ekajaTA, variously known as ugratArA,
mahAchInatArA etc. is compara vely a recent introduc on in Indian religions, and de nitely say that any
work, Buddhist or Hindu, which may refer to this goddess must be later than the me in which
nAgArjuna ourished. nAgArjuna was quite famous and wrote a large number of tAntric works the
transla ons of many of which are s ll preserved in the Tibetan Tangyur.
ShavarIpA (657 AD) is our third author who is described in Pag Sam Jon Zan as having belonged to the hill
tribe called shabaras in Bengal where he met nAgArjuna during the la er’s residence in that country, and
embraced tantra. A er being ini ated by him, along with his two wives Loki and Guni, he a ained to
sainthood. This ShavarIpA was also a historical person and has composed a sAdhana of kurukullA. He is
also the author of a number of melodious songs in the vernacular of his country which according to the
authority of Pag Sam Jon Zan was Bangala.
LuipA is termed as the rst siddhAcharya by the Tibetans. Leaving aside the next two Gurus such as
Vajraghanta and Kacchapa about whom we have prac cally very li le historical informa on, we pass on
to another famous name in Tantric Buddhism. This is Padmavajra (AD 693) the rst name in the rst
succession list above referred to and the author of a large number of works out of which only two are
extant in Sanskrit. According to tArAnatha, he was the rst to introduce the hevajra tantra in vajrayAna
which he did along with his collaborator kambalapAda. kukkurIpAda a contemporary of his is believed to
have introduced into vajrayAna the mahAmAyAtantra. Padmavajra was again a historical gure and we
have discovered a very interes ng work of his called guhyasiddhi, which seems to have been a work of
great authority in Tibet even so late as 1747 AD when Pag Sam Jon Zan was wri en. The whole work is
wri en in what is called the twilight language but s ll it can be easily seen that he advocates mys c and
somewhat objec onable rites and prac ces, which he terms secret rites. According to Padmavajra, such
prac ces and rites were rst formulated by the Buddha and were rst recorded in the shrIsamAja which
is only another name of the guhyasamAja. Beyond the shrIsamAja, he says there is no be er treasure in
the three worlds. In line with guhyasamAja, he follows the doctrine of the ve dhyAni buddhas and says
that by these ve forms alone Sambodhi can be a ained in accordance with the pronouncement of the
tathAgatas. The ve forms are: shAsvata/vairochana, akShobhya, ratna, Ayus (amitAbha) and kulAdya
(amoghasiddhi).
Dombi Heruka is recognized as one of the eighty-four siddhas and wrote several works of vajrayAna and
sahajayAna. He composed a sAdhana for goddess nairAtmA and It appears that he followed the hevajra
tantra. His other works include dAsata va, yogiyoginI nAma sAdhAraNArthopadesha, nairAtmayoginI
sAdhana, gaNachakravidhi, ekavIrAsAdhana, nAmasangI vr , guhyavajra tantrarAja vr etc. DombI
formulates that the worship of Kula is the most important in tAntric religion and it appears this is the
rst connota on of the word kula in this context. Without it no success can be achieved, but with it great
success is possible of a ainment. While explaining the word kula, he says, they are ve in number and
they originate from the dhyAni Buddhas: akShobhya, vairochana, amitAbha, ratnasambhava and
amoghasiddhi and this is the reason why they are called kuleshas. The thunderbolt family originates
from akShobhya, the Lotus family from amitAbha, the Jewel family from Ratnasambhava, the Disc family
from Vairochana and the Ac on family from Amoghasiddhi. From this word kula the words kulAchAra,
kaulika are derived. The kaulas declare themselves to be Tantric Hindus. From the literature of the extant
Kaulism, the meaning of the word Kula is not consistent. Moreover, the large number of interpreta ons
shows de nitely that the Hindu counterparts were not certain about the meaning of the word. But the
meaning in the Buddhist sense is quite clear and unequivocal; they give not more than one
interpreta on of the word. The kaulas according to them, mean the worshippers or the followers of the
originators of the ve families, namely of the ve dhyAni Buddhas. The ques on will then arise as to
whether the rst set of Kaulas were Hindus or Buddhists. We are not here to discuss this ques on in
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spite of the earlier hint. There is indeed very li le di erence between the kaulAchara and the tAntric
bauddhAchAra, because in both the desire to do prohibited things in the fullest extent is present.
Buddhist Tantra - 3
Concep on of Guru
In ancient India for all kinds of religious and secular knowledge the necessity of a Guru or preceptor was
always felt, but nowhere is reverence to the Guru so much in evidence as in vajrayAna. Nothing, they
a rm, can be achieved without a preceptor. It is impossible to follow mys c doctrines and prac ces
without a preceptor. What par cular Mantra or mys c prac ce is suitable to a person who is already
ini ated must be told by the preceptor whose duty it is also to inform him of the way in which it should
be repeated and the number of mes it should be mu ered in order to obtain the di erent kinds of
siddhis. The Buddhists always had preceptors prac cally since the me of Buddha, but the more
Buddhism became mys ed in its later stages, the greater was the necessity of preceptors that was felt,
and, in vajrayAna, we nd the posi on of the Guru altogether paramount. He is idolized as the Buddha,
he is the sugata, he is dharmakAya, and the bestowal of emancipa on lies in his power; he is omniscient
and without his kindness nothing can be achieved. In every tAntric work there is an evidence of the high
esteem in which the Gurus were held and, in many works, the characteris cs of the Guru and the
disciple are enumerated. Simply because a mantra is known it does not necessarily follow that by
mu ering it one can a ain perfec on. It is impossible, and it is against the principles of vajrayAna. The
worshipper is rst to be ini ated by a Guru, and he just obtain the di erent kinds of abhiSheka from the
Guru, and then, if all his instruc ons are followed in the most precise manner possible, then and then
alone siddhi or perfec on is possible of a ainment. Guruship is a posi on which is very di cult to a ain;
and unless one answers to the characteris cs laid down in vajrayAna literature, he is no Guru.
Regula ons
In view of the con ic ng statements regarding the restric ons imposed on the worshippers in
sAdhanamAlA, it becomes di cult to say as to how the lives of the worshippers were regulated in those
mes, and what mandates of the Church they had to follow. We nd, for instance, that the worshippers
must abstain from taking non-vegetarian and other objec onable items of food, such as onions, oil, salt
etc., and must not violate the rules of strict celibacy. In other places it is said that the o erings should
consist of esh, wine and other objec onable ar cles. In one place it is said that worship should be done
a er purifying the body by bath and by observing the rules of celibacy. In other places, again, contrary to
the above, no restric on is laid down either of place or of any par cular food. Again, we also meet with a
general rule that the worshipper obtains perfec on by the mu ering of the mantras only, even without
drawing the maNDala or purifying himself by fas ng.
The reason for this contradic on seems to be that the vajrayAnists recognized the existence of di erent
grades among the worshippers, and legislated for di erent classes beginning from a strict observance of
vinaya rules in the lowest ranks to the stage of no restric on in the highest ranks. indrabhU recognized
three classes of disciples, as mRdu, Madhya and adhimAtra, who had di erent degrees of mental
development, and prescribed for them according to their mental capaci es di erent regula ons for their
spiritual upli . Advayavajra classi ed Buddhists as Shaikashas and Ashaikashas and prescribed the
strictest rules for the former who were less advanced. The la er being much more advanced in the
ma er of spiritual progress were allowed to follow such advanced prac ces as are prescribed in the
anu arayoga tantras.
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Our late lamented friend Kazi Dawasam Dup has given us also a classi ca on of the vajrayAna; he divides
it into six stages, though, of course, he regarded the di erent divisions as pertaining to mantrayAna. The
aforesaid divisions are:
1. kriyA tantrayAna
2. charyA/upAya tantrayAna
3. yoga tantrayAna
4. mahAyoga tantrayAna
5. anu arayoga tantrayAna
6. a yoga tantrayAna
We do not know on what authority this classi ca on is based as there is li le hope of knowing it as the
revered Kazi is now no more. It is to be pointed out in this connec on that this elaborate classi ca on
was unknown in India where only the following were known:
1. kriya tantra
2. charyA tantra
3. yoga tantra
4. anu arayoga tantra
These four terms are more or less frequently met with in Buddhist tAntric literature and as such they
make their appearance in the sAdhanamAlA also. Beginners and ini ates into the mysteries of vajrayAna
were, of course, admi ed in the lowest ranks, for instance, in the kriyAtantra where strict rules,
discipline and celibacy were enjoined on them un l they were considered t to be raised to the higher
class. The yogatantra appears to have been reserved for those who were considered t to come in
contact with the shak s, while the anu arayogins belonged to the highest class and were immune from
all laws, human or divine. They were called Siddhas and were believed, to be inpossession of
extraordinary powers of working miracles and performing prodigious feats. The tradi onal number of
the siddhas is recognized as eighty-four and they mostly belonged to the pAla period of Bengal History.
The Tibetans are supposed to have preserved a history of these eighty four Siddhas and this has been
translated into German by A Grunwedel and published as Die Geschichten der Vierundachtzig Zauberer
(Mahasiddhas).
Buddhist Tantra - 4
The mantras or mys c syllables cons tute the backbone of tAntric worship and of vajrayAna; they are of
innumerable varie es such as bIja, hrdaya, upahrdaya, pUjA, arghya, puShpa, dhUpa, dIpa, naivedya,
netra, shikhA, astra, rakShA and so forth. These mantras are mostly unmeaning words but they
some mes disclose dis nctly the in uence of a language now unknown. It is however impossible to say
how these mantras were introduced in ancient India; the Vedic hymns were indeed called mantras but
they had their meaning. But these tAntric mantras are in most cases meaningless strings of words. The
vajrayAnists of course, in several instances, a empted to trace the origin of certain mantras to Buddha
himself as their originator. The mantras of vajrayAna seem to be a development of the dhAraNis
contained in the vidyAdharapITaka to which a reference has been given by Hiuen Thsang. These
dhAraNais existed in Buddhism from very ancient mes and seemed to have been introduced for the
bene t of the less advanced followers who did not care so much for their nirvana as they did for their
material prosperity in this world. Such recruits to Buddhism were enjoined to read some of the sUtras
which however proved to be beyond their intelligence. For their bene t, these had to be shortened into
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dhAraNis and they had to commit them to memory. This seems to be the process in which the sUtras
underwent a change in very ancient mes, and ul mately when they were further reduced they gave
rise to Mantra. For example, aShTasAhasrikA prajnApAramitA is too stupendous for any tolerably learned
Buddhist to read through and understand, not to speak of the illiterate mass which were mostly
responsible for the great popularity of mahAyAna. They cannot indeed read this vast literature for
acquiring merit; for them something shorter was necessary. prajnApAramitA with its eight thousand
stanzas was therefore reduced to a hundred, and, ul mately, to a very few stanzas which became known
as the prajnApAramitA hrdaya sUtra which was further reduced to make room for the prajnApAramitA
dhAraNI. The next step in this chain of evolu on is in the forma on of a prajnApAramitA mantra which
makes its appearance in the sAdhanamAlA, and this again led to the concep on of her bIja in one
syllable pram in response to which the shUnya may transform itself in the form of the goddess
prajnApAramitA, a veritable metamorphosis of the prajnApAramitA literature. The origin of tAntric
mantras thus can be traced through the successive stages of the Buddhist literature; when, however, we
turn our a en on to Hindu literature, we are surprised to nd that the tAntric mantras suddenly make
their entry without showing many traces of the earlier and crude stages of development. To our mind,
this seems to be a su cient reason for believing the Hindu mAntric system to be later than the Buddhist
vajrayAna and for holding that they were incorporated into Hinduism bodily from Buddhism.
The sAdhana for jAngulI which is in the form of a sangI is said to have been delivered by Buddha
himself. In the sAdhana of vajrasarasvatI it is said that this sAdhana has been composed in accordance
with the instruc ons of the sugata. With reference to the mantra, om picu picu prajnAvivardhini jvala
jvala medhAvardhani dhiri dhiri buddhivardhini svAhA, the sAdhana says that this mantra was delivered
by Buddha himself. The famous logician shAntarakShita and his erudite disciple kamalashIla both of
whom belonged to the eighth century are of opinion that the Buddha instructed the people in the
mantras, maNDalas, etc. so that they might obtain prosperity in this world (ta vasamgraha). From these
facts we can easily maintain that Buddha introduced some sort of mys cism into his religion which, in
later mes owing to a variety of in uences, developed into a full- edged mys c system in the form of
vajrayAna.
The vajrayAnists maintain that the mantras are endowed with great powers. The passages showing this
faith on their part are too frequent and eloquent. In one place it is said: What is there impossible for the
mantras to perform if they are applied according to rules? In another place, it is said that through the
repeated mu erings of the mantra, so much power is generated that it can astonish the whole world.
The mantras by their power can even confer the Buddhahood; the merits that accrue from the
mu erings of the mantra of mahAkAla are so numerous that all the Buddhas taken together cannot
count them even if they were to count without cessa on for a number of days and nights. The ve
greatest sins according to Buddhism are the ve Anantaryas but these can be easily washed away and
perfec on can be gained if the mantra of lokanAtha is repeated. By the repi on of the mantra of
khasarpaNa, the Buddhahood becomes as easy of access as the badaraka fruit on the palm of the hand.
By the dhAraNI of avalokiteshvara, even an ass can keep three hundred stanzas in memory. The mantra
of ekajaTA is said to be so powerful that the moment it is mu ered a man becomes free from his danger,
he is always followed by good fortune and his enemies are all destroyed and without doubt he becomes
as pious as the Buddha. Examples of this kind can be easily mul plied from the sAdhanamAlA. Lest the
people prove doub ng, which they are always apt to do, the sAdhanamAlA gives from me to me the
assurance that the power of the mind is extraordinary and one should not doubt what is said about the
e cacy of the mantras.
It is said that the mantras are only e ec ve when they are applied strictly in accordance with the rules.
The rules are strict and minute, and so numerous that it is extremely improbable that any mantra is
capable of being applied in strict conformity to rules, and this is a factor which is apt to discourage
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enthusiasts and new recruits. But whether the mantras which are not recited according to the le er of
the rules, but in conformity with them as far as possible, can give any results, is answered probably in
token of encouragement to new-comers and enthusiasts. “You should not be sorry”, says
kumudAkarama , “because you are not able to apply the mantra in accordance with the rules stated
before. At least you should perform the rite of self-protec on and thinking of the closure of the
boundary (sImAbandhana) and of worship, you should repeat the mantras as long as you can and aim at
perfec on. In accordance with your powers and ac ons, you will certainly obtain results”. The repe on
of the mantras, however, has to be done with the greatest care, and, in several instances, the texts give
direc ons for proper repe on. For instance, they should not be recited too quickly, nor too slowly. The
mind at the me of recita on should be free from all bad thoughts and completely concentrated on the
le ers of the mantra which should be repeated so long as there is no feeling of redness.
The mantras are considered most sacred by the vajrayAnists and the accuracy of these mantras were
zealously guarded by them, in much the same way as the vedic mantras, by means of several devices.
These mantras are composed usually in ordinary prose but occasionally in an enigma c language the
meaning of which some mes becomes di cult to understand. The mantras are done into prose as well
into mnemonic verses for the obvious purpose of memorizing. These verses are extremely curious and
give prac cally no meaning to the ordinary readers.
A peculiar feature of vajrayAna worship lies in its doctrine of ahamkAra or iden ca on of the
bodhichi a with the deity worshipped. This doctrine is explained thus: “I am the goddess and the
goddess is in me”. A er ahamkAra the worshipper should conceive himself as the deity with the same
complexion, form and limbs as described in the sAdhana and should instead of worshipping any external
object, contemplate worship of himself. It was suggested elsewhere that this iden ca on of the
worshipper with the deity worshipped was a new feature introduced by the Buddhists into tantra. This
has met with a general cri cism from a number of noteworthy scholars including A C Coomaraswami and
O C Ganguli. It has been urged that in view of the great an quity of the yoga philosophy the view that
the doctrine of ahamkAra is a new introduc on is untenable. To this it may be said here that the theory
of the absorp on of the individual Self with the Primordial Ma er or union of the Self with a Personal
God by the prac ce of yoga, and thereby the a ainment of perfect knowledge and the consequen al
freedom from the bondage of transmigra on, was started in India from ancient mes, and traces of it
can be found in the upaniShads of very great an quity, even greater than that of the yoga system.
Nothing therefore can be said to be a new introduc on. But s ll we say, for instance, that the vedAnta
doctrines originated with shankara though previous to that there was a school of aupaniShada
philosophers; that shankara systema zed the doctrine of mAyA though Buddhists from nAgarjuna’s me
all acknowledged and wrote about the same doctrine in their works. When it is said that this element of
ahamkAra was introduced by vajrayAna for the rst me it was said with reference to the iden ca on
of the worshipper with the deity who is a transforma on of the great Reality known as shUnya not only
for the purpose of obtaining emancipa on as is found in yoga but also for bewitching women, destroying
foes and their dwelling, and even for the extrac on of snake poison or for relieving a woman of the pains
of labor. The ahamkAra is in fact impera ve in the vajrayAna form of worship and this introduc on is
considered to be new in view of the mul farious purposes it was called upon to serve.
In some of the Hindu tantras the doctrine of iden ca on or ahamkAra is indeed to be met with, and
this fact gives rise to the controversy as to which Tantras, those of Hinduism or Buddhism, are older. We
have su cient reasons to hold that the Hindu tantras were introduced on the model of the Buddhist
Tantras and the Hindus borrowed many customs, prac ces, dei es, and mantras. The very kulAchAra
seems to have been originally conceived by the Buddhists and probably the forefathers of a large
number of kaulas today were direct disciples of Buddhists in the tAntric age.
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Buddhist Tantra - 5
The dei es of the vajrayAna are all manifesta ons of shUnya. Advayavajra says in a very characteris c
verse that the dei es are nothing but manifesta ons of shUnya and are by nature non-existent, and
whenever there is manifesta on it must be shUnya in essence. The process of evolu on of dei es from
shUnya has four stages: the rst is the right percep on of the shUnyatA or voidness, the second is its
connec on with the germ syllable, the third is the concep on of an icon and the fourth is the external
representa on of the deity. This statement which occurs both in the sAdhanamAlA and in advayavajra is
a very strong argument against the theory that later Buddhism was nothing but gross idolatry. This
shows on the other hand that their concep on of godhead was philosophically most profound, a parallel
to which is scarcely to be met with in any other Indian religion.
Occasionally the sAdhanamAlA gives us informa on as to the residence of the vajrayAna dei es and as
far as it can be gathered from some stray references we can de nitely say that the abode of these gods
was in the akaniShTha heaven which is the topmost of the rUpa heavens. As has been pointed out
before, the dei es of the vajrayAna system represent the shUnya and they are shUnya in essence with
the three elements shUnya, vijnAna and mahAsukha. They are rather the voluntary manifesta ons of the
shUnya in accordance with the bIjamantras u ered by the worshippers, with an appearance suitable for
the func on he has to discharge. In the SadhanamAlA in one instance while characterizing manjushrI it
gives us a piece of very important informa on and calls him as equal to all tathAgatas who are none but
the ve dhyAni Buddhas. This implies that each deity is an embodiment of the ve skandhas over each of
which one dhyAni Buddha presides, such as akShobhya for vijnAna, vairochana for rUpa, ratnasambhava
for vedanA, amitAbha for samjnA and amoghasiddhi for samskAra. When one element among the ve
predominates the deity is considered to be an emana on of that dhyAni Buddha who presides over the
element in ques on. When such deity is represented in art, he bears on his head the same dhyAni
Buddha and is considered as his o spring and as belonging to his family. The ve dhyAni Buddhas are
generally represented on the aureole over the head of the principal deity.
It may be noted that texts are very par cular in having a color applied to all the dei es. This color has a
deep signi cance and is a thing which should not be passed over unno ced. The dhyAni Buddhas, it may
be remembered, have each a di erent color and they preside over one or the other of the skandas, also
ve in number. The dei es emana ng from each of these ve dhyAni Buddhas cons tute the family of
each. Ordinarily, the whole family of a par cular dhyAni Buddha should have the same color as that of
their spiritual father. Thus the family of akShobhya, the embodiment of vijnAna skandha, should have
the blue color because it is the color of the dhyAni Buddha akShobhya. This is, of course, the general rule
but numerous excep ons are also met with. Take, for instance, a deity who is very popular and has the
power to grant success in a variety of protec ve and destruc ve rites. The deity cannot have the same
color in all the rites because the di erence in rite demands a di erence in form and color, posture, and
so forth. In the sAdhanamAlA it is said that the color of the dei es vary in accordance with the func ons
they have to discharge.
It may be frequently seen that the dei es some mes present a very erce appearance and are invoked
in terrible rites such as for the destruc on of men (maraNa) and their houses (ucchATana). This, perhaps,
the authors of sAdhanas considered incompa ble with the theory of compassion and a few indirect
explana ons to clear up this point are not wan ng in the sAdhanamAlA. Two characteris c passages are
quoted below, one with reference to the erce form of yamAri and the other in respect of ucchuShma
jambhala.
shrImantam antaHkaruNAmayam tam |

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sa vArthahetoH bahirugrarUpam ||
nAtham yamArim praNipatya mUrdhnA
likhAmi tatsAdhanamiShTahetoH ||
“A er making my obeisance by my head to Lord yamAri who is of digni ed appearance, internally

compassionate but externally terri c for the good of all beings, I write this procedure of worship for the
bene t of all.”
dAridryaduHkhAhatamAnasAnAm
kA chi avr H sugatasya kRî eH |
atashcha kopAdiva jambhalo.asau
ucchuShmarUpam bhayadam chakAra ||
“People who are stricken down with the misery of poverty what desire can they have for the rites laid
down by sugata? It is for this reason it seems that jambhala in his anger assumed the terri c form of
ucchuShma”.
mahAkAla is another very terrible deity with terrible appearance and is invoked to discharge terrible
func ons. Neither his appearance nor his func ons are in keeping with the doctrine of karuNA or
compassion. Nut an excellent explana on to clear up the point has been o ered by the author of the
sAdhana. He says:
AchArye yaH sadA dveShI kupito ratnatraye.api yaH |

anekasa vavidhvamsI mahAkAlena khAdyate ||
“One who is persistently a hater of the preceptor and is adversely disposed towards the three jewels
(Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) and immolates many animals is eaten up raw by mahAkAla”.
Now in a case like this we can easily understand that the concep on of the erce of mahAkAla is quite in
keeping with the doctrine of compassion because such a man is incorrigible and he alone and
unaccompanied does harm to many beings, and a mischievous man like ought to be removed by a erce
deity like mahAkAla for the good of the many. We do not however see the necessity of ea ng the poor
o ender raw unless it is assumed that his mental condi on will change in the next birth by undergoing a
transforma on in the compassionate stomach of mahAkAla!
Tags: advayavajra, akanishtha, akshobhya, amitabha, amoghasiddhi, buddhist tantra, dhyani buddha,
mahakala, mahasukha, manjushri, ratnasambhava, sadhanamala, shunya, shunyata, skandha, tathagata,
ucchushma jambhala, vairochana, vajrayana, vijnana, voidness, yamari
Buddhist Tantra - 6
By admin on Jul 13, 2009 | In Oriental/New Age
Hindus worship idols and believe that the mantras can infuse the image with life thus making it verily the
representa on of the deity. The Jainas regard the images as remembrances (smArakas). By seeing the
images of the tIrthankaras they call to mind their noble lives, good deeds, preachings and high ideals,
and to their memory they o er various ar cles of worship, in token of reverence. Their idol worship is
not exactly what is known as idolatry like in the case of Hindus in so far as these tIrthankaras are
concerned, but the moment they leave this sphere and o er objects of worship to beings such as the
yakShas and yakShiNis, they are relegated to the sphere of idolatry.
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But the Buddhist mode of worship is en rely di erent from that of the Hindus or of the Jains. To the
Buddhist the external world has no existence, the body with the sense organs are unreal; the real
noumenon is only shUnya which together with karuNA cons tute the bodhichi a. The Bodhi Mind then
is also a reality; in fact it has the same reality as that of shUnya, and beyond the mind there is nothing in
the external world. The body as such being external does not exist and it has no reality. This is the
concep on about the mind and the external world in the vajrayAna. To the followers of vajrayAna,
therefore, how can there be reality in an image, a grossly external object, to which worship may be
o ered. The vajrayAna theory of godhead is so peculiar and had such successive stages of development
traceable through Buddhist literature for several centuries that whenever similar concep ons or theories
are met with in the literature of other sects we can easily put our nger on them and characterize them
as borrowed from vajrayAna.
Bodhisa va a er following the prescribed procedure according to the instruc ons of the Guru or
according to the sAdhana should restrain himself as nothing but as a chain of momentary consciousness
full of compassion for su ering humanity, and invoke the aid of shUnya the ul mate reality with the
three elements, shUnya, vijnAna and mahAsukha. This aid can only be invoked when the Bodhi Mind of
the Bodhisatva is also iden ed with the shUnya; and only when this is done, the shUnya responds. In
accordance with the bIja mantra or in accordance with the purpose for which the aid of the shUnya has
been invoked, the shUnya transforms itself in the form of a divinity with which the Bodhi Mind is
iden ed. When the commingling of the Bodhi Mind with the deity takes place, the former develops
great power, and is able to do the work for which the deity has been invoked un l he is dismissed from
the mind with the proper formula. A glance at the list of dei es and the aims and objects of the
vajrayAnist will show how many mul farious du es the shUnya had to perform and into how many
forms it had to transform itself.
It can indeed be pointed out that because a large number of images of gods and goddesses of the
vajrayAna Pantheon were made and subsequently discovered from under the earth, therefore the
Buddhists must be considered as idolaters. Against this we can point out that it is not an easy task to
conceive the outward appearances of gods and goddesses of an extensive Pantheon for the purpose of
medita on, without the help of images or pictures, and it is in order to supply this most important aid to
the numerous worshippers that innumerable images had to be carved out of stone. We also have
evidence that pictures were painted for th same purpose and even now in Nepal and the vajrAchAryas
keep a large stock of pain ngs and pictures of numerous dei es for their numerous clients. It must be
de nitely understood that an a empt is here made to represent the case of the Buddhist with regard to
the change of idolatry occasionally leveled at them.
The vajrayAnists however displayed a great hatred towards the gods of the Hindu religion and a large
number of remarks made by a number of vajrayAna authors on the Hindu gods in the sAdhanamAlA fully
bears us out. They were not only hos le to the Hindu gods but their hos lity towards the Hindu gods
prove further that they had a great hatred towards the members of other religions also. This fact was for
the rst me pointed out in the Indian Buddhist Iconography but it met with violent cri cism from
eminent scholars especially from the famous art cri c, Dr. A Coomarswami of the Boston Museum who
did not relish the idea mainly on the ground of sen ment. This has necessitated further comment on the
point and we shall here enumerate a number of passages from which it will be possible to judge whether
we were not jus ed in saying that the vajrayAnists displayed great hatred towards the gods of the
Hindu faith.
Dr. Coomarswami maintains that the brahmashiras which is carried by a number of gods of the Buddhist
Pantheon has a very deep spiritual signi cance. This of course sounds very ingenious but is a li le out of
point, and uncorroborated by facts. It shows nothing but that the Buddhist gods are so powerful that
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they destroy the Hindu gods and carry their heads in their hands thereby displaying wonderful hatred
towards the Hindu gods in par cular and Hinduism in general. Take for instance, the descrip on of
harihariharivAhanodbhava, a form of avalokiteshvara, the all compassionate Bodhisa va, and it will be
found that his vAhana or favorite animal is viShNu, the second God of the Hindu Trinity. The la er cannot
be mistaken for any other god or thing, because here his own favorite animal, the mythical bird, garuDa,
is also present. In another place while describing chaNDaroShaNa, the author of the sAdhana says that
the god carries the noose in order to bind the enemies who cause su erings to humanity, such as
viShNu, shiva, brahmA who are terri ed by the raised index nger of the god. Further on, in the same
sAdhana, the author says that chaNDaroShaNa should be conceived as looking towards the miserable
people who are subjected to constant revolu on in the cycle of existence by the wicked gods such as
viShNu, brahmA, shiva and kandarpa, the god of love. By chaNDaroShaNa’s interven on, the hosts of
mAras who are terri ed, weeping, nude, with disheveled hair, hopeless and in despair, are hacked to
pieces with the sword. chaNDaroShaNa gives their life back and places them near his feet so that they
may perform pious du es in future. Further on, while enumera ng the bene ts that accrue from the
worship of mRîtyuvanchana tArA, the author says that the worshipper conquers death as though
emancipated, and even the ends of his hair cannot be destroyed by Hindu gods like brahmA, indra,
viShNu, Moon, the Sun, shiva, dei es of the quarters, yama and manmatha. Again, while describing
mArIchI, the principal Hindu gods are brought to the humilia ng posi on of making obeisance to
mArIchI. Some of them are actually trampled under her feet while others obey her orders like her
servants. In another place, it is said that the asce c who pleases the goddess kurukullA, to him brahmA,
rudra, indra, nArAyaNa and others come and meet his wants whatever they may be, like servants. While
describing vajrajvAlAnalArka, he is characterized as trampling under his foot not only viShNu but also his
consort lakShmI. bhUtaDAmara is described as one who is an expert in destroying the pride of indra,
brahmA, kubera and others. ucchuShma jambhala is described in one place as pressing kubera under his
feet so that he vomits blood. The severed head of brahmA is carried by mArIchI, vajrasarasvatI,
prasannatArA and several others. Trailokyavijaya tramples upon the head of shiva and the bosom of
gaurI who lie on the ground in opposite direc ons. prasannatArA is described as trampling upon indra
and upendra and pressing rudra and brahmA between the two. Paramashiva is described as four-legged
and as trampling with the rst right leg on indrANI and lakShmI, with the second ra and prI , with the
rst le indra and madhukara and with the second jayakara vasanta. While describing the merits and
advantages to be gained by worshipping hayagrIva the author of a sAdhana holds before us an
exceedingly a rac ve prospect but not without calumnia ng Hindu gods. It says, when perfec on is
a ained in this sAdhana the asce c goes to the vidyAdhara land and enjoys all sorts of pleasures;
devendra becomes his parasol bearer, brahmA his minister, vemachitri (kAr keya) his general, and hari
his gate-keeper. All the gods ock together; shankara, the nude preceptor, lectures on the di erent
virtues, and so forth. aparAjitA is described as a goddess whose parasol is raised over her head by
wicked and mischievous gods, like brahmA and others.
Now the above are a few among many instances where Hindu gods are insulted and made subservient to
Buddhist gods. But these are instances met with in wri ng; in prac ce also they did the same. A large
number of images were carved by the followers of vajrayAna where the Hindu gods were represented in
stone and in pictures as humiliated by Buddhist gods. No ma er what a tude earlier Buddhists may
have shown to the hindu faith, the later Buddhists maintained an aggressively hos le a tude against
Hinduism and the Hindu pet theories of emancipa on and this is conclusively proved by a very
interes ng passage in the chi ashodhanaprakarana of aryadeva.
Buddhist Tantra - 7
By admin on Jul 20, 2009 | In Oriental/New Age
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The passage in ques on contains a scathing indictment of the Hindu belief that bathing in holy places
can confer merit and proves its fu lity in forcible but unequivocal language:
pratarannapi ga~NgAyAm naiva shvA shuddhimarha |

tasmAddharmadhiyAM pumsAM tIrthasnAnam tu niShphalam ||
dharmo yadi bhavet snAnAt kaivartAnAm kRîtArthatA |
naktandivam praviShTAnAM matsyAdInAm tu kA kathA ||
pApakShayo.api snAnena naiva syAdi nishchayaH |
yato rAgAdibuddhistu dRîshyate tIrthasevinAm ||
“A dog swimming in the Ganges is not considered pure, therefore bathing in holy places is fu le for pious
men. If bathing can confer merit, the shermen must be most meritorious, not to speak of sh and other
aqua c animals that are always in water day and night. It is certain that by bathing even sin is not
dissipated, because people who are in the habit of making pilgrimages are full of passion, hatred and
other vices”.
The study of iconography has revealed certain important facts of primary importance, especially how
Tantric Buddhism in uenced other religions of India, especially Hinduism. It is well-known that the
paurANic pantheon of the Hindus in uenced tAntric Buddhism, which was led to accept such gods as
gaNesha, sarasvatI, etc., as gods in their own pantheon, but the point we want to emphasize here is that
in purely tAntric ma ers, it was Buddhism which took the lead. From the discussion below, it will be
clear that the weight of evidence is in favor of Buddhism, and that tAntric Hinduism drew its inspira on
almost wholly from tAntric Buddhism.
It is well-known that the Hindus recognize a set of ten siddha mantras with ten dei es presiding over
them. One of the goddesses is known as tArA whose mantra consists of ve syllables. The Hindus claim
this deity as their own and in the tArArahasya of brahmAnanda who ourished in the middle of the 16th
century and in the tantrasAra, a s ll later authority, we meet with the following dhyAna in which the
form of tArA is given in detail:
pratyAlIDhapadAM ghorAM muNDamAlAvibhUShitAm |

kharvAM lambodarIM bhImAM vyaghracharmAvRîtAM kaTau ||
navayauvanasampannAM pa~nchamudrAvibhUShitAm |
chaturbhujAM lolajihvAM mahabhImAM varapradAm ||
khaDgakartrisamAyukta-savyetarabhujadvayAm |
kapAlotpalasaMyukta-savyapANiyugAnvitAm ||
pi~NgograikajaTAM dhyAyenmaulAvakShobhyabhUShitAm |
bAlArkamaNDalAkAra-lochanatrayabhUShitAm||
jvalacchitAmadhyagatAM ghoradaMShTrAM karAlinIm |
sAveshasmeravadanAM sarvAla~NkArabhUShitAm |
vishvavyApakatoyAntaH shvetapadmoparisthitAm ||
From this it would appear that tArA is a fairly awe-inspiring divinity standing in pratyAlIDha a tude with
a garland of skulls round her neck, having a erce face, protruding tongue and bare fangs. She is four-
armed and carries in the two principal hands the kartri and the kapAla while in two others she carries
the sword in the right and the blue lotus in the le . She is decked in ve mudrAs, has one tu of hair on
her head which is ornamented with akShobhya.
Now for the purpose of comparison three points are of special value: tArA is ekajaTA (one tu of hair), is
decked in ve mudrAs and has akShobhya on her crown. Why is she called ekajaTA, what the ve mudrAs
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are, and who is akShobhya? These are three ques ons which cannot be explained in accordance with
Hindu tradi ons.
The Hindus have no deity known as ekajaTA, but they have a tArA who is regarded as a di erent form of
ekajaTA. They have a variety of mudrAs but no mudrA can be employed as an ornament, much less the
ve mudrAs which are unknown to them. The dei es recognized by the Hindus are divided into two
great divisions: shaiva and vaiShNava. Even as early as Megasthenes’s me the Hindus of india were
divided into two mighty sec ons, vaiShNavas and shaivas. Hindu dei es thus divided were never to have
any other deity on their heads. This is not in the least necessary for Hindu representa on of dei es, but
why should this tArA we are discussing have akShobhya on her crown? None of the points raised,
therefore, is explained according to Hindu tradi ons.
The Buddhists have a deity called ekajaTA and various sAdhanas in sAdhanamAlA relate to the worship
which is o ered to this deity who is conceived in a variety of di erent forms. This deity is variously
known as ugratArA, mahAchInatArA, ekajaTA, vidyujjihvAlakarAlI etc. Out of these the form known as
mahAchInatArA agrees in all details with the descrip on of tArA quoted previously. As regards the
second point concerning the ornament of ve mudrAs, the sAdhanamAlA o ers a solu on. According to
a shloka, the Buddhists recognized six mudrAs or ornaments all made of human remains represen ng
the six pAramitAs well-known in early Buddhism:
kaNThikAruchakaM ratnamekhalaM bhasmasUtrakam |

ShaT vai pAramitA etA mudrarUpeNa yojitA ||
“The Torque, the bracelets, a bejeweled girdle, ashes and the sacred thread represent the six pAramitAs
and are applied in the form of mudrAs”.
It might therefore be inferred that the adjec ve panchamudrAvibhUShitA stands for a goddess decked in
ve ornaments made of human bones. This explana on is quite in keeping with the form and nature of
the deity under discussion. The third point about the goddess having akShobhya on her head can easily
be explained by a reference to Buddhist iconography. The Buddhists recognize ve dhyAnI Buddhas as
presiding over the ve skandhas which are responsible for crea on. The names of the ve are given in
the following couplet:
jino vairochano khyAto ratnasambha eva cha |

amitAbhAmoghasiddhirakShobhyashcha prakIr taH ||
The Bodhisa vas emanate from the ve dhyAnI Buddhas: vairochana, ratnasambhava, amitAbha,
amoghasiddhi and akShobhya, and do the work of crea on, protec on and destruc on. All Bodhisa vas
and Buddha-shak -s emana ng from a par cular dhyAnI Buddha are required to bear a small gure of
the parental dhyAni Buddha on their heads. In a large number of sAdhanas the dei es are described as
akShobhyamukuTinI, amitAbhavirAjitashiraska, vairochanabhUShitA etc., and those who have carefully
examined the sculptures of Buddhist dei es preserved in di erent museums must have no ced the very
interes ng miniature of the parental dhyAni Buddha appearing on the heads of most of the sculptures.
An absurd explana on of this phenomenon of keeping the gure of akShobhya on the crown is given in
the toDala tantra and it does not take much to iden fy its absurdity.
Thus, we can explain all the three points raised in connec on with the Hindu deity tArA by means of
Buddhist tradi ons. Let us now try to nd out whether the iden cal deity can be found in the Buddhist
tAntric literature. In a sAdhana composed by shAsvatavajra, we nd the descrip on of a deity iden cal in
form and nature as our Hindu deity tArA.
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pratyAlIDhapadAM ghorAM muNDamAlApralambitAm |
kharvalambodarAM bhImAm nIlanIrajara~njitAm ||
tryambakaikamukhAM divyAM ghorATTahAsabhAsurAm |
suprahRîShTAM shavarUDhAM vyAghracharmAvRîtAm kaTau ||
navayauvanasampannAm pa~nchamudrAvibhUShitAm |
lalajjihvAm mahAbhImAm daMShTrotkaTavibhIShaNAm ||
khaDgakartrikarAm savye vamotpalakapAladhAm |
pi~NgograikajaTAm dhyAyet maulAvakShobhyabhUShitAm ||
This mahAchInatArA also, like the Hindu deity tArA, presents a fearful appearance with legs arranged in
the pratyAlIDha a tude; she wears a garland of skulls, and her face is rendered erce with protruding
tongue and fangs. She carries in the two principal hands the kartari and kapAla, while in two others she
carries the sword in the right and the blue lotus in the le . She is decked in ve mudrAs and bears the
gure of akShobhya on her crown. Thus the resemblance between the two is clear and complete. It is a
pity the me of shAsvatavajra is not known except that he must be earlier than A.D. 1100, as his
sAdhana dates back to 1165. But fortunately, there is, however, another way of nding out when the
deity ekajaTA entered the Buddhist pantheon. In the colophon of the sAdhana 127 of ekajaTA in
sAdhanamAlA, we meet with a remarkable sentence:
AryanAgArjunapAdairbhoTeShu uddhRîtam |
“Restored by Arya nAgArjunapAda from the country of bhoTa”.
This fact points to nAgArjuna as the pioneer to bring to India the worship of ekajaTA from the country of
bhoTa, also known as mahAchIna, which accounts for the name of the deity mahAchInatArA. We may be
pre y certain, therefore, that before the me of nAgArjuna, India knew of no deity as ekajaTA. The
accurate me of nAgArjuna for the present remains an open ques on but from what has been said
about him, we can place him around A.D. 645.
In this connec on another fact is to be no ced namely the men on of the tradi on in connec on with
the origin of mahAchInatArA according to purely Hindu tradi ons. In the tArA tantra, bhairavI asks
bhairava the nature of the mantra by which Buddha and vasisTha obtained siddhi and bhairava in reply
have out the secret tantra to her – a tantra belonging to the yogatantra class prescribing revol ng
prac ces. In the rudrayAmaLa again we read of vasisTha being asked to go to chInabhUmi where the
Buddha was residing, vasisTha went there and saw the Buddha surrounded by a large number of women
drinking wine and engaged in obscene rites. At this vasisTha had great fears and asked the Buddha to
clear up his doubts. He eventually got his doubts cleared up and ul mately obtained perfec on by
mu ering the mantra and by the free use of the ve makAras.
In the brahmayAmaLa also the same story is repeated with some modi ca on. vasisTha went to
mahAchIna and witnessed the same scene as described in the rudrayAmaLa. vasisTha as a true follower
of the vedic rites got horri ed and was on the point of leaving the job, when there was a mysterious
voice from the heaven which explained these strange rites as chInAchAra and asked him to follow the
same for the a ainment of perfec on. vasisTha was pleased and eventually came to the Buddha when
he was in a deeply drunken state. The la er a er hearing him gave vasisTha all he desired.
In Hinduism, the rudrayAmaLa and brahmayAmaLa are regarded as tantras of great authority. The
evidence of these two tantras as well as of the tArA tantra leads us to suppose that this tArA was
worshipped in mahAchIna by the na ve inhabitants, who professed probably the primi ve Bon religion
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of Tibet and that the Hindus got the vidyA from the Buddha or in other words from the Buddhists. It is
very probable that nAgArjuna who ourished in the middle of the seventh century was the pioneer to
introduce the worship of mahAchInatArA in India. The Mantra was rst invented by the Buddhists and
the Hindus quietly took it and found it to be a powerful charm invariably awarding siddhi, and that is
probably the reason why the mantra was designated as one of the siddha mantras.
In this connec on it should be borne in mind that the ancients looked upon the mantras with awe and
believed that if the mantra were changed or distorted, it would give no result or produce great harm.
Thus, though ekajaTA’s name was changed to tArA, her dhyAna was changed from the ungramma cal
Buddhist language to gramma cal, the Hindus did not change the mantra, which remained the same.
This is a very important factor for all who will take up this line of inves ga on, because by comparing the
mantras alone it will be possible to detect the common dei es in di erent religions, to trace their origin
and to know how they entered into the di erent pantheons.
nirvANa
brahmANDabudbudakadambakasa~Nkulo.ayam
mAyodadhirvividhaduHkhatara~NgamAlaH |
Ashcharyamamba jhaTi pralayaM prayA
tvaddhyAnasanta mahAbaDabAmukhAgnau ||
nAgArjuna, the propounder of the Middle Path of Buddhism, characterizes nirvana thus in the twenty-
h paricCheda of mAdhyamika-kArikA:
aprahINamasaMprAptamanucChinnamashAshvatam |
aniruddhamanutpannametannirvANamuchyate ||
The commentary of chandrakIr is immensely useful in understanding the purport of this verse.
1. Like rAga (passion), nirvana cannot be abandoned or given up.

2. Like the fruits of a sA vika life, nirvana cannot be acquired or a ained.
3. nirvana is not something that can be cut-o , lost or destroyed.
4. Nirvana is also not eternal as conceived in the hInayAna.
5. It cannot be held back, removed, restrained or rejected.
6. By very nature, it is without origin or destruc on.
Thus, nirvana is indescribable in words – anirvachanIya. mahAyAna sUtrakAras assert the lack of
di erence between samsAra and nirvana. kalpanA jAla kShaya or the removal of the illusionary web is
described popularly as nirvana. nAgArjuna describes nirvana as anirvachanIya owing to its nature of
being neither a bhAva nor an abhAva padArtha, it is what is described as bhUtakoTi or dharma-dhatu.
The following aspects of nirvana are common to both hInayAna and mahAyAna:
1. It cannot be expressed or manifested through words – niShprapancha. As it is asamskrta dharma,

utpa (origin), vinAsha (destruc on) and parivartana (transforma on) of nirvana are ruled out.
2. The anubhU of nirvana is real and evident through experience. The yogAchArins thus describe it as
pratyAtmavedya.
3. The nature and experience of nirvana is common to the buddhas of the past, present and future.
4. Nirodha of vyak tva or individual personality is another aspect of nirvana.
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It is also pointed out that there is total non-di erence between jnAtA-jneya, viShayI-viShaya and
nirvANa-bhikShu. nirvana is also free from the duality of vidhi-niShedha. The two AvaraNas which
prevent nirvana are the kleshAvaraNa and jneyAvaraNa. Thus, in general, a being is the colla on or
samghAta of the various dharmas that result due to prAchIna karma. He is under the great illusion that
there is a soul or Atman within him. When this clinging to the self is abandoned and the anityatA of
everything is realized, he is said to a ain nirvana. In the state of nirvana, the bhikShu has no vibheda
between himself and any other objects of the world. This is primarily the posi on of the hInayAna.
In contrast, the dualis c sAmkhya sees ajnAna as resul ng out of viewing prakr as puruSha; vedAnta, on
the other hand, sees ajnAna in viewing eka as aneka. The concept of asmitA of the sAmkhyas is a mixture
of viShayI and viShaya i.e. prakRî and puruSha and samAdhi is the path to its a ainment. From this
point, the next goal is vivekakhyA , which is nothing but the jnAna of the prthaktva of prakr and
puruSha. The seven bhUmis therein are discussed in the yogasUtra. Thus, there is no annihila on of
prakr at muk but there is no associa on of Her with puruSha either. In the case of vedAnta however,
there is no place for prakr or mAyA in mokSha as brahma is the sole paramArtha. Also, mokSha here is
not Ananda-rahita as conceived by the naiyAyika-s or the sAmkhya-s as brahma svarUpa is
sacchidAnandAtmaka. In Buddhist terms, if one were to come up with a rough mapping, kleShAvaraNa
kShaya is accomplished in sAmkhya whereas vedAnta deals with jneyAvaraNa as well. It may thus not be
colossally incorrect to compare the mokSha of sAmkhya with the nirvana of the hInayAna and that of
vedAnta with the mahAyAna.
Shankara as ShaNmatasthApanAchArya
[An Excerpt from the Biography of the Acharya by Govinda Chandra Pande]
The tradi on which associates shankara with religious reform and monas c reorganiza on needs to be
examined because that by itself has important implica ons. That shankara not merely established the
advaita in its purity but also established the Six Sects, for which he came to be known as the ShaNmata
sthApanAchArya, is asserted in several legendary biographies of shankara such as anantAnandagiri’s
shankara digvijaya, and guruvamsha kAvya. The tradi on also nds support in mArkaNDeya samhitA and
the lost prAchIna shankara vijaya quoted in dhanapa sUri’s commentary on the mAdhavIya. Shankara is
said to have debated with the votaries of the di erent sects, persuaded them to abandon their defec ve
philosophies and exaggera ons in ritual and conduct but allowed them to con nue with their
characterisi c and divergent modes of worship. The basic truth is spiritual non-dualism as upheld by the
upaniShads. Brahman is the only reality and is iden cal with the Atman. However, the one reality
manifests itself in diverse names and forms and worshippers may choose di erent dei es for the sake of
convenience if they realize that the di erences are merely super-imposed for the convenience of
worship, not real. The diversity of Gods, images and modes of worship was thus admi ed as consistent
with strict philosophical monism. The gItA had already prepared ground for this and the upaniShads and
the brahmasUtras admit a variety of medita ve symbols for the same Ul mate Reality. Shankara’s
doctrine of upAdhi bheda cons tuted its explicit philosophical jus ca on.
The Six Sects men oned in this context are vaiShNava, shaiva, shAkta, saura, gANapatya, and kaumAra or
kApAlika. It has been pointed out that in shankara’s commentaries there are several indica ons of his
personal preference for the worship of God as viShNu and this nds corrobora on in the biographical
tradi on which makes out govinda or kRîShNa to have been his family deity. Some of the more
authen c of his stotras like the charpaTa-panjarikA, viShNu ShaTpadI, and harimIDe give expression to
his devo on for viShNu. govindAShTaka, kRîShNAShTaka and achyutAShTaka also lay claim to
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authen city and give expression to vaiShNava devo on. While recalling vaiShNava mythology, most of
these hymns are clearly advai c and adore krîShNa as the sole God or Self. In his commentary on the
brahmasUtras too, shankara accepts the truth of bhAgavata insofar as it is consistent with the authority
of the veda and the authen city of the vedAnta.
Shankara makes hardly any reference to shiva worship in his commentaries except that he cri cizes the
dualis c theism of the pAshupatas or mAheshvaras in the sUtra bhAShya. Among the stotras ascribed to
shankara and having a shaiva a lia on the only one which lays undoubted claim to authen city is the
famous dakShiNAmUr stotra with many ancient commentaries. The stotra, however, is essen ally
advai c rather than sectarian shaiva. That is even true of dashashlokI which is acknowledged as a
masterpiece of advai c thought and sen ment. The fact is that shaivism in shankara’s mes in South
India was generally dualis c but non-dualis c shaivism was also known especially in Kashmir. Shankara’s
knowledge on this system and his in uence on its subsequent development cannot be ruled out. in fact
the dakShiNAmUr stotra has echoes close to this system and it cannot be denied that the remarkable
development of Kashmir Shaivism dates from the age of shankara.
The tradi onal interpreta on of shankara insists that Brahman, the sole reality, is nirguNa while the
world is totally false. The reality of Ishvara too is rela ve to that of the world, and as for the explana on
of the world it is due to avidyA or mAyA which in turn is inexplicable and inde nable. Nevertheless,
shankara assigns a central place to Ishvara in his sUtra bhAShya and regards avidyA or mAyA as shak or
power of Brahman. He likens Brahman with His mysterious power of crea on to a magician. Here his
philosophy is totally akin to the non-dualis c schools of pratyabhijnA or tripurA jnAna khaNDa, or even
yoga-vAsisTha. There is, thus, no basic di culty in supposing that shankara was willing to extend support
to non-dualis c shAkta schools. Against this it has been argued that in the non-dualism of shankara,
reality is wholly transcendent while phenomena are simply illusory and the two are connected only by
the inexplicable force of Nescience which de es de ni on or loca on. In non-dualis c theis c schools on
the other hand, reality has the inherent power of crea vely manifes ng itself in the phenomenal world.
However it cannot be justly denied that for shankara too real being or consciousness has the power of
self-manifesta on as phenomena. Reality is not merely transcendent but also immanent in phenomena.
Whatever is, is Brahman. To see it as otherwise is Nescience. Shankara never abrogates the crea vity or
divinity of Brahman, though from the non-dualis c point of view there is no dis nc on between Lord
and creature. It is only in this sense that the concept of God is rela ve to the apparent reality of the
world. It is not a denial of divinity of dualism from the ul mate point of view. The situa on is similar in
non-dualis c theis c systems, shaiva and shAkta, for which too there is ul mately nothing except
consciousness conceived as shiva or shak . It is true that medieval advai c polemic tended to emphasize
the unreality of the world in the sense that the knowledge of the world was held to be logically false
because it was sublated, and was inevitably led into subtle and ingenious specula ons about the nature
of avidyA and jIva, from which shankara was free. However, despite its subtlety, this a empt remains
essen ally scholas c and leaves enough room for an empirical reality which serves a prac cal purpose.
At the same me the empirical and pragma c relevance of theis c worship was never denied. The world
and religion are prac cal reali es. The transcendence of reality is an ideal of philosophical
understanding, not a denial of prac cal religion or of prac cal life in general.
Thus the essen al kinship of shankara’s advaita to shAkta advaita cannot be denied even though at the
level of the polemic there is considerable di erence. In any case it needs no e ort to reconcile shAkta
worship with advaita. Among the stotras devoted to devI and making strong claims for authen city one
may men on AnandalaharI and saundaryalaharI. The former is a simple expression of devo on set in a
mythological context but notable for its poe c e ec veness. The la er, on the other hand, is not only
sublime poetry and surcharged with devo on but also full of esoteric and mys cal meanings. There are
various stories about its origin. There are various commentaries on the stotra. The very exquisiteness
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and perfec on of the work makes it di cult to doubt its authen city. It breathes the spirit of non-
dualism but is untouched with any illusionism.
The fact is that illusionism is relevant only as an an dote to philosophical or common-sense realism. In
the context of tAntrik upAsanA, reliance on the supreme crea ve power of consciousness linking
individual with universal being is itself the prime supposi on. Mind and ma er are but phenomenal
manifesta ons of the same universal consciousness which in its real nature transcends them. Like the
twenty- ve ta vas of sAmkhya, the thirty-six ta vas of shaiva and shAkta Agamas found wide
acceptance and need to be understood not so much as specula ve construc ons or theological dogmas
as prac cal landmarks in tantric upAsanA. It will then not be correct to say that the status of the world in
shankara’s advaita is inconsistent with that in shAkta advaita. In both consciousness is the essen al
ground of all phenomena which have no independent reality. The world-illusion is for shankara
comparable to the show put up by a magician or the crea on projected by a yogi, that is, the crea on of
the world by the God is simply the projec on of an appearance by Him by His miraculous power. It may
be said that in shAkta advaita, consciousness is a dynamic reality while in shAnkara, it is wholly ac onless
and passive. This, however, would be a misunderstanding. The ‘power’, ‘freedom’ or ‘dynamism’ of
consciousness in shAkta advaita is the spontaneity of self-a rma on, it does not necessarily mean
external or causal crea vity. What dis nguishes consciousness from unconsciousness is its innate power
of self-consciousness, Atma parAmarsha, vimarsha. Shankara cannot be said to deny this of
consciousness or the self, though he is always mindful of the yAjnavalkyan query. In his commentaries,
shankara stops short of the categorical a rma on of pure self-consciousness or bliss though he denies
their nega on. In his hymns his devo onal fervor overcomes his epistemological cau on with respect to
Brahman and he sings of the freedom and majesty, glory and beauty of divine reality, and there is no
hymn in the whole range of Sanskrit literature which could match the saundaryalaharI. If we keep in
mind the place of Ishvara in shankara’s thought, we can see his contact with monis c theism.
Shankara’s approval of tantra comes out more clearly in the authorship of prapanchasAra which has
been a ributed to him tradi onally, and the a ribu on has been ably supported by Baldev Upadhyaya.
There is a commentary on it named vivaraNa which has been ascribed to padmapAda. According to this
commentary, shankara composed prapanchasAra as a summary of an older and vaster compendium of
tantra called prapanchAgama (samastAgama samgraha, prapanchAgama-sAra-samgararUpam). It is also
stated by the author of the sub-commentary prayoga kramadIpikA that the work was compiled by
shankara while residing in Kashmir which is why he begins by an obeisance to the goddess shAradA. The
commentator’s account of the nature of the work and the circumstances of its origin appears convincing
enough, and receives support from rAghava bhaTTA, the commentator of shAradA laka, and
kAlIcharaNa, the commentator of shaTchakranirUpaNam. Even amalAnanda, the famous advai n, refers
to prapanchasAra as a work of shankara.
It is, of course, possible to doubt the ascrip on of the vivaraNa to padmapAda as much as that of the
prapanchasAra to shankara, but the skep cism too must be reasoned. Belvalkar summarily dismisses all
tracts on yoga and tantra as inauthen c without further ado. S ll more modern scholars doubt the
authen city of all works ascribed to shankara except the brahmasUtra bhAShya and the brhadAraNyaka
upaniShad bhAShya. The fact, however, remains that ascrip on to shankara bhagavatpAda supported by
tradi onal commentaries and references to the work of shankara, do cons tute a prima facie reason for
accep ng the ascrip on unless there are stronger reasons for doub ng it. Now it seems that shankara
was interested in yoga from the beginning while his interest in tantra appears to date at least from his
visit to Kashmir or, on the other hand, from his reconstruc on at kAnchI. There is no convincing reason
to suppose that he could not have compiled a compendium of tAntric lore which need not as such
represent his own philosophy.
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Shankara’s in mate connec on with tAntric worship is also clear from the monas c tradi ons of both
Sringeri and kAnchI. Both the tradi ons are agreed that shankara established the worship of the goddess
shAradA at Sringeri and of kAmAkShI at kAnchI, and that he constructed and consecrated the shrIchakra
which is the symbolic representa on of shrIvidyA which belongs to non-dualis c shAkta tantra.
Thus, while shankara seems to have been connected with viShNu worship by family tradi on, he appears
to have accepted shiva as another name of the Supreme Spirit following the shvetAsgvatAra tradi on. He
also ac vely supported the worship of shak as shAradA and kAmAkShI or tripurasundarI especially as
presiding over the shrIchakra in accordance with non-dualis c tantras. To these three great dei es, the
smArta tradi on of pancha devatopAsanA adds sUrya and gaNesha. Their worship normally is a
necessary but preliminary cons tuent in all worship. As principal gods, their cults were rela vely minor.
Nor did their cults inspire any original or major philosophies of salva on. In visi ng temples and tIrthas,
and looking upon diverse modes of religious worship as reconcilable within the umbrella of advaita,
shankara could have looked upon the cults of sUrya and gaNesha also with a favorable eye. As for the
sun, it had an honored place in vedic religion and was an accepted symbol of Brahman in vedAnta. The
purANic cult of the sun however, was essen ally a form of saguNopAsanA which sought to ensure
health, freedom from diseases especially of the skin and the eyes, longevity, fame etc. The original vedic
cult of the sun appears to have been merged partly in the post-vedic cult of viShNu and partly with
anthropomorphiza on in the purANic cult of the sun in the development of which Iranian priests also
appear to have been at least marginally signi cant.
The cult of gaNesha grew up out of the elemental religious necessity of having a form of God on which
one could rely for saving one from impediments to success. The peculiar form in which the deity was
envisaged has yet to be sa sfactorily explained. In opposi on to the brAhminical tradi on the Buddhists
interpreted gaNesha as the Lord of Impediments, an essen ally evil spirit. Like the Fire in the vedic
religion, gaNesha is the rst of the dei es in purANic worship but his worship is generally a part of the
worship of some principal deity. The numerous gANapatya cults men oned in works like the
AnandagirIya are dis nguished only by their strange customs and rites for which shankara could have
had no sympathy.
As for the kaumAras or kApAlikas, there is even less evidence of any posi ve a tude of shankara
towards them. The cult of skanda acquired undoubted popularity in the Gupta Age and also in the south
and the skanda purANa is a monument to it beginning from post-Gupta mes. For shankara it could have
only been a philosophically minor cult. It is worth no ng that shankara describes skanda as an
incarna on of the sage sanatkumAra. The kApAlikas were a erce sub-sect of the shaivas who have been
immortalized by bANa and bhavabhU , and their cult was certainly widespread in the 7 and 8th
centuries. They gure in the biography of shankara, seeking to secure the sacri ce of the Master himself
as part of their gruesome rites. It is quite possible that in the course of his travels shankara should have
met them and sought to reform them and that in some of these encounters his disciples might have had
to oppose the kApAlika reliance on violence, but to say that he encouraged the spread of a purer form of
the kApAlika cult can only be a baseless specula on.
To sum up, while shankara certainly assumed the role of advaita sthApanAchArya, there is no reason to
suppose that he deliberately set out to be shaNmata sthApanAchArya also, though his religious outlook
was one of sectarian tolerance, liberal reform and philosophical sublimity. He accepted the diversity of
ways of worship and the mul plica on of gods, images and temples consistently with the doctrine of
one Brahman and many names and forms. His pilgrimages to diverse tIrthas doubtless included not only
debates with sectaries but also reforming advice.
The Greatness of Hamsa mantra

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By admin on Jul 13, 2009 | In Srividya
haMsarUpA kAmakalA tatsvarUpaM nigadyate |

hakAreNa bahiryA sakAreNa vishet punaH ||
hakArasya sakArasya lope kAmakalA bhavet |
pakShadvayena rahito haMsaH kAmakalA bhavet ||
so.ahametasya deveshi rUpaM kAmakalAbhidham |
so.ahamityatra deveshi praNavaH pariniShThitaH ||
jIvaH pakShadvayatyAgAt praNavaH parikIr taH |
parAprAsAdavidyAyAM evameva prakIr tam ||
pakShadvayaM sakAre cha gagane.api dvayaM bhavet |
rakAradvayayoge tu sakArotpa rIritA ||
IkAraikArayoge tu hakAraH kIr to mayA ||
ata eva maheshAni chatuHpakShasvarUpiNI |
chatushcharaNarUpA cha parAprAsAdadevatA ||
Parashurama Kalpasutra - 6
By admin on Aug 30, 2013 | In Srividya, Oriental/New Age
Instead of ecstasy and frenzy, in the PKS we nd excess

control by aesthe c and gnos fying cogni ve a racters,
cul vated behavior and most of all strict ritual and rule
governance. But the di erence from the Kularnava is only
one of degree (alcohol consump on etc., yes of course, but
only in highly rule-governed fashion), or may possibly be
explained by increased secrecy (since the Kularnava
stresses rule-governance too, while even the PKS 10.68
acknowledges freedom from rules in the higher state of
god-immersion). Revol ng passages like those of the
Kularnava would sound to outsiders like wild drinking
par es and liber nist group sex. Even taken as mere
literary topoi they must have been par cularly shocking
and revol ng in a society with excep onally rigid social
codes and grids. It is easy to conceive why circles like
Shankaracharyas did not approve of Kaula prac ce. So much
physical god-consciousness that the Kaula “hero” is
expected to embody would not t, even as a literary topos,
with the propriety codes of celibate monks, nor even meet
the taste of the ordinary Smarta and Shaiva householder.
But orthodoxy and heterodoxy are always dependent on the
perspec ves and group interests. The Kularnava presents
transgressive behavior as performance of the extraordinary
and as sign of high spiritual grades. The otherworldly
character of divine experience is physically staged by
means of an extreme break with the normal conduct of daily
social life. But the scene of transgression is embedded in
a graded system of Tantric adepts, and a package of
s pulated rules pertaining to ini a on, strict secrecy,
moral and ritual du es, and not least dispassion,
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spiritual codings, kundalini yoga and non-dual cosmology.

This set of rules, and ul mately the whole cluster, make
up the Samayachara, the rule-governed orthodox conduct of
the Kaula prac oner. Rule-governance and ethics are
substan al. The term ‘samayachara’ is used quite
frequently in the Kularnava Tantra and occurs in the PKS in
the context of the “mys c” grades (ullasa) (PKS 10.68).
The more ancient Bhairava Tantras such as the Brahmayamala
Tantra which know extremely an nomian and macabre
(mortuary) rites that no longer exist in the Kaula, already
used the term samayachara for their ini atory pledges. To
break the pledges means becoming “food for the Yoginis”
(i.e., becoming their tortured prey and having a dreadful
end). Remarkably, bad conduct involves not only taking up
the mantras on one’s own and viola ng the essence of the
Tantras, but also being cri cal of the Vedas!
These discourses are present and re ned in the PKS. There

are no more ying witches, but in Varahi’s names there
s ll appear all those dreadful things that the Yoginis do
with the evildoers. Varahi is the erce protector of the
Samaya. There are no wild drinking par es, but the general
structure is retained. In the PKS the same type of package
inclusive of ritually and ethically controlled usage of the
Panchamakara, Kundalini Yoga and non-dual world orienta on
is called ‘samayachara’. This is noteworthy because the PKS
was probably contemporary with the sixteenth century
Lakshmidhara, for whom Samaya is a completely di erent
thing. He rejects Kaula and prescribes a Samaya based on
pure interiority and caste. The di erent processes mirror
interes ng nego a on processes. Lakshmidhara considers
Kaula to be un-Vedic, unworthy and despicable and
de nitely not applicable to twice-born. He does not only
scorn the consump on of wine and physical worship, but
posi ons his Kaula cri que within a cri que of improper
kundalini yoga that does not “rise” from the Muladhara
Chakra to the upper body centers. Samaya is to him interior
worship of the Srichakra and the Shiva-Shak union in the
Brahmarandhra (thousand petalled lotus) above the head and
the only method for the twice-born. In contrast, there is
no caste restric on in the PKS. The Varahi cycle involves
kundalini yoga in the Muladhara Chakra (PKS 7.6). Even the
(merely interior!) Para worship follows a very di erent
procedure than the one proposed by Lakshmidhara. Instead of
leading Kundalini up into the highest Chakra, the worship
starts with the intensely visualized raining down of
“immortality water” from the highest chakra and proceeds
concentra ng on the body-centers at navel, muladhara and
heart. These are the body places where the 36 cosmic
principles are absorbed and melted into one like “heated
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metal” by breath-control, mantra repe on and ac ve

imagina on. The cosmos becomes Para’s yogic seat and
diagram and a er she is visualized as cosmic unity and
great illumina on and re ec on (Maha-prakasha-vimarsha-
rupini), the cosmos is mentally sacri ced into the supreme
goddess form that is supreme non-dual blazing light. The
clear vision of light (prakasha) as the true form of the
deity is stated to be the highest objec ve.
Compared with earlier le -hand sources, the PKS may be

regarded as a document of increasing domes ca on and
internaliza on, but compared with Lakshmidhara, it mirrors
with older Kaula le -hand ritual. The ritual described in
the PKS is rst of all a highly rule-governed ac vity.
Unlike in the Kularnava, it is not much a cult of bliss
that is propagated. It is primarily ritual absorp on, the
ecstasy of which lies in the synaesthe cs of sensual,
verbal and mental performance. But no dubt, the
panchamakara are used and play a signi cant role. Umananda
made the implicit Kularnava connec on of the PKS explicit
by re-organizing the ten chapters into seven, according to
the seven mys cal grades.
The typical Kaula view of regarding the panchamakaras as

major ritual elements alongside the mantras has been
faithfully kept by the 19th century commentators. Whereas
the PKS defended this view by the remarkable statement that
nobody who acknowledged other countries and customs would
censure the panchamakara, this liberal standpoint would no
longer do in the 19th century when the Bri sh rmly
established their rule in India and when the rst
transla on of the Bhagavad Gita (1785) and the rst
edi on of the Rg-Veda (1849-73) were published, while
other expressions of Hindu culture were regarded as
“debased” and Tantra was greatly despised. The
Maharashtrian Brahmin and Veda-Mimamsa scholar Rameshvara
obviously sees a new need to argue for Veda and Tantra as
con nua. As already men oned, he started his PKS
commentary in 1832 with a long defense of Tantra.
Rameshvara apparently de nes Tantra with reference to
Kaula, and defends combined Vedic and Tantric worship
against common reproaches that Tantrics have le the Vedic
path, they are greedy and self-indulgent and that Tantra is
only for women and Shudras. He expressly argues that all
the panchamakara substances must be included and
subs tutes may only be allowed in daily worship if the
physical substances are not available, whereas in special
rites (naimi ka and kamya) they are always needed because
they are the most important (mukhya) substances. It is of
special interest that Rameshvara does not argue against
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Lakshmidhara or Srvidya-Samayins but against and with the

the Vedist Kumarila Bha a of the 7th century! Remarkably,
he does not only a ribute to Kumarila a censure of the
Tantra (which was in fact more of a censure of the
irra onality of the Puranic creator god and the superhuman
knowledge associated with yoga), but also cites Kumarila as
con rma on of his PKS interpreta on and as proof that
Umananda was wrong adding new bija mantras. Just as there
can be no change in the mantra material of the Veda, there
cannot be any change in the mantra material of the PKS. I
think Rameshvara’s markedly Vedist apology of the Tantra
was more than a school quarrel. It also had to do with
colonial India, i.e. with the new prominence that the Veda
gained under the Bri sh orientalists and their Brahmin
informants. Another point of interest to be underlined is
Rameshvara’s emic iden ca on of Kaula and Tantra. His
Kaula is of course de ned by the whole package of the
panchamakara, not only by sexual rites. In contrast to the
Kularnava, (and its ecsta c Kaula) and the PKS (and its
ritual Kaula), however, Rameshvara strongly emphasizes the
need for bhak and faith. He argues that otherwise it
would be hard to keep the senses and the mind under control
while consuming meat and alcohol, ge ng drunk and seeing
a beau fully decorated young woman. It is also of interest
that he is cri cal about the custom of adding addi onal
alcohol to the ritual vessel a er the puja (which the
earlier Nityotsava allows), i.e. at the point in ritual
when the panchamakara are actually consumed, and he seems
to restrict sexual intercourse to the spouse(s) (sva-
yoshit) of the prac oner. This rule is not known in the
PKS nor in the Nityotsava (1745) or Lakshmana Ranade’s
commentary of 1889. They use the common terms Shak ,
Suvasini and Du , but not Yoshit. None, however, men ons
the low caste of the female partner in contrast to the
earlier Kularnava. The term ‘du ’ is used in the Buddhist
Tantras to denote untouchable or low caste female partners.
Lakshmana Ranade dis nguishes two forms of physical Shak
worship, one being part of the puja, and the other being
the ‘Du yaga’ which provides the sexual uids or the
“ h” substance that is needed for Lalita’s o ering. The
female partners during puja are called ‘Shak ’ (in the
goddesses’ kramas) and ‘Suvasini’ (in the Ganapa
chalper). The Du -yaga is also known to Rameshvara, but he
seems to reserve this term to a supernatural a endant.
So a slow domes ca on within a Kaula con nuum may be

traced and a remarkable closeness of Rameshvara’s Kaula to
one of Avalon regarding sexual prac ce. He defends the
Tantra some decades before Avalon in a similar apologe c
fashion. I am not sure, however, whether Rameshvara’s
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restric on to matrimonial intercourse (he also considers

imagined intercourse as valid subs tu on) can be
interpreted as puritanical, reac onary or bourgeois.
Rather, he is simply pragma c, considering that he argues
that intercourse actually does belong to the daily ritual
du es of the Lalita cycle and can only be le out if no
woman is available or when she shows signs of disinterest.
Since he considers all panchamakaras to be daily du es if
they are available, intercourse with one’s own wife is the
easiest way to achieve this goal.
It is noteworthy that even the late 19th century

commentator Lakshmana Ranade s ll stresses very much the
real-world things. According to him, alcohol is a metonym
of Shak and meat a metonym of Shiva, the sa sfac on
arising from their union is what is meant by the formula
tat tvam asi. He equates the supreme blissful state of
sense gra ca on with the state of deep sleep as
described in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. There it is said
that in deep sleep, the father is no longer a father, the
Brahmin is no longer a Brahmin, the thief no longer a
thief, and the dog-eater no longer a dog-eater. All are
immersed in their innate nature of pure existence and
bliss. This extreme recoding of the Veda by blending
sensuous body-prac ce and religious imagina on is typical
of the PKS tradi on.
From the PKS-elabora on Nityotsava (1745) up to Lakshmana

Ranade’s commentary (1889), we nd a PKS tradi on
insis ng on the “real things”. This changed in the second
half of the 20th century. In the 1950s Swami Karpatri
compiled a new PKS-elabora on, the Srividya Ratnakara.
Karpatri’s aim was to bring life to a lost tradi on, and
indeed his ritual manual follows the PKS closely. However
it does not men on le -hand prac ces. Instead we nd
enriched verbal material (nyasas and stotras) and
approxima on to the right hand Srividya of the
Shankaracharyas. A casual look, however, will reveal hardly
any di erence, since the verbal material is already
present in the PKS in such abundance that the panchamakara
(par cularly sexual rites) are almost invisible.
By admin on Jul 18, 2013 | In Srividya, Darshana,
Oriental/New Age
Veda and Tantra, respec vely “Vedic” and “Tantric”

(vaidika and tantrika), have o en been cast as opposite
ends of the spectrum of Hinduism in e c and emic sources,
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and there are reasons for this. But the rela onship is
much more complex and depends on the perspec ve taken.
Within the Tantric tradi ons the rela onship to the Veda
ranged from disinterest (probably the most common case), or
simple acceptance and even verbal respect although a ritual
course of extreme impurity was followed (e.g. in the
Brahmayamala), to heavy censure (some later Kaula texts),
or the other way round to the claim to be the true original
Veda (Pancharatra) or the be er revela on, more powerful
soteriology and nal source of the Veda itself (partly
Shaiva Agama). More “con rmist” adapta ons see themselves
as Veda-congruent and even declare themselves to be
“upasana khanda”, the third, esoteric Veda sec on devoted
to medita on (right-hand Srividya). Among Brahmins, for
instance in Nepal and South India, combined Vedic and
Tantric ritual prac ce is quite common, while “impure”
substances are are treated di erently.
The PKS ts more or less into all these categories, except

for the rst. It shows anything but disinterest. On the
contrary, its interest in the Veda is extraordinary and the
deliberate merger by recoding the Veda in a Tantric way is
one of its most de ning features. For instance, in the
PKS, all dei es except for Varahi who is worshiped at
midnight, are associated with the Brahmanic sunrise ritual,
the most Vedic one which persists in daily Hindu worship.
The Vedic-Brahmanic worship of the sun, the water o erings
and the repe on of the Gayatri mantra are blended with
Tantric features, such as invoking the Guru and the Goddess
in the Brahmarandhra chakra and visualizing a stream of
nectarine water of immortality and bliss bathing and
cleaning the interior body. We nd repe on of the root
mantra of the goddess, visualiza on of the goddess in the
rising sun and Tantric Gayatri mantras for Ganesha and
Lalita.
This merger is no smooth Veda-Tantra con nuum as in the

well known South Indian Srividya, although the PKS draws
heavily on the Vedic tradi on. It is rather a complete
transforma on of the Veda. Some of the features of
Tantricizing Vedic elements are widespread in the Tantric
literature, such as adapta ons of the Gayatri mantra and
the sunrise ritual (sandhya), and par cularly of the re
sacri ce (homa). The PKS both includes Vedic mantras (from
the Rgveda, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads) and mimics
Vedic/Upanishadic imagery. The important Tantric Arghya
rite (the alcoholic “special arghya”) makes use of Rgvedic
mantras combined with Tantric ones. The Arghya ritual,
known in right and le -hand Tantra, is par cularly
informa ve about recoding the natural with cosmic
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symbolism, and performed with perfumed water in the right-

hand ritual. It is a xed element in the Agama culture and
the same ritual pa ern will be found in many Tantric
sources. Some, such as the Shyama Rahasya, include the same
mantras from the Rgveda like PKS (represen ng the ve
cosmic gods Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishana, Sadashiva),
whereas others, such as the Subhagodaya (being the oldest
Srividya source which informed the PKS), do not include the
Vedic mantras. In the PKS there are two arghyas, the
ordinary one performed with water and the special one
performed with alcohol. Both the vessels lled with liquid
are worshiped as representa ons of the cosmos and its
divine source, but the alcoholic arghya involves highly
symbolic extra features such as the le er “I” (in the
center of the arghya diagram) representa ve of the
goddess’ sexual parts (kamakala), the le ers of the
alphabet in the order of the a-ka-tha triangle, and a large
set of mantras, including the Rgvedic ones and other Vedic
imagery. The special arghya is closely related to the
worship of the feet/sandals of the Guru and of the divine
pair Shiva and Shak , which have been mentally established
on the head of the disciple by the Guru during ini a on.
This is most impressive in Lalita’s special arghya, i.e.

the “ever wet” goddess Lalita herself who is therea er
“o ered into the kundalini” (by sipping a drop of the
liquid goddess in the form of alcohol). More important than
direct adapta ons of the Vedic mantras are, however, the
implicit adapta ons in the form of rhetoric and
Upanishad-like formulas. These are spread throughout the
text and found most markedly in the programma c rst
chapter, which relates to the rules of ini a on.
It is striking that the deliberate Veda-Tantra merger

becomes obvious from the rst Sutra onwards: “Hence we
unfold ini a on” (athAto dIkShAM vyAkhyAsyAmaH). This
formula imitates verba m the famous Mimamsa Sutras.
However, the Veda is clearly subordinated. Whereas the
Veda-orthodox Brahmins regard the Veda as having no
beginning and no author, PKS 1.2 postulates that the Veda
originated from the supreme godhead Shiva who revealed the
Tantric lineages that alone grant libera on. The cosmology
and ritual prac ce is clearly Shaiva Tantric: 36
principles make up the world and there is essen al non-
duality between the supreme godhead and the individual (PKS
1.3-6). The mantras and panchamakaras are marked out as
most important prac ces for a aining Shivahood. The power
of mantras is said to be unfathomable. The major mantras
are of course Tantric seed syllables (bijas, generally
given in encoded form) or bijas combined with revealingly
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Tantric goddess names and epithets. But there is also

inclusion of Vedic mantras at those cri cal points where
liquor, the rst M, plays the chief role in ritual and
where the highly ero c, “ever wet” goddess Lalita is
visualized. Already in the ini a on chapter, the “ ve
Ms”, (i) liquor (madya), (ii) meat (mamsa), (iii) sh
(matsya), (iv) roasted and spiced chickpeas, beans or
grains (mudra), and (v) sexual intercourse (maithuna), are
declared to be in conformity with the Vedic system. They
make the bliss of Brahman an embodied experience (PKS
1.12). This postulate di ers greatly from the abstract
bliss of Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta and it di ers
substan ally from the Srividya of the Shankaracharyas,
whose highly Vedan cized version is found in the
Lalitatrisha Bhashya, a commentary on the three hundred
names of Lalita Devi, who is also the chief goddess of the
PKS. In the PKS we nd a lot of Vedanta, too. Consider PKS
1.28: “There is nothing higher than reaching the Atman”.
Such Upanishad-like statements, occurring throughout the
text, will always be combined with physical ac vi es and
visualizing prac ces. The nal aim is embodied perfec on
and divine power; or in the words of PKS 10.50 to become
Shiva in all one’s limbs, i.e. to a ain corporal
emancipa on while living.
This embodiment is not least guaranteed by the

panchamakara, of which alcohol is the major substance. In
this aspect and many others the PKS follows the Kularnava
Tantra, one of the most important Kaula texts and composed
around the 13th century. In fact, the Kularnava was the
source of the most daring asser ons found in PKS 1.12 and
1.30. Both are almost verba m quota ons. While PKS 1.12
postulates that the bliss of Brahman resides in the body
and is made manifest by the panchamakara, the Kularnava
(5.80) states that liquor makes the Brahman bliss manifest.
PKS 1.30 equates the Veda with a pros tute, while praising
its own tradi on as higher secret knowledge, just as
Kularnava (11.85) did. Both Tantric sources are not really
cri cisms or opposites of the Veda. They regard
pros tutes as highly venerable. There is a rule in the PKS
that pros tutes, vessels for alcohol, crema on grounds,
elephants in the rut, etc. should be given respect (PKS
10.66), and this rule again comes from the Kularnava
(11.57-58). The PKS inherits a number of core ideas from
this Tantra, or a common stock of ideas inspired by this
Tantra. It shares the centrality of the Para Bija and its
interpreta on as the merger of the female and male godhead
and the underlying unity of the cosmos, the credit given to
the Veda while calling it a “pros tute”, the predilec on
for pleasant wines, the interiorized sacri ce of the Kaula
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Tantric yogi, Tantric ethics, etc. But in many ways the

Kularnava Tantra is more extreme, while the PKS is more
inclusive regarding the Vedic tradi on.
Calling the Veda a pros tute is an interes ng twist. Here

“pros tute” apparently means something exterior and
publicly available. The Veda is seen as the exterior,
outermost layer of the more esoteric Tantric tradi on that
is regarded as more powerful soteriology than the Veda-
determined values. There is great stress on strict secrecy
that belongs to the ethical code of Tantric behavior, just
as on a posi ve a tude towards the panchamakara and the
requirement to eventually give up caste a lia ons. All
of this correlates with the Kularnava, but the PKS shows
much greater interest in deliberately associa ng and
merging with the Veda. Correspondingly, there is greater
secrecy and discre on regarding the panchamakara. They are
never men oned by name, but instead by rela onal terms
(the rst, the middle one, etc.) There is much stronger
ritual control and Kaula prac ce becomes almost invisible.
Although the PKS borrows extensively from the famous 13th
century source by quo ng it at least 27 mes more or less
verba m, the following daring verses of the Kularnava are
conspicuously missing:
“Only by ecsta c delight is the goddess sa s ed. By his

(alcohol) delirium he (i.e the Tantric hero “sa s es” or
“becomes”) (Shiva-)Bhairava, and by his vomi ng all the
gods. (Kularnava 7.101)
AnandAt.h tRîpyate devI mUrChayA bhairavaH svayam.h |

vamanAt.h sarvadevAshcha tasmAt.h trividhamarchayet.h ||
Excited by passion, trea ng other men as their own

beloved, the ladies act wantonly. Men also, exhilarated in
extreme ecstasy (praudhAntollAsa), behave likewise.
Intoxicated men embrace men. Yogis take food from each
other’s vessels and, pu ng the drinking pots on their
heads, dance around. Filling wine in their mouths, they
make ladies drink it from their lips. Pu ng pungent
things in their mouths they transfer them to the mouth of
their beloved. Exhilarated Yogis fall on the ladies, and
intoxicated ladies fall upon men. (Kularnava 8.67-74).”
For the Kuarnava, these agents indulging in heavy drinking

and sexual liberty are higher yogis, the post-mature
heroes, who have lost their normal state of mind and are
intoxicated with the wine of god Bhairava. Here we
encounter a very powerful example of imagina on as a
crea ve ‘machine’ to recode the real and animate the
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imaginary. Excessive drinking is considered as a form of

possession trance. It invariably belongs to the higher
mys cal grades. The Tantric “hero”, who has reached “post
maturity”, is in an exalted state of mind beyond ordinary
consciousness. Engrossed in ecsta c god-consciousness,
rapture and divine madness he has lost all fear of hell.
The PKS men ons these grades but does not describe them
(PKS 10.68). The commentators are a bit more explicit. They
quote Tantric passages about holy frenzy and explain them
with great empathy. They have par cularly long glosses on
alcohol and how it is produced. They also regard alcohol
consump on as necessary for Brahmins. The consump on
apparently increases with the stages of maturity and
“heroic” post-maturity. Umananda’s Nityotsava allows extra
por ons of alcohol to be added a er the puja when
consuming the food and drink as holy “rest of sacri ce”.
But Rameshvara censures this custom because it is not
prescribed in the PKS. Concerning the notorious “ h”,
sexual intercourse, they are largely in agreement. It is a
must like the othe rpanchamakara and subs tu on is
allowed only when the real thing is not available. The PKS
is extremely short and cryp c about this part of the
ritual, and even the commentators disagree on whether all
the cycles involve sexual intercourse or only the cycle of
Lalita. In any case, the woman or girl must agree (PKS
10.69). Sexual rites belong to the ritual obliga ons
amongst other ritual du es, i.e. they are not par cularly
stressed, and alcoholic beverages seem to be at least as
important. They have been seen in Kaula cults as self-
revela on of the deity. Their consump on meant literally
absorbing the essence of the godhead in the body. The
intoxica on was a state of divine possession and divine
bliss. Sexual union apparently had a similar func on, the
immediate par cipa on in the godhead. It may be an
obsession of Western recipients to emphasize so much the
sexual elements only, because alcohol is socially accepted
and even part of the Chris an mass. Sexual rites may be
less provoca ve in the Indian tradi on than other
transgressions, and there are reasons to suppose that for
the Kaula Tantrics themselves, alcoholic liquor may have
been a more important and equally exci ng means of
s mula ng bliss in the body and making divine autonomy,
crea vity and non-dual rapture a sensuous and corporal
experience.
contd ...
By admin on Jul 6, 2013 | In Srividya, Darshana,
Oriental/New Age
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The Parashurama Kalpasutra unfolds a detailed ritual

process in ten chapters, star ng with ini a on (ch. 1)
and followd by the daily ritual sequences of the kula
clan’s major (mantra) dei es: the lord of obstacles
Ganapa (ch. 2), the chief goddess Lalita, the queen of
the jewel island (ch. 3-5), her minister Shyama (secretly
called Matangi), the goddess of music and dnce (ch. 6), her
erce commander-in-chief Varahi (ch. 7), and Para who is
quali ed as Lalita’s “auspicious heart”, i.e. her
“supreme” nature and inner essence (ch. 8). The nal
chapters are on Tantric re sacri ce (ch. 9) and an
integrated view of the mantra dei es (ch. 10). The hybrid
character of the PKS can already be inferred from its
self-iden ca on: it refers to its legendary author
Parashurama as “great Kaula master” (colophons) and calls
itself proudly the “great Upanishad” (PKS 10.83). The
worship of all the dei es comprises extensive mantra
prac ces, visualiza ons and Kundalini Yoga, and also
exoteric worship including wine, meat, and intercourse,
except for Para, whose exoteric rites are restricted to
alcohol or pieces of meat soaked in alcohol. While Lalita
is undoubtedly the chief deity (having three chapters
devoted to her), Para seems to be the secret, esoteric core
of the whole PKS. Lalita is par cularly associated with
ero cism and language/alphabet rites (the symbolic idea is
that both are world-crea ng), and Para with the principles
of the universe (ta vas), the yogic body centers and the
seed-sound of libera on. Para is most related to kundalini
yoga, gnos c knowledge and cosmic awareness. Her rites are
almost exclusively associated with internal worship. She
does not even have a ritual diagram, because the cosmos
itself, i.e. the 36 cosmic principles (ta vas) cons tute
her yantra. In her worship the ta vas are absorbed and
puri ed by visualizing prac ces in the yogic chakras. The
(typically Trika) goddess Para mirrors most the Kashmirian
backgrounds of non-dual philosophy. She is associated with
Prakasha and Vimarsha, illumina on and re ec on, i.e.
the supreme light and the dynamic consciousness, energe c
power and bliss of the supreme I. The PKS clearly
presupposes the merger of Kaula, Trika and Krama strands of
Tantra with Pratyabhijna philosophy and linguist/sonic
metaphysics that are typical of the non-dualist Kashmir
Shaivism of Abhinavagupta. We nd not only the Trika’s
seed-syllable, but also Krama’s seed-syllable. In
consonance with Abhinavagupta’s designa on of the Trika’s
supreme goddess we nd the name Parabha arika in the most
crucial place of the Para cycle (PKS 8.21) where threefold
immersion is described: the non-conceptual, immersion
through conceptual thought, and immersion through
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medita onal and ritual ac vity.
The PKS is highly ritual-oriented, but clearly presupposes

Abhinavagupta’s “gnos c” version of Kashmir Shaivism with
which it shares major philosophical tenets and terminology.
However, in contrast to Abhinavagupta (early 11th century),
who was more interested in wild dei es and metaphorically
coded Kaula than in the Veda (which in fact was unimportant
to him), the PKS is eagerly interested in a aching self
to the Veda and to Vedan c terminology, combining non-dual
Upanishadic language with Kashmir Shaiva and Shakta
expressions of non-duality. Instead of the terrifying
Bhairava and the dangerous, spooky Yoginis of the
Vidyapitha and the early Kaula, there is much more elegant
female-dominated pantheon of mantra dei es. The PKS is
clearly a Srividya text whose center is the beau ful,
benign Lalita worshipped in the Srichakra diagram. Only
Varahi kept some terrifying and bloodthirsty traits that
recall the former Yogini cults. Unlike the rest of the PKS
dei es, she is worshipped at midnight and receives blood
o erings during bali sacri ce (PKS 7.34). Her “very dark”
features are expressed in names and mantras that call on
Varahi and her a endants to strike and kill, to drink the
enemies’ blood and sperm, and bring the prac oner
success. Varahi is seen as the “judge” and protector of the
school’s samaya (secret teachings, rules and moral codes).
Her protec ve func on, autonomy and uninhibited
commanding power to punish evildoers, to bind, conceal, and
control, and to bestow favors, grace and enlightenment to
the ini ated peer-group members, are absorbed by the
ritual agent a er strict mantra prac ce (cf. PKS 7.1,
7.38 and Rameshvara’s comments). While the objec ve of the
Varahi ritual seems to be more profane than spiritual, the
other ritual cycles aim more at spiritual e ects than
profane ones.
The PKS shares the Veda-Tantra merger and its major goddess
Lalita worshipped in the Srichakra with the South Indian
Srividya common among Shaiva-Smarta Brahmins and the
monas c Shankaracharyas. It is, however, a completely
di erent hybrid. The agents and transmi ers have
apparently been Brahmins, but not monas cs un l recently.
They were rather cosmopolitan free-thinkers, educated
town-dwellers and members of the royal court, par cularly
the court of Tanjore. The PKS urges a re ected use of the
Panchamakara; in order to enjoy them without disturbance
one should consider the situa on, social conven ons,
di erent countries’ customs, and one’s well-being, health
and age (PKS 10.56). Alcoholic beverages should be prepared
according to the custom of the region (10.62). Caste
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iden es are to be surmounted, and purity codes become

irrelevant for those rooted in the Kula family’s own du es
that lead to emancipa on while living (Jivanmuk ) and
nal libera on when dying (10.70, 10.82). There is an
ideology free of castes which has been always typical of
Kaula (at least within the ritual context). But the wealth
of ritual paraphernalia needed (perfumes, beau ful
garments etc.), the preciousness of the materials suggested
for the produc on of the ritual diagrams, the Sanskrit
knowledge and the free me presupposed, hint at the well-
o higher classes. Even the goddess pantheon and its
par ally military language seem to re ect a courtly
milieu. The chief deity Lalita is the queen of the
universe, residing on the jewel island in a palace made of
precious stones. The royal Laita is far away from the wild
dei es and bloodthirsty ying Yoginis whom even the Kaula
reformers of Kashmir were crazy about. But she is equally
far away from the Lalita of the Shankaracharyas. Her ero c
features are more than metaphors. She is the deity whose
Shak worship involves all panchamakara. Regarding sexual
intercourse, the only inhibi ng rule is that the woman
must show signs of agreement. If she signals sexual
arousal, she “must” be sa s ed; if she signals
disinterest, she must be le alone (PKS 10.69). Strict
secrecy is s pulated. Most of these ethical codes are more
or less directly borrowed from the Kularnava Tantra, with
which the PKS also shares a number of other features.
The deliberate Kaula confession stands out when compared

with the more common form of South Indian Srividya. The PKS
regards its won worldview and ritual prac ce as the true
interpreta on of the Veda and ul mately superior to it.
In contrast to the Srividya of the Shankaracharyas, which
ex nguished ritual substances and procedures that were
o ensive to the system of purity, the PKS may be
characterized as a le -hand Srividya, in which the Veda
becomes completely overlaid and absorbed by the Tantra. The
Panchamakara are declared as conforming to the Vedic
system. And this con nued and intensi ed in Umananda’s
ritual elabora on Nityotsava (1745) and the learned
commentaries of Rameshvara (1832) and Lakshmana Ranade
(1889) in the early and late 19th century. All these
authors were Maharashtra Brahmins, and at least Umananda
had close connec ons with the Tanjore court where he spent
part of his life.
The combina on of Lalita and Para, as well as the pair

Shyama and Varahi subordinated to Lalita, point to South
India as the place of origin, and more speci cally to
Kanchi, Tamilnadu. The early exchange between South India
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and Kashmir regarding the Srividya and the Trika goddess

Para was variously noted in scholarship, and even today,
(right-hand) Srividya is very popular in Tamil Nadu, where
Lalita has her seat in Kanchi. The conceptualiza on of
Shyama and Varahi as Lalita’s minister or commander-in-
chief is also known to the Lalita Sahasranama that mirrors
right-hand and le -hand Srividya concep ons.
But in fact, it is hard to discern with certainty where the

PKS actually comes from because of the highly composite
nature of the text. The major sources appear to be the
Subhagodaya, Kularnava Tantra and may be the Paramananda
Tantra which are quoted or glossed extensively, but there
are many parallels or even verba m correspondences with
many other earlier and later Tantric sources, such as the
Srividyarnava Tantra (very frequent), Gandharva Tantra,
Prapanchasara Tantra, Sharada Tilaka, Kali Tantra,
Tantraraja Tantra, Shyama Rahasya, Mantramahodadhi etc. The
largest number of parallels is apparently found in those
sources which are in all likelihood of Southern Indian
origin, but altogether the parallels go far beyond South
India and the Srividya school. The PKS incorporates and
mirrors verses and ideas from Tantras from all parts of
India. With some cau on, I would call it a late “Kaula
summa”. In the sixteenth century (the me when the PKS was
most probably composed - rst men on is found in
Krishnananda’s Tantrasara, 1582), such a summa may have
been par cularly necessary to preserve Kaula knowledge,
due to the cri cism of Lakshmidhara, who regarded even
Kaula interiorized body prac ce as “un-Vedic” and “non-
spiritual”. In contrast, the PKS shows how Vedic and
spiritual Kaula body-prac ce actually is. It projects a
similarly idealized meless and placeless Kaula like
Avalon’s apology for Tantra some centuries later. I will
come back to these issues when discussing the Veda-Tantra
merger and crea ve imagina on, since the PKS not only
di ers from Lakshmidhara, but also from Avalon’s
presenta on of the yogic chakras and kundalini yoga. But
my major point is that there was obviously a common stock
of Tantric ideas and prac ces in nearly all parts of India
at least since the 16th century, which are assembled in the
PKS and cast into a new, highly sophis cated integrated
whole. The widespread dissemina on of common Tantric ideas
and prac ces and even of individual lineages seems to have
a much older history - at least on the conceptual level.
Remarkably, the Brahmayamala (probably composed between the
7th and the early 9th centuries) already claims a pan-South
Asian genealogy. Cf. Hatley, Brahmayamalatantra, 228, 231-
236 - considers this claim not totally implausible. He
suspects a rural social milieu in Orissa to be the most
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probable place of origin. The conceptual framework was

apparently a topographic mandala that encompassed central
India and the Deccan, the North-Indian heartland, and
Orissa and Bengal. Possibly such a topographic mandalic
scheme is also the secret superstructure of the four
goddesses of the PKS (whose major cults go back to
di erent regions).
So, it remains striking that the PKS mirrors a sort of

cosmopolitan, universal Tantra in pre-colonial mes, which
resembles Avalon’s uni ed Tantrism that was charged with
heavy Orientalism and essen alism. Avalon apparently did
not know the PKS, but used partly the same, partly
analogous texts for his representa on. Avalon’s pretended
congruence with the Veda is very much there in the PKS.
I consider the PKS to be of par cular interest both for

theorizing about Tantra and for considering its historical
development. The PKs de nes linear developments and
reveals that Tantric history remained confusingly complex
and opaque even during an epoch when the heyday of Tantra
(las ng from the 5th to the 13th century) was actually
over. By this me Tantra had largely merged with Hindu
mainstream culture, and vernacular Bhak tradi ons gained
prominence in defning Hindu iden es. On the one hand the
PKS reveals con nui es within the older Tantra strand,
while on the other it indeed mirrors transfers and
transforma ons within the Kaula Tantra and Tantric history
in general. What stands out the most is its keen interest
in the Veda combined with a pronounced Kaula confession and
the interface of exterior and interior visionary ritual.
The inspira on was probably the Kularnava that iden es
the Kaula scriptures and the Veda. The PKS apparently holds
the middle ground between the Kashmirian Kaula and the
South Indian “vediciza on” and “vedan za on”. Its “step
ahead” towards domes ca on will become clear when
compared with the Kularnava Tantra that itself already
con nued the Kaula reform that started in Kashmir. When it
comes to theorizing about Tantra, the PKS is revealing for
its virtuoso blending together of exterior and interior
ritual and the real and virtual body.
The PKS was the script for many ritual elabora ons,
including rather recent ones such as Chidanandanatha’s
Srividya Saparya Paddha (Srichakrarchana Dipika) and
Swami Karpatri’s Srividya Ratnakara composed in the 1940s
and 1950s. Whereas the Srividya Ratnakara is quiet about
the panchamakara and sexual prac ces, earlier commentators
defended the “real thing”. But in fact, this substan al
di erence is not easy to discern, since the panchamakara
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and par cularly intercourse are communicated in a rather

hidden and cryp c way and remain almost invisible to a
casual glance, because the verbal material and techniques
of imagina on are much more dominant.
There can be no doubt, however, that the PKS makes use of

the panchamakara, and does so in a highly rule-governed
manner. All the sequences of worship have strictly parallel
structures that contain some permuta ons and inversions
increasing with each successive chapter. The structural
pa ern is well known from other Tantric rituals, too. I
men on only the rough structural outlines of each deity
cycle, part of which will be discussed more elaborately
below:
(1) Tantricized sunrise-worship including the visionary

showering of the body with the water of immortality owing
from the thousand-petalled lotus on the top of the head
(the seat of the Guru’s sandals and the divine pair
Kameshvara and Kameshvari, deno ng the merger of
Paramashiva and Para in one’s consciousness) and japa of
the root mantra
(2) Preliminary rites to sanc fy the place (worship of

door, seat, and lamps, ritual diagram, and mantra) and
deify the body (bhutashuddhi and nyasas)
(3) Ordinary water-arghya and special alcoholic-arghya

(associated with kamakala symbolism and the A-Ka-Tha
triangle)
(4) Worship of the physically and/or mentally created image

(exoteric upacharas or mental upacharas in Lalita’s case
and chakra/kundalini yoga in Para’s case)
(5) Worship of the ritual diagram (avarana puja of each

deity-yantra, except for Para, whose yantra is the cosmos,
i.e. the 32 cosmic principles that are mentally absorbed,
“melted” and puri ed in the Muladhara, navel and heart,
and “sacri ced” into the supreme light)
(6) Image worship con nued (tarpana, upacharas with cooked

food) and in Lalita’s case also kamakala medita on and
visualiza on of her “auspicious heart” (Para’s bija
mantra)
(7) Concluding rites comprising  

Shak -worship, re
sacri ce, and meal
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(8) Dismissal rites (withdrawing the dei es into the

heart; in Shyama’s case special rules of social behavior;
in Para’s case no dismissal rites)
contd ...
By admin on Jun 12, 2013 | In Srividya, Darshana,
Oriental/New Age
Fi h, the iden ca on of Tantra and Kaula (associated

with ritualized sexuality, which has been a major factor
de ning Tantra in Western approaches), rather than Tantra
and Agama (terms that are used interchangeably in the Agama
lore) or Tantra and mantra prac ce (which has been a major
de ning moment in Tantric insider discourses). Mantras
have been outstandingly important since the me of early
Shaiva and Siddha cultures, par cularly in the Mantrapitha
and Vidyapitha (dis nguished by male and female mantras,
i.e. mantra dei es). In later Tantra the terms Tantra and
Mantrashastra became prac cally synonyms. The
iden ca on of Kaula and Tantra barred our understanding
of Tantra as a manifold and polyvalent phenomenon that has
to a large extent Shaiva, Agamic and mantric roots and yet
plural expressions since ancient mes, and most of all a
history of many processes of fusion, transforma on and
bifurca on. The focus on Kaula probably has many di erent
reasons, or more precisely a melange of them. I suppose a
not insigni cant one was Kaula as the fascina ng and
exo c “other” par excellence - par cularly if narrowed
down to sexual issues. Another reason lies in the history
of Western studies, which have been largely con ned to
Kaula or to Srividya as the latest Kaula evolute, whereas
Agama studies have emerged only in the last three decades.
And nally, the actual history of Tantra in India: if the
historical model above is correct, Kaula was one of the few
remaining deviant systems that o ended Smarta social codes
and remained “visible” as Tantra. This would explain Teun
Goudriaan’s observa on that most literatures bearing the
tle ‘Tantra’ belong to the Shakta literatures of the
Kaula type, and corroborate his proposi on that the Kaula
movement is the most important and most characteris c
within Tantra. A Kaula work of great forma ve in uence
was, according to Goudriaan, the Kularnava Tantra, which is
also o en glossed by Avalon and heavily quoted by the PKS
(no less than 27 mes). However, the Kularnava (13th
century) already belongs to a more domes cated Kaula
compared with older Kaula sources (and their wild Yoginis)
that probably developed within the Shaiva Vidyapitha
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(centered on female mantra-dei es and the potency of

‘impure’ ritual). The la er leads us to a pre-Kaula le -
hand Tantra which is male-dominated and found in the
Bhairava Tantras or Bhairava Agamas. These works contain
some radical, an nomian prac ces that apparently
intensi ed when shi ing to female dominance in Vidyapitha
sources (around ninth century or earlier), such as the
Brahmayamala Tantra (one of the rare Bhairava Agamas which
did survive). Here we nd Kapalika vows that involve
things like drinking liquor from skull-caps, making re
sacri ce in the mouths of corpses to revive the dead,
o ering human esh, faeces, semen and blood from one’s
own body, and also some instances of sexual ritual, because
sexual uids and menstrual blood were among the most
precious power-substances for achieving supernatural powers
and embodied divinity.
It is typical that the Bhairava Agamas were excluded from

the classical Shaiva Agama lore, while their tradi onal
number of sixty-four led to the indigenous tradi on of
speaking of sixty-four Tantras. It was this radical “le -
hand” sec on of the Shaiva Agamas that played an important
role in giving Tantra a bad name in India. Compared with
it, Kaula will seem more decent. Instead of asce c
mortuary and exorcist prac ce in lonely places, the Kaula
ritual involves external and internal consorts
(intoxica on, bliss, kundalini shak ) and is prac ced
behind closed doors by libera on seeking householders. The
crema on gorund shi s to the body and consciousness, and
we nd increasingly interiorized concep ons of divine
agencies, emphasis on ecsta c experience in ero c ritual
and yogic concep ons of the presence of the Shak s - that
is there is greater concern with internal yogic nectars
than with “impure” liquids like sexual uids and menstrual
discharge. However, exoteric manifesta ons did not die
out, nor was the former ritual devoid of the virtual and
visionary (the Brahmayamala even knows the kundalini shak
as inner consort, who would later simply a ain much more
importance).
As far as I can see, there was only one late, indigenous

cri que to do with Kaula ritualized sexuality. It is found
with the sixteenth century Srividya purist Lakshmidhara who
de ned mere interior worship as samaya and accused the
Kaulas of keeping the kundalini shak in the lowest body
center. It is noteworthy that Lakshmidhara thereby launched
not only an explicit Kaula cri que, but also a new
de ni on of samaya and in fact a new Samaya school. In
the Agamic lore, the term simply refers to general rules
for the ini ates, i.e. ini atory pledges and post-
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ini atory s pula ons of conduct (achara). In

Lakshmidhara, the term samaya a ained the norma ve
connota on of proper, orderly and orthodox - everything
that in his eyes the Kaula was not. Viewed through the
sources I am going to discuss, Lakshmidhara was not only
the founder of a new Samaya school that favored par cular
forms of interior worship, but also created a split between
Kaula and Samaya that did not exist before and is
conspicuously absent in the PKS. There is a consistency
from the Brahmayamala to the Kularnava to the PKS that
le -hand body-prac ce is itself the established norm and
proper conduct, if performed according to the school’s own
pledges, rules and regula ons. Both Lakshmidhara’s
rede ni on of Samaya and his a ack of certain
medita onal prac ces of the Kaulas are of par cular
interest for my discussion. His construc on was greatly
in uen al in the Srividya of Southern India where it is
combined easily with the moral norms and religious
sen ments of the Shankaracharyas and Smarta Brahmins, so
that Samaya and right-hand worship became largely
synonymous. Samaya-Kaula dis nc on cons tutes the major
issue of fac onalism among contemporary Srividya
prac oners in Tamil Nadu. At the heart of the issue are
the panchamakara and their dissocia on from the Srividya.
Tantric history reveals that it was not mere Orientalism

which led scholars to select the Kaula, but it also shows
that le -hand Tantra had many more facets and witnessed
more than one transforma on. Maybe the most important one
was brought about by Abhinavagupta’s discovery of interior
sense in body-ritual, which was forma ve for classical
Kaula as well. Remarkably, even Lakshmidhara’s cri que
started at the level of sacred symbolism and visualizing
prac ce of the yogic body and the kundalini energy-
consciousness. In fact, real-world intercourse was not even
the primary focus of a ack. Kaula prac ces of interiority
have incited controversy, right up to contemporary Samaya-
Kaula debates. For my argument of the reality-crea ng
power of imagina on this will be of par cular interest.
It is equally noteworthy that Lakshmidhara’s sole concern
with interior ritual was not even followed by the right-
hand Srividya, in which there is clear shi of a en on
from the body to the mind. Most prac oners see
themselves as Samayins, but of course they will worship the
physical Srichakra diagram and the image of the Goddess.
Sixth, a further fundamental problema c area is the

inherent di culty of studying Tantra. Scholars have to
tackle a vast body of anonymous works and tradi ons.
Besides numerous literatures that are called Tantra, or
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alterna vely Agama (like all the Siddhanta Tantras), there

are literatures bearing other names, like the Yamalas, and
nally, there is a large number of hybrid texts such as
certain Puranas like the Devi Bhagavata. Most of these
texts are of uncertain date and many prac ces they speak
about have not survived. Many unedited manuscripts await
publica on. Furthermore, there are transla on problems
and di cul es in understanding and accessing the texts:
early Tantric sources are o en wri en in a hybrid
Sanskrit and are cryp c, and later sources use a di cult
twilight language and deliberate encodings, s pulate
secrecy etc. Scholars who are generally not ini ates have
to deal with ini atory tradi ons, i.e. o en several
increasingly complex ini a ons that establish the
competence to use certain sacred formulas and perform
certain rites. Much of it is available only through oral
communica on, and moreover, the oral lore is much more
extensive than the wri en tradi on and o en di erent
from it. If commentaries exist that give be er access to
the secret prac ces and help decode the mantras etc., they
are generally extremely bulky, do not clarify their
references etc. All Tantric texts require a lot of training
in Tantric terminology. Many are compila ons and much
knowledge is needed to understand the hidden cita ons and
glosses. The PKS and its commentaries mirror all these
di cul es. This is one of the reasons why my paper is
exploratory rather than a completed examina on of the
eld.
contd ...
By admin on May 19, 2013 | In Srividya, Darshana,
Oriental/New Age
While trying to pave the way to real-world Tantra, each

scholar has his/her own share in construc ng it. I do not
think there is a way out of this, although there may be
more adequate or less adequate construc ons, and more or
less biased interpreta ons. While wri ng about Tantra, we
are necessarily part of the image-making process, because
there is no way out of posi oning and selec ve reading
considering the huge number and great variety of sources.
Third, Tantra is more of a hyperonym than a homogenous

category. Except for Avalon and Bhara , Tantra did not
a ract much academic scholarship un l recently. The past
thirty years, however, have witnessed drama c developments
in the study of Agamic Shaivism and Vaishnava Pancharatra
and a growing interest in early heterodox Shaiva cults. The
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collec on and edi on of the hitherto largely unknown

Shaiva and Vaishnava Agamas gave access to be er knowledge
of Tantra, but also raised new ques ons. A number of
agamas, for instance, are alterna vely called Tantra, but
there is no trace of the Panchamakara. We have learned that
almost all Shaiva tradi ons are more or less Tantric, or
that South Indian temple culture encompasses many Tantric
elements such as visualiza ons, sacred diagrams and
repe ons of monosyllabic mantra formulas - the kind of
issues Avalon was talking about. But by acknowledging this,
the ques on of de ni on, history and origin came to a
head, and not only the subject of Tantra, but also the
perspec ves on it mul plied. Some trace the roots of
Tantra, for instance in the Vedic tradi on, others in the
agama culture or in more heterodox early Shaiva movements
more or less removed from the Vedic pale, such as the
Kapalika, and an increasing feminiza on of early Shaivism.
Some see Tantra as a phenomenon of an elite Sanskri c
culture, others detect folk or even tribal origins, while
s ll others propose a mixture of both. Hindu-Buddhist
interac ons and transfers were also a ma er of dispute,
and in par cular the rela onship between Tantric Shaivism
and Tantric Buddhism needs further inves ga on. Alexis
Sanderson noted a general trend of domes ca on and two
major transmuta ons: a shi from Shaiva asce c
“crema on ground mys cism” to the Tantric householder,
and a turn from self-opera ve ritual (held by the dualist
Shaiva-Siddhanta) to an intense concern with meaning and
interiority within the circles of non-dualist Kashmir
Shaivism championed by Abhinavagupta, which was
historically greatly e ec ve even in the Shaiva-
Siddhanta. Another shi and mutual transfer can be seen in
devo onalizing Tantra and Tantricizing devo on.
Tirumular’s Tiruman ram (whose early da ng into the 7th
century has been disputed), the famous goddess hymn
Saundaryalahari (some me a er 1000 CE and before the
16th century), and the ecsta c Vaishnava Sahajiya (16th
century) are typical examples. Late Puranic sources such as
the Devi Bhagavatam are full of devo onal Tantra, and even
the ercest of the Tantric Dashamahavidya goddesses
receive Bhak -worship just like any other Puranic deity.
A post-colonial cri cal approach may be to resist a

de ni on altogether. Similar to Hinduism, Tantraism has
been seen as a modern construc on, born of a cross-
cultural interplay between Eastern and Western imagina ons
that misrepresent the great plurality of tradi ons. A
sound an dote would be to call each tradi on by its own
name, instead of labeling it under the common heading of
“Tantrism”, to con ne oneself to the proper names of the
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diverse early and later Shaiva tradi ons, the Vaishnava

Pancharatra, the Sahajiya, the manifold Shakta tradi ons
such as Trika, Kaula, Kalikula, Srividya, the Smarta
Tantra, and not to forget the non-Hindu lore like the
Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana, Jain tradi ons etc. This is a
solid solu on, but it may not be the best one. Just as in
the case of “Hinduism”, the Tantric tradi ons in ques on
share certain common ritual elements besides di erences in
nego a ng, for instance, the plurality of tradi ons and
their historical transforma ons on the other, have to be
accounted for.
Fourth, Tantra as a “mel ng pot”. Tantra is a movement

that cuts across various tradi ons and is not con ned to
a speci c religion. It was a predominant religious
paradigm or ‘Zeltgeist’ phenomenon from around the middle
of the rst millennium AD to the 13th century. This
necessitates a ‘contact-zone’ perspec ve which views
Tantric history as one of constant interac on, and a
highly complex nego a on, blending and recording process
within India and Greater India. The PKS is only one late
version of osmosis, wherein hybridity of Hindu Tantra is
certainly specula ve, hypothe cal and too simple (leaving
out, for instance, Buddhism), but some kind of model will
be needed to explain both the plurality and the instances
of osmosis which actually exist. My model is based on the
wri en tradi on, which is no doubt a serious de ciency,
but for historical (re)construc ons, it is unfortunately
not possible to undertake eldwork in the oral lore. Some
of the early power-based “magic” Tantras are wri en in
defec ve and very rus c Sanskrit which seems to point to
the world of village Shamans or other subaltern groups who
had li le training in Sanskrit grammar. On the other hand,
even the Kapalikas of classical Sanskrit drama, who are
invariably pictured as villain, power-seeking human
monsters, speak polished Sanskrit, and are presented as an
educated elite. We must assume that at all mes the
contemporary Tantra cut through all social classes, and
that wri en and oral lores existed side by side, including
di erent strands of so-called right and le -hand Tantra.
Both forms of Tantra were “deviant” ini ally. I understand
‘deviant’ pertaining to alterna ve ritual systems rather
than pertaining to social stra ca on.
As a working de ni on, I suggest Hindu Tantra to refer to

a great number of ritual systems that were derived neither
from the Vedic ritual culture nor the Smarta tradi on
(dharma literature, epics and Puranas). Ini ally, Tantra
and agama were synonymous and referred to soteriological
ritual systems of strong sectarian movements that developed
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new non-Vedic mantras and centered around the universal

Lord gods Shiva and Vishnu who had appeared in the Veda as
outsider-gods - but whose pro les included world-
transcending or panentheis c poten al (three strides of
Vishnu and Shatarudriya). Eventually the concept of Shak ,
the crea ve power of the god, and personi ed as his
spouse, grew even stronger and more independent,
superseding the male. Within India and the expanding region
of Greater India, a number of transfers and transforma ons
happened, the most important one being a growing blending
of tradi ons and at the same me an increasing
bifurca on of so-called right and le -handers. Some
Tantric rites have been judged heterodox by orthodox
Brahmins, while the majority of them was wholeheartedly
added to the tradi onal Smarta rites. The early Shaiva
sects already included asce c radicals whose libera on
and divine power-seeking mantra prac ces included
an nomian rites, and heterodoxy increased in the general
process of globalizing Sanskrit culture in all parts of
India. The le -hand Tantrics, many of them belonging to
the upper, highly educated stratum of society, were ready
to integrate all kinds of folk and tribal customs judged
impure by the Smarta mainstream. Some of them developed a
real craze for the deviant and impure (such as necrophilia,
or menstrual blood, sexual uids, faeces regarded as
par cularly strong power-substances), resul ng in
deliberate inclusion of radical non-conformist behavior and
wild females from folk cultures and popular Hinduism. Later
Bhairava Agamas (including the Yamala Tantras) and early
Kaula appear to be a result of this process, but the Kaula
soon transformed itself into the more domes cated
Panchamakara ritual and highly interiorized forms of divine
female agency. Side by side with growing and transformed
heterodoxy, there was increasing inclusion in and fusion
with Smarta Hinduism, due to the expanding temple culture,
royal sponsorship, and not least the popularity of the
non-Vedic mantras as instruments of empowerment and direct
communica on with superhuman forces. This Tantra-Smarta
merger resulted, for instance, in a shi to pragma c
religion and non-clan-based everyday Tantra (e.g. in the
development of Tantric digests with mantras for any deity
and every situa on), and in mutual in uence and
interac on between Tantric, Puranic and Vedic tradi ons.
Another result was a stronger bifurca on of right and
le -hand Tantra because Tantra entered the space of Veda-
based Smarta orthodoxy. In fact, the right-hand Tantra
(star ng with the Agama-based temple worship) merged so
much with mainstream culture that it is no longer
recognized as Tantra today. The term Tantra was le to
designate deviant le -hand Tantra. The connota on was one
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with low castes, danger, dirty things etc., while clan-

based Tantric insiders of all mes saw themselves more as
a spiritual elite and their rites and revela ons as
autonomous authority. My major point is that Tantra
witnessed a highly interac onal history and that various
processes of nego a on took place between Tantra and
norma ve Brahmanism which eventually transformed both.
Tantra shaped “Hinduism” and was itself reshaped. Most of
the early radical so-called le -handers disappeared from
the scene, while clan-based le -hand Kaulas among higher
classes would heighten their codes of secrecy and be more
self-assured and asser ve about their Veda-superior
authority. I would place Kaula works like the Kularnava
Tantra and the PKS within this trend.
contd ...
By admin on Apr 13, 2013 | In Srividya, Darshana,
Oriental/New Age
- Anne e Wilke
The ritual tradi on which I am going to discuss - namely

the Paraśurāma Kalpasūtra (PKS), a ritual handbook which
was probably composed in the 16th century or somewhat
earlier in South India, and subsequent elabora ons up to
the late 19th century - contains everything that
contemporary educated Indian and Western readers will
expect of Tantra: mantras, yantras, hand gestures (mudrās),
yogic body-centers, Kuṇḍalinī Yoga, ritualized alphabet,
non-dual śaiva-śākta philosophy, and of course the
pañcamakāra, the famous “ ve Ms”. While the former ritual
elements are pre y universal in all forms of Tantra, the
pañcamakāra have been speci c to Kaula Tantra, the
tradi on which made use of natural symbols, such as song
and dance, wine, meat, sexual uids and intercourse
preferably with women of untouchable castes, to bring about
ecsta c god-consciousness and dei ed existence, and to
share in the powers of their godhead śiva-śak . However,
the PKS belongs to the śrīvidyā, the cult of the beau ful
goddess Lalitā Tripurasundarī worshiped in her śrīcakra
diagram, which is generally not iden ed with le -hand
Kaula Tantra. On the contrary, common expectancies would be
more likely to consider a le -hand śrīvidyā a
contradic on in terms. The śrīvidyā cons tutes the most
widespread Tantric tradi on in contemporary India.
Scholarship has described it as the culmina on of a
general trend within Tantric history towards domes ca on,
seman ciza on and internaliza on. There is wide
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agreement that the spread of the Tantric cults in Indian

religion is largely a history of domes ca on. Alexis
Sanderson a ributes to the non-dual Kashmir śaivas, whose
heir is the śrīvidyā, a major share in this. Par cularly
the South Indian śrīvidyā, common among a large community
of Smārta Brahmins and the śaṅkarācāryas, was so
exhaus vely purged of Kaula traits and merged so much with
Vedic orthodoxy and the Vedānta that some scholars would
not accept calling it Tantra any more. Sanderson
acknowledges a Southern śrīvidyā which carried on the older
trends of Kaula-Trika merger: “In purely Tantric circles,
it was propagated within the theological system of the
Pratyabhijñā-based Trika; but, as much as in Kashmir, it
came to pervade the wider community of śaiva Brahmins known
as Smārtas.” In contrast to Sanderson, however, Douglas R
Brooks sees the śrīvidyā as a genuinely South Indian
product whose roots lie in the Tamil Siddha and Bhak
tradi ons. The PKS, however, is concerned with a di erent
Veda-Tantra merger and a śrīvidyā brand wherein we nd
transfer in the opposite direc on. Remarkably, it presents
the pañcamakāra as Veda-orthodox and as most vital for
embodying the bliss of Brahman and making it a corporeal
experience (PKS I.12), i.e. bringing about the emancipatory
goal of becoming śiva “in all one’s limbs” and achieving
libera on while living (10.50; 10.82). It designates
itself as Kaula and as a ‘great Upanishad’ (colophons and
10.83). There is par cular emphasis on the mantras’
unfathomable power and the pañcamakāra (I.8l I.12; I.24).
Even up to the late 19th century the Brahmin commentators
stress the padārthas, i.e. Real liquor, meat and
intercourse, and regard the ve Ms as most important
(mukhya) ritual means. We have to wait for the 20th century
to nd an ‘evapora on’ of the body, which in other
lineages of śrīvidyā has already been happening since the
12th century.
There has been a widespread tendency to view Tantra via the

lens of Kaula de ned by sexual ac vi es. I do not share
this view. Tantra is a vastly complex and many-stranded
issue and more of a generic name for many di erent
tradi ons, some of which predate, and some postdate the
Kaula. Most tradi ons that may be called Tantric did not
include sexual contact. Probably the most widespread
Tantric custom of both past and present is to view mantras
as means of empowerment and self-transforma on. This view
became widespread far beyond the clan-based Tantric
tradi ons. Speaking of Kaula introduces a blurred
perspec ve, a focus on the deviant and the extraordinary
rather than the normal and the ordinary. The rst part of
this paper seeks to pin down the cluster of reasons why the
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Kaula gained so much prominence. It is about representa on

problems and the challenges in dealing with Tantra. I see
the PKS as part of the large scale interac ve blending and
bifurca on processes that I regard as being just typical
of Hindu Tantric History as the general trend towards
domes ca on and “gnos ca on” that has been discerned
by many scholars. Regarding the Kaula-Tantra, this trend
can be re-formulated as shi ing a en on from body to
mind. The PKS may be characterized as an intermediary. It
both con rms and inverts such transforma ons. It blends
together what has o en been seen as clearly dis nct or
even opposing, such as Tantra and Veda, Kaula and Samaya,
super-ritualism and gnos ca on, language and ac on,
exoteric and mental ritual prac ce, real and virtual body.
I consider such kinds of blending (in di erent varia ons
and degrees) to be typical of Tantra in general. Regarding
the PKS my focus will be the Veda-Tantra merger and the
con nuity of real and virtual body-prac ces which are
characteris c of this source. The technologies of recoding
the natural and anima ng the virtual, and the Kaula
program of placing the body in the mind and the mind in the
body have been powerful devices for crea ng extraordinary
reali es. I believe ac ve imagina on to be an important
key to Tantra and suggest that it also played a decisive
role in interiorizing processes. In a construc ve
approach, I understand imagina on to be a third space that
produces something new by connec ng conceptual en es
and real-world en es, for instance by connec ng the
concept of immortality and bliss and real-world alcoholic
liquor. Likewise, I understand representa on as produc on
and crea on rather than simple depic on, descrip on or
presenta on of something.
In 1832, the Maharashtrian Brahmin and Veda-Mīmāmsā scholar

Rāmeśvara presented his voluminous commentary on the PKS to
the public. This commentary started with a long defense of
Tantra against common reproaches that tāntrikas had le
the Vedic path, and were greedy, self-indulgent etc. A
highly elite Tantric insider speaks as a Vedist in favor of
Tantra and does not agree with a widespread opinion in emic
and e c discourse that Veda and Tantra exclude each other.
It is one of the many examples of the fat that Tantra is a
messy eld with fuzzy boundaries. Not least, it is a
highly contested issue. Its very de ni on is part of
nego a on processes within and between scholarly and
popular discourses in past and present mes. This pertains
to e c as well as emic debates. There is a whole cluster
of problema c areas to be considered.
First, the popular image of Tantra as the dangerous,

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debased or exo c other and the varying “othering”

discourses in India and the West. Notably, the common
outsider perspec ve has been vacilla ng between sex and
crime. It is the crime aspect that was most prevalent in
India. The indigenous nega ve cliche of a Tantric being a
black magician if not bloodthirsty, orgias c monster has
been extremely powerful and widespread. There is a long
history at least since the tenth century from classical
literature, plays and hagiographies (e.g. Bhavabhū ,
Kṛṣṇamiśra, śaṅkara Digvijayas) to modern Bollywood cinema
and popular culture. In contrast, the prevalent image of
Tantra in the West is the construct of a hedonis c
religion. A search for the word “Tantra” on the world wide
web generates thousands of hits almost exclusively
concerned with sexuality, o ering techniques for be er
sex etc. This modern Western cliche is basically nothing
other than the reversal and posi ve re-interpreta on of
nega ve images brought by missionaries and Bri sh
administrators for whom Tantra was the peak of a post-
Upanishadic degenerate Hinduism judged to be obscene,
perverse and debased. The sexual perspec ve was
popularized and ampli ed by Rajneesh who transformed a
religious tradi on into a form of sexual psychotherapy.
Both representa ons, the Indian and the Western one,
actually contain more self-descrip on than an account of
reality.
Second, the history of academic Tantra studies with the

construc on of Tantra by scholarly representa ons,
star ng with Sir John Woodro e, also known by his pen-
name Arthur Avalon, in the 1910s and 1920s. Avalon had the
courage not to follow the usual Vedic studies, but to
counter the nega ve colonial Tantra cliche by edi ng a
number of pieces of literature called Tantra, and by
showing great sophis ca on and metaphoric imagina on of
the Tantras, their deep philosophical content, and their
non-dual world-orienta on. The problem was that he
presented an ahistorical, essen alized and uni ed Tantra
shaped by Brahmanic informants and his selec ve use of
later Tantric works. In the 1960s, Agehananda Bhara
confronted Avalon’s Tantra with a new approach: in the
spirit of the 1960s free sex and drugs came to the
forefront. Whereas Avalon minimized the dis nc on of so-
called right-hand and le -hand Tantra, and restricted
sexual ritual to matrimonial intercourse or to the
widespread metaphoric and symbolic use and the interior
processes of Kuṇḍalinī Yoga, for Bhara , Tantra was
primarily de ned by the h pañcamakāra. He stressed the
use of hemp (cannabis) as a disinhibi ng factor and
interpreted as the “ ve Ms” as aphrodisiacs and
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intoxicants. For Avalon, Tantra and Veda were not

opponents, whereas Bhara emphasized an an -Vedic and
an -Brahmanic tendency. Later, David White went a step
further. Whereas Avalon discovered a high-class civilized
Tantra in colonial mes, White postulates a subaltern
Tantra in the post-colonial age of deconstruc on. He
traces the original Kaula and the “core” of Tantra
(preda ng the pañcamakāra ritual) in sexual uid exchange
and violent Yoginī cults among non-elite, subaltern groups
(which he regards as including the Kāpalikas). His wild
Yoginīs who crave for human blood and sexual uids are
worlds away from avalon’s spiritual sexuality, and even
from Bhara ’s non-con rmist yogi circles. For a
substan al cri que of this sugges ve thesis, one may
look at Shaman Hatley’s doctoral thesis - The
Brahmayamalatantra and the early śaiva Cult of the Yoginīs.
Another cri cal point of White’s construc on ( Kiss of
the Yoginī ) is the thin textual basis on which he builds
his argument. Even Geo rey Samuel, who otherwise follows
White, notes the problem that “no direct textual material
exists” on what White pins down as early “Kaula-period”.
Similarly, there are no original works le by Matsyendra
whom White traces as the ini ator of the succeeding
“Kaula-period”. Both White’s and Samuel’s historical
reconstruc ons make Kaula the de ning factor of Tantra,
while giving astonishingly li le considera on to the
āgamas (especially the śaiva Siddhānta Tantras and Vaiṣṇava
Pāñcarātra).
Each of the scholars produced a di erent Kaula, partly due

to di erent textual sources, di erent ques ons and
perspec ves (philosophy, ritual, di erent historical and
social se ngs), and partly due to developments in expert
knowledge and the history of science, and also dependent on
personal predilec ons and “Zeitgeist” phenomena (e.g.
Victorian prudery etc.). There, for instance, no real
reason why Bhara interprets Kuṇḍalinī Yoga as a
subs tute for sex, although it is a vitally integra ve
part of the ritual he is describing. His ritual shares this
and a number of other features with the PKS, while other
elements do largely di er. Kaula itself pluralist.
contd ...
Mantras from GauDapAda's ShrIvidyAratnasUtra

By admin on Aug 4, 2012 | In Srividya
1. अथ अ श व - The vidyA is composed of twenty-eight

le ers. The reference here is to mahAShoDashI mahAmantra.
विं
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द्या
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ष्टा
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This is the mantra which is represented in gauDapAdIya

shrIvidyA ratnasUtra as the chief of all vidyA-s. The rest
of the mantras emanate from this supreme mahAvidyA.
The version of shrIvidyA ratnasUtra prepared by Mike Magee

that is to be found on the internet has many mistakes, and
the important one is right here with his sUtra. His version
reads: अथ एक श . His transla on is also completely
o the mark, and faulty at most places.
2. प दशव सौभा - The kAdi panchadashI shrIvidyA mantra is

composed of een le ers.
3. तथैव प मा - Here, pashchimAdividyA refers to hAdi

lopAmudrA vidyA, who is the rst among the mantras of
pashchimAmnAya. Her vidyA is also composed of een
le ers (like the kAdi vidyA discussed in the previous
sUtra).
4. शतव युता मा - The mantra of rAjashyAmalA or rAjamAtangI is

composed of one-hundred le ers. We have discussed
elsewhere the technicali es of this sUtra.
5. अ श व शा का - The mantra of shArikA shyAmalA is

composed of twenty-eight le ers.
6. प र शद र हस वता - The mantra of hasantI shyAmalA is

composed of thirty- ve le ers. ParashurAma kalpasUtra
describes a slightly di erent mantra composed of thirty-
one le ers.
7. अ र य शु - The shuddhavidyA is composed of three

le ers.
8. कुमारी व य - The mantra of kumArI or shuddha-bAlA is

composed of three le ers.
9. अ दशव दशा - The mantra of dvAdashArdhA is composed of

eighteen le ers. Again, Magee’s version of this sUtra
incorrectly reads - दशव युता दशा . Though the mantra of
dvAdashArdhA, which is a deriva ve of bAlA, lopAmudrA and
navanAtha mantras, appears to be tryakSharI or
trikUTAtmikA, in essence there are eighteen le ers within
the mantra.
विं
त्रिं
विं
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ञ्च
ञ्चो
ष्टा
क्ष
ष्टा
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र्ण

त्र
त्त
श्चि
वि
र्ण
वि
ति
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र्ण

त्र
शि
द्या
वि
श्या
वि
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दि
ष्टा
वि
क्ष
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शि
शि
वि
वि
शि
ष्टा
वि
ष्टा
शि
द्या
ष्टा
द्ध
शि
fi
ष्टा
द्वा
वि
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ष्टा
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द्व
र्ण
द्या
र्ण
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ग्या
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वि
रि

र्धा

शि
न्ती
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द्वा
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ष्टा
दे
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र्धा

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10. ष श सौभा स ता - The mantra of bagalAmukhI is composed

of thirty-six le ers. This vidyA is described as
saubhAgyA-sannihitA as the vidyA is listed right a er
saubhAgya-vidyA in the dakShiNAmnAya:
सौभा बगला वाराही व क था |
11. अ श व समु यो महा र मनुः - Though the reference here is to

heramba, it should be inferred as simply a name for
gaNapa or not speci cally referring to the tantric form
Heramba. Thus, the reference here is to the mantra of
mahAgaNapa which is composed of twenty-eight le ers.
There is a near absolute consensus among all tantras on the

structure of mahAgaNapa mantra.
12. चतु श व समु यो व क मनुः - The mantra of vaTuka bhairava is

composed of twenty-four le ers.
13. अथ अ रनव र कोलवदना - The mantra of mahAvArAhI is composed

of nighty-eight le ers. This is a lesser known mantra
a ributed to dharaNI-varAha. BhagavAn durvAsA states in
his lalitA-stavaratna - दशो रशता मनुराजकमलकलहंसी - the mantra as
being composed of 110 le ers. ParashurAma kalpasUtra
describes this mantra as composed of 112 le ers -
दशो रशता रा.
14. षट् प शद यव का र णी - The mantra of raskariNI is

composed of y-six le ers. ParashurAma kalpasUtra
describes an alternate form of this mantra composed of
thirty-seven le ers.
15. एकव भुवनेशी - The mantra of bhuvaneshvarI is composed of a

single le er.
16. स श व अ पू - The mantra of annapUrNA is composed of

twenty-seven le ers. The ParashurAma KalpasUtra describes
a slightly di erent mantra composed of twenty- ve
(twenty-six) le ers.
17. अकारा प शद रसंयुता हा प दशी ख य चतु र कामकला - The mantra of

kAmakalA is composed of sixty-three le ers. Again, Magee
messes up this sUtra badly, spli ng into two and
providing a corrupted version. The rst khaNDa of this
mantra is composed of the le ers of the sanksrit alphabet,
ट्त्रिं
विं
विं
द्वा
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ग्य
प्त
ष्टा
त्त
र्विं
वि
ti
ञ्चा
tt
र्ण
द्या
ष्टो
दि
वि
द्व
ति
ff
ति
र्ण
ति
क्ष
त्त

शि
ञ्चा
वि
ti
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र्ण
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क्ष
tt
ष्टा
र्ण
ft
र्ण
शि
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रै

वि
tt
र्वि
त्य
ष्टा
शि
च्च
शि

क्ष

क्ष
च्च
ष्टा
fi
ष्टा
वि
tt
शि
त्त
ग्या
ti
tt
टु
न्न
टु
ष्टा
नि
tt
स्त
स्य
हे
tt
र्णा
दि
न्नि
tti
म्ब
र्ण
ति
हि

स्य
ञ्च

fi

स्क
रि
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ण्ड
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द्व

fi
वि
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शि

ष्टा

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र्थ

ti
स्व

वि
शि
ष्टा

aM to kShaM. That the le ers are to be used with bindu is

evident from sampradAya. Also, though the le ers amount to
51, the logical count is 50 so to say due to the rule -
लळयोरभेदात्. The next khaNDa is composed of the rst two kUTas
of hAdi panchadashI mantra, which amount to 5+6 = 11
le ers. The nal component is the chaturtha svara, which
is a single le er. Thus, the mantra is composed of 51 + 11
+ 1 = 63 le ers. ShankarAraNya con rms the same thus - इ
कष रा . It can be observed here that the shru , च र ती
मय comes to materialize this way even for hAdi vidyA.
18. एका र मु - The main mantra of kAmakalA is composed of a

single le er. By using the word mukhyA here, AchArya
gauDapAda clari es that this is the mantra of mahAkAmakalA
(the previous one being kAmakalA).
19. योदशव तुरीया - The mantra of turIyA is composed of

thirteen le ers. ParashurAma kalpasUtra refers to this
mantra as shrIpUr vidyA. While the sUtra of parashurAma
has been interpreted by votaries as applicable to both kAdi
and hAdi vidyA-s, turiyA vidyA strictly refers to the
thirteen le ered mantra derived from hAdi vidyA alone.
Apart from parashurAma kalpasUtra (or umAnandanAtha’s
nityotsava to be speci c), there seems to be no prac cal
use of kAdi shrIpUr vidyA. On the other hand, turIyA vidyA
derived from hAdi lopAmudrA mantra is extremely popular and
is a prominent part of gurupAdukA mantras of most lineages,
be it hAdi or kAdi.
20. एकोननव र महा - The mantra of mahArdhA is composed of

eighty-nine le ers. ParashurAma kalpasUtra discusses a
similar mantra called kAlasankarShiNI but the popular
mahArdhA mantra is longer and employs kAdi vidyA within its
structure.
21. दशा र अ ढा - The mantra of ashvArUDhA is composed of

twelve le ers. ParashurAma kalpasUtra formulates a similar
mantra but composed of thirteen le ers, by adding a
praNava at the beginning of the mantra.
22. एका र - The mantra of mishrAmbA is composed of a

single le er, vAgbhava bIja.
23. वा नी योदशव - The mantra of vAgvAdinI is composed of

thirteen le ers. ParashurAma kalpasUtra concurs here and
त्र्य
क्षे
tt
धि
त्र
द्वा
न्तः
ग्वा
क्ष
क्ष
ष्ठ्य
tt
tt
दि
tt
क्ष

tt
tt
tt
tt
वि
वि
क्ष
त्य
र्ण
fi
tt
वि
शि
शि
त्र
वि
tt
क्ष
शि
णि
ष्टा
ष्टा
शि
fi
वि
ष्टा

ष्टा
ti
मि
शि
ti
ख्या
श्रा
र्ण
ष्टा
fi
श्वा
वि
शि
रू
tt

ष्टा
र्धा
fi

tt

tt
fi

ti

ti

त्थं

त्वा

ईं

बि
भ्र

lists the same mantra.
24. एकव परा - The mantra of parA is composed of a single

le er. ParashurAma kalpasUtra accords great importance to
this mantra and devotes an en re chapter to it, for in the
current form of tripurA does one nd remains of the triad,
parA, aparA and parAparA.
25. परा साद णी व ययुता प क - The great mantra of parAprAsAda is

composed of two consonants and a single vowel. Also, it
includes three bindus (two from a visarga and one from a
bindu).
26. तथैव सादपरा - Similar is the case of prAsAdaparA mahAmantra

(as with parAprAsAda discussed in the previous sUtra).
27. अथ व प क दी षट् कसमु यो दशैकव पराश - The mantra of parAshambhu

is composed of eleven le ers.
28. अथ रषट् क दी प कसंयुता तथैव सं पराशा वी - Similar to the manu of

parAshambhu, the vidyA of parAshAmbhavI is composed of
eleven le ers.
29. अनु रसङ्केत धान स दशव - The mantra of anu arAmnAya

samayavidyeshvarI is composed of seventeen le ers. This
mantra of great glory is famous in the tantras as
anu aravimarshinI, which facilitates the contempla on on
that which is without a beyond.
MahAShoDashI
By admin on Aug 2, 2012 | In Srividya
Last night, a gentleman asked me a ques on about ShoDashI

vidyA. He was referring me to a bhAShya on shrI lalitA
sahasranAma in Kannada by one Yedathore Subraya Sharma. Sri
Sharma, said to have no knowledge of Sanskrit, composed a
commentary on lalitA sahasranAma in Kannada, supposedly
through the grace of shrIdevI. It is even said that ambA
herself dictated the commentary to him. Smt. Rama of our
Mandali had personally seen him during his last days (in
1970s) and he had seemed to be mentally imbalanced and most
of his me was spent in drawing pictures of shrImAtA on
walls and oor of his house using a piece of charcoal.
Incidentally, Sri Sharma's commentary has been re-published
by Ganapa Sacchidananda Swami of Mysore.
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वि
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क्ष
शि
रू
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पि
ष्टा

प्र
ञ्च
वि
र्ण
र्घ

द्व
द्या
र्घ
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ञ्च

प्त

ti
दै

च्च
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र्ण
वि
वि
शि

शि
ष्टा
ष्टा
ti
ख्या
र्ण
वि

tt
शि

ष्टः
ti
म्भ

म्भुः

tt

We are completely unquali ed to judge the level of

a ainment of this gentleman for a great Jnani can appear
as a crazy fool to the ignorant eye. However, there are
some things in his BhAshya which seem a li le strange. The
speci c thing our friend pointed to was the commentary on
the name shrIShoDashAkSharIvidyA. Sri Sharma writes that
there is nothing called ShoDashI vidyA, there is simply
only panchadashI. He states there is no shAstra-pramANa for
ShoDashI and more so for mahAShoDashI. He dismisses
mahAShoDashI mantra as some perversion prac ced by the
tAntrikas. His bhAShya chie y aims at cri cizing the
saubhAgyabhAskara of bhAskararAya, which is ashuddha
according to him, as it is tAntrika in nature. Well, what
else can it be considering shrIvidyA is all about tantra!
Of course, elements of shrIvidyA have been absorbed into
the purANas but the original source of the mahAvidyA is
tantra. That being the case, it seems highly illogical that
one rejects tAntrika pramANa for a vidyA that is revealed
by the Tantra. Rejec ng the existence of a tAntrikI vidyA
because of lack of pramANa in the veda (or even purANa) is
hardly sensible, even if one were to apply the vedAviruddha
logic of devIbhAgavata mahApurANa. By the same argument,
then one should discard ShaDanganyAsa, dasha mudrAs and
most other aspects of shrIvidyA as none of them are
described in the Veda.
What then is ShoDashI vidyA according to Sri Sharma? He

illustrates this vidyA as composed of the sixteen vowels
(along with bindu). His version of ShoDashAkSharI seems
rather dubious for there seems to be no such vidyA revealed
in the tantra. And he provides no pramANa from the shru
either for such formula on.
While commen ng on the same name, bhAskararAya says:
षोडशम रं य ता शी सा |
Here, the nirdesha of is laghu-ShoDashI, which AchArya

lakShmIDhara also reveals in his commentary on
saundaryalaharI. BhAskararAya talks of the gauDapAdIya
sUtra (or shrIvidyA ratnasUtra) next - अथ अ श व -
clarifying that though this vidyA is composed of twenty-
eight le ers, by considering the three kUTas of
panchadashI as three le ers, the mantra s ll obeys the
structure of ShoDashI. This is the mantra popularly known
as mahAShoDashI and BhAskararAya’s approval of the mantra
is clearly seen here.
Further, his prashiShya rAmeshvara, while commen ng on the

विं
श्री
tt
ति
fi
tt
क्ष
ti
स्यां

ti

दृ
ti
tt
fi
fl

ti
वि
ti
tt
द्या

ti
ष्टा

ti

ति

ti

र्ण

वि

शि

ष्टा

parashurAma kalpasUtra ( द णक बालामुप प मनुं व त् ) - clari es

that iShTamanu here can be panchadashI or shoDashI and
concludes thus:
त त् षोड प शः आव कः सू नुया नाम |
Then we have dozens of tantras such as tripurArNava,

jnAnArNava, gandharva, rudrayAmala, paramAnanda etc. which
deal with mahAShoDashI in great detail.
Many sampradAyas follow the method of thirty-two dIkShas

where panchadashI and ShoDashI are two speci c and
dis nct dIkShAs. We have listed the thirty-two dIkShas
elsewhere. The prAshastya of ShoDashI is described thus:
तायां ल ता श प प कूटगा |
षट् कूटा च कलौ श स त षु गो ता ||
Here, it is indicated that in tretAyuga, panchadashI is

most suited, panchamI vidyA in dvApara and ShaTkUta-vidyA,
which is mahAShoDashI, is most suited in kaliyuga. While
panchadashI is trikUTAtmikA, panchamI is panchakUTAtmikA.
In the increasing order of kUTa samkhyA, mahAShoDashI is
ShaTkUTAtmikA.
Elsewhere, the abheda between these mantras is also

indicated:
प मी षोडशी चैव तथा स ङ्गसु री |

एकदो म शा ह पोह ||
व नां तो वा कूटतो यथा |
एकवारं ता वी पातका माददौ |
शतं ज वं ददा वमै रम् ||
Even in the charyA khaNDa which details the nityakrtya of

an upAsaka a er pUrNadIkShA, ShoDashI (which is clearly
clari ed as kAdi ShoDashI here) nds a prominent
posi on:
बाला प दशी का षोढा परा ततः |

परा साद णौ षड य म तः ||
Apart from laghu-ShoDashI and mahAShoDashI, Tantras discuss

various other forms too. It is said that laghu-ShoDashI
formed as explained by lakShmIdhara and bhAskararAya
त्रे
र्णा
स्मा
ञ्च
ti
प्रा
ti
fi
क्ता
प्त्वा
भि
ञ्च
स्मृ
लि
न्न

नि
शि
श्यु

हे
र्वा
दे
ft
दे
दे
नि
स्ता
पि
वि

स्ता
दि

ब्र
मि
ह्म
द्वा
न्व
लि
ति
र्व
त्यां
न्मो
रे
श्य
वि
क्र
त्वा
र्वा
ध्रु
न्त्रे
द्या
क्ष
ञ्च
व्य
स्त
क्षि
श्व
न्द
त्रा
पि
ति
fi

र्णे

यि

पि
दि

श्य
fi

श्चा

दि

ष्ट

दे

fi

pertains to keralAchAra. In kAshmIrAchAra, the same is

formed by adding bhuvaneshvarI bIja at the beginning of
panchadashI.
च व णा चश स तं पृथक् |
वामा नादा मातृकला कम् |
दौ योजना व जग पा च षोडशी ||
lakShmIdharAchArya seems to hold the no on that the

popular form of laghu-ShoDashI is aptly called shrIvidyA
because of the presence of ramAbIja. However, bhAskararaya
entertains no such restric on as he comments on the name
shrIvidyA thus: प दशी पा |
Another form of ShoDashI called kAmarajaShoDashI is formed

by adding kAmabIja before the second kUTa of panchadashI:
द गोपालबीजं तु कामराज पू तः |
षोडशी कामराजा क रा ता मता ||
While some tantras state that mahAShoDashI can be formed

using kAdi vidyA only, there are some others who allow the
use of kAdi or hAdi within the mahAShoDashI, based on
sampradAya:
सा वपू स मयुतं सू म तम् |

द णबा श नयनं कामं कलाला तम् ||
द मुखं सजीवदशनं शेषं मुखेना तम् |
बीजं प क मेवमु तं स दम् ||
वेदा गुणां रमामथ व त् कामेन संसे ताम् |
लोपां वा पुन व प कमथो पू लोम मात् ||
Here, it is said, kAmena samsevitAm lopAm vA, indica ng

either kAdi or hAdi can be used within the mahAShoDashI
mantra.
Elsewhere, it is said that in the place of kAdi, one can

also form the vidyA by using the other forms revealed by
Lord dakShiNAmUr , such as nandividyA, sAdividyA, kubera-
vidyA etc. -
अ म त् कामराजं लोपां व स जे तः |
द णामू त स पेत् मात् |
वि
दे
त्त्वा
वीं
न्त
क्षि
न्द्रा
स्या
द्या
न्ता
द्यं
न्तो
क्षि
द्यं
न्तं
क्षि
त्रि
ञ्च
र्ध्व
बि
ध्या
शि
रु
र्ति

रे
मि
न्दु

न्त्र
हु
न्तं
त्थ
दे
र्व

स्य

ञ्च
ढ्यं
ख्या
क्र
श्री
प्त
वि
वि
र्व
क्रा
ti
दि
वि
श्व
द्या
दे
द्रू
न्द
दि
द्याः
र्पा
ञ्च
स्य
हि
क्ष्मा
र्वा
क्षि
र्वं
ti
धि
वि
र्थ
न्त
सि
न्त्य
र्व
त्म
स्व
क्र
द्धि
न्त्रा
न्वि
वि
ञ्छि
क्र
रू
प्र
त्त

न्वि

ti
ti

तदा च सकला भेदा रीया षोडशी भवेत् ||
The lalitA sahasranAma states - shrIShoDashAkSharIvidyA,

which, due to the presence of shrI, is to be interpreted as
laghu-ShoDashI (discussed by lakShmIdharAchArya) or as
ramAdi mahAShoDashI (discussed by AchArya gauDapAda in his
shrIvidyA ratnasUtra). Again, BhAskararAya speci cally
illustrates these two vidyAs in his commentary on this
name. In any case, the ' षोडशम रं य ता शी सा' statement holds
good for mahAShoDashI as well.
To summarize, there is enough pramANa for ShoDashI vidyA

and there needs to be no doubt on the validity of this
mahAmantra. If there are any errors in our understanding
here, may shrImAtA pardon us in her in nite compassion.
MahAvidyA
By admin on May 17, 2012 | In Srividya
Works dealing with upAsanA of kAlI
mahAkAla saMhitA, kAlajnAna, kAlo ara (men oned by

kShemarAja in his TIkA on sAmbapanchAshikA),
kAlIkulakramArchana (of vimalabodha), bhadrakAlI
chintAmaNi, vyomakesha saMhitA, kAlIyAmala, kAlIkalpa,
kalIsaparyAkramakalpavallI, shyAmArahasya (of pUrNAnanda),
kAlIvilAsa tantra, kAlIkulasarvasva, kAlI tantra, kAlI
parA, kAlikArNava, vishvasAra tantra, kAmeshvarI tantra,
kulachUDAmaNi, kaulAvalI, kulamUlAvatAra, shyAmAsaparyA (of
kAshInAtha tarkAlankAra bhaTTAchArya), kulamuk kallolinI
(of AdyAnandana or navamIsiMha), karpUrastava (of
mahAkAla), kAlImAhAtmya (from bhairavI tantra),
kaulikArchanadIpikA, kumArI tantra, kubjikA tantra,
kAlita va (of rAghavabhaTTa, the author of shAradA laka),
muNDamAlA tantra, shak sangama tantra etc.
Works dealing with upAsanA of tArA
tArA tantra, tArAsUkta, toDala tantra, tArArNava,

nIlatantra, mahAnIlatantra, nIlasarasvatI tantra,
chInAchAra tantra, tantraratna, tArAshAbara tantra, ekajaTI
tantra, ekajaTA kalpa, mahAchInAchArakrama (from
brahmayAmala), ekavIrA tantra, tAriNI nirNaya, tArApradIpa
(of lakShmaNa bhaTTa), tArAbhak sudhArNava (of narasiMha
Thakkura), tArArahasya (of AgamAchArya shankara),
tArAbhak tarangiNI (of prakAshAnanda), tArAbhak tarangiNI
(of vimalAnanda), tArAkalpalatA paddha (of nityAnanda or
nArAyaNa bhaTTa), tAriNIpArijAta (of shrIvidvadupAdhyAya),
tt
ti

स्तु
श्री
ti
ति

ti
क्ष

tt

fi
स्यां
ti
दृ

ti

fi

ti

ti

ti

mahogratArA kalpa, commentary on tArA sahasranAma by

lakShmIdhara (son of vishveshvara paNDita) etc.
A few Works dealing with shrIvidyA
parashurAma kalpasUtra (with nine commentaries including a

vr by rAmeshvara), tripuropaniShat, bhAvanopaniShat,
kaulopaniShat, lalitA stavaratna, svayamvarA pArvatI stava
and tripurAmahimna stotra (with a commentary by nityAnanda)
of the great sage durvAsA, the four basic works of kAdi or
madhumatI krama - tantrarAja (with the commentary manoramA
by subhagAnandanAtha or prapanchasArasimharAjaprakAsha or
shrIkaNThesha, sudarshana authored by premanidhi panta or
his wife prANamanjarI), mAtrikArNava, yoginIhridaya and
tripurArNava, or an alternate list of nine tantras of kAdi
mata - chandrajnAna, sundarIhridaya, nityAShoDashikArNava,
mAtrikAhridaya, sammohana tantra, vAmakeshvara tantra,
bahurUpAShTaka, prastAva chintAmaNi and meruprastAra
tantra, tantrarAjo ara (an appendix to tantrarAja),
paramAnanda tantra (with the commentary
saubhAgyAnandasandoha), saubhAgyakalpadruma (of
mAdhavAnandanAtha), saubhAgyakalpala kA (of kShemAnanda),
jnAnArNava, shrIkrama saMhitA, brihatshrIkrama saMhitA,
dakShiNAmUr saMhitA, svacChandasangraha, shrIparA krama,
lalitArchanachandrikA (of sacchidAnandanAtha),
saubhAgyatantro ara, kAlo aravAsanA, saubhAgyaratnAkara
(of vidyAnandanAtha), saubhAgyasubhagodaya (of
amritAnandanAtha), shak sangama tantra, tripurArahasya,
shrIkramo ama (an amazing work by mallikArjuna yogIndra or
prakAshAnandanAtha), subhagArchanapArijAta, AjnAvatAra,
sanketapAdukA, chandrapITha, sundarImahodaya (of
kavimaNDana shambhu bhaTTA or shankarAnanda, quoted in
mantrarAjasamucchaya of kAshinATha bhaTTa), hridayAmrita
and nityotsava by umAnandanAtha, tripurAsArasamucchaya with
commentary sampradAyadIpikA, lalitopAkhyAna,
shrIta vachintAmaNi (of pUrNAnanda paramahamsa).
virUpAkShapanchAshikA, kAmakalAvilAsa (of puNyAnanda) with
commentary chidvallI (of naTanAnanda), tripurAsAra,
sarvollAsa tantra, sanketapaddha , parA tantra,
shrIvidyArNava tantra, saundaryalaharI of shankara
bhagavatpAda, shrIvidyArantasUtra of AchArya gauDapAda
(with commentary by shankarAraNya), and nally the
encyclopedic works of shrI bhAskararAya.
Works dealing with upAsanA of bhuvaneshvarI
bhuvaneshvarIrahasya (of prithvIdharAchArya, said to be the

direct disciple of shankara bhagavatpAda), bhuvaneshvarI
tantra, bhuvaneshvarI pArijAta, prapanchasAra tantra,
shAradA laka etc.
tti
tt
ti
tt
ti
tt
tt

ti
tt
ti

ti
fi

ChidrashmimAlA
By admin on Feb 17, 2012 | In Srividya
The prac ce of rashmimAlA mantra is considered

indispensable for every shrIvidyA upAsaka by most living
tradi ons today. This mAlA, which is an emana on of
rashmis from the panchadashAkSharI mahAmantra of
mahAtripurasundarI is revealed by bhagavAn parashurAma in
the kalpasUtra. A longer version of the same can be seen in
da Atreya samhitA and an even longer version in
dakShiNAmUr samhitA.
There is a corresponding shiva-mAlA termed as

chidrashmimAlA, which is praised as the essence of all
shaivAgamas. Many dAkShiNAtya upAsakas of shrIvidyA, myself
included, use this mAlA everyday, like traipura rashmimAlA.
While the rashmimAlA of tripurasundarI is recited in the
morning, this mAlA is recited last thing in the night,
generally with rajata, svarNa, ratna and chitpAdukAs of
Urdhva-pAshupata stream. Several versions of this mAlA can
be found in works such as chidambara tantra, vAmadeva
samhitA, dakShiNAmUr samhitA, shaivasarvasva, prAsAda-
paddha , naTeshvara rahasya etc. The mantras that
cons tute the mAlA are listed below:
वेदमाता भगवती थमा प ता |

तीया द णामू तु शा री परा ||
तृतीया सा व चतु वटशा नः |
तु प मी हंसयु ङ्करी मता |
थमं प कं शैवागमा कम् ||
महापाशुपतो म थमः प तः |
अघोरा मनुः प त् तीयः समुदी तः ||
व का रः प त् तृतीयः प तः |
चतु मनुरा त श म तुः ||
क णसं प मो मनु ते |
तीयं प क दं दम् ||
उमाम री थमा समुदा ता |

तीया सू मृतस वनी ततः ||
मृ यचतु शद ततः ता |
महामृ यमनुः प मोऽथ ततः तः |
रिं
द्वि
वि
प्र
स्व
द्वि
द्वि
त्यु
द्या
र्णा
tt
टु
र्थो
ञ्ज
ti
ti
हे
त्यु
ष्टा
स्त्र
श्व
ञ्च
रु
र्ष
ञ्ज
ञ्च
ti
क्ष
क्षि
ञ्च
द्र
म्ब
ti
ख्या
वि
दै
र्या
श्च
प्रो
ज्ञ
मि
न्त्रः
द्या
श्चा
श्चा
त्या
र्णा
स्तु
प्रो
क्त
त्वा
ti
प्र
र्ति
श्च
प्र
क्ता
प्र
प्रो
मि
श्च

ञ्च
ण्डी
ञ्च
क्तं
त्थं
द्वि
र्थी
र्विं
ञ्जी
रि
र्णा
ब्र
श्य
की
रि
ह्मै
ti
क्छा
की

क्य
क्ष
र्ति
रु
रि
हृ
र्ति
च्य
हे
खि
सि
की
स्मृ
शि
त्म
स्मृ
द्धि
र्ति
रि

ti

तृतीयप क दं पातकनाशनम् ||
पा षड तीया षोडशा री |
यंवरमहा तृतीया समुदी ता ||
सु री वकामा पुरा प मी ता |
चतु प क यं शैवागमा कम् ||
म मनुसत त् परा सादनामकः |

णवो हंस च वप री ततः |
प मं प क यं पातकनाशनम् ||
षड री शैव शैवी मा री ततः |

सादा महा द रमहामनुः |
गाय व व प कं ष मु ते ||
वसंपुटगाय पा जाते री ततः |

हंसशैवमहा चावह युतः वः |
द र च स मं प कं तम् ||
रा धानु प् नीलक मनु तः |

अनु भो नीलक मनु या धः ||
अनु भः ततः भवानु प् मनु तः |
गौरीव भ चप मनु तः ||
ता महा स समुदी ता |
शरभ ळु वमनु तीयं समुदा तः ||
vedamātā bhagava prathamā parikīr tā |

dvi yā dakṣiṇāmūr ścaturviṃśākṣarī parā ||
tṛ yā sāmbadaivatyā caturthī vaṭaśākhinaḥ |
vidyā tu pancamī proktā haṃsayukchāṅkarī matā |
prathamaṃ pancakaṃ proktami haṃ śaivāgamātmakam ||
mahāpāśupato mantraḥ prathamaḥ parikīr taḥ |

aghorāstramanuḥ paścāt dvi yaḥ samudīritaḥ ||
vaṭukāṣṭākṣaraḥ paścāt tṛ yaḥ parikīr taḥ |
caturtho manurākhyātaścaṇḍīśaśya maheśituḥ ||
svarṇākarṣaṇasaṃjnastu pancamo manurucyate |
dvi yaṃ pancakamidaṃ proktaṃ brahmaikyasiddhidam ||
umāmaheśvarī vidyā prathamā samudāhṛtā |

dvi yā rudrasūryārṇā mṛtasanjīvanī tataḥ ||
स्व
चि
प्र
प्रा
शि
चि
वि
त्व
ञ्च
न्द
tī
श्वे
र्व
रि
न्ता
च्चि
क्ष
र्थ
tī
tī
tī
त्या
त्री
स्सा
श्व
ल्ल
ष्टु
ष्टु
ख्या
शि
ञ्च
शि
ञ्च
श्च
णि
ख्य
म्ब
ञ्च
भि
वि
वि
वि
वि
वि
दै
वि
मि
द्या
मि
द्या
द्या
द्या
त्री
प्रो
द्या
द्या
मि
र्णा
त्या
ति
वि
वि
ण्ठ
रि
क्तो
ति
ख्या
द्व
प्रो
द्या
द्या
ज्ञे
द्या
शि
रि
ष्टु
ज्ञे
क्तं
ञ्च
द्वि
ञ्च
चि
त्रि
प्त
र्मृ
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न्ती
र्वा
त्यु
ब्र
प्रा
ञ्चा
हे
म्ब
श्व
न्ते
ह्म
ञ्ज
श्व
ण्ठ
ष्ठ
ञ्च
हृ
क्ष
ष्टु
tī
ञ्च
रि
शि
त्म
स्त
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च्य
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स्त
स्मृ
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क्ष
स्मृ

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mṛtyunjayacatuścatvāriṃśadarṇā tataḥ smṛtā |

mahāmṛtyunjayamanuḥ pancamo.atha tataḥ smṛtaḥ |
tṛ yapancakamidaṃ proktaṃ pātakanāśanam ||
pārvatyāśca ṣaḍarṇādyā dvi yā ṣoḍaśākṣarī |

svayaṃvaramahāvidyā tṛ yā samudīritā ||
sundarī śivakāmākhyā tripurā pancamī smṛtā |
caturthapancakami jneyaṃ śaivāgamātmakam ||
cintāmaṇimanusatadvat parāprāsādanāmakaḥ |
praṇavo haṃsavidyā ca śivapancākṣarī tataḥ |
pancamaṃ pancakami jneyaṃ pātakanāśanam ||
ṣaḍakṣarī śaivavidyā śaivī māheśvarī tataḥ |

prāsādākhya mahāvidyā cidambaramahāmanuḥ |
gāyatrī śivadaivatyā pancakaṃ ṣaṣṭhamucyate ||
śivasaṃpuṭagāyatrī pārijāteśvarī tataḥ |

haṃsaśaivamahāvidyā cāvahan yutaḥ śivaḥ |
ciccidambaravidyā ca saptamaṃ pancakaṃ smṛtam ||
viśveśvarābhidhānuṣṭup nīlakaṇṭhamanustataḥ |
anuṣṭubho nīlakaṇṭhamanurmṛtyunjayābhidhaḥ ||
anuṣṭubhaḥ tataḥ prokto bhavānuṣṭup manustataḥ |
gaurīvallabhavidyā ca pancabrahmamanustataḥ ||
tvaritākhyā mahāvidyā sarvānte samudīritā |
śarabhassālduvamanuri yaṃ samudāhṛtaḥ ||
tī
ti
ti
tī
tī
tī
tī

Jivotpatti Adv Brahman

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Jivotpa

utpa back to advaita brahman

Was Amalananda a Pāncarātra-enthusiast (PE)?

य न दमु ते — वासु वा ङ्क ण उ ते, सङ्क णा , नन इनत, अ मः — न

य नप जीवो तेः तान तथानप मो न म् अ व । नव पलये पनाशात्

य नप जीवो तेः तान तथानप मो न म् अ व । नव पलये पनाशात्

utpa back to advaita

utpa back to advaita brahman

Full text of "Panchapadika Vivaranam of Prakasatma Yati"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Describes the Four Kinds of Evidence.

There are four kinds of evidence by which reality may be known:

Manu-samhita Describes Three Kinds of Evidence.

If one wants to understand what is reality, one must consider the

Since hearsay is included in percep on, Madhvacarya has said that

Divine Sound is the Best Evidence for Understanding Reality

If one carefully examines the ten kinds of evidence, namely

[Caitanya Mahaprabhu said] Although there is other evidence, the

le:///C:/Users/Raghav/Desktop/Sri%20Tantralokah%2 .html 5/17

(Tantraloka, chapter one, sloka 223)

century). In Kashmira, Abhinavagupta is regarded as Mahamahesvara. His origin & lineage,

5-Translations of Mândûkya Upanishad Verse 7 - Advaita .

> It would be highly desirable to discuss the 7th mantra of

Mândûkya Upanishad Verse 7

Below are ve transla ons of this verse, whereby all of the ne , ne

ekâtma pratyaya sâram prapañca upasamam - the mo on and extension (hence

ekâtma - one self

pratyaya - thoughts, mental uctua ons, content of mind, cogni ons,

sâram (course, mo on, stretching out, extension; rmness, strength, power,

prapañca - expansion, development, manifesta on, manifoldness, diversity,

upasamam - becoming quiet, calmness, tranquility, stopping, relaxa on,

Thank you Sunder for bringing up this topic.

jai guru dev,

vaiShNava bhakti mArga - 1 - Sri Kamakoti Mandali

parabrahmAnande sakalasuravandye svarasataH

hare krShNa hare krShNa hare krShNa hare hare |

1. paramAtman, through mere desire, assumes various forms.

R^igvedam bhagavo.adhyemi yajurvedam sAmavedamatharvANam vAkovAvyamekAyana~ncha |

The mImAmsA sUtra says:

dvividham karma shubhamashubham cha ||

avashyameva bhoktavyam kR^itam karma shubhAshubham ||

tR^iShNAture chetasi jR^imbhamANAm

Personali es of bauddha nyAya - 1

There is also a no on that vAda-vidhi is a part of the larger work tarka-shAstra.

- By jnAnakunjastha mahAmahopAdhyAya shrI gopInAtha kavirAja

The kArya is threefold: vidyA, kalA and pashu.

The dvAras are:

taptakA~nchanagaurA~Ngi rAdhe vrndAvaneshvari |

rAshabdocchAraNAt bhakto rA muk M sudurlabhAm |

A Periodic grouping of dvai ns and advai ns

- By Dr. Benoytosh Bha acharya

Yato.abhyudayaniShpa ryato niHshreyasasya cha |

tena bhagavatoktashchAsau mantrayogAdiniyamashche vigrahaH | yogaH samAdhiH | Adishabdena

sambhogArthamidam sarvam traidhAtukamasheShataH |

shrImantam antaHkaruNAmayam tam |

“A er making my obeisance by my head to Lord yamAri who is of digni ed appearance, internally

AchArye yaH sadA dveShI kupito ratnatraye.api yaH |

pratarannapi ga~NgAyAm naiva shvA shuddhimarha |

pratyAlIDhapadAM ghorAM muNDamAlAvibhUShitAm |

kaNThikAruchakaM ratnamekhalaM bhasmasUtrakam |

jino vairochano khyAto ratnasambha eva cha |

“Restored by Arya nAgArjunapAda from the country of bhoTa”.

1. Like rAga (passion), nirvana cannot be abandoned or given up.

1. It cannot be expressed or manifested through words – niShprapancha. As it is asamskrta dharma,

(7) Concluding rites comprising  