63 The Buddhist Sanskrit Tantras The Sam PDF

PACIFIC WORLD
Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies
Third Series Number 14

Fall 2012
TITLE
iii
The Buddhist Sanskrit Tantras:
“The Samādhi of the Plowed Row”
James F. Hartzell
Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC)
University of Trento, Italy
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a discussion of the Buddhist Sanskrit tantras that
existed prior to or contemporaneous with the systematic translation
of this material into Tibetan. I have searched through the Tohoku
University Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist canon for the names
of authors and translators of the major Buddhist tantric works. With
authors, and occasionally with translators, I have where appropriate
converted the Tibetan names back to their Sanskrit originals. I then
matched these names with the information Jean Naudou has uncov-
ered, giving approximate, and sometimes specific, dates for the vari-
ous authors and translators. With this information in hand, I matched
the data to the translations I have made (for the first time) of extracts
from Buddhist tantras surviving in H. P. Śāstrī’s catalogues of Sanskrit
manuscripts in the Durbar Library of Nepal, and in the Asiatic Society
of Bengal’s library in Calcutta, with some supplemental material from
the manuscript collections in England at Oxford, Cambridge, and the
India Office Library. The result of this research technique is a prelimi-
nary picture of the “currency” of various Buddhist Sanskrit tantras in
the eighth to eleventh centuries in India as this material gained popu-
larity, was absorbed into the Buddhist canon, commented upon, and
translated into Tibetan. I completed this work in 1996, and have not
had the opportunity or means to update it since.
PREFACE
Mahāmopadhyāya Hara Prasad Śāstri followed in the footsteps of
Rajendralal Mitra in compiling the Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts. Much
63
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of the material in these early volumes by Mitra and Śāstrī was col-
lected from private libraries, and I understand from (the late) Prof.
David Pingree that the bulk of these manuscripts may now be lost or
destroyed. Śāstrī, however, completed two multi-volume catalogues,
one of which is in the holdings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and
one in the Durbar Library in Nepal, that contain a wealth of informa-
tion on both Hindu and Buddhist tantra, and the manuscripts in these
latter two catalogues have been preserved and are available to scholars
today. In most instances Śāstrī included with the catalogue listing the
opening verses and the colophons, sometimes with headings of major
sections, some extracts from the texts, and sometimes notes on the
historicity of the authors. Cecil Bendall’s Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit
Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge also adds some informa-
tion, as does the India Office Library catalogue by Ernst Windish and
Julius Eggeling.
The vast majority of catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts from
Indian universities and research institutions are not “descriptive” in
the same way as Śāstrī’s catalogues, despite their titles designating
them as such.1 I did not have the opportunity to translate all of the tan-
tric manuscript extracts in the two Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts sets
of volumes (there are hundreds of manuscripts recorded, and Mitra’s
classifications are often inaccurate), nor did I have the opportunity to
look through all the material in the catalogues of Sanskrit tantra man-
uscripts held in Paris, Tokyo, and some of the other European librar-
ies. So this essay is not intended to present complete coverage of the
Buddhist Sanskrit tantric material, but what is presented here should
give a good idea of the range of material in these texts, and some idea
of when the texts appear to have been incorporated into the Buddhist
canon in India and when the principal commentaries and sādhanas on
these texts were originally written. Supplementing the information
from the manuscript material is a fairly thorough coverage of the pub-
lished translations of Buddhist Sanskrit tantras (as of 1996).
The dating information derived from the Tohoku listings of au-
thors and Naudou’s work is necessarily incomplete. Naudou’s research
was based on his searches through the colophons of Tibetan transla-
tions of texts by Kaśmīri Buddhists. He was not looking particularly for
translations of tantras, nor did he provide dates for authors and trans-
lators who either were not either Kaśmīri or not related to Kaśmīr by
virtue of having studied in Kaśmīr, or who had worked with Kaśmīris
or those educated there.2 Naudou’s Buddhists of Kaśmīr is, however, the
Hartzell: The Buddhist Sanskrit Tantras 65
only work I found that provides a systematic account of the dates of

Buddhist tantric commentarial writers and their work with Tibetan
translators, though other authors such as Giuseppe Tucci provide addi-
tional or confirmative information. Since I relied heavily on Naudou’s
work for dating information and the identification of various authors,
and because I found his approach to be fairly consistent, reasonable,
and, I think, relatively reliable, we should take a brief look at his
methodology.
Naudou read through the Tibetan canonical histories of Buddhism
by Tārānātha (1608 C.E.), Bu-ston (1322), Sum-pa mkhan-po (1748),3
and gZon-nu-dpal’s Blue Annals (1478),4 and compared this information
with “indications supplied by colophons of Tibetan translations about
authors of ancient texts and their translators” in Cordier’s catalogue of
the Beijing edition of the bsTan ḥgyur and Lalou’s index.5 Naudou devel-
oped a healthy skepticism about the reliability of some of the history of
events in India by these Tibetan writers, who composed their histories
several centuries later. He notes Tāranātha’s own acknowledgement
of being unable to write about “the appearance of the Law in Kaśmīr”
due to the lack of “detailed sources” for Kaśmīri Buddhists.6 Naudou
brought some order to this wealth of information by grounding the
material in data from copperplate inscriptions, Kalhaṇa’s largely reli-
able Rājataraṅgiṇī, the Annals of Ladakh, records of the Chinese pilgrims,
chronologies of the Pāla kings and other dynasties, the records of the
Mahāsiddhas, and other sources such as Al Biruni’s records and archae-
ological records, the Sādhanamālā, and so on. He then worked through
the confusing variety of names used for the various translators and au-
thors in the Tibetan colophons, where the same person may sometimes
be referred to by three or four different names, either with his family
name, an initiation name, a shortened version of his name, a title such
as Mahāpaṇḍita of Kaśmīr, etc. In many instances the surname and
the initiation names are used interchangeably, as with Tailikapāda
(Tilopa) for Prajñāgupta, Nādapāda (Naropa) for Yaśobhadra, and
Puṇyākaragupta or Mahāvajrāsana for Puṇyaśrī. On the other hand,
multiple instances of the same name, such as Nāgārjuna, can also con-
ceal instances of a number of different people (Naudou suggests four in
the case of the name Nāgārjuna), just as multiple instances of Francis
in the Roman Catholic canon refer to at least three different saints.7 In
several cases Naudou concedes defeat, saying that it is impossible to
tell much about when or where a particular individual worked. On the
whole I found his dating conclusions quite reasonable.
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INTRODUCTION
Contemporary late twentieth-century Buddhist scholarship tended
to rely on the Tibetan classification schemes and interpretations of
Buddhist tantras. These classification schemes were developed over
many centuries—and much debated among Tibetan tantric writers—
based on the voluminous corpus of Tibetan Tantric texts directly and
carefully translated from the Sanskrit originals. The sheer volume of
the translated literature, and the enormity of the Tibetan commentar-
ial literature, combined with a contemporary Tibetan Tantric tradition
being actively passed on by Tibetan monks and scholars, has tended to
diminish (though by no means eliminate) interest by many Indologists
in studying the original Sanskrit versions of the Buddhist tantras to
determine the interrelations of these texts prior to the development
of the Tibetan Tantric tradition (the difficulty of mastering Sanskrit
has no doubt contributed to this trend). Furthermore, the impressive
command of the material on the part of Tibetan Tantric adherents and
advocates can sometimes give the impression that Tibetan historiogra-
phy, classifications, and interpretations have a dogmatic status, even
for scholars.
Adding to the impressive bulk of the abundance of such classif-
icatory material has been the oft-repeated argument that as part of
a “living” tradition, the Tibetan Buddhists are uniquely qualified to
inform about the truth of the tradition, something that cannot be
gotten at by “outsiders.” This may all be true, yet it obscures the fact
that a fair number of Sanskrit Buddhist tantras survive in manuscript
form in India and in various European libraries, that the material these
texts contain is perhaps insufficiently familiar to many Indologists, and
that the Buddhist Tantric tradition grew up in the context of a devel-
oping Śaivite Tantric tradition. It appears that the surviving Sanskrit
tantric texts offer some helpful adumbrations that can broaden the
perspectives gained by scholarship based on the Tibetan Tantric tradi-
tion. This is only natural, since by going back to the original Sanskrit
sources we can only gain in our understanding of tantra.
Since the catalogues containing manuscript extracts of Buddhist
Sanskrit tantras are not that easily available (or at least were not in
1996), I’ve included transliterations of all the translated portions in the
endnotes. Most of the actual manuscripts of these Buddhist tantras are
themselves ancient, with several dating from the eleventh to twelfth
centuries (identifiable by colophon dates and script styles), and others
from the thirteenth century. These early dates for the manuscripts
(i.e., the fact that they may be “originals”) suggest that the material
in the texts was very likely not unduly corrupted by ignorant copyists
who may have misread the originals.
Furthermore, given that the manuscripts are so old, it is also very
likely that later generations of redactors of these texts did not have
the chance to modify the contents, consciously or unconsciously, to
suit the mores of their time and culture. We know this is a real prob-
lem with more recent work on tantras. It is not uncommon to find
that published editions of tantric texts in India either deliberately or
“accidentally” omit the most racy or contentious portions of the text.
Benoytosh Bhattacharyya frankly admitted doing so in his edition of the
Śaktisaṃgamatantra. I also found that the one published Sanskrit edition
of the Pradīpodyotana commentary on the Guhyasamāja “accidentally”
omits the page that would explain a sexual yoga practice mentioned in
the root text, and have found oddly coincidental missing portions of
the text in the published edition of the Śrīmālinīvijayottaratantra, typi-
cally in the middle of discussion of sexual yoga rites.
Similarly we find that in the “living” Nepali Tantric tradition, most
of the sexual and transgressive practices referred to in the older texts
have been reinterpreted in strictly symbolic fashion, or have been left
out altogether in more modern recensions of the text. A good exam-
ple of this trend can be seen in the public Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa worship in
Nepal. The original Sanskrit tantra contains in chapter 6 a detailed and
explicit section on sexual yoga practices that reads quite like a passage
out of a Kāma Śāstra text, complete with a variety of names and de-
scriptions of ratibandhas or styles of sexual coitus. It is not at all clear,
though, that such sexual yogas are still practiced in Nepal.
So it may be the case that from the relatively quiescent state of the
Sanskrit Buddhist tantras—many of the texts have in fact simply lain in
libraries for centuries—we may be able to gain a sharper picture of the
character of Buddhist tantric practice in India, in the Sanskrit culture, at
the close of the first millennium, prior to the onslaught of the Persian
invasions and the wholesale destruction of the Buddhist universities in
northern India. We have the chance, as it were, to see the texts shorn
of any later interpretive schemas or explanations that might tend to
soften or diminish what may have been perceived as objectionable as-
pects of the tradition. There are some limits: for the translations from
the catalogue extracts, I did not examine copies of the actual manu-
scripts, decipher the scripts (nor did I train on scripts), nor did I have
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a chance to go through the actual texts to gain a more comprehensive

picture. What I worked from here—except for the supplemental mate-
rial from extant English translations of Buddhist Sanskrit tantras—are
tables of contents, opening folios, closing folios and colophons, and oc-
casional long extracts from certain portions of the texts that the cata-
loguers found interesting. As mentioned above, given the scope of this
material, I did not have the opportunity to fully survey all catalogue
listings of Buddhist tantric Sanskrit manuscripts.
1. ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF SANSKRIT

BUDDHIST TANTRAS
A few of the Buddhist Sanskrit tantras have been translated into
English (considerably more since 1997), though most remain in their
original Sanskrit or in Tibetan translation from the early centuries of
the second millennium C.E. The Central University of Tibetan Studies
(formerly the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies) in Sar-
nath, India, under the directorship of Prof. Geshe Ngawang Samten
(formerly Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche), has in recent years published
Sanskrit editions of Buddhist tantric texts as part of its series of the
Durlabha Bauddha Granthamālā, i.e., Rare Buddhist Texts Series of the
Rare Buddhist Texts Research Project. Among these texts are the three
volumes of the Kālacakratantra and Vimalaprabhā (vols. 11, 12, and 13 of
this series, under Bibtioteca Indo-Tibetica Series XI). I will discuss the
Kālacakratantra and Vimalaprabhā in another publication).
Other texts in these series that are as yet untranslated are the
Jñānodaya Tantram of the Yoga Tantra class, a text apparently not trans-
lated into Tibetan but that survives in Sanskrit; this is a very short text
of only fourteen pages in the Sarnath edition.8 Another such text is the
Ḍākinījāla-saṃvara-rahasyaṃ by Anaṅgayogī, also a short Yoga Tantra
of only eleven pages in the Sarnath edition.9 A slightly longer text is
the Mahāmāya Tantra restored to Sanskrit from the Tibetan transla-
tion with Ratnākara Śānti’s Guṇavatī commentary (Rare Buddhist Texts
Series, vol. 10). This is still a fairly short text of seventy-three verses,
covering fifty-five relatively smallish pages in the Sarnath edition, in-
cluding the commentary and the sādhanas.10
David Snellgrove provided the first English translation of a Buddhist
tantra, the Hevajra Tantra, in 1959 (though he worked principally from
the Tibetan in comparison with the Sanskrit). This was followed in 1971
by an unpublished Ph.D. dissertation on the Guhyasamāja Tantra by
Francesca Fremantle, who also provided the Sanskrit and Tibetan texts
with an English translation. In 1974 Christopher George’s edition and
translation of the first eight chapters of the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra
was published, the same year that Shinichi Tsuda published his edition
and translation of selected chapters of the Sambarodaya Tantra. In 1976
William Stablein completed his dissertation on the Mahākāla Tantra at
Columbia University with a Sanskrit edition and English translation
of eight of the fifty chapters of this text,11 followed in 1977 by Alex
Wayman’s study of the Guhyasamājatantra; this included, however, only
translations of what he referred to as the forty Nidāna-kārikās and a
portion of the Pradīpodyotana. Tadeusz Skorupski provided complete
Sanskrit and Tibetan editions of the Sarvadurgati-pariśodhana Tantra
with an English translation in 1983.
Two recent doctoral dissertations on chapter 1 and chapter
2 of the Kālacakatantra and Vimalaprabhā have been done by John
Newman (1986) and Vesna Wallace (1995),12 respectively, and Vesna A.
Wallace has since published two complete translations of the second
and fourth chapters of the Kālacakratantra and Vimalaprabhā as part
of the Tanjur Translation Initiative, Treasury of Buddhist Science
series (The Kālacakratantra: The Chapter on the Individual Together with
the Vimalaprabhā [New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies,
Columbia University, co-published with Columbia University’s Center
for Buddhist Studies and Tibet House US, 2004]; and The Kālacakra
Tantra: The Chapter on Sādanā Together with the Vimalaprabhā Commentary
[New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia Uni-
versity, New York Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies
and Tibet House US, 2010]). David B. Gray also completed a translation
of the Cakrasamvara Tantra in the same series in 2007 (The Cakrasamvara
Tantra (The Discourse of Śrī Heruka) (Śrīherukābdhidhāna): A Study and
Annotated Translation [New York: American Institute of Buddhist
Studies, Columbia University, New York Columbia University Center
for Buddhist Studies and Tibet House US, 2007]).
2. CANONICAL CLASSIFICATIONS
OF BUDDHIST TANTRAS
A large body of Buddhist Sanskrit tantras was translated into Tibetan
around the turn of the first millennium C.E. The basic classification
system of these Buddhist tantras as maintained in the Tibetan tradi-
tion is into the Kriya, Caryā, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga Tantras, and their
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division into “father” and “mother” tantra groups.13 We find in the

text of the Kālacakra Tantra that the first and third of these were also
referred to as the Loka-Tantra (Kriyā-Tantra) and Lokottara-Tantra
(Yoga-Tantra); the Kālacakra is said to transcend both of these and is
called the Tantrottara or Tantra-rāja.14 Among the Anuttarayoga texts
are the Guhyasamāja, Cakrasaṃvara, Hevajra, and Kālacakra—these four
are perhaps the most well known of the group.
Tsukamoto, et al., in the volume on “The Buddhist Tantra” in De-
scriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, give a very help-
ful layout of how the Buddhist tantric texts fall into this classificatory
system. The Kriyā class includes the dhāraṇī collections,15 and the texts
of the Tathāgata-,16 Padma-,17 Vajra-,18 and Maṇi-kulas,19 and some
miscellaneous texts.20 These Japanese authors class both the Mañjuśrī-
mūlakalpa and the Siddhaikavīra-mahātantra in the Tathāgatakula Kriyā
Tantra group.21 Among the Padmakula Kriyātantras they class the Kāraṇ-
ḍavyūha nāma Mahāyānasūtraratnarāja.22 Among the Vajrakula Kriyā-
tantras they include the Bhūṭaḍāmara-mahātantra-rāja.23 The Caryā-
tantra group includes only the Vairocaṇa-abhisambodhi.24 The Yoga-tantra
group consists of twenty-eight texts, including the Tattvasaṃgraha, the
Nāma-saṃgīti, and the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana-tantra.25 They divide the
Anuttarayogatantra class into five groups. Group 1, the Upāya-/Mahāyoga-
tantra, includes the Guhyasamāja and Pañcakrama in the Akṣobhya-kula
and the Māyājāla and Kṛṣṇa-Yamāri in the Vairocana-kula.26 Group 2, the
Prajñā-/Yoginī-tantra, includes in the Heruka-kula, the Cakrasaṃvara,
the Abhidhānottara, the Vajraḍāka and the Ḍākārṇava, the Saṃvarodaya,
the Saṃpuṭodbhava, the Hevajra, the Buddhakapāla, and the Mahāmāyā.
The Vairocana-kula of this group includes the Catuṣpīṭha and the Caṇḍa-
mahāroṣaṇa. The Vajra-sūrya-kula consists of the Vajrāmṛtatantra. The
Padmanarteśvara-kula includes only the Śrībhagavatyārya-tārāyāḥ Kuru-
kullā-kalpa. The Paramāśva-kula includes the Mahākāla-tantra. There is
in the Vajradhara-kula something called the Khasamā nāma Tantra com-
mentary, with a few other texts, including a Śrīcaturviṃśatipīṭhatantra
in the general group.27 In the Yuganaddha-/Prajñā-Upāya-Advaya-Tantra
class we find the Kālacakratantra, including the Vimalaprabhā, the four
Sekoddeśa texts, the Ṣaḍaṅgayoga-tippaṇī Guṇabharaṇī by Raviśrī-jñāna-
pāda, Puṇḍarīka’s Paramārthasevā nāma Ṣaḍdarśana-avagracirā-tat[t]va-
avalokana-sevā, Abhayākaragupta’s Kālacakra-avatāra, and several other
texts.28
Another often-cited Buddhist tantric classification system is that
of the “Neither Father nor Mother Tantras,” the “Mother Tantras,”
and the “Father Tantras.” The Neither Father nor Mother Tantras (not
admitted by Tsong-kha pa), include the Nāmasaṃgīti and the Kālacakra.
The Mother Tantras are divided into six kulas (groups, clans, or fami-
lies): 1) Śākyamuni’s group, the Sarva-buddha-saṃyoga; 2) Heruka-
Akṣobhya’s clan, the Saṃvara, Hevajra, Buddhakapāla, Mahāmāya, and
Ārali; 3) Vairocana’s family, the Catuṣpīṭha and Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa; 4)
Ratnasambhava’s group, the Vajrāmṛta, Padmanarteśvara, Lokanātha, and
Tārā-Kurukullā; 5) Paramāśva-Amoghasiddhi’s group, the Namas Tāre
Ekaviṃśati, Vajrakīlaya, and Mahākāla; and 6) Vajradhara’s group, the
Yathālabdhakhasama. The Father Tantras are divided into six kulas: 1)
Akṣobhya’s Guhyasamāja and Vajrapāṇi, 2) Vairocana’s (Kṛṣṇa)-Yamāri,
3) The Ratna-kula (with no texts in the Tibetan canon), 4) The Padma-
kula of the Bhagavad-ekajaṭa, 5) The Karma-kula (with no texts in the
Tibetan canon), and 6) Vajradhara’s clan, with the Candra-guhya-tilaka.29
3. DATING THE SANSKRIT TEXTS

OF THE BUDDHIST TANTRAS
Dating the Buddhist tantras is difficult, particularly since many of
them may have been circulating in popular tantric cults prior to being
accepted into the Buddhist canon. I have already described above how
I used a combination of the Tibetan canonical citations of authors and
translators in combination with Naudou’s and other scholars’ histori-
cal research on the dates of the transmitters of the Buddhist canon
into Tibet to attempt to establish dates for the commentaries and
translations of the Sanskrit Buddhist tantric material. We also have
other helpful information, including Abhayākaragupta’s citations,
and we can begin to discuss some relative dating based on the texts
themselves.
3.1. Abhayākaragupta’s Vajrāvalī as a Dating Marker

The earliest canonical “digest” of Buddhist Sanskrit tantras that ap-
pears to have survived (it may be the earliest that was written) is the
Vajrāvalī nāma maṇḍalopāyikā (“Method of the Maṇḍalas known as the
Row [or Chain] of Vajras”) by Abhayākaragupta, late eleventh to early
twelfth centuries. As Chandra summarizes, “The Vajrāvali is a prac-
tical guide to all the preliminary rites preceding initiation into the
maṇḍala from the very laying of the foundations of a monastery where
the maṇḍala is to be drawn.”30 In this sense it is not as comprehen-
sive a text as Abhinavagupta’s, since the Tantrāloka covers all aspects
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of the Śaivite tantric theories and practices. Abayākaragupta was “a

prolific writer on Tantric dogmatics, liturgy and the maṇḍalas,” and
twenty-four of his works have been translated in the Tibetan canon.
He teamed up with Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan to translate the bulk of
the sādhanas from the Sādhanamālā into Tibetan, and he is often listed
in the colophons of the Tibetan translations simply as Abhaya.31 He
served as abbot of the Buddhist university Vikramaśīla (in Bodhgaya)
during the reign of the Pāla king Ramapāla (1084–1130 C.E.),32 and also
served for a while as abbot of Mahābodhi Monastery and Nālandā.33
In a long extract Śāstrī provides from the Vajrāvalī,34 Abhayākara-
gupta gives us the sources for his work: 1) Nāgabuddhipāda, 2) Niṣpan-
nayogāvalī (Abhayākaragupta’s own work), 3) Sampuṭatantra, 4) Ānanda-
garbha, 5) Ḍākinīvajrapañjara, 6) Vimalaprabhā, 7) Vajraḍākatantra,
8) Mañju-vajra-maṇḍalaṭippanī, 9) Tantrasaṃgraha, 10) Bhūtaḍāmara,
11) Kālacakra, 12) Trailokyavijayatantra, 13) Abhidhānottaratantra, 14)
Vajrāmṛtatantra, 15) Āmnāyamañjarī—Abhayākaragupta himself helped
translate the Āmnāyatantra into Tibetan; 16) Buddhakapāla-sambara-
hevajra, 17) Yoginī-sañcāra-tantra, 18) Śrī-[guhya]-samāja, and 19) Padma-
supratiṣṭhita tantra. The authorities cited by Abhayākaragupta also
include the following texts: 20) Sārdhatriśatikā, 25) Vajraśekharatantra,
26) Subāhu-paripṛcchā, 28) Siddhaikavīratantra, 29) Hevajra, and 30)
Sarṃvarodayābhisamayopāyikā.
I have examined a number of the texts cited by Abhayākaragupta
in the following discussion of surviving Buddhist Sanskrit tantras. Not
all of the texts he cites survive in Tibetan translation. While we might
attribute this to selectivity on the part of the Tibetan translators, it is
equally possible that the texts Abhayākara used were destroyed before
they could be translated. One of Abhayākaragupta’s many works is
the Kālacakrāvatāra, dated 1125 C.E.35 Another is a commentary on the
Buddhakapālatantra. This text cites as authorities, in addition to the
Rājavajrāvali, the Vajraśekharatantra, the Yoginītantra, the Hevajra, the
Śrīsampuṭatantra, and the Siddhaikavīratantra.36 Abhayākaragupta ap-
parently also wrote a commentary on the Sampuṭodbhavatantra, since he
mentions on leaf 2A of the Buddhakapālatantraṭīkā that he has discussed
a particular nidānavākya in detail in the Śrīsampuṭaṭīkā.37 Although
there is no proof for this, it seems a reasonable possibility that the
Ḍāka (Vajraḍāka-tantra) and the Ḍākinī (Ḍākinī-vajra-pañjara) texts men-
tioned by Abhayākaragupta as his sources for the Vajrāvalī may be the
texts, or derivative evolutions of the texts, referred to by Dharmakīrti
as the ḍākinī-tantras. We should also note here that Abhayākaragupta’s

text Vajrāvalī (“The Vajra Lineage”) was preceded by a Śaivite text en-
titled Śrīmad-Vīrāvalī-kula (“The Clan of the Hero Lineage”) cited by
Abhinavagupta in Tantrālokaḥ 6.74a.38
While we do not yet have a full Sanskrit edition of the Vajrāvalī
nāma Maṇḍalaupayikā,39 we have several extracts from the manuscript
in Shāstrī’s RASB Catalogue. The text opens as follows:
Homage to Śrī Vajrasattva. I praise the glorious lord of the clan, the
feet of the most memorable enemy of the māras and death; the fierce
one runs after [the māras] in [all] the directions; may the vajra-women
sing of the mountain of happiness. Bearing by the glorious vajra the
elements, with the world, in the majestic great maṇḍala, may this
Vajrāvalī assemble here the unimpedable with the greatness of fear-
lessness. May this [Vajrāvalī] that maintains the vajra outside of the
home be held in the heart by the vajra lineages; it upholds the light in
the form of the glorious vajra holder, banishing the final darkness.40
We know from the inclusion of the texts cited as sources in
Abhayākaragupta’s early twelfth-century work that they all predated
Abhaya, but this does not tell us a great deal about their earlier history.
In order to clarify some of this earlier history I have attempted, with
mixed results, to determine when the major Anuttarayoga Tantras
were translated into Tibetan, and when the major commentaries on
these texts were written. While the resultant tentative dates I give
here do not resolve the issue of the dates of origin of these texts, they
do at least give some indication of when the texts were in fact in the
canon, and when interest in them had increased to the point that they
were deemed worthy of commentaries.
Although we can only speculate, we should not necessarily pre-
sume that the date of a commentary indicates that the text was in the
canon for any particular amount of time prior to the time the commen-
tary was composed, as with the commonplace Indological assumption
of a century or more. Given that many of these texts were apparently
either accepted into the canon from the more popular tradition, or
may have been canonical rewrites of popular circulating texts, it is not
unreasonable to suppose that commentaries may have been written at
the same time that the texts were taken into the canon. After all, given
the potentially explosive nature of the contents of some of these texts
in terms of their sexual content and promotion of sensual indulgence
and magical practices, one might deduce that commentaries, which
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would help explain and contextualize such practices, were absolutely

necessary before the texts could be “canonized.”41
I have attempted in the following discussions of the Buddhist
Sanskrit tantric texts to put them in more or less chronological order
according to dates derived from the appearance of the first commen-
taries on these texts. As mentioned above, this dating information is
incomplete since Naudou’s dates are incomplete. I have found so far no
other source that provides dates for these early translations, though I
suspect there may be more information on dating in the Tibetan schol-
arship (both by Tibetans and Western scholars) of which I may not be
aware. Texts cannot be dated solely based on the time of their com-
mentaries, since commentaries often appear many centuries after the
original text is written (although, as mentioned above, this may not
be the case for all the Buddhist tantric commentaries). However, I do
not intend to suggest here that we can reliably date the original tan-
tras based on the dates of their translations or commentaries. Rather,
since it appears that most of the surviving Buddhist tantric commen-
taries were written within a relatively short period of time, from the
eighth to eleventh centuries. This tends to support indications that
there was a general trend of incorporating these tantras into the
Buddhist canon from the eighth century onward, and the simultane-
ous writing of commentaries on the original tantric texts by Buddhist
scholar-practitioners.
I would like to note here that I have no particular ideological or
partisan axe to grind as to when the Buddhist tantras did or did not
originally appear; I am simply working within modern methodologies
from what appears to be reliable historical evidence, based on what I
have found so far in my research and the work of other scholars. The
dates I have found are certainly subject to revision pending the dis-
covery of further evidence. From what I have found so far, the earliest
datable surviving commentaries on any of the Buddhist tantras appear
to be the few texts attributed to Padmasambhava—a difficult figure to
pin down historically, though probably from the eighth century—and
to Indrabhūti, another historically elusive character who appears to
have lived in the eighth or ninth centuries. The majority of the other
commentarial material on and translations of Buddhist tantric texts
surviving in the Tibetan canon appears to date from the ninth to elev-
enth centuries.
3.2. The Tantric Siddhas

Several of the famed tantric siddhas or adepts are credited in the
Tibetan catalogues with authorship or translations of Buddhist tantric
texts. Sāṅkrtyāyana gives us a geneaology of the siddhas from Saraha
to Naropa, taken from the Sa-skya Bka’-bum: “Saraha, (Nāgārjuna),
(Sabarapa), Luīpa, Dārikāpa, (Vajra-ghaṇṭāpa), Kūrmapā, Jālandharapā,
(Kaṃha(pā) Caryapā), Guhyapā (Vijayapa), Tilopa, Naropa.”42 The name
Śabarapa has an interesting resonance with Dharmakīrti’s remark that
even the Śabaras were making up their own mantras in the early sev-
enth century, though this resonance tells us nothing about Śabarapa’s
date. According to the Sa-skya Bka’-bum, Luīpa was a scribe to the em-
peror Dharmapāla (769–809 C.E.).43 The same source places Bhusukupa,
Ghaṇṭapa, and Gorakṣapa in Devapāla’s reign (809–849). Naropa is
placed during the reign of Mahāpāla (974–1026), along with Śāntipa.44
Keith Dowman, who has translated the tales of the Mahāsiddhas, con-
siders that with the exception of Indrabhūti they all lived in India
“within the Pāla and Sena period (AD 750–1200).”45 Their stories were
recorded by Abhayadatta Śrī, who may possibly be the same person as
Abhyākaragupta.46
3.3. Some Notes on the Relative Dating

of Buddhist Tantras
Over the long haul I think it will become possible to establish a rela-
tive dating of most of the tantras—Śaivite, Buddhist, and others—by
comparing the treatment of the different subjects we tend to find in
tantric texts, writing styles, sets of deities, details of the practices, etc.
The general principle for relative dating could be that as texts become
progressively more complex and contain progressively more detail, we
might assume that they are later, though this is by no means a neces-
sarily reliable assumption. While my own research is a long way from
having definitive information on relative dates of the texts, I offer a
few pointers worth mentioning that I think may lead us in the direc-
tion of relative dating.
We find the same opening line with only slight variations in
the Guhyasamāja, Hevqjra, Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa, Saṃvarodaya, and Sam-
puṭikātantrarāja: “Thus I have heard: at one time the Bhagavān resided
in the vulvas of the women who are the vajras of the body, speech and
mind of all the Tathāgatas” (evaṃ mayā śrutam ekasmin samaye bhagavān
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sarvva-tathāgata-kāya-vāk-citta-vajra-yonī-bhāgeṣu vijahāra |). However,

this is not the opening line in any of the other tantras discussed in
this essay (the Abhidhānottara is unclear). All of these texts open with
a prose passage as well, while the Kālacakratantra opens and is written
only in verse. In the Guhyasamāja many bodhisattva mahāsattvas47 ac-
company the Buddha Bhagavān, who enters a samādhi, then speaks. In
the Hevajra Vajragarbha responds after the Bhagavān speaks, without a
smile. In the Saṃvarodaya a few bodhisattvas are named, the Bhagavān
smiles on seeing Vajrapāṇi among them, and Vajrapāṇi then rises, puts
his garment over his right shoulder, kneels on his right knee, bows,
and asks for instruction. In the Saṃpuṭikātantra the Bhagavān smiles
upon seeing Vajragarbha among the host of 80,000, then Vajragarbha
rises, puts his garment over his right shoulder, kneels on his right
knee, bows, and asks for instruction, exactly as Vajapāṇi does in the
Saṃvarodaya. This same opening pattern appears in chapter 22 of the
Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa.
While I am uncertain what to make of these differences and simi-
larities for now, there certainly appears to be a textual typology that
suggests the possibility of historical, geographical, or cultic genres of
tantras that may or may not match up with the canonical classification
schemas. The notion comes to mind that there was a certain style of
beginning a tantra that may have been particular either to a certain
time, or to a certain geography or group of traditions. What is note-
worthy is that there are such styles, the styles are consistent in a small
group of texts, and the styles apparently changed over time, over dis-
tance, or among groups.
There appears to have been a developmental trend in the amount
of alchemical information in the tantras. As we will see below, the
Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa has a not overly long chapter on making gold.
The Guhyasamājatamra has only a very short section on medicinal/al-
chemical material—indeed the material corresponds more nearly to
Atharvaveda-style mantras for healing and magical purposes. We find
Āyurveda and Rasāyana mentioned in section 7 of the Saṃpuṭikā Tantra.
In the Kālacakra the Āyurveda and Rasāyana material is very detailed
and extensive.
A similar developmental trend might be noticed in the description
of sexual rites, though as with the alchemical material this could as
well be explained as a difference in local or regional emphasis, rather
than as a marker of temporal evolution. The description of the sexual
rites in the Guhyasamāja is rather subdued. In chapter 4, on the maṇḍala

of the secret body, speech, and thought (guhya-kāya-vāk-citta-maṇḍala-
paṭala), Vajradhara explains the delightful thought maṇḍala of all the
tathāgatas.48 The wise man49 is to lay this out with a thread. After he
has clearly understood the ultimate mind maṇḍala, he should carefully
make worship with offerings of his body, speech, and thought, then
coming together with a sixteen-year-old young lady, whose beauty is
truly radiant, he should adorn her with perfumes and flowers,50 and
then make love to her in the middle of the maṇḍala.51 Though medita-
tive aspects are added, consecrating her as Māmakī Prajñā, offering
feces, urine, semen, and blood to the deities, etc., no further descrip-
tion of the sexual rite is given.52 The sexual yoga rites are much more
explicitly detailed in the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa and the Kālacakra.
Another topic worth exploring for relative dating and geographic
identification is the mention of particular deities in the tantras. As
Pingree has remarked with regard to the Indian astronomical tradi-
tion, Indian thinkers have a predilection for keeping whatever they can
from the past and integrating new material with earlier systems. This
preference for continuity of ideas, symbols, and names in the Sanskrit
tradition may help us determine relative, if not absolute, dates in the
evolution of the Tantric tradition. In Kālacakratantra 5.91 we find the
names Ḍākinī and Viśvamātā added to the standard set of four deities
Locanā, Māmakī, Pāṇḍarā, and Tārā (or Tāriṇī). We do not find the first
two of these six goddesses in the Guhyasamājatantra. In the Kālacakra
there is a tendency to map buddhas and goddesses into earth, air, fire,
water, space, and the void, whereas at Guhyasamāja 17.51 we have a
mapping of Locanā to earth, Māmakī to water, Pāṇḍarā to fire, and
Tārā to air, with Vajradhara mapped to space, and no deity mapped
to the void. In the Hevajra I.i.31 these four are joined only by Cāṇḍalī.53
In another list at Hevajra II.iv.65 we have “all those goddesses, led by
Nairātmyā, with Locanā, Māmakī, Pāṇḍarā and Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, Cuṇḍā,
Parṇaśavarī, Ahomukhā and the rest, as numerous as the atoms in
Mount Meru. . . ,”54 again with no mention of Viśvamātā or Ḍākinī.
It is difficult to derive too much about the relationship of the texts
to each other at this stage. I merely wish to point out that by beginning
to compare the contents, style, and level of detail on different sub-
jects in the various tantras, we eventually should be able to determine
either relative dating, or the relative interests of the different cults in
particular subjects.
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4. THE TWO “EARLIEST”

BUDDHIST TANTRAS
There is a general consensus among scholars of the Buddhist tantras
that the two earliest texts of the tradition are the Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa
(AMMK) and the Guhyasamājatantra (GST) However, as alluded to above,
there were Ḍākinī and Bhaginī tantras circulating in Dharmakīrti’s time
that shared much of their contents with Hindu tantras of the same
period. So it may be that the AMMK and GST are simply the oldest sur-
viving Buddhist written texts that we have.
4.1. The Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa

Scholars generally designate the Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa (AMMK) as
the first or earliest Buddhist tantra. Both Bhattacharyya and Wayman
considered that the AMMK preceded the Guhyasamāja, though their
dating methods are not reliable. The AMMK was edited from a single
incomplete manuscript by Mahāmahopadhyāya T. Gaṇapati Śāstri in
the Trivandram Sanskrit Series, in an edition that has been repeat-
edly criticized by subsequent scholars who have attempted to use his
edition.55 He worked from a three hundred to four hundred-year-old
manuscript that was collected in 1909 from the Manalikkara Mathom
near Padmanabhapuram. The main problem with the text is the un-
grammatical Sanskrit, and this was one of the texts studied by Franklin
Edgerton in preparing his work on Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.56 Gaṇapati
Śāstrī prepared his readers with the following remark:
As the non-observance of the rules of Vyākaraṇa [grammar] in regard
to the gender, number and case, found throughout this work is be-
coming its sacred character, and as no second manuscript has been
obtained, the text in this edition is adopted exactly as it is found in
the original manuscript.57
It is difficult to get a sense of the date of Manjuśrīmūlakalpa, a rather
long text that has not been translated from the Sanskrit, without
reading it. The only published translation of any portion of the text I
have found is K. P. Jayaswal’s edition and translation of the fifty-third
chapter. Dr. Jayaswal re-edited Gaṇapati’s Sanskrit with the aid of the
Tibetan translation done by Kumārakalāśa and Śākya-blo-gros in 1060
C.E. The chapter is an imperial history of India beginning in 78 C.E. and
ending at the beginning of the Pāla dynasties. Accordingly, Jayaswal
assigns the text the reasonable date of c. 770–800 C.E.58 Although one
could assert that this chapter is a later addition and push back the date
of the written text, I consider that without having a full translation of
the text to compare with the other tantras, providing definitive evi-
dence of citations from it in reliably dated earlier literature, or using
other historically testable methods, we should tentatively settle on a
late eighth-century date for this text, pending further research.
The full name of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, as found in every chap-
ter colophon of the Sanskrit edition, is Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakā
Mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrā Ārya-mañjuśrīya-mūla-kalpā (“Ornament of
the Bodhisattva Basket, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya [Extensive] Sūtra,
the Basic Mantra Manual of the Glorious Mañjuśrī.”)59 (I have given
an English translation of the colophons to the fifty-five chapters as
well as the complete Sanskrit in the Appendix at the end of the essay.)
So we see that—provided our Sanskrit text has not been consistently
altered—the original Sanskrit of the work was considered a Vaipulya
sūtra, not a tantra, but by the time it was translated into Tibetan it
had come to be classed as a tantra. In fact the term tantra is only in one
chapter colophon (chapter 38), as part of a list of ritual practices.60 The
first chapter opens with:
Homage to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Thus have I heard. At
one time, at the top of the Pure Abode located in the vault of heaven,
the Bhagavān relaxed in the scope of the meeting-sphere wherein
were distributed an incomprehensible, miraculous, wonderful [num-
ber] of Bodhisattvas.61
The first two chapters lay out the attendant deities, bodhisattvas,
etc., in the maṇḍala, a very long list reminiscent of the beginning of
many Mahāyāna sūtras, and unlike most of the texts calling themselves
tantras. The chapters are composed in both verse and prose; the prose
sections typically begin the chapters (some are exclusively prose). It is
evident from the first seven chapters of the text that there is copious
description of maṇḍalic ritual procedures: 1) Sannipāta (the assembly),
2) [giving] instruction on the rules about the maṇḍala (maṇḍala-vidhi-
nirdeśa), 3) procedures with the maṇḍala (maṇḍala-vidhāna), 4) ritual
procedures (vidhāna), 5) ritual procedures (vidhāna), 6) ritual proce-
dures for the younger brother (kanyasa-paṭa-vidhānaḥ), 7) (no name).
Chapters 8–10 introduce the highest practice, method, and action
and the highest ritual procedure (uttama-sādhana-upayika-karma and
uttama-paṭa-vidhāna), suggesting an early version of the notion of anut-
tarayoga that defines the class of the most advanced Buddhist Sanskrit
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tantras. Chapter 11 suggests an elaborate ritual process with its title:

“the fourth long chapter on all the actions, rules, and procedures, i.e.,
the practice, method, action, position, mantra-recitation, disciplinary
rules, offering, meditation, ethical behavior” (sādhana-upayika-karma-
sthāna-japa-niyama-homa-dhyāna-śaucācāra-sarva-karma-vidhi-sādhana).
Chapters 12–16 include further ritual rules including those for akṣa-
sūtras, i.e., the “rosary” beads used for mantra recitation, and a chap-
ter on songs.
Chapters 17–19, 21, and 24 are on the rules for using astronomy in
the ritual; chapter 18 discusses the causes of suffering; and chapters
22–23 are on learning to understand the sounds of animals. Chapters
25–33 introduce the rites for making, painting, and using the ritual
image of the Single Indestructible Cakravartin Mañjuśrī, with restric-
tions about the time and place of practice. Chapters 34–37 introduce
the rules about the mudrā; it is not clear without translating the chap-
ters whether this refers to hand postures or consorts, although chap-
ter 38 refers to “all the rules of action for the consort, for the maṇḍalas,
and for the tantra (mudrā-maṇḍala-tantra-sarva-karma-vidhi).” Chapters
39–40 give the rules for meditation in the context of the ultimate prac-
tice (uttama-sādhana). Garuḍa makes an appearance in chapter 41, and
this and chapter 42 are devoted to all the ritual actions and practices.
Chapters 43–46 introduce us to the sexual yoga practices and deal
with “the Mahāmudrā as the means to the ultimate practice with all
activity” (sarva-karma-uttama-sādhana-upayikaḥ mahā-mudrā-paṭala-
visaraḥ) and related Mahāmudrā practices. Chapter 47 is “The first com-
plete long chapter for the one who will enter the most secret com-
munion—the maṇḍala of the four actual tantric consorts” (bhaginīs,
i.e., real women; literally, “women possessing vulvas”) (catur-bhaginā-
maṇḍalam anupraveśa-samaya-guhyatama); the use of the term samaya-
guhyatama, “the most secret communion” or “the most secret tantric
session (or group or society),” suggests a similarity with the title of
the Anuttarayogatantra, the Guhyasamāja, particularly since samāja and
samaya appear to be Sanskrit and Prakrit versions of the same word.
Chapter 48 is “The complete long chapter on the four young women,
[and] the subrule about entering the maṇḍala as the method of prac-
tice” (dvitīya-sādhana-upayika-maṇḍala-praveśa-anuvidhiś catuḥ-kumārya-
paṭala-visaraḥ). Chapter 49 is entitled “The chapter on all the activi-
ties with the consorts, the herbs, the tantras, and the mantras, and
the restrictions about recitation, and all the means that constitute the
method with the four young women” (catuḥ-kumārya-upayika-sarva-

sādhana-japa-niyama-mudrā-oṣadhi-tantra-mantra-sarvā-karma).
Chapters 50–52 describe rites for conjuring up the fierce deity
Yamāntaka; chapter 53 is the imperial history chapter discussed above;
chapter 54 is on praise and blame; and chapter 55 is an alchemical chap-
ter on the preparation of gold. From chapters 43–49 we have to conclude
that we do indeed have a tantric text in the Mañjitśrīmūlakalpa, though
I cannot say much more here without actually reading the chapters in
question, and as is seen from the pagination noted in the Appendix,
these chapters total a significant amount of Sanskrit and translating
them will take some time. As with chapter 55 of this text, we also find
alchemical practices in the fifth chapter of the Kālacakratantra.
There are eighty-nine texts in the Tibetan canon whose titles
begin with “Mañjuśrī.”62 Among these are the Manjuśrī-guhya-tantra-
maṇḍala-vidhi (2667), “The Maṇḍala rite for Mañjuśrī’s Secret Tantra”;
the Mañjuśrī-guhya-tantra-sādhana-sarva-karma-nidhi-nāma-ṭīkā. (2666),
“The Commentary called The Treasury of All the Actions in the Secret
Tantric Practice of Mañjuśrī”; and the forty-one texts of the Mañjuśrī-
nāmasaṃgīti cycle63—including, interestingly enough, a text called the
Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti-ṭikā-vimalaprabhā (1398), “The Stainless Light
Commentary on the Song of the Names of Mañjuśrī”; the latter part
of this title is the same used by Puṇḍarīka for his commentary on the
Kālacakratantra, in which the Ārya-Mañjuśrī-Nāmasaṃgīti is repeatedly
quoted in the fifth chapter. There are also the Mañjuśrī-karma-catuś-
cakra-guhya (838), “The Secret of the Four Cakras of the Mañjuśrī Cycle”;
and the Mañjuśrī-kumāra-bhūta-aṣṭaka-uttara-śataka-nāma-dhāraṇī-man-
tra-sahita (639, 879), “The Collection of Mantras Constituting the Dhāraṇī
called the One Hundred and Eight Names of Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.”
One curiosity is the text entitled the Mañjuśrī-vajra-bhairava-
nāma-stuti, “The Hymn to the Vajra-Bhairava Version of Mañjuśrī”
(Tohoku 2012, one folio), said to have been written by Las-kyi rgyal-
po.64 Bhairava is the fierce form of Śiva, who is also absorbed into the
Buddhist tantric tradition (we do not have clear information on when
or where or from what tradition the figure of Bhairava first appeared).
The original text is listed simply as the Ārya-mañjuśrī-tantra (ḥphags-pa
hjam-dpal-gyi rtsa-bahi rgyud) (Tohoku 543, 245 folios), said to have been
translated by Kumārakalaśa and Śākya blo-gros.65
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4.2. The Guhyasamājatantra

The earliest extant Buddhist tantra that calls itself a tantra is, by
common consent, the Guhyasamāja, “The Tantra of the Secret Con-
clave” or “The Tantra of the Esoteric Communion.”66 This text was
first published in 1931 by Bhattacharyya as Guhyasamājatantra or
Tathāgataguhyaka, vol. 53 of Gaekwad’s Oriental Series from Baroda.67
Francesca Fremantle later produced a new edition of the Sanskrit, col-
lated with the Tibetan, and an English translation of the first seven-
teen chapters, A Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra, as her Ph.D.
thesis for the University of London.68 The principal Sanskrit commen-
tary, the Pradīpodyotana by Candrakīrti, has since been published by
the Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute in Patna.69 According to
a list given by Śāstri in Bengali, and converted to the English alpha-
bet by Bhattacharyya, there are no less than sixteen Sanskrit com-
mentaries surviving in Tibetan translation, plus some thirty other
lost Sanskrit commentaries.70 In their introduction to the critical edi-
tion of Nāgārjuna’s Pañcakrama, Katsumi Mimaki and Toru Tomabechi
also refer to a new critical edition of the Guhyasamāja edited by Yukei
Matsunaga.71 I have not yet been able to examine this work.
Fremantle’s Sanskrit edition is based on Bhattacharyya’s and on
manuscripts from the British Museum, the Bibliothèque Nationale,
and Cambridge University. Bhattacharyya’s edition was based on man-
uscripts from the Cambridge University library, the Baroda Oriental
Institute, the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and the
Asiatic Society of Bengal. The latter is ms. 8070, no. 64, in Śāstrī’s cat-
alogue, where he writes that the original portion of the manuscript,
up to folio 46, “was written in beautiful Newari of the 11th century.”72
The Cambridge manuscripts are Add. 901, 1365, and 1617 in Bendall’s
catalogue.73
Unnoticed by either Bhattacharyya or Fremantle,74 or by Way-
man,75 is a catalogue listing by Śāstrī of a manuscript (ms. 10765, no.
18), apparently entitled Tathāgataguhyaka, “a very large work of the
Vaipulya class, hitherto unknown.”76 This is a fragmentary paper man-
uscript in seventeenth-century Newari script that originally totaled
eleven chapters. Śāstrī gives the surviving colophons from the third,
fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters, and
these suggest some prefiguring of later tantric doctrines, particularly
the reference in chapter 9 to the “turning of the circle of heros” (śūra-
valaya-parivartto-nāma navamaḥ), a term that seems to prefigure the
vīra-cakra term that comes to be used to refer to the group sexual rites
in tantric yoga; 3) the third chapter on the secret of the Tathāgata’s
body; 4) the fourth chapter on the secret of speech; 5) the fifth chap-
ter on the secret of thinking; 6) the sixth chapter teaching about the
transformation of the Tathāgata; 7) the seventh chapter on prophecy;
9) the ninth chapter called the circle of heroes; 10) the tenth chap-
ter on Ajātaśatru; 11) thus the eleventh chapter, the section teaching
about the transformation of the Tathāgata’s secret is completed.77 A
post-colophon dates the work to the siddhaya kājula solar day, the tenth
lunar day in the bright half of Caitra (April–May), in the year Saṃvat
224. Śāstrī adds that “it is impossible to explain the early date.”
There are two Saṃvat eras: the Indian Saṃvat that begins in 57
C.E. would place this text at 281 C.E.78 (an unlikely dating), while the
Nepali Saṃvat that begins 880 C.E. would place this manuscript at 1104
C.E., a more reasonable date for the manuscript. Although it is impos-
sible to say how old the manuscript might be without examining its
contents in detail, the contents do give the impression that the text
is a transitional Mahāyāna sutra—proto-tantra. Its self-classification
as a Vaipulya sūtra is in keeping with the same self-classification of
the Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa. Śāstrī gives a two-page excerpt from the
fourth chapter, where Vajrapāṇi-Guhyakādhipati and Bodhisattva
Śāntimati converse, and Vajrapāṇi explains the characteristics of the
Tathāgata’s, speech, including sixty forms of vocalized speech (loving,
pure, delighting the mind, etc.). The text most likely predates any tan-
tras, for a couple of reasons: there is no mention of tantras in lists of
the types of texts in which the Tathāgata’s speech is displayed, or of
ḍākas or ḍākinīs or yoginīs—characteristic deific beings in Buddhist tan-
tric texts—in a list of beings.
And in addition, Śāntimati, the Tathāgata’s speech displays all the
elements in the ten directions, and delights the abode of all beings,
yet the same is not the case for the Tathāgata himself; I am this
sūtra, or song (geya), or prophecy (vyākaraṇam), or gāthā, udāna,
itivṛtta, jātaka, vaipulya, adbhuta, dharmopadeśa, or logical examples
(dṛṣṭānta), or pūrvayoga, or avadāna, or ākhyāyika, or what should be
explained (ādeśayeyaṃ), or what should be taught (prajñāpayeyaṃ),
or what should be put aside (prasthāpayeyaṃ), or what should be
shared (vibhajeyaṃ), or what should be revealed (vivṛnuyeyaṃ), or
what should be promulgated (uttānīkuryyāṃ), or what should be il-
luminated (samprakāśayeyaṃ).
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In listing the assemblies (parṣat) gathered together with the Tathāgata,

there is a bhikṣuparṣad, a bhikṣuṇi, upāsaka, and upāsikā-parṣad, and a
parṣad of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras,
and mahoragas (great serpents).
Śāstrī concludes:
Hence a conjecture is hazarded here that this Vaipulya work is the
original Tathāgata Guhyaka and that the first book of Guhya Samāja
and sometimes the second also are called Tathāgata Guhyaka only by
an analogy.79
It may well be that the tradition of the Guhyasamājatantra grew
out this earlier Vaipulya tradition of the Tathāgataguhyaka, just as
many of the Upaniṣads derive their names from earlier schools of
Brāhmaṇas, Āraṇyakas, and Vedic saṃhitās.80 A thorough study of this
manuscript might shed some light on the historical origins of the
Guhyasamājatantra.81
Should Śāstrī’s suggestion prove to be correct, this would tend to
support Lokesh Candra’s conclusions from his analysis of the Chinese
tantric texts that the Vaipulya-class texts were the direct predecessors
to the named Buddhist tantras, a proposition supported (as mentioned
above) by the colophon evidence of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, which refers
to itself as a “Mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtra.” While those who hope to
demonstrate that the Buddhist tantras came first, predating the Hindu
tantras, might cite the Vaipulya evidence as “proof,” such an argument
is too facile. I think it instead demonstrates what one would reasonably
expect: that as tantric doctrines developed in India and were system-
atized by the different schools, it would have been natural for expo-
nents of the different schools to fit the material into the preexisting
structure of their own canonical traditions.
There are twenty-one Guhyasamāja texts in Tibetan translation in
the Tohoku Catalogue. One of these, a Śrī-guhya-samāja-maṇḍala-vidhi
(Tohoku 1810, 15 folios) is ascribed to the eighth- or ninth-century82
Nāgabodhi (Kluḥi byan-chub), whose writings are referred to by the
Kaśmīri Śaivite disciple of Vasugupta, Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa, himself dated to
the mid-ninth century during Avantivarman’s reign in Kaśmīr (855–
883 C.E.) by Kalhaṇa.83 This is a reliable bit of dating that places the
Guhyasamāja system no later than the ninth century. The Śrī-guhya-
samāja- texts are: 1) -tantra-nidāna-guru-upadeśana-vyākhyāna (Tohoku
1910, eight folios) by Sgeg-paḥi rdo-rje,84 2) -tantra-pañjika (Tohoku 1847,
163 folios) by Jina-? (Rgyal-bas byin), translated by Śāntibhadra (Shi-ba
bza’i-po) and Śes-rab ye-śes,85 3) -tantra-rāja-ṭīkā-candra-prabhā (Tohoku

1852, 119 folios) by Prajñākara/sambhava-varma/gupta (Rab-tu dgah-
baḥ hbyuṅ-gnas go-cha), translator unknown,86 4) -tantra-vivaraṇa
(Tohoku 1845, 83 folios) by Thagana, translated by Śraddhākaravarma
and Dharmaśrībhadra and Rin-chen bzan-po, 5) -tantrasya tantra-tīkā.
(Tohoku 1784, 324 folios) by Klu-sgrub, translated by Mantrakāla and
Gshon-nu bum-pa,87 5) Śrīguhyasamāja-pañjikā (Tohoku 1917, 80 folios)
by the pre-mid–tenth-century Ānandagarbha (Kun-dgal? Sñiṅ-po),
translated by Vijayaśrīdhara and Rin-chen bzaṅ-po and revised by
Śraddhākaravarman,88 6) -mañjuśrī-sādhana (Tohoku 1880, ten folios) by
Vijñānavajra (Rnam-par snan-mdsad rdo-ije), translated by Puṇyaśrī
and Gyuṅ-druṅ ḥod,89 7) –maṇḍala-deva-kāya-stotra (Tohoku 1828, three
folios) by Mi-gnas rdo-rje, translated by Śraddhākaravarma and Rin-
chen bzaṅ-po,90 8) –maṇḍala-viṃśati-vidhi (Tohoku 1810, 14 folios) by
Kluhi byang-chub,91 9, 10, 11) –maṇḍala-vidhi (Tohoku 1798, 20 folios) by
Nāgārjuna (Klu-sgrub), translated in the eleventh century by Subhāṣita
and Rin-chen bzan-po,92 (Tohoku 1810, 15 folios) by93 Nāgabodhi (Kluḥi
byaṅ-chub) (eighth or ninth century), whose writings are referred
to by the Kaśmīri Śaivite disciple of Vasugupta, Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa, him-
self dated to the mid–ninth-century during Avantivarman’s reign in
Kaśmīr (855–883 C.E.) by Kalhaṇa94—translated by Tilakakalaśa and Pha-
tshab Nyi-ma grags,95 (Tohoku 1865, 18 folios) by Atīśa (Mar-me-mdsad
bzaṅ-po), translated in the eleventh century by Padmākaravarma and
Rin-chen bzan-po,96 12) –maṇḍala-vidhi-ṭīkā (Tchoku 1871, 71 folios)
by Vitapāda, translated by Kalamaguhya and Ye-śes rgyal-mtshan,97
13) –maṇḍala-sādhana-ṭīkā (Tohoku 1873, 40 folios) by Vitapāda, trans-
lated by Kamalaguhya and Ye-śes rgyal-mtshan,98 14) –mahā-yoga-
tantra-bali-vidhi (Tohoku 1824, two folios) by Śāntadeva, translated by
Śāntadeva and Ḥgos lo-tsa-ba,99 15) –mahā-yoga-tantra-utpāda-krama-
sādhana-sūtra-melāpaka (Tohoku 1797, four folios) by Nāgārjuna (Klu-
sgrub), translated in the eleventh century by Dharmaśrībhadra and
Rin-chen bzaṅ-po,100 16) –lokeśvara-sādhana (Tohoku 1892, two folios)
by Atīśa (Mar-me-mdsad ye-śes), translated by Atīśa (Mar-me-mdsad
ye-śes) and Rin-chen bzaṅ-po, 17) -sahaja-sādhana (Tohoku 1613), 18)
-sādhana-siddhi-saṃbhava-vidhi (Tohoku 1874, 68 folios) by Vitapāda,
translated by Kamalaguhya and Ye-śes rgyal-mtshan,101 19) -stotra
(Tohoku 1894, one folio) by Atīśa (Mar-me-mdsad ye-śes), translated by
Atīśa (Mar-me-mdsad ye-śes) and Rin-chen bzaṅ-po,102 20) -abhisamaya-
nāma-sādhana (Tohoku 1881, 16 folios) by Piṇḍdapa (Bsod-snyoms-pa),
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translated by Sraddhākaravarman and Rin-chen bzaṅ-po,103 21) –

alaṃkāra (Tohoku 1848, 152 folios) by Vimalagupta (Dri-med sbas pa)
or Candraprabhā (Zla-baḥi bod), and Rin-chen rdo-rje myu-gu, trans-
lated by Sunyāyaśrīmitra and Dar-ma grags.104
5. UNPUBLISHED SECTIONS
OF PUBLISHED TANTRAS
I have found by searching through the catalogues of Sanskrit tantric
manuscripts that there are extant in Sanskrit considerable portions
of some of the major Anuttarayogatantras in addition to what has al-
ready been published on these texts. This material includes Sanskrit
commentaries and, for two of the three texts in this section, several
chapters that have not yet been either published or translated. I have
therefore translated the extracts from these chapters, which give us a
much fuller idea of the material in the texts.
5.1. The Cakrasaṃvara Tantra

Shinichi Tsuda translated nineteen of the thirty-three chapters of the
Cakrasaṃvara or Saṃvarodayatantra (also known as the Heruka Tantra) in
his Ph.D. thesis published in 1974. He worked from eight Sanskrit man-
uscripts, five from the University of Tokyo, one each from Paris and
London, and one from the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, and included
the Sanskrit for his nineteen chapters with the Tibetan (he translated
chapters 2–10, 13, 17–19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 31, and 33). According to Tsuda,
there are two extant Sanskrit commentaries, the Saṃvarodayatantrasya
pañjikāvyākhyā (by Ratnarakṣitā, the only commentary preserved
in Tibetan) and the Saṃvarodayatantrasya ūnaviṃśatipaṭalavyākhyā.
Kṣāntiśrī’s Sādhanā, (commenting principally on the thirteenth chap-
ter) apparently exists only in Chinese.105 Tsuda makes several explicit
claims about the text. First is the “supposition that the author of the
Saṃvarodaya-tantra did intend to write correct Sanskrit” yet “gave pri-
ority to the meter.” This is based on the grammatically correct read-
ings in the oldest manuscript he used, from 1595 C.E. (Tokyo University,
ms. A.).106 In contrast to Snellgrove’s primary reliance on the Tibetan
text and commentaries to ascertain the sense of the Sanskrit, Tsuda
argued that
the Sanskrit manuscripts are the chief authority, and that the Tibetan
version and the commentaries are to be treated as of a subsidiary
nature with the understanding that they should actually be more
reliable. In the case of the Saṃvarodaya we have obtained the impres-

sion that the Tibetan translation and the commentaries are not in
themselves sufficient to provide us with a satisfactory version of the
whole work. . . . The Tibetan translation of the Saṃvarodaya is as un-
reliable as that (i.e. the Tibetan translation) of Hevajra.107
Tsuda translates the title Saṃvarodaya as “Arising of the Supreme
Pleasure.”108 After a long discussion of what he considers an erroneous
classification as a bśad rgyud, or explanatory tantra, and the assertion
that the Saṃvarodaya could equally well be considered a mūla-tantra,
Tsuda concludes “we must be content with the bare fact that some
mutual relation exists between the Laghusaṃvara, the Saṃvarodaya
and the Abhidhānottara which, apart from the Yoginīsañcāra, can also be
taken as a mūla-tantra.”109 Tsuda notes that the bsTan ḥgyur commen-
taries on the Saṃvara or Cakrasaṃvara are really commentaries on the
Laghusaṃvaratantra.110 We also have an edition from the Tibetan with
an English translation of the first seven chapters of the Laghusaṃvara,
entitled Śrīchakrasambhara Tantra by its editor Kazi Dawa-Samdup.111
There is a considerable body of literature from this tradition in
Tibetan translation. The earliest work we have on the Cakrasaṃvara is
the Śrī-Cakrasaṃvara-tantra-rāja-saṃvara-samuccaya-nāma-vṛtti (Tohoku
1413, 118 folios) by Indrabhūti, who dates perhaps to the early eighth
century,112 translator unknown;113 this would appear to be among the
oldest extant Buddhist tantric texts. We also have another long com-
mentary on the text, the Śrī-Cakrasaṃvara-sādhana-sarva-śula-nāma-ṭīkā
(Tohoku 1407, 87 folios) apparently by the ninth-century114 king Deva-
pāla (? Lhas sbas), translator unknown;115 and several works by the
Mahāsiddhas, Naropa, and his collaborators. The other literature in
Tibetan translation includes: 1) Śrī-cakra-sambara-homa-vidhi (Tohoku
1537, five folios) by Kṛṣṇa-pāda (Nag-po), translated in the fourteenth
century by Dharmaśrībhadra116 and Rig-pa gshon-nu;117 2) Śrī-cakra-
sambara-udaya-nāma-maṇḍala-vidhi (Tohoku 1538, 33 folios) by Dbu-pa
blo-ldan, translator unknown;118 3) Śrī-Cakrasaṃvara-(?)-garbha-tattva-
siddhi (Tohoku 1456, one folio) by the Mahāsiddha Jalandhara, transla-
tor unknown;119 4) Tattva-garbha-saṃgraha (Tohoku 1505, one folio) by
Kusali-pa, translated by Ngag-gi-dbang-phyug and Mar-pa Chos-kyi-
dbaṅ-phug;120 5) -tattva-upadeśa (Tohoku 1507, one folio) by Kusali-pa,
translated by Bhadrabodhi and Mar-pa Chos-kyi-dbaṅ-phyug;121 6)
-trayodaśa-ātmaka-abhiṣeka-vidhi (Tohoku 1486, 10 folios) by the elev-
enth-century Advayavajra (Gnyis-med rdo-rje), translated by Jñānavajra
and Shan shun;122 7) -nāma-śatāṣṭaka-stotra (Tohoku 1425, one folio),
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author and translator unknown;123 8) -pañca-krama (Tohoku 1433, three

folios) by the Mahāsiddha Vajragaṇṭha (Rdo-rje dril-bu), translated by
Kṛṣṇa-pa (perhaps the guardian of the southern door of Nālandā when
Naropa arrived)124 and Tshul-khrims rgyal-ba;125 9) -pañca-krama-vṛtti
(Tohoku 1435, six folios) by Vajraghaṇṭa (Rdo-rje dril-bu pa), trans-
lated by Sumatikīrti and Mar-pa Chos-kyi-dban-phyug;126 10) –pañjikā
(Tohoku 1403, 105 folios) by Bhavabhadra, translated by Mi mnyam
rdo-rje and Rin-chen grags;127 11) –pañjikā-sāra-manojñā (Tohoku 1405,
40 folios) by (the tenth-century?) Bhavyakīrti (Skal-ldan grags-pa),128
translated in the early eleventh century by Dharmaśrībhadra and Rin-
chen bzan-pa;129 12) –bahiṣ-pūjā-vidhi (Tohoku 1466, one folio) by the
eleventh-century disciple of Naropa, Prajñārakṣita,130 translated in the
late eleventh to early twelfth centuries by Sumatikīrti131 and Blo-ldan
śes-rab;132 13) –maṇḍala-deva-gaṇa-stotra (Tohoku 1531, one folio) by the
latter tenth-century Kaśmīri Ratnavajra (Rin-chen rdo-rje), translated
in the eleventh century by Mahājñāna and Mar pa Chos-kyi dban-ph-
yug;133 14) –maṇḍala-maṅgala-gāthā (Tohoku 1479, one folio) by the latter
tenth-century Kaśmīri Ratnavajra (Rin-chen rdo-rje), translated in the
early twelfth century by Tārākalaśu and Abhayākaragupta’s collabora-
tor Tshul-khrims rgyal-ba;134 15 and 16) –maṇḍala-vidhi (Tohoku 1469,
13 folios) by the eleventh-century disciple of Nāropā Prajñārakṣita,
translated in the late eleventh to early twelfth centuries by Sumatikīrti
and Blo-ldan śes-rab;135 and (Tohoku 1477, 36 folios) by Vijayabhadra
(this appears to be the same person sometimes called Bhadrapada or
Vijayapada, a pupil of the eleventh-century contemporary of Naropa,
Kṛṣṇa-pada,136 called here in the canon Rgyal-ba bzaṅ-po), trans-
lated by Ḥjam-dpal and Ba-ri;137 17) –maṇḍala-vidhi-tattva-avatāra
(Tohoku 1430, 16 folios) by the twelfth-century Darika-pa,138 trans-
lated by Kumāravajra and Nyi-ma rdo-je;139 18) –maṇḍala-vidhi-ratna-
pradīpoddyota (Tohoku 1444, 22 folios) by Lwa-ba-pa, translated in the
eleventh century by Sumatikīrti and Mar-pa chos-kyi-dban-phyug;140
19) –maṇḍala-stotra (Tohoku 1530, three folios) by Śūrakalaśa (= mid–
twelfth-century Tilakakalaśa or Ālaṅkārakalaśa (?)141 and Bsod-nams
bzaṅ-po;142 20) -mūla-tantra-pañjikā, (Tohoku 1406, 28 folios) by Laṅka
Vijayabhadra (this appears to be the same person sometimes called
Bhadrapāda or Vijayapāda, a pupil of the late eleventh-century con-
temporary of Naropa, Kṛṣṇa-pāda,143 called here in the canon Rgyal-ba
bzaṅ-po), translator unknown;144 21) -balividhi (Tohoku 1467, two folios)
by the eleventh-century Prajñārakṣita, translated by Sumatikīrti and
Blo-ldan ses-rab;145 22) -ṣeka-kriyā-krama (Tohoku 1470, 10 folios) by

Nityavajra (? Rtag-pahi rdo-rje), translated by Dharmaśrībhadra and
Bu-ston;146 23) -ṣeka-prakriya-upadeśa (Tohoku 1431, three folios) by the
Mahāsiddha Vajraghaṇṭita (Rdo-rje dril-bu), translated by Kṛṣṇa-pa
and Chos-kyi śes-rab;147 24) -sahaja-tattva-āloka (Tohoku 1504, one folio)
by Dpag-med rdo-rje, translated by Dīpaṅkararakṣita;148 25, 26, and 27),
-sādhana (Tohoku 1432, two folios) by Vajraghaṇṭa (Rdo-rje dril-bu-pa),
translated by Prajñābhadra and Blo-gros grags;149 (Tohoku 1445, four
folios), author and translators unknown, (Tohoku 1491, two folios) by
Mar-me-mdsad ye-śes, translated by Atiśa (Mar-me-mdsad ye-śes) and
Rin-chen bzaṅ-po;150 28) -sādhana-tattva-saṃgraha (Tohoku 1429, six
folios) by the twelfth-century Dārika-pa, translated by Kumāraravajra
and Advayavajra (Nyis-ma rdo-rje);151 29) -sādhana-triṃśikā-pada-
paddhati (Tohoku 1488, two folios) by Sprin-gyi bshon-paḥi ḥla, trans-
lated by Dharmapālabhadra;152 30) -sādhana-ratna-pradīpa (Tohoku
1484, five folios) by Maitri-pa, translated by Vajrapāṇi and Ba-reg
thos-pa-dgaḥ;153 31) -sādhana-sarva-śāla-nāma-ṭīkā (Tohoku 1407, 87
folios) by the ninth-century154 king Deva-pāla (? Lhas sbas), translator
unknown;155 32) -sādhana-amṛta-kṣara (Tohoku 1462, 13 folios) by King
Vimalacandra (Mi-thib zla-ba), translator unknown;156 33) –supratiṣṭhā
(Tohoku 1487, five folios) by the eleventh-century Advayavajra (Gnyis-
med rdo-rje), translated by Vajrapāṇi and Rma-ban chos-ḥbar;157 34,
35, and 36) -stotra (Tohoku 1440, one folio) by Indrabhūti, translator
uknown,158 (Tohoku 1520, one folio) by Maitri/Advayavajra (eleventh
century),159 (Tohoku 1532, 2 folios) by the latter tenth-century Kaśmīri
Ratnavajra (Rin-chen rdo-rje), translated by Mahājñāna and Mar-pa
Chos-kyi dban-phyug;160 37) -stotra-sarva-artha-siddhi-viśuddhi-cūḍā-
maṇi (Tohoku 1423, four folios) by the twelfth-century Dārika, trans-
lated by the Kaśmīri Dharmavajra and Rgya Brtson ḥgrus sen-ge;161
38) -hasta-pūjā-vidhi (1468, one folio) by Prajñārakṣita, translated by
Sumatikīrti and Blo-ldan śes-rab;162 39) -homa-vidhi (1447, six folios) by
Kṛṣṇa-pāda (Nag-po), translated by Dharmabhadra and Rig-pa gshon-
nu;163 40) -advaita-dhyāna-upadeśa-yoga-caṇḍālī (Tohoku 1508, one folio)
by Dge-baḥ mgon-po, translated by the Nepali Vagīśvara and Mar-pa
Chos-kyi dban-phyug;164 41) -abhisamaya (Tohoku 1498, seven folios) by
Abhayākaragupta, translated by Abhayākara and Śes-rab-dpal;165 41)
-eka-vīra-sādhana (Tohoku 1536, four folios) by Maṇikaśrī, translated
by Sumatikīrti and Prajñākīrti;166 and 43) -upadeśa (Tohoku 1485, four
folios) by Gnyis-med rdo-rje, translated by Varendraruci and Rma-ban
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chos-ḥjar.167 The Saṃvarodayābhisamayopāyikā168 is among the texts

cited by Abhayākaragupta.
Manuscript HI.365 A in Shāstrā’s Durbar Library Catalogue of
Sanskrit manuscripts is a short, 700-śloka commentary in twenty-six
folios on the Cakrasaṃvara by Jayabhadraḥ. Though of uncertain date,
the manuscript is in transitional Gupta characters. Śāstrī writes that
“the commentator Jayabhadra seems to have been an immigrant from
Ceylon, though the verse in which he is described is very obscure, and
many of the letters have almost been effaced.” This information is
based on part of the colophon: “this work was produced by a Sinhalese
born in Śrītaṅka, known by the name Jayabhadra. May the heroic
ḍākiṇīs grant peace.”169 The text opens with:
Salutation to Heruka, the pinnacle of the intrinsic existence of all
beings, who removes the fear of all beings, who appears as all beings,
engendering all beings. Homage to him the Mahāvīram, who has infi-
nite capacity, spotless like the sky.170
Glossing the use of the term cakrasambaram in the root tantra, Jaya-
bhadra tells us it refers to the tantras of Śrīheruka, Vajravārāhi, etc.171
The catalogue of the Asiatic Society of Bengal lists two Sanskrit
manuscripts of the Heruka Tantra (Sambarodaya), nos. 59 (in 82 folios,
fresh and complete) and 60 (only nine folios, in fourteenth-century
Newari script). The text in 1,600 ślokās purports to be an extract of
the 300,000-verse Heruka Tantra. Shāstri’s placing of the text at no. 59
indicates that he considered it a relatively early tantra (he notes in the
preface that he attempted a chronological ordering of the manuscripts
in the catalogue).172 The standard opening is found: evaṃ mayā śrutam,
ekasmin samaye bhagavān sarva-tathāgata-kāya-vāk-citta-vajra-yoginī-
bhageṣu vijahāra |, the same line that opens the Guhyasamājatantra173
and the Hevajratantra,174 though not the Kālacakratantra. In addition,
the Cakrasaṃvara, Guhyasamāja, and Hevajra all begin in prose, while
the Kālacakratantra is in verse (though Puṇḍarīka’s commentary is in
prose). Of the three earlier tantras, the Cakrasaṃvara is the longest,
in thirty-three chapters. The Guhyasamāja is complete in seventeen or
eighteen chapters, and the Hevajra is rather shorter, in two chapters of
ten and eleven fairly short sections each.
Since the Sanskrit of the remaining chapters of the Cakrasaṃvara
or Sambarodaya have not been published, the following is a translation
of the opening lines from Shāstri’s catalogue, and the table of contents
from all the chapter colophons:
Oṃ homage to the glorious Vajrasambara. Thus was it heard by me.

At one time the lord dwelt in the vaginas of the lightning yoginīs
of the body, speech, and thought of all the Tathāgatas. Together
with preeminent passionless ones, beginning with Āryya Ānanda,
Avalokiteśvara, etc. and the 800,000 yoginīs [were present]; seeing
Vajrapāṇi in [their] midst, [the lord] smiled. Vajrapāṇi, arising from
his seat, putting his upper garment on one shoulder, placing the
maṇḍola of his right knee on the ground, joining his hands together in
homage, addressed the lord: “I would like to hear, O Lord, a descrip-
tion of Utpattiyoga; and how, O Lord, is the one Saṃbara of universal
form arisen? How is there wind and water, earth, space, and [fire]?
How is there the five forms, O Deva, and then the sixfold, Prabho?
How are the three bodies established externally, and established in-
ternally? You must explain how your goddess has the form of a god,
Prabho. How is there the sun and the moon, Deva, and how is there
the five paths? And what is the intrinsic nature of your body, and
what is the form of the channels? What is the extent of the channels,
and what [is the extent] of the physical body?175 You must explain to
me, Prabho, about the cchoma that is the sign of the community,176
what are the internal and external signs of your pilgrimage sites, how
[does one] attain the stages, etc., and what is the explanation of the
cause? What are your twelve actions, and how is mantra recitation
[performed]? What is the string of akṣa [beads], the practice, and your
description of the recitation? What is your maṇḍala, [its] turning, and
the form of the divinities? What is the siddhi-mantra, and how does
one satisfy the young lady? How is your divine service performed,
and what are the voweis and consonants? What are the five nectars,
Deva, and the five goads? You must explain how to draw the maṇḍala,
and the measuring line. How is your ground purified, and what is
the protection cakra? With what [sort of] teacher is this done, and
how does the student recognize him? What is your consecration,
its extent, and the fourth? What is the rule about time, and [how]
does one cheat death? What is your mark of the four ages, and what
are the four continents? What is siddhi in each age, and what are the
teachers and the practices? What are your yoginītantras and yogatan-
tras? What is the extent of your sūtra literature and the perfection
[of wisdom literature]? What is the siddhi-mantra of the foundational
homa sacrifice? What is the [alchemical] elixir, Deva, and what is the
alcoholic drink? What is the arisal of the mantras, Deva, and what is
the extraction of the mantras? What is the punishment, Deva, and
what is the reward?
What are the principles, Lord, and what is voidness, and compassion?
What is the intrinsic nature of the void, and what is the intrinsic
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nature of reality? What is the form of the deity, the name, and the
line [on the body] characteristic of the yoginīs? You must explain,
Prabho, the knowledge of all the properties of the states of being.177
TABLE OF CONTENTS:178
(I have boldfaced the chapter titles not included in Tsuda’s edition.)
Chapter 1. Requesting instruction on the Śrīsambarodayatantra.
Chapter 2. Instruction about the origin.179
Chapter 3. Instruction on the sequence of completion.180
Chapter 4. Purification of the deities of the four elements,
the five forms, and the six [sense] realms.181
Chapter 5. Instruction on the course of the moon and the sun.182
Chapter 6. Instruction on the five paths.183
Chapter 7. The means [using] the sequence of the array of channels.184
Chapter 8. Rules for the meeting place of the samaya.185
Chapter 9. Explanation of the secret signs and the places appointed
for meeting [such as] pīṭha [and so on].186
Chapter 10. The chapter called the advance and arising of karma.
Chapter 11. The instruction about mantra recitation.
Chapter 12. The instruction about the mantra recitation rosary.
Chapter 13. The arising of Śrī Heruka.
Chapter 14. The rule for the worship of the lightning yoginī.
Chapter 15: The instruction about the characteristics of the
drinking vessel (pātralakṣaṇa).
Chapter 16. The instruction on the practice with the five nectars.
Chapter 17. The instruction describing the rules for laying out
the maṇḍala.
Chapter 18. The initiation.
Chapter 19: The yoga of departure showing the constructed nature
of death.
Chapter 20. The instruction about the four ages.
Chapter 21. The instruction on the vows of practice.
Chapter 22. The rule for the residence of the deities.
Chapter 23. The instruction about homa.
Chapter 24. The instruction on the use of herbs for the
advancement of karma.
Chapter 25. The rule about elixirs.
Chapter 26. The instruction about alcoholic beverages.
Chapter 27. The rule about the extraction of mantras.
Chapter 28. The rule about homa.
Chapter 29. The instruction about the principles.

Chapter 30. The instruction about the characteristics of the
multicolored, etc., forms.
Chapter 31. The advancement of the bodhicitta and the sequence
of instruction about the four yoginīs.
Chapter 32. The instruction about offering the oblation.
Chapter 33. The section on innate arising extracted from the
300,000 [verses] In the royal tantra called Śrīheruka perfecting
the recitation of the secret of all the yoginīs.187
5.2. The Hevajratantra

The first Buddhist Sanskrit tantra translated into English was the
Hevajratantra by David Snellgrove, formerly of the University of
London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. His complete trans-
lation of a Buddhist tantra and commentary (the Yogaratnamālā by
Kaṇha) in many ways established a paradigm for work in Buddhist
tantra by his reliance on the Tibetan translations of the text and Indian
commentaries as his “chief guides” to elucidate the surviving Sanskrit
text.188 As he puts it more explicitly, “A Tibetan translation of a text
and a commentary, let alone five commentaries or more, is of far more
value for understanding a work than the Sanskrit manuscript alone.
It is on these translations that I have largely relied.”189 Snellgrove de-
duces that the Hevajratantra existed “in its present form towards the
end of the eighth century,” based largely on Tāranātha’s statement
that Kaṇha was a contemporary of Devapāla, an early ninth-century
king.190 How long the Hevajratantra preexisted this date in oral tradi-
tion is hard to say.
The formal title of the text is the Śrī-hevajra-ḍākiṇī-jāla-saṃvara-
mahātantrarāja. Snellgrove used a good Sanskrit manuscript of the
Yogaratnamālā in the Cambridge University library. The earliest com-
mentary in Sanskrit appears to have been the Hevajrapañjikā by Śrī
Kamalanāth, whom Snellgrove identifies with Kampala, the originator
of the Hevajratantra along with Saroruha. A complete Sanskrit version
in twenty-three folios survived in the private Library of Field Marshal
Kaisher Shamshser in Kathmandu, though Snellgrove did not have time
to translate it, and as far as I am aware no one else has since done so (I
do not know whether this commentary still exists). Another Sanskrit
commentary by Vairocana survives in Kathmandu’s Bir Library.191
Göttingen’s library has a manuscript of the Hevajrasādhanopāyikā of
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Ratnākaraśānti, collected from Phyag dpe lha khang in Sa skya Tibet

in a 1936 expedition.192 In Shāstri’s catalogue of the Durbar library
we also find a Yogaratnamālā or Hevajrapañjikā manuscript in transi-
tional Gupta characters, though it is incomplete.193 More recently, G.
W. Farrow and I. Menon have retranslated both the Hevajratantra and
the Yogaratnamālā, providing an edited version based on four Sanskrit
manuscripts of the former, and two of the latter, in careful consulta-
tion with Snellgrove’s edition.194 This text is in some respects an im-
provement over Snellgrove’s, as the Yogaramamālā glosses are given
with each verse. Unfortunately I was not able to locate any manuscript
extracts of the unpublished Hevajra commentaries in the catalogues I
consulted.
The Hevajra has a substantial literature, with twenty-six works pre-
served in the Tibetan canon. The text was translated into Chinese in the
eleventh century by Fa-hu, though this is a much later date than when
the text seems to have first been incorporated into the Buddhist canon
in India, and the text is generally considered to be among the earliest
Anuttarayogatantras. One of the surviving commentaries was written by
Jalandha ri-pa, one of the Mahāsiddhas (see no. 23 below). The Tibetan
translations include: 1) Hevajra-krama-kuru-kulle-sādhana (Tohoku
3568, one folio) translated by Grags-pa rgyal-mtshan; 2) Hevajra-tantra-
pañjikā-padmin (Tohoku 1181, 47 folios) by Mtsho-skyes, translated by
Kjitigarbha and Khu-ston dnos-grub; 3) Hevajra-tantra-rājā (Tohoku
417, 12 folios) translator unknown; 4, 5, and 6) Hevajra-vibhuja-sādhana
(Tohoku 1235, one folio) by Vajralala, translator unknown; (Tohoku
1271, two folios) by Tārāśrī, translated by Sumatikīrti and Mar-pa
Chos dbaṅ; (Tohoku 1276, two folios) translated by Sumatiśrībhadra
and Śākya ḥod-zer; 7) Hevajra-nāma-mahā-tantra-rāja-dvi-kalpa-māyā-
pañjika-smṛti-nipāda (Tohoku 1187, 48 folios) by Kṛṣṇa-pāda (Nag-
po-ba), translated by Dpal-dlam zla-ba and Ḥgos Ihas-btsas; 8) Hevajra-
nāma-sādhana (Tohoku 1243, 13 folios) by Avadhūti-pa Gñis med rdo-rje,
translator unknown; 9) Hevajra-piṇḍārtha-ṭīkā (Tohoku 1180, 125 folios)
by Vajra-garbha (Rdo-rje snin-po), translated by Dānaśīla, Seṅ-dkar
Śākya ḥod Maitri, and Nas-hbro dge-slon; 10) Hevajra-bali-vidhi (Tohoku
1288, one folio) translator unknown; 11 and 12) Hevajra-maṇḍala-
karma-krama-vidhi (Tohoku 1219, 12 folios) by Padmavajra, translated
by Śākya brtson-ḥgrus; (Tohoku 1263, 13 folios) by Mtsho-skyes rdo-
rje, translated by Gayadhara and Śākya ye-śes; 13) Hevajra-maṇḍala-
vidhi (Tohoku 1221, two folios) by Mtsho-skyes rdo-rje, translator
unknown; 14) Hevajra-ṣoḍaśa-bhuja-sādhana (1297, two folios) by Kṛṣṇa;

15, 16, and 17) Hevajra-sādhana (Tohoku 1264, eight folios) by Yan-lag
med-paḥi rdo-rje, translated by Kun-tu bzaṅ-po and Tshul-khrims
rgyal-ba, (Tohoku 1301, six folios) by Ḥjam-dpai ye-śes, translated by
Mañjuśrījñāna and Roṅ-zon Dharmabhadra, and (Tohoku 3292, two
folios) translated by Dā, Abhay[ākaragupta], and Tshul-khrims-rgyal-
mtshan; 18) Hevajra-sādhana-tatta-udyotakara (Tohoku 1253, 10 folios)
by Kṛṣṇa-pāda (Nag-po), translated by Kṛṣṇa-pāda (Nag-po) and Tshul-
khrims rgyal-ba;195 19) Hevajra-sādhana-pañjikā (Tohoku 1233, 19 folios)
by the Kaśmīri Dṅul-gyi bum pa, translated by Nags-kyi rin-chen and
Gshon-nu dpal; 20) Hevajra-sādhana-vajra-pradīpa-nāma-ṭippaṇī-śuddha
(Tohoku 1237, 23 folios) by Jalandha ri-pa, translated by Nyi-ma rgyal-
mtshan; 21) Hevajra-hasta-vyavagrāha-krama (Tohoku 1294, 19 folios) by
Se-rtsa Bsod nams rgyal-mtshan (?), translated by Gsod-nams rgyal-
mtshan; 22) Hevajra-homa-vidhi (Tohoku 1556, one folio) by Sans-rgyas
byin, translated by Bharendraruci and Blo-ldan śes-rab; 23) Hevajra-
abhiṣeka-niścaya (Tohoku 1272, three folios) by Dgra-las-rgyal-ba,
translated by Śrīgayadhara and Jo Zla-baḥi ḥod-zer; 24) Hevajrakasmṛti
(Tohoku 1236, two folios) by Garbha ri-pa, translated by Prajnendraruci
and Śākya ye-śes; 25) Hevajra-udbhava-kuru-kulle-pañca-mahopadeśa
(Tohoku 1316, one folio) by Shi-ba-ḥtsho, translated by Dānaśīla; and
26) Hevajra-udbhava-kuru-kulle-sādhana (1315, one folio) by Lhan-skyes
sgegs-pa, translator unknown.196
5.3. The Ekallavīra-Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra

The second Buddhist Sanskrit tantra translated into English was the
Ekallavīra-Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, the first eight (of twenty-five)
chapters of which were critically edited and translated by Christopher
S. George in 1974. Among the texts surviving in Tibetan translation
is a one-folio Ekavīrasādhana attributed to Padmasambhava (see no. 4
below), that would give us a seventh- or eighth-century date for the
Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa tradition. There appear to be several related texts
from this tradition in the Tibetan canon. 1) The Siddha-ekavīra-mahā-
tantra-rāja (Tohoku 544, 12 folios) translated by Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna and
Dge-bahi glo-gros, revised by Tshul-khrims rgyal-ba;197 2) the Ekavīra-
yoginī-sādhana (Tohoku 1710, one folio), author and translator un-
known; the Ekavīra-śrī-heruka-ṣoḍaśa-bhuja-sādhana (Tohoku 1283, one
folio), translator unknown;198 3) the Ekavīra-sādhana (Tohoku 1464, one
folio) by Ḍombi Heruka, translated by Atīśa (Dīpaṃkara) in the second
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half of the eleventh century199 and Tshul-khrims rgyal-pa;200 and 4)

by the same name (Tohoku 1473, one folio) by Padma bhyaṅs (i.e.,
Padmasambhava)—so this would argue for an early date to the text—
translator unknown;201 5) the Ekavīra-heruka-sādhana (1472, one folio)
by Naropa (whom Peter Zieme and Gyorgy Kara date to 1016–110), with
his teacher Tilopa (988–1069)202 in the eleventh century;203 and 6) the
Ekavīra-ākhyā-śrī-caṇḍa-mahāroṣaṇa-tantra-rāja (Tohoku 431, 39 folios),
translated by the Kaśmīri Ratnaśrī-(bhadra) and the early fourteenth-
century204 Tibetan Grags-pa rgyal-mtshan.205
There are also several sādhanas to the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa: 7) (Tohoku
3062, two folios) by Prabhākarakīrti, translated by Sbyin-pa tshul-
khrims;206 8) (Tohoku 3063, one folio) by Jetari (or Jetari Vijaya, Dgra-
las rnam-par-rgyal-ba), who was at the northern gate of Nālanda
when Naropa arrived there in the late tenth century,207 translated by
Puṇyaśrī and Glog-skya gshon-nu ḥbar;208 9) (Tohoku 3262, one folio)
translated by Da, Abhayākaragupta, and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mt-
shan;209 10) (Tohoku 3263, one folio) translated by Abhayākaragupta
and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan;210 11) (Tohoku 3358, one folio) trans-
lated by Don-yod rdo-rje and Ba-ri Dharmakīrti; 12) (Tohoku 3479, one
folio), 13) (Tohoku 3480, one folio), and 14) (Tohoku 3481, one folio)
all translated by the fourteenth-century Grags-pa rgyal-mtshan;211 15)
a Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa-sādhana sakalpa (Tohoku 3478) by bod-zer ḥbyuṅ-
gnas grags-pa;212 and 16) the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa-abhisamaya (Tohoku
1782, five folios).213
The first Sanskrit manuscript of this text collected by a Western
scholar was apparently Brian Hodgson’s copy, excerpted in Arthur
Keith’s volume of the India Office Catalogue.214 George gives us the
colophons of the twenty-five chapters: 1) introduction215 to the tantra
(tantrāvatāraṇapaṭala), 2) maṇḍala, 3) consecration (abhiṣeka), 4) the
deity (devatā), 5) mantra, 6) the yoga of completion (niṣpannayoga), 7)
refreshing the body (dehaprīṇana), 8) his own form (svarūpa), 9) medi-
tation (dhyāna)216 10) praise of women (strīpraśaṃsa), 11) the universal
form (viśvarūpa), 12) prescriptions of all mantras (sarva-mantra-kalpa),
13) conduct (caryā), 14) the meaning of acala (acalānvaya),217 15) pu-
rification (viśuddhi) 16) dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda),
17) increasing the semen, etc. (śukrādivṛddhi),218 18) cures for dis-
eases and aging (vyādhivṛddhatvahāni),219 19) the arrest of the semen,
etc. (śukrastambhādi),220 20) recitation of various mantras and devices
(nānābhi-bheda-nigadita-yantra-mantra), 21) magical feats (kutūhala),
22) breath control (vāyuyoga), 23) the signs of death (mṛtyulakṣaṇa), 24)
the nature of the body (dehasvarūpa), and 25) sādhana of the goddess
(devī-sādhana).
One of the manuscripts George based his translation on is no. 84
(ms. 9089) in the ASB catalogue.221 As George points out, Śāstri gives
excerpts from several chapters not included in George’s dissertation.222
These excerpts begin with a short one from the eleventh chapter (“Uni-
versal Form”):
I am everything, all pervading, and all-doing, all destroying; I main-
tain all forms, as Buddha, the remover, the maker, the lord, the happy
one. In whatever form beings become disciples, I abide in those forms
for the sake of the world–wherever there is a Buddha, wherever there
is a siddha, wherever there is dharma or a saṅgha, wherever there is a
preta, or an animal, or a hell-being.223
This is followed by an extract from the thirteenth chapter
(“Conduct”):
With the joining together of wisdom and means one should give [to
the consort] the fingernail, and the three syllables;224 the kissing and
the embrace, and also all of one’s semen. She will become the per-
fection of generosity, without a doubt. With that as the highest, the
body, speech, and thought enveloped through intense pleasure,225 she
is recognizable as the perfection of [good] disposition, she is to be
known [as such] also from forbearance [even when] scratched by fin-
gernails.226 And even squeezing the three-syllabled, she is endowed
with the perfection of patience. Concentrated, and reverently, one
should engage in sexual union for a long time. She should be known
as the perfection of the hero, her mind engaged in that pleasure; she
is considered the perfection of meditation on the form of the uni-
versally beneficent; she is renowned as the meditation on the female
form, the perfection of wisdom; she is filled with just the one yoga of
great sex,227 she becomes the perfection of the six;228 she is said to be
the perfection of the five, merit, knowledge, and wisdom. [He], com-
pletely engaged in the yoga of great sex, enveloped in the requisites
of the yoga, is perfected in just a moment, endowed with merit and
knowledge. Just as what’s produced from the creeper is endowed with
flowers and fruit, complete enlightenment229 is also equipped with
the pair of requirements in one moment. He becomes the master of
the thirty realms, there is no doubt. And the stage[s] are to be known
as delighted, stainless and likewise flaming, radiating, very difficult
to conquer, forefront, traveling far, unmoving, highly thought of,
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and the cloud of dharma, likewise the light called universal, unique,
possessed of knowledge, are known as the thirteen.230
A short extract from the fifteenth chapter (“Purification”) reads:
The male form is existence; the female form is non-existence. Blue
is consciousness (vijñāna), white is form, yellow is perception, red
is name (saṃhitās), black is aggregate (saṃskāra), or blue is space,
white is water, yellow is earth, red is fire, black is wind–just as [this
is the case] for the bhagavāns, so it is for the bhagavatīs. Or, dark blue
is knowledge of the truly purified dharma constituent; white is the
mirror-knowledge; yellow is the knowledge of equanimity; red is the
knowledge of direct perception; black is the knowledge of perfor-
mance of duty. There is only one teacher of the Victors, established
in five forms; and there is one perfection of wisdom, established in
five forms.231
Śāstri gives a slightly longer extract from the tenth chapter (“Praise
of Women”):
Now the Lady (Bhagavatī) spoke: “Is it possible, or not possible, Oh
lord, to achieve the place of Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa without a woman?” The
Lord answered: “lt is not possible, Oh Goddess.” The Lady said: “Is
it impossible without the experience of pleasure?” The Lord spoke:
“The ultimate bodhi cannot be obtained only with the experience of
pleasure; it is attained by the experience of a specific type of plea-
sure, and not otherwise. . . .
“For the sake of destroying the wickedness of the world, the wise son
of Māyādevī, leaving behind the eighty-four thousand, and also the
harem, going to the banks of the Nirañjanā, illuminated the Buddhas
and Siddhas, he escaped from Māra, having repudiated him since that
is not ultimate reality, since the Buddha was a master in the harem,
provided with guardians, friendly, since he attained pleasure through
the joining together of the vajra and the lotus; enlightenment is at-
tained through pleasure, [and] pleasure is not [attained] without
women. And the separation that is undertaken is in order to remove
the wickedness of the world. However the world-[dwellers] become
students of the Buddha, for that [purpose] the Victor [takes on] the
form of the son of Māyādevī. Whatever censures of women have been
made in all the sūtras and abhidharma [literature], [those] should be
considered as various moral precepts according to language for one’s
own protection; and one should teach about nirvāṇa through the de-
struction of the five aggregates.”
Now the Bhagavatī Prajñāpāramitā spoke: “Who, Oh Bhagavān, is the

son of Māyādevī, and who is Gopā?”
Bhagavān responded: “I am the son of Māyādevī, and have achieved

the state of Caṇḍaroṣaṇa. You are Bhagavatī, Gopā, i.e., Prajñāpāramitā.
As many as are all the women, they are considered to have that (i.e.,
your) form; all the men likewise are well known to have my form. And
this world consists of wisdom and means, having arrived at the state
of both. . . .”
Then the Bhagavatī spoke: “Why, Oh Bhagavān, do the Śrāvakas cen-

sure women?”
The Bhagavān responded: “All of those dwelling in the realm of desire

who are known as Śrāvakas etc., they do not know the path to libera-
tion [even though] they see women everywhere. When proximity is
difficult to attain for the śuṅkumā, etc.,232 then the state of great value
does not attain value for the remote one. By reason of beginningless
ignorance, these people lack faith; [they] do not put their thoughts
on reality, since this is protected by me.”233
The last extract is from the final chapter, Devī-sādhana:
Now the Bhagavatī spoke: “I desire to hear about the apara arisen from
the perfection of wisdom; you must be gracious to me, Oh lord, [and
explain it] briefly, not overly in detail.”
Then the Bhagavān spoke: “Now then I will explain to you what arises
from the perfection of wisdom. The beautiful sixteen-year-old god-
dess, the paryaṅka-[āsana] of sentient beings,234 dark-blue colored, il-
lustrious, [is] embraced by Akṣobhya. Seeing her raised up on a red
lotus, on the right, with dark blue limbs, a thousand fold,235 with
full, prominent breasts, large eyed, speaking kindly, [like] the very
treatise on erotic love situated there above the moon-[seat] on the
lotus, the yogī, delighted, should meditatively cause that goddess to
come into existence who abides in the unshakable samādhi of orgasm,
who is produced from the knowledge of hūṃkāra and is the univer-
sal vajrī yoginī—then the yogī certainly attains siddhi. Or [the yogī]
should bring into being the white [goddess] produced from the dhī-
kāra sound, the yellow mistress of the lightning realm, embraced by
the. . . , [or one should visualize] the goddess produced by the knowl-
edge of the hrīṃ-kāra, embraced by Amitābha, the vajra sealed by red,
the red mother, the mistress of the clan; [or] one should meditate
on the black-colored Tārā mother, produced from the knowledge of
the traṃ-kāra, embraced by Amogha[siddhi], with the prior form, Oh
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woman. Firmly established with a handsome form, abiding in the

paryaṅka of sentient beings, holding a chopper and a noose, glorious,
having embraced [her, sexually], with dramatic gesture, the creator,
having embraced a young lady of his own clan, [he] should meditate.
In this [manner] the yogī becomes perfected by the consort, there is
no doubt. Otherwise, having created an image, he should perfect [the
image] that is created according to the sūtras etc. Staying in samādhi
together with Caṇḍa, he should recite [the mantras] with a one-
pointed mind.”236 “Now I will explain to you the Single-Hero maṇḍala.
It is four-cornered (i.e., square),with four doors, adorned with four
pillars. A yellow-colored great lotus of four petals is to be made; a
white petal in its southeast; a red petal in its southwest; a yellow
petal in its northwest, and a black one in its northeast corner. In the
middle of that one should create a dark blue Acala. One should medi-
tatively imagine [him as] a single form with the five Buddhas, white,
yellow, red, or black, on a solar seat. In the southeast corner [one
should visualize] Locanā, arranging caṇḍa and aśoka [blossoms?] with
her left and right hands, radiant like the light of the autumn moon.
In the southwest [corner] [one should visualize] the goddess Pāṇḍarā,
the highest, holding a bow and arrows. In the northwest corner [one
should visualize] the red Māmakī, yellow-like, . . . with a flame in her
hand; in the northeast corner [one should visualize] the black Tārā,
with the boon-giving gesture in her right hand, and holding a blue
lotus in her left. These are all the mistresses of Caṇḍa, seated in half-
paryaṅka positions. In the eastern door one should place the passion-
vajrā, similar to what causes an enemy (?);237 in the southern door the
red hatred vajra, holding a chopper and arrows; dark blue, with hands
holding a knife and in the threatening gesture, enveloped by Yama;
in the western door, [one should visualize] the Māra-vajrā, steady,
making a colorful vajra, situated in the west, clothed in peacock feath-
ers, black-like. In the north, the confusion vajrā, holding the tanyśoka
(?), yellow-colored, residing in the north, one should place [her] on
the solar seat. . . . They are all in the pratyālīḍha pose, . . . One should
place four bells in the corner[s], yellow colored. By just this medita-
tion, accompanied by the eight yoginīs, [one becomes] the husband of
living women, the supreme master of the three worlds.238 “Now I will
describe to you the meditation on Caṇḍaroṣaṇa. One should imagine
the deity Caṇḍaroạṇa on the petals of the universal lotus. Vāmadeva
is in the southeast, colored red; in the southwest is Kāmadeva with
yellow garments, delighting women; in the northwest is the dark-
blue colored Asura named Koila.239 And these, holding knives and
skulls, are standing in the ālīḍha position. To the west of the vener-
able one stands the goddess Parṇaśāvalī240 by meditation and yoga on
her, with the worship by burnt fish etc., . . . joined with the yellow
wisdom, and with the white lotus [woman] on the left, and the blue
Caṇḍaroṣa, with the red [goddess] or the red [goddess], . . . one should
visualize [that] intensely until it becomes manifest, since the yogī, be-
coming manifest, is perfected by the great mantra.”241
Śāstri refers us to a one thousand-śloka commentary on this tantra
the Caṇḍa-mahāroṣaṇa-tantra-pañjikā, or Padmavatī, dating from Nepali
Saṃvat 417 (1297 C.E.), in his Durbar Library catalogue.242 Like the orig-
inal tantra the commentary is divided into twenty-five chapters. This
commentary was used by George in his translation, referred to in his
notes as Comm. Śāstrī provides extracts from the opening and closing
sections:
Oṃ homage to Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa. Since this world of moving and sta-
tionary creatures is sunk into the belly of confusion and darkness, the
manifest [world] is illumined by the rays of the divisions of wisdom
and means . . . the male . . . [?]243 his own entire learning, [his own]
entire samādhi [?], may he stand in this world, with manifest light, to
effect my pleasure. “Evaṃ mayā,” etc., i.e., the author of the saṃgīti.
This is the statement of the primary cause (nidāna-vākya), since it is
[stated] at the beginning of the Sūtra or Tantra by the author of the
saṃgīti. It is indispensable that it be said, according to the Bhagavān’s
statement. And so, having said “evaṃ mayā śrutaṃ” you may ask for my
statement. It is to be sung, etc., when existing in this way. [Verse:] “In
witness to the faithful the teacher fulfilled244 the first section; and the
place and time are indicated, in demonstration of one’s own author-
ity”; so it is established. In that sense, “evam” [means] I will express it
in that way. Mayā means by this there is refutation of [anything] con-
tradictory that was heard, and of what was heard through tradition.
And it demonstrates that what was heard is not untrue since it is not
dependent on this individual. “Heard” means it was acquired through
the knowledge of listening. “At one time” means “at one time.” And
something else was heard at another time. This is the meaning. And
in this way it demonstrates that at the beginning of this Tantra much
was heard that was intelligible to this individual. “Bhagavān,” i.e.,
sovereignty over the vulvas (bhagās), etc. And likewise [Verse:] “The
good fortune [bhagāḥ] of the six—of power, of all charity, of glory,
of women, of the body, and of effort—thus [says] śruti.” They know
these in this one, or through the experience of the addictions of pas-
sion etc. “Vajrasattva” refers to the being that is the indivisible vajra,
causing the accomplishment of purposeful action. Or else, like a vajra,
and this vajra is like a living being. “All,” i.e., all those Tathāgatās,
through their body, speech, thought, and knowledge, [there is] the
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reality of the body, the infinite heart—because of the desirability of

that [the Tathāgatās are mentioned]. That itself is “the bhaga (vulva)
of the mistress of the lightning realm (vajra-dhātu-)”; vajra is liṅga;
the realm [is the realm] of that; that is the bodhicitta characterized
as being [both] concealed and revealed, etc.; Wisdom (prajñā) is the
mistress of that realm,245 because she is served by the vajra-dhātu.
That one sported in the vagina of the beautiful woman. He sported
by joining together the vajra and the lotus, i.e. he remained in union
with the cavity; this is the meaning. And [as] this sexual sport is in-
tensely protected from ordinary people, why then does the Bhagavān
Vajrasattva [partake of it]? And for that reason it is said: ”In the land
of Vajrasattva on top of Mount Sumeru, he took his pleasure in the up-
permost apartment at the tip of the vajra-jewel (vajramaṇi).” Thereby
the place and time of the instructor is indicated. He describes the
assembled group by “and with many” etc. The Vajrayogīs, the white
unmoving ones, the Vajrayoginīs, the non-confusion Vajrīs etc. The
qualities of those [male] and of those female] are gathered together,
as they are of one form–[with many means] with those. “Namely,” i.e.
representing, “the white unmoving,” i.e., the Bhagavān, the Bhagavatī,
by knowing the incarnate form; likewise, the “yellow unmoving,”
the Bhagavatī, by knowledge of the incarnate smell; “with the red un-
moving,” the Bhagavatī, with knowledge of the incarnate taste; “with
the black unmoving,” the Bhagavatī with the knowledge of the incar-
nate touch; and with the delusion vajrī, i.e., with the Bhagavatī with
knowledge of the of the incarnate form of the Bhagavān; and with the
slander vajrī, i.e., with the knowledge of the incarnate smell of the
Bhagavān; and with the passion vajrī, i.e., with the knowledge of the
incarnate taste of the Bhagavān, and with the jealousy vajrī, i.e., with
the knowledge of the incarnate touch of the Bhagavān. The Bhagavān
himself is incarnate sound, knowledge, and form of the Bhagavatī,
and the Bhagavatī is the incarnate sound, knowledge, and form of
the Bhagavān. So there is no distinction from this anywhere. “Evaṃ
pramukhair,” i.e., so with these sorts, i.e., with the eye, the nose, the
tongue, the body, the ear, form, sensation, name, aggregates, con-
sciousness, earth, water, fire, space, etc., i.e., with these, this is the
meaning. In this way, when the sporting is of that sort, these are the
assembly of goddesses. It is said that there are others like that in the
bodhicitta. If someone objects that since it is intensely protected, how
come it has been heard by you? “Then,” etc., this is the meaning.
When by that sexual sport the pleasure of the four blisses has been
experienced, immediately after that great compassion becomes vis-
ible in all men. In this way, having reached the samādhi of the plowed
row, he “proclaimed,” i.e., he said this that will be said. Then [that]
was heard by me—this is the meaning. It was heard by me abiding in

fact in the body of the Bhagavān and the Bhagavatī, on account of me,
Vajrapāṇi, the author of the saṃgīti, having the form of [their] ear; this
is the sense. What did he say was existent non-existent? Being is the
vikalpa of bliss and supreme joy. In non-existence there is the vikalpa
of bliss of cessation. What is released is free of both of these. The
four blisses: the bliss resulting from the combination of the vajra and
the lotus, by the [sexual] position of having mounted the yantra, with
embracing, kissing, stroking the breasts, scratching with the finger
nails, etc., characterized by mutual passionate love, with wisdom and
means as in the sūtra. Thereby a certain amount of pleasure arises.246
The ending extract reads as follows:
The pair with the yoginī is the [sexual] joining together with the
yoginī. Delight arises then. The cause of the state of manifestation
is the cause of siddhi. As previously stated, the perfection of the
mahāmudrā (great consort) was previously explained. Thus the chap-
ter on the sādhana of the deity, the explanation of the twenty-fifth
chapter. “This,” etc., is the statement by the author of the saṃgīti.
This is that characteristic of what is stated—the Bhagavān spoke the
entire Tantra, i.e., related it. “Abhyanandan” means being delighted.
“Samāptam” means completed. “These dharmas” etc; these dharmas
are seven, known as consciousness, name, form, the six bases, touch,
sensation, birth, old age, and death. These arise from five causes,
ignorance, aggregates, thirst, grasping, and existence. “Hetuḥ” is a
cause; just as it is (yathā) because of relating them, so it has arrived
(tathāgatah). “Avadat” means he said. What is the stopping of cause
and effect is cessation, nirvāṇa, hence the disposition in order to taste
it, for this one, i.e. the great religious mendicant (the Buddha). The
wise one, the valiant one, the ascetic, the tremendously powerful
one, the hero, and the agent of the miracle, is designated the great
one. Because the sins are redeemed, he is a mendicant. Or because
of alleviation of the addictions and minor addictions. This commen-
tary, the Padmavatī by name, containing the essence of the secret of
the glorious Tantra, was made the most manifest by me, according to
the command of [my] guru. Infinitely extensive merit was attained
thereby. May the world in the Kali [yuga] quickly become of one flavor
through the coming together of wisdom and means, Oh Caṇḍācala.247
The post-colophon gives the date:
This was written for the vajra feet of the great bliss of the great pan-
dits. This writing was completed on Tuesday, on the tenth day of the
dark half of Phalguna (February–March), (Nepali) Saṃvat 417, in the
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kingdom of the glorious king Anantamalla; may it bring good fortune

to all people.248
Luciano Petech tells us that Anantamalla reigned c. 1274 to 1310,
and citing this manuscript of the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa-tantra-pañjikā, spec-
ifies the date as March 19, 1297.249
6. EXTRACTS FROM EXTANT UNPUBLISHED SANSKRIT

MANUSCRIPTS OF BUDDHIST TANTRAS
By searching through the Sanskrit manuscript catalogues for Buddhist
tantras and matching this information with the Tibetan canonical list-
ings of Tibetan translations of Sanskrit tantras, I have managed to
locate a fair number of the Buddhist tantras still surviving in Sanskrit
that have not been edited, published, or translated into English. It may
be that some of these texts have been published in Japanese, Russian,
or any of a number of other languages I do not read; as far as I know
none of this material has been published in German, French, or Italian,
though there may be published material of which I am unaware as I
have not made a complete search through all of the academic journals
in these languages.
6.1. The Ḍākinīvajrapañjara

The involvement of Indrabhuti in writing one of the commentaries to
this tantra suggests that it was one of the earliest texts brought into
the canon (see no. 8 below). Indrabhuti is a difficult figure to locate his-
torically, though he was apparently a relatively early Tantric teacher,
perhaps from the beginning of the eighth century.250 Two of the texts
of this tradition were translated by Indrabhuti and Mar pa; see also
the Tantra-rāja-śrī-laghu-sambara (Tohoku 368, 33 folios) translated
by Padmākara and Rin-chen bzan-po, revised by Prajñākīrti, Mar pa
Chos-kyi grags-pa; and the Hevajra-vibhuja-sādhana (Tohoku 1271, two
folios) by Tārāśrī, translated by Sumatikīrti and Mar-pa Chos dbaṅ.251
There are a total of thirteen texts that appear to be associated with
this tradition included in the Tibetan canon: 1) Ḍākinī-guhya-jvala-
tantra-rāja (Tohoku 408, two folios), translated by Gayadhara and
Śākya ye-śes; 2) Ḍākinī-tanu-gīti (Tohoku 2451, two folios), no author
or translator listed; 3) Ḍākinī-vajra-guhya-gīti (Tohoku 2446, three
folios), authored by Ḍākinī (Mkhaḥ-ḥgro-ma), possibly the same as
Jñāna-ḍākinī (Ye-śes Mkhab-ḥgro-ma), Naropa’s Prajñā Karmakāri
(better known as Niguma)252 translated by Ston-pa sen-ge rgyal po;
4) Ḍākinī-vajra-jāla-tantra-rāja-tattva-pauṣṭīka-pañjikā (Tohoku 1196, 40

folios), with Mahāmati (Mahādeva-kulamati, Lhaḥi rigs-kyi blo-gros
chen po) listed as the authors, and Gayadhara and Ḥgos Lhas btsas the
translators. Naudou suggests that Mahāmati may have been the same
as Bodhibhadra, a student of Naropa and a contemporary of Mar-pa,253
which would place this commentary in the late eleventh century; 5)
Ḍākinī-vajra-pañjara-pañca-ḍāka-sādhana (Tohoku 1321, five folios), with
Muni-candra or Śākya-candra (Mi-thub zla-ba) as author, and Līlavajra
(author of the Kālacakra-kṣaṇa-sajaha-sādhana, and Se-rtsa Bsod-nams
rgyal-mthsan as translators; Naudou does not have dating informa-
tion on these individuals; 6) Ḍākinī-vajra-pañjara-mahā-tantra-rāja-
kalpa-nāma (Tohoku 419, 35 folios), translated by Gayadhara and Śākya
ye-śes; 7) Ḍākinī-varja-pañjara-mahā-tantra-rāja-kalpa-nāma-mukha-
bandha254 with Kṛṣṇa-pāda (Nag-po) as the author and Gayadhara and
Śākya ye-śes as translators; whether Kāla refers to Kālacakrapada is
not clear, though this identification does not seem unreasonable, and
would date this commentary to the eleventh century; 8) Ḍākinī-vajra-
pañjara-mahā-tantra-rāja-prathama-paṭala-mukha-bandha-nāma-pañjikā.
(Tohoku 1194, six folios), written by the mysterious Indrabhuti, who
also wrote a Hevajra work entitled Smṛti-saṃdarśanāloka,255 transla-
tors Nyi-ma shas-pa, and Śākya brston-ḥgrus; 9) Ḍākinī-vajra-pañjara-
saṃharaṇa-maṇḍala-anusaraṇa-sādhana (Tohoku 1322, seven folios),
written by Devavrata (? Lhahi brtul-shugs), translated by Mar pa Chos-
kyi blo-gros; 10) Ḍākinī-saṃvara-tantra-rāia (Tohoku 406, two folios),
translated by Gayadhara and Śākya ye-śes; 11) Ḍākinī-sarva-citta-advaya-
acintya-jñāna-vajra-varāhy-abhibhava-tantra-rāja (Tohoku 378, 11 folios),
translated by Gayadhara and Śākya ye-śes; 12) Ḍākiny-agni-jihvā-jvāla.
(Tohoku 842, 30 folios), translator unknown; and 13) Ḍākiny-upadeśa-
śrota-parampara-pīḍācchedanāvavāda (Tohoku 2286, five folios), written
by Nirmāṇa-yogi (? Sprul-pahi rnal-ḥbyor-pa), translator unknown.256
The Ḍākārṇava is a Buddhist tantra in fifty-one chapters noted in
Shāstrī’s Nepal Catalogue,257 which appears to be related, though per-
haps not exactly the same as the Ḍākinī-guhya-jvāla-tantra-rāja. Shāstrī
dates the Nepali manuscript to about 1130 C.E., and likewise for the copy
in his Calcutta catalogue,258 where he gives the extract we will examine.
The full title appears to be Ḍākārṇava-mahā-yoginī-tantra-rāja. The only
published work on this lineage I have found is Nagendra Chaudhuri’s
1935 version of his Ph.D. thesis giving an edition of the Apabhraṃśa
verses contained in the Ḍākārṇava.259 Śāstrī gives us the colophons of
the chapters and the text of the entire fifth chapter.
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The chapter titles are as follows: 1) The descent of the ocean of

wisdom; 2) the nāyakī who arises from Vajra-vārāhī and the true
nature of the meditations with the yantra, cakra, and maṇḍala; 3) the
rules for the clarification of the principles of action and the inviting
characteristics arising from pakin;260 4) the mantra application, the
true nature of the six cakras and paths etc., and the arrangement of
nirvāṇa, etc., characterized by the arising of Lāmā; 5) The four cakras,
the arrangement of the channels, the instruction about the name, and
the rules for mantra application, etc., arising from the characteristics
of Khaṇḍarohā. (khaṇḍa-rohā literally means “she whose rise or sprout
is cleft,” likely a euphemism for a woman who has lost her virginity.
According to Marie-Thérèse De Mallmann, this is the name of two god-
desses from the Hevajra cycle, found in the Saṃvara, Six Cakravartin,
and Vajravarāhī maṇḍalas.261 She appears in several sādhanas given by
Abhayākaragupta);262 6) the intrinsic nature of the characteristics of
Rūpiṇī, the true nature of the channels and cakras, the arrangement
of the places, and the characteristics of the tantra; 7) the characteris-
tics of the origin of the Crow-face, etc., prāṇa;263 8) the characteristics
of the prāṇa, etc., [whose] origin is in the determination and arrange-
ment [according to] Owl-face; 9) the rules on the state of happiness,
etc., characterizing Dog-face; 10) the descending, etc., of the maṇḍala
having its origin in Hog-face; 11) the description of the origin of the
arrangement of She Who Burns Death; 12) the concise instruction
on the cakra meditation on the fraud of death [according] to the de-
scription, etc., of the origin of Yamadūtī; 13) the fraud of death, etc.,
in the application and descent of Yamadaṃśtrī; 14) the real nature
of the arrangement of the buddhas and the description of the rules
about the fraud of time and death in the origin of Yamamathanī; 15)
explaining the tradition determined by the true samādhi of the lord;
16) rules for the extraction of the root mantra; 17) the rule about the
lightning-being Varāhī characterized by the arising of the armor; 18)
the rules for the protection by the armor of Vairocana, etc.; 19) speci-
fication of the protection-mantra of the lord who dances in the lotus,
etc.; 20) the rules for the protection armor of Heruka, etc.; 21) the rule
for the armor-protection of Lightning-sun, etc.; 22) the rule for the
armor-protection of the ultimate breath etc.; 23) the rule for the wor-
ship of the Bali-cakra; 24) The rules about the maṇḍala, the homa, and
the worship of the teacher; 25) the characteristic of the purification
of the abode of the Tathāgata that is the purification of Bhagavān, etc;
26) the chapter on the subject matter called the characteristics and
rules of the lovers’ trysts and pleasure-taking with the consorts by the
heroes of the yogiṇīs in the yantras and maṇḍalas of Pracaṇḍa, etc.; 27)
the rules about the intrinsic nature of the lord of the consorts char-
acterized by Pracaṇḍākśī; 28) the rules about the consort character-
ized as Prabhāvatī; 29) the rules and regulations for the homa charac-
terized by Mahānāsā; 30) the description of the rules on the intrinsic
nature of the heroes and their consorts and the mothers and their male
counterparts; 31) the chapter called the knowledge that is the intrinsic
nature of the description of the homa of the phoneme of Kharvarī; 32)
the chapter on the knowledge of the rule called the intrinsic nature
of the maṇḍala and cakra characterized by the lover’s tryst with the
consort Laṅkeśvarī; 33) the rules and regulations for the lovers’ tryst
with the consort whose intrinsic characteristic is the shade of the tree;
34) the rules and explanation of the characteristics of the body consort
Airāvatī; 35) the description relating the characteristics of the inter-
nal consort of Mahābhairava; 36) the description of the colors of the
consorts and the rule about the application of the speed of the winds;
37) the rules and characterstics of the intrinsic nature of the use and
homā of Surābhakśī; 38) the description of the rules for the subjuga-
tion homa, yantra, and lightning maṇḍala of the nondual black goddess
Lightning She-boar; 39) the rule for the riverbank serpent action, and
the instruction about the yantra of the name whose nature is union
with the nondual Subhadrā of the root mantra of the lord; 40) the de-
scription of the rules for action, and the killing, from the armoring
root mantra through union with the nondual hero Horse-ears; 41) the
heart mantra called all-action and the rules characterizing the intrinsic
nature of the intoxicating action in the nondual yantra and cakra of the
feminine hero with the sky-goer’s face; 42) the rules called the intrin-
sic nature of the characteristics of the nondual yoga of the hero of the
paralyzing action of Cakravegā; 43) the yantras and cakras for the ap-
plication meditation on Khaṇḍarohā, and the rules and characteristics
for the armor mantras of the six yoginīs of the expulsion activity; 44)
the intrinsic nature of the yantras and cakras and the rules and descrip-
tions of the [action causing] divisiveness for use with the ladies who
run taverns; 45) the yantra and cakras in the form of a rākṣasa joined
with a nondual hero and the maṇḍalas, cakras, and meditations charac-
terizing the rule for application of the activity of silencing and the ar-
moring of the cakras; 46) The emanation of the action of the paralyzing
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mantra and the meditation on the yantras and cakras characterizing

the rules for the application of the pacification activity of Suvīrā; 47)
the description of the rules for the use of the meditation on the yantra
of the action bodhisattva and [for the use of] the mantra for pegging
down the great protection by union with She Who is Extremely Strong;
48) all the actions of the instructions, rules, and description of the root
mantra of the path and meditation on the various sādhana, actions,
mantra, and cakra for the use, etc., of She Who is Dwelling in the Cakra;
49) the rule about the characteristic of the use of Mahāvīryā, the secret
elixir, etc., the action for worldly prosperity, and the root mantra of
glorious correct samādhi of Heruka; 50) the entire secret explaining all
the tantras and having the nature of the fifty principles; and 51) praise,
worship, etc., and the nondual service of the community.264
The fifth chapter of the Ḍākārṇava is interesting for the informa-
tion it provides on the use of external cities and regions of the time
as mapped to the cakras of the subtle body, and for the use of abbre-
viations of these names in the form of bījamantras. This is the first in-
stance I have seen where the bījamantras mapped to the subtle body
can definitively be said to have semantic content; such use is distinct
from the alphabetical permutations we find in the fifth chapter of the
Kālacakratantra and Vimalaprabhā. We also find in the fifth chapter of
the Ḍākārṇavatantra some indications of the geographical sensibilities
of the day, with general names of peripheral regions to the subconti-
nent combined with many specific names of cities:
I will explain the internal cities out of a desire for the benefit of sen-
tient beings. Situated at the feet of Khaṇḍārohā is Vajraḍākaḥ, him-
self the lord. In the lotuses of the four cakras there are one hundred
and twenty channels. Their proper names will be explained, for shar-
ing in the principles. [In the navel cakra:] 1)265 Madhyadeśī, 2) Kaliṅgi,
3) Oḍḍa, 4) Karṇātakīsarī, 5) Saurāṣṭrī 6) Malayī, 7) Vaṅgī, 8) Dravaḍī,
and 9) Kali[ṅga]ki, 10) Mālavī and 11) Mahāraṭhṭhī266 12) Varandī, 13)
Kāmarūpiṇī, 14) Ḍohalī, 15) Thavideṣī, and 16) Bhartāḍī, 17) Rāḍha,
18) Magadhī, 19) Tirabhutti (satti), 20) Daddaraṇḍī, 21) Nepālī267 22)
Saravāsanī, 23) Rāḍhī, 24) Ḍhikkarī, 25) Vaṅgalī268 26) Khaḍī, and
27) Harikelakī, 28) Suvarṇadvīpī, 29) Siṃhalī269 30) Ḍāmaḍī, and 31)
Kattorakī, 32) Sindhu, 33) Himālayī, 34) Buḍī, 35) Kurutī, 36) Jaḍarī, 37)
Parhī, 38) Jajjavatī, 39) Varuṇā, and 40) Oriyāṇa and 41) Lampākakī,
42) Jālandharī, 43) Arbbūdī, and 44) Kaśmīri, 45) Kośalī, 46) Kañchī,
47) Jayantī, 48) Triśakkī, 49) Caśī 50) Laharī, 51) Purarohikā, 52)
Mumbanī270 53) Kāmbojakī271 and 54) Bhaṭṭalakī, 55) Gṛhadevatī,
56) Pretapūrī, 57) Valabhī (Vabhabhīcā) and 58) Pelavī,272 and 59)
Upapelavī, 60) Smaśānanī, 61) Upaśaśānanī, 62) Mahodadhitaṭī, 63)

Khasī, and 64) Mlecchī are the goddess in all the places, the sixty-four
in sequence—the yoginīs should be recognized as the clan-channels in
the navel cakras.273 In the heart cakra, similarly, are the eight dūtikās274
going everywhere. 1)275 Prayāga, 2) Devakoṭā, and 3) Ujjāyinī, 4)
Mahālakṣī, 5) Jvalamukhī, 6) Siddasimbhalī, 7) Māhila, 8) Kaumarī
Paurikī. In this way all the illusion-making good local goddesses276
are in the heart place. And in the throat cakra the goddess who is
the best female leader is described with sixteen great portions, and
sixteen elements: 1) blood,277 2) semen, 3) marrow, 4) sweat, 5) fat, 6)
skin, 7) flesh, and 8) bone, 9) sinews, 10) pus, 11) the end (death?), 12)
self-generated, 13) feces, 14) urine, 15) bile, 16) phlegm. May she who
is constantly carrying278 move with the secret, etc., places.
In the head cakra, Oh Great goddess, there are thirty-two channels,

providing success everywhere in the steps of the homa [offering], pro-
duced by the intellect. 1) Kṛṣṇā, 2) Karālī, 3) Bhībhacchī, 4) Nandī, 5)
Tītā, 6) Vināyikā, 7) Camuṇḍī, 8) Ghorarūpā, 9) Umādevī, 10) Sarasvatī,
11) Bhadrakālī, 12) Mahākālī, 13) Sthūlakālī, 14) Parājitā, 15) Jayā,
16) Vijayā, 17) Ajitā, 13) Jayantī, and 19) Ghoradaṃṣṭrī, 20) Indrī 21)
Caṇḍī, 22) Catuṣpathī, 23) Grāmavāsinī, 24) Raudrākī, 25) Kāmbojī,
26) Ḍāmbī, 27) Caṇḍālī, 28) Mātaṅgī, 29) Brāhmatī, 30) Sūdrikā, 31)
Rājapurī, and 32) Maharddhikī, filled with divine intoxication. So in
this way there are [the goddesses] attending upon Khaṇḍarohā in the
channels and cakras.
A bit further along in the chapter the mantranyāsa with phonemes
is described, using the first syllable of the above-mentioned locales,
etc.279
6.2. The Bhūtaḍāmara

As discussed in section 5.4.3 above, the Bhūtaḍāmara cult was appar-
ently shared by Buddhist and Śaivite tantric traditions, since both
traditions have texts by this name, with the extant Śaivite text being
considerably longer. We have seven texts of the Bhūta-ḍāmara tradi-
tion that were translated into Tibetan: 1) Bhūta-ḍāmara itself (Tohoku
747, 25 folios) translated by Budhhakaravarma and Chos-kyi śes-rab;
2) Bhūta-ḍāmara-maṇḍala-vidhi (Tohoku 2677, 12 folios) written by
Blo-bzans skoṅ and translated by Non-mi pandit and Rin-chen dpal;
3 and 4) –saṃkṣipta-sādhana (Tohoku 3302, one folio) translated by Da,
Abhayākaragupta, and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan, and (Tohoku 3641,
one folio) translator unknown; 5) -Sādhana (Tohoku 3303, three folios)
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translated by Da, Abhayākaragupta, and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan;

and 6) -Sādhana-vidhi (Tohoku 3642, two folios) written by ḥJig-rten-
gsuṅ-gyi rdo-rje.280
Ms. 4801, no. 68 of the Calcutta catalogue, is the 1215 C.E. Catur-
ābharaṇa by a Bhusukapāda, apparently a different writer than
Śāntideva, and quite possibly the same fellow as the tantric siddha
Bhusukapa who is dated by the Sa-skya Bka ’-bum to Devapāla’s reign
(809–849).281 This would place the Buddhist Bhūtaḍāmara lineage in
at least the ninth century, since the Caturābharaṇa appears to be a
text from the tradition of the Bhūtaḍāmaratantra. It opens with the
salutation “Namaḥ Śrī-bhūta-ḍāmarāya.” Bhūtam means simply a being;
ḍāmara means terrible, terrifying, dreadful, etc.; hence, the “Terrifying
Being Tantra.” Caturābharaṇa is “four ornaments.” Bhattacharyya
mentions the Bhūtaḍāmara as a text later than the Guhyasamāja,282 and
Abhayākaragupta gives several sādhanas to the deity.283 I translate here
the first few lines of a four-page extract given by Śāstri (unfortunately,
the Sanskrit appears to be a sort of dialect or Prākrit, or is simply cor-
rupt in many places, so it is difficult to unravel):
Homage to Śrībhūtaḍāmara. Honoring the guru, the great yoga, the
son in the heart of the yoginī, I and the yoga of sleeping having been
explained by the yogi Bhusukapāda, || Now, if the body is not per-
fected through an alteration of the principles, one should do [that],
causing your ignorance to go [away], one should not desire to know
that; || One should experience sleeping in a solitary place, likewise
approaching the consort, | piercing old age and death, the determina-
tion of the sun and moon. || Time, seasons, the moment, knowledge,
silence, the entry of the winds; | the binding of the six cakras, remov-
ing from every place; || All of this I will explain, and the texts with
their purpose and stages ||.284
The text continues with a description of various mediations using
the subtle body channels, cakras, etc., with an admixture of Hindu and
Buddhist terms—using maṇipūra (the Hindu name) for the navel cakra,
for instance; references to sūryyābharaṇamaithuna, etc. As Śāstrī re-
marks, “the present work by Bhuḍuku contains much that is degener-
ate and mystic.”285
6.3. The Abhidhānottaratantra

There are two texts from this tradition beginning Abhidhāna- in the
Tohoku Catalogue: 1) the Abhidhānottara-tantra (Tohoku 369, 123 folios)
translated in the latter tenth century by Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (i.e., Atīśa)

and Rin-chen bzaṅ-po, revised by Jñānaśrī, Khyuṇ-po Chos-kyi brston-
ḥgrus, and then again by Ānanda and Lo chuṅ;286 and 2) the Abhidhāna-
śāstra-viśva-locana-[ity-aparābhidhāna-muktāvalī] (Tohoku 4453, 93
folios) by Śrīdharasena (Dpal-bdsin sde), translated in the late twelfth
or early thirteenth centuries287 by Chos skyoṅs bzaṅ-po.288 There’s
also a Mūlatantra-saṃgraha-hṛdaya-abhidhānottara-tantra-mūla-vṛtti by
Śūraṃganavajra, translated into Tibetan in the early twelfth century
by Jñānaśrī and ’Phags-pa śes-rab.289
The Abhidhānottara, ms. 10759, no. 58, is a text in sixty-nine chap-
ters, the manuscript of which dates from Nepali Saṃvat 418 (= 1298
C.E.). Śāstrī provides the colophons to most chapters; the system is
slightly odd, since the numbers begin 1, 2, 3, then begin again at 1, 2,
3, 4. . . .290 1) The secret of the purification of the avatāraṇa commu-
nity; 2) the request; 3) the ultimate reality of the heart principle; 1)
the rule for the body-saṃvara; 2) the net-saṃvara of the lotus of truly
great sexual bliss; 3) protecting the guru of the saṃvara; 4) the Saṃvara;
5) the pilgrimage seat-[bodily]-joints sequence; 6) the procedure for
the parts of the sequence of everything that is not in order; 7) the rule
about the “lovely lightning” (i.e., Maṇjuśrī’s vajra), the annointing the
three cakras291 8) (missing); 9) explanation for the reason for the se-
quence of siddhis from the Yoginī-pīṭhas; 10) the tradition of the pīṭhas
that refer to the sheaths; 11) the yoginīs of the pīṭhas etc.; 12) the arising
of the meditations on the Śrīheruka ḍākinīs, of the hero-yoginīs, and the
ḍākinīs; 13) the meditation on the primary activity yoga; 14) instruc-
tion about the meditation on the intermediate sense; 15) instruction
about the meditation on the sharp sense; 16) the rule on saṃvara of
the yoga of the four ḍākinīs; 17) the discipline of the Yoga-saṃvara; 18)
pratyaṅgirā (?);292 19) the meditation called the omnipotent capacity
of the nectar of immortality; 20) the descent of the principle of the
secret community of yoginīs; 21) the tradition of dwelling in the clan’s
six cakras; 22) the sequence of the body, speech, and thought pīṭhas;
23) the women arising from the Buddha’s skull to establish the com-
munity; 24) the arising of the lightning being; 25) effecting the lovely
lightning; 26) effecting the ḍāka lightning; 27) the great secret, effect-
ing the vowel ḍākas; 28) the instruction on the reason for the siddhi
from the ḍākas of expansion; 29) the great royal maṇḍala when there
is the arising of the community’s saṃvara; 30) the arising of the qual-
ity of what’s abandoned; 31) rain and market rules; 32) effecting the
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universal form; 33) the ultimate glorious secret community; 34) medi-
tation on what arises from the union of the two protective mantras; 35)
cchoṣmā293 36) characteristics of the yoginīs; 37) characteristics of the
ḍākinīs; 38) characteristics of lamā;294 39) (missing); 40) characteristics
of the subsidiary consort; 41) the ḍākinī subsidiary consort; 42) char-
acteristic of the ḍākinī Cchoṣmā: 43) the preeminent water of the hap-
piness of beings; 44) the adept at expanding the activity of the ḍākinī
and the hero, and the nondual heart of the yoginī and the hero; 45) the
rules for the picture-image, its foundation, and preliminary consecra-
tion; 46) rules for the maṇḍala; 47) the [quarter-]junction of the day for
the Gāyatrī [mantra];295 48) the meditation on what arises from the sub-
sidiary heart sādhana; 49) the mediation on what arises from the heart
plus the thirty-two; 50) rule about the maṇḍala; 51) meditation on the
city of the Dharma realm; 52) meditation on the secret; 53) the sādhana
on what arises from the secret syllable; 54) the extraction by chalk of
the root mantra;296 55) meditation on the heart of the armor [mantra];
56) meditation on the heart of the goddess, the mantra-armor of the
heart; 57) establishment and anointing of the red, four-faced [deity],
the four fierce [deities] of the maṇḍala, and the extraction with chalk of
what arises from the Vajra-hūṃkāra; 58) the yoga of the groups [of pho-
nemes]; 59) (missing); 60) the secret of knowledge; 61) the secret of the
encapsulation of the four goddesses; 62) unlocking the encapsulation
of the lord of the fierce deities, Vajrabhairava; 63) the sādhana of the
seven[-times]-born paśu;297 64) the svādhiṣṭhāna [cakra], the meditation
on the higher arising of one’s own dharma; 65) worship of the state
of the self; 66) instruction in the multiple stated principles from the
great royal tantra on the extraordinarily secret saṃvara. In the post-
colophon at the end of the text, the saṃvara is also referred to as the
ḍāka-ḍākinī-jāla-saṃvara.298
6.4. The Vajraḍākatantra

The Tibetan canon contains six texts beginning Vajra-ḍāka-. One of
these texts, the Vajra-ḍāka-niṣkāya-dharma (Tohoku 1527) is attributed
to Tilopa, Naropa’s teacher, so this would date the text to no later than
the late tenth century. The other texts of this tantra translated into
Tibetan are the Vajra-ḍāka- 1) -Guhya-tantra-rāja (Tohoku 399) trans-
lated by Gayadhara and Śākya ye-śes; 2) Tantra-tattva-susthira-nāma-
pañjikā (Tohoku 1417) written by Nor-bzaṅs, translated by Śrīgayadhara
and Jo Zla-bahi ḥod-zer; 3) -Nāma-uttara-tantra (Tohoku 371) translated
by Mchog-gi dbaṅ-phyug and Śākya brston-bgras; 4) -Nāma-mahā-

tantra-rāja (Tohoku 370) translated by Gayadhara and ḥgos Lhas-btsas;
5) -Niṣkāya-dharma (Tohoku 1527) written by Telo-pa (Tilopa), transla-
tor unknown; and 6) -Stotra-daṇḍaka (Tohoku 1442) written by Chos-kyi
grags pa, translated by Manikaśrījñāna and Dpal-gyi mthaḥ-can.
Another four texts begin Vajra-ḍākinī-: 1) Vqjra-ḍākinī-niṣpanna-
krama (Tohoku 2379) written by Bhina-pa, translator unknown; 2 and
3) Vajra-ḍākinī-giti (Tohoku 2441) translated by Sha-ma lo-tsā-ba, and
(Tohoku 2442) written by Dbyiṅs-kyi gtso-mo, translated by Sha-ma
lo-tsa-ba; and 4) Vajra-ḍākinī-yogini-sādhana (Tohoku 1942) written by
Mar-me-mdsad ye-śes, translated by Prajñāśrījñānakīrti.299
The Vajraḍākatantra surviving in Sanskrit is a text of fifty-one chap-
ters, in a manuscript composed in fourteenth-century Newari script.
Among the chapter titles of note are: 3) attracting all the serpents
(Sarva-nāgākarṣaṇa); 18) definition of melāpaka (Melāpaka-nirṇaya); 34)
the barbarian consecration (Mleccha-vajrābhiṣeka); 36) the barbarian
channels, community, and saṃvara (Mleccha-nāḍya-samaya-sambara);
37) knowledge of all the weapons and mudrās of the barbarians
(Mleccha-sarvāyudha-mudra-jñāna); 44) the rules for the internalized
homa and the sādhana of the ghosts (Vetāḍa-sādhana-adhyātma-homa-
vidhi); 47) the rules for the section on the classes of alchemical sub-
stances (Rasāyana-dravya-varga-adhikāra-vidhi); and another chapter on
alchemy (49), whose title is partly effaced.300
6.5. The Sampuṭikā Mahātantrarājaḥ

Another eleventh-century Buddhist tantra is the Sampuṭikā Mahā-
tantrarājaḥ, ms. 3828, no. 62 in Śāstrī’s Calcutta catalogue. Apparently
the same text, the Sampuṭatantra, was cited by Abhayākaragupta. There
is only one text of this tradition in the Tibetan canon, the Saṃpuṭa-
nāma-mahā-tantra, translated by Gayadhara and Śākya ye-śes, revised
by Bu-ston (Bu-ston’s interest in the text is certainly noteworthy).301
Śāstrī gives the name as Sampuṭikā or Sampuṭodbhava-kalpa-rājaḥ. Sam-
puṭa properly is a cavity or covered box or bowl. Amarakośa 2.6.139a
gives as a synonym samudgaka302—a box or casket, such as for keeping
jewels. Vaman Shivram Apte quotes Bhartṛhari 2.67, Mālatīmādhava 1.54,
Kāvyādarśa 2.288, and Ṛtusaṃhāra 1.21 for the poetic usage of saṃpuṭa
as the fertile cavity of the ocean oyster that produces the pearl.303 The
definition given in the opening lines of our Sampuṭodbhavakalparāja is
that “The Sampuṭa has the nature of wisdom and means—what arises
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from that is the sampuṭa-samādhi.”304 The fourth-chapter colophon of

the tantra is Samputodbhava-vajra-dākinī-saṃketa-kalpa-rajas. Saṃketa
in erotic contexts means an assignation or appointment made with a
lover, or a lovers’ meeting/trysting place.305 So it would appear that
the name Sampuṭodbhavakalparājaḥ means “The royal treatise on what
arises from the fertile cavity (i.e., the womb).” The use of the term
kalpa in the name (there is a second incomplete manuscript of the text,
ms. 4854, no. 63, entitled Śrī-sampuṭodbhava-sarvva-tantra-nidāna-mahā-
kalpa-rājaḥ) lends support to my contention that the use of the terms
tantra and kalpa derive from early textual typologies in the medical
and Vedic traditions.
The colophon dates the Sampuṭikā to the twelfth day of Bhādrapāda
(August–September), Nepali Saṃvat 145 (= 1025 C.E.). As with the
Guhyasamāja, the Hevajra, and the Cakrasaṃvara, the text opens with
evaṃ mayā śrutam ekasmin samaye bhagavān sarvva-tathāgata-kāya-vāk-
citta-vajra-yoṣid-bhāgeṣu vijahāra |. The text continues:
There, indeed, the Lord, seeing Vajragarbha (“Lightning-embryo”)
in the midst of 80,000 masters of yoga, smiled. Immediately after he
smiled, Vajragarbha got up from his āsana, and placing his upper gar-
ment on one shoulder, placing the maṇḍala of his right knee on the
ground, folding his hands in homage, spoke this to the Lord:
“I desire to hear, Oh master of knowledge, the secret characteristic

arising from the saṃpuṭa that is the primary basis of all the tantras.”
(Bhagavān answers:) “Ho Vajragarbha, very good, very good, Oh very

loving one, very good, very good, Oh great bodhisattva, very good,
very good [you all] are the best mine of good qualities, since you ask
about that secret that is the complete in all the tantras.”
Then those great bodhisattvas, led by Vajragarbha, their eyes blos-

soming in delight, asked here about their own concerns, bowing in
homage again and again: “Why is it said, ‘all the tantras?’ How is that
the primary cause? Why is it called ‘a secret’? How does it arise from
the saṃpuṭa? What is the explanation for the name, and why is it a
tantra?”
The Bhagavān responded: “[Because] they are all, and they are tan-
tras, [hence] ‘all the tantras,’ and by the term sarvatantra [is meant]
the [Guhya]-samāja, etc.; [it is] considered to be the principal cause
of them—this is the meaning. It is secret because it is not within the
purview of Hari, Hara, Hiraṇyagarbha,306 the listeners, or isolated
buddhas. The Sampuṭa has the nature of wisdom and means—what

arises from that is the sampuṭa-samādhi. Udbhava is arising, charac-
terized as having the intrinsic nature of stationary or mobile beings
produced in that way;307 the characteristic is like this.”308
The chapter titles are as follows: 1a) The reality of the medita-
tion on the name, the nameable, the arising of bodhicitta, etc.; 1b) the
five senses, the five powers, the description of the seven limbs of en-
lightenment, ending with the eightfold path, etc., the descent of the
bodhicitta; 2a) the consecration of the bodhicitta; 2b) the meditation on
the purpose of wisdom and means; 2c) (unnamed); 3a) the arising of
Heruka; 3b and 3c (unnamed); 4a) indestructible speech, Cchoṣmā;309 4b)
the consort with the mark of the Kaṭapuṭānī;310 4c) the sign and the con-
sort (?); 5a) the place of meeting; 5b) the purification of the aggregates,
elements, and bases of consciousness; 5c) embracing according to the
practice (?); 6a) (unnamed); 6b) the ritual application of the places; and
6c) (unnamed). The sixth chapter as a whole is named Vasanta-tilaka
(“The Ornament of Spring”).311 7.i) (apparently the first line of the sec-
tion:) Now I will explain the rules of action whereby the adepts achieve
success; 7.ii) now I will explain the rules of alchemy, the collection of
all the elixirs; 7.iii) the rules for the application of unguents;312 7a) the
Āyurvedic [section] called the arising of omniscience; 7b) the rules for
the homa; 7c) the arising from the cakra [that provides for] the free
scope of all activity. So the seventh chapter called is what arises from
the meditation on all action is complete; 8a) the bell principle; 8b) the
meditation on the mantra recitation; 8c) curing the ignorance of the
heretics. The name of the eighth chapter is the complete arising of all
activity; 9a) the arising of all the Tathāgatas; 9b) the bali offering; 9c)
the discussion of the cloth book. The ninth chapter is called the reality
of the four ritual actions; 10a) the teacher’s great sādhana; and 10b) the
transformation of the illusion by the Buddha.313
6.6. The Kṛṣṇyamāritantra

The Kṛṣṇa-yamāri-tantra dates from no later than the early eleventh
century; we have a commentary on the text, the Kṛṣṇayamāri-tantra-
pañjikā-ratnāvali (Tohoku 1921, 54 folios) by the early eleventh-century
Mahāsiddha Maitri-pa or Avadhūti-pa and Kumāra-candra (Gshon-nu
zla-ba), translated by Sīlavajra and Bsod-nams rgyal-mtshan.314 Many
other texts from the Kṛṣṇa-yamāri-tantra tradition are also in the
Tibetan canon: 1) Kṛṣṇa-yamārī; 2) -tantra-pañjikā. (Tohoku 1922, 25
116 Pacific World
folios) by Padapāni, translated by Parameśvara and Roṅ-zom chos-kyi

bzaṅ-po;315 3) -tamra-rāja-trikalpa (Tohoku 469, three folios), translator
unknown;316 4) -tantra-rāja-prekṣaṇa-patha-pradīpa-nāma-ṭīkā. (Tohoku
1920, 85 folios) by Kṛṣṇa-chen po, translated by Prajñāśrījñānakīrti;
5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) -nāma-sādhana (Tohoku 1929, three folios) by Nying-
more byed-pahi gragas pa, translated by ḥygo Lhas-btsas, (Tohoku
1960, six folios)317 by Kun-tu bzaṅ-po, translated by Don-yod rdo-rje,
(Tohoku 1946, one folio) by Nag-po, translated by Prajñāśrīmitra,318
(Tohoku 1924, 15 folios) by Dpal-ḥdsin, translated by Dānakīrti and
Tshul-khrims rgyal-pa,319 (Tohoku 1968, two folios) by Kīrti, translator
unknown;320 10) –maṇḍala-stuti (Tohoku 1968, two folios) by Kīrti, trans-
lator unknown;321 11) -mahā-tantra-rāja-pañjikā-ratna-pradīpa (Tohoku
1919, 48 folios) by Ratnākaraśānti-pa, translated by Vinayacandra and
Chos-kyi śes-rab;322 12) -mukhu-ṣaṭ-cakra-sādhana (Tohoku 2015, two
folios) by Devākaracandra, translated by Devākaracandra and Śes-rab
bla-ma; 13) -rakta-yamāri-pūjā-vidhi (Tohoku 2028); 14) -śānti-homa-vidhi
(Tohoku 1956, one folio) by Nag-po, translated by Prajñāśrījñānakīrti;323
15) -sādhana-protphulla-kumudā; 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26,
27, 28) -sādhana. (Tohoku 1923, 1930, 1932, 1936, 1947, 3282, 3283, 3284,
3326, 3327, 3628, 3629, 3630); 29) -sādhana-maṇḍala-vidhi; 30) -sādhana
sa-cakrārtha-vistara-vyākhyā (Tohoku 1931); and 31) -abhisamaya-krama.
The alternative name of the text is the Kṛṣṇa-yamāri-[rakṣā]-
tantra.324 The name appears to be mean “the tantra of [protection by]
the yāmari (enemy of death) [named] Kṛṣṇa,” rather than “the black
yamāri,” since several of the chapters end with the phrase “the yogi
(will attain the stated goal, etc.), according to the statement of Kṛṣṇa
(kṛṣṇasya vacanaṃ yathā). A manuscript from Nepali Saṃvat 500 (= 1380
C.E.) is cited in Śāstrī’s Asiatic Society of Bengal catalogue. The first
chapter on consecration (abhiṣeka-paṭala) opens as follows:
Thus it was heard by me; at one time the Bhagavān was taking his
pleasure in the vaginas of all the vajra-women of the body, speech,
and mind of all the Tathāgatas. And then the Bhagavān welcomed the
king of all the Tathāgatas, Vajrapāṇi, Vajrasattva, along with the groups
of the Mahāyamāris, beginning with Moha-vajra-yamāri (Confusion)
and Piśuna-vajra-yamāri (Slander) and Īrṣyā-vajra-yamāri (Envy),
Dveṣa-vajra-yamāri (Hostility) and Mudgara-yamāri (Hammer) and
Daṇḍa-yamāri (Stick) and Padma-yamāri, and Khadga-yamāri, and Vajra-
carccikā, and Vajra-vārāhī, and Vajra-sarasvatī, and Vajra-śaurī, and
Alokā. Then the Bhagavān [said] “Oh Khavajra,” to [the one] receiving
the instruction. Then [there is] a second statement. He entered the
womb of his own body, speech, and thought, the samādhi called the
thunderbolt that destroys Māra. “One should destroy Māra by using
the moon-vajra; for quelling the māras, and for removing hatred ev-
erywhere, for protection, one should created the vajra abounding in
the five rays; and likewise [one should create] with the vajra the earth
and the wind, the enclosure, and the cage.” Then the Bhagavān, en-
tering into the samādhi called the generator of all the Tathāgatas and
the destruction of all the Māras, spoke to everyone. He entered the
lightning-womb of his own body, speech, and mind, the seed of vajra,
yama, the āryas, etc.: “In the middle of ya is kṣe sa me da ya cca ni rā jā sa
ho ru ṇa yo ni ra; the first destroyer of yama is in ra; in kṣe Moha [-vajra-
yamāri] is said to be; in ma is the akṣa [seed] Piśuna, and in the pho-
neme sa is Passion, and in da is Envy; [these] are the five known as the
destroyers of Yama. In ya is the Hammer, in ca is the Stick-leader; in ni
is Padmapāṇi, and in rā is Khaḍgavān also; in jā, Carcikā is said to be, and
Vārāhī is in sa. Sarasvatī is also in the phoneme ho, and Śaunikā is con-
sidered to be in la. The womb of na is in the square; [these] are con-
sidered the four instruments; one should consider that the terrifying
universal thunderbolt resides in the middle of the sky-lightning bolt.
One should [meditatively] create pitiless time residing in the middle
of Yamāntaka (the destroyer of death), and Mohavajra in the eastern
door, and Piśuna in the southern, and Rāgavajra in the western, and
Īrsya in the northern door. In the four tridents in the lightning bolts
of the corners, one should visualize Carccikā, etc. In the four tridents
of the lightning bolts of the doors, one should visualize the Hammer,
etc. In the four corners of the universal lightning bolts, [one should
meditatively create] the heads of the kings.” Then the Bhagavān, en-
tering into the samādhi called the Yamāri-vajra of the king of all the
tathāgatas, declared the great mantra of the clan of hostility. “Oṃ hūṃ
strīḥ, the disfigured face huṃ huṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā.” Then the Bhagavān,
the king of all the tathāgatas, declared the Moha-vajra-mantra: “Oṃ
Jina jika.” Then the Bhagavān declared the Piśuna-vajra-mantra: “Oṃ
ratnadhṛk.” Then the Bhagavān, king of all the tathāgatas, declared the
Rāga-vajra-mantra, “Oṃ ārālika.”325
The text gives more mantras of the various vajra entities,326 then
some dhyānas: Yamāri is three-faced, six-armed, fierce, like a sap-
phire [in color]; intensifying the lightning bolt in the hand, the wise
one should generate Yamāri into existence. Mohavajra is three-faced,
six-armed, peaceful, like a very clear mirror; contemplating a cakra in
the hand one should generate Mohavajra. Piśunavajra is three-faced,
six-armed, nourishing, like burnt gold [in color]; intensifying a gem in
the hand, one should generate Piśuna-vajra. Rāgavajra is three-faced,
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six-armed, controllable, like a ruby in appearance; intensifying a lotus

in the hand, one should generate Rāgavajra. Īrṣyavajra is three-faced,
six-armed, universal, like a budding lotus.327
Chapter 2 of the Kṛṣṇa-yamāri is hymns to the deities (mahāmaṇḍala-
paṭala); chapter 3 is on karma-yoga. Śāstrī gives an extract from the
fourth chapter:
The holder of the vow should draw a pair of cakras on the cremation
shroud. With rājikā328 and salt, with black salt and with nimbaka, the
three spices,329 and the arśāna (?) from the cremation ground. And
having made the index finger red with the resins from the thorn-ap-
ple leaves, and also with the seeds of caṇḍa,330 or with the juice of the
citraka331 taking some clay from the salt flats, the vow-holder should
draw, on the fourteenth lunar day, ornamentation on the Caṇḍāla’s
earthen pot using a ‘starving lotus’ drawing instrument. At midnight,
with fierce thought because of the relationship with evil people, one
should bind together the name of the obstacles to sentient beings with
the huṃ syllable. Facing south, the yogī should draw himself as the
destroyer of death. Mahācaṇḍa in his fierce form, adorned with skull
fragments, sitting on a buffalo, with a lolling tongue, a big belly, ter-
rifying, with tawny erect twisted locks, likewise [tawny] curly facial
hair and eyebrows; and [he should draw] in the right [hand] the great
vajra, and also a chopper [in] the second [hand]; in the third hand a
knife, and now, the left: on the left a cakra, and a great lotus, and a
skull; at the front of the root,332 [he should draw] the great bee, on the
right, very brilliant [like] the moon; the left, said to be blood-red like,
adorned with diamond ornaments. [He] should make the holes of the
pores of the skin irradiate the king of his own clan, standing in the
pratyālīḍha position, standing up on top of a solar disk, his face with
terrible deformed fangs, appearing like the blazing fire [at the end] of
the age. Furnishing oneself in this way [evam ātmānaṃ sannahya], one
should apply what’s to be prepared in front. . . .333
Chapters 5 and 6 of the Kṛṣṇa-yamāri are “drawing the symmetrical
circle” and “looking at the cakra.”334 The sixth chapter begins:
Now I will explain the mantra for performance of the ritual offering
for all beings. When the great mantra is articulated [it causes] trem-
bling in all beings: to Indra hrīḥ, to Yama strīḥ, to Varuṇa vi, to Kubera
kṛ, to Iśāna ta, to Agni a, to Nairṛtya na, to Vāyu na, to Candra huṃ, to
Arka (the Sun) huṃ, to Brahman phaṭ, to Vasudhāra phaṭ, to Vemacitrin
(the variegated loom) svā, to all beings hā; hā, hā hīṃ hīṃ huṃ huṃ he
he svāhā. Having made the triangle [surrounded by] a circle, the yogī
should satisfy the deities with mixtures of feces, urine, and water,
and one should meditatively remember hāhā.335
Chapter 7 is on the means for attracting the śaktis of the different

yamāris:336
The wise one, through use of the protection attraction, should medi-
tatively create Carccikā, with three faces, six arms, white, a cakra in
her hand, moon-like. The wise one, through use of the liquor attrac-
tion, should meditatively create Varāhī, with three faces, six arms, a
hog’s snout, with a vajra in her hand, very blue. The vow taker should
visualize Sarasvatī with three faces, six arms, red, holding a lotus
in her hand, and beautiful, for the purpose of increasing wisdom.
Through the use of the white attraction the wise one should visualize
Saurī337 with three faces, six arms, like a blossomed lotus.338
Chapters 8 and 9 are on the rules for the homa and on the female
terrifier (Bhimā) of the yamāris.339 Part of the ninth chapter reads:
With the flesh of a brāhmaṇa, with the ashes of the funeral pyre and
with the soil [under] that, one should create an image of Yamāri with
two arms and one face, with a great vajra in the right hand, and a
man’s head on the left, colored white, really terrifying, one should
mow down the evil ones with that [image]. One should offer the bali
every day with the five types of flesh and the five nectars; the yogī
should continually request of that [image]: “you must cut down my
enemy.” This having been requested for seven nights, the enemy will
die at dawn.340
Chapter 10 is the practice, recollection, and meditation of the
vetālas (goblins). Chapter 11 is on practice according to the commu-
nity. Chapter 12 is on the characteristics of common practices (among
the various communities). Chapter 13 is the determination of siddhi.
Chapter 14 is the practice of Mañju-vajra.341 Chapter 14 begins as follows:
“Here is this supreme ceremonial practice according to the reading
of the sūtra; a is primary, because of the lack of initial arisal of all
the dharmas; in the form of the glorious destroyer of dearth, medi-
tating on the student, the eye, the well-concentrated one should get
rid of [even] the best of the best of the best of the knowledge sūtras.
Then this is the esoteric custom of entering into the great maṇdala.”
The string prepared by the wise ones is smeared with the five cow
products, is long [enough] for twenty doors, and is twice [the dimen-
sions] of the maṇḍala. Then this is the given practice for solicitation
of the great vajra: “Aho the Buddha the great teacher, Aho the lord
who is a host of properties is in my body; the community, the reality,
and the bodhicitta are in my body.” Then this is the custom for taking
hold of the great earth, the invocation of the vajra-earth. “You Oh
goddess, are the witness of the all the Buddhas, of the protectors, for
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the specifications of proper practices, and for the perfections of the

earth.”342
Śāstrī gives another short section of chapter 14:
And those (ye) who intensely control their breaths, eat fish, meat,
etc., delight in liquor and beautiful women, who hold to the atheists’
vows, the men who are not consecrated, and who cause all sorts of
mischief, who delight in the districts of villages, become perfected;
there’s no doubt, according to the statement of Kṛṣṇa; now all these
(te) bodhisattvas, beginning with Maitreya, having heard the etymol-
ogy of the word vajra became, and remained satisfied.343
Chapter 15 is the practice of the Vajra-anaṅga, i.e., the thunderbolt-
Kāma or the lightning-bolt god of love.344 It begins:
And now I will explain the secret in summary, and not in detail. By
knowing just this, one can attract the Apsaras. One should medita-
tively create the lightnmg-kāma, very attractive, with a yellow body,
two arms, one face, with a bow and arrows in hand. One should medi-
tate Rati (Kṛṣṇa’s wife) in the east, and in the south Madanasundarī
(intoxicatingly beautiful), in the west Kāmadevī, and in the north
Madanotsukā (She who is eager for sexual love). One should visualize
the bow and arrow for all the goddesses of love; one should medi-
tatively create them as yellow, red, black white and red. And in the
corner one should always apply Aniruddha (Kṛṣṇa’s son), husband of
Uṣā (the dawn).345 In the door[s] and in the quarter[s] it is said there is
Spring and Crocodile-bannered (Kāma); and it is said there is Kandarpa
and Darpaka (two names of Kāma), and likewise Bāṇāyudha (armed
with arrows = Kāma) is remembered. One should visualize in the head
the Death Destroyer of all the gods; one should meditatively create
lightning-Kāma situated at the tip of the mouth of women, [like] a
bird, vibrating everywhere, produced from the sītkāra mantra.346 Med-
itating on she who is longed for, who is agitated, who is piercing (?),347
eager for ardent passion, who has fallen at one’s feet, enveloped in a
red garment. And one should recite the mantra for her, “oṃkāra, not
separated from heaven.” Then having given the svāhā at the end, one
should utter the sītkāra mantra. “May this woman become subject to
my will.” One should meditatively visualize [her] for seven days. The
yogī will obtain the [woman] who is longed for, according to the state-
ment of Kṛṣṇa.348
Chapter 16 is the sādhana of Heruka, chapter 17 is the recitation
about bodhicitta, also called the kathāpaṭala, as is chapter 18. The closing
colophon reads:
The king of the guhyakas, the leader of the lightning bolt-clan, en-
dowed with the sap of the nakaṭakā (?), spoke this great royal tantra;
it came out of Oḍḍiyāna, and is a complete extract from a one hundred
and twenty-five thousand [verse text].349
6.7. The Catuṣpīṭha[nibandha]tantra
A famous Buddhist tantra is the Catuspīṭhatantra, and we have sev-
eral eleventh-century manuscripts of commentaries on this text, as
well as a twelfth-century manuscript of the tantra. In his Nepal Durbar
Library catalogue Ṣāstrī gives an extract from a sādhana text of this
tantra entitled Catuṣpīṭhanibandhaḥ. The colophon providing the date
reads:
The abbreviated sādhana of the Catuṣpīṭha is completed. It was written
by Śākyabhikṣukumāra-candra while residing in the Śrīpadmacakra-
mahāvihāra, commissioned by Śrīguṇakāmadeva, in the kingdom of
Śrībhāskaradeva, on Friday, on the tenth day of the bright half of
Śrāvaṇa (July–August), Sarṃvat 165, for the attainment of the ulti-
mate fruit [by] mothers, fathers, gurus, teachers, dear friends, and all
beings. The clan-son in the real.350
Nepal Samvat 165 = 1045 C.E. Petech dates Bhāskaradeva to 1043–
1050, specifying this text’s date as July 26th, 1045, and dates Guṇakā-
madeva to 942–1008,351 so it would appear that the text was begun
during the earlier king’s reign and took some forty years to complete.
There are several texts from this tradition in the Tibetan catalogue. We
find the Śrīcatuḥ-pīṭha-mahā-yoginī-tantra-rāja (Tohoku 428, 50 folios)
translated by Gayadhara and ḥos Khug-pa Lhas-btsas; Śrīcatuḥ-pīṭha-
ākhyā-tantra-rāja-mantrāṃśa-nāma (Tohoku 429, 29 folios) translated
by Gayadhara and Śākya ye-śes; and the Śrī-catuḥ-pīṭha-vikhyāta-tantra-
rāja-nāma (Tohoku 430, 44 folios) translated by Smṛtijñānakīrti and re-
vised by Bu-ston.352 There are four Śrī-catuḥ-pīṭha commentaries in the
Tibetan canon: 1) -tantra-rāja-maṇḍala-vidhi-sāra-samuccaya (Tohoku
1613, 25 folios) attributed to Āryadeva and translated by Gayadhara
and Ḥgos-khugs-pa lhas-btsas;353 2) –smṛti-nibhanda-nāma-ṭīkā (Tohoku
1607, 127 folios) by Bhavabhadra, translated by Gayadhara and
Hgos;354 3) -yoga-tantra-sādhana (Tohoku 1610, nine folios) attributed
to Āryadeva, translated by Kamalagupta and Rin-chen bzaṅ-po;355
and 4) -sādhana (Tohoku 1616, five folios) written by Bhavabhadra,
translated by Gayadhara and Ḥgos Lhas-btsas.356 As Śāstrī notes, the
Catuṣpīṭhatantra is also mentioned in the second verse of the Yogāmbara
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Sādhana Tantra: “This sincere propitiation, the brief good sādhana is

stated by me on account of the request of the students, according to
the rules [set out] in the Catuṣpīṭha.”357 The extract (somewhat difficult
to follow without the original text) reads:
So in the Ātmapīṭha section, the ātma of the wind, etc., principles is
itself one’s own body, the pīṭha, the āsana, the basis; by this set of
statements the wind, etc., principle is expressed, or is referred to.
Ātmapīṭha [indicates that] the ātma is the pīṭha. Thus the first chapter
in the Ātmapīṭha in the Catuṣpīṭhanibandha. Now he relates the chapter
on the knowledge of time, and the illusion of that, etc. “Oh Bhagavān,
I want to hear about the principle of knowledge, [its] domain [?], its
removal etc.; we are this mark, the body (aṅga); hence the mark of
death. How is the principle assembled? The principle of the mantra?”
[Bhagavān answers]: “Listen to the teaching about the mark of the
vajra great king, and the body. By the actions of emanation, etc., roy-
ally, thus the king. The vajra is the protector of Akṣobhya, the great
king, so this is known as the Vajra-great king. The body is to be un-
derstood as the mark. You must listen next to the [state of] remain-
ing (sthitam) that is like the time of death; it is known as what has
penetrated the time of death–this is the sense. He stated the mark,
the breaths, etc.”358
Śāstrī gives another extract from leaf 8A of the manuscript:
One should utter that, having created the previously described
maṇḍala-cakra according to the rules and regulations for worship.
One should offer worship with the collected mudrās and mantras as
stated, “Oṃ you must make the great offering, huṃ svāhā.” Stretching
out both hands, wiggling the middle fingers, at the time of the sacri-
fice into the fire, with the consort who is intoxicated by the offering
at the time of the sacrifice, there is examination of the fire. If it indi-
cates a bad omen, then “vajra you must become visible huṃ svāhā.” In
the place where there is a bad omen, then one should offer ghee there
one hundred and eight times, with quieting water from the dravya.
Having offered the consecration [water] in the three, as before, the
offering to the root-deity [mūla-devatā-homaḥ] is to be offered, accord-
ing to the previously mentioned method. Having drawn [the deity] in
with the breath, one should establish in one’s own body; releasing
[it], it should become visible-this is the rule of the offering (homa-
vidhi). [According to] the rules for the sacrifice, . . . [following (?)] the
extended procedure, having performed the preparation (?) with vari-
ous garments, one should create a square maṇḍala with white sandal,
from the pitcher with the white powder. Having smeared the middle
vessel, filling it with shaving water and sandal, decorating it with

blossoms, etc., offering a lac-reddened body in the form of eye-leaves
(dṛṣṭi-pattra-rūpakā-laktakāṅgam?), reciting eight-times individually
[the mantra] beginning with Oṃ and ending with svāhā, huṃ, hruṃ,
suṃ, kṣuṃ, yuṃ, huṃ, strāṃ, stryām, kṣrām, one should set up the eight
pitchers in their appropriate places. And placing the large vessel in
the middle, performing the entire ātma-yoga as previously stated,
honoring the ātman (ātmānaṃ pūjayitvā), then one should begin that
externally, “in the likeness of a lotus, svāhā,” cupping the hands in the
shape of a lotus. Then one should see the lotus of the middle vessel,
the maṇḍala with the moon, provided with a white parasol. Then one
should meditate with the hūṃkāra there on the knowledge-woman,
superintended by the vajra-hūṃkāra. One should meditate on she who
is steadfast in the sattva-paryaṅka,359 her two arms colored white, and
on the vajra and stick on the left and right arms. That one is Vajrī in
the east, Ghorī in the north,360 Vetālī in the west,361 and Caṇḍālī in the
south.362 In the northeast [she is] Siṃhinī363 in the southeast Vyāghrī.364
In the northwest [she is] Ulūkī.365 She is to be meditated upon as the
previously stated ornament of wise men. And one should make the
mudrās and maṇḍalas of these.366 “Make that stay at the right time,
hūṃ phaṭ.” Performing the vajra-bandha, extending the two index fin-
gers, making the cakra and the knot, one should show [them?] to the
community. One should worship as before, “Oṃ hūṃ svāhā.” Making
two vajra-fists, one should place the left one on the heart, and the
right one on the head; hence the mantra of the mūla-bh[a]dra (root-
“dear”). And the root-mantra, having given also the water as desired,
combined with durva sprouts, together with jasmine, etc., flowers;
uttering that one mantra, performing the accompanying meditation,
one should strike the vajra in the diadem of the goddess. One should
offer the ayutāpūrvam (“ten-thousand unprecedented”?) substance.
There will be whatever siddhi that is desired, long life, health, and
growth. And at the end of the homa one should give the offering in
the manner that was described. In the entire ritual, the śukla pro-
cedure is sattvic (?). One should make the eastern face peaceful. One
should make the water that removes all misfortune, etc., and the
state of peacefulness with a mind that has pacified the threatening
one hundred bead garland. And the water, beginning “prosperity,
kṣa, you must make the northern face the one that provides prosper-
ity by honoring all that is yellow, [and] you must invite all wealth.”
With a mind delighted by the permanence in the central channel of
the hundred-bead garland and the one hundred eight-bead garland,
one should make prosperity. By honoring all that is red in the vajra
(subduing ritual), “you must bring the western face to me, you must
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draw it from the directions,” etc. and the water. Placing the twenty-
syllable garland in the fourth finger, one should perform the paci-
fication [rite] with a protective mind. And in the incantation, with
the ka service, “you must kill the southern face, you must expel it,”
etc., and the water. With a rosary of sixty beads, with the continued
presence of a young lady, with a mind filled with anger, one should
conjure. [Thus] the subject matter of the offering, the homa, and the
sacrifice is briefly written about according to the tradition of the
Catuṣpīṭhatantra.367
Manuscript III.360.A in Śāstrī’s Durbar Library catalogue is another
commentary on the Catuṣpīṭhatantra entitled Catuṣpīṭhśloka, dated N.S.
132 = 1012 CE.368 Śāstrī provides a short extract:
Homage to all the beautiful women. Honoring the five forms—the
shining line of the new moon holding the sun, providing an image
of the Buddha, Maitreya, and the beautiful young woman on his
head, and Mañjughoṣa, the form of the stick arising from the lotus,
the beautiful form of the diadem, the Vajra-possessor, the dreadful
sound, the form of vijñāna and jñāna, destroying the fear of the world,
this commentary is written because of the entreaty for the protec-
tion of the body. From the statement beginning “in this way the lan-
guage” up to “they praised,” the rules for declension and gender,
the compounds, etc., and the heavy and light syllables, caesuras, and
meters etc. are to be employed as appropriate according to [their
usage in] Āryadeśa. By what begins “in this way, knowing all the lan-
guages,” four meanings are indicated: the indicator and the manner
of indication, the meaning to be indicated, [and] the place. Of these,
the indicator is “knowing all.” “In this way” is the manner of indica-
tion. “Knowledge” is the meaning to be indicated. “The pure abode”
is the place. When there is meaning in that sense, it is . . . the mean-
ing “of the Buddhas.” Wherever there is “southern,” that itself is the
meaning. “The covering with the yoginīs net”: the yoginīs are the per-
fection of wisdom, etc.; the net is the assemblage, as was previously
stated. “In the samapada”369 etc.: the foot is on the opposite big toe
and toe, the feet are even in the nature of an embrace. And by con-
tracting one of those feet, standing up vertically, or the cittapadam
(?). One should make both hands, an external toe-ring, [and] the pair
of knees like that. With the two forearms, the swan-wings position.
Placing the right foot in the maṇḍala and the left foot on the ground,
one sprinkles the water with the gesture of transcending the three
worlds; hence the three steps (of Viṣṇu-trivikramapadam). One should
step over the left foot with the right foot. Bending the left leg, one
should stretch it out to the extent of five vitastis370—such is the ālīḍha.
For the pratyālīḍha here, bending the right leg, one should stretch out
the left leg to the same extent.
One foot is raised up. One should not move it around. Hence, [keep it]
in one place. Reclining in pleasure with a woman inspired by an amo-
rous look, when moving the foot back and forth by various means,
if at first one touches the parts of one’s body with [her] foot that’s
moving back and forth, [then] squeezing [the foot] all over, and by
means of pressing it onto the opposite thigh, because of that rest-
ing place, one should rest on what has been produced through prior
effort; and so for both, i.e for both feet of the yoginī. Or until the half-
setting up, [i.e.,] making the sacrificial post. And he said; from one
the knee is dulled from the three (?) that are applied to the knee.
The pair of feet belonging to the seated man are placed on the op-
posite knees, paining the left side, and beating on the shaved head.
Embracing the neck of Prajñāpāramitā, firmly in the noose-like arm of
Vajrasattva, and placing that all around the goddess’ lower leg, then
joining together as the sampuṭa,371 it is said that there is liberation
from the variety of prāṇa [flowing] through the woman’s throat. So
it was explained by Āryyadeva. “The sexual embracing of the pair,”
i.e., whence there is the commingling of wisdom and means; by ac-
tivity subsequent to transmigration with regard to the constituent
[common] to all sentient beings–this is the meaning. Having liber-
ated the covering of the net of yoginīs, there is no further essence
to saṃsāra. “And it is to be employed for liberation,” i.e., one should
do circumambulation. “And that particularly,” i.e., because of using
the word “particular,” there is an abridgment in [one] word of what
is stated in twelve-thousand [verses] in the Kakṣapuṭa, i.e. this is the
Kakṣapuṭa in that sense. (Verse: —largely unintelligible) Bearing fire
together (?) with the king, a beautiful woman with beautiful hands, |
she who is the thunderbolt of the ocean of Indra, causing confusion
among those terrified of hell and among the ascetics with matted
hair you must make the four-fourfold-five mixture for the body | You
are a young woman suitable to desire, pleasure with fangs (?) || Hence
it is to be written down at the end of the Kakṣapuṭa.372
A manuscript of the Catuṣpīṭhatantra is listed in Bendall’s Catalogue
of Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge.373
Written on palm leaf, from the twelfth century, it is divided into
four prakaraṇas, the first (unnamed), the ātmapīṭha, the parapīṭha, the
yogapīṭha, and the guhyapīṭha. In the Asiatic Society of Bengal catalogue
Śāstrī cites a twelfth-century manuscript of what appears to be a rituai
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manual based on this text under the title Catuṣpīṭhanibandhaḥ, and

gives the Sanskrit (with some ellipses) of the first leaf:
Homage to the three jewels. Paying homage to the truly terrifying
lightning tongue, completely filling the entire mouth, I will explain
[the goddess] whose garment is conducive to sādhana. The mantra-
possessor who has attained the consecration, the proper learning,
and has entered into the maṇḍala is to begin the procedure of mantra-
recitation according to the rule described in the Kalpa, for the god-
desses’ ocean of perspiration. At first, to that extent, with the mantra-
possessor’s great effort . . . [in?] magical power, prognostication, etc.
. . . for she who protects . . . | . . . not possessing an ātman, with the
riches of a king, etc., with the mind determined upon the discipline
of either achieving or requesting siddhi, the entire pair with Viṣṇu (?).
With an unwearied mind engaged in purified external and internal
practice, intent upon all the dharma-statements in the perfection of
wisdom etc., on the mountains, in the gardens and parks, in the cre-
mation grounds, the lotus-lakes, the rivers and on the river banks, in
the monastic retreats, dwellings, and caves, etc., or in places pleasing
to the mind, smearing oneself with mud or cow dung, etc., one should
prepare the . . . ground. There is this sequence of procedures [to be
followed]: at night, at the time of the end of the third [portion of the
night], having arisen from sleeping, one should restore the non-exis-
tence at the end of everything to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas situ-
ated at the end of the dharmadhātu in the space element that has three
paths. Then one should pay homage to the self with the twelve-sylla-
ble mantra with the thumb-seal, [and] one should provide protection
in the five places. Then one should go to the external place; at night
one should face south; during the day, one should face north. Then,
purified, one should perform the ablutions of the five limbs. Then,
having provided the three water-offerings to the goddess, one should
go to the temple. Having meditated on bhagavatī as non-existent in
front of one of the polished images of the goddess in the disk that
is sprinkled with flowers and properly anointed, wearing a red gar-
ment, supplied with all the sacrificial implements, facing to the west,
etc., or facing north, one should honor all the living Buddhas, bodhisat-
tvas, pratyekabuddhas, āryyaśrāvakas, etc. residing in all the worldly
realms. Then, having honored the Bhagavatī, having offered an añjali
with one’s head, one should say: “may the three jewels protect me; I
confess all my sins; I delight in the merit of the world; I place my mind
in the enlightenment of the Buddhas.” Having made offering in that
way, one should utter the purified mantra: “homage to the seven days,
to all the Buddhas, Om, to all the purified dharmas. . . .”374
7. TEXTS CITED BY ABHAYĀKARAGUPTA NOT YET

LOCATED IN SANSKRIT MANUSCRIPTS
There are a number of texts cited by Abhayākaragupta that survive in
Tibetan translation, which I have not yet located in the Sanskrit manu-
script catalogues. The originals of these texts may be lost, or they may
simply be located elsewhere than where I was able to search.
7.1. The Trailokyavijayatantra

There are ten works of the Trailokya system in the Tohoku catalogue,
three Trailokyava-Śaṃkara-lokeśvara-sādhanas: 1) (Tohoku 3169, one
folio), translated by in the early twelfth century375 by Tshul-khrims
rgyal-mtshan, 2) (Tohoku 3427, one folio) by Saraha, who may or may
not be identical with Padmasambhava, and in any case must date to the
eighth century, translated by Grags-pa rgyal-mthsan in the mid-four-
teenth century;376 and 3) (Tohoku 3428, one folio)377 translated by the
fourteenth-century Grags-pa rgyal-mtshan; a Trailokyava-śaṃkara-ārya-
bhugma-sādhana (Tohoku 3436, two folios) by Śunyatā-samādhi-vajra-
pāda (possibly from the ninth century),378 translated in the fourteenth
century by Gragas-pa rgyal-mtshan, and five Trailokyavijaya texts, 1)
-Nāma-vṛtti (Tohoku 2509, 69 folios) by ṣa, probably the same as Mudi-
taśrī, who dates to the early twelfth century,379 translator unknown; 2)
–Maṇḍala-vidhy-ārya-tattva-saṃgraha-tantra-uddhṛta (Tohoku 2519, 43
folios) by the Kaśmīri Ānanda-garbha (Kun-dgal? snin-po), translated
by Rin chen bzaṅ-po (958–1055).380 Ānandagarbha was responsible for
the Sarvatathāgata-tattva-saṃgraha-sūtra commentary called the Tattva-
saṃgraha-abhisamaya-nāma-tantra-vyākhyā Tattvālokakarī nāma, a com-
mentary on the Māyājāla-mahātantrarāja, and edited a version of a long
commentary (Pañjikā) on the Guhyasamājatantra; he also wrote two
commentaries on the Paramāditantra, the Vajra-dhātu-mahā-maṇḍala-
upayikā called Sarva-vajra-udaya, the Vajra-sattva-sādhanopāyikā, and
the Vajra-sattva-udaya-nāma-sādhana-upayikā, and a commentary on
the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana entitled the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana-tejo-
rājasya tathāgatasya ārhataḥ samyak-saṃbuddhasya nāma kalpa-ṭīkā. Un-
fortunately Naudou has no specific information on his dates;381 we know
however that Rin chen bzaṅ-po lived from the mid-tenth to mid-elev-
enth centuries,382 so Ānandagarbha’s works, and all the tantras he com-
mented on, must predate the mid-tenth century; 3) -Mahā-kalpa-rāja
(Tohoku 482, 48 folios) translated by Rin-chen bzaṅ-po or Rma dge blo,
revised by Sha-lu-pa Yeśes rgya-mtsho; 4 and 5) two -sādhanas (Tohoku
128 Pacific World
3278, one folio) translated by Avhaya and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan,

and (Tohoku 3624, one folio) translated in the fourteenth century
by Grags-pa rgyal-mtshan;383 and 6) Trailokya-saṃkara-avalokiteśvara-
sādhana (Tohoku 3371, one folio) by Saraha, translated by Don-yod rdo-
rje and Ba-ri.384
7.2. The Mañju-vajra-maṇḍalaṭippanī
There are four Mañju-vajra texts in the Tohoku catalogue, and though
we don’t have a translation of this particular text, or a date for one
author, the late date of these translations suggest that this was a later,
and perhaps less significant, development in the Buddhist tantric
group: 1) -Pūja-vidhi (Tohoku 1902, one folio) written by Śrīdatta (Dpal
sbyin), translated by Vibhūticandra (of the thirteenth century),385 re-
vised by Blo-gros seṅ-ge; 2) -Sādhana (3476) translated by Grags-pa
rgyal-mtshan (late thirteenth, early fourteenth century—a near con-
temporary of Bu-ston);386 3) Siddha-eka-vīra-sādhana (Tohoku 3322, one
folio) translated by Ba-ri Dharmakīrti (Ba-ri Chos-kyi grags pa); and
4) -Udaya-maṇḍala-vidhi-sarva-sattva-hitāvaha (Tohoku 2590, 49 folios),
translator unknown.387
7.3. The Vajrāmṛtatantra

There are four texts in the Tohoku catalogue from this tradition: 1)
Vajrāmṛta-tantra (Tohoku 435, 11 folios) translated by Gyi Jo Zla-
bahi ḥod-zer, the Tibetan translator who worked with Bhadrabodhi
(Naropa’s student) to accomplish the first Tibetan translation of the
Kālacakratantra in 1027 C.E.;388 2) Vajrāmṛta-tantra-ṭīkā (Tohoku 1650, 38
folios) by the Kaśmīri Guṇākaraśrībhadra (c. 1075–1125 C.E.)389 (Guṇa-
bhadra, Yon-tan bzaṅ-po), translated by Smṛtijñāna; 3) Vajrāmṛta-
pañjikā (Tohoku 1649, 15 folios)390 written by the thirteenth-century391
Kaśmīri Vimalaśrībhadra (Dri-med bzaṅ-po), translator unknown, re-
vised by Rin-chen grub; and 4) Vajrāmṛta-mahā-tantra-rāja-ṭīkā (Tohoku
1651, 51 folios) by Bhago, translated by Tārapāla and Chiṅs Yon-tan
ḥbar, revised by Śīla-guhya-vajra and Glog skya śes-rab brtsegs.392
7.4. The Āmnāyamañjarī

There are two texts that appear to be related to the Āmnāyamaṇjarī in the
Tohoku Catalogue: 1) the Āmnāya-viśeṣa (Tohoku 3175, one folio) trans-
lated by Abhayākaragupta and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan; and 2) the
Āmnāyatantra (Tohoku 3200, one folio) translated by Abhayākaragupta
and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan.393 Abhayākaragupta himself helped

translate the Āmnāyatantra into Tibetan.
7.5. The Buddhakapāla-sambara-hevqjra

There are six Buddhakapāla texts in the Tohoku Catalogue: 1) Buddha-
kapāla-tantra-tattva-cadrikā-pañjikā (Tohoku 1653, 16 folios) by
Padmavajra (perhaps the same as Padmākara and Padmasmabhava,
listed in Tohoku as Padma rdo-rje), translated by Din-ri Chos-grags
(?) who postdates Abhayākaragupta, and revised by Blo-gros brtan-pa;
2) -Tantra-pañjikā-jñānavatī (Tohoku 1652, 46 folios) by Saraha (per-
haps a contemporary of Padmasambhava, perhaps even a bit earlier),
translated by Gayadhara and Jo Zla-baḥi ḥod-zer; 3) -Nāma-yoginī-
tantra-rāja (Tohoku 424, 24 folios) translated by Śrīgayadhara and Jo
Zla-baḥi ḥod zer; 4) –Maṇḍala-vidhi-krama-pradyotana (Tohoku 1657,
13 folios) by Saraha, translated by Gayadhara and Jo Zla-bahi ḥod-zer;
5) -Mahā-tantra-rāja-ṭīkā-ubhaya-paddhati (Tohoku 1654, 59 folios) by
Abhayākaragupta, translated by Diṅ-ri Chos-grags (?), revised by Blo-
grso brtan-pa; and 6), the Buddhakapāla-sādhana (Tohoku 1655, four
folios) by Saraha, translated by Gayadhara and Jo Zla-baḥi ḥod-zer.
7.6. The Yoginī-sañcara-tantra

There are two texts from this tradition in the Tohoku catalogue: 1)
Yoginīsaṇcārya (Tohoku 375, ten folios) translated by Ḥgos lhas-btsas,
and 2) Yoginī-saṃcārya-nibandha (Tohoku 1422, 19 folios) by Tathā-
gatarakṣita, translated by Tathāgatarakṣita and Rin-chen grags.394
7.7. The Padmasupratiṣṭhitatantra

There is no text called the Padmasupratiṣṭhatantra in the Tohoku
Catalogue. There are five called the Padmanarteśvarasādhana (Tohoku
3160, 3161, 3335, 3423, 3424) and one called the Padmajālodbhavasādhana,
as well as a Padmanarteśvarī-guhyārtha-dharavyūha (Tohoku 1667), and
a Padmamukuṭatamra (Tohoku 701, seven folios) translated by Dharma-
śrīmitra and Chos-kyi bzaṅ-po.395
7.8. The Vajraśekharatantra

This text is listed in Tohoku Catalogue as the Vajra-śekhara-mahā-
guhya-yoga-tantra (Tohoku 480, 132 folios), translated by Karmavajra
and Gshun-nu tshul-khrims.396
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7.9. The Subāhu-paripṛcchā

There are five Subāhuparipṛcchā- texts in the Tohoku Catalogue: 1 and
2), Subāhuparipṛcchā (Tohoku 79; this is an erroneous listing—Tohoku
79 is the Ārya-acintya-buddha-viṣaya-nirdeśa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra) and
(Tohoku 805, 22 folios), translator unknown; 3) the Subāhuparipṛccha-
nāma-tantra-piṇḍa-artha (Tohoku 2671, 16 folios) written by Saṅs-ryas
gsaṅ-ba, translator unknown; 4) the Subāhuparipṛccha-nāma-tantra-
piṇḍa-artha-vṛtti (Tohoku 2673, 16 folios) translator unknown; and 5)
the Subāhuparipṛcchā-sūtra-udbhava-praṇidhāna (Tohoku 4381, one
folio), translator unknown.397
7.10. The Ānanadagarbha

There is one text of this tradition in the Tibetan canon, the Ārya-Ānanda-
garbha-avakrānti-nirdeśa (Tohoku 57, 11 folios, in the Dkon-bnsegs sec-
tion of the canon). No Sanskrit or Tibetan author or translator’s name
is listed (I cannot read the Japanese note in the catalogue).
8. CONCLUSION
As we look back through the telescope of time into the history of the
Buddhist tantric tradition, we can see very clearly through the second
millennium C.E., thanks to the systematic preservation of and commen-
taries on the canonical Buddhist tantras by the Tibetans. This clear view
takes us back to the time of Abhayākaragupta in the late eleventh to
early twelfth centuries, and the traceable citations of Buddhist tantric
texts in his works, particularly the Vajrāvalī and also the Sādhanamālā.
With careful and diligent tracing, and thanks largely to the work of
Naudou, with some help from Tucci, Chandra, and others, we can trace
the probable time periods of many of the authors of the original com-
mentaries on the Sanskrit tantras who lived in India (and, it seems,
mostly northern India) during the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Things become murkier when we push back further in time, as we
are faced with the names of some of the Mahāsiddhas who wrote com-
mentaries and who are largely of uncertain date, though by general
consensus most lived in the eighth to eleventh centuries. There are
very few commentaries by Indrabhuti and Padmasambhava that may
possibly predate the eighth century by several decades. At that point
the trail peters out, and we do not have any reliable dates for earlier
Buddhist tantric texts.
In examining the Vaipulya sūtra classifications of the Āryamañjuśrī-

mūlakalpa Mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtra, and the Tathāgataguhyaka-vaipuyla-
sūtra, along with Chandra’s notice of the Vaipulya sūtra classifications
of early tantras in the Chinese canon, we have good indications that the
tantric tenets, practices, and texts absorbed into the Buddhist canon
were apparently integrated into the Vaipulya-class literature before
texts self-identified as tantras were officially made part of the canon.
With canonical acceptance, and subsequent systematization, classifi-
cation, and commentarial literature, we find that there was a substan-
tial number of different tantras and commentaries circulating in India
for several hundred years before Buddhism was driven out of India and
the Buddhists took their material for refuge into Nepal and Tibet.
Fortunately, a considerable amount of very early Sanskrit mate-
rial survives in the Nepali and Bengali libraries, where it must have
been preserved by particularly wily librarians who managed to secure
the heretical Buddhist tantric manuscripts among the larger corpus of
venerable Sanskrit works. For future research projects, this essay has
provided a substantial introduction to the surviving Sanskrit Buddhist
tantric literature, which should prove valuable in the longer-term
project of clarifying the history of the tantric traditions.
APPENDIX
CHAPTER COLOPHONS OF THE
ĀRYAMAÑJUŚRĪMŪLAKALPA
The full title is the Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakā Mahāyāna-vaipulya-
sutrā Āryamañjuśrīya-mūla-kalpaḥ, “Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the
Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the Glorious Mañjuśrī’s Basic Manual.” The
fifty-five chapter colophons essentially provide a table of contents for
the text, giving a skeleton idea of the material to be found within.
Chapter 1: Mahāyāna-mantra-caryā-nirdeśya-mahākalpāt mañjuśrī-

kumāra-bhūta-bodhisattva-vikurvaṇa-paṭala-visarāt mūla-kalpāt prathamaḥ
sannipāta-parivartaḥ (pp. 1–25). From the great Manual teaching the
usage of the Mahāyāna mantras, the revelation that is the chapter on
the transformation of the bodhisattva who became the son of Mañjuśrī,
that is the Basic Manual, the first chapter on Sannipāta (the Encounter).
Chapter 2: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahā-kalpa-rajendrān mañ-

juśrī-kumāra-bhūta-vikurvaṇāt bodhisattva-paṭala-visarād dvitīyaḥ
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maṇḍala-vidhi-nirdeśa-parivartaḥ samāpta iti (pp. 25–52). From the Orna-

ment of the Bodhisattva “Basket,” the great sovereign manual, with
abundant chapters on the Bodhisattva who transformed himself into
the son of Mañjuśrī, the second chapter is completed, [giving] instruc-
tion on the rules about the maṇḍala.
Chapter 3: Iti bodhisattva-paṭala-visarā[n]mañjuśrī-kumāra-bhūta-mūla-

kalpāt tṛtīyo maṇḍala-vidhāna-parivartaḥ (pp. 53–54). Hence from the
basic manual about [the bodhisattva] who became Mañjuśrī’s son, the
revelation that is the chapter about the bodhisattva, the third chapter
on the ritual procedures with the maṇḍala.
Section A: (A1) Chapter 4: Bodhiattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-

sutrān mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpāc caturthaḥ | Prathama-paṭa-vidhāna-visaraḥ
parisamāptaḥ || (pp. 55–67). The fourth [chapter] from the Ornament
of the Bodhisattva “Basket,” the Mahāyāna sūtra, the basic manual
of Mañjuśrī. Hence the first chapter of the revelations on the ritual
procedures.
(A2) Chapter 5: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sutrād ārya-mañjuśrīya-mūla-kalpāt pañcama-paṭala-visaraḥ | Dvitīyaḥ
paṭa-vidhāna-visaraḥ samāptah || (pp. 68–70). The fifth revelatory chap-
ter from the Ornament of the Bodhisattva “Basket,” the Mahāyāna
sūtra that is the basic manual of the glorious Mañjuśrī, the second re-
velatory chapter on ritual procedure is completed.
(A3) Chapter 6: Bodhisattva-pitaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sutrād mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpāt ṣaṣṭhaḥ paṭala-visaraḥ | Tṛtīyaḥ kanyasa-paṭa-
vidhānaḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 71–72). The sixth revelatory chapter
from Mañjuśrī’s basic manual that is the Mahāyāna Vaipulya sūtra, the
ornament of the Bodhisattva “Basket.” Thus the third chapter on the
ritual procedures for the younger brother.
(A4) Chapter 7: Bodhisattva-piṭakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sutrād ārya-

mañjuśrīya-mūlakalpāt saptamaḥ paṭala-visarāt caturthaḥ paṭa-vidhāna-
paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 73–77). The seventh revelatory chap-
ter from the glorious Manjuśrī’s basic manual, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya
Sūtra, the [ornament of] the Bodhisattva Basket.
Section B: (B1) Chapter 8: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-

vaipulya-sutrād aṣṭama uttama-sādhana-upayika-karma-paṭala-visarāt
prathamaḥ samāpta iti || (pp. 78–80). The eighth revelatory chapter,
being the first on the highest practice, method, and action, from the
Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the Ornament of the Bodhisattva Basket, is
completed.
(B2) Chapter 9: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakād Mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sūtrād āryamañjuśrī-mūlakalpān navama-paṭala-visarād, dvitīyaḥ, uttama-
sādhana-upayika-karma-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 81–84). From
the Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra,
the Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, the ninth revelatory chapter,
being the second one on the highest practice, method, and action, is
completed.
(B3) Chapter 10: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakād mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sūtrād āryamañjuśrīya-mūlakalpād daśamaḥ uttama-paṭa-vidhāna-paṭala-
visaraḥ parisamāptaḥ || (pp. 85–92). From the Bodhisattva Basket
Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic
manual, the tenth revelatory chapter being the chapter on the highest
ritual procedure.
(B4) Chapter 11: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sūtrād ārya-mañjuśrī-mūlakalpād ekādaśama-paṭala-visarāc caturthaḥ
sādhana-upāyika-karma-sthāna-japa-niyama-homa-dhyāna-śaucācāra-
sarva-karma-vidhi-sādhana-paṭala-visaraḥ samāpta iti | (pp. 91–117). From
the Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the
Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, from the eleventh revelatory chap-
ter, the fourth long chapter on all the actions, rules, and procedures,
i.e., the practice, method, action, position, mantra-recitation, disciplin-
ary rules, offering, meditation, ethical behavior, is completed.
Chapter 12: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād

ārya-mañjuśrī-mūlakalpād madhyama-piṭa-vidhāna-visarād dvādaśamaḥ,
akṣa-sūtra-vidhi-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 92–122). From the
Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the
Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, the twelfth revelatory chapter on
the rules about the rosary beads, from the long chapter about the in-
termediate ritual procedures.
134 Pacific World
Chapter 13: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād

āryamañjuśrī-mūla-kalpāt trayodaśama-paṭa-visaraḥ parisamāptam iti ||
(pp. 123–128). From the Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna
Vaipulya Sūtra, the Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, the thirteenth
long chapter is completed.
Chapter 14: Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sutrāt

āryamañjuśrī-mūlakalpāt caturdaśamaḥ cakra-vartti-paṭala-vidhāna-maṇ-
ḍala-sādhana-upayika-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 129–144). From the
Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the
Glorious Maṅjuśrī’s basic manual, the fourteenth chapter on the world
sovereign and the revelation on the ritual procedures, the maṇḍala, the
practice, and the method, is completed.
From Chapter 15 onward, the text renumbers the chapters: Chapter 15

is 13, Chapter 16 is 14, and so on. The renumbered chapter numbers
appear in parentheses following the chapter numbers.
Chapter 15 (13): Āryamaṅjuśrīya-mūlakalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃ-

sakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt trayodaśamaḥ sarva-karma-kriyārthaḥ
paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 145–165). From the Bodhisattva Basket
Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the Glorious Maṅjuśrī’s basic
manual, the thirteenth revelatory chapter on the objective of all the
actions and ritual performances, is completed.
Chapter 16 (14): Ārya-maṅjuśrī-mūlakalpān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt

caturdaśamati gātha-paṭala-nirdeśa-visaraḥ parisamāptam iii | i (pp.
146–168). From the Glorious Maṅjuśrī’s basic manual, the Mahāyāna
Vaipulya Sūtra, the fourteenth long chapter [giving] instruction on the
gāthās (songs), is completed.
Section C: (C1) Chapter 17 (15): Ārya-maṅjuśrī-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-

piṭakāvataṃsakāt mahāyāna-vaipulyasūtrāt paṇcadaśamaḥ karma-sva-
kalpa-pratyaya-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 169–172), From the
Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, the Bodhisattva Basket Ornament,
the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the fifteenth revelatory chapter on faith
in the ritual practices of one’s own manual.
(C2) Chapter 18 (16): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-

vaipulya-sūtrād ārya-mañjuśriya-mūlakalpāt ṣoḍaśa-paṭala-visarād dvitīyo
graha-nakṣatra-lakṣaṇa-kṣetra-jyotiya-jñāna-parivarta-paṭala-visaraḥ
(pp. 173–180). From the Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna
Vaipulya Sūtra, the Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, from the six-
teenth revelatory chapter, the second revelatory chapter mastering
astronomical knowledge about the location and characteristics of the
planets and the nakṣatras.
(C3) Chapter 19 (17): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-

vaipulya-sūtrād ārya-mañjuśriya-mūlakalpāt saptadaśamaḥ paṭala-visarāt
tṛtīyo jyotiṣa-jñāna-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 181–194). From
the Bodhisattva Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the
Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, the seventeenth revelatory chap-
ter, being the third revelatory chapter on astronomical knowledge, is
completed.
(C4) Chapter 20 (18): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sūtrād ārya-mañjuśriya-mūlakalpāc caturtho nimitta-jñāna-mahotpāda-
paṭala-parivartaḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 195–217). From the Bodhisattva
Basket Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the Glorious Mañ-
juśrī’s basic manual, the fourth chapter on mastering the great [de-
pendent] origination knowledge about the causes [of suffering], is
completed.
(C5) Chapter 21 (19): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sūtrād ārya-mañjuśrī-mūlakalpād ek[o]naviṃśati-paṭala-visarāt pañcamaḥ
graha-utpāda-niyama-nimitta-mantra-kriyā-nideśa-parivarta-paṭala-
visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 218–228). From the Bodhisattva Basket
Ornament, the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic
manual, from the nineteenth revelatory chapter, the fifth revelatory
chapter on mastering the instructions about the planets, origination,
discipline, causes, mantras, and ritual activity, is completed.
Chapter 22 (20): Mahāyāna-vaipulya-sutrād bodhisattva-piṭaka-ava-

taṃsakād āryamañjuśrī-mūlakalpād viṃśatimaḥ sarva-bhūta-ruta-jñāna-
nimitta-śakuna-nirdeśa-parivarta-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāptam iti || (pp.
229–252). Thus from the Mahāyāna Vaipulya Sūtra, the Bodhisattva
Basket Ornament, the Glorious Mañjuśrī’s basic manual, the twentieth
long chapter that is the section of instructions about omens and about
the causes [behind] the knowledge of the cries of all living creatures
(i.e., learning how to understand the “speech” of animals).
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Chapter 23 (21): Mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃ-

sakād ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpāt ekaviṃśatitamaḥ śabda-jñāna-gaṇanā-
nāma-nirdeśa-parivarta-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 253–263).
The long chapter that is the section on the instruction called calcula-
tions and the knowledge of sounds.
Chapter 24 (22): Ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād dvāviṃśatitama[ḥ] nimitta-jñāna-
jyotiṣa-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 264–283). The long chapter
on astronomy and the knowledge of causes.

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād trayaviṃśatitamaḥ ekākṣara-
cakra-varty-udbhava-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 284–288). The
long chapter on the arising of the One Syllable (or One Indestructible)
Cakravartin.

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sutrād caturviṃśatitamaḥ ekākṣara-
cakra-varti-karma-vidhi-paṭa-nirdeśa-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp.
289–300). The long chapter of instruction about activity, rite, and ritual
image of the Single Syllable (or One Indestructible) Cakravartin.

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sutrāt pañcaviṃśatitamaḥ ekākṣara-mūla-
mantra ārya-mañjuśrī-hṛdaya-kalpa-paṭa-vidhāna-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti ||
(pp. 301–310). The long chapter about the procedure of [making] the
painting [and the mantra-]kalpa that is the heart of Mañjuśrī, the root-
mantra of the Single Syllable (or One Indestructible Cakravartin).

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt ṣaḍviṃśatimaḥ karma-vidhāna-
ārya-mañjuśriya-parivartta-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti ||. [Chapter
divided into six sections with sub-colophons]: a) paṭa-vidhānaṃ
samāptam; b1) paṭa-vidhānasya–artarikarmmaḥ; b2) dvitīyaḥ paṭa-vidhānaḥ
samāptam; c) tṛtīyaṃ vidhānam; d) caturthaṃ vidhānam; e) pañcamaḥ paṭa-
vidhānam; f) ṣaṣṭho vidhānaḥ (pp. 311–321). The long chapter that is the
Āryamañjuśrī version of the ritual procedure and activities: a) the
complete procedure [for making the image]; b1) the difficult part of
the procedure [for making the image; b2) the complete second proce-
dure for making the image; c) the third procedure; d) the fourth proce-
dure; e) the fifth procedure; f) the sixth procedure.

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt saptaviṃśatimaḥ mañjuśrī-paṭa-
vidhāna-parivarta-karma-vidhiḥ saptamaka-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāptam
iti ||. One subsection, ayaṃ prathamaḥ kalpaḥ | (pp. 322–324). The rules
of performance in the section on the procedure for making the image
of Mañjuśrī.
Chapter 30 (28): Ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃ-

sakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād aṣṭaviṃṣatimaḥ kṣetra-kāla-vidhi-niyama-
patala-visaraḥ parisamāptam iti || (pp. 324–328). The long chapter on the
restrictions of the rules as to time and place.
Chapter 31 (29): Ārya-maṇjuśriya-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃ-

sakā[n] mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt ekona-triṃśatimaḥ āviṣṭa-ceṣṭa-vidhi-
parivarta-paṭa-visaraḥ parisamāptaḥ iti || (pp. 329–334). The chapter on
the image with the section on the rules for the one whose body has
been entered [by the deity].

sakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt triṃśatimaḥ vidhi-niyama-kāla-paṭala-
visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 335–338). The long chapter on the time
restrictions for the rules.
Chapter 33 (31): Ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-ava-

taṃsakā[n] mahāyāna-vaipulya-sutrāt ekatriṃśatimaḥ kama-kriyā-vidhi-
nimitta-jñāna-nirdeśa-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāptaḥ || (pp. 339–349). The
long chapter of the instructions about knowledge and the reasons for
the rules about ritual action and procedure.

sakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt dvātriṃśatimaḥ, mudrā-codana-vidhi-
mañjuśrī-paripṛccha-nirdeśa-parivartaḥ paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāptaḥ || (pp.
350–354). The long chapter that is the section on the instruction about
the request to Mañjuśrī and the rules about the invitation to the con-
sort (or the rules about the general mudrā injunctions).
138 Pacific World
Chapter 35 (33): Ārya-maṇjuśriya-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃ-

sakād[n] mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt trayaḥ triṃśatimaḥ mudrā-vidhi-paṭa-
visaraḥ parisamāptam iti || (pp. 355–381). The long chapter on the rules
about the consort (or about the mudrā).

sakā[n] mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrā[t] catuḥ-triṃśatimaḥ dvitīya-mudrā-
vidhi-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 382–383). (Then there’s another
section to the chapter, with the editor’s remark: Etad-granthānte ’nti-
masya paṭala-visarasya tripanāśanamasya samāptyanantaraṃ mahāmudrā-
paṭala-visaro nāma kaścid aparaś catuṃstriṃśatamaḥ paṭala-visaro likhita
upalabhyate | sa gatasya catuṃstriṃśatamasyaiva prakārebhedo bhavitum
arhati ity ataḥ kāraṇād ihaiva yojyate /.) Then after more of the chap-
ter, the colophon, Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakāt ārya-mañjuśriya-
mūlakalpāt catustriṃśatimaḥ mahāmudrā-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti |
(pp. 384–411). The second long chapter on the rules about the consort
or mudra. (Editor’s remark: Immediately following the end of the just-
preceding thirty-fifth chapter, in this text, there is found another long
chapter called the Long Chapter on the Mahāmudrā. It should be con-
sidered a separate section from the preceding thirty-fourth chapter.
For that reason it is appended here to this one.) Second colophon: The
complete long chapter on the Mahāmudrā.

sakāt[n] mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt pañcatriṃśatimaḥ mantra-mudrā-
niyama-karma-vidhi-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 412–428). The
complete long chapter on the rules of action, and the restrictions for
the mantras and the consort (or the mudrā).

sakāt[n] mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt ṣaṭṭriṃśatimaḥ mudrā-maṇḍala-tantra-
sarva-karma-vidhi-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 429–433). The
complete long chapter on the all the rules of action for the consort, for
the maṇḍalas, and for the Tantra.
Section D1: Chapter 39 (37): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-

vaipulya-sūtrāt ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpāt saptatriṃśatimaḥ. mahā-kalpa-
rāja-paṭala-visarād uttama-sādhanopayika-sarva-karma-artha-sādhana-
tattveṣu prathamaḥ dhyāna-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 434–440).
The first complete long chapter on meditation, among the principles

of the practice for all activity and all objectives as the means to the
ultimate practice.
Section D2: Chapter 40 (38): Iti bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahā-

yāna-vaipulya-sūtrād ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpād aṣṭatriṃśatimaḥ
mahā-kalpa-rāja-paṭala-visarād dvitīya-sarva-loka-tattva-artha-tāra-krīḍā-
vidhi-sādhana-upayika-sarva-karma-dhyāna-paṭala-nirdeśaḥ parivartaḥ
samāptaḥ | (pp. 441–459). The second section of the chapter on the in-
struction about meditation on all activity as the means for playing with
the stars for the purpose of all the principles of the universe.
Chapter 41 (39): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sūtrād ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpād ekona-catvāriṃśatimo garuḍa-paṭala-
parivartaḥ | (pp. 460–469). The chapter on Garuḍa.
Chapter 42 (40): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃsakāt mahāyāna-vaipulya-

sutrāt ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpāt catvariṃśatimaḥ mahākalpa-rāja-
visarāt sarva-karma-sādhana-upayikaḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 470–474). The
method for the practice with all activity.
Four Chapters on the mahā-mudrā: Chapter 43 (41): Bodhisattva-piṭaka-

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpāt eka-
catvāriṃśattimaḥ paṭala-visarād dvitīyaḥ sarva-karma-uttama-sādhana-
upayikaḥ mahā-mudrā-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 475–477). The
complete long chapter on the Mahāmudrā as the means to the ultimate
practice with all activity.

sūtrāt ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpāt dvicatvariṃśatimaḥ mahā-mudrā-
paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 478–490). The complete long chapter
on the Mahāmudrā.
Chapter 45 (43): Ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpāt bodhisattva-piṭaka-avataṃ-

sakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt Sarva-tathāgata-acintya-dharma-dhātu-
mudrā-mudritā tricatvariṃśatimaḥ sva-caturtho mudrā-paṭala-visaraḥ ||
(pp. 491–511). The thirty-third that is itself the fourth chapter on the
mudrā, sealed by the consort of the inconceivable dharma-realm of all
the Tathāgatas.
140 Pacific World

sakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt catuścatvāriṃśatimaḥ mahā-mudrā-
paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 512–513). The complete long chapter
on the Mahāmudrā.

sūtrād ārya-mañ-juśriya-mūla-kalpāt pañcacatvāriṃśatimaḥ paṭala-visarāt
prathamaḥ catur-bhaginī-maṇḍalam anupraveśa-samaya-guhyatama-
paṭala-visaraḥ pari-samāpta iti | (pp. 514–527). The chapter of the maṇḍala
of the four bhaginīs: the first complete long chapter for the one who
will enter the most secret communion—the maṇḍala of the four actual
tantric consorts.

sakāt mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt ṣaṭcatvāriṃśatimaḥ paṭala-visarād dvitīya-
sādhana-upayika-maṇḍala-praveśa-anuvidhiś catuḥkamā-rya-paṭala-visa-
raḥ parisamāptam iti | (pp. 528–541). The chapter about the four kumārīs
and the rules for entering their maṇḍala: the complete long chapter on
the four young women, [and] the subrule about entering the maṇḍala
as the method of practice.

sakāt mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt sapta-catvāriṃśatimaḥ paṭala-visarāt
tṛtīyaś catuḥ-kumārya-upayika-sarva-sāhana-japa-niyama-mudrā-ośadhi-
tantra-mantra-sarva-karma-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti || (pp. 542–543).
The complete long chapter on all the activities with the consorts, the
herbs, the tantras, and the mantras, and the restrictions about recita-
tion, and all the means that constitute the method with the four young
women.

sakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt aṣṭa-catvāriṃśatimaḥ Yamantaka-krodha-
rāja-parivarṇa-mantra-mahātmya-niyama-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta iti ||
(pp. 542–551). The long chapter on the restrictions about the divine
power of the mantra that is the spectrum of the fierce king Yamāntaka.
Chapter 51 (49): Arya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-ava-

taṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrād ekūna-pañcāśatimaḥ Yamānta-kro-
dharāja-abhicāruka-niyamaḥ dvitīyaḥ paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāptaḥ | (pp.
552–558) (abhicāraka = conjuring). The second long chapter for conjur-

ing up the fierce king Yamāntaka.

avataṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt pañcāśatimaḥ Yamāntaka-kro-
dharājā-sarva-vidhi-niyamaḥ tṛtīyaḥ paṭala-visaraḥ pari-samāpta iti || (pp.
559–578). The third complete long chapter on the restrictions to all the
rules about the fierce king Yamāntaka.
Chapter 53 (51): Ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpād bodhisattva-piṭaka-ava-

taṃsakān mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt paṭala-visarāt eka-pañcāśa-rāja-
vyākaraṇa-parivartaḥ parisamāpta iti | (pp. 579–656). The section on the
prophecy of the kings.

sakāt mahāyāna-vaipulya-sūtrāt pañcāśatimaḥ anuśaṃsā-vigarhaṇa-
prabhāva-paṭala-visaraḥ parisamāpta īti | (pp. 657–667) (praise and
blame-arising). The complete long chapter on the occurrence of praise
and blame.
Chapter 55 (53): Mahā-kalpa-rājāt ārya-mañjuśriya-mūla-kalpāt (pañca-

pañcāśattamo) Hema-sādhana-paṭalaḥ visaraḥ parisaraḥ parisamāptaḥ ||
Parisamāptaś ca yathā-labdham Ārya-mañjuśriyasya kalpam iti || Svasti
śrī-rāja-maṅgalakāvasthitena mārgaśīrṣaśuklā . . . padānakṣatre siṃhasthe
’pi gurau mañjuśrīkalpaṃ samāptam iti | Śrīmūla-ghoṣa-vihāra-adhipatinā
Śrībo . . . madhyadeśād vinirgatena paṇḍita-ravi-candreṇa likhitam iti |
(pp. 668–722). The complete long chapter on the preparation of gold.
Final colphon: “The bright half of Mārgaśīrṣa (November-December),
when Jupiter is in Leo, in (either) the 25th nakṣatra (Pūrvabhādrapada
320; or the 26th nakṣatra, Uttarabhadrapadā 333:20), on Tuesday, the
Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa was finished. It was written down by the Pandit
Ravi Candra who came from Madhyadeśa, and who was the head of the
Mūlaghoṣa vihāra.”
NOTES
1. I’ve found that most of the Indian University and Research Institute
catalogues simply list the names of the texts, sometimes the number of leaves,
and sometimes the dates. Most contain no extracts, or even colophons.
2. More research needs to be done on the rest of the colophonic information in
142 Pacific World
the Tibetan translations of Sanskrit tantric works, especially correlating all the
information in these colophons with Naudou’s work. The same comprehensive
study remains to be done of colophon information in the Chinese translations
of the texts from Sanskrit that called themselves tantras. These two tasks must
be completed before more definitive data on what texts were written when,
where, and by whom will be possible.
3. Sum-pa mkhan-po ye’-śes dpal-’byor’s Dpag bsam ljon-bzang, written in 1748
(Jean Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr [Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 1980], p. 15).
4. The Bod-kyi yul-du chos-dang chos-smra-ba Ji-ltar byung-ba’i rim-pa, Deb-ther
sngon-po, “The Blue Annals, the Stages of the Appearance of the Doctrine
and Preachers in the Land of Tibet,” written between 1476 and 1478 (George
Roerich, The Blue Annals, Parts 1 and 2 [Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976, reprint],
p. i).
5. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 15–16.
6. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 20.
7. See Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 10–11.
8. Samdhong Rinpoche and Dwivedi Vrajavallabha, Jñānodaya Tantram, Rare
Buddhist Text Series 2 (Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies,
1988).
9. Samdhong Rinpoche and Dwivedi Vrajavallabha, Ḍākinījālasaṃvararahasyam,
Rare Buddhist Text Series 8 (Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan
Studies, 1990).
10. Samdhong Rinpoche and Dwivedi Vrajavallabha, Mahāmāyatantram, Rare
Buddhist Text Series 10 (Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies,
1992).
11. William Stablein mentions that there are eighty-two commentarial texts
to this tradition (The Mahākālatantra: A Theory of Ritual Blessing and Tantric
Medicine, Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1976, p. 9).
12 John R. Newman, The Outer Wheel of Time: Vajrayana Buddhist Chronology in the
Kālacakra Tantra (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI, 1987); and Vesna Acimovic Wallace, The
Inner Kālacakratantra: A Buddhist Tantric View of the Individual (Ph.D. dissertation,
University of California, Berkeley, 1995). Wallace’s work was subsequently
published in the Treasury of Buddhist Sciences series, Tengyur Translation
Initiative, by the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, copublished with the
Columbia Center for Buddhist Studies and Tibet House, USA.
13. It is not really necessary—nor would it be reasonable given the focus of
this essay—to engage here in an extended discussion of Tibetan classification
schemes. Nor is it necessary to repeat the lists of Buddhist Sanskrit tantric
works that were translated in Tibetan. Lists of such works can be readily found
in several sources; see, for example: Hakuji Ui, Munetada Suzuki, Yensho
Kanakura, and Tokan Tada, eds., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist
Canon (Bkab-hgyur and Bstan-bgyur) (Sendai, Japan: Tohoku Imperial University
and Saito Gratitude Foundation, 1934); the Index of Works cited in Ferdinand
D. Lessing and Alex Wayman’s translation, Mkhas Grub Rje’s Fundamentals
of Buddhist Tantras (The Hague: Mouton, 1968); the Bibliography of Tibetan
commentaries and translations from Sanskrit in Glenn H. Mullin’s The Practice
of Kālacakra (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1991), etc.
14. Commentary on KCT 5.243: Tantrottaraṃ vai sakalam avikalam tantrarājaṃ
loka-tantrāt kriyātantrāt lokottarād yogatantrāt tābhyām uttaraṃ lokottaram
| śrīmat-tantra-ādibuddhaṃ paramajinapater jñāna-kāyasya sahajasya abhi-
dhānaṃ vācakam || (Samdhong Rinpoche, chief ed., Vrajavallabh Dwivedi and
S. S. Bahulkar, eds., Vimalaprābhāṭīkā of Kalkin Śrī Pundarīka on Śrī Laghukāla-
cakratantrarāja by Śrī Manjuśrīyaśas [Sarnath and Varanasi: Central Institute
of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1994], vol. 3, pp. 151.1–3).
15. Dhāraṇī-saṃgraha, twenty-three Pañcarakṣā texts, and the seven Saptavāra
texts.
16. One hundrd and five texts (Keisho Tsukamoto, Yukei Matsunaga, and
Hirofumi Isoda, eds., A Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature
[Kyoto: Heirakuji-Shoten, 1989], vol. IV: The Buddhist Tantra, pp. 68–119).
17. Forty-nine texts (Tsukamoto, et al., A Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit
Buddhist Literature, vol. IV, pp. 120–146).
18. Six texts (Tsukamoto, et al., A Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit Buddhist
Literature, vol. IV, pp. 146–149).
19. Two texts (Tsukamoto, et al., A Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit
20. One hundred and seventy-one texts, mostly dhāraṇīs (Tsukamoto, et al., A
Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, vol. IV, pp. 150–175).
21. Tsukamoto, et al., A Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature,
vol. IV, pp. 75–79.
vol. IV, p. 142.
vol. IV, p. 146.
vol. IV, pp. 179–186.
vol. IV, pp. 187–226.
144 Pacific World
26. Forty-two texts (Tsukamoto, et al., A Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit

27. Two hundred and two texts (Tsukamoto, et al., A Descriptive Bibliography of
the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, vol. IV, pp. 251–332).
28. Kālacakra-anusāri-gaṇita, Bhagavataḥ Śrī-Kālacakrasya pūjāvidhi, the Śrīmal-
lokeśvara-nirmāṇa-Puṇḍarīka-viracita-Vimalaprabhā-uddhṛta-Śrī-Kālacakra-
bhagavat-sāhana-vidhi, Kālackarasya pūjāvidhi, the Kālacakra-dhāraṇī, the
Kālacakra nāma guhya-hṛdaya nāma dhāraṇī, Kālacakra-nivardhana, Kālacakra-
mantra-dhāraṇī, Kālacakra-vivarddhana-dhāraṇī, Kālacakrasya mālātantra,
Raviśrījñāna’s Amṛta-kaṇikā-(karṇikā) nāma Śrī-Nāmasaṃgīti-ṭippanī, and
Vibhūticandra’s Amṛta-kaṇika-udyota. See Tsukamoto, et al., A Descriptive
Bibliography of the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, vol. IV, pp. 333–343. Further
sections of Tsukamoto’s catalogue include a large number of related
Anuttarayoga works, sādhanas from the Sādhanamālā, etc.
29. Complete list from Lokesh Chandra’s Preface to the reprint edition of
the Shrīcakrasambhāra Tantra, originally published in 1919 by Kazi Dawa-
Samdup, Short Chakrasambhara Tantra, Tantrik Texts, vol. VII (New Delhi, Atidya
Prakashan, 1987).
30. Chandra, Vajrāvalī (New Delhi: Mrs. Sharada Rani, 1977), p. 2.
31. See Tohoku nos. 3144–3304 (Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan
Buddhist Canon, pp. 481–502).
32. Chandra, Vajrāvalī, p. 1.
33. Sukumar Dutt, Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India. Their History and Their
Contribution to Indian Culture (London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., 1962), p.
346, 346, n. 2. Abhayākaragupta’s works are nos. 1499, 1500, 1654, 2484, 2491,
3140, 3142, 2366, and 3743 in the Tohoku Imperial University Catalogue.
34. Mahāmahopadhyāya Haraprasād Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit
Manuscripts in the Government Collection, under the care of The Asiatic Society
of Bengal (Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1917), vol. 1, Buddhist
Manuscripts, pp. 154–155.
35. Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, vol. 1, pp. 161–162.
36. Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, vol. 1, p. 164.
37. Shāstrī A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, vol. 1, p. 164.
38. See R. C. Dwivedi and Navijan Rastogi, eds., The Tantrāloka of Abhinavagupta
with the Commentary of Jayaratha (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987), vol. III,
Sanskrit Text: Chapters 4–7, p. 1152.
39. The Vajrāvalī nāma Maṇḍalopāyikā was the subject of a Ph.D. dissertation
by a fellow Columbia University graduate student, the late Lobsang Chogyen
(Pema), who was editing the Sanskrit manuscript of the text. I thank him for
first alerting me to the importance of Abhayākargupta’s work through several
conversations we had on the subject of the development of Tantric literature.
40. Namaḥ Śrīvajrasattvāya | bande śrīkū[u]li[ī]śeśvaraṃ smaratare mārābhavāreḥ
padam, krodho dhāvati dikṣu maṅgalagiro gāyantu vajrāṅganāḥ | Śrīmad-vajrabhṛto
mahimni jagadā dhātu[ū]n mahāmaṇḍale, niṣpratyūham iha abhayasya mahasā
vajrāvalī mīlatu | Asta-varhi-vajra-bhṛteva vajra-paramparābhis dhriyatāṃ hṛdīyaṃ,
yaj-jyotir antas-timiraṃ nirasya śrī-vajra-bhṛn-mūrti-matī bibharti || (Shāstrī, A
Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, vol. 1, pp. 153–154).
41. Christian Wedermeyer has suggested to me another possibility, that
some of the commentaries were in fact written before the verse texts were
written, with the latter serving as mnemonical summaries of the longer
“commentaries.” My own readings in Buddhist and Śaivite Tantric material,
however, does not support this possibility (though it may have occurred
with texts I have not yet read), especially given the predilection of the
commentaries for parsing and glossing the phrases of the verses in standard
Sanskrit commentarial format.
42. Rāhula Sāṅkṛtyāyana, “Recherches Bouddhiques: II. L’Origine du Vajrayāna
et Les 84 Siddhas,” Journal Asiatique (Oct.–Dec. 1934): 218.
43. Sāṅkṛtyāyana, “Recherches Bouddhiques: II. L’Origine du Vajrayāna et Les
84 Siddhas,” pp. 219–220.
44. See Sāṅkṛtyāyana’s list from the Sa-skya Bka’-bum (“Recherches
Bouddhiques: II. L’Origine du Vajrayāna et Les 84 Siddhas,” pp. 220–225).
45. Keith Dowman, Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-Four
Buddhist Siddhas (Albany, NY: State University of New York [SUNY] Press,
1985), p. 389.
46. Dowman, Masters of Mahamudra, pp. 384–385.
47. Equal (in number) to the ultimate atomic particles in all the Sumerus of
all the buddha fields (sarva-buddha-kṣetra-sumreu-paramāṇu-rajaḥ-samair).
Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, Guhyasamāja Tantra (Baroda: Oriental Institute,
1931), pp. 1, 1.6; cf. Francesca Fremantle, A Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja
Tantra (London: University of London Library, 1971), p. 27.
48. Atha vajradharaḥ . . . bhāṣate maṇḍalaṃ ramyaṃ . . . sarvatathāgataṃ cittaṃ
maṇḍalam. . . . (Bhattacharyya, Guhyasamāja Tantra, p. 17; cf. Fremantle, A
Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra, p. 39).
49. Candrakīrtiḥ glosses Prājñaḥ as aduṣṭakarmācāryaḥ, i.e., a teacher who is free
of evil actions. Chintaharan Chakravarti, Guhyasamājatantrapradīpodyotana-
ṭīkā-ṣaṭkotīvyākhyā (Patna: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, 1984), p.
42, 1.9.
146 Pacific World
50. Sūtreṇa sūtrayet prājñaḥ. . . . (Bhattacharyya, Guhyasamāja Tantra, p. 17;cf .

Fremantle, A Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra, p. 39). Fremantle emends
Bhattacharyya’s text from gandha-puṣpākulāṃ kṛtvā to gandha-puṣpākalī-kṛtvā.
51. Parisphuṭaṃ tu vijñāya maṇḍalaṃ cittam uttamam | pūjāṃ kurvīta yatnena kāya-
vāk-citta-pūjanaiḥ || ṣoḍaḍhābdikāṃ saṃprāpya yoṣitaṃ kāntisuprabhām | gandha-
puṣpākulāṃ kṛtvā madhye tu kāmayet || (Bhattacharyya, Guhyasamāja Tantra, pp.
18–19; cf. Fremantle, A Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra, pp. 39–40).
52. In Chakravarti’s edition, the gloss on this section is missing (accidentally?).
The text of Chakravarti’s edition is based on “the photograph copy of the
manuscript of the famous Rahul Collection of the Bihar Research Society.”
(Chakravarti, Guhyasamājatantrapradīpodyotana-ṭīkā-ṣaṭkotīvyākhyā, General
Editor’s note). On page 42, n. 1, where the gloss to this section of chapter
4 should be found, there is this note: “Folio 29a seems to have escaped the
camera, while 29b has been photographed twice.” Instead we have Candra-
kīrti’s gloss up through the installation of the maṇḍala, then it skips to a gloss
on guṇamekhalā from the line about consecrating the young lady as prajñā.
53. David L. Snellgrove, The Hevajra Tantra: A Critical Study (London: Oxford
University Press, 1959), Part 1, Introduction and Translation, pp. 49–50.
54. Snellgrove, The Hevaira Tantra, p. 106.
55. From Mahāmahopadhyāya T. Ganapati Śāstri’s Preface to The Āryamañjuśrī-
mūlakalpa, Part I (Chapters 1–22), (Trivandrum: Superintendent, Government
Press, 1920), vol. 1: “Among the collection of manuscripts acquired in 1909
from the Manalikkara Mathom near Padmanabhapuram. . . . It is a pretty
large palm-leaf manuscript containing about 13,000 granthas. . . . The leaves
have the appearance of being from 300 to 400 years old. . . : the copyist of
the manuscript is one Pandita Ravichandra the head of the Mūlaghoṣa-vihāra
who went out from Madhyadeśa. . . . The copyist also tells us at the end of the
manuscript, ‘parisamāptaṃ ca yathā-labdham āryamañjuśrīyasya kalpam’, which
means, ‘here ends the Kalpa of Ārya Manjuśrī as is available.’ It can be inferred
from this that the manuscript from which the present manuscript was copied
is itself an incomplete one.”
56. See Franklin Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970), vol. 1: Grammar, p. xxvi.
57. Śāstrī, The Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa, p. 2.
58. K. P. Jayaswal, An Imperial History of India in a Sanskrit Text, with the Sanskrit
text revised by Ven. Rahula Sankrityayana (Patna: Eastern Book House, 1988),
p. 3: “The author brings his history down from two different points to the
beginning of the Pāla Period. Once he starts with Śakas, pauses with the
Guptas, and comes down right to Gopālaka after finishing the Gupta line.
Then, again, he starts with the Nāga dynasty (Bhāraśiva), deals with Samudra
[Gupta] and his brother in Gauda, and with Śaśāṅka whose name for some
reason he conceals but whose history he makes unmistakable, and then comes
down to the Gopālas, ‘the dāsajīvins (śūdras). He does not know the later and
the great Pāla kings (whom he would not have left unnamed had he known
them) and their patronage of Mahāyāna. I would therefore regard the work as
one of circa 770 A.D. (the death of Gopāla), or roughly 800 A.D.”
59. The order of these three compounds sometimes varies in the colophons of
individual chapters.
60. Giuseppe Tucci has remarked that in the MMK “the Buddha descends to
the level of witch-doctor, revealing vidyā by which any miracle, and even
any crime, can be performed” (Tibetan Painted Scrolls. An artistic and symbolic
illustration of 172 Tibetan paintings preceded by a survey of the historical, artistic
literary and religious development of Tibetan culture with an article of P. Pelliot
on a Mongol Edict, the translation of historical documents and an appendix on pre-
Buddhistic ideas of Tibet [Roma: La Libreria Dello State, 1949], vol. 1, p. 216).
61. Namaḥ Sarva-buddha-bodhisattvebhyaḥ | evaṃ mayā śrutam | ekasmin
samaye bhagavān śuddhāvāsopari gagana-tala-pratiṣṭite ’cintya-āścarya-adbhuta-
pravibhakta-bodhisattva-sannipāta-maṇḍala-mude viharati sma | (Śāstrī, The
Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa, p. 1, lines 1–3).
62. Hakuju Ui, Munetada Suzuki, Yensho Kanakura, and Tokan Tada, eds.,
A Catalogue-Index of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Bkab-bgyur and Bstan-bgyurt)
(Sendai: Tohoku Imperial University and Saito Gratitude Foundation, 1934),
pp. 71–72.
63. Ui, et al., A Catalogue-Index of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 71–72. These
are as follows (Tohoku numbers; I give only the portion of the title that
follows after Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti-): -Guhyavad-vidhi-vṛtti-jñāna-dīpa (2584),
-Cakra-krama (2597), -Cakṣur-vidhi (2573), -Ṭīkā (2534), -Ṭīkā-vimala-prabhā
(1398), -Ṭīkā-sara-abhisamaya (2098), -Nāma-mahāṭīkā (2090), -Nāma-homa-
krama (2581), - Pañjikā-saṃgraha (2541), -Maṇḍala-vidhi[s] (2545, 2546, 2595,
2620), -Mahā-bodhi-śarīra-vidhi (2568), -Māra-mantra-māra-cakra (2574), -Vidhi-
maṇḍala (2547), -Vidhi-sūtra-piṇḍita (2512), -Vidhi-sūtra-piṇḍita (2592), -Vṛtti
(2535), -Vṛtti (2536), -Vṛtti-nāma-artha-prakāśa-karaya (2537), -Vyākhyāna
(1397), -Sarva-pāpa-viśodhana-maṇḍala-vidhi[s] (2575, 2576), -Sarva-maṇḍala-
stotra (2621), -sādhana[s] (2108, 2579, 2600, 2619), -Sādhana-guhya-pradīpa
(2596), -Homa-vidhi-saṃgraha (2569), -Anuśaṃsa-vṛtti (1399), -Abhisamaya (1400),
-Amṛta-bindu-pradīpa-loka-vṛtti (1396), -Artha-āloka-kara (2093). -Upadeśa-vṛtti
(2539), Mañjuśrī-nāma-sādhana (2544), Mañjuśrī-nāma-aṣtaka (642).
64. Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, p. 316.
66. The latter is the translation favored by Prof. Robert Thurman (personal
148 Pacific World
communication). The notion of a conclave, a closed meeting such as that of

the cardinals who select the pope in the Roman Catholic tradition—a meeting
that itself shares some aspects of a communion—may also be appropriate. At
the beginning of the fourth chapter, for instance, the text reads: “Now all the
blessed Tathāgatas again gathered together. . . ” and addressed the Bhagavān
(atha bhagavantaḥ sarvatathāgataḥ punaḥ samājam āgamya. . .) (Bhattacharyya,
Guhyasamāja Tantra, p. 17).
67. Bhattacharyya, Guhyasamāja Tantra.
68. Fremantle, A Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra. Fremantle’s version of
the Sanskrit differs in many places from Bhattacharyya’s Guhyasamāja Tantra.
69. Chakravarti, Guhyasamājatantrapradīpodyotana-ṭīkā-ṣaṭkotīvyākhyā.
70. Bhattacharyya, Guhyasamāja Tantra, pp. xxx–xxxi.
71. Katsumi Mimaki and Toru Tomabechi, Pancakrama. Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts
Critically Edited with Verse Index and Fascimile Edition of the Sanskrit Manuscripts
(Tokyo: The Center for East Asian Cultural Studies for UNESCO, 1994).
72. Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Government
Collection, p. 72.
73. Cecil Bendall, Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the University
Library, Cambridge (1883), reprinted in Albrecht Wezler, ed., Publications of the
Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project 2, In Cooperation with the National
Archives, Kathmandu, Verzeichnis der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland,
Supplementband 33 (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1992), pp. 15ff.
74. See Bhattacharyya, Guhyasamāja Tantra, pp. iii–xxxviii; Fremantle, A Critical
Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra, pp. 13–15.
75. Alex Wayman, Yoga of the Guhyasamājatantra. The Arcane Lore of Forty Verses:
A Buddhist Tantra Commentary (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1991, reprint).
Collection, p. 17.
77. 3) Mahāvaipulye tathāgata-kāya-guhya-parivarttas tṛtīyaḥ; 4) Vāg-guhya-
parivartto-nāmaś caturthaḥ; 5) Citta-guhya-parivarttaḥ pañcamaḥ; 6) Tathāgata-
vikurvvaṇa-sandarśana-parivarttaḥ; 7) Vyākaraṇa-parivartto-nāma saptamaḥ; 9)
Śūra-valaya-parivartto-nāma navamaḥ; 10) Ajātaśatru-parivartto-nāma daśamaḥ;
11) Iti tathāgata-guhyaka-vikurvvan sandarśana-parivartta ekādaśa-paṭala[ḥ]
samāpta[ḥ].
78. It is unlikely that the physical manuscript itself dates from this time, since
that would mean it had survived intact for some seventeen centuries.
Collection, pp. 17–21.
80. Taittirīyopaniṣad from the Taittirīyasaṃhitā of the Kṛṣṇayajurveda, Aitareya

Upaniṣad from the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, and Aitareyāraṇyaka on the Ṛgveda,
Kauṣītakī-brāhmaṇopaniṣad, etc.
81. The text is quoted in Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya (Shāstri, A Descriptive
Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Government Collection, p. 21).
82. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmir, p. 87.
83. See Rājataraṅgiṇī 6.77. M. A. Stein, Kalhana’s Rājataraṅginī. A Chronicle of the
Kings of Kaśmīr (Mirpur: Verinag Publishers, 1991, reprint), vol. 1, p. 195.
85. Twice revised; Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons,
p. 291.
94. See Rājataraṅgiṇī 6.77. Stein, Kalhana’s Rājataraṅginī, vol. 1, p. 195.
105. Shin’ichi Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra: Selected Chapters (Tokyo: The
Hokuseido Press, 1974), pp. 6, 10.
106. Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 1–2, 13.
150 Pacific World
107. Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, p. 9.

111. Dawa-Samdup, Short Chakrasambhara Tantra.
112. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 79, n. 1, after Tucci.
114. See Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 80, n. 3.
124. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 159–160, n. 9.
128. Naudou distinguishes this author of texts on the Cakrasaṃvara cycle from
his Kaśmīri predecessor Bhavyarāja, though he offers no further information
on his dates or collaborators (Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 229, n. 68). He must,
however, have preceded the eleventh century, given the translation date.
132. Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, p. 234. For an
account of this translator’s work see Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 211–
216.
138. This is an estimate, based on Naudou’s chart (Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 272)
that places Darika as living during Harṣa’s reign.
141. For an account of the latter see Naudou,Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 240–241.
156: Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, p. 234.
157. Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 237–238.
152 Pacific World
168. There are only two “Saṃvara” texts in the Tohoku Catalogue: 1)
Saṃvara-viṃśaka-vṛtti (Tohoku 4082) written by Śāntirakṣita and translated
by Vidyārkarasiṃha, classed as a Sems-tsam text; and 2) Saṃvara-vyākhyā
(Tohoku 1460) by Nag-po-pa, translated by Ḥol-ston chos-ḥbyun (Ui, et al.,
A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 618, 234). There are
four “Sambara” texts: 1) Sambara-kalita (Tohoku 1463) by Byaṅ-chub rdo-rje,
translated by Bhadraśrībodhi and Dde-baḥi blo-gros; 2) Sambara-khasama-
tantra-rāja (Tohoku 415) translated by the Kaśmīri Jñānavajra; 3) Sambara-
cakra-āli-kāli-mahāyoga-bhāvanā (Tohoku 2406) by Sagara, translator unknown;
and 4) Sambara-maṇḍala-vidhi (Tohoku 1511) by De-bshin-gśegs paḥi rdo-rje,
translated by Vibhūticandra (Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan
Buddhist Canons, pp. 234, 74–75, 371, 2–U).
169. Kṛtir iyaṃ siṃhalāvasya śrīlaṅkājanmabhūr abhūt tasya Jayabahdrākhyaḥ
khyātaḥ. Kṣāntiṃ kurvvantu vīraḍākiṇyaḥ |.
170. Namo Śrīherukāya | sarvabhāvasvabhāvāgraṃ sarvvabhāvabhayāvaham |
sarvvabhāvanirābhāsam sarvvabhāvavibhāvinam || taṃ praṇamya mahāvīram
khasamārthaṃ khanirmmalam |.
171. Cakrasambaram iti tena yad vācyam Śrīherukatantra-vajravārāhy-ādi-
tantrarūpam abhidheyam | (Rheinhold Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s
Catalogue of the Durbar Library and Microfilms of the Nepal-German Manuscript
Preservation Project: Hara Prasad Sastri. A Catalogue of Palm Leaf and Selected Paper
Mss. Belonging to the Durbar Library, Nepal [Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag
Wiesbaden GMBH, 1989], vol. 2, pp. 48–50).
172. Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. iii.
173. Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, Śaktisangama Tantra. Critically edited with a
preface, in four volumes (Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1932), vol. 1, Kālīkhaṇḍa, p. 1.
174. Snellgrove, The Hevajra Tantra, Part 2, Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts, p. 2.
175. Literally, “what are the channels in extent, and how is that body-mass?”
(ke te nāḍī pramāṇasya śarīrapiṇḍa[ṃ] tat kathaṃ). I have emended the text from
śanirapiṇḍa tat katham, since śanir, i.e., Saturn, would make little sense here,
and piṇḍa lacks an anusvāra.
176. Samaya-saṃketa-cchomasya. One might think cchoma is a version of soma,
yet the title of chapter 9 includes the term as cchoma. This appears to be a term
like chandoha that is peculiar to Tantric literature, and perhaps represents a
reabsorption of a Prakrit term into Sanskrit; I have not yet determined what
the original Sanskrit of cchoma must be.
177. Oṃ namaḥ śrīvajrasambarāya | Evaṃ mayā śrutam ekasmin samaye
bhagavān sarvva-tathāgata-kāya-vāk-citta-vajrayoginībhageṣu vijahāra | Āryyā-

nanda-prabhṛti-vītarāga-pramukhair āryyāvalokiteśvarādir aśītikoṭiyoginī ca
madhye vajrapāṇiṃ vyavalokya smitam akārṣīt | Vajrapāṇi[r] utthāya āśanād
ekāṃsam uttarāsaṅgaṃ kṛtvā dakṣiṇajānumaṇḍalaṃ pṛthivyāṃ pratiṣṭhāpya
kṛtakarapuṭo bhutvā bhagavantam adhyeṣayāmāsa | śrotum icchāmi bhagavān
utpattiyogalakṣaṇaṃ | Utpannaṃ ca kathaṃ deva sarvvākāraikasaṃbaraṃ || kathaṃ
vāyu āpāśca pṛthivyākāśam eva ca | pañcākāraṃ kathaṃ deva ṣaḍvidhañ ca tataḥ
prabho || kathaṃ trikāyam adhiṣṭhānaṃ bāhyaṃ vābhyantare sthitiḥ | kathaṃ te
devatārūpaṃ kathayasva devatī prabho | candrasūryyaḥ kathaṃ deva patha pañca
kathaṃ bhavet | kathaṃ te śarīrasvabhāvan tu nāḍīrūpaṃ kathaṃ tataḥ || ke te nāḍī
pramāṇasya śarīrapiṇḍa tat kathaṃ | samayasaṅketacchomasya kathayasva mama
prabho || ke te pīṭhādisaṃketaṃ bāhyādhyātmakam eva ca | kathaṃ bhūmyādi-
lābhasya kathaṃ nimittadarśanam | kathaṃ te dvādaśa-karmma mantrajāpaṃ
kathaṃ bhavet | akṣamālā kathaṃ yukti ke te jāpasya lakṣaṇaṃ | ke te maṇḍalam
āvarttaṃ devatākāra-yogataḥ | siddhimantraṃ kathaṃ deva kaumārī-tarpaṇaṃ
kathaṃ || ke divasena karttavyaṃ alivali kathaṃ prabho | pañcāmṛtādi kathaṃ deva
pañcāṅkuśaṃś ca tad bhavet || kathayasva maṇḍalālekhyaṃ sūtrapātaṃ kathaṃ
bhavet | kathaṃ te bhūmi saṃśodhyaṃ rakṣācakraṃ kathaṃ bhavet || ācāryya kena
karttavyaṃ kathaṃ śiṣyasya saṃgrahaṃ | ke te ’bhiṣekaṃ pramāṇāñ ca caturthañca
kathaṃ bhavet || kathaṃ kālasya nīyamaṃ mṛtyuvañcanam eva ca | ke te
caturyugāṅkasya caturdvīpaṃ kathaṃ bhavet | yuge yuge kathaṃ siddhi caryyācāri
kathaṃ bhavet | ke te yoginītantrasya yogatantraṃ kathaṃ bhavet || kathaṃ
sūtrāntaḥ pramāṇasya ke te pāramitā tathā | pratiṣṭhāhomayāgasya siddhimantraṃ
kathaṃ bhavet || rasāyanaṃ kathaṃ deva madyapānaṃ kathaṃ bhavet |
mantrodayaṃ kathaṃ deva mantroddhāra kathaṃ bhavet || nigrahañca kathaṃ deva
anugrahañca kathaṃ bhavet | tattvāñca kathaṃ bhagavan śūnyatā karuṇā kathaṃ ||
kathaṃ śūnyasvabhāvatvaṃ kathaṃ tathatāsvarūpakaṃ | devarūpaṃ kathaṃ nāma
yoginīlakṣaṇaṃ valīṃ || sarva-dharmma-parijñānaṃ bhāvānaṃ kathaya prabho ||
(Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 64–65).
178. For the chapters translated by Tsuda I have added the title as he gives it.
179. Utpattinirdeśapaṭala, “Explanation of the process of origination” (Tsuda,
The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 73, 239). Mapping of the birth process into a
meditation: “recognizing [the process of] birth to be the process of origination
(utpattikrama), a man should attain the state of the completely enlightened
(samyaksaṃbuddhatva)” (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, p. 243).
180. Utpannakramanirdeśapaṭala, “Explanation of the process of completion”
(Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 77, 243). The chapter really describes
the state of completion, only briefly mentioning aspects of the process (The
Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 243–247).
181. Catur-bhūta-pañcākāra-ṣaḍviṣaya-devatā-viśuddha-paṭala, “Purity of deities
as the four elements, the five aspects and the six objects of the senses”
(Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 79, 247). A standard enumeration of
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the components of the body (elements, senses, etc.), the constituents of

consciousness in the Buddhist system (rūpa, vedanā, saṃjñā, etc.), and so on,
all reenvisioned or reconceived in macro-microcosmic relations (Tsuda, The
Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 247–251).
182. Candrasūryakramopadeśapaṭala, “Explanation of the course of the moon
and the sun” (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 83, 251). A detailed discussion
of the flow of prāṇa through the channels according to specific times, and
the consequences of these movements for one’s life (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya
Tantra, pp. 251–258).
183. Pathapañcanirdeśapaṭala, “Explanation of the five ways” (Tsuda, The
Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 92, 258). A short chapter on the relationship of the
dhātus to the maṇḍalas of the pañcamahābhūtas, and the paths from these
maṇḍalas to the various nāḍīs (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 258–260).
184. Nāḍīcakrakramopāyapaṭala, “The means of the process of the circle of
veins” (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 93, 260). The chapter provides a
mapping of the major channels and their pīṭha names in the body, e.g., oḍiyāna,
the right ear; devikoṭa, the eyes through the liver; mālava, the shoulders
through the heart; etc. (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, p. 261). We find the
same material in the Kālacakra, and Tsuda reports that a similar mapping of
“twenty-four countries, twenty-four parts of the body, twenty-four humors
or intestines, twenty-four gods such as Kharaṇḍakapāla and so on and twenty-
four goddesses such as Pracaṇḍā, and so on are repeatedly enumerated” in the
Abhidhānottara (The Samvarodaya Tantra, p. 260, n. 4).
185. Samayasaṅketavidhipaṭalaḥ. Again, we have the term saṅketa, used for
assignations of lovers, or lovers’ meeting places. The text says: “In his own
house or in a secret place, in deserted places or in pleasant places, in mountain,
cave, or thicket, on the shore of the ocean (2), in a graveyard, in a shrine of
the mother-goddess or in the middle of the confluence of rivers, a man who
wishes the highest result should cause the maṇḍala to turn correctly. The great,
faithful donor should invite yoginī and yogin, the teacher (ācārya), (goddesses)
born from the kṣetra, mantra and pīṭha, and all the deities (4)” (svargṛheṣu
guptasthāne vijaneṣu manorame | giri-gahvara-kuñjeṣu mahodadhitaṭeṣu vā || 2
|| śmaśāne mātṛgṛhe ca nāḍīsaṃgamamadhyataḥ | vartayed maṇḍalaṃ samyag
anuttaraphalam icchati || 3 ||) (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp. 264, 96). The
chapter goes on to describe who is fit to fulfill the role of ācārya—someone
virtuous, not someone observing lifelong chastity (naiṣṭhika), a farmer, a
merchant who sells the teaching, etc.; proper treatment of the attendees
is mentioned, distribution of food and liquor, prayers, and venerations are
mentioned. The elaborate salutation to the goddesses is given; dancing,
singing, mantras, postures, drumming and musical instruments are employed;
then the vīra, or hero, i.e., the gentleman who is ready for the rite of sexual
union, joins together with a yoginī. “He will be possessed of the perfection of
pleasure, free from disease, righteous in mind, and will attain the liberation
from love-passion (kāma). There will be fulfilment (siddhi) for him who has
completion” (sukhasampattisampanna ārogyaḥ śubhacetasāḥ | kāma-mokṣādi-
saṃprāptaḥ siddhir bhavati sampadaḥ || 37 ||) (Tsuda, The Samvarodaya Tantra, pp.
269, 102). The compound kāma-mokṣādi-saṃprāptaḥ should be translated “he
who has attained passionate love, liberation, etc.” or “he who has attained
liberation, etc., through passionate love.”
186. Chomā-pīṭha-saṅketa-bhūmi-nirdeśa-paṭala.
187. Iti śrīsambarodayatantrasya adhyeṣaṇapaṭalaḥ prathamaḥ | iti utpattinir-
deśapaṭalo dvitīyaṃ | iti utpannakramanirdeśapaṭalaḥ tṛtīyaḥ | iti catur-bhūta-
pañcākāra-ṣaḍviṣaya-devatā-viśuddhi-paṭalaś-caturthaḥ | iti candra-sūryya-
kramopadeśa-paṭalaḥ pañcamaḥ | iti patha-pañcakanirddeśaḥ-ṣaṣṭhamaḥ | iti
nāḍī-cakra-kramopāya-paṭalaḥ saptamaḥ | iti samaya-saṅketa-vidhiḥ, paṭalaḥ
aṣṭamaḥ || iti cchoma-pīṭha-saṅketa-bhūmi-nirdeśa-paṭalaḥ navamaḥ | iti karmma-
prasarodayo nāma paṭalo daśamaḥ | iti mantra-jāpa-nirdeśa-paṭala ekādaśamaḥ ||
iti mantra-jāpākṣamālā-nirddeśa-paṭalaḥ dvādaśaḥ | iti śrīherukodaya-nirddeśa-
paṭalas trayodaśamaḥ | iti vajra-yoginī-pūjā-vidhi-nirddeśa-paṭalaś caturdaśaḥ |
iti pātralakṣaṇa-nirddeśa-paṭalaḥ pañcadaśaḥ | iti pañcāmṛta-sādhana-nirddeśa-
paṭalaḥ ṣaṣṭhadaśaḥ | iti maṇḍala-sūtrapātana-vidhi-lakṣaṇo-nirddeśi-paṭalaḥ
saptādaśaḥ | iti abhiṣeka-paṭala aṣṭadaśaḥ | iti mṛtyu-nirmittadarśana utkrāntiyoga-
paṭala ekonaviṃśatiḥ | iti catur-yuganirdeśa-paṭala ekaviṃśatiḥ | iti devatā-
pratiṣṭhitā-vidhi-paṭalo dvāviṃśatiḥ | iti homa-nirddeśa-paṭalas trayoviṃśatiḥ | iti
karmma-prasarauṣadhi-prayoga-nirddeśa-paṭalaś caturviṃśatitamaḥ | iti rasāyaṇa-
vidhiḥ paṭalaḥ pañcaviṃśatiḥ | iti vāruṇī-nirddeśa-paṭalaḥ ṣaḍviṃśatitamaḥ | iti
mantroddhāraṇa-vidhi-paṭalaḥ saptaviṃśatiḥ | iti homavidhiḥ paṭalaḥ iti tattva-
nirddeśa-paṭala ekonaviṃśatitamaḥ | iti citrādi-rūpa-lakṣaṇa-nirddeśa-paṭalas
triṃśatiḥ | iti catur-yoginī-nirddeśa-krama-bodhicitta-saṃkramana-paṭalaḥ eka-
triṃśatiḥ | iti valyupahāra-nirddeśa-paṭalo dvātriṃśatiḥ | iti śrīherukābhidhāne
tantrarāje trilakṣoddhṛtasahajodayakalpe śrīmahāsambarodaya-tantrarāje sar-
vvayoginī-rahasya vipaṭhitasiddhe trayo-triṃśatitamaḥ paṭalaḥ samāptaḥ ||
(Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 63–66). The closing
section of the text reads: Aho saukhyaṃ aho saukhyaṃ aho bhuñja kathaṃ
kathaṃ Aho sahaja-māhātymaṃ sarva-dharmma-svabhāvatā || dṛśyate ca jagaj-
jalendutadvataḥ śṛṇvate ca pratidhvanaikasaṃvṛtaḥ | paśyate ca maru-marīci-
sañcitaḥ khādyapānagaganopamodyatā || yadā jighrate na bhakta sugandhavat
trasate ca svataḥ śaśī sūryya yathā | saṃsthitāñśca giri-meru-tatsamaṃ ālambana-
svaprākṣa-mālikāṃ tathā || māyendra-jāla-vyavahāra-mātragatāḥ evaṃ yathā
sahaja-saukhyodayaṃ tathā | bhāva-svabhāva-rahitā vicintyarayā nityoditaṃ
sugata-mārga-varaṃ namo ’stu || sarvva-pūjaṃ parityajya guru-pūjāṃ samāramet
| tena tuṣṭena tal labhyate sarvajña-jñānam uttamaṃ || kiṃ tena na kṛtaṃ puṇyaṃ
kiṃvā nopāsitaṃ tapaḥ | anuttara-kṛta-ācāryya-vajra-sattva-prapūjanāt || bhayaṃ
pāpaharāṇ caiva . . . sāttvikaḥ | samayācāra-rakṣa-cakra-samayaṃ tasya pradarśayet
|| śrī-herukāvidhāna-tantrasya pīṭha-svādhyāya-lekhanāt | siddhim ṛddhiñ ca
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saubhāgyaṃ bodhisattvatva[ṃ] prāpnuyāt || śrī-sambarodaya-tantrasya bhāvite

cintite yadā | mahābhāga mahāsaukhyaṃ dāridrya-duḥkha[ṃ] naśyati || sarva-vīra-
samājoga-ḍākinī-jāla-sambaraṃ | nānādhimuktikā sattvāśvāryyā nānā-vivodhitaḥ
|| nānā-naya-vineyān tam upāyena tu darśitāḥ | gambhīra-dharmma-nirdeśe nānā-
adhimuktikā yadi || pratikṣapā na karttavyā acintyā sarvadharmmatāḥ | śūnyatā-
karuṇā-abhinnaṃ acintyo buddha-nāṭakaṃ || śrī-heruka-samāyogaṃ ḍākinī-vṛndam
āśritaṃ | sattvāvatāra-muktin tu tatra sarvvatra ratā iva || sarva-ḍākinī-samāyogā
śrī-heruka-pade sthitā | (Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts,
pp. 66-67).
188. Snellgrove, The Hevajra Tantra, Part 2, p. vii.
189. Snellgrove, The Hevajra Tantra, Part 2, p. viii.
190. Snellgrove, The Hevajra Tantra, Part 1, p. 14.
191. Snellgrove, The Hevajra Tantra, Part 2, pp. vii–viii.
192. Gerhard Ehlers, Indische Handschriften. Teil 12. Die Sammlung der
Niedersacsischen Staats- Und Universitätsbibliothek Gottingen (Stuttgart:
Franz Steiner Verlag, 1995), p. 220.
193. Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, p. 522.
194. G. W. Farrow and I. Menon, The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra, with
the Commentary Yogaratnamālā (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private
Limited, 1992). Since the Yogaratnamālā manuscripts they consulted are not
substantially different than Snellgrove’s edition, they do not provide the San-
skrit of the Yogaratnamālā.
195. See Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 232, for mention of the collaboration
of these two on the translation of the Madhyamaka-avatāra-kārikā.
196. Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 538, 193,
75, 201, 206, 207, 194, 202, 193, 208, 205, 199, 205, 210, 501, 201, 209, 247, 207,
201, 212, 212.
202. Peter Zieme and Gyorgy Kara, Ein Uigurisches Totenbuch. Naropa’s Lehre in
uigurischer Ubersetzung von vier tibetischen Traktaten nach der Sammelhandschrift
aus Dunhuang, British Museum Or. 8212 (109) (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz,
1979), p. 26.
203. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 129, 152–154; Ui, et al., A Complete
Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, p. 235.

214. See Arthur Keith, Catalogue of the Sanskrit and Prakrit Manuscripts in the
Library of the India Office. Volume 2, Brahmanical and Jaina Manuscripts, with a
Supplement, Buddhist Manuscripts, by F. W. Thomas (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1935), pp. 1398–1399, #7732.
215. Christopher S. George, The Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, Chapters I–VIII. A
critical edition and English translation (New Haven, CT: American Oriental
Society, 1974), pp. 2–3. I have used George’s translations except where noted;
each colophon ends with –paṭala.
216. George translates this as “trance.”
217. Śāstrī explains that this chapter “gives reasons why Caṇḍa Mahāroṣṇa is
called Acala, Ekallavīra [the solitary hero] and Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa” (A Descriptive
Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 135); see below.
218. George translates “Increasing the white, etc.,” though he notes, “i.e., how
to increase sexual potency, etc.” (The Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, Chapters I–VIII,
p. 3, n. 11).
219. George translates “Cures for the Ills of Old Age.” Given the information
we have on the scope of alchemical medicine, though, I suggest—without
having read the chapter—that both regular disease and the infirmities of old
age are probably the subject matter of this section.
220. Again, George keeps “white” as the translation for śukra, though he
clearly knows what it refers to, as is evident from the translated chapters he
provides. The “arrest” is the yoga of stopping the ejaculation of semen during
sexual intercourse.
221. Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 131–140.
222. George, The Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, Chapters I–VIII, p. 8.
223. Sarvo ’haṃ sarvavyāpī ca sarvakṛt sarvanāśakaḥ | sarva-rūpadharo buddhaḥ,
haritā karttā prabhuḥ śukhī || yena yenaiva rūpeṇa sattvā yānti vineyatāṃ | tena
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tenaiva rūpeṇa sthito ’haṃ lokahetave || kvacit buddhaḥ kvacit siddhaḥ kvaccid-
dharmo ’tha saṅkhakaḥ | kvacit pretaḥ kvacit tiryyak kvacin nāraka-rūpaka ||
224. According to Vaman Shivram Apte (The Practical Sanskrit-English
Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition [Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1985]), who
is certainly no authority on Buddhist tantra, try-akṣara is a term for Oṃ, since
it is considered to have three syllables: a, u, m. Without the rest of the chapter
it is impossible to tell; given the term’s usage below, some esoteric physical
meaning appears to be intended.
225. These are neuter case, though, so they probably should be taken ad-
verbially: tatparaṃ, kāyavākcittaṃ saṃvṛtaṃ gaḍhasaukhyataḥ.
226. Again, nakhakṣatam is neuter case.
227. Rata is the pleasure of, or simply sexual union. Su-rata therefore indicates
what we would call in colloquial English great sex, or good sex.
228. A daṇḍa is missing after the ṭ; what the “six” refers to is not clear.
229. Sambodhi.
230. See Dharmasaṃgrahaḥ 64, 65 for the same list of the thirteen realms, in
a slightly different order (K. Kasawara, F. Max Muller, and H. Wenzel, The
Dharma-Saṃgraha. An Ancient Collection of Buddhist Technical Terms [Oxford: The
Clarendon Press, 1885], p. 14). The Sanskrit of this extract is: Prajñopāya[-]
samāyogena nakhaṃ dadyāt tu tryakṣaram | cumanāliṅganañ caiva sarva-sva-
śukram eva ca || dāna-pāramitā pūrṇā bhavaty eva na saṃśayaḥ | tatparaṃ kāya-
vāk-cittaṃ samvṛtaṃ gāḍha-saukhyataḥ || śīla-pāramitā-jñeyā jñeyā sahanāc ca
nakha-kṣatam | tryakṣaraṃ pīḍanañ ca rataṃ kuryyāt samāhitaḥ | vīryya-pāramitā
jñeyā tat-sukhe citta-yojanā || sarvato-bhadra-rūpeṇa dhyāna-pāramitā matā |
strī-rūpa-bhāvanā, prajñā-pāramitā prakīrttitā || surataka-yoga-mātreṇa pūrṇā
ṣaṭ-pāramitā bhavet | pañca-pāramitā puṇya-jñāna-prajñeti kathyate || surata-
yoga-samāyukto yoga-sambhārasamvṛtaḥ yoga-sambhāra-samvṛtaḥ | siddhyate
kṣaṇa-mātreṇa puṇya-jñāna-samanvitaḥ || yathā latā-samudbhūtaṃ phala-puṣpaṃ
samanvitam || eka-kṣaṇāñ ca sambodhiḥ sambhāra-dvaya-sambhṛtā || sa trayodaśa-
bhūmīśo bhavatyeva na saṃśayaḥ | bhūmis tu muditā jñeyā vimalārcciṣmatis tathā
|| prabhākarī sudurjjayābhimukhī dūraṅgamācalā | [sā]dhumatī dharmma-meghā
samant[ā]khya-prabhā tathā || nirupamā jñātavatītyeva trayodaśañjña ||.
231. Puruṣarūpaṃ bhāvaḥ strī-rūpam abhāvaḥ | nīlo vijñānaṃ, śveto rūpaṃ, pīto
vedanā raktaḥ samjñā, śyāmaḥ saṃskāraḥ–athavā nīlam ākāśaṃ, śvetā-jalaṃ, pītā
pṛthivī, raktā, vahni, śyāmo vātaḥ–yathā, bhagavatāṃ, tathā bhavatīnāṃ-athavā
nīlaḥ, śuviśuddha-dharmma-dhātu-jñānaṃ, śveta ādarśa-jñānaṃ, pīta samatā-
jñānaṃ, rakta pratyavekṣaṇā-jñānaṃ, śyāma kṛtyānuṣṭhāna-jñānam | eka eva
jinaḥśāstā pañcarūpeṇa saṃsthit[aḥ] | prajñāpāramitā caikā pañcarūpeṇa saṃsthitā
|| (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 185–186).
232. Śāstrī inserts a question mark for this work, which I have retained; I have
been unable to determine what it might mean, or of what it may be a variant

reading.
233. Atha bhagatī āha | kiṃ bhagavan strī-vyatirekeṇāpi śakyate sādhayituṃ caṇḍa-
mahāroṣaṇapadaṃ utsāho na śakyate | bhagavān āha na śakyate devi | bhagavatī
āha kiṃ bhagavan sukhānudayāt na śakyate? bhagavān āha | na sukhodayamātreṇa
labhyate bodhir uttamā | sukha-viśeṣodayādeva prāpyate sā ca nānyathā || . . .
loka-kaukṛtya-nāśārthaṃ māyādevīsutaḥ sudhīḥ | caturaśīti sahasrāṇi tyaktvā
cāntaḥpuraṃ punaḥ || gatvā nirañjanatīraṃ buddha-siddhi-prakāśakaḥ, | yāto
mārānnirākṛtya na caivaṃ paramārthataḥ || yasmād antaḥpure buddhaḥ siddho
gopānvitaḥ sukhī | vajra-padma-samāyogāt sa sukhaṃ labhate yataḥ || sukhena
prāpyate bodhiḥ sukhaṃ na strī-viyogataḥ | viyogaḥ kriyate yas tu loka-kaukṛtya-
hānaye || yena yenaiva te lokā yānti buddha vineyatām | tena tenaiva rūpeṇa
māyādevīsuto jinaḥ | sarvva-sūtrābhidarmmeṇa kṛtvā nindāstu yoṣitām| nānā śikṣā-
padaṃ bhāvetastu svagopanabhāṣayā || nirvāṇaṃ darśayec cāpi pañca-skandha-
vināśataḥ || atha bhagavatī prajñāpāramitā āha | kā bhagavan māyādevīsutaḥ kā
ca gopā? bhagavān āha | māyādevīsutaś cāhaṃ caṇḍaroṣaṇatāṃ gataḥ | tvam eva
bhagavatī gopā parjñāpāramitātmikāḥ || yāvantas tu strīyaḥ sarvās-tad-rūpeṇaiva tā
matāḥ | madrūpeṇa pumāṃsastu sarvva eva prakīrttitā || dvayor bhāgavataṃ caitat
prajñopāyātmakaṃ jagat | . . . Atha bhagatī āha, kathaṃ bhagavan śrāvakādayo hi
striyo dūṣayanti | bhagavān āha | kāmadhātu-sthitāḥ sarve khyātā ye śrāvakādayaḥ
| mokṣamārgaṃ na jānanti striyaḥ paśyanti savvadā || sannidhānaṃ bhaved yatra
durllabhaṃ śuṅkumādikam | na tatrārghaṃ samāpnoti durasthasya mahārghatā ||
anādya-jñāna-yogena śraddhā-hīnās tvamī janāḥ | cittaṃ na kurvate tattve mayāpy
etat pragopitam ||.
234. Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, quotes Vasiṣṭha’s definition
of vīrāsana as being the same as paryaṅka: placing one foot firmly on the other
thigh, likewise the thigh on the other [foot], this is called the vīrāsanam (ekaṃ
pādam athaikasmin vinyasorau tu saṃsthitaṃ | itarasamiṃs tathā evoraṃ vīrāsanam
udāhṛtam || paryaṅka-granthi-bandha. . . ).
235. Again, the text is a bit suspect here, reading nīlāyāvā sahasrake. I’ve
emended it to nīlāvayavām saharaskām.
236. Atha bhagavatī āha | aparaṃ śrotum icchāmi prajñāpāramitodayam | sattva-
parya[ṅ]kinī devī ṣoḍaśabda-vapuṣmatī | nīlavarṇā mahābhāgā, akṣobhyena ca
mudritā | rakta-padmodyatām savye nīla[vayavāṃ] sahasrak[āṃ] | sthitaṃ vai
kāmaśāstraṃ tu padma-candropariṣṭhitam | pīnonnatakucā[ṃ] dṛṣṭvā viśālākṣ[īṃ]
priyaṃvadām || sahajacala-samādhiṣṭhā[m] devīm etāṃ tu bhāvayet | hūṃkāra-
jñāna-saṃbhūtāṃ, viśva-vajrīn tu yoginīm || bhāvayet harṣito yogī, dhruvaṃ siddhim
avāpnuyāt | athavā bhāvayec chvetāṃ, vāṇādhī-kāra-saṃbhavām || mudritāṃ śm
. . . tenaiva pītām vajradhātveśvarīm | raktena mudrita[ṃ] vajrā[ṃ] raktāmbā[ṃ]
[kuru]-kullikā[ṃ] || amitābha-mudritāṃ devīṃ hrīṃ-kāra-jñāna-saṃbhavām |
tārāmbā śyāma-varṇāñ ca trāṃ-kāra-jñāna-saṃbhavām || amogha-mudritām
dhyāyet purva-rūpeṇa mānav[i] | sattva-paryyaṅka-saṃsthas tu saumyarūpeṇa
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saṃsthitaḥ || khadga-pāśa-dharaḥ śrīmān āliṅgyabhinayaḥ kṛtī | svakulīm vātha

kanyāṃ gṛhya prabhāvayet || anena sidhyate yogī, mudrāyā naiva saṃśayaḥ | athavā
pratimāṃ kṛtvā sādhayet sutrādi-saṃskṛtāṃ || saha-caṇḍa-samādhi-stho japed
ekāgramānasaḥ | (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp.
137–138).
237. Śatru-kṛtā[ṃ] samā[m].
238. Athātaḥ saṃpravakṣyāmi ekavīrantu maṇḍalam | caturasraṃ caturdvāraṃ,
caturs-toraṇa-maṇḍitam || pītavarṇaṃ tu karttavyaṃ madhya-padmaṃ catur-
dalam | tasya cāgnau dalaṃ śvetaṃ naṛṛtye rakta-sannibham | vāyavye pītavarṇan
tu tatrācalaṃ prakalpayet | sūryya-stham athavā śvetaṃ pītam vā raktam eva vā
|| śyāmaṃ vā pañcabhir buddhai ekarūpaṃ vicintayet | r[l]ocanām agnikope ca
caṇḍāśoka-vidhāyiṇīṃ || vāmadakṣiṇa-karābhyāṃ ca śarac-candra-kara-prabhām
| naṛtye p[ā]ṇḍarā[ṃ] devīṃ dhanur-vāṇ-dharāṃ parām || raktā[ṃ] vāyavyakoṇe
tu māmakī[ṃ] pītasannibhā[ṃ] | . . . śikhāhastā[ṃ], śyām[ā]m aiśānakoṇake |
tāriṇīṃ varadāṃ s[avye], vāme nīlotpala-dhāriṇīṃ || etā caṇḍ[e]śanā[ḥ] sarvvā
a[r]ddha-paryyaṅka-saṃsthitā | rāgavajrā[ṃ] nyaset pūrvve dvāre śatru-kṛtā[ṃ]
samā[m] || khadga-[ś]arya-dharā[ṃ] raktāṃ dveṣa-vajr[ā]m tu dakṣiṇe | kartti-
ta[r]jjanī-kara[ṃ] nīlā[ṃ] yamena kṛta-veṣṭitā[m] || paścime māravajrān-tu varya-
vajra-karācalāṃ | mayūra-piccha-vastrāṃs-tu varuṇa-sthām śyāma-sannibhām ||
uttare mohavajrān-tu tanya-śoka-dhāriṇī[ṃ] | pītavarṇā[ṃ] kuvera-sthā[ṃ] nyaset
sūryyāsan[e] . . . || pratyālīḍha-padāḥ sarvvā . . . mūrddhajaḥ | catvāro hi ghaṇṭa[ḥ]
koṇe karttavyāḥ pītasannibhāh || asya bhāvan[ā] mātreṇa-yoginy-aṣṭa-samanvitam
| trailokyeṣu sthita-strīṇāṃ sa bharttā parameśvaraḥ || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive
Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 138–139).
239. Koilāsurasaṃjñākam.
240. Marie-Thérèse De Mallmann lists her as Parṇaśabarī or Parṇaśavarī, both
a Hindu and Buddhist tantric deity (Introduction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme
Bouddhique, dessins de Muriel Thiriet [Paris: Centre Nationale de la Recherche
Scientifique, 1975; Paris: Librarie d’Amérique et d’Orient, 1986 reprint], pp.
300; and Les Enseignements Iconographiques de L’Agni Purana [Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France, 1963], p. 163), the “wild mountain woman (śabarī)
covered with leaves (pañja).”
241. Athānyat saṃpravakṣyāmi caṇḍaroṣaṇ[a]-bhāvanāṃ | viśva-padma-dale devaṃ
kalpayec caṇḍaroṣaṇam || vāmadevam bhaved agnau raktavarṇan tu naiṛṛtye |
pīyambai[ḥ] kāmadevaṃ tu śyāmāṃ māhilla-rāmakaṃ || vāyavye kṛṣṇa-varnaṃ
tu koilāsurasaṃjñakam | ka[r]tti-karpa[r]a-karā caite saṃsthitālīḍhapādataḥ ||
bhavataḥ paścime devī sthitā vai parṇaśāvalī | asyā [e]va dhyānayogena dagdha-
mats[y]ādipūjayā || . . . pītayā prajñayā yuktaṃ vāme ca śveta-padmayā | nīlaṃ
vai caṇḍaroṣaṃ tu raktayā raktayāthavā || . . . tāvad vibhāvayed gāḍhaṃ yāvat
prasphuṭatāṃ vrajet | gatantu prasphuṭo yogī mahāmantreṇa sidhyati || (Shāstrī, A
Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 139–140).
242. 111.402.B, pp. 92–94 of the 1915 catalogue; Grünendahl, A Concordance of

H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, pp. 570–572.
243. This missing portion of the text here makes it difficult to translate this
sentence.
244. Aparṣad = aorist of √pṛ.
245. “The mistress of that realm” is interpolated here from George’s translation
of this gloss of vajradhārvīśvarībhāge (The Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, p. 44, n. 3);
part of the Sanskrit is missing from Śāstrī’s extract.
246. Oṃ namaś candramahārṣaṇāya | magnaṃ yena jagac carācaram idaṃ mohān-
dhakārodare | prajñopāya-vibhāga-bhāskarakaraiḥ vyaktaṃ samuddīritam || . . .
mādhi-sāṅgaṃ puruṣaḥ śravaṇa-saṃgaṃ svayaṃ | so ’yaṃ matsukha-sādhanāya
jagati vyakta-prabhas tiṣṭhatu || evaṃ mayā ityādi saṃgītikāraḥ | nidāna-vākyam
etat yasmāt saṃgītikāreṇa sūtra-tantrādau | avaśyaṃ vaktavyam | bhagato vacanāt |
tathā ca | evaṃ mayā śrutam iti kṛtvā bhikṣava mama vacanam | saṃgītavyam ityādi
evaṃ sati || śraddhāvatāṃ pravṛttyaṅgaṃ śāstāparṣac ca sākṣiṇi | deśa-kālau ca
nirddiṣṭhau sva-prāmāṇya-prasiddhaye || iti pratipāditaṃ bhavati | tatra | evam iti
yathā saṃgāsyāmi | mayetyanena viparīta-śruta-paramparāśrutayor nirāsaḥ | etena
ātmanāsambandhāt śrutam aviparītaṃ ca pratipādayati | śrutam iti śrotra-jñānena
adhigatam iti | anekasmin samaye iti | ekasmin kāle | anyasmin kāle anyad api śrutam
ity arthaḥ | etena ātmano bāhuśrutyaṃ etat tantrasya ādau lambhyañ ca pratipādayati
| bhagavān iti bhagā aiśvaryyādayaḥ | tathā ca | aiśvaryyasya samagrasya dānasya
yaśasaḥ striyaḥ | kāsyāpi prayatnasya ṣaṇṇaṃ bhagaḥ iti śrutiḥ || tāni vidyante asya
iti | rāgādi-kleśa-bhañjanād vā | vajrasattva iti | vajraṃ abhedyaṃ sattvaṃ artha-
kriyā-kāritvam asya iti | athavā vajra iva vajra sa cāsau sattva-prāṇīveti | sarvvetyādī
sarvañ ca te tathāgatāś ca teṣāṃ kāya vāk-citta-jñānāt śarīratattvam tasya hṛdayam
atyantam abhilaṣaṇīyatvāt | tad eva vajradhātvīśvarībhagaṃ vajro liṅgaṃ, tasya
dhātuḥ, sāmvṛta-vivṛtatvādi-lakṣaṇaṃ, bodhicittaṃ tat . . . vyāprajñā vajradhātunā
āsevitatvāt tasyāḥ | tat varāṅge bhage vijahāreti | vihṛtavān vajra-padma-saṃyogena
sampuṭa-yogena sthitavān ityarthaḥ | ayañ ca viharān prākṛta-janasya atyanta
guptaḥ bhavati kiṃ punaḥ bhagavato vajrasattvasya | tataś ca ārthād uktaṃ bhavati
| sumeru-girim ūrddhva-vajra-sattva-bhūmau vajra-maṇi-śikhara-kūṭāgare viharati
smeti | etena śāstākālo deśaś coktaḥ | parṣada-lokam āha anekaiś cetyādi | vajra-
yoginaḥ | śvetācalādayaḥ | vajra-yoginyo mohavajryādayaḥ | teṣāṃ tāsāṃ ca guṇāḥ
samūhāḥ | eka-rūpās taiḥ | bahu-vacanatva-eka-vacanasyāpi pañca-tathāgatatvāt
| tad-yatheti | upadarśane | śvetācaleti bhagavān bhagavatī deha-gata-rūpa-
jñānena evaṃ pītācaleneti bhagavatī deha-gata-gandha-jñānena | rakṣācaleneti
bhagavatī deha-gata-rasa-jñāneneti | śitimācaleneti bhagavatī deha-gata-sparśa-
jñāne | moha-vajryā ceti | bhagavtyā bhagavad-deha-gata–rūpa-jñānena | piśuna-
vajryā ceti bhagavad-deha-gata-gandha-jñāneneti | rāga-vajryā ceti bhagavad-
deha-gata-rasa-jñāneneti | rāga-vajryā ceti bhagavad-deha-gata-sparśa-jñānena |
svayan tu bhagavān bhagavatī-deha-śabda-jñāna-rupaḥ | bhagavatī tu bhagavad-
deha-gata-śabda-jñāna-rūpā | ato naitat prabhedaḥ kutaḥ || evaṃ pramukhair iti |
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evaṃ prakāraiḥ | cakṣuṣā ghrāṇena rasanayā kāyena śrotreṇa rūpeṇa vedanayā

saṃjñayā saṃskāreṇa vijñānenapṛthivyā jalena tejasḥ ākāśena ityādibhir ityarthaḥ
| etenaivaṃvidhe vihāre parśad-devyo ’nye tādṛśyo bodhicitte tu kathitaṃ bhavati |
atiguptatvāt nanu tadā tvayā kathaṃ śrutam iti cet | athetyāti ayam arthaḥ | tena
vihāreṇa yadā catur-ānanda-sukham anubhūya tad-anantaraṃ sarva-puruṣeṣu
mahākaruṇām āmukhī-kṛtyāt | evaṃ kṛṣṭhāvalī-samādhim samāpadya idaṃ
vakṣyamāṇam udajahāra udāhṛtavān | tadā śrutā mayā ityarthaḥ | saṃgīta-kārasya
mama vajrapāṇaḥ śrotrendriya-rūpatvāt bhagavad-bhagavatī-deha eva sthityā
mayā śtrutam iti bhāvaḥ | kim udāhṛtavān bhāvābhāvetyādi | bhāvaḥ ānanda-
paramānanda-vikalpaḥ | abhāve viramānanda-vikalpaḥ | tābhyāṃ vinirmuktaḥ
tyaktaḥ | catvāra ānandāḥ | sūtra-prajñopāyābhyām anyonyānurāga-lakṣaṇam
aliṅgana-cumbana-stana-marddana-nakha-dānādinā yantrāruḍha-bandhena vajra-
padma-saṃyogaṃ yāvad ānandaḥ etena kiñcit sukham utpadyate | (Grünendahl, A
Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, pp. 570–571).
247. Yoginīdvandvaḥ yoginī-saṃyogaḥ | tatra nanditam utpannam | prasphuṭatā-
karaṇam eva siddheḥ kāraṇam iti | pūrvva-vyākhyātam eva | mahāmudrā-siddhis
tu pūrvvaṃ vyākhyātaiveti devatā-sādhanaṃ paṭalaḥ | iti pañcaviṃśati-paṭala-
vyākhyā | idaṃ ityādi saṃgīti-kāra-vacanam | idam ukta-lakṣaṇaṃ sakalaṃ tantram
bhagavān avocat kathitavān | abhyanandan anumodivantaḥ iti | samāptam iti
niṣpannam | ye dharmmā ityādi | ye dharmmāḥ sapta | vijñāna-nāma-rūpa-ṣaḍ-
āyatana-sparśa-vedanā-jāti-jarā-maraṇākhyā | te hetubhyaḥ pañcabhyaḥ avidyā-
saṃskāra-tṛṣṇopādāna-bhavākhyebhyaḥ bhavanti | hetuḥ kāraṇaṃ teṣāṃ yathā
gadanāt tathāgataḥ | avadat uktavān | kāryya-kāraṇayor yo nirodhaḥ, upaśamaḥ
nirvāṇaḥ evaṃ svāditum śīlam asya iti mahāśramaṇaḥ iti | vidvān śūras tapasvī ca
mahotsāhaś ca vīryavān | adbhutasya ca karttā hi mahān ityabhidhīyate || śamita-
pāpatvāt sa śramaṇaḥ | kleśopakleśa-śamanāt veti | kṛtyā vyaktatarāṃ mayā punar
imāṃ pañjiṃ guror ājñayā | śrī-tantra-rahasya-sāra-racitāṃ yat tena lokaḥ kalau
| prajñopāya-samāgameka-rasikaś caṇḍācalo [’]stu drutam || (Grünendahl, A
Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, pp. 571–572).
248. Kṛtir iyaṃ mahā-paṇḍita-mahā-sukha-vajra-pādānām iti | samvat 417
phālguna-kṛṣṇa-daśamyāṃ maṅgala-vāsare likhanaṃ samāptam idam iti rājye
śrīmat anantamalladeves[e]ti śubham astu sarvajanā[n] |.
249. Luciano Petech, Mediaeval History of Nepal (c. 750–1480) (Roma: Instituto
Italiano Per II Medio Ed Estremo Oriente, 1958), pp. 95–98.
250. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 79, n. 1, citing Tucci.
252. See Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 183–184. Naudou provides a list of
fifteen of her works preserved in the Bstan-’gyur, though he does not mention
this one (p. 184, n. 90).
253. Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 186–187; 187, n. 100.
254. Ui, et al., A Catalogue-Index of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, lists Tohoku 1165
as the number, though this is a misprint; Tohoku 1165 is Saptatathāgatastotra;
the correct listing is Tohoku 1195, five folios.
377, 195–196, 212–213, 75, 195, 195, 213, 73, 70, 141, and 356 respectively.
257. Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, pp. 643–644.
258. Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 89–100.
259. His examining board consisted of F. W. Thomas (Oxford), Sylvain Lévi,
and Louis de la Vallée Poussin (Nagenrda Chaudhuri, Ḍākārṇavaḥ. Studies in
the Apabhramsa Texts of the Dakarnava [Calcutta: Metropolitan Printing and
Publishing House, 1935], p. 1). Although Chaudhuri dates the text to the
thirteenth century, his reasoning seems a bit more speculative. For instance,
he explains the derivation of ḍāka as a version of the Tibetan gdag, or wisdom
(Ḍākārṇavaḥ, p. 6).
260. In a sādhana to Vajravārāhī written by Advayavajra (Mahā-paṇḍita-
avadhūta-śrīmad-advayavqjra) given by Abhayākaragupta, Ḍākinī, Lāmā,
Khaṇḍarohā, and Rūpiṇī are on the eastern, northern, western, and southern
petals, dark blue, black, red, and white respectively. (Tathā pūrvādi-caturdaleśu
yathā-kramaṃ vāmāvarttena ḍākinī-lāmā-khaṇḍarohī-rūpiṇīḥ kṛṣṇa-śyāma-rakta-
gaurāḥ. . . . Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, Śaktisaṅgama Tantra [Baroda: Oriental
Institute, 1941], vol. 2, Tārākhaṇḍa, pp. 425, 1.1 1–12).
261. De Mallmann, Introduction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, p. 218.
262. Khaṇḍa-rohā literally means “she of broken ascent” or “she whose rise
is cleft.” It appears to be a poetic designation for a woman who is no longer a
virgin (the “rise” being her vulva). According to De Mallmann, this is the name
of two goddesses from the Hevajra cycle, found in the Saṃvara, Six Carkavartin,
and Vajravārāhī maṇḍalas. (Introduction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique,
p. 218). She appears in several sādhanas given by Abhayākaragupta.
263. De Mallmann notes that “Crow Face” (Kākāsyā) is a ferocious goddess,
black or blue, with a crow’s head, belonging to both the Heruka/Hevajra and
the Kālacakra cycle. She is always located to the east or southeast (Intro-
duction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, pp. 204–205). Here in the
Ḍākārṇavatantra, kākāsyā is apparently a name of one of the breaths. See
Abhayākaragupta’s description of the Saṃvara maṇḍala where Crow Face,
Owl Face, Dog Face, and Hog Face, like the ḍākiṇī, etc., are accompanied by
Śiva in each of the four doors (dvāreśu kākāsyolukāsyā-śvānāsyā-śūkarnāsyāḥ
ḍākinyādivat parameśānugatāḥ) (Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, Niṣpannayogāvalī of
Mahāpaṇḍita Abhayākaragupta [Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1972], p. 27).
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264. (Mahānāsa-lakṣaṇa-cchoma-vidhi-niyama): 1) Jñānārṇavāvatāraḥ; 2) Vajra-

vārāhy-utpatti-nāyakī ca yantra-cakra-maṇḍala-bhāvanādi-svabhāva; 3) Ḍākiṇī-
utpatti-lakṣaṇa-sukha-sañcāra-karmma-tattva-vyavasthā-vidhiḥ; 4) Lāmotpatti-
lakṣaṇa-mantra-nyāsa-ṣaṭ-cakra-vartmādi-svabhāva-nirvāṇādi-vyavasthā; 5)
Khaṇḍarohā-lakṣaṇotpatti-catuś-cakra-nāḍī-vyavasthā-nāmoddeśa-mantra-
nyāsādi-vidhi; 6) Rūpiṇī-lakṣaṇa-svabhāva-nāḍī-cakra-svabhāva-sthānā-vyavasthā-
tantra-lakṣaṇa-vidhi, 7) Kākāśyādi-prāṇotpatti-lakṣaṇa-vidhi; 8) Ulākāsyā-nirṇaya-
sambidhānotpattiḥ prāṇādi-lakṣaṇa; 9) Śvānāsyā-lakṣaṇa-sukhādy-avasthā-vidhi;
10) Sūkarāsyotpatti-maṇḍalavatāraṇādi; 11) Yamadāḍī-vyavasthotpattiḥ lakṣaṇa;
12) Yamadūty-utpatti-lakṣaṇādi-mṛtyu-vancana-cakra-bhāvanopadeśa-saṃkṣe-
pataḥ; 13) Yamadaṃśtrī-prayogāvatara-mṛtyu-vañcanādi; 14) Yamamathany-
avatārotpattiḥ kāla-mṛtyu-vañcanādi-vidhi-lakṣaṇa-buddhāvasthā-svabhāva;
15) Bhagavān samyak-samādhi-vyavasthita-[n]-āmnāya-sūcaka; 16) Mūla-
mantroddhāra-vidhi; 17) Kavacotpatti-lakṣaṇa-vajra-sattva-vārāhyā vidhi; 18) Vairo-
canādi-kavaca-rakṣā-vidhi; 19) Padma-nartteśvarādi-rakṣā-kavaca-mantra-nirṇaya;
20) Herukādika-rakṣā-kavaca-vidhi; 21) Vajra-sūryyādi-kavaca-rakṣā-vidhi; 22)
Paramāsv-ādi-kavaca-rakṣā-vidhi; 23) Vali-cakra-pujā-vidhi; 24) Maṇḍala-homa-
ācāryya-pujā-vidhi; 25) Bhagavān-ityādi-viśuddha-tathāgata-pratiṣṭhā-viśuddha-
lakṣaṇa; 26) Pracaṇḍādi-yantra-maṇḍala-yogiṇī-vīrāṇāṃ mudrāṇāṃ
saṃkeṭa-viharaṇa-lakṣaṇa-vidhi-nāma-gocara-paṭalaḥ; 27) Pracaṇḍākṣi-lakṣaṇa-
mudrādhipati-svabhāva-vidhi; 28) Prabhāvatī-lakṣaṇa-mudrā-vidhi; 29) Mahānāsā-
lakṣaṇa-cchoma-vidhi-niyama; 30) Mudrā-pratimudrā-vīra-matī-svabhāva-vidhi-
lakṣaṇaṃ 31) Kharbarī-akṣara-cchomā-lakṣaṇa-svabhāvaḥ jñāna-nāma-paṭalaḥ;
32) Laṅkeśvarī-mudrā-saṅketa-lakṣaṇa-maṇḍala-cakra-svabhāva-nāma-vidhi-
jñāna-paṭalaḥ; 33) Druma-cchāyā-svalakṣaṇa-mudrā-saṅketa-vidhi-niyama; 34)
Airāvatī-kāya-mudrā-lakṣaṇa-vidhi-yukti; 35) Mahābhairavāntar-mudrā-kathana-
lakṣaṇa-vidhi; 36) Vāyu-vegāyā[ḥ] prayoga-vidhi-mudrā-varṇaka-lakṣaṇa-vidhi;
37) Surābhakṣī-prayoga-cchomā-svabhāva-lakṣaṇa-vidhi; 38) Vajravārāhyādvaya-
śyāma-devyā vaśya-homa-yantra-vajra-maṇḍala-vidhi-lakṣaṇa; 39) Bhagavān
mūla-mantrasya subhadrādvaya-yogātmāh[v]aya-yantroddeśa-kāla-nāga-karma-
vidhi-lakṣaṇa; 40) Haya-karṇa-vīrādvaya-yogataḥ kavacasī-mūlamantrasya
karma-vidhi-lakṣaṇa-māranañca; 41) Khagānandyā vīrāyā advaya-yantra-cakra
unmattī-karaṇa-svabhāva-lakṣaṇa-vidhi-hṛdaya-mantra-sarbba-karma-nāma; 42)
Cakravegā-karmma-stambhana-vīrādvaya-yoga-lakṣaṇa-svabhāva-nāma-vidhi;
43) Khaṇḍarohā prayoga-bhāvana-yantra-cakram uccāṭana-karmaṣaḍ-yoginī-
mantra-kavaceṣu vidhi-lakṣaṇa; 44) Sauṇḍinī-prayogeṣu vidveṣaṇa-lakṣaṇa-
vidhi-yantra-cakra-svabhāva; 45) Cakra-varmmaṇī-mūlīkaraṇa-prayoga-vidhi-
lakṣaṇa-maṇḍalacakra-bhāvanā-vīrādvaya-yoga-rākṣasākāra-yantra-cakram; 46)
Suvīrāyā śāntika-karmma-prayoga-vidhi-lakṣaṇa-yantra-cakra-bhāvanā-stambha-
mantrasya karmma-prasaram; 47) Mahāvalāyā yogena mahārakṣā-kīlana-
mantrasya karmma-bodhisatt[v]asya yantra-bhāvanopāya-vidhi-lakṣaṇa; 48)
Cakra-varttiṇī-prayogādi-nānā-sādhana-karmma-yantra-cakra-bhāvanā-marga-
mūla-mantroddeśa-vidhi-lakṣaṇa-sarvva-karmmakaṃ; 49) Mahāvīryāyā prayoga-
lakṣaṇa-guhya-rasāyanādi-puṣṭika-karmma-śrī-samyak-samādhi-heruka-mūla-
mantrasya vidhir; 50) Pañcaviṃśati-tattvātmāsarvva-tantrāṇām artha-sūcakaṃ

sarvva-rahasyaṃ, 51) Stutiḥ pūjādi-samaya-sevādvaya (Shāstri, A Descriptive
265. The numbers are in the Sanskrit, above each name.
266. Probably Mahārāṣṭra.
267. Here, as with 29 and 44 below (Ceylon and Kaśmīr), Nepal is referred to
as a region, not with specific cities, suggesting that the text does not originate
from any of these regions.
268. I.e., Bengal.
269. Ceylon, or Śrī Laṅka.
270. As Shāstri points out, this is most likely Bombay, perhaps the earliest
known usage of the name (A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 94).
271. Probably Cambodia.
272. This is a variant reading for the term pīlava, upapīlava, terms for pilgrimage
sites. Pelava means “delicate, fine, soft, tender,” according to Apte, The Prac-
tical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, who cites the word trom Kumārasambhava 4.29,
etc.: “from a bow made of tender leaves and flowers” (dhanuṣaḥpīlava-puṣpa-
patriṇaḥ).
273. I.e., the sixty-four locations are mapped to sixty-four channels emanating
from the navel cakra throughout the body, in the form of yoginīs.
274. An alternate spelling for dūtikā, a confidante or woman who acts as a go-
between for lovers.
275. Again, the numbers are in the Sanskrit.
276. Māyākāra-sukṣetriṇī.
277. Each of these names are in the feminine, as names of goddesses: raktā,
śukrā, etc.
278. I’ve emended sadavāhinī to sadāvāhinī—an honorific here for breath as a
goddess, constantly carrying life through the body. The role of the goddess
here is does not significantly differ from the idea of śakti or kuṇḍalinī moving
through the body.
279. “Athavā sarvva-nāḍīṣu mantra-nyāsam iha akṣaraiḥ: Ma, ka, o, ka, sau, ma,
vaṃ, dra, ka, mā, ma, va, kā, ḍā, ḍha, bha, rā, mā, ti, da, ne, sa, raṃ, ḍhi, vaṃ, khā, ha,
su, siṃ, ḍā, ka, siṃ, hi, vu, ku, ja, pa, ja, va, o, laṃ | jā, a, kā, kau, kaṃ, ja, tri, ca. la, pu,
mu, kā, bha, gṛ, pre, va, pai, u, śma, u, ma, kha, mie | —these are the navel. Pre, de,
u, ma, jvā, si, mā, kau—so in the heart. Ra, su, ma, sve, me, ca, māṃ, a, snā, pū, aṃ,
sva, vi, mū, pi, śle | and so for the throat. Kṛ, ka, bhī, na, tī, vi, cā, gho, u, sa, bha, ma,
sthū, a, ja, vi, a, ja, gho, i, ca, ca, grā, rau, kā, do, ca, mā, brā, sū, rā, [ma], so for the
head cakra” (Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 89–100).
166 Pacific World
280. Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 127, 411–
412, 502, 548, 502, 548.
281. Rahula Sānkṛtyāyana, “Recherches Bouddhiques: III. L’Origine du Varja-
yana et Les 84 Siddhas,” Journal Asiatique (Octobre-Decembre 1934): 219–220.
282. Bhattacharyya, Śaktisangama Tantra, p. x.
283. Sādhanas 264–267 (Bhattacharyya, Śaktisaṅgama Tantra, vol. 2, pp. 512–
528).
284. Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 87–88.
285. Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 87.
290. I’ve omitted the ityabhidhānottare paṭalaḥ prathamaḥ, etc., for each chapter
title.
291. Though it’s impossible to tell without the complete text, it appears that
the titles for chapters 7 and 8 were inadvertently combined into the double
title for chapter 7.
292. Hukam Chand Patyal, in a Brief Communication, “Aṅgiras in the Lakṣmī
Tantra,” Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 36, no. 3, (July 1993): 239–240, concludes that
“we have to give the meaning ‘name of the founder of a gotra’ to the word
aṅgiras in the case of Lakṣmī T.” There is a very short sādhana to Pratyaṅgirā
in Abhayākaragupta’s Sādhanamālā, no. 202: She is black or dark blue, has six
arms and one face; her three right hands hold a chopper, a goad, and one is
in the boon-giving mudrā; the left hands hold a red lotus, a trident situated
in the heart (?), and one has a noose on the index finger; her seed syllable
is huṃ, Akṣobhya is in her diadem, she possesses all the decorations, and is
endowed with the physical appearance of an adolescent. Mahāpratyaṅgirā
kṛṣṇā, ṣaḍbhujaikamukhā, khaḍgāṅkuśa-varada-dakṣiṇahastā, rakta-padma-
triśūla-hṛdaya-stha-sapāśa-tarjjanī-yukta-vāma-hastā, huṃbījā, akṣobhya-mukuṭā,
sarvālaṅkāravatī, rūpa-yauvana-sampannā | iti mahāpratyaṅgirāsādhanam ||
(Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, Sādhanamālā [Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1968,
reprint], vol. 2, p. 402).
293. This must be a local variation of Ucchuṣma (literally, “dried out”), perhaps
the consort of Ucchuṣmajambhala to whom five sādhanas are devoted in
Abhayākaragupta’s Sādhanamālā (Bhattacharyya, Sādhanamālā, vol. 2, pp. 569–
579). Raniero Gnoli refers to Ucchuṣma as a mythical Śaivite master (Luce Delle
Sacre Scritture [Tantrālokaaḥ] di Abhinavagupta [Torino: Unione Tipografico-
Editrice Torinese, 1980, second ed.], p. 936); Uccuṣmā is cited by Abhinavagupta
at Tantrāloka 28.391a as the first in a list of ten ancient Śaivite gurus: Ucchuṣma-
Śavara-Caṇḍagu-Mataṅga-Ghora-Antaka-Ugra-Halahalakāḥ | Krodhī Huluhulur ete
daśa guruvaḥ śivamayāḥ pūrve || 391 || (R. C. Dwivedi and Navijan Rastogi, eds.,
The Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta with the Commentary of Jayaratha. Volume III,
Sanskrit Text: Chapters 4–7 [Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987], p. 3272; Gnoli, Luce
Delle Sacre Scritture, p. 674). Of the other gurus in this list, Mataṅga gives his
name to the Mataṅgapārameśvarāgama, the twenty-sixth of the twenty-eight
āgamas of the Śaiva Siddhānta tradition (N. R. Bhatt, Mataṅgapārameśvarāgama
[Vidyāpāda] [Pondicherry: Institut Françias d’Indologie, 1977], p. vii);
Halahalaka is a version of Hālāhala; this is the name of (not in any order of
priority): 1) the poison Śiva drinks at the mythical churning of the cosmic
ocean; 2) several versions of Avalokiteśvara in Buddhist tantric maṇḍalas (De
Mallmann, Introduction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, pp. 107–109); 3)
a form of Śiva as Halāhalarudra (Gnoli, Luce Delle Sacre Scritture, p. 295; Dwivedi
and Rastogi, The Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta, p. 1632); 4) the name of one of
five realms in the Vidyā principle at Malinīvijayottaratantra 5.30 (Vidyātattve
’pi pañcāhur bhuvanāni manīṣiṇaḥ | tatra hālāhalaḥ, pūrvo, rudraḥ, krodhas, tathā
aparaḥ || (Shastri Kaul and Pandit Madhusudhan, eds., Śrī Mālinīvijayottara
Tantram [Delhi: Butala & Company, 1984, reprint], p. 30; Gnoli, Luce Delle Sacre
Scritture, p. 804). The name Halāhala may very likely have been a local deity
from the town of Hālā, listed by Abhinavagupta at Tantrāloka 15.90b–91 as one
of the eight upakṣetras, mapped internally to the eight lotus petals at the top of
the heart cakra (upakṣetrāṣṭakaṃ prāhur hṛtpadmāgradalāṣṭakam || Virajā, Eruḍikā,
Hālā, Elāpūḥ, Kṣīrikā, [Rāja]Purī | Māyā[purī], Marudeśāśca bāhyābhyantara-
rūpataḥ || (Dwivedi and Rastogi, The Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta, p. 2483; Gnoli,
Luce Delle Sacre Scritture, p. 447). In the Arcāvidhi of the Mādhavakulatantra Hālā
is visualized in the navel (Tantrāloka 28.61a, Dwivedi & Rastogi, The Tantraloka
of Abhinavagupta, p. 3332; Gnoli, Luce Delle Sacre Scritture, p. 687).
294. De Mallmann translates Lāmā as jouisseuse, the feminine sensualist, and
gives it as the name of a goddess attached to the Hevajra cycle, found in various
maṇḍalas (Introduction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, p. 230).
295. The Gāyatrī is the brahmanical mantra recited at the morning and
evening sandhyās, two of the four junctions of the day (the other two being
noon and midnight, the latter a Tantric addition). The mantra is: Tat savitur
vareṇyaṃ, bhargo devasya dhīmahi; dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt: “that best portion of
the sun [that] you gave as the radiance of the shining one, may it impel our
intelligence.”
296. See Mṛgendrāgamatantra, Kriyāpāda 7.45 (Brunner-Lachaux, Mṛgendrāgama.
Section des Rites et Section du Comportement. Avec la Vṛtti de Bhaṭṭanarāyānkaṇṭha,
traduction, introduction et notes [Pondicherry: Institut Français d’Indologie,
1985], p. 167).
297. The use of the term paśu is straight from the Śaiva tradition.
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298. 1) Avātaraṇa-samaya-śuddha-rahasya-paṭalaḥ; 2) Prārthana; 3) Hṛdaya-tattva-

paramārtha; 1) Kāya-saṃvara-vidhi; 2) Mahā-surata-padma-jāla-saṃbara; 3)
Sambara-guru-pāli; 4) Sambara; 5) Pīṭha-parvva-krama; 6) Sarva-anavasthita-Kra-
ma-bheda-vidhāna; 7) Mañju-vajra-vidhi-paṭalaḥ-tricakrollipta-saptamaḥ; 8), 9)
Yoginī-pīṭha-siddhi-krama-nimitta-nirdeśa; 10) Koṣa-prastāva-pīṭha-sampradāya;
11) Pīṭhādi-yoginī; 12) Śrī-heruka-ḍākinya-vīra-yoginyā-ḍakṣinyā-bhāvanopatti; 13)
Ādi-karmika-yoga-bhāvanā; 14) Madhyendriya-bhāvanopadeśa; 15) Tīkṣṇendriya-
bhāvanopadeśa; 16) Catur-ḍākinī-yoga-sambara-vidhi; 17) Yoga-saṃbara-vinaya;
18) (?); 19) Amṛta-sañjīvanyā sarva-karma-karī nāma bhāvanā-paṭalaḥ; 20) Yo-
ginī-guhya-samaya-tattvāvatāraṇa; 21) Kula-ṣaṭ-cakra-vartti-sampradāya; 22)
Kāyavākcittapīṭhānukrama; 23) Samayotthāpana-buddha-kapālotpatti-striyo;
24) Vajra-sattvotpatti; 25) Mañju-vajra-sādhana; 26) Ḍāka-vajra-sādhana; 27)
Mahā-rahasyam āliḍākasya sādhana; 28) Prasara-ḍāka-siddhi-nimitta-nirdeśa; 29)
Samaya-sambarodbhave mahā-maṇḍala-rājā; 30) Dhūta-guṇotpatti; 31) Varṣāpaṇa-
vidhi; 32) Viśva-rūpa-vidhi; 33) Śrī-guhya-samayottama; 34) Kavaca-dvaya-
yogotpatti-bhavana; 35) Cchoṣmāpaṭalaḥ; 36) Yoginī-lakṣaṇa; 31) Ḍākinī-lakṣaṇa;
38) Lāmālakṣaṇa; 39) 40) Aṅga-mudrā-lakṣaṇa; 41) Ḍākiny-aṅga-mudrā; 42) Ḍākinī-
cchoṣma-lakṣaṇa; 43) Bhūta-saukhyāmbu-parata[r]a: 44) Ḍākinī-vīra-karma-
prasara-sādhaka-yoginī-vīra-hṛdayādvaya; 45) Puṭa-pratimā-pratiṣṭhā-adhivāsana;
46) Maṇḍala-vidhi; 47) Gāyatryā sandhyā; 48) Upahṛdaya-sādhanotpatti-bhāvanā;
49) Dvātriṃśatty-uttara-hṛdayotpatti-bhāvanā; 50) Maṇḍala-vidhi; 51) Dharma-
dhātu-pura-bhāvanā; 52) Guhya-bhāvanā; 53) Guhyākṣarotpatti-sādhana; 54)
Mūla-mantra-khaṭikoddhāra; 55) Kavaca-hṛdaya-bhāvanā; 56) Hṛdaya-mantra-
kavaco devyā hṛdaya-bhāvanā; 57) Raktā-catur-mukha-adhiṣṭhāna-lipi-maṇḍala-
catuḥ-krodha-vajra-huṃkārotpatti-khaṭikoddhāra; 58) Varga-yoga; 59) [text
missing]; 60) Jñāna-guhya; 61) Caturdevyāḥ sampuṭaguhya; 62) Vajra-bhairava-
krodhādhipat-sampuṭodghāṭa; 63) Sapta-janma-paśu-sādhana; 64) Svādhiṣṭhānaṃ
svadharmottarotpatti; 65) Ātma-bhāva-pujā; 65) Sambara-guhyyātiguhya-rahasya-
mahā-tantra-rājan an[e]kokti-tattvopadeśa-bhāvanā (Shāstri, A Descriptive
299. Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 72, 227, 69,
68, 243, 231, 367–368, 376, 306.
300. Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 100-110, ms.
3825, no. 72.
302. Amarasiṃha, Amarakośa, with the Commentary of Maheśvara [Bombay:
Government Central Book Depot, 1882) p. 165.
303. “[When the moon is] in Arcturus, [the water], going into the cavity of the
ocean-oyster, produces a pearl” (svātyāṃ sāgara-śukti-saṃpuṭa-gataṃ [payaḥ]
san mauktikaṃ jāyate).
304. See below.
305. See Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, who cites Kṛṣṇa playing
the flute sweetly to call his lover(s) to a meeting (nāmasaṅketaṃ kṛtasaṅketaṃ
vādayate mṛdu veṇum |); Gītagovinda 5; for the meaning of a “meeting place for
lovers” he cites Bhāgavatapurāṇa 11.8.23: “The wanton woman will on occasion
bring her beloved to a meeting place” (sa svairṇyā ekadā kāntam upaneśyati);
and the Amarakośa [2.6.10a; see Amarasiṃha, Amarakośa, with the Commentary
of Maheśvara, p. 133]: “Desiring her beloved, a woman keeping an appointment
with a lover will go to a tryst” (kāntārthinī tu yā yāti saṅketaṃ sā abhisārikā).
306 I.e., Viṣṇu, Śiva, or Brahma.
307. I.e., sexually produced beings.
308. Tatra khalu bhagavān aśīti-koṭi-yoginīśvara-madhye Vajragarbham avalokya
smitam akārśīt | samanantarasmite ‘smin vajragarbha utthāya āsanād ekāṃśam
uttarāsaṅgaṃ kṛtvā dakṣiṇaṃ jānu-maṇḍalaṃ pṛthivyāṃ pratiṣṭhāpya kṛtāñjalipuṭo
bhagavantam etad avocat | śrotum icchāmi jñānendra sarvva-tantra-nidānaṃ
rahasyaṃ sampuṭodbhava-lakṣaṇaṃ | aho vajragarbha sādhu sādhu mahākṛpa sādhu
sādhu mahābodhisattva sādhu sādhu guṇākarāḥ yad rahasyaṃ sarvva-tantreṣu
tatsarvvaṃ pṛcchatec chreyā | atha te vajragarbha-pramukhāḥ mahābodhisattvāḥ
praharṣotphulla-locanāḥ pṛcchantīha sva-sandehān praṇipatya muhurmuhuḥ
sarvva-tantraṃ kim ucyate nidānaṃ kathaṃ bhavet rahasyety atra kim ucyate
sampuṭodbhavaḥ kathaṃ nāma-lakṣaṇaṃ tatra katham bhavet | bhagavān āha |
(Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 69–70).
309. See Abhidhānottara, chapter 35, above.
310. Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, cites kaṭapūṭana as “a kind of
departed spirits” from Manusmṛti 12.71 and Mālatīmādhava 5.11.
311. Vasantatilakā is also the name of a meter with fourteen syllables per pāda.
(See Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Appendix A, on Sanskrit
prosody.) Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Revised and
Enlarged Edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960) cites the Vasantatilakatantra
as a Buddhist work.
312. Both Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, and Apte, The Practical
Sanskrit-English Dictionary, give rubbing or cleaning the body with perfumes or
fragrant unguents, or the use of these to relieve pain, citing Yajñavalkyasmṛti
1.152 and Manusmṛti 4.132 (“And one should not go near blood, feces, urine,
spittle, or unguents, etc.” nākramed rakta-viṇ-mutra-sthīvanodvartanādi ca),
perhaps not the best example for the meaning.
313. 4c) Cihna-mudrā; 5a) Melāpakasthānaṃ: 5b) Skandha-dhātv-āyatana-
viśuddhi, 5c) Caryāliṅganaṃ; 6b) Deśa-nyāsa[ḥ]’; 7i) Atha karmma-vidhiṃ
vakṣye yena sidhyanti sādhakāḥ; 7ii) Atha rasāyanavidhiṃ vakṣye sarvva-stira-
samuccayam; 7iii) Udvartana-vidhi; 7a) Sarvva-jñānodayo nāmāyurvedyaḥ
saptamasya prathamaṃ prakaraṇam; 7b) Homa-vidhi; 7c) Sarvva-karma-prasara-
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cakrodaya; iti śrīsampuṭodbhave mahātantre sarvva-karmma-dhyāna-udayo nāma

kalparājaḥ saptamaḥ samāptaḥ |; 8a) Ghaṇṭā-tattva; 8b) Mantra-jāpa-bhāvanā; 8c)
Tirthika-ajñāna-apanayanaṃ, Sampuṭodbhvava-sarvva-kriyā-samudaya-kalpa-rājo
’ṣṭamaḥ; 9a) Sarva-tathāgatotpattir; 9b) Baly-upahāra; 9c) Paṭa-pustaka-nirṇaya.
Iti sampuṭodbhavaś catuś-kriyā-tattva-rāja navamaḥ kalpaḥ 10a) Ācāryya-mahā-
sādhana; 10b) Buddha-māyā-vikurvitaṃ (Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of
Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp. 69–71).
324. Yamāri is an alternate form of Yamāntaka; Yama-ari, or enemy of Yama;
the name is used for both Śiva, and (according to Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-
English Dictionary) for Viṣṇu in the Pañcarātra. De Mallmann describes black, red,
and yellow forms of Yamāri, with black being the most common (Introduction
à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, pp. 465–469). Here our text indicates
a considerably larger number and variety of Yamāris than those noticed by
De Mallmann. The rakṣā appears in the name of the tantra in the colophon to
the first chapter (Shāstri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 147).
325. Both Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, and Apte, The Practical
Sanskrit-English Dictionary, say ārālika, “a cook.” Evaṃ mayā śrutam ekasmin
samaye bhagavān sarvva-tathāgata-kāya-vāk-citta-sarvva-vajra-yoṣit-bhageṣu
vijahāra | moha-vajra-yamāriṇā c[a] piśuna-vajra-yamāriṇā ca īrṣya-vajra-yamāriṇā
c[a] dveṣa-vajra-yamāriṇā c[a] mudgara-yamāriṇā ca daṇḍa-yamāriṇā ca padma-
yamāriṇā ca khaḍga-yamāriṇā ca | vajra-carcikā ca | vajra-vārāhī ca vajra-sarasvatī
ca vajra-śaurī cākolā–evaṃ pramukhaiḥ mahā-yamāri-saṅghaiḥ atha khalu bhagavān
varja-pāṇiṃ vajra-sattvaṃ sarvva-tathāgatādhipatim āmantrayām āsa | atha khalu
bhagavān kha-vajrety ādeśa-haraṃ dvitīyo ’tha śabdaḥ | sarvva-māra-nikṛntana-
vajraṃ nāma samādhiṃ sva-kāya-vāk-citta-vajra-yoniṇ cārayām āsa | candra-
vajra-prayogena bhāvayed yama-ghātakam | māraṇāṃ śamanārthāya dviṣopanude
sarvvataḥ || rakṣārthaṃ bhāvayed vajraṃ pañca-raśmi-samākulam | vajreṇa bhūmi-
vātañ ca prākāraṃ pañjaraṃ tathā || atha khalu bhagavān sarvva-tathāgata-janaka-
sarvva-māra-vidhvaṃsana-vajraṃ nāma samādhiṃ samāpadyedaṃ sarvvaṃ āha |
vajra-yamāryyādi-vījaṃ svakāya-vāk-citta-vajra-yonin cārayām āsa | yamadhye kṣe

sa me da ya cca ni rā jā sa ho ru pa yo ni ra | rephasyādi-yamaghnaḥ syāt kṣekāre moha
ucyate || makāre piśunam evākṣaṃ sakāre rāgam eva ca | dakāre ’pi ca īrṣyā syād yama-
ghnāḥ pañ ca kīrtitāḥ || yakāra mudgara khyātaḥ cakāre daṇḍa-nāyakaḥ | nikāre
padma-pāṇiś ca rākāre khaḍgavān api || jākāre carccikā praktā vārāhī ca sakārake
| sarasvatī ca hokāre lakāre śaunikā smṛtāḥ || ṇa-yonir catuḥkoṇe catvāra[-]kārakā
matāḥ | kha-vajra-madhye gataṃ cintet viśva-vajraṃ bhayānakam || yamāntakasya
madhya-sthaṃ bhāvayet kala-dāruṇam | pūr[v]a-dvāre moha-vajraṃ tu dakṣiṇe
piśunam eva ca || paścime rāga-vajraṃ tu īrṣākhyam uttare tathā | koṇa-vajra-catuḥ-
śūle carccikādyā vibhāvayet || dvāra-vajra-catuḥ-koṇe mudgarādyā vibhāvayet ||
viśva-vajra-catuḥ-koṇe catvāro nṛk[p]a-mastakāḥ || atha khalu bhagavān sarvva-
tathāgatādhipati yamāri-vajraṃ nāma samādhiṃ samāpadyedaṃ mahā-dveṣa-
kula-mantram udājahāra | oṃ hrīṃ strīḥ vikṛtānana huṃ huṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā |
atha khalu bhagavān sarvva-tathāgatādhipatir moha-vajra-mantram udājahāra |
oṃ jina jika || atha khalu bhagavān sarvva-tathāgatādipatiḥ piśuna-vajra-mantram
udājahāra oṃ ratna-dhṛk | atha khalu bhagavān sarvva-tathāgatādhipatiḥ rāga-
vajra-mantram udājahāra oṃ ārālika || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit
Manuscripts, pp. 145–146).
326. Śāstrī does not give these.
327. The Sanskrit reads malakatotpala. This appears to be a metrical abbreviation
of kuḍmalaka-utpala, a blossoming or budding lotus. See Rājanighaṇṭu Karavīrādir
daśamo vargaḥ 248, where kuḍmalaka is given as a variety/characteristic of
lotus (Narahari, Rājanighaṇtusahito Dhanvantarīyanighaṇtuḥ, Ānandāśrama-
samskṛtagranthāvaliḥ, vol. 33, 1986, p. 165).
328. Brassica nigra (L.) W.D.J. Koch.
329. Black pepper, long pepper, and ginger.
330. Rumex vessicarius; see Vaidya Bhagwan Dash, Alchemy and Metallic Medicines
in Āyurveda (New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, 1986), pp. 314–315;
Narahari, Rājanighaṇtusahito Dhanvantarīyanighaṇtuḥ, p. 250.
331. Plumbago zeylanica Linn (Dash, Alchemy and Metallic Medicines in Āyurveda,
p. 21).
332. Mala-mukhe (?).
333. Śmaśāna-karpaṭe cakra-dvayaṃ likhed vratī | rājikā-lavanenāpi viṣeṇa
nimbakena ca || trikaṭukaṃ kaṭutailañca śmaśānārśānam eva ca | dhustūraka-patra-
niryyāsaiś caṇḍa-vījais tathaiva ca | tarjjanī-raktam ādāya ciktrakasya rasena vā |
ūṣarasya mṛttikā gṛhya caṇḍāla-haṇḍikañjanaṃ || bubhukṣita-padma-lekhanyā
caturddāśyāṃ likhed bratī | madhyāhne krūra-cittena duṣṭānāṃ bandha-hetunā
| nāmaṃ sattva-vighātasya huṃkāreva vidarbhayet || dakṣiṇābhimukho yogī
ātmānaṃ yama-ghātakaṃ | krodha-rūpaṃ mahācaṇḍaṃ khaṇḍa-muṇḍa-vibhāṣitam
|| mahiṣa-sthaṃ lalaj-jihvaṃ vṛhad-udaraṃ bhayānakaṃ | kaḍārorddhva-jūṭa-keśaṃ
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vakra-śmaśru-bhruvaṃ tathā || dakṣiṇena mahāvajraṃ khaḍgaṃ caiva dvitīyakam |

tṛtīye kartti-hastaṃ ca idānīṃ vāmato likhet || cakraṃ caiva mahāpadmaṃ kapālañ
caiva vāmataḥ | mūla-mukhe mahābhṛṅgaṃ dakṣiṇe candra-suprabhaṃ || vāmaṃ
rakta-nibhaṃ proktaṃ vajrābharaṇa-bhūṣitaṃ | roma-kūpa-mahāvivarā sphorayet
sva-kulādhipaṃ || pratyāḷīḍha-pada-saṃsthaṃ sūryya-maṇḍala uddhataḥ || vikṛta-
daṃṣṭrākarālāsyaṃ kalpa-jvālāgni-sannibhaṃ || evam ātmānaṃ sannahya sādhyaṃ
vai purato nyaset | etc. (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts,
pp. 147–148).
334. Cakrādnupūrvva-likhanaṃ and Cakrāvalokano.
335. Atha mantraṃ pravakṣyāmi sarvva-bhūtā bali-kriyāṃ | uccārite mahāmantre
sarvva-bhūta-prakampanam || indrāya hrīḥ, yamāya strīḥ, varuṇāya vi, kuverāya kṛ,
iśābāya ta, agnaye a, naiṛtye na, vāyavye na, candrāya hūṃ, arkāya huṃ, brahmaṇe
phaṭ, vasudhārāyai phaṭ, vemacitriṇe svā sarvva-bhūtebhyaḥ hā | hā hā hīṃ hlīṃ
hūṃ hūṃ he he svāhā | kṛtvā maṇḍalikāṃ tryasrāḥ viṇ-mutra-toya-miśritaiḥ |
devatāḥ prīṇayed yogī hāhākāraṃ punaḥ smaret || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue
of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 148).
336. Ākarṣaṇādi-prayoga-paṭalaḥ saptamaḥ.
337. Śauri is a name for Viṣnu, Kṛṣṇa, Vasudeva, Balarāma, and for Saturn
(Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary).
338. Trimukhāṃ ṣaḍbhujāṃ śuklāṃ cakrahastāṃ śaśi-prabhāṃ | carccikāṃ bhāvayet
prājño rakṣākṛṣṭi-prayogataḥ || trimukhāṃ ṣaḍbhujāṃ ghoṇāṃ vajra-hastā[ṃ]
sunīlakā[ṃ] | vārāhī[ṃ] bhāvayet prājño madyākṛṣṭi-prayogataḥ || trimukhāṃ
ṣaḍbhujāṃ raktāṃ sarasvatīṃ bhāvayed vratī | padma-hasta-dharāṃ saumyāṃ
prajñā-barddhana-hetave || trimukhāṃ ṣaḍbhujāṃ kharvāṃ marakatotpala-
sannibhaṃ | śauriṃ bhāvayet prājño śubhrākṛṣṭi-prayogataḥ || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive
339. Homa-vidhi-paṭalo ’ṣṭamaḥ; –yamāri-bhīmā nāma navama-paṭalaḥ.
340. Brāhmaṇasya tu māṃsena citi-bhasmena tan-mṛdā | yamāri-pratimāṃ kuryyāt
dvi-bhujam eka-vaktriṇam || dakṣiṇena mahā-vajra[ṃ] savye nṛ-śiras tathā | śukla-
varṇaṃ mahā-bhīmāṃ tena duṣṭān nikṛntayet || pratidinaṃ baliṃ dadyāt pañca-
māṃsāmṛtena tu | nityaṇ yat prārthayed yogī mama śatruṃ nikṛntaya || ity-ukt[arṃ]
sapta-rātreṇa pratyūṣe mrīyate ripuḥ | (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit
Manuscripts, p. 149).
341. Vetāḍa(vetāla)[-]sādhanānusmṛti-bhāvanāpaṭalo daśamaḥ; caryyā-samaya-
sādhana-paṭala-ekādaśamaḥ; sarvvopāyika-viśeṣako nāma dvādaśaḥ paṭalaḥ; siddhi-
nirṇaya-paṭalas trayodaśamaḥ; -mañju-vajra-sādhano nāma caturdaśapaṭalaḥ
(Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 149).
342. Atredaṃ sūtra-pāṭhena parama-samayaṃ | akāro mukhaṃ sarvva-dharmmāṇān
ādyanutpannatvāt || śiṣyaṃ vai locanaṃ dhyātvā śrī-yamātnaka-rūpavān | jñāna-
sūtra-varāgrāgraṃ pātayet susamāhitaḥ || tatredaṃ mahā-maṇḍala-praveśa-
samayaḥ | maṇḍala-dvi-guṇito dīrgha-dvāra-viṃśatikaṃ | pañca-gavya-samāliptaṃ

sūtraṃ buddhaiḥ prakalpitam || tatredaṃ mahā-vajra-prārthana-samayaḥ | aho
buddha-mahācārryo aho dharma-gaṇaḥ prabhuḥ | dehi me samayaṃ tattvaṃ
bodhicittaṃ ca dehi me || tatredaṃ mahā-bhū-parigraha-samayaḥ | vajra-
pṛthivyāvāhanam | tvaṃ devi sākṣi-bhūtāsi sarvva-buddhān tāyināṃ | caryyānaya-
viśeṣeṣu bhūmi-pāramitāsu ca || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit
Manuscripts, p. 149).
343. Prāṇātipātinā ye ca matsya-māṃsādibhakṣakāḥ || madirā-kāminī-saktā nāstika-
vrata-dhāriṇaḥ || anabhiṣiktā narā ye ca uddha[ta]-vyasana-kāriṇaḥ | grāma-jāla-
ratā ye ca yamāri-tantra-parayāṇāḥ || siddhyante nāsti sandehaḥ kṛṣṇasya vacanaṃ
yathā || atha te maitreya-pramukhāḥ sarvva-bodhisattvā | vajra-nirukti-padaṃ
śrutyā tuṣṇīṃ sthitā abhūvana || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit
Manuscripts, p. 150). Note the grammatical construction ye . . . te. . . .
344. -Vajrānaṅga-sādhanam paṇcadaśamapaṭalaḥ.
345. See Apte’s entry in The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary for Aniruddha
for his personal history.
346. Sītkāra or śītkāra is an outbreathing noise made in expression of sudden
pleasure or pain, particularly during sexual activity.
347. Vedhamānāṃ, perhaps a metrical shortening of vedhayamānām, feminine
accusative singular of the derivative of the causative of the verb √vyadh.
348. Athāto rahasyaṃ yakṣye samāsān na tu vistarāt | yena vijñāta-mātreṇa
apsarākarṣaṇan bhavet || dvi-bhujam eka-vaktraṃ tu iṣ[u]-kārmmuka-pāṇinaṃ |
pīta-dehaṃ mahārūpaṃ vajrāṅgaṃ vibhāvayet || pūrveṇa [ca] ratiṃ dhyāyet dakṣiṇe
madana-sundarīṃ | paścime kāma-devīṃ tu uttare madanotsukāṃ || sarvāsāṃ
kāmadevīnāṃ karmmukaṃ bhāvayet śaram | pītāṃ raktāṃ tathā śyāmāṃ śukla-
raktāṃ ca bhāvayet || koṇe caiva nyasen nityam aniruddham uṣāpatīm | vasantaṃ
makara-ketuñca dvāri bhāge prakathyate || kandarpa-darpakaṃ coktaṃ smaraṃ
bāṇāyudhaṃ tathā | sarvveṣāṃ devatānāṃ tu yamaghnaṃ mūrddhni bhāvayet
|| strīṇāṃ khaga-mukhānta-sthaṃ vajrānaṅgaṃ vibhāvayet | sīttkāra-mantra-
sambhūtaṃ visphurantaṃ samantataḥ || vāñchitāṃ vihvalāṃ dhyātvā vedhamānāṃ
madotsukām | pādayoḥ patitāṃ caiva rakta-vastra-parāvṛtāṃ | mantrañ caiva
japet tatra oṃkāra svarabheditam | svāhā me vaśibhavatu bhāvayet saptavārakam
| vāñchitā[ṃ] labhate yogī kṛṣṇasya vancanaṃ yathā || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive
Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 150).
349. -Heruka-sādhana-paṭalaḥ ṣoḍaśaḥ; -bodhicitta-nigadana-paṭalaḥ saptadaśaḥ;
-kathā-paṭala saptadaśama. Colophon: Idam avocat guhyakādhipatir vajra-kula-
prapetā nakaṭakārasasya sampannato[;] mahātamra-rāja[ḥ] oḍiyāna-vinirgataḥ
sapāda-lakṣād uddhṛtaḥ samāptaḥ | kathā-paṭalo aṣṭādaśamaḥ (Shāstrī, A
Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 151).
350. Catuṣpīṭha-sādhana-saṃkṣepaḥ samāpteti | saṃvat 165 śrāvana śukla-daśa-
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myāṃ śukra dine rājye Śrībhāṣkaradevasya śrī-guṇa-kāma-deva-kāritaḥ śrīpadma-

cakra-mahāvihāre sthita[ṃ] śākya-bhikṣu-kumāra-candrena likhitam iti | mātā-pitā-
guropādhyāya-kalyāṇa-mitra-sarvva-sattvam anuttara-jñāna-phala-prāptaya iti |
śrīgāṇulāṅge kulaputraḥ |. Śāstrī adds that gānulāṅga “is a Newari word, meaning
‘real’” (Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, pp. 485–486).
351. Petech, Mediaeval History of Nepa (c. 750–1480), pp. 40–41, 33–35.
357. Catuṣpīṭhosyavidhinā śiṣyābhyarthanayā mayā | sukhaṃ sādhanaṃ saṃkṣiptam
udārārccanam ucyate (Grunendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, p.
485).
358. Iti prakaraṇe ātmapīṭthe iti vāy[v]ādiṣu-tattvasya sva-śarīram eva pīṭham
āsanam ādhāra ity uktakrameṇa vāyvādi-tattvaṃ prakṛtyate, prastūyate, anena
veti; ātma-pīṭham ātma pīṭham eva iti ātmapīthe catuṣpīṭha-nibandhe prathamaḥ
paṭalaḥ | Idānīṃ kāla-jñāna-tad-vacanādi paṭalam āha | bhagavan śrotum icchāmi
jñāna-tattvaṃ viṣaya[ṃ], haraṇādikaṃ; vayaṃ cihnam idam aṅga | iti mṛtyu-cihnaṃ
| kathaṃ tattvaṃ samāśritam iti | mantra-tattvam | śṛṇu vajra-mahārāja-aṅga-
cihnasya darśitam | nirmmāṇādi-karyyai rājata iti rāja | vajra akṣobhyatrā mahārāja
yasyāsau vajra-mahārāja saṃbodhyate | aṅgaṃ cihnaṃ darśitavyam | anantaraṃ
śṛṇu mṛtyu-kālam iva sthitam iti | mṛtyu-kālanitataṃ jñāyata iti bhāvaḥ | cihnam
āha śvāsā ityādi | (Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, p. 485).
359. See above, in the extract from the final chapter of the Ekallavīracaṇḍa-
mahāroṣaṇa where Bhagavatī is also described as the paryaṅka-āsana of sentient
beings (sattva-paryaṅka).
360. Ghorī is also in the north in the Yogāmbara maṇḍala described in Abhayā-
karagupta’s Niṣpannayogāvalī, with a fierce demeanor, yellow-colored, three-
eyed, with disheveled hair, and two hands (De Mallmann, Introduction à
l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, p. 176).
361. Vetālī is also in the west in the following maṇḍalas described by Abhayā-
karagupta in his Niṣpannayogāvalī: Jñānaḍākinī, Yogāmbara, Hevajra, and Nai-
rātmya (De Mallmann, Introduction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, p.
445).
362. Caṇḍālī is also in the south of the Jñānaḍākinī and Yogāmbara maṇḍalas
as described by Abhayākaragupta in his Niṣpannayogāvalī, though she’s in the
southwest in his Hevajra and Nairātmya maṇḍalas (De Mallmann, Introduction à

363. De Mallmann describes Siṃhinī in the Jñānaḍākinīmaṇḍala from Abhayā-
karagupta’s Niṣpannayogāvalī, vertically bicolored with an eastern white
half, and a northern yellow half. She has one lion face, two hands, dressed
in red, and crowned with five skulls (Introduction à l’Iconographie du Tantrisme
Bouddhique, pp. 347–348).
364. In the Jñānaḍakinī maṇḍala in Abhayākaragupta’s Niṣpannayogāvalī Vyāghrī
is also in the southeast, with a single tiger’s head, vertically bicolored with
a white southern half and a blue eastern half (De Mallmann, Introduction à
365. Ulūkī is also in the northwest in the maṇḍalas of Jñānaḍākinī and Yogāmbara
as described by Abhayākaragupta (De Mallmann, Introduction à l’Iconographie
du Tantrisme Bouddhique, p. 384).
366. The text reads yeṣāñ ca, though we might expect yāsāṃ ca.
367. Visarjayet tad-anupūrvokta-bali-vidhāna-vidhi-maṇḍala-cakrañ ca kṛtvā
samasta-yathokta-mudrā-mantraiḥ baliṃ dadyāt, oṃ kuru kuru mahābaliṃ huṃ
svāheti | hasta-dvayaṃ prasāryya madhyaṅguṣṭhayaṃ cālayitvā-homa-kāla-vali-
matta-mudrā-hutāśana-homa-belāyāṃ vahni-parikṣaṇam | yadi durnimittaṃ sūca-
yati tadā jvara cakṣa hūṃ svāheti | yatra pradeśe durnimittaṃ tatra aṣṭhottara-
śataṃ [g]hṛtiṃ homayet dravyād apraśamodakena triṣvabhyukṣaṇam pūrvakena
homayitvā mūla-devatā-homaḥ kāryyaḥ purokta-kramenaiva | śvāsena ākṛṣya
svadehe sthāpayitvā visarjyya samutiṣṭhed iti homavidhiḥ | yāga-vidhāna . . .
te vidhāna-vitataṃ nānā-vastra-praluṇṭhitaṃ kṛtvā sita-sindhena caturasraṃ
maṇḍalakaṃ kuryyāt | sita-dravyena kalasāt | madhya-bhāṇḍañca vilipya kṣaurodaka-
sugandhena pūrayitvā palla-vādinā maṇḍayitvā dṛṣṭi-patra-rūpa-kālakatakāṅgaṃ
datvā hūṃ hrūṃ suṃ kṣuṃ yuṃ huṃ strāṃ stryāṃ kṣrām iti praṇavādi-svāhāntena
pratyekam aṣṭhottara-bāraṃ japtvā yathāsthāne aṣṭhakalasān sthāpayet | madhye
ca bṛhat bhāṇdaṃ sthāpayitvā pūrvokta-krameṇa ātma-yoga-samastaṃ nivarrtya
ātmānam pūjayitvā tato vāhye samārabheta taṃ kamalābhe svāheti padmākāreṇa
karapuṭaṃ vikāśayet | tena madhya-bhāṇḍa-padmaṃ paśyeta | sacandra-maṇḍalaṃ
| śveta-chattra-saṃpannaṃ | tatra hūṃkāreṇa vajra-hūṃkārādhiṣṭhitaṃ tena jñāna-
bhāviṇīṃ bhāvayet | dvi-bhuja-dhavala-varṇāṃ sattva-paryyaṅkeṇa pratiṣṭhāṃ
vajraṃ daṇḍañca vāma-dakṣiṇayor bhāvayet | tat purvato vajrī uttare ghorī, paścime
vetālī; dakṣiṇe caṇḍālī | īśānyāṃ siṃhiṇī āgneyyāṃ vyāghrī | vāyavyāṃ ulūkī,
pūrvokta-vijñānabharaṇā dhyātavyā | yeṣāñca mudrā-maṇḍala-mayaṃ kāryyaḥ
| taṃ samaye tiṣṭha huṃ phaṭ | vajra-bandhaṃ kṛtvā tarjjanī-dvayaṃ prasāryya
cakrañ ca granthiṃ kṛtvā samayaṃ darśayet | pūrvvavat pūjayet oṃ hūṃ svāhā vqjra-
muṣṭhi-dvayaṃ kṛtvā vāmaṃ hṛdaye dakṣiṇaṃ mūrddhataḥ sthāpayed iti māla-
bh[a]drā-mantraḥ | mūla-mantras tu yathābhilāṣitaṃ codakaṃ dattvā durvvāṅkura-
saṃyogitaṃ kundādi-kusumāni sakṛt tadekaṃ mantram uccāryya bhāvanāyuktaṃ
kṛtvā devyā-kirīṭi[ṃ] vajram āhanet | ayutāpūrvvaṃ dravyaṃ homayet | yathā-
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manīṣita-siddhir-āyur-ārogya-barddhanañ ca bhavati | homānte ca yathoktānusāreṇa

baliṃ dadyāt | sarvatra kriyāytāṃ sāttvikaṃ śukla-vidhānaṃ | pūrvvānanaṃ śāntiṃ
kuru | sarvvāpadam apanayetyādi codakaṃ vataikākṣa-mālā-tarjjanī-śāntaman[as]
ā śāntiṃ kuryyāt | pauṣṭhika kṣa samasta-pītopacāreṇa uttarānanaṃ puṣṭhiṃ
kuru sarvva-sampadam āvāhaya ityādi codakaṃ | śataikākṣamālā-aṣṭhottara-
śatākṣamālāy[ā]ḥ madhyamā-sthitayā pramudita-manāḥ puṣṭhiṃ kuryyāt | vaśye
sakala-raktopacāreṇa paścimāmanaṃ mama ānaya diśāṃ ākarṣa cetyādi codakaṃ |
viṃśaty-akṣara-mālām anāmikāyāṃ sthāpayitvā saṃrakṣaman[as]ā śāntiṃ kuryyāt |
abhicāre ca samastam eva kopacāreṇa yāmyānanaṃ māraya uccāṭaya ityādi codakaṃ
| ṣaṣthī-saṃkhātākṣa-mālayā kanyāyā sthitayā krodhāviṣṭhaman[as]ā abhicārayed
iti | saṃkṣepataḥ bali-homa-yāga-viṣayaḥ | śrī-catuṣpīṭha-tantrāmnāyena likhita iti
|| (Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, p. 486).
368. Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, pp. 490–491.
369. Both Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, and Monier-Williams,
A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, give for sama-pada “a particular posture in sexual
union” or “an attitude in shooting,” both where the feet are even.
370. Sixty aṅgulas.
371. A hemispheric bowl, and the name for a type of sexual union.
372. Namaḥ sarvvabhāvinībhyaḥ || vibhrāṇaṃ buddha-vimbaṃ divasa-kara-
dharolāsi-bālendu-lekhaṃ maitreyaṃ cāru-rūpaṃ śirasi vara-tanuṃ mañju-ghoṣañ
ca gātrau | padmothaṃ daṇḍa-rūpaṃ kuṭilita-vapuṣaṃ vajriṇaṃ bhṛnmna(?)-nādaṃ
vijñāna-jnāna-rūpaṃ nihata-bhava-bhayaṃ pañca-mūrttiṃ praṇamya || pañjikā
likhyate seyaṃ prārthaṇāt sena-varmmaṇaḥ | evaṃ bhāṣitety ārambhya yāvad
abhyavandann iti vacanāt vibhakti-liṅga-vacanaṃ samāsādayaḥ guru-laghu-yati-
cchandanādayaś cāryyādeśa-vaśāt yathā-yogaṃ yojanīyā | evaṃ bhāṣita-sarvva-jñam
ityādinā nirddiṣṭāḥ catvāro ’rthāḥ deśaka-deśanā-prakāraḥ deśyarthaḥ sthānam iti
| tatra sarvvajña iti deśakaḥ | evam iti deśanā-prakāraḥ | jñānam iti deśyārthaḥ |
śuddhāvāsakam ity etat sthānam tatra yadārthaḥ duṣi . . . miti buddhānām ityārthah
| dakṣṇām iti kvacit tatrāpi sa eva arthaḥ | yoginī-jāla-sambaram iti | yoginyaḥ
prajñāpāramitādyāḥ jālaṃ samūhaḥ sat prāg eva uktaṃ | samapada ityādi padaṃ
parāṅguṣṭhāṅgulyāṃ saṃśleṣātma-samapadaṃ tasya caika-pāda-saṅkocenātiryyak-
sthāpanaṃ vā cittapadaṃ | hasta-dvayam eva vāhya-canaṇāṅgulīyakaṃ | taj-
vajjānudvayam kuryyāt | bāhustābhyāṃ haṃsa-pakṣākṛtiḥ | maṇḍala-pada-
dakṣiṇa-pādaṃ bhūmau saṃsthāpya vāma-pada trailokya-laṅghanākāreṇa salilam
utkṣepaḥ iti tri-vikrama-padaṃ | dakṣiṇa-careṇa vāma-caraṇam ākramet | vāma-
jaṅgaṃ saṃkocya pañca-vitasti āyāma prāsārayet ālīḍha syāt | pratyālīḍho atra
dakṣiṇam ākuñcya vāmaṃ tathaiva prāsārayed iti | Eka-caraṇam utkṣipyate | naiva
paribhramet | ityekaḥ sthānaḥ | lalitākṣa-pāditayā sukha-niṣadya vividha-prakāreṇa
pādasya vikṣepe pāda-vikṣepeṇa ātma-bhedaṃ vimṛśyādau cet sarvva saṅkucya
viparītoru-vinyāsa-prayogāc cāpi tat-kṣayāt śrama-pūrvvam utpanna-nāśayeti
ubhayor api | yoginī-pāda-dvaya | yāvad arddha-sthāpanaṃ vā yūpas-kāraḥ | āha
ca | ekata kuṇṭhita-nyastas-[tri]ni-kaṇṭhita-jānukarṃ | āsīna-puruṣopetam yugma-
pādaṃ pratiṣthitam anyonya-jānubhyāṃ vāmā-pārśva-pīḍanaṃ muṇḍa-tāḍanaṃ |

vajra-sattva-bāhu-pāśe prajñā-pāramitā-kaṇṭha-dṛḍham āliṅgya devyā-jaṅghaṃ tu
parivinyāsya tat sampuṭaḥ saṃyamī-kṛtaṃ uktañ ca yogṣit-kaṇṭha-vikalpa-prāṇāt
mokṣaḥ ity utkam āryya-devena iti | dvandvāliṅganam iti prajñopāya-sammilanam
kutaḥ ityāha sakala-sattva-dhātoḥ saṃsārottara-kāryyeṇa ity arthaḥ | yoginī-jāla-
sambaram muktvā nāsty anyaḥ saṃsāre sāra iti | pādānāt dvādaśa-sahasrikokta-
kakṣapuṭe pādasya saṃhāraḥ tatredaṃ kakṣapuṭam | nṛpa-sa[h]a-śikhī-dhārī
hasta-śobhā-sukanyā | jaṭa-naraka-vibhītā-mohanīndrābja-vajrā | kuru catur-
catuṣka-pañca-dehāya miśraṃ | yuvatī-va[ś]a-yogya tvañ ca tuṣṭhim sadaṃ[ś]rai ||
(Grünendahl, A Concordance of H. P. Śāstri’s Catalogue, pp. 490–491).
373. Add. 1704 (Bendall, Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Uni-
versity Library, Cambridge, pp. 197–198).
374. Namo ratnatrayāya | vidyuj-jihvāṃ mahābhīmāṃ sarvāsā-paripūrakāṃ | tān
namaskṛtya vakṣye ’haṃ sādhanopdikāmbarāṃ || bhagavatyā svedāmbujāyāḥ
kalpokta-vidhinā praviṣṭa-maṇḍalābhiṣeka-vidyā-labdhasya mantriṇa japa-vidhim
ārabhyet || prathaman tāvat mantriṇo kalpa . . . ya-pratipālanām ṛddhi-prati-
hāryyādi . . . mahotsāhinā || . . . m-anātmavān rājādi-sampadā anyatane siddhi-
niṣpādanādhyeṣaṇā-yukte suniścic-cetasā sarvvaṃ dvandvaṃ sah[v(?)]iṣṇunā ||
akhinna-mānasena vāhyādhyātmika-śaucācāre samanvitena prajñāpārāmitādi-
saddhṛmma-vāca-nodyatena parvvatārāmodyāna-śmaśāna-padmasara-nadī-pulina-
vihārālaya-guhā-diṣv athavā mano’nukūle sthāne mṛd-gomayādir-upalepanam ||
. . . ya-bhūmi[ṃ] kalpayet || tatrāyaṃ vidhikramo, niśā tṛtīyāvasāna-kāla-samaye
śayanād utthāya trayādhvikākāśa dhātu-niṣṭha-dharmma-dhātu-paryyavasāna-
vyavasthitebhyaḥ bodhisattvebhyaḥ sarvvāntam abhāvaṃ viniryātayet | praṇamet
tato dvādaśākṣara-mantreṇa aṅguṣṭha-mūdrayā ātmānaṃ pañcasu sthāneṣu
rakṣā[ṃ] vidadhyāt | tena bahir bhumyādikaṃ gacchet rātrau dakṣiṇādbhimukho
divā cottarābhimukho bhavet | tataḥ kṛlaśacas tu snāna-pañcāṅga-prakṣālanaṃ vā
kuryyāt, tato devyā udakāñjali-trayaṃ nivedya, deva-gṛhaṃ yāyāt, samyak-lita-
kusumābhikīrṇ[e] maṇḍalake devyāḥ paṭa-pratimasyānyatamasyāgratah abhāvena
bhagavatī[ṃ] dhyātvā raktāmbara-dharo sarvvopakaraṇopetaḥ pratīcyādi-mukho-
daṇmukho vā sarvva-loka dhātyāsthita-sarvva-buddha-bodhisattva-pratyeka-
buddhāryya-śrāvakādīn bhāvato namet || tato bhagavatīṃ natvā añjalīṃ śirasi
nidhāyevaṃ vadet, ratna-trayaṃ me śaraṇaṃ sarvva-pāpaṃ pratideśayāhaṃ
anumode jagat-puṇyaṃ buddha-bodhau dadhe manaḥ | tathaivānaliṃ kṛtvā
viśuddhi-mantram udīrayet | saptavāraṃ namaḥ samasta-buddhānāṃ oṃ sarvva-
viśuddhi-dharmma || (Shāstrī, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, pp.
142–143).
377. Tohoku 3428 is mistakenly listed twice in the Tohoku Catalogue Index (Ui,
et al., A Catalogue-Index of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, p. 65).
178 Pacific World
378. The only Vajrapāda referred to by Naudou (Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 95, n.

38) is Acintya or Vajrapāda, another name for Mīna-pā or Matsyendranātha,
who was likely the same individual as Lui-pā. This wouid place Vajrapāda, if
these identifications are accurate, in the ninth century.
380. Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls, vol. 1, p. 88.
382. See Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, p. 190.
383. For Tohoku listings of authors and translators, Ui, et al., A Complete
Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 484–485, 519, 520, 511.
504, 398.
390. Incorrectly listed as no. 1949 in the Index to the Tohoku Catalogue.
Tohoku 1949 is the Daṇḍadhṛg-vidāra-yamāri-sādhana-nāma (Ui, et al., A
Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, p. 307); the correct listing is
Tohoku 1649.
391. See Naudou, Buddhists of Kashmīr, pp. 253–256.
393. Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 485, 489.
394 Ui, et al., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, pp. 69, 228.
674.

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PACIFIC WORLD

Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies

Third Series Number 14

only work I found that provides a systematic account of the dates of

a chance to go through the actual texts to gain a more comprehensive

1. ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF SANSKRIT

division into “father” and “mother” tantra groups.13 We find in the

3. DATING THE SANSKRIT TEXTS

3.1. Abhayākaragupta’s Vajrāvalī as a Dating Marker

of the Śaivite tantric theories and practices. Abayākaragupta was “a

as the ḍākinī-tantras. We should also note here that Abhayākaragupta’s

would help explain and contextualize such practices, were absolutely

3.2. The Tantric Siddhas

3.3. Some Notes on the Relative Dating

sarvva-tathāgata-kāya-vāk-citta-vajra-yonī-bhāgeṣu vijahāra |). However,

rites in the Guhyasamāja is rather subdued. In chapter 4, on the maṇḍala

4. THE TWO “EARLIEST”

4.1. The Āryamañjuśrīmūlakalpa

tantras. Chapter 11 suggests an elaborate ritual process with its title:

method with the four young women” (catuḥ-kumārya-upayika-sarva-

4.2. The Guhyasamājatantra

In listing the assemblies (parṣat) gathered together with the Tathāgata,

bza’i-po) and Śes-rab ye-śes,85 3) -tantra-rāja-ṭīkā-candra-prabhā (Tohoku

translated by Sraddhākaravarman and Rin-chen bzaṅ-po,103 21) –

5.1. The Cakrasaṃvara Tantra

reliable. In the case of the Saṃvarodaya we have obtained the impres-

author and translator unknown;123 8) -pañca-krama (Tohoku 1433, three

Blo-ldan ses-rab;145 22) -ṣeka-kriyā-krama (Tohoku 1470, 10 folios) by

chos-ḥjar.167 The Saṃvarodayābhisamayopāyikā168 is among the texts

Oṃ homage to the glorious Vajrasambara. Thus was it heard by me.

Chapter 29. The instruction about the principles.

5.2. The Hevajratantra

Ratnākaraśānti, collected from Phyag dpe lha khang in Sa skya Tibet

unknown; 14) Hevajra-ṣoḍaśa-bhuja-sādhana (1297, two folios) by Kṛṣṇa;

5.3. The Ekallavīra-Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra

half of the eleventh century199 and Tshul-khrims rgyal-pa;200 and 4)

Now the Bhagavatī Prajñāpāramitā spoke: “Who, Oh Bhagavān, is the

Bhagavān responded: “I am the son of Māyādevī, and have achieved

Then the Bhagavatī spoke: “Why, Oh Bhagavān, do the Śrāvakas cen-

The Bhagavān responded: “All of those dwelling in the realm of desire

woman. Firmly established with a handsome form, abiding in the

reality of the body, the infinite heart—because of the desirability of

was heard by me—this is the meaning. It was heard by me abiding in

kingdom of the glorious king Anantamalla; may it bring good fortune

6. EXTRACTS FROM EXTANT UNPUBLISHED SANSKRIT

6.1. The Ḍākinīvajrapañjara

4) Ḍākinī-vajra-jāla-tantra-rāja-tattva-pauṣṭīka-pañjikā (Tohoku 1196, 40

The chapter titles are as follows: 1) The descent of the ocean of

mantra and the meditation on the yantras and cakras characterizing

Upapelavī, 60) Smaśānanī, 61) Upaśaśānanī, 62) Mahodadhitaṭī, 63)

In the head cakra, Oh Great goddess, there are thirty-two channels,

6.2. The Bhūtaḍāmara

translated by Da, Abhayākaragupta, and Tshul-khrims rgyal-mtshan;

6.3. The Abhidhānottaratantra

translated in the latter tenth century by Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (i.e., Atīśa)

6.4. The Vajraḍākatantra

by Mchog-gi dbaṅ-phyug and Śākya brston-bgras; 4) -Nāma-mahā-

6.5. The Sampuṭikā Mahātantrarājaḥ

from that is the sampuṭa-samādhi.”304 The fourth-chapter colophon of