TANTRĀLOKA

THE LIGHT ON AND OF THE TANTRAS

by Abhinavagupta

with the Commentary called Viveka by Jayaratha

Translated with explanatory notes
by Mark S. G. Dyczkowski

Volume Five - Chapters Seven and Eight

 TANTRĀḶOKA

THE LIGHT ON AND OF THE TANTRAS

Volume Five

Chapters Seven and Eight

With the Commentary

called Viveka

by Jayaratha

Translated with extensive explanatory notes

by Mark S. GĠ. Dyczkowski

 Copyright © 2023 Mark S. G. Dyczkowski
ISBN: 9798394682711
www.anuttaratrikakula.org

AII rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

transmited in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval
system, without prior written permission of both the copywrite owner
indicated above and the publisher.

Cover illusṣṭration: Shivansh.ganjoo/commons.wikimedia.org

Varanasi,
April 2023
 DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my family and friends who have

supported and assisted me.
T offer this work most humbly to the feet of Swami Lakṣhmanjoo
who inspired and guided me in many ways.
May this work be of benefit to all.

Swami Lakshmanjo
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The volumes the reader has before him is the fruit of a lifetime’s work
that has encompassed and pervaded every aspect of my life, as it has that of my
family, first my parents, and then my wife, children and even grandchildren. My
acknowledgements are humbly offered to all who throughout my life who have
taught, assisted and sustained me. Reflecting on over 50 years of study, during
most of which I have had the great good fortune to live in India, the holy land of
the Ṛṣis, Siddhas and Yoginīs, I cannot escape the feeling that a mighty Divine
Power has guided my life. Any acknowledgement of help received or
inspiration must begin for me with a sense of profound gratitude to the One
Infinite Being who sustains and is both the origin and final end of all things.
Nowadays, in this modern secular world such declarations seem improper and
contrary to the spirit of detached objectivity that serious academic research
demands. Nonetheless, bound as a scholar by the moral duty to acknowledge
my sources and those who have assisted me and taught me, I cannot do
otherwise. Were it not for that impulse, inscrutable as it is powerful, that sent
me from England, my native land, to India in 1969 and to the many people I
was fortunate to meet there who taught and guided me, the volumes the reader
has before him would not exist.
Amongst the many that come to mind I can only mention a few, the first
of whom is the late Pt. Ambikadatta Upadhyaya at whose feet I was introduced
to the Sanskrit language and the marvels of the world of Sanskrit literature and
grammar. Pt. Hemendranatha Cakravarti opened the door that allowed me to
enter the glorious realms of Kashmiri Śaivism. The journey into that world
began for me in 1971 with the Mahārthamañjarī of which he helped me make a
partial translation. Pandit Chakravarti was the most senior disciple of the great
Mahāmahopādhyāya Gopinātha Kavirāj who was one of the greatest scholars of
Tantra in India and amongst the first to reveal the teachings of Kashmirī
Shaivism to the world. I met him only once. The encounter took place in 1972.
He was very ill then with terminal cancer and lived in Aananda Mai’s ashram in
Benares. Although I was hardly twenty, he sat up for me on his bed and
summoned his strength to say just one word as he stared up into Emptiness.
Slowly, but clearly and with deep feeling, he uttered ‘mahāprakāśa’ – ‘the
Great Light’. In this way, he expressed the essence of non-dualist Śaivism of
Kashmir and left an indelible impression on me. Along with sitar, this blazing
Light would consume the rest of my working life.
In 1975 the great Kashmiri master, Swami Laksmanjoo sealed my quest
with his initiation and divinely inspired teachings. Words cannot express the
good fortune of a person who has had the chance to sit at the feet of a fully
realized soul and study from him. In the six months I was living near his ashram
in Kashmir, I was given access, after much insistence, to the recordings that had
been made of his lectures from 1970 by John Hughes. In the past few years
many of them have been transcribed published. The audio recordings along with
transcriptions will give some idea of the wisdom and joy Swamiji’s inner state.
He was teaching Tantrāloka at the time. While very learned scholars may have
been confused because what he taught may not always be found in the scriptural
sources, ḹ always took his words to have the authority of scripture. This he knew
very well, according to the degree of access to the sources available in those
days and the works of the great Kashmiri masters. He also received much from
his environment which is those days was still alive with the tradition. Swamiji
offered what John Hughes has called a ‘revelation’ rather than a translation of
the Tantrāloka. The present work seeks to present the translation along with
Jayaratha’s invaluable commentary and copious notes drawn from the sources.
My hope is that read together, revelation and translation will illumine each other
in the reader’s mind.
It is important also to acknowledge that Swamiji exemplified a method
– a way of understanding the Tantrāloka and teaching it to others. This was his
focus on practice. His instruction was not only based on the texts. His concern
was to teach the matters that the texts did not make explicit concerning practice
and the states of consciousness and their developments achieved by practice and
grace. ḹ have taken care to be as accurate as I can in my translation and striven
to furnish notes drawn from textual sources that serve to explain the translation.
This makes the work essentially a scholarly one. However, I am also deeply
concerned with practice. Indeed, a large part of what is required to understand
the Tantrāḹoka is to see through the many technical details into the practice they
implicitly or explicitly teach. This I try to do by reading the text and explaining
it orally in classes regularly held on line. I also quote Swamiji’s works in Hindi
and English in the notes to my translation.
While Swami Lakṣmaṇajoo was a great master of inner, yogic practice,
in Nepal I was introduced into the vast and complex world of Newar Kaula
ritual by Kedararāja Rajopādhyāya, whose ancestors were the purohitas and
Tantric gurus of the Malla kings of Bhaktapur. Kedararāja generously gave me
his time and courageously braved the possible consequences of transmitting
such matters outside the circle of his initiates.
Pt. Vṛajavallabha Dvivedi, former head of the Yogatantra Department at
Saṁpūrṇānanda Sanskrit University, was an abiding source of inexhaustible
knowledge. Indeed, his scholarly work, both in Sanskrit and Hindi, is
formidable – ranging as it does through virtually every major Tantric tradition
including not only Kashmiri Saivism, but also Śaiva Siddhānta, Vīra Śaiviṣm,
Śrīvidyā, the Kaula Tantras, Vaiṣṇava Pañcarātra, the Buddhist Anuttarayoga
Tantras and even Jain Tantrism.
In other areas of study, I cannot but recall with gratitude Pt. B. P.
Tripathi, better known as Vāgīśa Śaāṣtrī, former Director of the Research
Department of Saṁpūrṇānanda Sanskrit University, who labored for years to
teach me Sanskrit grammar both in the traditional manner through the
Siddhāntakaumuḍī and through his own didactic method.
Although I have not studied formally with Prof. K. D. Tripathi, retired
dean of the Sanskrit college of Banaras Hindu University, I cannot but
acknowledge that the many lectures I have heard him deliver and dialogues I
have had with him over the years inspired and helped me very much to
understand Pratyabhijñā, Bhartrhari’s philosophy of grammar, Abhinavagupta’s
aesthetics and the Śaiva Āgamas. In a similar way, I had the good fortune to
liṣṭen to many lectures and attend classes on the Nāṭyaśastra with
Abhinavagupta’s commentary by the late Premalata Sharma, formerly Dean of
 iii
the Music Faculty of BHU and President of the Sangit Nataka Academy. There
are many other renowned scholars in Kāśī whom I must also thank for
inspiration such as the late Prof. Ananda Krishna and Vatukanatha Khiṣṭe, who
was a scholar and initiate in line of Bhāskara Rāya, the great 18" century
exponent of Śrīvidyā.
I owe a special thanks also to Bettina Báumer whose dedication and
scholarship in many fields has been an abiding source of inspiration and
knowledge for me throughout the 50 years of our acquaintance. Of those who
do not reside in Benares 1 gratefully acknowledge Prof. Navajivan Rastogi
whose books and lectures have helped me a great deal.
I should not forget to mention my good friends and fellow travelers,
especially Dr. Śitalāprasād Upādhyāya, formarly head of the Yogatantra
Department at Saṁpūrṇānanda Sanskrit University and then rector of the
University. I am especially grateful to Prof. Rana Singh, retired head of the
Geography department of Banaras Hindu University who guided me through the
principles of sacred geography, particularly that of Kāśī.
During the decades that went into making this translation and study I
continuously searched for the sources Abhinavagupta quotes in his Tantrāloka
and other works. In this regard I am deeply indebted to the librarians who
permitted me to have copies of manuscripts and early rare printed books. I am
especially grateful to the German directors in Nepal of the German Nepalese
Manuscript Preservation Project. Over the twenty odd years in which Ī travelled
every year, sometimes more than once, to Nepal, seven came and went. There I
collected copies of manuscripts of the majority of the most important texts
belonging to the early period, that is, prior to Abhinavagupta, from which he
drew. The Nepalese collection is very extensive and contains most of the
earliest manuscripts preserved in the Indian subcontinent. Other libraries that
have furnished manuscripts of important texts, are the Asiatic Society in
Calcutta, the central library of Banaras Hindu University, and the libraries in
Jodhpur and Poone.
An important source are Kashmiri manuscripts, most of which are in
Śāradā script. There are a few exceptions, but to a very large extent the
Kashmiri Śaiva texts that have survived have been recovered. Even so there are
several texts written after the 13" century that have not yet been edited. These
are preserved in the Kashmiri Reaserch Institute in Srinagar and the Ranbir
Singh library in Jammu and elsewhere. The scholarly community owes Chetan
Pandey a great debt of gratitude for his unstinting effort to scan Kashmiri and
other manuscripts including the entire collection of the Ranbir Singh library and
numerous private collections.
Next only to the Nepalese collection in importance for this research, are
the transcripts and manuscripts deposited in the French research institute in
Pondicherry. Professor NR. Bhatt was the director of the Indological Institute
there for many years and the first editor of Siddhāntāgamas to produce critical
editions of several of major Siddhāntas. He also supervised a project that lasted
many years to search libraries and private collections for important Siddhānta
manuscripts. These he had transcribed from Grantha and other South Indian
scripts into clean, well-written devanāgarī script. In this way he made accessible
over 1,200 Saiddhāntika works, including all the twenty-eight Siddhāntāgamas.
iv
I am very grateful to Prof. Goodall who in 2008 authorized the photography of
this collection at my suggestion for Muktabodha, The PDFs were put up on the
Muktabodha site and are still freely available to all for study. Amongst these
transcripts, there are several of texts quoted by Abhinavagupta. Two especially
spring to mind, namely, the Sarvajñānottara and the Dīkṣottara.
I heartly thank the people who have assisted me for over 30 years, the
first 20 for my work and the remaining time for Muktabodha’s project. They
typed manuscripts and collated them laboriously with meticulous care and
processing my books and editions. Especially relevant here is their collation of
the available manuscripts of the Tantrāloka and Jayaratha’s commentary.
The most senior amongst them is Ravindra Mishra who has worked
with me from the beginning. In time, the office grew to four more people,
namely, Birendra Pathak, Vinay Kumar Mishra, Dharmendra Shrivastava and
Devavrata Patel. They learnt to read and transcribe manuscripts in a variety
scripts, including the many varieties of Newarī script going back into the tenth
century. The learnt Kashmiri Śāradā script, Bengali and Maithili. They could
also transcribe South Indian Grantha. These very well trained and highly
qualified people continued to work for me on the project financed by
Muktabodha.
I worked for Muktabodha between 2007 and 2018 as academic advisor
and manager of the Varanasi office where e-texts of Sanskrit Tantric sources are
produced for the on-line Mukatbodha digital library. Hema Patankar, Robert
Kemter and Vasistha who were part of the executive staff of Muktabodha
sustained me with their sincere appreciation of my humble attempts to
contribute to the preservation and deeper understanding of Śaivism. The same
support came also from David Katz who in the later years became the director.
Over the years I prepared had 350 e-texts typed by my staff whom 1 had
previously trained to do this for my work. These e-texts include cover most of
the important early publications and manuscripts from Tantric traditions,
especially Kashmiri Śaivism and Aagamic Śaivism in general. The interested
readeris encouraged to visit the site and download them and other e-texts that
are ṛegularly added to the collection. The reader will find about 150 more
Tantric e-texts at my website – anuttaratrikakula.org. Global searches of these e-
texts, has completely transformed studies in this field.
I always recall with much gratitude the foreigner’s scholars who have
been my mentors and peers. In 1975 Gnoli published an Italian translation of the
Tantrāloka. Īt was just the bare text without Jayaratha’s commentary and
relatively meagre notes. Even so, this and his other translations into Italian and
books contributed much to my understanding. My esteemed seniors and mentors
include Professor André Padoux who, especially in these last few years, give me
great moral support by his appreciation of my humble efforts. Professor Richard
Gombrich has never forgotten me although many years have passed since he
was my supervisor in Oxford. Others include the late David Kinsley, a sincere
and most humble man who took pleasure in conversation and exchanging views.
David Lorenzen has been a friend for over thirty years whom I have come to
know better over the past ten or so since he began to make short yearly trips to
Varanasi. He has always brought with him new vistas and interests along with
his deep sensitivity and a self-effacing nature that hides the depth of his
 v
scholarship. Amongst my other fellow scholars, I would like to thank the 'other
David⁴, that is, David White. A dear friend, he has been unfailing in his support
and has always tried his best to keep me on the path towards the distant goal of
completing these volumes. Amongst those younger than me, I recall Jeffrey
Lidke, whose exchanges have led to much reflection, and John Nemec. I should
mention with gratitude my students who have always been very supportive.
I reserve a special place in these acknowledgements for my revered
teacher Prof. Alexis Sanderson formerly of the Sanskrit Department of the
Oriental Institute at the University of Oxford, now retired, with whom I was
fortunate to study for my doctoral dissertation on the Spanda teachings of
Kashmiri Śaivism between 1975 and 1979 which resulted in the Doctrine of
Vibration. Our interaction continued for the next six years. His knowledge and
insight, inspired me greatly as he continues to do so to this day through his
writings that has contributed an immense amount to our knowledge of Śaiviṣm.
It was he who sowed the seeds of this work. The study of Kashmiri Śaivism
under his guidance opened a door for me onto the vast and rich world of the
early Śaivāgamas, which fascinated and attracted me intensely. Were it not for
him and my esteemed Indian teachers, I would not have given the best years of
my life to this work.
Finally, I wish to express my unbounded gratitude to Ram Krishnan and
Raphael Wilterlin who made my website and to those who have helped to
maintain it and develop it, most especially loana-Raluca Voicu (‘Yaria’), who
has been in charge of the site for the past three years. She regularly uploads the
classes I hold three times a week, seminars and the music I play on sitar. Mariya
Karagyozova has also helped me much over the years send out notices to people
and assisting in the coordination of my lectures and seminars. A very special
thanks goes to Saraḥ Caldwell, known to her friends as ‘Amba’. She spent an
immense of amount of time proof reading the text of my translation two times
over.
Freedom Cole is an old friend and very excellent and well-known
astrologer. He dedicated a good deal of his very valuable time to writing a
substantial essay on Indian astrology in the light of the teachings of chapter six
of the Tantrāloka. Theṣe are concerned with the projection of the cycles of time
into that of the breath. AIl the diagrams and drawings in that article are made by
him. The reader will find it in the appendix to that chapter.
 CONTENTS

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Emergence of the Cycles of Mantras (cakrodaya)

The Various Cycles (of Mantras Linked to the Rhythm of the Breath)
(cakrabhid), verses 2-52, pages 2-36
The Nature of Mantras and the Exertion of the Waterwheel of the
Breath, verses 2-5ab, pages 2-4
The Arising of Mantras in the Flow of the Breath, verses 5cd-
21ab, pages 5-10
The Rhythm of Mantra, the Pulse of Perception and the Eternity
of Consciousness, verses 21cd-38ab, pages 10-26
Mantra and Ritual to be Performed in Consonance with the
Breath, verses 38cd-40, pages 27-28
The Cycles of Mantra Within the Breath According to the
Yoginīkaula, verses 41-52, pages 29-36
The Division of Mantras and Vidyās (mantravidyābhid) in the Breath,
verses 53-62ab, pages 36-42
The Power of Time, the Breath, the Pulse of Consciousness and the Void,
verses 62cd-65ab, pages 42-44
The Channels of the Breath and the Measure of the Body, verses 65cd-
70, pages 45-48

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Path of Space (deśādhavan)

The Path of Space Established in the Body and Pervasive Consciousness,

verses 2-8, pages 49-57
The Five Causes According to the Dīkṣortara, verses 9-11, pages 57-62
The Root, Middle and Summit of Consciousness According to the
Triśirobhairava, verses 12-15ab, pages 62-66
Identifying with Bhairava by Oneness with the Path, verses 15cd-19ab,
pages 66-68
The Worlds within the Earth Principle and the Egg of Brahmā
The Worlds in the Lower Half of the Egg of Brahmā, verses 19cd-
42ab, pages 68-97
Ananta in the Boat on the Cosmic Waters Below the Egg of
Brahmā, verses 20cd-22ab, pages 69-78
The Worlds Within the Egg of Brahmā
The World of the Fire of Time, verses 22cd-24ab, pages 78-80
 vii
The Thirty-five Hells of Avīci, Kumbhīpāka and Mahāraurava, verses
24cd-30ab, pages 80-87
The Eight Netherworlds (pātāla), verses 30cd-42ab, pages 87-97
Śrīkaṇṭha as Hāṭakeśvara, Guardian of the Netherworlds, verses 31cd-
35ab, pages 89-93
The Upper Half of the Egg, verse 42cd, page 97
Mount Meru and the Surrounding Lands and Mountains, verses 43cd-
45ab, pages 97-100
The Cities Surrounding Meru, verses 45cd-58ab, pages 100-109
The Four Mountains Surrounding Mount Meru, verses 58cd-62ab, pages
109-111
The Forests, Lakes and Trees on the Mountains, verses 60cd-62ab, pages 110-111
Jambudvīpa and its Nine Principal Regions, verses 62cd-63ab, page 111
The Nine Mountain Chains around Meru, verses 63cd-67, pages 111-117
The Regions around Meru, verses 68-79, pages 117-127
Ilāvṛta, verse 68, pages 117-118
West of Meru: Ketumāla and its Seven Mountains – West of
Gandhamādana, verse 69, pages 119
East of Meru: Bhadrāśva with five mountains – east of Mālyavat,
verses 70-71, pages 119-121
North of Meru: The Land of Kuru, verses 72-73, pages 121-123
North of Meru: Hiraṇyamaya, verse 74, page 124
North of Meru: Ramyaka, verse 75, page 124
South of Meru: Hari, verse 76, page 125
South of Meru: The Land of the Kinnaras and Bhārata, verses 77-
79, pages 125-127
The Land of Bhārata, verses 80-83, pages 128-132
The Nine Regions of Bhārata, verse 84, page 132
The Seven Mountains, Six Islands and Inhabitants of Kumārikā, verses
85-92, pages 132-140
Rulers of the Lands of Jambūdvīpa, verses 93-96, pages 140-141
The Ocean of Salt and the Twelve Mountains around Jambūdvīpa, verses
97-98, pages 142-143
Mount Vidyutvat, verses 99-101, pages 143-144
Six Islands and Seas beyond Jambūdvīpa and the Ocean of Salt, verses
102-107ab (102-106), pages 144-150
Mount Lokāloka: The Land of Gold and the Rudras of the Eight
Directions Around Mount Lokāloka, verses 107cd-109ab (107-
108), pages 150-152
Ajavīthī and Suvithī, the Paths of the Fathers and the Gods, verses 109cd-
110ab (109), pages 152-154
The Rising and Setting of the Sun in Lokāloka and the Lands
around Meru, verses 110cd-113ab (110ab-112), pages 155-158
vil1

Beyond Lokāloka: a Region of Darkness and the Ocean of Garbhoda,

verses 113cd-115ab (113-114), pages 158-159
Geography of Kauśeya on the Shore of Garbhoda According to the
Siddhayogeśvarī-mata, verses
115cd-118ab (115-117), pages 159-160
The Seven Lokas
1) The Earth World (Bhūrloka), verses 118cd-121ab (118-120),
pages 161-162
2) Bhuvarloka the Atmospheric World and the Paths of the Wind,
verses 121cd-142 (121-143ab), pages 162-177
3) Svarloka, verses 144-149ab (143cd-148), pages 177-181
4) Maharloka (the Great World), verses 149cd-151 (149-151ab),
pages 182-186
5) Janaloka (the World of People) and 6) Tapoloka (the World of
Austerities), verses (152-154ab) (151cd-153ab), pages 182-186
7) Satyaloka (the World of Truth), verses 154cd-155ab (153cd-
154), pages 182-186
The Worlds of Brahmā and Viṣṇu, verses 155cd-158 (155-157ab), pages
182-186
Rudra’s World, verses 158-162ab (157cd-161), pages 187-190
Elements Gross and Subtle From Which the Egg is Fashioned, verses
162cd-165ab (162-164), pages 190-192
Measurements of the Egg of Brahmā, verses 165cd-167 (165-167ab),
pages 193-194
The Hundred Rudras, verses 168 (167cd-168ab), pages 194-196
The Nature of the Egg of Brahmā, verses 169-179 (168cd-179ab), pages
197-203
The Eleven Rudras Governing the Hundred Rudras, verses 180-184ab
(179cd-183), pages 204-206
The Hundred Eggs According to the Siddhātantra, verses 184cd-186ab
(184-185), pages 207-208
The Sizes of the Principles from Water to Śiva as stages to liberation,
verses 186cd-193 (186-193ab), pages 208-216
The Worlds of Water and the Other Elements
The World of Bhadrakālī, verses 194-196 (193cd-196ab), pages
217-219
The World of Vīrabhadra, verses 197-199 (196cd-199ab), pages
219-221
The Thirteen Worlds between Bhadrakālī and Vīrabhadra, verses
200-205ab (199cd-204), pages 221-234
The Worlds of the Principles of Fire, Air and Space, verses
205cd-209 (205-209ab), pages 234-237
The Fate of Śaivites after Death, verses 210-215ab (209cd-214), pages
237-239
The Subtle Body
The Spheres of the Subtle Elements and The Eight Bodies of
Śiva, verses 215cd-221ab (215-220), pages 239-243
The Deities of the Organs of Action and Knowledge, verses (221cd-
223ab) (221-222), pages 243-245
The Worlds of Manas and the Intellect
The Moon, the Sphere of Manas, verses (223cd-225ab) (223-224),
pages 245-247
The Worlds of the Rudras of the Ego and the Eight Beings of the
Intellect, verses (225cd-228ab) (225-227), pages 247-248
The Five Groups of Eight Rudras in the Intellect and Fundamental
Nature, verses 228cd-238ab (228-237), pages 248-256
The Worlds of Umā and Śrīkaṇṭha, verses 238cd-241 (238-241ab), pages
256-257
Umā’s Seven Forms as the Seven Mothers, verses 242-244
(241cd-244ab), pages 257-259
The Supreme Group of Eight Bodies (mitrtyaṣṭaka), verses 245-
249ab (244cd-248), pages 259-262
The Twelve Suśivas Governed by Vīrabhadra and the Eight
Mahādevas, verses 249cd (249-251ab), pages 262-263
Summary of the Worlds in the Intellect, verses 252-253 (251cd-
253ab), pages 263-264
The Worlds of the Qualities and of Nature
The Qualities as Unmanifest Nature as the cause of the Intellect,
verses 254-260 (253cd-260ab), pages 264-272
The Three Lines of Teachers in the Three Qualities, verses 261-
262 (260cd-262ab), pages 272-273
A Summary of the two hundred and seven worlds up to the
Qualities, verses 263 (262cd-263ab), page 274
The Group of Eight Yogas in the Qualities according to the
Śivatanu, verses 264ab-269ab (263cd-268), pages 275-276
Śrīkaṇṭha Destroys the Worlds and Rudrāṇi Emits Them. The Gods
Sacrifice There to Prajāpati on Her as Vedī, verses 269cd-272ab
(269-271), pages 276-277
The Eight Rudras in Unmanifest Nature, verses 272cd-274 (272-274ab),
pages 278-279
The Worlds of the Individual Souls (kṣetrajña), verses 275-276ab
(274cd-275), pages 279-280
The Four States of the Senses, verses 276cd-278ab (276-277), pages 280-
281
The Worlds of the Individual Soul: The Nine False Contentments and the
Eight Accomplishments, verses 278cd-282ab (278-281), pages
281-288
Three Lines of Teachers and Disciples and the Eight Vidyās of the Vital
Channels (nāḍī), verses 282cd-284ab (282-283), pages 288-290
Ī

The Agency of the Individual Soul, verses 284cd-286 (284ab-286ab),

pages 291-293
The Group of Eight Components of the Subtle Body (vigrahāṣṭaka),
verses 287ab-288ab (286cd-287), pages 293-295
The Worlds of the Fetters and the Coverings of the Soul
The Ten Attributes of the Body (dehadharma) and the Fetters of
the Soul, verses 288cd-293ab (288-292), pages 295-299
Defining feature of the Fetters, verses 293cd-295ab (293-294),
pages 299-300
The Worlds of the Five Kañcukas, verses 295cd-298 (294-298ab),
pages 300-303
Maāyāguhā -– The Womb of the Cave of Māyā, verses 299-302 (298cd-
302ab), pages 303-306
The World of Ananta, verses 303ab-307ab (302cd-306), pages 307-309
The Cavity (bila) and the Wombs (yoni, bhaga) of Māyā, verses 307cd-
317ab (307-316), pages 309-313
The Knot of Māyā (māyāgranthi): The Three Cavities of Māyā and the Twelve
Rudras, verses 317cd-320ab (317-319), pages 314-316
Two Groups of Six Rudras According to the Mataṅgatantra, verses 320cd-321cd
(320-321ab), pages 316-317
The Principle of Māyā (māyātattva), verses 322ab-337 (321cd-337ab), pages 317-
325
The Nine Worlds of Great Knowledge, the Goddess of Speech, verses 338-341ab
(337cd-340), pages 326-331
The Worlds of the Principle of Īśvara
The Eight Worlds and their Vidyeśvaras in the Principle of Īśvara,
verses 341cd-344ab (341-343), pages 332-336
The Succession of the Eight Vidyeśvaras according to the
SŚivatanu, verses (345cd-352) (345ab-352ab), pages 336-
342
Liberation as the Elimination of all Terms of Office to Attain
Transcendental Siva 353-355 (352cd-355ab), pages 342-
344
The Four Worlds in the Principle of Īśvara, verses 356-357 (355cd-
357ab), pages 344-346
The Worlds of the Principle of Sadāśiva
The Enclosures and Deities of the Principle of Sadāśiva, verses 358-373
(357cd-373ab), pages 346-354
The Throne of Suśiva, verses 374-377ab (373cd-376), pages 354-355
Śiva Beyond Tranquillity (śāntyātīta), verses 377cd-379ab (377-378),
pages 355-356
Bindu and the Body of Sadāśiva and of the Rudras, verses 379cd-383ab
(379-382), pages 356-359
The Point, the Half Moon (Ardhacandra), and the Obstructress, verses
383cd-386ab (383-385), pages 359-361
The Supreme Form of Sadāśiva, verses 386cd-390ab (386-389), pages
361-362
 xi
The Worlds up to Anāśrita
The World of Suṣumnā, verses 390cd-394ab (390-393), pages 362-365
The Cavity of Brahmā, verses 394cd-396a (394-395abc), pages 365-367
The World of the Principle of Power and Raised Kuṇḍalinī, verses 396b-
397 (395d-397ab), pages 367-369
The World of Anāśrita the Unemerged, verses 398-400ab (397cd-399), pages
369-372
The Equal One (Samanā), verses 400cd-402 (400-402ab), pages 372-373
Anāśrita Presides Over the Five Causes, verses 403ab-406 (402cd-406ab), pages
373-375
A Summary of the Worlds (purasaṁgraha) Taught in the Svacchandatantra
Distributed in the Five Kalās, verses 407-428ab (406cd-427), pages 375-
384
The Worlds according to the Mataṅgatantra, verses 428cd-436 (428-436ab),
pages 384-388
The Worlds according to the Mālinīvijayottara, verses 437-452 (436cd-452b),
pages 388-397

Appendices to Volume Five

Appendix to Chapter Seven: Tantrasāra Chapter Six: The Revelation of

the Path of the Time (kālādhvaprakāśana), pages 398-399
Appendix to Chapter Eight: The Path of the Worlds, pages 400-411
 Abbreviations

APS Ajaḍapramātrṣiddhi
ASB Asiatic Society of Bengal
AV Atharvaveda
BLO Bodleian Library, Oxford
BY Brahmayāmala
BhGī Bhagavadgītā
BhoKā Bhogakārikā
BrUp B,rhadāraṇyakopaṇiṣad
ChUp Chandogyopaṇiṣad
CMSS Ciñcinīmatasārasamuccaya
DhAKḴ Dharmālaṅkārakārikā
DDŚ Devīdyvardhaśatikā
DP Devīpañcaśataka
DhĀl Dhvanyālokālocana
GOML Government Oriental Manuscript Library, University of
Chennai
HDh History of Dharmaśāstra
i] Indo-Iranian Journal
Ipv Iśvarapratyabhijñāvimarśinī
ĪPvv Iśvarapratyabhijñāvivr̥tivimarśinī
IFP Institut Français d'Indologie de Pondichéry
ISMEO Iṣtituto Studi Medio ed Estremo Oriente
ĪŚGDP ` Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati
JA Journal Asiatique
JASB Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay
JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
JY Jayadrathayāmala
KED Kashmiri Series Edition
KIN Kaulajñānanirṇaya
KṆNP Kramanayapradīpikā
KuKh Kumārikākhaṇḍa of the Manthānabhairavatantra
KuPa Kulapañcaśikā
KhCPS Khacakrapañcakasṭotra
KM Kubjikāmata
KṢSS Kashmiri Shaivism, the Secret Supreme
KṢTS Kashmiri Series of Texts and Studies
KṆNP Kramanayapradīpikā
LYV Laghuyogavāsiṣṭa
MPĀ Mātaṅgaparameśvarāgama
MBh Mahābhārata
MP Mahānayaprakāśa
MP (1 Śk) Mahānayaprakāśa commented by Śitikaṇṭha
MP (2 Tri) Mahānayaprakāśa by unknown author published in
Trivendrum.
MP (3 AS) Mahānayaprakāśa by Arṇasiṁha
MS Manuscript
 xiii
MV Mālinīvijayottaratantra
MVV Mālīnīvījayavārtika
MW Monier-Williams
Muṇḍ Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
MIT Mṛgendratantra
MrTVK Mṛgendratantravṛtti Kriyāpāda
MṛrKri Mṛgendratantra Kriyāpāda
MṛrV Mṛgendratantra Vidyāpāda
NGMPP Nepal German Manuscript Preservation Project
NSA Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava
NB Nyāyabindu
NBT Nyāyabinduṭīkā
NT Netratantra
NTu Netratantroddyota
no. Number
p. Page
PMNKaā Paramokṣanirāsakārikā
PT Parātrīśikā (= Parātriṁśika)
PTy Parātriṁśikavivaraṇa (Parātrīśikāvivaraṇa)
PāSū Pāṇini’s Sūtras, the Aṣṭādhyāyī.
PūKā Pūrvakāmikā
PS Paramārthasāra
Pv Pramāṇavārtika
PVi Pramāṇaviniścaya
PṛHṛ Pratyabhijñāhṛdaya
RSO Ricerche e Studi Orientali
RT Rājataraṅginī
RauSūS Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha
ṚgV RṚgveda
SB Śatapathabrāhmaṇa
ŚBh Śāvarabhāṣya
Slñā̃ Saryajñānottara
SBUM Sva/Śubodhodayamañjarī
SLJ Swami Laksmanjoo
SOL Science of Light
SP Saṁvitprakāśa
SāṁKā Sāṁkhyakārikā
SpKā Spandakārikā
SpNi Spandanirṇaya
SpPra Spandapradīpikā
SpSaṁ Spandasaṁdoha
ŚDṛ Śhrapṛṛī
Śsū Śivasūtra
Śsū Śivasūtravimarśinī
Śst Śivastotrāvali
ŚM Śrīmatottara
Śvet Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad
SSS Satsahasrasaṁhitā
xiv

SSP Somaśambhupaddhati
SVT Svacchandatantra
SvTu Svacchandatantroddyota
SvāSūSaṁ Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṁgraha
SUNY State University of New York Press
SYM Siddhayogeśvarīmata
TTP Tattvatrayaparīkṣā
TĀ Tantrāloka
TC Tattvārthacintāmaṇi
TSRP Trika Śāstra Rahaṣya Prakriyā
Tantrasāra
Tantrasadbhāva
Tantroccaya
Taittirīyopaniṣad
Tantravaṭadhānikā
Triśirobhairava
Ūrmikaulāraṇvatantra
Vijñānabhairava
Vāmakeśvarīmata
Vātulanāthasūtra
Yogavāsiṣṭa
Yonigahvaratantra
Upaniṣad
laghu
guru
commentary
 CHAPTER SEVEN

The Emergence of the Cycles of Mantras (cakrodaya)¹

‘May the Rudra (who bestows) victory and is the penetration (āveśa) of
the fierce (caṇḍa) Bhairava that has rendered excellent the emergence of (every)
single Mantra and eliminated the impression of fettered existence (bhavamudrā)
make (all that is) auspicious (and beneficial) firm (and stable).”

Now, with the second half (of the verse begun at the end of the previous
chapter,) he sets out to expound the Emergence of the Cycles (of Mantric
breathing) in relation to the principle of Time.
Surely (one may ask), the emergence of the goddess (of the alphabet)
Mātṛkā, who is common to all Mantras, was explained previously (in the
preceding chapter),² so what reason is there to also explain the emergence of the

' The word ‘udaya’ literally means ‘arising’ or ‘emergence’. It is commonly used to
denote the rising of the Sun – sūrya, or Moon – candra, in the expressions sūryodaya ~
‘dawn’ and candrodaya – ‘moonrise’. Here the word has a technical sense when
combined with the word ‘cakra’. The word ‘cakra’ literally means ‘wheel’. By
extension, it also means ‘assembly°. So the words ‘devatācakra’, ‘gurucakra’ or
‘sādhakacakra’, for example, denote an assembly of deities, teachers and adepts,
respectively. Thus ‘cakrayāga³ denotes the sacrificial rite performed by and for an
assembly of initiates.
According to the context, the word ‘cakra’ can also mean, as it does here,
‘cycle’. Mantras recited in consonance with the breathing cycle (prāṇacakra),
depending on their length, form daily cycles of varying sizes. This chapter examines the
measure of these cycles of Mantras that arise, that is, rotate, within the breathing cycle.
As the cycle of the breath does its round, the Mantra recited in consonance with it arises
with each turn from the heart. The dawn of the Sun of exhalation (prāṇodaya) is that of
Mantra also (mantrodaya). The dawning of the cycle of the repetition of Mantra
‘mantracakrodaya’ coincides with the dawning of the cycle of the vital breath —
‘prāṇacakrodaya’. To use Abhinava’s example, with each turn of a waterwheel, the jars
that are attached to it fill and empty out, rising full each time out of the water. Thus,
cakrodaya, that literally means ‘emergence, arising or dawning of the wheels’, denotes
‘the rotation of the cycles of Mantra within the movement of the breath’.
Swami Lakshmanjoo explains in his Trikarahasya: *Cakrodaya involves: a)
The Cakrabhid – [the various] cycles of Mantra, and b) Mantrabheda and Vidyābheda
[various Mantras and Vidyās]. For example, one cakra [cycle] is the ordinary cakra
[cycle] of 21,600 breaths of the ordinary course of breathing during one [twenty-four
hour] day. You have to control that cycle (cakra) by lengthening the breath, for
example, by doubling it in length, so that in twenty-four hours you breathe only 10,800
times. [Going on gradually extending the time of a single breathing cycle, you] will
finally breathe only twenty-four times in twenty-four hours. Then you are the master of
the various cycles (cakrabheda) and so have become the master of time. By and by, you
must enlarge the span of time. This involves effort. In the sixth stage of enlargement,
there is yammajopāsana [practice born of effort]. In seventh, it is ayatnajopāsana
[practice born without effort]. There is no [breath] retention [in this effortless practice].”
¹ The emergence of the letters, Mantras and their parts in the breathing cycle was
discussed in the previous chapter, from verse 216 to the end.
2 CHAPTER SEVEN
Cycles of Mantras and the like, that have their own particular form? With this
question in mind, he says:

³T? Tāçzdīsã āṬēī, ygdā’s³ḍzg: I| ? |

atha paramarahasyo ʻyaṁ cakrāṇāṁ bhaṇyate ‘bhyudayaḥ || 1 II

Now we will expound this supreme secret, which is the emergence

of the cycles (of Mantras in the flow of the breath).³ (1)

The Various Cycles (of Mantras Linked to the Rhythm of the Breath)
(cakrabhid)

The Nature of Mantras and the Exertion of the Waterwheel of the Breath

TTTTSTHTGATĪ JTcTṣī ġ frīīērd 1

ity ayatnajam ākhyātaṁ yatnajaṁ tu nigadyate |

The (spontaneous) effortless (ayatnaja) (emergence of time within

the flow of the breath) has been discussed;⁴ we will now talk about the
(voluntary) one that is the result of effort. (2ab)

³ Swami Lakshmanjoo (TSṚP p. 65-66) outlines the practice taught in this chapter as
follows: “The following practice (upāsanā) relating to the cycle of the breath is meant
for advanced practitioners. The practice here differs in some respects from that centred
on the natural, spontaneous breathing cycle taught in the previous chapter. This is a kind
of practice that requires exertion. Without interfering with the natural course of the
breath, we breathe 21,600 times a day. The yogi who is engaged in the practice of
cakrodaya should slowly increase the time it takes for a single cycle of inhalation and
exhalation to take place. He should first of all exert himself to double the normal time it
takes for a single cycle of inhalation and exhalation, or to put it another way, he should
inhale and exhale just once in the time it normally takes to do so twice. Thus, instead of
21,600 cycles in a day and night, there should be half that number, i.e. 10,600 cycles.
Along with modifying the breathing cycle in this way, it is extremely essential that the
yogi meditate on the two extremities of the movement of the breath in the heart and the
external twelve finger space. With practice it gradually becomes easy and natural for the
yogi to extend or shorten the length of time of his breathing cycle, and he comes to be
able to so without any effort. By doing this day and night, he attains a direct experience
of his own nature as consciousness and bliss. After that the number of breaths in a day
reduces permanently from 21,600 to 10,600.” Then the fruit of this practice (sādhanā) is
described in 7/21cd-22ab; see there. Note that Swami Lakshmanjoo does mention in his
summary of this practice the recitation of Mantra, which is a secondary consideration.
This practice, as Swami Lakshmanjoo presents it, concerns the breath, not the recitation
of Mantra.
⁴ Abhinava is referring in general here to the practice centred on the natural,
spontaneous cyclic movement of the breath of the cycles taught in the previous chapter.
Generally, this does not require breath control, simply the imaginative projection onto
the breath of the cycles of time and more (see above, 6/216 ff.). Concerning the
classification of the types of breathing according to whether they require exertion or not,
see above, 6/47cd-49.
 TANTRĀLOKA 3
Surely (one may ask), what is the purpose of saying that? With this
question in mind, he says:

āīātrvērīa
aē fēī: īcaTcāaṁ 1 2 1
fṝīārrcqrātēzrṁqgv
=f atīāz |
bījapiṇḍātmakaṁ sarvaṁ saṁvidaḥ spandanātmatām || 2 ||
vidadhat parasaṁvittāv upāya iti varṇitam ḷ

AIl (Mantras) consisting of seed syllables (bīja) and syllabic groups

(piṇḍa) are the (dynamic) pulsing nature (spandanātmatā) of consciousness.
Thus, (a Mantra) is said to serve as a means (to attain) Supreme
Consciousness (because such is its nature). (2cd-3ab)

‘AIF’ these Mantras consisting of ‘seed syllables and syllabic groups’

that arise within the vital breath ‘are the (dynamic) pulsing nature
(spandanātmatā) of consciousness’, and ‘serve as a means (to attain)
supreme consciousnessʼ. (They are such because they initially induce the)
penetration (of individual consciousness) into Śakti’s eṣsential nature, and
(then) successively into Śiva. Thus, the description (of the practice of projecting
cycles of Mantras into the flow of the breath), as part of the nature of the letters,
(which serve to practice) in (the domain of) the Individual Means, is not useless.
This is the meaning.³
Surely (one may ask), he has set out to explain that here (according to
this view), Mantras arise within the vital breath, and that (emergence) is born of
exertion (on the part of the practitioner). It is that, not something else, that is
accomplished when one is exerting an effort there. So how is it that (Mantras)
can serve as a means here (to attain) supreme consciousness? With this doubt in
mind, he says:

⁵³ Mantra is the pulsation of consciousness within the flow of the breath. Mantra practice
initially starts in the domain of the Individual Means (āṇavopāya). Purifying thought, it
induces penetration and absorption into the energy of Śiva consciousness (śāktāveśa). It
is then the adept’s higher mind (cittaṁ mantraḥ ŚSū 2/1) that is absorbed into the
Śāmbhava state of supreme consciousness. Purified and freed of thought constructs,
penetrating into Śiva and penetrated by Him, it becomes the Great Mantra
(mahāmantra), which is the reflective awareness of authentic, uncreated ‘I’
consciousness. The pure spontaneity of the freedom of this pure reflective awareness,
free of objectivity (because it generates it), effortlessly develops by the power of the
Lord’s most intense form of grace into the Inexplicable, where there is nothing to do,
nor has anything ever taken place.
What Abhinava is saying here about Mantra he has already said about the
breath in his introduction to the previous chapter. All forms of Āṇavopāya practice are
grounded in the power of the activity of consciousness, which manifests in that of the
psychophysical organism and the outside world. As such, they are all inevitably
involved in objectivity. Their efficacy as means to realisation is by virtue of their
grounding in the dynamism of consciousness.
4 CHAPTER SEVEN

qPṬITTgTTHTJYTCTITĀĪTTTRT | 3 I

TGāTTTTĪTTGTSSIT T-ĪTRASTTVTḤ I * II
TḤ-āīaṁāī] ā-āTāīc²̃ ũāafā |
yathāraghaṭṭacakrāgṛraghaṭīyantraughavāhanam || 3 ||
ekānuṣaṁdhiyatnena citraṁ yantrodayaṁ bhajet |
ekānuṣaṁdhānabalāj jāte mantrodaye ‘niśam || 4 I|
tanmantradevatā yatnāt tādātmyena praṣīdati |

A waterwheel moves a series of machines for raising water located

in front of it, and (so) possesses (bhajet) the varied emergent (activity of
the) machines (it sets into operation) by (its) single, unified exertion.
Similarly, when Mantras arise by the strength of a single (one-pointed and)
continuous application (of attention and intention) (anusaṅdhāna), the
deity of those Mantras, because it is at one with them, becomes propitious
by virtue of (that) exertion (yatnāt). (3cd-5ab)

Here (in this example), the sole purpose of the waterwheel is to make
other machines work, (by the) varied filling and emptying of the jars (tied to)
the wheel (that, as it rotates,) face up and down.⁶ Thus, just by virtue of ‘(its)
single, unified (exertion)ʼ, ‘a waterwheel possesses (bhajet) the varied
emergent (activity of the) machines (it sets into operation)ʼ, without
interruption, to accomplish (its task). In the same way, by the adept’s ‘single
(one-pointed and) continuous application (of attention and intention)³ to the
arising of Mantras, he not only accomplishes that, (but also) ‘the deity of those
Mantras,⁷ because it is at one with them, becomes propitiousʼ, without any
further exertion (to make it so), as it is not different (from the Mantras
themselves).
The overall sense is as follows. Just as a waterwheel that makes
(another) machine work accomplishes various (tasks) without there being any
need to exert (any) other (force), in the same way, the adept who exerts himself
(in the practice of) the emergence of Mantras (within the cyclic flow of the
breath attains) oneness with supreme consciousness. Thus, in this way, one may
certainly affirm that the emergence of the cycles (of Mantras in the flow of the
breath serves as) an instrumental means to achieve supreme consciousness. This
is what is being said (here).⁸

⁶ In the same way, the breath ‘faces upʼ in the course of exhalation and ‘down’ when
exhaling. Thus, it fills and empties as it moves through each cycle, driving as it does so
the machine of the body, senses and mind, along with the energy of the Mantras recited
in consonance with it.
⁷ Read with MS Kh, tanmantradevatāpi for etanmantradevatāpi.
⁸ The simile of the waterwheel illustrates how a single source of energy can drive
several machines, so that more than one task can be accomplished at the same time. In
the same way, the effort a person exerts to apply himself to the practice (sādhaka) of
generating Mantras in consonance with the flow of the breath gives rise to many results,
 TANTRĀLOKA 5⁵
He (now) explains (how the cycles of Mantras arise in the flow of the
breath):

The Arising of Mantras in the Flow of the Breath

a dahīa fṁzāīr³ ṁa# fṣārsīr=ā u u. u

fīāī T ūēaātī frōṛāīrcgeāīn: |
TṬ TaaāīṬōī] TJ̄ ³ḷd sSJSJTĪ || . |)
raāīmīstr̥ēēāī]
fkrcṝ fēṇēṝaāeṃī
azā Jē̄TTTA TRYTĪĪ STTTĪ JĀḤ I .9 1
aē fīāēi q vvũcāĩṁ
aṇṀ√ç 1
īī̄], āīīrīāī āōĩīaakẼ|kĩ
ç
.GRḷGIĀCḶVGCUEEṢ
r̥P³Ṃ=̄2vṬṝaāṝ-āī
kftṝ āraṝa || <
raaṁ
Uhīāfṣṣa
a.nttz:tṝar fōaām'āā|
TTEYI JTĪTT ṜĒAAT JIGJĪTĪ̄ | 2 0 |]
TĪRTITĪ gJFtēṬ JṬaāīīṁ fkcō TīgŪī |
fṝrēṇṁ
aaḷfḷ̃
tār yaṁrfē
āī 22 1
-ÇGNIRITĪ aṬ[s#̄: *ĀIITT ṬḤCIT]ḥ |

āīaz
āāṛsī sīīgaṁī
ra q ṛṁ
heaī̄ | ī
2.3 1.
ITGṬGTTTR̄ TTṬRṬIĪ Tēāīai; |
³rRfēzṝaī aza ōīaāgrata
ṛdī ār ā³ || g3|
Tāfāv’tr aT ̄īzā
rṛīī Jq īḥ1|
qfdiīṁṝ̄āṝaīd qaaāīstzarṁāīā: I| 2: 1
Jīātēḥ Tēīaīh ũavĩdt aṣāraāī: |
fiāā
ṁ̄ amĩ̄fd
ōṬīā̄āqaaṁē
tī̄ 1 2.
šczx ftvaāīrāṝ. fīveṇzīq ōērāīq 1
TSTTI
YITĪ ] ĀTṬŪAḤ
I- I Ṝē. I
qaāTrraāēīā+ frvraātzŪazz vrērq |
r’ṁtīarāīa’ aṁtzf̄sṁaī vŪēdç ú 29 1
ultimately even the achievement of oneness with supreme consciousness. Exertion in
this way does lead to its attainment, but it is only an indirect, instrumental means to it.
The only direct cause can be the grace and freedom of that consciousness, which is the
Deity of all Mantras.
6 CHAPTER SEVEN

TG-TJĨĨR̥Tē
īēē 3ēaī: JTTITTTI |
=ī Ṣ Tvīācaāī%
aṛaṛ fṣīāī arq 1 2¢ 1
TTRTĪ
7P fgJīāīāaī d-q 1
khe rasaikākṣi nityotthe tadardhaṁ dvikapiṇḍake || 5 I
trike sapta sahaṣrāṇi dviśatītyudayo mataḥ |
catuṣke tu sahasrāṇi pañca caiva catuḥśat |I 6 ||
pañcārṇe ‘bdhisahasrāṇi triśatī viṁśatis tathā |
satke sahasratritayaṁ ṣaṭśatī codayo bhavet | 7 I|
saptake trisahasraṁ tu ṣaḍaśītyadhikaṁ smrtam ḷ
śatais tu saptaviṁśatyā varṇāsṣṭakavikalpite || 8 |I
caturviṁśatiśatyā tu navārṇeṣūdayo bhavet |
adhiṣaṣṭyekaviṁśatyā śatānāṁ daśavarṇake || 9 |
ekānnavīṁśatiśataṁ catuḥs Śivārṇake |
aṣṭādaśa śatāni syur udayo dvādaśārṇake || 10 ||
trayodaśārṇe dvāṣ śatāni kila ṣoḍaśa |
tricatvārīṁśatā pañcadaśeti bhuvanārṇake || 1 1 |
caturdaśaśatī khābdhiḥ syāt pañcadaśavarṇake |
trayodaśaśatī sārdhā ṣoḍaśārṇe tu kathyate || 12 ||
šatadvādaśikā saptadaśārṇe saikasaptatiḥ |
astādaśārṇe vijñeyā śatadvādaśikā budhaiḥ || 13 II
caturviṁśatisaṁkhyāke cakre navaśatī bhavet |
saptaviṁśatisaṁkhyāte tīdayo ‘ṣṭaśatātmakaḥ || 14 II
dvātriṁśake mahācakre ṣaṭśatī pañcasaptatiḥ |
dvicaturviṁśake cakre sārdhāṁ śatacatuṣṭayīm || 15 |l
udayaṁ piṇḍayogajñaḥ piṇḍamantreṣu lakṣayet |
catuṣpañcāśake cakre śatānāṁ tu catuṣṭayam || 16 ||
saptatriṁśatsahārdhena triśatyaṣṭāṣṭake bhavet |
ardhamardhatribhāgaś ca ṣatṣasṭir dviśatī bhavet /|I 17 |I
ekāśītipade cakre udayaḥ prāṇacāragaḥ |
cakre tu ṣaṇṇavatyākhye sapādā dviśatī bhavet || 18 II
aṣṭottaraśate cakre dviśatas tūdayo bhavet |

⁹A monosyllabic Mantra arises (spontaneously) constantly 21,600

times, (that is, once for each breathing cycle, in the course of twenty-four
hours).¹⁰ If it consists of two syllables, half this number; if three, it is
considered to arise 7,200 (times); if four, 5,400; if five, 4,320; if six, it arises
3,600 (times); if seven, it is said to be 3,086 (times); if formed by eight, 2,700
(times); if nine syllables arise, 2,400; if ten, 2,160; if they are eleven

⁹ Jayaratha clearly states that ‘this is not said just from our own imagination, it is stated
directly in scripture’, and goes on to the Yoginīkaula, thereby identifying Abhinava’s
source for us. Although Abhinava has reworked and condensed it extensively, the third
line of Jayaratha’s citation from the Yoginīkaula (ad 7/5cd-19ab) is reproduced without
variants in TĀ 7/6ab, thus establishing that the entire passage is drawn from the
Yoginīkaula.
¹⁰ See above, 6/127.
 TANTRĀLOKA 7
syllables, 1,964; if twelve syllables, 1,800; if thirteen, 1,662; if fourteen,
1,543; if fifteen, 1,440; if sixteen syllables, they are said to be 1,350; if
seventeen syllables, 1,271; if eighteen, the wise should know that they are
1,200; and if the cycle (cakra) is of 24 syllables, (it arises) 900 times; if they
number twenty-seven, 800 times; if it is a great wheel of thirty-two
(syllables), 675 times; if it is a cycle of twice twenty-four (syllables), 450; if
fifty-four, 400; if eight times eight, 337 with half remaining;¹ if it is a cycle
of eighty-one parts, 266 times with a half and a third of a half remaining;¹²
if ninety-six, the arising within the movement of the vital breath (takes
place) 225 (times); and if it is a cycle of one hundred and eight, 200. The
wise man who knows the conjunction of seed syllables (pindayoga) should
observe (their) emergence (in this way within the flow of the breath). (Ścd-
19ab)

(Mantra arises) ‘spontaneously constantly’ because the flow of the

vital breath is constant, and there are 21,600 (breathing) cycles (in twenty-four
hours). This is the meaning. In this way, a single monosyllabic Mantra arises
with each breathing cycle, and so that is the number of (times it) arises (in
twenty-four hours), because it is in concord with that (cycle).³ In that way, (just
as a) monosyllabic Mantra arises for each cycle of the breath, and so Mantras
consisting of two or more syllabic letters arise in progressively decreasing
numbers (in twenty-four hours), according to whether they take up a half, a
third, (or less of number) of the breathing cycles that occur regularly (each day).
Thus, he says: ‘if it consists of two syllables, half this number°. The half of
this (number, which is) 21,600, is 10,800. In this case, the intention is to make
the time it takes for two natural cycles of the breath to arise as that of one (two-
syllabled Mantra). Everywhere without exception (we will) declare that ‘one
should repeat Mantras in consonance with the breath’. Thus it is said here that
(Mantra is) produced (in this way) with effort. (A Mantra consisting of three
syllables arises) 7,200 (times in a day and night), if one wishes to make the time
it takes for three natural cycles of the breath to arise as that of one (recitation of
the Mantra). One should understand the same (utatis mutandis) in the
subsequent (cases mentioned) here.
(Note that in the case of the repetition of a Mantra consisting of seven
syllables, stating that it is repeated in this way) ‘3,086’ (times a day) is an
approximation; (the correct figure is 3,085.71). Thus, there are four extra
breathing cycles (per day, i.e. 21,604). Accordingly, here (in this case) one
should decrease a part (of the time it takes for each cycle) slightly, in order to
make (the result) agree with the calculation. This is not said just from our own
imagination, it is stated directly in the scripture. Again, we have not presented
an analysis of the calculation (involved) here, for fear of making the book too
long, and because it would serve no purpose.

' 337 x 64 = 21,568. This is 32 (half of 64) less than 21,600.

¹ 81 x 266 = 21,546. Thus 54 is left over, which is half of 81 (40%2) and a third ofa half
(1312).
'³ Read tadanuguṇyāt for tadanuguṇyāt.
8 CHAPTER SEVEN
A (Mantra) that arises 2,160 (times in the course of a day and night)
consists of ten syllables. `“1,964° is an approximation (for the number of times
an eleven-syllable Mantra arises in twenty-four hours; the actual figure is
1963.6¹⁴). In this way, there are four (tenths) extra (of a breathing cycle. `1,662”
is (also) an approximation, as there is halfa breathing cycle extra.¹⁵ `1,543 is an
approximation, because there are two (tenths) extra (with respect to the stated
number of) breathing cycles." ‘1,271’ is an approximation, because it is more
than (twelve hundred and) seventy (but not quite twelve hundred and seventy-
one).¹⁷
There is no intention here to state a regular numerical sequence. Thus,
there is nothing wrong if the subsequent wheels after (these) first nineteen have
not been mentioned. What (he) intends to say here is just that one must exert an
effort to make each cycle (of Mantra) arise for each breathing cycle, and that
that will be achieved in this way. ‘Twice twenty-four” is forty-eight. ‘Eight
times eight’ is sixty-four. ‘With half remaining’, in such a way that it includes
the remaining thirty-two cycles. ‘With a half and a third of a half remainingʼ’,
in such a way that there should be forty and a half and thirteen and a half
breathing cycles, which, added together, make the calculation correct.⁸ As is
said in the venerable Yoginīkaula, (in a passage) beginning with:
‘The regular emergence (of the breath) (nityodita) takes place 21,600
times (in twenty-four hours, as does a single-syllable Mantra). When there are
two (syllables), (it emerges) 10,800 (times). When there are three, the arising (of
the Mantra) is said (to take place) 7,200 (times), and when there are four, 5,400
(times). Those who adhere to the teaching concerning the arising of the breath
(udayavādin)⁰⁹ should know that (in the case of a) five-syllable (Mantra), it is
said that is arises 4,320 (times), and when six, it is said to arise 3,600 (times).
When seven, it is said to (arise) 3,086 (times)³, and ending with: ‘in the case of
a cycle consisting of a syllabic Mantra (mantrapiṇḍa) of 108 syllables, it is said
to arise 200 (times) and bestows all accomplishments.”

Nor should one stop with just this. And so, he says:

JTTraT
īē ũaṣhaaāṁ fẽṬSĪ JaI |M 2.. 1|
iḻIŚṀkĒFUARGĀNEIḺEJ³EEEf
Ḷṭṭ:káeaútzitúit#ēzcEḻṬETI
JTṬGFĪĒATA] JPTJÑṢTGETĪ |

¹“ The figures stated here are just to the first decimal place.
'³ Read ardhaprāṇacāram for ṣaṇṇāṁ prāṇacārāṇām. The number of times a thirteen-
syllable Mantra actually arises in twenty-four hours is 1661.5 times.
'⁰ The actual number of times a fourteen-syllable Mantra arises in twenty-four hours is
actually 1542.8. The true difference is only 0.2 of a breathing cycle.
' To be precise, a seventeen syllable Mantra arises 1270.5 times in twenty-four hours.
'⁴ 40.5 + 13.5 = 54. Dividing 21,600 by 81, we get approximately 266.6, which is fifty-
four cycles short.
'⁹ Read with MS KH -codayavādibhiḥ for -codayavāhibhiḥ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 9
krameṇettham idaṁ cakraṁ ṣaṭ kṛtvo dviguṇaṁ yadā l| 19 l|
tato ‘pi dviguṇe ʻṣṭāṁśasyārdham adhyardham ekakam |
tato ʻpi sūkṣmakuśalair ardhārdhādiprakalpane || 20 l|
bhāgaṣoḍaśakasthityā sūkṣmasś cāro ‘bhilakṣyate |

If one multiplies in this way this cycle (of 108) by two, six times²
consecutively and then again by two, (one arrives at a cycle that arises) one
and a half tīmes plus one sixteenth (in twenty-four hours). The more subtle
and expert (yogis) who, basing themselves on (these) sixteenths, dividing
them progressively in half, observe (the increasingly) subtle movement of
the breath.²¹ (19cd-21ab)

‘If one multiplies in this way’, that is, in the manner about to be
described, ‘this cycle’ of 108 (syllables) ‘by two, six times consecutivelyʼ,²
we first of all get (cycles ranging from) 216 up to 6,912 (syllables).²³ Then,
when that is doubled also, we get a cycle of 13,824 (syllables) that arises
(approximately) one half times an eighth, that is, one sixteenth part of the
breathing cycle (in twenty-four hours).³²⁴ This is the meaning. Then after that
also, ‘the subtle and expert’ yogis who have mounted up onto the supreme
level (paradhārā), having divided up the sixteenths by half and then half again
etc., ‘observe (the increasingly) subtle’, that is, know extremely small parts of
the movement of the breath. This the meaning.
The overall sense here is as follows. Reckoning in this way, a cycle of
(a Mantra consisting of) 345,600 (syllables)² arises for one sixteenth part of a
breathing cycle. Dividing that in half, a cycle of (a Mantra consisting of) a cycle
of 691,200 (syllables) (arises) in one thirty-second part. Imagining that also in
the same way (divided in half), then a wheel of 1,382,400 (syllables) arises for

²⁰ Read ~ktvā for —kṛtvo.

³! Jayaratha does not supply the passage from which Abhinava has drawn this teaching.
Itis possible that there was none, but this is unlikely. The previous passage is complete,
and so it may be possible that Abhinava added a practice of his own accord. But that is
unlikely. His exegetical agenda promotes interpretation which may also be experiential,
but not personal elaboration of practice.
What follows from 22cd to 40 is Abhinava’s explanation of why this practice
leads to liberation, and what that is. We have seen in the preceding chapter how the
breathing cycle is an epitome of the cycles of time. Thus, the cessation of the breath
amounts to the elimination of time, and the passage into the eternity of consciousness. In
the verses that follow, Abhinava explains that that is possible because cognitive
consciousness is engaged in each act of perception, and that is in two phases. The first is
nonconceptual, immediate, and undifferentiated, whereas the second, its opposite,
differentiates conceptually the transition from one act of perception to the next, thus
producing a sense of the passage of time. When the breath comes to a halt, the
absorption of the second phase into the first is experienced as the cessation of the
passage of time. This is the work of Kālasaṁkarṣiṇī, the Goddess of Consciousness,
who consumes time by absorbing the vital breath (cf. below, 15/335cd-338).
²² Read with MS K —kṛtvā for -kṛtvo.
³ 108 x 2 = 21|6 x 2 = 432. x 2 = 864 x 2 = 1728 x 2 = 3456 x 2 = 6,912.
²⁴ 21,600 divided by 13,824 = 1.56.
²⁹ 345,600 divided by 21,600 = sixteen.
10 CHAPTER SEVEN
one sixty-fourth part. Yogis can perceive a movement of the breath as small as
this.²⁶
Well then, of what use is it for yogis to perceive (their Mantras and
breathing) in this way? With this question in mind, he says:

The Rhythm of Mantra, the Pulse of Perception and

the Eternity of Consciousness

G JṬGTGTGITTHTS āĪTT: I/22 1I

hHUĪ TITTSdIS] ŪIT TSTĪTSTT<T |

evaṁ prayatnasaṁruddhaprāṇacārasya yoginaḥ || 21 I|

krameṇa prāṇacārasya grāsa evopajāyate |

*Tn this way, the movement of the vital breath (prāṇṉacāra) of the
yogi whose breathing has been controlled with effort is progressively
consumed (grāsa).³⁸ (21cd-22ab)

¹⁶ To sum up: these cycles of Mantra consist of 216, 432, 864, 1,728, 3,456, 6,912, and
13,824 syllables. The 108-syllable cycle arises 200 times in one day and night (= 21,600
breaths). The others of 216 syllables arises 100 times; 432 syllables, 50 times; 864
syllables 25 times; 1,728 syllables, 12%2 times; 3,456 syllables, 6%4 times; 6,912
syllables, 3 and 1/8* times; and that of 13,824 syllables, 1/16" time. One cycle of
345,600 syllables would arise only a 16¹ of the time of a day and night, one of 691,200
syllables for a 32* of that time, one of 1,382,400 for a 64" of that time, and so on.
²⁷ In the following passage from 21cd to 39, Abhinava explains how the activity of
consciousness develops into cognition, both indeterminate (nirvikalpa) and determinate
(vikalpa). The ṛhythm of momentary perception is consonant with that of the breath
because they share an essentially common nature and source. He concludes that:
‘therefore, (as the cyclic activity of the breath is an aspect of the cyclic activity of
cognitive consciousness, which is the foundation of all spiritual discipline), the
repetition of Mantra, the fire sacrifice, worship and the rest should be performed in
consonance with the breath.’ (TĀ 7/39cd).
²⁸ The progressive increase in the length of a Mantra entails that it is recited a
correspondingly decreasing number of times in twenty-four hours. This way of
understanding the practice presumes that one breathing cycle corresponds to one
syllable of the Mantra. Thus, a single syllable Mantra, if repeated once for every
breathing cycle, is repeated 21,600 times a day. Swami Lakshmanjoo understands the
practice the other way around. The number of breathing cycles in twenty-four hours
decreases in proportion to the length of the Mantra.
He explains that: ‘the yogi who has controlled the movement of his breathing
by making this kind of effort, after just a short time, due to that his breathing is
completely consumed (into consciousness), and he becomes established in the
contemplative absorption brought about by the consumption of the breath
(prāṇagrāsasamādhi). Thus immersed in this contemplation brought about by the
consumption of the breath, he abides constantly in a state free of thought constructs
(nirvikalpāvasthā). This is because a person becomes a victim of his intentions and
thoughts due to the movement of the breath. Whereas if he has controlled his breathing,
he is then constantly in control of his intentions and thoughts, as is said in the following
verse. The sense (of that verse) is that by means of the contemplative absorption brought
 TANTRĀLOKA 11

about by the consumption of the breath, the consciousness of the yogi being in the form
in which time is consumed always shines within the abode free of thought constructs.
Then, after having practiced the emergence of the cycle of a two-syllable
Mantra (dvikapiṇḍakacakrodaya), the yogi goes on with great effort to practice the
emergence of the cycle of a three-syllable Mantra (trikapiṇḍakacakrodaya). Through
this practice the adept extends the length of his breathing further. As a result, he
breathes just 7,200 times in the course of a day and a night. Once he has achieved this,
the yogi continues with great effort to go on extending the length of his breathing. At
the end, he attains the status of the Lord of the Cycles (cakreśvara). At this stage, the
length of the breath has been extended very much, and so it moves only two hundred
times in the course of a day and night. Here (at this point, the yogi) has reached the
ultimate state of the practice of cakrodaya. Once he has reached this state, this king of
yogis always abides in the Supreme Abode, and here he attains mastery of the Cycles of
Time within the sphere of transmigratory existence. Then, as TĀ 7/30ab declares, this
Abode of Consciousness is the ultimately real state (ṣthiti), where there is no
differentiation of time (kālakalanā) of any kind.⁷ Swami Lakshmanjoo then goes on to
quote SSt 12/5, which is also quoted by Jayaratha in his commentary to that line, that is:

‘Neither ‘always’ nor ‘then’ nor even ‘once’ ~ where no perception of time
exists, that is the vision (darśana) of You that can neither be called eternal nor
otherwise.³

TSRP p. 67: “The kind of perception of the differentiation of time such as

‘always’, ‘then’, ‘once’ or ‘always’ does not exist in the highest state of the supreme
abode. That, O Lord! is said to be the state of the direct experience of Your own nature,
and that state is neither eternal nor not eternal.’

According to Swami Lakshmaṇjoo, this practice is called cakrodaya, because

in the course of practice, the adept experiences the piercing (vedha) of the six cakras. In
the TSRP (p. 67ff.) Swami Lakshmanjoo reports that his teacher taught that this practice
should be done in the following way.
‘The yogi should sit in the lotus posture, and having made the cycle of the
breath very long, he should extend and shorten it (alternately, at will). At the same time,
he should meditate on the location of the heart and the external twelve finger space with
every cycle of the breath. It is important that as he does this, the body should not move
at all. In this way, in a short time, the yogi’s breath becomes extremely subtle. After
that, his vital breath (prāṇa) merges spontaneously by itself into the channel of
suṣumnā. This form of the flow of the vital breath reaches the location of mālādhāra
directly. There the yogi experiences that milādhāracakra is rotating with great force.
After that, the flow of the vital breath travels upwards from mālādhāracakra up to the
wheel in the navel. In that state the yogi experiences that both mālādhāracakra and the
navel cakra are rotating. After that, the flow of the vital breath moves upwards from the
cakra in the navel to the wheel located in the heart. There the yogi experiences that the
three wheels of mālādhāra, the navel and the heart, are rotating together. After that, the
current of the vital breath flows upwards spontaneously by itself to the wheel located in
the throat. The yogi then experiences that the wheels from mūlādhāra to the one located
in the throat are all rotating with great force. After that, as the yogi rests in the Middle
Channel, the current of the vital breath effortlessly moves up to the wheel located in the
palate. Once he reaches there, he experiences that all the wheels from the wheel of
mūlādhāra onwards are rotating. Then, at the end, he experiences that the flow of the
vital breath in the wheel located in the throat has entered into the place between the
eyebrows above it. In that state, the yogi experiences that all the wheels, that is, those of
12 CHAPTER SEVEN
(The movement of the breath) is ‘consumed’ because it does not arise
again in a manner which is adverse (to the attainment of supreme
consciousness) (viruddhatayā).
And so, what happens (to the yogi)? With this question in mind, he
says:

IPĒÑHJÑHĪATGTTGTGĀTĪRTT: I| 32 1
fācēēha īī aīāīātzzāītē
prāṇagrāsakramāvāptakālasaṅkarṣaṇasthitiḥ || 22. ||
saṅṁvid ekaiva pūrṇã syãj jñānabhedavyapohanāt |

The state in which time is dragged (into and consumed within

consciousness) (kālasaṁkarṣaṇasthiti)⁸⁹² obtains (in consonance) with the
process by which the breath is consumed. (When this process is complete,)
consciousness is one alone and (perfectly) full (integral and all-embracing)
(pūrṇā), by setting aside (vyapohana) the relative distinctions (of discursive
conceptual) knowledge (jūñānabheda). (22cd-23ab)

(He now) explains how it is possible for the relative distinction (of
discursive conceptual) knowledge (jīānabheda) to be set aside.

e fē vmīmz īzaīzā
atf 1 23 1
3ī īō³ciīṁāī
āīā¥ī: Jāēūq |
tathā hi prāṇacārasya navasyānudaye ṣati || 23 ||
na kālabhedajanito jñānabhedaḥ prakalpate |

When in this way a new movement of the breath does not arise, the
duality (of discursive conceptual) knowledge generated by temporal
distinctions is no (longer) conceived. (23cd-24ab)

The directly evident foundation (adhiṣṭhāna) of (the passage) of time is

the vital breath, and so when the vital breath does not arise, time would also not
arise. Thus, if that does not exist, the duality (bheda) of knowledge it generates

mūlādhāra, the navel, the heart, the throat, the uvula (lambikā) and Ājñācakra, in the
centre between the eyebrows, are rotating. After that the eight yogic powers, namely,
the power to make oneself small at will (aṇima) and the rest this king of yogis
possesses, arise. The following verse is the authority (that attests to the reality of this
process).⁷ Swami Lakshmanjoo goes on to quote TĀ 29/237-8.
²⁹ The word ‘saṅkarṣaṇa’ literally means ‘dragging (inward)’ or ‘attraction’ and
‘reabsorption’. See TSā p. 60. Thus, the expression kālasaṁkarṣaṇasthiti literally
means, ‘the state in which time is dragged’ (into and consumed within consciousness).
 TANTRĀLOKA 13
could not exist, and so it is rightly said that (in that case), ‘consciousness is one
alone and (perfectly) full (integral and all-embracing) (pārṇā)²
.⁰
Surely then (one may ask), by the process of consuming the vital breath
(prāṇagrāsa), time is also consumed. Thus, if duality (bheda) is associated with
it, then (it follows that) it is absent in consciousness. (Temporal distinctions)
will be associated with its object of knowledge (when tīme and the breath
emerge from it) in such a way that there is a division (vibhāga) between ‘this is
the perception of blue’ and ‘this is the perception of yellow’ (which comes after
it). Thus, (if consciousness were to be) just that, how could its oneness be
established (in such a way that the variety of perceptions do not compromise its
unity)? With this question in mind, he says:

gazṛvcīa zṁ frs frēftgaq 1 Ṝx 1

saṁvedyabhedānna jñānaṁ bhinnaṁ Śikharivrttavat || 24 ||

Perception (jñūāna) is not divided (bhinna) by the multiplicity of the

objects of knowledge, as is the case with (a person) standing on the peak of
a mountain (who sees a town below as a single undivided whole).³¹ (24cd)

¹⁰ A single perception, however diverse its content, is a single undivided whole. The
sense of diversity we experience is due to the succession of perceptions. The difference
between them is essentially their occurrence at different times. One perceives first one
thing and then another. In the course of the transition from one perception to the next,
conceptual labels are attached to their contents in order to identify them. In this way, we
get two perceptions of, for example, ‘blue’ and ‘yellow’, distinguished from one another
by mutual exclusion, that is, by perceiving that ‘blue’ is not ‘yellow’ and ‘yellow’ is not
‘blue’. Thus, this dualistic conceptual representation, which is the basis of all daily life,
takes place in time. Indeed, it is its basis. The immediate, direct perception which takes
place in the present moment, whatever be its content, is non-temporal and hence free of
duality. We have seen that breath and Time are co-extensive. The cycle of time
(kālacakra) and that of the breath (prāṇacakra) are the same. In this perspective, the
divide between the Silence of pure direct experience, free of discursive representations,
and the Sound of the secondary, indirect experience of the dualistic discursive
representation of that Silence is the stream of Time and the corresponding movement of
the breath. By consuming the breath, time is consumed, and with it, dualistic, temporal
perception. What remains is the immediacy of the present pure consciousness, shining
as both the perceiver and the perceived.
In this way, Abhinava links the rhythm of the breath with that of perception,
and then that with the pulse of universal consciousness. When the breath moves, thought
constructs form (vikalpa). When it rests, pure nonconceptual consciousness comes to the
fore. Thus, as awareness deepens and expands, physical action that can be measured in
time and space is transcended progressively into the timeless moments of acts of
perception. This ‘time’ of the eternal present also disappears, once recognised to be in
consonance with the eternal, timeless pulse (spanda) of consciousness.
³! A man standing on a mountain sees the surrounding landscape below him as a single
unified whole. Instead of seeing individual houses, he will see a town. Similarly, each
perception - ‘knowledge’ – partakes of the all-embracing wholeness of consciousness. It
is only apparently broken up by the series of conceptions focused on the individual
contents of the initial fundamental, undivided perception, which is nonconceptual and
undifferentiated. Cf. PTv p. 104-107:
 14 CHAPTER SEVEN
The multiplicity of the objects of knowledge cannot (by itself) alone
divide up consciousness. Thus, how is it possible for there to be one (unified)
perception of a town, for example, even though each of the houṣes is an object
of perception with a different name etc.” And so, he says (that the town is seen
as a single whole) ‘as is the case with (a person) standing on the peak of a
mountain’. The sense is that for a man standing on an elevated piece of ground,
only one (thing) manifests (to him), which consists of every single (individual
thing) that (collectively) manifests (before him). As they say:

‘Therefore, even if there is an outer reality, the mind (dhī) (that

perceives it) is one, (but its) form is as if multiple, because it perceives many
(things) (but that does) not entail that it is as if it were many.³

Therefore, (a single unitary perception is not divided up by its contents);

it is time that divides (perceptions) up. (The unit of that form of time) is

evam eṣa svaprakāśaikarūpo ʻpi artho yuktyā – p. 105) pradarśyate – yat yat
svasāmarthyodbhūtoútarakālikārthakriyāyogyatādivaśaniḥśeṣyamāṇasatyatāvaśāvāpta-
vicalasaṁvādaṁ virodhāvabhāsi saṁmatakramikavikalpyamānanīlādiniṣṭhavikalpa-
pūrvabhāvinirvikalpasaṁvidrūpam |

‘Although in this way this (particular) entity (artha) is one with self-luminous
(consciousness), it is made apparent (in a specific individual form) in the manner (yukti)
(mow going to be explained). Consciousness free of thought constructs precedes (the
formation of) conceptual distinctions (vikalpa) grounded in (objects,) such as the colour
blue, that are in the process of being conceptualized in accord with one another. The
unwavering consonance (between the manifestations within consciousness) is attained
due to (their common fundamental) reality (satyatā), that continuously homologizes
(everything) without exception in accord with, for example, (their) functional efficacy
(arthakriyāyogyata), that arises subsequently (after the first moment of prediscursive
consciousness), from their own inherent power (svasāmārthya). (This same
nondiscursive consciousness) makes conflicting differences manifest (virodhāvabhāṣin).

tattadyikalpanīyavairuddhābhimatanīlapītādyābhāsāvibhāgi bhavati yathā citrajñāna-

Śśikharasthasaṁṅvinmecakabodhādi yat tu tadviruddharūpanīlapītādyābhāsāvibhaktaṁ
na bhavati tattadanantasyasāmarthyodbhūtanīlapīādyābhāsavikalpapūrvabhāgy api p.
106) na bhavati yathā nīlaikasākṣātkāri jñānam bhavati ca idam astamitodeṣyad-
ubhayavikalpajñānāntarālavarti ummeṣapratibhādi śabdāgamagītaṁ nirvikalpakam |

It is divided up into the manifestation of blue and yellow etc., that are
considered to be (such on the basis) of each (corresponding) conceptually exclusive
distinction. (Even s0,) like the variegated (unified) perception of the consciousness of
one who stands on the top of a mountain, or the perception of the eye of a peacockʼs
feather, it is not divided up by the manifestations of blue and yellow etc. that are
contrary in nature. Although it precedes the thought constructs pertaining to the
manifestations of blue and yellow etc. that have come forth from the endless capacity
(consciousness has to do) each particular thing, it is not as is the perception that
perceives a single (entity such as) blue. (This consciousness,) free of thought constructs,
that is praised in the scriptures with such terms as ‘expansion’ (unmeṣa) and ‘creative
genius’ (pratibhā) etc., is present in the gap between both the thought constructs that are
about to fall away.”
 TANTRĀLOKA 15
considered to be an extremely subtle moment, due to which, (just) after a
perception has arisen, it ceases (nirodha), (to give way to the following one).
He says that:

āīōq] VCGT T q Tāā: īĪ Td |

kālas tu bhedakas tasya sa tu sūkṣmaḥ kṣaṇo mataḥ |

It is time that divides up (perception), and that in (its most) subtle

(form) is considered to be an instant (kṣaṇa). (25ab)

The word ‘and’ signals the cause.³² ‘That’ is time.

Surely (one could ask), is there some limit to (the degree of time’s)
subtlety? With this question in mind, he says:

dīrāa, sīṛaṀkīṁ araṁrsēfā aN er: || Q..1|

saukṣmyasya cāvadhir jñānaṁ yāvat tiṣṭhati sa kṣaṇaḥ || 25 I|

The limit of (temporal) subtlety is ‘the instant’ (kṣaṇa), which is the

duration (of a moment of) perception. (25cd)

The (essential) being (sattā) of perception is cut off (paricchinnā) at

both its fixed extremes (that is, when it begins and ends). The meaning is that (a
moment) is its (essential) being.
Surely (one may ask), why is it said to be delimited by something else
in this way? With this question in mind, he says:

aṛzṣaī 7 q frē̃s frīttī á

anyathā na sa nirvaktuṁ nipuṇair api pāryate |

(This must be so,) otherwise even the most skilful (and clever)
would not be able to explain it. (26ab)

The meaning is that an instant is a tiny fraction (lava) of time which is

without parts and indivisible. (Time could not be explained) ‘otherwise’ (in any
other way apart from this, its most) directly (evident) characteristic. Saying that
after (a perception) has arisen, it ceases, one is referring in this way to its
beginning and end, and as that is so (and they exist), there must certainly also be
a centre (between them). Thus, it follows that (perception) has three parts
(aṁśa), namely, a beginning, middle and end. Thus, (even if one) intends to
denote (the minimum unit of time,) which has no parts, (one necessarily has to)
refer (to time as) having parts. As they say:

‘Just as there is an end of an instant, in the same way, one must

conceive it to have a beginning and a middle. As the essential nature of a

³² Time divides up perception because it consists of moments of perception.

16 CHAPTER SEVEN
moment is such, the empirical world (loka) does not abide (for even a)
moment.³

In this way:

‘Moreover, one should think the beginning, middle and end (each) to be
as is a moment.”

Reflecting in this way, in accord with the stated reasoning, on the parts
of that (moment), namely, beginning, middle and end, the same (reasoning
cannot be) applied to each of these (parts) in the same way, because that would
lead to an infinite regress, and so nothing at all could be established (to exist).
So, ‘even the wisest’ would not be able to define (time),³³ or even if they did
(do so, their definition) could not develop (into a sound understanding of its
nature).³⁴
Surely (then, one could ask that) if that is so, what is the limit of (an act
of) perception, that it (may be) described (in this way)? With this question in
mind, he says:

3ā fṁzāT-ērāTāīī̄īTaāī
JTS 1| 2ē, I
jñānaṁ kiyad bhavet tāvat tadabhāvo na bhasate || 26 ||

(One may ask,) how long is (a moment of) perception (jñāna)? (To
which we reply, that the limit of the measure of a perception is up to the
point in which it ceases and) its non-existence manifests. (26cd)

¹³ Read kartuṁ for karta.

³⁴ Although one may seek to define the minimum unit of time as an ‘instant’ (kṣana)
devoid of parts (that is, further temporal subdivisions), if it is related to empirical
experience, it must necessarily have three aspects, corresponding to its beginning
(which is emanation), middle (which is persistence), and end (which is withdrawal).
Again, each of the three aspects must have a beginning, middle or end, and each of these
the same three again, and so on ad infinitum. Thuṣ, it is not possible to formulate a
definition of time in these terms. The best one can do is to consider the shortest possible
period of time of which we can be aware to be an instant, as a single irreducible unit of
perception.
³⁹ tad abhāvo bhāsate. According to the realist view of the Naiyāyikas, ‘non-existence’
or the ‘absence of existence’ is something, in the sense that it is an entity that can be
verbally denoted (padārtha). Moreover, it is that ‘some thing’ which is the counter-
correlate of existence. The existence of a table, for example, at some particular place
and specific time, entails the non-existence of everything else there at that time. This
absence, according to this view, is perceptible. When we see the table, we also see that it
is not anything else. If that were not so, our perception of the table would be uncertain.
Thus ‘non-existence’, from this point of view, manifests. The difference between the
empirical and the Śaiva phenomenological views is that the former considers ‘non-
existence’ to have some sort of substantial existence in itself; the latter that ‘existence’
and ‘non-existence’ are equivalent insofar as they are both equally manifestations. Thus,
from a temporal perspective, we can say that the table exists as long as its non-existence
does not manifest. In what follows, Abhinava examines the ontological and
phenomenological implications of the ‘non-existence’ of perception.
 TANTRĀLOKA 17
‘How long’ (is an act of perception)? (Even if one agrees) that it is an
instant, what is the measure (of that instant)? This is the point. (We reply that it
is as long as it continues until) ‘it ceases’, that is, a perception comes to an end.
Thus, as long as it has not ceased, there is just that one perception. This is the
sense (of what he is saying). Moreover, it has been logically established
elsewhere that ‘non-existence is an object of direct perception, and moreover, it
is the product (kārya) (of a cause)³,³² and so one should understand that from
what (is said there).
Surely (then), if that is so, when does that particular ‘non-existence’
arise in such a way that (it marks) the limit of perception?

āazwīaāg ī īaāāTāṝṁṁīeṝaācāī̃|
ss̄ aīcēā aāī aāīrīaṁfīṁaāīṁ 2 a
tadabhāvaś ca no tāvad yāvat tatrākṣavartmani |
arthe vātmapradeśe vā na saṅyogavibhāgitā || 27 ||

That (perception) does not exist, for as long as there is no union and
separation on the path of the organs of sense with the object, or with the
locus of the Self (as the perceiver). (27)

Perception does not cease”, as long as the senses, the object, or the
perceiver do not conjoin and separate. ‘That (perception) does not exist’
when, in the course of the perception of (the colour) blue, for example, (the
atṭention of) a perceiver whose senses are constantly engaged in their functions,
is separated from (the colour) blue, or is conjoined to (the colour) yellow.
Surely, all agree to this extent (at least) that, like (the flickering flame of) a
lamp, perception is momentary, because (in order for it to take place) the senses
(need to be) applied at each moment; otherwise, a perceiver, even if (his) senses
are extensively engaged, would not have (any) perception of (anything) such as
(the colour) blue (as it would cease the moment it arose).
So, (an opponent may ask,) how is it that it is said that as long as
(further) conjunction and separation (of an object, the senses and the perceiver)
does not arise, there is (only) one perception? (Surely, the reason for this is that
what) is stated in this way is that streams of perceptions do not exist (only single
individual perceptions that follow on one after another).
We say (in reply to this possible objection,) that this is true; however,
the momentariness of perception, which is its transitory and discontinuous
nature, which is (the view you) favour, would not be possible. Perception must
persist for three, four and more subsequent instants, as this is established by the
assessment of the instant immediately after (samanantaram).³⁸ Therefore, even

³ This reference is drawn from a Nyāya or Vaiśeṣika text. These empiricists maintain
that ‘non-existence’ is perceptible. When I see that there is no table in front of me,
according to a Naiyāyika I aṃ perceiving the absence of a table.
³⁷ Lit. ‘the non-existence of perception does not arise’
³⁴ AI Śaiva theories of perception maintain that perception is not experienced as a series
of discrete disconnected moments. Indeed, perception would not be possible if were to
18 CHAPTER SEVEN
if a (lasting) cognitive consciousness (vijñāna) which has as its object (viṣaya)
(the colour) blue, for example, is single and homogenous (ekarasa), the absence
of that (indiviḍual act of perception) and the rest is taking place (sthita) in
between (one moment and the next), due to the separation etc. (from the object)
of the organs of sense, such as the eye. However, one is not conscious of it.
Thus, the non-existence of streams of perceptions would also not be possible,
and so there is no contradiction (with our view of their momentary nature,
which does not deny that perceptions are also linked together in a unitary flux as
manifestations of consciousness).¹
Surely (one may ask), does (this dynamic state) of union and separation
(of the factors that constitute perception) have a cause or not? With this question
in mind, he says:

Ṭ Ḷīā̄̄ād Tā-aā̄ āTTT J] |

JJ TT; TTPTAĀIIT T TĪ JTIK I 2¢I
sā ced udayate spandamayṝī tatprāṇagā dhruvam |
bhaved eva tataḥ prāṇaspandābhāve na sā bhavet || 28 I|

If (this union and separation) which is the pulsation (spanda) (of

consciousness) arises, it must certainly be present within (the movement of)

be. Rather, although perceptions are momentary, they last for more than an instant,
because the moments of perception that follow on from one another assess the contents
of the ones that preceded them. If they were totally discontinuous, discrete units, this
would not be possible.
⁴ Perception takes place as long as its constitutive factors – the perceiver, senses, and
the object – are conjoined. When a perceiver who is engaged in perceiving the colour
blue, for example, shifts his attention to another object that is yellow, the perception of
blue ceases and that of the colour yellow begins. In this moment, the perception of blue
ends and the manifestation of its absence arises. This happens when it is disjoined from
‘blue’ and conjoined with ‘yellow’. The conjunction and disjunction of the senses from
their objects and the perceiver are understood together as the one movement of
cognitive consciousness from one locus of perception (= disjunction from the previous
object) to another (= conjunction with the subsequent object). In this way, although
consciousness is one and engaged in the act of perception, it is constituted by a stream
of individual perceptions that arise by the conjunction of the senses with their objects
and their disjunction from them. This takes place constantly, but it does so in such a way
as to give rise to a unitary sensory and mental cognitive state which is a continuum of
cognitive acts.
‘The Buddhists, who are the opponents, accept that perception is momentary,
indeed everybody generally agrees that it is so, as do Kashmiri Śaivites, both dualists
and nondualists, but they do not agree that each moment is totally separate and
independent of the ones that precede and follow it. Perceptions are linked together in
streams, even though they are momentary. This would not be possible if there is no
underlying unitary consciousness, of which perceptions and their absence are
manifestations. Their momentariness is due to the conjunction and separation that takes
place each instant between the senses and their objects. It is not because consciousness
is broken up into partless, transitory moments unconnected to one another.
 TANTRĀLOKA 19
the vital breath, and so, were the pulse of the vital breath not to exist, that
also would not. (28)

‘(This union and separation) which is the pulsation (of

consciousness)³. The pulsation (spanda) (of consciousness) is the nature
(prakṛti), that is, the root cause (of the activity of the senses). The meaning is
that it is dependent on the pulsation (of consciousness).⁴’ The intended sense is
that, moving from one place to another, (the activity of the senses) is conjoined
with another entity or separated (from the previous one). Moreover, the
pulsation (of consciousness is also) the basis (āśraya) of the (movement) of the
vital breath, and so it is certain (niścita) that the successive conjunction and
separation is also ‘present in the (movement of) the vital breath’. Thus ‘were
the pulse of the vital breath not to exist, that also would not’. When the
instrumental cause does not exist, its effect also does not. Thus, in accord with
(this) principle, how could it exist (independently of it)? This is the meaning.⁴'
Surely then, (the opponent rejoins,) let this conjunction and disjunction
take place (as you say), or (indeed) may it not, why should this worry us?
Explain how it is possible to bring about what you originally set out to discuss,
namely, (the attainment of) the one full (all-embracing and perfect)
consciousness, when time has been consumed (kālagrāsa) by the process of
consuming the vital breath (prāṇagrāsa)? With this doubt in mind, he says:

īāīaī fā-maīa:
#̄ q ̄ sī; 1

(However,) the absence of that (union and separation) does not

entail the absence of consciousness (vijñāna). That remains just as it is, the
same cognitive consciousness (dhī). (29ab)

‘The absence of that’ state of union and separation ‘does not entail
the absence of consciousnessʼ. Each effect is in conformity with the presence
and absence (of its cause).⁸ This being so, the preceding cognitive
consciousness (dhī) is the very same consciousness (saṁvid) (as the subsequent
one); it is not (some other) different consciousness, (rather) it is the one full
(perfect and all-embracing) consciousness. This is the meaning.

⁴⁰ The rhythm of sensory activity, that is, the pulse of conjunction and separation of the
senses with their objects, is essentially the pulse – spanda – of consciousness. That is its
nature and root cause, and so intimately connected to it and dependent on it. It is not the
result of the physiology of the body or activity of the neurons.
⁴! The pulse (spanda) of cognitive consciousness is essentially its movement from object
one to another, which is thus conjoined and disjoined from other objects in the sphere of
sensorial cognitive consciousness. This pulse is linked to the movement of the breath.
Thus, the absence of one entails the absence of the other. Without reference to each
other, it is not possible to determine their origin.
⁴² We know that something is the cause of a particular effect, because the effect comes
about if it is present, and does not when it is not.
20 CHAPTER SEVEN
Surely (one may ask,) if the previous and subsequent (form) of the one
consciousness is thus (considered to be) one and the same, how is it that it
manifests in some other way (vaitatyena)? With this doubt in mind, he says:

-ī īaāī īagaī ēīī ēōīō³ḷezat-ĩ1| 28 1|

na cāsau vastuto dīrghā kālabhedavyapohanāt || 29 ||

In reality, that (consciousness is) not ‘long’ (or ‘short’), because

(all) temporal distinctions (are based on objective perceptions, and so when
they cease, these distinctions) are eliminated. (29cd)

‘That’ cognitive consciousness (dhī) is not ‘long’, that is to say, it is

not subtle (and short) also. ‘Length’ and the like depends on time, and that
(consciousness) is not even touched by it, because it is not divided (and
differentiated) by time (akālakalita).³
He says that:

aāāl āJ̄ ũaĩã ĩ, ũiĩ̄ ŨqJ |

vastuto hy ata eveyaṁ kālaṁ saṅvin na saṁsprśet |

Thus, in reality, time does not (even) touch consciousness. (30ab)

In this way, in actual fact (consciousness) cannot be (said to be) eternal

also, because that (may be) said (of it only) in relation to the three times (past,
present and future). Nor is it permanently manifest, (because) in this way, one
would be saying that it manifests in the three times. As (Utpaladeva) says:

‘Neither ‘always’ nor ‘then’ nor even ‘once’ — where no perception of

time exists, that is the vision (darśana) of You, which can neither be called
etermal nor otherwise.’⁴⁴

⁴³ In this context, space is understood to be dependent on time. Without time, there

would be no spatial dimension of experience. Time in this sense (as the finite experience
of one object after another) is not one but three-fold. It is divided into three moments,
that is, past, present and future. Thus, from this point of view, it does not manifest at all
times. Even s0, from another point of view, it shines forth in all three times.
⁴⁴ ŚSt 12/5. Kṣemarāja comments: neti | sadā iti ekadā iti parasparaprayogitayā ekadety
asya prakāras tadā ity api evaṁprakārā api yad eti idānīm ityādikā ca yatra na sā kācit
kāladhīrakālakalitatvāt tad ity asāmānyam idam iti sphuradrūpaṁ jñānaṁ tvadīyaṁ na
nityaṁ ..kathyate nāpy anityaṁ nityatvānityatvayoḥ parasparapratiyogitvāt
sarvātmakasākṣātkāriṇi rūpe vyavahārānupapatteḥ ||

‘(He says) ‘always’ and ‘once’ as mutually correlated to one another. A form
(prakāra) of ‘once’ is ‘then’. Similar forms are also ‘when’ and ‘now’ etc. Where there
is no notion of time (kāladhī) at all, because (consciousness) is differentiated by time,
that is this unique, vibrantly radiant (sphuradrūpa) knowledge. It is not said to be
eternal nor transient (lit. "not eternal’), because eternal and transient are mutually
correlated, and (also) because it is logically impossible that the business of daily life
 TANTRĀLOKA 21
Surely (one may ask), if in reality there is just one consciousness that is
thus undivided by time, how is it possible to explain (siddhyer) this outer
commerce (vyavahāra) (of daily life), that is based on the relative distinction
(between past, present and future)? With this doubt in mind, he says:

³Ta Tēhā faTr̄T̄TTRT

aI āJ ú 30 1
fērarār ftfārcītī
fēcūī rarī=n 1
ata ekaiva saṁvittir nānārūpe tathā tathā || 30 |
vindānā nirvikalpāpi vikalpo bhāvagocare |

Thus, (because it is free of all contact with time,) the one

consciousness, knowing in this way and that the multiple form (of the
objects of knowledge), although (essentially) devoid of ideation (nirvikalpa),
is (itself) ideation (vikalpa)⁴ within the sphere of phenomenal existence.
(30cd-31ab)

‘Thuṣ’, because it is devoid of (all) contact with time, ‘although

(essentially devoid of ideation’, ‘the one consciousness, knowing’ and
reflecting ‘in this way and that’ within the domain of phenomenal existence,
which consists of the ‘the multiple formʼ, which is the configuration
(saṁmirchana) of countless manifestations (of the objects of knowledge) as
(the colour) blue and not blue etc., is (itself) said to be ‘ideation’ (vikalpa).
Thus, the outer commerce (vyavahāra) (of daily life) does not cease (vipralopa).
Surely (then), if the reflective awareness (of consciousness takes place)
in this way and that (according to the nature of each object perceived), how can
the oneness (of consciousness be explained)? With this doubt in mind, he says:

TTI 7 Jīāgfād āīāica a: 1| 3 1

āīarṁ fāēh-ū; zarṣftēḷ arag ahcũã-̃ |
spandāntaraṁ na yāvat tad uditaṁ tāvad eva ṣaḥ || 31 I|
tāvān eko vikalpaḥ syād vividhaṁ vastu kalpayan |

Until another pulse (spanda) (of cognitive consciousness) arises, that

representational ideation (vikalpa) abides alone in this way as a single

(which is such) can take place in (Your) nature, that brings about the direct experience
of (reality), which is all things.”
⁴³ The pulsations of perception generate thought constructs (vikalpa). They are a kind of
inner speech (antaḥsaṁjalpa), which refers to the object, denoting it and thereby giving
it a specific identity. Thus, according to the context, the term vikalpa can be variously
translated as ‘thought construct’, ‘thought formʼ, ‘discursive or representational
iḍeation’. Moreover, as vikalpa ‘labels’ its object, it determines its specific, objective
nature. Accordingly, the term ‘vikalpa’ may also be translated as ‘determinate
perceptionʼ, ‘determinate ideation’ or ‘differentiated ideation’.
22 CHAPTER SEVEN
(unified whole), (eka) conceiving (kalpayan) the diversity (of manifest)
reality (vastu). (31cd-32ab)

As long as a subsequent ‘pulse’ (spanda), which has as its field of

operation some other object of representational ideation (vikalpyavastu), does
not take place, because its characteristic (defining nature) (lakṣaṇa) is the
aforementioned union and separation with this or that object, although
‘conceivingʼ an object that has many aspects (prakāra), (the resultant) thought
construct (vikaḷpa) is one only, whether long or short,⁴ not, indeed, many. This
is the meaning.
The discursive ideational representation (vikalpa) of (the colour) blue,
for example, even if it is being conceived as a configuration of many
manifestations, is just one, because there is thus a single (unified) cogitation
(anuṣaṁdhāna) (of the object). Otherwise, it could not come about
(svarūpalābha). Thiīs is the overall sense (of what he is saying).⁴
He says that:

3 fcṭcj figaāī fēēkcaī īīērd 32 1

Iī vdrhizq,_fisrīcafī sīāfarq 1
ye tv itthaṁ na vidus te: vikalpo nopapadyate || 32 ||
sa hy eko na bhavet kaścit trijagaty api jātuciīt |

(The existence) of representational ideation (vikalpa) of those

(Buddhists) who do not know (things) in this way could not be logically
(explained). No single (unified representational ideation) would ever exist
in (all) the Three Worlds.⁴ (32cd-33ab)

⁴⁶⁰ Read dīrghādīrgha- for dīrghadīrgha-

⁴⁷ Literally, asya svarūpalābhaḥ means ‘assume its own nature.”
⁴ 1t would not be possible to perceive the specific form of an object, even though it is
discursively represented as the aggregation of many manifestations (ābhāsa) such as
blue etc., if a thought form (vikalpa) were not to represent a single unified determinate
perception (anusandhāna).
⁴ Verses 32 to 36 are criticisms of the Buddhist doctrine of momentariness.
Consciousness is omnipresent at all times, and so is essentially free of thought
constructs, as these refer to individual entities related to each other in time and space.
Even so, in order for an individual perceiver to know a specific object, it must be
‘labelled’ by a thought construct, the source and substance of which can only be
consciousness. The two, universal consciousness and determinate ideation, work
together as two aspects of the one consciousness. The former provides a single unified
field, and the latter its multiple contents. Kashmiri Śaivites maintain that Buddhists who
deny the existence of a single, non-temporal consciousness cannot explain how a single
perception can encompass a variety of objects. If, according to them, each perception
and corresponding thought construct is self-confined, it is not possible to explain how
we experience in a single act of perception, and hence represent in one unified thought
construct, many entities together, existing at different times.
 TANTRĀLOKA 23
‘Those’ Buddhists ‘who do not know (things) in this way’, namely,
that the arising of subsequent ideational representations (vikalpa) is (essentially)
the arising of (another) subsequent pulsation (of cognitive consciousness), and
that it does not take place in just one pulsation (of consciousness,) (are
mistaken). (The existence of) a single (unified representational ideation)
accounts for the external commerce of daily life (vyavahāra), which is
constrained by (and inevitably related to) (nibandhin) numerous supports
(āśraya), includīng memory, negation and the rest.³
He explains that:

=TGRTTTĪĪ
ṜTT fqēr-T: ṜFēaō āāa 1| 33 1
aīṛ T aqṛTdkTāc%
fk eJ ēī fjākcṬā̃q |
. Ṣ̄TT TT-TR̥Hcū:āhrṛ
ēhaī fkeraiṝ | 3² 1
fārcūg āīsaañā aī yaāō5*ãtza |
śabdārūṣaṇayā jñānaṁ vikalpaḥ kila kathyate || 33 ||
sā ca syāt kramṃikaivetthaṁ kūṁ kathaṁ ko vikalpayet |
ghata ity api neyān syād vikalpaḥ kā kathā sthitau || 34 ||
na vikalpaś ca ko ʻpy asti yo mātrāmātraṇiṣṭhitaḥ |

A thought construct (vikalpa) is, according to (the Buddhists, as it is

according to us,) knowledge (that has become such because it is) pervaded⁵¹
with words. Now if this (process of pervasion) were to be successive, who
could conceive of anything, and how could it be conceived in this way? (If
one accepted their thesis,) not even (the word) ‘jar’ could be an (object of)
thought (vikalpa). What then to say (of the word) ‘standing’ (in the phrase
‘the jar is standing (ghaṭas tiṣṭhati)’). In short, no differentiated ideation
(vikalpa) could exist (in their view of things), even if it were to subsist for
just a single measure (mātra)² (of time) or a part of one (amātra). (33cd-
35ab)

³⁰ Ideational representation (vikalpa) is essential for the experience of everyday life to

be possible. We don’t just sense things, we also know what they are by forming correct
notions of their nature. A table appears to the senses as a mass of sensations of its shape,
colour, size, and so on. But we don’t perceive them. Instead, we see a table. This is
because recollecting previous objects of the same sort, and comparing them with what
we sense, eliminating (‘negating’) everything else that it could be, the notion forms in
our minds that ‘this is a table’ and not a chair or anything else. So, for this single,
unified representational ideation to be possible and correctly formed, it must take its
support from other functions of consciousness. This is only possible if we accept that it
is a single, composite event, which Buddhists do not.
⁵¹ The word ‘aruṣaṇa’ literally means ‘strewing, covering, soiling, adoring, or
decoration’.
⁵² Abhinavagupta is referring here to Pāṇini 1/2/32, which states that ‘a half measure at
the beginning of an accent in the middle is acuteʼ. Thus, a measure is also divisible. This
sūtra is quoted below in 33/27-28ab and in TSā p. 61.
24 CHAPTER SEVEN
As is said ‘accordingʼ to you (the Buddhist Dharmakīrti): ‘A mental
construct (kalapanā) is a cognition (pratīti) whose manifest (representational
content) is fit to be associated with a verbal designation.’* “This’ pervasion
with words is ‘successive’ because speech is sequential. As the moments that
arise (required to form) a thought construct are in this way successive, and so
because they are destroyed and new ones do not arise, ‘who could conceive
(anything)?” (if) the perceiver is essentially a thought construct, even though
not conceived at all, and ‘how? (could that be possible if) the object of thought
that has arisen (is then immediately) destroyed, because there is no (unifying)
cogitation (anusaṁcdhāna) or the like between a previous and subsequent
(conception)? The meaning is that a mental construct could not come into being
(svarūpalābha).³⁴ Thus at the time when the letter ‘gha’ is uttered (of the word
ghaṭa, meaning ‘jar’,) the letter ‘7a’ does not exist, and when that is uttered the
(previous letter ‘gha’) has ceased to exist, and so even just the notion of ‘ghaṭa’
could not be achieved, there (even) the thought of (the possibility of
establishing) the commerce of daily life is far indeed (from being achieved),
what to say of even just the condition (avasthāna) (for it to take place)? This is
the meaning. ‘No differentiated ideation (vikalpa)’ of this sort ‘could exist”
according to that view (of perception), even if it were to subsist for just a part
(of the time),⁹ for if that were to be so, their vow (to defend the doctrine of)
momentariness would be broken. This is the overall sense.
(But) surely, (says the Buddhist opponent,) no single perception of any
kind exists that pervades everywhere (a series of perceptions) like the thread of
a garland (that threads through the flowers). This is our view, not that there are
not countless momentary perceptions. And so, those particular (perceptions
themselves) that have”⁶ arisen in this way will be capable (of establishing and
sustaining) the external commerce of daily life. So what is wrong (with that)?
With this question in mind, he says:

3ī āīāgaāīāstaā ũūTgāTdṝcē#d: ] 3., 1

na ca jñānasamiūho ‘sti teṣām ayugapatsthiteḥ || 35 II

And (in that view,) there is no aggregate of perceptions

(jñānasamūha), as they do not exist simultaneously. (35cd)

(He says that there is no aggregate of perceptions,) ‘as they do not exist
simultaneouslyʼ, because he (thereby) declares that after (a perception has
taken place) it is blocked (and comes to an end).
Therefore, all this daily commerce of life consisting of discursive
ideation (vikalpa) could not be possible (and accounted for from the perspective
of) that view. Thus, he says:

³¹ NB 1/5. Jayaratha is quoting here Dharmakīrti’s classic definition, which

Abhinavagupta has in mind.
⁵⁴ The expression is ‘svarūpalābha’, which literally means ‘acquire its own nature’
⁵⁹ Jayaratha understands the expression amātra not as ‘without measure’, which is the
literal meaning, but as a part of one (aṅśamātra).
³⁶ Read tāni tāny evaṁ for tat tāny eva.
 TANTRĀLOKA 25
EEĒtṜCŪĒḺĒT-ĀGEAET
tenāstaṅgata evaiṣa vyavahāro vikalpajaḥ |

Thus, the daily commerce of life (yyavahāra), that is born of

determinative ideation (vikalpa), would cease.⁵ (36ab)

‘Thus’, our view is the best.

TIRIRṬT. ZTIGTĪRTHITĀH I 36ē I

[ekEkiēēzgitzeEaeinitenṝd
tasmāt spandāntaraṁ yāvan nodiyāt tāvad ekakam || 36 ||
vijñānaṁ tadvikalpātmadharmakotīr api spṛśet |

Therefore, as long as another pulsation (spanda) (of perception)

does not arise, a single unitary (determinative) consciousness (vijñāna)
persists, even though it may be in contact with a hundred thousand
qualities (dharma) which are (all) determinate perceptions (vikalpa). (Thus,
this single consciousness conjoins one determinate perception with another
(anusandhi) iīn such a way as to make daily life possible). (36cd-37ab)

‘As long as another pulsation (of perception)² established in another

determinate perception (vikalpa) ‘does not arise’, it determines conceptually
(vikalpayet) even a flood of qualities such as ‘cow-ness’, ‘whiteness’, ‘mobility’
and the like, and that determinate (vaikalpaka) perception is just one, by virtue
of which all this daily commerce of life, which is impelled (anuprāṇita) by a
single (determinating consciousness) that conjoins (one determinate perception
with another), is possible.⁵

⁵⁷ The first part of this verse is a criticism of Dharmakīrti, who says in NB 1/5 that
‘Determinate perception (kalpanā) is a cognition whose represented content can be
associated with verbal designations’. If this is correct, an individual thought form, like a
word, would similarly arise and cease in an instant, without another new one to replace
it. Mental representation, conception, and the knowledge it gives — nothing could be
conceived. Nor indeed would it be possible for a subject, whose thought comes into
being and is destroyed at every moment, without there being any form of awareness
before and after, to be conceived at all. So, for example, it is not possible to form a
mental discursive representation even of a ‘jar’⁷ (ghaṭa), for when the letter ‘ja’ is
utṭered, ‘r'³ does not yet exist. When ‘’ is uttered, ‘ja’ is already finished. This is far
from what is experienced in everyday life. In short, the Buddhist doctrine of
momentariness cannot account for the existence of discursive ideation (vikalpa).
⁵⁴ Consciousness has numerous powers. One of these is the power to generate
perceptions of the entities it makes manifest within itself. This it does through the body,
senses, and mind, which it generates as the instruments of perception. This takes place
when consciousness assumes the nature of the perceiver who, through the instruments of
perception, makes contact with his object. Consciousness functions in this way in its
dynamic aspect, inducing through its pulse, the rhythm of sensory perception, in the
manner described. Resting in itself between the pulses of sensory perception, the same
26 CHAPTER SEVEN
Nor is that (view) stated as something new which is just our own
personal insight (or imagination). Thus, he says:

TGTYĪTṬTCTRaTJTTĒTJTTTṢĪTĀRTTT; I| 39 1

ekāśītipadodāraśaktyāmarśātmakas tataḥ || 37 ||
vikalpaḥ śivatādāyī pūrvam eva nirūpitaḥ |

Thus, it was explained previously³ that the (one unified) thought

construct that reflects on the venerable energies of the Mantra with eighty-
one parts (can grasp their unified whole, whichis experienced within the
one universal Śiva consciousness, and so) bestows Śivahood. (37cd-38ab)

Thus, this determinate perception (vikalpa), which is essentially Pure

Knowledge (Śuddha Vidyā) in the form the Vyomavyāpin (Mantra), is one,
although it reflects, as stated before, on countless qualities. For this reason, and
also because it is one, although it reflects on each one of the many energies
(Śśakti) of the Heart and the rest (that constitute the limbs of the Mantra), it
bestows the ultimate fruit, namely, Śivahood, (as) we explained before.
Surely (then, one may ask,) as the cycles, beginning with a cycle of
(just) a single syllable Mantra up to a cycle of 13,82,400 (syllable Mantra), arise
spontaneously in this way within one cycle of the breath, how is it possible for
yogis to be aware of each particular cycle? He quells this doubt by presenting an
example.

consciousness, by means of the intellect, conceptually determines, that is, forms

adequate notions of what is perceived, in its active sensorial state. In this way, an entity
with several qualities perceived by the senses is grasped as a unitary whole in a single
idea. So, for example, perceiving a moving cow, the senses pick up its qualities of
‘whiteness” and ‘mobilityʼ, its form as having four legs and two horns etc., along with
its ‘cow-nessʼ. Then, between one pulse of sensory activity and another, the
consciousness in between, which is in contact with all these qualities, determines the
nature of their possessor. Thus, one could say that there are two moments. The first is
direct perception, and the second is one in which its contents are conceptually
determined. However, the second ‘moment’ is not an ‘instant’ (kṣaṇa); rather, it is its
absence, or ‘non-existence’ of the initial direct perception which, as we have seen, from
this point of view does exist as a manifestation. Thus, understood in this way, there are,
as the Buddhiṣṭs also maintain, streams of momentary perceptions. The non-existence
between moments is not ‘nothingʼ. It is consciousness itself that functions as described.
This is not possible if one strictly applies the Buddhist doctrine of momentariness. This
view cannot account for the experience of daily life, which requires continuity between
perceptions and the formation of the necessary conceptual constructs to determine the
nature of their content.
See above, 6/225cd ff.
’ Pure Knowledge is the state of consciousness in which the subject and object are
experienced as one another in a balanced unity, as when one says, ‘l am this and this am
Iʼ. The objects in this case are the energies that constitute the Vyomavyāpin Mantra,
which are, as we have seen, forms of the deity.
 TANTRĀLOKA 27
Mantra and Ritual to be Performed in Consonance with the Breath

zṛ āōōī| ācTaīārc
aĀīrāī T-TḤāi1 3¢ 1
TĒTTTTTI-ĪTTṢJTTSĪ
*ṃĪ:Īd|
yathā karṇau nartayāmīty evaṁ yatnāt tathā bhavet || 38 II
cakracāragatād yamāt tadvat taccakragaiva dhīḥ |

Just as by (repeated) effort to move the ears, they (eventually) do

s0, in the same way, by (exercising) the exertion (applied to) the movement
of a cycle (of the breath and Mantra), the (contemplative) mind (dhī) is
present (there) within that cycle. (38cd-39ab)

Just as ‘by the effort’ of the vital breath, preceded by an intention ‘to
move the earsʼ, yogis (manage to do s0), and the two ears move in the manner
of the (spontaneous) tremor of (the body of) a cow, ‘In the same way,ʼ ‘the
(contemplative) mind (dhī) is present (there) within that cycleʼ, that is, (the
yogi’s) awakened consciousness (avabodha) is fixed on the particular cycle
towards which the intention to impel it has arisen ‘by (exercising) the effort
present within the movement’ of the breath, based on the cycle of a one-
syllable Mantra and the rest. This is the meaning.

The point is that here (according to this teaching) the yogi must utter
(his) Mantra, whatever it be, wherever the work (to which it is applied), in
consonance with the breath. Otherwise there (can be) no success in (attaining
the desired) goal. That is said (in the Siddhayogīśvarīmata):⁶¹

‘One should repeat Mantra in consonance with the breath, then one will
certainly be successful. One cannot achieve success otherwise; (indeed,) O fair
lady, (all that one achieves is to become) an object of ridicule (for one’s
failure).”

Thus, the procedure for a single-syllable Mantra or the arising of (any)

other cycle (of a longer Mantra) is the same, because in every case without
exception, (the Mantra should be uttered) in consonance with the breath.
He says that:

STTGTTTĪTTTTĪ JTTTTTĀṬ fēfr I 38 u

japahomārcanādīnāṁ prāṇasāmyam ato vidhiḥ || 39 ||

Therefore, (as the cyclic activity of the breath is an aspect of the

cyclic activity of cognitive consciousness, which is the foundation of all
spiritual discipline,) the prescribed procedure is that the repetition of

⁶! 7/39cd, which Abhinava identifies as derived from the SYM, is a gloss on this verse,
and so must be from there.
28 CHAPTER SEVEN
Mantra, the fire sacrifice, worship and the rest (should be performed) in
consonance with the breath. (39cd)

(The same applies to the) ‘fire sacrifice’ (and the like), because
Mantras are uttered in that case also. ‘Therefore’, because the arising of the
cycles (we have been) discussing (also takes place on such occasions). The
number (of syllables of a particular Mantra) in relation to the spontaneous
movement of the breath is the same. It is not related to the greater or lesser
number of letters (of which it is composed). Thus, there is no contradiction (and
the same procedure applies equally to all Mantras).
What is the (scriptural) authority (for this view)? With this question in
mind, he says:

fārzīrṁ āsfrītaṁē: dīīaāāīī |

3 J aJTTṀḤĪĪ TCaTTTHĪVTT I `€o I
siddhāmate kuṇḍalinīśaktiḥ prāṇasamonmanā |
uktaṁ ca yoginīkaule tad etat parameśinā || 40 ||

According to the Siddhāmata, (when) the energy of Kuṇḍalinī is in

consonance with the vital breath (prāṇasamā), it is the Transmental
(unmanā). The Lord has also said that in the Yoginīkaula.² (40)

‘The Lord has also said that’ in the venerable Siddhayogesśvarīmata,

and it is also said in the Yoginīkaula. This is the prose order. The power of the
Supreme Goddess, who is called the Kunḍalinī of the Phonemes
(varṇakuṇḍalinī), pours out externally in the form of each Mantra of one or
more syllables. When She is in consonance with the vital breath, that is, when
Her emergence becomes consonant with the vital breath, that (emergence)
manifests as the Transmental, at one with Śiva. As is said there (in the
Siddhāmata):

‘One should make (the Mantra) which is to be repeated consonant with

the vital breath. (So too,) make the fire sacrifice consonant with the vital breath.
In this way, (Śiva’s) power, who is Mind Beyond Mind (manonmanī) and is
called Kuṇḍalā, is consonant with the breath.’⁶³

62 After this exegetical digression from 22cd to 39, Abhinava returns to his textual
source, the Yoginīkaula. He begins by supporting its authority as expounding a Trika
teaching by stating that the SYM, which is a well-known Trika Tantra, agrees with it.
“³ The verse refers to Kuṇḍalinī, as Abhinava reports the Siddhāmata does. Moreover,
the following verse, according to Jayaratha, is drawn from the Yoginīkaula. Thus, we
may safely assume that Jayaratha is quoting here from the Siddhāmata. However,
although something to this effect is taught in SYM 29/6, this quotation cannot be traced
to the edited short recension of the SYM.
 TANTRĀLOKA 29
The Cycles of Mantra Within the Breath According to the Yoginīkaula

He (now) quotes from the book (called) Yoginīkaula:

ÉGEṬYTĀFĀĪER FĪEIETCTEĀ
T] GÑTāī Tāā] STJG] WPTTTT I `3 I
padamantrākṣare cakre vibhāgaṁ śaktitattvagam |
padeṣu kr̥tvā mantrajño japādau phalabhāg bhavet || 41 II

Having distributed the unit of measure (vibhāga) (of a breathing

cycle) present in the principle of the power (of the vital breath)⁶ in the
parts (pada) within the cycle (cakra) of phonemes, Mantras or parts
thereof, he who knows Mantra enjoys the fruits of the repetition of Mantra
(japa) and the rest (listed above). ⁵ (41)

‘Having distributed the unit of measure (vibhāga) (of a breathing

cycle) present in the principle of the power (of the vital breath) in the parts
(pada) in (any) cycle of this sort, where there are the phonemes of Mantra that
are primarily (made of) parts (pada). (The meaning is,) having generated the
emergence of each single part (of the Mantra) (pada), in accord with (its)
division within each cycle of the breath, the yogi who knows (how) Mantra
arises (in this way) in the course of the repetition of Mantra and (the utterance
of Mantras) during the fire sacrifice ‘enjoys the fruits’ (of the recitation of that
Mantra). The meaning is that he should attain the fruit (of his practice) as is
proper (that he should).
Surely (one may ask), what is this division and what is the fruit? With
this question in mind, (the book) says:

⁶¹ Śaktitattva here is an ascriptive compound that describes the vital breath. It is

‘śaktitatva’ in the sense that its true essential nature ~ tattva – is the power of
awareness. We find the same usage in the Dviśatika, quoted in 58ab. In verse 45, the
practice of repeating Mantra in consonance with the breath is called ‘śaktyudaya’ – ‘the
emergence of powerʼ. In his introduction to verse 46, Jayaratha calls the flow of the
movement of the breath ‘the Path of Powerʼ.
“’ The Yoginīkaula is certainly the source of verses 41 to 47, which are almost literal
quotations, as we can observe by comparing Jayaratha’s quotation of the same ad 7/46-
52. Continuing directly on, verses 47-52ab are the final, concluding part of this passage.
Thus, although Jayaratha does not quote the original source, it seems unlikely that it is
not the Yoginīkaula, and so we can safely say that verses 41-52ab are drawn from there.
Juṣṭ after that, Abhinava concludes that he has completed his exposition of Cakrodaya.
We have seen that the initial presentation of the divisions of Mantra in the breath (1-
21ab) is taken from the Yoginīkaula. Thuṣ, that is clearly the source of the basic practice
taught in this part of this chapter. As usual, Abhinava inserts the remaining verses in
between his exegesis, that serves to explain how the practice is grounded in the
dynamism of consciousness, that ranges through its fundamental two-fold (i.e.
nonconceptual and conceptual) nature.
30 CHAPTER SEVEN

fṣfnrcāīzzūṝzaīd ōrrzrzfṁṁīraa 1
dvitrisaptāṣṭasaṁkhyātaṁ lopayec chaktikodayam⁸⁰ |

One must (progressively) diminish the emergence of the power (of

the breath, i.e. the number of breaths in proportion to) the number (of
syllables, whether) two, three, seven, (or) eight.” (42ab)

Here (in this practice), one should diminish, in the manner explained
before, the cycles of the breath, in proportion to the division of the number of
syllabic groups (padapiṇḍa) (of the particular Mantra the yogi is repeating),
whether one, two, three, seven or eight etc., up to the emergence of one
hundred, that is, a cycle of countless syllabic groups. The meaning is that one
should consume the breath (prāṇagrāsa) (progressively in this way).
Penetration into supreme consciousness, undifferentiated by time, is the main
(and supreme) fruit (of these) yogisʼ (practice).
One should be attentive here in this way. Thus, he says:

çcaḥ vīṀPṀṁṁtkrāī aī fãrṁ aī Ṭīēīāīēī: I| # 1|

T=Ṁ°ÇŪõṀēatī āīcāī āīsāī; āa;ṛ fiīā |
fīāīTzā maṁca 3aaxṁ’ āaũ | # 1
3TRTPI: JJĪTFATĪ ] T STīaṁīīēā̃|
faāīaā aa-m ssraaT. hīTerakī | xz 1
itthaṁ śaktisthitā mantrā vidyā vā cakranāyakāḥ || 42. ||
padapiṇḍasvarūpeṇa jñātvā yojyāḥ sadā priye |
nityodaye mahātattve udayasthe sadāśive || 43 |I
ayuktāḥ śaktimārge tu na japtāś codayena ye |
te na siddhyanti yatnena japtāḥ koṭiśatair api || 44 ||

The Mantras, Vidyās and the Lords of the Cycles established in

the power (śaktisṭhita) (of the vital breath should be known), in accord
with their nature, as parts of Mantra (pada) and syllabic groups

“⁵ Emend ~chatikodayam to ~chaktikodayam.

“’ The parts of the Mantra recited in harmony with the breath should be divided or
extended according to the above format for them to be effective. This leads to a
progressive decrease of the breath (= Time) until the Yogi penetrates into the realm of
Pure Consciousness, undivided by Time.
“Ś Mantras embody and invoke male deities, and Vidyās female ones.
⁶’ Śakti in this chapter means prāṇaśakti – one who is ‘śaktiṣṭha’ is ‘established in the
power / energy of the vital breath. The recitation of Mantra should be done in that
condition. The Mantra is recited in consonance with the flow of the breath in such a way
that the one who recites it feels the pervasive and gracious power of the vitality of the
life force. In this way, the ‘dawning of the cycle of the repetition of a Mantra’ is at the
same time the ‘dawning of reality³ that takes place as the Mantra is recited in
consonance with the breath moving within suṣumna – the Central Abode.
 TANTRĀLOKA 31
(padapiṇḍa). They should always be applied, O beloved, once known in this
way.™ Those that are not applied on the path of the power (of the breath),
this great reality that is perpetually emergent (nityodita), established in the
emergence (udayastha) (of the breath) and ever benevolent (sadāśiva), are
not successful. (This is so even if they are) repeated (japta) laboriously one
thousand million times, (but) not (in harmony) with the emergence (of the
breath). (42cd-44)

‘Once known’ (means) everything explained previously ‘in this way²,

the Mantras or Vidyās that are grounded (in these) cycles, ‘in accord with their
nature as parts of Mantra (pada) and syllabic groups (padapiṇḍa), that is,
in terms of the parts (of Mantra) syllabic groups (as) taught previously, ‘are
established in powerʼ, that is, recited in consonance with the breath. (This rule)
‘should be applied’ always to the repetition of Mantra etc., so that yogis may
(achieve) the accomplishment (siddhi) that befits them. Otherwise, (if they are
not repeated in consonance with the movement of the breath,) they are not
conjoined to the Central Abode (madhyadhāman), which is the power (of the
vital breath) (śakti) and is always the best of things, because it bestows that
accomplishment. It is ‘established in emergence’ because emanation
predominates, and is ‘the great reality° because it is the supreme object of
attainment, as it is ‘perpetually emergent’. Those Mantras etc. that are ‘not
repeated in harmony with the emergence’, that is, exiting (of the breath) and
entry also, ‘are not successful even if repeated laboriously one thousand
million timesʼ. The meaning is that they cannot bestow that full (and perfect
consciousness). As is said:⁷

‘If he who recites Mantra does not attain the Mantras on the path of
emanation’ and withdrawal, in the form of the arising and falling away (of the
breath), they bestow little fruit, they give (neither) liberation nor worldly
benefit, whether recited repeatedly, contemplated and worshipped, they give
(just) a little fruit, impelled by Śiva’s command (ājñā).”

By saying ‘Mantras and Vidyāsʼ, he is indicating the various types of

Mantras and Vidyās as enunciated in the initial enunciation.”
Well then, is this condition (the same) without exception for all Mantras
etc., or is it otherwise? With this doubt in mind, he says:

ṃōīr--9 ādī TīTḤI TY 3-T |

3TĪṢJĪĪ YTTTGJ Ti 7 TṜAṀĒCTTT I `#, 11
¹⁰ Read with MSs K and Kh, itthaṁ for iti.
⁷¹ As Abhinava has been referring to the Yoginīkaula, saying that it agrees with the
teachings of the SYM, it is possible that Jayaratha is corroborating Abhinava’s citation
from the Yoginīkaula with a similar one from the SYM.
¹² Read -vartmani for ~vartmanī.
¹⁸³ See above 7/53 ff. Abhinava has dedicated all of Chapter Thirty to the presentation of
Trika Mantras and Vidyās.
32 CHAPTER SEVEN
mālāmantreṣu sarveṣu mānaso japa ucyate |
upāṁśur vā śaktyudayaṁ teṣāṁ na parikalpayet || 45 ||

It is said that in the case of all long garland-like Mantras (and

Vidyās) (mālāmantra), the repetition (should be) mental or whispered. One
should not apply the emergence of power (that is, the aforementioned
procedure associated with the breath) to them. (45)

(The repetition of) ‘all’ (Mantras) and Vidyās also (should be)
‘mental’. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

“The mental repetition of Mantra is said to be one that one does not hear
oneself. Know that that one which is heard by oneself (alone) is whispered. O
Goddess, that which others (can) hear is said to be (repetition which is) aloud
(saśabda).’”⁴

(The word) ‘or’ indicates an option. (The implied) sense is established

that (Mantras) should not (be repeated) aloud.
Surely, it was said just before that Mantras that are not conjoined to the
Path of Power (that is the flow of the movement of the breath) are not
successful, so how is it said that ‘one should not apply the emergence of
power (that is, the aforementioned procedure associated with the breath,)
to themʼ? With this question in mind, he says:

TḠTĨJ TūTY JṬTTTGTĪTTTTT|

JTHTT TTT TTHĪTTSTT
T TTṀ’ II ’5, II
īṬēēt ũg ̃ ãaī
ũ= ũaẼĩ |
āīaāēṁāā ṁcāī fīērkcāītca: ṣēāāīa I| `5. 1
zIJṝād zīaTrḷ? īṁ arã vīd a |
3cāfṝ GTqJHIÑJTJĪŪT I %¢ I
rēvīēl zīṀīa zīāaaiī
vī |
"⁴ SYT 1/146-147ab. Read saśabdaḥ for sa śabdaḥ. Kṣemarāja comments:

mānṉaso madhyamā vāci upāṁśusaśabdau tu sūkṣmasthūlaprayatnāyāṁ

vaikharyām | trayasy. bhogahetutvam anyatrāpy uktanī ---
madhyamo bhōgamokṣākhya upāṁśuḥ siddhidāyakaḥ l
vāciko bhūtaviṣajit saśabdaś cābhicārikaḥ ll

‘The mental (repetition of Mantra) takes place at the middle (level of) Speech,
whereas (the forms of repetition that are) whispered and aloud take place at the level of
corporeal (speech), which is subtle and gross, respectively. These three are the cause of
worldly benefits. It is said elsewhere also:
‘The Middle (Speech) is called enjoyment (bhoga) and liberation. The
whispered one bestows accomplishments. The Loud (repetition of Mantra), that
conquers ghosts and poison, is magical (abhicārika).””
 TANTRĀLOKA 33

JT³ḷd aT JTP WT gJIGĒĪTTTT I *8, 1I

kiviezRISNGĪĪCEETEAĪIĒCĒ
3aī fzā āz vaTRTTHSTT I 40 1
TTTR̄TTTĪTHĪTT G⁹TĀTĀĪTĀT-AT: |
sṛaṛaā zīafdrṁ ūīeṛá f̄ṁ aaT 1 u2 1
3aa: qāṭaī rta] ūaāī fē : |
padamantreṣu sarveṣu yāvat tatpadaśaktigam |
śakyate satataṁ yuktais tāvaj japyaṁ tu sādhakaiḥ || 46 ||
tāvatī teṣu vai saṁkhyā padeṣu padasaṁjñitā |
tāvantam udayaṁ kr̥tvā tripadoktyāditaḥ kramāt |I 4⁷7 II
dvādaśākhye dvādaśite cakre sārdhaṁ śataṁ bhavet |
udayas tad dhi sacatuścatvāriṁśacchataṁ bhavet | 48 I
soḍaśākhye dvādaśite dvānavatyadhike śate |
cārārdhena samaṁ proktaṁ śataṁ dvādaśakādhikam I| 49 ||
soḍaśākhye ṣoḍaśite bhavec caturaśītigaḥ |
udayo dviśataṁ tad dhi ṣaṭpañcāśatsamuttaram || 50 |l
ṣṭabhāgāṁs trīn atra kathayanty adhikān budhāḥ |
aṣṭāṣṭake dvādaśite pādārdhaṁ viṁśatiṁ vasūn || 51 I|
udayaḥ saptaśatikā sāṣṭā ṣaṣṭir yato hi saḥ |

Adepts who are (deeply) engaged (in practice) should always (apply
themselves) as much as they can to what is to be repeated in all Mantras
with parts (padamantra),° present in (both) its parts and the power (of the
vital breath together). (46)
The number of times (the Mantra is repeated and the breath) arises
should be made equal to the number of parts (of Mantra) (pada), starting
with (Mantras) in which three parts are uttered, in due order. (47)
(Once that is done,) in a cycle of twelve (syllables) that is multiplied
by twelve, the vital breath will arise one hundred and fifty times (in a day),
as twelve times twelve makes one hundred and forty-four.™ It is said that
(in a day, the vital breath will arise) one hundred and twelve times and a
half, in (a cycle) said to be of sixteen (syllables) multiplied by twelve, (as
sixteen times twelve makes) one hundred and ninety-two.” When a cycle of

”⁸³ Itis is clear from the commentary that Jayaratha adopts this reading. However, the
same verse in the passage of the Yoginīkaula Jayaratha quotes reads ‘mahāmantreṣu’ –
‘in great Mantras’, instead of ‘padamantreṣu’ – ‘in syllabic Mantras’. The first variant
reminds us that ‘mālāmantras’ – ‘garland-like Mantras – are being discussed here.
Maālāmantras are very long – ‘great’ — Mantras, the parts — pada – of which may also be
quite long, and so cannot be uttered in one breath. Thus, they have to be divided up into
groups of syllables or letters, three or more at a time, that can be uttered in one breath.
⁶ 12 x 12 = 144; 144 x 150 breaths = 21,600. The expression ‘twelve multiplied by
twelve’ is simply a way of saying 144. One should understand in this way other similar
expressions in this passage.
7⁷ 16x 12 = 192 and 192 x 112%
= 21,600.
34 CHAPTER SEVEN
sixteen syllables is multiplied by sixteen, the wise say that the vital breath
will arise eighty-four and three eighths times (in a day, as sixteen times
sixteen equals) two hundred and fifty-six.® When (a cycle) of eight times
eight syllables is multiplied by twelve, the vital breath will arise twenty-
eight and one eighth times (in a day), as (sixty-four times twelve equals)
seven hundred and sixty-eight.” (47-52ab)

Well attentive ‘Adeptsʼ (should apply themselves) at all times, as much

as they can, to the repetition of Mantras etc., (in such a way) that the syllables of
‘all Mantras’, including Vidyās etc., that are primarily their parts, are in
consonance with the energy of the vital breath, so that, taking up (avalambya)
the sequence starting with (Mantras) that have three parts, (they) divide up those
parts one by one (into groups of) multiple parts (that is, in groups of three,) in
accord with the dictum that ‘a multiple (i.e. plural number) is complete in
threesʼ. (They should repeat the Mantras in this way) because it is not possible
to utter the entire (aggregate of) parts at once (all together) in consonance with
the breath. Thus, having made (their) emergence within the power of the vital
breath equal to the number of syllables that are the parts (of the Mantra being
repeated), the number of repetitions (of the Mantra) should correspond to that of
the syllables that are the parts of the Mantra.
The (overall) sense (of what is said) here is (as follows). It is not only
impossible to utter a Mantra with many syllables (all) at once within the power
of the vital breath, a syllable of that (Mantra) with many letters also (cannot be
uttered all at once,) and so it has to be divided up in accord with its parts in such
a way that uttering one part of that (Mantra) slowly, slowly, in consonance with
the breath, yogis may achieve the repetition of 100,000 etc. That is said there (in
the Yoginīkaula):

‘One who knows Mantra should always repeat Mantra having divided
the parts (pada) (of the Mantra) in accord with the division (inherent) in the
principle of power (śaktitattva) (within the vital breath) in (any particular) cycle
(cakra) consisting of phonemes, Mantra or parts thereof. One must
progressively diminish (the number of breaths) in proportion to the number of
syllables, whether two, three, seven, (or) eight.
In this way, Mantras, Vidyās,⁸ and the leaders of the Wheels are
established in power (śaktiṣthita) (that is, recited in consonance with the breath).
(Mantras) should always be applied, O beloved, once known in terms of their
parts and syllabic groups (padapiṇḍa). (The Mantras and Vidyās) not applied
according to this great principle, which is perpetually coming into being
(nityodita), emergent (udayastha) and ever benevolent (sadāśiva), that is to say,
not repeated (japta) in accord with the rising (and falling away of the breath) on
the path of the power (of the vital breath), are not successful, (even if repeated)
laboriously . . .¹⁸¹

⁸-16 x 16 = 256; 256 x 84 3/8" = 21,600.

7⁹ 64 x 12 = 768; 768 x 28 1/8¹¹ = 21,600.
⁴ See above note 7,68.
⁸! This passage is quoted literally above as 7/41-44c.
 TANTRĀLOKA 35

Again,

‘It is said that the repetition of all long garland-like Mantras (and
Vidyās) (mālāmantra) (should be) mental. One should never apply the
emergence of power (that is, the aforementioned procedure associated with the
breath,) to them®² because, O fair lady, (their) repetition is said to be mental. It
is (also) said in some places in the scriptures that the repetition (of such
Mantras) should be whispered.
⁸³The most excellent adepts who are (deeply) engaged (in practice)
should always (apply themselves) as much as they can to the repetition of all
(these) big Mantras (in this way), so that (the repetition) is present in (both) the
parts and the power (of the vital breath together).
The number of times (the Mantra is repeated and the breath) arises
should be made equal to the number of parts (pada), starting with (Mantras) in
which three parts are uttered, in due order.”

Thus, it is not possible to bring about the emergence of (long) garland-

like Mantras (mālāmantra) (all together) as a whole within the power of the
vital breath, and so it is said that ‘one should not apply the emergence of power
(that is, the aforementioned procedure associated with the breath,) to them’.
(Such long Mantras should not be uttered) in their entirety (sarvaṁsarvikayā); i⁶
they are, their repetition bestows little fruit, and so (this repetition) would be of
the lowest kind. As is said:

‘It is said that the lowest kind of repetition of Mantra is devoid of the
enumeration of the vital breath’.⁸

(Accordingly,) he explains how the parts (of these Mantras) are divided,
(saying): ‘“(the cycle of) twelve syllables' etc. The cycles of garland-like
Mantras and the like consisting of twelve parts (pada) (should be) ‘multiplied
by twelve’ʼ, having divided each one of the twelve parts (pada) of the (Mantra)
that has arisen twelve times. Then twelve become one hundred and forty-four,
and so each one corresponds to the emergence of one hundred and fifty
breathing cycles. Thus, there are 21,600 breathing cycles (in twenty-four hours).
Again, in the case of a cycle of sixteen parts multiplied twelve times, its parts
are one hundred and ninety-two (which corresponds to) the arising of (one

⁸ Paraphrased as TĀ 7/75. 45cd reads the second line as upāṁīsśur vā śaktyudayaṁ

teṣāṁ na parikalpayet ‘or whispered. One should not apply the emergence of power
(that is, the aforementioned procedure associated with the breath) to them.”
* Quoted literally as TĀ 7/46-47. Abhinava reads mālāmantreṣu ‘garland Mantras’ for
mahāmantreṣu ‘big Mantras’.
* Ttis quite probable that this line is also drawn from the Yoginīkaula. The yogi should
not only keep track of the number of times he has repeated a Mantra in the course of its
repetition (japa); he should also keep track of the flow of the breath and the number of
its cycles. If he does not, his repetition is of an inferior order to one in which he remains
only conscious of the breath.
36 CHAPTER SEVEN
hundred and twelve and a half breaths), because ninety-six remain.™ Again,
multiplying a cycle of sixteen by sixteen, there are two hundred and fifty-six of
(those) sixteen parts. This is the meaning. One of these corresponds to eight-
four cycles of the breath, and so because ninety-six (cycles) remain (there are
three eighths more), (the breathing) cycle arises (this number and three) eighth
(times). Similarly, multiplying a cycle of eight times eight, that is, sixty-four, by
twelve, each group of twelve parts corresponds to twenty-eight breathing cycles
and, as ninety-six remains, (another) eighth (cycle) arises, so that by multiplying
a cycle of a sixty-four (syllable Mantra) by twelve, it numbers seven hundred
and sixty-eight.* Thus, in this way here and everywhere (in every case), there
are twenty-one thousand and six hundred (cycles of the breath in twenty-four
hours).
He (now) concludes.

J Ṭē'zgī: TīT: āTIIĪ fēāīī u2 1

esa cakrodayaḥ proktaḥ sādhakānāṁ hitāvahaḥ || 52 ||

This, the emergence of the cycles (of Mantra within the flow of the
breath) that benefits adepts (sādhaka)*⁸³ has been taught. (52cd)

The Division of Mantras and Vidyās (mantravidyābhid)

in the Cycle of the Breath

fīēz nīāḷījṝṁaī fīṝamrā:

CTN JTTTR̥̄TTRIHIT--TICATĪ
RIT | 3 |
niruddhya mānasīr vṛttīś cakre viśrāntim āgataḥ |
vyutthāya yāvad viśrāmyet tāvac cārodayo hy ayam || 53 ||

This emerging movement (of the breathing cycle) (cārodaya)

(continues) as long as (yāvat tāvat) (it extends through three phases). (First,)
once the activities of the mind have been checked, a cycle (of syllables)
comes to rest.” (Then,) having emerged (from the Heart, it travels up with

⁸⁹ 16 x 12 = 192 and 192 x 112 = 21,504. Thus 96 remain, to make the full set of 21,600
cycles. 96 is a half of 192.
⁸⁶ 256 x 84 = 21,504. As 21,600 breathing cycles take place in a day, 96 remain. 256
divided by 8 = 32 x 3 = 96.
³⁷ 64 x 12 = 768; 768 x 28 = 21,504; 768 divided by 8 = 96.
⁸⁶ In a general sense, according to common usage, a sādhaka is a practitioner or adept.
In a more specialized technical sense, he is one who is dedicated to the recitation of
Mantras and the practice of yoga. We may contrast him with the common initiate
(samayin), whose focus is on the prescribed performance of the daily rites and
observance of the rules (samaya). The citation from the Yoginīkaula ends here.
⁸⁹ Jayaratha takes the locative of cakre to be the genitive cakrasya (viśrāntim āgataḥ)
literally – ‘the resting of the cycle comes about.” The locative – ‘in the cycle’ implies
that something in the cycle comes to rest, which can only be the breath. In that case the
 TANTRĀLOKA 37
the flow of the breath to the End of the Twelve, returns,) and is brought to
rest (again in the heart).”⁰ (53)

Here (according to this teaching), once the yogi has ‘checked the
activities of the mindʼ, consisting of (thoughts and) intentions (saṁkalpa), that
is, turned it inwards, the cycle of one or more syllabic groups ‘comes to rest’,
that is, becomes one with the Central Abode. (Thus,) being (in that state) as long
as (yāvat) it has ‘emerged’, that is, come forth out (in the course of exhalation),
commencing from the Heart up to the End of the Twelve, and then entering
again (in the course of inhalation), it ‘is brought to rest’ (again) in the Heart.
Such is (the extent) of this, the emergence of the vital breath. This is the
meaning.
Describing here the three-fold form (of the cycle of the breath), he
(now) also talks about (its) varieties according to the (yogic) accomplishment
(siddhī) and the rest (that it bestows).

TṀ TT̄̄T J JaTTPTTĀTTĪHT|
Ta Ṁqd Taṁ fũaī zāīzāī āt I| uç̄ 1|
pūrṇe samudaye tv atra praveśaikātmyanirgamāḥ |
traya ity ata evoktaḥ siddhau madhyodayo varaḥ | 54 |

There are three (phases) in a complete breathing cycle (samudaya):

the entry (praveśa) (of inhalation), the exit (of exhalation), and the oneness
(of the two in between). Thus it is said that the arising (of the breath) in the
centre is the best to achieve success (siddhi). (54)

Here again, (the breathing cycle) is ‘complete’, that is, is fully

completed in the manner explained, by being properly at one with the Central
Abode at the end of inhalation and exhalation. (There,) when the breath arises
(it is complete). Thus (the breathing cycle) is of three kinds (prakāra), namely,
entry, oneness and exit. ‘So it is said’ that out of the three kinds, ‘the best’,
which is better than even the entry (of inhalation), is the ‘middle one’, namely,
the oneness which is the means (nimitta) to (yogic) accomplishment. This is the
meaning.
Well then, what is the (scriptural) authority for saying this? With this
doubt in mind, he says:

translation should be ‘(the breath) within the cycle comes to rest’ or ‘(the breath) comes
to rest within the cycle’.
“⁰ A less literal but more understandable translation could be: “‘One breathing cycle
(cārodaya) (extends through three phases). (First,) having checked mental activity, (the
breath) rests; (then) emerging (from the Heart, it travels up to the End of the Twelve,
returns,) and is brought to rest in the Wheel (in the centre between the breaths).” (53)
38 CHAPTER SEVEN

3Taṝaīca TIT zt ŠEECI : 1

ṃ-tṝaīēīṣṣh7roī; faagaīsṝ var fe 1 u. u
T-āṝhīzāīzāq fraīīkīrzaīafṣq 1
fii fa=āf=f ũṁ smṝzzaṁṁk fr u= u
ādyantodayaniīrmuktā madhyamodayasaṁyutāḥ |
mantravidyācakragaṇāḥ siddhibhājo bhavanti hi ll 55 |I
mantracakrodayajñas tu vidyācakrodayārthavit |
kṣipraṁ sidáhyed iti proktaṁ śrīmaddviṁśatike trike || 56 |I

As is said in the venerable Dviśatika:”¹ ‘(AIl) the cycles of Mantras

and Vidyā are indeed successful if, free of emergence in the beginning and
the end, they are linked to the emergence (of consciousness) in the centre.
He who understands the arising of the cycles of Mantra and Vidyā quickly
atṭṭains success in the three (phases of the breathing cycle).’ (Ś5-56)

‘In the beginning and the endʼ, that is, in the exit and entry (of the
breath), ‘ṭhe emergence (of consciousness) in the centreʼ is oneness with the
Central Abode. (The word) ‘indeed’ (indicates) the reason. Thus, the yogi who
knows the arising of the cycles of Mantra and Vidyā in this way ‘attains
successʼ without delay. This is the meaning.
Surely (one may ask), what (indeed) cannot be achieved that is present
in the vital breath for a yogi who has conquered the breath and has ascended
(onto the supreme plane); but how can (a yogi) who is in the process of
conquering the breath and wishes to ascend achieve that? With this question in
mind, he says:

⁹! The reading -dviṁśatike is incorrect. Read with MSs Ch and N, śrīmadaviśatike for
śrīmaddviṁśatike. Perhaps Abhinava is referring to the Dviśatikakālottara. However,
these verses cannot be traced in the fragmentary manuscript I have of that text. The
expression ‘srīmaddviśatike trike’ may mean that the text belonged to the Trika
tradition, and so could not be the Dviśatikakālottara. On the face of it, it seems that
Abhinava is saying that this is a Trika text, which as its name tells us, was 200 verses
long. But this may not be so. As far as I know, this is the only reference to this text, at
least under this name. Another way to understand trike is simply ‘in the triad’, that is,
the three phases of the breathing cycle – entry, rest and emergence (of the breath). This
usage is illustrated below in 61cd-62ab. Moreover, the expression ‘śrīmaddviśatike
trikeʼ is very awkward. It may well be the result of a change of the word order of an
original reading: kṣipraṁ siddhyed trike iti proktaṁ śrīmaddviṁśatike. A scribe may
have mistakenly omitted ‘trike³, and then he himself or another one written it in the
margin, and the following scribe replaced it incorrectly. For these reasons I have chosen
to translate this way.
Itis possible that the preceding two verses are from the Dviśatika, but they are
more likely Abhinava’s gloss on it. This is probably true also of verses 57 to 62ab that
follow. Perhaps they are a mix of the text and Abhinava’s explanation.
Jayaratha had a copy of the Yoginīkaula, and so he quotes it here extensively as
Abhinava’s source of the first part of this chapter. This is in stark contrast to the
Dviśatika, that he does not quote at all, and so clearly, he did not have.
 TANTRĀLOKA 39
fṣfargaṁ mrṁftṝārīṝ ar rṣēēr ar |
TīTatzazd fī-āá gar̥d⁶ TTaidṝ I| u.s
fīīēīaāīqc-ātái; vīṀcṁhrrm |
āaāTxg āī -āI Ṁ̄aI ī] ṀTPĨJ Ṭ | u.¢ 1|

dvis triś catur vā mātrābhir vidyāṁ vā cakram eva vā |

tattvodayayutaṁ nityaṁ pr̥thagbhũtaṁ japet sadā l| 57 I
pinḍākṣarapadair mantraṃ ekaikaṁ śaktitattvagam |
bahvakṣaras tu yo mantro vidyā vā cakram eva vā || 58 |I
śaktiṣṭhaṁ naiva taṁ tatra vibhāgas tv oṁ namo ‘ntagaḥ |

(The Yogi who is a beginner) should always recite a Vidyā or a

cycle (of Mantra which is just) two, three or four measures (mātrā) long (so
that each repetition) is separate (and distinct). It should always be linked
with the emergence of the reality (tattvodaya) (at one with suṣumnā). Every
single (repetition of a) Mantra, along the syllabic groups (pinda), phonemes
(akṣara) and parts (pada) (that constitute it should be) separate and
(experienced to be) present within the essential power (śaktitattva) (of the
vital breath). If a Mantra with many phonemes, and Vidyā or cycle (of
Mantra), is not established in the power (of the vital breath) in this way,
(then) there (in that case) a division (vibhāga) (should be made between
each recitation by adding) OM (at the beginning of the Mantra) and
NAMAḤ (at the end).² (57-59ab)

Again, the yogi who desires to ascend (further) ‘should always recite’
repeating (the Mantra) for 100,000 or more times. (It should) ‘always be linked
with the emergence of realityʼ; that is, (it should be) one with the Central
Abode, having made it ‘present within the essential power’ of the vital breath,
in the manner described previously. ‘Every single (repetition of a) Mantra,
along the syllabic groups (piṇḍa), phonemes (akṣara), and parts (pada) (that
constitute it, should be) separate’. Or else there (may be) just a single syllabic
group, phoneme, or part. Or the Vidyā may consist of many letters, the cycle
(cakra) of many syllabic groups (piṇḍa), and the Mantra of many parts (pada),
with (their) measures as characterized by (the Mālinīvijayottara, where it says):
‘by the corresponding pervasion (anuvesṣṭana) generated by the three (blows),
the measure is (formed) by three snaps of the finger (cchotikā) (corresponding

⁵² Many-lettered mantras that are not clearly defined into syllabic units and whose
symmetry is broken up by OM and NAMAH at the beginning and end are not fit for this
kind of Mantric recitation, as they cannot be conveniently multiplied or divided in
harmony with the breathing cycle. This is because the division of the Mantra, for
example, is not marked by its part, but rather forms a single unit marked by the OṀ
with which it begins, or the NAMAH with which it ends. In other words, it forms a
single undivided unit (vibhāga).
40 CHAPTER SEVEN
to) the triple (blow)ʼ.² They may be ‘two, three or four measures (mātrā)
(long)ʼ, that is, (they may be) one, two or more (measures long) progressively,
in accord with the level of practice. This is the meaning.
Thus, on the contrary, the yogi who desires to mount a Mantra or the
like that has many letters and is not divided into parts (pada) should not place it
in the power (of the vital breath), because it is not possible to block (the flow of)
the vital breath (to extend it sufficiently to contain the whole Mantra). The
meaning is that one should not apply the emergence of power (that is, the
aforementioned procedure associated with the flow of the breath in suṣumnā,) to
them.
Surely, (one may ask,) if it is not possible to bring about* their
emergence within the power of the vital breath (all together) as (a single) whole,
because (the mantras) are made of many letters, let that be (done) part by part,
in accord with the process (krama) explained previously. With this question in
mind, he says: ‘there (in that case)³ etc. (when a Mantra is very long), ‘a
division (vibhāga) (should be made between each recitation by adding) OṀ
(at the beginning of the Mantra) and NAMAḤ (at the end)ʼ. Their division
is not, like other Mantras, determined by the sequence of (their) parts and
syllabic groups etc. in such a way that their arising can be take place
successfully with the power (of the vital breath), part by part. Thus, those (yogis
who are beginners and) wish to ascend (further) should not repeatedly recite
Mantras of this kind. This is the point.”²
Again, for the (advanced) yogi who has mounted (on the Mantra within
the breathing cycle) when it is emerging fully, (its) movement is not only of
three kinds, that is, entry (inhalation) and the rest, for that (triad of phases) is so
also (present) thus within (each of) its (three) phases. Thus, he says:

rṝTāṁṝīāīrdīcā Hī=TTĪRTT: I| U°A

f-n-̃ fama r̥a fṁarr.|
asmirṁs tattvodaye tasmād ahorātras triśas triśaḥ || 59 |I
vibhajyate vibhāgaś ca punar eva triśas triśaḥ |

⁹³ MV 17/12ab. The context of this statement is the practice of breath control

(prāṇāyāma), which the MV says is of three kinds: ‘The lowest (form of breath control
consists of) a single blow (udghāta). The middle one is considered to bestow
accomplishment. The best is a triple blow, and that consists of twelve measures. By the
corresponding pervasion (anuveṣṭana), generated by the three (blows), the measure is
(formed) by three snaps of the finger (cchoṭikā) (corresponding to) the triple (blow).”
MV 17/11-12. The term udghāta – ‘a blow’, denotes the striking of the breath at its
upper extremity of ascent. According to the SvT 7/301cd-302ab: ‘yogis should always
know that when the breath is blocked, and having reached into the head and returns, that
is said to be a ‘blow’.” The ‘blow³ is said to be single, double or triple, according to the
measure of breath retention, each of which is marked by a snap of the fingers. The most
intense is triple, and is known to be so because the yogi snaps his fingers three times.’
“⁴ Read kartuṁ for kartu.
“³ See above note 7,92.
 TANTRĀLOKA 41
The Day and Night (of exhalation and inhalation) are therefore
each divided by three, and each of these parts is again divided by three
within this emergence of the reality (tattvodaya) (of Mantra). (59cd-60ab)

‘Therefore’ʼ, for the aforementioned reason, ‘within this emergence of

the reality (of Mantra)³ that has commenced within the emergence of the
cycle, that is, a Day and a Night, that is, the exhaled and inhaled breath
(respectively), are ‘divided by three’, because an effect and (its) cause are
secondarily said to be one. The meaning is that the exhaled or the inhaled breath
are each divided into three kinds, that is, entry, oneness and exit. This is the
meaning. Thus, within the flow of the exhaled and inhaled breath, both of which
(extend for) thirty-six fingers, each one is of three kinds, namely, entry and the
rest, and so entry and the rest arise (one at a time for) every twelve-finger space.
In the same way, their own division is ‘again divided by three’. The meaning
is that entry and the rest also have (the same) three phases, namely, entry, exit
and oneness. Thus it is established that entry and the rest (of these nine, each)
arise every four fingers. The intended sense is that the emergence of the cycles
(of Mantra) of a yogi who is mounted on that limited part (arśa) of the
movement of the breath is also accomplished in this way.”
Having explained that by the way, he (now) continues with the (main)
point.

kōṭeĀfeietiEkittczxAṬIETN!
[EkleelUEe2PIISHĪJIECIKEEĀ.
qaṬ ĪTRAṬaT
] ūT: FIōī̄āḥ TRIT I| ⁶ 1|
THĪTJrGGT THITTTTĀTTGTTT |
pūrvodaye tu viśramya dvitīyenollased yadā || 60 ||
viśec cārdhardhikāyogāt tadoktārdhodayo bhavet |
yadā pūrṇodayātmā tu samaḥ kālas trike sphuret || 61 II
praveśaviśrāntyullāse syāt svatryaṁśodayas tadā |

If once (the yogi) has rested in the first emergence (of the breath),
(he) pours out (exhaling) by the second, and enters (inhaling in the third,)
by (thus) uniting the halves,” this is (the equivalent of) half the emergence
(of a breathing cycle) described previously. If time, as the full emergence
(udaya) (of the breathing cycle), manifests equally in the triad (trika) of
[3 Night and Day are the exhaled and inhaled breath (prāṇa and apāna), the three
divisions of which are entry, oneness and exit. As the movement of the vital breath
covers a distance of thirty-six finger breadths, each of these parts is made up of a space
of twelve fingers. Again, as each of these three consists of three parts, each of these
divisions arises in a four-finger space. Thisis another parallel method by which the
Yogi may order his breath and consciousness in a more subtle way.
⁹’ Emend cārdhardhikā- to cārdhārdhikā-
*⁸ There are 21,600 breathsin twenty-four hours. Half of that is 10,800 breaths.
42 CHAPTER SEVEN

entry, rest and emergence (of the breath), then (each of these) is a third of
its own arising.” (60cd-62ab)

Therefore, ‘once (the yogi) has rested in the first’ fundamental

(pradhāna) ‘emergence (of the breath)” within the Central Abode and has been
established (there) at one with it, and ‘if by the second’ aspect, which is the
exiting (of the exhaled breath), ‘he pours forth’, that is, travels upwards with
the sequence of the exhaled breath (prāṇakrama), and so by means of the third
aspect also, which is that of entry, ‘entersʼ that is, with the sequence of the
inhaled breath (apānakrama) enters into the Heart, then, because each one (of
the aspects) of the exhaled and the inhaled breath are related (to one another)
half by half, half of the time of the cycles of the breath, said before to be 21,600,
arises (in) 10,800 (cycles). Again, ‘if tīme’, as the ‘full emergence’ (of the
daily breathing cycle) consisting of (all) 21,600 (cycles), ‘manifests equally in
the triad’ called entry, rest and emergence, ‘then’ each one of the (three) —
entry and the rest – ‘is a third of its own arisingʼ, that is, 7,200 (cycles). This is
the meaning.
Surely, it was stated previously that: ‘thus all this Path, having come to
rest within consciousness, abides (there)."" So how is it that the Path of Time is
said in this way to be established in the vital breath alone? With this question in
mind, he says:

The Power of Time, the Breath, the Pulse of Consciousness and the Void

z̄d rīfā: dī] ūad Jāīt=za 1| Ṝ.2 1

ag āīx @ q āfsaraāi āīīaaī fzafaft=f=.
ity eṣa kālavibhavaḥ prāṇa eva pratiṣṭhitaḥ || 62||
sa spande khe sa taccityāṁ tenāsyāṁ viśvaniṣṭhitiḥ |

This is the power (vibhava) of Time, that is established (in this

form) within the vital breath (prāṇa). This is within the pulsation
(spanda)¹⁰¹ (of consciousness), which is within the Void (kha) that is within
consciousness. Thus, all things are established within (consciousness).¹⁰²
(62cd-63ab)

⁵’ 21,600 divided by three makes 7,200.

'⁰ Above, 6/28cd.
⁰l R̥ead ṣpande for spade.
¹⁰² The following two verses explain how this process takes place within consciousness,
and is essentially its activity. This is one of Abhinava’s favourite exegetical models,
although hardly known to scripture. Thus, we can safely assume that these are
Abhinava’s words. He sets out with the scriptural association between time and the
breath, to lead it on to its link with the pulse of consciousness, from that to the Void.
and then pure consciousness. One of the great underlying themes of Abhinava’s
exegesis is how every single thing is variously established within consciousness
according to its empirical (i.e. sensorially perceivable) nature. In the course of
explaining the procedures for how to perform rites, recite Mantras, practice a large
 TANTRĀLOKA 43
(The exhaled) ‘vital breath’ (prāṇa) is the main one, and so (it stands
for) the inhaled and (all the) other (forms of the vital breath) also. “This’, that is,
the breath, (is established) in the universal ‘pulsation (of consciousness)’, that
is, within the modality (and function of consciousness that) impels (and imparts
life) (prāṇanāvṛṇi), which is (its) initial expansion (prasara). ‘The Void’ is the
perceiver of the emptiness (of deep sleep). The sense is that ‘this’ (power of
Time) pouring forth externally, (impelled) by (its) enthusiasm for (outer)
objectivity, is variously called the vital breath and the pulsation (of
consciousness) etc. ‘That’ is the Void, because consciousness itself manifests
by its own freedom as the Void (of deep sleep, which although objective is
without content). ‘Thus’, because of the stated serial cause, ‘all things’, that is,
the six-fold Path, (is established in consciousness). As he will say:

‘AIl this Path is established in pure consciousness (cinmātra), for what

does not rest there (is as unreal as) a sky-flower. (Through and) mediated by
consciousness, the Path is established in that which it has emitted, namely, in
the void, in the intellect, in the vital breaths, in the wheels of the channels (of
the vital breath) (nāḍī), in the secondary wheels (cakra) (of the senses), and in
the external body.”¹⁵

In this way, the emanation and withdrawal of all things are dependent
on consciousness. Thus, he says:

³rā: afcaṝṝsa
ī favōāīza
rit|| 5 3 1
YIHTJÑSĀĪTT TTaTRTHTĀTĪ] āTIKTĀTĪ āT ; |
ataḥ saṁvitpratiṣṭhānau yato viśvalayodayau || 63 |
Śśaktyante ‘dhvani tatspandāsaṁkhyātā vāstavī tataḥ |

Thus, the emanation and withdrawal of all things is established in

consciousness, and so the innumerable pulsations (spanda) (of
consciousness) along the (cosmic) Path up to Śakti (the energy of the vital
breath) are real. (63cd-64ab)

‘Thus’, because time is serially (pāramparyeṇa) eṣtablished in

consciousness itself, and so the emanation and withdrawal of all things is
brought about by consciousness, those aforementioned pulsations (of
consciousness) consisting of emanation and withdrawal ‘along the Path up to

variety of Yogas and more, Abhinava in one way or another assesses and stresses that
every single one is grounded in consciousness. Thus, for example, the Path of the
Worlds is grounded in consciousness in the same way as that of Time, mediated through
the same series as here (see below 8/4). Thus, he opens the door for the practice of
awareness in the course of engaging in outer practices. That is essential. Were they not
to be grounded in consciousness, they would not exist. It must necessarily be so. It is
also because this is so that outer practice can yield insight and hence be liberating.
'⁰* Below, 8/3-4. 8/3cd is also quoted ad 1/6, 5/82cd-83ab (82), 6/21-22ab, 10/3-5, and
13/112cd-113ab.
44 CHAPTER SEVEN
Śaktī⁷ encompass (many) secondary pulsations, in accord with the teaching
(yukti) imparted previously (in the following verse):

‘The emanations and reabsorptions of the universe contained in that

(one) creation are countless. This is why Śakti’s creation is called the Great
Emanation (mahāsṛṣṭi).’¹⁰

Thus although ‘innumerable’, (the pulsations of consciousness) ‘are

real’, and because they are one with pure Being alone, are ultimately real. The
intended sense is that all external activity (pariṣpanda), whatever it may be, is
nothing but consciousness and its metaphysical principles.
This (teaching) not just our own imagination, for the same is also
(taught) in the scriptures. Thus, he says:

ṁ JJīT’ctāṁ Tṝī ā̄ā agaātrā I ēz1

faāṀ 3īāī ṁāīd r̄a-d |
uktaṁ śrīmālinītantre gātre yatraiva kuṭracit || 64 ||
vikāra upajāyeta tat tattvaṁ tattvam uttamam |

It is said in the venerable Mālinītantra that ‘the reality principle,

(which is the foundation of) any (pulse of sensory) activity (vikāra) in the
body, wherever it may occur, is the most excellent reality.”¹⁰⁵ (64cd-65ab)

For the yogi who has penetrated into supreme consciousness here (in
this world), wherever his eyes or (any of his senses act) and (sensory) activity
(vikāra), that is, the pulse (of consciousness), arises in the body, preceded by the
conscious intention (saṁkalpa) that “all this glorious outpouring (vibhava) is
mine,”¹⁰ its (fundamental) reality (tattva), which manifests all things as one
with itself, is the ‘the most excellent reality°, that is, the supreme, ultimate
reality (paramārtha), because it is not separate from consciousness. This is the
meaning. That is said there:

‘The reality principle (which is the foundation of) any (pulse of

sensory) activity (vikāra) in the body, wherever it may occur, preceded by a
conscious intention (sarīkalpa), O goddess, is the most excellent reality.” '⁰⁷

Surely (one may ask), let this be (as you say), (but) there (in that case)
also, how is the nature (rāpa) of that vital breath, which is said to be grounded
in the body? With this question in mind, he says:

'* Above, 6/173cd-174ab (173).

¹"⁰ This is an abbreviated paraphrase of MV 18/41cd-42ab, that is quoted in full by
Jayaratha.
¹⁰⁰ TP 4/1/12a. Also quoted in TĀv ad 1/41-42, 4/169-170, and 14/46. See note to the
first īnstance.
¹"” MV 18/41cd-42ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 45

The Channels of the Breath and the Measure of the Body

ī] JGītzīāī: rīōaakīī
ā--; 1| .4 1A
vṁāṝzāīaāṁai
aāī ̃ frēzā |
prāṇe pratiṣṭhitaḥ kālas tadāviṣṭā ca yat tanuḥ || 65 II
dehe pratiṣṭhitasyāsya tato rūpaṁ nirūpyate |

Time is based on the vital breath, and the body is penetrated (and
pervaded) by that. Accordingly, the nature of that (vital breath), which is
established in the body, will be described. (65cd-66ab)

The word ‘that’, (when he says that the body is) ‘penetrated (and
pervaded) by that’, refers to the vital breath. ‘Accordingly’, because the body
is penetrated (and pervaded) by the vital breath.
Surely (then, one may ask,) how is the body penetrated by that? With
this question in mind, he says:

īkṝ-aṬīgī-īāīrcaī
aī gōāī afīt | Eē,
aI āīṬŚĪRTTTTa
Ġā TaāīTāTGTT I
citspandaprāṇavrttīnām antyā yā sthūlatā suṣiḥ || 66 ||
sā nāḍīrūpatām etya dehaṁ saṁtānayed imam |

The inner (final resultant) gross state of consciousness, its pulsation

and movement of the vital breath, is (called) the Cavity (suṣir). Assuming
the form of the channels (of the vital breath) (nāḍī), it holds this body
together (as a united whole). (66cd-67ab)

‘The inner (final resultant) state’ of consciousness and the rest

described previously (is such), as it is (their) intent to give rise to (their external)
products, and so it is (their) ‘gross state’ which is termed the ‘Cavityʼ, and as it
is the inner instrument (antaḥkaraṇa) of consciousness and the rest, it is, as
(their) external form, (their) condensed state (regarding which it is said):

‘Manifest from the tip of the big toe, travelling from the navel to the
heart and exiting (from the body) by way of the lotus of the Cavity of Brahmā
(at the top of the head), it should be known to be called ‘suṣumnā’, created by
the Supreme Lord within the movement of the vital breath of living beings.’

In accord with this teaching, (the Cavity) initially, like a central

(supporting) pillar (of a building that is erected first), assumes the form of the
Central Channel that ‘holds together this bodyʼ, the (cosmic) dimensions of
which will be described (in the following chapters). By generating secondarily
other nerves as divisions, primary and secondary, (of itself) all around like a net,
it should hold together (the body). This is the meaning.
46 CHAPTER SEVEN
Thus, the scripture also (teaches) the same. Accordingly, he says:

ṃĩ̄avv
TaII A³I ṬTĨ
…Ṁa Ã̄TTĨ̄Ĩ: I Ã.9 1
a-Ṭ TTṬJRgITAT
Tfefī:
T |
śrīṣvacchande ‘ta evoktaṁ yathā parṇaṁ svatantubhiḥ || 67 I
vyāptaṁ tadvattanurdvāradvāribhāvena nāḍibhiḥ |

Thuṣ it is said in the venerable Svacchanda¹ that the body is

pervaded by primary and secondary channels (nāḍī), like a leaf by its
filaments. (67cd-68ab)

Just as the Palāśa leaf ‘is pervaded’ everywhere by these other

filaments that take their support from (its) central filament, in the same way the
body (is pervaded) by primary and secondary channels attached to the central
channel (madhyanāḍī), related one to another as subordinate (guṇa) to
fundamental (pradhāna). This is the meaning of (this) statement. As is said
there:

‘O beloved, the channels (of the vital breath) that are below the navel,
within the root of the genitals, and in the middle of the navel, have come forth
from that at a slant, above and below. There are ten main channels located there,
(arranged) like (the spokes of) a wheel. 72,000 channels have come forth from
them, and then again others have come from them, and then others again from
those, (and so on) again (and again). (Thus,) the channels are said to be as many
as are the tens of millions of pores (of the body). (The body) is pervaded
everywhere (by them), as the leaf of the Palāśa is by (its) filaments.’¹⁰

Surely all agree that, according to the dictum ‘all (the channels) are
filled with the vital breath’, all these channels thus transport the vital breath, and
all the body is pervaded by them. So how is it that the movement of the breath is
said (to extend for a distance of) thirty-six fingers from the heart to the End of

'⁰* Explanatory paraphrase of SVT 7/1Ocd-1 1ab.

'⁰” SVT 7/7cd-10. In the Heart of Recognition (Pratyabhijñāhrṛdaya), Kṣemarāja writes:

‘The Centre is the Goddess of Consciousness alone, for it is the inner being of
all things, as nothing would have a nature of its own were it not fixed on the screen of
that (consciousness). However, even though it is such, it conceals its real nature at the
level of Māyā, and in accord with the dictum: ‘initially consciousness is transformed
into the vital breath’, it assumes the form of the power of the vital breath (prāṇaśakti). It
then gradually descends through the planes of the intellect and the body etc. and reposes
there, following the course of countless vital channels (nāḍī). The priṇcipal form it
assumes is that of the Central Channel (madhyanāḍrī, uṣumnā), whose substratum is
Brahman, the power of the vital breath. It travels from the Cavity of Brahmā
(brahmarandhra) (at the top of the head) to the ‘lower face’ (adhovaktra) (of the genital
region), like the central rib ofa leaf.’ PrHṛ comm. sā. 17.
 TANTRĀLOKA 47
the Twelve, or up to the location of the anus (mattagandha)? With this question
in mind, he says:

IRṬÇJTĪTRHTĀTTNTTTĀTSĒT⁵HTĀTT: I| Ē. I
āṝī; āōTāTāayqdīīaāāīgōrtā:|
grīevṁtaī%; fēfrrzeāīvfxaf̃ fāṣ: 1 ē< u
TTTTTṬ; ṬGṬr̥hT=TRIÑ JTT |
pādāṅguṣṭhādikordhvasthabrahmakuṇḍalikāntagaḥ || 68 I|
kālaḥ samastaś caturaśītāv evāṅguleṣv itaḥ |
dvādaśāntāvadhiṁ kiṁcit sīūkṣmakālasthitiṁ viduḥ || 69 ||
ṣaṇṇavatyām adhaḥ ṣaḍdvikramāc cāṣṭottaraṁ śatam |

The entire (flux of) time (as the vital breath), from the big toe up to
the Brahmakuṇḍalinī,¹⁰ which is located above (at the top of the head),
occupies a space of eighty-four fingers. (The learned in these matters) know
that time is present in some subtle way up to the (upper) End of the Twelve.
(Thus, according to) this other (measure), it occupies a space of ninety-six
fingers, which (by adding another) sequence of twice six again below (the
feet), makes one hundred and eight.¹"¹ (68cd-70ab)

‘Brahmakuṇḍalinī, which is located above’, is the Cavity of Brahmā

(brahmabila). The entire (flux of) time described previously (occupies a space
of) of eighty-four fingers, because the body (measures) three and a half fore-arm
spans (hasta).¹² (Time is) ‘present’ and abides (also up to the upper End of the
Twelve, thus occupying a space of) ninety-six fingers. This should be applied
first. This being so, because twelve fingers more are added and the word
‘subtle’ is proximate (to the reference to that addition), the meaning is
established, that the previous and subsequent measures are gross and supreme,
respectively.¹"³
(Another twelve is said to be added) ‘below° the big toe of the foot. The
sense of (saying) ‘by (adding another) sequence of twice six’, that is,

'!⁰ This is the form of Kuṇḍalinī which is within the Cavity of Brahmā (brahmabila),
that is located on the crown of the head.
"!¹ See below 16/100-101ab.
¹!² A hasta (which literally means ‘hand’) is a measure of length from the elbow to the
tip of the middle finger, which is equivalent to twenty-four finger breadths. Thus, three
and a half of them equals eighty-four finger breadths.
'"³ The text states that another twelve-finger space is added above the head, which
covers the distance up to the Upper End of the Twelve above the head. The previous
sentence states that subtle time is present there. Thus, we may infer that the measure of
eighty-four fingers mentioned previously refers to the span of the body pervaded by
gross Time (in the form of the gross movement of the vital breath). Thus, the addition of
a further twelve finger breadths below the feet, making a total of one hundred and eight
digits, which is the supreme measure.
48 CHAPTER SEVEN
sequence of twelve, is therefore that there is an End of the Twelve below (the
feet) also, like the one above (the head).

T TeaTGZATTTTIĪĪRGATaTI/ S9° |
faī gftara f=-ī’ āīzaāīgēāīa] |
atra madhyamasañcāriprāṇodayalayāntare || 70 ||
viśve sṛṣṭilayās te tu citrā vāyvantarakramāt |

AIl these emanations and withdrawals (take place) within the

emergence and merger of the vital breath that moves in the centre. (Their)
wonderful diversity is due to the inner sequence of the vital breath. (70cd-
71ab)

Here (according to this teaching), all the creations and destructions, that
is, the progressive process of manifestation (kalanā) described previously, takes
place in between ‘the emergence and mergerʼ, that is, exit and entry of the
vital breath that flows in the centre, because it is the main one within the body
and is distinguished by the three kinds of measures. However, as before, their
wonderful diversity ‘is due to the inner sequence’ of the inhaled breath
(apāna), certainly not due to the variety of the body. This is the meaning.
Now he summarizes the matter (discussed in this) chapter with the first
half of a verse.

TA| gPTTṜTTTTYTG-ĪTRJFTCĀĪS]TTTTTIÇT TT; I |9, 1I

ity eṣa sūkṣmaparimarśanaśīlanīyaś cakrodayo ‘nubhavaśāstradṛśā mayoktaḥ ||
71 I

I have explained this, the ‘Emergence of the Cycles (of Mantras)’,

according to the scriptures and personal experience. It should be cultivated
with subtle awareness. (71)

(Stating that it should be cultivated) ‘with subtle awarenessʼ, he is

saying that it can (only) be known by (exercising) very careful attention. This is
the auspicious end.

The one called Jayaratha, who is intent on discerning and experiencing

the various kinds of movements of (each) fixed (pratiniyata) assemblage of
Mantras, has explained this, the seventh chapter.

Thus ends the seventh chapter of the Tantrāloka, called the explanation
of the Emergence of the Cycles (of Mantras), composed by the venerable
Mahāmāheśvarācārya, the venerable and most excellent Abhinavagupta, which
has a commentary called ‘Discernment’ (Viveka), written by the venerable
Jayaratha.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

The Path of Space (deśādhavan)

May He Whose glorious fame is the conquest (of the darkness of

ignorance) be victorious. He Who, like the sun, makes the lotus of the universe
divided up by the petals of the worlds bloom, by assuming as His dwelling (its)
unique stalk of consciousness.

Now, in order to expound the nature of the Path of Space with the
second half (of the verse with which the previous chapter ends), he begins.

šTa-ĪISTTF qHTRTrērērTTT
cṇgīar fafxzā fSravīīērgṣa: I g 1
deśādhvano ‘py atha samāsavikāsayogāt
saṅgīyate vidhir ayaṁ Śivaśāstradṛṣṭaḥ || 1 II

Now will be expounded, both in brief and at length,¹⁴ this

procedure pertaining to the Path of Space (deśādhvan), seen in Śiva’s
scriptures. (1)

Surely (one may ask), there are countless related matters to be known
that also need to be discussed, even so, why is instruction (imparted) here
concerning this? With this doubt in mind, he says:

The Path of Space Established in the Body and Pervasive Consciousness

frrnīsz
sārear fkzrahrīa s³iī |
iṭiēezstittú|⁰nvĀHETa-ĀHIEṈI
vicārito 'yaṁ kālādhvā kriyāśaktimayaḥ prabhoḥ |
mūrtivaicitryajas tajjo deśādhvā ʻtha nirūpyate || 2 ||

Now that this Path of Time, which is the Lord’s power of action,
has been examined, the Path of Space,¹"¹⁸ which is the result of the

'!³ The brief exposition is found in verses 406cd-452ab. This is drawn from the
Mataṅgatantra and the MV. The extensive exposition is in the preciks verses. The
primary sources for this chapter are SYT 10, MV 5, Mataṅgatanīra, the Śivatanuśāstra
and Sadyojyotis’s commentary on the Rauravatantra.
''³ The Path of Time and the Path of Space, terms Abhinava has coined inspired by
Bhartṛhari, refer to the two pairs of three Paths that make up the Six Paths. Although the
entire six-fold Path is within the flow of the breath (6/4cd-5), the three Paths of Mantra,
parts of Mantra and phonemes flow most evidently within the Path of Time (6/37). It is
clear and quite coherent that the expression refers only to the projection of the cycles of
50 CHAPTER EIGHT
wonderful variety of forms (mūrtivaicitrya)¹¹⁸ born from Him, is described
i17

‘Now’ is in the sense of ‘next’. The three modalities (prakāra) – Path of

Time consisting of its Parts (pada), Mantra, and Phonemes (varṇa), have been
discussed, and so next (after that), it is appropriate to describe the Path of Space
also here. Thus, the following four chapters describe, in due order, the Worlds,
Principles and Forces."" (The Path is) ‘born from Him. It is born from that
Lord. The meaning is that He manifests externally in this way, and that (as all
things). As they say:

‘(I) praise Bhairava’s visible body as the universe, which is the

condensation of the flood of the juice (rasa) of consciousness, that has assumed
a (fixed defined) form.”¹⁰

time and mantras into the breathing cycle taught in Chapters Six and Seven. Just as
Abhinava paired the Path of Space with that of Time, which is the subject of Chapter
Six, at the beginning of that chapter, he does the same here. The ‘Path of Space’
(deśādhvan) in its gross form is the Path of the Worlds (bhuvanādhvan). Those of the
metaphysical principles (tattvādhvan) and the forces (kalādhvan) are subtle and
supreme, respectively. Abhinava goes on to expound these in the following three
chapters. Juṣṭ as the worlds are distributed in the principles, so too the principles are
distributed in the Forces. The word ‘deśa’, that I translate as ‘space’, means more
literally ‘location’ or ‘place’. Only the worlds can be ‘locations’ or ‘places’ within the
cosmic order, and as such, can be measured and positioned quite literally with respect to
one another. Moreover, only the worlds can have a variety of forms, and their
measurements specified, and so are ‘gross'. The metaphysical principles, as Abhinava
points out right at the beginning of his exposition in Chapter Nine, are ‘categories’ or
universal material causes of their specific contents, which in this context, are the worlds
corresponding to each one. Thus, as generic universals in this sense, the Tattvas can
have no specific forms, much less location, and so are ‘subtle’. The Five Forces are
spheres of energy or forces that pervade the principles, and so are supremely subtle.
This is how Jayaratha understands Abhinava here. However, it is also possible to
understand that Abhinava is referring specifically to the Path of the Worlds here.
Although the principles and Forces contain the worlds, which have specific sizes and
forms, they themselves do not. At an early stage in the history of the development of
Śaiva metaphysics and cosmology, the Worlds alone marked stages along the path of
ascent to Siva. Distributed within the principles, they thus also marked the ascent
through them. Thus, ascending through this one, the adept rises in the course of
initation, and subsequently in his regular practice through them, thereby purifying them
and himself of them.
'!⁰ See above, 6/21cd ff. Abhinava glosses mirtivaicitryajas – ‘the result of the
wonderful variety of forms’ as māūrtivaicitryābhāsanaśaktijo’ – ‘the result of the power
to manifest the wonderful variety of forms’.
'!” According to Jayaratha, tajjo means ‘born from Him’, but it may also mean ‘born
from that’, that is, from the Path of Time. I think that that is a better understanding of
what Abhinava is saying. Time is the origin of Space, that is, the deployment of the
world-orders.
'!⁶ See below, note 8,2.
''⁹ I have not been able to trace this reference. However, this notion is well attested.
Thus, we read for example, in the Mahārthamañjarī:
 TANTRĀḶOKA 51
Well then, if that is so, is this six-fold Path separate from that one
(undivided) conscious nature, or not?'™⁰ With this doubt in mind, he says:

z3 x fī=ṝ ēīr.ajgara
adhvā samasta evāyaṁ cinmātre saṁpratiṣṭhitaḥ |

yad uktaṁ śrīkramasūtreṣu – bāhyād antaḥ praveśo ‘bhyantarād vā bāhya-

svarūpānupraveśaḥ iti | yathā ca vyākhyātaṁ śrīmatkṣemarājena – tatra ca bāhyād
grṛhyamāṇād viṣayagrāmād antaḥ parasyāṁ citibhūmau grasanakrameṇaiva praveśaḥ
samāveśo bhavati, abhyantarāc tiśakúiṣvarāpāt sākṣātkṛtāt samāveśasāmarthyād eva
bāhyasvarūpa idantādinirdeśye | viṣayagrāme vamanayuktyā praveśaś cid-
rasāśyānatātmā samāveśo jāyate iti | yad abhipretya śrīpratyabhjñāyām uktam -
viśvarūpo ʻham idam ity akhaṇḍānandabṛṁhitaḥ iti |

‘As is said in the Kramasūtras: ‘entry inside takes place from outside, or else
entry into the outer nature is from within’. As is explained by the venerable Kṣemarāja:
‘there (according to that teaching) ‘there is entry (praveśa)³, that is, contemplative
penetration (samāveśa) ‘from outside’, that is, from the multitude of perceived sense
objects, ‘inside’, that is, into the supreme plane of consciousness, by (the process of
their) progressive absorption (grasanakrama). ‘From within’, that is, from the essential
nature of the power of consciousness, that has been made directly apparent by the
capacity for contemplative penetration into the outer nature, which is denoted as
‘thisnessī etc. When entry into the multitude of sense objects by means of the
outpouring (vamanayukti) (of consciousness) takes place, the contemplative penetration
which is the condensation of the juice (rasa) (of the aesthetic delight) of consciousness
prevails.ʼ MM p. 159

yogī hy ātmanaḥ parapramātr̥bhāvaṁ parimitapramātṛtāyām antaḥkaraṇeṣv etāni

bahirindriyeṣu tāni ca caityabhūmāv udvamananayaiva nāḍyā pramātrāditrikamayam
akhilam api lokavaicitryaṁ svātmasaṁvidāśyānatāsvabhāvam ādhatte |

‘The yogi, emitting the state of supreme subjectivity of (his own) Self onto the
plane of objectivity, that is, into the state of limited subjectivity, these (mental objects)
within the inner mental organs and these (outer objects) within the outer senses, by
means of this psychic channel (nāḍī), all the wonderful variety of the world, consisting
of the triad of the subject (object and means of knowledge), assumes the nature of the
condensed state of the consciousness of one’s own self.' MM p. 161

Similarly, we read in the Paramārthasāra the commentary by Yogarāja:

‘Śiva Himself, whois one dense (uninterrupted) consciousness, pouring forth

in the form of Śakti, shines radiantly as the universe, the nature of whichis Man (nara).
Śakti and Nara have no form at all thatis separate from Śiva. It is Śiva Himself who
shines radiantlyin this way as the condensation of His own juice (rasa). (Thus he says
that):
‘Just as the juice (of the sugar cane), molasses, sugar, raw sugar, varieties of
sugar cane etc. are just sugar cane juice, in the same way, all the varieties of states are
those of Śambhu, the Supreme Self.” (26) PS p. 95.
'¹⁰ Read na vā for navā.
52 CHAPTER EIGHT
yat tatra nahi viśrāntaṁ tan nabhaḥ kuṣumāyate || 3 |)

'³"AII this Path is established in consciousness alone (cinmātra), for

what does not rest there (is as unreal as) a sky-flower.¹²² (3)

(The Path) ‘is fully established’ (in consciousness), which means that it
is not separate from it. Here (in this regard), the second half (of the verse) is the
reason (for that, by explaining what it would be it were it to be) separate (from
consciousness). (Thus, he says that what does not rest in consciousness is like)
‘a sky-flowerʼ, that is, it would be nothing at all.
Well then, if this Path is not separate from consciousness, how is it that
it could manifest everywhere externally, as divided off (from consciousness)?
With this doubt in mind, he says:

feza] cqc r̥̄ fia rēqġ 1

|IšÉEAFGEAfEIEer+³ze:
te⁷ II
saṁviddvāreṇa tatsṛṣṭe śūnye dhiyi marutsu ca |
nāḍīcakrānucakreṣu bahirdehe ‘dhvasaṁsthitiḥ || 4 ||

¹²¹ Abhinava prefaces his exposition of his Trika cosmology in accord with his usual
exegetical method, that is, by examining how it is all grounded in consciousness.
Scripture reveals the cosmic order in detail. It may also refer to how it is deployed in the
yogic body, but it is left to the teacher to explain how it is grounded in consciousness,
and the manner in which to practice to experience it there and so attain Bhairava’s state
(8/5). In order to do this, Abhinava muṣt set aside, provisionally at least, the method that
is implicit in revelation, namely, dhyāna – visualization. The detailed descriptions and
myths of origins of the places and the beings who reside there, can serve no other
purpose than to instil a clear image of the worlds, their Lords and inhabitants, in the
mind of the practitioner. Initially mental, it is to become progressively more clearly his
great objective environment. Initially it is ‘out there’. The world orders constitute the
objective universe. They are no less objective and real as common tables and chairs that
furnish the world of daily life. Abbreviating with his usual consummate skill, Abhinava
meticulously describes all the relevant details, because they are indeed important. Even
s0, he sets out right from the start to make it clear that the practice is, as always, directed
at the realisation of pure pervasive consciousness. Essentially, this amounts to attending
to the first moment of perception. In that perspective of nirvikalpa consciousness of
Śambhavopāya of the perceiver, the world orders appear in all their complexity in their
entirety (samastyena). Thus, they are all grasped at once and in a flash, without the
laborious ascents and the immense cosmic ages required to traverse them. Abhinava
cites the Spandakārikā as his authority here (8/6). At first it may seem that Abhinava
pre-empts the purpose of the cosmology he so carefully and extensively describes. But
this is not so. Although Abhinava teaches the practice at the beginning, it cannot be
applied until we reach the end and have climbed to the summit of the worlds, from
where we can view them fully and completely, not in the details with which we had to
struggle on the way up, but with the spontaneous openness of a universal view, like that
of a man who views a town in the valley below from the heights ofa mountain peak.
'²² Literally, nabhaḥ kuṣumāyate means ‘the sky aspires to be a flower.
 TANTRĀLOKA 53
(Through and) mediated by consciousness, the Path is established in
that which it has emitted, namely, in the void, in the intellect, in the vital
breaths, in the configurations (cakra) of the channels (of the vital breath)
(nāḍī), in the secondary wheels (cakra) (of the senses) and in the external
body.¹²³ (4)

Consciousness itself, by virtue of its own freedom, having concealed its

own (true) nature, manifests the Path of six kinds within the perceiver who is
the void (of deep sleep), vital breath, intellect and the body that it has poured
forth from (and as) itself, and within external objectivity, as if it were separate
(from itself), even though it is not. This is what he says (with the words)
‘mediated by consciousness, the Path is established in that which it has
emitted, namely, in the void’ etc.'⁸ One should connect the vital breath (to
that) on the same footing, (as indicated by the words) ‘in the configurations
(cakra) of the channels (of the vital breath) (nāḍī), in the secondary wheels
(cakra) (of the senses)³ (and so on).¹³⁵
Well then, if that is the case, let it be, what could be wrong (in that)?
But what is the purpose of describing it? With this doubt in mind, he says:

ī⁵āīaīā rēzīsz aaṁaīdīākaraḤ, |

³T-ā āJ] āīīī sšRSTTĪ āTSIT || 4, 1)
tatrādhvaivaṁ nirūpyo ‘yaṁ yatas tat prakriyākramam |
anusandadhad eva drāg yogī bhairavatāṁ vrajet || 5 |I

'³ Cf. above, 7/62cd-63ab and note; see also below, TĀv ad 12/2-3. In the TSā (p. 63),
Abhinava adds that in this way, mediated by consciousness and embedded within it, the
Path also extends out ‘up to the (outer) Liṅga, altar and icon etc.’ Thus, he clearly
reaffirms what he said at the beginning of Chapter Six, that this procedure is an
‘external means (that operates in the sphere of objectivity), called ‘the formation of the
placesʼ (sthānakalpanā)³, and that ‘the ‘places’ are said to be of three kinds, (according
to whether they are) in the vital breath, the body or in the outside (world).” (6/1-2ab).
Thus, he concludes his summary of the Path of the Worlds in the TSā saying:
‘Conceiving all these paths (adhvan) either in the body, or in the vital energy, or in the
intellect, or in the great void of consciousness as the highest, one attains the fullness of
Bhairava.²
'*³ Pure consciousness spontaneously hides its own innate nature and becomes the
experiencing subjectivity of the void, the vital breath, mind and body, thus appearing as
a range of experiencing subjects corresponding to them. However, although they are the
objects of knowledge of these perceivers, they are not separate from consciousness. In
this way, the six Paths of cosmic manifestation shine both within consciousness and
externally.
'³³ The ‘wheels’ – cakras – in this context are the configurations of the channels of the
vital breath (nāḍī). The senses are ‘secondary wheels’ because they rotate enlivened by
the vital breath, in consonance with the cycle of the ‘primary wheel’ of consciousness.
Thus, as it pervades them all, the vital breath is, on the same footing as the other
components of the sphere of objectivity that mediates the activity of consciousness.
Jayaratha also implies that although the breath is deployed in Time, it is on the same
level as the other components that are deployed in Space.
54 CHAPTER EIGHT

This Path merits description there in this way, because the yogi who
just (evam) contemplates (and integrates) the layout of the cosmos
(prakriyākrama)¹²⁶ (experienced in the initial impulse to perception) quickly
(drāk) attains Bhairava’s state. (5)

‘The layout of the cosmos’ (of the Path) is the systematic deployment
(avasthāna) of each (world) in accord with its own nature
(tathātathānupūrveṇa), ranging from the Fire of Time up to (transcendental)
Anāśrita (Śiva). The yogi ‘who contemplatesʼ (this Path) with the reflective
awareness that “T am all this”, thus attaining a state of rest within his own (true)
nature, quickly attains oneness with supreme consciousness.
Nor¹⁷ is this (just) our own idea. Thus, he says:

fezarāa āāīā aaī aaāraṛatr=a1|

ī̄ṛ fēk ār̄ītē⁷ ōaqm --cŪīa- || § 1|
didṛkṣayaiva sarvārthān yadā vyāpyāvatiṣṭhate |
tadā kiṁ bahunoktena ity uktaṁ spandaśāsane || 6 ||

It is said in the Spanda teaching: “When (the Yogi’s consciousness)

pervades all things by (his) desire to perceive, then why speak much? (– He
will experience it for himself).’²⁸(6)

¹⁸ Goodall (2015: 64) translates prakriyā as ‘cosmic hierarchy°. He takes (2004: 310 fn
604) ‘prakriyā’ to be a Śaiva technical term for ‘cosmos’ or ‘cosmology’ and gives
examples of usage in this sense. These include Niśvāsamukha 4/96 fl. 17a, Niśvāsa
uttarasūtra 1/9 and 1/14, fl. 23a, Niśvāsaguhyasūtra 4l4 fl. 51b, Mataṅgavidyāpāda
16/13, SVT 11/198-9, Mokṣakārikā 76, and Abhinava’s Tantrasāra p. 64.
But while the use of the term is often in this restricted sense, it may also denote
the configuration of other elements of the Path. Thus, for example, an account of the
series of world orders presented in chapter seven of the Dīkṣottara is introduced with
the words:

prakriyā (> prakriyāṁ) sūtramantrāṇāṁ yathāvad anupārvaśaḥ |

anantam āditaḥ kṛtvā śivatatvam apaścimam || 7 ||
kathayāmi samāsena saṁkhyādhvānasya yāvatī |

‘I will tell (you) in brief the prakriyā of the sūtras and mantras, correctly and in
due order, starting with Ananta up to Śivatattya, and the numeration of the Path, as it is.”
Diīkṣottara 7/7-8ab

Here prakriyā means ‘deployment’ of the Mantras of the scripture (sūtra)

corresponding to the world orders. As they are uttered, offerings are made to the fire,
and the neophant is elevated through them by his teacher. This kind of initiation is
called bhuvanadīkṣā. Thus, in this case, the term is not confined to just to the
configuration – ‘prakṛiyā’ – of the worlds.
'⁷ Read na caitad for nacaitad.
 TANTRĀLOKA 55
Juṣṭ as something manifests as directly apparent to one’s self during (the
initial) desire to see it, in the very same way, if the yogi, reflecting initially on
all things contained within (the range of) principles from Earth up to Śiva as “1
am all this”, abides having encompassed (them) within his own (true conscious)
nature, then by the falling away of all objectivity, he will experience the fruit of
that, namely, the aesthetic wonder (camatkāra) of penetration into the state of
Supreme Bhairava, as his own consciousness itself. So then here (in that case),
‘why speak much?” The meaning is that it serves no purpose. He will
experience it, that is, the fourth state (of pure consciousness, directly) for
himsṣelf.¹⁹
Well then, is it possible for that to be so just by the knowledge (and
direct experience) (jñāna) of the configuration of the Path (adhvaprakriyā)
alone? With this doubt in mind, he says:

3īīāāī āā-ṭaī+ārī3 fīdāq 1

iEāEx²lḻēIĒṬFCEIĀĀI IcZE7:I{IṞCṈ
āīāṁ aāāitṁi aī ahraftaṁcaē|
3IṬTRIHTĪĪ] ÑRḤTÑJGĀTG: I| /¢ I
jñātvā samastam adhvānaṁ tad īśeṣu vilāpayet |
tān dehaprāṇadhīcakre pūrvavad gālayet kramāt |I 7 ||
tat samastaṁ svasaṁvittau sā saṁvid bharitātmikā |
upāsyamānā saṁsārasāgarapralayānalaḥ || 8 II

Once he has known the entire Path (within his consciousness, the
yogi) should then dissolve it into the deities (who preside over it). As before,
he should merge them (gālayer)¹ progressively into the wheel of the body,
the vital breath and the intellect. (Finally,) all that (should be merged
collectively) into his own consciousness. This consciousness, which is full (of
all things), and the object of constant worship, is (like) the fire of universal
destruction (pralaya), (which dries up) the ocean of transmigration.¹¹ (7-8)

¹³⁸ SpKā 3/11 (43). The entire stanza and the following one declare: ‘“when (the yogi’s
consciousness) pervades all things by (his) desire to perceive, then why speak much? —
He will experience it for himself. At all times (the yogi) should remain well awake.
Having with his perception observed the field (of awareness), he should deposit all in
one place, and so be untroubled by any alien (reality).”
'⁹ Objects are directly apparent to oneself when the initial desire to see them arises
without the mediation of thought constructs, which have not yet arisen. Similarly, the
Yogi encompasses all things within himself, thinking, “I am all this”, when he
contemplates the principles beginning with Earth and ending with Siva as within
himself. Then all external objectivity falls away and he attains the fruit which is the
aesthetic delight of penetrating into the supreme Bhairavic plane, whereby he
experiences that that is his own consciousness.
'⁴⁰ The word ‘gālayer¹ literally means ‘dissolved away’.
'³¹ Abhinava elaborates further in the Tantrasāra:
56 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘The deities’ (who preside over the Path) are Brahmā and the rest. ‘He
should merge them’, that is, bring to rest also the Lords of that (Path), who are
present within the conceived (created) nature, namely, the body, intellect, vital
breath and Void (of deep sleep). (He should do s0) beginning with the body and
so on ‘progressively’, ‘as before’, in a manner described for the Path of Time,
until ‘successivelyʼ, as the occasion arises, ‘all that’, including the body and the
rest, should be identified with his own consciousness.'” In this way, by
assimilating all objectivity, his consciousness, being full (and all-embracing), is
‘the object of constant worshipʼ, and repeatedly exercised in this way,
manifests as the Supreme Nondual (reality) by the removal of (all) duality and
the like. This is the meaning.
But surely, in accord with the teaching (of the Svacchandatantra
imparted in the following passage), the worlds are endless (in number), as are
their presiding deities, and so nobody could ever come to the end of them,
contemplating each one of them in this way, even for thousands of lifetimes.
And so, this observance (anuṣṭhāna) is impossible. (Thus we read there):

‘Now, the shell (of the Egg of Brahmā) (kaṭāḥha) is located below the
Rudra of the Fire of Time. It is tens of millions of leagues thick (bāhulya).¹³

taṁ samastam adhvānaṁ dehe vilāpya dehaṁ ca prāṇe taṁ dhiyi tāṁ śūnye tat
saṁvedane nirbharaparipūrṇasaṁvit saṁpadyate sṣaṭtriṁśattattvasvarūpajñaḥ
taduttīrṇāṁ saṁvidaṁ paramaśivarūpāṁ paśyan viśvamayīm api saṁvedayeta
aparathā vedyabhāgam eva kaṅcit paratvena grṛhṇīyāt māyāgarbhādhikāriṇaṁ
viṣṇubrahmādikaṁ vā tasmāt avaśyaṁ prakriyājñānapareṇa bhavitavyam | tad uktaṁ
na prakriyāparaṁ jñānam |

‘He who knows the true nature of the thirty-six principles (vattva) first
dissolves all that Path into the body, (then) the body into the vital breath (prāṇa), that
into the intellect, that (in its turn) into the Void, and (finally, the Void) into
consciousness. (Then, thus) beholding consciousness that is beyond that (range of
reality levels), which is Supreme Śiva, he also experiences (its immanent aspect, which
is) all things (beyond that). Or otherwise, in a lesser way, (if he is unable to experience
the fullness of consciousness,) he may lay hold of some portion of the objective aspect
(vedyabhāga), (treating it) as supreme, and consider (the deities), like Brahmā and
Viṣṇu, to be authorities within the womb of (the domain of) Māyā, the superintendent
deities of the sphere of Māyā, as the highest. Thus, (only) one who has mastered the
knowledge of cosmology (prakriyā) should reflect (on them in this way). That has been
said (with the words): ‘there is no higher knowledge than cosmology (prakriyā).’” (SVT
11/199c)⁷ TSā p. 64
'³² We normally identify our body, senses and mind etc. with consciousness, but that is
not the universal Śiva consciousness meant here It is our own individual consciousness,
that is limited and contracted by this mistaken identification with body etc., that limits
and contracts our experience of the body etc. In this case, the psychophysical organism
is experienced as the All. Then, just as it expands, so too the consciousness with which
it is identified. As usual, the practice begins with the imagination – the formation of
thought constructs – to culminate in insight. Thus, the journey begins in the realm of
embodied existence of the Individual Means, through the Empowered Means that
operates in the realms of thought, up to the Divine Means of direct insight.
'³³ SVT 10/2cd-3a. Kṣemarāja comments: tasyādhaḥ kaṭāho brahmāṇḍakarparaḥ kaṭāha
iva ca yatra nimajjyonmajjyate krcchrāt | bāhulyaṁ ghanatā || ‘Below that is the shell
 TANTRĀLOKA 57
There are worlds above that (that extend for) ninety-nine crores (of leagues).
(There are) one thousand Eggs, seventy crores, hundreds of thousands of tens of
thousands, a hundred million (arbudha), a thousand million (vṛnda), ten
thousand million (kharva), and so too billions (padma). (Indeed, they are)
countless, and in this way repeatedly many times more.”¹³⁴

Thuṣ, with this question in mind, he says:

The Five Causes According to the Dīkṣottara¹³⁵

TTãaJīṀ Ṁ’ā’TT] TGTYSĪḤ |

JāTT-TĪCTTTd
fB]: ÇḤ: TāPTTTTT I R I

(kaṭāha), that is the shell of the Egg of Brahmā. It is (called this because) like a frying
pan - kaṭāha – it is where it is immersed and emerges with suffering. (The word)
bāhulya means ‘thickness’.”
'³⁴ SVT 10/2cd-5. The following line says that Ananta is the Lord of all of them. It is
unclear whether the text is referring to Eggs (i.e. universes) or worlds. aṇḍaśabdasya ca
bhuvanavācakatvamaprasiddham | evam api prthag bhuvanaśabdo.anupādātavyaḥ syāt
| vakṣyamāṇe ca brahmāṇḍāntarvartibhuvanamānasaṁkhyāmadhye c“nantabhu-
vanamānasyānuddeśānna karparikākālāgnibhuvanayor madhye anantabhuvanam, api
tv adhaḥkarparikābāhyapṛṣṭhabhāge ‘adhaḥstha śatarudradaśakamadhye ity alam |
‘It is not common usage for the word ‘egg’ to denote a world. Even so, (in this
case) one cannot use the word ’world’ separately (as distinct from ‘egg’, so these
numbers may refer to either). Again, as in what will be stated (further ahead), the
measure of the world of Ananta is not included in the enumeration of the measurements
within the Egg of Brahmā, and so, as it is not mentioned, (one can assume that) the
world of Ananta is between the world of Kālāgni and the shell of the Egg. Moreover,
below, on the lower external part of the shell, it is in the midst of the hundred Rudras
located below.
'³³ As a prelude to his exposition of the cosmic order, Abhinava wants to establish two
things. One is that it all rests in consciousness and so also within the psychophysical
organism, that is pervaded and animated by it. The other is that by travelling through it,
the individual soul is purified and ultimately conjoined with Śiva. The rich complexity
of the cosmology can be sidestepped. It is this ascent that counts. It may traverse the 118
worlds and their contents one by one, or in fewer stations of ascent that cover more
distance. The Five Causes, as taught in the Saiddhāntika Dīkṣottara, span the extent in
just five steps. In this context, they are Lords of the Path. We notice a similar expression
in the Parākhya. Īts unique cosmology allows that, above the level of the Earth
principle, worship just of the Lord of a reality level (tattva) covers the worship of the
Lords of all the worlds, that in other cosmogonies, like this one in the Tantrāloka, are
distributed within them.
Abhinava continues by presenting an even simpler model of ascent into just
three levels, taught in the 7riśirobhairava. Although he teaches this ascent in the
context of his cosmology, no worlds are mentioned. They are just the three levels, that
is, the beginning, middle and the end, of dynamic consciousness, within which the 36
reality levels are distributed. Indeed, this is what the worlds and the reality levels within
which they are distributed essentially are. By this ascent through consciousness, the Path
is made one with it, and so the individual soul becomes Bhairava, who contains all
things.
58 CHAPTER EIGHT

ZIT JSīī S TIATTTĪĪI: TIPTGĀĪĪTI |

3āāf#ā: fl-ētīṁrzzaāīaāī’
zaīd: Tã 1| g l
śrīmaddīkṣottare caitān adhveśān gurur abravīt |
brahmānantāt pradhānāntaṁ viṣṇuḥ puṁsaḥ kalāntagam || 9 l|
rudro granthau ca māyāyām īśaḥ sādākhyagocare |
anāśritaḥ śivas tasmād vyāptā tadvyāpakaḥ paraḥ l| 10 |l

The teacher has said in the venerable Dīkṣottara:¹³⁸ ‘These are the
Lords of the Path. 1) Brahmā (who pervades and governs from) from
Ananta¹”⁷ to the material nature (pradhāna). 2) Viṣṇu (who pervades and
governs the principles) from the individual soul up to the force (of limited
agency). 3) Rudra (who pervades and governs) within the Knot of Māyā. 4)
Iśa, who is in the sphere of Pure Knowledge (and in the principles Īśvara
and Sadāśiva). 5) After that (comes) Anāśrita (who pervades the principle
of Power above them), and (then finally,) 6) Śiva, the Supreme (Lord), Who
pervades (all) that (is pervaded and governed by the other five causal
forces), is their supreme pervader.”¹³⁸ (9-10)

¹³⁶ Abhinava condenses into just these two verses these five from Dīkṣottara 13/63-67:

anantam āditaḥ kṛtvā pradhānānte ca śobhane |

brahmā tatrādhipatyena (> tatvā-) saṁsthitaṁ parameśvari |/ 63 ||
pauruṣam āditaḥ kṛtvā kalātatvam apaścimam |
viṣṇus tavvādhipatyena saṁsthitaṁ parameśvari |l 64 |I
granthyā (> granthyāṁ) tu āditaḥ kṛtvā kalātatvam (> māyā-) apaścimam |
rudras tatvādhipatyena saṁsthitaḥ parameśvaraḥ lI 65 |I
vidyā (> vidyāṁ) tu āditaḥ kṛtvā yāvat tatvaṁ sadāśivam |
īśvara ādhipatyena saṁsthito nātra saṁśayaḥ || 66 |1
upariṣṭāc chivaṁ tatvaṁ tatra devaṁ sadāśivam |
vyāpinaṁ pañcadhā devi bhuvanādhvam aśeṣataḥ || 67 ||

‘1) O Supreme Goddess, Brahmā is established as the presiding authority of the

levels of reality beginning with Ananta, and within (all the principles) ending with the
beautiful Fundamental Nature. 2) Ó Supreme Goddess, Viṣṇu is established as the
presiding authority of the levels of reality beginning with the individual soul and ending
with the principle of the force (of limited agency) (kalā). 3) Rudra, the Supreme Lord, is
established as the presiding authority of the levels of reality beginning within the Knot
(of Māyā) up to the principle of Māyā. 4) There is no doubt here that Īśvara is
established as the presiding authority (over the principles) beginning with Vidyā up to
the principle Sadāśiva. 5) Above is the Śiva principle. The god there is Sadāśiva,
pervading, fivefold. O goddess, the entire path of the worlds.” (63-67)
¹⁷ Concerning Ananta, see chapter four of the Kiraṇatantra.
'³³ Normally the causal forces (kāraṇa or karaṇa) are six. Beyond them is Śiva. Here it
appears that there are five (as Jayaratha also seems to be saying), namely: Brahmā,
Viṣṇu, Rudra, Īśvara, and Anāśrita. These Lords of the Causes (kāraṇeśvara) are the
deities who govern the five spheres of the principles and their corresponding worlds.
Siva, who has no worlds, is beyond, pervading them all as their Lord. More commonly,
when there are six causal forces, Śiva is the sixth, but beyond him is Supreme Śiva, the
 TANTRĀLOKA 59
‘The teacherʼ is the first (teacher, namely Śiva in the form of) the Lord
Śrīkaṇṭha, who ‘has said’ (and explained the following) extensively (in the
Dīkṣottaratantra). Brahmā pervades (all those), beginning with Ananta, who is
below the shell (karparikā) of the Egg of Brahmā, and ending with the material
nature (pradhāna).¹⁹ Thiīs is (the prose order) and connected (sense of the
words) (saṅbandha). (The words) should be connected together in this way
further ahead also. The word ‘andʼ in the (expression) ‘the Knot and’
(suggests) that Rudra pervades within Māyā, which is present within it
(tadgatarāpa).¹⁰ īśa’ is Īśvara, (who is) ‘in the sphere of Pure Knowledge’,

seventh. Sometimes, as for example, below in 9/55cd-59, the last of the six is Anāśrita,
beyond which is Śiva. See above, 6/187cd-189ab and note.

Chart of the Domains of the Causal Lords

Cause Reality Levels (tattva)

Brahmā |_Ananta to the material nature (pradhāna)
Viṣṇu Puruṣa to Kalā
Rudra Knot of Māyā
Īśa Pure Knowledge, Īśvara and Sadāśiva
Anāśrita Power
Šiva__] Pervades all the domains of the five causes

'⁹ Read brahmnā yyāptā for brahmā vyāptā. Egg of Brahmā (brahmāṇḍa) īs a common
expression in the Purāṇas and Tantras for the universe. Here it extends only for the
Earth principle. What follows describes what is outside, around and below it, as well as
the worlds within it. Swami Karpatri (2009: 77) suggests an interesting reason for the
analogy of the egg: ‘the manifestation of the absolute, of the totality, of the formless,
has the appearance of an egg. If we stand in a field, the sky seems to have the
appearance of half an egg, sticking up out of the ground. The sky below the earth having
the same shape, both together would have the shape of one egg.”
'⁴⁰ Generally, Granthi – ‘knot’ is treated as another name of Māyā. It is an appropriate
one from the dualist Siddhāntin point of view, as Māyā is the fetter — pāśa – that binds
the individual soul, and that along with it and the Lord (īśvara), is one of the three
realities Siddhānta theology takes to be ultimate. So, we read in the Mṛgendrāgama
Vidyāpāda 9/1-2:
atha sarvajñavākyena pratipannasya lakṣaṇam |
kathyate granthipāśasya kūñcid yuktyāpi leśataḥ || |]
tad ekam aśivaṁ bījaṁ jagatś citraśaktimat |
sahakāryadhikārāntasaṅrodhi vyāpy anaśvaram || 2 ||

‘Now will be explained the characteristic feature of the fetter of the Knot, that
has been ascertained (to exist) (pratipanna) by the words of the omniscient one, and
also by means of a little sound reasoning. That is one. It is (what) Śiva is not. It is the
seed of the universe and possesses (many) varied powers. It is indestructible and
pervasive, and blocks (the soul) by means of the ancillary (causes of bondage) up to (the
soul’s) aptitude (adhikāra) (for it).” (1-2)
60 CHAPTER EIGHT
that is, in the three (pure) principles beginning with Pure Knowledge (and
followed by the principles Īśvara¹³¹ and Sadāśiva). ʻAfter that, that is, above
the field of Pure Knowledge, in the location of (the principle of) Power.
(Finally,) ‘Śiva, the Supreme pervader’, ‘Who pervades (all) that’, namely,
those five causes (kāraṇa) beginning with Brahmā and ending with Anāśrita.
This is the meaning. Thus, because (their dominion and power) is (limited,)
fixed (and determined) (niyata), they are (only) their Lords, however this is the
blissful (direct) means (sukhopāya) (of recognition), and so he intends to say
that there is no other supreme knowledge (other than this).¹²
He also quotes the venerable Svacchandatantra also, with the intention
(to say the same thing):

tat granthitattvam ekaṁ paramakāraṇatvād anekatve pramāṇābhāvāc ca, asivaṁ

mohakatvāt, bījaṁ jagata ity upādānakāraṇaṁ, vividhaśaktiyuktaṁ ca sahakāriṇāṁ
karmaṇām adhikārāntaṁ yāvat saṁruṇaddhi aṇūn badhnāti tacchīlam iti
sahakāryadhikārāntasaṁrodhi karmābhāve granthitattvasyāpravṛtteḥ | vyāpi ca tat
sarvagataṁ svakāryavyāpakatvena, anaśvaraṁ nityatvāt mahāpralaye ‘pi p. 188)
ātmavad īśvaravac ca tasyāvasthānāt | tad uktaṁ tattvatrayanirṇaye

śambhuḥ puruṣo māyā nityaṁ vibhu kartrśaktiyuktaṁ ca |

supte 'pi vikṛtijāte tritayaṁ jāgarti tattvānām || ( 3 )

‘That principle (called the) Knot is ‘one’ because it is the supreme cause and
because there is no valid proof that it is multiple. ‘t is (what) Śiva is not’ because it
deludes. ‘t is the seed of the universe’ that is, (its) material cause, and it possesses
many kinds of powers, be they those of the Karmas that are ‘the ancillary causes up to
that of (the soul’s) aptitude (adhikāra) (for it)’, it binds individual souls. Such is its
behaviour, namely that it ‘blocks (the soul) by means of the ancillary (causes of
bondage) up to (the soul’s) aptitude (adhikāra) (for it)³, because when there is no
Karma, the principle (called) the Knot does not operate. It is ‘pervasive’, that is, present
everywhere, because it pervades its product. It is ‘indestructible’ because it is eternal,
even when the Great Destruction (mahāpralaya) takes place, because its condition is
like that of the Self and the Lord. That is said in the Tattvatrayanirṇaya:

‘Śambhu, the individual soul and Miāyā, (each of them) is eternal, omnipresent
and endowed with the power of agency. Even when asleep (or) disturbing agitation is
taking place (vikṛti), (these) three principles remain awake.” (verse 3)

We also find the expression ‘Māyāgranthi’ – the Knot of Māyā. Here, the
words indicate two aspects of Māyā. The intervening ‘and’ indicates that they are
treated here, for the purpose of instruction, as two distinct realities. In this case, the
Knot is the perturbed (i.e. actively creative) state of Māyā, which is the fundamental
potential source at rest within itself. See below, 8/320-322.
¹³l Note that the principle (tattva) called Īśvara should not be confused with the deity
called Īśvara, who is one of the five causal forces.
¹³³ The expression ‘sukhopāya’ means literally a ‘pleasant (i.e. easy) means’ʼ. But in a
technical sense, sukhopāya is sometimes used as a synonym of No Means (anupāya).
This appears to be the meaning here. Otherwise, how could Jayaratha say that ‘there is
no other supreme knowledge (other than this)’? It seems that what is meant here
therefore is that visualizing initially the worlds and their Lords as spanning the entire
range of the manifestation of Supreme Śiva Who is above it, as it were, the practice
ultimately results in the recognition of direct insight that this is so.
 TANTRĀLOKA 61

[eṈVEteē kĒiēi|īā:ṭe ḻtc-³I

3ī ũaṁdd sīīntī araaTad
1 2?, 1
evaṁ śivatvam āpannam iti matvā nyarūpyata |
na prakriyāparaṁ jñānam iti svacchandaśāsane || 1 1 II

It is because Śiva’s nature is understood to be realized in this way

that (the Lord) has said in the Svacchandatantra: ‘there is no higher
knowledge than that of the "⁸cosmic order (prakriyā).”¹⁴ (11)
As is said there:

‘Thereis no liberation equal to that of initiation, no Vidyā higher than

Mātṛkā,¹⁹ thereis no higher knowledge than that of the cosmic order (prakriyā),
and thereis no Yoga without an object of attention.¹⁴

¹⁴³ See above, note to 8/5.

' SVT 11/199c.
'⁴³ Matṛkā (‘Little Mother’) is a Goddess of Speech, Whose body is made of the letters
of the alphabet, each of which are mātṛkās. Formed into seed-syllable mantras by the
addition of the nasalizing anusvāra (pronounced like a nasal ‘na’) it forms a female
mantra, i.e. Vidyā. This is the sonic body ‘of the Goddess that is commonly projected
onto the adeptʼs body.
¹⁶ ṢVṬ 11/199. Kṣemarāja e³ōhin
nāsṭi dīkṣāsamo mokṣaḥ..
dīkṣaiva mocayaty ūrdhvaṁśaivaṁ dhāma nayaty api |
iti hi pratipāditam anyatra || dīkṣā ca yair mantraiḥ kriyate, tadvīryarūpā ----
.na vidyā mātṛkā parā |
hi bhagavatī .aŚśeṣavācyavācakātmakajagadabhedacamatkārātmakaśabda-
rāśivimarśaparamārthā sarvamantrāraṇis tatra tatrāgameṣu nirdiśyate | sā caiṣā
viśvāvamarśanena paraṁ jñānaṁ prayacchati || tac ca pratipāditādhvaprakriyāmayam
evety āha ---- na prakṛiyāparaṁ jñānaṁ ... prakriyātaḥ param anyaj jñānaṁ
paritucchaṃ eva || jñānaṁ jñeyasya jhāpakam iti pūrvanīrūpitanītyā jñātena lakṣaṇīyo
yo lakṣyabhūtaparatattvaikātmā yogas tato ‘nyo mitayogo heya evety āha ----
ṇāsti yogas tv alakṣyakaḥ || 11/199 1|
avidyamānaṁ paraṁ lakṣyaṁ viśrāntidhāma yasya tādrśo yogo nāsti | vidyamāno ‘pi
mitayoga ihānuttaracarcāyām ayoga eveti yojanikoktaḥ parayoga eveha yogaḥ || 199 |l

“There is no liberation equal to that of initiation.’ It has been established

elsewhere that ‘only initiation liberates and leads upwards to Śiva’s abode.⁷ The vitality
of the Mantras by which initiation is performed is that Goddess (of whom it is said):
‘(There is) no Vidyā higher than Mātṛkā.” She is the reflective awareness of the
Assembly of Sounds, which is the wonder at one with the universe of all the objects of
denotation and (their) denotators. She is taught here and there in (all) the Āgamas to be
the firestick (that inflames) all Mantras. And it is she who bestows supreme knowledge
by the contemplation of all things (viśvāvamarśana). And that (knowledge) is the
cosmic order of the Path, that has been expounded. Thus he says: ‘there is no other
knowledge than that of the cosmic order (prakriyā).’ Any knowledge other than that of
the cosmic order is extremely trivial. According to the previously described teaching,
62 CHAPTER EIGHT
Well then,'⁷ how is it that awakened consciousness is experienced
directly when one contemplates (and connects together) (anusaṁdhāna)'⁴⁸ the
Path in this way? With this doubt in mind, he says:

The Root, Middle and Summit of Consciousness

According to the Triśirobhairava

fhfērT-aīaī
āīāī TgōzaqīŪŪaḥfcūa |
kIkezkIEETGTHKSI[ÉIEEpGEIIRE
ũrgra.eḺ|ḻMĒĒ IṀGJĀ{EIE-Ṭ
TTRTTTJTĪĪṢ RTṬTT-ĀTTHĀTTĀ: I 23 1|

GEEEIKECEICIĪRITJ-UEṬĪĀAḤ

triśiraḥśāsane bodho mūlamadhyāgrakalpitaḥ |

sattriṁśattattvasaṁrambhaḥ smrtir bhedavikalpanā || 12 I|
avyāhatavibhāgo ‘smibhāvo mūlaṁ tu bodhagam |
samastatattvabhāvo ‘yaṁ svātmany evāvibhāgakaḥ || 13 |I
bodhamadhyaṁ bhavet kiṅṁcid ādhārādheyalakṣaṇam |
tattvabhedavibhāgena svabhāvasthitilakṣaṇam || 14 ||
bodhāgraṁ tat tu cidbodhaṁ nistaraṅgaṁ bṛhatsukham |

According to the teachings of the Triśiraḥśāsana, consciousness

(bodha), conceived to have a root, middle and summit,¹ is the pulse
(saṅīrambha) (of the dynamic interaction of) the thirty-six principles,

knowledge is that which informs (as to the nature of) the object of knowledge. Once
known, the Yoga to which one should attend (lakṣaṇīya) is at one with the supreme
reality that is (the goal and) object of attention. (Any) other than that is a limited (form
of) Yoga that should be abandoned. Thus he says: ‘there is no Yoga without an object of
attention’. The supreme (goal which is) the object of attention is the abode of rest,
devoid (of that it) is not that kind of Yoga. Even if there is a limited (form of) Yoga,
here in the teaching (carcā) concerning Anuttara, it is not Yoga. Thus, only the supreme
Yoga that is said to conjoin (to the supreme reality) is here (according to our teaching)
Yoga.”
'“⁷ Read nanv evam for na tv evam.
¹“³ See above, note to TĀv ad 4/47cd-48ab.
'⁴⁹ We observe that Abhinava introduces his chapter on the cycle of the breath – the Path
of Time – in an analogous manner. There too, he quotes from the Triśirobhairava as
teaching the basic practice that underlies the complex details of the Path. There, calling
it the Tying of the Topknot, the 7riśirobhairava teaches a Yoga of attending to the
beginning, middle and end of the flow of the breath (6/22 ff.). Here the extremities and
the centre are those of the thirty-six principles, within which the world-orders are
arranged, one above the other. As all is consciousness, these three mark its unlimited
expanse.
 TANTRĀLOKA 63
(whereas) memory is conceptualization (vikalpanā) in terms of relative
distinctions (bheda).
The root of consciousness is the sense of personal existence
(asmibhāva), (dominated by) unobstructed division (vibhāga) (between the
perceiver and the many objects perceived).
The middle of consciousness is this condition in which all the
principles (are experienced collectively as a unified whole) within one’s own
nature, without division. Its subtle (kirṁīcit) characteristic is (the experience
of the latter as) the sustainer and (the former as) the sustained.
The summit of consciousness is characterized as the (permanent)
state of abiding within one’s own nature (svabhāvasthiti), brought about by
the destruction (vibhāga) of the relative distinction between the principles
(of existence).¹ It is the awakened consciousness of consciousness'°' that,
devoid of the waves (of manifestation), is intense bliss.¹² (12-15ab)

In the venerable Triśirobhairava, ‘consciousness is conceived to have

a root, middle and endʼ. This being so, ‘the pulse (saṁīrambha) (of the
dynamic interaction of) the thirty-six principlesī has poured forth in that
way. This is essentially what is stated. Thus (in this way), awakened
consciousness (bodha) is experienced directly by contemplating (and
connecting) (anusaṁdhāna) that. He paraphrases that (Tantra), (saying that)
‘memory (is conceptualization)³ etc. Here (in this context), ‘the sense of
personal existenceʼ is, according to the following statement there (in that

'³⁰ ] transḷate, as I must, in accord with Jayaratha’s explanation. He understands the

expression tattvabhedavibhāgena to mean ‘brought about by the destruction (vibhāga)
of the relative distinction between the principles (of existence).” However, the common
dictionary meaning of the last member of this compound ~ -vibhāgena — means
‘division’, not ‘destruction’ as Jayaratha explains. Something is wrong. We do not
observe this usage anywhere. If this expression refers to the summit of consciousness,
one could make a simple emendation by prefixing the negative prefix ‘a’. Then we
would get – ‘brought about by the absence of division (avibhāga) between the relative
distinction between the principles (of existence).” This is not only a clumsy expression,
it is also not supported by the citation of the Triśirobhairava supplied by Jayaratha,
which carries the same reading. A more obvious and satisfactory way out is to read this
expression together with the previous statement concerning the middle level of
consciousness. The meaning would then be:

‘(lts subtle (kiṁcit) characteristic is (the experience of the relationship between

the higher and lower principles as) the sustainer and the sustained), due to the division
brought about by the relative distinction between the principles (of existence).” Thus,
the following reads: The summit of consciousness is characterized as the (permanent)
state of abiding within one’s own nature (svabhāvasthiti). It is the awakened
consciousness of consciousness' that, devoid of the waves (of manifestation), is
intense bliss.”
'³ One could also translate ‘awakened insight into the nature of consciousness’.
'³² This is a well-crafted summary and reworking of the passage in the TBh quoted by
Jayaratha. But note that in doing so, Abhinava does not introduce exegetical terms and
concepts foreign to the TBh. The view in the TBh is so well aligned with the later post-
scriptural developments that he does not need to do s0.
64 CHAPTER EIGHT
Tantra), the contracted perceiver who is the sense of one’s self (ahaṁbhāva),
which is (identified with and) fixed (niṣṭha) in the intellect and the rest that are
not the Self. The meaning is that (this perceiver) is ‘memory, which is
conceptualization (vikalpanā) in terms of relative distinctions (bheda)ī and
its essential nature. (Thus, in the Triśirobhairava we read):
‘Well established in the egoity of the intellect (buddhyasmitā),¹³ having
first differentiated the qualities (of illumining sartva, energetic rajas and dull
tamas), he should reflect on the attributes (dharma) of the gross elements,
starting with Earth, in due order.”

This (perceiver) conceives all things dualistically (bhedena) as ‘Il know

this’. He does not only conceive existent things in this way, (he also conceives)
non-existent (things that appear in his) memory and thoughts etc., which have as
their object such things (of the past as one’s own dead and) cremated father, and
so is called ‘memory’. Thus, because objectivity predominates, ‘differentiation
is unobstructed’. The meaning is that it is very clearly manifest duality. That is
the Root of consciousness, which is said to have reached the supreme extremity
of grossness. This is the meaning.¹³⁴
Again, ‘the unity of all (these) principles and entitiesʼ, poured forth
by duality, that is, the living beings (bhūta) and (individual) phenomena (bhāva)
etc. that rest ‘within one’s own nature’, which is consciousness, in the form of
‘this am I’ (idam aham), and so is ‘undivided’. That is the ‘middle of
consciousnessʼ, from which duality has fallen away, not indeed¹³* the summit of
consciousness. This is so because its subjectivity (ahantā) and objectivity
(idantā) are on the same level (sāmānyādhikaraṇya). (Moreover,) because
duality manifests initially, it ‘īs characterized by a subtle (distinction
between the higher principles which are) the supports and (the lower
principles) supported (by them)ʼ. The word ‘subtle’ clarifies that it is not like
the Root of consciousness, which is predominantly duality (bhedapradhāna),
nor is it also like the Summit of consciousness, which is predominantly

!³³ ‘Ṭhe egoity of the intellect (buddhyasmitā)’ is essentially the mistaken sense the
individual soul has that it is the intellect. In other words, this egoity or ‘I-ness’ creates a
false sense of identity between the individual soul, which is essentially contracted
consciousness, and the object (in this case the intellect) onto which it is projected. So,
for example, there is also a ‘dehāsmitā’ that is, ‘egoity of the bodyʼ, and ‘prāṇāsmitā’
‘egoity of the vital breath’, whereby the individual soul identifies with the body and his
life force.
'³⁴ Initially differentiating the qualities, and established in ‘l-nessʼ in the form of the
intellect, one should systematically contemplate the nature of the gross elements,
starting with Earth. The contracted experiencing subject’s sense of ‘I-ness’ is based on
what is not the Self. It is a process of ideation brought about by relative distinctions and
memory. The individual perceiver at this level thinks that all things are separate from
himself, in such forms of awareness as ‘I know this’. Thus, due to the predominance of
objectivity (idantā), ‘differentīation is unobstructed’; that is, duality is supremely
apparent. It is the one extreme of consciousness termed here the root, and is considered
to be (its) gross state.
³³ Read na tu for natu.
 TANTRĀLOKA 65
nonduality (abhedapradhāna). Thus, because it is present in the space between
(them), it is said to be the ‘middle’ (of consciousness).¹³
The ‘summit of consciousnessʼ is the undivided nature of all existing
things (bhāva), which is dwelling within one’s own (true) nature as the
reflective awareness of ‘I’ that (is experienced) by ‘the destruction
(vibhāgena)’, that is, annihilation from the very root, of the relative distinction
between the principles (of existence).
The meaning is that it is (awakened) consciousness that has attained the
supreme summit (of existence) (parākāṣṭhā). Thus, it is ‘the awakened
consciousness of consciousnessʼ, not indeed'” of the consciousness of the
individual soul (aṇu). It is ‘devoid of waves’, not indeed disturbed."³⁸ It is
‘intense bliss⁷ in the form of Cosmic Bliss, not indeed (the lower forms of
bliss), beginning with Absence of Bliss (nirānanda) and the rest.' This is the
meaning. As is said there (in the Triśirobhairavatantra):

‘“‘Memory'⁰ is the conceptualization (operating) as the relative

distinction (between) the entities within the field of the thirty-six principles. It is
said to be the limited perceiver, whose nature is clearly evident dualit;
Bhairavī, it is the gross state of consciousness, which is the perception (vi a)

3
that is established in the extreme (lower) limit (of consciousness).’
This condition, in which all the principles (are experienced collectively
as a unified whole,) should not be viewed part by part. One should attain a
stable state¹⁰¹ within one’s own (conscious) nature. That is said to be the middle
of consciousness. This is the relationship between the sustainer and the
sustained, of (the one consciousness) present in both (one’s own nature, which
is the sustainer, and the principles of existence, which are the sustained).
(The summit of consciousness) is characterized as the permanent
(abiding) state within one’s own nature (svabhāvasthiti) brought about by
separation (vibhāga)' from the duality (bheda) between the principles (of

'³⁶ The ‘middle’ of consciousness is where relative distinctions have fallen away and the
entire aggregate of principles rests in consciousness, that is, in a state of oneness which
is experienced in the form of the awareness that ‘this am I’ (idamahaṁ). This is not the
summit of consciousness, as subjectivity and objectivity are still distinct, although their
status is equal. Thus, there is still some duality (apparent by the form in which the
metaphysical principles relate to one another) as the ‘supporter’ and the ‘supported’. It
stands between the totally nondual awareness at the summit of consciousness and the
gross dualistic awareness at its base, and so id to be in the middle.
Ī⁷ Read na tu for natu on this and the following two lines.
'³* The summit of consciousness is the state of being that is established within one’s
own Self in the form of the awareness that ‘I amʼ (ahaṁ). It is consciousness in which
the undifferentiated unity of all things has attained the Supreme Limit (parākāṣṭhā). It is
the consciousness of consciousness (cidhodha); not, indeed, the consciousness of the
individual soul (aṇubhodha). It is ‘devoid of the waves (of manifestation)’ and not,
indeed, disturbed.
'³⁹ Concerning the Six Blisses, see above, 5/43- 52ab.
¹“⁰ Ṣee above, 5/138 (137).
'! Read with MS N: sarthitiṁ for saṁsthitaṁ.
'“² This translation follows Jayaratha’s interpretation of Abhinava’s citation. For that to
be so, Jayaratha reads the two halves of this line together, i.e. tattvabhedavibhāgena
66 CHAPTER EIGHT
existence). One who is established on that plane'* indeed attains (the state) of
one who resides within the Sky of Consciousness. One should know that to be
transcendent, (whereas) the middle one is established in (finite) attainment.
One should know that that is the state at the (supreme) extremity, which
is called here the ‘Summit of Consciousness’. Know (that to be) the knowledge
of Śakti, which is supreme bliss. Know that that is perpetually manifest
(sadodita) bliss, and said to be ‘devoid of waves’ (nistaraṅga). It is also said to
be immense bliss, and the awakened consciousness of consciousness
(cidbodha).”

Identifying with Bhairava by Oneness with the Path

The yogi who practices the oneness of consciousness on the six-fold

Path in this way, also possesses Bhairavī’s (liberated) state (bhairavībhāva).
Thus, he says:

iēccaṉgiṭiŪṂbóṣṇIEEYUGETHṬHḤI
srerāfrzārāitarr³īa;: Ū²: |
saṁvidekātmatānītabhūtabhāvapurādikaḥ || 15 ||
avyavacchinnasaṁvittir bhairavaḥ parameśvaraḥ |

(The yogi) who has made living beings (bhūta), phenomena (bhāva),
the worlds (pura)¹⁶ and the rest one with consciousness is the Supreme

svabhāvasthitilakṣaṇam. However, although not in accord with Jayaratha’s explanation,

it makes more sense to read the first half of this line as a continuation of the previous
one, thus:

ādhārādheyabhāvo ‘yam ubhayāvasthitasya ca ||

tattvabhedavibhāgena

‘This is the relationship between the sustainer and the sustained of (the one
consciousness) present in both (one’s own nature, which is the sustainer, and the
principles of existence that it sustains), due to the division brought about by the
relative distinction between the principles (of existence).”
!⁶³ Read hi for na. But even with this emendation, the reading of this line is doubtful.
'⁶⁴ The dictionary definition of bhūta which fits best in this context is simply ‘living
beingʼ. The word may also mean a gross element or ghost. The dictionary definition of
bhāva is ‘thing or substance, being or living creature, all earthly objects.” Jayaratha’s
introductory remark may indicate that bhūta, bhāva and pura may mean kalā, tattva and
bhuvana, the first three components of the six-fold Path. According to Rāmakaṇṭha’s
commentary on the MPĀ (vidyāpāda 2/16cd-17ab), quoted below in TĀv ad 8/433,
bhūta are the bodies of living beings born in a bhāva, that is, in a world-order
(bhuvana). The tattvas are the third. But here it is clear that bhāva cannot mean the
worlds, as they are specifically mentioned separately. The same triad is mentioned with
bhuvana substituted for ‘pura’, which thus clearly means world-order.
bhūtabhāvabhuvanādirūpatayānantabhedaṁ viśvam upari saṁsthitaṁ bhavet TĀv ad
4/133ab. As we have just noted, the last member of this triad may also be tattva.
 TANTRĀLOKA 67
Lord, that is, Bhairava, Whose consciousness is (unconditioned, unbroken
and) undivided. (15cd-16ab)

This is said not only here (in the Triśirobhairavatantra); it also (said)
elsewhere (in other scriptures)."⁹ Thus, he says:

ġRzaTaāīṁa⁵
ī úlāīVTTTGCT I 26 I
sraāīṁ sḡn ārāa fdraāī ra-q |
śrīdevyāyāmale coktaṁ ṣattriṁśattattvasundaram || 16 ||
adhvānaṁ ṣaḍvidhaṁ dhyāyan sadyaḥ śivamayo bhavet |

It is also said in the venerable Devyāyāmala¹⁰⁰ that meditating on

the Path of six kinds, beautiful with the thirty-six principles, one
immediately (sadyas) becomes Siva. (16cd-17ab)

‘Meditating’ (on the Path), that is, reflecting that it is one with one’s
own consciousness. This is the meaning. As is said there (in the Devyāyāmala):

‘O goddess, whilst contemplating (cintayan) the entire Path, flaming

with the thirty-six principles, one immediately attains the most excellent and
eternal plane.

Surely, if this Path, even if it is of six kinds, is consciousness itself by

nature, as that consciousness is not divided up into locations etc., how can its
condition be (said to be variously) above (and below) etc.? With this doubt in
mind, he says:

TaTRTṬS
TIPR TfTTĪRĪRTT; I| 2.91|]
kalātatvapurārṇāṇupadādibhedavistaraḥ 1| *the great extension of
differentiation (bheda) (of the Paths of manifestation consisting of) the cosmic forces
(kalā), metaphysical principles (tattva), and world-orders (pura) (along with their
respective denotators, namely the Paths of the) letters, Mantras, parts of Mantras (pada)
and the rest.⁷ 1/77bcd (78bcd)
Jayaratha: padādi iti ādiśabdena bhūtabhāvagrahaṇam | The words ‘and the
restʼ (in the expression) ‘parts of Mantras (pada) and the restʼ refer to living beings
(bhūta) and (all) phenomena (bhāva).³
¹“³ It may appear at first sight that Jayaratha is saying that this verse is also drawn from
the Triśirobhairava. However, it is more likely that Abhinava is summing up its
teaching concisely with respect to the present context.
'⁶⁶ Abhinava cites the Devyāyāmalā noṭ less than twenty-eight times in the Tantrāloka.
Like the Triśirobhairava, we know that it was a Trika Tantra, as it taught the worship of
a variety of the Trika Trident Maṇḍala (described below in 31/85cd-100ab). It was a
very important text for Abhinava, as it sponsored the Krama Kālī Kālasaṁkarṣiṇī as he
did, that is, as the presence of a higher level beyond the Trika goddesses. Sanderson
(2007: 259 note 83) advances the view that it was a Kashmirian work (for his argument,
see below note to 23/14).
68 CHAPTER EIGHT

JṀkārtarṀft-reīī-īaārṝ
āīṝtā arīat |
UEĪĒESḺIĒITVIŪGGKEIṬṬṢAĀ
TTTRTTTĀ] TAĪTÇĀĪRRGT-T ; |
yady apy amuṣya nāthasya saṅṁvittyanatirekiṇaḥ || 17 |
pūrṇasyordhvādimadhyāntavyavasthā nāsti vāṣṭavī|
tathāpi pratipattRṇāṁ pratipādayituṁ¹⁶⁷ tathā || 18 ||
svasvarūpānusāreṇa madhyāditvādikalpanāḥ |

This Lord (nātha) is perfectly full (pārṇa) and is not separate from
consciousness, and (so his) condition is not really (divided into an) upper,
iṇitṭial state, a middle or an end. Even so, he is imagined to have a middle
and the rest in order to explain it (in the scriptures He Himself has
created), in accord with the nature (ṣvasvabhāva) of those who are to
understand the teachings (pratipattṛ). (17cd-19ab)

(The consciousness of) those who are to understand the teachings and
(others like them) is contracted, and so (they) are gripped by the false notion
that they are the body etc. Thus, in accord with that, they have to imagine (that
the) condition (of consciousness is divided into an) upper etc., but that is not
really possible. Thus ‘upper” is (such) in relation to something else which is
‘below’. Therefore, this condition is in relation to those who are to understand
the teachings and (others like them), such that (for example) the Earth principle
is present in all (the other) principles, and (all) the other principles are outside it.
He says that:

The Worlds Within the Earth Principle and the Egg of Brahmā

The Worlds in the Lower Half of the Egg of Brahmā

Ṭāī: JT’l̥āgcdrīīṝdā
āṁīaqfa: 1 28
u
ieḵEIBRz-’Ee¢EiEruUEtt:Ḥ
tataḥ pramãtr̥ṣaṅkalpaniyamāt pārthivaṁ viduḥ l| 19 ||
tattvaṁ saryãntarãlasthaṁ yat sarvãvaraṇair vr̥tam |

Therefore, (the wise) know that the Earth (principle) is present

within all (the others) and is surrounded by all the (outer obscuring)
coverings (āvaraṇa), in conformity with the way of thinking (saṁkalpa) (of
the limited) subject. (19cd-20ab)

The Earth principle alone (represents) the ultimate extreme of

grossness. Thus, as that (initial) approach (to the series of worlds and principles)

'“⁷ Read pratipādayituṁ for pratipādayitus.

 TANTRĀLOKA 69
is easy to understand, the arrangement (sthiti) of the worlds there is taught first.
Accordingly, he says:

Ananta in the Boat on the Cosmic Waters Below the Egg of Brahmā

Tēā īĨ’ā k ahzaāḷ JgāÃ̄ēīf. ṇ 2

ŠIā āaṬGēzPIRT-T: TTĀTTTT |
šīāīsār sīōzaāīētaratrt u 22 1
q š̄i ā aīāṝ] āīlg aītka; ú
tad atra pārthive tattve kathyate bhuvanasthitiḥ || 20 ||
netā kaṭāharudrāṇām anantaḥ kāmasevinām ḷ
potārūḍho jalasyāntarmadyapānavighūrṇitaḥ || 21 ||
sa devaṁ bhairavaṁ dhyāyan nāgaiś ca parivāritaḥ ll

(Now) the arrangement of the world orders here within the Earth
principle is explained (first). Ananta (the Endless One) is the leader of the
Rudras of the shell (kaṭāha) (of Brahmā’s Egg), who are dedicated to
sensual pleasure (kāma). He is in a boat in the (cosmic) waters and, drunk
with wine, surrounded by serpent gods (nāga),' contemplates the God
Bhairava.¹⁰ (20cd-22ab)
One View: Ananta is Outside the Egg

By ‘in the (cosmic) waters’ is meant that he is on top of them.¹”⁰ As is

said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):

'⁶⁶ Ananta is the foremost of the serpent gods (1āga) and is their ruler.
¹” Jayaratha gquotes here the Trisirobhairavatantra, the Siddhātantra, the
Tantrarājabhaṭṭāraka, SvTT 8/393, 397, 8/393, 397, 392; 10/8 and MV 9/64.
'⁰ The account begins with the Rudras below, outside the Egg of Brahmā. Theṣe are,
first, Ananta along with his entourage. In the SvT and Nandiśikhā, he is identified with
Hūhuka. In the SvT, he is also said to have his own world within that of Ananta (see
below). They are supported by the power that sustains the Egg of Brahmā in the cosmic
waters. This sustaining power (ādhāraśakti) sustains the Tattvas within consciousness
and so, the worlds they contain. Kālāgnirudra is above, as the first world in the Egg of
Brahmā. This is the view of the Svacchandatantra, that Abhinava generally follows.
The Siddhāntas are also closely aligned to chapter ten of the Svacchanda, which has
drawn extensively from Guhyasūtra chapters 4 to 7 of the Niśvāsatattvasaṁhitā
(Goodall 2015: 288). However, not all the scriptures agree. The JY and SYM, that are
not Siddhāntas, do not, affirming instead that they are within the Egg. Moreover, the
measurements of the worlds do not coincide. Jayaratha spends a great deal of space in
the commentary tackling these inconsistencies, trying to explain them away. According
to the Svacchanda, Ananta, the King of the Nāgas, his entourage of eight Nāgas, and the
100 Rudras are outside the Egg of Brahma.
70 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘Hūhuka is on top of the waters, with Śakti as (his) support.¹”
And so'¹ it is proved that, as it is close to the principle of Water, the
shell (of the Egg of Brahmā) (kaṭāha) is located in a place outside (the waters),
not within (them). As is said in the venerable Nandiśikhā,'³ beginning with:

‘The thickness (sthaulya) of the shell of the Egg of Brahmā is ten

million leagues (yojana).'™“ O beloved, it is said that one should know that
above it there is a gap (antara) which is of the same extent. The Egg of Brahmā

'"¹ SVT 11/24ab. The printed edition of the SVT reads saṁīsthitaś cāmbhaso for
saṅṁsthitaḥ ṣo “mbhasāṁ. Kṣemarāja explains: yathā ca pārameśīḥ parāṁ v
iśvadhārikāṁ svātantryaśaktibhittim āśrityānāśritanāthaḥ, tathā ca paramūrtir
hūhukabhaṭtārako ʻpi tām evāśritya sthitaḥ ity āha ---- saṁṣṭhitaś cāmbhaso mãrdhni
šaktyādhāras tu hūhukaḥ | śaktyādhāra ity aparaśaktyāśrayaḥ | ambhaso mūrdhnīty
anenāsya deśanirdeśaḥ | yat śrībhullakaḥ śaktyādhāra iti brahmāṇḍakarparikā-
rūpādhāraśaktyāśraya iti |ḷ

‘Just as the Lord Anāśrita has taken up a place on the screen of the power of
freedom, which sustains all things and is the Supreme Goddess Parā, so too has the Lord
Hūhuka (in his) supreme form, and having taken up his place (there), abides (as such).
(The Tantra) says this: ‘Hūhuka is on top of the waters, with Śakti as (his) supportʼ.
‘Śakti as (his) sūpportʼ is the support of Aparāśakti. By (saying) ‘on top of the watersʼ,
(the Tantra) indicates (his) location. The venerable Bhullaka who has Śakti as (his)
support, made his support the sustaining power of the Egg of Brahmā in the form of the
(skull-like) bowl (karparikā).³

Hūhuka appears in the SvT as a solitary Rudra who resides in the world of
Ananta. In some places he is also identified with him. There we read:

anāśrito mahādevī sthito vai hūhukaḥ prabhuḥ ||

‘O Great Goddess, the Lord Hūhuka, who has not entered into (the Egg)
(anāśrita), abides (as such).’ (SVT 11/22ab)

anantarūpeṇeti karparikādhogatānantabhaṭuārakātmanā | adhvanīti karparikāparyante

| hūhuka iti pūrvoktānantabhuvanāntarvarīī | tad evaṁ sthūlena hūhukādinā sūkṣmeṇa
brahmādinā ca pañcakenaika eva parameśvaraḥ pūrvoktapañcaśaktyātmā sva-
cchandanāthaḥ prapañcavyāptyā sphurita

Kṣemarāja explains that: ‘(Hūhuka abideṣ) in the form of Ananta, that is, as the
Lord Ananta, who is below (adhogata) the shell (of the Egg of Brahmā). The Path
extends up to the end of the shell. Hūhuka is within the world of Ananta. The sense is
thatin this way, the Supreme Lord, that is, Lord Svacchanda, who is the aforementioned
five powers as the group of five (causes) beginning with Brahmā and Hūhuka etc.,
shines forth as subtle and gross (respectively), pervading the world (prapañca).”
¹² Read eva cāsya for evacāsya.
¹³ Read śrīnandiśikhāyām for śrīnandiśākhāyām.
¹⁴ The size agrees with SYT 10/2cd and Parākhya 5/5cd. See above, note 8,22.
 TANTRĀLOKA 71
(beyond that) is said (to extend for) nine hundred and eighty million
(leagues).”¹”⁵

(And ending with):

‘O goddess, Hūhuka, the lord of (that) world is below the shell (of the
Egg), with Sakti as (his) support. One should know, O fair lady, that he is
Ananta.”

It is (said) in the venerable Triśirobhairava also:

‘It is said that Ananta, who is outside the Egg of Brahmā, is the support
of the universe.”

Itis said (there) that in the location adjacent to it:

‘That measures 100 million (leagues) and is everywhere (surrounded)

by boats. Further above it (at a distance) equal to that, O mistress of the gods, is
supreme darkness (that extends) for just ten million (leagues).”

Another View: The World of Ananta is Inside the Egg¹⁶

(However) if the measure of the worlds etc. (according to this view)

were to differ from the measure of the worlds that will be described within the
Egg of Brahmā, then (that) calculation would not be not correct.'"™ Well then,
(one may ask,) if that is so, then what could be the purpose of the statements (in
the Tantra such as the one that follows,) that prescribe that Ananta is located
within (the Egg of Brahmā, which is not what is taught here)? (Thus it is said in
the Jayadrathayāmala):

‘One should purify the worlds that are within the pavilion of the Egg of
Brahmā. In the beginning is the world of Ananta (and those of) Kūṣī ḍa and
Hātakeśvara. After the world of Ananta (comes) the great world of Kālāgni,
(then that of) Śarva, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and the most excellent world of Rudra. It is
said that theṣe eight are in the middle of the belly of the Egg of Brahmā.”'⁸

'"³ The shell of the Egg is 10 million leagues thick and the gap above it is the same size.
The rest of the Egg of Brahmā extends for 980 million leagues, making 1,000 million (=
100 kori) altogether.
¹⁰ In the following passage, Jayaratha rejects the view of the Jayadrathayāmala that
Ananta is within the Egg, as well as that of the Siádhayogeśvarīmata that he is within
Kālāgni. He accepts the view of the Svacchanda and the Trika Tantras, Nandiśikhā and
Triśirobhairava, that it is outside the Egg, which he presented at the beginning.
'⁷√ Jayaratha is simply saying that, although the cosmologies in these Tantras are similar,
where they differ in detail from the one Abhinava presents here based on the
Svacchanda, the version here should be the one that should be accepted as correct.
'”⁸ IY 3/2069-71ab (MS K fl. 151la, MS Kh 121a, G fl. 191a Gh 48a). Kūṣmāṇḍa and
Hāṭaka are mentioned together above in 6/144c as the first two of a series of Rudras at
the bottom of the Egg of Brahmā. Here, following the SvT, Kūṣmāṇḍa is listed above
Kālāgni, and is followed by Hāṭakeśvara.
72 CHAPTER EIGHT

Moreover:

‘The shell (śakala) of the Egg of Brahmā measures only ten million
(leagues). Above that is Kālarudra, accompanied by ten Lords. His abode (pura)
is just ten million (leagues in extent) and its flames (extend for) one hundred
million.¹' (The serpent) Ananta is below and (the serpent) Padma is above. The
others are located (above that) successively.” !ē⁰

Again:

‘Below is Rudra, who is within Kāla, in the middle of the locations of

the ten Lords. Padma is above and Ananta is below, and the rest (of the Nāgas
follow) in due order.

According to this view, (Ananta’s) world is within that of Kālāgni. It is

not separate, and so the number of worlds (and their measure) that will be
described is not at all incorrect. Again here (in this case), in accord with (the
following) statement, one should not accept the measure of Ananta’s world
taught in the venerable Siddhātantra (i.e. Siddhayogeśvarīmata) (to be correct),
because its cosmology (prakriyā) differs (from the one here).

‘As (the difference between) a category of Tantras (and others) is

considered to be due to the difference between the various rites etc. (they teach),
therefore what should be done is that which is taught there'" (in just one of
them), and not in accord with another Tantra (of a different school).³¹⁸²

And so, in that way, the extent of the hells here (according to us) is
three hundred and twenty million (leagues),'³ and there (in the Siddhātantra),
two hundred and ten (million). As is said (there): ‘above that are the fearsome
hells (that extend for) two hundred and ten million (leagues).” (If we accept this
view, it) would contradict what will be stated (further ahead) here also: “within
the Egg is Ananta . . ."* and ‘there are eight within it including Śarva . . ..¹⁵

'⁰ Ṭheṣe measurements agree with those accepted by Abhinava and the SvT. See TĀ
8/22cd and 8/24c.
'⁴⁰ ] could not trace these lines in the JY or the SvT. Jayaratha seems to be presenting a
variant view from another source, which is most probably amongst the ones he cited
previously. In both Tantras and Purāṇas, we commonly find a standard set of eight
Serpent Kings (nāgeśvara), of which Ananta is the first, usually followed by Padma.
The same eight adorn Kubjikā’s body. There too, Ananta is the first, although the rest
are not in quite the same order. See below, notes 8,86, 89, 101; also see KuKh. 29/38-40
and Dyczkowski 2009: notes 29,21-26.
'³¹ Read tasmāt tatra for tasmād yatra.
'⁸² This verse is quoted above in TĀv ad 4/251cd. It is also quoted below ad 23/12cd-
13ab, see note there.
'⁸³ See below, 8/26cd-27.
'³⁴ Below, 8/408a (407c).
'⁸³ Below 8/411c (411a).
 TANTRĀLOKA 73
So what should one accept here (in this case to be correct)? Here one should
accept this, namely, that Ananta is located outside (the Egg)."⁸
Again, the venerable Tantrarājabhaṭṭāraka (that is, the
Jayadrathayāmala, saying that): ʻwithin the pavilion of the Egg of Brahmā . . .
etc.,¹⁷ does not prescribe that Ananta is within (the Egg). Rather, that is the case
with respect to the process of purification (of the worlds). (We know this)
because it was stated (there) before, and because the intention was to say that
with regards to just that alone. As is said there (in the Tantrarāja, in the
passage) beginning with:

'⁴* The issue here is whether Ananta is outside or within the EÉgg of Brahmā. According
to the SvT, Kālāgnirudra is the first of the series of worlds within the Egg. He is located
on the shell at the bottom of the Egg. The calculations of the measures of the worlds
within the Egg of Brahmā begins with the shell. Ananta is below Kālāgni, but he is
outside the shell, and so the measure of his world is not included in that calculation.
Kṣemarāja, aware of this issue, clearly states in his commentary on SYT 10/3bcd-5:

kālāgnibrahmāṇḍakavāṭayor madhyavartitvam iti vyākhyātam, tad anāgamikaṁ

svayaṁkalpitam ity upekṣyam | anantabhuvanasya prathamatve ‘pi śatarudramadhya-
vartitvenāṇḍabāhyādhobhāgagatatvam evāgameṣu dṛśyate | yathoktaṁ śrīmālinīvijaye -
--- tadbahiḥ śatarudrãṇãṁ bhuvanãni pr̥thak pr̥thak ity upakramya anantaḥ
prathamas teṣām iti |
‘Some say (that Ananta is) between Kālāgni and the shell of the Egg of
Brahmā. That is not the view of the scriptures. What (someone) imagines by himself
should be ignored. Although Ananta’s world is the first one, it is located outside the Egg
on the lower part of it, because he is in the midst of the Hundred Rudras. This is what is
seen in the Āgamas. As is said in the venerable Mālinīvijaya in a passage beginning
with: “Outside (the Egg) are the worlds of the hundred Rudras. (Each one should be
purified) separately.” And with ‘Ananta is the first of them.’”’ (MV 5/12ab, 13a)

The MV goes on to list the names of ten of the hundred Rudras that surround
Ananta as the eleventh below the Egg (MV 5/13-14, which is quoted below in TĀv ad
8/181 (180cd-181ab)).
Further ahead Kṣemarāja says:

brahmāṇḍāntarvartibhuvanamānasaṁkhyāmadhye ‘nantabhuvanamānasyānuddeśān na
karparikākālāgnibhuvanayor madhye ‘nantabhuvanam, api tv adhaḥ karparikā -
bāhyapṛṣṭhabhāge ‘dhaḥsthaśatarudradaśakamadhye ity alam ||

‘As the measure of Ananta’s world is not mentioned amongst the enumeration
of the measure of the worlds within the Egg of Brahmā, the world of Ananta is not
between the shell (of the Egg) and the world of Kālāgni. Rather, it is below on the outer
side of the shell, in the midst of the Hundred Rudras that are below. Let this suffice.’
According to the MV 5/13-15ab, Ananta is below the Egg, with ten of the
hundred Rudras, ending with Vīrabhadra. Abhinava paraphrases these verses here in TĀ
8/439 (438cd-439ab). Kṣemarāja refers to them, without stating so directly, to establish
the authority of scripture that Ananta is outside the Egg, along with ten of the hundred
Rudras. MV 5/11-15ab is quoted in TĀv ad 8/438-445 (437cd-445ab).
'⁷ Quoted above in the quotation from JY 3/20/69-71ab (MS K fl. 151a, MS Kh 121a,
MS G fl. 191a, MS Gh 48a).
74 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘O Pārvatī, listen next to the initiation by means of the worlds, which is
another one, as it truly is. I explained'⁸* all that previously in the first Sarka;
even s0, I will explain it to you briefly here, O fair lady.""’
(And ending with):

‘O (goddess) who is praised by the lords of the heroes, listen now to

their division.’'

There in its first Sarka, it is enjoined that (Ananta’s) location be outside

(the Egg). As is said (there) beginning with:

‘The Egg of the Worlds of the lotus-born (Brahmā) shines yellow (and
is like) the jewel""" of the hood of the serpent Śeṣa (i.e. Ananta). In its lower
portion shine those who made the previous teachings (drstānta), by the grace of
Viśvakarman.’'²

‘The world of that hero Ananta shines with its own majesty, embraced
by the powerful and high waves of the nectar of the rays of the Moon of (its)
endless (ananta) powers, and so moves (upwards) from below the path of the
principle of water, (moving) constantly (like a) lake (strewn) with the clumps of
lotus-like faces of endless (numbers) (ananta) of (its beautiful) women.³'³

Hūhuka in the Waters Above Ananta Within the Egg

Having described (Ananta’s world) thus, (the following verses of the

JY) concern the worlds of the Hūhuka Rudras.¹⁴

'³* Read proktām for proktam.

'⁹ These lines are drawn from the third ṣaṟka of the JY, verses 3/20/63cd-65 (MS K fl.
151a; Kh: 120b; G: fl. 190b)
'⁰ TY 3/20/68cd. This is the beginning of a section on bhuvanadīkṣā that comes in the
context of six dīkṣās, one for each of the Paths. Bhuvanadīkṣā here extends to JY
3/20/116. Note that even though the JY is not a Siddhāntāgama, it nonetheless also
allows for initiatory rites of the same standard Saiddhāntika form. Abhinava’s Anuttara
Trika is not innovative in this respect.
¹⁹! Read with MS Kh -mnāṇikyaṁ for -māṇikya-.
¹² JY 1/7/40-41ab (MS K f1. 51a, MS Kh fl. 28b).
'³ JY 1/7/42cd-44ab (MS K f. 51a, Kh fl. 29). Read -vanitāvaktra- for vanitāvaū-.
MSs of the JY ~khaṇḍa- for -ṣaṇḍa- (i.e. fragments (of lotus-like faces)).
'⁴ The Hūhuka Rudras are the attendants of Hūhuka. We have seen that the SvT
identifies Hūhuka with Ananta or, if they are distinguished, Hūhuka and his world are
said there to be within Ananta. This is not the view of the JY that Jayaratha quotes here.
According to the JY, Hūhuka has his own world with his attendant Rudras, which, like
that of Ananta, is in the waters. If Hūhuka is within the Egg, then clearly the waters in
this view would be so also.
According to the JY, both Ananta and Hūhuka are not within the Egg.
Jayaratha justifies the discrepancy, saying that they are treated together with the others
in the Egg for the purposes of purification, and so seem to be where the others are
located.
 TANTRĀLOKA 75
“Then (comes) Hūhuka Rudra’s world, which is full of the hosts of
heroes, the darkness of which has been destroyed by the radiance of the sun of
his crest jewel.”³

. ‘O Great Goddess, bound by Bhairava’s great noose and confined by

Siva’s nature here in the waters, all the worlds extend upwards for one hundred
thousand (leagues) and are (all) in whirlpools of water.” 15

Having defined with this and other (verses) their location and extent
(the Tantra continues):¹⁷

‘The Egg of Brahmā extends for a thousand million (leagues) all

around. The shell is said to be ten million (leagues thick) and it has a hundred
Rudras.”

Again, (as was said):

‘One should purify the worlds that are within (the pavilion of the Egg of
Brahmā) . . .”¹⁸

'⁰Oṇe should for the most part (bhūmnā) explain what is said (in these
passages) as (one would relate to) a horde of wrestlers (mallagrāmavat) (that is,
with care, treating each separately); otherwise (what was said) before and after
would come into conflict (with one another). In this way here, if one has not
managed to purify (all) the worlds beginning with Ananta and ending with that
of the Hundred Rudras simultaneously (all at once), all that (the scripture)
means to describe is just the sequence (of the worlds), not (their) nature, as
within or outside (the Egg of Brahmā) also, for (even) if that were (the
intention), it would not make (any) difference to (the process of) purification.
One should explain the (following) also in this way:

‘The world of Kālāgni (the Fire of Time) is below them. Then, O

goddess, in the same way, come the Hūhukas, who reside within the Egg of
Brahmā.”

¹³³ JY 1/7/44cd-45ab (MSs K 51a, Kh fl. 29a). Read -vivasvataḥ for -nabhaṣvataḥ.
¹⁰ JY 1/7/73cd-75ab (MSs K 53a, Kh fl. 29b). Reading with the MSs of the JY
vīravīrya- for bhairavīya, a translation would read: “(O Great Goddess, these worlds are
bound by the great noose) of the vitality of the Heroes.” If we read in the last line, with
the MSs: lalitāveśmagāni for salilāvartagāni, a translation would read: ‘(One hundred
thousand (leagues) high, they are all) in the abode of (beautiful) playful (women)’.
¹⁹⁷ Jayaratha seems to imply that the following verse is drawn from the same source.
However, I have not been able to trace it there in the first ṣaṭka of the JY.
'⁸ Drawn from the first line of the first reference above from the Jayadrathayāmala.
'⁹ Jayaratha, following the Svacchandatantra, maintains the view that Ananta, Hūhuka
and Kālāgnirudra and the 100 Rudras are below the Egg of Brahmā. However, not all
the sources agree with this view. Here he struggles to reconcile them.
76 CHAPTER EIGHT
The authors of the (Tantric) compendia, taking that (series of worlds)
to be (concave), stretched out face up (uttānatayā), have explained (the layout
of the worlds) here and there accordingly, and so the seed of the error that this
(group of worlds) is located within (the Egg of Brahmā) has grown. And so
with Somaśambhu:

‘Now Hūhuka and Kālāgnirudra, as well as Hāṭaka, Kūṣmāṇḍa, Śarva,

Brahmā, and Viṣṇu, the seventh, along with Rudra – these eight Rudras reside
within shell (of Brahmā’s Egg).”²⁰

The teachers have conceived this (layout of these worlds and beings) in
many ways,² and so with the intention of expounding that view (also), he will
say further ahead here: ‘within the Egg is Ananta . . .*”² and ‘there are eight
within it, including with Śarva . . .’² Thus there is no contradiction between
(what was said) before and after. As he will say:

‘I will now declare in brief the extent of all the worlds as my venerable
teacher has told me, in order that it may be quickly transmitted to the
inteḷlect.²⁴¹

It is has been said that (Ananta’s) world is within that of Kālāgnirudra

and is not separate from it, (but) this is not correct. (Ananta’s) entourage, which
is within the world of Kālāgni, is different from Ananta, as it must be purified
separately and is located outside Hūhuka Rudra, the Lord who governs (it). It is
not necessary to describe it as requiring purification separately within its (own)
principle, because by purifying Kālāgnirudra, that is (also) purified. Otherwise
(if that were not s0), the same (contingency) would apply to Padma and the rest
(of the eight Nāgas that are Ananta’s attendants) also.²” Thus, there would be
many other Rudras who would have to be purified (separately), and so in that
case, they would be more than a hundred and eight also.”⁰ In the same way,
what others (maintain), namely, that although (Ananta) is located in a place
outside (the Egg), this is not so with the ten amongst the hundred Rudras (that

²⁰karmakaṇḍakramāvali by Śrīsomaśambhu verses 836-837ab.

²⁰" Read -etan nānāvikalpitam for -etan nānā vikalpitam.
²⁰² Below, 8/408a (407c). There Abhinava is summarily listing the worlds and their
features according to the MV. Most of the account up to there is drawn from the SvT.
Here then is a difference between the two accounts. According to the MV, Ananta is in
the Egg, whereas according to the SYT, he is outside it.
²³ See below 8/411a.
²⁰⁴ Beḻow 8/407 (406cd-407ab).
²⁵ See below, at note 8,101 for a list of the eight Nāgas that attend on Ananta, beginning
with Padma. Padma also appears as the second of the eight Nāgas. See above, note 8,67.
²⁰ TṬhere are a hundred Rudras outside the Egg. If we accept that Ananta and his
entourage of eight Nāgas need to be purified separately, they would need to be reckoned
amongst the hundred Rudras; that would thus make even more than a hundred and eight.
Cf. below, 8/408 (407cd-408ab), where we are told that this sphere of force contains
108 worlds.
 TANTRĀLOKA 77
are elsewhere said to surround him), is also not correct.” Thus because the
textual references to (Ananta) are in this way in the midst (of the others, their)
meaning is implicit (gatārtha), and so (Ananta) is mostly (āditara) denoted
separately.
Again, the measurement of the worlds taught in the venerable
Siddhātantra should not be accepted here. That too is not correct. This is
because (even) if something were to be said concerning the extent, like that of
the hell worlds etc., here of Ananta’s world, one should not accept (anything of)
what is taught in another Tantra because its cosmology (prakriyā) differs. (This
is not a valid objection.) A world must necessarily have an extent (of its own),
and that has not been taught here.

It seems that the SYM does not say anything about the size of Ananta’s
world, although it does give the measurements of the hell worlds and others.

Thus, when there is a need for that, it is necessary to rely on some other
(source). So what is (this) aversion (you have) to the venerable Siddhātantra?
Or else (if you insist), take the support (of the view of) the venerable
Tantrarājabhaṭṭāraka also, which declares that ‘(all the worlds here) extend
upwards for one hundred thousand (leagues).’²* What (could) our objection be
(to that)? Insofar as one should say that a calculation of the extent of worlds
which differs from (the one taught in) our own (scripture) is improper, then that
(rule) would be established for both (the Siddhātantra and Tantrarāja). So,
enough of much (discussion).
(The expression) ‘the Rudras of the shell (kaṭāha) (of Brahmā’s
Egg)² (refers to) the Hūhaka Rudras, who are below the shell. Thus, the
meaning is that by purifying that, this is purified. As is said:

‘That being pure, the Eggs here, along with Ūhakas, are pure.¹²

In the same way, one should understand further ahead here also that
each world is purified, by means of the corresponding Lord of that world. As is
said:

‘Nobody suffers there (in any way) apart from the suffering caused by
Anaṅga (the god of love). Indeed, the heroes sport there with women playfully
(residing in beautiful worlds that have the shape of women’s genitals (yoni)).’²¹⁰

‘He is in a boatʼ. As is said: ‘Ananta is below, in a boat in the waterʼ.

He is ‘drunk with wine’. As is said: ‘the venerable and greatly inebriated one is

¹⁷ The sources accepted by Abhinava and Jayaratha declare that Ananta is in the middle
of ten of the hundred Rudras that are outside the Egg. Some said that these ten differed
from the others and were not outside it.
¹⁰⁵ See above, ad 8/21cd-22ab.
¹⁵ SYṬ 10/6ab.
²¹⁰ ṢVṬ 10/8cd-9ab. The line that follows is in brackets. Kṣemarāja comments: ‘By
(saying) this, it has been stressed that the main enjoyment of these worlds comes from
women.
78 CHAPTER EIGHT
always devoted to great drinking (mahāpāna)¹¹' on the waters.. He
‘contemplates Bhairava’; (saying this, he means that) he is intent on that alone
and ready, as said (in the following verse), to obey His command:

‘O Lord of (this) world-order! By Śiva’s command you should not

create (any) obstacle for this adept, who is on his way to the plane free of (all)
disease.”²¹²

This has been explained first of all because it refers by implication to all
(the Lords of the Worlds).² (He is surrounded) ‘by serpent gods’. As is said:

‘1) Padma, 2) Mahāpadma, 3) Saṁkhapāla, 4) Vajriṇa, 5) Kārkoṭa, and

6) Niṣāda, (along with) both 7) Kambala and 8) Aśvatara – (Ananta) is
surrounded all around by these great snakes.’²⁴

See below,

In the same way, it is established that (Ananta) himself is a serpent

deity. As is said:
‘His arms upraised and body great, in the form of a serpent, he is very
strong, bearing a thousand hoods, he resides in the universe.’

Thus, he is called the serpent Śeṣa in the venerable

Tantrarājabhaṭtārāka.²
Now he begins to describe the worlds that are within the Egg of
Brahmā.

²"¹ ‘Great drinking⁷ (mahāpāna) refers to the ritual ingestion of inebriating alcoholic
drinks in the course of Kaula worship and union with Yoginīs (melāpa). As for example,
when the Tantra says:

mahāpānāvasānasthā [kh gh: -yānā-; g: mahāmāyāvasānastho] udayasthāś ca ye sadā

kramodaragatā ye ca te tu melāpabhājanāḥ || 150 || Y 3 f1. 240a-240b

‘Those who are always established in the abode of the Great Drinking and in an
elevated (state), present within the womb of the Kaula rite (kramodara) (enjoy) union
(with the Yoginīs) (melāpa).’
In other words, Ananta is not just drunk, he is inebriated by worshipping the
deity.
²¹² MV 9/64cd-65ab. Quoted literally below as TĀ 17/49.
²¹ Like Ananta, all the Lords of the Worlds are intent on following Śiva’s command.
²¹⁴ The SVT does not list the eight Snake deities (1āga). Jayaratha quotes from a source I
could not trace (maybe the SYM?). The more common group of eight Nāgas is 1)
Ananta, 2) Vāsuki, 3) Takṣaka, 4) Kārkoṭa, 5) Padma, 6) Mahāpadma, 7) Śaṁkhapāla
and 8) Kuḻlika. See above ad 6/69cd-72ab and note 6,165. Jayaratha must have chosen
this other list, as Ananta is not included. Ananta (also called ŚSeṣa – the Remnant) is the
serpent on which Viṣṇu lies when sleeping on the cosmic ocean. Thus, he is considered
to be the greatest of the Nāgas. See above, note 8,92.
³¹³ See citation above ad 8/20cd-22ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 79

The Worlds Within the Egg of Brahmā

The World of the Fire of Time

ā̄ōīTT̄jāṁ alēā āhīTeāītīāfrzṣaāṁ ú| 32 1

GTHIT VTTHIRTTĀTĪTĪ J āĪīī |
kālāgner bhuvanaṁ cordhve koṭiyojanam ucchritam || 22 ||
lokānāṁ bhasmasādbhāvabhayān nordhvaṁ sa vīkṣate |

Above that is the world of the Fire of Time (kālāgni), that extends
for ten million leagues (yojana). He does not look upwards for fear that by
doing so the worlds would be turned to ashes.²⁶ (22cd-23ab)

(The Fire of Time is) ‘above that’; that is to say, (above) the shell (of
the Egg of Brahmā), which is ten million leagues thick (ghana). As will be said
(in the Svacchandatantra):

‘The shell of the Egg below and above is ten million leagues thick.”²¹⁷

³¹⁶ Kālāgni is described as follows in the Mṛgendrāgama (vidyāpāda 13/9-12):

kapālam arbudaṁ sthaulyād brahmaṇo ʻṇḍasya yojanaiḥ |

tasyāntaḥ kāñcanaṁ dhāma kālāgnes tāvad eva hi |
yatrāntakālatīkṣṇāṁśukoṭitejās tathāvidhaiḥ 1
rudrair āṣte vṛto devaḥ kālāgnir iti viśrutaḥ ||
sarvādhvavartibhūtānāṁ yasminn udvṛttatejasi |
bhayam uīpadyate śaktyā saṁhartryā codite prabhoḥ ||
tasya ṣvabhāvato jvālāḥ pravṛtyā daśakoṭayaḥ |
yojanānāṁ tadardhena dhūmaḥ sāṅdraḥ sudāruṇaḥ |1

‘The shell of the Egg of Brahmā is 10 million leagues thick. At its extremity is
the golden abode of Kālāgni, which is of the same size (tāvaṁ). (That is) where the god
who is surrounded by Rudras who are like countless rays of energy of the (fire of the)
End of Time (resides), well known as Kālāgni. The living beings who reside on all the
Path, that are enveloped within it by (his) energy, are frightened, (their fear) impelled by
the Lord’s power of retraction. His flames extend by nature, or 100 million leagues. The
smoke, which is dense and very frightening, extends for half that (distance beyond).”
²⁷ adhaś cordhvaṁ kaṭāho ‘ṇḍe sa ghanaḥ koṭiyojanaḥ |

‘Within the Egg Kaṭāha, below and above, is ten million leagues thick.”

This exact line cannot be traced in the printed edition of the SvT. However, the
wording of the following verse, which means the same, is very similar.

kaṭāhas tu adhaś cordhvaṁ brahmāṇḍasya varānane ||

koṭiyojanamānena ghanākāreṇa saṁsthitaḥ |

‘O fair-faced lady, the shell of the Egg of Brahmā, above and below measures
ten million leagues in thickness.” SvT 10/618cd-619ab.
80 CHAPTER EIGHT

‘He does not look upwardsʼ, as is said:

‘The god does not look upwards, (thinking) ‘may this universe not be
turned to ashes.”³

Thus, his upper face has not developed, and so (the Rudra of the Fire of
Time) is everywhere said (in the scriptures) to have just four faces (facing in the
four directions). As is said:

‘He has three eyes and four faces and bears a mass of flames.”

Surely, according to the dictum that: ‘whatever excels something else in

quality is said to be above it’,³"⁴ it would be right for his location to be above the
hells, so how is that he is said to be below (them)? With this doubt in mind, he
says:

aq sqrīaāīīṂq fārāīa agāāīccgaātaāī

JTT | 23 1
Taē²-; JTTRĀĀTTHT
TTĪ TT ; |
sa ca vyāptāpi viśvasya yasmāt pluṣyann imāṁ bhuvam || 23 ||
narakebhyaḥ purā vyaktas tenāsau tadadho mataḥ |

Although (this Fire) pervades the universe, it is considered to be

below the hells, because in the course of burning up this world-order (when
the time comes for it to do so), it initially manifests from there. (23cd-24ab)

It was said before:

‘Kālāgni (the Fire of Time) initially manifests from the hells. Thus,
(although) the Lord is all-pervasive (vibhu), he is also situated below (at the
bottom of the hell worlds).”²¹

The Thirty-five Hells of Avīci, Kumbhīpāka and Mahāraurava

zṛṝ āreā fāīũaaī āaṣ vzaēṁā: | 2²x 1

īgtī Thīrī; Ṁ³a=, g aēhi-T |
sṛsīṛ ēēḷ āōzidī s Ṁfkeī ũũaraiaṁ: I 2.4 |
3TTĪTṀṬPHĪTTTTTTIRJĪTKĪTSĀJGHĪ̄ |

UGTEJĪĒITYT
T] āṢTJĪTĪ: JRIT] TṜT I 2Ē. I
ṬGRFĀTHĒĪTI ITRTRBJĒĪTTR I
²¹³ MV 2/60ab.
²¹⁰ Above, 6/142abc (141cd-142a). Read as above vibhur adhaḥsthito ‘pīśa for vibhur
apy eṣa tadadhaḥ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 81

ēTī aaTP-āGTTITTT] fēaifat: 1| 2¹s 1

āHTTG 3 JēĪTTIĪTCRAATTTTTĪTRTTT |
daśa koṭyo vibhor jvālā tadardhaṁ śūnyam ūrdhvataḥ || 24 ||
tadūrdhve narakādhīśāḥ kramād duḥkhaikavedanāḥ |
adho madhye tadūrdhve ca sthitā bhedāntarair vṛtāḥ |l 25 ||
avīcikumbhīpākākhyarauravās teṣv anukramāt |
ekādaśaikādaśa ca daśety antaḥ śarāgni tat || 26 ||
pratyekam eṣām ekonā kotir ucchritir antaram |
lakṣam atra khavedāsyasaṁkhyānām antarā sthitiḥ || 27 ||
kūṣmāṇḍa ūrdhve lakṣonakoṭiṣṭhānas tadīśitā |

The flaming fire of the All-pervasive Lord extends for one hundred
million (daśakoṭi) leagues. The upper half of that is empty (and no living
creature resides there). Above that reside, in due order, the Lords of the
Hells, who experience nothing but suffering.
Below, in the middle and above that, surrounded by other (minor)
divisions, are (the hells) called Avīci,⁰ Kumbhīpāka³²¹ and Raurava.³²
Within them are eleven, eleven and ten (hells), respectively. Thus, including
them, they make thirty-five (hells) in all.
Each one (of these hells) extends for nine million and nine hundred
thousand (leagues); (the space) in between (each one extends for) one
hundred thousand (leagues).³²²⁸ Altogether (these hells) number one
hundred and forty. Above (these hells) is Kūṣmāṇda, who lords over a
world that extends for nine million and nine hundred thousand leagues.²⁴
(24cd-28ab)

²²⁴⁰ Literally ‘Without Waves’. The sense is probably that in this hell nothing changes.
The souls in it just continue to suffer without change for millions of years.
²³! Literally ‘Cooked in a Pot’. In this hell the wicked are baked like potter’s vessels or
cooked like the contents of a cooking vessel.
³²² This is the hell of the Rudra Rurava, ‘the One who makes the Sound ‘Ru’. In this
hell, the damned make this terrible — raurava – sound. Goodall (2004: 282 note 490)
notes that these three hells ‘have a special status for they are the only hells mentioned in
the Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṁgraha (487-88), the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha (4l2) and the
Mālinīvijayottara (512).
²²³ SYT 10/93. The total measure of the hells with the gaps is thus one crore (ten million)
yojanas. We find the same measurements for the hells in the Parākhya (5/34ab) and
Mataṅga (vidyāpāda) 24/8cd-9ab. For these measurements and those of the Mṛgendra
(vidyāpāda 13/13) and Kiraṇa, see Goodall 2004: 288 note 515.
²⁴ According to the Parākhya also, the world of Kūṣmāṇḍa (the Pumpkin) is just above
the hell worlds. It is said there that it is nine lakhs yojanas above them, and extends for
thirty thousand (ibid. 5/34cd). Kūṣmāṇḍa’s palace is touched by the flames of Kālāgni
below it (5/8cd). He is one of eight Rudras at the bottom of the Egg of Brahmā. Their
names are listed above in a citation drawn from the Somaśambhu (see above at note
8,87). This Rudra is described in the Parākhya as follows.
‘Kūṣmāṇḍa has a gaping hatchet face with flames that arise from the rubbing
together of the fierce points of his fangs. The cavern of his mouth is illuminated by the
light of the radiance of these (flames). His skeleton is visible behind the surface of his
82 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘The half of that’ is fifty million (leagues) and is ‘empty’, that is,
devoid of living beings, for fear of the smoke and heat. As is said:

‘O fair-faced lady, mistress of the gods, nothing lives here for fifty
million (leagues) above it, intensely heated (as it is) by the smoke and heat (of
the flames of the Fire of Time).³²⁹
‘Above that’, that is, above the empty (space). (Reside) ‘in due orderʼ,
that is, in the (reverse order which is that) of withdrawal; and so (in the forward
order) within Raurava and Kumbhīpāka, there are eleven (hells), and within
Avīci, ten. Thus, along with themselves, those three hells number ‘thirty-five’
(altogether). This is the meaning.
As is said:
Eleven Hells in Avīci

‘0 beloved, one should purify Avīci, which is associated with eleven

hells, with itself as the twelfth. O goddess, one should purify Kumbhīpāka, and
s0 too the one called Mahāraurava should be purified in the same way. O fair
faced lady, I will (now) tell (you the names of) the thirty-five (hells) in brief.

split open chest; he holds a hatchet in his hand; the area of his dense eyebrows is
permanently drawn together (in a frown).
‘Ku’ is taught to mean ‘world’; in it there is uṣman, which (here) means fire.
Just as that terrible-to-look-at (fire) is inside the egg (of Brahmā), so too is the aweful
(udbhaṭa) Kūṣmāṇḍa. He is employed by the supreme Lord as the overseer of the hells.
He is surrounded with Rudras of the same kind, with terrible gaping mouths, with
throat, chest and arms terrible to look at. . . . They stand with their hatchets in their
hands, together with others made of iron.’ (5/35-40ab) Goodallʼs edition and translation.
In the Mṛgendra (vidyāpāda 13/23-24) he is the Lord of the hell worlds and is
described as follows:

tatra dvatriṁśato.amīṣāṁ nirayāṇāṁ patiḥ sthitaḥ |

kūṣmāṇḍa iti vikhyātaḥ pralayārkānaladyutiḥ ||
karālavadanaḥ kruḍdho vṛttākoṭaralocanaḥ |
taṅkapāṇistathābhūtair bhūtair bhuyobhir āvṛtaḥ ||

‘The lord of these thirty-two hell worlds resides there. He is known as

Kūṣmāṇḍa. His lustre is like that of the Sun and Fire of cosmic destruction. His mouth is
(full of) sharp teeth. He is wrathful and his stern eyes are round. He holds an axe and is
surrounded by many ghosts that are as he is.”
²³ SyT 10/30. Kṣemarāja explains: evaṁ kaṭāhaḥ koṭis tadupari kālāgnībhuvanaṁ
kotiḥ, bhuvanajvālā daśa koṭayaḥ, śūnyaṁ pañca koṭaya iti saptadaśa | na cātra
madhye *nantabhuvanaparimāṇam uktam iti madhye tatparikalpanam asad ity uktam
eva

‘In this way the frying pan is 10 million (leagues thick). Above it is the world
of Kālāgni, which is ten million (leagues in height), and the fire of (that) world, which is
100 million (leagues high), and the Void fifty million, thus making a hundred and
seventy million. The extent of the world of Ananta in the middle has not been taught.
Thus, what is being taught is that conceiving that to be in the middle is untrue.”
 TANTRĀLOKA 83
They are: 1) Avīci, which is a heap of lice (kriminicaya),³⁸ 2) the river
Vaitariṇī, 3) Loha (Metal), 4) Śalmali (Śilk-cotton Tree), 5) Asiparvata (Sword
Mountain), 6) Socchvāsa ((Full of) Sighs), 7) Nirucchvāsa (Sighless), 8)
Pūtimāṁsa (Rotten Meat), and after that 9) Taptatrapu (Heated Lead),
10) Kṣārakūpa (Well of Secretions), and 11) Jatulepa (Bitumen Paste). They are
within (12) Avīci.

Eleven Hells of Kumbhīpāka

(Now) listen (to the names of the hells) of Kumbhīpāka (Cooked in a

Pot). (They are) 1) Astibhaṅga (Broken Bones), 2) Krakacacheda (Cut by a
Saw), 3) Kūpa ((Prison) Well), and also 4) Kaṭaṅkaṭa (Iron Hook), 5) Vasāmiśra
(Mixed with Fat), 6) Ayastuṇḍa (Iron Beak),²²⁷ and 7) Trapulepa (Lead Paste),
should be known to be (hells of) Kumbhīpāka (Cooked in a Pot).²⁸ And then
there is 8) Tīkṣṇāsī (Sharp Sword) made of heated iron (taptaloha),
9) Ksuradhārapatha (Path of the Razor Blade), 10) Aśani (Thunderbolt),²² and
11) Sutapta (Well Heated). These are said to be the twelve (hells) (including
Kumbhīpāka). One should know that, (very) terrible, eleven of them are within
(12) Kumbhīpāka.
Ten Hells of Mahāraurava

(Now) learn from me, next above that, (the hells) in the kingdom²* of
Mahāraurava. They are: 1) Kālasūtra (Thread of Time), 2) Mahāpadma (Great

²²⁰ Here Kṣemarāja says: avīcir eva kriminicayapadena viśeṣito na tu

pūrvanirdiṣṭādasau vyatiriktaḥ saṁkhyādhikyaprasaṅgāt || *Avicī itself is qualified by
the word kriminicaya – ‘heap of lice’. It is not separate from what was named before,
because otherwise the number (of hells) would be too many.’ In the Parākhya,
Kriminicaya is the name of the twenty-fourth hell, and it commonly appears as a hell in
other sources. Clearly, Kṣemarāja is making his own adjustment here. But that is not
really necessary, as the hells are indeed eleven, as stated, along with Avīci, that contains
them as an extra one. Even so, Kṣemarāja is supported by the Svacchanda itself, that
states:

avīcau kṛminarakān kumbhīpāke sudāruṇān ||

mahārauravake ‘medhyān antarbhūtān vicintayet |

‘Within Avīci are the hells of lice. Those in Kumbhīpāka are very terrible, and
one should think that those contained within Mahāraurava are impure (and defiling)
(amedhya).” SvT 10/91cd-92ab
²” Kṣemarāja: vasāmiśra iti yaḥ pūrvaṁ medaka uktaḥ | ayastuṇḍas tu tīkṣṇatuṇḍa iti,
tīkṣṇāsirasir iti ‘Vasāmiśra (Mixed with Fat) is the one that was previously said to be
Medaka (Spiritous liquor), Ayastuṇḍa (Iron Beak) is also called Tīkṣṇatuṇḍa (Sharp
Beak) and Tīkṣṇāsirasi (Sharp Head).”
²²⁸ Xṣemarāja: kumbhas tu kumbhīra iti Kumbha (Jar) is (also called) Kumbhīra,
(Gangetic Crocodile).
²⁹ Ksemarāja: aśanir ity aśanī vṛṣṭinudgarāv iti ‘Aśani (Thunderbolt) also (spelled)
Aśanī, is called) Vṛṣṭi ((Heavy) Rain) and Mudgara (Mallet).”
⁰ Read -rājye for -rāje.
84 CHAPTER EIGHT
Lotus), 3) Kumbha (Jar), 4) Saṁjīvanekṣuka³³¹ (Life Giving Sugar Cane), 5)
Pāśa (Fetter), 6) Ambarīśaka (Lord of the Sky), 7) Ayas (Iron), 8) Paṭṭa (Cloth),
9) Daṇḍayantra (Punishment Machine),³⁸ and after that is 10) Amedhya
(Impure, literally ‘Unfit to Sacrifice’), which is horrific (ghorarūpa).
(11) Mahāraurava (that contains these ten hells) is located above them (i.e. the
others).³³³³

(Each one) ‘of these’ thirty-two hells included in the three (main ones)
(extends for) ‘nine million and nine hundred thousand (leagues)³. ‘The
(space) in between’ is the empty space (between) each one. Thus (we get) three
hundred and twenty million (leagues). It is said (here) that there, one hundred
and forty are the main (ones),³*⁴ and there (of those) also, thirty-two, and there
(of those), three. As is said:

‘O fair lady, beyond this are said to be the hells (that extend), O
goddess, for five hundred million (leagues).”²⁵

¹ The reading here, supported by the edition of the SVT, is saṁjīvanekṣukau, which
means Life Giver and Sugar Cane. However, this reading means that the hells would be
eleven, not ten. Emending to saṁjīvanekṣukaḥ, we arrive at the right number of hells,
although admittedly the name of this entry is somewhat strange.
³? Kṣemarāja: pāśo ‘py uraga iti, daṇḍayantro daṇḍa iti ‘Pāśa (the Fetter) is also
(called) Uraga (Serpent), and the Daṇḍayantra (Punishment Machine) is Daṇḍa
(Punishment).³
²³³ SVT 10/81cd-91ab.
²⁴ Read pradhānāḥ for pradhāna. Theṣe figures are standard in most Siddhāntas,
although they are arrived at variously. Goodall (2004: 282 note 490) explains that in the
Svacchanda, 140 hells are listed and named (SVT 10/75cd-93): ‘In the Kiraṇa (8/6-12),
they are mentioned. Thirty-two names are listed, then it is stated that the three eight-fold
hells are Avīvi, Raurava and Kumbhīpāka and that all the others are four-fold. The
account in the Mataṅga vidyāpāda 23/78-81) is largely the same as the Kiraṇa, with a
difference in the distribution of the 140 hells. They are also described and their Lords
listed, ibid. in 13/13-22. In the Niśvāsamukha (vidyāpāda 23/73-81), a list of thirty-two
names is given (differing in order from all others, but sharing the same names as the
Mataṅga).” In the Parākhyā, thīrty-two are listed, with Avīcī, Kumbhapāka and
Mahāraurava as the last three. (ibid. 5/I I-16ab). But while the number 32 is the same,
and several names are the same as the ones drawn here from the Svacchanda, many are
not, nor are they in the same order. The pattern remains largely the same. By purifying
the thirty-two hells, the hundred and forty are purified, and by purifying the three hells,
the thirty-two are purified (SVT 10/77cd-78). These three hells are Avīvi, Kumbhīpāka
and Mahāraurava. They include the others, so their lords are emperors (rājarājeśvara,
rājamaheśvara) (citation in SvTu ad 10/78). See Parākhya 5/33ab.
The thirty-two hells are listed in Parākhya 5/12-16ab. A didactic etymology
and description of each one follows (5/16cd-32). Reproducing these descriptions in the
notes here would be tedious; the interested reader can refer there. As an example, we
may cite the three main hells and how they are described in Parākhya 5/31-32: “Avīcī is
covered with waves (vīcibhiś channaḥ) of pus, blood, mud and such like. Kumbhī
is flame-tongued (fire) in a great and terrible pot-mouth. The one called Mahāraurava is
extremely fierce and frightening.' Translation and edition by Goodall.
²³⁵ SVT 10/31abd.
 TANTRĀLOKA 85
Again:

‘O beloved, amongst those (hells), one hundred and forty (of them) are
the best. The best of these also are another thirty-two Lords of the Hells,
(whereas) the emperors are three.’⁴⁶
The intended (sense) behind this teaching is that when the person who
receives initiation has many sins, the hells (need to be) purified extensively,
ascertaining (which they are) in (their) graded order, otherwise (if the sin is not
so much, this can be done) in brief. (Kūṣmāṇḍa is) ‘above’ (these) hells.
Well then, who lives in these kinds of hells and who does not? With this
question in mind, he says:

vīā’ērēzr̥ṁīq #ī 3 - fBṟ 1 2¢ 1|
̃ vsṁaīzī: úṝṣṣ-a īīṛd- 1
3 #ar̥fd ũāīdṝ fraāTēīJī³īāāī JIT || Ḷ 1|
aīṛṝā⁷ ī īēqgī ṝīḷ ḷ gaTGTTTCI I
šāstraviruddhācaraṇāt
kṛṣṇaṁ ye karma vidadhate || 28 II
tatra bhīmair lokapuruṣaiḥ
pīḍyante bhogaparyantam |
ye sakṛd api parameśaṁ
śivam ekāgreṇa cetasā śaraṇam || 29 ||
yānti na te narakayujaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ teṣāṁ sukhālpatādāyi ||

The terrifying (bhīma) inhabitants there (of these hells) torment

those who, by contravening the scripture, have accumulated black
Karma.²” They continue to (afflict them) until its resulting consequence
(bhoga) is exhausted. Those, however, who have with one-pointed
concentration sought refuge even once in Śiva, the Supreme Lord, do not

¹³⁶ The Sanskrit reads:

teṣu madhye sataṁ śreṣthaṁ catvāriṁśādhikaṁ priye 1
teṣām api varāś cānye dyāṭrīṁśan narakādhipāḥ l
rājarājeśvarās trīi
These lines cannot be traced in the printed edition of the SvT. However, a verse
which says the same but worded differently is quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 10/78:

catvāriṁśatsamadhikaṁ yad eteṣāṁ prakītītam |

dvātrīmśat tatra rājāno rājarājeśvarās trayaḥ l|

‘Of these there are said to be one hundred and forty. There the kings are thirty-
two and the emperors, three.”
²²⁷ Karma may be ‘white’ or ‘black’, according to whether the action is good or bad.
Action done with detachment and no desire for the fruits, is neither ‘white’ nor ‘blackʼ.
86 CHAPTER EIGHT
£go to these hells (after death. But even s0), their black (deeds) afford them
little pleasure. (28cd-30ab)

(The inhabitants of these hells have accumulated bad Karma) “‘by

contravening the scripture’, that is, by not doing what they enjoin and doing
what they prohibit. (Their black deeds) ‘afford them little pleasure’, because
due to (their) negligence, (their work) has not reached a successful conclusion.
That is said (in the following passage in the Svacchandatantra):

‘These extremely terrible hells are said to be triangular, (and exist) in

order to cause the downfall of those living beings who are dedicated to bad
actions (asatkarman), that is, for those wicked sinners who do cruel deeds,
cheats, low people without compassion, those dedicated to hurting others, those
devoted to others⁷ wives, those who criticize Śiva’s scriptures, those who steal
(and deceitfully make use of) the sacrificial substances offered to the deity,
those who kill Brahmins and (their own) father, those who slaughter cows and
betray those who have done them good, those who betray the trust of (their)
friends, those who steal gold-bearing land, those who do not practice (or care
for) cleanliness, those who are devoid of compassion and kindness, whose
minds are given to slander and falsehood – the hells are said to be for those who
tread the path of bad actions.
Those people who are dedicated to (good) auspicious action do not fall
into hell. I will (now) tell you about that in brief, correctly and in due order.
Truth, forbearance, and nonviolence, cleanliness, (daily) bathing, no dirt,
compassion, freedom from greed – he who possesses (these virtues) does not go
to the hells. (Nor does) one who is tranquil, forbearing, joyful by nature, not
proud, equal (in praise and blame), not violent or spiteful, who has no desire for
othersʼ wealth.
The good qualities (dharma) are said to be the following. Lack of envy
and pride, devotion to Śiva, lack of fickleness, devotion to the recitation of
Mantra and meditation (dhyāna), stability, freedom from niggardliness, (the
observance of) vows and disciplines (of right conduct), study (of scripture), (the
observance of the sanctity of the) three junctures of the day, faith everywhere
(in all circumstances), rectitude, modesty, respect, vitality (ojas), tranquillity,
satisfaction, avoidance of (uttering) displeasing words, constant investigation
(of higher matters), restraint of the mind and ego, lack of deceit and delusion (of
others), (to be) devoid of stains, the practice of wisdom (jñānaśīlatā), devotion
to the worship of the ancestors and deities, offering refuge to cows and
Brahmins, oblation to the fire, and offering (making) gifts to the teacher,
respectful attendance on those who possess knowledge (of the scriptures),
(always has) sex and (practices) meditation in a secluded place (not in front of
others), and satisfaction within oneself, not engaging in business (to gain) other
people’s wealth, indifference (to worldly matters), freedom from sin, anger, and
laziness.
He who possesses these qualities is fit for immortality, and the soul’s
fetters are destroyed, even though they are said to be endless. Therefore, having
understood that (these are the good moral qualities) of embodied beings who
observe them and are devoted to the right conduct (ordained by) Śiva, one
 TANTRĀLOKA 87
should apply one’s mind to righteousness (dharma). He whose mind (citta) is
not confused, free of thought constructs and impurity, attains the supreme
worlds and does not (even) see the hells. He whose intellect is not deluded, does
no harm to any living being, is free of impurity, and possesses the truth, does
not (even) see the hells.”³⁸⁸

The Eight Netherworlds (pātāla)

HGĀāTTTĪCHHH=T-TTIHJ ṢPHĪT I 3⁰° 1I

TITĪRĪTTTR
RṬI: TJ; |
sahasranavakotsedham ekāntaram atha kramāt || 30 ||
pātālāṣṭakam ekaikam aṣṭame hāṭakaḥ prabhuḥ |

The eight netherworlds (pātāla) are each nine thousand (leagues) in

height. There is a space between them of one thousand (leagues). Hāṭaka³⁴⁹
is the Lord in (Sauvarṇa), the eighth one.²⁴ (30cd-31ab)

In proximity to (a netherworld that measures) nine thousand (leagues) is

(an intermediate gap of) one thousand. In this way their extant is established to
eighty thousand (leagues).³²⁴" ‘The eight lower worlds’ (are,) as is said:

²⁸ SVT 10/53cd-71ab. This passage concludes: ‘He who, having conquered the senses,
his mind is in his control. He has, by (virtue of) that victory, conquered the whole triple
world, along with (all that is) mobile and immobile. He whose intellect is firm (and
unwavering) in what he has to do for himself and for others, (his stability) is (true)
learning. Others (who claim to be learned only) quote from books. This, declared in
brief, is Tantric ethics (nyāya). Others, who are not Tantrics, are innumerable.” 10/71cd-
74ab
²⁹ Goodall (2004: 293 n 537) points out that in the early Siddhāntas, Hāṭaka and his
world is mentioned only in the MNiśvāsaguhyasūtra (5/17, fl. 55b), the
Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha (4/3), the Kiraṇa (8/40) and the Mṛgendra (vidyāpāda 13/32cd-
34ab). In the Niśvāsaguhya he is called Hāṭhaka. See below, note 8,136.
²⁴⁰ See SvT 10/95-119.
²⁴¹ Jayaratha below in TĀv ad 8/35cd-41ab cites Kṣemarāja’s measurements of the
worlds here in the lower half of the Egg of Brahmā (SvTu ad 10/120ab). Kṣemarāja says
that the eight netherworlds (pātālas) together measure 80,000 leagues. The SvT itself, at
least in the printed edition, does not supply their measurements. The TĀ says that each
pātāla spans 9,000 leagues, and there is a space of 1000 between them. This is exactly
what the Parākhya says:
pātālasaptakaṁ khyātaṁ hāṭakādhiṣṭhitaṁ śubham |
ekaikaṁ navasāhasraṁ sahasrāntarasammitam || (Ś/60)

‘The seven pātālas, presided over by Hātṭaka, have been taught. Each of them is
nine thousand (yojanas high), with a gap of a thousand (between them).”
Presuming Hāṭakeśvara’s world is the same size, we arrive at 8 x 9 + 8 =
80,000. Jayaratha confirms this figure. But while the resulting sense is clear, the reading
is not. The text reads: sahasraśabdasaṁnidher ekaṁ sahasraṁ. It is clearly corrupt. The
literal meaning makes little or no sense, that is: “In proximity to the word ‘thousand’ is
‘one thousand’. Tentatively, one may try to repair the text to sahasranavasaṅṁnidher
88 CHAPTER EIGHT

‘1) Ābhāsa (Shining), 2) Varatāla (Best World), 3) Śarkara (Sugar),

4) Gabhastimat (Possessing (Many) Rays), 5) Mahātala (Great World), 6) Sutala
(Beautiful World), 7) Rasātala (Nectar World), and after that one should know
8) the eighth to be Sauvarṇa (Golden), that possesses all (one may) desire.¹²²

(Hāṭaka is the Lord) ‘in the eighth’, which is called Sauvarṇa (Golden).
As is said:

‘Above that is said to be the netherworld (pātāla) (called) Sauvarṇa

(Golden). The Supreme Lord (of the hells), the god Hāṭaka, lives there.¹³³

Although according to the following words (of the scripture), there are
separate Lords of the World for each one, even so, in accord with the saying that
‘by Hāṭaka purified, all are said to be purified,’ by purifying Hāṭaka Rudra (they
are all) purified. Thus, this teaching has not been imparted here without
purpose. (lt is said in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘0 fair-faced lady, the three, Asuras (demons) along with the Nāgas
(serpent deities) and Rākṣasas (other kinds of demons), are said to be present all
together, without division, in the lower world. One should know that in the
same way there are other Lords of the Worlds in the seven netherworlds, who
are said to be 1) Bala (Strong), 2) Atibala (Very Strong), 3) Balavat (Possessing
Strength), 4) Balavikrama (Valorous Strength), 5) Subala (Good Strength),
6) Balabhadra (Auspicious Strength) and 7) Balādhyakṣa (Superintendent of
Strength).⁷²⁴

ekāntaraṁṅ sahasram ‘in proximity to (a netherworld that measures) nine thousand is an

intermediate gap of a thousand.”
²⁴² SVT 10/96-97ab. Although the names are not completely the same, Kṣemarāja quotes
the names listed in Parākhya (5/41). They are: 1) Ābhāsa, 2) Paratāla, 3) Nitala, 4)
Gabhastimat, 5) Mahātāla, 6) Rasatāla and 7) Pātāla. Goodall (2004: 289 note 522)
notes that, as here and in Kiraṇa 8/22, Varatāla replaces Paratāla. He also notes that
only Mṛgendra (vidyāpāda 13/27cd-28ab) shares this list, except it reads Tritala for
Nitala. The SvT (10/97ab) adds Hātakeśvara’s world as an eighth. Abhinava follows
suit. But even in the Parākhya, Hāṭaka is referred to as a pātāla (in 5/58), although its
says that there are seven (pātālasaptaka) (5160).
²⁷SVT 10/116.
²4 SVṬ 10/113-115ab. In the Parākhya each of the pātālas is said to have a Daitya,
serpent and Rākṣas. Their names are listed for each one and they are briefly described
(5/42-52). In the SvT they are only mentioned as being present there ‘without division’
(avibhāgataḥ) (10/113cd). The pātālas are netherworlds but not hells, rather kinds of
subterranean paradises, each with their own riches and amusements. They are basically
seven, as we find in the Purāṇas. The ones listed in the Parākhya are briefly described
one by one in the Parākhya 5/43-52. The layout here is as follows:

The Eight Netherworlds

Pātāla Beings Lords
Ābhāsa Asuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Bala
Varatāla Asuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Atibala
 TANTRĀLOKA 89
What is the reason² for describing this in this way? With this doubt in
mind, he says:

Śrīkaṇṭha as Hāṭakeśvara, Guardian of the Netherworlds

sftṝēaḥ f=zqērcāṁ srkvar ēaī g: 1| 2 1

[EeGE⁶ICEEEĒĪUEŠIGEḤ
pratilokaṁ niyuktātmā śrīkaṇṭho haṭhato bahūḥ || 31 ||
siddhīrdadātyasāvevaṁ śrīmadrauravaśāsane |

According to the teaching of the venerable Raurava, Śrīkaṇṭha, who

has been appointed (as Hāthakeśvara to reign over) each of the (lower)
worlds, forcefully (hathataḥ) (removing obstacles,) bestows many
accomplishments (siddhi).⁶ (31cd-32ab)

The ‘accomplishments’ (include various forms of union with the

presiding deity,) beginning with (the accomplishment of) inhabiting his world
(sālokya). As is said there:

‘He is the Lord Śrīkaṇṭha, who has been appointed to (reign over) each
of the (lower) worlds.² As Hāṭaka, he guards the door to the netherworlds
(pātāla). Having forcefully (hathena) torn asunder the restraints (there) in the
netherworlds, he bestows on the adepts whose mantras are (well) practiced,
glorious accomplishments.’²⁸

Sarkara Asuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Balavat

Gabhasṭimat Aṣuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Balavikrama
Mahātāla Aṣuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Subala
Sutāla Asuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Balabhadra
Rasatāla Asuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Balādhyakṣa
Sauvarṇa Asuras, Nāgas, Rākṣasas (?) Hāṭakeśvara

²⁴³ Read kirṁ nimittam for kimimittam.

²⁴⁶Thiṣ is why Śrīkaṇṭha is called Hāṭaka here. Hāṭaka shuts the doors of the
netherworlds, and by his grace, they are opened forcefully (haṭhena) to allow the
dwellers in his netherworld to pass into another world and attain the accomplishments
(siddhi) that are possible there. A similar didactic etymology (nirvacana) is found in the
SVT.
³⁴⁷ Read, as does Abhinava, pratilokaṁ for pratiloke.
²⁴⁸⁶ The verses Jayaratha quotes, out of those to which Abhinavagupta refers here, are not
found in the incomplete printed text of the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha. See note to TĀv ad
6/142 (141cd-142ab). Cf. SVT 10/119cd-120ab:

haṭhāt praveśayel lokāṅṁs tadbhāvagatamānasān ||

tenāsau hāṭakaḥ prokto devadevo maheśvaraḥ |
90 CHAPTER EIGHT
Well then, to whom does he give such accomplishments? With this
doubt in mind, he says:

‘Hāṭaka, who is said to be Maheśvara, the God of the gods, is thus (named)
because he enters with great force (haṭhāt) the worlds (born from) the mind of that God
(Srīkaṇṭha).”

Also Kiraṇa 8/42ab: haṭhād bhinatti yantrāṇi tenāyaṁ haṭthako mataḥ |

‘He breaks apart restraints with force (haṭhā), and so he is considered to be

haṭhakaḥ (one who removes with force).”

Hāṭakeśyara is portrayed in the Svacchandatantra as he is generally in the

Siddhāntas, that is, as the lord of the netherworlds. In those sources, they are
underground worlds of pleasure and revelry, and his is a golden world where he lives in
a temple of gold. In the Parākhya, he and his world are described as follows:

‘It is beautiful, full of mountain peaks (śikharāṣliṣṭa), pale red with silken
cloths and gems. It is bolted with doors in which are panels of ruby; its walls are upright
and of excellent gold. Resting upon that is established a throne of gold which has the
radiance of rays of glistening gems, (being) beautifully set with jewels of all kinds. (53-
55)
This Lord Śiva is at all times attended by great beauties (who attend on him)
out of love for their master and who have the playful gait of great elephants. (57)
Hāṭaka is venerated by countless armies. Since this pātāla, rich in lovely
women, shines forcefully (haṭhāt), therefore plainly it is called Hāṭaka, a space for
meetings, for sacrifices, full of ponds and Arka shrubs, dense with ... pleasures.’
(Parākhya 5/58-59)

In the SvT (10/116-120ab), Hāṭakeśvara and his world is described as follows.

yadūrdhve caiva sauvarṇaṁ pātālaṁ parikirtītam |

tatra vasaty asau devo hāṭakaḥ parameśvaraḥ ||
purakoṭiṣahasrais tu samantāt parivāritaḥ |
siddhai rudragaṇair divyair bhaginīmātr̥bhir vr̥taḥ l

‘Above that is said to be the pātāla (called) Sauvarṇa (Golden). There this god
lives who is the Supreme Lord Hāṭaka, surrounded on all sides by thousands of billions
of worlds (pura). He is surrounded by Siddhas, hosts of Rudras and divine Mothers,
who are (his) wives.” (SVT 10/116-117)

yoginīyogakanyābhī rudraiś caiva sakanyakaiḥ |

siddhadravyasamair mantraiś cintāmaṇirasāyanaiḥ ||
siddhavidyāsamṛddhaṁ vai hāṭakeśasya mandiram |
haṭhāt praveśayel lokāṅs tadbhāvagatamānasān |
tenāsau hāṭakaḥ prokto devadevo maheśvaraḥ |

‘(There are) Yoginīs and Yogakanyās (newly born Yoginīs who recollect
Yoga), Rudras and virgins. (He is attended on) by Mantras that are the equal of the
sacrificial substances of Siddhas, and alchemical potions that are like wish-granting
gems. Hāṭakeśa’s temple is rich with accomplished Vidyās. He is called Hāṭaka, who is
said to be the God of the gods, Maheśvara is thus (named) because he enters with great
force (haṭhāt) the worlds (born from) the mind of that God (Śrīkaṇṭha). (118-120ab)
 TANTRĀLOKA 91

fcrīr ; fāṝāxṇ ftzīīērī; 32 u

frāṁ ã gaaa7 Ĩ ṇgs̃ |
TIĪZĪTKĪḤI
ṬGRAT TTTTIIIA GTT || 3 3 1|
he|tĪEFeEEIENEIIEEFIist:
zōi
TTJĪṬGṬI-TTĀTĀTIITTT: | *5 |
īī āīaktiīā
fēkza faēīṛaṁaā. u
vratino ye vikarmasthā niṣiddhācārakāriṇaḥ || 32 ||
dīkṣitā api ye luptasamayā na ca kurvate |
prāyaścittāṁs tathā tatsthā vāmācārasya dūṣakāḥ !| 33 I|
devāgnidravyavṛttyaṁśajīvinaś cottamasthitāḥ |
adhaḥsthagāruḍādyanyamantrasevāparāyaṇāḥ || 34 ||
te hāṭakavibhor agre kiṅkarā vividhātmakāḥ ||

²⁹Those who have taken on vows (yratin) but have behaved in a

manner prohibited (by scripture) and (so) are sinful (vikarmasthā), those
who though initiated have fallen from the rule (samaya) and² have failed
to perform the rites of expiation (prāyaścitta), those who are (adherents and
yet) detractors (dūṣaka) of the conduct of the left (vāmācāra),³³¹ those who
earn a living from the sacrificial offerings (dravya) to the gods and fire,
those who though adherents of more excellent (doctrines) practice the
mantras of lower (ones) such as those of Garuḍa etc. – (all these) in their
various kinds are servants before the All-pervasive Lord Hāṭaka. (32cd-
35ab)

The reason why ‘they are sinfulʼ is because they behave ‘in a manner
prohibited by scripture’. Those ‘have fallen from the rule’, because of their

²⁴⁹ Gnoli considers the citation here from the Āṇandatantra (which he calls the
Ānandādhika) to start from 35cd. However, the continuity and uniformity of the subject
matter indicates that it is more likely that the entire passage from 32cd to 41ab is drawn
from there. Also, cf. TĀ 8/34a devāgnidravya-vrttyaṁśajīvinaś – ‘those who earn a
living from the sacrificial offerings (dravya) to the gods and fire’ and caṇḍadravyeṇa
jīvanti `those who earn a living (jīvanti) from sacrificial substances (offered to) fierce
(deities)¹. The latter is drawn from a passage Jayaratha is quoting in TĀv ad 8/35cd-
42ab, that is probably from the Ānandatantra. Athough the wording does not coincide,
the idea is the same, and so could be Abhinava’s source. If we compare the account of
Hāṭakeśvara here with those in the Parākhya and SvT, that are typical of those found in
the Siddhāntas, the difference is striking. There can be no doubt that Abhinava is not
drawing from the Raurava or any other Siddhānta. In this source, Hāṭakeśvara is the
lord of a hell especially meant for those who transgress ‘the conduct of the left
(vāmācāra)³ of the higher Śaiva teacher. Thus, there is little room to doubt that the
reference is drawn from the Āṇanda / Ānandādhika – a Tantra which sponsors the
conduct of the left – vāmācāra.
²⁰ Read na ca for naca.
³¹ Thiṣ is described below in 23/54.
92 CHAPTER EIGHT
contact with sacrificial substances (such as sexual fluids offered to) fierce
(deities) (caṇḍadravya).³² Thus because they ‘have failed to perform the rites
of expiation’, they have fallen from the fruits of (their) initiation. As is said (in
the Mayasaṁgraha):
‘If the reciter of mantra who has transgressed the injunctions (of the
scriptures) fails to perform the rites of expiation, he falls from (any)
accomplishment (he may have attained).²*²

‘Those who are adherents’ are those who are established in the
conduct of the left, and so, (even though) they (practice) that, they are averse to
it. This is what is being said. (Next follows) a description of their (nature,
saying that they live on the sacrificial offerings to) ‘the gods’ (and fire) etc. In
this way, others are (condemned to) live in the hells. As is said (in the
Mayasaṁgraha):

‘If one wishes to go to hell along with his sons, (domestic) animals and
relatives, let him do what is authorized for the gods, cows and Brahmins (but
not for him).³

‘Those who are adherents of more excellent (doctrines)³ are those

who, in accord with the words (of the scripture), ‘(The scripture of the) Saiva
(Siddhānta) is superior to the Vedas and the like,³√ are eṣtablished in

³¹ Jayaratha must be mistaken here by characterizing the possible transgression as the

‘contact with sacrificial substances (such as sexual fluids offered to) fierce (deities)
(caṇḍadravya)¹. Indeed, the clearly implied sense of this reference from the
Ānandatantra is that it is the omission of such substances and aversion to them and all
else that the ‘practice of the left’ entails which is condemnable in the case of an initiated
practitioner who has ‘taken on the vows’ to make use of them. Behaviour in a ‘manner
prohibited by scriptureʼ in this case is to deprecate rites and ritual offerings as impure
and avoiding contact with them. Śiva Himself behaves in a manner contrary (vāma) to
the common worldly course. It is not purity that makes him omnipotent. The goddesses
are satisfied by raw, bloody meat, not the application of rules of purity (below
15/605cd-608ab (601cd-604ab)). The rules they have fallen from are those of vāmācāra.
Some of the rules he should follow according to the Ānandatantra and other possible
consequences of failing to do so are noted below in 16/65-68ab.
³⁹³ Eiṭher this or the next verse or both Jayaratha is quoting, is the Mayasaṁgraha (fl.
52a). See bibliography for the details of one surviving incomplete palm-leaf manuscript
of the Mayasaṁgraha. The text derives its name from Maya, the architect of the
demons, who instructs sages in what he was taught by Svāyambhuva. It deals with rites
of installation (pratiṣṭhā). Sanderson has identified quotations from it in several
Siddhānta works and elsewhere. Kṣemarāja quotes it in his commentary on the
Stavacintāmaṇi (ad verse 87 p. 96) and SvTu ad 8/21 (both of these are on fl. 23a) and
10/488. Jayaratha quotes it here ad 28/127cd-129ab without attribution (found in fl 52a)
and twice ad 28/151-156ab, where he identifies it as Maya. For more details see Goodall
1998 intro. x, note 9.
²³⁴ The entire verse is quoted above in TĀv ad 1/18 and by Kṣemarāja in the SvTu ad
11/74c. See note 1,310 to the quotation of this verse above. It says:
“(The scripture of the) Śaiva (Siddhānta) is superior to the Vedas and the like;
the Left and Right (currents of Tantras are superior to the) Śaiva; Kaula is superior to
the (Tantras of the) Right. There is no (scripture) greater than Kaula.”
 TANTRĀLOKA 93
(progressively) more elevated teachings. They are of ‘various kinds’ʼ, that is,
differ from one another according to whether they are better (or worse), in
accord with their particular (good or bad) actions. This is the meaning. That is
certainly not so³* in their case directly (i.e. in reality all are equal, the difference
between them is due to the condition of their Karma, which) is like an immature
fruit (niḥṣyandaphala).*⁶ As that is so, it would go against the scriptures (śruti)
(i.e. the Svacchandatantra, that declares):

‘O lady who is praised by the gods, Brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and

Śūdras, (once) assigned the post of a teacher, are all said to be Śivas. Those low
people who see them otherwise, in according to their previous nature (when
they were not initiated teachers), cook in hell for three years of Sādākhya.’²⁵⁷
Again,

‘O goddess, by mentioning the previous caste (of an initiate), that

person is subject to performing a purifying penance.⁸ He cooks in hell for three
days of Rudra, five days of Keśava, and a fortnight of (Brahmā), the
Grandfather.¹⁹

Well then, in this way what happens to them when the consequences of
their actions (bhoga) come to an end? With this question in mind, he says:

ī g ā̄āī] āarṝ vvāēaī TTĀTTT I| 3+ 1A

qTalRTdTd [cex- EZÁIS˚BEtTCI fōra |

3Ta-TI 3; Ç āīī-+? G-aTTT-TĀTTTHT; I| 3ē 1

T āīTōāTzāāTUĪTTSrTATI: Ṃ|
7īāā fīēra- ā: ghazxa Ṭ. U ā 1
²³ Read na tu for natu.
²³⁶ The expression niḥṣyandaphalavat literally means ‘like a fruit does ooze’
³⁷ /SVT 4/413cd-415ab. Kṣemarāja explains: adhamatvaṁ gṛhītadīkṣāṇām api
gurudveṣeṇa-vilayaśaktyāghrātatvāt. ‘The low status those who have taken initiation
may have is (not because of their caste, rather it is) because they are affected by the
destructive power of (their) aversion to the teacher.” Kṣemarāja refers us to chapter 13
for information of the duration of a year in the principle of Sādākhya. It refers to the
measure of time of the worlds in this metaphysical principle, which is otherwise called
Śuddha Vidyā - Pure Knowledge.
²⁶ When a person takes a Śaiva initiation, as an initiate he is divested of his caste status
prior to initiation, at least in the eyes of his fellow initiates. This is particularly the case
when they participate together in a ritual, for the duration of which they are all equal.
After the ritual is over and they return to their daily lives, they each resume their caste
status in relation to other members of society. If an initiate refers to his own caste or that
of another, it is considered to be a great sin. This ethic is quite different from the one
Brahmins observe, according to which their status as Brahmins determines the manner
in which they interact with others and rigorously excludes those who are not Brahmins
from participating in common ritual activity and commensality.
²⁹ SVT 4/544cd-545.
94 CHAPTER EIGHT

TIṀTĪ TTṬÑVTĪTRJTH-ĪĪTṬŪGT |
srerṁr̥īcz3, frīTīTTTFTT: I| 3¢ 11
rṬITK TTITT ĪFTHTH: #IT |
TṬĪĪSdĀ ġ āadāīTd ṬTTFĀTTATT; II 38 1
JIṬ TJṬṬRIĪ -T-Ī RJGVĪTGTT |
TĪTTIĪ HTITTĪ JĪHCTT-CTITH-GITĀH |I|I 4° ||

klGEēṭE:kkēḤENIEEGṬTĒṬI
fāaīd-+ 3 TTTGTS AafTāHTTT I `*#2 1
√gGTc-ī; Ū̄Ḥ āī̄ āāīṀ̄: h-ā aTaāṛ |
te tu tatrāpi deveśaṁ bhaktyā cet paryupāsate || 35 ||
tadīśatattve līyante kramāc ca parame śive |
anyathā ye tu vartante tadbhoganiratātmakāḥ || 36 ||
te kālavahniṣaṁtāpadīnākrandaparāyaṇāḥ |
guṇatattve nilīyante tataḥ srṣṭimukhe punaḥ || 37 ||
pātyante mātrṛbhir ghorayātanaughapurassaram |
adhamādhamadeheṣu nījakarmānurūpataḥ || 38 II
mānuṣānteṣu tatrāpi kecin mantravidaḥ kramāt |
mucyante ‘nye tu badhyante pūrvakṛtyānusārataḥ || 39 ||
ity eṣa gaṇavr̥ttānto nāmnā hulahulādinā |
prokto bhagavatā śrīmadānandādhikaśāsane || 40 ll
pātālordhve sahasrāṇi viṁśatir bhūkaṭāhakaḥ |
siddhātantre tu pātālapṛṣṭhe yakṣīṣamāvṛtam || 41 ||
bhadrakālyāḥ puraṁ yatra tābhiḥ kṛīḍanti sādhakāḥ |

However, those who even there worship (Hāṭaka), the Lord of the
gods, with devotion merge into the Īśa principle (tattva), and (from there)
progressively into Supreme Śiva. Those who, deeply engaged ‘in that
experience (of the consequence of their actions) (bhoga), behave otherwise,
crying pitifully due to the heat of the Fire of Time, merge into the principle
of the constituent qualities (guṇa) (of Nature). Then, in accord with their
actions, at the beginning of creation (sṛṣṭimukhe) they are thrown down
again from there by the Mothers, into bodies of increasingly lower orders,
heralded by torrents of horrible torments (ghorayātana). ÚUltimately, they
are (reborn as) human beings. There also (in that human condition), some
of those who know mantra are gradually liberated, while others are bound
in accord with (their) past actions. The story of this host (of souls) has been
narrated by the Blessed One called Hulahula etc.,⁸ in the venerable
Ānandādhikaśāsana,²² (where it says that) above the netherworlds is the

²⁰ Read prokto for proktaṁ.

¹¹ See below, 28/391-393.
³² ‘Ānandādhika’ has been understood to be the name of a Tantra. f so, are we to take
the Ānandādhika to be a separate text supplementing the Ānandatantra Abhinava quotes
 TANTRĀLOKA 95
shell (of the Egg of Brahmā, where) the earth (is located) (bhūkaṭāhaka). (It
extends) for twenty thousand leagues. (35cd-41ab)
However, according to the Siddhātantra, above the netherworlds,
surrounded by (a retinue of) Yakṣīs, is the abode of Bhadrakālī, where
adepts (sādhaka) sport with them. (41cd-42ab)

The ‘Lord of the godsʼ is (in this case) Hāṭaka. ʻIt is otherwise’ʼ,
because (they are) averse to that worship. The ‘Mothers’ are the energies Aparā
and the others. As is said (in the Mālinīvijayottara):

‘The Extremely Terrible (Ghoratarā powers) are said to be the lower

(aparā) ones: embracing the individual souls (rudrāṇu) attached to sense
objects, they cast them down to ever lower levels.’²³

‘There alsoʼ, in the human condition, ‘others’²⁴ who are devoid of

that, that is, do not know mantra, experience (themselves as belonging to) this
or that caste (jāti), in accord with their particular actions (karman) (in past
lives). This is the meaning. Nor do we say this out of our own imagination. So
he says that (this) ‘has been narrated’ etc. As is said there (in the
Ānandatantra), beginning with:

‘The Mātaṅgas and Hulahulas and other Herukas,² whose form is

divine, Kāpālikas, Kaṅkālas, and the beautiful Mahocchuṣmas.”

So too:

‘In this way, those initiated into Śaivism are without number, who by
the impulse of Mahācaṇḍeśvara, have fallen (vilupta) because of (the incorrect
use of) sacrificial substances (such as sexual fluids offered to) fierce (deities)
(caṇḍadravya). ⁰ Those who earn a living (jīvanti) from (these) sacrificial
substances are said to be demons (brahmarākṣas).’

Again:

several times? Certainly, the name is a very odd one. It makes more sense to understand
‘ānandādhikaśāsana’ to be a euphemistic play on words describing the Ānandatantra.
The Tantra is called ‘Ānanda’ – ‘bliss’. It is a Tantra of the left, of which the rites and
practices focus on developing an experience of spiritual joy — Ānanda – by worshipping
Kaula ḍeities with offerings like meat and wine and the products of sexual union, that
generate bliss and are born of it. Thus, the teaching — śāsana – of this, the
Ánandatanīra, is an īncrease – adhika – of bliss – ānanda.
²³ MV 3/31, also quoted above in TĀv ad 3/103cd-104ab, ad 423cd-24ab (just 3/31ab;
see note there), and below, ad 13/279cd-280ab.
²⁶⁴ Add anye.
¹⁵ Read herukā for hetukā.
¹⁶ One could translate caṇdadravya more literally as ‘gruesome substance’, which may
well be human flesh. If so, it appears that the followers of Mahācaṇḍa were commanded
to follow various antinomian practices. See above, note 8,137 and 140.
96 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘The kings of the ghosts in the netherworlds (pātāla), arrogant due to
their strength, enjoy various delights, although they too live in the netherworld.”

‘The shell (of the Egg of Brahmā where) the earth (is located)
(bhūkaṭāhaka)² is the place where human beings reside (and are sustained). In
this way, up to this much, is half the Egg of Brahmā,²⁰⁷ 1) its shell (extends) for
ten million, 2) the world of the Fire of Time, ten million, 3) its flaming fire for a
hundred million, 4) (its) smoke, fifty (million), 5) the hells, three hundred and
twenty (million), 6) the world of Kūṣmāṇḍa, nine million and nine hundred
thousand, 7) the eight netherworlds (pātāla), eighty thousand, 8) the shell (of
the Egg of Brahmā where) the earth (is located), twenty (thousand)) –~ thus
(making) in this way five hundred millions.²⁵
Here (in these verses), he presents the description (of the world here)
given in the venerable Siddhayogeśvarīmata, (saying) ‘according to the
Siddhātantra’, etc. As is said there:
‘Above the netherworlds is the blessed (bhadra) and auspicious house
of Bhadrakālī, who is said to be the leader of all the Yakṣiṇīs. There are sixty-
four thousand worlds of the Yakṣiṇīs. There are a thousand million virgins
(kanyā) in each of the worlds there. The adepts, who are very powerful.³ play

³⁶⁷ Read brahmāṇḍasyārdhaṁ for brahmāṇḍasyārdha. This line is literally quoted from
SvTu ad 10/120ab.
¹⁸ This passage in which the measurements are listed is practically reproduced from
SvTu ad 10/120ab. These measurements agree with those presented by Abhinava. ‘1) Its
shell (extends) for ten million (ad 8/20cd-22ab), 2) the world of the Fire of Time
(8/22cd), ten million, 3) its flames for a hundred million (8/24c), 4) smoke, fifty
(million) (8/24d), 5) the hells, three hundred and twenty (million) (8/26cd-27), 6) the
world of Kūṣmāṇḍa, nine million and nine hundred thousand (8/28ab), 7) the eight
netherworlds (pātāla), eighty thousand (8/30cd-31ab), 8) ((the shell (of the Egg of
Brahmā where) the earth (is located), twenty (thousand)) – thus (making) in this way
five hundred million.”
Kṣemarāja calculates that there are 500 million, less twenty thousand, up to the
end of the netherworlds. SvT 10/120cd-121ab makes up the difference, as does
Abhinava, with the shell of the Egg of Brahmā, where the earth is located (bhūkatāhaka)
and people live, that extends for twenty thousand leagues. The problem is that although
all the figures agree with what has been stated, they add up to 500 million and 90
thousand, not 500 million. Thus: the shell 10 million + Kālāgni 10 million + flames 100
million + smoke 50 million + the hells 320 million + Kūṣmāṇḍa 9 million and 90
thousand + pātālas 80 thousand +20 thousand = 500 millions 90 thousand.

Layers Measurements
Shell of the Egg 10 million
Kālāgni 10 million
Flames 100 million
Smoke 50 million
35 Hells 320 million
Kūṣmāṇḍa’s world | 9 million 9 hundred thousand
8 Netherworlds 80,000
Shell of the Earth 20, 000

²⁶⁹ Ṛead with MSs Ch, N: mahābalāḥ for malābalāḥ.

 TANTRĀLOKA 97
with them there, having known the ritual procedure (kalpa) concering the
Yakṣiṇīs in the Siddhayogeśvarīmata.”²⁰
‘Again, for a hundred thousand (leagues) above that, there is darkness
which is very hard to bear. The land (there) is like a heated coal, shining with
heated stones.
There is nothing at all above it for one million four hundred thousand
(leagues); then again (comes) the abode of the serpent gods, that in the same
way gives rise to endless fear and is surrounded by one hundred thousand times
thousands of black snakes.
The great fettered soul who inflicts violence on his mother, father, and
teacher, kills foetuses and children, comes here in (the body of) a deformed
woman and remains in the netherworld, according to the degree in which
(yāvat) he has disgraced the Path of Mantra.”

The Upper Half of the Egg

Having described in this way one half of the Egg of Brahmā, up to the
end of the shell (of the Egg where the) Earth (is located), he (now) describes
what is above that also and the worlds (there).

TTT-āTrTTTJTTT:
JṬ TĪST: I| I
TTITī āTTTĪTRAT] JṬP-ĪRfĪOT |
tatas tamastaptabhūmiṣ tataḥ śūnyaṁ tato hayaḥ || 42 |

1) After that (above it) is (a zone of) darkness where the ground is
heated (like burning coal). 2) Then comes (a waste land) devoid (of any
living being). 3) Then (finally comes the abode of the) snakes. These (three
zones) are places of torment, (where) those who speak ill of (their) teacher,
the Mantras and the like (go).²” (42cd-43ab)

Mount Meru and the Surrounding Lands and Mountains

ī ṂJrerī . ā̄aaīṀḷ Ṁā īḤ | Ṁó3 |

FĪTTaTVTĪT-TRGTRZTĪĒṬTṬĪfĪ|
Tcē’ĩeīāīīxgrāī
šī: gaīaŪaa: 1| +5²1
tato bhūrmadhyato meruḥ sahasrāṇi saṣoḍaśa || 43 II

²⁷¹⁰ Abhinava refers to the SYM four times in this chapter in relation to the structure of
the world orders, supported by Jayaratha, who quotes directly from it at 8/36cd-40ab,
8/41cd-43ab, 8/115-117, and 8/184-185. However, this topic is not treated at all in the
edition of the short recension of the SYM.
²⁷! This is a continuation of the reference from the SYM begun in the previous verse
(4l1cd-42ab).
98 CHAPTER EIGHT
magnas tanmūlaviṣṭāras taddvayenordhvaviṣtṛtiḥ |
sahasrābdhivasūcchrāyo haimaḥ sarvāmarālayaḥ l| 44 |

Then, in the middle of the earth,⁷² to a height of eighty-four

thousand (leagues), rises mount Meru, the root of which is merged into it to
the extent of sixteen thousand (leagues). The width at its base is sixteen
thousand (leagues), and its upper extent (to the summit) is double that.
Made of gold, it is the abode of all the immortals.²” (43cd-44)

(The height of Meru is measured in) ‘thousands’ of leagues. (Meru is)

‘merged into it’, that is, into the shell (of the Egg that sustains) the earth. The
words ‘of which’, of the phrase ‘the root of which’, refer to the sixteen
thousand (leagues of its extent). ‘Double that’ is thirty-two thousand (leagues).
Its height is eighty-four thousand (leagues). That is said (in the following
passage in the Svacchandatantra), beginning with:

‘In the middle of it is the great golden (mount) Meru . . .’ (and ending
with) ‘it is eighty-four thousand leagues high, and in its lower part it is stuck
(into the earth) for sixteen thousand (leagues). The extent of the summit is twice
that of the extent of the root, which is these (sixteen thousand leagues).”*⁴

³⁷² Read with MS C bhūrmadhyato for bhūmyāūrdhvato.

³⁷³ Cf. jambūdvīpaṁ kṣiter nābhis tadvṛttaṁ lakṣayojanam |1
tasya madhye sthitaḥ śailarājarājo hiraṇmayaḥ |l
tiraskrtāĩśumajjyotir meruḥ suraniṣevitaḥ |
sa ṣoḍaśa sahasrāṇi kṣitau viṣṭo mahītalāt ||
tadvad evonnato lakṣaṁ mile ṣoḍaśa vistṛtaḥ |
‘Jambūdvīpa is the navel of the earth. It is round and extends for 100,000
leagues. (Meru,) the king of mountains, that is made of gold, is in the middle of it.
Obscuring the light of the sun, it is attended by the gods. It extends 16,000 leagues into
the earth from its surface. It is of the same height, and in the root it extends for 16
(thousand leagues).” Mṛgendra (Vidyāpāda) 13/40cd-43ab

sa merur bhūmer antaḥ ṣoḍaśa yojanasahasrāṇi praviṣṭaḥ, mahītalād ārabhya ūrdhvaṁ

yāvat caturaśītisahasronnatiḥ, mūle ca ṣoḍaśasahasraviṣṭāraḥ | ūrdhvato ‘sya
śarāvākṛti-vistārādhikyena dyaiguṇyaṁ | uktaṁ ca śrīmatsvatantre
a sahasrāṇi ūrdhyabhāge praropitaḥ |
va mãle visṣtāras tadūrdhva dviguṇas tu saḥ | (SVT 10/123cd-124ab)
ṛtir devi merur devāśrayo ‘drirāṭ |

(Commentary): “Meru is 16,000 leagues deep in the ground, beginning from

the surface of the earth. Above it rises to a height of 84,000 leagues, and it extends for
16,000 in width at the root. Above (its peak) is the form of a plate, and it is double more
(the size it is below). It is said in the venerable Svatantra (i.e. Svacchandatantra): ʻIt
rises in its upper part to 16,000. Such is (the size of) its root. Then above that it is
double (the size), its form that ofa plate. O goddess, Meru is the king of mountains and
the abode of the gods.” (SVT 10/123cd-124ab)
 TANTRĀLOKA 99
Well then, if such is its size, how then is its form? With this doubt in
mind, he says:

TṬSĀĪTĒT TṬTJTPÑTTTṬCATṀ;|
madhyoráhvādhaḥ samudvṛttaśarāvacaturaśrakaḥ |

In its middle, above and below, (there is a place that is) octagonal,
and (one) above that is round (samudvṛtta) and square (respectively). Its
peak (is concave) like a plate (śarāva).⁷” (45ab)

‘(There is a place that is) octagonal and (one) above that is round
(samudvṛtta)¹. First comes a well (formed) (samyak) octagon. ‘Above’ that (is
one that is) round. Thuṣ, below, in the part (presided over by) Brahmā, it is
square, in the middle in the part (presided over by) Visnu, it is octagonal, and
above, in the part (presided over by) Rudra, it is round. On the summit, (the
place) has the form (of) a (concave) plate. This is the meaning.
Surely, according to (the scriptural dictums which say that) Ś‘the
unmanifest (Liṅga) is secondarily characterized (by the manifest one), which is
square, octagonal and roundʼ, and ‘and its umbrella⁷⁶ (is shaped like) the

Mount Meru

Part | Measurement
in yojanas
Height 84,000
Root 16,000
Width 16,000
Summit 32,000

Part Shape Deity

Upper Round Rudra
Middle | Octagonal | Viṣṇu
Lower Square_| Brahmā

³1⁴ SVT 10/122a, 123-124ab. eṣa ca śrīparāyāṁ karṇikākāramastaka ity uktaḥ. `It īs said
in the venerable Parā that ‘the top is the shape of a calyx of a lotus.”” (Parākhyā 5/66b).
The whole verse confirms these measurements: ‘In the middle is the golden mountain of
Meru, whose top is the shape of a calyx of a lotus. It penetrates the circle of the earth to
a depth of sixteen [yojanas]. Above (the surface of the earth) it is eighty-four thousand
high.” (ibid. 5/66-67ab). Goodall (2004: 295 note 550) notes ‘the numbers eighty-four
thousand and sixteen thousand for these measurements (making up a total of one lakh)
are widely shared, not only by other Siddhāntas [see e.g. Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha 4/5cd,
Kiraṇa 8/48cd-49ab Mataṅgavidyāpāda 23/64 and Sarvajñānottara adhvaprakaraṇa 20
(IFP MS T. No. 334 p. 58)], but also by Purāṇas.³
¹⁷³ The Kiraṇa (8/48ab), amongst other Siddhāntas, also describes the shape of the peak
of Meru, although the Parākhya does not. See note 8,161.
¹⁷⁶ Read with MS Ch, tacchatraṁ for tacchratraṁ.
100 CHAPTER EIGHT

testicles of a dog (kukuṭāṇḍa)³, (the shape of Meru) seems to be that of the

Supreme Lord’s Liṅga.²” How is that? With this doubt in mind, he says:

The Cities Surrounding Meru

idāīā a dfṣg eŪṃ aāaaḷ ṃĩ̄ē u y.

as̃ zar fr#īī fē ṁ- caf̃ṁṝd aar |
ṃē̄Ũ Ṁ³Ṃī̄ēāārdī īīgaTGTĪRT
āhTTĀ I %Ē I
āTRTāĪYTGÑ TTHĪT.Ṃ ġīāī’srāag
d ]: |
³ārī gaTITT] TĪĪTĀTJṬCT
I `4.9 1
BĒGIEj|ēē HIĨT I aōṭaũṛ: |

rāTātṁārzāaā Jāī āīṀ aT 1 11

T.: fāaTearīdīḤkdī fērīrāēī |
ṣīaāī̄ aṀzza: r̥t āĩ ũŨẼṀṂĨĩ ú *ś8 1
fēkēaī fazēī --cḷaa⁷ |
aṛz̄āṝ ūarr-sīt āī ġ ŪJ̄Tī āēāāṛq, fkeāī: 1| u.⁰ 1
ISĒEH] [EFTEHIII WGṬIHĪCHTĀṀTKTAĪ |

ṝṁ;̄7 frī--ēifts r̥̄wī frra. u2 1

jīta fāāīTkrārkqātvīṁī āT̃ 1|
JṬTī JṬGHGATT ⁰ṬTĪĪ āfSI TT | . I
3TOĪTHTĪ JfTITET: ṀṢq |
aādāīarṁī āaāī ēṭaḷ fr. Ṭ̄ u u.3 1
jorṛaāzādī āaḥ īazqrgczāaiī ḷ
̄raaT<7aī: a; kERIḤ THT: TṬĪT: I WK II
R̥̄. rcaāra aāī ṬīāīTīhī ā 1
gṁtcṣr̄t r̥̄craa a. ũ̄a Ṁ | u 1
faṛ fart grāīf?ṣī raē-ā; ⁵ēāīq |
bhairavīyaṁ ca tal liṅgaṁ dharaṇĩ cãsya pīthikã l| 45 |l|
sarve devā nilīnā hi tatra tatpūjitaṁ sadā |
madhye merusabhā dhātus tadīśadiśi ketanam || 46 ||
jyotiṣkaśikharaṁ śaṁbhoḥ śrīkaṇṭhāṁśaś ca sa prabhuḥ |
avaruhya sahasrāṇi manovatyāś caturdaśa || 4⁷7 |I
cakravāṭaś caturdikko meror atra tu lokapāḥ |

³T Liṅgas are divided into three parts (bhāga), governed by Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra,
respectively.
 TANTRĀLOKA 101
amarāvatikendrasya pūrvasyāṁ dakṣiṇena tām || 48 |I
apsaraḥ ṣiddhasādhyās tām uttareṇa vināyakāḥ |
tejovatī svadiśy agneḥ purī tāṁ paścimena tu || 49 ||
iśvedevā viśvakarmā kramāt tadanugāś ca ye |
yāmyāṁ saṁyamanī tāṁ tu paścimena kramāt sthitāḥ || 50 |I
mātṛṇandā svasaṁkhyātā rudrās tatsādhakās tathā |
kr̥ṣṇāṅgārā nir-ṛtiś ca tāṁ pūrveṇa piśācakāḥ || 51 II
rakṣ siddhagandharvās tūttareṇottareṇa tām |
vāruṇī śuddhavatyākhyā bhūtaugho dakṣiṇena tām || 52 ||
uttareṉottareṇaināṁ vasuvidyādharāḥ kramāt |
yorgandhavatī tasyā dakṣiṇe kinnarāḥ punaḥ || 53 ||
āsarasvatī devī nāradastumburuṣṭathā |
mahodayendorguhyāḥ syuḥ paścime ʻsyāḥ punaḥ punaḥ || 54 |I
kuberaḥ karmadevāśca tathā tatsādhakā api |
yaśasvinī maheśasya tasyāḥ paścimato hariḥ || 55 I|
dakṣiṇe dakṣiṇe brahmāśvinau dhanvantariḥ kramāt |

And that (Mount Meru) is a Bhairava Līṅga,⁷”⁸ and its base

(pīṭhikā) īs the earth. AII the gods reside there, and it is worshipped
constantly. *(On top of it,) 1) in the centre, is the Benefactor’s assembly of
Meru (called Manovatī). 2) To the northeast of that is Crystal Peak
(jyotiṣkaśikhara),¹* the abode of Lord Śrīkaṇṭha, whois an aspect (aṁśa) of
Śiva. Descending fourteen thousand leagues below (the assembly of)
Manovatī, all around Meru,²⁴ there is a circular terrace (cakravāṭa).³³² The
guardians of the quarters (reside) here.²™³ (45cd-48ab)

²¹⁸ Kṣemarāja quotes this line in SvTu ad 10/24ab. Concerning the three types of Liṅga,
see above, 5/113 ff. Concerning the Bhairava Liṅga, see Dyczkowski 2009 1,191.
According to the KM, the goddess Kubjikā resides in a Bhairava Liṅga. There are
several Bhairava Liṅgas in the Kathmandu Valley that Kaulas worship.
²¹” Abhinava presents here the arrangement of the Meru we commonly find in the
Siddhāntas. Goodall (2004: 296 note 551) explains that ‘the Mataṅga (vidyāpāda 23156-
63) tells us that the Sabhā [assembly] of Brahmā (widely known as Manovatī) is at the
top in the centre, that Hara (the speaker teaching the sage Mataṅga, in the Śvacchanda it
is Tryambaka) resides on the Jyotiṣka peak situated in the northeast corner, and that
below the top is the ring (cakravāta) of the eight citadels of the Lokapālas. This
arrangement is shared in the Sarvajñānottara (adhvaprakaraṇa 32-42ab, IFP MS T. No
334, pp. 59-60), the Svacchanda (10/124 ff.) and the Mṛgendra (vidyāpāda 13/45-62).”
²⁰ According to Kṣemarāja (commenting on SYT 10/127ab), ‘jyotiṣka’ (it. ‘heavenly
body°) means ‘sphāṭika (‘crystalʼ
).
²³l Read meror for merur.
³⁴² Verses, 46cd to 56ab are a summary of SYT 10/124-165.
²³ Located in the four major and intermediate directions, the guardians of the quarters
surrounding Meru each has his own city. Around each of these eight cities there are
various numbers of other cities in which the inhabitants of Mount Meru reside. This
basic layout is found in most of the major early Siddhāntas, with the expected variants.
Abhinava, as usual, follows the Svacchandatantra. He presents the locations of the
cities with respect to one another and carefully lists the inhabitants as found there,
following his source meticulously, but for the sake of brevity he does not go into any
 102 CHAPTER EIGHT
1) To the east lies Amarāvatikā, Indra’s city; to the south of that
are those of the Apsaras, Siddhas and Sādhyas. To the north of that is that
of the Vināyakas.
2) To the southeast is Tejovatī, the city of Agni. To the west of that,
in due order, are the cities in which the Viśvadevas, Viśvakarma and those
who follow them reside.
3) In the south (is the city of Yama called) Samyamanī, to the west
of which are (the cities) of Mātṛnandā (Delight of the Mothers), the Rudras,
according to their own number (i.e. eleven), and those who are his adepts
(sādhaka) (who attend on him).
4) In the southwest is Kṛṣṇāṅgārā (Black Burning Coal), to the east
of which is that of the Piśācas. Then, in due order, (moving clockwise)
towards the north, (are the cities) of the Rakṣāsas, Siddhas and
Gandharvas.
5) The city of Varuṇa in the west, is called Śuddhavatī, to the south
of which is that of the ghosts (bhūta). (48cd-52)
Then, in due order, going (moving clockwise in a circle towards the)
north, is firstly (the city) of the Vasus and then Vidyādharas.
6) To the northwest is Vāyu’s city, Gandhavatī,²⁴ again to the south
of which (are the cities of) the Kinnaras, the goddess Vīṇāsarasvatī, Nārada
and Tumburu.
7) To the north (is the city of Soma), Mahodaya, to the west of
which are, in due order, (the cities) of the Guhyakas, Kubera, the
Karmadevas, and those who are his adepts (who attend on him).
8) (To the northeast is the city of) Maheśa, Yaśasvinī,³⁵ to the west
of which is the city of Viṣṇu, and, in due order, (moving clockwise) towards
the south, that of Brahmā, the Aśvins and Dhanvantari. (53-56ab)

The two words ‘and’ (in the first sentence) denote a reason (i.e., the
form of Meru is explained because it is a Liṅga). ‘It is worshippedʼ, that is to
say, in the three worlds. (It is) said (concerning) that, beginning with: “Meru is
in the form of a Liṅga. . . Below is square and is Brahmā . . . in the middle is
the octagon which is Viṣṇuʼ, (and so):

‘Rudra is above and (his) form is a circle all around. Meru arises as a
Liṅga and the earth is its base. It is the abode of all the gods, and so it has
become a Liṅga. All the universe, mobile and immobile, beginning with
Brahmā, is merged (līna) into it.”
‘In this way, the Liṅga that is worshipped in the three worlds has been
explained to you.”

other details, even omitting the names of the cities around the major ones. Jayaratha
rightly makes up for this by citing the original passage to supply the missing details.
²⁴¹ According to SVT 10/Ī35ab, the name of this city is Gandhavahā. There we read:
vāyavyāṁ tu purī vāyornāmnā gandhavahā priye. ‘O beloved, the city of the wind in the
direction of the wind (i. e. the northwest), goes by the name of Gandhavahā.³
²⁸⁵ SVT 10/135cd calls this city Yaśovatī.
 TANTRĀLOKA 103
‘The beautiful Meru is inlaid with gold, and its peak is (concave like a)
plate.”

‘The Benefactor’ is Brahmā. Aṣs is said (in a passage in the

Svacchandatantra), beginning with:

‘Above it is the divine assembly, Manovatī by name. (It measures

fourteen thousand leagues, rich with the beauty of all the jewels, and possesses
thousands of women). (There) the Brahmins, great souls, possess the qualities of
all (forms of) worldly (enjoyment and) benefit.’⁸®

The word ‘that’ in the phrase ‘to the northeast of that’ refers to the
assembly (called Manovatī). Here (in this case), although (Meru) has three
peaks, even so (only) this one is mentioned, because it is the main one. As is
said in the Kiraṇa:

‘(Meru) has three peaks, made of silver, gold and jewels. The one made
of jewels is said to be (the peak of) Tryambaka (Triple Mother), the silver one is
for Trivikrama (Three Strides), and the golden one that of Kanakāṇḍa (Golden
Ege).²

‘The guardians of the quartersʼ (reside here with their attendants) in

great number. ‘To the south of that’ (means) to the south of that
(Amarāvatikā), and so to the south of that is the city of the Apsaras, to the south
of which is the city of the Siddhas and so forth, in (this) order. The cities called
Kāmavatī (etc.) are indicated by (referring to them as those of the) of the
Apsaras etc. One should understand the same in the following instances also.²*⁸
Here (in this case), in accord with the rule that ‘by (the use of) the plural one
arrives at the sense of ‘etc.’”, (the city) of the Adityas (Suns) are also included
(by implication). Thus (one should understand that) in this intervening gap there
are four cī (not three); otherwise, there would not be twenty-six (cities, as

³⁸⁶ SVT 10/124cd, 126ab. 10/125 has been inserted in brackets.

³⁴T The first line is found in Vivanti’s edition as KiT vidyāpāda 8/49cd. There are no
variants. However, the following line and a half are substantially different. Thus, instead
of reading ratnajaṁ tryambakasyoktaṁ rājataṁ tu trivikrame || /sauvarṇaṁ
kanakāṇḍasya. | it reads: kṛṣṇasya rājataṁ Śśṛṅgaṁ sauvarṇaṁ
brahmaṇo matam | ratnajaṁ śāṁkaraṁ sthānaṁ
‘The silver peak is that of Kṛṣṇa. The golden one is considered to be that of
Brahmā. The one made of jewels is Śaṅkara’s place.²
Kṣemarāja (ŚvTu ad 10/130) notes that in some places Meru is said to have
three peaks, which is not as we find in Svacchanda. Along with this example from the
Kiraṇa, he cites the Candragarbha as saying that they are the abodes of Brahmā, Viṣṇu
and Śiva.
²³Ṁ Abhinava omits the names of the cities associated with those of the directions,
referring instead to just their inhabitants. Jayaratha is saying that the omission is not
important, because the cities are indicated just by referring to them. The names of the
cities are given in the passage of the Svacchandatantra, from which Abhinava is
drawing this account, that Jayaratha goes on to quote in full.
104 CHAPTER EIGHT
indicated in the following verse).²⁴ (To the south of) ‘that’ (means to the south
of) Amarāvatī (Immortal Lady). Thus, the Vināyakas are to the north of it.
(Agni’s) ʻ‘own direction’ is the southeast corner. One should connect (the
directions with the cities mentioned) here subsequently also (in an analogous
way). ²%-To the west of that’ (means) to the west of that (city of Agni), there
are two cities. One should connect (the phrase) ‘those who follow them’ here
(in an analogous way, to the followers of the beings mentioned) subsequently
also. And that (connection should be made) with the city called Saṁyamanī,
which is mentioned next. In this way the meaning is established.
AII these cities face east, and so the divisions into east and west etc. are
within that (quarter). ‘Mātṛnandā’ (Delight of the Mothers) is the name of a
city. ‘According to their own number’ (means) eleven. ‘Those who are his
adeptsʼ are the attendants of Yama. The word ‘rudra’ (should be added) where
required (kākākṣivat). (Then) ‘in due order’³ after Mātṛnandā comes the city of
the Rudras, who are Yama’s attendants, and after that (the city) of the eleven
(Rudras). The ‘Rākṣasasʼ are (those) called ‘Nistriṁśa’ (‘Mercilessly Cruel”).
‘To the south of’ (Gandhavatī), that is, to the north of Śuddhavatī. ʻAgain’²⁸¹
means further ahead (in front). The meaning (of the name of the goddess)
‘Vīṇāsarasvatī’ is she who possesses the Veda of music (gāndharvaveda).²²
‘“Those who are his adepts’ are Kubera’s attendants, the Yakṣas. ‘To the
southʼ, that is to say, (to the south of) Amāravatī. ‘(Moving clockwise)
towards the southʼ. One should understand that by the dual number, the two
Aśvins and Dhanvantari (together reside in) just one city.
He concludes that (description saying):

ĨIT ThalsṀṀtāā
aaT; TṬTRĀT I UĒ I
3Tāvūāīkāzī:
Ū̄ā. kgaḷṝ: āgaT |
bhairave `cakravāṭe ʻṣminn evaṁ mukhyāḥ puro ‘ṣṭadhā || 56 ||
antarālagatās tv anyāḥ punaḥ ṣaḍviṁśatiḥ smṛtāḥ |

(Thus,) the main cities on Meru’s circular terrace are eight, while
the others (around and) between them are said to be twenty-six. (56cd-
57ab)

³⁴⁹ Abhinava refers to just three cities to the south of Amarāvatī, namely those of the
Apsaras, Siddhas and Sādhyas. He has omitted Amśumatī, the city of the Adityas
(Suns), that is found in the account of the Svacchandatantra that Jayaratha confirms is
correct. If it were not, the cities there would be twenty-seven, not twenty-six as stated.
²* Emend: tāṁ paścimena iti tasyāḥ paścime | tadanugā iti uttaratrāpi yojyam | etac ca
purīdvayaṁ vakṣyamāṇāyāḥ saṁyamanyabhidhāyāḥ puryāḥ purastāt ity arthasiddham |
to: tāṁ paścimena iti tasyāḥ paścime purīdvayam | tadanugā iti uttaratrāpi yojyam |
etac ca vakṣyamāṇāyāḥ saṁṅyamanyabhidhāyāḥ puryāḥ purastāt ity arthasiddham |
³l Ṟead punah for ‘pura’ as in the 53d.
²² The text of this Veda has not been recoed. If it ever existed, it was the earliest treatise
on music in India. It is considered to be an appendix of the Sama Veda, and is attributed
to Bharata.
 TANTRĀLOKA 105
(Those are) ‘the main’ (cities), because they are associated with the
guardians of the directions. The ‘others’ are secondary (cities). That is said (in
the Svacchandatantra, where we read):

‘Fourteen thousand leagues below Brahmā’s assembly is the circular

terrace (that encircles Meru) all around. This is said to be the group of eight
heavens. The guardians of the direction reside there.

The Cities of the Eight Quarters

1) In the east is said to be Indra’s city, which is called Amarāvatī.²³ 2)

Again, Tejovatī (Powerful) is in the southeast, and is said to be (the city of) fire.
3) In the south is the city of Yama, which is called Saṁyamanī. 4) Kṛṣṇāṅgāra is
in the southwest and is said to be (the city of) the Lord of the Rākṣasas. 5) The
city of Jalīśa (Lord of Water) is to the west and is said to be Śuddhavatī (Pure
One). 6) O beloved, in the northwest is the city of the Wind, which is called
Gandhavahā (Transporter of Smell). 7) To the north also is Soma’s city called
Mahodayā (the Great Arising). 8) In the northeast is the city of Īśarāja, called
Yaśovatī (Famed One).

The Twenty-six Cities of the Eight Quarters

O goddess, listen (now to the names of) twenty-six cities in between

them.
1) (East: Indra’s city, Amarāvatī). a) Kāmavatī (Passionate One), the
city of the Apsaras, is to the south of Amarāvatī (Immortal One). b) Sauvarṇīṝ²³⁴
(Golden), which (is the city) of the assembly of Siddhas, is to the south of that.
c) To the south of that (again) is another auspicious city adorned with rubies,
which is that of the Ādityas (the Suns),³²⁸ called auspicious Aṁśumatī
(Possessing (Beautiful) Rays). d) (The city) of the Sādhyas, called Kusumāvatī
(Flowery One), shines divine.
2) (Southeast: Fire, Tejovatī). On the southern side (of the city of) Fire
is a) Revatī, (the city) of All the (Gods). b) To the west of that, O goddess, is
Divyā, (the city) of Viśvakarman.
3) (South: Saṁyamanī) To the west (of the city) of Dharmarāja (i.e.
Yama) is a) the city known as Mātṛnandā (Delight of the Mothers). The Mothers

²⁹³ There are a large number of words for ‘town’ or ‘city² in all three genders. Note that
here the names of all these towns are feminine (agreeing with the feminine ‘nagarī’ –
‘town’). Like ancient Athens, towns and cities in India were commonly thought to
linked to a goddess who bore the same name as the town, or, to be more correct, is
named after the goddess. A famous example is Rāma’s town of Ayodhyā, who appears
before him as the goddess of that name.
²³⁴" Text reads sauvarṇīi (MSs Ch and Ñ: sauvalī). I have chosen the reading in the SYT
10/137c.
³⁹³ Abhinava, who is usually remarkably accurate, refers to a city of Vināyakas here, not
the Suns. However, the last entry in this passage does refer to the city of Vināyakas to
the north of Amarāvatī. Thuṣ, it appears that this verse has been shifted somehow here
from where it belongs. See below, note 8,194.
106 CHAPTER EIGHT
play there, inebriated by drinking spirituous liquor (madhu). b) Rohitā, the
golden (city) (kāñcanī) of the Rudras, is to the west of it. The Rudras, who bear
lances and are Yama’s servants, (reside) there. c) One should know that to the
west of that³⁰ is the city of the eleven Rudras, called Guṇavatī (Possessing
Good Qualities), its archways and walls are made of adamantine (vajra).
4) (Southwest: Kṛṣṇāṅgāra city of the Lord of Rakṣāsas). a) To the east
of the (city of the of the) southwest is the city called Piṅgalā (Tawny One). O
ress of the gods, Piśācas live there whose names are in accord with their
actions.”⁷ b) Near to the north of (the city in the) southwestis a city know as²”⁸
Kṛṣṇāvatī. The Rākṣasas called Niṣtriṁśa (Mercilessly Cruel) reside there
permanently. c) Again, to the north of that also there is a golden (haimī) city
(called) Sukhāvatī (Blissful One). Mitra (the Siddha) lives there accompanied
by many servants. d) Again, to the north of that is a golden (city) famous by the
name Gāndharvī. The Gandharvas (Celestial Musicians) live there, accompanied
by divine young women.”²*”

Again:

‘S) (West: Śuddhavatī). a) To the south of Varuṇa is (the city) of ghosts

(called) Siddhasenā (Army of Accomplished Ones). b) To the north of Varuṇa is
(the city of) the Vasus, called Hema (Gold). c) O goddess, to the north of that is
the city called Siddhavatī (Accomplished One), which is famed as the city of all
the Vidyādharas (Knowledge Holders).
6) (Northwest: Gandhavahā). a) O goddess, to the south of the Wind
(i.e. the northwest) is located¹ the city called Siddhā (Accomplished). Kinnaras
live there with their cities (shining brilliantly) like the golden sun. b) To the east
of the Wind is the golden (city) Gāndharvī, which, resounding with divine
music (gandharva), is that of Citraratha, the main king of the Gandharvas. The
goddess (Sarasvatī) herself (is there) directly visible (and present), adorned with
the seven notes, wearing the three scales (grāma), adorned with the rāgas (jāti)
as (her) waistband, her body beautiful with runs (tāna) and the rise and fall of
musical sounds (mārchana), (she is the veritable) arising of the art of many
(kinds of) rhythms (tāla),¹ and endowed with (the figures of speech),
description (lakṣaṇa) and suggestion (vyañjana), is swathedin the middle note
(madhyama).* Sung by the Gandharvas there, she is the goddess Sarasvatī. c)
To the east (of that city) is that of Tumburu and Nārada, (called) Citrā.

²⁴⁶ Read as in the edition of the SvT and MSs Ch and N, tasyāḥ for tasya.
⁷ Read with MS Ch and N and SVT, svakarmasarṁ r̥ sukarmasaṁjñā. Kṣemarāja’s
comments confirm this reading: svena karmaṇā śanena nimittena saṁjñā yeṣām.
‘Their names are due to their action, which is to eat meat (etc.)³.
³*⁸ Read with MS Ch and N and SVT, smṛtā for śubhā.
²⁹ SYT 10/131-147ab.
³⁰⁰ ṢyṬ reads smṛtā for sthitā.
³⁰! Ṟead with the SVT, nānātāla- for nānātāna-.
³ This is the fourth note of the scale. According to Kṣemarāja, madhyameneti
madhyamākhyena svareṇa śravyatātīśayayogādavaguṇṭhitā. `She is swathed with the
note called ‘madhyama’ because she causes it to be heard most excellently.’ But he may
not be correct. In Western music there are two scales, major and minor. Indian
 TANTRĀLOKA 107
7) (North: Mahodayā). a) To the west (of the city) of Soma is Pramadā
(Delight), which is said to be (the city of the) Guhyakas. b) To the east of Soma
is the beautiful (citrā) city of the great soul Kubera, made of all the metals,
called Citravatī (Wonderful One). He is attended by 26,000 crores of Yakṣas, of
whom he is the most excellent one, endowed with majesty (srīmat),
(worshipped) with the most excellent enjoyments. c) To the east of that is the
city made of gold, called Śubhā (Auspicious). The Karmadevas (Gods of
Karma) who have attained (their) divine status by (their) deeds (karman) (reside
there).
8) (Northeast: city of Īśarāja called Yaśovatī). a) To the west of Īśarāja,
is the city of Viṣṇu (called) Śrīmatī. The venerable Lord of Śrī resides there,
(blue) like a cannabis flower. He holds a conch, discus and a mace. He is
Janardana and his clothes are yellow.³⁰²
b) To the south of the Lord (īśa) (Visṇu) is the city called Padmāvatī
(Lotus One), (which is the residence of) Brahmā, who is born from a lotus, sits
on a great lotus, wears a garland of lotuses, and (whose) eyes are long like the
petals of a lotus. c) O goddess, to the south of that is the city called Kāmaṣukhā
(Pleasure of Passion). O mistress of the gods, the Aśvins are there, and (so) is
Dhanvantari (the God of Medicine).³*⁴
1) e) To the north of Amarāvatī is the well-known (city) called
Mahāmeghā³⁰ (Great Cloud), fashioned there as the divine dwelling of the
Vināyakas.”³⁰

musicological texts inform us that in the past there were considered to be three musical
scales (grāma) called Sadjagrāma, Madhyamagrāma, and Gandharvagrāma.
Nowadays, Indian music accepts just one basic scale, which is the first of these,
corresponding to the Western major scale. It is possible that madhyama here refers to
the madhyamagrāma. This seems to be a more satisfactory meaning than just the one
note. But this may not be so. If Sarasvatī is portrayed as singing in a particular scale,
one would expect it to be gandharvagrāma, which is traditionally the ‘celestial scale’.
³⁰³ Ṛead pītavāso for pītavāsā.
³⁰⁴ Ṟead with the SVT sthitaḥ for smṛtaḥ.
³⁰³ GVT 10/163b reads mahāmedhā for mahāmeghā.
³⁰⁶ SYT 10/148-163. At first sight, this last entry, although found in both the edition of
the SvT and here, appears to be spurious. But that is not so. If we add this entry to the
cities linked to Amarāvatī, the cities number twenty-six, as stated. Moreover, Abhinava
refers to Vināyakas as residents of a town north of Amarāvatī, although admittedly, he
does not mention Aṁśumatī, the city of the Adityas. See above, note 8,183. I have
numbered this entry accordingly as 1) e) as it comes directly after entry 1), which is
Amarāvatī, of which it is the fifth city, and so is labelled e).

The Cities around Mount Meru according to the Svacchandatantra

Direction | Deity Main City Associated Residents

Cities
East Indra Amarāvatī a) Kāmavatī a) Apsara
b) Sauvarṇī b) Siddhas
c) Aṁśumatī c) Ādityas
d) Kusumavatī d) Sādhyas
e) Mahāmeghā e) Vināyakas
108 CHAPTER EIGHT
This is the place where those who have done good deeds enjoy (the
fruits of their actions). Thus, he says:

ṢRṬTṬTT.ṬJ āIĪ J AJIT T: I| 4. ||

ī īaī. ṁṣrnṝj ā arait̄ aar- |
iṣṭāpūrtaratāḥ puṇye varṣe ye bhārate narāḥ || 57 ||
te merugāḥ sakṛc chambhuṁ ye vārcanti yathocitam |

The natives of the sacred land of India (bhāratavarṣa) who are

devoted to cherished meritorious works (iṣṭāpūrta), and those who worship
SŚiva (even) once in the proper manner, go to mount Meru.³” (§S7cd-58ab)

Southeast Agni Tejovatī a) Revatī a) AIl the Gods

b) Divyā b) Viśvakarman
South Yama | Saṁyamanī | _a) Mātṛnandā a) Mothers
b) Rohitā b) Rudras
c) Guṇavatī
Southwest | Rākṣasa | Kṛṣṇāṅgāra a) Piṅgalā
b) K.ṛ; aḻī as
c) Sukhāvatī c) Mitra
d) Gāndharvī d) Gaṇḍharvas
West Varuṇa | Suddhavatī |_a) Siddhasenā a) Ghosts
b) Hema b) Vasus
c) Siddhavatī c) Vidyādharas
Northwest | Vāyu Gandha- a) Siddhā a) Kinnaras
vahā̃ b) Gandharvī b) Sarasvatī
c) Citrā c) Tumburu and
Nārada
North Soma Mahodayā a) Pramadā a) Guhyakas
b) Citravatī b) Kubera and
Yakṣas
c) Śubhā c) Karmadevas
Northeast | Īśarāja Yaśovatī a) Srīmatī a) Viṣṇu
b) Padmāvatī b) Brahmā
c) Kāmasukhā c) Aśvīns and
Dhanyantari

Goodall (2004: 296 note 552): “The names of these cities, together with their
Lokapālas, as they appear in the Svacchanda 10/132-136ab, Kiraṇa 8/51-54,
Mṛgendravidyāpāda 13/47-54, Sarvajñānottara adhvaprakaraṇa 34-36 (IFP MS T No.
59) and Mataṅgavidyāpāda 23160-63, are as follows: Amarāvatī of Indra (east), Tejovatī
of Agni (southeast), Vaivasvatī (Saṁyamanī according to Svacchanda, Mṛgendra and
Mataṅga) of Yama (south), Rakṣovatī (Kṛṣṇāṅgārā according to the Svacchanda, Kṛṣṇā
according to the Mṛgendra and Mataṅga and Kṛṣṇavatī according to the
Sarvajñānottara) of Nirrti (southwest), Śuddhavatī of Varuṇa (west), Gandhavatī
(Gandhavahā according to Svacchanda) of Vāyu (northwest), Mahodayā of Kubera (of
Soma according to the Svacchanda) (north), and Yaśovatī (Sukhāvahā, according to the
Mataṅga) of Hara (northeast).”
³⁰⁷ Explanatory paraphrase of SvT 10/170cd-171ab, quoted by Jayaratha.
 TANTRĀLOKA 109
(He says that the land of India) is ‘sacred’ in order to stress the
difference between it and other countries. (Worshipping Śiva) ‘in the proper
manner’ means in accord with the procedure (taught in the) Purāṇas. That is
said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘O god, those people who are devoted to cherished meritorious works

in the sacred land of India or worship (Rudra) Tryambaka (even) just once, go
to mount Meru (after their death).³³⁸

Now he begins to analyse the lands etc. that are below Meru.

The Four Mountains Surrounding Mount Meru

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r̥tjaṁatz «ī īīētrsfd fīa 1
meroḥ pradakṣiṇāpyodagdikṣu viṣkambhaparvatāḥ || 58 II
mandaro gandhamādaś ca pulo ‘tha supārśvakaḥ |
sitapītanīḷaraktās te kramāt pādaparvatāḥ || 59 ||
etair bhuvam avasṣṭabhya merus tiṣṭhati niścalaḥ |

(Around mount) Meru, (moving in a clockwise direction) from east

to north,³” are the mountains that support it (viṣkambha). (These are,)
mount Mandara, Gandhamāda, Vipula and Supārśvaka. White, yellow,
blue and red, (respectively), these mountains are at the feet (of Mount
Meru). Having fixed (itself into) the earth by means of them, it stands (erect
and) immobile.³¹⁰ (58cd-60ab)

‘(The mountains) that support it’ are (such) because they fix
(avaṣṭambha) the earth (in its place). One should understand (for oneself) that
this is the same country called Ilāvṛta, which will be described (further ahead),
as the size (of these mountains) has not been stated (here because they are given
there). Moreover, that (country) is close to Meru, otherwise (these) mountains
would not be at its feet.
On each of these four mountains there is a garden, lake and wish-
granting tree. Thus, he says:

³⁰³ SYT 10/170cd-171ab.

³⁰⁰ Tentative emendation of pradakṣiṇāpyodagdikṣu [c: prāgda-] to prācyādyudagdikṣu.
³!⁰ See SYT 10/182cd-184ab. The four supporting mountains of Meru are described in
Mṛgendra (vidyāpāda) 13/71-73 and in Sarvajñānottara 13/22-32 (lacunae in the
transcript), but they are not mentioned in the Parākhya, Svayambhusūtrasaṁgraha or
Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha.
110 CHAPTER EIGHT
The Forests, Lakes and Trees on the Mountains

³TrTr-cāTGJ
ā'īsī fīās̃̃ aTTT=TR: I| F0 1|

3JT: ārāTāSTPATY-ĀJĪYHT: JTT I| Ē2 ||

īy ā q’ādō̄ īā TJ -r-ī TJGTĪTTT |
caitrarathanandanākhye
vaibhrājaṁ pitṛyanaṁ vanāny āhuḥ || 60 ||
raktodamānasasitaṁ
bhadraṁ caitac catuṣṭayaṁ sarasām |
vṛkṣāḥ kadambajamby-
aśvatthanyagrodhakāḥ kramaśaḥ || 61 I|
eṣu ca caturṣv acaleṣu
trayaṁ trayaṁ kramaśa etad āmnātam |

On these four mountains are said to be three each of (these) three

(things), in due order, respectively. 1) (There are four) forests (one for each
mountain) called Citraratha and Nandana, Vaibhrāja, and Pitṛvana. 2)
There are four lakes (called) Raktoda (or Aruṇodaka) (Red Water),
Maānasa (Mind), Sitodaka (White Water) and Mahābhadra (Greatly
Auspicious). 3) (The four kinds of) trees (on each mountain) are,
respectively, Kadamba (Nauclea Cadamba), Jambu (Eugenia Jambolana),
Aśvattha (Ficus Religiosa) and Nyagrodha (Ficus Indica).³ (60cd-62ab)

It remains to be said that the river Jambu arises from (lake) Jambūrasa.
That is said:
‘One should know that the Kadamba (tree) is on (mount) Mandara and
the Jambū on (mount) Gandhamādana. One should know that the Aśvattha
(tree) is on (mount) Vipula and the Nyagrodha (tree) on Supārśvaka. There are
lakes and groves here. (Lake) Aruṇoda (Red Water) is in the east, and one
should know that Mānasa (Mind (Lake)) is in the south, Sitoda (White Water) is
in the west, and Mahābhadra (the Greatly Auspicious One) to the north. Then
the forests Caitrarathya, Nandana, along with Vaibhrāja and the one called
Pitṛvana, are located (on those mountains) in (that) order, respectively.”

š
The Four Mountains around Meru

Direction Mountain Colour |_Forest Lake Tree

East Mandara white _| Citraraṭha | Raktodaka | Kadamba
South Gandhamādana | yellow _| Nandana Maānasa Jambu
West Vipula blue_] Vaibhrāja | _Sitodaka Aśvattha
North Supārśvaka red Pitṛyana_]| Mahābhadra | Nyagrodha
 TANTRĀLOKA 111
‘Jambū is said to be of that size. One should know that the juice from its
many fruits on the peak of Gandhamādana is like nectar. Thus, O beloved, the
river Jambū, fast and mighty, was born. Having circumambulated Meru, it
enters the root of the Jambū (tree) by itself. Gold, which is the ornament of a
god, is born from the contact with it. Thus gold (iāmbūnada) is the best (of all)
ornaments in the world.”³¹²

Jambudvīpa and its Nine Principal Regions

ṭtī ōaāvḷḷzāṁ
sTīāgT: āTTT: I| Ṝ2 1I
JaTīā. Taī SāTāī TJTRṬĀT:|
mervadho lavaṇābdhyantaṁ jambudvīpaḥ samantataḥ || 62 ||
lakṣamātraḥ sa navadhā jāto maryādaparvataiḥ |

Jambudvīpa extends all around below Meru up to the ocean of salt,

for just one hundred thousand (leagues),³ and it is divided into nine
(regions) by the mountains on the borders (that run across it). (62cd-63ab)

(Jambudvīpa extends) ‘all around’ (Meru) in the form of a circular

enclosure (valayākāra).³¹⁴ That is said:

‘Jambudvīpa, in the form of a circular enclosure, is located below Meru

and extends for one hundred thousand leagues.”³

³² Although Jayaratha presents both these quotations as if they were from the same
source, only the second one can be traced as its stands in the Svacchandatantra
(10/190cd-193ab). The previous one is not found in the printed edition of the SvT as it
is here. However, the details listed here are the same as those in SYT 10/184cd-196. Is
this because Jayaratha had a different version of the SvT before him? Or is he quoting
from another closely related source?
³¹³ See below, 8/96.
³¹⁴ The word valaya means a circular enclosure. The word is repeated also in the
citation, and so there can be no doubt that this is what is meant. However, it is hard to
explain the measurements if Jambūdvīpa is circular. They can only make sense if it is
square with sides of 100,000 yojanas. It cannot be a circle with this diameter, radius or
circumference, for it would not be possible to explain how the mountain chains on the
left and right sides are this long. There are other inevitable inaccuracies also, that
become apparent when we try to draw the layout. It is as if the measurements had been
worked out for a square and then ideally projected into a circle.
³³ Here too, Jayaratha does not quote from the SvT, although the description there
agrees with SvT 10/286cd, that says:

jambudvīpaṁ smrtaṁ lakṣaṁ yojanānāṁ pramāṇataḥ |

‘Jambudvīpa is considered to measure one hundred thousand leagues.”

These passages are not found in the Jayadrathayāmala. They are drawn from
other sources to which Abhinava and Jayaratha refer, such as the Siddhayogeśvarīmata.
112 CHAPTER EIGHT
He now describes its division into nine (sectors).

The Nine Mountain Chains around Meru

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niṣadho hemakūṭaś ca himavān dakṣiṇe trayaḥ || 63 ||
lakṣaṁ sahasranavatis tad aśītir iti kramāt |
nīlaḥ śvetas triśṛṅgaś ca tāvantaḥ savyataḥ punaḥ || 64 ||
meroḥ ṣaḍ ete maryādācalāḥ pūrvāparāyatāḥ |
pūrvato mālyavān paścād gandhamādanasaṁjñitaḥ ll 65 |I
savyottarāyatau tau tu catustriṁśatsahasrakau |
aṣṭāv ete tato 'py anyau dvau dvau pūrvādiṣu kramāt || 66 ||
jātharaḥ kūṭahimavadyātrajārudhiśṛṅgiṇaḥ |
evaṁ sthito vibhāgo ‘tra varṣasiddhyai nirūpyate || 67 I|

The three (chains) to the south (of Meru) are those of Niṣadha
(Bull), Hemakiūṭa (Golden Peak), and Himavat (the Himalaya – Abode of
Snow).³*⁰ They are, respectively, one hundred thousand, ninety thousand
and eighty thousand (leagues long).

However, Jayaratha has not found, it seems, the source from which Abhinava is drawing
this verse.
³¹⁸In his commentary on the SvT, Kṣemarāja quotes the didactic etymologies
(nirvacana) of the names and myths of origin of these places found in the Parākhya. 1
follow suit, availing myself of Goodall’s edition and translation. Kṣemarāja begins with
Niṣadha, which is treated as if it were niṣedha. SvTu ad 10/199:
nisiddho yatra vai tārkṣyaḥ śeṣāhiṁ hantum udyataḥ |
‘(Niṣadha is) where Garuḍa was poised to kill the serpent Śeṣa and was
forbidden (niṣiddha) (to do 50).” (Parākhya 5/87ab)

hemakūṭas tathā so ‘drir yatra dattaḥ prajāpateḥ |

suvarṇaṣya mahākūṭo yāgārthaṁ dhanadena úu I
‘Hemakūṭa (Golden Peak) is the mountain where a great heap (mahākūṭa) of
gold was given to Prajāpati by Dhanada (i.e. Kubera) for the sake of the sacrifice.’ (ibid.
5189)
 TANTRĀLOKA 113
Again, to the north, there are (another three chains) that are the
same (length), namely, Nīla (Blue), Śveta (White) and Triśṛṇga (Triple
Peak).³"⁷ These six (chains of) mountains, which serve as boundaries, extend
from east to west.³⁸
To the east and west (perpendicular to these chains are the chains)
called (east) Mālyavat (Possessing Garlands) and (west) Gandhamādana
(Inebriating Smell..³*” They extend from south to north for a length of
thirty-four thousand (leagues).

himavān himakūṭavān |
raināḍhyō `'pi himaprāyas tenāsau himavān giriḥ |l

‘Himavat (is like) Himakūta. Although it (too) is rich with jewels, as there is
generally snow (on it) (himaprāya), that mountain is (called) Himavat (Snowy).”
(5/91bcd)
³!⁷ Commenting on SvT 10/200ab Ksemarāja quotes the Parākhya again:
Śśanis tatra ṣunīlābho jāto nīlas tvato giriḥ |

‘Śani (Saturn) there became dark blue (sunīlābha), and so the mountain is
(called) Nīla. (Parākhya 5/81ab)

nīlavac ca giriḥ śveto yatra śveto mahāmuniḥ ll

mṛtyunā grasyamāno.api rakṣitaś candramaulinā |
‘Like Nīla, thereis the mountain Śveta (White), where the great sage Śveta,
though devoured by death, was protected by Śiva.’ (ibid. 5/83)

śvetavac ca triśṛṅgo ‘drir vajrapātopamardanaḥ |

tryaśritas teṣu śṛṅgeṣu kila devās trayaḥ sthitāḥ |l

‘And (nex), like Śveta, there is the mountain Trīśrṁṅga (Triple Peak), that
spurns the fall of thunderbolts. (It is so called) because it has three peaks. It is said that
(kila) three gods reside upon those peaks.” (ibid. 5/85)
³"⁸ TĀ 8/63cd-64 is based on MrT vidyāpāda 13/64-65.
³¹⁹ SvṬu ad 10/205-206:
drṣṭvā mālyāni divyāni brahmasevārthamāgataiḥ|
sambhṛtāni yataḥ siddhair mālyavāṅs tena lapyate ||

‘Seeing the heavenly garlands (mālyāni), the Śiddhas who had come (there) to
worship Brahmā, gathered them (saṅbhrta), and so is said to be Mālyavat.’ (Parākhya
5/77)
iti tath ca ----

madamattā purā dṛṣṭā mālyā vidyādharī kila ||

rṣiṇā nāradenāsminn āghrātā modabhāvitā |
gandho me mādano viprety uktas tad gandhamādanaḥ || 5/78cd-79

‘(Similarly, to the west of Ilāvṛta is the mountain (range) Gandhamādana

(Inebriated with Fragrance), an intoxicated Vidyādharī (called) Mālyā was seen (on a
mountain in) the past. Steeped in fragrance (modabhāvita), the sage Nārada smelt her
there. (She) said (to him) “O Brahmin, my scent is intoxicating (gandho me mādanaḥ).”
114 CHAPTER EIGHT
Apart from these, there are eight others which, in pairs, are in the
east (south, west and north), in due order. They are called, respectively,
1) (east) Jāthara (Belly), (Hema)kūṭa, 2) (south) (Kailāsa), Himavat,
3) (west) (Nisadha), (Pāri)yātra, 4) (north) Jārudhi and Śrṅgavat
(Possessing a Peak).³” Such is the division here (of the mountains),

Therefore, it is called Gandhamādana.⁷ Goodall has restored this verse to the text of the
Parākhya as verse 5/78cd-79.
³² See SVT 10/203-208. Śṛṅgavat is like the moon. Śveta shines white. Nīla is made of
blue gems, and Niṣadha contains rubies. Hemakūṭa is golden, and Himavat is like snow.
(10/203cd-204)

Mountain Chains and Mountains around Meru

Directions* Mountain Length Width Height | Mountains

Chains
South a) Niṣadha a) 100,000 { All 1,000 |_a) 24,000 Kailāsa
b) Hemakūṭa b) 90,00 b) 10,000 Himavat
c) Himavat c) 80.000 c) 10,000
North a) Nīla a) 100,000 | AII 1,000 | a) 24,000 Jārudhi
b) Sveta b) 90,000 b) 10,000 | Sṛṅgavat
c) Triśriṅga c) 80,000 c) 10,000
West Gandhamādana 34,000 1,000 24,000 Niṣadha
Pāriyātra
East Maālyavat 34,000 1,000 24,000 Jāṭhara
Hemakūṭa

#Directions are with respect to Meru, that faces east.

Jambudvīpa is a circle 100,000 yojanas in diameter, surrounded by an ocean of

salt. In the centre of it rises mount Meru. According to the Svacchanda:

merumadhyāc caurdikṣu lakṣārdhaṁ tu samāsataḥ l

lavaṇodadhiparyantaṁ jambudyīpaṁ samantataḥ l
merumūlamadhyāt pañcāśatsahasrāṇi, tatpārśvadvayakalanayā lakṣaṁ bhavati ||

““From the middle of Meru in the four directions, the distance altogether is
50,000 up to the sea of salt on all sides of Jambudvīpa.³ (10/197cd-198ab)

From the middle of the root (of Meru, the distance is) 50,000, by adding the
two sides together it makes 100,000.”

The Nīla and Niṣadha chains of mountains are on the northern and southern
boundary, respectively, of Jambūdvīpa, and extend for the full 100,000 yojanas to the
north and south of Meru. There are two more chains on each side 90,000 and 80,000
yojanas long. Each of them is 1,000 yojanas wide, with a gap between them of nine
yojanas. Thus, there are three chains on the right, i.e. south of Meru – Niṣadha,
Hemakūṭa and Himavat, and there are three on the left, i.e. north of Meru – Nīla, Śveta
and Triśriṅga.
The base of Meru is square, and the sides are 16,000 yojanas (see 8/43cd-44).
Ilāvṛta is a square with sides extending 9,000 yojanas beyond Meru, thus making 34,000
 TANTRĀLOKA ¹15
described in order to establish (the extent and geography of the nine)
continents (varṣa). (63cd-67)

‘To the south’ of Meru, which faces east. (He says) ‘one hundred
thousand’ (leagues), because such is the size of Jambudvīpa.²²¹ Although such
is the width of all the islands outside them, in accord with its curved form, the
size of Hemakūṭa and Himavat (and the other mountain chains) decreases. The
width (of all of them is) the same. As is said:

‘(They go) up to the ocean of salt and extend for two thousand (leagues)
in width.”³²

yojanas altogether. This is the length of the range Mālyavat above Meru and
Gandhamādana below it, that is, to the east and west of it. These two ranges, along with
Nīla and Niṣadha, that are on the boundary of Jambhū. They are 24,000 yojanas tall,
whereas the others are just 10,000. This is because they serve as outer enclosing walls,
like the battlements (prākāra) of a fort or palace.
The texts say that Jambudvīpa is divided into nine sections (khaṇḍa, bhāga),
divided up by the mountains. Eight have been accounted for. The ninth enclosure is
formed by the eight ‘supporting mountains’ (viṣkambaparvata). These are in pairs
connected together (saṁlagna). t is interesting, and possibly historically significant,
that the names of one of each the four pairs of mountains is the same as that of the four
mountain chains. Thus, there is mount Hemakūṭa on the east, which is the name of the
second chain in the south. Himavat in the east, which is also the name of the third chain
in the south. Niṣadha in the west is the name of the first chain in the south. Śrṅgavat is
in the north, Triśṛṅga is the third chain in the north. Kṣemarāja wants to avoid all
confusion because of this by stating simply that: pūrvoktahemakūṭādi-samanāmāno ‘nya
evāmī hemakūṭādyāḥ | *Although (the mountain ranges) Hemakūtṭa etc. mentioned
previously have the same name, these Hemakūṭa etc. (mountains) are very different”
(SvTu ad 10/208cd-210ab). These four pairs of mountains are situated in the four
primary directions on the border of the sea. They are not separate from their
neighbouring ranges above and below i.e. Mālyavat and Gandhamādana. Rather they
appear as prominent peaks amongst them, located halfway along them. However, to the
south and north, there is a gap between the outermost chains and the sea. Thus, in order
for them to be on the shore as they are said to be, they must be separate from the chains.
Even so, acting as boundaries, they are considered to be the ninth outermost enclosure.
But Kṣemarāja says: ete cāṣṭāv alaṅghyatvān navadhā vibhaktasya jambuávīpaṣya
navabhāgāntarahetava iti || ‘As these eight cannot be crossed, Jambudvīpa is divided
up into nine parts. They are the causes of its nine intermediate parts.’ (SvTu ad
10/208cd-210ab).
³" See above 8/62cd-63ab.
³²² SYT 10/202cd. The SvT continues:
kailāsayukto himavāṁs triśṛṅgaś ca sajārudhiḥ |

himavato madhye kailāsaḥ śṛṅgarūpaḥ | yad uktaṁ devīyāmale ----

tasya madhye mahāśṛṅga śatayojanavisṭrtam | ity upakramya,
tatrāsāv amaraiḥ ṣārdhaṁ śūlī vasati sarvadā | iti |
sṛṅgavatas tu jārudhiḥ saṁlagnaḥ || eṣāṁ prātilomyato varṇaṁ nirūpayati ----

Śśrṛṅgavāṁś candrakanibhaḥ sitaḥ śveto virājate ||

nīlaratnamayo nīlo niṣadhaḥ padmarāgabhaḥ |
sauvarṇo hemakūṭaś ca himābho himavān iti ||
116 CHAPTER EIGHT
(The three chains to the north are) ‘the same (length)ʼ, that is, they
measure one hundred thousand (leagues) etc. (The chains of mountains called
Mālyavat and Gandhamādana) ‘(extend from south to north for a length of)
thirty-four thousand (leagues)³, because, along with Nīla and Niṣadha, they
are the boundaries, and because it will be stated that such is the size of Ilāvṛta.
(They are) one thousand (leagues) wide. As is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘To the east of Meru shines mount Mālyavat. O mistress of the gods,
(their chain) extends for thirty-four thousand leagues. It shines, extending from
south to north, and is one thousand (leagues) wide. Gandhamādana, which is
equal to that (in size) is located in the same way, in the west.³³²³

And here one should know that the four mountains called Nīla, Niṣadha,
Mālyavat, and Gandhamādana are twenty-four thousand leagues tall, and the
others ten (thousand). As is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘Kailāsa is linked to Himavat and Triśṛṅga with Jārudhi.” (SyT 10/203ab)

Kailāsa is a (mountain) peak in the middle of Himavat. As is said in the
Devīyāmala, beginning with ‘in the middle of that there is a great peak that is a hundred
yojanas wide (vitṛta).’ ‘There (Śiva), the bearer of the trident, always lives along with
the gods.⁷ Jārudhi is connected to Śṛṅgavat.
(Next, the Tantra) states their colour in reverse order.
‘Śrṅgavat is (white) like the moon. The white Śveta looks beautiful. Nīla is
made of blue gems and Niṣadha is (red) like ruby. And Hemakūtṭa is golden. Himavat is
(white) like snow.” (SVT 10/203cd-204)
The three ranges on each side taper from 100,00, to 90,000, and then 80,000,
which is the length of the Himavat and Śṛṅgavat ranges, and are two thousand yojanas
wide (pārśvamāna).
³³³ SVT 10/205-206. The Svacchanda goes on to explain why they are this long:

meroḥ samantato ramyam iḷḻāvṛtam udāhrṛtam ||

adhastāc cakravāṭasya navasāhasraviṣṭṛtam |
yojanānāṁ caturdikṣu caturaśraṁ samantataḥ ||

‘It is said that the beautiful Ilāvṛta is all around Meru. It is below the circular
terrace (cakravāṭa) and 9,000 yojanas in extent in the four directions, (forming) a square
all around.” (210cd-211)

Kṣemarāja explains: tena madhyavartinaḥ ṣoḍaśasāhasrikasya meroḥ pārśvadvayaṁ

ākalayya dairghyadiśāṁ catustriṁśatsahasram etad bhavati |
ata eva pūryapaścātsthayor mālyavadgandhamādanayoś catustriṁśatsahasrāṇi
dairghyam iti yuktam uktam ḷ

“Thus, on the two sides of Meru, which is 16,000 (yojanas) (on its four sides),
adding on 9,000 on the two sides, the length is 34,000. Thus, it is rightly said that the
(mountain ranges) Mālya and Gandhamādana, located to the east and west, are (each)
34,000 long.”
 TANTRĀLOKA 117
‘The Nīla, Niṣadha, Mālyavat and Gandhamādana are twenty-four
thousand leagues tall.’
³²⁴

So too (it is said) in the venerable Mṛgendrottara:

‘(Each other one) is ten (thousand leagues) high and there are nine
(thousand leagues) between them . . .³⁵⁹
In this way, there are three (mountain chains) in the south and (three in
the) north, and one each in the east and west. Divided in this way by the eight
(mountain chains), Jambūdvīpa is in nine sections. ‘Apart from these’ (first)
eight (mountain chains), (there is) ‘Kūṭa’, which is Hemakūṭa, and Himavat,
that is to say, along with Kailāsa. “Yātra⁷ is Pāriyātra, that is to say, along
(mount) Niṣadha. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra, where we read):

‘(Mounts) Jaṭhara³*⁰ and Hemakūṭa are located in the east. Kailāsa and
Himavat are located in the south. Mounts Niṣedha and Pāriyātra are in the west,
and Jārudhi and Śṛṅgavat are located in the north.³²⁷

These supporting mountains (skambhaparvata) are located in (their)

determined (and fixed) places. Thus, there is no reason for any other division.
The division is into nine sections (khaṇḍa).
He says just that:

The Regions Around Meru

Iāvṛta

TTĪTTrTĒATGTĪṢĪĒÇ
TÇCTṀ |
aēTTatāīṁīvitṭoīaā frraTTT 1 ē.¢
1|
samantāc cakravāṭādho ʻnarkendu caturaśrakam |
sahasranavaviṣṭīrṇam ilākhyaṁ trimukhāyuṣam |l 68 II

Below the circular terrace all around (mount Meru) is (the land)
called Ilā. It is square and it has no sun or moon. It extends (in all
directions around Meru) for nine thousand leagues. (ts living beings) live
for thirteen (thousand years).³²⁸ (68)

³³⁴ SYT 10/207. Commenting on this verse Kṣemarāja explains:

nīlādayo meroḥ pratiprākārasthānīyatvena sthitāḥ evaṁpramāṇakāḥ |

‘(Nīla and Niṣadha, Mālyavān and Gandhamādana are 24,000 yojanas high)
because ‘Nīla etc. are the enclosing fortifying walls (prākāra) of Meru, and so are of
this size.”
³³³ This is MṛT vidyāpāda 13/65b. The same line is quoted in SvTu ad 10/207. Clearly,
Mṛgendrottara is this part of the Mṛgendra.
³²⁶ Tn other places the spelling is Jāṭhara, not Jaṭhara.
³⁷ SVṬ 10/208cd-210ab.
³³⁴ SYT 10/210cd-214ab, partially quoted in the commentary, is the source of TĀ 8/68.
118 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘(The land) called Iā’ is the land called Ilāvṛta because it is governed
by the Lord called Ilāvṛta. This is the meaning. That will be clarified further
ahead and so (there is no need) to exert (oneself) here (to do s0). One should
understand the reason for the use of a particular name in the case of other lands
also in the same way. And that extends for nine thousand (leagues) in the four
directions ‘all around’ Meru. Taking into account the root sixteen (thousand
leagues) of Meru (itself) in the middle, (we arrive at the size of) thirty-four
thousand (leagues).³” Thus, the measure of length of (both) Mālyavat and
Gandhamādana is said to be just this much (equally). Thus, in all the directions
it is equal (in size, and) so it is square, not like that of other lands, an oblong.
The light of the sun and moon does not reach there, because it is below the
circular terrace (around Meru that covers it).³™⁸ ‘(ts living beings) live for
thirteen’ as the word ‘thousand’ is close by, (one should understand) that the
meaning is ‘thirteen thousand’. As is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘All around Meru is said to be the beautiful (land called) Ilāvṛta. Itṭ is
below the circular terrace (around Meru). It is square and extends in the four
directions all around for nine thousand leagues. There is no heat of the sun
there, nor do the rays the moon exist there. The light of worlds (there) is Meruʼs
light.”³¹

Also: ‘Itis said that their lifespan is thirteen thousand years.”³²

³²⁹ The two chains above and below extend for 9,000 leagues, making eighteen. To this
we must add sixteen thousand for the width – eight on each side. Thus, we get 34,000.
³³⁰ Cf. SVTu ad 10/211: tena madhyavartinaḥ ṣoḍaśasāhasrikasya meroḥ pārśvadvayaṁ
nava nava sahasrāṇīty ākalayya dairghyadiśāṁ catustriṁśatsahasram etad bhavati |
ata eva pūrvapaścātsthayor mālyavadgandhamādanayoścatuṣṭriṁśatsahasrāṇi
dairghyam iti yuktam uktam | asya ca nirvacanam ----

‘Thus, adding nine thousand (leagues) on (each of) the two sides of Meru,
which is in the middle and (measures) sixteen thousand (leagues), the length (dairghya)
of the space is thirty-four thousand (leagues). Thus, it is rightly said that the length
(dairghya) of (the mountain chains) Mālyavat and Gandhamādana is thirty-four
thousand (leagues). The etymology of its (name) is taught in the venerable Parā (where
it says):
‘There was a divine Apsaras named Ilā, possessed of beauty and youth; this
lovely one was seen going about by the moon (amṛtarūpeṇa). (He) enveloped her
(āvṛtā) (there) in his arms out of lust (rāgār). That is why (that place) is called Ilāvṛta.”
Parākhya 5/71 translation by Goodall.
Goodall (2004: 297 note 554) notes: ‘llā is associated with Ilāvṛta in
Matṣyapurāṇa 12/12-14, but there, as elsewhere (e.g. Rāmāyaṇa 7/80: 22-3), it is Budha
[Mercury] rather than the Moon who makes love to Ilā, who alternates monthly between
being a man and a woman, and out of their union is born Purūrvas. Different versions of
the story are to be found . . . where her name is Iḍā/IIā when she is a woman and
Sudyumna when a man, but it is invariably Budha with whom s/he is associated.”
³V SVT 10/210cd-212.
³³² SVT 10/214ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 119
West of Meru
Ketumāla and its Seven Mountains – West of Gandhamādana

T; T̄Ṣ̄rāī Tīaīa? āāūk ūīzā |

h̄ṬHT® R̥GTāĪTI Tdēāk-T fJfdrī] ṇ E 1
meroḥ paścimato gandhamādo yas tasya paścime |
ketumālaṁ kulādrīṇāṁ saptakena vibhūṣitam || 69 l

(The land of) Ketumāla³³ is to the west of Gandhamāda, which is to

the west of Meru. It is adorned with seven principal mountains (kulādr).
(69)
(Gandhamādana) is ‘to the west’ (of Meru), not to the south, where the
supporting mountain is located.³*⁴ ‘The seven principal mountains’ (are), as is
said:

‘The seven main (kula) mountains there are 1) Jayanta and 2)

Vardhamāna, 3) Aśoka, 4) Hariparvata, 5) Viśāla, 6) Kambala and 7) Kṛṣṇa.”³⁵

East of Meru
Bhadrāśva with Five Mountains – East of Mālyavat

ī. ā azaāiī rāīākāzā Ja |
TḠHTYṀITāTTHTTRGTTTḤ I 90 ||
meroḥ pūrvaṁ mālyavān yo bhadrāśvas tasya pūrvataḥ |
sahasradaśakāyus tat sapañcakulaparvatam || 70 ||

³³³ The Parākhyā, quoted in SvTu ad 10/216, supplies the following reason for this
land’s name:

‘When the fierce outset of a battle between the gods and the Asuras began,
there appeared there suddenly from nowhere garlands (mālā) of comets (ketu); seeing
these the gods were frightened: that is why it is known as Ketumālā’. (Parākhyā ⁵/T4cd-
75) Goodall (2004: 297)

Goodall (2004: 297 note 556) ‘Vāyupurāṇa 35/36-41: Indra at the end of a
battle between Devas and Asuras that followed the churning of the milk ocean, hung his
crushed garland (mnālā) upon the Aśvattha tree that is the ketu of the landmass, whence
the name. Thus, also Niśvāsaguhyasūtra 5/49ab: ratmamālāṁ dadec chakro hatvā
daityān sudurjayān.’ (‘Indra should give a garland of gems, having killed the demons
that are hard to conquer.”)
³³⁴ The supporting mountains, pairs, are on the shores, which means in the case of the
Gandhamādana range, below it. This is true west in relation to Meru. Jayaratha is
clarifying that the direction is in relation to the chain. Looking along it from below (i.e.
from the side where the Nīla range is located), the west of it is on the left side with
respect to the viewer.
³³³ SVT 10/218.
120 CHAPTER EIGHT
To the east of Mālyavat, which is to the east of Meru, is (the land of)
Bhadrāśva,³⁸ with its five main mountains. (There living beings) live for
ten thousand years. (70)

(There in Bhadraśva, living beings) ‘live for ten thousand years’; one
should explain that Ketumāla remains as well (along with these five, as having
creatures whose lifespan is such). As is said (in the Śvacchanda):

‘and they live for (for a whole) ten thousand (years)³.³⁷

As is said (in the Svacchanda) concerning the ‘five main mountains’:

‘It is said that the five main (kula) mountains there are: 1) Kaurañja,
2) Śvetaparṇa and 3) Nīla, along with 4) Mālāgraka and 5) Padma.³¹⁴

Tr̥ĨṀTṀṀrra: aaãīṁa4 hĩẼcĩ |

zīTṝrṝr=a -fhrīvcaācaaāīTv]
frēÑT || .? 1
pūrvapaścimataḥ savyottarataś ca kramād ime |
dvātriṁśac ca catustriṁśat sahasrāṇi nirūpite || 71 II

*Ṭhese two (lands) extend from east to west, respectively, for

thirty-two thousand leagues,³ and, it is said, from north to south, for
twenty-four thousand. (71)

³⁶ *East of the landmass called Ilāvṛta is Bhadrāśva of 32,000 (yojanas across). That
excellent horse (bhadro ‘śvaḥ) Úccaiḥśravas came forth from the churning of the ocean
of milk; because the horse wanders in this (land mass), therefore it is known as
Bhadrāśva.’ Parākhya 5/72cd-73 Goodallʼs translation. Verse 73 is quoted by
Kṣemarāja in his commentary on SvT 10/219-220ab, which says:

mālyavat pūrvabhāgena samudrasyāpareṇa tu |

varṣaṁ bhadrãśvasaṁjñaṁ ca tatrãpi tv ayutãyuṣaḥ ||
janāś candrapratīkāśāḥ kālāmraphalabhojanāḥ |

‘There is a country called Bhadrāśva in front of Mālyavat, behind which is the

sea. There too the inhabitants live for ten thousand (years). They are (white and
beautiful) like the moon and eat black guavas (kālāmra).³
³³” SVTṬ 10/217d. nīlotpaladalaśyāmā janās tatra suśobhanāḥ |
panasasya rasaṁ pītvā jīvanty ayutam eva ca || ŚYT 217 |
‘The people there are blue like the petals of a blue lotus and very beautiful.
Having drunk the juice of the breadfruit, they live for (a whole) ten thousand (years).”
SYVT 10/217
³³⁸ SYT 10/220cd-221ab.
³²² Paṟākhya gives these measurements (5/72cd, 74ab).
³⁴⁰ The 100,000 leagues of Jambudvīpa’s diameter are made up of the 16,000 leagues of
Meru, 18,000 of Ilāvṛta, 2,000 of the mountain chains Mālyavat and Gandhamādana,
and the 64,000 leagues of the continents (16,000 + 18,000 +2,000 + 64,000 = 100,000).
We are not given the measurements from north to south (i.e. the horizontal). Three are
 TANTRĀLOKA 121
‘These two’ are the lands*¹ called Ketumāla and Bhadrāśva
‘respectively’, as enumerated. Thus, Ketumāla and Bhadrāśva ʻextend from
east to west’ for thirty-two thousand (leagues) each. Maālyavat and
Gandhamādana are each one thousand, and with both sides, Ilāvṛta is eighteen.
Meru is sixteen. In this way, the length of Jambudvīpa from east to west is one
hundred thousand leagues.** By the description of the measurement of Ilāvṛta,
the meaning is understood (gatārtha)³ that (it extends) from south to north for
thirty-four (thousand leagues).³⁴⁴

North of Meru
The Land of Kuru

Tīṅā; J̄āT-īāçātē: ṭġaṁvēā |

TITTTTTRGHTIGKT āTĪTT I| 62 1I
R̥TiāīīTN5⁹7 āīāēdṣaiī āTS |
aT -ĪIT geē-aāīfṛ gITĪ =T SIS& HSF: I| 93 1||

meror udak śṛṅgavān yas tadbahiḥ kuruvarṣakam |

cāpavan navasāhasram āyus tatra trayodaśa || 72 ||
kuruvarṣasyottare ‘tha vāyavye ‘bdhau kramāccharāḥ |
daśa ceti sahasrāṇi dvīpau candro ‘tha bhadrakaḥ | 73 II

Outside that (to the north of) Śṛṅgavat (Peak), which is to the north
of Meru, is the land of Kuru.³⁸ Shaped like a bow, it extends for nine

certain, namely, 24,000 x 2 = 48,000 yojanas for the land masses, and 32,000 for the
chains in the east and the west. This makes 80,000. The three chains to the side are
1,000 yojanas wide each. If the gap between them is 1,000, they occupy 12,000 yojanas
in width, leaving 8,000 to account for. If the gap is of 2,000 yojanas, we get 18,000
yojanas, leaving 2,000. There must be a gap between the chains to accommodate for the
lands in between them.
³⁴¹ Read varṣe for varṣa.
³⁴² The diameter of Jambūdvīpa is commonly said to be 100,000 yojanas. See Mṛgendra
(vidyāpāda) 13/40cd, Sarvajñānottara (adhvaprakaraṇa) 18ab (T 334 p. 58) and Kiraṇa
8/47ab.
³⁴d MS G reads avagatārthaṁ for gatārthaṁ.
³⁴⁴ See above note 8,218. 100,000 Jampudvīpa for 16,000 of Meru + 18000 of the
Ilāvṛta, 2,000 of the Mālyavān and Gandhamāḍana chains and 64,000 for the two
continents – 16 + 18 + 2 + 64 = 100), and to the South and North for 34,000 yojanas.
Ketumāla and Bhadrāśva are each 24 in length.
³⁴³ The Svacchanda supplies the following reason for land’s name:

‘There are two Kula mountains there. There is wish-granting tree there called
Kuru, that burns (radiantly) with flowers. One should know that beautiful land of Kuru
(is known) by its name.³ (SVT 10/226-227ab)

Kṣemarāja quotes another one from the Parākhya:

122 CHAPTER EIGHT
thousand leagues.³⁴ The creatures there live for thirteen (thousand years).
To the north and northwest of the land of Kuru, in the ocean (of salt), there
are two islands, 1) Candra (Moon) and 2) Bhadra (Auspicious). They
measure, respectively, five thousand and ten thousand leagues. (72-73)

Śṛúgavat is the third mountain.³% ‘Outside that’, that is, to the north of
that also. This is the meaning. It is ‘shaped like a bow’, that is, it has a curved
shape because it is close to the ocean of salt (kṣāra). As is said:
‘(Measuring) nine thousand leagues, it is said to have the shape of a
bow. i

The reason why (āśaya) the measure of the breadth is not mentioned is
because, by describing the size of Śṛṅgavat, the sense is implied (gatārtha) (that
this is its size).³⁴√ One should understand the same here in the (other analogous)
subsequent (cases) also. ‘Thirteen’, that is to say, (thirteen) thousand. As is
said:

‘People (in the land of the) Kurus shine with lustre of dark blue flowers,
born in pairs, they eat the fruits of the Kuru trees, and they live for thirteen
hundred years.”³

‘Like Ramya this is (beyond that), the landmass Kuru, where Hara told
Upamanyu ‘Do (kuru) thus; drink the milkʼ, and so it is (called) Kuru.⁷ (Parākhya 5/86)

Goodall (2004: 299 note 565) ‘This is an allusion to the Śaiva myth according
to which Upamanyu performed austerities, because he was dissatisfied on the grounds
that he could not always obtain milk. Śiva eventually appeared to him, and his request
for milk was granted. The myth is alluded to in the Kiraṇa (without mentioning the
connection with this particular mountain) in 1/9ab.”
³⁸⁶ Kuṟu is wrapped around the northern part of mount Śṛṅga, enclosing half of it. If
absolute north is meant, the centre of it would be on the northern shore of Jambudvīpa.
This arrangement appears to be more satisfactory than having it above Śṛṅga. IfI am
correct, its width must be the distance from the shore of the sea to the mountain.
³⁴⁷ Jayaratha says that this is the third mountain, presumably because he begins to count
from Hemakūṭa to the east of Meru in the Mālyavat chain. Moving anticlockwise, the
second mountain is Jāṭhara, followed by Śringavat as the third.
³⁴⁸³ SYT 10/225cd.
³⁴⁹ Thus, commenting on this line, Kṣemarāja says: dairghyād etac chṛṅgavatpramāṇam
– ‘the breadth is the size of that Śṛṅgavat (mountain).”
³⁴⁰ This exact verse is not found in the Svacchanda. The following is however quite
close, and the wording is similar:
kuravo nāma lokās te kuruvṛkṣaphalāśinaḥ |
trayodaśasahasrāṇi jīvanti sthirayauvanāḥ ||
yugmaṁ yugmaṁ prasīūyante viyogabhayavarjitāḥ |
śyāmāpuṣpanibhāḥ snigdhāḥ surīūpāḥ puruṣāḥ striyaḥ ll

tulyakālaṁ jāyante, tathaiva mirayante ityarthāt | ataś ca patim anuyātānāṁ strīṇām

anujanma sambhāvyate ||
‘These people called ‘Kurusʼ eat the fruits of the Kuru tree. They live for
thirteen thousand (years) and they are always young. They are born in pairs and are free
 TANTRĀLOKA 123
‘In the ocean’ means in the middle of the ocean. That is said (the
Svacchandatantra, where we read):

‘Having entered the area to the north of that, O fair-faced lady, is the
ocean of salt, that extends for four thousand leagues. It is said that the Island of
the Moon is one (thousand) more. Bhadra Island is said to (measure) ten
thousand leagues.” *

of fear of being separated. The men and women are loving and beautiful like blue
flowers.” (SvT 10/223-224)
Kṣemarāja: ‘Moreover, they are born at the same time, which means to say also
that they die (together at the same time). Thusṣ, it is likely that the husband of the women
that follow along are subsequently born together (with him).”
³³" This citation is drawn from the Svacchandatantra, but the sequential order of the
lines is disturbed and some are missing. The text as it is here reads as follows. The lines
in common with the text in the SvT, which is cited next, are in bold face:

tasya cottaradigbhāge praviśya lavaṇodadhim | SVT 10/227cd

Yyojanānāṁ sahasrāṇi catvāry eva varānane || 10/229cd
ekādhikāni vistīrṇaṁ candradvīpaṁ prakīrtitam | 10/228b (ekādhikāni vistīrṇaṁ
replaces pañcayojanasāhasraṁ of the SVT)
daśayojanasāhasraṁ dvīpaṁ bhadraṁ prakīrtitam || 10/229cd

‘Having entered the area to the north of that, O fair-faced lady, is the ocean of
salt that extends for four thousand leagues. It is said that the Island of the Moon is one
(thousand) more. Bhadra Island is said to (measure) ten thousand leagues.”

Two lines of this citation correspond without variants to SVT 10/229. The
second half of the line that precedes them corresponds to SvT 10/228d, and the second
half of the line between them corresponds to SVT 10/228b. The text in the Svacchanda
reads:

tasya cottaradigbhāge praviśya lavaṇodadhim || 227 ||

pañcayojanasāhasraṁ candradvīpaṁ prakirtītam |
tathā vāyavyadigbhāge praviśya lavaṇodadhim || 228 ||
yojanānāṁ sahasrāṇi catvāry eva varānane |
daśayojanasāhasraṁ dvīpaṁ bhadraṁ prakītītam || 229 |
bhadrākāram iti jñeyaṁ sarvakāmaphalapradam ||

‘Having entered the area to the north of that is the ocean of salt. The
Island of the Moon is said to (extend for) five thousand leagues. And having entered
the area in the northwest, O fair-faced lady, is the ocean of salt that extends for four
thousand leagues. Bhadra Island is said to (measure) ten thousand leagues. One
should know that its form is auspicious (bhadra) and bestows the fruit of all desires.’
SVT 10/227cd-230ab
The reference here must be to absolute north, that is, in relation to Meru.
Otherwise, if it is north of the mountain, the location would be along the seashore. The
text clearly wants to avoid that misinterpretation. In the reference as quoted by Jayaratha
the Island of the Moon, that measures 5,000 yojanas in diameter, is 4,000 leagues into
the sea. The passage in the SVT tells us that the Island of the Moon is in the sea. But it
appears that the island of Bhadra is 4,000 yojanas into it. Although we may safely
assume that Bhadra lies beyond Candra, we are not told how far apart they are.
124 CHAPTER EIGHT
North of Meru
Hiraṇyamaya

āḷṝ āārīḡ³ī tīādī a fkzvṝam

TāĪTÑĪGTRTTīTTĪTTHTATTJĪTTĪ|| %3 I
yau śvetaśṛṅgiṇau meror vāme madhye hiraṇmayam |
tayor navakaviṣṭīrṇam āyuś cārdhatrayodaśa || T4 II

In the middle of the two, Śṛṅga (Peak) and Śveta (White) (chain of
mountains) situated to the north of Meru, lies (the land called)
Hiraṇyamaya (Made of Gold), that extends for nine thousand leagues.³²
(The creatures there) live for thirteen and a half thousand (years). (74)

The ‘two’ are (the mountain chains) Śveta (White) and Śrṅga (Peak),
that are located on the left (northern) side of Meru. It is to the right of Śṛṅgavat
and to the left of Śveta. Thus the meaning is established. (The creatures there
live for) ‘thirteen and a half thousand (years)², and up to twelve and one and
a half thousand.³ As is said:

‘On Hiraṇyamaya the lifespan is twelve and one and a half thousand
years.

North of Meru
Ramyaka

- 3 aīd: āāīāī
Taākīs |
TēāTTaTTTĪPĪTTTRTGJ
āITT I a¹,
tatra vai vãmataḥ śvetanīlayo ramyako ʻntare |
sahasranavavistīrṇam āyurdvādaśa tāni ca || 75 |I

There, to the north (of Meru), between the chains Śveta (White)
and Nīla (Blue), lies (the land called) Ramyaka (Delightful).³* It extends for
nine thousand leagues and (creatures live there for) twelve thousand years.
(75)

³³² The land between the ranges of Śveta and Triśrṅga in the Parākya is called Ramaṇa
(5/83-85). There it says that it is called that because it is ‘where Ramaṇa was forcibly
ravished by the foremost of the Gandharvas.” (ibid. 5/84)
³³³ Read sādhyardhāni for sārdhāni.
³³ ‘Ṭt seems (kila) that when the Moon beheld (there) the lovely Apsaras Urvaśī, he
proclaimed ‘she is lovely (rantyā)³, and this (land mass) is therefore called Ramya after
that speech.⁷ (Parākhya 5182) Goodallʼs translation.
 TANTRĀLOKA 125
(Ramyaka is) ‘between’, that is to say, to the south of, (mount) Śveta
and to the north of (mount) Nīla.

South of Meru
Hari

Tcfzvīāī
ārēī aāī ā- |
ēārzā Taāīcēi frāīTīPTGTT
I 76 1|
meror dakṣiṇato hemaniṣadhau yau tadantare |
haryākhyaṁ nayasāhasraṁ trisahasrādhikāyuṣam || 76 ||

To the south of Meru, between the Niṣadha and Hemakūtṭa, lies (the
land) called Hari. It extends for nine thousand leagues, and the lifespan (of
its inhabitants extends for) three more thousand years (than that).³ (76)

(The land of Hari lies) ‘in between’, that is to say, to the south of
Niṣadha and to the north of Hemakūṭa. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘The one to the north of Hemakūṭa and to the south of Niṣadha is called
the land of Hari.⁷³*⁰
South of Meru
The Land of the Kinnaras and Bhārata

āīt ahkīīḷ šrṝkarzgaaī|

ãẽ̄ aṁāīēē} TdcaTTTTT
I 99 1
īīa ajaḷ úTēṁāīŪazaa
zṝṝāī |
JṚG} TJTHIRĀ TTTTHTĪTTIJ;
I A9¢ 1I
tatraiva dākṣīṇe hemahimavaddvitayāntare |
kainnaraṁ navasāhasraṁ tatsahasrādhikāyuṣam || 77 ||
tatraiva dakṣiṇe meror himavān yasya dākṣiṇe |
bhārataṁ navasāhasraṁ cāpavat karmabhogabhiiḥ || 78 II

There, to the south (of Meru), between the Hemakūṭa (Gold Peak)
and Himavat (mountains), lies (the land of the) Kinnaras (that extends for)

³³⁵ For tatsahasrādhikāyuṣam read triṣahasrādhikāyuṣam. The emendation is justified

by SVT 10/236bcd. See following note.
³³⁰ SVT 10/235cd-236a. SVT 10/236bcd continues:
raupyābhās tatra jantavaḥ
dvādaśaiva sahasrāṇi jīvantīkṣurasāśinaḥ |
‘The creatures there shine with beauty, eat sugarcane juice, and live for twelve
thousand (years).”
Kṣemarāja adds: ‘(In this land) ‘Hari was propitiated by the serpent Śeṣa.””
(Parākhya 5/90cd)
126 CHAPTER EIGHT
nine thousand (leagues), and the lifespan (of the creatures there) is one
thousand (years) more than that. (77)
To the south of Himavat, situated to the south of Meru, (lies the
land of) Bhārata. (It extends for) nine thousand leagues and (its form is)
like that of a bow. It is the land of action and its fruit.³⁷ (78)

‘Twelve’ means (twelve) thousand. ‘Kinnara’ is a name for a eunuch

(kiṁpuruṣa).³⁸ As is said:

‘The land called Kiṁpuruṣa is to the south of Hemakūṭa and the north
of Himavat.³³⁹

‘The lifespan (of creatures there is) one thousand (years) more than
that’ means that (this is the land) where (the inhabitants’) lifespan is one
thousand (years) more than nine thousand. This is the meaning.
‘To the south’ (of Meru), that is to say, to the north of the ocean of salt.
That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):
‘The land called Bhārata is to the south of Himācala, the king (of
mountains), and to the north of the ocean of salt. It is said that there is little joy
there.³³⁹
Thus, because the ocean of salt is circular in shape, it is said to be like a
bow. Although, like the other lands, it is one in which one experiences the fruit

³⁷ See below, 8/80 ff. Verses 68 to 78 here correspond to SVT 10/210cd-246ab, where
more details are given.
³⁸ These two words for ‘eunuch’ literally mean ‘what (kim) (is this), a man (puruṣa
/nara)”
³⁹ ṢVṬ 10/237cd-238a. The following is quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 10/237cd-
239ab:
‘ṭhe landmass called Kiṁpuruṣa is where the Vidyādharī Ramyā was dropped
by the hand of a Vidyādhara. The male (Vidyādhara) was then asked by her ‘Did you
(kiṁ tvayā), O man (puruṣa), throw me?’ (and so it got the name Kiṁpuru,sa).’
(Parākhya 5188) Goodallʼs translation.
³⁰ ṢVT 10/239cd-240ab. The Tantra goes on to describe the inhabitants of the land of
Bhārata and why they suffer:
‘(Here) people, frightened by the fear of disease, are suffering, and they have
little wealth. They are beautiful and with little beauty, (some are) fortunate and others
unfortunate. (Some) enjoy (a lot) and (others) have few pleasures, and others again
suffer extremely. They are white, blue and black, brown, pale and yellow. In the (land)
called Bhārata, there are four castes, due to the division of castes and clans, in accord
with the many (kinds of) work (they do). 240cd-243ab
(In this land) there are regions, major and minor, (each) with the language of
their own countries. There are learned men and fools, and so too those who know (art
and) architecture. There are Yogis and men of knowledge, those who choose
righteousness and others who are sinful. There are those who beg and other people who
give, those who serve and those who are not servants — many are the people (here), O
beloved.⁷ SVT 10/243cd-245
The following is quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 10/240cd-243ab:
‘Here the suffering was borne by Bharat because of (his) sons, who followed
bad paths.” (Parākhya 5/92cd) Goodalls edition and translation.
 TANTRĀLOKA 127
(of previous action), it is also a land of action (karman), and so he says that ‘it is
the land of actionʼ. As is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘There is just one quality there, namely, (that it is where one) earns the
fruit of one’s auspicious and inauspicious (actions).¹³'

Other lands are ones in which one experiences the fruit (of previous
actions), but they are certainly not*⁵ lands of action. Thus, he says:

ṢIqd qz Tṃevvāāzāā|
Ṝfkāīa
sīīmagṀ q āōr. | 3 1
ilāvṛtaṁ ketubhadraṁ kuruhairaṇyaramyakam |
harikinnaravarṣe ca bhogabhūr na tu karmabhūḥ |I 79 ||

(The other lands, that is,) 1) Ilāvṛta, 2) Ketumāla, 3) Bhadrāśva, 4)

Kuru, 5) Hiraṇyamaya, 6) Ramyaka, 7) Hari and 8) Kinnara are lands
where one experiences (the fruits of previous actions) (bhoga); (they are)
not lands of action (karma).³³ (79)

(But) surely, (one may ask,) in some cases a land of karmic action may
also be found in a land of the experience of its consequences? As was said
before:
‘However, those who, even there, worship (Hāṭaka), the Lord of the
gods, with devotion merge into the Iśa principle (tattva) and (from there)
progressively into Supreme Śiva. Those who, deeply engaged in that experience
(of the consequence of their actions) (bhoga), behave otherwise, crying pitifully
due to the heat of the Fire of Time, merge into the principle of the constituent
qualities (guṇa) (of Nature). Then, in accord with their actions, at the beginning
of creation (sṛsṭimukhe), they are thrown down again from there by the Mothers
into bodies increasingly lower orders, heralded by torrents of horrible
torments (ghorayātana).’³*⁴
Well then, how is it said that, (apart) from (the land of) Bhārata, the
others are just lands where creatures experience the consequences of Karma?
With this question in mind, he says:

¹¹ SVT 10/246ab. Kṣemarāja comments. ‘Both are possible here. Those who are
sensible (sacetas) exert themselves to gain what is auspicious by avoiding what is not.’
¹⁶² Read na tu for natu.
¹³ According to the Parākhya, the nine continents are: 1) lāvṛta (ibid. 5/70-72ab), 2)
Bhadrāśva (ibid. 5/72cd-73), 3) Ketumala (ibid. 5/74-75), 4) Ramya (ibid. 5/81cd-82),
5) Ramaṇa (ibid. 5/84), 6) Kuru (ibid. 5/86), 7) Kiṁpuruṣa (ibid. 5/88), 8) Hari (ibid.
5/90) and 9) Bhārata (ibid. 5/92).
Ramaṇa corresponds to Hiraṇyamaya in its location, so must be the same. Cf.
above note 8,240. All the names of these lands and their locations are the same in the
Parākhya as is generally the case in the Siddhāntas.
³¹ Above, 8/35cd-38ab.
128 CHAPTER EIGHT

The Land of Bhārata

³Tī āīga; GāH{]ṬĪSTTATHT] |

TṢITĪ GĪRTT. ŪITIRTGGGTĒT: I| Co I
atra bāhulyataḥ karmabhūbhāvo ‘trāpy akarmaṇām |
paśūnāṁ karmasaṁskāraḥ syāt tādṛg dṛḍhasaṁskṛteḥ || 80 ||

The land of action for the majority (of the beings who populate it) is
here (in the land of Bhārata).³⁵ Here also, even animals, though devoid of
Karma,¹⁰ are subject to its latent impression, because they are deeply
impregnated with it. (80)

‘The land of action’ is the condition of being a land of action (that

gives rise to its consequences). Surely (someone may object that) here, even for
the majority of cases (bhūmnā), it is not the land of action. For animals, for
example, it gives rise here to the consequent experience of previous action but
not to the production of completely new action (which entails novel
consequences) also. With this doubt in mind, he says ‘here also’ etc. The word
‘hereʼ is out of order. Thus, one should conjoin (it with following word, to read)
‘(even) animals alsoʼ. It is, from the perspective of what others perceive,
illogical for them to be without action (karman), and so from the point of view
of reality, they are ‘affected by its latent impression’, because (they are)
deeply impregnated with specific latent traces (of it). The sense is that the effect
of their (latent traces of karma) also can be good or bad.
Surely, it is not (always) possible to establish that even (this place) here
is (invariably) the land of Karma (karmabhūmi), and (moreover) the land where
one experiences the consequences of Karma (bhogabhūmi) may be (another
one) elsewhere, just as for some here there is no Karma, (but) may be elsewhere
(instead). With this question in mind, he says:

³³ Cf. ‘That is called Bhārata by name, which invokes the state in which one earns (the
fruits of one’s) action.¹ tan nāmnā bhārataṁ hy etat karmārjanadaśāvaham || JY
1/8/114cd (fl 41a)
According to the Parākhya, this is so in the whole of Bhūrloka, not just
Bhārata. There we read: “Earth (bhiīrloka) is a place for those to whom karman accrues
(karmināṁ bhūmiḥ); it is here that karman can be accumulated. On the remaining
continents and worlds, the good and bad (results of past actions) can (only) be
experienced (bhujyate).’ (5/113) In a note Goodall (2004: 305 note 589) remarks: ‘In
Mṛgendravidyāpāda 13/92cd-93ab it is the landmass of Bhārata that is the only place
where karman can be accumulated (rather than the whole of hhūrloka):
guṇa eko yad udyukto neṣṭaṁ kiñcina na sādhayet |
sarvāsāṁ phalabhūmīnāṁ karmabhũḥ kãraṇaṁ yataḥ l
‘There is only one quality of which it (scil. Bhārata) is superior (to the others):
there is nothing that, if one desires it, one cannot obtain, because this is the cause, the
place (of the accumulation) of karman for all the places where the fruits (of karman are
reaped).³
³⁰ This is because they experience the consequences of past Karma without
accumulating new Karma.
 TANTRĀLOKA 129

TTT-dTĀTITI
WIĪS< JIT fē 1
ÇaTṬṬĪTJTTCĪTTTĪ:
ṢṬĀTR̥TT I ¢8 I
TḶITT-STT #HITR Z< T= ṬIT |
ī⁷ īāī aī 'Jḷ ṂJIT TaJT 1| ¢3 1
saṅṁbhavanty apy asaṁskārā bhārate ‘nyatra cāpi hi
dṛḍhaprāktanasaṁskārād īśecchātaḥ śubhāśubham || 81 ||
sthānāntare ‘pi karmāsti dṛṣṭaṁ tac ca purātane |
tatra tretā sadā kālo bhārate tu caturyugam || 82 ||

Even so, in Bhārata there are some who have no (such) latent
impressions. Just as also elsewhere, in (some) other place, there can be good
and bad Karma (Śśubhāśubham), according to the intensity of previous
impressions and the Lord’s will. (All) that is seen in the ancient
(scriptures). In the Land of Bhārata, all the four Ages occur, whereas it is
always the Tretā Age there (in the other places).³√ (81-82)

(Some) ‘have no (such) mental impression’, because they have

renounced (selfish) action (karman). ‘In (some) other place’ means in the
middle of (some) places, such as heaven. The word ‘alsoʼ is out of order. Thus,
it can be connected (with the words ‘good or bad karma’ to read) ‘good or bad
karma also’. Well then (one may ask), what is the (scriptural) authority (for this
view)? With this doubt in mind, he says: ‘(all) that is seen in the ancient
(scripture)ʼ, namely, the Purāṇas and the like, such as the Mahābhārata and
Rāmāyaṇa. There (concerning this matter, we know that king) Janaka had no
Karma, although (he lived) in the land of Bhārata, and it is said that Nahuṣa had
bad Karma even in heaven. So it is rightly said that the land of Karma is
generally in Bhārata, and the land where one experiences the consequences is
elsewhere.
‘There (in other places)³, such as Ilāvṛta (it is always the Tretā Age).
That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘(There is only the Tretā Age) in the (other) eight (lands), none of the
(other) three Ages (occur) (there). O fair-faced one, one should know that (all)
four Ages (occur in the land) called Bhārata.¹³⁸³

The land of Bhārata is, like Jambudvīpa, (divided into) nine sections.
Thus, he says:

JT Ta= qrTJTTrITT * |
]® TaTTĪĪ TGSST IT] fTTST I ¢3 1
³⁷ Concerning the four Ages (yuga), see above, 6/138cd-140ab.
³“³Ṁ SVT 10/246cd-247ab.
130 CHAPTER EIGHT
bhārate navakhaṇḍaṁ ca sāmudreṇāmbhasātra ca |
sthalaṁ pañcaśatī tadvaj jalaṁ ceti vibhajyate || 83 ||

Bhārata is divided into nine regions by the water of the oceans (that
cut across it). Each one of (the parts) here consists of five hundred leagues
of land and the same of water.³ (83)

(Bhārata is divided into nine regions) ‘by the water of the oceansʼ. In
other words, (the water) extends eight-fold and, as that is so, (Bhārata) is
divided into nine (regions).³™' Just as Jambudvīpa is divided by eight mountain
(chains) and so is divided into nine parts, similarly this also is divided by (eight)
oceans. However, they all extend from east to west. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra);

‘O beloved, it is said that there are nine divisions there with oceans in
between.³" Each one of the islands (formed this way) is said to (extend for) a

³⁶⁹ Bhārata, to the south of Meru, is like Kuru, which is to the north, shaped like a bow,
and extends for 9000 leagues (above 8/72). Kṣemarāja clearly states that this is the
measure of Bhārata from the side (pārśvamāna). Thus, each of its nine sections is 1,000
yojanas wide. One half of that is land and the other half water, which separates one land
mass from the other. The series begins from the shore of the salty sea with Indra and
ends with Kumārikā, the ninth land mass, which is next to Himavat. This Himavat is,
along with Kailāsa, one of the two mountains between the mountain chain Niṣadha and
the sea. It should not be confused with the chain of mountains with the same name that
is the second along to the north of Niṣadha. Kumārikā differs from the other eight land
masses, as there is no intervening sea between itself and mount Himavat. So, while the
inhabitants of the other one are cut off from one another, those of Kumārikā have direct
access to Himavat. Also, Kumārikā is a single land mass one thousand leagues wide, not
five hundred, as are the others. However, somewhere within it, at the foot of Himavat,
there is a lake called Bindusara. Neither the Svacchandatantra nor the other sources
Jayaratha cites specify its size. However, it is clear that it is not cut it off from the
mountain. It seems that it is within the Kumārikākhaṇḍa on the side next to the
mountain, dividing some part of it off from it. As the inhabitants of Kumārikā have
direct access to the mountain, it appears that the lake does not extend for the whole
length of it. We are not told how broad or long it is.
The nine sections of Bhārata run east to west, thus accounting for the measure
of the width (pārśvamāna) of the semi-circular Bhārata, which is 9,000 yojanas.
However, the texts do not tell us how broad it is. Kṣemarāja says that it conforms to the
size of the mountain, which is five hundred leagues, not a thousand, because each land
mass is separated from the one next to it by a sea which is the same size as it is. Thus, it
seems, Kṣemarāja implicitly assumes that this is the breadth of each land mass, as it is
of the mountain.
³⁷⁰ Read navadhā tv asya for navadhātvasya.
³ĩ1¹ ṚKṚṣemarāja explains: himavaddairghyeṇa avatāritaiḥ sāmudrair vāribhiḥ
kṛtavyavadhānāḥ | atra cāṣṭamo vārideśo bindusaraḥsaṁjñaḥ | yad vakṣyati ----
bindusaraḥprabhr̥ty eva kumāryāhvaṁ .... iti |

‘In accord with the width of Himavat, the waters of the seas that have been
brought down (from the mountain (?)) create areas of separation. Here the eighth watery
place is called Bindusara. As will be stated (further ahead): “It is said that (the land)
 TANTRĀLOKA 131
thousand leagues.⁸ One should know that land (extends for) five hundred
(leagues) and water for five (hundred) in the same way.”³⁷²

But in the venerable Mṛgendrāgama (it is said that):

‘There are nine islands here in the current of the nine oceans, half of
which are land.”³⁴

The Land of Kumārikā¹⁷⁵

This is said in relation to the ocean of salt, otherwise here (in this case)
there would be the currents of ten oceans. Thus, there is the water of an ocean
on both sides of all the islands except the one called Kanyā, where (there is an
ocean) only on the southern (right) side of it, because it is divided off by the
ocean (called) Vāruṇa, which is five hundred (leagues wide). Thus, there is only
Himavat on its northern (left) side, not another ocean. If that were to be so, it
would be separated by another ocean, and like (any other of the) islands,
Himavat would be inaccessible to its inhabitants. Thus, it is established that it is
delimited by its proximity to Himavat. That is said there:

‘The island called Kumārikā is considered to be close to Himavat.¹³⁷

Lake Bindusaras

In this way one can arrive at the meaning that its thousand (leagues) is
entirely land. Thus, in order to show its division up to the boundary of Himavat,
it is taught in the venerable Tantrarāja etc., that it extends for one thousand
leagues, beginning from a particular lake located at the foot of that (mountain),
called Bindusaras. As is said there (in the Tantrarāja), beginning with:

called Kumāṁ begins from Bindusaras’.” (SvT 10/254ab quoted below ad 8/83
note 8,273).
⁷² Kṣemarāja: jalena saha mānam etad ity arthaḥ || ‘The meaning is that this is the
measure, along with the water (in between).”
⁷³ SVT 10/250cd-251. Kṣemarāja: etat pārśvamānam | dairghyaṁ tu himavad
yathānupātam ardhaṁ pañcaśatikajalavyavahitatvāt || 251 |

‘This is the measure of the breadth. The width accords with that of Himavat,
which is half (of a thousand), because the waters that separate (one land mass from
another) is five hundred.' Presumably, he is saying that this is the width of Himavat
also, for such is the size of the land. In this way, as the SvT (10/252a) goes on to say,
they are ‘inaccessible to one another⁵ (parasparam agamyās te).
³⁴ MṛT vidyāpāda (bhuvanādhvaprakaraṇa) 13/93cd.
⁷³ Although the land of Bhārata is divided into nine regions divided off from one
another by seas, the text focuses entirely on the Island of Kumārikā. The innermost of
the nine regions, it borders on the Himavat chain, where Karma is created most
intensely.
³⁷⁰ One would suppose that by ‘there’, Jayaratha is referring to the Mṛgendra he quoted
previously; however, this reference is not found there in any of the pādas.
132 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘To the south of the lake Prāleya and to the north (of the ocean)
Vicimālin is a land which has the shape of a bow, that is Kurumānasa.”³”

And ending with:

‘The lake called Bindusaras is just next to (mount) Śītasūnu. One of

the parts (of Bharata) begins from there and is full everywhere with good
people,³” and its extent is delimited by water.⁴" King Bharata, who laid hold of
heaven from (his) rival Indra,*" gave (this) land to his virgin (kumārī) daughter.
Thus, it is said that this land³⁸² is called Kumārikā.³⁴³ It extends for a thousand
leagues and has (people of) many castes and stages of life.’³⁸⁴

So also (we read) in the Svacchandatantra:

‘It is said that (the land) called Kumārī begins from Bindusaras. It
extends for a thousand leagues and has (people of) many castes and stages of
life.³⁵
The Nine Regions of Bhārata

(He now) states the various the names of the nine regions (of the
continent of Bhārata):

³⁷1 JY 1/8/112, 115cd-118ab (MS K 72b-73a, Kh fl. 40b-41a). Read with the MSs,
kuṟumānasam for kurumānagam. The expression here is ‘kurumānagamʼ,which means
‘present in (or part of) the measure of (the land of) Kuru)ʼ; that makes no sense.
³¹⁸ Read śītasūnoḥ for śītasānoḥ. Śītasūnu means ‘he whose son is the cold’, i.e.
Himavat, the Himalayas.
³1⁰ The MSs read durjanākulam – ‘full of bad people’ for sajianākulam – “full of good
peopleʼ.
³⁴⁰ Ṟead with the MSs vāriluptaṁ ca tanmānaṁ for vāriḻuptaṁ na yanmānaṁ.
³⁸l Ṟead sapatmmendra- for sapammendra-.
³³² Read varṣaṁ with the MSs for dvīpaṁ (‘island’).
³³³ The Indian subcontinent, which is a part – khaṇḍa – of the great land of Bhārata, is
sometimes called kumārikākhaṇḍa – ‘the part of the virgin (goddess).’ The ‘part’ is the
yoni of the goddess, which the triangular shape of India is believed to represent (see
Dyczkowski 2009: vol 1, 115).
³ JY 1/8/112, 115cd-118ab (MS K 72b-73a, Kh fl. 40b-41a). The MSs of the JY read
nānāvarṇa-samanvitam ‘has (people of) many castes’ for nānāvarṇāśramānvitam ‘has
(people of) many castes and stages of life’. I have retained this reading because it
coincides with the one in the SvT of the citation that follows, indicating that it was
probably drawn from there. The SVT precedes the JY and is known to have been widely
influential.
³⁸³ SVṬ 10/254. Commenting on the verse that follows, Kṣemarāja quotes from an
unnamed source he tells us is other than the Śrīkaṇṭhīyasaṁhitā he has just quoted. It
says:
varṇāśramasamācāraḥ kumāryākhye na saṁśayaḥ |
itare mlecchasaṁjñeyāḥ śiṣṭācārabahiṣkṛtāḥ ||
 TANTRĀḶOKA 133

³.: Ṁ⁵ō³YTTTJTĪ TTĪ; JTTAITTHI] |

īa-U ēeeENG-K IĒazE GEFGIHĪṬĀṀṈI
indraḥ kaśerus tāmrābho nāgīyaḥ prāg gabhastimān |
saumyagāndharvavārāhāḥ kanyākhyaṁ cāsamudrataḥ || 84 1|

(The names of these regions), starting from the sea are 1) Indra, 2)
Kaseru (Backbone), 3) Tāmrābha (Copper Colour), which is before 4)
Gabhastimat (Sun), which is before 5) Nāgīya (the Island of Snakes), 6)
Saumya (Tranquil), 7) Gāndharva, 8) Vārāha and 9) the one called
Kumārikā (the Virgin).³⁸⁶ (84)

‘Starting from the sea’, beginning with the sea. Thus, the Island of
Indra is next to the ocean of salt, (and Bhārata) extends up to Kanyā Island,
which is next to (mount) Himavat. ‘Tamrābha’ (‘looking like copper’) is
Tāmravarṇa (the Colour of Copper). Gabhastimat is ‘before’, and Nāgadvīpa
(Island of Snakes, comes) after. ‘Vārāha’ is Vāruṇa. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

“(There is) 1) Indradvīpa (Indra’s Island), 2) Kaśeru (Backbone), 3)

Tāmravarṇa (Copper Colour), 4) Gabhastimat (Sun), 5) Nāgadvīpa (Island of
Snakes), 6) Saumya (Tranquil), 7) Gāndharva, and 8) Vāruṇa; 9) the island
called Kumārikā is said to be the ninth.³⁷

The Seven Mountains and Six Islands and Inhabitants of Kumārikā

Ga
EYUIEIECEĀEUEIIEEEzT
EÉŪVIHCĀTJIFcticḺṬEEIEĀḤṬPĀI
³Tā̄āāTōaāīg:ā̄RdTāāī 7 TGTĪṢTK: |
āa # fiā:? ōgī dēēī aqUīT: I ¢S. I
kanyādvīpe ca navame dakṣiṇenābdhimadhyagāḥ |
upadvīpāḥ ṣaṭ kulādriṣaptakena vibhūṣite || 85 I|
aṅgayavamalayaśaṅkuḥ kumudavarāhau ca malayago ʻgastyaḥ |
tatraiva ca trikūte laṅkā ṣaḍ amī hy upadvīpāḥ || 86 |

‘There is no doubt that caste and the (obligations of the) stages of life are
equally observed in the (land) called Kumārī. Others should be called ‘barbarian’
(mleccha) and are devoid of well-mannered conduct (śiṣṭācāra).”
³⁴⁶ See SVT 10/250cd-253. Kumārikā is India. See below, 37/35 and above, note 8,271.
³³⁷ SVT 10/252cd-253.
134 CHAPTER EIGHT
The island of Kumāriīkā, which is the ninth (region of Bhārata), is
adorned with seven principal mountains (kulādri). There are six minor
islands within it, situated to the south, in the middle of the sea (of Vāruṇa).
These islands are called 1) Aṅga, 2) Yava, 3) Malaya, 4) Śaṅku, 5)
Kumuda and 6) Varāha. (One of the peaks on mount) Malaya is Agastya.
There (at the foot of this mountain is mount) Trikūta, on which is (the city
of) Laṅkā. Theṣse are the six minor islands.³*⁸ (85-86)

(The six minor islands are) ‘situated to the south in the middle of the
sea’, that is, in the middle of the sea of Vāruṇa. This is the meaning. That is said
(in the following passage):
‘It is said that after one hundred leagues in the middle of the Vāruṇa
ocean, there are six minor islands, close to (the region) called Kumārī. These are
the islands of 1) Aṅga, 2) Yava and 3) Malaya, another is the one called 4)
Śaṅku, along with 5) Kumuda, after which comes 6) Varāha, that is said to be
the sixth.³

(Kumārikā is adorned with) ‘seven principal mountainsʼ. As is said (in

the Svacchandatantra):

‘I) Mahendra, 2) Malaya, 3) Sahya, 4) Śaktimat, 5) Rkṣa, 6) Vindhya

and 7) Pāriyātra – these are the seven principal mountains (kulādri) that shine
(on the island of Kumārikā).”³⁹

‘(One of the peaks) on mount Malaya is Agastya.’ That is said

(there):

‘It is said that there is a mountain on the island of Malaya called

Malaya. At its feet is Trikūṭa, on top of which is Laṅkā.⁷³⁰

³³⁵ See SVT 10/255-62.

³³N SVT.10/256cd-257ab.
³⁴⁰ Tbid. 10/259. The SvT continues: sā ca ----
cāmīkaramayī śubhrā catvarodyānamaṇḍitā |

catvaraiḥ śivādhiṣṭhitaiś catuṣpathair muktidaiḥ, udyānaiś ca bhogasthānair bhūṣitāḥ ||

tathā

citraprākāraracitā vajravaiḍūryamaṇḍitā ||
anantavibhavās tatra rākṣasā deva akāḥ |
ramante kanyakāsaktā mahābalaparākramāḥ lI
‘And that is ‘made of gold and, radiantly beautiful, is adorned with four
gardens.’ (10/260ab)
It is adorned with four paths presided over by Śiva, that bestow liberation, and
(four) gardens that are places of enjoyment. Again:
‘It is made of (various) beautiful ramparts and adorned with diamonds and
cat’s eye gems. Very powerful and courageous demons, who afflict the gods and whose
power is endless, play there, attached to young women.”³ (10/260cd-261)
 TANTRĀḶOKA 135
‘There, on excellent mountain Malaya, is Agastya peak where, (radiant)
like crystal, is the most holy hermitage of Āgastya.’³”¹
How is the population here? With this question in mind, he says:

The Inhabitants of the Island of Kumārikā and their Karma

TTTĀĪT.
JITĪ TG⁵BI TTITETI STTI |
TTĒĪTJTTTTITRTT
ĀṜ ĪRĒITT I| A9 1|]
dyīpopadvīpagāḥ prāyo mlecchā nānāvidhā janāḥ |

According to the teachings of the venerable Ruru, both the main

and minor islands are mostly inhabited by many kinds of barbarian
peoples who are rich with pearls, gold and jewels. (87)

³³! SVṬ 10/262. The SvT continues:

tatrānyonyaviruddhās* tu sattvāḥ krīḍanty aśaṅkitāḥ |
na tatra jãāyate mārī nākālaḥ sampravartate || 263 ||
na jarā na ca śokaś ca nopasargabhayaṁ kvacit |

mārī bahumaraṇam | akālo varṣātapavaiparītyam | upasargā vyādhayaḥ || kir ca ----

na vadaty anr̥taṁ kaścid rāgadveṣo na kutracit || 264 ||

agastyasya prabhāveṇa tv ajñānaṁ dūrato gatam |
tatra vai r̥ṣayo vĩrā jñānayogakr̥taśramãḥ || 265 I|
japādhyayanahomādipūjāstutīparāyaṇāḥ |
tryambakasya mahādevi nityam ārādhane ratāḥ || 266 ||
agastyasahitāḥ sarve mokṣābhyudayavādinaḥ |
tiṣṭhanti bhāvitātmānaḥ śāpānugrahakāriṇaḥ || 267 ||

* Read tatrānyonyā- for tatrānyonya-.

‘The creatures there are not in conflict with one another and play (together)
without fear. There no epidemics occur, nor (are the seasons) not in time. There is no
old age nor grief or fear anywhere of natural calamities. (263-264ab)

‘Epidemics' mean the death of many. (The seasons are not) ‘not in time’,
means that the heat (of the hot season) and the rains (of the rainy season) are not
reversed (with respect to their normal time). ‘Natural calamities’ are (for example)
diseases.

‘Nobody lies; nor is there aversion and attachment anywhere. By Agastya’s

power, ignorance has departed far away. There the sages (pṣi) are heroic warriors (vīra)
who have laboured (to practice) knowledge and Yoga. They are dedicated to the
repetition of Mantras, study, making offerings to the fire etc., rites of worship, and
praising (the gods). Ō Great Goddess, they are always devoted to worshipping
Tryambaka (Śiva). AIl of them accompany Agastya and teach that liberation is (true
happiness and) prosperity. They abide with their souls sanctified (by the attainment of
Siva), cursing (the wicked) and gracing (the righteous).” (SVT 10/264cd-267).
136 CHAPTER EIGHT

‘Barbarian peoples’ means those who are excluded from the

observance (ācāra) of caste and stages of life. The word ‘mostly’ suggests that
there are (some who) in some places do observe right conduct. Surely (one may
ask), what is the authority (for this view)? With this doubt in mind, he says:
‘according to the teachings of the venerable Ruru’. That is said there (in the
Rauravāgama):

‘The best””² inhabitants on (the island) called Kumārī are engaged in the
observance of caste and the stages of life. Others are mostly barbarians who are
rich with jewels and gold.”⁴
Surely (one may ask), what is the purpose of acquiring auspicious and
inauspicious (Karma) here? With this doubt in mind, he says:

J 3JT ṭ -̃ īd̃ āīāditēra:

fkrar=i īī̄+ fTkēī ē-aīā̄ fītīāā 1 ¢ 1
bhārate yat kr̥taṁ karma kṣapitaṁ vāpy avīcitaḥ |
Śivāntaṁ tena muktir vā kaṇyākhye tu viśeṣataḥ || 88 ||

The Karma made or destroyed in Bhārata, particularly in (the

land) called Kanṇyā (Virgin), (leads to rebirth in other worlds), from those
of hell up to Śiva, or (else) liberation.³*⁴ (88)

‘Karma’, auspicious or inauspicious, is destroyed by ritual action or

knowledge etc. Thus, by the Karma that is made or destroyed here (in Bhārata)
one experiences the consequences in this or that principle, ranging from Earth
up to Śiva, or else (one) then (attains) liberation. This is the meaning. As is said
(in the Svacchandatantra):

³⁹² Read parāḥ for para.

³³ Some part of the chapter concerning cosmology in the Rauravāgama, i.e. the
Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha, has been lost (see above note to TĀv ad 6/142 (141cd-142ab)).
This is probably why this verse cannot be traced in the printed edition.
³*⁴ According to the Mṛgendra (vidyāpāda) also, Bhārata is the only place where karman
can be accumuḷated:

guṇa eko yadyukto neṣṭaṁ kiñcin na sādhayet |I

sarvāsāṁ phalabhūmīnāṁ karmabhiīḥ kāraṇaṁ yataḥ | 13/92cd-93ab

‘There is only one quality because of which it (i.e. Bhārata) is superior (to the
others): there is nothing that, if one desires it, one cannot obtain, because this is the
cause, the place (of the accumulation) of karman, for all the places where the fruits (of
karman are reaped).”

In some places it is unclear whether the whole of Bhūloka is the land of

karman. Here it is clear that Bhārata alone is, especially the land of Kanyā, where it
accumuḷates most efficiently. This place is probably the Indian peninsula, crowned with
the Himalaya and surrounded by water of the other sides, as described here.
 TANTRĀLOKA 137
‘People reside (in the various worlds) ranging from Śiva to (the hell)
Avīci, according to whatever Karma made there is auspicious or
inauspicious.”³⁵
Again:

‘The Karma, white and black, (that) people make on (the island) called
Kanyā, is the seed that gives as its fruit the consequences they experience in
heaven, hell and in the liberated state.”

Surely (one may ask), why is that particularly so on Kanyā island? With
this question in mind, he says:

aEaciēcaḍRz-caēzecfK'FGI
TGā̄TRGĪTTĀ
TTT TT GGJTT || ¢8 1I
mahākālādikā rudrakoṭir atraiva bhārate | n

³⁹³ SVT 10/247cd-248ab. The SvT continues:

atraiva bhogamokṣasiddhisādhanasvayambhūpuṇya-tīrthamahānadīṣampadastīty āha --

mahākālas tathaikāmram evamādi varānane || 10/248 ||

tīrthānāṁ koṭir uddiṣṭā mahāpuṇyaphalodayā |
gaṅgādīnāṁ nadīnāṁ ca tatra pañca śatāni ca || 10/249 ||

‘Here itself is (located) a wealth of great rivers and spontaneously created

sacred bathing sites that serve as a means to worldly benefits, liberation and
accomplishments (siddhi). Thus he says:

‘Mahākāla and Ekāmra, and in the same way others, O fair-faced lady, are said
to be ten million sacred bathing sites (tīrtha) that give rise to fruits of great merit. There
are also five hundred rivers beginning with the Ganges.” (SVT 10/248cd-249)

evam ādītyādiśabdāt śrīamareśādipañcāṣṭakānāṁ vārāṇasṣyādigataśrīmahādevāṣṭa-

saṣṭeś ca parigrahaḥ | tīrthānām iti prabhāsādīnām | yad uktaṁ śrīdevīyāmale ----

By the words ‘in the same way, othersʼ is included the five groups of eight
(sacred sites) beginning with Amareśa, and the venerable sixty-eight (places) where the
venerable Mahādeva is present, beginning with Vārāṇasī. The sacred bathing sites (are
those) beginning with Prabhāsa. As is said in the venerable Devīyāmala:

prabhāsādyā tu tīrthānāṁ koṭir ekā varānane |

pañcāṣṭakaṁ tu tatraiva lokānugrāhakaṁ sadā | iti || 249 ||
kuruvarṣaṁ ca ----
navayojanasāhasraṁ dhanvākāraṁ nibodha tam |

‘O fair-faced lady, the sacred sites are ten million. There (amongst them) are
the five groups of eight that grace the world constantly.”
Again, the land of Kuru:
‘Know that that is shaped like a bow and (extends for) nine thousand leagues.””
138 CHAPTER EIGHT
gaṅgādipañcaśatikā janma tenātra durlabham || 89 ||

Here in Bhārata (in the land called Kanyā), there are ten million
Rudras, headed by Mahākāla, and fifty (rivers), beginning with the
Ganges, and so (because it is so auspicious) it is very hard to attain birth
here. (89)

‘Here’ (means) on the island called Kanyā. As is said (in the Śrīkaṇrṭhī):

“There in middle is a great island called the island of Kumārī. It is full

there with ten thousand Rudras, who have descended to do good to the fettered
souls whose sin is destroyed by recollecting (them).⁷³⁸°

Again:

‘O fair-faced lady, it is taught that there are ten million sacred bathing
sites (tīrtha), that give rise 10 the fruits of great desires, such as Mahākāla and
Ekāmra. There are five hundred (sacred) rivers, beginning with the Ganges.”³⁷

‘And so’ (it is very hard to be born there), because there are very many
sacred places.
Surely, in other lands the inhabitants are mostly happy, said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘The inhabitants are very soft, like the tips of lotus petals. They eat the
juice of the Jambū fruit and are free of old age and death.*
Whereas it is said here that ‘the inhabitants are consumed by disease
and fear, suffer and are poor”³” and so are mostly unhappy. Thus, why is it said
that it is ‘it is very hard to be born here’ʼ. With this doubt in mind, he says:

³² Kṣemarāja quotes these lines in SvTu ad 10/255, introducing them as being from the
Śrīkaṇṭī, also called the Śrīkaṇṭhīyasaṁṅhitā.
⁷ ṢVṬ 10/248cd-249.
³³³ SVT 10/213. The SvT continues:
trayodaśābdasāhasraṁ teṣām āyuḥ prakītītam |

ataś cākālamṛtyuvivarjitā ity uktaṁ bhavati | ki ca ----

devagandharvasiddhāś ca ṛṣayo tha vināyakāḥ |214 1
gaṇamātṛbhaginyaś ca vetālā rākṣasādayaḥ
evam ādyair asaṁkhyātair vṛtaṁ caitad ilāvṛtam || 215 ||

‘The length of their life is said to be thirteen thousand years.’ (10/214ab)

Thus it is said that they do not die prematurely. Moreover:

‘Gods, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Rishis, Vināyakas, Gaṇas. Mothers, sisters,

Vetālas and Rākṣasas etc. – inhabited (vṛta) by these and innumerable others such as
them, this (place is called) Ilāvṛta.’ (SVT 10/214cd-215)
³⁹ SVT 10/240.
 TANTRĀLOKA 139
ÉgġEEEĀEEĀREITTĪhEIAEĀ
TRĪ PTTRJTĪĪTTĪTT TGSTH-TḤ I Q⁰ |
anyavarṣeṣu paśuvad bhogāt karmātivāhanam |
prãpyaṁ manorathātītam api bhāratajanmanām || 90 II

In other lands, one (helplessly) experiences like a fettered beast only

the fruits (of action), (that is, one can only) bear (past) Karma. (However,)
what can be attained by those who are born in Bhārata surpasses even (the
most cherished) desire. (90)

(What one attains in Bhārata) ‘surpasses (the most cherished) desire’,

because (there) worldly enjoyment and liberation etc. are greater (than
anywhere else).
Surely, if this is achieved in this way equally without distinction by (all)
those who are born in Bhārata, then how is it that he said (that this is s0)
‘particularly on (the land) called Kanyā’ ?"⁰⁰ With this doubt in mind, he says:

ḶBIEḺIPZIĒIE;ĒIRGIGIĒEIḤ I
R-TṬJT JTKĪ TY: TTṬHT | <2 1
nānāvarṇāśramācāraṣukhaduḥkhavicitratā |
kanyādvīpe yatastena karmabhūḥ seyamuttamā || 91 ||

On the island of Kanyā, many are the (forms of right) conduct in

accord (with peoplesʼ) caste and stage of life, and various (are the kinds of)
pleasure and pain. Therefore, this land of Karma, is the best. (91)

As is said:

‘O lady of excellent descent, the (good) qualities mentioned previously

(found) in the inhabitants of Bhārata are (those) present just there, O beloved, in
the inhabitants in (the land) called Kumārī.”
⁴⁰¹

Thusṣ, the inhabitants of that (place) attain heaven and (go to) hell
according to the auspicious or inauspicious Karma to which they devote
themselves. He says that:

Jaṁ fkṁkrz a fṁõ fũa: 1

TT siftṝzaṁāṝfāṝ šīaṁāh 1 2 1
puṁsāṁ sitāsitāny atra kurvatāṁ kila siddhyataḥ |

⁴.⁰Above, 8/88d.
⁴“LṢYT 10/255.
140 CHAPTER EIGHT

parãparau ṣvarnirayãv iti rauravavãrtike || 92 ||

(It is declared) in the Rauravavārtika that it is (the deeds) men do

here (in this world), whether white (pure) or black (impure), that result (in
their going to) the upper or lower (worlds), heaven or hell. (92)

What is the authority here (for this view)? He says: ‘(it is declared) in
the Rauravavārtika’. That is said there:

“(The deeds) men do, white (pure) and black (impure), quickly result
here in the upper and lower (worlds), heaven and hell.
⁴²

Rulers of the Lands of Jambūdvīpa

He summarizes (and concludes) this (account of Jambūdvīpa, saying):

ũj āī sTīādāī a: frṝ-ā |
JT JGTHI v*Ti*rīg āHTT: | Ḷ³ I|
evaṁī meror adho jambūr abhito yaḥ sa viṣṭarā |
syāt saptadaśadhā khaṇḍair navabhis tu samāsataḥ || 93 I|

In this way, Jambūdvīpa, which is below Meru and surrounds it, is

(if considered) in detail, divided into seventeen regions, and (if considered)
in brief, into nine. (93)

(Jambūdvīpa) is ‘divided into seventeen’ (regions, which are) the eight

beginning with Ilāvṛta and the nine beginning with the island of Indra
(comprising Bhārata). (It is divided) ‘īnto nine’, that is Bhārata along with (the
regions) beginning with Ilāvṛta.
Surely (one may ask), why is it divided in this way into regions? With
this doubt in mind, he says:

-ĨI. āRTĀTRITT
TT aN TTī ; |
IḠīā̄d ÑīTsaāTR4 āṬSĪ] āĪṢTĪTTĪH=: II 3² I
TaRaāTYGT TTTĪIS4 TTĀTS: |
Euā/ĪEeErsstTEr
ĪKrc-J¥ Š¹ JIIRI
TaaTS} āTāīṬ; īā; z-aiaī īaTṀĪṢŪī |
JṀTTĪTH] TTTTCGĀTĀTTĀTĒTT I 3ē. I
manoḥ svāyaṁbhuvasyāsan sutā daśa tatas trayaḥ |

⁴² Clearly, Abhinava has lightly paraphrased this verse. The Rauravavārtika is by

Brṛhaspati. See below note 8,303.
 TANTRĀLOKA 141
prāvrajann atha jambvākhye rājā yo ʻgnīdhranāmakaḥ || 94 ||
tasyābhavan nava sutās tato ʻyaṁ navakhaṇḍakaḥ |
nābhir yo navamas tasya naptā bharata ārṣabhiḥ || 95 |I
tasyāṣṭau tanayāḥ sākaṁ kanyayā navamo ‘ṁšśakaḥ |
bhuktais tair navadhā tasmāl lakṣayojanamātrakāt || 96 ||

Svāyambhuva Manu had ten sons. Three of them renounced the

world. Now (the first son) was a king called Agnīdhra, (who reigned) on
Jambūdvīpa. He had nine sons, and so (Jambudvīpa) was divided into nine
parts. Nābhi, the ninth of these sons, had a grandson called Ārṣabha, whose
son was Bharata, who had eight sons and a daughter. They divided the
continent into nine parts. A ninth part of that (is the land of Jambūdvīpa),
which thus measures only one hundred thousand leagues (in diameter).⁴”
(94-96)

‘Sonsʼ, (to be more precise,) grandsons. (He is) ‘the king on

Jambūdvīpa’; that is to say, because he is in the middle of that. Ārṣabha is a
patronymic of Ṛṣabha, and so he is said to be a grandson.⁴™ The ‘eight sons’
were said before to be lIndra and the rest.”⁹ That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra);

The Ten Sons of Manu

‘The Manu called Svāyambhuva had a son (called) Priyavrata. Now, he

had ten sons, haughty with courage and strength. 1) (They were) Agnīdhra
(Bearer of the Fire), 2) Agnibāhu (Fire Arm), 3) Medhas (Intelligence), 4)
Medhātithi (Guest of Intelligence), 5) Vapus (Body), 6) Jyotismat (Shining
One), 7) Dyutimat (Brilliant One), 8) Havya (Fire Offering), 9) Sāvana (Śoma
Libation), and 10) Satra (Sacrifice). Medhas (Intelligence), Satra (Sacrifice) and
Agnibāhu (Fire Arm) – these three (became) renouncers.

Nine Sons of Agnīdhra, Kings of the Nine Lands of Jambūdvīpa

The remaining seven, very powerful, were crowned on the seven

islands. 1) Agnīdhra was on Jumbu Island. It is said that he had nine sons. (They
were) 1) Nābhi (Navel), 2) Kiṁpuruṣa (Ēunuch), 3) Hari (Saviour), 4) Ilāvṛta,
5) Bhadrāśva (Auspicious Horse), 6) Ketumāla, 7) Ramyaka (Playful),
8) Hiraṇyamaya (Golden), with the one called 9) Kuru as the ninth, who are said
to be the kings of the nine lands. These heroes, haughty with their great
strength, were born from Agnīdhra (Bearer of the Fire). O Pārvatī, the nine
lands here are marked with their names.⁴⁶

Eight Sons and Daughter of Ṛṣabha, Who Governs the Islands of Bhārata

⁴³ See ṢVT 10/274cd-83.

⁴⁰* Oṭherwise, as Nābhi’s son, his name would be derived from Nābhi’s name.
“⁰⁵ They gave their names to eight of the nine regions of Bhārata, listed above at 8/84.
⁴⁰⁶ See above, 8/79.
142 CHAPTER EIGHT

The greatly courageous Ṛṣabha, intent on righteousness, was the son of

Nābhi. One should know that his son was the valorous Bharata, and that the
most excellent land of Bhārata bears his name. O beloved, he too had eight sons
and an excellent daughter. The eight sons were given the eight islands of
Bhārata. The ninth, called Kumārī (Virgin), was given to the daughter(kanyā).
Bharata named the islands after them.³
⁴⁰⁷

Measurements East to West of Jambūdvīpa

‘It’, Jambūdvīpa, ‘measures only one hundred thousand leagues (in

diameter)². Its extent from east to west of one hundred thousand leagues was
explained before. Now he talks about the (extent) from south to north.
1) There, each of the six lands, that is, Bhārata and the rest, are each
nine thousand (leagues wide), thus making fifty-four.
2) Again, (the mountains) Himavat and the rest are each two thousand
(leagues), making twelve which, 3) along with the basic sixteen thousand of
Meru and Ilāvṛta, make thirty-four thousand. In this way, Jambūdvīpa
(measures) one hundred thousand leagues.
He now describes the particular locations outside that also.

The Ocean of Salt and the Twelve Mountains around Jambūdvīpa

JĀTRĨTHĨ JĀTTHTRTTÚVH ṬSST; |

ā-kḷ evÉecrcriuḷ
IḤeaḵ ḷHCṈI
TGTTYĪTHT: ŪJAJI] JāGTJTGĀHĪ |
ṭeō] īhīaāī aṁgtṣāīaā: Ṁfkē̄̄Ṁ̄; 1] 2.¢ 1|
lakṣaikamātro lavaṇas tadbāhye ‘sya puro ‘drayaḥ |
rṛṣabho dundubhir dhūmraḥ kaṅkadroṇendavo hy udak || 97 ||
varāhanandanāśokāḥ paścāt sahabalāhakau |
dakṣiṇe cakramainākau vāḍavo ‘ntas tayoḥ sthitaḥ | 98 II

The ocean of salt outside (that surrounds Jambūdvīpa) measures

just one hundred thousand leagues. 1) The mountains, Ṛṣabha (Bull),

⁴⁷ ṢVT 10/274cd-283. The nine islands:

parasparam agamyās iti dvīpaviśeṣāḥ |l teṣāṁ nāmāni me śṛṇu |

indradvīpaṁ kaśeruṁ ca tāmravarṇaṁ gabhaṣṭimat || 252 ||

nāgadvīpaṁ ca saumyaṁ ca gāndharvaṁ vāruṇaṁ tathā |
dvīpaṁ kumārikākhyaṁ ca navamaṁ parikītītam || 253 ||

‘They are not mutually accessible (to one another) . . . ‘These are particular
islands. Hear their names from me. (They are) Indradvīpa, Kaśeru, Tāmravarṇa,
Gabhastimat, Nāgadvīpa, Saumya, Gāndharva, Vāruṇa, and the island called Kumārikā
is said to be the ninth.⁷ (SVT 10/252-253)
 TANTRĀLOKA 143
Dundubhi (Kettle Drum) and Dhūmra (Smoke), are outside it to the east. 2)
To the north are Kaṅka (Gold), Droṇa (Soma Vessel) and Indu (Moon). 3)
To the west are Varāha (Boar), Nandana (Delightful) and Aśoka (Without
Suffering). 4) In the south⁴⁰³ along with Balāhaka, are Cakra (Wheel) and
Maināka. Vāḍava, the submarine fire, is located between these (last) two.
(97-98)

As is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘The mountains, terrified by the fear of (Indra),¹ the enemy of (the

demon) Vṛtra, are located there. I will tell (you the names) of these twelve great
heroes in brief. 1) (They are) Ṛṣabha, Dundubhi and Dhūmra, that are located in
the east. 2) Candra, Kaṅka and Droṇa are located in the north. 3) Aśoka, Varāha
and Nandana as the third, are the mountains located there to the west of the
ocean of salt. 4) O fair lady, Cakra, the one called Maināka and Balāhaka, the
third, are the mountains located in the south. Vaḍavānala stands in the middle
(between) Cakra and Maināka.¹⁴⁰

Mount Vidyutvat⁴¹¹

rarfzvīa. aīṝāzēaītāṣ-ī= fīt.: 1

fāṝīṝā̄ātTāṝācēēīTēzaraīaīṣ̃
ēḷām | < 1
ōfçrāī īḤkhīrzāī
īaāīṝTī |
TTIṬ: āJTTYĪTRTTĪTRTTIĀĪĪS: |z001
frdtr #a7 ṁā ṣaṁī fhīafkrza 1
r̥aīṝz hṁīṁ sīṁ’amāṁdts
z0
abdher dakṣiṇataḥ khākṣisahasrātikramād giriḥ |
vidyutvāṁs trisahasrocchridāyāmo ‘tra phalāśinah || 99 |I
maladigdhā dīrghakeśaśmaśravo gosadharmakāḥ |
nagnāḥ saṁvatsarāśītijīvinas trṇabhojinaḥ || 100 ||
niryantrāṇi sadā tatra dvārāṇi bilasiddhaye |
ity etad gurubhir gītaṁ śrīmadrauravārtike || 101 |I

At a distance of twenty thousand leagues, to the south of the (salty)

ocean, there is a mountain (called) Vidyutvat (Lightning Bearer). It
(stands) three thousand leagues in height and breadth. (The people who
live) here eat fruit. They are filthy, have long hair and beards. Naked,
(their way of life) is like cattle; they eat grass and live for eighty years.

⁴⁰⁸ Read dakṣiṇe for dakṣiṇa.

⁴⁰³ Indra, the great warrior king of the gods, is often said to tear mountains asunder with
his weapon, the thunderbolt (vajra). Thus, mountains are afraid of him.
⁴¹⁰ṢYT 10/269cd-273.
⁴! This entry is not found in the Svacchanda or Parākhya.
144 CHAPTER EIGHT
There (on that mountain), the doors (to the netherworlds) are always
without locks, so that the Accomplishment of the Crevice (bilasiddhi), (by
virtue of which one finds subterranean treasure, may be easily achieved).⁴¹²
The teacher (Brhaspati) has declared this in (his) venerable
Rauravavāṛtike.⁴³ (99-101)

‘In the south” (of the ocean), that is, close to Cakra and Maināka, (at a
distance of) ‘twenty’ (leagues). The ‘teacher’ is the venerable Bṛhaspati.'‘ As
is said there (in his commentary (vārtika) on the Rauravasūtrasaṅgraha):⁴⁵

‘Having crossed twenty thousand leagues (out) into the southern sea, (a
mountain) called Vidyutvat (Lightning Bearer) is located (there). The mountain
is three thousand (leagues) long, as many (leagues) high, and one thousand
broad. The people who live there eat⁴⁶ grass, leaves and fruit, and their bodies
are filthy with (long-)accumulated dirt. They have long beards and hair and,
naked, living like cattle, their lifespan is eighty years. There are doors there
without locks, that serve as entrances to the (caves and) crevices (that lead) to
the wealth (of their subterranean) world.”

Six Islands and Seas beyond Jambūdvīpa and the Ocean of Salt

šc% 3 ũy gavraṁz: ũṁūīzā: |

jeIHĀEEEĪ--EPṀ⁵
⁷e-R |CṬIIHĪEI
rTr̥hṁā. Ṃ⁸̄ṝṣrr̥kzr, |
IF-RTIFTT: JICHĪPĪĪHHTRSĪRTḤ TṢAĪTT I| 203 |
ÚGUÉRItTGCḺIAVṬUḺCAHETvEHḤI
⁴!² Saṇḍerson 2006b: 50 n 15: ‘The term bilasiddhiḥ denotes the supernatural
accomplishment of gaining access to the underworld through such caves.” See
Sanderson 2005: 280-282.
⁴!³ Read with MS C: -vārtike for śāsane.
⁴1³ gurubhir iti bṛhaspatipādaiḥ.
⁴!³ TĀ 8/99-101 is a paraphrase of the passage Jayaratha quotes in his commentary. He
introduces it saying that the teacher who wrote this is Bṛhaspati. Gnoli ignores Jayaratha
here and states in a note (1999: 177 n 1) that these verses are a paraphrase of some
verses taken from Sadyojyotis’s commentary on the Rauravāgama. However,
Sanderson (2006: 49 n 15) takes Jayaratha on his word, declaring the passage to be from
Brṛhaspati’s vārtika on the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha. Bṛhaspati, along with Sadyojyotis, is
one of the earliest known Siddhāntins to write commentaries on the Āgamas and
independent works. Jayaratha refers to the Vārtika as the work of the teacher who wrote
the iana ad 8/345ab that Abhinava quotes many times, and a commentary - vārtika
– on the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha. Here Jayaratha clearly identifies the author as
Bṛhaspati. As the verses he quotes are not from the Śivatanu, which are invariably in
Āryā metre, they can only be from the vārtika. Note also that MS C of the TĀ reads
rauravavārtike for rauravaśāsane. See Dvivedi 1983: 70 and 63 and entry under
Rauravavārtika in Appendix volume concerning the sources.
⁴!⁰ Emend -phalāśanāḥ [ch, ñ: —naḥ] to phalāśinaḥ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 145
ēEIEṀṀIIŠ ĒJṬṬIĪĪĒ ṬĪESH
Tax ēhī vīaāṁ] srṝṣçgīT atā arṁṝt4:
itthaṁ ya eṣa lavaṇasamudraḥ pratipāditaḥ |
tadbahiḥ ṣaḍamĩ dvīpāḥ pratyekaṁ svārṇavairvrtāḥ || 102 |I
kramadviguṇitāḥ ṣaḍbhirmanuputrairadhiṣṭhitāḥ |
śākakuśakrauñcāḥ śālma
ligomedhābjam iti ṣaḍ dvīpāḥ || 103 1|
kṣīradadhiṣarpiraikṣava-
madirāmadhurāmbukāḥ ṣaḍ ambudhayaḥ |
medhātithir vapuṣmāñ-
jyotiṣmān dyutimatā havī rājā || 104 ||
saṁvara itĩ śākādiṣu
jambudvīpe nyarūpi cāgnīdhraḥ |

There are these (other) six islands beyond the ocean of salt, we have
just described in this way. They are each surrounded by their own sea and,
respectively twice the size (of the one preceding it), they are governed by
the six sons of Manu.
The six islands are 1) Śāka, 2) Kuśa, 3) Krauñca, 4) Śalmali, 5)
Gomeda and 6) Abja. The six seas (that surround them are made of) 1)
milk, 2) curd, 3) cḷarified butter, 4) sugarcane juice, 5) wine and 6) sweet
water.⁴"" The kings of (these six islands) starting with Śāka are,
respectively, 1) Medhātithi (Guest of Intelligence), 2) Vapuṣmat (Beautiful),
3) Jyotismat (Luminous), with 4) Dyutīmat (Brilliant), 5) king Havi (Fire
Offering) and 6) Saṁvara (Forebearance). We have already mentioned⁴'⁸ 7)
Agnīdhra (Bearer of Fire), (the king) of Jambudvīpa.³ (102-105ab) (102-
104)

⁴!T See SVT 10/284-286ab. The seven islands and seas in the same order and with the
same names are also found in the Parākhya 5/93-108ab The island is named first,
followed by the sea. The origins of their names and their qualities are described one by
one (ibid. 5/93-105). This is followed by their measurements (ibid. 5/106-108ab).
n See above 8/94 and SvT 10/288-289.
a1
Island King Sea
Śāka Medhātithi Milk
Kuśa Vapuṣmat Curd
Krauñca Jyotismat_| clarified butter
Śalmali Dyutimat_|_sugarcane juice
Gomedha Havi Wine
Abja (SvT: Puṣkara) |_Sarṁvara sweet water
Jambudvīpa* Agnīdhra salty water

*Note that the name of this Island is sometimes spelled Jambudvīpa as well as
Jambūdvīpa.
146 CHAPTER EIGHT
(Each of the six islands is) ‘twice the size of the one preceding it’,
thus Śāka Island is two hundred thousand (leagues across) and Kuśa Island four,
and so on. ‘Abja’ means Puṣkara. ‘Sugarcane juice’ means the juice of the
sugarcane. ‘Sweet water’ means (tasty) fresh water. ‘With Dyutimat’, in other
words, along with Dyutimat. ‘Havi’ means Havya. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘O Pārvatī, the seven islands are Jambudvīpa, Śāka (Teak Tree), Kuśa
(Grass), Krauñca (Curlew), Śalmali (Silk Cotton Tree), Gomedha (Cow
Sacrifice) and the one called Puṣkara (Lake) are the seven islands.”
‘The seven oceans are said to be (made) of salt, milk, curd, clarified
butter, sugarcane juice, wine and sweet water. Jambudvīpa is said to measure
one hundred thousand leagues, and one should know that it is surrounded (all
around) outside by a sea of salt (water) that is equal to it (in size). The oceans in
which the islands are located, in the same way (progressively), increase by
double (the size).⁷⁴²"

The Parākhya (5/93-105) supplies short references to the myths and

etymologies explaining the names and nature of the seven Islands, starting with Jambu
and the seven seas.

The Seven Islands, Kings and Seas

Island Mountains King Sons Ocean

Jambūḍvyīpa 12 Agnīdhra -– Salt
Sāka 7 Medhātithi 7 Milk
Kuśa 7 Vapuṣmat 7 curd
Krauñca 7 Jyotiṣmat 7 clarified butter
Salmali, 7 Dyutimat 7 sugarcaṉe juice
Gomeda 7 Havi /Havya 7 wine
Abja /Puṣkara 1 a) Saṁvara 2 sweet water
b) _Ghātakin

⁴2⁰ SVT 10/284, 285cd-287 Kṣemarāja:

tena śākādibhiḥ dvīpaiḥ saha kṣīrādisamudrāḥ kramād dviguṇavṛddhyā
sthitāḥ | tad yathā śākadvīpaṁ ādve lakṣe, tathā kṣīrābdhiḥ | kuśadvīpaṁ lakṣāṇi catvāri,
tathaiva dadhyabdhiḥ krauñcam aṣṭau, tathaiva ca ghrtābdhiḥ | śālmaliḥ ṣoḍaśa,
tadvadikṣurasābdhiḥ | gomedo dvātriṁśat, tadvad madirābdhiḥ | puṣkaraś catuṣśasṣṭiḥ,
tathaiva svādūdaḥ | etac ca dvīpasamānatvam abdhīnām upasaṁhariṣyati ----

‘Thus, along with the islands Śāka and the rest, the milky ocean and the rest
are, successively, twice the size (of the previous one). That is as follows. Śāka island is
200,000 (leagues in size) and so too the ocean of milk. The Kuśa island is 400,000
(leagues wide) and so too the ocean of curd. The Krauñca Island is eight (hundred
thousand leagues wide) and so too the sea of clarified butter. The Śālmali Iṣland is
sixteen, so too the ocean of sugar cane juice. Gomeda is thirty-two and so too the ocean
of wine. Puṣkara is sixty-four and so too (the ocean of) sweet water. He concludes (the
account of) the islands and their size and of the oceans:

puṣkaradvīpaguṇitaḥ svādūdo.ante vyavasthitaḥ | (SYT 10/327cd)

 TANTRĀLOKA 147
‘0O fair-faced lady, Agnīdhara is said to be the king of Jambudvīpa,
Medhātithi of Śūka, Vapuṣmat of the one called Kuśa. The king of Krauncais
Jyotiṣmat, on Śalmali he is said to be Dyutimat, on Gomedha, Havya and
Saṁvarais on Puṣkara.¹ ⁴²!
He now describes the group of six islands (part by part).

The Kings, Sons and Mountains of the remaining Six Islands

fīīāṝīāṝēṁīftēkica
Tdāīd’-advēīīq Ta TII-TTIT: I| Q04 |

Tamaṁēōraīsā īeṛ
girisaptakaparikalpi
tatāvatkhaṇḍāstu pañca śākādyāḥ || 105 ||
puṣkarasaṁjño dvidalo
hariyamavaruṇendavo ‘tra pūrvādau |

The five islands starting with Śāka are divided by seven mountains,
and as many are (their) regions. Puṣkara (the sixth) has two parts. (The
cities of the four guardians of the quarters) are here. Starting from the east,
they are, Indra’s city (in the east), Yama’s (in the south), Varuṇa’s (in the
west), and Kubera’s (in the north).⁴²² (105cd-106ab) (105)

‘As many’, that is, just seven (regions). There are ‘seven mountains’
because they are situated to the side (of each region). (Puṣkara) ‘has two parts’

iti | itthaṁ ca mervardhāt svādūdāntaṁ koṭidvayaṁ tripañcāśallakṣāṇi pañcāśac ca

sahasrāṇi bhavanti | yad va
pañcāśac ca sahasrāṇi tripañcā
Yojanānāṁ tu lakṣāṇi koṭiḍvitayam eva ca l|
mervardhād yāvat svādūdaṁ pramāṇaṁ parikīrtitam | (SVT 10/328-329ab)

‘(The ocean of) sweet water, along with the Island of Puṣkara, is located at the
end (of the series).⁷ (10/327cd) In this way, there are 25,305,000 (leagues) from the half
of Meru up to the (ocean of) sweet water. As will be said (further ahead):

Fifty thousand and fifty-three hundred thousand, along with twenty million
leagues, is said to be the measure from the half of Meru to the ocean of sweet (water).’
(SVT 10/328-329ab)

The progressive doubling of the sizes of the seas is statedin Parākhya 5/106;
Mṛgendra (vidyāpāda) 13/97cd-98ab and Mataṅga (vidyāpāda) 2431cd-34.
⁴“"SYT 10/288-289.
⁴³² Cf. SYT 10/326-327ab: I will tell (the names) of the cities here (on the mountain) of
the four guardians of the quarters. (These are, clockwise, beginning with the east,) (the
city) of Hari is called Vasvekasāra. The city of the south is Saṁyamanī. The one called
Sukhā is that (of Varuna) in the west and Vibhāvarī is that of the moon (in the north).
SVT 10/326-327ab. Verses 97 to 105 are drawn from SVT 10/264ab-327.
148 CHAPTER EIGHT
because it is divided in the middle by a mountain with the form of a circular
enclosure (valaya). ‘Starting from the east’ implies (that the cities of the
guardians of the quarters are located) in the four directions. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

1) ‘Medhatithi had seven sons, who were kings of Śākadvīpa. They

were: 1) Śāntābhaya⁴³³ (Tranquil and Without Fear), 2) Śiśira (Cavity), 3)
Sukhada (Giver of Joy), 4) Nandaka (Rejoicer), 5) Śiva (Auspicious), (along
with) 6) Kṣemaka (Forgiving) and 7) Dhruva (Immobile). They are marked with
the names of the lands (they govern). The seven lands have been named. Now
know (the names of) the mountains from me.
The seven Kula mountains (on them) are: 1) Gomedha (Cow
Sacrifice), 2) the one called Candra (Moon), 3) Nārada and 4) Dundubhi (Kettle
Drum), (as well as) 5) Ṛṣabha (Bull), 6) Somaka and 7) Vaibhrāja (Shining
Opne).¹⁴²⁴¹

2) ʻIn the past, Vapuṣmat appointed (his) seven sons (as kings) on
Kuśa Island, marked with the name of the land (the governed). (They are) 1)
Śveta (White), 2) Lolita (Red), 3) Jīmūta⁴³ (Cloud), 4) Harita (Green), 5)
Vaidyuta (Lightning), 6) Mānasa (Mental) and 7) Suvrata (Good Vows).
The seven mountains on (its) border are 1) Kumuda (Blue Lotus), 2)
Urvada, 3) Varāha (Boar), 4) Droṇa (Soma Vessel), 5) Kaṅkata (Crab), 6)
Mahiṣa (Bull) and 7) Kumuda (Blue Lotus).³
⁴²⁰

3) ʻ‘Jyotiṣmat appointed seven sons on Krauñca Island. They were 1)

the one called Udbhijja and 2) Veṇumaṇḍdala (Circle of Bamboos),⁴⁹⁷ 3)
Rathakāra (Chariot-maker) and 4) Lavaṇa (Salt), 5) Dhr̥timat (Forebearing), 6)
Supratāraka (Great Saviour) and 7) Kapila (Brown). These kings are marked
with the name of the land (they govern).
1) Vaidruma, 2) Hemanābha (Golden Navel), 3) Dhyutimat
(Luminous), 4) Puṣpadantaka (Flower Teeth), 5) Kuśala (Skilled), 6) Hari
(Saviour) and 7) Marda (Ślayer) are the seven Kula mountains (there).⁷⁴²⁸

4) ‘Dyutimat crowned (his) seven sons on Śalmali. They are said to

be: 1) Manas (Mind), 2) Anuga (Follower), 3) Uṣṇa (Warm), 4) Pāvaṉa (Holy),
5) Andhakāraka (Maker of Darkness), the sage called 6) Dundubhi (Kettle
Drum) and 7) Kuśala (Skilful).³
⁴²⁹
1) Krauñca, 2) Vāmana (Dwarf) as well as 3) Andhakāra (Darkness),
4) Divākṛti (Form of the Sky), 5) Dvibindu (Two Drops), 6) Puṇḍarīka (Lotus)
and 7) Dundubhi (Kettle Drum) are the Kula mountains (there).³⁴³

‘³³ Ṛead sśāntābhayas- for śāntobhayas-.

⁴²*SVYT 10/291-293.
⁴³³ Read jīmūto for jīmātā.
⁴2⁰ ṢVṬ 10/297cd-299.
⁴2⁷ Ṟead veṇumaṇḍala for veṇurmaṇḍala.
‘³⁵ SYT 10/302cd-305ab.
“³ SṬ 10/308cd-309.
⁴⁰ ṢVṬ 10/310cd-311ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 149
5) ‘King Havya crowned (his) seven sons on Gomeda (island). They
are said to be 1) Jalada (Cloud), 2) Kumāra (Young Man), 3) Sukumāra
(Handsome Young Man), 4) Marīcaka (Sun), 5) Kumuda (Blue Lotus), 6)
Ūnnata (Elevated), and 7) Mahābhadra (Greatly Auspicious).¹⁴⁸¹
‘1) Udaya (Dawn), 2) Kesara (Lion’s Mane), 3) Jaṭhara (Belly), 4)
Suraivata, 5) Śyāma (Dark Blue), 6) Ambikeya (Mother’s (Mountain)), and 7)
Meru. These are the mountains on the border.¹⁴²

“6a) ‘Thus on (the island) called Puṣkara, the leader there is

Saṁvara. He is said to have had two sons crowned on (the island) called
Puṣkara.
The mountain (there) has the form of a circular enclosure and is called
Mānasottara (Beyond Mind).”⁴⁴⁴
6b) ‘The king in the middle (island) is Ghātakin⁴³⁵ (Slayer), a great
hero,⁴*⁶ he is the outer king.¹
⁴³⁷
‘Know from me the cities here of the four guardians of the
directions. 1) (In the east, the city) of Hari is called Vasvekasāra (the One
Essence of the World), 2) that of the south is the city Saṁyamanī, 3) the (city)
of the west is called Sukhā (Joy), and 4) that of the north is Vibhāvarī.¹⁴³⁸

He (now) summarizes (everything) up to this much.

Measurements from Meru to the Island of Puṣkara

frrzrvraraīftr fṣkrrqgaaa-n
aāTōtāīā āHraāīST+TTtaá JHT || g ⁰ē 1|
tripañcāśac ca lakṣāṇi dvikoṭyayutapañcakam |
svādvarṇavāntaṁ mervardhād yojaṇanām iyaṁ pramā || 106 ||

There are twenty-five million and three hundred and fifty thousand
leagues from the centre of Meru up to the extreme limit of the ocean of
sweet water (which surrounds the island of Puṣkara).⁴⁹ (106) (106cd-
107ab)

⁴³ ṢVṬ 10/314cd-315.
“³² SYṬ 10/316cd-317ab.
⁴³³ Abhinava says that Puṣkara is in two parts, which I take these to be, and label
accordingly.
⁴³¹ SVT 10/321cd-322.
⁴³⁵ Read ghātakī for dhātakī.
⁴³⁶ Read mahāvīro for mahāvīto.
⁴⁷ SVṬ 10/324ab.
⁴³* SYṬ 10/326-327ab.
⁴“³⁹ TĀ 8/106cd-107ab (106) is a condensation of SYT 10/328-329ab which reads as
follows and means the same:
pañcāśat tu sahasrãṇi tripañcãśat tathaiva ca |
Yyojanānāṁ tu lakṣāṇi koṭidvitayam eva ca |I
150 CHAPTER EIGHT
The (leagues) of Jambudyīpa amount to 50,000,⁴" the ocean of salt is
100,000, Śākadvīpa, 200,000, and the ocean of milk (which is another 200,000),
Kuśa Island is 400,000, and the ocean of curd (is another 400,000), Krauñca
(island) is 800,000 and (so is) the ocean of clarified butter, Śamali is 1,600,000
and (so is) the ocean of sugarcane juice, Gomedha is 3,200,000 and (so is) the
ocean of wine. Puṣkara is 6,400,000 and (so is the ocean of) sweet water. Thus,
in this way, beginning with the half of Meru up to the end of (the ocean of)
sweet water, the (distance) measures 25,350,000 leagues.⁴⁴" That is (clearly)
stated:

‘The seven islands and oceans together measure 25,350,000 leagues.”⁴

Mount Lokāloka
The Land of Gold and the Rudras of the Eight Directions
Around Mount Lokāloka

gāṁr̄³tīēī
ēī ]. āhĩ̄zaztā] ōē1 |
3f=zraī fāī-āīāīcgā @ōīaā-mr: fera: 1 z06 1

hTGĪTHĪT hĪĪTCGTṀHTGTĒT
ATḤ aITR: I 20¢ 1
saptamajaladher bāhye
haimī bhūḥ koṭidaśakam atha lakṣam |
ucchrityā viṣṭārād
ayutaṁ loketarācalaḥ sthitaḥ || 107 ||
lokālokadigaṣṭaka-
saṁsthaṁ rudrāṣṭakaṁ salokeśam |
kevalam ity api kecil-
lokālokāntare ravir na bahiḥ || 108 II

Beyond the seventh ocean is the Land of Gold, that extends for one
hundred million leagues. Beyond that is said to be the mountain Lokāloka,
which is one hundred thousand leagues high and ten thousand leagues
wide.
The eight directions (around) mount Lokāloka are presided over by
eight Rudras, along with the (eight) lords of the directions, or as some
would have it, (just by Rudras) alone. The sun (shines) within Lokāloka,
not beyond it. (107cd-109ab) (107-108)

mervardhād yāvat svādūdaṁ pramāṇaṁ parikirtītam |

⁴⁴⁰ The measurement begins from the middle of Meru. As Jambūdvīpa is 100,000
yojanas iīn diameter (see above 8/96), this is 50,000.
⁴¹³50,000 + 100,000 + 200,000 + 200,000 + 400,000 +400,000 + 800,000 + 8,000,000
+ 1,600,000 + 1,600,000 ,000 + 3,200,000 + 3,200 000 + 6,400,000 + 6,400,000 =
25,350,000. SVT 10/332. TĀ 8/107 and 109 correspond to SVT 10/330-333.
⁴² This line is from an unknown source. Here is another example of the other source(s)
parallel to the SvT Abhinava may be drawing from.
 TANTRĀLOKA 151
‘The Land of Gold’, that is to say, for the gods to play (there). As is
said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘O fair-faced lady, after that comes the Land made of Gold, that
(extends for) 100 million (leagues) and is for the god’s play. After that comes
mount Lokāloka, which is round (valayākāra), extends for ten thousand leagues
and is, O fair-faced lady, just one hundred thousand leagues high.’⁴²

‘With the lords of the directionsʼ, as is said:

‘The Guardians of the Quarters are located there, (as are) the Rudras of
unfailing power.”⁴⁴

‘As some would have it’, that is, Līlākāra and others. They explain
differently, saying that as they are the guardians of all the worlds, there are only
Rudras there who are Guardians of the Quarters. (This view is not correct, as)
there are such passages from scripture (as the following,) that contradict that
(view).

‘O goddess, then comes Lokāloka. The Rudras are established there.

The power of all of them is unfailing. They are 1) Viraja⁴⁴’ (Shining One), 2)
Vasudhāmaka (Controller of the Vasus),⁴ 3) Kardama (Mud) and 4)
Śaṁkhapāla, 5) Paryanya (Cloud), 6) Svarṇalomaka (Golden Hairs), 7) Ketumat
(Flaming One) and 8) Rājana (Royal One) are located in (in the directions),
beginning with the east and ending with the northeast. Then, having pervaded
all this, the Guardians of the Quarters are outside that.”⁴⁷

(The sun shines within Lokāloka), ‘not beyond it’, because (Mount)
Lokāloka is as high as the (trajectory of the) sun, and also because Meru stands

⁴³ SVṬ 10/329cd-331ab.
⁴ SVṬ 10/332cd.
⁴³ Read virajo for virajā.
¹⁴⁶ Read vasudhāmakaḥ for vasudhāmakāḥ.
⁴⁷ ṛn the SvT (10/333), the names of the eight Rudras guarding the quarters are listed as
follows: 1) Viraja, 2) Vasudhāmā, 3) Śaṅkhapāt, 4) Kardama, 5) Hiraṇyaromā 6)
Parjanya, 7) Ketumat and 8) Bhājana. The last entry is simply a (better) variant reading
of ‘rājana’. The rest are practically the same. There is only a small variation in the
order. The basic common Guardians of the Quarters are the deities: 1) Indra (East); 2)
Agni (Southeast); 3) Yama (South); 4) Niriti (or Sūrya) (Southwest); 5) Varuṇa (West);
6) Vāyu (Northwest); 7) Kubera (North); 8) Īśāna (Soma or Pṛthivī) (Northeast).
Kṣemarāja is aware, it seems, that there is a dispute as to whether the Rudras
are the guardians of the quarters in this case only, and integrates them into the standard
set: ‘(These) Rudras are the Lords who dwell together with all the Guardians of the
Quarters who reside there. Indra and the rest are not capable of protecting the Path to
that (full) extent, and so the Rudras have been appointed here. Indra and the rest are said
to be Guardians of the Quarters because they are sustained by these aspects (arṁśa) of
Rudra, by means of the unfailing power which is the power of the (Supreme) Lord
(bhagavat). Thus, (these Rudras) are worthy of worship as a surrounding entourage
(āvaraṇa) of the Lord.’ (intro. to SVT 10/333)
152 CHAPTER EIGHT
between it and (the sun). Thus, it is called ‘lokāloka’ because it is where there is
light (aloka) for the worlds (loka) located on the inside (of it), and (also)
because there is (both) light (āloka) and its absence (aloka), that is, darkness, on
the outside of it and (light) on the inside of it. That is said (in the scripture
where we read):

‘O fair lady of the gods, the sun shines within it, not outside (it).”⁴⁴⁸

Ajayīthī and Suvithī, the Paths of the Fathers and the Gods

ftīṝcaeṟaṉaāī
takvtuer t¢t#ḷiEzḶYEI
JTTRTTGĒTJTTTATRTÑTGT
⁹TĀĪT |
pitrdevapathāv asyo-
dagdakṣiṇagau ṣvajāt pare vīthyau || 109 ||
bhānor uttaradakṣiṇam
ayanadvayam etad eva kathayanti |

The two paths (vīthi) Su(vīthī) and, the other, Aja(vīthī), are the
paths of the gods and the fathers, that are to the north and the south of it
(i.e. the sun), (respectively).⁴ They say that these two are the northern and
southern courses of the sun. ⁴ (109cd-110ab) (109)

By the sun there being close to Meru, it travels along the northern path,
and by its being close to Lokāloka, to the south. ‘The two paths (vīthi),
Su(vīthī) and the other, Aja(vīthī)³, are called Suvīthī (the Good Path) and
Ajavīthī (the Path of the Goat, respectively). This is the meaning. As is said:

‘Suvīthī (the Good Path) is to the north of it, and Ajavīthī (the Path of
the Goat), to the south.¹⁴⁵¹

⁴⁵ SYṬ 10/332ab.
⁴⁹ The correspondences referenced and made by Jayaratha are all consistently such that,
if they were in correct serial order, the gods should be mentioned first and the fathers
next, i.e. devapitṛpathāv for pitṛdevapathāv. However, reversing the order by altering
the text would disrupt the meter. Jayaratha takes care to correct the possible mistake of
assuming that they correspond by stating with scriptural authority all the
correspondences. These are:
The Southern path (Lokāloka) – Ajavīthī – Fathers.
The Northern Path (Meru) – Suvīthī – Gods.
⁴⁰ See above, note to 6/113cd-114, concerning the southern and northern path of the sun
(dakṣiṇāyana and uttarāyaṇa).
⁴³ SYT 10/339cd. etad vyācasṣṭe ----
pitṛdevapatho hy eṣa kathitas tu mayā tava | 10/340ab
śobhanā vīthī mārgo devapathaḥ | na jātā utpattiṣṭhāne samprati na kim api prāptā ity
ajāḥ piṭaraḥ, teṣāṁ vīthī panthā iti yathāsambhavaṁ yojyam |
 TANTRĀLOKA 153

‘He explains that:

‘I have told you this, the Path of the Ancestors.’ (SvT 10/340ab)

The beautiful path is the Path of the Gods. The ‘unborn’ are the ancestors who
have not reached at present the place of (their future) birth. (This is) their path. This
should be added as required.

uītarāyaṇasya divyasiddhihetutvād devamārgatā, dakṣiṇāyanasya tv aihikasiddhi-

pūrakatvāt pitṛmārgatety arthaḥ | etac ca kālādhikāroktanītyāntar iva bahir api jñeyam
| yad uktaṁ gītāsu ----

The Northern Path is the cause of divine accomplishments and so is the Path of
the Gods. The Southern Path fulfils the accomplishments here of this world and so is the
Path of the Ancestors. This is the meaning. And (moreover, one should know) that, in
accord with the teachings imparted in the chapter concerning time, the outer should be
known to be like the inner. As is said in the Gītā:

Śśuklakṛṣṇe gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate |

anayor yāty anāvṛttiṃm ekayāvartate ʻnyayā ||

antar api /hṛtpadmakarṇikaiva meruḥ, tadupari cijjyotirmātrarūpasyātmano

dhruvasṣyānulagnaḥ prāṇādityaḥ kālākāroktasakalabhacakragrahādyanuyātaḥ
karṇikopakaṇṭhagatapradhānanāḍīmukhasparśena pradakṣiṇam anāratam āvarta-
mānas tiṣṭhan tattanmakarādi-saṅṁkṛāntikrameṇottaradakṣiṇādivibhāgaṁ darśayatīty
uktaprāyamḷ

‘These, the movements of the bright and dark (half of the year) of the universe
are considered to be perpetual. They do not turn away from their course as one turns to
the other.⁴³ (BhGT 8/26)

*(There are no variants in the reading in Rāmakaṇṭha’s version of the Gītā. The
reading in Abhinava’s version is ādyayāvartate – ‘as the first turns (to the other)³ for
ekayāvartate – ‘as one turns (to the other)³).

Also, in between is Meru, which is like the calyx of the lotus of the heart.
Above it is the Sun of prāṇa. It is linked to Dhruva (the pole star), which is the Self that
is the pure Light above (Meru). It is associated with the planets. All the wheel of the
stars is said to be the form of time. It is constantly circulating around by (making)
contact with the mouth of the main channel (nāḍī) (of the breath), which is next to the
calyx. (In so doing,) it displays the division (of the quarters) from north to south etc. by
the procession of the transits through each one (of the signs of the zodiac), beginning
with Capricorn. This is the intended sense.

yataś ca meruṅ .(merulokālokāntarālasthavyomapathamadhyena) pradakṣiṇayaty

aniśaṁ dineśaḥ, tata eva tadudayasthānātmakapūrvadigabhimukhānām ilāvṛta-
varjapratipādita-varṣāṣṭakadvīpāntarādisthānāṁ janānāṁ sarveṣām uttare merur
lokālokas tu dakṣiṇe | meruṁ pradakṣiṇayan hi bhāskaratatpaścat ketumālādivāsināṁ
meror dakṣiṇata udeti, taduttarasthakuruvarṣādivāsināṁ paścimataḥ, tatpūrva-

sarveṣāṁ .dvīpāntaragatānām api merulokālokau u. dakṣiṇasthau bhavata

ilāvṛtavarjam, tatrāpi vā chāyāmātreṇa sūryaprakāśānusā kācid avasthitir astīti
kalpanīyam ||
154 CHAPTER EIGHT
These two are the path of the fathers and the gods. Thus, it is said (here)
that (they are) ‘the paths of the fathers and the gods’. There, Ajavīthī (the
Path of the Goat) is the path of the fathers, and Suvīthī (the Good Path) that of
the gods. That is said (in this passage of the scripture):

‘Ajavīthī is (the path of) the southern (path of the sun) and Suvīthī is the
northern path (uttarāyaṇa). It is said that they are the path of the fathers and that
of the gods, respectively.”

The two paths are (those of the sun’s) northern course (uttarāyaṇa) and
that of the southern one (dakṣiṇāyana). Thuṣ, it is said (here that) ‘these two
are the northern and southern course of the sun’. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘The sun’s southern course is (in that direction) because it is above

Lokāloka and the northern course is said (to be in that direction) because it is to
the north there.¹²

As the sun constantly goes around Meru by the middle path in the space
between Meru and Lokāloka, Meru is to the north of all the people who are on the
islands and the aforementioned eight countries. They face the east, which is where it
rises, except for Ilāvṛta (where the sun does not rise). Lokāloka is to the south. As the
sun goes around Meru clockwise, it rises (first of all) from the south for those who live
in Ketumālā etc., from the west who live in the land of Kuru etc., which is to the north
of that, from the north for those who live in Bhadrāśva etc., which is preceded by that
(land), from the east who live in the land of Hari which is to the south of that (land of
Bhadrāśva). In this way, Meru and Lokāloka are to the north and south of all those who
are on the islands, except Ilāvṛta. Or else, there also, one could conceive that there is
some presence of the light of the sun just as a shadow alone.”
⁴³² SVT 10/336cd-337ab. Commenting on this verse, Kṣemarāja writes: iha
merulokālokayor antarvartiigaganapathamadhye sañcaran bhūpīthikāpratiṣṭhita-
liṅgamūrtimerum anavarataṁ parameśvaraniyatiniyantrita-ṣaṣṭighaṭikātmanā bāhya-
kālena pradakṣiṇyan dhruvanābhinibaddhabhacakrasañcārigrahamadhyago graha-
grāmaṇīs tattadrāśisañcārānusāritatataddattasahabhāvād āśritatīvramandāmandādi -
dīptibhedo ‘nyarūpo bhūtasargavartanī vicitrāṁ vartayati |

‘(The sun) moves here in the middle of the path of the space between Meru and
Lokāloka. Taking sixty ghaṭikas of external time (for each orbit) (i.e. 24 hours), as fixed
by the Supreme Lord’s ordinance (niyati), it rotates constantly around Meru which, in
the form of a Liṅga, is installed on the pedestal of the earth. (The sun,) the leader of the
planets, is in the middle of the planets that move along with the wheel of the stars,
firmly bound to Dhruva, situated on its axis (nābhi). It orbits around the wonderful
variety of the material creation, with the support afforded by the corresponding
movement of each of the signs of the zodiac, and its form varies according to variety of
(its) blazing energy (dīpti), which comes forth (āśrita) as intense, weak, or other than
weak etc.

ataś_ca ṣsa vibhuḥ | lokālokoparīṣṭād iti tannaikatyena bhramaṇāt | tatreti,

lokālokamery-antarāḻavartini viṣaye sthitvā kramāt kramaṁ merunikaṭād bahir-
niḥsaraṇeṉa bhramaṇāt karkaṭādirāśiṣaṭkasañcārarūpaṁ dakṣiṇāyanam, lokāloka-
 TANTRĀLOKA 155
The Rising and Setting of the Sun in Lokāloka and the Lands around Meru

Surely (one may ask), what is the (scriptural) authority here for (saying)
that by the sun being close to Meru it is the northern path, and by its being close
to Lokāloka, the southern? With this doubt in mind, he says:

āTITTTÑ TTGĪṀĒTGIĀT ṬATT I 22© 1

sarveṣām uttaro merur lokālokaś ca dakṣiṇaḥ || 110 ||

(Meru) is to the north of all (the eight continents), while Lokāloka is

to the south.³ (110cd) (110ab)

1) “Of all’ the inhabitants of the eight lands etc. The sun does not shine
in TIlāvṛta,⁹⁴ and so what occasion (is there to consider whether the sun is to the
north or the south there), however wonderfully diverse the movement (of the
sun) may be?
2) The sun is the Lord (bhagavat). Located, in relation to Meru, to the
south, (the sun rises) in the three lands of Bhārata, and the rest to the east (of
Bhārata etc.),

saṁnikarṣãn merunaikaṭyenāntarantaḥ praveśātmanottareṇa bhramaṇān makarādi-

sañcārarūpaṁ tūttarāyaṇaṁ bhavati | vakṣyati hi ----

saryeṣām uttare merur lokālokas tu dakṣiṇe iti |

evaṁ saṅgatāgamikaprakriyayaiva etad vyākhyeyam, na tu parasparaviṣamvādi-

ḹyotiśāstramatānuṣaraṇasaṅgatyā ||

Thus (the Sun) is the pervasive lord (vibhu). (The verse says) ‘because it is
above Lokāloka’, that is, because it moves close to that. ‘There’ means located in the
area in between Lokāloka and Meru. The Southern Path is the movement (of the sun)
through the six signs of the zodiac, beginning with Cancer. Due to (the sun’s) motion, it
gradually moves away, step by step, from the proximity of Meru. The Northern Path,
which is the movement from Cancer (onwards through the other six signs of zodiac),
(takes place) by its northern motion, which gets (progressively) closer to Meru, (away
from) the proximity of Lokāloka. As is said (further ahead):

‘(Meru) is to the north of all (the eight continents), while Lokāloka is to the
south.” (see TA 8/110cd (1l0ab) and note)

This should be explained in this way in accord with the consonant Āgamic
cosmology (prakriyā), not in accord with the one that follows the view of the
astrological texts, which are in disagreement with one another.”
⁴³³ The same line with insignificant variants appears in SvTu ad 10/339cd, where it reads
– sarveṣām uttare merur lokālokas tu dakṣiṇe. Kṣemarāja quotes it in SvTu 10/336cd-
337ab, stating that ‘this will be said’, presumably further ahead in the SvT. Thus, it
appears that this line was found in the version of the Svacchandatantra to which
Abhinava had access, but not in the modern printed edition.
⁴⁴ See above 8/68.
156 CHAPTER EIGHT
3) whereas in the case of Ketumāla, which is to the west (in relation to
Meru, it rises) to the south (of Ketumāla).
4) (In the case of) the three lands of Kuru and the rest that are located to
the north (of Meru), (the sun rises) to the west (of them).
5) In the case of Bhadrāśva, which is to the east (of Meru), it rises in the
north (of it).
Thusṣ, placing them all in the eastern quarter, in relation to (the sun’s)
own rising, (Meru) is to the north (of them), whereas Lokāloka is to the south in
such a way that, according to whether it is close or distant to that, (the sun is) on
(its) northern or southern course etc.
The rising and setting (of the sun) varies not just its movement in this
way. Thus, he says:

3zarcñaīzz
gāīī ṁrīaāā |
udayāstamayāv itthaṁ sūryasya paribhāvayet |

One perceives the same with respect to the rising and setting of the
sun (in the east and the west). (111ab) (110cd)

(One perceives) ‘the same’ in terms of its movement to the south by its
movement around Meru. This is the meaning.
He says that:
T 1. 22 1
maāTzā rva aũīai aaīaa: aṇaĩ. |
3azāī āīṣāācāḹ
āīīāīī āaīaā 1| 2222 1I
āsaĩ āī̄ī ṇēaīz cd gdīTTaTā |
ardharātro ʻmarāvatyāṁ yāmyāyām astam eva ca || 111 |I
madhyandinaṁ tad vāruṇyāṁ saumye sūryodayaḥ smṛtaḥ |
udayo yo ‘marāvatyāṁ so ‘rdharātro yamālaye || 1 12 ||
ke ʻstaṁ saumye ca madhyāhna itthaṁ sūryagatāgatam |

At midnight in Amarāvatī (in the east), it is sunset in the south.

That is midday in the west and said to be sunrise in the north. Sunrise in
Amarāvatī is midnight (in the south), the abode of Yama, sunset in the west
(ke),⁴⁶ and midday in the north. The sun comes and goes in this way.⁴
(111cd-113ab) (111-112)

⁴³³ Jayaratha glosses ke as vāruṇe, i.e. in (the quarter of) Varuṇa’, that is, the west.
⁴“³⁶ Read -gatāgataṃ for -gatāgate. See above, 8/48 ff. and below 15/213-216. TĀ
8/111ed-112ab (111) is practically a literal quote of SVT 10/337cd-338ab, and 112cd-
113ab (112) is a paraphrase of SvT 10/338cd-339ab, which reads:

yadaiya cāmarāvatyām udayas tasya drśyate ||

tad āstam eti vāruṇyām ity ādityagatāgatam |
 TANTRĀLOKA 157
1) Here (in this context), if (the sun) comes from the west, one sees the
sun rising ‘in the north’, that is, in the northern part of Meru in the city called
the Great Dawn (mahodaya), and 2) then, because six hours have passed, it is
midday ‘in the west’, in the city called Gandhavatī. 3) The sun sets after twelve
hours have passed ‘in the abode of Yama’, which is located in the southern
quarter, in the city called Saṁyamanī. This is because it is hidden by the shade
of the mountains and so (its) light is not visible. This is the meaning. 4) It is
midnight in the city called Amarāvatī, which is in the east, because when (the
sun) rises to the west of it, it was setting (to the east of it) and because it will
rise (there) six hours (later).
Sunriṣe in Amarāvatī, which is the sight (of the sun) that has come from
the north, is midnight in the abode of Yama (in the south), because the sun will
rise (there) six hours (later). It is ‘sunset in the west’ when the sun rises to the
north (of it in Amarāvatī), because midday there has taken place (and passed),
and now twelve hours have passed, and (also) because six hours have passed in
the north, it is midday (there). Thus, one should think of the rising and setting of
the sun taking place in this sequence in the east, west and intermediate
directions. Thuṣ, it is said that ‘the sun comes and goes in this way’. As is said
(in the Svacchandatantra):

‘It is midnight in Amarāvatī and sunset in (the city) of the south”.⁴⁷

“When the sun is seen to rise in Amarāvati, it sets in the south. This is the sun’s
going and coming.³” SvT 10/388cd-389ab. Kṣemarāja comments:

nirdiṣṭanītyā meruṅ pradakṣiṇayataḥ sūryasya yadā saumya iti meror uttare bhāge
udayo vāruṇyā āgacchato darśanaṁ tadā merutatpārśvasthaproktaparvatacchāyāvaśād
yamasya disi sūryo ʻstam eti, na dr̥yate tatprakāśa ity arthaḥ | tadaiva ca vāruṇyāṁ
diśi_ madhyāhnaḥ, tatpūrvagasyārkasyodayadeśād dakṣiṇadiśaḥ pañcadaśaghaṭikā-
vadher gateḥ sampannatvāt tadaiva tv amarāvatyām ardharātraḥ,

‘According to the imparted teaching, if the sun, in the course of its rotation
around Meru, rises in the northern part of Meru, it is seen entering the west. Then the
sun sets in the southern quarter, because of the shade of the aforementioned mountain
next to Meru. The meaning is that its light is not seen. At that same time, it is midday in
the west, because the movement (of the sun) continues up to the end of fifteen ghaṭikās
towards the south, from the quarter the sun rises in the east. At that same time, it is
midnight in Amarāvatī.

ghatikāpañcadaśakenātra sūryodayasya bhaviṣyattvāt | itthaṁ ca yadaivāmarāvatyām

asyodayaḥ, tadaiva vāruṇīvatīnāṁ saurasya triṁśadghaṭikāvāhasya jātatvād vāruṇyāṁ
sūryo ‘stam eti dinānto jāyate, ity anena prakāreṇādityagatāgataṁ vidikṣv api
mantavyam, pratipāditakramasya upalakṣaṇabhūtatvāt |ḷ

This is because the sun will rise here in fifteen ghaṭikās (i.e. 6 hours). And
when it rises the same way in Amarāvatī, then for those who are in the west, the sun sets
at the end of the day in the west, because the sun has moved for thirty ghaṭikās (i.e.
twelve hours). One should also understand the coming and going of the sun in the same
way within the intermediate quarters also, for the sequence that has been explained (in
this way also) serves to illustrate (upalakṣaṇa) (the analogous ones).”
⁴T SVṬ 10/337cd.
158 CHAPTER EIGHT
The same (is said elsewhere):

“Whenever one sees (the sun) rising in Amarāvatī, it sets in the west.
This is the coming and going of the sun.”

The (daily) rising (and setting) of the sun is the same everywhere and so
one should apply this (same procedure to ascertain when it rises and sets) in the
other islands also.
Having explained that by the way, he (now) continues with the main
point.

Beyond Lokāloka: a Region of Darkness and the Ocean of Garbhoda

hrōraāīṭa štāTkkvṝr

TI-NTTYTITRĀHTĪTĪ]
SJĪTĪ GĪĒTTGTRATTR; I| 223 I
TTTTTT-] TĪRTGT: āIĀTT |
vrhīvīāīēd
ṁāī āēi| fia-³a -J. 22
⁶1
pañcatriṁśatkoṭisaṁkhyā lakṣāṇy ekonaviṁśatiḥ |
catvāriṁśatsahasrāṇi dhvāntaṁ lokācalād bahiḥ ll 113 II
saptasāgaramānas tu garbhodākhyaḥ samudrarāṭ |
lokālokasya parato yadgarbhe nikhilaiva bhūḥ || 114 ||

Beyond mount Lokāloka is (an area of) darkness (that extends for)
three hundred and fifty-one million, nine hundred and forty thousand
(leagues) outside mount Loka. (That) is the size of the seven oceans, that
(together), around Lokāloka, is the emperor of the oceans called Garbhoda,
within which is the entire earth.⁴⁹⁸ (113cd-115ab) (113-114)

That is said (in the Svacchandatantra, where we read):

‘Outside (beyond it) is terrible darkness which, hard to behold, is

devoid of living beings. O fair-faced lady, (it extends for) three hundred and
fifty-one million, nine hundred and forty thousand leagues.”⁴

The seven oceans, beginning with that of salt, progressively doubling in

size with respect to the previous one, beginning with (the first ocean that
extends for) one hundred thousand (leagues), measure (all together) twelve

⁴“³⁵ Veṛses l l lcd-115ab (111-114) correspond to SvT 10/337cd-341. ʻGarbhoda has the
dimensions of all the other oceans put together.” Parākhya 5/109cd.
⁴³⁹ SVṬ 10/340cd-341. This is the same size given in Parākhya 5/11 1. ʻBeyond that is
the shell of the Egg of Brahma, one crore in thickness. And on the near side of Meru
(i.e. South) (the radius of the Earth is fifty crores (yojanas); on the far (i.e. northern)
side to the East of it and to the West is the same (radius). Thusṣ is the earth measured.”
Parākhya 5/112 For detailed measurements of the whole Egg, see below ad 8/118cd-
119ab (118).
 TANTRĀḶOKA 159
million and seven hundred thousand (leagues).³ The extent of that (ocean
called Garbhoda) is equal to that. This is the meaning. (It is) ‘the emperor of
the oceans’ because it contains within itself the seven oceans, beginning with
that of salt. That is said (in the following verse):

‘The seven oceans that have been described are said to be contained⁴
here (within it) and so is called Garbhoda (Container of the Waters) that
transports the juice (rasa) of all the oceans.”⁴²

He (now) clarifies what the venerable Siddhayogīśvarīmata⁴¹ says in

the place of (the area of) darkness.

Geography of Kauśeya on the Shore of Garbhoda

According to the Siddhayogeśvarīmata

fāaīrzāsā mraias: āīvtaāitṁīāa | 22. 1

ṃvē% Tēēkīī fñzūaṝāṁīa: |
cf̄d ddāī Ṁ īa TI #Iza: 1| 325. |A
hhṀJ|eḍIĒEHEGRFICZIaṭ
r̥ftcktttṜra añr5tra a uM g2.9 1
Ṭaī Fēzāāīḹ āīII II ṜHUSĀ ; |
siddhātantre ‘tra garbhābdhes tīre kauśeyasaṁjñitam || 115 ||
maṇḍalaṁ garuḍas tatra siddhapakṣasamāvṛtaḥ |
krīḍdanti parvatāgre te nava cātra kulādrayaḥ || 116 ||
tata uṣṇodakās triṁśan nadyaḥ pātālagās tataḥ |
caturdiṅ naimirodyānaṁ yoginīṣevitaṁ sadā || 117 |I
tato merus tato nāgā meghā hemāṇḍakaṁ tataḥ |

According to the Siddhātantra, there is a region (maṇḍala) called

Kauśeya⁴⁴ on the shore of the Garbhoda ocean. Garuḍa resides there,

⁴⁰100,000 + 200,000 + 400,000 + 800,000 + 1,600,000 + 3,200,000 + 6,400,000 =

12,700,000. See above ad 8/106cd-107ab (106). There, the calculation of the size of the
oceans and the islands together resulted in 25,350,000 yojanas. Half of this is
12,675,000. The discrepancy of 25,000 yojanas is because the distances were measured
from the middle of Meru. This is 50,000 to the shore of the salty ocean. Here the entire
diameter of Jambūdvīpa, which is double that, has been taken into consideration. That
way we arrive at the 25,400,000 for the islands and oceans together. Half of that is
12,700,000.
⁴⁶¹ Read garbhe for garme.
⁴³ n the printed edition, the following verse is identified by the editor as being from the
Mṛgendrāgama, but it is not found in any of the four published pādas.
“⁶³ RṞead -yogīśvarī- for -yogīśvara-.
⁴⁶⁴ Kauśeya is generally not mentioned in the Siddhānta cosmologies.
160 CHAPTER EIGHT
surrounded by Siddha Yaksas,⁴° who play on the mountain peaks. There
are nine Kula mountains here, from which flow thirty rivers of hot water
towards the hells. Then the garden Naimira extends in the four regions,
and is always attended by Yoginīs. Then there are a great mountain, the
serpent gods, the clouds and then the golden egg. (115cd-118ab) (115-117)

‘On the shore’ on the other side from this one, Garbhoda is ‘there’,
near Lokāloka. ʻThe garden Naimira’ is called Naimirapuṣpa. This is the
meaning. ‘The serpent godsʼ, that is to say, in the land made of gems. ‘The
cloudsʼ, that is, on top of mount Hariścandra.⁴ ‘The golden egg’ means the
shell (karparikā) of the golden egg. That is said there (in the
Siddhayogeśvarīmata):

‘There is a region called Kauśeya on the far bank of the Garbhoda. The
lord of the gods, Garuḍa, resides there surrounded by thousands of Siddha
Yakṣas,⁴⁹⁷ proud of (their) strength, which is equal to his. They play (there) on
the mountain peaks again and again.³

‘One should know that the (nine) Kula mountains (there) are 1) Hula
(Double Edged Knife), 2) Hāla (Plow), 3) Vara (Best), 4) Krodha (Anger), 5)
Koṭaka (Cavity), 6) Mount Mūla (Root), 7) Rodhaka (Obstructer), 8) Vāmana
(Dwarf) and 9) Khāṇḍa (Section).”

‘Again, in the mountains there are thirty rivers (many) leagues long.
Their water is said to be hot, and they flow down to the depths of hell.’

‘Again, on the bank of that river is the forest (called) Naimerapuṣpaka.

O mistress of the gods, Yoginīs, proud of their strength, play there.”

“The land outside the forest is everywhere dry and without water. Then
again there is the land (called) Ratnajā (Born of Gems), which is strewn with the
elephants of the quarters, and well adorned* all around, it is where there are
many elephants that look (as big) as (Mount) Meru and Mandara.”

“Then having crossed over them also, (one comes to) a great mountain
that rises (up to the sky), shaped like a circular enclosure, called Hariścandra.”

“There are clouds present there, Saṁvartā and the rest, that (make a)
great sound.ʼ
‘Then again, that intensely shining golden egg is visible (there)."⁴’

(In the next verse), he summarizes (all) that.

⁴⁰³ Read siddhayakṣa- for siddhapakṣa-.

⁴⁶⁶⁰ Read ~hariścandra- for ~hariścandra-.
⁴⁷ Read siddhayakṣa- for siddhapakṣa-.
⁴⁶³ Read with MS N pariśobhitā for pariśodhitā.
⁴⁹ This the first of a number of eggs to which the SYM refers. See below 8/(184cd-
186ab) (184-185) and citations there by Jayaratha.
 TANTRĀḶLOKA 161

The Seven Lokas

1) The Earth World (Bhūrloka)

Measurements of The Earth World

JāTTĪĪṢTGāhaīē-̃ ³āī] āaa; || 22¢ l|

raavṝcā avg f= rdīṁātāīād |
brahmaṇo ʻṇḍakatāhena meror ardhena koṭayaḥ || 1 1 8 II
pañcāśad evaṁ daśasu dikṣu bhūrlokasaṁjñitam |

The distance from the centre of Meru up to the shell (katāha) of the
Egg of Brahmā is, in the ten directions, five hundred million leagues. (Such
is) the world called Earth. (118cd-119ab) (118)

It was calculated previously that (the distance) there 1) from (the centre
of) Meru up to the ocean of sweet water is 25,350,000 (leagues). 2) The Land of
Gold (extends for) 100,000,000 (leagues) (kotidaśaka), 3) Mount Lokāloka (for)
10,000, 4) (the area of) darkness 351,940,000, and 5) Garbhoda for 12,700,000.
Thus, together with 6) the 10,000,000 (leagues) for (the thickness of) the shell
of the Egg of Brahmā, there are 500 million (leagues).⁴"" Thus, in this way, ‘in
the ten directionsʼ the Earth world (bhūrloka) (extends) all around for 1,000
million (leagues).
Moreover, this, the Earth world, is the location of the fourteen kinds of
creatures (bhūtasarga). Thus, he says:

The Living Beings in the Earth World

TTIGTTTTTGTTTGTTT: TTRAṄT ṬGĪ: 1] 225 1

faaryāī a fēē arī ar̄T aad-a r̥̄ā | 2.2 ⁰ 1|

3zrṛṛcrāīaṛ² Ṁṃrrazā fraiag
paśukhagamrṛgatarumānuṣā-
sarīsṛpaiḥ ṣaḍbhir eṣa bhũrlokaḥ | 1 19 ||
vyāptaḥ piśācarakṣo-
gandharvāṇāṁ sayakṣāṇām |
vidyābhṛtāṁ ca kiṁ vã
bahunā sarvasya bhūtasargasya || 120 l|
abhimānato yatheṣṭaṁ bhogasthānaṁ nivāsaś ca |

⁴⁷⁰ 25,350,000 + 100,000,000 + 10,000 + 351,940,000 + 12,700,000 + 10,000,000 = 500

million yojanas (leagues).
162 CHAPTER EIGHT
This earth world (bhūrloka) is covered by the six (kinds of living
beings, namely) domestic animals, birds, wild animals, trees, human beings
and reptiles. It is the dwelling of Piśācas, Rākṣasas, Gandharvas, Yakṣas,
Vidyādharas and, indeed, – why labour the point? - of all living creatures
(bhūtasarga), because it is considered to be (abhimānataḥ), the place (of
their) worldly experience (bhoga) in accord with (their) desire. (119cd-
121ab) (119-120)

(By) ‘treesʼ (is meant) plants. The ‘Vidyādharas’ are the living beings
that are (gods) of the same kind (prakāra) as Indra. ‘Why labour the point?”
The point is that naming (vacana) these (living beings), related to one another
as species and sub-species, would be endless. ‘AII’ — fourteen kinds (of living
beings). By (saying that it is their dwelling,) ‘because it is considered to be
(abhimānataḥ)’, it is taught that (the notion that) this is the place of worldly
experience etc. is essentially just a false conception (abhimāna), there is nothing
real (and permanent there). (It is) ‘the dwelling’ even without being (the place
of) worldly enjoyment for some (creature). Thus, the intended (sense) is that
this should be purified just here. That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):
‘(The learned) know (that the eight kinds of living beings there are)
Piśācas, Rākṣasas, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Vidyādharas (aindra), (those belonging
to the) moon, Prajeśa (the Lord of the Creatures) and Brahmā, the eighth.⁴⁷¹
‘Domestic animals, birds, wild animals and other reptiles, (along) with
plants as the fifth. The sixth (kind of creature) is that born of men which, along
with those born of the gods, is said to be the sphere of the world of
transmigration of fourteen kinds, which one should purify in the earth world
(bhurloka).³
⁴²

2) Bhuvarloka, the Atmospheric World and the Paths of the Wind⁴”³

JJGĪRTTAĪ TṬTHĪGGAĀĪR TGTK I R22 I

eePIGEĀṀEEZEEEIT
⁴"SYT 1O/³51. saṁhārakramayogena śodhanīyāḥ śivādhvare | SYT 10/352ab
saṁhãrakramayogena ity anena cedam āha yat sthāvarādipaśvantaṁ tāmasaṁ
pañcakaṁ .saṁśodhya mānuṣyaṁ .Śśodhayet | /tataḥ paiśācādibrahmāntaṁ
devayonyaṣṭakam ity eṣa eva ca kramo ‘gre sphuṭībhaviṣyati || evaṁ yonyasṭakam
udghāṭya yoniṣaṭkamṃ apy āha ----
‘They should be purified on Śiva’s Path by applying the process of
withdrawal.’ (SYT 10/352ab)
‘The following is said by (saying) ‘by applying the process of withdrawalʼ:
Once having purified the group of five tāmasika (creatures), beginning with plants and
ending with animals, one should purify human beings. Then the group of eight divine
beings (devayoni), starting with Piśācas and ending with Brahmā. This sequence will be
clarified further ahead. Having introduced in this way the group of six wombs
(yoniṣaṭka) also, he says . . .
⁴‘⁷² ṢYṬ 10/352cd-354ab.
⁴⁷³ The first path with its sixteen winds is described in 8/123 to 139cd (122cd-139ab).
The remaining nine paths are briefly described in 8/140-142 (139cd-142ab).
 TANTRĀLOKA 163

STTaāī āīgeraāā
faṝāā; ũúrsaā z22 1
bhuvarlokas tathā tv ārkāl lakṣaṃ ekaṁ tadantare || 121 ||
daśa vāyupathās te ca pratyekam ayutāntarāḥ |
ādyo vāyupathas tatra vitataḥ paricarcyate || 122 ||

Bhuvarloka (the atmospheric world) extends up to the sun and

measures one hundred thousand (leagues). Within it are the ten paths of
the winds, and there are ten thousand (leagues) between (each of) them.⁴⁷⁴
We shall now discuss extensively the first path of the winds there.⁴⁷⁵ (121cd-
122) (121-122ab)

(The atmospheric world extends) ‘up to the sun’. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):
‘“(The distance) from the surface of the earth up to the sun is one
hundred thousand (leagues).³⁴⁷⁶
There are ‘ten thousand (leagues) between (each of) them’ means that
(the winds) start ten thousand (leagues away from one another). ‘There’, out of
the ten paths of the winds, (he will discuss the first).
He says that:

The First Path of the Winds

The Sixteen Winds and their Clouds

TJTTTĪĪTS-Tt HṬGTĪTĀTH HTGa; |

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āT-TTĀT ṬFHĪTTTRTTRĀT: I 2N³% I

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ḶHṬ īh-ĀTāāTTI ftṬāTHI TTITTRT | 925 1
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T=IVGĒĪ āSTIg}? āTTĪTGTHT;
I 22C I
faēamramaī
asīg sdfāttzaī 1
⁴⁷⁴ Corresponds to SVT 10/422cd-423.
⁴’³ See SVT 10/424-466.
⁴’⁵ ṢVṬ 10/423ab.
164 CHAPTER EIGHT
pañcāśadyojanordhve syād ṛtaráddhir nāma mārutaḥ |
āpyāyakaḥ sa jantūnāṁ tataḥ prācetaso bhavet || 123 ||
pañcāśadyojanād ūrdáhvaṁ tasmād ūrdhvaṁ śatena tu |
senānīvāyur atraite mūkameghās taḍinmucaḥ || 124 ||
ye mahyāḥ krośamātreṇa tiṣṭhanti jalavarṣiṇaḥ |
tebhya ūráhvaṁ śatān meghā bhekādiprāṇivarṣiṇaḥ | || 125 ||
pañcāśadūrádhvam ogho ‘tra viṣavāripravarṣiṇaḥ |
meghāḥ ṣkandodbhavāś cānye piśācā oghamārute || 126 ||
tataḥ pañcāśadūrdhvaṁ syur meghā mārakasaṁjñakāḥ |
tatra sthāne mahādevajanmānas te vināyakāḥ || 127 ||
ye haranti kr̥taṁ karma narāṇām akṛtātmanām |
pañcāśadūrdhvaṁ vajrāṅko vāyur atropalāmbudāḥ || 128 II
vidyādharādhamāś cātra vajrāṅke saṁpratiṣṭhitāḥ |

⁴⁷11) Fifty leagues above (the earth) is the wind called Ṛtarddhi,
which nourishes (all) living beings. 2) Then, fifty leagues above that, is the

fa
The Sixteen Winds, their Clouds and Residents

Winds Qualities and Cloud Rains

Residents
RṚtarddhi wind nourishes growth
Prācetas wind destroys trees and
makes them grow
Senānī the silent clouds lightning and
transport rainwater rains
living beings fish, frogs and
turtles
Ogha Piśācas live in the wind rains poisonous
water causing
diṣease
Amogha Vinayākas reside here Māraka deadly
that steal away, Karma clouds
Vajrāṅga Inferior Vidyādharas, stone clouds called rain down stones
those dedicated to cruel | Tapana that do cruel
and inferior Vidyās who things
died
Vaidyuta Apsaras, dead heroes, lightning clouds
suicides
Raivata Siddhas Puṣṭivāha clouds rain
nourishment
Saṁvartta rainwater that
causes disease
Viṣāvarta Elect of the black storm clouds rainwater of wrath
Vidyādharas who play born of Fire
music
Durjaya clouds generate
winds that blow
during the destruction
of the universe
 TANTRĀḶOKA 165
wind Prācetasa, while a hundred leagues above that is 3) the wind Senānī.
The great Silent Clouds (mūkamegha) are located there that, full of
lightning, rain water onto the earth for only one quarter of a league
(krośamātra).
‘’²4) Above them, at a distance of one hundred (leagues, is the wind
called Sattvavaha, within which) are clouds that rain frogs and others such
living beings. 5) Beyond these, at a distance of fifty leagues, is (the wind
called) Ogha. Here (some) clouds rain poisonous water and others Piśācas
born of Skanda’s body. 6) Then, fifty leagues above that (in the wind called
Amogha), are clouds called Māraka. There, in that place, reside the
Vināyakas born from Mahādeva, who steal away the Karma of those who
(have not reached perfection, and so) have not completed their Karma
(akṛtātman).⁴⁰
7) Fifty leagues above this is the wind Vajrāṅka. Here (there are)
stone clouds. Inferior Vidyādharas reside here in Vajrāṅka. (123-129ab)
(122cd-128)

1) ‘ʻFifty leagues above’ the surface of the earth, (the wind called
RṚtarddhi) ‘nourishesʼ. As is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘Imperishable, it increases the growth and strength of herbs and

nourishes and increases all the earth.’⁴N

2) ʻFifty leagues above’, that is, just as (the wind called) Ṛtarddhi is
located above after fifty leagues from the surface of the earth, in the same way
this (the next wind) is located further up, after an intervening space of fifty
leagues. This is the meaning. (This, the wind) ‘Prācetasa’ is (so called) because
it was made by (the sage) Pracetas, (who was called this) because fire lived

Parāvaha Vāyugama, Puṣkara

Gandharyas
ṇvaha Jīmūta Vidyādharas Jīmūta
and Rūpavratas
Mahāvaha clouds created to
benefit creatures
Mahāparivaha Saṁvarta Clouds born from
Śiva’s skull bowl

The first eleven winds constitute the main path (nukhyapatha) of the Wind,
and the last five are the divine path (divyapatha).
⁴’⁸ The account here shifts from referring to currents of wind blowing above the earth to
bands of clouds. In a couple of cases, they are mentioned together. Presumably, the
bands of clouds correspond to currents of wind. They have been numbered together
accordingly.
⁴’°⁹ The wind in these clouds is called Amogha. According to Jayaratha, those who have
not completed their Karma remain in the sphere of doubt.
⁴Ī⁰, ṢYT 10/425.
166 CHAPTER EIGHT
along with him.⁴³¹ Thus (it both) nourishes and burns. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘The wind called Prācetas was made by (the sage) Pracetas. It (both)
destroys trees and sometimes makes them grow. The fire called Prācetas abides
along with it.¹²

3) ‘A hundred leagues above that’ means continuing on a hundred

leagues above Prācetas also.⁴* One should explain (the distances between the
winds) in the same way further ahead as well. 4) (The clouds there above
Senānī) are said to transport living beings (sattvavaha), because such is their
name (in accord with their nature),™⁴ and because they rain down living beings
such as frogs and the like. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘It is said that the clouds a hundred leagues (further) up transport living
beings, and on a stormy day rain down fish, frogs and turtles.’⁴

(The clouds further up) rain down poisonous water, and so give rise to
epidemics and other such (calamities). That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

5) ʻFifty leagues above (that) is said to be the wind (called) Ogha. There
are clouds within it that cause sickness and rain down poisonous water, due to
which epidemics arise that kill all embodied beings.”⁴

‘Within (the wind called) Ogha reside supernatural beings, Piśācas born
from Skanda’s body. It is said that Skanda’s attendants (number) 300 million,
who worship the one born from Hara with divine flowers."⁷

‘There, in that place’, that is, in the wind called Amogha, (reside the
Vināyakas, who steal away the Karma of) ‘those who have not completed”
(their Karma) and give rise to doubts. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

6) ‘O goddess, the wind (called) Amogha⁴*" is located above that at the

same (distance). Within that (wind) Amogha, there are clouds that kill (living
beings).⁴⁴

⁴*l The adjective ‘pracetas’, means, ‘aṭṭentive’, mindfulʼ and ‘clever’. In the Vedas it is
said so often of Agni, the Fire, that it has become one of his names.
⁴³² SVṬ 10/427-428ab.
⁴“³³ Above the wind Pracetas comes Senānī.
⁴“³ Read rathābhidhāyitabhāvat for tathābhidhāyitābhāvat. In other words, this wind is
called Sattvavaha.
⁴³³ SYT 10/431.
⁴“³⁰ṢYṬ 10/432-433ab. SVT reads yojanānāṁ śatādūrdhvaṁ – “‘oṅe hundred leagues
above (that)³ for pañcāśadyojanādūrdhvaṁ – *fifty leagues above (that).
‘⁷ SVṬ 10/442cd-443.
“³* Abhinava calls this Wind Māraka.
³⁹ SVṬ 10/433cd-434ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 167
‘There are fierce Vināyakas born from Mahādeva in Amogha. Three
hundred million of them reside in that wind who steal away the Karma of those
men who have not completed their Karma.’⁴*⁰

7) (In the wind Vajrāṅka there are) ‘stone cloudsʼ, called that because
they rain down stones. (The beings who reside here are) ‘inferior
Vidyādharas’, because in relation to the Vidyādharas who will be described
further ahead, they have few powers (siddhi). Thus, because they are mounted
on the clouds there, they possess their corresponding condition (gari).
He (now) explains the reason why they attained that plane.

7) The Wind Vajrāṅka

3; fzamiīzī
ā⁷ .̄TYIITĒTJTIĀ 1| Q22 1
rāT-āc̄̄ár̥̄rzr̥a
aāsīg mfṁ ftrā: 1
ye vidyāpauruṣe ye ca śnaśānādiprasādhane || 129 ||
mṛtās tatsiddhisiddhās te vajrāṅke maruti sthitāḥ |

Here, in the wind Vajrāṅka (Marked by Lightning), reside those

who, dedicated to cruel (and inferior) Vidyās⁴"¹ effected in cremation
grounds and the like, attained the accomplishments (siddhi) they lead to
and died. (129cd-130ab) (129)
‘Cruel (and inferior) Vidyās’ are Gāruḍa Vidyās⁴²² and the like, that
are (used when) in conflict (with others). (Those who made use of such Vidyās)
‘died”, that is to say that such is its (consequence and final) end. That is said (in
the Svacchandatantra):

‘The wind Vajrāṅka (Marked by Lightning) is located at a distance of

fifty leagues (from the one below it). Within it are clouds called ‘stone (clouds)”
that rain down stones.”⁴³
‘There are clouds also in the wind (called) Vajrāṅka,¹⁴ that do cruel
things. (Black) as sliced collyrium, and terrible, they are well-known as Tāpana
(Scourge) by name. Those who reside in this wind are inferior Vidyādharas who
travel on the wind of the mind. Dedicated to cruel (and inferior) Vidyās,⁴⁹³ they

⁴⁰ṢVṬ 10/444-445ab.
⁴1 *yiḍyās’ are mantras dedicated to female beings.
⁴² Garuḍa is the mythical eagle-like bird which is Viṣṇu’s vehicle. Garuḍa, like eagles,
kills snakes, and so the Vidyās and mantras of Garuḍa are uṣed as magical remedies for
snakebite and poison. Just as they cure them, they can also induce their effects, applied
as imprecations against one’s enemies. Concerning these procedures and the Gāruḍa
Tantras, see Dyczkowski 1988: 342.
⁴⁵ SVT 10/434cd-435ab.
“³* SYṬ 10/45cd and MSs Ch and N read vajrāṅge for vajrāṅke.
⁴³ Kṣemarāja: manaḥ pavanavan mātaṅgārohād eva gacchanti tacchīlāḥ, ata
evādhamāḥ | uttamās tu vidyādiprabhāveṇaiva tattaddeśaprāptimantaḥ ||
168 CHAPTER EIGHT
have brought demonic ghosts (verāla) from the cremation ground under their
control, and so are accomplished (siddha) (in this way).”⁴⁴⁰

8) The Wind Vaidyuta

TraāīTTṝzá āsTgJaēḍdISTTHSĪTTT: I| 2 3
³az] šagī TJJaTI T.; |
īī āṣāī Ṁīa⁵ ĩ N IĨ ẼrafT: 1 g3¢ 1
īJṝ aāaātaī āṁ raāīīd āgd fkvā 1
pañcāśadūrdhvaṁ vajrāṅkād vaidyuto ʻśanivarṣiṇaḥ || 130 ||
abdā apsarasaś cātra ye ca puṇyakṛto narāḥ |
bhṛgau vahnau jale ye ca saṁṅgrāme cānivartinaḥ || 131 ||
gograhe bandimokṣe vā mṛtās te vaidyute sthitāḥ |

Fifty leagues above Vajrāṅka is (the wind called) Vaidyuta

(Lightning). There are clouds (here) that rain lightning and Apsaras. Here
(reside,) never returning from there, those people who have done
meritorious deeds (in their life), or died falling into a precipice, into fire,
water, in battle, or attempting to free (a kidnapped) maiden,⁴⁷ or save cows
(from the attacks of hungry lions or the like).⁴* (130cd-132ab) (130-131)

Now he explains what meritorious deeds are, with the words ‘(died)
falling into a precipice’ etc. Those who have died (falling) into a precipice etc.
are those of whom the memory has been lost, because it is this that is said of
them. As is said:

‘(one) of whom the memory has been lost (is said to have died falling)
into a precipice.

Again:

‘One who has attained the supreme summit (of existence), who has been
abandoned by the doctors, who has given up savouring (tasty) juices, afflicted
by (many) diseases, is averse (to worldly pleasures), has been abandoned by his
relatives, a man who, intent on abandoning the body, climbs up a Bhairava (cliff
to throw himself down from it), should attain that fruit. If he commits suicide

‘They move mounted on the elephant of the mind, which is like the wind. This is the
way they behave, and so are the lowest (kind). The best (kind) reach each place by the
power of knowledge (vidyā) and the like.”
⁴° SVT 10/445cd-447. Kṣemarāja: vidyāpauruṣe śāstravidyādispardhāyāṁ tathā
veṭālādīn sādhayitvā ye 'prasiddhā mṛtā ity arthaḥ || “Cruel (and inferior) Vidyās are
those in conflict with the Vidyās of the scriptures. Having in that way brought Vetālas
etc. under control, infamous, they have died. This is the meaning.’
⁴⁷ Read bandimokṣe for vadhyamokṣe. See SVT 10/449cd.
⁴“³ TĀ 8/123-132ab (122cd-131) correspond to SVT 10/422-449.
 TANTRĀLOKA 169
(pātayed deham) in another way, (all) he gets is the fruit of murdering a
Brahmin.”

‘In battle’ implies that the reason (for dying in battle) is that they have
come to take refuge (in Bhairava), otherwise (if their attitude is not such), they
would simply be committing suicide. So how can that plane be attained? As is
said:

‘Those worlds have no sun and are wrapped in dense darkness. Those
men who have committed suicide, having left (this world), attain those.”
⁴⁹

(They) ‘reside’ (in this wind) with their celestial vehicles. That is said
(in the Svacchandatantra):

‘(After) as many leagues (comes) the wind Vaidyuta (Lightning). The

clouds within it are lightning clouds, within which reside those who generate
lightning.³⁰ Agitated by the wind, great (flashes of) lightning arises within
them.”
⁸⁰Ī

‘Apsaras (reside) in that (wind called) Vaidyuta, appointed (to their

tasks) by Indra. They always reside there in order to guard the world of the
earth. The most excellent of men who die (falling) into a precipice, fire, water,
or in battles, not fleeing (from them), or when saving cows (or) freeing (a
kidnapped) maiden, go up above that, (transported by celestial) vehicles
decorated with gems.”³²

“ Jśāvāsyopaniṣat verse 3.
³⁰⁰ The SvṬ reads vaidyute – ‘within Vaidyuta’ for vaidyutāḥ. I have translated in accord
with Kṣemarāja’s introduction to the following line: vaidyutatvam eteṣāṁ
vidyutkāraṇatvenety āha ‘They are said to be lightning (clouds) because they are the
cause of lightning.”
⁵⁰ SVṬ 10/435cd-436.
³⁰²SVṬ 10/448-450ab. Kṣemarāja explains: na nivartanta ity anivartakāḥ sammukhaṁ
ye mriyania ity arthaḥ | gavāṁ grahaḥ sihādibhir ākramaṇam | bandyo balād gṛhītā
hathamriyamāṇāḥ parayoṣitaḥ | ete ca saṁgrāmādau mṛtāḥ sadācāratvāt
puruṣottamāḥ, na tu pūrve -
asūryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ |
tāṁ s te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātmahano (janāḥ) ||
iti śrutau teṣām anuttamatvenoktatvāt || 450 ||

‘Those who do not return are those who do not turn back. The meaning is that
they die in front (of oneself). (They have been) attacked by bulls, a planet or lions etc.
(There are those) who are imprisoned, caught by force, the women of others killed
violently. Also, there are these ones who have died in a battle or the like whose conduct
is correct and so are excellent people. These are (not the ones mentioned) previously,
because according to (the following passage) in the Veda, they have been said not to be
the best:
‘Those worlds are called ‘without the sun’, and are enveloped in blinding
darkneṣss. Ghosts of people who have committed suicide go there.”” (śopaṇiṣad 3)
170 CHAPTER EIGHT
9-10) The Winds Raivata and Saṁvarta

Ūē̄dīī ṬṬāTṬṬĪĒT JrṀĀSēTATCT: II Z3R I

3iã ] JIā3a: āā-Ṁ -d |
ṭEEIEĒEITŪFATKEEḺFCTḶIEEṈI
vaidyutād raivatas tāvāṁs tatra puṣṭivahāmbudāḥ || 132 ||
ūrdhvaṁ ca rogāmbumucaḥ saṁvarte tadanantare |
rocanāñjanabhasmādisiddhās tatraiva raivate | || 133 ||

At the same (distance above) Vidyūta is the wind Raivata. There

(within it) are clouds that rain nourishment (puṣṭi). Just above that is the
wind Saṁvarta,̃⁸ in which the clouds rain disease. There in (the wind)
Raivata reside those who have attained (the magical powers of) yellow
pigment (rocana), collyrium, ashes and the rest. (132cd-133) (132-133ab)

By ‘and the rest’ of ‘ashes and the rest’ are meant (magical
atṭtainments), such as that of the sandals (pāduka). That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):
‘Raivata is said to be fifty leagues above that. There is a cloud within
that (wind) called the Puṣṭivāha (Conveyor of Nourishment) that rains down
nourishment for embodied beings.”
‘Great souls who are accomplished yogis (siddha) are well established
in Raivata. Smeared with yellow orpiment and ashes, they have wooden sandals
(and wear) antelope skins etc. Having attained (the siddhis that come from that),
they are great souls and accomplished yogis, whose form is as they wish it to be
(kāmarūpin).”³⁰⁵

‘Above’ Raivata, where there is (that much) space in between, that is,
after a space of those same fifty leagues, (comes the wind Saṁvarta). That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘There are clouds that cause disease in (the wind) Saṁvarta, and rain
down water that brings disease. Within those fifty leagues there are (many such)
clouds."*⁶

11) The Wind Viṣāvarta (Whirlpool of Poison)

rīīrarā
aī faa: nīē: |
aīvīgiṁ
āai gfdīaaī gaāīsī: | 2 3% 1|
³⁰³ Read saṅvarte for saṁṅvartās. See SVT 10/438cd.
³⁰ ṢYT 10/437.
³⁰⁵ SVṬ 10/451cd-452.
³⁰⁶ SYT 10/438.
 TANTRĀLOKA 171
fērēamērrīg er qāāaāq |
ēērīī] gaṟ=i fṝīṁaṁisa
d fker: u g 3.. 1|
krodhodakamucāṁ sthānaṁ viṣāvartaḥ sa mārutaḥ |
pañcāśadūrdhvaṁ tatraiva durdīnābdā hutāśajāḥ || 134 ||
vidyādharaviś ca tathā ye parameśvaram ḷ
gāndharveṇa sadārcanti viṣāvarte ‘tha te sthitāḥ || 135 I|

Fifty (leagues) above this is the wind Viṣāvarta (Whirlpool of

Poison). It is the abode of the clouds that rain the waters of wrath
(krodhodaka). There itself (within this same wind) are the (black) clouds of
stormy days (durdina) that are born of fire. In Viṣāvarta reside the elect
(viśeṣa) amongst the Vidyādhara, who constantly worship the Supreme
Lord with (celestial) music (gāndharva). (134-135) (133cd-135ab)

(They are called) ‘clouds of bad days’ because they cause bad weather.
(The Vidyādharas there worship with) ‘music’ (made) with the flute or vīṇā and
the like. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘The wind called Viṣāvarta (Whirlpool of Poison) is situated fifty

(leagues further) up. Clouds called ‘Waters of Wrath’ are well established
within it. If those clouds rain, the rain they produce is attended by much wrath,
craving and wars, and destroys kings and (their) subjects.”³⁷

12-14) The Winds Durjaya (Hard

to Overcome), Parāvaha
(ŚSupreme Conveyor) and Āvaha (Conveyor)

fāāraīī2rzšā
gsta: arāīvī |
amīṣā fkeī #raī. JGō3ā aṬT-M': |] g3ē 1
ṬGŪGṬ TāṬTH] TTHITĪJ TTTR |
STrTTīTRTGTTT⁹Ṭ fērTITĪTHIT: I 231 |]
3 a kJT arāī ōīāī d ũJaītzaṁ: |
viṣāvartāc chatād ūrdhvaṁ durjayaḥ śvāsasaṁbhavaḥ |
brahmaṇo ‘tra sthitā meghāḥ pralaye vātakāriṇaḥ || 136 ||
puṣkarābdā vāyugamā gandharvāś ca parāvahe |
jīmūtameghās tatsaṁjñās tathā vidyādharottamāḥ || 137 ||
ye ca rūpavratā lokā āvahe te pratiṣṭhitāḥ |

One hundred leagues beyond Viṣāvarta (Whirlpool of Poison) is the

wind Durjaya (Hard to Overcome), born of the breath of Brahmā. Here
within it are the clouds that generate the winds (that blow) at the time of

³⁰⁷ ṢVṬ 10/439-441ab.

172 CHAPTER EIGHT
cosmic destruction. In (the wind) Parāvaha (Supreme Conveyor) are the
clouds Puṣkara (Lake) and the Gandharvas called Vāyugama (Wind
Travellers). The clouds Jīmūta (Lightning) and the excellent Vidyādharas
by that name, along with the creatures Rūpavrata (Vow of Form), reside in
the wind Āvaha (Conveyor). (136-138ab) (135cd-137)

‘It is said that there are 400 million hosts of Vidyādharas adorned with
divine ornaments in the great wind (called) Viṣāvarta (Whirlpool of Poison).¹³⁸

‘The clouds, fiery and born of smoke, said to give cold, bad days, travel
in the wind Viṣāvarta (Whirlpool of Poison), logged in it as if in a boat. There
(to0) are the winged (Vidyādharas), whose form is as they desire it, and (their)
nature the same as the Gandharvas (celestial musicians), skilled in music, know
how to play the flute and vīṇā.”³

(One should take care) here not to be misled by the (mistaken) reading
(supported by) the commentator’s (i.e. Kṣemarāja’s) commentary (on the
Svacchandatantra), ‘īn the great wind (called) Saṁvarta also, for (if that were
to be the correct reading,) then how is it that Vidyādharas are not said to be in
Saṁvarta, whereas they are said to be so in Viṣāvarta?⁵¹⁰ The reading we reckon
(to be the correct one) is indeed so, because it has been accepted by
distinguished (and learned) people. In the same way one should also accept the
reading we reckon (to be the correct one,) in the following (line):

‘Fifty leagues (further) above is said to be the wind (called) Ogha.”⁵¹

Otherwise, the meaning of ‘for as many’, according to that view (in the
line that follows) which begins with ‘above that for as many (leagues) . . .,
would not make sense.³³ ‘Durjaya (Hard to Overcome)ʼ is the wind by that
name. That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):

⁵³ SVT 10/453cd-454ab. SvT reads saṅvarte ‘pi for viṣāvarte. Jayaratha expressly
rejects this reading. See below.
³” SVṬ 10/455-456.
⁵¹⁰ Jayaratha is referring here to Kṣemarāja’s commentary called ‘uddyota’ (‘radiance’)
on the Svacchandatantra. Jayaratha reads viṣāvarte in SvT 10/453cd and rejects the
reading saṁṅvarte ‘pi (⁴also in (the wind) Saṁvarta’), accepted by Kṣemarāja. See note
above.
³! ṢVṬ 10/432ab. The printed edition of the S√T reads ‘yojanānāṁ śatād ūrdhvaṁ . . .
This is also the reading of this line as quoted in the edition of Jayaratha’s commentary.
So, if the readings are the same, Jayaratha’s remark would make no sense. At the bottom
of the printed text of the SvT, the editor notes the variant reading: pañcāśad yojanād
āūrdhvaṁ, i.e. *fifty leagues above’. This may be the reading Jayaratha prefers.
Also, in the following verse reported in the note that follows, this cloud is
called Amogha (Unfailing), rather than Ogha. See following note.
⁵'² 10/433c. The full verse reads:
tasmād ūrdhvaṁ tu tāvadbhyo devy amoghaḥ sthito marut ||
tasmiṁs te mārakā meghā amoghe sampratiṣṭhitāḥ |
 TANTRĀLOKA 173
‘The clouds called Brahmaja (Born from Brahmā) arise from Brahmā’s
exhalation. Located one hundred leagues above, they are on top of (the wind)
Durjaya (Hard to Overcome).”³¹³

The word ‘and’ in ‘and the Gandharvas’ (called Vāyugama) (serves)

to include the clouds called Durjaya (Hard to Overcome) etc. also.”" That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra):
‘Indra’s bodyguards, called ‘durjaya’ (‘hard to overcome’) are there
itself. Taking as their support the wind called Parāvaha (Supreme Conveyor),
they are well established. Endowed with the strength of a great vitality, they are
said (to extend for) 100 million (leagues). The clouds called Puṣkarāvartaka
(Whirlpool Lake) have arisen from (Brahmā), the One Born from a Lotus. (The
all) resisting (wind) Parāvaha (Supreme Conveyor) transports, as if they were
people, the wings of the great-souled mountains cut off by Indra. The
Gandharvas called Vāyugama (Wind Travellers), whose abode is the sky,
(reside) within it.⁷³³

From then on one should understand’"⁶ that there are no gaps between
their locations, because there is no scripture that prescribes that there be a gap
(between them).
‘By that name’, that is, (the Vidyādharas) called Jīmūta (Lightning).
That is said (in the Svacchandatantra);
‘The clouds called ‘Jīmūta’ (Lightning) have arisen from the soul (jīva)
of the gods. These clouds rest on the second wind (called) Āvaha (Conveyor).
There are ten hosts of Vidyādharas within that, called Jīmūtaka.”⁵¹⁷

(The creatures called) ‘Rūpavrata’ (Vow of Form) (are named in

accord with their nature. The word ‘rīūpa’ (meaning ‘form’) is the reality (vastu)
which is not grounded in the thing in itself (vastu), (but) like something that
appears (to have a certain) form. (‘Formʼ here means) a procedure (that relates
to external illusory) form. Thus (Rūpavrata) are those for whom this is their
‘vow’ (vrata), that is, who live from that. This is the meaning. That is said in the
venerable Svacchanda:
‘The residence of those creatures who are vowed to (outer, illusory)
form is there.”
One should not be confused if this half (verse) was not perceived by
(Kṣemarāja), the commentator.³¹⁴

‘above that for as many (leagues), O goddess, is located the wind Amogha.
Within that Amogha, these deadly clouds are well established.⁷ SVT 10/433cd-434ab
The distance to the next wind is fifty leagues, so ‘for as many’ – referring to
the distance between the previous two winds — should imply that, and Kṣemarāja does
indeed explain it that way. However, if the reading of the previous line Jayaratha rejects
is accepted, the distance would be one hundred leagues. See previous note.
⁵"¹ SYT 10/457.
⁵¹ Jayaratha is saying that Gandharvas are found in Durjaya and other clouds also.
⁵¹³ SVṬ 10/458-461ab.
³¹⁶ Read -avagantavyam- for -avasātavyam-.
⁵³"⁷ SVT 10/462-463ab.
174 CHAPTER EIGHT
15-16) The Winds Mahāvaha (Great Conveyor) and
Mahāparivaha (Great Complete Conveyor)

aīā̄ Ūdāīīāēaī: JĪTRTFĒTHJaT: I 23¢ 1

r̥̄īdṀ̄cāz īī:; ṭcūracaī *fdr: |
mahāvahe tv īśakṛtāḥ prajāhitakarāmbudāḥ || 138 1
mahāparivahe meghāḥ kapālotthā maheśituḥ |

In the wind Mahāvaha (Great Conveyor) are the clouds created by

the Lord that bring benefits to living creatures. The clouds in the wind
Mahāparivaha (Great Complete Conveyor) are born from the skull bowl
(kapāla) of the Great Lord. (138cd-139ab) (138)

‘Created by the Lord’ (means) fashioned by Umāpati (Śiva, Umā̃’s

husband). That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):
‘Then (comes) the wind (called) Mahāvaha (Great Conveyor), where
there are (many rain-bearing) clouds (droṇa).” (Those) clouds within that
(wind) are said to be the guardians of (all the) clouds. I made them in the past so
that they may be of benefit to the creatures.”³

‘Situated above, arisen from the skull bowl, are indeed the clouds called
Saṁvarta. Their support is the wind called Mahāparivaha (Great Complete
Conveyor).”³¹

TāTTPkāṝīsā̄d̃: JGGRCTḤ: I| g38 1|

mahāparivahānto ʻyam ṛtarddheḥ prāṅmarutpathaḥ l| 139 ||

This (first) series of winds (thus starts) with Ṛtarddhi and ends with
Mahāparivaha (Great Conveyor).³² (139cd) (139ab)

Measurements of the Winds

In this way, out of the ten thousand leagues of the sixteen winds,
beginning with Rtarddha up to Mahāparivaha, calculating there (the distance) in
the gaps in between, in the order described, seven hundred and fifty (leagues),
the remainder (of 9,250 leagues) should be divided equally, because there is no

³¹ Jayaratha says that this line is from the SVT, but it cannot be traced in the printed
edition. Indeed, it seems that it was also not found in the manuscript Kṣemarāja had
before him, for Jayaratha says: ‘one should not be confused if this half (verse) was not
perceived by (Kṣemarāja), the commentator.”
³¹⁹ The SVT reads āvahas tu tato vāyur for mahāvahas tato vāyur. A *droṇa’³ is a kind of
cloud from which the rain streams forth as from a bucket.
⁵²⁰ ṢVṬ 10/463cd-464.
⁵" SVT 10/465.
⁵²² Verses 132 to 138 correspond to SYT 10/436-464.
 TANTRĀLOKA 175
special scriptural (injunction that one should do otherwise). Thus, each one (of
the winds) should measure five hundred and seventy-eight (leagues) and half a
krośa.³⁸

The Remaining Nine Paths of the Winds

3ṃfFṝēī-āī
Tīāg #z̄ṛāēāī Gaṭftaī |
filā⁷ aācm tūrgamoṁ frīēētsr | 2 0 1
qã̃ ũaṁgaṁzāī}
fērṁmī. ṁaāT q̄
ṀS TGTIT-ATTGGṬAĪ
JĪ fJ: 1] 2 42 1
arīq Taṁ̃ rāīīācāī g-īṝaṝtzā: |
aṛH aaaāī ōrīeaTa⁷ TēaNH I 22 1
agnikanyā mātaraś ca rudraśaktyā tv adhiṣṭhitāḥ |
dvitīye tatpare siddhacāraṇā nījakarmajāḥ || 140 ||
turye devāyudhāny aṣṭau diggajāḥ pañcame punaḥ |
ṣaṣṭhe garutmān anyasmiṅ gaṅgāny atra vṛṣo vibhuḥ || 141 I
dakṣas tu navame brahmaśaktyā samyag adhiṣṭhitaḥ |
daśame vasavo rudrā ādityāś ca marutpathe || 142 |

2) In the second (path of the winds) reside the Mothers and the
daughters of fire, presided over by Rudra’s power. 3) Beyond that are the
Siddhacaraṇa, born (in this state) by virtue of their deeds. 4) In the fourth
are the eight gods of the divine weapons.³* 5) In the fifth are the elephants
of the quarters. 6) Again, in the sixth, is Garuḍa. 7) In the next one is the
(celestial) Ganges. 8) (Nandin, Śiva’s divine mount), the bull is elsewhere
(in the eighth). 9) Dakṣa, rightly presided° by Brahmā’s power, is in the
ninth, and 10) the Vasus, Rudras and lldityas are in the tenth.³² (140-142)
(139cd-142ab)

“The Mothers’ are Brāhmī and the rest. “In the second’ path of the
winds. ‘Beyond that’ in the third. ‘The eight’ are (the weapons, namely, the)
arrow and the rest. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):
‘And here on the fourth path of the wind reside the deities of (the gods”)
weapons, namely, (iron) arrow (nārāca), (long) bow (cāpa), discus, ṛṣṭi,³
spear, javlin, arrow (iṣu) and mace.”³⁸

⁵²³ There are eight krosas in a yojana. Thus, halfa krośa is 0.125 yojanas. 9,250 divided
by 16 = 578.125.
⁵¹ See below, 30/42-43ab.
⁵²⁵³ Read samyag adhiṣṭhitaḥ for samadhiti(ni)ṣṭhitaḥ.
⁵²⁶ Drawn from SvT 10/467-489.
⁵*⁷ This word is not in the dictionaries. Kṣemarāja glosses it simply as ‘a particular
weaponʼ.
³²⁸ SYT 10/469. Read ~śaktīṣumudgarāḥ for –śaktīṣu mudgarāḥ.
176 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘The elephants of the quartersī are Airāvata and the rest. That is said
(in the SŚvacchandatantra);

‘O mistress of the gods, Airāvata and the rest reside in the fifth path (of
the winds). 1) Airavata, 2) Añjana (Collyrium), and the great elephant 3)
Vāmana (Dwarf), along with the king of the elephants, 4) Supratīka (Beautiful
Appearance), 5) Puṣpadanta (Flower Teeth), 6) Kumuda (Blue Lotus), 7)
Pundarīka (Lotus), and so also 8) Sārvabhauma (Emperor), the eighth –— these
are said to be the elephants of the quarters (all of them) arranged in their own
direction.¹⁹

‘In the next one’ means in the seventh (path of the winds).
‘Elsewhere’ means in the eighth one. The Vasus are eight, the Rudras are
eleven, and the Adityas, twelve. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

Eleven Rudras

‘Here Aṅgāraka (Burning Coal), Sarpis (Snake), Nairṛta (Nefarious),

Sadasadpati (Lord of Truth and Falsity), Budha (Mercury), and the one known
as Dhūmaketu (Smokey Flag), along with Jvara (Fever), Aja (Goat), Bhuvaneśa
(Lord of the Worlds), Mṛtyu (Death), and Kāpālika (Skull Bearer) are said to be
the eleven Rudras, who give rise to the fruits of all desires.

Eight Vasus

Dhātr (Benefactor), Dhruva (Pole Star), Soma (Moon), Varuṇa, Anila (Wind),
Anala (Fire), Pratyūṣa (Dawn), and Pradoṣa (Sunset) are said to be the eight
Vasus. These, the Vasus, have been listed, now know the Adityas (Suns), from
me.
Twelve Suns

Aryamas, Indra, Varuṇa, Pūṣas, Viṣṇu, Gabhastimat, and the one called
Mitra, Ajaghanya, Jaghanyaka, Vivasvat, Parjayna and Dhātrṛ are said to be
twelve.³³*⁰

The Sun

īrārsṝrāīeāī fīīēīskk-ī īvsēn |

fīīō āīvṁṝṁ: aī āīcahraī
I || 23 1
navayojanasāhasro vigraho ‘rkasya maṇḍalam |
triguṇaṁ jñānaśaktiḥ sā tapaty arkatayā prabhoḥ || 143 |I

³²⁹ SVT 10/470-472ab.

³³⁰ SVṬ 10/490cd-495ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 177
The body of the sun is nine thousand leagues across, and its aura is
three time that. The Lord’s power of knowledge heats (and illumines the
world) as the sun.³¹ (143) (142cd-143ab)

‘Three tīmes that’⁷ means twenty-seven thousand (leagues). ‘Heats’

means illumines the universe. The sense is that it is the very nature of
knowledge to illumine. That is said:

‘Thisis the power of knowledge, whichis supreme;³⁴² its form the sun,
it heats. 5533

3) Svarloka

TGĪRT] JTGĪHIÇ AJTT ṬÑRATJT |

gdāīcaōārīṛ ōīīaṁzr; fāēarīc: fēa ar 1 gxx 1
TṬFGĀU] ṬŪĪ TT JHJĀT 7 |
saī sŨr̄̃. aaãq̄aṁ Taa fag: I 2x., 1A
TĪÑṬGGTTī āaāttāīīzṝīāīg, yaṁaaī |
ÉGEEIKṞSĀĒḺI| Ṭaaṛ ÉEINEEM I| ÇXŠ I

svarlokas tu bhuvarlokād dhruvāntaṁ paribhāṣyate |

sūryāl lakṣeṇa śītāṁśuḥ kriyāśaktiḥ śivasya sā || 144 ||
candrāl lakṣeṇa nākṣatraṁ tato lakṣadvayena tu |
pratyekaṁ bhaumataḥ sũryasutãnte pañcakaṁ viduḥ || 145 II
saurāl lakṣeṇa saptarṣivargas tasmād dhruvas tathā |
brahmaivāpararūpeṇa brahmasthāne dhruvo ‘calaḥ || 146 ||
meghībhūto mānānāṁ sarveṣām upari dhruvaḥ |

Now we will talk about Svarloka (the celestial world), which

extends from Bhuvar (the atmospheric world), up to Dhruva (the pole star).
1) The Moon is at a distance of one hundred thousand leagues beyond the
Sun, and is Śiva’s power of action. 2) The (circle of) the constellations
(nakṣatram) is one hundred thousand (leagues) from the Moon. 3-7) (The
wise) know that the five planets from Mars to Saturn are each two hundred
thousand (leagues from one another). 8) (Then) the constellation of the
Seven RṚṣis (that is, the Great Bear) is a hundred thousand (leagues) from

³³ See SVT 10/498cd-499 and below 152212.

⁵³² Ṛead with S√T, parā hy eṣā for parasyai semarāj:
sarvaśakter maheśvarasya viśvaprakāṣī ānaśaktir jīvādityabāhyādityarūpatayā
sthitety arthaḥ || ‘The power of knowledge of Maheśvara, who possesses all powers,
illumines all things; it abides in the form of the outer Sun and (the inner) Sun of life.
This is the meaning.”
³³³ SVT 10/499cd.
178 CHAPTER EIGHT
Saturn. 9) The Pole Star (Dhruva) that is the same (distance of a hundred
thousand leagues beyond that) is Brahmā himself, in another form.⁵⁴
Within Brahmā’s abode, the Pole Star (Dhruva), which is above all
(others), is immobile and fixed (dhruva) as the axis_(medhībhūta)³° of the
vehicles (of the celestial bodies).³** (144-147ab) (143cd-146)

(The celestialt world extends) beginning ‘from Bhuvar (the

atmospheric world)ʼ, that is, the Sun, because is located within the
atmospheric world.³⁷ (The Moon is Śiva’s) ‘power of action’ because it
satisfies the universe. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra);

‘Śiva’s power of action heats in the form of the Moon.’⁴⁸

The circle ‘of the constellationsʼ. That is said:

‘Above the moon, (at a distance of) just one hundred thousand
(leagues), is the circle of the constellations.”³³⁹

(The planets are) ‘two hundred thousand’ (leagues) above (one

another). Thus, there are two hundred thousand (leagues) to Mars, then that
(much) also to Mercury, (and the same from there) up to Saturn. (Then the
constellation of the Seven Ṛṣis is) ‘a hundred thousand’ʼ (leagues) above
(Saturṇ). That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra);

‘The seven Ṛṣis are said to be Atri, Va stha, Pulaṣṭya, Palaha, Kratu,
Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras and Marīci.³⁴⁰

⁵³⁴ 100,000 + 100,000 + 5 x 200,000 + 100,000 + 100,000 = 5,400,000.

³⁴⁹ See SVT 10/501-511. Medhas means, amongst other things, ‘marrow’ or ‘essence’. In
this context, what is meant is that Brahmā is the ‘essence’ and axis of the planets and
constellations that rotate around his abode, in the Pole Star in the centre of the heavens.
³⁴⁶ For details concerning verses 139cd to 146, see S√T 10/469-510. Brahmā’s abode is
the centre. See below, 31/11cd-24ab. According to the Parākhya, Bhuvarloka extends
from the sun to the pole star (dhruva), reducing Svarloka, which extends for 85,000
leagues, to just the place where Sakra and the other gods dwell (ibid. 5/130). The
description of Bhuvarloka there includes iconography and myths of the nine planets,
arranged in the order of the days of the week. Then, beyond a belt of stars including the
constellation of the Seven Ṛṣis (i.e. the Pleiades), lies the Pole Star (Ibid. 5/114-129).
³³⁷ According to the Svacchanda, which Abhinava is largely following, the Sun is the
first celestial body of Svarloka, that extends up to the pole star (ādityādidhruvāntaś ca
svarlokaḥ parikītītaḥ | SVT 10/514ab). However, it appears that Abhinava has chosen to
keep the Sun as the last part of Bhuvarloka. Jayaratha has spotted this and feels, not
unjustifiably, that the Sun should be included with the rest of the nine grahas in
Svarloka. He gets around this by saying that Abhinava’s reference to Bhuvarloka is
implicitly to the ŚSun, whereas read as it stands, Abhinava is simply referring to it as the
previous Loka.
³³⁸SVT 10/502ab.
³⁴⁹ SVT 10/502cd. Kṣemarāja: nakṣatramaṇḍalaṁ tārācakram | `the circle of the
constellations is the emporium of stars.
³⁴⁰ SYṬ 10/506. SVT reads samprakīrtitāḥ for sapta kīṟtitāḥ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 179
(The Pole Star is) ‘the same’ hundred thousand (leagues) beyond that.
This is the meaning. (It serves) ‘as the axis'’ means that (the Pole Star) has
assumed the state of the place (to which all the celestial bodies are) attached.
‘The vehicles⁷ are (those) associated with the planets and the rest (of the
celestial bodies). That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘Brahmā himṣelf, in another form, is appointed to the (fixed) location

of the Pole Star (dhruva).³⁰ O goddess, the host of heavenly bodies (jyotis)
moves (in circles), always tied to that. One should know that it is immobile,
presided over (and sustained) by Śiva’s power.³³⁴²

⁵¹ SYT and MS Ch and Ñ read brahmasthāne for dhruvasthāne.

⁵⁴² SVT 10/510cd-511. Kṣemarāja comments: satyalokastho brahmāṇḍenāpararūpeṇa
bhuvarlokamadhye niyuktaḥ || itthaṁ madhye cakranābhivadavasthitasya ---
Śśivaśaktyaivetthaṁ vyavasthāpita ity arthaḥ | eṣa cāntarasthityāvicalaścidātmaiva
samadhyavāhatrayodaśendriyatārācakraparivṛtaḥ kālādhikāroktasthityāśeṣagraha-
rakṣādyāśrayaṇaprāṇāpānasūryasomasañcārapravartaka iti boddhavyam 1| ata
evātmapratinidhirāpadhruvasya ----
yad ahnā kuṟute pāpaṁ dr̥ṣṭvā tan niśi mucyate |
adhikaṁ ca bhavaty āyur dhruvāntānāṁ samāḥ samāḥ ||

ity asya jyotiḥśāstrādau śrūyate | yat u tatra dhruvanābhinibaddhasya

grahanakṣatracakrasya bahirbhūgolaṁ yan nivartanam, sūryādīnāṁ bhūmyādeś
cānvathāvasthānaparimāṇādi śrīyate, tat ----

yad upacitam anyajanmani śubhāśubhaṁ tasya karmaṇaḥ paṅktim |

vyañjayati śāstram etat tamasi dravyāṇi dīpa iva || (sūryajātaka 1-3)

‘(Brahmā), who resides in Satyaloka, is appointed to (take his place in) the
middle of Bhuvarloka in ‘another formʼ, that is, in the form of the Egg of Brahmā. The
meaning is that the one who is located in the centre in this way, like in the middle of a
wheel, is installed here in this way by Śiva’s power. That is consciousness that (never)
wavers from its inwardness (in the centre), surrounded by the wheel of the stars of the
thirteen senses, along with the current (of the breath) in the centre. One should know
that it impels the movement of the Sun of inhalation (prāṇa) and the Moon of exhalation
(apāna), which is the basis of all the planets and constellations etc. presiding, as
explained, over (the passage of) time. Thus, one learns in the texts on Astrology etc.
concerning Dhruva (the pole star) that takes place (in the outer world) of the Self that:
‘One is freed from the sin that one commits during the day once having seen that (pole
star) at night. The lifespan of (all those) equally (without exception) who are within (the
influence) of Dhruva (the Pole star) increases. (The regular) return (to their initial
places) of the external planet earth of the wheel of the planets and constellations that are
tied there to Dhruva, that is in the centre, is said (in the texts) to be that of the earth etc.
in relation to the Sun etc., or else a change of place etc. (As is said in the Sūryajātaka):

‘The line of his Karman that has been accumulated, auspicious and
inauspicious, in a previous life, the śāstra clarifies, like a lamp, things that are in the
dark.”

iti taduktaprakriyayaiva .pūrvakarmānusāritejogolakādhiṣṭhātṛṣūryādirūpadevatā-

pekṣayā karmārjanasthānasthabhūmyapekṣayā ca tathā, idaṁ tu tejogolakādy-
180 CHAPTER EIGHT
Even though they are attached here (and so are sustained), what is their
foundation? With this doubt in mind, he says:

The ŚSeven Realms of Winds in Svarloka³³

T āaī̄ TāTTTRaTTSTTGTTSRṀ I| Q34 |

atra baddhāni sarvāṇy apy ūhyante ʻnilamaṇḍale || 147 I|

Attached here, all (the celestial bodies) are carried away into the
region of the winds. (147cd) (147ab)

How many regions of the winds are there? With this question in mind,
he says:

aTTT TIRTTSĒ-T
JĪHHTaT: THI-TI; |
svas sapta mārutaskandhā āmeghādyāḥ pradhātaḥ |

Seven are the principal realms of the winds in Svar (the heavenly
region), beginning with those of the clouds. (148ab) (147cd)

‘Svara (the heavenly region’ (svar) is the world of heaven

(svargaloka) (of the heavenly bodies, where the gods reside).³⁴ ‘Starting with

adhiṣṭhātr̥ṣūryādirūpadevatāpekṣayā yathoktaprakriyayaiva sūryādīnām avasthāna-

saṁniveśabhramaṇādi pātālabhūmyādiparimāṇādi vāstavam 1| sarvasarvajña-
maheśvaraparidṛṣṭam etad eveti na tena saha saṁvādaviṣaṁvādādicarcā kāryā | ata
eva ----

šāstrāntarair na yad drṣṭaṁ tad drṣṭaṁ pārameśvare |

niyatyādiśivāntaṁ vāk kvānyatra paridṛśyate ||
itīyam eva prakriyā sādhvī || 511 I|

The change from the netherworld to the (surface of) the Earth etc., moving
through positions and locations of the Sun and the rest (of the celestial bodies) takes
place in the manner taught previously in relation to the deity who, in the form of the Sun
and the other (celestial bodies), presides over the (celestial) spheres of radiant energy. It
also (takes place) in relation to the place in which Karma is accrued and in relation the
deity in the form of the Sun and the other (celestial bodies) that preside over the
(celestial) spheres of radiant energy that follow in accord with previous Karman. All of
that is supervised by the omniscient Maheśvara. There is no discussion, whether in
agreement or disagreement with what needs be undertaken. Thus:

‘What is not seen in other śāstras is seen in that of the Supreme Lord. Where
else is (that) talk concerning (the principles), beginning with (karmic) necessity (niyati)
and ending with Śiva, to be seen (so) completely?’
Thus, this cosmology (prakriyā) is sound (and logically consistent).”
³⁴ Capped by the Pole Star, there are seven regions within Svarloka. Between each of
them there are seven realms of winds.
 TANTRĀLOKA 181
those in the realm of the clouds’³ means that amongst (realms of the winds)
the clouds are the first. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘Beginning with the clouds, the Sun, the Moon, the constellations, the
sphere of the planets, the Seven Ṛṣis, ending with the location of the Pole Star,
which is the seventh. ⁴⁶

Again:

“1) The first realm (skandha) (of the winds) is that of earth. (It extends)
up to the clouds and is (called) Āvaha (Conveyor). 2) The second also (extends)
from the clouds up to the sun and is (called) Pravaha (Stream). 3) In the same
way, it is said that (the wind) from the Sun up to the Moon* is Udvaha
(Upward Stream). 4) The fourth one is Saṁvaha (Transporting), (that extends)
from the Moon upwards to the constellations. 5) (Extending) upwards in the
same way, from the constellations up to the planets is (the wind) Vivaha
(Special Conveyor). 6) (Extending) upward from the planets to the Ṛṣis is the
sixth one, Parāvaha (Supreme Conveyor). 7) Similarly, (extending) upwards
from the Seven Ṛṣis up to the Pole Star is the seventh realm of the winds,
Parivaha (All round Conveyor).”⁸

Whose is the dwelling here? He says:

AĀ TFEITHHETCIĪḤ IE|EEIEEIHI'IKAA
-rīṝ̄ Tar ra ṁd JJARI: |
itaś ca kratuhotrādi kr̥tvā jñānavivarjitāḥ || 148 II
svar yānti tatkṣaye lokaṁ mānuṣyaṁ puṇyaśeṣataḥ |

From here, those who are devoid of knowledge but have performed
sacrifices and offered oblations to fire and the like go to Svar (the heavenly
region). When (the fruits of their actions) are exhausted, (they are reborn)
in the world of men by virtue of what remains of their merit. (148cd-149ab)
(148)

Bringing that together, he (goes on) to expound something else.

⁵⁴⁴ The world is divided into three main regions or worlds. They are: bhurloka – the
world of earth, svarloka – the world of the heavens where celestial beings reside and
bhuvarloka – the world of the sky, which is an intermediate region between the two.
There are bands or realms (skandha) of winds in each of these three. After describing
the Bhuvarloka (see next note), he goes on to Svarloka.
³⁴⁵ Bhuyarloka is the realm of clouds, which extends for 100,000 leagues, wherein are
the sixteen winds.
³⁴⁶ See SVT 10/513.
³⁹⁷ Reead tathāsomād for tathā somād.
⁵“³ Kṣemarāja quotes this passage in SvTu ad 10/513 and says it is drawn from a Purāṇa.
182 CHAPTER EIGHT

4) Maharloka (the Great World)

T vṂJTJTT aTṬGGĀJT
AI TITI
T I Ṟ¥Ṣ I
š īāī? ũg arvfṭśīṁī āaṁtaī ṁēīq 1
iGGEEIĪEJEŠĪEEAĒTEĀIĪtzīs ĀṬĪTCI
frafāāṁtkahīag aṁ mfa har. 1
TGTTA
̄T THāRTA
NṀ ĀĪ STIT: I| g2 1
T=ī āaāī TTCŌTHTSSHIṢT ṀĪTGTGA: |
fīṝīz̄ aaaṁcāīa ā: gaTIīT: I| 242 1|
STTTTRāPTTGTRITĪTĀĪ TGITA;
S] |
ṬGTTTĪHĪ TāTTH-ITĪ dTāITHST-H-T II 2M3 1

JāIṀā&] Tdiā: ūc: ī=J ī=a: |

fkrā: a aacyfdafakāāīcāz gu² 1
ad Jaṟaādī ī āzaīī īāāī |
STÑ-ṬTTTTTĀĪE āTĪTRĀTRJTTRTḤ I zuA 1
āTGTah r̥ īTe
faīīfrēTīra
z |
JTHJGTSTĪTHYĪTT TBT TTTḤ I 2UĒ I
ṇīvīār’cāṁṁāhrtttr̄aṁ ũaāiīg: 1
£ā gfttde[mhṭaāīvēarāT I gÚ 1|
evaṁ bhūmer dhruvāntaṁ syāl lakṣāṇi daśa pañca ca l| 149 ||
dve koṭī pañca cāśītir lakṣāṇi svargato mahān |
mārkaṇḍādyā ṛṣimunisiddhās tatra pratiṣṭhitāḥ || 150 ||
nivartitādhikārāś ca devā mahati saṅsthitāḥ |
mahāntarālḷe tatrānye tv adhikārabhujo janāḥ || 151 ||
aṣṭau koṭyo mahallokāj jano ‘tra kapilādayaḥ |
tiṣṭhanti sādhyās tatraiva bahavaḥ ṣukhabhāginaḥ || 152 ||
janāt tapo ʻrkaākoṭyo ʻtra sanakādyā mahādhiyaḥ |
prajāpatīnāṁ tatrādhikāro brahmātmajanmanām || 153 |I
brahmālayas tu tapasaḥ satyaḥ ṣoḍaśa koṭayaḥ |
tatra sthitaḥ sa svayambhũr viśvam āviṣkaroty adaḥ l| 154 1|
satye vedās tathā cānye karmadhyānena bhāvitāḥ |
ānandaniṣṭhās tatrordhve koṭir vairiīñcam āsanam || 155 ||
brahmāsanāt koṭiyugmaṁ puraṁ viṣṇor nirūpitam ḷ
dhyānapūjājapair viṣṇor bhaktā gacchanti tatpadam || 156 ||
vaiṣṇavāt saptakoṭībhir bhuvanaṁ parameśituḥ |
rudrasya sr̥ṣṭisaṁhãrakartur brahmãṇḍavartmani ll 157 |I|
 TANTRĀLOKA 183
In this way, there are one million and five hundred thousand
leagues from the earth up to the Pole Star.³⁹ Mahāloka (the Great World),
beyond the celestial world, extends for twenty-eight million and five
hundred thousand leagues. Rṣis, Munis and Siddhas such as Mārkaṇḍeya
reside there, divine beings who, established in glory (mahat), have
completed their term of office, and other beings who (still) hold office there
within the intermediate space of Mahāloka.⁵³⁰ (149cd-151) (149-151ab)

5) Janaloka (the World of People) and

6) Tapoloka (the World of Austerities)

Beyond Mahāloka is Janaloka (the World of People), that extends

for eighty million leagues. Here Kapila and others reside, along with
numerous Sādhyas in a state of bliss.°¹ (152-153ab) (151cd-152ab)
Beyond Janaloka is Tapoloka (the World of Austerities), which
extends for hundred and twenty million leagues. Sanaka and other great
minded souls (reside) here. The Lords of the Creatures (prajāpati), who are
the sons of Brahmā, hold office there. (153cd-154ab) (152cd-153ab)

7) Satyaloka (the World of Truth)

The abode of Brahmā beyond Tapoloka is Satyaloka (the World of

Truth), which is one hundred and sixty million leagues in extent.
Svayambhū (the Self-born One) resides there and reveals the universe. In
Satya ((the World of) Truth) are the Vedas and other (related treatises, and
the sages who live there) are immersed in bliss and purified by meditation
and riṭual action.³² (1I54cd-155ab) (153cd-154)

The Worlds of Brahmā and Viṣṇu

The seat (āsana) of Vairiñca is there above it, and it (extends for)
ten million leagues. Above the seat of Brahmā is Viṣṇu’s abode, which is
said (to extend for) twenty million leagues. Viṣṇu’s devotees go to that
plane by virtue of their meditation, worship and recitation of mantras
(japa). The world of Rudra, the Supreme Lord, who brings about creation
and destruction on the path (within) the Egg of Brahmā, is beyond that of
Viṣṇu, and (extends for) seventy million leagues. (155cd-158) (155-157ab)

There Bhuvarloka (the World of the Sky, i.e. the Sun)³²⁴ (extends) for
one hundred thousand (leagues), then comes the Moon, and then (after that) also

⁵⁴⁹ For a breakdown of this figure, see below ad 8/155cd-157 (155-157ab).

³³⁰ See SvT 10/516cd-517.
³³! See SYT 10/518-519. The Sādhyas are not mentioned there.
³³ See SVT 10/523cd-533ab.
³³¹ See SVT 10/533cd. Verses 148 (148ab) to 158 (157ab) correspond to SVT 10/505-
533.
³³⁴ See above, 8/121cd-122 (121-122ab).
184 CHAPTER EIGHT
the circle of the constellations, thus making three hundred thousand (leagues).
Then from Mars up to Saturn (the region of) each (planet extends for) two
hundred thousand (leagues), making ten (hundred thousand). (The region of) the
Seven Ṛṣis (extends) for one hundred thousand (leagues), then (comes) the Pole
Star. Thus, there are fifteen hundred thousand (leagues) from earth to the pole
star.’”² ‘Beyond the celestial world’ means beginning from Svarloka (the
World of the Heavens). The ‘divine beings’ are residents of each of (these
three) worlds, that is, Saṅkrandana and the rest, (as is said):

‘Those who have completed their term of office and reside in the three
worlds, namely, Saṅkrandana and the rest, are said to merge in Mahāloka (the
Great World).”

As stated previously, with (the same) intended (sense):

“Whereas, the Kūṣmāṇḍas (Pumpkins), Hāṭakas (Violent Removers)
and the rest play (instead) in (the one) called Mahāloka (the Great World).”³“

The ‘othersʼ are those who perform this or that (Vedic) sacrifice, that
is, (the sage) Kapila and the rest. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):
“The inhabitants of Janaloka (the World of People) are Ekapāda, Jahnu,
Kapila and Āsura, Bhautika, and Vāḍvali.⁹

Again:
“The gods called Sādhyas reside there always blissful.’

By ‘the sons of Brahmā’ are meant those (born from his) mind. That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatkumāra, Sanandana, Śaṅku, and Triśaṅku are

the inhabitants of Tapoloka (the World of Austerities).”³⁹

Again:
‘The lords of the creatures there are (generated) by the mind of
Brahmā.”

(The Self-born One) ‘reveals’, means ‘emanatesʼ, other (related

treatises), such as the Śikṣākalpa.³⁹ ‘The seat is a world (bhuvana) on which
(Vairiñca, that is, Brahmā,) sits. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

⁵³⁹ 100,000 + 300,000 + 1,000,000 + 100,000 = 1,500,000 leagues. This figure is

confirmed above at 8/149cd. Bhuvarloka, Moon and constellations — 300,000 + Mars to
Saturn – 1,000,000 + Seven RṚṣis to Dhruva – 100,000 (= 1,500,000) + Svarloka to
Mahāloka -– 28,500,000 + Mahāloka to Janaloka – 80,000,000 + Janaloka to Tapoloka –
120,000,000 + Tapoloka to Satyaloka – 160,000,000 + Satyaloka to Brahmā’ seat —
10,000,000 + Brahmā’s seat to Viṣṇuloka – 20,000,000 + Viṣṇuloka to Rudraloka –
70,000,000 = 500,000,000 yojanas.
³³⁶ Above, 6/144cd.
³³⁷ SVṬ 10/519.
⁵³⁸ SVT 10/521.
 TANTRĀLOKA 185
‘Well accomplished by the knowledge of ritual action and well
established in nonduality, they have fully attained³⁰ the plane of bliss and have
come to the plane of bliss. (In the east,) the Ṛgveda possesses a form (there)
within it, its light like (brilliant) sapphire.*' . .… . To the north is the Yajurveda,
that (shines) like pure crystal¹. . . . The eternal Sāmaveda is located in the
western quarter.³ . . . The Atharvaveda is dark blue like collyrium and is
located to the south. . . . The six auxiliaries (of the Veda), the Epics (itihāsa),

⁵³⁰ The Śikṣākalpa teaches the proper articulation and pronunciation of Vedic texts. It is
one of the six ancillaries of the Veda (vedāṅga), studied along with them. The Vedas are
studied and memorized for six months, less one day of the year, the rest of which is
dedicated to the study of the six Vedāṅgas. See below note 8,453, where they are listed.
⁵⁶⁰ Read -saṁprāptā for ~saprāptā.
³⁶¹SVT 10/525-256ab. Kṣemarāja comments: karmaṇā nityanaimittikānuṣṭhānena
jñānena ca vedāntoktena samuccitena samyak siddhāḥ, ata eva ‘vijñānam ānandaṁ
brahma: ity uktādvaitapade pariniṣṭhitā rūḍhabhāvanāḥ, ataś ca satyalokākhyam idam
ānandapadaṁ mahābhogasthānaṁ samprāptā adhirūḍhāḥ, atrāpi cānandapadam
āgatāḥ svātmārāmā evety arthaḥ |l

‘They are rightly accomplished (siddha) by ritual action, that is, by the
observance of the regular and occasional (rites) and by the appropriate knowledge
taught by the Vedānta. Thuṣ, they are well established, and their meditation is fixed (and
unwavering) in the nondual plane to (which the Upanisad refers, that says): ‘the
Brahman is knowledge and bliss' (BṛrUp 3/9/34) Thus, they have attained and are
mounted upon this plane of bliss called Satyaloka (the World of Truth), which is the
place of great enjoyment (mahābhoga). The meaning is that they have attained here also
the plane of bliss and delight within their own Self.’ (SvTu ad 10/525-526ab)
³⁶³ SYṬ 10/527cd.
³⁶³ SVT 10/528cd.
³⁶⁴ SVT 10/530ab. These references are drawn from SvT 10/525-530 i.e. SVT 10/526ab,
527cd, 528cd, 530ab, 531-532. The whole passage reads:

rgvedo mūrtimāṁs tasminn indralīnasamadyutiḥ |

divyagandhaviliptāṅgo divyābharaṇabhūṣitaḥ || 526 ||
saṁsthitaḥ pūrvatas tasya dīpyamānaḥ svatejasā |
uttareṇa yajurvedaḥ śuddhasphaṭikasaṁnibhaḥ || 527 ||
divyakuṇḍaladhārī ca mahākāyo mahābhujaḥ |
sthitaḥ paścimadigbhāge sāmavedaḥ sanātanaḥ || 528 |I
raktāmbaradharaḥ śrīmān padmarāgasamaprabhaḥ |
sragdāmadhārakaś citramālābhūṣaṇabhūṣitaḥ || 529 ||
atharvāñjanavacchyāmaḥ sthito dakṣiṇatas tathā |
piṅgākṣo lohitagrīvo harikeśo mahātanuḥ || 530 ||

‘(In the east) the Ṛgveda possesses a form (there) within it, its light like
(brilliant) sapphire. Its body is smeared with divine scent and is adorned with divine
ornaments. It is located to the east of it, shining with its own radiant energy. (526-
527ab)
To the north is the Yajurveda that (shines) like pure crystal. He wears
divine earrings and has a big body and arms. (527cd-528ab) The eternal Sāmaveda is
located in the western quarter. He wears red clothes and venerable, his light is like
that of a ruby. The Aṭharvaveda is dark blue like collyrium and is located to the
186 CHAPTER EIGHT
and all the Purāṇas, Vedopaniṣads, Mīmāṁsa (Vedic exegises), and the
Āranyaka along with (the Vedic ejaculatory invocations), Svāhā and Vaṣaṭ and
the secret (scriptures) and Gāyatrī are located there where (Brahmā), the god
with four faces, resides.’⁴⁵

‘0 beloved, it is said that, measuring ten million (leagues), Brahmā’s

seat is above Satyaloka (the World of Truth).”³⁶⁶

(Viṣṇu’s devotees go to) ‘that plane’, that is, Viṣṇuʼs plane. (Rudra’s
world is) ‘beyond that of Viṣṇu’ʼ, that is, above it. This is the meaning.

(Who are those) whose dwelling is here? He says:

south. His eyes are brown, his neck red and, fair haired, his body is very big. (SVT
10/526-530)

rcāṁ karmadevatāṣtutimātraparāyaṇānām anuṣṭhānāsphuṟatayā śyāmatā | yajuṣāṁ tu

tatsphuṭatayā sitatvam | sāmnāṁ gītiprādhānyena rañjakatvād raktatvam | atharvaṇa
abhicārādyaihikakarmaparatayā kr̥ṣṇatvaṁ śabalatā ca l|

Commentary: ‘The Ṛgvedika (Mantras) are dark blue, due to the clarity of the
observance of those who are intent only on ritual, and the praise of the deities is clearly
evident. The Yajus (Mantras) are lucid with that, and so white in colour. As the Sāma
(Mantras) are predominantly muṣical and so pleasing (rañjaka), they are red (rakta).
The Atharvaṇa (Mantras) are occupied with worldly rituals such as magic rites, and so
are black or dappled colour.” (SyTu ad 10/530)
³.⁵ ṢṬ 10/531-532. SyTu ad 10/531-532: .aṅgānīti vedasya
śikṣākalpavyākaraṇanirukta-cchandojyotiḥśāstrāṇi | itihāsaḥ bhāratādīni 1| vyāsādy-
uktāni śāstrāṇi purāṇāni | vedopaniṣado vedāntāḥ | vedavicāraśāstraṁ mīmāṁsā |
āraṇyakaṁ br̥hadāraṇyakaṁ vedānte.api pṛthaguktam araṇye ‘nūdyamānatvāt | dīpty-
āpyāyaviṣayau mantrau ṣvāhākāravaṣaṭkārau | rahasyāni taittirīyādivedāntaviśeṣā
rahasyatvādeva pr̥thaguktāni | gāyatrī vedamātā | sarvā etā ākṛtimatyo devatāḥ ||
so ʻyaṁ satyalokaḥ ----
bhogasthānaṁ brahmaṇaḥ s ā.
sa tatra nirvartitādhikāraḥ
paraṁ brahma tato vrajet |
anākr vijñānam ānandaṁ brahma iti yad uktam tad ity arthaḥ ll

‘The auxiliaries of the Veda are the discipline of phonetics (śikṣā), rules for
ceremonial and sacrificial actions (kalpa), grammar (vyākaraṇa), philology (nirukta),
metrics (cchadas) and astrology (jyotiṣ). “The Epicsʼ are the Mahābhārata etc. The
Purāṇas are the treatises taught by Vyāsa and others. Vedopaniṣad are the Vedāntas. The
Mīmāṁsā is the discipline of Vedic exegesis. The Āraṇyaka (includes the)
Bṛhadāraṇyaka. In the Vedānta also, there is what was taught previously in the forest
(araṇya), because it arises subsequently (in continuation of it). The areas in which the
Mantras ‘ṣvāhā’ and ‘vaṣa’ (operate) is energization and nourishment, (respectively).
This Satyaloka (World of Truth) is the place where the Brahman is enjoyed.
Once the office there is complete, ‘he goes to the supreme Brahman’. Of that it is said
that, without form, ‘the Brahman is consciousness and bliss’. (BṛUp 3/9/34)
³⁶⁶ SVṬ 10/533cd-534°.
 TANTRĀLOKA 187
Rudra’s World

ĠṭaāīSIāTarīī
3 fōēgīātēīcid: |
ī aī-a7v’̄ ā̃ īT: āRaTSIT I| 2 I
dīkṣājñānavihīnā ye liṅgārādhanatatparāḥ |
te yānty aṇḍāntare raudraṁ puraṁ nādhaḥ kadācana || 158 II

Those who are devoid of knowledge and have not been initiated,
(but are) devoted to the worship of the Liṅga,” go to Rudra’s abode within
the Egg of Brahmā, and never go to (worlds) below it.³⁸ (158) (157cd-
158ab)

(This is said of those who are) ‘devoted to the worship of the Liṅga’,
in accord with the type of practice (prakriyā) (taught by) the Śivadharmottara
etc.³
Surely, (one may ask,) if this is so, do these (beings) reside just there
(permanently), or do they rise up above that also? With this doubt in mid, he
says:

czarḶ ā fōṛā aāīTa ēarṁ. 4rhvzcĩṝkṝaāī.|

TTRPRATT IF ĒRGĀTTTT T || QAuṞ II
tatsthāḥ sarve Śivaṁ yānti rudrāḥ śrīkaṇṭhadīkṣitāḥ |
adhikārakṣaye sākaṁ rudrakanyāgaṇena te || 159 ||

AII the Rudras who reside there, initiated by Śrīkaṇṭha, reach Śiva
when (their period of) office comes to an end, together with the host of
Rudra’s daughters.⁵”⁰ (159) (158cd-159ab)

³Ś⁷ The first line (IS8ab) is a literal citation of SYT 10/608cd. There we read:
‘Those who have not received initiation (but) are devoted to the worship of the
Liṅga go to Hara’s (i.e. Śiva’s) abode, which bestows all (forms of) lordship and bliss.
Free of birth and death, of disease and sorrow, O goddess, they do not go down again in
the world of transmigratory existence, that ocean of suffering. Then, seen (with grace)
by Śrīkaṇṭha, they then go up to Śiva.’ SVT 10/608cd-610.
³⁰ Brahmaloka, Viṣṇuloka and Rudraloka are presided over by Brahmā, Viṣṇu and
Rudra, respectively. See SvT 10/615cd-617ab.
³⁶⁰ The Śivadharmottara does indeed devote much space to relating the origin and nature
of the Liṅga, as well as its worship. See, for example, chapters 2, 5, 8 and 9. The e-text
is on the Muktabodha site.
⁵⁷⁰ Cf. SVT 10/570cd-571: ‘“When (their) period of office comes to an end, the Rudras,
along with Rudra’s daughters, all go to Śiva by Śrīkaṇṭha’s will when (their) body is
destroyed. Having gone (there), they are not born again, even for countless millions of
cosmic ages (kalpa).³
188 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘Śiva’ (here means) supreme (Śiva). (They) ‘reach’ (Śiva) means that
they are liberated then by attaining oneness (with Him).
Well then, is that in this way, like (Śiva’s) glory (māhātmya), a world,
or are there other worlds also?

ṃ T & ēglāATṬTNTTJĪKT: |
JGaTPSTḤJ &aĪĪĪ VSTII: TĒ T T | 25Ē0 ||
ftṛārrzaī zōṛaaŪē īreṝār ēlf T 1
Ṣastkzī tīT̄rrargJī
Ṝaī ēT²T I 2ē2 1

puraṁ puraṁ ca rudrordhvam uttarottaravṛddhitaḥ |

brahmāṇḍādhaś ca rudrordhvaṁ daṇḍapāṇeḥ puraṁ ṣa ca || 160 ||
śivecchayā dṛṇāty aṇḍaṁ mokṣamārgaṁ karoti ca |
rvarudrau bhīmabhavāv ugro devo mahān atha || 161 ||
īśāna iti bhūrlokāt sapta lokeśvarāḥ śivāḥ |

⁵T¹The worlds beyond Rudra’s world are progressively bigger. At

the bottom of the Egg of Brahmā, above Rudra’s (abode, is) the abode of
Daṇḍapāṇi who, in accord with Śiva’s will, breaks the Egg and fashions the
path to liberation within the Egg.³”²

⁵⁷! These verses are basically a reworking of SVT 10/611cd-612abc (> TĀ 8/160-161ab)
and SVT 10/615cd-616ab (> TĀ 8/161cd-162ab).
⁵⁷² Read, in conformity to SVT 10/614ab quoted below, vrṇāty ande for drṇāty andai.
‘One should know that the world of Daṇḍapāṇi, surrounded by many hosts of
Rudras, is on the bottom part of the Egg of Brahmā and above Rudra’s world.
Daṇḍapāṉṇiis the Lord (bhagavat) (there) and possesses the strength of the mastery of
Yoga. By Śiva’s will He holds a staff with the palm of (his) hand. (SYT 10/612-613)

The Lord (bhaṭṭāraka) Rudra Himself abides with this body.

‘Worshipped according to the (proper) procedure, He reveals the path to

liberation, which is hard to penetrate, in the Egg of Brahmā, by contemplating (him) in
accord with Siva’s will.’ (614)

Commentary: Established in contemplation and worshipping according to the

(proper) procedure, that is, the repetition of Mantra etc., (Daṇḍapāṇi) reveals the path to
liberation, which is hard to penetrate. Yogis can penetrate it (only) with great effort.
(Thus, he) frees it of obscuring coverings. By breaking through the shell of the Egg of
Brahm, he pṇepares (he devote for liberation, he cerainly does not obsttuct him.
Again, the Lord Rudra, who is the expansion of supreme consci 3
making use of the stick of the vital breath (prāṇadaṇḍa), that has been made clearly
evident and is present within his own energy, fashions the path to liberation within the
Egg of Brahmā, which is called the Knot of the Heart, that is, the ignorance of one’s
own Self that is present in the location of the heart within the body.
(It is said that) ‘the Knot, which constrains below and above, is located in the
Heart.’ By quelling the Knot, which is ignorance, as taught (in the scriptures), the plane
 TANTRĀLOKA 189
The Śivas who are the lords of the seven worlds from the earth
onwards are, in due order, Sarva, Rudra, Bhīma, Bhava, Ugra, the Great
God and Īśāna.⁵ (160-162ab) (159cd-161)

‘(At the bottom of) the Egg of Brahmā’ means the bottom of its shell
(karparikā). ʻBreaksī means (smashes) to pieces, that is, frees it of (obscuring)
coverings. ‘The Great God’ is Mahādeva. ‘ʻFrom the earth onwards’ means

of Śakti, which is on the Middle Way, makes the means to attain Śivahood clear, in
accord with the reality (sthiti) taught by the tradition. (This is that) ‘“‘Siva’s power
(śaivī) is said here (in the scriptures) to be (His) mouth (mnukha) (which is the entrance
to the realization of one’s own Śiva nature).³ This is a meaning. One should not explain
(that this passage is referring to) the pervasion of the Egg of Brahmā up the Cavity of
Brahmā. May it not be that; (if that were s0,) the pervasion of the Water (principle) and
rest of the obscuring coverings that are in the body would also take place thus. (Further
ahead it is said:)

“The Sound that has as its foundation the channel (of the vital breath), once it
has pierced through all this universe, comes forth by means of the lower energy until (it
reaches) the Brahman above. (Then) the Phoneme, which is unmanifest resonance,
merged by means of the channel (of the vital breath) into the Cavity of Brahmā,
resounds in all living beings, sustained by Śiva's power. (SVT 10/1234-1236)

(The view of the others is also wrong, because the teaching concerning) the
Kmot that will come later (when we reach the Cavity of Brahmā), having been
destroyed, (according to their view,) by the pervasion of (all the various) divisions (of
the worlds present in the body), would not be applicable (nirviṣaya). According to the
venerable (treatise on) Spanda written by (our) venerable teacher:

‘Once having entered that state which (the yogi) takes as his support, and
firmly resolved that: “I will surely do whatever he says”, both the Sun and Moon set,
following the ascending way, into the channel of suṣumnā once having abandoned the
Egg of Brahmā, then in that great sky, when the Sun and Moon dissolve away, the
dull-minded (yogi is cast down) into a state like that of deep sleep; the awakened
however, remains lucid.³ (SpKā 23-25)

(This passage) refers to the path (that goes up) to the end of the Egg of Śakti,
secondarily characterized as the Five Brahmās [see below, note 15,337] that, as will be
explained (further ahead, constitute) the presiding authority over the Cavity of Brahmā.
One should not, even by mistake, explain this to be the pervasion of the Egg of Brahmā
up to the end of the head. As has been explained (by me) is (correct) and auspicious.
In this way, Paśupati, who resides amidst the Mūrtīśas in two forms, because
he is the Lord of the universe (as well as a Rudra), is in the world of the Rudras that
ends with (that of) Daṇḍapāṇi, and preṣides over the Rudras. Those other eight
Mūrtīśvaras, that is, Śarva and the rest, are the lords in the seven worlds beginning with
Bhūr and ending with Satya.”
⁵¹ According to SVT 10/615cd-616ab, Kṣemarāja explains: These seven are the Lords of
Rudraloka, who govern Bhūrloka etc.: ‘The Rudras in the seven worlds. . . .⁷ (The
Rudras are) the Lords (of these worlds). (Concerning) them, ‘I will tell you in brief.’ He
says (who they are): “Śarva, Rudra, Bhīma, Bhava and Ugra, Mahādeva and Īśāna –
theṣe are the Lords of Rudra’s worlds.’ (10/615-616ab) (These are) the Lords of the
worlds beginning with Bhūr, in the corresponding serial order.”
190 CHAPTER EIGHT
beginning from that. Thus, the Lord of (the first Loka, i.e.) Bhurloka (the Earth
World)is Śarva, and Īśāna (is the Lord of the last Loka, i.e. ) Satyaloka (World
of Truth). Thisis the sequential order.” Thus it is established that Paśupatiis
the Lord in Rudraloka (Rudra’s World). This is the meaning.
Here (with regards to this according to our scriptures, these) worlds
(loka) (belong to two orders), supreme (para) and inferior (apara). Thus, he
says:

Elements Gross and Subtle From Which the Egg is Fashioned

TJHTĪTTATI: Ṭa AIHT. TK ṬÑ : | 2ā2 I|

gasãttṁṁī ēa #ũī ũravsaza|
sthūlair viśeṣair ārabdhāḥ sapta lokāḥ pare punaḥ || 162 1|
sūkṣmair iti guruś caiva rurau samyaḥ nyarūpayat |

The teacher has rightly explained in (his commentary on) the

Ruru⁵" that the first seven worlds are made first of all by the specific, gross
elements, while the other (subsequent ones are formed) by the subtle ones
(which are the corresponding sensations). (162cd-163ab) (162)

‘The specific’ are the gross elements and the ‘subtle’ are the subtle
elements (tanmātra) that are (generic) not specific. They say that:

³⁷⁴ The worlds and the Rudras that govern them are thus: Bhurloka – Śarva, Bhuvarloka
– Rudra, Svarloka - Bhīma, ,haoka – Bhava, Janaloka - Ugra, Tapoloka –
Mahādeva and Satyaloka –
⁵⁷³ Here Abhinava first present ;a summary of this teaching ((162cd-163ab) (162)) and
then quotes the paṣsage to which he is referring (i.e. 163cd-165ab) (163-164)). Both
Sadyojyotis and Bṛhaspati wrote a commentary on the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha, which is
also called the Rauravāgama or Rurutantra, because it was taught by the Rudra called
Ruru. Bṛhaspati’s commentary has not been recovered. The commentary by Sadyojyotis
has been, in part at least, recovered in the form of three tracts, that is, the Bhogakārikā,
Mokṣakārikā and Paraṇirvāṇanirāsakārikā. However, this reference cannot be traced
there. Thus, it is not possible to be sure which of the two commentaries Abhinava is
referring to. Jayaratha, who quotes from both, had access to them; however, here he
does not supply the relevant passage from either. It is very likely that Abhinava set the
passage he quotes in Arya metre. If so, did he do this to mirror the form of the SŚivatanu
by Bṛhaspati, which is set in this metre? Is he suggesting in this way that it is by the
same teacher? This indication and the absence of reference in the sources from
Sadyojyotis, makes it seem more likely that the passage is drawn from Bṛhaspati’s
vārtika on the Rurutantra. The ‘teacher’ who comments on the Ruru or Raurava Tantra
is cited again concerning the nature of the Egg of Brahmā below in 169-171ab
(168cd-170). It is hard to say whether the ‘teacher’ in both citations is the same. Given
the common subject, it appears to be more likely that it is.
 TANTRĀLOKA 191
‘The subtle elements are not specific. The five gross elements are
produced from these five. These are called specific and are calm, violent and
obscuring.⁷ ⁶
What is the authority here (for this view)? With this question in mind,
he declares: ‘the teacher has rightly said.
He says that:

1 gīīṀēzaḷ ṀavGãŨ̄ṀḷḷṀḷr̥: ṀṀ̄HTGãT. || 23 1

gre: rg farīāīṛ. āaṁāī ūaaī aōīair. |
Taāīī fēṣrīaā: ge³ttā-āāīttarqa || 2Ē
GTIĀIHIHTÚĪTHTZT ṬAĀṬ] THIĀ; |
ye brahmaṇādisarge
svaśarīrān nirmitāḥ prabhūtākhyāḥ || 163 II
sthūlāḥ pañca viśeṣāḥ
saptāmī tanmayā lokāḥ |
parato liṅgādhāraiḥ
sūkṣmais tanmātrajair mahābhūtaiḥ || 164 ||
lokānām āvaraṇair

⁵⁷⁶ ṢāṁkKā 38. Vācaspati Miśra explains in his commentary on the Sārṁīkhyārika that the
subtle elements (tanmātra) are not specific (aviśeṣa) because, unlike the gross elements,
we cannot perceive them as specifically calm or violent etc. (Sāṁkhyatattvakaumuḍdi p.
144)

The gross elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space, from which all
physical (which includes biological) entities are made. The subtle elements are called
‘tanmātra’ in Sanskrit, which literally means ‘just that’. They are the five sensations
that are perceived by the five senses: form by the sense of sight of the eyes, smell by the
sense of smell of the nose, taste by the sense of taste of the mouth, sound by hearing of
the ears, and touch by the sense of touch of the skin. The five gross elements correspond
to combinations of these sensations, of which one predominates. Thus, the five gross
elements are arranged in this order from gross to subtle, according to the number of
sensations that they arouse. Earth, for example, which is the grossest, combines all five
sensations. In other words, a gross physical object can be seen, touched, makes sound,
can be tasted, and smells. At the other extreme, Space, the subtlest of the five, is only
the object of touch. Although Earth combines all the five sensations (that is, can be
perceived by all the senses), one of them predominates, as it does in the other Elements,
and is most specific to it. This is smell. These matters will be treated in greater detail
further ahead (see below, 9/280cd-289). Here we need to note that the gross elements
are the constituents of physical entities, each one of which, however minute or vast, is
an individual specific entity. The sensations we have of them, however, are not. All of
the countless entities that can be seen are all equally objects of sight. Thus, from this
perspective, the gross elements (or to be more precise, entities made of them) are
‘specific’ or ‘particular’ (viśeṣa), whereas the corresponding sensations are
‘non-specific’ (aviśeṣa) or ‘universal’ (sāmānya). Abhinava will explain below that:
‘The generic principle of smell (gandhatva), present in all the many kinds of
smells, such as sweet-smelling perfume and the like, belong to the Earth principle, and
is called the subtle element of smell. (9/280cd-281ab)
192 CHAPTER EIGHT
viṣṭabhya paraspareṇa gandhādyaiḥ |

These, (the first) seven worlds, are made of the five specific (gross
elements) called ‘abundant’ (prabhūta), fashioned by Brahmā from
(outside) his own body during the first creation (ādisarga). The remaining
worlds (are pervaded by) the subtle elements that (constitute and) are the
foundation of the subtle body.°”’ The gross elements are born of the subtle
(tanmātra), beginning with with smell and the rest. They are the obscuring
covering of (these) worlds (loka), checking (and sustaining) one another.
(163cd-165ab) (163-164)

(The subtle elements that are) ‘the foundation of the subtle body’, that
is, the seat (and ground) of the body (on which it depends for its existence), are
thus the causes of the obscuring covering of (these) worlds. This is the meaning.
‘Checking (and supporting) one another’ as universal and particular, (the
subtle and gross elements) check (and support) one another. This is the
meaning.
He (now) adds this up (and views the expanse described up to here
together).

⁵⁷ According to Kṣemarāja (comm. on SpKā 49), there are three bodies. These are the
gross (sthūla) physical body, the subtle (siūkṣma) body and the supreme (para) body.
The supreme body contains all the principles and energies, ranging from the vital breath
up to the threshold of the energy of Transmental consciousness (unmanī). The subtle
body is the City of Eight (puryaṣṭaka), that transmigrates after the death of the gross,
phys body to a new one. The individual soul (jīva) who transmigrates in this way is
the subjectivity that identifies itself with the City of Eight, and con: of Karma
(karmātma). Deposited in the City of Eight are the latent traces of past action, that are at
the root of the many desires that govern the behaviour of the fettered. This is true not
only of those operant in a single lifespan, but also those that are transmitted from life to
life. Just as these latent traces influence behaviour in this life, and so contribute to the
circumstances in which the soul finds itself in the present life, they also induce
particular types of rebirth. When active in the physical body, the City of Eight contains
not only all the physical sensations transmitted through the senses, but also the
conflicting turmoil of inner sensations. Identification with the City of Eight is bondage.
When this identification is overcome, the soul discovers its authentic subjectivity and
s0, no longer affected by pleasure or pain, experiences only the natural, innate bliss of
consciousness (sahajānanda). He then experiences the physical body as something
external to him, like a cloak that covers him, with which he is not inherently connected.
In this way he is liberated and becomes Śiva, while the body he resides in is felt to be
nothing more than a mere machine (yantra) – just a vehicle of consciousness, and not at
all its essence.
There are various views as to the nature of the City of Eight. The one here is
that it consists of the five subtle elements and the mind, intellect and ego of the inner
mental organ. For a detailed discussion, see Dyczkowski 1992a: 263-265. For another
view, see below, 8/287, see also below, 24/20cd-21. See also Torella (1979a), notes, 35
and 36. See above note 6,27; also 6/(144-145ab) (143cd-144), 8/(236ab) (235cd),
8/(287cd-288ab) (287), 24/7cd; notes 24,24, 26; 24/18-20ab, 24/20cd, 29/265-266.
 TANTRĀLOKA 193
Measurements of the Egg of Brahmā

JGIEEKVEEIVPEEI-EEIEGAEATṬĪHT]I
3Tā 3āāṃ aṬas’G T I: īTtāīsrī̄ |
TGJIYTHĪZAḤĪ JṬSRGEĪ āTAT I| ṞEE I
kālāgner daṇḍapāṇyantam aṣṭānavatikoṭayaḥ || 165 |
ata ūrdhvaṁ kaṭāho ʻṇḍe sa ghanaḥ koṭiyojanam |
pañcāśatkoṭayaś cordhvaṁ bhūprṣṭhād adharaṁ tathā || 166 ||

There are ninety-eight hundred million (leagues) from Kālāgni to

Daṇḍapāṇi. Thus, the upper (like the lower) shell of the Egg (of Brahmā) is
ten million leagues thick. There are five hundred million leagues from the
surface of the earth (up to the upper limit). The same is the case with the
lower section.⁸ (165cd-166) (165-166ab)

Five hundred million (leagues) have been calculated (as the distance)
from below, up to the shell of the earth. 1) There are fifteen hundred thousand
(leagues) from the surface of the earth to the Pole Star. 2) Mahāloka extends for
twenty million eighty-five hundred thousand (leagues), 3) Janaloka eighty
million, 4) Tapoloka, one hundred and twenty million, 5) Satyaloka one
hundred and sixty million, 6) the world of Brahmā, ten million, 7) that of Viṣṇu
twenty million, that of 8) Rudra seventy million, and 9) the shell ten million.
Thus, in this way, there are fifty million (leagues) above (also).³”
He concludes this (topic):

: A c
Tg -ll2TIT ]: Ḥṛq āĪÑVṜTgJĀTĪd: I
JITFZṬTTĀCTE ŪCTTT ÇAYHT I ṚE I
evaṁ koṭiśataṁ bhūḥ syāt sauvarṇas taṇḍulas tataḥ |
śatarudrāvadhir huṁ phaṭ bhedayet tat tu duḥśamam || 167 ||

Thus in this way, (the diameter of the) earth is one thousand million
(leagues). (It is the shape of) a golden grain of rice and extends up to the
hundred Rudras. HUMṀ and PHAT are the syllables by which it should be
split apart. It is (very tough) and hard to pierce. (167) (166cd-167ab)

(The earth is) ‘(the shape of a grain of) rice’ because it is round. This
the meaning. ‘Extends’ – spreads out, and so it is said that it (extends) up to the
hundred Rudras. It is ‘hard to pierce’ because it is more substantial than (the

⁵⁷⁸ ṬĀ 8/165cd-166 (165-166ab) is an abbreviated paraphrase of SYT 10/617cd-620.

⁵”⁰ Jayaratha is paraphrasing Kṣemarāja, who supplies these measurements in SvTu ad
10/617cd-620. This covers the upper half of the Egg of Brahmā. The lower half is of the
same size, and so the full diameter of the Egg is a thousand million, i.e. one billion
leagues. See following verse.
194 CHAPTER EIGHT
very) essence of adamantine (vajra), and so is hard to break even by the gods.
This is the meaning. That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):

‘One should know that in this way it is said that the Earth principle
(extends for) one thousand million (leagues). One should know that (it extends)
up to the hundred Rudras and is golden and round. It is more substantial than
(the very) essence of adamantine (vajra), and it is hard to break even by the
gods. O lady with a fair face, one should split it apart by applying HUM and
PHATṬ.”.

Surely, (one may ask,) where are the hundred Rudras, and where is it
said that they end? With this question in mind, he says:

The Hundred Rudras

JGIVR̥IR
T=Tī TTṬITI] TH: I| QēĒ I

pratidikkaṁ daśa daśetyevaṁ rudraśataṁ bahiḥ |

brahmāṇḍādhārakaṁ tacca svaprabhāveṇa sarvataḥ || 168 II

The hundred Rudras are located ten by ten in each of the ten
directions outside the Egg of Brahmā, which they support everywhere by
their own power. (168) (167cd-168ab)

As is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘I will now tell you in due order beginning with the east, (the names of
the hundred Rudras, as they are arranged) ten by ten, successively all around in
the ten directions.
(East) Kapālīśa (Lord of the Skull), Aja (Unborn), Budhna (Base),
Vajradeha (Adamantine Body), Pramardana (Slayer), Vibhūti (Glory), Avyaya
(Imperishable), Śāstr (Teacher), Pinākin (Bowman) and Tridaśadhipa (Lord of
the Gods) (are in the east).”³¹

šso SVT 10/620cd-622ab. Kṣemarāja comments: evaṁṅ māntratejaḥ-

sphārānupraveśenaiva pādāṅguṣṭhāgragatād anantabhuvanād ārabhya hṛdantam
avasthitaṁ brahmāṇḍaṁ ced vidīrṇam, tad bāhyam api tadanuṣaktaṁ dalitam eva
bhagavatoktaṁ bhavati ||ḷ

‘The Lord has said (the following). The Egg of Brahmā is split apart if it is
located (in the space that extends) beginning from the world of Ananta, which is in the
tip of the toe of the foot, and ending with the heart, by the entry of the expansion of the
radiant energy of Mantra.”
³³¹ SVṬ 10/623-624. After listing the ten Rudras in the eastern quarter, which is
governed by Indra, the Tantra goes on to say the following:

indrasya balam ākramya prabhuśaktisamanvitāḥ |

 TANTRĀLOKA 195
(Southeast) ‘Agnirudra (Fire Rudra), Hutāśin (Eater of the
Oblation), Piṅgala (Tawny), Khādaka (Eater), Hara (Saviour), Jvalana
(Flaming), Dahana (Burning), Babhru (Tawny), Bhasmāntaka (He Who Burns
to Ashes), and Kṣayāntaka (End of Destruction) (are in the southeast).³³⁸²

(South) ‘Yāmya (Southern), Mṛtyu (Death), Hara (Saviour), Dhātr

(Benefactor), Vidhātṛ (Great Benefactor), the one called Kartr (Doer), Saṁyuktṛ
(Conjoiner), Viyuktṛ (Disjoiner), Dharma and Dharmapati (Lord of Dharma)
(are in the south).”³³

(Southwest) ‘Nairrṛta (Nefast), Dāruṇa (Terrifying), Hantr (Killer),

Kṛrūradṛṣṭi (Cruel Gaze), Bhayānaka (Frightening), Uurdhvakeśa (Upraised
Hair), Virūpākṣa (Deformed Eyes), Dhūmra (Smoke), Lohita (Red) and
Darṁṣṭraka (Big Teeth) (are in the southwest).⁷³*⁴

(West) ‘Bala (Strong), Atibala (Very Strong), Pāśahasta (the One Who
Holds a Noose), Mahābala (Great Strength), Śveta (White), Jayabhadra
(Auspicious Victory), Dīrghabāhu (Long Arms), Janāntaka (Destroyer of
Creatures), Meghanādin (Resounding Cloud), and Sunādin (Beautifully
Resounding) (are in the west).³³

(Northwest) ‘Śīghra (Speedy), Laghu (Light), Vāyuvega (Force of the

Wind), Sūkṣma (Subtle), Tīkṣṇa (Sharp), Bhayānaka (Frightening), Pañcāntaka

vicaranti mahādevā indreṇa ca supūjitāḥ ||

‘Having appropriated Indra’s strength, endowed with the lord’s power

(prabhuśakti), the Mahādevas behave (variously), worshipped well by Indra.’ (SYT
10/625)

ākramyety adhiṣṭhāya, atra hetuḥ prabhoḥ parabhairavasya śaktyā svāntryātman-

ādhiṣṭhitā īdr̥śīm unmīlitadrṛkkriyāśaktim adhikārabhūmiṁ grāhitāḥ, vicaranti sṛṣṭyādi
kurvantaḥ krīḍanti | ata evendreṇa suṣṭhu bhaktiprakarṣeṇa pūjyante | evam uttaratrāpi
yojyam || 625 |I

Kṣemarāja comments: “‘Having appropriated’ means having taken control (of

it). The reason here (why they can do this is that they are) sustained by the ‘power’
which is the freedom ‘of the Lord’, that is, of Supreme Bhairava. They are the recipients
of this kind of level of authority in which the power of knowledge and action have
unfolded. ‘They behave (variously)³, that is, bringing about emanation etc., they play.
Thus, they are worshipped well, that is, with excellent devotion, by Indra. One should
apply the same in the following (instances) also.³
The same verse appears after listing the Rudras in each direction, varying only
the name of the guardian of the quarter. The point is that the ten Rudras of a quarter
draw their power from the guardian of that quarter. The power they all possess is
ultīmately Parabhairava’s power.
³⁴² Ibiḍ. 10/626.
³*³ 1bid. 10/628.
³* Ibid. 10/630. Read with MS Ch: dhūmro for dhīūmre SYT reads dhūma-.
⁵⁴⁵ 1bid. 10/632-633a.
 196 CHAPTER EIGHT
(Destroyer of the Five (Elements), Pañcasikhin’ (Five Crested), Karpadin
(Matted Haired), and Meghavāhana (Cloud Vehicle) (are in the northwest).³³⁷

(North) ‘Nidhīśa (Lord of Treasures), Rūpavat (Beautiful), Dhanya

(Blessed), Saumyadeha (Body of Tranquillity), Jaṭādhara (Dredlocks), Lakṣmī
(Wealth), Ratnadhara (Bearer of Gems),³⁸ Kamin (Passionate), Prasāda
(Clarity), and Prabhāsaka (Shining One) (are in the north).³³⁹

(Northeast) ‘Vidyādhipa (Lord of Knowledge), Sarvajña (Omniscient),

Jñānadṛk (Knowledge Eye), Vedapāraga (Knower of the Vedas), Śarva, Sureśa
(Lord of the Gods), Jyeṣṭha (Eldest), Bhūtapāla (Guardian of the Ghosts), Bali
(Animal Sacrifice) and Priya (Beloved) (are in the northeast).⁷³

(Nadir) ‘Vṛṣa (Bull), Vṛṣadhara (Sustained by the Bull), Ananta

(Ēndless), Akrodhana (No Anger)," Maārutāśana⁴³ (Eater of the Winds),
Grasana (Devourer), Ḍambara (Deceit), Īśa (Soverei gn), Phaṇīndra (Lord of the
Snakes) and Vajradaṁsṣṭraka (Adamantine Teeth) (are in the nadir).³
³”³

(Zenith) ‘Śambhu (Tranquil), Vibhu (Pervasive), Gaṇādhyakṣa (Lord

of Hosts), Tryakṣara (Three-eyed), Tridaśeśvara (Lord of the Gods), Saṁvāha
(Vehicle), Vivāha (Marriage), Nabhas (Sky), ³Lipsu (Desirous), and Trilocana
(Three-Eyed) (are in the zenith).³
⁴⁵

‘(These) are said to be the hundred Rudras Who, having pervaded the
Egg of Brahmā, are well established.⁷³⁴⁸

(They support the Egg) ‘by their own power’, that is, by the glorious
power of their vitality (vīrya). This is the meaning.
Surely, (one may ask,) what is the Egg said to be, that it is also
associated with Brahmā? With this question in mind, he says:⁷

³⁴⁶ SVT reads pañcasikha for pañcaśikhī.

³⁴⁷ Ibid. 10/634cd-635ab.
⁹* Read with edition of SVT and MS Ch and N, ranadharaḥ for ratnadharau.
³⁴⁹ Ibiḍ. 10/636cd-637ab.
³⁴⁰ Tbid. 10/638cd-639ab.
³⁹l Read with SVT, ‘nantaḥ krodhano for ‘nanto ‘krodhano.
⁵⁹² SVT reads mārutāhvayaḥ for mārutāśanaḥ.
⁵³³ Ibid. 10/640cd-641ab.
³³⁴ SVT reads nalo for nabho.
³³ ]bid. 10/642cd-643ab.
³⁰ Ibiḍd. 10/645ab.
⁵⁷ The worlds are arranged within the metaphysical principles. The worlds related to the
Earth principle (pṛthvītattva), which is the first one, are described up to verse 185. The
bulk of these worlds are contained within the Egg of Brahmā, these, along with those
outside, below, and above it, cover the extent of the Earth principle (see above, note to
TĀv ad 4/133cd). Thuṣ, the Earth principle is basically the Egg and the worlds and
beings that surround it. This, roughly speaking, is the physical universe. At this point,
Abhinava rightly considers that it is appropriate to define what is meant by an ‘Eggʼ.
Accordingly, a discussion follows concerning the nature of the Égg of Brahmā. It begins
 TANTRĀLOKA 197
The Nature of the Egg of Brahmā”⁸

³īvzaā% Tr̥fṁaīṁ īaṁz] |

BATTTTTATYT: TT: JTRĒa’: I 2ē2 I
TTRTTāTHTT¥TPI āTTTTTCITS SāTI |
īT2āTJTGG āTIS TTTTTT I| 2.9⁰ |
īsīṣjfṁ=z freztārarrzaīṝ a: |
aṇḍasvarūpaṁ gurubhiś coktaṁ śrīrauravādiṣu |
vyakter abhimukhībhūtaḥ pracyutaḥ śaktirūpataḥ || 169 l|
āvāpavān anirbhakto vastupiṇḍo ‘ṇḍa ucyate |
tamoleśānuviddhasya kapālaṁ sattvam uttaram || 170 ||
rajo ʻnuviddhaṁ nirmṛṣṭasattvam asyādharaṁ tamaḥ |

The teacher (Sadyojyotis or Bṛhaspati?)² has explained what the

Egg of Brahmā is in (his commentary on) the venerable Raurava and
elsewhere (ādi), (with the words): ‘The Egg is said to be an aggregate of
entities (vastupiṇḍa) that has preserved its potency,™ has been sown (with
fertilizing seed) (āvāpavat)¹ and is undivided, which is in a state of
propensity (abhimukhībhūta) towards manifestation. (The Egg) is threaded
through with a trace of Tamas. Its upper shell (kapāla) consists of Sattva
mixed with Rajas. The lower part of the shell consists of Tamas devoid of
Sattva.* (169-171ab) (168cd-170)

with an account of the defining features of an ‘Egg’ according to the Siddhāntin

Sadyojyotis.
³³³ The passage conceming the Egg is quite long. It extends from 169 to 186ab (168cd to
185). The exposition of the worlds in the Earth principle (pṛthvītattva) ends this way.
This is an appropriate conclusion as the Egg of Brahmā and its surrounding Rudras are
its content.
“⁹’ If Abhinava is citing a passage from a text, the plural of gurubhiḥ can only be an
honorific plural. However, we have n0 means of knowing whether Abhinava is citing
Brhaspati’s vārtika or Sadyojyotis vṛtti. Above 8/162cd-5ab (162-164) the same
problem arises, see note there.
“ The printed edition reads (abhimukhībhūtaḥ) pracyutaḥ śaktirāpataḥ – *fallen from
powerʼ, but this makes little or no sense. By adding the privative ‘a’ we get
(abhimukhībhūto) ‘pracyutaḥ śaktirāpataḥ – ‘not fallen from powerʼ, that is, in an
actively potent state. Abhinava’s explanation in the following verses supports this
emendation.
“¹ In his commentary on the Rauravāgama, Sadyojyotis comments on the the term
āvāpa (scattering (of seeds for cultivation)), with prasavābhimukhībhāva – Ś‘the
condition favourable to germination’. See Filliozat (1991)
p. 32 (ed.), p.38 (trans.).
⁶¹ Read nirmṛṣṭasattvam for nirmṛṣṭaṁ sattvam. This is the reading recorded by
Jayaratha in his commentary on 8/178cd-179ab.
198 CHAPTER EIGHT
(Now) he himself comments on the first verse there, because it is a
difficult one:⁰³

axqfīvg =fr ũīṁ frathargaṁa 2.92

3ē: zaīṛēf] āēdāīhī TāGTYIa S-aIḹ |
āeṁṀḷ hlaṁī-āī-āī vkṁvaaṁ #aiṁ ú 2.92 |
arāzāṝx āī fē 7 =zgavṁka: |
ĒIIÚIĪ EIĪUETIITĪtiṛṛx: ḤIKACEI
TTaājṁī] īāāīd zaīaīaī ; |
TaāĀJTTCTTḤ GT⁹TRcTĪHC: I| 29% II
sāṝrīīṁē ēftr srē rīsīcakzzrīēē|
vastupiṇḍa iti proktaṁ śivaśaktiṣamūhabhāk || 171 ||
aṇḍaḥ syād iti tadvyaktau saṁmukhībhāva ucyate |
tathāpi śivamagnānāṁ śaktīnām aṇḍatā bhavet || 172. |
tadarthaṁ vākyam aparaṁ tā hi na cyutaśaktitaḥ |
tanvak. ādaũ mā prasāṅkṣīd aṇḍateti padāntaram || 173 ||
ste kasyāpy āvāpanaṁyataḥ |
tanvakṣasamdāya ve katham ekatvam ity ataḥ || 174 ||
anirbhakta iti proktaṁ sājātyaparidarśakam |

By the expression ‘aggregate of entities’ is meant that the Egg (of

Brahmā) consists of the totality of Śiva’s powers, which is in a state of
propensity to make that manifest. Although this is so, some may take these
words to mean that the state of the Eggis one in which all the powers are
mergedin Śiva, and (so) for that reason (the teacher) has gone on to add
the following phrase, that (the aggregate of energies) has not fallen (from
its nature) as the power (of Lord Śiva) (na cyutaśaktitaḥ). The following
statement, (namely, that the Egg has been sown (with fertilizing seed),)
precludes the over-extensive application of the condition of the Egg to the
body, senses and the like. There is no sowing of anything in the body and
senses. (171cd-174ab) (171-173)
One may ask, how can it be one if it consists of an aggregate (of
diverse things such as) the body and the senses? In reply to this, he says
that it is ‘undivided’, indicating thereby that it is (perfectly) homogeneous
(sājātya). (174cd-175ab) (174)

(An opponent may object that, if) it is said that the ‘Eggʼ is the
‘aggregate’, that is, assemblage of the body and senses and the like, the

“⁰³ Verṣes 8/171cd-175ab (171-174) are a word-for-word explanation of the first of the
cited verses. Abhinava chooses this most common of all exegetical formats here. As
Jayaratha explains: ‘he himself comments on the first verse there because it is a difficult
oneʼ. As such, it requires the most basic and clearest form of explanation.
 TANTRĀLOKA 199
meaning is that that is its defining characteristic. (But) by (only) saying this, the
undesired consequence would be that (this definition) would also apply to the
Śiva principle, as it is said (in the scriptures) that: “‘his powers are the entire
universeʼ.⁰ Accordingly, the ‘Egg’ is in a state of propensity to make that
(aggregate of energies) manifest, (in other words, it is) external manifestation as
the (initial) perception of objectivity.⁶* (t is not an ‘Egg’) prior to this also.⁰*
Accordingly, he says that (the Egg is the totality of Śiva’s powers,
which is) in a state of propensity to manifestation, so that (his definition) may
not be over-extensive (and apply to Śiva also). (Śiva)in accord with the dictum:
‘this Self has shone forth (just) once’,” is shining (i.e. manifesting)⁰* at all
times. In this way also, there would be the undesirable consequence that the
condition of the aggregate of the energies (of Śiva), which are in a state of
oneness with the possessor of power, would be that of the ‘Egg’. (Moreover,)
those powers are (only) propense to manifesting externally as this or that entity
occasionally, (not all the time). In order to counter (this objection), he adds
another phrase, namely that (the aggregate of energies) has ‘has not fallen
(from its nature) as the power (of Lord Śiva)ʼ. The meaning is that because
(Śiva's power)is propense to manifest (externally), it has ‘fallen’ from its subtle
form as (Śiva’s) power, and s0, as it is gross, it is perceived externallyin (its)
manifest nature. (However.) although the powers are propense to manifestation,
they do not fall from their nature as power, because that would entail the logical
impossibility of their losing their own (innate and essential) nature.⁶”
So even if this is the case, in order to preclude the mistaken application
(of the notion) that the condition of body, senses and the like (which are also
aggregates of energies propense to externalization) is that of the ‘Egg’, he adds
another statement, namely, (that the Egg) ‘has been sown (with fertilizing
seed)³ (āvāpavat). Sowing (of seed) (āvāpa) (involves) casting (of seed) into
another entity (that receives it), which as such (is favourable to fertilization,)
because the fourteen kinds of living beings are cast into their respective wombs.
However, in the case of the bodies and the rest (that constitute the Egg), that is

⁶⁰* See above, note to 1/11 lcd-1 12ab.

“⁰³ Read idaṁprathanatayā for idaṁprathamatayā.
“* Śiva’s body is also an aggregate of energies, as is the Egg. The difference between
themis that Śiva’s energies are at rest within Him and fully one with him. Thereis no
trace of outer objectivity (idantā) and so He is infinite. The Egg, on the contrary, is an
aggregate of energies tending towards outer manifestation. The senses, for example,
may not be active, but are ready and propense to perceive their objects, which they do
from time to time, operating with respect to individual objects. Siva, on the contrary, is
perpetually active, manifesting Himself and all things universally. This state is ‘prior’ to
the Egg
“⁷’ See note above in TĀv ad 1/57.
⁶⁵ ayabhāsamānaḥ – Śiva ʻshines¹ as both the transcendent beyond manifestation and
immanent as phenomena themselves.
“⁰ Although the aggregate of energies of the Egg of Brahmā are those of Śiva Himself,
they do not operate as His do, because they are limited and conditioned. They differ
because they have apparently ‘fallen’ from their essentially omnipresent, omnipotent
and unconditioned nature. Thus, they are perceived concretely as the worlds, bodies, and
the rest present in the Egg. But although they have assumed a gross form in this way,
they always remain essentially Śiva’s energies.
200 CHAPTER EIGHT
not so, because (that would entail) that (the Egg needs) be associated with
another (entity to fertilize it). If that were to be so, it would entail the fallacy
that (the Egg) is dependent on (that) other (entity to exist).
Surely (then, one may ask that), even so, because bodies etc. (in the
worlds of the Egg) are many, how could it be referred to as one, in the form of
an aggregate? So (in response to this objection,) he says that it is ‘undivided’,
as one does not perceive (any) division (in the Egg); it manifests in (a perfectly)
homogeneous state (sājātya) that gives life to (its) oneness, due to which it is
right to consider that it is one, as is the (single) perception of a city (viewed
from a height).
ŚSurely, (one may object that) if that is so, then each metaphysical
principle would be an ‘Egg’. Thus, in order to exclude that (possibility), (he)
adds that it is also an aggregate of entities (vastupiṇḍa). Thus, he says:

f-ṁfd aāqjfīvarzār-tēkēhī a 1| g 9., 1

īTa-aīaāṁ ramrī fēk ̃ |
TṬITÑTTJTIIĀ TĀ TGT I AY9Ē I
ER̥TĒIG Ē- CC-ŠŠE
Ḷ ḷ
=TI ATKT] TqṬRĪSTS
SST] || 2 9.9 I
vināpi vastupiṇḍākhyapadenaikaikaśo bhavet || 175 ||
tattveṣy aṇḍasvabhāvatvaṁ nany evam api kiṁ na tat |
guṇatanmātrabhūtaughamaye tattve prasṛjyate || 176 ||
ucyate vastuśabdena tanvakṣabhuvanātmakam ḷ
rūpam uktaṁ yatas tena tatsamiūho ‘nḍa ucyate || 177 ||

If one were not to say that (the Egg) is an aggregate of entities

(vastupiṇḍa), each one of the metaphysical principles could (then be thought
to) be an Egg (of Brahmā).⁰⁰ Even so, (if one accepts that this is not so in
the case of all the other principles), surely, (one may ask,) why should this
(undesirable view) not apply to (Prakṛti), the principle which consists of the
flux of gross and subtle elements and the qualities (guna). (In response to
this objection,) it is said that the term ‘entity’ (vastu) refers to something
that has a body, senses and world-order. This is the reason why the Egg of
Brahmā is said to be an aggregate of that. (175cd-177) (175-177ab)

(One may ask that, if the matter is as you have explained it, then) just as
the term ‘entity² (vastu) denotes the body etc., it also denotes the metaphysical
principles, and (moreover,) is their aggregate, that is, an ‘Egg’. (But) how is that
possible? (It is not so, otherwise one should refer to every metaphysical
principle as an ‘Egg’). ⁶'' Well if that is the case, then the Earth principle by

⁶l⁰ Only the Earth principle is considered to be the Egg of Brahmā.

⁶"" To understand the point of the discussion, we need to recall that there are four Eggs.
The Egg of Earth (pṛthvyaṇḍa), which is here identified with the Egg of Brahmā,
contains only the Earth principle. The Egg of Nature (prakṛtyaṇḍa) extends from Water
 TANTRĀLOKA 201
itself should not be termed an ‘Egg’. Or else, if one does denote it (that way),
then each (principle) should also be (denoted) in the same way. In that case,
applying the expression ‘aggregate of entities” (to define it) would be of no use
(as it is not a specific characteristic of an Egg, it would apply equally to every
metaphysical principle).
(We reply that that is) true; however, the Earth principle (differs from
all the others, because it is) the ultimate extremity of grossness. Thus, the other
principles present there within it are directly perceptible.⁰² Thus it is said that

to Nature, The Egg of Māyā (māyāṇḍa) from the Person (puruṣa) to end of Māyā, and
the Egg of Power (śāktāṇḍa), includes the Pure Principles up to Śakti. The Śiva
Principle is beyond the Eggs. Thus, the other three Eggs are indeed aggregates of
entities, that is, worlds and principles. We have been told that the Earth principle is an
‘Egg’ because it consists of an aggregate of entities. The question now arises, why the
other principles, that also contain numerous worlds, are not defined as ‘Eggs’? Why is
Earth different?
The expression vastupinḍa (‘aggregate of entitiesʼ) is fully applicable only to
the Earth principle. Viewed holistically, the dictum applies that ‘every single thing is all
things’ (sarvaṁ sarvātmakam). If so, then what difference is there between Earth and
the other principles? Why should they not all be ‘Eggs'? The answer is that Earth is
unique, as it is at the lowest extremity of the ladder of principles. They are all present in
Earth in a gross (sthūla) form, whereas Earth is present within them in a subtle (sūkṣma)
form. To respond to the objection (advanced by Sadyojyotis), who maintains that Nature
(prakṛti) should also be an Egg because of the many realities (vasru) that constitute it
(sattva, śabda, guṇa etc), Abhinavagupta advances a more restricted interpretation of
the nature of an ‘Egg°, which differs from the one he offers later (see below 11/8-17).
The term vastu – ‘entity’ – is used in a specific sense with reference to the body, and not
in a general sense with reference to the qualities (guṇa) of Nature (prakṛti) etc.
⁰!² The thirty-six principles are arranged in relation to one another as rungs on a ladder.
Each principle is caused by the one that precedes it and is the cause of the one that
follow it. In this perspective, they are stations along the path of the progressive
manifestation of consciousness, from the subtlest principle, Śiva (or to be more precise
Sadāśiva), to the grossest — Earth. The higher principles contain within themselves those
below them in a subtle, potential form, as a tree is contained in its seed. Conversely, the
lower principles, as products of the higher, contain them in a gross form. As we shall
see in greater detail in the next chapter, a metaphysical principle is a generic category to
which all individual entities of that category belong. Everything that is solid etc. which
is ‘earthen’ belongs to the Earth principle. These thirty-six principles cover all the types
of entities that constitute, in various combinations and to varying degrees, all our
experience. All gross physical objects are made of the five gross elements. There are
five sensations that correspond to them, five sense organs of perception, five of action,
the three inner mental organs, Nature, the individual soul, then Māyā and the five
principles that envelop the individual soul, above which are the aspects of the subjective
experience of universal consciousness set in relation to universal objectivity, up to pure
transcendental consciousness and power. In and through each act of perception, this one,
universal consciousness shines like a flash of lightning, travelling through all the
principles. Understood from this perspective, the principles are phases of perception,
ranging from the highest consciousness and its states of subjectivity, down through the
contracting filters of Māyā, which limit universal consciousness to form individual
consciousness, and then down through the sphere of individualized objectivity, ranging
from the mind down through the senses, and out into the sensations, and finally, fully
manifest gross objects.
202 CHAPTER EIGHT
even though it is one, it is as if it consisted of numerous principles. As they say:
‘the Egg of Brahmā consists of the five (gross) elements.’
(The opponent rejoins that,) if this is so, then everything is present
everywhere, and (so) the Earth principle also exists in the other principles. Thus,
then again in that situation, there is the same defect (as before). (To which we
reply that that) is true; even so, in the other principles, which are above Earth,
(the principles below them) exist in a subtle form. Here (in this case), they are
(present) in a gross form. (This fact) remains (to be understood and
accommodated to counter this objection).
Surely (one may object that), in that case also, many (kinds) of entities
exist. Thus, the word ‘entity’ denotes sartva and the rest (of the qualities of
Nature), or qualities such as sound and the rest. Thus, the principle of Prakṛti
(Nature), for example, which is an aggregate of these (entities), should also be
in the state of an ‘Egg’. He presents this doubt, (saying): ‘even so’ etc., (why
should this not be the nature of Prakṛti?). (He mentions the) ‘qualities’, (thereby
implying) Nature.
This (then) is the answer here (to this question), namely, that the term
‘entity² is strictly applied (pratiniyate) to a specific (particular inherent)
attribute (of something) (dharma). It is meant here (in this case) to denote the
body and the like. It is (not) universally (applicable to every entity). Thus, an
aggregate of (such things as) that is said to be an ‘Egg’, not an aggregate of (the
qualities of) sattva and the like also.⁰"²
Here this doubt has been removed as far as is possible. Thus, he says:

rTĨ TĨṀ̄ã ŨHTTṬT|

z} ũaṀṁīa-īāīr-qqāī-ttaá
arTāī u 2.9¢ 1
bhavec ca tat samūhatvaṁ patyur viśvavapurbhṛtaḥ |
tadarthaṁ bhedakāny anyāny upāttānīti darśitam || 178 II

(ŚSome may say that) that aggregate could belong to the Lord, whose
body is all things. Accordingly, the other distinguishing features (bhedaka)

AIl these phases can be experienced by careful, persevering reflective

awareness of our experience as the thirty-six universal categories of the constituents of
every single experience. They work together to form the total whole of an experience,
moment to moment. Thus, from this perspective, one could say that they are not
arranged in a hierarchy, but work together as a whole (‘aggregate’). Moreover, as
Jayaratha says, all the principles are directly apparent in the Earth, the grossest one, in
the sense that in order to perceive a gross object, all the particulars belonging to one or
other of the thirty-six categories of existence must work together, and can be discerned
to be doing so. At the level of the grossest manifestations, at the end of the chain, all the
other preceding stages can be perceived in a ‘gross’ form. We are aware of the
sensations, senses, mind, individual perceiver, limitations of Māyā, and to some degree,
the principles of consciousness beyond.
⁶’³ The term ‘Egg’ is used here for all the categories, gross and subtle, in their form as
the body, senses etc. So it is to be distinguished from Prakrṛti, which is an overall generic
term for the principles below that, of the individual soul, but does not denote their
particular manifest forms as worlds and bodies etc.
 TANTRĀLOKA 203
have been specified for that purpose (that is, to preclude this possibility by
distinguishing the Lord from this aggregate). (178) (177cd-178ab)

The reason why the Lord has a cosmic body is because that aggregate
essentially belongs to the Lord. (Accordingly,) ‘other distinguishing features’
(have been specified, that differ) and serve to distinguish (the Lord from this
aggregate).
Again, others explain this differently. Thus, he says:

Tīā-³TTRaTIT] HTTĪTSTTSĒ⁵ |
‘JḺTGTĪTATGTĀ ŪCTATSTḤ I 292, |I
tāvanmātrāsv avasthāsu māyādhīne ‘dhvamaṇḍale |
mā bhūd aṇḍatvam ity āhur anye bhedakayojanam || 179 1|

Others say that these distinguishing features are added in order to

counter the objection that the state of the Egg (as an aggregate of entities)
would not only be that of these states (i.e. the body etc.), but also that of
(others) in the domain of the Path subordinate to Māyā.⁶ (179) (178cd-
179ab)

‘Not only that of these’, that is, the body etc. (Abhinava) has not
himself explained (this) second (verse) because it is easy to understand. So it is
being explained (here in this commentary). The upper shell (kapāla) of this Egg,
that is threaded through with a trace of tamas (the quality of darkness and in
inertia),⁰"³ (consists of) sattva (light) threaded through with rajas (energy,
vitality). The meaning is that although it is penetrated by the other qualities also,
it is predominantly that. This is the meaning. Again, the lower (part of the) shell
is (said to be) ‘devoid of sattva’, that is, devoid of the quality called sattva
(light). It is penetrated by rajas (energy, vitality,) and although there is (some)
tamas (darkness, inertia) associated (with it), it is predominantly that. This is the
meaning. Thuṣ the (implied) point that the middle is predominantly rajas has
been established. As they say:

‘The creation from Brahmā up to (the gross) pillar⁰"⁶ (is in three

sections). Above sattva is extensive. Tamas is extensive from the root. Rajas is
extensive in the middle.”
⁰¹⁷

Having explained the nature of the Egg in this way from (this) aspect,
he continues with (the main) subject.

⁰!¹ Abhinava is referring, it seems, to the two others of the three remaining Eggs,
namely, those of Nature and Māyā. See above, note 8,499.
⁶I³ Read tamoleśānividdhaṁ for tamoleśānividdhasya. Cf. above, 6/168cd-170.
⁶l⁶ Read -stambhaparyantaḥ for ~stambaparyantaḥ.
“’ SāṁKā 54.
204 CHAPTER EIGHT
The Eleven Rudras Governing the Hundred Rudras

gGTṬTĒHÑGTTRYT
&=T: JId fē ā |
āãīṃṝ a āraāī %aī ūāhīaT TaITHI: || 9. ⁰ |A
ittham uktaviriñcāṇḍabhṛto rudrāḥ śataṁ hi yat |
teṣāṁ sve patayo rudrā ekādaśa mahārciṣaḥ || 180 I

The one hundred Rudras, who, as described, sustain the Egg of

Brahmā, have as their Lords eleven Rudras of great splendour. (180)
(179cd-180ab)

(There are) ‘eleven’, (as there) is one for each direction and one for all
of them. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):⁶⁸

‘Śveta (White) resides to the east of the Egg. . . . Vaidyuta (Lightning)

who is (as brilliant as) fire is in the southeast. . . . To the south of the Egg is
Mahākāla (Great Time). . . . The one called Vikata (Fierce) is in the southwest.
. . . The Rudra called Mahāvīra (Great Hero) is said to be to the west of the Egg.
. . Vāyuvega (Wind Force) is in the northwest direction of the
Egg. . . . The one called Subhadra (Well Auspicious) is to the north. . . . The
Rudra called Vidyādhara (Knowledge Holder) is in the northeast. . . . Below,

⁶I³ The following passages in chapter ten of the Svacchandatantra are introduced as
follows:
saṅṁkhyā sahasrāṇi ye ca ūrdhvādidiggatāḥ | 645 |1
svacchanád śvagā devāḥ kalpamanvantareṣv api |

sahasrasaṁkhyayāpi saṁkhyātum aśakyāḥ | /proktaprabhuśaktisamanvitatvāt

svacchandā anugrahādau svatantrāḥ | niyataśarīratve’pi viśvagā vyāpakāḥ kalpādiṣv
api ca devā dyotamānāḥ || pratidiśaṁ caite daśadigyyavasthāyāṁ saṁniī ty āha ---

pūrvādidaśadigrudrāḥ sthitā daśa daśaiva tu || 646 I|

daśānāṁ daśānām ----

ekaikam adhipaṁ caiva kathayāmi varānane |
‘‘Numbering thousands and present in the upper and other directions, (the
Rudras) are free, omnipresent gods (who abide for cosmic ages), kalpas and
manvantaras also.” (10/645cd-646ab)

AĪīthough they number thousands, they cannot be numbered. They are endowed
with power of the Lord (prabhuśakti) taught previously, and so are free, that is, free to
grace etc. Although their bodies are of a fixed (size) (niyata), they are omnipresent, that
is, pervasive gods, who shine throughout the cosmic ages ages (kalpādi). They are
located in each direction of (space), ordered in ten directions. Thus it is said:
‘The Rudras of the ten directions, beginning with the east, are in groups of ten.’
(SVT 10/646cd) Of each of those groups of ten, ‘O fair-faced lady, I will tell you the
king of each one.”” (10/647ab)
 TANTRĀLOKA 205
another is Kālāgnirudra. . . . Rudra is surrounded by them. . . . Vīrabhadra
(Auspicious Hero), surrounded by the Rudras, presides above the Egg.
(Possessing) great bodies, they are eleven.
⁶¹⁹

Again, such are (the Rudras) according to the Mālinīvijaya (also), with
the difference that there is a Lord in the middle of each group of ten (Rudras).
Vīrabhadra is the same in both (accounts).
He says that:

EgṀINĀĒAIIĪEUEEF A-AIETTṈI
r̥raī frī fēreī. 7]. aĪī=³ !| 2¢8 1|
ananto ʻtha kapāly agnir yamanair-ṛtakau balaḥ |
śīghro nidhīśo vidyeśaḥ śambhuḥ savīrabhadrakaḥ || 181 I|

(The eleven Rudras are): Ananta (Endless), Kapālin (the Skull

Bearer), Agni (Rudra of Fire), Yama, Nairṛta (Nephast), Bala (Strength),
Śīghra (Quick), Nidhīśa (Lord of Treasures), Vidyeśa (Lord of Knowledge),
and Śambhu (Tranquil) along with Vīrabhadra (Auspicious Hero). (181)
(180cd-181ab)

The being (of all the Rudras) is that of the venerable Vīrabhadra,
because he possesses lordship over all (of them). That is said there (in the
Mālinīvijaya);

‘Ananta (Endless) is the first amongst them. Kapālīśa (Lord of the

Skull) comes after (him followed by) Agnirudra (Rudra of Fire), Yama, Nairṛta
(Nephast), Bala (Strength), Śīghra (Speedy), Nidhīśvara (Lord of Treasures),
Sarvavidyādhipa (King of AIl Knowledge) is another, Śambhu (Tranquil) and
(finally) Vīrabhadra (Auspicious Hero) whose light is (like) a smokeless fire.⁶*¹
When these eleven are pure, (all) hundred (Rudras) are considered to be pure.’⁰²
How is their condition (avasthāna) here? He says:

] TH: hzrā #āTSĪĪTPĪT TGGTTUT |

⁶!” These references are fragments drawn from SvT 10/647c-659a, i.e. SVT 10/647c,
10/649a, 10/650a, 10/651a, 10/652a, 10/653a, 10/654a, 10/655c, 10/657a, 10/658a,
10/658a, 10/658cd-659a. Vīrabhadra is both the tenth Rudra as well as all of them
together, and so is also the eleventh one.
“*’ Theṣe names are drawn from the MV, not the SvT. Indeed, 8/181 (180cd-181ab) is a
paraphrase of MV 5/13-14, which is quoted in full by Jayaratha.
2I MV 5/13-14, quoted in TĀv ad 8/181 (I8Ocd-181ab), which is a paraphrase of it.
“’² MV 5/13-14. MV reads -prabhaḥ for -prabhāḥ. The former cannot be the better
reading. MV 5/11-15ab is quoted in TĀv ad 8/438-445 (437cd-445ab). Abhinava has
just stated in the previous verse that they all shine brilliantly, not just Vīrabhadra. The
line at the end in brackets is not quoted by Jayaratha; even so, it is worth stating that by
purifying these eleven worlds, all one hundred are purified.
206 CHAPTER EIGHT

ā̃ fllaāōzī dāīPeGTTÑTJTT:
I| g¢2 I
kīzrvṭḤatūziḤt EEkEEḤ
īāīīattzāīat
gsĩt aāIT I ¢3 1|
šacā fṀrraf ũ̄aaṁḥ |
madhu madhukr̥taḥ kadambaṁ
kesarajālāni yadvad āvṛṇate |
tadvat te śivarudrā
brahmāṇḍam asaṁkhyaparivārāḥ || 182 ||
śarāṣṭanīyutaṁ koṭir ity eṣāṁ sanniveśanam |
kaṇṭhādhiṣṭhitās te ca sṛjanti saṁharanti ca || 183 I||
śvaratvaṁ diviṣadãm iti rauravavãrtike |

Innumerable Rudras of Śiva surround the Egg of Brahmā, just as

bees surround the honey and the stamens of the Kadamba flower.
According to the Rauravavārtika, the space in which they are
arranged extends for eleven million and fifty-eight thousand leagues.
Presided over by Śrīkaṇṭha, they emit and withdraw the lordship of (the
gods) who dwell in the heavens."” (182-184ab) (181cd-183)

As is said (in the Svacchandatantra als0):

‘(The entourage of these great souls (the 100 Rudras) is innumerable.)

Surrounding the Egg, they abide (there) like bees (around) honey. They
surround it like stamens of the Kadamba flower. (The Egg is surrounded in this
way by Rudras of unlimited valour).’ *

The measure of each one of their worlds°* is eleven million and fifty-
eight thousand (leagues). What is the (scriptural) authority here (for this)? He
says (that this is) ‘according to the Rauravavārtika’. That is stated there:

‘“The habitation of these (Rudras) is said to extend for eleven million

and fifty-eight thousand leagues.”
‘Presided over by Śrīkaṇṭha, (these) very powerful beings (both) bestow
and steal away the lordship the gods desire.'*

2⁵ ṬĀ 8/182 (I81cd-182ab) is a summary of SVT 10/660cd-662ab, which is quoted by

Jayaratha. 183-184ab (182cd-183) is drawn partly from the Rauravavārtika, which is
quoted by Jayaratha, and the text upon which it is a commentary, namely, the
Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha, a part of which has survived.
³¹ SVṬ 10/660cd-662ab. Jayaratha quotes only SYT 10/661. The additions are in
brackets. TĀ 8/182 is a summary of these lines.
³³ Although Jayaratha says that this is the measure of each one of their worlds and
Sanderson (2006: 49 n 14) follows suit, one wonders whether this is correct. It is
possible that this is the measure of the total space these Rudras inhabit, not just that of
one of their worlds. On the other hand, if they are innumerable, that is not likely.
⁶2⁵ Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha 3/11.
 TANTRĀLOKA 207

The Hundred Eggs According to the Siddhātantra

Here (according to this scripture, the worlds and the rest) are (just) this
much, elsewhere (in other scriptures, some other) particular (is added in
addition). Thus, he says:

Ṝīārṁāī 3 ṜTPgr-ōāāīāātē: JTTT I 2¢7 I

ī̄] šē³āī gāīīṂ gḤfĀṬṬSĪĪRaT: g¢..

kEaṭḷ:zkī:mdNAōeĀjcEtazz:Ḥ.
siddhātantre tu hemāṇṉḍāc chatakoṭer bahiḥ śatam || 184 ||
aṇḍānāṁ kramaśo dvidviguṇaṁ rūpyādiyojitam |
teṣu krameṇa brahmāṇaḥ saṁsyur dviguṇajīvitāḥ || 185 |I
kṣīyante kramaśas te ca tadante tattvam ammayam ḷ

According to the Siddhātantra, beyond the golden Egg, which

measures a thousand million leagues,⁶⁷ there are another hundred Eggs,
each one double the size of the previous one, made of silver etc. They are
presided over by (as many) Brahmās, each one living twice as long as the
previous one, that progressively dissolve away. The Water principle is their
final limit. (184cd-186ab) (184-185)

(In actual fact, the Eggs in the Egg of Earth) are countless, and so (the
word) ‘a hundredʼ is meant to indicate a (large) number (in general). As is said
(in the Mālinīvijayottara):

‘(the first) two are separate and are innumerable. Each one (of the other
two) is separate (and only one).⁷⁶²⁸

(As) ‘each one is double the size’ (of the previous one, they extend for)
two thousand million leagues, four thousand million leagues, and so on. (They
are made of) ‘silver etc.’. The word ‘etc.’” means that one copper etc. is
included. ‘Each one living twice as long’ – in relation to the first Brahmā. That
is said there (in the Siddhayogeśvarīmata), beginning with:

‘Above is (the Egg) called Kālānala (Fire of Time), which is twice the
size of the Egg of Brahmā. In the same way (there are more,) until there are a

“’⁷ This is the Egg of Brahmā, which is indeed golden and that size.
⁶³* MV. 2/50ab. Read with the printed KSTS edition of the MV, ekam ekaṁ pṛthak
prṛthak for ekaikaṁ ca pṛthag dvayam. The previous verse enumerates the four Eggs, to
which this line refers. Thus ‘the first two’ are the Eggs of Earth and Nature, of which
there are countless Eggs. The other two, viz. the Eggs of Māyā and Śakti, are only one.
208 CHAPTER EIGHT
full hundred Eggs of Brahmā. O goddess praised by the heroes, it is said that
they (each) increase twofold. The lifespan (of the creatures who reside in them)
also doubles from the first, which is that of (Brahmā, who is) born from the
lotus (of Viṣṇuʼs navel).
Now I will tell (you) the extent of the names of the Eggs. (They are):
Kāñcana (Golden), the one called Kāla (Time), Vetāla (Zombie), and Mahodara
(Great Belly).”

Ending with:
‘Know that the hundredth one,⁶” which is located above all the others,
is (called) Gahvara (Abyss).”

Again:
‘The first (Egg) is said to be made of gold, the second of silver, then
copper and (finally) iron. They are arranged in this way in due order. (At the
end of) a Great Age (mahākalpa), they are destroyed, along with (their)
Brahmās and gods. They are destroyed thus, one by one, every hundred Great
Ages, until (only) the Great Egg (called) Gahvara remains. It is destroyed at the
time of the Great Destruction (mmahākṣaya). It is destroyed universally (as the
one universal Egg).”

The Sizes of the Principles From Water to Śiva

as Stages to Liberation

The size of the other metaphysical principles also increases

progressively in the same way. Thus, he says:

⁸īJṬGIST TTGTĪR TATGTĀTRĀ;:

ṢFHTT II R¢Š I
āTITPGGIx| #Tkāīaī̄ AITaṬGTI Ta: |
qRI THd’: TĪĪ GTHGĀTĪI| Q¢A I
fr-ftrṝēīī ṁīraaāīkq vraōēaT |
hGṬk Ghīa*ī āīTTHTAT fBzgTRITRHT I 2¢¢ I
TĀNĠEAIEHĒ KTēIIaṛēesk-zcI
aīeīzā #qvād ũṁhḍgṁ aTaT I 2¢R
ṉṭīḻieetz|ṭḵz Ḷācēiḷe³ ṟiṟṂ³ ī Ḥ
³Tṁd ā; rz fraā m fd: 1 220 1
dharāto ʻtra jalādi syād uttarottarataḥ kramāt || 186 ||
daśadhāhaṅkṛtāntaṁ dhīṣ tasyāḥ syāc chatadhā tataḥ |
sahasradhā vyaktam ataḥ pauṁsnaṁ daśasahasradhā || 187 I|
niyatir lakṣadhā tasmāt tasyās tu daśalakṣadhā |

⁶2’ Read with MSs Ch and N śatama for śatatamaḥ.

 TAṄNTRĀLOKA 209
kalāntaṁ koṭidhā tasmān māyā vid daśakoṭidhā || 188 II
īśvaraḥ śatakoṭiḥ syāt tasmāt koṭiṣahasradhā |
sādākhyaṁ vyaśnute tac ca śāktir vṛndena saṁkhyayā || 189 ||
vyāpinī sarvam adhvānaṁ vyāpya devī vyavasthitā |
aprameyaṁ tataḥ śuddhaṁ śivatattvaṁ paraṁ viduḥ || 190 ||

(The principles of) Water and the rest up to (the principle of) the
ego are, beginning with Earth, progressively ten times bigger than (each)
preceding one. (The principle of) the intellect (dhī) is a hundred times
greater than that (of the ego), (the principle of) Manifest (Nature) a
thousand times more, (the principle of) the individual soul ten thousand
times (greater) than that, (the principle of) Necessity (niyati) a hundred
thousand times (greater) than that, (and the rest of the principles) up to the
Force (of limited agency) (kalā) a million times more than that, Māyā ten
million times more than that (Force), (the principle of Pure) Knowledge a
hundred million times more (than Māyā), Īśvara a thousand million times
more than (Pure Knowledge), Sadāśiva ten thousand million times more
(than Īśvara). (The principle of) Power pervades (a space) a billion times
(more than that of Sadāśiva). Finally, once the Pervasive One, the Goddess,
has pervaded all the Path, she is established. (The wise) know that beyond
that is the Siva principle, which is pure, supreme, and without measure
(aprameya). (186cd-190) (186-190ab)

(The sizes of the principles are) ‘progressively° (greater), just as Water

is ten times greater than the Earth (principle), so too Fire (is ten times larger
than Water, and so on) up to (the principle of) the ego in the end. (The intellect
is a hundred times greater than) ‘that’, i.e. the ego. ‘Kmowledge’ is (Pure)
Knowledge. (The principle of Power) ‘pervadesʼ, that is, extends over (this
space). This is the meaning. (The Goddess, the Pervasive One pervades) ‘all’
(the Path), beginning with Power and ending with Earth.
That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):

‘Now, above are the principles, beginning with Water and ending with
Śiva. In an increasing progression, they are established (each) ten times (greater
than the previous one, up to the principle of) the ego. (The principle of) the
intellect, which is located above that, is a hundred times (bigger). O most
excellent lady, one should know that Fundamental Nature is above (that) and a
thousand times greater. (The principle) of the Individual Soul is ten thousand
(times greater than that), and Necessity (niyati) is said to be one hundred
thousand times (greater than the Soul). O lady of good vows, above that up to
(the principle of) the Force (of limited agency), it is a million (times more).
Maāyā is ten million times (greater), and abides pervading all the mobile and
immobile (universe). (Pure) Knowledge, which is a thousand million times
(bigger), abides pervading Māyā, (whereas) that is pervaded a thousand million
times more by Īśvara. Sādākhya (Sadāśiva), which is the resonance of the Point
(bindunāda), is above, pervading that, and is ten thousand million (times
greater). Power abides, pervading a billion leagues. The Pervasive One, the
goddess abides, having pervaded all the Path. Then (beyond that), O fair-faced
210 CHAPTER EIGHT
one, one should know that there is the Śiva principle, which is without
measure.¹N
And that (range of principles) is not seen anywhere else (outside Śiva).
Thus, apart from this, there is no other cause of liberation. Accordingly, he says:

stōīc fšṝaāāraīā g ārītīsōaīq] |

a a- ṀPṀŨaā̄ T-ã lJRTTḤI 282 1
Ṭaī āJīē rēīaā: īTcdārrāPā
āīṬaā³ī ³īēēṁaāī ṬjĀ-TSTTT I 282 1
fšraāīd a vafa carāīc aīgāīd 1
T-ī ŪīīJīī āī ’̄RTTāī ] aI IT: 1| 233 1|
jalādeḥ śivatattvāntaṁ na drṣṭaṁ kenacic chivāt |
ṛte tataḥ śivajñānaṁ paramaṁ mokṣakāraṇam || 191 I|
tathā cāha mahādevaḥ śrīmatsvacchandaśāsane |
nānyathā mokṣam āyāti paśur jñānaśatair api || 192 ||
śivajñānaṁ na bhavati dīkṣām aprāpya śāṅkarīm |
prāktanī pārameśī sā pauruṣeyī ca sā punaḥ || 193 |

None has seen the principles that range from water to Śiva without
(the grace of Lord) Śiva,³' and so the knowledge of Śiva is the supreme
cause of liberation. Mahādeva has said in the venerable teaching of
Svacchanda that the fettered soul cannot attain liberation in any other way,
even by hundreds of (fragments of) knowledge. Thereis no knowledge of
Śiva without having obtained Śaiva initiation.² This can be either divine
(pārameśī), due to previous (merit) (prāktanī), or human (pauruṣeyī) (given
by a teacher in accord with the scriptures). (191-193) (190cd-193ab)

(There is no knowledge) ‘without having obtained initiation’. As is

said (in the Mālinīvijayottara):

‘There is no competence to practice Śaiva Yoga without initiation.*³

(Initiation) ‘due to previous (merit)’ is (that initiation) that has attained

(the nature) of No Means, (through which Śiva is realized in an instant) by the
power of the practice of each previous life. The ‘divine’ (initiation) is like that
(of a) Vidyeśvara, that is performed by Śiva directly. The ‘human (pauruṣeyī)²
(initiation) is one that is given by the teacher, in accord with the procedure

“³⁰ SVTṬ 10/668-674ab.

⁶³¹ Is Abhinava implying that the Earth principle and its worlds is visible even without
grace?
“³²2Cf. MV 1/45.
⁶³³MV 4/6cd, see above, note ad 1/232.
 TANTRĀLOKA 211
(krama) of the scriptures. That is said there (in the Svacchandatantra, in a
passage) beginning with:

‘(The form, glorious power, and multiple extent of the worlds) is not⁶³⁴
perceived by (the fragments of) knowledge of fettered souls, which are mistaken
views of a bad (and false) path.⁷⁰*³

‘That knowledge is not obtained without the Lord’s grace. Nor do

embodied beings possess (the necessary spiritual) sentiment (bhāva) without
having obtained initiation. If due to (that) cause, (Śiva’ s) power brings about the
cessation (of all impediments) (nirvāṇakārikā), one attains, by Śiva’s will, the
auspicious initiation made of (liberating) knowledge, which is divine and
Mantra Yoga by nature. Then the fettered soul attains liberation. The fettered
soul does not attain liberation in any other way, even by hundreds of (fragments
of) knowledge. He to whom Śiva, Whose nature is infinite, has revealed
everything, attains liberation, and is Śiva, the Great God, directly visible. Thus,
I have previously explained to you that that is the main (form of all)
knowledge.”⁶*“

⁶³* Read with MS N and SVT yan na for yatra.

⁶³S ~SVT 10/675cd. Kṣemarāja comments: •svatantracidghanānandātmaka-
parabhairavaṣvasvabhāvākhyātipāśapāśitatvāt saṁkucitadṛkśaktīnāṁ jñānāni jñāyate
‘bhilaṣitaṁ paśubhiḥ yais taiḥ paśuśāstraiḥ, yan na jñātaṁ tathā kupathena
parimitakleśamātrapraśamakāriṇā, na .tu paripūrṇapadaprāptipradenopāyapra-
darśanena bhrāntā labdhātāttvīkaprakāśā dṛṣṭir jñānaṁ pratipadyamānaṁ yeṣāṁ
tādṛgbhiḥ ll

‘The perceptions (jñānāni) of those whose power of knowledge is contracted

(are such) because they are bound by the fetter of the ignorance of their own (essential)
nature, which is Parabhairava, who is the bliss of free, compact (uninterrupted)
consciousness. What (they) desire is known by those fettered souls (only) by means of
their scriptures, that is, those of the fettered. It is what is known by (following) a bad
path, that quells only (some few) limited impediments in that way, not by the revelation
of (a sound) means that bestows the attainment of the completely full plane (of
realization). Their knowledge, which is being referred to (here), is the view of such
(fettered souls). Itis a mistaken one, thatis, one that has not attained the true light (of

⁶³⁶ SVT 10/703-707ab. The preceding verses, i.e. Sv√T 10/676-702, and part of the
commentary, are worth noting. They are as follows:

prakṛtipuruṣayor_avivekamātrāt saṁsāro vivekāt tu muktir itīdṛgjñānaiḥ sāṁkhyaiḥ,

atraiva cittaikāgryāmmayogāveśasamprāpya draṣṭṟṛsvarūpāvasthityātmamuktivādibhir
yogaśāstrasthaiḥ, saḍviṁśatitatvarūpamahāvibhūtyātmakavāsudevākhyaparaprakṛti-
pariṇāmāṁmakaprakr̥tyādijagadvādibhiḥ pāñcarātrikair yan na drṣṭam iti sambandhaḥ
|| tathā

svabhāvavādibhir nāpi na ca karmapravādibhī || 10/676 1

nāpi ṣaśayavādaiś ca nagnakṣapaṇakādibhī |
prṛthivyādayaḥ svabhāvena tanukaraṇabhuvanādikāryārthaṁ pravartante na punar
atreśvaraḥ pravartako ‘stīty evaṁvadadbhiḥ svabhāvavādibhiḥ, karmaiva viśva-
212 CHAPTER EIGHT

kāraṇaṁ nānyad ity ācakṣāṇaiḥ karmapravādibhiḥ, daivaṁ puruṣakāro vā

viśvakāraṇam iti bruvāṇaiḥ saṁśayavādibhiḥ,

‘`“Not (by the knowledge of the) Sāṁkhyas, the Yogas or the Pāñcarātrikas.’
(SVT 10/676ab)

Transmigratory existence is due solely to the lack of discrimination between

Nature and the individual soul. Liberation (is attained) by (this) discrimination. Such is
the knowledge of the Sāṁkhya. Those who maintain that liberation is taught in the
treatises on Yoga (say) that it is the (fundamental) condition (avasthiti) of the perceiver,
once having attained entry (āveśa) into Yoga, which is essentially a one-pointed state of
mind. The Pāñcarātrikas maintain that the universe is (made of) Prakṛti etc., which is a
permutation of the supreme prakṛti, called that of Vasudeva, who is the great and
glorious power (mmahāvibhūti) in the form of the twenty-six principles (tattva). They
have not seen (ultimate reality). Such is the complete syntax.

‘(Ultimate reality has also not been seen) by those who teach (that all things are
such) according to their own nature (svabhāvavādin), and so too not by those who
maintain that (transmigratory existence is entirely due to) Karma (karmavādin), as do
naked (Jain) ascetics and the like.’ (10/676cd-677ab)

Those who teach (that all things are such) according to their own nature
(svabhāvavādin) maintain that (the gross elements), Earth etc., operate in order to
produce the body, senses and worlds etc. God does not impel (this process) here (in this
case). Those who maintain that (transmigratory existence is entirely due to) Karma
(karmavādin) say that Karma alone and nothing else is the cause of all things. Those
who advocate the doctrine of uncertainty (sarśayavādin) say that the cause of all things
may be either fate or human action.

jīvājīvāsravāś caiva saṁvaro vivaras tathā |

bandho mokṣaś ca saptaite saptabhaṅgīvicitritāḥ ||

iti vacanavyaktyāṇnādisiddho bandho mokṣaś ca | trividho jīvaḥ, ajīvas tu sthāvaram,

pudgalo dehaḥ, dharmo ‘dharmo bhuvanādyadhikaraṇaṁ lokākāśo
muktapudgalasthānam alokākāśaś ceti ṣaḍvidhā śabdādiviṣayā vikalpavṛttiḥ sukha-
duḥkhādisambhinnā vikalpakapraśamanarūpā, ā samantāt sravati prasaraty ajasram
ity āsravo, yam _aniyamādiniyamitendriyavṛttipūrvamamalapudgalarūpadhyānaṁ
samyag vṛṇīte jīvāṇ iti saṁvaraḥ

‘Living being (jīva), insentient being (ajīva), influx (āsrava), restraint

(saṁvara) and ascetic practice (vivara), bondage (handha) and liberation (mokṣa) —
these seven are various, according to seven ways (in which their existence or otherwise
can be understood).”

As made clear by this statement, it is established that bondage and liberation

have no beginning. It is of three kinds living (jīva), insentient (ajīva) and unmoving
(vegetation) (sthāvara), the individual soul (pudgala) is the body and is subordinate to
Dharma, Adharma, the world order (in which it lives) etc. The space of the world is the
location of the liberated individual soul, and so too the space beyond the world
(alokākāśa). These are six kinds of objects of sense, beginning with sound. The
condition (vṛti) of thought constructs is associated with pleasure and pain etc., that
bring to rest the one who is conceiving (the thought constructs). It flows in (sravati) all
 TANTRĀLOKA 213

around quickly (ajasram), so it is (called) ‘influx” (āsrava). Restraint (saṁvara)

correctly selects (vṛṇiīte) living beings, and the visualization of the form of the pure
indiviḍual soul, having first restrained the lack of restraint etc. of the activity of the
senses.

keśolluñcanataptaśilāpatanamaladhāraṇādīsamastaduḥkhānubhavaḥ prāksañcitā-
śubhasañcayasya nirjhara iva vidhvaṁsako vivaraḥ, lobhamohaśokādilohapañjara
ivālābupātrāṇāṁ nimajjakaḥ pudgalānām āvārako bandhaḥ, tadāvaraṇavyapagame
mukha-saṅṁvidātmakapudgalonmajjanam 1| lokākāśo mokṣaś_ ceti jīvājīvādi-
padārthasaptakavādibhiḥ ---- 1. syād asti, 2. syān nāsti, 3. syād asti ca syān nāsti ca, 4.
syād anirvācyam, 5. syād asti ca nirvācyam, 6. syān nāsti ca nirvācyam, 7. syād asti ca
nāsti cānirvācyaṁ ceti saptabhir eva bhaṅgībhir aniścitam eva sarvaṁ vadadbhir
nagnakṣapaṇakādibhir yan na dṛṣṭam iti sambandhaḥ ||

The fetter (that binds) individual souls is an (obscuring) covering (āvāraka)

that submerges (their consciousness), as are the leaves of a water pumpkin, and is like a
metal cage (made) of greed, delusion and suffering etc. It destroys (them) without a
break, like a torrent (nirjhara) of the mass of inauspicious (karman) accumulated in the
past, and is the experience of all the suffering of bearing Impurity (performing
austerities like) falling onto a slab of heated stone and plucking out one’s hair. When
that covering is removed, the individual soul, who is primary consciousness (read
mukhyasaṁvid- for mukhasaṁvid-) emerges (and so attains) the space of the world
(lokākāśa) and liberation.
Those who maintain that there are seven realities, that is living beings (jīva)
and insentient beings (ajīva) etc., (say that) everything is uncertain, due to these seven
modalities (of uncertain knowledge). (These are) 1) perhaps (something) exists, 2)
perhaps it does not exist, 3) perhaps it does and does not exist, 4) perhaps it cannot be
described, 5) perhaps it exists and is indescribable, 6) perhaps it does not exist and is
indescribable, 7) perhaps it does and does not exist and is indescribable. Everything is
uncertain in these seven ways, according to naked (Jain) ascetics and the like, who have
not seen (that ultimate reality). This is the syntax.

tathā ----
na bhūtavãdibhiś caiva..
prthivyaptejovāyur iti ’bhūtacatuṣṭayam eva pratyakṣadṛṣṭam astīti kathayadbhiś
cārvākaiḥ ||
... āpi syāl laukikair api ||
vārādandaṁimātraúsṣhai I
na cātmacintakair vāpiī.
puruṣa evedaṁ sarvaṁ Yadbhātaṁ yacca bhāvyam ityādi cintayadbhir vaidikaiḥ ----

Similarly, ‘(it is not seen) by those who maintain (the universe is made of) the
gross elements.” (10/677c)

The (materialist) Cārvākas say that the group of four (gross) elements,
perceived directly by the senses, that is, Earth, Water, Fire and Air, is (all that) exists.

“. . . (nor is it seen) by the worldly also³ (10/677d)

(The worldly) are those who are given only to (exercising their) profession
(vārtā), punishing (daṇḍa) (their enemies), and politics.
214 CHAPTER EIGHT

‘Not also by those who contemplate the Self. . .⁷ (10/678a)

(These are) the Vedikas, who reflect that: ‘Puruṣa alone is all this, what has
been and what will be.” (Ṛg 10/90/2)

..…na ca tarkapravādibhiḥ |
‘avijñātatattve ʻrthe kāraṇopapattitas tattvajñānārtham ūhas tarkaḥ’ ity ūharūpeṇa
asthāṁ kurvadbhiḥ ||
kair vā.api ṣaṭpadārthaparāyaṇaiḥ || 10/678 II
dravyaguṇakarmasāmānyaviśeṣasamavāyākhyapadārthaṣaṭkam .eva tattvam iṭy
abhidadhadbhiḥ kaṇādaśiṣyaiḥ ||

“. .…. (nor by) the logicians.” (10/678b)

‘Logic is the reasoning (iha) that has as its purpose the knowledge of the true
nature (of something) and (the establishment of) the propriety of a (presumed) cause
with regards to something the nature of which is unknown.” (Nyāyasūtra 1/1/40)

. who establish (something is) logically tenable by means of logic, that is,
sound reasoning. (Nor is it known) by the Vaiśeṣikas, who are intent upon the six
realities. (10/678)

(The Vaiśeṣikas) are the disciple of Kaṇāda, who declare that reality is the
group of six realities (padārtha), namely, substances, qualities, actions, universals,
particulars and inherence.

na cāpi nyāyavādaiś ca..

pramãāṉ ādipadārúhaṣoḍāśakatatvajānān niḥśreyasādhigamo bhavatīti bruvāṇair
naiṣaya I
...hetudṛṣṭāntavādibhiḥ |
na ca yad dr̥ṣṭam iti sṭhitam eva |

‘tadbhāvahetubhāvo hi dṛṣṭānte tadavedinaḥ |

(khyāpyete) 1, (viduṣāṅṁ vācyo) 2 hetur eva hi kevalaḥ || (pra.vā. 3/27)
ityāraṭadbhiḥ saugataiḥ ||
nāpy ekajanmavādaiś c.
vartamānam evedam ekaṁ janmā, na tu janmāãntaram abhūd bhãvi vety uditavadbhiḥ ||

..aaaai11a. na cāpyekatvavādibhiḥ || 10/679 |I

pārameśaśāstrapratipāditasvaprakāśasvatantracidadvayavādavyatirekeṇa
sattādyadyayavādibhiḥ || 679 |
na dhūrtavādair lokair vā suparijñātam aiśvaram |

dhūrtaviracitamlecchādiśāstraniṣṭhaiḥ | īśvareṇa SŚivabhaṭṭārakeṇa proktam

aptattvādibhuvanānām ākāravibhavaviṣṭārādikaṁ yat sāṁkhyādibhir
dhūrtalokaparyantair na kaiścid api parijñātam, tat te vakṣyāmi iti proktenaiva
saṅgatiḥ || na ceyanta eva vādinaḥ, api u ---
‘The Naiyāyikas also do not (see that reality) . . . “ (10/679a)
 TANTRĀLOKA 215

The Naiyāyikas say that one attains what is most excellent by knowing the
sixteen categories, beginning with the valid means of knowledge. ‘ . . . those who
maintain (reality is known by means of logical) reasons and (relevant) examples . . .’
(10/679b) (However,) what is seen is not how (reality actually) is. The Buddhists say
that *for those who do not know (something), the condition of the probandum is as that
in the example.”
‘Nor do those who maintain that there is only one birth . . .⁷ (10/679b)
(These are those) who say that there is only one birth, which is the present one.
There is none other before, nor will be.

‘Monists also (do not see it).³ (10/679d)

(The monists meant here) are those who maintain a oneness of Being (sattā)
etc. They are other than those who maintain the nonduality of consciousness, which is
free and self-luminous, taught in the scriptures of the Supreme Lord.

‘Nor do people with deceitful views know the Lord properly.” (10/680ab)

(These people are) those who are dedicated to treatises written by barbarian
and other deceitful people. The form, wealth and extent etc. of the world of Water and
the other principles taught by the Lord, that is, by Lord Śiva, is not known properly by
(a range of people), beginning with the followers of the Sāṁkhya, down to (the lowest,
common) deceitful people. I will tell you that. This is the syntax (between the words).

ity evaṁvādināṁ teṣāṁ vādānāṁ tu śatatrayam || 680 ||

triṣaṣṭir adhikāś cānye vādināṁ bhrāntacetasām |
ajñānatimiṟāndhānām unmīlanakṛd uttamam || 681 I|
saṁsārapaṅkamagnānāṁ naur ivottāraṇaṁ param |
mahāmohatamo’ndhānāṁ tamonudam idaṁ param || 682 ||
parameśamukhodbhūtaṁ yan mayā prāptam adbhūtam |
jñānāmrtam idaṁ divyaṁ nānābhuvanaviṣṭaram || 683 |I
śṛṇuṣvaikamanā devi vicitrākāram adbhutam |

Thus, the views of those whose views are such, are three hundred. There are
sixty-three more. These are those of philosophers whose minds are deluded. (This
teaching) is the best eye-opener of those who are blind with the darkness of ignorance; it
is like a boat for those who are stuck in the mud of transmigratory existence, it is their
supreme salvation. This is the supreme remover of the darkness of those who are blind
with the darkness of the great delusion. (It is) an astonishing wonder that has come from
the mouth of the Supreme Lord, which I have received. (It is) this divine nectar of
knowledge that extends for many worlds. O goddess, listen one-pointedly, (to this)
astonishing (teaching) of (varied) wonderful form. (10/680cd-684ab) [Abhinava
condenses SvT 10/680cd-683 into 13/278cd-279ab below, see there].

ananto bhuvanavrātas tv avyucchedād vyavasthitaḥ l| 684 1

madhukośajālakavat tathā bhūricayāvṛtiḥ |

‘The group of worlds is without end, because it is arranged (in such a way that
the worlds form a continuous recurrent series that is) without a break. (They form an)
extensive recurrent series (in which they are encompassed by one another) like the
network of a honeycomb. (10/684cd-685ab)

mīṉaśaṅkhakulāyābhaṁ dāḍimībījavat sthitam || 685 ||

216 CHAPTER EIGHT

kadambakeṣaranibhaṁ purāṇāṁ tu samīhakam |

The mass of (their) towns (are arranged symmetrically) like the stamens of a
Kadamba (flower) and look like (like a) fish, a conch and a web. (They are inwardly
contained within a compact matrix) like pomegranate seeds. (10/685cd-686ab)

mahāsenāvāsakavad vane taruṣamiūhavat l| 686 |I

nirantaram anantāni bhuvanāni varānane |

Like the camp of a great army and the clump of trees in a forest, O fair-faced
lady, the Ananta worlds are without a break. They are of many forms and, variously
beautiful (citra), are made of all the jewels. (10/686cd-687)

parimaṇḍalāni dīrghāṇy ardhacandrākṛtni ca |

puruṣākṛtīni cāṅyāni nandyāvartākṛtīni ca || 688 II
parvatākṛirūpāṇi gajayūthākṛtīni ca |
Śarāvākṛtīni cānyāni jvālārūpākṛtīni ca || 689 ||
mahāvimānarāpāṇi triśālākṛtimanti ca |
murajākṛtīni cānyāni tryaśrākr̥tipurāṇi ca || 690 ||
mahāpuruṣarūpāṇi śataśṛṅgākṛtīni ca |
sahasraśṛṅgāvartāni tathānyāni varānane || 691 |I
koṭiśṛṅgāṇi cānyāni asaṁkhyaśikharāṇi ca |
vrṛttāni caturaśrāṇi trikoṇāny aparāṇi ca || 692
(Some are oval) round (in the back) and elongated (in front); (some) have the
shape of a crescent moon, others are those of men, others (look like) vortices (shaped
like the bull) Nandi, mountains, or a herd of elephants, clay plates, flames, great palaces,
and tridents, while others are shaped like drums with triangular (towns), or the shape of
a great man, or (mountains) with hundreds of peaks, and others, O fair-faced lady, are
covered with thousands of peaks, tens of millions and countless peaks, others are
surrounded by squares or triangles. (688-692)

divyacitrapatākāni divyaghaṇṭādhvajāni ca |
bherīnādasvarāḍhyāni divyagītadhvanīni ca || 693 ||
divyadundubhinādāni mahāveṇuṣvanāni ca |
nānāvāditraghoṣāṇi bhuvanāni ca sarvadā || 694 ||

The worlds always have divine, varied (and beautiful) banners, divine bells and
flags. They are rich with the sound of kettledrums and the sounds of divine songs,
sounds of drums, great flutes, and the sounds of many instruments. (693-694)

Śśuklāni sphaṭikābhāni padmarāgākṛtīni ca |

candrakāntasavarṇāni muktādāmanibhāni ca || 695 ||
lākṣārasasavarṇāni kānicidvaravaṇīni |
indragopakavarṇāni indranīḻanibhāni ca || 696 ||
nīḷotpalasavarṇāni vidyutpuñjanibhāni ca |
bālādityasavarṇāni padmagarbhanibhāni ca || 697 I|
candraprabhāni cānyāni candrakoṭinibhāni ca |
madhyāhnārkasavarṇāni sūryakoṭinibhāni ca || 698 II
aśokaṣtabakābhāni haritālanibhāni ca |
śakracāpasavarṇāni gokṣīradhavalāni ca || 699 ||
 TANTRĀLOKA 217
The Worlds of Water and the Other Elements

Now he begins to talk about the worlds in the Water principle.

The World of Bhadrakālī

Ṅīaazxbr̥ṇīcúI¹Eita-kĀt-ḤI
ī āīETTaTTHI JṬṬ īczāṛ: Ū{ STTḤ I QṚ% I
ÑṬagīṝhī̄ī̄ā Tṛ=dld dTHUsaq; IṬēīāT; .|

śatarudrordhvato bhadrakālyā nīlaprabhaṁ jayam |

na yajñadānatapasā prāpyaṁ kālyāḥ puraṁ jayam || 194 |
tadbhaktās tatra gacchanti tanmaṇḍalasudīkṣitāḥ |

sindārakuikumābhāni gorocananibhāni ca |
taptahemasavarāni niṛdhāmāgninibhāni ca I| 700 1
Śśaṅkhapāṅḍuravarṇāni kānicidbhuvanāni ca |
nānāvarṇāni cānyāni nānārāpākṛiīni ca || 7O II
(Some worlds) are white like crystal, (some) the form of the sun (padmarāga),
(some) the colour of moonstones, (some are) like pearl necklaces, and some, O lady of
most excellent colour, are the colour of lac. (Some are) the colour of fireflies, (others
are) like sapphire, and the colour of blue lotuses. (Others are) like cages of lightning, the
colour of young (rising) suns, and like ruby (padmagarbha). Others shine (like the)
moon and like tens of millions of moons. (Some are) the colour of the midday sun, and
tens of millions of suns. (Some look like) the buds of Aśoka (trees) and (others) are like
yellow orpiment (haritāla). (Oṭhers) are the colour of rainbows and white like cow’s
milk, red lead, vermilion, musk, and the colour of heated gold. (Others look) like a
smokeless fire, and (others are) white (like) a conch, whilst some worlds are of many
colours and have many forms.” (695-701)

Kṣemarāja: ‘theṣe are how (the worlds) from the Water principle to
transcendent (anāśrita) Śiva are said to be like.²
eteṣāṁ parato devi vyāpakaṁ paramaṁ padam |
aprameyamasaṁkhyeyamagamyaṁ sarvavādinām || 702 ||

aprameyam idantayā paricchettum aśakyaṁ yataḥ saṁkhyayāpi nirdeṣṭum aśakyam |

ataś ca śaivaśāstrajñavyatirekeṇa prāguktānāṁ sarvavādinām agamyam aprāpyam |l
702 1

‘O goddess, beyond these (worlds) is the supreme pervasive plane,

immeasurable, innumerable and inaccessible to all (these) philosophers (vādin).” (SVT
10/702)

(They are) ‘immeasurable’; that is, it is impossible to discern (them) as

objectivity, for it is not possible to indicate (what they are) even in terms of (their)
number. Thus, apart from knowledge of the Śaiva scriptures, it is ‘inaccessible’, that is,
and unobtainable for all those with the aforementioned views.”
218 CHAPTER EIGHT
Above the hundred Rudras is (the world) of Bhadrakālī. (It is
called) Jaya and is blue (the colour of sapphire). Jaya, Kālī’s abode, cannot
be reached by performing sacrifices, charity or austerity; only those who
have been properly initiated into Her maṇḍala and are devoted to Her go
there. (194-195ab) (193cd-194)

‘Blue’ (nīla) means sapphire (indranīla). ‘ṭhose who have been

properly initiated into Her maṇḍala’ in order to attain that world, in accord
with the saying that ‘having placed the (disciple who is) devoted to worldly
Dharma (lokadharmin) into the (status of) the desired Lord of a world orderʼ,⁶³⁷
(one attains it). This is the meaning.
Well then, what is (the use of) attaining that (initiation)? With this
question in mind, he says:

frāttīsīīerar
āīaṝ aa raĀ u| 2 2.
nirbījadīkṣayā mokṣaṁ dadāti parameśvarī || 195||

She, the Supreme Goddess, bestows liberation by means of the

initiation without seed.⁶*⁸ (195cd) (195ab)

Surely (one may ask), how can this be so, by simply attaining that world
located in the principle of Water? With this doubt in mind, he says:

fēēraṁaōī seṝ aāīat̄ ̄t 7vīq]

āīaī āīfcaaṝ JGÑĨT [EEIÉIIṞAḤÚĪRRI

vidyeśāvaraṇe dīkṣāṁ yāvatīṁ kurute nṛṇām |

tāvatīṁ gatim āyānti bhuvane ‘tra niveśitāḥ || 196 |

As is the initiation (the teacher) imparts in the sphere of Vidyeśa,

such is the path by which they are placed here, in (this) world (of
Bhadrakālī).²⁹ (196) (195cd-196ab)

“’⁷ MIT Kriyāpāda, 8/149ab. This line is quoted above in TĀv ad 6/177 (176cd-177ab).
The full verse is quoted below ad 13/245cd-246ab and again ad 15/30 and the second
quarter ad 26/47-51ab.
“’⁸ Paraphrase of SVT 10/734cd. There are two types of initiation ~ ‘with seed’ and
‘without seed’. The former is given to those who are capable of adhering to the
observances into which they are initiated. The latter is for those who cannot, and so are
absolved from their responsibility to do so. See below, 15/31-33ab. The point implied
here is that the initiation given directly by the Goddess is immediately liberating.
⁶³ “O fair-faced lady, the world (called) Jaya has been described. Those devoted to it go
there, initiated into (that world which is Bhadrakālī’s) maṇḍala. O fair-faced one, that
cannot be attained by austerity, nor by sacrifices, nor can it be attained by offering much
money (to the teacher) or many kinds of alms. (Rather,) having attained initiation by the
grace of the God of the gods, whose head is marked with the sign of the (crescent)
moon, they attain the maṇḍala of emperors (who are the Lords of Mantra). Indeed, (the
goddess) bestows liberation to embodied beings by means of an initiation without seed.
 TANTRĀLOKA 219
According to the following declaration (in the Svacchandatantra), this
Goddess (bhagavatī) is the most excellent of all (goddesses), which is why
(Her) glory is proclaimed here in this way:

‘That goddess abides with the names and forms of all the goddesses.
She is the Virgin (kumārī) people worship (lokabhāvanī) who, shrouded by
Yogamāyā, is inconceivable and immeasurable.’⁴⁰

The World of Vīrabhadra

īā: āhīaṛ JīR7aī gT-aT'THHTN:1|

feraīaā J̄ T ā TTTĪ TRT I| 2.9
sī āēq āīī faa a1 a. |
īEI
IEIkIEĪĒIEEĀĒŪḌGĪṬIĀĀṈ
āṇzīṁā īetṝrṁrṁfṣāc fBēr
ZITG Tīīōō maē JThrTTāa fkrṁd 1 222 1
tataḥ koṭyā vīrabhadro yugāntāgnisamaprabhaḥ |
vijayākhyaṁ puraṁ cāsya ye smaranto maheśvaram || 197 Il
jaleṣu maruṣu cāgnau Śiraśchedena vā mṛtāḥ |
te yānti bodham aiśānaṁ vīrabhadraṁ mahādyutim || 198 II
vairabhadrordhvataḥ koṭir viṣkambhād viṣṭṛtaṁ tridhā |
rudrāṇḍaṁ sālilaṁ tv aṇḍaṁ śakracāpākṛti sthitam || 199 ||

Beyond that, for ten million (leagues, lives) Vīrabhadra, whose light
is like that of the fire at the end of an aeon (yuga). His world is called
Vijaya. Those who have died in water, in deserts, or in a fire, or have been
decapitated, while recalling Maheśvara, attain Vīrabhadra, who is the
Lord’s consciousness of great splendour. (197-198) (196cd-198ab)
The Egg of Water is Rudra’s Egg; above (the world of) Vīrabhadra,
it extends threefold. From the supporting pillar (viṣkambha), it is ten
million (leagues in extent) and in the form of a rainbow.®" (199) (198cd-
199ab)

That is said to be the supreme liberating initiation, in accord with the regular procedure
(which purifies the fetters).” SvT 10/731cd-734.

After this passage, the verse Abhinava cites here follows. Kṣemarāja explains
that those whom the Goddess initiates in this way are not only liberated, they also attain
the status ofa Lord of Knowledge – Vidyeśvara. The initiation they receive gives them
the enjoyment (bhoga) of this sphere of existence and thereby liberation in the world of
Bhadrakālī.
⁶*⁰ SVṬ 10/727cd-728c.
⁶“U TĀ 8/197b (corrected numbering) is practically a literal quote of SVT 10/752b,
197cd-198 is a paraphrase of SvT 10/754b-755ab; 199 is a summary of SvT 10/755c-
220 CHAPTER EIGHT

(Those who have died) ‘in deserts’, on the Great Path (to ritual
suicide),⁰²* ‘while recalling Maheśvara’. This is the connection (between the
words) in every case. Otherwise, (if they do not remember Śiva when they die,)
they go to (the world called) Vaidyuta, as explained previously.³ ‘The Lord’s
consciousnessʼ is Rudra’s radiant energy (tejas). The sense is that it has come
forth from Rudra’s anger.⁶⁴ ‘Above (the world of) Vīrabhadra’ means above
the world called Vijaya, which is associated with Vīrabhadra. ‘The Egg of
Water² is a watery enclosing sphere (āvaraṇa), and the world (there) is
predominantly that. Thus, the Egg of all the worlds of the Water principle is
below the principle of Fire (tejas), which is above, and should be called the
‘Egg of Rudra’. And here the Lord (bhagavat), the great soul Rudra, called
Vīrabhadra, abides in a subtle form. This is the (intended) sense. Again, ‘from
the supporting pillar (viṣkambha), it is ten million (leagues in extent)’. This
means that that is the measure above. ‘It extends threefold’ means that its size
is (defined by) three slanted sides.⁶⁹ That should not be explained in relation to
all the Water principle, because it was said previously that its measure in
relation to the Earth (principle) is ten times more. As is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘O mistress of the gods, this is the great upper covering of this world.
Watery, it is also dense,⁶ and in the form of a rainbow. Between,⁶⁷ arranged
like a canopy, is (the world of Vīra) Bhadra, and that great soul, the size of the
tip ofa thumb, resides there.⁶⁴⁸

759ab. The first world in the sphere of Water is Bhadrakālī, and the last is Vīrabhadra;
there are other worlds between them.
⁶⁴* The Great Path (mahāpatha) is the last journey made, to the place of its execution, by
those who have vowed to commit ritual suicide. They must travel towards the northeast,
which is Śiva’s quarter, in a straight line without altering their course, whatever the
obstacle, and eat only air and water until their body drops ‘like a leaf’. See
Mānavadharmaśāstra 611/32.
⁶“³ See above, 8/130-131.
⁶* Vīrabhadra’s splendour is the fire that burns at the end of an aeon (yuga), consuming
the universe. It is Rudra’s effulgence, born of His rage.
⁶⁴³ Jayaratha is saying that some part of the Water principle is triangular. According to
Kṣemarāja’s commentary on SvT 10/758ab. The Egg of the Earth extends for 100 kotis
(1 koṭi = 10 million) leagues, and the Egg of Water for a thousand. See above 8/187abc
(186cd-187a), where it says that each subsequent Egg in the series is ten times that of
the previous one.
⁶⁴⁰ tatrety āvaraṇakarparikābhāge | viṣkambhād ghanatvād ūráhvam ucyata ity
āvaraṇakarparikety arthāt |I

Kṣemarāja: “’There³ (means) in the part which is the covering shell. It is said
(to extend) above the supporting pillar because it is dense, that is to say, that it is the
shell of the cover.”
“⁷ Kṣemarāja: antara iti jayavijayādibhuvanānāṁ tejastattvasya ca “ʻbetween’ the
worlds of Jaya and Vijaya etc. and the principle of Fire.”
“⁸ Kṣemarāja: bhagavān rudro dhyāyināṁ dhyānāya sūkṣmarūpam āśritya
prabhāvātiśayaśālī tatra sṣthitaḥ || ‘The Lord Rudra, in order to make those who
 TANTRĀLOKA 221
“⁰That is said to (extend) there for a height of ten million leagues above the
supporting pillar. O beloved, the sphere of Water extends in a slant three times
as much.⁰⁰ (Everything is enveloped by that (sphere of Water), that has come
forth from the great ocean). O beloved, it is called the Egg of Rudra and Rudra’s
world (loka).⁶⁵!

Are there other worlds in the middle of that? With this question in mind,
he says:

The Thirteen Worlds between Bhadrakālī and Vīrabhadra

EJI-ICEVEEITFCAIRRIECI
dāīevṁīzātg r̥dTeTTTTTḤ I 2⁰⁰ 1
ā vīrabhadrabhuvanād bhadrakālyālayāt tathā |
trayodaśabhir anyaiś ca bhuvanair upaśobhitam || 200 ||

It is adorned with another thirteen worlds, up to the world of

Vīrabhadra, from the abode of Bhadrakālī.⁶² (200) (199cd-200ab)

The words ‘up to’ indicate the boundary, and so (the meaning is),
beginning from the abode of Bhadrakālī up to the world of Vīrabhadra there are,
along with the abode of Bhadrakālī (itself), thirteen worlds. This is the meaning.
‘It, that is, the Water principle, is ‘adorned’ (with them). Such is the reading
and the tradition. One should not be confused by the explanation given by
(Kṣemarāja), the author of the commentary (on the Svacchandatantra).⁰³

meditate meditate, having assumed a subtle form, he who possesses the most excellent
power, resides there.”
⁰⁴” Kṣemarāja introduces this line saying: yathā ca brahmāṇḍasyorāhvakarparikā
koṭiyojanā, tathāpy āvaraṇakarparikāpi ‘Jusṭ as the upper shell of the Egg of Brahmā
extends for ten million yojanas, so too does the covering shell (of the Egg of Water).”
“³⁰ (Kṣemarāja: śatakoṭiviṣṭārād brahmāṇḍād daśaguṇaṁ .yadāpyam āvaraṇaṁ
sahasrakoṭy unmānam uktam, “tat sarvaṁ triguṇenohya" iti nītyā trisahasra-
koṭiparimāṇam ity arthaḥ, na tu karparikāghanatānusāreṇa triguṇaviṣtāratvaṁ yojyam,
āsamañjasyāpatteḥ ||

‘The covering of Water, which is ten times (greater) than the Egg of Brahmā, is
said to extend for a thousand million (leagues). In accord with the teaching that ‘one
should infer that everything is three times as much’, its size is three thousand million
(leagues). This is the meaning. One should not apply the extension of three times (the
size) in relation to the thickness (ghanatā) of the shell, for that would not be proper.”
⁶⁵ ṢyṬ 10/755cd-758ab, 759ab. I have added line 758cd, translated in brackets.
⁶³² 8/200cd is a literal quote of SvT 10/760ab. 200ab is a paraphrase of SvT 10/759cd,
which reads vīrabhadraniketaś ca bhadrakālyālayas tathā ‘and the abode of Vīrabhadra
and that of Bhadrakālī’.
⁶³³ Kṣemarāja says concerning these thirteen worlds: “Vīrabhadra’s abode and that of
Bhadrakālī, along with the aforesaid worlds of the group of eleven Rudras, makes
thirteen. It shines along with these and other worlds of the earth, and the rest which will
222 CHAPTER EIGHT
He (now goes on to) talk about them.

hIÚṀGH:TEĀĀRUE-EĒ: EEIEUI
īr̥̄āī̄ Tīōf= ā fd sTzāī. Ūīaḹ 3I: 2 0². 1
3B-N. x ūāāTaāīd TT-HHRJIQ |I
āã: Ja: rŪ ērṣtcrJīā̄ | 3°2 ||
raāTṬeṝ sīīāī s frāraīē
aā̃̃ |
aāaād̃ Ṭ ūēīī=ōēējīālīāḹ
TaḤ I| Ṝ3°3 1
GITṬTRaT TGTTāTgg{¥TĀĪṢAĀTRTṬ fT
T aTJT TṢṬ GāTGṝ ̄- gSTTĪ || Ṝ⁰³1|
JĀGGĪITTYITT
BTRITS gTTRT
tato bhuvaḥ sahādreḥ pūrgandhatanmātradhāraṇāt |
mṛtā gacchanti tāṁ mūrtiṁ dharitryāḥ paramāṁ budhāḥ || 201 ||
abdheḥ puraṁ tatas tv āpyaṁ rasatanmātradhāraṇāt |
tataḥ śriyaḥ puraṁ rudrakrīḍāvataraṇeṣv atha || 202 ||
prayāgādau śrīgirau ca viśeṣān maraṇena tat |
sārasvataṁ puraṁ tasmāc chabdabrahmavidāṁ padam || 203 II
rudrocitās tā mukhyatvād rudrebhyo ‘nyās tathā sthitāḥ |
pureṣu bahudhā gaṅgā devādau śrīḥ saraṣvatī || 204 ||
lakulādy amareśāntā aṣṭāv apsu surādhipāḥ |

2) Then, the earth with its mountains (is one of these worlds). The
awakened ones who have died while concentrating on the world of the
subtle element of smell reach that supreme form (mirti) of the earth.⁶
(201) (200cd-2001ab)

be explained.’ (SvTu ad 10/759cd-760ab) Presumably, Jayaratha does not agree here

with Kṣemarāja’s contention that eleven worlds between that of Vīrabhadra and
Bhadrakālī are those of the eleven Rudras mentioned previously. It appears that he
understands the following eight Rudras to be accommodated somehow into these eleven
worlds. For he introduces the following verses saying that they are about these
intermediate worlds. If so, it seems he is wrong.
⁶³⁴ Read mārtiṁ for bhūmiṁ. 201 (200c-201ab) is derived from SvT 10/761cd-788ab:
ataḥ paraṁ pravakṣyāmi dharitryā bhuvanaṁ mahat || 761 I|
dhātrī yasmin bhagavat dharāloke sanātanī |

dhatte sarvam iti dhātrī ākr̥imatī bhāgavacchaktiḥ || eṣā hi ----

hairaṇyam atulaṁ prāptā ādhāraṁ yatra saṁsthitā |7621

ādhāram iti bhuvanam || 762 | kīdṛśam ----

cakravartivimānaiś ca bahubhiḥ parivāritam |

āvṛtaṁ bhūtasaṅghātair ācāryais tatparāyaṇaiḥ || 763 II
divyagītaninādāḍhyair vāditraśataniḥsvanaiḥ |
 TANTRĀḶOKA 223

antarbhuvanasaṅghātai rudrā parivāritam || 764 |

bhuvanasyāsya madhye tu udayādityasaṁmibhaḥ |
raktotpalanibho divya aśokastabakacchaviḥ || 765 II
padmarāgamayo divyaḥ prāsādo bahubhūmikaḥ |

‘Next I will talk about the great world of the Earth (dharitrī), within which
(rules) the eternal goddess Dhātrī, in the world of the earth.” (761cd-762ab)
Dhātrī (the Earth) is she who gives everything. She is the Lord's power that has
a form. (Concerning) her (it is said):
‘(Here) she has attained the unparalleled golden foundation, where she resides.”
(762cd)
‘Foundation’ means world. How is it?
‘It is encircled by many emperors’ palaces and covered with the (fourteen
kinds of) living beings and teachers, who are (yogis) intent upon (meditating on the
Earth,) and the rich sound of divine song and the sounds of hundreds of musical
instruments. (The very form of the Goddess of this) world is surrounded by the masses
of the inner worlds of the Rudras.³ (763-764)
In the middle of (that) world, there is a divine palace (of the gods) made of
rubies (padmarāga), with many stories. It is (radiant) like the rising sun, a ruby, and its
beauty is like that of the bud of an Aśoka (tree). (765-766ab)

tasya madhye bhagavatī dharitī lokadhāriṇī | 76 |

mālayā rakiapuṣpaṣya lambayā nityabhāṣiā |
candrārkamaṇḍalākārakapolatalabhūṣitā | 767 ||
pītahemāṁśukavatī mahāhāravibhūṣitā |
śatayojanavistīrṇe kūrmapṛṣṭhe vyavasthitā || 768 |I
caturvaktrā cāṣṭabhujā divyābharaṇabhūṣitā |
rāpayauvanasampannā nṛúagītaviśāradāḥ 1 769 1
parivāryopāsate tāṁ divyā vai mānasāḥ striyaḥ l
The goddess Dharitrī, who sustains the world, (resides) in the middle of it. She
is always adorned with a long garland of red flowers. (Her) cheeks are round like the
orbs of the Moon and Sun. She wears a golden yellow shawl and is adorned with a great
pearl necklace. She sits on the back of a tortoise that measures a hundred leagues. She
has four faces and eight arms, and is adorned with divine ornaments. She is surrounded
by divine women, (born from her) mind. Endowed with beauty and youth, they are
skilled in song and dance. (766cd-770ab)

atkoṭyas tu tāsāṁ vai diyyābharaṇabhīṣ h 770 1|

utpāditās tu śarveṇa tadarthaṁ hitam icchatā |
taptajāmbūnadanibhā divyābharaṇaśobhitāḥ l|I 771 II
ucchritenātapatreṇa dhirayamāṇena śobh
puraḥhsthito mahātejā yo ʻsau merur mahāgiriḥ || 772 ||
upāsīnastutāṁ (>-1ā) dekā (> hy ekā) tatrāste sanagādhipaḥ (> -pā) |

siraḥpāṇyādyākṛtimāniryarúhaḥ || taihāã ----

There are 300 million of them, (all) adorned with divine ornaments, and
generated (mentally) by Sarva (the Lord Dharāmūrti) for that purpose, with the desire to
do good (hita) (and entertain Dharitrī). They (shine) like heated gold, adorned with
divine ornaments and umbrellas held above them. In front is the great mount Meru that
224 CHAPTER EIGHT

possesses vast radiant energy. Praised by those who worship her, she alone is present
there with the king of the mountains. (770cd-773ab)

nīlotpaladalaśyāmo nīlajīmūtasaṁṅnibhaḥ || 773 |I

nīlo nāma mahāśailaḥ pītavāsā mahādyutiḥ |
atikāntena rūpeṇa kaiṭabhārir ivāparaḥ || 774 ||
upāsyamāno divyābhir nagarībhir nagādhipaḥ |
tasyottare candranibho nānālaṅkārabhūṣitaḥ || 775 ||
śvetātapatrī tejasvī śveto nāma mahāgiriḥ |
tasyottareṇa sūryābho mukuṭādivibhāṣitaḥ || 776 |
pītāmbaradharaḥ śrīmān śṛṅgavān iti viśrutaḥ |
atikāntena rūpeṇa kuṣumāstra ivāparaḥ || 777 ||
dakṣiṇenāpi vakṣyāmi śṛṇuṣvāvahitā priye |
candrāvadātadīptaujā divyābharaṇabhūṣitaḥ || 778 |I
śuklāmbaradharaḥ śrīmān niṣadho nāma viśrutaḥ |
taptahemapratīkāśo divyābharaṇabhūṣitaḥ | 779 ||
atiśubhreṇa dehena pitāmaha ivāparaḥ |
(To the north of Meru) is a great mountain called Nīla (Blue). It is dark blue,
like the petal of a blue lotus, or a flash of blue lightning. He wears yellow and shines
greatly with an extraordinarily beautiful form, like another enemy of Kaitabha (i.e.
Viṣṇu). He, the king of mountains, is worshipped by the divine residents of the towns
(around it). To the north of that (mount Nīla) is a great mountain called Śveta (White).
Like the moon, and powerful (tejasvin), it is adorned with many ornaments and (above it
is held a royal) umbrella. To the north of that is the venerable one well known as
Sṛṅgavat. He wears yellow clothes and, adorned with a crown etc., (his) light is (like)
the sun. By virtue of his very beautiful form, he is as if another cupid. (773cd-777)
Listen attentively, O beloved, I will talk about (the anthropomorphic form of
the mountains) to the south also. His vitality energized, and brilliant white (like the)
moon, he is adorned with divine ornaments. He wears white clothes and is well known
as the venerable one called Niṣadha. (Another mountain is brilliant like) heated gold,
and adorned with divine ornaments, with his body a very radiant white, he is like
another Brahmā. (778-780ab)

pītāmbaradharaḥ śrīmān pītamālyānulepanaḥ || 780 ||

hemakūṭo mahātejās tejasām iva saṅgrahaḥ |
rājate bhagavān śailaḥ sandhyāvṛta ivāṁśumān || 781 ||
pāṇḍurābhrapratī śaṅkhagokṣīrasannibhaḥ |
śuklāmbaradharaḥ śrīmān divyakuṇḍalabhūṣitaḥ || 782 ||
ātapatreṇa mahatā dhirayamāṇena mūrdhani |
himavānṉ iti vikhyāto dvitīya iva bhāskaraḥ | 783 |
indragopakasaṅkāśaḥ paścime gandhamādanaḥ |
raktāmbaradharaḥ śrīmānastādriṣṭha ivāṁśumān || 784 ||
śuddhasphaṭikasaṅkāśaḥ śuklāmbaradharaḥ śubhaḥ |
kirīṭī kuṇḍalī śrīnān mālyavānnāma parvataḥ || 785 ||

Wearing yellow clothes, the venerable one (is smeared with a yellow) paste
and (wears a) yellow garland. (Called) Hemakuṭa, he is very radiant, like a collection (of
many) radiant things. The Lord mountain shines like the sun enveloped by the sacred
times of day (sandhyā). (780cd-781)
 TANTRĀLOKA 225
3) After that comes the aquatic world of the ocean, (they reach) by
concentrating on the subtle element of taste.⁶°° Then comes the world of Śrī,

(Another) is famous as Himavat, who is like a second sun. He is (white) like a

white cloud, a conch, and cow’s milk. The venerable one wears white clothes, and is
adorned with white earrings and a large umbrella held (above his) head. (782-783)
To the east is Gandhamādana, who (shines) like a firefly. The venerable one
wears red clothes and is like the sun that is invisible (just after it has) set. The venerable
mountain called Mālyavat shines like pure crystal and, auspicious, he wears white
clothes, a diadem and earring. (784-785)

ity evamādibhiś cānyaiḥ parvataiḥ parivāritā |

lokālokāvasānaiś ca tathānyaiḥ kulaparvataiḥ || 786 ||
divyarūpadharā devī tanur vai pārameśvarī |

bhūloke ye mervādayas tadadhiṣṭhātṛrūpā evety arthaḥ | pārameśvarīty anena ----

sthūlasūkṣmaprabhedena tadekaṁ saṁvyavasthitam (4-295)

dhāraṇāṁ gandhatanmātre prāṇāṁs tyaktvā tu yoginaḥ || 787 II

te yānti tādr̥§īī mūrtiṁ dharitryāḥ paramāṁ tanum |

gandhatanmātre dhāraṇāṁ kr̥tvā yoginas tām imāṁ dharitryāḥ paramāṁ miūrtim

ākṛtimatīṁ dekā sāyujyasāmīpyasālokyabhedena prāpnuvanti ||.

In this way, (the goddess Earth) is encompassed by these and other mountains,
and so too other Kula mountains that reach to the ends of Lokāloka. The goddess who is
the body of the Supreme Goddess (thus) has a divine form. (786-787ab)
Kṣemarāja: She is the sustaining (and presiding goddess of) those (mountains)
like Meru in the Earth world. ‘That one is established, divided into gross and subtle.’
(4/295cd)

(Such is the) meditation (dhāraṇa) on the subtle element of smell, once the
Yogi has abandoned his vital breaths. They go to such an iconic form of Dharitrī, her
supreme body. (787cd-788ab)

Kṣemarāja: Once yogis have done this meditation on the subtle element of
smell, they attain the supreme iconic form of Dharitrī, variously in a state of
conjunction, proximity, or live in the same world.”
⁶³³ SVT 10/788cd-799ab.
ataḥ parataraṁ devi sāmudraṁ bhuvanaṁ mahat || 788 ||
sarvavajramayaṁ divyaṁ nānāścaryaśatānvitam |
nīlotpalasamacchāyaṁ sarvataḥ parimaṇḍalam || 789 1|
madhye tu bhuvan ya maṇḍalaṁ candrasaṁnibham |
śatayojanasāhasraṁ sṣamantāt parimaṇḍalam || 790 ||
tasya madhye tu puṟuṣo rukmavarṇo mahādyutiḥ |
kirīī kuṇḍalī sragvī divyābharaṇabhūṣitaḥ || 791 1|
apāṁ nidherbhagavato varuṇasya parā tanuḥ |

‘O goddess, after this comes the great world of the ocean (which is the abode
of the deity who presides over the sea). Divine and made of all (kinds of) diamonds, it
has many hundreds of wonders. The colour of sapphire, it is round all around. In the
middle of this world is a circle (which looks) like the Moon. It is a hundred thousand
leagues in extent all around. There is a person (puruṣa) (who is the deity of the ocean) in
226 CHAPTER EIGHT
(they reach) by dyingin the places where Rudra has descended (into the
world) to play, particularly in Śrīgiri or Prayāga, and so forth.⁶⁵ (202-
203ab) (201cd-202)

the middle of it, the colour of a golden disk and shines greatly. He wears a tiara,
earrings, a garland, and is adorned with divine ornaments. (This is) the supreme body of
Varuṇa, the Lord of the treasure of the Waters. (788cd-792ab)

taṁ tu deyaṁ mahātmānaṁ parivārya samantataḥ || 792 ||

rūpayauvanasampannāḥ satataṁ paryupāsate |
Śśuklāmbaradharā devī śuklagandhānulepanā || 93 II
Śśuklayajñopavītā ca śuklahāropaśobhitā |
śuklenaivātapatreṇa dhirayamāṇena mūrdhani || 794 |
gaṅgā hy uttaratas tasya sthitā vai paramā tanuḥ |
nīlāmbaradharā devī nīlagandhānulepanā || 795 ||
nīlasragdāmakaṇṭhā ca yamunā tasya dākṣiṇe |
evam ādyā mahānadyaḥ parivārya mahādyutim || 796 ||
samudrāṣṭakaṁ ca deveśi svanadībhiḥ samāvṛtam |
upāṣsate sadā bhaktyā vāruṇīṁ paramāṁ tanum || 797 |I
nānāsarāṁsi tīrthānitadbhaktāścāpi saṁsthitāḥ |
rasatanmãtra atraiva kr̥tvã samyak tu dhãraṇãm || 98 II
apāṁ yoniṁ parāṁ prāptāḥ vāruṇī sā parā tanuḥ |

aṣṭamūrter maheśitur iyaṁ dvitīyā mūrtir jalādhiṣṭhātṛdevatārūpā | dhāraṇāsvarūpaṁ

prāgdhāraṇādīkṣāvasare darśitam ||

Surrounding that god, the great soul, all around (are goddesses) endowed with
beauty and youth, who attend on him constantly. (In the middle of them) is the (great)
goddess. She wears white clothes and is smeared with white scented paste. She wears a
white sacred thread and is adorned with a white pearl necklace. A white parasol is held
above her head. (She is) Gaṅgā, (in her) supreme body, who is to his left. (792cd-795ab)
Yamunā is to his right. The goddess wears blue clothes and is smeared with
blue scented paste. There is a blue garland around her neck. In this way, other great
rivers surround the greatly radiant group of eight oceans, encompassed by their own
rivers. (Thus,) O mistress of the gods, Vāruṇī, who is the supreme body (as the form of
the presiding deity), is always attended upon with devotion. (795cd-797)
There are many lakes and sacred bathing places, and their devotees are also
present (there). Having properly contemplated the subtle element of taste here, they
have attained the supreme source (yoni) of the Waters. That is Vāruṇī, the supreme body
(of the deity of this world). (798-799ab)

Kṣemarāja: This is the second iconic form of Maheśitṛr, who has eight. It is the
deity who presides over Water. The nature of the meditative practice (dhāraṇā) was
explained previously, on the occasion of imparting initiation into (that) meditative
practice.”
⁶³⁶ SYṬ 10/799cd-827.
ataḥ paraṁ pravakṣyāmi bhuvanaṁ varavarṇini || 799 |l
śrīniketa iti khyātaṁ padmagarbhaṁ iti śrutam |
vimānaśatasaṅghātair nīrantaram avasthitaiḥ || 800 ||
Śśobhitaṁ bhuvaneśaiś ca rudrai rudragaṇais tathā |
sarobhir mānasair divyair dīrghikābhiś ca śobhitam || 801 II
rathacakrapramāṇaiś ca maṇikāñjanamaṇḍitaiḥ |
vaidūryanālaiḥ kamalair divyagandhasugandhibhiḥ || 802 II
 TANTRĀLOKA 227

mrdubhiḥ kāntimadbhiś ca candramaṇḍalasaṁmibhaiḥ |

saṁśobhitaṁ vicitrais tair vikacair vajrakeṣaraiḥ 1| 803 ||
udyānair vividhaiś cāpi nānāvihagakūjitaiḥ |
nānākāmapradair vṛkṣaiḥ samantāt samalaṁkṛtam || 804 1|
nānāmaṇimayair divyaiḥ krīáāśailaiś ca māṇasaiḥ |
mānasībhiś ca nārībhir divyayauvanakāntibhiḥ || 805 |I
hāvabhāvavilāsāḍhyadivyastrībhir alaṁkṛtam ḷ
vicitrair maṇipadmaiś ca sitapatraiś ca suvrate || 806 II
vibhūṣitaṁ gajendrasthaiḥ stutimaṅgalavādibhiḥ 1
gāyadbhiś cātha nr̥tyadbhir divyastraiṇaiḥ samākulam I| 807 ||

‘O (goddess) of most excellent colour, next I will talk about the world said to
be Śrīniketa (the Abode of Śrī), (also) called Padmagarbha (Lotus Womb). It is adorned
with hundreds of palaces, located without a gap (throughout it), and the Rudras who are
the Lords of the world, along with their attendant hosts. It is adorned with great divine
lakes (pleasing to the) mind, adorned with lotuses the size of chariot wheels, beautiful
with gems and gold. Sweet smelling with divine scent, their stems are made of lapis
lazuli. Delicate and beautiful, they are (white) like the lunar orb. Blooming, they are
adorned with beautifully varied stamens. (799cd-803)
It is adorned all around with many kinds of gardens (that resound with) the
songs of many birds. The trees (are wish-granting trees) that grant many wishes, and
divine hills on which to play, made of many gems (pleasing to) the mind, as are the
women endowed with the divine beauty of youth. It is adorned with divine women rich
with alluring sentiment. O lady of fine vows, it is adorned with beautiful (vicitra) jewel-
like lotuses, with white petals, and strewn with people mounted on elephants utterings
hymns of praise, and divine women who sing and dance. (804-807)

tasmiṅṁs tu bhuvane divye padmagarbhasamaprabhe |

Śśaradindunībhaṁ divyaṁ maṇḍalaṁ raśmisaṁkulam || 808 II
tasya madhye bhagavatī śrīḥ svayaṁ lokabhāvinī |
candrakoṭiṣahasrãṇãṁ yã kãntim atiyartate || 809 ||
ekatra yugapat tejas tejasāṁ tu virājate |
nirvāṇam iva yā śāntā sarvānandamanoharā || 810 ||
rāpiṇī paramā devī mūrtir avyabhicāriṇī |
paraiva dyotamānā pārameśvarī mūrtir iyam itthaṁ grhītākṛtir ity arthaḥ | anayaiva
mokṣaśriyā nityasambaddhayā parameśvaraḥ śrīkaṇṭha ucyate ||

Within that divine world radiant like the sun (padmagarbha) is the sphere (of
the main world). Divine and (white) like the autumn moon, it is full of rays (of light). In
the middle of it is the goddess Śrī, who by herself blesses the world (lokabhāvinī). Her
beauty is greater than thousands of billions of moons. She contemplates the worlds (with
compassion) and bestows astonishing treasures (vibhiūti). She shines simultaneously in
one place as the radiant energy of (all) radiant energies (808-810ab)
She who is tranquil like Nirvāṇa is attractive with all (forms of) bliss. Beautiful
(rūpiṇī), she is supreme, unwavering (and unchanging) iconic form (mūrti) of the
Goddess. (810cd-81 1ab)

(Kṣemarāja: It is because of this glory of liberation, which is always united

(with him), that the Supreme Lord is said to be Sīkaṇṭha).

śatayojanaviṣṭre uditādiyasaprabhe |/ 81 1 I
228 CHAPTER EIGHT

candrakāntamaye padme vajrakeṣarakarṇike |

koṭipatre mahādivye gandhapuṣpaguṇānvite || 812 ||
padmāsane bhagavatī padmagarbhasamaprabhā |
upaviṣṭātra ṣā nityaṁ vibhūtyā parayā yutā || 813 I|
mahāramaiś ca sragdhāma pralambaṃṁ urasā śubham 1
vahantī sā tu śuśubhe jyotsneva tripathāpatham || 814 1
sphuranmayākhacalane kapolatalamaṇḍane |
sūryamaṇḍalasaṅkāśe dhārayantī ca kuṇḍale || 815 l|
sphuranmayūkhasaṅghātāṁ raśanā tu bibhratī|
hemābhā pītavasanā mahāhāravibhūṣitā || 816 ||
candrābhenātapatreṇa dhirayamāṇena rājitā |
upagītā ca gandharvair mānasai rudrasambhavaiḥ || 817 I|
parivāritā bhagavatī sā tanuḥ pārameśvarī |

The goddess, shining like the sun, sits here on a lotus for (her) seat. The lotus
extends for a hundred leagues and shines like the risen sun. It is made of moonstone,
and its calyx has stamens of diamond. Greatly divine, it has ten million petals and is
endowed with (all) the qualities of a flower and (its) scent. (There) she is always
endowed with supreme (spiritual) might (vibhūti). (811cd-813)
She wears an auspicious garland that hangs down to her thighs, made of great
gems and, flowing, shines like moonlight in the sky. She wears an earring that,
decorating her cheek and like the solar orb, shines radiantly as she moves. Shining
radiantly as a mass of rays, she wears a belt of yellow colour that shines like gold, and is
adorned with a large pearl necklace, shining with a parasol held (above her), (white) like
the moon. Gandharvas, born from Rudra’s mind, sing her praises. Surrounded by them,
the Goddess (bhagavatī) is the body of the Supreme Goddess. (814-818ab)

(Kṣemarāja: They have been created by Lord Rudra in order to praise her.)

yā prāptā tapasārādhya viṣṇunā prabhaviṣṇunā || 818 II

dattā prītena rudreṇa viṣṇor urasi vāhinī |
ardhena sā bhagavatī viṣṇor aṅge pratiṣṭhitā || 819 |I
pādenendrasya devasya pādārdhena divi sthitā |
tadardhena puṇar devi pārthiveṣu vyavasthitā || 820 ||
tadardhena manuṣyeṣu. .
divi tannivāsidevavaktra ity arthaḥ | pārthiveṣv iti sarveṣu cakravartiṣv
aṁśāṁśikāyogāt | manuṣyeṣv amātyādiṣu, sarveṣv itthaṁ viṣṇor aṁśāṁśikayā śrīḥ
itā, sākalyena tu bhagavati śrīkaṇṭha evety uktaṁ bhavati || ittham eṣā sarvam eva

ūpā kāmarūpā ca dvidhā sā parikītīā || 821 ||

mūrtibhir nijair aṁśāṁśikāvatāraiḥ | svaṁ pāramātthikaṁ paripūrṇaṁ rūpaṁ yasyāḥ |
kāmenecchāmātreṇa tattadviṣṇvindrādimāhātmyapradaṁ rāpaṁ yasyāḥ sā kāmarūpā ||
821 | tatra svarūpātmā ----

acalā sā tanuḥ sūkṣmā akṣobhyā tatra tiṣṭhati |

sūkṣmā sarvanījāvatāravyāpikā | akṣobhyā niratiśayā | tatreti prokte svapure.acalā

tiṣṭhati ||
yathaitac chrīpuram āpsyati, tathādiśati ----
 TANTRĀLOKA 229

Attained by (the practice of) austerity and worshipped by the powerful Visṇu.
Given with love by Rudra to Viṣṇu, she is carried on his hip. (818cd-819ab) Half of that
goddess is established on Viṣṇu's body. With half a foot (she is established on) Indra,
and with half she is in the sky. Again, with half of that, O goddess, she is present within
(the rulers) of the earth. Halfof that is amongst men . . . (818cd-821a)

Kṣemarāja: ‘In the sky’ means in the mouth of the god who lives there. (The
goddess is present) ‘within (the rulers) of the earth’, that is, within all emperors, by
being partially linked to a part (of herself) (arsśa). (Half is) ‘amongst men’, thatis, the
ministers etc. Śrīis within all (of them) as a part of Viṣṇu. The goddessis (present)in
her entirety only within Śrīkaṇṭha. This whatis being said (here). In this way, sheis in
all the universe:

. . . she is present pervading (within them) by (her) forms (mirti). She is said
to be of two kinds: her own form (svarūpā) and the form (she) desires (kāmarūpā).”
(821bcd)

‘(Her) forms’ are her the embodiments of her partial aspects. (Her own nature)
is her completely full and ultimately real form. ‘The form (she) desiresʼ is her form that
bestows greatness to each deity, such as Indra and Viṣṇu (who are the deities of
kingship), just by (her) desire alone. There the nature of her own form is:
‘She, the body (of deity), abides there immobile (acala) (like a mountain);
subtle and imperturbable.” (821ab)

She is ‘subtle’, because she pervades all her embodiments (avatāra). She
‘cannot be disturbed’, because nothingis superior (to her). ‘She abides there,in her own
city that has (just) been described. He (now) teaches how one attains this city of Śrī.

rudrakrīḍāvatāreṣu prayāgādiṣu suvrate | 822 1

śrīgirau ca viśeṣeṇa mṛtas tad bhuvanaṁ vrajet |

rudrasya krīḍayā, na tv anujighṛkṣayāvatāro yeṣu te devadāruvanaprabhṛtayo

rudrakrīdāvatārāḥ || ataś ca -.
satsv anyeṣv api bhogeṣu tv iyaṁ sā gaditā gatiḥ | 823 |I
bubhukṣūṇāṁ prāpyatveneti śeṣaḥ || 823 1

yasmād bubhukṣavaḥ śrīgiryādau maraṇād etad ārādhanād vā ----

prāpya tām īdṛśīṁ devīm aiśvaryam aṇimādikam |
O lady of good vows, one who dies in Prayāga and the other places where
Rudra has descended to play, especially on Śrīgiri, goes to that world. (822cd-823ab)

Rudra’s descent is not in these (places) with the desire to grace but as play. The
descents of Rudra’s play are in the Devadāru forest etc. Thus:

Although there are other enjoyments, this is the stated condition. (823cd)

As can be obtained by those who desire worldly enjoyment. This remains (to
be said). As those who desire worldly enjoyment by dying on Śrīgiri etc. or by
worshipping:
230 CHAPTER EIGHT
4) Beyond thatis the abode of Sarasvatī. Itis the plane of those who
know the Sound Brahman (śabdabrahman).⁶ These (two goddesses, Śrī

‘Having attained such a goddess, (they also attain that world, and with it)
lordship and (the accomplishments) including the power to make oneself small at will
and the rest. (824ab)

bhūtvā tu sāṣṭadhā divyā deveṣv api ca tiṣṭhati | 824 1

siddheṣv api ca sā devī uttamā siddhir ucyate |
yad arthaṁ tārakãdyaiś ca saṁgrãmas tridaśeśvaraiḥ || 825 ||
kr̥to ghoras tv asaṁkhyeyaḥ tāṁ śriyaṁ prāptum icchubhiḥ |
asaṁkhyeyāś ca saṁgrāmāḥ krtā vai cakravartibhiḥ || 826 ||
sā bandha evam uktānām abudhānāṁ parā smṛtā |
Śśrīpuraṁ tu samākhyātaṁ yathāvac ca varānane || 827 I|

Having become eightfold as the (eight) divine (accomplishments), she also

abides within the gods (of that world). Amongst the accomplishments, that goddess is
said to be the most excellent accomplishment. It is for that purpose (artha) that (the
emperors who are) lords of the three worlds and (the kings who are called) saviours etc.,
having waged countless terrible (wars), desiring to get that royal power (śrī). She is
considered to be bondage by those who are liberated, and the supreme
(accomplishment) for those who are unawakened. O fair-faced lady, Śrīpura has (thus)
been explained properly.” (824cd-827)
“’⁷ Ṣee SVT 10/828-852.
ata ūrdhvaṁ pravakṣyāmi bhuvanaṁ ca nibodha me |
sāraṣvatam iti khyātaṁ gāndharvam iti ca smṛtam || 828 |I
padmagarbhapuraṁ cãpi kotimãtreṇa suvrate |
yojanānāṁ samākhyātaṁ pramāṇena samantataḥ || 829 ||
sarvaramamayaṁ divyaṁ sarvaiśvaryasamanvitam |
vimānair vividhākārair nānārammamayaiḥ śubhaiḥ || 830 |I
gāndharvair māṇasaiś cāpi gāyadbhīś cāpy anekadhā |
nṛtyadbhiś ca tathānyaiś ca gaṇaiḥ pārśvagatais tathā | 831 1|
strībhiḥ surūpiṇībhiś ca gandharvaiś ca samākulam |

‘“(Now) I will talk about the world above that. Know it from me. It is said to be
Sārasvata (i.e. the world of Sarasvatī), and is called Gāndharva. O Lady of good vows,
(the form of this) is (like) ruby (padmagarbha) (that blazes gently). It is said to measure
just ten million leagues all around. (828-829)
Divine, it is made of all the jewels, and is endowed with all the (form of)
mastery. It is full of auspicious palaces of many forms and made of many jewels. (There
are) Gandharvas born (from Sarasvatī’s) mind, that sing in many ways, and so too next
to them, other (attendant) hosts that dance next to them, beautiful women and
Gandharvas. (830-832ab)

tasya madhye tu deveśi śaraccandranibhaṁ śubham || 832 II

raśmimālākulaṁ divyaṁ maṇḍalaṁ parimaṇḍalam |
tasya madhye bhagavatī sthitā sākṣāt sarasvatī|| 833 ||
Śśaraccandrasahasrasya yā kāntim ativartate |
pītāmbaradharā devī padmapatrāyatekṣaṇā || 834 ||
nīlotpaladalaśyāmā dīvyābharaṇabhūṣitā |
hemapaṭṭaparīdhānā divyakuṇḍaladhāriṇī|| 835 ||
urasā tu mahāhāram udvahantī śaśiprabham |
sphuranmayūkhasaṅghātakuṇḍaladvayamaṇḍitā || 836 ||
 TANTRĀLOKA 231

O mistress of the gods, in the middle of that is an encompassing circle (which

is the main world) which, auspicious and (beautiful) like an autumn moon, is full of rays
(of light). In the middle of it is the goddess who is Sarasvatī (herself), directly apparent
(sākṣāt). Her (radiant) beauty exceeds that of a thousand autumn moons. The goddess
wears yellow (inner) clothing, and her eyes are long like lotus petals. She is dark blue
like a blue lotus and is adorned with divine ornaments. She wears a golden shawl (as
outer clothing) and divine earrings. On her bosom she wears a great pearl necklace that
shines like the moon, and is adorned with two earrings that shine a mass of rays (of
light). (832cd-836)

grāmatrayavalīmadhyā saptaṣvaratānuḥ śubhā |

tānamūrdharuhā devī mūrcchanāṅgaruhodvahā || 837 I|
padāsanā tālapādā gītavarṇaprabhāvatī |
aṁgulyaḥ ṣandhayaś caiva lakṣaṇāni varāṇane || 838 II
āsane parame divye vṛtā bhūtagaṇeśvaraiḥ |
sthitā sthitir ivābhāti sarvasya jagataḥ śubhā l| 839 ||
mānasībhiś ca nārībhir gāndharvair mānasair vṛtā |
hāhā hūhūś citrarathas tumburur nāradas tathā || 840 ||
viśvā vasuvīśvarathaḥ divyagītavicakṣaṇāḥ |
saṅyajya manasātmānaṁ tyaktvā karmaphalasprṛhām || 841
te vai sārasvataṁ sthānaṁ prāptā vai surapūjite |

svaravaikharībhūmyavasthitikrameṇa madhyamāpaśyantīpadapratiṣṭhaikāgramanaskā
imām eva devīm upāsīnā ete gandharvamukhyā etat puraṁ prāptāḥ ||

The three lines (around her navel) in the middle (of her body) are (the three)
musical scales (grāma) and, auspicious, her body is made of the seven notes. The hair
on her head are runs ((of notes) (tāna), and series of notes (mircchanā) cause the down
of the body to erect (with delight). Her seat the parts (of songs set to metres) and (her)
feet the rhythmic cycles (āla), and she shines with (the microtones) that (distinguish)
the types (of notes) intoned (gītavarṇa). O fair-faced lady, (her) fingers are the junctures
(in the music that are its vital points), and so too the characteristics (that adorn it). (837-
838)
(Sitting) on a supremely divine seat surrounded by the lords of the hosts of
living beings, auspicious, she appears as if to be the established stability of all the
universe. (839)
She is surrounded by women and Gāndharvas (born of her mind). They are
(amongst others) Hāhā, Hūhū, Citraratha, Tumburu, Nārada, Viśvā, and Vasuvīśvaratha,
who are experts in divine song. Having conjoined (their) Self with the mind and
abandoned hope for the fruits of Karma, O (goddess) worshipped by the gods, they have
attained the location of Sārasvata. (840-842ab)

Kṣemarāja: These devotees of that goddess, led by the Gandharvas, have

atṭained that abode (pura). Their minds concentrated, established on the plane of the
Middle Voice and Vision by means of the (progressive development) of their
establishment in the of the corporeal voice of the notes (of their music).

ye ca vāgdhāraṇāṁ dhyātvā prāṇān muñcanti dehinaḥ || 842 ||

te vai sāraṣvataṁ lokaṁ prāpnuvanti narottamāḥ |
eṣā sarasvatī devī mūrtir vai pāraṃeśvarī || 843 ||
yā sthitāparabhāvena brahmāṇḍodaravartinām |
232 CHAPTER EIGHT

brahmaloke ca ṣā devī pādenaikena tiṣṭhati || 844 ||

śākre cāpi tadardhena gandharveṣu tadaráhataḥ |
siddheṣu ca tadardhena kinnareṣu tadardhataḥ || 845 II
tadardhena ca nāgeṣu yakṣeṣv ardhena vai punaḥ |
piśāceṣu tadardhena sā vai tiṣṭhati bhāgaśaḥ l 846 |
piśācebhyaḥ sahasrāṁśān mānuṣeṣu ca tiṣṭhati |
tais tu taptvā tapo ghoram ārādhya ca pinākinam || 847 1|
avatāritā tu sā devī rūpiṇī svarabhūṣitā |

Those best of men who, having contemplated the meditative practice focused
on Speech (vāgdhāraṇā), attain the Sārasvata world. This is the goddess Sarasvatī, an
iconic form of the Supreme Goddess who resides in here lower (immanent) state for
those who reside in the Egg of Brahmā. (842cd-844ab)
One quarter of this goddess resides in Brahmaloka, half of that in Indra’s
(world), and amongst Gandharvas with half of that again, amongst the Siddhas with half
of that, and amongst the Kinnaras with half of that, amongst the Nāgas with half of that,
amongst the Yakṣas with half of that, the Piśācas with half of that – she thus abides in
parts — amongst men, one thousandth of a part with respect to the Piśācas. Having
performed austerities and worshipping the fierce (Rudra) who bears a bow, the goddess
came down (to that world) in a beautiful form adorned with musical notes. (844cd-
848ab)

svarāṁs tu smaratas tasya kalpādau brahmaṇaḥ purā || 848 II

svarebhyas tu viniṣkrāntā tena sā tu sarasvatī |

svarapratyavamarśavaśonmiśannādāmarśānupraveśād brahmaṇaḥ svarebhya

ivodbhūtābhivyaktim āgatā yasmāt, ata eṣākṣarasārūpyāt sarasvatīty ucyate | yadā tu
"brahmaṇo ‘vyaktajanmanaḥ” iti pāṭhaḥ, tadā.avyaktād vakṣyamāṇāt prakṛtitattvād
janma yasya buddhitattvagatasya parasya brahmaṇaḥ pinākiprasādād vyaktiṁ gateti
vyākhyeyam ḷ|

In the beginning of his Kalpa, Brahmā recollected the notes, and she came
forth from the notes (svara), and so she is Saraṣvatī. (848cd-849ab)

(Kṣemarāja: She manifested from the notes (sung by) Brahmā, by virtue of
(his) entry into the reflective awareness of Sound, that unfolded by reflective awareness
of the notes, and so, because she is the same nature as the imperishable (Brahman), she
is said to be Sarasvatī. If we accept the variant reading ‘from Brahmā who is born from
the Unmanifest (instead of ‘in the beginning of his Kalpa Brahmā . . .’), then it should
be explained (as follows). The supreme Brahmā, who is present in the principle of the
intellect, is born from the ‘Unmanifest’, that is, the principle of Prakṛti, which will be
described (further ahead). By the grace of (Rudra) who bears a bow, She became
manifest (from Brahmā). This is how it should be explained).

sā sthitā sarvaśāstreṣu kavīnāṁ kāvyam āsthitā || 849 |

yā vālmīkau sthitā devī vyāse caiva nirantaram |
rṛṣīṇāṁ caiva sarveṣāṁ medhābuddhivivardhinī || 850 ||
sarvajñānadharī sā tu sarvajñā devapūjitā |
meror vāyavyadigbhāge puraṁ tasyāḥ prakītītam || 851 II
idaṁ tu paramaṁ devyā mayā te parikītītam |
sārasvataṁ tu bhuvanaṁ kirtītaṁ paramã tanuḷ l| 852 I|
 TANTRÁLOKA 233
and Sarasvatī, reside here in) their primary (most elevated form), which is
thus in accord with the status of the Rudras. (Elsewhere, these reside) in
another form, which differs from that of the Rudras. Gaṅgā is of many
kinds in the (various) worlds, and (so are) Śrī and Sarasvatī, according to
whether (they reside in the world of) the gods or (that of) other (beings).⁶*
5-12) The lords of the gods in the waters are eight, ranging from Lākula to
Amareśa.⁶⁹ (203cd-205ab) (203-204)

(The earth) ‘with its mountains’ means (the earth) together with Meru
and the other mountains mentioned previously. (The statement: ‘the awakened
ones) who have died reach (the supreme form of the earth)ʼ is in syntax with
the following, namely, ‘while concentrating on the subtle element of smellʼ,
that is, by concentrating on the subtle element of smell. ‘In the places where
Rudra has descendedʼ to play, not out of desire to grace. The sense is that
there would not be just this amount of attainment there. (What is meant) will be
clarified further ahead, and so no effort is made here (to do s0). (The words)
‘then⁶ comes the world of Śrī are related to the previous ‘they reach’
(which is carried over from before to make a complete statement). ‘Those who
know the Sound Brahman’ (include) those who know music and those who
are dedicated to concentrating on the principle of Speech. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘Hāhā, Hūhū, Citraratha, Tumburu, and Nārada, Viśvāvasu, Viśvaratha,

who are experts in divine song, having connected with (their) mind to the Self
and renounced desire for the fruit of (their) actions (karman), have attained the
abode of Sarasvatī, (O goddess), venerated by the gods. Those embodied beings
who, having practiced concentration on Speech, abandon their vital breaths (and
die), these most excellent of men attain the world of Sarasvatī.’
⁶⁶⁹¹

The object of enquiry is also indicated while stating (their) association

with the (Water) principle, by (saying) ‘in the waters’. One should understand
that the same (carryover takes place with regard to the principle which is being
examined in relation to the worlds it contains) in what follows. (The worlds in

She is present in all the scriptures and the poems of poets. She, the goddess
present constantly within Vālmiki and Vyāsa, causes the intuitive insight and intellect of
all the Rishis to flourish. Worshipped by the gods and omniscient, she is the bearer of all
knowledge. It is said that her world is to the northwest of Meru. I have told (you about)
this, the supreme (world) of the goddess (Sarasvatī), called the world of Sārasvata. (Her)
supreme body (is there).” (849cd-852)
“⁵³ For example, in Brahmaloka, Sarasvatī gives only a quarter of herself, in Satyaloka,
one eighth, amongst the Gandharvas a sixteenth part, etc.
“⁵⁰ These eight worlds, along with the previous five, make thirteen (see above, 8/1 19cd-
200ab). Their names are listed in SvT 10/853cd-854ab as 1) Ama 2) Prabhāsa, 3)
Puṣkara, 4) Naimiṣa, 5) Āṣāḍhi, 6) Ḍiṇḍimuṇḍīi, 7) Bhārabhūti, 8) Lākula. These worlds
are also listed in MV 5/16, which is quoted in the commentary below. Note that, as
Jayaratha says, Abhinava here follows the MV, not the SvT.
⁶⁶⁰ Read tataḥ for tat.
⁶⁶ SVT 10/840cd- 843ab.
234 CHAPTER EIGHT
the waters) ‘are eight’ which, along with the five, Bhadrakālī, Bhuva (Earth),
Abda (Water), Śrī and Sarasvatī, make thirteen. This is said to be the total,
along with the enumeration (of the worlds) begun previously. That is said (in
the Mālinīvijayottara):

‘1) Lakuḻin, and 2) Bhārabhūti, (the two) 3) Diṇḍin and 4) Āṣāḍhin,

along with 5) Puṣkara, 6) Naimiṣa, and 7) Prabhāsa and Amareśa, who is the
eighth. That is said to be the Group of Eight Lords (patyaṣṭaka).’⁶⁵³

Again, the (order and) reading of their (names) in the venerable

Svacchandatantra differs. (There it is):
‘1) Amareśa, 2) Prabhāsa, and 3) Naimiṣa, 4) Puṣkara, and 5) Āṣāḍhin,
6) Diṇḍimuṇḍa, 7) Bhārabhūti, and 8) Lākula – O beloved, this is said to be the
Secret Group of Eight (guhyaṣṭaka), present in the covering of Water.”⁶³

Although the procedure here (generally) follows that of the venerable

Svacchandatantra, the reading (there) is (associated) everywhere (in each case)
with that of the cosmology of the Mālinīvijaya (śrīpūrvaśāstra). The intention
being that according to all the scriptures (āgama), the group of eight Lords of
the World is said to be the main one in the principle of Water. Thus, (in the rite
of) installation (pratiṣṭhā) (of the worlds), the worlds are enumerated
everywhere taking into account the initial seven groups of eights.⁶°*

The Worlds of the Principles of Fire, Air and Space

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“² MV 5/16-17ab.
⁶“*³ SYṬ 10/853cd-854ab.
⁶⁶³ Theṣe are the group of eight listed here. This and the subsequent groups of eight are
as follows. 1) in the Water principle, the Secret Group of Eight; 2) in the principle of
Fire, the Most Secret Group of Eight; 3) in the principle of the Wind, the More Secret
than the Most Secret Group of Eight; 4) in the principle of Space, the eight Pure Ones;
5) There are eight (the eight worlds of the eight) Bodies in the subtle elements; 6) in the
ego (ahaṁkāra), the Group of Eight Sthāṇus; 7-10) in the intellect, the four Groups of
Eight called those of the Divine Beings, Wrath, Fire and Yoga. See below note 8,604.
 TANTRÁLOKA 235
tatas tu taijasaṁ tattvaṁ śivāgner atra saṁṣthitiḥ || 205 |]
te cainaṁ vahnim āyānti vāhnīṁ ye dhāraṇāṁ śritāḥ |
bhairavādiharīndvantaṁ taijase nāyakāṣṭakam || 206 ||
prāṇasya bhuvanaṁ vāyau daśadhā dāśadhā tu tat |
dhyātvā tyaktvā ʻtha vā prāṇān kṛtvā tatraiva dhāraṇām || 207 ||
taṁ viśanti mahātmāno vāyubhūtāḥ khamūrtayaḥ |
bhīmādigayaparyantam aṣṭakaṁ vāyutattvagam || 208 II
khatattve bhuvanaṁ vyomnaḥ prāpyaṁ tadvyomadhāraṇāt |
vastrāpadāntaṁ sthāṇvādi vyomatattve surāṣṭakam || 209 ||

Next comes the Fire Principle. Śiva’s fire is located here. Those who
concentrate on the (subtle element of) fire reach this fire. Eight are the
Lords (nāyakāṣṭaka) of the (worlds of the) Fire Principle, beginning with
Bhairava and ending with Harīndu. (205cd-206) (205-206ab)
(Beyond that) is the world of the vital breath, which is within the
Wind⁶* and is divided into ten. The great-souled beings who (dying,) have
abandoned the vital breaths, meditating ten times (daśadhā) (on these ten
aspects), become Wind, and their ethereal bodies enter into it. The eight
(Rudras), starting with Bhīma and ending with Gaya, are within the Wind
Principle. (207-208) (206cd-208ab)
The world of the Sky is in the Sky Principle. It can be attained by
concentrating on that (subtle element of) space. The group of eight gods
(who reign) (surāṣṭaka) in the Sky Principle (are the Rudras) from Sthāṇu
to Vastrapāda. (209) (208cd-209ab)

‘Next’, after the Water Principle. That is said (in the Mālinīvijayottara):

The Eight Rudras in Fire

‘There (the Lords are): 1) Bhairava, 2) Kedāra, 3) Mahākāla (Great

Time), along with 4) Madhyama (Middle One), 5) Amrātakeśa (Lord of
Āmrātaka), 6) Jalpeśa (Lord of Chatter), 7) Śrīśaila along with 8) Harīndu.’⁶“⁶

According to the venerable Svacchandatantra (they are):

‘1) Hariścandra, 2) Śrīśaila, 3) Jalpa, 4) Āmrātakeśvara, 5) Mahākāla, 6)

Madhyama, 7) Kedāra, and 8) Bhairava are said to be (the group of eight called)
Very Secret (atiguhya) .⁰⁶⁷

⁶“⁵³ RṚead, with Jayaratha, vāyau for vāyor.

⁶“⁵ MV 5/17cd-18ab. Although the members of the Groups of Eight listed in this and the
following quotations are Rudras, they are also almost all names of sacred sites in India.
The presiding Rudras of these places either gave their names to them or drew them from
them. Concerning the importance of sacred geography in the early Śaivāgamas, its
internalization, yogic and ritual function, see Dyczkowski 2009: Introduction, Chapter
Three, where many of these places are identified.
⁶⁶⁷ SVṬ 10/872-873a.
236 CHAPTER EIGHT
The Eight Rudras in the Wind

‘Within the Wind’ means within the Wind Principle. (It is) ‘divided
into ten’ (daśadhā) because of the (ten) types of (vital breath), beginning with
exhalation (prāṇa) and ending with Nāga.⁰⁸ The meditation etc. (on them) is
also such, and so (the word) ‘ten tīmes’ (daśadhā) is repeated again. (The eight
Rudras in the Wind Principle) ‘start with Bhīma’. That is said (in the
Mālinīvijaya):

‘1) Bhīmeśvara, 2) Mahendra, 3) Aṭṭahāsa, along with 4) Vimaleśvara,

5) Kanakhala, 6) Nākhala, 7) Kurukṣetra and 8) Gayā.”⁶⁴⁹

Whereas in the venerable Svacchandatantra (we read):

‘1) Gayā, 2) Kurukṣetra, 3) Nākhula, 4) Kanakhala, 5) Vimala, 6)

Aṭṭaḥāsa, 7) Māhendra, and 8) Bhīma, the eighth – this is the More Secret than
Secret (group of eight Rudras).”⁶"⁰

The Eight Rudras in the Sky

(The world) ‘of the Skyʼ, that is, of space (ākāśa). That is said (in the
Mālinīvijaya):

‘The first two are called 1) Sthāṇu and 2) Svarṇa, the next two are 3)
Rudra and 4) Gokarṇaka, (then come) 5) Mahālaya, 6) Avimukteśa, 7)
Rudrakoṭi and 8) Ambarāpada.⁷⁶⁷¹

Whereas in the venerable Svacchandatantra (we read):

‘1) Vaṣṭrāpada, 2) Rudrakoṭi, 3) Avimukta, 4) Mahālaya, 5) Gokarṇa,

6) Bhadrakarṇa, 7) Svarṇākṣa and 8) Sthāṇu, the eighth, it the Group of Eight
Holy Ones (pavitrāṣṭaka).’⁶⁰²

⁶⁶⁵ The Gorakṣaśataka (34-37) concisely defines the locations and functions of the five
major and five minor forms of the vital breath as follows:

‘Prāṇa (exhalation) always resides in the heart (i.e. the chest), and apāna
(inhalation) in the region of the rectum. Samāna (the Equal One) is in the region of the
navel, and udāna (Upward Moving One) in the middle of the throat. Vyāna (Pervasive
One) pervades the body. The five winds beginning with prāṇa are here said to be the
chief (ones). The (other) five winds are Nāga and the rest. Nāga (Snake) is said to be the
wind (that functions) in eructation. Kūrma (Tortoise) (functions) in winking. One should
know that Kṛkara (Partridge) causes sneezing, and Devadatta yawning. Dhanañjaya,
pervading the whole (body), does not quit it even when it is dead. These (vital breaths)
are the living being (jīva) and wander through all the channels (ṇāḍī).” See above, 6/196
(195cd-196ab) note 6,400. For an extensive treatment and citations concerning the nāḍis
and their history, see Dyczkowski 2009: vol. 11, note 23, p. 195-202.
⁶“’ MV 5/18cd-19ab. Theṣse are Rudras who govern sacred places with their same names.
⁶’⁰ SVṬ 10/883cd-884c.
“J MV 5120.
 TANTRĀLOKA 237
According to the declaration (of the scripture) that ‘there is no
competence to practice Śaiva Yoga without initiation’,”³ there is no authority to
(practice) Śiva Yoga without initiation, so what to say of that practice and the
like. When initiation has taken place and the practice of Yoga has been
completed, then (one attains) liberation while alive, so what doubt can there be
there (in that case) that it (will be attained at death), when the body comes to an
end? So (how) is it that it is said that the yogis who practice concentration on
the subtle element of smell etc. attain the worlds of Earth etc.? With this doubt
in mind, he says:

The Fate of Śaivites after Death

JTTēITT ōīīt diīzURoṛē̄isdaī

āt: I 320
1
srfeṭrīāīsfrēārgGṁ
ṝāīg ar |
āīacāēraār̄
ī T ũaṁṁtēqa 1 222 ú
TaTgīaṁāg ṃāīaīā-ī a |
ī̄Ṭē ̃ TṬāīaīaī ̄āTaīṝ=ī fraīāaīgu 2221
adīkṣitā ye bhūteṣu śivatattvābhimāninaḥ |
jñānahīnā api prauḍhadhāraṇās te ‘ṇḍato bahiḥ || 210 ||
dharābdhitejo ʻnilakhapuragā dīkṣitāś ca vā |
tāvat saṁskārayogārthaṁ na paraṁ padam Thitum || 211 |I
tathāvidhāvatāreṣu mṛtāś cāyataneṣu ye |
tatpadaṁ te samāsādya kramād yānti śivātmatām || 212 ||

Those who are not initiated (in the worlds of) the gross elements,
thinking haughtily (that they have attained) the Śiva principle; those whose
concentration is mature (and firm) (praudhadhāraṇa), even though they
have no knowledge, are outside the Egg (of Brahmā of the Earth principle).
The same applies to those who have been initiated (but) reside in the worlds
of the Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Sky (to attain worldly
accomplishments), to the extent that their purpose is to purify just that
much (of some lower principle) to unite (with it), and not to strive for the
supreme plane.
(It is like that also for) those who have died in the sacred places
(ayatana), where (the gods) have descended (onto the earth) in that
(appropriate) manner." Once having attained their abode (pada), in due
course (kramāt) they attain a state of identity with Śiva. (210-212) (209cd-
212ab)

⁶’² SVṬ 10/887-888a.

⁶⁷³ MV 4/6cd, see above, ad 1/232cd-233ab.
“’⁴ See below, 28/237cd ff.
238 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘The gross elements’ - as Earth is the main (gross element), it is
indicated (here) by the plural. Or else, amongst them, those whose
‘concentration is mature (and firm)’ by the practice of (lower forms of) Yoga
(fit only) for fettered souls (pāśavayoga), such as that of Patañjali (which does
not require initiation). ‘Those who have been initiated’ are those who have
taken the ordinary (lokadharmin) initiation for adepts (sādhaka),³ in order to
attain the plane of Earth etc., in accord with the principle (yukti) expressed in
such statements as:

‘(the disciple) is conjoined (by his teacher) there (to the level of reality)
where (he can experience) the worldly enjoyments he desires (and attains the
corresponding) accomplishments (siddhi) (by the power of Mantras) . . . .⁰⁷⁸

He says that (with the words): (The same applies to those who have
been initiated, (but only) ’to the extent that their purpose is to purify just
that much (of some lower principle)’”. ‘where (the gods) who have
descended (onto the earth) in that (appropriate) mannerʼ, that is, in the
sacred places (governed by), for example, Amareśa.⁶’’
What is the (scriptural) authority here (for this view)? With this
question in mind, he says:

TT. TĀĪĨR aī raīa#ama |

punaḥ punar idaṁ coktaṁ śrīmaddevyākhyayāmale |

And (so) this has been said repeatedly in the venerable

Devyākhyayāmala. (213ab) (212cd)

(The Devyāyāmala states the same) ‘repeatedly’ for each group of

eight (Rudras governing worlds in the principles of the gross elements). That is
said there:

‘Those people who have died there (in those sacred places) go (from)
here to that plane (to which they give access).’

‘O dear one, those who have died in these (sacred places) and have
given up correctly all the worlds, shining brilliantly, they go to these, your
places.”

That is not just said here, but also elsewhere, and so he says:

“’³ See below, introductory verses of Chapter Fifteen, where the various kinds of
initīates are described. There we are told that the ordinary ‘worldly’ (lokadharmin)
initiate is one ‘who, desiring good fruits, is dedicated to accumulating good actions and
refraining from bad ones.” 15/24ab. The ‘good fruits' may be access to worlds where the
initiate can enjoy the benefits he sought by the practice of ‘good actionsʼ. In this case,
they are concentration on the subtle elements.
⁶⁷⁶ Also quoted above in TĀv ad 1/61cd-62 (62cd-63); see note there.
“⁷⁷ See above, 8/200cd-204 and references quoted in the commentary.
 TANTRĀLOKA 239

īṁrēraī vHīzavī ṁaīg: 1| 22 1|

gtadaēraṝ 2 fia⁷ 7 āc |
JāṬTṬIṬ āgRT: ṬJT: RIITT-TIī I Ṝ2: I
TTT UAT šcāīē vrTaiīīōōa; |
śrīkāmikāyāṁ kaśmīravarṇane coktavān vibhuḥ || 213 |I
sureśvarīmahādhāmni ye mriyante ca tatpure |
brahmaṇādyāḥ saṅkarāntāḥ paśavaḥ sthāvarāntagāḥ || 214 ||
rudrajātaya evaite ity āha bhagavāī chivaḥ |

And the All-pervasive Lord has said in the venerable Kāmikā, in the
course of describing Kashmir (kaśmīravarṇana),⁸ that ‘the creatures who
die in the great abode (sacred to) Sureśvarī" and in that city, whether they
belong to (highest castes) starting with Brahmins (or any other) down to
(the lowest) mixed castes, animals, or (even) plants of the lowest order, (all)
are ranked as Rudras (rudrajāti).’ (213cd-215ab) (213-214)

“’⁸ kaśmīravarṇana is most probably the name of a chapter of the Kāmikā / Kāmika (see
above note 4,83). If so, one wonders why it would dedicate a chapter to describing
Kashmir. Could this be an indication of the place of its redaction, or at least of the
redactor(s) predilection for Kashmir? Certainly, he had a good knowledge of it, for
outside the Valley, Sureśvaṁī was not well known. See following note.
“’’ The first notice we have of this place is by Kalhaṇa, who writes that Śūra, a minister
of Avantivarman (855-883), ‘erected at Sureśvarikṣetra, in honour of Śiva and his
consort conjoined, a temple which was to last forever.’ (RT 5/37) Stein writes in a note
that here: ‘Durgā is worshipped to this day under the name of Sureśvarī (‘queen of the
godsʼ) on a high crag rising above the village of Iśabar from the range which encloses
the Ḍal lake on the east. A natural rock on the top of the crag is looked upon as a
representation of Durgā’s husband. The Sureśvarīmāhātmya accounts for the residence
of the goddess and her consort at this spot by a legend connected with the killing of the
demon Ruru. It also describes in detail the route of the pilgrimage at certain springs
situated in the immediate vicinity of the village of Iśabar. . . . The references to it as a
place to be sought on the approach of death show the sanctity of it.’ Indeed, one of the
cardinal features of this sacred place is that people repaired to it to die. For example,
king Parvagupta (949-950), whom Kalhaṇa represents as a lustful and deceitful king
who, though young, was seized by dropsy because of his sins. “Yet’ as Kalhaṇa says,
‘through some former merits which had not lost their efficacy, he found his end in the
precincts of the Sureśvarī (Tīrtha).¹ (RT 6/147). The wealthy Citraratha plotted against
king Jayasiṁha (1128-49 CE) but was found out. Kalhaṇa tell us that, very ill and
extremely worried, in order to find refuge from the king, he went to Sureśvarī under the
pretence of wishing to die there (RT 8/2344). In the same period was Sussalā, the
wealthy wife of one of Jayasiṁha’s ministers, whom Kalhaṇa records founded and
aided numerous religious foundations. Kalhaṇa records her rebuilding the Buddhist
Caṅkuṇaviḥāra, indicating perhaps that she was Buddhist. But whether she was or not,
Kalhaṇa tells us ‘as soon as she had consecrated (this Vihāra) she, being attacked by
consumption, found her death at the illustrious Sureśvarī, whereby her full communion
(with the gods) was indicated.⁷ (RT 8/2418)
240 CHAPTER EIGHT

The Subtle Body

The Spheres of the Subtle Elements and The Eight Bodies of Śiva

TTRIGTTIÇQATGgTTRĀ:
fIJI 1 2241
ṬHITRTĪṢ-TTĪ
ṬTT] fōrarāīṁīā-ī 1
ākāśāvaraṇād ūrdhvam ahaṅkā adhaḥ priye || 215 ||
tanmātrādimano ‘ntānāṁ purāṇi śivaśāsane |

Moreover, Lord SŚiva (has said) in the SŚivaśāsana (i.e.

Svacchandatantra) that: “O dear one, above the sphere of the Sky and below
that of the ego,"™ are the worlds of (the principles), ranging from the
subtle elements to the mind. (215cd-216ab) (215)

The rest (not stated, but completes the syntax,) is ‘has said’ ‘in the
Sivaśāsana’. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘0 dear one, I will tell (you) the worlds that are above the sphere of the
Sky and below the ego . . . “³!

TJTTĪRT THT-TTHYSY TGT I 2Z5ē II

3TT=ōāī āīSā⁷-āākēhīḷerī:
fkḶṛāā |
TG TāITRTTITIĪ
TTE@IĪr TaJTĪT: I| Ṝ2.9
1
vrā̄| yaā: ũqçdṀfcztī
sra f ṣhīa
TTHTT āfēzēīā: īaṟaṛ: aīITEHIT: 22 1
ī: gdā-gaĩ
rēī f-yī] |
3JRĪJ ṬūāTTĪṢā-q,āATSHĪI| 328, I
gaTzḷ ̄aa;: ũŨ̄raĨT. ṀŨaō: ũŨṀaãī: |
³TṬṬ JGITIṢYS T -T-ā qa =zlīzaī. || Ṝš⁰ |
-N hcīl JAT] TITTIĀ
TJ T |
pañcavarṇayutaṁ gandhatanmãtramaṇḍalaṁ mahat || 216 |l|
ācchādya yojanānekakoṭibhiḥ sthitam antarā |
evaṁ rasādimātrāṇāṁ maṇḍalāni svavarṇataḥ || 217 I|
šarvo bhavaḥ paśupatir īśo bhīma iti kramāt |
tanmātreśā yad icchātaḥ śabdādyāḥ khādikāriṇaḥ || 218 II
tataḥ sūryenduvedānāṁ maṇḍalāni vibhur mahān |
ugraś cety eṣu patayas tebhyo ‘ṛkendū sayājakau || 219 ||

⁶* Liṭeral quote of SvT 10/895cd.

⁶³N SYT 10/895cd-896a.
 TANTRĀLOKA 241
ity aṣṭau tanavaḥ śaṁbhor yāḥ parāḥ parikīrtitāḥ |
aparā brahmaṇo ʻṇḍe tā vyāpya sarvaṁ vyavasthitāḥ || 220 ||
kalpe kalpe prasūyante dharādyās tābhya eva tu ḷ

The great sphere (maṇḍala) of the subtle element of smell possesses

five colours, covering many tens of millions of leagues; it contains within
itself (all the worlds described above). In the same way, (beyond it) are the
spheres of the subtle elements of taste and the rest, each with their own
colour. The Lords of the subtle elements are, in due order: Śarva, Bhava,
Paśupati, Īśa and Bhīma. By their will, space and the rest are the causes of
sound and the rest.*²
Then (next come) the spheres of the Sun, Moon and the Vedas, of
which the great Lords are Vibhu (Rudra), Mahat (Mahādeva) and Ugreśa.
The Sun, Moon and those who sacrifice to them (originate) from these
(spheres).* These are said to be the eight supreme bodies of Lord Śiva.⁶
The inferior ones reside in the Egg of Brahmā, pervading all things. During
each aeon (kalpa), the earth and the rest are born from them. (216cd-
221ab) (216-220)

“³³(The subtle element of smell) ‘possesses five colours’. That is said

(in the following passage):⁶*⁶

“³² The gross elements are insentient and so could not produce their corresponding subtle
elements if not impelled by the will of the Lords who preside over them.
“³³ The eight bodies of Śiva are Śarva, Bhava, Paśupati, Īśa and Bhīma, who are the
lords of the five subtle elements, along with Vibhu, Mahādeva and Ugreśa, who reside
within and govern the Sun, Moon and the Vedas, respectively.
⁶³* See below, 8/244cd-247ab.
⁶³³ Jayaratha comments on verses 216 to 224 together. As the commentary is quite long,
the verses have been divided up, 216 to 220 and 221 to 224.
“³⁰ The description is similar to the one in the SVT (quoted below) and may be from a
version found in the manuscript Jayaratha had. The main difference in the printed
edition of SvT is that it does not refer to this world looking like a rainbow. But the
diction pañcavarṇayutaṁ in the TĀ is clearly derived from pañcavarṇasamāyuktam –
‘possesses five colours' — found in the reference quoted by Jayaratha, which is as
follows.:.

Śuklapītasitaraktaharitaṁ sphatikaprabham |
pañcavarṇasamāyuktaṁ śakracāpasamaprabham ||

‘Shining like crystal (radiant) white, yellow, white, red and green, (the subtle
element of smell) possesses five colours and looks like a rainbow.”

The equivalent in the SvT reads:

ādau tu gandhatanmātraṁ vistīrṇaṁ maṇḍalaṁ mahat |]

sthitaṁ vitānavad devi yojanānekakotayaḥ |
Śuklaraktāsitāpītaharī sphuṭikaprabham ||
vitānam iva deveśi sarvataḥ parimaṇḍalam |
242 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘Shining like crystal (radiant), white, yellow, black, red and green (the
subtle element of smell) possesses⁰⁷ five colours and looks like a rainbow.”

It ‘contains within itself’ means that, like a canopy, it has encompassed

(the worlds of) space and every (other element) within itself. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘First there is the extensive sphere of the subtle element of smell. Like a
canopy, O goddess, it extends for many tens of millions of leagues.’⁰*

‘O fair-faced lady, the one Lord there is Śarva, from which, impelled by
Śarveśa, arises Earth.⁶⁵⁹

(Juṣṭ as Earth is created by Śarva, so to0) ‘by the will’ (of their Lords,
space and the rest are the causes of their respective subtle elements, sound and
the rest). The sense is that, how otherwise could these insentient (elements) be
causes?”°" ‘In the same way’ as the sphere of the subtle element of smell, (the
spheres that follow have their own colours and Lords etc.). That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘The sphere of the subtle element of taste is above that sphere. O

beloved, like the feather ofa blue jay, it is pale yellow (harita), (emerald) green,
and dark blue. O fair-faced lady, Bhava is the one Lord there. The Waters have
come forth from that impelled by Lord Bhava.
The sphere of the subtle element of form is above that sphere, its light
shining brilliantly like the rays of the sun and (its colour) is like ruby. Rudra is
the one Lord of the Creatures who resides there. Fire has come forth from there
by the will of the Lord of the Creatures.””¹

‘First of all comes the great and extensive sphere which is the subtle element of
smell. O goddess, like a canopy it extends for many tens of millions of leagues. Shining
like crystal (radiant) white, red, black, light yellow and green, O mistress of the gods,
like a canopy it encompasses everything all around.” SvT 10/896cd-898ab.
⁶⁵⁷ RṞead with MSs Ch and N -samāyuktaṁ for -samāyukta.
“³* SVT 10/896cd-897ab. Kṣemarāja: maṇḍalaṁ bhuvanaṁ śatakotimānād brahmāṇḍāt
krameṇa daśaguṇyā vṛddhyā koṭiguṇam ahaṅkārāvaraṇam iti tadantarvartināṁ
tanmātrādyāvaraṇānām anantakoṭitaiva bhavati |

‘A ‘sphere’ (maṇḍala) is a world (each one of which) is, successively, ten

times greater than the Egg of Brahmā, that extends for a 100 million (leagues), and the
enclosure of ego is as if the endless tens of millions of the enclosures of the subtle
elements that are within it.
⁶*N SVṬ 10/898cd-899ab.
⁶’” Abhinava outlines the arguments as to why inert matter cannot be a cause of
anything, because the only reasonable explanation for causality is that cause and effect
are related to one another, as are the agent to the deed. Concerning the nature of
causality, see below, 9/7 ff.
⁶’’ SYT 10/899cd-903ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 243
‘The sphere of the subtle element of touch is above that sphere, its
colour red like the dawn.⁶ … O goddess, Īśāna resides there in (that) sphere. 0
beloved, the Wind has come forth from that, impelled by Īśa’s will.⁰*³
‘The sphere of the subtle element of sound is above that sphere. Dark
blue like a blue lotus, it is like pure water.³
⁵*⁴
‘Bhīma alone resides there as the Lord. The great (element of) Space
has come forth from that, impelled by Bhīma’s will.⁰’*

‘Then (next)’, thatis, (beyond)in relation to each of the spheres of the

subtle elements. (What is meant) by this is that these three spheres (of the Sun,
Moon and the Vedas) are located in the upper part of the subtle element of
sound. (Their Lords are) Vibhu, that is, Rudra, Mahat, that is, Mahādeva (and
Ugreśa). ‘From these’ spheres of the Sun (Moon and the Vedas), impelled by
their corresponding Rudras, who are their Lords, (originate the Sun, Moon and
those who sacrifice to them). As is said:

‘Above that is (the sphere) called the Sun, where the Rudra Vibhu
resides. Above that is (the sphere) called the Moon. Mahādeva is the Lord of
that. Above that is the sphere of the Vedas, which is presided over by Ugreśa.
The Sun, Moon and the sacrificer have come forth from them each aeon,
countless times . . .⁵

(These are said to be the eight) ‘supreme’ (bodies of Lord Śiva),

because the subtle elements etc. are subtle. (The earth and the rest are born)
‘from them’, that is, from the supreme bodies.

The Deities of the Organs of Action and Knowledge®*

Ṭāī āīmṛōcērēīīāīḥ ā⁰ṝā⁰=ō || 322 1

³Ttzfrīftāī.Ṃ TaTk-ḷṝ, īaā. |
JTTIĪTHVSG TATT-T TGTAĀTZHḤ I 32* I
ftfīāērakāēvī]ar 3TḤīīēadaī: |

tato vāgādikarmākṣayuktaṁ karaṇamaṇḍalam || 221 ||

agnīndraviṣṇumitrāḥ sabrahmāṇas teṣu nāyakāḥ |
prakāśamaṇḍalaṁ tasmāc chrutaṁ buddhyakṣapañcakam || 222 ||
digvidyudarkavaruṇabhuvaḥ śrotrādidevatāḥ |

““” SYT 10/904abc.

’³SYT 10/905cd-906ab. Read with SYT, Ch, and NÑ: tvīśānaḥ for īśānaḥ.
⁶⁵³* SYT 10/907cd-908ab.
⁶³³ SVT 10/909.
“’⁰ 1) The cognitive organs of sense: ears ~ Directions (dik), skin ~ Lightning, eyes ~ the
Sun, tongue – Varuṇa, and nose – the Earth. 2) The organs of action: speech — Agni, the
hands – Indra, feet – Viṣṇu, the anus – Mitra, and the genitals – Brahmā. Concerning the
sequential order of the senses, see note in the Appendix to Chapter Thirty containing the
mantras of the Tattvas.
244 CHAPTER EIGHT
Then comes the sphere of the senses associated with speech and the
other organs of action. The Lords (nāyaka) (residing there) within them
are, respectively: Agni, Indra, Viṣṇu, Mitra and Brahmā.
According to the scriptures, from that comes the sphere of light,
consisting of the five organs of knowledge, namely, those of hearing and the
rest, the gods of which are the Directions (dik), Lightning, the Sun, Varuṇa
and the Earth. (221cd-223ab) (221-222)

‘Then’, after that of the subtle elements, comes ‘the sphere of the
sensesʼ, which, because it consists of the specific activities of (the organs of
action, that is) uttering words and the rest, it is a ‘sphere’ʼ, that is, aggregate of
the five principles that are the basis of the instruments (of action). This is the
meaning. That is said to be related to speech and the other organs of action, not
the sense organs of knowledge. Thus it is said that it is ‘associated with speech
and the other organs of action’. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra)
beginning with:

‘Even higher than them is the sphere consisting of the instruments (of
action).” . . Thuṣ, the deities of action impel (the organs of action) of all
embodied beings. (They are) speech, the hands, feet, the anus, and the genitals,
which is the fifth."*

The Lords (residing there) ‘within them’, that is, within the five
principles of speech and the rest. Thus, the Lord in the principle of speech is
Fire, (and so on) up to Brahmā (who is the Lord) in the principle of the genitals.
That is said (in a Tantra as follows): ‘The Lords of the organs of action are Agni
(Fire), Indra, Hari, Vedhasa (i.e. Brahmā), and Mitra.’
‘Thenʼ, it is explained correctly ‘according to the scriptures’, that
above the sphere of the organs of action, comes the sphere consisting of the five
organs of knowledge, which is fundamentally light, because it illumines sound

“’⁷ ṢVṬ 10/921ab.

“’* SVṬ 10/922cd-923ab. The lines in between this and the previous reference say: ‘ts
colour is white, red and black, yellow and green. Five lords reside in the sphere which is
that of the instruments (of action)..” SVT 921cd-922: Kṣemarāja comments:
antaḥprāṇāśraye tyāgādāne vāgindriyakārye | bahistvādānaṁ tyāgo dvayaṁ ca
upādanirvartyam 1| _samastatyāgādānakṣobhapraśamanenānandātmakasva-
rāpavis antirupasthakāryam | na caitadvyatiriktaḥ kaścid vyāpāro ’'stīti pañcaiva
karmendriyāṇi | teṣāṁ ca sarvaśarīravyāpakatve ‘pi pāṇyādyadhiṣṭhānasthānam, tena
vaktrādināpi yad grahaṇam, tad api pāṇīndriyakāryam eva |l

‘The organ of speech rests on the inner breath, and its two functions are
assuming and abandoning. The two external (functions of) assumption and
abandonment are carried out by the hands, anus and feet. The function of the genitals is
repose in the essential nature (of the consciousness, which is) bliss, by quelling all the
disturbance of abandonment and assumption. And there is no other function at all (that
the organs of action perform). Thus, there are only five organs of action. Again,
although they pervade the entire body, the hands etc. are (their) basic location. Thus,
although the mouth, for example, picks up (something), even so, (this remains) only the
function of the hands.”
 TANTRĀLOKA 245
and each of the other objects (of sense). This is the meaning. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra);
‘(After) them comes (the sphere) called the ‘Illuminator”’ (prakāśaka)
which, (shining) all around, is like the sun. The five organs of knowledge come
forth from that. (These are) the ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose, in due
order.¹

(Referring to the five organs of knowledge, namely, those of) ‘hearing

and the restʼ, (he) thus (says that) the deity of the directions is in the ear (and
so on), up to (the deity of) Earth, which is in the nose. That is said (elsewhere):

‘Earth, (Varuṇa) the Lord of the Waters, the Sun, Lightning and the
Directions, (corresponding to the senses) beginning with smell and ending
with⁷ hearing (respectively), reside in the organs of knowledge.”

The Worlds of Manas and the Intellect

The Moon, the Sphere of Manas

rārṁvšōīgēā fk̃ raráṁ=zza] | 223 1

EIGĒCIIĒL-IGI ŠÚḶSkÁKESECIISCEAṈI ṜṜ% 1l

āraāāīāī
fēza: āīmīṛ fēiña 1
prakāśamaṇḍalād ūrdhvaṁ sthitaṁ pañcārthamaṇḍalam || 223 ||
manomaṇḍalam eṭasmāt somenādhiṣṭhitaṁ yataḥ |
bāhyadeveṣv adhiṣṭhātā sāmyaiśvaryasukhātmakaḥ | 224 ||
manodevas tato divyaḥ somo vibhur udīritaḥ |

Above the sphere of light is the sphere of the five objects of the
senses, and above that, the sphere of the mind (anas), presided over by
the Moon. The god of the mind (maṇodeva) is the bliss of lordship, because
he (impels all the senses) equally (towards their objects) and presides over
(all) the outer gods. Thus, he is said to be the Divine Moon (Śoma) and the
All-pervasive Lord."¹ (223cd-225ab) (223-224)

It is appropriate that ‘above the sphere of light’, in the principle of the

mind (manas), should be located the five objects of the senses, that is, sound
and the rest, as the mind impels each of the senses (towards them) as their
objects. The point is that that is the world here of (the objects of the senses) in
their supreme form. As is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

⁶⁹’ SVṬ 10/923cd-924. Cf. MV 1/32.

⁷⁰⁰ Read -paryantāḥ for -paryantā.
T⁰¹ Verses 216 to 224 are drawn from SvT 10/897-925.
246 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘Superior to them is (the mind), which is like the sphere of the Moon. In
its extent and circumference all around is (that of) the sphere of (its) rays. From
that indeed do the five objects (of the senses) of all embodied beings come
forth.’⁷”⁰²
‘The sphere of the mind (manas)³ is the main (pradhāna) world of
(the principle of) the mind. This is the meaning. (It is) ‘above that’, that is,
above the sphere of light. What is the reason here as to why the moon presides
over (it)? With this doubt in mind, he says that it is ‘because’ he (impels all the
senses). The nature of (the god of the mind is) to impel all the senses ‘equallyʼ,
without distinction, by the propensity (each has) towards its own object, which
is ‘the bliss of lordshipʼ, that is, the wonder of (his) freedom
(svātantryacamatkāra). This being s0, because the mind is the activity which is
each particular intention (sarṁkalpa) (that impels the senses), it is the ‘god’ who

⁷⁰² -SVT 10/926-927ab. Kṣemarāja explains: bhogyabhūtāḥ pratipuruṣaṁ

vicitrabhogaṣaṃmpādakā rūpādayaḥ sarve tasmād udyanti | ata eva
samastāmmayacandrollāsakatvāt (> • samastaraśmimaya-) tasya candramaṇḍala-
sannibhatvaṁ parimāṇato rūpataś coktam | yataś caitad raśmimaṇḍalam ata
evaitadbhūtā viṣayā etadraśmirūpāḥ prakāśamānatayā svaprakāśa-svabhāvāḥ | yad
uktaṁ śrīmaducchuṣmabhairave ----

yāvan na vedakā ete tāvadvedyāḥ kathaṁ priye |

vedyavedakamekaṇṅ tu tattvaṁ nāstyaśuciṣtataḥ ||

‘Form and the rest, which are the objects of experience for each individual
soul, all arise from that (mind) and give rise to the variety of worldly experience. Thus,
because (the mind) causes the Moon, which is made of all the rays (of the senses), to
pour forth, it is said to be like sphere of the Moon in size and shape. For this reason, this
is a sphere of rays, and the objects of sense made of that are in the form of its rays
which, because they are shining, are self-luminous by nature. As is said in the venerable
Ucchuṣmabhairava:

‘O dear one, if there are no perceivers, how can these be objects of

perceptions? Therefore, subject and object are one reality and impurity does not exist.”

iti yady api prṛthivyādayo rūpādiguṇā evotpannās tathāpy ete pratipuruṣaṁ

vicitrabhogasampādakā anya eva rūpādayo niryātāḥ |l
kiṁ ca ----
ebhyaḥ parataraṁ cāpi saumyaṁ somasya maṇḍalam |

ebhya iti karaṇaprakāśaraśmimaṇḍalebhyaḥ ||

tasmān mano viniṣkrāntaṁ raśmibhir daśapañcabhiḥ || 928 1|

Thus, although Earth and the like arise with form etc. as their qualities, and so
too give rise to a variety of worldly experience, form and the rest that have come forth
(from the mind) are other than that. Moreover:
‘Greater than these is the noble sphere of the Moon.’ (928ab)

‘(Greater) that these’ spheres of the rays of the light of the senses.

‘From that the mind has come forth along with fifteen rays.’” (928cd)
 TANTRĀLOKA 247
‘presides over (all) the outer gods’ʼ, that is, the (sensory) organs of knowledge
etc. that shine¹ in an external form (bahīrūpatayā).¹ Thus, it is ‘divine’
(divya), that is, located in the sky (diva) as that which satisfies all the gods; (the
mind) is said to be ‘the Moon (Soma) and the All-pervasive Lordʼ. This is the
meaning.

The Worlds of the Rudras of the Ego and the Eight Beings of the Intellect

Ṭīsī, TāFTJTIĪ TĀTGGTĀTTT-T: I| 2QU I

gJṀTR-JTGTTT=RZ IGGWT ÇĀ |
3ṇzīāTīd āī adāT-d=aRTTTHTI I 22ē II

TTĨTT ÑTTTĪTTĪ TJIITRIT ṬTTTJT: I 32 II

3Tāātīāīaṁṁ-āī- saaṟa-; āafa d
tato ‘pi sakalākṣāṇāṁ yoner buddhyakṣajanmanaḥ || 225 ||
sthūlādicchagalāntāṣṭayuktaṁ cāhaṅkṛteḥ puram |
buddhitattvaṁ tato devayonyaṣṭakapurādhipam || 226 ||
paiśācaprabhṛtibrāhmaparyantaṁ tac ca kīrtitam |
etāṉi devayonīnāṁ sthānāny eva purāṇy ataḥ || 227 |
avatīryātmajanmānaṁ dhyāyantaḥ saṁbhavanti te |

Beyond that also is (said to be) the world of the ego, which is born
from the intellect and is the cause of all the senses. The eight (Rudras),
starting with Sthūla and ending with Chagala, are associated (with that
world).
Then comes the principle of the intellect (buddhitattva), which is the
Lord of the world of the group of eight types of divine beings (yonyaṣṭaka),
that are said to be those starting with the Piśācas and ending with (those
related to) Brahmā.
These worlds™® 705 are the abodes of the divine beings (devayoni).
Having descended from them (into the Egg of Brahmā), meditating on
(Brahmā) the Self Born One,¹ they are born (into the cycle of creation).⁷"
(225cd-228ab) (225-227)

‘Beyond that also’, that is, after (the sphere of) the mind, (is the
sphere) of the ego. Well, how is it that it is located above the mind and below

⁰³ One of the meanings of the root ‘div’, from which the word ‘deva’ – ‘god’ – is
derived, is ‘to shine’. See above, 1/100-102.
⁷⁰. The expression ‘bahīrūpatāyā’ may mean also means ‘as the external nature’.
¹⁰³ Verses 227-229 are quoted from SVT 10/972cd-975ab. These are the eight worlds of
the mind, where the eight types of divine beings reside.
¹⁰⁶ ātmajanmānaṁ dhyāyantaḥ meditating on their own birth’.
⁷⁰⁷ TĀ 8/225cd-228ab (225-227) is based on MV 5/21-23.
248 CHAPTER EIGHT
the intellect? With this question in mind, it is said that ‘it is born from the
intellect and is the cause of all the sensesʼ. ‘Sthūla’ is Sthūleśvara (the Lord
Sthūla). (The full name of) ‘Chagala’ is Chagalānḍa. That is said (in the
Mālinīvijayottara):

The Eight Rudras of the Ego

‘(The Rudras here are) 1) Sthūla (Gross), 2) Sthūleśvara (Lord of

Place), and also the two, 3) Śaṅkukarṇa (Conch Ears), 4) Kālañjara, 5)
Maṇḍaleśvara (Lord of the Maṇḍala), 6) Mākoṭa, 7) Dviraṇḍa⁰⁸ (Two
Teṣticles), and 8) Chagalāṇḍa (Goat's Testicles).⁷⁷⁰⁵
And according to the venerable Svacchandatantra:
‘Chagalāṇḍa, Duraṇḍa,⁷"⁰ the lord of (this) sphere, Mākoṭa, Kālañjara,
Saṅkukarṇa, Sthuleśvara and Sthaleśvara are said to be the Group of Eight
Sthāṇus ((Motionless) Pillars). . . .⁷⁷"'

The Eight Divine Beings of the Intellect – Devayonyaṣṭaka

‘The group of eight types of divine beings’ are (collectively) ‘the

Lords of the world’ (of the intellect). Where that is so, that is the group of
eight types of divine beings. That is said (in the Mālinīvijayottara):
‘(The eight types of divine beings are) Piśācas, Rākṣasas, Yakṣas,
Gandharavas, as well as those associated with Indra, so too Somas, along with
Prajāpatis and Brahmās, that are said to be the eighth (type).’⁷¹
‘These worlds’, which are the directions etc. associated with the
intellect, are ‘the abodesʼ, that is, the main dwellings, of these types of divine
beings. This is the meaning. The sense is that their secondary worlds,
established as the five groups of eight etc., are below. (These beings) ‘descend’
(from these worlds) into the Egg of Brahmā etc. and are ‘born’, that is, are
created (lit. ‘attain creation’) again and again. This the meaning.
He (now) explains the instrumental cause here (of this):

The Five Groups of Eight Rudras in the Intellect

and Fundamental Nature

TĀITTĀTTS SĪTRTHTTIḤ TTTĀT || ṜR¢ I

frantkrāṝ frazaī a aaī| asīā:|
=-zszārṁ ũú ] īrēī THGTTTHHTI| 325I
"⁰⁸MV reads -dviraṇḍa- for -duraṇḍa-. The reading here is confirmed.
⁷⁰® MV 5/21. Manuscripts and the edition of the MV reads sthūleśvaraḥ for
sthaleśvaraḥ. As Jayaratha glosses ‘Sthūla’ as Sthūleśvara, it is clear that he had this
variant reading before him which, we may safely assume, is the correct, original one.
7¹⁰ Read with the MS N and SVT, duraṇḍaṁ for duradaṇḍaṁ, which is hypometric.
”"" SVṬ 10/888cd-889ab.
”²ã MV 5/23. MV KṢTS reads in the last line iṣyate for ucyate. Cf. SvT 10/971cd-971ab,
and above, 8/119-120.
 TANTRĀLOKA 249
parameśaniyogāc ca codyamānāś ca māyayā || 228 ||
niyāmitā niyatyā ca brahmaṇo vyaktajanmanaḥ |
vyajyante te ca sargādau nāmarūpair anekadhā || 229 ||

At the command of the Supreme Lord, impelled by Māyā and

regulated by (the power of) Necessity (niyati), they are variously made
manifest with many names and forms, by Brahmā in his manifest form⁷¹ at
the beginning of (his new) creation. (228cd-229) (228-229ab)

(These beings are) ‘made manifest’ at the beginning of Brahmā’s

creation; that is to say, they become manifest in this way and that, in a gross
form ‘variously’, according to the graded sequence etc. of (their) different
types.
They do not fall in this way (because of this) from the worlds located
within (the principle of) the intellect. Thus, he says:

JTJ TTHĀĀĪ ī TASĪTĪ Tāahīrīq, |

svāṁśenaiva mahātmāno na tyajanti svaketanam ḷ

(Even so,) they do not quit, even with a part of themselves

(svāṁśena), their own abode. (230ab) (229cd)

He (now) says that the venerable Bṛhaspati has explained this in this
way in his book:⁷⁴

EiJEĀÑEṭEIEECIĒEATEĒĒṭEĀJIĪĒHĀĒT
3T=TTṝī adTT] JTāēaāīṝa³īaāārāaāī ēīraī: |
uktaṁ ca śivatanāv idam
adhikārapadasthitena guruṇā naḥ || 230 ||
aṣṭānāṁ devānāṁ
śaktyāvirbhāvayonayo hy etāḥ |

Moreover, this was said in the Śivatanu by our teacher (Bṛhaspati),

who occupies a place of authority: ‘the sources (yoni) of the eight (species
of) divine beings are the emergence of the powers (śakti) (of the intellect).”
(230cd-231ab) (230)

“The emergence of the (species of) divine beingsʼ, that is, the Piśācas
and the rest, is (their) manifestation (vyakti). Thus, because (they are) the
manifestations of the powers (of the intellect), their sources are of many kinds.

⁷³ Read vyaktajanmanaḥ for avyaktajanmanaḥ, as confirmed by Kṣemarāja in his

commentary on SVT 10/973-974. Read te ca for tena in the third quarter of verse 229
(cf. SvT 10/974).
!⁴ The reference from the Bṛhaspati’s Śivatanu apparently extends from 8/231ab
(230cd) to 235cd (235ab).
250 CHAPTER EIGHT
This is the meaning. There (in that case), their condition (avasthiti) within (the
principle of) the intellect is as (potential) powers, and below, as (their) manifest
nature.
He says that:

ṬĀĪTTr:Ṃ ŪṬPTRŪTT: TTTHTT; ŪJIĒT; I| 3 |

tanubhogāḥ punar eṣām
adhaḥ prabhūtātmakāḥ proktāḥ || 231 ||

They experience through the body (tanubhoga) again below (at their
lower level, where) they are said to be of a created (manifest) nature
(prabhūtātmaka). (231cd) (231ab)

‘Created (manifest) nature’ means that they are (in their) gross forms
(sthūlarūpa). He explains that:

TTITVTṬGĀTTĀTTCPITTĀTT]
JTT |
catvāriṁśat tulyo-
pabhogadeśādhikāni bhuvanāni |

The (kind of) experience (upabhoga) and countries etc. of the forty
worlds (governed by Lakulin and the rest) are (all) similar. (232ab) (231cd)

(The worlds are) ‘forty’, distinguished from one another (as those
governed) by Lakulin and the rest.
Surely (one may ask), if the experience etc. of these worlds is similar,
how then can there be (this) difference (bheda) (between them, namely, that
they constitute) five groups of eight, beginning with the Secret Group of
Eight?”'⁵ With this doubt in mind, he says:

TIE-ĀĀŪTTGTRGŪĀĀĒTJTHIT |I| 232 1

sādhanabhedāt kevalam
aṣṭakapañcakatayoktāni || 232. ||

It is only because of the difference between the means (by which

they are attained) (sādhana) that they are said to be five groups of eight.”"⁶
(232cd) (232ab)

⁷¹³ The Secret Group of Eight is in the Water Principle. See above 8/203cd-205ab (203-
204), commentary and notes.
”¹⁶ According to Paramahaṁsa Mishra (TĀ vol 3 p. 167-8): ‘The adept (sādhaka) goes
on purifying the worlds beyond the subtle elements, the mind (manas), and beyond the
mind, the ego and then the intellect. Thus, at the beginning, he knows the Group of
Eight (that constitutes the subtle body). The Self resides within it, along with the
external organs of action. It is necessary to then purify the remaining four groups of
eight, ranging from the principle of Water to that of Space, (corresponding to) the Eight
 TANTRĀLOKA 251
Now he explains the various means (sādhana) (to attain them).

Tāṁ vfkārrJrdīr̥aāṀēraaāī |
īaṁũ’Ṁ̄á ̄q: ad-dzzaī ftī 1| 333 1
TāTTĀTT TISTT āaāī-īāṁ ōēz |
etāni bhaktiyoga-
prāṇatyāgādigamyāni |
teṣūmāpatir eva
prabhuḥ svatantrendriyo vikaraṇātmā || 233 ||
taratamayogena tāto
‘pi devayonyasṣṭakaṁ lakṣyaṁ tu |

These (worlds) can be attained by devotion, Yoga, death (in their

sacred sites),⁷⁷ and the like.¹™⁸ Their Lord is Umāpati, whose senses
transcend (the normal senses) (vikaraṇa),¹ and are free (to function
unimpeded). ”" The group of eight divine beings (devayoni) can also be
perceived in a graded sequence after that (below the intellect). (233-234ab)
(232cd-233)

(One of the means to attain them is) ‘death’ in their sacred sites (kṣetra)
etc.”²¹ The words ‘and the like’ refer to the ordinary (lokadharmin) initiation

Forms (aṣṭamūrti) (of Śiva) beginning with Śarva, (then) the Group of Eight (beginning
with) Sthānu (sthānvaṣṭaka), the Group of Eight Divine Beings (devayonyaṣṭaka), and
the Group of Eight (beginning with) Krodheśvara (krodheśvarāṣṭaka).”
Groups of Eight:

1) Eight Rudras in the Water principle (the Secret Group of Eight) (8/204cd-205ab-204)
2) Eight Rudras who reside in the Fire principle (206 (205cd-206ab)
3) Eight Rudras who reside in the Wind principle (208 (207cd-208ab)
4) Eight Rudras who reside in the Sky principle (209 (208cd-209ab))
5) Eight Rudras who reside in the ego (225cd-226ab (225)) Cf. Tantrasāra, summarized
at the beginning of this chapter. See above note 8,552.
⁷'⁷ The word for ‘death’ here is prāṇatyāga, which literally means ‘the abandonment of
the vital breath’. It is not clear here whether this should be done voluntarily or not.
⁷'⁸ One could also read this compound to mean that ‘(these worlds are attained) by dying
(in their sacred sites) and the like, with the devotion that conjoins (to these worlds)
(bhaktiyoga).² In other words, according to this reading, these worlds are attained by
advanced adepts by their intense devotion.
⁷!⁹ The word vikaraṇa literally meaning in this context is ‘without senses’. One wonders
whether the reading ‘avikaraṇa’ – *without alteration or distortion’ ~ may not be better.
But this possibility is precluded by the usage below in 8/278ab (277cd).
⁷²⁰ This line is quoted below in TĀv ad 8/276cd-278ab (276-277). This is the fourth of
four kinds of senses, distinguished from one another according to their activity. See
below, 8/276cd-278ab (276-277).
”²³" A kṣetra (meaning literally ‘(sacred) field’) is a type of sacred place mentioned in the
Tantras. Concerning the various types of sacred places, see Dyczkowski 2009:
Introduction, Chapter Three. If one dies in the sacred places in the Wind Principle, one
252 CHAPTER EIGHT
for adepts (sādhaka)¹² etc. Is their manifest state their own, or (does it take
place) with someone (else’s) support (adhiṣṭhāna)? With this doubt in mind, he
says: “Their’ (Lord) etc., that is, of the Piśācas and the rest, (is Umāpati, whose)
‘senses transcend (the normal senses)² because (his) senses are free, and so
their activity depends (solely) on his own will. This is the meaning. As is said
there itself (in the Śivatanuśāstra):

‘On the contrary, (the senses) called ‘transcendental’ (vikaraṇa) are

(perfectly) obedient to the will.⁷”²³

Surely (one may ask), is the condition (and location) (avasthāna) of

these (groups of eight) without distinction in all respects or not? With this doubt
in mind, he says (that they are): “in a graded sequence’ etc. The word ‘alsoʼ is
out of order; thuṣ, it should be connected (with the previous words to mean that)
‘the eight also’ (can be perceived next, below the intellect).
Not only are these (beings ordered) in a graded sequence; the senses are
also. Thus, he says:

GTRTTTRJTT]
frrTRTfrēkvī̄ I| 2 3% 1
lokānām akṣāṇi ca
viṣayaparicchittikaraṇāni || 234 ||

The senses of living beings are the instruments by which the objects
of sense are discerned. (234cd) (234ab)

The intended meaning is that Piśācas and the other (divine beings can)
see with their sense of sight what is hidden also.
They are not only in a graded sequence with respect to (the worlds of)
each metaphysical principle; they are also so with respect to one another. Thus,
he says:

TT-IḶĪgaTGhīlāēārdī sīāātzāīq |
r̥trṝṁārcār̥cāērttṁrivraṁa
fattāīā 1 234
gandhāder mahadantād
ekādhikyena jātam aiśvaryam |
aṇimādyātmakam asmin
paiśācādye viriñcānte || 235 ||

The (power and) lordship (aiśvarya) (of these divine beings),

ranging from a Piśāca up to a Brahmā,⁷⁴ corresponds to the (yogic powers)

atṭains liberation (see 8/197-198 (196cd-198ab) and commentary); they are listed in the
commentary on 8/207-208 (206cd-208ab). Presumably, if one dies in the others, one
atṭṭains the corresponding world.
⁷²² See above, 8/210/212 (209cd-212ab) and note 8,563 to the commentary.
”²³ This line is quoted below in TĀ 8/278ab (277cd).
 TANTRĀLOKA 253
of making oneself small at will (aṇima)¹² and the rest. They increase one by
one, progressively, from (the Earth principle) of smell up to that of the
intellect. (235) (234cd-235ab)

Here the Earth (principle) is called ‘smell’ because metaphorically there

is no difference between cause and effect.™⁸ (The lordship of these divine
beings) ‘increases one by one’ʼ; thus, a Rākṣasa possesses twice the power
(aiśvarya) of a Paiśāca, whatever it be, (and so on progressively) up to a
Brahmā, that (possesses) eight times that. This is the meaning.⁷²⁷
Thus, (the teacher) should make an effort in the course of the initiation
(of his disciple) to purify that. Thus, he says:

jñātvaivaṁ śodhayed buddhiṁ sārdhaṁ puryaṣṭakendriyaiḥ |

(Thus, once the teacher) has known (this) in this way, he should
purify the intellect (of his disciple in the course of initiation), along with the
senses and the subtle body (puryaṣṭaka). (236ab) (235cd)

(Once having known this) ‘in this way’, namely, that all this universe is
the unfolding expansion (vijrmbhita) (of the principle of) the intellect. Thus, (by
purifying this, all the rest up there is purified also,) and so he says, ‘along with
the senses and the subtle bodyʼ.¹²⁸
The Group of Eight Divine Beings is not the only one here, there are
others also; and s0 he says:

IITITRZĒTĪT
TTTT āTrT fāg: | 23 1
ÑIE=˚Ġ TGBṬRAPRTTJĪTTJPTĀÑĪĪTT I
STāīāīīç īī āaḹ dTTTTṀṬCTGTTI| 33|
T-adH
Ṭġ TṀ TTd̄YIaTT |
śāṣṭakam ānīlaṁ saṁvartādyaṁ tato viduḥ || 236 ||

⁷”³*" These are the eight divine beings (divyayoni) listed in MV 5/23, mentioned above in
8/225cd-228ab (225-227).
⁷³³ Yogis may attain many kinds of yogic powers as they progress in their practice.
Amongst them is a standard set of eight yogic powers. These are listed and explained
below in the notes to TĀv ad 8/278cd-279ab (278).
⁷⁴⁶ The five gross elements are products of the five types of sensations. The predominant
one associated with Earth is smell.
¹²⁷ The eight divine types of being manifest on planes lower than mind, in various
grades, as is the case with the sense organs of animals of all types, which make the
perception of objects possible. Piśācas can see, for example, what is distant in both time
and space. The Rākṣasas have double the power of Piśācas, and the Yakṣas three times,
etc.
⁷²⁸ Concerning the nature of the subtle body — the City of Eight (puryaṣṭaka) – see note
8.465 to 8/163cd-165ab (163-164).
254 CHAPTER EIGHT
tejoṣṭakaṁ balādhyakṣaprabhṛtikrodhanāṣṭakāt |
akṛtādi tato buddhau yogāṣṭakam udāhṛtam || 237 ||
svacchandaśāsane tat tu mūle śrīpūrvaśāsane |

(The wise) know that the Group of Eight of the Lord of Wrath
(Krodheśa) resides in the intellect. They are blue and are headed by
Samvarta. Beyond (this) Group of Eight Wrathful Ones are the Group of
Eight Splendours (tejoṣṭaka), starting with the Balādhyakṣa. Then, it is
said, comes the Group of Eight Yogas, starting with Akṛta. According to
the Svacchandatantra, these Groups of Eight reside in the intellect, while
according to the teaching of the Śrīpūrva (they are located) in the Root
(Nature). (236cd-238ab) (236-237)

‘Blueʼ like a blue lotus. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

The Group of Eight Wrathful Ones

‘(The Rudras here are) 1) Saṁvarta (Doomsday Fire), 2) Ekavīra

(Solitary Hero), 3) Kṛtānta (Doomsday), 4) Jananāśana (Destroyer of People), 5)
Mṛtyuhantṛ (Destroyer of Death), 6) Raktākṣa (Red Eyes), 7) Mahākrodha
(Great Wrath) and 8) Durjaya (Hard to Conquer). Their worlds are like (the
colour of) the petals of a blue lotus.’”²⁹

‘Beyond (this) Group of Eight Wrathful Ones’ʼ, that is above that.

That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

The Group of Eight Splendours (tejo’staka)

‘Above the Group of Eight Wrathful Ones is the great Group of Eight
Splendours (tejo’ṣtaka). (They are) 1) Balādhyakṣa (Guardian of Children),
2) Gaṇādhyakṣa (Guardian of the Host), 3) Tridaśa (Belonging to the Three
Worlds), 4) Tripurāntaka (Destroyer of (the Demon) Tripura), 5) Sarvarūpa

⁷²⁹ SVT 10/977-978ab. mahākrodhanāmnā krodhādhiṣṭhāyinā rudreṇopalakṣitam etat

krodhāṣṭakam ucyate | ete ca rurusaṁgraha
krodheśaś caṇḍasaṁvartau jyotiḥpiṅgalasūrakaṇu |
pañcāntakaikavīrau ca śikhī deśahiteśvarāḥ || (4/17)
iti nāmāntareṇāpi paṭhitāḥ || 977 ||
nīlotpaladalābhāni teṣāṁ vai bhuvanāni tu |
ekaikasya parīvāraḥ koṭir dāśasahasrakam || 978 II

“This is called the Group of Eight Wrathful Ones, characterized (as such) by
the Rudra called Mahākrodha, who is presided over by Wrath. These (Rudras) are also
mentioned with other names in the Rurusaṁgraha: ʻKrodheśa, Caṇḍa, Saṁvarta, Jyotiḥ,
Piṅgalasūraka, Pañcāntaka, Ekavīra, and Śikhī are the lords who benefit the country.’
‘Their worlds are like (the colour of) the petals of a blue lotus. The entourage
of each one is of ten million and ten thousand.”” (SvT 10/978)
 TANTRĀLOKA 255
(Omniform), 6) Śānta (Tranquil), 7) Nimeṣa (Closing of the Eyes), and 8)
Unmeṣa (Opening of the Eyes).”⁰
‘Then’, after the Group of Eight Splendours. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘(The Group of Eight Yoga Rudras are) 1) Akṛta (Unfashioned), 2)

Kṛta (Fashioned), 3) Vaibhava (Magnificence), 4) Brāhma, 5) Vaiṣṇava, 6)
Kaumara, 7) Auma, and 8) Śraikaṇṭha.¹³'

The word ‘while’ serves to indicate the distinction (between the view of
the Svacchandatantra and Mālinīvijayottara). ‘In the Root’ means within
Nature (prakṛti). As is said there: ‘The Group of Eight Yoga (Rudras) is
within Fundamental Nature (pradhāna).’””

⁷⁴⁰ SVṬ 10/979-980ab.

nimeṣaṣahita unmeṣa ityarthaḥ ||
eṣāṁ ca ----
sahasraiḥ pañcadaśabhiḥ parivãro.abhidhĩyate || 980 ||

‘The meaning is that Unmeṣa (the Opening of the Eyes) is accompanied by

Nimeṣa (the Closing of the Eyes). Concerning them: ‘It is said that (their) attendant host
(parivāra) is 15,000.” (SVYT 10/980cd)

tejoṣṭakasamākhyāyā nimittam āha ----

agnirudrāḥ smṛtā hy ete tejasā kr̥ṣṇavarṇakāḥ |

agnivaddīptatvād agnirudrāḥ tejasā jñānadīptimayenopalakṣitāḥ, ata eva buddhigata-

dīptātmakatejo³’ṣṭakādhiṣṭhātṛtvād apy etat tejo’ṣtakam ucyate ||

He says why it is called the group of Eight Splendours (tejas): ‘These are said
to be the Agnirudras (Rudras of Fire), who because of (their) radiant energy (tejas) are
black in colour.” (ibid. 10/981ab)

As the Agnirudras are enflamed like fire by (their) radiant energy, they are
characterized as being made of the luminous energy of knowledge (jñānadīpti). Thuṣ, it
is called the group of Eight Splendours, because they are sustained by the eight
splendours, which is the radiant energy (dipti) present in the intellect.

kūrmākārāṇi citrāṇi teṣāṁ vai bhuvanāni tu || 981 I|

atha ---- ata ūrdhvaṁ samākhyātaṁ yogāṣṭakam anuttamam |

samprajñātāsamprajñātayogasthitānāṁ yoginām adhiṣṭhātrtvād yogāṣṭakam, ata

evādhastanāṣṭakāpekṣayotkṛṣṭatvād anuttamam ||

Their beautiful (citra) worlds are shaped like a tortoise. Above that is said to be
the most excellent group of Eight Yogas. (ibid. 10/981cd-982ab)

Itis (called) the group of Eight Yogas because it is presided over by yogis who
are established in the contemplations with and without perception.”
”⁸³¹ SVT 10/982cd-983ab. Cf. MV 5/24bcd-25a. The names listed there are the same.
¹³² MV 5/24a. These Rudras are listed in MV 5/24bcd-25ab.
256 CHAPTER EIGHT

The Worlds of Umā and Śrīkaṇṭha

3Tṛaērī; āg āīā #akīāa | 2 |

āī̃ 3ā'Ç v]a-: Ivaēz ezā |
ī fkīāã yd̄ aī. Ṁ̄PTTATĪII Ṝ38 1
āmīṛaāī: ŪṀ Ṁaī āaī famftftgāṉ
sfēṝṁ aṁũva ar zā || ṇ³
3aāIId: Ç{ ŪaāT-āīgrf̄: Ū̄TaāīTāīq 1
ht3 Tā Taā r̥drāīāṁrzādiI| 2³ś¢ I
yogāṣṭakapade yat tu saumaṁ śraikaṇṭham eva ca || 238 I|
tata umāpuraṁ bhiyaḥ śrīkaṇṭhasya ca kathyate |
tena dvitīyaṁ bhuvanaṁ tayoḥ pratyekam ucyate || 239 ||
tatromāyāḥ puraṁ devyā yayā viśvam adhiṣṭhitam |
pratikalpaṁ nāmabhedair bhaṇyate sā maheśvarī || 240 ||
umāpateḥ puraṁ paścān mātṛbhiḥ pa rivāritam |
śrīkaṇṭha eva parayā mūrtyomāpatir ucyate || 241 ||

¹³Then (beyond the worlds) of Umā and Śrīkaṇṭha, that are on the
plane of the eight Yoga (Rudras), there are two other worlds, also
(governed by) Umā and Śrīkaṇṭha,⁷⁴ which will (now) be described again.
There, one of these is the world of the goddess Umā, Who presides over the
universe. She is the Great Goddess (Maheśvarī) who is given different
names in each aeon (pratikalpa). After (this world) comes the world of
Umāpati, which is surrounded by the Mothers. He is Śrīkaṇṭha, who in his
supreme form is called Umāpati. (238cd-241) (238-241ab)

It is said that (Umā and Śrīkaṇṭha are) ‘on the plane of the eight Yoga
(Rudras)³ in (their) lower (apara) form. (There are two other worlds also
governed by them in their) supreme (apara) form, which (will now be
described) ‘again’. (We will describe) ‘them’, that is, (these worlds) of Umā
and Śrīkaṇṭha. (The word) ‘there’ (is used in the sense that,) when examining
(the nature of) the two (worlds, the world of Umā is examined first.) (This)
‘world’ (of the goddess) is the second (lower) one. He states the reason why
(she) presides over the universe, namely, that ‘She is the Great Goddess’. That
is said (in the Svacchandatantra, in a passage) beginning with:

³³ From here onwards, Abhinava sets aside the account in the MV for the more
extensive one in the Svacchandatantra, having set up the transition to it in the previous
verses so as to effectively present it as an extension of the account in the MV.
⁷³⁴ Read in 238d saumam for some, and in 239a tata umāpuraṁ for tato māyāpuram;
and in 240a tatromāyāḥ puraṁ for tatra māyāpuram. Verses 238cd-241 (238-241ab) are
a summary of SvT 10/984-1018ab, that support these emendations.
 TANTRĀLOKA 257
‘The Goddess (bhagavatī) Herself, who is the mother of the universe,
resides (in the world) after that. She is Umā, who, immeasurable and self-
generated, is the universal source of everything.””⁹

That is said in the middle:

‘In the first aeon she is called Jaganmātā (Mother of the Universe), in
the second Jagadyoni (Source of the Universe), in the third, Śāmbhavī, and
Viśvarupiṇī (All Things) in the fourth.””*⁶

At the end:
‘The bestower of boons to the people who are your devotees, and
beloved of them, you descended onto the peak of the Vindhya mountain in the
past, with many kinds of names, such as Kātyāyanī and Durgā.””⁷

‘After (this world)’, that is, after Umā’s world. Well then, how is it
that (this passage) begins with (the declaration that the world of) ‘Śrīkaṇṭha
will (now) be described again’, and then (the world of) Umāpati is described?
With this doubt in mind, he says that: ‘he is Śrīkaṇṭha’.
Who are those Mothers? With this question in mind, he says:

ŪUmā’s Seven Forms as the Seven Mothers

ā²āṝṝ āā-āī Ṁ 1 āīTa²Ī īTfTF |

Ūīdīī ]ā̄ī TĪTĪĪ -TṬaī g]TJTRŪĪT HIT I| Ṝ6* II

ŠṭEiNGUeEUIEVEEFeGTUIEG
fE A
TST TTS ōī &JII āT āīāTTIĪTT; *3 1
brāhmyaiśī skandajā hārī vārāhy aindrī sacarcikā |
pītā śuklā pītanīle nīlā śuklāruṇā kramāt || 242 ||
agnīśasaumyayāmyāpyapūrvanairṛtagās tu tāḥ |
aṁśena mānuṣe loke dhātrā tā hy avatāritāḥ || 243 ||

(The Mothers are) Brāhmī, Aiśī (Maheśvarī), Skandajā (Kaumarī),

Haārī (Vaiṣṇavī), Vārāhī, Aindrī (Indrāṇī along with Carcikā’⁸ (i.e.
Cāmuṇḍā). (Their colours are), respectively, yellow, white, yellow and blue,
blue, white and red. They reside in the southeast, northeast, north, south,

⁷³³ SVT 10/984.

7³⁶ SVT 10/993. The Kubjikā Tantras, drawing from the Tantrasadbhāva, which in turn
incorporates this passage in the SvT, also refer to the forms of the Goddess in the
sixteen cosmic ages (kalpa). See Dyczkowski 2009: Intro. vol. 1, p. 135 ff.
”⁷ SVT 10/1004-1005ab.
7³⁸ Read sacarcikā for saviccikā. Concerning Carcikā as Cāmuṇḍā, the seventh Mother,
see Dyczkowski 2009: Intro. vol. 2, p. 247 ff.
258 CHAPTER EIGHT
west, east and southwest. The Lord has brought down a part of them
(aṁśa) into the world of men.⁷”⁹ (242-243) (241cd-243ab)

That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘Brāhmī, who (is yellow) like a lotus petal and is adorned with divine
ornaments, is in the southeastern direction. . . . O fair-faced lady, Māheśvarī,
who is (white) like a conch and milk, is in the northeast. . . . Kaumārī, who is
(yellow) like the calix of a lotus and is adorned with a necklace and bracelets, is
in the north. . . . She who is (blue) like a beautiful blue lotus and, adorned with a
necklace and earrings, worships the Supreme Lord in the southern quarter is
known as Vaiṣṇavī. . . . Vārāhī who, adorned with all the ornaments and (blue)
like a flash of blue lightning, is in the western direction. . . . Aindrī, white as a
conch, Kunda flower and the moon, adorned with a necklace and earrings is in
the eastern quarter. ... Cāmuṇḍā, her mouth gaping with projecting teeth,
enflamed and adorned with all the ornaments, is in the southwest.’™⁴

(The Lord has induced) ‘a part of them (arṁīśa)ī (to descend into the
world of men), not in their complete form. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘They do not abandon the god who possesses all states of being.
Brahmā has brought down a part (of them) (arṁśa) into the world of men in
order to kill the demons and for the benefit of men.””⁴¹

Their pervasion is not just this much. Thus, he says:

TTT-JTTaTT.
ŪJTHT: T AĪfTE] ōaTkzṛāī; |
a-rā āī fard gdHTḤTH aa: I| Ṝ%*I
svacchandās tāḥ parāś cānyāḥ pare vyomni vyavasthitāḥ |
svacchandaṁ tā niṣevante saptadheyam umā yataḥ || 244 |

”⁴⁹ The Mothers are described in SVT 10/1018cd-1025 as summarized here.

⁴⁰ ṢVT 10/1018cd-1019a, 1019cd-1020a,1020cd-1021a, 10|1021cd-1022c, 1023abc,
1024abc, and 1025abc.

The Seven Mothers

Direction Mother Colour

Southeast Brāhmī yellow
Northeast Aiśī (Maheśvarī) white
North Skandā (Kaumārī) yellow
South Harī (Vaiṣṇavī) blue
West Vārāhī blue
East Aindrī (Indrāṇī) white
Southwest Carcikā (Cāmuṇḍā) red

“¹ SVṬ 10/1026-1027ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 259
Umā has seven forms, and so there are other supreme forms that
are free and reside in the Supreme Sky, who serve (Siva), the Free One
(Svacchanda).⁷² (244) (243cd-244ab)

‘In the the Supreme Sky’ means in the Abode of the Transmental
(unmanādhāman). ‘UŪmā’ is the supreme power of the Supreme Goddess, who
is one with Supreme Siva. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

³There are other supreme forms (of the Goddess) that are free, and
reside in the Supreme Sky, who serve (Śiva), the Free One (Svacchanda), in
accord with (his) supreme or inferior (aspects). (The Mothers) are Umā herself
who has assumed seven forms by the transformations of (Her) name and
form.⁵⁷⁴⁴

The Supreme Group of Eight Bodies (miūrtyaṣṭaka)

3aīṀāṝrr̥aaāīš̃ fer rcā- ṃaū |

īfāṁ āāa ṇṀtasīram7 aāīsīaēīṝa 1| 2%4 1
āīsaj̄ šrrqfrī aṁ #ã̃ ũfaītaaṁ |
ṀTh’: ā’RAĀT] Tī s-ṬĪI TTTGĀĒSTḤ|I| Ġ³ē I

ṝḤ'ēṇ%; a rzazāā TThdī ēāīāī I 3%6 I

umāpatipurasyordhvaṁ sthitaṁ mūrtyaṣṭakaṁ param |
śarvādikaṁ yasya sṛṣṭir dharādyā yājakāntataḥ || 245 ||

⁷⁴² Verses 241cd-244ab are drawn from SvT 10/1018cd-1030. The Mothers may be
seven, as is the case here, or eight, with the addition of Yogeśvaṁī (see below, 33/3-5;
MV 3/14). See Mallmann 1963, p. 150 ff.
⁷⁴³ SYT 10/1028cd-1029. Kṣemarāja comments on 1028cd-1029ab: paraṁ svacchandaṁ
cidbhairavaṁ pareṇa tad avibhinnena rūpeṇa, aparaṁ tad umāpatirūpam | anenaivam
uktena vibhāgenaiva cāyam umāpatiḥ parabhairavasphārasāra eveti !|
anenaivāśayenāpy ādisūtre parabhairavapadam asmābhīr yuktaṃ eva vyākāri,
parabhairavasattāsāratvād umāpatir bhairava ity ukta iti ||

‘Supreme Svacchanda is Cidbhairava (the Bhairava of Consciousness), as (His)

supreme (para) undivided form. The lower (apara) is in the form of Umāpati.
According to this division, this Umāpati is essentially an expansion of Supreme
Bhairava. We have rightly explained the word ‘supreme Bhairava’ with this same
intended (sense) also in the first aphorism. Umāpati is said to be Bhairava because his
essence is the being of supreme Bhairava.”
⁷⁴⁴ Umā’s seven forms are the seven Mothers. Commenting on SvT 10/1025, Kṣemarāja
explains that: etāḥ sapta parivārabhūtāḥ, umā 1tu devī bhagavataḥ
śarīrārdhasthā.aṣṭamī | saiva yogeśvarī yasyā etāḥ prapañcaḥ |
‘These seven (Mothers) are the entourage, and the goddess Umā, who abides as
half of the body of the Lord, is the eighth. She is Yogeśvarī (the eighth Mother), of
whom these are the expansion (prapañca).”
260 CHAPTER EIGHT
tābhya īśānamūrtir yā sā merau saṁpratiṣṭhitā |
śrīkaṇṭhaḥ sphaṭikādrau sā vyāptā tanvasṣṭakair jagat || 246 ||
ye yogaṁ saguṇaṁ śambhoḥ saṅyatāḥ paryupāsate |
tanmaṇḍalaṁ vā dṛṣṭvaiva muktadvaitā hṛtatrayāḥ || 247 ||

Above the world of Umāpati is the supreme Group of Eight Bodies

(mūrtyaṣṭaka), (presided over by) Śarva and the other (Rudras). It emits
(the eight principles) from Earth to the Sacrificer.’⁸ In their midst is
Śrīkaṇṭha who, as the embodiment (mirti) of Īśāna, resides on Meru (and is
now on Kailāśa), the Crystal Mountain, pervading the universe with his
eight bodies. Those disciplined souls, who practice Siva’s Yoga with
qualities (saguṇa) or have merely seen his maṇḍala, are freed of duality and
the three (qualities).⁴ (245-247) (244cd-247ab)

In SvTu ad 10/1029cd-1030 Kṣemarāja adds: parā lakṣmīr jñānadīptimayī umā

devī, tayā saha | ataś_ca umaiva saptadhā sthitā satī umāpater dehāvibhinnety
aṣṭaśaktir maheśvaraḥ ||

‘The goddess Umā is the supreme (form of) Lakṣmī and is made of the radiant
eṉnergy of knowledge. (Maheśvara) is with her. Thus, it is Umā Herself who, abiding
sevenfold, is not separate from the body of the Lord of Umā. Thus, Maheśvara has eight
owers.⁷
I; There is a common conception found also in the Purāṇas (see, for example,
Liṅgapurāṇa 2/13) that Śiva has eight bodies (mirti). These are the five gross elements,
Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space, the Sun, the Moon and the Self (ātrman), which is
commonly called the ‘Sacrificer’ (yajamāna). Cf. SVT 10/1031-1033 quoted in the
following note.
7⁴⁶ 8/245-247 (244cd-247ab) is a condensation of SVT 10/1031-1038.

asyopari tathā cāṣṭau mūrtayas tasya dhīmataḥ |

śarvo bhavaś ca bhagavān rudraḥ paśupatis tathā || 1031 |I
īśānaś caiva bhīmaś ca mahādevogra eva ca |
etābhiḥ kurute śarvo mūrtibhiḥ sṛṣṭim uttamām || 1032 |
bhūmir āpo ʻnalo vāyur ākāśaṁ sūrya eva ca |
somaś ca yajamānaś cety astau sṛsṣṭir iyaṁ smṛtā || 1033 II
sarvātmanā tu te tasminn anyatraikāṁśata sthitāḥ |
evam asmin sthito devo brahmalokordhvatas tathā || 1034 ||
meros ca mūrdhanīśāno yogāṣṭakam atheṣyate |
śrīkaṇṭha iti nāmnā ca kailāsanilayas tathā || 1035 II
śarvādyābhiś ca tanubhir aṣṭābhir vyāpya tiṣṭhati |

‘Above (Umāpati) are the eight forms (mirti) (of Śrīkaṇṭha), that wise one.
(They are) Śarva, Bhava, the Lord Rudra, and Paśupati, Īśāna, Bhīma and the fierce
Mahādeva. Śarva brings about the most excellent creation with these eight. This creation
is said to be the eight, that is, Earth, Water, Fire, Space, the Sun, Moon and the
sacrificer. (SvT 10/1031-1033)
They are present in their entirety there (within the enclosure of the Mūrtīśvaras,
in the principle of the intellect), and partially elsewhere (in the enclosure of the subtle
elements and within the Egg of Brahmā). In this way, the god resides above the world of
Brahmā within this (Rudraloka). And (after that) on the peak of Meru (called
jyotiṣkaśikhara), Īśāna is considered to be the group of eight Yogas. His abode is
Kailāsa, (He is Umāpati, who goes) by the name of Srīkaṇṭha, and he resides there,
 TANTRĀLOKA 261
‘The Group of Eight Bodiesʼ that presides over that (world) is the
‘supreme’ (one), because the lower and middling ones were described
previously. ”⁴⁷ ‘Itʼ, that is, the (group of) presiding deities, Śarva and the rest,
(emits the eight principles). (Śrīkaṇṭha is) ‘in their midst’, that is, (in the midst)
of the eight Bodies, and is ‘with qualities’, that is, (the aspect which is)
substantially formed (pradhāna) from the activity of the (qualities of) sattva and
the rest, not the supreme nondual form. ‘His mmaṇḍala’ is the one said to be that
of the venerable Śrīkaṇṭha etc. ⁴⁸ (They are) “freed of dualityʼ, that is, have
aṭtained the liberated state (kaivalya) by (practicing) the procedure (krama)
(taught by) the Sāṁkhya and other (lower schools).
Surely (one may ask), if (this) Yoga is capable of attaining this much up
to here, then how is it that it is said that it attains progressively lower reality
levels (tattva)?⁷¹⁹ With this doubt in mind, he says:

IIIEI Tī²TTĀĪT-J
² ³ g°TaĨṀẼ̄ĩ |
TRTHITST TĪTG] MCṬCh@IĀĪHĪTT I| ṜŚZC II

EīEUĀĒIUPĀGT-GIṬḺAĀ
guṇānām ādharauttaryāc chuddhāśuddhatvasaṁsthiteḥ |
tāratamyāc ca yogasya bhedāt phalavicitratā || 248 |I
tato bhogaphalāvāptibhedād bhedo ‘yam ucyate |

Yoga is of different sorts, according to the dominance or

subordination (of one or other) of the qualities, whether it is pure or
impure, and its order of elevation (tāratamya). Thus, the fruits are various.

pervading (the entire universe in gross and subtle form) with (his) eight bodies, that is,
Sarva and the rest (all together, in a state of oneness). (1034-1036ab)

ye tu māheśvaraṁ yogaṁ saguṇaṁ paryupāsate || 1036 I

bhaktyā ca brahmacaryeṇa satyena ca damena ca |
dṛṣṭvā dehastham ātmānaṁ te ‘tra yānti manīṣiṇaḥ || 1037 II
dṛṣṭvā ca maṇḍalaṁ tasya bhaktyā ca parayā bhṛśam 1
muktadvaitā yatātmānas tatra yānti manīṣiṇaḥ || 1038 II

The wise (whose intellect is satisfied by the Supreme Lord’s scripture), who
attend with reverence to Maheśvara’s Yoga with qualities with devotion, by observing
celibacy, truth and self-control, having seen the Self (within) present in the body, come
here. Having viewed intensely, with supreme devotion, (Umāpati’s) maṇḍala (that is the
foundation of the sacrifice and so attained the regular initiation), free of duality, (their
mind) having gone there, (they attain the plane of union etc. with the deity).” (1036cd-
1038) SvT 10/1031-1038
”⁴⁷ The lower and middling bodies are mentioned above, in 8/216cd-221ab (216-220).
⁷⁴⁸ According to Kṣemarāja, this is Umāpati’s maṇḍala. Jayaratha refers to him here as
Śrīkaṇṭha.
¹⁴⁹ One is tempted to emend adharādharatattva- – ‘progressively lower reality levels’ to
adharānādharatattva- ʻinferior or higher reality levels’.
262 CHAPTER EIGHT
Thus, this diversity is said to be due to the diversity of the fruits and the
worldly benefits (bhoga) one gets from it.

(This Yoga differs) ‘according to the dominance or subordination’

((of one or other) of the qualities), that is, because (one or other quality)
predominates (over the others). (A form of Yoga is) ‘pure’ because it is without
the seed (of lower binding states), and ‘impure’ because it is with seed. (Yoga
practice also differs because of) ‘its order of elevation’, as mild, middling and
beyond measure (adhimātra). ‘The diversity of the fruits’, namely, the
attainment of this or that principle (tattva),'⁰ due to which there is this
difference (bheda). A form of Yoga serves as an instrumental means to
progressively more elevated principles,”" and another to those that are
progressively lower.

The Twelve Suśivas Governed by Vīrabhadra and the Eight Mahādevas

JcrēēhṬĪTTq
gfTTaāT gJIGTĪTRaT: I| 238 1
āTHTIGĪTTTT-TĀ
GRTHT; JTST: |
āī#i āRvrāīṁāī ṃvzajaā̃ fkafī: | zuo 1
̄ṇ(( āī) āīgaã̄ā;
ũḹĩ |
TāTSaTTGSĪT TGṬGATE TST I ṜuÇ I
mūrtyaṣṭakopariṣṭāt tu suśivā dvādaśoditāḥ || 249 ||
vāmādyekaśivāntās te kuṅkumābhāḥ sutejasaḥ |
tadūráhvyaṁ vīrabhadrākhyo maṇḍalādhipatiḥ sthitiḥ l| 250 ||
yat ta(sta) sāyujyam āpannaḥ tena saha modate |
tato ‘py aṅguṣṭhamātrāntaṁ mahādevāṣṭakaṁ bhavet || 251 ||

Above the eight Bodies (miūrti) rise the twelve Suśivas, starting with
Vāma and ending with Ekaśiva, all brilliantly energetic (su/ejas) and the
colour of saffron. Above that is the one called Vīrabhadra, who resides
there as the Lord of the mmaṇḍala. He sports with the one who has attained
union (sāyujya) with him.² Next comes the Group of Eight Mahādevas,
ending with Anguṣṭhamātra.⁷³ (249cd-251) (249-251ab)

(They are all) ‘brilliant’, their light equal to that of tens of millions of
suns. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘1) Vāma, 2) Bhīma (Formidable), and 3) Ugra (Fierce), 4) Śiva and 5)

Sarva, 6) Vidyādhipa (the Lord of the Vidyās), 7) Ekavīra (Solitary Hero), 8)
Pracaṇḍadhr̥t (Fierce Determination), 9) Iśāna (Lord), 10) Ajeśa (the Unborn

⁷³⁰ Read tattattattva- for tattattva-.

Ts R̥ead -yogasyordhvordhvatattveṣu fo -yogasyordhvordhvaṁ tattveṣu.
¹³² Read with MS C, yas tatsāyujam for yat tatsāyujyam.
⁷³³ Verses 249cd-251 (249-251ab) are a paraphrase of SvT 10/1039-1045.
 TANTRĀLOKA 263
Lord), who is Umā’s lord, 11) Ananta (Endless One), and 12) Ekaśiva (Solitary
Śiva) are said to be the twelve Suśivas. They are all the colour of saffron, and
their light equal to that of tens of millions of suns.’”²⁴

The word ‘that’, (of) ‘above that’, refers to Suśiva. ‘Next’, after
Virābhadra’s maṇḍala. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘1) Mahādeva (Great God), 2) Mahātejas (Great Energy), 3) Vāmadeva,

4) Bhavodbhava (Born of Bhava),¹³ 5) Ekapiṅga (Single Tawny (Eye)), 6)
ĪTkṣaṇeśāna (Lord of Sight), 7) Bhuvaneśa (Lord of the Worlds), along with 8)
Anṅguṣṭamātra (Just (the measure of a) Thumb), who is preceded by them, are
the Śivas of Mahādeva’s group of eight.³⁷³⁶

He concludes that:

Summary of the Worlds in the Intellect

3fzārTāttr Jṁ ãtzaahca: |
TḠIRATRĀĪTT] TG āTITRGĀĪTTGTRTḤ I 2U2 I
Tīī yhvaqs aq, úaīāīfcītaī 1|
rd̃: gfdraāī āīāī ṁaīcaī=
a1: | Qu3 1|
buddhitattvam idaṁ proktaṁ devayonyaṣṭakāditaḥ |
mahādevāṣṭakānte tad yogāṣṭakam ihoditam || 252 ||
tatra śraikaṇṭham uktaṁ yat tasyaivomāpatis tathā |
mūrtayaḥ ṣuśivā vīro mahādevāṣṭakaṁ vapuḥ || 253 |

This is said to be the principle of the intellect (buddhitattva). It

starts with the Group of Eight Divine Beings (yonyaṣṭaka) and ends with
the group of eight Mahādevas. We have just explained here that there is a
Group of Eight Yoga (Rudras), to which belongs the world of Śrīkaṇṭha.
From him proceeds Umāpati, the Bodies (mūrti), the Suśivas, Vīra, and the
group of eight Mahādevas.”⁷ (252-253) (251cd-253ab)

AlIl this expansion (prapañca) that begins with Umāpati is said to be of

the one called Śrīkaṇṭha, who is the sustainer of the world said to be that of
Śrīkaṇṭha, which is the eighth in the midst of the Group of Eight Yoga (Rudras),
that is within the principle of the intellect, which is such (as has been
described). “Vīra’ is Vīrabhadra. That is said (in a Tantra):

”³⁴ SVT 10/1039cd-1041ab.

”:³ “Bhava’ may be the name of a Rudra, or it may mean ‘fettered existence’.
7³⁶ SYṬ 10/1044-1045ab.
7⁵⁷ There are sixty-two worlds in Buddhi Tattva; namely those of: 1) 8 Divine Beings, 2)
8 Krodheśvaras, 3) 8 Tejas, 4) 8 Yogas, 5) 8 Mūrtis, 6) 2 Worlds of Umā and Śrikaṇṭha,
7) 12 Suśivas, and 8) 8 Mahādevas.
264 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘Śrīkaṇṭha, by the will (of Śiva, the supreme) cause, is one with many
forms (he assumes) in order to preside over all of the Lords (of the worlds), in
each (of their) abodes.”

The Worlds of the Qualities and of Nature

The Qualities as Unmanifest Nature as the Cause of the Intellect

3ũṝt̄-̄ĩ̄zāīsv vāṣaājoaāxīā |
āṝ ̄ā ā TageT 7IT: JŪTT f…BTI I| QU² 1
upariṣṭād dhiyo ‘dhaś ca prakṛter guṇasaṁjñitam |
tattvaṁ tatra tu saṁkṣubdhã guṇãḥ prasuvate dhiyam || 254 ||

The principle called the qualities (guṇa) is located above the

intellect, (but is) below Nature (prakṛti).⁰⁰ There indeed the disturbed
qualities generate the intellect. (254) (253cd-254ab)

⁷³⁸ Abhinava follows the SvT³s cosmology (prakriyā) here, which reckons that the three
qualities (guṇa) of Nature (prakṛti) constitute an independent principle (tattva). We
shall see that, in the world orders at this reality level, reside three lineages of teachers
(8/261-262 (260cd-262ab)), as taught in the Svacchandatantra. However, there is a
problem here. The acceptance of a separate principle would add to the standard number
of thirty-six Tattvas. Not surprisingly, there was a difference of opinion. As Watson et
al. note: ‘guṇatattva . . . was regarded by some Saiddhāntika scriptures as a separate
tattva from that of prakṛti (also referred to therein as avyakta and pradhāna), which
comes one above it. These scriptures can be subdivided into those (e.g. Parākhyatantra,
Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha) that accepted above this puruṣa, regarded as the principle of
the bound soul, and those (e.g. the Kiraṇatantra) that teach prakṛti and guṇa as separate
tattvas, but seem to accept no puruṣatattva (see Goodall 1998: li-lv) . . .…
Svāyambhuvasṣūtrasaṁgraha does include a guṇatattva in its cosmography . . . ; but the
Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha teaches guṇa, avyakta and puruṣa as separate. Sadyojyotiḥ
tends to accept the existence of gunatattva (see, e.g. Bhogakārikā 115 and
Tattvasaṁgraha 9-10). Rāmakaṇṭha follows whatever position is maintained in the text
he is commenting on.’ (Paramokṣanirāsakārikā, p. 443 note 827).
Jayaratha, like Kṣemarāja, is aware of this problem. Kṣemarāja, commenting
on the SvT 10/1046a, which states that guṇatattva is above the intellect, that is, precedes
it in the order of creation, tries to solve the problem: ‘The emergence of the quality of
sattva from the principle of Nature, the nature of which is a state of balanced equality of
the qualities, is very different from it. Thus, it should be called in a different way,
namely, as the intellect. (Now,) how can a sprout arise as an effect of a seed, for
example, if a subtle state of imbalance, which is like the swelling (of the seed), does not
arise in between (the seed’s state and that of the sprout, its effect? Similarly,) the
principle of the qualities arises from the principle of Nature, from which it is said to not
be very different. It is with the intention (to express this subtle difference) that
guṇatattva is presented (by some) as a distinct separate principle (from the others).
In (scriptures) such as the venerable Mālinīviiaya, guṇatattva is referred to as
one with the principle of Nature (prakṛti), (but has some separate existence) insofar as
the guṇas continue to be mentioned, as when one names a seed (as being such) when it
is in a swollen state. (This is) as happens when a subtle state of imbalance (between the
 TANTRĀLOKA 265
“The principle called the qualities’ means the principle of the qualities
(guṇatattva). Surely, in accord with the view (of the Sāṁkhya) that ‘the intellect
(emerges) from Natureʼ,¹ others say that the principle of the intellect comes
after Nature as its (immediate) effect, so how is it that it is said here that the
principle of the qualities is in between? With this doubt in mind, he says that
(the intellect is generated) ‘there indeed’. The word ‘indeed’ (indicates that
that is) the cause (of the intellect’s existence). (The qualities are) ‘disturbed’, in
the sense that they are propense to generating (their) effect, because (they)
assume an unbalanced state, in which they are subordinated (alternately) to one
another. Whereas within the material Nature (prakṛti), their state (is one of
balance), in which they do not differ (in this way from one another). As they say
(in the Sāṁkhyāsūtra):

‘Nature (prakṛti) is a state of equilibrium (sānya) of sattva, rajas, and

tamas (in which they are equal).”⁷

guṇas arises in Nature) and (they) issue forth from it. (Although these scriptures do refer
to the guṇas, they do not refer to them as a separate principle) because the intention is to
expound an abbreviated form of initiation by means of the world-orders. Here however,
(in the Svacchandatantra,) the exposition of the procedure concerning the worlds is
being undertaken in detail, and so guṇatattva is presented as separate from prakṛtitattva.
One should not (feel) doubt (because) scriptures disagree.
Kṣemarāja here has in mind MV 1/30: ‘Then (Māyā) generated the Unmanifest
(Nature) (avyakta) from the principle of the Force (of limited agency). Then (from that)
the Qualities (were produced), and from them the intellect with its eight qualities.
Similarly, the ego (originated) from the intellect.³
The SvT, followed and defended here by Abhinava, very clearly describes the
worlds of the three Guṇas as corresponding to those of three lineages of teachers (see
8/261-262 (260cd-262ab)). The Tattva and its worlds are as real as any of the others.
Kṣemarāja’s explanation amounts to saying that Guṇatattva is Prakṛtitattva when it is
aroused from its Unmanifest state, in which the guṇas balance each other out. The brief
procedure does not take the two states into account. This view is made explicit by
Jayaratha below in TĀv ad 9/259-260 (258cd-260ab), where he argues that ‘they cannot
be separate principles, as scripture declares Puruṣa to be the twenty-fifth principle,
which is just above Prakṛti, the twenty-fourth.”
⁷⁹ SāīīKā 22a.
⁷⁶⁰ SāṁSū 1/61. All that is in the field of objectivity, ranging from the intellect down to
the gross elements, are products of prakṛti, which literally means Nature. This material
Nature of things physical, sensory and mental, consists of a state of equilibrium of three
constitutive elements called guṇas, a word which literally means ‘quality³ or ‘strand'.
One is sattva, which is light, luminous and pleasing; rajas, which is mobile, dynamic
and painful; tamas, which is inert, obstructive and stupid. None of the three constitutive
elements in the allotropic states (vikṛti) of Nature ever operate alone. They are always
combined in varying degrees with one another in unequal proportions. The notion of
these three Qualities and Nature, which is characteristic of the Sāṁkhya and the Yoga of
Pātañjali, is accepted with hardly any variation by all forms of Śaiviṣm and Vaiṣṇavism.
The description Kṛṣṇa gives of the guṇas in chapter fourteen of the Bhagavadgītā is
classic. There we read:

‘Sattva, Rajas, Tamas – guṇas, O mighty-armed [Arjuna], born of Prakṛti, bind

the indestructible embodied (soul) fast in the body. Of these, sattva, being stainless, is
266 CHAPTER EIGHT
A cause that is not out of (its basic) state of balance would not generate
(its) effect. (Only) once a seed is swollen by contact with water etc. does it gives
rise to the sprout and the rest (of the plant), not otherwise; if that were not so, (a
plant that grows from a seed) could arise from a root also. He says that:

-ī ãīraaāT-āTTṝ āōRt] hīad+gaid

na vaiṣamyam anāpannaṁ kāraṇaṁ kāryasūtaye |

A cause that is not out of (its basic) state of balance (is not ready) to
generate its effect. (255ab) (254cd)

Thus, how can Nature, that is not out of (its basic) state of balance, be
the cause of the birth of the intellect? Thus, he says:

uēiez³| cṭktḷ ⁴antkātt EEIṈCITI

guṇasāmyātmikā tena prakṛtiḥ kāraṇaṁ bhavet || 255 ||

(Therefore,) it is because of this (disturbance) that Nature (prakṛti),

which is the equilibrium of (its) qualities, can act as a cause.¹¹ (255cd)
(255ab)

luminous and unobstructive. It binds, O stainless one, by creating attachment to

happiness and attachment to knowledge. Know rajas to be of the nature of passion, the
source of thirst and attachment; it binds fast, O Kaunteya, the embodied one by
attachment to action. But know tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied
beings; it binds fast, O Bharata, by heedlessness, indolence and sleep. Sattva binds one
to happiness and rajas to action, O Bharata, while tamas verily veils knowledge and
binds one to heedlessness. Sattva asserts itself, O Bharata, by predominating over rajas
and tamas; and rajas, over sattva and tamas; and tamas, over sattva and rajas. When
the light of knowledge beams through all the gateways of the body, then it may be
known that sattva is predominant. Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, unrest,
longing –— these arise, O best of the Bharatas, when rajas is predominant.
Indiscrimination, inertness, heedlessness, and delusion – these arise, O joy of the Kuruṣ,
when tamas is predominant. If the embodied one meets with death when sattva is
predominant, then he goes to the pure worlds of those who know the highest. Meeting
with death in rajas, he is born among those attached to action; and, dying in tamas, he is
born in the wombs of the deluded. The fruit of good action, they say, is satvika and
pure; verily the fruit of rajas is pain, andignorance is the fruit of tamas. Those who are
fixed in sattva go upwards; the rajasikas remain in the middle; and the tamasikas
abiding in the functions of the lowest guṇa, go downwards. When the seer perceives no
agent other than the guṇas, and knows Him who is higher than the guṇas, He enters into
my being. The embodied one, having crossed over these three guṇas out of which the
body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to immortality.”
(BhGĪ 14/5-20) For a translation of Abhinava’s commentary on BhGĪ 14/14-15 see note
28,307.
⁷⁶¹According to the Sāṁkhya, Nature – Prakṛiti – is in two states: ‘unmanifest
(avyakta) and ‘manifest¹ (vyakta). The latter state is that of the sphere of objectivity,
experienced by countless individual souls — Puruṣa, who are fascinated by it. All Nature
is one and the same for all; the experience of it varies for each individual soul according
to their Karmas. It is reformed each moment in ever new forms by the deployment of
 TANTRĀLOKA 267
‘It is because of thisʼ, that is, the state of imbalance (Nature) has
assumed. It is necessary that there be a principle of the qualities which is a
(direct) product of the material Nature and is its disturbed nature. It is necessary
to accept this as a part (of the scheme of principles) so that the intellect may
come into being.⁷⁰²
ŚSurely, if that is the case, then can Nature generate that principle of the
qualities without being disturbed, or not? In the first case, what would be the
use of this other principle of the qualities (you) imagine (exists) in order to
generate the principle of the Intellect? And if this disturbance does occur, is that
because another disturbance takes place (that brings it about), or not? Thus, this
would result in an infinite regress, such that it would not be possible for the
qualities nor (indeed) of the intellect to come into being. He says this (next):

īa aīṝḷ āaīṝ fē̃ṁ āīamamrīa

?| īḡdtī ̄JTaṀ ṀTĨ aTa-̄TāṀAĨṀ: I Quē1|
nanv evaṁ sāpi saṁkṣobhaṁ vinā tān viṣamān guṇān |
kathaṁ suvīta tatrādye kṣobhe syād anavasthitiḥ || 256 ||

Surely, (someone may object,) how can Nature in this way, without
being disturbed, generate those qualities that are in an unbalanced state? If
(it requires) an initial disturbance, (that too would require another to
instigate it, thus) leading to an infinite regress. (256) (255cd-256ab)

Surely, agreed that this fault (i.e. logical inconsistency) does exist, even
s0, it is (a fault of) the Sāṁkhya (view), not ours. An insentient cause is not
capable of generating (its) effect without being stimulated (to do s0), because

the countless particular, mental, sensorial and physical actions that belong to the one or
other of the twenty-three principles (tattva). From one point of view, these are
understood to be alterations (vikṛti) of Nature, and from another, effects (kārya) of the
original unmanifest Nature, which is their universal cause (kāraṇa). Unmanifest Nature
consists of a state of ‘equality’ (sāmyata) or equilibrium of its three constituent
Qualities (guṇa). These are 1) sattva, which is the quality of luminosity, intelligence,
and joy; 2) rajas, which is energetic, active and painful; and 3) tamas, which is inertia,
obstruction and dullness. In the ‘balanced unmanifest’ state of Nature, they cancel each
other out. In the manifest state, one or other predominates in various degrees with
respect to the others. The particulars that belong to the Earth Principle, for example, are
almost entirely tāmasika, whereas those that belong to the Principle of the Intellect,
insofar as they are ‘luminous’ and clearly perceived, sāttvika. Thus, the transition from
cause to effect is marked by the disruption of the original ‘balanced’ state, such that the
proportions of the three Qualities differ in each of Nature’s manifest forms.
⁶² The reason why the qualities (guṇa) of Nature are a separate principle apart from
Nature is that Nature cannot be the direct source of the emanation of the principles
below it, of which the Intellect is the first. This is because Nature abides within its
unmanifest state when the Qualities are in a balanced state within it. Nature can only
generate its product when this balance is disrupted. Abhinava argues that one must
accept this condition for it to be a separate principle.
268 CHAPTER EIGHT
we see that that is so in daily life, as happens, for example, with a seed and (its)
sprout.
He says that:

aīzāa
a7] ũār
sāṁkhyasya doṣa evāyaṁ

(Our reply to this objection is that) this is itself a fault of the

Sāṁkhya. (257a) (256c)

The word ‘itself” is out of order (in this sentence). Thus, (one should
read that it is a fault) ‘of the Sāṁkhya itself’. Or else (one could say that) this is
not a fault of that (view) also, as it maintains that these qualities that are
disturbed (spontaneously) by themselves are a form (rūpa) of Unmanifest
(Nature) – otherwise how could its result come about? Thus it is said (in the
Sāṅṁkhyakārikā), ‘it is the nature (of Nature) to generate (its products).”⁷³
He says that:

3ṬTGTTĒTT:

³k sk sk sk s* s* *- * y.l vā tena te guṇāḥ |

avyaktam iṣṭāḥ

Or if (the Sāṁkhya) maintains that these Qualities are Unmanifest

Nature (avyakta) (itself) . . . (257bc) (256d-257a)

Surely then, how does that square with (the Sāṁkhya’s own view) that
‘Nature is a state of equilibrium (sāmya) of sattva, rajas, and tamas (in which
they are all equal to one another)³?”⁶⁴ With this doubt in mind, he says:

aṛaã q JḡTṁ T SaTT I 3VWS I

sāmyaṁ tu saṅgamātraṁ na cetarat I| 257 ||

(They maintain) that the state of equilibrium (sāmya) is merely

their conjunction (saṅgamātra), not something else. (257d) (257b)

Again, (what is meant) here (in the Sāṁkhya view) is that the state of
equilibrium (of the qualities) is merely their conjunction. All that (the Sāṁkhya)
means to say is that even though they are disturbed (in the unmanifest state of
Nature), they arise (together) equally, in conflict with one another (in such a
way that the individual effects of the qualities cancel each other out), ‘not

⁷⁶³ SāṁkKā 11. The Sāṁkhya maintains that the effect is essentially the same as its
material cause (satkāryavāda), as a jar is, for example, essentially clay, and curd milk.
⁷⁶⁴ SāṁSū 1/61.
 TANTRĀLOKA 269
something else’, that is to say, that their condition is not one in which they are
not distinguished from one another because (Nature) is undisturbed. If that were
to be the case, the fallacy would (arise) of allowing the aforementioned fault (to
arise).⁷¹⁵
(Surely,) that is not said to be any fault of the Sāṁkhya; is it not rather
that of those who maintain the existence of the qualities as a (separate)
principle? With this doubt in mind, he says:

³Tāāīā̃ q Tāā--VITJTGTĀTTĀTGT|
³TaaāTṁ, gfāTcāēaá
āāī] ēāīīrāīT 7I I] ṜUC I
asmākaṁ tu svatantreśatathecchākṣobhasaṅgatam |
avyaktaṁ buddhitattvasya kāraṇaṁ kṣobhitā guṇāḥ || 258 II

According to us, however, the cause of the intellect (buddhitattva) is

unmanifest Nature, when it is disturbed by the will that it be such, by the
Lord Who is free, and the qualities are (thereby) in a disturbed state. (258)
(257cd-258ab)

Here (in our view), it is said that, insofar as a cause is insentient and is
not aroused, it cannot generate (its) effect. Nor does it depend on another
disturbance for it to become aroused (and primed to produce its effect), because
it is such by the Lord’s will. Nor is a relationship between cause and effect
possible without that. This will be (explained in detail) further ahead, and so
there is no need to exert (ourselves) here (to do so). Thus, according to our view
(darśana), the Lord Who is free and presides over the principle of Nature
possesses this free will (to bring it about). When Unmanifest Nature is aroused
by that (will), ‘the qualities are (thereby) in a disturbed state’, having
assumed the nature of the principle which is the Qualities, and so ‘the cause’ of
the intellect (buddhitattva) is capable of generating it. This is the meaning.⁷⁶

¹“³ The statements that a) Nature is made up of its constitutive elements in a state of
equilibrium and is undisturbed, and b) that it consists of elements in an unbalanced,
disturbed state, are contradictory. Accepting the latter statement to be true would imply
the negation of a state of equality or equilibrium that would thus be nothing more than a
mere union of the different constitutive elements. Thus, we must accept that they are
two different principles.
⁷⁶⁶ An inert cause resting undisturbed within itself cannot give rise to an effect, nor does
a disturbance that may arise require another disturbance for it to come about, rather it
occurs by the Lord’s will. This will is the absolute freedom of the Deity, Who is
perfectly free and presides over Nature. Diṣturbed by the Lord’s will, Unmanifest
Nature gives rise to the Qualities in a disturbed, causally effective state which,
constituting a separate principle, are capable of giving rise to the Intellect, and so are its
cause.
Unmanifest Nature cannot give rise to its manifestations directly. A seed
though swollen (uccūna) is still called a seed. The existence of the principle of the
Qualities does not mean that Nature no longer exists. Nor is the principle of the
Qualities totally distinct from Nature. Rather, it is another aspect of it, that is born from
270 CHAPTER EIGHT
Surely, (an opponent may object,) if that is the case, let it be that
Unmanifest Nature (itself), when it is disturbed by the Lord’s will, generates
(janayatu) the principle of the intellect, so what is the use of (this) principle of
the qualities (you) have conceived to be another (separate one, that serves only)
to make the understanding (of the causal process) more complex? Thus, he says:

ī] ārzzgṛaī a- &I; TJGR: TṬ |

īza fzā aiṁq fēēr+: ā#fcTaī]dī | 3uR 1
rṁRTāTGTṬTSĪTRT āq 1|
ã̄ṁĩ̄ ṁa: ahīd atr̥̄īrgTgāaaṁ̃ ú 2ē l
nanu tattveśvarecchāto yaḥ kṣobhaḥ prakṛteḥ purā |
tad eva buddhitattvaṁ syāt kim anyaiḥ kalpitair guṇaiḥ || 259 1|
naitat kāraṇatārūpaparāmarśāvarodhi yat |
kṣobhāntaraṁ tataḥ kāryaṁ bījocchūnāṅkurādivat I| 260 ||

Surely then, (the opponent may rejoin,) the initial disturbance of

the material Nature (prakṛti) that takes place by the Lord’s will should
itself be the intellect, so of what use are these other qualities imagined (by
you)? (Our reply is that) this is not so, because (the causal process takes
place in three stages. The initial stage) retains within itself a reflective
awareness of its causal nature. (Secondly, there) then occurs the
intermediate arousal (of the cause which renders it propense to generate its
effect). Then, (from that comes) the effect, just as happens with a seed, its
swollen condition (xcchunatā), the sprout and so forth. (259-260) (258cd-
260ab)

A cause is said to be that which, even when it is aroused (and primed to

give rise to its effect, the perceiver) retains the reflective awareness of that being
its nature. Although a seed is swollen (and about to sprout), it is still said to be a
seed. Thus, even though the principle of the qualities is the aroused form of that
(Unmanifest Nature), it is capable of retaining the reflective awareness (on the
part of the perceiver) that it is the cause. Even so, in some way its oneness with
Nature does not cease. Thus, the principle of the qualities is not some other
principle separate from Nature; rather it is another, disturbed form of that same
(Nature), which is propense (and about to) generate its product. If it were to be
another (independent) principle, there would be thirty-seven principles (not
thirty-six). That would run contrary to (the teaching of the Svacchandatantra
that):

‘O Paārvatī, there are thirty-six main principles, beginning with Earth

and ending with Śiva, that should be purified.”⁷⁶⁷

it when it is disturbed, and thus propense to giving rise to its effect. Thus, according to
this view, the principle of the Qualities is not a separate principle.
7⁶⁷ SVT 5/2cd-3a.
 TANTRĀLOKA 271
It would also be contrary (to the same scripture, that states):
‘Brahmā is eṣtablished having pervaded the twenty-four principles,
ending with Fundamental Nature (pradhāna).⁷"⁶⁸

. . . The individual soul is the twenty-fifth.”⁷⁵

In this way (if one accepts that the qualities are a separate principle),
Nature (pradhāna) would be the twenty-fifth and the individual soul (puruṣa),
the twenty-sixth. Thus, just as Māyā is of two kinds, as the Knot (of ignorance)
(granthi) and the principle (tattva) (which correspond to its disturbed and
undisturbed aspects),⁷” similarly one should understand that Nature (is of two
kinds) as disturbed and undisturbed, so that everything is coherent (and makes
sense). The principle of the intellect is superior to all (the other principles
generated from Nature), and so is very different in character (from the others
and from Nature), as is the sprout, for example, from the seed. Thus, (the
intellect) is its product. (Unmanifest Nature) is certainly not a cause also, (for if
it were to be, it would be in its disturbed, causal state). Thus, one must
necessarily accept (the existence) of the principle of the qualities as the cause of
the intellect. And so it has been clarified in this way that even if one says that
Nature is the qualities that are disturbed (spontaneously) by themselves, there is
no occasion for the fault of the Sāṁkhya (view) to arise. (An opponent may
rejoin that that makes no sense, because) if were to be so, one should first say
that there is also an undisturbed form of the qualities; otherwise, in relation to
what would their disturbed state be? Thus, it has been explained here that there

⁷⁰³* SYT 11/46abc.

⁷“⁹ This quarter verse is not in the published text of the SvT. Cf. there: ‘O fair lady, there
are twenty-four principles that should be seen to be devoid of consciousness . .
.(2/44cd-45a)

‘Should be seen’ (means) should be determined to be objectivity. If they are

devoid of consciousness, how are they perceived? (With this question in mind,) he says:

‘Presided over (and sustained) by the individual soul (puruṣa), they should all
be known to be endowed with consciousness at all times.” (2/45bcd)

The condition of being presided over (and sustained) is that of being strewn
over with agency strengthened by the Force (of limited agency) (kalā). ‘They should be
knownʼ, that is, by setting aside subjectivity, they should be understood to be essentially
objective, because they are known by means of the operation of the intellect, (which is)
also (objective). (Moreover,) because they are objective, they are external, as is the
chaff with respect to the (grain of) rice. (They are) the objective polarity of the (limited)
Self, which is predominantly internal. Thus,
‘(the individual soul is) the twenty fifth, and that (which it is not) is said to be
(all that) pertains to Nature (prākṛta).’ (2/46ab)

Nature itself is ‘(all that) pertains to Nature’. What pertains to Nature is derived
from nature, that is, (all the principles) beginning with the Qualities and ending with
Earth.”
⁷1⁰ See above, note to ad 8/8-9cd, cf. TĀv ad 9/154ab. See above, note to 4/38 and note
8,27 concerning Māyā as the ‘Knot’.
272 CHAPTER EIGHT
are three states, (by stating that) ‘just as happens with a seed, its swollen
condition (xcchunatā), the sprout and so forthʼ
Having proved in this way the existence of the principle of the qualities,
he (now goes on) to describe the worlds that are within it.

The Three Lines of Teachers in the Three Qualities

TTTĪTTSTT TṬHTĪT TḺGTRJ; fkBṛrāṬ

fr-āīī gJVErdrēivcrit: 1] i I

f̄āī. ŪīaāṀ*PṂṃīṁīīdsāīr̄aaPTRS: I| Āx I

kramāt tamorajaḥsattve gurūṇāṁ paṅktayaḥ sthitāḥ |

tisro dvātriṁśad ekātas triṁśad apy ekaviṁśatiḥ || 261 ||
svajñānayogabalataḥ krīḍanto daiśikoṭtamāḥ |
trinetrāḥ pāśanirmuktās te ‘trānugrahakāriṇaḥ || 262 ||

There are three lines of teachers present in the qualities of tamas,

rajas and sattva. They consist of thirty-two, thirty, and twenty-one
(members), respectively. By virtue of the strength of their own Yoga and
knowledge, these, the best of teachers, each with three eyes and free of the
fetters, play here and grace (all living beings). (261-262) (260cd-262ab)

(The expression) ‘the qualities of tamas, rajas and sattva’ (together

form) a compound (in the original Sanskrit) that expresses an aggregate. That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra);

‘The first line (of teachers present) in Tamas is located above. Their
names will now be listed correctly and in due order. (They are): 1) Śiva, 2)
Prabhu (Lord), 3) Vāmadeva, 4) Caṇḍa (Fierce), 5) Pratāpavat (Possessing
Splendour), 6) Prahlāda (Joy), 7) Uttama (Excellent) and 8) Bhīma (Terrible), 9)
Karāla (Big Teeth) and 10) Piṅgala (Brown), 11) Mahendra (Great Lord), 12)
Dinakṛt (Sun), 13) Pratoda (Goad) and 14) Dakṣa (Skilful), and the one famous
as 15) Kalevara⁷⁷"™ (Body) and 16) Kaṭaṅkaṭa (Fire), 17) Ambuhartr (Water
Bearer) and 18) Nārīśaḥ (Lord of Men), 19) Śveta (White), and 20) Ṛgveda, 21)
Yajurveda, 22) Sāmaveda, 23) Atharvan, and 24) Suśiva, 25) Virūpākṣa (Three-
Eyed) and 26) Jyeṣṭha (Eldest) and 27) the Brahmin Nārāyaṇa, 28) Gaṇḍodara⁷”²
(Rhinoceros Belly), 29) Yama, 30) Māḻlin (Garlanded), 31) Gahaneśa (Lord of
the Abyss), and 32) Pīḍana (Affliction). (Thus,) the first line (of teachers) has
been declared, which is said’” to consist of thirty-two Rudras.

”¹¹ Read with the printed edition of the SvT, kalevaras for kadevaras.
””² The published text of the SvT reads gando naro for gaṇdodaro.
⁷”³ Read with the SVT, srrtā for vr̥tā. SVT 10/1047cd-1052.
 TANTRĀLOKA 273
B) (Now the names of) the second line (of teachers), which is above
(that) and belongs to rajas, will be listed. (These are): 1) Śukla (White), 2)
Dāsa (Servant), who is a good servant, 3) Lokākṣa (Eye of the World) and 4)
Sūrya (Sun), 5) Suhotra (Good Fire Sacrificer) and 6) Ekapāda (Single Foot), 7)
Gṛddhra (Vulture) and 8) Śiveśvara (Whose Lord is Śiva), 9) Gautama and 10)
Yogīśa (Lord of Yoga), and 11) Dadhibāhu (Curd Arms) is another, 12) Ṛṣabha
(Bull), 13) the god Gokarṇa (Cow Ear) and 14) Maheśvara (Great Lord),⁷⁴
15) Guhyeśāna (Lord of Secrets), 16) Śikhaṇḍīn (Tufted), 17) Jatṭin
(Dreadlocked), 18) Mālin (Garlanded) and 19) Ugraka (Fierce), 20) Bhṛgu, 21)
Śikhin (Peacock) and 22) Śūlin (Lance Bearer), and 23) Sugati (Good Path) and
24) Supālana (Well Protected), 25) Aṭṭaḥāsa (Roaring Laugh) and 26) Dāruka
(Devadaru Pine), 27) Lāṅgalin⁷ (Plough Bearer) and 28) Tridaṇḍaka (Triple
Staff),⁷”⁶ then one should meditate on 29) Bhavana (Dwelling) and 30) Lakuleśa
(Lord of the Mongoose). The second excellent line (of teachers) said to consist
of thirty Rudras.⁷”

C) (Now the names of) the third line (of teachers), which is above
(that) and is that of sattva, will be listed. They are said to be: 1) Aruṇa Deva
(Red God),⁷⁸ 2) Dīrghabāhu (Long Arms) and 3) Aribhūti (Surpassing
Prosperity), 4) Sthāṇuka (Pillar), 5) Sadyojāta (Just Born) and 6) Śaṇḍin
(Possessing Curd), 7) Saṇmukha (Six-Faced) and 8) Caturānana (Four-Faced),
9) Cakrapāṇi (Bearing a Wheel), 10) the one called Kūrma,⁷” and 11)
Ardhanārīśvara (Androgene), 12) Saṁvartaka (Doomsday Fire), 13) Bhasmīśa
(Lord of Ashes), 14) Kāmanāśana (Destroyer of Desire), 15) Kapālin (Skull
Bearer), 16) Bhūr, 17) Bhuvaḥ, and 18) Vaṣaṭkāra and 19) Vauṣaṭkāra, 20)
Svāhā and 21) Svadhā. This is the third line consisting of twenty-one
Rudras.””⁸!

He (now) adds up the number of worlds up to here.

”⁴ This is the reading in the SvT 10/1055b. The reading here is guhesvaraḥ, which is
practically the same as the following entry.
⁷1³ SVṬ reads lāṅgaliś, the reading here is lāṅguliś, which is not correct.
7”⁰ The published text of the S√T reads atidanḍakaḥ for tridaṇḍakaḥ.
⁷⁷⁷ SVYṬ 10/1053-1057.
⁷1⁸³ Read with SVT devo ‘ruṇo for devāruṇo, and -atibhūtiś ca for -aribhūtiś ca. The
SVT reads jhiṇṭhī for śaṇḍī.
⁷"⁰ RṚead with the SvT, kārmākhyas for kūrmākṣas.
⁷⁴⁰ Read with then SvT, svadhā for sudhā.
S¹ SVT 10/1058-1061. Kṣemarāja explains: “Such are these supreme lords, the eighty-
three teachers who, by means of Maheśvara, bestow the appropriate knowledge and
Yoga to those who wish to attain the enjoyment of the principle of the qualities.
Appointed there for some time, they play. That is said (here): “Endowed with
knowledge and Yoga, (these) the most excellent teachers play.³ It is said that, because
they are on the most excellent level, although they reside within the principle of the
Qualities, they are not coloured by them. Thus, they play. They are not like others,
bound by the Qualities, as ‘they are free of the bonds of transmigratory existence . . .
The meaning is that, free of the Impurity of the individual soul, Karma and Māyā, they
are liberated in life (jivanmukta). Moreover, ‘they are free of the great delusion.”” (SVT
10/1062 and commentary).
274 CHAPTER EIGHT

A Summary of the Two Hundred and Seven Worlds up to the Qualities

3g ṃJīṃāṁṉā
aaāīfīḥ ōīd |
RTI JTTIĪ TGTTĪSĀ ṬGT I/ 2ē3 I
buddheś ca guṇaparyantam ubhe saptādhike śate |
rudrāṇāṁ bhuvanānāṁ ca mukhyato ʻ‘nye tadantare || 263 ||

Thus, from the intellect up to the qualities there are two hundred
and seven Rudras and primarily as many worlds, (without counting) the
other secondary and intermediate ones.”² (263) (262cd-263ab)

“The intellect’ is (here in its manifest) unfolding form, (from which the
remaining principles up to Earth, which are) the products (of Nature, are
derived). Thus, beginning with Earth up to the qualities, there are ‘primarily’
two hundred and seven worlds. (Only the primary ones are counted), because
otherwise (if one counted all of them), they would be endless in number. Thus,
1) below Earth there is one world, (which is that) of Ananta.
2) Within (the Earth) there are six, namely, (the worlds of) Kālāgni,
Kūṣmāṇḍa, Hāṭaka, Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra.
3) Outside (the Egg of Brahmā), there are the hundred (worlds) of the
hundred Rudras.
4) One (world) of Vīrabhadra, who presides over them. Thus making
one hundred and eight (worlds in the Earth principle).
5) There are nine worlds in the Water principle, namely, the Secret
Group of Eight and that of Vīrabhadra, who presides over them.
6) There are nine in the principle of Fire, which are those of Śivāgni and
the Most Secret Group of Eight.
7) There are nine in the principle of the Wind, which are those of the
vital breath (prāṇa) and the More Secret than the Most Secret Group of Eight.
8) There are nine in the principle of Space, which are those of Space
and the eight Pure Ones.
9) There are eight (worlds of the eight) Bodies in the subtle elements.
10) The five (worlds) of the Lords of the organs of action.
11) The five (worlds) of the lords of the organs of knowledge.
12) There is one world of the Moon in the mind (manas).
13) There are nine in the ego (ahaṁkāra), which are those of the Lord
of the ego and the Group of Eight Sthāṇus.
14) There are thirty-two (worlds) in the intellect, which are those of the
four Groups of Eight called those of the Divine Beings, Wrath, Fire and Yoga.
15) There are the three lines (of teachers) in the principle of the qualities
(guṇa).

Again, elsewhere (in other scriptures) there is some difference (in the
account of these worlds). So he says:

”⁸² Paṟaphrase of SvT 10/1064cd-1065.

 TANTRĀLOKA 275

The Group of Eight Yogas in the Qualities According to the Śivatanu

ṇīṛēēā; pōṝak īē fJīa-ī T: |

yogāṣṭakaṁ guṇaskandhe proktaṁ śivatanau punaḥ |

Again, it is said in the Śivatanu that the group of eight Yogas is

within the section (skandha) of the qualities.’ (264ab) (263cd)

‘Within the section of the qualities (means) within the principle of

the qualities (guṇatattva).
He (now) quotes that book.

ṇṀccītcā
ũīī īēh gāīTaīāT: I| E¥ I
srāīārāayjaītāī
ēḷz: āēṁaaāāaī |
ā-TṬATTTITĒṬT
ARTĀĪT] ṬATTTTZḤ I 3ĒU I
⁵EAHJḤSEI Ṭīḷeṝ TTdĪGAĪSHTHTḤ |

rr̥āīṁērrīrṁta ākaīṝā fatāntṁ | 2=eē 1

gq=gfīd Ṭddāīsī ṬR̥̄TIĪ āTTGTTR: |
īzq: ṀŪaā̄? ṂJ̄Ḥ JTTaāīTRTṬPTHTS
āTT I| ṜĀ I
TṀā̄ōTTRGÑTĪQTq: ĪĪh’GTAĀ |
yonīr atītya gauṇe
skandhe r̥ yogadātāraḥ || 264 ||
akṛtakr̥tavibhuviriñcā
harir guhaḥ kramavaśāt tato devī |
karaṇāny aṇimādiguṇāḥ
kāryāṇi pratyayaprapañcaś ca || 265 ||
avyaktād utpannā
guṇāś ca sattvādayo ʻmīṣām |
dharmajñānavirāgān
aiśvaryaṁ tatphalāni vividhāni || 266 ||
yacchanti guṇebhyo ʻmī puruṣebhyo yogadātāraḥ |
tebhyaḥ parato bhuvanaṁ
sattvādiguṇāṣsanasya devasya || 267 ||
sakalajagad ekamãtur
bhartuḥ śr̥īkaṇṭhanāthasya |

(There we read that) ‘the wombs (yoni) are the Bestowers of Yoga
who, beyond (that), reside within the section of the qualities. These are, in
due order: 1) Akṛta, 2) Kṛta, 3) Ṛbhu,⁷*⁴ 4) Brahmā, 5) Viṣṇu, 6) Kumāra
and then (finally), 7) the Goddess. They are (divine beings who possess)

7³³ TĀ 8/264cd-271ab (264-271) is drawn from the Śivatanu.

7*⁴ Read ṛbhu for vibhu.
276 CHAPTER EIGHT
sense organs, yogic powers, including the power to make themselves small
at will (aṇima) and the rest,”™ the products (of Nature), the extending
expanse of perceptions (pratyayaprapañca),¹⁸ the qualities of sattva and the
rest generated from unmanifest Nature (avyakta). From the qualities (guṇa
in which they reside), the Bestowers of Yoga dispense righteousness
(dharma), knowledge, dispassion, lordship™™ and their various fruits to
men.
Beyond them is the world of Śrīkaṇṭhanātha. He is the Lord and
god who, enthroned on the qualities of sattva and the rest, is the sustainer
and sole experiencing subject of the entire universe.’ (264-268ab) (263cd-
267)

‘The extending expanse of perceptionsʼ are the fifty primary (types of

perception), beginning with misapprehension (viparyaya). ‘They’ are Akṛta and
the other Bestowers of Yoga. They give to others, in that they bestow
righteousness (dharma) and the rest.
Surely (then, one may ask,) what happens to him by being situated
above them? With this doubt in mind, he says that:

āTTHTṬGTTJTR—{ṬTTJTĪRĀaTḤI 2ēC I
JGHĪ TA
ATT TĪTTĀĪTT ]|
IĪT AJTTT
yenomāguhanīḷa
brahma-ṛbhukṣakṛtākṛtādibhuvaneṣu || 268 ||
graharūpiṇyā śaktyā
prābhvyādhiṣṭhāni bhūtāni |

He presides over the beings in the worlds of Umā, Guha (Kumāra),

Nīla (Viṣṇu), Brahmā, Ṛbhukṣa, Kṛta and Akṛta and the rest, by virtue of
his sustaining power of knowledge (grahaśakti). (268cd-269ab) (268)

‘Nīla’ is Viṣṇu. (His) ‘sustaining (power)³ is that of supporting. ‘He

presidesʼ over the beings he sustains.
He now explains every one of (Śrīkaṇṭha’s) grounds (of residence)
(adhiṣṭhāna):

Śrīkaṇṭha Deṣtroys the Worlds and Rudrāṇi Emits Them.

The Gods Sacrifice There to Prajāpati on Her as Vedī

3Tāfr’tṜē aggŪṝāīdgst aātara u RE<

GTaāī] ṬGÑ GITHIRHGTĒĪTTTĀ’ĪTR ṬT: |
⁷⁴³ See below, 8/278cd-279ab (278) and commentary.
⁷⁸⁴⁶ See SāṁKā 46.
⁷S⁷ Read aisvaryaṁ for anaiśvaryam. According to th Sāṁkhya, the intellect possesses
these four qualities and their opposites, thus making eight. Cf. SāṁKā 44-45.
 TANTRĀLOKA 277

āaTaṛā: daāTcpJr̥̄ā fāīgēīṁ ēzr I| 3'9o 1

³TJāāiī āīvāīḷ āzḷ īādṣqah |
TJTTHTĀTTRTHĪRSTS TGṬGTIT Ṝa: I| Q'92 I
|ẽẽ-EÉAEIGUIEĒĒĒṬIESVIIEIṀḤI
upasaṁjihīrṣur iha yaś
caturānanapaṅkajaṁ samāviśya || 269 ||
dagdhvā caturo lokāñ
janalokān nirmiṇoti puṇaḥ |
yasyecchātaḥ sattvā
diguṇaśarīrā visṣr̥jati rudrāṇī|| 270 ||
anukalpo rudrāṇyā
vedr tatrejyate ‘nukalpena |

viriñcair atha tadupalambhato devaiḥ || 271 II

gandharvayakṣarãkṣasa-
pitrmunibhiś citritās tathā yāgāḥ |

Desiring here to withdraw (the created order into himself),

(Śrīkaṇṭha) first penetrates (samāviṣya) into (the being of) the four-faced
(Brahmā), who is born from the lotus (of Viṣṇu’s navel). Then, having
burnt the four worlds (to ashes), he creates the worlds of living beings
again.
By his will, Rudrāṇī, whose body is the qualities, sattva and the rest,
emits (the universe). (The goddess) Vedī, (who personifies the sacrificial
altar), represents (anukalpa) Rudrāṇī. There the gods Indra, Upendra and
Brahmā, perceiving that along with the Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Rākṣas,
fathers and Munis, sacrifice in accord with the procedure (anukalpena)¹⁸ to
Paśupati. Accordingly, the sacrifices are of various sorts. (269cd-272ab)
(269-271)

(Śrīkaṇṭha) ‘penetrates’ (Brahmā means that he) presides (over him).

He burns (the worlds), in (his) form as the Rudra the Fire of Time
(Kālāgnirudra). ‘Rudrāṇī’ is the goddess Umā (Śiva’s consort). ‘Substitute’
means a secondary form (mnārti). ‘Vedṛ’ is the pedestal (pīthikā),¹ which is
Śiva’s power of action (kriyāśakti), and (Śiva) ‘Paśupati’ is the external
(visible) Liṅga.

”⁸ The term anukalpa may be understood to refer to a sacrifice which is not performed
according to the ideal or primary rule (kalpa), but by a secondary (anu) (i.e. inferior)
method (anukalpa). 1t can also mean ‘according to the rule’, or, as I translate,
‘symbolicallyʼ.
”⁴⁷ The base of a Lūṅgam is referred to in this way. It represents Śakti, which is its
foundation.
278 CHAPTER EIGHT

The Eight Rudras in Unmanifest Nature

ṬIT āCṬ TIRĪ TGaaāī TṬSĪĒJT I| 392 I

r̥ITIVS{aT] Sāī’fTrçr̥̄r̄Tī |
TaJāī-ṁraitīā
flraīeaīmz ṁā d 1 2v3 1
guṇānāṁ yat paraṁ sāmyaṁ tad avyaktaṁ guṇordhvataḥ || 272 ||
krodheśacaṇḍasaṁvartā jyotiḥpiṅgalasūrakau |
pañcāntakaikavīrau ca śikhodaś cāṣṭa tatra te || 273 ||

⁰The Unmanifest Nature (avyakta) is the supreme form of

equilibrium (sāmya) of the qualities. It is above the qualities (themselves).
The eight, Krodheśa (Lord of Wrath), Caṇḍa (Fierce One), Saṁvarta
(Doomsday Cloud), Jyotis (Light), Piṅgala (Tawny), Sūraka (Demon),
Pañcāntaka (Destroyer of the Five), Ekavīreśa (the Solitary Lord) and
Śikhoda (Risen from the Topknot),' reside there. (272cd-273) (272-273ab)

‘The supreme form of equilibrium’ʼ is the (abiding) undisturbed

condition, and so is ‘ṭhe Unmanifest Nature’. The intention behind taking (the
names) of the Lords of the Worlds and saying them directly in the present
compilation (saṁīgraha), is so that those who listen (to the teachings of the
scriptures) may not confused by the fact that many other incorrect readings are
possible in other scriptures. The same is said in the venerable Ruru:

“The Great Lords (maheśvara) are Krodheśa (Lord of Wrath), Caṇḍa

(Fierce One), Saṁvarta (Doomsday Cloud), Jyotiṣ (Light), Piṅgala (Tawny),
Sūraka (Demon), Pañcāntaka (Destroyer of the Five), Ekavīreśa (the Solitary
Lord) and Śikhoda (Risen from the Topknot).³⁷²

In the venerable Nandiśikhā also (we read):

‘There are Lords of the Worlds who reside beyond the qualities,
namely, Krodheśa (Lord of Wrath) and the one called Caṇḍa (Fierce One),
Saṁvarta (Doomsday Cloud), Piṅgala (Tawny) and Jyotiṣ (Light), Vibhu (the

7⁰⁰ Abhinava now cites the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha, and returns back to the Śivatanu in
274 (273cd-274ab), and continues to draw from it up to 276cd-277ab (277).
⁰! These names are drawn from the Rauravāgama, vidyāpāda, 4/17. They are also
found with variants in SVT 10/1067. Jayaratha says that this is Abhinavagupta’s
opinion. The texts seem to conflict as to their names, but one should not be confused by
this.
Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha (Raurava vidyāpāda) 3/17. It continues:
aṣṭāv ete mahātmāṇṉo vīrabhadrāt pare sthitāḥ |
Śśrīkaṇṭhānumatāḥ sarve devānām adhidevatāḥ ||

‘These eight great souls are located beyond Vīrabhadra. They are all ordained
by Śrīkaṇṭha and are the deities presiding over the gods.’
 TANTRĀLOKA 279
Pervasive Lord), Pañcāntaka (Destroyer of the Five), Ekavīreśa (the Solitary
Lord) and Sikhoda (Risen from the Topknot).³

Here (in this case) also, he notes the particular (special teaching) taught
in the Śivatanu (that he now quotes):

TIĪRTĪTTTT HTATTYTĀ TṬTĀĪTAT; || 39%I

gahanaṁ puruṣanidhānaṁ
prakṛtir mūlaṁ pradhānam avyaktam |
guṇakāraṇam ity ete
māyāprabhavasya paryāyāḥ || 274||

The Forest (gahana), the Abode of the Soul (puruṣanidhāna),

Nature (prakṛti), the Root (miūla), Fundamental Nature (pradhāna), the
Unmanifest and the Cause of the Qualities – all these are synonyms for (this
principle) generated from Māyā. (274) (273cd-274ab)

Surely, (one may ask,) what is the reason for such names here in this
context (pravṛtti)? With this question in mind, he says:

The Worlds of the Individual Souls (kṣetrajña)

3qṬara; ̄āī:Ṃāā⁵Tā-āēaītc³ṝērā|
Ĩ ṀũŨī ṀĨĩṀĨṁ Ṁĩ, īÇTd I vã¹ I

yāvantaḥ kṣetrajñāḥ
sahajāgantukamalopadigdhacitaḥ |
te sarve ʻtra viniḥitā
rudrāś ca tadutthabhogabhujaḥ || 275 ||
mūḍhavivr̥ttavilḹīnaiḥ
karaṇaiḥ kecit tu vikaraṇakāḥ |

Those individual souls (kṣetrajīa) whose consciousness is stained

with impurity, whether innate or adventitious, and all the Rudras, reside
here. (Here) they enjoy the experiences that arise from that (Principle),
with their senses either in an unconscious state (mūḍha), fully active
(vivṛtta), or absorbed (vilīna) (in consciousness). The senses of some of them
are ‘transcendental’ (and so completely free) (vikaraṇaka).⁰³ (275-276ab)
(274cd-275)

³ Cf. above 8/233ab (232cd).

280 CHAPTER EIGHT
As all the individual souls and Rudras reside here, the senses of some of
them being unconscious (muddha), they experience the (corresponding)
experience (bhoga) that arises from them, and some are completely free. ‘Innate’
(Impurity) is AĀṇava (which pertains directly to the soul), and (the two)
‘adventitious’ (Impurities) are those of Karma and Māyā.
He (now) describes the states (of the sense organs), beginning with
unconscious.

The Four States of the Senses

āGaīlēāṝS3īĪTardī FJṬÇIṀEāIIPCJIEHI Ṝ9ē ||

ytṝēramfzrraṁtz xṇaṁ īā̃ fērat 1

WTTIIḤ HeēfTv/T gaēṛ EIIAIĒĪIEḤ @ōfIIT II Q%9 I|

h-zeizutRE'EezuEk|EṞEāEtizEE:d
akṛtādhiṣṭhānatayā
krṛtyāśaktāni mūḍhāni || 276 ||
pratiniyataviṣayabhāñji
sphuṭāni śāstre vivṛttāni |
bhagnāni mahāpralaye

icchādhīnāni punar
vikaraṇasaṁjñāni kāryamapyevam |

1) The unconscious (senses) (mūḍha) are those presided over by

Akṛta (‘what has not been done’). As such, they have no power to perform
their function.
2) According to the scriptures (that is, the Śivatanu), the fully active
senses (vivṛtta) (operate) in their specific fixed field of operation in a clear,
fully evident manner (sphuṭa).
3) The senses that have merged (into consciousness) (līna) are those
that were destroyed during the Great Dissolution (mahāpralaya) and were
not regenerated in (the subsequent) creation.
4) Again, (those senses) that are called ‘transcendental’ (vikaraṇa)
are (perfectly) obedient to the will.”⁴ The objects of action (of these four
types of senses) are also such (as they are).”⁵ (276cd-278ab) (276-277)

”⁴ This line is quoted by Jayaratha as being from the Śivatanu above in TĀv ad 8/233-
234ab (232cd-233).
7⁰³ The four kinds of senses are 1) senses that are unconscious and so do not function. 2)
Senses that function in their own field of operation. 3) Senses that have merged into
consciousness at the end of great cosmic age, if the embodied souls that possess them
have exhausted their Karma. 4) Transcendental senses, that obey the higher will of
Deity.
 TANTRĀLOKA 281
‘The function’ (of the senses is) the apprehension (ālocana) of sound
and the other (objects of the senses). Thus (he says that the senses) ‘(operate) in
their specific fixed field of operation’, as the reason why (each of the senses)
has a specific function (is evident when one of them does not work), such as in
the case of deafness. The reason why (the senses may be said to) have merged
(into consciousness) is because (at the end of the period of universal
destruction) they are not generated (again) when creation (again) takes place.
(The senses that are) ‘obedient to the will’ are those that are self-controlled.
This is the meaning. Thus, (it denotes) the free (independent) state of the senses
of (Lord) Śṛrīkaṇṭha etc. As is said here itself (in the Śivatanuśāstra):

‘Their Lord is Umāpati, whose senses transcend (the normal senses)

(vikaraṇa) and are free (to function unimpeded).⁷⁴

(The objects of action of these four types of senses) ‘are also such’,
that is, of four kinds, due to the different types (of senses), unconscious and the
rest.

The Worlds of the Individual Soul:

The Nine False Contentments and the Eight Accomplishments

zāraī qftzTīaṁṅ fṃzaīēṝī āz | Qv¢ 1

āīāa ũaātrāīzyāīTī=āēēīa |
paṁstattve tuṣṭinavakaṁ siddhayo ‘ṣṭau ca tatpuraḥ || 278 II
tāvatya evāṇimādibhuvanāṣṭakam eva ca |

”⁷Ṭhe nine (forms of false) contentment (uṣṭi) and the eight

(limited) accomplishments (siddhi)⁸ are within the principle of the
individual soul (puṁtattva). Their corresponding worlds are the same (in
number), and include the eight worlds of the yogic powers, namely, the
power to make oneself small at will and the rest. (278cd-279ab) (278)

Their worlds are ‘the same (in number)ʼ, that is, nine and eight. That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra):

“The nine (goddesses of the nine forms of) contentment (tuṣṭi) are sai
to be: 1) Ambā (Mother) and 2) Salilā (Water), 3) Oghā (Current), and 4) Vṛṣṭi
(Rain), along with 5) Tārā (Saviouress), 6) Sutārā (Beautiful Saviouress) and 7)
Sunetrā (Beautiful Eyes) and 8) Kumārī (the Virgin) comes after that and 9) the
excellent Ambhasikā (Watery One).
The eight (goddesses of the eight) accomplishments (siddhi) are said to
be: 1) Tārā (Saviouress), 2) Sutārā (Beautiful Saviouress), 3) Tārayantī, 4)

””⁶ The same line, drawn from the Śivatanu, is quoted above in TĀ 8/233cd (233ab).
”⁷ Abhinava leaves the Śivatanu and returns to the account in the Svacchandatantra.
7*⁸ See below, 8/280cd-282ab (280-281).
282 CHAPTER EIGHT
Pramodikā (Playful), 5) Pramoditā (Delighted), 6) Modamānā (Delighting), and
after that 7) Ramyakā (Joyful) and 8) Sadāpramudikā (Always Delighted).”
1) Aṇimā (Smallness), 2) Laghimā (Lightness) and 3) Mahimā (Great Size)
as well as 4) Prāpti (Attainment) 5) Prākāmya (Multiplication of the body) and
6) Īšitvaṁ (Mastery) and 7) Vaśitva (Control of living beings) and where there
is 8) Kāmāvasāyitva (Divination of the location of an object), that is said to be
the group of eight (yogic powers) beginning with Aṇimā.”⁸⁰

What is the nature of (this false) contentment and the rest? With this
doubt in mind, he says:

Tāīd Tdā’gaT ā; JTITĀÇfĒ

TT I| 3'9Š, I
šīraīaī
fḷṝā + + . . .
atattve ṭattvabuddhyā yaḥ santoṣas tuṣṭir atra ṣā || 279 ||
heye ‘py ādeyadhīḥ siddhiḥ * * * * ³k sk sk š ]

(False) contentment is the (misguided) satisfaction (one feels) here

by thinking that something that is false (atattva) is true (tattva). By (false)
accomplishment (siddhi) (is meant here the mistaken) notion (dhī) that one
should take up (something), even when it should be avoided.³"¹ (279cd-280a)
(279abc)

⁷⁰⁹ Theṣe are the goddesses of the nine worlds of the contentments (tuṣṭi), and eight of
the accomplishments (siddhi).
⁸⁰%, ṢVT 10/1069cd-1073. Kṣemarāja, commenting on this verse, defines the eight yogic
powers as follows: “1) Aṇimā is the power to make the body subtle. 2) Laghimāis the
capacity to make (one’s own body or anything else²s) as light as a feather. 3) Mahimāis
the capacity to make (things) large at will, 4) Prṛāpi is (the capacity) to reach any place
by just (one’s) intention to do so. 5) Prākāmya is the capacity to make a single body
multiple at once. 6) Īśitva is mastery (aiśvarya) (over others and oneself). 7) Vasitva is
the control of ghosts (and other supernatural beings), 8) Kāmāvasāyitva is (the capacity)
to determine with certainty the nature of something concealed by time and space just by
the intention to do so.” He adds that because the individual soul experiences the three
Qualities that are common to (all forms of the) object of experience, he is also
associated with the shade of those three qualities, and so possesses (and is subject to) the
Qualities.
⁴"¹ In SvTu ad 10/1071-2ab, Kṣemarāja says: ‘According to the Sāṁkhya school
(śāstra), the group of nine contentments and the eight accomplishments should be
attended to as indications (of spiritual progress) (pratyayasevya), and are reckoned be
qualities of the intellect. Here (according to our view, they are) the obscuring covering
of the individual soul who is enjoying (worldly experience) and whose nature, being
contracted consciousness, does not discriminatingly discern the Force (of limited
agency) and the other obscuring coverings (kañcuka) (as confining his consciousness).
(In actual fact,) worldly experience (bhoga) generated under the sway of the intellect
and the rest (can never) possibly arise in any way in the individual soul who is just the
pure perceiver alone and not an enjoyer (of worldly experience). The experience of cold
does not arise even in a secondary form within Devadatta when snow, for example, is
reflected within Devadatta (rather it manifests in his intellect). Thus, all this worldly
experience in the aforementioned ultimately real individual soul (seems to) takes place
 TANTRĀLOKA 283
And that is not just our own idea. Thus, he says:

+ + + x x + TAI IIT [Ṝ āīTō⁵:

³k Ãk. Ãk s*. sk s. Á. - yaIha coktaṁ hi kāpilaiḥ |

The followers of Kapila³”² have said as much (in the following

words). (280b)

He says that:

3āTzqr̥c̄ṁṝchīzTTaī- JGTqTTTTRTGĀTTITaTT I| Ṝ¢⁰ I

ādhyātmikāś catasraḥ
prakr̥tyupādānakālabhāgyākhyāḥ || 280 |I
pañca viṣayoparamato
‘rjanarakṣāsaṅgasaṁkṣayavighātaiḥ |

“(Within the sphere of objectivity), four (realities) are internal

(ādhyātmika), namely, 1A) Nature (prakṛti), 2A) the material cause
(upādāna), 3A) tīme, and 4A) fate (bhāgya).³²
Five (are the forms of external false contentment) brought about by
abstaining from sense objects (which cause suffering by the activity of the
senses engaged in) 1B) the acquisition (of sense objects and the pleasure
they give) (arjana), 2B) by protecting (them) (rakṣā), 3B) attachment (to
them) (saṅga), 4B) (their) destruction (sarīkṣaya) and 5B) by the violence
(vighāta) (to others they entail). (280cd-281ab) (279d-280)

1A) ‘Internal” (ādhyātmika) (in this context) means that which is not
the Self, that is, Nature etc. There (in that context), it is Nature (prakṛti) that is
eight-fold as – Fundamental Nature (pradhāna), the intellect (mahat) and the
rest. It is the (sole) instrumental cause (nimitta) of the coming into being
(utpatti) of all things, and there is none other. Thus, there (in that context), it is

within it when it is a worldly experiencing subject. Thus, the existence of the perception
(pratyaya) of contentment etc. is proper there (in that case). This is what is being said
(here) in this way. . . . Their presiding deities are Ambā and the rest (of the false
contentments) and Tārā and the rest (of the false accomplishments). They are described
here as residing in the worlds with those names, here in the principle of the individual
soul. However, the mastery (aiśvarya), which is the group of eight (accomplishments)
beginning with the power to make oneself small at will (aṇimā), that can be attained by
the practice (krama) of the Yoga (taught)in the Supreme Lord’s school (mata), is also
ed over by the group of eight deities with these names, herein the Principle of the
dual Soul.’
” Kapila is univerṣally acclaimed to be the founder of Sāṁkhya. However, the
Sāṅṁkhyakārikā, from which Abhinava draws here, is by Iśvarakṛṣṇa, not Kapila
himself. Thus, Abhinava refers to ‘the followers of Kapila’ here.
‘³ Sāīkā 50ab.
284 CHAPTER EIGHT
the instrumental cause of the cessation of attachment and aversion etc. (The
feeling of false) contentment (tuṣṭi) the yogi (enjoys), mindful of the
experiencing subjectivity (bhoktṛtva) and the other (aspects of individual
consciousness set in relation to it), is called ‘Natureʼ (prakṛti).
2A) Moreover, in the same way as (Nature is the universal cause of all
objective phenomena) without distinction, there (in that case), anything would
be generated from anything else at any time.®⁴ Thus, as it is proper that the
coming into being of phenomena should (each) be in accord with its own
(specific) material cause (upādāna), (from this point of view) that is the cause of
all things. Thus, mindful of the experiencing subjectivity etc. in relation to the
material cause of Earth etc., that (feeling of false contentment experienced in
this way) is called ‘the material cause’ (upādāna).
3A) Again, analogously, (all) phenomena come into being in relation to
time; thus (from that perspective), that is the cause of all things. Thus, mindful
of the experiencing subjectivity (bhoktṛtva) just there, (the feeling of false
contentment) is called ‘timeʼ (kāla).
4A) Similarly, due (to one’s own) particular fate, one (experiences)
particular fruits, and so it is their universal cause. Thus, mindful of the
experiencing subjectivity (bhoktṛtva) just there, (the feeling of false
contentment) is called ‘fate’ (bhāgya), which is the fourth.
(Now there are) ‘five’ (outer forms of false satisfaction), because (they
are) the five causes of abstaining from outer sense objects (which cause
suffering by the activity of the senses engaged in) 1-3B) the acquisition (of
sense objects and the pleasure they give) etc. Everybody is engaged in the
objects of sense in order to get pleasure (from them),° and that can never be
(obtained) from them. The person who exerts himself in the (first) three,
namely, the acquisition (of sense objects) and the rest (that is, protecting them
and cultivating an attachment to them, experiences) supreme suffering (kasṣṭha).
4B) Even so, (although he exerts himself,) they are liable to sudden
destruction (at any time), and this is great suffering (mahatkaṣṭha). 5B) And that
does not take place without injury from something else, and that is even more
suffering than suffering (kasṣṭha).
Thus, as the yogi perceives their defects, he assumes an attitude of
indifference towards them, and so along with these there are nine (forms of false
contentment called)³² Ambhā and the rest,⁸”⁷ that have thus been taught in due
order. Now by this reading (of the scripture), Īśvarakṛṣṇa (the author of the
Sāṁkhyakārikā, himself) would in this way be instructed, for he would not have
himself talked about the nine (forms of false) contentment.*⁸

⁸⁰ Ḷiṭeṟally: everything would be generated from everything at all times’.

⁸⁰³ Read sukhārtha for sukhārthav.
⁸⁶ Ṭhe last quarter (SaṁKā 50d), not quoted by Abhinava, says that these are the nine
(false) contentments — nava tuṣṭayo ‘bhimatāḥ. The first four are listed. The remaining
five arise from turning away from the five objects of sense. Emend navāmbādyās- to
navāmbhādyās-. See following note.
⁰⁷ The first of these nine false contentments is called Ambhā. Accordingly read
navāmbhādyās for navāmbādyās.
⁸⁰³ As we are on the level of the principle of the individual soul, which is the highest
principle according to the Sāṁkhya system, the fundamental concepts of that system
 TANTRĀLOKA 285

apply to it and the metaphysical principles below it. The Sāṁkhya maintains that there
is one universal sphere of objectivity, which it calls Nature (Prakṛti). Yoga is here
understood, as it is by Pātañjali, to be the practice of mindful attention to oneself as the
individual subjectivity set in relation to the universal causes of things. Essentially,
Jayaratha explains that the yogi who reflects upon himself as the experiencing subject of
the universal causes of objectivity, that is, Nature (prakṛti), the material cause of things,
time and fate, detaches from particulars and experiences their universal foundations.
Thuṣ, to that extent, he no longer suffers and is frustrated by attachment and aversion to
things. Instead, even though he is still engaged in the perception of objectivity, which
limits subjective, essentially blissful consciousness, he experiences a degree of false
contentment from objectivity, by abandoning his identification with particulars,
focusing instead on their universal causes, and so transferring this identification onto
them. These then are the ‘inner” forms of false contentment as they relate to the
experience of the subjectivity of the individual soul. The remaining five are the outer
forms as they relate to the sphere of objectivity, without direct reference to the
perception of it as such. Commenting on this verse, Vācaspati Miśra explains that a
person may believe that consciousness is quite distinct from Nature (pradhāna) but,
wrongly advised, he makes no attempt to directly acquire discriminative insight by
listening to sound teachings and exercising discernment etc., and so remains satisfied
with this wrong advice. Such a person comes to experience the four internal
contentments. They are internal because they are based on the Self (āman) rather than
Nature (prakṛti). They are as follows: 1) The contentment called Nature (prakṛti) is the
complacency the disciple feels when he is wrongly instructed by his teacher that
discriminative insight is only a modification of Nature and that this knowledge is
brought about by Nature itself. Thus, there is no need to practice meditation or the like.
AIl he has to do is remain as he is. This sort of (false) contentment is called Ambha. 2)
The second type of contentment arises from the following instruction: ‘Discriminative
knowledge cannot be attained even through the process of Nature. If it were so, then
everyone would attain wisdom at all times, because Nature functions equally for
everybody. This can be acquired only by embracing sannyāsa. Therefore, take to
renunciation. Where then, is the need for you, O long-lived one, to practice meditation?³
At this, out of indolence, the disciple is content with mere sannyasa, and fails to make
efforts to realise the Truth. This is the second variety called contentment with the
material cause (upādānatuṣṭi) which is also called Salila. 3) The third type of
contentment follows from the instruction: ‘even if one has recourse to the path of
renunciation, emancipation is possible only when the time is ripe for it; hence, there is
no need to suffer the troubles of renouncing etc. before time.’ This type of self-
contentment is known as ‘time’ (kāla); it is also called Oghas. 4) The fourth type of
contentment arises from the feeling of satisfaction that comes from the thinking ‘that
discriminative insight cannot be attained either from Nature, or by any other means; nor
does it depend solely on time, but it only comes about by luck. It was through mere luck
alone that the children of Madālasā, though very young, attained wisdom through their
motherʼs instructions and thereby attained emancipation.’ The feeling of contentment
arising from such instructions is known as ‘fate’ (bhāgya), and is also called vṛsṭi.
The external forms of contentment are five, which arise by abstaining from the
five objects of sense. Those who possess dispassion (vairāgya) have these five, but are
nevertheless content to believe that what is not consciousness, namely Nature, the will,
intellect, ego and the rest, is consciousness. The feeling of satisfaction arising from this
(false notion) is called external because, lacking the knowledge of consciousness, their
efforts are based on knowledge of what is not the Self. These forms of contentment
appear only when there is dispassion (vairāgya). Therefore, these forms of dispassion
also are considered to be five-fold, as its causes are five and so are these contentments.
286 CHAPTER EIGHT

3x. davzādā g³aTaīararaā: gacāīaī I| 2¢8 1

ūhaḥ śabdo ʻdhyayanaṁ

duḥkhavighātās trayaḥ suhrṛtprāptiḥ || 281 |
dānaṁ ca siddhayo ʻṣṭau
siddheḥ pūrvo ‘ṅkuśas trividhaḥ |

The eight accomplishments (siddhi) are 1) (sound) deliberation

(ūha), 2) verbal instruction (śabda), 3) study, 4-6) the suppression of the
three (forms of) suffering, 7) the acquisition of good friends and 8) charity.
The goad of accomplishment (that obstructs and) precedes it is of three
kinds.¹” (281cd-282ab) (281)

1) “(Sound) deliberation (ūha)’ is (the formation of a correct) notion

(pratyaya) concerning this or that (particular) thing, (that arises) by itself alone,
independently of (any of the standard) means of knowledge, such as direct
perception. 2) ‘Verbal instruction (śabda)³ is the instruction (imparted) by a
teacher (just) once concerning something one has failed to understand by
oneself alone. 3) ‘Study (adhyayana)⁷ is the repeated practice directed there (to
understand some such thing) one has similarly failed to understand. 4-8)
Contrary to these (two) are the five, which are the three forms of suffering,
doubt and misfortune (daurbhāgya). Having removed the three forms of
suffering by the means taught by other schools (sāstra),³"⁰ and remedied doubt

Abstinence from the objects of the senses is dispassion, and it is the absence of
attachment. These five forms of abstinence arise from the realisation that there are
defects inherent in enjoying the objects of the senses. 1) The first of these is the
realisation that one inevitably suffers in the course of acquisition of objects (arjana).
The contentment arising from abstinence from the objects of the senses because they
cause pain in this way is called pāra. 2) One has to suffer to protect (rakṣā) what one
has acquired from thieves, natural calamities and so on. The contentment that arises
from abstinence from the objects of senses due to such considerations is the second
variety called supāra. 3) One suffers from the fact that wealth acquired with great pain
is destroyed (saṁkṣaya) once one has enjoyed it. This thought leads to the abstinence
from objects of the senses and the contentment that arises it is called pārāvāra. 4) The
fourth form of contentment develops by reflecting that attachment (saṅga) to the
enjoyment of sense objects increases the craving for them, which is inevitably
fruṣṭrating and painful. The contentment that arises by abstaining from the objects of the
senses for this reason is called anuttamāṁbha. 5) Finally, uttamāṁbha iīs the
contentment that arises by abstaining from sense objects by realising that one’s own
enjoyment entails violence (vighāta) to other living beings, as happens for example if
one eats meat, or a man becomes wealthy by exploiting others.
⁸⁹ This is a literal citation of SaṁkKā 51. The obstacles, that is, the ‘goads’ to the
attainment of the perfections are the impediments, the inabilities and the (forms) of false
contentment.
⁸¹⁰ The opening verse of the Sāṁkhyakārikā declares that its teachings are meant to
remedy three forms of suffering. These are, ranging from gross to subtle, 1) suffering
 TANTRĀLOKA 287
by the acquaintance of a good friend (and counsellor) (kalyāṇamitra) and
countered misfortune by charity, they achieve any one of the previous three.
Thus, the eight accomplishments (presided over by the goddesses) Tārā and the
rest have been explained in due order.⁸""

caused by the elements — that is outer things in the world (adhibhautika), 2) mental
suffering caused by supernatural beings (ādhidaivika) and 3) spiritual (ādhyāmtika).
⁸ll Vácaspati Miśra, commenting on this verse from the Sārṁīkhyakārikā, explains that, as
the suffering that must be suppressed is three-fold, the three accomplishments that
suppress them are the principal ones. The other five accomplishments are secondary, as
they serve as the means to achieve this suppression of pain. They are arranged as causes
and effects. 1) Thus, for example, the first accomplishment, that is, study, is only a
cause. The principal accomplishments are solely causes, while the middle ones are both
causes and effects. Study (adhyayana) is learning, while living with a teacher, the
science of the Self, and comprehending the true nature of the Immutable, as scripture
enjoins. This is also known as 7Tāra. 2) Its effect is verbal instruction (śabda), which
implies the comprehension of the meaning that emerges from the study of the word
(śabda). Here, the cause is treated as the effect (cause is the word or oral study, the
effect is comprehension of the meaning). This is the second kind of siddhi, called
Sutāra. Hearing (śravaṇa) constitutes both these two, viz., the reading of the text and
also comprehension of its meaning.
3) (Sound) supposition (iha) consists in the investigation of the meaning of the
scripture by applying reasoning which is not inconsistent with the scriptures.
Investigation (parīkṣaṇa) consists in establishing the viewpoint of the proponent by
repudiating all the doubts and objections of the opponent. The authors of scholarly
treatises term this process discemment (manana). This is the third kind of
accomplishment (siddhi), known as Tāratara.
4) Even the truth arrived at by investigation, following the right method of
reasoning, lacks credence until the seeker discusses it with his own teachers, disciples
and fellow-students, and gets their endorsement of his own conclusions. The acquisition
of such friends as teacher, disciple and fellow students is known as ‘the acquisition of
good friends’ suhṛtprāpti. Thīs, the fourth kind of accomplishment, is called Ramyaka.
5) The term ‘charity³ (dāna) in this case denotes the purity that arises from
discrīminative wisdom. It is derived from the root daip which means ‘to purify’.
Pātañjali describes this (purity) as ‘the unimpeded discriminative discernment, which is
the means to the suppression of pain.’ (YSū 2/26). The lack of impediment is what the
Yogasūtra means by purity. This is the process of establishing in the mind the pure flow
of direct discriminative insight after having eliminated all doubts and perverse notions,
along with all kinds of cravings or desires. And this purity cannot be attained without
achieving perfection by means of assiduous practice for a long, continuous period of
time. Thuṣ, the term ‘charity³ (dāna) includes this practice also. This is the fifth kind of
accomplishment, called Sadāmudita. 6-8) The principal accomplishments are three.
They are known as Pramoda, Mudita, and Modamāna. Thus, the accomplishments are
of eight types.
Others explain the accomplishments as follows. 1) The accomplishment called
‘(sound) reasoning³ (ūha) is the realisation of Truth by oneself without instruction by
anyone, that takes place solely by virtue of one’s practice in past lives. 2) The
accomplishment of acquiring knowledge by listening to somebody else expounding the
Sāṁkhya philosophy is known as ‘verbal instruction (śahda)³, because it is acquired by
studying the word (śahda) (of scriptures or authoritative treatises). 3) ‘Study’ is said to
be the cause of that form of accomplishment by which knowledge is acquired by the
study of both the Sāṁkhya text and its meaning, by means of conversation between the
teacher and the disciple who lives with his teacher. 4) When one acquires knowledge by
288 CHAPTER EIGHT
Surely (one may ask), why does not everybody without distinction
possess these accomplishments? With this doubt in mind, he says that: ‘the
goad of accomplishment (that obstructs and) precedes it is of three kinds’.
The ‘goad’ (that obstructs and) precedes (accomplishment) are the impediments
(viparyaya), the inabilities (aśakti)³² and the (forms) of (false) contentment,
because they obstruct (its attainment). Thus, all living beings without exception
(lack these) accomplishments (siddhi), and they don’t operate within them.

Three Lines of Teachers and Disciples

and the Eight Vidyās of the Vital Channels (ṇāḍī)

sīftmārer³rātāā:
ũṣkaī TṬẼĨTIT. |Ã 3¢ 1|
aṝ̄y frīrgraraāīmīṛq fīcāīṭzrēṁq
rēīfzr=z:
aīTtā dgṁīṁī aāzītrā 1 2¢³3 1
aṇimādyūrdhvatas tisraḥ paṅktayo guruśiṣyagāḥ || 282 ||
tatrāpi triguṇacchāyāyogāt tritvam udāhṛtam |
nāḍīvidyāṣṭakaṁ cordhvaṁ paṅktīnāṁ syād iḍādikam || 283 ||

Above the powers to make oneself small (aṇimā) at will and the rest
are the three lines of teachers and disciples. They are said to be three
because the influence of the three qualities (guṇa) is present there also.
Above the lines of transmission are eight Vidyā (deities who preside over)
the vital channels (nāḍī), that is, Iḍā and the rest.³³ (282cd-283) (282-
283ab)

By the word ‘alsoʼ, in ‘there alsoʼ, is meant that there are not just the
three lines of teachers in the principle of the qualities associated with the three
qualities as stated, but (there are three lineages of teachers) here also. That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra, where we read):

“Now⁸¹ listen to the three lines of teachers and disciples that are
above, beyond that (group of eight yogic powers. They are): 1) Maskarin, 2)
Pūraṇa (Filling), 3) Kṛtsna (Everything), 4) Kapila (Brown), and 5) Kāśa, 6)
Sanatkumāra (Perpetual Youth), 7) Gautama, 8) Vasiṣṭha, and 9) Ādyāṁśaka
(First Limb), 10) Kaśyapa and 11) Nāciketu, 12) Gālava and 13) Bhautika, 14)
the one called Śākalya, and 15) Durvāsas the supreme sage,³⁵ 16) Vālmīki, the

coming in contact with someone who has already acquired that form of
accomplishment, this is known as ‘the acquisition of good friends’. 5) Lastly, the
accomplishment known as ‘charity² (dāna). This is said to be a means (to acquire
knowledge), because when one who knows the truth is propitiated by gifts etc., he
imparts true knowledge.
⁸1² Read viparyayāśakti- for viparyayāśaktya-.
⁸¹³ Concerning the channels of the vital breath (nāḍī), see above, 7/65cd-68ab.
⁸¹⁴ Read with MSs Ch and N and the S√T, athordhvaṁ for yathordhvaṁ.
⁸"³ SVT reads paramo muniḥ for paramastvrsiḥ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 289
most excellent teacher along with 17) Parāśara, 18) Gālava,³⁰ 19) Pippalāda
(Pepper Eater) and 20) Saumitra (Good Friend), 21) Vāyuputra (Son of the
Wind) and 22) Bhadantaka. These twenty-two excellent teachers, beginning
with Maskarin and ending with Bhadanta, who teach what has been seen and
what has not been seen, is said to be the first line.⁴⁷
1) Jahnu and 2) Tṛṇabindu (Grass Drop) and the sage 3) Tārkṣya,
4) Dhyānāśraya (Supported by Meditation), 5) Dīrgha (Long), 6) Hotṛ (Fire
Sacrificer), 7) Jāgara (Awake), ⁸1⁵8) Agastya, 9) and 10) Vasu, 11) Bhauma,
who is said to be a learned teacher (upādhyāya), 12) Śukra, 13) Bhṛgu, 14)
Aṅgiras, 15) Rāma, 16) Jamadagnisuta, 17) Adhvaga,⁸⁰ 18) Sthūlaśiras (Big
Head), 19) Bālakhilya and 20) Manuja,⁵⁰ 21) Vajra (Adamantine), 22) Atreya,
23) Viśuddha (Pure), 24) Śiva and 25) Cārurathānuga –- this line beginning with
Jahnu and ending with Caru is considered to be the second one.¹
1) Hara (Saviour), 2) Jhiṇṭhin, 3) Pratoda (Goad) and 4) Amareśa
(Immortal Lord) as the fourth, 5) Kṛṣṇapiṅgeśarudra (Black and Yellow Rudra),
6) Indrajit (Vanquisher of Indra) and 7) the auspicious (Śiva) Vṛṣaka (Bull), 8)
Yama, known as the Cruel One, 9) Gaṅgādhara (Bearer of Gaṅgā), who is
Umā’s Lord, and 10) Bhūteśvara (Lord of the Spirits), 11) Kapālīśa (Lord of the
Skuḷl), 12) Śaṅkara, 13) Ardhanārīśvara (Androgene) and anotheris 14) Piṅgala
(Tawny), 15) Mahākāla (Great Time) and 16) Saṁvarta (Doomsday Fire), 17)
Maṇḍalin (Lord of Hosts), 18) Ekavīraka (Solitary Hero), and another is known
as 19) Bhārabhūteśvara, and 20) Dhruva (Immobile). (Thus, there are) twenty-
five Ṛṣis, beginning with Jahnu and ending with Cāru, and there are said to be
twenty teachers, beginning with Hara and ending with Dhruva.”²²

There, as the word ‘teacherʼ is used with respect to (the members) of the
two lines, there are just disciples in the middle one. In this way the (intended)
meaning is established.³ Those Vidyās, in the form of vital channels, are their
presiding deities. This is the meaning. That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):

⁸t⁶ Kṣemarāja notes that there are two teachers called Gālava in this line.
⁵’⁷ GVṬ 10/1074-1078ab. Kṣemarāja explains that: ‘as before, these (teachers) have been
appointed to this plane by the Lord’s will so that they may serve as a means to the
attainment of that plane for those who are an object of (His) grace. . . . They teach ‘*what
has been seenʼ, that is, the proper practice (upāsā) to attain that plane, and ‘what has not
been seenʼ, that is, the attainment of that plane.’ This line of teachers is associated with
tamas, just as the following two are related to rajas and sattva, respectively.
⁸1³ Ṟead with the SVT, jāgara for jagara.
⁸¹⁰ The printed edition of the SvT (10/1080b) reads jamadagnisuto ‘dhvagaḥ for
jamadagniṣutordhvagaḥ.
⁸2⁰ SVṬ 10/1080d reads manus ceti prakirtītaḥ for manujas ceti kirtītaḥ.
⁸2¹ SVṬ 1078cd-1081.
⁸²” SVT 10/1082-108ad.
⁸²³ According to Kṣemarāja, the third line, like the first, consists of teachers The second
line consists of Ṛṣis, who are their disciples that have attained this plane by their intense
worship (upāsā) of the principle of the individual soul.
290 CHAPTER EIGHT
(There is) 1) Iḍā and 2) Candriṇī, 3) Gaurī and 4) Śāntika (who
gives peace), 5) Mālā and 6) Mālinī, 7) Svāhā and 8) Svadhā.⁶²⁴
Surely, (one may ask) why are the presiding deities of the channels
located in the principle of the individual soul? With this question in mind, he
says:

ūf̄ īcṁñāī vṁ: raūaaḹ afkzṛā |

paṁsi nādamayṝī śaktiḥ prasarākhyā ca yat sthitā |

(This is so because) there is a power within the individual soul

which is the Sound (nāda) (of reflective awareness) and is called
‘expansion’ (prasara) (that flows out through the vital channels).* (284ab)
(283cd)

(The use of the word) ‘and’ is for emphasis. ‘The individual soul’
presides over the principle of the individual soul, and because of its (very)
contracted nature, it is referred to with names such as ‘aṇu’ (which literally
means ‘atom’). It resounds (within itself), in the sense that it contemplates all
things within itself as one with its own nature, and so (its) reflective awareness,
which is its supreme agency, the nature of which is (absolute) freedom, is
(called) ‘Sound’ (nāda). The ‘power’, which is of that nature, expands in an
external form, and so ‘is called ‘expansion”’. The meaning is that it manifests
in a gross form (flowing out externally, progressively passing through various
phases) up to the power of action. (The purport of) what is being said (here) is
that the power of consciousness itself, manifesting by virtue of its own freedom
in a contracted (limited form), desiring to assume a corporeal etc. nature,
initially assumes the form of the vital channels. As was said before:

‘The inner (final resultant) gross state of consciousness, its pulsation

and movement of the vital breath, is (called) the Cavity (susṣir). Assuming the
form of channels (of the vital breath) (nāḍī), it holds this body together (as a
united whole).⁷³*⁰

Surely, (the opponent objects from the Sāṁkhya point of view,) this
would be so if one could prove that the individual soul is an agent, (but) that is
very hard to establish, for if that were so, it would be insentient as is, for
example, milk (that changes to curd).”⁷ With this doubt in mind, he says:

⁸²4 SVT 10/1087cd-1088ab. This is the reading in the S√T: idā ca candriṇī gaurī śāntiḥ
Śśāntikarī tathā || The reading in the edition of the TĀ is iḍā ca candriṇī caiva śāntiḥ
śāntikarī tathā || One entry here is missing.
⁸2³ According to Abhinavagupta, the presence of the Vidyā goddesses in the individual
soul (puruṣa) implies that the individual soul is an active reality, a power that
progressively assumes increasingly gross corporeal forms.
⁸⁶ Above, 7/66cd-67ab. Concerning the nāḍīs, see also below, 11/66cd-67ab.
⁸⁹⁷ Abhinavagupta and his opponent, the Sāṁkhya, agree that the transition from cause
to effect is an activity. However, unlike the Buddhists, who maintain that there is no real
agent of any action, even sentient action, Abhinava maintains that all action, even
insentient action, implies the existence of an agent who acts. The Sāṁkhya maintains
 TANTRĀLOKA 291
The Agency of the Individual Soul

ī ā̄-īḷ ŪJTN-Ḷ; GIIIT = āĪRITT Ṉ RCK I

na hy akartā pumān kaārtuḥ kāraṇatvaṁ ca saṁsthitam || 284 ||

(According to our view,) the individual soul is an agent. The causal

state (kāraṇatva) pertains to the (sentient) agent (not to insentient
Nature).³*⁸ (284cd) (284ab)

In this way, (if the Sāṁkhya view that the individual soul is not an
agent were to be correct, then) because it is devoid of the agency of the act of
enjoyment, it would not be the experiencing subject (of worldly life – bhoktṛ)
also.⁶” Surely, (objects the Sāṁkhya,) you accept that the soul is an agent in
order to establish that universe is an effect (of his action), but according to us, it
is Nature that accounts for that, so what is the use of that (view), which (from
our point of view) renders (the soul) insentient?⁸*" With this question in mind,
he says: ‘the causal state (kāraṇatva) pertains to the agent’. It pertains to the
agent, not to some insentient entity like Nature.™³" This will be proved in a
subsequent chapter; thus, one should understand (just this for now).
Surely, if one does not accept that the soul is an agent, because (that
would imply that) it is insentient, even if that is so, (the matter) does not rest
(here). Thus, he says:

that while all change is action, it takes place in the domain of objectivity, that is, Nature
(prakṛti), in which there is no sentient agent, as sentience is the attribute of another
reality, namely, the individual soul, which is pure, inactive consciousness. It simply
observes the activity of Nature and does nothing, and so is devoid of any agency. If it
were to act, i.e. be an agent, it would be insentient, as is Nature, that is constantly
changing into all the many objective forms of phenomena, just as milk changes into
curd.
⁸³³ Iṇ other words, according to this view, consciousness is the ultimate cause (the
‘agent’) of the phenomenal world, which is the effect (i.e. the product, of its action). The
dualist Sāmkhya maintains that it is a product of insentient Nature, a view that
Abhinavagupta refutes.
⁸²⁰ We have noted already that according to the Sāṁkhya, the individual soul simply
observes the elemental, sensory and mental forms Nature assumes. The former is the
‘enjoyer’, who experiences the latter, which is the object it ‘enjoys' or experiences.
Subject and object together constitute the two necessary aspects of common daily
experience and so make it possible. However, according to Abhinava and others,
‘experience’ or ‘enjoyment’ is itself an activity. Every form of action cannot be
relegated entirely to the objective domain. The soul who experiences the play of the
forms Nature assumes is engaged in this activity, at least. And for that, he must be the
agent of that action. The ‘knower’ must be the agent of the act of knowing, otherwise he
would not be a ʻknowerʼ or ‘enjoyer°.
⁸⁴⁰ According to the Sāṁkhya, all that appears in the field of objectivity, whether vital,
mental or physical, is an insentient product of insentient Nature, because the effect must
essentially be the same as the material cause. If the soul were to produce it, it would be
as insentient as its product.
⁸³l Contrary to what the Sāṁkhya maintains, an insentient entity, that is, one that it is not
a conscious agent, cannot give rise to any effects.
292 CHAPTER EIGHT

sṛāṁaī āī ūf āzāākaaṁ kr |
ṢITTTĀĪTTRRTTTĪI qTRTĀRITTT I| ṜCA,I
akartary api vā puṁsi sahakāritayā sthite |
Śeṣakāryātmataiṣṭavyāṇṅyathā satkāryahānitaḥ || 285 ||

Or even if (you maintain that) the individual soul is not an agent

(and is inactive) (akrtṛ), you must admit (iṣṭavya) that it (acts, at least as) an
auxiliary cause (sahakārin), in the generation of the effect (kārya);
otherwise, (your doctrine) that the effect is substantially the same as the
cause (satkāryavāda) would be refuted.³² (285) (284cd-285ab)

Here (according to the Sāṁkhya), Nature is the cause of the production

of all things (viśva) and, independently of the soul, it cannot take up any (task)
because it is said that the production of anything takes place by the association
(of insentient Nature) with that (sentient soul). As they say:

‘There is a mutual association of both, like that of a lame and a blind

man, in that the purpose of the soul (puruṣa) is (to provide) sight (to Nature),
and that of Nature (prakṛti) (to provide) emancipation (kaivalya) (to the soul).
Creation is brought about by that (union).⁷⁸⁵³

The soul is also a cause of the production of the universe, because it

takes place according to whether it is present, and does not when it is absent
(anvayavyatirekānuvidhānāt). However, because it is not possible for the
(insentient) universe to be in consonance with (the soul’s sentient) nature, it is
not the material cause; rather, it is an auxiliary cause. As this is so, one must
necessarily accept that it is an auxiliary cause that is independent of its material

⁸³² Thus, the individual soul, who is pure consciousness, does not produce anything.
Even so, its presence is essential if Unmanifest Nature is to precipitate down into the
manifest forms of its innumerable products, because they are produced to be the objects
of perception of the individual soul.
⁸³³ SāīnKā 21. The union of the individual soul with Nature is essential for perception to
take place, and their separation so that the individual soul may attain liberation. The
union of the two is like that of a lame man with a blind one. Nature acts, but as it is
insentient, it does not ‘see’. The soul ‘sees’ but cannot act. When they unite, creation
takes place. Vācaspati Miśra, commenting on this verse, explains what happens when
they separate: “The soul, ignorant of its distinction from Nature, while in union with
that, considers the three kinds of pain, which are really constituents of Nature, to be his
own; and seeks liberation from this bondage. And this liberation is only possible when
the knowledge that the soul is distinct from Nature arises. This knowledge of the
distinction between the soul and Nature cannot take place without Nature (and its
evolutes). Thus, for its own liberation, the soul needs Nature. This union is (otherwise)
perpetual due to the continuous series of conjunctions between the soul and Nature.
Although the soul unites with Nature for the purpose of worldly experience, it also
unites with it in order to achieve liberation, although that can ultimately only come
about by separation from it.’
 TANTRĀLOKA 293
effect (upādeya); otherwise (if one does not), the view (the Sāṁkhya maintains,
namely,) that the effect is substantially the same as the cause (satkāryavāda),
would be (contradicted and) refuted. Thus, in this way also, because (if one
accepts that the soul) changes into the universe, (the logical) consequence would
be that it (must be as) insentient (as is the universe).

Tarāṝtēēḷ ārã aṝ vīṝē: ŪḠTR aI |

āīaātā =īvaaṛa gāīā=rrēēft || 2¢ē1
tasmāt tathāvidhe kārye yā śaktiḥ puruṣasya sā |
tāvanti rūāpāṇy ādāya pūrṇatām adhigacchati || 286 ||

Therefore, the power the individual soul possesses (to give rise) to
this kind of effect (that is, the phenomenal world), having assumed these
forms, attains (its) state of plenitude (and perfection). (286) (285cd-286ab)

“This kind’ (of effect), that is, in a gross form, the nature of which is the
power of action. ‘These forms’ are the (eight) Vidyās etc. (who preside over)
the vital channels. Its ‘fullness’ is because in this way it rests only within itself.
Now he continues with the main point.

The Group of Eight Components of the Subtle Body (vigrahāṣṭaka)

īṬēTezāī̄āī āfrā fāīēī=azāī |

nāḍyaṣṭakordhve kathitaṁ vigrahāṣṭakam ucyate |

(The next thing) that will be taught is the group of eight

(components) of the subtle body (vigrahāṣṭaka), that is said to be above the
group of eight vital channels.³™ (287ab) (286cd)

‘That is said’ in all the scriptures. He says that:

ā ṜqṬ'T qG faTTHTSATIĪTTI 3¢. 1

ōeeitīTṈEPG euzea'Eitiḷ tā-
kāryaṁ hetur duḥkhaṁ
sukhaṁ ca vijñānasādhyakaraṇāni || 287 |
sādhanam iti vigrahatā-
yugaṣṭakaṁ bhavati puṁstattve |

The group of eight (constituent elements) associated with the subtle

body (vigraha), located in the principle of the individual soul, are: 1) the
product (in the form of the subtle elements) (kārya), 2) the cause (which is

⁸³√ These are the divine originals of the eight constituents of the subtle body
(puryaṣṭaka). See SvT 10/1088cd-1089 and below 24/17cd ff.
294 CHAPTER EIGHT
the senses) (hetu), 3) pleasure and 4) pain, 5) (sensory) consciousness
(vijñāna), and 6) that which is to be attained, (made manifest) (sādhya) by
the (inner) organs of sense, respectively, 7) the (three internal mental)
senses (karaṇa), and 8) the means (sādhana) (that is, Nature which is the
universal material cause of phenomena).³⁴⁵ (287cd-288ab) (287)

⁸³⁵ Paṟaphrase of SvT 10/1088cd-1089. These lines with Kṣem: s commentary are as
follows:
athopariṣṭād devesi vigrahāṣṭakam ucyate |/ 10/1088 I
vigrahasya sūkṣmaśarīrasyotthāpakam aṣṭakaṁ vakṣyamāṇābhimānadevatārūpapuṅs-
tattvāvaraṇaprayojanam || tac ca ----

kāryaṁ ca karaṇaṁ caiva sukhaduḥkhakaraṁ tathā |

jñānaṁ sādhyaṁ ca vikhyātaṁ sādhanaṁ kāraṇaṁ tathā || 10/1089 II

‘Now, O mistress of the gods, the group of eight (constituent elements)

associated with the subtle body (vigraha) will be taught. (1088cd)

The purpose of the group of eight that generates the subtle body is to serve as a
covering for the principle of the individual soul, which is the deity of the ego
(abhimānadevatā), that will be described. And that is:

1) The product (in the form of the subtle elements) (kārya), 2) the instrumental
cause (which is the senses) (karaṇa), that brings about 3) pleasure (sukha) and 4) pain
(duḥkha), 5) (sensory) consciousness (jñāna), and 6) that which is attained and
perceived (sādhya), 7) the means (sādhana) (that is, the three internal senses), and 8) the
cause (kāraṇa). (1089)

kāryaṁ kāryātmasūkṣmadehārambhitanmātrotthāpakam | karaṇam iti sūkṣmadehāva-

sthitānabhiyyaktaprāyabāhyendriyadaśakotthāpakam, tannāmaiva devatādaśakam .|
sukhaduḥkhakaram .iti sukhaduḥkhopabhogasampādakaṁ devatādvayam | jñānaṁ
sādhyaṁ cety anabhivyaktena buddhīnáriyapañcakena karmendriyapañcakena ca
sampādyaṁ .Ṃjñānamātraṁ .vyāpāramātre ca vikhyātaṁ pratītaṁ yat tad
adhitrdevatārūpam ihaivoktam,

1) ‘The product’ (kārya) generates the subtle elements, from which is

fashioned the subtle body, that is a product (of the gross elements). 2) ‘The instrumental
causeʼ (karaṇa) generates the ten external senses, which are as if unmanifest, located in
the subtle body. Itis called the group of ten deities. 3) ‘Pleasure’ and 4) pain’ are two
deities that give rise to the experience of pleasure and pain. 5) ‘(Sensory) consciousness’
(jñāna) and 6) ‘that whichis to be attained’ (sādhya) are the pure sensory consciousness
(jñānamātra) that can be attained by means of the unmanifest group of five organs of
perception and five organs of action. It is perceived in the activity itself (of the senses)
as such (vyāpāramātra). It is said here said to be the nature of the presiding deity.

sādhanam ity antaḥkaraṇe vyāpakaṁ devatātrayam ity arthaḥ | kāraṇam iti

kāraṇarūpasya pradhānatattvasyotthāpakaṁ devatārūpam ity arthaḥ | yady api ca prāg
raśmikaraṇajatejomaṇḍalādyuktiprasaṅge kāryakaraṇādīnām utpattau kāraṇam uktam,
tathāpi tad eveha devatārūpaṁ puṁstattve ‘pi sūkṣmarūpatayā sthitaṁ tatraiva
handhanātmanas tatprayojanasya paryavasānāt | māyāyāṁ tv etat sarvam eva
pāśajālaṁ pararūpeṇāvasthitam iti vakṣyati || 1089 |I
 TANTRĀLOKA 295
‘The product (kārya)ʼ is the subtle element (tanmātra) (of sensation).
‘The cause’ is the group of ten senses beginning with speech. ‘(Sensory)
consciousness and that which is to be attained’ – (this expression implicitly)
suggests the organs of knowledge and action (collectively), and refers (directly)
to just knowledge (jñānamātra) and action (vyāpāramātra). “The (inner)
organs of sense’ are the three inner organs of sense (namely, the intellect, mind
and ego). ‘The meansʼ is Fundamental Nature (pradhāna), which is the cause
of everything (in the phenomenal universe). (They are) ‘(the constituent
elements) associated with the subtle body’ because they generate the subtle
body in their subtle form. (t is not their gross and supreme form,) because they
have been explained previously in their gross (sthitla) form, and because they
will be explained as the supreme form of Māyā.³⁴⁰

The Worlds of the Fetters and Coverings of the Soul

The Ten Attributes of the Body (dehadharma) and the Fetters of the Soul

JHAMĀÑJAĀVJAĀ2.¢ 1I

pJīcharrāīr āra³īa zāiērī I 2¢8 1

JTTd TJ TaIT f H=vTē TT; |
Rīā aTāṁaz āÇṬĪTGTĪ;I| ṜRo I
īīaTāīāēgatīī hīaītzhzāeī |
TṬāṬ ³TFÇRTĪTTHTTĪRT I Ġ*⁰⁸ I

bhuvanaṁṅ dehadharmāṇāṁ daśānāṁ vigrahāṣṭakāt || 288 II

ahiĩṣā satyam asteyaṁ brahmākalkākrudho guroḥ |
śaucasantoṣā rjuteti daśoditāḥ lI 289 II

hyaṁ purai budmgunās tataḥ |l 290 |

tatraivāṣṭāv ahaṅkāras tridhā kāmādikās tathā |

‘The meansʼ (sādhana) means the group of three deities that pervade the inner
metal organ. ‘The cause³ (kāraṇa) means the deity that generates the principle of
Pradhāna (fundamental Nature), which is the cause. Although the cause of the arising of
the product and the instrumental means etc. was stated before, in the context of teaching
(matters concerning) the sphere of radiant energy born of the rays of the instruments (of
the senses), even so here (in this context), that is also the nature of the deity within the
principle of the individual soul, that abides there in a subtle form, because that is the
consequence of the bondage that is its purpose. It will be said (further ahead) that all this
net of fetters in (its) supreme form is located within Māyā.”
⁸³⁰ 1 ṣuppose that the gross form of the subtle body is the City of Eight (puryasṭaka),
which transmigrates and was mentioned previously. For the three kinds of bodies, see
above note, 8,465 to 8/163cd-165ab (163-164).
296 CHAPTER EIGHT
pāśā āgantukagāṇeśavaidyeśvarabheditāḥ l| 291 ||
trividhās te sthitāḥ puṁsi mokṣamārgoparodhakāḥ |

(Beyond) the eight constituents of the subtle body lies 1) the world
of the ten attributes of the (gross) body (dehadharma). These ten are said to
be: nonviolence, truth, abstinence from theft, chastity, lack of deceit,
freedom from anger, devout attention to the teacher, purity, contentment
and rectitude.™⁷
2) Sixteen, called corporeal fetters (dehapāśa), are located within
the principle of the individual soul itself. Again, they are (the principles
that range from the mind (manas))³⁸ up to (the subtle element of) smell. 3)
Then comes the world of the eight qualities of the intellect,™ 4) the three
forms of the ego,³" and 5-7) the three types of fetters within the individual
soul that block the path to liberation. These (three are) those that are
adventitious, starting from passion (kāma) onwards, and those that belong
to Gaṇeśa and Vidyeśvara. (288cd-292ab) (288-291)

⁸⁷ See SvT 10/1090-1091.

⁸³* The ‘sixteen’ here are the five subtle elements, the ten organs of perception, and
action and mind (mmanas).
⁸³⁹ According to the SvT (10/1095cd-1096ab), the eight qualities of the intellect are
piety, knowledge, detachment, power, and their opposites.
⁸⁰ According to the SYT (10/1096cd-1097ab), the three forms of the ego are 1)
permutative (vaikārika), 2) energetic (taijasa), and 3) the elements and the rest
(bhūtādi). Kṣemarāja glosses them as rājasa, sāttvika, and tāmasa, respectively. This
interpretation is not completely in agreement with the Sāṁkhya view outlined in the
Sāṅṁkhyakārikā (25), where we read that:

‘The sāttvika set of eleven proceeds from the permutated (vaikṛta) (form) of the
ego. The subtle elements (tanmātra) (of the five sensations) (evolve) from the elements
and the rest. They are tāmasa. Both (are formed) from the energetic (taijasa rājasika
eg0).”

The commentator Vācaspati Miśra explains that the eleven permutations of the
sāttvika ego are the five cognitive organs of sense and five of action, along with the
mind (manas). Together with the five subtle elements generated from the tāmasika ego,
they make sixteen. These are the two developments of the ego principle. The five subtle
elements generate the five gross elements (SāṁKā 22). Rajas is said to operate in both
forms of the ego, because it is the quality of activity and energy which stimulates and
impels them both.
Kṣemarāja explains that ‘in this way, the subtle elements, external and internal
senses, reside in a subtle form in the principle of the individual soul, and are said here to
be fetters. These are here (according to the Krama teaching) established to be the inner
wheels of Bhucarīs, Dikcarīs and Gocarīs. In accord with that (view), they have initially
been said to be (their) supreme forms. Further ahead, the Wheel of Khecarīs will be
(explained subsequently) as the inner one of the deities of the obscuring coverings
(kañcuka) (relating to the individual soul).”
We have seen that generally Kṣemarāja’s Krama teachings accepts a fifth
sphere of Vāmeśvarṁī that encompasses these four and is their ultimate source. See
above, note 3,778.
 TANTRĀLOKA 297
‘Beyond the eight constituents of the subtle body’, that is, above
them. ‘Within the principle of the individual soul itself’, that is to say, above
the ten-fold attribute (of the gross body), which is above (them). (Concerning
the) ‘corporeal fetters’, one should explain that, by extension, after that there is
the world of the five, that are called the objects of the senses (viṣaya), that is,
sound and the rest, originating from the subtle body. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘Sound, touch, form, taste and smell, which is the fifth, are said to be
the objects of the senses, which should be purified with effort."³⁸⁴¹

Although that is taught in the venerable Svacchandatantra after the

three-fold ego, even so it is explained here because they belong to the same
category as the sixteen permutations (vikāra) (of Nature).*³² Sound and the rest
(of the objects of the senses) are (in all respects) the supreme fetters operating
everywhere (sarvatomukha); this is why they are mentioned repeatedly in
various places as supreme, subtle and gross objects of purification. Thus, there
is nothing wrong (in placing them here). ‘The three types of fetters’ are said to
be those ‘starting from passion (kāma) onwards’. This is the syntactical
relationship (between these words). The reason why they are located here is
because they ‘block the path to liberation’. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):
‘Luṣṭ, anger, greed, delusion and backbiting (paiśunya), birth, death, old
age, disease, hunger, thirst, and craving, despondency, fear, madness, elation,
attachment, aversion, mindlessness, anger, deceit, violence, illusion (māyā),
envy, righteousness and unrighteousness, and lack of freedom ~ one should
know that these are the adventitious (fetters). Now know the fetters of (the lord
of) the attendant host (gaṇa). They are: 1) the goddess (devī), 2) Nandi,
3) Mahākāla, 4) Gaṇeśa, and 5) Vṛṣabha, 6) Bhṛṅgī and 7) Caṇḍeśvara and 8)
Kārtikeya, who is said to be the eighth. 1) Ananta (Endless), 2) Tritanu (Three
Bodies), 3) Sīūkṣma (Subtle One), 4) Śrīkaṇṭha, 5) Śivottama (Excellent Śiva),
6) Śikhaṇḍin, 7) Ekanetra (One Eye) and 8) Ekarudra (Single Rudra), who is
another – in the course of initiation one should purify these fetters of (this)
group of eight Vidyeśvaras,⁷⁸³

⁸“¹ SVT 10/1098cd-1099ab.

⁸“² Maybe the sixteen permutations of Nature are meant here. According to the
Sāṁkhyakārikā (3), they are the five organs of sense, five of action, the mind, and five
gross elements (here they are said to be the five subtle elements). But it seems more like
that they are the permutations of the ego referred to here as the ‘corporeal fettersʼ. A
parallel group of sixteen is listed in the reference from the Svacchandatantra quoted
below.
⁸³ g9yT 10/1099¢d-1104. Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 10/1103cd-1104 summarizes and
explains:
śuddhe 'dhvani śivaḥ kartā prokto ‘nanto ‘site prabhuḥ ity āmnāyāntarokta-
nītyāśuddhādhvakāraṇaṁ tritatvādiparivṛto yo “nantabhaṭṭārakas tasya puṁs-
tattvāvārakatve saty aśuddhādhvasraṣṭr̥tvaṁ phalai tatra si márāpeiŪa5ḷúaḥ iti
ati | tad
trayaniviṣṭā dvāviṁśatiḥ pañca-viṁśatir vi
aṣṭakam, vigrahāṣṭakaṃ ahiṁsādayo daśa,
298 CHAPTER EIGHT
Surely, here (in this system) the fetters are of three kinds, namely, those
pertaining to the individual soul (āṇava), Karma and Māyā. Agreed that, as is
said there, the sixteen permutations and the rest are fetters, (indeed all) that is
the expansion of the fetter of Māyā; however, that Gaṇas and Vidyeśas are said
to be binding, seems to us to be as if a (totally) new (view). With this doubt in
mind, he says:

3āftēk̄ādagāraādzā-aaTq II 382 l
ṬṃJēōēāīgīhēúīgzTīcdī3ī 3=zād |
yat kiñcit paramādvaitasaṁvitsvātantryasundarāt || 292 ||
parāc chivād uktarūpād anyat tat pāśa ucyate |

A fetter is said to be whatever is other than Supreme Śiva, Whose

nature we have just described, and He Who is beautiful with the freedom of
the consciousness, which is supreme nonduality.** (292cd-293ab) (292)

Here (according to us), ‘whatever°” is not some (particular) fixed thing

that is ‘other than’ and separate from the ‘supreme’, that is, (perfectly) full
(and complete) ‘Śiva’, Whose nature has been described previously and Whose
body is just the Light (of consciousness) alone, is all ‘said to be a fetter’, and is
considered to be binding. This is the meaning. But surely (someone may object)

trividho Ṁ*haṅkāraḥ, Śabdādiviṣayapañcakam ity .ahiṁsādiviṣayapañcakāntā

dvācatvārīṁśatsahajā dehapāśāḥ kāmādayaḥ asvatantratantrāḥ saptatriṁśatir
āgantukāḥ p. , aṣṭau ca gaṇeśāḥ, aṣṭau vidyeśāḥ pāśā iti trinavatyadhikaṁ śataṁ
pāśabhuvanānāṁ puṁstattve śodhanīyam uktam ||

‘Śiva is the agent on the Pure Path, and Ananta is said to be the lord on the
impure oneʼ (Kiraṇatantra vidyāpāda 3/26cd, see note to Jayaratha ad 8/331-332
(330cd-332ab)). According to this teaching, imparted in another tradition (āmnāya), the
Lord Ananta, surrounded by the three principles (tritattva) etc., is the cause of the
Impure Path. As the principle of the individual soul is below (Ananta), (Ananta’s)
agency on the Impure Path bears fruit (there, below it). It will be (explained) that it is
located there (in the individual soul) in a subtle form. In this way, that (is present there
as) the group of nine satisfactions, the eight accomplishments, which is the group of
eight (yogic powers), beginning with the power to make oneself small at will (aṇima).
(Again,) arranged (there) in three rows, there are twenty-two (teachers and disciples),
twenty-five and twenty, making sixty-seven teachers and disciples. (Present) there is
(also) the group of eight vital channels, the eight relating to the subtle body (vigraha),
the ten beginning with nonviolence (ahiṁsa), the sixteen modifications (of Prakṛti), the
eight qualities of the intellect, three kinds of ego, and the group of five objects of sense,
beginning with sound, thus making the forty-two innate fetters of the body, beginning
with nonviolence, and ending with the five objects of sense. Lust (kāma) etc. are the
thirty-seven secondary (āgantuka) fetters that depend on (the soul’s) lack of freedom
(asvatantratantra). Again, there are eight Gaṇeśas and the eight fetters, which are
Vidyeśas. Thus, it is said that there are one hundred and ninety-three worlds of fetters
that need to be purified within the principle of the individual soul.”
⁸⁴4 Quoted above in TĀv ad 1/16. Also quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu 4/156cd-158ab.
There are no variants.
 TANTRĀLOKA 299
that nothing at all could be other than the supreme Light, because if it were
separate from it, it would not be linked to its manifestation (bhāna) (which is lit
up by the light of consciousness); or else, if that were to be so, it would only
have that one form (independent of all others), so of what could it be said to be
binding?⁸⁹ With this question in mind, he has said that (Supreme Śiva is)
‘beautiful with the freedom of the consciousness, which is supreme
nonduality°. He is Supreme Śiva Who, even though his nature is supreme
nondual consciousness, is beautiful with (His absolute) freedom, by virtue of
which, having concealed His own essential nature, He manifests as each limited
form, due to which this Māyic impurity, which is the perception of relative
distinctions, is strengthened.
Surely, if you wish to consider that (all things) that are other than
Supreme Śiva, Whose sole nature is that of the perceiver, namely, insentient
entities such as the body and the senses etc., the sole nature of which is that they
are objects (of the perceiver), are fetters, let it be, but how can (the countless)
perceivers, who are different (from them and Supreme Śiva) (pararūpa), and
whose sole nature is that they are perceivers, also be (fetters)? With this doubt
in mind, he says:

Defining Feature of the Fetters

Tīaā ḍGTTTITā
TĪSTT ṬŪPAT I| 3<3 1|
ī̄cēāqīḷīīaīa fr f ēdīaāaā 1
3TITTHTĀ] J TJīRĪ: ŪT-ĀTFJĀĪTTĪ; I| 3Y I
āī Ũ̄ vā̃ īāā vīmra-z=ād vvj |
tad evaṁ putstvam āpanne pūrṇe ‘pi parameśvare || 293 I
tatsvarūpāparijñānaṁ citraṁ hi puruṣās tataḥ |
uktānuktās tu ye pāśāḥ paratantroktalakṣaṇāḥ || 294 ||
te puṁsi sarve tāṅṁs tatra śodhayan mucyate bhavāt |

⁸¹ An entity and its manifestation as such to a perceiver within consciousness are not
separate realities. Nothing that is known to exist in any form or manner can be known in
any way apart from the way in which it is manifest. Its manifest nature is itself the
essential nature of the entity. That fact that an entity is manifest within consciousness is
not an adventitious quality of the object. It is as if there could be the bare entity existing
in itself, to which a quality of ‘manifested-ness’ is added when it appears to anybody. It
is the very nature of the object, which by definition and invariably in experience is an
object that is known or can be known to a perceiver. The moons around Saturn existed
before they were discovered. They were not perceived, but could be, and so were so.
Potentially, everything that exists can be perceived in some way or another. From this
point of view, one can say that the capacity to be perceived is the very existence of an
entity, and that is its manifest nature. This manifest nature and Being, which is at once
the specific and universal nature of every single thing, is the light of consciousness,
which Kashmiri Śaivism affirms is the one reality. Separate from that, nothing could
manifest and so exist.
300 CHAPTER EIGHT
The Supreme Lord, although full (and perfect in every respect)
(pūrṇa), assumes the state of that individual soul who, as such (evam), is
ignorant that that is his own nature. Thus, there are various types (citra) of
individual soul.
Dependence (paratantra) is said to be the characteristic of all (types
of) fetters,³€ (both) those that have been described and those that have not.
As they are (progressively) all purified there within the individual soul, he
is freed from phenomenal existence.™⁷ (293cd-295ab) (293-294)

Everywhere here (in our system), it is proclaimed that the perception (of
things) as different (bhedena) from the Supreme Lord’s nature is bondage, and
that that is the absence of knowledge (akhyāti) (of the true nature of things).
Moreover, that (ignorance) is without distinction (with respect to the true nature
of both) perceivers and the objects of (their) perception. Thus, the condition of
all of them as fetters is the same. But even so, the individual souls may be more
(or less) excellent with respect to one another, according to the degree in which
they fail to know that essential nature (of all things), due to which they too are
various. Thus, one soul may have just one form of impurity (mala), another two,
and yet another may have (all) three. However, even so there is no difference at
all between them with respect to their state of bondage, because (their)
condition of ignorance of the Supreme Lord’s (true) nature (is the same) .³*⁸ And
in the same way, the state of a Vidyeśa is that of a lower form of liberation, and
so this and the rest is reasonable (and correct). Thus, it is said (in the
Svacchandatantra) that:

‘O fair lady, up the end of the Equal One (samanā), the net of fetters is
endless.⁴

In the same way, whatever has not been stated that is other than
Supreme Śiva should all be known to be fetters.
Thus, he says:

The Worlds of the Five Kañcukas

a 3itā q fīrā’ṁṝrzīrēzī;
īgGT āS 1M 23.1
amī.Ṃ gṀĩāT. īā q =-' fraāī. |
APṀi ṭccḻriēARitcttHH'ĪEKṢAI
Ṭ dāīJyāīṁ īīraṁā̃ Taq |
. Ṁī{fTēāīaāī arBṀftṁṁrathīssz³4 I| Ṝ3ṚU I
⁸⁴⁶ The expression paratantroktalakṣaṇāḥ can also be translated ‘whose characteristics
have been stated by other Tantras’.
⁸⁷ TĀ 8/294cd-295ab (294) is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1105.
⁸⁴³ They are all ignorant and bound, although the degree and form of their bondage may
differ.
⁸⁴⁹ SVṬ 4/432ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 301

FSĨT-T--TTTGṬTg] āTHTIT:TÑTAHĪTTT: |
āraī? aāṛ-eīaaāāā⁷ TṬŪṬTHḤ I| 3X/¢ I
koṭiḥ ṣoḍdaśasāhasraṁ pratyekaṁ parivāriṇaḥ || 296 ||
rāge vīreśabhuyanaṁ gurvantevāsināṁ param |
puraṁ cãśuddhavidyãyãṁ syãc chaktinavakojjvalam || 297 I|
manonmanyantagās tāś ca vāmādyāḥ parikīrtitāḥ |
kalāyāṁ syān mahād eva trayasya puram uttamam || 298 I|

1) Above the individual soul is the Principle of Natural Law (niyati).

The ten Śaṅkaras reside there, resplendent as gold.
2) There are ten Śivas who are extremely white in the Principle of
Time. Each of them is surrounded by ten million and sixteen thousand
(deities, who serve as their entourage).
3) (Next comes) the world of (the eight) Vīreśas, and as another,⁸"
the (ten) teachers and disciples in the Principle of Attachment (rāga).
4) The world of Impure Knowledge shines brilliantly with the nine
powers. They are said to range from Vāmā up to Manomanī.*⁹¹
5) The best of worlds, that of the three Mahādevas, is the Principle
of the Force (kalā) (of limited agency).³² (294cd-298) (294-298ab)

1) Those called ‘the Śaṅkaras’ (are as follows):

1) Vāmadeva, 2) Śarva, 3) Bhava (Fettered Existence) and 4) Udbhava

(Born), 5) Vajradeha (Adamantine Body), 6) Prabhu (Lord), 7) Dhātṛ
(Benefactor), 8) Krama (Process) and 9) Vikrama (Valour), and 10) Suprabheda
(Beautiful Division), the tenth, are said to be the Śaṅkaras in (the principle of)
Natural Law (niyati).³³

(Those) ‘resplendent as gold’ are the Śaṅkaras, and those who are
‘extremely white’ are the Śivas. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘The Śaṅkaras are said to be resplendent as gold, the Śivas (white) as

crystal.⁷⁸*⁴

2) 1) Śuddha (Pure), 2) Buddha (Awake), 3) Prabuddha (Fully Awake),

4) Prašānta (Completely Tranquil), 5) Paramākṣara (Supreme Imperishable), 6)
Siva and 7) Suśiva, 8) Dhruva (Immobile), 9) Akṣaraśambhu (Imperishable

⁸⁰ Read with Jayaratha param for puram.

⁸³¹ See below for their names, 8/339 (338cd-339ab) and 15/305-306.
⁸³” TĀ 8/296ab-298 (296cd-298ab) is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1113-1119.
⁸³³ SVT 10/1106cd-1107. Kṣemarāja explains that they are located in the ten directions.
Concerning the principle of Niyati (‘natural law’ or ‘necessity’), see below, 9/202cd.
⁸* SVT 10/111 1lab. Kṣemarāja: “This is said in order to explain that the soul, which is
constrained by natural law (niyati) and consists of the ego, having assumed the plane of
the perceiver at the level of the intellect, resides in the lotus of the heart within the
body.”
302 CHAPTER EIGHT
Śiva) and 10) Rāṭ (Lord)– O fair-faced lady, one should know that these ten are
the Śivasin the principle of Time."⁸⁵

‘The world of the Vīreśas’, that is to say, qualified as numbering eight.

‘Next’ means other than that (i.e. the teachers), qualified as numbering ten. That
is taught (in the Svacchandatantra):

3) ʻAbove that, know from me that 1) Hari and 2) Hara⁶³⁰ are in the
principle of Attachment;⁷ (these and) 3) Suhṛṣṭa (Well Delighted), 4)
Suprahrṣṭa (Very Well Delighted) and 5) Surūpa (Beautiful One), 6)
Rūpavardhana (Prosperity of Beauty), 7) Manonmana (Mind Beyond Mind) and
8) Mahāvīra (Great Hero) are said to be the (eight) Vīreśas.’⁸*

‘1) Kalyāṇa (Auspicious) 2) Piṅgala (Brown) 3) Babhru (Tawny), 4)

Vīra (Hero) and 5) Prabhava (Authority), 6) Medha (Intelligence), 7) Atithi
(Guest), 8) Chedaka (Splitter),³⁹ 9) Dāhaka (Burner) and 10) Śāstrakārin
(Author of Treatises)– (the first) five are disciples, and then (the following five)
are teachers. These ten (also) reside (in the Principle of Attachment).”⁸⁰

4) ‘They’ are (the nine) powers. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘1) Vāṃmā, 2) Jyesṭhā, 3) Raudrī, 4) Kālī, 5) Vikaraṇī, 6) Balavikaraṇī,

7) Balapramathanī, 8) Sarvabhūtadamanī and 9) Manonmanī. ³s

Here (this version has been quoted,) because the learned have rightly
accepted the reading (of the names) in the feminine.⁸²
(The world in the Principle of the Forces is) ‘the best’ (of worlds),
because it rises up to the supreme summit (of existence). That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra, where the three Mahādevas are called):

⁸⁸³ SVT 10/1109cd-1110.

⁸⁶ Kṣemarāja explains that Hari and Hara are the two main Vīreśas.
⁸5⁷ Kṣemarāja: ‘(The principle of Attachment) is the universal desire for what is
perceptible (in the form of the feeling) ‘may something (good) happen to me’, and so it
is different from the gross attachment to objects of the senses, such as (the bodies of)
women, the intellect and Dharma.”
⁸³⁸ SYṬ 10/1113-1114ab. The SvT reads mahādhīro for mahāvīro.
⁸³⁹ SYṬ 10/1115c reads chandakas for chedakaś.
⁸⁶⁰ ṢVṬ 10/1115-11 16ab.
⁸⁶l This passage is equivalent to SvT 10/1117-1118ab, where the names are indeed
masculine. The printed edition of the SvT reads kalo vikaraṇas, which is equivalent to
kālī vikaraṇī. Kṣemarāja chooses to read the two together as a single name, i.e.
Kalavikaraṇa. However, that would shorten the list by one name. But it conforms to the
original source of these names, which is the Mantra of Vāmadeva, which is the northern
face of Sadāśiva. It is one of a set of five Vedic Mantras of Sadāśiva’s five faces that
constituted the main repertory of Mantras of the Paśupatas. See below, note 8,823.
⁸² The text accepted by Kṣemarāja has all these names in a masculine form. The names
in the version quoted by Jayaratha are indeed all feminine, and Kṣemarāja himself notes
that in some manuscripts, that is the case (kvacid ete vāmādayaḥ strīliṅgapāṭhena
dṛśyante).
 TANTRĀLOKA 303
5) ʻ1) Mahādeva (Great God), 2) Mahāteja (Great Energy) and
Mahājyoti (Great Light).⁷⁸³

The Worlds of Māyā

Māyāguhā̃ - The Womb of the Cave of M:

Now he describes the three forms of Māyā’s nature, as the Knot

(granthi), the principle (tattva) and energy (Śakti).

āṁ raī7 fīgṝeaēī r̥aaāĩṣṣcĩṝ.|

STTTĪT I vīTfT®: TTF JĪAĀTĪ TĪ ṬÑ: I 328 1
3TgHTTA-TĪ TaīḺaītzēh fnr 1
⁸³ SYT 10/1119ab. These are the three Mahādeva’s in kalātattva.
kalātatvaṁ samākhyātaṁ samāsena varāname | 1 119 |
samāsenety ukter ayam āśayo _yad anye ‘py atra vāmadevabhavodbhavaika-
piṅgekṣaṇabhuvaneśāṁguṣṭhamātrākhyāḥ santi | ete hy aṣṭau maṅgaleśvarāḥ pāūrvaṁ
buddhitattve ‘pararāpeṇoktāḥ, iha tu pararūpeṇa | tatra ca traya eva prādhānyād uktās
tad evaṁ .niyatikālarāgavidyākalākhyaṁ yad etat tattvapañcakam uktam,
tatproktabhauvana-sanniveśāśrayatayā bahiḥ sādhāraṇam eva | tatas tu pratipuruṣam
etannāmakam eva tattvapañcakaṁ kañcukaśabdavācyaṁ bhinnabhinnam evādbhutam
antaḥkaraṇādivat | etac ca taṇḍulasya kambukam iva puṁsaḥ paramāvaraṇam,
prakr̥tyāditanmātrāntaṁ tu sūkṣmaśarīrārambhakaṁ tuṣavat sūkṣmam, bhūtapañcakaṁ
tu sthūlaśarīrārambhakaṁ kiṁśārukavat sthūlam eveti sarvam etat prātilomyena
proktabhuvanavibhāgena śodhanīyam ||

‘O Fair-faced lady, the principle of Force has been explained in brief. (I1 19cd)

The sense of saying that (this has been explained) ‘in brief’ is that there are
others here also, namely, Vāmadeva, Bhavodbhava, Ekapiṅgekṣaṇa, Bhuvaneśa and.
Aṁguṣṭhamātra. These eight (?) Maṅgaleśvaras that were previously taught as being in
the principle of the intellect are (there in their) lower form (apararūpa); here they are in
their supreme one. Again, there (out of these), only three are said to be the main ones. In
the same way, a group of five principles are stated (as being present there), namely,
Necessity (Niyati), Time (Kāla), Attachment (Rāga), capacity for limited knowledge
(Vidyā) and action (Kalā). Externally, as the basis of the stated arrangement of their
(corresponding) worlds, they are the same. Thus, with respect to each individual soul,
the same group of five principles with that name is called ‘an obscuring coveringʼ
(kañcuka). Each (group) has arisen separately (for each soul) and is (present there) along
with the inner mental organ and the rest (of the apparatus of the psychophysical
organism). Like the (inner) fiim (kambuka) (that envelops a grain of) rice, this is the
individual soul’s supreme covering (āvaraṇa). (The principles), beginning with Nature
(Prakṛti) and ending with the subtle elements, constitute the subtle body. Like the chaff
(tuṣa) (around a grain of rice), it is the subtle (covering). The group of five gross
elements that constitute the gross body are, like the outer covering (of a grain of rice)
(kiṁśāruka), the gross (covering). All this should be purified in reverse, in accord with
the division of the worlds, as stated (previously).’
304 CHAPTER EIGHT

ṢBĪRĀTTHTT-T TAT ĀIHTIGTIH I| 300 1|

⁸“tato māyā tripuṭikā mukhyato ‘nantakoṭibhiḥ |

ākrāntā sā bhagabiḻaiḥ proktaṁ Śśaivyāṁ tanau punaḥ || 299 ||
aṅguṣṭhamātraparyantaṁ mahādevāṣṭakaṁ niṣi |
cakrāṣṭakādhipatyena tathā śrīmālinīmate || 300 ||

Then comes Māyā which, primarily consisting of three cavities, is

strewn with endless billions of vaginal cavities (bhagabila).*⁵ According to
the Śivatanuśāṣtra, the eight Mahādevas ending with Anguṣṭhamātra reside
within Māyā as the Lords of eight Wheels. Such is also the opinion of the
Mālinīmata. (299-300) (298cd-300ab)

‘Primarily² (the main ones are three), otherwise (secondarily), from the
point of view epounded (further ahead, Māyā) has countless cavities.
‘According to the Śivatanuśāstra, the eight Mahādevas reside within Māyā’.
That is said there:

‘The head of the Cave (of Māyā), which pervades the universe, is
covered with thousands of vaginal cavitiesʼ . . . `) There Mahātejas*⁰⁹ (Greatly
Powerful), who possesses the might of the gods, is the first Lord of the Wheel.
2) The powerful one called Vāma is the Lord of the second Wheel. 3) The
Rudra called Bhavodbhava (Born of Fettered Existence) presides over the third
Wheel with his vitality. 4) The Lord Ekapiṅgacakṣus (One Brown Eye) is the
Lord of the fourth Wheel. 5) The one known as Īśāna (Lord) is he who turns the
fifth Whee1.²⁷ 6) Bhuvaneśa (the Lord of the Worlds) is the Lord of the sixth
Wheel of the Worlds. 7) The one known by the name of Puraḥsara (Foremost) is
the god who is the leader of the seventh Wheel. 8) The one called
Aṅguṣṭhamātra (Just (the measure of) a Thumb)⁸⁸ is the lord of the eighth
Wheel of the Worlds.”

That is not just said here, but also elsewhere. Thus, he says: “Such is
also the opinion of the Mālinīmata’. As is said there:

‘Those who are called the Lords of the Maṇḍalas reside in the Principle
of Māyā. They are 1) Mahātejas and the rest, (namely) 2) Vāmadeva, 3)

⁸ṀṀ The verses in the Śivatanu, from which Abhinava draws, are in Arya metre, as we
find in Jayaratha’s citations. Although Abhinava generally maintains the same metre in
his citations from this source, here he has reworked it into common slokas.
⁸³ See below, 8/317. There are three levels of Māyā -- gross, subtle and supreme.
Inferior Māyā is called the Knot. The intermediate level is Māyā in a potential,
unaroused state. The highest form of Māyā is energy, identified with Vāgīśvarī, the
Goddess of Speech. Cf. below, 17/8cd-10ab. The aspect of Māyā to which verses 8/299-
320 (298cd-321cd) refer is the lower, disturbed aspect called the Knot. Bṛhaspati calls
the Knot the Cavity of Māyā (māyābila), and the principle of Māyā the Cave (guhā).
⁸⁶⁶ Read mahātejaḥ for mahātejāḥ.
⁸⁶̄⁷ Emend yac cakraṁ to yaś cakraṁ.
⁸⁶³ Read aṅguṣṭhamātranāma for aṅguṣṭhamātranāmā.
 TANTRĀLOKA 305
Bhavodbhava (Born of Fettered Existence), 4) Ekapiṅgekṣaṇa (One Brown
Eye), 5) Īśāna (Lord), 6) Bhuvaneśa (Lord of the Worlds), 7) Puraḥsara
(Foremost) along with 8) Aṅguṣṭhamātra (Just (the measure of) a Thumb). They
are as radiant as the Fire of Time.”⁸⁴“⁹

There is another difference here with respect to the Mālinīvijaya. Thus,

he says:

Jīāīaī: Ṭ̄TR] ā Jīēī. #rr̥ivrŪā̃|

T ṃṬīṛaīṀṝṀṁāḷ UGTTTTĪT JTTTTĪT; I| 30⁸, 1
vāmādyāḥ puruṣādau ye proktāḥ śrīpūrvaśāsane |
te māyātattva evoktās tanau śaivyām anantataḥ || 301 I|

(The Rudras,) Vāma and the rest who, according to the teaching of
the Śrīpūrva (Mālinīvijaya), reside in the individual soul and the other
(principle, that is, Attachment), are located, according to the Śivatanu, in
the Principle of Māyā. The last one of these is Ananta.”⁰ (301) (300cd-
301ab)

(One should understand) the word ‘other’, (in the phrase) ‘the
individual soul and the other (principle)ʼ, to be the Principle of Attachment.
As is said there (in the Mālinīvijayottara):

_(The Rudras who reside) in the individual soul are Vāṃma, Bhīma, Ugra,
Bhava, Īśāna, Ekavīraka, Pracaṇḍa, Mādhava, Aja, Ananta and Ekaśiva.⁷ ⁸⁷

(According to Śivatanu,) ‘the last one of these is Ananta’; (the series

of eight Rudras here) ends with Ananta. As is said there:

‘I) Then comes the world of Vāma, after that 2) (the world of) Bhīma
(Terrible), and then that of 4) Ugra (Fierce), after which comes the world of 5)
Bhava (Fettered Existence), and above that (the world) of the god 6) Sarva. . . .
After that, endowed with wonderful and diverse qualities, is the excellent world
of 7) Ekavīra (Solitary Hero).²”² . . . Above that is the excellent world, which is
a treasure of unlimited (good) qualities, of 8) Pracaṇda (Very Fierce), where the
one called Pracaṇḍa resides and governs Ekavīra and the others.”

What is the purpose of the teaching here concerning them? With this
question in mind, he says:

⁸‘⁷ MV 5/28-29.
⁸⁷⁰ According to the MV, the last is Ekavīra. The Śivatanu is the source for the passage
that begins here – 301cd (301ab) – and ends at 315cd-317ab (315-316). The passages
Jayaratha quotes there are all from the Śivatanu.
ŠU MV 5/25cd-26ab.
⁸⁷² Read caikavīrasya for cakavīrasya.
306 CHAPTER EIGHT

-ṬṬĪT-ī: ŪdTTGRTHT; ĀTZTTṬT: |

aĪTaTṂ GGHRGTTTTTHTET: I 3°2 1
kapālavratinaḥ ṣvāṅgahotāraḥ kaṣṭatāpasāḥ |
sarvābhayāḥ khaḍgadhārāvratās tattattvavedinaḥ || 302 |

Those who observe the Vow of the Skull, offer their own limbs to
the fire,³”³ practice severe austerities, fear nothing, and observe the Vow of
the Blade of the Sword⁵"“ know that (reality) principle (tattva).³”⁸ (302)
(301cd-302ab)

‘They know that (reality) principle’ means that they are those who
enjoy union (sāyujya) with Vāmā and the rest. That is said (in the
Sivatanuśāstra):

‘1) Those Brahmins (vipra) who have known what is to be known and,
free of attachment, observe the Vow of the Skull and devoutly smear (their
bodies) with ashes, attain union (sāyujya) with Vāma. 2) Those who are
sensitive (to the reality) they have perceived (directly), desiring to attain (this)
extremely formidable (and fearful) plane (of realization), having worshipped
(the deity) with their own heads they have severed themselves, go to Bhīma’s
abode. 3) Those who are engaged in the practices of fearsome (ugra) Yogas and
fearsome penance which is hard to do, and meditate repeatedly on Ugra (the
Fearsome One), they too acquire (his) fearsome qualities. 4) Those Brahmins
whose minds are dedicated to meditation and, having known the god Bhava,
have attained perfection by bestowing fearlessness to the frightened, ascend" to
Bhava’s plane. 5) Those who, having adorned themselves*”⁷ with garlands, fine
clothes and ornaments, are intent on observing the ‘Vow of the Blade of the
Swordʼ, meditating, attain ’*Śarva’s abode.²

Surely, Ananta who emits, (sustains and withdraws the impure

principles below Māyā,) is their Lord also, so what is the use of attaining (just)
this plane alone? With this doubt in mind, he says:

⁸”³ The passage in the Śivatanu says that theṣe ascetics offer their heads that they
themselves have severed. Abhinava decided, it seems, to tone down this practice. He did
not approve of ritual suicide. Anyway obviously, once dead, the ascetic could not do the
practice listed next.
⁸¹⁴ “Vow of the Blade of the Sword’ (asidhāravrata) is mentioned in 15/511 (507), along
with six other penances (vrata), forming a set of seven. Another reference is in 15/545
(541). See Sanderson (1985): 565 for references. and below, note 15,848.
⁸³ Cf. below, 15/540-545. This verse, in śloka metre, is a summary of the passage
Jayaratha quotes in his commentary drawn from the Śivatanuśāstra.
⁸1⁰ Ṟead -padamārohanti for -padamārohanto.
⁸”⁷ gbhirāmaṁ rūpam ātmanaḥ kṛtvā lit. ʻhaving made their own form beautifulʼ’.
⁸⁷⁸ Iṇ ṭhe lines quoted from the Śivaranu in the commentary on the previous verse, Śarva
comes after Bhava. This suggests the emendation of pūrvapadaṁ to śarvapadaṁ, which
is supported by MSs Ch and N, that read sarvapadaṁ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 307
The World of Ananta

³TTTTTHTĀĪT ATJTST-T 3=T |

kramāt tat tattvam āyānti yatreśo ʻnanta ucyate |

Gradually they reach that principle where the Lord is said to be

Ananta.⁵” (303ab) (302cd)

‘That principle’ means the main world of Māyā. (He is) ‘the Lordʼ,
that is to say, of this much of the Path up to here.⁸"
What is the scriptural authority here (for this view)? With this doubt in
mind, he says:

3k Tīā W: TdJITHTTīTTITTTRA ṜGTT || 303 |

fcafṁṝṝcōāmṁāēġīarīāRūTaza|
uktaṁ ca tasya parataḥ
sthānam anantādhipasya devasya || 303 I|
sthitivilayasargakartur
guhābhagadvārapālasya |

⁸⁸"ṭ is said that beyond that (plane of Rudras) is the abode of Lord
Ananta, who is the agent of persistence, destruction and creation. He is the
guardian of the door of the Womb (bhaga) of the Cave (of Māyā). (303cd-
304ab) (303)

‘It is said’, in the Śivatanu. ‘Beyond’ (here means) above. ‘The Cave’
is Māyā.
He now describes (Ananta’s) power to bring about (kāritva) 552
persistence and the other (phases of the cycle of creation and destruction of the
lower principles).

sr̥āftrṁēzṭrcaīāī gaī+ arīg 1 3©x 1|

Tīēhīāaāōī ṬGTWaPTIĀRTÇITTCTT: I 30Ḷ, 1|

⁸’’ Thjṣ line looks like Abhinava’s gloss on the account in the Śivatanu. It is not a direct
citation. Sanderson also does not consider it to be from the Śivatanu.
⁸⁴⁰ Śjva Himself directly emits and withdraws the pure principles from Śakti to Pure
Knowledge. Ananta emits and withdraws all the remaining impure principles, ranging
down from Maāyā to Earth, and so is their lord. See below, 9/60-61, 143 and 225.
³³¹ Abhinava quotes in his usual manner the Śivatanu in TĀ 8/303cd-313 (303-313ab).
⁸² ‘karirva-’ literally means ‘agency’. The power to do something is agency. Thus,
seeds are the agents of their sprouts, and the sprouts of the plants. Ananta is the agent
who brings about the cycles of creation. He does that and he causes that.
308 CHAPTER EIGHT

qĪSTTTTTTaT ĠṬTT ṬIṬYTYTTT

TqIS<āTThH'#īTzīdā J-ḥãṬd̃ SĨTĨTAṬTdṬ: ie¹'ē I| 3 ⁰ḵ 1I|
JJGIṬGAĪTĪTTIEṬ:
feraṁ arāāīq
dharmān aṇimādiguṇāñ
jñānāni tapaḥsukhāni yogāṁś ca || 304 ||
māyābilāt pradatte
puṁ sām nis
tacchaktīddhasvaba
guhādhikārāndhakāraguṇadīpāḥ || 305 |
sarve ʻnantapramukhā
dīpyante śatabhavapramukhāntāḥ |
so 'vyaktam adl ā̃
prakaroti jaganniyogataḥ śambhoḥ || 306 I|
Śśuddhāśuddhasroto
‘dhikārahetuḥ śivo yasmāt |

Drawing men repeatedly out of the Cavity (bila) of Māyā, (Ananta)

bestows upon them virtues (dharma), the yogic powers to make themselves
small at will (aṇimā)³⁸ and the rest, insights, the joys of austerity and
Yogas.
AIl (the Rudras), led by the hundred Rudras and headed by
Ananta, are strengthened by his power. The lamps of (their divine)
qualities, that serve (to illumine) the darkness that presides over the Cave
(of Māyā), shine. Presiding over Unmanifest Nature, (Ananta) creates the
universe at Śiva’s command, as Śiva is the source of authority over the
pure (higher principles above Māyā) and theimpure currents (of the lower
principles below Māyā).³² (304cd-307ab) (304-306)

The ‘hisʼ (in the expression) ‘his power’ refers to Ananta. By this is
meant that he not only ordains the state of the individual souls (kṣetrajña)⁶³
(within the domain of Māyā), but also that of the Rudras. The ‘(divine)
qualities’ (of the Rudras) are omniscience and the rest. (The hundred Rudras
are) ‘headed by Ananta’ means that he is their master. (Ananta creates) ‘the

⁸³ See above, note to 8/278.

⁸*4 TĀ 8/306cd-307ab (306) is practically a literal quotation from the passage quoted by
Jayaratha. Ananta draws men out of the Cavity of Māyā and gives them yogic powers
etc. Headed by him, all the Rudras are strengthened, and the lamps of their qualities
illumine the the Cave of Māyā. Presiding over unmanifest Nature, at Śiva’s command
he creates the lower order below Māyā. Śiva is the source of authority over the pure
priṇciple above Māyā and the impure below.
⁸⁸³ Oṇe of the words for the individual soul is ‘kṣerrajña’, which literally means ‘knower
of the field’. The ‘field’ in this context is the domain of objectivity, that is, Nature
(prakṛti), of which he is the witness consciousness (sākṣin). Thus, this is an appropriate
name for the individual soul in the domain of Māyā, of which Nature (Prakṛti) is here
considered to be a permutation.
 TANTRĀLOKA 309
universe⁷ consisting of effects and (their) causes* ‘at Śiva’s command’, not
just according to his own will alone. The reason here (for that is that Śiva is the
source of authority over both) ‘the pure’ (and impure principles). That is said
there (in the Sivatanu):

‘(One should know (Ananta) to be Śiva) because, presiding over

Unmanifest Nature, he creates the universe and so is the Lord of the gods. (He is
Śiva also) because He saves those who have fallen into the great chasm of
transmigratory existence, for he is endowed with the strength of Śiva’s Yoga.
Therefore, appointed by the Lord, he sits (presiding over the worlds of Māyā).
One should know that Śiva is the source of authority over the pure (higher
principles above Māyā) and the impure currents (of the lower principles below
Maāyā).³

Surely (one may ask), who possesses*⁷ “ authority over the pure and
impure currents’? With this doubt in mind, he says:

The Cavity (bila) and the Wombs (yoni, bhaga) of Māyā

frārīpraṁ āftāīī ṁēfā 7= ā sāīkzaṁ: īṣq ṇ 30.1

ṣṝāīcṣīṁī; āāītifāṝāahd: 1
ṃrāīTāfṁṝzṁṁṁ ũāīzq TṬē] STEITT: I| 3°¢ 1
śivaguṇayoge tasmin
mahati pade ye pratiṣṭhitāḥ prathamam || 307 ||
te ‘nantāder jagataḥ
sargasthitivilayakartāraḥ |
māyābilam idam uktaṁ
paratas tu guhã jagadyoniḥ || 308 I|

Those who are established on the first™⁸ great plane of union with
Śiva’s divine qualities are the agents of the creation, persistence and
destruction of the universe from Ananta onwards. This (region) is called
the Cavity of Māyā (māyābila) (and the Knot of Māyā). After that is the
Cave (of Māyā) (that is, the Principle Māyā), which is the womb (yoni) of
the universe. (307cd-308) (307-308ab)

‘The great plane’ is the pure current, of which the distinguishing mark
is that it is ‘union with Śiva’s divine qualitiesʼ, because (the divine attributes
of) omniscience and the rest (all) arise (there). ‘Ananta’ is the presiding Lord of
the Principle of Māyā. ʻThe Cavity of Māyā’ is Māyā in the form of the Knot,
and ‘the Cave’ is (Māyā) in the form of the Principle. ‘Beyond it’ means in the

³⁴⁶ Read kāryakāraṇātmā niyogataḥ for kāryakāraṇātmaniyogataḥ.

⁸*⁷ Read kasya for ko.
⁸*³ Read prathame for prathamam.
310 CHAPTER EIGHT
impure current.⁹ Thus the connected (order of the words is) that, although
Māyā is of two kinds, as the Knot and the Principle, it is ‘the womb of the
universeʼ. It is said there (in the Śivatanu):

‘Beyond it is the Cave, that is, the goddess (bhagavatī) Māyā, who is
the cause of the creation (utpatti) of the universe, within whom, having
experienced (a period of) persistence in her, the worlds again dissolve away
(into Her).”

What is the reason for the use here of the name ‘Wombʼ (for the
goddess)?

3caāī īīaāī ŪjŪrŪāīṁṀṀárrTfārraāṁ-ī 1

aṆt̄ṝāg āīTārēTTGTGṬ STTHT I| 3°8 1
ṇaāq ũtkīrērgr̥jfrṁzṁī arṁ zaī |
ṜĪṬTRGTTBTIT:ṢṬĪTKTTRTT: JSTTT | 320 I
utpattyā teṣv asyāḥ
patiśaktikṣobham anuvidhīyamāneṣu |
yonivivareṣu nānā-
kāmasamṛddheṣu bhagasaṁjñā || 309 ||
kāmayate patir enām
icchānuvidhāyinīṁ yadā devīm |
pratibhagam avyaktādyāḥ
prajās tadāsyāḥ prajāyante || 310 I|

She is called the Womb (bhaga) because (all beings) are generated
in those cavities of her wombs (yoni) that abound with many desires, in
accord with the arousing effect (kṣobha) the Lord’s power (has upon
them).*⁰ If the Lord (pati) passionately desires this goddess and she
behaves in accord with (his) will, then the creatures (praja) from
Unmanifest Nature onwards are born from each of her wombs.™¹ (309-310)
(308cd-310ab)

⁸⁸⁹ The impure current are the thirty-one principles ranging from Māyā down to Earth.
These are said to be ‘impure’, because they are in the realm of duality in which
individual perceivers experience their objects, physical and mental, as separate from
themselves and each other. The ‘pure current’ consists of the five principles above
Māyā, ranging from Pure Knowledge up to Śiva, where the perceiver is universal and
experiences the universe in various progressively heightening modalities of oneness
within himself, up to Śiva. This is the principle of pure unity that transcends even the
traces of objectivity experienced as one with universal consciousness at the pure levels
below.
⁸⁰ See below, 9/147-149ab.
⁸! Theṣe two verses, as the metre indicates, are also from the Śivatanu. TĀ 8/308cd-309
(308-309ab) is quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 10/1131c. The quotation is introduced
with the words: etac ca granthitattvāṁmatayā dvitvaṁ māyāyāḥ śrīśivatanau ----
 TANTRĀLOKA 311
‘In those’ (wombs), which are where creation, (persistence and
withdrawal) takes place. ‘Her’ (wombs), that is, of Māyā in the form of the
Knot. “This’ (goddess) is Māyā in the form of the Knot. (The creatures are born
from) ‘each of her wombs’, that is, in every single one, and so the Eggs of
Nature etc. are innumerable. He also indicates (thereby) that the dealings
between man and woman here in this world is analogously the instrumental
cause (of birth), as is that.
And they are unlimited. Thus it is said that:

īratṁrggārṁāīrṁīars ī āa fafg
³TTTTTĀTTT-ĀR̥ĀTṀ āTṢIĪ TITT I 322 1
āīktr̄rī-ēhT-īr̥HTaīTṚaTṀ⁵t|
HTĪTCḍ: geĩ̃. āṣ: fifā: vyḥgg II š22 11
fnaū ā zr. gṝa: stāfāraōriaaa:
T TTTSTaT: āṬHĪRTTTT: ĪÑjlaiúlṣgIʼ 32 1
teṣām atiṣūkṣmāṇām
etāvattvaṁ na varṇyate vidhiṣu |
avavarakāṇy ekasmin
yad vatsāle bahūni baddhāni || 311 II
yonibilāny ekasmiṁs
tadvan māyāśirahsāle |
māyāpaṭalaiḥ sūkṣmaiḥ
kuḍyaiḥ pihitāḥ parasparamadṛśyāḥ || 312 ||
nivasanti tatra rudrāḥ
sukhinaḥ pratibilam asaṁkhyātāḥ |
sthāne sāyujyagatāḥ
sāmīpyagatāḥ pare salokasthāḥ || 313 II

The (number and) extent of those extremely subtle² (wombs) is not

mentioned in the prescribed procedures (vidhi). Just as many surrounding
lines of defence are constructed in a single (fortified) enclosure,⁸³ similarly,
there are many vaginal cavities (yonibila) in the one enclosure at the
summit of Māyā. Hidden one from another by the walls of the subtle
divisions (paṭala) within Māyā, innumerable Rudras, blissful and invisible,
reside in each cavity. There, within (that) place, (they have variously)

‘according to the venerable Śivatanu, Māyā is of two kinds, as the Knot (of Māyā) and
as the Principle (of Māyā).¹ At the end of the quotation, Kṣemarāja says: iṅyādi
granthena gurubhir darśitam iti `the teacher has explained (that) with this passage.⁷ The
teacher hereis presumably Bṛhaspati, who wrote the Śivatanu. Jayaratha supplies the
verse that follows in the Śivatanu, the first line of which Abhinava condenses into the
last quarter line of his paraphrased citation.
⁸² Māyā is said to be invisible because it is extremely subtle. Cf. Tattvaprakāśa 38 and
commentaries.
¹³ In both instances śāla - ‘enclosure’ – is written sāla.
312 CHAPTER EIGHT
entered into a state of union (sāyujya) (with Śiva), proximity (sāmīpya) (to
him, while) others (pare) abide in the same world with him (saloka).³⁴ (311-
313) (310cd-313ab)

‘There, within (that) place’, that is, within Māyā in the form of the
Knot. He states the reason why (the Rudras are) innumerable, (saying that they
are variously) ‘in a state of union’ etc.
He indicates that that is the same elsewhere also.

sjfāīyaīṁaṁz frāītṁī rētr#zr=:

pratibhuvanam evam ayaṁ
nivāsināṁ gurubhir uddiṣṭaḥ |

The teacher (Bṛhaspati) has taught this in the same way (evam)
with regards to each world of (their) inhabitants. (314ab) (313cd)

He explains that there is no equally common reason why their presiding

deities should generate (creation) in just a fixed limited amount (iyattākalane).

³̄ṝ gāT̄aaāī rāT<TRTGTATĪT. I 32*¥ 1

ī TāĨ-āīTccaāgaãaīi ēaT |
api sarvasiddhavācaḥ
kṣīyeraṉ dīrghakālam udgīrṇāḥ || 314 ||
na punar yonyānantyād
ucyante srotasāṁ saṁkhyāḥ |

⁸³⁵Ṭhe words of even all the accomplished yogis (siddha) (put

together), uttered for a long time, would come to an end before they could
recount the number of the currents (of creation), inmnumerable as are the
wombs. (314cd-315ab) (314)

⁸³⁴Foṛ ṭhese four grades of union (sāyujya) and the rest, see below, 28/237cd ff.
⁸⁵ 8/314cd-317ab (314-316) is drawn from the Sivatanu, and so are the preceding lines,
as Abhinava himself says. The verse lightly paraphrased in 8/314cd-315ab (314) has
been quoted by Bhaṭṭa Nārāyakaṇṭha on Mṛgendra, Vidyāpāda 9/1 and 13/178. In the
first instance he introduces it as being by Bṛhaspati.

tathā coktaṁ tatrabhavadbr̥haspatipādaiḥ

api sarvasiddhivācaḥ kṣīyeran dīrghakālam udgīrṇāḷt !
māyāyām ānantyān nocyeta srotasāṁ saṁkhyā ll

‘The words of even all the accomplished yogis (siddha) (put together), uttered
for a long time, would come to an end before they could recount the number of the
currents (of creation), innumerable as they are within Māyā.⁵
 TANTRĀLOKA 313
Surely (one may ask), do the other currents (of creation) differ in
character from this current (of creation we have just described), or not? With
this doubt in mind, he says:

TITīTATTĪ JTĪIT RJ̄RTTṀTĀTTḤ I 324 I

RĪTTTTĀT-ĪT ṬGATJṬIĪTT] TaITī 1
J=zīṝṁṁ- TṬēīāī Jāiī%hoōīīaāī fēēīḶ 3TTē̄sta: 1| 32ē 1
=ĩīā: Ūīāī saīaṝ. ḥfṣōa: vṝ: Ũṝḷṛaā: 1

tasmān nirayādy ekaṁ

yat proktaṁ dvārapālaparyantam || 315 ||
srotas tenānyāny api
tulyavidhānāni vedyāni |
avyaktakale guhāyā
prakṛtikalābhyāṁ vikāra ātmīyaḥ || 316 ||
otaḥ proto vyāptaḥ
kalitaḥ pūrṇaḥ parikṣiptaḥ |

Therefore, the other (currents of creation) should also be known to

be similar in their arrangement to the one current that has been described,
which starts with the hells and ends with (Ananta), who is the guardian of
the door.
Unmanifest Nature and the finite power (kalā) (of the individual
soul are permutations) of Māyā (guhā).⁸ Brought about by (the same)
Nature and finite power, its own permutation is threaded through, woven,
pervaded, measured out and cast forth, full (of Māyā, its cause). (315cd-
317ab) (315-316)

As Unmanifest Nature and finite power are a permutation (vikāra) of

Maāyā (as the Cave), so it is quite right that Unmanifest Nature and the finite
power (of the individual soul) be threaded through with (Māyā). One should
think of the cause as filling (and completing) its own effect. As they say: ‘the
cause fills (and completes) that.”⁸⁹⁷
(The process of) filling (and completing) is divided up into threading
through and weaving etc. ‘Its own’ (permutations are the permutations of Māyā,
brought about by Nature) from the intellect onwards, as well and ignorance and
the like.
Having explained in this way the difference between (this view)* and
other scriptures, he comes (back) to the main point:

⁸%% Read guhāyā for guhayā.

⁸⁷ ‘As they say’ is an honorific plural, most probably referring to Bṛhaspati, the author
of the Śivatanuśāstra. If so, this statement is drawn from there.
“³* Now after having quoted in his way the Śivatanu, Abhinava returns to his basic
narrative, namely that of the Svacchandatantra. Note that Jayaratha was aware that
Abhinava had been paraphrasing the Śivatanu. Even so, he presents it as if it were
Abhinava’s own words, who has explained this ‘in this way’, i.e. by paraphrasing
314 CHAPTER EIGHT
The Knot of Māyā (māyāgranthi):
The Three Cavities of Māyā and the Twelve Rudras

mē̄l ̄Tā TTĪ &3I: ṬGĀTṢTĪÑ I| 32.91|

īṝ 3ã̄ v̄ũ raṁũ frētãaṁ 1
madhye puṭatrayaṁ tasyāṁ rudrāḥ ṣaḍ adhare ʻntare || 317 I|
eka ūrdhve ca pañceti dvādaśaite nirūpitāḥ |

There are three cavities (puṭa) within the middle of that (Maāyā).⁹⁹
In the lower (cavity reside) six Rudras, one in the centre, and five in the
upper one. These twelve (Rudras) are described in this way (iti). (317cd-
318) (317)

‘In the lower’ means (in the lower) cavity. (One should understand) in
the same way elsewhere (in the other two cases). He now lists them.

Ta-TaTeār ēTāTās ar-ṣārqat tr̥ṣā 32¢ 1

r̥̃ Ta Tg ũag vag d TṬT TTGTT I| 328 I

īftaṁ fkaf fāc ēāīṣācrī-g āātī ṇ= |
gahanāsādhyau harihara-
daśeśvarau trikalagopatī
ṣaḍ ime || 318 II
madhye ‘nantaḥ kṣemo
dvijeśavidyeśaviśvaśivāḥ |
iti pañca teṣu pañcasu
satsu ca puṭageṣu tatparāvṛttyā || 319 ||
parivarttate sthitiḥ kila
devo ‘nantas tu sarvathā madhye |

The six (Rudras) are: Gahana (Deep), Asādhya (Unattainable),

Harihara, Daśeśvara (Lord of the Plane), Trikala (Three Energies) and
Gopati (Cowherd). (The Rudra) in the centre is Ananta (Endless).
The five (Rudras) are: Kṣema (Forebearance), Dvijeśa (Lord of the
Twice Born), Vidyeśa (Lord of Knowledge), Viśva (Everything) and Śiva.
The members of these groups of five and six who reside in the cavities can
exchange places with one another. (However,) the Lord Ananta is (always)
in every case in the centre. (318cd-320ab) (318-319)

Brṛhaspati. After having presented the Śivatanu, Abhinava returns to his basic text, the
Svacchandatantra.
⁸⁹ Read with MS G tasyām for tasyā. See above, 8/298cd. These and the following two
verses are a paraphrase of SvT 10/1122cd-1131.
 TANTRĀLOKA 315
That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

1) Gahana (Deep), 2) Asādhya (Unattainable) and 3) the Lord Harihara,

4) Daśeśāna (Lord of the Plane), and, O mistress of the gods, 5) Trikala (Three
Energies) and 6) Gopati (Cowherd) – one should know, O fair-faced one, that
they are in the lower cavity in the Principle of Māyā.
1) Kṣemeśa (Lord of Forebearance), 2) (Brahmā) the Lord of Brahmins,
3) Vidyeśāna (Lord of Knowledge), 4) Viśveśa (Lord of the Universe), 5) Śiva
and 6) Ananta, whois said to be the sixth. These are said to be the Rudrasin the
upper cavity of Māyā.⁰⁰ In the middle of them is the Lord Ananteśa, who is the
Lord of the universe.”¹

Although they are arranged differently when they are in their supreme
form, this makes no difference to (the location of) Ananta. Thus he says ‘(the
members of) these (groups)³ etc. ‘reside in the cavitiesʼ, that is to say, above
and below. ‘The members (can exchange places)’. The word ‘the members’
refers to the Rudras. In this way, because of the transposition of their
(respectively) higher condition within the lower and upper cavities, their state
(sthiti) changes. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘The first division of Rudras is said to be twelve. I will tell (you) the
great Rudras who reside in this Principle of Māyā, according to (their) division
into three types. O goddess, Gopati resides in the lower knot. Viśva resides in
the upper knot (as do) Trikala, Kṣema, the Lord of Brahmā, and Śiva, the fifth.
Ananta is (in the middle) above the lower (knot).”⁰²
Here in this way, there are seven worlds in their supreme-cum-lower
form in the lower cavity, ten in the upper, and just one in the middle, thus
making eighteen altogether.

⁹ Read ūrdhvamāyā- for ūrdhvaṁ māyā-.

⁰Ī ṢVṬ 10/1124-1127ab.
“⁰* SYT 10/1128cd-1131abc. Kṣemarāja explains in SvTu ad 10/1128cd: ‘The power of
the Supreme Goddess is Māyā, and she shines radiantly two-fold as the Principle (of
Maāyā) and the Knot (of Māyā). (It is said of her) as the Principle that: ‘Māyā abides,
pervading tens of millions of times all the moving and immobile (universe)³
(SVT 10/671). Again, it is said that: ‘having pervaded the lower Path, she abides as the
nature of all things” (ibid. 10/1123). She is (divided) into sections within herself. These
is an upper and a lower cavity. There, in relation to the two cavities, the first division is
the Principle (of Maāyā). It is said that there are twelve Rudras deployed there in
sections. The gross nature (of Māyā) is the Knot, which is said to be the subtle swollen
state of (its) power (when it is about to flow out into creation). It is the cause of the birth
of duality, consisting of the current of the series of principles, ranging from the Forces
of Obscuration down to Earth, which are divided into innumerable secondary divisions.
And that (Knot) abides three-fold, its size (and form like) that of the Knot of the palate.
Itis divided into (three) Knots, (one) above, (one) in the middle, and (one) below; there
(within them) is very subtle, tamas, sattva and rajas. As was said before:
‘The lower cover and the upper one are taught to be white and red. One should
know that tamas is in the middle. These (are how) the Qualities are arranged.” (ibid.
2/66)
316 CHAPTER EIGHT
Again, elsewhere (in another source), there is some difference (in the
way the Rudras and worlds are said to be arranged within Māyā). Thus, he says:

Two Groups of Six Rudras According to the Mataṅgatantra

ūrdhvādharagakapālaka-
puṭaṣaṭkayugena tatparāvṛttyā || 320 ||
madhyato ʻṣṭābhir dikṣthair
vyāpto granthir mataṅgaśāstroktaḥ |

According to the Mātaṅgatantra, the Knot (of Māyā) is pervaded by

two groups of six (Rudras), who reside in the cavities of the upper and
lower (portion of the) skull (kapāla). There are eight (Rudras) in the
middle, and eight who are located in the eight directions.”* (320cd-321ab)
(320)

(There are) ‘two groups of six° Rudras. Thus six (Rudras), beginning
with Ananta, reside in the upper (portion of the) skull, (six), beginning with
Gopati, below, and eight, beginning with Vigraheśa, in the middle. Thus, the
meaning is that the Knot of Māyā is presided over by twenty Rudras. That is
said there (in the Mātaṅgatantra), (in a passage) beginning with:

‘O (sage) of good vows, above⁹* the Knot are the skulls, numbering six.
There are as many below, beautiful, they are made here with the constituent
elements of the body (dhātu).¹*⁸

Then:
‘Ananta, whose nature is endless (ananta) vitality, resides at the head of
all of them. Then below comes the Rudra called Śiva, the Lord who made (that)
world, and Viśveśa, who is very powerful.™® Then another is Vidyeśāna.”” Then
another is (Brahmā), the Lord of the Brahmins,”⁸ and after that Kṣemeśa. These
are the six lords of (these) worlds. . . .”⁹ Below them is a knot that is hard to cut
and very extensive, where that (Lord is) Vigraheśāna . . .⁹¹⁰ (Next is) where

“³ Read theṣe lines as in MS G:

* ūrdhvādharasthakapālakapuṭaṣaṭkayugena madhyato ʻṣṭābhiḥ |
dikṣthairvyāpto māyāgranthiḥ śrīmataṅgaśāstroktaḥ |l
See MPĀ, Vidyāpāda, 8/67, 79-88.
⁹⁰⁴ Read -ūrdhvaṁ for -ūrdhva.
⁰³ MPĀ Vidyāpāda, 8/67. Edited text reads divyāni (‘divine’) for ramyāṇi (‘beautiful”).
⁹⁰Ó Read mahātejo for mahātejā.
“⁰⁷ Read with printed edition vidyesāno ‘paras tatah for vidyesśānaḥ paras tatah.
“⁰⁵ Read with printed edition brāhmaṇaḥ swāmī for brāhmaṇaṣwāmī.
“⁰⁹ MPĀ vidyāpāda 8/79cd-81c.
⁹!⁰ Ibid. 8/83abc.
 TANTRĀLOKA 317
there is Śarva, Bhava, Ugra, and the powerful Bhīma, Bhasmāntaka, and
Dundubhi and Śrīvatsa, who is very strong. Below that Knot is a great Wheel
consisting of six skulls. . . .⁹¹ (First comes) the divine world of Gopati, and then
after that that of Trikala, below that is the beautiful and pure world of Das
then that of the god Hara and Hari and Harihara.¹⁰¹²

There is also something else that differs (in the account of the worlds in
the Principle of Māyā) elsewhere (in other scriptures). Thus, he says:

Taīāṁd
gRn ũvayaaaīṁ fātrēī ( 322 u
śrīsāraśāsane punar
eṣā ṣaṭpuṭatayā vinirdiṣṭā || 321 ||

Again, according to the venerable Sāraśāśana (i.e. Trikasāra), this

(Mahāmāyā) is said to have six cavities. (321cd) (321ab)

As is said there (in the Trikasāra): “ʻBelow that is Mahāmāyā, which is

arranged into six cavities.”
Concluding in this way (his exposition of) Maāyā’s form as the Knot, he
begins to explain its form as the Principle.

The Principle of Māyā (māyātattva)

māyākāryaṁ tato māyā |

⁹Ṭhis principle is called ‘the Knot’, and is a product of (perturbed)

Māyā (in an unbalanced state). Then (beyond it) is Māyā (itself). (322ab)
(321cd)

(The Knot) ‘is a product of Māyā’. The meaning is that (the Knot) is
the Principle of Māyā itself, that has assumed an imbalanced state because it is
intent on giving birth (the universe). Again, (it also) has an undisturbed form.
Thus, he says:

⁹! Ibid. 8/85-86ab. Printed edition reads etasmād for tasmād.

⁵'² 1bid. 8/87-88ab.
⁹!³ Is 8/322-325ab (321cd-324) drawn from the Śivatanu? Sanderson does not list this
passage as being from the Śivatanu. Certainly, as Jayaratha tells us (ad 8/323cd-324ab)
(323)), it refers, at least, to a teaching in the Śivatanu, namely, that there are
innumerable cavities within Māyā. Abhinava quotes a relevant passage from the
Śivatanu concerning this below in 8/346 (345cd-346ab). The verses here do not
coincide, so they are most probably not from the Śivatanu. Nor is there any other
evidence that they are from there, except that they are in āryā metre. Judging by the
content, they may well be simply explanatory verses Abhinava wrote himself.
318 CHAPTER EIGHT

raā̄a fāā fēē Teīēú ḍ̄Tkādzzīdēd_I 33I

māyātattvaṁ vibhu kila
gahanam arūpaṁ samastavilayapadam || 322|

The Principle of Māyā is all-pervasive. Deep and formless, it is the

plane on which all things are destroyed. (322cd) (322ab)

(The Principle of Māyā) is ‘all-pervasive’ and therefore ‘deepʼ. It is

‘formlessī because it is subtle. ‘It is the plane on which all things are
destroyed’ – this is because, by the subtle process (whereby all things come to
an end), here is the (final) dwelling place of the (entire) universe.
Thus, there are no worlds here. Thus, he says:

̄ā ṂFTTTTI
3TI JJITTĪ TTĀTT |
tatra na bhuvanavibhāgo
yukto granthāv asau tasmāt |

(Accordingly,) there are no worlds in it. Thus, it makes sense

(yukta) that they are (only) found in the Knot. (323ab) (322cd)

‘The Knot’ is the gross form of that (Principle of Māyā). This is the
meaning.
But surely, even so, as (Māyā) is insentient, how can it give rise to (any)
effect? With this question in mind, he says:

ṃrāṛṬTṝaīftrīṁṁī:; āīsīī: āāfēāīT̄aāTaĀĪT]T I 323 1

māyātattvādhipatiḥ
so ʻnantaḥ samuditān vicāryāṇūn || 323 I|
yugapat kṣobhayati niśāṁ
sā sūte saṁpuṭair anantaiḥ svaiḥ |

The Lord of the principle of Māyā is Ananta. Having examined the

individual souls that arise (from Māyā), at the same time he disturbs (Māyā
which is called) the Night and so it gives birth (to its offspring) through its
own countless cavities (samputa). (323cd-324ab) (323)

‘He disturbs’ (Māyā), that is to say, he renders it fit to give birth to its
product ‘through (its) cavities’ in the form of wombs (bhaga). How they are
countless is explained in the book (called) Śivatau.³¹⁴
Thus, the product is also endless. Thus, he says:

⁹!⁴ Abhinava quotes a relevant passage from the Śivatanu concerning this below in 8/346
(345cd-346ab)
 TANTRĀLOKA 319

ī ālTazTd JgHaTSTGHĀG Tq I 3ṜY¥II

fīaā - fafr īā̄āarī fraaṉ |
tena kalādidharāntaṁ
yad uktam āvaraṇajālam akhilaṁ tat || 324 ||
niḥsaṁkhyaṁ ca vicitraṁ
māyaivaikā tv abhinneyam |

Thus, the entire net of obscuring coverings which, as explained, are

(the series of principles from) Force (kalā) up to Earth, are countless and
diverse, while Māyā itself is one and undivided. (324cd-325ab) (324)

Surely (one may ask), what is the (scriptural authority for the view that,)
even though the cause is only one, the product is endless? With this doubt in
mind, he says:

3 ʻJTTdYIT̄
T *ITITF ZT I 3ṜU,II

uktaṁ śrīpūrvaśāstre ca dharāvyaktātmakaṁ dvayam || 325 ||

asaṅṁkhyātaṁ niśāśaktisaṁjñaṁ tv ekasvarūpakam ḷ

It is said in the Śrīpāūrvaśāstra⁰" (Mālinīvijayottara) that two (Eggs),

that is, Earth and Unmanifest Nature, are innumerable, whereas (those) of
Māyā (niśā) and Power (are only) one.”"⁶ (325cd-326ab) (325)

That is said there (in the Mālinīvijayottara):

‘(lt is said that this (sixfold Path), in an abbreviated (form)

(saṁkṣepataḥ), is the group of four Eggs. (These are the Eggs) of Earth, Nature,
Māyā and Power.) (The first) two are distinct (from the other two) and are
innumerable. Each one (of the other) two is distinct (from the others, and is only
one).”
⁰¹⁷

Having explained this by the way, he returns to the main point.

TIaT: ŪṬḸTT: TII; TJ TāITc

T̄ I 32Ē, I
aāīṁa arāīraṁ azaṁ sīā Sīā |
‘!³ MV 2/50ab.
⁹!⁶ This is the meaning when read in the context of the MV, which is the source of this
line. However, Jayaratha understands this line to refer, quite rightly, to the two spheres
of cause and effect. Māyā and its energy (or one could say, the energy Māyā) is one, as
the causal sphere of the principles below ranging from Unmanifest Nature down to
Earth. This contains innumerable entities that are all its effects.
⁹’T MV 2/50ab. The previous verse has been added in order to clarify the context.
320 CHAPTER EIGHT
pāśāḥ puroktāḥ praṇavāḥ pañca mānāsṣṭakaṁ muneḥ || 326 ||
kulaṁ yoniś ca vāgīśī yasyāṁ jāto na jāyate |

(Within Māyā) and the fetters (pāśa) previously discussed, are the
five Praṇavas, the eight means of knowledge, the family of the sage, and the
Goddess of Speech, who is the womb (of all things). Once born in it (by the
power of Mantra etc.), there is no (further) birth.⁹"⁸ (326cd-327ab) (326)

(The fetters were) ‘previously discussed’ in the section concerning the

Principle of the Individual Soul"⁹ ‘The family of the sage’, in the form of the
teachers and disciples etc., was taught previously.”" ‘The womb’ is, according
to the view that: “Speech alone created all the worldsʼ,*²¹ the cause of the
universe. “Once born in it’ by the power of mantra etc., ‘there is (no further)
birth’, because one has been conjoined into Supreme Śiva.
What is the use of much (talk) – whatever is said to be on the Path
beginning with (the Principle of) the Force (of Obscuration) (kalā) down to
Earth is all present here itself. Thus, he says:

ãaaīa⁵ṢNEaRAYGT āPTĀTSTTḤ | 32|

srāā aīā q ṁaz ṁṝtaza 1
dīkṣākāle ʻdharādhvasthaśuddhau yac cādharādhvagam || 327 |I
anantasya samīpe tu tat sarvaṁ pariniṣṭhitam |

AII that is on the lower Path, which is purified in the course of

initiation, is well established close to Ananta. (327cd-328ab) (327)

The point is that this is so because it is proper that the product be

present in a subtle form in the cause.

⁹!⁸ This verse is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1131d-1132, that reads:

... pāśāś caivātra saṁsthitāḷḥ ||
pūrvaṁ vai kathitã devi ato
yonir vāgīśvarī caiva yasyāṁ j
‘And the fetters are located here. Then, (above the fetters), is the family of
sages and the Goddess of Speech, who is the womb (of all things). Once born in it (by
the power of Mantra etc.), there is no (further) birth.
⁹!⁹ See above, 8/291.
“2⁰ See above, 8/282.
“³¹ Thiṣ is a Vedic text. Kṣemarāja quotes this statement in SvTu 10/1132cd and goes on
to comment on that and the lines Abhinava is paraphrasing from the Svacchandatantra.
He writes: “In accord with this view, the Goddess of Speech (Vāgīśvarī) is the source
(yoni) and cause of the universe. She abides here (within Māyā) in a subtle form, and
within Pure Knowledge in (Her) supreme form, as will be established later, and in (Her)
lower (apara) form in the world of Sārasvatī, as has been explained previously.
Everything is the Supreme Lord’s power, which is divided into three in a gross, subtle
and supreme form, and abides in each particular place in this or that way (as the case
may be), as will be explained in the eleventh (chapter of the Svacchandatantra).” (SyTu
ad 10/1132).
 TANTRĀLOKA 321
Surely (one may ask), let it be (as you say), but what then is said
concerning the Praṇavas and the rest? With this doubt in mind, he says:

Tāī ēḺāḷ ā̄? aāīāīḷ yā̄ṀṀ Ṁfē̄-ēa;; ũa 1. 3 .c 1

TJITTTṬRḺTRṬgYRCTGHTĪ I TJSeḤ |
rTār’īgīī hēāTkTTSJHTTTT] I| 38 1I
sādhyo dātā damano
dhyāno bhasmeti bindavaḥ pañca || 328 ||
pañcārthaguhyarudrā-
ṅkuśahr̥dayalakṣaṇaṁ ca savyīham |
ākarṣādarśau ce-
ty aṣṭakam etat pramāṇānām || 329 ||

The five Bindus are: Sādhya (Goal), Dhātṛ (Benefactor), Damaneśa

(Lord of the Garland), Dhyāna (Meditation) and Bhasma (Ash). The group
of eight (Pāśupata) scriptures (pramāṇa) (consists of): Pañcārtha, Guhya,
Rudrāṇkuśa, Hṛdaya, Lakṣaṇa, Vyūha, Ākarṣa and Ādarśa.⁰² (328cd-329)
(328-329ab)

The Bindus are the Praṇavas. Now he (goes on) to say (the following)
in order to describe the nature of all of them as far as possible.

sīgāTaaī:
āa īaīērd’īī |
rAIITYĪĪTĪ
ŪTT & TṜṢJAT || 33⁰ |
aluptavibhavāḥ sarve māyātattvādhikāriṇaḥ |
māyāmayaśarīrās te bhogaṁ svaṁ paribhuñjate || 330 ||

“²² TĀ 8/328cd-329 (328-329ab) is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1133-1135ab. Commenting

on these verses, Kṣemarāja explains: “The eight Rudras, who are above the group of five
coverings called Praṇava, should be called ‘means of knowledge’ (pramāṇa), because
they are the means to attain the knowledge (pramā) of all that should be abandoned and
taken up. These Rudras brought down to earth the Pāśupata scriptures (śāstra) with their
names. There, one called Hṛdaya, which is said to be one of the (Pāśupata) scriptures
(pramāṇa). 1ṭ includes within itself six scriptures called Pura, Kalpa, Kanaka, Śaālā,
Niruttara and Viśvaprapañca, which predominantly (teach) ritual (kriyā). They are
different from the aforementioned eight scriptures, that predominantly (teach)
knowledge. Musulendra, who was Lakuleśa’s disciple, extracted them from the scripture
named Hṛdaya, and was the first to show them to those who desired to ascend. These
are not counted separately here. In this way, (it is said that) ‘the (PāŚupata) Tantra is of
two kinds, Lākula and Mauṣula’ (SVT 11/71). The Pāśupata is present here as the
supreme (level) within Māyā. It will be explained that their supreme plane is the Īśvara
principle. Thus, (it is said) that: ‘the supreme plane of the Śaivas is free on all the Path.²
(SVT 11/74) In accord with this view, stated further ahead, it is said that that there is a
great difference between the Saivas and Pāśupatas.³
322 CHAPTER EIGHT
The beings that are competent (adhikārin) for the Principle of Māyā
all possess unobstructed power. Their bodies are made of Māyā and enjoy
the experience (bhoga) proper to them.⁹²³ (330) (329cd-330ab)

(The experiences) ‘proper to them’ are those that are appropriate to

their own competence. This is the meaning.
Now he discusses (their) state as possessing bodies made of Māyā.

JḠĀṬH TṬ̄TÃ̄ TRTTA TGTT |

rTaāTā-āraāṀ̄fṟeṁ sī̄ ā g u 232 1
T-HTG HTTHTĪI: TTT-TI-ĀĪSTSI: |
TKĪTṀHĪTHT `SĪḤĪ-dī ̃ HIāīdīāqŪōāTI || 3 3 IIl

pralayānte hy anantena saṁhṛtās te tv aharmukhe |

anyānantaprasādena vibudhā api taṁ param || 331 ||
suptabuddhaṁ manyamānāḥ svatantrammanyatājaḍāḥ |
svātmānam eva jānanti hetuṁ māyāntarālagāḥ || 332 ||

At the.end of the period of destruction they are reabsorbed by one

Ananta, and at the dawn of a (new cosmic) day are (again) awakened by the
grace of another Ananta. Immersed in Māyā, they are foolish, thinking that
they are free, and that that other (Ananta is the same Ananta) that has
awakened from sleep (as they have), and that they themselves alone (eva),
(not he), are the cause (of creation and absorption).³² (331-332) (330cd-
332ab)

(The souls are awakened) ‘at the dawn of a (new cosmic) day’ when
creation takes place again. The word ‘another’ (in the expression) ‘another
Ananta’ (is used with respect) to (another Ananta), that bears authority (to
govern) Māyā (māyādhikārin). They do not know that ‘that other’ Ananta is
‘the cause (of creation and absorption)’, they (think that) ‘they themselves’
(are the cause). One understands that (other possibilities) are denied by the
power of the word ‘alone (eva)ʼ. There are two reasons why they do not know
that. One is that (they think that they have by themselves) ‘awakened from
sleepʼ, and that ‘they are foolish, thinking that they are free’. The reason why
they consider themselves to be such is that they are ‘immersed in Māyā’. This
is said even though, in accord with the teaching that ‘Śiva is the agent on the
Pure Path, and Ananta is said to be the lord on the impure oneʼ,”* (all beings

⁹’³ The first line is a quote of SvT 10/1137cd, which reads aluptaśakti vibhavā for
aluptavibhavāḥ sarve. The second line is probably Abhinava’s explanation.
⁵2*ṬTĀ 8/331-332 (330cd to 332ab) is a paraphrase of MPĀ Vidyāpāda, 8/75cd f.
“³³ Kiṟaṇatantra vidyāpāda 3/26cd. The first half of this line is quoted in TĀv ad 1/1 and
by Kṣemarāja in his commentary on SVT 10/1104. The whole line is quoted below ad
9/61, ad 10/224cd-225ab, and ad 13/113cd-114ab. It is frequently quoted by Siddhānta
commentators also. It is found, for example, in the commentaries (vṛtti) by
 TANTRĀLOKA 323
including) those (who govern the lower worlds), starting from Ananta and the
rest, are created and destroyed. But even so, inebriated by the pride (of their
limited) sovereignty because they are deluded by Māyā, they do not know this.
Instead, they consider themselves to be the creators and destroyers of the
universe, thinking that there is nothing more (and beyond) themselves. This is
because, although they are dependent on others (and so are not free) in
themselves, they proudly ascribe the freedom (to themselves that they do not
possess), and so believe that creation and absorption is dependent on them, on
the analogy (of the creation of the world of the waking state by one) who has
awakened from sleep. That is said (in the Mātaṅgatantra):

‘Entering into (a state of) inebriated (pride due to their) sovereignty

(over their worlds), they think themselves to be great souls, (believing that)
‘there is (none) who is better than me, and there is no other superior cause of the
worlds. I myself am the lord of this entire universe.’ . .

‘As they all look downwards (instead of up), they are deluded by the
inebriating (pride) of their own creation and, free of blame, are devoted to the
pleasures of the sport (they enjoy there) within it; falling asleep when the
complete withdrawal (of creation periodically takes place) by means of the
instruments they themselves have created. Then (when the time comes to wake
up), penetrated by (the power) that arouses them, they are fully awakened by
one another, and they see their own creation, which is like that, burning
radiantly with the arrangement (of the worlds within it), (they believe that) ‘we
have woken up from sleep. How is it that we are in the grip of our own sleep?
We play free of impediments (kleśa), hungry for (the pleasures) we have earned
for ourselves.¹ They are all covered with subtle fetters, (but) they are not
obscured by the gross ones.”*"

Aghoraśivācārya on the Tattvaprakāśa ī7, Sadyojotis's Tattvasaṁgraha 18 and 30,

Tattvatrayanirṇaya 17 and BhoKā 4. The second half is quoted ad 8/351-52 and ad
8/346-349ab (345cd-348).
Ananta’s nature and activity is the subject of chapter four of the Kiraṇatantra.
Rāmakaṇṭha takes many of the statements in the Kiraṇa to refer to all the Vidyeśvaras,
of whom Ananta is the head. Accordingly, he comments on this line saying:
‘In the pure path of the mantras and lords of mantras (mantramantreśādhvani),
which consists of the worlds (and bodies) of the reality-level of (pure) knowledge and
others (above that) (vidyātattvabhuvanādyātmmake), Śiva is the creator. What is meant is
that those (Mantras and Lords of Mantras) are created by him (tatkṛtāḥ), and (so are) all
their worlds and (bodies, and) so on. Ananta (in the verse) means (the officiant of the
lower universe) beginning with Ananta. The group beginning with Ananta are lords, that
is to say, the agents of creation and the others (of the five functions, that is, compassion,
restraint, maintenance, and resorption) (sthityādikartā = prabhuḥ), on the path of primal
matter (māyāvartmani = asite).’ Translation by Goodall.
The verse that follows in the Kiraṇa is worth quoting:
‘Juṣṭ as another man, powerful like himself, is employed by a ruler of a
kingdom in this world (to do this business), so too this (Ananta) does everything (after
being) awakened by Śiva’s power. Ki 3/27
`²* MPĀ Vidyāpāda, 8/75cd-79ab.
324 CHAPTER EIGHT
Having described in this way two forms of Māyā, as the Knot and the
Principle, in order (to describe its) form as Power also, he says:

aṛā. ṁ fkeŪā aṝar ṣāī sīqfarāt |

azazq aī āútṁāttr̥ḡdc-ā | 333 1
fīīāīaftatera aī vt-qaa:
zġ ṁṝatṁ *ī fāazxṁc atz: 1 3 3xu
TŌATTTTJTH] T TTH TIRTT: |
aqcq%} rdkzārsã
arcā% ṁaĨ gāT 334 1
EjEIIEEIEIE=/ETEAEIIEM
JRJT3 īTTaī āīīaī TīaTōūāīI| 33ē |A
ataḥ paraṁ sthitā māyā devī jantuvīmohinī|
devadevasya sā śaktir atidurghaṭakāritā || 333 I|
nirvairaparipanthinyā tayā bhramitabuddhayaḥ |
idaṁ tattvam idaṁ neti vivadantīha vādinaḥ || 334 ||
gurudevāgniśāstreṣu ye na bhaktā narādhamāḥ |
satpathaṁ tān parityājya sotpathaṁ nayati dhruvam || 335 ||
asadyuktivicārajñāñ chuṣkatarkāvalambinaḥ
bhramayaty eva tān māyā hy amokṣe mokṣalipsayā || 336 ||

Beyond that is the goddess Māyā, who deludes living beings. She is
the power of the God of the gods, (His power) to do what is exceedingly
difficult.”” Their intellect confused by (Māyā, that operates freely) with
none to oppose its obstruction (nivairaparipanthinyā), philosophers argue
here (with one another, saying) “this is reality, this is not”.””⁸ Abandoning
the true path certainly leads them (along) a wrong path.”” Those low

⁵⁹⁷ TĀ 8/332ab (331cd), 333cd-336ab (333ab-335cd) = SVT 10/1138cd-1139, 1140cd-

1141. SVṬ 10/1140cd-1141 is quoted in TĀv ad 4/17-18ab and SvT 10/1138cd-1141 ad
4/38. Abhinava paraphrases SvT 10/1141cd in TĀ 4/38cd. He quotes it literally in
13/317ab. SYT 10/1140cd-1141 is quoted in TĀv ad 4/17-18ab and SvT 10/1141cd is
quoted in TĀv ad 1/21.
SVT reads atah paraṁ bhaven māyā sarvajantuvimohinī ‘Beyond that is Māyā,
that deludes all living beings’ for ataḥ paraṁ sthitā māyā devī jantuvimohinī ‘beyond
that is the goddess Māyā who deludes living beings'. The same passage is quoted above
in TĀv ad 4/38, with no variants with respect to the published edition of the SvT. It is
quite probable that Abhinava inserted the diction ‘devī’, thus personalizing Māyā. Line
333cd is not found in the SvT. Thus, it appears that it is Abhinava’s gloss on the
previous line, which serves to reinforce his addition to the text.
⁹³⁸ Ksṣemarāja pertinently comments: ‘(they) argue, that is, say things contradicting one
another. Thus, philosophers (vādin) ultimately end up just (maintaining some) view, not
in (attaining) knowledge of reality.”
“2⁹ The SVT reads tu for tān and nayati drutam utpatham ‘quickly leads far away (along)
the wrong path³ for sotpathaṁ nayati dhruvam ‘certainly leads them (along) a wrong
pathʼ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 325
people who are not devoted to the teacher, deity, fire and the scripture⁹⁰
and take their support from dry logic know (only) the deliberations
produced by false reasoning.³¹ By (their) desire for liberation, Māyā makes
(them) wander about (confused) in what is not liberation.”² (333-336)
(332cd-336ab)

(Māyā is) ‘the goddess’ because she is not (separate and) different from
the god. (Māyā is the Lord’s power) ‘to do that which is exceedingly difficult’
because it is (His) freedom. (Due to Māyā, people are confused,) and taking
different views, ‘dispute’ (with one another). (They take their support from
logic, which is) ‘dry’ because it is devoid of (any) real (point) (vastu).
Surely (one may ask), how can (Māyā), which is such, be eradicated?
With this doubt in mind, he says:

ftraēraīttṝī
ftēar fōragīīr̄ī er |
ī Tīīccqī-dī Ṝāāī-ōaz īd | 331
Śivadīkṣāsinā cchinnā śivajñāṇnāsinā tathā |
na prarohet punar nānyo hetus tacchedanaṁ prati || 337 1|

Once (Māyā) is severed by the sword of Śaiva initiation and the

sword of the knowledge of Siva, it does not grow again. There is no other
means but this to cut through it.³⁸ (337) (336cd-337ab)

‘Initiation’ (means the required) ritual action (kriyā). ‘There is no

other meansʼ (to remove Māyā) taught (in any) other scriptures (also).

“³⁰ SVṬ reads -śāstrasya for —śāṣtreṣu.

⁹³ Kṣemarāja comments: ‘False reasoning’ is reasoning that is outside the Supreme
Lord’s supreme nondual tradition (āgama). ‘What is not liberation’ is all else that is not
the pervasion of oneness with the Supreme Lord, who is the dense (uninterrupted)
consciousness and bliss of supreme nonduality.”
⁵³² TĀ 8/333-336 (332cd-336ab) is a close paraphrase of SvTT 10/1138cd-1141.
⁹³³ SVṬ 10/1142ab declares: “Once (Māyā) is severed by the sword of Śaiva initiation, it
does not grow again.” The rest is Abhinava’s gloss. Kṣemarāja comments: śivena
svacchasvatantracidānandaghanena śaṅkareṇa proktā yā jñānayogakriyāpradhānā
nānāprakārā dīkṣ "dīyate jñānasadbhāvaḥ⁰" iti prāṅnirūpitarūpā, saiva
pāśacchedakatvād asir iva, tena yasya cchinneti svātantryaśaktyātmaparaṣvarūpa-
pratyabhijñānenonmiūlitā, taṁ prati na kadācit prarohatīty arthaḥ |

‘Śiva (also called) Śaṅkara, who is dense (uninterrupted) pure, free

consciousness and bliss, has taught initiation, which is of many kinds, (and may be)
predominantly based on knowledge, Yoga (or) (ritual) action. (Of that he says that) ‘it
gives the essence of knowledge’. It has been described previously. It severs the fetters
and so is like an axe. He whose (fetters) have been severed by it, it has uprooted (them)
by the recognition of the Self’s supreme nature, which is the power of freedom. (The
fetters) do not develop (again) for him. This is the meaning.³
326 CHAPTER EIGHT

The Nine Worlds of Great Knowledge, the Goddess of Speech

TFHITT: TṬṬ TRITTITJ TIṬĀHT |

ārTīPaṁ ā-ā% arāīcāadcŪqI| 33¢ 1
mahāmāyordhvataḥ śuddhā mahāvidyātha mātṛkā |
vāgīśvarī ca tatrasthaṁ vāmādinavasatpuram || 338 II

Now, above Mahām: is Great Knowledge which, pure, is the

Little Mother (Mātṛkā) who the Goddess of Speech.⁰* There are nine

³M Line 338ab (337cd) is a condensed version of SYT 10/1142cd-1144ab. Kṣemarāja

comments:
evaṁ māyāyās tattvagranthiśaktyātmakaṁ trividhaṁ rūpam uktam | tatra tattvātmakam
aśeṣaviśva-vyāpakāṇḍarūpasannibhaṃ, granthyātmakaṁ .trividham, Śśāktaṁ .tu
svātantryaśaktisāram eva | tathātvenāparijñāyamānatvān mohitān prati māyety ucyate |
tad eyam iyam īśvaraprayuktā nigūhitasvasvarūpān puṁsaḥ jñātrkartṛrāpān svaiḥ
kalādiniyatyantais tattvaiḥ kiñcitkartr̥tvakiñcijjñātṛtvābhilāṣakālananīyamanair
mitabhogyopabhogabhājaḥ proktapāśaśatapāśitān vidhāya kiñcidaṁśātmabhogya-
sāmānyarūpe pradhānāśaye tathā nikṣipati,

‘It is said in this way that Māyā’s nature is of three kinds, namely, as a
metaphysical principle (tattva), as the Knot, and as Śakti. There (in this regard), (Māyā)
as a metaphysical principle (tattva) pervades all the universe. (The one which is) the
Knot is like the form of (the cosmic) Egg, and is of three kinds. The Empowered one is
essentially the power of freedom itself.
With respect to those who are deluded because they do not know it properly as
being such, it is said to be Māyā. That is this (Māyā), which is used by the Lord (on)
individual souls, who are (both) agents and perceivers, (but) whose own (true) nature
has been concealed by (the Lord’s) own metaphysical principles (tattva), beginning with
the force (of limited agency) (kalā) and ending with Necessity. (By means of them,) he
has bound (them) with hundreds of the aforementioned bonds, and they are receptacles
(of their) experience (bhoga) of that, which they (are subject to) experiencing,
determined by (their condition of) limited agency, limited cognitive subjectivity,
craving, time and Necessity. Once having done that, (the Lord) casts them in this way
into the abode of the material nature (pradhāna), which is the universal objectivity
(bhogya), the nature of which is limitation (kiñcidaṁśātma).

yena tatkāryaguṇādikṣityantasthūlapāśapāśitā yoner yonyantaram evaite ‘nusaranti |

ataḥ pārameśadīkṣāyāṁ samucchedyaiva | iyaṁ ceyad viśvavyāpikāpi māyā-
khyātirūpāpi pārameśvaraprakāśabhittāv eva prakāśata iti | etanmukhena yā viśva-
prakāśikā pārameśvaraprakāśabhittiḥ, sā śuddhavidyocyate | tatas tāṁ nirūpayati ----

Due to that, they are bound by the gross fetters, ranging from the Qualities,
which are the products of that (Prakṛti), up to Earth, and they (thus) go from one womb
to another. Thus, (Māyā) should be removed in the course of the Supreme Lord’s
initiation. If that is removed, (the power) that pervades all things and is also the
knowledge of (the true nature of) Māyā shines on the screen of the Supreme Lord’s
Light. (The power) that by that means (mukha) illumines all things and is the screen of
the Supreme Lord’s Light is said to be Pure Knowledge. Thus, (the Tantra) describes
that:
 TANTRĀLOKA 327

athopari mahāvidyā sarvavidyābhavodbhavā || 1142||

jagataḥ pralayotpattivibhūtinidhir avyayā |

daśakoṭiguṇā vidyā māyāṁ vyāpya vyavasthitā (10/671)

ity uktatvād aśuddhavidyāvailakṣaṇyato mahaty aśeṣavedanarūpatvād vidyā sarvāsāṁ

vidyārājñprabhr̥tīnāṁ divyānāṁ bhavānāṁ ca praṇavopalakṣitānāṁ sarvamantrāṇām
udbhava ullāso yasyāḥ māyāditattvatattatpramātṛbhuvanādirāpasya jagataḥ
pralayotpattyovībhūtau ca –

‘Now, above (that) is Mahāvidyā (Great Knowledge), which is the arising of all
the divine states of knowledge. Imperishable, She is the treasure of the glorious power
of the merger and arising of the universe.” (10/1142cd-1143ab)

Itis said that Vidyā is a hundred million times greater (in size). It is established
(as itis) once it has pervaded Māyā. (SVT 10/671)

Thuṣ, as it is said to be this, it is quite different from impure knowledge, and so

is ‘great’ because it is the immediate perception (vedana) of everything. It is the
knowledge of all Mantras, epitomized by praṇava and all divine states (bhava), that is,
the Queen of Vidyās and the rest. Its ‘arising’, that is, outpouring (ullāsa), and ‘the
glorious power of the merger and arising of the universe’, consisting of the principles
(ranging) from Māyā (downwards), along with each perceiver and world etc. (is
described in the following verse).

vidyāmaṇḍalarājānāṁ maṇḍalānāṁ vibhūtayaḥ |

na śakyāḥ pariṣaṅkhyātuṁ mantrāṇāṁ ca tathātmanām ||

‘The glorious powers of the maṇḍalas, the kings of the maṇḍalas of the Vidyā,
as well as that of the Mantras and of individual souls, (are so many that they) cannot be
enumerated.”

iti ṣthityātmabhogasampattau nidhir āśrayaḥ, viśvasargasthitisaṁhārakāriṇīty arthaḥ,

svayaṁ tu prakāśarūpatayānyathā | yat tv ekādaśe ‘trāpi saṁhārādi vakṣyate, tat
saṅkocāpekṣayā || kiṁ ca ----
sā eva paramā devī vāgīśīti nigadyate || 1 143 ||

In accord with this (teaching), she is the ‘treasure’, that is, the foundation, of
the wealth of the karmic experience (bhoga) of the individual soul. The meaning is that
she brings about the creation, persistence and withdrawal of the universe, (whereas she)
herself is otherwise, because she is the light (of consciousness). The (process) of
withdrawal etc. that will be described here also in (chapter) eleven is with respect to the
contracted (condition). However:

‘She is the supreme goddess called Vāgīśī.⁵ (1143cd)

parameti māyāyā uktāyā bhedaprathotthāpikāyā iyam anyā bhedaprathonmīlana-

prathamasopāṇnakalpā vāgīśasya paraparāmarśātmano maheśvarasyeyaṁ vāgīṣīti
nirucyate || 1143 || ata eva -
aṣṭavargavibhinnā ca vidyā sā mātṛkaiva tu |
328 CHAPTER EIGHT
existing (sat) worlds there (governed by) Vāmā and the rest. (338) (337cd-
338ab)

The greatness of that (knowledge) is due to its purity, and so is called

‘Great Knowledge’.
He (now) lists (the names of the goddesses) beginning with Vāmā.

aīī īg] ŪSĪ WTGĪ ñhōfdāhŪdīāōlāīēr̥tā ōaī |

meṛdī ̄īṁ mārṀ-āt
] fBzr. Ūṝāī. ā̄māaimaā . 338 1
TtācbĪā̄] TedÑHĀTĀĪ [dē’TdTd{5 gfkzar. |

T*hHĪCGĀĪTTĪī: ŪTHRŪŪ ṜE I 50 |
fraāīāāzēāērṟaīaṁ:
āīa āīa2ā |
vāmā jyeṣṭhā raudrī
kālī kalavikaraṇībalavikārike tathā |
mathanī damanī manonma-
nī ca tridr̥śah pītāḥ samastāstāḥ || 339 ||
saptakoṭyo mukhyamantrā vidyātattve ‘tra saṁṣṭhitāḥ |
ekaikārbudalakṣāṁśāḥ padmākārapurā iha || 340 ||
vidyārājñyas triguṇyādyāḥ sṣapta saptārbudeśvarāḥ |

They are Vāmā (Woman), Jyeṣṭhā (Best), Raudrī (Fierce One),

Kālī, Kalavikaraṇī (Remover of Energy), Balavikaraṇī (Remover of
Strength), Balapramathanī (Aggressor of Strength), Damanī (Controller)

a-ka-ca-ṭa-ta-pa-ya-śair |aṣṭābhir vargair bhīmā na tv |abhinnā

‘nāhataparāmarśamayatvena bhinnāśeṣaviśvāvabhāsabhājo mantrān unmīlayet, ata

(She is) ‘supreme’. This (goddess) is other than the Māyā (we have just)
mentioned, that generates the unfolding perception of relative distinctions
(bhedaprathā). She is like the first rung (of the ladder) of the opening up of the
unfolding perception of relative distinctions, and is explained to be this Vāgīśī of
Vāgīśa, who is Maheśvara, whose essential nature is supreme reflective awareness. Thus
(it is said that):

‘That Vidyā is Mātr̥kā, divided into the eight classes (of phonemes).⁷(1144ab)

She is divided up into the eight classes (of phonemes, that is) vowels, gutturals,
cerebrals, palatals, dentals, labials, semi-vowels, and sibilants. She is not undivided as
(is her other aspect, that is) the reflective awareness of Unstruck (sound). Divided, she
unfolds the Mantras that bear the manifestation of all the universe. Thus, as this Mātṛkā
is also the universal cause of all words and what they denote, not known to be such by
fettered souls, she is the ‘unknown mother°.”
 TANTRĀLOKA 329
and Manonmanī (Mind Beyond Mind).”* All of those (goddess) are yellow
and have three eyes.”²⁹

⁹³³ TĀ 8/339abc is a condensed version of SVT 10/1145-1146ab. SVT reads vikaraṇī for
kalavikaraṇī and balapramathanī for mathanī.
etāś ca śrīmadānandabhairave ----
vāmayā visṛjet sarvaṁ jyeṣṭhayā pālayet punaḥ |
raudryā lokopasaṁhāraṁ kurute svecchayā prabhuḥ l
kālyā kalati bhūtāni vikaraṇyā kiret kalāḥ |
balam apy anyayā sarvaṁ balaṁ mathnāti cānyayā ||
damanyā damayitvā tu manaḥ saṅkalparūpakam |
nayate paramaṁ sthānam unmanyā tu maheśvaraḥ ||

‘(Concerning) these (goddesses, it is said) in the venerable Ānandabhairava:

‘Everything is emitted by Vāmā, and then it is protected by Jyeṣthā. Raudrī withdraws

the world, which the Lord does by his own will. Kālī differentiates the gross elements,
and Vikaraṇī distributes the energies (kalā). (The Lord is) strength (bala) by means of
another (goddess), and by another still churns (i.e. arouses that) strength. Having
controlled the mind, which is made of intentions, by means of Damanī, Maheśvara leads
(the soul) to the supreme place by means of Unmanā.”

iti niṟuktāḥ | vikaraṇyeti kalavikaraṇyā kalāḥ śakúīr vikiret sarvaṁ svaśaktyadhiṣṭhitaṁ

karoti | aṇyayā balavikaraṇyā sarvatra balaṁ svavyāpārakaraṇasāmarthyaṁ vikiret |
anyayā balapramathanyā sarveṣāṁ rudrakṣetrajñānāṁ balaṁ pramathnāti |
damayitveti samanāntāṁ bhūmim āviśyety evam atra saṅgatiḥ | ye tu pūrvam
aśuddhavidyāyā vāmādayo nava devāḥ strīliṅgapāthād vāmādyā vā nava śaktaya uktāḥ
(10/1117-18), ta etadaṁśāvatārarūpāḥ sthūlā boddhavyāḥ \|
etāś ca ----

These are the etymologies (of their names). ‘Vikaraṇī’ – the energy is
Kalavikaraṇī. She distributes the energies, that is, she causes all things to be sustained
(and governed) by their own power. ‘By means of another’, that is, by means of
Balapramathanī, (he) churns (i.e. arouses) the strength of all those who know (and
inhabit) the sacred fields of the Rudras. The coherence (with the rest that is implied by
saying that) ‘having controlled (the mind) (by means of Damanī) is (that he does s0)
having entered the (higher) plane (of being). Those nine gods Vāma etc. who were
previously those of the impure Mantra (aśuddhavidyā) are, by reading (their names) in
the feminine, said to be the nine energies Vāmā and the rest. One should understand that
those (gods), that are the descent (into the world) as aspects (aṁśa) of that (deity, i.e.
Rudra,) are gross (forms), whereas these (goddesses) are:

taptacāmīkarākārāḥ pañcavaktrāṣ trilocanāḥ || 1 146 ||

amoghavīryāḥ sarvajñāḥ sarvataḥ sarvadā sthitāḥ |
sarvajñānugatāḥ sarvāḥ sarvābharaṇabhūṣitāḥ || 1 147 II
sarvalakṣaṇasampannāḥ sarvaiśvaryasamanvitāḥ |

Their form is (like) heated gold. They have five faces with three eyes. Their
vitality is unfailing. They are omniscient and always present in all respects. They are all
associated with the Omniscient One. Adorned with all (their) ornaments, they are
endowed with all (the good) characteristics, and possess all the powers of lordship.’
(SVT 10/1146cd-1148ab)
330 CHAPTER EIGHT

These nine goddesses correspond to nine names of Vāmadeva. He is the second

of five Vedic mantras that came to be called Brahmamantras. The first is dedicated to
Sadyojāta. The third and the rest are dedicated to Aghora, Tatpuruṣa and Īśāna. Also
called the Five Brahmās or Causal Deities (kāraṇa / karaṇa devatā), they preside over
the five faces of Sadāśiva (see below, 15,388). In this function, they were reduced to
seed-syllables. Vāmadeva’s Mantra is:

vāmadevāya namo jyeṣṭhāya namaś śreṣṭhāya namo rudrāya namaḥ kālāya namaḥ
kalavikaraṇāya namo balavikaraṇāya namo balāya namo balapramathanāya namas
sarvabhūtadamanāya namo manonmanāya namaḥ |

The names of these Rudras, praised as forms of the Rudra Vāmadeva in the
feminine, are found in several Siddhāntika sources and elsewhere. One is the Kiraṇa
(14/24-5ab of the Devakoṭṭai edition) and the Somaśambhupaddhati (Brunner 1963:
166-171), and MV 8/63-64, which is paraphrased below in 15/305-306. These nine
Śśaktis are worshipped as part of the entourage of the goddess Parā on the petals of the
Lotus of Knowledge on the Trika Trident, along with another set of nine, according to
the MV (8/65-66ab). Thus, they are accorded an important place in the Trika rites of the
MV (see below 15/304-307). The Parākhya (2/43-61), like the SvT, supplies a didactic
etymology of each one, relating to its nature and function. See below, note to TĀ
15/304-307, where the passage is quoted, and Goodall 2004: 180-181 n 143.
“³⁶ Concemning these nine goddesses, see above 8/338cd-339ab and note, in which a
didactic etymology of their names is quoted from Kṣemarāja’s commentary on SvT
10/1145-1146ab. The Parākhyā (2/43-61) supplies another one. There the nine
goddesses are presented as Śiva’s powers, that correspond to the variety of functions of
His one power of creation (ibid. 2/41cd-42). They are described in the Parākhya as
follows (Goodall’s translation):

‘The power by which he emits the entire universe downwards, that is here
(asmin) taught to be Vāmā. She resides with (the form of Śiva called) Vāmadeva. Or
(the name can be accounted for thus:) that contrary (vāmataḥ), (that is to say) by its
nature perverted – impulse (samārambhaḥ), which causes souls to act, is this Vāmā, (in
as much as it is involved) in perverse activity (vāmakaramagā). (44-45)
The best (jyeṣṭhaḥ), (that is to say) most important impulse to act
(kriyārambhaḥ), which is always aimed at the goal of men (viz. liberation), occurs in the
souls through Jyeṣṭhā. Undertaking pious acts or impious ones
(dharmādhrmasamārambhaḥ) (depends on whether the person in question) is impelled
by Jyeṣṭhā or not (impelled by) Jyeṣṭhā (juyeṣṭhājyeṣṭhāpracoditaḥ). Not otherwise is
the highest state, which is where the highest rewards are (possible) for the soul. (46-47)
That which has the power to drive away the disease of the souls that is
nescience, and that expressed by the word ‘affliction’ (ruk) is the power that resides
with (the form of Śiva called) Rudra. She who delights in deeds of blood and weaponry
through men’s fierce deeds is Raudrī, who arises in fierce deeds and resides with (the
form of Śiva called) Rudra. (48-49)
That by which He impels to action the material cause and auxiliary cause is
Kālī, empowered to impel. She is the power of (the form of Śiva called) Kāla. She who,
in the realm of action, is discerned in the division of time, is the impeller (kalayitrī) of
men, known by the marks of time. (50-51)
(The next power, Kalakirā (?), is so called) because (. . . tena) she is the
dispeller of the faculties (kalānāṁ vikirā) in the scattering of the limited powers of all
souls (sarvaptāṇikalākṣepe), which were clustered together (?) by their own past actions
(paripiṇḍite). (One) may discern (her) in the destruction of bodies. Alternatively,
 TANTRĀLOKA 331
The principal seventy million mantras are located here in the
Principle of Knowledge. Each of these (mantras) has a million million
(arbudalakṣa) ancillary (aṁśa) (mantras). The worlds here have the form of
a lotus.²⁷ The lords of the seventy million (arbuda) (mantras) are the seven
Vidyārājñīs, namely, Triguṇī and the rest.”* (339-341ab) (338cd-340)

‘The secondary forms’ are the attendants (of the principal Mantras).
The word ‘arbuda’ (in the phrase) ‘the lords of the seventy million (arbuda)
(Mantras)³ indicates ten million, so the meaning is ‘the lords of the mantras
numbering seventy million’. That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):

“Triguṇī (Three Qualities), Brahmavetālī (Brahmā Zombie), Sthāṇumati

(Pillar like Mind), Ambikā (Young Mother), Rūpiṇī (Beautiful One), Mardinī
(Beater), and Jvālā (Flame) are the seven Lords of those (worlds). The
Vidyārājñīs (Queens of Knowledge) are known (by these names).”⁴⁹

however (punaḥ), she is that internal scattering of the skill that is learnt in this (world)
because of the undertaking of other (?) actions. She is in the control of (the form of Śiva
called) Kalākṣepa (kalākṣepagā). (52-53)
That by which the limited power of souls (in saṁsṣāra) (aṇānām) is scattered
about in the extensive (lower) path (of the universe and brought) in connection with
bodies and (the retributive power of past) actions is the Scatterer of Forces (balānāṁ
vikirā). Alternatively hala (is) souls’ knowledge and discernment that is ever increasing
(uttarottaragam ?). Because of scattering that, she is (called) Balakṣepā. She is in the
control of (the form of Śiva called) Balakṣepa. (54-55)
And the power by which Siva churns up that other force, (viz.) that of the
bonds, is called ‘the churner up of forces' (balānārṁ pramathā), and is in the control of
(the form of Śiva) Balapramathana. The power that churns up forces (halamanthanā) . .
. is (also) that by which (Śiva) churns up the force(s) of souls by means of faints and
delusions and by suddenly oppressing with sleep. (56-57)
The taming power by which he tames all creatures in phases of creation by
means of the suffering intermixed with happiness that is (the fruit of) their own (actions)
is therefore the Taming Power (śaktir damanātmikā). And she is also the Taming Power
(damanī) because she is that by which a soul tames (damayan) the elements of his body
(svadehabhūtāni) through various torments, such as the kṛcchra and cāndrāyaṇa fasts.
(58-59)
That power which leads the bound soul to the reality-level that is beyond mind
(amanaskam) and devoid of support is taught to be the power Manonmanī, that belongs
to the god Manonmana. That which suddenly (akasmār) brings souls in this world to a
state of mindlessness (unmanāvasthām) īs taught in this (Tantra) to be (the power)
Unmanī, who is in the control of (the form of Śiva called) Unmana. (60-61)
AII activity is shown (to be accounted for) by this variety of the all-powerful
Lord's powers. He must be omniscient, because he is omnipotent, for power to act (ta)
necessarily depends on knowledge (jñānapūrvakam). (62)²
“³⁷ 340 (339cd-340ab) is drawn from SvT 10/1 148cd-1149. There the ancillary mantras
are called attendant mantras (parivāra).
⁵’Cf. SYT 10/1150-1151ab.
“³ SVT 10/1150-1151a.
332 CHAPTER EIGHT
The Worlds of the Principle of Īśvara

The Eight Worlds and their Vidyeśvaras in the Principle of Īśvara

fkērṛāārtzṁtī q āṝ̄d ā āēaTTḍ I 3%¢ I

fīrarvsīīTṝṝṝcaāT JUTzaTT ṬT] |
ũĒḺSPTEAIR⁵ICTEEAZ-CAHIETI
ftrāītṁā; āaāēīṣāāī fēaārza-d 1|
JTRTĀĪĒṬTÑĪ TTTTTĪī -TTTṀŨ Ṁ̄J: I| 3% IA
IId Taā s#āīqg ṬJJATATÑTI:
vidyātattvordhvam aiśaṁ tu tattvaṁ tatra kramordhvagam || 341 ||
Śikhaṇḍyādyam anantāntaṁ purāṣṭakayutaṁ puram |
Śikhaṇḍī śrīkaṇṭho mūrtir ekanetraikarudrakau || 342 I|
śivottamaḥ ṣūkṣmarudro ‘nanto vidyeśvarāṣṭakam |
kramād ūrdhvordhvasaṁsthānaṁ saptānāṁ nāyako vibhuḥ || 343 ||
ananta eva dhyeyaś ca pūjyaś cāpy uttarottaraḥ |

Above the principle of (Pure) Knowledge is the principle of Īśvara,

whose world is linked to a group of eight worlds. These range from (the
world) of Śikhaṇḍin (Crested) to that of Ananta (Endless). Each is
progressively higher than the previous one. The group of eight Vidyeśvaras
(who preside over them) are: Śikhaṇḍin (Crested), Śrīkaṇṭha,³⁰ Mūrti
(Form), Ekanetra (One Eye), Ekarudra (Solitary Rudra), Śivottama
(Excellent Śiva), Sūkṣmarudra (Śubtle Rudra) and Ananta (Endless). ka
Their planes are progressively higher. The leader of the seven is the all-
pervasive Lord Ananta. He is worthy of both meditation and worship and
is higher than all the others. (341cd-344ab) (341-343)

‘The principle of Īśvara’ is the Īśvara principle. One should add by

implication that the world there (is governed by) Iśvara. It is where the Lord
Īśvara is experienced directly. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra in a
passage) beginning with:

“‘Outside that (principle of Pure Knowledge) is the Īśvara Principle.

Listen (as I tell you the names of the) worlds here.” . . . (and ending with): ‘the
god Īśvara, who bestows boons and faces everywhere, resides there.’⁸⁴²

⁹⁴⁰ Read śrīkaṇṭho for śrīgalo.

⁹³! The names of the Vidyeśvaras are those listed in SvT 10/1161cd-1162. Note that
there they are listed in the reverse order with respect to this one, i.e. beginning with
Ananta and ending with Śikhaṇḍin. The entry ‘mārtī’ corresponds to trinetra in the S√T.
*“² SVT 10/1151cd and 1154ab. bāhye tasyaiśvaraṁ tattvaṅ.
tasyeti viḥātatvasya | bāhya iti tad eva vyāptyā parivrtya sthitam iy arthaḥ ||
ataś ca-
 TANTRĀLOKA 333

...bhuvanāny atra me śrṛṇu || 151 ||

tatra mukhyabhuvanāvasthitasyeśvarasya tāvat ṣvarūpam āha ----

aṣṭavidyeśvarair yukto vītamāyo nirañjanaḥ |

sthitisaṁhārakartā vai mokṣaiśvaryapradāyakaḥ l| 1 152 ||
““Outside that (principle of Pure Knowledge) is the Īśvara Principle.⁷ (II51c)
‘That’ is the principle of (Pure) Knowledge. Having enveloped that by (its) pervasion,
(śvara) is located ‘outside’ (it). Thus:
‘Listen (as I tell you the names of the) worlds here.’ (SVT 10/1151d)

Now he teaches the nature of Īśvara, who is present in the chief world there:
‘Accompanied by eight Vidyeśvara, devoid of Māyā and stainless, the agent of
persistence and withdrawal, he bestows the lordship of liberation.” (ibid. 1152)

yukto vakṣyamāṇakrameṇa parivṛṭaḥ 1| vīā māyā yasmāt, yato “yaṁ

bhinnavedyaprathātmano anād māyākhyān malān niṣkrāntaḥ 1 nahi
mantravadasambhedena sarvaṁ jānāti, api tu bhedābhedarūpatayā |

‘Accompaniedʼ means that he is surrounded (by attendants) in the manner that

will be explained. He is ‘devoid of Māyā’, for he has come forth out of the Impurity
called Māyā, that is, the stain which is the extending perception of divided objectivity.
He does not know everything like Mantra (as a single) undivided (oneness), but rather in
the form of unity in diversity.

ata eva bhedāṁśasparśād vidyeśvaraparivṛtatvaṁ bhuvanādivyavasthā cāsyocyamānā

nāyuktā | evaṁ śivatattvaparyante sūkṣmatayāsūtritakalpasya bhedé hhāvād
bhuvanādiyyavasthāpi śodhyatayā vakṣyamāṇopapannaiva | sthitisaṁhārābhyāṁ sṛṣṭir
apy upalakṣitā | tac caitat sṛṣṭyāditrayam ----
śuddhe ‘dhvani śivaḥ kartā iti nītyā mantramaṇḍalādi śuddhādhvaviṣayam evāsyeti
mantavyam | tathā ca śrīmālinīvijaye ----

Thus, by contact with the divided aspect, he is attended by Vidyeśvaras, and

his condition (vyavasthā) in the worlds etc., which is being described, is (thus) not
(logically) unreasonable. In this way, the condition of the worlds etc. that will be
described as the object of purification is (logically) reasonable as duality (bheda), which
is as if threading through (the worlds etc.) in a subtle state, exists right up to the Śiva
principle. By (the reference to) persistence and withdrawal, emanation is also implicitly
mentioned. And (with regard to) that triad of creation etc. – ‘Śiva is the agent on the
Pure Pathʼ. In accord with this teaching, one should consider that the Mantras and
retinue etc. that are the field of (his activity) is the Pure Path. And the same (is said in)
the venerable Mālinīvijaya:

sa sisṛkṣur jagatsṛṣṭer ādāv eva nījecchayā |

vijñānakevalān aṣṭau bodhayāmāsa pudgalān || (MV 1/18cd-19ab)
tathā
mantrāṇām asṛjat tadvat sapta koṭīḥ samaṇḍalāḥ | (MV 1/21cd)

‘At the beginning of the creation of the universe, desiring to emit (it), he
awakened by his own will the eight (souls who are) Isolated in Consciousness
(vijñānakevalin).’ (MV 1/18cd-19cd)
334 CHAPTER EIGHT

And so also:

‘(The Supreme Lord) then emitted in the same way seven times ten million
(mantras), along with (their respective) retinues (maṇḍala).” (MV 1/21cd)

iti mokṣam aiśvaryaṁ ca lokottarabhogarūpaṁ na kevalaṁ mantrebhyo dadāti, yāvan

mantrādiprayuktyāyātaśaktipātebhyo māyāgarbhagatebhyo ʻpi | etad apy upalakṣaṇa-
param, tena dambhena devagurvādisevimāyījanebhyo vilayam api dadāti | evaṁ hi
pañcavidhakṛtyakāritvam asyoktaṁ bhavati | 1152 1|
Thus, he does not only bestow liberation, lordship, and otherworldly
experience (lokottarabhoga) from Mantras, he does so also from the descents of the
power (of grace) that are within the womb of Māyā and have come about by the use of
Mantras etc. That also is intended to be a characteristic with more extended application
(upalakṣaṇa). Thus, he destroys (vilaya) those who serve the deity and the teacher
deceitfully. His agency of the five kinds of functions (i.e. creation etc.) has been taught
in this way. I| 52 II

asyāsanavarṇanaṁ dhyānopayogy upadiśati ----

tasyāsanaṁ tu viṣṭīrṇaṁ sahasradalasammitam |
asaṅkhyātadalam ity arthaḥ |l
yato ʻtrā ----

tisraḥ koṭyo ‘rdhakoṭiś ca mantras tasyāsane sthitāḥ || 1153 |

yady api sapta koṭyo mantrāṇām, tathāpi ----

(Now the Tantra) teaches the surrounding covering, which is his seat, that aids
the visualization (of the deity).

‘His seat extends for the size of a thousand petalled (lotus).” (SVT 10/1153ab)

The meaning is that its petals are innumerable. For here —

‘There are 35 million Mantras on his seat.’ (ibid. 1153cd)

Although there are 70 million mantras:

brahmādistambaparyante jātamātre jagaty api |

mantrāṇāṁ koṭayas úisraḥ sārdhāḥ Śivaniyojitāḥ l|
anugṛhyāṇuṣaṅghātaṁ yātāḥ padam anāmayam | (MN 1/40cd-41)
iti śrīmālinīvijayoktanītyā sārdhās tisraḥ koṭyo ‘nugrahādhikārāyāvasthitā ity evam
uktam || 1 153 ||

‘When (all) the universe, beginning with Brahmā down to a pillar, had just
come into being, thirty-five million Mantras were applied by Śiva (to their tasks), and
having graced the mass of souls, they went to the plane free of sickness (and death).”
(MV 1/40cd-41)

Thus, according to the stated teachings of the venerable Maālinīvijaya, 35

million (mantras) are deployed to administer grace. This is said in this way.
 TANTRĀLOKA 335
Although the eight worlds are divided off (from one another) by (their)
enclosure, (they are together) described as ‘ranging from (the world) of
Śikhaṇḍin to that of Ananta’ and that ‘each is progressively higher than the
previous oneʼ, according to their nature (tatrva), as (their) qualities are
progressively greater. In relation to Śikhaṇḍin’s capacity to create etc.,
Śrīkaṇṭha is greater, and Trimūrti and the rest (are greater) than him also. As
they say: ‘thus Sūkṣma’s capacity to act is less by (his own limited) power
(kalā) than Ananta. Similarly, Śivottama (is less powerful than Sūkṣma), and so
on. In this way all of them are accounted for. One should not explain (that their
arrangement in a hierarchy) is due to (their) defects. (In that respect they are
equally without defect), and so one hears (from the scriptures) that their location
is, in due order, (in the eight) directions, starting with the east. As is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

' tad ittham ayaṁ viniyojyamantrapadmāsanādhirūḍhaḥ ----

tatraṣṭha īśvaro devo varadaḥ sarvatomukhaḥ |

devo dyotanādiparamārthaḥ | sarvato mukhaṁ pradhānarūpaṁ yasya ||

ākārato 'pi ----

He is mounted in this way on the lotus seat of the Mantras that are to be
applied.

‘The Lord and god who is present there bestows gifts and faces in all
directions.” (SVT 10/1154ab)

The ultimately real nature of the god is illumination (dyotana) etc. His main
form is the one that faces in all directions. In terms of this form also:

pañcavaktraḥ sutejasko daśabāhus trilocanaḥ l| 1 154 1I

gokṣīradhavalaḥ saumyo nāgayajñopavītavān |
divyāmbaradharo devo divyagandhānulepanaḥ || 1155 ||
sarvalakṣaṇasampūrṇaḥ sarvābharaṇabhāṣitaḥ |
triśūlapāṇīndumaulir jaṭāmukuṭamaṇḍitaḥ || 1 156 ||
prasannavadanaḥ kānto yogaiśvaryapradāyakaḥ |
varadābhayahastaś ca dhyeyo ‘sāv īśayogibhiḥ || 1157 |

He has five faces and is very powerful. He has ten arms and three eyes. He is
white like cow’s milk, sombre, and wears a snake as a sacred thread. The god wears
divine clothes and is smeared with divine scent. He is replete with all (good)
characteristics and adorned with all the omaments. He holds a trident and bears the
moon in his hair. He is adorned with matted hair and a crown. His face is pleasing and,
beautiful, he bestows the lordship of Yoga. He makes a boon bestowing (gesture) and
one that frees from fear. He is to be visualized (in this way) by the yogis of the Lord.’
(SvT 10/1155-1157)
336 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘Now I will (tell you the names of the) Vidyeśvaras, who reside in (the
eight directions), beginning with the east and ending with the northeast, in due
order.”⁴³
Thus, one should explain that ‘their planes are progressively higher’
in this way.
What is the reason for calling them Vidyeśvaras (Lords of Knowledge)?
With this question in mind, he says:

TGTT-TTĪ
3] IĪ īzrā fterāī ] ā-1|
aāīaā ē̄ ūṇ fērvīzṛkait-ā; 1
mukhyamantreśvarāṇāṁ yat sārdhaṁ koṭitrayaṁ sthitam || 344 ||
tannāyakā ime tena vidyeśāś cakravartinaḥ |

(The remaining seven) are the leaders of the Lords of (the

remaining) thirty-five million primary Mantras. Thus, they are emperors,
and so (appropriately called) Vidyeśvaras (Lords of Knowledge).”* (344cd-
345ab) (344)

(There are) ‘thirty-five million’ (mantras) because the (function of the)

other thirty-five million (that have been already applied elsewhere) has finished.
That is said (in the Mālinīvijayottara):

“When (all) the universe, beginning with Brahmā down to a pillar, had
just come into being, thirty-five million Mantras were applied by Śiva (to their
tasks), and having graced the mass of souls, they went to the plane free of
sickness (and death).”³⁴⁹

The Succession of the Eight Vidyeśvaras According to the Śivatanu

Well then, what is the (scriptural) authority that supports Ananta’s

primacy? With this question in mind, he says:

3 TṬfc# flrāīāraīāīg
TTTSITT I *4,II
uktaṁ ca gurubhir itthaṁ śivatanvādyeṣu śāsaneṣv etat || 345 ||

And (this) has taught by (our) venerable teacher in the Śivatanu and
other works (śāsana), in (the following) way.³⁴⁶ (345cd) (345ab)

³³ SVT 10/1161ab.
⁴ Vidyeśvaras – the Lords of the Vidyās (i.e. goddess Mantras) — embody a particular
type of Mantra.
⁹³ MV 1/40cd-41.
“⁴⁶ 8/346-352 (345cd-352ab) is quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 10/1161cd-1162. He
states that it is from the Śivatanuśastra, as quoted by his teacher Abhinava. There are no
variants.
 TANTRĀLOKA 337
(Bṛhaspati is the author of the Śivatanu); by the word ‘other’ (works)
(is meant his commentary on the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha.) the Ruruvārtika
etc.⁹⁴⁷ He says that (in the Śivatanu as follows):

TĪṬGITĀC⁵TTṬeT
r̥Ĩ--īṣazāīrēqra: |
Tē-ã frāaāī-ā
gsĩtā ēsṝz fatrgṣṝ 1 3*ē u
3aīfṝ rā-r-aī
TJKTT afṜ TSTT |

TTTTGĪTTHSTĪHĪTHTT | 33.9 1|
IVEE⁰HREEITETĒÉFZṚ‘GIJLĀHCEĀ
srafqrdṝxātaztraāīmṛ. rī§⁵T-kī-da-āīaēratTīṝ: | 3*¢ 1
frdárrr-āārerrarmttrṁ garēēṣg |
bhagabiḻaśatakalitaguhā-
miūrdhāsanago ‘ṣṭaśaktiyugdevaḥ |
gahanādyaṁ nirayāntaṁ
srjati ca rudrāṁś ca viniyuṅkte || 346 ||
uddharati manonmanyā
puṅsas teṣv eva bhavati madhyasthaḥ |
te tenodastacitaḥ
paratattvālocane ‘bhiniviśante || 347 |I
sa punar adhaḥ pathavartiṣv-
adhikr̥ta evāṇuṣu śivena |
avasitapativiniyogaḥ
sārdham anekātmamantrakoṭībhiḥ || 348 I|
nirvāty anantanāthas
taddhāmāviśati sūkṣmarudras tu |

⁹Ṭhe god (Ananta), endowed with the eight (yogic) powers, sits on
the top of the Cave (of Māyā), which is perforated by hundreds of vaginal
cavities (bhagabila). He emits (everything), beginning with the Cave up to
the hells, appoints the Rudras (to their office), and elevates individual souls
by means of (his power,) Manonmanī (Mind Beyond Mind). He resides in

!⁵ TĀ 8/346-352 (345cd-352ab) is quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 10/1161cd-1162.

Kṣemarāja introduces the citation saying that ‘these, Ananta and the rest, are said to be
named in this way by) our venerable) teacher in the Śivatanuśāstra.’ (ete cānantādyā
gurubhiḥ śivatanāv ittham uktāḥ).
338 CHAPTER EIGHT
their midst”⁹ and, their consciousness elevated by him, they seek to
perceive the Supreme Principle. Lord Ananta alone (eva)is appointed by
Śiva to the office (of attending) to the individual souls who reside on (the
lower) paths. When his term of office has come to an end, he returns back
(into consciousness) along with the many tens of millions of mantras, and
Sūkṣma Rudra (Subtle Rudra) enters his abode (and takes his place). (346-
349ab) (345cd-348)

‘The top of the Cave (of Māyā)’ is (the location of the principle of)
Pure Knowledge (Śuddha Vidyā), whichis above Māyā. The eight powers are
Vāmā and the rest.”⁰ The god Ananta ‘appoints the Rudras’ beginning with
Sūkṣma (to their office), namely, creation and the rest, ‘by means (of his
power) Manonmanī (Mind Beyond Mind)’, which is the ninth. These”*' nine
powers (each have) a different commission (niyoga). This is the intended sense.
That is said (in the Ānandabhairavatantra):

“The Supreme Lord leads (the soul) to the supreme place by means of
the Transmental (unmanā).³⁰⁵⁸

(Ananta is) ‘in the midst’ (madhyastha) (of the Rudras) in a state of
detachment (tatastha), so that he may appoint all of them, as is appropriate (to
their nature and status), (to perform the functions of) creating and the rest (of
their allotted worlds). (Their consciousness is) ‘elevated’, that is, they are urged
(and empowered by Ananta) (uttejita). The word ‘alone’ (eva) is out of order,
and so (what is meant is that Ananta attends) especially (eva) to those
(individual souls) ‘who reside on (the lower) paths’. As is said:

‘Ananta is said to be the lord on the impure (path).’⁸³

‘The manyʼ is an adjective (qualifying) the tens of millions of mantras.
That is said there itself (in the Śivatanu):

‘He ascends into the risen and exalted abode of Śaṅkara, within the
Lord, and the many tens of millions of Mantras return back (to their source),
abandoning (their) tasks.’

(Ananta) ʻreturns backʼ (into his place of origin) because he has done
what he had to do, and also because (his) desire to (occupy that) office has
ceased and is extinguished (nirvāṇam eti). The intended sense is that the Lord

“⁴⁹ The reference here may be to people or the other seven Rudras.
‘³⁰ See above, note 8,823.
“³"Read āsāṁ for āsa.
⁹³² Kṣemarāja informs us that this line is drawn from the (lost) Ānandabhairavatantra.
He quotes the complete passage in his commentary on SvT 10/1145-1146ab. See above,
note, 8,823.
⁹ Kiṟaṇatantra vidyāpāda 3/26d. The first part of this statement says that ‘Śiva is the
agent on the Pure Path’. See above, note 8,731 and 830.
 TANTRĀLOKA 339
(bhagavat) does not appoint (any deity) to office who has no desire (for it), by
force. ‘His abode’ is Ananta’s place. Sūkṣma Rudra is the second one.

³TJTamv̄rīá
rã ũ: fōrarr==: am 1 2228 1
g-aTãḷ ũŨÃ̄Ṭaṁ ãīazr̥ṁ̄ aa z: |
TīāṀATĒTT
TTqTĪ frdfi āētī I| 3úo 11
TṣtaāṀTT vTācīakTTITGSTYTT-TKIIT:|
Tīzrzāf̄ī āa zaadā% āīdḷ T̄R | 3.2. |
ĀEex-EeE
:Eḵ- ĀEC IAĀJTUIIEsI
TITPATTTTĀT]
T-ATTĪ] ITA: JṬT; I 3U2 1
anugṛhyāṇum apūrvaṁ
sthāpayati patiḥ śikhaṇḍinaḥ sthāne || 349 ||
ity aṣṭau paripāṭyā
yāvad dhāmāni yānti gurur ekaḥ |
tāvad asaṁkhyākānāṁ
jantūnāṁ nirvṛtiṁ kurute || 350 ||
te ‘ṣṭāv api śaktyaṣṭaka-
yogāmalajalaruhāsanāsīnāḥ |
ālocayanti devaṁ
hṛdayasthaṁ kāraṇaṁ paramam || 351 ||
taṁ bhagavantam anantaṁ
dhyāyantaḥ ṣvahṛdi kāraṇaṁ śāntam |
saptānudhyāyanty api
mantrāṇāṁ koṭayaḥ śuddhāḥ || 352 I|

Once having graced a new (apūrva)³ individual soul, the Lord

(Pati) installs him in Śikhaṇḍin’s place. In this way, the eight (Vidyeśvaras)
follow one another in succession,³° as one teacher attains to (the supreme)
Abode, and (in so doing) releases innumerable souls.⁶ These eight are
endowed with the eight (yogic) powers and, seated on stainless lotuses, view
the Lord⁵⁷ Who is the supreme cause, residing in the heart. They
contemplate the Blessed One, Ananta, the cause (of the principles below
Maāyā) who, tranquil (at rest within himself), is in their heart. (As they do
s0,) he is also contemplated by the seventy million pure mantras (who
follow suit). (349cd-352) (349ab-352ab)

‘³⁴Or ‘in a new wayʼ.

“³³ Read with MS C and the citation of these verses in the SvT, yānti for yāti.
“³⁰ Read with the citation of these verses in the SVT asaṁkhyākānāṁ for
asaṁkhyātānāṁ. See MataṅgaT 5/56-62 for the names of these teachers.
‘³⁷ Read with MS C and the citation of these verses in the SvT, ālocayanti for ālokayanti
According to Jayaratha, this is Paramaśiva. But this may be Ananta in his supreme form
once has ‘become Īśvara’, as Kṣemarāja says in commentary on SVT 10/1161-1162. See
also, above, 8/343cd.
340 CHAPTER EIGHT
The ‘individual soul’ (Lord Śiva graces in this case)is a Consciousness
Deconditioned (soul- Vijñānākala).⁰”⁸ ‘Śikhaṇḍin’ is the eighth (and lastin the
series of eight Rudras). (Śikhaṇḍin) then (assumes and) presides over the post of
Śrīkaṇṭha (the Rudra who precedes him). Thisis the overall sense. Thatis said
there itself (in the Śivatanu): ⁰

‘When Ananta stops (exerting his authority) there, the (remaining

seven) Lords occupy that office successively, one after another in due order,
moving from post to post according to the orders of the Lord (pati). When the
Lord Ananta rests (and his term of office comes to an end), the Lord Sūkṣma
(assumes and) presides over that post, and so too Śivottama, Sūkṣmas post.
Thisis the prescribed procedure for all the Mantras. Once the Lord (bhagavat)
has illumined the nine glories, beginning with Vāmā, out of his own radiant
energy (tejas), and graced a new (apūrva) individual soul, the Lord (Pati)
installs him in Śikhaṇḍin’s place.ʼ

In the Mataṅgatantra also:

‘Ananta (the Endless One), whose vitality (vīrya) is endless, returns

back (into consciousness), because he has done what he had to do. Then, when
he has mounted up (to there), Śiva, Whose body is made of five mantras,⁰
gives his permission to the great soul, the Vidyeśa Sūkṣma, to ascend into that
(post). Having received (that boon), the venerable (Sūksma) follows the Lord’s
command. Bound to that, the greatly famed one, having presided over the post
of Ananta, returns to the lower wheel which, great, is Māyā by nature. In the
same way, when Sūkṣma’s (term of office) comes to an end, H bestows on
Śivottama the blameless status of (serving as) the cause of the Lord’s host.
Moving (in this way) from post to post of each one of these great souls until
(each one) reaches the supreme summit, which is the (ultimate) cause of the
wheel (of Rudras), so that there may not be a break, having empowered (another
liberated) Rudra soul to be Śikhaṇḍin, he appoints him to the most senior
post.³
Again, it is said (in the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha) that:

⁹³ This type of individual soulis such ‘by virtue of consciousness free of the power of
limitation’. Heis free of the Impurity of Karma and Māyā and residesin the uppermost
reaches of Māyā. See above 4/230 and note, also below 10/1-18, 97cd-186ab for a
detailed exposition of the seven levels of individual souls.
⁵³’ There can be no doubt at all that the following passage is from the Śivatanu, as the
last line of the citation is identical to the first line of Abhinava’s citation.
⁹% The five mantras are those of the forms of Śiva represented by His five faces,
namely, Vāmadeva (N), Tatpuruṣa (E), Sadyojāta (W), Aghora (S), and Īśāna (above).
See above, note 8,823.
⁶MPĀ Yogapāda 5/10/15.
 TANTRĀLOKA 341
‘It has been ordained that when Ananta retires (and his term of office
comes to an end), all those great emperors attain the supreme plane (pada),
which is the cause (kāraṇa) of the agency of all (beings).”²

“⁰³ Rauravaṣutrasaṁṅgraha 2/13. Rāmakaṇṭha quotes this verse in his commentary on

Mokṣakārikā 93 and in his unpublished commentary on the Tattvatrayanirṇaya
(Goodall 2004: lxi note 104), and so does Aghoraśivācāryain his dīpikā commentary on
the Mṛgendrāgama (1/2/5). Both say it comes from the ‘Śrīraurava’. According to NṚ.
Bhatt (Rauravāgama yol ḹ, critical edition by NR. Bhatt, IFP publication no. 18 p. 173),
there are several verses missing between Rauravasutrasaṁgraha 4/21 and 4/22. The one
cited here (anantoparame etc.) is one of them. However, Goodall (2004: Ix note 104)
points out that it is in fact Rauravasutrasaṁgraha (considered to be Rauravāgama
Vidyāpāda) 2/13 that appears in this form in a manuscript he consulted. The printed
edition reads anantaḥ paramas for anantoparame. The meaning of this verse would
then be: “The supreme post, namely, the office (kāraṇa) of the agency of all (things), is
decreed for all those great emperors, of whom Anantais supreme
Sanderson (2006b: 52-53) points out that herein the Śivatanu, Brṛhaspati does
not agree with Sadyojyotis. He explains (ibid.) that according to him: *when the
Vidyeśvara Ananta comes to an end of his term of office at the time of the great
dissolution, all eight Vidyeśvaras attain liberation. Bhaṭṭa Rāmakaṇṭha takeṣ this to
mean that they do so simultaneously and opposes this to the view of [Bṛhaspati] the
author of the Vārtika that when Ananta vacates his position, the second Vidyeśvara
moves up to take his place, the third the second’s, and so on, the position of the last and
lowest Vidyeśvara being filled by a new Rudra whom Śiva selects for this role, so that
there are always eight in place.”
In his commentary on Mokṣakārikā verse 93, Bhaṭṭa Rāmakaṇṭha, attributes
this view to the ‘author of the Vārtika’, that is, Bṛhaspati, who wrote a commentary on
the Rauravasūtrasaṅgraha by that name. He first presents the view of Sadyojyotis
citing the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha in support of it as the correct one:

amī rudrās tu sūkṣmādyā mantrāś ca śivatulyatām |

sānantāḥ svādhikārānte yānti muktiṁ hareraṇāt || 93 II
atra sūkṣmādīnāṁ ca mantrāṇāṁ ca tadīśānām api vīrabhadrādīnām
anantoparamakāla eva sarveṣāṁ yugapac chivasamatā parā muktiḥ | yac chrīyate –
anantoparame teṣāṁ mahatāṁ cakravartinām ḷ
vihitaṁ sarvakartrtvakāraṇaṁ paramaṁ padam || (raul sūl 2 |13 ) iti |
ata eva na tu krameṇa | yathā vārttikakāra āha -

anantoparame sthāne (> sthānaṁ) tat tu sūkṣmo ‘dhitiṣṭhati |

padāt padaṁ vicarato hy ekaikasya mahātmanaḥ ||
sthāne śikhaṇḍinas tv anyaṁ rudrāṇāṁ kurute śivaḥ ll iti || 93 II

‘“Theṣe Rudras, Sūkṣma and the rest, and (so to0) the Mantras, impelled by
Hara, attain liberation, whichis equality with Śiva, along with Ananta, when his term of
office comes to an end.¹ Mokṣakā. 93

Here Sūkṣma and the rest, the Mantras, and their Lords also, that is, Vīrabhadra
and the rest, at the very moment when (the term of office of) Ananta comes to an end,
all siīmuḻtaneously (come to) possess the equality with Śiva, whichis supreme liberation.
Asis taught (in the scriptures):
‘It has been ordained that when Ananta retires (and his term of office comes to
an end), all those great emperors attain the supreme plane (pada) which is the cause
(kāraṇa) of the agency of all (beings).³ (RauSūS 2/13)
342 CHAPTĒR EIGHT
One should relate (what has been said concerning this matter) to (those)
concerning the Great Destruction.”³ There, as was said before, all their terms of
office come to an end simultaneously. As is said in the venerable Mataṅga:
‘The gods who are the lords of the Pure Path are great emperors. Once
they have completed their term of office, they go to the most excellent plane.’⁴

‘One (teacher)” means each one, (one after another). ‘The supreme
godʼ is Supreme Śiva.’⁵ The word ‘also’ is out of order (in the phrase ‘he is
also contemplated by the seventy million pure mantras’), so (what is meant is
that he is contemplated by) ‘the (pure) Mantras that are also seventy million.”

Thus (they are not liberated) successively. As (Bṛhaspati) the commentator (on
the Rauravasūtrasaṁgraha) (vārttikakāra) has said:
“When Ananta’s (term of office) comes to an end, Sūkṣma assumes (his) post.
Each one of (these) great souls moving (up) from post to post (the one below him takes
his place). In the place of Śikhaṇḍin (who is the last of them), Śiva appoints another one
of the (lower) Rudras (to take his place).””
⁰³ The universe is periodically recreated after an earlier universe comes to an end.
Shorter cycles of cosmic creation and destruction are encompassed by larger one. The
most extensive is called the Great Creation (mahāsṛṣṭi), which ends with the Great
Destruction (mahāpralaya). Jayaratha is saying that these Rudras are appointed in the
manner described to higher levels of office when this Great Destruction takes place, and
so it is one of the things that takes place then. The appointments of the Rudras to their
new office is thus part of the matters that have to do with the Great Destruction.
³MPĀ Vidyāpāda 25!62cd, 63ab. The printed edition reads:
śuddhādhvapatayo devā mantrāś cāmoghaśaktayaḥ || 62 ||
na sīdanti na lupyanti piḍyante na ca kenacit |
samāpya ṣvādhikārāṁs te prayānti padam uītamam || 63 ||

[62d here reads mahāntaś cakravartinaḥ. In the printed edition, it reads mantrāś
cāmoghaśaktayaḥ. Jayaratha’s citation reads svādhikāraṁ te, the printed edition
svādhikārāṁs te.]

Rāmakaṇṭha explains:

śuddhādhvapatayaḥ anantādividyeśāḥ, devās tu māyāgarbhādhikāriṇaḥ śrīkaṇṭhā-

dayaḥ pūrvaṁ Śivaniyuktatvena pratipāditāḥ, mantrāś ca ity ete | yasmād
amoghaśaktayaḥ nirmalāḥ, kṣīṇakarmatvāc ca na kenacit karmaṇāpi avasādādikaṁ
trayaṁ nīĩyante; tasmāt te ṣvādhikāramāyāsargādipañcavidhaṁ kṛtyaṁ parisamāpya
uttamaṁ padaṁ parãṁ muktiṁ yugapad gacchanṁti darśitaṁ prãāk ||

‘The lords of the Pure Path’ are Ananta and the rest of the Vidyeśas. ‘The
gods’, Śrīkaṇṭha and the rest, have authority within the womb of Māyā. They were
established previously as appointed by Śiva. And these are ‘the Mantras’. Thus ‘their
powers are unfailingʼ, that is, pure. Their Karma has ceased and the three, ‘waning
awayʼ etc. are not brought about ‘by any² Karma. Thus, it was shown previously that
(all the Vidyeśas) go simultaneously to ‘the most excellent plane’ of close proximity (to
Śiva), which is supreme liberation. Thus, they (perform) the five operations, namely,
creation and the rest, of the (part of) Māyā over which they have authority.”
“⁰⁵ Although Jayaratha says that this is Supreme Śiva (Paramaśiva), it may be Ananta in
his supreme form when he has ‘become lśvara’, as Kṣemarāja says in commentary on
SVT 10/1161-1162. See also, above, 8/343cd.
 TANTRĀLOKA 343
Surely, it is said that Ananta is appointed to the lower Path, so what is
that? Is it the lower (part of the one Path), or is it another Path? With this doubt
in mind, he says:

Liberation as the Elimination of all Terms of Office

to Attain Transcendental Siva

HṃraāīĨPṀṀaĩt̄ããĩ’ ṂaTṀĪĨTTĀTĪSATT |
fTTṬGTṬTTRĀTTT: ÑISA ṜAḤ |/343 1
māyādiravīcyanto
bhavastvanantādirucyate ʻ‘pyabhavaḥ |
śivaśuddhaguṇādhikā-
rāntaḥ ṣo ʻ‘pyeṣa heyaśca || 353 |I

(Fettered) phenomenal existence (bhava) is said to extend from

Maāyā down to (the hell) Avīci, while the absence of phenomenal existence
(abhava) is said to extend from Ananta up to the end of the authority
(adhikāra)⁰⁶ ovyer the pure qualities of Śiva (in the pure principles up to
transcendental Śiva). This should also be eliminated.”⁷ (353) (352cd-353ab)

The meaning is that (the absence of phenomenal existence extends

from) transcendental (anāṣśrita) Śiva⁰⁸ (down to) the authority of Ananta and
the rest.
Why should (this also) be abandoned here? With this question in mind,
he says:

sṝāītṁ̃ āaī gaTḡīamṝ

rāṛṣgaī ī |
gaṬ ] r̄fTrēTTaTTRT JTT JāHĪIṬ I 3V
I
atrāpi yato drṛṣṭānu-
grāhyāṇāṁ niyojyatā śaivī |
iṣṭā ca tannivṛttir

““⁶⁵ RṞead -guṇādhikārāntaḥ for guṇādhīkārāntaḥ.

““⁷ There can be no doubt that the passage from 8/346 (345cd) to 8/352 (352ab) is drawn
from the Śivatanu, as Jayaratha supplies the original verses. This is not the case with
verses 353 to 355 (352cd-355ab) However, they are in Arya metre, as is the Śivatanu,
and quite plausibly form part of a single passage. The metre reverts to śloka at verse 356
(355cd-356ab); Jayaratha introduces it by saying ‘now he (returns to and) talks about
the main point’ʼ, and Abhinava reverts to his main source, the Svacchandatantra. Thus,
it is quite probable that these verses are also drawn from the Śivatanu, apart from 8/354
(353cd-354ab), which looks like Abhinava’s comment.
⁹S⁵ The word ‘anāśrita’ literally means ‘not come forth’. Thus Anāśrita Śiva, who has
not ‘come forth’ into creation, is transcendental Śiva. This is the thirty-sixth principle
Supreme Śiva is both immanent as the entire universe that has issued from Him, as well
as transcendent beyond it.
344 CHAPTER EIGHT
hy abhavas tv adhare na bhiūyate yasmāt || 354 ||

For even here, Śiva commissions (beings to aid) those he has seen fit
to grace; (but although that is good), it is preferable for even such (work) to
come to an end. The absence of phenomenal existence (does not therefore
imply liberation, it is called this) because it does not exist at the lower level.
(354) (353cd-354ab)

Surely, if this is so, then how is it that the term ‘absence of phenomenal
existence’ (abhava) is applied here? With this question in mind, he says: ‘the
absence of phenomenal existence (does not therefore imply liberation, it is
called this) because it does not exist at the lower level.’
He explains (the way in which) it ceases:

TGATTTĪĪ JT: GIIT ārādī T fqzi: |

EāEaEIIEGIEFAJK|GITĀVEEEGIĒEEĒ²EezIṬTTNḤI
patyur apasarpati yataḥ
kāraṇatā kāryatā ca siddhebhyaḥ |
kañcukavac chivasiddhau
tāv atibhavasaṁjñayātimadhyasthau || 355 ||

The Lord’s condition as the cause (kāraṇatā) (of office) and task
(kāryatā) (to be carried out) retreats from perfected souls (siddha). Thus,
when Śiva is attained as the one called ‘beyond phenomenal existence’
(atibhava), (both come to an end,) as does the covering (kañcuka) (of Māyā)
(that obscures them), and these two (bhava and abhava) are completely
aloof (atimadhyasthau) (from carrying out any task or function).”⁹ (355)
(354cd-355ab)

(The Lord’s) ‘condition as the cause (of office) (kāraṇatā)’ is (his)

capacity to appoint (others to a task) (niyoktṛtva). The ‘task (to be carried out)
is that which (they are) appointed (to do). (Both these fall away from)
‘perfected souls’ʼ, that is, liberated souls, ‘as does the covering (of Māyā)’,
that is, the obscuring covering of Māyā. The sense is that that also ceases in this
way. For, ‘when Śiva is attained’, because (He is) beyond phenomenal
existence, these two ‘are completely aloof (from carrying out any task or
function)ʼ; that is, (they are) free of the disturbed condition in which there is
one who is appointed to office and one who appoints him. This is the
meaning.”⁰

“⁰⁵ Theṣse three terms, Bhava, Abhava and Atibhava, are taken from a formula in the
Pāśupatiṣūtras (40-44), and already occur in the Taittirīya | Āraṇyaka (10/43/1). If this
verse is from the Śivatanu, as is quite likely, we have an indication here that Bṛhaspati’s
Śaivism contained Pāśupata elements, although basically Siddhānta.
‘’⁰ At the transcendental level, none commands and none is commanded, for here
consciousness stands aloof from the pairs of opposites.
 TANTRĀLOKA 345
Now he (returns to and) talks about the main point.

The Four Worlds in the Principle of Īśvara

ṭhkenizZEECĀĀEĪḤ
RTI=TŪTHĪĪ TTITTISTTTAÑ fē: I 34E
aṛṛ īīī ī āīf jā̄āvīā |
gETTTVTHTGJṬTHĀVTTĪĀ TṬSTTĒ: I| 34 1
dharmajñānavairāgyaiśyacatuṣṭayapuraṁ tu yat ḷ
rūpāvaraṇasaṁjñaṁ tattattve ‘sminn aiśvare viduḥ || 356 ||
vāmā jyeṣṭhā ca raudrīti bhuvanatrayaśobhitam ḷ
sūkṣmāvaraṇam ākhyātam īśatattve gurūttamaiḥ || 357 I|

⁹⁷![here are four worlds in this, the principle of Īśvara. (The wise)
know that they are called the Enclosure of Form (rāpāvaraṇa),⁰”² and
consist of virtue (dharma), knowledge (jñāna), detachment (vairāgya)⁰ and
mastery (aiśvarya). According to the most excellent teachers, within the
principle of Īśa (above them) is what is called the ‘Subtle Enclosure’
(sūkṣmāvaraṇa), which is adorned with the three worlds of Vāmā, Jyeṣṭhā
and Raudrī.⁹” (356-357) (355cd-357ab)

⁹’¹ ṬĀ 8/356-357 (355cd-357ab) is based on SVT 10/1163-1164.

“⁷² ] ṭranslate the word ‘āvaraṇa’ and the cognate ‘āvṛti’ as ‘enclosure’. More literally,
one could translate these words as ‘surrounding entourage’. The terms denote the deities
or beings that surround and attend upon the main deity in the centre. In this context, the
focus is on the worlds they inhabit, which are arranged in an ascending series of circles
around the deity.
‘⁷³ Read -vairāgyaiśya- for virāgaiśya-.
“’¹ TĀ 8/356-357 (355cd-357ab) is based on SvT 10/1163-1164, but the wording is
different. This is not a paraphrase, it is a rewording. Kṣemarāja explains that the world
order called the Enclosure of Form (rūpāvaraṇa) is above that of Vidyeśa.
ato rūpam avasthānaṁ tatra rudrān nibodha me |
dharmo jñānaṁ ca vairāgyam aiśvaryaṁ ca caturthakam || 1163 1

yadvaśād vidyeśvarāṇām adhastanādhvādhāravattvam aśeṣajñatvam, pūrṇatayā

nairākāṅkṣyam, mahāvibhavapradatvam ta ete dharmādyā rudrā īśvarasya parivārāḥ
|l atraiva ceśvaratattve ----
sūkṣmāvaraṇam ūrdhve ʻtaḥ..

ato rūpāvaraṇād ūrdhve ||

. tatra śakútrayaṁ viduḥ |

tāś ca
vāmā jyeṣṭhā ca raudrī ca śaktayaḥ samudāhṛtāḥ || 1 164 ||

‘Next comes the world (avasthāna) of Form. Know from me the Rudras that
are there. (They are) Dharma, Jñāna, Vairāgya (Detachment) and Aiśvarya (Mastery),
who is the fourth.” (1163)
346 CHAPTER EIGHT
What is meant bysaying (twice) ‘in this, the principle of Īśvara ʻand
‘within the principle of Iśa’ is that this is the extent of the worlds that should
be purified within the Iśvara Principle. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

– ‘There are ten and five worlds to be purified in due order within
Īśvara.’⁹”

There (in that case), they are the eight (worlds of the) Vidyeśānas, the
four within the Enclosure of Form, and the three within the Subtle Enclosure
(sūkṣmāvarṇa), making fifteen. Thus, this (is said) in the venerable
Svacchandatantra by way of a summarial conclusion:

‘Those who have conquered (their) senses and observe the divine vow
of the Pāśupata because (their bodies are) smeared with ashes, (and practice) the
repetition of mantra and meditation, go to Īśvara’s plane. There Īśvara, the Lord
(bhagavat), the stainless God of the gods, impelled by Śiva’s will, exerts
authority.”⁰⁷⁶

(The same is said) also in the venerable Nandiśikhā:

‘The authority here is Īśvara who is impelled by Śiva. Those who are
dedicated to that repetition of mantra and meditation (dhyāna) go to Iśvara’s
plane.ʼ

The Worlds of the Principle of Sadāśiva

The Enclosures and Deities of the Principle of Sadāśiva

Tṁcāraiṝṝs ghṣhargīāīdzāī |
YGTGTVĪTCTRGTĪ
JJGTTT: TīT I 3ŪÇ I
ftēaraftrṝāī vīavīavīckṣarssaī |
JṬārāīgfāī:
ṂŪāīTīēaī īā: ũīraāi f=ēTrāT I 348 1
aiśāt sādāśivaṁ jñānakriyāyugalamaṇḍitam |
śuddhāvaraṇam ity āhur uktā śuddhāvṛteḥ param || 358 I

It is by virtue of this that the Vidyeśvaras have a grounding in the Path below
(them), which is their knowledge of all things. As it is complete, they are without desire
and (this grounding) bestows (upon them) great glory. These Rudras, Dharma and the
rest, are Īśvara’s attendants. Again, here in the Īśvara principle –

‘Next, above that (Enclosure of Form) is the Subtle Enclosure.” “(The wise)
know that there are three powers there.” And these are ‘said to be the powers (sśakti),
Vāmā Jyeṣṭhā and Raudrī’. (1164).
⁹’³ SYT 10/1171cd.
⁹’⁶ SVT 10/1169cd-1171ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 347
vidyāvṛtiṣ tato bhāvābhāvaśaktidvayojjvalā |
śaktyāvṛtiḥ pramāṇākhyā tataḥ śāstre nirūpitā || 359 |I

⁹T⁷ Above (the principle of) Īśvara is that of Sadāśiva, to which (the
wise) say, belongs the ‘Pure Enclosure’, adorned with the pair knowledge
and action. It is said that beyond the Pure Enclosure is the Enclosure of
Knowledge, effulgent with the two powers of being and nonbeing. Then
(above that), the scripture describes the Enclosure of Power (which is also
called the Enclosure of) the Pramāṇas. (358-359) (357cd-359ab)

‘That of Sadāśiva’ is the principle (of Sadāśiva). (The wise) say that
the Pure Enclosure is there. This is the prose order. ‘Beyond the Pure
Enclosure’ means, above the Pure Enclosure is the Enclosure of Knowledge.
That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):
‘Within that are two powers called ‘being’ and ‘nonbeing’.”"⁸

‘Then’, (after) the Enclosure of Knowledge, and so above it, comes the
Enclosure of Power. Above that also is the Enclosure of the Pramāṇas. ‘The
scripture³ (describes this). As no particular (scripture) is mentioned, (what is
meant is that it is described) everywhere (in the scriptures in general). There are
two Rudras there, in the Enclosure of Power. That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra):

‘The supreme plane of (the worlds), the Pramāṇas, is Tejasvīśa and

Dhruveśa.”””⁹

According to the reading (Kṣemarāja), who comments (on the

Svacchandatantra), has seen (and accepts, the meaning is that) above the
Enclosure of Power is the Enclosure of the Pramāṇas, which is (thus) above it.
However, it is not a sound (reading), as great (learned) people have not accepted
it. (The Enclosure of the Means of Knowledge is the Enclosure of Power; the
same is implied) also in the venerable Nandiśikhā (where we read):

‘Tejeśvara (Lord of Radiant Energy) and Dhruveśa (Lord of Stability)

reside in the Enclosure of Power.”

Thus, this is our’√ reading, (which says that the Enclosure of Power is
also called the Enclosure of the Pramāṇas).”⁴¹

⁹⁷⁷ Verses 8/358-368 (357cd-368ab) follow without a break in the printed edition. They
have been broken up, and the corresponding part of the commentary inserted for
convenience of reference.
‘’⁸ This is SVT 10/1173cd. The printed edition reads bhāvasaṁjñāpy for bhāvasaṁjñā
tv, and śaktidvaye smṛte for śaktidvayaṁ smṛtam.
⁹’’ SVṬ 10/1174ab. The SVT and MSs Ch and Ñ read rejesas ca for tejasvīśo.
“³⁰ Read ity ādir āsmākaṁṅ for ityādir āsmāka.
⁵*! Commenting on Svacchandatantra 10/1174, Kṣemarāja says: pārvoktānāṁ māyā-
tattvāśritānāṁ pañcārthādipramāṇānāṁ param idaṁ padaṁ prāptisthānaṁ tejeśaś ca
348 CHAPTER EIGHT

ITTGTṬī] ÑÑĪRaJTTĪĪĀTTGGGĒT |
⁵E- IĒVI daŪ HTIITĪTSĀTT: I| 3ē⁰ ||
TṬIĪ: JIGRTṬTRHTTTTĪTTTT |
gJGTNIGĒ JĪHĪTR WSIT I| 3⁸2 1
Śaktyāvṛtestu tejasvidhruveśābhyām alaṅkṛtam |
tejasvyāvaraṇaṁ vedapurā mānāvṛtis tataḥ ll 360 ||
mānāvṛtēḥ suśuddhāvṛtpuratritayaśobhitā |
suśuddhāvaraṇād ūrdhvaṁ śaivam ekapuraṁ bhavet || 361 ||

After the Enclosure of Power comes the Enclosure of Brilliant

Energy (tejasvyāvaraṇa), which is adorned with Tejasvī (Energetically
Radiant) and Dhruveśa (Lord of Stability).”² Then (comes) the Enclosure
of Right Knowledge (mānāvṛti), of which there are four worlds. Beyond the
Enclosure of Right Knowledge is the Enclosure of Perfect Purity
(suśuddhāvṛt), beautiful with (its) three worlds. Above the Enclosure of
Perfect Purity, there is that of Siva, in which there is only one world. (360-
361) (359cd-361ab)

What is the reason here for calling (the Enclosure of Power) the
‘Enclosure of the Pramāṇas? With this question in mind, he says that (after the
Enclosure of Power comes the) ‘the Enclosure of Brilliant Energy’. Tejeśa
and Dhruveśa are the supreme plane of the Group of Eight Pramāṇas (i.e. the
Pāśupata scriptures), located in the Principle of Māyā. This is the second,
supreme, enclosure, of those two, ‘of which there are four worldsʼ. That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘“(The four worlds are those of) Brahmā, Rudra, Pratoda and Ananta,
who is the fourth.³

(That is said) in the venerable Nandiśikhā also:

dhruveśāś ca vidyāvaraṇād ūrdhve pramāṇāvaraṇe sthite ity etat pramāṇāvaraṇam api

bhuvanadvitayayogi |l

‘Tejeśa, Dhruveśa and the supreme plane, that is, the place of attainment of the
aforementioned Pramāṇas, that is, Pañcārtha and the rest that are based on the principle
of Māyā, are in the enclosure of the Pramāṇas, which is above that of Vidyā. Thus, this
is also the enclosure of the Pramāṇas, associated with two worlds.”
The Pramāṇas are the scriptures of Pāśupatas. All we have recovered of them
are a few verses quoted by Kṣemarāja in SvTu ad 1/41-43 from the Pañcārthapramāṇa.
“³² Dhruveśa can also means Lord of Stability or the Stable Lord. The Pole Star that
remains fixed in one place in the sky is appropriately called Dhruva - ‘Fixedʼ,
‘Immobile’ or ‘Stableʼ.
“³³ SVT 10/1175ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 349
‘(The worlds of) Brahmā, Rudra, who is called Pramāṇa, Pratoda, and
the one called Ananta – these four are said to be in the Enclosure of the
Pramāṇas.”

That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra) concerning ‘the Enclosure of

Perfect Purityʼ:

‘And the Enclosure of Perfect Knowledge is above. (The wise) know

that there are three Rudras there. In brief, these are said to be: Ekākṣa (One
Eye), Piṅgala (Tawny), and Hatṁsa (the Gander).”²⁴
‘Thereis that world of Śiva’, which means, the Enclosure of Śiva.
That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘The Enclosure of Śiva is above. There is one (world) there called

Dhruva (Immobile).”⁹⁵

³raaāī Tīṛaāīāī ̄ī āīaṬḷ fr̥ā 1| 3ē

ṃīarTāīPṬTTFTTTSTTĪ JTÑ |
*³ ṂgJTJT-āú]
āāī fšrar: I 3ē3 1
ITRTITTTAITTK ÁTTRTT |
śivāvṛter ūrdhvam āhur mokṣāyaraṇasaṁjñitam ḷ
asyāṁ mokṣāvṛtau rudrā ekādaśa nirūpitāḥ || 362 |
mokṣāvaraṇatas tv ekapuram āvaraṇaṁ dhruvam |
ūrdhve dhruvāvṛter icchāvaraṇaṁ tatra te śivāḥ || 363 II
īśvarecchāgṛhāntasthās tat puraṁ caikam ucyate |

They say that above the Enclosure of Śiva is the one called the
Enclosure of Liberation (mokṣāvaraṇa), within which (the scriptures)
describe eleven Rudras. Beyond this is the Enclosure of Dhruva
(dhruyvāvaraṇa), that has only one world. Above the Enclosure of Dhruva is
the Enclosure of Desire (icchāvaraṇa). Those Śivas who are there reside
within the abode of the Lord’s will. It said to have (only) one world. (362-
364ab) (361cd-363)

The ‘eleven’ (Rudras) are those starting with Brahmā. That is said (in
the Svacchandatantra):

‘“(The eleven Rudras) are called Brahmā, Darka (Dandika), Diṇḍi,

Munṇḍa (Tonsured), and Saurabha (Fragrant), Janman (Birth), Mṛtyu (Death),

‘³ SYṬ 10/1175cd-1176ab.
“³³ SVT 10/1176cd.
350 CHAPTER EIGHT
and Hara (Saviour), Praṇīta (Offered), Sukhaduḥkhada (Giver of Pleasure and
Pain) and Vijṛmbhita (Expanded).”⁸

‘Those’ (Śivas) are all those that have been mentioned, from here down
to Earth. They ‘reside within the abode of the Lord’s will’, that is, are one
with it. With that same intention, it is said elsewhere (i.e. in the
Īśvarapratyabhijñã):

‘“(The mass of) existing things rests in the Self of the Lord (and thus)
manifest. If they were not to do so, the act of reflective awareness, which is the
will (icchāmarśa), would not take place.³ ⁹*

(There is just) ‘one’ (world there), because it is presided over by just the
power of the will (alone).

-J': JGGTGĀ fāTRRTĪHT I¹/38% 1

TGGTTIIḺT THTATTTĪ TGq |
çEPREEUEIEA EE.EEIEI{’-IAT
GTTAṬĪṜYTÑ ī Tīaraā ]ã̃ Hēq |
TTa-acaaṝīaī
aṁṁaā gaaāīũrzaī: || 3ēē |
3āīēēā m=aī ġ Júṁēcāṣgātaṝī
|
TTAĀICTZTĒCĪIḤ #Ṝēdi H Tgā-šāī I| 3ē. ||
TJ JāāVĠÑTS TūTVTIĀTA, fWaT |
GITRṬGYT
&Ṝīā #a gĒTĪ Ṭa; | 3.¢ 1
icchāvṛteḥ prabuddhākhyaṁ digrudrāṣṭakacarcitam || 364 ||
prabuddhāvaraṇād ūrdhvaṁ samayāvaraṇaṁ mahat |
bhuvanaiḥ pañcabhir garbhīkṛtānantasamāvṛti |l 365 ||
sāmayāt sauśivaṁ tatra sādākhyaṁ bhuvanaṁ mahat |
tasmin sadāśivo devas tasya savyāpasavyayoḥ |l| 366 ||
jñānakriye parecchā tu śaktir utsaṅgagāminī |
sṛṣṭyādipañcakṛtyāni kurute sa tayecchayā || 367 I|
pañca brahmāṇy aṅgaṣaṭkaṁ sakalādyaṣṭakaṁ śivāḥ |
daśāṣṭādaśa rudrāś ca tair eva suśivo vṛtaḥ || 368 II

After the Enclosure of Desire comes the one called Awakened

(prabuddha), that is adorned with the eight Rudras of the quarters. Above
the Enclosure of the Awakened is the great Enclosure of the Rule
(samayāvaraṇa), associated with five worlds. (As does every Enclosure), it

⁵³⁶ SVṬ 10/1178-1179a. Kṣemarāja glosses the names Janma and Mṛtyu as Janmahara
(Saviour from Birth) and Mṛtyuhara (Saviour from Death), respectively.
*⁷ TP 1/5/10. Also quoted in TĀv ad 3/247cd-248ab (see note there), ad 9/8ab, ad
10/300cd-301ab, and ad 15/202cd-203ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 351
encompasses (all) the infinite (planes that lie below it). Above that is the
Enclosure of Suśiva. The great world of Sadāśiva (sādākhya) is there,
within which the god Sadāśiva (resides). To his right and left are knowledge
and action, while the power of supreme will, by virtue of which he performs
the five operations of creation and the rest, sits on his lap. Suśiva is
surrounded by the five Brahmās,”⁸ the six limbs (of mantra), the group of
eight (Rudras) starting with Sakala, the ten Śivas, and eighteen (more)
Rudras.”⁰⁹ (364cd-368) (364-368ab)

‘The one called Awakened”ʼ is the Enclosure of the Awakened. That is

said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘The Enclosure of the Awakened is above. I will tell (you that) in

brief. (The Rudras there are) 1) Prīta (Loved). 2) Pramudita (Delighted), 3)
Pramoda (Delight), 4) Pralambana (Hanging Down), 5) Viṣṇu, 6) Madana
(Maddening), 7) Gahana (Deep), and 8) Prathita (Well Known) – one should
know that this is said to be the group of eight Rudras (located in) the directions,
starting with the east, in due order.”¹

(The Enclosure of the Rule) is associated with five worlds. That is

said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘1) Prabhava (Influence), 2) Samaya (Pledge), 3) Kṣudra (Mean), 4)

Vimala (Pure) Śiva, then 5) the one called Ghana (Dense); beyond thatis the
Stainless (nirañjana) – these are the five Rudra Oṁkāras.”⁰⁰

‘(As does every Enclosure,) it encompasses (all) the infinite (planes that
lie below it)²; all that is said to remain (apart from that is) whatever is above,
abides encompassing what is below. ‘The world of Sadāśiva’ is directly
(sākṣār) the place over which Lord Sadāśiva presides, and so it is said to be
‘great’. However (Kṣemarāja), who wrote (the commentary called) Uddyota
(on the Svacchandatantra), declares that the Principle of Sadāśiva begins from a
(lower) half, which he conceives (exists on the basis of the line,) ‘then above
Īśvara and below Sadāśiva’⁵”² (But this view is) unsound, because great

‘³⁸ The edition reads brahmāṇi, which is intended to be the plural of hrahman. The Five
Brahmās are the five faces of Sadāśiva. See below, note 15,337.
“* Veṛṣes 357cd-368ab are a paraphrasis of SvT 10/1165 ff.
“’⁰ ṢVṬ 10/1181-1182. SVT reads pralambakaḥ for prāmbinaḥ.
“⁰ SYṬ 10/1183cd-1184abc.
“’² SYT 10/1190ab. We shall see in detail in the following chapter dedicated to the
metaphysical principles, that the first to emerge from the pure transcendental Śiva
consciousness in union with the will of His power of reflective awareness is Sadāśiva.
In this state of consciousness, the power of knowledge predominates, through which the
universe, which is within consciousness in a potential form, begins to form as initial
traces of objectivity. Śiva beholds the ideal unformed universe within Himself as one
with Himself, like the artist who sees, as it were, within his consciousness, the faint
outline of the picture he is about to draw. At this stage subjectivity — ‘l-ness’ – is
strongly dominant, ‘covering over’, as it were, objective ‘this-ness’. As the latter
352 CHAPTER EIGHT
(distinguished) scholars do not accept that meaning.”³ Thus, in the same way
also, (the word) ‘above’ is repeated (unnecessarily), ‘and below Sadāśiva’ is
also incoherent, because it has (already) been said there itself. Even if one does
not conceive (the matter this way), this should not be explained in this way at
all, namely that Īśvara, that is, Rudroṁkāra, is the sustainer (adhiṣṭhātṛ) with
respect to Sadāśiva. That which is sustained is below the sustainer. As is said in
the venerable Nandiśikhā:

‘The Lord’s (aiśvara) principle has been described. Above that is

Sadāśiva.”
One should understand that also in the same way; that is, ‘the Lord’sʼ
(means) Sadāśiva’s. ʻSadāśiva’ means that he is directly present there.
Otherwise, in both cases, the concluding text (concerning) the Īśvara principle
would be contradictory. One should follow the path that has been made by those
great scholars, one should not be confused by a commentator’s commentary.
Now enough of so much (discussion). ‘In which’ means in the world of
Sadāśiva. ʻSuśiva’ is Sadāśiva. ‘He is surrounded’ four times by the sequence
of enclosures.⁹*⁴
He names them in serial order.

r̥tTTraraṁçr̥razrTṁ
z Tg: I 3ē8 1
intensifies, the two aspects of consciousness, subjective and objective, experienced on
the same level and perfectly equivalent, are the state of the Īśvara principle.
Kṣemarāja, commenting on this line from the Svacchandatantra, understands
in terms of the world orders within these principles that the worlds of Suśiva that
manifest within the principle of Sadāśiva, although one with it, represent its lower form
(apararūpa). Thus he writes: “That which makes all objects clearly manifest because it
manifests (them) as being on an equal footing within inner (universal) ‘I-ness’ is said to
be the Īśvara principle. That would not be possible (that is, could not exist,) without the
principle of Sadāśiva, which is the manifestation of ‘I-nessʼ, which covers inwardly that
manifestation whichis different from that. The arīsing of an external manifestation does
not take place without (a prior) inner manifestation. Thus, one should contemplate
(bhavitavya) that (inner manifestation) as the Sadāśiva principle, and as the foundation
(bhitti) of the Īśvara principle. Thus, it is with this intention (that it is said that) it is
above Īśvara, like the Sadāśiva principle, (but) below the main world of Sadāśiva, which
will be described, and is the covering of Suśiva, which is present (āśrita) in the principle
of Sadāśiva. This is what is being said (here). Suśiva here (in this case) is the Lord
Sadāśiva Himself. As is said: “one should know that Sadāśiva is within (the Covering of
Suśiva, which is above)³ (SVT 10/1190d). The meaning is that this is the lower (apara)
form, which is different from the supreme form of Sadāśiva, which will be explained.”
Jayaratha objects to this distinction. According to him Suśiva is Sadāśiva
himself (sākṣār). There is no intermediate state ‘above Iśvara and below Sadāśiva’, as
Kṣemarāja claims. Moreover, Īśvara sustains Sadāśiva, not the other way around, as
Kṣemarāja says.
⁹’³ Read asyārdhasya for asyārthasya.
“³* Perhaps there is an error here. According to the text itself, Sadāśiva appears to be
surrounded by five, not four groups, which are noted here as the five Brahmās, the six
limbs, the eight Rudras, ten Śivas, and eighteen more Rudras.
 TANTRĀLOKA

[
².
Ḹ
TRTTYA:
TṬR āCTIPŪGTVGGT &ṬTTIHT |
ṚTGĪTR̄TTKT
fēṜW? ThōTḺTTTGTHĀTTĪ | |I| 390 |
³īīgrṀfkrt ãrṁ Ṁĩtravrēī
ghrārĩ |
TGTST.YTIT. fRīaāī. aŪīdīsā T. | 2ō 1
fē̄raī fīarag aaārayaīṁ aīkaa: |
āzT--tczfdrgTdīī ōōdrīdazssī 1| 3192 1
ḡāTTṝNīaī Ūāēũoīaṁāīaṁ
zṜī āāāṁ āa |
gdTrīṝrṝīṁ
āJīāīt̄ī feṣ;: aageaaī 1 33 1
sadyo vāmāghorau
puruṣeśau brahmapañcakaṁ hṛdayam |
mūrdhaśikhāvarmadṛg-
astram aṅgāni ṣaṭ prāhuḥ || 369 ||
sakalākalaśūnyaiḥ saha
kalāḍhyakhamalaṅkṛte kṣapaṇam antyam ḷ|
kaṇṭhyauṣṭhyam aṣṭamaṁ kila
sakalāṣṭakam etad āmnātam | || 370 ||
oṅkāraśivau dīpto
hetvīśadaśeśakau suśivakālau |

svāyambhuvo vahnivīrarauravakāḥ |
mukuṭaviṣarenduvindu-
prodgītā lalitasiddharudrau ca || 372 ||
santānaśīiyau parakiraṇa-
pārameśā iti smṛtā rudrāḥ |
sarveṣām eteṣāṁ
jñānāni viduḥ svatulyanāmāni || 373 ||

The five Brahmās are 1) Sadyojāta, 2) Vāmadeva, 3) Aghora, 4)

Tatpuruṣa and 5) Īśāna.”⁵ They say that the six ancillaries (aṅga) are: the
Heart, Head, Topknot, Armour, Eye and Weapon.
The group of eight Sakala (Rudras) are said to be: 1) Sakala, 2)
Akaḷa (Niṣkala), 3) Śūnya, 4) Kalaḍhya (Wealthy with Energies) and 5)
Khamalaṅkṛta (Adorned with Space), 6) Kṣapaṇa (Destroyer), 7) Antya
(Kṣayānta) (End of Destruction) and 8) Kaṇṭhyauṣṭhya (Gutṭterolabial),⁹*²
the eighth.
The ten Śivas starting from the east are: 1) Oṁkāreśa, 2) Śiva, 3)
Dīpta, 4) Hetvīśa (Karaṇeśa) (Lord of the Causes), 5) Daśeśa (the Lord of

`³ See below, 15/203cd-206ab.

“⁰⁰ 370 (369cd-370ab) is based on SYT 10/1194. Below in 29/160cd-161ab, in the
context of Kaula practice, these eight Rudras are called Bhairavas.
354 CHAPTER EIGHT
the Ten), 6) Suśiva (Good Śiva), 7) Kāleśa (Lord of Time), 8) Sūkṣma
(Sūkṣmarūpa) (ŚSubtle Form), 9) Sutejas (Good Energy), and 10) Śarva.”⁷
The (eighteen) Rudras are said to be 1) Vijaya (Victory), 2)
Nihśvāsa (Exhalation), 3) Svāyambhū (Self Born), 4) Agni (Fire), 5) Vīra
(Hero), 6) Raurava (Roaring), 7) Mukuṭa (Crown), 8) Visara (Abundance),
9) Indu (Moon), 10) Bindu (Drop),³⁸ 11) Prodgītavat (Lauded), 12) Lalita
(Playful), 13) Siddharudra (Accomplished Rudra), 14) Santāna (Eternal),
15) Śarva, 16) Para (Supreme), 17) Kiraṇa (Ray) and 18) Parameśvara
(Supreme Lord).”” (The wise) know that from all these originate the forms
of knowledge (i.e. scriptures) corresponding to their names. (369-373)
(368cd-373ab)

‘Akala’ is Niṣkala. ‘Antya’ Kṣayānta, that is, (the condition of)

phenomenal existence (bhava) at the end (of its existence). ‘Hetvīśa’ is
Kāraṇeśvara. ‘ʻSūkṣmaʼ is Sūkṣmarūpa. ‘From all these’, that is, Śivas and
Rudras. Thus, they are said to be the Śaiva (llgama), that is divided into ten and
eighteen kinds (of Āgamas).¹
⁰

The Throne of Suśiva

ṁ-rrākīfētṝkgānṁī fā*āṁēzēzā-ftṁ̄qa |
āīāēxṝṁṁēsī gRīār-xrāāāhs-a I| 3.% I
: vōṁṁṭēza: ṁam fē-ã gfīā
T̄ārīṁa rstrsrd’taN mh’hīzdīṣṣaī I 3i, u
IBIIJĒUTAḤ ṇhōTHāīTTTĀGGT: |

gṀraāīāōī ēzr: āāī: āddTtṁTJTĪT I| 3¹9ē. 1]

īād-añāca aīaā fōraēcīṭṟvsgast. |
si+ fṝzrafcdīāī
ā ṁ ṁtr̥r̥ī ḥ 3uto i
Tr-czādīrāī; ftrāṁāī ṁ-aāēqcārg{fa |
[EEIPIEGETJEREIĒGIEĒEŪGĒṈIEYVĀ
ṝ ŪṬIḤ: |
mantramunikoṭiparivṛtam
atha vibhuvāmādirudratacchaktiyutam |
tārādiśaktijuṣṭaṁ
suśivāsanam atisitakajam asaṁkhyadalam || 374 ||

⁰⁷ 371 (370cd-371ab) is based on SvT 10/1196-1197ab.

“’³ SYT 10/1198d reads bimbah for binduh.
“⁰” See above, 1/18. 372-373ab (371cd-372) is based on SvT 107/1198-1199.
¹⁰ Ṭhe ṉames of the ten Śivas and eighteen Rudras correspond, respectively, to those of
the ten so-called dualist and eighteen dualist-cum-nondualist Āgamas, which are the
‘forms of knowledge’ that originate from them.
 TANTRĀLOKA 355
yaḥ śaktirudravargaḥ
parivāre viṣṭare ca suśivasya |
pratyekam asya nijanijaparivāre parārdhakoṭayo ‘saṁkhyāḥ l| 375 ||
māyāmalanirmuktāḥ
kevalam adhikāramātrasaṅṁrūḍhāḥ |
suśivāvaraṇe rudrāḥ
sarvajñāḥ sarvaśaktisampūrṇāḥ || 376 ||
adhikārabandhavilaye
śāntāḥ śivarūpiṇo ‘punarbhavinaḥ |
ūrdhve bindvāvṛtir dīptā tatra padmaṁ śaśiprabham || 377 ||
śāntyatītaḥ śivas tatra tacchaktyutsaṅgabhūṣitaḥ |
nivṛttyādikalāvargaparivārasamāvṛtaḥ || 378 I|
asaṁkhyarudratacchaktipurakoṭibhir āvṛtaḥ |

Now, the throne of Suśiva (i.e. Sadāśiva) is a pure white lotus with
countless petals. It is surrounded by seventy million (mantras) and is
associated with the powers of the Rudras headed by Vibhava, Vāma and
the rest,'™' along with the powers starting with Tārā. The powers and
Rudras in Suśiva’s extensive entourage, and in that of each one of them,
amount to countless thousands of millions. The Rudras in Suśiva’s
enclosure are free of the stain of Māyā. Omniscient and replete with every
power, they are dedicated solely to the fulfilment of their office, and once
their responsibilities (adhikārabandha)¹"² come to an end, peaceful, they
assume Śiva’s nature, free of rebirth.¹⁰³ (374-377ab) (373cd-376)

Śiva Beyond Tranquillity (śāntyātīta)

Above is the Enclosure of the Point (bindu),¹"“ which is brilliantly

luminous. There is a lotus there¹"⁵ which shines like the moon. Śiva Beyond
Tranquillity (śāntyātīta) is there. He is adorned by this power, whom he
embraces, surrounded by the entourage of the Forces (kalā), that is,
(Nivṛtti) Cessation and the rest.¹ He is encircled by innumerable Rudras
and their powers, and tens of millions of worlds.¹⁰"⁷ (377cd-379ab) (377-378)

!⁰⁰" They are: Vibhvī, Jñānī, Kriyā, Icchā, Vāgīśī, Jvālinī, Vāmā, Jyeṣṭhā, and Raudrī.
See, for example, MV 8/65.
¹⁰⁰² Ṭhe expression ‘adhikārabandha⁵ could also be translated as ‘the bondage of office’.
¹⁰⁰³ Cf. SVT 10/1201cd-1203. Read -rāpiṉo ‘punarbhavinaḥ for ~rūpiṇo
punarbhavinaḥ. Lines 374-377ab (373cd-376) are set in a different metre and exact
equivalents cannot be traced in the SvT, although there is some similarity with SvT
10/1201cd-1203. They are possibly drawn from the Śivatanuśāstra. The following
verses — 377cd-379ab (377-378) – are set in standard sśloka. Jayaratha separates them
from the previous ones. They are derived from SvT 10/1214cd-1215, 10/1217-1218ab.
The latter is quoted by Jayaratha.
'⁰ Concerning bindu, see above, 6/161-167.
¹⁰³ Read, as the metre demands, tatra for tatra tatra.
!00 ee below, 11/8.
¹⁷ Ḷiṉeṣ 374-377ab (373cd-376) are set in a different metre, and exact equivalents
cannot be traced in the SvT. Quite probably they are drawn from the Śivatanuśāstra.
356 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘Above’, that is, (above) Suśiva’s (i.e., Sadāśiva’s) Enclosure. ‘This
powerʼ, that is, Beyond Tranquillity (śāntyātītā).¹⁰⁸ That is said (in the
Svacchandatantra);

‘O lady of good vows, Nivṛtti (Cessation), Pratisthā (Firmly

Established), Vidyā (Knowledge) and Śānti (Tranquillity) are said to be the
entourage of Śāntyātīta (Beyond Tranquillity). In the quarter to his leftis (His
power) Śāntyātītā (Beyond Tranquillity).⁷¹⁰’

Moreover, that has been stated in a different way. Thus, he says:

Bindu and the Body of Sadāśiva

ṀT-TTR̥TH
T WJTTS TaTTT I 39R 1
r̥ktrtkēktrktām-7 fkṝraā |
śrīmanmataṅgaśāstre ca layākhyaṁ tattvam uttamam || 379 ||
pāribhāsṣikam ity etan nāmnā bindur ihocyate |

¹⁰lAccording to the venerable Mataṅgatantra, the most excellent

principle (tattva) is called ‘Merger’ (laya). Here it is technically termed ‘the
Point’ (bindu).¹"" (379cd-380ab) (379)

The following verses 377cd-379ab (377-378) are set in standard sloka.

Jayaratha separates them from the previous ones. They are derived from SVT
10/1214cd-1215, 10/1217-1218ab. The second of these is quoted by Jayaratha. The
verse Abhinava omits describes the form of Śiva here called Śáhia Thisis basically
Sadāśiva; he has: “five faces, large eyes, ten arms and three eyes. He shines like a mass
of thousands of lightning flashes andis adorned with radiant jewels.’ (SVT 10/1216)
¹* Noṭe that from this perspective, Śivais Beyond Tranquillity, as is His power, Their
names are the same, the only differenceis that the formis masculine (śāntyātīta), and
the latter is feminine (śāntyātītā)
¹⁰⁹ ṢyṬ 10/1217-1218ab. Kṣemarāja: ‘It was said before that the group of four energies,
which are the womb of the entire Cosmic Path, abiding as the supreme power of the
god, is his entourage.”
¹⁰1⁰ /379cd-381ab (379-380), based on MPĀ Vidyāpāda 3/20-34. Line 8/380ab (379cd)
is MPĀ Vidyāpāda 3/22cd.
¹⁰!" The word ‘bindu’ can be equally well translated as ‘point’ or ‘dropʼ. The second line
of verse 379is MPĀ Vidyāpāda 3/22cd. According to the MPĀ, three states (āvasthā)
are associated with Śiva when heis conceivedin relation to manifestation. These are 1)
the state of ‘merger’ (laya),in which everythingis absorbed and from which all things
arise. 2) the state of ‘enjoyment’ (bhoga), in which the deity knows the world, and 3)
the state of authority (adhikāra), in which the deity acts and governs the world.
According to the MPĀ the state of enjoyment corresponds to bindu, whereas according
to Abhinavagupta, it corresponds to the state of merger. The MPĀ equates the three
states with three planes of consciousness. The first is bindu, which is the supreme reality
in a manifest state. The second is Sadāśiva, and the third is Pure Knowledge. See MPĀ
Vidyāpāda 2/14; 3/121; 32-33ab; 7/32-33.
 TANTRĀLOKA 357
The principle ‘called ‘Merger’ is ‘most excellent’ because it possesses
the attributes of universal agency and the rest. That externally manifest reality
(sat) is here termed ‘the Point’ (bindu), according to the terminology of our
own scriptures (śāstra). The meaning is that that (reality) has been designated
this way in the venerable Mataṅgapārameśvara. As is said there.

‘Thuṣ, the Supreme Principle, immobile and facing everywhere, is that

within which one who has attained it is never again (subject) to rebirth here (in
this world).”¹⁰'²

‘In this way, the great (metaphysical) principle (tattva), free (from any
defect for which it could be) criticized, and rich with thousands of radiant rays,
pervades below from that principle of (Śiva), that possesses (every divine)
quality. Here it is technically termed ‘the Point’ (bindu). Imperishable, it abides
four-fold,""³ the impeller (of all things) in every way.³¹⁰"⁴

Surely, here (this Āgama says) of the Lord (pati):

‘According to the teachings concerning the triple principle, Merger

(laya), Experience (bhoga), and Authority (adhikāra), the reality (padārtha)
called the Lord (pari) is said to be the first (of these).”¹⁰¹

If this is so here, then where is (the Lord’s) form as Enjoyment (and

Authority)?¹⁰¹⁰ With this question in mind, he says:

rfāīṁā
yi āāhtīz#ēa²] | 3 ¢ 1
āfēmīī:
ṃatṝ ṣzā aflīṉ |
caturmūrtimayaṁ śubhraṁ yat tat sakalaniṣkalam || 380 ||
tasmin bhogaḥ samuddiṣṭa ity atredaṁ ca varṇitam |

¹⁰2 ṂPĀ viḍyāpāda 3/20cd-21ab.

'⁰"³The four-fold form of the Point is explained in this and the following verse.
'⁰" MPĀ vidyāpāda 321cd-23ab. Printed edition reads jagato (‘of the universe’) for
sarvato (‘in every way³). Lines 3/21cd-22ab are quoted above in TĀv ad 1/224-225ab
(224 + 225cd).
¹⁰l³ MPĀ vidyāpāda 2114.
¹⁰⁶ Aṣcending through Śiva’s cosmic body along the ladder of the Worlds, arranged in
due order within the Principles ranging from Earth to Śiva, we have reached Sadāśiva,
who is identified with the Drop or Point (bindu) in terms of another sequence of ascent,
viewed from the perspective of the utterance of the cosmogonic OM. This Point (i.e.
Sadāśiva) is identified with the Lord (Pati). According to the Siddhānta, there are three
fundamental realities (padārtha). The first of these is Pati (the Lord). The others are the
countless fettered souls (paśu) the Lord governs, and the fetters (pāśa) that bind them.
Pati possesses the three principles of Merger, Enjoyment and Authority. Abhinava has
explained the first of these before, now he goes on to explain the other two.
358 CHAPTER EIGHT
¹⁰"TThe experience (bhoga) within is said to be of the four-fold body.
Pure (śubhra), it is both with parts (sakala) and without parts (niṣkala).¹⁰⁸
This is what is described here. (380cd-381ab) (380)

The experience (bhoga) within it is said to be of the four-fold body.

Pure (śubhra), it is both with parts (sakala) and without parts (niṣkala).
Although that four-fold nature consisting of (the four spheres of force – kalā –
beginning with) Cessation (nivṛtti) and the rest (listed above) is present in (this)
principle, it is beyond that, and so is devoid of impurity (nirmala). Thus,
although it is also ‘with parts” (sakala), it is the plane ‘without partsʼ (niṣkala),
because it is merged into the Supreme Principle. ‘The experience (bhoga)
within it is said to be’ (this). The Principle of Sadāśiva is the location of its
experience (bhogasthāna). This is what is said here (concerning this) in the
venerable Mataṅgatantra. That is said there:

‘The merger (laya) of the god Sadāśiva takes place in the principle that
is totally without parts. The experience (bhoga) within it is said to be of the
four-fold body. Pure (sśubhra), it is both with parts (sakala) and without parts
(niṣkala). 1t is that of the Lord of the universe at all times.” ¹⁰¹

Again, the location of his authority (adhikāra) is (Pure) Knowledge etc.

Thus, the meaning has been established (and purpose achieved). As is said there
itself:

‘The principle called Śiva is in Merger (laya), the plane called the Point
is in Manifestation (vyakti). Experience (bhoga) is in Sadāśiva’s place and the
teaching (śāsana) in the one called Īśvara. His authority (adhikāra) is in the
Principle of (Pure) Knowledge, which one should always know to be its
source.³ ¹⁰

Surely, (one may ask,) the condition ‘with parts’ is said to be

appropriate for the body (consisting of the principles) beginning with the Force
(of limited agency) and ending with Earth (that are the domain of Māyā). If that

¹⁰1⁷ ṬĀ 8/380cd-381a (380abc)) is a literal quote of MPĀ vidyāpāda 3/34abc, cited in

the commentary.
¹⁰"⁸ Thus, it is both ‘supreme’ — para and ‘inferior’ — apara, and so corresponds to the
intermediate condition.
¹⁰1⁰ MPĀ vidyāpāda 3/33cd-34.
¹2 MPĀ vidyāpāda 7/32-33ab. Instead of vidyātattve ‘dhikāro 'sya yoner jñeyaḥ
sadaiave hi, the last line in the printed edition reads: vidyātattve ‘dhikāro ʻsyā yonir
jñeyā sadaive hi | ‘(Her) authority (adhikāra) is in the Principle of (Pure) Knowledge.
One should always know (Her) to be the source.” The feminine here refers to the
goddess who is embodied in the Vidyā of eighty-one syllables (ekāśītipada). Thus, the
previous lines say: ‘The goddess of eighty-one syllables (ekāśītipadā) is Śakti, who is
Siva by nature. She has initially come forth within the (sphere of the force called)
Tranquillity, and Her first place (sthāna) is of that nature. . . . The ones that follow after
those quoted by Jayaratha say: “O sage, the many kinds of Mantras and Vidyās are
established within Her. Such then is the great power of Śiva the supreme soul.’
 TANTRĀLOKA 359
applies to Lord Sadāśiva, how is it that in his case, as it is with us, one cannot
perceive (his body, which consists of the principles) ranging from the Earth
onwards? With this question in mind, he says:

fRīṃjṝāīē geTāīTzĀ̄TaTSITRT I/ 3¢2, I

T;: āāITPRITTTĀ fāATaqdī |
nivṛttyādeḥ sūkṣmatvād dharādyārabdhadehatā || 381 1|
mātuḥ sphūrjanmahājñānalīnatvān na vibhāvyate |

The body of (Sadāśiva), made of (all the principles) from Earth

onwards, is not perceived, because the (Forces) of Cessation and the rest
(that encompass them) are (extremely) subtle. This is because they are
merged in the subject’s great effulgent knowledge. (381cd-382ab) (381)

The ‘subject’ is the Lord Sadāśiva. The reason why (the Forces) of
Cessation and the rest are subtle is ‘because they are merged in (his) great
effulgent knowledge’.

(Surely,) is it not a contradiction (to maintain) that the Earth and the rest
are present here, (but) are not perceived? With this question in mind, he says:

3Jr̥kṀ̄āc̄
Ṁī JaUa: |
3qaI ŪAYGēīī √TīcTṬTTĪĪRRCRTT: I 3¢2 I
udriktataijasatvena hemno bhūparamāṇavaḥ |
yathā pṛthaṅ na bhānty evam ūrdhvādhorudḍradehagāḥ || 382 I|

Just as the atoms of Earth that constitute gold do not manifest

individually because of (their) intense brilliance (taijasa), similarly (the
atoms) of the bodies of the Rudras, from the highest to the lowest, (are
hidden by the effulgence of their consciousness). (382cd-383ab) (382)

Although ‘the atoms of Earth that constitute gold’ are (certainly)

present (in a piece of gold), otherwise it would be impossible (to explain) its
solidity etc., because the atoms of radiant energy (tejas) (there) are (many) more
(than they are), ‘they do not manifest individuallyʼ.'*' Similarly (the atoms)
of the bodies of the Lords of each of the worlds within creation (sarga), pure
and impure, are hidden (by the effulgence) of the knowledge they have of their
own true nature (ātmajñāna). This is the meaning of this statement.

Now he (gets back) to discussing the main point.

¹⁰*" Along with the earthen atoms of gold, there are also atoms of luminous energy
(tejas), which gives gold its sheen.
360 CHAPTER EIGHT
The Point, the Half Moon (Ardhacandra), and the Obstructress

ftrz&assçīṁza ḷ dḷīḶēā7 N āṣ̄ 1| 3 1|

e /*Mk ASĀGETĀETIĪEEAExr THI
aīṝ āṛṝ| āīaīī āīāataāī āāTdaī I 2³1
āT. Ta Āōrī. TTTTāTēraāī 7ṬGTā: |
bindūrdhve ‘rdhendur etasya kalā jyotsnā ca tadvatī || 383 |I
kāṉtiḥ prabhā ca vimalā pañcaitā rodhikās tataḥ |
rundhanī rodhanī roddhrī jñānabodhā tamopahā || 384 ||
etāḥ pañca kalāḥ prāhur nirodhinyāṁ gurūttamāḥ |

¹2Above the Point is the Half Moon (Ardhacandra). It possesses

five energies (kalā), namely, Jyotsnā (Light), Jyotisnāvatī (Endowed with
Light), Kānti (Beauty), Suprabhā (Beautiful Light)¹ and Vimalā (Pure).
Then come the (energies that) obstruct (rodhikā).¹ The best teachers say
that these are the five energies within the Obstructress, namely, Rundhanī,
Rodhanī, Roddhṛī,¹” Jñānabodhā (Awakening of Knowledge), and
Tamopahā (Remover of Darkness).¹*“ (383cd-385ab) (383-384)

¹⁰22 Saḍāśiva, identified with the Point (bindu), is the upper extreme of emanation, which
ranges from him down to Earth. Above are the planes of the Principle of Power. These
lead to the transcendent Śiva Principle which, beyond the sphere of emanation, is one,
and devoid of all inner differentiation into worlds or states. This, the last lap of the
ascent, is through the Principle of Power. This is the sphere of the upward movement of
Kuṇḍalinī up into final merger with transcendental Śiva (cf. 5/56cd ff.). The phases of
this ascent are those of the higher reaches of the flow of the energy of mantra. The
exemplary model is OM, which we have already observed (see above, note to
1/60cd-62). To recapitulate, these are the Point (bindu) > Half Moon (ardhacandra) >
the Obstructress (nirodhikā) > Sound (nāda) > End of Sound (nādānta) > Power (śakti)
> the Pervasive One (vyāpinī) > the Equal One (or one could translate as ‘With Mind’)
(samanā)) > the Transmental (unmanā). The Kalās of each of the levels of OM from A to
Unmanā are listed in NT 22/25 ff. See Appendix B to Chapter One.
¹⁰³ Abhinava lists tadvatī and prabhā for the complete names, Jyotisnāvatī and
Suprabhā, respectively, found in SvT 10/1220cd.
¹⁰⁴ One wonders whether to emend rodhikās tataḥ to rodhikā tataḥ ʻthen (comes)
Rodhikā’. Either way it is clear that these are Rodhikā’s five energies.
¹⁰⁵ 384cd (384ab) is a literal quote of SvT 10/1221cd. All these three names mean
‘Obstructressʼ. The same energies (kalā) of Nirodhikā are listed in NT 22/39 and in SvT
10/1221. There, as in Kṣemarāja’s commentary, we find Raudrī (Fierce One) instead of
Roddhṛī (Obsṣṭructress). The reading here is a good one. Indeed, it may appear to be
more satisfactory. Even so, there can be no doubt that the SvT that Kṣemarāja had the
reading raudrī before him. In this case, one wonders whether Abhinava is quoting the
variant he found, or if this is a scribal error committed by a copyist of the Tantrāloka.
¹2⁰ 8/383cḍ-385ab (383-384) is drawn from SvT 10/1219cd-1221. Kṣemarāja
comments: As the light and joy of the plane of the Half Moon is excellent, such names
of its energies are appropriate. Similarly, the three energies of the plane of Nirodhinī,
viz. Rundhanī, Rodhinī, and Raudrī, (are so called) because they are the cause of
obstruction. However, when the obstruction ceases of those who are awake, the two
 TANTRĀLOKA 361
‘Then’ (means) above the Half Moon also. The Half Moon and the rest
are perceived as (aspects of) mantra, and (so) in accord with that, he describes
how its subsequent (stages) are (progressively) subtle and then more subtle and
so on.

rsīṁrī: zṛā frcāiīmēṁagai;: 1| 3¢.. 1|

asī§rzraaṀzṝīṁ fītkrar |
ardhamātraḥ smṛto bindur vyomarūpī catuṣkalaḥ || 385 II
tadardham ardhacandras tadasṣṭāṁśena nirodhikā |

The Point is said to (last) half a measure (ardhamātra) (of time). It

has four parts and is vacuous. The Half-Moon is half that (length), while
the Obstructress is one eighth. (385cd-386ab) (385)

(The Half-Moon is) ‘half that’, that is, a quarter measure (of time).
(The Obstructress is) ‘one eighth’ ofa measure.
He explains (the nature of) the Obstructress (Nirodhikā).

The Supreme Form of Sadāśiva

ṜṬāāttzēī]
%-z. ārāēt ĩ GaṀ-d.; J. 3. ⁶

TTGÑT] āĪṬSĪ ṬJHJTÑCTĪT]; || 3S I

hetūn brahmādikān runddhe rodhikāṁ tāṁ tyajet tataḥ || 386 |I
niṟodhikām imāṅṁ bhitvā sādākhyaṁ bhuvanaṁ param |
pararũpeṇa yatrāste pañcamantramahātanuḥ || 387 I|

One must quit (the sphere of) the Obstructress, who blocks Brahmā
and the other (universal) causes.¹"” Then having penetrated through it, one

energies Jñānabodhā and Tamopahā are named this way because they give access to
entry upwards. || 1221 |I
¹⁰.⁷” Liṉes 385cd-386abc (385-386a) correspond to SvT 10/1222-1223abc. Kṣemarāja
comments on 10/1222: ‘short, long, prolated, subtle and very subtle’. (6/4) When
explaining this line, it was explained that to the degree that the utterance of Mantra
reached an ever more elevated plane, to that degree the gross state associated with (the
duality) of the denoted and the denotator comes to an end, and the (corresponding)
subtle and more subtle etc. state is made manifest, and it bestows a (progressively more)
excellent (state of) repose, until finally when the supreme principle of the Transmental
(has been reached), penetration (āveśa) takes place into Svacchanda Bhairava’s nature,
who is dense (uninterrupted) consciousness and bliss, by the quelling of all limiting
adjuncts. It is this that is brought to mind here by the Supreme Lord in this way, when at
the time of the purification of the worlds, one should, along with the teacher, follow
along with the pervasion, that is the (progressively) subtle and more subtle etc. form, of
the reciter of Mantra.”
362 CHAPTER EIGHT
aṭṭains the supreme world (called) Sādākhya, where (Sadāśiva), whose
great body consists of the five mantras,¹"⁸ resides in his supreme form.¹⁰”⁹
(386cd-387) (386-387ab)

(Sadāśiva resides in the world Sādhākhya) ‘in his supreme formʼ

within the Enclosure of Suśiva, where her¹⁰³⁰ supreme form is said (to be).

(Now) he describes his form and location (sthāna):

rīīcf˚Tācērātrzīrg *ēr 1|
āīṬṛē fākzṁh̄āḷ
ṀṀ.: ḠṀãṀĩ: |. 3. 1A
aāṀ r̥-z fz ṝ=ī d rgzām |
fsṛēāī īaāī īa úraāī āīzraēītāīī1 3¢< 1
riīrṝ rā ṁrtarṁs mrafrhr.
ity ardhendunirodhyantabindvāvṛtyīūrdhvato mahān |
nādaḥ kiñjalkasadṛśo mahadbhiḥ puruṣair vṛtaḥ || 388 II
catvāri bhuvanāny atra dikṣu madhye ca pañcamam |
indhikā dīpikā caiva rocikā mocikordhvagā || 389 ||
madhye ʻtra padmaṁ tatrordhvagāmī tacchaktibhir vṛtaḥ |

Beyond the enclosures of the Half Moon, the Obstructress and the
Point is the great Sound (nāda). Śimilar to a lotus fibre, it is surrounded by
great souls. There are four worlds here, situated at the quarters, with a
fifth in the centre. (They each have a goddess, namely) Indhikā, Dīpikā
(Little Lamp), Rocikā (Voluptuous One),¹" Mocikā (Liberatrix) and
Urdhvagā (Upward Moving). Here, in the centre, is a lotus. There (within it
is the power) who travels upwards and the Lord who possesses that
power.¹⁰³² (388-390ab) (387cd-389)

¹⁰*⁸ Ṭheṣe are the mantras of Sadāśiva’s five faces. See above, note 8,823. They are the
Five Causes (pañcakāraṇa / –~karaṇa) Brahmā and the rest, he has just mentioned.
Nirodhikā, the Obstructress, blocks these mantras. By breaking beyond the Obstructress,
the mantras are free to act and function as the body of Sadāśiva and be experienced as
such.
¹⁰²⁹ TP 8/386cd-387 (386-387ab) corresponds to SVT 10/1222-1224ab.
¹³⁰ Ṭhe feminine ‘asyāḥ’ ʻher’ may refer to Nirodhikā, the Obstructress.
¹⁰³³ Read with SvT 10/1226ab and NT 22/40cd rocikā -- the Voluptuous One – for
rodhikā. The latter means ‘Obstructressʼ, which is not an appropriate name here for one
of the energies (kalā) of Sound.
¹⁰³² T 8/383cd-385ab (383-389) is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1229cd-1236ab. Read with
MSs G and C tacchaktibhṛtprabhuḥ for tacchaktibhir vṛtaḥ.
 TANTRĀLOKA 363

The Worlds up to Anāśrita

The World of Suṣumnā

īTāṁāāzq dāīī̄d āṁ āgṀṀḷydr;: 1| 380 |

tvī: fṝr̥̄̄e1zaī 3a. Ū̄aaīvdzaīī |
aJṬ Ṁ³īTgāīT Ṁ gT JIĪTJTTI 382 1
fšrāīṝṣaī āā aṣ sãramaṝaāaa |
ī: gy-ī-q
firāī fēafī= sTīq 1 3<2 1
EtṟÉÁAETIṈĒEḺŪGAZNETGIĒĒĀ
CIHI
āīṬ̄T JīaāīTṀ GT: ṢGTaTTAT: I| 33 ||

nādordhvatas tu sauṣumnaṁ tatra tacchaktibhr̥tprabhuḥ || 390 I|

tadīśaḥ piṅgaleḍābhyāṁ vṛtaḥ savyāpasavyayoḥ |
yā prabhor aṅkagā devī suṣumnā śaśisaprabhā || 391 I|
grathito ‘dhvā tayā sarva ūrdhvaś cādhastanas tathā |
nādaḥ suṣumnādhāras tu bhittvā viśvam idaṁ jagat || 392 |
adhaḥśaktyā vinirgacched ūrdhvaśaktyā ca miūrdhataḥ |
nāḍyā brahmabiḷe līmaḥ ʻvyaktadhvanir akṣaraḥ || 393 II
nadan sarveṣu bhūteṣu śivaśaktyā hy adhiṣṭhitaḥ |

Beyond Sound (nāda) is (the world) of Suṣumnā. There the Lord

who possesses that power, of whom he is the master, is encompassed on the
left and right by Idā and Piṅgalā.""“ The goddess seated on the Lord’s lap
is Suṣumnā, who, brilliant like the moon, threads through the entire cosmic
order (adhvan) above and below." Once the (resonant) Sound (of

¹³³ Read with MSs G and C, piṅigaleḍābhyām for piṅgalelābhyām. The text reads:
piṅgalelābhyāṁ (>dābhyāṁ) vṛtaḥ savyāpasavyayoḥ – ‘(the Lord is) encompassed on
the left and the right by Piṅgalā and Iḍā.’ But this is the reverse of what we usually find
in the texts. Thus SVT 10/1231cd reads correctly: idā ca piṅgalā caiva vāmadakṣiṇataḥ
sthite | ‘Iḍā and Pīṅgalā are located to the left and the right (rēṣpectively).¹
¹⁰³¹ ‘Then comes the world of Suṣumṇā. Suṣumṇā is located there.* The Lord of
Suṣumṇāis located there. His lightis that of tens of millions of moons. He has ten arms
and three eyes and is seated on a white lotus. He wears the crescent moon on his head,
and the venerable one has five faces and an immense body. ‘Iḍā and Piṅgalā are located
to (his) left and the right (respectively).³** Indeed, O fair lady, Suṣumṇā is white as a
snowflake. The goddess holds a white lotus and is adorned with a garland of lotuses.
She has five faces and is beautiful. She has three eyes and holds a spear. Adepts and
others should visualize the goddess seated next to him.’” (SYT 10/1229cd-1233)
* Kṣemarāja: ‘The deity is called Suṣumṇā. It is because it is presided over by that, that
the Central Channel (madhyanāḍī) is said to be suṣuṁnā.’
** ‘By the word ‘indeed’, as one should know from another Tantra, that
(śyāma) and Piṅgalāis red. This Suṣumṇā pervades the universe, and so i
‘AlIl this Path thatis below and aboveis threaded through with that.’ .JI
364 CHAPTER EIGHT
consciousness) (nāda),¹“ which is the foundation of Suṣumnā, has
penetrated through all this universe by means of the lower power
(adhaḥśakti), it (then) exits out from the head (impelled) by the upper
power (ūrdhvaśakti) by means of (this) vital channel, and is merged into the
Cavity of Brahmā (brahmabila). That is the unmanifest resonance
(avyaktadhvani) which, imperishable, resounding in all living beings, is
sustained (adhiṣṭhita) by Śiva’s power.¹⁰* (390cd-394ab) (390-393)

In this way, it is said that the Half Moon and the Obstructress are the
expansion (prasara) of the Point. The ‘great souls’ are Mantramaheśvaras.¹⁰⁷
“That power’ʼ, which travels upwards. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):
‘Within that (world) is a very large lotus, (where) the Lord who travels
upwards resides.”¹⁰*⁸
‘His energy (kalā), which always ts on his lap, travels upwards.”

‘That powerʼ is (the goddess) Suṣumnā, ‘of whom he is the master°ʼ,

that is, he is the Lord of Suṣumnā. (Śhe) ‘threads throughʼ (the cosmic order),
which is pervaded (by her), warp and woof, ‘above’, which is (the reality
consisting of) Śiva and Śakti, and ‘below’, that is, (the descending series of
levels) beginning with the End of Sound. He describes (Suṣumnā’s) pervasion
of (the principles) above and below (in the following lines), beginning with,
‘once the (resonant) Sound (of consciousness) (nāda), which is the
foundation of Suṣumnā, (has penetrated through all this universe)ʼ. Here,
(according to this teaching), Sound (nāda), sustaining (adhitiṣṭhan) the central
nerve called Suṣumnā, elevates the lower Śakti from the Root Foundation
(mūlādhāra). Then, having awakened, it penetrates through all this universe by
the upper power of the vital force (prāṇa) (that rises through exhalation), by
successively crossing over each (member of the chain of) causes. Having done
s0, it ‘exits out from the headʼ, that is, the upper part of the channel of
Suṣumnā, and resting ‘in the Cavity of Brahmā’ (at the top of the head), it
resonates in all living beings, in accord with the teaching (of the
Svacchandatantra):
‘The god (deva), who resides in the chest of living (breathing) beings,
spontaneously utters (the Mantra) not uttered by anybody and that none
obstructs.”¹⁰

‘Threaded through’ means ‘pervaded’. What is below ends with Ananta, and
above ends with Śiva. All the Path is the embodied and extemal one.”
¹⁰³⁵ Read nādaḥ ṣuṣumnā- for nādhaḥ suṣumnā-.
¹⁰³⁶ ]nṇ 8/388-394ab (387cd-393), Abhinava presents a condensed paraphrase of SYT
10/1224cd-1236. 388-390ab (387cd-389) is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1224cd-1227ab.
390cd-392ab (390-391) is a brief paraphrase of SvT 10/1229cd-1234ab and 392cd-
394ab (392-393) is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1234cd-1236ab.
¹⁰"⁷ These are the highest perceivers, who reside in the highest reaches of the pure
priṇciples, just before Śiva. See below, 9/90cd-93ab, 110/113ab.
¹⁰³⁸ SYT 10/1227ab, the next line is ibid. 10/1229ab.
¹⁰³ ÇVṬ 7/59. The deity is Haṁsṣa, that is, formless (niṣkala) Śiva who is Unstruck
Sound that resonates spontaneously within consciousness and the breath. This verse is
 TANTRĀLOKA 365
Thus, as (other sounds) like that of thunder (ghoṣa), that are of a
different nature, do not arise, it is an ‘unmanifest resonance’, and because it
does not waver from its essential nature, it is ‘imperishable’, and as it is
‘sustained by Śiva’s powerʼ, it is nothing but supreme consciousness alone.
This is the meaning. That is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘Once the (resonant) Sound (of consciousness) (nāda),'*⁰ which is the

foundation of the channel (of Suṣumṇā), has penetrated through all this universe
by means of the lower power (adhahśakti), and (then) exits out by means of the
upper (power) from the Brahmā by means of (this) vital channel and merges
into the Cavity of Brahmā, (that) unmanifest resonance (avyaktadhvani) which,
imperishable, resounds in all living beings, is sustained by Śhs power.³
¹⁰⁴!

quoted above in TĀv ad 3/66cd-67ab (67) (see note there for details); also ad 3/147cd-
148 (147-148ab), ad 4/181cd-182ab, and ad 5/132cd-133ab (5/131cd-132ab).
!⁰⁴⁰ R̥ead nādaḥ suṣumnā- for nādaḥ suṣumnā-.
¹⁰*¹ SVYT 10/1234cd-1236ab. Kṣemarāja introduces these lines saying:
nāḍiḥ suṣumṇā ādhāro yasya | bhittvety atra karaṇam, adha ity udayasthānād utthitā
krameṇārohantī śaktiḥ | ūrdhvata ity ūrdhvaśaktyā pūrvoktaprayogataḥ spaṣṭībhūtayā,
brahmabilāntaṁ nirgatya tatraiva tayā nāḍyā saha līnaḥ śliṣṭo bhavati | sāpi hi nādī
tadanteti tatraiva śliṣṭā śaktidvayayogāc ca nādasyānackasya dvikubjarūpatvāt | sa ca
nādaḥ ---- nādākhyaṁ yat paraṁ bījaṁ sarvabhīteṣv avasthitam

The foundation (ādhāra) of that (Sound) is the vital channel (called) suṣumṇā.

‘The instrumental cause here is the penetration (of Sound through the
universe). The lower power which has emerged from the place of (its) arising
(udayasthāna) ascends progressively. The Upper Power which, by the method
(prayoga) mentioned previously, has become clearly evident, exiting up to the Cavity of
Brahmā, (Sound) merges just there along with that channel and is embraced (sliṣṭa)
(within it). At the end of that, that channel is also embraced there (within it) by the
union of the two powers, because Unstruck Sound has the form of two humps
(dvikubja).* And (it is said of) that Sound: (as quoted by Jayaratha) . . . (Kṣemarāja
continues): (Sound,) which has as its foundation the channel Suṣumnā, is the supreme
seed called Sound which is present in all living beings.” (Sārdhatiṁśatikālottara 1/5ab
quoted above in TĀv ad 3/147cd-148 (147-148ab) see note there).

ity āmnāyāntaroktanītyā sarvabhūteṣv avyaktadhvanirūpaḥ, ata .evākṣaro

‘vicalatsvarūpo nadan vakṣyamāṇaghoṣādiparāmarśamayatvena sthitaḥ | yady api
brahmabilalīna ity uktas tathāpi layo “sya sūkṣmatararūpeṇa śaktisphurattā-
tmaṇāvasthānam ata eva śivaśaktyā tv adhiṣṭhita ity uktam, na tv atyantaṁ nāśa ity
akṣara ity ucitaivoktiḥ |l

Thuṣ, according to the teaching of (this) other tradition (also, it resides) in all
living beings in the form of unmanifest resonance, and so is imperishable, that is, its
nature is unwavering, and so resonates, that is, abides, as the reflective awareness (in the
form of the inner) sounds of thunder and the rest that will be described (further ahead).
Although it is said to have merged into the Cavity of Brahmā, even so, its merger abides
in a more subtle form (than its previous one), as the radiant effulgence (sphurattā) of
Power. Thus, it is said to be sustained by Śiva’s power. It is not (ever) totally destroyed,
and so it is rightly said to be imperishable.”
# TĀv ad 3/142cd-143ab (142) and 3/168cd-170ab (168-169).
366 CHAPTER EIGHT

The Cavity of Brahmā

gJṬ-IĒ JRITÑGTaTSTĪ
fĪG I 3 |A
ā-⁷ aā fāi: r̥ī ūarzā. vīāak. |
Taāīāṣg; Ū ©a gaāT] ārīaŪāī J 3.. i|
TṬT aṬĪĪ ī ĀĪATRI # + + + + + x |

suṣumnordhve brahmabilasaṁjñayāvaraṇaṁ tridṛk || 394 ||

tatra brahmã sitaḥ śūlĩ pañcãsyaḥ śaśiśekharaḥ |
tasyotsaṅge parā devī brahmāṇī mokṣamārgagā || 395 ||
roddhrī dātrī
ca mokṣaṣya * * * š š š šk s. |

Above Suṣumnā is the enclosure named after the Cavity of Brahmā.

Brahmā resides there, white in colour, three-eyed, holding a trident and
five-faced, with the moon as his crest-jewel. The supreme goddess
Brahmānī sits on his lap. Residing on the path to liberation, she (both)
impedes and bestows it.¹⁰² (394cd-396a) (394-395abc)

!*² TĀ 8/394cd-396a (394-395abc) is a paraphrase of SYT 10/1237-1240ab.

evaṁ jñātvā varārohe śodhayet taṁ śivādhvare || 1236 ||

tato brahmabilaṁ jñeyaṁ rudrakoṭyarbudānvitam |
tatra brahmã paro jñeyaḥ śaśāṅkaśatasaprabhaḥ || 1237 ||
daśabāhus trinetraś ca pañcavaktrenduśekharaḥ |
triśūlapāṇir bhagavān jatāmukuṭamaṇḍitaḥ l| 1238 |I

‘Having known (this) in this way, one should purify that in Śiva’s sacrifice.
Then one should know the Cavity of Brahmā, that has a hundred million Rudras. One
should know that there Brahmā is supreme, his light equal to a hundred moons. He has
ten arms and three eyes, five faces, and the moon is on the crown of his head. He holds a
trident. He is the Lord, adorned with matted hair and a crown. (1236cd-1238)

brahmabilaṁ nāmãvaraṇam antar iva bahir bhuvanãśrayatvenãpi sthitam | yady api

sārdhās tiṣraḥ koṭyo mantrāṇām uktās tathāpi tatparivārasyāsaṅkhyatvād atrāpi ca
teṣāṁ sūkṣmatamena rūpeṇāvasthitatvād rudrakoṭyarbudānvitam ity uktam | para iti
prāguktād brahmāṇḍagatāt sthūlād buddhitattvagatāc ca sūkṣmād utkṛṣṭaḥ, ata eva
śāktatvād ayaṁ sito daśabāhvādirūpaś ca l| 1238 I ki ca ----

The Cavity of Brahmā is the name of (another) enclosure. As it is inwardly, so

too it exists externally, as the foundation of a world. Although it has been said that there
are 35 million Mantras, even so his entourage is innumerable, and moreover, here they
are in (their) most subtle form, and so (for these two reasons) it is said that (they
number) 100 million. (Brahmā) is ‘supreme’. (He is) most excellent because, (in his)
gross (form), he is present in the Egg of Bramā (in the manner) stated previously (that
is, at its summit), and, as subtle, he is present in the principle of the intellect. Thus,
because he is empowered (śākta), he is white, and his form has ten arms etc. Moreover:

brahmāṇī tu parā śaktir yā sā mokṣapathe sthitā |

dvāraṁ yā mokṣamārgasya rodhayitvā vyavasthitā || 1239 ||
 TANTRĀLOKA 367
(Brahmā resides) ‘thereʼ, in the enclosure of the Cavity of Brahmā.
(Brahmāṇī) ‘residing on the path of liberation’ means that she is established
on that path. Thus, she has the capacity to (both) impede and bestow
(liberation), and so it is said that ‘she impedes and bestows it’.

The World of the Principle of Power and Raised Kuṇḍalinī

++s + + q fisa -īšaaggī |

īṁē: gāāīcār̄ īḷ f-Ḷ 3=̄ḷ | 3.. 1A
ī̄aāī ṬeT āJ³T āaī ōrāTT] |
iz|ḷEIEEĪe² zzqṛtīgīī SĪṬTṬA. I|| 389 1|

³k ³*. ³. šk S* ³. S* S. rqj, bhittvā cordhvakuṇḍalī|

śaktiḥ suptāhisadṛśī sā viśvādhāra ucyate || 396 ||
tasyāṁ sūkṣmā susūkṣmā ca tathānye amṛtāmite |
madhyato vyāpinī tasyāṁ vyāpīśo vyāpinīdharaḥ | 397 I|

Penetrating (beyond) her, (one reaches) the power Kuṇḍalinī in her

raised state (ārdhvakuṇḍalī). Śimilar (in form) to a sleeping serpent, she is
said to be the sustaining ground of all things (viśvādhāra).¹⁰⁵ Within her

mokṣamārgapradātrī ca brahmotsaṅge ca saṁsthitā |

Brahmāṇī is (his) supreme power and abides on the path to liberation. (She is)
the door to the path of liberation; having blocked it, she is present there. She also
bestows the path to liberation and sits next to Brahmā. (1239-1240ab)

parety arthāt | mokṣapathe ---- śaivī mukham ihocyate |

She is, in other words, Parā. On the path to liberation - ‘Śiva’s power (śaivī) is
said here (in the scriptures) to be (His) mouth (mnukha) (which is the entrance to the
realization of one’s own Śiva nature).⁷ (VB 20d)
iti sthityordhvonmukhaśaktimārge | ataś cājñāninaḥ prati tad eva śaktipathātmakaṁ
mokṣadvāram īśvarecchayā runáhānā sthitā | jñāninaḥ prati mokṣamārga pradadāti
tacchīlā ||

According to this teaching, (this) is the Path of Śakti, that faces upwards. Thus,
with respect to the ignorant, by the Lord’s will, the door to liberation, which is the path
of Śakti, is closed; (whereas) for those who know, she bestows and is the path to
liberation.
¹⁰*³ TĀ 8/396bcd (395d-396ab) is an abbreviated paraphrase of SvT 10/1240cd-1241.

tāṁ bhittvātra varãrohe gantavyam ūrdhvataḥ priye l 1240 l|

atreti śaktitattve yad ūrdhvaṁ śaktivyāpinīsamanādhāma, tatrety arthaḥ || 1240 || atha --

ata ūrdhvaṁ sthitā śaktiḥ prasuptabhujagākṛtiḥ |

ādhāro bhuvanānāṁ sā tāṁ pravakṣyāmi suvrate || 1241 |I
368 CHAPTER EIGHT
(live) the powers, Sūkṣmā (Subtle), Susūkṣmā (Very Subtle), Amṛtā
(Immortal) and Amitā (Unlimited) and, in the centre, Vyāpinī¹" (the
Pervasive One). Within her is Vyāpīśa, her Lord. (396b-397) (395d-397ab)

‘Penetrating (beyond) herʼ, that is, above that, is ‘Kuṇḍalinī in her

raised state (ārdhvakuṇḍalī)⁹ who, because she encompasses within herself the
entire universe, as it has not unfolded (externally), is said to be ‘similar (in
form) to a sleeping serpent’. Thus, because the universe is made to pour forth
on the screen of her own (nature), it is said that ‘she is said to be the sustaining
ground of all things’. By (saying that she is) ‘power’ indicates that the
Principle of Power (śaktitattva) begins from this (level onwards). That is said in
the venerable Nandiśikhā:

‘Then above that is the Principle of Power, which is being explained.

Know (it) from me. Her form is (like that of) a sleeping serpent, and lustre like a
woollen thread. O lady of fair vows, it is the foundation of all the Principles and
worlds.”

(Other powers are present) ‘within herʼ, that is, within Power. That is
said (in the Svacchandatantra):

O fair lady, having penetrated here through that, O beloved, one should travel
upwards. (1240cd)

‘Here’ means in the principle of Śakti, which is above as the abode of Śakti,
the Pervasive One (vyāpinī) and the Equal One (samanā) that are there. This is the
meaning.

Above this is Śakti, her form that of a sleeping serpent. She is the foundation of
the worlds. O lady of good vows, I will tell (you about) her. (1241)

Śśaktir iti śaktitattvagataśaktyāvaraṇam | ṣā ca prasuptabhujagasyeva ākṛtir yasyā ity

anena brahmabilāntam aśeṣam āntaramunmiṣitarāpatvād viṣamūrchitam iva kṛtvā
niḥspandarūpakuṇḍalākāratayā sthitā | sā cāntareṇa krameṇa brahmarandhropari
tvagbhūmikāṁ niviṣṭā | ādhāra iyam evādha ūrdhvaṁ ca vyāpya viśvaṁ dhārayantī
ādhāraśaktir ity arthaḥ | tāṁ pravakṣyāmīti tatrasthāni bhuvanāny adhiṣṭhātṛdevatā-
dvāreṇa vacmīty arthaḥ || 1241 ||

‘Śakti’ is the enclosure (āvaraṇa) of Śakti, whichis within the principle of

Śakti. Her formis that of a sleeping serpent. Thus, according to this, everything is
within the Cavity of Brahmā of that (Śakti). It has unfolded inwardly, and so (Śakti)is
(in such an intensely introverted state that She)is as ifin a coma induced by poison, and
(coiled up, is) immobile in the form of (a circle, round like) an earring. And by an inner
process, she has entered the plane of (the subtle element of the sense of) touch (tvak).
Having pervaded below and above from within the Foundation, sustaining the universe,
she is the power of the foundation (ādhāraśakti). This is the meaning. ‘I will tell (you
about) her⁷ means I will tell (you about) the worlds that are located there, by means of
the deities that have authority (there).”
!⁰³*³ See above, 6/134 ff.
 TANTRĀLOKA 369
‘Sūkṣmā (Subtle), Susūkṣmā (Very Subtle), Amṛtā (Immortal) and
Amitā (Unlimited) – one should know that Vyāpinī (the Pervasive One) is in the
centre, and the rest are (in the four quarters), beginning with the east, in due
order.”¹⁰⁴³
‘Within herʼ, that is, within the Pervasive One. In relation to Anāśrita-
bhairava, ‘Vyāpīśa’ is located in the eastern direction.
Surely, there is no disagreement that the Pervasive One is different from
(the Principle of) Power, but is it located within the Principle of Power or not?
With this question in mind, he says:

The World of Anāśrita the Unemerged

tṁḥāīritṁē aaī ũdāīs% sī<ṝēk: |

frarṝā āāāṁ aafēā =āfaī 1| 38.¢ 1
—ĪĪŪĪ RITHTHĪST-TĪTSTTYTTTTJĒTRTĪĪTTT: |

ḷ āēāīṀīṁ ̄ī šaic īT²īi 1| 388 1

[IEEEIEIEEFIECKEEAIGEEEUḤ
Śśaktitattvam idaṁ yasya prapañco ‘yaṁ dharāntakaḥ |
Śśivatattvaṁ tatas tatra caturdikkaṁ vyavasthitāḥ || 398 ||
vyāpī vyomātmako ʻnanto ‘nāthas tacchaktibhāginaḥ |
madhye tv anāśritaṁ tatra devadevo hy anāśritaḥ || 399 ||
tacchaktyutsaṅgabhṛtsūryaśatakoṭisamaprabhaḥ |

This is (the world of Anāśrita, which is) the Principle of Power.

This cosmic unfolding (prapañca), that extends up to the Earth Principle,
belongs to it. Then (beyond it) is the Śiva Principle. There, located in the
four directions, are Vyāpin (the Pervasive), Vyomātmaka (the Void),
Ananta (Endless) and Anātha (Lordless), along with their powers. (The

!⁴³ SVṬ 10/1242. East - Sūkṣmā, South – Suṣūkṣmā, West — Amṛtā, North — Amitā, and
Vyāpinī in the centre. The next line describes them all as having ‘five faces with three
eyes (each). They are very radiantly energetic and very powerful.” Cf. NT 22/42cd-
43ab:
sūkṣmā caiva suṣūkṣmā ca hy amṛtāmṛta.
vyāpinī caiva vikhyātā śaktitattvasamāśrī

‘Sūkṣmā (Subtle), Susūkṣmā (Very Subtle), Amṛtā (Immortal), the one Born
from the Immortal and the one known as Vyāpinī (the Pervasive One) are (all) located
in the principle of Śakti.’

Kṣemarāja explains: śaktitattvam iti śaktivyāpinyākhyasthānadvayavyāpi, na tu

šaktisthānam eva vyāpinyāḥ śaktipadordhvagaśūnyātiśūnyāśrayatvāt |

‘The principle of Śakti’ pervades two places called Śakti and Vyāpinī (the
Pervasive One). It is not just the place of Śakti, because Vyāpinī rests within the Void
beyond the Void.
370 CHAPTER EIGHT
world of) Anāśrita (Unemerged) is in the centre. There the God of the gods,
Anāśrita, resides united with his power, brilliant like a thousand million
suns.¹⁰⁶ (398-400ab) (397cd-399)

'⁰"⁷¹ ‘The Principle of Powerʼ is the world of Anāśrita (Unemerged).

‘Then’, resting on that very Principle of Power. This is the meaning. The sense
is that it is located in the Pervasive One, (which is) within the Principle of
Power. ‘There’ in the world of Anāśrita are his powers, Vyāpinī (the Pervasive
One) and the rest. ‘Anāśrita’ (Unemerged), that is, the world (with that name).
‘His power’ is Anāśritā."⁸ That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

“Vyāpinī (the Pervasive One), Vyomarūpā (the Form of the Void),

Anantā (Endless) and Anāthā (Lordless).”¹*⁹

If one were to explain (what is meant by) ‘the Śiva Principle’ in terms
of (the wordsʼ) own (literal) meaning, then all that (has been taught) would
stand contradicted. For according to (the following) words (of the
Svacchandatantra), the Equal One (samanā) pervades above the Śiva
Principle¹*⁰ also:

‘0 lady of good vows, the Śiva Principle has been explained to you in
this way. Once it has been purified, then above it is the power that is said to be

¹⁰⁴⁶ ṢVṬ 10/1243cd-1255.

'⁰⁴⁷ The worlds are arranged, as we have seen, within the thirty-six principles. Now we
have reached the two highest principles, those of Śakti and Śiva. The ascent from Bindu
in the Principle of Īśvara follows a standard series, which we have already had occasion
to examine (see Appendix B to Chapter One) in the context of the utterance (or ‘upward
movement’) of the energies of OṀ. To recapitulate, they are 1-3) A U M, 4) the Half
Moon (Ardhacandra), 5) the Point (Bindu), 6) the Obstructress (Nirodhikā), 7) Sound
(Nāda), 8) the End of Sound (Nādānta), 9) Power (Śakti), 10) the Pervasive One
(Vyāpinī), 11) With Mind or the Equal One (Samanā), and 12) the Transmental
(Unmanā).
When reading these verses, we should take care to distinguish the Power
(Śakti), whichis the ninth member of this series, from the thirty-fifth Principle, whichis
also called Power. Within Power (the ninth of this series)is the Pervasive One (the tenth
in the series). Anāśrita Śiva resides in the world of Power, within which is the Pervasive
One. Thuṣ, to further add to the confusion, in this context it is also called the Anāśrita
Śiva, whichis in other contexts the transcendental Śiva, whois the thirty-sixth principle
(Śivatattva). Jayaratha takes pains to explain that the two (or three) should not be
confused.
¹³ Noṭe the feminine indicated by a final long
“ā”. Anāśrita (masculine) is the form of
Śiva, while Anāśritā (feminine)is His power.
'*⁹ ṢVṬ 10/1252cd cf. NT 22/44cd-45ab, where we find the same goddesses, along with
Anāśritā, that are said to be the energies (kalā) of Vyāpinī. Note that these are the
powers of the gods of this world Abhinava lists. Their names are the same, but the
genderis feminine.
¹⁰³⁰ Ṭhe Śiva Principlein this case is Anāśrita Śiva, whichis at the level of the Pervasive
One.
 TANTRĀLOKA 371
supreme (parā). One should know it to be the one called the Equal One
(samanā)¹⁰⁵!

There too (we read):

‘O fair lady, the net of fetters up to the end of the Equal One is
endless.’¹⁵²

It follows from these words (of the scripture) that the endless net of
fetters would (also) adhere (to the Śiva Principle). In the same way such
(statementsin the scriptures as the following) would stand contradicted:

‘O fair-faced lady, placing the Path that is to be abandoned below,

exhale that until (you reach) that power, that is, the Equal One. Above that is
said to be the Transmental (unmanā).’¹⁰*³

Such (statements as) ‘Supreme Śiva is at the end of the Transmental . .

51054
would also be faulted, because it is has been said that (Śiva) is below (the
level of) the Equal One (samanā). Moreover, as it is another principle, the
commonly accepted (view that the number of principles) is thirty-six would be
contradicted. Nor is the Equal One either above or within this Śiva Principle.
Rather, it is below it, for it is taught that it is within the Principle of Power. That
is said (in the Śvacchandatantra):

‘O fair-faced lady, then Power'⁰*° should be deposited with the praṇava

(OMṀ). The Pervasive One and the Equal One, that are above, should be purified
just there.”¹⁰⁵⁶

If Anāśrita and the rest were to be located in the Śiva Principle, then
that would become subject to time (kālakalita), (for) they are perishable. As was
said before:

‘When Energy (Śakti) reaches the end of its period (of existence), it
dissolves into the Pervasive One (Vyāpinī), whose Day and Night is that
(Energy’s lifespan). (The Pervasive One dissolves) into Śhva Without Support
(anāśrita), whose Day and Night equals a day of Energy multiplied by ten
million trillions (parārdha). At the end of this period, multiplied by a trillion
(parārdha), he too dissolves into the plane With Mind (sāmanasa), termed
Equality (Sāmya).³
¹⁰⁵⁷

'⁰³¹ ṢYT 10/1255cd-1256abc.

¹⁰³² ṢVṬ 4/432ab.
'⁰³³ SYṬ 10/1275cd-1276ab.
¹⁰*³ Deyyāyāmala also quoted below ad 23/37-40ab.
¹⁰³³ Here Śakti is not the principle – rattva – it is a station along the ascent of Sound.
After this Śakti comes Vyāpinī, Samanā and then Unmanā.
¹⁰³*⁶ ṢṬ 5/8.
'"³⁷ Above, 6/164-166ab (163cd-165). See note there.
372 CHAPTER EIGHT
Thus, such scriptural passages (as the following in the
Svacchandatantra) would be contradicted:

‘Above is the Transmental, where there is no time. No aeon of any sort

is conceived. It is undifferentiated (niṣkala) and devoid of time. That which is
beyond Śāṁkarī, the Transmental, is eternal, pervasive and imperishable.’'⁵⁸

Nor are Anāśrita and the rest located in Śiva (the thirty-sixth) Principle,
rather (their place) is in the Principle of Power, (which is the ninth in the series
of the upward movement of energy) within the Pervasive One (the tenth in this
series). That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘O goddess, the Cavity of Brahmā is below, after that is the Principle of

Power, and after that (comes) the Pervasive One, who is linked to the Five
Causes;¹⁰⁷ (then) O beloved, (come) the Equal One and the Transmental, that is
linked to the Eggs of the universe (prakriyāṇḍa).⁰⁰

Thus, our explanation is correct and so one should ignore (any) other.

The Equal One (Samanā)

fšṛaāērāiītrīā:
ŪúṀ*ḥ: ũŪ aī aāTTaaī || +oo |
gasTī GāīSITT I āāq{T TaTAJTT |
faqwēqvgramaēī̃ṁ fra-̃ aariēzzī 1| vxo8
Śśivatattvordhvataḥ śaktiḥ parā sā samanāhvayā || 400 ||
sarveṣāṁ kāraṇānāṁ sā kartrbhūtā vyavasthitā |
bibharty aṇḍāny anekāni śivena samadhiṣṭhitā || 401 ||

Above the Śiva Principle is the supreme power called the Equal
One (Samanā); it is the agent, governed by Śiva, of all'"' the (universal)
causes, and sustains countless cosmic eggs.¹⁰² (400cd-401) (400-401ab)

‘Above the Śiva Principle’ means above the world of Anāśrita, which
is located on the plane of the Pervasive One. (Note that) the use of the term
‘principle’ (tattva) to denote a world is not without precedent here, because we
see the same usage in such (passages as): “(the world of the Point) is called the
Principle of the Point . . . .¹⁰⁵³ ‘tis the agent’ because it is the power of action.

¹⁰³⁸ SVṬ 11/311cd-312.

¹⁰³N See below, 8/403cd.
¹06⁰ ṢVṬ 11/28-29ab.
!⁰⁰¹ AID’ refers, according to Kṣemarāja, to ‘(the deities) beginning with Ananta and
ending with Anāśrita’ SvTu 10/1257.
¹⁰2 400cd is a paraphrase of SVT 10/1256bc. 401 is a literal quote of SYT 10/1257cd-
1258ab.
¹⁰⁰³ ṢVṬ 10/1219a.
 TANTRĀLOKA 373
Now he clarifies the nature of its foundation.

āaēz: fvīa: #cāvza ed 7: |

tadārūḍhaḥ śivaḥ kr̥yapañcakaṁ kuṟute prabhuḥ |

Mounted on that, Śiva, the Lord, performs the five cosmic functions
(of creation and the rest).¹"* (402ab) (401cd)

The ‘Śiva’ (referred to here) is the one that is everywhere declared to be

the thirty-sixth principle.
Surely, (one may ask,) how does He perform (the functions of) creation
and the rest, mounted on that? With this doubt in mind, he says:

HI] GGTTĪ TS ṜṬGÇHGTVIT: I #02II

samanā karaṇaṁ tasya hetukartur maheśituḥ || 402 |

She, the Equal One, is the instrument (through which He performs

his functions). He, the Great Lord, is the cause of (all) the (attendant)
causes (hetukartṛ). ""* (402cd) (402ab)

(The Equal One) ‘is the instrument’ (through which) the activity of
creation and the rest takes place.
Surely, invariably (sarvatra), the causal status of an agent depends on
another agent (to implement its causal) activity. So if that is the case with the
Great Lord also, looking to another (to implement his agency), His freedom
would stand compromised. So how is it that that has been said (of Him) (i.e. that
He is the cause of all attendant causes)? With this doubt in mind, he says:

Anāśrita Presides Over the Five Causes

sṝṁ²r̄ 3 aḷ² -fār ēqēea 1

anāśritaṁ tu vyāpāre nimittaṁ hetur ucyate |

¹⁰⁰¹ Abbreviation of SYT 10/1258cd-1259ab.

'⁶“³ Abbreviation of SYT 10/1260-1261ab. The expression hetukartṛ literally means the
agent of (the attendant) causesʼ. The expression ‘hetukartṛtva’ occurs in Parākhya
3/13ca:

na yāti ccchinnamūlo ʻsṣau sudūrāyātavastuvat

tena taddhetukartṛtvaṁ śivasya paramatmanaḥ ||

‘Just like anything that come from a great distance (and that must nevertheless
have had an original starting point), this (awakening knowledge) cannot spread devoid
of a root. Therefore, Śiva, the supreme soul, is its creating cause³. Goodall translates
here hetukartṛtva as ‘creating cause’. Cf. also Kiraṇa 7/4.
374 CHAPTER EIGHT
Anāśrita¹⁰⁰ is said to be a cause within the (the Lord’s cosmic)
activity (vyāpāra), in the sense that he is an instrumental cause (nimitta) (of
the creative process and nothing more). (403ab) (402cd)

(The Lord’s) ‘activityʼ is the act of creation and the rest. Here, that
same supreme Lord (Parameśvara), out of His own (spontaneous) freedom
initially manifesting Himself as the Void (śūnya),¹⁵⁷ (then) unfolds as Anāśrita
and the rest. Thus, because He does not depend (on anything else to do so,)
pure, ultimately real agency is His alone, whereas the agency of Anāśrita and
the rest is based on that. As such (Anāśrita’s) field (of activity) is (the many)
diverse phenomena that are (its) effects (bhinnakārya), and is metaphorically
said to be impure. So it is that by His will Anāśṛita and the rest create etc. Thus,
because he is not directly responsible for it, there (in that case) he is just an
instrumental (intermediary) cause, just as learning (secondarily) leads to fame.
So it is said that ‘he is an instrumental cause (of the creative process and
nothing more)ʼ. As he says:

‘Anāśrita¹"⁸ is said to be a cause within the (the Lord’s cosmic) activity,

in the sense that he is an instrumental cause (nimitta) (of the creative process
and nothing more).”

aṁfārtzfd
fēr]: aāīcīṁ q Ūān I| +c 1
tayādhitiṣṭhati vibhuḥ kāraṇānāṁ tu pañcakam || 403 1I

It is by means of this (power) that the All-pervasive Lord presides

over the five causes.¹⁰"’ (403cd) (403ab)

The meaning is that (the Lord who) ‘presides over’ (the five causes)
renders them fit to be the agents of creation etc. (in their own spheres of
emanation), by penetrating (them) with the shade of his own freedom.
And how (does that take place)? With this doubt in mind, he says:

STTTJTĪSTYTTĀTT GTT: TaT |

gq =aqīfts *TṬṬ TdNĪdcāṬĪ %ūU][d 3 I| `5 0 I|

iaqī fīeraī ṃṛaī aaṉī: āīōckēr=ḷ |

TGfētṣīūā aāīāttraāītcsīīgaza-: I| `śo¹ l|
anāśrito ʻnāthamayam anantaṁ khavapuḥ sadā |
sa vyāpinaṁ prerayati svaśaktyā karaṇena tu || 404 ||
karmarūpā sthitā māyā yad adhaḥ śaktikuṇḍalī|
nādabindvātmakaṁ bindvādikaṁ kāryam ityādijagadudbhavaḥ || 405 1I

¹⁰⁶ Read with MS Ġ anāsritas for anāśritaṁ.

!⁰6⁷ See above, 6/10 and note.
¹⁰⁰* Read with MS G anāśritas for anāśritaṁ.
¹⁰6⁵ Paṟaphrase of SVT 10/1260cd.
 TANTRĀLOKA 375
(The five causes are): Anāśrita, Anātha, Ananta, Khavapuṣ
(Vyomātman) and Vyāpin.¹"" (Each one) impels (the subsequent one) by
means of his own power, as the instrument (of his activity). Māyā abides in
the form (of this cosmic) action (karmarūpā), as the Kuṇḍalinī of power in
its lowered state (adhaḥśaktikuṇḍaīī). Its products begin with the Sound
and the Point.”" Such is the beginning of the arising of the cosmic order
(jagat).¹⁰”² (404-405) (403cd-405ab)

“Void Body’ is Vyomātman. (Each one impels the subsequent one) ‘by
means of his power°. Just as the Equal One is the instrumental cause of Śiva’s
(acts of) creation and the rest, similarly the powers of Anāśrita and the rest are
their own (instrumental causes, that impel one another). (Māyā is said to abide)
‘in the form (of this cosmic) action’, because (its) activity of creation and the
rest is (Māyā’s) distinguishing characteṅstic. The intended sense is that the
power of Māyāis that of the Supreme Goddess (paramesśvarī), and it shines
radiantly as the universe, consisting of each one (of the phases of emanation) of
Sound and the Point. It is ‘the Kuṇḍalinī of power’ because it encompasses the
entire universe as one with itself.

This much of the universe should indeed be abandoned. Thus, he says:

3qaftīṝTzṁ
ṃttīaīaṁ vīã |
TTāaḥ Jā Jī frīī̄āīcā’TTGḤ
I 5©F I
yat sadāśivaparyantaṁ pārthivādyaṁ ca śāsane |
tat sarvaṁ prākṛtaṁ proktaṁ vināśotpattisaṁyutam || 406

According to (this) teaching, everything¹” from Earth up to

Śadāśiva is said to be Nature (prākṛta) and is subject to creation and
destruction.¹"⁷ (406) (405cd-406ab)

Here (in this case), Sadāśiva is Anāśrita, and Nature (prakṛti) is the
Equal One (Samanā), because it is its root nature (miūlaprakṛti).

Having defined in this way two things to be known (prameya), namely,

the extent of the worlds and (their) association with the metaphysical principles,
he begins to indicate the (next) subject, which is a summary of the worlds.

⁰" See above, 8/397cd-399.

¹⁰*⁰ Read with SVT-bindvātmakaṁ for –bindvādikaṁ.
'⁰"⁸ Veṛse 404 is a paraphrase of SvT 10/1261cd-1263ab and 405 is a literal citation of
SYVT 10/1263cd-1264ab. SVT reads -bindvātmakaṁ for -bindvādikaṁ.
¹⁰*³ Read tat sarvaṁ for tatsarvaṁ.
¹⁰⁷*⁸ This verse is a direct citation of SvT 10/1264cd-1265ab. SVT reads suvrate for
Śśāsane.
376 CHAPTER EIGHT
A Summary of the Worlds (purasaṅgraha) Taught in the Svacchandatantra

r̄} Jāāō#̄ḡTNFī a-āā̄ fīṭēd fōtēf: 1|

TgaTN T̄TTa, ṬGAT āTTT] gSJIĀQ I 0¹ |
atha sakalabhuvanamānaṁ
yan mahyaṁ nigaditaṁ nijair gurubhiḥ |
tad vakṣyate samāsād
buddhau yenāśu saṅkrāmet || 407 I|

I will now declare in brief the extent of all the worlds as my

venerable teacher¹"" has taught me, so that it may be quickly transmitted
to the intellect.¹"⁷⁶ (407) (406cd-407ab)

The Worlds in the Sphere of Energy of Nivṛtti (Completion)

ṭESIḺTŪṭHĒTCĀ⁷⁰JIVGACCĪĒ[ṟaiḷḤ
z: vīā sā aftfīāfīāq araa]GTI aJITT I| +° 1I
aṇḍasyāntar anaṇtaḥ
kālaḥ kūṣmāṇḍahātakau brahmaharī |
rudrāḥ śataṁ savīraṁ
bahir nivṛttis tu sāṣṭaśatabhuvanā syāt || 408 II

Within the Egg are Ananta,¹'”⁷ Kālāgni, Kūṣmāṇḍa, Hāṭaka, (Śiva),

Brahmā, Viṣṇu and (Rudra). Outside it are the hundred Rudras, along
with Vīrabhadra (their lord). (Thus, the energy of) Completion (Nivṛtti)
consists of one hundred and eight worlds.¹"™⁸ (408) (407cd-408ab)

⁰”³ Below in 8/453ab (452cd), Abhinava tells us that he learnt this cosmology from his
Trika teacher Sambhunātha. Thus, it is clear that the plural here is an honorific plural.
Abhinava did not learn this from many teachers.
¹⁷⁶ What follows is a list of the worlds and, grouped into the five spheres of Forces
(kalā), the third of the Six Paths. It appears that Abhinava himself has made this
summary. But even though he adds nothing to what has been said, all of which is
meticulously justified by reference to scripture, quoted and paraphrased, he feels it
necessary to stress at this point that even the summary is not a product of his
imagination. He is, after all, dealing here with his data, which he orders in this way. It is
not his explanation.
¹⁷⁷ Ṭheṛe is a problem here. Jayaratha, following the SvT and supported by Kṣemarāja,
spent a great deal of space at the beginning of the presentation to establish that Ananta is
outside, below the Egg of Brahmā. According to the SvT, he is amongst the hundred
Rudras, surrounded by ten of them outside the Egg. In chapter seven of the Tantrasāra,
Abhinava quotes the same passage from chapter five of the MV, as he quotes below.
The account in the Mataṅga does not mention Ananta. It begins with Kālāgni within the
Egg (TĀ 8/428cd-429ab). The same is the case with the account drawn from the MV.
That also begins with Kālāgni (TĀ 8/438).
¹⁰⁷⁸ TĀ 8/408d (408b) is based on SvT 4/102.
 TANTRĀLOKA 377
The prose order is that (the energy of) Cessation, within and outside the
Egg, consists of one hundred and eight worlds. The word ‘within’ (in this
context) has been explained previously. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘Earth is within (the energy of) Cessation and extends for a hundred
million (leagues). The worlds within that (extend) up to one hundred and
eight.’"

Worlds in the Sphere of Energy of Pratiṣṭhā (the Foundation)

Ñī̃HĪTTVĪSRĒJĀTṀĀHTh JCĀTḤ I
³Ṭdī TaTJTTTgTTI
TÑT] TTTSĪ esī hĪTIIT I `{081|
³Tī Jīg: JPaTTsd’ htīr̥rhrrĩḤ|
ST q drkārā Tīrzārā aīaṁṝ=d {gāTTTTḤ I `ś2 ||
ġryṝfTāīsīṁaī īāā: dōīg: gātṭ ēvī̃ |
³razīaāā: aīḥ ajōḷṁgŪṝ frafTī=- aaIa 22 1
jalatejaḥsamīranabho
‘haṁkṛddhīmūlasaptake pratyekam |
aṣṭau ṣaṭpañcāśad
bhuvanā tena pratiṣṭheti kalā kathitā || 409 ||
atra prāhuḥ śodhyān
aṣṭau kecin nijāṣṭakādhipatīn |
anye tu samastānāṁ
śodhyatvaṁ varṇayanti bhuvanānām || 410 ||
śrībhūtirājamiśrā
guravaḥ prāhuḥ punarbahī̃ rudraśatam |
aṣṭāv antaḥ ṣākaṁ
sarveṇetīdṛśī nivṛttiriyaṁ syāt I| 41 1 ||

In each of the seven (principles of) Water, Fire, Wind, Space, Ego,
Intellect and the Root (Nature) (mūla) is (a group of) eight (deities). Such is
said to be (the energy of) the Foundation (Pratiṣṭhā), that thus contains
fifty-six worlds." Here some say that (only) the eight who are the lords of
their own (respective) groups of eight groups should be purified, whilst
others declare that all the worlds should be purified. Again, the venerable
Bhūtirāja and various (other) teachers say that there are one hundred
Rudras outside (the Egg of Brahmā), and that there are eight within it,
along with Śarva. Such (is the energy of) Cessation (Nivṛtti). (409-411)
(408cd-411ab)

¹⁰⁷⁹ SVṬ 4/102.

1080 7 . 8 = 56
378 CHAPTER EIGHT
‘(A group of) eight (deities)’ means that, beginning with the Group of
Eight Secrets and ending with the eight Yogas, there are seven groups of eight.
Thus, by multiplying the seven (groups) by eight, (we get fifty-six worlds). That
is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘(The energy of) the Foundation (Pratiṣṭhā) pervades the (first) twenty-
four principles and fifty-six worlds. . . . . •16š̄

‘Here’ – within (the energy of) the Foundation, ‘the eight’ (that is, the
aforementioned seven groups of eight), along with the Group of Eight Wraths.
‘AII’ the fifty-six (worlds should be purified). The ‘various’ (other) principle
(teachers) (say that there are one hundred Rudras outside the Egg of Brahmā,
and that there are eight within it), ‘along with Śarva’, who is the Lord of the
world of the earth (bhurloka). Thus, he is in Vīrabhadra’s place,¹'** and so the
calculation (of the number of worlds) is the same (in both variants).

z. īṝ āṃ⁷ṃ rũPīṁṁraāī:
āaaā TṬa |
kĀḵ⁵ē̄ḻ-[vēIEr̥'ḶGFVĀETIĀIIHṬAEḤI
aṬṛ Tāṝk a = aāī Tfēī=ē •J-TT] |
rudrāḥ kālī vīro
dharābdhilakṣmyaḥ sarasvatī guhyam |
ityaṣṭakaṁ jale “gnau
vahnyatiguhyadvayaṁ maruti vāyoḥ || 412 ||
svapuraṁ gayādi khe ca
vyoma pavitrāṣṭakaṁ ca bhuvanayugam |

There are eight groups in the principle of Water, namely, 1) the

(eleven) Rudras, 2) Bhadrakālī, 3) Vīrabhadra, 4) the Earth, 5) the Ocean,
6) Śrī, 7) Sarasvatī, and 8) the (eight) Secrets. In the Fire (principle), there
are two (groups. These are) 1) fire and 2) (the eight) Great Secrets. In the
Wind element are 1) the worlds belonging to the Wind and 2) (the sacred
places) Gayā and the rest. Within Space, there are two worlds, namely, that
of 1) space and 2) the eight Purifiers. (412-413ab) (411cd-412)

‘The Rudras’ are eleven. ‘The Secretsʼ is the world of the Group of
Eight Secrets.

TThFTI-STÇGPABTGTTRARRAIT-T TĪSG I `#23 1

ā-Ḥārāḷ-çgfrqazē gfzēicatīg |
Ṭ THTIĀT JTT ṬTRaTTĪTHTTITTI 62% 1
r-īqzcafraī zīTaīvēra yarī-īq |

¹⁰³¹ ṢVṬ 4/157abc.

¹⁰³¹ See above, 8/407cd-408ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 379
abhimāne ʻhaṅkāra-
cchagalādyaṣṭakam athāntarā nabho ʻhaṁkṛt || 413 ||
tanmātrārkenduśru-
tipurāṣṭakaṁ buddhikarmadevānām |
daśa tanmātrasamīhe
bhuvanaṁ punar akṣavargavinipatite l| 414 ||
manasaś cety abhimāne dvāviṁśatir eva bhuvanānām |

1-8) In the ego reside egoity and the eight (Rudras), Chagalāṇḍa
and the rest.⁸⁸ 9-16) Between Space and the ego there are eight worlds,
namely, those of the (five) subtle elements, the Sun, Moon and Vedas. 17-
19) There are (the worlds of) ten gods and the senses of knowledge and
action. 20) There is (one) world in the group of subtle elements, 21) (and
one) within (the object), onto which the senses fall.'"* 22) And (finally,)
there is the world of the mind (nanas). Thus, there are twenty-two worlds
in the ego. (413cd-415ab) (413-414)

‘Between Space and the ego’ are (the worlds of) the five ‘subtle
elementsʼ (and three others). ‘The gods of the senses of knowledge and
actionʼ are those of the group of ten senses of knowledge and action. ‘There is
(one) world in the group of subtle elements’, which is called the Maṇḍala of
the Five Objects of Sense (pañcārtha).
Surely (one may ask), how is it that although this group of five worlds
have (already) been mentioned, it is now mentioned again? With this doubt in
mind, he says, ‘within (the object) onto which the senses fall’. That
(previously mentioned group of five worlds is that of the senses,) governed by
the mind, whereas here (in this case) this is (their) condition (and location)
(avasthāna) in (their) supreme form. This is the (intended) sense.

fifa ā-āīīī ṣsī āīāēḷ- ā gT I. #Ṣ., II

Ṭdēīad TṬqtĀfYITJṬCṬSTTAT: ;: |
īa%⁷ āāīTGaT̄HĪṝṃ̄ ā̄aī āīTaT TÑĀT I| #2F. II

dhiyi daivīṉām aṣṭau

kruttejoyogasaṁjñakaṁ trayaṁ tad umā || 415 ||
tatpatir atha mūrtyaṣṭaka-
suśivadvādaśakavīrabhadrāḥ syuḥ |
tad atha mahādevāṣṭakam
iti buddhau saptadaśa saṁkhyā || 416 ||
guṇatattve paṅktitrayam
iti ṣaṭpañcāśataṁ purāṇi viduḥ |

¹⁰⁸³ See above, 8/225 and commentary.

!⁰⁸*√ See above, 8/223-224.
380 CHAPTER EIGHT
In the intellect are 1-8) the eight (worlds) of the divine beings, 9-13)
the three (worlds) called Wrath, Brilliance and Yoga, (the worlds) of Umā
and (Śrīkaṇṭha,) her Lord (pati), 14-17) the group of eight Bodies (mūrti),
the twelve of Suśiva, that of Vīrabhadra and the eight Mahādevas. Thus,
the number of worlds in the intellect is seventeen.¹** In the Principle of the
Qualities are the three lines (of teachers and disciples); thus, (the wise)
know that there are fifty-six worlds (up to here from the Element Water).
(415cd-417ab) (415-416)

(The three) ‘called Wrath, Brilliance and Yoga’ means (essentially)

the three worlds that are governed by the three groups of eight Wraths etc. (The
expression) ‘the three lines’ refers to the (lineages of) teachers and disciples.
‘There are fifty-six worlds’, eight in the Principle of Water, two in each of the
three principles beginning with Fire, making six, twenty-two in the ego,
seventeen in the intellect, and three in the qualities.¹"“N

Worlds in the Sphere of the Energy of Knowledge (Vidyā)

Surely, it is has been said (that all) the worlds in all the principles
beginning with Water should be purified, so why not (those) in (the principle of)
Nature? With this doubt in mind, he says:

zafṀ īRāTaTṬGīd Ṭ hTVATSā aaTT fifa 1 x26

TTrrārātcṝ mṝṝ ̄aā. Ṁīaā Ṃtīsgraāīg, |
=fī saāīTā@ rāāfdvdī:
ṂJTTīTraī 1| x2. 1
yady api guṇasāmyātmani
mūle krodheśvarāṣṭakaṁ tathāpi dhiyi || 417 |I
tacchodhitam iti gaṇanāṁ
na punaḥ prāptaṁ pratiṣṭhāyām |
iti jalatattvān mūlaṁ
tattvacaturviṁśatiḥ pratiṣṭhāyām || 418 II

Although the eight Lords of Wrath reside in the Root Nature,

which is the qualities in a state of equilibrium, they have been purified in
the intellect, and so do not need to be counted again in the sphere of the
(force of) the Foundation (pratiṣṭhā). Thus, there are twenty-four principles
from Water up to the Root Nature in (the Force of the) Foundation. (417cd-
418) (417-418ab)

(One would expect only twenty-three principles from Water to the Root
Nature, but there are) ‘twenty-four’, because Nature is of two kinds, according

!³⁵ ]-8) the eight (worlds) of divine beings, 9-11) Wrath, Brilliance and Yoga, 12-13)
Umā and (Śrīkaṇṭha), 14) the group of eight Bodies (mirti), 15) the twelve of Suśiva,
that of 16) Vīrabhadra and 17) the eight Mahādevas.
¹⁰*⁶ Water 8 + Fire to Space 6 + ego 22 + intellect 17 + qualities 3 = 56.
 TANTRĀLOKA 381
to whether it is disturbed (i.e. aroused to generate its products) or undisturbed
(i.e. at rest in itself).

zaaf} īrāraāT-āṝ̄ T⁵ hīāāTīaā; aafṁ fifg | x2. 1

izZEEiĀIVEĪEĀ
EĒIFIĀ IECIEṬI
=fĩ sōaāqg ārrdfdvīṁī:
Ṃḹōṁīsēram *x2¢ 1
ambādituṣṭivargas
tārādyāḥ siddhayo ʻṇnīmādigaṇaḥ |
guravo guruśiṣyā ṝsṣi
varga iḍādiś ca vigrahãṣṭakayuk || 419 ||
gandhãdivikārapuraṁ
buddhiguṇāṣṭakam ahaṁkriyā viṣayaguṇāḥ |
kāmādisaptaviṁśakam
āgantu tathā gaṇeśavidyeśamayau || 420 ||
iti pāśeṣu puratrayam
itthaṁ puruṣe ‘tra bhuvanaṣoḍaśakam |

Here, in the individual soul, the worlds are sixteen. These are 1) the
group of Contentments, consisting of Ambā and the rest, and 3) (the
goddesses) from Tārā onwards, 3) the group of (yogic) accomplishments,
beginning with the power to become small at will (aṇnimā), 4) the teachers,
5) disciples of the teachers and 6) the sages, 7) the (eight channels), namely,
Idā, and the rest, 8) the group of eight that constitutes the subtle body, 9)
the world of the (sixteen) permutations, from smell (up to the mind), 10) the
eight qualities of the intellect, 11) the ego, 12) the qualities of the objects of
the senses, 13) the (ten) qualities (of the gross body), 14) the three worlds in
the fetters of twenty-seven adjuncts, desire (kāma) and the rest, and those
of 15) Gaṇeśa and 16) Vidyeśa. (419-421ab) (418cd-420)

(By saying) ‘the teachers' he also refers there to the three lines of
teachers and disciples. (By the) ‘objects of the sensesʼ is meant the five subtle
elements of sound etc., which should be included in the sixteen permutations.¹*⁷
‘The qualitiesʼ are (the ten,) nonviolence etc., mentioned previously as those of
the (gross) body.¹⁰*

fra vīgīavḷ ṣĩ⁵ ʻũarṝa ā̄ 22 1

īṬī geqa+ ṬTmI fr+@rgī|
³Jṁ√ Jēr fi*T ŪeŪī dīāJ̄ r̥TTTIJT I 22 1
rfṁ āañarṇtrq fēēl Ūēāṝēcṝādīaēq|
niyatau śaṅkaradaśakaṁ

¹"³⁷ Ṣee above, note 8,730.

'⁰*√ See above, 8/288-289ab.
382 CHAPTER EIGHT
kāle śivadaśakam iti puradvitayam || 421 ||
rāge suhṛṣṭabhuvanaṁ
guruśiṣyapuraṁ ca vitkalāyugale |
bhuvanaṁ bhuvanaṁ niśi puṭa-
puratrayaṁ vākpuraṁ pramāṇapuram || 422 ||
iti saptaviṁśatipurā
vidyā puruṣāditattvasaptākayuk |

1-2) Ten Śaṅkaras reside in the principle of Constraint (ṇiyati), and

the ten Śivas in that of Time; thus making two (more) worlds. 3-4) The
world of Suhṛṣṭa and that of the teachers and disciples is in (the principle
of) Aṭṭachment. 5-6) There is one world each in the principles of (limited)
Knowledge and Force (of limited agency). 7-9) There are three worlds in
the Cavity of the Night (of Māyā), (then there are) 10) the world of Speech
and 11) the world of the Pramāṇas. Thus, (the principle of impure)
Knowledge consists of twenty-seven worlds," that are associated with the
seven principles ranging from the individual soul onwards.¹⁰ (421cd-
423ab) (421-422)

The ‘and’ (in the phrase ‘ṭhe world of Suhṛṣṭa and that of the teachers
and disciplesʼ) denotes aggregation, and so the world of Vīreśa and the world of
teachers and disciples together make two worlds in the principle of Attachment.
‘There is one world each’ (in the principles of (limited) Knowledge and
Force), that is, those of the nine powers, beginning with Vāmā and that of the
three Mahādevas.¹”' The ‘three worlds in the Cavity’ (of the Night of Māyā)
are the triple Cavity of (Māyā). ‘ʻThe World of Speechʼ is the world of the
Goddess of Speech, who is (also) called the Womb (yoni). ‘There are twenty-
seven worldsʼ. That is said (in the Svacchandatantra):

‘The chosen view is that (the principle of limited) Knowledge (Vidyā)

pervades from the principle of the individual soul up to Māyā. There are seven
principles (within it) and twenty-seven worlds.”"

Worlds in the Sphere of Energy of Śānta (the Quiescent)

EEEkt=vEr̥
Ḥ, c-EbIĀKIEŪSĒ |ēēei:IṢIRTĒI
gfargfazfērāt īeṝ ydā’īāqaaqrāīrāraāsā:|
TGYTJT JIT fRāTTTCTTTTṬĒĪTTITTT I #* 1I
vāmeśarūpasūkṣmarit
śuddhaṁ vidyātha śaktitejasvimitiḥ || 423 |I
suviśuddhiśivau mokṣa

¹⁰³³ Thjs figure includes the 16 worlds in the principle of the individual soul.
¹⁰⁰⁰ Ṭḥeṣe are in the order here: Puruṣa, Niyati, Kāla Rāga, Vidyā, Kalā, and Māyā.
¹⁰⁰! See above, commentary on 8/295-298ab.
¹*² ṢVṬ 4/171cd-172ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 383
dhruveṣiṣaṁbuddhasamayasauśivasaṁjñāḥ |
saptadaśapurā śāntā
vidyeśasadāśivapuratritayayuktā || 424 ||

1) Vāmā (and the rest), 2) Īśa, 3) (the Enclosure of) Form, 4) the
Subtle (Enclosure), 5) the Pure One, 6) that of Knowledge (Vidyā), 7) Śakti
8) Tejasvin (Energetic), 9) (the Enclosure) of Knowledge (Miti), 10) the
Perfectly Pure and 11) Śiva, and 12) the ones called Moksa (Liberation),
13) Dhruva (the Immobile), 14) Isi (Intention), 15) Saṁbuddha (the
Awakened Ones), 16) Samaya (the Rule) and 17) Sauśiva. The Quiescent
(śānta) that consists of seventeen worlds is linked to the three worlds of (the
principles of) Vidyā (Pure) Knowledge, Īśvara and Sadāśiva. (423cd-424)
(423-424ab)

‘Vāmā’ (denotes) the nine powers, namely, Vāmā and the rest.¹³ ‘Īśa’
means Īśvara (the Lord). ‘Form’ and the rest is everything taught before up to
the last Enclosure. The Enclosure of Knowledge (mānāvaraṇa) is the
knowledge (miti) that is basically fiery (energy) (tejasvipradhānā). Thīs is the
meaning. ‘Intention’ means desire (icchā). There are ‘seventeen worlds’ (in
the sphere of the Quiescent). That is said (in the SŚvacchandatantra):
‘The pervasion from the Principle of (Pure) Knowledge to Sadāśiva
covers three principles and three letters. One should know that there are eleven
parts of mantra (pada) and seventeen worlds.³ ¹⁰*⁴

fa-zīī=frīa: mātvrask̄raītzqzaīraī |
T̄TR] āTT? ṃRTTTTTRYCGI WIĪTF: I 2, 1
aaTTTGAATIT-TT-TYTITRTTITT
TṢ āī̄ |
T̄š a] THTIJTT TPTTITTTTRNT āĪS aT I 52ē
Exieeuti EḻĀEEIEEAEYEEUEH!
iã{|ErEevicziḷE1
āṛEcaHEs-E PĒĪCṈI
=fī sīcmga aāīgī aāīczdīaī aaṛq |
bindvardhendunirodhyaḥ
parasauśivam indhikādipurasauṣumne |
paranādo brahmabilaṁ
sūkṣmādiyutordhvakuṇḍalī
śaktiḥ || 425 ||
vyāpivyomānantā
nāthānāśritapurāṇi pañca tataḥ |
saṣṭhaṁ ca paramam anāśritam
atha samanābhuvanaṣoḍaśī yadi vā || 426 ||
bindvāvaraṇaṁ parasau-
Śivaṁ ca pañcendhikādibhuvanāni |

'”³ Ṣee above, 8/338cd-339ab.

¹³√ ṢVṬ 4/183bed-184ab.
384 CHAPTER EIGHT
sauṣumnaṁ brahmabilaṁ
kuṇḍalinī vyāpipañcakaṁ samanā || 427 ||
iti ṣoḍaśabhuvaneyaṁ
tattvayugaṁ śāntyatītā syāt |

1) (The Enclosures of) the Point, 2) the Half Moon, 3) the

Obstructress, 4) (the world of) supreme Sadāśiva (Suśiva), 5) that of
Indhikā and the rest, 6) Susumnā and 7) the supreme Sound (within it), 8)
the Cavity of Brahmā, 9) the power Kuṇḍalinī in her raised state associated
with Sūkṣmā and the rest, 10-14) the five worlds of Vyāpin, Vyomarūpa,
Ananta, Anātha and Anāśrita and then the sixth, 15) supreme Anāśrita and
that of 16) the Equal One (Samanā). Thus, there are sixteen worlds and two
Principles belonging to Beyond the Quiescent (śāntyātīta). (425-428ab)
(425ab-427)

‘There is said to be one part of mantra (pada), one Mantra and sixteen
letters. One should contemplate the very subtle worlds within Beyond
Quiescence.¹¹⁰³

The Worlds According to the Mataṅgatantra

Having described the division (of the worlds) according to the

cosmology (prakriyā) (taught in the) venerable Svacchandatantra, he also says
(the following), in accord with the system (taught) in another scripture:

TT-Ḥaāzṁī s ṬTÇTT: I 62C I

āTōītā-īTaēī: āīēīgāi gadaaī vīaāī, |
āṢTITS: TTTTTTIGĪ THGTĀĪT TGĀK; I #Š I
ṢATST Gaīaī ¥'d &zṬ ēīā fāī |
aṛāṛāṝ f̄īcī fṁ: atīdaṟwīaāī 3aāT ú 3 |A
TJIRTĒ TAĪÇ, JĪHTRTTṬGJT I
TH- T Tg TfJCaTGTHĪSKĀḤI 532 |
rḡṁ āz% ā qaī šaīa 7n |
ḻēzaEZEEER AECECKEELṈIREH
śrīmanmataṅgaśāstre ca kramo ‘yaṁ purapūgagaḥ || 428 ||
kālāgnir narakāḥ khābdhiyutaṁ mukhyatayā śatam |
kūṣmāṇḍaḥ saptapātālī saptalokī maheśvaraḥ || 429 ||
ity aṇḍamadhyaṁ tadbāhye śataṁ rudrā iti sthitāḥ |
sthānānāṁ dviśatī bhūmiḥ saptapañcāśatā yutā || 430 ||
pañcāṣṭakasya madhyād dvātriṁśad bhūtacatuṣṭaye |

¹³³ SVT 4/196.

 TANTRĀLOKA 385
tanmātreṣu ca pañca syur viśvedevās tato ‘ṣṭakam || 431 ||
pañcamaṁ sendriye garve buddhau devāṣṭakaṁ guṇe |
yogāṣṭakaṁ krodhasaṁjñaṁ mūle kāle sanaiyate || 432 ||

According to the venerable Mataṅgatantra,¹”⁰ the sequential order

of these worlds is as follows. Within the Egg of Brahmā are Kālāgni, one
hundred and forty principal hells, Kūṣmāṇḍa has seven netherworlds
(pātāla), and Maheśvara seven worlds. Outside (the Egg) there are one
hundred Rudras. Thus, the Earth has two hundred and fifty-seven worlds
(sthāna) (in all).
Out of the five groups of eight, 1) thirty-two (worlds) are in the four
gross elements. 2) The five Viśvedevas are within the subtle elements while
3) the fifth group of eight (i.e. Sthāṇvaṣṭaka) is contained in the ego, along
with the sense organs. 4) In the intellect are the eight divine beings
(devāṣṭaka). 5) The eight Yogas (yogāṣṭaka) are in the qualities. 6) In the
Root Nature is the one called the Lords of Wrath (i.e. krodhāṣṭaka).¹⁰”⁷
(428cd-432) (428-432ab)

‘Maheśvara’ is Rudra. ‘The fifth group of eight’ is called Sthāṇu.

TTTRJTTITJīṢÇTṀĀTTTIT TṬTTĪTTT: |
JIGŠTṀYTTTIT;Ṃ TqfĪṬṬĀĪ āGT aaT I -33 1
arīamṝērvrā āã fīvdvafzxzūqa |
patadrugādyāś cāṅguṣṭhamātrādyā rāgatattvagāḥ |
dvādaśaikaśivādyāḥ syur vidyāyāṁ kalane daśa || 433 I|
vāmādyās triśatī seyaṁ triparvaṇy abdhirasyayuk |

1) (The Rudras called) Patadruk and the rest (reside in Time and
Constraint), while 2) Anguṣṭhamātra and the rest reside in the principle of
Attachment. 3) There are twelve (Rudras), Ekaśiva and the rest, in the
force of (the limited knower) Knowledge. 4) There are the ten (Rudras),

!"* ṬĀ 8/428cd-434ab (428-433) is a summary of the cosmology of the MPĀ based,

Jayaratha tells us, on a commentary (vṛtti) of this Āgama. Indeed, these are the
summarial verses at the end of Bhaṭṭa Rāmakaṇṭha Ī’s commentary on the 23" chapter
of the Vidyāpāda of the Mataṅgapārameśvara. Sanderson 2006b 158. See also, Goodall
(1995), intro. p. 3. Goodall (1998) intro. xvī suggests that the great Saiddhāntika
commentator, Rāmakaṇṭa Ī (who wrote, amongst other works, the
Nareśvaraparīkṣāprakāśa) was an older contemporary of Abhinavagupta. Examining
references to him and from his works, establishing thus an anti quem and post quem,
Goodall concludes that ‘we can provisionally assume that he flourished between c. 950-
1000 AD.”
'"*⁷ There are four groups of eight in the four gross elements from Water to Space — 32.
There are 5 Viśvedevas. Sthāṇvaṣṭaka in the ego and senses –~ 8. Devāṣṭaka in the
intellect – 8. Yogāṣṭaka in the qualities ~ 8 and Krodhāṣṭaka in Nature – 8. 32 + 5 + 8 +
8+8 + 8 = 69.
386 CHAPTER EIGHT
Vāma and the rest, in the Force (of limited agency) (Kalā).¹⁰⁸ Thus there
are three hundred and sixty-four worlds in the three sections (parvan) from
(the principle of the Force (of limited agency) up to Earth).¹”⁹ (433-434ab)
(432cd-433)
‘Patadruk and the rest’ are eight. ‘Anguṣṭhamātra and the rest’ are
also eight. ‘The three sections (parvan)³ are ‘the three’ called living beings
(bhūta), the abodes (bhāva) and the principles (tattva) associated with ‘ṭhe
sectionsʼ, that is, within this third reality (padārtha) (of the fetters — pāśa) with
respect to (the other two realities of) the Lord (pati) (and the individual soul —
paśu), within (the principles) ranging from the Force (of limited agency) down
to Earth. This is the meaning. As is said, just there (in the Mataṅgatantra):

‘Those called living beings (bhūta), the abodes (bhāva), and the
principles (tattva) are constantly emitted from Māyā. This, according to Siva’s
teachings, is the third reality, consisting of three sections.”''⁰⁰

(Thus,) there are three hundred and sixty-four (worlds).¹⁰" This is the
meaning.
The Lord of the Worlds here (in this case) are of various sorts. Thus, he
says:

ṝar. #fēīcāaā; £aṁvar

f aīTe: 1| 3 1|
śaivāḥ kecid ihānantāḥ śraikaṇṭhā iti saṁgrahaḥ || 434 1|

Some (of the Lords of these worlds) are followers of Śiva, others of
Ananta or Sṛīkaṇṭha. This is the summary. (434cd) (434ab)

Their name is such because they have been initiated by Śiva etc. As
they say:

‘There is Kālāgni, and then one hundred and forty (principle) hells,
Kūṣmāṇḍa with seven netherworlds (pātāla), and the Rudra with seven
worlds,¹'² within the Egg. Then outside (the Egg) there are the hundred Rudras.

'⁰*⁸ The worlds here are 8 + 8 + 12 + 10 = 38.

!”) Earth is 257 worlds + Water to Prakrṛti is 69, and worlds from Time to limited
agency are 38, making 364 worlds. 257 + 61 + 38 = 331, with 33 left, to make 364.
'!⁰ MMPĀ vidyāpāda 2/16cd-17ab. Rāmakaṇṭha explains that *(those) called the
principles are the thirty realities ranging from the Force (of limited agency) up to Earth,
that have arisen from Māyā. Those are here said to be ‘abodes” (bhāva), which are the
world-orders (bhuvana) that, possessing particular creations (racanā), serve as the
means (for individual souls to enjoy) worldly experience (bhoga) (according to their
karma) . . . Those which are called ‘living beings (bhūta) are the innumerable entities
which are the bodies born from this or that world-order and arise in this way from
Maāyā.”
¹"⁰" These 364 worlds are deployed within the domain of the fetters (pāśa), that is,
within the principles ranging from the Force (kalā of limited agency) to Earth.
¹⁰² Read -lokasaptakam for -lekasaptakam.
 TANTRĀLOKA 387
(Thus,) the Earth contains two hundred and fifty-seven worlds. Out of the five
groups of eight, thirty-two (worlds) belong to the four gross elements. Then five
Viśvadevas (reside) in the subtle elements, while the fifth¹'⁰* group of eight of
the (five) groups of eight is contained in the ego, along with the sense organs.
Then the eight divine beings reside in the intellect. The eight Yogis are in the
qualities. Then, after that, the (Lords of Wrath), beginning with Wrath, are in
Unmanifest Nature.
Then (the Rudras) headed by Patadruk reside in Time, which is
conjoined to Constraint, while the eight (Rudras), Anguṣṭhamātra and the rest,
reside in (the principle of) Attachment. There are twelve (Rudras), Ekaśiva and
the rest, in the principle of (limited) Knowledge (Vidyā). After that, there are
the ten (Rudras), Vāma and the rest, in the Force (of limited agency) (Kalā).
Thus, there are said to be three hundred and sixty-four worlds in the three
sections (parvan) from (the principle of the Force (of limited agency) up to
Earth). Some (of the Lords of these worlds) are followers of Śiva, others of
Ananta or Śrīkaṇṭha.¹¹⁴

For fear of making the book too long by quoting the Āgama directly, the
words of the commentator (vrttikṛ1) have been quoted here (instead).
Surely, (one may ask,) what is the purpose of describing the division of
the worlds? With this question in mind, he says:¹!⁰⁵

̄ J̄ḷ ṀA³TTI] ṬJAT T āIS ēriiqç |

JĪTNJY TūGTĪ JS as-āītd TaT J -x34 1A

yatra yadā parabhogān

bubhukṣate tatra yojanaṁ kāryam |
śodhanam atha tad dhānau
Śeṣaṁ tv antargataṁ kāryam || 435 ||
ity āgamaṁ prathayituṁ
darśitam etad vikalpitaṁ tena |

Whenever and wherever (the disciple) desires to enjoy the supreme

fruits, he should be conjoined there (to the corresponding world).¹ Again,
purification serves to destroy (that is, abandon,) those (desires), and the
remaining (secondary worlds) are included in this same (purifying) task.¹"¹⁷

'!⁰³ Read paīñcamam aṣṭakānāṁ yat for pañcāṣṭakānāṁ ṣaṭhaṁ yat.

'!⁰⁴ 8/428cd-434ab (428-433) is a summary of the cosmology of the MPĀ based on
Bhaṭa Rāmakaṇṭha Ī’s commentary (vrīt) on the Vidyāpāda of the
Mataṅgapārameśvara ad 23/85 (p. 516 line 3 ff.), reproduced here by Jayaratha. See
Sanderson 2006b 158. See also, Goodall (1995), intro. p.3.
'!⁰³ CIearly verses 435 to 436 (434cd-436ab) are Abhinava’s own remarks.
"!"⁰ Paraphrasis of Svāyambhuvāgama 39/2, quoted here in the commentary. See note
above ad 1/61cd-62 (62cd-63) also below, 15/2cd-4.
'!"⁷ Ṣee below, 11/83cd-85ab; 12/4-5.
388 CHAPTER EIGHT
It is in order to make this received teaching (āgama)¹¹⁰⁸ known that each
(teacher) has disclosed and conceived this (cosmic order, in accord with his
own tradition). (435-436ab) (434cd-435)

As is said:
‘(the disciple) is conjoined (by his teacher) there (to the level of reality)
where (he can experience) the worldly enjoyments he desires, (and attains the
corresponding) accomplishments (siddhi), by the power of Mantras. ⁰⁹

‘Again’, from another point of view. (Purification) ‘serves to destroy²,

that is, abandon the desire for worldly pleasure. This is the meaning. (In this
way, the remaining secondary worlds are also) ‘included’; that is, by the
purification of the main (worlds), those are (also) purified. (Each teacher) ‘has
disclosed’ (this cosmic order), for otherwise how could complete knowledge in
this way be possible? This is the (intended) sense. “Eachī means that each
particular teacher (does this).
Surely, (one may ask,) are only just this many alternative notions
(concerning this cosmology) possible, or not? With this doubt in mind, he says:

sṝ-ās fdṁhcūī. aaṀṭaīmaṛā; āīā²agaā |Ḥ x35E, 1|

anye ‘pi bahuvikalpāḥ svadhiyācāryaiḥ samabhyūhyāḥ || 436 ||

Teachers, by applying their own intelligence to it, conceive many

other notions (vikalpa) (concerning the cosmologies taught in the
scriptures). (436cd) (436ab)

Surely (one may ask), if this is so, and many alternative conceptions
arise (concerning the number and nature of the worlds), then what should be
adopted here (as the most authoritative account of the worlds)? With this doubt
in mind, he says:

The Worlds According to the Mālinīvījayottara

Trīāīī JGRRIGTTĪT JT āNTḤ |

āfkē māārāē ērũdīrad īr̥aĩ 1| `ś 3 1|
śrīpūrvaśāsane punar
asṣṭādaśādhikaṁ śataṁ kathitam |
tad iha pradhānam adhikaṁ
saṁkṣepeṉṇocyate śodhyam || 437 ||

Again, there are said to be one hundred and eighteen worlds,

according to the teachings of the SŚrīpūrva (Mālinīvijayottara). That

'!⁰“ MS5 Ġ and C read āśayaṁ -- intention’ for āgamarṁī –- ‘received teaching’.
¹!⁰) AIso quoted above in TĀv ad 1/61cd-62 (62cd-63) (see note there).
 TANTRĀLOKA 389
(scripture) is here (considered to be) the main one, and states very concisely
(the worlds) that need to be purified. (437) (436cd-437ab)

(According to the Mālinīvijayottara, there are) ‘one hundred’ (and

eighteen) worlds. That is said there:

‘Indeed, in this way, one should know briefly, not extensively, that
there are one hundred and eighteen worlds in all the principles.”¹"'⁰

(The Mālinīvijayottara is) ‘the main’ (scripture). It is on its authority

that the application (pravṛtti) of this book is based. He says that.

īōṬṬ̄ṝṁ: ṭHTS] TGIĪ ṜIGIST JTGT: |

JaTT TTTTĪPĒSI *=T: TJTRTGĒT; I 536 |
BTT: TRĪ: āJŪĪTPJTRGĀ-TĪHĒTTTGTTT: |
āṝtrdṁṁrcṁrrvrrār gatzvrguf 1 *38
TGJTTĪVTR̄ JaTPG TāTrāāarī-āīēī: |
⁸IĀI-NVfCīĪEIiETḺĒĀṬCḶIE ĪPTKḤI
JTGGTITTJT fRTG-TIGT 7 ṬRRTÑÑT |
ṬṬÑGTJITHTT āTPō⁵ YGaTāūā aTTRaT I ’5²2 I
ĪJTCRTRIĀĪTGJ ṬYṀTJTTGT: |
ãīṁvzrtarzīafṁ 7amṁ=a+r mfa 1 x*2 1
{zTzeātāTīvārīa-dTaōāgētatrraāīTaaāī: Ṃ|
³īf̄ṝrr̥Ḻaṁa#Tdrridṅ a a--īāḥ a Ia T |I| 3 1
mrvgavīaaī fṁṝ vaī īāēvī ra |
sīfeītēzṣhãĩ ašaḹḷ šcaā. ũṝ̄ṁ || x² |
THPTIJYI"gJfTĒĪYATḤ TGGTÇ |
TTRRĪTRĒ̄TT-JTGTTST TS RTRṢÑR I *AA I
kālāgniḥ kūṣmāṇḍo

!"!I⁰/MV 5/33. Chapter five of the Mālinīvijayottara is dedicated to cosmology. It is

indeed very concise. It lists 118 worlds in 33 verses. Their distribution within the tattvas
is largely in line with the account in the Svacchandatantra that adds many more details,
and with them more worlds that are, for the most part, associated with these 118. For
example, the hells are not named individually in the MV, they are simply treated as a
single world. The discrepancy is explained on the principle that the purification of a
world automatically purifies others associated with it. Thus, when the MV declares that
these 118 worlds need to be purified, it can be understood to mean that they are the
essential ones that stand in for all the others also. Jayaratha makes the same point to
explain discrepancies above.
390 CHAPTER EIGHT
narakeśo hāṭako ʻtha bhūtalapaḥ |
brahmā muṇilokeśo
rudrāḥ pañcāntarālasthāḥ¹¹"" || 438 |I
adhare ʻnantaḥ prācyāḥ
kapālivahnyantanir-rtibalākhyāḥ¹¹² 1
laghunidhipatividyādhipa-
śambhūrdhvāntaṁ savīrabhadrapatiḥ¹¹³ || 439 ||
ekādaśabhir bāhye
brahmāṇḍaṁ pañcabhis tathāntarikaiḥ [II
iti ṣoḍaśapuram etan
nivrṛttikalayeha kalanīyam¹¹⁵ || 440 |
lakulīśabhārabhr ¹ ⁶
diṇḍyāṣāḍhī ca puṣkaranimeṣau |
prabhāsasureśāv iti sa-
lile patyāṣṭakaṁ''⁷ saparivāram || 441 ||
bhairavakedāramahā-
kālā madhyāmrajalpākhyāḥ |
śrīśailahariścandrāv
iti guhyāṣṭakam idaṁ mahasi || 442 |I
bhīmendrāṭṭahāsavimala"⁸
-kanakhalanākhalakuruṣthitigayākhyāḥ |
atiguhyāṣṭakam etan
maruti ca satanmātrake ca sākṣe ca |l 443 ||
sthāṇuṣuvarṇākhyau kila
bhadro gokarṇako mahālayakaḥ |
avimuktarudrakoṭī
vastrāpada ity adaḥ pavitraṁ khe || 444 ||
sthūlasthūleśaśaṅku-
Śśrutikālañjarāś ca'""⁹ maṇḍalabhṛt |
mākoṭāṇḍadvitaya-
cchagalāṇḍā aṣṭakaṁ hy ahaṅkāre || 445 ||

¹²⁰(Within the Egg of Brahmā there) are 1) Kālāgni (Fire of Time),

2) Kūṣmāṇḍa (Pumpkin), who is the Lord of the Hells, 3) Hāṭaka (the

'"" TSā reads rudraḥ pañcāṇḍamadhyagataḥ, that makes no sense.

'" TSA reads: -bālākhyāḥ.
¹!³³ Eṇend -pati to patiḥ.
¹¹³ Thiṣ line is missing in the TSā.
¹""³ ṬSā reads: pārthivam aṇḍaṁ nivrttikalā.
'"⁰ TSā -bhūir.
'"”” TSā reads: pratyāmakāṣṭakaṁ proktam – said to be the inner group of eight. Read
with MV 5/17a patyaṣṭakam (the group of eight Lords) for pratyātmakam. Read with
MS G -varam for -vāre.
¹!¹³ TSā bhīmendrāṭṭahāḥ savimala-.
¹⁰ TṢa -kālāś cātha.
¹!2⁰ ṬĀ 8/438-451ab (437cd-451cd) corresponds to MV 5/1-32, in which 118 worlds are
enumerated. TĀ 8/438-447 (437cd-446cd) is quoted literally in TSā (chapter 8) p. 66-
67. Abhinava reworks the original verses in standard śloka found in the MV into Arya
metre. He condenses MV 5/1cd-12 into just one ~ TĀ 8/438 (437cd-438ab). TĀ 8/439
 TANTRĀLOKA 391
Remover), 4) the Lord of the Earth (bhūtalapa), 5) Brahmā, and (Viṣṇu),
the Lord of the Seven Worlds. 6) There are five Rudras who reside in the
gaps between (these five worlds).¹¹²¹
1) Ananta (Endless) is below, while (the Lords) from the east up to
the zenith are, (in due order,) 2) E Kāpalin (Kapālīśa, Lord of the Skull), 3)
SE Vahni (Agnirudra, Fire Rudra), 4) S Anta (the End), 5) SW Nirrṛti

(438cd-439ab) corresponds to MV 5/13-14. TĀ 8/440 (440cd-441ab) is a paraphrase of

MV 5/16-17ab. TĀ 8/442abc (441cd-442a) is a paraphrase of MV 5/17cd-18ab. TĀ
8/443ab (442cd) is a paraphrase of MV 5/18cd-19ab. TĀ 8/444 (443cd-444ab) is a
paraphrase of MV 5/20. TĀ 8/445 (444cd-445ab) is a paraphrase of MV 5/21. TĀ
8/447cd-448a (447abc) is a paraphrase of MV 5/25cd-26ab. TĀ 8/448b-449ab (447d-
448) is a paraphrase of MV 5/26cd-27. TĀ 8/449cd-450ab (449) is a paraphrase of MV
5/28cd-29. TĀ 8/450ab (450cd) is a paraphrase of MV 5/30cd-31ab. TĀ 8/450cd
(451ab) corresponds to MV 5/31cd. TĀ 8/451ab (451cd) corresponds to MV 5/32.
'!¹¹ Abhinava is condensing into just this one verse (438 (437cd-438ab)) the first twelve
verses of the MV (5/1cd-12). These are as follows:

1) The Hells and Netherworlds

‘Initially, one should purify the world of Kālāgni with effort. Once the (nether)
world of Kūṣmāṇḍa has been purified, Avīci and Kumbhīpāka, along with Raurava, the
third (hell), are all undoubtedly purified. (1cd-2)
Then come the seven netherworlds (pātāla). The first of them is Mahātala, then
Rasātala, and after that is another (called) Talātala, (then) Sutala and Nitala, Vitala and
Tala. By purifying the Hāṭaka (worlds), all of them are considered to have been purified.
(-4)
2) The Earth

One should know that Earth is above that, with (its) seven islands and seven
oceans. Located in the middle of them is Meru, the abode (and refuge) of the gods. (5)

3) The Group of Seven Worlds

And (next,) above that, comes Bhuvarloka (bhuvoloka), and above that
Svarloka, after which come, (one above the other,) Maholoka (maho), Jana(loka),
Tapo(loka) and Satya(loka). This is the group of seven worlds. (6)
Fourteen kinds of living beings reside there. They are: plants, serpents, birds,
(wild) animals, (domestic) animals, and human beings, which are the fifth (kind of
living being. (There are also) Piśācas, Rakṣaṣas, Yakṣas, Gandharvas, Aindras,
Saumyas, Prājāpatyas and Brāhmas, who are the fourteenth (kind). AIl of these are
purified when the Brāhmas are purified. (7-9)

4) Viṣṇu’s World and 5) Rudra’s World

After that comes the world of Viṣṇu, and after that mine (that is, Rudra’s
world). When that is pure, everything is undoubtedly purified. (10)
O beloved, when these five worlds beginning with Kālāgni are pure, all this
that is located within the Egg of Brahmā is pure. Outside it are the worlds of the
hundred Rudras. Each one should be purified separately: (first) ten, and then after that
the first, encompassed by their lord (Vīrabhadra).” (11-12)
392 CHAPTER EIGHT
(Nefarious), 6) W Bala (Strength), 7) NW Laghu (Śīghra, Speedy), 8) N
Nidhipati (Nidhīśvara, Lord of Treasures), 9) NE Vidyādhipa
(Sarvavidyādhipa, Lord of AIl Knowledge), 10) Śambhu, and 11)
Vīrabhadra (Auspicious Hero).¹² Such is the Egg of Brahmā, which
contains sixteen worlds, eleven of which are external, and along with five
that are internal, are differentiated by the force of Cessation (nivṛttikalā).
439-440ab (438cd-440ab)
A) The Group of Eight Lords along with their entourage resides in
the Water element, and is made up of 1) Lakulīśa (Lakulin), 2) Bhārabhūti,
3) Diṇḍin, 4) Āsādhin, 5) Puṣkara (Lake), 6) Nimeṣa (Naimiṣa), 7) Prabhāsa
(Shining One) and 8) Sureśa (Lord of the Gods, Amareśa, Immortal
Lord).¹²
B) The group of eight Secrets (guhyāṣṭaka) resides in Fire. It consists
of¹¹ 1) Bhairava, 2) Kedāra, 3) Mahākāla, 4) Madhyama, 5) Āmra
(Amṛrātakeśa), 6) Jalpa (Jalpeśa), 7) Śrṛīśaila and 8) Hariścandra
(Harīndu).¹¹⁵
C) The group of eight Great Secrets (atiguhyāṣṭaka) resides in the
Wind. It consists of 1) Bhīma (Bhīmeśvara), 2) Indra (Mahendra), 3)
Atṭṭahāsa, 4) Vimala (Vimaleśvara), 5) Kanakhala, 6) Nākhala, 7)
Kurusthiti (Kurukṣetra) and 8) Gaya.¹¹²
D) The group of Pure Ones who reside in the space of the subtle
elements and senses are 1) Sthāṇu, 2) Svarṇākṣaka, 3) Bhadra, 4)
Gokarṇaka, 5) Mahālaya, 6) Avimukta (Avimukteśa, the Lord of
Avimukta, the Never Abandoned), 7) Rudrakoṭi and 8) Vastrāpada
(Ambarāpada).¹¹”⁷
E) The group of eight in the ego consists of 1) Sthūla, 2) Sthūleśvara,
3) Śaṅkuśruti (Śaṅkukarṇa, Conch Ears), 4) Kālañjara,¹¹⁸ 5) Maṇḍalabhṛt
(Maṇḍaleśvara), 6) Mākoṭa, 7) Dviraṇḍa and 8) Chagalāṇḍa.¹¹²⁹ (438-445)
(437cd-445ab)

In this way the inner activity (of the Rudras within the Egg of Brahmā)
has been revealed by the distinctive nature of their lordship (as rulers of the hell
worlds). (The Rudras are located in the directions) beginning ‘from the east’.
Yama (the god of the dead) is called ‘Anta’ (the End), because he brings about

'!²² TĀ 8/439 (438cd-439ab) corresponds to MV 5/13-14. The names of the Rudras as

they appear in the MV are in brackets sometimes with a translation of their names.
'!³³T 8/441 (440cd-441ab) corresponds to MV 5/16-17ab.
'!²³ Most of the Rudras of this and the following two groups of eight are named after
sacred places.
¹!³³ TĀ 8/442abc (441cd-442a) is a paraphrase of MV 5/17cd-18ab.
¹!2⁰ ṬĀ 8/443ab (442cd) is a paraphrase of MV 5/18cd-19ab.
¹!²⁷ TṜ 8/444 (443cd-444ab) is a paraphrase of MV 5/20.
'¹⁸ Kālañjara is the name of a sacred mountain in Bundalkhand. It is the modern
Kallinjer, which is considered to be a good place to practice austere devotion. It is also a
name of Śiva. MṛĠ vidyāpāda 13/143ab says the name of this place is Kālāñjana.
¹!²⁹ TĀ 8/445 (444cd-445ab) is a paraphrase of MV 5/21. ʻThis is said to be the group of
eight immobile ones (sthāṇvaṣṭaka), which is located at the extremity of the ego.’ MV
5/22ab.
 TANTRĀLOKA 393
the end (of the life of living beings). (One Rudra is called) ‘Śīghra’ (Speedy),
because he acts speedily. As is said (in the Mālinīvijaya), beginning with:

‘Initially, one should purify the world of Kālāgni with effort.’'³⁰

‘0 beloved, when these five worlds, beginning with Kālāgni, are pure;
all this that is located within the Egg of Brahmā'"" is pure. Outside it are the
worlds of the hundred Rudras. Each one should be purified separately: (first)
ten, and then after that the first, encompassed by its lord.
Ananta (Endless) is the first amongst them. Kapālīśa (Lord of the Skul)
comes after (him, followed by) Agnirudra (Rudra of Fire), Yama, Nairrta
(Nephast), Bala (Strength), Śīghra (Speedy), Nidhīśvara (Lord of Treasures),¹¹³²
Sarvavidyādhipa (King of AIl Knowledge) is another, Śambhu (Tranquil) and
(finally) Vīrabhadra (Auspicious Hero), whose light is (like) a smokeless
fire.'"“ When these eleven are pure, (all) hundred (Rudras) are considered to be
pure. ¹ ³⁴

“The inner (group of eight)² is another name for the secret group of
eight (guhyāṣṭaka) mentioned here. The distinguishing feature of the space (in
which the group of Pure Ones reside is that it is) “(the space) of the subtle
elements and sensesʼ. The view of some is that (this space) is inwardly
pervaded by this group of eight. Again, (the view) of others is that as it is proper
that the effect should be located within (its) cause (prior to its production), and
so it is pervaded to this extent by the ego (which produces the senses and hence
the sensations that are their subtle objects). Thus, he says:

³T⁵grcā-ārāf=zaī⁸ī rṝeāg: |
fifā āīa⁷ teēhc aī arṁṃzā; kōīōārriṝā | y-ē, ú
šī a-raṁvyaṁ yṝṁīft=fd: alaaī f #eraaā 1
āī̄ aīī srāīāī r̄rrāā; J³aTgṁārāḷ IḤ -xxa

aī sāītīaī ākōīīraai ] gaaāT-a || ̄²4¢ 1

UUUIGĪMPIEAEREEEṭEEĀĀĀTĀIGI
TITST āTII ṬĀTRAĀÑFTRGGTĪ I 5*%8 1
JÑTTṬI.TTĒTRT I fT fkṛrī ār̄ī |
rṀzr̥dīfc̄zaṁ fēraṁ ḡmrīTaāTṁzā 1| `ṟu0 1|

''⁰MV 5/1cd. See above, note 8,1009 for the text of the following lines.
''³¹ Read with the KSTS edition of the MV, brahmāṇḍāntar- for brahmāṇḍantar-.
'!³²Read with the KSTS edition of the MV, nidhīsvaras caiva for nidhīśvaraś ceti.
''³³ MV 5/13-14 quoted in TĀv ad 8/181 (180cd-181ab), which is a paraphrase of it.
Read with the KSTS edition of the MV and MSs Ch, Ñ: vidhūmajvalanaprabhaḥ for
vidhīūma-jvalanaprabhāḥ.
''³* MV 5/11-15ab. MV 5/13-15ab is also quoted above ad 8/181 (180cd-181ab).
394 CHAPTER EIGHT

ṜIWĪGGCZTRGTRATIĪTKĪT
: TṬTTI: ; |
hrī hōṬṟarī artra 7 1 k.3 I
aāīīṛ īãīzī tē: qē d vī-īa |
ṬTṬGSṬ
JaTI ITq, #* # + + +

anye 'ʻhaṅkārāntas
tanmātrāṇīndriyāṇi cāpy āhuḥ¹'⁵ |
dhiyi yonyaṣṭakam¹'³⁰ uktaṁ
prakṛtau yogāṣṭakaṁ kilākṛtaprabhṛti || 446 ||
iti ṣaptāṣṭakabhuvanā
pratiṣṭhitiḥ salilato hi mūlāntā |
nari vãmo bhīmograu
bhaveśavīrāḥ pracaṇḍagaurīśau || 447 I|
ajasānantaikaśivau
vidyāyāṁ krodhacaṇḍayugmaṁ syāt |
saṁvarto jyotiratho
kalānīyatyāṁ ca sūrapañcāntau || 448 ||
vīraśikhīśaśrīkaṇṭha-
saṁjñam etat trayaṁ ca kāle syāt |
samahātejā vāmo
bhavodbhavaś caikapiṅgaleśānau || 449 ||
bhuvaneśapuraḥsarakāv
aṅguṣṭha ime niśi sthitā hy asṣṭau |
aṣṭāviṁśatibhuvanā
vidyā puruṣān niśāntam iyam || 450 |
hālāhalaruḍrakrud
ambikāghorikāḥ savāmāḥ syuḥ |
vidyāyāṁ vidyeśās
tv aṣṭāv īśe sadāśive pañca || 451 ||
vāmā jyeṣṭhā raudrī
śaktiḥ sakalā ca śānteyam |
asṣṭādaśa bhuvanā syāt * * ⁵*

Others say that the subtle elements as well as the senses are
included in the ego. The eight divine beings (yonyasṣṭaka) are said to be in
the intellect, and the eight Yogas starting with Akṛta (Unformed) are in
Nature (prakṛti). These are the seven groups of eight worlds which belong
to the Foundation (pratiṣṭhā), ranging from Water up to the Root
Nature.¹¹⁷

: cety āhuḥ.
evayoṉayo ʻṣṭau.
!'³⁷ Abhinava just names the two groups of eight listed in MV 5/23-25ab. One is the
Eight Types of Divine Beings – Yonyasṭaka – in the Intellect. This is called the
Devayonyaṣṭaka in a variant reading of this passage in the TSā. The other is the
Yogāṣṭaka within Fundamental Nature.
 TANTRĀLOKA 395
Vāma, Bhīma (Terrible), Ugra (Fierce), Bhava and Iśa, Ekavīra
(Solitary Hero), Pracaṇḍa (Extremely Fierce), Gaurīśa (Mādhava), Aja
(Unborn), along with Ananta (Endless) and Ekaśiva (Solitary Śiva) reside
in the individual soul.¹"⁸
The two, Krodheśa (Lord of Warth) and Canṇḍa (Fierce) reside in
(Impure) Knowledge. Samvarta (Doomsday Fire) and Jyotis (Light) reside
in the Force (of limited agency) (kalā). Sura (God) and Pañcāntaka
(Destroyer of the Five) reside in Constraint (niyati). The three called
Ekavīra (Solitary Hero), Śikhaṇḍīśa (Śikhin) and Śrīkaṇṭha reside in
Time.¹¹⁹
Mahātejas, Vāmadeva, Bhavodbhava (Born of Fettered Existence),
Ekapiṅgala (Solitary Tawny One), Īśāna (īkṣaṇeśāna Lord of the Gaze),
Bhuvaneśa (Lord of the Worlds), Purahsara (Foremost) and
Anguṣṭhamātra (Just a Thumb) – they are the eight that reside in the Night
(of Māyā). (Thus, Māyā,) ranging from (Impure) Knowledge to the
individual soul, consists of twenty-eight worlds.¹"¹
In (Pure) Knowledge reside Hālāhalarudra, Krodha (Wrath),
Ambika (Born of the Mother), Aghoraka (Not Fierce) and Vāmadeva. In
Īśa reside the eight Vidyeśvaras,¹™" while in Sadāśiva there are the five
(worlds, namely) Vāmā (Beautiful), Jyeṣṭhā (Eldest), Raudrī (Fierce), Śakti
(Power) and Sakalā (With Energy). Thus, the force Quiescence (śāntikalā)
has eighteen worlds."¹² (446-452abc) (445cd-452a)

‘(The eight types of divine beings are) Pīśācas, Rākṣasas, Yakṣas,

Gandharavas, as well those associated with Indra, so too Somas along with Prajāpatis,
and Brahmās who are considered to be the eighth (type).*
The Group of Eight Yoga (Rudras) is within Fundamental Nature (pradhāna).
There the first is Akṛta (Unfashioned), and (then) 2) Kṛta (Fashioned), 3) Vaibhava
(Magnificence), 4) Brāhma and 5) Vaiṣṇava is after that, 6) Kaumara, 7) Auma, and 8)
Śraikaṇṭha. Such is the group of eight Yogas.' MV 5/23-25ab
*MV 5/23 quoted in TAv ad 8/227ab (226cd).
''*⁸ ṬĀ 8/447cd-448a (447abc) corresponds to MV 5/25cd-26ab.
¹"³⁹ TĀ 8/448b-449ab (447d-448)is a paraphrase of MV 5/26cd-27.
''⁰ ṬĀ 8/449cd-450ab (449)is a paraphrase of MV 5/28-29 where these eight are called
Maṇḍaleśānas.
¹iiIṬĀ 8/45 (450cd) corresponds to MV 5/30cd-31ab. 450cd (451ab) corresponds to
MV 5/31cd: ‘Within (the principle) Īśvara are the Great Lords (mahesvara), beginning
with Pivana and ending with Aghora.” These eight are listedin MV 1/19cd-20:
‘(Their names are) Aghora, Paramaghora (Supreme Ghora), Ghorarūpa,
Ghoramukha, Bhīma, Bhīṣaṇa, Vamana, and Pīibana. These eight (Aghoras that
constitute) the group of eight Aghoras (aghorāṣṭaka) maintain, destroy, protect and
(dispense) grace.⁷ Concerning the Eight Bhairavas, see notes 1,802; 11,187; 15,386,
391; 29,127; and 30,61.
'"³ Theṛe are five worlds in Śuddha Vidyā, eight in Iśvaratattva, and five in
Sadāśivatattva. They are all containedin Śāntākalā.
Read śānteyam for śontyam. The correct form for bhuvanā is bhuvanāni. But
this is one syllable too long. Even assuming Abhinava himself had authored this corrupt
form, meri causa the reading should be bhuvanāḥ.
TÃ 8/451ab (451cd) corresponds to MV 5/32:
396 CHAPTER EIGHT
Here (concerning these matters), some describe (the worlds) in their
own words, others by analogous expressions (to those of the scriptures), others
by (paraphrasing), replacing words (here and there with others of statements
made in the scriptures). One should infer (these ways of citing the scriptures) for
oneself.¹'³ This has been corroborated (with scripture) previously.
‘The individual soul’ includes the principle of Attachment. Thus, the
six, Vāma and the rest, are in the principle of the Individual Soul, and the five,
Pracaṇḍa and the rest, within (the principle of) Attachment. That is said (in the
Maālinīvijaya):
‘After that, one should think that all in one place, there are another six
worlds, each of which occupies a half-finger space, and, successively, (that
there are) another four in two fingers’ (space), and one in another one (finger
space).¹
¹ ⁴⁴
‘Along with Ananta’ means Ekaśiva along with Ananta. ‘In the Night’
means within Māyā. ‘In Īśa’ means within the Iśvara principle. In this way,
there are sixteen (worlds) in Cessation, fifty-six in the (force of the) Foundation,

raudrī jyeṣṭhā ca vāmā ca tathā śaktiṣadāśivau |

etāni sakale pañca bhuvanāni vidurbudhāḥ ||

‘The wise know that these five world-orders are within (immanent) Sakala
(Śiva), namely, Raudrī, Jyeṣṭhā and Vāmā as well as the two, Śakti and Sadāśiva.’
Here it appears that Abhinava deviates from his source, as he replaces Sadāśiva with
Sakalā. This he has to do if, as he maintains, these five worlds are in Sadāśiva. In the
MV, they are in sakala (differentiated) Śiva. Beyond is niṣkala (undifferentiated)
transcendental Śiva. The account ends here in the MV, so iit is not clear whether
Śakúitattva is included in transcendental Śivatattva or not, and whether that too also has
no worlds.
!!³³ Although these are the way texts are quoted and their contents presented in Sanskrit
treatises in general, Abhinava is especially adept in all these styles of presentation of his
sources, of which we see numerous examples throughout his work.
'! MV 6/14. The entire passage teaches how the worlds are projected onto the body. It
is worth quoting in full:
‘Sixteen worlds, ranging from Kālagni to Vīrabhadra, should be projected by
means of meditation up to the ankle (each one occupying a quarter-finger’s space).
Beyond that, one should project the (thirty-nine) worlds from Lakulin to Dviraṇḍa, each
of which occupies one finger-space. Chagalāṇḍaka occupies (a space of) three fingers.
The eight divine beings and the eight Yogas together occupy four fingers’ space. After
that, one should think that there are another six worlds, each of which occupies a half
finger-space, (there are) another four in two fingers” (space) and one in one (finger-
space). In the principles of Knowledge (Force and Necessity, there are two worlds
each), of which the superior one occupies two fingers and the inferior one, one. The
three worlds of Time occupy three fingers. The eight Lords of the Maṇḍala (up to
Aṅguṣṭhamātra) occupy half a finger each. Beyond them there are three worlds, each
one of which occupies two thirds of a finger, and two others that occupy a finger each.
The same happens in the case of the eight worlds (of the Īśvara principle) and the five
(of Sadāśiva. Thus, the former occupy half a finger each, and the latter are three within
two fingers' space, and two in the other two fingers). Śiva should not be thought of in
any other way than before, (as explained previously) in this procedure that relates to the
life of the worlds. MV 6/12-18ab
 TANTRĀLOKA 397
twenty-eight in Knowledge, and eighteen in Quiescence, thus making one
hundred and eighteen (worlds altogether).
Surely, elsewhere it was said that there is a division of the worlds within
(the force) Beyond Quiescence, so how is it that here, on the contrary, that is not
s0? With this doubt in mind, he says:

+ + - JITIṬĪṬṬ TṬJTĪĀ I] #42 |

³- * k. Ganṭyatītā tv abhuvanaiva || 452 ||

(The force) Beyond the Tranquil One has no worlds. (452d) (452b)

The point is that there is no differentiation of time and space at all here
(at this level). (He now) concludes with the first half ofa verse in Arya metre.

rf̃ maṇuṁī; ṁka ũaṁçr āaā: |

iti deśādhvavibhāgaḥ
kathitaḥ śrīśambhunā samādiṣṭaḥ |

And so, the divisions of the Path of Space have been explained, as
taught by the venerable Śambhu.¹¹“⁵ (453ab) (452cd)

(It has been taught) ‘by the venerable Śambhu’, that is, by the
Supreme Lord (paramesśvara), who is the teacher. Thus (this chapter) ends.
There, in the Land of India,''⁰ which is on the Island of the Rose Apple
Tree (Jambudvīpa), resides a certain Jayaratha, who has done (what needs to be
done), and composed this lucid commentary on the eighth chapter (of the
Tantrāloka).
Thus ends the eighth chapter, called the explanation of the Path of
Space, of the Tantrāloka, composed by the venerable Mahāmāheśvarācārya, the
venerable and most excellent Abhinavagupta, which has a commentary called
‘Discernment’ (Viveka), written by the venerable Jayaratha.

¹!³³ Cf. above 8/407 (406cd-407ab).

¹!⁴⁶ Read bhāratavarṣe for bhāratavarṣa.
 Appendix
to Chapter Seven

Tantrasāra Chapter Six: The Revelation of the Path of the Time

(kālādhvaprakāśana)

‘Now (we turn to) the dawning of (the source of) the phonemes.
During (the period of) balance (of the breath in the course of an) Equinox, the
(eight) groups of phonemes (that is, the vowels, then the gutturals and so on)
emerge (one at a time) every one-and-a-half hours (ardhaprahara). (In this
way,) each phoneme arises in 216 breaths, which take thirty-six external
caṣakas (of twenty seconds each, making twelve hours altogether). This
dawning of the phonemes is brought about (spontaneously) without effort
(ayatnaja). Whereas the dawning of Mantra is brought about with effort
(yatnaja). By the strength of a single (one-pointed unifying) attention, the
varied dawning of Mantra takes place like (the movement of a mechanism)
connected to the spokes of a waterwheel. Thisis the oneness with the deity of
the Mantra thatis (achieved) contemplating (itin this way constantly) day and
night.
The number of times a Mantra arises (in a day) is in consonance with
the arising of the movement of the breath. When (the length of) the breathing
cycle is doubled, the emergence of Mantra is halved (with respect to a single
breathing cycle; this means that it takes the time of two breathing cycles to
repeat it once, and so the time it takes for one breathing cycle is doubled).
Thuṣ, (continuing in the same way with) progressively (longer Mantras, each
breathing cycle increases proportionately) until, in the case of a cycle (cakra)
(of a Mantra) with 108 (syllables), 200 hundred (breathing cycles arise in
twenty-four hours). One who rests in this way progressively in the gross and
(then) subtle movement of the breath, (ultimately,) the movement of (his)
breathing ceases. When (in this way) time has been consumed (kālagrāsa)
(into consciousness completely), this consciousness (saṁvedana), that is one
and completely full and overflowing with (the wonderful) variety of energies,
shines forth. It is the difference in time (kālabheda) that divides up (and
differentiates) perception (samvedana), not difference in the object of
perception. It is like the perception of one standing on a mountain peak (who,
looking down, sees a great variety of things without this breaking up the unity
of his perception).
The time for which a perception persists is (termed) a ‘moment’
(kṣaṇa). In the one emergence of the breath, there is just one cognition
(jñāna). This must be so; otherwise, the knowledge of a thought construct
(vikalpajñāna) would not be a single (unit,) because it is tinged by a
succession of words (through which thought is articulated), and so too,
because the measure (of the length of each phoneme of a word, be it short or
long,) is successive (but even so is experienced as a single whole). . . . Thus,
as long as another pulse (of perception) does not arise, cognition (jñāna) is
just one (alone and undivided). Thus (for example), when one recollects the
eighty-one parts (of the Mantra of Eight One Parts), there is only one (single
and undivided) thought of the Supreme Lord (that is formed) by entering into
 TANTRĀLOKA 399
(His) many kinds of (divine) attributeṣ (dharma) (extolled one after another in
that Mantra). By consuming time (in the manner described), it assumes a
nature free of thought constructs (avikalpa). Beholding in this way the entire
Path of Time in the emergence of the breath and generating there itself
innumerable (cycles of) emanation and withdrawal, recognising one’s own
Supreme Lordship, he is liberated.

Observing the energy of the vital breath of the Self, which is (pure)
consciousness, the form therein transcending Time, always attentive with the
cycles of emanation, persistence and withdrawal, he attains Bhairava’s
⁴⁷
state.¹

This is the sixth chapter of the Tantrasāra, written by the venerable

Abhinavagupta, called the Explanation of the Path of Time
(kālādhvaprakāśana).

"'"⁷ I could not identify the source of the following verses in the notes to the Sanṣkrit
text; nonetheless they are worth translating.

‘His breath the unfolding of the wave of the pulse of perception which is the
(illuminating) light of all things, in order to realise that the entire flow of Time is
established within the breath. As it pours out, so does it return, the energy of the
breath, and s0 too (Śiva) the Great Lord (Maheśyara) and, having exhibited emanation
and destruction, he is submerged -- that is the Self the eternal ocean of consciousness.³
 Appendix
to Chapter Eight

The Path of the Worlds

Cosmology is a common topic in the early Siddhāntas and other

Tantras. Carried over from the praxis of the Pāśupatas, the ascent through the
worlds is one of the earliest forms of initiation in the Śaivāgama. Meditation,
worship and assimilation of the cosmic order (prakriyā)¹ was central to the
praxis of Lākula Pāśupata Śaivism, that heralded that of the Śaiva Āgamas.
Sanderson explains (2006: 188): “The officiant, we are told here, must
meditate on the cosmic hierarchy, make that hierarchy the object of an action
unfortunately lost in a lacuna caused by damage of the manuscript, and then
initiate the candidate through what the text calls the descent of the word atha
(athaśabdanipātaḥ).’ Goodall (2015: 294-295. Ibid. 295) observes: ‘the scant
Lākula material leaves us in doubt about whether initiation is essentially the
bestowal of the Śivahasta² the ‘descent of the word atha’ or the meditation
upon the prakriyā [cosmic order]. Sanderson further suggests (2006: 190)
that ‘the gnosis of the prakriyādhvā (the Path of the Worlds) completes by the
time of death the task that initiation had almost but not completely
accomplished.”
The worlds and ascent through them was for the early Pāñcārthika
Pāśupata a meditative practice that elevated the Pāśupata yogi to
transcendental Rudra Śiva, at the summit of their world orders. Sanderson
(2006: 192-193) explains that one of the distinguishing developments in the
form of initiation from the Pāñcārthika Pāśupata to the Lākula is the addition
of ‘the purification of the cosmic hierarchy, so transforming it into a means of
liberation; and in this most fundamental respect it is one with the Āgamic
Dīkṣā. Details apart, about which we know almost nothing in the Lākula case,
it differs from the Āgamic in only two respects. The terminus of its cosmic
hierarchy is lower than that of the Āgamic systems, because those have
extended their own beyond it in their bid for supremacy within the greater
religion; and they appear not to have developed the hautrī dīkṣā, the Dīkṣā
through the placement of offerings in a consecrated fire, that is the principle
formal characteristic of the Āgamic rite. In this respect Pāñcārthika and
Lākula systems stand together against the Āgamic. Juṣṭ as they are systems for
ascetics outside society, so they are without fire. And just as the Āgamic
systems incorporate the householder, so they have their initiates install fire in
order that they may gratify their Mantras and deities therein.’
In this form of initiation, the soul of the neophant is progressively led
up through the universe along the ladder of world orders set in successive
layers, one above the other, to finally reach Śiva at the summit beyond the

' Concerning the meaning of the term prakriyā as cosmology and more, see note to
8/5.
² Concerning this procedure see TĀ 15/459-468. The teacher energizes his hand by
projecting flaming mantras on it and then places it on his disciple’s head. This
procedure is meant to burn away his fetters. It is commonly a part of the basic
Saiddhāntika rite of initiation. It is also used directly by itself (see TĀ17/30cd-33).
 TANTRĀLOKA 401
worlds. This is the Path of the Worlds (bhuvanādhvan), along which the
neophant travels in the course of his initiation by means of the worlds
(bhuvaṇadīkṣā). Thus, cosmology serves as a map for the initiate’s itinerary
up to Śiva’s world as he travels in the course of gradual initiations through
conjunctions (yojana) to progressively higher worlds, progressively
exhausting his Karma as he does so. The other basic type of initiation
characterizes Kaula and proto-Kaula praxis. In this one, the stations of ascent
are marked by the piercing of inner centres within the subtle body. This type
of initiation is taught in detail in Chapter Twenty-nine.
The ascent through the hierarchy of worlds (bhuvanādhvan) was the
earliest form of ascent taught in the earliest Śaivāgamas. Other analogous
models of graded ascent – ‘Paths’ – developed as four or five spheres of
energies (kalā) or a number of Tattvas, that eventually settled into a standard
number of thirty-six. The former is taught in Chapter Eleven of the Tantrāloka
and the latter in Chapter Nine. When the Path of the Worlds combined with
that of the Tattvas,³ the ascent through the levels up to a sense of identification
with Śiva is termed in some sources as tattvajaya (‘conquest of the reality
levelsʼ).⁴
The basic source of cosmology described here in Chapter Eight is
chapter ten of the Svacchandatantra, which Abhinava follows closely,
although here and there as he goes along, he inserts references from other
sources. Jayaratha supports Abhinava’s presentation by quoting his references
extensively in full. In this way, Jayaratha quotes a substantial part of chapter
ten of the Svacchandatantra. At the beginning of Chapter Eight, Abhinava
first provides a general introduction, in which he establishes that the threefold
Path of Space, of which that of the worlds is the first, is immersed within
consciousness, at one with it and projected into it by its own inherent creative
autonomy (svatāntrya). Then he proceeds to present the contents of chapter
ten of the Svacchandantra.” Thus, by his usual methods of summary and
paraphrase, interspersed with direct citation and occasional remarks of his
own, he reduces his original source to less than a third. He manages to do this
even though he supplements, integrates or contrasts the account in the
Svacchandatantra here and there with parallels from other sources.
The cosmology of the Svacchandatantra is the most extensive and
characteristic of all the cosmologies in the Śaivāgama; as such, as we shall
see, it is their basic source. The Svacchanda derives its cosmology from the
Niśvāsatattvasaṁhitā, which is the oldest Śaivāgama that has been recovered.
The only form of initiation known to the Guhyasūtra of that Agama is the one

³ These two paths along with the other four that make up the Sixfold Path
(ṣaḍadhvan) make their first appearance in the Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṁgraha. Goodall
(2015: 43) states that ‘there are six initiatory paths (saḍhvan) that lead from earthly
existence to the liberated state of śivatva. . . . Much of Śvāyambhuvasūtrasaṁṅgraha 4
is dedicated to setting out the correspondences between these paths. Now this doctrine
may seem to be almost ubiquitous in Śaiva literature, but it is in fact conspicuously
absent in several pre-tenth-century Siddhāntatantras.
⁴ See Somadeva Vasudeva 2004: 293-295. See also Vasudeva and lṣ€cson
‘tattvajaya’ īn Tantrābhidhānakośa vol 3 pp. 57-58.
⁵ The exposition continues up to TĀ 8/406 (405cd-406ab).
402 APPENDIX CHAPTER EIGHT
by means of the worlds (bhuvanadīkṣā).⁶ Sanderson (2001: 23-4) explains: ‘In
the tenth Paṭala, the Svacchanda gives an account of the bhuvanādhvan, the
ascending sequence of worlds to be transcended through initiation and Yoga.
Its 1,265 verses are based on 309 in which the Niśvāsaguḥya sets out its own
distinctive treatment of this subject.⁷ The expansion is achieved largely
through elaboration and insertion of stereotyped descriptive passages. The
essential structure of the Niśvāsaguḥhya’s bhuvanādhvan is the backbone of
the Svacchanda’s text. The redactor has done his job with exceptional
diligence. But it is still possible to detect his hand and thereby the direction of
the transmission. . . . . (Ibid. p. 28-29): . . . we see a degree of rewriting
prompted by doctrinal revision. But there is also wholesale borrowing from
the Niśvāsa corpus. Thus, the second and third paṭalas of the Niśvāsanaya,
except the five introductory verses at the beginning of the second have been
incorporated by the Svacchanda without significant changes as 11/316-
12/157.⁸ The Svacchanda’s twelfth paṟala ends eleven verses after the verses
which bring the third paṭala of the Niśvāsanaya to an end and with it the topic
of the visualization of the reality-levels. As is the case with the bhuvanādhvā
the Svacchanda has found the Niśvāsa’s hierarchy insufficiently extended.
The Niśvāsanaya ends with the visualization of Bindu. In its final eleven
verses the Svacchanda has added instructions for the meditation on Śakti,
Vyāpinī and Samanā, Unmanā, and Śiva in inactive transcendence (śivaḥ
śāntaḥ) beyond the universe.”
Sanderson continues (2001: p. 29: *‘As the Svacchanda had
incorporated and extended the world-hierarchy of the Niśvāsa, so the Niśvāsa
itself had built its system of worlds using materials derived from the yet
earlier sources of the pre-Tantric system of the Pāśupata Śaivas known
variously as Lākulas, Pramāṇa[pāśupata]s, Mahāvratas, Mahāpāśupatas or
Kālamukhas. I cannot demonstrate this by comparison with their scriptures,
since their entire canon has disappeared, with the exception of seven verses of
the Pañcārtha-pramāṇa quoted by Kṣemarāja ad Svacchanda 1.41-43. But it
can be seen from within the Niśvāsa corpus itself. For the Niśvāsamukha
comprises accounts of the religious systems that it ranks below the Tantric
Śaivism of the Siddhānta beginning with the mundane Vedic. The highest of
these lower systems is the Śaivism of the Atimārga, which it teaches as having
two levels, the first the familiar system of Pāśupata observance taught in the
Pāśupatasūtra, the second that in question. It gives a detailed account of its
bhuvanādhavā, and by comparing this with the Niśvāsa itself we can see that
the latter is an extension of the former, and that this is a continuity which sets
the Niśvāsa corpus apart from all other Saiddhāntika Śaiva systems.”
Elsewhere, Sanderson (Pondicherry Handout 2007: 3-4) provides a
comparative chart of Lokātīta - Atimārga (which is the cosmos of the
Niśvāvamukha) and Saiddhāntika universe of the Niśvāsaguhya:

⁶ Sanderson 2001: 22 n 28
⁷” Guhyasūtra chapter 4-7. See Goodall 2015: 288.
⁸ This section deals with the experiential analysis of the reality levels for meditative
practice starting from Earth up to Bindu.
 TANTRĀLOKA 403
Lokātīta - Atimārga cosmos Saiddhāntika universe of
of the Niśvāvamukha Niśyāsaguḥya⁹
Pure Universe:
Sadāśiva
Ruroṅkāra
Ghana
Prabhava etc
8 Rudras: Prīta etc
Nairañjana
Dhruva 3
11 Rudras:Brahmodarka etc Dhruva 2
Ekākṣa, Piṅgala Haṁṣa
Brahmā, Rudra, Pratoda, Ananta

Pure Universe:
Dhruva Dhruva 1
Tejīśa Tejīśa
Īśvara (the supreme plane of the
Pāśupatas)
Eight Mūrtis Eight Vidyeśvaras
Mahāvidyā, Vāgīśvarī2
Eight Vidyās Eight Vidyā: Vāma to Manonmanī

Impure Universe:
Maāyā (Yoni 2)
Eight Pramāṇas Pramāṇas: Pañcārtha, Śivaguhya etc.
Bhasmīśa Bhasmīśa
Dhyāna Dhyāna
Damaneśvara Damaneśvara
Dhātṛ Dhātṛ
Sādhya
Praṇava Orṁkāra
Yoni, Vāgīśvar Yoni 1, Vāgīśvarī 1

Impure Universe:
Ṛṣikula Ṛṣikula

Sanderson (2001: 31) concludes: “We see, then, a continuous line of

development from the Lākulas to the Niśvāsa-Saiddhāntikas and then from
them to the Svacchandabhairava worshippers of the non-Saiddhāntika
Mantrapīṭha. And this continuity with the pre-Tantric Atimārga, so alien to the
Siddhānta of the commentators, is echoed by other features in the practices
and doctrines of the Niśvāsa and Svacchanda corpora. The flow of redaction

⁹’ Cf. with the ascending series of worlds outlined in chapter 7 of the Dīkṣottara,
which is very similar, and also used for the bhuvanadīkṣā.
404 APPENDIX CHAPTER EIGHT
can be followed further, into the literature of the Vidyāpītha.” It is this that we
will now do.
Abhinava navigates a course through the cosmologies of the Tantras
to reconstruct one that is most in consonance with that of the
Mālinīvijayottara. As he does s0, he happens to illustrate how these
cosmologies have developed within the Agamic corpus, starting from the
Svacchandatantra.¹⁰ This is done by presenting details from several sources
comparing and distinguishing them to reinforce the one Abhinava draws from
most extensively, the Svacchandatantra. He also draws from the
Siddhayogeśvarīmata" and the Triśirobhairavatantra, that are Trikatantras,
the Ānandādhikatantra and Nandiśikhā, that are Bhairava Tantras, and the
Kālīmata of the Jayadrathayāmala¹². Theṣe are all Tantras that belong to the
Vidyāpīṭha. Along with them, he also draws from the Saiddhāntika
Kiraṇāgama,¹³ Mātaṅgapārameśvara, Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṅgraha,
Rauravasūtra-saṁgraha (= Ruruśāsana), and the Rauravavṛtti by
Sadyojyotis, Others are the Mayamata (just one or two verses), which is a
Tantra that deals with rites of installation (pratiṣṭhā), and (in one place at
least) Somaśambhu and Mṛgendrottara (in one place). Another important
source to which he regularly refers is the Śivatanu by Bṛhaspati. From around
verse 230, the Śivatanuśāstra becomes prominent, although often not clearly
signalled. This, as its name suggests, describes as it eulogizes Śiva’s body
(tanu), made of the principles (tattva) and worlds populated by its creatures
and governed by their Lords, with which he compares and contrasts the
account in the Svacchanda. Although of unknown affiliation, that too largely
follows the Siddhānta.
There are other sources to which Abhinava does not refer. We may
note them briefly here. One is chapter five of the Parākhya, that Kṣemarāja

¹⁰ Abhinava does cite from the Niśvāsa once, as a source of the Brahmavidyā learnt
from Bhūtirāja (see TĀ 30/66cd-90ab. The Niśvāsa is mentioned as a source in 30/77.
This has not been traced in the extant NTS and so may not be from there. Indeed, he
betrays no knowledge of it.
¹ Abhinava refers to the Siddhayogesvarī four times in relation to the structure of the
world orders. He is supported by Jayaratha, who quotes directly from it ad 8/20cd-
22ab, 8/41cd-42ab, 8/115cd-118ab (114-117), and 8/184cd-186ab (184-185)
However, this topic is not treated at all in the edition of the short recension of the
Siddhayogeśvarī. Even so, these references establish that the Siddhayogeśvarī
contained a section dealing with cosmology. It appears, however, that although
Abhinava does refer to it for some details, it did not agree in every respect with that of
the Svacchandatantra and Mālinīvijayottara, that Abhinava accepted as authoritative.
Thus Jayaratha says: “Again here (in this case), in accord with (the following) view,
one should not accept the measure of Ananta’s world stated in the venerable
Siddhātantra (i.e. Siddhayogeśvarīmata) (as correct), because its procedure differs
(from the one here).⁷ TĀv ad 8/20cd-22ab.
¹² The cosmology of the Jayadrathayāmala is found in ṣaṭka 1 chapter 7 and 8.
Abhinava refers to the cosmology of the Jayadrathayāmala in only two places (i.e.
8/20cd-22ab and 8/83), inducing Jayaratha to quote from it, in the first instance, quite
extensively.
'³ Kṣemarāja also refers to the Kiraṇatantra in his commentary on the Svacchanda
10/517.
 TANTRĀLOKA 405
repeatedly quotes in his commentary on chapter ten of the Svacchandatantra.
I have not been able to trace any references from it in Jayaratha. It does not
describe all the worlds, omitting many of the higher ones, but many details of
the worlds it does include and their inhabitants are not found in the
Svacchānda.¹ The Path of Worlds is described in chapter eight of the
Kiraṇatantra. 1t is basically the same as the one taught in the Mṛgendra
vidyāpāda, chapter thirteen." Chapter thirteen of the Sarvajñūānottara (T 334)
is dedicated to cosmology."⁰ Chapter twenty-four of the Mataṅga vidyāpāda,
called adhvasaṁkhyāprakaraṇa, gives the measurements of the worlds. The
Path of the Worlds is also described in chapter seven of the Dīkṣortara.
Selecting and juxtaposing his sources, Abhinava coordinates the
cosmologies of the Trika and the Krama, and other Tantras that belong to the
Vidyāpīṭha, with the Svacchandatantra of the mantrapīṭha of the Bhairava
Tantras and the Siddhānta. This is not a very difficult task, as their overall
structure is the same and content similar. There are other cosmologies in the
Saivāgamas that follow different models. The earliest ones, for example, are
strongly influenced by proto-āgamic Pāśupata cosmologies, as we find, for
example, in the Brahmayāmala and the Niśvāsatattvasaṅhitā, in which the
worlds are populated by Rudras. The worlds of the Rudras are accommodated
in the later, more developed cosmologies that are largely constructed from
earlier ones, and so Rudras continue to govern many of the worlds. Already
by the time we get to the Svacchandatantra, the model has developed into the
standard one Abhinava presents here with its variants. The Svacchandatantra
may come after the Siddhayogeśvarīmata, but it certainly precedes the
Tantrasadbhāva that draws from it extensively. The Tantrasadbhāva knows
the Siddhayogeśvarī, acknowledging it as the root Tantra of its tradition, but
makes no reference to the Mālinīvijayottara. There is thus no evidence that it
is later than the Mālinīvijayottara.
Abhinava presents the account in the Mālinīvijayottara as a brief
version of the Svacchandatantra. Indeed, the Svacchandatantra has supplied
much of the cosmology of the Svāyambhūvāgama, which has in its turn been
taken up by the Mālinīvijayottara. The latter has just 118 worlds, whereas the
Svacchandatantra refers to 224. Although Abhinava is aware that the
Mālinīvijayottara is an abbreviated version of a more extensive cosmology, he
never loses sight of its status as his foremost scripture. The list of worlds is
shorter, not because the Mālinīvijayottara is lacking, but because the ones it
mentions are the most essential ones. Thus, the Mālinīvijayottara declares:

'⁴ Although it is a truncated version of the one we find in the Svacchanda, it follows
that model, for it supplies extra details of the worlds and their inhabitants. It is more
likely that they were additions to the account in the Svacchandatantra than that the
Svacchandatantra chooses to omit them.
'⁹ Hulin has translated the Yoga and Vidyā pādas into French. See bibliography.
'⁶ The colophon reads: $

Mataṅgapārameśvara vidyāpāda, where he outlines the number of worlds and

Tattvas according to various Siddhāntāgamas.
406 APPENDIX CHAPTER EIGHT
‘There is no doubt that when this (series of worlds) is purified, all (the
other worlds and paths) are also purified. The great-minded one who is to
purify all the Path should conceive union (yoga) within Śiva (for his disciple)
(only after) having purified (him right) up to (immanent) Śiva ʻwith parts’
(sakala). (The teacher) who knows yoga should bring about union (yoga) for
(the disciple) who desires worldly benefits, having (thus) meditated on (Śiva)
‘with parts’ (sakala).’¹

Abhinava follows suit, underscoring the Tantra’s primacy in all

circumstances, even when it is evident that another Tantra is much more
extensive. Thus, he introduces his presentation of the worlds listed there,
saying:

‘One hundred and eighteen worlds have been described in the

teachings of the Śrīpūrva (Mālinīvijayottara). As thīs (scripture) is here
(considered to be) the chief one, we will now state in brief (the worlds) which
(according to it) are to be purified.’¹⁹

At the end of his exposition, Abhinava also adds a brief description of

the worlds found in the Mṛgendrāgama.²⁰
Abhinava not only presents a summary of the cosmology of the
Mālinīvijayottara; he also refers to it in the course of the main exposition
drawn from the Śvacchandatantra in order to anchor its account in that of his
most extensively quoted source. Thus, what Jayaratha says concerning a
section of these worlds is universally applicable to Abhinava’s presentation:

‘Although the procedure here (generally) follows that of the venerable

Svacchandatantra, the reading (there) is (associated) everywhere (in each
case) with that of the procedure of the Mālinīvijaya (śrīpūrvaśāstra).’²¹

This is a good example of one of Abhinava’s exegetical methods,

namely, the integration of the view of one scripture with another, leading
ultimately to a synthesis with that of the Mālinīvijayottara. Thus, he quotes a
list of the names of the world orders from the Saiddhāntika Mataṅgatantra, as
he does of the Mālinīvijayottara, as part of the conclusion of his exposition.
By doing this, he wishes to demonstrate that a typical cosmology found in a
Siddhānta and the Malinīvijayottara largely agree with his most extensively

'Ś MV 5/34-35.
¹⁹ TĀ 8/437 (436cd-437ab). Jayaratha cites the Mālinīvijayottara as saying;
‘Indeed, in this way, one should know briefly, not extensively, that there are
one hundred and eighteen worlds in all the principles.' MV 5/33
Commenting on Abhinava, Jayaratha says that the Mālinīvijayottara is “‘the
chief one’ (amongst the scriptures). It is on its authority that the practice (pravṛtti) of
this book is based.”
² This is drawn from the bhuvanaprakaraṇa of Mṛgendratantra Vidyāpāda, which is
chapter 13.
²¹ Inṭṟoduction to TĀ 8/209 (208cd-209ab).
 TANTRĀLOKA 407
exploited source, the Svacchandatantra. Here again Abhinava displays his
mastery over his sources.
The account found in chapter ten of the Svacchandatantra is the most
extensive and detailed cosmology of any early Śaiva Tantra. Indeed, the
Svacchandatantra is, in general, the most extensively exploited text in the
Saiva corpus by Tantras of diverse denominations. This is particularly true of
its cosmology. Thus, for example, there is substantial intertextuality with the
Tantrasadbhāva, a Vidyāpītha Trika Tantra, which draws from all of that
chapter and a part of the eleventh, dealing with the order of creation from the
highest to the lowest reality-levels. Sanderson (2001: 32) observes: “‘That the
direction of redaction was from the Svacchanda to the Tantrasadbhāva and
not vice versa is indicated by the presence of details in the latter’s version that
are appropriate only in the system of the former.”
Part of the same passage carries over to the Kumārikākhaṇḍa of the
Manthānabhairava that draws a good deal from the Tantrasadbhāva,
including passages it has drawn from the Svacchandatantra. Observing the
incorporation of the Svacchanda into a Trika Tantra, Abhinava may have felt
justified to draw from it freely and extensively. We have observed that a good
deal of Chapter Six of the Tantrāloka, which teaches the projection of the
cycles of time in the breath - the Path of Time - is drawn from there. Here
Abhinava draws from what he calls the Path of Space. Here too, we have
occasion to admire Abhinava’s exegetical skills by observing how he
condenses the lengthy account in the Svacchandatantra to barely a third of its
original length in Chapter Eight of his Tantrāloka.³² Moreover, he contributes
in this way to structuring his Tantrāloka on the model of a Tantra.
Accounts in different Tantras agree closely, indicating a common
underlying cosmology. This is the point of Jayaratha’s analysis of the
divergence in detail between different Tantras. Here and there, Jayaratha
points out discrepancies between them in order to establish that they are not
significant and anyway can be remedied by adhering to the correct view,
which he takes to be that of the Svacchanda. Thus, he supports Abhinava’s
agenda of presenting a unified cosmology that is representative of the
aivāgama as a whole to establish that it is the one taught in the
Maālinīvijayottara.²² Aīthough mostly drawn from the Svacchanda, it is tacitly
understood to represent the cosmology of the Siddhāntas, and above all from
Abhinava’s point of view, the concise one taught in chapter five of the
Mālinīvijayottara. He also presents a summary of this in order to ensure that

²² In one striking instance, he packs over ninety verses of the Svacchandatantra into
three and a half of his own, even as he alludes to a verse in the Mālinī yottara. See
TĀ 8/201-204ab (200cd-203), which is a very concise presentation of SYT 10/761cd-
788ab, 10/788cd-799ab, 10/799cd-827, 10/828-854ab with reference to MV 5/16-
17ab. Jayaratha obliges us by regularly quoting the passages Abhinava refers to in
full, so we can easily observe what he has done.
²⁸ The abbreviated cosmology of the Mālinīvijayottara is a fine example of what
Abhinava says right at the beginning: “There is nothing here (in the Tantrāloka) not
taught by the God of gods in the venerable Mālinīvijayottara (Tantra), whether
(directly) in His own words or (indirectly) by allusion (iṅgataḥ).’ TĀ 1/17
408 APPENDIX CHAPTER EIGHT
the cosmology taught here is the standard, authoritative one for the followers
of the Anuttara Trika.
If the cosmology of the Mālinīvijayottara is an abbreviated version of
the one in the Śvacchandatantra, that would mean that Mālinīvijayottara was
redacted after the Svacchandatantra. Although not certain, this is indeed quite
possible. While the Niśvāsatattvasaṁhitā was not well-known to the later
Śaivāgama, the cosmology that it has in common with it is mediated by the
Svacchandatantra. The general uniformity, despite the normal variants,
clearly suggests a common source. The version in the Niśvāsatattvasaṁhitā
cannot be that source. It is not possible that the subsequent elaborated versions
should be so uniform just by coincidence. It is likely that all the cosmologies
of this type follow after the Svacchandatantra.

Svacchandatantra

The reader can easily make out the layout of the worlds of the
cosmology of Chapter Eight of the Tantrāloka by looking at the Table of
Contents to that chapter.
The cosmology of the Mālinīvijayottara differs substantially from the
one Abhinava presents as a concluding summary of the worlds
(purasaṁgraha) according to the cosmology (prakriyā) taught in the
Svacchandatantra⁴² in which there are 224 worlds distributed in the five
Forces (kalā). They can be tabulated as follows.

The Distribution of the Worlds in the Forces According to the

Svacchandatantra

Kalā Tattva Number of

Worlds
Nivṛtti (Completion) 1: Earth 108
Pratiṣṭhā (Foundation) 24: Water to Root Nature 56
Vidyā (Knowledge) 7: Indiviḍual soul to Māyā 27
Śānta (Quiescent) 3: Pure Knowledge to Sadāśiva 17
Śāntātīta (Beyond the 2: Śakti and Śiva 16
Quiescent)
(Total: 224)

Next, Abhinava presents a list of the worlds according to the

cosmology (prakriyā) taught in the Mataṅgaparameśavara.² In this way
Abhinava implicitly declares that the Svacchandatantra, although a Bhairava
Tantra, is aligned with the Siddhānta. After a few remarks, he concludes his
cosmology with a list of the worlds taught in the Mālinīvijayottara.²⁶ Thus, he
implicitly aligns his extended, integral Śaiva cosmology to that of the Trika.
Abhinava concludes his presentation of the Trika universe by acknowledging

²⁴ TĀ 8/408-428ab (407cd-427).
²⁸⁹ TĀ 8/428cd-434 (428-434ab).
¹⁶ TĀ 437-452 (436cd-452ab).
 TANTRĀLOKA 409
his Trika teacher Śambhunātha as having explained ‘the divisions of the Path
of Space².⁷ (453ab) (452cd)

The Cosmology of the Mālinīvijayottara

Concluding Chapter Eight, Abhinava presents the cosmology of the

Mālinīvijottara. He reproduces it with additions in his Tantrasāra.
Transcendental Śiva, the thirty-sixth principle, is beyond the Worlds that are
deployed in the other thirty-five principles. These extend for four of the five
spheres of the Forces (kalā), treated in detail in Chapter Ten. The fifth one –
Sāntātīṭa – is reserved for Śiva alone. The first four correspond to the four
Egegs.²

The Worlds of Earth Tattva

Principles | Forces Egg Size Worlds Rudras

Earth Nivṛtti | Brahmāṇḍa 100 16 *Kālagni >
(Pṛthvyaṇḍa) | crores | Kālāgni, Hells, Lokeśa
Netherworlds, Ananta >
Earth, Heavens | Vīrabhadra
100 Rudras
outside the
Egg
* Kālāgni, Kūṁāṇḍa, Narakeśa, Hāṭaka, Bhūtalapa, Brahmā, Muni and
Lokeśa

Water to Prakṛti

Principles Forces Egg Size* | Worlds Rudras

Water to Pratiṣṭhā | Prakṛtyaṇḍa 56 7 Groups of Eight
Prakṛti
Water 8 Patyaṣṭaka
Lakulīśa to
Amareśa
Fire 8 Guhyāṣṭaka
Bhairava to
Hariścandra
Air 8 Atiguhyāṣṭaka
Bhīma to Gayā
Space 8 Pavitrāṣṭaka
tanmātras and Sthānu to
organs of Vastrāpada
action
Ego 8 Chagalāṇḍāṣṭaka

²⁷ Cf. above 8/407 (406cd-407ab).

²⁸ See TĀ 11/8-9ab.
410 APPENDIX CHAPTER EIGHT

Sthūla to
Chagalāṇḍa
Intellect 8 Yonyaṣṭaka
Prakṛti 8 Yogāṣṭaka

* Tantrasadbhāva (translation 2012: 102) The extent of the Water principle is

ten tīmes that of Earth (which is 100 crores). The subsequent principles
ending with Ego (ahaṁkāra) are ten times the size of the one that precedes it.
The principle of the intellect is a hundred times that of the Ego, and Prakṛti is
a thousand times the size of the intellect.

Puruṣa to Māyā

Principles | Forces Egg *Size |Worlds Rudras

Puruṣa to Maāyāṇḍa 28
Māyā
Puruṣa 11 11 Rudras Vāma to
Ekaśiva
Vidyā 2 Krodheśa and Caṇḍa
Kalā 2 Saṁvarta and Jyoti
Niyati 2 Sūra and Pañcānta
Kāla 3 Ekavīra, Śikhin and
Śrīkaṇṭha
Maāyā 8 Mahātejas to Aṅgusṣṭha

* Puruṣatattva is 10,000 times the size of Prakṛti. Niyati is 100,000 times

greater than Puruṣa, and the following four Kañcukas up to Kalā are also that
much greater in size than the preceding one. Māyā is 10 million times greater
than Kalā.

The Worlds in the Pure Principles Śuddha Vidyā to Śakti

Pure Forces Egg Size Worlds Rudras

Principles
Sānta | Saktyaṇḍa 18
Suddha 10 million 5 Halahalarudra
Vidyā times Māyā to Yama
Īśvara 10 million 8
times Śuddha
Vidyā
Sadāśiva One billion 5
times Īśvara
Sakti One billion
times
Sadāśiva
 TANTRĀLOKA 411
Śakti is called Vyāpinī, who pervades all the Paths up to here inwardly and
externally. Thus, it seems she has no specific world. This is so also of Śiva
who, pervading Sakti, pervades all the rest.