I NT R ODU CT I ON

PANCA R A T R AA N D T H E

A H I R B U DH NYA SA MH I TA

BK, \e’

F .

‘OTTO S

HCH R A DE R , PH . D .

D I RECTOR , A DY A R LI B RA RY

A DYA R LIB RA RY , A DYA R, M A DR A S , 8 .

1-9 16

herewith p laced before the pub l ic, has bee n writ ten by a

p risoner of war during h is captivity at A hmednagar,though some of the mate ria l s on which it is based had,fortunate ly, been col lected by h im be fo re the War brokeout . On ly three o f the Samh ita MSS . of the A dyarLibrary, name ly those of nos . 8, 70 and 195 of thesynopsis on pp . 6 which were acquired recen tly, haveremained e nt ire ly unknown to Dr . Schrader .

The burden of seeing the work through the

press has fal le n on the unde rsigned who, thoughhaving done al l in h is power to acquit himse l f honourab ly of h is task, is ful ly aware of its difficultiesand of the inadequacy of h is knowledge of Sanskritto cope with these with comp l e te success . I t was

impossible under such circumstances to producean absolute ly fault l es s work ; s til l , a glance at the

list of A dd itions and Corrections wi l l show thatthe purely typograph ical errors found by the A uthor inthe printed sheet s are of a trifling nature . Twoomission s in the MS ., however, have caused a few word sof importance to fal l out which must be restored at once .These omissions are given in the E rrata for p . 16, l . 1 2from bottom, p . 32 l . 6 from bottom,and p 42 l . 10 . The

reader should al so correct immediatel y the e rratumfor p . 24.

The A uthor has undoubtedly doub led the val ue of his

monograph by add ing to it copious Indexe s and a detail

ed synops is of the conten ts . Toge the r they render theB

vi

whole of the subject -matter of the book in al l its

categories instantaneously available for re fe rence . Thusthe work may preliminarily serve as a concise but encycl o

pae d ic reference book on the Pali cai ' z'

l tra, unt il itshal l be supersed ed by subsequen t more exhaustivepublication s . The Numera l Index con tain s some itemsnot found elsewhere in th e book .

A pe rsonal word in conclusion . The publ icationof th is litt le work coincides w ith the severance of theconnection wit-h the A dyar Library—though for whollyd iffe rent reason s—of both Dr . Schrader and myself .I may be permitted to express he re my great satisfactionat having had the privi lege of watching over thebooklet on its way th rough the press, a last se rvicerende red to the A dyar L ibrary in close and p leasan tco-ope rat ion with Dr . Schrade r, which puts a term to

a period of over seven years’ daily col laboration with th esame aims, in the same spirit and in comp lete harmony,for the same obj ect .

May Dr . Schrader’s last offic ial work performed for

the Library enhance the renown of that I nstitution,and may it be j udged to const itute a fit conclusion tohis e leven years’ tenure of office as D irector of the

A dyar Library .

The publication of this book a l so, as that of thetwo volumes of the text ed ition of A hirbudhnya

Samhita, has been great ly faci litated by the courtesy of

the m i litary cen sors at A hmednagar, to whom our sincerethanks are due .

A DYA R , JOHA N VA N MA NEN,

A ugust 19 16. A ss is tant D irector, A dyar L ibrary.

L I ST OF CONT ENT S

INTR ODUCTOR Y R EMA R K

I . THE L ITER A TU R E or THE PA NCA R A TR A s

In s p ire d an d n on - in sp ire d l ite ratu reTh e name Samh ita and its syn onym s

K n ow le dg e of th e P i ficarat i a m th e We s t, e tc

Lis ts of Sarnh itas .

Syn op s is of five l is tsSam h itas not m e n t ion e d in th e l is tsSamh itas pre s en t in L ibrarie s

Ed it ions of Samh itasEx ten t of Samhita l iterature .

Chronology .

Prove n ien ce an d d iff us ionTerminm rid (p oem of or ig inal Samh it z

'

l s

Thre e clas s e s of SamhitasCh ron olog ica l tab le of ch ie f SamhitasLate r ad d ition s m th e lis t s .

Divis ion in to Padas ,B atras , an d K andasTh e name Pancaratra .

Ten principal s ubj e ct s .

I I . THE PH I LOSOPHY or THE PA X'

CA R A TR A S

I . N I oHTs A N D DA YS or N K R KYA YA

2 . H I GHER on“ PURE CR EA TI ON

Laksm i and Vis nu

K r iya S akt i an d B h uti S akt i

Th e S i x A t t i ibut e s (Gunas ) of God

Two s e ts , total ity, thre e pa irs of A ttr ib ute sProce s s of emanat ion

Th e term ryaka ; name s of th e Vy ul ias .

Th e S'

akt is of th e Vyfihas

Two act iv it ie s of each VyuhaThe ir creat ive act ivitie s .

viii

Th e ir eth ical act ivitie sI n what s en s e th ey repre s ent th e s ou l, the m ii

and th e A hamkaraTwe lve Sub -Vyfihas d e scen din g from them .

A nother s e t of twe lveThirty-n in e Vib havas (A vataras )Pr imary an d s econ dary A vat z' i rasOrig in of th e A vataras from th e VyuhasPlan ts and inan imate ob ject s as A vataras

A rea A vatara, A n taryam i A vataraHig he s t H eave n (Va ikun tha )Withdrawn, or not, in th e g reat D is s o lutionH eave n ly Pure matte rTh e p ara form of God

I ts orname n ts an d w eapon s

Th e Para an d th e Vyuha Vas u d evaSaktis (w ives ) of Vi sn u

Th e ang e ls (N ityas or Suris )Th e liberated

INTERM EDIA TE CR EA T I ONTh e Group - sou l or K fi tas tha P uru saTh e e ig ht Manu s

Th e Maya S'

akti

B eg inn ing of evolu tion d e scen t of t l

Man u s

Sheath of Maya ; N iyat iK ala (T im e )Gros s, Sub tle , and H ig h e s t T ime

Th e Guna B ody, an d th e A vyakta4 . LO W E R PRIMA RY CREA TION

Matter,T ime,and Soul

Orig in of Mahat its synonymsMahat th re efold an d e ight fo l dSojourn of th e Mari us in Mahat

What is Mahat ?Th e thre efold A hamkara .

Th e in d ivid ual A hamkara,an d th e Manas

l ib erate d s ou lId ent ity with th e Lord, how un ders tood

HE A H I R BUDHNYA SA MH ITA

THE MA NUSCRIPT MA TERIA L

N A ME OF THE SA MH ITA

P R OVEN I ENOE A ND A GE

CONTENTS OF THE SA MH I T'

A’

Gen e ral d e s criptionTh e g reat p rob lem (th e Sudars’ana)Explanat ion of th e n ame Su dars’ana

Th e Sudars’ana as th e K riya S'

akt i

Involut ion and evolutionVar iety of view s about creation

Th e Sudars’ana as th e s upport (adh r’

i ra)Th e Su dars’ana as th e “ meas ure (p ramc

'

m a )R at ionale of th e A vataras

Th e or ig in al S’

as tra

Th e five Sid dhan tasFal lacious sys tems

Th e objects of l ifeBon dag e an d Lib erat ion

What sys tem to fol low

B ah sas and Yan tras

Worsh ip Yog a

Orig in of th e A s tras

A s tra Man tras ; d e s crip tion of th e A s trasStory of Madh u and K aitabha

De s cription an d worsh ip of th e Sndar s’ana Yan tra

\’Vorsh ip of th e s ix te en - arme d Sudars’anaNyasat ak t i

Orig in and cu re of d is ease s .

Th e Great B ap t ism

Orig in, e tc ., of th e A ng a Man tras

H ow to re s is t d ivin e w eapon s and b lack mag ic

H ow to make th e Sudars'ana Pu rusa appear

Th e four (fiv e ) form s Of th e Sudar s’ana Pu rusa

The id eal Pu roh ita ; th e Mahas 'an t i K arman

Story of Man is 'ekhara (e ffect of praye r, e tc .)K EI s’iraja (host ile mag ic n eu t ral iz ed )S’

ru tak i rt 1

K u s'adhvaja (1 17 6 17 1 t a ann ih ilate d )

Muktap ida (th e mag ical s eat )Vis’al a (th e mag ical fing er - r in g )Sunanda (th e mag ical m irror)Citras’ekhara (th e mag ical ban n er )h i rt imal in (th e mag ical awn ing )

Man tras e x plain e d from thre e s tan d po in ts .

Th e Tara [ka] Man traExplanat ion of the word 71ama5

Gros s and s ubt le s e n s e, other d es ig n ation sof .

Th e Naras imhanu s tnbha Man t raTh e Puru sa Sukta

l . Th e Divin e 24 fold \I ach in e ry o f Ex is te nc e

2 . F '

ou1 kin ds of WO I Sh ip

5. De s crip tion of th e fou l Vyuha s for the p urpos e ofme d itation

INDEX ES

1 . Subject In d e x

2 . In d e x of authors and works

3 . Ind e x of proper name s

4. In d e x of San s krit te rm s

5 . N ume r ical In d e x6. In de x of imag e s (s im ile s )

A DDITION S A N D COR R ECTION S

1 . A dd it ion s an d Correc tions to th e In troduction

2 . Supp lemen tary l is t of e rrata foun d in th e ed it ion of

A h irbudhnya Samh ita

INTR ODUCTION

TO THE PANCA R I‘

ITR A A ND THE

A HI R BUDHNYA SAMHITI'

I

INTRODUCTORY REMA RK

THE p ubl ication of the A hirb udh nya Samh ita, by theA dyar Library 1

, has been undertaken with a view to

starting investigations in a branch of Sanskrit l ite raturewh ich was once cultivated in countries as far distantfrom each other as Kas'mi r, Orissa an d Mysore, but isn ow practical ly ext inct except in a very few places ofSouthe rn Ind ia whe re considerable remnant s of i t are

stil l being pre served and part ly even s tud ied . Somescan ty information about it has, indeed, reached the

West, and a few of th e S a m h i t as o f t h e P an c arat r a s have been publ ished stil l,when asked about thelatter, most oriental ists wil l even now be likely to

con fe ss that they have so far seen on ly the “ NaradaPaficaratra a Tan tric work of l itt l e if any val ue

2

,

whi le, as to the p h i l o s o p h y O f t h e P aI’

i c a r at r a,

the theory of the A vataras in its common Vais nav ite

form and a very elementary conception of the doctrine ofthe Vyfihas (de rived from the commen tarie s on B rahma

Sut ra I I , 2, 4 2 ) wi l l be found to be al l that is known .

A n attempt w il l be made in th e fol lowing pages toprovide th e future student of th is unexplored fie ld witha p rovisional foundation .

1Two vol ume s , A dyar L ibrary, A dyar,Madras, S ., 1916.

A u -d‘

essou s (l a med iocre, is th e fin al judgmen t of th e R ev . A .

Rou s s e l ’s E tude da P afica fratra,Mé l ang es de H ar l ez , p . 265 .

I . THE LITER A TU R E OF THE PANCA R A TR A S

The literature of the Pafi caratras, like othersectarian literature s, fa l l s into two broad d ivisionscomprising respective ly works of in sp ired or d ivine originand such as are of human authorsh ip . The latter class,entire ly dependent on the former, consists ch iefly of whatare cal led aid /I i and p rayoga d igests, commentaries,extracts and stud ies on special s ubj ects, and the l ike .

The former class,with wh ich alone we are here concerned,cons ist s of th e Samh itas or compositions (compendia) ,that is, metrical works dealing, in so many chapters

(adhyaya, pata l a ) , wit-h a number of top ics, if not th ewhole, of the Pancaratra system . The name Samhita, asis well known, is a l so app lied to the Law -books Man uSamh ita e tc . ) and need not, therefore, indicate any

intention to im itate or replace th e Vedic Samh itas, wh ichare compi lat ions of a very d iffere nt character . Insteadof Samhita the name Tantra is often used, evident ly inexact ly the same sen se , and both these word s, as al s othe word Kauda, are al so appl ied to each of the maintopics of a ph i losoph ical or religious system . For instance,in the twelfth chapter of A h irbud hnya Samh itawe readof the Bhagavat Samhita, Karma Samh ita, VidyaSamhita, and seven other Samhitas, and equal ly of thePat i Tantra, Pas'u Tantra,Pasa Tantra, e tc ., constitutingre spective ly the Sattvata an d the Pas upata systems .

I t is a strange m isfortune that of a l l the works bearingthe name of the Pai

'

i caratra (Paficaratra)1 exact ly the one

1 Both th e sys tem an d its fo l l ow ers ar e u s ual l y cal l ed P d ficaral m , b ut for th e sys tem th e n am e P aficaraz‘ra an d for it s fo l l owe rsP a ucao

'

atrm (P dficaratr i ka ) ar e a l s o u s ed .

3

Samh ita cal led Jfianam rtasara or N {t rad iya was destinedto survive in Northe rn Ind ia in order to be publ ished bythe A siatic Socie ty of B engal under the name of

Narada Pafi caratra For it was taken for gran tedafte rwards that this production, the late origin and

apocryphal characte r of wh ich has n ow bee n exposed bySir R . G . B handarkar

l

, and which in the South of Ind iahas ever since been rej ected as spurious,was a faithful reflection of the real Pancaratra ; and thus it happe nedthat an altoge ther wrong impression of the lat ter obtained u n til quite recen t ly both in E urope an d , W ith the

excep t ion of th e smal l Vais navite circ le mentioned above ,even in India .

I t w as al so unknown, unti l recen t ly, that othe rSamhitas are extant, and even Sir R . G . B handarkar,

in h is article on “ The Pancaratra or Bhagavatasys tem publ ished in

2

, stil l s peaks of on lythe Sat tvata Samh ita being available (bes ide s the

spurious Narada thus ignoring the paper on “the

Pafi caratras or Bhagavat by A . Govindacarya

Svam in, published in 1 9 1 ] in the Journal of the Roya lA siatic Society of Great B ritain and Ire land .

3

To obtain a general view, howe ver imperfect, of themate rial to be taken into accoun t, is evident l y the firstth ing required of anyone app roaching an unknownliterature . Now, in th e case of the Pancaratra, trad itionmentions on e hundred and e ight Samh itas, and in a few

texts about th is number are actual ly enume rated . Suchl ists,coquetting with th e sacred numbe r 108,are,of course ,open to S I I Spicion . Th e fact, however,that none of the

1 Encycl op ed ia of [ a do- A ryan R esearch II I, 6, p . 40 -41 .

2 Loc. ci t ,pp . 38—41 .

3 IVh ich al s o m en t ion s , 0 11 p . 956, ou r ed it ion of A h irhud h nya

Samh ita (th en in th e pre s s ) .

4

vailable l ist s of Samhitas, incl uding those which pretend3 g ive 1 08 names, actual ly conforms to th is n umber but11 of them e numerate either more name s or le ss, is one

hing te l l ing in their favour ; and when, as is the case,can further be shown that a respectable number of

he texts e nume rated are sti l l available,whi le n ot a fewf the othe rs are found to be quoted or summarised inhe late r lite rature , and that a number of Samhitas wh ichre not incl uded in any of th e l ists, are e ithe r extan t orno ted then the val ue of the latter can no longe re denied . We have, conseq uent ly , col lated thoses ts, four in al l , and with them a fi fth list found1 the A gni Purana, and as a resul t offe r the

al lowing table in wh ich a l l the name s occurring in thes ts have been arranged in al phabet ical order . Thegures added to the righ t of the names ind icate thelace each Samh ita occup ie s in the said list s : this, asril l be seen, is of some importance for determining theI n tual re lation of the lists,e tc . The fol lowing abbrevia.ons are used (in add ition to K ., P .,V., H ., A . referringJ the l ists them selves )

p . pub l ished [and preserved in MS ] .l . not published but pre se rved in MS . in a

publ ic library [an d private ly ] .ne ithe r publ ished nor in any public library,but known to be pre served privately,insome vil lage, e tc .

Jr(Dag ge r be fore name ) quoted in some work of

the post -Samh ita literature .

A .L . A dyar Library.

Gran tha type . Ed itor and publisherS'

ankhapuram R aghavacarya .

R U . Paficaratrots avasamgraha, MS . of A dyarLibrary .

Neither the number of daggers nor that of v.

’

s may be

said to be exhaustive . The K apifijala l ist (firs t col umn )comprises 1 06 name s, the l is t of Padma Tan tra (secondcolumn ) 1 1 2

1

, that of Visn u Tantra (th ird column ) I LLI2

,

that of H ayas i rsa Samhita (fourth col umn ) 84,and thatfound in th e 39th adhyaya of A gn i (A g n eya) Puranaon ly 25 .

A sti l l shorter list, namely that of the apocryphalNaradi y a men tioned above, has n ot been taken intoaccoun t ; it compr ise s the fol lowing seven name sB rahma, S

'

aiva 3

, K aumara, Vas is tha, Kapila, Gautamiya,and Narad iya .

Gov in dacarya,Zoo. ci t , p . 954, om its th e four Samh itas n am edin the firs t h al f of s’l oka 105 of th e ed it ion , perh ap s be cau s e th is l in ew as n ot in h is M S ., w h ich , h owe ve r,m ay b e a cas e of hap l og raphycaus ed by th e iden t ical en d in g (in Vaman dhrayam ) of th is an d th e

preced in g l in e . For, as proved by our tab l e, th ere w ere at l eas t

two V éman a Samh itas , an d th e s econ d pada of th e om itted l in e,n am e l y Jaimi narp Vdmand hcayam , is foun d in n earl y th e s am e form(VI

-

imana rgz Ja imz‘

n i yakam ) in an oth erw is e d ifferen t s’l oka of th e

K ap ifi jal a l ist . St i l l , as it can b e proved that th e Padma l is t is

corrupt in at l eas t on e p l ace (K aos zzg/am for K fi z wam , s ee rem arkin our tab l e ) , it wou l d n ot be s urpr is in g to fin d th at th e firs t ors econ d Vamanahvayam is a m is read in g for Vci savdhvayam (ZVas u

Samh ita) .

2 We do n ot reg ard padm atan tm m m ahd tan ta'am in s’l oka 26 as

the n ames of t w o Samh itas b u t s upp l y an z

'

ti be tw e en th e two

w ords cf . th e word mahd tam‘ram in th e n e x t th ree l in e s .

i i 1 1 1 Viva S'

arva or A h irbudh n a of our s'

n o s is .

‘T l s n a I e t l e S j p

Synap s is of the Samhita l is ts foaml m K ap ifiy'

a l a,

l l .

Padma, Viszm, and Hayas'irsa Samh itas

and in the A gni Parana .

1‘A g as tya,A g as tya

A ng ira,A ng l i a s a (1 )(10 . (I I )

A d h oksaj a‘

t A n an ta, A n an ta (I )do . (I I )

I . 8. 1‘ A n irudd ha

9 .

1 0 .

p . 1 1 .

1 2 .

A m baraA s taksaravid h é n a

f A h irb udhnyaA g n eya

A ng irasa, s e e A ng ira .

A treya

A n an ta, s e e A n an ta .

A n an da

T l s‘fi n a

“l' I s vara

U t taragarg ya

U dauka

Upe n dra,A upe ndra

Um fi mah e s'

vara

A upag z'

xyan a

A u s’

an asa

Kanva,Kanva

t K ap iii j a l a

K al i rag hava

K .

84

99 49

A n an takhya (throug hout ) .A n an ta, K . A nan tamurt i ,V . Th e S

'

e sa Samh i ta”

pre s erve d in A . L . s e em s

too modern to b e referredt o in th e Padma l is t.

A . l is t read s A s t f mg a”

.

Cf. I s’fin a an d S

’

iva .

A gmp rokta P c‘

w? carat? a B B .

(p. 14 l . cf . Pavaka,Vah n ika .

P . e d . reads K avsuya , bu t

s e e I b i d . IV,

Three w orks of th is name

are extan t(I ) A gas tya ~8atik§na -sa 7n

T‘ada

(2) A ga stya -N d rada -s a rgz

vd da

(3 ) A w ork of 6 or morepatal as

A ng ira,P . A ng ir iya,V.

A ng l rasa.

Error for A nan ta 5”

Cf . A l i irb udh nya, S’arva ,

S'iva .

Garg ya,K .

5209 m us t b e a

l ater w ork than P . 45 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

7 1 . 1' Nara(N r) s imh a

80 .

1’ Nara—tyana,-n iyaNair rta

Pak s i

t Paficapras’n a

Padman abh a“

l” Padmodb hava

p hrusa

tParam a

P a r {1 s ' a r a, Faras 'arya (I )i

“ do. (1 1 )

P i n in iya

1‘ Padm a

“

l' P aram c s vara

Paravata

P firfis arya, s ee Para

Parisada

Pavaka

Pnn darikaksa

P arana

Pu rusottam a

P u l as tya, s oc Pau l as

Pul ah a, s e e Pau l aha.

P ust i, s e e B h fim i .Paing al a

Pau l as tyaPau l a-h a‘l‘P auskara

t P radyumn a

P ras’n a, s e e Paii ca

pra s’n a an d S

’

ri

t P rah l ad aP race tasa

B a l ab hadra

B arhaspatya

B rhadrag hava

B odhayana

t Brahma, Brahma

B rahman firada

Bhag avataT B h fl rad vfija

g e nara.

Sam e as Mah apurusa

Parfis 'arya (throug h ou t) .P arfis’ara . Th e pub l is he dte xt can n o t b e P . 05 , bu t

may b e K . 60 .

A g n e y a,Vil lm ika

“l“ B l i firg av .1,-v iya

B h fin i i,PustiMad h usudana

Mah ft purusa

Mahaprfij iiaMa l i z

'

t l aksm i"l“ Mah fis anatkumara

Mah en dra, s oeM fih en dra .

M frt sya

M Itcl h avaManavaMarici

t M fty fiva ib h ava

‘

i‘ M ftrkandoya (I )

do. (I I )M ah en dra, Mah e n draMul a 89

Me d in ipat i 105

M ai treya 7 5

1” Maud g a l a

Yam a,Yamy9 1 30 .

Yog aYog ah rd aya

R ag hava,-v iya

f Laksm iLaksm inar ftyana

Laksm ipat iL i ng‘al aVaraba, s e e Varab aVa suVah n i, s ec Vahn i ka.

Vf t s’a

Vamad eva‘l' Vamana (I )do . (I I )do . (1 1 1 )

Vayu,Vayavva,VayaV I ya

‘

t Vitrah aVfirun a

Valm ika‘

l'

Vas is tha

i” VasudevaVah n ika

Vir ific i

2

R EMA R K s

Laksm i .

Sam e

Doub t as to wh i ch o f t he

two 1 3 pre s erve dq uote d .

Pos s ib ly : Yd ) fao va l /t ya

t aya pre s e rve d in S ri

I ang ann

Cf . Ma l i f daksn i i .

Cf . I l aya s'irsa.

Doub t as to w h ich o f th e

thre e i s pre s erve d an dquote d .

Cf. Yaj iiam fl rt i

Cf. A g n eya, Pavaka .

I . 1 54 .

I . 1 55 .

I. 1 56 .

l . 1 57 .

1‘Vi s 'vami t I a

V is nu (I )d o. (1 1 )do . (1 1 1 )

1“

Visnu ta t tva‘l‘ Vi s n ut i l aka

Visnuyog a‘l‘ Vi s nurahasya

Vis nuvaib hava

Visnusadhhava

Visnusamb hava

Vi s nu sara

f Vi s nus iddhan ta 3 7

‘l’ Vis vak s e n a 5 2‘

tVih ag e n d ra,Tark§ ya 49

Vaikun th a

Vaikh an asa, s e e Vai

hayasa .

Vaibh ava'

l' Va iyyasa,Vyasa

1“ Vai h fl yas a

S'

arva (S’akra If )

S’akatayana

S’aka l eye , S

’Il ka l ya

S’akal ah vaya 76

'

l‘ S

’and i l ya,S

'

findi l iya 7 1

t S'

atatapa 10 1

S’an tiSfiva

S'

ukarudra

S’ukraS’e sa, s e e A nan ta .

‘t S

'aunaka,-k1ya

P . V . H . A .

15

1 0

0 0 0

R EMAR K S

24 25 Cal l e d, in I L, s'

rd ra td ra .

Probab ly sam e as Vi s‘ve s

vara men tion e d in P . U .

Th e th re e works e xtan t

Cf . S iddh z'

m ta P fificaratra ,P. R . (p. 4,II. 1 5,

C} . Visnuva i bh ava .

Cf . Tark sya, e tc . ; V . I I s t

read s Vaikh finasa .

V . l i s t read s S’

akra. For

S’arva cf . I s ana,S’iva.

Cf . Is‘fi na, S'arva.

patal as

(2 ) on e‘I’ Visnn Tan tra

S’

aun aka - sam r dda

(3 ) on e“I” Visnu Sam b i t i

be in g a Vas z sgha

G .

Of th e s e th e s e con d i s th eon e con tain in g the l is tof Samh i tas w ith i ts e l f

L as N O . 1 .

Pre ten d s to b e part of

K hag e s vara S .

Eviden t l yz Yog a .

Probab ly Va ib h ava .

1 1

R emA R x s

S’rikrsna, s e e K rsna .

S'ridhara

“l“ S'

ripras’na

S’rival l ab ha

S’ve take tu“l“ Samvar ta,‘l‘Samkarsa

Satya Sfittvata 9

Sadavisnu

Sanaka‘

l’

San atkumara

San an da,San anda

Sarvam ang al a

1’ Sat tvata SatyaS ftm z

'

mya

Sarasvata

1“

Som a, Saumya (I ) Doub t as to p l ace(I 1 )

Saura,SuryaSk i m(l a,K aum fira

Svayam b h uva

THay as irsa V. l is t reads Ha yng ri m .

H ariH ari ta‘1’ H iranyag arbhaH rsike s

'a

To the above 2 10 names have to be added those ofa few Samh itas which are extant but apparentl y not

included in any Of the list s, to wit :

2 1 1 . A noth er U p e n d r a S a m h i t a ,be ing an Up en dm -K am a sani

vad a, recen t, perhaps th e we i k m en tiOn e d in V. l is t (cf . our remark in th eSynops i s ) . MS . n o . 5209 of M . G . L .

2 1 2 . K as ' y a p o t t a r a S a m h i t a of wh ich M G .L . h as n o l e s s thanfour Copie s (nos . 52 1 5

2 1 3 . P a r a m a t a t t v a n i r n a y a p r a k as a S a m h i t a , con tain ingth e in s truction of th e g od Brahman by S’riham sa on th e orig in of th e

WO I I d, an im portan t thoug h n ot ve an c ien t work of wh ich fi t‘

te en adhyayas

of th e firs t par icch eda are repre sen te d, in MS . in M.G L . (n o . 530 0) an d tw icein A .L

2 14 P a d m a s a m h i t a T a n t i a , M .G .L . 5296, wh ich , h owever,may b e foun d to b e a portion of San atkumara Samh i ta (cf . eol oph oi1 I n B e ser.Cat .

2 1 5 . B r h a d B r a h m a S a m h 1 t a, anoth er recen t work,pub l ish e dtw ice (s ee be l ow ) .

1 2

The re are further a number of Samh itas quoted or

m entioned by name which seem to be differen t fromthose of the list s . We mention the fol lowing, but a

complete l ist should some day reveal many more names

Citras ikhandi, Mankana Vai s’ampayan a, S'ukap ras na, S’rikfil apara,

Sudars an a,Saum an tava,H am sa,Ham saparam e s vara.

‘

A mong the few Samh itas found in libraries out sidethe Mad ras Presidency (in In d ia or Europe ) there isnone wh ich is not al so represented in on e of it s three greatpublic l ibraries, namely the Tanj ore Palace Library, theMadras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library,and th e A dyar L ibrary of the Theosoph ical Society .

The first of these (possessing but a few of theP . Samh itas ) has made n o new acquisitions since B urnel l’s time ; th e Pancaratra MSS . of the second are

described in vol . XI of its Descriptive Catal ogue ; theA dyar Library collection, not d e scribed so far and

growing con stan tlyg

, comprises at prese nt the fol lowingnos . of our Synopsis : I , 7,8, 1 1,48, 70, 81 , 83, 84, 1 06,1 1 3, 1 34, 149, nos . 1 an d 2 of the Visnu Samh itas, 154,1 58, 1 68, 1 76, 187, 195, and 206 ; further n o . 2 1 3 .

The ed ition s of Samh itas, most of wh ich are now

not easily obtained , are the fol lowing eleven3

For S’

ukapras’n a cf . th e col oph on of M .G .L . 5366 (th ird

V is nu Samh it a) : z'

ti S'

ukap d fz car d tre e tc ., an d for

th e l as t t wo n am es Samh ita n o . 2 13 above . S’

r ikal apara, pr e s um

abl y iden t ical w ith S'

r ikal ottara quoted I n an d

H amsaparam es’vara are both quoted in Spaazdap ad ip z

’

kd (ed . p . 33 )Mankana is m en tion ed in V ed an tad e s’ika

’s R aha s g/ am ksa th e oth er

n am es ar e from P dficard traraks d .

2 I t be in g on e of our special aim s to make th is col l ect ion as

comp l ete as pos s ibl e .

3Th e s econ d en try re fe rs to th e s cript u sed , th e l as t g ive s th e

nam e of th e ed itor (who is al so th e pub l ish er, if th e pre s s is n ot th e

publ ish e r ) . A port ion of A h irbud hnya Samh ita,in th e Te l ug u charac

ter, is n ot orth des cr ipt ion .

1 3

1 . I s' v a r a S a m h i t a Telugu, Sadv idya Press,Mysore, 1890,Yogi Parthasarath i A iyyangar .

2 . K a p i fi j a l a S a In 11 i t a, Telugu, Kalyanakumarav i lasa Press, Tirukkovalur, no year, Yogi, etc .

(see

3 . P a r as a r a S a m h i t a, Te l ugu, Vag i s'variMud rakshara S'ala Pre ss, Bangalore , 1898. I yyun n i

R ag havacarya .

4 . P ad m a T a n t r a , Te l ugu, 189 1, rest as in 1 .

5, 6 . B r h a d B r a hm a S am h i t a : (5) Te lugu .

S'

ri venkates'varan i laya Pre ss, Tir uppat i, 1909, no name ;

(6) Devanagari, A nandas rama Press, Poona, H . N . A p te .

7 . B h ar a d v aj a S a m h i t a, Te l ugu, no ye ar,rest as in 1 .

8. L a k s m i T a n t r a , Telugu, 1888, re st as in 1 .9 . V i s n u t i l a k a Te l ugu, Bangalore, 1 896.

R ag havacharya .

10 . S'

r i p ra s'n a Sam h i t a,Gran tha,Mangal av i lasa

Press,Kumbakonam, 1904, J . R amasvami Bhattacharya .

1 1 . S at t v a t a S a m h i t a, D evanagari, Sudars'ana Press,Conj eeveram,

1 902, P . B . A nantha Chariar .With th e excep tion of B rhad Brahma Samh ita

al l of these need re - ed iting, a critical ed ition o f. 4, 8, an d

1 1 being part icularly desirabl e .

That occas ional ly th e same name has bee n given totwo or even more different works, is noth ing unusual inthe Agamic lite rature . For ins tance, among the S

’

aktaTantras the re are,accord in g to Du tt

’s l is t 1

, thre e P rapafi caTantras, two H arig auri Tan tras, three K ubj ika Tan tras,two Yogini Tant ras, an d two Mrdani (P) Tant ras . I t is

quite possible, for this reason, that th e above Synopsis iswrong he re and there in refe rring the same name in

Tran s l at ion of Mahan irvana Tan tra,In troduct ion ,pp . VII—1X .

1 4

d ifferent l ists to the same work . Vice versa, th e identityof A nanta and S’esa, Vihag e nd ra and Tarksya, etc .,

suggests the possibi lity that in a few cases two or threed ifferent names may have been erroneou s ly reckoned inour tabl e as re ferring to so many d ifferent works .

A t any rate, th is much may be said w ith certain ty, that the literature we are concerned w ith is a

huge one . For, even supposing there were on ly 200

Samhitas, an d t rying to calcu late, by m ean s of the

extan t works, their total ex ten t, we find that th e

Samh i ta l iterature of the Pancaratras must have onceamounted to not l e s s but probably more than 0 n e a n d a

h a l f m i l l i o n s' l o k a s . 1 Truly, the Samh itas havesome righ t to speak of “

th e ocean of th e Pancaratra”!

The c h r o n o l o g y of the Samh itas wi ll, of necessity,remain a problem for some t ime to come . N ot unt il theex tant Samh itas as wel l as the later literature havebeen thorough ly examined, wi l l it be possible to

fix approximately th e cen tu ry Of each of th e former andof some even of the l o st Samh itas . However, a

few general remarks on the subj ect may al ready behazarded now .

Our earliest source of information on the

Pancaratra is believed to be the so-cal led Narad iya

sect ion of the S'anti Parvan of th e Mahabharata .

”l

Th is view seems to receive further support fromthe fact that apparent ly a l l of the extant Samh itasare ful l of the s o - cal led Tan tric element whichin th e Mahabharata is , on th e contrary, con sp icuous by

t I t i s in tere st in g to n ote in th is con n ect ion th at accord in g toS’

r ip ras’na (I I , V is nu t il aka (I, 140 an d and oth er te xts ,

th e or ig in al Pafi caratra h ad an e xten t of on e an d a h al f crore s .

2 I t h as often been an al y sed, m os t recen t l y by B han d arkar,Zoc.

cit ,pp . 4—8.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 6

because a Samkarsana Samh itais ment ioned an d quoted 1

,

but mOs t of a l l be cause it is, accord ing to the syst em,

Samkarsan a’

s f u n o t i O 11 to proclaim the S'ast ra 2

, wh ichmeans, according t o A h irb . Samh ita (1 1 , that al lknowledge come s ult imate ly from h im who, in the beginn ing, s tarted the great un ive rsa l system from which al l

s ingle system s, includ ing the Pancaratra, have emanated .

The Paii caratra must have originated in the Northof Ind ia and subsequent ly sp read to the South .

H ad th e opposite taken place, most Of the extantSamh itas would somehow be tray th is fact, which is not

th e case . The story of S’vetadv ipa seems eve n to point tothe extreme North,and so do some Samhitas,among th emA h irbud hnya, as we shal l see . The thesis may therefore be advanced that a l l Samh itas betraying a SouthIndian (Dravidian ) origin belong to the later stock ofthe l ite rature .

Of those Sou th Ind ian Samhitas the oldest on e

now available se em s to be th e I s'vara Samh ita. I t enjoins,among other th ings,th e study of th e so - cal led Tam i l Veda

(drama/E s'ruz

‘i) and con tains a Mahatmya Of Me lkotein Mysore . I t is quoted thrice by Yamunacarya

th e teacher of R aman uja, who d ied in the first hal f ofth e eleventh cen tury (ca . Yamuna claiming for theA gamas the authority of a fi fth Veda, the said Samhitamus t have been in existence at his t ime for at least twocentur ie s . Th is would bring us to about the time ofSankara whom, then, we may provis ional ly regard as

th e landmark between the northern and th e southern

1See our Syn op s is, above the quotat ion is in Vedantad es’ika

’s

P uaca ratra ruks d , ed . p . 67, l in e 5 .

2 See be l ow : Th e Ph il os ophy of th e Paficaratras s ect ion 2

a l so our s umm ary, in part I I I, of ad hyaya 1 1 .

3I n h is z i gamap ram d aya, ed . p . 72 .

1 7

Paficaratra Samhitas, bearing in mind, however, thatthe composition of Samh itas d id not necessari ly cease inthe North j ust when it began in the South, an d re

membering al so that in the southe rnmost province of

Aryan Ind ia (th e Maratha country ) some th ing likePaficaratra worsh ip seems to have existed as early as

the fi rst century be fore Christ .

1

To th e South Ind ian class of Samhitas, wh ich isvery much smal ler than the northern on e, belongsal so the above -m en tioned Upendra Samh ita en j oi n i ngparticularly th e leading of a virtuous life in S'ri rangam,

and further the vo luminous B rh ad Brahma Samhita (no .

2 1 5, above )2

, with prophec i es about R amanuja, the on lySouth Ind ian Samh ita, as it se ems, wh ich has made itsway to the north -west an d con sequent ly me t with a fatesimilar to that of th e spurious Narad iya in Bengal, inthat it is now popular ly known in the Guj erat countryas th e Narada Paficaratra 3

Yamuna’s work be ing the Oldest on e extant by

a South Indian author quoting from th e Samhitaliterature, it is noteworthy that in add ition to I s'varaSamhita he quotes the Parama, S

’

an d i l ya, Sanatkumara, I n d raratra (z th ird Rat ra of Mahasanatkumara

Samhita) , and Padmodbhava Samhitas .’ Yam una’ssuccessor, R amanuja, quote s also Parama Samh ita,furthe r Pau skara Samh ita and Sattvata Samh ita.

B h an d arkar, l oc. ci t , p . 4, I t remain s to b e s ee n wh e th e rth e w orsh ip of on l y th e firs t two Vyfih as (for w h ich th e rear e s til l m ore an cien t te s t imon ies , i bid . p . 3 ) w as n ot perh aps a

p r e 0 u r s o r of th e Pafi caratra of th e Samh itas .

2 Wh ich is too recen t to b e m en t ion ed in th e Padm a l is t an d

th erefore n ot l ike l y to b e iden t ical w ith Brahm a Narada, as

Gov in dacarya is in c l in ed to be l ie ve (Zoe. ci t , p .

3 Gov indacarya, October 1 91 1 , p . 956, n ote 4.

A gamapfr dm d p ya ed . pp . 7,69, 70, 7 1 , 72 .

3

1 8

In the fourteenth cen tury the famous Vedantad es ika wrote a special work on the Pancaratra in whichhe mentions particularly Jayakhya (9 time s) , Paramesvara (6 times) , Pauskara (5 t imes) , Padma (4 t imes) ,Narad iya, S

'

rikara, Sattvata (each thrice) , A h irbudhnya,Bhargava, Varaba, Vihag end ra, and H ayag riva (eachtwice ) ; moreover the Samhitas figuring in our Synopsisas nos . 1 7, 28, 3 1, 4 1 , 49, 53, 7 1, 72, 75, 77, 97, 106,1 27, 134, 149, 1 66 (P) , 195, 20 1 (or

Citras ikhandi,etc . (see p . 1 2, note and , final ly,a few doubt fu l names such as Tan trasamj ii ika (z Tan

trasagara P) , A g amakhya, etc .

In the North of Ind ia th e oldest work quoting thePaficaratra, which we can l ay hands on, seems to be th eSpandap rad ip i/caof U tpalavais nava,who lived in KasmirI n the tenth cen tury A n

a

, about on e generation b eforeYamuna. The Samhitas mentioned by name in this workare

"

: Jayakhya (S ri jaya, Jaya) , Hamsaparames vara,

Vaihayasa, and S'

rikal apara; wh i le two more names,namely Narada Samg raha and Sri Sattvatah may, but

need not , be connected with some particular Samh ita.

O f eight other quotation sa

, al l of which are vaguelystated to be “ in th e Paficaratra or P . S'ruti or P .

Upanisad”, one is found, in a s ligh t ly di fferent form,

in A hirbudhnya Samhita.

6 U tpal avaisnava quotes al so

P d ficaratraraksa, of wh ich th ere is an ed it ion in Gran thacharacters (s ee above ) p . 4 .

2 J. C . Ch atterj i, K as lim ir Sha ici sm , pp . 1 3, 16 .

3See pag es 9- 1 1 -34, 33, 33, 33 of th e V i z ian ag aram ed it ion .

4 Pp . 54 an d 20, i bid .

51 1nd . pp . 2, 22, 29, 39, 39.

41

“

)XV, 7 1 b : P raifid -

p ras fidam, etc ., reproduced by Utpal a (ed .

p .

P raj fid -

p rd s ddam firuhya as’ocyu l i s

’oca to j an u n l

B hami sghan iva S'a i l as thah sarvan p n y'

fio’napas

'

yati !I

19

the Paramar thasa‘

ra in its original Vais navite form (not

the S'aivite recast by A bhinavag upta) .1

A l l th is,as al so h is name and that of h is father (Trivikrama) ,proves that Utpala, though a S’aivite author,must havebeen original ly a Vaisnav ite . A nd it further seems toenable u s, as since the rise of the S

'

aivite system (Trika)ph ilosophical Vaisnavism is practical ly extinct in

Kasm i r, and as .there is no likelihood of any Paficaratra

Samhita (except the few spurious works ) having bee ncomposed in A ryan India after that tim e, to fix t h e

e i g h t h c e n t u r y A .D . a s t h e t e rm i n u s a d q u emo f t h e o r i g i n a l P afi c a r at r a S a m h i t as .

’3

From th e above it fol lows that the Samh italite rature fal l s into t h r e e c I a s s e s : (1 ) the originalSamhitas, to wh ich belong most of the extantworks ; (2 ) the much smal ler South Indian clas scomprising the leg itimate descendants of class 1 ; and

(3) the st il l smal ler class, North and South Indian, ofapocryphal or spurious Samhitas . To the third clas s mustbe ass igned al l Samhitas wh ich are spe cia l ly connectedwith some cul t or teaching of mode rn growth such as theexclusive worsh ip of Rama, Radha, e tc ., and (or) whichhave given up some essen tial d ogma of the Paficaratra,

such as that of the Vyuhas f’

1 Of . Chat terj i , l oc. cit , pp . 10 - 14. Prof . Barn ett in s is ts thatA bh inavag upta

’s w ork, be in g profes s ed l y an

“e xtract ”

(Sam ) ,cann ot b e bas ed on a work of l e s s e x ten t than its e l f such as th e Vaisnavite P aramarthasara . B ut su re l y A . does n ot m ean to say th at h e

has m ere l y e xt racted, but rath er th at h e h as e l a b o r a t e d t h e

e s s e n c e of th e work upon wh ich h e bas ed h is ow n .

2A l l ow in g , as in d icated above, a m in imum of two cen turies to

pas s be fore a Samh ita can become S’ru ti (as wh ich th e P aficaratra

is reg arded by U tpal a ) .3 B oth is th e cas e, for in stan ce,w ith th e spuriou s Narad iya. A l s o

th e A g as tya Samh itam en t ion ed by B han darkar, l oc. ci t ,p . 67 n ote 2,if a Pafi caratra Samh ita, w ou l d be l on g to th is c l as s , as doe s the fi rs tof our th ree A g as tya Samh itas .

20

The number of Olde st Samhitas mentioned increasesth rough inte rnal refe rence s : A h irbudhnya (5, 5 9 ) men

t ions Sattvata, an d th e latter (9, 1 3 9 ) Pauskara, Varaha,and P rajapatya (B rahma) . D irect refe rence of one

Samhita to another wi l l al so b e found of great value fordete rmin ing th e m utual ch ronological relation s of the

Samhi tas . Fo r instance, th e fact that A hirbudhnyam entions Sattvata (5, 5 9 ) and Jayakhya (19, 9 4 )shows, of course, that the se two must be older . So

al so the h int, in I s'vara S . (l . 9 4 )1

, that the th reechie f Samhitas are Sattvata, Pauskara, and Jaya, andtheir respective expansions I s'vara, Parame s'vara, and

Padma, is we l l worth noticing2

; and al so the statement,inPadma Tantra (IV, 23 . 1 9 7 )

3

, that we should consider as

the Six Gem s : Padma, Sanatkumara, Parama, Padmod

bhava,Mahendra, and Kanva. The se few data enable usto fix al ready p rovisional ly th e chronology of the mostimportant of the ancient Samh itas, in th e fol l owmg way

1 . Pau skara,Varab a, Earl ier than 5, orde r un

Brahma (ord e r uncer tain ) . ce rtain : Jaya (before 3 )2 . Sattvata San atkumara, Parama,

3 . A hirbudhnya Padmod bhava, Mahendra,4 . Parame s

'vara

i‘ Kan va5 . Padma

6. I s vara5

(before 800 A .D .)

Gov ind acarya,Zoe . ci t , p . 956 .

2 A n d certain l y con n e cted w ith th e fact th at th e on l y Samh itacomm en tarie s e xtan t, be s ide s on e on B harad vaja Samh ita, appearto be th e fol l ow in g th ree, pres erved in S

'ri rang am : on e Sat tvata

sa in h ita B hasya by A l as'ing arabh atta, s on of Yog an an d abhatta ; on e

I s’vara- samh itaVyakhya by th e s am e an d on e Param e s'vara - samh ita

Vyakhya by N rs imh as fi r i, s on of Sampatkumarasvam in .

Gov in dacarya, l oc. ci t ,p . 955 fi l .

Men t ion ed in th e Padma l is t, th ere fore earl ie r, bu t l ater th anA h irbudh nya, to judg e from th e te xt pres erved in A . L .

5To be d is t in g u ish ed from th e on e m en t ion ed in th e Padma

l is t ; s ee be l ow .

1

I t appears to be a fact that out of these worksthe triad P a u s k a r a, S at t v a t a, a n d J a y a has on

th e whole bee n conside red the most authoritative partof th e Pal

’

i caratra scrip ture .

The five l ists compared in our Synopsis are natural lyof l itt le value for chronological purposes on account ofthe ir comparative ly late origin, and because al l of them,

except the one of A gn i Purana, have almos t ce rtain lybee n in te rfered w ith by late r hands . The A g neya l ist,beginning, as it doe s, with H ayas irsa and agree ingalmost comple te l y with th e first twenty -five of th e

names en umerated in that Samhita, must have beencopied from it, from wh ich fact it may be furtherdeduced that the remaining names (nos . 26 to 34)

1

w erenot in the orig inal Samhita. Likewise in the Vis nu lis tth e thirty - two names fol low ing the 1 08th are in al l

probabi lity a later amp lification . This would accou n t fo rth e fact of a Samhita be ing men tion ed in that list, to w itK api ii jal a (no . wh ich itse l f mention s th e VisnuTan tra . K api ii jal a, a t any rate, does not claimto be on e of the 1 08 Samh itas, but on ly an abstractcon taining al l that is essen tial (Sara) in them . ThePadma list al so seems to have original ly con sisted of1 08 names on ly, the four added ones being possiblynos . 33 to 36 contained in the second hal f of s'loka 100 .

For, I s vara Samhita (no . as it m entions Padma

Tantra, and that, as we have seen, in quite a credibleway, cannot wel l be me n tioned in the latter which,for other reason s too, must be o l de r than it .

Or were there two I s'vara Samhitas ? Th is hypothesis woul d perhaps best account for the m ention

1A m on g w h ich

“ Purana an d “ Samanya’

are decided l ydoubtfu l .

22

of an I svara Samhita al so in the Hayas i rsa and A g neya

list s . 1

What are the p r i n c i p a l s u b j e c t s treated in

the Samhitas ?The ideal Paii caratra Samhita, l ike th e S'aiva

Agamas, is said to cons is t of four “ quarte rs ” (pada)teaching respect ive l y (I ) Jar/Tau, Knowledge ; (2 ) Yoga,Concen tration ; (3 ) K r iya,Making ; an d (4) Oarya,Doing .

By Making is m eant eve rything connected with th e

construction and consecration of temples an d images,and by Doing, the religious and social Observances

(dai ly rites, fe stival s, cam as'rama Very few

Samhitas se em to have actual ly consisted of these foursections : most of them dealt apparent ly with on e or

two only of these subj ects, negl ecting the ot hersaltogether or nearly so . The proportion of interestshown for each of the four branches se ems to be we l li l l ustrated by Padma Tan tra in the edition of wh ich theJnana-pada occup ie s 45 pages, th e Yoga-pada 1 1 pages,the K r iya

-pada 2 15 pages, and the Carya-pada 376

pages . The practical part, K r iya an d Carya, is th e

favourite subject, the re st being t reated as a rule by wayof introduction or d igres sion . The d ivi sion into Padas is,sofar as I know, observed in only two of the extantSamh itas,name ly Padma Tantra andVis nutat tva Samh ita.

A div ision into five R atras (Night s) of m ixed con tent s

(cf . the name Paficaratra) is found not on ly in th e

apocryphal Narad iya but al so in a g e nuine and older

1 A h irbudh nya be in g a s om ew hat unw ie l dy w ord, I s’vara mayh ave, me tr

‘

z'

caas fi , been subs titu ted for it in th os e l is t s, but, of

cours e, n ot in th e Padma l is t, w h ich does con tain th e n ame

A h irbud hnya .

2 For a ful l e r des cript ion of th e s e four bran ch es s ee Govin dacarya’

s art ic l e in 1 91 1, p . 95 1 fi l .

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24

I t may be supposed that t h e n a m e P afi c a r at r a

point s to f i v e p rincipal subjects treated in that system .

SO it is, indeed, unde rstood in th e apocryphal Narad iya,wh ich says that the five kinds of ratra z

“ knowledge

are tattva,mukti -prada,bhakti-

p rada,yaugika,and cais'esi/ea,

that is to say that they are concerned respectively with (1 )ontology (cosmology ) , (2 ) l iberation, (3 ) devo tion, (4)yoga, and (5 ) the object s Of sen se . Though the five books

of the said Samh ita accord but very imperfect ly w iththis division, and the five B atras of Mahasan atkumara

Samh ita sti l l less , and though the Narad iya as a whole

can certainly not be used as a Paii caratra authority, the

above statement may n one th e l ess rest on good

t rad ition . In this case ratra, original ly n ight ”,would have come to m ean how, we do not k now

1

both a cardinal doctrine of a system as wel l as

t he chapter or work dealing with that doctrine , that is : itbecame synonymous w ith tan tra an d samhi ta

g

, so thatPaficaratra would be a designat ion of th e ancien tVaisnav ite system in exact l y th e sam e manne r as,

according to the twelfth chap ter of A hirb udhnya Samhita,Sasti Tantra was on e of th e Samkhya Yoga . Thi sexplanation , though perhaps at variance with the chapterj ust mentioned stating (in s

'l . 45 —48) that the Paficarat raconsist s of t e n card inal teach ings (samhitas )

3

, is at

least not so fanciful as “the n ig h t=ob s curat ion, of the

five other system s or th e system,cookingz d e s troying ,

th e n igh tr —ignorance or th e attemp ts to connect

that name with th e five sacraments (branding, e tc . ) or

th e five dai ly Obse rvances (abhigamana, e tc . ) of the

1 For th e t ran s it ion th e m ean in g of“Thou s an d an d on e

N ig hts”=as many s torie s ,may pe rhap s b e compared .

2 See above p . 2 .

3 See ou r s ummary of th e ch apter, be l ow, l as t part of th is book .

25

Pafi caratras Howeve r, it seems to us that th e

o r i g i n a l use of the name is on ly connected with thefi rst of the ten topics referred to (Bhagavat ) , name ly thepecul iar God - concept ion of the Paii caratras, and

that it can be d iscove red in the Paii caratra Sattraspoken of in S

'

atapatha B rahmana XIII 6. 1 , wh ichis, moreover, the ear l ie sr. passage in wh ich the word

p avi caratra occurs . In that pas sage Puru sa Narayanais mentioned as having conceived the idea of a

P a ii c a r at r a S a t t r a (c o n t i n u e d s a c r i fi c e f o r

f i v e d a y s ) as a means of ob taining sup er iority ove ral l beings and becoming al l be ings ” 1

and the precedingchap ter (X I I 3 . 4) nar rates in detai l h o w H e

,b y

s a c r i f i c i n g H i m s e l f , a c tu a l l y b e c am e t h e

w 11 o l e w e r l d Narayana is thus connected w ith ,and eve n made the author of, the Purusa Sakta

2

which,toge ther w ith the Sahas ras'i rsa section of Mal ianarayan a

U panisad, plays such a p rominent part in th e cosmol og

ical accounts and Man tra exegesis of the Paii caratrin s .

3

I t appears, th en, that the se ct took its name from its

central dogma which was the Paii caratra Sattra of

Narayana interpreted ph il osoph ical ly"

as the five foldse l f -man ife stat ion of God by m eans of H is Para,Vyuha,Vibhava, A n taryamin , and A rea forms . This wouldwel l agree with the statement of A hi rb . Samh .,at th e endof th e eleventh adhyaya, that the Lord Himse lfframed out of the original S'astra the system (tan tra)cal led Paficaratra d e scribing H is [fivefold ] nature

B h an d arkar , l oc. ci t , p . 3 1 s pacin g - out ou rs .

2 I bi f l em

J Note al s o th e im portan ce at tach ed in A h irb . Samh . (ch apte r 3 7 )to th e m ed itat ion on God as a s acrifice (yaj fiurap a -dhara d era, s ] .

4 With , or w ith ou t, th e h e l p of B hag avad-Gi ta I I, 69.

26

[known ] as Para, Vyfiha, Vibhava, etc . and “that

h ighe st Wi l l of Visn u cal led Sudarsana through wh ichHe sp lit into five, appearing five -mou thed .

”

To return to the question Of th e principal subject st reated in the Paficaratra, th e scientific student w il lprobably find it best to dis tinguish the fol lowing ten 2

(1 ) Phi losophy ;

(2) Linguistic occult ism (man tra

(3 ) Theory Of magical figures (yantraPractical magic (maya-

yoga )

(5 ) Yoga ;

(6) Templ e -bui ld ing (man (tira - n i rni fi zza)

(7 ) Image -making (ZNWt is tl z(i - vidhi )(8) Domestic Obse r vance s (samskara,al i n i lca ) ;(9) Social ru l es (cam aS

'rama

(10 ) Public festival s (n isava ) .

Each of these it is hoped , wil l in the course of

t ime be made the subj ect of a monograph based on th eavailable Samh itamaterial as well as on such monog raph s

(U tsavas amg rahas, etc . ) as the Paficaratrin s themselveshave written . In th e fol lowing, the second part of ourIntroduction, an out line wil l be attempted of the fi rstsubj ect only, as th e one on wh ich a l l th e others more orle ss depend .

Th e fi ve form s ar e al s o re ferred to in th e very firs t s’l oka of our

Samh ita. “7 1th th e idea of Narayana

’s s e l f - s acr ifice is apparen t l y a l s o

con n ected th e s tory of th e Sacr ificial Lotu s (yaj iia -

pa fikaj a ) sprin gin g from th e n ave l of Padm anabha (Laksm i T . V, 22, an d e l s ew h e re ) .

2 Wh ich are , of cours e, n ot .th e s am e as thos e en umerated inad hyaya 1 2 of A h irb . Samh . ; s ee ou r summary of the l atte r inth e fina l s ect i on be l ow .

3 A n d , in add it ion , perh aps th e s ubje ct of “w orsh ip in a

g en eral treatm en t com b in in g th e m aterial s for it d is tributed amon gs everal of th e above subject s, n otabl y 8 and 1 0 .

I I . TH E PH ILOSOPHY OF THE PANCA R A TR A S

THE theoretical phi losophy of the Pancaratras is ih

separably bound up w ith th e story of creation, an d can

therefore hard ly be treated more convenient ly than intaking the latte r throughout as our starting point . Indoing so we shal l main ly fol low the A hirbudhnya Samhita

(particularly chapters 4 to b ut al so have recourse,where ver th is seems de s irable , to other sources .

1

1 . N IGHTS A ND DA YS or NA R A YA NA

There was, and is sti l l, a be lief in Ind ia that theh igher a being climbs on the ladde r of existence s, thequicker time passes for him , unti l, when he reachesLibe ration, t ime is no longer a magnitude for h imat al l .

2 This idea is con tained in the doc trine that asingle day of each B rahman or rule r of a Cosmic Egg

1Th e w riter reg re ts keen l y h avin g h ad pract ica l l y n o acces s ,

w h il e writ in g th is In troduction , to th e rich col l ection s of Paficarat ra

MSS . s tored up in th e A dyar an d Madras L ibrarie s . St il l h e fee l scon fiden t th at th e fol l ow in g accoun t w il l n ot s h ow any s eriou s g ap .

A bbre viat ion s w il l b e eas il y recog n is ed, e xcept perhaps P . Prakas'aS .

”w h ich is n o . 2 1 3 m en t ion ed on p . 1 1 above . Th e ed ition quoted

of P i l lai Lokacarya’s Ta tteatraya is th e on l y e x is t in g on e of th e

San sk rit t ran s l at ion , pub l ish ed as no . 4 of th e Caukh amba San s kritSeries w h i l e th e ed ition

_u s ed of S r in ivasad as a

’s Yat indram ata

D ip ikd is N o . 50 of th e A n an das’ram a Se r ies . Ta ttva traya (fourteen th cen tu ry ) may alm os t be ca l l ed a col l ect ion of Pafi caratra

Sfi tras, and its comm en tary, by Varavaram un i, is special l y va l uabl efor it s cop ious e xtract s from I

YZ’JLQ II’SOI I CZSamhi ta A l l re feren ce s byfig ure s on l y are to A h irbudh nya Samh ita.

2I t m ay, af ter al l , b e fou n d to b e th e s ame (n ot th e oppos ite )

v iew w h en P . Prakas’a Samh ita (I I I, 3 HI . ) teach es th at a“ t im e

atom”(It d l a p ar um fi zzuka ) is in Ji val oka (cf . G i taVII, 5 ; XV, 7 )

on l y 1 /100th part of on e 0 11 earth , in th e wor l d of th e g od s on l y1/10,000th part, for th e g od Brahman on l y 1 / 1 ,000,000th part, an d

for Lak sm i on l y 1 /10,000,000 tl i part, w h i l e Vis nu’s own t ime - atom

is in fin ite l v smal l .

28

1 comprises n o l ess than yearso f me n . Whe n the day is over, a l l form s are dissolve dby fire , e tc ., b ut n ot so the Tattvas (e l ement s an d organs )of wh ich the se consis t, nor the Cosmic Eg g as such .

This d issol ution is cal led a Minor or Occas ionalDissol ut ion (av/Zntm u -

pm l ayu, I t

is fol lowed 2 by the “ N igh t of B rahman ”, of e qualle ngth as h is day, in which the Eg g h ibernate s as it

we re . This p rocess is repeated 360 x 100 times, afte rwh ich the l ife of B rahman (bm hmd yu s ) come s to a

close by the Great or Total D issol ut ion (vi z tt lm-

p ral l aya,

p rdkrta-

pm l aya ) in wh ich al l th e Cosmic Eggs, includ ingthe forces working in them, are comple tely d isso lved or

“ unified ” . The Night fol lowing it is of th e same

duration as that of the life of B rahman, and is

fol lowed by another Day similar to the former,and so on . The se l ongest Days and Nigh ts are

cal led , in the Pancaratra, Days and Nig ht s of the

P urus a,the H ighes t Se l f, th e Lord, e tc . For the P urusa’

s

l ife, says one text, the re exists no measure 5

. B ut

though infin ite as to tim e‘,He “accepts - lrar oti) the

pe riod cal led l ’ara (that is , the l ife -pe riod of a Brahman )as His

“ d ay”

and though exempt from be ing measured

1 Sol ar sys tem is a s om e wh at m is l ead in g t ran s l at ion , becaus ea Brahmanda, thoug h be l ie ved to pos s es s but one s un

,compris e s th e

w hol e s tarry hos t v is ib l e to u s .

2 P i a l aya, as th e n am e says , is th e s tag e in wh ich th in g s

a r e d i s s o l v i n g , an d n ot th e m uch l on g er on e in w h ich th eyr e m a i n d i s s o l v e d . Th e occas ion a l emp l oymen t of th e n ame

for th e two s tag e s tog eth er mu s t be reg arded as a m is u s e, a t l eas t

from th e Pancaratra poin t of V iew , becau s e, if Primary Creat iontakes p l ace d urin g th e l ast part of the N ig h t (s ee be l ow, n e xtparag raph ) an d th e Day an d N ig h t are of equa l l en g th , P ra l ayabe l on g s to th e Day, n ot to th e N ig h t .

Ta sya n’

d yw-wu inam z idhiyate, P . Prakas’a Samh ita 43,

repeat ed 58.

“Lfin d . I,

29

by nights, etc ., He does the work of th e night

(rd tritvena amrati) by causing Brahman1

and the re st to fal las leep 2

Our Samh ita i l l ustrate s th e Days and Nigh t sof th e Lord by an image of dazzl ing beauty : duringthe Day the unive rse is like a sky sprinkled al l over withcirrus clouds th e Brahmic Eggs, of wh ich the re are

koti -arbudas o f kot i -og has of kot is (an unimag inab lyh igh numbe r) ; while during the N ight it resemble s asky w ithout a s ing le cloud .

"

2 . H IGH ER on“ Puma C R E A TION

(Evol ution , Firs t S tage . )

In the e ighth and last part of the Cosmic N igh t

(paw ns ? mtr i)“

the great S'akti of Vis nu, awakened as

it were by H is command 5

,

“ opens her eye s ” . Thisunmcsa open ing of the eye s ”, says A hirb . Sam lr , is

l ike the appearance of a lightning in the sky . A nd it

means that the S'akti, which was so far ind istingu ishablefrom the windle ss atmosphere or mo tion less oceanof the A bsolute, existing on ly as it were in a fo rm of

“ darkness ” or emptine s s ”, sudden ly, “ by some in

dependen t re so lve (kasmd ccit svd tantryd t) , flashe s up,w ith an infin ite l y smal l par t of he rsel f, in her dualaspec t o f (t rig/ d (act ing) and Hai ti (becoming ) , that isForce and Matter .6

Who, af te r h is death be l on g s to th e l iberated .

2I bz

’

d , I, 3 . 55 - 57 .

3 A h irbudh nya Samh ita IX,1 6, 14,38.

4 Th e e ig h th par t of th e P ral aya is ca l l ed l ay tin tima

P . Prak '

as’a S . I, I . 5 1 ; (j I, 3 . 42, 57 .

I bid ., I, l . 53 ,

X I V, 7 -8 Tb sp/ LU! keg/ a i'bfzuhhgz s

’en a s

'uLt'Z(I re, e tc . s o VIII , 36,

an d I II , 2 7 -28. C] . Lak sm i Tan t ra I V, I , Th e B h nt i S'

akt i, as w i l l bes een , in c l ude s what we (

‘a l l s ou l .

30

Here it wil l first be necessary to remark that, in

Spite of frequent as surances as to the real identity of

Lak smi and Vis nu, the two are actual ly regarded as

d istinct : even in P ral aya they do n ot completely coal escebut become only as it we re a s ingle p rinciple (4 .

th e Laksmi even tual ly emerging from the Great Nightb e ing the old Laksmi, not a new one . The mutualre lation of the two is declared to be one of inseparabl econnection or inherence 1 l ike that of an attribute and

its bearer (dha rma, cl harmin ) , existe nce and that whichexists bharat) , I - ness and I (a l tamtd , aham) ,

moonshine and moon, s unshine and sun .

2 Sti l l, th edual ism is, s trict ly speaking, a make sh ift for preserv ingthe t ranscendent charact er of Visn u : Laksmi al one act s,but everyth ing she does ~is the me re expression of the Lord’s

wishes .The K riya S

'

akti is “the Sudars'ana portion of

for it is ident ica l with Vi sn u’s

“ Wi l l - tobe symbol ised by th e Sudars'ana or d iscus . Be ingindependent of space and t ime it is cal led und ivided

(n iska l a ) , in cont radistinction to the B hut i S'akti wh ichis d ivided in many ways 5 and is bu t a myriadth part

(lwl i -ams’a ) of the S’akti ” 6

, that is : an infin itely less

1A r in d bhd fra, samanw ya ; Lak sm i Tan tra I I, 1 7 .

2 See ch apter 4 of A h irb . Samh . and Lak sm i Tan tra I I, 1 1 ii ] .Laksmycflz saudawan i ka l fi, I II, 45 ; cf . V, 1 2 .

LIX, 57 : d es’akd l rj d z’

kd ry dp l is tasya wh ich,h ow ever, is perh aps n ot mean t to e xcl ude p l ural ity ; s ee be l ow ,

s ect ion 6 of th is part of our In troduct ion .

5 N d nabhe fl avat i, XIV, 9 ; cf . V, 9- 1 1 .K r i is re l ated to Bhut i

as th e th read to th e pearl s , th e p in to th e l eave s s ee be l ow our

res ume of adhyaya 8.

0 Wh ich e l s ewh e re is s a i d of th e two S'

akt is tog eth e r : s ee

n ote on p , 20 ,

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L ‘LU U U L U k c u u o L i U U U A l O U a n.)J

V V

noth ing to do with th e three wel l -known Gu nas (Satt iRajas, Tamas ) ; that is to say the ol d dogma that G r

is ne cessari ly “ free from [the three ] Gunas (nirgmz

does not excl ude H is posse s sing the s ix ideal Gunwh ich,on the con trary,m u s t b e ascr ibed to H im,

be canwithout them there could be no Pure Creation, and , afurther evol ution depend ing thereon, no creat ion at a

H owever,the evolution of th e Gunas d oes not in any w :affe ct the being or essence of God,it be ing m e re ly ec h oered with H is becoming or man ife s tation that is : HS’akt i : Through the th ree pairs of what are cal led the SGunas to w it : Knowledge, Lordship, Powee tc .,

does the Pure C reat ion [or first s tage ] of [H is ] bcom ing take place .

” 1

Now, th e s ix Gunas are de scribed as

'

fol l ows

The fi rst Guna is j fi f ma,“ knowledge ”

, d efin l

as non - inert, se l f - con scious, ete rnal , al l -penetratingthat is : omniscience “ I t is both the e ssence at

9

an at tribute of Brahman ’

, for wh ich reason the r

main ing fiv e Gunas are occas ional ly cal le d “attribut

3 9 2

of jfi dna, Jfimm is , of course, al so th e e ssenceLaksmi

f’

V, I 6 ; cf . V, 1 5 an d VI, 6 ; B h i’

tti an d m‘

bh z’

cti are in th

pas s ag es , l ike bhava e l s ew h ere (s ee above p . u s edcon trad is t in ct ion to bham t, an d n ot in th e s en se of th e Bhut i S'alFor th e l atter, l ike th e K r iya S

'

akt i, is con n e cted w ith th re e C u

on l y (s ee be l ow ) , w h il e in th e pas s ag es con ce rn ed th e appearan cq

a l l th e s i x Gunas is refe rred to .

2 Or ch an n e l s of j fi rim ' (j fi rin asya sr taya l z ) , Lak sm i TarI I

, 35 , Yamu nacarya, th e teach er of R ain an u ja, h as tried to jus tph il os oph ical l y, th is Pafi caratra con cept of j fi d n a . A th in g , h e 8:

m ay b e both s ubs tan ce and at tribu te (is'rayfi / l (mg/ (160 m i ter, d s'm g

s aman ra z/ d t, wh ich h e il l us trates by m ean s of th e flam e (s ub s ta ian d th e l ig h t it sh eds (attribu te ) .

3 Laksm i Tan tra I I, 25, etc .

33

The second 1 Guna is a is 'var /m“ l ord sh ip that

is activity based on independe nce “ un impeded activ ity

”.

2

A ccord ing to Laksmi Tantra (I I , 28) th is isidentica l with what is cal l ed tech/Zwil l in otherTattvas'as tras .

The th ird Gu na is S'akti abi lity,potency name lyto become the material cause of the world (jaga t-p i

'

akr ti

I t is el sewhe re 3 defined as ag lm f itag/hatmm

accomplish ing th e non -accompl ishec that is to say,

being able to produce some th ing the cause of wh ichcanno t be accoun ted for by emp ir ica l me thods .

The fou rth Gun a is ba l d, streng th de fined as

absence of fat igue (s’mmn -hdn i) , or fatig ue l e s sn e s s

in connection with the production of the world ”

, or“ powe r to su stain a l l th ings sustain ing - powe r

(dhfiq'

an ac rime r t/zya)Th e fi fth Cru na is ai ry/a virility that is un

affe ctedne ss (change lessness, - r'iraha ) in spite of be ing

th e material cause ”. Th is is a cond it ion, says Laksmi

Tant ra (2 . not found with in the world , where mil kquick l y loses its nature whe n curd s come into existence

The S ixth and last Gun a is tej as s pl e ndoui

might which is said to mean se l f - sufficiency

(sa lmkm' i -annp eks d ) and powe r to defeat othe rs

(pamdb/z ibhave na The latte r defin it ion is inLaksmi Tantra (2 . which add s that some ph il osophersconnect (yoj ayan ti ) tqy

’

as with a is'vaxryn .

The s ix Gu nas are the material, or instrument s, asit we re,of Pure Creat ion, (l ) in the ir t o t a l i t y, an d (2 )

Th e order foun d on p . 18 of our ed it ion is not the u s ua l on e .

In depen den ce, in cre at in g th e un ive rs e , of any oth e r cau s eLak sm i Tan t ra,IV, 9 .

3 Varavaramun i’s comm . on Tat tvatraya, ed . p . 94.

5

34

by p a i r S, in the fol l owing way the Gunas,as connected part ly wit h the Bhuti an d part l y with the K riya S

'

akti

(5 . are regarded as fal l ing in to two sets,namely Gunas1 to 3, an d Gunas 4 to 6, cal led respectively vis'mma

bh zZmaya l t stages of re st and s'mma -bhdmayah stages

of effort and th e corresponding Gunas of each se t

(I and 4, 2 and 5, 3 and 6) j oin to form a pair connectedwith some Special divine man ifestat ion, as wil l be explained presen t ly .

In their t o t a 1 i t y the Gunas make up the body of

V as u d e v a, the h ighe st personal god2

,as wel l as that ofhis con sort Laksm i,in th e way that the se two are con stant lysee n by the free sou l s inhabit ing the H ighest Space .

3

I t is

mainly in this form,to w it as a person qualified by the s ix

Gu nas and di stinct from his S'akti, that God is cal ledVasudeva (5 .

The apparition of the p a i r s denotes th e beginn ingof that p rocess of emanation wh ich has been wel ldefined as

“a process which, whi le bringing the

product into existence, leaves th e source of the productunchanged This very ancien t conception

5

is com

mou ly (though perhaps n ot correct ly ) il lu strated by theimage of the l ight emanat ing from a source such as the

sun,which accounts for the San skrit term for it, namely,” 6

d bhdsa shining out

1 Th es e n am es ar e n ot in A h irb . Samh , s ee, h ow e ver, Lak sm iTan tra IV, 24 ; I I , 46

-47 ; I I I, 4 . Cf . al so w hat is s aid be l ow on

th e d ifferen t con d it ion of th e th ree Vyuhas durin g an d afte rPu re Creat ion .

2 S Jdgu zzya -r i graham d evam (VI, Th e s ix Gu nas e x is tal s o be fore creat ion , bu t w ith out be in g active (V,

3 See be l ow .

4 Ch atterj i, K ashm i r Sho ts /(i sm,p . 59 ,

5Of . th e S

'

an t i P firnam 0 110 73, e tc .,at th e beg in n in g of I s’avasya

an d oth e r Upan isads .

6N ot foun d in th e Samh itas, in so far as kn ow n to u s .

35

The Paficaratra teaches a c h a i n as it were,of emanations ; each emanation, except the fi rst,or ig inating from an an terior emanation ; an d thus thefavourite image of the proce s s has, with the Paficaratr in s ,become that of o n e f l a m e p r o c e e d i n g f r o ma n o t h e r f l a m e .

1

A ny p roduction, up to the formation of the Eg g , is imagined as taking place in thisway .

The first three (or, incl ud ing Vasud eva, four) be ingsthus coming into existence are cal le d V y a h a s Thisword is a combination of th e root i2h to shove an d

the preposition vi asunde r and apparent ly re fe rs tothe shoving asunde r of the s ix Gunas in to threepairs .2 This, however, does not mean that each Vyuhahas on ly its two respective Gunas, bu t, as is repeatedlyemphasized, each Vyfiha is Vis n u Himsel f with H is s ix

Gunas, of which, however, two on ly, in each case, becomemanifest . A biding by the image, we may say that eachnew flame has for it s fue l anothe r pair of Gunas .

The Vyuhas are named afte r the elde r b rother, theson, and the g randson, respective ly, of Krsna, name lySamkarsan a (or Balarama, B al ade va) , P radyumna, and

A n iruddha ; and the pairs of Gu nas connected w iththese are respective ly : j ad e d, and ba l a ; ais’vwrya and

t ime S’akti and tej as .

Each Vyuha, after having app eare d, remains inactive (avydprta) for a period of 1 00 years of h is own

or human years ; that is to say : the

evolution of Pure Creation,up to its end or up to th e poin twhe n A n iruddha “

together with the two earlier [S'

aktis,namely t hose of Samkarsana and P radyumna] engages

1Se e for in s tan ce Padma Tan tra I, 2 21 .

C i i l zm itmya-s fhi tir Vi s nor g n p rim/ a tL

’

karrii l bhavi i (V,2 1 )

36

in creation takes 3 x 1 ,600 : 4,800 human

years f

The S'aktis of the Vyuhas, hinted at in our Samh ita,are mentioned by name in a number of lat e r Samhitas .Mahasanatkumara Samh ita, for ins tance, teache s

2

thatVasudeva create s from h is m ind the white godde ss Santi,and toge the r with her Samkarsan az S'iva ; then from the

le ft side of the lat ter is born the red godde ss S’r i ,whose sonis P radyumna z B rahman ; the latte r, again, create s theye l low Sarasvati and toge ther with h e r A n irudd ha :

P urusottama, whose S'

akti become s the black Rati whois the thre e fold MayaKosa to be mentioned be low .

Each Vyuha has two activitie s, a creative an d a

mora l one , that is, on e con nected with the origin of be ingsand anothe r on e connected w ith the ir e th ical p rogre ss ;an d each of the se activitie s of a Vyuha is said to bemed iated by on e of h is two Gun as f For th is reason,that is to say be cause the creative activitie s nece s sarilypre cede the moral one s, it is assum ed 5

that during the

1 \Vh ich is , of cours e, a l so th e l en g th of th e P ral aya of PureCreat ion s ee ou r Samh ita pp . 35 -36.

2I n d raratra, S i xth ad hyaya cf . Lak sm i Tan tra, s i xth ad hyaya .

I t is im portan t to bear in m in d th at th e s e four coup l e s are

a l l of th em baLz’

r -a gzd'

i -j a born out s ide th e [Mun dan e ] Eg g”an d

th ere fore n ot iden t ical w ith the prakrt ic Gods , S'

iva, e tc ., wh o

be l on g to Gros s Creat ion (de s cribed be l ow , s ect ion I t

im pos s ibl e oth e rw is e to un ders tan d certain accoun ts s uch

th e fo l l ow in g on e of Lak sm i Tan tra, fifth ad hyaya : Brahmanand Saras vat i create an eg g (I 5 ) , V is nu an d Lak sm i l ie dow n in

it from Visnu’

s n ave l th ere sprin g s th e Sacr ificia l Lotu san d from th e Lotus are born Brahman an d Saras vat i (27

“V isvaks e na Samh ita, in Tat t vat raya ed . pp . 1 25 - 1 27 ; Lak sm iTan tra IV, 8- 20 . Th e dogm a of Gunas 1 to 3 be in g con n ected w ithcre at ion on l y, an d Gu t as 4 to 6 w ith m ora l prog re s s on l y, is n ot

qu ite adh ered to in s eve ra l Samh itas , it be in g s om ewh at h ard tobe l ie ve th at Samkar sana s h ou l d create by m ean s of Kn ow l edg e b utteach ph il o s ophy by m e an s of Stren g th ; th at P r adyumn a s hou l dte ach e th ics by m ean s of Viril ity rath e r th an A b il ity, et c .

Lak sm i Tan tra IV, 8, HI . IV, 24, an d I I, 47 .

37

period of Pure Creation those Gunas on ly are actual l yman ife st, though as mere “ stages o f re st ” (vis'mmaMa l in a /

yak) , wh ich become ac tive at the beginn ing o f

Non - pure Creation, wh ile the “ stage s o f e ffor t ” (S'mmct

Niamey/a lt ) can come forth on ly afte r al l the Tat tvas are

created .

The c r e a t i v e a c t i v i t i e s of the Vyuhas come

into play the on e afte r the o ther,marking out in the

fol lowing way th ree successive s tage s in th e creation ofthe “

non -pure un ive rse .

With Samkars an a Non -p ure C reation becomes dim lyman ife st in an embryon ic condit ion, as a chaot icmas s withou t in ternal d ist inct ions . This is e x pressedin the Samhitas by the gro tesque but of tenrepeated statemen t that Samkarsana carrie s the

whole unive rse like a til a/t d l rt lta (dark spot unde r thewh ich apparen t ly s ignifies that the world h e

carrie s is st i l l so to speak unde r the surface, ex ist ingonly in a ge rminal cond ition 1

, as a minute part, as i t

were, o f his body . The Gun a with which Samkarsan ape rforms h is cosmic function, i s sometimes s tated to be

j fid na, but as a rule ba l e . H is name B al ad eva (thestrong God) is a lso connected with this aspect of his,andso he is often de scr ibed by means of such compounds asas

'eSa -balwana - fi d/mi n s upport of the whole worl dThrough Pradyumna the dual ity of P urusa an d

P rakrti makes i ts fi rst appearancez

z he is said to perform, by means of his Gun a ai s'uarya, both the mdnavagamer. an d the m id i/ (t s urge that is , the creation of th e

1 A s fi nasg‘

gzo c i lrdm l z, Lak sm i Tantra VI, 7 .

2 Laksm i Tan tra VI, 1 0 : bhokl r -bhogyu- su nu ts/ L

'

s tn n i lZiuZ[ a imt i sflu i ti .

3 LV . 1 7 ; LI X , 3 1 (A h irb .

8

Group Soul and of Primordial Matter p lus Subt l eT ime .

1

A n iruddha, finally, gives opportunity for growthto body and sou l (52 . 5 1 - 5 2 ) by taking over the creat ion of P radyumna and by evolving out of it Man ifestMatter (vyakfa) w ith Gros s T ime,and , on the other hand,the so- cal led Mixed Creation (mis'm - s rs ti )

2 of soul s ; thatis to say : he become s, through his Gu na S

’akti, ruler of

th e Cosm ic Eggs an d the ir conte ntsTh e cosmic activities of the Vyi

'

ihas are al so 3

not,

however, as it seems, in the oldest Samh itas—stated tobe th e c reation, pre servation, and destruction of the

universe or of the Cosmic Eg g . These statements are ofa somewhat contrad ictory nature . Laksm i Tantra, forinstan ce, teaches (4 . 1 1 , 1 9 , 2 0 ) that th e cosmic functionof A n iruddha is creating, that of P radyumna preserving,and that of Samkar s an a de stroying ; wh i le, accord ing toVis vaksena Samh ita (l oc. cit , p . 1 25 Samkarsan a

“ by mean s of h is Guna ba l e take s away al l th isP radyumna

“ by mean s of h is Guna ais’m ryrt create sthat [total ity of] moveable and immoveab le [beings ]and A n iruddha by means of his [Guna] S’akti supportsand protects this whole world, the infinite Eg g

The e t h i c a l a c t i v i t i e s of th e three Vyfihasare declared to be

5

the teaching (I ) by Samkarsana,1 VI, 9 HI ,an d 12 , For part icu l ars s ee th e n e xt sect ion of th is

In troduct ion .

2 V is vak s en a Samh ita, l oc. ci t , p . 1 29 ,

3 Cf . th e iden t ificat ion of Samkar s ana and S'

iva,e tc .,men t ion edabove p . 36 .

I n A h irbud hnya Samh itaal so,A n iruddha is occas ion al l y ca l l edprot ector “

ove rs eer ”, an d th e l ike (s ee, for in s tan ce, L I I I,53 LV, but e l s ewh ere (LV, 2 1 etc . ) it as cribes to h im al l th e

th ree act ivit ie s .

Se e e spe cial l y V, 2 1 -24 , V isvak s en a Samh ita, l oc. cit , pp .

1 25 - 1 27 Lak sm i Tan tra IV, 1 5 - 20 ,

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40

Vasudeva. B ut the original mean ing of the doct r ine musthave been rathe r that the Vyuhas are something l iket u t e l a r d e i t i e s of the said principles . Th is is, indeed, th e teach ing of Vis vaksena Samhita, which decl are s

(l oc. cit , pp . 1 25 fi l . ) about Samkarsan a : He is actingas the superintendent of al l the soul s and aboutPradyumna : He is th e superintend en t of the m ind

(me ans ) ; he is declared to be of the nature of the mind

(manonmya) . A bout A n iruddha no simi lar statem ent ismade 2

; stil l h is being declared to be th e creator of themis 'm -rarga, that is, o f the soul s dominated by Rajas andTamas, shows that he was actual l y l ooked at, byth e author of that Samh ita, as the ari/z isflzd fr of the

A hamkara. In the same Samh ita the superin tendenceof Samkarsan a is described as fol lows : “ Then Sam

karsana, the D ivine Lord, wish ing to create the

world, made himse l f supe rin tendent of the Principle ofLife and severed it from Nature f A nd , afte r havingdone so 4

, th e God ob tained the state of P radyumna .

In A hirbud hnya Samh ita, as we have seen, the duality of

Soul and Nature appears first with Pradyumna . I t is he,not Samkarsan a, who is cal led there the “ Lord of the

soul s (53 . 4 s ) , wh il e A n iruddha is inde ed cal led superin tenden t, n ot howeve r of th e A hamkara but of each ofth e three Gunas (6. 5 3 fi l . ) or of the whole manife s tedworld (see above p . 38, note B ut though th e reis nothing in our Samh ita, in so far as the account of

So’

ymgz samas tu-fi r d n dm adh i sflui tflayd s th i tah .

2 For w h ich reason it is al so m is s in g in Tattv atraya in th e

aph or ism on th e act iv it ie s of A n irudd h a (ed . p ,

3 J i va - tattvam adh isfln ’

zya pm kg' tcs in r ivicya ta t, w h ich th e

comm en tary e x p l a in s th u s H e m ade h im s e l f s uperin te n den t of th ePrin cip l e of L ife,w h ich w as abs orbed in Nature,an d on th e s tren g thof th at s uper in t en den ce s e vered it from Natu re s o as to render th eappearan ce of n am es and form s pos s ib l ei

’

Vi veka z vivecanam .

41

creation is conce rned, that wou l d make the Vyuhas

appear as tutelar de itie s in th e sense ment ionedthere are indeed a few pas sag es re fe rring to

ind ividual l ife wh ich cou l d be so in te rp re ted . Forexamp le , we read (53 . 4 0 fl l .) of Pradyumna that h e is a

source of j oy by h is purifying infl uence onand again that h e is the in te rna l rule r (u, uf u r - uig/mmflm)of the organ of know ledge of Samkar

sana (59 . 2 8 , 2 5 fl l .) that h e ca use s the s oul toflee fromth e world an d reach Libe rat ion by mak ing it ob tain cor

rect know ledge ; an d of A n iruddha (59 . 3 4 ) H e be s tow supon men the fruits [of the ir ac tion s ] wh ich fru its

(z re sul ts ) here undoubtedly incl ud e , or even exclusive lydeno te, those earn ed by se lfi sh actions (good and bad ) .

From each Vyuha de sce nd three S u b -V y ah a s

(cg/ zi luin frrro , m inty/mant ra ) , name ly, (1 ) from VasudevaK e s

'ava, Narayana, an d Madhava ; (2 ) from Samkar s ana

Govinda,Vis nu,and Madh usudana ; (3 ) from P “

al l yumna

Tr iv ikrama, Vaman a, and S’

rid hara ; and (i ) fromA n irudd ha : H r s ike s'a, Padmanabha, and Damod ara .

These twelve are th e Lords of the month s 1

, that isth e t utelar deities of th e twe lve mon th san d the twelve sun s ”, an d as such play an importantpart in diagrams (yan tras ) , e tc .

1 They ar e usual lyrep resen ted, for the purpose of meditation : K e sava as

shin ing l ike gol d an d bearing four d iscuses,Narayanaas dark (l ike a blue lotus ) an d bearing four conche s,Madhava as sh in ing like a g em (saph ire ) an d bearingfour clubs, etc .

5

; and they are said to prote ct the

1A ra / fin ial“ s ay s Yat . D ip . ed . p . 85 .

2 l l /l ci s d rl h ip fi l z ,Mahasan atkum ara S . 1 1 1, 6 , 33

3Th at is . th e s un in th e twe l ve mon th s of th e yeai ,

cf . th e NW

cm’

rm , VI I I, 47b fi l of A h irb . Samh , fu i th e i Yat D ip . ed . p 85 .

1 V,49 VIII, XXV I , 3 3 fi l .Y at . D ip , l ea cft , to b e compared w ith th e fu l l e r (an d

s l ig h t l y d iffe re n t ) de s cr ipt ion in ad hy , XXVI of ou r Samh ita.

6

42

devotee’s body if represen ted on the same (foreheade tc .) by certain painted vertical lines

A nother se t of twelve Vidyes varas1 descend

ing from the Vyuhas is men tion ed in a numberof texts 2

and derived in Padma Tan tra I, 2 . 2 6

H] . in th e fol lowing way : from the Vyuha Vasudevasprings another Vasudeva, from th e latter Purusottama, an d from h im Janardan a ; s imilarly fromSamkar san a another Samkar san a, A dhoksaj a, and

Up endra ; and from A n iruddha an oth er A n iruddha,

A cyuta, and Krs na . The se twelve are enumerated afterthe twe lve Sub -Vyuhas and cal led, together withthe latter, “

th e tw en ty - four form s ” (cfrtzm'

r imS'ati

ms rfay/a li ) .To Pure C reation furthe r be long th e so -cal l ed

V i b h a v a s (man ifestations) or A v a t ar a s (d e scent s), that is incarnations of God or H is Vyuhas or SubVyuhas or angel s (see below ) among this or that c l as sof te rre str ial beings .1 The principal Vibhavas are,

accord ing to A hirbudhnya Samhita (5 . 5 0 fi l . ; cf . 56.2

the fol lowing thir ty -n ine

1 . Padmanabha .14, Ekarnavas

’ayin . 27 . Nyag rodhas’ayin .

2. Dh ruva . 1 5 . K am ath e s

'

vara . 28. Ekas’rng atan u ,

3 . A n an ta. 1 6. Varaba, 29 Vaman ad eha .

4. S'

aktyatman . 1 7 , Naras imh a . 30 . Tr iv ikram a,

5 . Madh us fid an a. 18. P iyusaharana . 3 1 . Nara .

6 . V idyadh ideva . 1 9 . S'r ipat i . 32 . Narayana .

7 . Kap i l a , 20 , K an tatman . 33 . H ari .8. V i s’varupa . 2 1 . R ahu j it 34. Krsna .

9 . V ih ang am a . 22 . K al an em ig h n a ,35 . P aras’uram a .

1 0 . K rodatm an . 23 . Par ijatah ara . 36 . R am a Dh an u rdh ara .

1 1 . B adabavaktra . 24. Lokanath a . 37 . Ved av id .

1 2 . Dharma . 25 . S'

an tatman . 38. Kal k in .

1 3 . Vag i s’vara . 26. D at tat reya , 39, Patal as

’ayan a .

Th is term in Mahasan atkumara S . 1 1 1, 6. 34 .

See for e xam p l e V ihag en d ra S . 1 1, 18, an d th e pas s ag e m en

t ion ed in th e preced in g n ote .

3 Vi bharo m im e ta t- tat - s aj f?f iya Yat , D iped . p .

86 .

43

Th is list has been reproduced almost exactly from the

n inth par iccheda of Sattvata Samhita(ed . pp . 79 and

to that work we are, indeed, referred by our Samhita (5 .

5 7 fi l .) for a comprehens ive de scrip t ion of th e origin,e tc ., of those Vibhavas . However, th e descrip tion,though it is actual ly found there, covering over 1 60s'lokas of the twel fth par iccheda (ed . pp . 97 d oesnot, apart from some h ints, deal with the origin of th e

Vibhavas ,but only with their form and activity as obje ct sof m ed itat ion . Sti l l l es s can be gathered from the

twen ty -third pariccheda of the same Samhita and th e

fi fty- sixth adhyaya of the A hirbud hnya,where the thirty

n ine Vibhavas are once more re viewed in connection withcertain Man tras . We must, then, ,

try to identify thenames without any direct help, wh ich, however . as wi l lbe seen, is n ot very d ifficul t .

We shal l natural ly begin by p icking out the ten

A vataras e numerated in the Narayan iya section of theS'ant i Parvan, which, for obvious reasons,must be e x

pected to be incl uded in our list . They are nos . 91 5 28 (z Matsya), 1 6, 1 7,29,3 5,

36, 37, and 38.

Four of the o thers show Vi s nu under diffe re n t

aspect s at the beg inn ing of creation and after P ral ayarespectively, namely (14) as s l eep ing, with Laksmi, onth e primeval waters 1 ; (l ) as growing from His nave l th elotus from which B rahman is to spring ; (27 ) as the boyfloating on the Nyag rodha branch, in whose m outhMarkan d eya d iscove red th e d issolved un iverse

z

; and

(39) as th e“ Lord of the cataclysmic fire ”, clad in a

1Sat tvata S . XII, 66 : n isanpmp Lak sm i T . V,

2 1 P a i l mayd swim i i’

d fyay i i (tp s n s uS'uymu / ip m in e .

Re fe rrin g to th e s tory re l ated in Van a Parvan , 188 ti l .

44

flam ing robe, waited upon by Lak smi, C inta,N id ra, an dP l i s ti . 1

A gain, th e re are four othe r A vataras who rathe rseem to be l ong toge the r and th e re fore, says SattvataSamh ita (1 2 . may be m ed itated upon e ithe rco l le ctive ly or singly, nam e ly n os . 3 1 to 34 (incl uding on e

a l ready m en tioned ) who are Vi s nu appearing as the fours ons of Dharma and A hims z

'

f1 They are described, in

Sattvata S . (1 2 . 1 3 9 as four ascetics clad in deersk in, e tc ., the on e re cit ing Mantras, the second absorbedin med itation, the th ird teaching me ritor ious works, andth e fou rth pe rforming auste r it ie s .

The n there are four (includ ing two al ready men

t ion ed ) , to wit nos . 1 , 5, 29, and 30,who are ident i ca l inname, and possibly in some o ther respect,with four of

th e twe lve Sub -Vyuhas . Two of the se, name ly Vamana

and Triv ikrama, are , accord ing to our source s,me re lythe two oppos ite aspe cts of the we l l -known Vamana

A vatara, that is Vis n u as th e ve ry smal l one (l i f t- s tin t ) andth e al l - pe rvad ing one (S i t /

‘

Urt

wh ile no . 5 re fe rs, of cou rse , to Vis n a’s v ic tory over the

demon Madhu .

1

O f th e re s t some are m en t ioned as A vataras in the

l ’urana l ite rature , wh ile o the rs are apparent ly not

known in it as such, or al toge the r unknown .

N o . 3, A nan ta, is not th e serpe nt S'e s a b ut Balarama,

the brothe r of K r s n af’

I n Padma Tantra (I, 2 .

1Satt vata S . X I I , 165 ff ] .

2 N arayaniya, ope n in g ch ap ter ; s e e B han d arkar, Vu is gmvi sm,

e tc . (E . I . A . B . vo l . 1 1 1, part pp . 32 - 33 . I t is c l ear th at th isKrsna is n ot e xact ly ide n t ica l w ith th e w e l l -kn ow n on e .

1Cf. Ta it t . Up . anor d il l y /Zn maha to m ah iyd n , e tc .

1 Or rath e r th e dem on s Madh u an d K a itab h a ; s e e ch ap te r 41 of

A h irb ud h nya Samh i ta.

\Vh o is s om e t ime s reg arded as an in carn at ion of S'

e sa rath erthan of V iS nu H im s e l f .

45

is inse rted afte r Paras'urama as the e ighth of th e ten

A vataras instead of th e fi rs t (Ham sa) who is omitted .

N o . 7, Kapi la, is, accord ing to our Samh ita (56. th e

Samkhya philosophe r, and he is eviden tly th e same as

Kap ila the teache r o f the Naga kings re fe rred to

e l sewhe re .

1

N o . I O, K rodatman, can be none e l se,to j udge from Sattvata S . 1 2 . 4 5fll ., than Vis nuas the Yajna-varaha or Yaj fi a- sukara, a partion lar aspect of the Boar incarnat ion . The d e scription, in 56. 3 5 of no . 24, Lokanatha, point s to

Man n Vaivasvata who was saved from the de lugeby Brahman as a fi sh and made the [se con dary]creator of al l l iving beings . No . 20, K an tatman , is de s

cribed in Sattvata S . (12 . as fi l .) as a beautiful youthw ith “ eye s unsteady by love ”

, etc ., that is to say as

P radyum na, or Kama reborn (afte r his de st ruction byS'iva) as the son of Krs n a . B ut in A hirbud hnya S .

(56 .8 ) h e has th e e pithe t (I xmr tf t

“ carryingne ctar which seems rathe r to point to Dhanvan tari,th e physician of the gods, or to Dadhibhakta

i

. No 26,

Dattatreya, is the we l l -known sage, son of A t ri an dA nasuya. No . 37,Vedav id, is, according to Sat tvata S .

(12 . 1 5 4 the famous Veda-Vyasa . A l l of these are

among the twenty - two A vataras e numerated in th e

Bhagavata Purana (1 , supposing that K rodatman may

be iden tified with Yaj fi a, K an tatman with Dhanvantari,and Lokanatha with Puru sa (the Mal e or Progen itor) . Thefol lowing are al so Puranic : Dhruva (No . th e B s i and

polar s tar, ce lebrated , in Sattvata S . 9 . 1 0 5 ,as th e bearer

Padma Tan tra 1, 1 . 23fl] . V is uu t il aka 1 1, 1 70 il l . e tc .

Note e spe c ia l l y ru zfmj u an d su fya- vrum.

See be l ow , n ote Ii ,on n o . 1 8, n e xt pag e .

46

of the A dhara S'akti ’ ; Vag i s vara (no . who is

H ayas i rsa or H ayag riva ; and San tatman (no . if heis, as may be supposed, e ither Sanatkumara (Sanaka) orNarada as the expounder o f the Sattvata system .

2

S'

aktyatman (no . 4) is Visnu as icchd -p a -dham

(Sattvata S . 12 . that is, assuming the particular formrequired for pl easing some devotee . Vidyadhideva, the

Lord of.Viraj is the four - faced Brahman . No. 8 is

Visn u in the form in which H e appears to A rj una in the

famous Vis varupa A dhyaya (1 1 ) of the B hagavad -Gita.

No . 1 1 is A urva . No . 1 2 is Vis nu as dharma personified .

No . 1 8, al so cal led A mrtaharana, is Vis n u as th e

restore r of immortality to t he g od s f’

No . 19 is Visn uas the husband of Lak smi (who threw hersel f into H isarm s when she emerged from the ocean ) . Nos . 2 1 and

22 are Vis n u conque ring respectively Rahu and

K al anemi. No . 23, final ly, is Krs na wresting fromIndra the celes tial t ree .

The enume ration of exact ly thirty -n ine A vataras ,an d the insistence upon th is number al so in th e

ma'

nfrechl luivu in bo th the Samh itas concerned, se em s toprove that th e number is mean t to be exhaustive . Th isimpression is not removed by Varavaramun i

’s statement,

in h is commentary on Tattvatraya (ed . p .

1Of .

A h irbudhnya Samh ita, adhy . VIII, 31 fi l .,wh ere, h oweve r,th e term h as a m uch w ider s en s e .

2 Th e on l y des cript ion of S'

an tatm an is in Sattvata S . X I I , 1 10

H avin g a m in d fu l l of com pas s ion , carry in g th e con ch an d l otu s in

h is h an ds, sh ow in g th e th reefol d path of kn ow l edg e, renun ciat ion ,and v irtuou s deeds .

3 Of . th e s tory of th e churn in g of th e ocean Th e ep ith e tw ou l d al s o fit Dadh ibh ak ta to w h om In dra is s ai d to ow e th e

A m rta, an d wh o i s m en t ion ed am on g th e ch ie f A vataras in

V isvak s en a S ., Inc. ci t ,p . 1 35 (Dm l lu'

l ihakias'm (Zeres'o du re l -hus to hn rtap rada lg) . A m rtah arana is , th ird l y, an ep ith et of Garuda as th e

s teal er of A m rta .

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Paras urama, th e Vasu cal led Pavaka, and Kube ra, the

g od of riches .A s for the origin of th e A vataras,Vis vaksena Sam

hita declares that al l of them spring from A n iruddha,

either d irect ly or ind irect ly, example s of the latter classbeing Mahes vara (S

’

iva) w ho d e scend s from A n iruddha

through Brahman, and Hayas iras who come s from the

Fish,who h imse l f springs from the d irect A vatara Krsna .

A ccord ing to Laksmi Tantra al so (2, 5 5 ) al l the Vibhavasdescend from A n irud dha. Padma Tan tra, on the otherhand, says (I, 2 . 3 1 HI . ) that of the ten A vataras the

Fish,the Tortoise,and the Boar2 have sprung from Vasu

deva the Man - lion, Dwarf, S'

rirama and Paras urama

from Samkarsan a Balarama from Prady imna ; and

Kr s na and Kalki from A n iruddha ; and it indicates thatth e othe r A vataras 3

are to be d istributed in a similar way .

The A vataras are n ot confined to human and an imalforms th e vege table kingdom is some times chosen, as mth e case of the crooked mango -t ree in the DandakaFore st ment ioned by Vi svaksena S . (l oc. cit , p . 1 30 )as an instance of th is class of incarnation s .

Even among inanimate obj ect s an image of Kr s na,the Man - l ion, Garuda, e tc., becomes an A vatara of

Visnu (endowe d with a ce rtain miraculous powe r fe l tby th e worsh i p per ) as soon as it is duly c onsecratedaccording to th e Pancarat ra rites, it be ing supposed that

Pos s es s ed of th e qual ity of m ak in g h ere t ics , th ere fore cal l edmohan a

“th e b ew il d e r er

2 Th at is, th e th ree m an ife s tat ion s of Prajapat i m en t ion ed in th eS

'

atapath a Brahm ana (D ow s on , H in du Cl asw'

ca l D icti onary, sub voceA vatara ) .

3 P uru sa, Satya,A ryuta,Buddha,Das’arh a,S

'

au ri,A nn os’a,H ayag ri va,N rs imha S

'

ankhod ara,V isvaks en a Vrsakapi, A d ivaraha .

49

Vis nu, owing to H is omnipotence,is capable of descend

ing”into such images with a port ion of H is S

'akti, that

is, with a subt l e divine non -natura l body .

1

This is the A r c a A v a t ar a or incarnation for

the p urposes of ordinar y worsh ip . I t is exhaustivelyt reated in Visvaksena Samh ita (l oc. cit ,pp . 122 and

There is, final ly, the A n t a r v am i A v a t ar a,wh ich is A n irudd ha as the Inner Ruler of al l soul s

(n ig/antd Sa’

l"

ULt -(iehind ln )2

a ve ry o l d conception based ona famous Upanisad passage . The A n taryamin is the mys

terious power which appears as instinct and the like, andwh ich as the smokeless flame ” seated in the “ lotus

of the heart p lays an important part in Yoga practice .

”

The A vataras, includ ing those which belong to thepast in so far as their visibility on earth is concerned,areheld to be eternal aspec ts of Visn u which are alwayshelp ful if properly meditated upon . I t is, indeed, formeditation more than for anything else that Visn u is bel ieved to have manifested H imsel f under different forms .

To Pure C reation, third ly, belongs the p arama

c zyoman, H i g h e s t H e a v e n or Va ikunthas

, withal l the be ings and obj ects contained in it . This Highest

Th e pres en ce of God as a V ibh ava in g en erated bod ies s uch as

thos e of Rama an d Krsna is al s o e xp l ain ed in th is w ay s ee Yat . D ip .

ed . p . 53 wh ere th is is the an swer to th e qu es t ion “ H ow can th erebe a jun ction between th e n atural and th e n on -n atural (p rdkr taap rdkr ta

- sa izz sarga l i katham f ) .2 Visvaks en a S. l oc. ci t ,p . 1 22 .

3Th is con cept ion of God res id in g in th e s ou l bu t not iden t ical

w ith it w i l l b e foun d to be re s pon s ibl e for th e apparen t A d vait ismof a g ood m any pas s ag es in th e Pancaratra l iterat ure .

See VI, 2 1fll . of A h irb . Samh ita. Th is is th e s econ d -h ig h es t in

th e l ist of. Tat tvas , Laksm i Tan tra VI, 43, en um erat in g : th e Lord,H ig h est H eaven , th e P uru sa, S

'

akt i, N iyat i, e tc . For egoman , l it .

s pace,. sph ere th e syn onym s (ikd s'a,n ab/ms , etc .,are al so us ed cf .

l oc. ci t , VII, 9 .

5Th is n am e is am big uous in that it al s o den ote s , an d more often

so, th e (l ow er ) h eaven of V is nu in Satya - l oka, wh ich is a reflect ion ,

50

Heaven has nothing to do with any of th e temporalheaven s forming the upper sphere s of the Cosm ic Egg .

Th is is indicated by its being cal led Tripml -vibhi'

i ti, man ifestation of the three - fourths [of God] in contradistinction to the on e - fou rth with wh ich A n iruddha creates theCosmic Egg . The Highest H eaven, in that it is not

reached, at Liberation, unti l after the shel l ” or wal l ”

of the Cosm ic Eg g has been p ierced is defined as“ infinite above, limited be low .

1

The Highest Heaven with its inhabitant s 2 comesinto existence together with th e Vyuhas ; and when, at

the time of the Great D is sol ution, the Cosm ic Eggs d isappear and Laksmi become s ind istinguishable from th e

Lord“

,it is, of course, al so w ithd rawn f

B ut the re is al so another, evident ly later, view,accord ing to which the Highe st Heaven (includ ing, ofcourse, the d ivine coup le ) is n ot affecte d by the GreatD issol ution . With th is second view is probably connected the distinction be tween the H ighest H eaven and the

world as n i tya-c ibh zl ti

‘i’

and l i l d -c ibh zi ti,“eternal mani

fe station and “ play -man ife station (z man ife station

of the play of God, that is, the world) .0

en m in ia tu re, of th e H ig h e s t H eaven — and occas ion a l l y e ven thatw ho l e sph ere . V isnu - l oka is an equal l y am b ig uou s term . Some

Samh itas con n e ct each Vyuh a w ith a part icu l ar h eaven ; s ee, for

in s tan ce,V ih ag en d ra Samh ita, I I, 20 .

S ci vi bh i’

i ti 'r ford ]? z ‘a ad /za l i -p racl es’e p ar icchim i d ;

Yat . D ip . ed , p , 53 . Th e jou rn ey of th e l ibe rated s ou l to th e

boun dary of th e Cosm ic Eg g an d furth er on , is des cribed w ith infin itedetai l in ch apters 5 to 7 of Tr ipad v ibhut im ahanarayana Upan isad .

2 A mon g w h om al so th e l ibe rated sou l s ar e repres en ted fromth e beg in n i n g , n am e l y by th ose in n um erab l e on es l iberated in form erKal pas ; P . Prakas’a S . VI, 7 .

3See above, beg in n in g of s ect ion 2, p . 29fll .P . Prakas 'a S . I, 14 : Vti ikuzzfli dd i v i haram h im}.Or b/zoga

- vibl z 'tl t i,Tatt vatraya ed . p . 76 .

0 Cf . p . 53, our e xp l an ation of th e term s n i l g rid i ia an d S’d '

n fficl i ta .

51

In the Highest Heaven there is, ju st as on earth, adistinction be tween matte r an d soul s . For the soul swithout matter wou l d have no obj ect s of enj oymentThe heavenly matter, however, or p ure matte r

(s'udd /m-sattca), as it is cal led, is not a m ix ture of theth ree Gunas,nor th e Sat tva Gu na without an admixtureof the other Gunas . though it is sometimes understood inth e latter sense . The Highest Heaven coming intoex istence together w ith the Vy i

'

ihas (6 . 2 1 it is clearthat the Sattva Guna, which or iginates much late r,namely on ly from Kala (Time )

1

, can have noth ing to dowith it . Pure Matter, the n, is a sort of spiritual matterwh ich exists nowhere except in P ure Creation . I t is a

nece s sary hypothesis for explaining : (1 ) th e non -natural

(a -

p i'

d krm) bodies of God,the angel s,and libe rated soul s ;and (2 ) the presence, in the

“ C ity of Vaikun tha”

, of

inan imate obj ects, to w it,“instrumen ts of e nj oymen t

”

such as sandal,flowe rs,j ewels,e tc .

” 2

,and places of enjoymen t such as parks, lotus -tanks, pavil ions, e tc .

3 Purematter is sp iritual, that is of th e nature of Knowledgeand B lis s ” (6. 2 2 , in so far as it is nowhere anobstacle to th e m ind , but con sists, on th e contrary, ofn oth ing but wishe s material ised . I t is, as it were, thesolidified splendour ”

(Sig/ (ind prabhd ) of Pure Creation

(6. 2 1

The most prominent figure in Highest Heaven isGod Himsel f in H is para or highest ” form,wh ich is th efirst of his five prakaras or mode s of ex istence, th e otherfour being th e Vyuhas and th e three k inds of A vataras

See be l ow s ect ion 3 of th is part of our In troduct ion .

2 On e ed it ion of Yat . D ip . in cl udes w om en (i adh iZ) l3 Cf ., for (I ) th e j iicmd am zdamayfi, (l eh ffig, an d for (2 ) th e !M an da,

mayd bhog d li an d cinan da l aks and l okd h m en t ion ed in VI, 2 L and 23

resp . of A h irbudhnya Samh ita.

52

treated of above .

1 He as sumes this form as a root of h isinnumerable A vataras 2

and especial ly for the enj oyment of the ange l s and the liberated .

3

The D ivine Figure is adorned w ith nine ch ief ornaments and weapons,wh ich symbolical ly rep resent the p rincipl es of the universe namely, the K au stubha (a j ewelworn on the breast) soul s, th e S

'

r ivatsa (a curl ofhair on the breast ) : P rakrti, a cl us ahat, a conchthe Sattvic A hamkara, a bow=the Tamasic A hamkara, asword z kn ow l edg e, its sheath z ig norance, the d iscusth e mind, the arrows=th e senses, a g ar l and z the

elements .5 These weapons and ornament s are not

m erely regarded as symbol s but al so as actual ly conn ected (as presid ing deities or the like ) with th e Tattvas they represent . In th is sen se we read, for instance.in Visn util aka 9 - 8 1 ) that during th e universaln ight the soul “ in th e form of th e K au s tubha

” rest s in1 Mama p rakd i d lz paiicéti p rdha i i

'

ecl an ta -

p aragal z,V isv . S ., l oo.

ci t , p . 1 22. Cf . above pp . 24 H] . our e xp l an at ion of th e n ame

Pancaratra .

2 A nan tavatd ra -kanda, Tattvatraya ed . pp . 1 18- 1 1 9. I n Vih a

g en d ra S . I I, 1 5 th e Saksat S'

akt i is cal l ed m fii i ivi a zgi b ij am a i yayam .

3Th e p ara form of God is fou r -arm ed an d of dark -b l ue com

p l e x ion (V isv . S ., loc. ci t p . 1 36 , Padma Tan tra I, 2, 1 3 an d

I t has s p run g , accord in g to PadmaTan tra (I, s econ d ad hyaya ; cf.

V is nu t il aka I I, 5fll . from a s t i l l h ig h er, th e very firs t, form of God

(7 ap am adya igi s anatan am ; V is nu t il aka I I, 10 : Vasad ecd hvayaq i

mafi a]; cf . A h irb . Samh ,XL I II, 7 mafi a ]; p aramabhd sva i am ) wh ichis two -h an ded (cf . V ihag end ra S . I I, of th e col ou r of a pu recrys tal , an d cl ad in a ye l l ow robe ju s t as th e Sudar s’an a Pa rasa(man tra - tam” B hagai an ) res id in g in Vaikunth a w ho appears to

A h irbudh nya, XLIV 22fll . (cf XL I I I 9 Th is is th e bes t ofP uru sas an d th e H ig h e s t L ig h t

”s een by Brahman in m ed itat ion

(Padma Tan tra I, 3 , 1 6fll . ) and ever to b e rem embered by Yog in sas s eated in th e l otu s of th e h eart that is , eviden t l y, th e A n taryam in p l aced h ere above th e Para .

Th is form, ag ain , h as orig in atedfrom th at wh ich has al l form s an d n o form Brahman w ithou t

beg in n in g ,m idd l e or end

See n e xt s ect ion of th is In troduct ion5Th e g reat authority on th is subject 18 for al l l ater w r iters th e

A s trab hfi sana A dhyaya of Visnu Purana (I,

53

the splendour of B rahman from wh ich it is again sen t outinto the world (prap a 'fici ta ) at the beginning of the newcosmic day in order to return once more and for everwhen it is liberated .

God as Para is sometimes identified with, an d

sometime s d istinguished from, the Vyuha Vasudeva.

t en the two are d istinguished,whether as ni tyécl ita

ever-manifest and s'an tddi ta period ical ly manifest ”

or otherwise“, th e Vyuha Vasudeva is said to have sprungfrom the Para Vasudeva who, again,may be identifiedwith, or [more correct ly] d istinguished nfrom, the A h

sol ute (P urusa, Brahman, Narayan a, etc . )3

. Padma

Tantra describes th e Para Vasudeva as d ivid ing h imsel ffor some reaso n ”

and becoming with one hal f theVyfi ha Vasudeva, cry stal - l ike ”

, an d with the otherNarayana, “ black as a cloud the creator of the

primeval watersGod as Para is said to be always in the company

of h is consort S’ri (Laksmi ), or of lu s w 1ves S

’ri an d

Bhumi, or of S’ri, B h fimi, an d N11a, or even of e igh t or

N i tyédi tat sambabhi wa iaflz d s'd n tfidi to H ar i lp,Visvaks ena S

l oc. ci t , p . 133,cf . p . 1 36. B'aiz ia -m l i ta, s e t an d r is en i s a Tatpuru sa

compoun d of th e Vis’esanobh ayapad a cl as s, cf . s nat ina l ip ta, etc . Th e

comm ., Ioc. ci t , p . 1 33,g ive s n o e tymol og ical e xp l an at ion , bu t m ere l yparaph ras e s th e tw o terms by m ean s of n i iya

-mukia -anu bhacya an d

Samkarsapavyfiha-kara gzabh ata respect ive l y . Cf . above p . 50 th e e x

pres s ion s n i fya-c i bh z

'

i ti an d Zi la- ci bhati ,

2 Padma Tan tra I, 2 . 16 fl] . cf . V isnut i l aka I I, 1 1 . H ere th ePara is n ot n i fya, e tern al b ut a period ical man ife stat ion l ike theVyuh a Vasude va . Th is is , of n ece s s ity, al so th e s tan dpoin t of th eA h irb . Samh .

wh ich , h ow ever, in cal l in g th e A bsol u te n i z‘yfid i ia

(I I, 25 ) and Laksm i u di tam id i takam n imesdnmes ar itp i zzi (I I I, 6) butag ain th e Vy fih as n i fydd ifa (IX,

is n ot con s is ten t in th e u s e

of th e s e term s .

3 Th e two ar e cl earl y d is t in gu ish ed in Padm a Tan tra (s een ote 3 on p . al so in P . Prakas’a S . I , P u rusad Vcis udero

’bhaz‘,

catrai 'o by abhaca ip s tatak.

Visnut il aka, h ow e ver (I I , 1 1 mod ifyin g th is accoun t,

iden t ifies th e Para w ith Narayana.

54

of twelve S’aktis . The f i r s t of these views is natural lyfavoured in such works as A hirbudhnya Samhita,wh ich make S'akti a real phil osophical princip le .” Thes e c o md view 3

is based (in a rather strained manner) onthe weighty authority of the U ttaranarayan a (end)which is the cont inuation, in the °White Yaj urveda, of thePurusa Sukta. The t h i r (1 view is the one adopted inthe late r Vis'is tadvaita r’

, where, how eve r, it plays suchan insignificant part that, for instance, in Tattvatrya thi sis the only item connected with the Para Vasudevawhich is mentioned bu t not explained .

6 I t is apparent lynot found at al l in the older Samhita l iterature .7 I t is,

however, expounded at some length in one of the MinorUpanisads,name ly Si taUpan isad,where (as in Vihag end raS . 2 . s ) S

'

ri, Bhum i, and Ni la are identified respect ivelywith the I ccha, K r iya, and Saksat S'akti of th e Devi ;Sri rep resenting good luck B luimi m ight

See A h ir b . Samh . VI , 25 i x , 3 1 xxxv 1,55 Lak sm i Tan travn ,9- 10 .

2Th is , of cou rse, does n ot e xcl ude th e adm is s ion of th e e x is ten ce,

in H ig h es t H eaven ,of m inor S'

akt is cf . XXVIII,85 of A h irb . Samh ita,e n join in g th at th e w orsh ip of God s hou l d b e fol l ow ed by th at ofth e g ods an d [th e ir ] S

'

akt is (s'at z‘i -yos i td igz) form ing H is ret inue .

3 Padma Tan tra I, 2 . 46 Param es'vara S . I,7,w h ere Bhum i is

cal l ed Pusti (Laksm ipa s zyol i sca i fipe ca n i tye B hagava ta saha ) .2 V ihag en d ra S ., 2n d ad hyaya ; P . Prakas’a S . I, -59 ;

P aras’ara S .,adhy . 8 to 10 .

Tattvatraya, ed . pp . 85, 1 22 ; Yat . D ip ., ed . p . 84.

6 Th e comm . m ake s a fut i l e attempt at e xcus in g th e auth or,ed . p . 1 22 .

7 Th e comm . both of Tat tv atraya an d Yat . D ip . have n o oth erSmrt i auth ority for it than a s tan z a of th e S

'

aiva Pu rana, to wh ichth ey add , as S

’rut i quotat ion , th e pas s ag e of th e U t taranarayana

m en tion ed above, S'

r i n ivasadas a e x p l ain in g th at Ni l am u s t b e unders tood imp l icit l y I n P . Prakas'a S . (hard l y earl ie r than th e tw e l fthce n tury ) th e th ree S'ak t is , reg arded as aspect s of th e on e S

'

ak ti,are con n ected w ith th e sou l s , th e w h ite S

'

r i tak in g care of

th e s ou l s in wh ich th e Satt va Guna dom inates , th e r ed B h fi of th e

Rajas ic on e s , and th e b l ack (mi l d ) Du rg a of th e Tamas ic on es

58

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56

Pri ti (z Maitri),and Vidya(z Sarasvati ) and the thirtyn in th by Laksmi, C inta (z Mati) ,Nid ra and Pus ti .

Of th e two classes 1

of Jiva s or individual soul sexist ing in the Highest H eaven, the more exalted onesare the so-cal led N i t y a s (ete rnal o nes) or S fi r i s (sages,masters), which two w ords can be fairly accuratelyrendere d by a n g e l s ” 2 They differ from the otherclass to be deal t with hereafter not in poin t of knowl edge, both being declared to fu l ly participate in theLord’s omn iscience , but (1 ) in having bee n always freefrom d efi l emen t

3

, and (2 ) in holding pe rpetual lycertain offices as coadj utors of th e Lord .

“l The dutiesthey have to d ischarge are, however, so mysterious thathard ly any attempt has been made at defin ing the same .

These angel s are,beside s th e “ door-keepers ” and townwatchmen ” of the Holy C ity of Vaikun tha cal ledrespectively Canda, P racanda, Bhadra, Subhadra, e tc.,and Kumuda, K umudaksa,Pun darika,Vamana,etc .,

5

the

se -cal led Parsadas or Par isad as, that is “ compan ions ”

(ret inu e) of God, an d in addition to [or among]6

1 Men t ion ed tog e th e r in several pas s ag es of A h irb . Samh , for

in s tan ce, I X , 30,

2 Th e e x is ten ce of th es e an g e l s is bas ed 0 11 s uch s cripturalpas s ag es as th e famous Tad Vi s nu]; p arama igi p ada zgi 80,t p as

’

yan ti

.SZL’I 'UyQZL an d S'

vetas’vatara Upan isad VI, 1 3 N ityo a i tydw im ccianas’

ce l aminam cko bah t—mai n yo t idadhd i i Irani an .

3 K adap i sa ip saram aprfip td lj , asp rsta- s ams d '

i a -

gamZh /i li (Tattvat raya, ed . pp . 26, the oth ers be in g on l y n ivr tta - samsard h wh o

h ave don e w ith th e worl d (ibi d ., p ,2 Tes dm adhi kara - vi s’csa i s’vara sya a i tyécchaya ir tiaml i tvena vyava

s l hdp i tal] ,Yat . D ip ,ed . pp . 78- 79 .

5 Yat . D ip ,ed . p . 83 .

‘2 Th e Par isad as ar e d is t in g u ish ed from Kumuda, e tc., as w e l l as

A n an ta, e tc ., in Padm a Tan t ra I, 2 ,36-40, but often th e te rm is

u s ed in a w ide r s en s e , I n Yat . D ip ,ed , p , 84,

“ A n an ta, Garuda,V i s vak s ena, etc , ar e cal l ed N ityas , bu t n ot the door - k eepers and

watchm en”; s t il l , th e re be in g amon g th e Muktas n e ith er office

beare rs n or s ocial d is t in ct ion s at al l (s ee be l ow) ,the re s t can b e noth in gbu t N ityas .

57

the latter th e three more prominent beings cal ledA nan ta, Garuda, and Visvaksena. O f the se, A nantaor S’esa, the serpen t, is th e couch of Vis nu, and Garuda,the king of birds”, his so-cal led veh icle (cabana ) , wh i leVisvaks ena, the l ord of hosts 1

, is described as a sort ofchief ministe r to God in al l affairs heaven ly and

mundane . This part of Visvaksena, if taken in earne st,wou ld seem to clash with th e activities of the

Vyuhas ; an d he appears to have actual ly oustedthem in that sect de scribed in the thirtiethchap ter of A nandag iri

’s S

'

aii lcaravij aya, wh ich recom

mend s the worsh ip of him only.

who “ rules thewhole universe l ike a secon d A vatara of the Lordresiding in Vaikun tha.

” 2 Last ly, it must be stated thatN ityas can incarnate at w i l l in the w orld, j ust as

Visn u Him sel f.3

The lower clas s of inhabitants o f the H ighestHeaven are the M u k t a s or L i b e r a t e d . They are

described (6. 2 7 ) as inten sely radiat ing sp iritual atom sof the size of a trasarcn a (mote in a Thisdescription is eviden tly connected w ith Mahabh . XII,346. 1 8 H] . where it is said that the l iberate d becomeatomic after having been bu rned up by th e Sun ; and in so

Cal l ed al s o S'

e sas'an a th e eater of l eav in g s n am e l y, of God,that is, presumabl y th e e xecutor of H is p l an s ; cf . th e comm en taries ,Tattvatraya, ed . p . 28 ; th e e xp l an at ion , i bit l ., of th e Serpen t

’

s n am e

S’

esa (th e appurten an ce of Visnu, n am e l y, H is b ed , s eat,etc . ) isl itt l e con vin cin g . V is vaks ena occurs in th e s tory n arrated in ad hy .

X LI of A h irb . Samh ., s tan z as 18 an d 30fll .2 I bi cl , is m en t ion ed a g org eou s Temp l e of V is vaks en a in a

p l ace [ in North ern I n dia] cal l ed Marun dh a (spe l t Mar un d ha in th e

poet ical paraph ras e, A n an das'ram a Serie s n o , 22, p ,

3 Cf . p , 44, n ote 5 ,

2 Sva i fipam a p umatram syn] j annan aadaika l aksanam I

trasarem i -p‘amap d s te ras

’mi -koii -vi bhag i t j 7.1. l l ,

Visv aks ena S ., l oc. ci t , p , 13 th e s econ d h al f al s o in A h irb . Samh ,

V I , 27 ,

8

58

far as this undoubtedly means that the liberated bypassing through the Sun g et r id of their subt l e body,Tattvatraya (ed . p . 12) is right in teaching the atomicity of any, even th e bound, soul, if de scribed in itself .

1

The liberated,then,are bod il ess . B ut this only mean s thatthey have no

“ karma-made ” body ; they can assume,whenever they like, a

“non -natural body, or even

simultaneous ly several such bodies 2

, and freely ‘roamabout in the whol e world .

3 They are, however, excludedfrom actual in terference in worldly affairs differingin th is respect from the angel s, as al ready noticed .A mong the Muktas there ex ists no gradation or sociald ifference of any kind they being as equal, essential ly,as for in stance grain s of rice 5 s ti l l their mode of l ifediffers by the difference of devotional inclinationspreserved from their last earth ly existence . Whateverform [of God ] the devotee has been attached to in hismundane existence, that kind does he behold as an inhabi tan t of the H ighest Heaven .

” 6 We are not toldwhether th e l iberated have any intercourse w ith eachother, but if the bodies of P itrs (ancestors, etc ., lost bydeath) are created for them by God 7

, and if, as is oftensaid, they are intent upon nothing but servic e (Isaia

ka frya) to God, then, indeed, they are practical ly a lon e

with their God .

2 Th e s ou l is al s o c i bhu , in sp ite of its atom icity ; s ee be l ows ect ion 6 of th is part of ou r In troduct ion ,

2A s Yog in s can d o al ready wh il e s t i l l a l ive, th e cl as s ical

e xam p l e be in g th at of Saubh ar i (Tattvatraya cd .,p , 3 1 ,Yat . D ip . ed .,

p .

3 Yat . D ip , cd ,, p , 78,

Yat . D ip , p ,78 ; cf , Brahm a S li tra IV, 4, 1 7 ,

5 Tattvatraya, ed . p . 33 .

2 A h irb . Samh . VI, 29-30.

7 Yat . D ip ., ed . p . 53 .

59

The Vis'istadvaita teaches that there exists a secondc l ass of Muktas, namely the so-cal led K e val as or exclusive ones ”,who are actual ly altoge the r “ isolated ” becausethey have reached Liberation, not by devotion to God,but by constant meditation upon the real nature of theirown soul . They are said to be l iving, “ l ike th e wifewho has l ost her husband ”

,

“ in some corner outsideboth the Highest Heaven and the Cosmic Egg .

1 We haveso far not found this doct rine in any of the P é ficaratraSamhitas but should not be surprised if it were even

tual ly d iscovered in one or several of them .

3 . INTER MED IA TE C R EA TION

(Jcol utimi, Second Stage)

Based on Pure Creation 2

but performed withon l y one myriadth part of the infi nitely smal l portion ofdivine energy employed in it", is that other man ifestation

of the Bhuti S'akti wh ich is d ifferent from the p ure

one that is, part ly “ mixed ” and part ly“ impure ” 2 namely the K utastha B urusa and the Maya

2 Yat . D ip ,, ed , p . 76,Tattvatraya, ed , pp , 28, 121 ,

2Tanm itl a i i '

a,VI, 7 ,3 I I I

, 27 ; Lak sm i Tan tra IV, 35 ,

Th e u s e, in our Samh ita, of the term s S’addhéia ra an d

s'udcl 7uis’addha is of a bew i l derin g ambig u ity , I n VII, 68- 70 th e

term s'addhc‘tara h as a d ifferen t m ean ing in each of th e th ree s tan z as,

n ame l y, in 68 compris in g th e pure and what is d ifferen t from it”

;

in 69 : oth er than pure an d in 70 be l on g in g to both th e purean d wh at is d ifferen t from it what is d iffe ren t from it

(i tara z tad - i tara ) be in g in 68 in cl us ive of, in 70 e xcl us iveof th e m i xed ”

creat ion , th e l atter be in g e viden t l y n ot in cl udede ith er in 69. Sim i l arl y th e s en s e of s'add luis'uddha in V, 9 an d L I X ,

55 con curs w ith th e fi rst of th e above m ean in g s (as’addha imp l y in g

th e“ m ixed and th at of 3

'wZdhy -as'w l t l /i i -maya in VI, 34 w ith

th e t h ird In s t ead of m ix ed (V isvak s e n a S l oc, ci t , p , 1 28 i l l . )th e pres en t Samh ita say s “ pure - impure

60

S’akti with their respective developments . This Non -pureCreation fa l l s into a pr imary and a secondary one, and

the former, again, consists of two wel l -d efined stages‘of

wh ich the first, to be described in this section,may wel lbe cal led the Intermediate Creat ion .

The K ut a s t h a P u r u s a, cal led al so simplyK utas tha 2

or P urusa, is explained in our Samhita(6. a s

8 4 ) in th e words : A 11 aggregate of soul s, simi lar toa bee -h ive ", the pure - impure condition of Bhuti, suchis the Puru sa p i led up by soul s bl unted by beginningl essGerm -imp ressions (cc

—wan d ) with which should be

compared the definition in Laksmi Tan tra (7 . 1 1

By Purusa is meant the al l -knowing, al l - faced B hoktrK atas tha : as h is parts go forth from h im al l the eternalsoul s (flea), and likewise at [the time of] D issol ution thework [-bound ] soul s, go back to h im, the h ighest soul

(IMMYL) . The K utas tha Purusa, then, is the soul of soul sthat is to say, the total ity, regarded as the source,of a l l d isembod ied but karma-bound (non - l iberated) soul s

Treated respect ive l y in adhyayas VI an d VII of our Samh ita,

2Th ere are s everal specu l at ion s abou t th e m eam n g of th is w ordwh ich is , of cours e, th e ol d Samkhya term m en t ion ed al ready inth e Buddh is t N ikayas . Th e e xp l an at ion ras iva t s th i ta

“e x is t in g

in th e form of a h eap (col l e ct ion , s eem s to b e favoured,in our Samh ita, by th e imag e of th e be e -h ive (s ee be l ow ) , Oth e rpas s ag e s, h ow e ver (XVI, 38, cf , 46 ; XXIV, 24 ; sug g es t the

idea of th e Burusa “s tan d in g at th e top

”of th e sou l

’

s ped ig ree .

Th e l att er e xp l an at ion is th e on e w h ich Vedan tad es’ika prefersto th e form e r ; s e e h is comm en tary on S

'

r ibhasya for Bhag avadg i taXII

, 3 (an ekcsfiqz san tanyam finanaip p u rus d gzd ip s ddhara p o I i i p iirvah

p a ru ga lg. K itiasfliafj ) .

3 I n IX, 25 th is imag e is u s ed for th e Maya S'

ak t i,w h i l e in I X ,

27 th e K utas tha is compared w ith [th e h ol e of ] an U dumbara trees “ arm in g W i th coun t l es s bee s .

2 Th e K fi tas th a (an d l ikew is e th e four Man us to be m e n t ion ed )is n ot a m e re ( U I I CLt H C be in g , cf . th e de s cr ipt ion of Brahman as

con s i s t i n g o f th e tota l i ty of bound s ou l s

61

be fore the creation and after the dissol ution of the

non -pure unive rse .

1

He is of a m ixed nature (s’addhy-as'addhi -maya, 6 . 3 4 )

in that he is pure in h imse l f b ut imp ure on account ofh is carrying the above -men tioned Germ - impressions leftover from the latest l ife -period of the souls .

The K utas tha Parasa, and, as w il l be seen, al so theMaya S'akti, take the ir rise from Pradyumna . Theorigin of the K i

’

i tastha from Pradyumna is made toagree with the P urusa Sukta by de scribing the K atas thaas consist ing of four coup les, namely, the male and

femal e ancestors of the four castes, springing respec

tive ly from the mouth,arms, legs,and feet of Pradyumna .

A ccordingly, the K utastha is cal le d “the P urusa of fou r

pairs ”, “the Purusa consisting of twice four

”

,“the

aggregate of Manus ”, “th e e igh t Manus ”, “

the fourManus 2

, or simply “the Manus and he is imagined

as retaining this form wh ile descend ing the l ong lineof Tat tvas in the manner to be de scribed, unti l he isful ly material ized and thus prepared for further mu ltip lication . I t is s tated (7 . 5 4fll .) 3

that the Manus arethe origin m erely of the Pitrs, Devarsis, and men

2

, and

that there are other wombs ” (and , con sequent ly, l ines

1 Note that th e l iberated sou l s d o n ot return to th e K atastha .

2V isvaks ena S ., l oc. ci t , p . 1 26. Th es e s eem to be th e “ four

Man us”that h ave pu z z l ed a l l comm en tators and tran s l ators of

Bhag avadg ita X, 6, in w h ich cas e th e above con cept ion of th e

K fitas th a (th ough n ot n ece s sari l y th e Pancaratra ) w ou l d be o l derthan th e Gi ta. Note th at th e Se ven H s is m en t ion ed tog eth er w ithth e fou r Man u s in th e s

’l oka re ferred to of th e Gita h ave th e

s am e n ames as th e C itras’ikh and in s w h o,accord in g to th e Narayauiya,are the first promu l g ators of th e Pafi earatra .

3 I n con trad ict ion to IV, 1 3 : cetana -carga, un l es s th is b e m ean t

in a res tricted s en s e .

2 N ot of al l men bu t on l y o f th e sattvic on e s , accord in g to s om e

auth orit ie s ; s ee be l ow, fi fth s e ct i on .

62

of evolution ) such as those of the Devas,Daityas,Gan

dharvas, e tc .

1

; but the latter are nowhere described .

2

The M ay a S'

a k t i , cal l ed al so simp ly S'akti,further Bhagavat S'akti, Mul ap rakr ti, S

'

as'vadv idya,

simply Vidyas

, is the same to the material universe asis th e K atas tha to the world of soul s ; that is to say, it

is the non - spiritual e nergy which comes into existence,by the ~ side of the Purusa, as the p rimitive form of thematter ” or nature ”

(prakrti) into which the Man'

usare destined to gradual ly “ descend A s root-matter ”,however (4. it di ffers from the Mul aprakrti of theSamkhyas (ment ioned as such in 7 . 1 ) in that the

latter is only one of its two man ifestations, namely,itsso-cal led “ Guna body (gaazi a or g uzz amaya t apas ), the

o ther one being the Time body ”

(kal amag/a vap ii s )consisting of Kala “ T ime ” and its “ subt l e ” cause,namely N iyati Res triction

These three last -mentioned,that is Niyati, Kala, andGu na, are declared to originate from the foreheadeyebrows, and ears respectively of P radyumna

2 A l tog e th er e ig h t such “ form s (mar ty-asgaka ) are en umerateda l on g w ith th e V ibh avas , etc ., in Padm a Tan tra (I, 2 . 29 n am e l ybrcihm i , p i ti jap a tya, vai s p avi , d icya, fi r s t man a g i , d sur i, an d p ais

'd ci

cf . Samkhya K arika 58.

2A n d can n ot, in de ed, b e con s is ten t l y des cribed after th e

d is s ect ion of th e P uru sa for th e purpos e of man . Ph i l os ophy cl ash e s

h e re w ith myth ol og y .

3 Of al l th e s e n am es , to wh ich may b e added from Laksm iTan tra : Mahal ak sm i, Mah e s’var i , an d B had rakal i, th e firs t al on e

(IV, 52 cf . VI, 35 -36 ) is fair l y un equivocal . Th e u sual on e, in our

Samh ita, is S'

akt i . V idya, as an A g am ic t erm . m ean s mag ica l

pow e r”, that is much th e s am e as Maya, A vidya, and , after al l , S'

akt i,an d a l l of th es e are syn onym s of more than on e k in d of P rakrt i

and th erefore, l ike (l hem i , etc ., in con stan t dan g e r of m is in terpre tat ion . Th e adject ive va id ya, rath er frequen t in our Samh ita, i s as a

ru l e a m ere s ubs t itu te for p rakr tika .

1 For th e con n e ct ion of N iy a t i w ith th e foreh ead cf . t he ph ras el ab i l e s h itam r it te n 0 1 1 th e foreh e ad z fat e

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

64

held in the S'aiva systems by th e s ix s e - cal led K aficukas or

jacket s that is limiting forces owing tow h ich the soull oses its natural perfections (omniscience, etc . )

1

. A s a

matter of fact, the doctrine of the s i x K ai'

i cukas cal ledMaya, Kala, Vidya, Raga,N iyati, and Kala seem s to bea mere elaboration of the olde r doctrine, found wit h thePaficaratras, of on ly three powers of limitation

(samkoca) ,namely the three men tioned . These three appearin Lak smi Tantra as

“the threemothers and creators of th e

world cal led Mahal aksmi2

,Mahav idya3

,and Mahakali 1

and rep resen ting respect ively th e Rajasic, Sattvic, andTamasic aspect of the Goddess and they are said to beA n iruddha

’

s wife Rati in the form of the S h e a t h o fM ay a (maya

N i y a t i, “the S’akti consisting of great knowledge

is “the subt le regulator of every th ing ” 7 such as the

form which [a being] may have,its work,an d its nature

(6. I t is clear from this definition 9

that Niyatiis n ot on ly what the Vais e s ikas cal l Dis , to w it the regulator of positions in space 9, but that it al so regulates,asKarmic necessity, the inte l lectual capacity, inclinations,

1For an abl e accoun t of th es e s ee Chatterj i, K ashmir Shaiva i sm,

pp , 75 HI , Cf , al s o Schomeru s,D er Caira -S iddhan ta, p , 1 37 .

11Or Mahas'r i, Parames

’var i, B had rakal i, etc.

3Or Mahavani, Saras vat i,Mahadhen u, etc,

1 Or Mahamaya, K al aratr i,N id ra, e tc,

5 Laksm i Tan tra VII, 1 3 ; IV, 67 ; VI, 18- 1 9 ; s ee for th e n ame s

al so IV, 36, 39fll ,,62, an d V,VI,VII (p ass im ) ,2 Af ahavi dyam ayi S

’akti lj , IV,5 1 . Of , n ote 3 ,

7 Saksma li sarva- n z

’

ydmaka lj ,VI, 46,

8 Wh ich is foreshadowed in B rhadaranyaka Upan isad I I I, 8. 9

B y th e order of th is Imperish abl e On e a r e k e p t a s u n d e r(c i dhrtau ti sfli atal i ) s un an d moon ar e th e g ods dependen t onth e performer of sacrifice s, th e man es on th e fun eral g ift .

”Cf . al s o

i bid . IV,4,22 : setufr vidharanah.

2 Chatterj i,H indu R ea l i sm, pp . 58 fl ] .

65

and practical abil ity of every be ing ; that is to say,

that it incl udes the function s of the above -mentionedS'aiva princip le s cal led Vidya, Raga, and Kala.

1

K al a, Time, is defined (4. 4 8 ) as the mysteriouspower existing in t ime, which urges on everything and,

in another passage (6. as the principl e which pursues 2 eve ryth ing to be matured, as the stream [is after]the bank of the river . I t is furthe r said (6. 4 9 ) that th isis “

the cooking (maturing) form of time Kala,then,as

originating from N iyati and giving origin to the Gunas,isnot time as it appears to us (subjective time ) b ut a sub tl eforce conditioning it . This d istinction between the

ordinary or emp iric an d a higher or transcendental tim ecan be t raced back ‘1

to the Kala hymns of th e

A tharvaveda and is recognizable in the great epic in

such phrases as“ Time l eads me in time ” 5

OneUpanisad 6 speaks of the time that has parts (saka la

kal a) and “ non -time having no parts th e formerbeing later ’

than the sun and stars, th e latte rearlier further on, t ime that cooks (matures)

al l beings, but is excel l ed by “ him in whom time

3

is cooked ”. From these two famous text s and

s imilar ones it was eventual ly concluded that the

1Th e S

'

aiva pr in cip l e N iyat i, as d is t in ct from Vidya, etc .,w as

orig in al l y in al l probab il ity n oth in g m ore than th e D is’ of th e

Vais’e s ikas ; bu t th e u s e of th e w ord in common l an g uag e in th e

s en s e of Fate has (at l eas t in th e D rav id ian s ch ool ) obs cu red itsre l at ion to th e oth er K aficukas ,

3Or coun t s , measure s ”

(ka l aya ti ) ,3 K al asya p acanani r ap am ,

‘1 See my compreh en s ive s ket ch of th e earl ier h is tory of Kal ain Ueber den S tand (l er I n f l i schen P h i l osophi e z m 'Zei t Mahavi ras a nd

B uddhas , pp . 1 7 to 30 .

3K al a}; kal e n aya ti mam,XII, 227 . 29.

3 Maitrayana VI, 15 ,

9

66

changing t ime which we observe in daily life isonly “

time as an effect ” (l td i'

ya-kala) the cause of

which must be a“time w ithout sect ions (a lchan a

’a

kal a ) an d unchanging ‘; and (2 ) that there mustbe a sphere or condition which is total ly unaffected by t ime 2

, though t ime exists in it as an in stru

ment to be used at wil l - that is to say that there are,strict ly speaking, th re e kinds of t ime, to w it : (1) effected

3 ,or “ gross t ime, which p lays no part until after thecreation of the Tattvas

3

; (2) causal or“ subt l e time

which , though relat ively e te rnal ” (and often cal l ed so)is al so created, namely, by A n iruddha (or P radyumna) ;and (3 )

“ h ighest ” t ime exist ing in Pure Creation . I t

is , evide nt ly, in this s ense that our Samhita declares

(53 . 1 0 - 1 1 ) G r o s s is cal led th e time possessing thel am (on e - s ixth of a s econ d ) , e tc . s u b t l e th e one determin ing th e Tattvas ; whi le that wh ich pervades theactivity of the Vy l

'

i has is sty led H i g h e s t T imeThat th e re may be a stil l h igher time connected withVasudeva al one is denied in the word s (53 . 1 1

Effecting by t ime be l ongs always to th e t riad of

Vyfihas [on ly] : the Lord Vasudeva is not a Vy ii ha1

nor

I t fol lows, then ,that the Tat tvacal led Kal a emanat ing from Niyabi is th e se cond orsubt le kind of time . ls

a possessor of time .

’

1 Yat . D ip ,, ed . p , 50, an d e l s ewh e re .

2Tat tvat raya,ed . p . 1 22 .

2Thoug h , as w il l b e s een , it com es in to e x is ten ce al ready before

th e l atter is comp l eted .

1T houg h s aid to form a tetrad tog e th e r w ith th e Vy ii has ,V,

25 -26 .

5Th ere is more mate rial abou t th is s ubject (for in s tan ce , adhy

I I I of P . Prakas 'a S . ) an d it w il l probabl y b e foun d that th e con

cept ion of t im e is n ot e xact ly th e sam e in some Samh itas as inothe rs .

67

The G u na B o d y,or that form of S'

akti mentionedabove wh ich is mani fes ted gradual ly from Kala ”

(6. 5 1

5 2 ) consists of the three Gunas, as al ready remarked .

I t has to be added that each Guna, whi le evolving in themanner de scribed, comes under the spe cial p rotectorsh ipof A n irudd ha in the form of the Trimfi rti ; that is tosay : A n irud dha as V i s n 11 becomes th e supe rinte nden tof Sattva, as B r a 11 m a11 that of Rajas, and as R u d r athat of Tamas . These three gods, toge the r with theirS'aktis (Laksm i, Sarasvati, Gauri )

1

, regarded as the

forces unde rlying the formation of th e A vyakta, are

cal led in Laksmi Tantra (6. 2 o - 2 1 ) the“ S h e a t h o f

G e n e r a t i o n”

(praml ti In the same text

(4. 3 2fll . ) it is stated with regard to the firstorigin of the Gun as that they have been formed from

[an infin ites imal part of] the fi rst, second, and third of

the s ix Gunas of the Lord .

3 The qualities wh ichbecome manife st th rough the Gun as are according toA hirb . Sa1nh . : (l ) l ightne ss, brightne ss, hea lthine ss,pleasure (2) motion, passion, re st le ssness, pain ; and (3)heaviness, obstruction, inertia, s tupe faction .

A fte r the Gunas have evolved separate ly, they become ,

“ for the purpose of creation ”

, a un iform masscal led as a rule A v y a k t a (the N on -man ifest )or Mal aprakrti (Root-nature ) , but al so, according to

1 Who, how eve r, accord in g to Lak sm i Tan tra V, 6fll , haves prun g : Brahman an d Laksm i from Mahal aksm i -l- P radyumn a ;

Rudra an d Saras vat i from Mahakal i+Samkar sana ; an d V isnu an d

Gau ri from Mahav idya+A n iru dd h a .

2 Th is is th e th ird kos'a or mate rial “ hus k of th e D e vi , th es econ d be ing th e above -m en t ion ed Maya Kos'a, an d th e firs t th eS'

akt i K os’a compr is ing th e Vy i

'

i h as and th e ir S'ak t is . Th re e m oreKos’as are con n ected w ith th e l ow e r prim ary an d th e s e con darycreat ion to be des cribed in th e n e xt two s ect ion s of th is In troduct ion .

3 Th e oth er th ree be ing emp l oyed for th e creat ion of K al a ; i bid .

V, 24-25 .

68

our Samhita(6. as ) ,by such names as Tamas (Darkness)1

,

Guna-samya (Equal ity of Gunas )2

, A vidya (Ignorance) ,Svabhava (Nature ) , A ksara (the Impe rishable ) , Yon i

(Womb) , A yon i (th e Unborn ) , Guna-yoni (z gun amaya

yon i,Guna-made Womb ) .

4. LOWE R PR IM A R Y C R EA TION

(Evolu tion, Third S tage .)

The “ descent of the Manus into Matter havingreached th e Tamo Guna and the three Gunashaving j oined to form the M fi l ap rakr ti (6 . 9 1 therefol low s now that evolu tion wh ich is th e only onekn own to the Classical Samkhya w ith wh ich, as weshal l s ee , th e Pancaratra doe s on th e whole, but n otthroughout, agree .

A t the very ou tse t there is th is difference that,whereas the Classical Samkhya has on ly two p rinciple st o start with, namely, P urusa an d Prakrti, our Samhitabegins this chapte r with stating emphat ical ly (though notin a polem ic way) that the deve lopment which new setsin , results from the combined activity of t h r e e principal agen t s, namely, P rakr ti,Puru sa, and Kala (Matter,Soul, T ime ) .

2

The mutual relation of the first two

is explained in ex act ly the same way as in the Clas sical

1 That I s , und iffe ren t iated n e s s . C} . th e e xpre s s ion s t i n tafman u s edprom is cuou s l y i th a z yuhta in K ath aka Upan isad I I I, 10 13 .

2 Mean in g th at 1 1 1 th is con d it ion , as d is t in g u ish ed f 1 om the l aterin equal ity of Gu nas ”

(g n ua th e th re e force s are equal l yd is tri buted 1 1 1 e \ ery part icl e of 1 11at .te 1

1 1 11 th e C l as s ical Samkhya t ime is a m e re qual ity of matte r(S

'

amkhya Sut i a iew in an e a r l y sys temc}. Sc l 1 1 1

'

1d e 1 , Uf bu din S iam] (l ir I 7U l l b L/l e l l P hi l osop h ie z n rZei tMahat l m s a nd B uddha s ,

69

Samkhya : Prakrti changes, l ike m i lk and clay [changing,respectively, to curds, etc ., and pots , owing to theproximity —magnetic influence ) of the unchangeablePara sa. B ut both these Tattvas are be ing “ cooked ”

by Time .1 A gain, there is this difference, that there arenot many Purusas, as in classical Samkhya, but at thiss tage only the one K ii tas tha or Samasti (Col lective)Purusa.

A s th e fi rst product of this combined activity of the

th ree there emerges from the A vyakta the M a h a t

(masc ., neutr .) or“ Great One cal led al so Mahat

Tat tva “the Great Principle O ur Samhita enume

rate s (7 . 9 - 9 ) the fo l lowing m ore or le ss p regnant synonyms for th is te rm : Vidya1 , Go (Cow )

2

, A van i (Earth ) ,B rahmi (the Cosmic One ) ,Vad hi i Vrddhi

(Growth ), Mati (Inte l lect) , Madhu A khyati,

(Non -discrim ination ) , I svara (Lord ) , and Praj i’

i a (Wise )"1

to wh ich some others, most ly synonym s o f Mati, haveto be added , notably Buddhi .

A bout Mahat two seem ingly cont rad ictory statement s are pu t side by side, of which the first clearlyshows that the Pai

’

i caratra has d rawn from an olderform of the Samkhya phi losophy than the on e whichhas survived in the Karika and the Sfi tras . The

1H ow , in sp ite of th is, th e Pur u sa remain s “

un chang ed(ap a rinam in ,V 11, is n ot e xp l ain ed .

2 The Mah at and remain in g princip l es are symbol i z ed by th el otu s g row in g from th e n ave l of Padmanabh a (A n ir udd ha ) ; s ee

I nd raratra I, I 8 (Mahari -d arg p ankaj am ) , e tc .

3 Of . note 3 on pag e 62 .

1 Cf . B rh adaranyaka Upan isad I I, 5 .

5 The l as t two names ar e from Mandukya Upan isad w h ere theyare u s e d w ith referen ce to th e sus ap ti p l an e of con s ciou s n e s s , For

A khyat i see be l ow p , 73 .

hopeless ly conflict with th e preceding one, un le sswe refer it not to th e cosmic Mahat but to Buddhias an ind ividual organ (cf . below) , is es sential ly identicalwith the teaching of th e twenty -third arya of SamkhyaKarika,namely that Mahat man ifests it sel f in four Sattvicand four Tamasic form s, being respective ly good actions

(dharma) , knowledge, dispassion, and m ight, and theiropposites .2

Now , as regards Kala, wh ich is he re defined as

consisting of trutis, lavas, e tc .

” 3

, it is eviden t that inthis passage a d ifferent and l ower form of Time must hemean t than its subt le or cooking form originating,as w e have seen, from Niyati . For, Subt l e T imebelongs to Unmanife st Nature, w hi le Mahat is the

beginning of Manifest Nature .

2

I t fo l lows that Kala as

1 Cf . Lak sm i Tan tra X V I , 2 -4

Sa Ma l i an nama, tasydp i r id /i d s ti s'

ra l i p raklfr t italg I

sai tr i ko B uddhi r ity akto, raj as a l i P r rl na eva h i IItamasa l i K al a i ty n ktas tesanz vyakhyam imamS

'g‘

al l I

B addhir adhyavasayasya, P rana li p rayatanasya ca

K al a}; ka l an ofrfip asya p ar i n /Zm asya kd ranam I .

2Th e rOl e of the Taijas a (Rajas ic ) Mah at is , accord in g to th e

twen ty -fif th arya, to co -ope rate w ith both the sattv ika and th e

Tamas a .

3 A nd s im i l arl y in th e corre spond in g pas sag e of Lak sm i Tan traquoted above, n ote 1 0 11 th is pag e ; for w h ich reason w e can n ot but be

l ie ve t hat real l y t im e is m ean t h ere an d n ot th e T im e Lotu s producingBrahman an d Saras vat i, as s tated in Lak sm i Tan tra V, 27fll ., wh ichrath e r appears to b e anoth e r in s tan ce of myth ol og y cl ash in g w ithph i l osoph y .

‘1 I n th e comm . on Tattv at raya, ed , p , 79, th e re l at ion of th e two

k in ds of t ime d is t in g u ish ed th e re are actual l y l iken ed to that of th eA vyakta and th e Vyakta,

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72

We now turn to the que stion : W h a t i s M a h a t P,wh ich question, on account of its importance for th ehistory of Indian phi losophy,must be an swered at some

l ength .

The on e important thing to be not iced in connectionwith Mahat is that Buddhi is not a mere synonym for it,

as in Clas sical Samkhya, but one of its three forms : theSattvic on e ; and that th e individual organ B uddhi is a

product of the Sattvic Mahat in exact ly the same sens eas Manas is a product of the Sattvic A hamkara 1

. Thisis a s ign of antiqu ity ; for in K athaka Upanisad al so

(3 . 1 0 - 1 9 ) Buddhi and Mahat are n ot yet identical, theformer, cal led j fidn a atman

“ Knowledge Self ”, be ing a

lower principle than the Great Self ” wh ich, in itsturn, is inferior to the Quiet Sel f

”

(s'anta atman )

wh ich , again, is exce l l ed by th e Puru sa . On the otherhand, this d istinction between Buddh i and Mahat, together with the synonym s of the latte r, furn ishes thesol ution to th e ridd le, never b efore sat isfactori lyan swered , as to the or ig in of th e term Mahat . Thesynonym s may be divided into two classe s, to w it (1 )those that are m e re nam es of P rakrt i, such as Go, A van i,

Brahmi,Vadh fi ,Vrddh i,Madhu ; an d (2) those refe rring toconsciousness . O f th e latte r class,again, those wh ich are

w ith Prana (w h os e qual ity is spanda v ibrat ion th e Woman w ith

Buddh i, an d th e Mal e w ith th e P ur u sa as th e perform er of g oodand ev il de ed s . Th e n th e re fol l ow s , ju s t as in our Samh itaafter th edes cript ion of th e th ree fol d Mah at,a pas s ag e on th e 2 X 4 Satt vic and

Tam as ic m an ife s tat ion s of Buddh i, an d aft er that th e A hamkara andth e remain in g Tattvas are e xp l ain ed . Yat . D ip , ed . p . 50, in re jectin g th e v iew that t ime is Tamaso Mahan , e viden t l y m ean s to s aythat th e defin it ion is too n arrow . A ccord in g to a Vie w men t ion ed inth e comm . on Tat tvatraya, ed . p . 79, th e s eve ral k in ds of t im e d ifferin th e rap id ity of v ibrat ion s , w ith w h ich shou l d be com pared th es tat em en t above, p . 27 n ote 2 .

1 On th e l atter, g en eral l y cal l ed Vaikrta A hamkara, s ee be l ow .

73

common to Mahat and the o rgan B uddhi, namely,Buddhi,Mat i, Trayi, and Vidya, are for this reaso n as l itt le sigu ificant in themselves as are the names o f P rakrti . B ut theremain ing three name s re fe rring to the subconscious life,namely A khyati

1

, P raj i’

i a, an d I s'vara, clearly indicatethat noth ing else can b e meant by Mahat than th e Pranaor Mukhya Prana of the ancie n t Upanisads,which is bothvitality (p rana, al gae) and sub or super - conscious in te l l igence (p raj aa) , and on whom the five Pranas as wel l asthe senses are said to depe nd like se rvan ts on the irmaster .2 M a h a t i s 0 O S m i c P r an a, the Breath of theWorld the Unconsc ious that is the p h y s i c a l y e ti n t e l l i g e n t energy at work at the bui ld ing up and preserving of organisms . 3 Pran a in this sense is cal led in theUpan isads Brahman,protector (rule r, lo rd ) of th e world,breath (atman ) of th e gods,gene rator of beings,eater, theone sage ; an d In Chandogya Upa 11is ad 3 . 7 an [apparentl y current ] stanza on th e Prana i s quoted in which thephrase occurs : “

g reat they cal l h is m igh t (l it . : greatnes s) (mahd n iam asg/a mahini anam d hah) which is

perhaps the source of the name Mahat . A p roof forthe correctness of our equat ion Mahat z P ran a is

contained in the e nume rat ion , in the t welfth chap terof th is Samh ita, of th e princip les taught in the

Samkhya system,whe re in th e ten th p lace we do not find

1 The n on -d is cr im in at ion in dream l e s s s l eep ; for th e n e xt twon ames s ee n ote 5 on p . 69 .

2Th e pr in cipa l pas s ag e s to b e compai ed , al s o for th e fol l owin g ,

are : K au s i taki , I I I , IV 20, I I 1 °

, Chand ogya IV 3 ,Maitraya 11a I I 6 ;P ras’n a I I .

3 Of . th e mahad brahma of Bhag avadg i taX IV,-1 an d n ote that

B rahm i is am on g th e syn onym s of Mahat, and B rahman am ongthos e of Prana (s ee be l ow ) as we l l as , in s om e Samkhya tr eat is e s

(for in s tance the Comm . 0 11 Tat tvasamas a ) , thos e of P rak rt i .

10

74

Mahat, as shoul d be expected , but Prana .

1 This equationthrows al so an unexpected l ight on the connection

of Buddhism and Samkhya, namely, in that it permits ofth e proportion Mahat : B uddh i : Vijfian a-dhatu : Vij fianaskan dha. For,wh i le there can be l it tl e doubt

2

as to the

corre spondence 3

of th e organ Buddh i w ith th e Vij fianaskandha, it is practical ly ce rtain that Mahat z P ran a is

the very same th ing as that “re -connection conscious

n ess ” (pm fisnmdhi -viifidna) wh ich, according to the

Buddha’s doctrine,descends into the womb of the mother,at th e t ime of concep tion, bridg ing over death and

birth , and to which Liberation al one puts an en d,whe reas the personal consciousness (i fia a - skandha)is destroyed in every s ingle death .

‘A gain , one cannot

he l p thinking that even th e Atman taught in the

fam ous Yajfiavalkiya Kanda is ve ry nearly identicalwith our Mahat . H e is th e subconscious energy,the “ place of un ion ”

th e Prana to which,in d ream l ess sl eep and death , al l our consciousfunct ion s re turn 5

, in order to go forth from it oncemore in awaken ing an d birth respectively ; he is the

[sub an d supe r con scious se l f (prdj fic‘

z (Hanan )em braced by wh ich in dreamle s s s leep man

“ has no

[longer any] notion of outs ide and inside (IV, 3 .

l iVe w e re n ot yet aware of th e equation , wh en w rit in g ou r

art icl e on th e Sas titan tr a in Z. D . M . G ., 1 914, and con s equen t l yth oug h t of th e fi ve Pranas on l y .

2 E xcept for t hos e w h o h ave made up th e ir m in ds to d is t ributeth e teach in g s of th e N ikayas betw een tw o rad ica l l y oppos ed s ect s .

3 N ot , of cou rs e . iden t i ty .

3 Th e m’

j fid na -dh d tn of th e N ikayas , th ere fore,mu st be reg ardedas a s ort of con s ciou s n es s in p ofe i zh

'

fi from w h ich th e sad - (iya tana, and ,th rou g h it, th e ca z'

fa s ikd lg skawdh d lg e vol ve .

5B rh ad é ranyaka Upan isad IV,3, 36 : coam evdyargep ur u yah

d ram f z'

p rd p dya i ra ,

he is th is great be ing (ma/l ad infinite ,shore less, al l -con sciousness (v ij fid na -

ghana)” which [in

the form of limited conscious functions] arises“ from

the element s and van ishe s into them again (11 , 45.he is th e name (nd mafn ) surviving the de cay of th e body

(1 11, 2 . 1 2 ) and bui ld ing up the n ew emb ryo (IV, 4 . 4 )—j ust as the Buddh ist myfid na element which moreover,as con tras ted with the body (wip e ) , is al so cal led i i dmfm

he is, in short, “that g r e a t , unborn Sel f wh ich,

a m o n g t h e P r ana s , is th e on e c o n s i s t i n g o fc o n s c i o u s n e s s .

” 1

A nd, final ly, this de scriptionof the s el f ” seems to agre e, in a l l essential point s,w ith that al so in the Tattvamasi section of Chan dogya

Upan isad, though there al ready two higher princip l e s appear than the Prana (name ly Te jas an d ParaDevata) , w h ile in B rhadaranyaka Upani sad only a veryfeeble attemp t is made at distinguish ing the Atmanfrom the Prana . Th e posit ion of the Prana, t hen, iss til l unse tt led in the olde r Upan isads ; and it is,

we hold, from this hal f- se ttled idea o f th e Prana or

Atman that the pre- classical samkhya, on which the

Pancaratra is bas e d, has de r ived its conce ption of the

Mahat as the Uncon scious cons is ting of inte l l igence,vitality, and time ,

From Mahat, again, o riginates the co smic Tattvacal led A h a m k ar a or I -make r A s its syno

nym s th e usual one s are g iven (A bhimana, A bh iman t r,

A hamkr ti) , be sides Prajapat i (Lord of creatures ) an d

B oddhr (A tten tion -make r) . I t has a S z'

i ttv ic, a Rajasic,and a Tai nas ic form cal led respective ly Vaikarika,

Taijasa, and B hutad i . I t man ife sts itse l f ind ividual ly as

180 egg/L mwhd n aj a, atnuz ye l l/my t éj fici na nw ya i‘c p rd gzes u

(I V,

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sammmbha (egotistic in terest) an d sam/ mlp a (imagination,w il l ) in accordance with th e two organ s cal led the

[i n d i v i d u a l ] A h a m k ar a and M a n a s with whichit endows the Manus passing through its womb (7 . 2 0 ,

4 2 Manas is declared a d irect product o f theVaikarika, and A hamkara eviden t ly come s from the

B hutad i, wh ile the Ta ijasa seem s to participate equal lyin the production of both those organ s . 1

From A hamkara th e Manus further receive the tenI n d r i y a s (sen ses) , bu t on ly indirect ly, that is, in thecourse of the evolution of th e E l e m e n t s To

understand this somewhat compl icated last phase in theevolut ion of Tat tvas it w i l l be us e ful to rem ember thefol lowing table

A h amkara

B hutad i Taijas a Va ikar ika

Tanmatras : B hutas B udd h in d r iyas : K arm én d r iyas

s’abda akasa s

’rot r a vac

spars’a vayu t vac panirupa t e jas caksu s padarasa apas . ra s an a upas th a

g an dha —9 p rth iv i g h rana payu

From th e B l i i’

i tad i, ass is ted by the Taijasaz

, is

produced Sound - in - itse l f (s’ci bda the lat ter is

th e imm ed iate cause of Ethe r wh ile at the

s ame t im e , with it s co - ope rat ion and that of

th e Taij asa, th e Vaikar ika produces Hearing

an d th en, w ith th e co - ope rat ion of the latte r, Speech

(uric) . H e reafte r, from Sound - in - itse l f is produced Touch

in -itse l f (spa rs'

a ) wh ich in its turn is the immediate

1 Se e p . 70, n ot e 2 .

2Cf . Sanikhya Kar ika 25 : Ta r/ aa h ] n blmyam . Laksm i Tan tra,

s peak in g on N on - pure Creat ion g e n e ra l l y, s ays (I V, 34 ) tha t m os t l yB a ia s is e n g ag ed in it w h ir l i is , h ow e ve r,

“ flan ked by Sattva an d

Tam a s (a b/ci l ah satl vutamas l gu zzan d uw [cm/ (L t isflzafa lg) .

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cause of A ir (vdyu) , while as a m ediat e cause it he l ps inproducing the Skin sense (tw o) with th e help of wh ich,finally, th e faculty of Handl ing (prim) or ig inates . A nd

so forth .

I t must be admitted that our Samhita men tion snoth ing about co-operat ion and that from the seventhad hyaya it wou l d rathe r se em as though each Tanmatraoriginates direct ly from the B h i

'

i tad i,and, simu l taneously,each pair of I nd r iyas d irect ly an d on ly from the

Vaikarika.

1

B ut accord ing to the chapte r on I n vol u

tion 3 each pair of I n driyas dissolve s together w ith theparticular B h ii ta in the corre sponding Tanmatra, so thatevident ly for th e author of ou r Samhita th e wholeproce ss takes place as in the accoun t acce pted as authe n ticby Tattvatraya .

‘

The Manus, then, by ente ring succe ssive ly the fiveE lemen ts, are furn ished, at each of these s teps, with on e

sen sory an d on e m otory facul ty, so that they are at last inpossession both of the five K nowledge - sense s ’

and of

the five A ction - senses The equipmen t of the Manusis he rewith comp le te provided with a l l the organ s theywere in need of they are s tanding, in perfect l onelines s,on the earth resembling the back of a tortoise (4.

1 A s is apparen t l y th e doctrin e of th e Samkhya Kar ika (cf .

D eu s s e n , A l l gemc z'

nc Gcsch ich fe (l e r P h i /41 501371 17? I, 3, p . 446 bottom ) .I t s hou l d, h owe ver, n ot b e forg otten th at th e Karika g ives on l y thebare s t out l in e of th e sys tem .

2 A dhyaya IV, s ee e special l y s'l . 35 il l .

3 Ed . p . 56 fl ] . A n oth e r Sut ra (fi nd , p . 57 ) m en t ion s th e op in ionth at from d /ws’u, sprin g s the s'abda - tam n d h '

a,from th e l atter e d g u, etc .

an d s t i l l an oth er V iew (an in t erm ed iat e on e ) is found in V isuut i l akaI I, 66 fi l . wh ere th e S

'abda - tam n d tra is s aid to produce d kd s’a, th e

l atte r (n ot th e form er ) th e spum’a - tanm fi tra,th is on e r riyn , e tc .

3 Th e fol l ow in g , up to th e end of th is s ect ion , pre s uppos e s thecreat ion of th e Eg g an d th erefore be l on g s , proper l y speak in g ,to the n e x t s e ct ion of our In t roduct ion . H owe ver, th e e xactp l ace to be as s ig n ed in ou r accoun t of Secon dary Creat ion

protection of A n irud dha1

an d, by h is command, beginto m ultiply : each of the four pairs generate s a

hundred de scendant s, mal e and femal e, cal led M an av a s , and these, continuing the work of generation,

0

become th e ancestors of numberless M an a v a m an a v a s .

There fol lows 3 what corresponds to th e Fal l of

Man in Jewish and Christ ian theol ogy, to w it the

j ri d na -bhmms'a or“ fal l from knowledge ”

of al l the

Manavamanavas (7, Th is mystic event is narratedthus : Vidya‘ become s, with

“ some portion of he rsel f,a cow ; which m eans, con tinues our text, that sheobtains th e cond ition of a cloud 3

; the n the milk cal ledvars a (rain ; year) proceeding from the latter become s food ;and the soul s eat of that m i lk of nature (material m ilk ;vaidyam p ug/ 1173.) and their natural ly un lim ited knowledgebecomes l imited (obscured, contracted ) . Thus re ligionbecome s necessary , and the Manus of old 3 start the

to th e e ven t s re l ated h ere be in g rath er doubtfu l , it was not foundadvis abl e to in te rrupt th e accoun t of ou r Samh ita.

A tmany ad hyaksam I—S'i im zm A n i r zu l d ham (l ad /l u ff (VII,

2A p am

’

m i l‘aig (VII,3 1n th e accoun t w e are reproducin g , though perhaps n ot

in th e orde r of e ven t s . V isnu t i l aka t each es (I I,63 ) th at at th e creat ion of th e Mahat Tat tva “

th e re orig in ates , tog e th er w ith th e

Gu 1,1as , th e de l u s ion of m en w h i l e , on th e oth e r h and , de l us ion

s e em s to s e t in g radua l l y tow ards th e end of th e firs t Yug a : s ee

be l ow , n e x t s ect ion .

P rakrt i, in th e h ig h e s t s en s e, n ame l y th e B h fit i S’

akt i w h ich,accord in g to adhyaya IV, 3 -5 . is a l ternate l y a cow in th e form of a

c l oud ”an d a.

“n on -cow

“cal l ed th e Unman ife s t (Correct

accord in g l y th e s econ d bracke ted g l os s on pag e 70 of th e t e xted it ion ; th e Mah at can n ot be m ean t becau s e it be l on g s to Man ifes tNatu re . )

Th at is ,a B rahma1,1da ; cf . above, en d of s ect ion 1 of th is part ofou r In troduct ion , p . 29

6 N ot, of cou rs e, th e four col l ect ive be in g s , b ut th e h istoricalon e s ; a] . XL I I I, 3 .

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80

coale scing into a mas s (samhatim rin d ) create beings .They, then , from Mahat down to the Gross El ement s,became massed togethe r, under th e influe nce of the

foremost Puru sa. Then [out of them ] an egg was

p roduced from the navel of Padmanabha, who is a

portion of Myse l f, and [in the eg g ] thou,O Lotus -bornone, becamest th e womb of the world . I t is thus thatat the beginn ing of creation th is whole world came toarise from Prakrti

A ful le r account 1 says that from the navel of

Padmanabha th ere springs a golde n eg g con tain ing theTattvas in a subtl e con d ition ; and , wh i l e the egg is

grow ing, a sh in ing wh ite l otus appears in it (sic), andin (on ) the l otus

2

, final ly, A n irudd ha create s “the

fou r - faced creator (Brahman ) .3 Then B rahman

’t

make s

three attem pt s at creating th e world, th e third of

wh ich on ly is ful ly succes sful, by gene rat ing (1 ) thefour Youth s (Sanaka, who re fuse to have offsp ring

(2) the androgyne Rudra (S'

iva) who by sel f -partitioncreate s the e leven p rincipal and many minor Rudras

1I bid . I, ad hy . 3 cf . V isnu t i l aka I I, 40fll .I n th e per icarp

,say s P ras’n a S . I I,41 .

P . Prakas'a S . (I I I , 37 - 38) say s that Brahman has s prungfrom th e l otu s -b ud , th e prak rt ic on e, be in g of th e natu re of the

wor l d w h ich [b ud ] i t s e l f h as sprun g from th e n ave ] ofV isnu s l eep in g in it s (th e eg g

’s ) in t erior, n am e l y in th e m id s t of th e

w ate r .

”A ccord in g to Lak sm i Tan tra V . 1 5 ti l . th e eg g con tain in g th e

A vyakta was created by Brahman an d Saras vat i (th at i s, P radyumna

and h is S'

ak t i ) , af te r w h ich H rs ike s’a (z A n ir ud dh a ) havin gm ois ten ed ”

A vyakta h ad a g ood s l eep ”in it tog e th er

w i th Padma, th e re su l t be in g th e Sacr ific ia l or T im e Lotussprin g in g from H rs ike s'a

’s n ave l an d Brahman an d Saras vat i

(H iranyag ar bh a and h is S’

akt i ) sprin g in g from th e Lotus .

3 P ras’na S . I I, 21 HI . m en t ion s s om e more even ts in terven in gh ere : Brahman , de s irou s to kn ow h is orig in , m akes a fut i l eatt empt at g e t t in g , th roug h th e n ave ], at th e caus e of th e l otu s ,th en m ed itate s for a th ou s an d years , an d fin al l y rece ives fromth e P ur u sa appearin g to h im the instrum en t of creat ion ,n am e ly th e

Vedas .

1

and (3) the s ix Prajapatis (Marici, etc . ) from whomal l the remaining beings, movab l e an d stationarydescend .

The sources are at variance as to th e numberan d names of th e Prajapatis, and between these and

Brahman some au thoritie s in sert a“ Mann Maha

san atkumara Samh ita (I nd raratra 6. 2 0 fi l .) describe sas follows th e origin of an

“ in tramundane tetrad ”

(an taran d as thi td caturmzir ti) correspond ing to the four

Vyuhas : the first of th e Prajapatis , B aksa, had a m indborn son, A cyuta (Vasudeva) , whose mind -born son was

Samkarsan a, cal l ed Rudra whose m ind -born sonwas Pradyumna, whose m ind -born son was A n irudd ha.

1

There are, as wi l l be understood from the above,more attempts than one at comb ining the very ancientstory about the Golde n Eg g giving birth to g od Brahmanw ith th e lat er one of th e lotus springing from the nave]of Padmanabha and these again with the theory of theTattvas ; as there are a lso, of course,m ore authoritie sthan on e d ispensing advantageou sly with eithe r the

navel or the lotus or both in explaining the origin of

the Cosm ic Eg g .

“

The pl urality of B rahmandas 3 is emphasized in

several Samhitas . “ O f such Eggs says VisvaksenaS . (l ac. ci t , p .

“there are thousands of thousands,

or even myriads of them ”

, and more . They are

1 A ccord in g to th is te xt th ere ar e t h r e e S’

i v a s , n am e l y : (1 )th e Vy i

'

ih a Samkar sana ; (2 ) th e s on of Brahman an d fath er of th e

Rudras (3 ) th e g ran dson of Daksa fu rth er t h r e e B r a h m an s ,

n am e l y (I ) th e Vyuh a Pradyum n a (2 ) th e“ firs t of Gros s Creat ion

an d “ Lord of th e Eg g”; an d (3 ) th e g reat -g ran d s on of Daksa .

2Our Samh ita adm it s (VIII, 2 that s om e derive creat ion

from th e Eg g , oth ers from t h e Lotu s .

3 Referred to al ready in a Ved ic te xt, n am e l y B aska l aman tra

Upan isad (9) Mama p rati sflui bhiwa dfldakos’zik.

1 1

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invariably described as consisting of fourteen spheres

(Zeke ) surrounded by seven e nclos ures (d carazi a)1

and

they are said to arise simultaneous ly l ike bubbles ofwater . 2

Owing, no doubt, to conflicting statement s in theSamh itas themselves, th e b e g i n n i n g o f i n d i v i du a l l i f e w i t h i n t h e E g g has become a prob l em

to the expounders of th e Pai’

i caratra .

3 The mediatecreation (s eede d

-

ri led arsti) , that i s the creation med iatedby God B rahman ‘, and the

“ immed iate creation

(adra’

rikd s rsg‘i) preced ing it, are held to be th e same,

by the scholiasts, as what is commonly understood, inIndian philosophy,by “ ind ividual creat ion (cg/asi i - srsi i)anc

“ col lective creation ”

(samas ti -srs z‘i ) respectively .

B ut accord ing to Visvaks ena Samhita (l oc. cit ,pp . 1 26

1 29) the offsp ring of the Manus, namely the so-cal led PureGroup (S

'fuddha is the creation of P radyumna,

wh ile the Mixed group (111 i8’1'

a - i'

wrga) of soul s [dominatedby Rajas or Tamas] is created by A n iruddha th roughgod Brahman ; from wh ich it seem s to fo l l ow thatthe Pure Group, in spite of its being eye sti, is

adcdo'ikd . The contrad iction appear s al so in the presentSamh ita which say s, in adhyaya 7, that the Manns,whol ike the Devatas, e tc .

—have emerged as ind ividual sfrom the K utastha Purusa (s l . have many lineagesby wh ich has been spread this whole [mankind ] (91.5 1 ) includ ing those who, owing to th e deter iorat ingprogress of the Yugas, have become addicted to selfi sh

1See for in stan ce Padma Tan tra I, ad hyayas 10 to 1 2 .

2Tattvatraya, ed . p . 66 .

3 See Varavaramun i’s comm on Tattvatraya, ed . p . 1 18.

3 Who, in e vo l vin g th e con ten t s of th e Eg g , is reg ard ed as

con s is t in g of th e total ity of boun d s ou l s”

(badrl hd z‘ma -suma s ; i

wi pe ) ; Tattvatraya, ed . p . 65 comm ., an d e l sewh ere .

83

wishes but then, in adhyaya 15, confron tsthe

“ descendan t s of the Manus (me n i i - santa ti -j d l i ,s l . 7 ) with

“those who have sprung from th e

mouth, etc ., of Brahman (bra71,7)m- 7nuk/1d dy-udga idh, Si .

A cl ue to the solution of th e riddle is

furn ished by th e version con tained in Padma Tantra

(I, 1 . 8 5 HI . ) and Visn util aka (1 . 1 4 s though in

some particulars it is not like ly that it represents th eoriginal theory . I t run s as fol lows : The originalreligion (ddya cl /um na, to wit the Paficaratra) was fi rst,in the K rta ag e, p roclaimed by god Brahman to

“the sages of sharpened vows who taught it to

their disciples with th e resul t that, everybodyfollowing the Pancaratra, people were liberated [or wen t

to heaven,Visnutil aka], so that“ hel l became naught

and a g r e a t d e c r e a s e o f c r e a t i o n t o o k p l a c e

(srs ii -ksayo Nu t/Min, d s i t) . Brahman, consequen tly, feltuneasy, went to the Lord, an d, on the latter ’s kindinquiry as to how the world was p rogressing underhis rule, replied What shal l 1 say, O Lord of gods '

A l l m en, be ing ful l of faith and masters of th e irse nses,sacrifice as p rescribed in the Great Secret ; and so

they go to the Place of Visnu from wh ich the re is noreturn . The re is [n ow] no heaven and no he l l, neitherbirth nor death .

” 2 This, however,was against the plan ofthe Lord, and so H e started, with the help of Brahman,Kap ila, an d S’iva, five mor e systems (Yoga, Samkhya,B aud dha, Jaina, an d S’aiva) con fl icting with each other

and the Paficaratra“ for the bew ilderme nt of men

”.

Now, th e s'loka containing the phrase a great decrease

of creat ion took place ”is al so in Visvaksena Samhita

Th e C itr as 'ikh and in s appear to b e m ean t .

2 That is , n o death fol l owed by re -birth .

84

(l oo cit., p . which shows that that Samhita,although de riving the Pure Group from Pradyumna

and th e Mixed Group from A n irud dha and B rahman,must have held a view simi lar to the above as regardsthe mutual re lation of th e two . Our p resent Samhitaspeaks twice (6. 1 3 ; 7 . 4 7 - 4 8 ) about th e Manus pass ingfrom P radyumna

’

s care to that of A n irudd ha, and onceabout their withdrawal into A n irudd ha, in th e period of

Pra laya (4. 5 9 Th is suggest s the idea that,whileboth classes of soul s are introduced into th e Eg g byA n iruddha (Padmanabha) , the p ure . ones only are sointroduced d irectly, the impure ones, however, indirect lyand later,name ly, by be ing fi rst transferred to B rahman .

For, it must be remembered that the great maj ority of

unliberated soul s left ove r from the preced ing Kalpa and

now to be reborn ente r of necessity this n ew period of

their sains d ra with a remainder of good and bad Karman,or on ly the lat ter, that is as

“ impure ” be ings . These,eviden t ly, mus t be re - introduced in to earthly life by thehighest represe ntative of Rajas, that is the g od Brahman ;and they cannot appear on earth as long as the fi rs tYuga, in which Sattva prevai l s, is not over . The smal lminority, on th e other hand, in whom Sattva predominates,must for th is ve ry reason, in ord er to terminate theircareer, appear in th e fi rst Yuga without passing throughB rahman : the Lord , therefore, says Visvaksena Samhita

(l oc. cit , p . creates w ith the b it of goodKarman” (sukrta- l es 'ena) they hav e left,and for which theymust sti l l receive an earthly reward, th e s

'zidcl ha - sarga.

’

These pure beings of the K rta ag e, then,corre spond to theA nagamin s [and Sakrdagamin s ] of Buddh ism, that is

Pure Creat ion or Pure Group th e word sw gu be in g al s o

a synonym of rarga u sed e l s ewh ere i n th i s con n ection .

85

those almost perfect beings who return for one life [ortwo lives ] only, because they have ve ry nearly reachedLiberation in the preced ing on e . A nd so, if it is saidthat at the end of the K r ta Yuga the “ descendan t s ” of

th e Manus began to dete riorate, this can on ly re fe r totheir b o d i l y descendan ts among whom the pure soulswere more an d more d isappearing (having reachedLiberation), wh ile th e gap s we re be ing fi l led by B rahman with th e bette r specimen s of the mixed one s, theprocess going on , in this way, in a descend ing l in e, un ti lin the Kal i ag e even the mos t depraved find their chancefor reincarnation .

The four hundred Manavas of the A h irbudhnya

Samhita have becom e e i g h t h u n d r e d “ V i s n u s ’

in Mahasanatkumara Samh ita(I nd raratra, sixth ad hyaya)which even enumerates the names of them al l , locat ingthem in e ight ideal realms situated in the eigh t regions 3 .

A mong those eigh t h undred Visn us , each of whom is the

chief (nag/aka) of a thousand subj ects (cf . the Manavamanavas of our Samh ita), there are the original threehund red tw ice born Manavas, whi l e the group of originalS’udras has been replaced by five m ixed groups in sucha way as to eliminate altoge the r the male S ii d ras . The

1

(1 ) Brahmanas on l y l ive in th e eas tern realm cal l edS'

ivaroh a ; 2 ) ch il dren (de s ce ndan t s ) of Brahmana fath ers and

K sat r iya m oth ers in th e Rama w orl d of th e s ou th eas t K satr iyas

i n th e Naras imh a Wo rl d of th e s outh ch i l dren of K satr iya fath ersan d Vais’ya moth ers in th e s outh -w es tern reg ion (n am e m is s in g ) ,(5 ) Vais’yas in S

'

r idhara Loka of th e w es t ; (6) ch il dren of Brahm ana

fathers an d Vais’ya moth ers in Vami an a Loka of th e n orth -eas t (7 )ch i l dren of Brahm ana fath ers an d S

'

udra moth e rs in H ayas’i r sa Loka of

th e n orth an d (8) ch i l dren of K satr iya fath ers an d S'

udra moth ersin Vasudeva Loka of th e n orth - eas t . Th e n am e s of th e V isnu s ar e

part l y very s tran g e . For e xamp l e , J1 r 11aV1 an in S oka, Visada,Lobh a, P an catman , an d B ahyatman a i e n am es of n orth w es ter iiV isnu s ; an d B h iita, B l 1avya, B h av isyat, D e l i a, D eh avat, and

S'

ar iras'asan a s ome n am es from H ayas

'ir sa Loka .

chapter c loses by men tioning that there are innumerabl eVisn us in Kap i la Loka.

1

6. NA TUR E A ND DESTINY or THE SOUL

When the Day of the Lord has exp ired and the

Great Dissol ut ion is fin ished 2

, noth ing remains but theWaters of Infinity an d , floating on them, on the leaf of aban ian - tree (e eri e a babe whose name is “

the

Void ” The babe is Vis nu, th e s leep less on e,s leeping the sl eep of Yoga 3

. In His “ womb ”

(ku lcsi )are s leeping al l the soul s : in the upper part th e

l iberated on es (ma t te ) ; in the middle part those who

[owing to Sattva prevailing in them] are“ fit for

Liberation (makii -yogya) ; then, near th e navel3

, the

ever -bound (n iiya -baddha) , and, in th e region of the

l oins, those who [on accoun t of the predominance, inthem, of Tamas ] are fi t for Darkness ” (tamo-

yogya) .5

The soul s in this condition are cal led N'

aras .6

The above account, though taken from a fairlyrecent work 7

, contain s undoubtedly the original orthodox3For Kap il a Visnu th e teacher of th e Nag as in Patal a, s ee

Padma Tan tra I, I . 23, an d V isnu t i l aka I I, 1 70 il l . The in h abitan tsof th e n e th erw orl d s (A tal a, e tc . ) are s aid to be so happy as to h aven o l on g in g for h eaven (V i snu t i l aka I I ,

2 Th e fol l ow in g , abbrev iated from P . Prakas'a S. I, firs tadhyaya, w il l b e recog n i z ed as an e l aborat ion of th e s tory of

Markandeya re ferred to above in con n ect ion w ith th e twen tys even th A vatara (de s cribed A h irb . Samh . LVI, 28

3 Yoga-n i dwim up iga z‘o r in idro

’

s eap ad f s’rara l z, P . Prakas'aS . I, 1 . 40 .

3 From wh ich w i l l sprin g th e Lotus an d the repre s en tat ive of

Rajas , g od Brahman ; cf . above, s ect ion 5 .

P . Prakas’a S . I, 1 . 1 1 fi l . (corrupt ) 5 . 10 - 1 1 ; etc.

1 lu d , s’l . 14. Of . th e e xp l an at ion of the n ame Narayana in

Man u Sm rt i I, 10 .

7 P . Prakas 'a S . m en t ion s S'

r irang a and Ve i’

i kates’a,furth er th e

th re e cl as s e s of Puranas , an d , as be l on g in g to th e Sattv ic cl as s, th eBhag avata (I, 1 2 . 7 ° 4

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88

The difficulty, however, is that there are numerous passages in the Samh itas where this view is

apparent ly set aside . For, although an imate and

inan imate nature, soul and body, subj ect and object‘,

are declared to be two aspects or parts of the on e

Bhuti S'akti, sti l l the idea, obtaining since the earliestt imes in Indian ph i losophy, of a closer relationship ofthe soul than of matter with God is by no meansabsen t in our Samh itas and q uite con sp icuous, natural ly,in those Samh itas which operate e ither n ot at al l or

but a litt le with Laksmi as a ph il o soph ical principle .

A nd it is this idea, in al l probabi l ity,wh ich is ultimate lyresponsibl e for th e in trusw n i n to th e Pai’i caratra of cer

tain fore ign el ements such as those we wi l l n ow pointout .

If creation mean s re -appearing, then there seem s tobe no room for the question of a fi rst beginn ing or

original s in . S til l the question is asked and an sweredin more than on e text, for instance in the fol lowing wayin chapter 14 of A hirbudhnya Samh ita.

In add ition to the th ree w el l -known powers of

creation , preservat ion, and dest ruct ion, the Lord has twom ore S'aktis ca l l ed N ig raha (or Tirodhana) an d A nug raha,by mean s of wh ich he p repares an d pre -determ ines thesoul for bondage or l iberat ion re spectively . Theentering of the soul into th e whee l of births, commonly

accounted for by its own previous act s, is he re explainedby the Lord’s “ ob scuring ”

it s d ivin e nature throughreducing it s origin al omn ipresence, omn iscien ce, and

omnipotence, so as to make it (I ) atom ic ”, (2)l ittl e -knowing and (3)

“ l it tle -ach ieving Vice

we rga, those three restriction s cal led Taints or Fette rsOctana—ce tga, (l e7i i n

—(l eha, bhoktr - bhogya (V, 9 HI )

89

may again be cance l led through the divine grace

Now, whe the r th e five S’akt is ment i oned are th e

Lord’s or Laksm i’s

’

, th e fact is undeniable, I believe,that th e soul is n ot here regarded as a m e re por tion of

Laksmi3

but as a th ird p rinciple distinct from bothVasudeva and Matter (or Laksmi respectively ) , ju stas in those passages (45 8 - 4 ; 38 1 3 etc .) which speakof A vidya or Maya as vei ling th e true nature of th e

j a and th e p ara (soul and God ) . That is to say

we have here nearly the standpoin t described in Vis n uti laka in the words - 3 5 ) There is a triad hereB rahman, Jiva (soul ) , an d Jagat (world ) ; Brahmanis a mass (Trial) of Ligh t, Jagat a mass of element s

(bh zi ta) , and Ji va a mass of knowledge .

”

Second ly, the conclusion seem s to be inevitabl e thatthe l iberated soul is not only omniscie nt, as it is , inde ed ,often described to be, but al so omnipoten t and evenomnipresen t . A s for its omnipoten ce , th is word may

here have the re stricted meaning in which it is e l sewhereused with regard to the liberated (who cannot in te rfe rewith or part icipate in the governance of the world ) ; bu t

the question remain s : how can th e l ibe rated sou l beomnipresent (c ibhu), wh ich is the l es s in te l l igible as inchapter 6 27 ) it has been de scribed as

“of th e

For furth er part icu l ars s ee our resume of th e adhyaya, be l ow ,

n ext chapter .2 Th ey ar e, in deed, a l s o? des cribed as th e 11 11 17111 kr t zyfim

'

of th e

D ev i, for in s tan ce in I, 2 an d X X I , 1 2 of A h irbud hnya Samh ita.

3 From th e g en eral . s tan dpoin t of our Samh ita w e sh ou l dh ave to say th at V isnu caus es Laksm i to act w ith one

part of h ers e l f (n am e l y N ig rah a, etc . ) upon an oth er part (th es ou l ) , th us br in g in g th e l atter in to con n e ct ion w ith a th ird partof h ers e l f (n am e l y matte r ) ! (w h ich w ou l d reduce th e cosm ic

proces s to s om eth in g l ike a phys iol og ical d is turbance in th e Goddes s . )1 2

th e lat ter being related to the former as the

light Spread in a room to th e lamp (or flame) from whichi t radiates— is a plausible explanation of the sou l -moteand its m il lion s of rays (2 . but must be rej ected inthe present case where omn iprese nce is expressly distin

g uished from omn iscience . A s a m atter of fact,nothingremains but to admit that we have here a S' a i v a tenetin Vaisnava garb . For,the S

’

aivas do teach that th e soul sare natural ly “ omn ipresent 2

, that is : not hamperedby space, though limited, wh ile in bondage, by n iyati or

spatial re striction .

3 The lat te r, as we know al ready’, isone of the five (or includ ing Maya, s ix ) l imitations ofthe soul cal led K an cukas, and the connection of our

chapter (1 4) with these is the more evident as the twoother Taints, to wit those of Litt le -knowing and

Lit t le -ach ieving are absolutely identical with the

K aficukas cal led Vidya an d Kala 5 The surprisingsolut ion of the p roblem, then, is that in our passage theword (mu doe s n ot mean atomic ” but “ smal l , l itt l e

”

in the sen se of spatial ly restricted and as the opposite

1 Tattvatraya, ed . p . 35 Yat D ip ., ed . pp . 69 an d 75 .

2 Vi bhu, an -a zzu, cydpaka : Sarvadar s’ana Samg rah a, Poon a ed .

p. 69 (l l . 23, P ratyabh ijfiaH rdaya, S

’rin ag ar ed . p . 22 ; e tc .

3 Pratyabh i jfiaH rdaya,Zoc. c i t , an d e l s ewh ere .

3 See above pp . Th e Paficaratra doctrin e of th e MayaK os

'a w as deve l oped by th e S'aivas in to th e th eory of th e K aficnkas,

after wh ich th e l atter influen ced t h e Pancaratra .

5 Th e fiv e K afi cukas cal l ed ka l d ,m’

dyd , raga, krz l e,an d n i yati are

said to re s u l t from th e con tract ion ”of s arvakar tr tva, sarca ifia tva,

pflrp atca, n i tya tva, an d rydp aka z‘m re spect ive l y P r atyabh ijfia

H rdaya, loc. ci t.

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92

renders it at l east possible that th e Lord is meant tosay :

“ They become like Me , except, of course, withregard to th e gove rnance of th e world .

”For, al l

Pancaratra Samhitas recogn ize the existence of the3 )

N ityas or“ ever - free beings (Visvaksena, etc . )

1

and

cann ot, therefore, adm it that a previously bound sou lshould become more in separably un ited with the Lordthan these are . In Visn u ti l aka, wh ich is closelyre lated to Padma Tan tra 2

,and wh ich al so u ses the phrases“ he wi l l become Brahman ”

,

“ is absorbed in the

H ighest Brahman e tc“

, th is un ion is declaredto be on e with the K au s tubha of the Lord ’

and is

furthe r re ferred to as fo l lows : “ Just as gold, inthe m idst of fi re, sh ines separately, as though it werenot in c o ntact [with th e fire ], even so he who is clingingto Brahman (B l

-111111111111 l ag / 1 11) is seen to exist in the

form of a g em“ H e who has become at

tached to the Jewe l of gems (i l tafli -T / ttfi ct, the K aus tubha)i s said to have at tained identity [with the Lord]

In another passage of Padma Tan tra (I, 6. 1 5fll .)the great problem is stated w ith unusual p recision :Scripture emphasize s th e onen ess of the h ighe st Self and

th e on e cal led K s e trajfia (Knowe r - of—the -fie l d, the soul) ;

[but ] th e plural ity of th is K s e traj fi a is proved by thed ive rs ity of bod ies Thre e we l l -known A d vait ic images

See above pp . 56 111. I n Padma Tan tra they are m en t ioned,for in s tan ce in I, fll .

2 A n d even on e of its s ources , to judg e from th e fact thatit is m en t ion ed as N o . 6 in th e Samh ita l is t of Padma Tan tra .

Th e m u tual re l at ion of th e two is , how ever, n ot qu ite cl ear .I, 33 I, 1 14 ; e tc .

3 I I, 30 ; cf . above, pp . 58,59 .

3 V isnu t il aka I I, 100 . Th e s ou l in its e l f, that is in it s n atura lform , is of ten compared w ith a g em .

6 Mani / (Li ne r i l ugnasya s t i yigg aga fir ”cyn ic ; I I, 54, i bid .

93

are used to i l lustrate th e relation of the One and the manythe pot in the water, the pot in the air, an d th e one figurereflected in many m irrors . l Ye t, none of the se (as shownby the re s t of the chapte r) is used in th e A dvai tic sen se

God as the Inne r Ru l er pervade s th e soul, wh ile H e

is, of course, al so outside it ; and the refle ctedimages proce ed from th e ir original like the rays fromthe sun Just as, by means of gate s of various kinds,peop le g o forth from a town, even so th e soul s go forthfrom B rahman— th is is cal led Creation ; and as, throughthose gate s, the inhabitant s of that town e nte r it again,j ust so [th e sou l s ] go [back] to that Brahman th is iscal led Withdrawal .” 2

I t may be obj ec ted that the ravssen t out and again withdrawn by th e sun 3 have noseparate exis tence in the sun itsel f, but th is is not the

common Indian, or, at any rate, not the Pancaratra

View and even th e A upan isad ic image of the riversente ring the ocean means for th e Paficarat rin only that inLiberation the soul s become practical ly but not real ly on e .

’

The conclusion to be drawn from al l th is is : that,a lthough the language of th e A dvaita is occasional ly met

with in th e Pancaratra Samh itas, the chie f characte rist ic of that phi losophy, n ame ly its i l l usion ism (may/(Zwide) , is altoge ther absent from them .

1Th e firs t an d s econ d im ag e s occur in Maitreya Upan isad I I, 1 8

(s ee my ed it ion of th e M in or Upan isads , vol . I,p . for an e l aborat ion of th e s econ d s ee Gaudapada

’

s Mandfikya Kar i ka I I I, 3fll . th e

th ird is a tran s format ion of th e im ag e foun d,in B rahm ab in d u Upan isad1 2 an d other te x t s ,of th e on e m oon an d its man y reflect ion s in th e tan k .

2V i snut il aka I I, 95 il l be in g an e l aborat ion (if n ot th e orig in al )

of Padm a Tan tra I, 6, 43 -44.

3 Padma Tan tra I,6 . 24.

3 I bi d . 1, 6 . 5 1 - 52, re ferr in g to Yog a (z temporal L iberat ion ) .

5Th at th e fam ou s Gi ta pas sag e I l l amai r ii ips

’o, e tc . (XV, 7 ) is

a l so to b e un ders tood in th is s en s e ,can b e g ath ered for in s tan ce fromYat . Dip , ed . p . 74, w h ere th e te ach in g of Yadavaprakas

'a,

n ame l y B rahm rhps’o j iva lg 1 s re jected as e rron eou s .

III . THE A H I R BUDHNYA SA MH ITA

T 11 11 se l ection, for p ublicat ion, of the A hirbud l

Samhita was dete rm ined by the con side rationthe Samhita to be published as an in trod uctim

the Pai’

i caratra should be (1) one of the olde r Samhi

(2 ) one of the Samhitas to an appreciable extentexclusively, concerned with the theoretical part ofsystem ; and (3 ) a Samh ita of which a sufficien t n unof manuscripts was avai lable to en sure the productiea p ractical ly comple te and rel iable text . The A h irb i

nya Samhita was not on ly found to fulfi l tcond ition s but moreover to be a work of unusual in ttand striking original ity .

1 . THE MA NUSCR IPT MA TER TA L

With what success cer tain San skrit works arebe ing kept secre t in India, is shown by the fact thai

editing the p resen t Samh ita, wh ich is not repre sentea single European l ibrary, no le s s than Six (n ine ) 11could be obtained w ith in three years . U n fortunate l '

can be seen from a few common om is sions and errorsof these MSS . go back to one al ready corru

original . S til l, on the whole the Samhita is

preserved . The two o ldest and best MSS . are t

cal l ed E and D . The forme r is a Grantha MS . I

Kalal e in Mysore, the latter a MS . written inMalayalam character an d bel onging to H . H . the Mah iof Travancore . E i s more accurate than D . From h

sce nd the four Me lkote MSS . F to H,al l of themWI ‘it tt

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96

particularly clear in a passage of th e A itareya Brahmanawhich may be dire ctly connected with the Paficaratraview of A h irbudhnya,name ly th e passage 3 . a s runn ing asfo l l ows Prajapati,afte r having sprinkl ed the creature sw ith water,though t that they (the creatures) were h is own .

H e provided them with an invis ible l ustre th rough A hirbudhnya

”.

2

3 . P R OVEN I ENCE A ND A GE

I t has al ready been stated 3

that one stan za of A hir

budhnya Samh ita is eviden tly quo ted by Utpala Vaisn ava

in h is Spandaprad ipika. Th is would,of course , prove that

the Samhita(like Jayakhya S . m en tioned in th e latter andal so in U tpal a

’

s work) must have once existed in Kasmi r .That it was actual ly composed in that country,must beconcluded from two other passages,namely 26. 7 5 and 45 .

5 3 , recommending, or ment ion ing respective ly, the wear

ing , as an amulet, of a certain d iagram (ye ntm ) drawn on

a sheet of birch -bark (011 121771 B irch -bark, as

is wel l known , was th e writing -mate r ial of ancientKasmi r .

In chapter 39 we read (s l . H e shineslike th e sun freed from the confinement (or obstruction )by I i i /ma wh ich eviden t ly refers to th e sun risingfrom beh ind th e

'

snow -moun tains (hima) , that is to a sunrise in th e Kasmi r -val ley . A third ind ication of th e

3 I n H ang’s tran s l at ion .

2 Sayan a’s rem ark th at by th e tw o n am e s A h i an d B udh nya a

part icu l ar k in d of fir e (th e Garh apatya ) is m ean t, n eed not b e

accepted ,Perh ap s , h ow e ve r, it is n otew orth y th at a hym n in

Vajas an eyi Samh ita (V, 33 ) w h ich al so m en t ion s A h irb udh nya

Garh apatya ag n i , comm ) , con tain s th e n am e of V is nu fiv e t im e s in

th e firs t Man tra an d n o l e s s th an t wen ty - four t imes aft e rwards ,th at is ,m ore often th an that of any oth er de ity .

3 A bove p . 1 8.

97

K asmi rian origin of our Samhita is probably the storyof Muktapida told in the forty - eighth ad hyaya . A

prince of this name is not known from any otherwork (according to B . an d R

’

s d ictionary ) than the

famous K as'mirian chron icle, the Raja Taraug in i (4.

A bout the a g e of the Samhita hardly anythingmore can be said w ith certainty than that it belongs tothat class of Samh itas for which w e have fi x ed theeighth century A . D . as the terminus ad guemf The onlypassage wh ich m ight seem to in d icate a l a t e r date,is the stanza where king K u s

'adhvaja says to

his teache r “ From thee have I obtained the HigherScience and al so th e Lower one ; and by th e fire of th eHigher Science al l my Karman has been burnt up .

”I t is

difficult to read this without th inking of S'ankaracarya’s

system . B ut K us'adhvaja, being a Paficaratrin , refers,

of course, to th e two methods (Mti) described in thefi fteenth ad hyaya, d is tinguishing between th e Veda an d

th e inferior systems on th e one hand,and th e Pancaratraon th e other . The d istinction is based on that in th e

B hagavad-Gita between the orthodox who sw ear on the

Vedas and th e en lightened ones who worsh ip the Lord .

2

Nor does the definition of (widg/ d (ignorance ) , in !L5 . 3 - 4 ,

1 A bove p . 1 9 .

2 Th e P aficaratr in s h ave e ve r s in ce emph as i z ed th is d ist in ct ion ,wh ich is on e of th e ch ief cau s e s of th e ir h avin g been decried as

h eret ics un t il th e pre s en t d ay . Th e con tras t betw een th e tw o

cl as s e s h as been s o m uch deepen ed by th em th at th e Vaid ikas are

actual l y made de sp is ers of th e Lord, e .g ., in th e fol l ow in g s’l oka of

V isvaks en a S . (l oc. ci t. p . 1 26 cf . Bh aga-G i ta I I, 42 HITray

/Znq gesu n i g aci td lg p ha l ar d d e mman tzfite l

(l ez 'd d in eva man/win d m1 ca mam m en ire p aram l l .

B ut tray/ i (as , in deed, ceda in th e Gi ta) is n ever m ean t to

in cl ude th e Upanis ads , as can b e s een from V isvak s en a S . cal l in gth e two c l as s e s reda -m

’

s p d tdfi an d c erl ri n ta -m’

sgzfi ffi lg. Th e idea of th e

fir e of true kn ow l edg e de s troy in g karman is , of cours e, al so qu itefami l iar to th e Gita (s ee, for in s tan ce I V,

1 3

98

as the power obscuring the real nature (param r zlp am)of the j w d tman and th e paramatman nece ssarily point toS’ankara’s A dvaita, because in the Pancaratra the

N ig raha or Tirodhana S'

akti is the cause of the obscuration of th e soul s but n ot of their plural ity .

1 In boththese cases, however, there remains, of course, thepossibi lity of A dvaitic term s an d phrase s (earl ier perhap sthan S’ankara) having been adop ted by the Pancaratra.

I f, on the other hand, there is in our Samh ita an indicatio n of an e a r l i e r date than th e on e mentioned, itwould seem to be th e fact that the sixty topics of th e

older Samkhya are enumerated in it .

2

For, these sixtytopics, as I have shown el sewhe re 3

, coul d no longer beenume rated by the Samkhyas them selves as early as the

fi fth century A . D . The bri l l ian t Samkhya Karika of

I svara Krs na having by that time completely eclipsed

the older Samkhya, no late r author could speakof the latter as though it were th e only existingon e, as does our Samhita.

’

A s for the temn inus

a gun of the lat ter,I venture to say that a work in which,as, apparent ly, in th e eighth chapter of the A hirbud hnya

1 See above, p . 88 HI .

9 See,be l ow , our resume of th e tw e l fth adhyaya .

3 I n th e art icl e Da s Say i tan tra in th e Jou rna l of the German

Orien ta l Soci ety for 1 914, p . 101 .

N ot on l y in th e adhyaya con cern ed . E l s ewh ere too, w h en th esamkhya is briefly ch aracteriz ed, it is s tated to teach th e th ree [orfou r] prin cip l es : t im e , s ou l , an d [unman ifes t an d man ifes t ] m atte r ;s ee, for in s tan ce 55 . 4 c 5

'

a kh'

z/ a- lcd l a -j

/Zva - tray i- trayam (for trayi

z

m dydz

p aakr tz cf . above pp . 62, S ankaracarya m en t ion s both th e‘su cces s ors of th e Samkhya Yog a (sdm lf hyayoqa cyap d s

'm ya h ) an dt h e ath e is t ic Samkhyas (comm . on B rahm as utras I I, 2 . 3 7 fi l . an d

I I, 2 . I bu t reg ard s as th e th ree ch ie f prin cip l e s of th e form e rGod , s ou l , an d m at ter ; w h ich sh ow s th at , w h i l e th e Sastitan tra d idn o l on g e r e x is t at h is t im e, th e Samkhya-Yog a of th e Mahabharatah ad ye t surv ived in an oth er (m ore orth odox ) form , th e s o-cal l edVaid ika Samkhya of l ater au thors .

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1 00

latter of whom is asked by th e former for an explanationof that mysterious d iscus l of Vis n u cal led the Sudarsana .

On many occasions in connection with the divineweapon s (as tra ), powers and magic formulas

(man tra) the d epende nce on the Sudarsana havingbeen mentioned, B haradvaja want s to know

Due to whom [or what ] is its maj esty I s it innateor created What is that Sudars'ana ? What is the meaning ascribed to the word What work does it perform ?How does it pervade the universe ? Who are the Vyuhas,how many an d of what kind, that have sprung fromit, 0 sage ? A n d for what purpose do they exist, and of

what nature is H e to whom they belong (th e‘

vg/ zl hin ) PA nd

of what kind is it s (the Sud arsana’

s ) connection with Visnusupposed to be ? I s it (the Sudars'ana) ne ce ssarily and

always found in connection with H im [alo ne ] or e l sew he re too 1

“ Th is is the doubt w h ich has arisen in me

from the perusal of variou s S'as t ras . Solve it,0 holy on eI have duly approached thee . Teach m e,maste r 1

Durvasas an swe rs that th is is a common doubtam ong th e wise , and that its sol ut ion was once obtainedby Narada from the only on e in this world who is abl eto so lve it, name ly th e great g od S

’

iva [who in the form o f

A hirbudhnya is ] th e h ighest repre sentat ive of knowledge .2

1 Ca li z a “w h ee l a favourite sym bol a l ready in the Vedas an d

probab l y l on g before . Th e w ord is u s ed in con jun ct ion w ith cakrin

d is cu s - bearer to w it V isnu , in th e firs t s tan z a of th is chapter .2 St il l depen den t for th e l at ter on Samkar sana, h is teach er, see

I I, 3 . I t may b e s u i p i is in fr that 1 11 Narada’

s hym n in th is ch apter(as al so in XXXV,

9 1 9 1 ) A h irbud h nya, a boun d sou l , is prais ed as

th e abs ol u t e on e (s t atan t i a ) ever - sat is fied on e (n i l ga trp ta ) , creatoran d de stroyer of th e un ive rs e, etc ; but it s h ou l d be rem em be redfirs t, th at h e is a s econdary A vatara, an d s e con d l y, that t h is s ort ofhym n s is s imp l y propag a t in g th at bon a fi de e xag g erat ion of th e

an cien t Sukta s w h ich m oved Ma x Mu l l e r to in ven t th e nam e

h en oth e ism for the re l ig ion of th e Ved ic bards .

Narada an d A h irbudhnya, that is, the A h irb udhnya

Samhita. B ut he on ly agreed to g ive it in an abridgedform : the extent o f the original Samh ita was two

hundred and forty chapters ; then, time havingadvanced an d human capacity deter iorated, it was

red uced, “ for the benefit of men to hal f th e original,and now a further abridgment to on ly sixty chaptershad become necessary .

2

C h a p t e r 2 . Explanation of the word Sudars'ana

(s'l okas 7 to 9) it denote s Visn u’

s l Vi l l - to -be (s t/ (2m i ti

samka lp a)3

, dars'ana (seeing, sigh t) meaning p ret ee n / t

(prospective thought)4

, an d 8a (we l l, perfe ct l y ) expre ssing its being unimpede d by time and space . Eve ry thingin th e world being dependent on th e Sudars'ana, the

latter’s powe r is, of course, natural (s cims idd/ti lca, s ] . 12)and not created Two of Narada

’

s que s tion s are

herewith answered . A fter some more que st-ion s ofNarada (to be answered in the course of the

A fter wh ich V isnu van ish e d s o that Narada h ad n o m eans of

app l y i n g to H im d i rect l y, wh ereas S'iva. as a m un dan e be in g w it hh is r e s 1d en ce on th e Ka i l as a,w as , on th e con trary, acce s s ib l e to h im .

2 I n th e s am e w ay Padm a Samh ita c l aim s to h ave been re

d uced from 1 5m i l l ion s to th en to an d fin al l y tos tan z as .

3Sydm

z bahn syam ; cf . th e beg in n in g of adhyaya X X X .

4' Th e d ivin e w il l is in s eperab l e from w isdom an d act ion s ee I I I,30 . Th e root i ks (com b in ed w ith p a in p reksana ) is u s ed in th issen s e in Chan dog ya Upan isad VI, 2 . 3 Tad as sata ba lm syrim

p raj ayeyfitd“

Th at [Brahm an ] w ish ed : I w il l b e man y, I w i l l beborn w h ich pas s ag e is cl ear l y th e bas is of th e above defin it ion . C'f .

al so Maitrayana Upan isad I I , 6 n arra t ing h ow Prajapat i be ing t ire dof h is l on e l in e s s c o n t e m p l a t e d h i m s e l f and by th is act

becam e th e creator of al l be ing s (s a d tm d nam abhz’

dhyd yat, sa baketh

prai d aszziat) .

1 02

Samhita) th e re fol lows (S I . 22fll .) a long explanationof th e concept of the “ H ighest Brahman ”

, the realnature of which is experienced in Liberation only, andwhich nobody can hope to attain by h is own efforts,even if he would fly upwards in space l ike th e king of

bird s (Garuda) for a thousand years with the velocityof thought . The last section is concerned w ith the

definition of th e s ix Gunas of God (s ee above, p . 3 1fll .)C h a p t e r 3 . The object of this chap ter is to

explain the Sudarsana by identifying it with the K riya

S'akti or active side (force aspect ) of th e Lord as

distinguished from H is fo rmal side (matter aspect)cal l ed Bhuti S’akti . The chapte r open s by explainingthe mean ing of S’akti : it i s the subt l e condition

(s z‘

dcsmdvas thd ) or thin g - in - itsel f (id / rin td ) of any existence

(bhd va ) , recognizable by it s e ffect s only . Each man ifes tat ion of life (thei r / r) has a S'akti inseparably connectedwith it, but there is al so on e omnipre sen t S'akti, theS'akti of God . Lak smi is th e Lord’s “ vibration in

the form of th e world ”

(prusp hnrutd j agn nmayi ) ;she is connected w ith H im as the moon light is with themoon, or the sun sh ine w ith th e sun ; d iffere nt fromH im only as an attribute ((Um rma) d iffe rs from its bearer

(dhurmin ) , or existence (that a ) from him who exist s

(bhara t) . Many of the name s of Lak smi are enumeratedand explained in s ] . 7 to 24 . The n, afte r mention ing

that S'akt i is twofold and Bhuti S'akti threefold (detail sof wh ich fol low late r ) , the rest of the chapter (s'l . 2956) is occup ied with the mutual relation of the twoS'aktis and the identity of the K riya S

’

akti with the

Sudarsana . The Sudars'ana is, according to stanza 30,wi l l (icchd ) embodied in wisdom (preksd ) and re sultingin action (kriyd ) .

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104

philosophic views (s lokas l to Narada complainsthat there are so many d ifferent opinion s about creation,some hold ing that it is effected by three el ement s‘,othe rs assum ing four

z

, again others five”

, s ix“

, seven“

,

e ight", n ine7

, ten , or e l even element s ; some t racing itback to an egg", others to a lotus“, others again to fi re”,to another body to knowledge or to the Void

A hirbudhnya answers that the variety of op inions has several causes : first, th e natural impossibility forhuman speech to express adequate ly truth s concerningthe A bsolute then, that people ignorant of synonyms

(apurydynnido j nnd l t) often m istake d ifferent names ford ifferent things ; that the intel lectual at tainment s of mendiffe r con sid erably ; an d ,final ly, that God has an infin itenumber of d iffe ren t aspects one of which on ly is, general ly, grasped and taugh t by a phi losopher . A h irbudhnya

1 F ire,w ate r, earth Chan d ogya Upan i sad V I ,4 ti l .2Earth , w ater, fir e, a ir ; view of a m ateria l is t ic teach er of th e

Buddha’

s t im e, al s o apparen t l y of a Buddh is t s ect (th e Janakas ) .3Th e fou r and eth e r v iew of man y Upan isads an d of certain

material ist s .

4Th e five an d th e s ou l a v iew m en t ion ed in th e Jain s criptures

an d cal l ed (by th e comm . ) (t a s a s tha -cada .

Th e fou r, th e s ou l , an d p l easu re an d pain (reg arded as sub

s tan ces ) ; th e sap takdya- t fida of a rival of th e Buddha (Pakudha

K accayan a ) an d ev iden t l y al s o of som e l at er ph i l os oph ers .

6 Th e fiv e, Buddh i,A h amkara,an d Man as (B h ag avad Gi taVII,or, pos s ibl y, th e e ig h t A ksaras (fire, earth , w in d, atmos ph ere,

s un , h eaven ,m oon , s tars ) en um erated in Mahas an atkumara Samh ita(I n d raratra I, 30

7 Th e e ig h t an d th e s ou l ; B h ag avad Gi taV I I , 4-5 .

8 See above pp . 80 -81 .

Of . th e th eories , in th e Upan i sads , abou t Tapas, Te jas , A g n iVais’van ara, an d K alag n i .

That is , an oth er ag g reg ate [of Skan dh as ] or oth er Skandh as (lefty/ a : ag g reg ate

”or trun k, s tem re ferrin g to th e

Sautran t ika s ch ool of Buddh ism an d its doct rin e of th e san ta tt’

.

That (cf . n e x t n ote ) an oth e r s ubs tan ce is m ean t is l e s s l ike l y .

1 2Eviden t l y th e tw o Buddh is t s ch ool s of th e Vijfianav éd in s

and S'

unyavad in s are mean t .

1 05

concludes by m entioning that of the “ Brahmic dayssome are pleasant, whi le others show an e x cess of rain,war, e tc ., and then, at th e request of Narada, turn s tothe question of the adhara 34

The Sudars'ana is the pe rpetual support (adhara) ofthis whole Bhuti or uni ve rse [of names -and - forms ]wh ich is borne by it j ust as gems (pearl s ) areborne by the thread runn ing through them, or as the

leaf (bete l leaves ) by the p in [p ierced on which they are

o ffered for sale ] .1 The Sudar s'ana, in upholding the un i

verse, is the Calana Cakra or“ Wheel of Motion ” (9. 4 1 -4 2 )

and as such has a peculiar form in each of the threeperiods, appearing respectively as the “ Whe el of

Creation th e “ IVh ee I of Withd rawal and the Wheelof Continuance wh i l e each of the three ag ain operate sas a whole as wel l as through a number of minorwheels ” corresponding to the several Tattvas . Then

there is, as th e coun te rpart of the Calana Cakra, theMaharatridhara Cakra or IVhee l carrying the GreatN ight which is said to have a single spoke and to bemeditated upon by the sages . When creation begins,there appears first th e Whee l of Dawn ” having twospokes ; then, as th e disk of Samkar sana, the Wheel ofSunrise having three spoke s 2; then,with Pradyumna,the

Whee l of Lordship having four sp okes then, with

A n irud dha, th e“Wheel of Pote ncy having five spokes

afte r this th e “ Wheel of the Season s having s ix spokesan d representing the twelve Sub -Vyuhas ; then the

twelve - spoked Great Sudars'ana Whe el connectedwith the A vataras, chief and secondary ones

3

an d final ly

1Cf . Chan d ogya Upan isad I I, 23 . 3 .

2 Read (ea; conj . ) mj fi d tamtr i kadh d rakam.

3 Does th is m ean th at th ere are tw en ty - four ch ief A vataras14s

1 06

ly a thou sand - spoked wheel holding th e Highest Heaven .

Then (9 . 1 - 9 ) there follow th e whee l s engaged in Non

pure Creat ion , name ly : the Pauru sa Cakra with threespoke s 1

,and th e S'akti Cakra having th irty spokes “

and comprehend in g th e Naiyata Cakra (with th irtyspoke s) , th e Kala Cakra (w ith s ix spokes) , etc., th e

Wh ee l of Space (with on e spoke ) , th e“ Wheel of

A ir”

(with two e tc ., an d final ly the Wheelof th e Sen se s (with eleven spokes) .

C h a p t e r 9, after the e numeration ment ioned before of the “

whee l s of Non -pu re Creation , give s a mostcircum stan tial description of the “ Whee l of Mot ion ”

(creation, cont inuance, withdrawal ; st 33 ) cal led he reMahav ibhuti Cakra, the Whee l of th e Great Splendour

(or : of the Powe rfu l Man ife station) and then de scribe s,by mean s of only five stanzas (36 the Whee l ofWithdrawal (Samhrti Cakra) which does apparent lynot d iffer from th e (practica l l y inde scribable ) Whee l ofthe Great Nigh t ” except in having, l ike the Whee l ofGreat Splendour an infin ite numbe r of spoke s . The

Whee l of Great Sp lendour is de scribed as wearing agarment variegated by m il liard s of m il liard s of CosmicEggs ; infinite numbe rs of Space s [each pervad ing a

un ive rse but] appearing [from this h igher point ofview] like in significant specks ; crores of crore s of

Mahat s which are a -mahn t (not great ) etc . etc . A m ongthe image s there is th e on e m en tioned above (part I I,section 1 , en d) of th e cloud s, an d the fo l lowing bold

1 Ev iden t l y con n ected w ith th e th ree cl as s es of sou l s men t ion edabove p . 54, 11 . 7 .

2 Probabl y : N iyat i, th reefol d Kal a, th e th ree Gunas, and the

l ower tw en ty - th re e prin cip l e s .

3 A ir be in g pe rce ived by tw o s en s e s (ear and sk in ) .Ca l ana z tr em u l ou s mot ion , that is , sp anda .

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108

and the like ; and (3 ) how it renders possible the continuan ce of th e world by mean s of the divine S'astras 1

such as the D iscus, Plough, Club,Conch,etc .,used by th eLord in H is A vataras in order to fight th e unrighteous,and how, on the other hand, it keeps effe ctive the one

hundred and twen ty magical A stras, the imprecation sby Esis, et hoc genus omn e .

C h a p t e r s 1 ] a n d 1 2 are intended to showhow the regulative power (p rama

'

n u ) of the Sudarsana

man ife sts it sel f through th e word that is , bymean s of the system s of re ligion and ph ilosophy . For,

says stanza 12 of chapter 1 1 : “ To re sist successful lyth e enemies of virtue, two mean s are required : thearray (tn/ aha) of S

’

astras and A stras, an d the Sastra.

C h a p t e r 1 1 begins by explaining why the

A vataras of God become necessary in the course of

t ime . The reason is th e inevitable deterioration ofthe world in th e course of the Yugas : fi rst, indeed, there is a pred ominance of th e Sattva Guna,but soon it begin s to dim in ish, owing to the in

cessant growth of Rajas and Tamas, an d so “this

Sattvic d ivine lim it begins to fl uctuate (s l . A fterthis introduction the chapter take s up the d escrip

t ion of th e original S’astra which, at th e beginn ingof th e golde n ag e , came down from heaven “ l ike a

thunde rclap ”

,

“ dispel ling al l inne r darkne ss ”. I t was

proclaimed by Samkar san a. I t was an harmon ious wholecomprehending with in it eve ryth ing worth knowing forman : th e Vedas and Vedangas, I t ihasas and Puranas,Samkhya, Yoga, Pas'upata, e tc . (51 . 20 and consisted

We apon s w h ich , how eve r, in con t rad is t in ct ion to th e

A s tras , can n eve r b e u s ed by m ortal s , bu t on l y by th e ir d ivin ebearer w ith whom th ey are in s eparab l y con n ected .

1 09

of a mi l lion chapters . The fi rst men1—the divine Manus,

the Manavas and Manavamanavas regulated the ir wh olelife by mean s of it to the satisfaction of the Lord .

2

B ut then, “ by the change of time ”

, the division inYugas, and w ith it the shrinking of Sattva and the

growth of Rajas, became manife st at th e beginningof th e Tre ta ag e ; an d ,

“

th e h igh - soul ed Brahmanaswish ing wishe s (longing for pleasure s) , that beautifulsystem (s zn lm

'

s'unam s

'd sunnm) took a sl ow course ”.

Then th e divine Es is, taking counsel, decided thatfrom th e original S'astra separate system s suited forthe d ive rsity of inte llects should be extracted, and ,

after having practised severe auste rities for very

many years,they s e t to work,with the r as ul t that A pan taratapas (Vécyayan a) fash ioned (tu tuksn ) the three Vedas,Kapi la th e Samkhya, Hiranyag arbha the Yoga, an d S

'

iva

(A hirbudh nya) the Pas'upata, wh ile th e Lord H im se lfextracted, as the purest e ssence of the “ so le divine'

astra the system (tantra ) ca l led Paficaratra d escribing Him as Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, etc and be ingrecogn izab l e by having Libe rat ion as its sole re sult

C h a p t e r 1 2 . The five re cogn ized ph i losoph icalsystems describe d in th i s chap te r, n ame ly the Trayi (orVedic science ) , the Samkhya, the Yoga, the Pas upata,and the Sat tvata (or Paficaratra ) , are the same as the

five sciences (ynd ndn i ) mentioned by Vais'ampayana in

the S'ant i Parvan of the Mahabharata .

’

In the latter,

2 Ye p ro lctu'

. rid t'

sa rge ; for orig in al creat ion as d is t in g u is hedfrom Brahman ’

s creat ion s ee XV, 20 .

2 Cf . x v, 1 0 HI .

3 See my art icl e Da g Sa st i /an tm in th e J o u r 11 a l o f t h e

G e r m a 11 O r 1 e 11 t a l S o c i e t y for 1 914, al s o th e firs t San s kr itPreface in our te x t ed it ion , p . 40, quot in g the s

’l oka S fimkhg/am

Yogalt, etc.

1 1 0

howeve r, merely their names are m entioned, for w ithreason the p resen t chapter has a claim to our Specialatten tion , the more so as th e Samkhya described in itis n ot only cal led by th e name Sas titan tra, System of

the S ixty Top ics which is the name of th e source ofthe oldest Samkhya t reatise w e possess, the SamkhyaKarika— but actual ly cons ist s of sixty topics whichare enumerated though unfortunate ly n ot explained on

this occasion . We have analy zed this chapte r and triedto identify the sixty topics in a paper read in A then sin 19 12 be fore the Ind ian Sec tion of th e Inte rnationalCongress of Or ien talist s an d subsequent ly published

(se e previous note) . He re a few remarks must suffi ce .

By Trayi or [Vedic ] Triad is meant the wholeauthoritative lite rature of B rahman ism, that is , not onlyth e thre e Vedas, but al so the A thar van a

‘and al l th e

twen ty - on e so- cal led auxiliary science s down to politics

(Wi tt) , an d the science of profe ssionsThe Sas titan tra cons ists of two so-cal led circl es

th e“ circle of nature ”

and the circleof educts ” (vai l ar ta -man ql a l a ) , comp rising respectivelythirty - two metaphysical and twe nty - e ight e th ical top ics .

A l l the former have been adop ted by the Pancaratra 2

,

wh ich, howeve r, has expanded the fi rst of them (Brahman ) by advancing th e theory of the Vyuhas an d the

conception of Laksmi . The second,p arasa, is evident lyth e K fi tas tha Puru sa (Samas ti Puru s a) of the Pancaratra ;the third to e ighth are ident ica l with the Maya S'akti,Niyati, Kala, and th e three Gunas taken separately t he

Wh ich is kept s eparate becaus e it ch iefiy dea l s w ith e xorcism an d in can tat ion s .

2 IVe d id n ot com e to th is con c l u s ion u n t i l recen t l y and cou s e

qu en t l y fai l ed m ore or l e s s , in th e art ic l e m en t ion ed, to arrive at th e

e xp l an at ion of n os . 3, 9, an d 10 .

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1 1 2

peop l e of strong vows (13 . our author seems vaguely to include in the name al so the le ss phil osophical sects

(K apal ikas, eto.)l

.

The Settvata system, final ly, is said to embrace thefol lowing ten top ics : 1 . Bhagava t, 2 . lrarman , 3 . M aya,

4. kal a, 5 . kar ta vya, 6. t aiS'es iki brig/ (Z, 7 . samyama,

8. cin ta, 9 . md rga, and 10 . moksa . O f the se, the firstand last require no explanation ; no . 2, said to be thirteenfold (15 . must re fer to the K riya Pada

g

; n o . 3 is, ao

cording to 1 5 . 1 2 , the knowledge of the seven padar thd h3

76d appears to re fer to th e p afica-kd l aw idhi or rule of thefive tim e ly Obse rvances of th e day (abhigmnana, etc .)de scribed, for in stance , in the th irteenth ad hyaya of the

Carya Pada of Padma Tantra ; by hurtl ing/a in al l p robab i

l ity are mean t the fiv e ceremon ies (kt1 7'

71t l l 7t ) or sacrament s

(sams lt d'm ) con stitutin g th e in itiation wh i l e no . 6,

as shown by 1 5 . s ofll ., are the special duties ”

con nected with th e several castes and stage s of life ; no .

7 re fe rs to Yoga, no . 8 to m editat ion and no . 9

presumably to Bhakti 5 .

A bou t the remaining system s (Buddhism, Jainism,

s'l oka 5 1 simply remarks that they are fal lacioussystem s (s

'

ti s trd bhd su ) foun ded by Gods or B rahmarsis

1 I n th e Padm a Tan tra (I, 1 . wh ich , h ow ever, is l ater th anou r Samh ita, S

'

iva is m ade th e au th or of th e th ree system s cal l edKapal a, S

’

addh a S'aiva, an d Pas'upata .

2 See above, pp . 22 .

3 Th in g s , top ics , categ orie s cf . VII, 45 th e s e ven fol dm

’

dyan apam'

ndm a ca l l ed th e s even Mahabhutas . B u t p rakr ti-ifi dn a

s eem s to b e d is t in g u ish ed from sap tap ad ti i tha-j

'ii d n a in X V, 1 2 - 1 3 . Of

th e s e ven categ orie s of th e Vans’e s ikas th e th ree ca l l ed sai nanga,sam az fiya, an d

j

“u s

"esa ar e n ot r eg a1 d ed as cat eg orie s in Yat . D ip .,

fi i s t ch apte r (ed ., p .

Of . th e e xpre s s ion d t tl daS'd lt S Ofla cw takd b in I s’vai a Samh itaXXI 41 (qu oted by Gov indacai y ,a l oo. cat. p .

Al m ga -

p an tha n aman an ama t an,L I I,33 .

1 1 3

with th e obj ect of sp read ing con fusion among the

w icked .

1

A mong the synonyms of the te rm Sudarsana

enumerated towards the end, two, name ly Prana and

Maya, are worth no ticing .

C h a p t e r 13 is a review of th e objects of life .The only thing “ which is a lways and eve rywhere thesummum bonam (hitam a tyu ntmn ) of men is, of course,the absol ute d iscon tinuance of th e succe ssion of sorrow s,

and th e ete rnal happ iness impl ied in it (s l . which istan tamount to th e attainment of one’s real nature, that is ,the nature of God (bhngam nnw yatd , bhrzg z

‘

rvattd ) (SI

The two ways (s ddhuna) leading to it ar e sacred knowledge (j -fid nu) and rel igion (dharma ) , of wh ich th e l at te ris the stepping - stone to the former . There are two

kinds of sacred knowledge , to w it the d ire ct (.sa'

ks d t

kdramaya) and the indirect (p arolt ga ) knowledge of God .

O f these, again, the latte r is th e cause of the former .Rel igion is al so twofold in that it is eithe r 1) med iate

(nynvadhdnnw t) worship, that is worsh ip of some representative of God such as the god B rahman, or (2 ) theimmed iate worship (sdks d d -ard d lw na) of H im whosemanife station (t ibia

-

1 15i ) al l those gods are . Paficaratra

worsh ip is of th e second kind, Vedic an d Pas'upata

worsh ip of the fi rst . Study of the Samkhya results in

t I n Padma Tan tra I, 1 . 44 £11. th e sys tem s foun ded in add it ionto (n ot derived from ) th e Paficaratra ar e : th e Yog a of Brahman ,th e Samkh ya of Kapi l a, th e Buddh is t S

’

L’

inyavad a an d th e A rhata

S'

as tra (Jain ism ) both of th e l at ter, l ike th e Pancaratra, pro

cl aim ed by th e Lord H im s e l f (n am e l y in th e Buddh a an d R sabh a A va

taras m en t ion ed in th e Bhag avata Purana ) an d th e th ree S'

a iv it esy s tem s foun ded by S

'

iva ; t he Tray i be in g , in de ed, m en t ion ed as

cond i t z’

o s i ne qua non of th e Pafi caratra n ot reckon edas a ph il osoph ica l sys tem . Pos s ibl y th e s e s i x sys tem s are th e s ame

as th e s i x sama z/ a-dha r nu i l z w h ich , accord in g to XXXIII, 64 of our

Samh ita, th e ideal Parch ita mus t be acquain ted w ith .

15

1 14

indirect, of the Vedanta in d irect knowledge of God,

wh ile Yoga pract ice al so lead s final ly to d irect knowledge . The two mundane obj ects are weal th (ar tha )and love These and re lig ion are characte rizedby m utua l in terdependence in that each of them may

become th e mean s fo r attaining one or bo th of the othertwo . H oweve r, n e ither wealth n or l ove b ut only religionis an unfail ing instrument, whil e Liberation (moksa) is

n ever a m eans for accomplish ing any th ing (sadhana) buton ly a thing to b e accomp l ished (s cidhya ) . For theattainment of any of the fou r obj ects bo th in ternal andexte rnal means mus t be employed . In th e case of love,for instance, these are : (1 ) th e since re re sol ve [to fulfi lone ’s dut ie s as a householder], an d (2 ) the ceremony of

marriage .

0 h a p t e r 1 4 t reats of Bondage and Liberation .

The soul belongs to th e B h i’

i ti S’akt i, be ing that portionof hers which, owing to Time, pas se s from birth to re

birth until,having entered the path of the S’astra it is

at last reborn in its own (natura l ) form (se endbhtidyate,s c . : rfip en u) , that is, l iberated . Th e reason an d obj ect ofthis samsam is shrouded in myste ry it is th e play of

God, though God as th e perfect on e can have no des irefor p laying . B ut how the p lay begins and how it e nds,that,ind eed ,may be said . The Wi l l of God cal led Sudarsana, though of innumerable form s, man ife s ts in fiveprincipal ways, to w it, th e S

'

aktis cal led C reatio n, Preservation,and Dest ruct ion [of the universe],and Obstruotion (n igrahrr) or Obscuration (tirodhdna ) and Furtherance (unug rahu, favouring) [of the soul] . A t th e

beginning God obstructs the soul s by obscuring ”

or contracting the ir form (akdrn ) , powe rand knowledge (vi/flan” the result being the th ree

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1 1 6

re sembling a“ shower of compas sion coming down

upon him who has been beheld 1 by God (Visnu - gam i

hs ita) . I t is impossible to d etermin e w hen an d how th e

sub l ime me rcy of Visn u breaks in . B ut no soonerhas it happened than both the Karman s (good an d bad )become si lent For, with regard to a soul seized bythe grace of God, they are as powerl ess,and ,con s equen tl y, as ind iff erent, as robbers are towards a t ravel lerguard ed by a strong re tinue . The breaking in of gracecauses th e soul to discern its goal (Liberation ) an d to striveafter it by means of the recogn ized system s (Samkhya,Yoga, singly or con j ointly . The N ig raha S

’

aktihas th e fol low ing synonym s (s'l . I l lu sion, Ignoran ce,Great Delusion , Great G l oom ,Darkn e ss, Bondage, andKnot of the Heart .

C h a p t e r 1 5 takes up th e que stion as to who is

en tit led to th e several obj ects of life (p umi sar tha) .The answer d eal s first wi th the five sys tem s (s irl

rZ/zan tn ) on ly . O f th e se th e Sattvata or Pancaratra aloneis de stin ed for th e Manus an d the ir pure de scendant s .

fi rst men call ed Siddhas (perfectone s) live a hundred years each in absolute purity,obse rving th e rule s of cas te an d periods -of - l ifean d then obtain Liberation .

“ Those, on th e otherhand, who have sprung “ from th e mouth, etc ., of

B rahman are primar ily en tit led to the four lowersystems on ly, though they can ascend to the

Those “ il l ustrious

Th at is , ch os en ; (f . K athaka Upan isad I, 2 . 23 : yam era imvrnn te tena l abhya lj .

2 Th es e ideal firs t m en are des cribed at l en g th and con tras tedw ith th e l ater m en (off sprin g of Brahman ) in V isvaks ena Samh ita,Ioc. ci t , pp . 1 26- 1 29 (n ote e spe cia l l y p . 1 26 bottom : Vyahci nu t rttim

sa ta tamku rva te te Jaga tp ute l z ) . Se e 0 11 th em furth er Padma Tan traI , 1 . 35 fi l . w h ere, h ow e ve r, as m V isnu t il aka 1, 146, it is th e g od

Brahman from wh om th ey rece ive th e hol y s’as tra .

1 1 7

Sattvata statu te I f they embrace th e I ’as'upata, e tc .,

they have to give up th e Ved ic rites wh ich are compatible with the Yoga only .

Then fol lows th e discussion o f the caste s and theperiods -of- l ife (s t 26 b ti l . ) th e concept ion of wh ich is ,on th e whole, the orthodox on e . For a Sadra it is

more meritorious to serve a Brahmana than a man ofeither of the othe r castes Non -hurting ((Ltruthfulness, forg ivene ss, and conj ugal loyalty are

obl igatory virtues for al l castes . The Sanmyasa Asmama is for the Brahmana b ut may excep tional ly beembraced by the K satriya al so ; the K sat r iya and the

Vais'ya are entit led to th e fi rst thre e As'ramas . The

second b irth is the inve stmen t with the sacred thread,the third th e init iation into the Pai

'

i caratra . 1VhenB rahmacarya is completed, th e s tuden t may staywith th e teache r as a N ais thika, or he may e nte rany of th e othe r A s'ramas . The Grhas tha as we l las the Vanap rastha wi l l reach the heaven of Brahman by strict ly obse rving the ir respective dut ie s ;wh i le, by acquiring, at th e same time, the h ighe stknowledge, they wi l l be libe rated . Unless he be on e ofthe latter c lass (a Ji

‘

ian in or Knowe r ) , the Vanap rasthawi l l end h is life by means of the Great Departure

(ma l i d-

p ras thdna) [or som e other law fu l kind of re ligioussuicid e

fi

] In th e l ong description of the Samnyas in there is noth ing extraord inary except perhaps thathis end is compared, j ust as the Buddh ist Nirvana,withthe going ou t of a lamp .

’

“

S ri tt z 'ata -S'as un a cf . p . 1 5 :

“s ri ttca ta - Li d /z i

2 L ike th os e en um e ra ted in th e Law Book s an d Samnyas a Upan isad s .

3 Prad ipa im s'fin tai ci l z, s

'l . 75 . Cf the s im il ar imag e emp l oyed(in IV, 76 ) for Laksm i

’

s abs orpt ion in to Vis nu a t th e end of a

cosmic day .

1 18

C h a p t e r s 1 6 t o 1 9 . In addition to the formsdescribed, the Sud ar s'ana or K r iya S

'

akti manifest sitsel f al so in the form of Mantras, that is, sounds (andtheir graph ic symbols ) and the holy u tte rance s composedof the se . The description of this so-cal led Man tramayi

K riyasakti (1 6. 9 - 1 0 ) or Sound -body of Laksmi”

(1 6.

4 4 ) is the obj ect of the next adhyayas .

C h a p t e r 1 6 begins by asking who is en

t itled to benefit by this form of the S'

akti . Thean swer is that it is the prerogat ive of th e Brahman a whoacts in agreement w ith h is king . The latter is praisedin exalted term s as the tout ens embl e of the gods,etc ., and a forcibl e de scription is given (s l . 20 -27 )of the inte rdependence of the two h igher castes whichare l ike A gn i an d Soma, and ne ith er of wh ich can pros

p er without the other . The h igher a sovere ign, them ore is he e nt it l ed to the us e of the Mant ra S'aktimost of a l l th e ca l 'm z

'

w tin, then the mmzd a l es 't arn, furthe rthe visayeswa ra, and final ly al so the ch ie f min iste r

(mahdmd tro ) , supposing he be longs to the twice - born .

(S I . 36 fi l .) Speech begins w ith the Nada1

resemb l

ing th e sound of a d eep be l l and pe rcept ible to pe rfectYogins on ly ; the Nada deve lops into the B indu (A nusva

ra) wh ich is twofold, as the s'abda -brahman or

“ Sound Brahman ”and the Bhuti (re lated to each

other as the name and th e bearer of the name ) ;an d then from th e B indu p roceed the two kinds of

sounds, to wit th e vowe l s (8mm ) an d the consonant sThe vowe l s appear in th e fol lowing order

fi rst the a cal led unutturn chief ” sound ) , then the i,

Or th e l as t l ing erin g of th e nasal s oun d in th e correct ch an t in gof th e sy l l abl e CM ; cf . be l ow ad hyaya 5 1 (e xp l an at ion of th e TaraMan tra) .

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1 20

there ap pear : th e bit sound or worl d of experiencenamely P rakrt i 5,29h,27 2 Mall at,A hamkara,and

Manas ; the five den tal s and five cerebral s representingrespectively the five “ knowledge senses ” and th e five

action sen ses the five palatal s and th e five guttural scorresponding to th e Tanmatras and B h fi tas ; and

(final ly ? ) from the ord in ary l th e cereb ral (Ved ic ) l which,however, is not coun ted as a separate letter .

C h a p t e r 1 7 shows how each letter of the

a l phabe t has (1 ) three Vaisn ava” forms, namely a

gross ”, “ su bt le an d“ h ighest ” on e, expressed by

certain names of Vis n u ; (2 ) one R aud ra” form cal l ed

after one of th e Rudras (that is, by one of the names ofS’iva) ; and (3 ) on e S'akta fo rm being th e name of oneof the l imbs, organs, or ornamen ts of the S’akti of

Visn u . For in stance , th e it soun d is expres sed in theVaisn ava al phabet by the three names Kamala (Lotus) ,Karala (Lo ,fty ) an d Para P rakrti (H ighe st Nature ) ,andin the B andra al phabet by the n am e K rodhi s'a (A ngryLord, or Lord of th e angry) ,wh il e in th e Sakta alphabetit is id en tified with th e thumb of the 1 ig h t han d of the

Goddess . For Man tras conn ected w ith Vis nu, S’

iva, orS’akti the re spect ive al phabet s shoul d always be em

ployed . These alphabet s seem to serve a doublepurpose : e nabl ing th e in itiate to quote the . Man tras

w ithout endanger ing their secrecy 2

, an d prov iding himwith a handle for th eir mystic inte rpretation . These

‘I n th e emp l oym en t of th is al ph abe t th e vow e l s (vag ue l yiden t ified w ith th e face of th e Godde s s ) are n ot e xpres s ed (as mXVIII . 2 ) or e xpres s ed by thos e of th e Vais nava al phabet (as ind icat ed i bi rl , 9

2 Cf . R am ap fi rvatapan iya Upan isad, en d (s'l . n ai ve l y as s ertin g th at th e Ram a d iag ram (con tain in g th e Mala Man tra in th emy s t ic l an g uag e ) is a s e cret h ard to un ders tan d even for th e

H ig h es t Lord”

(ra l zasyam P arames’r arasydpi durgamam ) .

1 2 1

l is ts , then, are an ind ispensable k e y t o t h e M a n

t r a s . The re are , howeve r, more such symbol ic word sin u s e, as cau be gathered, for instance from the second ofthe op en ing s tanzas of our Samh ita, whe re the word incl n

(moon ) mean s th e le tte r from the mys tic alphabe temp loyed in R amap fi rvatapan iya Upan isad (s'l . 74e tc . e tc .

C h a p t e r 18 take s up the or quo tation

(wh ich is, in reality, a s ort of d e v e l o p i n g) of theS'akti Mantra and Saud ars'ana Mahaman tra (both ofwhich con tain as the ir ch ie f cons tituen t the word.w /ias '

rd fm thousand - spoked expre ssed re spective lythrough th e S'akta an d the Vaisn ava alphabet ) , of th e

B ijas ge rm s ham and p lan t and of the A nga

(auxil iary) Mant ra cabraya s ud /i d ; and c h a p t e r I 9con t inue s the subj ect by describing the we l l -known fiveA h g a Mantras " re fe rring to h eart,head,hair- l ock,armour,

an d weapon furthe r an U pang a Man tra, the CakraGayatri,an d a number of Man tras refe rring to th e Couch,

C

e tc ., and othe r weapons of Vis n u .

C h a p t e r 2 0 de scr ibing the al t/red or in itiation,opens w ith a be autiful defin ition o f th e ideal teache r whoshould, among othe r th ings, be capab l e of sharing inbo th th e sorrow an d happ ine ss o f othe rs (M itl e id and

il l i t/irmu l e) , of be ing len ien t towards th e poor of inte l lec t,

e tc ., and must b e we l l ve rsed in Veda an d Vedan ta

(Upan is ads ), Pai’

ica’atra, and othe r sys tems (ta ntra ) .

I n rl ns’e lrha rdm z ikfi iv?n tdm , re ferrin g to the l e tter i in th e n ame

2 A n importan t con tribut ion to th is subject is vo l . 1 of A rthurA va l on ’

s Tant rik Te x t s n am e l y Tan trabh id han a,w ithI

l jan ig h autu an d Mud ran ig h antu con ta in in g co l l e ct ion s of s uch

ord s u s e d ,am on g th e S'

aktas (and e l s e wh ere ) ,as sym bo l s for l etters .

2 Cf . N rs imh ap fi r vatap in i Upan isad I I, 2 w ith comm en tar ies .

1 6

1 22

The d isciple, unmarried or married, but b e l ong i ine ce s sity to the

“

twice -born ”must with p

since rity confess to the teache r eve ry th ing he“ done or not done ”

, afte r wh ich h e may be ac

ed on probation and , after som e years, d efin itif h e has succeeded in convincing th e te

that he is free from greed an d infatuation , ca

of guard ing the secre t t rad ition (ra /i N eg/amn dya-

g i

e tc . In that case, with th e usual Nyasas, e tc .

Sudars'ana Mantra is imparted to h im, of whiothree Esis are : the Paramatman (in the

“ hi;

sense Samkarsan a an d A h irbud

the body be ing al so, on th is occ z

regarded as th re e fo ld , name ly, as consist ing of th ebody, the s ubt le body cal led and the c

or atom ic body . Th e dut ies of the d isciple are descat some le ngth (s l . 43 the importance of con fe

h imse l f and whateve r be longs to h im be ing onceemphasized . The Man tra shoul d on no account b efo r a mundane purpose or trifl ing obj e ct, but on ]th e p rotect ion of the three worlds, gove rnm en t,or lonly for we l fare, n ot for destruct ion .

C 11 a p t e r s 2 1 t o 2 7 are d e s criptiv

magical d iagram s cal led rat'sa or yan tm ,

re spe ctive m erits, an d th e way o f m ed itating upoYantra Devatas . The latte r, among whom are

Sudarsana Purusa (26 . efll . ) and th e twe lve Sub -Vy

(26 . 3 8 are described at some length on th is occaIn ciden tal ly there is a descrip tion of the Kal i

2

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1 24

see n in the last sec tion of part II of th is Introduction .

Such feel ing of identity is al so at t ributed to th e

l ibe rated .

1

From 3 1 . 1 a to the end of 32 th e e ight Yogang asare de scribed at some length and not withou t some

originality : (1 ) the ten constituen ts of Yama (brahma

cam/a z not regard ing one ’s wive s as obje ct s of enj oyme nt ;(“

if

/j rwa z concord ance of speech, thought , and action ) (2 )th e ten N iyamas (s

'rm l dha z confid e nce in the w ork

enj oined ; (Zs ti l ' g/a z con v iction that the re ex is ts, as ti, asomethin g

g , 7'

I'

I S l l l , acces s ible through th e Vedas only )(3) e l even ch ief posture s ; (4) the Pranayama,with a longphysiological in troduction on th e tubular ve sse l s cal ledNadi s (forming the wheel ” in wh ich the soul m ovesabout like a sp ide r in its web 32 . 2 2 ) an d the ten w indsof the body, and d irect ions as to the pu rificat ion,w ith in thre e month s, of the whole system of Nad i s ; (5 )P ratyahara, wh ich is not m e re ly a negative ac t (w ithd rawal of the senses ) but al so a positive on e (n iceswnnm

B l iflf/N ’

I'

t e ntering into God (6) Dharana, the

keeping of th e m ind in th e H ighest Se l f (7) D in/ (in n ,meditation on the whee l - formed Visn u (Saml n rsn naP urusa ) who is h ere d e s cribed as e ight -armed , c l ad inj ewe l s , with lightning -flashe s as th e hairs of his head,etc. and (8) Samadhi, wh ich is reached by gradual lyintensify ing Dhyana un til th e S iddh is or magical powe rs

(of making one ’s body infin ite ly smal l, e tc . ) becomemanifest and Spirits an d gods begin to se rve th e Yogin .

C h a p t e r s 30, 34, 3 5, and 40 are occupiedwith th e subj ect of the A stras or magical weapons,

1 A t l eas t in th e S'

aiva S iddhan ta (Sch ome ru s , l oc. ( i t ., p .

but u n doubted l y a l so in th e Pafi caratra, thoug h th e w ish of

ka i i zkarya (above p . 58) is of cours e in con s is ten t w i th it .

1 25

that is , occu l t force s of nature, of an obst ruct ive ordestructive characte r,which can be s et loose ,d irected,andw ithd raw n by those who kn ow the Spe l l s conne ctedwith them .

C h a p t e r 3 0 t races back the origin of th e A strasto the creation of the world .

1 B e fore creation th e Lord,having noth ing to play w ith (l i l iip u l ruro zza)

2

, could findno satisfaction (no ro timZeb/re) . He,con sequent ly, madeHim sel f man ifold ((Ztindomni ba lm frl w lp ay/a t)

3 bycreat ing Pradhana an d Purus a (p rimord ial matte rand the sou l ) and the n from the forme r, w ith th e

he l p of his S'akt i in the form of Time , the Mahat,th e A hamkara, etc ., dow n to th e gross e lement s .Out of the se H e then formed the Cosm ic Eg g ,and in thelatter H e created Prajapati (t he fou r - faced B rahman )who,

“ looking at the Vedas, framed,as be fore , th e manifo ld n ames and form s of th e gods, So th e H ighestLord,though al l of H is wishe s are ever fulfi l led, could ex

per ien ce, by mean s of the beings created by H im se l f, theflavour of p laying (l i la- rasa ) H e d iscove red , however,that the re was in H is creation a tendency towards th e badwhich could b e counte rpoised on ly if H e with a portion ofH imsel f would becom e the protector of H is creatur e s .So H e c reated, as an instrument agains t the w icke d

(Daiteyas and Danavas ) , H is Sud ar s ana form, and , the

1 W ith th e beg in n in g of th is ch ap ter cf . ch apter XL I an d

XXXVIII, 1 0 fl ] .2 “ For H im al l of Wh os e w ish es are fu l fi l l ed, creat ion , etc ., can

h ave 11 0 purpos e ”

(P . Prakas’a S . I , 1 . 4) an d is , th ere fore p l ay ”

3 So far th e ch ap te r is a paraph ras e of som e w e l l -know n U pa

n isad pas s ag es w h ich be l on g to wh at th e V is’istad vaita cal l s g l za ta lra

or t e x t s recon c il i n g mon ism an d p l u ral ism in that th eysh ow th at th e worl d, th at is , the “ body of God

”

(cf . L I I, 23, be in ga reproduct ion of B h ag avad Gi ta XI, w as l aten t in H im be forecreat ion ,

1 26

gods and kings being unable to use the latter, H e

produced from it the A stras or magical weapons . These ,a l itt l e ov er a hund red

‘, are enumerated by name and

in five groups accord ing as they have sprung fromth e m outh, breast, th igh s, fe et, or other limbs ” of

th e Saudarsana Puru s a . The fi rst four c l asse s constitutethe Pravartaka (offen sive , dest ructive) , the fi fth class theN ivartaka or Upas amhara (de fe nsive , obstruct ive ) A stras .A definition of the se two kinds is found in - 1 5

whe re the second are described as having th e hand sj oined in suppl ication wh ile the first are saidto l ook as though they were to d evour a l l th e worl ds

(o ttum i i’

fiS'es ob/z nrand n i) .

C h a p t e r 3 4 gives th e Spe l l s e nabl ing one to

us e the Sixty -two Pravartaka A stras, C h a p t e r 35those for th e fourty -three N ivartaka A stras . Here again ,as may be expected, the occu l t alphabets are ext ensive lyused .

C h a p t e r 3 5, t oward s the end raises the

que stion as to whe th er the A stras have a mate rial form

(ni zir ti ) or not . The answer is to the e ffect that theyhave, indeed, visible bod ies of a d read ful appearance,more or le ss human - l ike , w ith a mouth st udd ed withterrible te eth, rol ling eye s , lightn ing -flash e s in steadof hairs, e tc ., and that they d iffe r in colou r, some beinggrey l ike ashes, othe rs rad ian t as th e sun, othe rs againwhite, etc . further that they carry the ir m ightyweapon s w ith arms re sembl ing huge iron bars .

In continuat ion of th is gene ral d e scription C h a p t e r4 0 de scribes individual l y each of the on e hundred and

two A stras by wh ich he re , however, th e vis ib le weapon s

1 Chapter X L en umerat e s 102, b ut chapters XXXIV an d

XXXV m en t ion apparen t l y s ome more .

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1 28

cons isting of figures (name ly the Sudar s'ana Puru sa surrounded by the twe lve Sub -Vyfi has , and the latte rof Mantras on ly in th e place of the figure s . The med itat ion on th e second form is for th e teache r of Man tras,the B rahmana, only th e worsh ip of the fi rs t is muchre comme nded to kings an d others de s irou s of mate rialprosperity (s'ri ) who, to ensure complete success,may

bui ld a Spe cia l cimana (kind of temple ) for th e purpose .

The ve ry p re paration of th e soi l (lcnrsana) for such a

bui lding is a h ighly meritor ious act .

The fina l par t of th e chapte r (s l . 49fll . ) an swe rssome doub ts such as how K e s ava, e tc ., be ing the LordHimse l f, can be med itat ed upon as H is re t inue

C h a p t e r 3 7 has two parts . Th e fi rs t parte nj oins t hat in t im e s of great dange r,when the enemy isove rrunn ing th e coun try, the king shal l con struc t andworsh ip an image of the Six teen - armed Sud ars'an a, ofwhom a de tailed de s cript ion is g iven .

The second part (s l . 22fll . ) is devoted to the

exp lanation of Nyasa wh ich is declared to be a thirdS l i cl /N I N I I (re l igious exped ien t ) in add ition to worsh ip and

Yoga . The word a j/aso (p utting down , giving ove r,renouncing) is he re unde rs tood in the sen se of b/mkti, thes ix constituent s of wh ich are e numerated, and wh ich isdefined thus : Taking re fuge is the

praying th ough t : I am a receptacle of Sins, naught,he l p les s ; do thou become m v remedyth e Mantra to be employed being :

“

0 Lord who art

invincible through th e a l l - conquering thou sand spokes

[of Thy discus], I am taking refuge in Thee .

”

The act of tak ing re fuge impl ie s al l au s te ri ties, p i l ~

grimage s, sacrifice s, and charities, because it mean sse l f- sacrifice , t han wh ich noth ing is h ighe r . The

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devotee shoul‘d med itat e on God as a sacrifice (l

g/runo rfipo

(l itarum dew/m) : H is body being the al tar, H is mouththe A havan iya fire, H is heart th e Southe rn fire th e

enemie s of His devotee s th e sacrificial an ima l s . H is

Sixte en arms the pr ie sts . compas sion H is sacrificial

g ift, e tc . Warning to th e k ings n ot to neg l ect th e

Sudar s'ana worsh ip .

C h a p t e r 3 8 d ea l s with the origin and cure of

d isease s . In orde r to explain the forme r the authorbegins by de scribing (in five s

'l okas ) th e d issolution ofth e world .

‘1Vhen P ral aya [and the Great N igh t ]

was ove r the account cont inue s th e Lord, in o r d e rto play, created the world once more : fi rst (par /nun )the

“ names and fo rms ”, then (punc h)2

Prakr ti

consist ing o f the thre e Gunas, cal l ed Maya, w ithwhom H e began to enj oy Himse l f . “ She, howeve r,possess ing a sn l rti (fema le e ne rgy ) for e ach o f the

creatures 3 and giving them pleasure , made them eage rto enj oy her an d so became (l it . : becomes ) the cause ofth e obscurat ion of the [true nature of both the ] ind ividual an d the h ighe st soul .” Owing to he r influe nce man

begins to iden tify h imself (that is ,h is soul) with his body

then, having sons,e tc .,he forms the id ea of the mine

this leads to love and hatr ed , an d he rewi th the seeds

(t asawah) have appeared, the fruits of which are ine vit

ably a new life condit ion ed by t he good o r bad us e madeof th e preced ing one . The d isease s, the re fore, are

noth ing but th e Sprout ing forth of the s ins w e havecommitted in former l ives .

1 In d icat in g thu s that th e Karm i c ch ain (to wh ich th e d is eas e sbe l ong ) has n o abs ol u t e beg in n in g .

2 Th e creat ion of n am e s an d form s here re ferred to as

con n ected w ith prim ary creat ion is ,of cours e,d iffe re n t from the o n e

att r ibuted to th e g od Brahman .

3 That is,sou l s bl i fitd n i z p uru s d lg.

17

1 30

There fol low five magical recipes for curing (l )er, (2) consump tion , (3 ) u rinary troubles, (4).e n tery, and (5) ep ilepsy . In the several c ure s theowing of certain substance s into the sacrificial fire ,use of ves sel s w ith Yantras etc . engraved on them,

l presents to B rahmins play an important part,whi lectical ly no internal med icine is prescribed for th e

ient .

C h a p t e r 3 9 . Narada wishe s to know whetherre is not O me remedy for curing a l l d iseases,troying al l enemie s, and attain ing whatever one

;h t de sire to attain . The an swe r is a de scription;h e ce remony cal le d Mahabh i s eka Great Bap tism ”

ich everybody can h ave pe rfo rmed, though it is

cial ly recommended to kings and gove rnme nt official s .shou ld be executed in a t emple or other sacredl d ing , on even and purified ground, and commencesh the drawing of the Mahend ra circle an d Saudara d iagram, culminates in a fi re sacrifice (l i oma )f ormed by eight R tv ij s (correspond ing to the eighteetions of space ) , and ends with the baptism by theef priest who succe ssively sprinkles th e pe rson con

ned with sacred water from each of the n ine p itchersployed . H e who has gone th rough th is ceremony,'i l l promp t ly attain whatever be in his min tC h a. p t e r 4 2, be fore re lating th e two storie s tosummarized later, con tains the fo llowing

(I ) Narada inquire s about the origin, f l era td (preing de ity) , etc ., of the A nga Mantras de scribed in.pter 1 9 . A hirbudhnya an swers that he has ex tractedm from the A tharva Veda, and that the ir den/ l td is therd H imsel f in H is Sud ars ana form, their pu rpose the! teet ing of th e body of the devotee, etc.

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1 32

reque st H e appears to h im in the A l l - form and final ly as

e ight -armed .

1

C h a p t e r 4 6. Defin ition of the idea l P uroh ita . Pre

paration s for, and descript ion of, the Sudarsana Homa, a.

fi re sacrifice to be pe rformed for th e k ing . A t the endthe latte r, seated on a con s ecrated thron e, is anoin ted .

C h a p t e r 4 7 . De script ion of the Mahasant i K ar

man , a great ceremony to be employed by kings,whichalone has th e powe r to ave rt eve r y evil and securecomple te prosperity bo th in th is world and the next . Offormer kings who have performed it th e fol l owing are

me n tioned : A mbar i s a, S'uka, A larka,Man dhatr, Purfira

vas , R ajoparicara, Dhund hu, S'

ibi, and S'

rutakir tana. Inthis ce remony the A stras d ivided into e ight groups areworsh ipped w ith e ight different mat erial s an d Mantras .

C h a p t e r s 3 3 , +2 , 4 5 a n d 5 0 contain a n c i e n t s t o r i e s (purd rr tz

‘a i ii /Misc , 45 . 9 )

intended to i l l ustrate th e effect of the divine weaponsand of certain amulet s or tal ismans .

C h a p t e r 3 3 . Th e Sudars'ana is the Whee l ofT ime, the H ighes t Se l f th e one who turns i t and who

appears as B rahman , Vis nu, and S’iva at the t imes ofcreation, cont inuance, and d issolu tion of the world, asBuddha to th e B auddhas , as Jina to the Jainas, asth e Yajfia P uru sa to th e M imiun sakas , and as the

Purusa to the Kap i las, b ut pre fe rably in His discusform (ca l mmZp ud /i am ) and always so when Hewant s to protect some devotee an d to check his

enemies, to il l ustrate wh ich the s t o r y o f M a n is e k h a r a is narrated There re igned in the town

1God in H is A l l -form is ca l l ed in th e G i ta thou s and - arm ed

w h i l e H e u sua l l y appe ars , accord ing to tha t s ource (XI, in H is

fou r- arm ed s h ape . I t is n otew orthy th at, in s tead of th e l atte r,w ehave above th e e ig h t

-arm ed s h ape .

ca l led Man is'ekhara who marr ied B raci, as cended thethrone when h is fathe r re tired to the fore st, and hadborn to h im through P raci seve n sons . A t that t ime

the demon Vikataks a and his nume rous desce ndan tshad become the plague of the coun tr y , an d Vikataksahaving obtained from Brahman the be e n of invinc ib il ity,nothing was le f t to the king but to app ly for help

to the Lord Himsel f . So, in o rde r to learn how to

approach the lat te r, Man is'ekhara went, on the adviceof h is P uroh ita, to th e sage Durvasas, and , d irected bythe latte r, to salagrama on the Sarasvati (the holinessof wh ich p lace is brought in to connection w ith the

Varaba A vatara and de scribe d at length in s ] . 78 to

Here h e wo rsh ips the Lord for one mon th witharcan u, j ap rt, an d afte r wh ich He appearsto h im, eigh t -arm ed, e tc ., and emits out of H is breastthe A ind ra Cakra (be ing the A s tra described in 40 .

2 3 first one , then ten , the n a hundred, e tc ., fi l ling al lspace an d ki l l ing t he asuras .

C h a p t e r 4 2, after hav ing described the symptomsbe traying the approach of hostil e magic (s ee abovep . te l l s two storie s i l lustrating how the latte rmay be counteracted .

S t o r y o f K as i r aj a (s l . 35 K as'irajaz

, a

worsh ipper of Mahadeva, cal ls into existence, with thehelp of h is g od , a [fro/ (2 or magical formation, which he

1 Th e s e two n am es ar e a l so m e n t ion ed by S‘ayana in the pre faceto h is R g veda B hasya, ed . Ma x Mu e l l er, vol . I , p . I , wh e re a l s o th e

coun try is m en t ion ed in w h ich th e tow n was s ituated,n am e l y, K i taka(probab l y a part of South B il iar ) .

2 Th ere is a K as'i raj a amon g th e k in g s of th e Lun ar Dyn as ty .

1 34

sends out to destroy Dvaraka and Krsna . The lattersee ing the M tg/ (Zapp roach ing, emits the

Sudarsana against it, where upon the“ frigh tened

hurries back to its maste r an d pe rishe s with himand h is town by the Sudars'ana which ,af te r having doneits work, re turns to th e Lord .

S t o r y o f S’r u t a k i r t i (54. 40 S'

rutakirti,

king of th e Sai i ras tras , re ign ing in B had rasala, “ devotedto the great Sudar san a Man tra, highly virtuous

”, was

not satisfied with rul ing th e seven con tin e n ts but wishedto conquer al so “

another world ” He, conseque nt ly,having worsh ipped th e Sudarsana, e nte red h is gorgeousaerial chariot, an d , accompan ied by h is army s e t out

to con que r Svast ika, th e capital of the Gandharvas, rule dby king Vinav inod an a. The latte r,amused, sends out h isarmy of Siddhas and Gandharvas,but they are beaten . The

Gandharva king then appears h imsel f in the batt l e, butS’

rutaki rti de feats him in a fe rocious s ingle combat, andthe Gandharva army is complete ly beaten a secondtime . Then the Gandharva king, in h is despair, employsthe Gandharva A stra (be ing the th irty - fourth of th e

Pravartaka A stras) which Spread s confus ion among th ee nemy, though it cannot reach S

'

ru taki rti h imse l f whois protected by th e Sudarsana . The batt le having thuscome to a standsti l l, S

'

rutaki rt i is instructed by h is prie stin the meditation on the great Wheel having si x ty - fourspoke s and in it s ce nt re th e God , sixty - two armed and

carrying the Sambara A stras1

; and he learn s from h im

al so th e Mant ras for a l l the A stras of the two classes .H e then returns to the batt l e, and med i tating, w ithhis eye s fixed on h is army, in the manner indicated

1b

’

z

’

r, th oug h accord in g to ch apte r 34 s i xty -two is th e n um be r of

th e P r avartaka A s t ras .

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1 36

a seat (r is g‘nrn , 713mm.) furn ished with a Yantra, and

causes the amorous king to s it down on it . Then heinduces him to arrange for Veda re citation ,music, anddan ce, and to g o h imself, for the time of on e month ,through certain med itation s and cerem on ies, eat ing onlyfood that is seven time s con secrated . The final e ffect ofthis is that al l the enemie s of the coun try d ie throughdisease or the sword , and the king has again a

“thorn

le ss emp ire . Inciden tal ly are m en tioned variousmethods for producing rain 1

.

(2 ) S t o r y o f V i s it ] a, a r ighteous king re igning at Visal a(Vaisal i ) . H is w ife receives th e news,’

through a voice from heaven , that her s on wil l d ie within four days . The king, having gone to the herm itageof the sage Pulaha, is advised by the lat te r to wear afing e r

- ring (coy/a l ign ) bearing the Sudars'ana, whichwould ward off death . He does so ; the servants of

Yama arrive and take to fligh t, frightened by the

d ivine A stras coming forth from th e fe l ly of the Whee l .Great aston ishment of th e god s at the death -conqueringpower of the Sudarsana.

(3 ) S t o r y o f S u n a n d a (48. 3 4fll ) . Therere igned, at S

'

r i'

i garapura, a king cal led Sunan da whohad a son cal le d Sumati . Once the latte r, having goneout hunting, meets in a fore st a very beautiful Naga girlwho enchan t s h im and take s him with he r to th e Nagaworld . There sh e de l ivers him to A nai

‘

i g amafi j ari, the

d aughte r of the Naga ki ng Vasuki, who makes h im her

1A n d oth er th in g s wh ich are s t il l l es s l ike l y to b e the t each in g

of a Puroh ita to h is k in g , s u ch as th e im portan t d is cl os ure that , inorder to obtain a g arm en t of a ce rta in co l ou r, a flow er (or flow e rs ) ofth at col ou r sh ou l d be s acrificed (XLVIII, Th ere is undoubted l ya l arg e in terpo l at ion h ere from s om e oth er t e x t,an d probab l y betw e ens'l . 16 an d 1 7 on e or s eve ral s’l okas have d isappeared .

1 37

husband . Happy beyond measure owingin tercourse w ith th e prince ss he forgets h is w hKing Sunanda, after having had a vain searchh im eve rywhere, ceases, out of grief, to ta

”

Then h is Purohita goes to the hermitageteacher Kanva on the bank of the Tam

reports to him what has happened . Kanva .

entered into a trance, se es ” the“ story of t

wh ich is as fol lows : A fte r futile attemp ts a

in the Naga world a husband worthy of theA nang amai

’

i j ari , the Nag a girl s began to 10 0 1

one on earth, and so d iscove red Sumati in th e

which he was hunt ing . On e of the girl s, cal lespecial ly p roficient in witchcraft (mdyd -e is'dra

ceed ed in enticing himto th e Naga world, whe rnow living unaware of his past, as the hushaicharm ing daugh te r of k ing Vasuki . The rem eans of bringing him back, namely t he greas'ana d iagram inscr ibed with golden lette rs on

(durp aim ) . With th is message the P uroh ita rhis king . The latte r, de ligh ted, has the

m irror at once constructed and , with its he lp, e ine the r regions and arrive s at B hog avati , the capiNagas . H e finds his son and abduct s h im tog et

h is w ife and femal e se rvan ts ; he is , howeve r, 0by Vasuki and h is army of Nagas . In the en s ui

th e Nagas are conque red by the P rasvapana and

A x / 5 1 l D - _ L J c - ~ L h f L 1- A n

1 38

(4) S t o r y o f C i t r a s e k h a r a Therewas, on th e bank of the Sarasvat i , a beautiful town cal l edBhadravati, ruled by a king cal led Citras'ekhara. Thefathe r of th e latter had once , u sing an aerial chariotp re sen ted to him by Indra, attacked and ki l l ed a Danavacal led S

'

ar'

ikukarn a, ow ing to wh ich deed th e son of

S'

ai'

i kukarn a, cal led A mar san a,was incessant ly harassingCitras'ekhara and h is town . When the two armieshad met for th e seven teenth time before Bhadravati and returned home again after a d rawn batt l e,Citras ekhara made up his m ind to apply for divinehel p an d set out in h is aerial chario’t for the Kai lasa .

IVhi l e he is driving ove r th e moun tains, h is chariotsuddenly stop s short on th e peak of the Mandara . Healight s, an d , after having walked for a wh i l e, meet s, onth e bank of a tank, Kubera, th e god of riches, who tel l sh im that th is is the place where Mahal aksmi is l iving, toworsh ip whom he had come he re ; and that, as it was dueto h e r that h is chario t had stopped, h e should there foreapply to h e r . Hereupon Kube ra d isappears

,but sends a

Guhyaka who offe rs h is se rvice s to th e k ing an d proposesthat they shoul d spend the n igh t on the spot ,wh ich they do .

Then in the morn ing, the Guhyaka take s the king to thepalace of Mahal aksmi . The king then s ings a beautifu lhymn to Mahal aksmi, who is pleased and give s h im a

banne r showing the Sudar s'ana d iagram (y/ rm ti 'i trz d im/rim) .

The king then return s to his capital and conquers, bymeans of the banner, the army of the A suras .

(5 ) S t o r y o f K i r t i m al i n (50 . 1 K ir

t imal in , the son of king B had ras'rng a at Visala,was a

great he re . Once,d uring the n ight, when he was taking awalk ou tside the town,he

’

saw a Brahmana sitting under aS'ami tre e, absorbed in Yoga and sh in ing like fire . He

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140

without being seen, th e town of the king, an d s ilentbegins to de stroy h is army . The king, unablerecognize the cause of th e growing disaster, is at fir

alarmed, but then, informed by Mane java, who hmeanwh i le returned, h e emp loys the Varana A str:causing the elephant to be come mot ion less . On learing the news from some of h is retinue, Indra becomangry beyond measure , and , by his order, the armythe gods “ l ike the gap ing ocean at the t imeP ral aya

” set s out for Vis'ala. A terrible batt l e bgin s to rage an d to turn in favour of the gods . T l l t

ranks are not shaken even when the king empl o

th e d ivine A st ras (“ A g n eya, for Indra h

coun te r -weapon s (p rai yus tra ) neutralizing their effe iB ut then , the situation becom ing de spe rate, the ki i

sudde nly remembers th e Yogin’s instruction concern i i

a chariot w ith a magical awn ing (ritmzu ) , has t

latte r made, and returns with it into the bat t le . N ew

amazing change take s p lace : the Vis n u Cakra ?

se

forth by the king from h is chariot cause s a l l the Devto fal l on the ground, from wh ich they are unable to ri

again , having become mo t ionle ss ; whe reas al l th e divim issi le s cast by Ind ra, A stras as we l l as S'astrisimp ly d isapp ear into the Vis nu Cakra “ like mot

[d isappearing] into the fire ” l ike st reams [dappearing] in to the ocean . A t las t th e raging I n dhurl s his thunderbolt at K irt imal in ; but even t

thund e rbolt is ab sorbed by the Vis n u Cakra . Th igh ly aston ish ed Indra new approache s the kingchariot ; and K irtimal in, having re spect ful ly risen be fc

14 1

the king of the gods and sal uted h im with friendlywords, explain s to him h is invincibi l ity,where upon thetwo part as friends .

C h a p t e r s 5 l t o 5 9 explain Vaisn av ite Mantras,some of which are described from three standpoin ts : thegross the subt le an d the h ighe s t Inc idental ly

many items are m entioned which throw ligh t on certainph ilosophical and e th ical d octrines such as those of theVyi

'

ihas, of Bhakti, etc . These chap te rs be ing too

technical to adm it of a summary like th e precedingones, we have to confine ourse lve s to cal ling atten tion to

s ome characteristic passages .The firs t Mant ra explained is the Tara or Taraka

Man tra, that is , the sacred syl lab l e OM. In its grosssense it simply con sis ts of the le t te rs 0

"

and m,meaning respect ive ly o

’

tc an d mint, and thus repre s en t ingth e sen tence :

“ Eve ryth ing (se rmon) l imited (mi fam ) isthreaded (6mm) on Him In its “ subt le

3sen se ’it is composed of the l e tters a

, u, m denotingrespectively : (1 ) the waking state and gross unive rsewith A n irud dha as their p ro te ctor ; (2 ) the dreamconsciousne s s and subt le un ive rse superin tended byPradyumna ; (3 ) th e sws ap ti state and correspondingun iverse with Samkar san a as the ir guard ian -de itythen (4) th e echo of the m (ardhamd trd ) repre sentingVasudeva (the tw ig/ct ) ; fur the r (5 ) the last l ingering

of th e nasal sound , wh ich is the und iffere ntiated S’

aktiof the Lord as th e “ fi fth stage ” ; and , final ly, (6) thesi lence observed afte r the pronunciation of the sy l lable,wh ich is Visnu as th e H ighes t Brahman .

1

In its

“ highe st sense ” it means the belonging together1Cf . Dhyan ab ind u Upan isad 4 ; al s o above p . 52, note 3,

and p . 53 .

142

(expressed by the letter m) of (l ) a,that is,Vis nu possess

ed of the act ive S'akti and (2 ) a , that is ,Vis nu possessedof the inactive S'akti, name ly, dur ing the cosmic n ight .

OM in its su bt le sense is said to further denoteB rahman, Vis n u, S

'

iva, an d th e A vyakta of th e Pauran ikas ; the Sadakhya, A is vara, Sadv idya, and S'iva ofthe Pas upatas an d Vyak ta, A vyakta, B urus a, and

Kala of the Samkhyas .A nothe r instructiv e example of th is sort of linguistic

occultism is th e e x p l an tion (52 . 2 - 8 8 ) of th e word namas

respectful obeisance, bow e tc . ) occurring in OM name

Vismw e and many other Man tras . In the gross sen sethe word is de clared to mean prap utti or se l f - surrender,the s ix constituent-s and obstacle s of which are he reexplain ed at som e l eng th (s l . 14 In th e subt l esense the word is regarded as con sis ting of the threeconstituent s nu, mo, and s , which togethe r repre sent these ntence : No (we ) selfi sh regard (w rong/ o) for on e

’s sel fand one ’s own (sm smin sm

’

ye name ly th e famousSamkhya fo rmula mi smi me me l td /Mun

g

, i f prope rly understood (s'l . The “ h ig hes t sen se

”

, final l y, is explainedby means of th e Mantra key (17 . 2 1 ,

2 4, 1 1 ) in the follow

ing way : 7m sign ifie s path ma chief and the

Visarga Highest Lord the combination of the thre emean ing that th e chief path for attain ing God is the

one cal led reve rential obe isance (l l a l l l lfllfl) .The gross sense of Vismw e e tc ., in

the Mantras con tain in g the se words is discove red in thedative re lation (se l f - surrende r t 0 God ) , for wh ich reason ,here and often el sewhe re, the gross sense is cal led

L I,41 . We take it th at sam dkhya is a corrupt ion of sad fi lrhya .

2Samkh ya Karika 64. Th e formu l a is a l s o Buddh is t ic s ee my

On th e Probl em of N irvana in th e J o u r n a l o f t h e P 3 1 iT e x t S o c i e t y for 1905,p . 1 57 .

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the infinity of the cause as compared wi th its

products . The se cond stan za refe rs to Samkarsan a ;

for he is the Lord of Immortality or th e on e withwhose help the soul through food (cam e ) , that is, th emate rial un iverse, reaches Libe rat ion . The th ird stanza,afte r praising the greatne ss of Samkar sana, states thatP radyumna

’s se rvice is sti l l greate r (from the world ly

standpo int ? ) because he is the creator of Purusa and

P rakrti . In th e fourth s tanza the“ one quarter

of God wh ich al one has be come th is world is natural lyident ified w ith A n iruddha, th e Inne r Rule r (d a tum/main )of al l beings who pervade s both “

that which has food

(z e x pe rie nce o f pleasure and pain ) and that wh ichhas no food”,name ly th e an imate and th e inanimate nature .A fter th is, th e st range saying of the fi fth stanza,that from the B urusa has sprung th e Viraj , and fromth e Viraj the B uru s a, is no l onger e n igmat ical : thefi rst B uru s a is of course A n ir uddha, and the secondPurusa th e g od Brahman, th e Viraj be ing the ParaVidya or H ighest P rakrti, that is, th e mat ter (in the

form of an Eg g ) out of wh ich th e god Brahman is created .

1

The above interpretation of t h e Buru sa Siikta

be ing probably connected with th e o r i g i n o f t h e

t h e o r y o f t h e V y uh a s , a word on the lattermay not be amiss h e re . The original worsh ip, p rovedby archaeology and the Budd h ist scrip ture , of on lyVasud eva and B al ad eva z Samkarsan a can sign ify nothing else, in our op in ion, than that by the original

Paficaratr in s Krs na was worshipped as the t ran scendentH ig he st God, and his brothe r, the God o f S tre ngthas H is immanen t aspect appearing as the world, thisdogma of th e double aspect of God be ing simp ly the

1 Cf . above p . 81

1 45

Péfi caratra solu tion of the ol d , ol d Ind ian problem of

a God becom ing the world w ithout sharing its imperfections . A fterwards, when th is original, non -B rahman icPaficaratra

'

was to be brough t into agreemen t with th eVeda and the famous saying of th e Pur us a Sukta (fourthstanza) about the four quarters of God , one of whichonly had become the wor ld, two more members of thefami ly of Krs na, name ly h is son and grandson, weredeified,that is ,made aspects of God,the grandson natural lytaking th e place formerly occupied by th e bro ther . A n d

with this identification the paral le lism of the Vyfihaswith the other wel l -known te trads (states of consciousn ess, constituen ts of the syl lable OM, e tc . ) was of

course al so establ ished .

2

C h a p t e r 5 9, towards th e en d (s'l . 54 givesa résumé of “

th is Samh ita of th e Pai’i caratra, th e d ivineon e compreh end ing 3

Sani khya an d Yoga, etc ., th e verysecret on e “

the h ighest science corroborating al l Hpan isad s 4

, and warn s against imparting it to anyone excep ta t rue devotee of Vasudeva .

Th e n on -Brahm anic orig in of th e s y s tem has been em phas i z edb y Prof . Garbe in th e in troduction to h is G ita tran s l at ion an d

e l s ewh ere .

3 Noth in g abou t th e orig in of th e Vy i'

ih a th eory can be g a i n edfrom th e U p a n i s a d s , it be in g re ferred to on l y in a few of th e

l ate s t, to w it Mud g a l a,Tr ipad v ib l n'

i t im ah anarayaua,and Gopal ottara

tap in i . Mud gal a speak s o f A n ir ud d h a as th e Pada Narayana an d

m en t ion s on e P uru s a Samh ita con tain in g a s uccin ct e xp l an at ion of

th e Buru sa Sukta. Tr ipad v ibh i’

i t i is th e on l y Upan isad w h ich l ook sl ike a Pafi caratra treat is e . Gopal ot taratap in i (1 0fll . ) iden t ifie sSamkar sana, P rad yum n a, A n irud d ha, an d K rs n a (in th is orde r ) w ithth e V is’va, Ta ijas a, P rajfia, an d Turiya, and w ith th e a, u , m, an d

ardhanwtrd . I n th e Upan isads , g en e ral l y s peak in g , th e Paficaratrais as u nkn ow n as s hou l d be e xpe c ted of a sy s tem of n on -Brahman ic

orig in .

Lit . comm en surate with (camm i td ) ,Or, if th e com poun d (sa rra -r ed / iwm- bm z ho ld ) is a Bahuvr ih i

con tain in g th e sw eet s of al l th e Upan isads or th e l ike .

19

1 46

C h a p t e r 6 0 con sists of ano ther rés umé of th e

Samh ita, another p raise of it, an d another warn ing not

to bet ray its conten t s to an unworthy person . Thefol lowing phrase s are remarkable “ In wh i ch [Samhi ta]the stat ute (vidhi ) of th e Samkhya-Yoga is thought outin its totality (I T) , and Th is teach ing of A h irbudhnya cal led th e Essence of Phi losophy (tantra -Mm )

”

further the statemen t (24) that the Samhita isal lowed to be imparted on ly to members of the threeh ighe r castes .

T he existence of the P a r i s i s t a (Supp l ement )seems to prove that our Samh ita was at one time amuch stud ied work . Th is Paris ista, Open ing in th e

form of a d ialogue between Narada an d Vyasa, cal l sit self th e “ Hymn of the thousand names of the holySudarsana I t enumerate s, howeve r, after some instruction s about the Man tra of the hymn, etc ., only fivehundred an d sixty such names arranged in groupsaccording to th e con sonant of the alphabet w ith whichthey begin . Th e name s beg inn ing w ith a vowel, such asU nme sa and Udyama men t ion ed in 1 2 . 5 3 of the Sam

h ita, are m issing in both the MSS . avai lable . ThePand i t, who attaches great importance to this litt lework, is p robably righ t in statin g (in h is second footnote ) that it s pub l ication , though forb idden, is not likelyto do more harm than that of the Samh ita it sel f .

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(Thr ee ex tracts from Sci ttvatw Samhi ta)

I . THE D IVINE TWENTY-FOUR -FOLD MA CH INE R Y

or EX ISTENCE

The ninth chapte r of Sattvata Samhita, afterhaving enume rated th e th irty - n ine Vibhavas, twe lveS'

aktis, and principal “ bodi ly ornament s (d ivine ornament s and weapons ) , cont inues

cuksye bhd'

nép akara 1mm ”wad ing/aga rm u ttammn l

ud ud e lib/ureawul rti ndm yo’

vrttis l hate s 'd su ue l l (90)and then gives the fol lowing extraord inary list

(s'l . 9 1-94)

1 . Time (lod l a l p)2 . Space (Dig/ f i t)

3 . Regulator4 . The S'as tra with

A ngas 1

5 . The Vidyadhipatis ; 1 3 . The A psarases ;6 . The Rudras 2 ; The p lants :

7 . The Prajapatis ; The animal s ;8. Indra and his retinue ; The sacrifices with A i

’

i g as

1S'

d s trmy n d n d i’

l ga l aksazzam, by w h ich m us t he m ean t the Tray i

in cl ud in g Dh armas'as tra P arana et c . (s ee above p . and

pos s ibl y th e“ Vedan tas (Upan isads ) , but n ot th e [n on -Vedan t ic]

ph il os oph ical sys tems , th e s e be i n g referred to by n os . 1 7 an d 18.

2 Samml r d lz saga p d l z S'i rd lg. Th is pas sag e appears to be corrupt,

thoug h samudra is, in deed, amon g th e ep ithets of S’

iva .

3 Mm zaya lg, s ep ta p itrve ; cf . Bhag . G ita X , 6 (and abovep . 6 1 , n o .

4 Jim z'

d d li“c l ouds ti e , atmosph er i c g ods ; cf . nabhas’card lg,

khecau i lg, an d th e n ame s of th e ir k in g s (JIm fi ta- vah an a,-ketu ) inNagananda .

The seven sage s of old 3

The plane ts and fixedstars ;The Vidyadharas

“1

The Nagas ;

1 50

1 7 . [Higher] Knowledge 2 1 . The moon ;

(r idg/ e)Inferior Kn owledge 2 2 . The sun

(ap ar t? cidya)1

;

19 . Fire ; 23 . Water ;Wind (air) ; 24. Earth .

Then fol low the concluding wordsi ty uktam amal ekscmc l

cu tur cims’atisamk’luyam ca bitch? ) nap a lcaram zmmahat II

The non - inclusion, i n th is l ist, of men an d A suras,Pis'acas, e tc ., is exp lained by the word g ir cd zmgamwn in

s l . 90 quote d above . For p lan ts as devatas cf .

Buddhism . The inclusion of anima l s, however, iss trange . I t is al so noteworthy that the Gandharvas areevident ly incl uded in Indra*s retinue, wh i le th e A psarases are not .

II . FOU R K INDS or WOR SH IP

Sd ttvatu Samhitd 2,2

Samkarsan a said : Tel l me concisely, 0 EternalOne

, in what manner worsh ip (up d sd ) is enj oined on the

worshippers devoted [to the Lord ] .The holy Lord said : Listen ! I w il l d uly explain to

the e that wh ich thou hast asked me , having known

which one may be freed from re - birth .

That pure B rahman (sad bra/ama) abiding i n the

heart which was th e g oal (ideal ) of those [S iddhas] whohe ld their [respective ] offices at th e beg inning of crea

l

1H ere we h ave on ce m ore th e two Scien ces men t ion ed above p . 97.

2A very d iff eren t (prem atu re ) tran s l at ion of m os t of th is pas s

ag e has been g iven by B handarkar in h is Va i snavism, etc., pp . 39fll .

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1 52

(4) B ut for [the worsh ip Of] the Mant ra diagram re

lating to the [thir ty -nine] Vibhavas1

an d for th e cere

mon ies connected therewith none are authorized bu t the

[t ruly] seeing one s, who have com pl ete ly cast off the ideaof the mine,are satisfied with doing their duty and whol lydevoted, in deed, speech, an d m ind, to the HighestLord 2

.

Thus much about the authorization Of [those Of] th efour castes who have embraced th e [Sattvata] re l igion,suppos ing they have been duly in itiated with the

Mantras pre scribed .

”

III . D ESCR IPTION or TH E FOUR VY I‘

THA s, FOR THE

PUR POSE OF MED ITA TION

Sd ttira ta Samhi ta 5 ,

N ow , the fi rs t form Of th e Lord is as beautifu l

[as to comp l exion ] as [are ] th e snow, the j asm i n,an d the moon I t has four arms , a gent l eface, an d lotus - l ike eyes . I t has a garment Of

1 E xp l ain ed in ch ap te r IX of th e Samh ita. s om e l ate r ch apte rsbe in g apparen t l y al s o re ferred to . I n A h ir b . S . th e va ibhavam

d eva ta-cakram des cribed in ch apter LV I sh ou l d be compared .

‘1 Th is fourth c l as s , th en , con s is t s of thos e Brahm anas , amon gth e P aficaratr in s , w h o h ave aban don ed m ix ed, that is Vedic,w orsh ip, an d , on th e oth er h an d, pre fe r th e path Of devot ion to th at

Of Yog a (compat ib l e w ith Ved ic w orsh ip, above p . Th ey ar e

Of cours e, al so qual ified for Vy i'

ih a w ors h ip .

‘iTh is pas s ag e be in g bad l y pres erved in th e ed it ion , I h ave had,

s e veral t im e s , to fol l ow its (s l ig h t l y m od ified ff“) reproduct ionin Lak smi Tan tra (X, 27 Lak sm i Tan tra actual l y m en t ion s

S é t tvata Samh ita in XI, 28.

4Th at is : in th e K rta ag e .

I n th e n e xt ag e (w h en th e Rajo Gunaappears ) it ch an g e s g radual l y in to r ed ,th en , in th e D vapara ag e,in to

ye l l ow , an d fin al l y, in th e Ka l i ag e, in to b l ack, an an al og ous chan g e

tak in g p l ace as to th e oth er Vy i'

ih as both as reg ard s the ir compl e x ionand th e col our of th e ir g arm en t ,

1 53

yel low silk and is glorified by a golden ensign .

1

With its chie f (frontal) right hand it announces peaceto the t imid,whil e w ith the co rresponding left hand it isholding a wonderful conch . With the other right handit is hol ding the Sudars'an a, and with th e othe r le ft aheavy club re sting on the ground . Let h im imagine a thusformed V a s u d e v a [dwel ling] in the eastern d irection .

Having the [beautiful red] appearance Of the

Sindura tree and th e S’ikhara’

, one- faced and four -armed,

with a garment resembl ing th e [blue] flower O f th e A tasi

(flax -plant ) , distinguished by a palmyra tree [as h isequal to the fi rst Lord as regard s h is frontal pair

Of hands,but holding a plough - share in the hand in whichthe other has the d iscus, and a pes t le where the otherhas a club on a thus - like S a m k a r s ana [dwelling] inthe southern direct ion l e t [the devotee] med itate .

[Let h im further med itate on ] the th ird HighestLord, Of the sp lendour Of a multitude of fire -flie sassembled in a night of the rainy season, one - faced andfour-armed, wearing a garment Of red silk, adorned withhis ensign (banner) showing the Makara (s ea-elephant) .

1

1Th is is, Of cours e, th e eag l e e n s ig n (gar nql a -rl hvaj a ) . I t

mu s t apparen t l y be imag in ed as be in g carr ied by some on e Of th e

Lord’s ret inue (a N itya ) ; cf . be l ow th e n ote on P rad y umna’s

ban n er .2 Or S

'

ikhara, th e compound (s ind firas'i lrl zardkcira ) adm itt ing of

both read in g s ,w h ich m ean re spect ive l y a k in d of ruby and a spec ie sof th e h em p -p l an t . Si ndfi i as ikhara may b e al so tran s l ated : th e

crow n of a Sin dara tree3 Wh en S'iva is cal l ed tal a iika, th e word td l a mean s a cymbal

(cf . h is damarn B ut Samkar sana’s mm is a dhraj a, as can b e s een

from th e paral l e l ism in th e de s cript ion of th e Vy i'

ih as , n ot to

s peak Of oth er reas on s . If H in du s cu l ptors repres en t Bal arama w ith a

cymbal th is w ou l d s eem to b e a case of s cu l pture in flu enced byl ite rature m isun ders tood . Th e palm ban ner is n oth in g e x traord inary B h i sma, for ins tan ce, is said to have had on e .

Com pare th e s am e bann er (e n s ig n ) carr ied by an A ps aras inth e descript ion of P radyumn a

’s earth l y namesake (Cupid ) .

20

1 54

H is fron tal pair Of hand s should be imagined as before ; inthe remaining le ft hand there is a bow,whil e in the rightthere are five arrows . In this manner l et him imagine

[as dwelling] in the western d irection him who is known .

as P r a d y u m n a .

1

[Let him, final ly, m editate on him who resembles

[as to comp lexion ] th e , [deep blacknes s Of the ] A i’

i jana

mountain, wears a fin e white garment is four-armed,large -eyed, and glorified by the deer as h is en sig n .

His fi rst pair O f hands is de scribed like that Of the fi rst

[Lord ] ; w ith the two others he is carrying : in . the

right hand a sword, and in the le ft one a shield (or cl ub ) .In th is way l et [the devotee] meditate on A n i r u d d h a

[dwel ling] in the northern d irection .

A l l Of these [fou r] wear3

th e garland of woodflowers, are distinguished with the S’

rivatsa (Visnu’s

curl of hair on the breast ), and are embel lished with theking of j ewels, the K aus tubha, on their breast, [fur ther]with lovely diadems and crowns, necklaces, armlet s andanklet s, bright marks (made with sandal -wood, etc .) outhe foreh ead, glittering ear -rings in the shape Of a

Makara (sea-elephant) , excel lent chaplets Of manifoldflowers, and with camphor and other delicious perfumes .A s ad orned with al l Of these thus should they always bemed itated upon .

Th is, as w il l have been not iced, is e s s en t ial l y a d escr ipt ion of

K ama, th e Ind ian A mor,as , in deed,P radyumn a is al s o th e nam e of

K ama re -born after h is des truct ion by S'

iva cf . above p . 45 .

2 Th e w rye (deer, an te l ope ) is al so th e lafichana of one of

th e Jain T i rthamkaras ant i ) , al l of whom can be s een repres en ted, w ith th e ir respective em b l em s added above (or be l ow ) them,

j u s t l ike l abe l s attach ed to portraits, on the wal l of on e o f the cavetemp l es of B h uvan es’vara (Oris sa) .

3 For th e firs t th ree items cf . above p . 52 .

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I . SUB JECT

A CYUTA (a Vib hava ) : 48.

(a Vidye s’vara) : 42 .

Vasudeva) . 8 1 .A dhara S

’

akti (pow er s us ta i n ing t he

Eg g ) 46,55 .

ad h ar a Sudars’ana a s : s e e s upport .A d hoksaj a (a Vidye s

’vara) 42 .

A d ivaraha 48 ; ct. Varzi ha.

A dvaita : 49 11 . 3,9 1 ti l .,97 Il l .

aeria l chario ts 134, 138.

A g am ic l itera ture (g en era l l y 2,13 , 16.

A g n eya A s tra : 1 37, 140

A g n i Vais’vanara : 104.

A hamkara : 39,40 ,5 2,75fll ., 1 1 1 , 1 20 .

A h i rps ft (pers on ) : 44 .

A h irb ud hnya : 1 5 , 5 2 . 95fll ., 100 fl l .,1 22, 1 3 1 .

A indra Cakra 1 3 3 .

a i s‘v a r y a (s econ d A ttribute of God ) :se e A ttribu te s .

a l phabe ts ,occu l t : 1 20 fi l .,1 23,126, 142 .

A l l -form of God : 1 3 1 111.

A ni rtahararj a : s ee Piy i'

i sal i arana .

A psarase s ; 1 39, A ppe n dix 1 .

A nan ta (the s erpen t ) : 57 ; ct. S'e sa .

(a Vibhava ) : 42,44.

l nava Mal a (s aivite ) 1 15 .

A ng a Man tras 130 .

ang e l s : 5 1 ,52, 56 fi l .A n irudd ha (a Vidye s

’vara)

(the Vyfiha ) : 48,50 ,63fll ., 64, 80 , 82, 84, 105 ,1 4-1 , 144, 145 n . 2 ; A ppen d ix1 1 1 .

(do ., the Vyuha, in trainun

(l an e ) : 81 .

A nn e s‘a (a Vib hava) 48.

A n tary z'

m i i A vatara : 49, 52 n . 3 .

A nug raha S'

akti 88, 1 14 ti l .

A rea A vatars. 48fll .A rjuna (an A vatara ) : 48.

arrow s (em b l em ) 52,A ppe nd ix I I I .A rtha A dh van 107 .

aspec ts,many d iff eren t,Of God : 1 04 .

A s'ramas (periods -Of -l ife ) : 1 1 7 .

A s tras : 108, 1 24 il l .

A suras (cf . Danavas , e tc . ) 1 38 111

not inc l ude d in l is t, A ppe n d ix I .a tom ic (th ird ) body 1 22 .

a tom ic i ty of sou l s : 57 111 88 H] .

A ttribute s (Gunas ) , s i x ,O f th e Lord3 1 -39, 41 (add end um) ,67 (Ob s . n .

1 02,A pp . 1 1 .

A urva (a Vi bhava) 46 .

INDEX

A vatare s : 1 , 42 fi l 55 fi l ., 57, 100 ,105 , 1 1 3 , of . Vibhava s .

orig in Of ’ 48,5 2 .

w hy n ece s sary : 108.

A ve s‘a A vataras . 4-7 .

a v i d y Ii de fin ed : 97 111. Tirod h fi na

S’ak ti,s o Lak sm i Tan tra X I I,A vyakta

: 67fll ., 80, 1 1 1 do . an d

Vyakta 78 n . 4,79 n . 1 , 70 n . 4 .

a x niu nax i m (a Vi bhava ) : 42,46 .

b a l a (fourth A ttri bute of God ) . s e c

A ttribu te s .

B al ade va (C) . Sa in kai s ana ) : -4

Bal arama (do . (the s econd Vy i'

i l i a ) . 35

(an A vatara) 44 ,48.

Bapt ism, th e Great 1 30 .

Bhadra (a N itya ) : 56.

B had rakal i : 62,64 .

Bhag ava t (topic) : 1 12,25 .

Bhag avat S ak ti 62 .

b l i a k t i : 24, 1 12, 1 28, 141, A ppe nd ixI I .

B l iog a S’

akti 55 .

B l i n’

i in i (w ife Of Vi snu) : 5 3 111.B h fi t i and K riyaS

’akti,re l ation o f 3 0

(0 13 3 . n . 3 1 , 107 .

B h i’

i ti as part of the B in du : 1 18.

B h i‘

i ti S’akti or matter as pec t of

Laksm i : 29 -32,34fll ., 59 fi l ., 87fll ., 102 tl l ., 1 14fll .B in du : 1 18 il l .

bod ies,s imu l taneou s ly as sum ed 58three,Of man 122 .

two kinds of : 58.

body,atom ic 1 22,57,58 (addend um) .

non -natural 47,49,5 1,58.

mag ica l . add e nd um to p . 58.

Sub tl eB oiidag e,cau s e of : 1 14 fi l

B rii hmaif,H ig h e s t : s e e V i snuBrahman 27, 28fll ., 36(r Pradyumna) ,36,n . 3 ,43,45 fi l .,48

(tw ice ) , 52, 60, 67, 80, 81 , (thre eBrahman s ) 82fll ., 87 . 1 1 3, 1 16, 125 ,

B i ah i in'

i n ,days and n ig h ts of : 28, 1 05 .

B rah i nanil a : s ee Eg g .

B rahmfi nda Kos‘a : 79.

B rahmav idya rive r . 58 (ad d end um ) .bran d ing 24 .

B rhaspat i : 1 3 1 .

Buddha (a Vib hava) 48 (tw ice ) , 1 13,1 32 .

1 58

Buddhism, Buddh is ts 99, 104, 1 1 2,

b u d d h i ,a name of

(1 ) the cosmic M ahat,q . t . ;

(2 ) th e in d ividual Mahat : 70 -74

(3 ) Man as, rm) .

CA K R A GA YAT R I : 12 1 .

Canda (a N itya) : 56.

cas te s, four : 1 17 .

cu us a cfiic zcn s , e tc . ; 3 1 ,

Ci i i tfi 44,56 .

C itras‘ikhaudin s, seven A ppe nd ix 1 .

c l ub (emb l em ) : 4 1, 5 2, A ppen d ixI I I .

conch (emb l em ) ibid .

Cosmic Eg g , Nig h t, e tc. s e e Eg g ,Nig h t,e tc .

Cow an d Non -Cow : 103 .

creation 1 1 (sub no . 29 111 103

1 14, 1 25,1 29, 143fll . ; cf . k in dsof creation in In dex V, a l s o

A ppen dix 1 .crea tion , fi f tee n Opin ion s abou t . 104 .

Cre ator, Pre s erver, D e s troyer : s e e

Trim drt i.

DAYS, Cosm ic : s e e N ig h ts an d Days .De vars is,orig in of : 61 .

Devas : 62 (orig in ) , 1 39 fi l .,A ppend ix1 ; Cf . Indra, e tc .

devil (incubus ) 1 3 5 .

Dhanvan tari (a Vibh ava) : 45 (tw ice ) .Dharma (a Vibh ava) : 42,46 .

(fath er of four Vibhavas ) 44.

Dl i rti 55 .

Dhruva (a Vib hava) 42,45 .

d iagram s : s e e Yan tras .

d iscip l e , adm i s s ion of : 1 22 .

d iscus (em b l em ) : 41 , 52, 100 , 12 1, 1 27fi l ., 1 32,A ppen d ix I I I cf . Sudars

'

ana .

d is eas e s ,orig in an d cure of : 129 ti l .

D is so l u tion s ee P ral aya .

Door~ke epers of Vaikun tha 56 .

Durg JZN I Ia 54 .

Dvé para ag e 1 5 Cf . Yug as .

Eco, th e Cosm ic (Brahmanda) : 27 il l38 (th rice ) ,50 (Often ) ,59,79 fi l ., 104,106, 1 25 ; pl ura l i ty : 81 29, 106 .

Ekambh on idh is'ayin or Ekfi rnavas‘ay in

(a Vib hava ) 42,43, 143 .

Ekas‘r r'

ig atan u (a Vib hava) 42,43 c] .

Matsya.

E l em e n ts , the ten . 76,52, 1 04, 1 20 .

emanat ion , th eory of : 34 I l l .

exorc ism . 1 10 ; c}. mag ic, b l ack .

F I R E, CREA T I ON DE R IVE D FROM . 1 04.

Force an d Matter . s e e K r iya S’

akti an dBhut i S akt i .

K A H A B HA . 44 .

Ka l i ,Kal a (s‘a ivi te ) 64,90 ,

Kal a : s e e T ime .

GA NDHA R VA A s tra : 1 34.

Gan dharvas : 62 (orig in ) , 1 34, 1 39,A ppend ix I .

g arl an d (emb l em ) 5 2,A ppen dix I I I .Garuda : 57, 23, 46, 102, Sfittvata

Samh itaX I I 1 78Garuda, A stra : 139.

G erm dmpre s s ion s s ee Vz

'

ts anas .

Go l den Eg g : 80 fi l . ; cf . Eg g , th e

Cosm ic .

Govin da (a Sub -Vy uha) : 4 1 .

Group Sou l : s ee Kfltas tha Far usa .

G uhyakas : 1 38.

Guna Body : 62,67.Gunas , s i x ,of the Lord : se e A ttribu te s .

thre e : 63 , 67, 32, 40, 5 1, 54

n . 7,64, 107 fi l ., 1 10 ; how re l at ed to th e s ix 67.

H A M.“ (a Vibhava) .43

,45 .

Hari (a Vibhava) : 42,44.

(a Vidye s'

vara) : 42 (to b e en tere dfrom errata l is t ) .

H ayas‘irsa, H ayas

‘ira s ,or Hayag r i va (a‘

Vibhava) : 46, 48 (tw ice ) ; cf . vag is .

vara .

Hayas irsa Loka : 85 .

H eaven , H ig h e s t : 49 ti l .,58 ti l 106 il l .

heaven s, h ig h er : on e con n ec te d w itheach Vyuha : 50 .

h eaven s, l ower : 50,49 n . 5 .

henoth e ism 100 .

h ere sy of the P aficaratrin s 97 .

H ero Form of th e Sudars’ana 55 .

H iran yag arb ha r—Brahman : 109 .

H rsi ke s'a (a Sub -Vyfiha) : 41 .

h u m 1 21 .

i c c h a- r up a d h a r a ,Visnu a s . 46 .

ide n tity , fe e l in g of : 1 24 .

I cch z'

t S’ak ti : 54.

I da: 1 1 9 .

ig norance, symbol of 5 2 .

imprecation s,e fficacy of . 1 08 .

I ndra ~ 46, 1 38fll .,A ppe n d ix I .in itiation : 1 2 1fll ., 1 12,1 1 7 .Inn er R u l er, A n irud d ha as : 144, 38 ;

of. A n tary z’

im i A vatara.

JA I N I sM : 1 04,Jan firdana (a Vidye s

’vara) : 42 .

Jina : 1 32 .

j i v a and p a r a : 89, 9 1 fi l ., 98, 123 ,129.

Jivad eha K OB'

a : 79 .

Jiva-l oka : 27 .

j ii fi n a (firs t A ttri bute o f God ) : s e e

A ttribute s .

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1 60

Matsya A vatara : 43 , 47, 48 (tw ice ) ;cf . Ekas rng atan u.

Matter,two kin ds of 5 1 .

Maya(I A vidyfi) : 89, 1 29 .

(t uti S’akti 1 29 .

(th e Kanon ke ) :

M z'iyaKos

'a : 64,36

Mfiya S’ak ti : 62fll ., 59, 60 n . 3, 1 10,

1 15, 143fll .Mayiya Mal a : 1 1 5 .

Medh fi. 55 .

me di ta tion : 49, 59, 105,1 28, 13 1, 1 33 fi l ., 1 36 ; A ppen dix I I ] .

me thods r i r i two re l ig ious : 97 ;four : A ppen d ix 1 1 .

Mimamsakas :

M ixe d Group of s ou l s : s ee sou l s .

M on th s,Lord s of the : 41 .

Moth ers of th e worl d, th 1 ee : 64.

Muktas : 57fll .,50 n . 2,5 1, 5 2,86fll .,9 1fll .

M il l aprakrt i 62,67,fll .

Mul adh fira . 1 19 .

NA DA : 1 18.

Nadi s : 1 19, 1 24 .

Nag as : 45,86, 1 36 1 39,A ppend ix I .Nais th ika : 1 1 7 .

Nakuh s’a P as’upatas : 1 1 1 .

1\ara (a 1 ib hava) :Narada 46 ; 6 (remark) , 10 1fll .146.

Naras i n1 ha (a Vibh ava) : 47,48.

Naras imha Loka : 85 .

Naras imh ann s tub ha M an tra . 143 .

Narayana (th e A b sol u te ) . se e Visnu (l ) .(comp l em en t of th e Vy fihavasudeva ) : 53.(a Sub -Vyfiha) : 4 1 .

(a Vibhava) : 42 ,44.

N idra: 44,5 5,56,64.

N ig h ts an d Days of Brahman : 28, 10 5

th e Lord : 28fll .,N ig raha or Tirod h an a S

’

ak ti : 98, 1 14fi l .,1 16 (synonym s ) .

N i l fi : 5 3fll .Nirvana,Buddh is t 1 17 .

N ityas : s ee ang e l s .

N ivar taka A -s

tras : 1 26,N iyat i : 64 fi l ., 62 (ob s . 11 . 63, 1 06,1 10,A ppen dix I .

N rs imha (a Vidye s'vara) : 42 (to be

e n tere d from errata l is t) .N rs imha S’ankhodara (a Vibhava) : 48.

Nyag rodhaS'ayin (do ) .

42,43,86.

7 )

H

Os s cvax r i ox of the sou l : 88, 1 14

fi l ., 1 29,78.

0 M : 141 145 .

Omn ipotence,e tc. : 88 n .

1 1 5 .

ornamen ts an d weapon s of God ; 52,108, 1 2 1 ; cf . A ppen dix I I [ .over-embrace of the d ivine coup l e

Pada Narayana (2 A n iruddha) : 145 ,

Padas,four,of God : 1 44 fi l

Padma Laksm i ) : 43 n . 2 .

Padmanabha (a Vibhava spring ing fromA n irudd ha) 26,42 -44

, 143 .

Padmanabha (a Sub -Vy fiha) : 4 1Pakudha K accayana : 1 04.

Parame s‘vari 64 .

Para,Pas yan ti,e tc . : 1 19 .

ParaS'urflma (a Vibhava) : 42, 43, 45,47 (a l so 11 . 48 (tw ice ) .ParaVidya 1 44 .

Par ij fi tahara (a Vibhava) 42,46 .

Parisadas,Parsadas=56.Pas upata sys tem : 2

, 108fll ., 1 1 1Patal as ayan a (a Vib hava) : 42,43 .

Pauran ikas : 1 42 .

Pavaka (a Vibhava) 48.

p h a t : 1 2 1 .

Ping al a: 1 19 .

P itrs (creative ) ,orig in of 61 .

(deceas e d ) ,bod ie s of : 58.

P iyfisahamna (a Vib hava) : 42,46, 143 .

p l ane s, fourteen ,of th e Eg g : 50,55 .

of con sciousn e s s : 1 41, 145 .

P l ay of God 1 14, 1 25, 129.

Pracanda (a N itya) : 56.

P radyumna (th e Vy fiha) 35 -42, 48,61 -63, 105, 1 41 , 144, 145 n . 2 .

Pradyumna (a Vibhava) : 45 .

(a Vidye s’vara) : 42 (to be

en tere d from errata l is t) .Pradyumna (an in tramun dan e Vy dha)81 .

Praj z'

i pat is : 81 ,A ppen dix I .P rakaras,fi ve ,(z five fo l d s e l f-man ife stat ion ) of God : 25fll ., 5 1fll .

P rak rti (or Vidya)LaksmiMaya S’akti ;A vyakta ;Vyakta (Mahat and remain ing

Tat tvas ) .Prakrti Kos a : 79 .

Pra l aya 28 (two k in ds ) , 36, 43,50

(tw ice ) ,60 , 103, 1 29, 140 .

p r a m {1 n a,Sudars ana as see reg ul ative principl e .

Prana (1 : M ahat) 73fll .Sn dars’ana) : 1 1 3 .

Pranas ,the fi ve : 7 1 .

p r a p a t t i :

p r ar a b d h a - k a r m a n how to

neutral i z e : 1 35 .

Pras dt i Kos'a 67 .

Pras vapana A s tra : 1 37 .

Pravartaka A s tras : 1 26, 1 33fll ., 137,140 .

pre s en ts to Brahm in s : 1 30 , 1 3 5 .

Pri ti : 56 .

P undari ka (a N i tya) 56 .

Pure Group : 6 1 11 . 4,82fll ., 109, 1 1 6.

Pure Matter,e tc . s e e Matter,e tc .

P uroh ita, th e idea l 1 32 .

Pm usa

(DL- Visnu,e s pec ia l ly as the A bso l u te

and th e A n taryamin ;

(2 )—: th e K atas tha ;

(3 ) : the in d ividual sou l (j i v a )Purusa (a Vib h ava) 45,48.

of th e S i ni khyas (K fip i l as )

Faru s a S fi kta : 143 2 5 .

Purusot tama (ZA n irudd ha) : 3 6.

(a Vidye s vara ) : 42 .

Pus ti : 44, 54 -56.

R A DHA : 19 .

R fig a (th e K ahcuka) : 64.

R ahu 46 .

R ah uJit (a Vibh ava) : 42,46 .

rain ,me thods of produc ing 1 36 .

R ama Dhan urdhara o r S'

ri r z'

nn a (aVib hava) 19,42 il l . 47 HI .

R ama d i ag ram . 1 20

R ama Loka (s econ d 1dea l rea l 1n ) ~ 85 .

R amfin uja, sys tem o f ; 1 23 11 . 3 of.

Vis is tad vaita .

R at i 36,5 5,64.

reg ul ative princip l e (Sudar s an a) 103 ,107 ii ] .

R e g ul ator : a n am e of N iyat i,re tin ue of th e Lord . 54 n .

2, 56 fi l .,l 28.

R sab ha (a Vl b hava ) 1 1 3 .

R si s , s even : 6 1,A ppen ix I .R udra . s e e S

’iva .

R udras 80,95,A ppe n d ix I .S'AB DA A DHVA N : 1 07 .

s a b d a -b r a h m a n 1 1 8.

sacram e n ts ,fiv e 24.

sacrifice ,God as a 1 29.

s e e s e l f-sacrifice,w orsh ip .

Sacr ific ia l Lotus s ee Lotus .

s ad h a n a an d s ad h y a : 1 1 3fll ., 128.

S’aivism : 64, 107, 1 1 1 61 1 15 cf . n exttwo item s ,al s o Pas upata

S'

aivi te e l em en ts in th e Paficaratra : 23,90, 1 1 5

S'

aivite n ew of th e Pai'

l caratra : 3 1 ,11 . 2 .

S dksfit S’ak ti 52, 54 .

S’akta Tan tras 1 3 .

s a k t i,m ean in g of : 102 ; cf. 1 29 .

(th ird A t tri bute of God ) s ee

A t tribu te s .

S’akt i : see Lak sm i,K riyaS

’akt i, Bhut i

S’ak ti, e tc.

21

S’ak ti Kos a : 67 11 . 2 .

S’ak tis of th e Vib havas 5 5 HI .

Vy 11l1 as : 35 67 n . 2 .

(1,2,s , 5 3 fl ]

S’ak ty .1 tman (a Vib hava) : 42,46.

S i l ag rama : 1 3 3, 139 .

Samkarsana (th e Vy 1'

1ha) 1 5 ii ] 35 42,48, 5 3, 100 , 105 111 1 0 8

,

122, 144 , 145 n . 2 .

(a Vib hava) : s e e A nan ta,

Bal arama

(a Vidye s‘va1 a) 42 .

(an in tramun dan e Vyfiha )81 .

Sfimkhya : 45,98, 108 1 1 3 (tw ice ) ,Sas titan tra .

S 11mkhya Yog a : 24,98 n . 4, 1415fllSamnyasa A s

’rama : 1 17Samudra,a n am e of S

’iv :a A ppe n dix I

Sanaka : 46 .

San atkum ara . 46.

S’a 11karaca1 ya, sys tem of 97 HI .S’1111 t 11 t111 ar1 (a V113 1111 1 42,46.

S’an ti 36.

S’1

'

1n t i Parvan 14fll ., 1 09.

Sarasvati 36 (ob s . 11 . 42,46, 55fll

64 .

Sarvas titvavad in s : 99 .

S as t itan tra 24,98, 1 10 H] .

S'as tra,n ece s s ary fo r(1 ) combatin g th e b ad 1 08 :

(13) savin g th e sou l 78 Hi .

(3 ) s tarting th e s a m s {1 1: a 83 .

S’1

'

1 s tra . th e orig ina l : 108 ti l A ppend ix I I .

S’as tras : 1 08, 140 ; cf. ornam en ts and

w eapon s of God .

S’aS'vad vidva: 62 .

Satya (a Vi bhava) : 48

Satya Loka 49 .

Saub har i 58.

Saudar s’an a Mahaman tra, e tc

Sudars’ana .

S'auri (a Vibhava) : 48.

Sea of M i l k 1 27

Se l f -man ife s tation of God s e e Pra

karas .

se l f - sacr ifice : 1 23 (Yog a) , 1 28 (s a r a11 ag a t i ) .

Se n e s’a Vis1'

aks ena) : 23 .

s en s e s, th e te n 76,52 , 1 20 .

s ervice to God . 58, 1 24 .

S'

e sa 44, 57 (ob s . n . l ) .

S’e s fis 'an a : 57 .

Sh eath of Ge n era tion 67 .

Sh eath of M aya : 64a

S iddhas 1 16 (orig ina l m en ) , 1 39 .

S idd h l s 1 24.

S’iva : (2

' Samkarsana ) , 36 n .

3, 38, 48 (tn 1ce ) 67 (R 11d 1 a) ,(three S’ivas ) ,(M ahadeva) , 142,A ppen d ix I .

1 t12

S’ivaroha : 85 .

Skan dhavad in s : 99, 104.

Smrt i (a S’akti ) : 5 5 .

Soma,Ni l a as 5 5 .

s e a l ,atom ici ty of : 57fl1.,88 HI .col l ective : s ee K atas tha P urusa .

in d ividual 86 fi l ., 1 14 fi l ., 1 29,5 2,54 n . 7 two g roups, pure an d

m ixed, create d ” re sp. by P rad y umna an d A n iruddh a : 82fll .,33 ; superin ten de d by Samkarsana : 39 £11. two c l as se s in

H ig he s t H eaven : 56fll . ; fOur

cl as se s : 86.

Soun d Brahman : 1 1 8.

soun ds 1 18fll .Space an d T im e : 30 ,A ppe n d ix ISpace , H ig h e s t : s e e H eaven ,H i g he s t .s peech , inadequaten es s Of 104 .

S'racl dh fl 5 5 ,

S ri : s ee Laksm i .S’ridh ara (a Sub -Vyflh a ) 4 1 .

S'ridhara Loka : 85 .

S’

rihamsa : 1 1 .

S'ripati (a Vibhava) : 42,45 .

S’rivatsa : 52, 55,A ppen d ix 1 1 1 .

s t h i t i (period ) : 103 , 107 .

Subhadra (a N itya) : 56.

Sub -Vyuhas : 41fll ., 1 0 5, 1 22, 1 28.

Sudars ana : 26, 30fll ., 100 - 1 1 3 1 14,

n ame s of th e : 1 1 3 , 146.

Homa : 1 32.

Man tra : 1 2 1fll ., 13 1, 1 34,139 .

P uru sa : 1 22, 1 24, 125fll ., 1 27 il l 1 30 fi l .,52 .

worsh ip : 1 27 - 1 29, 134 .

Yan tra : 1 27 , 1 30, 1 35 111.S udd ha S

'

aiva : 1 1 2 .

S'

1

'

1d ra,re l ation to h ig h er cas te s 1 1 7 .

su icide ,re l ig ious : 1 17 .

s umm um bon um : 1 13

Sun as g ate to L iberation 578'

1 1 y a (name an d cond i tion of V i snu) :86.

s' un y a-v ad a :

support of the un iverse,the Sudars anaas th e : 103, 10 5 H!

S 1'

1ris : s ee ang e l s .

S’ve tadv ipa, s tory of : 15fll .,

sword (emb l em ) 52,A ppe nd ix I I I .synonym s,peop l e mis l ed by : 104.

sys tem s of ph i l osophy : 83,97, 109 -1 14 .

1 The l is t en umerate s : the ten e l em e n ts, ten s e n se s , three ~fol d Inn er Org an ,P rak rt i, P rasflti, M aya,K 1

'

1 1a,N iyat i, S'ak t i

, th e Purusa,H ig he s t H eaven ,an d th eLord but th e n e x t chapter exp lain in g the se admits that the h ig h e s t princ ipl ename ly th e Lord, is not a princ ipl e or h ig her th an a prinC iPl efa th om u / tamam,Laksmi Tan tra VI I,

TAL I SMAN : 1 35fllTanm f

t tras : 76fll ., 120 .

T 11 ra[ka] Man tra : 141fllTattvas,the principl e s(1 )—s e l dom from the Lord downwards : 49 n . 4 1

;

(2 ) of N on -pure Creation : 52 ; (Prakrti=S

’akti+K Mai -N iyat i) ,61,63

(3 )—g en eral ly—from M ahat downw ards : 28,66,79 111.

teacher, the ideal : 1 2 1 .

t e j a s (s ixth A ttribute of God ) : se e ,A ttribu te stempl e 26

,55, 1 28, 1 30, 13 5 .

Tim e : 27,30fll ., 38, 5 1 ,62,fi l .,6 5fll .,107, 1 1 0, 1 14 fi l ., 1 25,A ppe nd ix 1 .tim e -atom 27 n . 2 .

T ime Body 62 .

tim e g odde s s 55 .

T im e Lotus : see Lotus .

Time W h ee l : 1 32, 106 .

Tirod hana S’akt i s ee N ig rah a S

’ak ti .

Town -watchmen of Va ikun tha 56 .

Tu$ti 5 5 .

tu te l ar de i tie s 40 52 .

Trayi s ee Ve da .

Tre taag e : 109 ; of . Yug as .

Tr im firt i (Creator, Pre server, De

s troyer) 38,1 1 4, 1 32,142 .

Tr ip z'

td -v ibhflt i : 50 .

Tr iv ikrama (a Vibhava ) 42,44.

(a Sub -Vyuha ) :Tw e l ve sun s : 41 .U PA N I $A D8 Vedan tas ) re ferre d to inth e Paficaratra 97, 1 2 1, 145 , A p

pen d ix I n . 1 cf . Ve d 1'

1n t 1'

1h

Upan isad s re ferrin g to the P a i'

i caratra

145 n . 2 .

U pasamhara A s tras s e e Nivartaka

A s tras .

Upen dra (a Vidye s vara) : 42.

U t savasamg rahas 5, 26.

VA CYAYA N A : 109 .

vag i s'vara (a Vib hava) : 42

,46 ; cf .

H ayasi rsa .

Vaid ikas made s l ig h t of 97.

Vaikun tha : see H eaven,h eaven s (obs .

49 n .

Vais'e s ikas : 64, 1 1 2 .

V11ma11a (a Nitya) 56.

(a Sub -Vyuha) : 41 .

(or vamanade ha ) (a Vibhava)47 fl ] .

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1 1 . INDEX OF A UTHORS A ND WORKS

Not in l cud ing Samhitas mentioned on ly in the Synopsispp . 6. fl ]. (A bbreviation : S .

:

A s v x c t PTA 1 9 .

A bhyamkara Vasud evas as tfi n : se e

Yati rid 1 an 1ata D ip . Vyakhya .

_

\g an 1 .1khya S . 18.

A g amapr .am anya by Yamun ac 11rya : 1 6,

17A g as tya Samh i tasA g n i Pm ana : 4,5 ti l .,2 1 22 .

A h irb udhnya Samhi ta(a) refer i ed to in pa1 t 1 : 1 ,

5 (n . (11 . 16 (tw ice ) , 18(tw ice ) , 20 (al s o 11 . 2 2

24,25 (n . 26 (n . 1 ,

(b) dire c t q uotation s (e xce pt s ing l ew ords and ph ras e s ) : 3 1 ,3 2 (tw o ) ,35 ,4 1 ,47 (n . 5 7 (11 .

60.66 (two) . 67, 7 1 . 96, 97, 100 .

10 7 (two) , 108, 109 (two) , 1 28

(two) , 129 .

A itareya Brahmana 96 .

B h i sya bySayana 96.

A l as ’ing arab hatta . 20 (t 11 l ce )A nandag ir i : 57 .

A nan t ii carya,Pandit P . B . 1 5

A nan ta S. 6, 14 .

A t l 1ar 1 a Veda 65 , 1 10 .

A val on ,A rthur : Tan trik Te xts ,vol . 1 1 2 1 .

B A R N L I‘T,P e e r . 1 9 (11 .

B aska l aman tra U pari isad 81 .

B hag avad-Gi tfi 25, 27,46,6 1 ,73 , 9 1 ,

93 (1 1 . 97, 104 (tw ice ) , 1 23 , 1 2 5 ,1 3 2, A pp . 1 11 . 3 .

B hag avadg i tfi-b hasya

Ve d an tade s ika : 60 .

Bhag avata Puri na 45 ,86

B han darkar,Sir R . G : V a 1 s n a v i s m,

S’aivism , an d M inor R e l i g i o u 8

Sys tem s 3 (tw ice ) , 1 7 (n . 1 9

(n . 25, A ppe n d i x I I .B harad vaja S . 8, 1 3, 18,23 .

do . Comm . on : 20 .

Bharg ava S. : 9, 1 8.

B h i sma Parvan : 1 5 .

Burn e l l De script ive Ca ta l og ue o f the

Pa l ace Li brary,Tan j ore 12 . 95 .

B rah n i ab l nd u Upan isad 9 3 .

B rahmanarada S . 8, 1 7 (11 .

Vy zi khy z'

t by

Samh ita. )

Brahma S . 5,8,20 .

Brahma S 11tras : l , 58.

B h asya on , byS’aukai acarya : 1 , 39,97 99 .

B rhad aranyaka Upam sad : 63,

B rhad Brahm a S . : 1 1 , 1 3 (twice ) , 1 7,C i r R A s'i q s o i S . 12 .

Ch findog ya Upan isad :C ha tterj i, J. C . . H in du R ea l i sm : 64

Kashm ir Shaiva i sm , 18, 1 9 (n .

34,

73 (tw ice ) ,75,

DA TTA 1 11 8 121 S .

111 .

Deu s s e n , P . A l l g em e in e Ge sch ich ted cr Ph i losoph ie , vo l . 1, part 3 . 77 ;Sech z ig Upan isad s d e s Ve da 7 l .

D hyan ab ind u Upan isad . 1 41 .

Dow s on ,John H in du C l as s ical D ic t ionary 48.

Du tt,Mahan irvfina Tan tra (tran s l a te d)1 3 .

7,a d d endu m to pp . 6 .

GA R B E, R .‘ D ie Bhag avadg ita. 145

udd en d mn to pp . 14. 111.

Garg ya S ., 7, 1 8, ad de nd um to pp . 6 .

Hi .

Gaudap dda . 93 .

Gau tam iya S . 5 , 7 .

Gop i l ot tara t i p n i i Upan is ad ° 145 .

Gov ind ftcdrya Svam i n ,Th e Paficarfitras

or Bhag avat -S’ds tra (in J . R . A . S .

3 , 5 (n . 1 7 (11 . 2, 20

(11 . 22, 1 1 2

H AMSA S . : 1 2 .

H am saparam e s vara S .

: 1 2 (twice ) , 18.

H ar ig auri Tan tras : 1 3 .

H ang , A itareya B r i hmana (tran s l ated )96.

I l ayas' irsa (Hayag ri va) S . 5 fi l .,

2 2, 23 .

JN IMH R AT R A (th ird R atra o f Ma l 1 1'

1

s anatku in fira S . ) 1 7, 3 6,41 (tw ice )l s 'avasya Upan isad ~ 34, 1 23 .

i s 'vara S . : 6, 3 , 16- 18,20,2 1, 22, 1 1 2 .

Ievara S . Vy 1

'

1khy 1

'

1 by A l as’ing arabhatta, 20 .

JA IN scripture : 1 04

Jayakhya S . 7,1 8 (tw ice ) , 230 , 2 1, 96.

Jayot tara S . : 7, 18.

se e Narada l’aficarfitra .

K it s “ S .: 5 (11 . 6 . 20 .

Kapi la S . : 5, 7, 18.

K ap ifija l a S . : 5fll ., 1 3,2 1 .

K fis 'yapa S . . 7, 18.

K as’yapottara S . : 1 1 .

K athaka Upan i s ad . 68,72, 1 16

K aum fira S . 5,7 .

K ausi taki Upan isad . 73 ,58 (N d d cru l wm) .K semar 1

’

1 j a : 3 1 .

K nb j i kaTan tras (thre e ) 1 3 .

LA K $M i Tan tra : 9, 1 3 , 1 8,26,29,30

(thrice ) , 32 (tw ice ) , 3 3 (fou r tim e s ) ,34, 36 (four t ime s ) , 37 (tw ice ) , 38(tw ice ) , 43 , 48, 49,54, 59,60,62,64(al so 11 . 67 (tw ice ) ,70 (thrice ) , 7 1 ,76,79 (tw ice ) ,80 ; A ppe n dix 1 11 .

Law Books : 2, 1 1 7 .

MA cDoa L,Ve d ic M ytho l og y 95 The

D eve l opmen t of Early 11 1 11 1111 i conog raphy add e nd um to pp . 1 4. ti l .

s e e S a r v a d a r s ' 11 11 aSamg rah a .

Mah abharata 1 14 fl ] 98 ; of. B h ism a

Vana, S’an ti Parvan ,N f1r 11yan iya .

Mah an firayana Upan isad ' 25 .

Mah as an atkumara S . 9, 23, 24 ; cf .

I n d rarat ra .

M ah en dra S . : 9, 20 .

Maitrayana Upan is ad : 65,73, 1 0 1 .

M ai treya Upan isad 93

Mfindfikya U pan l s ad 69 .

Manddkya K 1‘

1 rik31 by G 11 111l ap 1

'

1d 11 9 3 .

Mankana S . 1 2 .

Man n S . 2 .

Maud g a l a S . 9, 1 8.

M rdan i Tan tras (two) 1 3 .

Mudg a l a Upan isad : 1 45 .

M u l l er,Max : 100 .

NA R ADA Paficaratra (z s lm r ious Naradiya 1 , 3 ,5, 8 (remark ) , 1 7, 1 9,(n . 2 2,24 .

N arada Samg raha 1 8.

Narad iya S . (g en u in e on e ) 5, l as t nam e

8, 18, ad d e nd um to p . 141 1. 1 1 q/Narada Paficarfitra .

N firas imha S . 8, 1 8.

Narfiyan iya S .

‘ 8,18.

N 1

'

1r f1ya 11 1ya (N i rad iya ) s ect ion o f 8 51 1 11 1

Parvan 14 “L, 3 9,4-3 ,44,47, 57, 6 1 .

N ikéyas, B ndd h 1 s t : 60 ,74 (tw ice ) .

N rs i 111 11 11purvatapan iya Upan isad : 12 1 ,143 .

N rs imhasur i 20 .

P A lmi A s A 111ue Tan tra 1 1 .

Padma Puri na 95 .

Padma Tan tra 5 tl l ., 1 3 , 18, 20, 2 -5

(tw ice ) , 3 5,42,45 ,48, 52 , 5 3 (thri ce ) ,5 4- 56,02, 79, so, 82, 83 ,86, 9 1 ,0 2

(tw ice ) , 93 (thrice ) , 10 1, 1 1 2, 1 13,1 16 .

Padmod bhava S . 8, 1 7 , 1 8,20 .

Pa ii capras na S . 8, 1 8.

Pafiearatrarakyi by Ve d i n tad cs 'i k a 4,1 2 (11 . l ) , 1 6 (11 . l ) , 18.

Paficarfitrots ava Samg raha : 5, 10 ,26.

Para in arthasara by Ams’e sa : 19 .

Parama S. 8, 1 7 (tw ice ) ,20 .

Paramatat tvan ir nayaprakas'

a S. 1 1,2 7

28 (tw ice ) ,29 (four time s ) , 5 0 (tw ice )53, 54 (tw ice ) , 66 ,

79,80,86 (ofte n ) ,Par i s ’ara S . 8, 13 , 54 .

Parame s vara S. 8, 1 3, 20 , 2 3 , 5 1

P firam e s’vara S . Vyfikhyfi by N rs imha

Suri 20 .

Pauskara A g ama 1 1 5 .

Pauskara S . . 8, 17, 18,20, 2 1 .Prlol a i Lok 1

'

1c5 rya . s ee Tat tva traya .

[2 11 1 11 11 1111 S . 8, 18 .

Prfij fipatya S . 20 .

Prapafica Tan tras (thre e ) 1 3 .

Dra ma Upan isad 7 3 .

Pras’n a S . s e e S’ripras

'

na and

Pai capras‘na .

P ra tyabh ip'

ia H rdaya : 3 1, 90 (thrice ) ,Pratyabh iJfi i

- l i rdaya T ippani 1 1 5 .

Pur z'

m as (g en era l ly) 8, 2 1, 44,86,95,108.

I ’urana S . 8,2 1 .

P urusa S . 1415 .

Purusa Sdkta 2 5,54, 143 li l .

R A MA s x A R A K s A by Ve dan tad e saka .

(11 .

ja Tarang in i 97 .

R am fmuja : 16, 17, 3 2, 1 23 .

R amapurvatapan iya Upan isad . 1 2 0 ,1 2 1 .

R ehmke Profs D ie Se e l e d e s Men

sch en . 9 1 .

l i g vcda B l 1 1’

1sya’

by Sayana 1 33 .

R ous s e l , A . . Etude d u Pa iicarfitra

1

S’A I VA A g amas (g en era l ly) . 2 2, 1 15 .

S’

aiva P 11r 1

'

1 11a 54 .

S’

a iva S. : 5, 1 0 .

S f1 11 1 1'

1 nya S . : 1 1 ,2 1 .

Samkarsana S . : 1 1 , 16 .

S 11 111khy11 K 11r1k 1'

1 : 7 1 ,76, 77,

166

S émkhya S fi tras : 68,69,71 .

B h é sya on ,byVij iiéna bhiksu : 1 22 .

Samnyasa Upan isads : 1 1 7 .

Sano

i patkun1 aras v5min z 20 .

Sanatkum ara S . : 1 1 (twice ) ,1 7,20 .

S'

and i lya S. :

S’ankarficai ya : 97 98 cf . Brahma

s d tra B l 1 1'

isya.

S'

ankaravijaya by A nandag iri 57 .

S'

an ti Parvan 141 fi l ., 109 ; cf . 11 11 111yan iya .

Sarvadars‘ana Samg raha by M i d havfi

S'

ar1 a S . 5 (n . 10

S'

atapatha Brahmana : 25,48.

S’1'

1 t 1'

1 tapa S . : 10, 18.

Sat tvata S . 3,1 1 ,1 3 , 18,20 , 2 1,

55 ; A ppen dice s .

Sfit tvata S . B h 1’

1sya by A l as i ng arabhatta : 20 .

Sauman tava S . : 1 2

Sfiyana : 96, 1 33 .

Scheme rus, H . W. De r (;aivas iddhan ta : 64, 124.

Schm d e r, F . O t to : Das Sas t itan tra

(Z. D . M . G . 1 9 14) 74,98, 10 9, 1 10 ;On th e Prob l em of N irvana1905 142 Uebor d en S tan d d e r

In di sch en Phi l osoph ie z ur Ze i tM ahaviras und Buddhas : 65,68.

S ea 8 2 6, 14 .

Sid d lu’

m ta Paiicarfitra : I O (remark ) .S i t 1

'

1 Upan isad : 54 .

S’i 1 a S . 5 10 .

Soma S . :

Span dap i ad ip ika by U tpa l a Vaisnava1 2 (11 .

S'

rikfil apara S . 1 2 (tw ice ) , 18.

S'

rik z’

u'

a S. 1 1 , 18.

S’

rin iv fisadfisa : s eeYatind ramata D ipikfi.

S’rin iv i sa Iye ng ar, P . Out l i n e s ofIn dian Ph i l osophy : 1 1 5 .

S'

r ipras’na (Pras n a) S . 80 (twice ) .

S’rutaprakfis ika: 1 2 (11 .Sudars ana S .

: 12 .

S'

ukapras‘na S . 1 2 (tw ice ) .

S’ve tas‘vatam U pan isad : 56.

TA I ’

I’

T l R i YA Upan isad 44.

Tam i l Veda : 16.

Tarksya S . , 14

Tat tvas fig ara S : 7, 18.

Tatt 1 asam 11s a,Corrim . on : 73 .

Tat tvatraya by Pi l l ai Lokacarya : 27

(tw ice ) , 40 ,50 , 54 (tw ice ) ,58 (th rice ) , 79 (tw ice ) ,90, add en d um to p . 41

Ta t tvatraya B h i sya by Varavaramun i :

2 7 , 3 3 , 40 (n . 46, 47 (11 . 5 3

(11 . 54 (11 . 6, 7 2,82 (thrice ) .

Trika l i terature : 19 .

Tripad vib h fi timah a’

tn firayana Upan isad50 ,58 (adde nd um) , 145 .

Up A N i s A Ds (g en era l ly) . 73 , 93, 104

(twice ) , 1 25 .

Upe n dra S . (I I ) : 1 1, 1 7, addend um to

p . 1 7 .

U tpal a Va isnava : se e Span daprad ipikfi .

U ttaran é r zi yanam : 54 (al so 11 .

VA I H A YA SA S : 1 0, 18 (tw ice ) .55Vaikh z

'

m asa R ai an d A g ama :

Vai s‘ampayana S . : 1 2

Vaiyyé sa S . : 10, 1 8.

Vi j as an ey i S. : 54, 96 ; cf . U t taran firfiyanam .

Vfimad eva : 1 1 3.

Vfimana. Samh i tas : 5 (n . 9

Vana Parvan : 43 .

varfiha S . : 9, 18, 20 , add e nd um to

pp . 6 HI .

Varavaramun i see Tattvatraya B h i

s a

Vfisbistha S . : 5,9, 18.

Vasu (Vasava) S . 5 (no te 9 .

Ve das (g en era l ly) : 2,95, 1 08, 1 10 .

Ve dan tad e s ika s e e Bhag avadg i ta-b ha

s ya Vyakhyfi, Paficari traraksi , R a

hasyaraks fi.

Ve nkate s‘vara, S . V., J. R . A . S

1 916 ad d e ndum to p. 8.

Vihag en dra S . 10,14,18,23,42,50,52

(tw ice ) , 54 (tw ice ) ,55 .

Vij fianabh iksu : 1 22 .

V isnu Parana : 52 .

V isnu S . (I I I ) : 10 , 12 .

Visnu Tan tra 5 fi l ., 2 1 .

Visnutattva S . 1 0, 22 .

Visnut i l aka : 10, 52 (a l s o 11 . 53

(twice ) , 55, 77,78,80,83,86,89,92,Visvaks ena S . 10,27,36,38 (thrice ) ,3 9(tw ice ) , 40, 46, 47, 48 (tw ice ) , 49

(tw ice ) , 52 (n . 1 , 53, 5 7, 59,61,79

81,82 -84,97 (twice ) , 1 16 .

Vi s‘v fwatfira S . 10 (remark) .Vis’ve s’vara S . : 10 (remark ) .

YA DA VA PR A K A S’A 93 .

Yajurveda, W h i te : s ee VaJasaney i S .

Yfij fiaval kiya K i nda : 74.

Y fimnn ficfirya 1 6 fi l .,3 2 .

Yatin d ramata Dipiki by S’rin iv zi sad z't sa27, 41 (thrice ) , 42, 49-5 1, 54, 56

(thrice ) , 54 (four time s ) , 66, 72,

90,93, 1 1 2,adde nda. to pp . 27 and 58.

Yatind ramata d ipika Vy i khya by A hhyamkara Vi sude vas

‘fis trin 54 (n .

Yog anan dabhat ta : 20 .

Yog a Sutras 1 1 1 .

Yog av i s istha : 1 22 .

Yog in i Tan tras (tw o) . 1 3 .

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IV . INDEX OF SA NSKRIT TERMS

In so far as not contained in Index I .

a kimcitkurata 1 1 5 . d h e n u 62, 78.

aksara z g u na- s fimya : 3 3 . nama-r fipa

: 1 2 5, 1 29 .

ajfiatva : 1 1 5 . n amas,n am ana . 142 .

anutva : 1 1 5 . nara 60 .

ad h idaivata 4 1 . nara 86 .

adh is tatr 40 . n itya-v ibhuti 50 .

adh en u (z avyakta) 10 3 . n ityod ita 5 3

an u ttara (z a -kara) z 1 18. naim itt ika -pral aya 28.

an tar-anda - s th i ta 81,36. nyasa (t akt i) : 1 28 .

ann a (obj e c tive un iverse ) 1 44 pafica-karman 1 12 .

aprak rta 32,47,5 1 . pafica

-kal a : 1 1 2 .

abh ig aman a 24, 5 1, 1 1 2 . para (cosm ic period ) 28.

abh icfira : 1 10 n . 1 . param a-vyoman : 49 .

artha (comp l em e n t o f s 'abda) 103 , 107, par iv z'

t ra . 128,fll .puryas taka : 1 22 .

avan tara -

pral aya 28. pauru s i ratri 29 .

ah amta : 30 . prakr ta-

pral aya 28.

ah imsa : 1 1 7 . p rak r ta-manda l a 1 10 .

i nava-de ha 1 22 . pr fma (fi ni ah at ) I l l .

fitrnagas tha-v fida : 104 p rfit ipad ika- s tha 143 .

abhasa : 34 . p rat is th fi-vid h i 23

, 26

icch fiz ais‘varya 33 . 11 11

at isamcara : 103 .

idamta: 1 02 . p rapafic ita .5 3 .

iyat ta : 1 07 . bah ir-anda-j a z 36 .

unme sa : 29 . brahma -bh i r a : 1 03 .

i11‘dh va-pundra . 41 . brahmayu s 28

rtu -cakra : b h ag avat tfi : 1 13 .

e kan t ika -m arg a 39 . bhati (two mean in g s ) : 3 2 n . 1 .

kal al i-bhuta ' 63 b l 1 11 n1 i (t fi ti S’akt i) 143 .

kar tr (z ah amkara ) : l l l . bh og a- v ib h at i : 50 .

karsana : 1 28. b hoktr-kfltas tha : 60kal a (s pafica

-kal a) ~ 1 12 . mandal e s'vara . 1 1 8.

kal amaya vapu s 62 . man tra - tanu : 52 ; 58 (ad d en d um) .kaya : 1 04 . m an troddhara : 46,kimcij jfiatva . 1 1 5 . mal a-traya : 1 1 5 (ob s . n .

ki 1‘

1citkarat f1 1 1 5 . m ah 51.-pra l aya 28.

kaiukarya 58. m aha-p ras than a 1 17 .

kr iy {1-k z

'

1raka - s am sarg a- l ab h y a 143 . mah ab h i soka 1 30 ,

g una-

parvan i 1 1 1 . m ah as : 5 2 .

g unamaya vap us 62 . m z

'

m ava -s arg a 37 .

g unonme sa - das ’fi : 3 1 . marg a : 1 1 2 .

g h afaka-s

'rutayah 1 25 . m i s 'ra -varg a 40 ,82

cakra,cakrin 132 . m is 'ra -s rs t i : 38.

tan tra : 2,24

,146 . mflrtyan tara : 4 1 .

t il akfil aka : 37 . yaug ika : 24 .

t irodhana-parampara: 1 1 5 . raksa: 1 2 2 .

tray i (Ved ic sc ien ce ) 97, 1 10 . ratra 24 fl ] .

(z v idyaz prak rt i ): 98. l ayan t ima 29.

trasare nu : 5 7 . l i l a-vibh fiti : 50 .

(l iksi : 1 1 2 . varna-cakra A ppen d ix I I, n . 1 .

d is‘ 64. Vidya(z Mayfi S’akti, 62 n .

dharma,dh arm in : 30, 102 . 41 .

V . NUMERICA L INDEX

Exclusive

Two -arm e d Vasudeva 52, 1 19 n 1 3 1 .

con dition s of Laksm i 29, 142 .

con d it i on s of Prak rt i (B h fit i or

Maya S'akt i ) 78 n . 4, 79 n . 1 , 103,

70 .

con s tituen ts of OM in th e g ros ss en s e 1 41 .

c l as se s of A s tras ~ 1 26.

d ivin e w eapon s (s’a st r a,a s t r a) 1 08.

re l ease d s oul s (m u k t a,k e v a l a ) ° 59 .

s ou l s in H ig h e s t H e aven(ever-fre e an d re l eas e d)56.

g roups of

m ixe d) . 82fll .Kandas (th eore t ical ,practica l ) 23 .

k in ds of bod i e s (g e n erate d, n on

n atura l ) 58.

creation (pure , im pure )59.

(prim ary,secondary) 79 ,(d iff )1 09 n . 1 .

(co l l ect ive , i h

d ividual ) . 82 .

Karma Yog a, e ach two

$7

m en (pure an d

fol d . 1 1 1 .

m atter (pure , m ixe d )5 1 .

re l ig ious know l e dg e(dire ct, in direct ) 1 1 3 .

WO I‘Sh l p (imm ed iat e ,

med iate ) 1 1 3 ,A pp e 11d 1 x H .

m ean s of com batin g s in 1 08.

m e th od s of re l igmus prog re s s 97 .

S’akt is or prin cipa l man ife s tat ion sof Laksm i 29 fl ] .

S'aktis (con sorts ) of th e Lord : 53fll .s teps to L iberat ion . 1 13 .

U pang as (Mimam sa an d Nyaya)A h irb . S . X I I , 1 2 .

Vyfihas (Vas udeva,B al ad eva) 1 7n . 1 , 144.

Yog a sys tem s : 1 1 1 .

TH REE aspec ts of th e cosmic A h amkara75 .

M ah at 70 ;(d i ff ) . 7 1

n . 3 ,

of unities

Thre e “ b irth sH

3 )

FOU R -ARMED Vasudevan

1 1 7 .

bod ie s (g ros s , e tc 1 22 .

Brahman s 81 .

(Or four ) ch ief principl e s of

p re-c las s 1cal s aq1khya : 68 fi l .,98.

ch ie f prin cipl e s of th e Pafica

ratra . 89 .

c l as s e s of Puranas : 86.

unre l eas e d sou l s : 54 n .7 .

con s ti tuen ts of MayaS'akti (threefo l d MayaKos’a)36,63 ,64.

OM in th e h ig h

e s t”s en s e 14 1 fi l .

Gunas 67,3 2, e tc .

k in ds of t im e (g ros s , e tc .) 66.

man ife s tat ion s of A n iru d dh a

(Tr im fir t i) . 67 .

Moth ers of th e W orl d : 64.

pairs of dw in e A ttribu te s : 3 2,34 il l .

P rakrt i s (Maya,Pras fit i,P rakrti)Lak sm i Tan tra VI I, 1 6.

pr 1n cipa l Samh i tas : 20 .

re l ig ious m ean s (sadhan a) : 128.

S’ak tis of the Devi : 54.

S‘akti s or w ive s of th e

33fll .S’ak ti s th re e fo l d l echa S'akti5 5 .

S’ivas : 81 .

s tan dpo in ts of M an tra e xeg e s i s141 .

Tain ts or Fe tte rs 88fll 1 1 5 .

Tain ts 1 15 .

Ve das . 1 1 0 .

q has 3 5 fl ] .

Lord

5 2, 1 1 9 n .,1 32 .

ch 1e f prin cip l e s of p re-c l as s ical

Samkhya : 142 .

c l as s e s of Naras (s l e e p ing s ou l s )86.

con s t i tue n ts of 0M in th e

subt l e s en s e 1 42, 1 4 1 .

d i scu s e s , con che s , c l ubs , e tc. : 41 .

-fo l d B 1“:1 hm an 1 1 9 .

Kandas of th e Paficaratra, 23 .

Man us : 61 .

obj ects of l ife 1 13fll ., 1 16.

Padas of God : 1 44fll .th e Paficaratra . 22 .

Vy fi has , supram un dan e 35 £11.

in tramun dane 81 ,

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VI . INDEX OF IMA GE S (SIMILES )

I l l ustrating religious or philosophical id

C l ay an d pots 69 .

C l oud (cirrus ) : 29,78, 103 .

C l oud an d rain 78.

C l oud an d w in d : 3 1 .

Cow z cl oud 10 3

Cow an d m i l k . 78.

Empt in e s s 29 ; Cf. 86 .

F ire and combu s t i bl e 10 3 Cf . 1 17 .

F lam e proce e din g fromflam e 3 5 .

Ga te s an d town 93 .

Go l d 1 11 fi re 92 .

L i g h tn in gM i l k an d curds : 69 .

M i rrors an d re fl e c t ion s : 93 .

Ocean an d rivers 93 .

Pin an d l eave s : 30, 105 .

P e t an d water : 93 .

R ice ,g rain s of 58.

R iver an d ban k 65.

R obbers an d trave l l er 1 16 .

Servan ts an d mas ter 7 3 .

Spider an d w e b 1 24.

Sun an d s un -sh in e . 34 .

S un -beam s an d s un : 93 .

Thread an d pearl s .30 , 105 .

Tortoi s e 77 .

U d umbara tre e swarmin g w i th be e s : 60 .

W al l an d c l ay,e tc .: 79 .

W idow , th e l on e ly : 59 .

W i nd l e s s a tmosph e re 29 .

A DDITIONS

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1 76

p . 24 l . .5 : for v a i s’e s i k a read v a i s a y i k a , and add a footn ote :

“ Th is is s tran g e an d sug g es t s th e idea that an

orig in al“v a i s’e s i k a

”has been m isunders tood by th e

author ; cf , th e s ixth top ic of th e Sattvata sys tem be l ow,

p .

27, note 1 , add before l as t s en ten ce : Yat ind ramata D ipika, a l aterw ork of un ce rtain date, con tain s m uch modern materialun kn ow n to th e Paficaratra .

32, l . 6 from bottom : for “teach er read teach er’s teach er

p . 32fl1. : I s it a me re co in ciden ce that inZoroas trian ism al so God has

s i x at tribute s ? I t is t rue th at th e two s et s h ave apparen t l yn ot much in comm on , s t il l : m ig h t n ot th e m onoth e ism of th e

Paficaratr in s , w h ich eviden t l y orig in ated in th e n orth -w est of

In d ia, h ave made s om e e x tern al borrow in g s from th e g reatre l ig ion of Iran A s im il ar que s t ion s e em s to aris e w ith

reg ard to th e s un -beam s”

an d m oon -beam s”, in to wh ich

th e vow e l s are d iv ided (p , an d th e sun - l e tters and

moon - l et ters of A rabic g rammar, bu t here we fin d it h ardto be l ie ve in any borrow in g e xcept from s ome comm on sou rce .

41 , m idd l e , in s e rt t h e fo l l ow in g parag raphA n attempt at com bin in g th e s e veral act ivit ie s of th e Vyuh as

has be en m ade by th e author of Tattvat raya (ed . pp . 1 25 il l . )in th e fo l l ow in g aph orism s (wh ich con tain , indeed , al l thatth e book h as to s av on th e Vy fi l i as ) :

Of th em (th e Vyuh as ) S ,a m k a r s a 11 a , con n ected w ith

[th e A t tribu te s cal l ed ] j fid na an d bci l a, h av in g becom e the

s uperin ten den t of th e prin cip l e [cal l ed ] sou l (j l z a ) , severe itfrom P rakrt i, an d t h en , h av in g as sumed th e s tate of

P radyumn a, e ff ect s th e appear in g [an d prog res s ] of th e

S'

as tra an d [fin al l y ] th e w ithdrawal of th e w orl d .

P r a d y u m 1 1 a con n ected w ith a z’

s’va rya and e l f-ya, h avin g

becom e th e s upe rin tenden t of th e prin cip l e [cal l ed ] m in d(mane s ) , carr ie s out th e teach ing of re l ig ion an d th e creat ionof th e Pure Group con s is t in g of th e four Man a s , e tc .

A n i r u d d 11 a , conn ected w i th S'akti and tej as, perform s

th e prot ect ion [of t h is w orl d ] , th e con fe rring of th e knowl edg e of truth , th e creat ion of t ime an d th e m ix ed creat ion .

”

42, l . 10 : A fter “ Upendra ”in s e rt : “ from P radyumna another

P radyumn a,Nrs imh a, an d H ari ;56, l . 1 7 for Canda, P racan d a read Cauda, P racanda58, 11. They can as s ume

”to

“ body A s a mat te r of fact,th e sou l in H eaven s eem s n e ve r to b e imag in ed w ithout a

body, it be in g bod il es s , and n ece s s ar il y s o, on l y in its Naracond it ion (p . t hat is dur ing th e Great Nig h t, w h ene ven n on - 11atu ral mat ter is n on - e x is ten t We

m ay, th e re fore, ask i n th is con n ect ion w h eth e r th e a t o m i 0

b o d y m en t ion ed in ch apter 20 (see p . 1 22 ) is not e ith era n on -n atural body pos s e s s ed al ready, un kn ow in g ly, by th esou l , or e l s e a th ird natural body, th e on l y on e remain ing

1 77

to th e s ou l for it s pas s ag e from th e Sun to H eaven . For ,accord in g to th e v iew of K au s i tak i Upan isad wh ich h as

be en adop ted by th e V is 'istad vait in s an d w as apparen t l yal s o kn ow n to th e Pafi caratr in s , th e l ibe rat ed s ou l has

s t i l l man y s tat ion s to pas s on it s fu rth e r jou rn ey from th e

Su n to th e rive r V ir aja (V ijara) w h ich i s th e boun darybe twee n th is and th e oth er w or l d, an d it can n ot d o s o,

e viden t l y, in a bod il es s con d it ion , for w h ich reas on Y at . D ip .

teach e s (ed . p . 7 7 ) that n ot be fore cros s in g th e V iraja doe sth e s ou l e xch an g e i ts s ubt l e (s econ d phys ica l ) body for a n on

n atu ral on e, w h ereas Tr ipad v ibh i‘

i t im ahanaray ana Upan isad(ch apters V and VI ) , on the as sumpt ion th at th e V iraj a isn ot th e s aid boundary bu t s t il l w ith in th e Eg g , de cl are sth at th e s ou l th roug h bath ing in V iraja e x ch an g e s its

s ubt l e body for a“m ag ica l body

”

(keva l a ni an tmm aya

d ivya tej omaya m’

rat is'ayd naml amag/ a-mahd vis p n s d r tip yam

'

graha

s'ar im , l ate r s imp l y cal l ed m an tramaya S

’ar im ) , an d l on g

afterw ard s , in a p l ace far ou t s ide th e Eg g , n am e l y t h e

B rahm av idya r iver, cast s off th e m ag ical body in orde r toas sum e it s fin al g arm en t,t he imm orta l D iv in e body con s is t in gof th e bl is s of [Brahma] kn ow l edg e or : of kn ow l edg ean d bl is s ; v idyd n an damaya am rtad i vya

p . 60, l . 9, from bot tom for R s is re ad R s is

68, l . 6 for va is’amya read va i sa inya .

80, l . 1 1 fe r “ H rs ike s’a reat H rS ike s'a

82, l . 1 8 for g roup read Group83, l . 2 from bottom : for C itras’ikh and in s read C itras ’i

khandin s

p . 92, l . 4 from bottom : for 58, 59 read 52,53

97, l . 5 for n e ve r read n ot, as a ru l e ,1 10, l l . 1 7 an d 18 s h ou l d read : s e ven teen (or twen ty -on e s ci

en ces , from th e s i x Vedang as down to pol i t ics (n i ti ) an d t h es cien ce of profes s ion s (vd r ttri ) , reg arded as s u bs id iary to th eVedas

1 1 2, n ote 4, ad d : I t is c l ear th at s emi/ ama. an d ci nh } are th e

s am e as s a ppy/ ama. an d s awu idh z’

m en t ion ed in n ote 3, p . 1 1 1 .

1 21 , l . 9 from bot tom for Vedanta read Vedan ta145, l . 9 for P afi caratra read Pancaratra

SUPPLEMENTA RY LI ST OF ERRA TA

the edi tion of A hirbudhnya Samhi td .

for Swami

m read emconj . firs ts 131—mm

del e (3127 mmfiw r’

fir) and enter between

lines 8 and 9 (emm ai mfil ) .

for mamas read summers .

wh

eel ies : read ea: conj . 118mm

63

15 171113 31 read at conj . gemxfifif .

WWW-no read conj .

between l ines 8 and 9 insert : (swam) .

for read

{W fi f rfi read Hgfii ifléfiw .

aamms ifitrfi afi amm read smart s

561 31130 read w arm.

°a=ai zfifiis vi i read oar-aim .

to 20 n ot belonging to the text of

Samhita should be in smal l type .

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Prin te d by B e san t at th e Vasan ta Pre s s , A dyar, Madras .

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