Mahanirvana Tantra (Tantra of the Great Liberation)

A TRANSLATION FROM THE SANSKRIT, WITH INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY [Opposite the British Museum) viii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION acquired property. § 97 : Self-acquisition with help of paternal property. § 98 : Acquisition of lost ancestral property. §§ 99-101 : Paternal and self-acquired property. § 102 : Lifting hand against parents. § 103 : Murderer does not inherit. §104: Eunuchs and cripples. §§ 105, 106: Finding of lost property. §§ 107-112 : Pre-emption. §§ 1131 1 4 ; Reclaimed lands. §115: Excavation and building to danger of public. §§ 116, 117 : Water rights. §§ 118-121 : Mortgage: sale: deposit. § 122 : Uses of joint property. § 123: Sale. § 124 : Brahma marriage. § 125 : Adoption of only son or Shaiva marriage of only wife or daughter. §§126, 127 : Agency. § 128 : All dealing to be in accordance with Dharmma. § 129 : Men should always act for the good of the world - 281-294

they are necessary. §§ 23-28 : On the dedication of Temples, bridges, trees, gardens, and waters. §§ 29-35 : Dedication of images and vahana. §§ 36-38 : On gift of flags and flagstaffs. §§ 39, 40 : Other gifts to Devata. § 41 : The reward for such : liberation is only for those who act without hope of reward. §§42-125: Ritual of dedication. §§126-135: Mantras for consecration. §136: Worship of Vahana. §137: What Devatas should be worshipped. §§ 138-310 : Order of the rites and their mantras : Pratishtha of the illustrious Adya - 295-333 THE CONSECRATION OF SHIVA LINGA AND DESCRIPTION OF THE FOUR CLASSES OF AVADHtJTAS §§ 1-25 : On the worship of Shiva Linga. §§ 26-29 : Adhivasa rite of Devata. §§ 30, 31 : Bathing of Devata. §§ 32-38 : Nyasa. and Dhyana. § 39 : Prana Pratishtha. §§40, 41 : Mula mantra of Mahesha. §§ 42, 43 : Consecration and worship of Devi in Gauripatta. §§ 44, 45 : Dhyana of the Great Devi ; worship of Bull and ten Dikpalas. §§ 46, 47 : Mantra of Bhagavati. §§48-52: Ritual: completion of Adhivasa. §§ S3“55 - Worship of other Devatas. §§ 56-94 : Worship of Linga and Tarini. §§ 95-102 : Omissions and faults in

worship. §§ 103-106 : Necessity of Sadhana for those who act with a view to the fruits of action. § 107 : Good and evil action. §108: Result of good action. §§109, no: No liberation until all action, good or bad, is destroyed. §§ 1 1 1121 : Knowledge alone secures liberation. § 122 : Description of different bhavas. § 123 : Definition of yoga and puja.

§§ 1 41 1 72 : Four classes of avadhutas. §§ 173-178 : Worship of Kaulika Yogi. §§ 179-180 : Kaula-dharmma. §§ 181-193 : Kulachara and the Kaulas. § 194 *• End of first portion of Maha-nirvana Tantra. §§ 195-199 : Fruit of reading this Tantra. §§ 200-21 1 : Glorification of this Tantra - 334-359 The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kali3Taga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox " Hinduism.” The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakmda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says : “For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one ! is given ” (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sddhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression. Yet of aU the forms of Hindu Shastra, the Tantra is that which is least known and understood, a circumstance in part due to the difficulties of its subject-matter and to the fact that the key to much of its terminology and method rest with the initiate. The present translation is, in fact, the first published in Europe of any Indian Tantra. An inaccurate version rendered in imperfect English was published in Calcutta by a Bengali editor some twelve years ago, preceded by an Introduction which displayed insufficient knowledge in respect of what it somewhat quaintly described as “ the mystical and uperficiaUy technical passages ” of this Tantra. A desire o attempt to do it greater justice has in part prompted Its selection as the first for publication. This Tantra is, further, one which is well known and esteemed, though

xii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION perhaps more highly so amongst that portion of the Indian public which favours reformed Hinduism than amongst some Tantrikas, to whom, as I have been told, certain of its provisions appear to display unnecessary timidity. The former admire it on account of its noble exposition of the worship of the Supreme Brahman, and in the belief that certain of its passages absolutely discountenance the orthodox ritual. Nothing can be more mistaken than such belief, even though it be the fact that 'Vfor him who has faith in the root, of what use are the branches and leaves.” This anyone will discover who reads the text. It is true that, as Chap. VIL, verse 94, says : In the purified heart knowledge of Brahman grows,” and Brahmajndne samutpanne kritydkrityang na vidyate. But the statement assumes the attainment of Bmhmajndna, and this, the Shastra says, can be attained, not by Vedantic discussions nor mere prayer, after the manner of Protestant systems of Christian worship, but by the Sddhana which is its main subject-matter. I have referred to Protestant systems, for the Catholic Church possesses an elaborate ritual and a sddhana of its own which is in many points strikingly analogous to the Hindu system. The section of Tan¬ trikas to whom I have referred are, I believe, also in error. For the design of this Tantra appears to be, whilst conserving commonly-recognized Tantrik prin¬ ciples, to secure that, as has sometimes proved to be the case, they are not abused.

Parvvati says (Chap. 1., verse 67) : I fear, O Lord ! that even that which Thou hast ordained for the good of men will, through them, turn out for evil.” Hitaya ydne, karmdni kathitdni tvayd prabho Manyetdni mahddeva vipavitdni ■mdnave. It is significant, in connection with these observations, to note that this particular Tantra was chosen as the subject of commentary by Shrinrad Hariharananda Bharati, the Guru of the celebrated Hindu '' reformer,” Raja Ram Mohun Roy.

The Tantra has been assigned to the group of sixty-four known as those of the Rathakranta. It was first pub¬ lished by the Adi-Brahma-Samaja in 1798 Shakabda (a.d. 1876), and was printed in Bengali characters, with the notes of the Kulavadhuta Shrimad Hariharananda Bharati under the editorship of Anandachandra Vidyavagisha. The preface to this edition stated that three MSS. were consulted ; one belonging to the library of the Samaja ; the second supplied by Durgadasa Chandhurl, and the third taken from the library of Raja Ram Mohun Roy. This text appears to be the basis of subsequent publications. It was again printed in 1888 by Shri Krishna Gopala Bhakta, since when there have been several editions with Bengali translations, including that of Shri Prasanna Kumara Shastri. The late Pandit Jivananda Vidyasagara published an edition in Devanagari character, with the notes of Hariharananda ; and the Venkateshvara Press at Bombay have issued another in similar character with a Hind! translation. The translation published is that of the first part only. It is commonly thought (and was so stated by the author of the Calcutta edition in English to which I have referred) that the second portion is lost. This is, however, not so, though copies of the complete Tantra are rare enough. The full text exists in manuscript, and I hope at a later date to have an opportunity of publishing a translation of it. I came across a complete manuscript some two years ago in the possession of a Nepalese Pandit.

He would, however, only permit me to make a copy of his manuscript on the condition that the Shatkarmma Mantras were not published. For, as he said, virtue not being a condition precedent for the acquisition of siddM in such Mantras, their publication might enable the evilly disposed to work harm against others, a crime which, he added, was, in his own country, where the Tantra was current, punishable by the civil power. I was unable to persuade him even with the observation

xiv TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION that the mere publication of the Mantra without know¬ ledge of what is called the frayoga (which cannot be learned of books) would in any case be ineffectual. I could not give an undertaking which would have involved the publication of a mutilated text, and the reader must therefore for the present be content with a translation of the first part of the Tantra, which is generally known, and has, as stated, been several times printed. The incident has further value than the direct purpose for which I have told it. There are some to whom the Tantra, though they may not have read a line of it, is “ nothing but black magic,” and all its followers are “ black magi¬ cians.” This is of course absurd. In this connection I cannot avoid interposing the observation that certain practices are described in Tantra which, though they are alleged to have the results described therein, yet exist “ for delusion.” The true attitude of the higher Tantrika is illustrated by the action of the Pandit who, if he disappointed my expectations, at any rate by his refusal afforded an answer to these too general allega¬ tions.

The second portion of the manuscript in his possession contained over double the number of Shlokas to be found in the first part here published. The edition which has been used for the translation is that (now out of print) edited and published at Calcutta by Shri Krishna Gopala Bhakta in Chaitra 1295 Bengali era (April, 1888), with Commentary of Shrimad Hariharananda Bharati, and with additional notes by the learned and lately deceased Pandit Jagan'mohanaTarkalangkara, called Vriddha in order to distinguish him from another celebrated Pandit of the same name. A new edition of C e ame work is now, in course of publication, with further notes by the latter’s son. Pandit Jnanendranatha Tantraratna. This valuable Commentary is not, however, altogether suitable for the general reader, for it assumes a certain amount of knowledge on his part which he does not possess. I have accordingly, whilst availing myself of its aid, written my own commentarj', and added an Introduction explaining certain matters and terms referred to or presupposed by the text which, as they require a somewhat more extended treatment, could not be conveniently dealt with in the footnotes. Some of the matters there explained are, though common and fundamental, seldom accurately defined. Nothing, there¬ fore, is lost by a re-statement of them with an intention to serve such accuracy. Other matters are of a special character, and are either not generally known or are mis¬ understood. The Introduction, however, does not pro¬ fess to be an exhaustive treatment of that with which it deals.

On the contraiy^ it is but an extended note written to help some way towards a better understanding of the text by the ordinary reader. For a fuller ex¬ position of general principles and practice the interested are referred to three works which I have in preparation, ‘‘Principles of Tantra {Tantratattva) , “Exposition of the Secret Worship “ {Rahasyapujdfaddhaii), and “De¬ scription of the Six Centres” (Shatchakranirilpana). There are, however, some matters in the Shdstra or its accompanying oral tradition which he must, and if dis¬ posed thereto will, find out for himself. This, too, is implied by the saying in this Tantra that it is by merit acquired in previous births that the mind inclines to Kaula doctrine (Chapter VII., verse gg). However this may be, no one will understand the Shdstra who starts his inquiry with a mind burdened with the current prejudices against it, whatever be the colour of truth some of them may possess by reason of actual abuse of Shastric pnnciples.

In conclusion, I wish to thank my Indian friends for the aid they have given me in the preparation of this and other kindred works, and to whom I am in¬ debted for much information gathered during many xvi TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION pleasant hours which we have spent together in the study of a subject of common interest to them and myself. The Tantras generally are written in com¬ paratively simple Sanskrit. For their rendering, however, a working knowledge of their terminology and ritual is required, which can be only fully found in those to whom it is familiar through race, upbringing, and environment, and in whom there is still some regard for their ancient inheritance. As for others, they must learn to see through the Indian eye of knowledge until their own have been trained to its lines of vision. In this way we shall be in the future spared some of the ridiculous presentments of Indian beliefs common in the past and even now too current. The scene of the revelation of this Tantra is laid in Himalaya, the “Abode of Snow,” a holy land weighted with the traditions of the Aryan race. Here in these lofty uplands, encircled with everlasting snows, rose the great mountain of the north, the Sapta Kula Parvata. Hence the race itself came, and there its early legends have their setting. There are still shown at Bhimudiyar the caves where the sons of Pandu and Draupadi rested, as did Rama and his faithful wife at the point where the Kosi joins the Sita in the grove of Asoka trees.

In these mountains Munis and Rishis lived. Here also is the Kshetra of Shiva Mahadeva, where His Spouse Parvvat'i, the daughter of the Mountain King, was born, and where Mother Ganges also has her source. From time ifnmemorial pilgrims have toiled through these mountains to visit the three great shrines of Gangotri,^ Kedarnath,^ and Badrinath.® At Kangri, further north, the pilgrims make the parikrama of Mount Kailasa (Kang Rinpoche), where Shiva is said to dwell. This nobly towering peak

^ Source of the Ganges. of the Shaiva ascetics called Jangama. The Devata is also worshipped at four other places along the Himalayan chain — Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhmaheshwar, and Kalpeshwar. These and the first-named form the “ Panchkedar.*' Deva Vishnu, who from Kurmmachala is said to have descended in his Kurmma form. As to Badarika see Mahabharata c. 92 Aranyaparvan. xviii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION rises to the north-west of the sacred Mansarowar Lake (Mapham Yum-tso) from amidst the purple ranges of the lower Kangri Mountains. The paradise of Shiva is a summerland of both lasting sunshine and cool shade, musical with the song of birds and bright with undying flowers. The air, scented with the sweet fragrance of Mandara chaplets, resounds with the music and song of celestial singers and players. The Mount is Gana Parvata, thronged with trains of Spirits {devayoni). of whichThe opening Chapter speaks. And in the regions beyond rises Mount Meru, centre of the world-lotus. Its heights, peopled with spirits, are hung with clusters of stars as with wreaths of Malati flowers. In short, it is written '} '' He who thinks of HimachaJa, though he should not behold him, is greater than he who performs all worship in Kashi (Benares). In a hundred ages of the Devas I could not tell thee of the glories of Himachala. As the dew is dried up by the morning sun, so are the sins of mankind by the sight of Himachala.”

It is not, however, necessary to go to the Himalayan Kailasa to find Shiva. He dwells wheresoever his wor¬ shippers, versed in Kulatattva, abide,^ and His mystic mount is to be sought in the thousand-petalled lotus^ [sahasmra-padma) in the body of every human jlva, hence called Shivasthana, to which all, wheresoever situate, may repair when they have learned how to achieve the way thither. Shiva promulgates His teaching in the world below in the works known as Yamala, Damara, Shiva Sutra, ^ and in the Tantras which exist in the form of Dialogues between the Devata and his Shakti, the Devi in Her form as Parvvati. According to the Gayatri Tantra,® the 1 Skanda Parana. ^ Knlarnava Tantra (ckap.ix.). Lalitasahasranama, verse 17. Giiroh sthdnam hi Kaildsam as the Yogini Tantra (chap, i.) says. ^ Of which the Shiva Sutra Vimarshini is a Commentary. Deva Ganesha first preached the Tantra to the Devayoni on Mount Kailasa, after he had himself received them from the mouth of Shiva. After a description of the mountain, the Dialogtie opens with a question from Parwatf in answer to which and those which succeed it, Shiva unfolds His doctrine on the subjects with which this particular Tantra deals.

That eternal immutable existence which transcends the turiya and all other states is the unconditioned Absolute, the supreme Brahman or Para-brahman, without Praknti {nishUala) or Her attributes {nir-guna), which, as being the inner self and knowing subject, can never be the object of cognition, and is to be apprehended only through yoga by the realization of the Self {dtmajnma), which It is. For as it is said, “ Spirit can alone know Spirit.” Being beyond mind, speech, and without name, the Brahman was called "Tat,” “That,” and then "Tat Sat,” “That which is.” For the sun, moon, and stars, and all visible things, what are they but a glimpse of light caught from “ That ” {Tat) ? Brahman is both nishkalu. and sakala. Kald is Praknti. The nisYikala Brahman or Para-brahman is the Tat, when thought of as without Bxs^riti {'prakiiter any a). It is called sakala when with Praknti.® As the substance of Praknti is the three gunas It is then sa-guna, as in the previous state It was nir-guna. Though in the latter state It is thought of as without Shakti, yet (making accom¬ modation to human speech) in It potentially exists Shakti, Its power and the whole universe produced by It. To say, however, that the Shakti exists in the Brahman is but a form of speech, since It and Shakti are, in fact, one,

^ As_tlie Devi is here the sishya, this Tantra is in the form called Aganxa. Saradatilakam (chap, i.), and chap. i. of Shaktanandatarangini ( Waves of Bliss for Shaktas ”), both Tantrika works of great authority. and Shakti is eternal {AndM-rupa) } She is Brahma-rupd and both vi-gund (nir-gund) and sa-gund; the Chaitanyafupim-Dem, who manifests all bhuta. She is the Anandarupixil-Devl, by whom the Brahman manifests Itself,^ and who, to use the words of the Sarada, pervades the universe as does oil the sesamum seed. In the beginning the Nislikala Brahman alone existed. In the beginning there was the One. It willed and became many. Aham bahu sydm — "'may I be many/' In such manifestation of Shakti the Brahman is known as the lower (apara) or manifested Brahman, who, as the subject of worship, is meditated upon with attributes. And, in fact, to the mind and sense of the embodied spirit (jlva) the Brahman has body and form. It is embodied in the forms of all Devas and Devis, and in the worshipper himself. Its form is that of the universe, and of all things and beings therein. As Shruti says : " He saw " (Sa aikshata, aham bahu sydm prajdyeyd). "He thought to Himself may I be many." '' Sa aiksYiata'' was itself a manifestation of Shakti, the Paramdpurva-nirvdna shakti, or Brahman as Shakti.^ From the Brahman, with Shakti {Parashakti-maya) issued Nada (Shiva-Shakti as the " Word " or "Sound"), and from Nada, Vindu appeared. Kalicharana^ in his commentary on the Shatchakra-nirupana says that Shiva and Nirvana Shakti bound by a mayik bond and covering, should be thought of as existing in the form of Parang Vindu.

The Sarada^ says : Sachchiddnanda vibhavdt sakaldt parameshvardt dslchchhaktistato nddo, ndddd vindusamudbhavah (" From Parameshvara vested with the wealth of sachchidananda and with Praknti (sakala) ^ Pranamya prakxiting nityang paramdtmasvarupinim (Joe. cit, Shdktdnandataranginl) . ^ Kubjika Tantra, ist PaJala. 2 S^aJ-ebakranirupawa. Commentary on verse 49. ^ Ibid., verse 37. s Saradatilaka (chap. i.). issued Shakti ; from Shakti came Nada and from Nada was bom Vindu”). The state of subtle body which is known as Kama-kala is the miila of mantra. The term mula-mantrdtmikd, when applied to the Devi, refers to this subtle body of Hers known as the Kama-kala.^ The Tantra also speaks of three Vindus, namely Shiva-, maya, Shakti-maya, and Shiva-shakti-maya The Parang-vindu is represented as a circle, the centre of which is the brahma-pada, or place of Brahman, wherein are Praknti-Purus/za, the circumference of which is encircling mdyd.^ It is on the crescent of nirvdna-kald, the seventeenth, which is again in that of amd-kald, the sixteenth digit (referred to in the text) of the moon-circle (Chandramandala), which circle is situate above the SunCircle {Suryyamaxydala) , the Guru and the hangsah, which are in the pericarp of the thousand-pet ailed lotus (sahasrdrapadma). Next to the Vindu is the fiery Bodhini, or Nibodhika (v. post). The Vindu, with the NirvaMa-kala, Nibodhika, and Ama-kala, are situated in the lightning-like inverted triangle^ known as “ A, Ka, Tha,” and which is so called because at its apex is A ; at its right base is Ka ; and at its left base Tha. It is made up of forty-eight letters [mdtnkd) : the sixteen vowels running from A to Ka; sixteen consonants of the kavarga and other groups running from A to Ka ; and the remaining sixteen from Ka to Tha. Inside are the remaining letters (mdtnkd), ha, la (second), and feha.® As the substance of Devi is mdtnka (mdtnkd-mdyl) the triangle represents the “ Word ” of all that exists. The

2 Prawa-tosMwi ( p, 8). 2 Mayahandhandchchhdditaprakxitipurush.a parang vinduh, Commen¬ tary to verse 49 of the SAat-chakra-nirupa?^a. ^ The Devi Purawa says that Kuw^?alini is so called because She has the shringataka or triangle form, the three angles being the ichckhd, jndna, 2iiid kriyd shaktis (see also Yoginihndaya). xxii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION triangle is itself encircled by the Chandramandala. The' Vindn is symbolically described as being like a grain of gram (chanaka), which under its encircling sheath contains a divided seed. This Parang-vindu is PrakntiPuru^Aa, Shiva-Shakti.^ It is known as the ShabdaBrahman (the Sound Brahman), or Aparabrahman.^ A polarization of the two Shiva and Shakti Tattvas then takes place in Parashaktimaya. The Devi becomes Unmukhl. Her face turns towards Shiva. There is an unfolding which bursts the encircling shell of Maya, and creation then takes place by division of. Shiva and Shakti or of '' Hang '' and ‘‘ Sah.''^ The Sarada says : '' The Devataparashaktimaya is again Itself divided, such divi¬ sions being known as Vindu, Vija, and NMa.*^ Vindu is of the nature of Nada or Shiva, and Vija of Shakti, and NMa has been said to be the relation of these two by those who are versed in all the Agamas.''^ The Sarada Says that before the bursting of the shell enclosing the hrahma-pada, which, together with its defining circum¬ ference, constitute the Shabda-brahman, an indistinct sound arose {avyaktdtmaravoihavat). This avyaktandda is both the first and the last state of Nada, according as it is viewed from the standpoint of evolution or invo¬ lution. For Nada, as R%hava-bhatta^ says, exists in three states. In Nada are the guna [sattva, rajas, and

^ 5Aa^-chakraiiirupawa, Commentary, verse 49. - Saxadatilaka, (chap, i.) : Bhidyamdnat pardd vindor avyavhtdtmdvavo'hhavat. From the unfolding Parangvindu arose an indistinct sound. This Vindu is called the Shabda-brahman.” 2 5/zatchakra nirupawa, verse 49. * That is, these are three different aspects of It. ® Chapter I. ; ParashaMi may ah sdksbidt tvidhdsau hhidyate punah Vindurnddo vljam iti tasya bheddh samlritah Vindundddtmako vljang shaktirnddastayoymithah Samavdyah samdkhyatdh sdrvvdgamavishdradaih. ^ See Commentary on verse 48 of the 5Aa^-chakranirupawa. tamas), which form the substance of Praknti, which with Shiva It is. When tamo-guna predominates Nada is merely an indistinct or unmanifested {dhvu'nyat- mzko'vyktanddah^) sound in the nature of dhvani. In this state, in which it is a phase of Avyaktanada, it is called Nibodhika, or Bodhini. It is NMa when rajoguna is in -the ascen¬ dant, when there is a sound in which there is something like a connected or combined disposition of the letters.^ When the sattva-gut^a preponderates Nida assumes the form of Vindu.^ The action of rajas on tamas is to veil. Its own independent action effects an arrangement which is only perfected by the emergence of the essen¬ tially manifesting sdttvika guna set into play by it. Nada, Vindu, and Nibodhika, and the Shakti, of which they are the specific manifestation, are said to be in the form of ^ Sun, Moon, and Fire respectively.^ Jndna (spiritual wisdom^) is spoken of as fire as it burns up all actions, and the tamoguna is associated with it.

For when the effect of cause and effect of action are really known, then action ceases. Ichchhd is the Moon. The Moon contains the sixteenth digit, the Ama-kala with its nectar, which neither increases nor decays, and Ichchhd, or will, is the eternal precursor of creation. Kriyd is like the Sun, for as the Sun by its light makes all things visible, so unless there is action and striving there cannot be realization or manifestation. As the Gita says : As one Sun makes manifest all the loka”

The Shabda-Brahman manifests Itself in a triad of ^ Tamogunddhikyena kevala-dhvanydtma'ko’vycikt(i->nddah. Avyakta is lit. , unspoken, hidden, unmanifest, etc. ^ Raja’ ddhikyena kinchidvarjxa-haddha-nyctsdtmakah. , ^ Tatashcha ndda-vindu-mhodikdh arkendnvahnirupah (SAa^-chakra, verse 49, note). See also the Sarada (chap, i.), which says te (that , is, Raudri, jyeishth^, and. Varna) jnanechchhdkriydimdno vahmndvarkasvarupinah. ^ Jndna is that knowledge which gives liberation. All other know¬ ledge is called vijndna. xxiv TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION energies — knowledge [jndnashakti) , will [ichchhd-shakti), and action (kriya-shakti), associated with the three gunas of Praknti, tamas, sattva, and rajas. From the ParangVindu, who is both vindDdt-maka and kaldtma — i.e., Shakti — issued Raudri, Rudra and his Shakti, whose forms are fire {vahni), and whose activity is knowledge {jndna) ; Varna, and Yishnn and his Shakti, whose form is the sun, and whose activity is kriyd (action) : and Jyeshth^ and Brahma and his Shakti, whose form is the Moon, and whose activity is desire. The Vamakeshvara Tantra says that Tri-pura is threefold, as Brahma, Yishnu, and Isha ; and as the energies desire, wisdom, and action the energy of will when Brahman would create ; the energy of wisdom when She reminds Him, saying '' Let this be thus ; and when, thus know¬ ing, He acts, She becomes the energy of action. The Devi is thus Ichchhd-shakti- jndna- shakti- kriyd- shakti-svaru-

Para-shiva exists as a septenary under the form, firstly, of Shambhu, who is the associate of time (kdla-bandku). From Him issues Sada-shiva, Who per¬ vades and manifests all things, and then come Ishana and the triad, Rudra, Yishnn, and Brahma, each with their respective Shakti (without whom they avail nothing®) separately and particularly associated with the gunas, tamas, saliva and rajas. Of these Devas, the last triad, together with Ishana and Sada-shiva, are the five Shivas who are collectively known as the Mahd-preta, whose vlja is HsauhJ' Of the Maha-preta, it is said that the last four form the support, and the fifth the seat, of the bed on which the Devi is united with Parama-shiva, ^ See P^a1;’^a-t05Aiw^ (pp. S, 9). GoraksAa Sanghita and Bhuta-sliuddhi Tantra, See also Yogini Tantra, Part I., chap. x. 2 Lalita, verse 130 (see Bhaskararaya's Commentary). 3 And so the Kubjika Tantra (chap, i.) says : Not Brahma, Vishnu, Rndra create, maintain, or destroy ; bnt Brahml, VaisAwavi, Rndram. Their husbands are but as dead bodies.** in the room of cUntamani stone, ^ on the jewellki island clad with clumps of kadamha and heavenly trees set in the ocean of Ambrosia.^ Shiva is variously addressed in this work as Shambhu, Sada-shiva, Shankara, Maheshvara, etc., names which indicate particular states, qualities, and manifestations of the One in its descent towards the many ; for there are many Rudras. Thus Sada-shiva indicates the predomi¬ nance of the sattva-guna. His names are many, i,oo8 being given in the sixty-ninth chapter of the Shiva Puraf^a, and in the seventeenth chapter of the Anushasana Parvan of the Mahabharata.^

Shakti is both mdyd, that by which the Brahman creating the universe is able to make Itself appear to be different from what It really is,^ and mula-frakriti, or the unmanifested {avyakta) state of that which, when mani¬ fest, is the universe of name and form. It is the primary so called ''material cause,'' consisting of the equipoise of the t4ad of guna or " qualities " which are sattva (that which manifests) rajas (that which diCis) Jamas (that which veils and produces inertia). The three g^n^^s represent ^ The '' stone which grants all desires " is described in the Rudrayamala and Brahmawia Purawa. It is the place of origin of all those Mantras which bestow all desired objects (chintita). 2 See Anandalahari of Shangkaracharyya, (verse 8), and Rudrayamala. According to the Bahurupa^/j^aka and Bhairavayamala, the bed is Shiva, the pillow Maheshana, the matting Sadashiva, and the four supports Brahma, Hari, Rudra, and Ishana. Hence Devi is called JPancha-preta-manchadhishayinl (verse I74)> Lalitasahasranama. 2 See also the Agni, Padma, Bhavis^yottara, Varaha, Kurmma, Vamana, Purawas, and in particular, the Linga PuraTza and the Kashikhawi^a of the Skanda Parana. ^ The Deyi Pur ana (chap, xlv.), speaking of this power of the Supreme, says : '' That which is of various cause and effect ; the giver of unthought- of fruit which in this world seems like magic or a dream : that is called mdyd :

V ichiiva -kd ryyakdrand chin titap h alap vadd Svapnendrajalavalloke mdyd tena prakwtitd. xxvi TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION Nature .as the revelation of spirit, Nature as the passage of descent from spirit to matter, or of ascent from matter to spirit, and Nature as the dense veil of spirit.^ The Devi is thus guna-nidhi^ (“treasure-house of guna'^). Mula-praknti is the womb into which Brahman casts the seed from which all things are born.^ The womb thrills to the movement of the essentially active rapguna. The equilibrium of the triad is destroyed, and the guna, now in varied combinations, evolve under the illu¬ mination of Shiva (chit), the universe which is ruled by Maheshvara and Maheshvari. The dual principles of Shiva and Shakti, which are in such dual form the product of the polarity manifested in ParashakU-maya, pervade the whole universe, and are present in man in the Svayambhu-Linga of the mulddhdra and the Devi Kun^Zalini, who, in serpent form, encircles it. The Shabda-Brahman assumes in the body of man the form of the Devi Ku^<ialini, and as such is in all pram (breathing crea¬ tures), and in the shape of letters appears in prose and verse. KunAala means coiled. Hence Kun^ahni, whose form is that of a coiled serpent, means that which is coiled. She is the luminous vital energy (jlva-shakti) which manifests as prana, She sleeps in the mulddhdra, and has three and a half coils corresponding in number with the three and a half vindus of which the Kubjika Tantra speaks. When after closing the ears the sound of Her hissing is not heard death approaches.

From the first avyakta creation issued the second mahat, with its three guna distinctly manifested. Thence sprung the third creation ahangkdra (selfhood), which is of threefold form — vaikdrika, or pure sdttvika ahangkdra ; the taijasa, or rdjasika ahangkdra ; and the tdmasika, or hhutddika ahangkdra. The latter is the origin of the ^ See post sub voc. “ Guna/' 2 Lalita-sahasra-nama, (verse 12 1). For though the are specific¬ ally three, they have endless modifications. 3 Bhfigavad-gita, (chap. xiv.). subtle essences (tan-mdtrd) of the Tattvas, ether, air, fire, water, earth, associated with sound, touch, sight, taste and smell, and with the colours — pure transparency, shyama, red, white, and yellow. There is some differ¬ ence in the schools as to that which each of the three forms produces, but from such threefold form of Ahangkdra issue the indfiya {''senses”), and the Devas Dik, Vata, Arka, Prachetas, Vahni, Indra, Upendra, Mitra, and the Ashvins. The vaikdrika, taijasa, and hhutddika are the fourth, fifth, and sixth creations, which are known as prdkiita, or appertaining to Praknti. The rest, which are products of these, such as the vegetable world with its upward life current, animals with horizontal life current, and hhuta, preta and the like, whose life current tends downward, constitute the vaikxita creation, the two being known as the kaumdra creation.

The Goddess {Dem) is the great Shakti. She is Mdyd, for of Her the mdyd which produces the sangsdra is. As Lord of mdyd She is Mahdmdyd} Devi is a-vidyd (nescience) because She binds and vidyd (knowledge) because She liberates and destroys the sangsdra.^ She is Praknti,^ and as existing before creation is the Adyd (primordial) Shakti. Devi is the vdchaka-shakti, the manifestation of chit in Praknti, and the vdchya-shakti, or Chit itself. The Atmd should be contemplated as DevL^ Shakti or Devi is thus the Brahman revealed in Its mother aspect {shrVmdta)^ as Creatrix and Nourisher of the worlds. Kali says of Herself in Yogini Tantra® : ' ' S achchiddnanda-rupdham brahmaivdham sphurat-prabham” So the Devi is described with attributes both of ^ Mahdmaya without mdyd is nir-gund, and with mdyd, Sa-gund Shaktananda-taranginel, (chap. i.). 2 Shaktananda-taranginl, (chap. i.). 3 Brahma-vaivarta Purawa (chap. i.). Prakiitikhand.a, Naradiya Purawa. 4 See chap. ii. of Devi-bhagavata . 5 Devi is worshipped on account of Her soft heart (komaldntahkaranam), Shaktananda-tarangini (chap. iii.). ® Part I., Chapter X. xxviii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION the qualified^ Brahman ; and (since that Brahman is but the manifestation of the Absolute) She is also addressed with epithets, which denote the unconditioned Brahman.^ She is the great Mother {Ambikd) sprung from the sacri¬ ficial hearth of the fire of the Grand Consciousness {chit) ; decked with the Sun and Moon ; Lalita, '' She who plays ” ; W’^hose play is world-play ; whose eyes playing hke fish in the beauteous waters of her Divine face, open and shut with the appearance and disappearance of countless worlds now illuminated by her light now wrapped in her terrible darkness.^

The Devi, as Para-brahman, is beyond all form and guna. The forms of the Mother of the Universe are threefold. There is first the Supreme {'para) form, of which, as the VisAm-yamala says/ "'none know/' There is next her subtle {suksYima) form, which consists of mantra. But as the mind cannot easily settle itself upon that which is formless,^ She appears as the subject of contemplation in Her third, or gross {sthula), or physical form, with hands and feet and the like as celebrated in the Devl-stotra of the Pura^^as and Tantras. Devi, who as Praknti is the source of Brahma, Yishnu, and Maheshvara,® has both male and female forms/ But it is in Her female forms that She is chiefly contemplated. For 2 Ibid., verse 153, and Commentator's note to Chapter II., where Devi is addressed as Supreme Light {parang-jyotih) , Supreme Abode {parangdhdma), Supreme of Supreme ipardtpard), 3 See the Lalita-sahasra-nama. ^ MdtastvaUpamma-rupam tanna jdndti kashchana (see chap. iii. of Shaktctnanda-tarangini. s Amurttauchit-sthiro na sydt tato murtting vichintayet {ibid. chap, i., as was also explained to Himavat by Devi in the Kurma Pura^^a) . ® Ibid., and as such is called Tri-pur a (see Bhaskara-raya's Com¬ mentary on Lalita, verse 125).

though existing in all things, in a peculiar sense female beings are parts of Her.^ The Great Mother, who exists in the form of all Tantras and all Yantras,^ is, as the Lalita says, the unsullied treasure-house of beauty ; the Sapphire Devi,^ whose slender waist, ^bending beneath the burden of the ripe fruit of her breasts,^ swells into jewelled hips heavy® with the promise of infinite maternities.'^ As the Mahadevi® She exists in all forms as Sarasvati, LaksAmi, Gayatri, Durga, Tripura-sundari, Anna-pur;^a, and all the Devi who are avatdra of the Brahman.^ Devi, as Sati, Uma, Parvvati, and Gauri, is spouse of Shiva. It was as Sati prior to DaksAa's sacrifice {iaksha- ^ So in the Ch.d.ndi (Markaw^?eya Purawa) it is said : Vidydh samastdstava devl hheddh Striyah samastdh sakald jagatsu. See Author's Hymns to the Goddess." The Tantrika more than al] men, recognizes the divinity of woman, as was observed centuries past by the Author of the Dabistan. The Linga Purana also after describing Arundhati, Anasuya, and Shachi to be each the manifesta¬ tion of Devi, concludes : “ All things indicated by words in the feminine gender are manifestations of Devi." Similarly the Brahma-vaivarta Purawa. ^ Sarvva-tantra-rupd Sarva-yantrdtmikd (see Lalita, verse 53).

3 Padma Purawa says “ Vis/twu ever -worships the Sapphire Devi." ^ Aplvara-stana-tating tanuvrUtamadhydm (Bhuvaneshvaristotra) , tmiumadhyd ” (Lalita, verse f 9) JTrisAo^^an (Adyakalisvarupa-stotra, Maha-nirva«a Tantra, seventh Ullasa). s Plnd-standdye, in Karpuradistotra ; plnonnata-payodhardm, in Durgadhyana of Devi Purawa; bakshoja-kumbhdntayl, in Anna-purwastava ; dplvara-stana-tatlm, in Bhuvaneshvaristotra ; which weight her limbs kucha-bhaya-namitdnglm, in Sarasvati-dhyana ; annapraddnaniratdng-stana-bhdra-namydm, in Anna-purwa stava. ® So it is said in the tenth shloka of the Karpurakhyastava — saniantddd plnastana-jaghanadhrikyauvanavatu Shangkaracharya, in his Tri-pura-sundari-stotra, speaks of Her nitamba (nitamba-jita-hhudhardm) as excelling the mountain in greatness. ^ The physical characteristics of the Devi in Her swelling breasts and hips are emblematic of Her great Motherhood for She is Shrtmdtd (see as to Her litanies, " Hymns to the Goddess," by A. and K. Avalon). ^ ® She whose body is, as the Devi Purana says, immeasurable. ^ Shaktananda-tarangini (chap. iii.). yajna) that the Devi manifested Herself to Shiva^ in the ten celebrated forms known as the dasha-mahdvidyd referred to in the text — Kali, Bagala, Chhinna-masta, Bhuvaneshvari, Matangini,5Aoiashi, Dhumavati,Tripurasundari, Tara, and Bhairavi. When, at the Daks/^ayajna She yielded up her life in shame and sorrow at the treatment accorded by her father to Her Husband, Shiva took away the body, and, ever bearing it with Him, remained wholly distraught and spent with grief. To save the world from the forces of evil which arose and grew with the withdrawal of His Divine control, Yishnu with His discus [chakra) cut the dead body of Sati, which Shiva bore, into fifty-one^ fragments, which fell to earth at the places thereafter known as the fifty-one mahd-fltYia-sthdna (referred to in the text), where Devi, with Her Bhairava, is wwshipped under various names.

Besides the forms of the Devi in the brahmdnda there is Her subtle form called KundalinI in the body [pindanda). These are but some only of Her endless forms. She is seen as one and as many, as it were, but one moon reflected in countless waters.^ She exists, too, in all animals and inorganic things, since the universe with all its beauties is, as the Devi Pura^^a says, but a part of Her. All this diversity of form is but the infinite manifestations of the flowering beauty of the One Supreme Life,^ a doctrine which is nowhere else taught with greater wealth of illustration than in the Shakta Shastras, and Tantras. The great Bharga in the bright Sun and all Devatas,and, 1 In order to display Her power to Her husband, \yho had not granted, at her request. His permission that She might attend at Daks/sa’s sacrifice. See my edition of the “ Tantra-tattva,"' and for an account of the dasha-mahd-vidya, their y antra and mantra — the Dashamaha-vidya-upasana-rahasya of Prasanna-Kumara Shastri. 2 The number is variously given as 50, 51, and 52. 3 Brahma-vindu UpanisAad, 12. ^ See the Third Chapter of the Shaktananda-tarangiwi, where it is said : “ The Para-brahman Devi, Shiva, and"" all other Deva and Devi, are but one, and he who thinks them different from one another goes to Hell.”

indeed, all life and being, are wonderful, and are wor¬ shipful, but only as Her manifestations. And he who worships them otherwise is, in the words of the great Devi-bhagavata,^ “ like unto a man who, with the light of a clear lamp in his hands, yet falls into some waterless and terrible well.” The highest worship for which the sdihaka is qualified [adhikdrl] only after external worships and that internal form known as sddhdra,^ is described as nirddhdrd. Therein Pure Intelligence is the Supreme Shakti who is worshipped as the Very Self, the Witness freed of the glamour of the manifold Universe. By one’s own direct experience of Maheshvarl as the Self She is with reverence made the object of that worship which leads to liberation.^ It cannot be said that current explanations give a clear understanding of this subject. Yet such is neces¬ sary, both as affording one of the chief keys to Indian philosophy and to the principles which govern Sddhana. The term guna is generally translated “ quality,” a word which is only accepted for default of a better. For it must not be overlooked that the three guna {Sattva, rajas, and tamas), which are of Praknti, constitute Her very substance. This being so, all Nature which issues from Her, the Maha-kdrana-svarupd, is called tri-gunatmaka, and is composed of the same guna in different states of relation to one another. The functions of sattva, rajas, and tamas are to reveal, to make active, and to suppress respectively. Rajas is the dynamic, as sattva and tamas are static principles. That is to say, sattva and tamas can

1 Hymn to Jagad-ambika in Chapter XIX. ^ Suta-sanghita, i. 5, 3, which divides such worship into Vedic and Tantrik (see Bhaskara-raya’s Commentary on Lalita, verse 43). syllables according to the instructions of the Guru. ^ See Introduction to Author’s Hymns to the Goddess.” xxxii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION neither reveal nor suppress without being first rendered active by rajas. These gunas work by mutual sup¬ pression. The unrevealed Praknti {avyakta-frakriii) or Devi is the state of stable equilibrium of these three guna. When this state is disturbed the manifested universe appears, in every object of which one or other of the three guna is in the ascendant. Thus in Devas, as in those who approach the divya state, sattva predominates, and rajas and tamas are very much reduced. That is, their independent manifestation is reduced. They are in one sense still there, for where rajas is not independently active it is operating on sattva to suppress tamas, which appears or disappears to the extent to which it is, or is not, subject to suppression by the revealing principle. In the ordinary human jlva, considered as a class, tamas is less reduced than in the case of the Deva, but very much reduced when comparison is made with the animal jlva. Rajas has great independent activity, and sattva is also considerably active. In the animal creation sattva has considerably less activity. Rajas has less independent activity than in man, but is much more active than in the vegetable world. Tamas is greatly less preponderant than in the latter. In the vegetable kingdom tamas is more preponderant than in the case of animals, and both rajas and sattva less so. In the inorganic creation rajas makes tamas active to suppress both sattva and its own independent activity. It will thus be seen that the upward '' or revealing movement from the predominance of tamas to that of sattva repre¬ sents the spiritual progress of the jivdtmd.

Again, as between each member of these classes one or other of the three guna may be more or less in the ascendant. Thus, in one man as compared with another, the sattva guna may predominate, in which case his temperament is sattvik, or, as the Tantra calls it, divyabhdva. In another the rajoguna may prevail, and in the third the tamoguna, in which case the individual is described as rajasik, or tamasik, or, to use Tantrik phraseology, he is said to belong to vlrabhdva, or is a pashu respectively. Again the vegetable creation is obviously less tamasik. and more rajasik and sattvik than the mineral, and even amongst these last there may be possibly some which are less tamasik than others. Etymologically, sattva is derived from “ sat,’’ that which is eternally existent. The eternally existent is also chit, pure Intelligence or Spirit, and ananda or Bliss. In a secondary sense, sat is also used to denote the “good.” And commonly (though such use obscures the original meaning), the word sattva guna is rendered “ good quality.” It is, however, “ good ” in the sense that it is productive of good and happiness. In such case, however, stress is laid rather on a necessary quality or effect (in the ethical sense) of “ sat ” than upon its original meaning. In the primary sense sat is that which reveals. Nature is a revelation of spirit [sat). Where Nature is such a revela¬ tion of spirit there it manifests as sattva guna. It is the shining forth from under the veil of the hidden spiritual substance (sat) . And th at quality in things which reveals this is sattva guna. So of a pregnant woman it is said that she is antahsattva, or instinct with sattva ; she in whom sattva as jiva (whose characteristic guna is sattva) is living in an hidden state.

But Nature not only reveals, but is also a dense covering or veil of spirit, at times so dense that the ignorant • fail to discern the spirit which it veils. Where Nature is a veil of spirit there it appears in its quality of tamoguna. In this case the tamoguna is currently spoken of as representative of inertia, because that is the effect of the nature which veils. This quality, again, when translated into the moral sphere, becomes ignorance, sloth, etc. In a third sense nature is a bridge between spirit whicli reveals and matter which veils. Where Nature is a xxxiv TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION bridge of descent from spirit to matter, or of ascent from matter to spirit, there it manifests itself as rajoguna. This is generally referred to as the quality of activity, and when transferred to the sphere of feeling it shows itself as passion. Each thing in Nature then contains that in which spirit is manifested or reflected as in a mirror or sattvaguna ; that by which spirit is covered, as it were, by a veil of darkness or tamoguna, and that which is the vehicle for the descent into matter or the return to spirit or rajoguna. Thus sattva is the light of Nature, as tamas is its shade. Rajas is, as it were, a blended tint oscillating between each of the extremes constituted by the other guna.

The object of Tantrik sddhana is to bring out and make preponderant the sattva guna by the aid of rajas, which operates to make the former guna active. The subtle body {lingasharlra) of the jivdtmd comprises in it huddhi, ahangkdra, manas, and the ten senses. This subtle body creates for itself gross bodies suited to the spiritual state of the jivdtmd. Under the influence of prdrabdhda karmma, huddhi becomes tdmasik, rdjasik, or sdttvik. In the first case the jivdtmd assumes inanimate bodies ; in the second, active passionate bodies ; and in the third, sattvik bodies of varying degrees of spiritual excellence, ranging from man to the Deva. The gross body is also trigundtmaka. This body conveys impres¬ sions to the jivdtmd through the subtle body and the huddhi in particular. When sattva is made active im¬ pressions of happiness result, and when rajas or tamas are active the impressions are those of sorrow and delusion. These impressions are the result of the predominance of these respective guna. The action of rajas on sattva produces happiness, as its own independent activity or operation on tamas produce sorrow and delusion respect¬ ively. Where sattva or happiness is predominant, there sorrow and delusion are suppressed. Where rajas or sorrow is predominant, there happiness and delusion are

suppressed. And whei'e lamas or delusion predominates there, as in the case of the inorganic world, both happiness and sorrow are suppressed. All objects share these three states in different proportions. There is, however, always in the jlvdtnid an admixture of sorrow with happiness, due to the operation of rajas. For happiness, which is the fruit of righteous acts done to attain happiness, is after all only a vikdra. The natural state of the jlvdtmd — that is, the state of its own true nature — is that bliss {dnanda) which arises from the pure knowledge of the Self, in which both happiness and sorrow are equally objects of indifference. The worldly enjo5;^ment of a person involves pain to self or others. This is the result of the pursuit of happiness, whether by righteous or unrighteous acts. As spiritual progress is made, the gross body becomes more and more refined. In inanimate bodies karma operates to the production of pure delusion. On the exhaustion of such karma the jlvdtmd assumes animate bodies for the operation of such forms of karma as lead to sorrow and happiness mixed with delusion. In the vegetable world saliva is but little active, with a corre¬ sponding lack of discrimination, for discrimination is the effect of saliva in huddhi, and from discrimination arises the recognition of pleasure and pain, conceptions of right and wrong, of the transitory and intransitory, and so forth, which are the fruit of a high degree of discrimina¬ tion, or of activity of saliva.

In the lower animal saliva in huddhi is not sufficiently active to lead to any degree of development of these conceptions. In man, however, the saliva in huddhi is considerably active, and in conse¬ quence these conceptions are natural in him. For this reason the human birth is, for spiritual purposes, so important. All men, however, are not capable of forming such conceptions in an equal degree. The degree of activity in an individual's huddhi depends on Yiisprdrahdha karma. However bad such karma may be in any particular case, the individual is yet gifted with that

xxxvi TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION amount^ of discrimination which, if properly aroused and aided, will enable him to better his spiritual condition by inducing the rajoguna in him to give more and more activity to the saliva guna in his huddhi. On this account proper guidance and spiritual direction are necessary. A good guru, by reason of his own nature and spiritual attainment and disinterested wisdom, will both mark out for the sishya the path which is proper for him, and aid him to follow it by the infusion of the tejas which is in the Guru himself. Whilst sddhand is, as stated, a process for the stimulation of the saliva guna, it is evident that one form of it is not suitable to all. It must be adapted to the spiritual condition of the s^shy^, otherwise it will cause injury instead of good. Therefore it is that the adoption of certain forms of sddhana by persons who are not competent {adhikdri), may not only be fruitless of any good result, but may even lead to evils which sddhana as a general principle is designed to prevent. Therefore also is it said that it is better to follow one's own dharma than that, however exalted it be, of another.

This earth, which is the object of the physical senses and of the knowledge based thereon, is but one of fourteen worlds or regions placed above " and below " it, of which (as the suira says^) knowledge may be obtained by meditation on the solar ‘'nerve " (nadl) sushumnd in the merudanda. On this nddl six of the upper worlds are threaded, the seventh and highest overhanging it in the Sahasrdra Padma, the thousand-petalled lotus. The sphere of earth (Bhurloka), with its continents, their ^ Corresponding to the theological doctrine of “ sufficiency of grace. 2 Bhuvanajnanang suryye sangyamdt, Patanjali Yoga Sutra (chap. iii. 26). An account of the loka is given in Vyasa's Commentary on the siitm, in the Yishnu Purawa (Bk. II., chaps, v.-vii.) ; and in the Bhagavata, Padma, Vajm, and other Purawas, mountains and rivers, and with its oceans, is the seventh or lowest of the upper worlds. Beneath it are the Hells and Nether Worlds, the names of which are given below. Above the terrestrial sphere is Bhuvarloka, or the atmospheric sphere known as the antanksha, extending "'from the earth to the sun,*' in which the Siddhas and other celestial beings (devayoni) of the upper air dwell. "'From the sun to the pole star" (dhruva) is svarloka, or the heavenly sphere. Heaven (svarga) is that which delights the mind, as hell (naraka) is that which gives it pain.^ In the former is the abode of the Deva and the blest.

These three spheres are the region of the consequences of work, and are termed transitory as compared with the three highest spheres, and the fourth, which is of a mixed character. When the jlva has received his reward he is reborn again on earth. For it is not good action, but the knowledge of the Atmd which procures Liberation (moksha). Above Svarloka is Maharloka, and above it the three ascending regions known as the janarloka, ta'poloka, and satyaloka, each inhabited by various forms of celestial intelligence of higher and higher degree. Below the earth {Bhuh) and above ^ the nether worlds are the Hells (com¬ mencing with Avlchi), and of which, according to popular theology, there are thirty-four,^ though it is elsewhere said^ there are as many hells as there are offences for which particular punishments are meted out. Of these, six are known as the great hells. Hinduism, however, even when popular, knows nothing of a hell of eternal torment. To it nothing is eternal but the Brahman. Issuing from the Hells the jlva is again reborn to make its future. Below the Hells are the seven nether worlds, Sutala, Vitala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala, Atala, and ^ VisAnu Pura^^a (Bk. II., chap. vi.). Virtue is heaven and vice is hell, ibid. Narakamindti — kleshang pydpayati^ or giving pain.

2 Ganabheda of Vahni Pura^^a xxxviii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION Patala, where, according to the Pura^as, dwell the Naga serpent divinities, brilliant with jewels, and wLere, too, the lovely daughters of the Daityas and Danavas wander, fascinating even the most austei'e. Yet below Patala is the form of VisizOT proceeding from the dark quality {tamogunah), known as the Sesha serpent or Ananta. bearing the entire world as a diadem, attended by his Shakti Varuz^h^ his own embodied radiance. Inhabitants of the Worlds. The worlds are inhabited by countless grades of beings, ranging from the highest Devas (of whom there are many classes and degrees) to the lowest animal life. The scale of beings runs from the shining manifestations of Spirit to those in which it is so veiled that it would seem almost to have disappeared in its material covering. There is but one Light, one Spirit, whose manifestations are many. A flame enclosed in a clear glass loses but little of its brilliancy. If we substitute for the glass, paper, or some other more opaque yet transparent substance, the light is dimmer. A covering of metal may be so dense as to exclude from sight the rays of light which yet burns within with an equal brilliancy. As a fact, all such veiling forms are mdyd. They are none the less true for those who live in and are themselves part of the mayik world. Leva', or heavenly and shining one ” — for spirit is light and self-manifestation — ^is applicable to those descending yet high manifestations of the Brahman, such as the seven Shivas, including the Trinity {trimurtti), Brahma, VisAzzu, and Rudra. Devi, again, is the title of the Supreme Mother Herself, and is again applied to the manifold forms assumed by the one only Mayd^ such as Kali, Sarasvati, Laks/zmi, Gauri, Gayatri, Sandhya, and others. In the sense also in which it is said,^ ‘‘ Verily,

^ Not " the Goddess of Wine/' as Wilson (VisAwu Pr.) has it. ^ Bnhadara/zyaka Up. (ix. 2-3-2). in the beginning there was the Brahman. It created the Devas/' the latter term also includes lofty intelligencies belonging to the created world intermediate between ishvara (Himself a Purusha) and man, who in the person of the Brahmana is known as Earth-deva {hhudeva}-). These spirits are of varying degrees. For there are no breaks in the creation which represents an apparent descent of the Brahman in gradually lowered forms. Throughout these forms play the divine currents of pyamitti and nivriUi, the latter drawing to Itself that which the former has sent forth.^ Deva, fiva and jar a (inorganic matter) are, in their real, as opposed to their phenomenal and illusory, being, the one Brahman, which appears thus to be other than Itself through its connection with the upadhi or limiting conditions with which ignorance (avidyd) invests it. Therefore all beings which are the object of worship are each of them but the Brahman seen through the veil of avidyd. Though the worshippers of Devas may not know it, their worship is in reality the worship of the Brahman, and hence the Mahanirva^a Tantra says^ that, '' as all streams flow to the ocean, so the worship given to any Deva is received by the Brahman.'^ On the other hand, those who, knowing this, worship the Devas, do so as manifestations of the Brahman, and thus worship It

In lik© manner the priest of the Church on earth is called by Malachi (ii. 7) '' angel, which is as Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita says : From his announcement of the truth and from his desire and office of pur^ying, illuminating, and perfecting those committed to his charge , the brahmawical office, in fact, when properly understood and given effect to. ^ The hierarchies have also their reason and uses in Christian theology : Totus conatus omnium spirituum est referre Deum. Deus in primis potenter assimilat quod vicina sunt ei ; assimilata deincepsassimilant. Itapergit derivatio deitatis ab ordine in ordinem et ab hierarchia in hierarchiam et a melioribus creaturis in deteriores pro capacitate cujusque in deificationem omnium. Coletus de Coelesti Hierarchia Dionysii Areopagitse,*' cap. iii.). 2 Chapter II., verse 50, a common statement which appears in the Bhagavadgita and elsewhere. xl TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION mediately. The sun, the most glorious symbol in the physical world, is the majdk vesture of Her who is clothed with the sun."' In the lower ranks of the celestial hierarchy are the Devayonis, some of whom are mentioned in the opening verses of the first chapter of the text. The Devas are of two classes : '' unborn {ajdta) — that is, those which have not, and those which have [sddhya) evolved from humanity as in the case of King Nahus/ia, who became Indra. Opposed to the divine hosts are the Asura, Danava, Daitya, Raks/^asa, who, with other spirits, represent the tamasik or demonic element in creation.

All Devas, from the highest downwards, are subordinate to both time and karma. So it is said, Salutation to Karma, over which not even Vidhi (Brahma) prevails '' {Namastat karmmabhyovidhirapi na yebhyah prabha^ vati'^). The rendering of the term '' Deva '' by '' God has led to a misapprehension of Hindu thought. The use of the term angel may also mislead, for though the world of Devas has in some respects analogy to the angelic choirs,^ the Christian conception of these Beings, their origin and functions, does not include, but in fact excludes, other ideas connoted by the Sanskrit term.

^ And again : Ye samastd ja^atsrishtisthitisanghdra kdrinah Te’pi kdlesJm liyante kdlohi balavattarah, (Even all those who are the cause of the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the world disappear in time because time is more strong than they.) 2 Though, also, as Coletus says De Coelesta Dionysii Hierarchia,"' cap. xii. 7) the Angels have been called Gods ” : “ Quod autem angeli Bii vocantur testatur illud geneseos dictum Jacob a viro luctatore,'’ etc. ^ Particularly, as I have elsewhere shown, with such conception of the celestial hierarchies as is presented by the work of the PseudoDionysius on that subject written under the influence of Eastern thought (Stephen Bar Sudaili and others). As to the Christian doctrine on the Angels, see Suarez" “ De Angelis."" The patristic doctrine is .summarized by Petavius De Angelis,’" Dogm. tom.. III. The cabalistic names of the nine orders are given by Archangelus at p. 728 of his “ Interpretationes in artis Cabalisticae scriptures (1587). The i>i-kis, or “ Fathers,” are a creation (according to some) separate from the predecessors of humanity, and are, according to others, the limar ancestry who are addressed in prayer with the Devas. From Brahma, who is known as the “ Grandfather ” Pita Maha of the human race, issued Marlchi, Atri, and others, his “ mental sons ” ; the Agnis/ivattvah, Saumnyah, HavisAmantah, Us^mapah, and other classes of Pitns, numbering, accord¬ ing to the Markawieya Purana, thirty-one. Tarpanam, or oblation, is daily offered to these fitns. The term is also applied to the human ancestors of the worshipper generally up to the seventh generation to whom in shrdddha (the obsequial rites) ;^md^^ and water are offered with the mantra “ svadhd.”

The Rfshi are seers who know, and by their knowledge are the makers of shdstra and “see” all mantras. The word comes from the root nsh^ Rish.ati-p'dfnoti sarvvang mantrang jndnena pashyati sangsdrapdrangvd, etc. The seven great Rishi or saptarshi of the first mamantara are Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and VashisAifAa. In other mamantara there are other saptarshf. In the present mamantara the seven are Kashyapa Atri, Vashis^^/ia, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Bharadvaja. To the RisM the Vedas were revealed. Vyasa taught the Rfgveda so revealed to Paila, the Yajurveda to Yaishampayana, the Samaveda to Jaimini, Atharvaveda to Samantu, and Itihdsa and Pura^ia to Suta. The three chief classes of Rfshf are the Brahmarshi, bom of the mind of Brahma, the Devarshi of lower rank, and Rdfarshi or Kings who became Rishis through their knowledge and austerities, such as J anaka, Rftaparna, etc. The Shrutarshi are makers of Shastras, as Sushruta. The Kandarsht are of the Karmakanda, such as J aimini. The Muni, who may be a Rishi, is a sage. Muni is so called on account of his mananam {manandt ^ Slaabdakalpadruma, Sub voc xlii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION munifuchyate). Mananam is that thought, investi¬ gation, and discussion which marks the independent thinking mind. First there is shravanam listening ; then mananam, which is the thinking or understanding, dis¬ cussion upon, and testing of what is heard as opposed to the mere acceptance on trust of the lower intelligence. There two are followed by nididhydsanam, which is attention and profound meditation on the conclusions (siddhdnta) drawn from what is so heard and reasoned upon. As the Mahabharata says, '' The Veda differ, and so do the Smxiti. No one is a muni who has no in¬ dependent opinion of his own {ndsau muniryasya matang na hhinnam).

_The human being is called jvoa^ — that is, the embodied Atmd possessed by egoism and of the notion that it directs the furyasYitaka, namely, the five organs of action {karmendriya), the five organs of perception {jnanendriya), the fourfold antahkarana or mental self {Manas, Buddhi, Ahangkdra, Chitta), the five vital airs {Prana), the five elements, Kama (desire). Karma (action and its results), and Avidyd (illusion). When these false notions are destroyed, the embodiment is destroyed, and the wearer of the mayik garment attains nirvana. When the jlva is absorbed in Brahman, there is no longer any fwa remaining as such. Ordinarily there are four chief divisions or castes {varna) of Hindu society — viz. : Brdhmana (priesthood ; teaching) ; Kshattriya (warrior) ; Vaishya (merchant) ; Shudra (servile)— said to have sprung respectively from the mouth, arm, thigh, and foot of Brahma. A man of the first three classes becomes an investiture, during the upanayana ceremony of the sacred thread, twice-born {dvlja). It is said that by birth one is shudra, by ^ That is specially so, as all embodiments, whether human or not, of the Paramatma are jtva. sangskara [upanayana) , dvlja (twice-born) ; by study of the Vedas one attains the state of a vipra ; and that he who has knowledge of the Brahman is a Brdhmana} The present Tantra, however, speaks of a fifth or hybrid class {sdmdnya), resulting from intermixture between the others. It is a peculiarity of Tantra that its worship is largely free of Vaidik exclusiveness, whether based on caste, sex, or otherwise. As the Gautamiya Tantra says, '' The Tantra is for all men, of whatever caste, and for all women” {Sarvvavarnddhikdraschcha ndrinmg yogya eva cha).

The four stages, conditions, or periods in the life of a Brahman are : First, that of the chaste student, or brahmachdrl ; second, the period of secular life as a married householder, or gxihastha ; third, that of the recluse, or vdnaprastha, when there is retirement from the world ; and lastly, that of the beggar, or bhikshu, who begs his single daily meal, and meditates upon the Supreme Spirit to which he is about to return. For the Kshattriya there are the first three Ashramas ; for the Vaishy a, the first two ; and for the Shudr^, the grihastha Kshrama only.^ This Tantra^ states that in the Kali age there are only two Ashrama. The second gdrhasthya and the last bhikshuka or avadhuta. Neither the conditions of life, nor the character, capacity, and powers of the people of this age allow of the first and third. The two ashramas prescribed for the Kali age are open to all castes indis¬ criminately.'^ There are, it is now commonly said, two main divisions of avadhuta — namely, Shaivdvadhuta and Brahmdvadhuta ^ Janmana jay ate shudvah Sangskdrdd dvija 'uchyate V eda^pdthdt hhavet vipvah Brahma jdndti hrdhmanah, 2 Yogi Yajnavalkya (chap. i.).

3 Chapter VIII., verse 8. ^ Ibid., verse 12. xliv TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION — of each of which there are, again, three divisions.^ Of the first class the divisions are firstly Shaivavadhuta, who is dpuma (imperfect). Though an ascetic, he is also a householder and like Shiva. Hence his name. The second is the wandering stage of the Shaiva (or the parivrdjaka), who has now left the world, and passes his time doing pujd, japa, etc., visiting the tirtha and pitha, or places of pilgrimage. In this stage, which, though higher, is still imperfect, the avadhuta is competent for ordinary sddhana with a shaMi, The third is the perfect stage of a Shaiva. Wearing only the haupmap^ he renounces all things and all rites, though within certain limits he may practise some yoga, and is permitted to meet the request of a woman who makes it of him.^ Of the second class the three divisions are, firstly, the Brahmdvadhuta, who, like the Shaivdvadhuta, is imperfect {dpurna) and a householder. He is not permitted, however, to have a Shaiva Shakti, and is restricted to sviyashakti^ The second-class Brahma-parivrdjaka is similar to the Shaiva of the same class, except that ordinarily he is not permitted to have anything to do with any woman, though he may, under the guidance of his Guru, practise yoga accompanied by Shakti, The third or highest class- — Hangsdvadhuta — is similar to the third Shaiva degree,

1 This Tantra deals with the avadhuta (those who have relinquished the world) in Chapter XIV., verse 142, et seq. The Bhairava^?amara classes the avadhuta into (i) Kuldvadhuta, (2) Shaivdvadhuta, {3) Bvahmavadhuta, and (4) Hangsdvadhuta, following, in the main, the distinctions made in this Tantra. the Kaupinapanchakam of Sangkaracharyya, where the Kaupinavdn is described as the fortunate one living on the handful of rice got by begging ; ever pondering upon the words of the Vedanta, whose senses are in repose, who ever enjoys, the Brahman in the thought A hamhrahmdsmi. ® This is not, however, as some may suppose, a peculiarly Tantrik precept, for it is said in Shruti talpdgatafig na pariharet ** (she who comes to your bed is not to be refused), for the rule of chastity which is binding on him yields to such an advance on the part of woman. Shankaracharyya says that talpdgatdng is samdgamarthinim, adding that this is the doctrine of Rishi Vamadeva. except that he must under no circumstances touch a woman or metals, nor may he practise any rites or keep any observances. Correspondence between Macrocosm and Microcosm. The universe consists of a Mahabrahmdndia, or grand Kosmos, and of numerous Brihatbrahmdndia, or macro¬ cosms evolved from it. As is said by the Nirva^^a Tantra, all which is in the first is in the second. In the latter are heavenly bodies and beings, which are micro cosms reflecting on a minor scale the greater worlds which evolve them.

As above, so below.'' This mystical maxim of the West is stated in the Vishvasara Tantra as follows : '' What is here is elsewhere ; what is not here is nowhere" {yadihdsti tadanyatra yannehdsti natatkvaohit). The macrocosm has its meru, or vertebral column, ex¬ tending from top to bottom.- There are fourteen regions descending from Satyaloka, the highest. These are the seven upper and the seven nether worlds {vide ante). The meru of the human body is the spinal column, and within it are the chakra, in which the worlds are said to dwell. In the words of the Shaktananda-Tarangini, they are pindamadhyesthita. Satya has been said to be in the sahasrdra, and Tapah, Janah, Mahah, Svah, Bhuvah, Bhuh in the djnd, vishuddha, andhata, manipura, svddis\it\idna, and mulddhdra lotuses respectively. Below mulddhara and in the joints, sides, anus, and organs of generation are the nether worlds. The bones near the spinal column are the kula-parvata} Such are the corre¬ spondences as to earth. Then as to water. The nddd are the rivers. The seven substances of the body {dhdtu)"^ are the seven islands. Sweat, tears, and the like are the oceans. Fire exists in the mulddhdra, sushumnd, navel,

1 The seven main chains o£ mountains in Bharata (see "Vishnu Purawa, Bk. II., chap. iii.). 2 Skin, blood, muscle, tendon, bone, fat, semen. xlvi TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION and elsewhere^ As the worlds are supported by the pravahana and other vdyu airs so is the body sup¬ ported by the ten vdyu prdna, etc. There is the same cikdsha (ether) in both.^ The witness within is the purusha without, for the personal soul of the microcosm corre¬ sponds to the cosmic soul {hiranyagarhha) in the macro¬ cosm. The passage of time within a mahd~yuga influences for the worse man and the world in which he lives. This passage is marked by the four ages {yuga), called Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali-yuga, the last being that in which it is generally supposed the world now is. The yuga^ is a fraction of a kalpa, or day of Brahma of 4,320 000,000 years. The kalpa is divided into fourteen manvantara, which are again subdivided into seventy-one mahd-yuga ; the length of each of which is 4,320,000 human years. The mahd-yuga (great age) is itself com¬ posed of four yuga (ages) — {a) Satya, (&) Treta, {c) Dva¬ para, {d) Kali. Official science teaches that man ap¬ peared on the earth in an imperfect state, from which he has since been gradually, though continually, raising him¬ self. Such teaching is, however, in conflict with the traditions of all peoples — -Jew, Babylonian, Egyptian, Hindu, Greek, Roman, and Christian — which speak of an age when man was both innocent and happy. From this state of primal perfection he fell, continuing his descent until such time as the great Avatdra, Christ and others, descended to save his race and enable it to regain the righteous path. The Garden of Eden is the emblem of the paradisiacal body of man. There man was one with Nature. He was himself paradise, a privileged enclosure

fire of lightning, and in the navel earthly fire. 3 See Bentley, “ Hindu Astronomy '' (1823), p. 10. in a garden of delight^ — gM be Eden, Et eruditus est Moyse Omni sapientia Mgyptiorum. The Satya Yuga is, ac¬ cording to Hindu belief, the Golden Age of righteousness, free of sin, marked by longevity, physical strength, beauty, and stature. '' There were giants in those days whose moral, mental, and physical strength enabled them to undergo long hrahmacharyya (continence) and tapas (austerities) . Longevity permitted lengthy spiritual exer¬ cises. Life then depended on the marrow, and lasted a lakh of years, 2 men dying when they willed. Their stature was 21 cubits. To this age belong the Avatara or incarnations of YishnM, Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Nn-singha, and Vamana. Its duration is computed to be 4,800 Divine years, which, when multiplied by 360 (a year of the Devas being equal to 360 human years) are the equivalent of 1,728,000 of the years of man. (&) The second age, or Treta (threefourth) Yuga, is that in which righteousness (dharmma) decreased by one-fourth. The duration was 3,600 Divine years, or 1,296,000 human years. Longevity, strength, and stature decreased. Life was in the bone, and lasted 10,000 years. Man's stature was 14 cubits. Of sin there appeared one-quarter, and of virtue there remained threequarters. Men were still attached to pious and charitable acts, penances, sacrifice, and pilgrimage, of which the chief was that to Naimis/^arany<^. In this period appeared the avatara of Nishnu as Parashurama and Rama, (c) The third, or Dvapara (one-half) Yuga, is that in which righteousness decreased by one-half, and the dura¬ tion of which was 2,400 Divine, or 864,000 human, yearj^,^ A further decrease in longevity and strength, and increase of weakness and disease, mark this age. Life which lasted

1 Genesis ii. 8 : Paradise is commonly confused with Eden, but the two are different. Paradise is in Eden. and others: and for more favourable modern estimates of the ''Primi¬ tives,'’ see M. A. Leblond, "L’Ideal du dixneuvidme sidcle,” and Elie Reclus' celebrated work on the Primitives (1888). xlviii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION 1,000 years was centred in the blood. Stature was 7 cubits. Sin and virtue were of equal force. Men became restless, and, though eager to acquire knowledge, were deceitful, and followed both good and useful pur¬ suits. The principal place of pilgrimage was KuruksAetra. To this age belongs (according to Vyasa, Anus^hibhacharya and Jaya-deva) the avatar a of Vishnu as Bala-rama, the elder brother of Krishna, who, according to other accounts, takes his place. In the sandhya, or inter¬ vening period of i,ooo years between this and the next yuga the Tantra was revealed, as it will be revealed at the dawn of every Kali-yuga. (d) Kali-yuga is the alleged present age, in which righteousness exists to the extent of one-fourth only, the duration of which is 1,200 Divine, or 432,000 human, years. According to some, this *aga commenced in 3120 b.c. on the date of Vis/^nu’s return to heaven after the eighth incarnation. This is the period which, according to the Puranas and Tantras, is charac¬ terized by the prevalence of viciousness, weakness, dis¬ ease, and the general decline of all that is good.

Human life, which lasts at most 120, or, as some say, 100, years, is dependent on food. Stature is 3I cubits. The chief pilgrimage is now to the Ganges. In this age has ap¬ peared the Buddha Avatdra, The last, or Kalki Avatara, the Destroyer of sin, has yet to come. It is He who will destroy iniquity and restore the age of righteousness. The Kalki Purana speaks of Him as One whose body is blue like that of the rain-charged cloud, who with sword in hand rides, as does the rider of the Apocalypse, a white horse swift as the wind, the Cherisher of the people, De¬ stroyer of the race of the Kali-yuga, the Source of true religion. And Jayadeva, in his Ode to the Incarnations, addresses Him thus : For the destruction of all the impure thou drawest thy cimeter like a blazing comet. 0 how tremendous ! Oh, Keshava, assuming the body of Kalki! Be victorious. O Hari, Lord of the Uni¬ verse V* With the Satya-yuga a new mahd-yuga will

commence, and the ages will continue to revolve with their rising and descending races until the close of the kalpa or day of Brahma. Then a night of dissolution {pralaya) of equal duration follows, the Lord reposing in yoga-nidra {yoga sleep in pralaya) on the Serpent Shes/^a, the Endless One, till day break, when the universe is created anew and the next kalpa follows. The Scriptures of the Ages. Each of these Ages has its appropriate Shdstra or Scripture, designed to meet the characteristics and needs of the men who live in them.^ The Hindu Shdstra are classed into : (i) Shruti, which commonly includes the four Veda (Rik, Yaju/^, Sama, Atharva, and the UpanEiiads), the doctrine of which is philosophically exposed in the Veddnta-Darshana. (2) Smnti, such as the Dharmashastra of Manu and other works on family and social duty prescribing for pravxitti-dharma, as the Upanis/^ads had revealed the nivntti-dharma. (3) The Puratz.as,2 of which, according to the Brahma-vaivartta Purana, there were originally four lakhs, and of which eighteen are now regarded as the principal. (4) The Tantra. For each of these ages a suitable Shdstra is given. The Veda is the root of all Shastra (mula-shdstra) . All others are based on it. The Tantra is spoken of as a fifth Veda. Kulluka-Bhaz^^a, the celebrated Commentator on Manu, says that Shruti is of two kinds, Vaidik and Tantrik {vaidikl-tdntrikl chaiva dvi-vidhd shrutih-kirttitd) . The various Shdstras, however, are different presentments of shruti appropriate to the humanity of the age for

^ On the subject matter of this paragraph see my Introduction to The Principles of Tantra ’’ (Tantra-tattva), where it is dealt with in greater detail. 2 These are referred to in Chapter I., verses 34-36 post, as Sanghita collection), which term includes amongst other things DhavmaShdstra, Smriti, Shrutijlvika, Pura^^as, Upa-purawas, Itihasa (history), the books of VashisAi/za, Valmiki, and others. See Shabda-vatnlvali, and Brahmavaivartta Purawa, Juana-Kaw^^a, chap, cxxxii. which they are given. Thus the Tantra is that present¬ ment of shruti which is modelled as regards its ritual to meet the characteristics and infirmities of the Kali-yuga. As men have no longer the capacity, longevity, and moral strength necessary for the application of the Vaidika Karma-kdnda, the Tantra prescribes a special sddhana, or means or practice of its own, for the attainment of that which is the ultimate and common end of all Shdstra. The Kular^ava Tantra says^ that in the Satya or Knta age the Shdstra is Shruti (in the sense of the Veda and UpanisAads) ; in Treta-yuga, Smxiti (in the sense of the Dharma-Shdstra and Shruti-jlvika, etc.) ; in Dvapara Yuga the Puratta ; and in the last or Kali-yuga the Tantra, which should now be followed by all orthodox Hindu worshippers. The Maha-nirva^a^ and other Tantras and Tantrik works® lay down the same rule. The Tantra is also said to contain the very core of the Veda to which, it is described to bear the relation of the Paramdtmd to the Jivdtmd. In a similar way, Kauldchdra is the central informing life of the gross body called veddchdra, each of the dchdra which follow it up to kauldchdra being more and more subtle sheaths.

The human body is Brahma-fura, the city of Brahman. Ishvara Himself enters into the universe as jlva. Where¬ fore the mahd-vdkya That thou art '' means that the ego (which is regarded as jlva only from the standpoint of an upddhi^) is Brahman. 1 ’K.vite shrutyukta dchdrastretayam smTiti-samhhavah., Dvdpare tu purdnoktang, kalau dgama kevalam. 2 Chapter I., verses 28 et seq. post. ® So the Tara-pradipa (chap, i.) says that in the Kali-yuga the Tantrika and not the Vaidika Dharmma is to be followed (see as to the Shastras, my Introduction to Principles of Tantra,” Tantra-tattva) . ^ An apparently conditioning limitation of the Absolute. In the body there are five kosha or sheaths — anna-may a, prana-may ay mano-mayay vijndna-mayay dnanda-mayay or the physical and vital bodies, the two mental bodies, and the body of bliss> In the first the Lord is self-conscious as being dark or fair, short or tall, old or youthful. In the vital body He feels alive, hungry, and thirsty. In the mental bodies He thinks and understands. And in the body of Bliss He resides in happiness. Thus gar¬ mented with the five garments, the Lord, though all pervading, appears as though He were limited by them.^

In the material body, which is called the sheath of food {anna-maya kosYid), reign the elements earth, water, and fire, which are those presiding in the lowest Chakra, the Mulddhdra, Svadhi^YitYidna, and mani-pura centres. The two former produce food and drink, which is assimilated by the fire of digestion, and converted into the body of food. The indriya are both the faculty and organs of sense. There are in this body the material organs, as distinguished from the faculty of sense. In the gross body {sharlra-kosYia) there are^ six external kosYia — ^viz., hair, blood, flesh, which come from the mother, and bone, muscle, marrow, from the father. The organs of sense {indriya) are of two kinds — viz. : jndnendriya, or organs of sensation, through which know- 1 According to " Theosophic '' teaching, the first two sheaths are apparently the physical body in its dense (Anna-maya) and etheric (Pydna-maya) forms. Mano-maya represents the astral (Kama) and lower mental body ; Vijndna-maya the higher mental or (theosophical) causal body, and the highest the Atmik body. ^ The Prapancha-saxa (chap, ii.) gives shukra (semen) instead of mdngsa (flesh). lii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION ledge of the external world is obtained (ear, skin, eyes, tongue, nose) ; and karmendriya, or organs of action — mouth, arms, legs, anus, penis, the functions of which are speech, holding, walking, excretion, and procreation.

The second sheath is the prana-may a-kosYia, or sheath of ‘'breath'' {prana), which manifests itself in air and ether, the presiding elements in the Anahata and Vishuddha chakra. There are ten vdyu (airs), or inner vital forces, of which the first five^ are the principal — namely, the sapphire prana ; apdna, the colour of an evening cloud ; the silver vydna ; uddna, the colour of fire ; and the milky samdna} These are all aspects of the action of the one Pra^zadevata. lAunddlinl is the Mother of prdna, which She the Mula-Praknti, illumined by the light of the Supreme Atmd, generates. Prdna is vdyu, or the universal force of activity, divided on entering each individual into five¬ fold function. Specifically considered, prdna is inspira¬ tion, which with expiration is from and to a distance of eight and twelve inches respectively. Uddna is the ascending vdyu. Apdna is the downward vdyu, expelling wind, excrement, urine, and semen. The samdna, or collective vdyu, kindles the bodily fire, “ conducting equally the food, etc., throughout the body." Vydna is the separate vdyu, effecting division and difiusion. These forces cause respiration, excretion, digestion, circulation. Mano-maya, Vijnana- and Ananda-maya VLosha. The next two sheaths are the mano-maya and vijnana kosha. These constitute the antah-karana, which is four-

^ See S^ada-tilaka. The minor vayu are ndga, kurmma, kiikara, deva-datta, dhananjaya, producing hiccup, closing and opening eyes, assistance to digestion, yawning, and distension, “ which leaves not even the corpse.** fold — namely, mind in its twofold aspect of buddhi and manas, self -hood {ahankdra), and chitta} The function of the first is doubt sangkalpa-vikalpdtmaka, (uncertainty, certainty) ; of the second, determination {nishchaya-^ kdrim) ; of the third (egoity), consciousness {ahhimdna), Manas automatically registers the facts which the senses perceive. Buddhi, on attending to such registration, discriminates, determines, and cognizes the object regis¬ tered, which is set over and against the subjective self by Ahangkdra. The function of chitta is contemplation (chintd), the faculty^ whereby the mind in its sense raises for itself the subject of its thought and dwells thereon. For whilst buddhi has but three moments in which it is born, exists, and dies, chitta endures. The antah-karana is master of the ten senses, which are the outer doors through which it looks forth upon the external world. The faculties, as opposed to the organs or instruments of sense, reside here. The centres of the powers inherent in the last two sheaths are in the Ajnd Chakra and the region above this and below the sahasrdra lotus. In the latter the Atmd of the last sheath of bliss resides. The physical or gross body is called sthulasharira. The subtle body [sukshma-shartra, also called linga-shartra and kdrana-shartra) comprises the ten indriya, manas, ahangkdra, buddhi, and the five functions of prana. This subtle body contains in itself the cause of rebirth into the gross body when the period of reincarnation arrives.

The dtmd, by its association with the upddhis, has three states of consciousness — namely, the jdgrat, or waking state, when through the sense organs are perceived objects of sense through the operation of manas and buddhi. It ^ According to Sankhya, chitta is included in huddhi. The above is the Vedantic classification. ^ The most important from the point of view of worship on account of mantra- smavana and devatd-smarana, etc. Uv TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION is explained in the Tshvara-pratya-bhijna as follows — the waking state dear to all is the source of external action through the activity of the senses/' The jlva is called/agan — that is, he who takes upon himself the gross body called Vtshva. The second is svapna, the dream state, when, the sense organs being withdrawn, Atmd is conscious of mental images generated by the impressions of jdgrat experience. Here manas ceases to record fresh sense impressions, and it and huddki work on that which manas has registered in the waking state. The explanation of this state is also given in the work last cited. “ The state of svapna is the objectification of visions perceived in the mind, due to the perception of ideas there latent." Jlva in the state of svapna is termed taijasa. Its in¬ dividuality is merged in the subtle body. Hiranyagarbha is the collective form of these jlva, as Vaisvdnara is such form of the jlva in the waking state.

The third state is that of sushupti, or dreamless sleep, when manas itself is withdrawn, and huddhi, dominated by tamas, preserves only the notion : ‘‘ Happily I slept ; I was not conscious of anything" (Patanjala-yoga-sutra). In the Macrocosm the upddhi of these states are also called Virdt, Hiranya-garbha, and Avyakta. The description of the state of sleep is given in the Shiva-sutra as that in which there is incapacity of discrimination or illusion. By the saying cited from the Pdtanjala-sutra three modi¬ fications of avidyd are indicated — viz., ignorance, egoism, and happiness. Sound sleep is that state in which these three exist. The person in that state is termed prdjna, his individuality being merged in the causal body {kdraria) . Since in the sleeping state the p^djna becomes Brahman, he is no longer jlva as before ; but the jlva is then not the supreme one {Paramdtmd), because the state is associated with avidyd. Hence, because the vehicle in the jlva in the sleeping state is Kdrana, the vehicle of the jlva in the fourth is declared to be mahd-

kdrana. Ishvara is the collective form of the frdjna jiva. Beyond susYiupti is the turlya, and beyond turlya the transcendent fifth state without name. In the fourth state shuddha-vidyd is acquired, and this is the only realistic one for the yogi which he attains through, samddhi-yoga. Jlva in turlya is merged in the great causal body {mahd-kdrana) . The fifth state arises from firmness in the fourth. He who is in this state becomes equal to Shiva, or, more strictly, tends to a close equality ; for it is only beyond that, that '' the spotless one attains the highest equality,'' which is unity. Hence even in the fourth and fifth states there is an absence of that full perfection which constitutes the Supreme. Bhaskara-raya, in his Commentary on the Lalita, when pointing out that the Tantrik theory adds the fourth and fifth states to the first three adopted by the followers of the Upanishads, says that the latter states are not separately enumerated by them owing to the absence in those two states of the full perfection of Jiva or of Shiva. It is said^ that there are 3 J crores of nddl in the human body, of which some are gross and some are subtle. Nddl means a nerve or artery in the ordinary sense ; but all the nddlsoi which the books on Yoga^ speak are not of this physical character, but are subtle channels of energy. Of thesb nddl, the principal are fourteen ; and of

^ Nddl-vijndna (chap, i., verses 4 and 5). - SAa^-chakra••ni^upa^^a (Commentary cn verse i), quoting from jBhuta-shuddhi Tantra, speaks of j2,ooonddt (see also Niruttara Tantra, Prana-to^Awi, p. 35), and the Shiva-sanghita (2, 13) of three lacs and 50,000. Ivi TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION these fourteen, id.d, pingald, and susliumnd are the chief ; and, again, of these three susYiumnd is the greatest, and to it all others are subordinate. SusYiumnd is in the hollow of the meru in the cerebro-spinal axis.^ It extends from the Mulddhdra lotus, the Tattvik earth centre,^ to the cerebral region. Sushumnd is in the form of Fire (vahni-svarupd) , and has within it the vajrimnddl in the form of the sun {surya-svarupa). Within the latter is the pale nectar-dropping chitrd or chitrimnd&l, which is also called Brdhma-nddt, in the form of the moon (chandra-svarupd), Sushumnd is thus tng^^nd. The various lotuses in the different Chakra of the body {vide post) are all suspended from the chitrd-nddl, the chakra being described as knots in the nadl, which is as thin as the thousandth part of a hair. Outside the meru^ and on each side of sushumnd are the nddi idd and pingald, Idd is on the left side, and, coiling round sushumnd, has its exit in the left nostril. Pingald is on the right, and, similarly coiling, enters the right nostril. The sushumnd, interlacing idd and pingald and the djnd-chakra round which they pass, thus forms a repre¬ sentation of the caduceus of Mercury. Idd is of a pale colour, is moon-like {chandra-svarupd), and contains nectar. Pingald is red, and is sun-like^ {suryya-svarupd) , containing '' venom,’’ the fluid of mortality. These three '' rivers,” which are united at the djnd-chakra, flow separately from that point, and for this reason the ajnd-chakrd is called muktd trivenl. The mulddhdra is called Yuktd{umied)-tri-vem, since it is the meeting-

^ It has been thought, on the authority of the Tantra-chu^?a-mawi, that sushumna is outside meru ; but this is not so, as the Author of the SAa^-chakra-nirupaT^a points out (verse 2) . Idd and 'Pingald are outside the meru; the quoted passage in Nigama-tattva-sara referring to sushumnd, vajrd, and chitrim. - The Tattvas of “earth,” “water,” “fire,” “air,” and “ether,” referred to in the Introduction and Text are not to be identified with the so-called popular “ elements ” of those names. 3 See note (i). place of the three nddl, which are also called Ganga (/da), Yamuna [Pingald), and Sarasvati {susYiumnd), after the three sacred rivers of India. The opening at the end of the sush-umnd in the mulddhdra is called brahma-dvara, which is closed by the coils of the sleeping Devi Kuwialini. There are six chakra, or dynamic Tattvik centres, in the body — viz., the mulddhdra, svddhi^ihdna, mam~pura, andhata, vishuddha, and djnd — which are described in the following notes. Over all there is the thousand-petalled lotus (sahasrdra-padma) . Mulddhdra'^ is a triangular space in the midmost portion of the body, with the apex turned down¬ wards like a young girl's yoni. It is described as a red lotus of four petals, situate between the base of the sexual organ and the anus. ‘'Earth'’ evolved from “water” is the Tattva of this chakra. On the four petals are the four golden varnas — '' vang'' (-q), '' shang'' (^), “sha^^g" (isf), and ''sang'' In

the four petals pointed towards the four directions (Ishdna, etc.) are the four forms of bliss — yogdnanda (yoga bliss), paramdnanda (supreme bliss), sahaj-dnanda (natural bliss), and mrdnanda (vira bliss). In the centre of this lotus is Svayamhhu4inga, ruddy brown, ^ Mula, the root ; ddhdra, support ;■ for the mulddhdra is the root of SusMmna and that on which Kuw^?alini rests. actual lotuses or letters engraved thereon. These and other terms are employed to represent realities of yoga experience. Thus the lotus is a plexus of nadis, the disposition of the latter at the particular chakra in question determining the number of the petals. Iviii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION like the colour of a young leaf. Chitnm-na6.l is figured as a tube, and the opening at its end at the base of the Unga is called the door of Brahman {brahmadvara), through which the Dev? ascends."*- The lotus, Unga and brahma-diidra, hang downwards. The Devi Ku?^ialini, more subtle than the fibre of the lotus, and luminous as lightning, lies asleep coiled like a serpent around the Unga, and closes with Her body the door of Brahman. The Devi has forms in the brahmdnda. Her subtlest form in the finddnda, or body, is called Kunialini, a form of Praknti pervading, supporting, and ex¬ pressed in the form of, the whole universe ; the Glitter¬ ing Dancer (as the Sarada-tilaka calls Her) in the lotus-like head of the yogi.’' When

awakened, it is She who gives birth to the world made of mantra.^ A red fiery triangle surrounds svayambhudinga, and within the triangle is the red Kandarpa-z^ay^^, or air, of Kama, a form of the apdna vayu, for here is the seat of creative desire. Outside the triangle is a yellow square, called the piithivl- (e3xth)-mandala, to which is attached the '' eight thun¬ ders ” (ashta-vajra). Here is the vtja '‘lang” (^), and with it pvithivl on the back of an elephant. Here also are Brahma and Savitri,^ and the red four-handed Shakti Dakini.^

SvddhislitYidna is a six-petalled lotus at the base of the sexual organ, above mulddhdra and below the navel. Its pericarp is red, and its petals are like lightning. Water ” 1 Hence She is called in the Lalita-sahasra-n^ma (verse io6), Mulddhd rdmbuj arudhd. 2 See Fr^nsi-toshini, p. 45. because He creates beings. ^ Who, according to the Sammohana Tantra (chap, ii,), acts as keeper of the door. evolved from '"fire ” is the Tattva of this chakra. The varnas on the petals are "'bang'" (^), ''bhang'' (^), "mang" {^), "yang" (^), "rang" (x), and "lang" (^). In the six petals are also the* vvitti (states, qualities, functions, or inclinations)— namely, frashraya (credulity), a-vishvdsa (suspicion, mistrust), avajnd (dis¬ dain), murchchhd (delusion, or, as some say, disin¬ clination), sarvva-ndsha (false knowledge),^ and kruratd (pitilessness). Within a semicircular space in the peri¬ carp are the Devata, the dark blue Maha-visAOT, Mahalaks/tmi, and Sarasvatl. In front is the blue fourhanded Rakinl Shakti, and the vtjd of Varu^a, Lord of water or "vang" (^). Inside the vlja there is the region of Varu^a, of the shape of an half-moon, and in it is Varu^a himself seated on a white alligator (makara). Mani-pura- chakra^ is a ten-petalled golden lotus, situate above the last in the region of the navel. Fire " evolved from " air " is the Tattva of this chakra. The ten petals are of the colour of a cloud, and on them are the blue varnas — " da^^g '' (^)/' Ahang " (^), '' nang " (iq*), ''tang'' (t), " thang" (^), "dang" (:5r), " dhang" (^), "nang" (i^), "pang" (tj), " phang" (xji)_and the ten vxitti {vide ante), namely, lajjd' (shame), pishunatd (fickleness), IrsYid (jealousy), fi:ishn<^ (desire), sushupti (laziness),^ vishdda (sadness), kasYidya (dullness), moha (ignorance), ghxind (aversion, disgust), lhaya (fear). Within the pericarp is the vlja of fire {"rang"), and a triangular figure {man&ala) of Agni, Lord of

^ Lit. “destruction of everything, which false knowledge leads to, Devi is (pura) with gems {mani) : see Bhaskara-raya’s Commentary on Lalita-sahasra-nama, verses 37 and 38. By others it is so called because (due to the presence of fire) it is like a gem. 3 Deeply so, with complete disinclination to action: absence of all energy. lx TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION Fire, to each side of which figure are attached three auspicious signs or svastika. Agni, red, four-handed, and seated on a ram, is within the figure. In front of him are Rudra and his Shakti Bhadra-kali. Rudra is of the colour of vermilion, and is old. His body is smeared with ashes. He has three eyes and two hands. With one of these he makes the sign which grants boons and blessings, and with the other that which dispels fear. Near him is the four-armed Lakini Shakti, of the colour of molten gold (tapta-kdnchana) , wearing yellow raiments and ornaments. Her mind is maddened with passion {mada-matta-chittd) . Above the lotus is the abode and region of Suryya. The solar region drinks the nectar which drops from the region of the Moon* Andhata-chakra is a deep red lotus of twelve petals, situate above the last and in the region of the heart, which is to be distinguished from the heart-lotus facing upwards of eight petals, spoken of in the text, where the patron deity (Ishia-devata) is meditated upon.

Air ” evolved from ether ” is the Tattva of the former lotus. On the twelve petals are the vermilion varnas — ''Kang’' (^), ‘'Khang” (?f), "Gang” (it); '' Ghang'' (ig), '' ngang'' (^), “chang’^ (^), "Chhang” (^). ''Jang'' (^), Jhang" (^), " Nyang" " Tang" {^), "Tha7tg" (1), and the twelve viittis {vide ante) — namely, ashd (nope), chintd (care, anxiety), cheshtd (endeavour), mamata (sense of mineness),^ dambha (arrogance or hypoc¬ risy), vtkalatd (languor), ahangkdra (conceit), viveka (discrimination), lolatd (covetousness), kafaiaid (du¬ plicity), vitarka (indecision), anutdpa (regret). A tri¬ angular mandiala within the pericarp of this lotus of the lustre of lightning is known as the Tri-kona Shakti. Within this mandala is a red vdna4inga, called Naraya^a

or Hiratz-ya-garblia, and near it Ishvara and His Shakti Bhuvaneshvari. Ishvara, who is the Overlord of the first three chakra, is of the colour of molten gold, and with His two hands grants blessings and dispels fear. Near him is the three-eyed Kakini Shakti, lustrous as lightning, with four hands holding the noose and drinking-cup, and making the sign of blessing, and that which dispels fear. She wears a garland of human bones. She is excited, and her heart is softened with wine. Here, also, are several other Shakti, such as Kala-ratri, as also the mja of air {vayu) or “ vang ” (^). Inside the lotus is a six-cornered smoke-coloured mandiala, and the circular region of smoke-coloured Vayu, who is seated on a black antelope. Here, too, is the embodied Mma {jlvatmd), like the taper¬ ing flame of a lamp. Vishuddha chakra or Bhdratisthdna, abode of the Devi of speech, is above the last and at the lower end of the throat {kanth.a-mula) . The Tattva of this chakra is “ether.” The lotus is of a smoky colour, or the colour of fire seen through smoke. It has sixteen petals, which carry the red vowels — “ ang” (^), “ dng” (^), “ing” {i),

('*), “Ting ii), “ aing’ (■^), “ ah ’’ (^:) ; the seven musical notes {nishada, xishahha, gdndhdra, shada/a, madhyama, dhaivata and ■panchama) : “venom” (in the eighth petal); the vlja “ hung,” “ phat,” “ vaushat,” “ vashat,” “ svadhd,” “ svdhd,” “ namdh,” and in the sixteenth petal nectar {amvita). In the pericarp is a triangular region, within which is the androgyne Shiva, known as Arddhandrishvara. There also are the region of the full moon and ether, with its vlja “ hang ” (^). The dkdsha-mandala is transparent and round in shape. “Ing” (5), “ ung” (^), “ung” (^), “ ring’ ” (^. “Iriwg” (^), “Iring” (w), “eng” ’ (T), “ong” m, “aung” (-^)^ “ang” Ixii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION Akasha himself is here dressed in white, and mounted on a white elephant. He has four hands, which hold the noose^ {pasha), the elephant-hook^ {angkusha), and with the other he makes the mudrd which grant blessing and dispel fear. Shiva is white, with five faces, three eyes, ten arms, and is dressed in tiger skins. Near Him is the white Shakti Shakini, dressed in yellow raiments, holding in Her four hands the bow, the arrow, the noose, and the hook.

Above the chakra, at the root of the palate {tdlumula) is a concealed chakra, called Laland and, in some Tantras, Kald-chakra. It is a red lotus with twelve petals, bear¬ ing the following t;ntti — shraddhd (faith), santosYia (con¬ tentment), aparddha (sense of error), dama (self-com¬ mand), mdna^ (anger), sneha (affection)^, shoka (sorrow, grief), kheda (dejection), shuddhatd (purity), arati (de¬ tachment), sambhrama (agitation),^ Urmmi (appetite, desire) . Ajna chakra is also called parama-kula and muktatri-vem, since it is from here that the three nadds — Ida, Pingald, and SusAurnna — go their separate ways. It is a two-petalled lotus, situate between the two eyebrows. In this Chakra there is no gross Tattva, but the subtle Tattva mind is here. Hakardrddha, or half the letter La, is also there. On its two petals are the red varnas “ hang '' and '' kshangP ^ The Devi herself holds the noose of desire. Desire is the vasand form and the noose is the gross form (see next note) . 2 The Vamakeshvara Tantra says : The noose and the elephanthook of Her are spoken of as desire and anger. But the Yoginihndaya i. 53 says: “The noose is ichchhdshakti, the goa.d jndnashakti, and the bow and arrows knya-shakti.'^

are attached to one another, as in the case of man and wife. ^ Towards those younger or lower than oneself. In the pericarp is concealed the vija '' ong.” In the two petals and the pericarp there are the three gu^a — ■ sattva, rajas, and tamas. Within the triangular manAala in the pericarp there is the lustrous (tejo-mayd) linga in the form of the pranava (pranavakriti) , which is called Itara. Para- Shiva in the form of hangsa (hangsa-rupa) is also there with his Shakti — Siddha-KalL In the three corners of the triangle are Brahma, Yishmi, and Maheshvara, respectively. In this chakra there is the white Hakini-Shakti, with six heads and four hands, in which are jndna-mudra,^ a skull, a drum (damaru), and a rosary. Above the djna-chakra there is another secret chakra, called manas-chakra. It is a lotus of six petals, on which are shaida-jhdna, sparsYia-jhdna, rupa-jndna, aghranopalabdhi, rasopabhoga, and svapna, or the faculties of hearing, touch, sight, smell, taste, and sleep, or the absence of these. Above this, again, there is another secret chakra, called Soma-chakra. It is a lotus of six¬ teen petals, which are also called sixteen Kald.^ These Kald are called kripd' (mercy), mxidutd (gentleness), dhairyya (patience, composure), vairdgya (dispassion), dhiiti (constancy), sampat (prosperity),^ hasya (cheerful¬ ness), romdncha (rapture, thrill), vinaya (sense of pro¬ priety, humility), dhydna (meditation), susthiratd (quietude, restfulness), gdmbhtryya (gravity),"^ udyama (enterprise, effort), aksYiobha (emotionlessness),^ auddrya (magnanimity), and ekdgratd (concentration).

Above this last chakra is the- house without sup¬ port’' {nirdlamba-purl) , where yogis see the radiant ^ Kald — a part, also a digit of the moon. 2 That is, spiritual prosperity. ^ Of demeanour evidencing a grave nature. ® The state of being undisturbed by one's emotions. Ixiv TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION ishvara. Above this is the pranava shining like a flame, and above pranma the white crescent NMa, and above this last the point Vindu. There is then a white lotus of twelve petals with its head upwards, and over this lotus there is the ocean of nectar {sudhd-sagara), the island of gems {mani-dvlpa), the altar of gems {manipitYia), the forked lightning-like lines a, ka, tha, and therein Nada and Vindu, On Ndda and Vindu, as an altar, there is the Paramahangsa, and the latter serves as an altar for the feet of the Guru ; there the Guru of all should be meditated. The body of the Hangsa on which the feet of the Guru rest is jndnamdyd, the wings Agama and Nigama, the two feet Shiva and Shakti, the beak Pranava, the eyes and throat Kama-Kald. Close to the thousand-petalled lotus is the. sixteenth digit of the moon, which is called amd-kald, which is pure red and lustrous like lightning, as fine as a fibre of the lotus, hanging downwards, receptacle of the lunar nectar. In it is the crescent nirvdnd-kald, luminous as the Sun, and finer than the thousandth part of a hair. This is the IsYita-devatd of all. Near nirvdna-kald is parama-nirvdna-Shakti, infinitely subtle, lustrous as the Sun, creatrix of tattva-jndna. Above it are Vindu and Visarga-Shakti, root and abode of all bliss.

Sahasrdra-padma — or thousand petalled lotus of all colours — ^hangs with its head downwards from the brahma-randhra above all the chakra. This is the re¬ gion of the first cause {Brahma-loka), the cause of the six proceeding causes. It is the great Sun both cosmically and individually, in whose effulgence Parama-Shiva and Ady a- Shakti reside. The power is the vdchaka-Shakti or sag-una-brahman, holding potentially within itself, the gunas, powers, and planes, Parama-Shiva is in the form of the Great Ether [paramdkdsha-rupl), the Supreme Spirit (paramdtmd), the Sun of the darkness of ignorance. In each of the petals of the lotus are placed all the letters of the alphabet ; and whatever there is in the lower chakra or in the universe {brahmanAa) exist here in potential state [avyakta-hhdva), Shaivas call this place SUva - sthdna, Vais^^avas, Parama - purusYia, Shaktas, Devt-sthdna, the Sankhya sages Prah:iti-'purusha-sthdna. Others call it by other names, such as Hari-hara-sthdna. Shakti-sthdna, Parama-Brahma, Parama-hangsa, Paramajyotih, Kula-sihdna, and Parama-Shiva-Akula. But whatever the name, all speak of the same. The Tantras speak of three temperaments, dispositions, characters {bhdva), or classes of men — ^namely, the fashubhdva (animal), vira-bhava (heroic), and divya-bhdva (deva-like or divine). These divisions are based on various modifications of the guna (v. ante) as they manifest in man {jlva). It has been pointed out^ that the ana¬ logous Gnostic classification of men as material, psychical, and spiritual, correspond to the three guna of the Sankhyadarshana.

In the pashu the rajo-guna operates chiefly on tamas, producing such dark characteristics as error (bhranti), drowsiness (tandrd), and sloth [dlasya). It is however, an error to suppose that the pashu is as such a bad man ; on the contrary, a jiva of this class may prove superior to a jiva of the next. If the former, who is greatly bound by .matter, lacks enlightenment, the latter may abuse the greater freedom he has won. There are also numerous kinds of pashu, some more some less tamasik than others. Some there are at the lowest end of the scale, which marks the first advance upon the higher forms of animal life. Others approach and gradually merge into the vlra class. The term pashu comes from the root pash, “ to bind.'" The pashu is, in fact, the man who is bound by the bonds {pasha), of which the Kular-

^ Richard Garbe, “ Philosophy of Ancient India,” p. 48, as also before him, Banr. • Ixvi TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION ;2-ava Tantra enumerates eight — ^namely, pity {day a), ignorance and delusion {moha), fear {bhaya), shame [lajja), disgust {ghxmd), family {kula), custom {shUa), and caste (varna) . Other enumerations are given of the afflictions which, according to some, are sixty-two, but all such larger divisions are merely elaborations of the simpler enumerations. The j>ashu is also the worldly man, in ignorance and bondage, as opposed to the yogi and the tattva-jndni. Three divisions of pashu are also spoken of — namely, sakala, who are bound by the three pasha, called aiiu (want of knowledge or erroneous knowledge of the self), hheda (the division also induced by mdyd of the one self into many), and karmma (action and its product. These are the three impurities (mala) . called dnava-mala, mayd-mala, and Karmma-mala, Pratayakala are those bound by the first and last, and Vijndna-kevala are those bound by anava-mdld only. He who frees himself of the remaining impurity of anu becomes Shiva Himself. The Devi bears the pasha, and is the cause of them, but She, too, is pashupdsha-vimochim} Liberatrix of the pashu from his bondage.

What has been stated gives the root notion of the term pashu. Men of this class are also described in Tantra by exterior traits, which are manifestations of the in¬ terior disposition. So the Kubjika Tantra^ says : '' Those who belong to pashu-bhdva are simply pashu. A pashu does not touch a yantra, nor make japa of mantra at night. He entertains doubt about sacrifices and Tantra ; regards a mantra as being merely letters only.® He lacks faith in the guru, and thinks that the image is but a block of stone. He distinguishes one Deva from another,^ and worships without flesh and fish. He is always bathing, owing to his ignorance,® and talks ill of i Lalita-shashasra-nama (verse 78). 2 Chapter VII. 3 Instead of being Devata. Similarly the Nitya Tantra (see Prana toshini, 547 et seq.). ^ Not recogaiziifg that all are but plural manifestations of the One. of internal purity of mind, etc. others.^ Such an one is called pashu, and he is the worst kind of man.”2 Similarly the Nitya Tantra® describes the pashu as—" He who does not worship at night, nor in the evening, nor in the latter part of the day who avoids sexual intercourse, except on the fifth day after the appearance of the courses® {riiu-kalang vind devi ramanang pativarjayet) ; who do not eat meat, etc., even on the five auspicious days [paTWcma) ; in short, those who, following Vedachara, Vaishnavachara, and Shaivachara, bound by the "V aidik rules which govern all pashus.

In the case of vtra-bhdva, rajas more largely works on sattva, yet also largely (though in lessening degrees, until the highest stage of divya-bhdva is reached) works independently towards the production of acts in which sorrow inheres. There are several classes of vha. The third, or highest, class of man is he of the divyabhdva (of which, again, there are several degrees— some but a stage in advance of the highest form of vtra-bhdva, others completely reahzing the deva-nature), in which rajas operate on sattva-guxia to the confirmed prepon¬ derance of the latter. The Nitya Tantra® says that of the bhdva the divya is the best, the vlra the next best, and the pashu the lowest ; and that devatd-bhdva must be awakened through vlra- forms of worship than their own ; a common fault of the pashu the world over. In fact, the Pichchhila Tantra (chap, xx.) says that the Vaislujiava must worship Parameshvara like a pashu. temperaments. See Nitya Tantra, and chap, x. of Pichchhila Tantra, where pashu-hhava is described. 3 See Prawa-tosAiwi, p. 547. ^ As Tantrikd vlra do. . injunction, as to which see post. The Vlra and divya are not so bound to maithuna on the fifth day only ; that is as to mUithuna as a part of vlfdchdra. ® Loc. cit.

ixviii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION hhava. The Pichchhila Tantra^ says that the only differ¬ ence between the vlra and divya men is that the former are very uddhata, by which is probably meant excitable, through the greater prevalence of the independent work¬ ing of the rajo-gmia in them than in the calmer sattvik temperament. It is obvious that such statements must not be read with legal accuracy. There may be, in fact, a considerable difference between a low type of vlra and the highest type of divya, though it seems to be true that this quality of uddhata which is referred to is the cause of such differences, whether great or small. The Kubjika Tantra^ describes the marks of the divya as he who daily does ablutions, sandhyd ; and wearing clean cloth, the tripundara mark in ashes, or red sandal, and ornaments of rudraksha beads, performs jap a and archchand. He gives charity daily also. His faith is strong in Veda, Shdstra, guru, and Deva. He worships the Pitri and Deva, and performs all the daily rites. He has a great knowledge of mantra. He avoids all food, except that which his guru offers him, and all cruelty and other bad actions, regarding both friend and foe as one and the same. He himself ever speaks the truth, and avoids the company of those who decry the Devatd. He worships thrice daily, and meditates upon his guru daily, and, as a Bhairava, worships Parameshvari with divya-hhdva. All Devas he regards as beneficial.® He bows down at the feet of women, regarding them as his guru"^ {strmdng pdda-talang dxis\itvd guru-vad bhdvayet

^ Chapter X. and so also Utpatti Tantra (chap. Ixiv.) See Pranatoskinl, p. 570, where also bhdva is described as the dharmma of the manas. an orthodox, up-country Hindu who is a worshipper of Rama cannot even bear to hear the name of iiTrishna, though both 'Rama and ifrishn^t are each avdtara of the same Yishnu, who is again himself but a partial manifestation of the great Shakti. ^ He is even stn-khanda-pangkaja-rudhira-bhushitah, for he is unaffected by the pasha of gAriwa or lajjd. sada). He worships the Devi at night/ and makes japa at night with his mouth full of pdn,^ and makes obeisance to the hula t;riksh(3^/ He offers everything to the Supreme Devi. He regards this universe as pervaded by strl {shakti), and as Devata. Shiva is in all men, and the whole brahmdnda is pervaded by Shiva-Shakti. He ever strives for the attainment and maintenance of devatdbhdva, and is himself of the nature of a Devatd. Here, again, the Tantra only seeks to give a general picture, the details of which are not applicable to all men of the divya-bhdva class. The passage shows that it, or portions of it, refer to the ritual divya, for some of the practices there referred to would not be performed by the avadhuta, who is above all ritual acts, though he would also share (possibly in intenser degree) the beliefs of divya men of all classes — that he and all else are but manifestations of the universe-pervading Supreme Shakti.

According to the temperament of the sddhaka, so is the form of worship and sddhana. In fact, the specific worship and sddhana of the other classes is strictly pro¬ hibited by the Tantra to the pashu. It is said in this Tantra^ and elsewhere® that, in the Kaliyuga, divya and pashu dispositions can scarcely be found. It may be thought difficult at first sight to reconcile this (so far as the pashu is concerned) with other statements as to the nature of these respective classes. The term pashu, in these and similar passages, would appear to be used in a good sense® as referring to a man who, though ^ Vaidik worship is by day. 2 That is, after eating, pan being taken after meal?. 3 An esoteric term, as to which see Tantrabhidhana. Similarly (in Nitya Tantra), he does obeisance to the kulastrl, who is versed in Tantra and mantra, whether she has been brought by a dull, is pungshchall, or veshyd, and whether youthful or old. ^ Chapter I., verse 54. ® See Shyamarchchana-chandrika, cited in Hara-tattva-dldhiti, p. 348. ® So verse 54 speaks of the pashu as one who should himself procure the leaves, fruits, and water for worship, and not look at a Shudra, or even think of a woman.

Ixx TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION tamasic, yet performs his functions with that obedience to nature which is shown by the still more tamasic animal creation free from the disturbing influences of rajas, which, if it may be the source of good, may also be, when operating independently, the source of evil.^ The Commentator explains the passage cited from the Tantra as meaning that the conditions and character of the Kali-yuga are not such as to be productive of pashu-bhava (apparently in the sense stated), or to allow of its dchara (that is, Vaidikdchdra), No one, he says, can fully perform the veddchdra, vaisYmav dchara, and shavdchdra rites, without which the Vaidik, Pauramk mantra, and yajna are fruitless. No one now goes through the brahma-charya dshrama, or adopts after the fiftieth year that called vdna-prastha. Those whom the Veda does not control cannot expect the fruit of Vaidik ob¬ servances. On the contrary, men have taken to drink, associate with the low, and are fallen ; as are also those men who associate with them. There can therefore be no pure pashu. Under these circumstances the duties prescribed by the Vedas which are appropriate for the pashu being incapable of performance, Shiva foi the liberation of men of the Kali Age has proclaimed the Agama. Now, there is no other way.'" The explana¬ tion thus given, therefore, appears to amount to this. The pure type of pashu for whom veddchdra was de¬ signed does not exist. For others who though pashu are not purely so, the Tantra is the governing Shastra. This, however, does not mean that all are now com¬ petent for vlrdchdra.

It is to be noted, however, that the Prana-tosMni^ cites a passage purporting to come from the Mahanirva^a Tantra, which is apparently in direct opposition to the foregoing : attain siddhi through the Tantra quicker than a viva can. Divya-vira-mayo bhdvah kalau ndsti kadd-chana '' In the Kali Age there is no divya or vira-bhdva. It is only by the pashu-bhdva that men may obtain mantrasiddhi” This matter of the bhdva prevalent in the Kali-yuga has been the subject of considerable discussion and difference of opinion, and is only touched upon here.^ The Guru is the religious teacher and spiritual guide to whose direction orthodox Hindus of all divisions of worshippers submit themselves. There is in reality but one Guru. The ordinary human Guru is but the mani¬ festation on the phenomenal plane of the Adi-natha Maha-kala, the Supreme Guru abiding in Kailasa.^ He it is who enters into and speaks with the voice of the earthly Guru at the time of giving mantra.^ Guru is the root {mula) of dlk^d (imitation). Dlfeh^ is the root of mantra. Mantra is the root of Devatd; and Devata is the root of siddhi. The Mu^^?a-mala Tantra says that mantra is born of Guru and Devatd of mantra, so that the Guru occupies the position of a grandfather to the IshXa-devatd.

It is the Guru who initiates and helps, and the re¬ lationship between him and the disciple {shishya) con¬ tinues until the attainment of monistic siddhi. Manu says : Of him who gives natural birth and of him who gives knowledge of the Veda the giver of sacred know¬ ledge is the more venerable father. Since second or divine birth insures life to the twice-born in this world and the next,'' The Shdstra is, indeed, full of the great- account with considerable diffidence as to its complete accuracy. ^ Guroh sthdnam hi kaildsam (Yogini Tantra, chap, i.) . ^ Mantra-praddna-kdle hi mdnushe naga-nandini, AdMsh.th.dnang bhavei tatra mahdkdlasya shankari, Atastu gurutd devi mdnu^h.e naira sangshayah {ibid.) Ixxii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION ness of Guru} The Guru is not to be thought of as a mere man. There is no difference between Guru, mantra, and Deva. Guru is father, mother, and Brahman. Guru, it is said, can save from the wrath of Shiva, but none can save from the wrath of the Guru. Attached to this greatness there is, however, responsibility ; for the sins of the disciple recoil upon him. Three lines of Guru are worshipped : heavenly {divydngga) siddha [siddhdngga) , and human [mdnavdngga) The Kula-guru are four in number, viz. : the Guru ,Parama-guru, Pardpara-guru, Parameshti-guru ; each of these being the guru of the preceding one. According to the Tantra, woman with the necessary qualifications may be a guru, and give initiation.^ Good qualities are required in the disciple,^ and according to the Sara-sangraha a guru should examine and test the intending disciple for a year.-*" The qualifications of a good disciple are stated to be good birth, purity of soul (shuddhdtmd) , and capa¬ city for enjoyment, combined with desire for liberation {purusYiartha-pardyanah) Those who are lewd [kdmuka) , adulterous {para-dardtura), constantly addicted to sin {sadd pdpa-kriya), ignorant, slothful, and devoid of religion, should be rejected.'^

The perfect sddhaka who is entitled to the knowledge of all Shdstra is he who is pure-minded, whose senses are controlled [jitendriyah), who is ever engaged in doing good to all beings, free from false notions of dualism, attached to the speaking of, taking shelter with, and living in the supreme unity of the Brahman.® So long i See chap. i. of the Tantra-sara, which also deals with the qualities of the Guru ; the relationship between him and the disciple ; qualities of the disciple and so forth. - See note to Chapter VI., verses 97-98. 3 See post, p. Ixxiv. ^ Tantra-sara (chap, i.), s See Tantra-sara (chap, i.) and Prawa-tosAmi, p. 108, Matsya-sukta Maha- tantra, (chap. xiii.). ® Matsya-sukta Tantra (chap, xiii.), Prawa-tosAim, 108. Mahaxudra-yamala, i Khaw<^a (chap, xv.), 2 Kha^^c^a (chap. ii.). 8 Gandharva Tantra (chap, ii) . as Shakti is not fully communicated (see next note) to the shishya's body from that of the guru, so long the conventional relation of guru and shishya exists. A man is shishya only so long as he is sadhaka. When, however, siddhi is attained, both Guru and Shishya are above this dualism. With the attainment of pure monism, natur¬ ally this relation, as all others, disappears.

Initiation^ is the giving of mantra by the guru. At the time of initiation the guru must first establish the life of the guru in his own body ; that is the vital force {prdna-shakti) of the Supreme Guru whose abode is in the thousand-petalled lotus. As an image is the instru¬ ment (yantrd) in which divinity (devatva) inheres, so also is the body of guru. The day prior thereto the guru should, according to Tantra, seat the intending candi¬ date on a mat of kusha grass. He then makes jap a of a “ sleep mantra ” {supta-mantra) in his ear, and ties his crown lock. The disciple, who should have fasted and observed sexual continence, repeats the mantra thrice, prostrates himself at the feet of the guru, and then re¬ tires to rest. Initiation, which follows, gives spiritual knowledge and destroys sin. As one lamp is lit at the flame of another, so the divine shakti, consisting of mantra, is communicated from the guru's body to that of the Shishya, Without dlkshd, jdpa of the mantra, pujd, and other ritual acts, are said to be useless. Certain mantra are also said to be forbidden to shudra and women. A note, however, in the first Chalaks/iara Sutra to the Lalita^ would, however, show that even

1 As to who may initiate see Tantra-sara, chap. i. like the Sarvanukramaiiikd to the Veda. There are three svara in laukika vyakarana — viz., uddtta, the high accent, an-uddtta, its opposite or the low accent and, svanta, which Vdnmi says is the combination (samdhiita) of both. Pvachita is Vaidik [chhdndasa) . Ixxiv TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION the sYiudfa are not debarred the use even of the Pranava, as is generally asserted. For, according to the Kalika Parana (when - dealing with svara or tone), whilst the uddtta, an-uddtta, and prachita are appropriate to the first of these castes, the svara, called aukdra, with anusvara and ndda, is appropriate to shudra, who may use the Pranava, either at the beginning or end of mantra, but not, as the dvija may, at both places. The mantra chosen for initiation should be suitable [anukula) . Whether a mantra is sva-kula or a-kijla to the person about to be initiated is ascertained by the kula-chakra, the zodiacal circle called rdsMchakra and other chakra which may be found described in the Tantra-sara. Initiation by a woman is efficacious ; that by a mother is eight-fold so.^ Certain special forms of initiation, called dbhisheka, are described in the next note.

Abhisheka^ is of eight kinds, and the forms of abhisheka which follow the first at later stages, mark greater and greater degrees of initiation. The first shdktdbMsheka is given on entrance into the path of sddhana. It is so called because the guru then reveals to the shisYiya the preliminery mysteries of shakti-tattva. By it the shi^Yiya is cleansed of all sinful or evil shakti or proclivities, and acquires a wonderful new shakti.^ The next purndbhisYieka is given in the stage beyond dakshindchdra, when the disciple has qualified himself by purascharana and other practices to receive it. Here the real work of sddhana begins, Asana, yama, etc., strengthen the disciple's determination {pratijnd) to persevere along the 1 Tantra-sara, loc cit. Of the shaktabhisheka two forms are also mentioned — raja and yogi (see Prana-to^Aiwi, 254 ; Vamakeshvara Tantra, chap, 1. ; Niruttara Tantra, chap. vii.). As to what follows, see Tantrar ahasya, citedupost. higher stages of sddhana. The third is the difficult stage commenced by krama-dlkshabhisheka, in which it is said the great Yd^shishthdu became involved, and in which the Rishi Vishvamitra acquired hrahma-jnma, and so became a Brahma^a. The sacred thread is now worn round the neck like a garland. The shishya, then undergoing various ordeals [parlk^Yid), receives sdmrdfydbhisheka and mahd-sdmrdjyabhisheka, and at length arrives at the most difficult of all stages introduced by yoga-dlksh.dbhish.eka. In previous stages the sadhaka has performed the panchdnga-puraschharana, and, with the assistance of his guru (with whom he must constantly reside, and whose instructions he must receive direct), he does the panchdnga-yoga — that is, the last five limbs of the ashtdnga.

He is thereafter qualified for pumddlkshdbhisheka, and, following that, mahd-purnd-dlkshdbhisheka, sometimes called virdja-grahandbhisheka. On the attainment of perfection in this last grade, the sadhaka performs his own funeral rite {shrdddha), makes purnahuti with his sacred thread and crown lock. The relation of guru and shishya now ceases. From this point he ascends by himself until he realizes the great saying, So' ham I am He "). At this stage, which the Tantra calls jlvan-mukta (liberated whilst yet living), he is called parama-hangsa.

Sddhana is that which produces siddhi {q.v.). It is the means, or practice, by which the desired end may be attained, and consists in the exercise and training of the body and psychic faculties, upon the gradual perfection of which siddhi follows ; the nature and degree of which, again, depends upon the progress made towards the realization of the dtmd, whose veiling vesture the body is. The means employed are various, such as worship ipujd), exterior or mental; shastric learning; austerities (tapas) ; the pancha-tattva, mantra, and so forth. Sad- Ixxvi TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION hana takes on a special character, according to the end sought. Thus, sddhana for brahma-jndna, which con¬ sists in the acquisition of internal control [shama] over huddhi, mafias, and ahangkdra ; external control {dama) over the ten indriya, discrimination between the tran¬ sitory and the external, and renunciation both of the world and heaven (svarga), is obviously different from that prescribed for, say, the purposes of the lower magic. The sddhaka and sddhikd are respectively the man or woman who perform sddhana. They are, according to their physical, mental, and moral qualities, divided into four classes — mxidu, madhya, adhimdtraka, and the highest adhimdtrama, who is qualified (adhikdrl) for all forms of yoga. In a similar way the Kaula division of wor¬ shippers are divided into the frakriU, or common Kaula following vlrdchdra, addicted to ritual practice, and sddhana, xNxih. fai-icha-tattva ; iYit madhyama-kaulika, or middling Kaula, accomplishing the same sddhana, but with a mind more turned towards meditation, know¬ ledge, and samddhi ; and the highest type of Kaula {kaulikoUama) , who, having surpassed all ritualism, meditates upon the Universal Self.

There are four different forms of worship corre¬ sponding with four states {hhdva)} The realization that the jlvdtmd and 'paramdtmd are one, that every¬ thing is Brahman, and that nothing but the Brahman exists, is the highest state, or hrahma-hhdva. Constant meditation by the yoga process upon the Devatd in the heart is the lower and middlemost [dhydna-lhdva) . japa {q.v.) and stava (hymns and prayer) 'is still lower, and the lowest of all is mere external worship [pujd) {q^v.) . Pujd-bhdva is that which arises out of the dualistic notions of worshipper and worshipped ; the servant and ^ See Tantra-tattva, p, 210, the Lord. This dualism exists in greater or less degree in all the states except the highest. But for him who, having realized the advaita-tattva, knows that all is Brahman, there is neither worshipper nor wor¬ shipped, neither yoga nor fuja, nor dharand, dhydna, stava, japa, vrata, or other ritual or process of sadhana. In external worship there is worship either of an image [pfatimd)y or of a y antra which takes its place. The sddhaka should first worship inwardly the mental image of the form assumed by the Devi, and then by the life-giving {prdna-pratishthd) ceremony infuse the image with Her life by the communication to it of the light and energy (tejas) of the Brahman which is within him to the image without, from which there bursts the lustre of Her whose substance is consciousness itself (chaitanya-mayl) . She exists as Shakti in stone or metal, or elsewhere, but is there veiled and seemingly inert Chaitanya (consciousness) is aroused by the worshipper through the prana-pratishthd mantra.

Rites {karma) are of two kinds. Karma is either nitya or naimittika. The first is both daily and obligatory, and is done because so ordained. Such as the sandhya {v, post), which in the case of Shudras is in the Tantrik form ; and daily pujd {v, post) of the Ishta- and KulaDev aid {v. post) ; and for Brahma^as the pancha-mahdyajna {v, post). The second or conditional karma is occasional and voluntary, and is kdmya when done to gain some particular end, such as yajna for a particular object; with the same end (for certain forms of tap as are also nitya) ; and vrata {v. post). The Shudra is precluded from the performance of Vaidik rites, or the reading of the Vedas, or the recital of the Vaidik mantra. His worship is practically limited to that of the Hfea-Devata and the Ba^a-linga-puja, with Tantrik and Pauranik and such vrata as consist in penance and charity. In other cases the vrata is Ixxviii TANTRA OF THE GREAT LIBERATION performed through a Brahma^a. The Tantra makes no caste distinctions as regards worship. All may read the Tantras, perform the Tantrik worship, such as the sandhyd (v. post), and recite the Tantrik mantra, such as the Tantrik Gayatri. All castes, and even the lowest chand-dla, may be a member of a chakra, or Tantrik circle of worship. In the chakra all its members partake of food and drink together, and are deemed to be greater than Brahma^as ;