Acknowledgements

Tripurā Tallikā: We are grateful to all of our donors and supporters who make our work possible. The Cidvilāsastava project was generously funded by Cheryl Waters, who ensured that this rare text will be accessible to all who desire to read it without any barrier of payment or cost. Without Cheryl's kind generosity and belief in our initial vision and work, we would not have been able to complete this project.

Dr. Ben Williams: Upon discovering the Cidvilāsastava, I initially began reading the text with Dr. Christopher Wallis. I would like to thank Chris for his insights in those reading sessions, and also for his continual generosity and friendship. Dr. Anya Golovkova organized a panel at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) annual conference in 2019, which provided me with an opportunity to further research and think through the Cidvilāsastava in preparation for that conference presentation. Anya’s scholarship and collegiality has been a great support to my budding knowledge of Śrīvidyā. Dr. Sthaneshwar Timalsina was extremely gracious in his response to my paper at that AAR panel. Sthaneshwar-JI’s article, “Imagining Reality: Image and Visualization in Classical Hinduism,” includes a summary of each Cidvilāsastava verse. This article was an important resource for this translation. I would also like to thank Alexis Sanderson, not only for his scholarship, which is foundational to any study of classical Śākta and Śaiva tantra, but also for his article, “Meaning in Tantric Ritual,” which includes a translation of select verses from the Cidvilāsastava—yet another resource from which this project benefits. Finally, I am deeply grateful to Brian Campbell, for conceiving the project, for his unwaning enthusiasm, and for facilitating such a seamless and delightful collaboration. In the absence of Brian’s vast knowledge and practical understanding of the traditions dedicated to the Goddess Tripurasundarī, much of the knowledge encoded in the Cidvilāsastava would remain shrouded in mystery.

Brian Campbell: This project was conceived after hearing Dr. Ben Williams present on the hymn at an academic conference in 2019. I am very grateful to Ben for reading the Cidvilāsastava with me, word-by-word, over the last two years. The sessions were always a source of deep joy that I constantly looked forward to and I'm incredibly grateful for all the wonderful conversations, deeply insightful comments, cross textual parallels (many of which Ben so graciously translated), emails, and exchanges I was fortunate enough to receive from him as we read through this amazing text together. Despite his demanding schedule, Ben continually made time to help refine, edit, and provide countless comments throughout the introduction and notes—a deeply touching gesture that solidified not only his erudite scholarship, but his sincere friendship as well.

A special word of thanks is due to the doyen of tantric studies, the late Professor André Padoux (1920-2017) whose unparalleled scholarly work on Śrīvidyā first introduced me to the Cidvilāsastava nearly a decade ago. As a dedicated pūjāri, I was eager to understand how my training in ritual worship could transform into more contemplative modes of practice in a traditional way. The Cidvilāsastava helped me to connect the study of śāstra to subtler aspects of ritual worship and practice. It has been a long standing dream to make an accurate and accessible translation of this rare text available to sincere Śrīvidyā practitioners who are interested in the deeper aspects of their amazing and diverse tradition—only they will be able to decide if this desire has been fulfilled.

I am immensely grateful and offer my sincere praṇāms to Swami Lakshmanjoo of Kashmir (1907-1991). Swamiji's profound teachings, remarkable insights, ever-flowing grace, and numerous students and disciples (particularly Dr. Mark Dyczkowski, Dr. Bettina Bäumer, and the Lakshmanjoo Academy), have collectively taught, guided, and inspired me in countless ways.

I offer my sāṣṭāṅga praṇāms to my Śrīguru, Śrīmatī Jñānāmbā sahita Śrī Caitanyānandanātha Sarasvatī of the Rājarājeśvarī Pīṭham in Rochester, New York, whose unparalleled vision, deep wisdom, and unbounded grace brought me into the infinite ocean of auspicious knowledge and bliss, known as Śrīvidyā.