Chapter 19 - Introduction to the Tantra Shastras

Formed from the root tan (tanu) in the sense 'to spread' the word tantra is a common term for the texts known by the terms tantra, agama and samhita. One of its two meanings recorded in the Amarakosa is siddhanta, the doctrine: tantram pradhane siddhante (3.3.186). This denotes the texts of different religious sects which deal along with the metaphysical and abstract thoughts with disciplined system of worship. The Sabdakalpadruma mentions the following as the subject matter of tantra, the creation, the dissolution, the ascertainment of the mantras to be applied, the look of the deities, the description of the holy places, the duties in different stages of life, the marks of the Brahmanas, the state of the beings, the decision about the yantras (to be drawn), the birth of the deities, the shape of the trees going by the name Kalpa, the position of the stars, the telling of the old tales, the description of the Vratas, the position of the stars, the statements about what is pure and impure, the description of hells, the description of Haracakra, the marks (auspicious or inauspicious) of men and women, the duties of a king, the acts of charity and the characteristics of a particular age, the code of conduct and the instruction in spirituality.' Its importance has been highlighted by the statement that just as Visnu is the best among the deities, the ocean among large and deep pools of water, Ganga, among. Digitized by S 3 Foundation USA the rivers, the Himayala

among the mountains, the peeul among the trees, Indra among the kings , Durga among the goddesses , Brahmana among the castes, in the same way Tantrasastra is superior to all the other Sastras². It is broadly divided in four parts: jnana, yoga, kriya and carya. In the division jnana, such doctrines are included as propound oneness of god, ekesvaravada and monism, advaitavada. Besides these they also include such things as could be called secret like a letter, a syllable, a mantra or a yantra which are the repositories of various powers. Yoga refers to meditation or concentration of mind. Its main purpose is to acquire different powers that evolve from maya. That is why it is also called maya-yoga. Kriya refers to rituals connected with the construction of idols and temples in which they are to be consecrated. Carya refers to acara, conduct, social duties involved in the various activities concerning religious rites and festivities. Not that all the tantras have all the four listed above, the philosophy, the magic formulae, the rituals and the ethical principles. Though it is difficult to distinguish between agama, tantra and samhita, still it may be pointed out that by the term agama what is understood is the sacred texts of Saivites, by tantra those of the Saktas, the Sakti worshippers and by samhita those of the Vaisnavites. The Sakta tantras mainly follow monism while the Vaisnavaite tantras follow dualism or qualified monism. The Saiva tantras are divided in three sects of monism, qualified monism and dualism. vd golog The Tantra and the Vedic literatures It will be improper to say that the Tantra literature is basically different from the Vedic literature. It is the Vedic scholars who following tradition and the Sastras have written original texts or bhasyas on tantras. The ritual side of the Vedas is very complex. Further, Sudras and women are forbidden from reciting the Vedas and carrying out the rituals prescribed by them. The Tantras lay down as of the rituals for performing sacrifices as CC-0. Satya Vrat

are easy to perform by all sections of society. These are of two kinds, Vedic and non-Vedic. The Vedic tantras acccept the Vedic rituals while the non-Vedic ones do not do so. The Saivaite, the sakta and the Vaisnavaite Tantras come in the catageory of the Vedic Tantras while the Buddhist Tantras come in the category of the non-Vedic ones. The Antiquity of the Tantras ing to sall The oldest manuscript of the Tantras belongs to the seventh and the eighth centuries A.D. This means that the Tantra literature is anterior to the fifth or the sixth centuries A.D. There is no mention of any Tantra in the Mahabharata nor has any Chinese traveller refered to them. In the 8 th cen. A.D. the Buddhist Tantric texts were rendered into the Chinese language. This is the terminus a quem for Buddhist Tantra in India. Texts on this had come to be written in the 8 th century or earlier which the Chinese took up for translation in their language. In the second half of the 8 th century A.D. and the 9 th Cent. A.D. these texts were translated in Tibetan. It is inconceivable that the Buddhist Tantric literature would have developed in isolation. There would have developed concurrently or even prior to it the nonBuddhist Tantric literature as well. Viewed in this light the early centuries of the Christian era could be the period that could be assigned to the origin of the Tantric literature in India. The origin of the Agama literature seems to have been in Kashmir and of the Tantric literature in Bengal while the Samhita literature is not confined to any particular part of India. It could have had its origin in Bengal, or South India or even outside India. Agama literature The most important texts of the Agama literature are Malinivijaya, Svacchanda, Vijnanabhairava, Ucchusmabhairava, Anandabhairava, Mrgendrabhairava, Matanga, Svayambhuva, Rudrayamala ya Vrat Shastri Collection, New Delhi. Digitized by S 3 Foundation USA

Pratyabhijna literature Intimately connected with this literature is Pratyabhijna literature which occupies a very special place in the history of Indian philosophy. The basis of the Pratyabhijna philosophy is the Saivaic Tantra which follows dualism. The last chapter of the text Sivadrsti of Somanandanatha gives a detailed description of the Acaryas of this system. Somanandanatha was the nineteenth pontiff in the line of Tryambaka, the founder of the nondualistic Saivaite sect who was the preceptor of Acarya Abhinavagupta. Somanandanatha belonged to the 9 th cen. A.D. His son and pupil Utpala, 900-950 A.D., wrote the Pratyabhijnakarikas. A brilliant exponent of the Pratyabhijna philosophy was Abhinavagupta (993-1015 A.D.). The most well-known work of his is Tantraloka. His other works are the Malinivijayottaravartika, Pratyabhijna-vimarsini, Tantrasara and Paramarthasara. Another noteworthy work of this sect is the Pratyabhijnahrdaya of Ksemaraja, the pupil of Abhinavagupta. 1. sargasca pratisargasca mantranirnaya eva ca | devatanam ca samsthanam tirthanam caiva varnanam || tathaivasramadharmmasca viprasamsthanameva ca | samsthanam caiva bhutanam yantranam caiva nirnayah || utpattirvvibudhanam ca tarunam kalpasamjnitam samsthanam jyotisam caiva puranasthanameva ca | krodhasya kathanam caiva vratanam paribhasanam | saucasaucasya cakhyanam narakanam ca varnanam || paracakrasya cakhyanam stripumsoscaiva laksanam | rajadhammom yugadharmmo yugadharmmastathaiva ca || vyavaharah kathyate ca tatha cadhyatmavarnanam | ityadilaksanairyuktam tantramityabhidhiyate || tasya mahatmyam - kavirvvaristho devanam hrdanamudadhistatha || nadinam ca yatha gamga parvvatanam himalayah | asvatthah sarvvavrksanam rajnamindro yatha varah|| devinam ca yatha durga varnanam brahmano yatha | CC-0. P'taba samastasastrina tamtrasastramanuttamam || Bf bluey santicolor manodonlob wall blo In for on to S set le bas simba soil anda. nigno e bad syed blus it Delhi. Digitized by S 3 Foundation USA

Samhita literature Glimpses of History of Sanskrit Literature / 351 The most important work in this literature is Ahirbudhnyasamhita. This was composed in Kashmir in 5 th century A.D. Among other works of this literature are the Isvarasamhita, the Puskara-samhita, the Parama-samhita, the Sattvata-samhita, the Brhadbrahma-samhita and the Jnanamrtasara-samhita. Tantra Literature The main texts of the Tantra literature are Mahanirvana, Kularnava, Kulacidamani, Prapancasara, Tantraraja, Kalivilasa, Jnanarnava, Saradatilaka, Varivasyarahasya, Tantrasara and Pranatosini. To ds