You are on page 1of 87

CRACOW INDOLOGICAL STUDIES

Editorial Board: Renata Czekalska Marzenna Czemiak-Drozdzowicz Cezary Galewicz Halina Marlewicz Iwona Milewska Przemystaw Piekarski Lidia Sudyka

Vol. VIII

JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY Institute of Oriental Philology

TANTRA AND VISISTADVAITAVEDANTA


Edited by Marzenna Czemiak-Drozdzowicz

KRAKOW 2006

kttUtit.
/

u
Reviewer: Prof Marek Major "^^P f)f i. '^'- '^ / Technical editor: Leszek Drozdzowicz

Institute of Oriental Philology, Jagiellonian University Cracow and the Authors

The volume was published due to the financial support of: Faculty of Philology, Jagiellonian University

ISSN 1732-0917

KSI^GARNIA AKADEMICKA ul. Sw. Anny 6, 31-008 Krakow Tel./faks: (012) 431-27-43, tel. 422-10-33 w. 1167 e-mail: akademicka@akademicka.pl www.akademicka.pl

Contents

Editor's Note Marzenna Czemiak-Drozdzowicz Contributors Helping the King, Ministers and Businessmen? - Apropos of a Chapter of the Tantra of Magic Female Spirits {Siddhayogesvarlmata) Judit Torzsok The Date of Sadyojyotis and Brhaspati Alexis Sanderson The individuality of the subject in the interpretation of Abhinavagupta Anna Nitecka Remarks on the doctrine of theyTva in the Pddmasamhitd Silvia Schwarz binder

7 13

15

39

93

109

Visnusamhita's five-fold classifications and the explanation of the name Paiicaratra Marzenna Czemiak-Drozdzowicz 131 Bemerkungen zum Begriff des ahamarthah bei Ramanuja Gerhard Oberhammer

149

On the Advaita Vedanta hermeneutics as expounded in the Srlbhasya of Ramanuja Halina Marlewicz .; On Ramanuja's identification of 'steady remembrance' {dhruvdnusmrti) with 'direct seeing' (darsana) Marcus Schmiicker ,

/''

171

201

Editor's Note

The eighth volume of Cracow Indological Studies is devoted to research on the broadly-understood Tantric traditions of India and Visistadvaitavedanta philosophy, an important element in the creation of theologital concepts of some of these religious traditions. During my own work on the Pancaratra I have had the opportunity of; estabUshing contact and, in some cases, meeting many scholars working in this field and some of them kindly agreed to contribute to the present volume, which will be the first such elaborate presentation of recent research on Tantra and Visistadvaita in Poland, since these subjects have never been so thoroughly treated by Polish Indologists. Though the contributions are in English (with the exception of one article by Prof Gerhard Oberhammer), nevertheless, since they are published in a Polish journal, they have a chance of reaching a larger Polish audience. This was the intention of the editors of the whole series of the Cracow Indological Studies, as this journal published in English is a good place for presentation of research done by Polish Indologists as part of international Indology. The articles in the volume do not focus on one particular issue within the broad field of Tantra. The idea of the editor was to present current research and the variety of topics treated by the scholars in the areas of Tantra and Visistadvaitavedanta. Therefore the reader will find here three groups of contributions: those concerning 1) Saiva and Sakta traditions, 2) Vaisnava Pancaratra and 3) Visistadvaitavedanta. The articles deal with the theological-philosophical as well as ritualistic aspects of the traditions; some examples of textual criticism on the Tantric texts are also present; it is also often the case that one contribution is concerned with more than one particular area, since while speaking about Pancaratra, one usually refers both to the broader Tantric environment and to the Visistadvaita philosophy as well as Srivaisnava tradition.

14 Academy of Sciences and of the Indology Department at the Vienna University. Alexis Sanderson is a Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics, University of Oxford, Fellow of All Souls College, specialist in Early Medieval Indian Religion, particularly in the history of Saivism and its influence in India and Southeast Asia. Marcus Schmiicker is a research fellow at the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna. His research interests focus on the tradition of Advaita Vcdanta and of Visistadvaita Vcdanta; for the latter he specialized especially in the works of Venkatanatha. Silvia Schvvarz Linder is working on a PhD dissertation on The Philosophical and Theological Teachings of the Padmasamhitd under the direction of Prof Gerhard Oberhammer (Institute of Indology, University of Vienna, Austria). She lives in Venice, Italy. Judit Torzsok is lecturer in Sanslait at the Univcrsite Charlcs-de-GauUe Lille 3. Her field of research is Saivism and the Yoginl cults in classical India, but she also works on poetry and drama. In addition to articles on various aspects of Saivism and contributions to the Dictionary of Technical Terms from Hindu Tantric Literature {Tdntrikdbhidhdnakosa), she has recently published a new edition and the first English translation of Rama Beyond Price (Anarghardghava) by Murari.

Cracow Indological Studies vol. VIII (2006)

Judit Torzsok (Universite Charles-de-Gaulle, Lille)

Helping the King, Ministers and Businessmen? -f Apropos of a Chapter of the Tantra of Magic Female Spirits (Siddhayogesvarlmata)

Similarly to other texts that claim to transmit the words of deities, Tantras of Yogini cults have been deliberately written to reveal nothing of their human authors. Admittedly, they have been rather successful in this, and wc are reduced to making vague hypotheses. However, these authors have been somewhat less successful in concealing for whose benefit the rites were intended. The prescriptions for how to obtain supernatural powers and what these powers are sometimes betray who were meant to profit from these practices. In what follows, I shall propose some hypotheses concerning the public aimed at in some of the early texts of Yogini cults.' The short discussion of this subject will be followed by the edition of a chapter of the Tantra of Magic Female Spirits {Siddhayogesvarlmata), which is

' My treatment of the subject is far from complete. 1 have tried to focus on the earliest surviving texts of Yogini cults: in addition to the Siddhayogesvarlmata, I mostly refer to the Brahmayamala and the Tantrasadbhdva. On a few occasions^ I also cite other Tantras, all of which predate the Kashmirian exegetes, i.e. the tenth century. On the relation of the texts quoted in this article and the different schools or religious currents they represent, see SANDERSON 1988. The focus of this article being different, I have omitted a discussion of this subject. I am grateful to SHAMAN HATLEY for generously making his transcription of the oldest manuscript of the Brahmayamala available to m^. His thesis on Yogini cults, concentrating on the Brahmayamala, is under preparation at the University of Pennsylvania.

16

JUDITTORZSOK

possibly the second oldest surviving text teaching the cult of Yoginis.^ The chapter edited here concerns the obtainmcnt of certain aggressive supernatural powers, killing and the like, for this passage also contains, among many other things, some vague references to who may profit from these powers. Using the texts of Tantras to determine their possible beneficiaries is of course not without peril. There are two main reasons for which they are unreliable sources on the reality of their time. One is that they are prescriptive and thus represent the way things should be rather than the way they arc. The other is that what they promise to accomplish is usually of a very general kind, reflecting what one may call universal human desires, such as attracting women, obtaining knowledge without effort, harming one's enemy, changing one's form at will and the like. Thus, there seems to exist hardly any hint about which particular social classes would profit from them. Whenever the texts mention the varnas for instance, they do so only to reflect their hierarchy in certain rituals: brahmins usually need more of everything than ksatriyas, who in turn are worth more than vaisyas, sudras being those who are most easily satisfied or compensated for. Thus, to subjugate brahmins, one needs to offer twenty-one heads into the fire, but only seven for Icsatriyas, five for vaisyas and three for sUdras, according to Siddhayogesvarimata 23.34-35a."' On the other hand, brahmins need to be examined or tested only for a period of three years, while ksatriyas take six, vaisyas nine and sudras twelve for the same purpose according to Tantrasadbhdva 9.33.^* There are different types of grounds appropriate for the different var-

For an edition of a large part of this text with an introduction, see TORZSOK 1999. In the edition below, I use the same editorial conventions. ekavimsad brahmanesu homayen mastakam nisi / ksatriydndm tathd saptavaisydndmpaficaevahi//trayahsudresuevam... 9.32Gd-33: parlksd tesu kartavyd yatlid sdstre pracoditd // sUdro dvddasabhir varsair vaisyo navabhir eva ca / ksatriyah satsu varsdni brdhmanam tu tadarddhatah //

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN? .

17

nas according to Tantrasadbhdva 9.9-10: white, sweet-tasting and butter-smelling for brahmins, red, blood-smelling and astringent for ksatriyas, etc.^ It would not be difficult to find many other examples. They do not tell us much about the social context of these texts, apart from the fact that to some extent they incorporate the idea of the hierarchy of vamas in their teaching, without strongly reflecting it. They do so in spite of usually declaring all of the vamas equal, at least in the saiva drder.^ With such declarations, they please those who are not full participants of the brahminical religion, but at the same time they do not reject the hierarchy of vamas itself. Nevertheless, since these classifications according to vamas have no major consequences on the practitioner and his abilities, their role is rather limited. If we turn to the supernatural powers promised, there are three ways in which they may possibly give us some clues as to who would need to possess them. First, they may be particular in that they are useful for certain social classes, but this happens very rarely. Second, the text gives some particular situations in which they are to be employed, and these situations may reveal the possible users. Finally, it can also happen that the supernatural power is of possibly very general use, but the examples the text cites for its employment give some hint about who is likely to use them. The chapter of the Siddhayogesvanmata edited below does not give many details on this subject, but it contains a few clues. The first siddhi it offers is killing, which can have a very general appeal. However, the only example cited for the application of this siddhi is that of being able to kill a king, together with his soldiers, army, animals and the like. This detail is remarkable also because in the preceding chapter, in addition to promising the power to rule various worlds and
^ sita caiva madhusvdda ghrtagandhd ca brdhmane / raktd yd raktagandhd ca kasdyd ksatriye 'rthadd // pltd gomUtragandhd ca ksdrasvddur visdrn matd/krsna gurvara(govara7)gandhd ca katusvddd matetare// See e.g. Svacchandatantra 4.540 brdhmandh ksatriyd vaisydh sudrds cdnye 'tha vdpriye / sarve te samadharmdnah sivadharme niyojitdh //

18

JUDITTORZSOK

attracting people at will, it is also mentioned that one will be able to control the chariot of the king.^ i The Siddhayogesvarlmata is not alone in emphasising the subjugation of kings and their armies. Another text of the same cult, the Tantrasadbhava or 'True Essence of Tantras', has a long passage (20.68-90) concentrating on various ways to destroy the army of one's enemy (sainyabhafiga), which it claims to teach on the basis of the way in which the gods' army conquered that of the demons. This ability to conquer the enemy in fight is also often mentioned in several other Tantras, under various names of 'breaking an army' (sainyabhafiga), 'destroying an army' (sainyandsana, as in Kriydkalagunottara fol. 63v), 'paralysing' (sainyastambhana, e.g. in Kubjikdmata 4.45b) or 'confusing an army' (sainyamohana, Kriydkdlagunottara fol.llSr). The Brahmaydmala also tends to give examples referring to warfare, kings and those related to the king. When describing how to subjugate people (ch. 57 labelled 55), it mentions the king (rdjan) and his wife (rdjapatnl) in particular. In another passage, it promises that the performer of the ritual will avoid being struck with a weapon in battle.^ Furthermore, in addition to listing the crushing, paralysing or frightening of another's army (parasainyasya mardana /stambhana / trdsana) many iimes, it refers to the protection of one's own army (nijasainyasya raksd / raksana) just as often. These passages suggest that the king (together with his family) and those who were responsible for the outcome of a battle, such as ministers, generals and the like, probably formed an important public for Tantric texts and practices. It could be argued, of course, that what is most often envisaged is that the king is the target and not the agent of the action. But it was most probably not the common foot^soldier who aimed at killing the king of the enemy. Moreover, as the Brahma' 23.32 cd rajdsakatakani devi vasam eti na samsayah 19.88cd sastraghdta na jdyante mahdsamgrdmakesv api (I have corrected sastra" to sastra".)

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

19

ydmala shows, the protection of one's own body and army were also among the promises given. Thus, while the king was surely not the only public envisaged, he was among those, possibly relatively highranking, warriors that seemed likely to profit from the powers bestowed by Yoginis.^ It has often been pointed out that the cult of 'mothers' - whether those who possess children (bdlagrahl) or the so-called Seven Mothers (Japtamdtrkds) representing the power of seven male deities - was probably related to royal power, ministers and generals, who may have worshipped them so as to remain in good health and to conquer their enemies.'" Inscriptions of both the Eastern and Western Calukyas (between the 7* and the 10* centuries) show that these kings considered themselves to be protected {paripdlita, abhiraksitd), made prosperous (abhivardhita) or consecrated (abhisikta) by the Mothers. Literary sources confirm that the circle of mothers {mdtrmandala) whether this implies the worship of a group, a worship in a circular arrangement or on a particular mandala design - could be invoked to restore the king's health." When considering this evidence, two important points should be made. First, it is not unambiguous whether the Mothers mentioned are always the group of Seven Mothers as is usually supposed. Second, these Mothers can be closely related to Yoginis and similar female spirits with a double nature: harmful if angered, helpful if propitiated. Several details support the view that the Mothers are not necessarily the seven female embodiments of the gods' energies. Instead of ' It could further be argued that the king is used as an example in the above passages only to show that even the most powerful person can be conquered. This is surely one of the reasons. However, I shall try to argue below, using some inscriptional sources, that some kings and their court actually did worship female spirits, and that in this light it is unlikely that the mention of the king is only symbolic.
'" See e.g. PANIKKAR 1997: 62.

" Bana's//arracanto, chapter 5, p. 21, line 5.

20

JUDIT TORZSOK

specifying their number, they are often mentioned as a group (gana) in many Calukya inscriptions.'^ When they are seven, it is pointed out that they are seven mothers of the seven levels of the universe (saptalokamdlfbhis sapta matrbhih)P which cannot be regarded as a straightforward reference to the set of seven female energies. In fact, I have found one occurrence in which they are said to be mothers of the three worlds {tribhuvanamatr)}^ Moreover, one of the earhest inscriptions'^ (of 423/24 A.D.) concerning the worship of Mothers, the often cited Gangadhar inscription commemorating that a minister called Mayuraksaka of a certain king named Visvavarman had a Visnu temple built together with a 'very terrifying abode of the Mothers', describes them as frightening and associates them with ddkinls. The Mothers are also '^ See 'The Mudgapadra grant of Yuvaraja Sryasraya liladitya of 668 A.D.'in Epigraphia Indica (henceforth El) XXXIV, pp. 117-122, especially pp. 120-121; 'Two copper plate inscriptions of Eastern Chalukya princes' (of the end of the 10* century perhaps) in /XIX, pp.137-148; 'ThePulibumra plates of the Eastern Chalukya King Jayasirnha I' (c. 632-663 A.D.) in EI XIX, pp. 254-258; and 'The Pedda-Vegi plates of the Eastern Chalukya king Jayasirnha F in EI XIX, pp. 258-261. '^ As in 'The Amudalapadu plates of Vikramaditya I' (of Badami), year 5 (660 A.D.) in /XXXII, pp. 175-184; in the 'Shiggaon Plates of Chalukya Vijayaditya' (707 A.D.) in EI XXXII, pp. 317-325; in 'A grant of the western Chalukya Vijayaditya saka 653' in EIXXV, pp. 21-24. '* tribhuvanamdtrbhir mmdtrbhir abhiraksitdndm in the 'Timmapuram Plates of Vishnuvardhana I. Vishamasiddhi' in EI IX, pp. 317-319. '^ Two copper plate inscriptions from Bagh, Madhya Pradesh, precede this one, both of which record land grants by Bhulunda, Maharaja of the Valkhas, probably a local king subordinate to the Guptas (RAMpSH and TEWARi 1990, vii-ix.). The first grant (of the year 50, i.e. 369/370 or 370/371 A.D.) is made to the Mothers of Navatataka (RAMESH AND TEWARI 1990: 4-6). The second (of year 56, i.e. 375/376 or 376/377 A.D.) is a grant to a shrine of the Mothers (mdtrsthdnadevakula) in Pincchikanaka (RAMESH and TEWARI 1990: 21-23). See also YoKQCHi 2004: 110, note 83.1 discuss some details of the first grant below.

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

21

said to stir up the oceans with the powerfiil wind produced by their Tantric practices of magic.'* Siddhis involving water are also mentioned in Tantras, as in the Kubjikdmata enumerating the powers to cause floods,'^ to stir up (lit. 'to set in motion') and to stop the flow of a river, and to propel or stop ships, chariots etc.'^ But the image in the inscription suggests first of all that these creatures stir up the waters by flying over them, which tallies with their association with ddkinls. It should also be kept in mind that the word mother {mdtr-) is often a close synonym of Yogini denoting very similar kinds of super-human female creatures in Tantras. Both Yoginis and Mothers can be empowered or instigated by the female power, Sakti; '^ and several Tantric texts teach that the awakening of the circle or mandala of Mothers is one of the ways to obtain supernatural powers.^" At the '^ Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum vol. 3. 1888: 47 ff. The reading and interpretation of tantra" are not unproblematic here; perhaps one should understand tantra" for tantra": mdtrnan ca \pramu\ditaghanatyarthamhradininam // tdntrodbhuta-prahala-pavanodvarttitdmbho-nidhdm // ... gatam idam ddkinlsamprakirnain // vesmdtyuggram nrpatisacivo kdrayat punyahetoh. '^ 17.34 ff. mentioning jalaplava, most probably in the sense of c2M?.mgjalapldvana. 17.36cd: nadlpravartanastambho ndvadisakataiya ca. ^^ Brahmaydmala 1.89b mdtard[h] sakticoditdh; Brahmaydmala \.\Q9h yoginyalK] sakticoditdh. mdtrmandalasambodha in e.g. Tantrasadhhdva 16.143, Siddhayogesvarlmata 22.23, 28.40, and in Tantrdloka 4.57-58 citing scripture. One could multiply the close synonyms for Yogini, adding hhagini, sdkinl, ddvi, datl etc. Although these female creatures are often assigned particular powers and worship, these terms are nearly synonymous, as their usage e.g. in the Siddhayogesvarimata and the Tantrasadbhdva suggests. The Brahmaydmala distinguishes between goddesses or DevTs, Dutis, Yoginis and Mothers (e.g. 2.5ff. keeping this order when worshipping these groups one after the other), but they all clearly cooperate to bestow supematural powers upon the worshipper. It is especially true for Yoginis and Mothers, who are mentioned

22

JUDITTORZSGK

same time, the set of seven or, more often, eight Mothers starting with Brahml appear as the main tj^es of Yoginis,; whether they are human(-like) or represent parts of the alphabet to empower mantras.'^' Thus, while Mother and YoginI are very close temjs, a limited number of Mothers can also represent a larger number of Yoginis. This close link or even identification of the Seven Mothers with the numerous YoginI type mothers is also seen in puranic texts, in two early versions of the Warrior Goddess's victory over Sumbha and Nisumbha for instance: one is to be found in the original Skandapurdna (of the 6* century perhaps),^^ the other in the Devlmdhdtmya (possibly of the late 8* or early 9* century).^^ Both texts describe the goddess's fight and victory over the demon brothers and her being helped by certain Mothers. However, while the former mentions a host of Mothers emerging form the goddess's limbs - together with a retinue of female creatures who have animal heads, just as many Yoginis do - the latter describes the Seven Mothers as the female energies produced from male gods.^"* As YOKOCHI (2004: 110) shows,

together elsewhere (yoginyo mdtaras caiva, [sic!] in 19.89c). In ch. 4 they are distinguished iconographically, but, oddly, Yoginis are said to have one face each, while Mothers have four (yoginyas [tv] ekavaktrds tu caturvaktrds tu mdtardh). For more details on Yoginis and Mothers in this text, see SHAMAN HATLIEY'S above-mentioned thesis (forthcoming). ^' See Siddhayogesvarlmata, chapters 16 and 29. It is not in the scope of this article to discuss the problem of various sets of names of the seven or eight Mothers, their order etc. It seems that at least five of them are identical in many sources, whether textual or archaeological; and that textual sources display greater divergence. ^^ For this dating, see BAKKI'R 2004: 4 and BISSCHOP 2004: 13ff YOKOCHi 2004: 26 proposes c. 550-650. ^^ For strong arguments for this dating, see YOKOCHi 2004: 21-23 (footnote 42). ^'^ See Skandapurdm 64.18ff. mentioning briefly how these goddesses emerge and Skandapurdija 164.142ff describing them in more detail and calling them Mothers. The passage has a close parallel in Mahdhhdrata

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

23

the Skandapurdna maintains the idea of numerous Mothers in its main myth cycle, but is also familiar with the group of Seven Mothers as counterparts of male gods, which it relegates to an episode on Kotisvara. Now the exact function of the Mothers is hardly ever defined in inscriptional sources. However, judging from the contexts in which they appear and the few indications given in the texts, one of their main functions was to protect the kings and ensure their prosperity. The earliest inscription (of 369/370 or 370/371 A.D.) mentioning the cult of the Mothers already hints at this. It establishes a land grant made by a local king called Bhulunda to the Mothers of a place called Navatataka (Madhyapradesh), so that their worship can be performed with the income. They are also named Great Mothers {mahdmdtr) and receive the honorific appellation bhagavafi. The king, who is also said to have installed these Mothers himself (asmdbhih pratisthdpitikdndm), declares his grant to be made for the sake of his own merit (purjya) as well as for his own well-being {dpydyana)?^ The Calukya kings are also often said to be protected or made prosperous by the Mothers, and the circle of Mothers is propitiated for a similar purpose, to restore the king's health, in the above-cited passage of the Harsacarita. Gne Tantric text, the Netratantra, also refers to Mothers

9.45.3-39, in which the Mothers attend on Skanda. YOKOCHI 2004: 99ff. discusses this topic in detail. For the DevlmdMtmya's version, see 8.12ff. ^^ In the volume containing the transcriptions, reproductions and translations of copper plate grants found in that area (RAMESH and TEWARI 1990), this is the only inscription that specifies the personal motivation of the king in giving land to deities. However, the translation (pp. 5-6) omits the equivalent for dpyayana. It is also noteworthy that the same king, who makes several grants to Narayana, also makes one to Skanda (p. 20) as Mahasenadeva. The Mothers already seem to be associated - at least in this locality, or occasionally - to Siva, for the second grant made to them (pp. 21-23) also names pdsupatas as beiieficiaries, and the person who installed them was a Pasupatacarya. '

mite'^-i".
ioi-r-'

JUDIT TORZSOK

' vvh'o can possibly affect the king's, the queen's and their children's hciillh.'* ' in addition to protecting the king's health and well-being, the mdtrs are also said to have consecrated the Calukya kings.^^ It is not specified into what functions the Calukyas were supposed to be consecrated by the Mothers. One could assume that the text implies that they had a role in royal consecration, which is a possibility. However, a much earlier inscription, the Talagunda inscription ofSantivarnian of the Kadambas, mentions that the founder of the dynasty, Mayurasarman (perhaps of the middle of the 4'*' century A.D.), was favoured and consecrated by Skanda and the Mothers as general of the army (sendpati)}^ Therefore, it is also possible that the Mothers were supposed to consecrate a king as general, to bestow a function upon him in the context of war, in which they may also ' ' 19.8 mentions the Mothers in particular, including them in a large group of hostile creatures. 19.10 has the queen and her sons in a list of people these creatures can harm. But later, in 19.89-91, the king himself also requires mantric protection from (health) problems caused by Mothers {rndtrdosanivrttaye in 19.89) and from harmful creatures (himsakdh) in general, in order to be free of all illnesses {sarvavyddhivinirmuktah). On the relation of the Tantric priest and the king, with a detailed analysis of the Netratantra, see SANDIIRSON 2004. The expression mdtrgandbhisiktdndm occurs in the Mudgapadra grant of Yuvaraja Sryasraya Siladitya of 668 A.D. {EIXXXW, pp. 117-122) and a similar one in the Sanjan plates of Buddhavarasa {EI XIV, pp. 144-152). However, the latter seem not to be genuine according to S. KONOW, who presents them. El VIII, pp. 24-36. The expression is the following: ... saddnanah yam abhisiktavan anudhyaya senapatim matrbhis saha. F. KlELHORN, who presents the inscription, dates it back to the 6"' century A.D. and considers it to be of Kakusthavarman's, SiRCAR (1939: 233ff), whom I have followed, attributes the inscription to Santivarman, for it is Santivarman who commanded it according to the closing lines. SiRCAR places Kakusthavarman in the middle of the 5"" century, i.e. about a century eariier than KlELHORN, whose dating would put Mayurasannan in the S"" century.

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN? ...

25

need to continue their protective function. It is also notable that in almost all records of the Kadambas, they continue to be described as favoured (anudhydta) and consecrated (abhisikta) by Skanda and the Mothers.^' Although it remains to some extent ambiguous what kind of creatures the Mothers are in each of these inscriptions, they appear to bestow not only safety and prosperity, but also success in war, in company of Skanda, the god of war in classical Hindu mythology. The association of the Mothers with Skanda goes back to an earlier period and a different region. Many Kusana representations show Skanda in the company of females, either carrying children or not, some of whom have animal or bird faces,^'' like many Yoginls known from Tantras. Furthermore, as pointed out above, the Mothers' association with the Great Goddess conquering Sumbha and Nisumbha in various accounts of this myth also points to their (possibly) bellicose nature. Without attempting to identify these different groups of female creatures of various periods and regions, it can be concluded that hosts of female spirits - whether they were called Mothers, Goddesses or Yoginis - were invoked not only to ensure well-being, but also in the context of war, and several kings (and perhaps ministers or generals), from the 4"^ or 5* century A.D. onwards, appear to have considered them to contribute to their military success.^' This in turn ^' The expression is svdmi-mahdsena-matrgananudhydtdbhisikta occurring in copper plate inscriptions, see e.g. /Vli p. Mandp. 18. ^" See e.g. PANIKKAR 1997: PI. 4-17, who also notes the occurrence of such creatures in the Mahdbhdrata. At this point, however, their association was not yet made in the context of war. See also YOKOCHl 2004: 1 lOff.: ^' Perhaps the various groups of Mothers developed their bellicose aspect only in the course of time. This seems to be confirmed in the case of the iconographic development of the Seven Mothers, as PANIKKAR 1997 shows. YOKOCHI (2004: 113ff.) also analyses the kshariyaization of the goddess Vindhyavasinl. i However, a similar process seems difficult to be traced in the case of various hosts of Mothers.

JUDIT TORZSOK

t-.. agiccs Willi wliat bomc early Tantric texts of the YoginI cult seem to suggest, namely that a number of aggressive siddhis were intended for the benefit of the king or his generals and ministers. In another passage of the chapter of the Siddhayogesvarimata edited below, the siddhi of taking away someone's ability to speak is taught. Before giving the mantra to be applied, it is said that this supernatural power may be useful in the ; following situations: in business or everyday transactions, discussions, gambling, in the cremation ground, in the royal palace and in battle. Some of these situations, such as discussions or gambling, are listed for rather obvious reasons. The royal palace and battle, which are perhaps more specific, may again strengthen the argument that the public envisaged in this Tantra partly consists of people in court such as ministers and of ksatriyas. It is not clear what role this ability may have in the cremation ground, unless it is meant to silence goblins, ghosts or vampires. The first on the list, vyavahdra, is possibly more significant here. It can mean any kind of action or everyday transaction in general, but it more specifically also denotes litigation and business, and its occurrence may imply that merchants or businessmen were among those such siddhis were offered to. Below I shall consider some other passages that may indicate the involvement of merchants or traders in such matters. The Tantrasadbhdva, which often helps with its parallel passages in reconstructing the text of the Siddhayogesvarimata, again offers some interesting details. In a long prose passage, it includes the following two suggestions for some aggressive siddhis. First, if one takes a piece of clod, leaf or a blade of grass, empowers it by reciting the appropriate mantra one hundred times and throws it in the mansion of a merchant, that merchant (or his business) will be destroyed.^"

^'A prose passage after verse 20.157: lostalca[m\ patram trnam va satdbJiimantritam Icrtvd vanilcprasddalce ksiped vyavahdrakam ndsayati. (The text has prdsdra/ce, which 1 have emended to prdsddake. The word

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

27

W^

Second, if one empowers a flower with the appropriate mantras by reciting them a hundred times and throws it in a liquor shop, it will paralyse its business, and it can even destroy all the alcohol in there.^^ And finally, at the same passage, the Tantrasadbhdva offers success in gambling, in the royal court and in everyday transactions or business,^'' in a list recalling the above verse of the Siddhayogesvarimata. While all these siddhis seem to involve merchants or traders, they are against their activities rather than supporting them. But it also happens that merchants are offered benefits. In a list of promises of success, which comprises general welfare, health, wealth, obtaining one's desire, having sons, acquiring knowledge and the like, the Kubjikdmata mentions merchants in particular, who are promised to enjoy profit.^*' Therefore, it seems that apart from prosperity and warfare, it is business activities that are mentioned in particular when promising success - whether it is success in obtaining or destroying someone or something. Unfortunately, early inscriptions involving or referring to merchants are much less common than royal ones.^^ However,

vyavaharaka may stand for vyavahara given the predilection of the text to use -ka svdrthe.) ^' In the same prose section: puspam satdbhimantritam. krtvd saundikagrhe ksiped vyavahdram stambhayati, sarvasidhu ndsayati. ^'^ dyute rdjakule vyavahdre cdparajito bhavati '' Two other important parallels, which, however, do not clarify what vyavahdra means, are to be found in the Brahmaydmala. Near the end of ch. 17: samgrdme jayam dpnoti dyute caiva na samsayah / vyavahdre tathd caiva ajayo bhavate sadd; and in 19.89.' dyute ca vyavahdre ca ajayas ca prajdyate /yoginyo mdtaras caiva putravad raksayanti tarn. ^^ 22.62-64, 22.64h saying vanig vai Idbhamasnute. "This has been remarked by HEITZMAN 2001/2004 in his study of Kancipuram concerning a later period richer in such data, the Cola period. He notes the absence of traders as donors (p. 130): 'What really stands out here is the absence of the merchants' assemblies, even in Kancipuram, as

28

JUDIT TORZSOK

the fact that sometimes merchants or bankers worshipped the same goddess as the king seems to be attested, at least concerning the Warrior Goddess. One example of this is to be found in the Devlmdhdtmya. The story of the goddess is retold there to a king and a merchant, who, after hearing it, worship her and make an offering to her sprinkled with their own blood, thanks to which tlicy obtain what they wish from her.^^ Another example, which again proves that merchants worshipped this warrior goddess, comes from the Sakral stone

well as the complete absence of the nattar, or assembly of nadu notables.' In his conclusion, he remarks that this may be due to the role of inscriptions as expressions of power (p. 149): 'The limited visibility of traders in the inscriptional corpus is explicable when we interpret these documents as expressions of power within political economy. [...] we may consider the donative acts and the inscriptions that preserve them as tokens within a system of cultural capital or cultural currency that formalized a process of domination. The most important persons within the state formed under the Colas were leaders of the agrarian economy who based their positions on the ability to mobilize resources and support from the villages they 'possessed', as well as on their 'entitlements' within the state military or administrative apparatus, however loosely constituted. These were the kind of people who tended to have their donations engraved on temple walls, demonstrating their devotion to the gods but obviously proclaiming to their contemporaries that they were important members of an elite.' ^^Devlmdhdtmya 13.4-9: iti tasya vacah srutvd Surathah sa narddhipah / pranipatya mahdbhdgam tarn rsim samsitavratam // nirvimo 'timamatvena rdjydpaharanena ca / jagdma sadyas tapase sa ca vaisyo mahdmune // samdarsandrtham Ambdyd nadipulinasamsthitah / sa ca vaisyas tapas tepe devlsuktam param japan //tau tasmin puline devydh krtvd murtitn mahimaylm / arhanam cakratus tasydh puspadhupdgnitarpanaih // nirdhdrau yatdhdrau tanmanaskau samdhitau / dadatus tau balim caiva nijagdtrdsrguksitam // evam samdrddhayatos tribhir varsair yatatmanoh / paritustdjagaddhdtrlpratyaksamprdha Candikd//...

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

29

inscription of 643 A.D.^' It records the construction of a shrine housing several gods (5Mraam mandapottamah) in front of the goddess Sahkara, commanded by an association (gosthi) of eleven bankers (sresthi) or merchants (vanik). In the invocation, in addition to Ganapati and Kubera, the warrior goddess Candika is also praised to bestow prosperity upon people. She is pictured here while dancing (thus recalling Siva), and her hands are said to destroy enemies {vidalitadvesinah). Candika is one of the names of the goddess in the Devlmdhdtmya, and Bhandarkar reports'*" that according to locals, the Sakral shfine housed an image of the Goddess Killing the Buffalo Demon (MahisasuramardinI) at the time he visited the village.'" The invocation of Candika by merchants does not prove that they also worshipped bellicose female spirits, such as various Mothers or Yoginls. But the warrior goddess - whether under the name or form of Candika, MahisasuramardinI or VindhyavasinI - was closely assojsiated with minor female spirits or Mothers created by her or for her in various versions of the story, as pointed out above. Therefore, the worship of Candika by merchants could again point to the possibility of their profiting from the worship of female goddesses or spirits described in Tantras. Given the scarcity of this kind of inscriptions about and by merchants, we may not have much more precise evidence to discover.

^^ This dating is given by B. Ch. Chhabra, who presents the inscription in EI XXVl, pp. 27-33, arguing against Bhandarkar's tentative dating of the 9* century. "" As cited in /XXVI, p. 29. "" It is not in the scope of this article to discuss whether the buffalo killing goddess is the same as the one who kills Sumbha and Nisumbha. Since the original Skandapurdna already attributes the killing of the buffalo demon to VindhyavasinI, who also kills Sumbha and Nisumbha, this identification was probably established by the time of the above-cited inscription. For more details on the early history of these goddesses, see YOKOCHI 2004.

si.

"'nil'-'i''''> --^. ><'''^.

JUDITTORZSOK

Ahhougii tlic tcKt of the Siddhayogesvarlmata and the other sources cited here do not provide us with clear evidence of the king, ministers, generals and traders being involved in Tantpc worship of female spirits, the combined evidence of early Taiitric texts of YoginI cults and inscriptions seems to point to their .'relatively important participation. The possibility that they had particular interest in such worship does not imply they formed the majority of (the few) Tantric initiates.'*^ However, they were most probably important targets for those who tried to sell their rites and recipes of magic to whoever would need and pay for them.

Works cited Printed texts, manuscripts and electronic texts in Sanskrit Kubjikamata The Kubjikdmatatantra. Crit. ed. T. Goudriaan, and J. Schotcrman, Leiden: Brill, 1988. I have also used Somdev Vasudeva's e-text, and I am grateful to him for making it available to me. Kriydkdlagunottara National Archives, Kathmandu Ms 3-392. Tanlrasadbhdva National Archives, Kathmandu Mss 5-1985 and 5-445. I have also made use of the e-text prepared under Mark Dyczkowski's direction and made available by the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute. For chapters 9 and 16, I refer to my own working edition.

On this problem in the larger, saiva context see SANDHRSON 2004: 231.

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

31

Devimdhdtmya In: The Mdrkandeyapurdna (chapters 81-93). Ed. K. M. Banerjea. Bibliotheca Indica 29. Calcutta: Bishop's College Press, 1862. Netratanlra with the commentary (-M(i^_)/ota) of Ksemaraja. Ed. V. V. Dvivedi. Delhi: Parimal Publications, 1985. Brahmaydmala l<iational Archives, Kathmandu Ms 3-370. I should like to thank Shaman Hatley for making his preliminary transcription available to me. Mahdbhdrata ed. V. S. Sukthankar (1927-43) and S. K. Belvalkar (from 1943) with the co-operation of Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, R. N. Dandekar, S. K. De, F. Edgerton, A. B. Gajendragadkar, P. V. Kane, R. D. Karmakar, V. G. Paranjpe, Raghu Vira, V. K. Rajavade, N. B. Utgikar, P. L. Vaidya, V. P. Vaidya, H. D. Velankar, M. Wintemitz, R. Zimmerman and other scholars and illustrated by Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi. 19 vols. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1927-1959. Siddhayogesvarlmata Ms D = Ms 5-2403 in the National Archives, Kathmandu. Ms N = No. 5948 / 5465 (G) in the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta. See also TORZSOK 1999. Skandapurdna Skandapuranasya Ambikakhandah. Sampadakah: Krsnaprasada Bhattaral. Mahendraratnagranthamala 2. Kathmandu: Mahendrasarnskrtavisvavidyalaya, 1988. Svacchandatantra with the commentary (-wd/^joto) of Ksemaraja. 2 vols. Ed. V. V. Dvivedi, Delhi: Parimal Publications, 1985. Harsacarita The Harsacarita of Banabhatta. Text of Ucchvasas I-VIII. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by P. V. Kane. Bombay. 1918. Repr. Delhi: ]\kotilal Banarsidass, 1986.

JUDIT TORZSOK Ediiioiis of iiiscriptidiis and .secondary literature


BAKKER, H . T.

2004. 'The Structure of the Varanaslmahatmya in the Skandapurana 26-31'. In: Origin and Growthiof the Puranic Text Co/77M.y, pp.1-16. See BAKKER (ed.).

BAKKER, H . T.

(ed.) 2004. Origin and Growth of the Puranic Text Corpus with Special Reference to the Skandapurana. Papers of the 12^^ World Sanskrit Conference, vol. 3.2. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

BiSSCHOP, P. 2004. Early Saivism and the Skandapurana: Sects and Centres. Unpublished PhD thesis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. (Published at Egbert Forsten, under the same title, at the time of going to press). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, vol. 3.: Inscriptions of the early Gupta Kings and their Successors. Ed. J. F. Fleet. Calcutta 1888. Repr. Varanasi: Indological Book House, 1963. Epigraphia Indica (references are given as cited).
HEITZMAN,

J. 2001/2004. 'Urbanization and Political Economy in Early South India: Kaiicipuram During the Cola Period'. In Structure and Society in Early South India - Essays in Honour of Noboru Karashima. Ed. Kenneth R. Hall. Delhi: Oxford University Press (2001, paperback 2004), pp. 117-156.

PANIKKAR, SHIVAJT K.

1997. Saptamatrka Worship and Sculptures. Perspectives in Indian Art and Archaeology, no. 3. Delhi: D. K. Printworld.

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

33

RAMESH, K. V. and TEWARI, S. P. 1990. A Copper-Plate Hoard of the Gupta Period from Bagh, Madhya Pradesh. New Delhi / Mysore: Archaeological Survey of India. SANDERSON, A. 1988. 'Saivism and the Tantric Traditions'. In.- The World's Religions. Ed. S. Sutherland, L. Houlden, P. Clarke and F. Hardy. London: Routledge, pp. 660-704. SANDERSON, A. 2004. 'Religion and the State: Saiva Officiants in the Territory of the King's Brahmanical Chaplain'. Indo-Iranian Journal 47, pp. 229-300.
fe.

SIRCAR,

D.C. 1939. The Successors of the Sdtavdhanas in Lower Deccan. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.

TORZSOK, J. 1999. 'The Doctrine of Magic Female Spirits' A Critical Edition of Selected Chapters of the Siddhayogesvarimata(tantra) with Annotated Translation and Analysis. Unpublished D Phil thesis. University of Oxford. YOKOCHI, Y. 2004. The Rise of the Warrior Goddess in Ancient India - A Study of the Myth Cycle of Kausiki-Vindhyavdsini in the Skandapurdna. Unpublished Ph D thesis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

JUDIT TORZSOK SIDDHAYOGESVARIMATA PATALA

24

II devy uvaca || vasyakarsanav ete tu tvatprasadavadharitau idanim srotum icchami maranoccatanadikam || 11| jambhanam stambhanam caiva mohanam kilanam tatha vacapaharam mukatvam badhiryam andhanam tatha || 21| tatha ca sandhikaranam rupasya parivartanam dvadasaite mahaprasnah prthag bhedena samkara II3II kathayasva samasena sadyah siddhir yatha bhavet sukhopayena devesa yena sidhyanti sadhakah tan me nigada Isana mama vismayakarakam || 41| II bhairava uvaca || smu devi param guhyam sadyah pratyayakarakam ripunam nasane samyak prayuktah sadhakena tu |j 51| marayanti na samdehah sakratulyasamo 'pi yah suladandarn tridhabhutarp krodhadyantarji/j/za^avadhi || 61| jvalamalakulam dhyatva ripor deham samantatah siilagrenorasi bhinnam tena bijena tain ripum || 71| visargena samakrstva ksanan marayate ripun yadi dhyanena sarnyuktarn japet sarnraktalocanam || 81| kopasanakrta f topam maraca f krodhamisritam rajanam marayet turnam sasainyabalavahanam ||9||
\a e t e N : e p e D \b tvat D : tvain" N "dharitau em.: "dharita DN 3a sandhi" conj.: sanci" D : manci" N 3c "dasaite N : "dasete D 'prasnab corr.: "prasna DN 3rf bhedena D : bhadena N 4b sadyah D : sadyo N siddhir D : siddhi N 4e tan me D : tasmai N 5 param N : varam D 5b sadyah D : sadya 5d pra)Tiktah D : krayukta N 6a sarndehah D : sarndeho N 6c ady D : ay N phat conj.: hath" DN "vadhiN :vadhim D 7 "akulam corr.: akula DN lb ripor deharn corr.: ripo deha DN 7c agreno corr.: "agrenau" N : agrenai D Id tarn corr.: ta DN ripum corr.: ripu N : ripuh D 8a visargena N : visargena D o samakrstva co/.: samakrtvaDN %b riptin D rripurpN 8rf "locanam em.: "locanah DN

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?...

35

santyarthe ghrtahomam tu paraya karayet sudhlh ksanad eva bhavec chantir mrtasyapi na samsayah || 101| athoccatanam anvicched ripunam sadhakottamah humkarasamputo devi sad imam vayurupinam purvavat savisargam tu parvatany api catayet || 111| namam tatraiva calikhya kapale rudhirena tu kakapaksena vidhivan matangagnau pratapayet || 121| digambaro muktakeso daksinabhimukhah sthitah homayet kakapaksams tu ulukavasaya saha vidvistoccatanam ksipram ghatikatritayena tu || 13 || santyarthe pavake bhuyah svatah sarkaraya hunet homac chantir bhavaty asu gatasyapi yamasrayam | 14II paficavirnsati sargena svahantakrtalaksanam pTtavarnena devesi dhyanaj jambhayate ripun || 151| dehe tu sakale bhuyah pitaraktarn ripoh smrtam jambhate sa tu tenaiva caturthena tu suvrate || 161| gaihkasuvrtenaiva urdhvakesena sundari yatra yatra nivistam tu samkaresam sabindukam || 171| so 'pi jarnbhayate asu ripun brahmapurogaman stambhanarn ca pravaksyami trailokyadhipatirn tatha 1 1
106 dhih corn: dhlm DN 10c chantirD: chanti N lOrf samsayah com sarn^ayahDN 11 "icched D : "IcchetN l i e kara N : "karah D lit/sad imam D : vattimam N 12a "likhya D : "likhyc N 126 kapale D : kapala N 12rf "agnau D : "asco N 13a "amvaro D : "amvarau N 136 "mukhah em.: "mukharn DN 13c "paksarns corn: "paksas DN 13rf saha D : sahah N 13e "occatanam corr: "occatane DN 13/ tritayena D : trtaycna N 14a pavake coA-r.: pavakam N : pavakam D bhOyah corn: bhuye D : bhuya N 146 svatah corr.: svata N : bhyah ta D 14c bhavaty em.: bhavahy N bhavehy D asu D : asu N 14</ gatasyapi N : gatasyami D "srayam conj. "ksayam DN 15c devesi N ; devese D 16a tu N ; om. D sakale N sakalair D bhuyah D : bhuya N 166 ripoh D : ripo N 16c jarnbhate N jarnbhite D sa corr.: san DN 17a "vrtenaiva con/.: "vratenaivaDN 18a asu corr.: asu DN 186 ripun corr.: ripurn DN

r
36 JUDITTORZSOK

'' .'i

astaviinsena bijena indrabhena tu rephina misritena tu tenaiva vajrahastena suvrate || 191| tavat stambham karoty ea yavad dhyanam na muncati homantain nava < . . . > ||20|| < . . . > sarnksepat pravaksyami tapodhane ' yena yojitamatrena trailokyam api sadhayet II21II trayastriipsatimam bijam catiirthasvarasamyutam mantantam asanam tasya khecaram mastakam smrtam || 221| dhayec ca satatarp devi pravartarp sonitam muhuh guhye ca hrdaye caiva netrayor vaktramurdhani || 23 || hrdaye ca tatha ghrane sarvatas ca vicintayet sindtirasarasam devi dadimikusumaprabham || 241| indragopakasamkasamjavakusumasamnibham kilanam tu pravaksyami samksepena smu priye || 251| smasanahgaracumam tu padapamsus tathaiva ca anena prakrtim kuryad dhrdi namam prakalpayet || 261| narasthikilakam krtva tryangulam panca sapta vfl anena hrdayam vadhyam mantrenanena suvrate kilitah sa tuvijfieyoyavan noddhriyate tu sah ||27|| kslrasnanarn subharn devi bhairave viranayake vakararephasambhinnarn nllajimutasannibham || 281| mesasanam idarn ghoram sankuliastam trilocanam hurnkaramadhyagam devi bIjam etad dhi kllane || 291|
19a asta N : asta D 196 rephina con.: rephinah D : rephine N 19c tenaiva N i y : om. D"" 22d smrtarn e/w.: srtam DN 23rf netrayor D : netrayo N 24c "sarasatn D : "sahrnani N 25a "kasarnkasairi em.: "sasamkasarn N : "samam kamam D 26a "curnan D : "* bh* urnnarn N 26h "parnsus N : "pamsuD 27a krtva N : sthitva D lib sapta va conj.: "saptakan N "saptavan D 27rf "anena D : "ananena N 27e kilitah D : kllitas N vijiieyo D : vijiieya N 2 7 / noddhriyate corr.: noddhryate D : naddhryate N 286 bhairave D : bhairavam N 29a mesasanam D : mesasanam N

HELPING THE KING, MINISTERS AND BUSINESSMEN?.

37

vacapaharanam caiva pravaksyami sakautuke vyavahare'tha va jalpe dyute pitrvane tatha rajavesmani samgrame hrdi nyastam idam priye || 301| kurmasanam idam bijam krsnam samdamsadharinam dhyanan nyastam idam devi jihyaya lirdayantare || 311| caturdasain mahabljam bhairavakarasarpinam harate vakpater vacam vaktrtvam mukatatn nayet 1|32|| srotradvaye punar nyasya idam bhairavarupinam badhiro jayate tena yadi dhyanena piditah sandhikaroti nimisad yada guhye niyojitah || 331| kslravrkse samalikhya lingam va yadi va bhagam kilitah sandhatam yatipQrvavat kilito yadi II34II amrtakarsanam devi yad bijam purvavamitam tasya laksam vidhanena anena japato yadi || 351| ratrau muktasikho bhutva vamam alingya riipinim krostucarmavrto yatnat svamQrteh parivartayet || 361| yadrsam cintayed rupam tada/arfrg bhavisyati etad devi samakhyatam kayasya parivartanam || 371| maranadyam samasena prayogadvadasam priye cakrarigani mahadevi homad vasyam idarn jagat || 381| maranadyah prayogas ca kramena kathitah priye etat te paramam guhyarn tavakhyatarn varanane yogininarn pararn guhyain sadbhavam vlrakarmasu || 391
30a "haranam corr: "harane DN 306'kautuke em.: "kautukam DN 30c jalpe D :jalpaN 316 samdamsa" corr.; sandamsa" N : sarndarnsa" D 31c dhyanan corr.: dhyana DN 32c "pater conj.: "yatair DN 32d vaktrtvarn em.: vaktatvam DN miakatam conj : mulatam DN 33 punar corr.: puna N : punas D nyasya effi.: tryasyaDN 33c vadhiroN : vadhiraD 33c sandhl" con/.: same!" DN 34c kilitah D : kllitaN sandhatarn con/.: samcitamDN 34d kllito D : kllita N 35c laksarn N : laka D 36a ratrau D : ratra N 36c yatnat N : yanna D 36rf "murteh corr.: "mtJrte DN 376 tadrg con/.: tanyam D : tabhyarpN 39a "adyah corr.: "adyaD : "advaN prayogas corr.: prayogac DN 396 kathitah corr.: kathita DN

n
-

'1^.,.

JUDITTORZSOK

prayuktam sadhakendrena bhedyate tam susobhane anena karanenaiva yan na likhyeta pustake || 401| kadacit yujyate mantrl satrupaksavinasane karoti vividham kamia ghoraghorataram bhuvi || 411| vinasara kurute sadyah prayuktah sadhakena tu etat sarvaprayatnena acaryenatmaraksane || 421| kadacit papaslle tu guruh pranan nikrntati anenaivatra dosena gopaniyaiTi prayatnatah || 431| atha va yat pramadena likliitam pustake dhrtam prayascittarn tada tena kartavyarn niyatena tu || 44 || pavitraya samakhyatafi slokan mantravidhanatah bhutalaksanvitas tesam japtvanena visudhyati agnau praksipya tac chastrarn dharayed vatha niravah || 451 uttarottaratantram tu gudhamantrarthasiddhidam manasapi na coccaiyarn na likhyeta kadacana j| 461|
40a prayuktam corr: prayuktalj D : prayukta N 406 bhedyate N : bhavyatc D susobhane N : susobhate D 40rf likhyeta corr: likhyata D : likhyota N pustake D : pustakam N 41fl yujyate N : pryumjate D 41A "paksa" corr: pakse DN 42a sadyah D : sadya N 426 prayuktah corr. : prayukta DN 42c sarva N : sarvarn D 42d acaiyena" em.: acaryena" D : acaryana" N 43a "sllc em.: "sllam DN guruh D : gurus N 44a pramadena D ; prasadena N 45a pavitraya N : kavitraya D samakhyatafi corr. ; samakhyata DN 45c bhuta" N : cuta D 45rf "anena N : tena D 45/ dharayed corr: dharayed DN vatha N : vadhva D 46c coccaryam corr: coccarya DN 46rf likhyeta corr.: likheta DN kadacana D : kadacanah N

Cracow Indological Studies vol. VIII (2006)

Alexis Sanderson (All Souls College, Oxford)

The Date of Sadyojyotis and Brhaspati

Students of Indian religion in the early medieval period are by now familiar with the fact that the literature of the Saiva Mantramarga is broadly divided into two streams. On the one hand there was that based on the purely Saiva scriptures known collectively as the Siddhanta or Saivasiddhanta. This was dedicated to the propitiation of Siva, remained for the most part within the parameters of purity established by the brahmanical substrate, extended beyond the domain of private worship by individuals for their own benefit or that of individual clients into the public domain of the consecration and worship of fixed idols in temples for the welfare of society and the state, and for the most part adhered to a soteriology in which ritual, above all the ritual of initiation in the presence of the Mandala of Siva, was declared to be the sole means of the soul's salvation at death, a benefit which thereby remained entirely within the gift of its institutions, since only duly consecrated officiants could perform that ritual. It also sought with widespread success to place its most senior figures in the office of Royal Preceptor in numerous kingdoms both in the subcontinent and Southeast Asia, to have these give Saiva initiation to their monarchs, to follow this with a Saiva modification of the brahmanical ceremony of royal consecration rajydbhisekah in which the king together with his chief queen was to be empowered to fulfil his divinely ordained role as the guardian of a Saiva-brahmanical socio-religious order, and to provide the specialized officiants who would consecrate the royal temples whose foundation marked and validated the reigns of all but the weakest and most ephemeral rulers.

1
feacow Indological Studies i'vol. VIII (2006) Anna Nitecka (Jagiellonian University, Cracow)

The individuality of tlie subject in the interpretation of Abhinavagupta

The pratyabhijna school of philosophy initiated in the tenth century in Kashmir by the Sivadrsti of Somananda proposed a conceptual elaboration of the doctrines of the non-dualistic Saivism and a systematic exegesis of their scriptures. The work to which the school owes its name and widespread recognition was the Isvarapratyabhijndkdrikd of Utpaladeva. The doctrines were elaborated further by his follower Abhinavagupta (Jl. c. 975-1025)' in two exhaustive commentaries, Isvarapralyabhijndvimarsirii and Isvarapratyabhijndvivriivimarsinl. Both authors attempted to formulate a coherent system of metaphysics in categories accepted by other philosophical schools in order to propagate it within the wide circles of the Kashmiri society and be able to defend it against the adversary doctrines. In the monistic metaphysics oi pratyabhijna the highest principle underlying the reality, the universal consciousness of Siva manifests itself as the plurahty of individual subjects and things. The limited centres of consciousness, though sharing the nature of Siva, are not aware of that and consequently get involved in the painful cycle of samsdra. The structure of individual subject, his conditions and relation to universal consciousness constitute central problems in the school of pratyabhijna. The subject of the present article is Abhinavagupta's explanation of the individuality presented in his Vimarsinl to the second chapter of the Agamddhikdra ofUtpaladeva's work. One

' Abhinavagupta was a pupil ofUtpaladeva's pupil Laksmanagupta.

94

ANNA NITECKA

must bear in mind that Abhinavagupta follows his master rather strictly. In the introduction to the edition of IPK Raffacle Torella expressed the opinion that the majority of themes approached by Abhinavagupta in his works on pratyabhijnd have their starting point in Utpaladcva's lost auto-commentary, which is concluded from the quotations in IPVV.'^ The explanation of the problem of individuality is constructed in the following way: first the three maculations are presented, then the hierarchy of subjects is discussed, finally the author approaches the question of five states of consciousness (avasthd) determining the experience of the subject. These are: walking (Jagrat), dream (svapna), deep sleep {susupti), the fourth state (turya) and the state beyond the fourth (turydtUa). The article focuses on the experience of the incarnated perceiver and the hierarchy of subjects will not be discussed here.^ The three maculations (mala) are ontologicai reasons for arising of the individual subject. However, these maculations are not material substances as saivasiddhdnla maintains, but, on the contrary, they are considered as the erroneous attitudes of the individual.'' Thus, the limited subject is determined by dnava, mdylya and kdrma, which result from the activity of the principle of obscuration {mdyd). The maculations assumed by absolute consciousness are the expression of its free will. The dnava mala ('primary maculation', 'maculation bringing about individuality') accounts for the first hmitation of the absolute consciousness. The universal self loses its essential qualities, omniscience and omnipotence and as a result becomes an individual {anu): The nature of cittattva assumes here the form of omniscience and omnipotence. The maculation called dnava denotes abandoning

TORnLLA2002:XLIII. ' On this subject see VASUDIIVA 2004: 151-178. ' I adopt here the formulation of Raffacle Torella (TORELLA 2002: XXI).

;\THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE SUBJECT...

95

them, whereby a contracted individual comes to being. The contraction denotes here the concealment of own nature.^ Anava mala expresses thus the concealing of cognitive and creative power of consciousness. The self, having lost its autonomy (svatantrya), considers itself as imperfect. This maculation functions in two ways: If the essential feature of knowledge (bodha) remains and there is the concealment of another essential feature, consisting in autonomy and characterized by agency, or vice versa, in both cases there is the same maculation called anavamala, which consists in the concealment of own nature.^ Utpaladeva specifies the fir.st possibility of the concealment of own nature as 'loss of the autonomy of knowledge' {bodhasya svdtantryahdnih), while the second is explained as 'unawareness of the autonomy' (svdtantryasya api ahodhata)J The autonomy, the intrinsic quality of the absolute consciousness is equaled with the agency {karIrtva) denoting thus the autonomy of acting. In the first case we have to do with the state in which the consciousness limits its active power while preserving its omniscience. The second case, indicating the autonomy without knowledge, seems to result in the same. The subject unaware of his omnipotence is also not able to make use of it. Naturally, the subject never loses his active or cognitive powers completely. Anava mala expresses the significant limitation of them, loss

^ iha jndtr-kartr-rupam tdvac cit-tattvasya svarupam, tasydpahdro ndmdnavam malam yendsdv anuh samkucito jdtah \ tatra svarupasya nimllanam samkocah \ IPV: 248. '' tat sthite bodha-rupe kartrtva-laksanasya svdtantrydtmanah svarupdntarasya nimilanam viparyayo vd, ity ubhayathdpy dnavam malum svarupdpahdni-rupam ekam eva \ IPV: 248. ' IPK: 66, III.2.4.

^-'M:.

ANNA NITECKA

V^J^i^rTihipotcnce and Dmniscicnce characteristic of the absolute consciousness. The first contraction imparting the sense of individuality and Umitation to the consciousness gives rise to subseqiient rtiaculations. The second maculation, mdylya mala is defined by Abhinavagupta in the following way: When there is anavamala of two kinds consisting in the contraction of own nature, then there is perception of something separated and it is mala, which is only called wayjya.^ The mdylya maculation expresses the state in which the subject becomes confronted with the object. He begins to distinguish objects which are different from him. In other words, his knowledge contracted due to anavamala acquires its limited object. However, the objectivization characteristic of this stage is not restricted to external things. Also the subjectivity becomes objectivized since the subject considers himself as separated from the universal consciousness and identifies with the particular body and senses. The last maculation, kdrmamala indicates the fiirther contraction. The subject whjdh already distinguished the objects of his cognition, begins to act in the world of duality. Since his knowledge is limited, all his acts leave latent traces in his consciousness determining future rebirths: When for the agent there is the perception of extemal objects, the body etc., which are insentient, then the kdrmamala arises in the form of good and evil. As a resuh of them, there are rebirth and

saty dnave male dvi-prakdre svarupa-samkoce vrtte bhinnasya yat prathanam tasya maylyam iti samjnd-matram \ IPV: 248-249. In: fact all maculations could be called mdylya, as they are the product of mdyd.

THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE SUBJECT...

97

enjoyment lasting for limited time. It is said, that the caste, life and enjoyment are the results of karma. Karmamala is interpreted thus as the only factor responsible for the transmigration. Its main function is to bind the self continuously with the body, senses and their objects. The reverse path leading from the limited existence to the autonomy of enlightened consciousness requires first of all the destruction of the karmic maculation. The incarnated perceivers belong to the lower category of subjects determined by all three malas}'^ They are blinded by desires and suffer due to the impossibility of their fulfillment. Though the autonomy constitutes the intrinsic feature of the self, it becomes subordinated to its objective aspects. In other words, the individual subject lets the objective elements dominate over subjective ones identifying himself with the body, buddhi, prdna or sUnya.'' * tatra kartur ahodha-rUpasya dehdder bhinna-vedya-prathane sati * dharmddharma-rupam kdrmam malum, yato janma bhogas ca sa ca niyatdvadhikah, iti jdty-dyur-bhoga-phalarn karma ity uktarri bhavati] IPV: 249. The explanation of maculations in IPV can be compared with that in Pardtrimsikdvivarana: Even the slightest ignorance of the nature ofAnuttara enclosing everything is the inequality of the states of mind, it leads to the transmigration caused by the fact that 1) dnava-mala produces limitedness in the self which considers itself as incomplete, 2) mala called mqyic produces the duality when there is the desire of completing this incomplete 3) karmamala appears due to receiving the latent traces of good arid bad acts {anumdtram apy avikaldnuttara-svarUpdparijndriam eva citta-vrttindnt vaisamyam, sa eva ca samsdrah, apurndbhimdnenasvdtmany afiutvdpdddndt dnavdmalasya, tad-apUrna^rupa-paripUrndkdhksdydrn bheda-darsandt mdydkhyasya malasya, tac-chubhdsubha-vdsandgrahena kdrma-malasya colldsdt \ PTV: 200). '" To the cornparison, Vijnanakalas and Vidyesvaras are constituted by one mala (dnava and mdyiya respectively), while Pralayakalas are determined by two or three malas. " (...) sUnydder deha-paryantasya mdyd-pramdtuh sambandhi, tat gunatvena apradhdnatvena sthitam, yato mitam idantdpanna-dehddi-sun-

'T'MHNIIIIIMIiPiSai

98

ANNA NITECKA

According to the objective aspect with which the subject identifies, three states of consciousness (walking, dream and deep sleep) are delineated. The transmigrating perceiver is able, however, to transgress his limitations and bring about the higher states of consciousness: turya and turydtita. Those states encompass the totality of human experience. For the sake of clarity I will present the psychological states in reverse order from how it is done by Abhinavagupta following Utpaladeva. It will be started with two lower avasthds distinguished by the cognition of the clear object. The walking (Jdgrat) is a state in which the objects are perceived clearly by means of the external senses and this cognition can be shared with other perceivers. It is defined in the following way: But where the object of external senses, which is common to all subjects, shines as real due to continuity of ascertainment [of its existence], which does not come under falsification, and as a result there is the persistency of object, such a creation is called walking state of the limited subject.' Walking state continues as long as there is the continuity of the clear ascertainment of the object. If it is broken, the dream begins. The dream (svapna) is a state constituted by the objects of mind. In the dream the activity of external senses is suspended and the external objects are no longer perceived. The objects of the dream cannot be considered as the creation of the individual subject because they can be unpleasant and the perceiver would not experience them, if it depended on his will. They are placed by the Lord in the mind of
ydnta-prameya-hhdga-nimagnatvat prameyam, yo gauro, yah sukhl, yas trsito, yah sarvarupa-rahitah so 'ham, - iti hi idantaivdntarnltdhambhava samsdrindm parisphurati \ IPV: 256-257. yatra tu bdhydksa-visayam sarva-pramdtr-sddhdranatvarn ca niscaydnuvrttyd bddhd-rahitayd paramdrthatvena cakdsti, lata eva sthairyam visayasya sd srstih pasohjdgarah \ IPV: 268.

'.THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE SUBJECT...

99

the individual subject. Though the objects experienced in the dream exist in the mind only, they appear often as clear as the external ones. They arc restricted, nevertheless, to a particular subject and limited to the time of his dream. The knowledge gained in the dream is falsified after awakening: The other perceivers and own organs of senses which appear in the dream, are apprehended as not different from those existing after awakening, but it is not so after awakening; the continuation of clear 13 ascertainment is obstructed. The next in rank is susupti, the state in which there is no clear cognition of the object. Two kinds of the deep sleep arc described. The first, apavedya susupti is the experience proper to the subject identifying with the void (sUnyapramatr) and characterized by the absence of the object of knowledge. Abhinavagupta defines this state in the following way: It being so, it happens that when this aspect of the principle of consciousness (cittattva) which conceals its nature and is not mingled with its other, subsequent aspect, rests in itself because it [the second, objective aspect] doesn't arise or is destroyed as in the case of dissolution of the universe or because it is abandoned as in the case of deep sleep, samddhi or madness, and this state of the agency (kartrtd), whose nature is subjectivity, becomes there the awareness {pardmarsa) associated with latent traces (samskdra), which are formless due to their uncleamess and pure because they haven't become objects of cognition, then this very state adopts the negatable in a general form {sdmdnyddhikdra) as in the case of a sentence 'I am without anything'. It is so due to necessary connection with the negatable, though this state is associated with clear ydni hi pramdtr-antardni svapne svendriydni ca bhdnti, etdni prabodha-kdla-bhdvibhir eva fair abhinnani, - iti niscayah, prahodha-kale ca na tathd, iti niscaydnuvrttir apahrtaiva \ IPV: 267.

100

ANNANITECKA awareness of the buddhi and other objects which must be negated and are not required in the situation in which there is only a slight idea of negation.''' Therefore this state whose objects are only latent traces is called sunya.

In the apavedya susupti the subject becoines identified with sunya because his experience does not have any objective reference. The mdyiyamala does hot function here. The characteristic feature of this state is its negative character. This generalized negation is reflected in the sentence 'I am without anything', implying the existence of something which is negated. In other words, though apavedya susupti is described as devoid of objective content, still some objectivization takes place. The subject does not rest in himself because the negation underlying this state produces the slight duality: the absence (abhdva) is always an absence of soniething. In fact apavedya must denote the absence of a clear, gross object. As Abhinavagupta explains later, the word abhdva expresses existence in the form of latent traces (samskdra) because the existing realities cannot be completely annihilated.'^ If all traces of objectivity were completely destroyed, the individual would be not able to function after awakening. Thus, the content of the experience in apavedya susupti are the latent traces of the negated objects. It is stressed, that the sam-

'"Cf PANDEY 1986:211.

tad evam sthite yas cit-tattvasya svampdcchadana-bhdgah sa evottara-bhdgdntardsamklmo yadd visrdmyati tad-anudaydd vd tatpradhvamsdd vd pralaya iva tad-anddarandd vd nidrd-samddhi-mUrcchdddv iva, tatraiva cdhantd-rUpam kartrtdyah padam pardmarso 'sphutatvdd arUpdtmand samskdrena suddhena vedya-padavim aprdptena yukto bhavati, tadd saivdvasthd nety eva pardmarsa-lesdnapeksita-nisedhya~buddhy-ddivisaya-suspasta-pardmarsa-sambheddpi avasyambhdvi-nisedhya-yogdt akificano 'ham itivat svikrta-sdmdnydkdra-nisedhyd, ata eva samskdra-sesikrtajiieydsiinyaityucyate\IPV: 261-262. { iyam eva hi sarvatrdbhdvo na tu satdm sarvdtmand vindsah \ IPV:262.

THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE SUBJECT...

101

skdras are formless and do not become the object of ordinary cognition {vedyapadavim aprdptend). The subject's association with them determines, however, the apavedya susupti. Abhinavagupta enumerates the situations in which similar relation with the object takes place. The perceiver in the deep sleep is compared with the subject in the dissolution of the universe (pralaydkala subject). The difference lies in the duration of experience and the position of the body. In the long period ofpralaya the subject is devoid of the body, while in the deep sleep he does not experience the possession of it. The unawareness of the body is marked also in fainting, madness and samddhi. Peculiarity of the latter case consists in the fact that the state of sunya depends here on the subject's will and is brought about by his effort. In the deep sleep with the object {savedya susupti), the subject identifies himself with prdna, the internal power which is responsible for the arising of 5 breaths {prdna, apdna, uddna, samdna and vydna) and regulates the activity of the senses animating in this way the insentient body and constituting life. The mdyiyamala functions here bringing about the sensations of pleasure and pain. They constitute the content of this experience, which is expressed in the sentence 'I slept weir. Both, the sunya or \hc prdna arc equaled with thejlva, the individual soul constituted by the subtle body (puryastaka) and passing through the cycle of rebirths. The puryastaka is a depository of good and bad karma and consists of the five tanmdtras and three internal senses. Abhinavagupta mentions also another conception according to which the subtle body comprises five breaths, senses and the principle of knowledge." The identification of prdna and sunya with the puryastaka leads Abhinavagupta to the conclusion that susupti is a state, in which the self identifies with the subtle body.'^

'^ IPV: 263-264. '* IPV: 264-265.

102

ANNANITECKA

'I'iic lliree states described above pertain to the pasu, the limited subject involved in transmigration. The turya (or tur'iya) and turydtlta are, on the contrary, the states of enlightened consciousness: But when, because of the aforesaid hints from the teachings of & guru etc., this very self {ahamhhava), whose nature is autonomy (svdtantrya) and which produces in itself the awareness of pervasiveness, etemality and other qualities, continues then as if emerging from the objectivity, the void (sunya) etc., there is the turiydfita (state beyond the fourth).' Also when the self {ahambhdva), aware of such eternal supremacy of power etc., {paramrsta-tathdbhuta-vaibhavadi-nityaisvarya-sambhedenaiva) pervades (vidhyate) [the objectivity] starting with the sunya and finishing with the body (deha) by means of the siddharasa, in this fourth state {turya) it {sunya etc.) also as if gives up [its] objective nature.'^" The above quotation can be paraphrased as follows: the tiirydlUa is the state in which the subject becomes aware of his essential qualities and does not identify anymore with the objective body, buddhi, prdna and sunya, while the turya is the state in which all objectivised aspects of the subject are pervaded by the self, aware of its real nature and lose in this way their objective character. Bhaskara, a commentator of the IPV explains siddharasa by quicksilver etc. {pdradddi). He refers to the alchemical process using quicksilver and other substances for transforming copper into gold.^' Thus, siddharasa functions here as the comparison. The objective aspects are trans-

yadd tUktagurupadesddi-disd tenaivahambhdvena svdtantrydtmand vydpakatva-nityatvddi-dharma-pardmarsam dtmani vidadhata tatah sunyadehprameydd unmajjyevdsyate tadd turydtitdvasthd \ IPV: 257. ^'^ yaddpi pardmrsta-tathdbhuta-vaibhavddi-nityaisvarya-sambhedenaivdhambhdvena sunyddi-deha-dhdtv-antarn siddha-rasa-yogena vidhyate, taddsydrn turya-dasdydm tad apiprameyatdm ujjhafiva \ IPV: 257. : ^'BH: 255-256.

THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE SUBJECT...

103

formed by the self in the same way as the copper is transformed into gold in the alchemical process. Since the passage quoted above is not clear enough to specify the difference between the two states, it will be confronted with similar, though less concise, definitions in the Isvarapratyabhijndvivrtivimarsini: When by means of hints to the autonomy, the self by the power of the awareness of pervasiveness and etemality continues as if emerging from the void (sunya) etc. which are objectivized, there is the state beyond the fourth. Nevertheless, there are also the latent impressions of the void etc. It is the harmony of the state beyond the fourth without distinction {avyatirekaturyafitasamata)?^ But when the perfect juice of consciousness {ahambhdvasiddharasa) whose nature is the mass of realized supremacy characterised by etemality, pervasiveness etc., pervades [the elements] starting with the void and ending with the body, and thus it as if deviates from the objective nature, there is the fourth state. And when these pervaded elements, such as the breath (pram), the body etc., being penetrated by the juice of consciousness are completely dissolved as the piece of gold and so they appear as fluid juice and only the latent traces (samskdra) of them remain, there is also the state beyond the fourth.^^

^^ yada ahambhavah svatantrya-disaiva vyapitva-nityatvddi-pardmarsa-baldt sunyadeh prameylkftdd unmajjya iva dsfe, tadd turydtita, tad api ca sUnyddi-sarnskdro 'pi asti, iti avyatireka-turydtita-samatd eva\ IPVV: 328. ^^ yadd tupardmrsta-nityatva-Vydpitvddi-dharmakaisvarya-ghandtmand ahambhdva-siddha-rasena sUnyddi-deha-dhdtv-antam vidhyate yena prameyatvdt tat cyavata iva, tadd turyadasd; yaddpi viddho 'sou prana-dehddidhdtuh samvid-rasena abhinivisto 'tyantam kanaka-dhdtur ivajirnah kriyate yena sa druta-rasa iva dbhdti kevalam tat-samskdrah, taddpi turyatita-dasd sa bhavati I IPVV: 328. J

104

ANNANITECKA

The passage from the IPVV adds to what Was said before that though in the state beyond the fourth the subject rests in himself and all objective aspects are abandoned, still the latent traces of them remain. Complete dissolution of objectivity is not/possible also at this level because the samskdras of the body etc. determine the present incarnation. However, they do not constitute the content of experience as in the case of apavedyasusupti. In the mystic state of turydtita they arc pushed in the background; the subject withdraws from them and enjoys his pure subjectivity. Abhinavagupta qualifies the above-described state as the avyalirekaturydtita, the state beyond the fourth without distinction, which implies the existence of vyatirekaturydtlta. Nevertheless, the latter denomination is not used here. The turya is the state in which the pure subjectivity transforms its objective aspects. When they are completely dissolved, the turya culminates in the state beyond the fourth. The result should be called the vyatirekaturydtlta, the state beyond the fourth with distinction, i.e. the turydtita preceded by turya. K. C. Pandey presents different view. According to him the vyatirekaturydtlta denotes the state in which objectivity still persists in the subconsciousness, while avyatirekaturydtlta is a state constituted by the total absence of objectivity.^" It seems that the turya and turydtita are to be distinguished mainly by the method they are reached. In the introduction to the passage in question Abhinavagupta contrasts the jndnin with the yogin. The former possesses the knowledge characterized by the complete penetration into his own nature, while the latter extends in his spiritual practice the glory of undivided consciousness also to the objective aspects of subjectivity.^^ According to this the jndnin should experience directly the turydtita, while the turya pertains to the yogin. When the yogin becomes firm in this practice and experiences every aspect
-"PANDEY 1995: 134.

yad-abhydsena ca deha-prdnddau ananta-samvid-dharmdtmakavibhava-samdsddandt yogi bhavati \ IPVV: 327.

THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE SUBJECT...

105

of reality as the expression of pure consciousness of Siva, he arrives at the state of the turyatita. Raffaele Torella holds the opinion that the vyatirekaturydtlta pertains tothejndnin and the avyatireka characterises the experience of the yogin as a fruit of the repeated practice of samdvesa. The turya and turyatita stdXe^ dxe called samdvesa (penetration) in the scriptures and constitute the liberation in life. Though the j'lvan-, mukta is still united with the body, he regains the knowledge and autonomy, as the primary maculation ceases to function. After death the liberated subject becomes completely united with Paramesvara, which naturally excludes the possibility of mystic experience. According to Abhinavagupta in order to experience samdvesa one should praise the Paramesvara, bow to him, worship him, meditate upon him and practice samddhi}^ The necessity of religious devotion is indicated also in IPVV: The shining of own nature due to devotion assuming the form of the entering into the state of dependence on the reality of Paramesvara constitutes the liberation because of its unquestionable repeated
28

arising. Finally, Abhinavagupta comments on the concept of prdna, the power animating the insentient body and senses. It assumes five forms and functions differently in each state of consciousness. In the walking this power is clearly observed in inhalation and exhalation: It rises a bit and falls on something in the form of inhaling and exhaling and constitutes respectively the specific states of prdna and apdna. These two features are marked in the walking state because ^'' TORELLA 2002: XXXIV-XXXV. " IPV: 258. ^'^ bhaktya. hi tat-paramesvara-visaya-vaivasya-samdvesa-rUpayd yah svdtma-prakdsah, sa eva andsahkyamdna-punarvyutthdnatayd moksah \ IPVV:25. I

gfi^^i.
ANNANITECKA 1

it Ibicalhl comes out of the body and rests on the object; then it case of remembrance etc., prana and apdna are very clear due to resting on internal object. ' Also in the dream the activity of pram and apana can be easily observed, while in susupti a particular form of prana arises. The samana denotes the equilibrium of prana and apdna, which rest in the heart. In the deep sleep the activity of prana and apdna still takes place, because it keeps the body alive. The two powers are, however, suspended for a while and reduced to the form of latent traces. The breaking of prana and apdna, their resting for some time constitute the nature of this state. Its function is to produce the hamiony of all fluids in higher and lower animals. Due to opening the heart lotus samdna produces digestion. Due to the equilibrium and ceasing of the inlialation and exhalation, which are identified with tlie day and night, the samdna resembles the period of equinox.''" The fourth state of consciousness is constituted by uddna. The prana enters the middle channel of susumnd and goes up through it dissolving the dualities: But when the principle of animating abandons the left and right channels and moves up through the central channel, then this activ" tatra kincij jahatl kvacit patantl ca svdsa-nihsvdsa-rupd kramena prandtvam apdnatvam ca visesam darsayati \ tad idam visesa-dvayam jdgrati tdvat sphutam eva dehdt prasrtya visaye visrdnteh, tato 'pi dehe; smrty-ddau vdbhyantare vedye visrdnteh prdndpdnayoh suspastatvdt \ IPV: 272. ^ tatra pranapanayor yas chedo visrantih kamcitkalam tad-dtma sakala-rasddi-vargasyordhvadharatiryaksu samdnikarana-vyapdrdtma, tata eva hrt-padma-vikdsa-ddnad bhukta-pita-jarana-kdri samdno dina-rdtrirUpayoh prdndpdnayoh kamcitkalam sdmydd viccheddc visuvat-kdla-tulyah | IPV:276.

[THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE SUBJECT...

107

ity dissolves all the duality imparting to it the essence of nonduality, like in the case of melted butter. The activity of uddna is found in the subjects from Vijfianakala up to Sadasiva - this is the fourth state.^' The state beyond the fourth pertains to Paramasiva. The dissolution of the duality started mturya is completed here: But when the duality is dissolved, there is pranic activity assuming the form of vydna because of pervading the body, which consists of the mass of worlds being the principles constituting the sphere of objectivity. It is turydtlta proper to the Paramasiva whose nature is everything. The pratyabhijnd school of philosophy advises to abandon the three lower states as they are inevitably associated with pain of incomplete existence. One should strive for the liberation in life, which can be also obtained by the yogic practices of manipulation on breaths whose functioning has been presented above.

' yadd tu sd prdnand-vrttir vdma-daksina-mdrgau khilibhdvayanti madhya-rupenordhvena pravahati, tadd tat pravahanam sakalasya bhedasydbheda-sdratd-ddna-laksanam vilapanam dsyanasyeva sarpiso vidadhati uddna-vfttir vijndndkaldd drabhya saddsivdntam, sa caturydtmikd dasd \ IPV:275. " viline tu bhede sarva-vedya-rdsi-rupa-tattva-bMta-bhuvana-vargdtmaka-deha-vydpana-riipena prdna-vrttir yydna-rilpa visvdtmaka-paramasivocitd turydtita-rUpd \ IPV: 275.

108 Bibliography

ANNANITECKA

BH IPV

Bhaskarl, see iPV Isvarapratyabhijndvimarsirii of Abhinava-gupta. Sanskrit Text with the Commentary Bhaskarl, vol.2, ed. K. A. Iyer, K. C. Pandey. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi 1986. Abhinavagupta, Isvarapratyabhijndvivrtivimarsinl. vol. 2, ed. M. S. Kaul. KSTS 62. Bombay 1941. K. C. PANDEY, 1963. Comparative Aesthetics, vol. I. Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office. Varanasi 1963. IPV. Abhinavagupta, Pardtrimsikdvivarana. In: Gnoli R. 1985 // commento di Abhinavagupta alia Pardtrimsikd (Pardtrirnsikdtattva-vivaranam). (Serie Orientale Roma, 58). Roma, IsMEO. The Isvarapratyabhijndkdrikd of Utpaladeva with the Author's vrtti. IsMEO. Roma 1994
RAFFAELE TORELLA.

IPVV

PANDEY 1963

PANDEY 1986

PTV

TORELLA 1994

VASUDEVA

2004

SOMADEVA VASUDEVA. The Yoga of Mdlinlvijayottaratantra. Institut Frangais de Pondichery, Ecole Frangaise d'Extreme-Orient (Series: Collection Indologie, 97). Pondicherry 2004.

Cracow Indological Studies vol. VIII (2006)

Silvia Schwarz Linder (Venice, Italy)

Remarks on the Doctrine of the Jiva In the

Padmasamhitd

The aim of this article is to discuss some aspects of the doctrine concerning the individual soul (/zva) elaborated in the Padmasamhitd (PadS), namely: the origin of theyTva, his conditions of samsdrin or mukta and the relation between individual and supreme soul. The origination of the yTva, his emergence within the process of world creation, is illustrated by the PadS in the frame of its Sanikhya-derived cosmogonic theory, set out within the chapters five to eight of the jndnapdda (jp). Accordingly, the PadS re-elaborates the categories of prakrti and purusa, adjusting them to its theological views, and considers prakrti and purusa as forms Qvpas) of the Supreme Atman; the paramdtman penetrates and stirs up the pair of prakrti and purusa and the former, controlled by the latter, evolves, producing the manifold beings: "Prakrti and purusa, these two are my unfathomable forms. says Sri Bhagavan - Having entered into this pair, I excite it according to my wish. O Brahma, the prakrti, consisting of the three gunas, without beginning or end, imperishable, controlled hy the purusa, produces the movable and immovable beings."' The idea of prakrti and purusa as rUpas of the paramdtman can be understood only by acknowledging the relevance of the term rUpa for the elaboration of the doctrine of God in the PadS, particularly for

' Pads7/7, 5.9-10: prakrtihpurusas cobhe mama rUpe duratydye /anupravisya dvitayam ksobhayamy aham icchayd //prakrtis triguna brahman anddir avindsinl /purusddhisthitd sute sthdvardni cardni ca //.

no

SILVIA SCHWARZ UNDER

the categorization of the divine in its various aspects and fomis.^ The meaning of rupa can be better grasped if the term is related and compared with the terai murli. In fact, notwithstanding their overlapping sense of a divine form, riipa and murti are given by the author(s) of the Pads quite different and distinct connotations. Throughout the text of the PadS the term murti always designates a particular, concrete divine figure: a figure arising as a particular concretization of the Supreme Lord in the process of divine emanation which constitutes the theophanical stage of srsti, the so-called mUrtyutpaiti;^ actually at such a stage the dynamics of creation consist in what can be called a process of "mQrtization", in which the Lord becomes a plurality of divine figures. Thus mUrti pertains to the realm of srsti, it concerns the Becoming of God, rather than His Being. Moreover mUrti is also connected with ritual: mUrti is the divine figure descending into the icon (area) in order to be worshipped, or manifesting itself as a mantra. On the other hand, in the diverse contexts where it is employed, rUpa is not meant to indicate a concretization of the Supreme Lord in a particular figure, but it rather refers to an abstract aspect inherent to the godhead regarded as a whole. Subsuming every form of Bhagavan, whether gross (sthUla), subtle (sUksma) or supreme (para), rUpa concerns the Being of God in His manifold states, rather than His Becoming in the dynamics of creation. Therefore, when the term is used in the context of the cosmogonical stage of srsti, rUpa does not refer to a product of the evolution - as in the case of the tattvas with regard to the prakrti - but rather to the mode in which God manifests Himself as the universe.

" See SCHWARZ LlNDER, "The Relevance of rUpa and murti for the Doctrine of God of the Pddmasamhita", presented at the 13"' World Sanskrit Conference, Edinburgh, July 2006. ^ See Pads jp, 2.6c-40, dealing with the account of the emergence of the divine figures (mUrtyutpatti), that is the earliest stage of srsti.

I REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE...

Ill

Considering the consequence implicit in the choice of the term riipa, it becomes possible to interpret the definition of prakrti and purusa as rupas of the paramdtman and also to appreciate the different shades of meaning of the term according to its being referred to prakrti or to purusa. As far as prakrti is concerned, having no beginning, existing from eternity {anddi, PadSj^p, 5.10b) and being imperishable {avindsinl, ibidem), prakrti is regarded as an entity of its own, an eternal (nityd, VadSjp, 8.16c), material {acetand, ibidem, 16a) substance: "Being non spiritual, the womb of everything, nOn developed, eternal, she brings forth from herself the whole universe by the injunction of the Supreme Atman".'^ However, though being a substance, being eternally connected with the paramdtman, prakrti faactions as a mode of the paramdtman, as an attribute quahfying the paramdtman. Having the form {rupa) ofprakrti, the paramdtman manifests himself as the acetana form of himself, as the primeval matter, matrix of the universe. Such relation between prakrti and paramdtman can be compared to the relation between prakdra and prakdrin as it is envisaged by Ramanuja within his concept of the "relationality" of the Brahman.^ Of course, the ideas expressed in the PadS cannot be regarded as a derivation, in terms of contents, from the philosophy and theology of Ramanuja, a derivation which, considering the still uncertain date of composition of the PadS, would be rather hard to prove from a historical point of view; one is only allowed to point out an instance of a . similar way of thinking. Under this limitation,/jra^rt/ can be regarded as a prakdra, an eternal mode of the paramdtman. This implies that prakrti is not a product of the evolution of the paramdtman. The evolution takes place within the prakrti, or better starts from her, but there is not evolution of the prakrti as prakdra from the para-mdtman as prakdrin. The paramdtman possesses the prakrti, has prakrti at his

'' Pads Jp, 8.16: acetana sd visvasya yonir avydkrtd svayam /nityd sUtejagat sarvam niyogdtparamdtmanah //. ' For a discussion of the relation between ^raA:ara and prakdrin within the "relationality" of the Brahman in Ramanuja, see OBERHAMMER 1999.

]>

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

disposition, makes use of her and induces her to dfevelop. Consisting of the three gums, "prakrti is called the complete contrac-tion of the guna-s beginning with sattva"-^ the gums exist within the prakrti in a contracted form, in a state of equilibrium, until, at k certain moment the paramdtman penetrates the prakrti with his will and the latter evolves from her undeveloped, not manifest form to her developed, manifest one, which is the phenomenal world, and, as source of every-thing, gives rise to the universe with its living beings. As for the /JMrw^'a, the relationship between purusa ahd paramdtman is not univocally expressed within the text of the PadS: in the above quoted passage (PadSj)?, 5.9-10) the two are distinct, the former being a rUpa of the latter and it is the purusa who presides over the activity of the prakrti, whilst both of them are stirred up hy the paramdtman. The role of ruler of the prakrti activity is differently expressed in other passages: in PadS jp, 7.46ab it is said that the undeveloped prakrtihecom.es developed due to the wish of the purusa^ whereas, in PadSy/*, 8.16cd one reads that the/^raArft' produces the whole universe by the injunction of ^e paramdtman, wifhout, apparently, the intcrvenetion of ^e purusa-^ finally, in PadSjjp, 6.41-42b the purusa seems to be identified wi^ the paramdtman dnd the prakrti brings forth the creation and destruction of the universe by the injunction of the purusa/paramdtmari: "Purusa is called the Supreme Atman. The one which is composed of the three gunas, regulated by the latter, brings forth the whole universe consisting of consciousness and by command of that one she also destroys all that." ^ Such apparent ambiguity of Pads y/7, 8.15: [sribhagavdn] anyunddhikarUpdnam satvddlndm caturmukha / gundndm samhrtir yd sd prakrtihsddbhir ucyate//. See Pads jp, 7.46ab: "Sometimes the undeveloped has become developed, due to the wish of the purusa" avyaktam vyaktam dpannam kaddcit pumsecchayd/. See again Padsy/7, 8.16cd, quoted sM/jra in note 4. Pads7/7, 6A\-A2b:purusahparamdtmdkhyah teneyam trigundtmikd/ adhisthitd jagatsarvam prasUte cetandtmakam // samharaty apt tdt sarvam niyogdd eva tasya sd/.

I REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE.

113

the text can only mean that the purusa, as a spiritual principle, is the form (riipa), the aspect assumed by the paramdtman in his relation with the prakrti. It is in the form of purusa that the paramdtman presides over the evolution of prakrti. The purusa is thus conceived as a single entity, eternal and all-pervading, consisting of consciousness and active; as such, he can be identified with the Supreme Atman and actually is called the Supreme Atman: purusah paramdtmdkhyah (PadS jjp, 6.41a). / The concept of the relationship among paramdtman, prakrti and purusa elaborated in the PadS can be compared to the ideas of the Ramanuja's heterodox teacher Yadavaprakasa' - with the due limitations that, here also, it can only be a matter of analogy of patterns of thought and not of identity of contents. According to Yadavaprakasa" the Brahman - perceived as the Absolute, the pure Being - takes a threefold form, unfolds in three particular concretizations (amsa), namely: the bhoktr, i.e. the enjoyer, the subject, the spiritual principle, the soul; the bhogya, i.e. what is enjoyed, the object, the matter along with its modifications; and the niyantr, i.e. the ruling principle, Isvara, the Lord. Thus the Brahman, substance of pme^e,m% {sanmdtradravyam), endowed as it is with the power of becoming everything (sarvasaktiyuktam), at the time ofsrsti unfolds into its amsas, that are the Lord, the soul and the primeval matter; such amsas are, with regard to the Brahman, as foam, waves and bubbles to the ocean, as pots, vases and so on to the clay. Therefore as the waves are substantially not different from the ocean, and the vases are only particular modifications of the same matter, so the whole world as well as the individual and the Supreme Soul are none else but the Brahman: being portions of the Brahman, they share its substance, participate in its nature. However, being a bheddbhedavddin, Yadavaprakasa accepts the reality of the "modifications" as

"* I am indebted for the suggestion of this interpretative hypothesis to G. Oberhammer. For a discussion of the teachings of Yadavaprakasa see
OBERHAMMER 1997. " See OBERHAMMER

1997: 11 and 106-107.

^^Ml

114

SILVIA SCHWARZ LiNDER

such, that is the reality of the world, the individual and the Supreme Soul, and regards them as not different yet, at the same time, different from the Brahman. In the theistic,/7acara/nc perspective of the PadS, what is elsewhere called Brahman is nothing but the highest personal God, Vasudeva; therefore in the PadS's model the Brahman and the niyantr of Yadavaprakasa are blended into Bhagavan. The bhoktr and bhogya of Yadavaprakasa correspond, respectively, to purusa and prakrti in the Pads. Moreover, like the arnsas of Yadavaprakasa, similarly the rupas of the Pads are not conceived as ontologically, substantially different from the Highest Principle; yet they do have a reality of their own as differentiated aspects of the Highest Principle, they are simultaneously distinct and not distinct from It. One can juxtapose the two patterns of Yadavaprakasa and of the Pads in the following way:

.BHAMMirAMSI)..
3 AMSA-S

BHAGAVAN .,-Q^.yFMff.adS)....J
RUPA-S \U?,

BHOKTR (AMSA)! "NIYANTR "(AMSA)" ' B H O G yA (AMSAV (Purusa) ! .. ...icPraig^i) J :-..P.l^RVSMROPAj.CPadS)'";

r//pi^!orfirQPAi(P5dsr

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE ...

115

Such dynamic structure allows the author(s) of the PadS to express Bieir cosmogonic theory in Samkhya-derived terms, to adapt them to l i e i r theistic perspective and to introduce the concept of rilpa, whose meaning should be differentiated - and accordingly understood - respectively as: prakara, in the sense of "mode [of the paramdtman]", with regard to the prakrti and amsa,ia the sense of "appearing as a particular aspect of [the/?flrama^ma]", with regard to the/jwru^a. Apart from the suggested analogy between the ideas of the PadS and Ramanuja's concept ofprakara, as well as Yadavaprakasa's concept of amsa, what can be considered as a veritable, direct literary source to which the PadS seems often to refer is the Paramasamhitd (ParS). In its Sarnkhya-derived account of the world creation,'^ the ParS describes the connection (sambandha) between prakrti and purusa as pervasion (vydpti). By purusa the text always means the Supreme Purusa. The latter, as spiritual principle (cit), is the subject (visayin) pervading (vydpaka) the pralcrti which, as acit, is the object {visaya) pervaded (vydpya). Dependent on the Purusa, the prakrti is defined as pardrthd, "serving the purpose of another", namely the Purusa. It is by His command that she emanates and withdraws the worlds, thus the Purusa is the true agent of srsti.^^ The identification of the purusa with
'^ This account is dealt with in the first part of the second chapter of the work. See ParS 2.3-27. '^ See ParS 2.18-27: ... [paramah] acetandpararthd ca nityd satatavikriyd / trigund karminam ksetram prakrterupam ucyate // 2.18 vydptirUpena sambandhah tasyds ca purusasya ca /sa hy anddir anantas ca paramdrthena tisthati // 2.19 ... tatra yad vydpakam rUparri paras sa visayl pumdn / bhaty avydkrtam vydpya parasya visayo 'param // 2.22 yathd sato 'sato ndnydh sakyd darsaylturn prthak / tathd vydpakatd ndnyd sarvasmdt vydpya tatsmrtd // 2.23 acid avydkrtam tatra cid asmdt paramo matah / ubhayan tv etad anyam tadabhinnam iva tisthati // 2.24 ... \paramah] parasya purusasyaiva niyogdt prakrtis sadd / utpddayati lokdms ca samharaty api cdntatah // 2.26 acetand tu prakrtirndnyathd sampra.myate / tenemau sargasamhdrau karoti purusah parah // 2.27. See also CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ 2003: 109-110.

fl;6

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

the Supreme Purusa - implicit in the text of the ParS - is explained and elaborated by the PadS by means of its original concept oi purusa as rupa of the Supreme; moreover the "entering" {anupravisya, PadS jp, 5.9c) of the Lord into the pair ofprakrti and/^Mrwj'a recalls the pervasion (yyapti) of the ParS, and the "stirring up" (ksobhaydmi, ibidem 9d) expresses the ParS's idea of the active role of the Supreme Purusa: "...the Supreme Purusa performs both, creation and destruction [of the universe]" (sargasamhdrau karoti purusah parah, ParS 2.27). As for the involvement of the Supreme Purusa in the dynamics of srsti, according to the second, tantric featured part of the account of creation of the ParS,''* God performs the creation of the world by means of His five saktis, called pancopanisads: the latter, being the sources of the gums of prakrti, have a decisive role in giving rise to cosmic evolution.'^ From the point of view of their function, the pancopanisads of the ParS can be compared to the rUpas of the PadS: the saktis, like the rUpas, embody the dynamic aspect of the godhead, its inner power of transformation, its being sarvasaktiyuktam. TheTefore the PadS's notion of purusa and prakrti as divine rUpas setting in motion the process of srsti substitutes, fimctionally, the idea of the five saktis which, in the ParS, are at the basis of the cosmic evolution. The PadS re-elaborates the idea of the cosmic function of the pancopanisads and replaces the saktis with the rwpas of God. Coming at last to the emergence of they'Jvas within the process of srsti, according to the Sarpkhya's sequence of tattvas adopted by the Pads,'* living beings arise as products of the evolution of the prakrti and are constituted by the intemal org^, the/ antahkarana, fanned by buddhi, manas and ahamkdra, and by the body (deha), which is the aggregate of the mahdbhutas. Such psycho-physic apparatus, marked by '"* This account is contained in the second part of the second chapter. See ParS 2.28-104. '' For an exposition and discussion of the creation theory of the ParS, see CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWIGZ 2003: 49-53 and 108-118. '* SeePadSip, 5.11-21 and7.46c-48.

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE...

117

the constituents of prakrti, the three gunas, is just a material organism until it is given a consciousness by the purusa. The text says that thejorakrti, regulated by the purusa, "brings forth the whole imiverse consisting of consciousness (cetandtmakam)",^^ which means that the beings produced by the acetand prakrti become cetana due to the intervention of the purusa, who makes them conscious. One could complete the previous scheme as follows:
BHAGAVAN /PARAMATMAN

fRUPIN)

I
2RUPA-S PURUSA CIT PRAKRTI ANTAHKARANA DEHA

nvA
Thus thejivas arise as and are the concretizations, by means of antahkarana and deha, of the consciousness of ths purusa. However the purusa does not really multiply in the plurality of theyivas; there is not a plurality of pumsas, but only a plurality of antahkarana/dehas to whom the purusa gives consciousness and who appear asjlvas therefore: "The multitude of these souls results from the variety of the bodies; likewise the same image is reflected in different mirrors."'^ This means

'^ See PadSyp, 6. 41cd quoted jwpra in note 9. Pads yjo, 6.16: ksetrajnasydsya bahulyatn dehabheddt pratlyate / ekasyaiva hi bimbasya darpanesu yathd tathd // The ambiguity of the verb

118

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

that there is only one purusa and the plurality of they7vas is only due to the pluraUty of the organisms.'* When the purusa endows a psyeho-physic apparatus with consciousness, he recognizes himself in a particular yTva. Thejivas become the mirrors in which the purusa appears. This afi?va/ta-flavoured simile might imply that, since the consciousness given by the purusa is not the purusa himself, but a reflection of him, thejivas, being nothing but the manifold reflections of the unique purusa, could be eventually regarded as devoid of a reality of their own. However the simile suggests also that, just as a mirror is merely a material object in which, thanks to its power of reflection, things appear as faithful yet non-material images of themselves, similarly, in the mirror constituted by the material substratum of the jlva, the purusa appears as a faithful image of himself, an image that, thanks to its being endowed with a spark of divine consciousness, becomes alive as a jlva. Thus the jlvas, as images of the purusa, are like so many, faithful, living portraits of him; moreover, like the reflections in a mirror, theyTvas are non-material, because they possess and share the same spiritual substance of the purusa/paramdtman. Therefore the jivas, as spiritual individual beings, do have a reality of their own. The idea of a unique purusa, a unique soul common to the different beings, recalls a concept of Yadavaprakasa, according to which the Brahman, m its concretization (amsa) of enjoyer (bhoktr), is present as the soul (jlva) in the bodies of living beings; this soul is the

pratlyate is noteworthy, as it can mean either " to result", or "to be admitted , recognized", "to follow [logically]". " A similar idea can be traced also in the ParS, again within the above mentioned account of creation, where, speaking of the embodied souls (jlva or dehin), it is said that these are nothing but the salctis of the Supreme Purusa, saktis which exist, as if they were distinct, only because of their bodies and, accordingly, because of the difference of births, names and forms. See ParS 2.58: parasya purusasyaiva salitayah kosaso 'parah / jdtinamasvarupdnam bhedadbhinnd iva sthitah //.

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE...

119

same in all the different bodies, likewise Visnu Narayana is the same in all His different avatdras}" In the Pads the pumsa, rupa of the paramdtman, actually called the Supreme Atman (purusah paramdtmdkhyah, PadS jp, 6.41a), because of his being the consciousness {cit)ix\ living beings, the dtman of all creatures, is to be considered as the prototype of theyJva. Therefore the jiva too, image of the pumsa within the mirror of his psychophysic orgaiiism, can be equated with the paramdtman. The passages of the Pads affirming the identity of fiva and paramdtman may be understood in such a light: "The identity (aikyam) of the two dtman, namely the supreme and the individual soul, is revealed by the sruti [15cd]. ... The body is the aggregate of the five elements derived from the bhutddi ahamkdra; the individual soul abides there. The sages know this soul to be called the supreme one [17]. ... Actually there is no difference at all between the supreme and the individual soul [20cd]".^' However, such original identity happens to be hidden and forgotten due to the false identification of the_/zva with his psycho-physic apparatus, with the "I" and "Mine"; consequently, the image of the pumsa becomes as indistinct as a reflection in a fogged mirror and "... this supreme dtman, indeed called subtle, [although] being always here within the lotus of the heart, is considered as remote by the ignorant ones".^^ The Pads deals extensively with what separates the primeval identity between finite jiva and Supreme Pumsa and its final recognition and re-conquest in the liberation, namely the peregrinations of the soul within the circuit of worldly existence and its striving after ^^ For a discussion of this teaching of Yadavaprakasa, inferred on the basis of the arguments of his opponents, see OBERHAMMER 1997: 33. ^' PadSy/j, 6.15cd, 17, 20cd: paraksetrajnayor aikyam dtmanoh sruticoditam // 6.15cd ... bhiitddipancasanghdtam <samghdtam> ksetram tatra vyavasthitah /jlvoyas tarn viduh prdjfidh ksetrajnam parasamjnitam // 6.17 ...vastutonaivabhedo'stiparajivayoh//6.20cd. ^^ Pads 7/), 6.22: ... paramdtmdyam ndmndnuh parikirtitah / durastham ajndh pasyanti hrtpadme visthitam sadd //.

120

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

emancipation. The descriptions of the different types of beings and of their condition as bound or liberated souls, as well as the ascertainment of the causes of their involvement in samsdra, prove to be partially based on the ParS. With regard to these tcipics the two works show, apart from the textual correspondences, also a basic doctrinal agreement. ' Through its connection with the psycho-physic organism, the individual soul of a living being is affected by the qualities of matter, the three guna^ oiprakrti}^ These determine the proclivity of they/va either for ignorance and inertia, or for passion and activity, or for knowledge and goodness; in such a way the three gums, according to their various proportions and combinations, influence human beings and turn them into either sattvic, or rajasic, orto/Ma^zccreatures.^''

^^ See PadSy/7, 4.22, 24ab: "The gums of man are corresponding to the qualities of the body. These occur and do not occur due to the power of the object. [22] ... O Brahma, the object of the soul is told to be the prakrti, consisting of the three gums. [24ab]" purusasya gund ye te dehadharmdnuvartinah / visqyasya vasdd ete bhavanti na bhavanti ca // 4.22 ... trigund prakftir brahman visayodehinahsmrtah/4.24ab. The Pads reproduces here almost word by word a passage of the ParS, namely ParS 1.74, 76ab: purusasya gum naite trayo 'pi kamaldsana / visayasya vasdd ete bhavanti na bhavanti ca //1.74 ... prakrtis trigund jneyd dehino visayasthitd /1.76ab. ^'' See Pads jp, 7.49-50: "So, on account of these three gums, high, low and middle [beings] come into existence. I shall speak about them in due order [49]. 0 four-faced one, when in these beings the quality of sattva is [present] in the highest degree, [there shall be] an excellent [man]; when chiefly influenced by the quality of rajas, z. middle one; when the quality of tamas is prevalent, the worst [kind of man will there be] [5Qi\." tribhir evam gunair etair uttamddhamamadhyamdh / jayante karamvasdt tan bravlmi kramad aham // bhavesu tesu bhUyistharn satvarn sreyams caturmukha / bhuyisthardjaso madhyo jaghanyas tamasddhikah //. See also ParS 2.7-8, on which the Pads is based; tribhir eva guriair ete prakrtisthais samanvitah/ sarve bhdvd bhavanty ete srestha madhyds tathd 'dhamdh // sresthds tu

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE.

121

Such creatures live in the world as if they were plunged into a deceitful dream {nidra), which makes them take their gwna-determined nature for their true self: [the trigundprakrti] "... constantly produces a manifold sleep. This helpless [being] spontaneously forgets, through the sleep, his own nature. This is regarded as the bondage of man. ...".^^ Involved in the world, the creatures perform acts (kriyd) which are affected by the various combinations of the three gums and, according to the preponderance of either sattva or rajas or tamas, three kinds of acts (tridhd kriyd) are produced. Such acts determine the working of karman: "Truly a threefold action comes forth from the three distinct gunas combined, [the ones] mentioned before, sattva and so on [19]. By the effect of this [action] human beings, according to their former conduct, take part in worldly existence. ...".^^ The ultimate cause which induces man to the false identification of his true self with the products of prakrti is the deluding power of mdyd: "O Brahma, it is indeed this mdyd, existing since eternity, imperishable, which is

sattvabhuyisthd madhyamds tu rajomaydh / adhamds tdmasd jneydh tesdm carydsu tddrsdh /. ^^ PadSy/j, 4.25-26: jdndtipuniso nityam prakrtim trigundtmikdm / sd ca prasUte satatam nidrdmasya prthagvidhdm // svarUpam vismaraty esa nidrayd vivasah svayam / sa bandha isyate purrtsdm kim bhuyah srotum icchasi //. This passage reproduces a passage from the ParS, namely ParS 1.77-78: jdndti puruso nityam trigundm prakrtisthitdm / sd ca prasUte satatarn nidrdm asyaprthag vidhdm //kdntdm eva bhajdn nidrdm svatantram iva samsthitdm / surucam vismaraty esam sambandhah purnsa isyate //. The nidrd, the threefold sleep produced by the three gunas, is regarded as a cause of bondage for man also by the ParS, see ParS 1.70-71: [brahmd] bandhahetUn samdcaksvd dehindm purusottama / kena rUpena badhnanti purusam bandhahetavah // [paramah] tribhir eva gunair brahman samdsavydsavrttibhih / tri dvidhd kriyate nidrd badhyante purusds tayd //. ^*PadS_/p, 4.19-20.' tribhir eva gunair vyastaih samastaih pUrvam iritaih / satvddibhih kriyd cdpi trividhd sampravartate // tayd sarnsdram rcchanti purusdh pUrvavrttayah / evam eva surasrestha yan mdrn tvarn pariprcchasi//. i

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

the principle connecting man withprakrti, [the latter] consisting of the gimas [2]".^^ In a parallel passage, the ParS specifies that mdyd, which is established by God Himself, causes the association of man with prakrti and the power exerted by mdyd on human! beings is the result of the working of their own A^nwaw.^^ ; The nature of the Jiva, particularly his condition of samsdrin, is extensively and systematically discussed in the 7* chapter of the jp, which provides a synthesis of the views of the PadS on the subject. Accordingly, the ultimate cause of samsdra is mdyd, which is eternally associated with the Lord himself: all beings, including the gods, have fallen into its power, bewildered by ignorance (avidyd). Ignorance is threefold, according to the prevalence of one of the three gums, and as such it brings forth three kinds of dreams (/(fra) and three kinds of actions (kriyd). The embodied soul performs various activities and, accordingly, is involved in samsdra. Thus avidyd, which is due to the power of mdyd, is the cause of karman and karman is the direct cause of samsdra. But karman can come to nothing thanks to knowledge and then follows liberation.^'

^' See Pads 7/?,, 5.1-2: [brahmd] prakrtyd tasya samyogo jayate kena hetund / etad dcaksvd bhagavan rahasyam durlabham mama // [sribhagavdn] yanmdyd karanam brahmann anddir avindsinl / yunakti purusam sai?d prakrtyd gunarUpayd //. ^* See ParS 1.79-80: [brahmd] prakrtyd tasya samyogo jayate kena hetund / etad dcaksva me deva guhyam etat param matam // [paramah] mdyaiva kdranam tasya purastdd vihitd mayd / bhuyah karmavasdd eva mdydmagneva tisthati//. ^^See Pads jp, 7.8c-17b, 31-32b, 34-36: [&ri Bhagavdn] ... sarnsdrahetum adhund kathaydmi caturmukha // 7.8cd subhdsubhdtmakarn karma Iq-tvd maydvasam gatdJi / bhogdyatanam dsthdya tattatkarma pravdhajam // 7.9 duhkham sukham vapurusd bhufijate niyatendriydh /samsnih sd caturvaktra tasydh karmaiva kdranam // 7.10 muktir jfidnddhikye tasydh samsrter dtmano bhavet / karmddhilcye punah saiva jdyate niravagrahd // 7.11 samsdrahetubhUtani tat karmajHdnena nasyati / ksirie kamiani samsdrahetau muktir anantaram // 7.12 kalpate samsrtih karmahetur uktd

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE...

123

In fact, notwithstanding the influence of the three gums, which make of him asattvic, rajasic or tamasic creature, the jlva strives after emancipation; his longing for a condition beyond his mundane existence, as well as his endeavour to achieve his aim, are impelled and made possible by the divine revelation, which bestows on him the salvific knowledge. A discussion of the views of the PadS regarding the qualifications of the wMmM^;yM, the prerequisites for taking the path towards liberation, as well as the means of liberation taught by the text are far beyond the limited scope of this article. Within the ambit of the PadS's concept of theyiva, it is nevertheless worthwhile to see how the text envisages the situation of the liberated soul.

viniscitd / karoti karma cdvidydvivasah purusah svayam // 7.13 gand eva trayo 'vidyd samdsavydsavrttayah / tair eva kurute karma subham vdyadi vd 'subham // 7.14 tais tribhir vividhd nidrd, jdyate karmakdranam /saisd 'vidyd ca mdyd ca kathyate kovidottamaih // 7.15 satvdt sukhamayi nidrd rajasah karmasahkuld / tamaso mohinl ndma tdbhir nirgalitah pumdn // 7.16 sam.sdrato 'vasah karma karoti janikdranam / 7.17ab, ... evam bahuvidham karma pumdn mdyd vasahgatah / karoti trigunair yuktah karmabhis taih pumdlayam // 7.31 samsdre 'pi gato Janmandsam capratipadyate / 7.32ab ... [brahmd] ebhir gunais tathd yoga viyogo vd katham bhavet / [sribhagavdn] purusasya gund ete trayo 'pi kamaldsana // 7.34 mdydyogaviyogdbhydm bhavanti na bhavanti ca / mdydnapdyinl nityd mayi tisthati sdsvatl // 7.35 mdydvasam gatdh sarve bhramanty ajndnamohitdh / brahmddayo 'pi kimuta devddydh kamaldsana//7.36. Here again the text of the PadS proves to refer to the ParS and to share, basically, the views of the latter. As for the textual correspondences between the two works, with regard to the role of maya, PadSy/;, 7.8c-10, 13, 34-36 can be compared, from the point of view of the contents, with the already quoted ParS 1.80; with regard to the threefold dream, PadS yjo, 7.14-17ab corresponds to the already quoted ParS 1.71c-72. Finally, as for the respective role of karman and jndna as factors determining the conditions of bound or liberated soul, FadSJp, 7.11 corresponds to ParS 1.63: Iparamah] jndnam kriyeti dvividham cestitam sarvadehindm /jndnddhikyad vimuktih sydtjndnd(karmd?)dhikydt tu sarnsrtih //.

124

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

,11,1.
I,II

The simile of the mirrors, meant to illustrate the origination of the jlvas, conveys the idea of a primeval identity between individual and supreme soul; such identity, lost on account of the power ofmdya and avidyd, can be recognized and re-conquered iii the liberation: "What [is] the difference - asks Brahma - between your lordship, o Purusottama, and a being whose soul is emancipated? Tell [me] this, 0 Lord Bhagavan, if it is not too secret [16]". The Lord answers: "Indeed they are me, there is no difference at all. In whatever way 1 enjoy my existence, so, in the same way do the liberated souls [17]".^ If there is no more difference between the liberated souls and the Lord, then what remains of theyJva, of his individuality, in liberation? In this respect the PadS shows a certain ambiguity. The con^"PadSyj), 4.16-17: [brahmd] muktdtmanas ca bhavato bhedah kah purusottama / etad acaksva bhagavan ndtiguhyam yadi prabho // [srlbhagavdn] aham eva bhavanty ete na bhedas tatra kascana / yathdharn vihardmy evam tathd muktds ca dehinah //. The last statement corresponds, word by word, to a verse of the ParS, namely ParS 1.69: \paramah] aham eva bhavanty ete na bhedas tatra kascana / yathd 'ham vihardmy eva tathd muktds ca dehinah //. Besides such instances of textual correspondence, there are other passages of the ParS conveying the idea that theyzvas, being the saktis of God, partake of the divine nature. After their wandering in samsdra as embodied souls (dehins), they go back to the Lord when released. Then the emancipated souls are no more different from God: "For the non-liberated there is difference between individual and Supreme Soul. For the liberated there is no difference, because the cause of difference ceases to exist", ParS 12.65.' amukte [amuktau?] bheda eva sydtjivasya ca parasya ca / muktasya tu na bhedo 'sti bhedahetor abhdvatah //. See also ParS 30.96-98: nirvrttds tu visisyante sarvebhyah purusottamdh / samsdragocardtitd nirvisesdh sadd mama // 30.96 na tesdm sambhavo bhUyah pramado vdsti kascana / veddntair idam evoktam vaisnavarn padam // 30.97 apavargas ca muktis ca nirvdnam caiva dehindm / etad eva pardsiddhir gatlndm paramd gatih // 30.98, in particular the verse 96cd. For a discussion of the place of this idea within the ParS's doctrine concerning the jiva, see also CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ 2003: 129-130.

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE...

125

dition of mukta is illustrated by various similes: "As showers of rain, which are different from each other when they are falling from a cloud in the sky, become one (aikyam) on earth, so the yogins become one in the Brahman [50]. The flow of the rivers varies in many ways, each having its own peculiar nature and so on, [but] the water contained there does not differ from the water of the ocean [51]. In like maimer, 0 four-faced one, the liberated souls abide, by means of coalition, within the supreme Brahman, as if they had the same residence as him [52]".^' According to these similes, as the rains which, soaking the ground, are absorbed by the earth and thus, ceasing to be rains, melt into the earth imbued by water, or, as the rivers which, flowing into the ocean, blend their waters with the ocean's waters, so that any difference between fresh and salt water is lost, similarly the jivas, reabsorbed into the divine in liberation, seem to lose thus their individual features. However, the concept of mukti expressly taught by the PadS seems to lay more stress on a certain differentiation than on the absolute identity between individual and Supreme Soul. The text says: "...O four-faced one, liberation is called threefold [according to its being]: endowed with distinction (Mecfa), devoid of distinction (abheda) or a combination of the two (misra). In the variety called bheda, liberation is characterized by servitude: as here, in these worlds, men are intent on the conduct prescribed by Hari, so in the Vaikuntha the liberated souls, who are living in the world of the Supreme Atman, abide near Him, devout, being His servants, always intent to please Him and to obtain His grace [28cd-3 lab]. The liberation [called] abheda shall be the absolute identity {atyanta aikya)

^' Pads 7/7, 6.50-52: varsadhdrdh prthagbhutdh patantyo divi meghatah / bhumav aikyam yathd ydnti tadvad brahmani yoginah // 6.50 arno nadlnam bahudha tatsvarupddi bhedavat /pravistam vdridher vdri nodakdd vyatiricyate // 6.51 tathaiva brahmani pare muktatmanas caturmukha / ekibhdvena tisthanti tatsdlokyamyathd bhavet //6.52.

] 26

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

bciwccii the supreme and the individual soul [3 led]: for the one who is engaged in the meditation upon the self consisting of [the idea]: "I am this", with the sense of identity (aikya), to; him pccurs the liberation consisting of the oneness (ekatd) betweeri individual soul and Supreme Atman [32]. But in the [Pdncardtra] siddhdnta, the one who is intent upon the kind [of liberation] consisting of a combination [of the other two] (misra), after having pleased the Supreme God by paying Him homage and so on, then, being a devotee concentrated [33] by means of a knowledge fixed on one object only - that is the Supreme Atman, pure consciousness - one obtains the identity (aikya). That liberation [the misra] is said to be characterized by absorption {sdyujya)['iAT^^ The text discusses three different concepts and, accordingly, three different kinds of liberation. The verses speaking of the bheda mukti describe, according to a purdnic theistic vaisnava view of Vaikuntha, the situation of the liberated souls dweUing in the abode of Visnu, always intent to please the Lord as His servants, in order to obtain His grace. This kind of liberation consists of serving God (kaihkarya). The verses describe also the way to attain the bheda mukti, that is the observance of the haricaryd, the conformity to the way of Ufe prescribed by Hari, to the vaisnava dharma. The verses dealing with the abheda mukti envisage liberation as the absolute identity (atyanta aikya) between para and jiva, according to an

Pads jp, 8.28-34: mucyante matprasddena janmano 'smdd vigarhitdt / bhedena cdpy abhedena misrena caturmukha 1/8 28 tridhaiva muktir uditd bhede kaihkaryalaksand / muktir yatheha lokesu haricarydpara. riardh / 8.29 devasya tadvad evaite vaikunthe paramdtmanah / lake tasya samipasthd muktatmdnah samdhitdh // 8.30 vasanti kihkardh santah tatprasadapardh sadd / abhedamuktir atyantam aikyam sydt parajivayoh // 8.31 'dtmano bhdvand caikye so 'ham ity evamdtmikd / yasya tasyaikatdpattir muktir jlvapardtmanoh // 8.32 siddhante misrarupe tu bhede sthitva 'rcanddibhih / tosayitvd param devam tato yuktah samdhitah // 8.33 vijndnenaikatdnena paramdtmani cidghane / aikyam prapnoti sd muktir uktd sayujyalaksand // 8.34.

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE...

127

advaitic view. The verses in question indicate also the way to attain the abheda mukti, namely a particular technique of meditation, the bhavand of the yogin who is meditating upon the self with the idea: "I am this" {so 'ham), aiming at the realization of the atyanta aikya with the Lord. The misra mukti, which is the one taught in the pdncardtra siddhdnta. Consists oi sdyujya, that is union, absorption, merging of they'Fva in the para. The way to attain such misra mukti is a combination of the ways of the other two, where arcana, the temple worship, replaces the kaihkarya of the bheda and the concentration on the paramdtman granting aikya - but not absolute aikya - replaces the bhavand of the abheda. According to the PadS, the Pdncardtra concept of misra mukti represents thus a synthesis of and a compromise between the yaisnava orthodox idea of liberation as service fervently devoted to tlie Lord and the advaitic idea of liberation as realization of the equality of theyiva and the joaramafman. The misra mukti is in its turn fourfold and includes: sdmipya, nearness, sdrUpya, conformity, sdlokya, being in the same world and sdyujya, union.^^ This internal distinction concerns the steps successively attained by the soul in the ascending scale towards the accomplishment of liberation, that is sdyujya. A passage of the carydpdda (cp) explains the meaning of the first three steps: "The obtainment of the Venerable's form by wise ones is called 'conformity' {sdrUpya). The service of God near [Him] by means of worship is 'nearness' {sdmipya). Dwelling forever in His world called Vaikuntha, which is free from rebirth, is called 'being in the same world' {sdlokya)".^'^ According to this, as well as to other depictions of the situation of the

^' See Pads cp, 24:89cd: salokyddicaturbheddm muktim dpnoty asamsayam //. ^'' Engl, trans, by M. Rastelli in RASTELLI 2003. PadS cp, 24.108-109: sarUpyam bhagavadrUpaprdpiih sadbhir uddhrtd / sdmipyarri sannidhau <samnidhau> sevd devasya paricaryayd // sdlokyam ca taddkhydtam loke vaikunthasamjfiite / tadiye nityavdso 'yam punardvrttivarjite //.
ir

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER liberated souls,^""" the muktas dwelling in Vaikuntha don't lose their character of individual souls. t There is a simile which suitably illustrates this idea of mukti as sdyujya: "As the inhabitants of a town enter intd it from the various directions through the city gates, likewise the worshippers, the beings, enter the supreme being always by means of the highest knowledge [43cd-44]".''* Here the individuality of the purusas entering the Supreme Purusa is not lost and the simile suggests that, even when liberated, theyJvas maintain their individual identity and thus exist eternally as such, as individual souls.

/ am deeply indebted to Prof. Gerhard Oberhammer for his most valuable advice and suggestions for writing this article.

^^ See Pads7/7, 12.57d-60b: ... samlpyadipadasthitaih // 12.57d muktais ca pancakdlajnaih siddhaih kihkaratdm <kimkaratdni> gataih / updsyamdnah satatam dvddasdksaracintakaih // 12.58 astdhgayogasamsiddhair bahubhir bhagavanmayaih / paficardtrdrthatatvajfiair nityatrptaih samipagaih //12.59yathdrharn bhagavacche^akarmanisthair mahdtmabhih /60ab. ^* PadSyp, 6.43c-44: ndnddigbhih puradvdrair yathdpuranivdsinah // antarvisanti yadvac ca purusdh purusam param / upasakd yisanty antar vidyayd parayd sadd //.

REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINE... Bibliography

129

Primary Sources Pads Pddma Samhitd. Ed. SEETHA PADMANABHAN and R. N. SAMPATH: Pddma Sanihitd (Parti). Pancaratra Parisodhana Parisad, Madras 1974.
ed. SEETHA PADMANABHAN and V. VARADA-

CHARI: Pddma Samhitd (Part 11), Pancaratra Parisodhana Pariad, Madras 1982. Pars Parama Samhitd. Ed. and Engl, trans. KRISHNASWAMI AlYANGAR: Paramasamhitd [of the Pdncardtra]. Oriental Institute, Baroda 1940.

Secondary sources CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ, MARZENNA, Pdncardtra Scripture in the Process of Change. A Study of the Paramasamhitd. Publications of the De Nobili Research Library, Vol. XXXI, Vienna 2003.

2003

OBERHAMMER 1997

Materialen zur Geschichte der Rdmdnuja-Schule III Yddavaprakdsa, der vergessene Lehrer Rdmdnujas. Verlag der Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1997.
OBERHAMMER, GERHARD,

OBERHAMMER 1999

''M

"Zur Relationalitaet des Brama bei Ramanuja", Wiener Zeitschrift fiir die Kunde SUdasiens und Archiv fiir Indische Philosophic. Band XLIII, VerOBERHAMMER, GERHARD,

i-:?o

SILVIA SCHWARZ LINDER

lag der Osterreichische AJcademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1999, pp. Ip9-212.
JlASTELLI 2003

RASTELLI, MARION, "On the Concept of Vaikuntha in Visistadvaitavedanta and Paiicaratra". R. CZEKALSKA, A MARLEWICZ (eds), 2"'' International Conference of Indian Studies. Proceedings, Cracow Indological Studies, IV-V, Cracow 2003, pp. 427-447.

1
Cracow Indological Studies vol. VIII (2006)

Marzenna Czerniak-Droidiowicz (Jagiellonian University, Cracow)

Visnusamhitd^s five-fold classifications and the explanation of the name Pancaratra

Visnusatnhitd belongs to the group of the later Paiicaratric texts and probably cannot be dated before the 11* century A.D., but is not later than the 14* century. It was probably created in the South of India and N.P. Urmi in the Introduction to its printed edition suggests that the author could have been a Kerala Brahmin. Unni supports his view mentioning the architectural details given in the VisnuS as being typical for Kerala and also noting the fact that this particular text influenced to a great extent the most popular ritualistic manual of Kerala, namely Cennas Narayanan Namputiri's treatise entitled Tantrasamuccaya (TS), dated to the 14* century A.D.' The same author, namely Unni, in the Introduction to the Tantrasamuccaya edition writes that the VisnuS is not quoted in another irnportant ritualistic manual, Isdnasivagurudevapaddhati, dated to the 11* century A.D., therefore it must have been created later.^ On the other hand the VisnuS appears among other sanihitas listed in the Pddmasamhitd (PadSyp 1.111). The PadS itself, being mentioned and quoted by Vehkatanatha in his Pdncardtraraksd, is not

' N. P. Unni in the Introduction to the edition of the Visnusamhita ed. by Sastrl in 1991, on pp. 10-11 mentions the problem with dating the text, though he says that the authors dated to the 14* century probably knew the text. See also GONDA 1977, p. 99. SMITH 1975findsthe text difficult to date (p. 493). i ^ TS, p. 30.

132

MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ

later than the 14* century, but some date it to abciut the 9* century,^ winch would mean that it is prior to or contemporary with the VisnuS. However, all wc can say about tliis dating is only assiimption, since we cannot be sure that the text mentioned by name in the PadS is the same with the Visnusamhita known today, and also we cannot be sure that the list of satnhitds included in the PadS is not a later addition. On the following pages I would like to present briefly five-fold classification, proposed by the Visnusamhita in its chapter 2, and to add Visnusamhita's explanation of the name of the tradition, namely Paiicaratra, to those already known from other texts. In the second chapter of the VisnuS three divisions into five categories appear. These are: 1) five categories of the groups of Paiicaratra followers called gocaras (lineages), namely Vaikhanasa, Sattvata, Sikhin, Ekantika, Mulaka (VisnuS 2.26cd-35ab); 2) five categories (vibhdgas) of devotees, which are: bhakta, bhagavad-bhakta, ddsa, parsada and bhdgavata (VisnuS 2.36cd-39), and 3) five categories of the initiated (diksitas), namely: samayin, putraka, sddhaka, desika and guru (VisnuS 2.40-45). These divisions adjust to number five, having its significance in the explanation of the name of the tradition'' and obviously influencing very much the author of the text who makes the nxmiber five the formal basis of constructing topics and tries to find more fives to associate them, sometimes artificially, with the name of the tradition. The classification mentioned directly in connection with the explanation of the name Paiicaratra is this into five gocaras, which are See for example MATSUBARA 1994, pp. 27, 33. He writes about the presence of the VisnuS on the PadS's list (PMSjp 1.111.) and its connection with Paramasamhitd, giving the parallel passages from PadS and ParS in footnote 70. In this particular text it is caWQApancardtra with short 'a' in panca, while usually long 'a' is used to underline the fact that it is the name coming from the term pancardtra. See V N BuiTENEN 1988; CZERNIAK-DilOZDZOA WICZ 2003, p. 45, footnote 85.

VISIWSAMHITA'S

FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS...

133

lineages^ described in one of the commentaries on the VisnuS entitled Hdrinl {Hdrinl folio 51)^ also as A:M/as (families - kulam gocaram), differing in ways of living (anusthdnavisesatah). Hdrinl, while explaining the term gocara and using the notion of kula, which mainly means family, speaks about them as of groups characterized by the lineages of relatives (putrapautrddilaksandh), but also by the lineages of pupils {sisyaprasisyddilaksana). Therefore we could think about them rather as of broader social groups, not necessarily limited to particular families. VisnuS reads that gocards, whose refuge (asraya) are Vasudeva and others as well as aja (vdsudevddyajdsraydh),^ are Vaikhanasa, Sattvata, Sikhin, Ekantika, Mulaka and these basic ipdramdrthika) groups divide furthermore into five: bhidyante pancadhaite tu gocardh pdramdrthikdh (Visnu 2.27cd). The first category, called Vaikhanasa is distinguished by the text as the one for which the particular way of worship as well as the particular way of living is prescribed, namely the god of gods is worshipped at any time, constantly (sarvakdlam, nityasah) and the

^ Similarly, one can find gocaras in the Saiva tradition. In the Saivasiddhanta tradition, for instance, usually four gocaras are mentioned: siva, sikha, jyotih and savitra, a good example can be the Vidydpurana quoted in Nityddisamgrahapaddhati, Brhatkalottara, Gocarapatala; Vdladhdrin, Kriydsamgraha 90v-92v and Kirana, Patala 39. The pupil belonged to the gocara of the dcdrya who had initiated him and was named accordingly, having the gocara as the final element of his initiatory name. I owe this information to Prof Alexis Sanderson; see also his article in this volume pp. 75-77. ^Hdrinl by Narayana, Trivandrum, devanagari ms T.439 A to C. This is one of the two existing commentaries on the VisnuS. The second one is Tattvapradipikd by NagasvamI, but I have not had the opportunity to consult it. ' Vasudeva and others, according to the Hdrini folio 53, are four vyuhas while aja is to be understood as Narayana: vdsudevddayahvdsudevasahkarsanapradyumndniruddhah, ajo ndrdyanah.

MARZENNA C Z E R N I A K - D R O Z D Z O W I C Z

Existence of the family {kutumbasya posanam) iis sustained without asking for food {aydcitopapannena).^ ? The second category, Sattvata is distinguished as the one in which worship of god takes place once or tvs/ice [a day] and the existence of the family is sustained by the profession of warrior {ksatravrttyopapannena): Sattvatas do not avoid the battle (ndvartanaip ca sahgrdme) and should be fluent in all kinds of weaponry {sarvasastresu kausalam). The third category, Sikhins, are those who are involved in agriculture, trade or breeding cattle (kr^ivdnij'yagoraksd), and who worship god twice [a day] (dvikdlam visnupujanam)}'^ The fourth category, Ekantikas, are those who are obedient to the twice-born (susrusanam dvijdtlndm), live by charity {bhaiksavrttyd ca vartanam) and worship god only once [a day] {sakrc cdrddhanam). The fifth category, Miilasarnjfiakas, are those who worship god once, twice or thrice [a day] {ekakdlarn dvikdlam yd trikdlam athavd) by activities of mind, speech and body (manovdkkdyakarmabhih), who sustain their life without asking [for food] {aydcitopapannena vartanam) or thanks to their own pupil (svasisydd vartanam). '^ * VisnuS 2.28-29ab: arcanam sarvakdlam tu devadevasya nityasah / aydcitopapannena kutumbasya ca posanam // vrttibhedah kriyd ceti yatra vaikhdnasam kulam /. ' VisnuS 2.29cd-3lab: ekakdlarn dvikdlam vd visnor drddhanam sphutam // ksatravrttyopapannena kutumbasya ca posanam / ndvartanam ca sahgrdme sarvasastresu[em. supported by the Hdrinl comm.; sarvasdstresu Ed.] kausalam//etais tu laksanairyuktdh sdttvatds te prajdrtitdh/. '" VisnuS 23lcd-32ab: krsivdnijyagorak^d dvikdlam visnupujanam // etac cadrsyate yatra sikhinas te prakirtitdh /. " VisnuS 2.32cd-33ab: susrdsanam dvijdtindm bhaiksavrttyd ca vartanam //sakrc cdrddhanam yesdm te tathaikdntikdh smrtdh / '^ VisnuS 2.33cd-35ab: ekakdlarn dvikdlam vd trikdlam \ athavd punah // arcanam devadevasya manovdkkdyakarmabhih / aydcitopapannena vartanam yesu drsyate //svasisydd vartanam vdpi tejneyd mUlasamjfiakdh /.

V I S I ^ U S A M H I T A ' S FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS...

135

As already mentioned in verse 2.27cd, these categories divide each in five and altogether they are twenty-five: pratyekam pancabhir hhedais tdny dsan pancavirnsatih (VisnuS 2.35cd). The text associates the existence of many texts with these many divisions of followers: tantrdni punar etesdm aparyantah pravistarah. The second division into five categories (vibhdgd) of the devotees describes them as follows: those belonging to the first of them, namely bhaktas, are uninitiated Vaisnavas dedicated to the varna division [obeying the rules of varnas] and they are peaceful: bhaktd varnaratdh sdntd vaisnavd ye tv adlksitdh //(Visnu 2.37); the second category is formed by the devotees called bhagavadbhaktas and they are presented as those who are initiated (diksita); the third category, namely ddsas, are those who are perpetual religious students (naisthikd); the fourth category, namely pdrsadas, are those who are dedicated only to the activities (rites) directed to Him [God] {tatkriyaikastha) and are living by food given to Him [God] {tanniveditavrtti); the fifth category, namely bhdgavatas, are those who are brahmacarins worshipping [god] with the constant sound of musical instruments (nityasdtodyavddydih), who are wise (vipra) and of the highest positionamong all (sarvotkrstatama)}^ The third division describes five categories of the initiated as follows: samayin is the one to whom the teacher {dcdrya) shows the mandala drawn according to the rules and honoured together with the retinue [as having a retinue] - mandalam vidhindlikhya parivdravadarcitam / darsayet yam ihdcdryah samayi ndma sa smrtah // (VisnuS 2.41); putrdka is the one to whom the teaeher shows the god, having worshipped him according to the rules as possessing limbs [in the

'^ VisnuS 2.36cd-39: bhaktas ca bhagavadbhaktd dasdh pdrsadas tathd // iti bhdgavatdnto 'nyo vibhdgas ceha kirtitah / diksitd bhagavadbhaktd ddsd vai naisthikdh smrtah / pdrsadas tatkriyaikasthds tanniveditavrttayah // nityasdtodyavddyais tu pujakd brahmacdrinah / viprd bhdgavatdjneydh sarvotkrstatainds tu te //.

] 36

MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ

human form] in the mandala - mandale devam dtddhya sdhgamUrtini yathdvidhi / darsayet svayam dcdryah putrako\ndma sa smrtah // (VisnuS 2.42); sddhaka is the one entitled to [the usage of] mantras (mantrabhdj), the one whom the teacher initiates having shown him the mandala and then having offered mantras into the fire according to the rules - pradarsya mandalam hutvd mantrdn agnau yathdvidhi / dlksayed yarn guruh sisyarn sddhakah sa tu mantrabhdk // (VisnuS 2.43); the fourth kind is desika, the knower of the tradition (tantrajm) whom the teacher initiates with all the rules of the homa, drddhana and mandala in due order - mandaldrddhandhomavidhdnair akhilaih kramdt / dlksayed yam guruh sisyarn sa tantrajnas tu desikah // (VisnuS 2.44); the fifth kind, the guru, is the initiate who knows the discipline of the general behaviour and the daily routine (samaydcdrasilavdn), who knows the whole tradition (sarvatantravit), who is consecrated [by sprinkling] (abhisikta) and who performs meditation, worship [of god] and others (dhydndrcanddikrt) - dlksitah samaydcdrasllavdn sarvatantravit / abhisiktas tu vijneyo gurur dhydndrcanddikrt//(VisimS 2.45). The first of the three classifications into five, namely that into five gocaras, is followed immediately by the explanation of the name Pancaratra, giving an impression of its being immediately connected with this division. After presentation of the lineages of Tantra the text (VisnuS 2.48cd-54ab) gives reasons way the tradition is called Pancaratra: In this way I have told you in short about the lineages (gocaras) of tantra. 2.48cd They should be followed by those constantly desiring the highest abode of Visnu. The five nights are dornains (gocaras) which consist of the objects of senses such as sound and others [which are five] or they consist of gross elements [which are also five] and for this here is pancardtra. j

VISNUSAMHITA'S FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS...

137

Having acquired the highest light, these five nights disappear, therefore this paiicaratra which destroys all ignorance should be studied and listened to with respect for the sake of practice. This tantra which is the best means of acquiring knowledge is pancardtra. From these five nights as distinct and pure when one sees the highest truth, one [becomes] freed, not otherwise. He is to be known as desika who helps to transgress the ocean of samsdra. He is indeed Lord Visnu, his favour is not unfiaiitful. 2.54ab VisnuS tries to associate the five lineages of Tantra with the five nights 'playing' with the word gocara, and it seems that while in the verse 48 the text speaks about gocaras in the sense of lineages, domains of social divisions, in the verse 49cd the gocaras are to be understood as the domains/fields characterized by the five objects of senses: sound, touch, shape, taste, and smell (sabda, sparsa, rilpa, rasa, gandha) and by five gross elements, namely ether, air, fire, water, earth {kha, vdyu, tejasjala, prthivT). These five domains are the fields of activity of the pdncardtra understood as the system meant for [removal of] the five nights (panca rdtrayah). In the same way as '* VisnuS 2. 48cd-54ab: sahgrahdd evam dkhydta mayd te tantragocarah //48 sevydh tat prepsubhir nityam visitor yat paramarn padam [corr.; pradam

Ed.]/
ratrayo gocardh panca sabdddivisaydtmikdh//49 mahdbhutdtmdkd vdtra pancardtram idam tatah / avdpya tuparam tejo yatraitdh panca rdtrayah//50 nasyanti pancardtram tat sarvdjndnavindsanam / adhyetavyam atah srdvyam anustheydrtham ddardt //51 pramdnapravaramtantrarnpancardtrdkhyamidrsam/ etdbhyah pancardtribhyo vyatiriktam niranjanam //52 yada pasyet paramtattvdm tadd muktah sa ndnyathd / sa evadesikojneyahsamsdrdrnavatdrakah//53 sa eva bhagavdn visnur ndphalas tadanugrahah /54ab

13 8

MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ

the light [of a new day] destroys the night, likwise Panearatra destroys all ignorance. ! The //armr commentary to the VisnuS'^ explains the name pointing out that the night has the nature of darkness (tamomayi), it destroys knowledge {jndnain niruddhate) and increases delusion {moham vardhayati), and similarly these five domains act {tadvad ete). They have the nature of gross elements {maUdbhutdtmikd) and of subtle elements {tanmdtras) such as sabda and others.'^ Tejah - light, is the knowledge of Paiicaratra: the night, having reached the light of the sun, disappears {rdtrih prasiddhdmdrttdndlyan tejah prdpya nasyati) and in the same way the nights of ignorance disappear, having obtained the knowledge of Pancaratra which is the treatise teaching appropriate knowledge {tddrsajndnapratipddakagrantharupam pancardtram ity ucyate). In two other Paiicaratrika texts a similar analogy with five nights is also used, namely in the Pddmasamhitd and the Paramasamhitd. The explanation which appears in the PadSy/> 1.72-74 uses the comparison with the nights but in a slightly different way. Here the five nights are not the five gocaras and they are also not described as consisting of mahdbhutas or visayas, such as sabda and others. Here they are the five other sdstras, probably Yoga, Samkhya, Buddha, Arhata (Jain), and Saiva, appearing in the adS jp 1.51-53.'^

'^ Hdrinl, folios 64-66; folio 64 line 5-8: rdtraya iti etepanca gocardh asmin chastre rdtrasabdendbhidhlyante yataJf! rdtrir hi tamomayi jndnarn niruddhate [em.; niruddhe ms] moham vardhayati ca / tadvad ete 'piti sadharmydd evam uktih I. ''^Hdrinl, folio 64 line 10-12: tatkdranabhUtdni mahdbhUtdni ca rdtrisabdavdcydnlty aha - mahdbhUtdtmikd iti kin ca tatkaranabhUtasabddditanmdtras ca tadartha itydha - sabdddivisaydtmika iti /. "in the earlier portion of the same chapter PadS {jp 1 51-53) enumerates other sdstras, among them 1) Yoga, 2) Samkhya, 3); Buddha, 4) Arhata (Jain), and 5) Saiva divided into Kapala, Suddhasaiva, Pasupata, and these are probably the five mentioned later on.

VISNUSAMHITA'S FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS...

139

V. Raghavan'^ refers to the same passage (namely VMS jp 1.72-74) and sees some ambiguity of the explanation while drawing attention to the fact of difficulty or even irony in the word mtra, meaning 'night' and 'darkness', being used in the sense of 'knowledge'. Pads 7p 1.72-74 reads: Five other, though being great, iarfra5 are the nights in the nearness of it [namely Pancaratra]; due to it this name exists in this world. As the moon and stars do not shine by day, in the same way other five [Mstras] do not shine in the nearness of it [Pancaratra]. Or as the nights, when the sun shines, go to their end (pancatvam), in the same way the other [sdstras] disappear in the nearness [of Pancaratra]. Yet another similar explanation of the name of the tradition appears in the Parama^am/ziYa 1.39cd-41ab, where the text reads: if The five nights of the embodied have the qualities of the gross elements. Through the connection with it [that it is meant for them], or through [causing] the cessation [of them]/separation this is known as pancaratra.

'* V. RAGHAVAN 1965,

p.74.

''PadSyjr? 1.72-74: pancetarani sdstrdni rdtrdyante (nddriyante) mahdnty api / tatsannidhau samdkhydsau tena loke pravartate // candratdrdganam yadvac chobhate naiva vdsare / tathetardni sobhante pafica naivdsya sannidhau// pancatvam athavdyadvad dlpyamdne divdkare / rcchanti rdtrayas tadvaditardni tadantike //

"^m
20

MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ

Ciro.ss elements (bhutas), subtle elements (ltdn]mdtrdni), the ego factor (garvah), intelligence (buddhi) and? un-evolved matter (avyakta) are said to be the nights of man, therefore this is known as
:

pancaratra.

These explanations draw attention to the obstacles which the knowledge of the tradition can remove and they compare these obstacles to the five nights which can be removed by the light of the Paiicaratra tradition. Therefore Pancaratra is so called since it is the system to remove the five nights. In this context it is worth noticing that the usage of the short or long 'a' in the term could be connected with such a distinction: pancaratra are the five nights equated with obstacles, while pancaratra is the name of a system which refers to, or better removes these obstacles. Taking into consideration provisional dating of the Pancaratric texts in which we can find the explanation of the name using the comparison with the nights, namely ParS,^' PadS and VisnuS, and having agreed that we can list them chronologically in such an order, we may conclude that such an idea appears for the first time in the ParS and then it is taken over by the next two, namely by the PadS,

^^ Pars 1.39-4 lab: mahdbhutagundh panca rdtrayo dehinah smrtdh // tadyogdd vinivrtter vdpancardtram iti smrtam / bhutamdtrdni garvas ca buddhir avyaktam eva ca// rdtrayah purusasyoktdh pancardtram tatah smrtam I ParS which is mentioned by Yamunacarya in the Agamaprdmdnya (10/11* century), by Ramanuja in the Sribhdsya (11* century) and later by Venkatanatha (13*/14* century), and which also appears on the PadS's list of the samhitds can be dated not later than to 10* century and seems to be the first of the three.

VISNIJSAMHITA'S FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS...

141

especially as this text shows some more similarities with the ParS,'^^ and by the VisnuS. The name of the tradition was not only explained in the Paiicaratrika texts themselves, but have also been scrutinized by indologists in their attempt to find a plausible explanation.'^^ V. Raghavan,^"* also observing the specific usage of the term rdtras connected with five gross elements (mahdbhuta) given in the ParS and the VisnuS, refers to the association of meaning of rdtri as non-knowledge {ajndna) and panca as 'destroying' (PrasnaS 2.40).^^ Raghavan himself thinks that the name is connected with the five nights during which five discourses were given, the concept known from Vihagendrasamhitd, Ndradasamhitd, Isvarasarnhitd, Sanatkumdrasamhitd and also from Ndrdyanlya portion of the Mahdbhdrata?^ Five nights (rdtras) appear also as the names of the five divisions of the Pancaratric text entitled Santkumdrasamhitd, though only four can be found within the text, namely sivardtra, brahmardtra, indrardtra and rsirdtra. ^ Van Buitenen, in his article concerning the name of the tradition,^^ mentions several explanations given not only by the Paiicaratric

^^ For the dating of the ParS as well as similarities to the PadS see 2003, p. 27-28 and pp. 145, 158, 174, 178, 179, 185,200. ^^ For more about the name Paiicaratra see for example GONDA 1977, RAGHAVAN 1965; VAN BUITENEN 1988; NEBVEL 1977, RAMESH 2000, VARADACHARY 2001, RAO 2005.
CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ ^^ RAGHAVAN 1965.

^^ PrasnaS=rIprasnaS 2.40: ratrir ajndnam ityuktam pancety ajndnandsakam/. ^* RAGHAVAN 1965; for example in the VihagendraS Kesava gave the teaching during five nights to Ananta Garuda, Visvaksena, Brahman and Siva. ^' More about the name Pancaratra and ratras in the Sanatkumdra5aw/!jYa see, for ex., RAGHAVAN 1965.

^*

VAN BUITENEN

'i988.

MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DR0ZDZ0WIC2

I'cxis and (he Iblknscrs of the tradition, but also by indologists. He guesses that the meaning of rdtri as 'tantra'' or 'samhitd'' must be secondary, whereas the first part of the name has several associations and is connected with five doctrines or chapter^ within the texts as well as, for example, with five manifestations of god as para, vyuha, vibhava, antarydmin and area. After Sehrader, he recollects association with the sacrifice lasting five nights [and days] known from the Satapatha Brdhmana 13.6.1.1 (pancardtram sattram). The passage of the SB connects this sacrifice with Narayana, who through this fiveday sacrifice became this world entire.'^' As van Buitenen claims, the use of the term pancardtra as the name of the system associated with Narayana in the passage from SB is very remote and its connection with Narayana is incidental. He also mentions Ndrdyanlya portion of the Mahdbhdrata, which places Paiicaratra among other disciplines such as Sarnkhya, Yoga and Pasupata^" and which in MBh 12.336.51 [in the critical edition it is 12.323.42] connects Paiicaratra with pancakdla^^ a characteristic feature of the daily religious obligations

^' SB 13.6.1.1: puruso ha narayana 'kamyata / atitistheyam sarvani bhutdni aham evedam sarvam syam iti sa etam purusamedham pancardtram yajnakratum apasyat tarn aharat tendyajeta tenestvdtyatisthat sarvani bhutdnidam sarvam abhavat //. ^"MBh 12.326.100-lOlab: idam mahopanisadam caturvedasamanvitam sdmkhyayogakrtam tena pancardtrdnusabditam ndrdyanamukhodgitam ndrado 'srdvayatpunah //. MBh 12.337.1: janamejaya uvdca: sdmkhyam yogam pancardtram veddraiiyakam eva cajndndny etdni brahmarse lokesu pracaranti ha //. MBh 12.337.62-63: umdpatir bhutapatih srikantho brahmanah sutah uktavdn idam avyagro jHdnam pdsupatam sivah paficardtrasya krtsnasya vettd tu bhagavdn svayam sarvesu ca nrpasresthajUdnesv etesu drsyate //. ^' VANBUITENEN 1988; Ndrdyanlya 12.323.42 ab [van Buitenen refers to it as 12.336(323).51]: fair istah pancakdlajnair harir ekdntibhir naraih 'Hari is worshipped by the people dedicated to one only and knowing the rule offive-folddivision of the daily obligation {pancakala).' Such connection of the Paiicaratra withpancayajna andpancakdla can be seen in the litany in the

VISNUSAMHITA'S FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS...

143

of the devotee of Visnu. Mentioning some of the Paiicaratric texts in which the explanations of the name appear, van Buitenen, after Schrader, speaks about Ndradlyasamhita, which gives rdtri in the sense of knowledge.^^ Concluding, it should be noted that the name of the tradition, though causing problems with the precise explanation, serves in many

Ndrdyaniya 12325A: pancayajnadhara pancakdla-kartrgate pancaratrika vaikuntha. ^^ This reference to Ndradlya is slightly unclear, since van Buitenen refers to SCHRADER 1916, but Schrader, speaking not about rdtri, hvA. rdtra, says that NaradlyaS talks about five kinds of ra/ra-knowledge treated in the system, though he does not give the reference to the particular passage of this text. On the other hand RAMESH 2000, p. 43 speaks (again without referring to the particular passage) about the same explanation of rdtra meaning knowledge consisting of five aspects, namely knowledge of reality (tattvd), salvation (mukti), devotion (bhakti), spiritual exercises (yoga) and worldly life (visaya), but she refers to other text, namely Ndradapdncardtra, which is not the same with NaradlyaS. Also RAO 2005 p. 26 refers to Ndradapdncardtra's explanation and gives the quotation (without giving the precise reference): ratram ca jndnavacanam jndnarn pamcavidham smrtam / tenedam pamcardtrarn hipravadanti manisinah //; (I was not able to consult the text by myself). Ndradapdncardtra is divided into six parts among which five are called rdtras: jndnardtra, mantrardtra, dcdrardtra, arcandrdtra and prayascittardtra. NaradlyaS speaks about Paiicaratra in the following passage (NaradlyaS 1.74-76): pancardtravidhdnena yo yajet bhaktito harim / mdyeyarn vaisnavi purnso duratas tasya gacchati // idam eva mahdjndnam sarvasdstresu niscitam / karma vedoditam yad vai tatas suddham kilabhavat // tatah param idam Jndnarn visnund bhdsitam hitam /paricardtram iti khydtarn bhuktimuktiphalapradam //- 'A Vaisnava delusion of such a man who worships Hari with bhakti according to the rule of Paiicaratra goes away. This is the great knowledge determined in all sdstras. The activity, [which was] spoken of in the Veda, from this [very fact] was pure indeed. [But] Hence [comes] the highest good knowledge told by Visnu, known as Pancaratra which gives the fruits of earthly good and emancipation.'

MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ

Pancaratric texts as the basis for some theological-philosophical speculations, not always convincing, concerning the tradition itself, in the attempt to explain the meaning of both the number five (panca) and the noun 'night' {ratri/rdtra). The explanation that uses the comparison with nights deluding and hiding the right knowledge can be found in the three above-mentioned Pancaratric texts. Judging from their provisional dating, we could think of ParS as the common source of this idea for PadS and VisnuS. In the case of the VisnuS, the text whose author was obviously very much attached to the number five and proposed three five-fold divisions of the devotees, tries to connect the division into lineages (gocaras) within Paiicaratra with the explanation of the name of the tradition, but, in fact, it uses the term gocara in two different meanings: a lineage/social domain and the domain/field characterized by five factors. In the explanation of the name it uses the comparison with nights and five mahdbhutas and visayas, which is very close to that in the ParS. In the case of the Pads, it seems that again the source of the idea of nights could he the ParS, but the explanation is different from those included both in the ParS and the VisnuS, since five nights-ra^ras are alien traditions, from outside Paiicaratra, and the comparison with mahdbhutas and visayas is not used there at all. While comparing these three texts, one can witness the process of taking over some ideas from earlier texts and utilising them in the later ones, and one can observe how strong a need it was to explain coherently the name of the tradition and how prolific a source for theosophical-philosophical speculations this name constituted.

VISNUSAMHITA'S FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS... Bibliography

145

Sanskrit texts TS Tantrasamuccaya Srlnarayanapranitah Sankarapranitaya Vimarsinyakhyaya Vyakhyaya Sametah, ed. T. GANAPATI SASTRI, with an Elaborate Introduction by Prof. N. P. UNNI, Rastriya Sainskrta Sarnsthana, Delhi 2005. Ndrddlyasamhitd. Ed. by RAGHAVA PRASADA CHAUDHARY, Tirupati 2002. Paramasamhitd: Paramasamhitd [of the Paficharatra]. Ed. and Translated into English with an Introduction by S. KRISHNASWAMI AIYANGAR. {Gaekwad Oriental Series 86). Baroda 1940. Paramasarnhitd: Paramasamhitd. Ms 62.045 (10,G.27). Theosophical Society, Adyar. Pddmasarnhitd: Padma Samhita. (Part I). Crit.
ed. by SEETHA PADMANABHAN and R.N. SAMPATH, (Part II). Crit. ed. by SEETHA PADMANABHAN and V. VARADACHARI.

NarS

Pars

ParSn

Pads

Madras 1974, 1982. PrasnaS MBh see SriprasnaS Mahdbhdrata. Critical Edition. Ed. by ViSHNU S. SUKTHANKAR and S. K. BELVALKAR. 19 vols. Poona 1933-59.

MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ VisiniS

SrlprasnaS

Visnusamhitd. Ed. By !M. M. ; GANAPATI Elaborate Introduction by 1991. ' I Srlprasna Samhitd. Ed. by SEETHA PADMANABHAN. With the Foreword of V. RAGHAVAN. Tirapati 1969.
SASTRI with an N. P. UNNI, Delhi

Hdrinl

Hdrinl by Narayana, devanagari ms, Trivandrum, T.439 A to C.

Secondary Sources BUITENEN1988 J. A. B. VAN BUITENEN: The Name 'Paiicaratra'. In: Studies in Indian Literature and Philosophy. Collected Articles of J. A. B. VAN BUITENEN. Ed. by L. ROCHER. Delhi 1988, pp. 191-200. MARZENNA CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ: Pdficardtra Scripture in the Process of Change. A Study of the Paramasamhitd. Publications of The De Nobili Research Library, ed.
GERHARD OBREHAMMER and UTZ PODZEIT,

CZERNIAK-DROZDZOWICZ

2003

vol. XXXI, Vienna 2003.


GONDA 1977 JAN GONDA : Medieval Religious Literature in Sanskrit. A History of Indian Literature. vol. II, fasc. 1. Wiesbaden.

MATSUBARA 1994

MiTSUNORI MATSUBARA: Pdncardt1-a Samhitds and Early Vaisnava Theology. With a Translation and Critical Notes from

VI$NUSAMHITA'S FIVE-FOLD CLASSIFICATIONS...

147

Chapters on Theology in the Ahirbudhnya Samhita. Delhi 1994. NEEVEL 1977 Yamuna's Vedanta and Pancaratra: Integrating the Classical and the Popular. In: Harvard Theological Review, Harvard Dissertations in Religion, ed.
WALTER G. NEEVEL: CAROLINE BYNUM and GEORG RUPP, nr 10,

Missoula 1977. RAGHAVAN 1965 V. RAGHAVAN: The Name Paiicaratra: With an Analysis of the Sanatkumara-Samhita in Manuscript. Journal of the American Oriental Society 85 (1965), pp. 73-79. M. S. RAMESH: The Festival at Tirumala Temple, Chennai 2000. The Agama Encyclopaedia (Revised Edition of Agama Kosa), vol. IV, Paiicaratragama. Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi 2005.
RAMACHANDRA RAO:

RAMESH

2000

RAO 2005

SMITH 1975-1980

H. DANIEL SMITH: A Descriptive Bibliography of the Printed Texts of the Pancaratrdgama. Vol. I. An Annoted Index to Selected Topics. Vol. II. {COS 158,168) Baroda 1975, 1980. F. OTTO SCHRADER: Introduction to the Pdncardtra and the Ahirbudhnya Samhitd. Madras 1916. V. VARADACHARY: Pdhcardtrdgama. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati 2001.

SCHRADER 1914

VARADACHARY 2001

You might also like