Talk:Tantras

By Swami Harshananda

Tantras

1. Introduction

It is seen that every major religion of the world has a founder, a scripture and a church. Hinduism is the solitary exception to this general pattern. It does not have a single founder or a single book or a single church, though in it great religious leaders, religious books and religious monasteries or organisations are legion.

Although the Vedas have been accepted as the basic scriptures by most of the sects, cults and groups of Hinduism, a number of other religio-philosophical works have appeared over the centuries, many of which have occupied cardinal positions in their cults or sects. The āgamas and the tantras form an important category of literature among these.

Originally, the word ‘tantra’ seems to have meant any science or body of knowledge. Gradually, however, it got restricted to a particular class of literature, a literature primarily devoted to the cult of Sakti or the Divine Mother and containing an amalgam of religion, philosophy, esoteric and occult rites, astronomy, astrology, medicine and prognostications. In this respect, the tantras resemble the purāṇas. Etymologically the word is derived from its two constituents—‘tan,’ to spread; ‘trai,’ to protect— and is supposed to mean any work that spreads or dilates upon many matters like tattvas (fundamental principles) and mantras (sacred words and syllables) and through that knowledge affords protection to the votaries.

Whether the tantras have accepted the authority of the Vedas and hence their subservience to them, or, have furrowed their own parallel and independent path, is a moot point. If the stress on mokṣa (freedom from transmigratory existence) as also the place of honour accorded to the varṇa-āśrama-dharmas (duties based on castes and stations in life) bespeaks of their allegiance to the Vedas, other practices like the pañca-makāras or śavasādhanā (to be explained later) smack of their close association with an aboriginal, non-Vedic, society. It may, perhaps, be safer to assume that though they might have originated as a parallel tradition distancing themselves from the Vedic tradition, later teachers of the schools of tantra might have endeavoured to bring them much closer to the latter, if not integrate them into it.

2. Tāntric Literature

According to the tāntric texts, the tantras are innumerable. Sometimes they are stated to be 64. The number however, varies from scripture to scripture.

There are several ways of classifying the tāntric texts. According to one tradt tion, the works in which Sadāśiva speaks to the Devi are called ‘āgamas’ and those in which the Devi speaks to Sadāśiva or Maheśvara, are named as ‘nigamas.’ As per another grouping, they are: dakṣiṇa, vāma and madhyama. A third method groups them into three: divya, kaula and vāma.

A selected list of works that have been printed*, confining it only to the Devi-cult, may now be given:

• A very large number of manuscripts of tantras are still lying in the libraries of Oriental Institutes and other institutions.

īśāna-gurudeva-paddhati

Kāmakalāvilāsa

Kaulāvalinirnaya

Kulacudāmani-tantra

Lalitāsahasranāma

Mahānirvāna-tantra

Mantramahodadhi

Nityāsodaśikārnava

Pārānandasutra

Prapañcasāra

Śaktisañgama-tantra

Sāradātilaka

Satcakranirupana

Saundaryalahari

Tantrābhidhāna

Tantrarājatantra

Varivasyārahasya

Sometimes, mention is also made of two types of tantras, the Yāmala and the Dāmara.

The Yāmala group gets its name because it contains the secret conversations between the deity and his consort, who form the couple (yāmala = united, couple). ‘Dāmara’ means a goblin, an attendant of Siva. It also means ‘wonder’. Hence that class of tantras attributed to Siva and containing wondrous teachings is ‘Dāmaratantra’.

The Yāmalatantras are:

Brahmayāmala, Visnuyāmala, Rudrayāmala, Laksmiyāmala, Umāyāmala, Skandayāmala, Ganeśayāmala and Ādityayāmala.

The Dāmaratantras are:

Yogadāmara, Sivadāmara, DurgācLāmara, SārasvatacLāmara, Brahmadāmara and Gandharvadāmara.

There are a good number of other

tantras also like Mañjuśrimulakalpa and Guhyasamāja-tantra belonging to the Buddhist tradition.

3. Contents of the Tantras in Brief

Though there are various kinds of āgamas and tantras, certain features are common to them all. They avow allegiance to the Vedas, and even claim to interpret them to the current age. However, unlike the Vedas, their doors are open to all, irrespective of caste or sex.

The subjects generally dealt with by them are classed under four pādas or steps. They are: Jñānapāda, Yogapāda, Kriyāpāda and Caryāpāda.

The Jñānapāda gives the philosophy or the metaphysics upon which the tantras are based. It is a combination of the Vedāntic and the Sāṅkhyan principles.

The Yogapāda deals with the sādhanās or spiritual disciplines that help an individual aspirant to attain union with the Supreme Self, which is the final goal of life.

Since an individual is a part and parcel of the society and since his spiritual progress is closely allied with that of the society, the tantras give to the society also a way of life, a religion, so that both the individual and the society can progress in harmony with each other. Towards this end, the tantras provide the institution of community worship as in a temple or through a yāga (sacrifice) or through the sacred spots of pilgrimage. These are the topics described in the Kriyāpāda, the third of the series of the four pādas.

Caryāpāda, the last, expounds the rituals and the modes of sādhanās needed in an individual’s life. A code of conduct

is also given for the benefit of the tyro as well as the adept.

A good number of other topics are also dealt with, which may be summarised as follows: authenticity of the āgamas and the tantras based on the Vedas; creation of the world; manifestation of vaikhari-vāk or the spoken word; on the letters of the alphabet; various rites connected with dīkṣā or initiation like the Vāstuyāga; categories of dīkṣā; on homa (fire ritual); various mantras connected with various deities of the Hindu pantheon like Sarasvatī, Srī or Lakṣmī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Durgā, Viṣṇu, Gaṇapati, Siva and so on; yantras or geometrical configurations associated with those deities; yogic practices including the descriptions of Kuṇḍalinī and the various cakras or psychic centres and so on.

4. Philosophy of the Tantras

The philosophy of the tantras seems to be an amalgamation and modification of the principles propounded by the Sāṅkhya and the Vedānta systems. The prakṛti of Sāṅkhya is material and insentient in nature. The māyā of Vedānta, especially of the Advaita Vedānta, is an ‘entity’ that defies all descriptions. However, the Sakti of the tantras is a very real power of Śiva, nay, Śiva himself in his dynamic aspect. All other qualities that are predicated for prakṛti-māyā like its being triguṇātmikā (comprising the three guṇas—sattva, rajas and tamas) and the upādānakāraṇa (material cause) of the world, hold good for the Sakti of the tantras also.

The ultimate Reality is one and only one. It is Siva or Sakti or Siva-Sakti and

is (‘samvit’) of the nature of pure consciousness. The relationship between Siva and Sakti is like that of fire and its burning power or the word and its meaning. They are two in one or one in two, always inseparable. In the inactive state it is Siva and in the active state it is Sakti. The former is also called Nirguṇa-parameśvara (the Lord without attributes) wherein the Sakti is inherent and dormant. When this Sakti starts awakening, Parameśvara becomes ‘Saguṇa.’ The first evolute of the process of creation is Sakti. From Sakti proceeds para-nāda (the unmanifest sound or vibration which gives rise to para-bindu, the higher bindu or point). From it proceed the apara-bindu (lower bindu or point, identified with the Siva-principle), the bija (identified with the Sakti-principle) and the apara-nāda (the lower sound or vibration) considered as the union of the Siva and the Sakti principles.

From bīja or Sakti (also called Sabda-brahma, Parāśakti or Paradevatā) proceed the 23 tattvas or cosmic principles, viz., mahat, ahaṅkāra, the ten indriyas and the mind, the five subtle elements and the five gross elements like the earth, water etc. Together with Sakti, they are 24.

From the apara-bindu, identified with Siva, proceed the five deities viz., Sadāśiva, īśāna, Rudra, Viṣṇu and Brahmā. By adding seven more principles like purusa (the individual soul) and kāla (time), the total number of tattvas is raised to 36.

In the human body, Sakti resides as the Kuṇḍalinī, the power resembling a coiled serpent at the mulādhāra-cakra,

situated at the base of the spine. When roused through proper sādhanās or spiritual exercises, it rises through five more cakras like the svādhiṣthāna and the anāhata, and, finally reaches the sahasrāra in the crown of the head, resembling a lotus of a thousand petals, there it merges with Siva, resulting in mokṣa or liberation for that individual self.

The jīva or the individual soul is none other than Śiva himself, with his freedom covered over or limited by avidyā or nescience, also called āṇava-mala, the impurity that makes him appear small. Through spiritual disciplines, the most important aspect of which is upāsanā or worship and meditation, on Śakti as Devi or Divine Mother, he is liberated, attaining unity with the Deity.

5. Sādhanās as Depicted in the

Tantras

As in the six systems of Indian philosophy, in the tantras also, mokṣa, or liberation from transmigratory existence, is the ultimate goal of life. The tantras have evolved an elaborate system of sādhanās or spiritual practices that cover all aspects of the human personality and life. Only a brief resume can be attempted here.

GURU

The tantras categorically assert the need for taking dīkṣā or initiation from a competent guru or teacher before starting one’s spiritual sādhanās.

A competent guru must be a person

of pure parentage and great self-control. He should know the true meaning and

essence of the scriptures—the Vedas, the āgamas and related scriptures. He should be an adept in pujā (worship), homa (pouring oblations into a duly consecrated fire), dhyāna (meditation) and japa (repetition of the divine name). A peaceful disposition and a thorough knowledge of yoga are also necessary.

The tantras also warn against accepting false gurus, who feign erudition and holiness, but are motivated by greed and baser instincts.

ŚIṢYA

The śiṣya or the disciple too must possess certain minimum characteristics which will entitle him to spiritual life.

He must be guileless, must aspire after the puruṣārthas (goals of human existence) and be fairly well-read in the Vedas. He should be self-controlled and intelligent enough to understand the teachings of the guru and the scriptures. He should be devoted to his parents, discharge his duties well and avoid all pride of birth or wealth or learning. He must be obedient to the guru and be prepared to sacrifice everything for his sake.

The tantras declare that the guru must test a person before accepting him as a disciple and vice versa.

ISTADEVATĀ

Though God the Supreme is one without a second, he can and does manifest himself through various forms and emanations, all of which are non-different from him, even as sugar-dolls are all sugar only. The particular form a sādhaka or a votary chooses is his ‘iṣṭadevatā,’ ‘the deity dear to him’. He chooses that form for

purposes of meditation and worship. The tantras advocate meditation on and worship of these forms of God since it is much easier for an average human being, than contemplating on the Absolute without name and form.

Each of these devatās has a mantra or even several mantras or word-symbols, which have to be ceremonially received in dīkṣā or initiation from a qualified guru.

DĪKṢĀ

Dīkṣā or initiation into spiritual life is so called because it destroys iksi = to destroy) the sins of the disciple and gives (dā = to give) knowledge to him. It should be given on a day and time considered to be holy as per the Hindu calendars. Days of eclipses—especially of the moon—are deemed to be extremely holy.

Several varieties of dīkṣā are enumerated in the tāntric works. One of the more well-known categorisations is as follows: kriyāvatī, varṇamayī, kalāvatī and vedhamayī. The kriyāvatī dīkṣā involves the performance of many rituals by the guru. In varṇamayī dīkṣā, the guru infuses the spirit of the varṇas or letters of the alphabet which are associated with Sakti or Devī, in the different parts of the disciple’s body. In the kalāvatī dīkṣā the guru locates the existence of kalās or powers of the pañcabhutas like nivṛttikalā or vidyākalā, in the body of the disciple, meditates on them and anoints him. In the vedhamayi dikṣā, the guru initiates the disciple only by the power of his thought.

Sometimes three more varieties are added: sparśadīksā (rousing the spiritual consciousness by sparśa or touch),

vāgdīkṣā (same by uttering the mantra into the ear of the disciple) and dṛgdīkṣā or cākṣuṣī dīkṣā (arousal of spiritual consciousness by looking intently at the disciple).

Dīkṣā, in a more technical sense, involves a number of rituals like the worship of the Vāstupuruṣa (Cosmic Being) and bali or sacrifice as also abhiseka done by sprinkling holy water on the disciple.

Its simplest form is ‘upadeśa,’ giving the mantra as also certain rules and guidance.

MANTRA

The central part of dīkṣā or upadeśa is the imparting of the mantra or the divine word by the guru to the disciple. Etymologically, the word means that which protects (tra - to protect) the person who reflects (man = to reflect) upon it. ‘Protection’ in the spiritual sense means protecting from samsāra or transmigratory existence by giving mokṣa or liberation. The mantras may have their source in the Vedas or the purāṇas or the tantras. Since the last group of works deals primarily with the mantras, it is called as ‘mantraśāstra’ or ‘mantravidyā’.

A mantra, according to the tantras, is not just a letter of the alphabet or a combination of such letters into a word or a sentence signifying a particular object. It is the sound symbol embodying the form, the power and the consciousness of the supreme Brahman or its manifestations.

Before creation, Brahman or Siva is established in his own effulgence—hence called ‘prakāśa’—and inactive. When he starts ‘vimarśa’ or deliberating in himself to create the world, there is a spanda or

a throb, which develops into nāda or vibration. This nāda gradually gains in power and then gets concentrated to a bindu or a point. This bindu which contains the Siva-Sakti principle like a dicotyledonous seed further evolves into Siva and Śakti principles by the union of which the whole universe comes into being.

As per this description of creation given in some tantras, all created objects (called ‘artha’) with ‘rupa,’ shape or form, and ‘nāma’ or name have originated from the primeval nāda, which can now be called ‘Sabda-brahman.’ Hence, it is quite reasonable to assume that every mantra is an aspect of this primeval Word or Sabda-brahman and represents as its artha, a god or a goddess, which again, is a manifestation or emanation of that Brahman. In other words, the mantra contains in itself the form and the spirit of the deity, whose mantra it is. This deity is revealed by the proper repetition of the mantra, in course of time.

The tantras categorise the mantras as saura (solar) and saumya (lunar). They may be masculine, feminine or neuter. The masculine and the neuter mantras are called ‘mantra’ whereas the feminine mantras are called ‘vidyā’. Mantras ending with hum, vasat or phaṭ are masculine, those ending with svāhā or vauṣaṭ are feminine and those ending with namah are neuter. The tantras christen certain monosyllabic mantras like hrīm or klīm as bījamantras or bījāksaras. Even as a seed evolves in course of time into a mighty tree giving plenty of fruits, a bījamantra also can give—if properly repeated—the siddhi attributed to it, like the revelation of the deity of that mantra.

A mantra, to be effective, should always be received from a qualified guru in a proper way. The tantras describe various processes that help in rousing the power of a mantra and make it effective. A few of such processes are: mukha-śodhana (purification of mouth), jihvā-śodhana (purification of the tongue), aśaucabhaṅga (destroying the impurity of the mantra), nidrābhaṅga (awakening the mantra from slumber) and so on.

They also recommend ten samskāras or ritual purificatory processes like dīpanī, which consist in repeating the bija-mantra seven times, preceded and followed by praṇava (om).

All these have to be learnt directly from a competent teacher and should not be experimented with, by learning them from books.

A theory advocated by the tantras regarding the evolution of śabda or sound, and its corollary, vāk or speech, from the subtle unmanifest state to the fully manifested state is worth mentioning here. When a person speaks, four stages of evolution of speech are involved in it. The speech is first rooted in the mulādhāra-cakra as the unmanifest sound. It is then called ‘parāvāk’. When it starts getting awakened and reaches the maṇipuracakra at the navel, it has just started showing subtle vibrations. It is now called ‘paśyanti-vāk’.

On its further rising to the anāhata-cakra in the region of the heart, these vibrations have already assumed definite and clear thought-forms. It is then called ‘madhyamā-vāk’. It now comes out as fully articulated speech, the spoken word, called ‘vaikhari-vāk’.

JAPA

A mantra becomes effective only when its japa is done. That is, it should be repeated a prescribed number of times as per the directions of the guru.

Japa is of three types. It is ‘vācika’ or ‘ucca’ when done audibly. It is ‘upāmśu’ if done in whispering tones. If it is done mentally, it is ‘mānasa’. The last is considered as the most efficacious.

During japa, the counting of the number can be done either by hand or by a japamālā (rosary). The number recommended can vary. For instance, it can be 10 or 12, 28 or 32 or 108, the last number being the most widely recognised.

A human being is supposed to breathe 21,600 times in a day of 24 hours. Leaving aside half this time for sleep, looking after the needs of the body and contingencies, the breathing during the waking and active state is 10,800 times. Actually the number 108 symbolically represents this 10,800. In other words, a votary is expected to utter the mantra with every breath and the number 108 is a reminder of that ideal.

PURAŚCARANA

The tantras deal with puraścaraṇa, an important topic closely related to the japa of a mantra. The word literally means ‘performing or carrying (caraṇa) before (puras).’ Various interpretations have, however, been offered. Perfecting of the procedure of the mulamantra (the basic mantra of a deity) since it has to be practised before the acts in which it is to be employed is called as ‘puraścaraṇa’ by some works. According to others, the

sādhana puraścaraṇa is so called because the deity of the aspirant, pleased by his devoted practice, moves (caraṇa) before (puras) him.

Puraścaraṇa has several constituent elements: dhyāna (meditation on the form of the deity), pujā (ritualistic worship), japa of the mantra, homa (oblations into the duly consecrated fire), tarpaṇa (satiating the deity with the ceremonial offering of water) and brāhmaṇa-bhojana (feeding brāhmaṇas of good conduct). If any of these constituent elements cannot be performed, it can be replaced by more japa of the mantra as specified in the tāntric works.

According to another method, repeating the mantra one thousand times per day for eight days, starting it on a Tuesday and ending it on the subsequent Tuesday is also puraścaraṇa.

Some works recommend the repetition of the mantra 24 lakhs of times, followed by an offering of 24 thousand oblations of pāyasa or pudding into the duly consecrated fire. By this type of puraścaraṇa, the mantra becomes perfected and confers on the sādhaka whatever he desires.

The puraścaraṇa of a mantra on the days of solar or lunar eclipse, while standing in navel-deep water, is stated to be extremely efficacious.

Certain spots like a place of pilgrimage, the bank of a river, a cave or a mountain-top, seashore or the precincts of a temple are recommended as more suitable for the practice of puraścaraṇa.

All tāntric works emphasize that unless the mantra has been received from a qualified guru in dīkṣā and the

sādhanā is done under his guidance, neither puraścaraṇa nor even japa becomes effective.

PUJĀ

Pujā or ritualistic worship of the deity is a very important part of tantra-sādhanā. It forms a part of puraścaraṇa also.

When a respected or a beloved guest arrives in a house, the master of the house receives him warmly and offers him all that makes him comfortable and happy. This is the spirit behind pujā where the guest is God himself.

In any pujā, the preliminary processes include saṅkalpa or religious resolve and ceremonial purification of all the items involved in it as the āsana or seat, the vessels and the flowers. Bhutāpasaraṇa or driving away all the evil spirits that may obstruct the pujā is another important item. Prāṇāyāma or regulation of the mind through the control of breath, bhutaśuddhi or purifying the elements that compose the body of the worshipper, nyāsas or placement of the fingers of the hand on the different parts of the body with a view to purifying them, dhyāna or meditation are the other important steps.

However, the cardinal part of pujā is the ‘upacāras’ or ways of ritual service. In the shortest mode of pujā they are five only: gandha (sandal paste), puṣpa (flowers), dhupa (incense), dīpa (lighted lamp) and naivedya (food). In more detailed forms they are raised to ten or sixteen or even eighteen. Some of them are: āvāhana (inviting the deity), pādya and arghya (water for washing feet and hands),

snāna (bath), vastra (cloth), yajñopavita (sacred thread), namaskāra (obeisance) and visarjana or udvāsana (bidding adieu to the deity).

HOMA

Homa or oblations of prescribed things like ghee into a duly consecrated fire, can be done either independently or

as a part of pujā or even puraścaraṇa. Generally, a yantra or a geometrical drawing representing the deity is drawn as directed, the sacrificial fuel sticks arranged over it and the fire is ceremonially lit. After some preliminary processes of purification, the deity, to appease whom the homa is being done, is invoked into it and the various upacāras are offered. After the sañkalpa or resolve, in which the purpose and the manner of offering the oblations are stated, the oblations are poured into it with the appropriate mantra. The actual number of oblations can be 8 or 28 or 32 or 108 or even 1008, as stated in the saṅkalpa. The materials considered fit for offering are: ghee, barley, cooked rice, flower, bilva (Aegle marmelos) leaves and a few other prescribed things.

YANTRA

The word ‘yantra’ in its most general sense means an instrument by which anything is accomplished. In worship, it is a diagram drawn or engraved or painted on prescribed materials like metal, stone or paper or even a leaf, that helps one to subdue (yantra = niyantraṇa = subduing) his passions like lust and anger and gain greater concentration.

While a maṇḍala, a geometrical figure

drawn with coloured powders, can be used for the worship of any deity, a yantra also called ‘cakra’, is specific only to a particular deity. Every deity of the Hindu pantheon has its own yantra. If the deity is the soul, the yantra is its body.

Apart from the geometrical drawing or pattern that is appropriate to the deity, a yantra also contains its mantra, inscribed at the proper place. The presence of the deity is invoked into the yantra by worship, the procedure of which is very similar to that of a pratimā or image. A yantra wherein the deity has been roused by duly worshipping it, can then be used for any purpose—especially for the fulfilment of one’s desires—sanctioned by the tāntric works.

NYĀSAS AND MUDRĀS

Transformation of thought is transformation of being. If the various parts of the sādhaka’s body are touched by his fingers and palms with the appropriate mantras, that will induce the presence of the deity in him, thereby transforming him and making him fit for the ritual or the particular process of sādhanā. This is the general principle behind the nyāsas and mudrās.

The word ‘nyāsa’ comes from the root ‘nyas’ (‘to place’). It is generally done by placing the tips of the fingers and the palm of the right hand on the various parts of the body accompanied by particular mantras.

There are several nyāsas out of which a few—the more common ones—can now

be described.

Jīvanyāsa is that by which the

sādhaka establishes the iṣṭadevatā in the region of the heart and thus becomes one with it.

Vyāpakanyāsa, performed by passing the hands all over the body from top to bottom, helps him to feel the presence of the deity as pervading the whole body.

In mātṛkānyāsa, which is done with the letters of the alphabet, the various letters are placed mentally in the cakras or psychic centres of the body (antarmātṛkā-nyāsa) and also in other limbs outside (bahirmātṛkānyāsa) thereby feeling the competence to know Sabdabrahman in himself.

In pīṭhanyāsa, the internal seat (pīṭha = seat) in the region of the heart, is made fit for the residence of the deity. Sometimes, the word is interpreted as establishing the various Sakti-pīṭhas (places of pilgrimage sacred to the Devī or Sakti, such as Kāmarupa [in Assam] or Jālandhara [in Haryana]) inside one’s own body in a subtle way.

In ṛṣyādinyāsa, the ṛṣi or the sage, the chandas or the Vedic metre and the

devatā or the deity are remembered and

homage is paid to them.

In karanyāsa and aṅganyāsa, the

fingers of the two hands (kara = hand) and the limbs of the body (aṅga = limb) like the heart and the head, are sanctified to make them fit for worship and meditation.

Like nyāsas, mudrās also find an important place in the tāntric rituals. The word mudrā is interpreted as that which pleases the deity and makes its heart melt out of compassion for the votary, and

hence grant his desires (mud = pleasure, drav = to melt, rā = to give).

In a technical sense the term ‘mudrā’ has several meanings:

1) pose of hand as in dance or in pujā;

2) posture of the body as in Hathayoga;

3) as one of the five makāras, it means various kinds of grains mixed with ghee.

4) a woman companion of the tāntric sādhaka.

However, it is used widely in the sense of poses of fingers or of hand or hands in relation to worship and meditation. Some of the more common mudrās

are:

1) Āvāhanamudrā used to invite and welcome the deity in pujā.

2) Kurmamudrā used in meditation on the deity.

3) Avaguṇṭhanamudrā and matsya-mudrā used in offering food in pujā to the deity. So also the grāsamudrā and prāṇādi-pañca-mudrās. Dhenumudrā, goyonimudrā and

nārācamudrā are some of the other, more commonly used, mudrās.

The number of mudrās as given in the tāntric works and even purāṇas,

differs considerably. The number varies from 9 up to 108.

KUNDALINĪ AND CAKRAS

Brahman and Sakti are like the two sides of the same coin. The external world

is the creation of Śakti associated with Brahman. Inside the bodies of human beings Sakti takes the form of Kundalinī, Kuṇḍalinī is the basic energy of the entire human being. It is generally pictured as a coiled serpent (kuṇdali = serpent) lying asleep at the base of the spinal column, called as ‘ādhāracakra’ or

‘mulādhāracakra’. When it is roused by proper sādhanās under the guidance of a competent guru, it passes through the brahma-nāḍī of the suṣumnā canal, pierces through the various cakras, ultimately reaching the sahasrāra, where it gets united with Siva.

According to the works on tantra, there are three nādīs (canal-like structures for the flow of prāṇic energy) in the region of the spinal column. In its centre passes the suṣumnā and to its right, the piṅgalā. The idā is on the left. Idā and piṅgalā are intertwined over the spinal column. Inside the suṣumnā is the vajriṇī nāḍī. Inside it is citriṇī and brahmanādī is the inmost. While in the dormant state, the Kuṇḍalinī lies at the bottom of the mulādhāra closing the brahmanāḍī with its mouth.

The cakras are so called since they are circular in shape (cakra = wheel or disc). They are actually psychic centres of consciousness and power, situated in the sukṣmaśarīra or the subtle body, corresponding to certain parts of the physical body. The ādhāracakra or the mulādhāra is situated at the base of the spine behind the anus. The svādhiṣṭhāna is at the root of the sex-organ. The maṇipura is at the navel. The anāhata is at the region of the heart. The viśuddha is at the throat. The ājñā is between the eyebrows. The

sahasrāra is in the top of the head. These cakras are likened to lotuses, each with a certain number of petals, colour and certain mātṛkās (letters of the alphabet as mantras) inscribed on them. The petals are the nādis or subtle nerve channels, which surround and function through each

of these centres.

The table gives the details of cakras at a glance.

These six cakras together are collectively called ‘ṣaṭcakras’ and the piercing act of the Kuṇḍalini is designated as ‘ṣaṭcakrabheda’.

The sahasrāra of thousand petals situated at the top of the head is the seventh cakra and is the destination of Kuṇḍalinī.

When the Kuṇḍalinī is roused, the mulādhāra lotus rises up, and opens its petals. After the Kunḍalinī leaves it, it assumes its original position as a bud hanging downwards. This procedure applies to all the other cakras also. After reaching the sahasrāra, the Kunḍalini comes back to its original place. Repeated practice of the Kuṇḍalinīyoga will result in the flooding of all the cakras with amṛta or nectar of bliss, ultimately resulting in mukti or liberation.

6. Some Allied and Relevant Topics

The tāntric literature encompasses a very vast area of subjects. Differences exist not only on the relative importance of the subjects but also on the subjects themselves. An attempt will now be made to present briefly at least some of the more commonly accepted concepts.

These works present seven types of ācāra or modes of sādhanā as follows: Vedācāra, Vaiṣṇavācāra, Saivācāra, Dakṣiṇācāra, Vāmācāra, Siddhāntācāra and Kaulācara. However, these seven are more commonly grouped into two, the Dakṣiṇācāra and the Vāmācāra. The words may mean the ‘right-hand path’ and the ‘left-hand path;’ or, the ‘favourable path’ and the ‘path involving vāmā or woman.’

Worship of the deity Dakṣiṇakālikā, following the Vedic modes of worship and sādhanā, as also belief in the varṇāśrama system, characterise the Dakṣiṇācāra.

TABLE OF CAKRAS Name Location No. of Petals Colour Matrkas Elements Bijaksara Mulādhāra perineum 4 blood-red va, śa, sa, sa pṛthī or earth lam Svādhistāna base of genital organ 6 vermillion ba, bha, ma, ya, ra, la ap or water vam Manipura navel 10 blue ḍa, dha, ṇa, ta, tha, da, dha, na, pa, pha tejas or fire ram Anāhata heart 12 red ka, kha, ga, gha, ṅa, ca, cha, ja, jha, ña, ta, tha vāyu or air yam Viśuddha throat 16 smoke-grey all the 16 owels ākāśa or ether ham Ājñā middle of eyebrows 2 white ha, kṣa beyond the elements —mahat om

Vāmācāra needs some explanation and elaboration. It is called as ‘Cīnācāra’ also, since the sage Vasiṣṭha is said to have introduced it after learning it from the Buddha in Cīnadeśa (Tibet or China), where it was prevalent. Another name commonly attributed to it is ‘Kaulācāra’ or ‘Kaulamārga’. ‘Kula’ means ‘Sakti’ and the name itself is derived from the fact that the worship of Sakti is predominant in this system of sādhanā. However, other interpretations are also offered for the word kula and Kulācāra.

The pañcatattvas or pañcamakāras viz., madya (wine), mārhsa (flesh), matsya (fish), mudrā (parched grain) and maithuna (coition) are the most essential parts of this sādhanā system. They are meant for the sādhakas of the vīra-type (heroic type), that too under the strict supervision of a competent guru. The vīra-sādhaka is one who has risen to much higher levels of spiritual evolution and hence has great self-control.

However, gross abuse of these five tattvas by the lowest of the sādhakas, of the paśu-type (with unsublimated animal passions) has earned a bad name for the whole system, aver some of the tantras. This has led to some of them inventing harmless substitutes like coconut water for madya, garlic for māmsa or brinjal for matsya and so on; or even give highly symbolic interpretations (for e.g., madya = intoxicating knowledge of God; maithuna = union of the Kuṇḍalinī with Siva and so on) to the same. Later writers have strongly condemned these abuses and tried to restore the purity of the system.

A tāntric sādhaka has to rise from the level of the paśu to that of the vīra

and then to the divya (divine) state. If a vīra-sādhaka has cultivated the divine virtues by great effort, they are most naturally and effortlessly revealed in the divya-sādhaka.

One who is an adept in the Kaulācāra and has reached the summit of realization is called a ‘paramahamsa’ and he has transcended all the rules of conduct normally prescribed for the lower sādhakas since he is able to see the divine Śakti in all.

Another ācāra that is often mentioned in the tāntric works is the Samayācāra, which is distinguished from the Dakṣiṇā-cāra, the Vāmācāra and Kaulācāra. In this tradition, the Devī is called ‘Samayā’ and she personifies the very import of the Vedic tradition. Hence Samayācāra is the conduct in accord with the Vedic tradition and for all practical purposes, can be identified with the Vedācāra listed among the seven ācāras. In this school, Siva and Śakti are equally important. Stress is laid on the antaryāga or internal worship and the rousing of the Kuṇḍalinī through successive stages of upāsanā or meditation. Worship of the Srīcakra or Śrīyantra is an important aspect of this school.

The Śrīcakra is a yantra formed by five inverted triangles and four straight triangles as also diagrams of several petals of lotus, with a dot in the centre and some lines at the extremities. It represents the Devi and the gradual evolution of creation from her, associated with Siva.

When the Sricakra is built up in a three-dimensional form, it is called ‘meru.’ Worship of the meru is considered even better than that of the yantra.

The Samayācāra is sometimes called

the ‘Kādimata’ also. This takes us to another topic connected with the Srīcakra. The worship of the Srīcakra is invariably associated with Srīvidyā, initiation into which is a must for any sādhaka of the Samayācāra. ‘Vidyā’ means ‘mantra’. ‘Śrīvidyā’ means the mantra associated with the Srīcakra. It is also called ‘pañcadaśāksarīmantra’ since it contains pañcadaśa or 15 letters. In the most common form, they are distributed into three units of 5 letters, 6 letters and 4 letters. In this, the very first letter of the first unit is ‘ka.’ Hence the Samayācāra which lays great emphasis on the repetition and use of this mantra, is called ‘Kādi-mata’, the school advocating the mantra beginning (= ādi) with ka. The sage Agastya is said to be the promulgator of this school.

As against this, there is the ‘Hādi-mata,’ the school attributed to Lopāmudrā (wife of the sage Agastya) which stresses the importance of another pañcadaśākṣarī mantra that begins with the letter ‘ha.’

The difference between the two versions of the pañcadaśākṣarī is in the number of effective letters used. Whereas the former has seven letters, the latter has only five.

A ṣoḍaśākṣarī-mantra is also in vogue where the sixteenth letter (ṣoḍaśa = 16) is ‘śrīm,’ the other 15 letters being the same.

The Samaya tradition uses two more words—antaryāga and bahiryāga. The latter consists of worshipping the Srīcakra in the traditional Vedic way, with all the upacāras or ingredients. The former is meditation on the unity of the goddess and the Srīcakra, the world and the

Srīcakra, the body and the jivātman as also the alphabet and the goddess.

One of the strangest, but abominable, tāntric practices mentioned in some of the works is the śavasādhanā or the ritual of the corpse. The corpse of a healthy person who has just died is secured, washed and anointed. The sādhaka has to sit upon it and meditate on the Devī at midnight, on a new-moon day. If he survives the terrible experiences, he will attain siddhi or command over every aspect of life.

Some scholars believe that this śavasādhanā was a typical and clumsy remnant of a primitive belief or ritual connected with death and revival.

7. Śaktipithas

There are several places of pilgrimage associated with Sakti or the Mother-goddess. They are called ‘Śaktipithas,’ seats of power (pīṭha = seat), associated with Sakti. A ritual visit to these places is said to confer great religious merit.

The number of such pīṭhas seems to have grown gradually from 4 to 51 or even 108. However the number seems to have got fixed at 51 in course of time.

There is an interesting paurāṇic legend behind the formation of these Saktipīṭhas. When Satī-Dākṣāyaṇī immolated herself in the sacrificial shed of Dakṣa (her father)—since he had humiliated her and her husband Siva—Siva carried away her body. Being inconsolable he started roaming about the world, with the dead body on his back. Then Viṣṇu, at the behest of the gods, started cutting that body by his cakra or discus so that Siva might overcome his infatuation. Wherever pieces of that body fell, that

place became a place of pilgrimage associated with Sakti, a Śaktipīṭha.

Each of these 51 Saktipīṭhas is associated with a letter of the alphabet, a part of Satī’s body, an aspect of the Devī, a corresponding aspect of Siva, identified with a modern place in the present-day India-Pakistan-Bangladesh region and a special tāntric attainment that can be got by sādhanā there. For instance, the Kāśmīra-pīṭha (in the Amarnāth Cave) is associated with the letter ‘u’. It is the place where Devī’s left ear (or neck) fell. Mahāmāyā is the goddess and Trisandhyeśvara is the god. Fulfilment of whatever mantra is repeated here, is the attainment.

Some of the other famous Saktipīthas are: Hiṅgula in Baluchistan (now in Pakistan); Karavīra in Kolhapur (Maharashtra); Vārāṇasī (in Uttar Pradesh); Jvālāmukhī (in Punjab); Kāmākhyā (in Assam); Janasthāna (in Nasik, Maharashtra); Prabhāsa (Girnar hills in Gujarat); Jālandhara (in Haryana); Kanya-kāśrama (in Kanyākumarī temple, Tamil Nadu); Ujjayinī (in Rudrasāgar, Madhya Pradesh); Kāñcī (in Sivakāñcī, Tamil Nadu), Trisrotā (in West Bengal) and Kālīpīṭha (Kālīghāt temple of Calcutta).

8. Conclusion

The tantras are a neglected, or even misunderstood, branch of Hindu scriptures. Whether they originated as an offshoot of the Vedic religion, or were a parallel tradition developed by those opposed to the brāhminical hierarchy, or were ‘imported’ from China and Tibet, they have, without doubt, enriched Hindu religion in all its aspects, especially in

the field of rituals and spiritual practices. Hence serious attempts should be made to properly edit and publish many of these works which are still lying in the manuscript form in the libraries of institutions and individuals.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

OLD CONTENT

Tantras 1. Introduction It is seen that every major religion of the world has a founder, a scripture and a church. Hinduism is the solitary excep¬tion to this general pattern. It does not have a single founder or a single book or a single church, though in it great reli¬gious leaders, religious books and religious monasteries or organisations are legion. Although the Vedas have been accepted as the basic scriptures by most of the sects, cults and groups of Hinduism, a number of other religio-philosophical works have appeared over the centuries, many of which have occupied cardinal positions in their cults or sects. The āgamas and the tantras form an important category of literature among these. Originally, the word ‘tantra’ seems to have meant any science or body of knowledge. Gradually, however, it got restricted to a particular class of litera¬ture, a literature primarily devoted to the cult of Śakti or the Divine Mother and containing an amalgam of religion, philosophy, esoteric and occult rites, astronomy, astrology, medicine and prognostications. In this respect, the tan¬tras resemble the purāṇas. Etymologically the word is derived from its two consti¬tuents—‘tan,’ to spread; ‘trai,’ to protect— and is supposed to mean any work that spreads or dilates upon many matters like tattvas (fundamental principles) and mantras (sacred words and syllables) and through that knowledge affords protection to the votaries. Whether the tantras have accepted the authority of the Vedas and hence their subservience to them, or, have furrowed their own parallel and independent path, is a moot point. If the stress on mokṣa (freedom from transmigratory existence) as also the place of honour accorded to the varṇa-āśrama-dharmas (duties based on castes and stations in life) bespeaks of their allegiance to the Vedas, other practices like the pañca-makāras or śavasādhanā (to be explained later) smack of their close association with an aboriginal, non-Vedic, society. It may, perhaps, be safer to assume that though they might have originated as a parallel tradition distancing themselves from the Vedic tradition, later teachers of the schools of tantra might have endeavoured to bring them much closer to the latter, if not integrate them into it. 2. Tāntric Literature According to the tāntric texts, the tantras are innumerable. Sometimes they are stated to be 64. The number however, varies from scripture to scripture. There are several ways of classifying the tāntric texts. According to one tradi¬tion, the works in which Sadāśiva speaks to the Devi are called ‘āgamas’ and those in which the Devi speaks to Sadāśiva or Maheśvara, are named as ‘nigamas.’ As per another grouping, they are: dakṣiṇa, vāma and madhyama. A third method groups them into three: divya, kaula and vāma. A selected list of works that have been printed*, confining it only to the Devi-cult, may now be given: īśāna-gurudeva-paddhati Kāmakalāvilāsa Kaulāvalinirnaya Kulacudāmani-tantra Lalitāsahasranāma Mahānirvāna-tantra Mantramahodadhi Nityāsodaśikārnava Pārānandasutra Prapañcasāra Śaktisañgama-tantra Sāradātilaka Satcakranirupana Saundaryalahari Tantrābhidhāna Tantrarājatantra Varivasyārahasya Sometimes, mention is also made of two types of tantras, the Yāmala and the Dāmara. The Yāmala group gets its name because it contains the secret conversa¬tions between the deity and his consort, who form the couple (yāmala = united, couple). ‘Dāmara’ means a goblin, an attendant of Śiva. It also means ‘wonder’. Hence that class of tantras attributed to Śiva and containing wondrous teachings is ‘Dāmaratantra’. The Yāmalatantras are: Brahmayāmala, Visnuyāmala, Rudrayāmala, Laksmiyāmala, Umāyāmala, Skandayāmala, Ganeśayāmala and Ādityayāmala. The Dāmaratantras are: Yogadāmara, Sivadāmara, DurgācLāmara, SārasvatacLāmara, Brahmadāmara and Gandharvadāmara. There are a good number of other tantras also like Mañjuśrimulakalpa and Guhyasamāja-tantra belonging to the Buddhist tradition. 1. Contents of the Tantras in Brief Though there are various kinds of āgamas and tantras, certain features are common to them all. They avow allegiance to the Vedas, and even claim to interpret them to the current age. However, unlike the Vedas, their doors are open to all, irrespective of caste or sex. The subjects generally dealt with by them are classed under four pādas or steps. They are: Jñānapāda, Yogapāda, Kriyāpāda and Caryāpāda. The Jñānapāda gives the philosophy or the metaphysics upon which the tantras are based. It is a combination of the Vedāntic and the Sāṅkhyan principles. The Yogapāda deals with the sādhanās or spiritual disciplines that help an individual aspirant to attain union with the Supreme Self, which is the final goal of life. Since an individual is a part and parcel of the society and since his spiritual progress is closely allied with that of the society, the tantras give to the society also a way of life, a religion, so that both the individual and the society can progress in harmony with each other. Towards this end, the tantras provide the institution of community worship as in a temple or through a yāga (sacrifice) or through the sacred spots of pilgrimage. These are the topics described in the Kriyāpāda, the third of the series of the four pādas. Caryāpāda, the last, expounds the rituals and the modes of sādhanās needed in an individual’s life. A code of conduct is also given for the benefit of the tyro as well as the adept. A good number of other topics are also dealt with, which may be summarised as follows: authenticity of the āgamas and the tantras based on the Vedas; creation of the world; manifestation of vaikhari-vāk or the spoken word; on the letters of the alphabet; various rites connected with dīkṣā or initiation like the Vāstuyāga; categories of dīkṣā; on homa (fire ritual); various mantras connected with various deities of the Hindu pantheon like Sarasvatī, Śrī or Lakṣmī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Durgā, Viṣṇu, Gaṇapati, Śiva and so on; yantras or geometrical configurations associated with those deities; yogic practices including the descriptions of Kuṇḍalinī and the various cakras or psychic centres and so on. 1. Philosophy of the Tantras The philosophy of the tantras seems to be an amalgamation and modification of the principles propounded by the Sāṅkhya and the Vedānta systems. The prakṛti of Sāṅkhya is material and insentient in nature. The māyā of Vedānta, especially of the Advaita Vedānta, is an ‘entity’ that defies all descriptions. How¬ever, the Śakti of the tantras is a very real power of Śiva, nay, Śiva himself in his dynamic aspect. All other qualities that are predicated for prakṛti-māyā like its being triguṇātmikā (comprising the three guṇas—sattva, rajas and tamas) and the upādānakāraṇa (material cause) of the world, hold good for the Śakti of the tantras also. The ultimate Reality is one and only one. It is Śiva or Śakti or Śiva-Śakti and is (‘saxhvit’) of the nature of pure con¬sciousness. The relationship between Śiva and Śakti is like that of fire and its burning power or the word and its meaning. They are two in one or one in two, always inseparable. In the inactive state it is Śiva and in the active state it is Śakti. The former is also called Nirguṇa- parameśvara (the Lord without attributes) wherein the Śakti is inherent and dormant. When this Śakti starts awaken¬ing, Parameśvara becomes ‘Saguṇa.’ The first evolute of the process of creation is Śakti. From Śakti proceeds para-nāda (the unmanifest sound or vibration which gives rise to para-bindu, the higher bindu or point). From it proceed the apara-bindu (lower bindu or point, identified with the Śiva-principle), the bija (identified with the Śakti-principle) and the apara-nāda (the lower sound or vibration) considered as the union of the Śiva and the Śakti principles. From bīja or Śakti (also called Śabda- brahma, Parāśakti or Paradevatā) proceed the 23 tattvas or cosmic principles, viz., mahat, ahaṅkāra, the ten indriyas and the mind, the five subtle elements and the five gross elements like the earth, water etc. Together with Śakti, they are 24. From the apara-bindu, identified with Śiva, proceed the five deities viz., Sadāśiva, īśāna, Rudra, Viṣṇu and Brahmā. By adding seven more principles like puruṣa (the individual soul) and kāla (time), the total number of tattvas is raised to 36. In the human body, Śakti resides as the Kuṇḍalinī, the power resembling a coiled serpent at the mulādhāra-cakra, situated at the base of the spine. When roused through proper sādhanās or spiri¬tual exercises, it rises through five more cakras like the svādhiṣthāna and the anāhata, and, finally reaches the sahasrāra in the crown of the head, resembling a lotus of a thousand petals, there it merges with Siva, resulting in mokṣa or liberation for that individual self. The jīva or the individual soul is none other than Siva himself, with his freedom covered over or limited by avidyā or nescience, also called āṇava-mala, the impurity that makes him appear small. Through spiritual disciplines, the most important aspect of which is upāsanā or worship and meditation, on Śakti as Devi or Divine Mother, he is liberated, attaining unity with the Deity. 1. Sādhanās as Depicted in the Tantras As in the six systems of Indian philosophy, in the tantras also, mokṣa, or liberation from transmigratory existence, is the ultimate goal of life. The tantras have evolved an elaborate system of sādhanās or spiritual practices that cover all aspects of the human personality and life. Only a brief resume can be attempted here. GURU The tantras categorically assert the need for taking dīkṣā or initiation from a competent guru or teacher before starting one’s spiritual sādhanās. A competent guru must be a person of pure parentage and great self-control. He should know the true meaning and essence of the scriptures—the Vedas, the āgamas and related scriptures. He should be an adept in pṅjā (worship), homa (pouring oblations into a duly consecrated fire), dhyāna (meditation) and japa (repe¬tition of the divine name). A peaceful disposition and a thorough knowledge of yoga are also necessary. The tantras also warn against accept¬ing false gurus, who feign erudition and holiness, but are motivated by greed and baser instincts. ŚIṢYA The śiṣya or the disciple too must possess certain minimum characteristics which will entitle him to spiritual life. He must be guileless, must aspire after the puruṣārthas (goals of human existence) and be fairly well-read in the Vedas. He should be self-controlled and intelligent enough to understand the teach¬ings of the guru and the scriptures. He should be devoted to his parents, discharge his duties well and avoid all pride of birth or wealth or learning. He must be obedient to the guru and be prepared to sacrifice everything for his sake. The tantras declare that the guru must test a person before accepting him as a disciple and vice versa. IṢTADEVATĀ Though God the Supreme is one without a second, he can and does manifest himself through various forms and ema¬nations, all of which are non-different from him, even as sugar-dolls are all sugar only. The particular form a sādhaka or a votary chooses is his ‘iṣṭadevatā,’ ‘the deity dear to him’. He chooses that form for purposes of meditation and worship. The tantras advocate meditation on and worship of these forms of God since it is much easier for an average human being, than contemplating on the Absolute without name and form. Each of these devatās has a mantra or even several mantras or word-symbols, which have to be ceremonially received in dīkṣā or initiation from a qualified guru. DĪKṢĀ Dīkṣā or initiation into spiritual life is so called because it destroys iksi = to destroy) the sins of the disciple and gives (dā = to give) knowledge to him. It should be given on a day and time considered to be holy as per the Hindu calendars. Days of eclipses—especially of the moon—are deemed to be extremely holy. Several varieties of dīkṣā are enumerated in the tāntric works. One of the more well-known categorisations is as follows: kriyāvatī, varṇamayī, kalāvatī and vedhamayī. The kriyāvatī dīkṣā involves the performance of many rituals by the guru. In varṇamayī dīkṣā, the guru infuses the spirit of the varṇas or letters of the alphabet which are associated with Sakti or Devī, in the different parts of the disciple’s body. In the kalāvatī dīkṣā the guru locates the existence of kalās or powers of the pañcabhutas like nivṛttikalā or vidyākalā, in the body of the disciple, meditates on them and anoints him. In the vedhamayi dikṣā, the guru initiates the disciple only by the power of his thought. Sometimes three more varieties are added: sparśadīksā (rousing the spiritual consciousness by sparśa or touch), vāgdīkṣā (same by uttering the mantra into the ear of the disciple) and dṛgdīkṣā or cākṣuṣī dīkṣā (arousal of spiritual consciousness by looking intently at the disciple). Dīkṣā, in a more technical sense, involves a number of rituals like the worship of the Vāstupuruṣa (Cosmic Being) and bali or sacrifice as also abhiṣeka done by sprinkling holy water on the disciple. Its simplest form is ‘upadeśa,’ giving the mantra as also certain rules and guidance. MANTRA The central part of dīkṣā or upadeśa is the imparting of the mantra or the divine word by the guru to the disciple. Etymologically, the word means that which protects (tra - to protect) the person who reflects (man = to reflect) upon it. ‘Protection’ in the spiritual sense means protecting from samsāra or transmigratory existence by giving mokṣa or liberation. The mantras may have their source in the Vedas or the purāṇas or the tantras. Since the last group of works deals primarily with the mantras, it is called as ‘mantraśāstra’ or ‘mantravidyā’. A mantra, according to the tantras, is not just a letter of the alphabet or a combination of such letters into a word or a sentence signifying a particular object. It is the sound symbol embodying the form, the power and the consciousness of the supreme Brahman or its manifestations. Before creation, Brahman or Śiva is established in his own effulgence—hence called ‘prakāśa’—and inactive. When he starts ‘vimarśa’ or deliberating in himself to create the world, there is a spanda or a throb, which develops into nāda or vibration. This nāda gradually gains in power and then gets concentrated to a bindu or a point. This bindu which contains the Siva-Sakti principle like a dicotyledonous seed further evolves into Śiva and Śakti principles by the union of which the whole universe comes into being. As per this description of creation given in some tantras, all created objects (called ‘artha’) with ‘rupa,’ shape or form, and ‘nāma’ or name have originated from the primeval nāda, which can now be called ‘Śabda-brahman.’ Hence, it is quite reasonable to assume that every mantra is an aspect of this primeval Word or Śabda-brahman and represents as its artha, a god or a goddess, which again, is a manifestation or emanation of that Brahman. In other words, the mantra contains in itself the form and the spirit of the deity, whose mantra it is. This deity is revealed by the proper repetition of the mantra, in course of time. The tantras categorise the mantras as saura (solar) and saumya (lunar). They may be masculine, feminine or neuter. The masculine and the neuter mantras are called ‘mantra’ whereas the feminine mantras are called ‘vidyā’. Mantras ending with hum, vaṣaṭ or phaṭ are masculine, those ending with svāhā or vauṣaṭ are feminine and those ending with namabi are neuter. The tantras christen certain monosyllabic mantras like hrim or klīm as bījamantras or bījākṣaras. Even as a seed evolves in course of time into a mighty tree giving plenty of fruits, a bījamantra also can give—if properly repeated—the siddhi attributed to it, like the revelation of the deity of that mantra. A mantra, to be effective, should always be received from a qualified guru in a proper way. The tantras describe various processes that help in rousing the power of a mantra and make it effective. A few of such processes are: mukha- śodhana (purification of mouth), jihvā- śodhana (purification of the tongue), aśaucabhaṅga (destroying the impurity of the mantra), nidrābhaṅga (awakening the mantra from slumber) and so on. They also recommend ten saṅiskāras or ritual purificatory processes like dīpanī, which consist in repeating the bija-mantra seven times, preceded and followed by praṇava (oih). All these have to be learnt directly from a competent teacher and should not be experimented with, by learning them from books. A theory advocated by the tantras regarding the evolution of śabda or sound, and its corollary, vāk or speech, from the subtle unmanifest state to the fully mani¬fested state is worth mentioning here. When a person speaks, four stages of evolution of speech are involved in it. The speech is first rooted in the mulādhāra- cakra as the unmanifest sound. It is then called ‘parāvāk’. When it starts getting awakened and reaches the maṇipuracakra at the navel, it has just started showing subtle vibrations. It is now called ‘paśyanti-vāk’. On its further rising to the anāhata- cakra in the region of the heart, these vibrations have already assumed definite and clear thought-forms. It is then called ‘madhyamā-vāk’. It now comes out as fully articulated speech, the spoken word, called ‘vaikhari-vāk’. JAPA A mantra becomes effective only when its japa is done. That is, it should be repeated a prescribed number of times as per the directions of the guru. Japa is of three types. It is ‘vācika’ or ‘ucca’ when done audibly. It is ‘upāihśu’ if done in whispering tones. If it is done mentally, it is ‘mānasa’. The last is considered as the most efficacious. During japa, the counting of the number can be done either by hand or by a japamālā (rosary). The number recom¬mended can vary. For instance, it can be 10 or 12, 28 or 32 or 108, the last number being the most widely recognised. A human being is supposed to breathe 21,600 times in a day of 24 hours. Leaving aside half this time for sleep, looking after the needs of the body and contingencies, the breathing during the waking and active state is 10,800 times. Actually the number 108 symbolically represents this 10,800. In other words, a votary is expected to utter the mantra with every breath and the number 108 is a reminder of that ideal. PURAŚCARANA The tantras deal with puraścaraṇa, an important topic closely related to the japa of a mantra. The word literally means ‘performing or carrying (caraṇa) before (puras).’ Various interpretations have, however, been offered. Perfecting of the procedure of the mulamantra (the basic mantra of a deity) since it has to be practised before the acts in which it is to be employed is called as ‘puraścaraṇa’ by some works. According to others, the sādhana puraścaraṇa is so called because the deity of the aspirant, pleased by his devoted practice, moves (caraṇa) before (puras) him. Puraścaraṇa has several constituent elements: dhyāna (meditation on the form of the deity), pṅjā (ritualistic worship), japa of the mantra, homa (oblations into the duly consecrated fire), tarpaṇa (satiating the deity with the ceremonial offering of water) and brāhmaṇa-bhojana (feeding brāhmaṇas of good conduct). If any of these constituent elements cannot be performed, it can be replaced by more japa of the mantra as specified in the tāntric works. According to another method, repeat¬ing the mantra one thousand times per day for eight days, starting it on a Tuesday and ending it on the subsequent Tuesday is also puraścaraṇa. Some works recommend the repeti¬tion of the mantra 24 lakhs of times, followed by an offering of 24 thousand oblations of pāyasa or pudding into the duly consecrated fire. By this type of puraścaraṇa, the mantra becomes per-fected and confers on the sādhaka what¬ever he desires. The puraścaraṇa of a mantra on the days of solar or lunar eclipse, while standing in navel-deep water, is stated to be extremely efficacious. Certain spots like a place of pilgrim¬age, the bank of a river, a cave or a mountain-top, seashore or the precincts of a temple are recommended as more suit¬able for the practice of puraścaraṇa. All tāntric works emphasize that unless the mantra has been received from a qualified guru in dīkṣā and the sādhanā is done under his guidance, neither puraścaraṇa nor even japa becomes effective. PUJĀ Pṅjā or ritualistic worship of the deity is a very important part of tantra-sādhanā. It forms a part of puraścaraṇa also. When a respected or a beloved guest arrives in a house, the master of the house receives him warmly and offers him all that makes him comfortable and happy. This is the spirit behind pujā where the guest is God himself. In any pṅjā, the preliminary processes include saṅkalpa or religious resolve and ceremonial purification of all the items involved in it as the āsana or seat, the vessels and the flowers. Bhṅtāpasaraṇa or driving away all the evil spirits that may obstruct the pṅjā is another important item. Prāṇāyāma or regulation of the mind through the control of breath, bhṅtaśuddhi or purifying the elements that compose the body of the worshipper, nyāsas or placement of the fingers of the hand on the different parts of the body with a view to purifying them, dhyāna or meditation are the other important steps. However, the cardinal part of pṅjā is the ‘upacāras’ or ways of ritual service. In the shortest mode of pṅjā they are five only: gandha (sandal paste), puṣpa (flow¬ers), dhṅpa (incense), dīpa (lighted lamp) and naivedya (food). In more detailed forms they are raised to ten or sixteen or even eighteen. Some of them are: āvāhana (inviting the deity), pādya and arghya (water for washing feet and hands), snāna (bath), vastra (cloth), yajñopavita (sacred thread), namaskāra (obeisance) and visarjana or udvāsana (bidding adieu to the deity). HOMA Homa or oblations of prescribed things like ghee into a duly consecrated fire, can be done either independently or as a part of pṅjā or even puraścaraṇa. Generally, a yantra or a geometrical drawing representing the deity is drawn as directed, the sacrificial fuel sticks arranged over it and the fire is ceremo¬nially lit. After some preliminary processes of purification, the deity, to appease whom the homa is being done, is invoked into it and the various upacāras are offered. After the saṅkalpa or resolve, in which the purpose and the manner of offering the oblations are stated, the oblations are poured into it with the appropriate mantra. The actual number of oblations can be 8 or 28 or 32 or 108 or even 1008, as stated in the saṅkalpa. The materials considered fit for offering are: ghee, barley, cooked rice, flower, bilva (Aegle marmelos) leaves and a few other prescribed things. YANTRA The word ‘yantra’ in its most general sense means an instrument by which anything is accomplished. In worship, it is a diagram drawn or engraved or painted on prescribed materials like metal, stone or paper or even a leaf, that helps one to subdue (yantra = niyantraṇa = subduing) his passions like lust and anger and gain greater concentration. While a maṇḍala, a geometrical figure drawn with coloured powders, can be used for the worship of any deity, a yantra also called ‘cakra’, is specific only to a particular deity. Every deity of the Hindu pantheon has its own yantra. If the deity is the soul, the yantra is its body. Apart from the geometrical drawing or pattern that is appropriate to the deity, a yantra also contains its mantra, inscribed at the proper place. The presence of the deity is invoked into the yantra by worship, the procedure of which is very similar to that of a pratimā or image. A yantra wherein the deity has been roused by duly worshipping it, can then be used for any purpose—especially for the fulfil¬ment of one’s desires—sanctioned by the tāntric works. NYĀSAS AND MUDRĀS Transformation of thought is trans¬formation of being. If the various parts of the sādhaka’s body are touched by his fingers and palms with the appropriate mantras, that will induce the presence of the deity in him, thereby transforming him and making him fit for the ritual or the particular process of sādhanā. This is the general principle behind the nyāsas and mudrās. The word ‘nyāsa’ comes from the root ‘nyas’ (‘to place’). It is generally done by placing the tips of the fingers and the palm of the right hand on the various parts of the body accompanied by parti-cular mantras. There are several nyāsas out of which a few—the more common ones—can now be described. Jīvanyāsa is that by which the sādhaka establishes the iṣṭadevatā in the region of the heart and thus becomes one with it. Vyāpakanyāsa, performed by passing the hands all over the body from top to bottom, helps him to feel the presence of the deity as pervading the whole body. In mātṛkānyāsa, which is done with the letters of the alphabet, the various letters are placed mentally in the cakras or psychic centres of the body (antarmātṛkā- nyāsa) and also in other limbs outside (bahirmātṛkānyāsa) thereby feeling the competence to know Sabdabrahman in himself. In pīṭhanyāsa, the internal seat (pīṭha = seat) in the region of the heart, is made fit for the residence of the deity. Sometimes, the word is interpreted as establishing the various Śakti-pīṭhas (places of pilgrimage sacred to the Devī or Śakti, such as Kāmarupa [in Assam] or Jālandhara [in Haryana]) inside one’s own body in a subtle way. In ṛṣyādinyāsa, the ṛṣi or the sage, the chandas or the Vedic metre and the devatā or the deity are remembered and homage is paid to them. In karanyāsa and aṅganyāsa, the fingers of the two hands (kara = hand) and the limbs of the body (aṅga = limb) like the heart and the head, are sanctified to make them fit for worship and medi-tation. Like nyāsas, mudrās also find an important place in the tāntric rituals. The word mudrā is interpreted as that which pleases the deity and makes its heart melt out of compassion for the votary, and hence grant his desires (mud = pleasure, drav = to melt, rā = to give). In a technical sense the term ‘mudrā’ has several meanings: 1) pose of hand as in dance or in pṅjā; 2) posture of the body as in Hathayoga; 3) as one of the five makāras, it means various kinds of grains mixed with ghee. 4) a woman companion of the tāntric sādhaka. However, it is used widely in the sense of poses of fingers or of hand or hands in relation to worship and meditation. Some of the more common mudrās are: 1) Āvāhanamudrā used to invite and welcome the deity in pṅjā. 2) Kṅrmamudrā used in meditation on the deity. 3) Avaguṇṭhanamudrā and matsya- mudrā used in offering food in pṅjā to the deity. So also the grāsamudrā and prāṇādi-pañca-mudrās. Dhenumudrā, goyonimudrā and nārācamudrā are some of the other, more commonly used, mudrās. The number of mudrās as given in the tāntric works and even purāṇas, differs considerably. The number varies from 9 up to 108. KUNṇALINĪ AND CAKRAS Brahman and Śakti are like the two sides of the same coin. The external world is the creation of Śakti associated with Brahman. Inside the bodies of human beings Śakti takes the form of Kuṇḍalinī, Kuṇḍalinī is the basic energy of the entire human being. It is generally pic¬tured as a coiled serpent (kuṇdali = serpent) lying asleep at the base of the spinal column, called as ‘ādhāracakra’ or ‘mṅlādhāracakra’. When it is roused by proper sādhanās under the guidance of a competent guru, it passes through the brahma-nāḍī of the suṣumnā canal, pierces through the various cakras, ultimately reaching the sahasrāra, where it gets united with Śiva. According to the works on tantra, there are three nādīs (canal-like structures for the flow of prāṇic energy) in the region of the spinal column. In its centre passes the suṣumnā and to its right, the piṅgalā. The iḍā is on the left. Idā and piṅgalā are intertwined over the spinal column. Inside the suṣumnā is the vajriṇī nāḍī. Inside it is citriṇī and brahmanādī is the inmost. While in the dormant state, the Kuṇḍalinī lies at the bottom of the mṅlādhāra closing the brahmanādī with its mouth. The cakras are so called since they are circular in shape (cakra = wheel or disc). They are actually psychic centres of consciousness and power, situated in the sṅkṣmaśarīra or the subtle body, corres¬ponding to certain parts of the physical body. The ādhāracakra or the mṅlādhāra is situated at the base of the spine behind the anus. The svādhiṣṭhāna is at the root of the sex-organ. The maṇipṅra is at the navel. The anāhata is at the region of the heart. The viśuddha is at the throat. The ājñā is between the eyebrows. The sahasrāra is in the top of the head. These cakras are likened to lotuses, each with a certain number of petals, colour and certain mātṛkās (letters of the alphabet as mantras) inscribed on them. The petals are the nādis or subtle nerve channels, which surround and function through each of these centres. The table gives the details of cakras at a glance. These six cakras together are collectively called ‘ṣaṭcakras’ and the piercing act of the Kuṇḍalini is designated as ‘ṣaṭcakrabheda’. The sahasrāra of thousand petals situated at the top of the head is the seventh cakra and is the destination of Kuṇḍalinī. TABLE OF CAKRAS Name Location No. of Petals Colour Matrkas Elements Bijaksara Mulādhāra perineum 4 blood-red va, śa, ṣa, sa pṛthī or earth lam Svādhiṣtāna base of genital organ 6 vermillion ba, bha, ma, ya, ra, la ap or water vam Maṇipura navel 10 blue ḍa, ḍha, ṇa, ta, tha, da, dha, na, pa, pha tejas or fire ram Anāhata heart 12 red ka, kha, ga, gha, ña, ca, cha, ja, jha, ña, ta, tha vāyu or air yam Viśuddha throat 16 smoke-grey all the 16 owels ākāśa or ether ham Ājñā middle of eyebrows 2 white ha, kṣa beyond the elements —mahat om C27* When the Kuṇḍalinī is roused, the mulādhāra lotus rises up, and opens its petals. After the Kunḍalinī leaves it, it assumes its original position as a bud hanging downwards. This procedure applies to all the other cakras also. After reaching the sahasrāra, the Kunḍalinī comes back to its original place. Repeated practice of the Kuṇḍalinīyoga will result in the flooding of all the cakras with amṛta or nectar of bliss, ultimately resulting in mukti or liberation. 1. Some Allied and Relevant Topics The tāntric literature encompasses a very vast area of subjects. Differences exist not only on the relative importance of the subjects but also on the subjects themselves. An attempt will now be made to present briefly at least some of the more commonly accepted concepts. These works present seven types of ācāra or modes of sādhanā as follows: Vedācāra, Vaiṣṇavācāra, Saivācāra, Dakṣiṇācāra, Vāmācāra, Siddhāntācāra and Kaulācara. However, these seven are more commonly grouped into two, the Dakṣiṇācāra and the Vāmācāra. The words may mean the ‘right-hand path’ and the ‘left-hand path;’ or, the ‘favourable path’ and the ‘path involving vāmā or woman.’ Worship of the deity Dakṣiṇakālikā, following the Vedic modes of worship and sādhanā, as also belief in the varṇāśrama system, characterise the Dakṣiṇācāra. Vāmācāra needs some explanation and elaboration. It is called as ‘Cīnācāra’ also, since the sage Vasiṣṭha is said to have introduced it after learning it from the Buddha in Cīnadeśa (Tibet or China), where it was prevalent. Another name commonly attributed to it is ‘Kaulācāra’ or ‘Kaulamārga’. ‘Kula’ means ‘Śakti’ and the name itself is derived from the fact that the worship of Śakti is predominant in this system of sādhanā. However, other interpretations are also offered for the word kula and Kulācāra. The pañcatattvas or pañcamakāras viz., madya (wine), mārhsa (flesh), matsya (fish), mudrā (parched grain) and maithuna (coition) are the most essential parts of this sādhanā system. They are meant for the sādhakas of the vīra-type (heroic type), that too under the strict supervision of a competent guru. The vīra-sādhaka is one who has risen to much higher levels of spiritual evolution and hence has great self-control. However, gross abuse of these five tattvas by the lowest of the sādhakas, of the paśu-type (with unsublimated animal passions) has earned a bad name for the whole system, aver some of the tantras. This has led to some of them inventing harmless substitutes like coconut water for madya, garlic for māiṅsa or brinjal for matsya and so on; or even give highly symbolic interpretations (for e.g., madya = intoxicating knowledge of God; maithuna = union of the Kuṇḍalinī with Śiva and so on) to the same. Later writers have strongly condemned these abuses and tried to restore the purity of the system. A tāntric sādhaka has to rise from the level of the paśu to that of the vīra and then to the divya (divine) state. If a vīra-sādhaka has cultivated the divine virtues by great effort, they are most naturally and effortlessly revealed in the divya-sādhaka. One who is an adept in the Kaulācāra and has reached the summit of realization is called a ‘paramahafhsa’ and he has transcended all the rules of conduct normally prescribed for the lower sādhakas since he is able to see the divine Śakti in all. Another ācāra that is often mentioned in the tāntric works is the Samayācāra, which is distinguished from the Dakṣiṇā- cāra, the Vāmācāra and Kaulācāra. In this tradition, the Devī is called ‘Samayā’ and she personifies the very import of the Vedic tradition. Hence Samayācāra is the conduct in accord with the Vedic tradition and for all practical purposes, can be identified with the Vedācāra listed among the seven ācāras. In this school, Śiva and Śakti are equally important. Stress is laid on the antaryāga or internal worship and the rousing of the Kuṇḍalinī through successive stages of upāsanā or meditation. Worship of the Śrīcakra or Śrīyantra is an important aspect of this school. The Śrīcakra is a yantra formed by five inverted triangles and four straight triangles as also diagrams of several petals of lotus, with a dot in the centre and some lines at the extremities. It represents the Devi and the gradual evolution of creation from her, associated with Śiva. When the Śrīcakra is built up in a three-dimensional form, it is called ‘meru.’ Worship of the meru is considered even better than that of the yantra. The Samayācāra is sometimes called the ‘Kādimata’ also. This takes us to another topic connected with the Śrīcakra. The worship of the Śrīcakra is invariably associated with Śrīvidyā, initiation into which is a must for any sādhaka of the Samayācāra. ‘Vidyā’ means ‘mantra’. ‘Śrīvidyā’ means the mantra associated with the Śrīcakra. It is also called ‘pañcadaśākṣarīmantra’ since it contains pañcadaśa or 15 letters. In the most common form, they are distributed into three units of 5 letters, 6 letters and 4 letters. In this, the very first letter of the first unit is ‘ka.’ Hence the Samayācāra which lays great emphasis on the repeti¬tion and use of this mantra, is called ‘Kādi-mata’, the school advocating the mantra beginning (= ādi) with ka. The sage Agastya is said to be the promulgator of this school. As against this, there is the ‘Hādi- mata,’ the school attributed to Lopāmudrā (wife of the sage Agastya) which stresses the importance of another pañcadaśākṣarī mantra that begins with the letter ‘ha.’ The difference between the two ver¬sions of the pañcadaśākṣarī is in the number of effective letters used. Whereas the former has seven letters, the latter has only five. A ṣoḍaśākṣarī-mantra is also in vogue where the sixteenth letter (ṣoḍaśa = 16) is ‘śrīih,’ the other 15 letters being the same. The Samaya tradition uses two more words—antaryāga and bahiryāga. The latter consists of worshipping the Śrīcakra in the traditional Vedic way, with all the upacāras or ingredients. The former is meditation on the unity of the goddess and the Śrīcakra, the world and the Śrīcakra, the body and the jivātman as also the alphabet and the goddess. One of the strangest, but abominable, tāntric practices mentioned in some of the works is the śavasādhanā or the ritual of the corpse. The corpse of a healthy person who has just died is secured, washed and anointed. The sādhaka has to sit upon it and meditate on the Devī at midnight, on a new-moon day. If he survives the terrible experiences, he will attain siddhi or command over every aspect of life. Some scholars believe that this śavasādhanā was a typical and clumsy remnant of a primitive belief or ritual connected with death and revival. 1. Śaktipithas There are several places of pilgrimage associated with Śakti or the Mother- goddess. They are called ‘Śaktipithas,’ seats of power (pīṭha = seat), associated with Śakti. A ritual visit to these places is said to confer great religious merit. The number of such pīṭhas seems to have grown gradually from 4 to 51 or even 108. However the number seems to have got fixed at 51 in course of time. There is an interesting paurāṇic legend behind the formation of these Śaktipīṭhas. When Satī-Dākṣāyaṇī immo¬lated herself in the sacrificial shed of Dakṣa (her father)—since he had humili¬ated her and her husband Śiva—Śiva carried away her body. Being inconsolable he started roaming about the world, with the dead body on his back. Then Viṣṇu, at the behest of the gods, started cutting that body by his cakra or discus so that Siva might overcome his infatuation. Wherever pieces of that body fell, that place became a place of pilgrimage associated with Śakti, a Śaktipīṭha. Each of these 51 Śaktipīṭhas is associated with a letter of the alphabet, a part of Satī’s body, an aspect of the Devī, a corresponding aspect of Śiva, identified with a modern place in the present-day India-Pakistan-Bangladesh region and a special tāntric attainment that can be got by sādhanā there. For instance, the Kāśmīra-pīṭha (in the Amarnāth Cave) is associated with the letter ‘u’. It is the place where Devi’s left ear (or neck) fell. Mahāmāyā is the goddess and Trisandhyeśvara is the god. Fulfilment of whatever mantra is repeated here, is the attainment. Some of the other famous Śaktipīthas are: Hiṅgula in Baluchistan (now in Pakistan); Karavīra in Kolhapur (Maha¬rashtra); Vārāṇasī (in Uttar Pradesh); Jvālāmukhī (in Punjab); Kāmākhyā (in Assam); Janasthāna (in Nasik, Maharashtra); Prabhāsa (Girnar hills in Gujarat); Jālandhara (in Haryana); Kanya- kāśrama (in Kanyākumarī temple, Tamil Nadu); Ujjayinī (in Rudrasāgar, Madhya Pradesh); Kāñcī (in Śivakāñcī, Tamil Nadu), Trisrotā (in West Bengal) and Kālīpīṭha (Kālīghāt temple of Calcutta). 1. Conclusion The tantras are a neglected, or even misunderstood, branch of Hindu scrip¬tures. Whether they originated as an offshoot of the Vedic religion, or were a parallel tradition developed by those opposed to the brāhminical hierarchy, or were ‘imported’ from China and Tibet, they have, without doubt, enriched Hindu religion in all its aspects, especially in the field of rituals and spiritual practices. Hence serious attempts should be made to properly edit and publish many of these works which are still lying in the manu¬script form in the libraries of institutions and individuals. Tantravārttika The Purvamīmāmsāsutras of Jaimini (200 B. C.) has 2700 sutras spread over 12 chapters containing 60 subsections. The earliest and the most authoritative commentary on it is by Śabarasvāmin (100 B. C.) and is called Śābarabhāsya. Kumārilabhaṭṭa (8th century A. D.) wrote three works in verses on this Śābarabhāsya, out of which the Tantra¬vārttika is the second. It covers the portion 1.2 to the end of chapter 3. It is quite voluminous. See also KUMĀRILA BHATTA and MĪMĀMSĀDARŚANA.