1. Ahirbudhnya Samhita Adyar Part 3

INTRODUCTION TO THE

PANCARĀTRA

AND THE

AHIRBUDHNYA SAMHITĀ UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

BY 3 1761 01740982 2 F. OTTO SCHRADER

BL 1135 P35S37 1 9.16

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INTRODUCTION

TO THE PAÑCARĀTRĀ

AND THE

AHIRBUDHNYA SAMHITĀ

INTRODUCTION

TO THE

PANCARATRA,

AND THE

AHIRBUDHNYA SAMHITĀ

BY

F. OTTO SCHRADER, PH.D.

DIRECTOR, ADYAR LIBRARY

ADYAR LIBRARY, ADYAR, MADRAS, S.

1916

BL 1135 P35537 1916

LIBRARY DEC 7 1965 ERS ITY OF TORONTO

1028253

PREFATORY NOTE

THE book, small in size but rich in contents, which is herewith placed before the public, has been written by a prisoner of war during his captivity at Ahmednagar, though some of the materials on which it is based had, fortunately, been collected by him before the War broke out. Only three of the Samhita MSS. of the Adyar Library, namely those of nos. 8, 70 and 195 of the synopsis on pp. 6 fll., which were acquired recently, have remained entirely unknown to Dr. Schrader. The burden of seeing the work through the press has fallen on the undersigned who, though having done all in his power to acquit himself hon- ourably of his task, is fully aware of its difficulties and of the inadequacy of his knowledge of Sanskrit to cope with these with complete success. It was impossible under such circumstances to produce an absolutely faultless work; still, a glance at the list of Additions and Corrections will show that the purely typographical errors found by the Author in the printed sheets are of a trifling nature. Two omissions in the MS., however, have caused a few words of importance to fall out which must be restored at once. These omissions are given in the Errata for p. 16, 1. 12 from bottom, p. 32 1. 6 from bottom, and p. 42 1. 10. The reader should also correct immediately the erratum for p. 24. The Author has undoubtedly doubled the value of his monograph by adding to it copious Indexes and a detail- ed synopsis of the contents. Together they render the B

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whole of the subject-matter of the book in all its categories instantaneously available for reference. Thus the work may preliminarily serve as a concise but encyclo- pædic reference book on the Pañcarātra, until it shall be superseded by subsequent more exhaustive publications. The Numeral Index contains some items not found elsewhere in the book. A personal word in conclusion. The publication of this little work coincides with the severance of the connection with the Adyar Library-though for wholly different reasons-of both Dr. Schrader and myself. I may be permitted to express here my great satisfaction at having had the privilege of watching over the booklet on its way through the press, a last service rendered to the Adyar Library in close and pleasant co-operation with Dr. Schrader, which puts a term to a period of over seven years' daily collaboration with the same aims, in the same spirit and in complete harmony, for the same object. May Dr. Schrader's last official work performed for the Library enhance the renown of that Institution, and may it be judged to constitute a fit conclusion to his eleven years' tenure of office as Director of the Adyar Library. The publication of this book also, as that of the two volumes of the text edition of Ahirbudhnya Samhita, has been greatly facilitated by the courtesy of the military censors at Ahmednagar, to whom our sincere thanks are due.

ADYAR, JOHAN VAN MANEN, August 1916. Assistant Director, Adyar Library.

LIST OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTORY REMARK 1 I. THE LITERATURE OF THE PĀÑCARĀTRAS .2-26 622336 Inspired and non-inspired literature . 2

The name Samhita and its synonyms . 2 Knowledge of the Pañcaratra in the West, etc . 3

Lists of Samhitās. 3

Synopsis of five lists . 6

Samhitās not mentioned in the lists 11

Samhitās present in Libraries 12

Editions of Samhitas. 13

Extent of Samhita literature. 14

Chronology. 14

Provenience and diffusion 16 Terminus ad quem of original Samhitās 19

Three classes of Samhitās . 19 Chronological table of chief Samhitãs 20

Later additions in the lists. 21 Division into Pādas, Rātras, and Kāņdas 22

The name Pancaratra. 24

Ten principal subjects. 26

II. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE PĀÑCARĀTRAS 27-93 1. NIGHTS AND DAYS OF NĀRĀYANA 27-29 2. HIGHER OR "PURE " CREATION 29-59 Lakşmī and Vișņu 30 Kriyā Sakti and Bhūti Sakti 30 vThe six Attributes (Gunas) of God 31 Two sets, totality, three pairs of Attributes 34 Process of emanation . 34 The term ryuha; names of the Vyūhas. 35 The Saktis of the Vyuhas 36 Two activities of each Vyūha 36

Their creative activities. 37

viii

Their ethical activities 38 In what sense they represent the soul, the mind, and the Ahamkāra . 39 Twelve Sub-Vyuhas descending from them. 41 Another set of twelve 42 Thirty-nine Vibhavas (Avatāras) 42 Primary and secondary Avatāras 47 Origin of the Avatāras from the Vyūhas 48 Plants and inanimate objects as Avatāras . 48 Arcā Avatāra, Antaryāmi Avatāra 49 Highest Heaven (Vaikuntha) 49 Withdrawn, or not, in the great Dissolution 50 Heavenly ("Pure ") matter 51 The para form of God 51 Its ornaments and weapons 52 The Para and the Vyūha Vāsudeva 53

Saktis (wives) of Vişņu 53 The angels (Nityas or Sūris) 56 The liberated 57 3. INTERMEDIATE CREATION . 59-68 The Group-soul or Kūtastha Purușa 60 The eight Manus 61 The Māyā Sakti 62 Beginning of evolution; "descent" of the Manus 63 Sheath of Māyā; Niyati 64 Kāla (Time) 65 Gross, Subtle, and Highest Time 66 The Guna Body, and the Avyakta 67 4. LOWER PRIMARY CREATION 68 -- 79 Matter, Time, and Soul 68 Origin of Mahat ; its synonyms . 69 Mahat threefold and eightfold 70 Sojourn of the Manus in Mahat 71 What is Mahat ? 72

The threefold Ahamkāra. 75 The individual Ahamkara, and the Manas . . 76

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The ten elements, and the ten senses . 76 . Mānavas, Mānavamānavas, Fall of Man 78 5. SECONDARY OR "GROSS" CREATION . 79-86 Origin of the Egg (Brahmānda) . 79 Intramundane Vyūhas 81 Plurality of Brahmāņdas 81 The Pure Group and the Mixed Group 82 . Eight hundred Vişnus 85 . 6. NATURE AND DESTINY OF THE SOUL. 86-93 The souls during the Great Night 86 Liberation and Great Dissolution 87 The "obscuration" of the soul, and the divine grace 88 "Atomicity" of the bound, ubiquitas of the liberated soul . 90 "Identity " with the Lord, how understood 91

III. THE AHIRBUDHNYA SAMHITÂ 94-146 1. THE MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL 94-95 2. NAME OF THE SAMHITĀ 95-96 3. PROVENIENCE AND AGE 96-99 4. CONTENTS OF THE SAHITĀ 99-146 General description 99 The great problem (the Sudars'ana) 100 Explanation of the name Sudars'ana 101 The Sudars'ana as the Kriya Sakti 102 Involution and evolution 103 Variety of views about creation . 104 The Sudars'ana as the " support " (adhāra) 105 The Sudars'ana as the "measure " (pramāņa) 107 Rationale of the Avatāras 108 The original S'astra 108 The five Siddhantas 109 Fallacious systems 112 The objects of life 113 Bondage and Liberation 114 What system to follow 116

x

Castes and periods-of-life 117 Interdependence of the two higher castes . 118

Origin of the sounds . 118

The three occult alphabets . 120 . The Sakti Mantra and great Sudars'ana Mantra. 121

Initiation 121

Rakșās and Yantras 122 . Worship; Yoga. 123 .

Origin of the Astras 125 . Astra Mantras ; description of the Astras 126 Story of Madhu and Kaitabha 127 Description and worship of the Sudars'ana Yantra 127 Worship of the sixteen-armed Sudars'ana 128

Nyāsa=Bhakti 128

Origin and cure of diseases. 129 . The Great Baptism 130

Origin, etc., of the Anga Mantras 130

How to resist divine weapons and black magic . 131

How to make the Sudars'ana Purusa appear 131 The four (five) forms of the Sudars'ana Purusa . 131 The ideal Purohita ; the Mahās'anti Karman 132 Story of Maņisekhara (effect of prayer, etc.) 132 Kāsīrāja (hostile magic neutralized) . 133

Srutakīrti 134 Kus'adhvaja (prarabdha annihilated) . 135

Muktāpīda (the magical seat) 135

Visala (the magical finger-ring) 136

Sunanda (the magical mirror) 136

Citrasekhara (the magical banner) 138

„ Kīrtimālin (the magical awning) . 138 Mantras explained from three standpoints. 141

The Tāra [ka] Mantra. 141

Explanation of the word namas 142 "Gross " and "subtle " sense, other designations of. 142 The Nārasiņhānușțubha Mantra. 143

The Puruşa Sūkta 143

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Origin of the theory of the Vyūhas 144 The Ahirbudhnya Samhita briefly characterized 145, 146 The Parisista 146 .

APPENDICES . 147-154

1. The Divine 24-fold Machinery of Existence 149

2. Four kinds of worship 150

3. Description of the four Vyūhas for the purpose of meditation 152

INDEXES . 155-172

1. Subject Index 157 2. Index of authors and works 164

2. Index of proper names 167

3. Index of Sanskrit terms 168

4. Numerical Index 170 6. Index of images (similes) 172

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS . 173-178

1. Additions and Corrections to the Introduction . 175 2. Supplementary list of errata found in the edition of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā 178

INTRODUCTION TO THE PĀÑCARĀTRA AND THE AHIRBUDHNYA SAMHITĀ

INTRODUCTORY REMARK

THE publication of the Ahirbudhnya Samhita, by the Adyar Library 1, has been undertaken with a view to starting investigations in a branch of Sanskrit literature which was once cultivated in countries as far distant from each other as Kasmir, Orissa and Mysore, but is now practically extinct except in a very few places of Southern India where considerable remnants of it are still being preserved and partly even studied. Some scanty information about it has, indeed, reached the West, and a few of the Samhitas of the Pañca- ratras have been published ; still, when asked about the latter, most orientalists will even now be likely to confess that they have so far seen only the " Nārada Pañcaratra ", "a Tantric work of little if any value " 2, while, as to the philosophy of the Pañcarātra, the theory of the Avatāras in its common Vaișņavite form and a very elementary conception of the doctrine of the Vyūhas (derived from the commentaries on Brahma Sūtra II, 2, 42) will be found to be all that is known. An attempt will be made in the following pages to provide the future student of this unexplored field with a provisional foundation.

Two volumes, Adyar Library, Adyar, Madras, S., 1916. 2 Au-dessous du mediocre, is the final judgment of the Rev. A. Roussel's Etude du Pancaratra, Mélanges de Harlez, p. 265.

I. THE LITERATURE OF THE PĀÑCARĀTRAS

The literature of the Pancaratras, like other sectarian literatures, falls into two broad divisions comprising respectively works of inspired or divine origin and such as are of human authorship. The latter class, entirely dependent on the former, consists chiefly of what are called vidhi and prayoga : digests, commentaries, extracts and studies on special subjects, and the like. The former class, with which alone we are here concerned, consists of the Samhitas or "compositions " (compendia), that is, metrical works dealing, in so many chapters (adhyāya, patala), with a number of topics, if not the whole, of the Pāñcarātra system. The name Samhitā, as is well known, is also applied to the Law-books (" Manu Samhitā ", etc.) and need not, therefore, indicate any intention to imitate or replace the Vedic Samhitās, which are compilations of a very different character. Instead of Samhitā the name Tantra is often used, evidently in exactly the same sense, and both these words, as also the word Kanda, are also applied to each of the main topics of a philosophical or religious system. For instance, in the twelfth chapter of Ahirbudhnya Samhita we read of the Bhagavat Samhitā, Karma Samhitā, Vidyā Samhitā, and seven other Samhitas, and equally of the Pati Tantra, Pasu Tantra, Pasa Tantra, etc., constituting respectively the Sāttvata and the Pāsupata systems. It is a strange misfortune that of all the works bearing the name of the Pañcarātra (Pañcaratra)1 exactly the one 1 Both the system and its followers are usually called Pūñcarā- tra, but for the system the name Pañcaratra and for its followers Pañcarātrin (Pāñcarātrika) are also used.

3

Samhitā called Jñānāmrtasāra or Nāradīya was destined to survive in Northern India in order to be published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal under the name of "Nārada Pacarātra". For it was taken for granted afterwards that this production, the late origin and apocryphal character of which has now been exposed by Sir R. G. Bhandarkar1, and which in the South of India has ever since been rejected as spurions, was a faithful re- flection of the real Pancaratra; and thus it happened that an altogether wrong impression of the latter obtain- ed until quite recently both in Europe and, with the exception of the small Vaișnavite circle mentioned above, even in India. It was also unknown, until recently, that other Samhitas are extant, and even Sir R. G. Bhandarkar, in his article on "The Pancarātra or Bhāgavata system" published in 19132, still speaks of only the Sāttvata Samhita being available (besides the spurious Narada P.), thus ignoring the paper on "the Pāńcarātras or Bhagavat-Sāstra", by A. Govindācārya Svamin, published in 1911 in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.3 To obtain a general view, however imperfect, of the material to be taken into account, is evidently the first thing required of anyone approaching an unknown literature. Now, in the case of the Pancarātra, tradition mentions one hundred and eight Samhitas, and in a few texts about this number are actually enumerated. Such lists, coquetting with the sacred number 108, are, of course, open to suspicion. The fact, however, that none of the 1 Encyclopedia of Indo-Aryan Research III, 6, p. 40-41. 2 Loc. cit., pp. 38-41. 3 Which also mentions, on p. 956, our edition of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā (then in the press).

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available lists of Samhitas, including those which pretend to give 108 names, actually conforms to this number but all of them enumerate either more names or less, is one thing telling in their favour; and when, as is the case, it can further be shown that a respectable number of the texts enumerated are still available, while not a few of the others are found to be quoted or summarised in the later literature, and that a number of Samhitas which are not included in any of the lists, are either extant or quoted - then the value of the latter can no longer be denied. We have, consequently, collated those lists, four in all, and with them a fifth list found in the Agni Purana, and as a result offer the following table in which all the names occurring in the lists have been arranged in alphabetical order. The figures added to the right of the names indicate the place each Samhitā occupies in the said lists : this, as will be seen, is of some importance for determining the mutual relation of the lists, etc. The following abbrevia- tions are used (in addition to K., P., V., H., A. referring to the lists themselves) : p. = published [and preserved in MS.]. l. = not published but preserved in MS. in a public library [and privately] v. = neither published nor in any public library, but known to be preserved privately, in some village, etc. +(Dagger before name) = quoted in some work of the post-Samhita literature. A.L. = Adyar Library. M.G.L. = Madras Government Oriental MSS. Library. P.R. = Vedāntadesika's Pāñcarātrarakșā, edition, Vyahārataranginī Press, Madras, 1883.

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Grantha type. Editor and publisher S'ankhapuram Rāghavācārya. P.U. = Pañcaratrotsavasamgraha, MS. of Adyar Library. Neither the number of daggers nor that of v.'s may be said to be exhaustive. The Kapiñjala list (first column) comprises 106 names, the list of Padma Tantra (second column) 1121, that of Vișņu Tantra (third column) 1412, that of Hayasirsa Samhita (fourth column) 34, and that found in the 39th adhyāya of Agni (Agneya) Purāņa only 25. A still shorter list, namely that of the apocryphal Nāradīya mentioned above, has not been taken into account; it comprises the following seven names : Brāhma, Saiva 3, Kaumāra, Vāsișțha, Kāpila, Gautamīya, and Nāradīya.

1 Govindācārya, loc. cit., p. 954, omits the four Samhitas named in the first half of s'loka 105 of the edition, perhaps because this line was not in his MS., which, however, may be a case of haplography caused by the identical ending (in Vamanahvayam) of this and the preceding line. For, as proved by our table, there were at least two Vamana Samhitās, and the second pāda of the omitted line, namely Jaiminam Vamanāhvayam, is found in nearly the same form (Vāmanam Jaiminīyakam) in an otherwise different sloka of the Kapiñjala list. Still, as it can be proved that the Pådma list is corrupt in at least one place (Kārsnyam for Kanvam, see remark in our table), it would not be surprising to find that the first or

Samhitā). second Vamanahvayam is a misreading for Vāsavāhvayam (=Vasu

2 We do not regard padmatantram mahatantram in sloka 26 as the names of two Samhitās but supply an iti between the two words; cf. the word mahatantram in the next three lines. 3 This may be the Siva, Sarva, or Ahirbudhnya of our synopsis.

Synopsis of the Samhita lists found in Kapinjala,

Pādma, Vișņu, and Hlayasīrșa Samhitās

and in the Agni Purāna.

NAME OF SAMHITĀ PLACE IN LISTS REMARKS

K. P. V. H. A.

1. 1. • Agastya, Āgastya 84 77 99 ... ... Three works of this name are extant : (1) Agastya-Sutīkşņa-sam- vāda (M.G.L., A.L.). (2) Agastya-Nārada-sam- vāda (M.G.L. 5192). (3) A work of 6 or more pațalas (M.G.L. 5191). 2. Angira, Āngirasa (I) 50 (ÌI) ... 90 Angira, P .; Angirīya, V. 3. do. ... 84 Āngirasa. 22 ::: 4. Acyuta ... ... 5. Adhokșaja 37 30 6. + Ananta, Ānanta (I) 67 86 Anantākhya (throughout). 1. 7. do. 48 51 Ānanta, K .; Anantamūrti, V. The "Sesa Samhita" preserved in A. L. seems too modern to be referred to in the Padma list. 1. 8. + Aniruddha 7 6 ... ... 9. Ambara ... 92 ... ... ... 10. Aștākșaravidhāna .. ... ... 25 24 A. list reads " Aştānga". p. 11. + Ahirbudhnya ... 98 Cf. Isana and Siva. ... ... 12. 93 72 Agniprokta Pancaratra P.R. : Āgneya ... (p. 14 1. 2); cf. Pāvaka, Vāhnika. Āngirasa, see Angira. 13. Ātreya 99 49 ... 19 19 Ānanta, see Ananta. 14. Ānanda 21 ... 15. Āruņa 47 22 21 Error for Ānanta ? 22 16. + Īsāna ... 78 ... Cf. Ahirbudhnya, Sarva, Siva. p. 17. + Is'vara 31 36 66 10 10 18. Uttaragārgya 100 82 115 Gārgya, K. 19 Udańka ... 136 ... . 1. 20. Upendra, Aupendra ... 28 ... M.G.L. 5209 must be a ... 45 ... later work than P. 45. 21. Umāmāhes'vara 104 ... ... .. 22. Aupagayana ... 75 ... 23. Aus'anasa 78 ... 52 ... 24. Kaņva, Kāņva ... 78 130 ... P. ed. reads Kārşnya, but ... see ibid. IV, 33. 197. p. 25. + Kapiñjala 123 .. ... 26. Kalirāghava .. 111 ... ... ..

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NAME OF SAMHITÃ PLACE IN LISTS REMARKS

K. P. V. H. A.

27. Kātyāyanīya ... 73 28. + Kāpila 59 67 113 17 16 29. Kāma ... ... 70 ... ... Kārşņya, see Krșņa. 30. Kāliki + Kāsyapa,-piya ... 138 81 85 .. ... 31. Cf. Kasyapottara, M.G.L ... ... 5215. 32. Kūrma ... 36 33 Krşņa, Kārşņya 28 91 ... 31 ... Cf. remark on Kāņva. 34. Kesʼava 13 8 ... 35. Kaubera 87 82 ... ... Kaumāra, see Skānda. 36 Kratu ... 91 ... 37. Krauñca 24 ... Khages'vara, see Tār- Khagapras'a quoted in kşya and Vihagendra. P. U. may be the same. 38 Ganes'a 57 Garuda, Gāruda 53 ... 69 ... 39. ... 59 ... Cf. Tārkşya, Vihagendra. 40. Garudadhvaja ... 25 ... ... 41 + Gārgya 85 114 Cf. Uttaragargya. v. 42 Gālava ... 6 Pārsva Gālava H .; Gārgya .. ... Gālava, A. 43 Govinda 15 ... 11 ... 44 Gautama,-mīya 66 58 98 ... 45. Janārdana ... 32 ... ... 46. Jamadagni, Jāma- dagnya 26 62 38 47. do. (II) ... ... 106 ... ... 48. + Jayākhya 30 39 81 ... ... 49. + Jayottara 69 ... 85 66 ... 50. Jabala 141 ...

28. Jaimina,-nīya 97 71 1.21 ... ... v. 52. Jñanarņava, Jnanasa- gara ... 61 15 14 53 + Tattvasāgara 22 ... Tattvasāgaraprasma, P. R. .. ... (p. 23). 54 Tantrasāgara 3 ... .. ... Probably=Tantrasamjñika, P. R. (pp. 4, 5). 55 Tārkșya (I) 77 ... Cf. Vişņutilaka ? do. (II), see Viha-

29. gendra. Tejodraviņa 25 57. Trivikrama 17 ... 14 ... ... :2 58 Trailokyamohana 2 ... 5 43 59. Trailokyavijaya ... 87 + Dakșa 44 ... ... .. 60. ... ... ... ... 61. Dattatreya 105 104 ... ... ... 62 Dadhīca ... 125 Damodara ... 22 ... 19 ... .. 63. ... .. 64. Durgā ... .. 57 ... 65. + Durvāsas, Daurvā- sasa 79 107 ... ... .. 66. Devala 129 ... ... ... 67. Dyānadīya ... 9 ... ... ... 68. Dhruva ... ... 108 ... ...

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NAME OF SAMHITĀ PLACE IN LISTS REMARKS

K. P. V. H. A.

69. • Nala(Nāla)kūbara 88 4 131 62 ... 1. 70. + Nārada,-dīya 133 Not identical with the pub- lished " Nārada Pañcarā- tra ". 71. + Nāra(Nr)simha 11 81 29 20 20 72. 73. + Nārāyaņa, ņīya 8 64 9 14 18 Nairrta 74 ... 74. Pakși 58 ... ... Cf. Garuda, Tārkşya, Viha- ... gendra. 75 + Pañcapras'na 69 21 76. Padmanābha 21 ... ... 18 77. + Padmodbhava 29 2 79 29 78. + Para(Parama). pūrușa 56 Same as Mahāpurușa ? 79. +Parama 1 7 2 34 80. Parasara, Parasar- ya (I) 60 65 95 ... Parasarya (throughout). p. 81. + do. (II) ... 34 Parasara. The published ... text cannot be P. 65, but may be K. 60.

82 Pāņinīya 98 p. 83. 51 1 118 + Pādma 83 I. 84 + Parames'vara 39 48 67 85. Pārāvata 54 ... ... ... Pārāsarya, see Para- s'ara 86 Pārișada 101 32 ... ... 87. Pāvaka Cf. Āgneya, Vāhnika. ... Pippala ... 88 117 ... 89. Puņdarīkākșa 27 ... .. ... 90. Purāņa 91. Purușottama ... ... 30 106 19 21 ... Pulastya, see Paulas- tya. Pulaha, see Paulaha. Pușți, see Bhūmi. 92 Paingala 86 ... ... 93. Paulastya 82 59 ... 88 ... 94. Paulaha 83 ... 90 11 .. 95. + Paușkara 2 4 4 96. + Pradyumna 6 109 5 ... Pras'na, see Pañca- pras'na and S'ri- prasna. 97. + Prahlāda ... 6 ... 134 5 98. Prācetasa 112 ... ... ... ... 99. Balabhadra ... 40 ... ... 100. Bārhaspatya ... ... ... ... 101. Brhadrāghava 27 ... Bodhāyana 79 ... 23 ... Cf. Raghava. 102. 86 23 1.103 + Brahma, Brahma 9 ... ... 64 33 ... Brahmanarada Same ? 104. ... 102 ... ... 105. Bhagavata 38 ... ... ... 26 ... p. 106. + Bhāradvāja 65 80 100 ... ..

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NAME OF SAMHITÂ PLACE IN LISTS REMARKS

K. P. v. H. A.

107. • Bhārgava,-vīya 63 55 87 108. Bhūmi, Pușți 55 41 56 ... ... 109. Madhusūdana 16 13 ... ... 110. Mahāpurușa 36 ... 33 ... ... 111. Mahāprājña 90 ... ... 112 Mahālakșmī 50 ... Cf. Lakşmī. ... ... 1. 113. + Mahāsanatkumāra 95 ... ... 114. Mahipras'na ... ... 18 ... ... Mahendra, see Mahendra. 115 Mātsya 23 35 ... .. 116. Madhava 14 10 ... ... 117. Mānava ... 116 ... 118. Mārīci 43 ... .. ,

108. Māyā 13 .. ... 120. + Māyāvaibhava 35 Same ? 3 ...

109. • Mārkaņdeya (I) 73 94 111 ? Doubt as 10 which of the V. 122. do. (II) 100 ... ... two is preserved and quoted. 123 Mahendra, Mahendra 41 20 71 124. Mūla 89 40 125. Medinīpati 105 ... 50 126. Maitreya 75 ... 128 127. + Maudgala 112 ... ... 128. Yajñamūrti 49 Cf. Vārāha. ... ... 129. Yama, Yāmya 43 63 73 ... v .? 130. Yājñavalkya 72 57 09 Possibly= Yājñavalkya Vijaya preserved in S'ri- rańgam. 131. Yoga 103 88 Cf. Vişņuyoga. ... 132 Yogahrdaya 46 133 Rāghava,-viya ... 25 99 39 p. 134. + Lakşmi 54 Cf. Mahālakşmī. ... 135 Lakşmīnārāyaņa 41 136. Lakșmīpati 104 45 137 Langala 103 ... ... Varaha, see Varaha. 138. Varāhamihira 107 139. Vasu 135 ... ... Vahni, see Vahnika. 140. Vāgīs'a 23 Cf. Hayasīrşa. 141. Vāmadeva 74 18 ... 124 v. 142, + Vāmana (I) 72 15 ) Doubt as to which of the 143. do. (II) 96 110 three is preserved and ... 144. do. (III) 68 quoted. ... 145. Vāyu, Vāyavya, Vāya- vīya 45 89 76 146 + Vārāha 12 37 31 ... Cf. Yajñamūrti 147. Vāruņa 44 90 75 ... 148. Vālmīka 74 .. 1.149. + Vāsiștha 70 ...

10 ... 150. + Vāsudeva 4 ... 12 13 3 ... 151. Vāhnika 42 ... ... ... 152. | Viriñci 38 ... Cf. Āgneya, Pāvaka. 63 ...

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NAME OF SAMHIITA PLACE IN LISTS REMARKS

K. P. V. H. A.

153. Vis'va 15 25 Called, in H., Visvāvatāra. ... ... 24 Probably same as Vis'ves'- vara mentioned in P. U. 1. 154. + Vis'vāmitra 92 101 The three works extant are : (1) one Vişņu Samhitā consisting of 30 pațalas (M.G.L., A.L.); (2) one + Vișņu Tantra 1.155. Visnu (1) being a Vyāsa- 1.156. do. (II) 10 97 1428 S'aunaka-samvāda : : 1.157. do. (III) (48 ) ... (A. L.) ; ... ... ... (3) one + Vişņu Samhitā being a Vasistha- Jābāli-samvāda (M. G. L.). Of these the second is the one containing the list of Samhitas with itself as No. 1. 1. 158. + Vișņutattva 33 30 12 ... p. 159. + Vişņutilaka ... 6 ... Pretends to be part of ... Khages'vara S. 160. Vișņuyoga Evidently=Yoga. 1. 161. + Vişņurahasya ... 53 20 ... 32 162. Vişņuvaibhava 34 33 ... Probably=Vaibhava. 163. Vișņusadbhāva ... 28 ... 164. Vişņusambhava ... 42 ... 165. Vișņusāra 26 166. + Vişņusiddhānta 37 ... 29 ... ... ... ... Cf. Siddhānta Pāñcarātra, P. R. (p. 4, 1l. 15, 29). 167. + Vişvaksena 52 51 61 1. 168. + Vihagendra, Tārksya 49 54 60 18 17 169. Vaikuņțha 46 ... Vaikhanasa, see Vai-

154. hāyasa. Vaibhava 3 3 Cf. Vişņuvaibhava. 171. + Vaiyyāsa, Vyāsa 61 96 96 172. + Vaihāyasa 91 53 132 ... Cf. Tārkşya, etc. ; V. list .. reads Vaikhānasa. 173 S'arva (S'akra?) 106 105 V. list reads Sakra. For ... S'arva cf. Isana, Siva. 174. Sakațāyana 119 ... ... ... 175. Sakaleya, S'ākalya, Sakalahvaya 76 60 120

... 122 ... ... 1. 176. + Saņdilya, Saņdilīya 71 9 9 177. + Sātātapa 101 83 110 ... ... 178. Sānti 62 .. ... ... 179. Siva 27 ... ... Cf. Isana, Sarva. .. 180 Sukarudra ... 103 ... 181. 127 ... Sukra ... ... ... ... Sesa, see Ananta. 182. + Saunaka,-kīya 64 42 97 13 12

11

NAME OF SAMHITĀ PLACE IN LISTS REMARKS

K P V. H. A

183 S'ri 55 ... 184 + Srīkara ... 26 52 ... ... ... S'rīkrsņa, see Krșņa. 185. S'rīdhara 19 16 .. ... 186. Srīnivasa 24 ... p. 187. 68 ... 18 84 .. + Srīprasna 8 8 188. Srivallabha 47 ... ... ... ... 189. Svetaketu 140 80 ... 27 ... 190 + Samvarta, Sā mvarta 102 ... 191. + Samkarşaņa 5 108 4 ...

192 Satya 14 11 Cf. Sattvata ? ... 11 193 Sadāvişņu 102 ... 194 Sanaka 94 13 ... ... ... 94 ... 1, 195. + Sanatkumāra 95 12 92 ... 196. Sananda, Sananda 93 16 93 ... 197 Sarvamangala ... 126 ... p. 198. + Sāttvata 24 ... 32 Cf. Satya? 199. Samanya ... 200. Sārasvata ... 58 ... 201. + Soma, Saumya (I) 46 35 202 do. (IÍ) 77 ... Doubt as to place of t 139 ... ... 203. Saura, Surya 34 80 31 68 ... ... 204. Skānda, Kaumāra ... 56 205. Svāyambhuva ... ... ... 16 1. 206. + Hayasīrşa 44 1 1 V. list reads Hayagrīva. ... ... Cf. Vagīs'a. 207. Hari 23 47 ... 208. Hārīta ... ... 209. + Hiraņyagarbha 40 76 65 ... ... 210. | Hrşīkes'a 20 17

To the above 210 names have to be added those of

a few Samhitas which are extant but apparently not included in any of the lists, to wit :

211. Another Upendra Samhita, being an Upendra-Kanva-sam- vada, recent, perhaps the work mentioned in V. list (cf. our remark in the Synopsis). MS. no. 5209 of M. G. L.

212. Kasyapottara Samhita of which MG.L. has no less than four copies (nos. 5215 fll.).

213. Paramatattvanirņayaprakasa Samhitā, containing the instruction of the god Brahman by Srihamsa on the origin of the world, an important though not very ancient work of which fifteen adhyāyas of the first pariccheda are represented, in MS., in M.G.L. (no. 5300) and twice in A.L

214. Padmasamhita Tantra, M.G.L. 5296, which, however, may be found to be a portion of Sanatkumara Samhitā (cf. colophon in Descr. Cat.).

215. Brhad Brahma Samhita, another recent work, published twice (see below).

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There are further a number of Samhitas quoted or mentioned by name which seem to be different from those of the lists. We mention the following, but a complete list should some day reveal many more names :

Citrasikhaņdi, Mankaņa Vais'ampāyana, Sukaprasna, Srīkālapara, Sudars'ana, Saumantava, Hamsa, Hamsapārames'vara.1

Among the few Samhitas found in libraries outside the Madras Presidency (in India or Europe) there is none which is not also represented in one of its three great public libraries, namely the Tañjore Palace Library, the Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, and the Adyar Library of the Theosophical Society. The first of these (possessing but a few of the P. Samhitās) has made no new acquisitions since Bur- nell's time; the Pancaratra MSS. of the second are described in vol. XI of its Descriptive Catalogue ; the Adyar Library collection, not described so far and growing constantly2, comprises at present the following nos. of our Synopsis : 1, 7, 8, 11, 48, 70, 81, 83, 84, 106, 113, 134, 149, nos. 1 and 2 of the Vișņu Samhitās, 154, 158, 161, 168, 176, 187, 195, and 206; further no. 213. The editions of Samhitas, most of which are now not easily obtained, are the following eleven3:

1 For Sukapras'na cf. the colophon of M.G.L. 5366 (third Vişņu Samhitā): iti S'ukapāñcarātre Visnusamhitāyēm, etc., and for the last two names Samhitā no. 213 above. Srīkālapara, presum- ably identical with Srīkalottara quoted in S'rutaprakas'ikā, and Hamsapārames'vara are both quoted in Spandapradīpikā (ed. p. 33) ; Mankaņa is mentioned in Vedantades'ika's Rahasyaraksā ; the other names are from Pāñcarātrarakșā. 2 It being one of our special aims to make this collection as complete as possible. 3 The second entry refers to the script used, the last gives the name of the editor (who is also the publisher, if the press is not the publisher). A portion of Ahirbudhnya Samhita, in the Telugu charac- ter, is not worth description.

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1. Īsvara Saņhitā, Telugu, Sadvidyā Press, Mysore, 1890, Yogi Pārthasārathi Aiyyangār. 2. Kapiñjala Samhitā, Telugu, Kalyāņa- kumāravilāsa Press, Tirukkovalūr, no year, Yogi, etc. (see 1). 3. Parāsara Samhitā, Telugu, Vāgīsvarī Mudrākshara Sālā Press, Bangalore, 1898. Iyyuņņi Rāghavācārya. 4. Padma Tantra, Telugu, 1891, rest as in 1. 5, 6. Brhad Brahma Samhitā: (5) Telugu. S'rīvenkatesvaranilaya Press, Tiruppati, 1909, no name; (6) Devanāgarī, Anandāsrama Press, Poona, H. N. Apte. 7. Bhāradvāja Samhitā, Telugu, no year, rest as in 1. 8. Laksmī Tantra, Telugu, 1888, rest as in l. 9. Vişņutilaka, Telugu, Bangalore, 1896. Rāghavāchārya. 10. S'rīprasna Samhitā, Grantha, Mangalavilāsa Press, Kumbakonam, 1904, J. Rāmasvāmi Bhațțāchārya. 11. Sāttvata Samhitā, Devanāgarī, Sudar- sana Press, Conjeeveram, 1902, P. B. Anantha Chariar. With the exception of Brhad Brahma Samhitā all of these need re-editing, a critical edition of 4, 8, and 11 being particularly desirable. That occasionally the same name has been given to two or even more different works, is nothing unusual in the Āgamic literature. For instance, among the Sākta Tantras there are, according to Dutt's list1, three Prapañca Tantras, two Harigauri Tantras, three Kubjikā Tantras, two Yogini Tantras, and two Mrdani (?) Tantras. It is quite possible, for this reason, that the above Synopsis is wrong here and there in referring the same name in 1 Translation of Mahānirvāņa Tantra, Introduction, pp. VII-IX.

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different lists to the same work. Vice versa, the identity of Ananta and S'eşa, Vihagendra and Tārksya, etc., suggests the possibility that in a few cases two or three different names may have been erroneously reckoned in our table as referring to so many different works. At any rate, this much may be said with cer- tainty, that the literature we are concerned with is a huge one. For, even supposing there were only 200 Samhitās, and trying to calculate, by means of the extant works, their total extent, we find that the Samhitā literature of the Pancarātras must have once amounted to not less but probably more than one and a half million slokas.1 Truly, the Samhitās have some right to speak of "the ocean of the Pancarātra"! The chronology of the Samhitas will, of necessity, remain a problem for some time to come. Not until the extant Samhitas as well as the later literature have been thoroughly examined, will it be possible to fix approximately the century of each of the former and of some even of the lost Samhitas. However, a few general remarks on the subject may already be hazarded now. Our earliest source of information on the Pañcarātra is believed to be the so-called Nāradīya section of the S'anti Parvan of the Mahābhārata.2 This view seems to receive further support from the fact that apparently all of the extant Samhitās are full of the so-called Tantric element which in the Mahābhārata is, on the contrary, conspicuous by

• It is interesting to note in this connection that according to S'rīpras'na (II, 41), Vişņutilaka (I, 140 and 145), and other texts, the original Pañcaratra had an extent of one and a half crores. 2 It has often been analysed, most recently by Bhandarkar, loc. cit., pp. 4-8.

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its absence. However, it may be questioned whether Tantrism is really altogether absent in the Mahabhārata, and even granting it is, this would not prove that it did not already exist when the Naradiya was composed. It is most probable, indeed, that, though the Mahābhārata itself was not, still some, if not most of the heterodox systems referred to in it, were already tinged with the said element. The allusion to Sattvata-vidhi, at the end of the 66th adhyaya of Bhīsma Parvan1, could hardly refer to anything else than a Samhita of the very character of those extant. Moreover, the Nāradīya account does not give the impression of being based on first-hand knowledge : it may have been composed by an outsider who was impressed by the story of S'vetadvipa but not interested in the ritualistic details of the system. At any rate, the possibility of the existence of Pañca- rātra Samhitās at and before the time of the Nāradiya can- not well be denied. But the assertion, by Pandit P. B. Anantācārya, in the Bhūmikā to his edition of Sāttvata Samhita, that the expression sattvata-vidhi in the above-mentioned passage of the Bhişma Parvan2 distinct- ly refers to that particular Samhita because of the words "sung by Samkarșaņa " is unfortunately not admissible. The same claim could be made, with even better reasons, for the present Samhita, in that it is an account, by Ahirbudhnya, of what he had learnt from Samkarsana himself when the Dvapara age came to a close.3 The coincidence, however, is quite irrelevant, not only

1 Bhandarkar, loc. cit., p. 40. 2 Sāttvatam vidhim āsthāya gītah Samkarsaņena yah i Dvāparasya yugasyânta ādau Kaliyugasya ca ll 3 Drāpara-velāyām (I, 71), Dvāpara-samdhy-ams'e (I, 73), prūptam Samkarsanāt sākşāt (I1, 4). In Sāttvata Samhitā Samkarșaņa is the questioner, not the teacher.

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because a Samkarșaņa Samhitā is mentioned and quoted 1, but most of all because it is, according to the system, Samkarșaņa's function to proclaim the Sāstra2, which means, according to Ahirb. Samhitā (11, 19), that all knowledge comes ultimately from him who, in the begin- ning, started the great universal system from which all single systems, including the Pāncarātra, have emanated. The Pancaratra must have originated in the North of India and subsequently spread to the South. Had the opposite taken place, most of the extant Samhitās would somehow betray this fact, which is not the case. The story of S'vetadvipa seems even to point to the extreme North, and so do some Samhitäs, among them Ahirbudhnya, as we shall see. The thesis may there- fore be advanced that all Samhitās betraying a South- Indian (Dravidian) origin belong to the later stock of the literature. Of those South Indian Samhitas the oldest one now available seems to be the Isvara Samhita. It enjoins, among other things, the study of the so-called Tamil Veda (drāmidī sruti) and contains a Māhātmya of Melkote in Mysore. It is quoted thrice by Yāmunācārya3, the teacher of Rämānuja, who died in the first half of the eleventh century (ca. 1040). Yämuna claiming for the Agamas the authority of a fifth Veda, the said Samhitā must have been in existence at his time for at least two centuries. This would bring us to about the time of S'ankara whom, then, we may provisionally regard as the landmark between the northern and the southern

1 See our Synopsis, above ; the quotation is in Vedåntades'ika's Pañcarātrarakșū, ed. p. 67, line 5. 2 See below : "The Philosophy of the Pañcaratras", section 2; also our summary, in part III, of adhyāya 11. 3 In his Āgamaprāmāņya, ed. p. 72.

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Pāncarātra Samhitas, bearing in mind, however, that the composition of Samhitās did not necessarily cease in the North just when it began in the South, and re- membering also that in the southernmost province of Āryan India (the Maratha country) something like Pañcarātra worship seems to have existed as early as the first century before Christ.1 To the South Indian class of Samhitas, which is very much smaller than the northern one, belongs also the above-mentioned Upendra Samhita enjoining particularly the leading of a virtuous life in S'rirangam, and further the voluminous Brhad Brahma Samhitā (no. 215, above)2, with prophecies about Rāmānuja, the only South Indian Samhitā, as it seems, which has made its way to the north-west and consequently met with a fate similar to that of the spurious Nāradīya in Bengal, in that it is now "popularly known in the Gujerat country as the Nārada Pañcarātra ". 3 Yamuna's work being the oldest one extant by a South Indian author quoting from the Samhita literature, it is noteworthy that in addition to Isvara Samhitā he quotes the Parama, Sāndilya, Sanat- kumāra, Indrarātra (=third Rātra of Mahāsanatkumāra Samhitā), and Padmodbhava Samhitās.4 Yāmuna's successor, Rāmānuja, quotes also Parama Samhitā, further Paușkara Samhitā and Sāttvata Samhitā.

1 Bhandarkar, loc. cit., p. 4. It remains to be seen whether the worship of only the first two Vyuhas (for which there are still more ancient testimonies, ibid. p. 3) was not perhaps a precursor of the Pañcaratra of the Samhitas. 2 Which is too recent to be mentioned in the Padma list and therefore not likely to be identical with Brahma Nārada, as Govindācārya is inclined to believe (loc. cit., p. 955). 3 Govindācārya, J.R.A.S., October 1911, p. 956, note 4. 4 Agamaprāmāņya ed. pp. 7, 69, 70, 71, 72. 3

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In the fourteenth century the famous Vedanta- desika wrote a special work on the Pancarātra1 in which he mentions particularly Jayākhya (9 times), Pārames- vara (6 times), Paușkara (5 times), Pādma (4 times), Nāradīya, Srīkara, Sāttvata (each thrice), Ahirbudhnya, Bhārgava, Varāha, Vihagendra, and Hayagrīva (each twice); moreover the Samhitas figuring in our Synopsis as nos. 17, 28, 31, 41, 49, 53, 71, 72, 75, 77, 97, 106, 127, 134, 149, 166 (?), 171, 172, 177, 191, 195, 201 (or 202); Citrasikhaņdi, etc. (see p. 12, note 1); and, finally, a few doubtful names such as Tantrasamjñika (=Tan- trasāgara ?), Āgamākhya, etc. In the North of India the oldest work quoting the Pñcarātra, which we can lay hands on, seems to be the Spandapradīpikā of Utpalavaișnava, who lived in Kasmīr in the tenth century A.D.2, about one generation before Yāmuna. The Samhitas mentioned by name in this work are3: Jayākhya (Srījayā, Jayā), Hamsapāramesvara, Vaihāyasa, and S'rīkālaparā; while two more names, namely Nārada Samgraha and S'rī Sāttvatāḥ *, may, but need not, be connected with some particular Samhitā. Of eight other quotations5, all of which are vaguely stated to be "in the Paficaratra " or "P. S'ruti " or " P. Upanișad ", one is found, in a slightly different form, in Ahirbudhnya Samhitā.6 Utpalavaișnava quotes also

1 Pāncarātraraksa, of which there is an edition in Grantha characters (see above) p. 4. 2 J. C. Chatterji, Kashmir Shaivism, pp. 13, 16. 3 See pages 9-11-34, 33, 33, 33 of the Vizianagaram edition. 4 Pp. 54 and 20, ibid. 5 Ibid. pp. 2, 8, 22, 22, 29, 35, 39, 39. 6 XV, 71b: Prajñā-prāsādam, etc., reproduced by Utpala (ed. p. 41): Prajñā-prāsādam āruhya asocyah socato janān i Bhūmisthān iva sailasthah sarvān prājño'nupasyati u

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the Paramārthasāra in its original Vaișņavite form (not the S'aivite recast by Abhinavagupta).1 All this, as also his name and that of his father (Trivikrama), proves that Utpala, though a Saivite author, must have been originally a Vaișnavite. And it further seems to enable us, as since the rise of the Saivite system (Trika) philosophical Vaișnavism is practically extinct in Kasmīr, and as there is no likelihood of any Pāñcarātra Samhita (except the few spurious works) having been composed in Aryan India after that time, to fix the eighth centuryA.D. as the terminus ad quem of the original Pāncarātra Samhitās.2 From the above it follows that the Samhita literature falls into three classes: (1) the original Samhitas, to which belong most of the extant works; (2) the much smaller South Indian class comprising the legitimate descendants of class 1; and (3) the still smaller class, North and South Indian, of apocryphal or spurious Samhitas. To the third class must be assigned all Samhitās which are specially connected with some cult or teaching of modern growth such as the exclusive worship of Rama, Radha, etc., and (or) which have given up some essential dogma of the Pañcarātra, such as that of the Vyūhas.3

1 Cf. Chatterji, loc. cit., pp. 10-14. Prof. Barnett insists that Abhinavagupta's work, being professedly an "extract" (sūra), cannot be based on a work of less extent than itself such as the Vais- pavite Paramārthasāra. But surely A. does not mean to say that he has merely extracted, but rather that he has elaborated the essence of the work upon which he based his own. 2 Allowing, as indicated above, a minimum of two centuries to pass before a Samhita can become "Sruti" (as which the Pāñcarātra is regarded by Utpala). 3 Both is the case, for instance, with the spurious Nāradīya. Also - the Agastya Samhita mentioned by Bhandarkar, loc. cit., p. 67 note 2, if a Pañcaratra Samhità, would belong to this class, as does the first of our three Agastya Samhitās.

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The number of oldest Samhitas mentioned increases through internal references: Ahirbudhnya (5,59) men- tions Sattvata, and the latter (9, 188) Pauskara, Vārāha, and Prājāpatya (Brāhma). Direct reference of one Samhitā to another will also be found of great value for determining the mutual chronological relations of the Samhitās. For instance, the fact that Ahirbudhnya mentions Sattvata (5, 59) and Jayākhya (19, 64) shows, of course, that these two must be older. So also the hint, in Isvara S. (1. 64)1, that the three chief Samhitās are Sāttvata, Paușkara, and Jaya, and their respective expansions Isvara, Paramesvara, and Pädma, is well worth noticing2; and also the statement, in Pādma Tantra (IV, 23. 197) 3, that we should consider as the Six Gems: Padma, Sanatkumāra, Parama, Padmod- bhava, Mahendra, and Kaņva. These few data enable us to fix already provisionally the chronology of the most important of the ancient Samhitas, in the following way : 1. Paușkara, Vārāha, Earlier than 5, order un- Brahma (order uncertain). certain: Jaya (before 3), 2. Sāttvata Sanatkumāra, Parama, 3. Ahirbudhnya Padmodbhava, Mahendra, 4. Paramesvara 4 Kāņva 5. Pādma 6. Isvara5 (before 800 A.D.)

• Govindācārya, loc. cit., p. 956. 2 And certainly connected with the fact that the only Samhita commentaries extant, besides one on Bhāradvāja Samhitā, appear to be the following three, preserved in Srirangam: one Sāttvata- saņhitā Bhāșya by Alas'ingarabhațța, son of Yogānandabhațța; one Is'vara-saņhitā Vyākhyā by the same; and one Pārames'vara-samhità Vyākhyā by Nrsiņhasūri, son of Sampatkumārasvāmin. 3 Govindācārya, loc. cit., p. 955 fll. 4 Mentioned in the Padma list, therefore earlier, but later than Ahirbudhnya, to judge from the text preserved in A. L. 5 To be distinguished from the one mentioned in the Pādma list ; see below.

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It appears to be a fact that out of these works the triad Pauskara, Sattvata, and Jay a has on the whole been considered the most authoritative part of the Pancaratra scripture. The five lists compared in our Synopsis are naturally of little value for chronological purposes on account of their comparatively late origin, and because all of them, except the one of Agni Purana, have almost certainly been interfered with by later hands. The Agneya list, beginning, as it does, with Hayasirsa and agreeing almost completely with the first twenty-five of the names enumerated in that Samhitā, must have been copied from it, from which fact it may be further deduced that the remaining names (nos. 26 to 34)1 were not in the original Samhitā. Likewise in the Vișņu list the thirty-two names following the 108th are in all probability a later amplification. This would account for the fact of a Samhita being mentioned in that list, to wit Kapiñjala (no. 123), which itself mentions the Vişnu Tantra. Kapiñjala, at any rate, does not claim to be one of the 108 Samhitas, but only an abstract containing all that is essential (sāra) in them. The Pādma list also seems to have originally consisted of 108 names only, the four added ones being possibly nos. 33 to 36 contained in the second half of sloka 100. For, Īsvara Samhitā (no. 36), as it mentions Pādma Tantra, and that, as we have seen, in quite a credible way, cannot well be mentioned in the latter which, for other reasons too, must be older than it. Or were there two İsvara Samhitās? This hypo- thesis would perhaps best account for the mention

• Among which "Purāņa" and "Sāmānya" are decidedly doubtful.

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of an İsvara Samhitā also in the Hayasīrșa and Āgneya lists.1 What are the principal subjects treated in the Samhitās ? The ideal Pancarātra Samhitā, like the Saiva Agamas, is said to consist of four "quarters " (pāda) teaching respectively (1) Jñana, Knowledge; (2) Yoga, Concentration; (3) Kriya, Making; and (4) Caryā, Doing. By Making is meant everything connected with the construction and consecration of temples and images, and by Doing, the religious and social observances (daily rites, festivals, varnās'rama-dharma).2 Very few Samhitās seem to have actually consisted of these four sections : most of them dealt apparently with one or two only of these subjects, neglecting the others altogether or nearly so. The proportion of interest shown for each of the four branches seems to be well illustrated by Pädma Tantra in the edition of which the Jñāna-pāda occupies 45 pages, the Yoga-pāda 1l pages, the Kriyā-pāda 215 pages, and the Caryā-pāda 376 pages. The practical part, Kriyā and Caryā, is the favourite subject, the rest being treated as a rule by way of introduction or digression. The division into Pādas is, so far as I know, observed in only two of the extant Samhitās, namely Pādma Tantra and Vișņutattva Saņhitā. A division into five Rātras (Nights) of mixed contents (cf. the name Pāñcarātra) is found not only in the apocryphal Nāradīya but also in a genuine and older

1 Ahirbudhnya being a somewhat unwieldy word, Is'vara may have, metrī causa, been substituted for it in those lists, but, of course, not in the Padma list, which does contain the name Ahirbudhnya. 2 For a fuller description of these four branches see Govinda- cārya's article in J.R.A.S., 1911, p. 951 fll.

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work, the Mahasanatkumāra Samhitā.1 The Hayasīrşa Sam- hitā has a position of its own in this and other respects : it consists of four Kandas called, after their contents, Pratişthā, Samkarșa (so), Linga, and Saura Kāņda.2 The second Kānda professes to deal with worship (pūjā) but contains also a good deal on pratistha; the third is altogether Saivite. Finally the Paramesvara Samhitā deserves mention here in that it adheres to the well- known division in Jñāna Kāņda and Kriyā Kāņda answer- ing resp. to Pādas 1-2 and 3-4) 3; and perhaps Bhāradvā- ja Samhitā as the rare (if not unique) instance of a Samhita dealing with Conduct only and especially prapatti .*

' The names of the Rätras of the latter are : Brahma, S'iva, Indra and Rsi Ratra; the fifth is not in the MS. For the former see below .- The following passage of Vihagendra Samhitā (I, 31-34) is also noteworthy, though it looks like a late compromise : " When the Krta Yugahas just appeared, by the grace of Kes'ava the following five, namely Ananta (the Serpent), Garuda, Visvaksena, the Skull-bearer (S'iva), and Brahmán, hear it (the S'astra) in parts [as follows] : in the first night Ananta [has his questions answered], in the second night Garuda, in the third night Senes'a, in the fourth [is answered] what has been chosen by Vedhas (Brahmán), and in the fifth Rudra [is the questioner]. Thus each of these hears for himself the Religion of Faith (s'raddha-s'astra) in the form of a work on Know- ledge, Yoga, Construction, and Conduct, consisting of one hundred thousand [s'lokas]. [Hence, since the whole of it] has an extent of five lakhs [of s'lokas], it is called the Pañcarātra." 2 Containing resp. 42, 39, 20, and ? pațalas. This Samhitā has so far been found in Orissa only. 3 See the summary of contents in the first adhyāya. That the description of the Jñāna Kānda covers 147 slokas and that of the Kriyā Kāņda only 32 is, I believe, due to the author's wish to have done with the former. For the Samhita, though evidently complete (see the total of s'lokas given for the two Kāudas together) has no other Jñāna Kāņda. Therefore, the last line of the adhyāya will probably have to be interpreted thus: "I shall now [by treating the Kriyā Kaņda] put forward the s'astra twofold in the manner explained ; listen to me !" 4 This is perhaps the most widely spread of all the Samhitās. It has a paris'ișta (supplement) contained in the edition, and be- longs, as mentioned, to the few Samhitas of which a commentary is extant.

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It may be supposed that the name Pancaratra points to five principal subjects treated in that system. So it is, indeed, understood in the apocryphal Nāradīya, which says that the five kinds of rātra="knowledge" are tattva, mukti-prada, bhakti-prada, yaugika, and vaiseşika, that is to say that they are concerned respectively with (1) ontology (cosmology), (2) liberation, (3) devotion, (4) yoga, and (5) the objects of sense. Though the five books of the said Samhita accord but very imperfectly with this division, and the five Rātras of Mahāsanatkumāra Samhitā still less, and though the Nāradīya as a whole can certainly not be used as a Pañcaratra authority, the above statement may none the less rest on good tradition. In this case ratra, originally "night", would have come to mean - how, we do not know 1- both a cardinal doctrine of a system as well as the chapter or work dealing with that doctrine, that is: it became synonymous with tantra and samhita2, so that Pāñcaratra would be a designation of the ancient Vaișnavite system in exactly the same manner as, according to the twelfth chapter of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā, Șati Tantra was one of the Sāmkhya Yoga. This explanation, though perhaps at variance with the chapter just mentioned stating (in sl. 45-48) that the Pancaratra consists of ten cardinal teachings (samhitās) 3, is at least not so fanciful as "the night=obscuration, of the five other systems ", or "the system, cooking=destroying, the night=ignorance", or the attempts to connect that name with the five sacraments (branding, etc.) or the five daily observances (abhigamana, etc.) of the 1 For the transition the meaning of "Thousand and one Nights"=as many stories, may perhaps be compared. 2 See above p. 2. 3 See our summary of the chapter, below, last part of this book.

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Pancaratras. However, it seems to us that the original use of the name is only connected with the first of the ten topics referred to (Bhagavat), namely the peculiar God-conception of the Pancaratras, and that it can be discovered in the Pancaratra Sattra spoken of in Satapatha Brāhmana XIII 6. 1, which is, moreover, the earliest passage in which the word pancaratra occurs. In that passage " Purușa Nārāyaņa is mentioned as having conceived the idea of a Pañcarātra Sattra (continued sacrificefor five days) as a means of obtaining superiority over all beings and becoming all beings "1; and the preceding chapter (XII 3. 4) narrates in detail how He, by sacrificing Himself, actually became the whole world.2 Nārāyaņa is thus connected with, and even made the author of, the Purusa Sūkta2 which, together with the Sahasrasīrsa section of Mahānārāyaņa Upanișad, plays such a prominent part in the cosmolog- ical accounts and Mantra exegesis of the Pañcaratrins.3 It appears, then, that the sect took its name from its central dogma which was the Pancaratra Sattra of Narayana interpreted philosophically* as the fivefold self-manifestation of God by means of His Para, Vyūha, Vibhava, Antaryāmin, and Arca forms. This would well agree with the statement of Ahirb. Samh., at the end of the eleventh adhyaya, that the Lord Himself framed out of the original S'astra " the system (tantra) called Pancaratra describing His [fivefold] nature

1 Bhandarkar, loc. cit., p. 31 ; spacing-out ours. 2 Ibidem. 3 Note also the importance attached in Ahirb. Samh. (chapter 37) to the meditation on God as a sacrifice (yajñarūpa-dhara deva, s'l. 39). 4 With, or without, the help of Bhagavad-Gītā II, 69. 4

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[known] as Para, Vyūha, Vibhava, etc.", and "that highest Will of Visnu called Sudarsana through which He split into five, appearing five-mouthed." ' To return to the question of the principal subjects treated in the Pañcaratra, the scientific student will probably find it best to distinguish the following ten 2: (1) Philosophy; (2) Linguistic occultism (mantra-s'āstra); (3) Theory of magical figures (yantra-sastra); (4) Practical magic (maya-yoga) ; (5) Yoga; (6) Temple-building (mandira-nirmāņa) ; (7) Image-making (pratisthā-vidhi) ; (8) Domestic observances (samskāra, āhnika); (9) Social rules (varnāsrama-dharma); (10) Public festivals (utsava).

Each of these', it is hoped, will in the course of time be made the subject of a monograph based on the available Samhitā material as well as on such monographs (Utsavasamgrahas, etc.) as the Pañcaratrins themselves have written. In the following, the second part of our Introduction, an outline will be attempted of the first subject only, as the one on which all the others more or less depend.

1 The five forms are also referred to in the very first s'loka of our Samhita. With the idea of Nārāyaua's self-sacrifice is apparently also connected the story of the " Sacrificial Lotus " (yajña-pankaja) spring- ing from the navel of Padmanabha (Laksmi T. V, 22, and elsewhere). 2 Which are, of course, not the same as those enumerated in adhyaya 12 of Ahirb. Samh .; see our summary of the latter in the final section below. 3 And, in addition, perhaps the subject of "worship" in a general treatment combining the materials for it distributed among several of the above subjects, notably 8 and 10.

II. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE PĀÑCARĀTRAS

THE theoretical philosophy of the Pāncarātras is in- separably bound up with the story of creation, and can therefore hardly be treated more conveniently than in taking the latter throughout as our starting point. In doing so we shall mainly follow the Ahirbudhnya Samhitā (particularly chapters 4 to 7), but also have recourse, wherever this seems desirable, to other sources.1

1. NIGHTS AND DAYS OF NĀRĀYAŅA

There was, and is still, a belief in India that the higher a being climbs on the ladder of existences, the quicker time passes for him, until, when he reaches Liberation, time is no longer a magnitude for him at all.2 This idea is contained in the doctrine that a single day of each Brahmán or ruler of a Cosmic Egg

1 The writer regrets keenly having had practically no access, while writing this Introduction, to the rich collections of Pañcaratra MSS. stored up in the Adyar and Madras Libraries. Still he feels confident that the following account will not show any serious gap .- Abbreviations will be easily recognised, except perhaps " P. Prakās'a S." which is no. 213 mentioned on p. 11 above. The edition quoted of Piļļai Lokācārya's Tattvatraya is the only existing one of the Sanskrit translation, published as no. 4 of the Caukhambā Sanskrit Series; while the edition used of Srīnivasadāsa's Yatīndramata Dīpikā is No. 50 of the Ānandās'rama Series. Tattvatraya (four- teenth century) may almost be called a collection of Pāñcarātra Sūtras, and its commentary, by Varavaramuni, is specially valuable for its copious extracts from Visvaksena Samhita. All references by figures only are to Ahirbudhnya Samhita. 2 It may, after all, be found to be the same (not the opposite) view when P. Prakās'a Samhitā (III, 3 fll.) teaches that a " time- atom" (kāla paramāņuka) is in Jīvaloka (cf. Gītā VII, 5; XV, 7) only 1/100th part of one on earth, in the world of the gods only 1/10,000th part, for the god Brahmán only 1/1,000,000th part, and for Laksmī only 1/10,000,000th part, while Visuu's own time-atom is infinitely small.

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(brahmānda)1 comprises no less than 432,000,000 years of men. When the day is over, all forms are dissolved by fire, etc., but not so the Tattvas (elements and organs) of which these consist, nor the Cosmic Egg as such. This dissolution is called a Minor or Occasional Dissolution (avāntara-pralaya, naimittika-pralaya). It is followed2 by the "Night of Brahmán", of equal length as his day, in which the Egg hibernates as it were. This process is repeated 360×100 times, after which the life of Brahmán (brahmāyus) comes to a close by the Great or Total Dissolution (mahā-pralaya, prakrta-pralaya) in which all the Cosmic Eggs, including the forces working in them, are completely dissolved or "unified". The Night following it is of,the same duration as that of the life of Brahmán, and is followed by another Day similar to the former, and so on. These longest Days and Nights are called, in the Pañcarātra, Days and Nights of the Purușa, the Highest Self, the Lord, etc. For the Purușa's life, says one text, there exists no measurea. But though infinite as to time*, He "accepts" (angi-karoti) the period called Para (that is, the life-period of a Brahmán) as His "day "; and though exempt from being measured

1 " Solar system" is a somewhat misleading translation, because a Brahmāuda, though believed to possess but one sun, comprises the whole starry host visible to us. 2 Pralaya, as the name says, is the stage in which things are dissolving, and not the much longer one in which they remain dissolved. The occasional employment of the name for the two stages together must be regarded as a misuse, at least from the Pañcaratra point of view, because, if Primary Creation takes place during the last part of the Night (see below, next paragraph) and the Day and Night are of equal length, Pralaya belongs to the Day, not to the Night. 3Tasya n'āyur-mānam ridhīyate, P. Prakās'a Samhitā I, 3, 43, repeated 58. * Kalato'nanta, ibid. I, 3,55.

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by nights, etc., He "does the work of the night (rātritvena carati) by causing Brahmán1 and the rest to fall asleep".2 Our Samhita illustrates the Days and Nights of the Lord by an image of dazzling beauty : during the Day the universe is like a sky sprinkled all over with cirrus clouds - the Brahmic Eggs, of which there are koți-arbudas of koți-oghas of koțis (an unimaginably high number); while during the Night it resembles a sky without a single cloud.

2. HIGHER OR "PURE" CREATION

(Evolution, First Stage.)

In the eighth and last part of the Cosmic Night (pauruşī rātri)* the great Sakti of Vișņu, awakened as it were by His command 5, "opens her eyes". This unmesa "opening of the eyes", says Ahirb. Samh., is like the appearance of a lightning in the sky. And it means that the Sakti, which was so far indistinguishable from the " windless atmosphere " or "motionless ocean " of the Absolute, existing only as it were in a form of "darkness" or "emptiness", suddenly, "by some in- dependent resolve " (kasmāccit svātantryāt), flashes up, with an infinitely small part of herself, in her dual aspect of kriyā (acting) and bhūti (becoming), that is Force and Matter.6

1 Who, after his "death ", belongs to the liberated. 2 Ibid. I, 3. 55-57. 3 Ahirbudhnya Samhitā IX, 16, 14, 38. "The eighth part of the Pralaya is called layântima", P. Prakās'a S. I, 1. 51; cf. I, 3. 42, 57. 3 Ibid., I, 1. 53. 6 XIV, 7-8 : Tasyāh kotyarbudams'ena s'aktī dve, etc. ; so VIII, 36, and III, 27-28. Cf. Laksmī Tantra IV, 4. The Bhūti Sakti, as will be seen, includes what we call soul.

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Here it will first be necessary to remark that, in spite of frequent assurances as to the real identity of Lakșmī and Vișnu, the two are actually regarded as distinct : even in Pralaya they do not completely coalesce but become only "as it were " a single principle (4. 78), the Laksmi eventually emerging from the Great Night being the old Laksmī, not a new one. The mutual relation of the two is declared to be one of inseparable connection or inherence1 like that of an attribute and its bearer (dharma, dharmin), existence and that which exists (bhava, bhavat), I-ness and I (ahamtā, aham), moonshine and moon, sunshine and sun.2 Still, the dualism is, strictly speaking, a makeshift for preserving the transcendent character of Visnu : Lakșmī alone acts, but everything she does is the mere expression of the Lord's wishes. The Kriyā Sakti is "the Sudarsana portion of Lakşmī "3; for it is identical with Vișņu's " Will-to- be" symbolised by the Sudarsana or discus. Being independent of space and time ' it is called " undivided" (niskala), in contradistinction to the Bhūti Sakti which is divided in many ways5 and is but a " myriadth part (koti-amsa) of the Sakti"6, that is: an infinitely less

1 Avinābhāva, samanvaya; Lakșmī Tantra II, 17. 2 See chapter 4 of Ahirb. Samh. and Lakșmī Tantra II, 11 fll. Laksmyāh saudarsanī kala, III, 45; cf. V, 12. + LIX, 57 : desakālādikā vyāptis tusya [Sudars'anasya], which, however, is perhaps not meant to exclude plurality; see below, section 6 of this part of our Introduction. 5 Nānābhedavatī, XIV, 9; cf. V, 9-11. Kriyā is related to Bhūti s the thread to the pearls, the pin to the leaves ; see below our résumé of adhyāya 8. 6 Which elsewhere is said of the two Saktis together: see note on p. 29.

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powerful manifestation than the Kriyā Sakti.1 As the Sudarsana is the instrument of Visnu, we may say that Vișņu, Kriyā Sakti and Bhūti Sakti are respectively the causa efficiens, causa instrumentalis, and causa materialis of the world. However, the transcendent aspect of Vișņu (Param Bráhma) remains so completely in the background in the Pancaratra that we are practically only concerned with the one force (Lakșmī) which, as Bhūti, appears as the universe, and, as Kriyā, vitalises and governs it.2 Accordingly, the Kriyā Sakti is called : "Vișnu's resolve consisting of life" (prāna-rūpo Vişnoh samkalpah); "that which keeps existence a-going " (bhūti-parivartaka), "makes becoming possible" (bhūtim sambhāvayati); "joins ", at the time of creation, Primordial Matter to the faculty of evolving, Time to the "work of counting", and the soul to the "effort for enjoyment"; "preserves " all of these as long as the world lasts; and "withdraws" the said faculties at the time of Dissolution. "Just as a fire or a cloud is kept moving by the wind, even so is the Vibhūti part [of Sakti] impelled3 by the Sudarsana." The first phase of the manifestation of Laksmī is call- ed s'uddhasrsti, "pure creation", or gunônmeșadasa, that is the stage (following the Waveless Stage) in which the attributes (guna) of God make their appearance. These

1 For the mutual relation of the two Saktis the following passages should be compared : III, 44-45; V, 7-8; LIX, 55-57. 2 This accounts for the remarkable fact that the Kashmirian philosopher Kșemarāja has defined the Pāñcarātra as the system teaching the identity of God and Nature, that is to say pantheism (parā prakrtir bhagavān Vāsudevah, tad-visphulinga-prāyā eva jīvāh-iti Pāncarātrāh parasyāh prakrteh pariņāmâbhyupagamād Avyakte evâbhi- niviştāḥ; Pratyabhijñāhrdaya, Srīnagar ed. p. 17). 3 Or: "made to dance" (pranartyate), XIV, 8, and elsewhere.

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Guņas are aprākrta "not belonging to Nature " - for Nature does not exist as yet-and have consequently nothing to do with the three well-known Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas); that is to say : the old dogma that God is necessarily " free from [the three] Guņas " (nirguna) does not exclude His possessing the six ideal Guņas which, on the contrary, m u s t be ascribed to Him, because without them there could be no Pure Creation, and, all further evolution depending thereon, no creation at all. However, the evolution of the Gunas does not in any way affect the being or essence of God, it being merely concern- ed with His "becoming " or "manifestation", that is : His S'akti: "Through the three pairs of what are called the Six Guņas (sādguņya), to wit: Knowledge, Lordship, Power, etc., does the Pure Creation [or first stage] of [His] be- coming take place."1 Now, the six Gunas are described as follows: The first Guņa is jñāna, "knowledge ", defined as "non-inert, self-conscious, eternal, all-penetrating ", that is: omniscience. "It is both the essence and an attribute of Bráhman", for which reason the re- maining five Guņas are occasionally called "attributes of jñana"2. Jñāna is, of course, also the essence of Lakșmī.3

V, 16; cf. V, 15 and VI, 6; Bhuti and vibhūti are in these passages, like bhāva elsewhere (see above p. 30), used in contradistinction to bhavat, and not in the sense of the Bhūti Sakti. For the latter, like the Kriya Sakti, is connected with three Gunas only (see below), while in the passages concerned the appearance of all the six Gunas is referred to. 2 Or "channels of jnāna" (jnānasya srtayah), Laksmī Tantra II, 35. Yāmunācārya, the teacher of Rāmānuja, has tried to justify, philosophically, this Pañcarătra concept of jñana. A thing, he says, may be both substance and attribute : ās'rayād anyato vrtter, āsrayeņa samanvayāt, which he illustrates by means of the flame (substance) and the light it sheds (attribute). 3 Lakşmī Tantra II, 25, etc.

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The second1 Guna is aisvarya "lordship", that is "activity based on independence ", "unimpeded acti- vity".2 According to Lakşmī Tantra (II, 28) this is identical with what is called iccha "will" in other Tattvasāstras. The third Guņa is s'akti "ability, potency", namely to become the material cause of the world (jagat-prakrti- bhāva). It is elsewhere3 defined as aghatitaghatana "accomplishing the non-accomplished ", that is to say, being able to produce something the cause of which cannot be accounted for by empirical methods. The fourth Guna is bala "strength" defined as "absence of fatigue" (s'rama-hani), or "fatiguelessness in connection with the production of the world", or "power to sustain all things", "sustaining-power" (dhāraņa-sāmarthya). The fifth Guņa is vīrya "virility", that is " un- affectedness (changelessness, vikāra-viraha) in spite of being the material cause". This is a condition, says Lakmī Tantra (2. 81), not found within the world, where " milk quickly loses its nature when curds come into existence ". The sixth and last Guna is tejas "splendour, might", which is said to mean "self-sufficiency" (sahakāri-anapekșā) and "power to defeat others" (parâbhibhavana-sāmarthya). The latter definition is in Lakșmī Tantra (2. 84), which adds that some philosophers connect (yojayanti) tejas with aisvarya. The six Gunas are the material, or instruments, as it were, of Pure Creation, (1) in their totality, and (2)

1 The order found on p. 18 of our edition is not the usual one. 2 " Independence, in creating the universe, of any other cause ", Lakșmī Tantra, IV, 9. 3 Varavaramuni's comm. on Tattvatraya, ed. p. 94. 5

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by pairs, in the following way : the Gunas, as connect- ed partly with the Bhūti and partly with the Kriyā Sakti (5. 7), are regarded as falling into two sets, namely Guņas 1 to 3, and Gunas 4 to 6, called respectively visrama- bhūmayah "stages of rest " and s'rama-bhūmayah "stages of effort"1; and the corresponding Gunas of each set (1 and 4, 2 and 5, 3 and 6) join to form a pair connected with some special divine manifestation, as will be ex- plained presently. In their totality the Gunas make up the body of Vāsudeva, the highest personal god2, as well as that of his consort Lakșmī, in the way that these two are constantly seen by the free souls inhabiting the Highest Space.3 It is mainly in this form, to wit as a person qualified by the six Gunas and distinct from his Sakti, that God is called Vāsudeva (5. 29). The apparition of the pairs denotes the beginning of that process of emanation which has been well defined as "a process which, while bringing the product into existence, leaves the source of the product unchanged ". This very ancient conception5 is com- monly (though perhaps not correctly) illustrated by the image of the light emanating from a source such as the sun, which accounts for the Sanskrit term for it, namely, ābhāsa "shining out ".® 1 These names are not in Ahirb. Samh .; see, however, Laksmī Tantra IV, 24; II, 46-47; III, 4. Of. also what is said below on the different condition of the three Vyuhas during and after Pure Creation. 2 Şudgunya-rigraham devam (V1, 25). The six Gunas exist also before creation, but without being active (V, 3). See below. 3 4 Chatterji, Kashmir Shaivaism, p. 59. & Cf. the S'anti Pūrņam adaļ, etc., at the beginning of Īsāvāsya and other Upanişads. 6 Not found in the Samhitās, in so far as known to us.

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The Pancaratra teaches a chain, as it were, of emanations; each emanation, except the first, originating from an anterior emanation; and thus the favourite image of the process has, with the Pañcaratrins, become that of one flame proceeding from another flame.1 Any production, up to the for- mation of the Egg, is imagined as taking place in this way. The first three (or, including Väsudeva, four) beings thus coming into existence are called Vyūha s. This word is a combination of the root ih "to shove" and the preposition vi "asunder" and apparently refers to the "shoving asunder" of the six Gunas into three pairs.2 This, however, does not mean that each Vyūha has only its two respective Gunas, but, as is repeatedly emphasized, each Vyüha is Vişnu Himself with His six Guņas, of which, however, two only, in each case, become manifest. Abiding by the image, we may say that each new flame has for its fuel another pair of Guņas. The Vyuhas are named after the elder brother, the son, and the grandson, respectively, of Krsna, namely Samkarșaņa (or Balarāma, Baladeva), Pradyumna, and Aniruddha; and the pairs of Gunas connected with these are respectively: jñana and bala; aisvarya and vīrya; sakti and tejas. Each Vyuha, after having appeared, remains in- active (avyāprta) for a period of 100 years of his own (lcāmya), or 1,600 human years; that is to say : the evolution of Pure Creation, up to its end or up to the point when Aniruddha "together with the two earlier [S'aktis, namely those of Samkaraņa and Pradyumna] engages 1 See for instance Pādma Tantra I, 2. 21. 2 Cāturātmya-sthitir Vişņor guņavyatikarôdbhavā (V, 21).

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in creation" (5.40), takes 3×1,600=4,800 human years.1 The Saktis of the Vyuhas, hinted at in our Samhita, are mentioned by name in a number of later Samhitās. Mahāsanatkumāra Samhitā, for instance, teaches2 that Vasudeva creates from his mind the white goddess S'ānti, and together with her Samkarsana=S'iva; then from the left side of the latter is born the red goddess S'ri, whose son is Pradyumna=Brahmán; the latter, again, creates the yellow Sarasvati and together with her Aniruddha= Purușottama, whose Sakti becomes the black Rati who is the threefold Māyā Kosa to be mentioned below.3 Each Vyūha has two activities, a creative and a moral one, that is, one connected with the origin of beings and another one connected with their ethical progress ; and each of these activities of a Vyūha is said to be mediated by one of his two Guņas .* For this reason, that is to say because the creative activities necessarily precede the moral ones, it is assumed5 that during the

1 Which is, of course, also the length of the Pralaya of Pure Creation ; see our Samhità pp. 35-36. 2 Indrarātra, sixth adhyāya ; cf. Lakșmī Tantra, sixth adhyāya. 3 It is important to bear in mind that these four couples are all of them bahir-anda-ja "born outside the [Mundane] Egg" and therefore not identical with the prakrtic Gods, Siva, etc., who belong to Gross Creation (described below, section 5). It is impossible otherwise to understand certain accounts such as the following one of Laksmi Tantra, fifth adhyāya: Brahmán and Sarasvatī create an egg (15), Visņu and Laksmī lie down in it (20), from Visu's navel there springs the Sacrificial Lotus (21), and from the Lotus are born Brahmán and Sarasvatī (27-28). 4 Vişvaksena Samhitā, in Tattvatraya ed. pp. 125-127; Lakșmī Tantra IV, 8-20. The dogma of Gunas 1 to 3 being connected with creation only, and Gunas 4 to 6 with moral progress only, is not quite adhered to in several Samhitās, it being somewhat hard to believe that Samkarsana should create by means of Knowledge but teach philosophy by means of Strength; that Pradyumna should teach ethics by means of Virility rather than Ability, etc. 5 Laksmī Tantra IV, 8, fll .; IV, 24, and II, 47.

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period of Pure Creation those Gunas only are actually manifest, though as mere "stages of rest" (visrama- bhūmayah), which become active at the beginning of Non-pure Creation, while the ' stages of effort" (srama- bhumayah) can come forth only after all the Tattvas are created. The creative activities of the Vyūhas come into play the one after the other, marking out in the following way three successive stages in the creation of the "non-pure " universe. With Samkarșana Non-pure Creation becomes dimly manifest in an embryonic condition, as a chaotie mass without internal distinctions. This is expressed in the Samhitas by the grotesque but often repeated statement that Samkarsana " carries the whole universe like a tilakālaka (dark spot under the skin)", which apparently signifies that the world he carries is still so to speak under the surface, existing only in a germinal condition1, as a minute part, as it were, of his body. The Guna with which Samkarsana performs his cosmie function, is sometimes stated to be jñana, but as a rule bala. His name Baladeva (the strong God) is also connected with this aspect of his, and so he is often described by means of such compounds as aseşa-bhuvana-ādhāra " support of the whole world ". Through Pradyumna the duality of Purușa and Prakrti makes its first appearance2 : he is said to per- form, by means of his Guna aisvarya, both the mānava sarga and the vaidya sarga3, that is, the creation of the

1 As masrņo vikūraḥ, Lakșmī Tantra VI, 7.

tişthati. 2 Lakşmī Tantra VI, 10: bhoktṛ-bhogya-samastis tu nilīnā tatra

3 LV, 17; LIX, 31 (Ahirb. S.).

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Group Soul and of Primordial Matter plus Subtle Time.1 Aniruddha, finally, "gives opportunity for growth to body and soul" (52. 51-52) by taking over the crea- tion of Pradyumna and by evolving out of it Manifest Matter (vyakta) with Gross Time, and, on the other hand, the so-called Mixed Creation (mis'ru-srsti)2 of souls; that is to say: he becomes, through his Guna s'akti, ruler of the Cosmic Eggs and their contents. The cosmic activities of the Vyūhas are also3- not, however, as it seems, in the oldest Samhitās -stated to be the creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe or of the Cosmic Egg. These statements are of a somewhat contradictory nature. Lakșmi Tantra, for instance, teaches (4. 11, 19, 20) that the cosmic function of Aniruddha is creating, that of Pradyumna preserving, and that of Samkarsana destroying; while, according to Vişvaksena Samhitā (loc. cit., p. 125 fll.), Samkarșaņa "by means of his Guna bala takes away all this", Pradyumna "by means of his Guņa aisvarya creates that [totality of] moveable and immoveable [beings]", and Aniruddha "by means of his [Guna] salti supports and protects this whole world, the infinite Egg" .* The ethical activities of the three Vyūhas are declared to be5 the teaching (1) by Samkarşana,

1 VI, 9 fll., and 12. For particulars see the next section of this Introduction. 2 Vişvaksena Samhitā, loc. cit., p. 129. 3 Cf. the identification of Samkarșaņa and S'iva, etc., mentioned above p. 36 4 In Ahirbudhnya Samhitā also, Aniruddha is occasionally called "protector", "overseer", and the like (see, for instance, LIII, 53; LV, 42), but elsewhere (LV, 21; etc.) it ascribes to him all the three activities. 5 See especially V, 21-24; Vişvaksena Samhitā, loc. cit., pp. 125-127 ; Lakșmī Tantra IV, 15-20.

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of the sastra or "theory", namely, of monotheism (ekāntika-mārga) ; (2) by Pradyumna, of its translation into practice (tat-briya) ; and (3) by Aniruddha, of the gain resulting from such practice (briyā-phala), to wit Liberation1; the instruments applied being re- spectively the Guņas jñāna or bala3, vīrya, and tejas. According to Vişvaksena Samhitā (Tattvatraya ed. p. 125) the teaching of Samkarsana is not confined to the Pāñcarātra, but includes the Veda (that is, of course, its esoteric portions). The same source says (loc. cit., pp. 126, 127) that Pradyumna "introduces all religious rites [to be performed by a Pañcarātrin]", while Aniruddha "makes known the whole truth about the [ultimate goal of ] the soul". The Vyuhas, however, have, or at least had origin- ally, still another aspect about which something must be said here. In the Nārāyanīya section of the Santi Parvan of the Mahabhārata, in Sankara's commentary on Vedānta Sūtra II, 2. 42 fll., and elsewhere, it is stated that Samkarșana represents the individual soul (jīvātman), Pradyumna the Manas, and Aniruddha the Ahamkāra. This doctrine seems to be gradually disappearing from the Samhita literature, owing, we believe, to the difficulty of connecting the Ahamkāra with such an absolutely pure being as a Vyūha. We have come across only a single passage which openly endeavours to explain the teaching in its entirety, namely, Laksmī Tantra 6. 9-14. The idea here expressed is that Samkarșana, etc., are, as it were, the soul (jiva), the mind (buddhi, manas), and the organ of self-assertion of the "playing" (that is, creating) 1 Bhuvana-abhaya-da Vaikuntha, LV, 43, and 53. 2 The former according to V, 21-22 (Ahirb. Samhita) and

IV, 15. Visv. S., loc. cit., p. 125 ; the latter according to Lakșmī Tantra

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Väsudeva. But the original meaning of the doctrine must have been rather that the Vyuhas are something like tutelar deities of the said principles. This is, in- deed, the teaching of Visvaksena Samhitā, which declares (loc. cit., pp. 125 fll.) about Samkarşaņa: "He is acting as the superintendent of all the souls"1, and about Pradyumna: "He is the superintendent of the mind (manas); he is declared to be of the nature of the mind (manomaya)." About Aniruddha no similar statement is made 2; still his being declared to be the creator of the misra-varga, that is, of the souls dominated by Rajas and Tamas, shows that he was actually looked at, by the author of that Samhitā, as the adhisthatr of the Ahamkāra. In the same Samhitā the superintendence of Samkarşana is described as follows: "Then Sam- karșana, the Divine Lord, wishing to create the world, made himself superintendent of the Principle of Life and severed it from Nature.3 And, after having done so4, the God obtained the state of Pradyumna." In Ahirbudhnya Samhitā, as we have seen, the duality of Soul and Nature appears first with Pradyumna. It is he, not Samkarșana, who is called there the "Lord of the souls " (53. 48), while Aniruddha is indeed called super- intendent, not however of the Ahamkāra but of each of the three Gunas (6. 58 fll.) or of the whole manifested world (see above p. 38, note 4). But though there is nothing in our Samhita, in so far as the account of

1 So'yam samasta-jīvānām adhisthātrtayā sthitaḥ. 2 For which reason it is also missing in Tattvatraya in the aphorism on the activities of Aniruddha (ed. p. 127). 3 Jīva-tattvam adhisthaya prakrtes tu vivicya tat, which the commentary explains thus : " He made himself superintendent of the Principle of Life, which was absorbed in Nature, and on the strength of that superintendence severed it from Nature so as to render the appearance of names and forms possible." 4 Viveka=vivecanam.

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creation is concerned, that would make the Vyūhas appear as tutelar deities in the sense mentioned ; there are indeed a few passages referring to individual life which could be so interpreted. For example, we read (53. 40 fll.) of Pradyumna that he is a source of joy by his purifying influence on vidya(=buddhi), and again that he is the internal ruler (antar-niyāmaka) of the organ of knowledge (jñānendriya); of Samkar- șaņa (59. 28, 25 fll.) that he causes the soul to flee from the world and reach Liberation by making it obtain cor- rect knowledge; and of Aniruddha (59. 84): "He bestows upon men the fruits [of their actions]", - which fruits (=results) here undoubtedly include, or even exclusively denote, those earned by selfish actions (good and bad). From each Vyuha descend1 three Sub-Vyuhas (vyūhântara, mūrtyantara), namely, (1) from Vāsudeva : Kesava, Nārāyaņa, and Mādhava; (2) from Saņkarșaņa : Govinda, Vișņu, and Madhusūdana; (3) from Pradyumna: Trivikrama, Vamana, and Sridhara; and (4) from Aniruddha: Hrsīkesa, Padmanābha, and Dāmodara. These twelve are the "Lords of the months "2, that is the tutelar deities (adhidaivata) of the twelve months and the twelve suns3, and as such play an important part in diagrams (yantras), etc.4 They are usually represented, for the purpose of meditation: Kesava as shining like gold and bearing four discuses, Nārāyana as dark (like a blue lotus) and bearing four conches, Madhava as shining like a gem (saphire) and bearing four clubs, etc.5; and they are said to protect the

1 Avatīrņāḥ, says Yat. Dīp. ed. p. 85. 2 Māsūdhipāķ, Mahāsanatkumāra S. III, 6. 33. 3 That is, the sun in the twelve months of the year; cf. the rtu- cakra, VIII, 47b fll, of Ahirb. Samh., further Yat. Dīp. ed. p. 85. + V, 49; VIII, 49; XXVI, 33 fll. 5 Yat. Dīp., loc. cit., to be compared with the fuller (and slightly different) description in adhy. XXVI of our Samhita. 6

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devotee's body if represented on the same (forehead, etc.) by certain painted vertical lines (ūrdhvapundra). Another set of twelve Vidyesvaras1 descend- ing from the Vyūhas is mentioned in a number of texts2 and derived in Pādma Tantra I, 2. 26 fll. in the following way: from the Vyuha Vasudeva springs another Vasudeva, from the latter Purușot- tama, and from him Janārdana; similarly from Samkarşaņa another Samkarșaņa, Adhokșaja, and Upendra; and from Aniruddha another Aniruddha, Acyuta, and Krsna. These twelve are enumerated after the twelve Sub-Vyuhas and called, together with the latter, "the twenty-four forms" (caturvims'ati- mūrtayah). To Pure Creation further belong the so-called Vibhavas (manifestations) or Avatāras (des- cents), that is incarnations of God or His Vyūhas or Sub- Vyūhas or angels (see below) among this or that class of terrestrial beings.3 The principal Vibhavas are, according to Ahirbudhnya Samhitā (5. 50 fll .; cf. 56. 2 fll.), the following thirty-nine: 1. Padmanābha. 14. Ekārņavas'āyin. 27. Nyagrodhas'āyin. 2. Dhruva. 15. Kamahes'vara. 28. Ekas'rngatanu. 3. Ananta. 16. Varāha. 29. Vamanadeha. 4. S'aktyātman. 17. Nārasiņha. 30. Trivikrama. 5. Madhusūdana. 18. Pīyūșāharaņa. 31. Nara. 6. Vidyādhideva. 19. S'rīpati. 32. Nārāyaņa. 7. Kapila, 20. Kāntātman. 33. Hari. 8. Vis'varūpa. 21. Rāhujit. 34. Krsņa. 9. Vihangama. 22. Kålanemighna. 35. Paras'urāma. 10. Krodātman. 23. Pārijātahara. 36. Rāma Dhanur- dhara. 11. Badabāvaktra. 24. Lokanātha. 37. Vedavid 12. Dharma. 25. S'āntātman. 38. Kalkin. 13. Vāgīs'vara. 26. Dattātreya. 39. Pātālas'ayana.

1 This term in Mahāsanatkumāra S. III, 6. 34. 2 See for example Vihagendra S. II, 18, and the passage men- tioned in the preceding note. 3 Vibhavo nāma tat-tat-sajātīya-rūpen'āvirbhāvah, Yat. Dīp- ed. p. 86.

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This list has been reproduced almost exactly from the ninth pariccheda of Sāttvata Samhitā (ed. pp. 79-80); and to that work we are, indeed, referred by our Samhitā (5. 57 fll.) for a comprehensive description of the origin, etc., of those Vibhavas. However, the description, though it is actually found there, covering over 160 slokas of the twelfth pariccheda (ed. pp. 97-109), does not, apart from some hints, deal with the origin of the Vibhavas, but only with their form and activity as objects of meditation. Still less can be gathered from the twenty-third pariccheda of the same Samhita and the fifty-sixth adhyaya of the Ahirbudhnya, where the thirty- nine Vibhavas are once more reviewed in connection with certain Mantras. We must, then, try to identify the names without any direct help, which, however, as will be seen, is not very difficult. We shall naturally begin by picking out the ten Avatāras enumerated in the Nārāyaņiya section of the S'anti Parvan, which, for obvious reasons, must be ex- pected to be included in our list. They are nos. 9 (=Hamsa), 15 (=Kūrma), 28 (=Matsya), 16, 17, 29, 35, 36, 37, and 38. Four of the others show Visnu under different aspects at the beginning of creation and after Pralaya respectively, namely : (14) as sleeping, with Lakșmi, on the primeval waters1; (1) as growing from His navel the lotus from which Brahmán is to spring; (27) as the boy floating on the Nyagrodha branch, in whose mouth Mārkaņdeya discovered the dissolved universe2; and (39) as the "Lord of the cataclysmic fire ", clad in a

1 Sāttvata S. XII, 66: nişaņņam bhogis'uyyāyām ; Lakșmī T. V, 21 : Padmayā suha vidyayā apsu sus'ayanam cakre. 2 Referring to the story related in Vana Parvan, 188 fll.

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flaming robe, waited upon by Laksmī, Cintā, Nidrā, and Pușți. Again, there are four other Avatāras who rather seem to belong together and therefore, says Sāttvata Samhitā (12. 189), may be meditated upon either collectively or singly, namely nos. 31 to 34 (including one already mentioned) who are Visnu appearing as the four sons of Dharma and Ahimsa.2 They are described, in Sāttvata S. (12. 189-148), as four ascetics clad in deer- skin, etc., the one reciting Mantras, the second absorbed in meditation, the third teaching meritorious works, and the fourth performing austerities. Then there are four (including two already men- tioned), to wit nos. 1, 5, 29, and 30, who are identical in name, and possibly in some other respect, with four of the twelve Sub-Vyūhas. Two of these, namely Vämana and Trivikrama, are, according to our sources, merely the two opposite aspects of the well-known Vamana Avatāra, that is Vișnu as the very small one (hrt-stha) and the all-pervading one (sarva-vyāpin, trailokya-pūraka)3; while no. 5 refers, of course, to Vișnu's victory over the demon Madhu.1 Of the rest some are mentioned as Avatäras in the Purāņa literature, while others are apparently not known in it as such, or altogether unknown. No. 3, Ananta, is not the serpent S'eșa but Balarāma, the brother of Krsna.5 In Padma Tantra (I, 2. 82) he 1 Sāttvata S. XII, 165 fll. 2 Nārāyaņīya, opening chapter; see Bhandarkar, Vuisņavism, etc. (E. I. A. R. vol. JII, part 6), pp. 32-33. It is clear that this Krsua is not exactly identical with the well-known one. 3 Cf. Taitt. Up .: anor aņīyān mahato mahīyān, etc. Or rather the demons Madhu and Kaitabha; see chapter 41 of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā. Who is sometimes regarded as an incarnation of S'esa rather than of Visuu Himself.

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is inserted after Parasurama as the eighth of the ten Avatāras instead of the first (Hamsa) who is omitted. No. 7, Kapila, is, according to our Samhitā (56. 81), the Sāmkhya philosopher, and he is evidently the same as Kapila the teacher of the Naga kings referred to elsewhere.1 No. 10, Krodatman, can be none else, to judge from Sāttvata S. 12. 45 fll., than Vișņu as the Yajña-varāha or Yajña-sūkara, - a parti- cular aspect of the Boar incarnation. The descrip- tion, in 56. 85-86,2 of no. 24, Lokanātha, points to Manu Vaivasvata who was saved from the deluge by Brahmán as a fish and made the [secondary] creator of all living beings. No. 20, Kāntātman, is des- cribed in Sattvata S. (12. 85 fll.) as a beautiful youth with "eyes unsteady by love", etc., that is to say as Pradyumna, or Kāma reborn (after his destruction by S'iva) as the son of Krsna. But in Ahirbudhnya S. (56. 8) he has the epithet amrta-dharaka "carrying nectar" which seems rather to point to Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, or to Dadhibhakta3. No 26, Dattātreya, is the well-known sage, son of Atri and Anasūyā. No. 37, Vedavid, is, according to Sāttvata S. (12. 154 fll.), the famous Veda-Vyāsa. All of these are among the twenty-two Avatāras enumerated in the Bhāgavata Purāņa (I, 3), supposing that Krodātman may be identified with Yajña, Kāntātman with Dhanvantari, and Lokanātha with Purușa (the Male or Progenitor). The following are also Purāņic: Dhruva (No. 2), the Rși and polar star, celebrated, in Sāttvata S. 9. 105, as the bearer

1 Pādma Tantra I, 1. 23 fil. ; Vișņutilaka II, 170 fll. ; etc. 2 Note especially vairāja and satya-vrata. 3 See below, note 3, on no. 18, next page.

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of the Ādhāra Sakti1; Vāgīsvara (no. 13), who is Hayasīrșa or Hayagrīva; and S'āntātman (no. 25), if he is, as may be supposed, either Sanatkumāra (Sanaka) or Nārada as the expounder of the Sāttvata system.2 S'aktyātman (no. 4) is Vişņu as icchā-rūpa-dhara (Sattvata S. 12. 9), that is, assuming the particular form required for pleasing some devotee. Vidyādhideva, "the Lord of Viraj", is the four-faced Brahmán. No. 8 is Vișnu in the form in which He appears to Arjuna in the famous Visvarūpa Adhyāya (11) of the Bhagavad-Gītā. No. 11 is Aurva. No. 12 is Vișņu as dharma personified. No. 18, also called Amrtāharaņa, is Vișņu as the restorer of immortality to the gods.3 No. 19 is Vişņu as the husband of Laksmi (who threw herself into His arms when she emerged from the ocean). Nos. 21 and 22 are Vișnu conquering respectively Rahu and Kalanemi. No. 23, finally, is Krsna wresting from Indra the celestial tree. The enumeration of exactly thirty-nine Avatāras, and the insistence upon this number also in the mantroddhara in both the Samhitās concerned, seems to prove that the number is meant to be exhaustive. This impression is not removed by Varavaramuni's statement, in his commentary on Tattvatraya (ed. p. 135),

1 Cf. Ahirbudhnya Samhitā, adhy. VIII, 34 fll., where, however, the term has a much wider sense. 2 The only description of S'antatman is in Sāttvata S. XII, 110 : "Having a mind full of compassion, carrying the conch and lotus in his hands, showing the threefold path of knowledge, renunciation, and virtuous deeds." 3 Of. the story of the churning of the ocean. The epithet would also fit Dadhibhakta to whom Indra is said to owe the Amrta, and who is mentioned among the chief Avatāras in Visvaksena S., loc. cit., p. 135 (Dadhibhaktas' ca deves'o darvī-hasto 'mrta- pradah). Amrtāharaņa is, thirdly, an epithet of Garuda as the stealer of Amta.

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that the real number is only thirty-six, because Kapila, Dattātreya, and Parasurāma are only secondary Ava- tāras.1 For there are more "secondary Avatāras" among the thirty-nine as well as outside their number.2 The second point to be emphasized in connection with this list is that it occurs in one of the very oldest Samhi- tās (Sāttvata) and therefore may be older than the smaller lists found in later Samhitas and older even than the Mahabharata list mentioned above. Even the smaller Nārāyaņīya list (of only six names) 3 appears from this view-point not to be the oldest list but merely a select- ion; for it is inconceivable that, for instance, the ancient and famous story of the Fish should have been overlook- ed by those who made the Boar an incarnation of Visnu. The distinction referred to in our Samhita * between primary (mukhya) and secondary (gauna, āvesa) Avatāras is explained at length in Vişvaksena Samhitā (loc. cit., pp. 130-132). There the primary Avatāras only are declared to be like a flame springing from a flame, that is to say Visnn Himself with a transcendent (aprākrta) body, while a secondary Avatāra is a soul in bondage with a natural body which, however, is possessed (avista) or pervaded, for some particular mission or function, by the power (s'akti) of Visnu. The primary Avatāras only should be worshipped by those seeking Liberation, while for mundane purposes (wealth, power, etc.) the secondary Avatāras may be resorted 1 See below. 2 Nor does the further division of the secondary or āves'a Avatāras according to svarūpāves'a and saktyāvesa (loc. cit., p. 130) help to solve the riddle; for Vyāsa belongs necessarily to the same class as Kapila, etc. 3 Namely nos. 16, 17, 29, 36, 34, and 35 of our list; see Bhan- darkar, loc. cit., p. 41. 4 VIII, 51 : vibhavântara-samjñam tad yac chaktyāves'a-sambhavam.

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to. The said Samhitā enumerates as instances of secon- dary Avatāras : Brahman, Siva, Buddha1, Vyāsa, Arjuna, Parasurāma, the Vasu called Pavaka, and Kubera, the god of riches. As for the origin of the Avatāras, Vişvaksena Sam- hitā declares that all of them spring from Aniruddha, either directly or indirectly, examples of the latter class being Mahesvara (S'iva) who descends from Aniruddha through Brahmán, and Hayasiras who comes from the Fish, who himself springs from the direct Avatāra Krsna. According to Lakșmī Tantra also (2, 55) all the Vibhavas descend from Aniruddha. Padma Tantra, on the other hand, says (I, 2. 81 fll.) that of the ten Avatāras the Fish, the Tortoise, and the Boar2 have sprung from Vāsu- deva; the Man-lion, Dwarf, S'rirama and Parasurama from Samkarşana; Balarāma from Pradyumna; and Krşna and Kalki from Aniruddha; and it indicates that the other Avatāras 3 are to be distributed in a similar way. The Avataras are not confined to human and animal forms : the vegetable kingdom is sometimes chosen, as in the case of the crooked mango-tree in the Dandaka Forest mentioned by Vişvaksena S. (loc. cit., p. 130) as an instance of this class of incarnations. Even among inanimate objects an image of Krsna, the Man-lion, Garuda, etc., becomes an Avatāra of Vișņu (endowed with a certain miraculous power felt by the worshipper) as soon as it is duly consecrated according to the Pañcaratra rites, it being supposed that 1 Possessed of the quality of making heretics, therefore called mohana "the bewilderer"! 2 That is, the three manifestations of Prajāpati mentioned in the S'atapatha Brāhmaņa (Dowson, Hindu Classical Dictionary, sub voce Avatāra). 3 Puruşa, Satya, Acyuta, Buddha, Das'ārha, S'auri, Annes'a, Haya- grīva, Nrsimha Sankhodara, Vișvaksena (?), Vrșākapi, Ādivarāha.

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Vișņu, owing to His omnipotence, is capable of "descend- ing" into such images with a portion of His sakti, that is, with a subtle ("divine", "non-natural") body.1 This is the Arca Avatara or incarnation for the purposes of ordinary worship. It is exhaustively treated in Vişvaksena Samhitā (loc. cit., pp. 122 and 143). There is, finally, the Antaryami Avatāra, which is Aniruddha as the "Inner Ruler " of all souls (niyantā sarva-dehinām)3- a very old conception based on a famous Upanisad passage. The Antaryamin is the mys- terious power which appears as instinct and the like, and which as the "smokeless flame" seated in the "lotus of the heart" plays an important part in Yoga practice.3 The Avataras, including those which belong to the past in so far as their visibility on earth is concerned, are held to be eternal aspects of Vișņu which are always helpful if properly meditated upon. It is, indeed, for meditation more than for anything else that Visnu is be- lieved to have manifested Himself under different forms. To Pure Creation, thirdly, belongs the parama- vyoman, "Highest Heaven", or Vaikuntha', with all the beings and objects contained in it. This Highest 1 The presence of God as a Vibhava in generated bodies such as those of Rama and Krsņa is also explained in this way ; see Yat. Dīp. ed. p. 53 where this is the answer to the question : "How can there be a junction between the natural and the non-natural? " (prākrta- aprākrta-samsargah katham?). 2 Visvaksena S. loc. cit., p. 122. 3 This conception of God residing in the soul but not identical with it will be found to be responsible for the apparent Advaitism of a good many passages in the Pañcaratra literature. 4 See VI, 21 fll. of Ahirb. Samhitā. This is the second-highest in the list of Tattvas, Laksmi Tantra VI, 43, enumerating : the Lord, Highest Heaven, the Purusa, S'akti, Niyati, etc. For vyoman, lit. "space,: sphere", the synonyms ākās'a, nabhas, etc., are also used; cf. loc. cit., VII, 9. 5 This name is ambiguous in that it also denotes, and more often so, the (lower) heaven of Visņu in Satya-łoka, - which is a reflection, 7

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Heaven has nothing to do with any of the temporal heavens forming the upper spheres of the Cosmic Egg. This is indicated by its being called Tripād-vibhūti, " mani- festation of the three-fourths [of God]", in contradistinct- ion to the one-fourth with which Aniruddha creates the Cosmic Egg. The Highest Heaven, in that it is not reached, at Liberation, until after the "shell" or "wall" of the Cosmic Egg has been "pierced", is defined as "infinite above, limited below." 1 The Highest Heaven with its inhabitants2 comes into existence together with the Vyūhas; and when, at the time of the Great Dissolution, the Cosmic Eggs dis- appear and Laksmī becomes indistinguishable from the Lord3, it is, of course, also withdrawn.4 But there is also another, evidently later, view, according to which the Highest Heaven (including, of course, the divine couple) is not affected by the Great Dissolution. With this second view is probably connect- ed the distinction between the Highest Heaven and the world as nitya-vibhūti5 and līlā-vibhūti, " eternal mani- festation " and "play-manifestation" (=manifestation of the play of God, that is, the world).6

en miniature, of the Highest Heaven -and occasionally even that whole sphere. Vișņu-loka is an equally ambiguous term. Some Samhitās connect each Vyūha with a particular heaven; see, for instance, Vihagendra Samhitā, II, 20. I Sā vibhutir urdhva-prades'e'nantā, adhah-prades'e paricchinnā; Yat. Dīp. ed. p. 53. The journey of the liberated soul to the boundary of the Cosmic Egg and further on, is described with infinite detail in chapters 5 to 7 of Tripādvibhūtimahānārāyaņa Upanișad. 2 Among whom also the liberated souls are represented from the beginning, namely by those innumerable ones liberated in former Kalpas ; P. Prakās'a S. VI, 7. 3 See above, beginning of section 2, p. 29 fll. 4 P. Prakās'a S. I, 14: Vaikuņțhādivihāram hitvā. 5 Or bhoga-vibhūti, Tattvatraya ed. p. 76. 6 Cf. p. 53, our explanation of the terms nityôdita and s'āntôdita.

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In the Highest Heaven there is, just as on earth, a distinction between matter and souls. For the souls without matter would have no objects of enjoyment. The heavenly matter, however, or "pure matter" (s'uddha-sattva), as it is called, is not a mixture of the three Gunas, nor the Sattva Guna without an admixture of the other Gunas, though it is sometimes understood in the latter sense. The Highest Heaven coming into existence together with the Vyūhas (6. 21 fll.), it is clear that the Sattva Guna, which originates much later, namely only from Kāla (Time)1, can have nothing to do with it. Pure Matter, then, is a sort of spiritual matter which exists nowhere except in Pure Creation. It is a necessary hypothesis for explaining: (1) the non-natural (a-prakrta) bodies of God, the angels, and liberated souls; and (2) the presence, in the "City of Vaikuntha ", of inanimate objects, to wit, "instruments of enjoyment" such as sandal, flowers, jewels, etc."2, and "places of enjoy- ment " such as parks, lotus-tanks, pavilions, etc.3 Pure matter is spiritual, that is "of the nature of Knowledge and Bliss" (6. 22, 24), in so far as it is nowhere an obstacle to the mind, but consists, on the contrary, of nothing but wishes materialised. It is, as it were, the "solidified splendour " (styānā prabha) of Pure Creation (6. 21-22). The most prominent figure in Highest Heaven is God Himself in His para or "highest" form, which is the first of his five prakäras or modes of existence, the other four being the Vyūhas and the three kinds of Avatāras 1 See below section 3 of this part of our Introduction. 2 One edition of Yat. Dīp. includes women (vadhū) ! 3 Cf., for (1) the jñānānandamayā dehāh, and for (2) the ānanda- mayā bhogāḥ and ānandalaksaņā lokah mentioned in VI, 24 and 23 resp. of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā.

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treated of above.1 He assumes this form as a " root of his innumerable Avatāras "2 and especially for the enjoy- ment of the angels and the liberated.3 The Divine Figure is adorned with nine chief orna- ments and weapons, which symbolically represent the prin- ciples of the universe*, namely, the Kaustubha (a jewel worn on the breast)=the souls, the S'rivatsa (a curl of hair on the breast)=Prakrti, a club=Mahat, a conch= the Sāttvic Ahamkāra, a bow=the Tāmasic Ahamkāra, a sword=knowledge, its sheath=ignorance, the discus= the mind, the arrows=the senses, a garland=the elements.5 These weapons and ornaments are not merely regarded as symbols but also as actually con- nected (as presiding deities or the like) with the Tat- tvas they represent. In this sense we read, for instance, in Vişņutilaka (2.29-81) that during the nniversal night the soul " in the form of the Kaustubha" rests in

1 Mama prakārāh pañceti prāhur vedanta-pāragāh, Vișv. S., loc. cit., p. 122. Cf. above pp. 24 fll. our explanation of the name Pañcarātra. 2 Anantâvatāra-kanda, Tattvatraya ed. pp. 118-119. In Viha- gendra S. II, 15 the Sāksāt Sakti is called mūrtīnam bījam avyayam. 3 The para form of God is four-armed and of dark-blue com- plexion (Visv. S., loc. cit., p. 136; Padma Tantra I, 2, 13 and 15). It has sprung, according to Padma Tantra (I, second adhyāya; cf. Visņutilaka II, 5 fll.), from a still higher, the very first, form of God (rúpam ādyam sanātanam; Vișņutilaka II, 10: Vāsudevāhvayam mahah ; cf. Ahirb. Samh., XLIII, 7: mahah paramabhasvaram) which is two-handed (cf. Vihagendra S. II, 16), of the colour of a pure crystal, and clad in a yellow robe - just as the Sudars'ana Purusa (mantra-tanur Bhagavān) residing in Vaikuņtha who appears to Ahirbudhnya, XLIV 22 fll. (cf. XLIII 9 fll.). This is the "best of Purusas " and the "Highest Light" seen by Brahman in meditation (Pādma Tantra I, 3. 16 fll.) and "ever to be remembered by Yogins as seated in the lotus of the heart ", - that is, evidently, the Antar- yāmin placed here above the Para. This form, again, has originated from "that which has all forms and no form ", " Brahman without beginning, middle or end ". 4 See next section of this Introduction. 5 The great authority on this subject is for all later writers the Astra bhūșaņa Adhyāya of Vișņu Purāņa (I, 22).

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the splendour of Bráhman from which it is again sent out into the world (prapancita) at the beginning of the new cosmic day in order to return once more and for ever when it is liberated. God as Para is sometimes identified with, and sometimes distinguished from, the Vyūha Vāsudeva. When the two are distinguished, whether as nityôdita "ever-manifest " and s'antôdita "periodically manifest" ' or otherwise2, the Vyūha Vāsudeva is said to have sprung from the Para Vasudeva who, again, may be identified with, or [more correctly] distinguished from, the Ab- solute (Purușa, Bráhman, Nārāyaņa, etc.)3. Pādma Tantra describes the Para Väsudeva as dividing himself "for some reason" and becoming with one half the Vyūha Vāsudeva, "crystal-like", and with the other Nārāyaņa, "black as a cloud ", the creator of the primeval waters (=Māyā).ª God as Para is said to be always in the company of his consort S'ri (Laksmī), or of his wives S'ri and Bhūmi, or of S'rī, Bhūmī, and Nīlā, or even of eight or

1 Nityôditāt sambabhūva tathā s'āntôdito Harih, Vișvaksena S., loc. cit., p. 133, cf. p. 136. S'ānta-uditu, "set and risen ", is a Tatpurușa compound of the Vis'esanôbhayapada class, cf. snātânulipta, etc. The comm., loc. cit., p. 133, gives no etymological explanation, but merely paraphrases the two terms by means of nitya-mukta-anubhāvya and Samkarşaņavyūha-kāranabhuta respectively. Cf. above p. 50 the ex- pressions nitya-vibhūti and līlā-vibhūti. 2 Pādma Tantra I, 2. 16 fll .; cf. Vișņutilaka II, 11. Here the Para is not nitya, "eternal ", but a periodical manifestation like the Vyūha Vāsudeva. This is, of necessity, also the standpoint of the Ahirb. Samh. which, however, in calling the Absolute nityôdita (II, 25) and Lakşmī uditânuditākārā nimeșônmeșarupiņī (III, 6) but again the Vyūhas nityôdita (IX, 31), is not consistent in the use of these terms. 3 The two are clearly distinguished in Pādma Tantra (see note 3 on p. 52), also in P. Prakas'a S.I, 2.3: Puruşād Vasudevo'bhut, catvāro hy abhavams tatah. * Vişnutilaka, however (II, 11-16), modifying this account, identifies the Para with Nārāyaņa.

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of twelve Saktis. The first of these views 1 is naturally favoured in such works as Ahirbudhnya Samhitā, which make Sakti a real philosophical principle.2 The second view3 is based (in a rather strained manner) on the weighty authority of the Uttaranārāyaņa (end) which is the continuation, in the White Yajurveda, of the Purușa Sūkta. The third view * is the one adopted in the later Visistâdvaita5, where, however, it plays such an insignificant part that, for instance, in Tattvatrya this is the only item connected with the Para Vāsudeva which is mentioned but not explained.6 It is apparently not found at all in the older Samhita literature.7 It is, however, expounded at some length in one of the Minor Upanișads, namely Sītā Upanișad, where (as in Vihagendra S. 2. 8) S'ri, Bhūmī, and Nīlā are identified respectively with the Icchā, Kriyā, and Sākşāt Sakti of the Devī; S'ri representing good luck (bhadra), Bhūmi might

VII, 9-10. 1 See Ahirb. Samh. VI, 25 ; IX, 31; XXXVI, 55 ; Lakșmī Tantra

2 This, of course, does not exclude the admission of the existence, in Highest Heaven, of minor Saktis; cf. XXVIII, 85 of Ahirb. Samhitā, enjoining that the worship of God should be followed by that of the gods and [their] Saktis (s'akti-yositam) forming His retinue, 3 Pādma Tantra I, 2. 46; Pārames'vara S. I, 7, where Bhūmī is called Pușți (Lakșmīpustyoḥ svarūpe ca nitye Bhagavatā saha). 4 Vihagendra S., 2nd adhyāya; P. Prakāsa S. I, 1. 58-59; Parās'ara S., adhy. 8 to 10. 5 Tattvatraya, ed. pp. 85, 122; Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 84.

ed. p. 122. 6 The comm. makes a futile attempt at excusing the author,

7 The comm. both of Tattvatraya and Yat. Dip. have no other Smrti authority for it than a stanza of the Saiva Purana, to which they add, as Sruti quotation, the passage of the Uttaranārāyaņa mentioned above, Srīnivāsadāsa explaining that Nīlā must be under- stood implicitly !- In P. Prakas'a S. (hardly earlier than the twelfth century) the three Saktis, regarded as aspects of the one Sakti, are connected with the souls, the white Sri taking care of the souls in which the Sattva Guna dominates, the red Bhu of the Rājasic ones, and the black (nīlā) Durgā of the Tāmasic ones (I, 1. 58-59).

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(prabhāva), and Nīlā the moon, sun, and fire. Sri, further, is threefold: as Yoga, Bhoga, and Vira Sakti (connected resp. with Yoga practice, domestic and temple worship); Nīlā as Soma is also the goddess of vegetation, and as sun the goddess of time, while as fire she is connected with hunger and thirst, heat and cold ; and Bhūdevi, of the nature of the Pranava, is the sustaining power of the earth with its fourteen planes. The mention, in the Upanișad, of the Rși Vaikhānasa (though the passages in question are probably interpolated) seems to indicate that we should seek for these doctrines rather in the Vaikhānasa than in the Pāncarātra Samhitās. Eight Saktis, namely "Lakșmī, etc.", are often mentioned but seldom enume- rated. They are evidently the following eight, associated in Vihagendra S. (3. 8) with the " hero form" (vira-mūrti) of the Sudarsana, to wit : Kirti (Fame), Sri (Fortune), Vijayā (Victress), Sraddhā (Faith), Smrti (Memory), Medhā (Intelligence), Dhrti (Endurance), and Kșamā (Forbearance).1 In Pādma Tantra (I, 2. 88) and Vişņu- tilaka (2.21) they are stated to originate from the S'rīvatsa of Vișnu2. The following twel ve Saktis are enumerated in Sāttvata S. (9. 85): Lakșmī, Pușți (Prosperity), Dayā (Compassion), Nidrā (Sleep), Kșamā, Kānti (Beauty), Sarasvati (Learning), Dhrti, Maitrī (Benevolence), Rati (Venus), Tuști (Satisfaction), and Mati (=Medhā). These play a part in the Avatāra theory and elsewhere. For instance, the fourteenth Avatāra is said to be waited upon by Lakșmī, Nidrā,

Samhitā. 1 For another "eight women" see XXVI, 37 fll. of Ahirb.

2 Who, as we have seen (p. 52, note 3), is subordinate here to a higher aspect of God.

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Prīti (=Maitrī), and Vidyā (=Sarasvatī) ; and the thirty- ninth by Laksmī, Cintā (=Mati), Nidrā and Pușți. Of the two classes 1 of Jivas or individual souls existing in the Highest Heaven, the more exalted ones are the so-called Nityas (eternal ones) or Sūris (sages, masters), which two words can be fairly accurately rendered by "angels".2 They differ from the other class to be dealt with hereafter not in point of know- ledge, both being declared to fully participate in the Lord's omniscience, but (1) in having been always free from defilement3, and (2) in holding perpetually certain offices as coadjutors of the Lord.4 The duties they have to discharge are, however, so mysterious that hardly any attempt has been made at defining the same. These angels are, besides the "door-keepers" and "town- watchmen" of the "Holy City of Vaikuntha", called respectively Canda, Pracanda, Bhadra, Subhadra, etc., and Kumuda, Kumudākșa, Puņdarīka, Vāmana, etc.,5 the so-called Parșadas or Pārișadas, that is "companions" (retinue) of God, and in addition to [or among]6 1 Mentioned together in several passages of Ahirb. Samh., for instance, IX, 30. 2 The existence of these angels is based on such scriptural passages as the famous Tad Visnoh paramam padam sadā pasyanti sūrayah and S'vetās'vatara Upanișad VĪ, 13: Nityo nityānām cetanas cetanānām eko bahūnām yo vidadhāti kāmān. 3 Kadūpi samsāram aprāptāh, asprsta-samsāra-gandhah (Tattva- traya, ed. pp. 26, 28), the others being only nivrtta-samsārah " who have done with the world " (ibid., p, 28). 4 Teşām adhikāra-vis'eşā īsvarasya nityecchayaivânāditvena vyava- sthāpitāḥ, Yat. Dīp., ed. pp. 78-79. 5 Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 83. 6 The Pårisadas are distinguished from Kumuda, etc., as well as Ananta, etc., in Pādma Tantra I, 2. 36-40, but often the term is used in a wider sense. In Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 84, "Ananta, Garuda, Visvaksena, etc." are called Nityas, but not the "door-keepers" and "watchmen "; still, there being among the Muktas neither office-

but Nityas. bearers nor social distinctions at all (see below), the rest can be nothing

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the latter the three more prominent beings called Ananta, Garuda, and Vişvaksena. Of these, Ananta or S'eșa, the serpent, is the couch of Vișnu, and Garuda, the "king of birds", his so-called vehicle (vahana), while Vişvaksena, the " lord of hosts"1, is described as a sort of chief minister to God in all affairs heavenly and mundane. This part of Visvaksena, if taken in earnest, would seem to clash with the activities of the Vyuhas; and he appears to have actually ousted them in that sect described in the thirtieth chapter of Ānandagiri's Sankaravijaya, which recom- mends the worship of him only who "rules the whole universe like a second Avatara of the Lord residing in Vaikuntha."2 Lastly, it must be stated that Nityas can incarnate at will in the world, just as Vișņu Himself.3 The lower class of inhabitants of the Highest Heaven are the Muktas or Liberated. They are described (6. 27) as intensely radiating spiritual atoms of the size of a trasarenu (mote in a sunbeam) .* This description is evidently connected with Mahabh. XII, 346. 18 fll. where it is said that the liberated become atomic after having been burned up by the Sun; and in so

1 Called also S'esās'ana " the eater of leavings", namely, of God, that is, presumably : the executor of His plans; cf. the commentaries, Tattvatraya, ed. p. 28; the explanation, ibid., of the Serpent's name S'eșa (the "appurtenance" of Vișņu, namely, His bed, seat, etc.) is little convincing. - Visvaksena occurs in the story narrated in adhy. XLI of Ahirb. Samh., stanzas 18 and 30 fll. 2 Ibid. is mentioned a gorgeous Temple of Visvaksena in a place [in Northern India] called Marūndha (spelt Marundha in the poetical paraphrase, Ānandās'rama Series no. 22, p. 559). 3 Cf. p. 44, note 5. 4 Svarūpam aņumātram syāj jñānānandaikalakșaņam l trasareņu-pramāņās te ras'mi-koți-vibhūsitā u, Vişvaksena S., loc. cit., p. 13; the second half also in Ahirb. Samh., VI, 27. 8

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far as this undoubtedly means that the liberated by passing through the Sun get rid of their subtle body, Tattvatraya (ed. p. 12) is right in teaching the "atomi- city " of any, even the bound, soul, if described in itself.1 The liberated, then, are bodiless. But this only means that they have no "karma-made" body; they can assume, whenever they like, a "non-natural" body, or even simultaneously several such bodies 2, and freely roam about in the whole world.3 They are, however, excluded from actual interference in worldly affairs *, differing in this respect from the angels, as already noticed. Among the Muktas there exists no gradation or social difference of any kind - they heing as equal, essentially, as for instance grains of rice 5 - still their mode of life differs by the difference of devotional inclinations preserved from their last earthly existence. " Whatever form [of God] the devotee has been attached to in his mundane existence, that kind does he behold as an inhab- itant of the Highest Heaven."6 We are not told whether the liberated have any intercourse with each other, but if the bodies of Pitrs (ancestors, etc., lost by death) are created for them by God7, and if, as is often said, they are intent upon nothing but service (kain- karya) to God, then, indeed, they are practically alone with their God.

1 The soul is also vibhu, in spite of its atomicity; see below section 6 of this part of our Introduction. 2 As Yogins can do already while still alive, the classical example being that of Saubhari (Tattvatraya ed., p. 31, Yat. Dīp. ed., p. 70). Yat. Dīp. ed., p. 78. 4 Yat. Dīp., p. 78; cf. Brahma Sūtra IV, 4, 17. 5 Tattvatraya, ed. p. 33. 6 Ahirb. Samh. VI, 29-30. 7 Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 53.

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The Visistâdvaita teaches that there exists a second class of Muktas, namely the so-called Kevalas or " exclu- sive ones", who are actually altogether "isolated" because they have reached Liberation, not by devotion to God, but by constant meditation upon the real nature of their own soul. They are said to be living, "like the wife who has lost her husband ", "in some corner" outside both the Highest Heaven and the Cosmic Egg.1 We have so far not found this doctrine in any of the Pancaratra Samhitās but should not be surprised if it were even- tually discovered in one or several of them.

3. INTERMEDIATE CREATION

(Evolution, Second Stage)

"Based " on Pure Creation2 but performed with only one myriadth part of the infinitely small portion of divine energy employed in it3, is that other manifestation of the Bhuti Sakti which is " different from the pure one" (s'uddhêtara), that is, partly "mixed" and partly "impure "*, namely the Kūțastha Purușa and the Māyā 1 Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 76, Tattvatraya, ed. pp. 28, 121. 2 Tanmulaiva, VI, 7. 3 III, 27; Lakşmī Tantra IV, 35. 4 The use, in our Samhita, of the terms s'uddhêtara and s'uddhasuddha is of a bewildering ambiguity. In VII, 68-70 the term s'uddhêtara has a different meaning in each of the three stanzas, namely, in 68: "comprising the pure and what is different from it"; in 69: "other than pure"; and in 70: " belonging to both the pure and what is different from it", -"what is different from it" (itara=tad-itara) being in 68 inclusive of, in 70 exclusive of the "mixed" creation, the latter being evidently not included either in 69. Similarly the sense of s'uddhas'uddha in V, 9 and LIX, 55 concurs with the first of the above meanings (as'uddha implying the "mixed "), and that of s'uddhy-as'uddhi-maya in VI, 34 with the third. - Instead of " mixed" (Visvaksena S., loc. cit., p. 128 fll.) the present Samhitā says "pure-impure ".

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S'akti with their respective developments. This Non-pure Creation falls into a primary and a secondary one, and the former, again, consists of two well-defined stages1 of which the first, to be described in this section, may well be called the Intermediate Creation. The Kūțastha Purușa, called also simply Kūțastha2 or Purușa, is explained in our Samhitā (6. 88- 84) in the words: "An aggregate of souls, similar to a bee-hive3, the pure-impure condition of Bhūti, - such is the Purușa piled up by souls blunted by beginningless Germ-impressions (vasana)"; with which should be compared the definition in Lakşmī Tantra (7. 11-12) : "By Purușa is meant the all-knowing, all-faced Bhoktr Kūțastha: as his parts go forth from him all the eternal souls (jiva), and likewise at [the time of] Dissolution the work[-bound] souls, go back to him, the highest soul (nara)." The Kūțastha Purușa, then, is the soul of souls, that is to say, the totality, regarded as the source, 4 of all disembodied but karma-bound (non-liberated) souls

1 Treated respectively in adhyàyas VI and VII of our Samhită. 2 There are several speculations about the meaning of this word which is, of course, the old Samkhya term mentioned already in the Buddhist Nikayas. The explanation rās'ivat sthita "existing in the form of a heap (collection, aggregate)", seems to be favoured, in our Samhitā, by the image of the bee-hive (see below). Other passages, however (XVI, 38, cf. 46; XXIV, 24; etc.), suggest the idea of the Purusa "standing at the top " of the soul's pedigree. The latter explanation is the one which Vedantadesika prefers to the former ; see his commentary on Srībhāsya for Bhagavadgītā XII, 3 (anekeşām santanyamānānām purusāņām sūdhāraņo hi pūrvah purusah Kuțasthah). 3 In IX, 25 this image is used for the Maya Sakti, while in IX, 27 the Kūtastha is compared with [the hole of] an Udumbara tree swarming with countless bees. 4 The Kutastha (and likewise the four Manus to be mentioned) is not a mere collective being; cf. the description of Brahmán as "consisting of the totality of bound souls ".

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before the creation and after the dissolution of the "non-pure " universe.1 He is of a mixed nature (s'uddhy-asuddhi-maya, 6. 84) in that he is pure in himself but impure on account of his carrying the above-mentioned Germ-impressions left over from the latest life-period of the souls. The Kūțastha Purușa, and, as will be seen, also the Māya Sakti, take their rise from Pradyumna. The origin of the Kūtastha from Pradyumna is made to agree with the Puruşa Sūkta by describing the Kūțastha as consisting of four couples, namely, the male and female ancestors of the four castes, springing respec- tively from the mouth, arms, legs, and feet of Pradyumna. Accordingly, the Kutastha is called "the Purușa of four pairs", "the Purusa consisting of twice four", "the aggregate of Manus", "the eight Manus", "the four Manus"2, or simply " the Manus "; and he is imagined as retaining this form while "descending " the long line of Tattvas in the manner to be described, until he is fully materialized and thus prepared for further multi- plication. It is stated (7. 54 fll.) 3 that the Manus are the origin merely of the Pitrs, Devarsis, and men*, and that there are other "wombs" (and, consequently, lines

'Note that the liberated souls do not :return to the Kūtastha. 2 Vişvaksena S., loc. cit., p. 126. These seem to be the "four Manus" that have puzzled all commentators and translators of Bhagavadgīta X, 6, in which case the above conception of the Kūțastha (though not necessarily the Pāñcaratra) would be older than the Gīta. Note that the Seven Rsis mentioned together with the four Manus in the s'loka referred to of the Gita have the same names as the Citras'ikhandins who, according to the Narāyaņīya, are the first promulgators of the Pañcarātra. 3 In contradiction to IV, 13: cetana-varga, unless this be meant in a restricted sense. * Not of all men but only of the Sattvic ones, according to some authorities; see below, fifth section.

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of evolution) such as those of the Devas, Daityas, Gan- dharvas, etc.1; but the latter are nowhere described.3 The Maya Sakti, called also simply Sakti, further Bhagavat Sakti, Mülaprakrti, Sasvadvidya, or simply Vidyā3, is the same to the material universe as is the Kūtastha to the world of souls; that is to say, it is the non-spiritual energy which comes into existence, by the side of the Purusa, as the primitive form of the "matter" or "nature" (prabrti) into which the Manus are destined to gradually "descend". As "root-matter", however (4. 4), it differs from the Mülaprakrti of the Samkhyas (mentioned as such in 7. 1) in that the latter is only one of its two manifestations, namely, its so-called "Guņa body" (gauna or gunamaya vapus), the other one being the "Time body " (kālamaya vapus) consisting of Kala "Time" and its "subtle " cause, namely Niyati "Restriction". These three last-mentioned, that is Niyati, Kāla, and Guna, are declared to originate from the forehead*, eyebrows, and ears respectively of Pradyumna (6.12),

' Altogether eight such "forms" (murty-astaka) are enumerated, along with the Vibhavas, etc., in Pādma Tantra (I, 2. 29-30), namely, brāhmī, prājūpatyā, vaisņavī, divyā, ārșī, mānusī, āsurī, and paisācī; cf. Sāņkhya Kārikā 58. 2 And cannot, indeed, be consistently described after the dissection of the Purusa for the purpose of man. Philosophy clashes here with mythology. 3 Of all these names, to which may be added from Lakmī Tantra: Mahālakșmī, Mahes'varī, and Bhadrakālī, the first alone (IV, 52; cf. VI, 35-36)is fairly unequivocal. The usual one, in our Samhitā, is Sakti. Vidyā, as an Agāmic term, means " magical power", that is much the same as Māyā, Avidyā, and, after all, Sakti, and all of these are synonyms of more than one kind of Prakrti and therefore, like dhenu, etc., in constant danger of misinterpreta- tion. The adjective vaidya, rather frequent in our Samhitā, is as a rule a mere substitute for prākrtika. 4 For the connection of Niyati with the forehead cf. the phrase lalāțe likhitam " written on the forehead"-fate.

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just as the four pairs of Manus have been derived from his mouth, etc. Having produced the Kūțastha Purușa and the threefold Māya Sakti, Pradyumna transfers both of them, "the Sakti with the Purusa in it" (6. 14), "for further development " (vardhayêti, 6. 18) to Aniruddha. Developed for a thousand years (55. 48)1 by the Yoga of Aniruddba (6. 14) there emerge now once more, but this time successively, the already-mentioned mate- rial principles (6. 48 fll.) : first, directly from Aniruddha, Sakti; then, from Sakti, Niyati; from Niyati, Kāla; from Kala, the Sattva Guna; from the latter the Rajo Guna; and, from the latter, the Tamo Guna; and simultaneously and in the same order the Manus travel through these Tattvas by "descending " into each of them, after its appearance, and "staying" in it, for some time, "as a fœtus" (kalalī-bhūta, 6. 45), - which means (to judge from their further devel- opment) that they appropriate successively the in- dividual faculty which each of these Tattvas is capable of bestowing. By the way it may be mentioned here that the chapter on Dissolution (4. 54-60) inserts the Kūtastha between Aniruddha and Sakti, assigning thus to the Kūtastha a position similar to that of Brahman in the Upanisads, creating the world and then entering it. We have now to say some words on each of those educts of Māyā Sakti. Māyā Sakti, Niyati, and Kāla occupy in the philosophy of the Pancarātra the very place which is

1 Cf. such passages as Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad I, 1. 2 relating how the Year (that is, time) is born after having been "carried " by Prajāpati for one year.

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held in the Saiva systems by the six so-called Kañcukas or "jackets ", that is limiting forces owing to which the soul loses its natural perfections (omniscience, etc.)1. As a matter of fact, the doctrine of the six Kañcukas called Māyā, Kalā, Vidyā, Rāga, Niyati, and Kāla seems to be a mere elaboration of the older doctrine, found with the Pancaratras, of only three powers of "limitation " (samkoca), namely the three mentioned. These three appear in Lakşmi Tantra as "the three mothers and creators of the world " called Mahālakşmī 2, Mahāvidyā 3, and Mahākālī* and representing respectively the Rajasic, Sāttvic, and Tamasic aspect of the Goddess; and they are said to be Aniruddha's wife Rati in the form of the "Sheath of Māyā" (māyā-kos'a).5 Niyati, "the Sakti consisting of great knowledge"6, is "the subtle regulator of every thing " 7 such as " the form which [a being] may have, its work, and its nature " (6. 48). It is clear from this definition8 that Niyati is not only what the Vaisesikas call Dis, to wit the regu- lator of positions in space9, but that it also regulates, as Kārmic necessity, the intellectual capacity, inclinations,

1 For an able account of these see Chatterji, Kashmir Shaivaism, pp. 75 fil. Cf. also Schomerus, Der Çaiva-Siddhanta, p. 137. 2 Or Mahasri, Parames'varī, Bhadrakalī, etc. 3 Or Mahāvāņī, Sarasvatī, Mahādhenu, etc. 4 Or Mahāmāyā, Kālarātri, Nidrā, etc. 5 Laksmī Tantra VII, 13; IV, 67; VI, 18-19; see for the names also IV, 36, 39 fll., 62, and V, VI, VII (passim). 6 Mahāvidyāmayī saktiķ, IV, 51. Of. note 3. 7 Sūkşmah sarva-niyāmakaḥ, VI, 46. 8 Which is foreshadowed in Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad III, 8. 9: "By the order of this Imperishable One are kept asunder (vidhrtau tișthatah) sun and moon ...... are the gods dependent on the performer of sacrifices, the manes on the funeral gift." Cf. also ibid. IV, 4, 22 : setur vidharanah. 9 Chatterji, Hindu Realism, pp. 58 fll.

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and practical ability of every being; that is to say, that it includes the functions of the above-mentioned S'aiva principles called Vidyā, Rāga, and Kalā.1 Kāla, Time, is defined (4.48) as "the mysterious power existing in time, which urges on everything", and, in another passage (6. 81), as the principle which " pur- sues2 everything to be matured, as the stream [is after] the bank of the river." It is further said (6. 49) that this is "the cooking (maturing) form of time".3 Kāla, then, as originating from Niyati and giving origin to the Gunas, is not time as it appears to us (subjective time) but a subtle force conditioning it. This distinction between the ordinary or empiric and a higher or transcendental time can be traced back* to the Kala hymns of the Atharvaveda and is recognizable in the great epic in such phrases as "Time leads me in time"5. One Upanişad® speaks of "the time that has parts" (sakala kāla) and "non-time having no parts", the former being "later" than the sun and stars, the latter "earlier"; further on, time that "cooks" (matures) all beings, but is excelled by "him in whom time is cooked". From these two famous texts and similar ones it was eventually concluded that the

1 The Saiva principle Niyati, as distinct from Vidyā, etc., was originally in all probability nothing more than the Dis' of the Vais'esikas; but the use of the word in common language in the sense of Fate has (at least in the Dravidian school) obscured its relation to the other Kañcukas. 2 Or " counts, measures" (kalayati). 3 Kālasya pācanam rūpam. 4 See my comprehensive sketch of the earlier history of Kāla in Ueber den Stand der Indischen Philosophie zur Zeit Mahaviras und Buddhas, pp. 17 to 30. 5 Kālah kāle nayati mām, XII, 227. 29, 6 Maitrāyaņa VI, 15. 9

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changing time which we observe in daily life is only "time as an effect" (karya-kala) the cause of which must be a "time without sections " s" (akhanda- kala) and unchanging1; and (2) that there must be a sphere or condition which is totally unaffect- ed by time', though time exists in it as an instru- ment to be used at will ;- that is to say that there are, strictly speaking, three kinds of time, to wit : (1) effected or "gross " time, which plays no part until after the creation of the Tattvas3; (2) causal or "subtle" time which, though relatively " eternal" (and often called so) is also created, namely, by Aniruddha (or Pradyumna); and (3) "highest" time existing in Pure Creation. It is, evidently, in this sense that our Samhitā declares (53. 10-11): "Gross is called the time possessing the lava (one-sixth of a second), etc. ; s u bt l e the one deter- mining the Tattvas; while that which pervades the activity of the Vyuhas is styled Highest Time ". That there may be a still higher time connected with Vāsudeva alone is denied in the words (53. 11-12): "Effecting by time belongs always to the triad of Vyūhas [only]: the Lord Vāsudeva is not a Vyūha* nor a possessor of time." It follows, then, that the Tattva called Kala emanating from Niyati is the second or "subtle " kind of time.5

1 Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 50, and elsewhere. 2 Tattvatraya, ed. p. 122. 3 Though, as will be seen, it comes into existence already before the latter is completed. * Though said to form a tetrad together with the Vyuhas, V, 25-26. 5 There is more material about this subject (for instance, adhy- III of P. Prakās'a S.); and it will probably be found that the con- ception of time is not exactly the same in some Samhitās as in others,

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"The Guna Body, or that form of Sakti mentioned above which is manifested gradually from Kāla" (6. 51- 52) consists of the three Gunas, as already remarked. It has to be added that each Guna, while evolving in the manner described, comes under the special protectorship of Aniruddha in the form of the Trimūrti; that is to say : Aniruddha as Vișnu becomes the superintendent of Sattva, as Br a hm á n that of Rajas, and as Rudra that of Tamas. These three gods, together with their S'aktis (Lakşmi, Sarasvatī, Gaurī)1, regarded as the forces underlying the formation of the Avyakta, are called in Lakşmī Tantra (6. 20-21) the "Sheath of Generation" (prasuti-kosa)2. In the same text (4. 82 fll.) it is stated with regard to the first origin of the Gunas that they have been formed from [an infinitesimal part of] the first, second, and third of the six Gunas of the Lord.3 The qualities which become manifest through the Gunas are according to Ahirb. Samh .: (1) lightness, brightness, healthiness, pleasure ; (2) motion, passion, restlessness, pain ; and (3) heaviness, obstruction, inertia, stupefaction. After the Gunas have evolved separately, they be- come, "for the purpose of creation ", a uniform mass called as a rule Avyakta (the .Non-manifest) or Mülaprakrti (Root-nature), but also, according to

1 Who, however, according to Laksmī Tantra V, 6 fll., have sprung: Brahman and Lakşmī from Mahalaksmī + Pradyumna Rudra and Sarasvatī from Mahākālī-|-Saņkarșaņa; and Vișņu and Gaurī from Mahāvidyā+ Aniruddha. 2 This is the third kosa or material "husk" of the Devi, the second being the above-mentioned Māyā Kos'a, and the first the Sakti Kos'a comprising the Vyuhas and their Saktis. Three more Kos'as are connected with the lower primary and the secondary creation to be described in the next two sections of this Introduction. 3 The other three being employed for the creation of Kāla; ibid. V, 24-25.

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our Samhitā (6. 68), by such names as Tamas (Darkness)1, Guņa-sāmya (Equality of Guņas)2, Avidyā (Ignorance), Svabhāva (Nature), Akșara (the Imperishable), Yoni (Womb), Ayoni (the Unborn), Guna-yoni (=gunamaya yoni, Guna-made Womb).

4. LOWER PRIMARY CREATION

(Evolution, Third Stage.)

The "descent" of the Manus into Matter having reached the Tamo Guna (6.59), and the three Gunas having joined to form the Mūlaprakrti (6. 61 fll.), there follows now that evolution which is the only one known to the Classical Samkhya with which, as we shall see, the Pancaratra does on the whole, but not throughout, agree. At the very outset there is this difference that, whereas the Classical Samkhya has only two principles to start with, namely, Purușa and Prakrti, our Samhitā begins this chapter with stating emphatically (though not in a polemic way) that the development which now sets in, results from the combined activity of three prin- cipal agents, namely, Prakrti, Purușa, and Kāla (Matter, Soul, Time).3 The mutual relation of the first two is explained in exactly the same way as in the Classical

1 That is, undifferentiatedness. Cf. the expression s'āntātman used promiscuously with aryakta in Kathaka Upanișad III, 10-13. 2 Meaning that in this condition, as distinguished from the later "inequality of Guņas" (guna-vais'amya), the three forces are equally distributed in every particle of matter. 3 In the Classical Sāmkhya time is a mere quality of matter (Samkhya Sūtra II, 12), - an impossible view in an early system ; cf. Schrader, Ueber den Stand der Indischen Philosophie sur Zeit Mahavīras und Buddhas.

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Sāmkhya: Prakrti changes, like milk and clay [changing, respectively, to curds, etc., and pots, etc.], owing to the proximity (=magnetic influence) of the unchangeable Purușa. But both these Tattvas are being "cooked" by Time.1 Again, there is this difference, that there are not many Puruşas, as in classical Sāmkhya, but at this stage only the one Kūțastha or Samașți (Collective) Purușa. As the first product of this combined activity of the three there emerges from the Avyakta the Mahat (masc., neutr.) or "Great One", called also Mahat Tattva "the Great Principle".2 Our Samhita enume- rates (7. 8-9) the following more or less pregnant syno- nyms for this term: Vidya3, Go (Cow)3, Avani (Earth), Brāhmī (the Cosmic One), Vadhū (Woman)3, Vrddhi (Growth), Mati (Intellect), Madhu (Honey)*, Akhyāti, (Non-discrimination), Isvara (Lord), and Prājña (Wise) 5 to which some others, mostly synonyms of Mati, have to be added, notably Buddhi. About Mahat two seemingly contradictory state- ments are put side by side, of which the first clearly shows that the Pancaratra has drawn from an older form of the Samkhya philosophy than the one which has survived in the Kārika and the Sūtras. The

1 How, in spite of this, the Purușa remains "unchanged" (apariņāmin, VII, 6), is not explained. 2 The Mahat and remaining principles are symbolized by the lotus growing from the navel of Padmanabha (Aniruddha); see Indrarātra I, 18 (Mahad-ādyam parkajam), etc. 3 Uf. note 3 on page 62. * Of. Bṛhadāraņyaka Upanișad II, 5. 5 The last two names are from Māņdūkya Upanisad where they are used with reference to the susupti plane of consciousness. For Akhyåti see below p. 73.

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Mahat, we are first told (7. 9-11)1, is threefold, in conformity with the three Gunas, its Tamas element appearing as Kāla (time), its Sattva element as Buddhi (reason, intellect), and its Rajas element as Prāņa (vitality). The next statement, which would hopelessly conflict with the preceding one, unless we refer it not to the cosmic Mahat but to Buddhi as an individual organ (cf. below), is essentially identical with the teaching of the twenty-third ärya of Sāmkhya- Kärika, namely that Mahat manifests itself in four Sättvic and four Tamasic forms, being respectively good actions (dharma), knowledge, dispassion, and might, and their opposites.2 Now, as regards Kala, which is here defined as "consisting of truțis, lavas, etc."3, it is evident that in this passage a different and lower form of Time must be meant than its "subtle " or "cooking " form originating, as we have seen, from Niyati. For, Subtle Time belongs to Unmanifest Nature, while Mahat is the beginning of Manifest Nature .* It follows that Kāla as

1 Cf. Lakşmī Tantra XVI, 2-4 : Sa Mahān nūma, tasyâpi vidhās tisrah prakīrtitāh ! sūttviko Buddhir ity ukto, rājasah Prāņa eva hi n tāmasah Kāla ity uktas ; teşām vyākhyām imām s'rņui Buddhir adhyavasāyasya, Prāņah prayatanasya ca ll Kālaḥ kalanarūpasya pariņāmasya kāraņam ı. 2 The rôle of the Taijasa (Rajasic) Mahat is, according to the twenty-fifth ārya, to co-operate with both the Sattvika and the Tāmasa. 3 And similarly in the corresponding passage of Laksmī Tantra quoted above, note 1 on this page; for which reason we cannot but be- lieve that really time is meant here and not:the Time Lotus producing Brahmán and Sarasvatī, as stated in Lakșmī Tantra V, 27 fil., which rather appears to be another instance of mythology clashing with philosophy 4 In the comm. on Tattvatraya, ed. p. 79, the relation of the two kinds of time distinguished there are actually likened to that of the Avyakta and the Vyakta.

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a form of Mahat can be nothing else but Gross Time referred to above, p. 66. And that this is not only the form of time which we perceive, but first of all the one with which we perceive1, must be concluded from the fact that the two other forms of Mahat, namely Buddhi and Prana, are regarded as individual powers acquired by the Manus during their "descent" through the Great Principle. With regard to Buddhi it is expressly stated (7. 18-14) that to the eight Manus, while dwelling in "the womb of Vidya", there originates that " natural organ (vaidyam indriyam), called Bodhana, by means of which they can ascertain [the nature of] things, discriminating between the real and the unreal." The five Pranas are in Classical Sāņkhya2 a common function of Buddhi, Ahamkāra, and Manas, which three together form the so-called Inner Organ (antah-karana); whereas, according to the men- tioned statement of our Samhita, corroborated by 7. 42-48, they come from Mahat only.3

1 Time as a "form-of-perception ", Anschauungsform. We admit that it is almost impossible to believe these mythologizing philosophers to have been capable of discovering a Kantian conception, and we are far from asserting that they were clearly conscious of distinguishing objective and subjective time, but we do not see how the above con- clusion can be avoided without straining the passage. Drawing parallels is undoubtedly a dangerous thing in comparative philosophy, but it is equally dangerous to adhere at any cost to one's prejudices. We shall see (in section 6, below) that the idea of spatial transcen- dence, to which according to Deussen Indian philosophy has not been able to rise, was perfectly familiar to the Pañcaratrins, and not only to them, in spite of the misleading terms used for it. 2 Kārikā 29; Sūtra II, 31. 3 There is in Laksmī Tantra (V, 27b-33, ed. 37b-43) an enigmatical explanation of the Mahat which does not agree with the stanzas quoted (p. 70 note 1) from the same work and representing the view of our Samhita. The Mahat, according to that text, is called so ("The Great One") "on account of its comprehending the Lotus, the Male, and the Woman" (padma-pum-strī-samālambhāt mahattvam tasya s'abdyate), the Lotus being subsequently identified

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We now turn to the question : What is Mahat?, which question, on account of its importance for the history of Indian philosophy, must be answered at some length. The one important thing to be noticed in connection with Mahat is that Buddhi is not a mere synonym for it, as in Classical Samkhya, but one of its three forms: the Sättvic one; and that the individual organ Buddhi is a product of the Sättvic Mahat in exactly the same sense as Manas is a product of the Sāttvic Ahamkāra1. This is a sign of antiquity; for in Kāthaka Upanișad also (3. 10-18) Buddhi and Mahat are not yet identical, the former, called jňāna atman "Knowledge Self", being a lower principle than the "Great Self" which, in its turn, is inferior to the "Quiet Self" (sānta atman) which, again, is excelled by the Purusa. On the other hand, this distinction between Buddhi and Mahat, to- gether with the synonyms of the latter, furnishes the solution to the riddle, never before satisfactorily answered, as to the origin of the term Mahat. The synonyms may be divided into two classes, to wit (1) those that are mere names of Prakrti, such as Go, Avani, Brāhmī, Vadhū, Vrddhi, Madhu; and (2) those referring to consciousness. Of the latter class, again, those which are

with Prāņa (whose quality is spanda " vibration "), the Woman with Buddhi, and the Male with the Purusa as the performer of good and evil deeds. Then there follows, just as in our Samhitā after the description of the threefold Mahat, a passage on the 2×4 Sattvic and Tamasic manifestations of Buddhi, and after that the Ahamkāra and the remaining Tattvas are explained. - Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 50, in reject- ing the view that time is Tamaso Mahan, evidently means to say that the definition is too narrow. - According to a view mentioned in the comm. on Tattvatraya, ed. p. 79, the several kinds of time differ in the rapidity of vibrations, with which should be compared the statement above, p. 27 note 2. 1 On the latter, generally called Vaikrta Ahamkāra, see below,

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common to Mahat and the organ Buddhi, namely, Buddhi, Mati, Trayi, and Vidyā, are for this reason as little signi- ficant in themselves as are the names of Prakrti. But the remaining three names referring to the subconscious life, namely Akhyāti1, Prājña, and Isvara, clearly indicate that nothing else can be meant by Mahat than the Prāņa or Mukhya Prana of the ancient Upanisads, which is both vitality (prāna, ayus) and sub- or super-conscious intelli- gence (prajña), and on whom the five Pranas as well as the senses are said to depend like servants on their master.' Mahat is cosmic Prana, the "Breath of the World ", the " Unconscious", that is the physical, yet intelligent energy at work at the building up and pre- serving of organisms.3 Prana in this sense is called in the Upanișads: Bráhman, protector (ruler, lord) of the world, breath (atman) of the gods, generator of beings, eater, the one sage; and in Chāndogya Upanișad 3. 7 an [apparent- ly current] stanza on the Prana is quoted in which the phrase occurs : "great they call his might (lit .: great- ness)" (mahāntam asya mahimānam ahuh) which is perhaps the source of the name Mahat. A proof for the correctness of our equation Mahat=Praņa is contained in the enumeration, in the twelfth chapter of this Samhita, of the principles taught in the Samkhya system, where in the tenth place we do not find

1 The " non-discrimination " in dreamless sleep ; for the next two names see note 5 on p. 69.

2 The principal passages to be compared, also for the following, are : Kauşītakī, II1, IV 20, II 1; Chāndogya IV 3; Maitrāyaņa II 6; Pras'na II.

3 Cf. the mahad brahma of Bhagavadgītā XIV, 3-4, and note that Brähmi is among the synonyms of Mahat, and Bráhman among those of Prāņa (see below) as well as, in some Sāmkhya treatises (for instance the Comm. on Tattvasamasa), those of Prakrti. 10

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Mahat, as should be expected, but Prāna.1 This equation throws also an unexpected light on the connection of Buddhism and Sāmkhya, namely, in that it permits of the proportion Mahat : Buddhi=Vijnāna-dhātu: Vijnāna- skandha. For, while there can be little doubt2 as to the correspondence3 of the organ Buddhi with the Vijñana- skandha, it is practically certain that Mahat=Prāņa is the very same thing as that "re-connection conscious- ness " (pratisandhi-vijnana) which, according to the Buddha's doctrine, descends into the womb of the mother, at the time of conception, bridging over death and birth, and to which Liberation alone puts an end, whereas the personal consciousness (vijnana-skandha) is destroyed in every single death.ª Again, one cannot help thinking that even the Atman taught in the famous Yājñavalkīya Kāņda is very nearly identical with our Mahat. He is the subconscious energy, the "place of union" (ekayana), the Prāņa to which, in dreamless sleep and death, all our conscious functions return5, in order to go forth from it once more in awakening and birth respectively; he is the [sub- and super-] "conscious self" (prajña ātman) "embraced " by which in dreamless sleep man "has no [longer any] notion of outside and inside" (IV, 3.21);

1 We were not yet aware of the equation, when writing our article on the Sastitantra in Z. D. M. G., 1914, and consequently thought of the five Pranas only. 2 Except for those who have made up their minds to distribute the teachings of the Nikāyas between two radically opposed sects. 3 Not, of course, identity. 4 The vijñana-dhatu of the Nikayas, therefore, must be regarded as a sort of consciousness in potenti i from which the sad-āyatana, and, through it, the caitasikah skandhāh evolve. 5 Brhadārayaka Upanişad IV, 3, 36 : evam evâyam purusah .... dravati prāņāyaiva,

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he is "this great being (mahad bhūtam), infinite, shoreless, all-consciousness (vijñana-ghana) " which [in the form of limited conscious functions] arises "from the elements" and vanishes into them again (II, 4.12); he is the " name " (naman) surviving the decay of the body (III, 2. 12) and building up the new embryo (IV, 4. 4) -just as the Buddbist vijñana element which moreover, as contrasted with the body (rūpa), is also called nāman ; he is, in short, "that great, unborn Self which, among the Pranas, is the one consisting of consciousness."1 And, finally, this description of the "Self" seems to agree, in all essential points, with that also in the Tattvamasi section of Chāndogya Upanișad, though there already two higher prin- ciples appear than the Prāna (namely Tejas and Parā Devatā), while in Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad only a very feeble attempt is made at distinguishing the Atman from the Prana. The position of the Prana, then, is still unsettled in the older Upanișads; and it is, we hold, from this half-settled idea of the Prāņa or Ātman that the pre-classical Samkhya, on which the Pancarātra is based, has derived its conception of the Mahat as the Unconscious consisting of intelligence, vitality, and time, From Mahat, again, originates the cosmic Tattva called Ahamkāra or "I-maker". As its syno- nyms the usual ones are given (Abhimāna, Abhimantr, Ahamkrti), besides Prajāpati (Lord of creatures) and Boddhr (Attention-maker). It has a Sāttvic, a Rajasic, and a Tamasic form called respectively Vaikārika, Taijasa, and Bhūtādi. It manifests itself individually as

(IV, 4.22.) 1 Sa vā eşa mahūn aja ātmā yo'yam vijñānamayah prāņesu

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samrambha (egotistic interest) and samkalpa (imagination, will) in accordance with the two organs called the [individual] Ahamkāra and Manas with which it endows the Manus passing through its " womb" (7. 20, 42-43). Manas is declared a direct product of the Vaikārika, and Ahamkāra evidently comes from the Bhūtādi, while the Taijasa seems to participate equally in the production of both those organs.1 From Ahamkara the Manus further receive the ten Indriyas (senses), but only indirectly, that is, in the course of the evolution of the Elements. To understand this somewhat complicated last phase in the evolution of Tattvas it will be useful to remember the following table :

Ahamkāra

Bhūtādi Taijasa -> Vaikarika

Tanmatras : Bhūtas : Buddhîndriyas: Karmêndriyas : s'abda -> ākās'a s'rotra vāc spars'a -> vayu tvac păui rūpa -> tejas cakșus pāda rasa apas rasana gandha -> pṛthivī ghrāņa upastha påyu From the Bhūtadi, "assisted " by the Taijasa 2, is produced Sound-in-itself (s'abda-tanmatra); the latter is the immediate cause of Ether (akasa), while at the same time, with its co-operation (sahakaritva) and that of the Taijasa, the Vaikārika produces Hearing (s'rotra), and then, with the co-operation of the latter, Speech (vac). Hereafter, from Sound-in-itself is produced Touch- in-itself (sparsa) which in its turn is the immediate

1 See p. 70, note 2. 2 Cf. Sāņkhya Kārikā 25: Taijasād ubhayam. Lakșmī Tantra, speaking on Non-pure Creation generally, says (IV, 34) that " mostly Rajas" is engaged in it which is, however, "flanked " by Sattva and Tamas (abhitah sattvatamasī guņau dvau tasya tisthatah).

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cause of Air (vayu), while as a mediate cause it helps in producing the Skin sense (tvac) with the help of which, finally, the faculty of Handling (pani) originates. And so forth. It must be admitted that our Samhita mentions nothing about " co-operation", and that from the seventh adhyaya it would rather seem as though each Tanmatra originates directly from the Bhūtādi, and, simultaneously, each pair of Indriyas directly and only from the Vaikārika.1 But according to the chapter on Involu- tion2 each pair of Indriyas dissolves together with the particular Bhūta in the corresponding Tanmātra, so that evidently for the author of our Samhita the whole process takes place as in the account accepted as authentic by Tattvatraya.3 The Manus, then, by entering successively the five Elements, are furnished, at each of these steps, with one sensory and one motory faculty, so that they are at last in possession both of the five "Knowledge-senses " and of the five " Action-senses". The equipment of the Manus is herewith complete* : provided with all the organs they were in need of they are standing, in perfect loneliness, "on the earth resembling the back of a tortoise" (4. 14).

1 As is apparently the doctrine of the Sāmkhya Kārikā (cf. Deussen, Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie I, 3, p. 446 bottom). It should, however, not be forgotten that the Karika gives only the barest outline of the system. 2 Adhyāya IV, see especially s1. 35 fll. 3 Ed. p. 56 fll. Another Sūtra (ibid., p. 57) mentions the opinion that from ākas'a springs the s'abda-tanmatra, from the latter vāyu, etc. ; and still another view (an intermediate one) is found in Visņutilaka II, 66 fll. where the s'abda-tanmātra is said to produce ākūs'a, the latter (not the former) the spars'a-tanmatra, this one vayu, etc. 4 The following, up to the end of this section, presupposes the creation of the Egg and therefore belongs, properly speaking, to the next section of our Introduction. However, the exact place to be assigned in our account of Secondary Creation

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The four couples now place themselves under the protection of Aniruddha1 and, by his command, begin to multiply: each of the four pairs generates a hundred descendants, male and female, called Māna- vas, and these, continuing the work of generation, become the ancestors of numberless2 Mānavamā-

navas. There follows3 what corresponds to the Fall of Man in Jewish and Christian theology, to wit the jňana-bhramsa or "fall from knowledge" of all the Mānavamānavas (7, 61). This mystic event is narrated thus: Vidya* becomes, with "some portion " of herself, a cow; which means, continues our text, that she obtains the condition of a cloud 5; then the milk called varsa (rain; year) proceeding from the latter becomes food ; and the souls eat of that " milk of nature" (material milk; vaidyam payah) and their naturally unlimited knowledge becomes limited (obscured, contracted). Thus religion becomes necessary, and the " Manus of old "6 start the

to the events related here being rather doubtful, it was not found advisable to interrupt the account of our Samhitā. ' Ātmany adhyakşam Isānam Aniruddham dadhati (VII, 48). 2 Aparimitah (VII, 43.) 3 In the account we are reproducing, though perhaps not in the order of events. Visņutilaka teaches (II,63) that at the crea- tion of the Mahat Tattva " there originates, together with the Gunas, the delusion of men"; while, on the other hand, delusion seems to set in gradually towards the end of the first Yuga : see below, next section. 4 Prakrti, in the highest sense, namely the Bhūti Sakti which, according to adhyāya IV, 3-5, is alternately a "cow in the form of a cloud" and a "non-cow" "called the Unmanifest". (Correct accordingly the second bracketed gloss on page 70 of the text- edition; the Mahat cannot be meant because it belongs to Manifest Nature.) 5 That is, a Brahmanda; cf. above, end of section 1 of this part of our Introduction, p. 29. 6 Not, of course, the four collective beings, but the historical ones; cf. XLIII, 3.

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S'astra by following which the soul may regain its natural purity.

5. SECONDARY OR "GROSS" CREATION 1

The appearance of the last Tattva (Earth) marks the end of the Cosmic Night and the beginning of the Day.' Not immediately, however, after the Tattvas have originated, can the Manus commence their activity on earth, it being first necessary that the Cosmic Egg (Brahmāņda) and in it the god Brahmán should come into existence; while for the creation of the Egg the Tattvas must first join to form a compound - just as a wall cannot be erected with clay, sand, and water, as long as these are still unmixed.8 Of this so-called Secondary or Gross Creation, referred to but occasionally in our Samhita in one or two places5, Padma Tantra gives the following short account (I. 5. 19-21) 6: "The principles [thus] created, existing separately with their respective faculties, could not without

1 Origin and internal evolution of the Brahmānda, that is the Cos- mic Egg in the avyakta and in the vyakta stages corresponding respec- tively to the Brahmanda Kos'a and the Jīvadeha Kos'a (fifth and sixth Kos'as) taught in Laksmī Tantra VI, 23-25, unless, as seems to be done in some texts (including perhaps the one in question) the origin of the Egg is reckoned from that of the Lotus (Mahat, etc.), in which case the fourth or Prakrti Kos'a would be merely the Avyakta from which the Lotus originates. 2 P. Prakās'a S. 1, 2 end. Primary (preparatory) creation takes place during the eighth part of the Night. 3 Tattvatraya, ed., p. 64. + As we may call it, though the use of these terms (sadvārikā "mediate" srsți, sthūlā srsti) seems to be, as a rule, restricted to the internal evolution of the Egg; see, for instance, Tattvatraya, ed. p. 65, etc., and Indrarātra, I, 17 fll. 5 XXX, 8 fll, XLI, 5-6. 6 Cf. Lakşmī Tantra V, 74 fll. ; Vişvaksena S., loc. cit., p. 64.

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coalescing into a mass (samhatim vinā) create beings. They, then, from Mahat down to the Gross Elements, became massed together, under the influence of the foremost Purusa. Then [out of them] an egg was produced from the navel of Padmanābha, who is a portion of Myself, and [in the egg] thou, O Lotus-born one, becamest the womb of the world. It is thus that at the beginning of creation this whole world came to arise from Prakrti." A fuller account1 says that from the navel of Padmanābha there springs a golden egg containing the Tattvas in a subtle condition; and, while the egg is growing, a shining white lotus appears in it (sic), and in (on) the lotus2, finally, Aniruddha creates "the four-faced creator (Brahmán).3 Then Brahmán* makes three attempts at creating the world, the third of which only is fully successful, by generating (1) the four Youths (Sanaka, etc.,) who refuse to have offspring ; (2) the androgyne Rudra (S'iva) who by self-partition creates the eleven principal and many minor Rudras;

1 Ibid. I, adhy. 3; cf. Vişņutilaka II, 40 fll. 2 In the pericarp, says Pras'na S. II, 41. 3 P. Prakāsa S. (III, 37-38) says that Brahmán has sprung " from the lotus-bud, the pråkrtic one, being of the nature of the world (lokamaya), which [bud] itself has sprung from the navel of Vișnu sleeping in its (the egg's) interior, namely in the midst of the water." According to Laksmi Tantra V. 15 fll. the egg containing the Avyakta was created by Brahmán and Sarasvatī (that is, Pradyumna and his Sakti), after which Hrsīkes'a (=Aniruddha) having "moistened " Avyakta had a "good sleep" in it together with Padma, the result being the Sacrificial or Time Lotus springing from Hrsikes'a's navel and Brahmán and Sarasvatī (Hiravyagarbha and his Sakti) springing from the Lotus. 4 Pras'na S. II, 21 fll. mentions some more events intervening here: Brahmán, desirous to know his origin, makes a futile attempt at getting, through the navel, at the cause of the lotus, then meditates for a thousand years, and finally receives from

Vedas. the Purusa appearing to him the instrument of creation, namely the

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and (3) the six Prajapatis (Marici, etc.) from whom all the remaining beings, "movable " and "stationary " descend. The sources are at variance as to the number and names of the Prajapatis, and between these and Brahmán some authorities insert a "Manu". Mahā- sanatkumāra Samhitā (Indrarātra 6. 26 fll.) describes as follows the origin of an "intramundane tetrad " (antarandasthitā caturmūrti) corresponding to the four Vyūhas : the first of the Prajāpatis, Daksa, had a mind- born son, Acyuta (Vāsudeva), whose mind-born son was Samkarşana, called Rudra (S'iva), whose mind-born son was Pradyumna, whose mind-born son was Aniruddha.1 There are, as will be understood from the above, more attempts than one at combining the very ancient story about the Golden Egg giving birth to god Brahmán with the later one of the lotus springing from the navel of Padmanabha and these again with the theory of the Tattvas; as there are also, of course, more authorities than one dispensing advantageously with either the navel or the lotus or both in explaining the origin of the Cosmic Egg.2 The plurality of Brahmāņdas3 is emphasized in several Samhitas. "Of such Eggs", says Vişvaksena S. (loc. cit., p. 66), "there are thousands of thousands, or even myriads of them", and more. They are

1 According to this text there are three S'ivas, namely : (1) the Vyūha Samkarsaņa; (2) the son of Brahmán and father of the Rudras ; (3) the grandson of Daksa; further three Brahmáns, namely : (1) the Vyūha Pradyumna; (2) the "first of Gross Creation" and "Lord of the Egg" ; and (3) the great-grandson of Daksa. 2 Our Samhitā admits (VIII, 2 fll.) that some derive creation from the Egg, others from the Lotus. 3 Referred to already in a Vedic text, namely Bāşkalamantra Upanişad (9): Mama pratisthā bhuva āņdakos'āḥ. 11

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invariably described as consisting of fourteen spheres (loka) surrounded by seven enclosures (āvaraņa)1; and they are said to arise simultaneously like bubbles of water.2 Owing, no doubt, to conflicting statements in the Samhitas themselves, the beginning of individ- ual life within the Egg has become a problem to the expounders of the Pancaratra.3 The "mediate creation " (sadvarika srsti), that is the creation mediated by God Brahman4, and the "immediate creation" (advārika srsti) preceding it, are held to be the same, by the scholiasts, as what is commonly understood, in Indian philosophy, by "individual creation " (vyasti-srsti) and "collective creation " (samasti-srsti) respectively. But according to Vişvaksena Samhitā (loc. cit., pp. 126- 129) the offspring of the Manus, namely the so-called Pure Group (s'uddha-varga), is the creation of Pradyumna, while the Mixed group (mis'ra-varga) of souls [dominated by Rajas or Tamas] is created by Aniruddha through god Brahman; from which it seems to follow that the Pure Group, in spite of its being vyasti, is advarika. The contradiction appears also in the present Samhita which says, in adhyaya 7, that the Manus, who - like the Devatās, etc. -have emerged as individuals from the Kūtastha Purușa (sl. 58), have " many lineages by which has been spread this whole [mankind]" (sl. 51) including those who, owing to the deteriorating progress of the Yugas, have become addicted to selfish

1 See for instance Pādma Tantra I, adhyāyas 10 to 12. 2 Tattvatraya, ed. p. 66. 3 See Varavaramuni's comm. on Tattvatraya, ed. p. 118. 4 Who, in evolving the contents of the Egg, is regarded as "consisting of the totality of bound souls" (baddhātma-samasți- rupa) ; Tattvatraya, ed. p. 65 comm., and elsewhere.

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wishes (sl. 53); but then, in adhyāya 15, confronts the "descendants of the Manus" (manu-santati-jah, sl. 7) with "those who have sprung from the mouth, etc., of Brahmán (brahma-mukhady-udgatah, sl. 20)." A clue to the solution of the riddle is furnished by the version contained in Padma Tantra (I, 1. 85 fll.) and Vişņutilaka (1. 146 fll.), though in some particulars it is not likely that it represents the original theory. It runs as follows: The original religion (adya dharma, to wit the Pancaratra) was first, in the Krta age, proclaimed by god Brahmán to "the sages of sharpened vows"' who taught it to their disciples with the result that, everybody following the Pancaratra, people were liberated [or went to heaven, Vişņutilaka], so that "hell became naught and a great decrease of creation took place (srsti-lesayo mahan asīt). Brahmán, consequently, felt uneasy, went to the Lord, and, on the latter's kind inquiry as to how the world was progressing under his rule, replied : "What shall I say, O Lord of gods ! All men, being full of faith and masters of their senses, sacrifice as prescribed in the Great Secret; and so they go to the Place of Visnu from which there is no return. There is [now] no heaven and no hell, neither birth nor death."2 This, however, was against the plan of the Lord, and so He started, with the help of Brahmán, Kapila, and S'iva, five more systems (Yoga, Sāmkhya, Bauddha, Jaina, and Saiva) conflicting with each other and the Pancaratra "for the bewilderment of men ". Now, the sloka containing the phrase " a great decrease of creation took place " is also in Vişvaksena Samhitā

1 The Citras'ikhandins appear to be meant. 2 That is, no death followed by re-birth.

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(loc cit., p. 129), which shows that that Samhita, although deriving the Pure Group from Pradyumna and the Mixed Group from Aniruddha and Brahmán, must have held a view similar to the above as regards the mutual relation of the two. Our present Samhitā speaks twice (6. 13; 7. 47-48) about the Manus passing from Pradyumna's care to that of Aniruddha, and once about their withdrawal into Aniruddha, in the period of Pralaya (4. 59 fll.). This suggests the idea that, while both classes of souls are introduced into the Egg by Aniruddha (Padmanabha), the pure ones only are so introduced directly, the impure ones, however, indirectly and later, namely, by being first transferred to Brahmán. For, it must be remembered that the great majority of unliberated souls left over from the preceding Kalpa and now to be reborn enter of necessity this new period of their samsara with a remainder of good and bad Karman, or only the latter, that is as "impure " beings. These, evidently, must be re-introduced into earthly life by the highest representative of Rajas, that is the god Brahmán; and they cannot appear on earth as long as the first Yuga, in which Sattva prevails, is not over. The small minority, on the other hand, in whom Sattva predomi- nates, must for this very reason, in order to terminate their career, appear in the first Yuga without passing through Brahmán : the Lord, therefore, says Visvaksena Samhitā (loc. cit., p. 129), creates "with the bit of good Karman" (sukrta-les'ena) they have left, and for which they must still receive an earthly reward, the s'uddha-sarga.1 These pure beings of the Krta age, then, correspond to the Anāgāmins [and Sakrdāgāmins] of Buddhism, that is

' " Pure Creation " or " Pure Group", the word surga being also a synonym of varga used elsewhere in this connection.

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those almost perfect beings who return for one life [or two lives] only, because they have very nearly reached Liberation in the preceding one. And so, if it is said that at the end of the Krta Yuga the "descendants" of the Manus began to deteriorate, this can only refer to their bodily descendants among whom the pure souls were more and more disappearing (having reached Liberation), while the gaps were being filled by Brah- mán with the better specimens of the "mixed" ones, the process going on, in this way, in a descending line, until in the Kali age even the most depraved find their chance for reincarnation. The four hundred Manavas of the Ahirbudhnya Samhita have become eight hundred "Vișnus" in Mahāsanatkumāra Samhitā (Indrarātra, sixth adhyāya) which even enumerates the names of them all, locating them in eight ideal realms situated in the eight regions 1. Among those eight hundred Visnus, each of whom is the chief (nayaka) of a thousand subjects (cf. the Mānava- manavas of our Samhita), there are the original three hundred twice born Manavas, while the group of original S'üdras has been replaced by five mixed groups in such a way as to eliminate altogether the male S'ūdras. The

1 (1) Brähmanas only live in the eastern realm called Sivāroha; (2) children (descendants) of Brāhmaņa fathers and Kșatriya mothers in the Rāma world of the south-east ; (3) Ksatriyas in the Närasimha world of the south ; (4) children of Ksatriya fathers and Vais'ya mothers in the south-western region (name missing); (5) Vais'yas in Sridhara Loka of the west ; (6) children of Brāhmaņa fathers and Vais'ya mothers in Vāmana Loka of the north-east; (7) children of Brāhmava fathers and Sūdra mothers in Hayas'īrsa Loka of the north ; and (8) children of Ksatriya fathers and S'ūdra mothers in Vasudeva Loka of the north-east. - The names of the Visnus are partly very strange. For example, Jīrņavraņin, Soka, Vișāda, Lobha, Pañcatman, and Bāhyātman are names of north-western Vişņus; and Bhūta, Bhavya, Bhavişyat, Deha, Dehavat, and S'arīras'āsana some names from Hayas'īrșa Loka.

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chapter closes by mentioning that there are innumerable Vișņus in Kapila Loka.1

6. NATURE AND DESTINY OF THE SOUL

When the Day of the Lord has expired and the Great Dissolution is finished2, nothing remains but the Waters of Infinity and, floating on them, on the leaf of a banian-tree (vata-pattra), a babe whose name is "the Void" (s'ūnya). The babe is Vișņu, the sleepless one, sleeping the sleep of Yoga3. In His "womb " (kuksi) are sleeping all the souls: in the upper part the liberated ones (mukta); in the middle part those who [owing to Sattva prevailing in them] are " fit for Liberation " (mukti-yogya); then, near the navel*, the "ever-bound" (nitya-baddha), and, in the region of the loins, those who [on account of the predominance, in them, of Tamas] are " fit for Darkness" (tamo-yogya).5 The souls in this condition are called Nāras.6 The above account, though taken from a fairly recent work', contains undoubtedly the original orthodox

For "Kapila Visnu", the teacher of the Nagas in Patala, see Pādma Tantra I, 1. 23, and Vişņutilaka II, 170 fll. The inhabitants of the netherworlds (Atala, etc.) are said to be so happy as to have no longing for heaven (Visņutilaka I1, 170). 2 The following, abbreviated from P. Prakās'a S. I, first adhyāya, will be recognized as an elaboration of the story of Mārkaņdeya referred to above in connection with the twenty- seventh Avatāra (described Ahirb. Samh. LVI, 28-29). 3 Yoga-nidrām upāgato vinidro'svapad Is'varah, P. Prakās'a S. I, 1. 40. 4 From which will spring the Lotus and the representative of Rajas, god Brahmán; cf. above, section 5. 5 P. Prakās'a S. I, 1. 11 fll. (corrupt) ; 5. 10-11; etc. 6 Ibid., s'l. 14. Cf. the explanation of the name Nárāyaņa in Manu Smrti I, 10. 7 P. Prakas'a S. mentions Srīranga and Venkațes'a, further the three classes of Puränas, and, as belonging to the Sättvic class, the Bhāgavata (I, 12. 7; 4, 32).

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view of the Pancaratra as to the fate of the souls during the Great Night; and it is an important document chiefly because it clearly shows that the Liberation tanght in the Pañcarātra is not, as might be understood from certain passages, something like the Gradual Liberation (krama- mukti) of the Advaitins in which the soul finally, together with the god Brahman, loses its individuality. The Panca- rätra says indeed, using the Advaitic term, that the soul "becomes one " (ekī-bhavati) with the Lord in Libe- ration and then once more in the Great Dissolution ; but the meaning of this is, in the former case, that the soul joins the Lord 1 in Vaikuntha, and, in the latter case, that it becomes latent in Him when Vaikuntha with everything else is temporarily withdrawn.2 It is this very view to which we are led by the Ahir- budhnya Samhitā; for, if the soul is a part of Lakșmī3, it cannot, of course, "become one with the Lord" in any higher sense than that of the "perfect embrace" of the divine coupleª from which the two emerge again as separate beings as soon as the time for creation has come.

1 More exactly : His heavenly form, the Para Vāsudeva. 2 The case of Brahman is peculiar. He ought to join the liberated in Vaikuntha (the withdrawal of which, at Pralaya, is later than that of the Egg). But we can find no reference to this. The Samhitas speak of the end of his life but evidently avoid mentioning his "death " or "liberation". Possibly this has something to do with the difficulty, or impossibility, of deciding to what extent he is a bound soul and to what an Avatara of Visnu .- The withdrawal of Vaikuțha is mentioned in P. Prakās'a S. I, 1. 14: Vaikunțhūdi- viharam ca hitvā. Note also the following saying, ibid., sl. 18: "That which is called Dissolution by the wise, is not really Dissolu- tion." 3 Or a "contraction " of Laksmī, as the Goddess herelf calls it in Lakşmī Tantra VI, 36: pramātā cetanah prokto, mat-samkocah sa ucyate. * See below our résumé of adhyāya IV.

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The difficulty, however, is that there are numer- ous passages in the Samhitas where this view is apparently set aside. For, although animate and inanimate nature, soul and body, subject and object1, are declared to be two aspects or parts of the one Bhūti Sakti, still the idea, obtaining since the earliest times in Indian philosophy, of a closer relationship of the soul than of matter with God is by no means absent in our Samhitas and quite conspicuous, naturally, in those Samhitas which operate either not at all or but a little with Lakșmī as a philosophical principle. And it is this idea, in all probability, which is ultimately responsible for the intrusion into the Pancaratra of cer- tain foreign elements such as those we will now point out. If creation means re-appearing, then there seems to be no room for the question of a first beginning or original sin. Still the question is asked and answered in more than one text, for instance in the following way in chapter 14 of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā. In addition to the three well-known powers of creation, preservation, and destruction, the Lord has two more S'aktis called Nigraha (or Tirodhana) and Anugraha, by means of which he prepares and pre-determines the soul for bondage or liberation respectively. The entering of the soul into the wheel of births, commonly accounted for by its own previous acts, is here explained by the Lord's "obscuring" its divine nature through reducing its original omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, so as to make it (1) "atomic", (2) "little-knowing ", and (3) "little-achieving". Vice versa, those three restrictions called Taints or Fetters 1 Cetana-cetya, dehin-deha, bhoktr-bhogya (V, 9 fil.).

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may again be cancelled through the divine grace (anugraha).1 Now, whether the five Saktis mentioned are the Lord's or Lakșmī's2, the fact is undeniable, I believe, that the soul is not here regarded as a mere portion of Lakşmi3 but as a third principle distinct from both Vasudeva and Matter (or Lakșmī respectively), - just as in those passages (45.8-4; 38.13 ; etc.) which speak of Avidya or Māya as " veiling " the true nature of the jiva and the para (soul and God). That is to say: we have here nearly the standpoint described in Vișnu- tilaka in the words (2.84-85): "There is a triad here : Bráhman, Jiva (soul), and Jagat (world); Bráhman is a mass (rasi) of Light, Jagat a mass of elements (bhūta), and Jīva a mass of knowledge." Secondly, the conclusion seems to be inevitable that the liberated soul is not only omniscient, as it is, indeed, often described to be, but also omnipotent and even omnipresent. As for its omnipotence, this word may here have the restricted meaning in which it is elsewhere used with regard to the liberated (who cannot interfere with or participate in the governance of the world); but the question remains : how can the liberated soul be omnipresent (vibhu), which is the less intelligible as in chapter 6 (sl. 27) it has been described as "of the

1 For further particulars see our résume of the adhyāya, below, next chapter. 2 They are, indeed, also described as the pañca krtyūni of the Devi, for instance in I, 2 and XXI, 12 of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā. 3 From the general standpoint of our Samhita we should have to say that Vișņu causes Laksmī to act with one part of herself (namely Nigraha, etc.) upon another part (the soul), thus bringing the latter into connection with a third part of herself (namely matter)! - (which would reduce the cosmic process to something like a physiological disturbance in the Goddess.) 12

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size of a mote" (trasarenu-pramāņa) ? The scholastic view 1, namely that the liberated soul, though essentially atomic (like the bound one), is omnipresent in that its consciousness is "ever omnipresent" (sadā-vibhu) - the latter being related to the former as the light spread in a room to the lamp (or flame) from which it radiates -is a plausible explanation of the soul-mote and its millions of rays (2. 27), but must be rejected in the present case where omnipresence is expressly distin- guished from omniscience. As a matter of fact, nothing remains but to admit that we have here a S'aiva tenet in Vaișnava garb. For, the S'aivas do teach that the souls are naturally "omnipresent "2, that is: not hampered by space, though limited, while in bondage, by niyati or spatial restriction.3 The latter, as we know already, is one of the five (or, including Māyā, six) limitations of the soul called Kañcukas, and the connection of our chapter (14) with these is the more evident as the two other Taints, to wit those of "Little-knowing" and "Little-achieving " are absolutely identical with the Kañcukas called Vidya and Kalā.5 The surprising solution of the problem, then, is that in our passage the word anu does not mean "atomic" but "small, little" in the sense of " spatially restricted " and as the opposite

1 Tattvatraya, ed. p. 35; Yat Dīp., ed. pp. 69 and 75. 2 Vibhu, an-anu, vyāpaka: Sarvadars'ana Samgraha, Poona ed. p. 69 (ll. 23, 13); Pratyabhijñā Hrdaya, Srīnagar ed. p. 22; etc. 3 Pratyabhijñā Hrdaya, loc. cit., and elsewhere. 4 See above pp. 63, 64. The Pāñcarātra doctrine of the Māyā Kos'a was developed by the Saivas into the theory of the Kañcukas, after which the latter influenced the Pāñcarātra. 5 The five Kañcukas called kalā, vidyā, rāga, kāla, and niyati are said to result from the "contraction " of sarvakartrtva, sarvajñatva, purņatva, nityatva, and Hrdaya, loc. cit. vyāpakatva respectively ; Pratyabhijñā

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of that which is, not so much omnipresent, as be yond space.' The relation between the jiva and the para (individ- ual and highest soul) is, in several Samhitās, described in a language so thoroughly Advaitic2 that an influence from that quarter is, indeed, beyond question, even admitting that several such passages may be mere echoes of those (seemingly or really) Advaitic passages of the Bhagavad Gita such as 13.27 fll. of the latter work. However, with one or two exceptions, the said borrowing will always be found to be a merely formal one, which is only to be expected, considering that the general trend of the Pancarâtra is clearly non-Advaitic. The most perplexing passages of this sort are perhaps to be found in Padma Tantra. In one of them (I, 4. 14-15) Brahmán puts the straight question: "What is the difference, O Highest Spirit, between Thee and the liberated soul ?" to which the Lord answers no less directly : "They (the liberated) become I ; there is no difference whatever." This seems to be plain Advaita, but the answer goes on : " As I live (viharami), just so live the liberated souls", which immediately brings back the idea of plurality, and so

' Professor Rehmke of Greifswald, teaching (in his book Die Seele des Menschen) this "ubiquitas of the soul", namely that "the soul is no- where in the strictest meaning of the word", admits that it is logically possible from this standpoint (though not probable) that one soul should be simultaneously connected with several bodies, - which comes curiously near to the Pañcarātra ideas about liberated souls and Yogins (see above, section 2). Should not also in the Sāņkhya, Mīmāņsā, and Nyāya-Vais'eșika the doctrine of the vibhutva of the soul originally mean this ubiquitas and not "omnipresence" as it is always interpreted ?? For an exhaustive definition of the concept in the Saiva sense see Chatterji, Kashmir Shaivaism, p. 77 : " Unrestricted access to", etc. 2 Particularly in the treatment of Yoga; cf. below, in part III, our résumé of chapter 31 of Ahirbudhnya Samhitā.

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renders it at least possible that the Lord is meant to say : "They become like Me, except, of course, with regard to the governance of the world." For, all Pāñcarātra Samhitās recognize the existence of the Nityas or "ever-free" beings (Vişvaksena, etc.)1 and cannot, therefore, admit that a previously bound soul should become more inseparably united with the Lord than these are. In Visnutilaka, which is closely related to Padma Tantra2, and which also uses the phrases "he will become Brahman", "is absorbed in the Highest Bráhman", etc.', this union is declared to be one with the Kaustubha of the Lord* and is further referred to as follows: " Just as gold, in the midst of fire, shines separately, as though it were not in contact [with the fire], even so he who is clinging to Bráhman (Brahmani lagna) is seen to exist in the form of a gem (mani) "5; "He who has become at- tached to the Jewel of gems (mani-ratna, the Kaustubha) is said to have attained identity [with the Lord]".6 In another passage of Padma Tantra (I, 6. 15 fll.) the great problem is stated with unusual precision: "Scripture emphasizes the oneness of the highest Self and the one called Kșetrajña (Knower-of-the-field, the soul) ; [but] the plurality of this Ksetrajña is proved by the diversity of bodies." Three well-known Advaitic images

1 See above pp. 56 fll. In Pādma Tantra they are mentioned, for instance in I, 2.35 fll. 2 And even one of its sources, to judge from the fact that it is mentioned as No. 6 in the Samhitā list of Pādma Tantra. The mutual relation of the two is, however, not quite clear. 3 I, 33 ; I, 114; etc. 4 II, 30; cf. above, pp. 58, 59. 5 Visņutilaka II, 100. The soul in itself, that is in its natural form, is often compared with a gem. 6 Maņiratne vilagnasya sāyujyagatir ucyate ; II, 54, ibid.

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are used to illustrate the relation of the One and the many : the pot in the water, the pot in the air, and the one figure reflected in many mirrors.1 Yet, none of these (as shown by the rest of the chapter) is used in the Advaitic sense : God as the Inner Ruler pervades the soul, while He is, of course, also outside it; and the reflected images proceed from their original like the rays from the sun : "Just as, by means of gates of various kinds, people go forth from a town, even so the souls go forth from Bráhman-this is called Creation; and as, through those gates, the inhabitants of that town enter it again, just so [the souls] go [back] to that Bráhman -this is called Withdrawal."2 It may be objected that the rays sent out and again withdrawn by the sun3 have no separate existence in the sun itself, but this is not the common Indian, or, at any rate, not the Pancaratra view; and even the Aupanisadic image of the rivers entering the ocean* means for the Pañcaratrin only that in Liberation the souls become practically but not really one.5 The conclusion to be drawn from all this is: that, although the language of the Advaita is occasionally met with in the Pañcaratra Samhitas, the chief charact- eristic of that philosophy, namely its illusionism (mayā- vada), is altogether absent from them.

1 The first and second images occur in Maitreya Upanisad II, 18 (see my edition of the Minor Upanișads, vol. I, p. 118); for an elabora- tion of the second see Gaudapāda's Māņdūkya Kārikā III, 3 fll. ; the third is a transformation of the image found, in Brahmabindu Upanişad 12 and other texts, of the one moon and its many reflections in the tank. Visnutilaka II, 95 fll., being an elaboration (if not the original) of Pādma Tantra I, 6, 43-44. 3 Pādma Tantra I, 6. 24. 4 Ibid. I, 6. 51-52, referring to Yoga (=temporal Liberation). 5 That the famous Gita passage Mamaivâmso, etc. (XV, 7) is also to be understood in this sense, can be gathered for instance from Yat. Dīp., ed. p. 74, where the teaching of Yādavaprakās'a, namely "Brahmâms'o jivah ", is rejected as erroneous.

III. THE AHIRBUDHNYA SAMHITA

THE selection, for publication, of the Ahirbudhnya Samhita was determined by the consideration that the Samhitā to be published as an introduction to the Pancaratra should be (1) one of the older Samhitas; (2) one of the Samhitas to an appreciable extent, or exclusively, concerned with the theoretical part of the system; and (3) a Samhita of which a sufficient number of manuscripts was available to ensure the production of a practically complete and reliable text. The Ahirbudh- nya Samhita was not only found to fulfil these conditions but moreover to be a work of unusual interest and striking originality.

1. THE MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL

With what success certain Sanskrit works are still heing kept secret in India, is shown by the fact that for editing the present Samhita, which is not represented in a single European library, no less than six (nine) MSS. could be obtained within three years. Unfortunately, as can be seen from a few common omissions and errors, all of these MSS. go back to one already corrupted original. Still, on the whole the Samhita is well preserved. The two oldest and best MSS. are those called E and D. The former is a Grantha MS. from Kalale in Mysore, the latter a MS. written in the Malayalam character and belonging to H. H. the Mahārāja of Travancore. E is more accurate than D. From E de- scend the four Melkote MSS. F to H, all of them written in

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Grantha characters and so completely identical that the common symbol F could be used for them. From D (or a similar MS.) descend C, A, and B (in this order) ; C being the Adyar Library paper MS. in Grantha characters (with large omissions), A the Adyar Library palm-leaf MS. in Grantha characters, and B the Telugu MS. belong- ing to the Mysore Government. The badly damaged Tanjore MS. described in Burnell's catalogue could not be borrowed and was, on inspection, found to be not worth taking into account.

2. NAME OF THE SAMHITA.

As a rule one of the eleven Rudras is understood by Ahirbudhnya. In our Samhita, however, this is a name of S'iva himself in his Sättvic form, as the teacher of liberating knowledge, as which he appears for instance in Jābāla Upanișad.1 How he came to be called by this name, must, I fear, remain a problem 2. The "serpent (ahi) of the bottom (budhna)", in the Veda an atmospheric god (mostly associated with Aja Ekapād, another being of this kind), seems to belong to a number of minor deities who amalgamated with Rudra-S'iva in such a way that their character and name became some particular aspect of that god. If "in later Vedic texts Ahi budhnya is allegorically connected with Agni Gārha- patya "3, this certainly shows that he was a beneficial being, not a malevolent one like Ahi Vrtra, and this is

1 In the Purāņas cf. such passages as Pādma Purāņa LXXXI, 5 where Siva is addressed : Bhagavad-dharma-tattva-jna. 2 Notwithstanding the explanation attempted on pp. 3 fll. of the Sanskrit preface to our edition. 3 Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, p. 73.

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particularly clear in a passage of the Aitareya Brāhmaņa which may be directly connected with the Pāncarātra view of Ahirbudhnya, namely the passage 3. 86 running as follows1: " Prajapati, after having sprinkled the creatures with water, thought that they (the creatures) were his own. He provided them with an invisible lustre through Ahir- budhnya ".2

3. PROVENIENCE AND AGE

It has already been stated3 that one stanza of Ahir- budhnya Samhitā is evidently quoted by Utpala Vaișņava in his Spandapradipika. This would, of course, prove that the Samhitā (like Jayākhya S. mentioned in the latter and also in Utpala's work) must have once existed in Kasmīr. That it was actually composed in that country, must be concluded from two other passages, namely 26. 78 and 45. 58, recommending, or mentioning respectively, the wear- ing, as an amulet, of a certain diagram (yantra) drawn on a sheet of birch-bark (bhūrja-pattra). Birch-bark, as is well known, was the writing-material of ancient Kasmīr. In chapter 39 we read (sl. 23): "He shines like the sun freed from the confinement (or obstruction) by hima", which evidently refers to the sun rising from behind the snow-mountains (hima), that is to a sun- rise in the Kasmir-valley. A third indication of the

1 In Haug's translation. 2 Sāyana's remark that by the two names Ahi and Budhnya " a particular kind of fire" (the Gārhapatya) is meant, need not be accepted. Perhaps, however, it is noteworthy that a hymn in Vājasaneyi Samhitā (V, 33) which also mentions Ahirbudhnya (= Gārhapatya agni, comm.), contains the name of Visnu five times in the first Mantra and no less than twenty-four times afterwards, that is, more often than that of any other deity. 3 Above p. 18.

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Kasmīrian origin of our Samhita is probably the story of Muktāpīda told in the forty-eighth adhyāya. A prince of this name is not known from any other work (according to B. and R.'s dictionary) than the famous Kasmīrian chronicle, the Rāja Tarangiņī (4. 42). About the age of the Samhita hardly anything more can be said with certainty than that it belongs to that class of Samhitas for which we have fixed the eighth century A. D. as the terminus ad quem.1 The only passage which might seem to indicate a later date, is the stanza 45.18 where king Kusadhvaja says to his teacher: "From thee have I obtained the Higher Science and also the Lower one; and by the fire of the Higher Science all my Karman has been burnt up." It is difficult to read this without thinking of S'ankarācārya's system. But Kusadhvaja, being a Pancarātrin, refers, of course, to the two " methods " (riti) described in the fifteenth adhyaya, distinguishing between the Veda and the inferior systems on the one hand, and the Pancaratra on the other. The distinction is based on that in the Bhagavad-Gita between the orthodox who swear on the Vedas and the enlightened ones who worship the Lord.2 Nor does the definition of avidya (ignorance), in 45. 8-4,

1 Above p. 19. 2 The Pañcaratrins have ever since emphasized this distinction, which is one of the chief causes of their having been decried as heretics until the present day. The contrast between the two classes has been so much deepened by them that the Vaidikas are actually made despisers of the Lord, e.g., in the following s'loka of Vişvaksena S. (loc. cit. p. 126; cf. Bhag .- Gitā II, 42 fll ): Trayīmārgeșu nisņātāh phalavāde ramanti te l devādīn eva manvānā na ca mām menire param il. But trayi (as, indeed, veda in the Gītā) is never meant to include the Upanisads, as can be seen from Visvaksena S. calling the two classes veda-nisnātāh and vedānta-nisnātāh. The idea of the fire of true knowledge destroying karman is, of course, also quite familiar to the Gita (see, for instance IV, 37). 13

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as the power obscuring the real nature (param rūpam) of the jivātman and the paramatman necessarily point to S'ankara's Advaita, because in the Pancarātra the Nigraha or Tirodhana Sakti is the cause of the " obscura- tion " of the souls but not of their plurality.1 In both these cases, however, there remains, of course, the possibility of Advaitic terms and phrases (earlier perhaps than Sankara) having been adopted by the Pāñcaratra. If, on the other hand, there is in our Samhita an indica- tion of an earlier. date than the one mentioned, it would seem to be the fact that the "sixty topics " of the older Sāmkhya are enumerated in it.2 For, these sixty topics, as I have shown elsewhere3, could no longer be enumerated by the Sāmkhyas themselves as early as the fifth century A. D. The brilliant Sāmkhya Kārikā of Isvara Krsna having by that time completely eclipsed the older Samkhya, no later author could speak of the latter as though it were the only existing one, as does our Samhita.4 As for the terminus a quo of the latter, I venture to say that a work in which, as, apparently, in the eighth chapter of the Ahirbudhnya

1 See above, p. 88 fll. 2 See, below, our résumé of the twelfth adhyāya. 3 In the article Das Sastitantra in the Journal of the German Oriental Society for 1914, p. 101. * Not only in the adhyaya concerned. Elsewhere too, when the Sāmkhya is briefly characterized, it is stated to teach the three [or four] principles : time, soul, and [unmanifest and manifest] matter; see, for instance 55. 46: Samkhya-kāla-jīva-trayī-trayam (for trayī= vidyā=prakrti cf. above pp. 62, 69). Sankarācārya mentions both the "successors of the Samkhya-Yoga" (samkhyayoga-vyapās'rayāh) and the "atheistic" Samkhyas (comm. on Brahmasūtras II, 2. 37 fll. and II, 2. 1 fll.), but regards as the three chief principles of the former God, soul, and matter; which shows that, while the Sastitantra did no longer exist at his time, the Samkhya-Yoga of the Mahābhārata had yet survived in another (more orthodox) form, the so-called Vaidika Sāmkhya of later authors,

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Samhıita1, and as in S'ankara's Brahmasūtra Bhāşya (ad II, 2. 18,), Buddhism is understood to be divided into the three great schools of the Skandhavādins (Sarvasti- tvavādins, S'.), Vijñānavādins, and Sūnyavādins, cannot well have been written until some time after the Ma- hāyāna had established itself, say : after 300 A. D.

4. CONTENTS OF THE SAMHITA

Examining the Ahirbudhnya Samhita with regard to the ten chief subjects into which, as stated at the end of part I of this Introduction, the subject-matter of the Pancaratra can be divided2, we find that there is nothing in it about the tenth subject, and only a few occasional contributions to the sixth and seventh; that there are: one chapter on sociological matters, one on initiation and two on worship (eighth subject), also two on Yoga; and that the science of diagrams, etc., is represented by some eight chapters, while sub- jects 1, 2, and 4 occupy each of them about one-fourth of the Samhita, subject 1 not being confined to chapters 1 to 14 but naturally also often referred to in the rest of the work. Roughly speaking we may say that half of the Samhita deals with occultism, theoretical and practical, one fourth with philosophy, and one fourth with the remaining subjects. Chapter 1. The Samhitā opens, after a salu- tation to the Lord and His consort, with a dialogue between the two Rșis Bharadvāja and Durvāsas, the

1 See, below, our résumé. There is one more direct reference to Buddhism in our Samhita, namely in XXXIII, 17, where the Lord is stated to be worshipped as Buddha by the Bauddhas. 2 See p. 26.

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latter of whom is asked by the former for an explanation of that mysterious discus1 of Vișnu called the Sudarsana. On many occasions-in connection with the divine weapons (astra), powers (s'akti), and magic formulas (mantra) - the dependence on the Sudarsana having been mentioned, Bharadvāja wants to know : "Due to whom [or what] is its majesty ? Is it innate or created ? What is that Sudarsana ? What is the mean- ing ascribed to the word? What work does it perform ? How does it pervade the universe ? Who are the Vyūhas, how many and of what kind, that have sprung from it, O sage? And for what purpose do they exist, and of what nature is He to whom they belong (the vywhin) ? And of what kind is its (the Sudarsana's) connection with Visnu supposed to be? Is it (the Sudarsana) necessarily and always found in connection with Him [alone] or else- where too? This is the doubt which has arisen in me from the perusal of various S'astras. Solve it, O holy one ! I have duly approached thee. Teach me, master!" Durvasas answers that this is a common doubt among the wise, and that its solution was once obtained by Narada from the only one in this world who is able to solve it, namely the great god S'iva [who in the form of Ahirbudhnya is] the highest representative of knowledge.2

1 Cakra "wheel", a favourite symbol already in the Vedas and probably long before. The word is used in conjunction with cakrin "discus-bearer", to wit Visou, in the first stanza of this chapter. 2 Still dependent for the latter on Samkarsaua, his teacher, see II, 3. It may be surprising that in Närada's hymn in this chapter (as also in XXXV, 81-91) Ahirbudhnya, a bound soul, is praised as the absolute one (svatantra), ever-satisfied one (nitya-trpta), creator and destroyer of the universe, etc .; but it should be remembered : first, that he is a secondary Avatāra, and secondly, that this sort of hymns is simply propagating that bona fide exaggeration of the ancient Sūktas which moved Max Müller to invent the name henotbeism for the religion of the Vedic bards.

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Nārada had been induced to approach S'iva because he had observed the amazing strength of the Sudarsana in Vișnu's fight with the demon Kālanemi.1 Durvāsas agrees to impart to Bharadvāja this dialogue between Närada and Ahirbudhnya, that is, the Ahirbudhnya Samhita. But he only agreed to give it in an abridged form: the extent of the original Samhita was two- hundred and forty chapters; then, time having advanced and human capacity deteriorated, it was reduced, "for the benefit of men", to half the original, and now a further abridgment to only sixty chapters had become necessary.2 Chapter 2. Explanation of the word Sudarsana (slokas 7 to 9): it denotes Vişņu's Will-to-be (syām iti samkalpa) 3, darsana (seeing, sight) meaning preksana (prospective thought)*, and su (well, perfectly) expres- sing its being unimpeded by time and space. Everything in the world being dependent on the Sudarsana, the latter's power is, of course, natural (samsiddhika, sl. 12) and not created. Two of Narada's questions are herewith answered. After some more questions of Nārada (to be answered in the course of the 1 After which Visņu vanished so that Nārada had no means of applying to Him directly, whereas Siva, as a mundane being with his residence on the Kailāsa, was, on the contrary, accessible to him. 2 In the same way Pādma Samhitā claims to have been re- duced from 15 millions to 500,000, then to 100,000, and finally to 10,000 stanzas. 3 Syam=bahu syam; cf. the beginning of adhyaya XXX. 4 The divine will is inseperable from wisdom and action ; see III, 30. The root iks (combined with pra in preksana) is used in this sense in Chandogya Upanişad VI, 2. 3: Tad aikşata bahu syām prajāyeyeti "That [Bráhman] wished: I will be many, I will be born", which passage is clearly the basis of the above definition. Cf. also Maitrāyaņa Upanișad II, 6 narrating how Prajāpati being tired of his loneliness contemplated himself and by this act became the creator of all beings (sa ātmānam abhidhyāyat, sa bahvīh prajā asrjat).

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Samhita) there follows (sl. 22 fll.) a long explanation of the concept of the "Highest Brahman", the real nature of which is experienced in Liberation only, and which nobody can hope to attain by his own efforts, even if he would fly upwards in space like the king of birds (Garuda) for a thousand years with the velocity of thought. The last section is concerned with the definition of the six Gunas of God (see above, p. 31 fll.) Chapter 3. The object of this chapter is to explain the Sudarsana by identifying it with the Kriyā Sakti or active side (force aspect) of the Lord as distinguished from His formal side (matter aspect) called Bhūti Sakti. The chapter opens by explaining the meaning of Sakti: it is the subtle condition (sūkșmâvastha) or thing-in-itself (idamta) of any existence (bhava), recognizable by its effects only. Each mani- festation of life (bhava) has a S'akti inseparably connected with it, but there is also one omnipresent Sakti, the S'akti of God. Lakșmī is the Lord's "vibration in the form of the world" (prasphuratā jaganmayī) ; she is connected with Him as the moonlight is with the moon, or the sunshine with the sun; different from Him only as an attribute (dharma) differs from its bearer (dharmin), or existence (bhava) from him who exists (bhavat). Many of the names of Laksmī are enumerated and explained in sl. 7 to 24. Then, after mentioning that S'akti is twofold and Bhūti Sakti threefold (details of which follow later), the rest of the chapter (sl. 29- 56) is occupied with the mutual relation of the two Saktis and the identity of the Kriya Sakti with the Sudarsana. The Sudarsana is, according to stanza 30, will (iccha) embodied in wisdom (preksa) and resulting in action (kriya).

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Chapter 4 turns to "that cause " which, " pervad- ed by the Sudarsana", "takes to creation", namely the Bhūti Sakti or material cause of the world, in order to explain how that principle, after having been " a cow in the form of clouds " (megha-rūpiņī dhenuh)1 becomes once more " the non-cow, sapless and withered, called the Non-manifest (avyakta) ". The pratisamcara " re-absorp- tion " or "in-volution" (=pralaya, 5. 1) described here at great length is the exact reversal of the process of creation (described in part II of this Introduction). At the end of the involution the S'akti of Vișnu returns to the condition of Bráhman (brahma-bhāvam vrajati) in exactly the same way as a conflagration, when there is no more combustible matter, returns to the [latent] condi- tion of fire (vahni-bhavam). "Owing to over-embrace" (ati-samsleşat) the two all-pervading ones, Nārāyaņa and His Sakti, have become, as it were, a single principle (ekam tattvam iva). Chapters 5 to 7 contain an account of creation which has been fully utilized in part II of this Introduc- tion. Chapters 8 to 12 endeavour to show the various forms of the activity of the Sudarsana : (1) as the adhara "base " or "support " of the world during the periods of creation and dissolution (chapters 8 and 9) ; and (2) as the pramaņa " measure ", that is, regulating principle during the period of the continuance of life (sthiti) in which it appears as the regulator (a) of things (artha) (chapter 10 ), and (b) of sounds (s'abda) (chapters 11 and 12). Chapter 8, before taking up the above subject, answers a question of Nārada as to the diversity of 1 For " cloud "=Cosmic Egg see above pp. 29 and 78.

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philosophic views (slokas 1 to 23). Nārada complains that there are so many different opinions about creation, some holding that it is effected by three elements1, others assuming four2, again others five3, six4, seven5, eight6, nine', ten, or eleven elements; some tracing it back to an eggs, others to a lotus8, others again to fire9, to "another body "10, to knowledge (vidya)11, or to the Void (s'ünya)12. Ahirbudhnya answers that the variety of opin- ions has several causes : first, the natural impossibility for human speech to express adequately truths concerning the Absolute; then, that people ignorant of synonyms (aparyāyavido janāh) often mistake different names for different things; that the intellectual attainments of men differ considerably; and, finally, that God has an infinite number of different aspects one of which only is, gener- ally, grasped and taught by a philosopher. Ahirbudhnya

1 Fire, water, earth; Chāndogya Upanișad VI, 4 fll. 2 Earth, water, fire, air; view of a materialistic teacher of the Buddha's time, also apparently of a Buddhist sect (the Jānakas). 3 The four and ether; view of many Upanisads and of certain materialists. 4 The five and the soul; a view mentioned in the Jain scriptures and called (by the comm.) tmaşaștha-vāda. 5 The four, the soul, and pleasure and pain (regarded as sub- stances) ; the saptakāya-vāda of a rival of the Buddha (Pakudha Kaccāyana) and evidently also of some later philosophers. 3 The five, Buddhi, Ahamkara, and Manas (Bhagavad Gītā VII, 4), or, possibly, the eight Aksaras (fire, earth, wind, atmosphere, sun, heaven, moon, stars) enumerated in Mahāsanatkumāra Saņhitā (Indrarātra I, 30 fll). 7 The eight and the soul; Bhagavad Gițā VII, 4-5. 8 See above pp. 80-81. 9 Cf. the theories, in the Upanisads, about Tapas, Tejas, Agni Vais'vānara, and Kālāgni. 10 That is, "another aggregate [of Skandhas]" or "other Skand- has" (kaya="aggregate" or "trunk, stem "); referring to the Sautrantika school of Buddhism and its doctrine of the santati. That (cf. next note) "another substance " is meant is less likely. 11, 12 Evidently the two Buddhist schools of the Vijñānavadins and Sūnyavādins are meant.

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concludes by mentioning that of the "Brahmic days" some are pleasant, while others show an excess of rain, war, etc., and then, at the request of Nārada, turns to the question of the adhāra (sl. 34 fll.). The Sudarsana is the perpetual support (adhara) of this whole Bhuti or universe [of names-and-forms] which is borne (dhriyate) by it just as gems (pearls) are borne by the thread running through them, or as the leaf (betel leaves) by the pin [pierced on which they are offered for sale].1 The Sudarsana, in upholding the uni- verse, is the Calana Cakra or "Wheel of Motion" (9. 41-42) and as such has a peculiar form in each of the three periods, appearing respectively as the "Wheel of Creation", the "Wheel of Withdrawal", and the " Wheel of Continuance", while each of the three again operates as a whole as well as through a number of minor "wheels" corresponding to the several Tattvas. Then there is, as the counterpart of the Calana Cakra, the Maharatridhara Cakra or "Wheel carrying the Great Night" which is said to have a single spoke and to be meditated upon by the sages. When creation begins, there appears first the "Wheel of Dawn " having two spokes; then, as the disk of Samkarsana, the "Wheel of Sunrise" having three spokes2; then, with Pradyumna, the "Wheel of Lordship " having four spokes; then, with Aniruddha, the "Wheel of Potency " having five spokes ; after this the "Wheel of the Seasons" having six spokes and representing the twelve Sub-Vyūhas; then the twelve-spoked "Great Sudarsana Wheel" connected with the Avataras, chief and secondary ones3 ; and finally

1 Cf. Chāndogya Upanișad II, 23. 3. 2 Read (ex conj.) : vijñātam trikadhārakam. 3 Does this mean that there are twenty-four chief Avatāras ? 14

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ly a thousand-spoked wheel holding the Highest Heaven. Then (9. 1-9) there follow the wheels engaged in Non- pure Creation, namely : the Paurusa Cakra with three spokes1, and the Sakti Cakra having thirty spokes2 and comprehending the Naiyata Cakra (with thirty spokes), the Kāla Cakra (with six spokes), etc., the " Wheel of Space" (with one spoke), the "Wheel of Air" (with two spokes)3, etc., and finally the "Wheel of the Senses " (with eleven spokes). Chapter 9, after the enumeration mentioned be- fore of the "wheels" of Non-pure Creation, gives a most circumstantial description of the "Wheel of Motion" 4 (creation, continuance, withdrawal; sl. 33) called here Mahāvibhūti Cakra, "the Wheel of the Great Splendour (or: of the Powerful Manifestation) "; and then describes, by means of only five stanzas (36 fll.), the " Wheel of Withdrawal " (Samhrti Cakra) which does apparently not differ from the (practically indescribable) " Wheel of the Great Night" except in having, like the " Wheel of Great Splendour", an infinite number of spokes. The "Wheel of Great Splendour " is described as wearing a garment variegated by milliards of milliards of Cosmic Eggs; infinite numbers of Spaces [each pervading a "universe", but] appearing [from this higher point of view] like insignificant specks; crores of crores of Mahats which are a-mahat (not great) ; etc. etc. Among the images there is the one mentioned above (part II, section 1, end) of the clouds, and the following bold

1 Evidently connected with the three classes of souls mentioned above p. 54, n. 7. 2 Probably : Niyati, threefold Kāla, the three Guņas, and the lower twenty-three principles. 3 Air being perceived by two senses (ear and skin). 4 Calana=tremulous motion, that is, spanda,

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comparison unchaining a torrent of verbosity, at the beginning of this section: " As the cloth of a big banner unfolded in space is upheld by the ever-purifying wind, even so Bhūti of the nature of Vișņu's Sakti, from Samkarşana down to Earth, is upheld in the Support- less Place1 by [His] Will-to-be (samkalpa)." Chapters 10 to 12 are devoted to the description of the Sthiti Cakra, that is the Sudarsana as the regulative principle (pramana) of the various forces active during the period between Creation and Dissolution. Chapter 10, on the one hand, and chapters 11 and 12, on the other, refer to what the Saivas call the Artha Adhvan and the Sabda Adhvan. Pramana is defined (in sl. 15) as "that by which everything obtains its fixed measure (iyattā)". Another definition (32-33) runs : "The course of Hari's Will possessed of the Regulative Wheel (pramāna- cakra) is [to be recognized in] the limit (maryadā) eternally fixed for every principle (tattva)."2 Chapter 10 shows how the "things " (artha), that is, manifested nature without the universe of sounds (to be dealt with in the following chapters), are governed by the Sudarsana; that is to say: (1) how the " divine pleasures" in Highest Heaven are regulated by it; how owing to it the Kūtastha is kept in his place (between Pure and Impure Creation); how Time appears always in the form of kalās, kāșthas, etc., and Buddhi as righteous- ness, dispassion, etc .; how each of the five elements keeps its characteristics; etc. etc .; (2) how, owing to it, the cherishing of the Sattva Guna is rewarded with food, rain, etc., and indulging in Tamas followed by famine

1 The reading pade appears after all preferable to pate (with the latter, however, cf. bhitti in III, 7 and V, 8). 2 A third definition (pra-Ima) is found in XIII, 5-6.

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and the like; and (3) how it renders possible the con- tinuance of the world by means of the divine S'astras1 such as the Discus, Plough, Club, Conch, etc., used by the Lord in His Avatäras in order to fight the unrighteous, and how, on the other hand, it keeps effective the one hundred and twenty magical Astras, the imprecations by Rsis, et hoc genus omne. Chapters 11 and 12 are intended to show how the regulative power (pramana) of the Sudarsana manifests itself through the word (s'abda), that is, by means of the systems of religion and philosophy. For, says stanza 12 of chapter 11: "To resist successfully the enemies of virtue, two means are required : the array (vyuha) of Sastras and Astras, and the S'astra." Chapter 11 begins by explaining why the Avatāras of God become necessary in the course of time. The reason is the inevitable deterioration of the world in the course of the Yugas: first, in- deed, there is a predominance of the Sattva Guņa, but soon it begins to diminish, owing to the in- cessant growth of Rajas and Tamas, and so "this Sāttvic divine limit " begins to fluctuate (sl. 8). After this introduction the chapter takes up the descrip- tion of the original S'astra which, at the beginning of the golden age, came down from heaven "like a thunderclap", "dispelling all inner darkness". It was proclaimed by Samkarsana. It was an harmonious whole comprehending within it everything worth knowing for man : the Vedas and Vedāngas, Itihāsas and Purāņas, Sāmkhya, Yoga, Pāsupata, etc. (sl. 20-46), and consisted

' "Weapons" which, however, in contradistinction to the Astras, can never be used by mortals, but only by their divine bearer with whom they are inseparably connected.

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of a million chapters. The first men 1-the divine Manus, the Manavas and Manavamānavas - regulated their whole life by means of it to the satisfaction of the Lord.2 But then, "by the change of time", the division in Yugas, and with it the shrinking of Sattva and the growth of Rajas, became manifest at the beginning of the Treta age; and, "the high-souled Brāhmaņas wishing wishes (longing for pleasures), that beautiful system (sudarsanam sāsanam) took a slow course ". Then the divine Rsis, taking counsel, decided that from the original Sastra separate systems suited for the diversity of intellects should be extracted, and, after having practised severe austerities for very many years, they set to work, with the result that Apāntara- tapas (Vācyāyana) fashioned (tataksa) the three Vedas, Kapila the Sāmkhya, Hiranyagarbha the Yoga, and S'iva (Ahirbudhnya) the Pasupata, while the Lord Himself extracted, as the purest essence of the "sole divine S'astra ", the " system (tantra) called Pāñcarātra describ- ing Him as Para, Vyūha, Vibhava, etc., and being recognizable by having Liberation as its sole result ". Chapter 12. The five recognized philosophical systems described in this chapter, namely the Trayi (or Vedic science), the Sāmkhya, tbe Yoga, the Pāsupata, and the Sāttvata (or Pañcarātra), are the same as the five "sciences " (jñānāni) mentioned by Vaisampāyana in the Santi Parvan of the Mahabharata.3 In the latter,

1 Ye prokta ādisarge; for "original creation" as distinguished from Brahmán's creation see XV, 20. 2 Cf. XV, 10 fll. 3 See my article Das Sastitantra in the Journal of the German Oriental Society for 1914, also the first Sanskrit

Yogah, etc. Preface in our text edition, p. 40, quoting the sloka Sāmkhyam

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however, merely their names are mentioned, for with reason the present chapter has a claim to our special attention, the more so as the Sāmkhya described in it is not only called by the name Sastitantra, " System of the Sixty Topics", - which is the name of the source of the oldest Samkhya treatise we possess, the Samkhya Kārikā - but actually consists of sixty topics which are enumerated though unfortunately not explained on this occasion. We have analyzed this chapter and tried to identify the sixty topics in a paper read in Athens in 1912 before the Indian Section of the International Congress of Orientalists and subsequently published (see previous note). Here a few remarks must suffice. By Trayi or [Vedic] Triad is meant the whole authoritative literature of Brahmanism, that is, not only the three Vedas, but also the Atharvana1 and all the twenty-one so-called auxiliary sciences down to politics (nīti), and the science of professions (vartta). The Sastitantra consists of two so-called " circles", the "circle of nature" (prakrta-mandala) and the "circle of educts" (vaikrta-mandala), comprising respectively thirty-two metaphysical and twenty-eight ethical topics. All the former have been adopted by the Pañcarātra 2, which, however, has expanded the first of them (Bráh- man) by advancing the theory of the Vyūhas and the conception of Lakșmi. The second, purusa, is evidently the Kūțastha Purușa (Samașți Purușa) of the Pāńcarātra; the third to eighth are identical with the Māyā Sakti, Niyati, Kala, and the three Guņas taken separately ; the

• Which is kept separate " because it chiefly deals with exor- cism and incantations." 2 We did not come to this conclusion until recently and conse- quently failed more or less, in the article mentioned, to arrive at the explanation of nos. 3, 9, and 10.

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ninth, aksara, must be the guna-sāmya called Avyakta; the tenth, prana, is Mahat1; the eleventh, kartr, the Ahaņkāra; the twelfth, sāmi (very likely a corruption of svāmi; cf. Bhag. Gītā 10. 22) is Manas (the central or "ruling" organ) ; and the rest are, of course, the ten senses and ten elements. To what extent the other "circle" agrees with the Pancaratra, cannot be made out by means of the mere names, though all of these can be discovered in the Samkhya and the Yoga literature, as shown in the paper quoted." There are, declares our chapter, two systems (samhita) of Yoga, to wit the " Yoga of Suppression" (nirodha-yoga) - which is, of course, the one dealing with the "levelling of the mind" (citta-vrtti-nirodha) - and the "Yoga of Action " (karma-yoga).3 The former has twelve topics, the latter is divided into " the Yoga of manifold works " and the "Yoga of one work", each of which is again divided into "external" and "internal" Yoga. The Pasupata system characterized by the enumera- tion of eight topics is, to judge from the latter and the three slokas referring to it in the preceding chapter (11. 48 fll.), not identical with that " wild and outlandish" system4 usually referred to as Pasupata by philosophical authors, but rather with that Agamic Saivism on which are based the later Saivite systems both of the north and of the south of India, although, when speaking of the Pasupatas as the

1 See above pp. 72 fll. 2 For " Guua" (no. 20) we should now also call attention to the guņa-parvāņi of Yoga Sūtra II, 19. 3 The Nakulis'a Pas'upatas, who also distinguish these two kinds, understand by Yoga of Action the muttering of Mantras, meditation, etc., (Sarvadars'ana Samgraha). The twofold Yoga taught in Laksmī Tantra (XV1) is (1) samyama, and (2)samādhi, the latter being the fruit of the former. 4 Bhandarkar, Vaisnavism, etc., p. 124.

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"people of strong vows" (13. 14), our author seems vague- ly to include in the name also the less philosophical sects (Kāpālikas, etc.)1. The Sattvata system, finally, is said to embrace the following ten topics: 1. Bhagavat, 2. karman, 3. vidyā, 4. kāla, 5. kartavya, 6. vaiseşikī kriyā, 7. samyama, 8. cinta, 9. marga, and 10. moksa. Of these, the first and last require no explanation ; no. 2, said to be thirteen- fold (15. 7), must refer to the Kriyā Pāda2; no. 3 is, ac- cording to 15. 12, the knowledge of the seven padārthah3; kala appears to refer to the pañca-kala-vidhi or rule of the five "timely" observances of the day (abhigamana, etc.) described, for instance, in the thirteenth adhyāya of the Caryā Pāda of Pādma Tantra ; by kartavya in all probabi- lity are meant the five ceremonies (karman) or sacraments (samskara) constituting the initiation (diksa), while no. 6, as shown by 15. 80 fll., are the "special duties" connected with the several castes and stages of life; no. 7 refers to Yoga, no. 8 to meditation*, and no. 9 presumably to Bhakti 5. About the remaining systems (Buddhism, Jainism, etc.,) sloka 51 simply remarks that they are fallacious systems (s'astrabhasa) founded by Gods or Brahmarșis

1 In the Pādma Tantra (I, 1. 50), which, however, is later than our Samhita, Siva is made the author of the three systems called Kāpāla, Suddha Saiva, and Pās'upata. 2 See above, pp. 22. 3 "Things, topics, categories", cf. VII, 45 the sevenfold ridya-riparinama called the seven Mahabhūtas. But prakrti-jnāna seems to be distinguished from saptapadārtha-jñana in XV, 12-13. Of the seven categories of the Vais'esikas the three called sāmānya, samavaya, and vis'esa are not regarded as categories in Yat. Dīp., first chapter (ed., p. 17). 4 Cf. the expression dvādas'ākşara-cintakāh in Īs'vara Saņhitā XXI, 41 (quoted by Govindācārya, loc. cit., p. 947). 5 Marga=panthā namananāmavān, LII, 33,

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with the object of spreading confusion among the wicked.1 Among the synonyms of the term Sudarsana enumerated towards the end, two, namely Prāņa and Māyā, are worth noticing. Chapter 13 is a review of the objects of life. The only thing "which is always and everywhere the summum bonum (hitam atyantam) of men" is, of course, "the absolute discontinuance of the succession of sorrows, and the eternal happiness implied in it " (sl. 9), which is tantamount to the attainment of one's real nature, that is, the nature of God (bhagavanmayata, bhagavattā) (sl. 11). The two ways (sadhana) leading to it are sacred know- ledge (jñana) and religion (dharma), of which the latter is the stepping-stone to the former. There are two kinds of sacred knowledge, to wit the direct (sāksāt- käramaya) ard the indirect (paroksa) knowledge of God. Of these, again, the latter is the cause of the former. Religion is also twofold in that it is either (1) mediate (vyavadhānavat) worship, that is worship of some repre- sentative of God such as the god Brahmán, or (2) the immediate worship (sākşād-ārādhana) of Him whose manifestation (vibhūti) all those gods are. Pāncarātra worship is of the second kind, Vedic and Pasupata worship of the first. Study of the Sāmkhya results in

1 In Padma Tantra I, 1. 44 fll. the systems founded in addition to (not derived from) the Pañcaratra are : the Yoga of Brahmán, the Samkhya of Kapila, the Buddhist Sunyavada and the Arhata S'astra (Jainism) - both of the latter, like the Pāñcaratra, pro- claimed by the Lord Himself (namely in the Buddha and Rsabha Ava- tāras mentioned in the Bhāgavata Purāņa) - and the three Saivite systems founded by Siva; the Trayī being, indeed, mentioned as conditio sine qua non of the Pāñcarātra (I, 1.68) but not reckoned as a philosophical system. Possibly these six systems are the same as the six samaya-dharmah which, according to XXXIII, 64 of our Samhita, the ideal Purohita must be acquainted with, 15

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indirect, of the Vedānta in direct knowledge of God, while Yoga practice also leads finally to direct know- ledge. - The two mundane objects are wealth (artha) and love (kama). These and religion are characterized by mutual interdependence in that each of them may become the means for attaining one or both of the other two. However, neither wealth nor love but only religion is an unfailing instrument, while Liberation (moksa) is never a means for accomplishing anything (sādhana) but only a thing to be accomplished (sādhya). For the attainment of any of the four objects both internal and external means must be employed. In the case of love, for instance, these are: (1) the sincere resolve [to fulfil one's duties as a householder], and (2) the ceremony of marriage. Chapter 14 treats of Bondage and Liberation. The soul belongs to the Bhūti Sakti, being that portion of hers which, owing to Time, passes from birth to re- birth until, having entered the "path of the S'astra", it is at last " reborn in its own (natural) form" (svenâbhijāyate, sc .: rūpeņa), that is, liberated. The reason and object of this samsara is shrouded in mystery : it is the "play" of God, though God as the perfect one can have no desire for playing. But how the play begins and how it ends, that, indeed, may be said. The Will of God called Sudar- sana, though of innumerable forms, manifests in five principal ways, to wit, the S'aktis called Creation, Pre- servation, and Destruction [of the universe], and Obstruc- tion (nigraha) or Obscuration (tirodhana) and Further- ance (anugraha, favouring) [of the soul]. At the beginning God "obstructs " the souls by "obscuring " or "contracting " their form (akara), power (aismarya), and knowledge (vijñana), the result being the three

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Taints (mala) or Fetters (bandha) of the soul, to wit (1) atomicity (anutva)1, (2) impotence (akincitkaratā, kiñcit- karatā), and (3) ignorance (ajñatva, kincijjñatva). These are, of course, the counterpart of three perfections which the soul in her natural condition has in common with the Lord, namely omnipresence1, omnipotence, and omnisci- ence2. It is owing to the three Taints, according to our chapter, as also to the passions arising from the contact with Matter, that the soul finally treads the path of action and so produces Vāsanās (Germ-impressions) leading to new births; and it is the Karman so produced which (like the seed producing a tree, and the tree producing seeds, etc.) ultimately necessitates a new Creation, and so establishes the Creative, Preservative, and Destructive S'aktis of the Lord. This is called the " transmission of obscuration" (tirodhana-paramparā, sl. 25) of the Nigraha S'akti. It comes about with the assistance of the two parts of Bhūti called Time and [Māyā-] Sakti (sl. 26). It has no beginning, but it may have an end, so far as the individual is concerned, by the breaking in of the Power of Furtherance or the divine grace (anugrahasakti-pāta)*, In the sense fixed above p. 90. 2 This doctrine, closely connected, as we have seen, with the S'aiva doctrine of the Kañcukas, has, on the other hand, nothing in common with the Saiva doctrine of the three Taints. For, in the latter the Aava Mala consists in the loss or absence of both knowledge and power, while the Måyiya Mala is the evil of being connected with matter (Måyā and its products), and the Kårma Mala that of the per- forming of good and bad deeds. Cf. Pauskara Agama I, 4. 2-5 quoted by P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar in his Outlines of Indian Philosophy p. 159, and the three s'lokas of Vamadeva, in the Tippaui on Pratyabhijnahrdaya, Srinagar edition, p. 15. 3 S'akti-pata is the reading of all the MSS. in s'loka 35; in another stanza (30) all of them have s'akti-pāka, and in a third (33) all except one read sakti-bhava. The term is stated to be used by "those who follow the Agamas" (ūgama-stha, 30), which, to judge from the unfamiliarity with it betrayed by the varietas lectionis, seems to point to the Saiva Agamas as its source. The term mala- traya is apparently also taken from the latter and is mentioned several times in our Samhità in connection with the Pas'upata system.

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resembling a "shower of compassion" coming down upon him who has been "beheld1 by God " (Visnu-sami- lcşita). It is impossible to determine when and how the "sublime mercy of Vişņu" breaks in. But no sooner has it happened than both the Karmans (good and bad) become "silent". For, with regard to a soul seized by the grace of God, they are as powerless, and, consequent- ly, as indifferent, as robbers are towards a traveller guarded by a strong retinue. The breaking in of grace causes the soul to discern its goal (Liberation) and to strive after it by means of the recognized systems (Sāmkhya, Yoga, etc.,) singly or conjointly. - The Nigraha Sakti has the following synonyms (sl. 17): Illusion, Ignorance, Great Delusion, Great Gloom, Darkness, Bondage, and Knot of the Heart. Chapter 15 takes up the question as to who is entitled to the several objects of life (purusârtha). The answer deals first with the five systems (sid- dhanta) only. Of these the Sattvata or Pancaratra alone is destined for the Manus and their pure descendants. Those "illustrious" first men called Siddhas (perfect ones) live a hundred years each in absolute purity, observing the rules of caste and periods-of-life (as'rama), and then obtain Liberation.' Those, on the other hand, who have sprung "from the mouth, etc., of Brahman" are primarily entitled to the four lower systems only, though they can "ascend " to the

1 That is, chosen; cf. Kāthaka Upanișad I, 2. 23: yam eraişa vrņute tena labhyah. 2 These ideal first men are described at length and contrasted with the later men (offspring of Brahmán) in Vişvaksena Samhitā, loc. cit., pp. 126-129 (note especially p. 126 bottom : Vyūhânuvrttim satatam kurvate te Jagatpateh). See on them further Padma Tantra I, 1. 35 fll. where, however, as in Vişņutilaka I, 146, it is the god Brahmán from whom they receive the holy s'astra.

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"Sattvata statute "1. If they embrace the Pasupata, etc., they have to give up the Vedic rites which are compati- ble with the Yoga only. Then follows the discussion of the castes and the periods-of-life (sl. 26 b fll.) the conception of which is, on the whole, the orthodox one. For a S'ūdra it is more meritorious to serve a Brahmana than a man of either of the other castes (33). Non-hurting (a-himsa), truthfulness, forgiveness, and conjugal loyalty are obligatory virtues for all castes. The Samnyāsa Āsra- ma is for the Brāhmana but may exceptionally be embraced by the Kşatriya also; the Kşatriya and the Vaisya are entitled to the first three Asramas. The second birth is the investment with the sacred thread, the third the initiation into the Pancaratra. When Brahmacarya is completed, the student may stay with the teacher as a Naisthika, or he may enter any of the other Asramas. The Grhastha as well as the Vanaprastha will reach the heaven of Brah- mán by strictly observing their respective duties; while, by acquiring, at the same time, the highest knowledge, they will be liberated. Unless he be one of the latter class (a Jñanin or Knower), the Vanaprastha will end his life by means of the Great Departure (maha-prasthana) [or some other lawful kind of religious suicide'] (59). In the long description of the Samnyā- sin there is nothing extraordinary except perhaps that his end is compared, just as the Buddhist Nirvana, with the going out of a lamp. 1 " Sāttvata-s'āsana", cf. p. 15 : "sāttvata-ridhi". 2 Like those enumerated in the Law Books and Samnyāsa Upa- nișads. 3 Pradipa iva santarcih, sl. 75. Cf. the similar image employed (in IV, 76) for Lakșmī's absorption into Vișnu at the end of a cosmic day.

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Chapters 16 to 19. In addition to the forms described, the Sudarsana or Kriyā Sakti manifests itself also in the form of Mantras, that is, sounds (and their graphic symbols) and the holy utterances composed of these. The description of this so-called Mantramayi Kriyāsakti (16. 9-10) or "Sound-body of Lakşmī" (16. 44) is the object of the next adhyāyas. Chapter 16 begins by asking who is en- titled to benefit by this form of the Sakti. The answer is that it is the prerogative of the Brahmana who acts in agreement with his king. The latter is praised in exalted terms as the tout ensemble of the gods, etc., and a forcible description is given (sl. 20-27) of the interdependence of the two higher castes which are like Agni and Soma, and neither of which can pros- per without the other. The higher a sovereign, the more is he entitled to the use of the Mantra Sakti: most of all the cakravartin, then the mandalesvara, further the visayesvara, and finally also the chief minister (mahamatra), supposing he belongs to the twice-born. (S'1. 36 fil.) Speech begins with the Nada1 resembl- ing the sound of a deep bell and perceptible to perfect Yogins only ; the Nada develops into the Bindu (Anusva- ra) which is twofold, as the sabda-brahman or "Sound Brahman" and the Bhuti (related to each- other as the name and the bearer of the name); and then from the Bindu proceed the two kinds of sounds, to wit the vowels (svara) and the consonants (vyañjana). The vowels appear in the following order : first the a called anuttara ("chief" sound), then the i,

' Or the last lingering of the nasal sound in the correct chanting

Mantra). of the syllable OM; cf. below adhyāya 51 (explanation of the Tāra

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then the u, from which spring the corresponding long vowels and, on the other hand, by mutual union, the diphthongs : a+i=e, a+e=ai, etc., and further, by amalgamation with a consonantal element (r, l), the r and l sounds. In accordance with the theory of the four states of sound (Para, Pasyantī, Madhyamā, and Vaikharī) it is then shown how these fourteen vowels (or rather the 7 as their common root, sl. 45) gradually emerge from their latent condition by proceeding, with the Kuņdalinī Sakti, from the Mūlādhāra (perinēum) to the navel, the heart, and finally thethroat where the first uttered sound arising is the aspirate, for which reason the Visarga is interpreted literally as "creation" (srsti), its counterpart, the Anusvāra or Bindu being in an analogous way declared to represent the "withdrawal" (samhāra) of speech. The Anusvāra is also called "sun " (surya), and the Visarga "moon" (soma), and the sounds a, i, u, ?, l, e, o, and a, ī, ū, ?, l, ai, au are respectively "sun-beams " and " moon-beams " and as such connected with day and night and with the Nadīs called Pingalā and Idā. The vowels a, i, u, and ? are said to be each eighteen-fold (how, is not stated), the ! twelve-fold, etc. From the first consonant, the h sound, which re- presents Vasudeva, originate successively (each from the preceding one) the s, s, s sounds which, to- gether with the h, are the Fourfold Bráhman (catur- brahman), and, with h and ks, the Fivefold Brahman (pañca-brahman)1. From the s' springs the v, from the v the l, from the l the r, and from the r the y; then, from the y the m which represents the totality (samaşti) of the souls, that is, the Kūțastha Purușa. Then

1 The three Vyuhas, the four-armed Våsudeva, and the two-armed Highest Våsudeva (?); cf. above p. 52, note 3.

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there appear: the bh sound or world of experience (bhogya), namely Prakrti ; b, ph, p=Mahat, Ahamkāra, and Manas; the five dentals and five cerebrals representing respectively the five "knowledge senses" and the five "action senses "; the five palatals and the five gutturals corresponding to the Tanmātras and Bhūtas; and (finally ?) from the ordinary l the cerebral (Vedic) ! which, however, is not counted as a separate letter. Chapter 17 shows how each letter of the alphabet has (1) three "Vaisnava" forms, namely a "gross ", "subtle", and "highest" one, expressed by certain names of Vișņu; (2) one " Raudra" form called after one of the Rudras (that is, by one of the names of S'iva); and (3) one "S'akta" form being the name of one of the limbs, organs, or ornaments of the Sakti of Vișnu. For instance, the k sound is expressed in the Vaișņava alphabet by the three names Kamala (Lotus), Karāla (Lofty), and Parā Prakrti (Highest Nature), and in the Raudra alphabet by the name Krodhisa (Angry Lord, or Lord of the angry), while in the S'akta alphabet 1 it is identified with the thumb of the right hand of the Goddess. For Mantras connected with Visnu, Siva, or Sakti the respective alphabets should always be em- ployed. These alphabets seem to serve a double purpose : enabling the initiate to quote the Mantras without endangering their secrecy2, and providing him with a handle for their mystic interpretation. These

1 In the employment of this alphabet the vowels (vaguely identified with the face of the Goddess) are not expressed (as in XVIII. 2) or expressed by those of the Vaisnava alphabet (as in- dicated ibid. 9 fll.). 2 Cf. Rāmapūrvatāpanīya Upanișad, end (sl. 84), naïvely assert- ing that the Rama diagram (containing the Mala Mantra in the mystic language) is "a secret hard to understand even for the Highest Lord " (rahasyam Parames'varasyâpi durgamam).

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lists, then, are an indispensable key to the Man- tras. There are, however, more such symbolic words in use, as can be gathered, for instance from the second of the opening stanzas of our Samhita, where the word indu (moon) means the letter i1; from the mystic alphabet employed in Rāmapūrvatāpanīya Upanișad (sl. 74-80) ; etc. etc. 2 Chapter 18 takes up the uddhāra or quotation (which is, in reality, a sort of developing) of the Sakti Mantra and Saudarsana Mahāmantra (both of which contain as their chief constituent the word sahasrara "thousand-spoked" expressed respectively through the Sakta and the Vaișnava alphabet), of the Bijas ("germs") hum and phat and of the Anga (auxiliary) Mantra cakraya svaha; and chapter 19 continues the subject by describing the well· known five Anga Mantras3 referring to heart, head, hair-lock, armour, and weapon; further an Upanga Mantra, the Cakra Gāyatrī, and a number of Mantras referring to the Conch, etc., and other " weapons " of Vişnu. Chapter 20 describing the dilsa or initiation, opens with a beautiful definition of the ideal teacher who should, among other things, be capable of sharing in both the sorrow and happiness of others (Mitleid and Mitfreude), of being lenient towards the poor of intellect, etc., and must be well versed in Veda and Vedāņta (Upanișads), Pāñcarātra, and other systems (tantra).

' Indus'ekharām=īkāruntūm, referring to the letter i in the name S'rī. 2 An important contribution to this subject is vol. I of Arthur Avalon's "Tantrik Texts ", namely "Tantrābhidhāna, with Vīja- nighauțu and Mudrānighaņțu", containing collections of such words used, among the Saktas (and elsewhere), as symbols for letters. 8 Of. Nrsimhapūrvatāpini Upanișad II, 2 with commentaries. 16

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The disciple, unmarried or married, but belonging of necessity to the "twice-born", must with perfect sincerity confess to the teacher everything he has "done or not done", after which he may be accept- ed on probation and, after some years, definitively, if he has succeeded in convincing the teacher that he is free from greed and infatuation, capable of guarding the secret tradition (rahasyāmnāya-gopin), etc. In that case, with the usual Nyāsas, etc., the Sudarsana Mantra is imparted to him, of which the three Ris are: the Paramatman (in the "highest sense "), Saņıkarșaņa ("subtle"), and Ahirbudhnya ("gross"); the body being also, on this occasion, regarded as threefold, namely, as consisting of the gross body, the subtle body called puryastaka1, and the ānava or atomic body. The duties of the disciple are described at some length (sl. 43-48), the importance of " confessing himself and whatever belongs to him " being once more emphasized. The Mantra should on no account be used for a mundane purpose or trifling object, but only for the protection of the three worlds, government, or king; only for welfare, not for destruction. Chapters 21 to 27 are descriptive of magical diagrams called rakșā or yantra, their respective merits, and the way of meditating upon the Yantra Devatas. The latter, among whom are the Sudarsana Purușa (26. 6 fll.) and the twelve Sub-Vyūhas (26. 86 fll.), are described at some length on this occasion. Incidentally there is a description of the Kali Yuga

1 "The octad of [constituents of] the town [called body ]." For three different explanations of the eight see, (1) the stanza from Yogavāsișțha explained by Vijñānabhiksu in his comm. on Sāņkhya Sūtra III, 12; (2) Sarvadars'ana Samgraha, Poona ed. pp. 71 fll .; and (3) Pratyabhijñā Hrdaya, ed. p. 69.

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(25. 5-9). In these chapters the mystical alphabets play an important part. Chapters 28 and 29 deal with worship (āra- dhana): the former with the obligatory, the latter with the optional worship which a Katriya is recommended to perform for ensuring victory. In the latter case the rites vary with the region (east, south, etc.) in which the warrior wishes to attack. Chapters 31 and 32 consist of an outline of the Yoga theory and practice. The Yoga, as the counterpart of the "external sacrifice " (bāhya-yāga), is "worship of the heart" (hrdaya-arādhana) or the self- sacrifice (atma-havis) offered to God by giving Him one's own soul separated from matter, that is, in its original purity (31. 4-5). In this condition the soul is in touch with everything (sarvaga) and all-supporting (sarvabhrt) ; without eyes, ears, hands, and feet, yet all-seeing, all-hearing, with hands and feet every- where1; "far and yet near "2; "the imperishable part in all beings " (akşaram sarvabhutastham) 3, the "Highest Place of Vișņu" 31.7-11). Yoga, in fact, means "union of the life-self (soul) and the Highest Self" (jīvātmaparamātmanoh samyogah, 31.15). According to this passage, then, Yoga would be the temporal attain- ment, during life, of a feeling of perfect oneness with the Lord. Of a feeling only of such oneness; for that a soul ever actually becomes one with the Lord, is excluded by the premises of the system, as we have 1 Bṛhadāraņyaka Upanișad IV, 3. 23 fll. 2 Īsāvāsya Upanișad 5. 3 lt may be useful to remember here that Rāmånuja and his followers find no difficulty in relating all such expressions (for instance in the Bhagavad Gita) to the individual souls as separated from matter, that is, in their pure condition in which they are essentially, though not numerically, the same.

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seen in the last section of part II of this Introduction. Such feeling of identity is also attributed to the liberated.1 From 31. 18 to the end of 32 the eight Yogangas are described at some length and not without some originality: (1) the ten constituents of Yama (brahma- carya=not regarding one's wives as objects of enjoyment; arjava=concordance of speech, thought, and action) ; (2) the ten Niyamas (s'raddha=confidence in the work enjoined; astilya=conviction that there exists, asti, a something, vastu, accessible through the Vedas only); (3) eleven chief postures; (4) the Prāņāyāma, with a long physiological introduction on the tubular vessels called Nādīs (forming the "wheel" in which the soul moves about like a spider in its web; 32. 22) and the ten winds of the body, and directions as to the purification, within three months, of the whole system of Nādis; (5) Pratyāhāra, which is not merely a negative act (with- drawal of the senses) but also a positive one (nives'anam Bhagavati "entering into God"); (6) Dhāraņā, the "keeping of the mind in the Highest Self "; (7) Dhyāna, meditation on the "wheel-formed" Vişņu (Saudarsana Purusa) who is here described as eight-armed, clad in jewels, with lightning-flashes as the hairs of his head, etc .; and (8) Samadhi, which is reached by gradually intensifying Dhyana until the Siddhis or magical powers (of making one's body infinitely small, etc.) become manifest and spirits and gods begin to serve the Yogin. Chapters 30, 34, 35, and 40 are occupied with the subject of the Astras or magical weapons,

1 At least in the Saiva Siddhānta (Schomerus, loc. cit., p. 405), but undoubtedly also in the Pañcarātra, though the wish of kainkarya (above p. 58) is of course inconsistent with it.

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that is, occult forces of nature, of an obstructive or destructive character, which can be set loose, directed, and withdrawn by those who know the spells connected with them. Chapter 30 traces back the origin of the Astras to the creation of the world.1 Before creation the Lord, having nothing to play with (lilôpakarana) 2, could find no satisfaction (na ratim lebhe). He, consequently, made Himself manifold (atmānam bahu akalpayat) 3 by creating Pradhāna and Purușa (primordial matter and the soul) and then from the former, with the help of his Sakti in the form of Time, the Mahat, the Ahamkāra, etc., down to the gross elements. Out of these He then formed the Cosmic Egg, and in the latter He created Prajapati (the four-faced Brahman) who, "looking at the Vedas, framed, as before, the mani- fold names and forms of the gods, etc.". So " the Highest Lord, though all of His wishes are ever fulfilled, could ex- perience, by means of the beings created by Himself, the flavour of playing (lila-rasa)". He discovered, however, that there was in His creation a tendency towards the bad which could be counterpoised only if He with a portion of Himself would become the protector of His creatures. So He created, as an instrument against the wicked (Daiteyas and Dānavas), His Sudarsana form, and, the

XXXVIII, 10 fll. 1 With the beginning of this chapter cf. chapter XLI and

2 " For Him all of Whose wishes are fulfilled, creation, etc., can have no purpose " (P. Prakās'a S. I, 1. 4) and is, therefore " play" 3 So far the chapter is a paraphrase of some well-known Upa- nisad passages which belong to what the Visistdvaita calls ghataka- s'rutayah or texts reconciling monism and pluralism in that they show that the world, that is, the "body of God" (cf. LII, 23, being a reproduction of Bhagavad Gīta XI, 7), was latent in Him before creation.

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gods and kings being unable to use the latter, He produced from it the Astras or magical weapons. These, a little over a hundred1, are enumerated by name and in five groups according as they have sprung from the mouth, breast, thighs, feet, or "other limbs" of the Saudarsana Purusa. The first four classes constitute the Pravartaka (offensive, destructive), the fifth class the Nivartaka or Upasamhāra (defensive, obstructive) Astras. A definition of these two kinds is found in 36. 18-15 where the second are described as having the hands joined in supplication (sañjalini), while the first are said to look as though they were to devour all the worlds (attum ivāseșabhuvanāni). Chapter 34 gives the spells enabling one to use the sixty-two Pravartaka Astras, Chapter 35 those for the fourty-three Nivartaka Astras. Here again, as may be expected, the occult alphabets are extensively used. Chapter 35, towards the end (sl.92), raises the question as to whether the Astras have a material form (murti) or not. The answer is to the effect that they have, indeed, visible bodies of a dreadful appearance, more or less human-like, with a mouth studded with terrible teeth, rolling eyes, lightning-flashes instead of hairs, etc., and that they differ in colour, some being grey like ashes, others radiant as the sun, others again white, etc .; further that they carry their mighty weapons with arms resembling huge iron bars. In continuation of this general description Chapter 40 describes individually each of the one hundred and two Astras by which here, however, the visible weapons

1 Chapter XL enumerates 102, but chapters XXXIV and XXXV mention apparently some more.

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carried by the various Astra Purușas seem to be meant; for, the Sammohana Astra, for instance, is said to look like "a lotus with stalk", the Madana Astra like a chowrie, the Saumanasa Astra like a cluster of roses, etc. Chapter 41 contains the story of the first intervention of the Lord in order to fight evil. It is the Pauranic story of the two demons Madhu and Kaitabha who wrested the Vedas from Brahman before he could make use of them for creating the world. Brahmán, in his distress, goes to "the other shore of the Sea of Milk" and addresses a hymn to the Lord1 in answer to which the Lord appears to him and hears his complaint. By His mere thought of the two demons these are forced to appear before Him, yet still they refuse to return the Vedas. The enraged Lord now orders Vişvaksena to kill them, but V., in spite of leading against them "all the Vaişņavite armies" (sarvāh senā Vaisņavīh), is unable to do so. Now the Lord Himself "in His discus-form" (cakrarūpin), with sixty-two arms, wearing all His divine weapons, appears on the battle-field with the splendour of a thousand suns, and the armies of the demons, unable to bear the sight, are instantly destroyed, whereupon the Lord hurls His discus against the two evil-doers, decapitating both of them. Chapter 36 teaches how the Sudarsana Yantra, the construction of which was explained in chapter 26, is to be worshipped. There are two aspects of this Yantra, namely the form aspect and the Mantra aspect, called respectively the prior constituent (pūrvanga) and the posterior constituent (aparānga), the former

1 Giving Him the following epithets among others : suddha- jñānasvarūpa, visvāntaryāmin, s'uddhasattvaikamūrti, Vişvaksena- mukhaih sūribhih sevyamāna, divyānandamaya-vyoma-nilaya.

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consisting of figures (namely the Sudarsana Purușa sur- rounded by the twelve Sub-Vyühas, etc.), and the latter of Mantras only in the place of the figures. The medita- tion on the second form is for the teacher of Mantras, the Brähmana, only; the worship of the first is much recommended to kings and others desirous of material prosperity (s'rī) who, to ensure complete success, may build a special vimāna (kind of temple) for the purpose. The very preparation of the soil (karsana) for such a building is a highly meritorious act. The final part of the chapter (sl. 49 fll.) answers some doubts such as how Kesava, etc., being the Lord Himself, can be meditated upon as His retinue (parivāra). Chapter 37 has two parts. The first part enjoins that in times of great danger, when the enemy is overrunning the country, the king shall construct and worship an image of the sixteen-armed Sudarsana, of whom a detailed description is given. The second part (sl. 22 fll.) is devoted to the explanation of Nyasa which is declared to be a third sādhana (religious expedient) in addition to worship and Yoga. The word nyasa (putting down, giving over, renouncing) is here understood in the sense of bhakti, the six constituents of which are enumerated, and which is defined thus: "Taking refuge (s'aranagati) is the praying thought: I am a receptacle of sins, naught, helpless; do thou become my remedy (upāya)", the Mantra to be employed being: "O Lord who art invincible through the all-conquering thousand spokes [of Thy discus], I am taking refuge in Thee." The act of taking refuge implies all austerities, pil- grimages, sacrifices, and charities, because it means self-sacrifice, than which nothing is higher. The

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devotee should meditate on God as a sacrifice (yajñarūpa- dharam devam): His body being the altar, His mouth the Ahavanīya fire, His heart the Southern fire ... the enemies of His devotees the sacrificial animals .... His sixteen arms the priests. .. compassion His sacrificial gift, etc. Warning to the kings not to neglect the Sudarsana worship. Chapter 38 deals with the origin and cure of diseases. In order to explain the former the author begins by describing (in five slokas) the dissolution of the world.' When Pralaya [and the Great Night] was over - the account continues - the Lord, in order to play, created the world once more : first (pūrvam) the "names and forms", then (punah)2 Prakrti consisting of the three Gunas, called Māyā, with whom He began to enjoy Himself. "She, however, possessing a sakti (female energy) for each of the creatures3 and giving them pleasure, made them eager to enjoy her, and so became (lit .: becomes) the cause of the obscuration of the [true nature of both the] individ- ual and the highest soul." Owing to her influence man begins to identify himself (that is, his soul) with his body ; then, having sons, etc., he forms the idea of the " mine"; this leads to love and hatred, and herewith the seeds (vasanah) have appeared, the fruits of which are inevit- ably a new life conditioned by the good or bad use made of the preceding one. The diseases, therefore, are nothing but the sprouting forth of the sins we have committed in former lives. 1 Indicating thus that the Karmic chain (to which the diseases belong) has no absolute beginning. e The creation of "names and forms" here referred to as connected with primary creation is, of course, different from the one attributed to the god Brahman. 3 That is, souls; bhūtāni=purușāh. 17

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There follow five magical recipes for curing (1) fever, (2) consumption, (3) urinary troubles, (4) dysentery, and (5) epilepsy. In the several cures the- throwing of certain substances into the sacrificial fire, the use of vessels with Yantras etc. engraved on them, and presents to Brahmins play an important part, while practically no internal medicine is prescribed for the patient. Chapter 39. Närada wishes to know whether there is not one remedy for curing all diseases, destroying all enemies, and attaining whatever one might desire to attain. The answer is a description of the ceremony called Mahābhişeka "Great Baptism" which everybody can have performed, though it is specially recommended to kings and government officials. It should be executed in a temple or other sacred building, on even and purified ground, and commences with the drawing of the Mhendra circle and Saudar- sana diagram, culminates in a fire sacrifice (homa) performed by eight Rtvijs (corresponding to the eight directions of space), and ends with the baptism by the chief priest who successively sprinkles the person con- cerned with sacred water from each of the nine pitchers employed. He who has gone through this ceremony, "will promptly attain whatever be in his mind ". Chapter 42, before relating the two stories to be summarized later, contains the following : (1) Nārada inquires about the origin, devata (pre- siding deity), etc., of the Anga Mantras described in chapter 19. Ahirbudhnya answers that he has extracted them from the Atharva Veda, and that their devata is the Lord Himself in His Sudarsana form, their purpose the protecting of the body of the devotee, etc.

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(2) How a king may recognize that divine weapons and black magic (abhicara) are being used against him, and how he may neutralize their influence. The symptoms (enumerated in ten stanzas) are among others: the sudden death of horses, elephants, and ministers; a violent disease attacking the king; poor crops; the appearance of snakes and white ants at the door of the palace or temple; the falling of meteors; frequent quarrels among the ministers; enigmatical conflagrations breaking out in the town; appearance to the king, in dreams, of his own figure showing a shaved head, clad in black, and driving to the south (the region of Death) on a car drawn by donkeys. The remedy is the construction of a picture or image of the Lord carrying the Nivartaka Astras, and the meditation on, or worship of, the same. Not only the king but also his ministers should do so. Then the Lord will at last be pleased and check by His Upasamhāra Astras the magic or the divine weapons threatening His devotee. Chapters 43 and 44. On the power of the great Sudarsana Mantra, the root of all Mantras (44. 12), enabling one to cause to appear before oneself the Sudarsana Purușa in personā (with two arms, etc.), clad in a yellow robe, of dazzling splendour. Chapter 43 narrates how Ahirbudhnya, chapter 44 how Brhas- pati, obtains this sight. The latter asking with surprise how He, being known as eight-armed in the world, can now stand before him in a human form, the Sudarsana Purușa declares that He has four forms (vyūha) showing respectively two, eight, sixteen, and sixty-two arms, and moreover a fifth form in which He appears as the All (vis'vamayarupa). At Brhaspati's

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request He appears to him in the All-form and finally as eight-armed. 1 Chapter 46. Definition of the ideal Purohita. Pre- parations for, and description of, the Sudarsana Homa, a fire sacrifice to be performed for the king. At the end the latter, seated on a consecrated throne, is anointed. Chapter 47. Description of the Mahasanti Kar- man, a great ceremony to be employed by kings, which alone has the power to avert every evil and secure complete prosperity both in this world and the next. Of former kings who have performed it the following are mentioned : Ambarīșa, S'uka, Alarka, Māndhātr, Purūra- vas, Rajoparicara, Dhundhu, S'ibi, and S'rutakirtana. In this ceremony the Astras divided into eight groups are worshipped with eight different materials and Mantras. Chapters 33, 42, 45, 48, 49, and 50 con- tain "ancient stories" (purāvrtta itihāsa, 45. 9) intended to illustrate the effect of the divine weapons and of certain amulets or talismans. Chapter 33. The Sudarsana is the Wheel of Time, the Highest Self the one who turns it and who appears as Brahmán, Vișņu, and Siva at the times of creation, continuance, and dissolution of the world, as Buddha to the Bauddhas, as Jina to the Jainas, as the Yajña Purușa to the Mīmāmsakas, and as the Purușa to the Kapilas, but preferably in His discus form (cakrarupadhara) and always so when He wants to protect some devotee and to check his enemies, to illustrate which the story of Mani- sekhara is narrated. There reigned in the town 1 God in His All-form is called in the Gītå "thousand-armed", while He usually appears, according to that source (XI, 46), in His four-armed shape. It is noteworthy that, instead of the latter, we have above the eight-armed shape.

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of Naicāsākha a king called Pramaganda'. His son Durdharşa, a Rājarși and Cakravartin (royal sage and emperor), had by his principal wife Vatsalā a son called Manisekhara who married Prācī, ascended the throne when his father retired to the forest, and had born to him through Praci seven sons. At that time the demon Vikatākșa and his numerous descendants had become the plague of the country, and Vikatākșa having obtained from Brahmán the boon of invincibility, nothing was left to the king but to apply for help to the Lord Himself. So, in order to learn how to approach the latter, Manisekhara went, on the advice of his Purohita, to the sage Durvasas, and, directed by the latter, to Salagrama on the Sarasvatī (the holiness of which place is brought into connection with the Vārāha Avatāra and described at length in sl. 78 to 86). Here he worships the Lord for one month with arcana, japa, and dhyāna, after which He appears to him, eight-armed, etc., and emits out of His breast the Aindra Cakra (being the Astra described in 40. 28-24) : first one, then ten, then a hundred, etc., filling all space and killing the asuras. Chapter 42, after having described the symptoms betraying the approach of hostile magic (see above p. 131), tells two stories illustrating how the latter may be counteracted. Story of Kāsīrāja (sl. 35 fll.). Kāsīrāja2, a worshipper of Mahadeva, calls into existence, with the help of his god, a krtya or magical formation, which he

1 These two names are also mentioned by Sāyaua in the preface to his Rgveda Bhasya, ed. Max Mueller, vol. I, p. 4, where also the country is mentioned in which the town was situated, namely, Kītaka (probably a part of South Bihår). 2 There is a Kāsīrāja among the kings of the Lunar Dynasty.

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sends out to destroy Dvārakā and Krșna. The latter (Bhagavat), seeing the krtya approaching, emits the Sudarsana against it, whereupon the "frightened" brtyā hurries back to its master and perishes with him and his town by the Sudarsana which, after having done its work, returns to the Lord. Story of S'rutakīrti (sl. 40 fil.). S'rutakīrti, king of the Saurāsțras, reigning in Bhadrasālā, "devoted to the great Sudarsana Mantra, highly virtuous", was not satisfied with ruling the seven continents but wished to conquer also "another world". He, consequently, having worshipped the Sudarsana, entered his gorgeous aërial chariot, and, "accompanied by his army", set out to conquer Svastika, the capital of the Gandharvas, ruled by king Vinavinodana. The latter, amused, sends out his army of Siddhas and Gandharvas, but they are beaten. The Gandharva king then appears himself in the battle, but S'rutakirti defeats him in a ferocious single combat, and the Gandharva army is completely beaten a second time. Then the Gandharva king, in his despair, employs the Gandharva Astra (being the thirty-fourth of the Pravartaka Astras) which spreads confusion among the enemy, though it cannot reach Srutakirti himself who is protected by the Sudarsana. The battle having thus come to a standstill, S'rutakirti is instructed by his priest in the meditation on the great Wheel having sixty-four spokes and in its centre the God, sixty-two armed and carrying the Samhara Astras1; and he learns from him also the Mantras for all the Astras of the two classes. He then returns to the battle, and meditating, with his eyes fixed on his army, in the manner indicated

1 Sic, though according to chapter 34 sixty-two is the number of the Pravartaka Astras.

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and muttering at the same time the appropriate Mantras, he easily achieves, through the divine weapons now at his disposal, a definite victory. The chapter ends by describing how the king, in order to secure his Libera- tion, constructs a magnificent temple (vimâna) contain- ing "in the midst of a beautiful wheel the sixty-two- armed [God] with the Nivartaka Astras", and how he appoints for the temple, and loads with presents, one hundred and twenty Brāhmins. Chapter 45 relates the story of Kusa- dhvaja, intended to show that through the power of the Sudarsana even a prārabdha-karman can be anni- hilated. Kusadhvaja, the high-souled king of the Janakas, feels possessed by a devil (maha-moha) caus- ing failure of memory and other ills. His Guru tells him that this is due to his having once, in a former life, murdered a righteous king, and recommends him to build a sumptuous temple in order to obtain the grace of the Sudarsana. The king follows the advice, and the Guru performs in the temple a propitiatory ceremony lasting ten days, after which the king is cured. Chapters 48 to 50 contain five stories intended to show that for those who cannot perform these great ceremonies, the following five talismans, each of which bears the Sudarsana Mahayantra inscribed on it, may on particular occasions become useful, to wit : (1) the "seat", (2) the "finger-ring", (3) the "mirror", (4) the "banner ", and (5) the "awning". (1) Story of Muktāpīda or Hārāpīda, son of Susravas. He is so much addicted to sensual pleasures that, owing to them, he neglects his empire which is, consequently, harassed by the Dasyus. The Purohita, asked by the ministers for his advice, constructs

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a seat (vistara, asana) furnished with a Yantra, and causes the "amorous king " to sit down on it. Then he induces him to arrange for Veda recitation, music, and dance, and to go himself, for the time of one month, through certain meditations and ceremonies, eating only food that is seven times consecrated. The final effect of this is that all the enemies of the country die through disease or the sword, and the king has again a "thorn- less" empire. Incidentally are mentioned various methods for producing rain1. (2) Story of Visāla, a righteous king reign- ing at Visala(Vaisali). His wife receives the news, through a voice from heaven, that her son will die with- in four days. The king, having gone to the hermitage of the sage Pulaha, is advised by the latter to wear a finger-ring (anguliya) bearing the Sudarsana, which would ward off death. He does so; the servants of Yama arrive and take to flight, frightened by the divine Astras coming forth from the felly of the Wheel. Great astonishment of the gods at the death-conquering power of the Sudarsana. (3) Story of Sunanda (48. 64 fll). There reigned, at Srngarapura, a king called Sunanda who had a son called Sumati. Once the latter, having gone out hunting, meets in a forest a very beautiful Nāga girl who enchants him and takes him with her to the Nāga world. There she delivers him to Anangamañjarī, the daughter of the Näga king Vāsuki, who makes him her

1 And other things which are still less likely to be the teaching of a Purohita to his king, such as the important disclosure that, in order to obtain a garment of a certain colour, a flower (or flowers) of that colour should be sacrificed (XLVIII, 33). There is undoubtedly a large interpolation here from some other text, and probably between s'l. 16 and 17 one or several s'lokas have disappeared.

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husband. Happy beyond measure owing to his intercourse with the princess he forgets his whole past. King Sunanda, after having had a vain search made for him everywhere, ceases, out of grief, to take food. Then his Purohita goes to the hermitage of his teacher Kanva on the bank of the Tamasa and reports to him what has happened. Kanva, having entered into a trance, "sees" the "story of the boy" which is as follows: After futile attempts at finding in the Näga world a husband worthy of the beautiful Anangamañjarī, the Nāga girls began to look out for one on earth, and so discovered Sumati in the forest in which he was hunting. One of the girls, called Ramā, specially proficient in witchcraft (māyā-visāradā), suc- ceeded in enticing him to the Näga world, where he was now living unaware of his past, as the husband of the charming daughter of king Vasuki. There was one means of bringing him back, namely the great Sudar- sana diagram inscribed with golden letters on a mirror (darpana). With this message the Purohita returns to his king. The latter, delighted, has the magical mirror at once constructed and, with its help, enters the nether regions and arrives at Bhogavati, the capital of the Nägas. He finds his son and abducts him together with his wife and female servants; he is, however, overtaken by Vāsuki and his army of Nāgas. In the ensuing battle the Nagas are conquered by the Prasvāpana and Āgneya Astras (the sixty-first and twenty-first of the Pravartaka Astras) coming forth from the magical mirror, the former causing the Nagas to sleep, and the latter setting fire to their town. Now Vasuki asks for peace, offering precious jewels and a thousand Naga girls, whereupon Sunanda withdraws the Astras and returns to his capital. 18

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(4) Story of Citrasekhara (49. 1 fll.). There was, on the bank of the Sarasvati, a beautiful town called Bhadravāțī, ruled by a king called Citrasekhara. The father of the latter had once, using an aërial chariot presented to him by Indra, attacked and killed a Dānava called Sankukarna, owing to which deed the son of S'ankukarņa, called Amarșana, was incessantly harassing Citrasekhara and his town. When the two armies had met for the seventeenth time before Bhadra- vāți and returned home again after a drawn battle, Citrasekhara made up his mind to apply for divine help and set out in his aërial chariot for the Kailāsa. While he is driving over the mountains, his chariot suddenly stops short on the peak of the Mandara. He alights, and, after having walked for a while, meets, on the bank of a tank, Kubera, the god of riches, who tells him that this is the place where Mahālakșmī is living, to worship whom he had come here; and that, as it was due to her that his chariot had stopped, he should therefore apply to her. Hereupon Kubera disappears, but sends a Guhyaka who offers his services to the king and proposes that they should spend the night on the spot, which they do. Then in the morning, the Guhyaka takes the king to the palace of Mahālakșmī. The king then sings a beautiful hymn to Mahālakșmī, who is pleased and gives him a banner showing the Sudarsana diagram (yantrita dhvaja). The king then returns to his capital and conquers, by means of the banner, the army of the Asuras. (5) Story of Kīrtimālin (50. 1 fll.). Kīr- timalin, the son of king Bhadrasrnga at Visālā, was a great hero. Once, during the night, when he was taking a walk outside the town, he saw a Brähmana sitting under a S'ami tree, absorbed in Yoga and shining like fire. He

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asks him who he is, but receives no answer. He repeats his question several times and at last, his patience giving way, tries to attack him, with the result, however, that he grows stiff, unable to move (stabdha-cesta). He solicits and obtains the pardon of the Yogin, who now tells him that, travelling to Salagrama, he had been overtaken by night and had remained outside the town because the gates were closed. The king takes him into the town, and the next morning, when he is about to start again, asks him for some useful teaching. The Yogin then imparts to the king the Saudarsana Mahamantra together with the Anga Mantra, Dhyana, etc,, belonging to it. He declines the liberal daksina offered to him, asking that it be given to the Brahmins, and takes leave. - Everything on earth being subject to the king, he resolves to conquer the gods, Gandharvas, Asuras, and Nagas. He begins by marching against the Nāgas and conquers these by means of the Gāruda Astra1, forcing them to promise a tribute of jewels, etc. He then turns against the Daityas, the Yaksas, the Gandharvas, the Siddhas, and finally the Vidyādharas, and, having conquered all of these, returns to his residence. Missing in his retinue the Devas, he sends, through the Gandharva Manojava, a message to Indra to send him immediately his elephant Airävata, his thunderbolt, the Kalpa tree, and eight Apsarases. Indra laughs and answers through the messenger that he would now send the thunderbolt and the elephant only ; that the king should come with these and see him; that then he would give him the other things too. The elephant with the thunderbolt enters,

1 Which appears to be missing among the Astras enumerated in chapters 34, 35, and 40.

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without being seen, the town of the king, and silently begins to destroy his army. The king, unable to recognize the cause of the growing disaster, is at first alarmed, but then, informed by Manojava, who has meanwhile returned, he employs the Vārana Astra 1 causing the elephant to become motionless. On learn- ing the news from some of his retinue, Indra becomes angry beyond measure, and, by his order, the army of the gods "like the gaping ocean at the time of Pralaya" sets out for Visālā. A terrible battle be- gins to rage and to turn in favour of the gods. Their ranks are not shaken even when the king employs the. divine Astras ("Agneya, etc.") ; for Indra has "counter-weapons " (pratyastra) neutralizing their effect. But then, the situation becoming desperate, the king suddenly remembers the Yogin's instruction concerning a chariot with a magical awning (vitāna), has the latter made, and returns with it into the battle. Now an amazing change takes place: the Vișnu Cakra2 sent forth by the king from his chariot causes all the Devas to fall on the ground, from which they are unable to rise again, having become motionless; whereas all the divine missiles cast by Indra, Astras as well as Sastras, simply disappear into the Vişņu Cakra "like moths [disappearing] into the fire", "like streams [dis- appearing] into the ocean. At last the raging Indra hurls his thunderbolt at Kīrtimalin; but even the thunderbolt is absorbed by the Vişņu Cakra. The highly astonished Indra now approaches the king's chariot; and Kīrtimalin, having respectfully risen before

1No. 65 in chapter XL; probably the same as no. 38 of the Samhara Astras. 2 The fifth of the Pravartaka Astras (XXXIV, 14-16).

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the king of the gods and saluted him with friendly words, explains to him his invincibility, whereupon the two part as friends. Chapters 51 to 59 explain Vaișnavite Mantras, some of which are described from three standpoints : the "gross ", the " subtle ", and the "highest ". Incidentally many items are mentioned which throw light on certain philosophical and ethical doctrines such as those of the Vyuhas, of Bhakti, etc. These chapters being too technical to admit of a summary like the preceding ones, we have to confine ourselves to calling attention to some characteristic passages. The first Mantra explained is the Tara or Taraka Mantra, that is, the sacred syllable OM. In its " gross sense" it simply consists of the letters o and m, mean- ing respectively ota and mita, and thus representing the sentence: "Everything (sarvam) limited (mitam) is threaded (otam) on Him (asmin)." In its "subtle sense " it is composed of the letters a, u, m denoting respectively : (1) the waking state and gross universe with Aniruddha as their protector; (2) the dream- consciousness and subtle universe superintended by Pradyumna; (3) the susupti state and corresponding universe with Samkarșana as their guardian-deity; then (4) the echo of the m (ardhamātra) representing Vasudeva (the turiya); further (5) the last lingering of the nasal sound, which is the undifferentiated S'akti of the Lord as the "fifth stage" ; and, finally, (6) the silence observed after the pronunciation of the syllable, which is Vișnu as the Highest Bráhman.1 In its "highest sense" it means the belonging together 1 Cf. Dhyānabindu Upanișad 4; also above p. 52, note 3, and p. 53.

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(expressed by the letter m) of (1) a, that is, Vișnu possess- ed of the active S'akti and (2) u, that is, Vișuu possessed of the inactive Sakti, namely, during the cosmic night. ÖM in its "subtle sense " is said to further denote : Brahmán, Vișņu, Siva, and the Avyakta of the Paurā- ņikas; the Sādākhya, Aisvara, Sadvidyā, and S'iva of the Pāsupatas1; and Vyakta, Avyakta, Puruşa, and Kāla of the Sāmkhyas. Another instructive example of this sort of linguistic occultism is the explantion (52. 2-88) of the word namas (" respectful obeisance, bow ", etc.) occurring in ÖM namo Visnave and many other Mantras. In the "gross sense " the word is declared to mean prapatti or self-surrender, the six constituents and obstacles of which are here explained at some length (sl. 14-24). In the "subtle sense " the word is regarded as consisting of the three constituents na, ma, and s, which together represent the sentence : "No (na) selfish regard (mamya) for one's self and one's own (svasmin sviye ca)", namely the famous Sāmkhya formula nâsmi na me nâham2, if properly under- stood (sl. 28). The "highest sense", finally, is explained by means of the Mantra key (17. 21, 24, 11) in the follow- ing way: na signifies "path", ma "chief", and the Visarga " Highest Lord ", the combination of the three meaning that the chief path for attaining God is the one called reverential obeisance (namana). The " gross sense " of Vişnave Nārāyanāya, etc., in the Mantras containing these words is discovered in the dative relation (self-surrender t o God), for which reason, here and often elsewhere, the "gross sense " is called 1 LI, 41. We take it that samākhya is a corruption of sadākhya. 2 Samkhya Karika 64. The formula is also Buddhistic ; see my "On the Problem of Nirvana " in the Journal of the Pali Text Society for 1905, p. 157.

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the meaning deducible from the case-relation or connec- tion with the verb (keriya-karaka-samsarga-labhya, etc.). Similarly, the "subtle sense ", in that it is derived from the crude or uninflected form of the noun, is called the meaning derivable from the uninflected base (prātipādika- stha) and the like. No less than three chapters (54 to 56) are exclusive- ly devoted to the explanation of the renowned Nārasimhānușțubha Mantra1. The "subtle sense" is here explained in five different ways, namely, from the standpoint of each of the five recognized systems (cf. chapter 12), while the "gross sense" (explained in chapter 54) is supposed to be the same for all of these, and the "highest sense" (explained in 55. 84 fll. and 56) is peculiar to the Pañcarātra. In the explanation of the "highest sense" all of the thirty-nine Avataras are enumerated, Padmanābha being identified with the letter j of the word jvalantam, Kantatman with the v, Ekāmbhonidhisāyin with the a, etc .; then Pīyūșaharaņa with the letter s of sarvato (the word following jvalantam), and so on. The fifty -ninth chapter gives, in slokas 2 to 39, an explanation of the first five stanzas of the famous Purușa Sūkta. This section is particularly interesting because of the use made in it of the Vyuha theory. The first stanza, so we learn, refers to Vāsudeva whose connection with Lakmi, the Purușas, and Prakṛti respectively is expressed by the three epithets sahas- rasirsa, etc., while by "earth" (bhumi) the Bhūmi S'akti as the material cause of the world is meant, the fourth quarter of the stanza, finally, indicating

Upanişad. 1 The same which is the subject of the Nrsimhapurvatapaniya

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the infinity cause as compared with its products. The second stanza refers to Samkarșaņa; for he is the Lord of Immortality or the one with whose help the soul through " food" (anna), that is, the material universe, reaches Liberation. The third stanza, after praising the greatness of Samkarsana, states that Pradyumna's service is still greater (from the worldly standpoint ?) because he is the creator of Purușa and Prakrti. In the fourth stanza the "one quarter" of God which alone has become this world is naturally identified with Aniruddha, the Inner Ruler (antaryāmin) of all beings who pervades both "that which has food (=experience of pleasure and pain) and that which has no food", namely the animate and the inanimate nature. After this, the strange saying of the fifth stanza, that from the Purusa has sprung the Viraj, and from the Viraj the Purușa, is no longer enigmatical: the first Purusa is of course Aniruddha, and the second Purușa the god Brahmán, the Viraj being the Parā Vidya or Highest Prakrti, that is, the matter (in the form of an Egg) out of which the god Brahmán is created.1 The above interpretation of the Purusa Sūkta being probably connected with the origin of the theory of the Vyuhas, a word on the latter may not be amiss here. The original worship, proved by archæology and the Buddhist scripture, of only Vāsudeva and Baladeva=Samkarșana can signify noth- ing else, in our opinion, than that by the original Pañcaratrins Krsna was worshipped as the transcendent Highest God, and his brother, the "God of Strength", as His immanent aspect appearing as the world, this dogma of the double aspect of God being simply the 1 Cf. above p. 81

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Pañcaratra solution of the old, old Indian problem of a God becoming the world without sharing its imperfec- tions. Afterwards, when this original, non-Brāhmaņic Pañcaratra' was to be brought into agreement with the Veda and the famous saying of the Purusa Sūkta (fourth stanza) about the four quarters of God, one of which only had become the world, two more members of the family of Krsna, namely his son and grandson, were deified, that is, made aspects of God, the grandson naturally taking the place formerly occupied by the brother. And with this identification the parallelism of the Vyūhas with the other well-known tetrads (states of conscious- ness, constituents of the syllable OM, etc.) was of course also established.2 Chapter 59, towards the end (sl. 54 fll.), gives a résumé of "this Samhitā of the Pañcarātra, the divine one comprehending3 Sāmkhya and Yoga, etc., the very secret one", "the highest science corroborating all Upani- sads"*, and warns against imparting it to anyone except a true devotee of Vāsudeva.

1 The non-Brähmanic origin of the system has been emphasized by Prof. Garbe in the introduction to his Gita translation and elsewhere. 2 Nothing about the origin of the Vyūha theory can be gained from the Upanisads, it being referred to only in a few of the latest, to wit Mudgala, Tripādvibhūtimahānārāyaņa, and Gopālottara- tāpinī. Mudgala speaks of Aniruddha as the Pāda Nārāyaņa and mentions one Purusa Samhitā containing a succinct explanation of the Purusa Sūkta. Tripādvibhūti is the only Upanisad which looks like a Pāñcarātra treatise. Gopālottaratāpinī (10 fll.) identifies Saņkarşaņa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Krsna (in this order) with the Vis'va, Taijasa, Prajña, and Turīya, and with the a, u, m, and ardhamātrā. In the Upanișads, generally speaking, the Pāñcarātra is as unknown as should be expected of a system of non-Brāhmaņic origin. 3 Lit. : commensurate with (sammitā). 4 Or, if the compound (sarva-vedanta-brmhaņī) is a Bahuvrīhi ; "containing the sweets of all the Upanisads", or the like, 19

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Chapter 60 consists of another résumé of the Samhitā, another praise of it, and another warning not to betray its contents to an unworthy person. The following phrases are remarkable : "In which [Samhitā] the statute (vidhi) of the Samkhya-Yoga is thought out in its totality " (17), and : "This teaching of Ahirbudh- nya called the Essence of Philosophy (tantra-sāra) " (20); further the statement (24) that the Samhita is allowed to be imparted only to members of the three higher castes. The existence of the Parisista (Supplement) seems to prove that our Samhita was at one time a much studied work. This Parisista, opening in the form of a dialogue between Nārada and Vyāsa, calls itself the "Hymn of the thousand names of the holy Sudarsana ". It enumerates, however, after some in- structions about the Mantra of the hymn, etc., only five hundred and sixty such names arranged in groups according to the consonant of the alphabet with which they begin. The names beginning with a vowel, such as Unmeșa and Udyama mentioned in 12. 58 of the Sam- hita, are missing in both the MSS. available. The Pandit, who attaches great importance to this little work, is probably right in stating (in his second foot- note) that its publication, though forbidden, is not likely to do more harm than that of the Samhita itself.

APPENDICES

APPENDICES

(Three extracts from Sāttvata Samhitā)

I. THE DIVINE TWENTY-FOUR-FOLD MACHINERY OF EXISTENCE

The ninth chapter of Sāttvata Samhita, after having enumerated the thirty-nine Vibhavas, twelve S'aktis, and principal " bodily ornaments " (divine orna- ments and weapons), continues : vakşye bhāvôpakaranam gīrvāņagaņam uttamam ı nānāvibhavamūrtīnām yo'vatisthate s'āsane u (90) and then gives the following extraordinary list (sl. 91-94) : 1. Time (kalah) ; 9. The seven sages of old3 ; 2. Space (viyat) ; 10. The planets and fixed stars; 3. Regulator (niyanta) ; 11. The Vidyādharas *; 4. The Sastra with 12. The Nāgas; Angas ; 5. The Vidyadhipatis ; 13. The Apsarases; 6. The Rudras2; 14. The plants ; 7. The Prajāpatis ; 15. The animals ; 8. Indra and his retinue; 16. The sacrifices with Angas ; 1 S'āstram nānāngalaksaņam, by which must be meant the Trayī including Dharmas'āstra, Purāņa etc. (see above p. 110), and possibly the "Vedāntas" (Upanisads), but not the [non-Vedāntic] philosophical systems, these being referred to by nos. 17 and 18. 2 Samudrāh saganāh s'ivāh. This passage appears to be corrupt, though samudra is, indeed, among the epithets of Siva.

p. 61. no. 2). Munayah sapta purve; cf. Bhag. Gītā X, 6 (and above

• Jimutah "clouds", i.e. atmospheric gods; cf. nabhas'carāh, khecarah, and the names of their kings (Jimuta-vahana,-ketu) in Nāgānanda.

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17. [Higher] Knowledge 21. The moon; (vidyā) ; 18. Inferior Knowledge 22. The sun ; (aparā vidyā)1; 19. Fire; 23. Water; 20. Wind (air); 24. Earth.

Then follow the concluding words : ity uktam amaleksana ı caturvimsatisamkhyam ca bha(a)vôpakaranam mahat u The non-inclusion, in this list, of men and Asuras, Pisācas, etc., is explained by the word gīrvānagaņam in sl. 90 quoted above. For plants as devatās ef. Buddhism. The inclusion of animals, however, is strange. It is also noteworthy that the Gandharvas are evidently included in Indra's retinue, while the Apsa- rases are not.

II. FOUR KINDS OF WORSHIP

Sāttvata Samhita 2, 2.12 2

"Samkarşana said: Tell me concisely, O Eternal One, in what manner worship (upasa) is enjoined on the worshippers devoted [to the Lord]. The holy Lord said: Listen ! I will duly explain to thee that which thou hast asked me, having known which one may be freed from re-birth. That pure Brahman (sad brahma) abiding in the heart which was the goal (ideal) of those [Siddhas] who held their [respective] offices at the beginning of crea-

1 Here we have once more the two Sciences mentioned above p. 97. 2 A very different (premature) translation of most of this pass- age has been given by Bhandarkar in his Vaisnavism, etc., pp. 39 fll.

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tion 1, worshipping the [great light] called Vāsudeva2: from It has sprung a supreme Sastra expressive of Its nature (tadṛk), bestowing discrimination, a great theosophy (brahmôpanişadam mahat) containing the divine path (divya-mārga) and aiming at Liberation as the one [desirable] fruit [to be attained]. I will impart to thee, for the salvation of the world, that original [S'astra] existing in many varieties, bestowing perfection (or: magical powers) and Liberation, the pure one, mysterious one, leading to great success. (1) The Yogins familiar with the eightfold Yoga, satisfied with the worship of the heart: they [alone] are authorized for [the worship of] the One dwelling in the heart3. (2) On the other hand, the Brahmanas fond of1 mixed worship and extolling the Vedas5 are authorized for the worship, with Mantras, of the four Vyuhas. [They should] not [worship the Lord] in any other way. (3) Again, [those of] the three [other castes, namely the] Kşatriyas, etc., who have sincerely taken refuge with the Lord, should also, but not with Mantras 6, perform the several rites connected with the worship of the four Vyūhas.

1 Literally either "since creation " or "till creation". In the latter case the meaning would be : until creation, properly speaking, began (begins) by the appearing of the Rajo Guua, that is the activ- ity of god Brahman. Asrster adhikārina is an epithet of the ideal first men also in Ahirb. S. (XV, 11), 2 Cf. above p. 52 n. 3: Vāsudevāhvayam mahah, etc. 3 This worship, connected with the diagram of sounds (varna- cakra), the six Attributes of God, etc., is decribed from sl. 13 to the end of the chapter. 4 For muktānām read yuktānam. 5 Cf. above p. 97 no. 2. 6 Cf. our résumé of Ahirb, S. XXXVI, above p. 127,

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(4) But for [the worship of] the Mantra diagram re- lating to the [thirty-nine] Vibhavas 1 and for the cere- monies connected therewith none are authorized but the [truly] seeing ones, who have completely cast off the idea of the mine, are satisfied with doing their duty and wholly devoted, in deed, speech, and mind, to the Highest Lord 2. Thus much about the authorization of [those of] the four castes who have embraced the [Sāttvata] religion, supposing they have been duly initiated with the Mantras prescribed."

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE FOUR VYŪHAS, FOR THE

PURPOSE OF MEDITATION

Sāttvata Samhita 5, 9-213

"Now, the first form of the Lord is as beautiful [as to complexion] as [are] the snow, the jasmin, and the moon [united] .* It has four arms, a gentle face, and lotus-like eyes. It has a garment of

1 Explained in chapter IX of the Samhitā, some later chapters being apparently also referred to. In Ahirb. S. the vaibhavam devata-cakram described in chapter LVI should be compared. 2 This fourth class, then, consists of those Brähmanas, among the Pañcaratrins, who have abandoned mixed, that is Vedic, worship, and, on the other hand, prefer the path of devotion to that of Yoga (compatible with Vedic worship, above p. 117). They are of course, also qualified for Vyūha worship. s This passage being badly preserved in the edition, I have had, several times, to follow its (slightly modified ?) reproduction in Lakşmī Tantra (X, 27 fll.). Laksmī Tantra actually mentions Sāttvata Samhitā in XI, 28. 4 That is : in the Krta age. In the next age (when the Rajo Guņa appears) it changes gradually into red, then, in the Dvapara age, into yellow, and finally, in the Kali age, into black, an analogous change taking place as to the other Vyūhas both as regards their complexion and the colour of their garment.

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yellow silk and is glorified by a golden ensign.1 With its chief (frontal) right hand it announces peace to the timid, while with the corresponding left hand it is holding a wonderful conch. With the other right hand it is holding the Sudarsana, and with the other left a heavy club resting on the ground. Let him imagine a thus- formed Vasudeva [dwelling]in the eastern direction. Having the [beautiful red] appearance of the Sindūra tree and the Sikhara2, one-faced and four-armed, with a garment resembling the [blue] flower of the Atasī (flax-plant), distinguished by a palmyra tree [as his ensign ]3; equal to the first Lord as regards his frontal pair of hands, but holding a plough-share in the hand in which the other has the discus, and a pestle where the other has a club : on a thus-like Samkarşana [dwelling] in the southern direction let [the devotee] meditate. [Let him further meditate on] the third Highest Lord, of the splendour of a multitude of fire-flies assembled in a night of the rainy season, one-faced and four-armed, wearing a garment of red silk, adorned with his ensign (banner) showing the Makara (sea-elephant) .*

1 This is, of course, the eagle ensign (garuda-dhvaja). It must apparently be imagined as being carried by some one of the Lord's retinue (a Nitya); cf. below the note on Pradyumna's banner. 2 Or Sikhara, the compound (sindurasikharākara) admitting of both readings, which mean respectively a kind of ruby and a species of the hemp-plant. Sindurasikhara may be also translated: "the crown of a Sindūra tree". 3 When Siva is called tālanka, the word tāla means a cymbal (cf. his damaru ). But Samkarșaņa's tāla is a dhraja, as can be seen from the parallelism in the description of the Vyūhas, not to speak of other reasons. If Hindu sculptors represent Balarāma with a cymbal (?), this would seem to be a case of sculpture influenced by literature misunderstood. The palm banner is nothing extra- ordinary ; Bhīșma, for instance, is said to have had one. * Compare the same banner (ensign) carried by an Apsaras in the description of Pradyumna's earthly namesake (Cupid). 20

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His frontal pair of hands should be imagined as before; in the remaining left hand there is a bow, while in the right there are five arrows. In this manner let him imagine [as dwelling] in the western direction him who is known as Pradyumna.1 [Let him, finally, meditate on him who resembles [as to complexion] the [deep blackness of the] Añjana mountain, wears a fine white garment, is four-armed, large-eyed, and glorified by the deer2 as his ensign. His first pair of hands is described like that of the first [Lord]; with the two others he is carrying: in the right hand a sword, and in the left one a shield (or club). In this way let [the devotee] meditate on A nirud d ha [dwelling] in the northern direction. All of these [four] wear' the garland of wood- flowers, are distinguished with the S'rivatsa (Vișnu's curl of hair on the breast), and are embellished with the king of jewels, the Kaustubha, on their breast, [further] with lovely diadems and crowns, necklaces, armlets and anklets, bright marks (made with sandal-wood, etc.) on the forehead, glittering ear-rings in the shape of a Makara (sea-elephant), excellent chaplets of manifold flowers, and with camphor and other delicious perfumes. As adorned with all of these : thus should they always be meditated upon."

1 This, as will have been noticed, is essentially a description of Käma, the Indian Amor, as, indeed, Pradyumna is also the name of Kāma re-born after his destruction by S'iva; cf. above p. 45. 2 The mrga (deer, antelope) is also the lanchana of one of the Jain Tīrthamkaras (S'anti), all of whom can be seen represent- ed, with their respective emblems added above (or below) them, just like labels attached to portraits, on the wall of one of the cave temples of Bhuvanes'vara (Orissa). 3 For the first three items cf. above p. 52.

INDEXES

80

I. SUBJECT INDEX

ACYUTA (a Vibhava): 48. Avatāras : 1, 42 fll., 55 fll., 57, 100, ,1 (a Vidyes'vara) : 42 (= Vasudeva): 81. 105, 113, cf. Vibhavas.

dhara Sakti (power sustaining the , origin of : 48, 52.

Egg) : 46, 55. , why necessary : 108. Āves'a Avatāras: 47. idhara, Sudarsana as : see support. a vid y a defined : 97 fll. (= Tirodhāna Adhokşaja (a Vidyes'vara) : 42. Ādivarāha : 48; cf. Varāha. Sakti, so Lakșmī Tantra XII, 20). Avyakta: 67 fll., 80, 111; do. and Advaita : 49 n. 3, 91 fll., 97 fll. Vyakta : 78 n. 4, 79 n. 1, 70 n. 4. aërial chariots : 134, 138. Āgāmic literature (generally) : 2, 13, 16. BADABĀVAKTRA (a Vibhava): 42, 46. Āgneya Astra : 137, 140. bala (fourth Attribute of God): see Agni Vaisvānara : 104. Attributes. Ahamkāra : 39, 40, 52, 75 fll., 111, 120. Baladeva (cf. Samkarşana): 35, 37, 144, Ahimsa (person): 44. Balarama (do.) (the second Vyuha) : 35. Ahirbudhnya: 15, 52.95 fll., 100 fll., (an Avatāra): 44, 48. 122, 131. Baptism, the Great: 130. Aindra Cakra: 133. Bhadra (a Nitya): 56. aisvarya (second Attribute of God): Bhadrakali : 62, 64 see Attributes. alphabets, occult : 120 fll., 123, 126, 142. Bhagavat (topic): 112, 25.

All-form of God : 131 fll. Bhagavat Sakti : 62. bhakti: 24, 112, 128, 141, Appendix Amrtāharaņa : see Piyūșāharaņa. TI. Apsarases : 139, Appendix I. Bhoga Sakti : 55. Ananta (the serpent) : 57; cf. Sesa. Bhūmī (wife of Vișņu): 53 fll. (a Vibhava): 42, 44. Bhūti and Kriyā Sakti, relation of : 30 Āņava Mala (saivite) : 115. (obs. n. 5), 31, 107. Anga Mantras: 121, 130. Bhuti as part of the Bindu : 118. angels : 51, 52, 56 fll. Bhūti Sakti or matter aspect of Aniruddha (a Vidyesvara): 42. Lakşmi: 29.32, 34 fll., 59 fll., 87 ,1 (the Vyūha): 35-41, 48, 50, fll., 102 fll., 114 fil. 63 fll., 64, 80, 82, 84, 105, Bindu : 118 fll. 141, 144, 145 n. 2; Appendix bodies, simultaneously assumed : 58 III. three, of man : 122. (do., the Vyūha, intraniun- two kinds of: 58. dane): 81. body, atomic : 122, 57, 58 (addendum). Annesa (a Vibhava): 48 non-natural 47, 49, 51, 58. Antaryāmi Avatāra : 49, 52 11. 3. Anugraha Sakti : 88, 114 fll. magical : addendum to p. 58. subtle 58, 122. Arca Avatāra : 48 fll. Bondage, cause of : 114 fll. Arjuna (an Avatāra): 48. Bráhman, Highest : see Vişņn (1). arrows (emblem): 52, Appendix III. Brahmán (masc.): 11, 23, 27, 28 fll., 36 Artha Adhvan (saivite): 107. (=Pradyumna), 36, n. 3, 43, 45 fll., 48 aspects, many different, of God : 104. (twice), 52, 60, 67, 80, 81, (three Asramas (periods-of-life) : 117. Brahmans) 82 fll., 87. 113, 116, 125, Astras : 108, 124 fll. 127, 133, 142. Asuras (cf. Danavas, etc.): 138 fll .; Bralmán, days and nights of : 28, 105. not included in list, Appendix I. Brahmanda : see Egg. atomic (third) body : 122. Brahmāņda Kosa: 79. atomicity of souls : 57 fil. ; 88 fll. Brahmavidyā river: 58 (addendum). Attributes (Gunas), six, of the Lord branding : 24. 31-39, 41 (addendum), 67 (obs. 11. 3), Brhaspati : 131. 102, App. II. Buddha (a Vibhava): 48 (twice), 113, Aurva (a Vibhava) 46. 132

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Buddhism, Buddhists : 99, 104, 112, GÅNDHARVA Astra : 134. 113, 132. buddhi, a name of Gandharvas: 62 (origin), 134, 139,

(1) the cosmic Mahat, q.v .; Appendix I.

(2) the individual Mahat : 70-74; garland (emblem) : 52, Appendix III.

(3) Manas, q.v. Garuda: 57, 23, 46, 102, Sāttvata Samhita XII 178-200.

CAKRA GĀYATRĪ : 121. Gāruda Astra : 139.

Canda (a Nitya): 56. Germ-impressions : see Vasanas. Golden Egg: 80 fll .; cf. Egg, the castes, four : 117. Cosmic. causa efficiens, etc. : 31. Cinta : 44, 56. Govinda (a Sub-Vyūha) : 41.

Citrasikhandins, seven 61, 83, Appen- Group Soul : see Kūțastha Purușa. Guhyakas : 138. dix I. Guna Body : 62, 67. club (emblem): 41, 52, Appendix Gunas, six, of the Lord : see Attributes. III. conch (emblem) : ibid. three: 63, 67, 32, 40, 51, 54

Cosmic Egg, Night, etc .: see Egg, n. 7, 64, 107 fll., 110; how rela-

Night, etc. ted to the six : 67.

Cow and Non-Cow: 103. HAMSA (a Vibhava): 43, 45. creation : 11 (sub no. 213), 29 fll., 103 fl1., 114, 125, 129, 143 fll .; cf. "kinds Hari (a Vibhava): 42, 44.

of creation" in Index V, also (a Vidyes'vara): 42 (to be entered

Appendix I. from errata list). Hayasirşa, Hayasiras, or Hayagriva (a creation, fifteen opinions about : 104. Vibhava): 46, 48 (twice); cf. Vāgis'- Creator, Preserver, Destroyer: see vara. Trimurti. Hayasīrşa Loka: 85.

DAYS, Cosmic : see Nights and Days. Heaven, Highest : 49 fll., 58 fll., 106 fll. heavens, higher: one connected with Devarșis, origin of : 61. Devas: 62 (origin), 139 fll., Appendix each Vyuha: 50. heavens, lower : 50, 49 n. 5. I; cf. Indra, etc. henotheism : 100. devil (incubus) : 135. Dhanvantari (a Vibhava): 45 (twice). heresy of the Pancaratrins : 97.

Dharma (a Vibhava): 42, 46. Hero Form of the Sudarsana : 55.

(father of four Vibhavas) : 44. Hiraņyagarbha=Brahmán : 109.

Dhrti 55. Hrsīkesa (a Sub-Vyuha): 41.

Dhruva (a Vibhava) 42, 45. hum : 121.

diagrams: see Yantras. iccha-rupa - dhara, Vișņu as : 46. disciple, admission of : 122. discus (emblem): 41, 52, 100, 121, 127 identity, feeling of : 124. Icchā Sakti: 54. fll., 132, Appendix III ; cf. Sudarsana. Idā: 119 diseases, origin and cure of : 129 fll. Dissolution : see Pralaya. ignorance, symbol of : 52. imprecations, efficacy of : 108. Door-keepers of Vaikuntha 56. Indra: 46, 138 fll., Appendix I. Durga=Nilā 54. Dvāpara age : 15; cf. Yugas. initiation : 121 fll., 112, 117. Inner Ruler, Aniruddha as: 144, 38;

EGG, the Cosmic (Brahmāņda): 27 fll., cf. Antaryāmi Avatāra.

38 (thrice), 50 (often), 59, 79 fll., 104, 106, 125; plurality : 81 fll., 29, 106. JAINISM : 104, 112, 113, 132. Janārdana (a Vidyes'vara): 42. Ekambhonidhisayin or Ekarnavasayin Jina: 132. (a Vibhava) : 42, 43, 143. Ekasrngatanu (a Vibhava): 42, 43; cf. jīva and para: 89, 91 fll., 98, 123, 129 Matsya. Jīvadeha Kosa: 79. Elements, the ten : 76, 52, 104, 120. Jīva-loka : 27. emanation, theory of : 34 fll. jñana (first Attribute of God) : see exorcism : 110; cf. magic, black. Attributes.

FIRE, CREATION DERIVED FROM : 104. KAITABHA: 44. Force and Matter : see Kriya Sakti and Kalā, Kāla (s'aivite): 64, 90, Bhūti Sakti. Kala : see Time.

159

Kālāgni: 104. Kālanemi : 46, 101. (2) the queen, or one of the queens,

Kālanemighna (a Vibhava): 42, 46. of Highest Heaven: 34,53-55; (3) the Sakti of a Vyüha, or of a Sub- Kalarātri: 64. Kali Yuga : 85, 122. Vyha, or a Vibhava: 36 (also n. 3),

Kalkin (a Vibhava): 42 fll., 48. 44, 46, (Nārāyana instead of her :) 53 ; (4) the wife of the Preserver; cf. Kāma: 45. Kamathesvara (a Vibhava): 42, 43; Vișņu (5);

cf. Kurma. (5) referred to indistinetly in one

Kañcukas: 64, 90, 115. or some of the higher aspects: 27

Kāntātman (a Vibhava) : 42, 45 (twice), n. 2, 99. Liberated, the : see Muktas. 143. Liberation : 27, 39, 41, 47, 50 (obs. n. Kānti: 55. 1), 102, 109, 113-116, 117, 135, Kāpālikas : 112. Kapila (a Vibhava): 42, 45, 47 (twice); Appendix I1.

teaching the Samkhya: 109, 113, Lokanātha (a Vibhava): 42, 45 (twice). Lord of immortality (Samkarșaņa) : 144. 132. Kapila Loka: 86. " " the cataclysmic fire (a Vibhava): 43 Kāpilas : 132. Lord of the souls (Pradyumna) : 40. Kapila Vişņu: 86; cf. 45. Karma Mala : 115. " „ Virāj (Brahmán): 46. Lords of the months : 41. Karman, the two kinds of : 116. Lotus (Golden, Sacrificial, Time Lotus) : Kārmic chain : 129. Kaustubha: 52 (twice), 92, Appendix III. 26, 36, 43, 79-81, 104.

Kesava (a Sub-Vyūha): 41, 128. Lotus of the heart : 49, 52.

Kevalas : 59. king (position of, advices to) : 118, 128- MÂDHAVA (a Sub-Vyūha) : 41.

132 (passim). Madhu (and Kaițabha): 44, 127. Madhusūdana (a Vibhava): 42, 44, 127 Kīrti : 55. Knot of the Heart : 116. (a Sub-Vyuha): 41

knowledge ( vidyā ), creation derived magic, black : 131, 133. magical seat, etc .: 135 fll. from : 104. Mahādhenu : 64. knowledge ( jñ a n a), symbol of : 52. Kosas of the Devi : 67 n. 2, 79 n. 1. Mahākālī: 64.

Kriyā and Bhūti, relation of: see Bhūti Mahālakşmī: 62, 64, 138. Mahāmāya : 64. and Kriya. Kriya Sakti or force aspect of Lakşmi: Mahāsānti Karman : 132.

29-32, 34, 102, 118; cf. Sndars'ana. Mahāsrī : 64. Mahāvāņī: 64. Kriyā Sakti=Bhūmī: 54. Mahayāna : 99. Krodātman (a Vibhava): 42, 45 (twice). Krsņa, son of Devakī: 35, 42, 45, 46, 48 Mahendra circle : 130. Mahesvari : 62. (?), 134, 144, 145 n. 2. Mahat [Tattva]: 69 fll., 72 fll., 52, son of Ahimsā : 42, 44. (a Vidyes'vara) : 42. (symbol), 111, 120, 125.

Krta Yuga : 83 fll .; cf. Yugas. Maitri: 55 fll. Māla Mantra : 120. Kşamā : 55. Kşatriya as Samnyāsin : 117. Manas : 39, 40, 52. 72, 76, 120. Manavas and Manavamānavas : 78, 85, Kubera : 48, 138. 109, 116. Kumuda (a Nitya): 56. Mango-tree as an Avatāra : 48. Kumudākșa (do): 56. Kundalini Sakti: 119. Mantras : 120 fll., 128, 134 fll., 141 fll.,

Kūrma Avatāra : 43, 48 ; cf. Kamațhes'- Appendix II. Mantra exegesis, three standpoints of :

Kūtastha Purușa (Group Soul): 38, 59 vara. 141

60 fll., 107, 110, 119. Mantra key: see alphabets, occult. Mantra[mayī Kriyā] Sakti : 118.

LAKSMĪ and Vișņu, relation of: 30-32, Mantras, " development " of : 25, 46.

102, 142. Manu, father of Brahman : 81. Manu Vaivasvata : 45. Lakşmi (Sri) as (1) the metaphysical complement of Manus, four pairs of: 60 n. 4, 61, 63, 71, 76-79, 109, 116. the Lord : 29-32, 87, 89, 102, 110, 117, 141, 143; Manus, of the several ages: 78. Mati: 55 fll.

160

Matsya Avatāra: 43, 47, 48 (twice); Omnipotence, etc .: 88 fll., 90 (obs. n. 5), cf. Ekasrngatanu. 115. Matter, two kinds of: 51. ornaments and weapons of God; 52, Māyā (=Avidyā): 89, 129. 108, 121; cf. Appendix III. (=Bhuti Sakti ?): 129. "over-embrace" of the divine couple: (the Kañcuka): 64, 90. 103, 87. (=Sudarsana): 113. Māya Kosa : 64, 36. Māyā Sakti: 62 fll., 59, 60 n. 3, 110, Pāda Nārāyaņa (= Aniruddha): 145.

115, 143 fll. (Prakrti). Padas, four, of God: 144 fll Padmā (= Lakșmī): 43 n. 2 Māyīya Mala : 115. Padmanābha (a Vibhava springing from Medhā : 55. Aniruddha) : 26, 42-44, 143. meditation : 49, 59, 105, 112, 122, 124, 128, 131, 133 fll., 136; Appendix III. Padmanābha (a Sub-Vyūha): 41. Pakudha Kaccāyana: 104. methods (riti), two religious: 97; Parames'vari : 64. four: Appendix Il. Parā, Pasyanti, etc .: 119. Mīmāmsakas: 132, 91. Paras'urāma (a Vibhava): 42, 43, 45, Mixed Group of souls : see souls. 47 (also n. 3), 48 (twice). Months, Lords of the: 41. Parā Vidyā: 144. Mothers of the world, three : 64. Pārijātahara (a Vibhava): 42, 46. Muktas: 57 fll., 50 n. 2, 51, 52, 86 fll., Pārișadas, Pārșadas : 56. 91 fll. Pasupata system: 2, 108 fll., 111 fll., Mülaprakrti : 62, 67, fll. 113, 115, 117, 142. Mūlādhāra : 119. Pātālasayana (a Vibhava): 42, 43. Paurāņikas : 142. NĀDA : 118. Pāvaka (a Vibhava) : 48. Nādīs : 119, 124 Nāgas : 45, 86, 136 fll., 139, Appendix I. phat: 121. Pingalā : 119. Naisthika : 117. Nakulīsa Pasupatas : 111. Pitrs (creative), origin of : 61. „ (deceased), bodies of : 58. Nara (a Vibhava): 42, 44. Narada (do.): 46; 6 (remark), 101 fll. Pīyūşāharana (a Vibhava): 42, 46, 143. planes, fourteen, of the Egg : 50, 55. 146. Nārasimha (a Vibhava): 42, 43, 47, 48. of consciousness : 141, 145. Play of God : 114, 125,129. Nārasimha Loka : 85. Pracanda (a Nitya): 56. Nārasimhānușțubha Mantra: 143. Prådyumna (the Vyūha): 35-42, 48, Nārāyaņa (the Absolute): see Vișņu (1). 61-63, 105, 141, 144, 145 n. 2. (complement of the Vyuha Pradyumna (a Vibhava): 45. Vasudeva) : 53. (a Vidyes'vara): 42 (to be (a Sub-Vyūha): 41. (a Vibhava): 42, 44. entered from errata list).

Nidrā: 44, 55, 56, 64. Pradyumna (an intramundane Vyūha):

Nights and Days of Brahmán : 28, 105. 81.

the Lord: 28 fll., Prajāpatis: 81, Appendix I.

30, 52,86 fll., 105. fll. Prakāras, five, (= fivefold self-manifes- tation) of God : 25 fll., 51 fll. Nigraha or Tirodhāna Sakti: 98, 114 fll., 116 (synonyms). Prakti (or Vidyā) : (1)= Lakşmī (1); Nīlā: 53 fll. (2)= Māyā Sakti; Nirvāņa, Buddhist : 117. (3)= Avyakta; Nityas : see angels. Nivartaka (Upasamhāra, Samhāra) As- (4)= Vyakta (Mahat and remaining Tattvas). tras : 126, 131, 134-136, 140. Prakṛti Kosa : 79. Niyati : 64 fll., 62 (obs. n. 4), 63, 106, Pralaya: 28 (two kinds), 36, 43,50 110, Appendix I. Nrsimha (a Vidyesvara): 42 (to be (twice), 60, 103, 129, 140.

entered from errata list). pramāņa, Sudarsana as : see regula- tive principle. Nrsimha Sankhodara (a Vibhava): 48. Nyagrodhasāyin (do.) : 42, 43, 86. Praņa (= Mahat): 73 fll. (= Sudars'ana): 113. Pranas, the five : 71. " OBSCURATION" of the soul: 88, 114 fll., 129, 78. prapatti: 23, 142. prarabdha - karman, how to OM : 141 fll., 145. neutralize: 135.

161

Prasūti Kosa: 67. Sakti Kosa: 67 n. 2. Prasvapana Astra : 137. Saktis of the Vibhavas : 55 fll. Pravartaka Astras: 126, 133 fll., 137, Vyuhas : 35 fll., 67 n. 2. 140. (1, 2, 8, 12): 53 fll. presents to Brahmins : 130, 135. Saktyātman (a Vibhava): 42, 46. Priti : 56. Pundarīka (a Nitya): 56. Sālagrāma : 133, 139.

Pure Group : 61 n. 4, 82 fll., 109, 116. Samkarşaņa (the Vyūha): 15 fll., 35-42, 48, 53, 100, 105 fll., 108, Pure Matter, etc. : see Matter, etc. 122, 141, 144, 145 n. 2. Purohita, the ideal : 132. (a Vibhava): see Ananta, Purușa : Balarama (1)=Vișnu, especially as the Absolute (a Vidyes'vara): 42. and the Antaryāmin ; (an intramundane Vyūha): (2)=the Kütastha; (3)=the individual soul (jiva). Sāmkhya : 45, 98, 108 fll., 113 (twice), 81.

Purușa (a Vibhava) : 45, 48. 116, 142; cf. Sastitantra. of the Samkhyas (Kapilas): 110, 132, 142. Sāmkhya-Yoga: 24, 98 n. 4, 145 fil.

Puruşa Sūkta : 143 fill., 25. Samnyāsa Āsrama: 117.

Purușottama (=Aniruddha): 36. Samudra, a name of S'iva: Appendix I. Sanaka : 46.

Pușți : 44, 54-56. (a Vidyes'vara): 42. Sanatkumāra : 46. Sańkarācārya, system of: 97 fll. RĀDHĀ : 19. S'āntātman (a Vibhava) : 42, 46.

Rāga (the Kañcuka): 64. Sānti : 36.

Rahn : 46. Santi Parvan : 14 fll., 109.

Rāhujit (a Vibhava) : 42, 46. Sarasvatī : 36 (obs. n. 3), 42, 46, 55 fll., rain, methods of producing : 136. 64

Rāma Dhanurdhara or Srīrāma (a Sarvāstitvavādins : 99.

Vibhava) : 19, 42 fll., 47 fll. Șașțitantra : 24, 98, 110 fll.

Rāma diagram : 120. S'astra, necessary for : Rāma Loka (second ideal realm): 85. (1) combating the bad : 108; Rāmānuja, system of; 123 n. 3; cf. (2) saving the soul : 78 fll .;

Visistadvaita. (3) starting the sam sara: 83. Rati : 36, 55, 64. S'astra, the original : 108 fll .; Appen- regulative principle (Sudars'ana): 103, dix II.

107 fll. Sastras : 108, 140; cf. ornaments and

Regulator : a name of Niyati, q.v .. weapons of God. retinne of the Lord : 54 n. 2, 56 fll., 128. Sasvadvidya : 62.

Rsabha (a Vibhava): 113. Satya (a Vibhava): 48 Rsis, seven : 61, Appenix I. Satya Loka: 49.

Rudra : see Siva. Saubhari : 58.

Rudras : 80, 95, Appendix I. Saudars'ana Mahamantra, etc .: see Sudars'ana. SABDA ADHVAN : 107. Sauri (a Vibhava): 48. sabda-brahman: 118. Sea of Milk : 127 sacraments, five : 24. Self-manifestation of God: see Pra sacrifice, God as a : 129. kāras. : see self-sacrifice, worship. self-sacrifice : 123 (Yoga), 128 (s'ara - Sacrificial Lotus : see Lotus. ņagati). sa dhanaand sadhya : 113 fll., 128. Senesa (= Vişvaksena): 23. Saivism : 64, 107, 111 fll, 115; cf. next senses, the ten : 76, 52, 120. two items, also Pas'upata service to God: 58, 124. S'aivite elements in the Pancaratra : 23, S'esa : 44, 57 (obs. n. 1).

S'aivite view of the Pañcaratra : 31, n. 2. 90, 115. Seșāsana : 57. Sheath of Generation : 67. Sākşāt Sakti : 52, 54. Sheath of Māya: 64. Sākta Tantras: 13. Siddhas : 116 (original men), 139. s'akti, meaning of : 102; cf. 129. Siddhis : 124. (third Attribute of God): see Siva: 23, 36 (= Samkarşaņa), 36 n. Attributes. 3, 38, 48 (twice), 67 (Rudra), 80, 81 Sakti: see Lakşmī, Kriyā Sakti, Bhūti (three Sivas), 100, 109, 113, 133 Sakti, etc. (Mahadeva), 142, Appendix I 21

162

Sivāroha: 85. TALISMAN : 135 fll .. Skandhavādins : 99, 104. Tanmātras : 76 fll., 120. Smrti (a Sakti): 55. Tāra[ka] Mantra: 141 fll. Soma, Nīlā as : 55. Tattvas, the principles : soul, atomicity of : 57 fll., 88 fll. (1)-seldom -from the Lord down- collective : see Kutastha Purușa. wards : 49 n. 41; individual : 86 fll., 114 fll., 129, 52, 54 n. 7; two groups, pure and (2) of Non-pure Creation : 52; (Pra- krti=Sakti+Kala+Niyati), 61, 63; mixed, "created" resp. by Pra- (3)-generally-from Mahat down- dyumna and Aniruddha: 82 fll., wards : 28, 66, 79 fll. 38; "superintended" by Sam- teacher, the ideal:121. karşana: 39 fll .; two classes in tejas (sixth Attribute of God): see, Highest Heaven: 56 fll .; four Attributes. classes : 86. temple : 26, 55, 128, 130, 135. Sound Brahman : 118. Time : 27, 30 fll., 38, 51, 62, fll., 65 fll., sounds : 118 fll. 107, 110, 114 fll., 125, Appendix 1. Space and Time : 30, Appendix I. Space, Highest: see Heaven, Highest. time-atom : 27 n. 2. Time Body : 62. speech, inadequateness of : 104. time goddess : 55. Sraddhā: 55. Time Lotus : see Lotus. S'rī : see Laksmī. Time Wheel: 132, 106. Sridhara (a Sub-Vyuha) : 41. Tirodhana S'akti : see Nigraha Sakti. Srīdhara Loka: 85. Srihamsa : 11 Town-watchmen of Vaikuntha : 56. Srīpati (a Vibhava) : 42, 45. Tușți : 55.

S'rivatsa : 52, 55, Appendix III. tutelar deities : 40 fll., 52. Trayī : see Veda. sthiti (period): 103, 107. Subhadra (a Nitya): 56. Treta age : 109; cf. Yugas.

Sub-Vyuhas : 41 fil., 105, 122, 128. Trimurti (Creator, Preserver, De- stroyer) : 38, 114, 132, 142. Sudarsana: 26, 30 fll., 100-113 114, Tripad-vibhūti: 50. 118, 132, 134, 135. Trivikrama (a Vibhava): 42, 44. names of the : 113, 146. Homa: 132. Mantra : 121 fll., 131, 134, Twelve suns : 41. (a Sub-Vyūha): 41.

139. UPANIȘADS ("Vedāntas ") referred to in Purușa: 122, 124, 125 the Pañcarātra: 97, 121, 145, Ap- fll., 127 fll., 130 fll., 52. pendix I n. 1; cf. Vedāntāļ. worship: 127-129, 134. Upanișads referring to the Pāñcarātra : Yantra: 127, 130, 135 fll. 145 n. 2. Suddha Saiva : 112 Upasamhāra Astras: see Nivartaka Sudra, relation to higher castes 117. Astras. suicide, religious : 117. Upendra (a Vidyes'vara): 42. summum bonum: 113. Utsavasamgrahas : 5, 26. Sun as gate to Liberation : 57 g'ünya (name and condition of Vișņu) : VĀCYĀYANA : 109.

140. Vagisvara (a Vibhava): 42, 46; cf. gūnya-vāda: 99, 104, 113 Hayasīrşa. support of the universe, the Sudarsana Vaidikas made slight of : 97. as the : 103, 105 fil .. Vaikuņțha: see Heaven, heavens (obs. Sūris : see angels. 49 n. 5). Svetadvīpa, story of : 15 fll., Vaiseşikas : 64, 112.

sword (emblem): 52, Appendix III. Vāmana (a Nitya) : 56.

synonyms, people misled by : 104. (a Sub-Vyuha): 41.

systems of philosophy : 83, 97, 109-114 (or Vāmanadeha) (a Vibhava): 42-44, 47 fll.

1 The list enumerates : the ten elements, ten senses, three-fold Inner Organ, Prakṛti, Prasūti, Māyā, Kāla, Niyati, Sakti, the Purușa, Highest Heaven, and the Lord ; but the next chapter explaining these admits that the "highest principle", namely the Lord, is "not a principle" or "higher than a principle " (nistattvam tattvam uttamam, Lakșmī Tantra VII, 8).

163

Vāmana Loka: 85. (2) the Para Vasudeva: 32, 34, 51 Vanaprastha : 117. Varāha (a Vibhava): 42 fil., 47 (twice), Hl., 53 fll., 57 fil., 66 fll., 87 fll., 92 fll., 109, 114 fll., 119, 121; 48,133. (3) the Vyuha Vasudeva: 35 fll., Varana Astra: 140. 48, 53, 141, 143 fll., 145 n. 2; Vāsanās : 60 fll., 115, 129. (4) the fifth Sub-Vyuha : 41; Vasudeva: name of Visnu, especially (5) the Superintendent of the Sattva as Para and Vyüha: 34, 35, 53; Guņa and Preserver of the Egg: cf. Vişņu (2) and (3). 67,38 (Pradyumna), 49 n. 5, 81, 132, Vāsudeva (a Vidyes'vara) : 42. 142. Vasudeva Loka (one of the eight ideal Vișņu Cakra (an Astra) : 140. realms) : 85. Vişņu Loka: 50. Vedangas, etc .: 110. Vis'va, Taijasa, etc., 145. Vedantaḥ (Trayyantāh) mentioned Vişvaksena: 57, 23, 48, 127 (also among the philosophical systems : 114. note). Veda (Trayi): 39, 97, 109, 113, 121, 125, 127; Appendices I, II. Vis'varūpa (a Vibhava): 42, 46. Void, the : see sūnya. Vedavid (a Vibhava): 42 fll., 45, 47 Vrsākapi (a Vibhava): 48. n. 2 (Vyasa). Vyāsa: 45, 47, 48, 146, 10 (remark); cf. Vedic rites : 113, 117. Vedavid. Vedhas (= Brahman) : 23. Vyūhas: 35 fll., 17 (n. 1), 19, 50 fll., vegetation, goddess of : 55. Vibhavas (= Avataras): 42 fll., 143, 53 (n. 2), 57, 100, 110, 141, 143 fll .; Appendices II and III; for the two, Appendix II. three, and four Vyuhas see Numeri- Vidya, a term applied to all sorts of cal Index. Prakrti, from Laksmi down to Mahat : 62 n. 3, 78, 62, 64 (Mahā- vidya = Sarasvatī = Niyati), 69 ; 104. WEAPONS, magical: see Sastras and Astras. Vidya (the Kancuka) : 64. Wheels, miuor, within the Sudarsana: Vidyādharas: 139, Appendix I. 105. Vidyadhideva (a Vibhava): 42, 46, 48, (Brahman). Will-to-be of Visnu : 101. " Wombs" other than the Mauus: Vidyadhipatis : Apppendix I. 61 fll. Vidyes'varas, twelve : 42. Vihangama (a Vibhava): 42, 43. worship of the Vyūhas, etc .: 17, 26, 123; Appendix II; cf. Sudarsana Vijarā river (Virajā): addendum to 58. worship. Vijayā : 55. Vijñānavādins : 99, 104. YAJÑA[-VARÅHA] (a Vibhava): 45. Viraj : 144. Yakşas : 139. Vira Sakti : 55. Yama : 136. virya (fifth Attribute of God): see Yantra Devatās : 122. Attributes. Yantras : 26, 41, 122, 127, 130, 136 fil. Visistādvaita: 54, p. 58 (addendum) 59, 123 n. 3. years, human and k ām ya : 35.

Visnu, a name of God in all His aspects yellow robe : 52, Appendix III. Yoga: 22, 49, 55, 108 fll., 111 fll., 113 (cf. Prakāras), but especially as fll., 116 fll., 123 fll., Appendix II. (1) the Absolute (Brahman, Purusa, Yoga Sakti: 55. Nārāyaņa, etc.): 25, 27 n. 2, 28, 29-31, 52 n. 3, 53, 86 fll., 89, 92 Yugas, theory of the : 82 fll, 108 fll .; Appendix III ; cf. Krta, etc. fll., 102, 117, 141 fll. ;

II. INDEX OF AUTHORS AND WORKS

Not inlcuding Samhitas mentioned only in the Synopsis pp. 6. fll. (Abbreviation : S .= Samhitā.)

ABHINAVAGUPTA : 19. Brāhma S. : 5, 8, 20. Abhyamkara Vāsudevasāstrin : sce Brahma Sūtras : 1, 58. Yatīndramata Dīp. Vyākhyā. Bhāsya Āgamākhya S .: 18. Sankarācārya : 1, 39, 97-99. on, by Āgamaprāmāņya by Yāmunācārya: 16, 17. Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad : 63, 64,69 74, 75, 123. Agastya Samhitās : 6, 19. Agni Purāņa : 4, 5 fll., 21, 22. Brhad Brahma S .: 11, 13 (twice), 17, Ahirbudhnya Samhitā : CITRAS'IKHANDI S. : 12. (a) referred to in part I: 1, 3 (n. 3), 5 (n. 3), 6, 12 (n. 3), 16 (twice), 18 Chāndogya Upanişad: 73 (twice), 75, 101, 104, 105 (twice), 20 (also n. 4), 22 (n. 1), Chatterji, J. C .: Hindu Realism : 64, 24, 25 (n. 3), 26 (n. 1, 2). Kashmir Shaivaism : 18, 19 (n1. 1), (b) direct quotations (cxcept single 34, 64, 91. words and phrases): 25-26, 31, 32 (two), 35, 41, 47 (n. 4), 57 (n. 4), 60, 66 (two), 67, 71, 96, 97, 100, DATTĀTREYA S. : 7, addendum to pp. 6. fll 107 (two), 108, 109 (two), 128 (two), 129. Deussen, P .: Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie, vol. I, part 3 : 77; Aitareya Brāhmaņa : 96. Bhāsya by Sechzig Upanişads des Veda (?): 71. Dhyānabindu Upanişad: 141. Sāyaņa : 96. Alasingarabhatța : 20 (twice). Dowson, John : Hindu Classical Diction- Ānandagiri : 57. ary : 48. Dutt, Mahānirvāņa Tantra (translated): Anantācārya, Pandit P. B. : 15. 13, Ananta S. : 6, 14. Atharva Veda : 65, 110. GARBE, R. : Die Bhagavadgita: 145, Avalon, Arthur: Tantrik Texts, addendum to pp. 14. fll. vol. I: 121. Gārgya S., 7, 18, addendum to pp. 6. fll BARNETT, PROF. : 19 (11.1). Bāşkalamantra Upanişad : 81 Gaudapāda : 93. Gautamīya S .: 5, 7. Bhagavad-Gīta: 25, 27, 46, 61, 73, 91, 93 (n1. 5.), 97, 104 (twice), 123, 125, Gopālottaratāpinī Upanișad: 145.

132, App. I n. 3, Govindacarya Svamin, The Pañcaratras

Vyākhyā by or Bhagavat-Sastra (in J. R. A. S. Bhagavadgītā-bhāșya 1911): 3, 5 (n. 1), 17 (n. 2, 3), 20 Vedāntadesika : 60. (n. 1), 22, 112. Bhagavata Purāņa : 45, 86. Bhandarkar, Sir R. G : Vaiş navism, HAMSA S .: 12. Saivism, and Minor Religious Systems : 3 (twice), 17 (n. 1), 19 Hamsapārames'vara S .: 12 (twice), 18. (n. 3), 25, 44, 47, 111, Appendix II. Harigauri Tantras : 13. Bhāradvāja S. : 8, 13, 18, 23. Haug, Aitareya Brāhmaņa (translated) : do. 96.

Bhārgava S .: 9, 18. Comm. on : 20. Hayasīrșa (Hayagrīva) S .: 5 fll., 18, 21, 22, 23. Bhīşma Parvan : 15. Burnell : Descriptive Catalogue of the Palace Library, Tanjore : 12. 95. INDRARĀTRA (third Ratra of Mahā- Brahmabindu Upanişad : 93. sanatkumāra S.): 17, 36, 41 (twice) Brahmanārada S. : 8, 17 (n. 2). 69, 79, 81, 85,104. Isāvāsya Upanișad : 34, 123.

165

Īsvara S .: 6, 3, 16-18, 20, 21, 22, 112. Nrsimhapūrvatāpanīya Upanişad: 121, İsvara S. Vyākhya by Alasingara- 143. bhatța : 20. Nrsimhasūri : 20.

JAIN scripture : 104. Jayākhya S. : 7, 18 (twice), 20, 21, 96. PĀDMASAMHITĀ Tantra : 11. Pādma Purāna : 95. Jayottara S. : 7, 18. Padma Tantra : 5 fll., 13, 18, 20, 22 Jñanamrtasāra: see Narada Pañcarātra. (twice), 35, 42, 45, 48, 52, 53 (tlrice), 54-56, 62, 79, 80, 82, 83, 86, 91, 92 KĀŅVA S .: 5 (n. 1), 6. 20. (twice;, 93 (thrice), 101, 112, 113, Kipila S .: 5, 7, 18. 116. Kapiñjala S .: 5 fll., 13, 21. Pādmodbhava S. : 8, 17, 18, 20. Kāsyapa S .: 7, 18. Pañcaprasna S. : 8, 18. Kās'yapottara S .: 11. Kāțhaka Upanișad: 68, 72, 116. Pañcarātraraksā by Vedāntadesika : 4, 12 (n. 1), 16 (n. 1), 18. Kaumāra S .: 5, 7. Kauşītakī Upanişad: 73, 58 (addendum). Pañcaratrotsava Samgraha : 5, 10, 26. Paramārthasāra by Ādiseșa : 19. Kşemarāja : 31. Kubjika Tantras (three): 13. Parama S. : 8, 17 (twice), 20. Paramatattvanirņayaprakāsa S. : 11, 27,

LAKSMİ Tantra: 9, 13, 18, 26, 29, 30 28 (twice), 29 (four times), 50 (twice),

(thrice), 32 (twice), 33 (four times), 53, 54 (twice), 66, 79, 80, 86 (often),

34, 36 (four times), 37 (twice), 38 87,125. Paras'ara S. : 8, 13, 54. (twice), 43, 48, 49, 54, 59, 60, 62, 64 Pārames'vara S .: 8, 13, 20, 23, 54. (also n. 5), 67 (twice), 70 (thrice), 71, 76, 79 (twice), 80; Appendix III. Parames'vara S. Vyakhya by Nrsimha-

Law Books: 2, 117. sūri : 20. Paușkara Āgama : 115. Pauskara S .: 8, 17, 18, 20, 21, MACDONELL, Vedic Mythology : 95; The Pillai Lokācārya: see Tattvatraya. Development of Early Hindu Icono- graphy : addendum to pp. 14. fll. Prahlāda S. : 8, 18.

Mādhavācārya: see Sarvadarsana Prājāpatya S. : 20.

Samgraha. Prapañca Tantras (three) : 13.

Mahābhārata: 14 fll., 98; cf. Bhīșma Pras'na Upanișad : 73.

Vana, Santi Parvan, Narayaņıya. Pras'na S .: see Pañcapras'na. Sriprasna and

Mahānārāyaņa Upanișad : 25. Mahasanatkumāra S .: 9, 23, 24; cf. Pratyabhijũa Hrdaya: 31, 90 (thrice), 122 Indrarātra. Mahendra S .: 9, 20. Pratyabhijña-hrdaya Tippaņī : 115.

Maitrāyaņa Upanișad: 65, 73, 101. Purāņas (generally) : 8, 21, 44, 86, 95,

Maitreya Upanişad : 93- 108.

Mandūkya Upanişad: 69. Purāņa S. : 8, 21.

Māndūkya Kārikā by Gaudapāda : 93. Purușa S. : 145. Puruşa Sūkta: 25, 54, 143 fll. Mankana S .: 12. Manu S. : 2. RAHASYARAKŞĀ by Vedāntadesika: 12 Maudgala S. : 9, 18. (n. 1). Mrdani Tantras (two) : 13. Rāja Tarańgini : 97. Mudgala Upanişad : 145. Rāmānuja : 16, 17, 32, 123. Müller, Max: 100. Rāmapūrvatāpaniya Upanișad: 120, 121. NĀRADA Pañcarātra (=spurious Nāra- Rehmke, Prof .: Die Seele des Men- dīya S.): 1, 3, 5, 8 (remark), 17, 19, schen : 91. (n. 3), 22, 24. Rgveda Bhāşya by Sāyana : 133. Narada Samgraha : 18. Roussel, A .: Étude du Pañcaratra : Nāradīya S. (genuine one) : 5, last name 1 (n.) (?), 8, 18, addendum to p. 14 1. 11; cf S'AIVA Āgamas (generally): 22, 115. Narada Pañcaratra. Nārasimha S. : 8, 18. S'aiva Purāņa : 54.

Nārāyaņīya S .: 8, 18. S'aiva S .: 5, 10.

Nārāyaņiya (Nāradīya) section of Sānti Sāmānya S .: 11, 21.

Parvan : 14 fll., 39, 43, 44, 47, 57, 61. Samkarsana S .: 11, 16.

Nikāyas, Buddhist : 60, 74 (twice). Samklıya Kārikā: 62, 69, 70, 71, 76, 77, 98, 110, 142.

166

Sāmkhya Sūtras : 68, 69, 71. Bhāșya on, by Trika literature : 19.

Vijñānabhikșu : 122. Tripādvibhūtimahānārāyaņa Upanișad:

Samnyāsa Upanișads: 117. 50, 58 (addendum), 145.

Sampatkumārasvāmin : 20. Sanatkumāra S .: 11 (twice), 17, 20. UPANISADS (generally), 73, 93, 104

S'āņdilya S .: 10, 17. (twice), 125.

Sankarācārya: 97-98; cf. Brahma- Upendra S. (II) : 11, 17, addendum to

sūtra Bhāşya. p. 17.

S'ankaravijaya by Ānandagiri : 57. Utpala Vaişņava: see Spandapradīpikā.

S'anti Parvan : 14 fll., 109; cf. Nārā- Uttaranārāyaņam : 54 (also n. 7). VAIHĀYASA S. : 10, 18 (twice). Sarvadarsana Samgraha by Madhavā- yaņıya. Vaikhanasa Rsi and Āgama : 55. cārya : 90, 111, 122. Vaisampayana S .: 12. S'arva S .: 5 (n. 3), 10. Vaiyyāsa S .: 10, 18. Satapatha Brāhmaņa: 25, 48. Vājasaneyi S .: 54, 96; cf. Uttaranārā- S'ātatapa S .: 10, 18. yaņam. Sāttvata S .: 3, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, Vamadeva : 115. 43-47,55; Appendices. Vāmana Samhitās : 5 (n. 1), 9. Sattvata S. Bhāşya by Alasingara- Vana Parvan : 43. bhatta : 20. Vārāha S .: 9, 18, 20, addendum to Saumantava S .: 12. pp. 6 Al. Sāyaņa: 96, 133. Varavaramuni: see Tattvatraya Bhā- Schomerus, H. W .: Der Çaivasid- şya. dhānta : 64, 124. Vāsiștha S. : 5, 9, 18. Schrader, F. Otto: Das Sastitantra. Vasu (Vasava) S .: 5 (note 1), 9. (Z. D. M. G. 1914) : 74, 98, 109, 110; Vedas (generally) : 2, 95, 108, 110. On the Problem of Nirvaņa (J.P.T.S. Vedāntadesika: see Bhagavadgītā-bhā- 1905 :) 142; Ueber den Stand der sya Vyākhyā, Pañcarātrarakșā, Ra- Indischen Philosophie zur Zeit hasyarakșā. Mahaviras und Buddhas : 65, 68. Venkatesvara, S. V., J. R. A. S S'esa S. : 6, 14 1916 : addendum to p. 16, 1. 8. Sīddhānta Pāñcarātra: 10 (remark). Vihagendra S .: 10, 14, 18, 23, 42, 50, 52 Sītā Upanișad : 54. (twice), 54 (twice), 55. Siva S. : 5 (n. 3), 10. Vijñānabhikșu : 122. Soma S .: 11, 18. Vișņu Purāņa: 52. Spandapradīpikā by Utpala Vaișņava : Vişņu S. (III): 10, 12. 12 (n. 1), 18, 96. Vişnu Tantra : 5 fll., 21. S'rīkalapara S .: 12 (twice), 18. Vişnutattva S. : 10, 22. S'rīkāra S .: 11, 18. Vişņutilaka : 10, 13, 45, 52 (also n. 3), 53 S'rīnivāsadāsa: see Yatīndramata Dīpikā. (twice), 55, 77, 78, 80, 83, 86, 89, 92, Srinivasa Iyengar, P. T .: Outlines of 93, 116. Indian Philosophy : 115. Vişvaksena S .: 10, 27, 36, 38 (thrice), 39 S'ripras'na (Prasna) S. : 11,13,80 (twice). (twice), 40, 46, 47, 48 (twice), 49 S'rutaprakāsikā: 12 (n. 1). (twice), 52 (n. 1, 3), 53, 57, 59, 61, 79 Sudarsana S .: 12. 81, 82-84, 97 (twice), 116. S'ukaprasna S .: 12 (twice). Vis'vāvatāra S. : 10 (remark). S'vetas'vatara U panişad: 56. Vis'ves'vara S .: 10 (remark).

TAITTIRİYA Upanişad : 44. YĀDAVAPRAKĀSA : 93. Tamil Veda : 16. Yajurveda, White : see Vājasaneyi S. Tantrasamjñika S .: 18, Yājnavalkīya Kāņda : 74. Tārkşya S. : 7, 14. Yāmunācārya : 16 fll., 32 Tattvasāgara S. : 7, 18. Yatīndramata Dīpikā by Srīnivāsadāsa : Tattvasamāsa, Comm. on : 73. 27, 41 (thrice), 42, 49-51, 54, 56 Tattvatraya by Pillai Lokācārya: 27 (thrice), 54 (four times), 59, 66, 72,

(twice), 40, 50, 52, 54 (twice), 56, 57, 90, 93, 112, addenda to pp. 27 and 58.

58 (thrice), 59, 66, 70, 77, 79 (twice), Yatīndramata-dīpikā Vyākhyā by Ab-

90, addendum to p. 41 hyamkara Vāsudevasāstrin : 54 (n. 7).

Tattvatraya Bhāşya by Varavaramuni: Yogānandabhațta : 20.

27, 33, 40 (n1. 3), 46, 47 (n. 2), 53 Yoga Sūtras: 111.

(n. 1), 54 (n. 6, 7), 72, 82 (thrice). Yogavāsișțha : 122. Yogini Tantras (two): 13.

III. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Exclusive of (1) names embodying some religious or philosophical principle (Index I) and (2) names of authors, etc. (Index II).

AGASTYA: 6 (remark on no. 1). Mārkandeya : 43. Alarka : 132 Marundha : 57. Amarsana : 138. Melkote : 16, 94 Ambarīşa : 132 Muktāpīda : 97, 135. Anangamañjarī : 136. Mysore : 1, 94 fll. Anasūyā : 45. Añjanādri: Appendix III. Naicasakha: 133. Apāntaratapas : 109. Arcot : pp. 6 fll. (addendum). Arjnna : 46. Orissa : 1, 23, app. III.

Atri : 45. Pulaha : 136. Purūravas: 132 Bhadrasāla : 134. Prāci: 133. Bhadras'riga : 138. Bhadravati : 138 Bharadvāja: 99 fll Rājoparicara : 132.

Bhogavati: 137. Rama: 137.

Citrasekhara : 138 fll. Sankukarna: 138. Santi : 154 n. 2.

Dasyus : 135 Sarasvati : 133, 138.

Dhundhu : 132 S'aunaka : 10 (remark).

Durvāsas : 99 fll., 134. S'ibi : 132.

Dvārakā : 134. Srirangam : 9, 17,20 Srigarapura : 136.

Gujerat : 17. S'rutakīrtana : 132. Srutakīrti : 134.

Hārāpīda : 135. Suka : 132. Sumati : 136

Jābāli : 10 (remark). Sunanda : 136. Susravas : 135. Janakas : 135. Sutīksņa : 6. Svastikā : 134. Kailāsa : 138 Kalale : 94. Tamasa : 137. Kanva : 11, 137. Kāsīrāja: 133. Tañjore : 12,95.

Kas'mīr : 1, 18, 19, 31. Travancore : 94.

Kīrtimālin : 138 fll. Trivikrama : 19.

Kītaka: 133. Kusadhvaja : 97, 135. Upendra : 11.

Vaisampāyana : 109. Mandara: 138 Mandhātr: 132 Vāsișțha : 10 (remark).

Maņisekhara : 132 fll. Vāsuki : 136 fll.

Manojava : 140 fill Vatsalā : 133.

Maratha Country : 17. Vikatāksa: 133. Visālā : 136. 138 fll.

IV. INDEX OF SANSKRIT TERMS

In so far as not contained in Index I.

akimcitkarata : 115. dhenu : 62, 78. akşara=guņa-sāmya: 33. ajñatva : 115. nāma-rūpa : 125, 129. namas, namana: 142. anutva : 115. nara : 60. adhidaivata : 41. adhistātr : 40. nāra : 86.

adhenu (=avyakta): 103. nitya-vibhūti : 50.

anuttara (=a-kāra): 118. nityodita : 53.

antar-anda-sthita : 81, 36. naimittika-pralaya : 28.

anna (objective universe) : 144. nyāsa (=bhakti): 128.

aprākrta : 32, 47, 51. pañca-karman : 112.

abhigamana : 24, 51, 112. pañca-kāla: 112.

abhicāra : 131, 110 n. 1. para (cosmic period) : 28.

artha (complement of sabda) 103, 107, parama-vyoman : 49.

fll. parivāra : 128.

avāntara-pralaya : 28. puryaştaka: 122.

ahamtā : 30. paurușī rātri : 29.

ahimsā : 117. prākṛta-pralaya : 28.

aņava-deha : 122. prākrta-maņdala : 110.

ātmașastha-vāda : 104. prāņa (=mahat): 111.

ābhāsa : 34. prātipadika-stha : 143.

icch=ais'varya : 33. pratișțhā-vidhi : 23, 26.

idamtā : 102. pratisa mcara : 103.

iyattā: 107 prapañcita : 53.

unmesa : 29 bahir-anda-ja: 36.

urdhva-puņdra : 41. brahma-bhāva: 103 brahmāyus : 28 rtu-cakra: 41. bhagavattā : 113. ekāntika-mārga : 39. kalalī-bhūta : 63 bhūti (two meanings): 32 n. 1.

kartṛ (=ahamkāra): 111. bhūmi (=Bhūti Sakti): 143.

karşana : 128. bhoga-vibhūti: 50.

kāla (=pañca-kāla): 112 bhoktṛ-kūtastha: 60

kalamaya vapus : 62 maņdales'vara: 118.

kāya : 104. mantra-tanu : 52; 58 (addendum).

kimcijjñatva : 115. mantroddhāra : 46, 121.

kińcitkaratā : 115. mala-traya: 115 (obs. n. 3).

kainkarya : 58. mahā-pralaya: 28.

kriyā-kāraka-samsarga-labhya : 143. maha-prasthāna : 117.

guņa-parvāņi: 111. mahābhișeka : 130. mahas: 52. guņamaya vapus: 62. manava-sarga : 37. guņonmeșa-dasā: 31. ghataka-srutayah: 125. marga : 112.

cakra, cakrin : 132. mis'ra-varga : 40, 82

tantra : 2, 24, 146. misra-sṛșți: 38.

tilakālaka : 37. mūrtyantara : 41.

tirodhāna-paramparā : 115. yaugika: 24.

trayī (Vedic science) : 97, 110. rakşā : 122. ratra : 24 fll. (=vidyā=prakṛti) : 98. trasareņu: 57. layāntima: 29.

dīkşā : 112. līlā-vibhūti: 50.

dis: 64. varna-cakra: Appendix II, n. 1.

dharma, dharmin: 30, 102. vidyā (=Māyā Sakti, etc.): 62 n. (=buddhi): 41.

169

vidyā (parā, aparā): 97; Appendix I. vibhūti (two meanings): 32 n. 1. s'uddha-varga: 82.

visrama-bhümayab: 34, 37. s'uddha-sattva : 51.

vişayes'vara: 118. s'uddha-sarga (=s' .- varga): 84. s'uddha-srsti: 31. vīra-mūrti : 55. vaikrta-maņdala: 110. suddhâsuddha, suddhêtara : 59.

vaidya (=prākṛtika): 62 sraddha-sastra : 23.

vaiseşika,-kī kriya : 24, 112. s'rama-bhūmaya: 34, 37.

vyasti-srsti: 82. şādguņya: 32. spanda: 106 (cf. prasphuratā jagan- vyuhântara : 41. sakti-pāta: 115. mayi: 102).

saktyāvesa : 47. saptakāya-vāda: 104.

s'abda (complement to artha): 103, samaşți-srsți : 82.

108 fll. samkoca : 64. samhitā : 2, 24. s'aranāgati: 128. santôdita: 53. svarūpāvesa: 47.

sāstrābhāsa: 112. svāmin (ex conj. for sāmi=manas) : 111.

22

V. NUMERICAL INDEX

Exclusive of unities

Two-armed Vasudeva: 52, 119 n., 131. Three "births" : 117. „ conditions of Laksmī: 29, 142. bodies (gross, etc ) : 122. conditions of Prakrti (Bhūti or Brahmáns : 81. Māyā Sakti) : 78 n. 4, 79 n. 1, 103, 70. (or four) chief principles of pre-classical Samkhya : 68 fll., 98. constituents of OM in the "gross" chief principles of the Panca- sense : 141. rātra: 89. classes of Astras : 126. classes of Puranas : 86. „ divine weapons (s'a s- „ unreleased souls : 54 n.7. tra, astra) : 108. constitnents of Māya Sakti (three- released souls (mukta, fold Māyā Kosa): kevala): 59. 36,63,64. souls in Highest Heaven (ever-free and released) : „ OM in the "high- est" sense : 141 fll. 56. Guņas : 67, 32, etc. " groups" of men (pure and kinds of time (gross, etc.): 66. mixed) : 82 fll. Kandas (theoretical, practical): 23. manifestations of Aniruddha (Trimūrti): 67. kinds of bodies (generated, non- Mothers of the World: 64. natural): 58. pairs of divine Attributes: 32, creation (pure, impure) 34 Hl. 59. Prakṛtis (Māyā, Prasūti, Prakṛti): (primary, secon- Laksmi Tantra VII, 16. 22 dary): 79;(diff.): principal Samhitās: 20. 109 n. 1. (collective, religious means (sadhana): 128. in- Saktis of the Devi : 54. dividual): 82. Saktis or wives of the Lord : Karma Yoga, each two- 53 fll. fold : 111. Saktis = threefold Iccha Sakti : matter (pure, mixed) : 55. 51 S'ivas : 81. religious knowledge standpoints of Mantra exegesis (direct, indirect) : 113. 141. worship (immediate, Taints or Fetters : 88 fll., 115. mediate): 113, 123; cf. Taints (s'aivite): 115. Appendix N. Vedas : 110. means of combating sin : 108. Vyūhas : 35 fll. methods of religious progress : 97. Saktis or principal manifestations FOUR-ARMED Vasudeva : 52, 119 n., 132. chief principles of pre-classical of Lakşmi: 29 fll. Sāmkhya: 142. Saktis (consorts) of the Lord: 53 classes of Näras (sleeping souls) : fll. 86 steps to Liberation : 113. constituents of ÖM in the Upāngas (Mīmāmsā and Nyāya): "subtle" sense : 142, 141. Ahirb. S. XII, 12. Vyūhas (Vāsudeva, Baladeva) : 17 discuses, conches, clubs, etc .: 41. -fold Brahman : 119. n. 1, 144. Kāņdas of the Pāucarātra, 23. Yoga systems : 111. Manns: 61. THREE aspects of the cosmic Ahamkāra : objects of life : 113 fll., 116. 75 Mahat: 70; Padas of God : 144 fll.

(diff.): 71 „ the Pañcaratra: 22. Vyūhas, supramundane : 35 fil. n. 3. , intramundane ; 81,

171

FOUR Vyūhas, of the Sudarsana Purușa : EIGHT forms of supra-animal existence ! 131. 62 FIVE daily observances : 24. manifestations of Buddhi "0, 72. focuses (par v an) of Obscuration, Manus : 61. namely, tamas, asmița, parts of the Great Night : 29. raga, dvesa, and andhâ- Saktis (consorts of the Lord, bhinivesa: Laksmī Tantra XII, 20. etc.): 55.

-fold Brahman : 119. (six) systems of religion and

Kañcukas (s'aivite): 90. philosophy : 113 n. 1. Yogangas : 124 manifestations of the Sudars'ana "Women " : 55. Purușa : 114. TEN Avatāras : 43, 45, 48. powers (s'ak ti) or works (kar - topics (sa mhita h) of the Sāt- man, kṛtya) of the Lord or Lakşmī : 88 fll., 114 tvata system : 112. Vāyus : 124. prakarah (modes of existence) of the Lord : 25 fll., 51 fll. ELEVEN chief postures in Yoga : 124

Prāņas : 71, 73. TWELVE Saktis (consorts of the

Ratras : 22 fll., 24. Lord, etc.): 55. Sub-Vyuhas : 41. sacraments : 24.

,, Siddhantas (recognised systems) : Vidyes'varas : 42

109 fll., 116 fll., 143. FOURTEEN planes of the Egg : 55, 84. principal Nadis: Ahirb. subtle elements, gross elements, S. XXXII, 18 fll. knowledge-senses, action-senses: 76. SIXTEE N-armed Sudars'ana : 128, 131. Devas (Vișņu, etc.) : Upavedas : Ahirb. S. XII, 14-15. Ahirb. S. XXXVI, 11. SIX 32 fll. Attributes (Gunas) of the Lord: TWENTY - ON E branches of the Vedic science (trayi): Ahirb. S. XII, 16- Avatāras : 47. 17. constituents of Bhakti : 128. TWENTY-TWO Avataras: 45. OM in the "sub. TWENTY - FOUR - fold Machinery of tle" sense : 141. "Gems" among the Samhitas : 20. Existence : Appendix I. (sub- Kañcukas (saivite): 90. Twenty-four "Forms"

Kosas of the Devi: 67 n. 2, 79 Vyūhas, etc.): 42. THIRTY - NINE Vibhavas (Avataras) : n. 1. 42 samaya . dharmāh: 113. syllables of the Great Sudars'ana FOURTY -THREE Nivartaka Astras:

Mantra : 126

XVIII). Ahirb. S. L, 29 (cf. S1XTY topics of pre-classic Sāmkhya : 24, 98, 110. systems (religious and philoso- phical) : 83. SIXTY - TW 0-armed Vasudeva (Sudar-

SEVEN Citrasikhandins : 61, 83 s'ana Purușa): 127, 131, 135. enclosures surrounding the Egg : Pravartaka Astras : 126. 82. Mahābhūtas : 112. ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT Sam- hitás : 3 fll. padarthah of the Sattvata EIGHT HUNDRED Visnus : 85. system : 112. EIGHT Akşaras (Imperishables): 104. THOUSAN D-armed Vasudeva : 132. names of the Sudars'ana : -armed 146. fll., 133. Vasudeva : 124, 13

-fold subtle body : 122. -spoked discus of the ,, Lord: 128.

VI. INDEX OF IMAGES (SIMILES)

Illustrating religious or philosophical ideas.

Banner, wind, and space : 107. Bee-hive : 60. Mole (spot under skin): 37.

Clay and pots : 69. Mote in sunbeam : 57, 90.

Cloud (cirrus) : 29, 78, 103. Ocean, motionless : 29. Ocean and rivers : 93. Cloud and rain : 78. Cloud and wind : 31. Pin and leaves : 30, 105.

Cow=cloud: 103 Pot and air: 93.

Cow and milk: 78. Pot and water: 93.

Darkness: 29. Rice, grains of : 58.

Emptiness : 29; cf. 86. River and bank: 65.

Fire and combustible : 103; cf. 117. Rivers and ocean : 93.

Fire and wind: 31 Robbers and traveller : 116.

Flame proceeding from flame : 35. Servants and master : 73.

Gates and town: 93. Spider and web : 124.

Gem: 92. Sun and sun-shine : 34.

Gold in fire : 92. Sun-beams and sun : 93.

Lamp (or flame) and light : 32, 90. Thread and pearls : 30, 105. Tortoise : 77. Lamp, extinguishing : 117. Lightning: 29. Udumbara tree swarming with bees : 60.

Milk and curds: 69. Wall and clay, etc .: 79.

Mirrors and reflections: 93. Widow, the lonely : 59. Windless atmosphere : 29.

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS

p. 3, last line : for "the press" read "preparation ". p. 6. fil. : Three more Samhitās may still be extant in addition to those marked as such in our Synopsis, namely the following, of which a MS. was seen, a few years ago, by one of the then pandits of the Adyar Library, in a village of the Arcot District, to wit: Gargya S., Vārāha S. and Pațalam, and Dattåtreya S. p. 14, ll. 11/12 from bottom : "Nåradīya section". The usual name of this section containing the story of Narada's visit to S'vetadvīpa is Nārāyaņīya. pp. 14 fll. (chronology of the Samhitas) and 97 fll. (age of Ahir- budhnya Samhita). Having just now received the J. R. A. S. for January 1916, containing A. A. Macdonell's important article on The Development of Early Hindu Iconography, we may say with regard to the latter that, although undoubtedly iconography will have to play a part in the establishment of the chronology of the Pañcaratra Samhitas, it does not seem that at present much can be gained from it for the older part of that literature. For, though only "from the eighth century onwards Visuu appears with eight arms" (loc. cit. p. 126), the iconographical material so far available from the earlier centuries is evidently far too scanty to prove that Visņu was not represented as eight-armed, etc. (in addition to the four-armed form), long before that time. The following statement (p. 127) on the four-armed Våsudeva is noteworthy, because it agrees with the date fixed on other grounds by Prof. Garbe for the later parts of the Bhagavad-Gita (of which particularly XI, 46 should be compared): "The second half of the first century A. c. may therefore be regarded as the period when the Hindu gods began to be represented with four arms."

p. 16, ll. 8/7 from bottom : to "about the time of Sankara" the following foot-note :should now be added : "We are thinking of the date which has so far had the consensus of most scholars (788-825). The attempt made quite recently, namely by S. V. Venkateswara in the J. R. A. S. 1916, pp. 151 fil., to de- monstrate that Sankara's life-time was 805-897, has not con- vinced us.

p. 16, 1. 12 from bottom : for "teacher" read "teacher's teacher". „ 17, 1. 10: after " Upendra Samhitā" insert " (no. 211) ". „ „ 1. 18 : for "Pañcarātra " read "Pāñcarātra ". „ 18, 1, 9 from bottom ; read "(see above p. 4) ".

176

p. 24., 1. 5: for vaiseșika read vaişayika, and add a foot- note: "This is strange and suggests the idea that an original "vais'eşika" has been misunderstood by the author; cf. the sixth topic of the Sāttvata system below, p. 112." „ 27, note 1, add before last sentence: Yatīndramata Dīpikā, a later work of uncertain date, contains much modern material unknown to the Pañcarātra. „ 32, 1. 6 from bottom : for "teacher" read "teacher's teacher". p. 32 fil .: Is it a mere coincidence that in Zoroastrianism also God has six attributes? It is true that the two sets have apparently not much in common, still : might not the monotheism of the Pañcarätrins, which evidently originated in the north-west of India, have made some external borrowings from the great religion of Iran? A similar question seems to arise with regard to the "sun-beams" and "moon-beams", into which the vowels are divided (p. 119), and the "sun-letters " and "moon-letters" of Arabic grammar, but here we find it hard to believe in any borrowing except from some common source. , 41, middle, insert the following paragraph : An attempt at combining the several activities of the Vyūhas has been made by the author of Tattvatraya (ed. pp. 125 fll.) in the following aphorisms (which contain, indeed, all that the book has to say on the Vyūhas) : " Of them (the Vyūhas) Samkarsa ua, connected with [the Attributes called] jñana and bala, having become the superintendent of the principle [called] soul (jiva), severs it from Prakrti, and then, having assumed the state of Pradyumna, effects the appearing [and progress] of the S'astra and [finally] the withdrawal of the world. Pradyumna, connected with ais'varya and virya, having become the superintendent of the principle [called] mind (manas), carries out the teaching of religion and the creation of the Pure Group consisting of the four Manus, etc. Aniruddha, connected with s'akti and tejas, performs the protection [of this world], the conferring of the know- ledge of truth, the creation of time and the mixed creation." , 42, 1. 10: After "Upendra" insert : "from Pradyumna another Pradyumna, Nrsimha, and Hari;". „ 56, 1. 17 : for " Canda, Pracanda " read " Caņda, Pracaņda ". „ 58, ll. 6/7: "They can assume " to "body". As a matter of fact, the soul in Heaven seems never to be imagined without a body, it being bodiless, and necessarily so, only in its Nāra condition (p. 86), that is during the Great Night, when even non-natural matter is non-existent ("unified"). We may, therefore, ask in this connection whether the "atomic body" mentioned in chapter 20 (see p. 122) is not either a "non-natural" body possessed already, unknowingly, by the soul, or else a third "natural" body, the only one remaining

177

to the soul for its passage from the Sun to Heaven. For, according to the view of Kausītaki Upanisad which has been adopted by the Visistadvaitins and was apparently also known to the Pañcaratrins, the liberated soul has still many stations to pass on its further journey from the Sun to the river Virajā (Vijarā) which is the boundary between this and the other world, and it cannot do so, evidently, in a bodiless condition, for which reason Yat. Dīp. teaches (ed. p. 77) that not before crossing the Viraja does the soul exchange its subtle (second physical) body for a non- natural one, whereas Tripādvibhūtimahānārāyaņa Upanișad (chapters V and V1), on the assumption that the Viraja is not the said boundary but still within the Egg, declares that the soul through bathing in Viraja exchanges its subtle body for a "magical body" (kevalamantramaya- divyatejomaya-niratis'ayānandamaya-mahāvişņusārūpyavigraha s'arīra, later simply called mantramaya s'arira), and long afterwards, in a place far outside the Egg, namely the Brahmavidyā river, casts off the "magical body " in order to assume its final garment, the "immortal Divine body consisting of the bliss of [Brahma] knowledge "( or: "of knowledge and bliss ; vidyānandamaya amrtadivya-s'arīra). p. 60, 1. 9. from bottom : for "Rsis" read " Rsis ". ,, 68, 1. 6 : for vais'amya read vaişamya. ,, 80, 1. 11 ,, : for "Hrsikes'a " read " Hrsikes'a". , 82, 1. 18 for " group " read " Group ". , 83, 1. 2 from bottom: for "Citras'ikhandins" read "Citras'i- khaņdins ". p. 92, 1. 4 from bottom : for "58,59" read "52,53". ,, 97,1.5 : for "never " read " not, as a rule,". ,, 110, ll. 17 and 18 should read : "seventeen (or twenty-one ?) sci- ences, from the six Vedāngas down to politics (niti) and the science of professions (varttā), regarded as subsidiary to the Vedas". „ 112, note 4, add: "It is clear that samyama and cintà are the same as samyama and samadhi mentioned in note 3, p. 111. „ 121, 1. 9 from bottom : for " Vedáņta " read " Vedānta". „, 145, 1. 9 : for "Pañcarātra " read "Pāñcarātra".

23

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF ERRATA

Found in the edition of Ahirbudhnya Samhita.

Page line

79 9 : for विज्ञानत्रितयात्मकम् read ex conj. विज्ञातं त्रिकधारकम्.

82 10 : dele (अथ शत्त्यादिचक्राणि) and enter between lines 8 and 9: (अथ पुरुषादिचक्राणि).

107 10 : for शात्यभिचार read शान्त्यभिचार.

126 16 :7,, शक्तिपाक: read ex conj. शक्तिपातः. 127 3

495 9 ,, तोष्यामीति read eae conj. तुष्यामीति. ..

532 6 , समाख्या० read ex conj. सदाख्या°. ..

578 8 : between lines 8 and 9 insert: (उपसंहारः).

581 12 : for छिन्ते read छिन्ते.

594 2 राहुजिदाख्यैकोन० read राहुजिदाख्यैक०. " ..

8 : श्रीरामाख्याष्टाविशैकोनत्रिंशावतार० read श्रीरामाख्य- "

615 3 क्रतून्ज्ञान° read क्रतूञ्ज्ञान°. ..

626 6 : " मन्त्रार्थानिरूपणे read मन्त्रार्थनिरूपणे.

643, lines 17 to 20 not belonging to the text of the Samhita should be in small type.

P.Inted by Annie Besant at the Vasanta Press, Adyar, Madras.

H13-19-4-66

BL Schrader, Friedrich Otto 1135 Introduction to the P35S37 Pañcaratra and the 1916 Ahirbudhnya samhitā

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