Synsthetic Iconography: 1.

the Ndiphntakrama
S V
The mantric identity of Goddess Mlin is an allegedly disordered version of
the Sanskrit alphabet called the ndiphntakrama. That there does exist a discernible system in this supposed chaos can be demonstrated by analysing the
earliest scriptural sources transmitting textual variations. The surprising, but
compelling reason for the order is set out in 3, and the synsthetic iconography it implies is briefly discussed.1

A D
The Goddess Mlin is one of two alphabet deities2 prominent3 in the Tantric
system called the Trika. The mantric identity of this Goddess4 is the ndiphntakrama (lit. the order [of the alphabet] beginning with na and ending with
pha), a particular rearrangement of the Sanskrit syllabary in which vowels and
consonants are intermingled in a hitherto unexplained and at first sight random
order. In all early sources surviving5 each individual phoneme of the sequence
is said to be a body-part of the Goddess Mlin, and some accounts also supply
the names and details of fifty presiding female phoneme-deities. To explain the
1

This article is the first of a triptych of studies on Synsthetic Iconography. I presented an

earlier draft of its central argument at Alexis S Tantric Seminar in All Souls College,
Oxford, in 1997.
2
The other alphabet deity of the Trika is abdari (cf. MVUT 8.2732ab; Tantrloka
15.116cd120), represented by the common order of the Sanskrit syllabary.
3
The high status of the Goddess Mlin in the pantheon of the Trika is evident by her partial
(in early texts) or total (in later texts) transcendence of visual representation (for details of the
intimate relationship of Mlin, Par and Sarasvat, see S (1990:4550 and passim)).
4
To use the terminology of the MVUT: the Goddess manifested in the ndiphntakrama is
called Bhinnayonimlin, the Crowned Goddess in whom the vowels are intermingled [among
the consonants]. The Goddess manifested in the common order of the Sanskrit alphabet (the
abdari-sequence) is called Abhinnayonimlin, the Crowned Goddess in whom the vowels
are not intermingled [among the consonants].
5
Excepting the Kashmirian Agnikryapaddhati, a ritual manual which presents the ndiphntakrama as a completed Mantra with initial seed-syllable and final jti-.

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Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

underlying rationale of the ndiphntakrama the two presumed original functions of the sequence are here investigated: the ritual projection of the alphabet
into the practitioners body (nysa-) and the encryption and extraction (decoding) of mantras (mantroddhra-).
It must be emphasised at the outset that the ndiphntakrama as discussed
in the surviving works of the Trika indeed present a specific order of the
syllabary and not a chaotic non-order. Once this has been pointed out, it seems
obvious, but earlier scholars (e.g. S in his translations6 ) have presumably
not reflected on the matter and, in spite of textual evidence to the contrary,
have assumed it to be a non-order (akrama-). Such an assumption is in fact
also doctrinally impossible.
Both in the early Trikas realist ontology and in the later Trikas non-dualist
phenomenology order is transcended only by the ultimate reality of iva.7
Therefore this article demonstrates that the disarray or irregularity of this
sequence of phonemes is only apparent. The original redactor(s) of the ndiphntakrama, compelled by considerations either ignored by, or unknown to their
successors, have in fact followed a discernible methodology to produce their
variants of the ndiphntakrama. To uncover this, the largely unpublished, earliest scriptural sources transmitting the series must be taken into account.
The extensive metaphysical discussion of the ndiphntakrama in the postscriptural exegetical tradition of the Trika is unanimous in its acceptance of the
ndiphntakrama as revealed in the Mlinvijayottaratantra (MVUT)8 and
paraphrased by Abhinavagupta in his Tantrloka9 as authoritative.
They do not discuss or explain divergences in the order of this sequence
found in other Tantras.10 Nevertheless, the scriptural transmission of this sequence does show substantial divergences in the order of the phoneme-series.
6

e.g. S (:): In Mlin, they are arranged in an irregular way, i.e. the vowels
and consonants are mixed and no serial order is observed.
7

Abhinavagupta describes ivas autonomy thus: Partrimikvivara

na
.
. (S) p. 43 : tan na
ka cit krama iti brmah,
. akramam. yad etat param. pramevaram. vicitram. garbhkrtnantavai.
citryam. svtantryam. trikrtharpam. tad evaitat, Therefore we say: no order at all. That which
has no order, this ultimate, diverse autonomy of the supreme Lord, containing within itself
infinite variety, is what the Trika teaches [as the ultimate reality].
8
MVUT 3.3741ab.
9
Tantrloka 15.121125ab.
10
It is interesting to note that Jayaratha in his commentary on Tantrloka 15.121125ab
quotes the passage of the Triirobhairava but remains silent about the divergent order of the
ndiphntakrama given therein.

Somadeva Vasudeva

519

Luckily, this is a rare instance where it is possible to study the corresponding

passages of the greater part of the known early Trikatantras: the Siddhayogevarmata, the Mlinvijayottara, Triirobhairava, and the Tantrasadbhva.11
The scriptures of the cult of the Goddess Kubjik have incorporated much
of the Trika material that predated them: some of it reworked, some of it verbatim.12 This material may therefore also legitimately be adduced as a secondary
level of evidence for the Trika sources on which they are based.

A S
With the exception of an evidently corrupt passage in the [published version
of the] Agnipurna,
. all of the texts consulted list all 50 phonemes of the Sanskrit alphabet, but they present them in a varying number of what I will call
enunciations.13
A I
A preliminary survey of the available materials has yielded thirteen different
passages teaching the ndiphntakrama.14 In the eleven different sequences15
summarised below the ndiphntakrama is taught in four different modes. The
phonemes are listed:
. In more or less plain language with an associated body-part (,
, );
. In plain language with an associated body-part and a corresponding presiding female deity (, , );
. Encoded in the Mlingahvara (see below) with an associated
body-part (, );
. Encoded in the Mlingahvara with an associated body-part and
a corresponding presiding female deity ().
11

Of the presumed early Tantras of the Trika only the Devyymalas discussion of the ndiphntakrama (presuming it contained such a chapter) is not available. It is also not known
whether the later Trikasra transmitted its own version of the ndiphntakrama.
12
Cf. S (1986:163164).
13
The difference is that anusvra- and visarga- are not given independently in some texts.
14
Only five of these have been published before now.
15
I omit the Pramevarmata and a second version of the sequence taught in the rmatottaratantra.

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Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

In all of these the sequence seems quite naturally to break up into a series
of shorter strings of phonemes (separated by commas and semi-colons in the
listing below). A substantial proportion of these can be presumed to be intentional, designating phases of projection or anatomical description. Others
may be no more than artifacts of varying versification skills. Most of these are
shared with some variation by all texts, but the order of placement in the main
sequence may differ. One immediate text-critical hypothesis must be that these
subunits approximate the textual units in a posited Ur-text. The history implied
by these surviving texts becomes thus rather complex; the extent of differentiation requires probably many more degrees of separation from the posited
original source than the known texts allow. So, even though the greater part of
known early Trikatantras has been examined these appear to reveal that they
are merely incomplete remnants of a far more complex textual situation.
Furthermore, all of the texts16 homologise the phonemes with the Goddess
body-parts, thus it is clear that this must be the one essential feature which
cannot be separated from the ndiphntakrama in the minds of the redactors.
E D P P
i. Siddhayogevarmata 3.7cd18, 48 enunciations, six descriptive phases:
ii. Mlinvijayottaratantra 3.37cd41, Tantrloka 15.121125cd, 48
enunciations, five descriptive phases:17 1. na r. r. .l .l tha, ca dha na
. u
, ba ka kha ga gha n a i a; 2. va bha ya; 3. da
tha
. dha,
.
. jha a ja ra ta;
. 4.
pa cha la sah,
ha
sa
k
sa;
5.
ma
a
m
ta,
e
ai
o
au
da
pha
.
. .
.
iii. Agnikryapaddhati, Gttingenpc Fv 3957 , Paris Fv 771316 ; gives
Mantra and aniconic visualisation verse encoding the Mantra sauh:
. om.

na r. r. .l .l tha ca dha na
. u ba ka kha ga gha n a i a va bha ya da
. dha
. tha
.
jha a ja ra ta
pa
cha
la

sa
a
h
ha
sa
k
sa
ma
a
a
m
ta
e
ai
o
au
da
pha
hr
m.
.
. . .
.
mlinyai namah. svh
16

Excepting of course the Agnikryapaddhati which merely presents Mlin as a completed

Mantra.
17
[1.] The first twenty phonemes, na a, form the head of the Goddess; [2.] three phonemes
va ya are her neck and shoulders; [3.] the eight phonemes, da
ta
.
. are her arms, hands, fingers,
trident and skull-bowl; [4.] the nine phonemes pa ksa,
given
in
eight enunciations, are her
.
upper torso; [5.] the ten phonemes ma pha, given in nine enunciations represent her buttocks,
genitals, legs and feet.

Somadeva Vasudeva

521

iv. Tantrasadbhva 3.105128ab encoded in the mlingahvara (redacted in

the Kubjikmata, see ), 48 enunciations, five descriptive phases:18 1. na
r. r. .l .l tha ca dha na
. u ba ka kha ga gha n a i a; 2. va bha ya; 3. da
. dha
.
tha
jha
a
ta
ra
ja;
4.
pa
sa
cha
la

ha
sa
h
k
sa;
5.
ma
a
m
ta
e
ai
o
au
da
.
.
.
. .
.
pha
v. Kubjikmata A 4.81ab106 encoded in the mlingahvara- (incorporated from the Tantrasadbhva, see ), 49 enunciations, five descriptive
phases: 1. na r. r. .l .l tha ca dha na
. u ba ka kha ga gha n a i a; 2. va bha
ya; 3. dha
. da
. tha
. jha a ah. ta
. ra ja; 4. pa sah. ha cha la sa
. ksa;
. 5. ma am.
ta e ai o au da pha
vi. Triirobhairavatantra cit. TalViv 15.121125ab: c, Kubjikmata B
17.94109, 50 enunciations with aktis, six descriptive phases:19 1. na r.
r. .l .l tha dha ca ba ka kha ga gha n a i a na
. u ; 2. va; 3. da
. dha
. tha
. jha
a ta
ra
ja;
4.
bha
ya;
5.
pa
sa
k
sa
cha
la

sa
ha
a
h;
6.
ma
a
a
m
ta
.
. .
.
. e ai o
au da pha
vii. Sa
mhit
B 7.538, encoded in the (mlingahvara-), 50 enun. tshasrasa
.
.
ciations with aktis, five descriptive phases: 1. na tha r. r. .l .l ca dha na
. u
ba ka kha ga gha n a i a; 2. va bha ya; 3. dha
da
tha
jha
a
a
h
ta
ra
ja;
4.
. . .
..
pa sah. ha cha la sa
. ksa;
. 5. ma a am. ta e ai o au da pha
viii. Sa
mhit
A 4/5.3035, 5256, 7884, 106112, 123cd126,
. tshasrasa
.
.
50 enunciations ordered into the five mahptha-:
Ud. diynap
tha:
.
. na r. r.
.

. ca ba ka kha ga gha n a i a na;

.
.l .l tha dha ; Jlandharaptha:
. Prnagiri18

Following the Mlinvijayottara very closely: [1.] the first twenty phonemes, na a form
the head of the Goddess; [2.] then three phonemes, va ya, represent her neck and shoulders;
[3.] then eight phonemes, da
ja represent her arms, hands, fingers, skull-bowl and trident;
.
[4.] then nine phonemes pa ksa,
. given in eight enunciations, represent her upper torso; [5.]
then ten phonemes, ma pha, given in nine enunciations represent her buttocks genitals legs
and feet.
19
[1.] The first twenty phonemes, na represent the head of the Goddess; [2.] a single phoneme, va, represents her neck; [3.] eight phonemes, da
ja represent her arms, hands, fingers,
.
skull-bowl and trident; [4.] two phonemes, bha and ya represent her shoulders (the position of
these two phonemes may be explained by their inclusion into the phase of the upper torso); [5.]
eight phonemes pa ah,
. represent her upper torso; [6.] ten phonemes, ma pha represent her
buttocks, genitals, legs and feet. The text as edited in the KSTS edition of the Tantrloka is not
very reliable, but emendation is possible on the basis of the parallel passage in the Kubjikmata.

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Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

ptha:
. u va dha
. ya pa sa
. da
. ta
. tha
. jha a ra ja bha ; Kmarpaptha:
. ksa
.
la cha sa ha ah. ma a am;
Mta
n
gap
tha:
ta
e
ai
au
o
da
pha
.
.

ix. rmatottara A 7: 1. na tha r. r. .l .l ca na

. u ba ka kha ga gha n a a va i;
2. bha ya; 3. da
. dha
. tha
. jha a ra ja ta;
. 4. pa ah. ha sa cha la sa
. ksa;
. 5.
ma a am. ta e ai o au da pha
x. Kularatnoddyota 5.8499, 50 enunciations with aktis, six descriptive
phases: 1. na tha r. r. .l .l dha ca ba i a ka kha ga gha n a na
. u ; 2. va; 3.
da
. dha
. tha
. jha a ra ja ta;
. 4. bha ya; 5. cha la sa ha ah. pa sa
. ksa;
. 6. ma
a am. ta e ai o au da pha
xi. Agnipurna
. (AP1 ) 145.618ab, 39 enunciations with aktis: na a[tha]
a[r]
. ta[
. r]
. ca dha
. na[na]
. ta[u] ja[] ca[ba] ka kha ga gha u[na] a va bha
ma da
dha
pa[
tha]
o[au?]
am. ah. ta
. .
.
. ta ja pa a[sa] sa cha na[la] a[] tha[sa]
.
ksa
ma
.
i. In the recension of the Siddhayogevarmata surviving in Nepalese
(3.7c18d) the enumeration of the phonemes is partially encrypted, (eg. Siddhayogevarmata 3.9c: jhasaptamah. smrtau
karnau,
the two ears are the sev.
.
enth [phoneme from] jha [=na]),
and the order given is the most eclectic of any
.
work consulted. The order of this sequence points to an origin in the practice
of nysa-. The practitioner empowers his body in phases in a more or less descending order. The first phase describes the head omitting the chaplet and the
third eye. The first sixteen phonemes thus represent the actual physical features
of the practitioner (as opposed to the Goddess). The importance of the first sixteen phonemes of the sequence may be explained by their correspondance to
the sixteen vowels of the regular Sanskrit alphabet in its abdari- form. In the
nysa- procedure of the abdari-sequence (cf. Mlinvijayottara 8.2729ab)
the sixteen vowels (usually representing ivatattva) are all projected into the
head.20
20

The 50 phonemes are given in 48 separate enunciations correlated with the respective
body-parts of the Goddess. Vocalic nasalisation and aspiration (anusvra- and visarga-) are not
present independently but are joined to a and sa respectively. The attribution of left and right
is given only for the ear-ornaments, the right being mentioned first. Since nothing else is stated
one may infer that the right side is always mentioned first (sdhypeksa-,
. right from the deitys
point of view).

Somadeva Vasudeva

523

The order given in the Siddhayogevarmata differs so greatly from all other
sequences that we must conclude it to be only remotely related to the recodification of the nysa-order into the so-called ndiphntakrama. The very
name ndiphnta is inappropriate since the sequence neither begins with na
nor ends with pha. It is not possible to explain this order as the result of faulty
textual transmission. Rather, because the sequences are embedded in quarterverses which cannot be easily transposed, it must be the result of conscious
effort. It would not be possible to assimilate this sequence to the later ndiphntakrama without considerably altering, or rather rewriting, the text.
ii. The presentation of the ndiphntakrama in Mlinvijayottara 3.3741ab
is very brief. The order is given in plain language with no attempt at encoding.21 The sequence of the MVUT is clearly the most systematic among the
works consulted: the Goddess is described from her topknot down to her feet
in a consistent descending order. This is one of the two most common ways
to describe a personage of eminence, the other possibility being the ascending
manner, approaching as a humbly bowing devotee who first sees the feet. Thus
the Kashmirian commentator Vallabhadeva introduces the first description of
Prvat in the Kumrasambhava as follows:22
The body of Goddesses is described beginning with the toes of the feet; [for a
description] of humans one begins with the hair, this is the poetic convention.

The inversion of this principle may be explained by the manifestation of the

Goddess in the order of creation (sr. s.tikrama-)
rather than the order of resorption
.
(samhrakrama-).
Now this principle of a systematically descending order is
.
21

Only the phonemes ha, o and au are not directly enunciated but are stated to be the
following phoneme (3.40a, 3.41b). The sequence consists of 48 enunciations, since neither
the anusvra- (am)
. nor the visarga- (ah)
. are given independently. The anusvra- is joined to a
forming the bjamantra- am. representing the generative organ of the Goddess and the visarga- is connected with the phoneme sa to form the bjamantra- sah. representing her life/soul
(jva). The relative position of right and left is stated only once, for the shoulders. The right
is enumerated first, again implying a procedure to be followed throughout. It is noteworthy
that this appears to be the standard practice for all of the Trikatantras with the exception of the
Tantrasadbhva which has reversed this order.
22
Vallabhadeva ad Kumrasambhava 1.32: devnm. rpam. pdngus.tht
prabhrti
.
. varnyate,
.
mnus
. n
. m. tu keebhya rabhyeti kavisamcra iti. This is echoed by Mallintha introducing Kumrasambhava 1.33 but attributed to the custom of the pious (dhrmika-) and not the common
practice of poets: devatnm. rpam. pdngus.thaprabh
rti
mnus
.
. varnyate
.
. n
. m. ked rabhyeti
dhrmikh.
.

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Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

of help to clarify the precise nature of the Goddess head-garland (iroml-). This expression could refer to two things: a garland of severed heads, or
a headband. Since it is mentioned immediately after the top-knot, it cannot
possibly be a necklace located at the level of the neck. That it was originally
intended as a kind of chaplet is also implied by the Triirobhairava: a garland
[worn] on the head (mlik irasi).23
The extreme condensing and essentialising tendency of the Mlinvijayottara
has reduced the exposition of the ndiphntakrama to a mere four and a half
verses:24
The phoneme na is her topknot; r. r. .l .l 25 form the skull-crown; tha is her head;
the eyes are ca and dha26 ; her nose is ; n-u
. and n-
. are the two ears with ornaments; ba, the gutturals [ka kha ga gha n a], i and a27 are the mouth, teeth,
tongue and voice;28 va bha ya are the neck, the right and left shoulders; da
. dha
.
are the arms; the hands are [both] tha;
jha
and
a
are
the
fingers
[on
her
right
.
29
and left hands]; ja ra and ta
. are her [trident-]staff and skull[-bowl]; pa is her
23

As Jayaratha explains, it is of course made of skulls, see TalViv: iroml kaplrambhik, Garland of heads means one made of skulls.
24
Mlinvijayottara 3.3741b.
25
There is a metrical problem at MVUT 3.37a. The ra-vipul (--) is preceded by a nonpermitted ja-gana
. (-). Such violations of the metre are rare in the MVUT but it should be
taken into consideration that the present instance occurs in a list.
26
The phoneme ca forms the third eye of the Goddess and dha represents her two ordinary
eyes. The corresponding passage in SYM 3.7d explicitly places only dha into the two eyes (cf.
also Sa
mhit
patala
. tshasrasa
.
.
. h. 7: trtya
. m. nayanam. devy n a-cha-madhyagatam. tath || cmun. day
samopetam. jtavyam. varavarnini
.
. | na-da-madhyagatau jeyau dvidhbhtau tu locanau
|| priyadaran devei sryasomtmik smrt
varrohe, daksavmakrame
na
. | caksuryugme
.
.
. tu ||).
27
The long - expresses the plural -h. in sandhi-.
28
In the discussion of the SYMs passage it was noted that the first sixteen instances of its
sequence, corresponding to the sixteen vowels of the bdari sequence, were all present in
the head of the Goddess. At first glance it appears that this doctrinally significant feature is
not preserved; the first phase of the Mlinvijayottara does describe the head of the Goddess
but it consists of twenty phonemes. There is however one peculiarity in this phase: the phonemes representing the teeth are not individually enumerated but are collectively called the
gutturals (kavarga-). If this is counted as a single instance the head of the Goddess would
again be circumscribed by sixteen instances. It is not inconceivable that it was the redactors
intention to preserve this feature. In the Mlinvijayottaras projection of the abdari- sequence
into the practitioners body the sixteen vowels are after all also placed into the head (Mlinvijayottara 8.2729ab).
29
ra forms the staff of the trident in her right hand, ja its three spikes. Cf. SYM 3.12; Triirobhairava 9c.

Somadeva Vasudeva

525

heart; cha and la are her breasts; her milk is ; sah. is her soul; [ha], the immediately following phoneme is her vital energy; sa
. and ksa
. are her belly and navel;
ma, am. and ta are her buttocks, her genitals and her pair of thighs; e, ai her
knees; the following phonemes [o and au] are her shanks; da and pha are her
feet.

iv. In the Tantrasadbhva the ndiphnta sequence is given in an encoded

form using the device of the Mlingahvara.30
The Mlingahvara is a triangu!
lar grid into which are placed all
:
of the phonemes beginning with
!"
9
the top corner spiralling inwards
;
I
#
J
8
to the centre. Once this grid has
been drawn the sequence is ex<
Q
H
$
K
O
7
tracted (uddharet) by following
=
M
R
G
%
L
N
P
6
instructions such as take the sylla31
ble between ya and sa [=ha] etc.
>
@
B
D
F
&
?
A
C
E
5
Although the Tantrasadbhva
(
*
,
.
!0
2
'
)
+
!/
1
4
3.105128ab employs the term
ndiphnta, it then paradoxically
3
proceeds to begin the sequence not
with na but with tha. An error in
Figure 1: The mlingahvara.
the process of redaction or in the
scribal transmission may therefore be diagnosed. The correct order is easily restored with help from the earliest of the Kubjikmatas parallel passage.32
The remaining divergences between the sequences of the Tantrasadbhva and
30

For a discussion of this and other gahvaras, see S 1982.

For instructions on drawing the Mlingahvara see: Tantrasadbhva 3.100104, Kubjikmata 4.7680, Sa
mhit
7.7680, rmatottara Fv 34 ff. In the uddhra- procedure of
. tshasrasa
.
.
the Tantrasadbhva the directions prva-, pacima-, rdhva- and daksi
. na. refer solely to the directions left, right, above and below; they are not associated with the five mahpthas
. placed
into the diagram by some texts of the Kubjik-cult. Madhya- (in the middle of) and randhra(at the edge of) are self-explanatory. A separate triangle with the syllable ksa
. is occasionally
appended below the o; ksa
. has this special status because, strictly, it cannot be extracted from
the diagram but arises from the samyogaof ka and sa.
.
.
32
The problem relates to the confusion over the true nature of the iroml- represented
by the four neuter vowels r. r. .l .l (Tantrasadbhva 3.106cd) already encountered. The original
position of the head, ie. the phoneme tha, was immediately after these. This is the position
preserved in the derivative Kubjikmata passage and also in the Mlinvijayottara which agrees
with the Tantrasadbhva for the first twenty-nine phonemes if tha is restored to this place.
31

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Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

the Mlinvijayottara are not dramatic,33 and with the exception of one quarterverse34 the Tantrasadbhva passage could be rearranged to give precisely the
same ndiphnta-sequence as the Mlinvijayottara without doing anything
more than rearranging the sequential order of complete half-verses.35
v. This passage of the Tantrasadbhva has been adopted into Kubjikmata
4.81ab-106, the first occurrence of the ndiphnta- sequence in that Tantra.36
Somewhere in a lineal precursor of the surviving two palmleaf of the Tantrasadbhva the
iroml- must have been wrongly perceived as necklace of heads. This has led to the moving
of the pdayuga- describing the head (3.106cd) to the beginning of the sequence, since in the
practice of nysa- it would have been incongruous to jump from the topknot down to the
neck and then back up to finish the head. The transposition of the hemistich relating to the
head was also less invasive than the excision and reinsertion of the four vowels relating to the
head-garland (iroml-) and thus preferable.
33
Restoring the misplaced initial tha the sequence continues in the exact order of the Mlinvijayottara up to a at position 29, then agrees with the Triirobhairava ta-ra-ja,
then follows
.
its own arrangement made up of sequences found in the Triirobhairava. From ksa,
. position
40, onwards it follows the Mlinvijayottara again. Again, anusvra- and visarga- do not feature
independently. The left-right-orientation, frequently stated explicitly, is the reverse of the other
Trikatantras (no indication is given whether this implies that the description is sdhakpeksa-,
.
from the viewpoint of the practitioner).
34
The one problem occurs at 3.120c (na-sa-madhyagam udaram the syllable sa
. is the stomach) where it is metrically impossible to move pda c to the desired location after 122b. That
quarter verse also shows a metrical problem. The na-vipul- () is not preceded by either
the permitted double ga-gana. (--) or ra-gana
. (--) but by a ja-gana
. (-). The hypothetical, reordered verse-numbering yielding the ndiphntakrama of the Mlinvijayottara is as
follows (Metrically impossible insertions are bracketed by superscript asterisks): Tantrasadbhva 3.105ab, 106, 105cd, 107 116, 119, 118, 117, 120ab c d, 121, 122cd, 123ab, 122ab,
123cd 128. The derivative Kubjikmata passage allows itself to be reordered into the ndiphntakrama of the Mlinvijayottara without any problems at all: Kubjikmata 4.81cd 94ab,
96cd, 97ab, 95cd, 96ab, 94cd, 95ab, 97cd, 99cd, 100, 98ab 99ab, 101 106. The metrical
problem with the corresponding passage to Tantrasadbhva 3.120c does not arise since the Kubjikmata reads grhya
(the lectio difficilior), in place of priye and expands the quarter verse into
.
an independent pathy pdayuga-.
35
It is however difficult to explain why this should have happened in each and every case.
Beyond the restoration of the original positions of the phonemes na and tha no other changes
have here been [re?-]imposed on Tantrasadbhva.
36
The Kubjikmatas redactors thought-processes can occasionally be reconstructed. At Tantrasadbhva 3.115ab > Kubjikmata 4.91cd92ab a redactor of the Kubjikmata had presumably misread u-tha
. as either -tha
. or u-dha,
. neither of which makes sense in the Mlingahvara.
He was therefore compelled to rewrite the instructions for the extraction of the phonemes representing the Goddess arms. This implies that the redactor(s) had access to only a (single?)
rather corrupt of the Tantrasadbhva for this passage, secondly that he/they seem(s) to have

Somadeva Vasudeva

527

vi. The Triirobhairavas discussion of the ndiphnta-sequence survives only

in citation in Jayarathas Tantrlokaviveka 15.121125b and it has also been
redacted into in the Kubjikmata 17.94109.37 In this most elaborate exposition of any surviving Trikatantra all fifty phonemes of the syllabary are listed
separately with their akti and location on the body of the Goddess. The phonemes are given explicitly without encoding.
Although the Triirobhairavas ndiphntakrama roughly follows the order
of the Mlinvijayottara, it cannot be reduced to that order by simple transpositions of halfverses as can that of the Tantrasadbhva. Nevertheless, it must be
admitted that the sequence of the Triirobhairava is in large parts very similar to
that of the MVUT.38 The differences are in fact exactly the kind to be expected
in a conflated transmission originating with a common source, ie. transposition
and inversion of discrete groups.
x. Among the scriptures of the Kubjik-cult which have drawn upon these
Trikatantras, the Kularatnoddyota 5.84101ab shows a somewhat remote but
still discernible affinity to the Triirobhairava. The usefulness and the limitations
of Kubjikmata 4.81ab106 and 17.94109 have been noted above.39
been well versed in the encoding system of the Mlingahvara, and thirdly that he has been able
to restore the correct order of the ndiphnta sequence from another, unknown source.
37
The secondary nature of the Kubjikmata passage is confirmed by the nature of its divergence: original vipul- forms have been removed during redaction. Thus at Triirobhairava
12ab/Kubjikmata 105ab the redactor of the Kubjikmata has rephrased the verse to remove
the ra-vipul-. At 98a the editors of the Kubjikmata have accepted the secondary emendation
Mukhvr for the doubtlessly original Chirvir in A, thus converting the ra-vipul- to a
pathy- form. There are also some errors of omission which have occurred during the redaction
of the Kubjikmata: for instance at 103b the Kubjikmata has not even preserved the phonemes
bha and ya corresponding to the shoulders, in place of bhayau it reads api.
38
Positions 79 (Mlinvijayottara: ca-dha-) are dha--ca, the ears and ear-ornaments na.
[n]u-[
n]
.
. are moved down to positions 1820, the Mlinvijayottaras sequence is maintained in
the interval. The shoulders bha-ya are moved from positions 2324 to 3132; in the intervening
list ja-ra-ta
These three phonemes describe the trident and the skull-bowl
. is inverted to ta-ra-ja.
.
of the Goddess. It is unlikely that this should indicate an iconographical difference, for instance
that the trident might be inverted, pointing downwards in the manner of Durg Mahissura.
mardin or that the orientations might be reversed, the skull-bowl being in the right hand and
the trident in the left. The order then diverges but the final sequence from ma pha agrees
with the Mlinvijayottara again. The attribution of left and right is given only for the feet,
and, following the practice of Mlinvijayottara, the right member is listed first. From this it
may again be concluded that the other pairs obey the same pattern, the prior member is the
right, the latter the left. This again reflects a normative practice for the Trikatantras.
39
The Sa
mhit
7.538 has been edited by S (1982:210218). Regard. tshasrasa
.
.
ing the naming of some of the aktis of the ndiphntakrama S (1982:213214)

528

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

ix. The rmatottara40 is the only text to give a full visualisation of a variety
of the Goddess Mlin and also of the fifty aktis presiding over the individual
phonemes.
xi. Agnipurna
. 145.618ab appears to be in turn derived from the scriptures
of the cult of Kubjik. The text is unfortunately transmitted very imperfectly.41
The twenty-nine phonemes which are enumerated are thus unreliable, but nevertheless the aktis and their locations agree (with some omissions) with the list
of the Kubjikmata.42
T O M F I P G
Just as the abdari sequence has a series of Rudras presiding over the individual phonemes,43 so the Ndiphnta sequence has a pantheon of female deities,
variously called akti, Kal, Dt or Yogin, presiding over the individual syllables.44 Their original purpose was the ritual purification, empowerment and
divinisation of the physical body during the imposition of the phonemes in
the practice of nysa-.45 The names of some of these deities echo the respective
body-parts their phonemes are associated with: Priyadaran in the eyes, Vgvar for speech etc. The variations encountered are tabulated (variant spellings
encountered in a single text are noted individually, denotes all texts):

remarks that he has chosen -y endings instead of the more natural - in cases where he believed
the -y to be the ending of a feminine proper noun in compound with samanvita- rather than
denotative of the instrumental suffix. The weight of evidence now points against this, and it
seems advisable to restore the correct forms as far as possible: Kapliny > Kaplin, Dpany
> Dpan, Pvany > Pvan.
40
rmatottara (=Goraksasa
7.2 64; 7.118342.
. mhit)
.
41
The edition reproduces numerous rad Devangar transcription errors (initial u:ta;
retroflex for dental etc.) and ignores obviously incorrect repetitions (ma occurs twice). Some
obvious corrections to the names of the aktis are Vgevar for Ngevar, Lm for Nm etc.
42
This affiliation is further corroborated by the independent enunciation of the phoneme
-ah. with the akti Sajvan on the backs of the hands. This is common in the texts of the
Kubjik-cult and can be traced back to the Triirobhairava.
43
Cf. Mlinvijayottara 3.1725.
44
Six of the sources consulted give details of these Goddesses: Triirobhairava cit. TalViv
ad Tantrloka 15.121125cd; Kubjikmata 17.94109; rmatottara 7.769; Sa
mhit
. tshasrasa
.
.
7.538; Kularatnoddyota 5.80c101b; Agnipurna
. 145.618ab.

45
In the twenty-seventh chapter of the Pramevarmata the object of nyas- is always one
of these Goddesses, never a phoneme on its own.

529

Somadeva Vasudeva
na
r.
r.
.l
l
.
tha
ca
dha

na
.
u

ba
ka

kha

ga
gha
n a

Ndin
Nivrtti
.
Pratis.th
.
Vidy
nti
Grasant TriiBhai; Grasan
Cmun. d
.
Priyadaran TriiBhai, KuRaUdd; Priyadaran KubMaTa;
Priyadarin rMaUtt; Prtadaran Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
. Priydr. s.ti
.
AgPu
Guhyaakti
(ankara)-nryan
m;
. tSSa
.
.
. Sa
Nryan
.
Mohan
Praj
Vajrin
.
Kankat
. TriiBhai, rMaUtt,
KuRaUdd; Karl rMaUtt,
AgPu; Karliny, KubMaTa,
Sa
m
. tSSa
.
.
Klik TriiBhai, KuRaUdd;
Kankat
. KubMaTa; Kapliny
Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
. Kapl/Kankl/Kan kat
. rMaUtt; Kaplin AgPu;
iv TriiBhai, Sa
m,
. tSSa
.
. KuRaUdd, AgPu; Klik KubMaTa;
Ghoraghos
. TriiBhai, KubMaTa, Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
. Ghor KuRaUdd, AgPu
ivir TriiBhai; Mukhvr
KubMaTa; Chirvvar rMaUtt; Khirvar Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
. irvar KuRaUdd
My ; My/Sarasvat r-

va
bha
ya
da
.
dha
.

tha
.
jha
a

ja
ra
ta
.
pa
cha
la

MaUtt
Vgvar TriiBhai; Vgevar
KubMaTa, Sa
m,
. tSSa
.
. KuRaUdd; Vg rMaUtt; Ngevar AgPu; [Sarasvat TaSadTa]
ikhivhin
Bhsa
. n
. TriiBhai, AgPu; Bsa.
n
. KubMaTa, KuRaUdd; Bhm Sa
m
. tSSa
.
.
Vyuveg
Lm ; Nm AgPu
Vinyik TriiBhai; Vinyak
KubMaTa, Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
. Vainyak KuRaUdd; Vinyak AgPu
Prnim
TriiBhai, Sa
m,
. tSSa
.
.
.
AgPu; Paurnim
KubMaTa,
.
KuRaUdd
Jhankr ; Jhamkr/
D
.
. mkr
.
rMaUtt
Kundan TriiBhai; Kurdan
KubMaTa, Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
. Kurddhan rMaUtt; rdhvakurdan KuRaUdd
Jayant ; Jayanty Sa
m
. tSSa
.
.
Dpan TriiBhai, KubMaTa, KuRaUdd, AgPu; Dpany
Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
. Dpin rMaUtt
Kaplin ; Kapliny Sa
. tS.
Sam
.
Pvan ; Pvany Sa
m
. tSSa
.
.
Chagal TriiBhai, KubMaTa;
Chagaln. d
. KuRaUdd; Chagaln. d
rMaUtt;
arr AgPu
.
Ptan
motar
TriiBhai; mot
.
.
KubMaTa, rMaUtt, Sa
. tS.

530

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

sa
ah.
ha
sa
.

ksa
.
ma

Sam;
. mod KuRaUdd; Nairr.
ti rMaUtt
Paramtm ; Paramkhy AgPu
Icchakti TriiBhai; Icch
KubMaTa
Ambik
Lambik TriiBhai, KubMaTa,
KuRaUdd; Lambin rMaUtt; Lambodary Sa
m;
. tSSa
.
.
Lambodar AgPu
Samhrik
; Samhrya
Sa
. tS.
.
.
Sam;
Sa
mhrik/Sa
mghr
r.
.
.
MaUtt
Mahkl

a Kusumyudh
am. ukr TriiBhai, KubMaTa,
KuRaUdd; Krr Sa
m
. tSSa
.
.
ta Tr TriiBhai, KubMaTa, Sa
. t.
SSam;
T
rak
KuRaUdd,
Ag.
Pu
e Jnaakti
ai Kriyakti
o Gyatr
au Svitr
da Dahan ; Dahany Sa
m
. tSSa
.
.
pha Phetkrik
TriiBhai;
Phetkri.
k KubMaTa; Phetkry Sa
. tS.
Sam;
Phetkr
KuRaUdd
.

It is striking that there is no substantive variance regarding the attribution of

aktis to phonemes. The deviations in the names are relatively minor and can
easily be explained away as scribal errors, variant orthographies, synonyms etc.46

T R Ndiphntakrama
Even more striking than the fidelity with which the phoneme-akti assignation
was retained, is the flawless preservation, despite the frequent divergence of sequence, of the association of a corresponding phoneme and body-part. This
shows beyond doubt that this is the one key feature essentially defining the
ndiphntakrama in the pre-exegetical tradition. Astonishingly, there occur no
variations at all in any of the texts consulted. As we have seen, the sequence of
the phonemes may vary considerably, the associated female deities may or may
not be present (but when they are their correlation with phoneme and bodypart is also scrupulously maintained), but the undeviating identification of cer46

Elaborate visualisations (mrtidhyna-) for these are found only in the rmatottara patala
.
7 Fr 39 Fr 442 , part of which is reproduced in Goraksasa
patala
. mhit
.
. 7, pp. 3046. A similarly
secondary elaboration seems to have taken place for the presiding deities of the abdari order.
Rghavabhat.ta,
. in his Padrthdara commentary on the radtilaka of Laksma
. nadeikendra
.
(a commentary that is rich in visualisations of Speech-Goddesses), ad 6.4, a visualisation of
Sarasvat, gives details of the presiding deities of the phonemes in the abdari sequence. His
source is identified simply as another Tantra: pratyaksara
. m. dhynam. tantrntaroktam. yath

Somadeva Vasudeva

531

tain phonemes with certain body-parts of the Goddess persists as the single
constant factor in an entire scriptural transmission probably spanning several
centuries.
U U
Once this specific correlation of a given phoneme and and a given body-part
is accepted, the ndiphntakrama can be explained as the order of mantraimposition (nysa-). The most systematic of these orders of nysa- is that of the
MVUT. It begins with the topknot and then descends down the body to the
feet. The only missing link in the explanation of the ndiphntakrama is the
specific assignation of phoneme to body-part. What is so special about these
particular associations and what has made them so impervious to change?
H P G A S P
To uncover the reason for this it is helpful at this point to shift our attention
from the audible phonemes to the visual graphemes used to represent them
instead. The surviving exegesis of the Trika shows little interest in the written
characters forming the ndiphntakrama.47 Abhinavagupta does indicate that
Somnanda had taught such considerations as soteriologically effective (up48
ya-) in his commentary on the Partrimik.
But Abhinavagupta does not see
.
fit to follow his lead. He is aware of the historical and geographical specificity
of calligraphic styles and dismisses such elaborations with this justification: although of use to some rare person, such speculations, dependent on the artificial
conventions of writing, are of no use to disciples removed in space and time.
Despite his dismissal, it is clear that certain aiva Tantras, notably the Sarvavra,
did show an interest in written characters and not just in phonemes.49
47

It contains very little speculation on the esoteric significance of written characters in general (see Tantrloka 3).
48

Partrimikvivara
na
.
. 59ab (KSTS, p. 35 ): dhlibheddin ca kalpitasmayikalipyapeksa
api bhaved api kasya cid upyya, na tu tat sakaladeaklagataisyavi
sayam
iti nsmbhir
. nam
.
.
.
vitatya vipacitam | etadanubhavayuktyanupravis.tn
m
ca
tad
akryakara
m,
svakalpanbhi
ca
.
.
.
sukaram | anyes
m
caitadupadenabhijn
m
tadupadeanam
api
aki
mcitkaram,
ity
alam
anena
. .
.
.
prakrtavighnavidhyin
|.
.
49
See Ksemarja
in ivastravimarin at 1.4:a: rsarvavrdygamaprasiddhalipikramasa.
mniveotthpik[mt
rk].
.
.

532

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

P, G B P
The relationship between the graphemes and their correlated body-parts
claimed here is the most simple: physical resemblance.50 Specifically, the resemblance claimed begins to be evident in the Gupta version of the Brhm
alphabet and lasts several centuries. The characters given in the following table
represent a Gupta hand of the 34th century .51
n na topknot (tip of topknot
(ikhgra-) TriiBhai).
R r. [r. l. l]
. mlik irasi Trii=
Bhai iroml-. As noted earlier
this is not a garland worn around
the neck but rather a chaplet of
skulls worn on the head.
Y tha head
c ca third eye
X dha two eyes
I nose (breath (prnana-)
KuRa.
Udd).
N na
. ears
[u] right earring (its character
resembles a small hook to the
left added below the character it
modifies).
[] left earring (its character resembles a small double-hook to
the left added below the character it modifies).
b ba mouth
50

kKgG
i
a
v
B
y
D
Z

V
J
W
j
r
T

ka kha ga gha [na] teeth,

(right upper fang lower left
fang Sa
m,
. tSSa
.
. AgPu, n a =rjadanta-).
i tongue
a speech
va throat
bha right shoulder
ya left shoulder
da
. right arm
dha
. left arm
tha
. palms of the hands
jha fingers of right hand
a fingers of left hand
ja trident in right hand
ra staff of trident
ta
. skull in left hand
pa heart
cha right breast

Of course, the post-scriptural exegetes have built up elaborate systems of identifications

and homologies of their own involving this sequence, but the parallels they sought and put
forward were between a sequence of morphemes and various elements, reality levels and other
ontological, phenomenological or metaphysical categories (see for instance Abhinavaguptas
exposition of Mlin, Mtrk
. and abdari as existing at the Madhyam, Payant and Par
levels of speech respectively, and the complex associations with tattvas and experiential states
which he advances primarily in his exegesis of the Anuttara, or Ekavra system of the Trika
found in his two commentaries on the Partrimik).
But here we are concerned with the
.
original attribution of meaning to the phonemes.
51
Taken from S (1968:tables 820).

533

Somadeva Vasudeva
l la left breast
A milk in breasts
s sa soul (soul in heart SiYoMa,
supreme soul TriiBhai, KubMaTa).
[ah]
TriiBhai, vy.
. [Prntm
pya KubMaTa].
h ha vital energy (vital energy pervading whole body SYM).
w sa
. stomach
x ksa
. navel
m ma buttocks
z a the genitals. An apparent
problem is presented by the
phoneme a, since the triangular grapheme of the phoneme e
would clearly be a more appropriate representation of the God-

e
E
o
d
P

dess genitalia. The resemblance

is rather to a male practitioners
penis.
[am]
. [ovarian fluid TriiBhai,
KubMaTa, Sa
m,
KuRa. tSSa
.
.
Udd].
ta thighs. The phoneme ta may
originally have been meant to
cover both thighs together since
it evolved out of a basic inverted
y-shape.
e right knee
ai left knee
o right shank
au left shank
da right foot
pha left foot

Self-evidently, it would be rash to suppose this could be used as a reliable indication for the date of the earliest Trika texts. The ndiphntakrama need not
have originated in the Trika but may have been borrowed from an earlier source
and, the range of possible dates within which the resemblance of graphemes and
body-parts can be discerned is rather large.
This hypothesis is not as strange as it first appears. An interest in the actual
shape of the graphemes of the Sanskrit alphabet is also evident in other early
Tantric sources. The Jaykhyasamhit,
an early scripture of the Pcartra, con.
52
tains a description of the varnas
. so graphically detailed that B
(admitting the inaccuracy of the method) adduces this as evidence for a date
as early as 450 . The graphemes described in Jaykhyasamhit
6.32cd58 are
.
similar to those used by the compilers of the ndiphntakrama but the visual
associations implied by the two systems are radically opposed. For instance the
author of the Jaykhyasamhit
passage saw the written character ka as a lotus
.
(kamala-), having in mind perhaps a slightly earlier form of the character resembling a small plus sign. The author of the ndiphntakrama on the other
52

This reasoning does not seem to be that of E. K, the editor of the text,
but of B. B, the general editor who supplied the introduction.

534

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

hand saw a hideous fang, having in mind the dagger-shaped evolute of the
character.53
To summarise: In the Trikas ndiphntakrama the written shape of each
grapheme taken singly was identified as resembling a certain bodily limb or organ; taken together the whole syllabary represented the anthropomorphic body
of the alphabet deity. When listed in the conventional head-to-toes order of the
nysa-rite a particular rearrangement of the alphabet is arrived at, and this is the
sequence beginning with na and ending with pha. This means that one can draw
an anthropomorphic sketch of the Goddess using Gupta era characters.
What does this tell us about the earliest conception of the Goddess Mlin?

A S I
The Goddess Mlin, embodied in the ndiphntakrama, was conceived of as a
synsthetic icon. This implies that Mlin comes into existence through a fusion
of phonematic sound and graphemic shape within (or even as) the divinised
body of the Tantric practitioner.54
The Sanskrit technical term used55 to express such fusion is lolbhva.56
53

See S (1968) tables 820, Schrifttypus , Gruppe A: Gupta-Alphabete des 3.4.

Jh. n. Chr.; Gruppe B: Gupta-Alphabete des 4.5. Jh. n. Chr. On the whole the description
of the graphemes given in the Jaykhyasamhit
seems to belong to even earlier paleographic
.
strata than B had assumed. For instance the phoneme ra is said to resemble a fire
(anala-), an apt description of the wavy vertical line representing the phoneme ra until about
100 , but rarely beyond that date. In aiva Tantras also, the phoneme ra is usually the fire
syllable. Alexis S has provided me with the Jayadrathaymalas enumeration of the
various synonyms for the repha- (4, Varnanmapa
tala,
41cd42ab): vahnim. ca ti
m. caiva
.
.
. t.tibha
.
devsyam. bhmavigraham / repham. krodham. samkhytam. tath tejojjvalam. ca tat. What must
be realised, of course, is that a dating of any section of the Jaykhyasamhit
cannot date the
.
whole text, even if it were an original composition in the earliest stratum of that text.
54
The most widespread form of synsthesia (a condition where the stimulation of one sense
organ produces a sensory impression in a different sense) is the perception of sound as colour,
but all sorts of (sometimes debilitating) combinations are known to exist.
55
See for example, Mlins self-dissolution through lolbhva after she feels slighted by
Bhairava at Kubjikmata 1.7180, cf. V 2004:xlviixlviii.
56
See Tantrasadbhva 1.20cd21ab: punar eva tu te sarva ekabhvagat prabho / lolbht
yath santi tath tvam. kathayasva mm, and 1.473ab: lolbhtam idam. sarvam. aktisthne
layam. gatah;
. Partrikvivarana
. p.50 ll.17-18: vivatra vcye vivtmani vcakam api yadi
vivtmaiva tad evam. paramparcchdanalolbhvtm
nirvahed adhysah,
.
. na tv anyath / na
hi tricaturangulanynatmtre pi pata
h. syt. Kaulajnanirnaya
3.20d;
. h. patntarcchdaka
.
.
Kubjikmata 1.79; Jayaratha ad Tantrloka 1.1: tasya ymalam. = lolbhvasTantrlokaviveka

Somadeva Vasudeva

535

More precisely this seems to have originally denoted a state of indistinctness

or instability that various entities must assume when they are on the verge of
merging together, to the extent that they can no longer be distinguished.57 In
the Kashmirian exegetical tradition lolbhva is usually interpreted as a synonym for other technical terms denoting such fusion: laya, samgha
t.ta,
.
. ymala,
and smarasya, but evidently these terms all have complex histories of their own.
For the initiate of the Trika, the Sanskrit alphabet, instantiated in the very
precise order of the ndiphntakrama, self-assembles into a visual representation of the Goddess Mlin, her mantric identity or sound body. In a place
and at a time proximate to the original conception of the phoneme-grapheme
associations, the similarity between grapheme and body-part would have been
immediately perceived, giving the impression that they are natural (svbhvika),
almost inviting the ritualistic assimilation (tanmaybhva) with the body-parts
of the practitioner in the nysa-rite. As such, the successful visionary realisation (darana) of the Goddess Mlin would induce a mild form of synsthesia
in the initiate, dissolving the boundaries of sensory perceptions so that one
could see the alphabet as a Goddess,strikingly apt for the creative power
underlying and manifesting the universe. The transformative power of such a
many-levelled icon, bridging the sense-organs, must have been great.
A careful reading reveals that these facts about Mlin are taught quite explicitly in the earliest surviving scripture of the Trika, the Siddhayogevarmata.
First, it states that she must be sketched, but then reveals that she is made up
ad Tantrloka 3.122: lolbhvam bhoktrbhogyasa
nghat.tasvabhvam;
ibid 3.232: ya veah.
.
.
parasparasanghat.ttm
lolbhvah,
.
. ibid 3.237: yah. parasparam. lolbhvtm sandarbhah,
.
varapratyabhijvivrtivimarin
2 p. 233, p. 278; 3 p. 27, p.50, Kularatnoddyota 12. 16,
.
Timirodghtana
fol. 48 recto, Devpacaatik 2.55: lolbhta parakt ravisomakalodayam.
.
praknandayor antar (antar MS G, ant D etext) ekkratay sthit; Matasra
fol. 6r: tatah. sa maithunam. bheje drvaye <>mrtam
uttamam / akampitena manas
.
lolbhvavivarjitah.
. Svacchandatantroddyota 4.296d explains it as identical with the state of smarasya: samo raso yasmin sa samaraso lolbhvah,
. ibid 4.299d: [lolbhtam]avikalpam. vimrya
.
tadvirntyaiva samaraskuryt. Pramevarasamhit
6.4: bhyotth vsan vipra! bahujanmr.
jit dr. dh
16.62ab:
. / lolkrto
. nay hy tm uddho uddhasvarpay //. Ahirbudhnyasamhit
.
vcyavcakabhvena lolbht kriymay. Natannandanas
Kmakalcidvallvykhyna ad K.
makalvilsa 1.5: tayoh. samarasah. ekalolbhtah. pin. dbhavaty
ekalolbhavati. Dhvanylokalo.
cana: sankrnat
hi miratvam. lolbhvah,
In Bud.
. tatra katham ekasya prdhnyam. ksrajalavat?
.
dhist Tantric texts the term features usually as ekalolbhva.
57
See for example Helarjas Prakrnaprak
commentary ad Vkyapadya 3.3.2
.
(sambandhasamuddea):
lolbhtni
abdrthajnni
gha
ta
.
. ity evam avagamyante.

536

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

58
of all phonemes (sarvksaramay).
The natural interpretation of this state.
ment is that formulated as the central argument of this paper: the phonemes
are arranged so as to represent the actual body of Mlin. This is confirmed
by statements such as: The phoneme pointing downwards is said to be her
nose,59 a meaningless observation if applied to a sound or her nose alone. From
such statements we may at least deduce that some of the characters must be rotated to fit into the icon. Figure 2 tries to recreate the synsthetic icon of Mlin
by minimizing such rotations.
In the later Trika and its exegesis, the Goddess Mlin becomes completely aniconic. A
separate diachroneity, diametrically opposed to this essentialisation seen in the Trika,
took place in the cult of the
Goddess Kubjik, where we
find elaborate, standard iconographies of Mlin (see below
for a critical edition of the detailed visualisation taught in
the rmatottara). This secondary elaboration might be
explained by the demotion of
Mlin from the high rank she
occupies in the Trika.60
It is also easy to understand
why this principle underlying
Figure 2: A tentative, provisional attempt to the ndiphntakrama should
recreate the synsthetic icon of Mlin made up eventually have been forgotten. Paleographic drift and the
of Gupta characters.
deliberate innovation of new
calligraphic styles meant that the correspondence was no longer obvious, and
inscriptional evidence of paleographical development shows that within a few
centuries this correspondence becomes difficult to perceive.
58
SYM 3.47ab: same medhye sulipte ca sugupte bhmiman. dalerudraakti
m. samlikhet sa.
rvksaramay
m
dev
m
sarvavar
nopaobhitm,
On
an
even
ground
fit
for
worship,
well smeared
.
.
.
.
[with cowdung] and concealed he should sketch the power of Rudra, the Goddess made up of
all consonants adorned with all vowels.
59
SYM 3.8a: nsdhomukh prokt
60
On the pervasive influence of the Trika on the cult of Kubjik, extending even to
the mantra-system, see S (2002, 1986:163164) referred to in G and
S (1988:1424, 488496).

537

Somadeva Vasudeva

D
Mlindhynam: rmatottara .
A visualisation of a ten-armed Mlin with five faces with three eyes each. She is
red like the rising sun, intoxicated with liquor. She wears a dazzling diadem and
celestial earrings. She bears: [1.] a bow, [2.] a lance, [3.] a conch, [4.] the gesture
relieving fear, and [5.] a mirror in her left pentad of hands. In her right hands she
holds: [6.] a thunderbolt, [7.] an arrow, [8.] a serpent, [9.] the gesture granting
boons, [10.] a rosary. She is seated in vajrsana on the corpse (Sadiva). She
wears a chaplet of skulls. Her heart-Mantra is s-h-au-m,
. a derivative of the
Parmantra sauh,
cf.
rmatottara
6.132cd133.
.
udaydityasankm
. madirnandananditm |
pacnanm
mahdev
m
.
. tripacanayanojjvalm || 141||
divyakun. dalaobh
dhy
tojjval
m
.
. m
. kirtmuku
.
.
. |
bhujair dvipacakair yuktm
nnla
n
krama
n
||142||
.
. ditm
.
cpam
abhayam
. aktis tath kambu
.
. darpana
. m
. priye |
vmamrgakaresv
. asy divystram
. ca virjate || 143||
vajram
b
na
m
tath
sarpa
m
varada
m
|
.
. .
.
. cksastrakam
.
daksi
tath devi divystram
||144||
. nena
.
. divyarpinam
.
trivalbhangamadhyasthm
pnonnatapayodharm
|
.
hrakeyraobhdhy
sitm
||145||
. m
. maniratnavibh
.
.
vajrsanagatm
|
. devm
. pretaparyankasamsthitm
.
hadaml
ire
divy
var
nahrvalambin
||146||
.
.
evam
dhytv
varrohe
mlin
m
.
. divyatejasm
. |
sarvavyptimaym
. devm
. bhuktimuktiphalapradm ||147||
Codices used for this section of patala
. 6: N = NGMPP reel no. A
onwards G = Goraksasa
patala
. mhit
.
. 6, p. 29.

194
3 ,

Fr 3347 ; from 6.142c

141a sankm
. ] corr.; sankam
. N 141b nanditm ] corr.; nanditam N 141c nanm
. ]
corr.; nan N 141c devm
]
corr.;
dev
N
142a

dhy
m
]
corr.;

dhya
N
142b
.
.
.
.
jvalm
. ] corr.; jvalam
. N 142c bhujair ] corr.; bhujai N 142c yuktm
. ] N; petm
. testimonium of G begins 143c vmamrgakaresv
]
em.;
vmamrgakare
tasya
N;
retasya
.
G 143d stram
tath ]
. ] G; mbram
. N 144b cksa
. ] G; cstra N 144c daksi
. nena
.
N;
th G 145a bhanga ] conj.; taranga G hypermetrical, talamga
N
hypermetrical
.
145b pnonnatapayodharm ] conj.; vrttonnatapayodharm
G, pnavrttamayodhar
N 146a
.
.
gatm
dev
m
]
em.;
gat
m
devi
G,
gat
dev
N
146c
ha
da
]
conj.
S;
svaraG,
va.
.
.
.
da
N
146c
divy
]
G;
divy
m
N
146d
valambin
]
em.;
vara
mbin
N
147b
mlin
m
.
.
.
. ]
pc , vyptamantm
G; mlin N 147c vyptimaym
]
em.;
vyptimay
N,
vyptamay
m
G
.
.
.
Gac 147c devm
. ] G; dev N
145a madhyasthm. ] possibly a metrical adaptation of a final madhyamm.
.

538

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

Tantrasadbhva > Kubjikmatatantra

104d
105a
105b
106a
106b
106c
106d
105c
105d
107a
107b
107c
107d
108a
108b
108c

uddharen Mlinm
. ubhm
ndiphntasvarpena
.
yath bhavati tac chr. nu
. |
pa-dha-madhyam
. ikh caiva
adhahirovyavasthit
|
.
e-prvrnacatu
ska
m
tu
.
. .
iroml nigadyate
ai-a-madhyam
. iro devyh.
krayec chubhalaksa
. nam
.
trtya
. m
. nayanam
. kryam
.
n a-cha-madhyagatam
priye
|
.
na-da-madhyagatam
. jeyam
.
dvidhbhtam
. varnane
nayane te smrte
. devyh.
kramd daksi
|
. navmage
.
ta-prva
m
nsik
jey
.
.

Codices for patala

. 3 are denoted by the following sigla: N = NGMPP Reel no. A 44/1
(NAK MS 1/363); N= NGMPP Reel no. A
44/2; D= NGMPP Reel no. A. 188/22. Conflation of the dental and palatal sibilants sa
and a (frequent in N) is reproduced only
where relevant to other variance. The position of tha (105cd) has been altered since it
was deemed incorrect.
104d mlinm
. ] corr.; mlin codd. 106a
pa-dha- ] N N; pa-da- D 106b adhah. ]
D; adha h. N , N 106c e-prvrna
. ]
ND; e-p rvrna
. N 106d ml ] em.;
mlya D, mla N N 105c ai-a- ] em.;
ai-da- codd. 107b n a-cha- ] N N; da-ha-
D priye ] D; priyet N N 107d varnane ] codd.; varnadhane N
108a
smrte
]
em.;
sm
rt
codd.
108b
vmage
]
.
.
codd.; vmake N
105 illegible in microfilm of N.
106b
irovyavasthit :: incorrect syncopation with
three iambi (---) 107c--109c illegible
in microfilm of N.

81b
81c
81d
82a
82b
82c
82d
83a
83b
83c
83d
84a
84b
84c
84d
85a

uddharen Mlinm
. ubhm |
ndiphntakramenaiva
.
yath bhavati tac chr. nu
.
pa-dha-madhye ikh jey
adhahirovyavasthit
|
.
e-prvrnacatu
ska
m
tu
.
. .
iroml nigadyate
ai-a-madhye iro devyh.
krayec chubhalaksa
|
. nam
.
trtya
. m
. nayanam
. devy
n a-cha-madhyagatam
. priye
na-da-madhyagatam
. jeyam
.
dvidhbhtam
. varnane |
nayanau ca smrte
. devyh.
kramd daksi
. navmage
.
ta-prva
m
nsik
jey
.
.

Vari lectiones noted in Ed are given only

where relevant to proposed emendations.
The sigla of Ed have been retained. Unfortunately the editors state: only those readings
are included which make sense in the Mlin
Gahvara.
82b iro em.; ira Ed , irah
. D, ir
E 82c rnacatu
ska
.
. m
. tu ] em.; ksaracatu.
ska
ska
. m
. Ed unmetrical, ksar?catu
.
. m
. tu
DEGHJK, ksarecatu
ska
.
. m
. F 83d priye ]
ABC; punah. Ed
84c nayane te smr.
te ] em.; nayanau ca smrtau
Ed (nayane
.
FGHJK, smrte
84d vmage ]
. GHJK)
GHK; vmagau Ed , vmago J
85a
prvam
]
C;
prve
Ed

539

Somadeva Vasudeva

108d samli
. s. t
. tu dha-madhyag
109a dha-ta-madhyagata
m
. grhya
.
.
109b dvirabhysapaderitam |
109c thayute dhastd
. da-prve
.
109d bhsa
h. smrtau
. nau
. karnayo
.
.
110a vmadaksi
namrge
na
. .
.
110b yathodbhtau sthitv iha |
110c sa-ca-madhyagatam
. vaktram
.
110d devyy vranyike
111a visarga-khasya madhyastham
.
111b ka-ga-madhyayutam
. punah. |
111c kha-pacimam
. samuddis. ta
. m
.
111d yasya cottaram eva ca
112a gha-ca syt tatrasamstha
m
.
. tu
112b uddhared aksar
chubhn |
.
112c ete paca smrt
. varn
.
112d devy daanakalpan
113a a-prvam
. rasan prokt
113b jha-rdhvena Sarasvat |
113c sa-ta-madhyasthitah. kan. tho
.
113d ma-cha-madhyagatoddharet

85b
85c
85d
86a
86b
86c
86d
87a
87b
87c
87d
88a
88b
88c
88d
89a
89b
89c
89d
90a
90b

108d madhyag ] codd.; madhyagh. N

109a dha-ta-
] em.; ta-ta-
codd.
gr.
.
.
hya N ; gghra ND
109b paderitam ]
codd.; pade nvitam N
109c prve ]
codd.; prvam
. N yute ] em.; yutau N ,
ryutau ND dhastd ] N ; dhast ND
110a daksi
. na
. ] codd.; dasi
. na
. N 110c
vaktram
]
N
N;
cakra
m
D
111a visar
.
.
gakhasya ] N N; visargakha ca D 111c
kha- ] em.; gha- codd.
111d yasya ]
D; paya N
112a tatra ] conj.; tara
codd.
112b aksar
] corr.; aksar
.
. m
. D,
aksar
N

chubhn
]
corr.;
ubhm
codd.

.
112d daanakalpan ] em.; daranakalpane
D, daanakalpaye N 113b jha-rdhvena ]
em.; jha-prvena
. N , ja-prvena
. D 113c
sthitah. ] N ; sthitam
D
113d
ma-cha-.
madhya ] N ; ma- ttha -madhya ND

85b samli
. s. t
. ] DE; sams
. r. s. t
. Ed , sami
. s. t
.
G, sams
. r. s. ta
. m
. J 85b netra ] FG; caiva
Ed 88b yasya cottaram ] conj.; pacimottaram Ed 89c prvam
. ] E; prve Ed ,
prva FG

111a--118d illegible in microfilm of N.

samli
. s. t
. netramadhyag |
dha-ta-madhyagata
m
. grhya
.
.
dvirabhysapaderitam
thayutau dhastd
. da-prvau
.
bhsa
|
. nau
. karnayo
. h. smrtau
.
vmadaksi
namrge
na
. .
.
karnabh
sasthitv
iha
.
.
sa-ca-madhyagatam
. vaktram
.
devyy vranyike |
visargnta-kha-madhyastham
.
ka-ga-madhyagatam
. punah.
kha-pacimam
. samuddis. ta
. m
.
yasya cottaram eva ca |
gha-ca-madhyagatam
. caiva
uddhared aksara
. m
. ubham
ete paca smrt
. varn
.
devy daanakalpan |
a- rasan devy
jha-rdhvena Sarasvat
sa-ta-madhyasthitah. kan. tha
. h.
ma-cha-madhyagatoddharet

540

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

114a
114b
114c
114d
115a

ra-ma-madhyagatas tadvad
aksarau
dvau ubhtmakau |
.
ikharau tu smrtau
bhadre
.
vmadaksi
nagau
ubhau
. .
u-tha-dak
si
dvau tu
. nagau
.
.

115b
115c
115d
116a
116b
116c
116d

bhugau vmadaksi
. nau
. |
ra-u-madhyagatam
caiva
.
dvidhbhtam
prakalpayet
.
karatalau smrtau
devi
.
savysavyam
. vijnatah. |
ja-ma-prvau tathngulyau
vmadaksi
. nag
. h. ubhh.

117a
117b
117c
117d
118a
118b
118c
118d
119a
119b

a-tha-madhyagata
m
. grhya
.
.
vmahaste prakalpayet |
rdhvavaktram
. kaplam
. tu
amrtkhyena
pritam
.
daksi
. ne
. tu kare jeyam
.
ya-dha-madhya
m
tu
da
n. dakam
|
.
.
.
lasya kathitam
. bhadre
uddhrena
samuddh
rtam
.
.
a-cha-madhyagatam
. lam
uttn rdhvavaktragam |

114a ra-ma- ] em.; ra-sa- codd.

115a
u-tha-
] em.; ra-dha- N , taD
.
. tha-
.
116a talau ] em.; talastho codd.
116b
savysavyam
116c
. ] D; savysayva N
ja-ma- ] em.; bha-ma- codd. 117a grhya
]
.
N ; gghra ND 117c rddhvavaktram
. ]
D; rddhvaktram
. N 118c bhadre ] D;
rudre N 119a a-cha- ] N N; a-ccha- D
119b uttn :: a nasalisation - in place of
the correct sandhi -am has been preferred in
order to avoid an incorrect syncopation with
three iambi (---).

90c
90d
91a
91b
91c
91d
92a
92b
92c
92d
93a
93b
93c
93d
94a
94b
94c
94d
95a
95b
95c
95d
96a
96b
96c
96d

ra-ma-madhyagatam
. tad vad
aksarau
tu ubhtmakau
.
ikharau tau smrtau
bhadre
.
vmadaksi
nagau
ubhau
|
. .
-dha-madhyagata
m
. grhya
.
.
dana-madhye
dvityakam
. .
vmadaksi
dvau tu
. nagau
.
bh devyh. surrcite |
ra-u-madhyagatam
. caiva
dvidhbhtam
. prakalpayet
karatalau smrtau
devyh.
.
savysayvau vijnatah. |
ja-ma-prvau tu angulyau
vmadaksi
ubhau
. nagau
.
am-ka-madhye
karapr. s. the
.
.
dvidhbhtam
. prakalpayet |
a-tha-madhyagata
m
. grhya
.
.
vmahaste prakalpayet
rdhvaktrakaplam
. tu
amrtkhyena
pritam |
.
daksi
. ne
. tu kare jeyam
.
ya-dha-madhya
m
tu
da
n. dakam
.
.
.
lasya kathitam
bhadre
.
uddhrena
|
. samuddhrtam
.
a-cha-madhyagatam
. lam
uttnam rddhvavaktragam

92c ra-u ] G; ta. da

. Ed , u-ra K 94d
prakalpayet ] DFGHJK; prapdayet Ed
95d madhyam
. ] DFG; madhye Ed

541

Somadeva Vasudeva

119c
119d
120a
120b
120c
120d
121a

jtavyam
. tu vipacidbhir
yathlaksa
sitam
. nalak
.
.
gha-na-madhyagatam
. hrc
. ca
devyyh. sarvakmikam |
na-sa-madhyagam udaram
.
ca-ja-madhyagatam
. priye
ra-va-sandhigatam
. tadvad

121b
121c
121d
122a
122b
122c
122d
123a
123b

aksarau
dvau stantmakau |
.
jha-prvam
. tu payo jeyam
amrta
m
samudh
rtam
. .
.
ya-sa-madhyagatam
. prna
. m
.
devyy vranyike |
ma-sa-madhyagata
m
. devi
.
tmbjmrttmakam
.
visargasahitam
. rudre
uddhrta
m
mantram
uttamam |
. .

123c
123d
124a
124b
124c
124d

kaskhya
m
. mantrarjnam
.
.
nbhim
. devyh. prakalpayet
bha-a-madhyasmrta
. m
. devi
nitambam
. sakaltmakam |
va-sa-madhyagata
m
. guhyam
.
.
au-pacimasamanvitam

120a gatam
hrc
. ] D; gata N N
.
ca ] codd.; hr. N
120d gatam
. ] em.;
gatah. codd.
121a -sandhi ] N N;
-sandi D
121c jha- ] N ; jha N,
a D
122a ya-sa- ] ND; ya-a- N
123c mantrarjnam
. ] D; tatvarjnam
. N ,
mantrarjnah. N 123d nbhim
. ] N N;
nbhi D
devyh. ] corr.; devy codd.
124a bha-a- ] em.; bha-ya- codd. 124b
sakal ] codd.; sa kal N 124c va-sa-
.
N ; va-a- ND 124d au- ] em.; da- codd.
120c A na-vipul form preceded by a
non-permitted ja-gana
. (-).

97a
97b
97c
97d

jtavyam
. tu vipacidbhir
yathlaksa
sitam
|
. nalak
.
.
gha-na-madhyagatam
. hrc
. ca
devyyh. sarvakmadam

99c
99d
100a
100b
100c
100d
99a
99b
98a
98b
98c
98d
101a
101b
101c
101d
102a
102b
102c
102d

ca-ja-madhyagatam
. grhya
.
ra-va-sandhigatam
tath
.
vmadaksi
dvau tu
. nagau
.
aksarau
tau stantmakau |
.
jha-prve tu payo jeyam
amrta
. m
. samudhrtam
.
ya-sa-madhyagatam
. prna
. m
.
devyy vranyike |
ma-sa-madhyagata
m
. grhya
.
.
tmbjam
ivtmakam
|
.
visargasahitam
. bhadre
uddhrta
m
mantram
uttamam
. .
na-sa-madhyagatam
. grhya
.
udaram uddhrta
m
naghe
|
. .
ka-skhya
m
. mantrarjnam
.
.
nbhim
. devyh. prakalpayet
bha-a-madhyagatam
. devi
nitambam
. sakaltmakam |
va-sa-madhyagata
m
. guhyam
.
.
au-pacimasamanvitam

97c madhyagatam
. hrc
. ca ] em.; madhye tu
hrdaya
m
.
. Ed a na-vipul, madhyagatam
. hr.
dayam
m
. C, madhyam
. tu hrdaya
.
. FG 99c
ca-ja ] EFG; ja-ca Ed 100d samudhr.
tam ] ABD; ca udhrtam
Ed , camudhr.
.
tam C 101c mantra ] FG tattva Ed ,
tamtva
C
.

542

125a
125b
125c
125d
126a
126b
126c
126d
127a
127b
127c
127d
128a
128b
128c
128d

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

rvkram
. bhaved bjam
.
na-tha-madhyagat
naghe
|
.
na-ta-dak
si
bjau
. nagau
.
.
jnukau dvau suobhanau
savysavyagatau jeyau
kramenaiva
ubheksa
.
. ne
. |
ai-o-pacimagau dvau tu
janghe dve vmadaksi
. ne
.
tha-dha-madhyagatam
. devi
n a-sa-madhya
m
. tathaiva ca |
.
dvau bjv uddhrtau
bhadre
.
pdau jeyau vipacite
vmadaksi
proktau
. nagau
.
laksa
nena
vilak
sitau
|
. .
.
evam
. samyagvidhnena
uddhrt
. Mlin priye

125a rvkram
. ] em.; rvkrau codd.
bjam
]
D;
bj
N , bja N 125b na-tha-
.
.
N N; nasa-
D
gat ] em.; gato codd.
. .
125c na-ta-
] em.; ta-tha- codd.
126a
.
savysavyagatau ] D; savymavyagatau N ,
savysavyaganau N
126b ubheksa
. ne
. ]
D; ubhaksa
ne
N
,
ubhek
sa
nau
N
126c

. .
. .
ai-o- ] conj.; ai-tha- N ; ai-sa. ND 127a
tha-dha- N N; sa-dhaD
127b n a-sa-
.
. ]
N ; da-tha-
N,
rsa-
D
127c
bjv
] D;
.
..
bjav N , bjamv
N

bhadre
]
codd.;
omit.
ted N 127d pdau ] codd.; omitted N

103a
103b
103c
103d
104a
104b
104c
104d
105a
105b
105c
105d
106a
106b
106c
106d

rvkram
. bhaved bjam
.
na-tha-madhyagata
m
naghe
|
.
.
na-ta-dak
si
bjau
. nagau
.
.
jnun dve prakalpayet
savysavyagatau jeyau
kramenaiva
ubheksa
.
. ne
. |
tha-dada-daksi
dvau tu
. nagau
.
janghe dve vmadaksi
. ne
.
tha-dha-madhyagatam
. devi
pa-ba-madhyam
. tathaiva ca |
dvau bjau coddhrtau
bhadre
.
pdau jeyau vipacit
vmadaksi
proktau
. nagau
.
laksa
nena
samanvitau
|
. .
evam
. samyagvidhnena
uddhrt
. Mlin priye

104c tha-da-daksi
. na
. ] Ed , ??-pacima
ADFG'HJK 104d janghe dve vmadaksi.
ne
Ed ,
. ] K; janghau dve vmadaksi
. nau
.
daksi
. ne
. FGHJK

543

Somadeva Vasudeva
Triirobhairavatantra > Kubjikmatatantra
1a
1b
1c
1d
2a
2b
2c
2d
3a
3b
3c
3d
4a
4b
4c
4d
5a
5b
5c
5d
6a

Ndin tu ikhgrasth
nakrksarasa
mjit
.
.
r. r. .l .l Nivrttydy
.
mlik irasi sthit
tha iro Grasan dev
dha netre Priyadaran
Guhyaaktir ndasth
nsym
. netramadhyatah.
vypayitv sthit dev
ca trtya
. m
. ca locanam
Cmun. d
. paramen
laltasth
virjate
.
bakro vadanam
. tasy
Vajrin
aktir
avyay
.
kavarge daans tks. n
. h.
Kankat
Klik
iv
.
Ghoraghos
. irvirkhy
kavarge samprakrtit
h.
.
Mydev i jihv tu
a vg vgvar mat
Nryan
. na
. tu
. karnau

T=TalVi 15.121125ab
2a iro grasan ] conj.; irogram
. sat T 2c
ndasth ] em.; nsasth T 2d nsym
. ]
em.; vyptste T 4c varge ] em.; vargo
T 5a irvirkhy ] em.; ivirkhy T (unmetrical)
2c A correct ma-vipul form. The redactor
of the Kubjikmata has emended to akti,
reverting to the more familiar pathy form.
5a irvirkhy :: The emendation is derived
from the variant Chirvirkhy in MS A of the
Kubjikmata. The metre thus shows a correct
ra-vipul.

94a
94b
94c
94d
95a
95b
95c
95d
96a
96b
96c
96d
97a
97b
97c
97d
98a
98b
98c
98d
99a

Ndin tu ikhgrasth
nakrksarasambhav
|
.
r. r. .l .l tu Nivrttydy
.
mlik irasi sthit
tha iro Grasan smrt
.
dha netre Priyadaran |
Guhyaakti ndasth
nsym
. netramadhyatah.
vypayitv sthit dev
ca trtya
. m
. tu locanam |
Cmun. d
. paramen
laltasth
virjate
.
bakram
. vadanam
. tasy
Vajrin
aktir
avyay
|
.
kavarge daans tks. n
. h.
Kankat
Klik
iv
.
Ghoraghos
. irvirkhy
kavarge samprakrtit
h. |
.
Mydev i jihv tu
a vg Vgvar mat
Nryan
. na
. tu
. karnau

Vari lectiones noted in Ed are given

only where relevant to proposed emendations. The sigla and numbering of Ed
have been retained. F and E proved closest to the Triirobhairava. The verse order
of F is superior to that of Ed : 94ab,
95a+vaktramedalasa
msthit,
96ab, 96c+95b,
.
.
95cd, 99ab, 99c+bakre vajrin
. mukhe, 97cd,
98, 99d+kubjike ikhivhin, 103ab, 100ab,
100c+vakrkhyau ubhau tu tau, 101, 102,
103cd, 104cd, resumes.
97a tasy ] C; devy Ed , tena G
98a irvirkhy ] em.; mukhvr Ed ,
mukhvr G, mukhvrkhy D, ca
vrkhy F, chirvirkhy A, chirvarkhy B,
khivarkhy E
98b samprakrtit
h. ] F;
.
daanh. ubhh. Ed , daan ubh AD,
dam
98d vgvar ] A;
. ubhvah E
vgevar Ed

544

6b
6c
6d
7a
7b
7c
7d
8a
8b
8c
8d
9a
9b
9c
9d
10a
10b
10c
10d
11a
11b
11c

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

tayor u ca bhsa
. nam
.
Mohan ca tath Praj
va kan. tha
. m
. ikhivhan
Lm Vinyikdev
da
bhudvayam
. vibhoh.
. dhau
.
Prnim
hastadeasth
.
thakrkhy
vibhor mat
.
Jhankr Kundan caiva
jhav angulayah. kramt
Kplin vmakare
takra
h. pramevari
.
Dpan ladan. da
. ca
rephah. samyag udhrta
. h.
ja Jayant bhavec chlam
.
devadevy mahevari
Bhsa
. n
. Vyuveg ca
skandhayor ubhayor bhayau
Pvan tu pa hrllagn
.
udaram
sa
ca
Lambik
. .
Samhrik
ksakro
'yam
.
.
.
nbhau devys tu bhairavi
Chagal Ptan caiva

6d
kan. tha
T
8d
. m
. ] em.; kan. tha
.
pramevari ] em.; pramevar T 11b devys ] em.; devas T 11c caiva ] em.; ceti
T
8c vmakare :: a correct bhavipul.

99b
99c
99d
100a
100b
100c
100d
101a
101b
101c
101d
102a
102b
102c
102d
103a
103b
103c
103d
104a
104b
104c

tayor u- ca bhsa
|
. nam
.
Mohan ca tath Praj
va kan. tha
. m
. ikhivhin
Lm Vinyakdev
dabhudvayam
. matam |
. dhau
.
Prnim
hastadeasth
.
thakrkhy
vibhor mat
.
Jhankar Kundan caiva
jha-v angulayah. kramt |
Kaplin vmakare
takra
h. paramevari
.
Dpan ladan. da
. m
. ca
rephah. samyag udhrta
. h. |
Jayant ja bhavec chlam
evam
. dev virjate
Bhsa
. n
. Vyuveg ca
skandhayor ubhayor bha-yau |
Pvan tu pa hrllagn
.
udaram
sa
ca
Lambik
. .
Samhrk
ksakro
yam
.
.
.
nbhir devy ca bhairavi |
Chagal Ptan caiva

99b u- ca bhsa
] em.; bhsa
. nam
.
. nam
.
-parau Ed , u-[?] BC, u--bhsitau
.
E, bhsa
parau G, bhsa
patau
. nam
.
. nam
.
F, bhsa
nam
k
sagau
H
99d
ka
n
tha
. .
.
.. m
. ]
E; kan. the
Ed
,
ka
n
tha
ABDGHK,
ka
n

.
..
. ta
.
C 100c prnim
]
FGJ;
paur
nim
Ed
,
.
.
paurnam
D 100d khy mat ] em.;
.
khyam
. matam Ed , khy matam
E, khy matah. AB, khye matam
E
101a kundan ] em.; kurdan Ed ,
krurdan K, kandan E
101b jha-v ]
em.; na-jhv Ed , jha-a A, jha- B,
jha-a E, jha-nau
J, jha-nyau
K
103a
.
.
bhsa
n
]
D
E
;
bh
sa
n
Ed
,
bh
sa

. .
. .
. na
. m
.
E 103b bha-yau ] em.; api Ed 103d
udaram
. sa
. ca lambik ] F (misreading sacca
.
?); sodara
m
.
. lambik sthit Ed 104b F
reads nbhau devy vyavasthit

545

Somadeva Vasudeva

11d
12a
12b
12c
12d
13a
13b
13c
13d
14a
14b
14c
14d
15a
15b
15c
15d
16a
16b

stanau chalau prakrtitau

motar
. tadgatam
. tu
ksram
parikrtitam
.
paramtm sakro 'yam
.
ha prna
h
aktir
Ambik
. .
Icchaktir visargkhy
vypya prntma
ni
.
. sthit
ma nitambam
. Mahkl
a guhyam
Kusumyudh
.
ukrdev bhavec chukram
anusvras tu bhairavi
Tr takra rusth
e ai JnaKriye ubhe
jnun samsthite
devi
.
bhairavys tu mahtmanah.
Gyatr caiva Svitr
o au janghe prakrtite
Dahan daksapdasth
.
vme Phetkrik daphau

motar
. ] em.; motar
. T
em.; bhairav T

14b bhairavi ]

11d Incorrect syncopation in three iambi

(---). motar
. tadgatam
. tu :: A correct
ra-vipul which has again been emended to a
pathy form by the redactor of the Kubjikmata.

104d
105a
105b
105c
105d
106a
106b
106c
106d
107a
107b
107c
107d
108a
108b
108c
108d
109b
109b

cha-lau prakrtitau
mot
. tadgatam
. ksra
. m
.
kram
. parikrtitam |
Paramtm sakro yam
.
ha prna
h
aktir
Ambik
. .
Icchaktir visargkhy
vypya prntmani
sthit |
.
ma nitambam
. Mahkl
a guhyam
Kusumyudh
.
ukrdev bhavec cukram
anusvras tu bhairavi |
Tr takram rusth
e-ai JnaKriye ubhe
jnun samsthite
devi
.
bhairavy ca mahtmanah. |
Gyatr caiva Svitr
au-o janghe prakrtite
Dahan daksapdasth
.
vme Phetkrik da-phau |

104d prakrtitau ] EHJK; paristhitau Ed ,

paristhite G, vyavasthitau C 105b kram
. ]
E; varna
h
Ed
,
var
na
ABH,
avar
na

. .
.
. D,
varna
m
J,lacuna
kara
F
105d
pr
na
. .
. h. ]
FJK; prne
Ed
,
pr
na
CDE,
pr
n
h

.
.
. . H
106b prntmani
sthit
]
E;
bhvena
sam.
.
sthit Ed , vyptibht vyavasthit F 107a
bhavec chukram ] F; tv anusvram
. Ed , tv
anusvra AB, snusvram
HJK,
ty
anusvra
m
.
.
E
107b anusvras tu ] em.; ukram
de.
vys tu Ed , satusyanau
F 107d jna ]
.
ABEF; jn Ed , jn D, jnu HK
107d kriye ] EF; kriyau Ed , dvaye HK
107d ubhe ] K; ubhau Ed , ute F 108a
samsthite
] A; samsthitau
Ed , samsthito
.
.
.
F,samsthit
EGHJK,
sa
msisthit
C 108d
.
.
janghe ] FGJK; janghau Ed 108d prakrtite ] AG; prakrtitau Ed , prakrtith. C,
prakrtit FHK 109b da-phau ] em.; mat
Ed , smrt
. E, ubh HJK, pha ca vosag F
107d Reading as short for Jnaakti and
Kriyakti rather than Jn/ and Kriy.

546

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

Kularatnoddyota
atordhvam
. mlinm
. brmi sngopngasamanvitm ||80||
samastavyastayogena varnarir
varnane |
.
ndiphntakrameneha
yath bhavati tac chr. nu
.
. ||81||
prvokt vypak varn
mytattvasamanvit
h. |
.
mlinhrdaya
m
m
.
. nthe ktabjayuta
.
. bhavet ||82||
uttardharanirmuktam
. vyutattvavivarjitam |
prnk
sarasamutpanna
m
. .
. tad eva bhavate priye ||83||
nakras tu ikhsthnn Ndinaktisamyuta
h. |
.
iraso Grasan varnam
abhn mama varnane ||84||
.
r. NivrttiPrati
s
th
r
l
Vidy
nti .l smrta

.
.. . .
. h. |
iroml samutpannam etac chakticatus. tayam
||85||
.
dhadhaca netrodbhavau jeyau samavarnau
kulevari
|
.
kals tatra im prokt Cmun. d
. Priyadaran ||86||
Guhyaaktir i-varnasth
prnandodbhav
mama |
.
.
Vajrin
bk
sara
m
vaktrn
My

lalanodbhav
||87||
.
. .
a vg vcahsamutpann
Vgevary samanvitah. |
.
kdighnt ca ye varns
. te priye daanodbhavh. ||88||
Kankat
. Klik caiva ivghor ca Chirvvar |
upari proktavarnai
h. ||89||
. ca yukt me dvijasambhav
.
Nryan
navar
nena
sa
myukt
rava
nntart
|
. .
.
.
.
u Mohani Praj ca karnabh
sa
nasa
h. ||90||
.
. . mbhav
.
va-varnaka
n
thaja
m
viddhi
ikhivhanisa
myutam
|
.
..
.
.

=
Codices collated: N =MS. NGMPP Reel no. A 206
10 ; N MS. Chandra Shum Shere c.348
80c atordhvam
]
em.;
atordhva
N
;
atorddha
m
N
80c mlinm

.
.
. ] corr.; mlin

codd.
80d sngopnga ] N ; smgopga
N
81b
var
narir
]
corr.; varna
.
.
. r
ir N , varnari
N
82a
prvokt
]
N
;
prvoktd
N
82b
samanvit
h. ]

N ; samanvitam
h
N
83a
uttardhara
]
N
;
unnardhara
N
83c

. .

ksarasamutpanna
m
83d bhavate ] em.; bhava ta
.
. ] N ; ccharasame-petm N
N , bhate N 84a nakras tu ikh ] N ; nakrasthaikh N 84b samyuta
h. ]
.
N ; samyutam
N
84c
irastho
]
em.;
iraso
codd.
84d
abhn
]
N
;
abht
N

85a nivrtti
] N ; nivrrtti
N 85c ml ] N ; ml N dhadhaca ] codd.;
.
.
(unmetrical) 86a netro ] N ; netrau N 86a dbhavau ] N ; bhavau N 87a
aktir ] corr.; akti ] N , aktih. N 87a i-varnasth
] N ; varnasth
N 87b n.
.
dodbhav ] N ; n dod bhav N 87c vaktrn ] N ; vaktr N 88avcah
. ]
em.; kcah. N , kcah. N 88a samutpann ] N ; samutpanno N 88d te ] N ;
[[ste priye varn]]
. te N 89a kankat
. ] N ; kukkut
. N 89b ca chirvvar ] corr.; vacchirvvar N , cacchirvvar N 89d dvijasambhav
h
.
. ] N ; dvijam udbhavh. N 90b
ntart ] N ; mcart
N
91a
va
]
N
;
ca
N
m
m

91a kan. thaja

.
.
. ] N ; kamcaja
.
.

Somadeva Vasudeva

547

da-d-r
LmVinyakyutau ||91||
.
. nabhuyugal
Paurnim
varnasa
utpann tha
.
. myukt
.
. karadvayt |
jha-au ca karakh dvau Jhamkr
rddhvakurdan ||92||
.
ladan. d
|
. ra Dpany Jayant jrnasa
. mbhav
.
daksap
. nau
. samutpann yudhrtham
. varnane ||93||
Kaplin ta-sa
myukt
vmahastodbhav
priye |
.
.
Bhsa
||94||
. n
. Vyuveg ca bhayrnau
. skandhagau smrtau
.
Ptan charnalr
nena
Chagalan. d
.
.
. stanadvayt |
mod payomadhyt par stmvinirgat ||95||
Ambik hetitah. prnd
h. |
. visargah. prnaaktija
.
Pvan prnah
rdayl
La
mbik
sodarn
mama
||96||
. .
.
.
manisthnodbhav
bhdre Samhr
ksk
|
.
.
.
. sarnvit
nitambn ma Mahkl a guhyt Kusumyudh ||97||
am. Bhairavti ukrasth Trak trna
. rukt |
Jn e ai Kriyopete utpannau jnuman. dalt
||98||
.
o au Gyatr Svitr janghbhym
sa
mbhavau
mama |
.
.
Dahan dmghridak
sasth
pha Phetkr ca vmatah. ||99||
.
.
sambht
parameni jtavy rkulevari |
.
etad yogigana
||100|
. m
. sarvam
. varnamlsamanvitam
.
mantravidysamhasya padanispattikra
nam
|
.
.
91d vinyak ] em.;vainyak N , venyak N 92b tha
. ] em.; ca codd. 92d rddhvakurdan ] N ; rddhakurdan N 93a ra ] N ; na N 93b jrna
. ] N ;
ksr
N
. na
. N 93d yudhrtham
. ] N ; yudhdhva N 94a ta
. ] N ; tha
.
94b priye ] N ; [[smr]]priye
N 94d skandhagau smrtau
] conj.; skandhagonvitau N ,
.
.
skandhato smrtau
N 95a charnalr
nena
] N ; cchan. dalr
nena
N 95c mod ]
.
.
.
.
.
N ; modh N
95c ] em.; ca codd. 95d parstm ] N ; parsnm N
96a prnd
. ] N ; prnn
. N 96b visargah. ] N ; vi[[ni]]sargah. N 96b prna
. ]
N ; prna[[pr]]
N 96c Pvan ] conj.; prnavat
codd.hypermetrical 96c hrdayl
]
.
.
.
N ; hrdayt
N 96d lambik
sodarn
] em.; lambikyodarn
N , rambikmodarn
.
.
.
.
.
N 97a bhdre ] N ; bhdra N 97b samhr
] N ; sam[[jahe]]hr
N 97b
.
.
ksk
] N ; ksak
N 97c ma ] N ; me N 97c mahkl ] N ;
. sarnvit
.
. sarnvit
.
mahl N 97d a ] N ; sa N 97d guhyt ] N ; guhy N 98a ukrasth ] em.;
gukrasth N , guhyasth N 98b trak ] N ; tlak N 98b trna
. rukt ] N ;
bhrnajabhakt
N 98c Jn ] em.; Jna codd. 98c kriyopetau ] em.; kriyopete N ,
.
kriypete ] N 98d utpannau ] em.; utpanne codd. 98d jnu ] N ; jtu N 99a
gyatr ] N ; gyatri N 99b janghbhym
]
. ] em.; janghsym
. N 99b sambhavau
.
em.; sambhavn
codd. 99c dmghridak
sasth
] em.; dghridaksasth
N , dmhridak
sasth
.
.
.
.
.
.
N 100a sambht
] N ; sambht
h. N 100b jtavy ] N ; jtavyh. N
.
.
100d varna
] N ; nispanti
N
. ] N ; svarna
. N 101b nispatti
.
.

548

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

rmatottara
aim. hrm. phrem. hsaum. h. na ndin ikhaye namah. ||
aim. r. nivrttyai
namah. ||
.
aim. r. pratis.thyai
namah. ||
.
aim. .l vidyyai namah. || 20||
aim. .l ntyai namah. ||
evam
. iromlm
. kramam
. nyaset ||
aim. tha grasanih. irase namah. ||
aim. cmun. d
namah. || 21||
. trtyanetrya
.
aim. dha priyadaran netrbhym. namah. ||
aim. guhyaaktir nsputebhyo
namah. ||
.
aim. na
m. namah. ||
. nryan
. karnbhy
.
aim. u mohan daksi
nakar
nabh
sa
. .
.
. ne
. namah. || 22||
aim. praj vmakarnabh
sa
.
. ne
. namah. ||
aim. va vajrin
. vaktraman. dale
. namah. ||
aim. ka kankat
rddhvada
m. s.tre
.
. namah. ||
aim. kha klikyai adhodantapanktau namah. || 23||
aim. ga ivyai rddhvadantapanktau namah. ||
aim. gha ghoreghosyai
adhodantapanktau namah. ||
.
aim. n a ghovr ghan. tiksthne
namah. ||
.
aim. mydev jihvgre namah. || 24||
aim. a vgevar vce namah. ||
aim. va ikhivhin kan. the
. namah. ||
aim bha bhsa
namah. ||
. n
. daksi
. naskandhe
.
aim. ya vyuvegyai vmaskandhe namah. || 25||
aim. da
namah. ||
. lmdev daksi
. nabhau
.
aim. dha
. vinyak vmabhau namah. ||
aim. tha
karatalamadhye namah. ||
. prnim
.
Codex used for this section of patala
. 22: N=NGMPP reel no. A

194
3 ,

Fv 1203 Fr 1213

20c r. ] em.; r. N 21a ntyai ] corr.; sntyyai N 21b iromlm

. ] em.; iroml N 21c
grasanih. ] em.; grasani N 21d netrya ] em.; netra N 22b ] em.; i N 22b aktir ]
em.; akti N 22c na
. ] em.; la N 22d bhsa
. ne
. ] corr.; bhsan
. N 23a bhsa
. ne
. ] corr.;
bhsa
. n
. N 23b vaktra ] em.; cakra N ka ] em.; kam
. N 23c kankat
. ] em.; katha
. ne
.
N 23c rddhvadam
. s. tre
. ] em.; rddhs. tre
. N 23d adhodantapanktau ] conj.; adhone N
24a panktau ] em.; yaktau N 24b panktau ] em.; paktau N 24c n a ] em.; n am N 24c
ghovr ] corr.; ghovra N 24d ] em.; i N 25a vgevar vce ] conj; vc vgevar N
26c madhye ] em.; hrye
. N

Somadeva Vasudeva

549

aim. jha jhamkri

n
ngulnakhesu
.
. daksi
. nakar
.
. namah. || 26||
aim. a kurddhan vmakarngulnakhesu
. namah. ||
aim. ah. icchaktih. karapr. s.thbhy
m
nama
h. ||
.
.
aim. ta
nite
. kaplin vmakare kapla amrtaghr
.
. namah. ||27||
aim. ra dpan daksi
ladan. da
. natarjan
.
. m. namah. ||
aim. ja jayant trilorddhvam. namah. ||
aim pa pven hrdaye
namah. ||
.
aim sa paramtmaakti jvam. namah. ||28||
aim. ham. ambik prne
. namah. ||
aim. cha chagalan. d
namah. ||
. daksi
. nastane
.
aim. la ptan vmastane namah. ||
aim. mod stanamonah. ksre
. namah. ||29||
aim. sa
. lambikyai udare namah. ||
aim. ksa
n
. samdyri
.
. nbhau namah. ||
aim. ma mahkli nitambe namah. ||
aim am. kusumyudh guhye namah. ||30||
aim. am. ukradev ukre namah. ||
aim. tam. tr rubhym. namah. ||
aim. e jnin daksi
namah. ||
. najnuni
.
aim. ai kriyyai vmajnuni namah. ||31||
aim. o gyatr daksi
. naja
. nghym. namah. ||
aim. au svitr vmajanghym. namah. ||
aim. da dahan daksi
namah. ||
. napde
.
aim pha phetkrin
vmapde
namah. || 32||
.

26d jha ] em.; r. N jhamkri

n
ni
.
. ] corr.; jhamkri
.
. N 27c aktih. ] corr.; akti N 27d
amrtaghr
nite
m
.
. ] em.; amrtaghmita
.
. ghrnita
. m
. N orddhvam
. ] em.; rddham
. N 30d
am
. ] em.; am
. N 30d guhye ] em.; guhya N 31c e ] em.; pa N 32d pha ] em.; phem
.
N

550

Mlanges tantriques la mmoire dHlne Brunner

M S
Agnikryapaddhati [.] Gttingen, Cod. Ms. Mu. , ; [.] Paris Sanscrit .
Aghoranirnaya
see Pramevarmata [3.].
.
Kularatnoddyotatantra [.] /, ff. , paper, Nevr script, copied in
, colophon: iti r dinthavinirgate pacatkotivistr
ne
.
. rKubjikmate Kularatnoddyote praygdicakrapjpratis.tnnkarmakara
nakarmrambhy.
.
crybhisekayoginm
nt[y]es.tividhno
nma caturdaah. patala
.
.
. h. ||; [.] Bodl.
Chandra Shum Shere C. ; [.] -, /, ff. , paper,
Nevr, colophon: iti r didevt pacatkotivistr
nd
.
. vinirgate rkularatnoddyote rkulasantna distranirnayo
nma
dvdaa
h
.
. patala
. h. ||; [.] -,
/, ff. , palmleaf, first lines of ff. damaged; [.] /, ff.
, paper; [.] /, ff. , paper; [.] -, /,
ff. , paper, Devangar.
Tantrasadbhvatantra [.] -, /, ff. , palmleaf, Kutila
. script;
[.] /, palmleaf, Kutila
script,
copied
in

;
[.]

.
/, ff. , a transcript of [.].
Timirodghtana
-, /, late Licchavi or early Kutila
. script on palm.
leaf.
Nitydisangrahbhidhnapaddhati of Taksakavarta,
Bodl. Stein Or.d., paper, .
rad script.
Pramevarmata [.] , /, ff. , palmleaf, Kutila,
ca. th
.
century ; [.] , /, ff. , palmleaf, Kutila
script,
illus.
trated cover, the final chapter of this has been catalogued seperately as [.]
Aghoranirnaya
, /, ff. , palmleaf, Kutila
. script, final
.
cipher of date illegible: the range of dating is thus , final colophon:
iti rPramevarmate navakotisa
m. caturtisahasre aghoranirnaya
catv. mhity
.
.
rimatima
h
pa
tala
h
.
. . .
Matasra -, /, ff. , palmleaf.
rmatottaratantra [.] /, ff. , palmleaf, Pla script, colophon on fol.
r : iti rmatottare rkan. thanthvatrite
candradvpavinirgate yoginguhye i.
rodtinirnayasdhana
m
nma
daama
h
pa
tala
.
.
. . h. || ||; [.] -,
/, ff. , palmleaf, Devangar, Begins with fol. r , colophon on fol. v :
iti rmatottare rrkan. thanthvatrite
candradvpavinirgate rkullik dye m.
t[r]
n
m
prati
s
thlak
sa
nanir
nayo
caturtha
h. patala
. . .
..
. .
.
. h. || ||, change of hand at fol.
; [.] /, colophon title: rmatottaracandradvpavinirgatarkan. thanthvatrite
Vidypthe
.
. Yoginguhye; - /, /, ff. ,
palmleaf, Devangar.