The Swacchanda-tantra, with commentary by Kshemaraja. Edited with notes by Pandit Madhusudan Kaul Shastri

THE KASHMIR SERIES

OF

TEXTS AND STUDIES.

f tfcxte jmrt £ tudiw.

No. XXXI.

THE

SWACCHANDA=TANTRA

WITH COMMENTARY

BY

KSHEMARAJA.

EDITED WITH NOTES
BY

f>ANDlT MADHUSUDAN KAUL SHASTRl, M. A., M. o. L.,

Superintendent Research Department,

JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE,
SRINAGAR.

Published under the Authority of the Government of

His Highness Lieut.-General Maharaja
Sir PRATAP SINGH SAHIB BAHADUR,

0. C. S. I., G. C. I. E.,

MAHARAJA OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE.

BOMBAY t

AT THE 'NlKNAYA-SAGAR1 PRESS.
1921.

869005

II R II

3*

( All rights reserved ).

Printed by Ramchandra Yesu Shcrlge, at the * Nirnaya-sagar' Press
23, Kolbhat Lane, Bombay.

Published by Pandit Madhusudan Kaul Shastrl,M. A.,M. o. L,,

for the Research Department,
Jammu and Kashmir State, SRINAGAR.

1
SRI»S\VACCHANDA*TANTRAM,

PREFACE,

The present edition of the Swacchanda-Tantram1
\vith the " Uddyota " is based on collation of the
following manuscripts: —

A.— Belongs to Pandita Raja Ram S'astri, late
Principal of the Rajakiya Pathas'ala, Srinagar. The
Ms. is an old one and written out on old Kashmiri
paper in S'arada character. It is generally correct.
A copy of the same by Pandita Sridhara Gadaroo, who
formerly worked in this office, lies in the Library of
this Department.

B. — This was written out by Rajanaka Ratna-
kantha in 1608 Anno S'aka as is manifest from the
colophon2 of the first Patala. It is very old and
belongs to Pandita Kantha Kaula Sahib of Purushayar,
Srinagar, Kashmir. Character, old S'arada. Paper,

1. The Honourable Sir John Woodroffe of the
Calcutta High Court was found by my predecessor to use
the edition of this book prepared by this Department, and
Pandita Kara Bhatta, a Pandita of this Department, was
suspected to have given him assistance by way of supplying
him with the edited text of this Department. But the
Home Minister, Jammu and Kashmir State, after institut-
ing full enquiries in the matter, dropped it for reasons on
record in this office.

2. The colophon runs thus — ( f^fic^t ^T *<?TJFi'3^T I
TO^rflM ?&!% ( 5^°<: ) <5TFto *M ^, *'. e ; 4762) i. e. « Has
been copied by me Ratna Kantha in 1608 S'aka year,
corresponding to the Laukika year 4762."

II PREFACE.

Kashmiri. Leaves, worm-eaten and repaired here and
there. The Ms. is bound in leather and carefully
preserved. Slips of pen are occasionally met with
herein.

C. — This Ms. belongs to Pandita Lasa Dutta of
Srinagar. It is written out on Kashmiri paper in
S'arada character. It does not seem to be very
old and there are some mistakes sparsely found in
the book.

In preparing this Tantram for the press the Pandits
of this Department have, as usual, contributed their
mite to make the edition really useful and interesting
by their learned labour and scholarly help for the
Sanskrit knowing public, especially for those who are
keenly interested in the Tantrik lore. For this they
deserve my heartfelt thanks. The English staff too
has similarly won my thanks as it has in every way
facilitated the preparation of the book for the Press.

MADHUSUOAN HAUL.

SRNSWACCHANDA--TANTRAM,
INTRODUCTION.

Introductory.

The Swacchanda-Tantram is one of the leading
Tantras of the Dakshina-chara as it panegyrises and
initiates into the secret worship of Ayhora, the Right
mouth of the Swacdianda-Lhairava.1 Unlike Mrgendra
& Matanga, Tantras of the Dakshindchdra where the
doctrines discussed are understood to represent the
dualistic school of philosophy, the Swacchanda-Tantra
adheres to the purely monistic side or the Adwaita
System of the Saiva Philosophy and is considered to be
one of the best authorities on the Saivaistic Initiation
or Siva Dikshd, its cheif theme being meditation
( Updsand ) and ritual ( Kriyd ). The very name2 of the
book indicates its inborn tendency towards the pure
monism which, to distinguish it from other systems of
philosophy, may safely be designated as the Trika
system of Kashmir.

1 Swacchanda-Bhairava ia represented as having the
five faces Is'dna, Tatpurusha, Sadyojdta, Vdmadeva, &
Aghora, (respectively representing, in name, U'rdhva Vaktra,
Purva Vaktra, Pas'chimo, Fakira, Dakshiya Vaktra, & Vdma
Vaktra) which are the symbols of His fivefold glory i. e.
Chit, A'nanda, Icchd, Jndna & Kriyd. The same divine
faces are said to be the five respective sources of Urdhvd-
mndya, Ptirvdmndya, Pas'chimdmndya, Dakshindmqdya &
Vdmdmndya,

2 Swacchanda is synonymous with Swatantra or one
possessed of Swdtantrya or Free Will, the keynote of the
Kashmir S'aivaisra,

2

IV INTRODUCTION,

Trika System.

The Trika System of Kashmir seems to be very old
and only a few vestiges reminiscent of its predominant
influence in the past are found lingering in some of the
families in Kashmir. ( Cf. The family of the Tikkoos.
The term Tikkoo is an Apabhrams'a of TriJea ). This
system has been peculiarised by its native tendency to
discuss doctrines and practices in the light of pure
monism and consequently to emphasise the difference
in its outlook from those of other philosophical
systems which teach ttoe^eternal Saiva faith in the
aspects of Bheda ( diversity ) and Bheddbheda ( diversity-
in-unity ).

Divine Authorship of theTantra.

Just like other Tantras, Swacchanda Tantra is
regarded as an Agama S'dstra and, hence, of superhu-
man authorship. It takes the form of a dialogue
between Devi & Bhairava, Perusal of a few intro-
ductory verses leads us to understand that the present
Tantra is an abstract of the original Swacchanda Tantra
which is said to have been a very voluminous Tantra1
consisting of a hundred crore of verses and consequently
baffling the power of study by men particularly in the
Iron Age wherein shortlivedness, penury, and mental
and moral lassitude prevail,

Commentary.

The only commentary now available on the
Swacchand-Tantram is known by the name of

INTRODUCTION. V

"Uddyota". That there were several commentaries
on the Tantram in question before is evidenced by a
few allusions confronted with here and there in the
volume of the book. The first reference that we come
across on page 4, Patala II of the Smicchanda Tantra,
viz., ( ^ T%^*farftn£fTn: etc. etc.), clearly convinces
us about the existence of another commentary on the
Tantra without any mention either of its name or the
author. Further on, we find the second reference

etc., leaf 119, Ms. B,

Pat. X.) which, in plain terms, gives us the name of
one of the commentaries anterior to the " Uddyota"
as Vrhat Tikd, at the same time making us acquainted
with the author's own name, mz.} Bhullaka Edjdnaka.
Xo definite information can be had about this author
of Vrhattika. The same uncertainty is felt about his
compositions also. The method of interpretation is
far different from that of the Uddyota. Several in-
dications induce us to believe that profane meanings
were given to the hallowed sentences by the followers
of the dualistic systems of S'aiva Philosophy, ( Cf. the
references on pages 75 and 72 of the II Patala). Other
commentaries, to all intents and purposes, seem to
have run on the dualistic lines though there is no
explicit confession made by Kshemaraja thereabout.
The commentaries most probably did exist during his
time, but neither of them is to be had at present.

The Author of the Uddyota.

The author of the commentary, the Uddyota, is
Kshemaraja as is evident from the fifth verse
in the beginning of the commentary, which is

. The commentary

explains the moot points in the Tantra in the light of
pure monism, which endeavour on the part of the
author is, it is believed, first of its kind and is indica-
tive of the fact that some of the pre-S'iva-Sutra-Tantras

VI INTRODUCTION;

were commented upon on the lines of dualism — nay
pluralism, the corroboration whereof is made by a triad
of verses at the end of the commentary (Uddyota),
which runs as under: —

I.

n
ii.

ill.

I. "The venerable Swacchand-Tantra does not
brook the dualistic interpretation. Its very name has
shattered to pieces such a notion, viz., the theory of
dualism; for any such theory is opposed to the
doctrine of "Free-Will".

II. People, under the inebriation due to constant
imbibing of the dualistic view, do fail to perceive the
Reality in the nature of the free and pure Chit.

III. It is, therefore, that the commentary called
Uddyota (lit. blaze of light), surcharged, as it is, with
the ambrosia of pure monism, is here undertaken to
remove the dark notions that hang about as a result of
the dualistic interpretations handed down to us.

Kshemaraja's Parentage.

A veil of mystery hangs over the parentage of
Kshemardja. From the verses1 at the end of the

I

H (Stav. oh P. 130
Scries X.)

1XTUODUCTIOX, VII

Vivrti on Stawachintdmani ( Xo. X of the series of
this Department), it is manifest that he lived at the
Vijaycs'wara, the modern Bijbiftdra ( in Kashmiri
Vyajibror ), a town about thirty miles off Srinagar on the
eastern side, where he, being once requested, or rather
encouraged by one S'tirdditya, son of one Gundditya,
commented upon Ndrdyana Bhatta's Stawachintdmani.
No mention of Silrdditya alluded to above has been
made in the Kashmir Rdjatarangini, which fact
suggests that he had, presumably, done little or no-
thing to attract the notice of the historian Kalhana and
to place himself far above the masses.

Date of Kshemaraja.

One has not to exercise his brain very much in
grappling with the problem of the time of Kshemaraja,
as it will be at once got at by catching hold of the fact
that he feels proud to share the honour of pupilage to
Mahamaheswaracharya Abhinava Gupta, who, as ad-
mitted on all hands, lived either in the latter half of
the Xth or in the early part of the Xlth century A. D.

Kshemaraja's Style of Commenting.

Kshemaraja's style of commenting is modelled
upon that of Abhinava Gupta, the voluminous writer
on the Adwaita S'aiua Philosophy. It is philological,
vigorous, generally pithy but to the point. Occasion-
ally, the author does full justice to the text with due
attention to the economy of words pregnant enough
to express his deep erudition in the field of Adwaita
S'aivaism of Kashmir.

Works by the Author.

The chief existing works of Kshemaraja are: —
( i ) Vimars'ini on the'S'iva Sutras.
( 2 ) Vivrti on Stavachintamaui.
(3) Utpalastotravali Tika.

VIII INTRODUCTION

(4) Parapraves'ika.

( 5 ) Swacchandoddyota.

( 6 ) Vijfianabhairavoddyota.

(7) Netra-Uddyota.

( 8 ) Pratyabhijna Hrdaya.

( 9 ) Spanda Nirnaya.
( 10 ) Spanda Sandoha.
( 1 1 ) Dwanyaloka-lochanoddyota.
(12) Tika on Samba-paiichas'ika.

Another work namely Tattwa sandoha viz., ( Shat-
Trimsattattwa sandoha) has been ascribed to Kshemardja
by Mr. J. C. Chatterji (see his Kashmir 'Saivaism-
Page 35) which seems to be open to objection, as
several quotations from the Dipika (Comm. on Yogini
Hrdaya by Amitananda Natha, pupil to Punya-nanda
Natha ) on Yogini Hrdaya, clearly entitle Amitananda
Natha to the authorship of the book in question.

Arrangement Observed in the
Swachhandatantram.

The Tantram consists of fifteen Patalas or
chapters. No sense of harmony seems to have ad-
equately been used in the arrangement of the chapters
as some of them are imp roportionally lengthy while
the others are very small. The names of the Patalas
are given below, each one of them indicating the sub-
ject it deals with: —

(1) *T*?teTC: I

(2) ar^frffrc:!
(3)

(6)
(7)
(8)

INTRODUCTION, IX

(11)

(12) vTK1Tf^*J TORT

(15)

Conclusion,

In fine, the Swacchanda-Tantram is one of the
best Mantra S'astras. The dogmatic formulas discussed
therein can be apprehended only with the aid of the
best S'aiva Teachers of the Valley. What with its
fascinating treatment of the Ritual or S'aivaistic Ini-
tiation, what with its description of charms and the
Mantra S'akti, and lastly, what with its dealings with
the occult and wondrous powers of the Yoga,
Swacchanda-Tantra ranks high among other Tantras
as it chiefly aims at the realization of the Adwaita
Tattwa or the height of spirituality which is but an
unalloyed bliss.

3rd NmT^o.} MADHUSUDAN KAUL.

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