Essay name: Svacchandatantra (history and structure)
Author: William James Arraj
The essay represents a study and partial English translation of the Svacchandatantra and its commentary, 鈥淯ddyota鈥�, by Kshemaraja. The text, attributed to the deity Svacchanda-bhairava, has various names and demonstrates a complex history of transmission through diverse manuscript traditions in North India, Nepal, and beyond.
Page 138 of: Svacchandatantra (history and structure)
138 (of 511)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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132
After presenting the limbs of the niskala- Svacchanda岣�, the
text describes (pp. 61-62) the formula of the consort of
Svacchanda岣�, Aghore艣vari, united to him as his main power and
surrounded by her own retinue of limbs and faces. Notably,
Svacchandatantram does not specify whether she is connected with
sakala- or niskala- Svacchandah. Though K峁mar膩ja岣� partially
resolves the ambiguity in favor of the niskala form, probably, she
and her subsequent retinue is connected simply with Svacchanda岣�.
No rituals found elsewhere in Svacchandatantram explicitly use the
formula of this goddess, either alone or in conjunction with that of
Svacchanda-bhairava岣�. External iconographic evidence, however,
confirms the depiction of the Svacchanda-bhairava岣� in union with
the goddess; perhaps, then, devotees employed the formul忙
recorded here, in rituals of worship not covered by the text of
Svacchandatantram. 1 Similarly, devotees might have employed, in
rites additional to those included here, the following (pp. 63-67)
formul忙 of the eight subsidiary bhairav膩岣�, who form the most
important traditional retinue of Bhairava岣�.2
After these formul忙 of the subsidiary bhairav膩岣�, the first
book concludes with the formul忙 of the world guardians, who
form the final outside retinue of Svacchanda岣�. The presentation of
their formul忙, accompanied by embedded ritual instructions, once
again, suggests a source different from that of the preceding eight
bhairav膩岣�. In his own fashion, K峁mar膩ja岣� recognizes a possible
discrepancy in the inclusion of the world guardians because
elsewhere he acknowledges that the eight bhairav膩岣� constitute the
normal final limit of the retinue of Bhairava岣�. He explains this by
noting that the master does not extract or activate the formul忙 of
matches their presentation in book 1, the text in book 9 does not
restate their formul忙 again and thus assumes the presentation of
these formul忙 in book 1.
1 V. supra section 1.1.1 about the probable origin of the text.
2 V. supra section 1.1.3 about the K膩p膩lika stratum.
