365bet娱乐

91
intent on collecting, reorganizing, and harmonizing rituals
described in many scriptures. 1
Besides their sectarian motivation, to some extent, the
compiling of these collections, as of Tantr膩loka岣�, must have
occurred in response to the weakening if not dying out of the
circles responsible for the transmission of the traditions represented
in individual scriptures. In later periods, these handbooks
completely supplanted use of the actual scriptures. And
contemporary Saiva-siddhantin practice documents this historical
progression; there the handbooks and later Tamil Siddh膩ntin
literature has almost entirely displaced the ritual and dogmatic use
of the 膩gam膩岣�. The temple ritual survives and even flourishes,
but in a form modified and taught according to the actual usage of
the temple priests who point out the obstacles to performance that
the impractical and even impossible prescriptions of the scriptures
would entail. While nominally praised and acknowledge as
authoratative revelation, the scriptures are used only due to
revivalist efforts. 2
Presumably, in his commentary, K峁�emar膩ja岣� would have
therefore attempted to revive some practices of
Svacchandatantram, to preserve others, and finally to transmit
his knowledge of the living tradition of the remainder. Many times
in his commentary, accordingly, he explicates the text from
seeming firsthand knowledge, when he supplies a ritual procedure
(prayoga岣�) not elaborated by the text. 3 At other times, however,
1 V. Brunner-Lachaux, Soma艣ambhupaddhati, premier partie,
pp.ii-iv.
2 On the contemporary 艢aiva-siddh膩ntin practice in South
India, v. Fuiler, Servants of the Goddess, pp. 142ff.
3 These supplied prayog膩岣� usually specify the formula to be
used with another action in a rite such as an oblation. V., for
example, bk.2, p.99.