Offprint

JNRC

JOURNAL OF THE NEPAL RESEARCH CENTRE

Edited by A. W EZLER

In c.ollaboration with W. HA FFNER, A. M ICHAELS, B. KOLVER, M. R. PANT AND D. JACKSON

The Inner Pilgrimage of the Tantra By Mark S.G. Dyczkowski

VOL. XII 2001

F ra n z S teiner V erlag G m b H W iesbaden

The Inner Pilgrimage o f the Tantras: The Sacred Geography o f the Kubjika Tantras with reference to the Bhairava and Kaula Tantras
M
ark

S. G . D y czk ow sk j

T h is p ap er fo cu ses on th e sacred g eography o f a few S aiv a schools o f the B h airav a T an tras and th eir p arallel a k ta schools, in p articu lar that o f the little-know n god d ess K u b jik a and, to a le sse r e x ten t, th e m u ch b e tte r k n ow n god d ess T ripura. A p art from the T an tras th em selv es, a m a jo r so u rce fo r th is p ap er is the w ork o f the great 11 th-century K ashm iri, A bhinavagupta, esp ecially his T a n tra lo ka . A ll th e so u rces belong to the culm ination o f the fo rm ativ e period o f T an trism , th at is, b etw een the 9th and 12th century. A m ajor feature o f these geographies, w hich th is p a p er w ill b riefly ex p lo re, is the m an n er in w hich they have b een interiorized. In 1950 D .C . S irca r p u b lish ed th e S a kta PTthas. In this w ork he p resen ts an ed itio n o f the PT thanirnaya th at lists 51 g o d d ess sites (pTtha). In his lengthy introduction, S ircar reproduces a n u m b er o f such lists from o th e r sources, m ostly Puranas and T antras. A p art from this w ellk n o w n w ork very little research has been done on the sacred geographies o f the T an tras in c o m p ariso n to the relativ ely large am o u n t o f research that has been do n e on the geographies o f the P u ran as and the Epics. O ne o b v io u s reason for this is that m any o f the sacred sites o f the P u ran as and E p ics are still functional. H ence they can be accurately located and m uch can be learn t ab o u t th em from w ork in the field. A lthough a num ber o f the sites found in the early T an tras h ave b een ab so rb ed into th e sacred geography o f the Puranas and E p ics o r m ay have b een co m m o n to both from an early period, th eir connection w ith the T antric tradition has m ostly b een lost. It fo llo w s, therefore, that the S anskritic tradition associated w ith m o st o f these sites d o es not g en erally refer to the T an tras as its authority. A nd ev en w here such referen ces ex ist, th ey are to T an tras o f a later period. A n o th er reason w h y the sacred g eography o f the T antras has not received m uch attention is th at th e ro o ts o f T a n trism b e lo n g to a cu ltu re originally developed by p eripatetic ascetics. In th e tran sitio n to the idiom o f the S an sk rit norm ative texts (s a stra ) in th is case the T antras the form s o f the e arlie r pro to -T an tric c u lts' w ere necessarily d om esticated to varying degrees and sy stem atized by th o se w ho k new this idiom best, nam ely, B rahm ins and those ascetics w ho w ere w ell v ersed in B rahm inieal cu ltu re.2 T h is was not at all a u n ique phenom enon in the history o f H in d u ism ; D u m ont, am ongst others, has draw n attention to the fact that:

'I d elib erately refer to these sem inal culls as ''p ro lo -T a n tric '' lo reserve the adjective 'T an tric for those cu lts and Ihcir elem ental c o n ten ts found in the texls denoted as T antras o r by som e equivalent ten n . O ne o f these term s is " A g a m a " w hich literally m eans (a tradition) com ing from the p a st'. T his c o m in g " (agam a) is often p resented in (he texts as b ein g o riginally, and m ost fundam entally, an oral transm ission. M any o f the num erous rituals described in the early T antras, especially the Saiva and (heir offshool, the g o d dess-centred o r Kaula T antras, arc best suited for the solitary peripatetic ascctic. T he great T antric system s that d eveloped in the early period, that is, p rio r to the 12th century, arc highly elaborate. T hose who built these system s m ust have been em d ite scholars w ho approached th eir task from the perspective o f the p rio r and contem porary literary traditions. T h ese traditions furnished ready-m ade form s and norm s that served as a filter thro u g h w hich w hat rem ained o f the ''e x te rn a l," " o r a l " elem en ts w as transform ed and absorbed. T his took place so thoroughly and the additional, p u rely literary input w as so m assive that contact with these sources becam e highly tenuous, a co rrect assessm ent o f th eir nature being now problem atic. !T h e B uddhist T antras, esp ecially those o f the Y oga and A nutlara Y oga, w hich w ere, in so m e respects, strongly influenced by th eir S a iv n e equ iv alen ts, probably developed in an analo g o u s m an n er. In this case

The secret o f H induism may be found in the d ialo g u e b etw een the re n o u n c e r and the m an-in-the-w orld. . . . In fact the m an-in-the-w orld, and p a rtic u la rly the B rah m an , is given the credit for the ideas which he may have adopted but n o t in v en ted . S uch ideas are m uch m ore relevant and they clearly belong to the th o u g h t o f the re n o u n c er. This is particularly true o f th e e a rly Sakta and S aiv a T an tric a scetics. B eh a v in g in a cc o rd with a different code o f conduct w hich, although ethically v ery strin g e n t, d iffe rs fro m the com m only accepted one o f sm arta D harm a, these a n tin o m ian asc e tic s liv e d in a sep arate reality. Enjoined in their rituals (piija ), religious co nduct ( c a ry a ), a n d itin e ra n t life, to m ake no distinction betw een pure and im pure, in term s o f th e c o n v en tio n al m o ra l c o d e o f the householder they w ere little different from the o u tcastes w ith w h o m th e y free ly associated. A nd yet these ascetics w ere the w orkers o f w onders and, a b o v e all, a cc o m p lish e d ad ep ts w ho founded m any, if not all o f the num erous T antric traditions.4 Some Tantric cults, particularly those o f the S aiv a S id d h a n ta an d th e V a isn a v a Paiicaratra, took to tem ple-building and hence m anaged to e stab lish e x te n siv e p u b lic c u lts. B u t other forms o f Tantrism , particularly the 5 akta cults, stay ed c lo se r to th e ir ro o ts an d so m aintained their original strongly closed, esoteric character, d esp ite th e in e v ita b le p ro cess o f domestication. The householder in such cases did not need to g o to a te m p le o r sacred site. He sim ply reproduced the tem ple and the original w ayfaring life in h is im a g in a tio n by m eans o f sym bolic representations. These, and the sacred space h e c re ated to p erfo rm th e p rescribed rituals and Yoga, he projected into him self. A ccordingly, the sac re d g e o g ra p h ie s o f such cults lay close to the edge o f redundancy and w ere subject to c o n sid e ra b le tra n sfo rm a tio n and assim ilation into the greater encom passing sm arta sacred g e o g ra p h ie s o f th e P u ran as. Nowadays, South Asia temples o f rituals are the literate (as opposed to the folk) relig io n s o f th e p o p u la tio n s o f la rg e areas o f are still based to a large d egree on th e T antras. T h e S a iv a ritu als p e rfo rm ed in the South India are adapted from the S aiv asid d h an ta A g am as ju s t as th e V aisnava based on those prescribed in the Paiicaratra an d V a ik h an a sa S a m h ita s.s The

wandering Buddhist ascetics contributed substantially, although no t e x c lu siv ely , to lay in g the fo u n d atio n s o f the Tantric system s, which were m ostly d eveloped system atically by erudite m o nks in th eir m o n aste rie s. In this case the input o f the system builders w as supplem ented not only b y the B uddhist literary tra d itio n s tfd s tr a ) bu t also by the Saiva. The Buddhists conceived this process to be one o f interiorization o f the S aiv a elem en ts. T hese elements were external both because they w ere outside B uddhism and, above all, b ecau se th ey w ere literally done. Internalized," they could be inserted into the m onum ental stru ctu res o f th e g re a t B u d d h ist T antric systems. D umont 1980: 2 7 0 ,2 7 5 quoted by Quigley 1993: 56. *The examples that could be quoted are innum erable. A K ubjika T a n tra tells u s a b o u t V id y a n a n d a who received initiation from Ni$kriyananda. T he text tells us: Here was a sage (muni) called Sildciti. H is (spiritual) son was an a c c o m p lish e d a d e p t S id d h a whose appearance was like that o f a (tribal) Sahara. He was ca lled V idyananda. H e liv e d in crem a tio n g ro tm d s an d devoutly practised nightly vigils (n iia ta n a ). H e w as a T antric a d e p t (vira lit. 'h e r o ') in te n t o n th e p ra c tic e o f Kundalini Yoga (cakracara lit. practice o f the w h eels ' o r d evo u tly a tte n d e d T a n tric rite s'). tfrTsaila is a Sivapttha. To the north o f it, on a mountain with m any peaks, is a d ivin e c a ve m a d e o f g o ld th a t is ve n era te d by Siddhas and gods. He, the Vidyafabara, worshipped there. H e p ra c tised d e siro u s o f th e K n o w le d g e F ree o f Action (niskriyajhSm ). He pra ctised the m o st intense fo r m o f d ivin e devotion. T h u s N isk riy a n a n d a w a s p lea se d with him an d transm itted K alika's tradition (kram a) to him. (C M SS 7 /1 88ff.) T he term samhila literally m eans (a thing that has been ) asse m b le d ' i.e. a c o m p ila tio n '. In th is ca se , the term is a synonym o f the term T antra. T hese texts also refer to them selves as T a n tra s " a n d " A g a m a s ." ju st as

Lirigayat S aiv ism o f A n d h ra and K arnataka is based on a corpus o f S aiv a A gam as developed in d ep en d en tly o f the S id d h an ta, although sim ilar to it in m any respects and clearly influenced b y it. In B en g al, M aith ila and A ssam the S aktism o f the late (post-6 th cen tu ry ) S ak ta T antras is still ex te n siv e ly p ractised . E specially relev an t from the p o in t o f view o f this p ap er is the eso teric literate relig io n o f the inhabitants o f the K athm andu V alley, w hich is thoroughly ro o ted in th e T an tric trad itio n s o f the texts I have chosen to exam ine here. T h ere are g o o d reaso n s to believ e that the role o f T an trism in the relig io n s o f S outh A sia was m u ch g reater in th e p ast than it is at present. Its expansion in the past (esp ecially betw een the 6th and 12th cen tu ries) and survival up to the present w as possible to the d egree in w hich T a n trism m an ag ed to ad ap t to the req u irem en ts and conditions o f the householder. The strategies ad o p ted to m ake these adaptations possible are no less e x ten siv e and diverse than the ex te n t o f the cu ltu ral form s, philosophical thought, ritual and lifestyles to w hich they have giv en rise. T h is p a p er is an a ttem p t to analyze a few exam ples, draw n from selected T antric sources (esp ecially th e K u b jik a T an tras), o f o n e o f these strategies, nam ely, the interiorization o f their o w n sacred g eo g rap h y . T h ese texts perceive how the external sacred g eography draw s its p o w er from its in tern al-co u n terp art, w hile the inner geography derives its form from the outer. T h u s the tw o g iv e life to one another, even w hen their relationship has been in terio rized and b eco m e purely ideal. T h e d ialectical interplay betw een the in n er and o u ter yields m ore than ju s t the accu m u latio n o f the en ergy o f an interiorized sacred place. It sucks into itse lf the o u te r form to place it at the very centre o f reality. T he N am eless and Form less thus assu m es n am e and form as the geography o f the innerm ost creative co re o f reality. T h u s, an essen tial feature o f the sacred geography o f these texts is that it is alw ays un d ersto o d to h ave an internal equivalent. A s one w ould expect, the ideal, in terio r pole p ro g ressiv ely assu m es in creasin g ly g reater p rom inence o v er the ex terio r one until the latter dw in d les aw ay in to a virtual cipher. E ven so, w e should not forget that for this dialectic to function p ro p erly , this sacred g eography m ust, at its origins at least, be external, that is, e m p irically real. T h is is true not in spite of, but because o f the ideal reality o f the inner, even though th e in n e r is the p ro d u ct o f the p o w er o f the creative im agination applied to the c reation o f a sacred u n iv erse fo r the purpose o f ritual, contem plation (i.e. Y oga) and the d ev elo p m en t o f in sig h t (jiiana ). W e shall therefore need to exam ine both, that is, the concrete o u te r g e o g rap h y an d its ideal inner equivalent, in o rd er to understand the m an n er o f their interaction an d w ith it th e sacred geography o f these Tantras. In o rder to d o th is I w ill p resen t a few exem plary geographies both to d eterm ine th eir content and to see how th ese p rin cip les o perate in the doctrines o f the T an tras chosen fo r study. I will focus esp ecially on the T an tras o f the goddess K ubjika. A n im p o rtan t featu re o f this geography is that it can be interiorized to varying degrees dep en d in g on th e interiority o f the locus o f projection. T his can be: 1) T h e B ody: T h e co rp o real surface o f inscrip tio n 6 m ay be on o r aro u n d the body as w ell as in the cen tres and ch an n els w ithin it. E xam ples w e w ill exam ine include the pro jectio n o f the
som e o f th eir S aiv a equivalents, aw are o f Iheir ow n com posite, com piled nature, refer lo them selves as

sarhhitds.
6I am indebted to P ro fesso r S anderson o f O xford for this expression.

sacred places founded by (he goddess K ubjika in her tour o f India o n to th e face, as d escrib ed in the K ubjika Tantras. and the im aginary lotus o f sacred sites p ro je c te d in to th e body according to the N isisam cara , a B hairava T an tra quoted by A b h in av ag u p ta in h is T a n tra lo ka . 2) T he Breath: T his is variously represented. In som e o f th e fo llo w in g e x am p les, th e tw o fo ld character o f the breath, dynam ic and at rest, characterized as S o u n d ( n a d a ) a n d th e P oint ( birnlu ), respectively, are the loci o f projection. 3) Core reality: At this, the innerm ost level, the ground o f ex isten ce its e lf is th e surface o f inscription. In this case, sacred place is the D ivine C ore. T h is is not a p ro je c tio n b u t the radiating source o f all projections that together constitute the m an ifest w o rld w ith its sacred geography. A ccording to the Tantras o f the K ali c u lt (the K alik ram a), fo r e x am p le, the suprem e pow er o f the d e ity 's divine consciousness is sim u ltan eo u sly b o th th e so u rc e an d the sacred seat pTtha o f its energies: O m other! This, the g rea t sa cred sea t (pTtha) b o m fr o m You, is th e e n e r g iz e d v ita lity ( o f consciousness) w hich p o u rs fo r th w hen S iva beco m es o n e w ith You b y virtu e o f y o u r perpetually expanding b o d y o f energy. A n d this, the (divine) intellect, the suprem e vitality ( o f co n scio u sn ess) is You, O (g o d d ess) Siva, whose body o f light abides w ithin the fiv e elem en ts b e g in n in g w ith E a rth a n d w ho generates the W heel o f the S a cred Seats (pithacakra c o rresp o n d in g to them ). You, w ho alone possess a ll the p o w ers o f the W heel o f the S a cred Seats, a b id e a lw a y s a n d everyw here. Perceived, 0 M other, b y the w ise w ho are a t one w ith the fo r c e ( o f p u r e co n sc io u sn ess udyama), You a re the unobscured daw ning ( o f en lig h ten m en t).7 In the Kubjika cult, in a m anner typical o f the sy m b o lism o f S ak ta c u lts in g e n eral, th e D ivine Core is prim arily characterized as the trian g u lar g eom etric icon th a t re p re sen ts th e g o d d e ss as the Source Yoni o f m anifestation. Let us b eg in from th is in n e r c o re first, as th e teach in g that concerns it is central to th e doctrine o f the K ubjika T a n tras th a t I h a v e ch o sen for detailed study. As em anation itself, K ubjika is the M andala that is b o th the so u rce o f th e u n iv e rse an d its ideal geom etry. In this case the M andala is p rim arily th e T rian g le o f th e V u lv a (y o n i) w hich is the goddess herself. T his is w hy she is called V ak ra (C ro o k ed ) an d K ubjika (H unchbacked). T his basic triangular form has four co m p o n en ts lo c a ted at th e th re e corners and the centre. T hese are the fo u r prim ary seats (pTtha) o f the g o d d ess. T h e g o d d e ss is the entire econom y o f all the energies both in the universe and in th e ir m ic ro c o sm ic and transcendent parallels in consciousness. B ut she is not ju s t th e su m o f all e n erg ie s; sh e is also every one o f them individually. They are deployed in sacred sp ace th at th e T a n tra s in gen eral characterize as an Em ptiness (s'unya) called the S ky (kha, vyo m a n ) o r th e e th e re al sp ace o f consciousness (cidakasa). The pervasive co ndition o f these en erg ie s p re c ed e s an d , in one aspect, perpetually transcends m anifestation, w hich is u n d ersto o d to ta k e p la c e on the analogy o f speech and its attendant vehicle, breathing. Every c o sm o g o n ic m a n ife statio n o f deity (theophany) and pow er (kratophany) occurs in a sp ecific p lace, th e S a c re d P lace
amba saktivapusa Ivayonm c^adrtipaya sam arasati ivo yada I yat tadollasali vTryam Grjilam pllha csa hi m aham s tvaduuhilah II y5 sivc sphuragaSaktir aksaya ksm adipancakanivisiabhalanuh I sa mahad bhavati vTryam agrimarfi yanm ayi Ivam as] pllhacakrasyh II pUhacakranikaraikadbarm ini ivam sihita ca salalam .samaniaiab I sadbhir udyam anirantaralm abhir laksyasc 'm b a n iravagrahodaya II C G C 76-8

( s th a n a ) th at is th e lo cu s o f im m anence. P resenting itse lf to itself, the tran scen d en t becom es im m an en t th ro u g h a p ro cess o f lo calizatio n an alogous to th at o f the articu latio n o f speech. P ow erful co sm o g o n ic sou n d s em an ate from pow erful places; indeed pow erful sou n d s are p ow erfu l p laces and as su ch the p honem ic co m ponents o f these sounds are th e m antric e n erg ies o f sacred p laces. T h u s the identity o f these en erg ies as sacred o b jects o f w orship is d e term in ed by th eir vital m an tric ch aracter and locations (sthana), o f w hich fo u r are th e m ost im p o rtan t. A cco rd in g ly , w e read in a K ubjika Tantra: The e n erg y c a lle d th e V ulva (yo n i) is e n d o w ed w ith the m o vem en t o f the three p a th s (i.e. the three m a jo r ch a n n els o f the v ita l breath), co n sists o f the three sylla b les ( o f creation, p e rsisten c e a n d d e stru ctio n i.e. AIM , H R lM , S r IM ) a n d three a sp ects (the p o w ers o f will, kn o w led g e a n d action). (It contains) the venerable U ddiyana w hich, en d o w e d w ith the su p rem e e n erg y a n d w ell energized, is lo ca ted in the m iddle. The venerable (sa c re d seat) ca lle d J a la n d h a ra is lo ca ted w ith in the a b ode m a n ifested in the rig h t c o m er. The venerable sa cre d se a t P u rn a is in the left (corner), being fo r m e d through the fe a r o f the fe tte re d , w hile K a m a ru p a is in th e fr o n t (lo w e r c o rn er o f th is d o w n w a rd p o in tin g triangle).* T he e a rlie st m an u scrip ts o f the K ubjika T an tras (all o f w hich disco v ered so fa r are N epalese) b e lo n g to th e 11th century. T h ese include m anuscripts o f T an tras th at p resuppose a dev elo p m en t o f n o t less th an a century. T h u s by the 10th century, at the latest, this schem e o f fo u r p rim ary sac re d sites (pttha), w hich becam e largely standard fo r th e w hole o f subsequent T antric S ak tism , w as already w ell estab lish ed and thoroughly interiorized in the K ubjika T antras. T h e p rim ary im p o rtan ce o f these p laces fo r such form s o f T an trism , both S aiv a and S akta, can n o t b e o v erstated . A n im portant ex am p le on the H indu side is the incorporation o f this triangle, w h o lesale w ith its sacred seats, into the centre o f S ricakra by the T an tras o f the g o d d ess T rip u ra. T h e sam e gro u p in g o f sacred seats is also given pride o f place in the B u d d h ist H ev ajra T a n tra and som e o f the o th e r m ajor B uddhist T antras o f the A nuttara Y oga and Y o g a g ro u p s.9 T h ey in terio rized these places so thoroughly in fact th at the F o u r Sacred S eats (c a tu sp lth a ) cam e to rep resen t m etaphysical p rin cip les.10 A s M ap 9, p lo tted on the basis
\ a sa Saktir b h agakhya tn p ath a g a u y u la tryak$ara triprakara ta s y ih Sri-uddiyanarii p arakalasahitam m adhyasam stham sudlptam I tacchrijalandhar& khyaih prakatilam layc dak$ine caiva kone v am e srip u m ap ilh am p aiu jan ab h ay ak rl kam arupam tadagre II CM SS 1/4 T h e above verse is in fra g d h a rS m etre. A part from the standard Sloka, the m etre in w hich m ost o f the T an tras are w ritten, this co m plex m etre appears to have been especially favoured by T an tric authors p rio r to the 11th century. T h e B uddhist K S lacakra Tantra is alm ost entirely written in this m etre. T h e above passage is o f special interest becau se it is q uoted in the Vim alaprabhS, a com m entary on the K Slacakra T antra by S ripundarika, w ho lived in the m iddle o f the 11th centuiy. In the usual derisive m anner o f Buddhist com m en tato rs tow ards others w ho are not Buddhists, Pundarika refers to those w h o accept the authority o f this text as d em o n s to b e d evoured (bhak$adaitya). T hey have not know n the suprem e secret and their body is like that o f the d em on M ara w ho torm ented the B uddha ( Vim alaprabha, vol. 3, 146-8). T h is body is the triangular V ulva ( b h a g a ) o f the go d d ess th at this verse describes and the K ubjika T an tras teach the adept should project into h is ow n body. H ere is yet ano th er testim ony to the existence o f the K u b jik i T antras in the U lh century outside N epal, possibly in Bengal, if this is the place w here S ripundarika w rote h is com m entary as som e scholars believe.

T he H ev ajra T an tra d eclares that: pl(ham jala n d h a ra m khy5tam u d diyanam tathaiva c a I pllharii p a u rn a g im caiv a k am arupam tathaiva c a II

o f a selection o f such texts indicates, the sacred geography o f th ese T a n tras has m u ch in com m on w ith those o f their H indu equivalents o f th e tim e, inclu d in g th e K u b jik a T an tras. T he process o f interiorization o f these places is so an cien t an d th o ro u g h th a t th e ex act location o f these places is an object o f m uch scholarly dispute. A n ad d itio n al p ro c e ss, w hich, in the case o f the T antras at least, accom panies, as well shall see, th a t o f in terio rizatio n , renders the exact identification o f these places even m ore difficu lt. I am refe rrin g to the phenom enon o f replication, w hereby sacred places o f pan -In d ian im p o rtan c e are p rojected into local geographies. Although I cannot hope to resolve these disputes, I shall v e n tu re to p re se n t hitherto unanalyzed m aterial pertinent to this problem w ith a few m o d est o b serv atio n s an d a very tentative hypothesis. Firstly, I assum e that the co m m only h eld v iew th a t th e lo catio n s o f KJmarOpa and Jalandhara are in A ssam and the Jam m u region, re sp ec tiv e ly , is co rrect. T h is is a reasonable assum ption, inasm uch as both these p laces, u n lik e th e o th e r tw o , U ddiyana and Purnagiri, are im portant centres o f Saktism to this day. M o reo v er, th e c h a ra c te r o f at least one o f these places and its characterization in the T antras ap p ear to co rresp o n d . I am referring to Jalandhara. Tantric etym ology derives the first part o f th is n am e fro m th e w o rd j v a l a m eaning flam e o r j a l a m eaning n et. T hese tw o d eriv atio n s are co m b in e d to furnish a description o f Jalandhara as the place that bears ( - d h a r a ) the n et o r series o f th e g o d d e sss flam ing energies. " M ost H indus know that in the K angra V alley, c lo se to th e m o d ern tow n o f Jalandhara in the Jum m u region, there is a cave w here natural gas leak s fro m c rack s in the rock. The sm all rlam es that this produces are w o rsh ip p ed to th is d ay as th e m a n ife st fo rm o f the goddess JvalamukhT w hose nam e literally m eans (the g o d d ess) w h o se m o u th is m ade o f flam es.1 2

'Jalandhara is sa id to be a sacred ^seat (pltha), a s is U4diyana. P a u rn a g iri is a s a c re d s e a t a n d so is K am arupa.'Hevajra T a n tr a 'W IM Note lhat these are the sam e fou( places m entioned in th e referen ce q u o ted a b o v e (fn. 8 ) fro m a K ubjika Tanira. ,0Sircar 1973:11. l,mahajval51isandlptarii diptatejanalaprabham I m ahajvalavalltopam devyas tejo m ahadbhutam I dhytarii yena pratapo syas tena ujjalasarivjnakam II K M T 2750cd-51 Powerful with its series o f g rea t fla m es, th e radiant energy (teja s) o f the g o d d e ss is very astonishing. Intensified with row s o f great flam es, it h as the light o f intensely burning fir e . (T h is sa c re d sea t) w hich bears her great heat is (therefore) ca lled Jala. l2B akker exam ines the sources concerning Jalandhara. T hese ran g e fro m th e a c co u n ts o f th e 6(h-century Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hsuan tsang, M uslim accounts from the 16th cen tu ry o n w ard s a n d 19th-century British archeologists and travellers, as well as Sanskrit sources. B ak k er (1983: 60f.) rep o rts th at th e co u n try o f Jalandhara is said to have received its nam e from a D aitya king c alled Jalan d h ara. A c c o rd in g to the Padmapur&na, Jalandhara, the son o f the O cean and the G anges, w as given a p art o f In d ia (jam budvT pa ) fo r his residence. This country cam e to b e know n as Jalandhara. ( Padmapur& na, U ttarakhanda, 4/3 ff.). M y thology identifies this area with the vast body o f the dem on Jalandhara w h o w as slain by S iv a in b attle. T h e local tradition o f the Kangra Valley, w hich is a part o f this area, identifies J a la n d h a ra 's m o u th w ith th e goddess JvalamukhT, whose shrine is located in the V alley. E xam ining the so u rces at h is d isp o sal, B a k k e r p erc c iv es a connection between the location o f this goddess and Jalandhara even w ithout referrin g to th e T a n tra s w h e re this connection is explicit.

K am arupa is h a rd e r to identify. T he original nam e o f this place, k n ow n to both early H indu and B u d d h ist so u rces, is K am aru. T h e S an sk ritized form K am aru p a is easily d erivable from it. T h is p lace is o f great im portance fo r the early J>akta tech n ically called K aula T an tras and th e stro n g ly 3 a k ta o rientated B hairava Tantras. T his is largely because o f its asso ciatio n w ith M atsy en d ran ath a, the reputed o rig in ato r o f the K aula teachings and th erefo re, by e x ten sio n , all the K aula T antric traditions, including those o f K ubjika, T ripura and K a li.1 ' A b h in av ag u p ta praises him first, before all the o th er teach ers he v enerates at the b eg in n in g o f his m o n u m en tal w ork on T antra, the Tantraloka. Jayaratha, in his com m entary on the T an tralo k a, tells us that this is because M atsy en d ran ath a is fam ous as the o n e w ho rev ealed all th e K u la scrip tu res. 1 4 H e w as especially im portant fo r A b h in av ag u p ta because the latter, like m any T an trics o f the 1 lth -cen tu ry K ash m ir in w hich he lived, considered Sakta K aula ritual and d o ctrin e (kulaprakriya) su p erio r to its aiv a-cu m -B h airav a equivalent (ta n tra p ra kriya ), w ith w h ich it is blended both in the T antras and A b h in av as T antraloka . 5 T he m any K aula trad itio n s that link this site w ith such an im portant figure and its persistent id en tificatio n w ith K am ak h y a (m odern G auhati) in A ssam lend credibility to the correctness o f this identification. O f the fo u r p laces d iscu ssed here, the location o f P urnagiri has been the least investigated. T he in h ab itan ts o f the N ainital d istrict o f the H im alayas identify a sacred m ountain in that region as P urnagiri. T h is nam e, how ever, is relatively recent. T h e o ld er form , reported in the A lm o ra G a zetteer o f 1911, is P uniagiri, w hich is d erivable from the S an sk rit Punyagiri ( M o u n tain o f M erit), rath er than Purnagiri. A n o th er candidate is found in O rissa. There,

l3F o r the sake o f precision, it is im portant to specify that the T antric (rather than fo lk o r PurSnic) w orship o f K ali m akes its first substantial appearance in the B hairava T antras. A lthough the T antras o f this group are cen tred on the w o rsh ip o f B hairava, a fierce and erotic form o f Siva, Kaula (i.e. early Sakta) T antrism developed out o f them . T h e adept (variously called s&dhaka or, in the Brahmay&mala, avadhuta) is identified in the rituals o f m any o f these T an tras w ith B hairava in order to satisfy the hordes o f YoginTs w ho are his encom passing and o therw ise d an g ero u s follow ers. K ali and h er num erous ectypes cam e to prom inence in this context in the B hairava T antras. T he unedited Jayadrathayam ala, w hich is said to consist o f 24,000 verses, is an im portant B hairava T antra. D edicated virtually exclusively to the w orship o f this goddess in num erous form s, it is one o f our oldest and m ost substantial sources o f h er w orship. l4sakalakulaaslravatarakataya prasiddhah IT A vol. I, p.25. lsJay arath a in his com m entary on the Tantr&loka writes: . . . it is sa id t h a t : ju s t a s the stars, although they rem ain in the sky, d o n o t sh in e when the sun is present, in the sa m e w ay the (S a iva ) Siddhd n ta ta n tra s d o no t shine in the p resence o f the KulQgama. Therefore, nothing a p a rt fr o m the K ula (tea ch in g s) can liberate fr o m transm igratory existence . Thus, even though the work about to b e exp o u n d ed (nam ely, the T antraloka) h a s tw o aspects because it consists o f (an exposition o f both the) K ula a n d the T antric m eth o d s (prakriya), a n d because, as the a fo rem entioned reference declares, the K ula m eth o d i s . m ore fu n d a m e n ta l (p ra d h a n ya ) than o th er m ethods, h e w ho has revealed it, the fo u rth tea ch er (belonging to this the fo u rth era, i.e. M atsyendranatha), is p ra ise d fir s t in a cco rd with the view (exp ressed in the fo llo w in g reference): "B elo ved , B h a ira vi f ir s t o b ta in e d (the teachings concerning the p ra ctice o f) Yoga fr o m B h a ira va a n d so p e rva d e d (th e entire universe). Then, fa ir -fa c e d one, it w as ob ta in ed fr o m th eir p re se n c e b y the Siddha ca lled M ina, th a t is, b y the g re a t soul, M acch a n d a (i.e. M a tsyendra), in the g rea t s ea t (m ah a p ith a ) o f K a m a ru p a ." T A vol. 1, 24.

learn ed O d iy as, o n th e b a sis o f th e ir local traditions, identify it w ith th e to w n o f P u sp a g iri.16 A n o th er po ssib ility is a m o untain b y th is n am e in central In d ia th a t to m y m in d ap p ears to be th e m o st likely identification. In o rd er to un d erstan d w hy I b e lie v e th is, let u s return to o u r triangle. M ost acco u n ts locate P urnagiri in the rig h t c o m e r o f th e trian g le a n d Jala n d h a ra in the left w ith respect to K Sm arupa w hich is located in the fro n t (i.e. to p ) c o m e r ( a g ra ko n a ). W e see the sam e layout in Figure 1, w hich w e shall d iscuss in so m e d etail b e lo w . If P urnagiri is identified w ith the m ountain by that nam e in central India, th en th e p o in ts p lo tte d for these three sites w ould in fact b e located in the c o m ers o f an alm ost p e rfe c tly e q u ila teral triangle (traced in red on M ap I ) .1 7 If w e accept this view to be the co rrect one, the only m a jo r in c o n sisten cy w ith th e texts is the location o f U ($ iy a n a . If th is place w as, as m ost sch o lars b eliev e, lo cated in th e S w a t Valley o f northern Pakistan, it is far from the centre o f this triangle, w h ere m an y tex ts position U<Jdiy5na. T his anom aly is m ore striking if w e c o m p are th is stan d a rd la y o u t w ith the one found in the N iSisam caratantra. A lthough it appears that th is T an tra has b een lost, the reference w e have is particularly im portant because it w as ch o sen by A b h in a v ag u p ta w ho lived in 11th-century K ash m ir w hich, m ore ex ten siv e than to d ay , in clu d ed U d d iy an a in its outlying north-w estern provinces. U ddiyana, also called O d d iy an a, w as an extrem ely im portant T antric site. It is still fam ous in V ajrayana circles as th e lan d o f th e g re a t exponent o f V ajraySna in T ibet, Padm asam bhava, w hom T ib etan h isto rian s refer to as a K a sh m iri.1 8 T he site m u st have been w ell know n to A b h in av a as the place w h e re Jn an a n e tra , the founder o f the branch o f the K ali tradition (ka likra m a ) that w as m o st im p o rtan t fo r K a sh m ir S aivites, w as said to have receiv ed his revelations. T h e layout p resen ted by the N isisa m ca ra , a B h airav a T a n tra (see M ap 5 ), g iv e s p rid e o f place to K am ariipa as the m ain sacred seat. Its pre-em in en t statu s is v iv id ly s y m b o liz ed by deriving it directly from th e c o re o f reality as the co sm o g o n ic w ill ( ic c h a ), an id e n tific a tio n suggested by the first m e m b e r o f its n am e K am aru p a w h ich literally m ean s sex u al d e sire . T his assum es th e form o f the foundation (a d h a ra ) w h erein all c re atio n re sid es an d fin d s its support. T h is d e sire e m an ates the P o in t ( b in d u ) a n d S o u n d (nada). w h ic h a re th e b reath o f the core as its p erv asiv e v itality a t re st w ith in itse lf an d in an activ e state, re sp ec tiv e ly . U ddiyana, to the left, is the P o in t an d P u rn ag iri, to the rig h t, is th e S o u n d . A b h in a v a rejects the possibility o f a fo urth seat in the centre, e v en o n e th at so m e re fe r to a s a h a lf (i.e. n o t fully

l6T his site greatly im pressed the C hinese pilgrim Hsuan tsang. w ho visited O rissa in the 7th cen tu ry . From his description it appears th at P uspagiri was an im portant B uddhist cen tre at th at tim e. U n fo rtu n ately , the exact location o f Puspagiri rem ains uncertain. See D ehcjia 1979: 14. I7I am grateful to Rajia Singh fo r pointing this out to m e. I should tak e this o p p o rtu n ity to gratefully acknow ledge R ana S in g h 's assistance. H is help in m ak in g th e m ap s fo r this p a p e r has been in v alu ab le, as has been his encouragem ent and scholarly advice o n m any m atters related to p ilg rim a g e stu d ie s a n d the sacred geography o f India. See D yczkow ski 1987: 3 w ith reference to N adou 1968: 38. B ak k er n o tes th at sev eral lo catio n s for U ^ iy S n a have been suggested. T h e best know n are th e S w at V alley in no rth ern P ak istan , O rissa, a n d a region in B engal. A fter briefly ex am in in g various view s, B ak k er o p in es th at th e a rg u m en ts fo r th e lo catio n o f U^diySna in the S w at V alley seem to b e stronger. A ctual p ro o f that the S w at V alley w as k n o w n as U d d iy an a is obtained from T ibetan travellers in the area. T he T ibetan nam e for the Sw at V alley w as O rg y an o r U rgyan, but a Buddhist pilgrim from T ibet, nam ed B uddhagupta, tells u s that T ibetan U rg y an is d e riv ed fro m U ddiyana, on account o f the sim ilarity o f s o u n d " (B akker 1983: 54).

fo rm ed ) sacred s e a t ( a rd h a p ith a ) .19 T h is layout also produces a reaso n ab ly w ell-shaped trian g le, a lth o u g h it is not eq u ilateral, unlike the o n e o f th e first sch em e (see M ap 1: triangle traced in b lack ). T h e N isisathcdra k now s o f the ex isten ce o f Jalan d h ara but releg ates it to the statu s o f a seco n d ary sacred s ite ( u p a sa m d o h a ), alo n g w ith the b o rd erlan d s o f India, N epal, K ash m ir and the d irectio n in w hich foreigners (liv e) ( m lecch a d ik). P erhaps, w hen the N iSisam cara w as red acted , Jalan d h ara, along w ith these o th er p laces, had not yet gained the im p o rtan ce it w as to h ave later.20 T h u s, I w o u ld ten tativ ely sug g est th at there are tw o triangles: an e arlier o n e w hich did not include Jala n d h a ra and a later o n e that did. T he im portance o f U d d iy an a w o u ld not allo w its o m issio n in th e later sch em e and so it w as conveniently placed in the cen tre to sy m b o lize not its location, b u t excellence. A m ore realistic variant found in th e K ubjika T an tras, w hich lends fu rth er cred en ce to the realism o f the triangular m odel, locates O m k arap lth a, that is, the tow n o f O m kareSvara in M ad h y ap rad esa, in the centre. A lthough this site is not in the literal g eo g rap h ical centre it does, at least, lie w ithin the triangle.2' Let us return to the K ubjika T an tras to ex am in e in g reater detail th eir sym bolic g eography o f the core reality th e g o d d e sss trian g u lar Y oni. A s is the case w ith T an tric deities in general, one o f the fu n d am en tal asp ects o f the goddess K ubjika is her aniconic form as m antric sound. T h is is p o rtray ed as th e pure d ynam ic energy from w hich the universe is generated, o f w hich the u n iv erse co n sists and into w hich it ultim ately is resolved. In this p erspective, the T riangle, rep resen tin g th e u n ified field o f universal energy, through w hich the cy cles o f existence are perp etu ated , c o n sists o f the prim ary en erg y o f the fifty phonem es o f the S an sk rit alphabet that to g eth er c o n stitu te the w o m b o f M antras. L aid out in a trian g u lar d iag ram (pra sta ra X22 called M eru, they are assig n ed to fo rty-nine sm all triangles draw n w ithin the triangle. T he conjunct co nsonant, K S, treated as an in d ep en d en t phonem e, is placed below the centre w here H is located in the T rian g le. T h e rem ain in g letters are arranged in the diagram in the norm al alp h ab etical o rd e r in an anti-clockw ise spiral o f th ree and a h alf turns. T his is w hy K undalinI, the in n er form o f th e g oddess, is likened to a serpent w ith three and a h a lf coils. E ach letter is w o rsh ip p ed as a B h airav a o r a Siddha. E ach one o f them lives in his ow n com partm ent that is itse lf a Y o n i, said to be w e t w ith the divine C o m m an d (ajiia) o f the energy o f the tran sm issio n th at takes place through the union they enjoy w ith th eir fem ale counterparts. The sacrality o f sacred sites is d eriv ed from such hierogam ies and so each com partm ent corresp o n d s to a sacred site w here th ese Siddhas are said to reside, practise and teach. T hese

19A " h a lf sacred s e a l" (ardhapitha) added on lo the three m ain ones appears also in the K au la jn a n a n im a ya (B agchi: 24). T h ere it is called A rbuda w hich is the S anskrit nam e o f w hat is now a sacred site especially for the Jains, nam ely, M ount A bu in Rajasthan. L argely on Ihe basis o f these references, D vivedi states in his introduction lo the NityH sodaiikarrtava (p. 81) that there w ere o riginally three prim ary seals, not four. T h is view is exam ined and rejected by B akker (1993: 50-2). !lSee A m b a m a ta sa m h ita , fols. 1Ob- 11a, w here O m kara replaces Uddiyana T h e w ord p ra sta ra sim ply m eans g rid o r 'diagram *. T h is term is used in this sense in o ther types o f Sanskrit texts as w ell. T hus, for exam ple, Sanskrit m usicological texts use this term to denote a d iag ram o r " g r a p h " (as L ath calls it) on w hich the notes and fru tis are schem atically represented. T h e v m i on the B rhaddeSi speaks o f three w ays o f representing the tra il and svara positions w ithin a grOma . T hese w ere know n as the three prastaras: (1) the d a n d a p ra stira (2) the v tn ip r a s tir a and (3) the m a n fa la p ra s ta r a " (L ath 1988: 74).

sites have been plotted on M aps 1 and 2. The source o f the first m ap is a co m m e n tary on parts o f the M anthanabhairava Tantra and the $atsahasrasam hita. T h e sec o n d m a p p re sen ts a secondary variant draw n from the A m b am atasam hita23 w hich, lik e th e p re v io u s source, belongs to the corpus o f the K ubjika T antras 1 have e d ited from m a n u sc rip ts. In the Kum arikakhanda o f the M anthanabhairava Tantra the g o d d ess is sa id to v is it th e se fifty places.24 Before doing so, she utters a hym n praising the fo u r sacred seats a lo n g w ith another, fifth one, identified as Trisrota (site 11 on M ap 1) w hich, she say s, w ill b e th e sac re d se a t o f a future revelation.25 This statem ent suggests to the m odern sch o lar th a t th e p la c e w a s alread y a sacred site and that it was one o f such special im portance fo r the in itia te s o f th e K ubjika Tantras that they integrated it, som ew hat haphazardly, into the o ld e r sch e m e th at en jo y ed a high degree o f prestige in other Tantric traditions also. A n o th er so u rce in fo rm s us that the order in which the letters are placed w ithin the triangular d iag ram ( v a rn a n y a sa ) co rresp o n d s to the sequence (gati) o f the sacred seats. A nd this is, indeed, the o rd e r in w h ic h th e y are listed in the K um arikakhanda26 o f the M a n ihanabhairavatantra a s th e p la c e s th e goddess converts into sacred sites ( ayatana , ttrtha, sariuloha) by v isitin g an d c astin g h e r em p o w erin g gaze upon them in one o f her colonizing rounds o f India. Just as the goddess K ubjika m oves around India to estab lish h e r sacred site s, sh e a lso m oves through this Triangle the Y oni w hich is h e r o w n body th e B o d y o f Energy (kulapinda) sanctifying its parts by filling them w ith th e en ergy o f e m p o w e rm e n t (ajiia). A lthough the texts do not say so explicitly, they im ply that th e .tria n g u lar lan d o f B h arata is just that Portion o f the V irgin G oddess.27 At the sam e tim e this, the fem ale body, is that o f the core reality; co n v erse ly , its c o m p lem en t, the outer body, is m ale. T his relationship is estab lish ed to allo w fo r th e e x te rio riz a tio n o f the letters and so, by extension, the sacred sites onto the surface o f th e b o d y . In th is c ase, the Triangle contains the goddesses o f the fem ale form o f the alphabet, w hich is its e lf a g oddess called MalinT (lit. G arlanded O n e , i.e. the goddess w ho w ears the G a rla n d o f L etters). The figure o f a standing m an identified w ith a form o f B h airav a c alled S rlk a n th a (w h o is the guardian o f the first letter o f the alphabet) is the m ale fo rm o f th e a lp h a b et c alle d S a b d a ra si

v Ambamatasamhita, fol. 13a. :T h e variants in the lisl found in Ihe tika and the KuK h (6/212-8) have been noled in A p p en d ix 2. These are ihe standard four with the addition o f Tisra. also called T risrota. as the fifth. T h is m ay well be the same as Matangapl^ha m entioned in the K M T as a fifth " p e rv a s iv e " sacrcd seat w h ich , a s su ch , has no separate location. In the account found in the KuK h (ch ap ter six), the co n so rt o f the g o d d e ss is M atan g a. The goddess would therefore be MatangT, w hich may account for its alternative nam e. T h is is the sacrcd seat o f the future revelation. Thus the goddess says to the god: "1 have to ld you, 0 ha n d so m e one. o f this, th e d e sce n t (into the world) o f Ihe (four) sa cred seats. (M oreover, I) a n ticip a te th a t T israpitha w ill b e th e f u tu r e f if th o n e . (KuKh 6/187). T he latter is sym bolically located above the triangle form ed by the o th er fo u r scats in the form o f a point "above the h alf M o o n ." This sacred seat has em erged on top o f the trian g u lar Y o n i, a b o v e the H alf Moon. The suprem e Kali, w ho illum ines divine know ledge, is located there. T h e o riginal tria n g le , w h ich is the shape o f the letter E. is thus converted into the m antric syllable AIM . KuKh 6/212-8. i7We read in the Kum arikSkhanda o f the M anthanabhairava T antra th at " th ere a r e s a c r e d site s (ava ta n a and other sacred places), tirthas a n d sam dohas, w herever the goddess w ent a n d w h erever sh e ca st h e r gaze. The m other o f Kula established her fa m e in the la n d o f B harata (in this way), a n d s o th e m e r ito rio u s a n d holy Region o f the Virgin (kaum arikakhanda) cam e into b e in g " (K uK h 6/219-20).

the A g g reg ate o f W ords. T h is is the m ale Person (p u ru sa ) w ho resid es w ithin N ature id en tified , by im p licatio n , w ith the T riangle. In this w ay the T rian g le w ith the letters it c o n tain s, the B h airav as th at presid e o v er them , and the places that sym b o lically en sh rin e their e n erg ies can be p ro jected o n to the body (see Fig. 2). A n in terestin g co n seq u en ce o f these sym bolic associations is that the letters th at are extracted from the T rian g le to fo rm M an tras are not only pervasive sounds and deities, b u t also places. A cco rd in g ly , w e o ccasio n ally find in the K ubjika T antras that the letters ex tracted from the trian g u lar d iag ram to form M antras are labelled w ith the nam e o f the place to w hich they co rresp o n d in the g rid. In th is p erspective, this m eans that M antras are in terio rizatio n s o f sacred places. T h is startlin g sym bolic association is the result o f an im p o rtan t principle, nam ely, th at each d eity m u st be associated w ith a place in o rd er to be effectiv ely im m anent and hence an o b ject o f the w o rsh ip by w hich it is propitiated to bestow its gifts. T h u s the deities o f the letters o f a M antra, w hich is the sonic icon o f its p residing deity, in o rd e r to be effectiv e and h en ce ren d er the M an tra effective, m ust carry along w ithin th em selv es th eir ow n d iv in e locations. W e should note befo re p ro ceed in g further that the first tw o m aps are deriv ed from tw o su b stan tially d ifferen t lists o f th e fifty sites collocated in the triangle. T he first is found in the K um arik ak h an d a o f the M anthan a b h a ira va ta n tra . T his is the sam e list, w ith m in o r variants, as the o n e in the M a n th a n a b h a ira va Tika . 28 T he other list is found in the A m b a m a ta sa m h ita . T he T rian g le w ith its fifty co m p artm en ts is described in the earliest T an tra o f the K ubjika school, the K u b jika m a ta , but it does not equate them w ith sacred places. C onversely, the fifty p laces listed as a g ro u p in th e K um arikakhanda are not related to this T rian g le in that text. T he section o f the Tika w hich presents this group o f fifty sites and eq u ates them w ith the letters placed in the T rian g le is not presented as a com m entary on any specifically nam ed text, but ex am in atio n o f the contents o f the Tika clearly establishes that it postdates the K um arikakhanda. W e can therefo re safely conclude that this g roup o f fifty sites was introduced after th e redaction o f the K M T and w as subsequently fitted into the T riangle form ed by th e fo u r prim ary sacred seats that is already highly elaborated in the K M T. A lth o u g h the list o f fifty sites found in the A m b am atasam hita is sim ilar, it is substantially differen t from this o n e, not ju s t a variant. It presents an ulterior elaboration o f this schem e and so can be safely assum ed to p o std ate the K um arikakhanda. T he fact th at the n u m b er o f places listed m akes ex actly fifty clearly indicates that they have been com piled and stan d ard ized fo r a sp ecific pu rp o se and are not sim ply lists o f sacred sites. T h at the list in the K u m arik ak h an d a, in particular, is a standard one is co n firm ed by the fact that it ap p ears, w ith ju s t a few variants entries, in the Yoginihrdaya, w hich is an im portant T an tra o f the T rip u ra cult. All o f these texts are certainly prio r to the 12th century. A s we have no ted alread y , the K M T belongs to at least the 10th century. T he so p h isticatio n o f the Yoginihrdaya w hich c o n tain s m any n otions elaborated by K ashm iri Saivites b etw een the 9th and 11th cen tu ries leads one to suppose that it m ay w ell have beep co m p iled in that period. A nyw ay, it is certain ly o ld e r than A m rtananda, w ho w as its first know n co m m en tato r. H e lived in S o u th In d ia in the 13th century. A nother indication o f its relatively recen t o rigin is its

2 S T h is (ext, w hich I have edited, is a com m entary com piled by a certain RQpaiva on scattered ch apters o f the K ubjika T antras. Several sections are sim ply w holesale copies o f the com m entary on various ch apters o f the $atsahasrasam hita. T h is im portant text is an ex panded version in 6 ,0 0 0 verses o f the K ubjikam atatantra consisting o f 3,500 verses. F o r a table com paring the co ntents o f these tw o texts sec S choterm an 1982: 14f.

h ig h d e g re e o f d o m esticatio n . T h e liturgy centred o n th e w o rsh ip o f S rfcak ra th a t it expounds c an b e p erfo rm ed en tirely in one place at hom e, in a tem p le o r m o n a stery by a h o u seh o ld e r o r n o n -itin eran t ascetic. U nlike the K ubjika T a n tras an d A b h in a v a s Tantraloka, it m ak es no pro v isio n s a t all for the possibility o f any real p e re g rin a tio n to th e se sites, not ev en as a seco n d ary altern ativ e o r along w ith th eir p ro jectio n on th e bo d y . T h u s, as in the Tantrdloka, in w hich A bhinava, a m aster o f th e theory an d p ractice o f in terio rizatio n , expo u n d s a th o ro u g h ly d o m esticated colt, the projection o f th e se sacred site s o n to the body is o f relativ ely m in o r im portance. A ccording to the liturgy o f the Yoginihrdaya, the p lacin g o f th e fifty seats on th e b o d y is the six th o f a sixfold pro jectio n o n to the body that is do n e rig h t at the b e g in n in g o f th e rite. The first o f these d ep o sitio n s is that o f fifty GaneSas, o n e fo r each le tte r o f th e a lp h a b et. T h is is do n e to rem ove o b stacles to the p erform ance o f the rite. T hen co m es a d e p o sitio n o f the nine planets and tw en ty -sev en co n stellatio n s ( na ksa tra ). T h e six Y o g in is p re sid in g o v e r the six W heels ( c a kra ) w ithin the body com e next. T hey g o v ern the g ro ss e le m en ts an d m in d along w ith the physical co n stitu en ts o f the body ( d h a tu ). T hey are acc o m p a n ie d by an en to u ra g e o f fifty y oginis w ho govern the fifty letters o f the alp h ab et, the p h o n em ic e q u iv a len ts o f the forces w ithin the W h eels that operate w ithin the a d e p ts co sm ic bo d y . O n c e th e in n er, subtle body has been e n erg ized in this w ay, the fifth dep o sitio n is p e rfo rm ed , w h ich is th at o f the tw elve signs o f the zodiac (rSSi). Thus, th e o u te r b o d y has b een freed o f obstacles, transform ed into the universe, and its central v italizin g ax is is e n erg ized . F in a lly , th is process is co m p leted by the projection o f the fifty sacred sites, c o rre sp o n d in g to th e letters, o n to the surface o f this co sm ic body. In this w ay, the body is p rep ared as a pu re, c o sm ic an d energized surface o f inscription o n to w hich the adept projects the S ffcak ra in w h ic h h e w ill w o rsh ip and becom e o n e w ith his deity. T h u s ric a k ra is d raw n o n th e w h o le o f th e sac re d land o f B h3rata, w h ich is set in th e sp h eres o f th e co sm ic fo rces w ith w h ic h it is v ita lly lin k ed and form s an e ssen tial part. F rom th e p o in t o f v iew o f the p resen t in q u iry , th ere is o n e im p o rtan t fe a tu re o f th is g ro u p o f fifty places. N o t o n ly are th e ind iv id u al p laces th e sam e as th o se fo u n d in th e K ubjika T antras, but th e o rd e r in w hich th ey are listed is su ch th at w h e n th e y a re p ro je c te d o n to a trian g u lar g rid in th e m a n n e r p rescrib ed in th e K u b jik a T a n tras, w e fin d th e m a in sacred seats K am arupa, Jalan d h ara, P u rn ag iri an d U d d iy an a in th e c o m e rs an d c en tre , in th e way noted above. T h e S n v id y a sy stem d o e s n o t k n o w o f th is g rid an d so th is s erial o rd e r is o f no con seq u en ce fo r it. T h is lead s o n e to su p p o se th at th e g ro u p h as b een lifte d w h o le sa le from the K ubjikS T an tras o r a c o m m o n source. H o w ev er, su ch a p o ssib ility w o u ld o n ly b e a feasible o p tio n if o th e r e arly T an tric sy ste m s h ad th e sam e g rid a s th e o n e fo u n d in the K ubjika T antras, w h ich m ake ex ten siv e u se o f it, an d o th e rs lik e it, to e x tra c t th e le tte rs o f th eir m antras. U p to now n o n e has b een found. If th en w e a cc e p t th e K u b jik a T a n tra s as its source, w e can say th at th is p art o f th e Yogin ih rd a ya p o std ates th o se K u b jik a T a n tra s w here th is g rid is elab o rated . T h is ascertain m en t is not cen tral to o u r in q u iry . W h a t is is that it appears th a t by th a t tim e th is set h ad b een in stitu ted as a s tan d a rd o n e. T h is su g g e sts that by the 10th o r 11th cen tu ry p ilg rim ag e by T an tric in itiates to th e se site s w a s a lread y b e co m in g redundant, if it w as n o t alread y to tally so. W h at re m a in e d w as th e p ro je c tio n o n to th e body and o th er tech n iq u es o f tran sp o sitio n th at serv ed , a m o n g st o th e r th in g s, a s a m e a n s o f purifying the adept. W e h av e seen how th is w o rk ed in th e c ase o f th e T a n tric sy ste m ta u g h t in th e Yoginihrdaya', let u s now retu rn to th e N iSisarhcaraiantra, a n d see h o w it fu n c tio n s there.

A b h in av a ch o o ses th is as his so u rce fo r the sacred sites that are p rojected o n to the b o d y o f the neo p h y te as a p art o f the p relim in ary rites o f purification that form the p relu d e to the rite o f in itiatio n . T h is d ep o sitio n is perfo rm ed im m ediately after the ritual bathing and preced es the very im p o rtan t d ep o sitio n o f the letters onto the body. A bhinava is follow ing a m odel already fo rm ed fo r h im in the T an tras them selves. T he projection o f the sacred sites o n to th e body serv es to tra n sfo rm it into a sacred universe, the geography o f w hich is m ark ed by these sacred sites. W e have already noted that according to the N U isam cara the u ltim ate goddess site (pTtha) is d iv a s w ill, w h ich is identified w ith the m ost im portant sacred seat, nam ely, K am arupa. T h e c o sm o g o n ic S ound ( n a d a ) and the p rim ordial, d im en sio n less P o in t (b in d u ) from w h ich the co sm ic pro cess unfolds are the sacred seats o f P urnagiri and U ddiyana. S im ilarly , the three su b sid iary seats ( upapTtha ) are said to be KundalinT an d the first d eriv ativ es o f S o u n d and th e Point. E xternally, these three co rresp o n d to D evlkota, K ollagiri, and UjjayinT. T h is is fo llo w ed by an o th er triad, that o f the three S a m d o h a ka s.29 T h ese are the sense o f taste ( la la n a y lit. the to n g u e ), a tertiary derivation o f the P o in t (bindu) and P ervasion ( v ya p ti ), from w hich sacred energy em anates. T h ese c o rresp o n d to P u n d rav ard h an a, V aren d ra and E kam ra, respectively. A round these th ree triads, arranged on th e eig h t p etals o f the lotus o f the h eart, are tw enty-four m ore sacred p laces. T h ey are e ig h t p rim ary sacred fields (k se tra ), eig h t secondary ones (u p a ksetra ) and e ig h t secondary sa m d o h a s. T h ese th ree g roups are located on the m ain p art o f the petals, th e tip s and jo in ts betw een them , resp ectiv ely . A sim ilar g ro u p in g in th ree sets o f eig h t and projection onto a lotus in a sim ilar w ay is know n to the K ubjika T antras. T h is d ev elo p ed from an original set o f tw en ty -fo u r sites p resen ted w ith o u t internal d ifferen tiatio n .30 T h ese are the tw enty-four sites o f the K ubjika m a ta ta n tra p lo tted on M ap 6 . It is, I believe, very significant that these tw en ty -fo u r p laces are, ap art from a few m in o r v arian ts, the sam e as those listed in the M ad havakula sectio n o f the Ja ya d ra th a ya m a la qu o ted by A bhinavagupta. N ot only are the entries in the tw o lists virtually th e sam e, they are practically in the sam e o rd er.3 1 T his coincidence tells u s th at w 'len
29T h e term s sa m d o h a and upasam doha are o f uncertain derivation. T hey are also found in B uddhist T antras in this o r a sim ilar form (such as chandoha). S ee H T 1/7/10-8. Jayaratha, the com m entator on the Tantrdloka, derives the term fro m the root sam duh, m eaning to milk, suck, o r ooze (m ilk). T hus he says th at a sam dohaka (is w hat h a s been m ilked ) b eca u se it consists m ainly o f the e xu d ed secretion o f the secondary sea ts (sam dohaketi upapljh an ih sy an d ap ray atv at T A vol. VI p. 2,489). ^ It appears th at apart from the grouping together o f the m ost im portant seats, KSmarilpa and the rest, the d ivision o f o th er such sites into separate subsets is neither uniform nor significant. 31T h e en tries and their o rd er coincide in the tw o lists up to the eighth entry in the Jaya d ra th a ya m a la list, n am ely, S n p ljh a. T h e K M T lists Srlkofa. T hat this is another nam e fo r D evlkota is confirm ed by the co rresponding entry in the list found in the com m entary on the $ats&}uisrasamhitd (25/8). E^&bhl, the tenth entry in thc list, co rresp o n d s to Airutfl in the K M T. But these appear to b e tw o nam es fo r the sam e place, nam ely, Eruntfl. T h e next entry, H515, w hich Jayaratha glosses as A lipura, replaces HastinSpura in the K M T s list. T h e follow ing entry in thc K M T , that is, the tw elfth, is ElSpura; this is the sixteenth entry acco rd in g to the JY . T he next entry acco rd in g to the JY is Gokarpa. T he corresponding entry in the K M T is Kflmari, w hich is ano th er nam e for G okam a. A ccording to thc com m entary on the $a(SS m entioned above, this place is called N arm ad3 G o karna w hile thc K M T states that the goddess o f KSSmari is G okaniS, w hich further co n firm s this identification. T he follow ing entry in the edited text o f thc K M T is M aru d eia. T h c co rresponding entry in the JY , according to the printed edition o f the Tantrdloka that quotes it, is M arukoSa. T h is is a m istak e for M arukeSa. T h c co rresponding entry in thc com m entary in thc a(S S, M am kcSvara, confirm s this. T h e n ext entry in the printed ed itio n o f the K M T is C aitrakaccha, but som e m anuscripts read N agar, w hich is the sam e as the c o rresponding entry in the JY . T h c corresponding entry in the com m entary on the a(S S is B h fg u n ag ara. T he seventeenth entry in the K M T reads P arastira; the equivalent entry in the JY is Purastira, w h ich is th e correct

th ese T an tras w ere red acted , th ese places w ere already c o n sid e re d to b e a s tan d a rd g ro u p by at least th ese tw o trad itio n s, o n e centred o n th e g oddess K u b jik a an d th e o th e r o n th e goddess K ill a s tau g h t in th e JY . It w o u ld be a m istake, therefore, to th in k o f th is sac re d g e o g rap h y as bein g sp ecific to an y o n e school. T h e close asso ciatio n betw een th e o b scu re g o d d e ss K ubjika and K ali, still m aintained in the S jk ta T an trism o f th e N ew ars, a n d a tte ste d in n u m e ro u s w ays in the K ubjika T an tras, th u s finds fu rth er co n firm atio n . In d eed , th e e d itio n an d detailed an aly sis o f the T an tras o f o th e r related sch o o ls w ill m o st p ro b a b ly rev eal th a t th e se w ere places sacred to a ll, i f not m ost, o th er K aula a n d B h airav a T an tric sy ste m s. T he form ation o f stan d ard -sets renders th e ir in d iv id u al m e m b e rs e a s ily am en ab le to assim ilation to cosm ic p rinciples and in teriorization. L e t u s tra c e th e s tag e s o f this dev elo p m en t in the case o f these tw enty-four sites in the K u b jik a T a n tra s to o b se rv e the way this pro cess operates. T he K M T p rescribes the w orship o f these places as ato n e m en t fo r in a d v e rte n tly om itting som e part o f the w orship o f K ubjikas m ain M andala. S u ch o m issio n s are tran sg ressio n s o f the R ule (sa m a ya ), as a resu lt o f w hich the a d ep ts strength fails ( g la n i ) an d o b stac le s afflict him . W orshipping these sacred places along w ith the g o d d esses w h o re sid e th ere, their w eapons and the pro tecto rs o f the field (k se lra p a la ) can p u rify th e ad ep t w h o h as th u s sullied him self. It seem s th at a literal pilgrim age is en jo in ed here b e ca u se th e T a n tra g o es on to say that if the adept can n o t do this o r is lazy, he can p u rify h im se lf b y sim p ly p ra isin g the sacred seats. T he w orship o f these and o th er sites is a re g u la r featu re o f all K a u la ritu al. It is a m ajo r feature o f the K ubjika T antras w hich, therefore, co n tain m an y such h y m n s d ed icated to the sacred seats. In this case this m eans recitin g the v erses in th e T a n tra in w h ich these tw enty-four p laces are listed in the m orning ju s t after g e ttin g u p o r b e fo re g o in g to sleep. T he T an tra pro m ises that even if the in itiate has co m m itte d terrib le sin s, he is respected (sam m aia) by the M o th ers (rnatrka) w h o resid e there. M oreover, th e ad ep t can recite the hym n w hen he is in th e s ac rific ial a re a w h e re th e rites o f the g oddess are perfo rm ed , in fro n t o f K u b jik as M an d a la , h e r ic o n , o r a L in g a. H e m ay also recite it stan d in g in w ater w hen he m akes h is a b lu tio n s. In th is w a y , w e are to ld , c alam ities, poison, fire, w a ter o r d isease d o es n o t o v e rc o m e h im .33 T h e T an tra su p p lies an a ltern ativ e, m o re e lab o rate, m e th o d o f w o rsh ip p in g th e se p la c es i f the adept is o v erco m e b y great fear ( m a h a b h a y a ). T o re m e d y h is d istre ss, h e sh o u ld fashion tw enty-four c ircles (m a n d a la ). T h e se are d iv id e d in to fo u r g ro u p s o f s ix , o n e g ro u p fo r each direction startin g w ith th e east. F lo w ers o f v ario u s c o lo u rs are o ffe re d in th e e a s t w hite, south yellow , w e st red, an d n o rth d ark b lu e. A j a r full o f w ater is p la c ed in th e c en tre . A lam p
spelling. T h is is follow ed by Pr$th3pura in the K M T , m issin g in the J Y . T h e n e x t v a ria n t is th e n in eteen th entry in the K M T. K u h u d i (com m . $ a |S S : KuhundT); th is co rresp o n d s to KudyakcST in th e JY . T h e n c o m e S o p a n a in JY and SopSra in the K M T . S opana is a m istaken read in g and so S o p ara is th e s a m e in b o th lists. T h is entry is followed by K$Irika and M ayapurT in that o rd er, acco rd in g to th e K M T , and in th e rev erse o rd er a cco rd in g to die JY. T h e final entry in the K M T is R ajagrha; this is the penultim ate o n e in the J Y s list, w h ich e n d s w ith S n sajla (according to the K ulakram odaya q uoted by Jayaratha in his c o m m en tary on the T a n tra lo ka [V ol. V II, p. 3334], the M 5trks Brahm Snl w as w orshipped at this im portant site). T h is fact w as ap p aren tly so w ell k n ow n that A bhinava calls this place VairificI, the p lace o f the goddess VirificI, th at is, B rahniani KM T 22/18-22.

is placed in each o f the tw en ty -fo u r circles. T he adept should then m ove aro u n d through these rep licatio n s o f the sacred seats in due order. He should do this for a day and a night. H aving passed the night k eep in g h im se lf well under control, he should then m ake offerin g s o f m eat and w in e (tech n ically called virabhojya). T hen he should propitiate the sacred seats, p ro stratin g b efo re them repeatedly. In this w ay he is freed o f his fear along w ith other im p ed im en ts and d iseases. T he T an tra prom ises that he w ill quickly attain success and becom e w ealthy. If he is celibate, he w ill get a good w ife and sons, and if he is a student, k n o w le d g e .*1 F in ally , w e m ay note that th e nam e o f the ch ap ter o f the K u bjikam ata w here this is tau g h t is app ro p riately called the Pervasion o f the W hole and the P arts. T he S a tsa h a sra sa m h ita presents an interesting interiorization o f this replication o f the tw e n ty -fo u r sites. In this T an tra they figure as the com ponents o f the W heel o f the Sun, w hich, alo n g w ith those o f Fire and M oon, are the three form s o f the W heel o f the Skyfaring G od d esses (kh eca rica kra ) located in the throat in the W heel o f Purity ( v isu d d h ica kra ).35 They are div id ed into three g roups, according to w h eth er they are prim ary o r secondary Sacred F ields ( k se tra , u paksetra) o r m eeting grounds (sam doha). T he sites are arranged on the petals o f the lotus in four g roups o f six. T h ere are tw o sacred fields on the first tw o petals. Then there are tw o seco n d ary sacred fields on the next tw o petals and tw o m eeting gro u n d s on the follow ing tw o. T he rem aining three groups o f six are placed on the rem aining petals in serial o rd er in the sam e w ay. T h ese tw en ty -fo u r p laces, arranged in this w ay on the petals o f the lotus, co rresp o n d to the tw e n ty -fo u r p rin cip les o f ex isten ce (tattva) ranging from Earth to N ature (p ra krti ). T hus a co n n ectio n is m ade w ith the principles o f existence that constitute the w hole o f em pirical reality, not ju s t the body. T he pilgrim age to the sacred places takes the adept around the m an ifest universe. T h e stops on the jo u rn ey are linked in a developing progression, w hich is at the sam e tim e, in a seem ingly p aradoxical m anner, circular. W hen he reach es the upper ex trem ity , he c o n tin u es b eyond from the beginning again. In this perspective, there is no d escent, o n ly a co n tin u o u s risin g up through the spheres o f m anifestation from gross to subtle and subtle to g ro ss.36 T he estab lish m en t o f a sacred geography externally and its subsequent system atic in terio rizatio n is an essen tial part o f the form ation o f the com plex o f sym bolic form s and th eir dynam ic in teractio n that constitute the distinctive features o f the T antric system

Mlbid. ' C h ap ter 25 o f the $ajS S opens w ith a beautiful description o f this W heel. B hairava says to the goddess: O fa ir -fa c e d o n e! I w ill (n o w ) tell (yo u about) the g rea t wheel o f the Skyfaring G oddesses. (S h a p ed like a lotus), its sp ro u ts a re the w orlds a n d it is a d o rn ed with the p a rts o f M antras (p a d a ) a s its leaves. It is strewn with letters th a t a re (its) th o rn s a n d (its) holes are M antras. Divine, it is f a sh io n e d with the threads o f the cosm ic fo rc e s (kald) and. ( restin g ) on the knots which are the prin cip les o f existence (ta th a ), it is firm . P ossessing tw en ty-fo u r petals, it extends fo r billions ( o f leagues). In the m iddle o f the ocean o f the Void (vyom an), it lo o ks like blue collyrium . Shining like a thou sa n d suns, its radiant en ergy is like the Fire o f Time. ($atS S 25/2-5ab) ^ T h is m aterial has been draw n from $ a |S S 25/2-9. Here is, it seem s to m e, a fine exam ple o f h ow pilgrim age is conceived. T hc p ilg rim s route, rath er than being a representation o f the Path to L iberation, w hich w ould be straight, is m ore o f the nature o f a circum am bulation o f sacred space. T h is is do n e not lo ach iev e liberation but to propitiate the deities o f thc sacred spacc and gain benefits thereby.

expounded in the K ubjika Tantras. The goddess establishes a sacred g e o g ra p h y to d e lin eate her specific w orldly dom ain and so colonize site, city, region, co u n try an d th e w o rld through her d escen t from the transcendent. She thereby sp read s th e teach in g s c o n ce rn in g h e r an d the geography thus established an d internalized in h e r T antric system . In th is sy ste m , as in m o st others o f its kind, tim e and location serve as the prerequisites fo r the d e lin e atio n o f the specific entities that lend th eir identity to the energies, w hich are in tern ally co n fig u re d so as to replicate their concrete, external existence in ideally perfect geo m etric p a tte rn s an d reg u lar rhythm s. T hese geom etries and rhythm s constitute the sy stem in its c o m p le x ity a n d , h en ce, its spiritual transform ative pow er. Specific form s, places and tim e th u s b e co m e id e a l c ip h e rs that m ark the configuration and developm ent o f A bstract T ran scen d en t R eality , w h ich b eco m es im m anent at first as sacred geom etries w ithin the d iv in e c o n scio u sn ess o f th e d eity so as to constitute its B ody o f E nergies ( kula p in d a ), the latter then bein g rep licated in th e b o d y o f th e adept. T his then is the interm ediate reality th at is vitalized by th e u n iv ersal, a b strac t e n erg y from the upper transcendent reality. T h is energy flow s o u t to th e ch ao tic c o n fig u ra tio n s o f outer concrete entities that, by lending this energy th eir form s, c o n cretize th e tra n sce n d e n t, rendering it am enable to approach. In th is w ay they b eco m e in tellig ib le b e ca u se th e y are no longer perceived as disconnected phenom ena b u t as parts o f a g reater a b strac t W h o le w h ich is a m eaningful, albeit, com plex, system . A ccordingly, the root T an tra o f the K ubjika cult begins by d elin eatin g this sacred geo g rap h y and in so doing explains the origins o f the goddess herself. T his starts fro m the g o d d e sss land o f origin, the Santanabhuvana the W orld o f the Lineage. T h is is p resen ted as the outside w orld o f m yth. Its three peaks, arranged in a trian g le, e n clo se an id y llic land behind the H im alaya3* to the w est o f M eru. Internally th is is located at th e to p o f th e T w elv e Finger Space above the head (see Fig. 4). T h is is the h erm itag e o f H im av an , w h o receiv es B hairava w ith such devotion that the god grants him a n u m b er o f b o o n s.40 H im av an , by w ay o f recom pense, introduces B hairava to his d aughter, the virgin ( k u m a rik a ) K alik a w h o ask s him to be the deity she w orships. B hairava responds b y im parting to h e r a v isio n o f the universe and insight into the energy that sustains it. This is the div in e C om m and (ajtia ) that w as tran sm itted through th e six lin e a g es o f th e six accom plished adepts ( sid d h a ) w ho w ere the disciples o f M atsy en d ran ath a, w h o , as w e have seen, is the legendary founder o f K aulism in th is age.41 T h e p laces w h e re th e six d iscip les received initiation and w hence they spread the teachings are listed in T a n tras o f d ifferen t

The KM T explains lhat the (caching concerning the B ody o f E nergies (k u la p itu la ) is the p ractice o f the Sequence o f the Sacred Seats and the B ody (pinda ). It is present in the w orld o f m en , as is the g o d d e ss (K M T 1/53). "K M T 1/2, Sa|SS 1/6. Sa|SS l/27a. T he western direction noted h ere m ay possibly b e con n ected w ith c h a ra c tc riza tio n o f the Kubjika cult as the W estern Tradition. "K M T l/24f. This is w hat the Kubjikfim ata calls the previous tradition ( pitrvam ttaya ). T h is T a n tra m ain tain s lh at by the time o f its redaction, this tradition had decayed and so required the estab lish m en t o f a new , su b seq u e n t and definitive one. T his is the K ubjika cult lhat is appropriately called P ascim am naya m ea n in g 'th e last a n d final tradition.

sch o o ls.4' T h ese p laces clearly belong to the geography o f the early K aula T antras. M oreover, each d iscip le is also lin k ed w ith a village and a sacred gro v e.43 U n fortunately, these places have not y et b een id en tified . T h is is certainly because o f th eir local character, reflectin g the close relatio n sh ip th ese pan -In d ian S anskritic traditions had w ith local and regional traditions. A tw o fo ld p ro cess o f d o m esticatio n and interiorization m arks the tran sitio n from one to the other. B h airav a g o es on to tell the goddess that her p o w er w ill m anifest itse lf in the land o f the V irgin G o d d ess (K u m arik a), nam ely, India. H e tells her that until she has estab lish ed her au th o rity in India the land o f B harata there can be no union w ith him . H e then d isappears tellin g her to go to M ount K aum ara.44 She abandons her com panions and, in o rd e r to seek her god, she goes to the M o u n tain o f the M oon, w hich she ascends, th ere to assum e the form o f a Liriga in w hich the en tire universe is enveloped. T he god now begins to w orship the Liriga, called U dyan ab h airav a, and asks the goddess to abandon her unm anifest form . A ccordingly, the g o d d ess b u rsts apart the Liriga and em erges out o f it.45 T hen the g oddess prom ises to im part the teach in g s to the god. T his she does in the various places she now p ro ceed s to*visit, w here she im p arts the teach in g s to the resident Siddha, an aspect o f B hairava, by sp o rtin g (sex u ally ) w ith him . In th is w ay she gen erates spiritual sons and daughters th at m ake up her lineage. T he first place the g oddess visits is the K ula m ountain. T his is S riparvata, called K um ara. W hen the g o d d ess looks at it, Sri, the goddess o f royal pow er and w ealth, suddenly becom es m anifest, so it is called Srisaila. S he draw s a line on the g round w ith her toe and so creates a riv er that serv es as a b o u ndary. S he establishes (the goddess) C h ay a there and gives her the co m m an d that w h o ev er e n ters that sacred area w ill be her equal. The g oddess continues her jo u rn e y to M o u n t T rik u ta an d then to M ount K iskindha. In these places she gives the pow er o f her co m m an d and graces the dem ons w ho protect them (raksasa). S he then goes to the shore o f th e ocean , w here she stands for a w hile, and so there she is K anyakum ari. Then,

4;T w o have been com pared, nam ely, a source belonging to Che KubjikS T antras and (he K ulakridavatara lhat is q uoted by A bhinavagupta in thc Tantraloka, and they have been found to agree. Sec M ap 10. JSee A ppendix 3 for a table displaying this inform ation. K M T 1/48-54. In the $a}SS this place is identified w ilh riaila, which is thc sacrcd scat o f M atahga. Internally, it the trunk o f the body up to thc neck. J-K M T 2/3. T h e them e o f thc goddess em erging from the Linga is well know n. In thc D evlm dhatm ya o f the M arkandeya P urana M aham aya rent open the Siva Linga and cam e forth. T he sam e is stated in the K alika P urana (76/83-93). A sim ilar conception, nam ely that this prim ordial energy com es from the Person (purusa ) is found in thc B hagavadgitS (15/4). T hc idea is well know n to thc SaivasiddhSnta, according to w hich spheres o f en ergy ( ka la ) em erg e from thc Linga. &ricakra is also w orshipped in association w ith thc Linga and is som etim es even draw n on it. B anerjcc (1974: 508) tells us that a unique im age w as d iscovered in the ruins o f V ikram pur. w ithin thc lim its o f the ancient capital o f thc Senas and their p redecessors, in thc quarter o f the town know n as K a g a jip a ra." He g oes on to dcscibc il as four feet in height. It show s in its low er part a w ell-carved S ivalihga, from the top o f w hich em erges thc half-length figure o f a four-arm ed goddess w ith h er front hands in the d h ydnam udra, the back hands carrying a rosary and a m anuscript. Thc D ev i is profusely ornam ented, and her beautifully carved youthful face w ith three eyes has a serene m editative ex p re ssio n ." It is reproduced in Plate X L V , 2 o f B an crjccs book. He identifies il as M aham 5y3. T he iconography B anerjee d escribes co rresp o n d s to that o f thc goddess Para. A lthough this figure m ay not be lhat o f the goddess K ubjika, w ho is frequently identified w ith both Para and M ah5m ay5, she could well be depicted in this way.

having graced the ocean, she goes to a cave called D aradandi T h ere the g o d d e ss assu m e s the form o f Shade (chaytldhari), her mind set on the U nm anifest. She then goes a long distance to the w estern H im agahvara. T he forest g o d d e ss (v a n a p a llik lf') O lam bika resides there. The goddess is pleased and d eclares th at th is p lace is called U ddiyana because she flew up into the sky there.47 She resides there in the K rta A g e along with her consort U ddam ahesa, w ho is M itrananda, a founder o f the K u b jik a tra d itio n . T here, she is called Raktacam unda.'1 8 She then goes to K arala. The place is said to be b rillian t with radiant energy; it is therefore renam ed Jalandhara, the place o f the flam e jv a la . T h e burning radiance o f the g o d d ess's flam es has been aw akened and she sees c o u n tle ss m arvelous creations like those produced by m agic ( indrajala , here too, a p p aren tly , an e ty m o lo g y is im plied). She w onders w hat this m arvelous creation is. She is to ld th at alth o u g h she has fallen because o f the g o d s great energy, she has not fled from it an d so sh e is ad d re sse d as the one w ho extends the net ( ja la ) o f M aya. She is told that she w ill be g iv en lo rd sh ip over Jalandhara. In this role she is called Karal T and h e r co n so rt in th e T re ta A g e is SiddhakaundalT.4 The goddess then goes to the great forest called Sahya. T here, she fills th e th re e w o rld s with the flames o f her halo and is called CandaksT. As all things- are filled th is w ay, she is addressed as one w ho is full o f all things (purnarupint). B y v irtu e o f the Y oga (y isuvayoga ) by which she has done all this, she becom es the m istress o f the m o u n tain w hich is identified with Purnagiri. H er authority is exerted at the end o f the D v a p ara A ge. H er consort is C akrananda.50 The goddess then goes to a place called K am ik a. T h e re is a river there called U cchusm a, there in the forest o f M ahocchusm a. In the sam e fo rest th e re are tw o lakes. O ne is called M ahahrada and the other N ila. H ere th e G reat G o d d e ss ag ain m eets the local goddess, w ho is m elting w ith passion and m elts the three w o rld s w ith (h e r) d e sire . Kubjika is pleased to see her and nam es her KamesvarT the M istress o f P a s sio n . She explains that the nature o f the sacred seat w here K am esvar T resides is h e r p a ssio n itself (kam arupa) and so this place is the sacred seat K am arupa w here th e g o d d e ss KamesvarT resides in the Age o f Strife ( kaliyuga ). H er consort will be C andrananda. S e a te d on the W ind and passionate, he is K am adeva the G od o f Love, him self. T his co m p letes th e fo rm atio n o f the four m ain sacred seats com m on to all traditions.5 1 The god goes on to talk o f a fifth sacred seat (associated w ith the K u la o f M atarig a) w h ich is located in the northern part o f Lake N ila in the forest o f M ah o c c h u sm a , lo cated in M adhyadesa. The w hole universe is generated from it. This sacred seat is said to be lo cated in the m iddle, above the sacred seat o f Kama. It is filled with three stream s ( s ro la s ), an d so the

^A lternatively, a vanapallikii m ay he a small village in ihc jungle. Iu(Mita ycna angribhyaiii icncdarii uddiyanakam I KM T 2/40cd. Ibid. 2/40-9. Ibid. 2/50-63ab. Klbid. 2/63cd-8l.

goddess th ere is T risro ta an d her form is that o f a riv e r.52 P resum ably, th is place is the T risro ta referred to previously. T he g o d d ess then g o es to the e ig h t places w here the E ight M others (m atrka) are located (see M ap 7). N o t o n ly T an tric m eetin g g rounds ( sa m d o h a ) but also sacred bathing p laces ( tlrth a ) are created w h erev er the g oddess goes and casts her gaze. T h e virgin g oddess K um arika thus sp read s her fam e th ro u g h o u t the land o f B harata, so that it b ecom es a v eritab le p art o f the god d ess (ku m a rika kh a iid a ).s> O nce she has co m p le ted h er jo u rn e y around India she can unite w ith the god. W e are to ld that this takes place rep eated ly . T he god o f the p revious lineage gives the g oddess the com m and to travel aro u n d India, and then w hen she returns to the sam e place she co u p les w ith the god w h o is the G reat L o rd o f O d ra (O rissa?). He again tells her to travel around India and then to return to the sacred seat o f U dda (O rissa?) w here she should create the u n iv erse repeatedly co u n tless tim es. T h en the g o d d isap p eared in an instant. It ap p ears at first sig h t that the god d ess is travelling all around India to v isit the m ajo r Sakta sites. In fact the story o f this pilg rim ag e records, at least from w hen she reaches H im agahvara, the local replication o f pan-Indian sites, especially the m o st im p o rtan t o f them fo r the K aula and B h airav a T an tras the fo u r sacred seats. T he phenom enon o f replication, w hich is fundam ental to P uranic sacred geography, is no less so in its T antric counterpart. T h u s the g oddess rev eals v arious aspects o f h erself in the places she visits and thereby rep licates the location w here th is asp ect is p resent in the m acrocosm ic India. S he also infuses the local g o d d ess w ith h er p o w er as the G reat Pan-Indian G oddess and so, as the Sakti o f Sakti, she beco m es h e r essential nature. A n o th er im portant feature o f her co lo n izin g to u r is the h ierogam ies th at tak e place in the individual places w ith aspects o f the m ale deity, e m b o d ied in the ad ep t w h o resid es there. T h ese unions, w hich are the source o f the spiritual po w er o f th ese p laces, g en erate the g o d d esss spiritual offspring, w ho form w hat the texts variously call a h o u seh o ld (g rh a ), lineage (anvaya, santati) o r clan (gotra) through w hich the teaching is transm itted. A fu rth er d e v elo p m en t in the d efin itio n o f the location o f these places took place in the Sa tsa h a sra sa m h ita , w here they are p rojected onto the head. T his has been graphically rep resen ted in F ig u re 4. W orth noting is the position o f the four m ajor sacred seats, U ddiyana (also called U dra) in the ears, Jalan d h ara in the m outh, P urnagiri in the uv u la and K am arupa in the eyes. T h is is b ecau se, the T an tra tells us, these four seats m anifest w hen the goddess w ishes to hear, sp eak , th riv e and see, respectively. S acred place is thus interiorized into the co g n itiv e p ro cesses and m etabolism . T w o rivers flow from the M ahocchusm a F o rest located in the C av ity o f B rahm a at the top o f the head into the tw o lakes represented by the eyes. A bove the C avity o f B rah m a is an inverted pyram id that resonates w ith a series o f energies cu lm in atin g w ith the T ransm ental ( unmanT) at the base o f the pyram id. T h u s the rivers that flow from the C avity o f B rahm a represent the flow o f spiritualizing en ergy that vitalizes sight.

''-Ibid. 2/101-11. " Ib id . 2/118.

T he culm ination o f this sacred geography is the up p er trian g le th a t fo rm s th e b a se o f the pyram id, (see Fig. 5). T his triangle is significantly equated w ith a p lace c alle d C andrapura, w hich the texts tell us is the hom e o f the PaScima (i.e. K u b jik a T a n tra ) (p a sc im a g rh a ), and so is represented as the V ulva (yoni) o f the goddess w hich is th is trad itio n (p a ic im a m n a y a ) itself. T his interiorized representation o f place is typical o f the in n u m e ra b le re feren ces to C andrapura, variously interiorized and otherw ise u sed as a k ey sy m b o l in th e K ubjika Tantras. T he triangle em anates a circle called the S eat o f Y oga (y o g a p lth a ), an d th is la tte r is identified w ith the m ain M andala o f the K ubjika T antras, nam ely , th e S a m v a rta m a n d ala. T his is an interiorization o f tw o locations. O ne is C andraparvata (the M o u n tain o f th e M o o n ) and the other is C andradvlpa (the Island o f the M oon). CandraSTIa (th e M o o n R o c k ) is in the centre and w ithin h is C andraguha (the C ave o f the M oon). A ll th e se p la c e s m ountain, island, rock, and cave are linked w ith the goddess.

No less frequent is the association the later Kubjika Tantras make between the goddess and the land of Konkana.54 This is a long strip of land along the western coast o f India known as the Western Ghats (see Map 2 ) that includes, in its southern part, the area nowadays familiar as Goa. Candrapura, located in the north of this region, was for several hundred years, up to the middle o f the 11th century, the capital o f Konkana. This place is now called Chandor and is located in what is now west-central Mah5rastra.
W e know o f another C andrapura that fits the description found in th e e arlie st K u b jik a Tantra the K ubjikdm ata. T his was an im portant tow n in w hat is now the G a rw al d istric t o f the w estern Him alaya. N ot far from it is a m ountain called C an d rap arv ata (th e M o u n tain o f the M oon) w hich the K ubjika Tantras frequently relate to the g o d d ess.55 M o re o v er, th e erratic identification o f these places at tim es w ith C andradvlpa, fu rth er c o n fu se s th e picture. C andradvlpa is an island in the B ay o f B engal w ell know n as th e p la c e w h ere, acc o rd in g to a myth fam iliar to m ost early K aula schools,56 including the K u b jik a T an tras, M atsy e n d ra n ath a overheard Siva teaching K aula doctrine to his consort. T h e sim ilarity o f th e se n a m e s, the prestige o f these places and the strong lunar qualities o f th e g o d d ess m ay h a v e c o m b in e d to create a com posite m ythical location m ade up o f the com bined re p lic a tio n o f th e se three places. D espite the confusion created by the possible inco rp o ratio n o f m o re th an o n e physical location into the m ythical characterization o f C andrapura, it w o u ld m ak e s e n se i f th e places m entioned in the goddesss local tour, especially the p art in w h ich th e fo u r sac re d sea ts are replicated, w ere to be in a (possibly extensive) region around the a n cien t C an d ra p u ra in the G arhw al district. T his is m ore likely than the area aro u n d C h an d o r b e c a u s e th e fo rm er location is the one th at corresponds best to the description found in th e K u b jik a m a ta w h ich is the earliest text containing an account o f the g o d d e ss's tour. P erh ap s a stu d y o f th e local M ahdtm yas o f this area w ill confirm this hypothesis.

Thus, for exam ple, the K um irikakhanda o f the M anthanabhairavatantra declares: Again, the M other known a s Kam ala (Lotus) descended (to earth) in K onkana. That, in d eed , is a u th o rin ' m ade clearly manifest in Konkana. (KuK h 17/43cd-44) See Dyczkowski 2001. See introduction lo Bagchi 1934.

B u t w h eth er th ese p laces can be located o r not, the fact that the p ro jectio n s o n to th e head tau g h t by th e S a tsa h a sra sa m h ita p roduce the forced sym m etry they do is an in d icatio n o f the o rig in al, ex tern al ex isten ce o f these places. T hus co m p are and contrast the p ro jectio n o f the fo u r m ain sacred seats alo n g th e axis o f the body up to the n e ck ,57 p rescrib ed by the K u bjikam ata. T h is is a p erfectly sym m etrical arrangem ent w hich is certainly because it is purely ideal. O n e co u ld h azard to say that, for the S a tsa h a sra sa m h ita , the b o d y serves as the locus o f p ro jectio n fo r th e pan -In d ian m acrocosm and the head fo r its localized replication. P erhaps becau se the latter w as no lo n g er functional by the tim e o f the redaction o f the S a tsa h a sra sa m h ita o r becau se th e c u lt had spread from its place o f origin, th e au th o r o f the S a tsa h a sra sa m h ita ch o se to internalize it. H e thus integrated the local g eography into the overall sy stem o f in te rio rizatio n o f its m acrocosm ic co u n terp art that had already taken place in the K ubjika m a ta ta n tra . D espite the th o ro u g h n ess w ith w hich the sites and all that had to do w ith pilg rim ag e had been in tern alized , until the 10th century (the possible tim e o f the redaction o f the K u b jika m a ta ta n tra ), if not later, the injunction to actually v isit these p laces w as *not m odified. T h e fo llo w in g p assag e from a K ubjika T antra not only encourages th e w orship o f the sacred seats, w hich can b e done anyw here, it tells us o f the fruits o f visitin g them in the stan d ard style o f p ilg rim ag e texts: H e w h o c o n sta n tly w o rsh ip s the seq u en ce o f the sa cre d sea ts that h a s com e d o w n through the seq u en ce o f the lineage, h a vin g kn o w n it thus, is h im s e lf B hairava d irectly apparent. H e w ho d o es the ro u n d o f the sa cre d seats, w h eth er he be a tea ch er (acarya) o r a n a d e p t (sadhaka), is liberated. H e is S iva d irec tly apparent, h e is (a true) m em b er o f the lineage a n d the b e st o f teachers. B y reso rtin g co u n tless tim es to the sa cred seats, a ll sin s a re d e stro y ed w h eth er one ha s co m m itted b ra h m in icid e a th o u sa n d tim es (o r even) i f one ha s killed a m yria d cows. So one sh o u ld w o rsh ip the fo u r sea ts a t a ll tim es. The desire o f one (w ho d o es) so b eco m es an a cco m p lish m en t (sid d h i) a n d he is d e a r to the yoginTs.58 T h at the inju n ctio n to v isit th ese places should be taken literally is further rein fo rced by the w arning th at fo llo w s th at th e ad ep t w ho goes o r resides in these places should not be p ro u d .59

57K M T 14/7-11 says that this standard set o f four p laces is located in the body as follow s: 1) U ddiyana (the g enitals?) b elow the navel 2) Jalan d h ara stom ach 3) Purnagiri heart and 4 ) Kam arupa-throat. The C incinim atasarasam uccaya, a late m iddle period K ubjika T antra. illustrates the ease with w hich it is possible to pro d u ce a sym m etrical projection o f the sacred seals onto the face. T he m ethod, the T antra tells us, is draw n from the S id d h a yo g efva rim a ta , a prim e authority for the T rika T antrism A bhinavagupta expounds in the Tantraloka. T h is T antra, in this case at least, substitutes O m karapitha (i.e. O m kareSvara in m odem M adhyapradeSa) fo r U ddiyana. A s thc projection requires the sim ultaneous display o f ritual gestures ( m udrd ) it cannot be b rought about by touching thc respective parts o f the body, as is usually done. Instead, the T antra prescribes that o n e m u st look at these locations, that is. visualize them there, in a m anner rem iniscent o f how the goddess sacralizes sites by the energy o f h er gaze. T h c four sacred scats arc located in the head as follows: 1) O m kara m outh 2) Jala right ear 3) Pflrpa left car 4 ) K am arupa tip o f the nose (C C M S 7/34). In this w ay a triangle is projected onto the face w ith K am artipa in the centre. 58K uK h 6/191-4. i9The h ero w ho h a s en tered U ddiyana a n d cultivates p rid e (there) w ill becom e p o o r a n d die; ( indeed) h e will live (ba rely) f o r a m onth. A robber, river o r terrible disease w ill kill the d e lu d e d so u l w ho is g iven to p rid e in Jalandhara. H e w ill live f o r (only) s ix m o n th s a n d then w ill die a long with h is relatives. Or, again, h e who despises (others) in P u m a p ith a o r is p r o u d w ill d ie b y fir e o r else h e w ill d ie in the fifth m o n th in a fie r c e battle. A n unseen h a m m e r fa lls on the h e a d o f one who, sea ted com fortably in K am arupa, a c ts pro u d ly. H is b o d y w ill

Peregrination to the sacred places is variously term ed. It m a y be s im p ly c alled a w andering (afana, bhram ana). T his m ay be associated w ith th e p io u s w a n d erin g o f the renunciate ascetic in search o f alm s (bhiksatana f 1 and, e sp ecially , b eg g in g fo r alm s in the eight sacred K aula places listed below . A ccordingly, these p laces are c alled sac re d seats o f peregrination (atan a p ith a ). They are also the residences o f g o d d e sse s, a cc o m p lish e d adepts and T antric partners w ho are represented as low -caste w om en o r c lo se fe m a le re la tiv e s. From this point o f view they are called houses (grha, g h a ra , v eim a n ). T h u s , acc o rd in g to the K ubjika Tantras, the eight m ajor K aula sacred sites each h ave a h o u se o c cu p ie d b y a w om an o f low caste w ho is identified w ith a M other (M atrka), as reco rd ed in th e fo llo w in g tab le6 1 and plotted on M ap 7. The second entry in bold records the id e n tific a tio n s m ad e by the M adhavakula and the D evyayam ala, both K ali T antras th at p re scrib e th e w o rsh ip o f KalasaitikarsanI as the suprem e form o f K ali.62 1) PraySga prostitute (veSya), sw e e p e r (matangT) B rahm anI navel 2) Varana65 liquor seller (iundint), c o lly riu m g irl (kajjall) M aheSvari (S arikari) heart 3) Kolia64 fisherw om an ( kaivarti ), b u tc h e r w o m a n ( sa u n i ) K au m ari th ro a t 4) A ttahasa chalk m iner w om an ( khattika ), p a ss io n a te w o m a n (ka m u kl65) V a isn av l palate 5) Jayantika ball-m aking w om an (kanduki ), le a th e r w o rk e r (carm akarinT) VarahT drop 6) C aritra w asherw om an ( rajaki ), liq u o r s e lle r (dhvajinT) In drani so u n d 7) Ekam ra sculptress (filp in i ), b o n e c ru s h e r w o m a n ( a sth iv id a rim ) C am u n d a th e place o f pow er (saktisthana) 8) Devtkota66 outcaste w om an (antyaja), fis h e rw o m a n (d h lv a ri) M ah a la k sm i67 teachers m outh68

dry up an d he will die in the m iddle o f the lunar fortnight. The teacher. O ha n d so m e one, w h o h a s been p ro u d will go to hell. (KuKh 6/196-201) KuK h 16/1-2. 61The identifications o f the resident low-caste wom en (w ho are referred to as g o d d esses) w ith th e Eight M others (M atrka) is according to KuKh' 16/13-S. T he identification o f these fem ale b e in g s w ith th e M others may not be an original part o f the teachings o f the K ubjika Tantras. T h ere are sev eral p lac e s in the K ubjika Tantras where these eight places with their low -caste residents are listed as a gro u p , w ith o c c asio n a l variants, without associating them with the M others. This is the case in the K ubjikam ata (2 5 /9 0 -5 ab ), w h ich is certainly the oldest o f the K ubjika Tantras and also, for exam ple, in K uK h 14/78-80. T h e late r so u rc e su p p lie s the inner equivalents (adhy&tma). N ote also that this identification is not m ade in the M a d h a va ku la a n d Devy& yam ala. Quoted in T A 29/66-7. " T h e quotation in the printed edition o f the Tantraloka lists V an in a a s th e n am e o f th is p lac e . T h is m ay well be an editorial error for V arana R eferring to this place, the K uK h declares th at V a ra n a is in V a ra ija sf (16/17). Thus w e can safely identify this place with V aranasi not V aain a, w hich is site n u m b er 4 6 in M ap 1. This place is KollSgiri. T h e edition o f the Tantr&loka reads Kulagiri. The edition o f Ihe Tantraloka reads k d r m u k i. The KuKh calls this place K otivarsa as docs KM T (25/94). T h is is an altern ativ e n am e fo r D c v ik o la (also spell D eviko;ta). "T h ere is an extra ninth entry according to the M adhavakula and the D evyS ya m a la . T h is is H aim apura, where the oil-grinding wom an (cakrinT) resides. As the " m istre ss o f the w h eels sh e is ap p ro p riate ly id en tified

It is a m atter o f great interest, k n ow n only to a few learned initiates, that this set o f eig h t, as presented in the K u b jik a T an tras, is w o rsh ip p ed regularly by N ew ar K aula initiates. T his they d o both in th eir secret do m estic rites and outside in sites situated around the K athm andu V alley and large urban areas. A representative exam ple o f this rep licatio n is the circle o f M o th ers that su rro u n d B h ak tap u r (see M ap 8 ). A lthough w e can n o t be su re how long this sacred geo g rap h y has b een in place, tradition ascribes its e stab lish m en t to K ing A nanda M alla, w ho pro b ab ly ruled B h ak tap u r in the fourteenth cen tu ry .6 T he read er is referred to pu b lish ed stu d ies fo r details. S uffice it to say for o u r present purpose that the individual M others are rep resen ted by icons k ep t in special tem ples (dyahchem ) and by stones in sites called pTtha situ ated aro u n d the b o rd er o f B haktapur. A N ew Y ear festival that takes place once a y e ar in A pril serves, am ongst o th er things, to co m m em o rate the founding o f the city o f B haktapur. T h e founding o f the city in this case effectively m eans the estab lish m en t o f its sacred g eo g rap h y , o f w hich the circle o f M others is one o f its cardinal features. A m ongst several o th e r im p o rtan t ev en ts that take place in the nine days the festival lasts is the in stallatio n o f both the icons o f the M others and the re-affirm ation, by the sam e token, o f their presen ce in the stones. N ow , although the w orship o f g roups o f E ight M others is a co m m on feature o f m o st if not all the T antric system s o f the K aula and B h airav a Tantras, their ex act co n fig u ratio n in the form listed above is peculiar to the K ubjika T antras. T he secret litu rg ies o f m any, if not all, o f the K aula traditions (am iiaya ) in B h ak tap u r take this set w ith these p articu lar eig h t low -caste w om en associated w ith them as the standard form at in w hich the M o th ers are w orshipped. T his is true o f the N ew ar 3 rlv id y a liturgies even though the ro o t T an tras o f this school know nothing o f these identifications. It is true also fo r form s o f K ali N ew ar initiates w orship, such as G u h y ak all and the cult o f S iddhalaksm l. T he form er w as, in any case, ab so rb ed early on into the K ubjika cult, as I have already noted elsew here. If any d o u b t rem ains that the E ight M others o f B haktapur are derived from the K ubjika T antras, the identification is co n firm ed by th e fact that w hile the M others are being installed, o ne a night, on the b o rd er o f the o u te r civic space, the principal goddesses on w hom the M others attend are w o rsh ip p ed in the royal palace as the deities o f the king, the state and the p eople. A s o n e w o u ld expect, these goddesses include, in a prom inent m anner, the tutelary o f the M alla kings, S iddhalaksm l. Indeed, the secret rite perform ed in the royal palace on the m ain day o f the festival w hich m irrors the erection a large pole (yasiii) in a public place in B h ak tap u r c u lm in ates w ith the erection o f a flag pole and flag (d va ja ro h a n a ) to the goddess S iddhalaksm l. E ven so, the m ain goddess w orshipped secretly in the course o f this secret rite is K ubjika. A cco rd in g ly , the M others w ho are her attendants in the T antras are those w ho are w orshipped as h e r a tten d an ts in the city o f B haktapur. T his is sym bolized by the collocation o f the g o d d ess T rip u ra in the centre o f the circle, thus m arking the tru e (i.e. esoteric) centre o f tow n. A lth o u g h the public w orship T rip u ra there in the form o f an aniconic stone as

with Kundalinl. M ore specifically, she is K alasam karsani w ho, as Ihe M istress o f K ula ( ku te iv a ri ), is w orshipped in Ihe cen lre eith er alone, w ith her consort o r even independently o f the eight listed above. Although the references q uoted in thc T anlraloka do not tell us this specifically, the eight m ay also be identified with the E ight M others w ho surround KalasamkarsanT represented by her 17-syllahlcd m antra. A lternative inner m aps o f these eight places and the projection o f the Eight M others onto the body draw n fio m thc Srim uloltura, w hich is a K ubjika T antra. and the Srikum Cikhyagiihyasiddhi have been published by D chcjia 1986: 48. '"S ee Levy 1992: 489f. 70See, fo r exam ple, ibid .: 464-500.

a n in th M other, initiates know that this is the place w here in itiates w o rsh ip th e ir o w n lineage g o d d ess, w ho m ay o r m ay not be T ripura.7 1 H ere then w e have a fine exam ple o f the replication o f T an tric sacred g e o g ra p h y m ed iated by its initial interiorization in the dom estic rites o f the N ew ar K aulas. W e m ay n o te here o n e of th e im portant fu n ctio n s o f in teriorization, nam ely th at, once the in itiate has in te rio rize d a sacred g eo g rap h y , he c an tran sp o rt it w ithin him self. T hen, if h is c u lt re c e iv e s th e necessary patronage, w h ich o ccu rs w hen, fo r ex am p le, a king beco m es an in itia te , h e can p ro je c t it o u tsid e.72 In th is case th is projection m akes the foundation o f the civ ic sp ac e a m eso co sm ic replication o f K aula g eography. T hus it allow s N e w a r in itiates th e p o ssib ility o f visiting these places, a s d id th eir Indian K aula ancestors. T h is ex am p le serv es to d e m o n stra te th e need fo r th e co n tin u in g ex isten ce o f such places in the ou ter, p u b lic d o m ain . N o t o n ly d o the M o th ers serve as dem arcato rs and protectors o f the sacralized civ ic sp ac e , it a lso m ak es the pilg rim ag e to th e ir sacred sites possible. A nd the citizen s o f B h ak tap u r d o in fact d o th is on th e o ccasion o f th e N ew Y ears festival and the nine-day w o rsh ip in a u tu m n o f D u rg a, w h o is th e public id en tity o f each K aula goddess. T h e pilg rim ag e to su ch p laces, w h eth er by N ew ars in th eir to w n s o r by th e ir p re d e ce sso rs in India, is u n d ertak en as a vow ( vratacarya ). T h e p ilg rim ag e can be in te rio rize d a s a possible alternative to its actual perform ance. W hen th is happens it is called th e V o w o f K now ledge (y id y a vra ta ). T h e K ubjika m a ta ta n tra d eclares that, he w h o p ractises th e V o w ( v ra ta ca rya ) and internalizes w h at is external achieves success (sid d h i).n T h e p ra c tic e o f th e v o w is living in accord w ith o n e s basic state o f b ein g ( b h a va ); th is is w h y th e T a n tra sa y s th a t it is called the V ow o f K now ledge. T his basic state o f b ein g is full o f a w aren e ss, th ro u g h w hich the p ercep tib le is d iscern ed in the course o f co gnition, and s o th e p o w e r o f c o n sc io u sn ess is aw akened.74 T h e ap p licatio n and dev elo p m en t o f th is aw aren ess th ro u g h sp iritu a l discipline and its c o n tin u ed m ain ten an ce in daily life, w hich is m an ifest in a d h eren c e to th e ru les o f rig h t sp iritu al co n d u ct, is to liv e in accord w ith o n e s in n er b ein g , w hich is th e in te rn a l V ow o f K now ledge. A s th e T a n tra says:

N ew ar initiates freq u en tly w orship their ow n csotcric deities in place o f (he p u b lic o n es. T h e p u b lic d eity is venerated as the su rface o n to w hich the esoteric deity is projected and w o rshipped in se cre t. N o tab le exam ples o f this phenom enon is the w o rsh ip o f the m ain Bhairava in B haktapur as K ubjika, Paupati as S ikh asv acch an d a Bhairava, a n d h is c o n so rt G u h y ak all a s the goddess em bodying the w eapon (a stro ) o f the g o d d e ss K ubjika. O ne o f th e m an y ex am p les o f Ihis phenom enon can be seen in the tem p le o f S ariiv ara/B d e-m ch o g in Tsaparang. T ucci (1989: 4 3 -5 ) has d escribed this tem ple, w hich contains detailed fresco s o f th e m an d alas o f the S am vara cycle o f the B uddhist A nu u aray o g a T antra. On one o f the w alls there are th ree m an d a la s rep resen tin g the body, speech a n d m ind o f th e enlightened adept. T hey are squares, o n the sid e s o f e a ch o f w h ich are represented eig h t sacred V ajrayana sites in India. T hese sites correspond to those p lotted on M ap 9. Just as these sacred sites w ere transported to T saparang in this way, they travelled w h erev er ariiv ara w as w orshipped, including the entire H im alayan region. T hus Tucci rem arks that now all these p laces are [found] through Zanskar. K ashm ir, K ulu, the districts o f Hazara and S w at (ibid.: 43). T hey w ere not o n ly tran sp o sed in this w ay from place to p lace but w ere also internalized as the param eters o f the a d e p t's body, sp eech and m ind. And. by m eans o f an o th er reversal, th ey m arked spots o f the giant body o f the en lig h ten ed adept p ro jected o n to the landscape. KM T 25/121.

M ed ita tio n , w o rsh ip , th e rep etitio n o f M antra, the fir e sacrifice a n d the p ra ctice o f the Rule (sam ayacaranaJ th is is s a id to be the Vow o f K now ledge. The extern a l vow is n o t the b e st.75 A gain: These p la c e s (sth a n a ) I h a ve m e n tio n e d are w ithin the inner (S u p rem e) S e lf (a d h ya tm a ) a n d a re g ro u n d e d in th e in d ivid u a l soul. The etern a l (Self), residing in the W heel o f the H eart, w a n d ers c o n sta n tly w ith in them . A s long a s (a p erso n ) d o es n o t a tta in the in n er teaching (a d h ya tm a n irn a ya ) c o n cern in g the sa cre d seats, ho w can he h ave su ccess (sid d h i) even i f he w a n d ers (th ro u g h o u t) the triple u n iverse? 76 B ut th e K u b jik a T a n tras do not prescribe the elim ination o f the o u ter sacred sites o r outer p ilg rim ag e. T h o u g h the o u te r pilg rim ag e is fruitless w ithout the inner, it serves a necessary fu n ctio n fo r th o se w h o are not yet fully developed.77 In o rd er to achieve success both the internal an d ex tern al vow s should be practised together.78 As the T an tra says: B oth the inner and o u te r asp ects h ave an in n er and o u ter co n d itio n . 79 O ne o f th e m a jo r aim s o f th is vow coincides w ith that o f the p erform ance o f p en itential vow s in g en eral, in clu d in g th o se suggested by the D harm aSastras, nam ely, the purification o f the ind iv id u al fro m sin. A ccording to the K ubjika T antras, this purification leads to liberation, ju s t as th e p erfo rm an ce o f the vow in itself gives the adept m agical and yogic pow er siddhi. In o rd e r to u n d e rstan d the o u te r form o f this and o th er such vow s in a larger p erspective, we sh o u ld have to retrace its history right b ack to V edic tim es and V edic sacrifices w hich dem an d ed th e o b serv an ce o f a ran g e of. vow s on the part o f the patron o f the sacrifice (y a ja m a n a ) an d h is o fficiants. F o r the specifically S aiva historical precedents, w e w o u ld first have to tu rn to the (LakuliSa) P a su p a ta su tra s belonging to the 3 rd century. T h en w e w ould need to e x am in e th e S a iv asid d h an ta A gam as that follow ed after. W e co u ld then p roceed on to the B h airav a T an tras, w h ich logically an d in actual fact (som e p arts o f th em a t least) w ere the im m ed iate historical pred ecesso rs o f th e K aula T antras. T hese tex ts contain prescriptions fo r n u m ero u s v o w s ( v ra ta ). T h e un ed ited B rahm ayam ala is an ex am p le o f a B h airav a T an tra th at is esp e c ia lly rich in th is respect. T h e im portant an d lik ew ise u n ed ited KalT-centred J a y a d ra th a y a m a la also lists m any such vow s. T h ese include th e V o w o f M adness (u n m a tta vra ta ), th e V o w o f N akedness ( nagn a vra ta ), th e V ow to B e T ransvestite (s trlve ia d h a ra vra ta ) , th e V o w to W ear R ed C lo th es ( ra kta vefa d h a ra vra ta ), and m any m ore, in clu d in g the m o st fam o u s o f all, th e G reat V ow ( m ah a vra ta ). T h is vow requires th at the ascetic w a n d er co n stan tly fro m p lace to place im itating B h airav as p en an ce fo r having sev ered o n e o f B ra h m a s heads. H e sh o u ld w ear six insignia, nam ely, a n ecklace ( ku n th ikd ), neck o rn am en t (ru ca ka ), earrin g s (ku n d a la ), crest-jew el (fikh a m a n i), ashes ( b h a sm a ) an d a

,5K uK h 14/22cd-23ab.

"Ibid. ]4 /80cd-82ab.
"A c c o rd in g ly , a K ubjika T a n lra succinctly slates: T h e external sacred seals hav e been revealed in o rd er to (instill) d e v o tio n in th e (co m m o n ) p e o p le ." (K uK h l4 /8 3 ab )

7tOne who has thus performed the internal and external vow, (practised right) conduct and (applied the spiritual) means (sidhand), has success (siddhi). O god. (this is) the truth, without a doubt. (Ibid. 14/99cdlOOab)

sacred thread (yajiiopavTta ). M ost im portant o f all is the skull he sh o u ld c arry . T h e ascetics w ho observed this vow w ere accordingly called KSpSlikas ( S kull B e a re rs). The Brahm ayam ala 10 has been described as a K apalika T antra. T h is is p a rtly b ecau se the form o f the cult it prescribes is relatively literal and undom esticated. In p a rtic u la r, it dev o tes lengthy passages to a description o f the aforem entioned in sig n ias, a b o v e all to th e skull. T he Kubjika and other K aula traditions w ere close descendants o f such c u lts, an d m an y traces o f their connection rem ain. T hus the K ubjika T antras prescribe five ra th e r th an six in sig n ia s and om it the infam ous skull. They also adm it the w andering life. T h u s a K u b jik a T a n tra says: Adorned with (the sacred insignias ),*' the recitor o f M antra, ta kin g (ea ch sa cre d ) fie ld (ksetra) as a refuge, should w ander (from o n e to the o th e r a n d w ith in them . T h ese p la c e s include), in due order, a crem ation ground, (a deserted ) fo r e s t, (a n a b a n d o n e d ) w e ll (or) garden, an auspicious temple, an em pty palace, the p e a k o f a m o untain, a c r o s sr o a d o f fo u r roads, one o f three roads, village roads, the seashore , th e b a n k o f th e c o n flu e n ce o f rive rs or, 0 sinless one, (a desert where there is only) a solitary tree o r (w h ere th ere is ju s t) a single linga o r (any) fe a rfu l (canda) (sacred) field.*1 A bhinava, who belonged to the 11 th century, system atically e x p o u n d ed a p o ssib le p attern o f total interiorization o f such sites and, indeed, all T antric ritual. T h e reaso n w h y th is is possible and should be realized is in every case the sam e, nam ely , e v ery th in g is a manifestation o f consciousness w ithin consciousness, like a reflectio n in a m irro r. T h u s as long as this has not been realized rituals and p ilgrim ages m ay b e p e rfo rm e d b u t, as A bhinava says, for one who sees that all this rests p rim arily in th e b o d y , th e in n e r vital breath and in consciousness, w hat use are these o th er o u te r d e lu d in g p ereg rin atio n s ( bhram anadam bara )? * W orship at sacred sites does not lead to liberation, even if they h ave b e en in te rn a liz e d . Even if they are projected onto the body, or, deeper, into the vital b reath , th ey re m a in ex te rn a l to consciousness. N onetheless, A bhinava does not deny that p ilg rim ag e m ay b e b e n efic ial, in the sense that it does yield som e fruit, nam ely, the specific b en efits an d acc o m p lish m e n ts (siddhi), m agical and yogic, that each o f these places and its re sid en t d e itie s is su p p o se d to

It is w onh noting in passing that the Brahmayam ala recom m ends that the neo p h y te tak e in itiatio n in a cremation ground in V aranasi confirm ing the conncclion o f this now , d om inantly, P u ran ic c ity w ith the early Bhairava and $akta cults. See D yczkow ski 1988: 6: " T h e sacred circle shown to the neophyte in the course o f his initiation into the c u lt o f th e B ra h m a y a m a la is to be drawn in a crem ation ground with the ashes o f a crem ated hum an co rpse. In it are w o rsh ip p e d Y aksas, Piacas and other dem onic beings, including Rak$asas led by Ravana, who surround B h a ira v a to w h o m w ine is offered with oblations o f b eef and hum an flesh prepared in a funeral pyre. T he n am e o f th e c irc le is th e 'G reat Cremation G round (m ah a im a sa n a ) and is to be draw n in V aran asi," (S ee also ibid.: 30). "T h e KM T (25/43) explains that the five insignias arc the Five Instrum ents ( ka ra n a ). T h e se are the five deities who generate, sustain and withdraw the five gross elem ents, nam ely, B rahm a (E arth ), V i$nu (W ater), Siva (Fire), Rudra (Air), and M ahcsvara (Ethcric Spacc). , : KuKh 14/29cd-32ab. " T A 15/I00b-Ia

besto w .84 T h e se, h o w ev er, are a p a n o f w orldly enjoym ent (b h o g a ) ra th e r than th e liberated co n d itio n .85 E v e n so A b h in av a d o es not reject external ritual. P ilgrim age to sacred sites, like all ritual an d y o g ic practice, are part o f a hierarchy o f p o ssibilities depending on the spiritual d ev elo p m en t o f the a sp iran t.84 M oreover, going to places w here spiritual p eople g ath er is co n d u civ e to the practice o f Y oga and therefore to the acquisition o f spiritual kn o w led g e.87 Even so, he d en ies th at places have any inherent pow er in them selves. O ne m ay w orship su ccessfu lly w h e re v er the lo tu s o f the heart o f consciousness unfolds.88 W hile the K u b jik a T an tras agree that for this, o r any, spiritual discipline to be effective, its in terio r eq u iv alen t m u st be ex p erien ced , they do not deny the existence o f the p o w er o f place (sth a n a sa kti). A c co rd in g to this theory, the rays o f the d eity s consciousness converge in certain p laces by v irtu e o f these p laces inherent pow er. T his convergence and form ation in this w ay o f a location w here the deity m ay descend into the w orld is essential because no w o rsh ip is p o ssib le in the absence o f location. Each deity, w hether in the o u tsid e w orld or w ithin the bo d y , m u st h ave a place o f its ow n. T his place, w hich serves as the sacred seat and field o f the d eity , is w here union (m ela p a ) w ith the deity takes place. C onsu m in g a sacrificial m eal o f.m eat and w ine, the ad ep t receives the grace o f the deity o f that place w hich is thus no less sacred th an th e deity itself. In a m ore arch aic, m agical p erspective, such places w ere originally b elieved to be p o ten t in th em selv es, and this p otency could be channelled and applied. Indeed, the T an tras prescribe the practice o f m agical rites aim ed at the control o f others and the destru ctio n o f o n e s en em ies in th ese sam e places. A b h in av as w arning against attachm ent to th e practice o f m agic8 recalls to m ind the large am ount o f space dedicated to such m atters in th e T an tras in general and m o st p articu larly in ones such as these. T he passages are elo q u en t testim ony o f

84A b hinava writes: " T h u s all these places, internal and external, concern (only) those w h o w ish to obtain the fruits o f this o r that W heel ( ca k ra ). A ccording to Ihe (Saiva) scripture Ihese places ( sth a n a ) are diverse and w ithout n u m b e r" T A 1S/101 b-2a. A b hinava wrilcs: "M o u n la in lops, riverbanks, solitary liiigas and Ihe like m entioned (in the T antras) are external (places). H ere (in this d o ctrin e) they serve (as a m eans lo attain) particular accom plishm ents, not for liberation. M ountain peaks and ihe like, projecled inlo the vital breath within the body serve as a m eans for (T antric) practitioners (siid h a ka ) to gain accom plishm ents (sid d h i ) not for lib eratio n " (TA 15/80b-2a). A bhinava quotes ihe M ataiigatanira as saying that " T h is prescription lo ritual action (vid h in a ) is an easy m eans (sukhopaya) w hich ihe teach er explains lo those w ho are unable lo contem plate-(the true liberating) k n o w le d g e " (T A 15/8). T herefore, initiation (drkja). Tantric spiritual discipline (ca rya ) and concentration (sam udhi) are for those w ho are unable lo aiiain reality directly by knowledge. Even so, initiation and the rcsl arc based on know ledge and so, according to A bhinava, ihe m an o f know ledge (Jiianin), rather than the one who perform s rituals, o r even ihe yogi, is Ihe m ost excellent. Sim ilarly, he says lhat teachers are o f increasing orders o f excellence according lo w hclher they are proficient in ihe perform ance o f rituals, Y oga o r know ledge (T A 15/18-9). 11Ibid. 15/98b-100a. A bhinava wrilcs: " T h e w ealth o f Ihe sacrifice iya g a irt) is well established in lhat placc ( d h a m a n ), w hether internal o r external, w here the lotus o f the heart bloom s ( vikiisa ). L iberation is not (attained) in any other way e xcept by severing the knot o f ignorance and lhal, according to (he venerable VTrSvali T antra, is (b rought about) by the expansion ( vikasa) o f co n scio u sn e ss" (ibid. 15/l07b-9a).

th e p rim itiv e an im istic an d m agical substratum o f the relig io u s cu ltu re o u t o f w h ich they d ev elo p ed as m o re elev ated refinem ents literally s an sk ritiza tio n s. O n e o f these refin em en ts is th e inco rp o ratio n o f the ideal o f liberation as a p art o f th is g eo g rap h y o f m agical p o w er p laces w here the ad ep t acquires p ow ers, in clu d in g th e G re a t A c co m p lish m e n t (,m ah a sid d h i ), nam ely, liberation. T h e culm ination o f this p ro c e ss o f re fin e m e n t w as n o t the ad d itio n o f a to ta lly d ifferen t, hig h er ideal, b u t rath er its in terio rizatio n . T h e s e T a n tras d id not teach, as did A b h in av a, that liberation and th e attain m en t o f a cc o m p lish m e n t (sid d h i) are co n trastin g ideals b elo n g in g to d ifferen t realm s. O n th e c o n trary , the K u b jik a T a n tra s say that: ^ I f o n e p e rc e iv es th e p u r e inner a sp ect w ith th e m ind, O beloved, th e n th e s u b tle ra y s ( o f the lig h t o f the S u p rem e P rin cip le) w ithin ea ch extern a l th in g b e sto w u n io n (m ela ka ), the sa crificia l p a p (ca ru ) o r the lib era ted state (apaSavlvidhi). T h e y en d o w th e lin e a g e (w ith the teachings) a n d exp la in th e self-esta b lish ed (reality svastha). O god, h e w h o w a n d ers o n the e arth w ith a n im pure in n er being d o es not, f o r th a t reason, h a v e a v isio n ( o f th e d e ity d a rsa n a ) a n yw h ere through m e, O Rudra. A lth o u g h h e sees, h e see s n o t; a lth o u g h ( r ea lity is) p erceiva b le, it is n o t p erceived . H e ca nnot know (th e ra ys o f co n sc io u sn ess w h ic h a re ) the g o d d esses o f va rio u s kinds.'10 [. . .] (T h e ra ys a rise ) in tow n, village, fo re st, c ity o r cro ssro a d , p e a s a n ts hut, T antric m eetin g g ro u n d (saihdoha), sa cre d sea t (pltha), fie ld , grove, ga rd en , s m a ll g r o v e o r in (any o f th e o th er) a fo rem en tio n ed (places). (Indeed), the ra ys o f c o n sc io u sn e ss (jn d n a ) a rise in every sin g le p lace. O fa ir -h ip p e d one, th e y a re in n u m era b le w ith in e a rth o r in w ater, fire , wind, a n d a ir.9' T hus the aspirant is adm o n ish ed to be a pilgrim . B u t alo n g w ith h is o u te r p ilg rim ag e h e m ust learn to travel through his ow n body along the conduits o f th e vital fo rce to th e ir vital centres. T h is is his in n er jo u rn ey through the w orld orders arranged as statio n s a lo n g h is ascen t to freedom . H e m u st travel through the universe the E gg o f B rah m a. T h e n w h en he reaches the to p he w ill find D andapani w ho w ith his staff cracks op en the E g g fo r h im to a sc e n d up beyond it. T h e accom plished adept is one w ho is free to m o v e at w ill ( s v e c ch a c a rin ) throughout the co sm ic order and m ove beyond it. Thus, the T an tras e n v isa g e an e n d to the in itiates cosm ic w ayfaring. T he universe is not a closed sy stem , reality e x te n d s b e y o n d it, for o therw ise there co u ld be no freedom from the cosm ic order. T h ere is no b re a k b e tw ee n the realm s o f w orldly ex p erien ce ( bhoga ) and those o f the lib erated state. E v e n b e y o n d the cosm ic order, at the very su m m it o f reality (para ka stha), m o v e m e n t d o e s n o t cease. B u t the p erfected in itiate (s id d h a ) no longer needs to suffer the strain s o f a long an d tirin g jo u rn e y . N o lo n g er held fast by the forces o f attraction to the g lo rio u s d iv ersity ( v ic itra ta ) o f the cosm ic order, he is free to take flight. N o longer w andering in the co m p lex n et o f M ay a w ith its countless locations and tim es, he m oves through the Sky o f P u re C o n sc io u sn ess. T h is then

KuKh 14/83cd-87ab. "Ib id . 14/89f. "P arap h rasin g the Svacchandatantra A bhinava writes: A bove R u d ra 's a b o d e is (th e a b o d e o f) o f Dandap.r :m w ho, in accord with S iv as will, breaks the egg a n d fashions th e p ath to lib e ra tio n " (T A 8 /1 59b-60, see also S vT 10/61 lb-4). SM :ol. 137b: bhram ate ca y athccchaya abrahitiabhuvananlikam I

is the ideal o f th e early B h airav a T an tras and, especially, the K aula (S akta) T antra, nam ely, the A c co m p lish m e n t o f F lig h t ( k h ec a ra tva sid d h i ).w T he S id d h as an d Y o g in ls w h o reside in the sacred places in the T riangle are all Skyfarers. T hey m o v e in the V o id o f th e Y oni, nourishing them selves w ith the n ectar o f im m ortality that ex u d es <from it. T h ey are o n e w ith the energy that w anders in the S k y ( kh eca ri ). A s the en erg y o f S p eech sh e v italizes all th e phonem ic energies that com bine in in fin ite variety. As each o f th em is a sacred place, she is not only the N am eless (a n a m a ) L etter but also Place (sthana); w h at th e te x t calls the div in e in n er Place that is o n e s ow n place (sva sth a n a ).K A b h in av a, in acco rd w ith his herm eneutic, provides a m ore sophisticated phenom enological in terp retatio n . T h e e n erg y that w anders in the V o id is the reflective aw aren ess o f the light o f co n scio u sn ess th at sh in es as all things. T his energy w anders am idst the o b jects o f the senses and th ey th u s b eco m e objects o f perception. By extension, this sam e p o w er is resp o n sib le fo r the su b jectiv e responses to the object, nam ely, attraction o r repulsion. Thus, this en ergy co n sists o f b oth the in n e r and o u ter senses as well as their o b je c ts.96 T h e S kyfarer is o n e w ith th is en erg y . T h u s, w h atev er she o r he sees becom es a divine m anifestation o f co n scio u sn ess. W e are rem in d ed here o f one o f the m o dalities through w hich the goddess g e n erates sacred p lace, th at is, by her pow erful and gracious g aze.97

9 ,1A ccording to the K ubjika T antras, the fruits o f travelling to the sites o f the Eight M others with the prescribed in n er m indfulness are indeed, as A bhinava says o f all such pilgrim ages, .the acquisition o f various m agical and yogic p o w ers (siddhi). T hese are attained over years o f practice in a graded order until the final one is attained, w hich is the A ccom plishm ent o f Flight. Even though it com es at the end o f a graded series o f w orldly attainm ents, this culm inating accom plishm ent is not worldly (bhoga), but liberation itself. Ideally, the K M T tells us th at in this particu lar case, this takes place in tw elve years when even a b rah m in ic id e" achieves success. In the first y e a r he gain s political pow er. T he king and his harem com e u nder his control and the k in g s vassal lords and m inisters venerate him . In two years he gains pow er o v er the fair dam sels o f the spirits o f v egetation (yaksakanya). In three years, the wom en o f the dem ons o f the seven hells are so aroused by the adept that they literally d ie in th eir yearning for him . In the follow ing years he_ attains the h ig h er w orlds, starting with that o f B rahm a up to that o f R udra. In the eighth y ear he reaches that o f Iiv ara, in the ninth that o f S adSiiva and in thc tenth he becom es a veritable repository o f know ledge. By the eleventh year, he can sport in the sky with thc m ighty b eings w h o reside there, and in the tw elfth, endow ed with all eight yogic pow ers, he m oves with the Skyfarers in thc F irm am en t o f P ure C onsciousness beyond the sky (K M T 25/53-64ab). 95K h eca ri is the letter W ithout N am e (a n a m a ). The series o f letters fro m A to K $ a re the sleeping fo r m o f bliss ra d ia n t like the W ish-granting Gem, the w hole extent o f which is Kula Bhairava, It is the P lace (sthana), the d ivin e in n er P la ce w hich is o n e 's o w n p la ce (svasthana) that has em erged fr o m OM. It is bliss w hose bo d y is invisible (adrsta)- The Pure transcendent tradition (anvaya). This is the teaching concerning the S eq uence o f the D ivin e C urrent (C C M S l/3 7 ab ). *P T v , p. 39 A bhinava arrives at the sam e creative idealism through an analysis o f the m ore purely S aiv a (rath er than K aula Sakla) spirituality w hen he says: Siva, the agent o f the five functions o f em anation, persistence, reabsorption, o b scuration and g race, is (our ow n pure) consciousness. T hc yogi w ho is firm ly identified with (S iva) in his fullness and freedom is the author o f (these) five functions. F or him w orship, thc repetition o f M antra, co n tem plation and Y o g a are a perennial, undecaying rea lity (T A 14/24-5).

In this ideal w e can perceive a continuity w ith the ascetic trad itio n s o f In d ia th a t stretch right b ack to V edic tim es. E ven the Rgveda d escribes the earliest k n ow n a scetics, th e m unis, who im itated R udra, the V edic prototype o f S iva/B hairava, as S kyfarers: The M unis, g ird le d w ith Ihe wind, w ear garm ents so ile d o f y e llo w hue; they, fo llo w in g the :w in d 's s w ift co u rse , g o w here the g o d s have g o n e befo re . . . . W ind (v d y u ) h a th c h u rn e d f o r h im : f o r him h e p o u n d e lh th in g s m o st h a rd to bend, w hen h e w ith lo n g lo o se lo c k s hath drunk, w ith R udra. p o iso n n fr o m the c u p .w

C onclusion T o c o n clu d e an d co m p lete the circuit, as it w ere, let us return b a ck to e arth w ith its ph y sical, cu ltu ral a n d h isto rical geography. A t this point a q u estio n n a tu rally co m es to m in d , nam ely, to w h at e x ten t are th e geographies o f these texts realistic? A re th ese real p la c es o r m ere nam es th at serve as an o th er set o f ciphers th e T an tras e m p lo y to feed th e ir seem in g ly lim itless appetite fo r sy m b o lic representation? A d etailed g eo g rap h ical an d h istorical study o f each o f th e p la c es p lo tte d o n th e m a p s and listed in the c h art appended to this p ap er is in the co u rse o f p rep aratio n . T h is w ill certainly y ie ld a g o o d d eal o f inform ation. B ut w e sh o u ld not b e d isap p o in ted if w e d o n o t fin d all that w e ex p ect. T h ese form s o f T an trism are not w ell suited to b e p u b lic relig io n s. E v en w hen internalized, they rem ain esoteric, p riv ate cults th at require n eith er te m p le s n o r pu b lic, com m unal festivals. E ven so traces d o rem ain in, fo r exam ple, fo rm s o f te m p le arch itectu re, iconography, literary references, o ccasional inscriptions, an d in th e sacred g e o g ra p h ie s o f the P uranas that are still in place. T he sacred geo g rap h y o f som e traditions, a t least, o f the B u d d h ist Y o g a an d A n u tta ra c la ss o f T an tras o f the sam e p e rio d coincided in m any respects w ith th at o f th e B h aira v a a n d K aula T an tras (see M ap 9 ). It is n o t surp risin g therefore th at the T an tras an d c o m m e n tarie s o n both B u d d h ist and 3 a iv a -c u m - a k ta sides o f the fence contain ad m o n itio n s to stay c le a r o f one a n o th e r if en co u n ters h appen to take place in such sites. V ajray an a B u d d h ists w h o h a v e been in itiated in to the Y oga an d A nuttarayoga T antras, w hich have b een th e m o st in flu en c e d by S aiv ism , call th em selv es K aulas. T h e H indu K aula T a n tras100 call th e m B au d d h a k a u la . T h e B u d d h ists, ho w ev er, co n sid ered them selves to b e su p erio r to th e ir 6 a iv a c o u n te rp a rts becau se th ey m ain tain ed that, unlike the Saivites, they found in tern al sy m b o lic eq u iv a len ts fo r the elem en ts o f K au la ritual, including the sacred g eo g rap h y . T h e d ista n c e b o th parties feel sh o u ld be m ain tain ed betw een each o th e r is a m easure o f th e ir sim ila rity . In d eed , there are nu m ero u s d etails such as these th at co nfirm their c o m m o n cu ltu ral h e rita g e th a t, a t its grass ro o ts, o n e co u ld call th e cu ltu re o f the vagrant ascetic an d th e sac re d s e a ts .101 T h ese

M G riffilh: w ater " R g 10/136/2.7 translation by G riffith. ' T h e K M T 100/146a expressly says: varjayct kaulikan bauddhan " o n e sh o u ld av o id the B uddhist K a u la s." 10,Thc K M T d eclares: O ne should know that that is K ula w hich graces ev ery b o d y . B rah m in s, K $ aln y as and VaiSyas, the last born and those w ithout caste (prakrta ), including sw eep ers and fo re ig n ers (m le c ch a ja ti ), B uddhists, follow ers o f the S5nkhya and Jains, ascetics with three slicks ( trid a n d a ), th o se w ho sh a v e their

w ere p o w e r p laces th a t w ere felt lo have p o w er in them selves, and so it w ould not be su rp risin g if m an y o f th e m ex isted before these T antric developm ents. By the 9th c en tu ry w hen, I b eliev e, the earliest K ubjika T antra w as redacted, the sacred g eo g rap h y o f th e se p laces had assum ed the form o f the reg u lar and recuiTent pattern o f an ideal schem e. B ut ev en so, it w as still functional. It w as, m oreover, purely T antric, that is to say, san ctio n ed by an d reco rd ed in the T antras. F o r the follow ers o f the B hairava and Kaula T antras, this ap p ears to be a period o f transition from the vagrant life o f the solitary ascetic to that o f the h o u seh o ld er. T hus, the g roup o f fifty sacred sites that, as far as w e know at p resent, ap p ears fo r the first tim e in the K ubjika T antras w ere sim ply treated as a standard ideal set. T he list ap p ears, as w e have noted, in the Yoginihrdaya, w here it is already form alized. A nd it co n tin u ed to be a popular list long past the days w hen it could have reflected an o b jectiv e situation. T hus it recurs in the Jnanarnavatantra and several other T antric te x ts 102 th ro u g h o u t the m edieval period right up to the 17th-century Tam rasara by the B engali K rsnananda. By his tim e the original grid o f fifty letters w as long forgotten. He m ust have th o u g h t the co rrect n u m b er the lucky 51. T hus, he divides one entry M erugiri into tw o. M eru and G iri. Parallel to these d ev elo p m en ts in the T antras are those in the Puranas. T hese sacred texts san ctio n ed public form s o f religion, including the Saktism that developed from the m iddle o f the first m illen n iu m . An early list o f 108 sacred sites is found in the M atsya P ttra n a .0 > This list w as re p ro d u ced in several Puranas, including the D evibhagavata, w here the sites are callcd "p T th as," a sp ecifically T antric term (the P uranic term is tlrth a " ) . O ne hundred and fifty sites m en tio n ed in T an tras have been plotted on the first ten m aps appended to this essay. T w en ty -eig h t o f them are am ongst the 108 (see M ap 11). T his is because the sacred geography o f the S a k !a plthas in the Puranas extended its range to include a nu m b er o f clearly P uranic sites. T h e c lu ster around B adrinatha on M ap 11 is an exam ple. C itrakuta, G aya and V m d av an a are o th e r n otable exam ples. T he m yth o f o rigin o f these places w hich relates them to the d ism em b ered parts o f SatTs body is not found in the early T antras. T his is all the more su rp risin g b ecau se they know the story o f D a k sa 's sacrifice and how his daughter. S at!/ Uma, threw h e rself into the sacrificial fire and died because Siva, her husband, w as not invited to it. T he su b seq u en t e v o lu tio n o f the sacred geography o f the Sakta pTthas thus m irrors the evo lu tio n o f S aktism in the Puranas as m uch, if not m ore, than in the T antras.

heads, (carry) a scctics' staffs ( kh a tva n g a ) and d u b s (m ttsala) or perform olhcr rituals (anyakriyd) all these reach ihe Suprem e Saiva reality. T he Saivile (has reached the goal and so) does not go a n y w h e re '" (ibid. 10/139-40). ",:T hc passage is found in the 15th chapter o f Ihe J n m u n ia v a h m tm which postdates the Yoginihrdaya. Il recurs in Ihe Su kta nandataruiiginl (chapler 15) by Ihe 17th-century Bengali B rahm ananda, w ho quotes il from ihe G a n d h a n a ta m r a . Sec also c hapter 5 o f the Brhanntlaianlra. ""M atsya P urana 13/26-56. S ircar (1973: 25) inform s us lhal: " A n early list o f this nature can be traced in ihe M a h a b h d ta ta (V I. ch. 23); but a com plete list o f ihe 108 nam es o f the m other goddess with ihe specification o f her association with particular holy places is probably lo be found for Ihe firsl tim e in the M atsya P u ra n a ." S ircar placcs the text in Ihe " e a rly m edieval p e rio d ." but it may w ell be quite late. It is certainly not prior to the 12th ccntury. T his is bccause ihe Purana refers lo V m davana as a rcsori o f R adha and lo Purusoltaina in Puri. T he form er w as ccrtainly unknow n as a divinity before the post-G upta period . T he latter did not attain lo em inence prior lo A nantavarm an C o^aganga (1078-1147 A.D.), w ho laid the foundation o f the great tem ple o f Jagannaiha at PurT.

A n e xam ple o f the degree to w hich this process has progressed is h o w fe w h a v e o b s e rv e d that the goddess M ahisSsuram ardinl/D urga is actually a purely P uranic go d d ess. P r io r to th e 13th century o r even later, the goddess D urga, although know n to the T an tras, p la y s n o sig n ific a n t role in the T an tras ritual program m es. S he is the public n o n -T an tric re p re se n ta tiv e o f the secret T antric goddesses. T he Saktism o f the P uranas, on the o th e r han d , g iv e s th is g o d d e ss pride o f place, assim ilating other goddesses, including those o f the T an tras, to h er. T h e sam e process can be observed geographically in the layout o f the 108 a k ta pTthas. Thus T antrism and its sacred geography survives both w ithin th e ad ep t an d h is h o m e as well as in the outer w orld to the degree in w hich it can be assim ilated o r a d a p te d to th e p u b lic dom ain w ithout losing its essentially secret, internal identity.

A b b re via tio n s : B T B u d d h ist T a n tra C G C C id g a g a n a ca n d rika C M S S C in c in lm a ta sa ra sa m u c c a y a * ia> H T H eva jra T antra K K K ulakrTdavatara K M T K u b jik a m a ta ta n tra K uK h K u m arik ak h an d a o f the M a n thanabhairavatantra JY Ja ya d ra th a ya m a la M B T M a n th a n a b h a ira v a ta n tra N A K N atio n al A rch iv es K athm andu NS N isisa m ca ra ta n tra N G M P P N e p al-G erm an M an u scrip t P reservation Project PTv P a ra trim iik a viv a ra n a SatS S Sa lsa h a sra sa m h ita * SM S rim a to tta ra * T A Tantraloka Y H r Y o g im h rd a ya

R eferences A m b a m a ta sa m h ita (m an u scrip t called M anthanabhairavatantra). N A K M S. no. 1/1119; N G M P P R eel N o. A 169/3. B agchi, P. C . 1934. The K aulajn a n a n irn a ya a n d Som e M in o r Texts o f the S ch o o l o f M a tysen d ra n a th a . C alcutta: C alcu tta U niversity. B akker, H ans, and A lan Entw istle, eds. 1983. D evi: The W orship o f the G oddess a n d Its C ontribution to Indian Pilgrim age. G roningen: Institute o f Indian Studies, State U niversity o f G roningen. B anerjee, J. N . 1974. T he D evelo p m en t o f H in d u Iconography. N ew D elhi: M unshi M anohar Lai. D ehejia, V idya. 1979. E a rly Stone Tem ples o f O rissa. N ew D elhi: V ikas P ublishing H ouse. _____ . 1986. Yogint C u lt a n d Tem ples: A T antric Tradition. N ew Delhi: T he N ational M useum . DhTh, 1986. V ol. 1. D u rla b h a bauddha g rantha io d h a yojana. S am ath, V aranasi: Sivam P rinters.

I0*l hav e e d ited the tex ts m ark ed w ith an asterisk from their m anuscripts b u t have no t y et p u blished them .

D viveda, V rajav allab h a, ed. 1984. N ityasodaSikSrnavatanlra w ith th e co m m e n ta rie s Rjuvim arsinT b y Siva n a n d a a n d A rtharatnavali b y V idyananda. O g a tan tra g ra n th am a la 1. V aranasi: S am p u rn an an d a S an sk rit U niversity. D vivedi, R. C ., and N avjivan R astogi. 1987. Tantraloka o f A b h in a va g u p ta w ith the C om m entary o f Jayaralha. R eprint in 7 volum es. N ew D elhi: M otilal B an arasid ass. D yczkow ski. M ark S. G . 1987. The D o ctrin e o f V ibration. A lbany: S tate U n iv ersity o f N ew Y ork Press. _____ . 1988. The C anon o f the S aivagam a a n d the K ubjika T antras o f the W estern Tradition. A lbany: State U niversity o f N ew Y ork Press. _____ . 2001. The C ult o f the G oddess K ubjika: A P relim in a ry C o m p a ra tive T e x tu a l a n d A n th ro p o lo g ica l S urvey o f a Secret N ew a r K aula G oddess. N epal R ese arch C entre P ublications 22. K athm andu: Franz Stein er V erlag. G noli, R aniero 1985: II C om m ento d i A b h in a va g u p ta a lia P a rd trim sika (P a ra lrim sikavivara/iam ). T ranslation and edited text. Rom e: Istitu to Italian o p e r il M ed io ed E strem o O riente. G oudriaan, T., and J. A. S choterm an. 1988. The K ubjikam atatantra, the K u la lika n m a ya Version. A critical ed itio n . H olland: E. J. Brill. G riffith, R alph T. H . 1976. The H ym n s o f th e R gveda. R eprint D elhi: M otilal B an arsid ass. K aviraja, GopTnatha. 1979. Yoginihrdayam w ith C om m entaries D ip ika o f A m rta n a n d a a n d S etu b a n d h a o f Bhaskararaya. S arasvafibhavanagrantham ala 7 . V aran asi: S am p u rnan an d a U niversity. Lath, M ukunda. 1988. D attilam . K alam ulasastra series 2. D elhi: IG N C A an d M otilal B anarsidass. Levy, R obert 1. 1992. M eso co sm : H induism a n d the O rg a n isa tio n o f a T r a d itio n a l N ew a r C ity in N epal. Indian edition. D elhi: M o tilal B anarsidass. M anth a n a b h a ira va Tantra Tikii by R upasiva. N A K M S. N o. 5 /4 8 2 8 ; N G M P P R eel N o. A 176/4. M isra, R aghunatha. 1980. C idgaganacandrika by K alidasa w ith the co m m e n ta ry K ram aprakasika. Sarasv atib h av an ag ran th am ala 115. V aran asi: S am p u rn a n a n d a U niversity.

N adou, L. 1968. Les B uddhistes kashm'triens an M oyen Age. Paris: P resses U niversitaires de France. (Juiglcy, D eclan. 1993. The Interpretation o f C aste. O xford: C laren d o n Press.

R ajagopalan, S. 1987. O ld G oa. N ew A rch eo lo g ical S u rv ey o f India.

D elhi:

P ublished

by

the

D irector

G eneral,

S choterm an, J. A. 1982. The Satsa h a sra Sam hita: C hapters 1-5 Edited, T ranslated and A n n o ta ted . L eiden: E. J. B rill. Schw artzberg, Jo sep h E. 1978. A H istorical A tla s o f South A s ia . C hicago: U niversity o f C h icag o Press. Sircar, D. C. 1973. Scikta PTthas. D elhi: M otilal B anarasidass. SrTm atottara Tantra. N A K M S. No. 2/229; N G M P P Reel No. A 196/6. Tirthanka. 1957. V ol. 31 (in H indi). G orakhpur: GTta Press. Tucci. G . 1989. The T em p les o f W estern Tibet a n d T heir A rtistic Sym bolism : Tsaparang. E nglish v ersion o f Indo-T ibetica III.2. Edited by Lokesh Candra. N ew D elhi: A ditya P rakashan. V im alaprabhatTka o f K alkin SripundarTka on the Snlaghukalacakratantraraja by Sn m a n ju srixa sa s. 1994. Edited by V rajavallabha Dvivedi and S. S. Bahulkar. Rare B uddhist T ex ts S eries 13. Sarnatha. W alton, H. G .. ed., com p. 1911. D istrict G azetteers o f the U nited Provinces o f A gra a n d Oudh XX XV . A llahabad.

A ppendix 1: A list o f the sites plotted on the m aps. A ppendix 2: A table o f locations associated w ith the S ix K aula S iddhas. A ppendix 3: M aps. T hese include: 1) The Fifty S ites according to the K um arikakhanda o f the M a n th a n a b h a ira v a ta n tra and Tikci by R upasiva fol. 3a. 2) T he Fifty S ites according to the Am bam atasaihhita fol. 13a. 3) T he Fifty S ites according to the YoginThrdaya 3/36-43. 4 ) The Tw enty-F our Sites according to the Jayadrathayam ala q u oted in T A 2 9 /5 9 -6 3 . 5 ) T he T hirty-F our S ites according to the N iiisa m ca ra ta n tra qu o ted in T A 15/84-93ab. 6 ) T he T w enty-F our S ites according to the K u bjikam atatantra 22/23-46. 7) T he Eight M others: KuKh 16/13-5 and K M T 25/90-5ab. 8) The Eight M others surrounding B haktapur. M ap by N iels G u tsch o w in L ev y 1992: 155. The num bers designate the deities in the sequence in w hich th ey are w o rsh ip p ed . T h e y are 1) Brahm an! 2) MahesvarT 3) K u m a rr 4) VaisnavT 5) VarahT 6) In d ran l 7) M ahakalT 8) M ahalaksrm 9) Tripura. The dense bands o f dots represents the ed g e o f th e p re sen t city. 9) The Buddhist Sites. The m ap has been plotted on the basis o f the lists o f s acred sites fo u n d in selected B uddhist Tantras in an article in H in d i called B au d d h a tantrorti m em plthopaplthadi ka v iv ecan a published in D hlh, S am ath , V aranasi, 1986 vol. I: 137-148. T h e T antras and texts consulted w ere the Vasantatilaka, J n a n o d a y a , V a jra va ra h lyo g a ra jo tta m a rahasya , S ricakrasam varaherukabhisam aya, LaghutantratTkd, A b h isa m a y a m a iija ri, Y o g im ja la , Sam varodaya and H evajratantra. D etails o f the sources, all o f w hich are m a n u sc rip ts, apart from the S am varodaya and H evajratantra , can be found in the a fo re m e n tio n e d article. The places listed in all these T antras ap art from the H eva jra ta n tra (1 /7 /1 2 -1 8 ) are v irtu ally identical. T hus, effectively, there are only tw o lists. O ne is labelled H T in th e ta b le a n d the other BT. 10) The Six K aula Siddhas: See A ppendix 2. 11) 108 Sakta S ites according to the M atsyapurana: S ircar 1973: 26-28. Figures 1) T he T riangular M eruprastara. 2) The projection onto the body o f the fifty B hairavas and sacred sites. 3) T he projection onto the body o f the tw enty-four sacred sites (k se tra s ) a cc o rd in g to th e Jayadrathayam ala quoted in T A 29/59-63. 4) The projection o f K ubjikas tour (yatra ) o n to the head acco rd in g to th e S a tsa h a sra sa m h ita 5) T he T riangle o f Santanabhuvana, the H ouse o f the M oon ( ca n d ra g rh a ).

A ppendix 1: A list o f th e site s p lo tte d on th e m aps

Sacred Site
A ttah asa A rcapltha A rbuda A m ratak esv ara Iha UijayinT U d d iy an a106 UddTsa U d ad h estata U dyana U rasa E k a m ra 107 E kara E ru n d lw E lap u ra 110 O m karap lth a O tiikara O dra O dukasa K arm arap atak a K aliriga KasmTra KancT K an y ak u b ja K am arupa K aru n y ap atak a K u d y ak esi

K uK h/tika
25 X 8 9 X 33 49 X X X 41 10 1 8 '08 44 30 X X X 3 7 " X X X X 6 1 X X

Amba
22 10 X X 15 X 9 X X X X 25 X X X X X X X X X X 26 3 2 "2 7 X X

YHr
26 X 8 9 X 34 49 41 X X X 10 X X 30 18 31 X X X X X X 6 1 X X

JY
1 X X 22 X 5 X X X X X X X 10 16 X X X X X X X X X X X 18

NS
12 X X X X 5 2 X X X X 9 X 19 21 X X X X X 15 28 X X 1 X X

KMT
1 X X 2 3 105 X 5 X X X X X X X 10 12 X X X X X X X X X X X X

HT
X X 13 X X X 5 X 30 31 X X X X X X X X X 11 20 X X X 4 9 X

BT
X X 4 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 10 X X 13 X X X 9 X X

lwA m ratikeS vara. T he sp ellin g s o f place nam es arc susceptible to variation. It has therefore been necessary lo establish a un ifo rm spelling fo r all the m aps. V ariant spellings are listed in the footnotes. ' K uK h and p k a : UdySna. A m id : OdiySnaka. Y H p Uijyaga. T he spelling o f this place nam e is liable to co n sid erab ly m ore variations than others. I have chosen this spelling as it is generally, the m ost com m on. Note, h o w ev er that the sp ellin g O d ^iy an a is also com m on. l07K uK h 6/212: T am ra. A m b i\ KSmra ' K uK h 6/212: E kona. " F o u n d only in the Tika. J Y : E ^abhl. NS: Erudika. Y H p Airudi. ""Y H r: M clSpura. N S: Elapurl.

'" r a a : Auijika.
" ; K ubjaka.

S a c re d Site K uniksetra K uluta11 Kuhundi Kedara Kaila.<a Konkana K o llag iri'w KaumarTpura Kausala K slrak a"6 K heiaka G ajcndra G argika G rhadevata G o k a m a"7 G odavari G ram am astha C an d rap u ra"8 C aritra C hayachatra JaYamik5,:i0 Jalandhara TriSakuni122 T risrota123 DevTkota1 2 '1

K u K h /tlk a X 21 X 15 13 X 30 X X 35 X X X X 23 X X 16 34 50 32 19 X 11 23

A m ba 38 3 X X 39 12 27 X X X X 8 X X 31 X X 14 30 X 29 13'2' X 18 34

YHr X 22 X 15 13 X X X X X X X X X 24 X X 16 34m 50 3 19 X 11 22

JY X X X X X X 3 X X 21 X X X X 12 X X X 2 X 4 X X X X

NS 34 16 X X X X 6 X X 22 34 X 29 X X X X X X X 13 27 X X 4

KMT X X 19 X X X 3 X X 21 X X X X 13 X X X 2 X 4 X X X 8

HT X 12 X X X 22 X

26 X X X X X X 14 23 X 25 X X 1 X X 10

BT X 24 X X X X X X 12 X X X X 18 X 5 X X X X X 2 11 X 7

00 <N

"'KuKh 6/212: Kuluii. YHr: K ulanta variant: Kuiuna. HT:*KuIata. BT: Kulata. ll4KuKh and Tika: Kaullagiri. Amba: Kullagiri. JY: K ollagiri. NS: K ulagiri. K M T: K olagiri. n5Kaum arapaurika. '"K u K h . Tika and KMT: K.slrika. u 'lAmbd: Karna. KMT: KSsmarl u lKKh and Tika: Candrapuryaka. A m b a : Candrapurya. YHr: P urnacandraka variam reading: Candrapuskara.

u*Cilri.
*KuKh and Tika, Am ba and KMT: JayantT. m JalapTiha. '"V arian t names: TriSakuna and TrUakulI. l2'K uK h ami Tika: Trisrota. Am ba: Tisraka. YHr: T risrota. '*4KuKh and Tika: DevTkoja. Amba: DcvikoUa. KM T: rikola.

S a c r e d S ite D ru k k a D v arav rtti N a g ara 125 N epala P arip atra P u n d rav ard h an a P ulllram alay a PurastTra130 P u rn a g iri1 " P uryagiri P rsth ap u ra P rayaga P re ta p u ri" ' B rah m av ah a B h rg u n ag ara B h eru n d ak a B h o p ala M aru k esv a ra 135 M aru d esa M ala y a 137 M ah ap ath a M ahal aksmT

K uK h/tika
X X X 3 X 4 i:s X 5 7 X 3 9 IJ: 38 X X 14 44 3 1154 24 X 42 28 48

A m ba 42 X X 3 7 |:I 43 5 X X 4 17 X 11 X 48 X X X X X 24 X 1

YHr
X X X 3 X 4 X 5 7 X 39 38 X X 14 X X 44 X 42 29 48

JY
X X 14 X X 15 X 17 X X X 6 X X X X X 13 X X X X

NS X 33 X 27 X 7 X X 3 X X 10 X X X X X X 25 X X X

KMT
X X X '26 X X 16 X 17 X X 18 6 X X X X X X 14 X X X

HT
X X 7.24 X X X X X 3 X X X 29 X X X X X X X X X

BT
X X 21 X X X r M X 1 X X X X X X X X X 2 3 '" 1 X X

IUI su ppose that (his N ag ara is th e m odern N agapur, not B hrgunagara. i:6Caitrak aceh a i:7Paupali. ,28K uK h 6/2 1 2 : P u rn av ard h an a. A m b a : V am dhana. YHr: Paundravardhana. m A b h isa m a ya \ P ullira. T h is entry is m issing in the Vasantatilaka and Laghutantratika. l30Y H r: P urasthira. T h is is a variant reading the ed ito r o f the printed edition rejected. T he accepted reading in that ed itio n is C arasthira. K M T: ParastTra. m A m b a \ Purna. Y H r: P urnasaila. In (he S a m varodaya and L aghutantratika , this e ntry lakes the place o f Pulllram alaya found in the o th er texts o f this group. l12N o t fo u n d in th e list in th e K uK h. Tika: P rsiapura. Y H n S^stha. I?,HT : P rctasam g h ata. S am va ro d a ya , Yoginijdla. V asantatilaka. and Vajravdrahi: Prctadhivasinl. ''N ot found in th e Tika. T h e eq u iv alen t entry there is Suparaka. BJK uK h a n d T ika : M eru v ara. Y H r: M cru. JY: Marukofia. ,y,Sam va ro d a ya : R o ru . Y oginijala. V asantatilaka. an d A bhisantaya: M cru. Laghutatttratika: M ero.

S a c re d S ite M ahendra1 5 * M aySpurl1 M arulesvara M alava M unm uni M lecchadik R aiagrha1 4 1 RameSvara Rudralaya L am paka Lahula V apikatira V am ana VaranasT V an in a1 4 1 Vii-aia'-0 S rlgin SripTtha/parvata Sastha Sam anaka SarasvatT Sindhu S uvam advlpa S o p ara145 Saurastra Strirajya

K u K h /tlk a 45 40 X 2 0 . X X 27 X X X X X X 2 46 26 X 17 X X X X X 31 X X

A m ba 23 33 X X X X X X 46 X X X X 6 19 X 20 2 8 '" X 40 49 X X X X 4 4 147

YHr 45 40 25 21 X X 28 X X X X X 46 2 X 26 X 17 39 X X X X X X X

JY X 20 X X X X 23 X X X X X X 7 X 9 X 8 X X X X X , 9 '* X X

NS X 25 X X X 31 23 X X X 17 X X 14 11 18 X X X X X X X X X X

KMT X 22 X X X X 24 X X X X X X 7 X 9 X X X X X X X 20 X X

HT X X X 5 8 X X X X 17 X 32 X X X X X X X X X 6 21 X 19 X

BT X X X 8 X X X 6 X 14 X X X X X X X X X X X 22 20 X 19 X

,wKuK h. Tika and Am ba: M ahendra. ,wKuKh. Tika and /4w/;<5:Haridvara. Y H r and JY: M ayapura l40KuKh 6/212: M alaya. l4lYHr: Rajageha. NS: Rajapuri. ,42KuKh. Tika: V aruna. Am ba: V anina. NS: Varana. V arana is som etim es a sy nonym o f V aran asi. B ut as V aranasi is a separate e ntry in the NS, I take V arana there to be V anina. N ote also th at a c co rd in g to th e read in g found in the T A . the seal o f the second M other in the JY is Vam pS. According to the K M T . and o th er so u rces, il is Varana, thai is, V aranasi. I assum e, therefore, that the correct reading in the T A should be ,varai?3M . ' KuKh 6/212: Viraja. N& Viraja. KM T: Viraja. '"Amba: Sriparvala '^L isted in the Tika only as Suparaka. T he e quivalent entry in the K uK h is B hupala. J Y : S o pana. 14hJY: Sopana.

l4,SrIrajya.

S a c r e d S ite H ara H arik ela H a stin ap u ra H a la 149 H im ad ri H im alay a H ira n y a p u ra 150

K u K h /tik a X X 36.48 X X X 47

A m ba X X X X X 36 X

YHr X X 36 X X X 47

JY X X X 11 X X X

NS 30 X X 20 X X X

KMT X X 11 X X X X

HT X 16 X X 15 X X

BT X X X X X 16 X

14*H aslikapura. l4,Ja y ara th a id en tifies H ala as A lipura. l50H aim ap u ra, w h ich is Ihe location o f the ninth M other according to the JY (see m ap 7), is Hiranyapura.

P rin c e O v a lli15 1 K am bili t B ilvaksa Payavrksa K hairavrksa N arikelaphala B odha Prabhu Pada A nanda Y oga Om T ripurottara K am ada A ttahasa D cvlkota D ak sin ad i156 K aulagiri Dohala KundT D andaratna B alahom a Pinda G audika P Ith a Tow n G ro v e D ire c tio n in re la tio n to ris a ila S outh W est N orth E ast South-W est N orth-W est

M a s te r

G h a r a 1' 2 Pattila K arabilla A m billa Pulinda S arabilla A dabilla

P a lli153 D aksinavarta K um bharika B illa AdavT A ksara Dornbi

A m ara V aradeva C itran ath a O lin a th a 1 '4 V rd d h an ath 155 G u d ik an ath a

Siddhanatha V idyananda K aulasim ham uni Srhgalam uni S andilyanum i C andrabim ba

1 5 1 L ike the w ord oli, with the sam e m eaning and to w hich it m ay be related, ovaUi is not a w ord o f S anskrit derivation. It m eans tradition* or 'lin e a g e'.

15: A g h a ra is literally a h o u se ' o r h o m e and, as in this case, a m onastic c en tre'.

I,J A p a lli is a sm all village in general. S pecifically, il is sm all tribal settlem ent.

KK : A linatha. A ccording lo the C M SS O linatha travelled lo K am ara, to the south o f w hich w as a place called TrikhandinT. There he p erform ed austerities according to the instructions o f C andrabim bam uni.

,5S KK: V indhyanatha.

1,6 KK: D aksinapatha.

Uddiyana 49

The 50 Sites of the Manthanabhairava Tantra

500 1000 Km

Unidentified: 37 and 41.

Map 1

W ;

U04iy&n* -

The 50 Sites of the Ambamatasamhita

? V *39 Kallaia

Brahnttv&ha 48* DevDSta 24* /K u lu ta 3* Jila n d h a rt 13* Sam anm a 40* M ayipuri 33* J *49 SarasvatT y Kuruk$etra 38*

's

1,

j'

V anina 19*

Nepala" *
/ ^

i - w*
*7 Kamarupa^

1 ...... 37 *32 Kanyakubja 27 Kollagiri

I ~ J V i l TriSrota

/ >

Gajendra (Suci) 8 \

Map 2

UnindentHicd: 2 ,1 0 ,1 5 ,1 6 ,1 7 ,4 2 ,4 3 44

t 'v .i

 - s .i

The 24 Sites of the Kubjikamata

The Eight Mothers surrounding Bhaktapur

1) Brahman) 2) Mahevari 3)Kumari 4)Vai$navi 5)Varahi 6) lndrani 7)Mahakafi 8) Mahalak$mi 9) Tripura

M ap courtesy o f Niels G utschow

108 Sakta Sites of the Matsyapurana

500 DevuWa 48* # V ip ^ a 3 > 91 Kalay
Kapalamocana 8 ^ ^ S '^ a m u n a ssourct

_L _

---1 I

1000 Km

P / FMSnasarova^a8 V H |n d v } t( | > " rw a .Sthanesvara 19 "If. 46 H astinapura 10* X x ' A Viivfi''- *lar*ma 29 '* * :?SP v a I i Vrndavana SO4 *2 Naimi$a M athura 51 *11 Kanyakubja *6 Ambara a lila :fPu$kara 15* Klanj,a
,79 S id d h a p u ra

' I

-? M .^ % g j2 t f -.C 2 <? r j ^*jKinmqpu ***, . a c h a ira 67*t ^ ^*y M ^ayjacj^

="W.fd > i65,88 ^ avi"r 6 2 , ^ ^ , ^3Wahaimga

*ahi.sma!f

GokarnaUg

GomaAta Hiroficala ML, Nanda Devi Kubjfimraka Vindhyicala Vindhya Cave Som anitha 83,86^4 Badrioitha/Pu^fi Symbolic names: 101-10

Unidentified: 9,2 0,2 8,30 ,32,33,3 4,41 ,47, 68,76,92,96,99,100 Map 11

F ig u re 1

A K a m a r u p a S r ik a n f h a I P u n ^ ra v a rd h a n a T r im u r ti U K a n y a k u b ja A rg h in R A r b u d a A tihi L E k a m ra H a ra O K a ila ia S a d y o ja ta A U B h r g u n a g a ra A n u g ra H C a n d ra p u ra M ahasena A V a r a n a s i A n a n ta C D e v ik o ta K u r in a M A u ru $ a M a h a k a la C H G o k a r n a E k a n e tr a P H P r a y a g a & ikhin J M a ru k e s v a ra C a tu ra n a n B P r s th a p u r a C h a g a la n d a

I N e p a la S u k s m a I) P u ra stT ra A m a rin r P u rrm g iri B h a r a b h u ti ) A m ra ta k e v a ra S th a n u E T r is r o ta Jh a n th T ia A I K a m a k o ti B h a u tin M K ed ara K ru ra K SrTpTtha K ro d h a K H E k a r a p lf h a C a n d a P O d u k a s a L o h ita G J a la n d h a r a P r a c a i r f a

B H M a y a p u r a D v ira n d a T R a ja g rh a S o m e sv a ra G H M a la v a 6 iv a T J a y a n ti A sa d h in J H A tta h a s a A jila Y M a la y a V a lfta N V ir a ja b a rm a n T H UjjayinT D in d i D C a r itr a D h a trin

N K u lu ta E k a r u d r a T H M a h a p a th a L a n g u lin D K o lla g iri p a r u

D H E la p u r a A r d h a n a r in

D H K^Traka M in a

N S o p a r a U m a k a n la

N H a s tin a p u r a M esa

B BH M Y R L F igure 2

P r s th a p u r a M ay ap u ra A u ru sa M a la y a $ ri a iia E ru n d f

C h a g a la n d a D v ira ri^ a M a h a k a la Vafia B h u ja n g a P in a k in

S p in e N avel H eart S k in B lo o d F lesh

V $ S H K$

M a h e n d ra V a ru n a H ir a n y a p u r a M a h ala k $ m l U ^ iy a n a C h a y a c h a tr a

K h atfg in V ak K a S v eta B h rg u L ak u fi$ a S a m v a r ta k a

Sinew s B ones M a rro w S em en B re a th A nger

2 .C 'a ritra (B ra h m a ra n d h ra ) 5. I jj a y im (eyebrow s) 4. J a y a n tik a (n o strils) 6. P ra y a g a (face) 3 .K o lla g iri (e a rs) 4 .V ira ja (n eck )

. S rip ith a (sh o u ld e rs) 7. V a r a n a s i ( h e a r t)

10. E r u n d i

5. P u n d r a v a r d h a n a (left b u tto c k ) 7. PurastT ra (left th ig h ) 2. G o k a rn a (ro o t)

14. N a g a ra (b u tto c k ) 16. K la p u ra (th ig h ) 13. M e ru k o s a (g en itals)

9. S o p a ra (left kn ee)

21. K s lra k a (left s h a n k )

24. & risaila (feet)

F igure 3

H im a g a h v a ra /O Ia m b a

F ig u re 4

3 Doorkeepers 3 Bhairavas 3 Doors 3 Bolts 3 Energies 3 Deities 3 Walls 3 Paths 3 Junctions

On the corners: Niatana Tamori Bhrgu Lakulin On the sides: Bile (pitta) Wind (vata) Pervasive (yapirii < Equal One (samana < Anger) Passion) Knowledge (inani) Will (iccha) Visnu Brahma Rajas Sattva Pineala Ida Inhalation Exhalation

Kalanala Samvarta Phlegm (Halesmika) Transmental (unmana < Greed) Action (kriyd ) Mahesvara Tamas M adhvama Retention

SU N (S) S W M ( M a h a la k p n l) HR A U M

M O O N (N ) K L IM (K a li) SR A U M

F IR E (W ) H R IM (M ayS) K ?R A U M

YOGAP1THA

Ca n d r a S bla

F ig u r e 5