Synaesthetic Iconography

Synæsthetic Iconography: 1. the NādiphāntakramaS V

*e mantric identity of Goddess Mālinī is an allegedly disordered version ofthe Sanskrit alphabet called the n!diph!ntakrama. *at there does exist a dis-cernible system in this supposed chaos can be demonstrated by analysing theearliest scriptural sources transmitting textual variations. *e surprising, butcompelling reason for the order is set out in § 3, and the synæsthetic iconogra-phy it implies is briefly discussed.1

A D*e Goddess Mālinī is one of two alphabet deities2 prominent3 in the Tantricsystem called the Trika. *e mantric identity of this Goddess4 is the n!diph!-ntakrama (lit. ‘the order [of the alphabet] beginning with na and ending withpha’), a particular rearrangement of the Sanskrit syllabary in which vowels andconsonants are intermingled in a hitherto unexplained and at first sight randomorder. In all early sources surviving5 each individual phoneme of the sequenceis said to be a body-part of the Goddess Mālinī, and some accounts also supplythe names and details of fifty presiding female phoneme-deities. To explain the

1*is article is the first of a triptych of studies on Synæsthetic Iconography. I presented anearlier draft of its central argument at Alexis S’ Tantric Seminar in All Souls’ College,Oxford, in 1997.

2*e other alphabet deity of the Trika is Śabdarāśi (cf. MVUT 8.27–32ab; Tantr!loka15.116cd–120), represented by the common order of the Sanskrit syllabary.

3*e high status of the Goddess Mālinī in the pantheon of the Trika is evident by her partial(in early texts) or total (in later texts) transcendence of visual representation (for details of theintimate relationship of Mālinī, Parā and Sarasvatī, see S (1990:45–50 and passim)).

4To use the terminology of the MVUT: the Goddess manifested in the n!diph!ntakrama iscalled Bhinnayonim!lin", ‘the Crowned Goddess in whom the vowels are intermingled [amongthe consonants]’. *e Goddess manifested in the common order of the Sanskrit alphabet (the#abdar!$i-sequence) is called Abhinnayonim!lin", ‘the Crowned Goddess in whom the vowelsare not intermingled [among the consonants]’.

5Excepting the Kashmirian Agnik!ryapaddhati, a ritual manual which presents the n!di-ph!ntakrama as a completed Mantra with initial seed-syllable and final j!ti-.

518 Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner

underlying rationale of the n!diph!ntakrama the two presumed original func-tions of the sequence are here investigated: the ritual projection of the alphabetinto the practitioners body (ny!sa-) and the encryption and “extraction” (de-coding) of mantras (mantroddh!ra-).

It must be emphasised at the outset that the n!diph!ntakrama as discussedin the surviving works of the Trika indeed present a specific order of thesyllabary and not a chaotic non-order. Once this has been pointed out, it seemsobvious, but earlier scholars (e.g. S in his translations6) have presumablynot reflected on the matter and, in spite of textual evidence to the contrary,have assumed it to be a “non-order” (akrama-). Such an assumption is in factalso doctrinally impossible.

Both in the early Trika’s realist ontology and in the later Trika’s non-dualistphenomenology order is transcended only by the ultimate reality of Śiva.7*erefore this article demonstrates that the “disarray” or “irregularity” of thissequence of phonemes is only apparent.*e original redactor(s) of the n!diph!-ntakrama, compelled by considerations either ignored by, or unknown to theirsuccessors, have in fact followed a discernible methodology to produce theirvariants of the n!diph!ntakrama. To uncover this, the largely unpublished, ear-liest scriptural sources transmitting the series must be taken into account.

*e extensive metaphysical discussion of the n!diph!ntakrama in the post-scriptural exegetical tradition of the Trika is unanimous in its acceptance of then!diph!ntakrama as revealed in the M!lin"vijayottaratantra (MVUT)8—andparaphrased by Abhinavagupta in his Tantr!loka9—as authoritative.

*ey do not discuss or explain divergences in the order of this sequencefound in other Tantras.10 Nevertheless, the scriptural transmission of this se-quence does show substantial divergences in the order of the phoneme-series.

6e.g. S (:): “In Mālinī, they are arranged in an irregular way, i.e. the vowelsand consonants are mixed and no serial order is observed.”

7Abhinavagupta describes Śiva’s autonomy thus: Par!tri .m$ik!vivara .na (S) p. 43: tan naka$ cit krama iti br%ma.h, akrama .m yad etat para .m p!rame$vara .m vicitra .m garbh"k.rt!nantavai-citrya .m sv!tantrya .m trik!rthar%pa .m tad evaitat, ‘*erefore we say: ‘no order at all.’*at whichhas no order, this ultimate, diverse autonomy of the supreme Lord, containing within itselfinfinite variety, is what the Trika teaches [as the ultimate reality].’

8MVUT 3.37–41ab.9Tantr!loka 15.121–125ab.10It is interesting to note that Jayaratha in his commentary on Tantr!loka 15.121–125ab

quotes the passage of the Tri$irobhairava but remains silent about the divergent order of then!diph!ntakrama given therein.

Somadeva Vasudeva 519

Luckily, this is a rare instance where it is possible to study the correspondingpassages of the greater part of the known early Trikatantras: the Siddhayoge$va-r"mata, theM!lin"vijayottara, Tri$irobhairava, and the Tantrasadbh!va.11

*e scriptures of the cult of the Goddess Kubjikā have incorporated muchof the Trika material that predated them: some of it reworked, some of it verba-tim.12 *is material may therefore also legitimately be adduced as a secondarylevel of evidence for the Trika sources on which they are based.

A SWith the exception of an evidently corrupt passage in the [published versionof the] Agnipur! .na, all of the texts consulted list all 50 phonemes of the San-skrit alphabet, but they present them in a varying number of what I will callenunciations.13

A IA preliminary survey of the available materials has yielded thirteen differentpassages teaching the n!diph!ntakrama.14 In the eleven different sequences15summarised below the n!diph!ntakrama is taught in four different modes.*ephonemes are listed:

. In more or less “plain language” with an associated body-part (,, );

. In plain language with an associated body-part and a correspond-ing presiding female deity (, , );

. Encoded in the M!lin"gahvara (see below) with an associatedbody-part (, );

. Encoded in the M!lin"gahvara with an associated body-part anda corresponding presiding female deity ().

11Of the presumed early Tantras of the Trika only the Devy!y!mala’s discussion of the n!-diph!ntakrama (presuming it contained such a chapter) is not available. It is also not knownwhether the later Trikas!ra transmitted its own version of the n!diph!ntakrama.

12Cf. S (1986:163–164).13*e difference is that anusv!ra- and visarga- are not given independently in some texts.14Only five of these have been published before now.15I omit the P!rame$var"mata and a second version of the sequence taught in the #r"matot-

taratantra.


In all of these the sequence seems quite naturally to break up into a seriesof shorter strings of phonemes (separated by commas and semi-colons in thelisting below). A substantial proportion of these can be presumed to be in-tentional, designating phases of projection or anatomical description. Othersmay be no more than artifacts of varying versification skills. Most of these areshared with some variation by all texts, but the order of placement in the mainsequence may differ. One immediate text-critical hypothesis must be that thesesubunits approximate the textual units in a posited Ur-text.*e history impliedby these surviving texts becomes thus rather complex; the extent of differen-tiation requires probably many more degrees of separation from the positedoriginal source than the known texts allow. So, even though the greater part ofknown early Trikatantras has been examined these appear to reveal that theyare merely incomplete remnants of a far more complex textual situation.

Furthermore, all of the texts16 homologise the phonemes with the Goddess’body-parts, thus it is clear that this must be the one essential feature whichcannot be separated from the n!diph!ntakrama in the minds of the redactors.

E D P Pi. Siddhayoge$var"mata 3.7cd–18, 48 enunciations, six descriptive phases:

ii. M!lin"vijayottaratantra 3.37cd–41, ⇥Tantr!loka 15.121–125cd, 48enunciations, five descriptive phases:17 1. na .r .r .l .l tha, ca dha " .na u%, ba ka kha ga gha na i a; 2. va bha ya; 3. .da .dha, .tha jha ña ja ra .ta; 4.pa cha la ! sa .h, ha .sa k.sa; 5. ma $a .m ta, e ai o au da pha

iii. Agnik!ryapaddhati, Göttingenpc Fv395–7, Paris Fv7713–16; givesMantra and aniconic visualisation verse encoding the Mantra sau .h: o .mna .r .r .l .l tha ca dha " .na u % ba ka kha ga gha na i a va bha ya .da .dha .thajha ña ja ra .ta pa cha la ! sa a .h ha .sa k.sa ma $a a .m ta e ai o au da pha hr" .mm!linyai nama.h sv!h!

16Excepting of course the Agnik!ryapaddhati which merely presents Mālinī as a completedMantra.

17[1.]*e first twenty phonemes, na a, form the head of the Goddess; [2.] three phonemesva ya are her neck and shoulders; [3.] the eight phonemes, .da .ta are her arms, hands, fingers,trident and skull-bowl; [4.] the nine phonemes pa k.sa, given in eight enunciations, are herupper torso; [5.] the ten phonemesma pha, given in nine enunciations represent her buttocks,genitals, legs and feet.


iv. Tantrasadbh!va 3.105–128ab encoded in them!lin"gahvara (redacted inthe Kubjik!mata, see ), 48 enunciations, five descriptive phases:18 1. na.r .r .l .l tha ca dha " .na u % ba ka kha ga gha na i a; 2. va bha ya; 3. .da .dha.tha jha ña .ta ra ja; 4. pa .sa cha la ! ha sa .h k.sa; 5. ma $a .m ta e ai o au dapha

v. Kubjik!mata A 4.81ab–106 encoded in the m!lin"gahvara- (incorpo-rated from the Tantrasadbh!va, see ), 49 enunciations, five descriptivephases: 1. na .r .r .l .l tha ca dha " .na u % ba ka kha ga gha na i a; 2. va bhaya; 3. .dha .da .tha jha ña a .h .ta ra ja; 4. pa sa .h ha cha la ! .sa k.sa; 5. ma $a .mta e ai o au da pha

vi. Tri$irobhairavatantra cit. TaĀlViv 15.121–125ab: c, ⇥Kubjik!mata B17.94–109, 50 enunciations with Śaktis, six descriptive phases:19 1. na .r.r .l .l tha dha " ca ba ka kha ga gha na i a .na u %; 2. va; 3. .da .dha .tha jhaña .ta ra ja; 4. bha ya; 5. pa .sa k.sa cha la ! sa ha a .h; 6. ma $a a .m ta e ai oau da pha

vii. .Sa.ts!hasrasa .mhit! B 7.5–38, encoded in the (m!lin"gahvara-), 50 enun-ciations with Śaktis, five descriptive phases: 1. na tha .r .r .l .l ca dha " .na u% ba ka kha ga gha na i a; 2. va bha ya; 3. .dha .da .tha jha ña a .h .ta ra ja; 4.pa sa .h ha cha la ! .sa k.sa; 5. ma $a a .m ta e ai o au da pha

viii. .Sa.ts!hasrasa .mhit! A 4/5.30–35, 52–56, 78–84, 106–112, 123cd–126,50 enunciations ordered into the five mah!p".tha-: U .d .diyānapī.tha: na .r .r.l .l tha dha " ; Jālandharapī.tha: ca ba ka kha ga gha na i a .na; Pūr .nagiri-

18Following the M!lin"vijayottara very closely: [1.] the first twenty phonemes, na a formthe head of the Goddess; [2.] then three phonemes, va ya, represent her neck and shoulders;[3.] then eight phonemes, .da ja represent her arms, hands, fingers, skull-bowl and trident;[4.] then nine phonemes pa k.sa, given in eight enunciations, represent her upper torso; [5.]then ten phonemes, ma pha, given in nine enunciations represent her buttocks genitals legsand feet.

19[1.]*e first twenty phonemes, na % represent the head of the Goddess; [2.] a single pho-neme, va, represents her neck; [3.] eight phonemes, .da ja represent her arms, hands, fingers,skull-bowl and trident; [4.] two phonemes, bha and ya represent her shoulders (the position ofthese two phonemes may be explained by their inclusion into the phase of the upper torso); [5.]eight phonemes pa a .h, represent her upper torso; [6.] ten phonemes, ma pha represent herbuttocks, genitals, legs and feet.*e text as edited in the KSTS edition of the Tantr!loka is notvery reliable, but emendation is possible on the basis of the parallel passage in the Kubjik!mata.


pī.tha: u % va .dha .da .ta .tha jha ña ra ja bha ; Kāmarūpapī.tha: ya pa .sa k.sala cha ! sa ha a .h ma $a a .m; Mātangapī.tha: ta e ai au o da pha

ix. #r"matottara A 7: 1. na tha .r .r .l .l ca " .na u % ba ka kha ga gha na a va i;2. bha ya; 3. .da .dha .tha jha ña ra ja .ta; 4. pa ! a .h ha sa cha la .sa k.sa; 5.ma $a a .m ta e ai o au da pha

x. Kularatnoddyota 5.84–99, 50 enunciations with Śaktis, six descriptivephases: 1. na tha .r .r .l .l dha ca " ba i a ka kha ga gha na .na u %; 2. va; 3..da .dha .tha jha ña ra ja .ta; 4. bha ya; 5. cha la ! sa ha a .h pa .sa k.sa; 6. ma$a a .m ta e ai o au da pha

xi. Agnipur! .na (AP1) 145.6–18ab, 39 enunciations with Śaktis: na a[tha]$a[.r] .ta[.r] ca .dha " na[ .na] ta[u] ja[%] ca[ba] ka kha ga gha u[na] " a va bhama .da .dha pa[.tha] o[au?] a .m a .h .ta ta ja pa $a[sa] sa cha na[la] a[!] tha[.sa]k.sa ma

i. In the recension of the Siddhayoge$var"mata surviving in Nepalese (3.7c–18d) the enumeration of the phonemes is partially encrypted, (eg. Si-ddhayoge$var"mata 3.9c: jhasaptama.h sm.rtau kar .nau, ‘the two ears are the sev-enth [phoneme from] jha [= .na]’), and the order given is the most eclectic of anywork consulted. *e order of this sequence points to an origin in the practiceof ny!sa-. *e practitioner empowers his body in phases in a more or less de-scending order.*e first phase describes the head omitting the chaplet and thethird eye.*e first sixteen phonemes thus represent the actual physical featuresof the practitioner (as opposed to the Goddess).*e importance of the first six-teen phonemes of the sequence may be explained by their correspondance tothe sixteen vowels of the regular Sanskrit alphabet in its $abdar!$i- form. In theny!sa- procedure of the $abdar!$i-sequence (cf. M!lin"vijayottara 8.27–29ab)the sixteen vowels (usually representing Śivatattva) are all projected into thehead.20

20*e 50 phonemes are given in 48 separate enunciations correlated with the respectivebody-parts of the Goddess. Vocalic nasalisation and aspiration (anusv!ra- and visarga-) are notpresent independently but are joined to $a and sa respectively.*e attribution of left and rightis given only for the ear-ornaments, the right being mentioned first. Since nothing else is statedone may infer that the right side is always mentioned first (s!dhy!pek.sa-, right from the deity’spoint of view).


*e order given in the Siddhayoge$var"mata differs so greatly from all othersequences that we must conclude it to be only remotely related to the re-codification of the ny!sa-order into the so-called n!diph!ntakrama. *e veryname n!diph!nta is inappropriate since the sequence neither begins with nanor ends with pha. It is not possible to explain this order as the result of faultytextual transmission. Rather, because the sequences are embedded in quarter-verses which cannot be easily transposed, it must be the result of consciouseffort. It would not be possible to assimilate this sequence to the later n!diph!-ntakrama without considerably altering, or rather rewriting, the text.

ii.*e presentation of the n!diph!ntakrama inM!lin"vijayottara 3.37–41abis very brief. *e order is given in plain language with no attempt at encod-ing.21 *e sequence of the MVUT is clearly the most systematic among theworks consulted: the Goddess is described from her topknot down to her feetin a consistent descending order. *is is one of the two most common waysto describe a personage of eminence, the other possibility being the ascendingmanner, approaching as a humbly bowing devotee who first sees the feet.*usthe Kashmirian commentator Vallabhadeva introduces the first description ofPārvatī in the Kum!rasambhava as follows:22

*e body of Goddesses is described beginning with the toes of the feet; [for adescription] of humans one begins with the hair, this is the poetic convention.

*e inversion of this principle may be explained by the manifestation of theGoddess in the order of creation (s.r.s.tikrama-) rather than the order of resorption(sa .mh!rakrama-). Now this principle of a systematically descending order is

21Only the phonemes ha, o and au are not directly enunciated but are stated to be ‘thefollowing phoneme’ (3.40a, 3.41b). *e sequence consists of 48 enunciations, since neitherthe anusv!ra- (a .m) nor the visarga- (a .h) are given independently. *e anusv!ra- is joined to $aforming the b"jamantra- $a .m representing the generative organ of the Goddess and the visar-ga- is connected with the phoneme sa to form the b"jamantra- sa .h representing her life/soul(j"va). *e relative position of right and left is stated only once, for the shoulders. *e rightis enumerated first, again implying a procedure to be followed throughout. It is noteworthythat this appears to be the standard practice for all of the Trikatantras with the exception of theTantrasadbh!va which has reversed this order.

22Vallabhadeva ad Kum!rasambhava 1.32: dev"n! .m r%pa .m p!d!ngu.s.th!t prabh.rti var .nyate,m!nu.s" .n! .m tu ke$ebhya !rabhyeti kavisam!c!ra iti.*is is echoed byMallinātha introducingKu-m!rasambhava 1.33 but attributed to the custom of the pious (dh!rmika-) and not the commonpractice of poets: devat!n! .m r%pa .m p!d!ngu.s.thaprabh.rti var .nyate m!nu.s! .n! .m ke$!d !rabhyetidh!rmik! .h.


of help to clarify the precise nature of the Goddess’ “head-garland” ($irom!-l!-). *is expression could refer to two things: a garland of severed heads, ora headband. Since it is mentioned immediately after the top-knot, it cannotpossibly be a necklace located at the level of the neck. *at it was originallyintended as a kind of chaplet is also implied by the Tri$irobhairava: ‘a garland[worn] on the head’ (m!lik! $irasi).23

*e extreme condensing and essentialising tendency of theM!lin"vijayottarahas reduced the exposition of the n!diph!ntakrama to a mere four and a halfverses:24

*e phoneme na is her topknot; .r .r .l .l 25 form the skull-crown; tha is her head;the eyes are ca and dha26; her nose is "; .n-u and .n-% are the two ears with or-naments; ba, the gutturals [ka kha ga gha na], i and a27 are the mouth, teeth,tongue and voice;28 va bha ya are the neck, the right and left shoulders; .da .dhaare the arms; the hands are [both] .tha; jha and ña are the fingers [on her rightand left hands]; ja ra and .ta are her [trident-]staff29 and skull[-bowl]; pa is her

23As Jayaratha explains, it is of course made of skulls, see TaĀlViv: $irom!l! kap!l!rambhi-k!, ‘Garland of heads means one made of skulls’.

24M!lin"vijayottara 3.37–41b.25*ere is a metrical problem at MVUT 3.37a. *e ra-vipul! (-˘-) is preceded by a non-

permitted ja-ga .na (˘-˘). Such violations of the metre are rare in the MVUT but it should betaken into consideration that the present instance occurs in a list.

26*e phoneme ca forms the third eye of the Goddess and dha represents her two ordinaryeyes. *e corresponding passage in SYM 3.7d explicitly places only dha into the two eyes (cf.also .Sa.ts!hasrasa .mhit! pa.tala .h 7: t.rt"ya .m nayana .m devy! na-cha-madhyagata .m tath! || c!mu-.n .day! samopeta .m jñ!tavya .m varavar .nini | na-da-madhyagatau jñeyau dvidh!bh%tau tu locanau|| priyadar$an" deve$i s%ryasom!tmik! sm.rt! | cak.suryugme var!rohe, dak.sav!makrame .na tu ||).

27*e long -! expresses the plural -! .h in sandhi-.28In the discussion of the SYM’s passage it was noted that the first sixteen instances of its

sequence, corresponding to the sixteen vowels of the Śābdarāśi sequence, were all present inthe head of the Goddess. At first glance it appears that this doctrinally significant feature isnot preserved; the first phase of the M!lin"vijayottara does describe the head of the Goddessbut it consists of twenty phonemes. *ere is however one peculiarity in this phase: the pho-nemes representing the teeth are not individually enumerated but are collectively called the“gutturals” (kavarga-). If this is counted as a single instance the head of the Goddess wouldagain be circumscribed by sixteen instances. It is not inconceivable that it was the redactor’sintention to preserve this feature. In theM!lin"vijayottara’s projection of the $abdar!$i- sequenceinto the practitioner’s body the sixteen vowels are after all also placed into the head (M!lin"vi-jayottara 8.27–29ab).

29ra forms the staff of the trident in her right hand, ja its three spikes. Cf. SYM 3.12; Tri$i-robhairava 9c.


heart; cha and la are her breasts; her milk is !; sa .h is her soul; [ha], the immedi-ately following phoneme is her vital energy; .sa and k.sa are her belly and navel;ma, $a .m and ta are her buttocks, her genitals and her pair of thighs; e, ai herknees; the following phonemes [o and au] are her shanks; da and pha are herfeet.

iv. In the Tantrasadbh!va the n!diph!nta sequence is given in an encodedform using the device of theM!lin"gahvara.30*e M!lin"gahvara is a triangu-

!

!"

#

$

%

&

'(

)*

+,

-.

!/!0

12

3

4

5

6

7

8

9:

;

<

=

>?

@A

BC

DE

F

G

H

IJ

K

LM

N

O

P

Q

R

Figure 1: *e m!lin"gahvara.

lar grid into which are placed allof the phonemes beginning withthe top corner spiralling inwardsto the centre. Once this grid hasbeen drawn the sequence is “ex-tracted” (uddharet) by followinginstructions such as ‘take the sylla-ble between ya and sa [=ha]’ etc.31

Although the Tantrasadbh!va3.105–128ab employs the termn!diph!nta, it then paradoxicallyproceeds to begin the sequence notwith na but with tha. An error inthe process of redaction or in thescribal transmission may therefore be diagnosed. *e correct order is easily re-stored with help from the earliest of the Kubjik!mata’s parallel passage.32*e remaining divergences between the sequences of the Tantrasadbh!va and

30For a discussion of this and other gahvaras, see S 1982.31For instructions on drawing the M!lin"gahvara see: Tantrasadbh!va 3.100–104, Kubjik!-

mata 4.76–80, .Sa.ts!hasrasa .mhit! 7.76–80, #r"matottara Fv34ff. In the uddh!ra- procedure ofthe Tantrasadbh!va the directions p%rva-, pa$cima-, %rdhva- and dak.si .na- refer solely to the di-rections “left, right, above” and “below”; they are not associated with the fivemah!p".thas placedinto the diagram by some texts of the Kubjikā-cult.Madhya- (“in the middle of”) and randhra-(“at the edge of”) are self-explanatory. A separate triangle with the syllable k.sa is occasionallyappended below the o; k.sa has this special status because, strictly, it cannot be extracted fromthe diagram but arises from the sa .myoga- of ka and .sa.

32*e problem relates to the confusion over the true nature of the $irom!l!- representedby the four neuter vowels .r .r .l .l (Tantrasadbh!va 3.106cd) already encountered. *e originalposition of the “head”, ie. the phoneme tha, was immediately after these. *is is the positionpreserved in the derivative Kubjik!mata passage and also in theM!lin"vijayottara which agreeswith the Tantrasadbh!va for the first twenty-nine phonemes if tha is restored to this place.


theM!lin"vijayottara are not dramatic,33 and with the exception of one quarter-verse34 the Tantrasadbh!va passage could be rearranged to give precisely thesame n!diph!nta-sequence as the M!lin"vijayottara without doing anythingmore than rearranging the sequential order of complete half-verses.35

v. *is passage of the Tantrasadbh!va has been adopted into Kubjik!mata4.81ab-106, the first occurrence of the n!diph!nta- sequence in that Tantra.36

Somewhere in a lineal precursor of the surviving two palmleaf of the Tantrasadbh!va the$irom!l!-must have been wrongly perceived as “necklace of heads”.*is has led to the movingof the p!dayuga- describing the head (3.106cd) to the beginning of the sequence, since in thepractice of ny!sa- it would have been incongruous to jump from the topknot down to theneck and then back up to finish the head. *e transposition of the hemistich relating to thehead was also less invasive than the excision and reinsertion of the four vowels relating to the“head-garland” ($irom!l!-) and thus preferable.

33Restoring the misplaced initial tha the sequence continues in the exact order of theM!li-n"vijayottara up to ña at position 29, then agrees with the Tri$irobhairava .ta-ra-ja, then followsits own arrangement made up of sequences found in the Tri$irobhairava. From k.sa, position40, onwards it follows theM!lin"vijayottara again. Again, anusv!ra- and visarga- do not featureindependently.*e left-right-orientation, frequently stated explicitly, is the reverse of the otherTrikatantras (no indication is given whether this implies that the description is s!dhak!pek.sa-,from the viewpoint of the practitioner).

34*e one problem occurs at 3.120c (na-sa-madhyagam udaram the syllable .sa is the stom-ach) where it is metrically impossible to move p!da c to the desired location after 122b. *atquarter verse also shows a metrical problem. *e na-vipul!- (˘˘˘) is not preceded by eitherthe permitted double ga-ga .na- (--) or ra-ga .na (-˘-) but by a ja-ga .na (˘-˘). *e hypothet-ical, reordered verse-numbering yielding the n!diph!ntakrama of the M!lin"vijayottara is asfollows (Metrically impossible insertions are bracketed by superscript asterisks): Tantrasadbh!-va 3.105ab, 106, 105cd, 107 116, 119, 118, 117, 120ab�c�d, 121, 122cd, 123ab, 122ab,123cd 128. *e derivative Kubjik!mata passage allows itself to be reordered into the n!di-ph!ntakrama of theM!lin"vijayottara without any problems at all: Kubjik!mata 4.81cd 94ab,96cd, 97ab, 95cd, 96ab, 94cd, 95ab, 97cd, 99cd, 100, 98ab 99ab, 101 106. *e metricalproblem with the corresponding passage to Tantrasadbh!va 3.120c does not arise since the Ku-bjik!mata reads g.rhya (the lectio di&cilior), in place of priye and expands the quarter verse intoan independent pathy! p!dayuga-.

35It is however difficult to explain why this should have happened in each and every case.Beyond the restoration of the original positions of the phonemes na and tha no other changeshave here been [re?-]imposed on Tantrasadbh!va.

36*e Kubjik!mata’s redactors’ thought-processes can occasionally be reconstructed. At Ta-ntrasadbh!va 3.115ab > Kubjik!mata 4.91cd–92ab a redactor of the Kubjik!mata had presum-ably misread u-.tha as either %-.tha or u- .dha, neither of which makes sense in theM!lin"gahvara.He was therefore compelled to rewrite the instructions for the extraction of the phonemes rep-resenting the Goddess’ arms. *is implies that the redactor(s) had access to only a (single?)rather corrupt of the Tantrasadbh!va for this passage, secondly that he/they seem(s) to have


vi.*e Tri$irobhairava’s discussion of the n!diph!nta-sequence survives onlyin citation in Jayaratha’s Tantr!lokaviveka 15.121–125b and it has also beenredacted into in the Kubjik!mata 17.94–109.37 In this most elaborate exposi-tion of any surviving Trikatantra all fifty phonemes of the syllabary are listedseparately with their Śakti and location on the body of the Goddess.*e pho-nemes are given explicitly without encoding.

Although the Tri$irobhairava’s n!diph!ntakrama roughly follows the orderof the M!lin"vijayottara, it cannot be reduced to that order by simple transpo-sitions of halfverses as can that of the Tantrasadbh!va. Nevertheless, it must beadmitted that the sequence of the Tri$irobhairava is in large parts very similar tothat of the MVUT.38 *e differences are in fact exactly the kind to be expectedin a conflated transmission originating with a common source, ie. transpositionand inversion of discrete groups.

x. Among the scriptures of the Kubjikā-cult which have drawn upon theseTrikatantras, the Kularatnoddyota 5.84–101ab shows a somewhat remote butstill discernible affinity to theTri$irobhairava.*e usefulness and the limitationsof Kubjik!mata 4.81ab–106 and 17.94–109 have been noted above.39

been well versed in the encoding system of theM!lin"gahvara, and thirdly that he has been ableto restore the correct order of the n!diph!nta sequence from another, unknown source.

37*e secondary nature of the Kubjik!mata passage is confirmed by the nature of its di-vergence: original vipul!- forms have been removed during redaction. *us at Tri$irobhairava12ab/Kubjik!mata 105ab the redactor of the Kubjik!mata has rephrased the verse to removethe ra-vipul!-. At 98a the editors of the Kubjik!mata have accepted the secondary emendationMukhīvīrā for the doubtlessly original Chirvirā in A, thus converting the ra-vipul!- to apathy!- form.*ere are also some errors of omission which have occurred during the redactionof the Kubjik!mata: for instance at 103b the Kubjik!mata has not even preserved the phonemesbha and ya corresponding to the shoulders, in place of bhayau it reads api.

38Positions 7–9 (M!lin"vijayottara: ca-dha-") are dha-"-ca, the ears and ear-ornaments .na-[ .n]u-[ .n]% aremoved down to positions 18–20, theM!lin"vijayottara’s sequence is maintained inthe interval.*e shoulders bha-ya are moved from positions 23–24 to 31–32; in the interveninglist ja-ra-.ta is inverted to .ta-ra-ja.*ese three phonemes describe the trident and the skull-bowlof the Goddess. It is unlikely that this should indicate an iconographical difference, for instancethat the trident might be inverted, pointing downwards in the manner of Durgā Mahi.sāsura-mardinī or that the orientations might be reversed, the skull-bowl being in the right hand andthe trident in the left. *e order then diverges but the final sequence from ma pha agreeswith the M!lin"vijayottara again. *e attribution of left and right is given only for the feet,and, following the practice of M!lin"vijayottara, the right member is listed first. From this itmay again be concluded that the other pairs obey the same pattern, the prior member is theright, the latter the left.*is again reflects a normative practice for the Trikatantras.

39*e .Sa.ts!hasrasa .mhit! 7.5–38 has been edited by S (1982:210–218). Regard-ing the naming of some of the Śaktis of the n!diph!ntakrama S (1982:213–214)


ix. *e #r"matottara40 is the only text to give a full visualisation of a varietyof the Goddess Mālinī and also of the fifty Śaktis presiding over the individualphonemes.

xi. Agnipur! .na 145.6–18ab appears to be in turn derived from the scripturesof the cult of Kubjikā.*e text is unfortunately transmitted very imperfectly.41*e twenty-nine phonemes which are enumerated are thus unreliable, but nev-ertheless the Śaktis and their locations agree (with some omissions) with the listof the Kubjik!mata.42

T OM F I P GJust as the Śabdarāśi sequence has a series of Rudras presiding over the individ-ual phonemes,43 so the Nādiphānta sequence has a pantheon of female deities,variously called Śakti, Kalā, Dūtī or Yoginī, presiding over the individual syl-lables.44 *eir original purpose was the ritual purification, empowerment anddivinisation of the physical body during the imposition of the phonemes inthe practice of ny!sa-.45 *e names of some of these deities echo the respectivebody-parts their phonemes are associated with: Priyadarśanā in the eyes, Vāg-īśvarī for speech etc.*e variations encountered are tabulated (variant spellingsencountered in a single text are noted individually, � denotes all texts):

remarks that he has chosen -y! endings instead of the more natural -" in cases where he believedthe -y! to be the ending of a feminine proper noun in compound with samanvita- rather thandenotative of the instrumental suffix. *e weight of evidence now points against this, and itseems advisable to restore the “correct forms” as far as possible: Kapālinyā > Kapālinī, Dīpanyā> Dīpanī, Pāvanyā > Pāvanī.

40#r"matottara (=Gorak.sasa .mhit!) 7.2– 64; 7.118–342.41*e edition reproduces numerous Śāradā Devanāgarī transcription errors (initial u:ta;

retroflex for dental etc.) and ignores obviously incorrect repetitions (ma occurs twice). Someobvious corrections to the names of the Śaktis are Vāgeśvarī for Nāgeśvarī, Lāmā for Nāmā etc.

42*is affiliation is further corroborated by the independent enunciation of the phoneme-a .h with the Śakti Sañjīvanī on the backs of the hands. *is is common in the texts of theKubjikā-cult and can be traced back to the Tri$irobhairava.

43Cf.M!lin"vijayottara 3.17–25.44Six of the sources consulted give details of these Goddesses: Tri$irobhairava cit. TaĀlViv

adTantr!loka 15.121–125cd;Kubjik!mata 17.94–109; #r"matottara 7.7–69; .Sa.ts!hasrasa .mhit!7.5–38; Kularatnoddyota 5.80c–101b; Agnipur! .na 145.6–18ab.

45In the twenty-seventh chapter of the P!rame$var"mata the object of ⌘nyas- is always oneof these Goddesses, never a phoneme on its own.


na N!din" �

.r Niv.rtti �

.r Prati.s.th! �

.l Vidy! �

.l #!nti �

tha Grasant" TriŚiBhai; Grasan" �

ca C!mu.n .d! �

dha Priyadar$an! TriŚiBhai, KuRa-Udd; Priyadar$an" KubMaTa;Priyadar$in" ŚrīMaUtt; Pr"ta-dar$an" .Sa.tSāSa .m; Priy!d.r.s.tiAgPu

" Guhya$akti �

.na (#ankara)-n!r!ya .n" .Sa.tSāSa .m;N!r!ya .n" �

u Mohan" �

% Prajñ! �

ba Vajri .n" �

ka Kanka.t! TriŚiBhai, ŚrīMaUtt,KuRaUdd; Kar!l" ŚrīMaUtt,AgPu; Kar!liny!, KubMaTa,.Sa.tSāSa .m

kha K!lik! TriŚiBhai, KuRaUdd;Kanka.t! KubMaTa; Kap!liny!.Sa.tSāSa .m; Kap!l"/Kank!l"/Ka-nka.t! ŚrīMaUtt; Kap!lin" Ag-Pu;

ga #iv! TriŚiBhai, .Sa.tSāSa .m, Ku-RaUdd, AgPu; K!lik! KubMa-Ta;

gha Ghoragho.s! TriŚiBhai, Kub-MaTa, .Sa.tSāSa .m; Ghor! Ku-RaUdd, AgPu

na #ivir! TriŚiBhai; Mukh"v"r!KubMaTa; Chirvvar! ŚrīMa-Utt; Khirvar! .Sa.tSāSa .m; #ir-var! KuRaUdd

i M!y! �; M!y!/Sarasvat" Śrī-

MaUtta V!g"$var" TriŚiBhai; V!ge$var"

KubMaTa, .Sa.tSāSa .m, KuRa-Udd; V!g"$" ŚrīMaUtt; N!ge-$var" AgPu; [Sarasvat" TaSad-Ta]

va #ikhiv!hin" �

bha Bh".sa .n" TriŚiBhai, AgPu; B".sa-.n! KubMaTa, KuRaUdd; Bh"-m! .Sa.tSāSa .m

ya V!yuveg! �

.da L!m! �; N!m! AgPu.dha Vin!yik" TriŚiBhai; Vin!yak"

KubMaTa, .Sa.tSāSa .m; Vain!-yak" KuRaUdd; Vin!yak! Ag-Pu

.tha P%r .nim! TriŚiBhai, .Sa.tSāSa .m,AgPu; Paur .nim! KubMaTa,KuRaUdd

jha Jhank!r" �; Jha .mk!r"/ .D! .mk!r"ŚrīMaUtt

ña Kundan! TriŚiBhai; Kurdan"KubMaTa, .Sa.tSāSa .m; Kur-ddhan" ŚrīMaUtt; 'rdhvaku-rdan" KuRaUdd

ja Jayant" �; Jayanty! .Sa.tSāSa .mra D"pan" TriŚiBhai, KubMa-

Ta, KuRaUdd, AgPu; D"pany!.Sa.tSāSa .m; D"pin" ŚrīMaUtt

.ta Kap!lin" �; Kap!liny! .Sa.tSā-Sa .m

pa P!van" �; P!vany! .Sa.tSāSa .mcha Chagal" TriŚiBhai, KubMaTa;

Chagal! .n .d!KuRaUdd;Chaga-l! .n .d" ŚrīMaUtt; #ar"r! AgPu

la P%tan! �

! (mo.tar" TriŚiBhai; (mo.t"KubMaTa, ŚrīMaUtt, .Sa.tSā-


Sa .m; (mod" KuRaUdd; Nair.r-ti ŚrīMaUtt

sa Param!tm! �; Param!khy! Ag-Pu

a .h Icch!$akti TriŚiBhai; Icch!KubMaTa

ha Ambik! �

.sa Lambik!TriŚiBhai, KubMaTa,KuRaUdd; Lambin" ŚrīMa-Utt; Lambodary! .Sa.tSāSa .m;Lambodar" AgPu

k.sa Sa .mh!rik! �; Sa .mh!rya .Sa.tSā-Sa .m; Sa .mh!rik!/Sa .mgh!r" Śrī-MaUtt

ma Mah!k!l" �

$a Kusum!yudh! �

a .m #ukr! TriŚiBhai, KubMaTa,KuRaUdd; Kr%r! .Sa.tSāSa .m

ta T!r! TriŚiBhai, KubMaTa, .Sa.t-SāSa .m; T!rak! KuRaUdd, Ag-Pu

e Jñ!na$akti �

ai Kriy!$akti �

o G!yatr" �

au S!vitr" �

da Dahan" �; Dahany! .Sa.tSāSa .mpha Phe.tk!rik!TriŚiBhai; Phetk!ri-

k! KubMaTa; Phetk!ry! .Sa.tSā-Sa .m; Phetk!r" KuRaUdd

It is striking that there is no substantive variance regarding the attribution ofŚaktis to phonemes. *e deviations in the names are relatively minor and caneasily be explained away as scribal errors, variant orthographies, synonyms etc.46

T R N!diph!ntakramaEven more striking than the fidelity with which the phoneme-Śakti assignationwas retained, is the flawless preservation, despite the frequent divergence of se-quence, of the association of a corresponding phoneme and body-part. *isshows beyond doubt that this is the one key feature essentially defining then!diph!ntakrama in the pre-exegetical tradition. Astonishingly, there occur novariations at all in any of the texts consulted. As we have seen, the sequence ofthe phonemes may vary considerably, the associated female deities may or maynot be present (but when they are their correlation with phoneme and body-part is also scrupulously maintained), but the undeviating identification of cer-

46Elaborate visualisations (m%rtidhy!na-) for these are found only in the #r"matottara pa.tala7 Fr 39–Fr 442, part of which is reproduced inGorak.sasa .mhit! pa.tala 7, pp. 30–46. A similarlysecondary elaboration seems to have taken place for the presiding deities of the Śabdarāśi order.Rāghavabha.t.ta, in his Pad!rth!dar$a commentary on the #!rad!tilaka of Lak.sma .nadeśikendra(a commentary that is rich in visualisations of Speech-Goddesses), ad 6.4, a visualisation ofSarasvatī, gives details of the presiding deities of the phonemes in the Śabdarāśi sequence. Hissource is identified simply as ‘another Tantra’: pratyak.sara .m dhy!na .m tantr!ntarokta .m yath!…


tain phonemes with certain body-parts of the Goddess persists as the singleconstant factor in an entire scriptural transmission probably spanning severalcenturies.

U UOnce this specific correlation of a given phoneme and and a given body-partis accepted, the n!diph!ntakrama can be explained as the order of mantra-imposition (ny!sa-).*e most systematic of these orders of ny!sa- is that of theMVUT. It begins with the topknot and then descends down the body to thefeet. *e only missing link in the explanation of the n!diph!ntakrama is thespecific assignation of phoneme to body-part. What is so special about theseparticular associations and what has made them so impervious to change?

H P G A S PTo uncover the reason for this it is helpful at this point to shift our attentionfrom the audible phonemes to the visual graphemes used to represent theminstead. *e surviving exegesis of the Trika shows little interest in the writtencharacters forming the n!diph!ntakrama.47 Abhinavagupta does indicate thatSomānanda had taught such considerations as soteriologically effective (up!-ya-) in his commentary on the Par!tri .m$ik!.48 But Abhinavagupta does not seefit to follow his lead. He is aware of the historical and geographical specificityof calligraphic styles and dismisses such elaborations with this justification: al-though of use to some rare person, such speculations, dependent on the artificialconventions of writing, are of no use to disciples removed in space and time.Despite his dismissal, it is clear that certain Śaiva Tantras, notably the Sarvav"ra,did show an interest in written characters and not just in phonemes.49

47It contains very little speculation on the esoteric significance of written characters in gen-eral (see Tantr!loka 3).

48Par!tri .m$ik!vivara .na 5–9ab (KSTS, p. 35): dh%libhed!din! ca kalpitas!mayikalipyape-k.sa .nam api bhaved api kasya cid up!y!ya, na tu tat sakalade$ak!lagata$i.syavi.sayam iti n!sm!bhirvitatya vipañcitam | etadanubhavayuktyanupravi.s.t!n! .m ca tad ak!ryakara .m, svakalpan!bhi$ casukaram | anye.s! .m caitadupade$!nabhijñ!n! .m tadupade$anam api aki .mcitkaram, ity alam anenaprak.rtavighnavidh!yin! |.

49See K.semarāja in #ivas%travimar$in" at 1.4:a:…$r"sarvav"r!dy!gamaprasiddhalipikramasa-.mnive$otth!pik!…[m!t.rk!].


P, G B P*e relationship between the graphemes and their correlated body-partsclaimed here is the most simple: physical resemblance.50 Specifically, the re-semblance claimed begins to be evident in the Gupta version of the Brāhmīalphabet and lasts several centuries.*e characters given in the following tablerepresent a Gupta hand of the 3–4th century .51

n na topknot (tip of topknot($ikh!gra-) Tri#iBhai).

R .r [.r .l .l] m!lik! $irasi Tri#i-Bhai = $irom!l!-. As noted earlierthis is not a garland worn aroundthe neck but rather a chaplet ofskulls worn on the head.

Y tha headc ca third eyeX dha two eyesI ! nose (breath (pr! .nana-) KuRa-

Udd ).N .na ears

[u] right earring (its characterresembles a small hook to theleft added below the character itmodifies).["] left earring (its character re-sembles a small double-hook tothe left added below the charac-ter it modifies).

b ba mouth

k K g G ka kha ga gha [na] teeth,(right upper fang lower leftfang .Sa.tS!Sa .m, AgPu, na =r!ja-danta-).

i i tonguea a speechv va throatB bha right shoulder

y ya left shoulderD .da right armZ .dha left armV .tha palms of the handsJ jha fingers of right handW ña fingers of left handj ja trident in right handr ra staff of tridentT .ta skull in left hand

p pa heartC cha right breast

50Of course, the post-scriptural exegetes have built up elaborate systems of identificationsand homologies of their own involving this sequence, but the parallels they sought and putforward were between a sequence of morphemes and various elements, reality levels and otherontological, phenomenological or metaphysical categories (see for instance Abhinavagupta’sexposition of Mālinī, Māt.rkā and Śabdarāśi as existing at the Madhyamā, Paśyantī and Parālevels of speech respectively, and the complex associations with tattvas and experiential stateswhich he advances primarily in his exegesis of the Anuttara, or Ekavīra system of the Trikafound in his two commentaries on the Par!tri .m$ik!). But here we are concerned with theoriginal attribution of meaning to the phonemes.

51Taken from S (1968:tables 8–20).


l la left breastA # milk in breastss sa soul (soul in heart SiYoMa,

supreme soul Tri#iBhai, KubMa-Ta).[a .h] [Prā .nātmā Tri#iBhai, vy!-pya KubMaTa].

h ha vital energy (vital energy per-vading whole body SYM).

w .sa stomachx k.sa navelm ma buttocksz $a the genitals. An apparent

problem is presented by thephoneme $a, since the triangu-lar grapheme of the phoneme ewould clearly be a more appro-priate representation of the God-

dess’ genitalia. *e resemblanceis rather to a male practitioner’spenis.[a .m] [ovarian fluid Tri#iBhai,KubMaTa, .Sa.tS!Sa .m, KuRa-Udd ].

t ta thighs. *e phoneme ta mayoriginally have been meant tocover both thighs together sinceit evolved out of a basic invertedy-shape.

e e right kneeE ai left kneeo o right shank

au left shankd da right foot

P pha left foot

Self-evidently, it would be rash to suppose this could be used as a reliable in-dication for the date of the earliest Trika texts.*e n!diph!ntakrama need nothave originated in the Trika but may have been borrowed from an earlier sourceand, the range of possible dates within which the resemblance of graphemes andbody-parts can be discerned is rather large.

*is hypothesis is not as strange as it first appears. An interest in the actualshape of the graphemes of the Sanskrit alphabet is also evident in other earlyTantric sources.*e Jay!khyasa .mhit!, an early scripture of the Pāñcarātra, con-tains a description of the var .nas so graphically detailed that B52(admitting the inaccuracy of the method) adduces this as evidence for a dateas early as 450 .*e graphemes described in Jay!khyasa .mhit! 6.32cd–58 aresimilar to those used by the compilers of the n!diph!ntakrama but the visualassociations implied by the two systems are radically opposed. For instance theauthor of the Jay!khyasa .mhit! passage saw the written character ka as a lotus(kamala-), having in mind perhaps a slightly earlier form of the character re-sembling a small plus sign. *e author of the n!diph!ntakrama on the other

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


hand saw a hideous fang, having in mind the dagger-shaped evolute of thecharacter.53

To summarise: In the Trika’s n!diph!ntakrama the written shape of eachgrapheme taken singly was identified as resembling a certain bodily limb or or-gan; taken together the whole syllabary represented the anthropomorphic bodyof the alphabet deity. When listed in the conventional head-to-toes order of theny!sa-rite a particular rearrangement of the alphabet is arrived at, and this is thesequence beginning with na and ending with pha.*is means that one can drawan anthropomorphic sketch of the Goddess using Gupta era characters.

What does this tell us about the earliest conception of the Goddess Mālinī?

A S I*e Goddess Mālinī, embodied in the n!diph!ntakrama, was conceived of as asynæsthetic icon.*is implies thatMālinī comes into existence through a fusionof phonematic sound and graphemic shape within (or even as) the divinisedbody of the Tantric practitioner.54

*e Sanskrit technical term used55 to express such “fusion” is lol"bh!va.56

53See S (1968) tables 8–20, Schrifttypus , Gruppe A: Gupta-Alphabete des 3.–4.Jh. n. Chr.; Gruppe B: Gupta-Alphabete des 4.–5. Jh. n. Chr. On the whole the descriptionof the graphemes given in the Jay!khyasa .mhit! seems to belong to even earlier paleographicstrata than B had assumed. For instance the phoneme ra is said to resemble a fire(anala-), an apt description of the wavy vertical line representing the phoneme ra until about100 , but rarely beyond that date. In Śaiva Tantras also, the phoneme ra is usually the firesyllable. Alexis S has provided me with the Jayadrathay!mala’s enumeration of thevarious synonyms for the repha- (4, Var .nanāmapa.tala, 41cd–42ab): vahni .m ca .ti.t.tibha .m caivadev!sya .m bh"mavigraham / repha .m krodha .m sam!khy!ta .m tath! tejojjvala .m ca tat. What mustbe realised, of course, is that a dating of any section of the Jay!khyasa .mhit! cannot date thewhole text, even if it were an original composition in the earliest stratum of that text.

54*e most widespread form of synæsthesia (a condition where the stimulation of one senseorgan produces a sensory impression in a different sense) is the perception of sound as colour,but all sorts of (sometimes debilitating) combinations are known to exist.

55See for example, Mālinī’s self-dissolution through lol"bh!va after she feels slighted byBhairava at Kubjik!mata 1.71–80, cf. V 2004:xlvii–xlviii.

56See Tantrasadbh!va 1.20cd–21ab: punar eva tu te sarva ekabh!vagat! prabho / lol"bh%t!yath! santi tath! tva .m kathayasva m!m, and 1.473ab: lol"bh%tam ida .m sarva .m $aktisth!nelaya .m gata .h; Par!tr"$ik!vivara .na p.50 ll.17-18: vi$vatra v!cye vi$v!tmani v!cakam api yadivi$v!tmaiva tad eva .m para .mpar!cch!danalol"bh!v!tm! nirvahed adhy!sa .h, na tv anyath! / nahi tricaturangulany%nat!m!tre ‘pi pa.ta .h pa.t!ntar!cch!daka .h sy!t. Kaulajñ!nanir .naya 3.20d;Kubjik!mata 1.79; Jayaratha ad Tantr!loka 1.1: tasya y!mala .m = lol"bh!vas…Tantr!lokaviveka


More precisely this seems to have originally denoted a state of indistinctnessor instability that various entities must assume when they are on the verge ofmerging together, to the extent that they can no longer be distinguished.57 Inthe Kashmirian exegetical tradition lol"bh!va is usually interpreted as a syn-onym for other technical terms denoting such fusion: laya, sa .mgha.t.ta, y!mala,and s!marasya, but evidently these terms all have complex histories of their own.

For the initiate of the Trika, the Sanskrit alphabet, instantiated in the veryprecise order of the n!diph!ntakrama, self-assembles into a visual representa-tion of the Goddess Mālinī, her mantric identity or sound body. In a placeand at a time proximate to the original conception of the phoneme-graphemeassociations, the similarity between grapheme and body-part would have beenimmediately perceived, giving the impression that they are natural (sv!bh!vika),almost inviting the ritualistic assimilation (tanmay"bh!va) with the body-partsof the practitioner in the ny!sa-rite. As such, the successful visionary realisa-tion (dar$ana) of the Goddess Mālinī would induce a mild form of synæsthesiain the initiate, dissolving the boundaries of sensory perceptions so that onecould “see the alphabet as a Goddess,”—strikingly apt for the creative powerunderlying and manifesting the universe. *e transformative power of such amany-levelled icon, bridging the sense-organs, must have been great.

A careful reading reveals that these facts about Mālinī are taught quite ex-plicitly in the earliest surviving scripture of the Trika, the Siddhayoge$var"mata.First, it states that she must be sketched, but then reveals that she is “made upad Tantr!loka 3.122: lol"bh!vam … bhokt.rbhogyasangha.t.tasvabh!vam; ibid 3.232: ya !ve$a .hparasparasangha.t.t!tm! lol"bh!va .h, ibid 3.237: ya .h paraspara .m lol"bh!v!tm! sandarbha .h,)$varapratyabhijñ!viv.rtivimar$in" 2 p. 233, p. 278; 3 p. 27, p.50, Kularatnoddyota 12. 16,Timirodgh!.tana fol. 48 recto, Dev"pañca$atik! 2.55: lol"bh%ta par!$akt" ravisomakalodaya .mprak!$!nandayor antar (antar MS G, ant! D etext) ek!k!ratay! sthit!; Matas!rafol. 6r: tata .h sa maithuna .m bheje dr!vaye <’>m.rtam uttamam / akampitena manas!lol"bh!vavivarjita .h. Svacchandatantroddyota 4.296d explains it as identical with the state of s!-marasya: samo raso yasmin sa samaraso lol"bh!va .h, ibid 4.299d: [lol"bh%tam]…avikalpa .m vim.r$yatadvi$r!ntyaiva samaras"kury!t. P!rame$varasa .mhit! 6.4: b!hyotth! v!san! vipra! bahujanm!r-jit! d.r .dh! / lol"k.rto ‘nay! hy !tm! $uddho ‘$uddhasvar%pay! //. Ahirbudhnyasa .mhit! 16.62ab:v!cyav!cakabh!vena lol"bh%t! kriy!may". Na.tanānandana’s K!makal!cidvall"vy!khy!na ad K!-makal!vil!sa 1.5: tayo .h samarasa .h ekalol"bh%ta .h… pi .n .d"bhavaty ekalol"bhavati. Dhvany!lokalo-cana: sank"r .nat! hi mi$ratva .m lol"bh!va .h, tatra katham ekasya pr!dh!nya .m k.s"rajalavat? In Bud-dhist Tantric texts the term features usually as ekalol"bh!va.

57See for example Helarāja’s Prak"r .naprak!$! commentary ad V!kyapad"ya 3.3.2(sa .mbandhasamudde$a): lol"bh%t!ni $abd!rthajñ!n!ni gha.ta ity evam avagamyante.


of all phonemes” (sarv!k.saramay").58 *e natural interpretation of this state-ment is that formulated as the central argument of this paper: the phonemesare arranged so as to represent the actual body of Mālinī. *is is confirmedby statements such as: ‘*e phoneme " pointing downwards is said to be hernose,’59 a meaningless observation if applied to a sound or her nose alone. Fromsuch statements we may at least deduce that some of the characters must be ro-tated to fit into the icon. Figure 2 tries to recreate the synæsthetic icon ofMālinīby minimizing such rotations.

In the later Trika and its ex-

Figure 2: A tentative, provisional attempt torecreate the synæsthetic icon of Mālinī made upof Gupta characters.

egesis, the Goddess Mālinī be-comes completely aniconic. Aseparate diachroneity, diamet-rically opposed to this essen-tialisation seen in the Trika,took place in the cult of theGoddess Kubjikā, where wefind elaborate, standard icono-graphies of Mālinī (see belowfor a critical edition of the de-tailed visualisation taught inthe #r"matottara). *is sec-ondary elaboration might beexplained by the demotion ofMālinī from the high rank sheoccupies in the Trika.60

It is also easy to understandwhy this principle underlyingthe n!diph!ntakrama shouldeventually have been forgot-ten. Paleographic drift and thedeliberate innovation of new

calligraphic styles meant that the correspondence was no longer obvious, andinscriptional evidence of paleographical development shows that within a fewcenturies this correspondence becomes difficult to perceive.

58SYM 3.4–7ab: same medhye sulipte ca sugupte bh%mima .n .dale…rudra$akti .m sam!likhet sa-rv!k.saramay" .m dev" .m sarvavar .nopa$obhit!m, “On an even ground fit for worship, well smeared[with cowdung] and concealed he should sketch the power of Rudra, the Goddess made up ofall consonants adorned with all vowels.”

59SYM 3.8a: " n!s!dhomukh" prokt!60On the pervasive influence of the Trika on the cult of Kubjikā, extending even to

the mantra-system, see S (2002, 1986:163–164) referred to in G andS (1988:14–24, 488–496).


DM!lin"dhy!nam: #r"matottara .–A visualisation of a ten-armedMālinī with five faces with three eyes each. She isred like the rising sun, intoxicated with liquor. She wears a dazzling diadem andcelestial earrings. She bears: [1.] a bow, [2.] a lance, [3.] a conch, [4.] the gesturerelieving fear, and [5.] amirror in her left pentad of hands. In her right hands sheholds: [6.] a thunderbolt, [7.] an arrow, [8.] a serpent, [9.] the gesture grantingboons, [10.] a rosary. She is seated in vajr!sana on the corpse (Sadāśiva). Shewears a chaplet of skulls. Her heart-Mantra is s-h-au-% .m, a derivative of theParāmantra sau .h, cf. #r"matottara 6.132cd–133.udayādityasankāśā .m madirānandananditām |pañcānanā .m mahādevī .m tripañcanayanojjvalām || 141||divyaku .n .dalaśobhā .dhyā .m kirī.tīmuku.tojjvalā .m |bhujair dvipañcakair yuktā .m nānālankārama .n .ditām ||142||cāpa .m śaktis tathā ka .mbu abhaya .m darpa .na .m priye |vāmamārgakare.sv asyā divyāstra .m ca virājate || 143||vajra .m bā .na .m tathā sarpa .m varada .m cāk.sasūtrakam |dak.si .nena tathā devi divyāstra .m divyarūpi .nam ||144||trivalībhangamadhyasthā .m pīnonnatapayodharām |hārakeyūraśobhā .dhyā .m ma .niratnavibhū.sitām ||145||vajrāsanagatā .m devī .m pretaparyankasa .msthitām |ha .damālā śire divyā var .nahārāvalambinī ||146||eva .m dhyātvā varārohe mālinī .m divyatejasā .m |sarvavyāptimayī .m devī .m bhuktimuktiphalapradām ||147||Codices used for this section of pa.tala 6: N = NGMPP reel no. A 194

3 , Fr 334–7; from 6.142conwards G = Gorak.sasa .mhitā pa.tala 6, p. 29.141a °sankāśā .m ] corr.; °sankāśa .m N 141b °nanditām ] corr.; nanditam N 141c ānanā .m ]corr.; ānanā N 141c °devī .m ] corr.; °devī N 142a °ā .dhyā .m ] corr.; °ā .dhya N 142bjvalā .m ] corr.; jvala .m N 142c bhujair ] corr.; bhujai N 142c yuktā .m ] N; …petā .m tes-timonium of G begins 143c vāmamārgakare.sv ] em.; vāmamārgakare tasya N; ��retasyaG 143d °āstra .m ] G; °āmbra .m N 144b cāk.sa° ] G; cāstra° N 144c dak.si .nena tathā ]N; ��thā G 145a °bhanga° ] conj.; °taranga° G hypermetrical, °tala .mga° N hypermetrical145b pīnonnatapayodharām ] conj.; v.rttonnatapayodharāmG, pīnav.rttamayodharāN 146a°gatā .m devī .m ] em.; °gatā .m devi G, gatā devīN 146c ha .da° ] conj. S; svara°G, va-.da N 146c divyā ] G; divyā .m N 146d °āvalambinī ] em.; āvara .mbinīN 147bmālinī .m ]G; mālinī N 147c °vyāptimayī .m ] em.; °vyāptimayī N, vyāptamayī .m Gpc , vyāptamantī .mGac 147c devī .m ] G; devī N145a °madhyasth! .m ] possibly a metrical adaptation of a final °madhyam! .m.


Tantrasadbh!va > Kubjik!matatantra 104d uddharen Mālinī .m śubhām105a nādiphāntasvarūpe .na105b yathā bhavati tac ch.r .nu |106a pa-dha-madhya .m śikhā caiva106b adha .hśirovyavasthitā |106c e-pūrvār .nacatu.ska .m tu106d śiromālā nigadyate105c ai-$a-madhya .m śiro devyā .h105d kārayec chubhalak.sa .nam107a t.rtīya .m nayana .m kārya .m107b na-cha-madhyagata .m priye |107c na-da-madhyagata .m jñeya .m107d dvidhābhūta .m varānane108a nayane te sm.rte devyā .h108b kramād dak.si .navāmage |108c .ta-pūrva .m nāsikā jñeyāCodices for pa.tala 3 are denoted by the fol-lowing sigla: N= NGMPP Reel no. A 44/1(NAK MS 1/363); N= NGMPP Reel no. A44/2; D=NGMPPReel no. A. 188/22. Con-flation of the dental and palatal sibilants saand $a (frequent in N) is reproduced onlywhere relevant to other variance. *e posi-tion of tha (105cd) has been altered since itwas deemed incorrect.104d mālinī .m ] corr.; mālinī codd. 106apa-dha-° ] NN; pa-da-° D 106b adha .h ]D; a↵dha� .h N, � N 106c e-pūrvār .na° ]ND; e-↵pū�rvār .na° N 106d °mālā ] em.;°mālya D, °māla NN 105c ai-śa-° ] em.;ai-da-° codd. 107b na-cha-° ] NN; da-ha-°D • priye ] D; priyet NN 107d varā-nane ] codd.; varāna✓dha✓ne N 108asm.rte ] em.; sm.rtā codd. 108b °vāmage ]codd.; °vāmake N

105 illegible in microfilm of N. 106b$irovyavasthit! :: incorrect syncopation withthree iambi (˘-˘-˘-) 107c--109c illegiblein microfilm of N.

81b uddharen Mālinī .m śubhām |81c nādiphāntakrame .naiva81d yathā bhavati tac ch.r .nu82a pa-dha-madhye śikhā jñeyā82b adha .hśirovyavasthitā |82c e-pūrvār .nacatu.ska .m tu82d śiromālā nigadyate83a ai-$a-madhye śiro devyā .h83b kārayec chubhalak.sa .nam |83c t.rtīya .m nayana .m devyā83d na-cha-madhyagata .m priye84a na-da-madhyagata .m jñeya .m84b dvidhābhūta .m varānane |84c nayanau ca sm.rte devyā .h84d kramād dak.si .navāmage85a .ta-pūrva .m nāsikā jñeyāVariæ lectiones noted in Ed are given onlywhere relevant to proposed emendations.*e sigla of Ed have been retained. Unfor-tunately the editors state: ‘only those readingsare included which make sense in the MālinīGahvara.’82b °śiro° em.; °śira° Ed, °śira .h° D, °śirā°E 82c °ār .nacatu.ska .m tu ] em.; °āk.saracatu-.ska .m Ed unmetrical, °āk.sar?catu.ska .m tuDEGHJK, °āk.sarecatu.ska .m F 83d priye ]ABC; puna .h Ed 84c nayane te sm.r-te ] em.; nayanau ca sm.rtau Ed (nayaneFGHJK, sm.rte GHJK) 84d °vāmage ]GHK; °vāmagau Ed, vāmago J 85a°pūrva .m ] C; pūrve Ed


108d sa .mśli.s.tā tu dha-madhyagā109a .dha-ta-madhyagata .m g.rhya109b dvirabhyāsapaderitam |109c .tha- .da-pūrve yute ’dhastād109d bhū.sa .nau kar .nayo� .h� sm.rtau110a vāmadak.si .namārge .na110b yathodbhūtau sthitāv iha |110c sa-ca-madhyagata .m vaktra .m110d devyāyā vīranāyike111a visarga-khasya madhyastha .m111b ka-ga-madhyayuta .m puna .h |111c kha-paścima .m samuddi.s.ta .m111d yasya cottaram eva ca112a gha-ca syāt tatrasa .mstha .m tu112b uddhared ak.sarāñ chubhān |112c ete pañca sm.rtā var .nā112d devyā daśanakalpanā113a ña-pūrva .m rasanā proktā113b jha-ūrdhvena Sarasvatī |113c sa-ta-madhyasthita .h ka .n.tho113d ma-cha-madhyagatoddharet108d °madhyagā ] codd.; °madhyagā .h N109a .dha-ta-° ] em.; .ta-ta-° codd. • g.r-hya N; gūghra ND 109b °paderitam ]codd.; °pade ’nvitam N 109c pūrve ]codd.; pūrva .m N • yute ] em.; yutau N,ryutau ND • ’dhastād ] N; dhastā ND110a °dak.si .na° ] codd.; °da.si .na° N 110cvaktra .m ] NN; cakra .m D 111a visar-gakhasya ] NN; visargakhaś ca D 111ckha-° ] em.; gha-° codd. 111d yasya ]D; paśya N 112a tatra° ] conj.; taracodd. 112b ak.sarāñ ] corr.; ak.sarā .m D,ak.sarāN • chubhān ] corr.; śubhām codd.112d daśanakalpanā ] em.; darśanakalpaneD, daśanakalpaye N 113b jha-ūrdhvena ]em.; jha-pūrve .na N, ja-pūrve .na D 113c°sthita .h ] N; °sthita .m D 113d ma-cha--madhya° ] N; ma-�ttha�-madhya° ND

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

85b sa .mśli.s.tā netramadhyagā |85c .dha-ta-madhyagata .m g.rhya85d dvirabhyāsapaderitam86a .tha- .da-pūrvau yutau ’dhastād86b bhū.sa .nau kar .nayo .h sm.rtau |86c vāmadak.si .namārge .na86d kar .nabhū.sasthitāv iha87a sa-ca-madhyagata .m vaktra .m87b devyāyā vīranāyike |87c visargānta-kha-madhyastha .m87d ka-ga-madhyagata .m puna .h88a kha-paścima .m samuddi.s.ta .m88b yasya cottaram eva ca |88c gha-ca-madhyagata .m caiva88d uddhared ak.sara .m śubham89a ete pañca sm.rtā var .nā89b devyā daśanakalpanā |89c ña- rasanā devyā89d jha-ūrdhvena Sarasvatī90a sa-ta-madhyasthita .h ka .n.tha .h90b ma-cha-madhyagatoddharet85b sa .mśli.s.tā ] DE; sa .ms.r.s.tā Ed, sa .mśi.s.tāśG, sa .ms.r.s.ta .m J 85b netra° ] FG⌦; caivaEd 88b yasya cottaram ] conj.; paścimot-taram Ed 89c pūrva .m ] E; pūrve Ed,pūrva° FG


114a ra-ma-madhyagatas tadvad114b ak.sarau dvau śubhātmakau |114c śikharau tu sm.rtau bhadre114d vāmadak.si .nagau śubhau115a u-.tha-dak.si .nagau dvau tu

115b bāhugau vāmadak.si .nau |115c ra-u-madhyagata .m caiva115d dvidhābhūta .m prakalpayet116a karatalau sm.rtau devi116b savyāsavya .m vijānata .h |116c ja-ma-pūrvau tathāngulyau116d vāmadak.si .nagā .h śubhā .h

117a ña-.tha-madhyagata .m g.rhya117b vāmahaste prakalpayet |117c ūrdhvavaktra .m kapāla .m tu117d am.rtākhyena pūritam118a dak.si .ne tu kare jñeya .m118b ya- .dha-madhya .m tu da .n .dakam |118c śūlasya kathita .m bhadre118d uddhāre .na samuddh.rtam119a a-cha-madhyagata .m śūlam119b uttānã ūrdhvavaktragam |114a ra-ma-° ] em.; ra-sa-° codd. 115au-.tha-° ] em.; ra-dha-° N, .ta-.tha-° D116a °talau ] em.; °talastho codd. 116bsavyāsavya .m ] D; savyāsayva N 116cja-ma-° ] em.; bha-ma-° codd. 117a g.rhya ]N; gūghra ND 117c ūrddhvavaktra .m ]D; ūrddhvaktra .m N 118c bhadre ] D;rudre N 119a a-cha-° ] NN; a-ccha-° D119b utt!nã :: a nasalisation -ã in place ofthe correct sandhi -am has been preferred inorder to avoid an incorrect syncopation withthree iambi (˘-˘-˘-).

90c ra-ma-madhyagata .m tad vad90d ak.sarau tu śubhātmakau91a śikharau tau sm.rtau bhadre91b vāmadak.si .nagau śubhau |91c %- .dha-madhyagata .m g.rhya91d .da- .na-madhye dvitīyakam92a vāmadak.si .nagau dvau tu92b bāhū devyā .h surārcite |92c ra-u-madhyagata .m caiva92d dvidhābhūta .m prakalpayet93a karatalau sm.rtau devyā .h93b savyāsayvau vijānata .h |93c ja-ma-pūrvau tu angulyau93d vāmadak.si .nagau śubhau94a a .m-ka-madhye karap.r.s.the94b dvidhābhūta .m prakalpayet |94c ña-.tha-madhyagata .m g.rhya94d vāmahaste prakalpayet95a ūrdhvaktrakapāla .m tu95b am.rtākhyena pūritam |95c dak.si .ne tu kare jñeya .m95d ya- .dha-madhya .m tu da .n .dakam96a śūlasya kathita .m bhadre96b uddhāre .na samuddh.rtam |96c a-cha-madhyagata .m śūlam96d uttānam ūrddhvavaktragam92c ra-u° ] G⌦; .ta- .da Ed, u-ra° K 94dprakalpayet ] DFGHJK; prapādayet Ed95d madhya .m ] DFG; madhye Ed


119c jñātavya .m tu vipaścidbhir119d yathālak.sa .nalak.sitam120a gha-na-madhyagata .m h.rc ca120b devyāyā .h sarvakāmikam |120c �na-sa-madhyagam udara .m �

120d ca-ja-madhyagata .m priye121a ra-va-sandhigata .m tadvad

121b ak.sarau dvau stanātmakau |121c jha-pūrva .m tu payo jñeyam121d am.rta .m samudāh.rtam122a ya-sa-madhyagata .m prā .na .m122b devyāyā vīranāyike |122c ma-.sa-madhyagata .m devi122d ātmābījām.rtātmakam123a visargasahita .m rudre123b uddh.rta .m mantram uttamam |

123c ka.s!khya .m mantrarājāna .m123d nābhi .m devyā .h prakalpayet124a bha-ña-madhyasm.rta .m devi124b nitamba .m sakalātmakam |124c va-.sa-madhyagata .m guhya .m124d au-paścimasamanvitam120a °gata .m ] D; °gata NN • h.rcca ] codd.; h.r� N 120d °gata .m ] em.;°gata .h codd. 121a °-sandhi° ] NN;°-sandi° D 121c jha-° ] N; �jha� N,�ña� D 122a ya-sa-° ] ND; ya-śa-° N123c mantrarājāna .m ] D; tatvarājāna .m N,mantrarājāna .h N 123d nābhi .m ] NN;nābhi D • devyā .h ] corr.; devyā codd.124a bha-ña-° ] em.; bha-ya-° codd. 124bsakalā° ] codd.; ↵sa�kalā° N 124c va-.sa-°N; va-śa-° ND 124d au-° ] em.; da-° codd.120c A na-vipul! form preceded by anon-permitted ja-ga .na (˘-˘).

97a jñātavya .m tu vipaścidbhir97b yathālak.sa .nalak.sitam |97c gha-na-madhyagata .m h.rc ca97d devyāyā .h sarvakāmadam

99c ca-ja-madhyagata .m g.rhya99d ra-va-sandhigata .m tathā100a v!madak.si .nagau dvau tu100b ak.sarau tau stanātmakau |100c jha-pūrve tu payo jñeyam100d am.rta .m samudāh.rtam99a ya-sa-madhyagata .m prā .na .m99b devyāyā vīranāyike |98a ma-.sa-madhyagata .m g.rhya98b ātmābīja .m śivātmakam |98c visargasahita .m bhadre98d uddh.rta .m mantram uttamam101a �na-sa-madhyagata .m g.rhya�

101b �udaram uddh.rta .m ’naghe�|101c ka-.s!khya .m mantrarājāna .m101d nābhi .m devyā .h prakalpayet102a bha-ña-madhyagata .m devi102b nitamba .m sakalātmakam |102c va-.sa-madhyagata .m guhya .m102d au-paścimasamanvitam97c madhyagata .m h.rc ca ] em.; °madhye tuh.rdaya .m Ed a na-vipul!, madhyagata .m h.r-daya .m C, madhya .m tu h.rdaya .m FG 99cca-ja° ] EFG; ja-ca Ed 100d samudāh.r-tam ] ABD; ca udāh.rtam Ed, camudāh.r-tam C 101c mantra° ] FG⌦ tattva° Ed,ta .mtva C


125a ūrvākāra .m bhaved bīja .m125b .na-tha-madhyagatã ’naghe |125c .na-ta-dak.si .nagau bījau125d jānukau dvau suśobhanau126a savyāsavyagatau jñeyau126b krame .naiva śubhek.sa .ne |126c ai-o-paścimagau dvau tu126d janghe dve vāmadak.si .ne127a tha-dha-madhyagata .m devi127b na-.sa-madhya .m tathaiva ca |127c dvau bījāv uddh.rtau bhadre127d pādau jñeyau vipaścite128a vāmadak.si .nagau proktau128b lak.sa .nena vilak.sitau |128c eva .m samyagvidhānena128d uddh.rtāMālinī priye125a ūrvākāra .m ] em.; ūrvākārau codd. •bīja .m ] D; bījā N, bīja N 125b .na-tha-°NN; .na-.sa-° D • °gatã ] em.; gato codd.125c .na-ta-° ] em.; ta-tha-° codd. 126asavyāsavyagatau ] D; savyāmavyagatau N,savyāsavyaganau N 126b śubhek.sa .ne ]D; śubhak.sa .ne N, śubhek.sa .nau N 126cai-o-° ] conj.; ai-tha- N; ai-.sa- ND 127atha-dha- NN; .sa-dha- D 127b na-.sa-° ]N; .da-tha-° N, .r-.sa-° D 127c bījāv ] D;bījav N, bīja .mv N • bhadre ] codd.; omit-ted N 127d pādau ] codd.; omitted N

103a ūrvākāra .m bhaved bīja .m103b .na-tha-madhyagata .m ’naghe |103c .na-ta-dak.si .nagau bījau103d jānunī dve prakalpayet104a savyāsavyagatau jñeyau104b krame .naiva śubhek.sa .ne |104c tha-dada-dak.si .nagau dvau tu104d janghe dve vāmadak.si .ne105a tha-dha-madhyagata .m devi105b pa-ba-madhya .m tathaiva ca |105c dvau bījau coddh.rtau bhadre105d pādau jñeyau vipaścitā106a vāmadak.si .nagau proktau106b lak.sa .nena samanvitau |106c eva .m samyagvidhānena106d uddh.rtāMālinī priye104c tha-da-dak.si .na° ] Ed, ??-paścima°ADFG'HJK 104d janghe dve vāmadak.si-.ne ] K; janghau dve vāmadak.si .nau Ed,…°dak.si .ne FGHJK


Tri$irobhairavatantra > Kubjik!matatantra 1a Nādinī tu śikhāgrasthā1b nakārāk.sarasa .mjñitā1c .r .r .l .l Niv.rttyādyā1d mālikā śirasi sthitā2a tha śiro Grasanī devī2b dha netre Priyadarśanā2c " Guhyaśaktir nādasthā2d nāsāyā .m netramadhyata .h3a vyāpayitvā sthitā devī3b ca t.rtīya .m ca locanam3c Cāmu .n .dā parameśānī3d lalā.tasthā virājate4a bakāro vadana .m tasyā4b Vajri .nī śaktir avyayā4c kavarge daśanās tīk.s .nā .h4d Kanka.tā Kālikā Śivā5a Ghoragho.sā Śirvirākhyā5b kavarge sa .mprakīrtitā .h5c Māyādevī i jihvā tu5d a vāg vāgīśvarī matā6a Nārāya .nī .na kar .nau tuT=Ta(lVi 15.121–125ab2a śiro grasanī ] conj.; śirogra .m satī T 2cnādasthā ] em.; nāsasthā T 2d nāsāyā .m ]em.; vyāptāste T 4c °varge ] em.; °vargoT 5a śirvirākhyā ] em.; śivirākhyā T (un-metrical)2c A correct ma-vipul! form. *e redactorof the Kubjik!mata has emended to °śakti,reverting to the more familiar pathy! form.5a śirvirākhyā :: *e emendation is derivedfrom the variant Chirvirākhyā inMS A of theKubjik!mata.*e metre thus shows a correctra-vipul!.

94a Nādinī tu śikhāgrasthā94b nakārāk.sarasambhavā |94c .r .r .l .l tu Niv.rttyādyā94d mālikā śirasi sthitā95a tha śiro Grasanī sm.rtā95b dha netre Priyadarśanā |95c " Guhyaśakti nādasthā95d nāsāyā .m netramadhyata .h96a vyāpayitvā sthitā devī96b ca t.rtīya .m tu locanam |96c Cāmu .n .dā parameśānī96d lalā.tasthā virājate97a bakāra .m vadana .m tasyā97b Vajri .nī śaktir avyayā |97c kavarge daśanās tīk.s .nā .h97d Kanka.tā Kālikā Śivā98a Ghoragho.sā Śirvirākhyā98b kavarge sa .mprakīrtitā .h |98c Māyādevī i jihvā tu98d a vāg Vāgīśvarī matā99a Nārāya .nī .na kar .nau tuVariæ lectiones noted in Ed are givenonly where relevant to proposed emenda-tions. *e sigla and numbering of Edhave been retained. F and E proved clos-est to the Tri$irobhairava. *e verse orderof F is superior to that of Ed: 94ab,95a+vaktrame .dalasa .msthit!, 96ab, 96c+95b,95cd, 99ab, 99c+bak!re vajri .n"mukhe, 97cd,98, 99d+kubjike $ikhiv!hin", 103ab, 100ab,100c+vak!r!khyau ubhau tu tau, 101, 102,103cd, 104cd, resumes.97a tasyā ] C; devyā Ed, tena G98a śirvirākhyā ] em.; mukhīvīrā Ed,mukhāvīrā G, mukhīvīrākhyā D, cavīrākhyā F, chirvirākhyā A, chirvarākhyā B,khivarākhyā E 98b sa .mprakīrtitā .h ] F;daśanā .h śubhā .h Ed, daśanā śubhā AD,°da .m śubhāvahā E 98d vāgīśvarī ] A;vāgeśvarī Ed


6b tayor u % ca bhū.sa .nam6c Mohanī ca tathā Prajñā6d va ka .n.tha .m Śikhivāhanī7a Lāmā Vināyikīdevī7b .da .dhau bāhudvaya .m vibho .h7c Pūr .nimā hastadeśasthā7d .thakārākhyā vibhor matā8a Jhankārī Kundanā caiva8b jhañ!v angulaya .h kramāt8c Kāpālinī vāmakare8d .takāra .h pārameśvari9a Dīpanī śūlada .n .daś ca9b repha .h samyag udāh.rta .h9c ja Jayantī bhavec chūla .m9d devadevyā maheśvari10a Bhī.sa .nī Vāyuvegā ca10b skandhayor ubhayor bhayau10c Pāvanī tu pa h.rllagnā10d udara .m .sa$ ca Lambikā11a Sa .mhārikā k.sakāro 'ya .m11b nābhau devyās tu bhairavi11c Chagalī Pūtanā caiva6d ka .n.tha .m ] em.; ka .n.tha° T 8dpārameśvari ] em.; pārameśvarī T 11b de-vyās ] em.; devas T 11c caiva ] em.; cetiT8c vāmakare :: a correct bhavipul!.

99b tayor u-% ca bhū.sa .nam |99c Mohanī ca tathā Prajñā99d va ka .n.tha .m Śikhivāhinī100a Lāmā Vināyakīdevī100b .da- .dhau bāhudvaya .m matam |100c Pūr .nimā hastadeśasthā100d .thakārākhyā vibhor matā101a Jhankarī Kundanī caiva101b jha-ñ!v angulaya .h kramāt |101c Kapālinī vāmakare101d .takāra .h parameśvari102a Dīpanī śūlada .n .da .m ca102b repha .h samyag udāh.rta .h |102c Jayantī ja bhavec chūlam102d eva .m devī virājate103a Bhī.sa .nī Vāyuvegā ca103b skandhayor ubhayor bha-yau |103c Pāvanī tu pa h.rllagnā103d udara .m .saś ca Lambikā104a Sa .mhārīkā k.sakāro ’ya .m104b nābhir devyāś ca bhairavi |104c Chagalī Pūtanā caiva99b u-ū ca bhū.sa .nam ] em.; bhū.sa .namī-parau Ed, u-ū…[?] B⌦C, u-ū-bhū.sitauE, bhū.sa .nam āparau G, bhū.sa .nam īpatauF, bhū.sa .nam īk.sagau H 99d ka .n.tha .m ]E; ka .n.the Ed, ka .n.tha ABDGHK, ka .n.taC 100c pūr .nimā ] FGJ; paur .nimā Ed,paur .namā D 100d °ākhyā matā ] em.;°ākhya .m matam Ed, °ākhyā matamE, °ākhyā mata .h AB, °ākhye matamE 101a kundanī ] em.; kurdanī Ed,krurdanī K, kandanī E 101b jha-ñāv ]em.; na-jhāv Ed, jha-ñaś A, jha-ñāś B,jha-ña E, jha- .nau J, jha- .nyau K 103abhī.sa .nī ] DE⌦; bhī.sa .nā Ed, bhī.sa .na .mE 103b bha-yau ] em.; api Ed 103dudara .m .saś ca lambikā ] F (misreading .sacca?); .sodara .m lambikā sthitā Ed 104b Freads nābhau devyā vyavasthitā


11d stanau chalau prakīrtitau12a Āmo.tarī tadgata .m tu12b k.sīram ! parikīrtitam12c paramātmā sakāro 'ya .m12d ha prā .na .h śaktir Ambikā13a Icchāśaktir visarg!khy!13b vyāpya prā .nātma .ni sthitā13c ma nitamba .m Mahākālī13d $a guhya .m Kusumāyudhā14a Śukrādevī bhavec chukram14b anusv!ras tu bhairavi14c Tārā takāra ūrusthā14d e ai JñānaKriye ubhe15a jānunī sa .msthite devi15b bhairavyās tu mahātmana .h15c Gāyatrī caiva Sāvitrī15d o au janghe prakīrtite16a Dahanī dak.sapādasthā16b vāme Phetkārikā daphauāmo.tarī ] em.; ā mo.tarī T 14b bhairavi ]em.; bhairavī T11d Incorrect syncopation in three iambi(˘-˘-˘-). āmo.tarī tadgata .m tu :: A correctra-vipul! which has again been emended to apathy! form by the redactor of the Kubjik!-mata.

104d cha-lau prakīrtitau105a Āmo.tī tadgata .m k.sīra .m105b !kāra .m parikīrtitam |105c Paramātmā sakāro ’ya .m105d ha prā .na .h śaktir Ambikā106a Icchāśaktir visargākhyā106b vyāpya prā .nātmani sthitā |106c ma nitamba .m Mahākālī106d $a guhya .m Kusumāyudhā107a Śukrādevī bhavec cukram107b anusvāras tu bhairavi |107c Tārā takāram ūrusthā107d e-ai JñānaKriye ubhe108a jānunī sa .msthite devi108b bhairavyāś ca mahātmana .h |108c Gāyatrī caiva Sāvitrī108d au-o janghe prakīrtite109b Dahanī dak.sapādasthā109b vāme Phetkārikā da-phau |104d prakīrtitau ] EHJK; paristhitau Ed,paristhite G, vyavasthitau C 105b ākāra .m ]E; āvar .na .h Ed, āvar .na ABH, avar .na D,āvar .na .m J,lacuna…kaśra F 105d prā .na .h ]FJK; prā .ne Ed, prā .na CDE, prā .nā .h H106b prā .nātmani sthitā ] E; °bhāvena sa .m-sthitā Ed, vyāptibhūtā vyavasthitā F 107abhavec chukram ] F; tv anusvāra .m Ed, tvanusvāra AB, sānusvāra .mHJK, ty anusvāra .mE 107b anusvāras tu ] em.; śukra .m de-vyās tu Ed, satu.syanaśu F 107d jñāna° ]ABEF; jñānī° Ed, jñānā° D, jānu° HK107d °kriye ] EF; °kriyau Ed, °dvaye HK107d ubhe ] K; ubhau Ed, ute F 108asa .msthite ] A; sa .msthitau Ed, sa .msthitoF,sa .msthitā EGHJK, sa .msisthitā C 108djanghe ] FGJK; janghau Ed 108d prakīr-tite ] AG; prakīrtitau Ed, prakīrtitā .h C,prakīrtitā FHK 109b da-phau ] em.; matāEd, sm.rtā E, śubhā HJK, phaś ca vosagā F

107d Reading as short for Jñānaśakti andKriyāśakti rather than ‘Jñānā/ī’ and ‘Kriyā’.


Kularatnoddyota atordhva .m mālinī .m brūmi sāngopāngasamanvitām ||80||samastavyastayogena var .narāśir varānane |nādiphāntakrame .neha yathā bhavati tac ch.r .nu ||81||pūrvoktā vyāpakā var .nā māyātattvasamanvitā .h |mālinīh.rdaya .m nāthe kū.tabījayuta .m bhavet ||82||uttarādharanirmukta .m vāyutattvavivarjitam |prā .nāk.sarasamutpanna .m tad eva bhavate priye ||83||nakāras tu śikhāsthānān Nādinīśaktisa .myuta .h |śiraso Grasanī var .nam abhūn mama varānane ||84||.r Niv.rttiPrati.s.thā .r .l Vidyā Śānti .l sm.rta .h |śiromālā samutpannam etac chakticatu.s.tayam ||85||dhadhaca netrodbhavau jñeyau samavar .nau kuleśvari |kalās tatra imā proktā Cāmu .n .dā Priyadarśanā ||86||Guhyaśaktir i-var .nasthā prā .nanādodbhavā mama |Vajri .nī b!k.sara .m vaktrān Māyā " lalanodbhavā ||87||a vāg vāca .hsamutpannā Vāgeśvaryā samanvita .h |k!digh!ntāś ca ye var .nās te priye daśanodbhavā .h ||88||Kanka.tā Kālikā caiva Śivāghorā ca Chirvvarā |upari proktavar .naiś ca yuktā me dvijasa .mbhavā .h ||89||Nārāya .nī .navar .nena sa .myuktā śrava .nāntarāt |u %Mohani Prajñā ca kar .nabhū.sa .nasa .mbhavā .h ||90||va-var .naka .n.thaja .m viddhi Śikhivāhanisa .myutam |Codices collated: N=MS. NGMPP Reel no. A 206

10 ; N=MS. Chandra Shum Shere c.34880c atordhva .m ] em.; atordhva° N; atorddha .m N 80c mālinī .m ] corr.; mālinīcodd. 80d sāngopānga° ] N; sā .mgopāga° N 81b var .narāśir ] corr.; var .na↵rā�-śir N, var .narāśi N 82a pūrvoktā ] N; pūrvoktād N 82b °samanvitā .h ]N; °samanvita .m .h N 83a uttarādhara° ] N; unnarādhara° N 83c°āk.sarasamutpanna .m ] N; °āccharasame-petām N 83d bhavate ] em.; ↵bhava�taN, bhate N 84a nakāras tu śikhā° ] N; nakārasthaśikhā° N 84b °sa .myuta .h ]N; °sa .myutam N 84c śirastho ] em.; śiraso codd. 84d abhūn ] N; abhūt N85a niv.rtti° ] N; niv.rrtti° N 85c °mālā ] N; °mā↵lā� N dhadhaca ] codd.;(unmetrical) 86a netro° ] N; netrau N 86a °dbhavau ] N; bhavau N 87a°śaktir ] corr.; °śakti ] N, °śakti .h N 87a i-var .nasthā ] N; var .nasthāN 87b °nā-dodbhavā ] N; °↵nā�do↵d�bhavā N 87c vaktrān ] N; vaktrā N 88avāca .h° ]em.; kāca .h N, kāca↵ .h�N 88a samutpannā ] N; samutpanno N 88d te ] N;[[ste priye var .nā]] te N 89a kanka.tā ] N; kukku.tāN 89b ca chirvvarā ] corr.; vac-chirvvarāN, cacchirvvarāN 89d dvijasa .mbhavā .h ] N; dvijam udbhavā .h N 90b°āntarāt ] N; ā .mcarāt N 91a va ] N; ca N 91a °ka .n.thaja .m ] N; °ka .mcaja .mN


da- .d!-r .nabāhuyugalā LāmāVināyakīyutau ||91||Paur .nimā var .nasa .myuktā utpannā .tha karadvayāt |jha-ñau ca karaśākhā dvau Jha .mkārī Ūrddhvakurdanī ||92||śūlada .n .dā ra Dīpanyā Jayantī j!r .nasa .mbhavā |dak.sapā .nau samutpannā āyudhārtha .m varānane ||93||Kapālinī .ta-sa .myuktā vāmahastodbhavā priye |Bhī.sa .nā Vāyuvegā ca bhay!r .nau skandhagau sm.rtau ||94||Pūtanā char .nal!r .nena Chagala .n .dā stanadvayāt |Āmodī ! payomadhyāt parā s!tmāvinirgatā ||95||Ambikā hetita .h prā .nād visarga .h prā .naśaktija .h |Pāvanī p!r .nah.rdayāl La .mbikā .sodarān mama ||96||ma .nisthānodbhavā bhādre Sa .mhārī k.s!k.sarānvitā |nitambān ma Mahākālī $a guhyāt Kusumāyudhā ||97||a .m Bhairavīti śukrasthā Tārakā t!r .na ūrukāt |Jñānā e ai Kriyopete utpannau jānuma .n .dalāt ||98||o au Gāyatrī Sāvitrī janghābhyā .m sa .mbhavau mama |Dahanī d! .mghridak.sasthā pha Phetkārī ca vāmata .h ||99||sa .mbhūtā parameśāni jñātavyā śrīkuleśvari |etad yogiga .na .m sarva .m var .namālāsamanvitam ||100|mantravidyāsamūhasya padani.spattikāra .nam |

91d °vināyakī° ] em.;°vaināyakī° N, °venāyakī° N 92b .tha ] em.; ca codd. 92d ūrd-dhvakurdanī ] N; ūrddhakurdanī N 93a ra ] N; na N 93b jār .na° ] N;k.sār .na° N 93d āyudhārtha .m ] N; āyudhādhva N 94a .ta° ] N; .tha° N94b priye ] N; [[sm.r]]priye N 94d skandhagau sm.rtau ] conj.; skandhagonvitau N,skandhato sm.rtau N 95a char .nalār .nena ] N; ccha .n .dalār .nena N 95c āmodī ]N; āmodhī N 95c ā ] em.; ca codd. 95d parāsātmā° ] N; parāsānmā° N96a prā .nād ] N; prā .nān N 96b visarga .h ] N; vi[[ni]]sarga .h N 96b prā .na° ]N; prā .na[[prā]]° N 96c Pāvanī ] conj.; pār .navatī codd.hypermetrical 96c °h.rdayāl ]N; °h.rdayāt N 96d la .mbikā .sodarān ] em.; la .mbikāyodarān N, ra .mbikāmodarānN 97a bhādre ] N; bhādra N 97b sa .mhārī ] N; sa .m[[jñahe]]hārī N 97bk.sāk.sarānvitā ] N; k.sak.sarānvitāN 97cma ] N; me N 97cmahākālī ] N;mahālīN 97d śa ] N; sa N 97d guhyāt ] N; guhyāN 98a śukrasthā ] em.;guśkrasthāN, guhyasthāN 98b tārakā ] N; tālakāN 98b tār .na ūrukāt ] N;bhār .najabhakāt N 98c Jñānā ] em.; Jñāna codd. 98c kriyopetau ] em.; kriyopete N,kriyāpete ] N 98d utpannau ] em.; utpanne codd. 98d jānu° ] N; jātu° N 99agāyatrī ] N; gāyatri° N 99b janghābhyā .m ] em.; janghāsyā .m N 99b sa .mbhavau ]em.; sa .mbhavān codd. 99c dā .mghridak.sasthā ] em.; dāghridak.sasthāN, dā .mhridak.sasthāN 100a sa .mbhūtā ] N; sa .mbhūtā .h N 100b jñātavyā ] N; jñātavyā .h N100d var .na° ] N; svar .na° N 101b °ni.spatti° ] N; °ni.spanti° N


#r"matottara ai .m hr" .m phre .m hsau .m.h na n!din" $ikhaye nama.h ||�ai .m .r niv.rttyai nama.h ||�ai .m .r prati.s.th!yai nama.h ||ai .m .l vidy!yai nama.h || 20||ai .m .l $!ntyai nama.h ||

eva .m śiromālā .m krama .m nyaset ||ai .m tha grasani .h $irase nama.h ||ai .m c!mu.n .d! t.rt"yanetr!ya nama.h || 21||ai .m dha priyadar$an" netr!bhy! .m nama.h ||ai .m " guhya$aktir n!s!pu.tebhyo nama.h ||ai .m .na n!r!ya .n" kar .n!bhy! .m nama.h ||ai .m u mohan" dak.si .nakar .nabh%.sa .ne nama.h || 22||ai .m % prajñ! v!makar .nabh%.sa .ne nama.h ||ai .m va vajri .n" vaktrama .n .dale nama.h ||ai .m ka kanka.t! %rddhvada .m.s.tre nama.h ||ai .m kha k!lik!yai adhodantapanktau nama.h || 23||ai .m ga $iv!yai %rddhvadantapanktau nama.h ||ai .m gha ghoregho.s!yai adhodantapanktau nama.h ||ai .m na ghov"r! gha .n.tik!sth!ne nama.h ||ai .m " m!y!dev" jihv!gre nama.h || 24||ai .m a v!ge$var" v!ce nama.h ||ai .m va $ikhiv!hin" ka .n.the nama.h ||aim bha bh".sa .n" dak.si .naskandhe nama.h ||ai .m ya v!yuveg!yai v!maskandhe nama.h || 25||ai .m .da l!m"dev" dak.si .nab!hau nama.h ||ai .m .dha vin!yak" v!mab!hau nama.h ||ai .m .tha p%r .nim! karatalamadhye nama.h ||Codex used for this section of pa.tala 22: N=NGMPP reel no. A 194

3 , Fv 1203–Fr 1213

20c .r ] em.; .r N 21a śāntyai ] corr.; sāntyāyai N 21b śiromālā .m ] em.; śiromālā N 21cgrasani .h ] em.; grasani N 21d °netrāya ] em.; °netra N 22b ī ] em.; i N 22b śaktir ]em.; śakti N 22c .na ] em.; la N 22d °bhū.sa .ne ] corr.; °bhū.sanī N 23a °bhū.sa .ne ] corr.;°bhū.sa .nī N 23b vaktra° ] em.; cakra° N ka ] em.; ka .m N 23c kanka.tā ] em.; ka.tha .neN 23c ūrddhvada .m.s.tre ] em.; ūrddhā.s.tre N 23d adhodantapanktau ] conj.; adhone N24a °panktau ] em.; °yaktau N 24b panktau ] em.; paktau N 24c na ] em.; nam N 24cghovīrā ] corr.; ghovīra N 24d ī ] em.; i N 25a vāgeśvarī vāce ] conj; vācā vāgeśvarī N26c °madhye ] em.; °h.rye N


ai .m jha jha .mk!ri .n" dak.si .nakar!ngul"nakhe.su nama.h || 26||ai .m ña kurddhan" v!makar!ngul"nakhe.su nama.h ||ai .m a .h icch!$akti .h karap.r.s.th!bhy! .m nama.h ||ai .m .ta kap!lin" v!makare kap!la am.rtagh%r .nite nama.h ||27||ai .m ra d"pan" dak.si .natarjan" $%lada .n .da .m nama.h ||ai .m ja jayant" tri$%lorddhva .m nama.h ||aim pa p!ven" h.rdaye nama.h ||aim sa param!tma$akti j"va .m nama.h ||28||ai .m ha .m ambik! pr! .ne nama.h ||ai .m cha chagala .n .d" dak.si .nastane nama.h ||ai .m la p%tan! v!mastane nama.h ||ai .m ! �!�mod" stanamona .h k.s"re nama.h ||29||ai .m .sa lambik!yai udare nama.h ||ai .m k.sa sa .mdy!ri .n" n!bhau nama.h ||ai .m ma mah!k!li nitambe nama.h ||aim $a .m kusum!yudh! guhye nama.h ||30||ai .m ↵a .m�$ukradev" $ukre nama.h ||ai .m ta .m t!r! %rubhy! .m nama.h ||ai .m e jñ!nin" dak.si .naj!nuni nama.h ||ai .m ai kriy!yai v!maj!nuni nama.h ||31||ai .m o g!yatr" dak.si .najangh!y! .m nama.h ||ai .m au s!vitr" v!majangh!y! .m nama.h ||ai .m da dahan" dak.si .nap!de nama.h ||aim pha phetk!ri .n" v!map!de nama.h || 32||

26d jha ] em.; .r N jha .mkāri .nī ] corr.; jha .mkāri .ni N 27c °śakti .h ] corr.; °śakti N 27dam.rtaghūr .nite ] em.; am.rtaghūmita .m ghūr .nita .m N °orddhva .m ] em.; ārddha .m N 30dśa .m ] em.; �a .m�N 30d guhye ] em.; guhya N 31c e ] em.; pa N 32d pha ] em.; phe .mN


M SAgnik!ryapaddhati [.] Göttingen, Cod. Ms. Mu. , ; [.] Paris Sanscrit .Aghoranir .naya see P!rame$var"mata [3.].Kularatnoddyotatantra [.] /, ff. , paper, Nevārī script, copied in

, colophon: iti $r" (din!thavinirgate pañc!$atko.tivist"r .ne $r"Kubjik!ma-te Kularatnoddyote pray!g!dicakrap%j!prati.s.t!n!n!karmakara .nakarm!rambh!y!-c!ry!bhi.sekayogin!m !nt[y]e.s.tividh!no n!ma caturda$a .h pa.tala .h ||; [.] Bodl.Chandra Shum Shere C. ; [.] -, /, ff. , paper,Nevārī, colophon: iti $r" (didev!t pañc!$atko.tivist"r .n!d vinirgate $r"kularatno-ddyote $r"kulasant!na !dis%tranir .nayo n!ma dv!da$a .h pa.tala .h ||; [.] -, /, ff. , palmleaf, first lines of ff. – damaged; [.] /, ff., paper; [.] /, ff. , paper; [.] -, /,ff. , paper, Devanāgarī.

Tantrasadbh!vatantra [.] -, /, ff. , palmleaf, Ku.tila script;[.] /, palmleaf, Ku.tila script, copied in ; [.] – /, ff. , a transcript of [.].

Timirodgh!.tana -, /, late Licchavi or early Ku.tila script on palm-leaf.

Nity!disangrah!bhidh!napaddhati of Tak.sakavarta, Bodl. Stein Or.d., paper, #!-rad! script.

P!rame$var"mata [.] –, /, ff. , palmleaf, Ku.tila, ca. thcentury ; [.] –, /, ff. , palmleaf, Ku.tila script, illus-trated cover, the final chapter of this has been catalogued seperately as [.]Aghoranir .naya , /, ff. , palmleaf, Ku.tila script, finalcipher of date illegible: the range of dating is thus – , final colophon:iti $r"P!rame$var"mate navako.tisa .mhit!y! .m catur!$"tisahasre aghoranir .naya$ catv!-ri .m$atima .h pa.tala .h

Matas!ra -, /, ff. , palmleaf.#r"matottaratantra [.] /, ff. , palmleaf, Pāla script, colophon on fol.

r: iti $r"matottare $r"ka .n.than!th!vat!rite candradv"pavinirgate yogin"guhye $i-rod%tinir .nayas!dhana .m n!ma da$ama.h pa.tala .h || ❉ ||; [.] -, /, ff. , palmleaf, Devanāgarī, Begins with fol. r, colophon on fol. v:iti $r"matottare $r"$r"ka .n.than!th!vat!rite candradv"pavinirgate $r"kul!lik! !dye m!-t[.r] .n! .m prati.s.th!lak.sa .nanir .nayo caturtha .h pa.tala .h || ❉ ||, change of hand at fol.; [.] /, colophon title: #r"matottaracandradv"pavinirgata$r"ka-.n.than!th!vat!rite Vidy!p".the Yogin"guhye; - /, /, ff. ,palmleaf, Devanāgarī.

Synaesthetic Iconography

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