H-Buddhism
NEW BOOK> The Adamantine Songs (Vajragīti), by Saraha;
Study, Translation, and Tibetan Critical Edition by Lara
Braitstein.
Discussion published by Thomas Yarnall on Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Dear Colleagues -
The American Institute of Buddhist Studies (AIBS) at Columbia University is very pleased to
announce the publication of the following title:
The Adamantine Songs (Vajragīti)
-- by Saraha
-- Study, Translation, and Tibetan Critical Edition by Lara Braitstein
Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series
New York: The American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2014.
ISBN 978-1-935011-17-0 (cloth) • 256 pp. • $45.00
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-adamantine-songs-vajragiti/9781935011170
Presented here in English for the first time is a set of three of Saraha’s “Adamantine Songs” (Skt.
Vajragīti; Tib. rdo rje’i glu), poetic works that play a central role in the Great Seal (mahāmudrā)
Tantric tradition of both India and Tibet. The Tantric adept (siddha) Saraha was among the most
notable figures from India’s late first millennium, a time of rich religious and literary activity. His
influence on Buddhist practice and poetry extended beyond the Indian subcontinent into Tibet, where
it continues to affect every tradition that engages the practice and philosophy of the esoteric Great
Seal.
In these songs, Saraha’s views on the nature of mind are presented as both evocative poetry and
theoretical exegesis. These songs offer a new perspective on the religious life of Buddhist India and
the figure of one of its most famous adepts.
Braitstein opens the door to this important set of texts by Saraha through her elegant translation,
critical edition of the Tibetan texts, and in-depth analysis of the three poems. She situates Saraha and
his work both in the Tibetan Buddhist sphere and in a broader South Asian literary and religious
context, closely treating the central themes in Saraha’s poems, highlighting the specific siddha
worldview espoused in his oeuvre, and at the same time unpacking the cryptic references contained
in the songs’ individual verses. With this book, Braitstein substantially increases the amount of
Saraha’s poetry available to an English-speaking audience and contributes to the ever-increasing
movement to explore the culture of the Tantric adepts.
Lara Braitstein is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at McGill University.
Citation: Thomas Yarnall. NEW BOOK> The Adamantine Songs (Vajragīti), by Saraha; Study, Translation, and Tibetan Critical Edition
by Lara Braitstein.. H-Buddhism. 01-21-2015.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/6060/discussions/58502/new-book-adamantine-songs-vajrag%C4%ABti-saraha-study-translation-and
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
1
H-Buddhism
Further information regarding the Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series may be found below, and
at the following website:
http://www.aibs.columbia.edu/
- Tom Yarnall
Associate Research Scholar and Adjunct Assistant Professor,
Columbia University Department of Religion
Executive Editor, AIBS
---------------------------------------------------------------
TREASURY OF THE BUDDHIST SCIENCES series
Editor-in-Chief: Robert A.F. Thurman
Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies,
Columbia University
President, American Institute of Buddhist Studies
Executive Editor: Thomas F. Yarnall
Department of Religion
Columbia University
Associate Editor: Paul G. Hackett
Department of Religion
Columbia University
Editorial Board:
Ryuichi Abé, Jay Garfield, David Gray, Laura Harrington, Thubten Jinpa, Joseph Loizzo, Gary Tubb,
Vesna Wallace, Christian Wedemeyer, Chun-fang Yu
The American Institute of Buddhist Studies (AIBS), in affiliation with the Columbia University Center
for Buddhist Studies (CBS) and Tibet House US (THUS), has established the Treasury of the Buddhist
Sciences series to provide authoritative English translations, studies, and editions of the texts of the
Tibetan Tengyur (bstan ’gyur) and its associated literature. The Tibetan Tengyur is a vast collection
of about 4,000 classical Indian Buddhist scientific treatises (śāstra) written in Sanskrit by over 700
authors from the first millennium CE, now preserved mainly in systematic 7th–12th century Tibetan
translation. Its topics span all of India’s “outer” arts and sciences, including linguistics, medicine,
astronomy, socio-political theory, ethics, art, and so on, as well as all of her “inner” arts and sciences
such as philosophy, psychology (“mind science”), meditation, and yoga. Publications from this
Treasury bring important Indic contributions into contemporary discourse, enriching and
contributing to our global cultural, philosophical, spiritual, and scientific heritage.
Citation: Thomas Yarnall. NEW BOOK> The Adamantine Songs (Vajragīti), by Saraha; Study, Translation, and Tibetan Critical Edition
by Lara Braitstein.. H-Buddhism. 01-21-2015.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/6060/discussions/58502/new-book-adamantine-songs-vajrag%C4%ABti-saraha-study-translation-and
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
