Bulletin of SOAS, 74, 2 (2011), 205–235. © School of Oriental and African Studies, 2011.

doi:10.1017/S0041977X11000036

The Śāradātilakatantra on yoga: A new edition

and translation of chapter 25
Gudrun Bühnemann
University of Wisconsin-Madison
[email protected]

Abstract
This article provides a new edition and translation of chapter 25 of the
Śāradātilaka(tantra), a compendium on mantraśāstra composed, probably
in the twelfth century, by Laks ̣man ̣adeśika. The chapter itself presents a
type of yoga that combines elements we normally associate with different
yoga systems. In particular, we find elements associated with systems
̣
usually labelled as hathayoga, and elements of mantra practice as well.
The chapter also contains references to the methodical knowledge of the
rise or predominance of the gross elements (bhūtodaya, also known as
svarodaya) and its connection with the six rites of magic. The significance
of chapter 25 lies in the fact that it provides us insight into the teachings on
yoga in a comparatively early text.
Keywords: Śāradātilaka(tantra), Prapañcasāra, Laks ̣man ̣adeśika, yoga,
mantraśāstra, kun ̣d ̣alinī

Introduction
The Śāradātilaka, “The forehead mark of Śāradā (Sarasvatī)”, is an important
compendium on mantraśāstra compiled by Laks ̣man ̣adeśika (also known as
Laks ̣man ̣adeśikendra or Laks ̣man ̣ācārya). It is a voluminous work, comprising
some 3,500 stanzas (the exact number depending on the edition). Calling itself
a Tantra (1.5d), it professes to present “the essence of the Tantras” (1.4) and
information on rites (vidhi) involving yantras and mantras of deities (1.5).
The Śāradātilaka (ŚT) is divided into twenty-five chapters, the number
twenty-five corresponding to the number of constituents (tattva) of the
Sāṃkhya system (25.87). According to the commentary by Rāghavabhatṭạ
(p. 916, 13–16 on ŚT 25.87), the first chapter deals with matter
̣ providing as it does details about the creation. The following
(mūlaprakrti),
twenty-three chapters, which contain information on the initiation (dīksā) ̣ and
on the mantras and rites relating to a large number of deities, are throughout
̣
concerned with prakrtivikr ̣ while the final chapter, on yoga, turns its atten-
ti,
̣ Chapters 1 and 2 are more philosophical in nature, and
tion to spirit ( purusa).
provide the theoretical framework. They deal with cosmogony and the evolution
of sound, with mantras and their purification through the use of certain dia-
grams, and with other essentials of mantraśāstra. Chapters 3 to 5 focus on
rites preceding initiation and on the initiation itself. The bulk of the work
deals with the mantras and the visualization of the form of a large number of
deities and the rites associated with their worship, in the tradition of Smārta
texts.
206 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

The ŚT is partially based on the Prapañcasāra (PS), traditionally ascribed to

the Advaitin Śaṃkara, who flourished between 650 and 800. However, there is
no evidence for his authorship or for such an early date of the composition. The
ŚT is in any case later than the PS, and presents its material more systematically
and in a slightly expanded form. It is for this reason that the ŚT has become
more popular, but both texts have been widely quoted by authors, and their
descriptions of deities are cited as authoritative. A special feature of both
texts is that they frequently supplement such descriptions with (often lengthy)
hymns of praise (stotra) to the deities described.
Recently Alexis Sanderson (2009: 252) has argued that the PS and the ŚT
were quite likely composed in the twelfth century. Revising an earlier assump-
tion that the PS is a work from South India (Sanderson 1990: 35), he has further
suggested that the PS and the ŚT were written either in Orissa or are based on the
religious tradition of Orissa (Sanderson 2007: 232–3; 2009: 252). We do not
have much information on either of the authors. In Bühnemann (2001: 3–5) I
have shown that the author of the PS also wrote a commentary (bhāsya) ̣ on
̣ hapūrvatāpanīya-Upanis ̣ad in which he quotes the PS. I have also dis-
the Nrsiṃ
cussed the printed editions of the PS and extant commentaries (2001: 5–10).
The author of the ŚT, Laks ̣man ̣adeśika, was erroneously identified with
Laks ̣man ̣a(gupta), a teacher of Abhinavagupta who flourished in the tenth
century.1
The ŚT’s importance can be seen from the large number of texts that quote
it as authoritative. Among them are several smrtị and many Tantric texts.
The latter category includes the Vanadurgā-Upanis ̣ad, Mahīdhara’s commen-
tary on the Mantramahodadhi (written in 1588/89), Gīrvānendra Sarasvatī’s
Prapañcasārasārasaṃgraha (sixteenth or seventeenth century?), the
Śrīvidyārn ̣avatantra (seventeenth century?), the Merutantra (seventeenth cen-
tury?), the Prān ̣atos ̣in ̣ī by Rāmatos ̣an ̣a Vidyālaṃkāra (composed in 1820)
and the Śrītattvanidhi, compiled by Mummadi Krṣ ̣n ̣arāja Wodeyar (nineteenth
century). The seventeenth-century Tantrasāra (TS) by Krṣ ̣n ̣ānanda
Āgamavāgīśa draws heavily on the ŚT’s descriptions of the deities, at times
referring to this work as “the Śāradā” or as “the Nibandha”, but often quoting
verses without attribution. Texts on sculpture, such as the c. sixteenth-century
Śilparatna by Śrīkumāra of Kerala, also quote the ŚT.
The ŚT’s importance can also be judged from the number of extant commen-
taries. We know of more than a dozen on the work. The most important is the
̣ entitled Padārthādarśa by the learned Rāghavabhatṭạ (RB). According to the
tīkā
author himself (p. 917, 27–8), it was completed in Vārān ̣asī on 15 December
1493.2
In his introduction to the edition of the ŚT published in 1933 (ŚT1), p. 1, A.
Avalon reports that the text of the ŚT was first published by Rasik Mohan
Chatṭopādhyāya
̣ in Calcutta in 1880 in Bengali script, and shortly afterwards
by Jīvānand Vidyāsāgar in Devanāgarī script. Although neither of these editions
was available to me, I suspect that the first edition is identical with a text

1 See Sanderson (2007: 230–32) for a detailed discussion; see also Bühnemann (2001:
145–8) for the misidentification of Laks ̣mana(gupta) with Laks ̣man ̣adeśika.
2 See Gode (1953: 436) for this calculation.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 207

included in the collection titled Vividhatantrasaṃgraha compiled by R.M.

Chatterji and published in the years 1877–84. Again, I was unable to access
this text. Avalon further reports that the first edition of the text with the commen-
tary by RB was published in Vārān ̣asī in saṃvat 1953, either a misprint for
(saṃvat) 1943 (1886 CE) or else erroneously converted by him to the year
1886 CE instead of 1896. In 1884, the ŚT was printed together with the
Gūd ̣hārthadīpikā (GD) commentary (tīkā) ̣ on it by Mādhavabhatṭa,̣ at the
Gan ̣eś Prabhākar Press in Vārān ̣asī. In 1933 Avalon published the text, edited
̣
by Atalānanda Sarasvatī, in two volumes, along with RB’s commentary,
based on several manuscripts through the Sanskrit Press Depository, Calcutta
(ŚT1). This edition has been reprinted several times as one volume. Another edi-
tion that includes RB’s commentary was prepared by M. Jha Bakshi and pub-
lished by Jai Krishnadas-Haridas Gupta in Vārān ̣asī in 1934; it was reprinted
in 1963 and 1986 (ŚT2). There are small differences between the texts of ŚT1
and ŚT2, ranging from one to seven additional verses per chapter. The total
number of verses is 3,461 (ŚT1) and 3,519 (ŚT2).
Chapter 25, the final chapter of the ŚT and the focus of this article, deals ela-
borately with yoga and contains valuable information on practices related to the
awakening of the kun ̣d ̣alinī and to the haṃsah ̣ mantra. The yoga taught in the
ŚT combines elements we normally associate with different systems. In particu-
̣
lar, we find some features of systems usually labelled as hathayoga, and aspects
of mantra practice as well. The chapter also contains references to the methodi-
cal knowledge of the rise or predominance of the gross elements (bhūtodaya,
also known as svarodaya) and its connection with the six rites of magic. At
the end, chapter 25 provides details of Laks ̣man ̣adeśika’s genealogy (25.83–
6): Laks ̣man ̣adeśika’s great-grandfather, Mahābala, authored a work called
Muktiphala; his grandfather had the title Ācārya-Pan ̣d ̣ita; while the name of
his father was Śrīkrṣ ̣n ̣a.
This chapter is important for several reasons. It provides an insight into the
teachings on yoga codified in a comparatively early text, one predating such
treatises on yoga as the Matsyendrasaṃhitā (thirteenth century), the
Yogakān ̣d ̣a of the Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ
̣ hitā (thirteenth century?3) and the
Goraks ̣aśataka ascribed to Gorakhnāth (also known as Goraks ̣anātha, extant in
several recensions, the earliest dating perhaps from the thirteenth or fourteenth
century) – not to mention well-known texts on hathayoga ̣ such as the
Śiva-Saṃhitā (which dates perhaps from the fifteenth century). The presentation
is clear and well structured, but rather condensed. This conciseness suggests that
the author assumed that the subject matter was familiar to his readership and that
he needed only to summarize what had been dealt with more elaborately else-
where. His major source was certainly the PS, but the earlier material on yoga
he summarizes must have included sections from Śaiva Tantras. It is clear
that chapter 25 is partially based on a section of chapter 194 of the PS, which
addresses the pran ̣ava (oṃ). Similarities between the two chapters of these
texts are listed below:

3 For this date, see the introduction to the edition of the text, p. 32.
4 This chapter corresponds to chapter 18 in the edition of the Works of Śaṃkara.
208 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

Śāradātilaka Prapañcasāra
25.4 19.15
25.5cd–6ab 19.16
25.7 19.17a–c
28.8 19.17d–18a
25.9cd 19.18b–d
25.16cd–18ab 19.19cd–21c
25.24–25ab 19.52cd–53
25.25cd 19.21d–22ab
25.26 19.22cd–23ab
25.27 19.23cd–24
25.39cd–40ab 19.30

Except for these similarities, however, the chapters are differently structured and
do not always address common topics. There are also differences of substance
between them. The lists of yamas and niyamas, for example, do not match up.
Laks ̣man ̣adeśika’s important chapter is quoted as authoritative in a number of
texts. The Prapañcasāravivaran ̣a (PSV), a commentary ascribed to Śaṃkara’s
disciple Padmapāda, quotes the descriptions of the yogic postures (āsana) con-
tained in chapter 25 of the ŚT without attribution.5 Krṣ ̣n ̣ānanda’s TS cites exten-
sively from chapter 25. (I have identified forty-seven of the eighty-nine stanzas
of this chapter in the later text.6) Devīgītā 5.1–26 reproduces ŚT 25.1–27 with
small variants (see Brown 1998: 161–78 for this passage). The commentary by
Kālīcaran ̣a (K) on Pūrn ̣ānanda’s S ̣atcakranirūpan
̣ ̣a, which originally formed
chapter 6 of the Śrītattvacintāman ̣i (written in Bengal in 1577), quotes stanzas
from different chapters of the ŚT and from RB’s commentary on it. Chapter
25 is cited three times in the commentary, even though two of the quotations
appear to be taken not directly from the ŚT but from other works that cite it.7
Finally, Western scholars have not failed for their part to explore the rich content
of this chapter (e.g. Gupta 1979: 163 ff.).
A very rough and unreliable translation of chapter 25 is included in “The
Śārdā-Tilaka Tantram: English translation with notes and yantras by a board
of scholars”,8 published by Sri Satguru Publications in Delhi in 1988,
pp. 277–84. This book can at best be described as a summary of the contents
of the ŚT; its many misprints frequently distort the meaning. In 2001 I published
a new edition of the text of chapter 25 with a translation as appendix 3
(pp. 337–66) to volume II of “The iconography of Hindu tantric deities”
(Bühnemann 2001). In the same volume I also published a new edition of the

5 ŚT 25.12 = PSV, p. 226, 23–4; ŚT 25.13 = PSV, p. 226, 25–6; ŚT 25.14cd–15ab = PSV,
p. 226, 27–8; ŚT 25.15cd–16ab = PSV, p. 227, 15–16.
6 ŚT 25.9–16ab = TS, p. 432, 14–27; ŚT 25.28–41ab = TS, pp. 486, 14–486, 32; ŚT
25.41cd–44 = TS, p. 366, 13–17; ŚT 25.45–68 = TS, pp. 486, 32–488, 14.
̣
7 ŚT 25.1cd–3ab = K, p. 67, 19–22, commenting on verse 51 of the S ̣atcakranirūpan ̣a (with
variants and ascribed to the Māyātantra); ŚT 25.33ab = K, p. 9, 19, commenting on verse
6 and ŚT 25.45cd–47ab = K, p. 40, 13–16, commenting on verse 36 (with minor variants
and as part of a quotation from an unidentified source).
8 The names of the translators are unspecified with the exception of chapter 11, which
names R. Shastry Kavalakh as the translator.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 209

text with a translation of chapter 1 of the ŚT as appendix 2 (pp. 309–35). In his

review of the volume in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain
and Ireland, Third Series, 14, 2004, pp. 280–82, C.K. Wedemeyer wrote:
“[O]ne laments the fact that such valuable work risks being overlooked by tex-
tual scholars, ‘hidden away’ as it is in a book on iconography” (p. 281). I now
take the opportunity to publish my edition and translation of chapter 25 again so
as to make it available to a larger audience. I have updated information regarding
the author and provenance of the PS and ŚT and have improved on the edition
and translation of the chapter and the notes.

Summary of the contents

.
Laks ̣man ̣adeśika begins this chapter by stating his intention to explain the asṭ āṇ -
gayoga, that is the yoga with eight limbs or parts (1ab). He briefly summarizes
four definitions of yoga given by different schools (1cd–3ab). Accordingly, yoga
is: (1) the identity of the individual Self ( jīva) and the (supreme) Self
([ parama-]ātman); (2) the knowledge of the identity of Śiva and the Self; (3)
the knowledge of Śiva and Śakti; and (4) the knowledge of the eternal being
( purān ̣apurusa).̣ RB identifies these views in his commentary as the teachings
of the: (1) Vedāntins, (2) Śaivas, (3) followers of the Uttara Āmnāya and (4) the
dualist Vais ̣n ̣avas. Laks ̣man ̣adeśika then lists the six enemies of the Self: desire,
anger, greed, delusion, pride and jealousy (3cd–4). While Laks ̣man ̣adeśika notes
in verse 3cd that these need to be conquered before one practises yoga, he states
in 5ab that they should be conquered by the practice of the eight-limbed yoga.
This inconsistency may be due to the fact that the author has compiled infor-
mation from different sources.
.
The eight limbs (anga) of yoga are listed as: (1) yama, (2) niyama, (3) āsana,
(4) prān ̣āyāma, (5) pratyāhāra, (6) dhāran ̣ā, (7) dhyāna and (8) samādhi (5cd–
6). Thus they are identical with those found in the Yogasūtras of Patañjali (2.29).
However, while the Yogasūtras list five yamas and five niyamas (2.30, 2.32), the
ŚT lists ten each (7–9ab). The ten yamas are specified as abstaining from harm-
ing others, truthfulness, refraining from theft, celibacy, forbearance, sincerity,
patience/forgiveness, steadfastness, moderation in eating, and purity. The ten
niyamas are listed as austerity, contentment, acceptance of the Vedic tradition
(āstikya), charity, worship of the deity, listening to the doctrines, modesty, dis-
cernment, repetition of the mantra, and offering of oblations in the fire.
Laks ̣man ̣adeśika’s lists are similar to the ones found in later texts, such as
the Yogakān ̣d ̣a of the Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ̣ hitā, and in Yoga-Upanis ̣ads (e.g.
Darśana-Upanis ̣ad 1.6 and 2.1, Śān ̣d ̣ilya-Upanis ̣ad 1.4 and 2.1,
Varāha-Upanis ̣ad 5.12cd–14ab and Triśikhibrāhman ̣a-Upanis ̣ad 2.32cd–34ab).
The following five postures (āsana) are enumerated as the third limb of yoga:
padmāsana, svastikāsana, bhadrāsana, vajrāsana and vīrāsana, and are
described individually (9cd–16ab). As one would expect, the definitions and
names of the postures are not identical in all texts on yoga, an issue which I
will not discuss further here.
Next comes the control of breath ( prān ̣āyāma), which consists basically of
inhaling through the left nostril for a duration of sixteen morae, retaining the
breath for sixty-four morae and exhaling through the right nostril for thirty-two
210 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

morae (16cd–18). This practice is gradually lengthened and also done in reverse
order (19). Prān ̣āyāma accompanied by mantra repetition, etc., is defined as the
“filled” (sagarbha) prān ̣āyāma, while the form involving breathing only is said
to be the “empty” (agarbha, vigarbha) prān ̣āyāma (20–21ab). The first stage of
practice is characterized by sweating, the second by trembling and the third by
leaving the ground/levitation (21cd–22). Prān ̣āyāma should be practised until
the third stage is achieved.
The fifth limb of yoga is pratyāhāra, defined as the withdrawal of the sense
organs from their objects (23). The sixth limb is dhāran ̣ā, which is the fixation
of the vital air ( prān ̣a) on the sixteen parts of the body (24–5). These parts are
known as “places” (sthāna) in the PS, as “vital points” (marmasthāna) in the
̣
Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā, and as “supports” (ādhāra) in various other texts. The type
of meditation (dhyāna) described as the seventh limb of yoga has the chosen
deities as objects (26) and is therefore termed “filled” in RB’s commentary.
The eighth and last limb is absorption (samādhi), defined as the constant con-
templation (bhāvanā) of the identity of the individual Self and the supreme
Self (27).
This discussion of the eight-limbed yoga is followed by what can be called a
form of kun ̣d ̣alinīyoga. The body is described, starting from the “bulb” (kanda),
the place in which the subtle channels (nād ̣ī) originate, located between anus and
.
penis (28–9). The three principal channels are id ̣ā (left), pingalā (right) and
̣
susumn ̣ā (in the centre of the spine and the head). Inside the susumn ̣ ̣ā is
citrā, a channel connecting to the place on the top of the skull called the brah-
marandhra (30–4). The kun ̣d ̣alinī rests in the form of a serpent in the
mūlādhāra, the lowest of the six energy centres called lotuses or wheels
(cakra), which are topped by the sahasrāra/sahasradala (35–9ab).
The following section addresses the practice of repeating mantras, beginning
with a recommendation for suitable seats for practitioners (39cd–40ab). The
methodical knowledge of the rise or predominance of the gross elements
(bhūtodaya, also known as svarodaya) is defined. The breath touches different
parts of the nostrils at different times, which is taken as an indication that one of
the elements is predominant. Each element has a seed (bīja) syllable, which is
repeated at the time of the predominance of the element. The six rites of
magic (sat ̣ ̣ karmān ̣i) should be performed when certain elements are predomi-
nant (40cd–44). When one blocks the sense organs with one’s fingers and med-
itates on the identity of the Self, the vital breath ( prān ̣a) and the mind (manas)
while retaining one’s breath, the inner sound (nāda) is heard and the knowledge
of the haṃsah ̣ arises (45–50ab). Haṃ-sah ̣ is the sound heard with exhalation and
inhalation, also called the “non-recitation” (ajapā) Gāyatrī. Haṃ is considered
male ( puṃs, purusa), ̣ With constant practice of the
̣ and sah ̣ female ( prakrti).
haṃsah ̣ mantra, the stage is reached in which the mantra reverses itself and,
after the application of a saṃdhi rule, becomes so ’haṃ (“He I am”). In the
next stage the letters s and h disappear, and after vowel substitution the mantra
becomes the sacred syllable oṃ, referred to as the pran ̣ava (50cd–53).
Stanzas in praise of oṃ follow (54–7), along with verses eulogizing the
golden purusạ in the solar disc (58); Vis ̣n ̣u reclining in the Milk Ocean (59);
Vis ̣n ̣u identified with the eternal being ( purān ̣apurusa) ̣ (60); and Śiva (61).
The union that produces a residue or a seed (sabījayoga) and the union that
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 211

produces no residue or a seed (nirbījayoga), which is the dissolution in Śiva, are

specified (62–3). Many stanzas follow, which describe the kun ̣d ̣alinī’s ascent
from the mūlādhāra along the susumn ̣ ̣ā channel through the energy centres up
to the sahasrāra, in which the kun ̣d ̣alinī unites with Śiva and returns to the
mūlādhāra with the stream of nectar from the lunar disc in the upper part of
the head (64–79). The female/left half of the androgynous (ardhanārī) form
of Śiva is eulogized (80–1), and finally the fruit of yoga praised (82).
Laks ̣man ̣adeśika gives some information about his genealogy at the end of
this chapter, starting from his great-grandfather (83–7). Two stanzas again eulo-
gize the female half of the androgynous Śiva and conclude the chapter (88–9).
The following is a table of the chapter’s contents:
(0.) Introduction (1ab)
1. Definitions of yoga according to four schools (1cd–3ab)
2. The group of six enemies (3cd–4)
3. The yoga with eight limbs (5–27)
3.1 The ten yamas (7)
3.2 The ten niyamas (8–9ab)
3.3 The five āsanas (9cd–16ab)
3.3.1 padma (10cd–11)
3.3.2 svastika (12)
3.3.3 bhadra (13–14ab)
3.3.4 vajra (14cd–15ab)
3.3.5 vīra (15cd–16ab)
3.4 prān ̣āyāma (16cd–22)
3.5 pratyāhāra (23)
3.6 dhāran ̣ā (24–5)
3.7 dhyāna (26)
3.8 samādhi (27)
4. Kun ̣d ̣alinīyoga and the body (28–39ab)
4.1 The (ādhāra)kanda (28–29ab)
4.2 The three principal channels (nād ̣ī) (29cd–35)
4.3 The kun ̣d ̣alī/kun ̣d ̣alinī (36–39ab)
5. The practice of mantra repetition (39cd–57)
5.1 The seat (39cd–40ab)
5.2 The knowledge of the arising of the elements (bhūtodaya) and the rep-
etition ( japa) of the seed (bīja) syllable of the predominant element
(40cd–44)
5.3 The inner sound (nāda), the haṃsah ̣ mantra and the syllable oṃ (45–53)
6. Stanzas (54–82) eulogizing
6.1 The pran ̣ava/the syllable oṃ (54–7)
6.2 The golden purusạ in the solar disc (58)
6.3 Vis ̣n ̣u reclining in the Milk Ocean (59)
6.4 Vis ̣n ̣u as the eternal being ( purān ̣apurusa)
̣ (60)
6.5 Śiva (61)
6.6 The union with Śiva that produces a seed (sabījayoga) (62)
6.7 The union with Śiva that produces no seed (nirbījayoga) (63)
6.8 Śakti kun ̣d ̣alī/kun ̣d ̣alinī (64–79)
212 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

6.9 The female/left half of Śiva in his androgynous form (80–81)

6.10 The fruit of yoga (82)
7. The author’s genealogy (83–7)
8. Stanzas eulogizing Pārvatī who occupies the female/left half of the body of
Śiva in his androgynous form (88–9)
(9.) Colophon (89+)

Laks ̣man ̣adeśika uses the following metres in this chapter:

̣
Anus ̣tubh (1–54, 80 and 89)
Indravajrā (55, 85)
Upajāti (58, 59, 62, 63, 74, 83, 86)
Mandākrāntā (72)
Mālabhārin ̣ī combined with Viyoginī (68)
Mālinī (73)
Śārdūlavikrīd ̣ita (56, 61, 64–7, 69–71, 77–8, 82)
Śikharin ̣ī (88)
Vasantatilakā (57, 60, 75, 79, 81, 84, 87)
Harin ̣ī (76)

Since the ŚT chapter presents its subject matter in a very concise form, the study
of texts addressing similar topics in more detail is essential. In addition to RB’s
commentary, I have consulted and referred to texts such as the Goraks ̣aśataka
ascribed to Gorakhnāth (also known as Goraks ̣anātha), which is extant in several
recensions, the earliest dating perhaps from the thirteenth or fourteenth century;
the Yogakān ̣d ̣a of the Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ
̣ hitā (13th century?9), and the Śiva-Saṃhitā,
dating perhaps from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. All of these texts are
later than the ŚT. There is some similarity between verses in chapters 1–4 of the
Yogakān ̣d ̣a of the Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ
̣ hitā and a section of this chapter of the ŚT, but
the former gives more detailed descriptions of practices and the overall context is
different.
The new edition of the text of chapter 25 which follows is based on the fol-
lowing sources: three editions of the ŚT (ŚT1, ŚT2 and the text printed in the
edition of Mādhavabhatṭa’s ̣ Gūd ̣hārthadīpikā [GD]), the passages as quoted in
Kālīcaran ̣a’s commentary (K) on the S ̣atcakranirūpan
̣ ̣a and in Krṣ ̣n ̣ānanda’s
TS. In addition, I have consulted the following six manuscripts:

BISM1 Manuscript no. 29, 1862, preserved in the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak
Mandal, Pun ̣e, folios 452b.7–463b.9; it includes RB’s commentary
and dates from 1774 CE;
BISM2 Manuscript no. 51, 208, preserved in the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak
Mandal, Pun ̣e, folios 142b.7–146b.11; it is incomplete and ends after
verse 73;
BISM3 Manuscript no. 52, 461, preserved in the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak
Mandal, Pun ̣e, folios 245a.2–252a.7; the manuscript is damaged and
incomplete, containing only verses 1–22ab, 37cd–77b and 86 to the
end;

9 For this date, see the introduction to the edition of the text, p. 32.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 213

BORI1 Manuscript no. 255/A.1883–84, preserved in the Bhandarkar Oriental

Research Institute, Pun ̣e, folios 139b.13–142b.15 (1852 CE); the manu-
script is incomplete and ends after verse 83b;
BORI2 Manuscript no. 950/1887–91, preserved in the Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute, Pun ̣e, folios 111a.5–114a.12;
BORI3 Manuscript no. 972/1887–91, preserved in the Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute, Pun ̣e, folios 252a.8–256b.4; the manuscript is
incomplete and ends after verse 57.
Obvious writing mistakes such as the omission of visargas have not been
noted in the critical apparatus.

Bibliography and abbreviations

Texts and translations
Darśana-Upanis ̣ad. See Yoga-Upanis ̣ad-s, pp. 152–85.
GD Gūd ̣hārthadīpikā by Mādhavabhatṭạ
Śāradātilaka-gūd ̣hārthadīpikā-sahita. Vārān ̣asī: Gan ̣eś Prabhākar Press, 1884.
Goraks ̣aśataka. Goraks ̣aśatakam (with introduction, text, English translation,
notes, etc.), critically edited by Svāmī Kuvalayānanda and S.A. Shukla.
Lonavla: Kaivalyadhāma S.M.Y.M. Samiti, 1958, 1974 (reprint).
Kālīcaran ̣a (K) on Pūrn ̣ānanda’s S ̣atcakranirūpan
̣ ̣a
Paramahaṃsa-pūrn ̣ānanda-yati-viracita-s ̣atcakranirūpan
̣ ̣am. Kālīcaran ̣akrtayā
̣
.
ślokārthaparis ̣kārin ̣yā ̣
tīkayā ̣
śankarakrtayā ̣
s ̣atcakrabhedit ̣
ippan ̣yā
̣
viśvanāthakrtayā ̣
s ̣atcakravivr ̣
tyākhyayā ̣
tīkayā ca sametam.
Śivaprokta-pādukāpañcakam. Kālīcaran ̣akrtayā ̣ amalākhyayā tīkayā ̣ sahitaṃ.
Prathamasaṃskaran ̣e Tārānātha Vidyāratna-sampāditam.
̣
Trtīyasaṃ skaran ̣e. . .Pañcānana Tarka-Sāṃkhya-Vedāntatīrtha-sampāditam.
Kalikātā: Āgamānusandhāna-Samiti, 1941.
Mālinīvijayottaratantra
The Yoga of the Mālinīvijayottaratantra: Chapters 1–4, 7, 11–17. Critical
Edition, Translation and Notes by S. Vasudeva. Pondicherry: Institut français
de Pondichéry, 2004.
Matsyendrasaṃhitā
Matsyendranātha’s Compendium (Matsyendrasaṃhitā): A Critical Edition and
Annotated Translation of Matsyendrasaṃhitā 1–13 and 55 with analysis by
C. Kiss. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, submitted to Oxford University, 2009.
̣ hapūrvatāpanī-Upanis ̣ad (bhāsya)
Nrsiṃ ̣
In The Complete Works of Sri Sankaracharya. Vol. 8: Commentaries on the
Upanishads. Srirangam: Vani Vilas Press, 1913; Madras: Samata Books, 1983
(revised edition): 757–910.
PKD Prayogakramadīpikā. See PS1
PS1 Prapañcasāra
Prapañcasāratantra. With the Commentary Vivaran ̣a by Padmapādācārya and
Prayogakramadīpikā revised and documented by A. Avalon and edited by
214 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

A. Sarasvatī. 2 vols. Calcutta: Sanskrit Press Depository, 1935; Delhi: Motilal

Banarsidass, 1981 (reprint in one vol.).
PS2 Prapañcasāra
The Complete Works of Sri Sankaracharya. Vols. 19–20. Srirangam: Vani Vilas
Press, 1913; Madras: Samata Books, 1983 (revised edition).
PSV Prapañcasāravivaran ̣a See PS1
RB Rāghavabhatṭạ See ŚT
Śiva-Saṃhitā
The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition and an English Translation by James
Mallinson. Woodstock, New York: YogaVidya.com, 2007.
ŚT1 Śāradātilakatantra Śāradā-Tilaka Tantra. Text [with Rāghavabhatṭa’s
̣
Padārthādarśa] with Introduction. Edited by A. Avalon. Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass, 1982 (reprint).
ŚT2 Śāradātilaka
Śāradātilakam of Śrī Laks ̣man ̣adeśikendra with Padārthādarśa Commentary by
Śrīmad Rāghava Bhatṭa.̣ Edited by Mukund Jha Bakshi. Varanasi:
Chaukhambha Sanskrit Sansthan, 1986 (third edition).
Triśikhibrāhman ̣a-Upanis ̣ad See Yoga-Upanis ̣ad-s, pp. 116–61
TS Tantrasāra
Brihat Tantrasara by Sadhaka Chudamani Krishnanand Agamavagish. Edited and
rendered into Devanagari script by R.K. Rai. Varanasi: Prachya Prakashan, 1985.
Vanadurgā-Upanis ̣ad.
In: Un-Published Upanishads. Edited by the Pandits of Adyar Library under the
Supervision of C.K. Raja. Adyar: Theosophical Society, 1933, 426–67.
̣
Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā (Yoga Kān ̣d ̣a)
̣ Saṃhitā (Yoga Kān ̣d ̣a). (Revised Edition.) Editors and Commentators:
Vasis ̣tha
Philosophico-Literary Research Department. Lonavla: Kaivalyadhama S.M.Y.
M. Samiti, 2005.
Yoga-Upanis ̣ad-s
The Yoga-Upanis ̣ad-s with the commentary of Śrī Upanis ̣ad-Brahmayogin.
Edited by A. Mahadeva Sastri. Adyar: The Adyar Library and Research
Centre, 1920.
Yogatattva-Upanis ̣ad See Yoga-Upanis ̣ad-s, pp. 363–89
Secondary sources

Brown, C.M. 1998. Devī Gītā. The Song of the Goddess: A Translation, Annotation,
and Commentary. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press.
Bühnemann, G. 2001. The Iconography of Hindu Tantric Deities. Vol. II: The
Pantheons of the Prapañcasāra and the Śāradātilaka. Groningen: Egbert Forsten.
Gode, P.K. 1953. “Date of Rāghavabhatṭa,̣ the Commentator of Kālidāsa’s
Abhijñāna Śākuntala and Other Works – Last Quarter of the 15th Century
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 215

(1475–1500 A.D.)”. Studies in Indian Literary History, Vol. 1. Bombay:

Bhāratīya Vidyā Bhavan, 429–36.
Gupta, S. 1979. “Modes of worship and meditation”, in S. Gupta, D.J. Hoens
and T. Goudriaan, Hindu Tantrism. Leiden and Cologne: E.J. Brill.
Kiss 2009. See Matsyendrasaṃhitā.
Sanderson, A. 1990. “The visualization of the deities of the Trika”, in L’image
divine: Culte et méditation dans l’hindouisme. Études rassemblées par
A. Padoux. Paris: Éditions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique,
31–88.
Sanderson, A. 2007. “Atharvavedins in tantric territory: the Āngirasakalpa texts
of the Oriya Paippalādins and their connection with the Trika and the Kālīkula,
with critical editions of the Parājapavidhi, the Parāmantravidhi, and the
*Bhadrakālīmantravidhiprakaran ̣a”, in A. Griffiths and A. Schmiedchen (eds),
Atharvaveda and its Paippalāda Śākhā: Historical and Philological Papers
on the Vedic Tradition. Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 195–311.
Sanderson, A. 2009. “The Śaiva age: the rise and dominance of Śaivism during
the early medieval period”, in S. Einoo (ed.), Genesis and Development of
Tantrism. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 41–349.
Vasudeva 2004. See Mālinīvijayottaratantra.
Wedemeyer, C.K. 2004. “Review of: G. Bühnemann, The Iconography of Hindu
Tantric Deities”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and
Ireland, Third Series, vol. 14, 280–82.

New edition of the text

pañcaviṃśah ̣ patalah
̣ 10 ̣ |
.
̣
atha yogaṃ pravaksyāmi sāngaṃ saṃvitpradāyakam11|
aikyaṃ jīvātmanor āhur yogaṃ yogaviśāradāh ̣ ‖ 1 ‖12
śivātmanor13 abhedena pratipattih14 ̣ pare viduh ̣ |
śivaśaktyātmakaṃ15 jñānaṃ jagur āgamavedinah16 ̣ ‖2‖
purān ̣apurusasyānye
̣ jñānam āhur viśāradāh ̣ |
jitvādāv ātmanah ̣ śatrūn kāmādīn yogam abhyaset ‖ 3 ‖
kāmakrodhau lobhamohau tatparaṃ madamatsarau |
vadanti17 duh ̣khadān etān arisaḍ ̣vargam ātmanah ̣ ‖ 4 ‖
.
yogāsṭ ān
̣ gair imān18 jitvā yogino yogam āpnuyuh ̣ |

10 ̣
pathalah ̣ ŚT1.
11 °prakāśakam BORI3.
12 ̣
Metre in verses 1–54: Anus ̣tubh.
13 jīvātmanor BORI2, GD, ŚT2.
14 °ttiṃ BISM23, BORI2, GD, K, ŚT2.
15 śaktyātmakaṃ tathā K instead of śivaśaktyātmakaṃ jñānam.
16 °vādinah ̣ K.
17 āhur ŚT2 with v.l. vadanti.
. .
18 yogāsṭ ān
̣ gāni BORI3 instead of yogāsṭ ān
̣ gair imān.
216 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

yamaniyamāv19 āsanaprān ̣āyāmau20 tatah ̣ param ‖ 5 ‖

pratyāhāraṃ dhāran ̣ākhyaṃ dhyānaṃ sārdhaṃ samādhinā |
.
asṭ ān ̣ gāny āhur etāni yogino yogasādhane ‖ 6 ‖
ahiṃsā satyam asteyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ krpārjavam ̣ 21 |

ksamā ̣ ̣ mitāhārah ̣ śaucaṃ ceti yamā daśa ‖ 7 ‖

dhrtir
tapah ̣ saṃtosạ 22 āstikyaṃ dānaṃ devasya23 pūjanam |
siddhāntaśravan ̣aṃ24 caiva hrīr25 matiś ca japo hutam26 ‖ 8 ‖
daśaite niyamāh ̣ proktā27 yogaśāstraviśāradaih ̣ |
padmāsanaṃ svastikākhyaṃ bhadraṃ28 vajrāsanaṃ29 tathā ‖ 9 ‖
vīrāsanam iti proktaṃ kramād āsanapañcakam |
ūrvor upari vinyasya30 samyak pādatale ubhe ‖ 10 ‖
.
angusṭ hau ̣ ca nibadhnīyād31 dhastābhyāṃ vyutkramāt32 tatah33 ̣ |
padmāsanam iti proktaṃ yogināṃ hrdayaṃ ̣ gamam34 ‖ 11 ‖
jānūrvor antare35 samyak krtvā ̣ pādatale ubhe |
̣
rjukāyo viśed yogī svastikaṃ tat pracaksatẹ 36 ‖ 12 ‖
sīvanyāh ̣ pārśvayor nyasyed gulphayugmaṃ suniścalam |
37

vrṣ an ̣ ̣ādhah ̣ pādapārsṇ ̣ī38 pān ̣ibhyāṃ39 paribandhayet ‖ 13 ‖

bhadrāsanaṃ samuddisṭ aṃ ̣ yogibhih40 ̣ pūjitaṃ param41 |
. .
ūrvoh ̣ pādau kramān nyasyej jānvoh ̣ pratyanmukhāngulī43 ‖ 14 ‖
42

19 °yamaṃ BISM2, BORI13, GD.

20 āsanaṃ prān ̣āyāmaṃ BISM1, BORI13.
21 °bam ŚT1; the reading dayārjavam appears in the Varāha-Upanis ̣ad, the
Darśana-Upanis ̣ad and the Triśikhibrāhman ̣a-Upanis ̣ad. Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ
̣ hitā 1.38 rep-
resents a parallel to this verse:
ahiṃsā satyam asteyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ dhrtih ̣ ̣ ksamā
̣ |
dayārjavaṃ mitāhārah ̣ śaucaṃ caiva yamā daśa ‖
22 The reading °sam ̣ appears in BORI1, the Varāha-Upanis ̣ad, Darśana-Upanis ̣ad and
̣
Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā.
23 The reading īśvarasya is found in the Varāha-Upanis ̣ad and Darśana-Upanis ̣ad;
̣
Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 1.53b reads īśvara.
24 °smaran ̣aṃ BORI3.
25 dhīr BISM2.
26 The reading vratam appears in the Varāha-Upanis ̣ad, Darśana-Upanis ̣ad and in
̣
Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 1.53d.
27 °tāh ̣ GD, ŚT12.
28 vajraṃ BISM13, BORI2, GD, ŚT12.
29 bhadrāsanaṃ BISM13, BORI2, GD, ŚT12.
30 °nyaste ŚT2.
31 dvau ca ba° BISM2 instead of ca nibadhnīyād.
32 °kramā GD, °kramen ̣a PSV.
33 tu PSV.
34 °maih ̣ BORI3.
35 udare BISM13, BORI2, antaraṃ BORI13, antarā PSV.
̣
36 PSV reads in pāda cd: rjukāyo viśed etad āsanaṃ svastikaṃ viduh ̣ ‖
37 nyasya BISM1, BORI123, TS.
38 pārśvapādau BISM123, BORI13, PSV, TS, pārsṇ ̣ipādau ŚT1, v.l. ŚT2.
39 °bhyo BISM1.
40 yogināṃ BORI3.
41 parikalpitam TS instead of pūjitaṃ param.
42 nyasya BISM2, BORI13, TS.
. . . .
43 °gulīh ̣ PSV, jānunoh ̣ prānmukhānguli TS instead of jānvoh ̣ pratyanmukhāngulī.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 217

karau nidadhyād44 ākhyātaṃ vajrāsanam anuttamam |

ekaṃ45 pādam adhah ̣ krtvā ̣ vinyasyorau tathetaram ‖ 15 ‖
̣
rjukāyo viśed46 yogī47 vīrāsanam itīritam48 |
id ̣ayākarsayed ̣ vāyuṃ bāhyaṃ sod ̣ ̣aśamātrayā ‖ 16 ‖
dhārayet pūritaṃ yogī catuh ̣sas ̣ ṭ yā
̣ tu mātrayā |
susumn ̣ ̣āmadhyagaṃ samyak dvātriṃśanmātrayā śanaih ̣ ‖ 17 ‖
.
nād ̣yā pingalayā cainaṃ49 recayed yogavittamah ̣ |
prān ̣āyāmam imaṃ50 prāhur yogaśāstraviśāradāh ̣ ‖ 18 ‖
bhūyo bhūyah ̣ kramāt tasya vyatyāsena samācaret |
̣
mātrāvrddhikramen ̣aiva samyag dvādaśa sod ̣ ̣aśa ‖ 19 ‖
prān ̣āyāmo hi dvividhah ̣ sagarbho ’garbha eva ca |51
japadhyānādibhir yuktaṃ sagarbhaṃ taṃ52 vidur budhāh ̣ ‖ 20 ‖
tadapetaṃ vigarbhaṃ ca53 prān ̣āyāmaṃ pare viduh ̣ |
kramād abhyasatah54 ̣ puṃso55 dehe svedodgamo ’dhamah ̣ ‖ 21 ‖
madhyamah ̣ kampasaṃyukto bhūmityāgah ̣ paro matah ̣ |
uttamasya gun ̣āvāptir yāvac chīlanam isyate ̣ 56 ‖ 22 ‖
indriyān ̣āṃ vicaratāṃ visayes ̣ ụ nirargalam |
balād āharan ̣aṃ tebhyah ̣ pratyāhāro ’bhidhīyate ‖ 23 ‖
. .
angusṭ hagulphajānūrusīvanīlin
̣ ganābhisụ 57 |
̣
hrdgrīvākan ̣thadeśes
̣ ụ lambikāyāṃ tato59 nasi ‖ 24 ‖
58

bhrūmadhye mastake mūrdhni dvādaśānte yathāvidhi |

dhāran ̣aṃ prān ̣amaruto dhāran ̣eti nigadyate ‖ 25 ‖
samāhitena manasā caitanyāntaravartinā60 |
ātmano61 ’bhīsṭ adevānāṃ ̣ 62 dhyānaṃ dhyānam ihocyate ‖ 26 ‖

samatvabhāvanā nityaṃ jīvātmaparamātmanoh ̣ |

63
.
samādhim āhur munayah ̣ proktam asṭ ān ̣ galaksan ̣ ̣am ‖ 27 ‖
.
̣ ̣n ̣avatyangulāyāmaṃ śarīram ubhayātmakam |
san 64
.
gudadhvajāntare65 kandam utsedhād dvyangulaṃ viduh ̣ ‖ 28 ‖

44 vida° BORI3.
45 eka GD, ŚT2.
46 °śen TS.
47 mantrī TS.
48 udāhrtaṃ PSV.
49 caiva BORI3.
50 iti BORI2, idaṃ GD.
51 BISM123, BORI23 omit pādas ab.
52 tad BISM13.
53 tu BISM2.
54 °yasatāṃ BORI2, °yasyatah ̣ ŚT2.
55 puṃsāṃ BORI2.
56 ̣
īsyate GD.
57 °gulphajānvandhusīvanī° BISM2, °sīkanī° GD.
58 °deśena BORI3.
59 tathā BISM2.
60 °tinām GD.
61 °ny BISM12, BORI123.
62 ātmany abhī° GD, ŚT12 for ātmano ’bhī°. ŚT1 gives the above reading in parentheses.
63 samasta° BORI1, GD, ŚT2, °bhāvanaṃ BORI23.
64 ̣ ̣na° GD, ŚT1.
san
65 guhya° BORI1.
218 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

̣
tasmād66 dvigun ̣avistāraṃ vrttarūpen ̣a śobhitam |
nād ̣yas tatra samudbhūtā mukhyās tisrah ̣ prakīrtitāh67 ̣ ‖ 29 ‖
.
id ̣ā vāme sthitā nād ̣ī pingalā daksin ̣ ̣e matā68 |
tayor madhyagatā69 nād ̣ī susumn ̣ ̣ā vaṃśam āśritā ‖ 30 ‖
.
pādāngusṭ hadvaye
̣ 70 yātā śiphābhyāṃ71 śirasā punah |
̣
brahmasthānaṃ samāpannā somasūryāgnirūpin ̣ī ‖ 31 ‖
tasyā madhyagatā nād ̣ī citrākhyā yogivallabhā |
brahmarandhraṃ vidus tasyāṃ padmasūtranibhaṃ72 param73 ‖ 32 ‖
ādhārāṃś ca vidus tatra matabhedād anekadhā |
divyamārgam idaṃ prāhur amrtānandakāran ̣ ̣am ‖ 33 ‖
.
id ̣āyāṃ saṃcarec candrah ̣ pingalāyāṃ divākarah ̣ |
jñātau yoganidānajñaih ̣ susumn ̣ ̣āyāṃ tu tāv74 ubhau ‖ 34 ‖
ādhārakandamadhyasthaṃ trikon ̣am atisundaram |
jyotisāṃ̣ nilayaṃ divyaṃ prāhur āgamavedinah ̣ ‖ 35 ‖
tatra vidyullatākārā kun ̣d ̣alī paradevatā |
parisphurati sarvātmā suptāhisadrśākr ̣ tih ̣ ̣ ‖ 36 ‖
bibharti kun ̣d ̣alī śaktir ātmānaṃ haṃsam āśritā75 |
haṃsah ̣ prān ̣āśrayo nityaṃ prān ̣o76 nād ̣īsamāśrayah77 ̣ ‖ 37 ‖
ādhārād udgato78 vāyur yathāvat sarvadehinām |
dehaṃ vyāpya svanād ̣ībhih ̣ prayān ̣aṃ kurute bahih ̣ ‖ 38 ‖
.
dvādaśāngulamānena tasmāt prān ̣a itīritah ̣ |
̣
ramye mrdvāsane ̣
śuddhe patājinakuśottare ‖ 39 ‖
baddhvaikam āsanaṃ yogī yogamārgaparo bhavet |
jñātvā bhūtodayaṃ dehe vidhivat prān ̣avāyunā ‖ 40 ‖
tattadbhūtaṃ japed79 dehadrḍ ̣hatvāvāptaye80 sudhīh ̣ |
dan ̣d ̣ākārā gatir81 bhūmeh ̣ putayor ̣ ubhayor adhah82 ̣ ‖ 41 ‖
.
toyasya pāvakasyordhvagatis tiryan nabhasvatah ̣ |
83

gatir vyomno bhaven madhye bhūtānām udayah84 ̣ smrtah ̣ 85

̣ ‖ 42 ‖
dharan ̣er udaye kuryāt stambhanaṃ vaśyam ātmavit |

66 tasya BISM12, BORI13, GD, TS.

67 samīritāh ̣ BORI13.
68 sthitā BORI1, matāh ̣ TS.
69 madhye gatā BORI1.
70 °yaṃ BISM12, BORI123, TS.
71 śikhābhyāṃ TS.
72 °bhāṃ BORI3.
73 °rām BORI3.
74 tā GD.
75 °tam BORI3.
76 °n ̣ā BISM12, BORI1, TS, °n ̣a GD.
77 nād ̣īpathāśrayāh ̣ BISM123, BORI123, TS, nād ̣īpathāśrayā GD.
78 udbhūto BORI3, utthito TS.
79 yajed TS.
80 °dehaṃ drḍ ̣hatvāvāptayet GD, dehaṃ dr°̣ ŚT2, dehe dr°̣ TS.
81 gato BORI13.
82 api TS.
.
83 °yorddhan gatis BISM123, BORI123, GD, ŚT1, °yordhve gātas TS.
84 udayāh ̣ BORI13, udarāh ̣ GD.
85 °tāh ̣ BORI1.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 219

śāntikaṃ pausṭ ikaṃ

̣ karma toyasya samaye vasoh ̣ ‖ 43 ‖
māran ̣ādīni maruto vipaksoccāt
̣ ̣
anādikam |
̣ ̣ādināśanaṃ86 śastam udaye ca vihāyasah ̣ ‖ 44 ‖
ksved
.
angulībhir drḍ ̣haṃ baddhvā karan ̣āni samāhitah ̣ |
.
angusṭ hābhyām
̣ ubhe śrotre tarjanībhyāṃ vilocane ‖ 45 ‖
nāsārandhre madhyamābhyām87 anyābhir vadanaṃ drḍ ̣ham |
baddhvātmaprān ̣amanasām88 ekatvaṃ samanusmaran89 ‖ 46 ‖
dhārayen marutaṃ90 samyag yogo ’yaṃ yogivallabhah91 ̣ |
nādah ̣ saṃjāyate tasya kramād abhyasatah92 ̣ śanaih93̣ ‖ 47 ‖
. .
mattabhrṇ gānganāgītasadrśah ̣ 94̣ prathamo dhvanih ̣ |
vāṃśikāsyānilāpūrn ̣avaṃśadhvaninibho95 ’parah ̣ ‖ 48 ‖
ghan ̣tāravasamah
̣ ̣
96 paścād ghanameghasvanopamah97 |
̣
evam abhyasatah ̣ puṃsah99
98
̣ saṃsāradhvāntanāśanam ‖ 49 ‖
jñānam utpadyate ’pūrvaṃ100 haṃsalaksan ̣ ̣am avyayam |
̣
puṃprakrtyātmakau proktau bindusargau manīsibhiḥ ̣ ‖ 50 ‖
tābhyāṃ kramāt samudbhūtau bindusargāvasānakau |
̣
haṃsau tau puṃprakrtyākhyau haṃ pumān prakrtiṣ tu sah ̣ ‖ 51 ‖
ajapā kathitā tābhyāṃ101 jīvo yām102 upatisṭ hatị 103 |
purusaṃ̣ svāśrayaṃ104 matvā prakrtir ̣ nityam āsthitā105 ‖ 52 ‖
yadā tadbhāvam āpnoti tadā so ’haṃ106 iyaṃ107 bhavet |
sakārārn ̣aṃ hakārārn ̣aṃ lopayitvā tatah ̣ param |
saṃdhiṃ kuryāt pūrvarūpaṃ108 tadāsau pran ̣avo bhavet ‖ 53 ‖109
parānandamayaṃ110 nityaṃ caitanyaikagun ̣ātmakam |
ātmābhedasthitaṃ yogī pran ̣avaṃ bhāvayet sadā ‖ 54 ‖

86 ̣
ksudrādi° ̣ ̣ādi° in parentheses, ksved
ŚT1, ksved ̣ ̣ādināśane TS.
87 ca madhyābhyām K, madhyābhyām TS.
88 baddhvā me prān ̣a° K.
89 tan manuṃ smaran K instead of samanusmaran.
90 mā° BISM12, BORI123, GD, K, ŚT2, TS.
91 yonibandhatah ̣ BISM12.
92 abhyasyatah ̣ TS.
93 śivah ̣ BISM1.
.
94 °bhrṇ gāvalīgītasa° BORI1, TS.
95 With BISM23, vaṃśakāsyānilā° BISM1, vāṃśikasyānilā° BORI13, ŚT1,
vaṃśikāsyānilā° BORI2, vaṃśikāsyāvilā° GD, ŚT2, vaṃśī kāṃsyānilāpūrn ̣a° TS.
96 °ravah ̣ samah ̣ BORI2, GD.
97 °samo ’parah ̣ BISM123, GD, dhvanimeghasamo ’parah ̣ BORI2.
98 abhyasatāṃ BORI2, abhyasyatah ̣ TS.
99 puṃsāṃ BORI23.
100 Conjectured: ŚT12 read pūrvam.
101 tasya BORI3.
102 Conjectured:’yam BISM123, BORI123, GD, ŚT12.
103 °te BISM13, BORI2, GD, TS.
104 tv āśrayaṃ TS.
105 ātmanah ̣ BISM12, BORI13, v.l. RB (p. 906, 21), TS, ātmanā GD, ŚT2, āśritā BORI2.
106 ’yam BORI1. I have added the nasal to the m since it is an essential component of the
syllable here.
107 ayaṃ GD, ŚT12.
108 °rūpas BISM1, BORI3, GD, ŚT1.
109 BISM2 omits this verse; ŚT2 treats 53a–d as one verse and 53ef–54 as one verse.
110 paramānandamayaṃ TS.
220 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

āmnāyavācām111 atidūram ādyaṃ

vedyaṃ svasaṃvedyagun ̣ena112 santah ̣ |
ātmānam ānandarasaikasindhuṃ113
paśyanti tārātmakam114 ātmanisṭ hāh ̣ ̣ ‖ 55 ‖115
satyaṃ hetuvivarjitaṃ śrutigirām ādyaṃ jagatkāran ̣aṃ
.
vyāptasthāvarajangamaṃ116 nirupamaṃ caitanyam antargatam |
ātmānaṃ ravivahnicandravapusaṃ ̣ 117 tārātmakaṃ saṃtataṃ
nityānandagun ̣ālayaṃ sukrtinah ̣ ̣ paśyanti ruddhendriyāh ̣ ‖ 56 ‖118
tārasya saptavibhavaih ̣ paricīyamānaṃ
119

mānair agamyam aniśaṃ120 śrutimaulimrgyam ̣ 121 |

122
saṃvitsamastagam anaśvaram acyutaṃ tat
tejah ̣ paraṃ bhajata sāndrasudhāmburāśim ‖ 57 ‖123
hiran ̣mayaṃ dīptam124 anekavarn ̣aṃ
trimūrtimūlaṃ nigamādibījam |
.
angusṭ hamātraṃ
̣ purusaṃ̣ bhajante
caitanyamātraṃ raviman ̣d ̣alastham ‖ 58 ‖125
.
dhyāyanti dugdhābdhibhujangabhoge
śayānam ādyaṃ kamalāsahāyam |
praphullanetrāmbujam126 añjanābhaṃ
caturmukhen ̣āśritanābhipadmam127 ‖ 59 ‖128
āmnāyageyacaranaṃ129 ghananīlam udyac-
.
chrīvatsakaustubhagadāmbujaśankhacakram |
̣
hrtpun ̣d ̣arīkanilayaṃ jagadekamūlam
̣
ālokayanti krtinah ̣ purusaṃ
̣ purān ̣am ‖ 60 ‖130
bindor nādasamudbhavah ̣ samudite nāde jagatkāran ̣aṃ
131

111 °vādām BORI3.

112 svayaṃ vedagun ̣ena BORI1, svasaṃveda° BORI3, susaṃ° TS.
113 °saikasaṃdhiṃ ŚT1.
114 te tārakam TS.
115 Metre: Indravajrā.
116 vyāptaṃ sthā° BISM2, BORI1, TS.
117 ravicandravahniva° BORI13.
118 Metre: Śārdūlavikrīd ̣ita.
119 pañcavi° TS.
120 agamyavapusaṃ̣ BORI3 instead of agamyam aniśaṃ.
121 ̣
°grhyam BORI3.
122 saccitsamastagaṃ BORI2, ŚT2, saṃvitsamastam amalam varacyutaṃ TS instead of
saṃvitsamastam anaśvaram acyutam.
123 Metre: Vasantatilakā.
124 dīpam GD.
125 Metre: Upajāti. GD and ŚT2 insert verse 89 here.
126 °netrotpalam TS.
127 °mukhena° BISM123, BORI1, GD, ŚT12, TS, °khenāñcitanābhi° v.l. ŚT1.
128 Metre: Upajāti.
129 Suggested emendation, āmnāyagaṃ dvicaran ̣aṃ BISM2, āmnāyagaṃ dvivaran ̣aṃ
BISM3, GD, ŚT1, āmnāyavāgvivaran ̣aṃ BORI1, āmnāyagranthivacanaṃ ŚT2,
āmnāyagranthicaran ̣āṃ BISM1, BORI2, āmnāyagaṃ tricaran ̣aṃ TS.
130 Metre: Vasantatilakā.
131 bindau BISM23.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 221

tāraṃ tattvamukhāmbujaṃ parivrtaṃ ̣ varn ̣ātmabāhuvrajaih132 ̣ |

āmnāyāsyacatusṭ ayaṃ ̣ 133 puraripor ānandamūlaṃ vapuh ̣
pāyād vo134 mukutendukhan ̣ ̣
̣d ̣avigaladdivyāmrtaughāplutam 135 ‖ 61 ‖136

pin ̣d ̣aṃ bhavet kun ̣d ̣alinī śivātmā

padaṃ tu haṃsah ̣ sakalāntarātmā |
rūpaṃ bhaved137 bindur anantakāntir138
atītarūpaṃ śivasāmarasyam ‖ 62 ‖139
pin ̣d ̣ādiyogaṃ śivasāmarasyāt
sabījayogaṃ pravadanti santah ̣ |
śive layaṃ nityagun ̣ābhiyukte
nirbījayogaṃ phalanirvyapeksam ̣ ‖ 63 ‖140
.
mūlonnidrabhujangarājamahisīṃ ̣ 141 yāntīṃ susumn ̣ ̣āntaraṃ
bhitvādhārasamūham āśu vilasatsaudāmanīsaṃnibhām142 |
vyomāmbhojagatenduman ̣d ̣alagaladdivyāmrtaughaih ̣ ̣
143 patiṃ144

saṃbhāvya svagrhaṃ ̣ gatāṃ punar imāṃ saṃcintayet kun ̣d ̣alīm ‖ 64 ‖145

haṃsaṃ nityam anantam avyayagun ̣aṃ svādhārato nirgatā
śaktih ̣ kun ̣d ̣alinī samastajananī haste grhītvā ̣ ca tam |
yātā śaṃbhuniketanaṃ parasukhaṃ tenānubhūya146 svayaṃ
yāntī147 svāśrayam arkakotirucirā ̣ dhyeyā jaganmohinī ‖ 65 ‖
avyaktaṃ parabindum añcitaruciṃ148 nītvā śivasyālayaṃ
śaktih ̣ kun ̣d ̣alinī gun ̣atrayavapur vidyullatāsaṃnibhā |
̣
ānandāmrtamadhyagaṃ puram idaṃ candrārkakotiprabhaṃ ̣
saṃvīksya ̣ svapuraṃ gatā bhagavatī dhyeyānavadyā149 gun ̣aih ̣ ‖ 66 ‖
madhyevartma samīran ̣advayamithah ̣saṃghattasaṃ ̣̣ ̣
ksobhajaṃ
śabdastomam atītya tejasi tad ̣itkotiprabhābhāsurẹ 150 |

udyantīṃ samupāsmahe navajavāsindūrasaṃdhyārun ̣āṃ151

132 With BORI2, TS, varn ̣ātmakair bhūtajaih ̣ BISM123, BORI1, ŚT1, varn ̣ātmakair
bhūjajaih ̣ GD, ŚT2.
.
133 Suggested emendation, °yāsyānghricatusṭ ayaṃ
̣ BISM123, BORI12, GD, ŚT12,
.
°yāsyānghricaturmukhaṃ v.l. ŚT1.
134 no TS.
135 °vilasaddivyā° TS; °ghaplutam BISM1, BORI123, GD, ŚT12, TS.
136 Metre: Śārdūlavikrīd ̣ita.
̣
137 smrtaṃ BORI1, TS.
138 amandakāntir BORI12, GD, v.l. ŚT1, TS.
139 Metre: Upajāti.
140 Metre: Upajāti.
̣ BISM123, BORI2, GD, TS.
141 °rājasadrśīṃ
142 °dāminī° GD, ŚT2, TS.
143 With v.l. ŚT1 and TS, °taugha BISM23, BORI2, GD, ŚT12.
144 plutiṃ BISM2, plutāṃ GD, ŚT2, TS, plutaṃ ŚT1.
145 Metre 64–7: Śārdūlavikrīd ̣ita.
146 tenānunīya BORI1.
147 yātī BORI1.
148 parabindusaṃcitaruciṃ BORI1, TS instead of parabindum añcitaruciṃ.
149 dhyeyā na vedyā ŚT1.
150 °bhābhāsvare BORI1, TS.
151 °japā° BISM13, BORI12, GD, ŚT2.
222 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

sāndrānandasudhāmayīṃ paraśivaṃ prāptāṃ parāṃ devatām ‖ 67 ‖

.
gamanāgamanesụ jānghikī152 sā
tanuyād yogaphalāni kun ̣d ̣alī |
uditā153 kulakāmadhenur esạ̄
.
̣
bhajatāṃ kānksitakalpavallarī ‖ 68 ‖154
ādhārasthitaśaktibindunilayāṃ nīvāraśūkopamāṃ
nityānandamayīṃ galatparasudhāvarsaih ̣ ̣ prabodhapradaih ̣ |
siktvā sat ̣ ̣ sarasīruhān ̣i vidhivat kodan ̣d ̣amadhyoditāṃ
dhyāyed bhāsvarabandhujīvarucirāṃ saṃvinmayīṃ155 devatām ‖ 69 ‖156
.
̣
hrtpan keruhabhānubimbanilayāṃ vidyullatāmatsarāṃ157
bālārkārun ̣atejasā bhagavatīṃ158 nirbhartsayantīṃ tamah ̣ |
nādākhyaṃ padam ardhacandrakutilaṃ ̣ saṃvinmayaṃ159 śāśvataṃ
̣
yāntīm aksararūpin ̣īṃ vimaladhīr dhyāyed vibhuṃ tejasām ‖ 70 ‖
bhāle pūrn ̣aniśāpatipratibhatāṃ ̣ 160 nīhārahāratvisạ̄
siñcantīm amrtena ̣ devam amitenānandayantīṃ tanum |
varn ̣ānāṃ jananīṃ tadīyavapusạ̄ saṃvyāpya161 viśvaṃ sthitāṃ
dhyāyet samyag anākulena manasā saṃvinmayīm162 ambikām ‖ 71 ‖
mūle bhāle hrdi ̣ ca vilasadvarn ̣arūpā savitrī
.
pīnottungastanabharanamanmadhyadeśā163 maheśī |
cakre cakre galitasudhayā siktagātrā164 prakāmaṃ
.
dadyād ādyā165 śriyam avikalāṃ vānmayī devatā vah166 ̣ ‖ 72 ‖167
nijabhavananivāsād uccarantī vilāsaih ̣
pathi pathi kamalānāṃ cāruhāsaṃ vidhāya |
tarun ̣ataran ̣ikāntih ̣ kun ̣d ̣alī devatā sā
śivasadanasudhābhir dīpayed ātmatejah ̣ ‖ 73 ‖168
ādhārabandhapramukhakriyābhih ̣
samutthitā kun ̣d ̣alinī sudhābhih ̣ |
tridhāmabījaṃ śivam arcayantī
.
śivānganā vah ̣ śivam ātanotu ‖ 74 ‖169

.
152 jīvikā BORI1, lānghikī GD, v.l. ŚT1.
153 muditā BISM123, BORI12, GD, ŚT 12.
154 Metre: Mālabhārin ̣ī ( pādas 1 and 3) combined with Viyoginī ( pādas 2 and 4). I would
like to thank Professor Michael Hahn for identifying this combination of metres.
155 saccinmayīṃ BORI2, saṃcinmayīṃ GD, ŚT1, saṃvinmayīṃ v.l. ŚT1.
156 Metre 69–71: Śārdūlavikrīd ̣ita.
157 °latābhāsvarāṃ BORI1.
158 °tā ŚT2.
159 saṃcinmayīṃ BORI2, GD.
160 °pratijatān ̣ ŚT1, °pratibhatān
̣ GD, °pratijatāṃ ̣ BISM3, ŚT2.
161 Suggested emendation, saṃprāpya BISM123, BORI12, GD, ŚT12.
162 saṃcinmayīṃ BISM1, BORI2, GD, v.l. ŚT1.
163 °bharavinaman° GD, °bharalasanma° v.l. ŚT1.
164 °trī BORI2.
165 ādyāṃ GD.
166 nah ̣ ŚT2.
167 Metre: Mandākrāntā.
168 Metre: Mālinī.
169 Metre: Upajāti.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 223

sindūrapuñjanibham indukalāvataṃsam
ānandapūrn ̣anayanatrayaśobhivaktram |
. .
āpīnatungakucanamram anangatantraṃ
śaṃbhoh ̣ kalatram amitāṃ śriyam ātanotu ‖ 75 ‖170
.
nayanakamalair dīrghādīrghair alaṃkrtadin ̣ mukhaṃ
̣
vinatamarutāṃ kotīrāgrair nighrṣ ṭ apadāmbujam
̣ |
tarun ̣aśakalaṃ cāndraṃ bibhrad ghatastanaman ̣ ̣d ̣alaṃ
̣
sphuratu hrdaye bandhūkābhaṃ kalatram umāpateh ̣ ‖ 76 ‖171
varn ̣air arn ̣avasad
̣ ̣diśāravikalācaksurvibhaktaiḥ ̣ kramād
ādyaih ̣ sādibhir āvrtān ̣ 172 ksahayutaih
̣ ̣ sat
̣ cakramadhyān
̣ imān |
d ̣ākinyādibhir āśritān paricitān brahmādibhir daivatair
bhindānā paradevatā trijagatāṃ citte vidhattāṃ mudam173 ‖ 77 ‖174
̣
ādhārād gun ̣avrttaśobhitatanuṃ 175 nirgatvarāṃ176 satvaraṃ

bhindantīṃ kamalāni cinmayaghanānandaprabodhottarām177 |

̣
saṃksubdhadhruvaman ̣
̣d ̣alāmrtakaraprasyandamānāmr ̣ 178
ta-
srotah ̣kandalitām amandatad ̣idākārāṃ śivāṃ bhāvayet ‖ 78 ‖
179

ānandamaulim180 aniśaṃ śrutimaulimrgyam ̣

ardhendubhūsan ̣ ̣am181 adhisṭ hitasarvalokam
̣ |
bhaktārtibhañjanaparaṃ padam īśvarasya
dadyāc chubhāni niyataṃ vapur ambikāyāh ̣ ‖ 79 ‖182
mañjusiñjitamañjīraṃ vāmam ardhaṃ maheśituh ̣ |
āśrayāmi jaganmūlaṃ yan mūlaṃ vacasām api ‖ 80 ‖183
sthūlendranīlaruciraṃ kucabhāranamraṃ
bhāsvatsubhūsan ̣ ̣agan ̣aih184̣ pravibhaktaśobham185 |
viśvaikamūlam aniśaṃ śrutimaulimrgyam ̣
ardhaṃ maheśitur akhan ̣d ̣itam āśrayāmah186 ̣ ‖ 81 ‖187
dikkālādivivarjite paraśive caitanyamātrātmake189
188

170 Metre: Vasantatilakā.

171 Metre: Harin ̣ī; BORI12 omit this verse.
172 ̣ BORI1, ŚT2.
āvrtā
173 °dah ̣ BISM, GD, ŚT2.
174 Metre 77–8: Śārdūlavikrīd ̣ita.
175 °tanur GD, ŚT2.
.
176 nirgatvarīṃ BORI12, GD, lingatrayaṃ ŚT1. RB, p. 915, 17 gives the readings
nirgacchantīṃ and nirgatvarīṃ.
177 °dhoddharāṃ GD, °ram ŚT2.
178 °karapraspanda° ŚT2.
179 °kandanibhām v.l. ŚT1.
180 °mūlam BORI12.
181 ̣
°bhūsitam BORI1.
182 Metre: Vasantatilakā.
183 ̣
Metre: Anus ̣tubh.
184 °svabhū° BORI2.
185 paribhaktaśobham BORI2.
186 °yāmi BORI2, ŚT2.
187 Metre: Vasantatilakā.
188 °taih ̣ BORI1.
189 °tmike GD.
224 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

śūnye kāran ̣apañcakasya vilayaṃ krte ̣ 190 nirālambane |

ātmānaṃ viniveśya niścaladhiyā nirlīnasarvendriyo
yogī yogaphalaṃ prayāti sulabhaṃ nityoditaṃ niskriyam ̣ ‖ 82 ‖191
mahābalāya pran ̣ato ’smi tasmai
.
saṃvillatālinganaśītalāya192 |
yenārpitaṃ muktiphalaṃ vipakvam
āmnāyaśākhābhya193 upāśritebhyah ̣ ‖ 83 ‖194
tasmād abhūd akhiladeśikavāran ̣endrah195 ̣
̣ karmasāgaravihāravinodaśīlah
sat ̣ ̣|
yasya trilokavitataṃ vijayābhidhānam
ācāryapan ̣d ̣ita iti prathayanti santah ̣ ‖ 84 ‖196
tannandano deśikadeśiko ’bhūc
chrīkrṣ ṇ ̣a ity abhyuditaprabhāvah ̣ |
yatpādakārun ̣yasudhābhisekāl ̣
̣
laksmīṃ parām aśnuvate krtārthāh ̣ ̣
197 ‖ 85 ‖198

ācāryavidyāvibhavasya tasya
jātah ̣ prabhor laksman ̣ ̣adeśikendrah ̣ |
vidyāsv aśesāsu ̣ kalāsu sarvāsv
api prathāṃ yo mahatīṃ prapede ‖ 86 ‖199
ādāya sāram akhilaṃ nikhilāgamebhyah ̣
śrīśāradātilakanāma cakāra tantram |
prājñah ̣ sa esạ 200 patalair ̣ iha tattvasaṃkhyaih ̣
prītipradānavidhaye vidusāṃ ̣ cirāya ‖ 87 ‖201
anādyantā śaṃbhor vapusị kalitārdhena vapusạ̄
202

jagadrūpaṃ śaśvat srjati ̣ mahanīyām api giram |

sadarthāṃ203 śabdārthastanabharanatā śaṃkaravadhūr
bhavadbhūtyai204 bhūyād bhavajanitaduh ̣khaughaśamanī ‖ 88 ‖205
sukhadā dātrsubhagā ̣ śaṃkarārdhaśarīrin ̣ī |
̣
granthapuspopahāren ̣a prītā nah ̣ pārvatī sadā ‖ 89 ‖206
iti śrīśāradātilake pañcaviṃśah ̣ patalah ̣ ̣‖

190 Suggested emendation, nīte BORI12, GD, ŚT12.

191 Metre: Śārdūlavikrīd ̣ita.
.
192 °latālingita° BORI12.
193 Suggested emendation, °śākhābhir BORI1, GD, ŚT12, °śākhāśritebhyah ̣ BORI2
instead of °śākhābhya upā°.
194 Metre: Upajāti.
195 °deśikabā° ŚT1; °dra ŚT2.
196 Metre: Vasantatilakā.
197 °thah ̣ BORI2.
198 Metre: Indravajrā.
199 Metre: Upajāti.
200 eva GD.
201 Metre: Vasantatilakā.
202 °tāt BISM3, GD, ŚT1.
203 With BISM3, °ta BORI2, °to GD.
204 bhavet bhū° ŚT2.
205 Metre: Śikharin ̣ī.
206 ̣
Metre: Anus ̣tubh. ŚT2 inserts this verse after verse 58; BISM1 omits it.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 225

Translation
1ab) Now I shall explain yoga with [its] limbs,207 which grants knowledge.
1cd–3ab) Those versed in yoga say that yoga is the identity of the individual
Self ( jīva) and the [supreme] Self ([ parama-]ātman). Others know [ yoga] as the
knowledge of the identity of Śiva and the Self. The knowers of the Āgamas have
declared [that yoga] is the knowledge of Śiva and Śakti. Other learned [men] say
[that yoga] is the knowledge of the eternal being ( purān ̣apurusa).
̣ 208
3cd) [Only] after first conquering the Self’s enemies – desire and the rest –
should one practise yoga.
4) They call the following, which cause suffering, the group of six enemies of
the Self: desire and anger, greed and delusion, [and] following these, pride and
jealousy.
5ab) Having conquered them, by means of the eight limbs of yoga, Yogins
will doubtlessly attain union ( yoga) [of the individual Self with the supreme
Self].
5cd–6) Yogins call the following the eight limbs in yoga practice: yama,
niyama, āsana, prān ̣āyāma, followed by pratyāhāra, the [limb] called
dhāran ̣ā, [and] dhyāna together with samādhi.209
7) The ten yamas are: abstaining from harming [others]; truthfulness; refrain-
ing from theft; celibacy; forbearance; sincerity; patience/forgiveness; steadfast-
ness; moderation in eating; and purity.210
8–9ab) The knowers of the yogaśāstra call the following [practices] the ten
niyamas: austerity, contentment, acceptance of the Vedic tradition (āstikya),
charity [and] worship of the deity; also listening to the doctrines, modesty
and discernment, repetition of one’s mantra ( japa) [and offering] oblation[s]
[in the fire].211
9cd–10ab) Five postures (āsana) are described one after the other:
padmāsana, the [āsana] called svastika, bhadra[-āsana] and vajrāsana as
well, [and finally] vīrāsana.

207 The eight limbs, beginning with yama and niyama, are enumerated in verses 5cd–6.
208 RB, pp. 893, 15–894, 24 identifies the four schools whose definitions of yoga are sum-
marized here roughly as the Vedāntins, the Śaivas, the followers of the Uttara Āmnāya
and the dualist Vais ̣n ̣avas. PS 19.14 gives a much more general description of yoga as
the vision of the formless ātman.
̣
209 See Patañjali’s Yogasūtras 2.29 and Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 1.33 for these limbs.
̣
210 A similar list appears in Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 1.38. PS 19.17a–c specifies the following
eight yamas: truthfulness; refraining from harming (others); equanimity (samatā);
steadfastness; refraining from theft; patience/forgiveness; sincerity; and passionlessness
(vairāgya). Purity (śauca) is listed as one of the niyamas in PS 19.18. Patañjali’s
Yogasūtras 2.30 list only five yamas: abstaining from harming [others], truthfulness,
refraining from theft, celibacy and non-acceptance [of gifts].
̣
211 A similar list appears in Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 1.53, with oblation (huta) being replaced
with observance (vrata). PS 19.17d–18 gives a list of only six niyamas: regular
[Veda] recitation (svādhyāya), austerity, worship, observances (vrata), contentment
and purity. Patañjali’s Yogasūtras (2.32) list the following five niyamas: purity, content-
ment, austerity, regular [Veda] recitation and devotion to Īśvara (īśvarapran ̣idhāna).
226 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

10cd–11) Having placed the soles of both feet properly on both thighs in
inverted order,212 [the Yogin] should then grasp both big toes with both hands.
The lotus posture ( padmāsana), which is dear to Yogins, is prescribed thus.213
12) Having placed the soles of both feet properly between both knees and
thighs, the Yogin should sit with erect body; this they term the svastika
[posture].
13–14ab) He should place both ankles very firmly on either side of the peri-
neum; he should hold the two heels of [his] feet steady with both hands below
the scrotum.214 [Thus is] taught the auspicious posture (bhadrāsana); it is highly
honoured by Yogins.
14cd–15ab) He should place both feet, one after the other, on both thighs;215
he should place both hands, his fingers turned towards [himself], on both knees.
[This is] called the most excellent diamond posture (vajrāsana).
15cd–16ab) Having put one foot below and having placed the other one on
the thigh, the Yogin should sit with erect body; thus the heroic posture
(vīrāsana) is described.
16cd–18) The Yogin should draw the outside air in by the id ̣ā [channel] [i.e.
through the left nostril] for [the duration of] sixteen morae. He should properly
̣
retain the inhaled [air], which has entered the centre of the susumn ̣ā [channel],
for sixty-four morae; and the supreme knower of yoga should [then] slowly
.
exhale it through the pingalā channel [i.e. through the right nostril] for
thirty-two morae. This the knowers of the yogaśāstra call prān ̣āyāma.
19) He should practise again and again, step by step, in the reverse order216 to
this, with gradual increments of morae [for], properly, twelve [or] sixteen
[ prān ̣āyāma cycles].
20–21ab) Prān ̣āyāma indeed is twofold [in nature]: “filled” (sagarbha) and
“empty” (agarbha). [Some] wise [persons] know the [form of] [ prān ̣āyāma]
linked with the repetition of a mantra ( japa) and with dhyāna, etc. as the
“filled” [form], while others know the prān ̣āyāma without it [i.e. without
such a connection] as the “empty” (vigarbha) [form].
21cd–22) [The form of prān ̣āyāma] of a man who practises gradually [which
is characterized by] the appearance of sweat on the body is considered to be the
lowest. The one associated with trembling is the middle [form]. [The one charac-
terized by] leaving the ground [i.e. levitation] is the supreme [form]. Repeated
practice is prescribed until the qualities of the supreme [form of prān ̣āyāma]
are acquired.217

212 I.e. one grasps the toes with one’s hands crossed behind the back so that one’s right
hand holds steady the big toe of the right foot placed on the left thigh, and one’s left
hand the big toe of the left foot resting on the right thigh (RB, p. 897, 25–7). This pos-
ture is elsewhere called the “bound lotus posture” (baddhapadmāsana).
̣
213 A similar description appears in Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 1.71.
214 The feet are crossed: the right ankle is on the left side, and the left ankle on the right
side, of the perineum (RB, p. 898, 10).
215 RB, p. 898, 18 explains that the feet are placed at the root of the thighs of the same leg.
The palms of the hands are turned upwards.
216 Previously the ratios were 16 – 64 – 32 for inhalation, retention and exhalation. The
reverse order would be 32 – 64 – 16.
̣
217 For a similar statement, see Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 3.22–3.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 227

23) The forceful disengagement of the sense organs, which move unrest-
rainedly among the [sense] objects, from these [latter] is called the withdrawal
[of the senses] ( pratyāhāra).218
24–5) The fixing of the prān ̣a wind, according to the [proper] procedure, on
the big toes, the ankles, the knees, the thighs,219 the perineum, the penis, the
navel, the areas of the heart, neck [and] throat, on the soft palate, then the
nose, on the centre of the eyebrows, on the head,220 on [the upper part of]221
the head [and] on the dvādaśānta [i.e. the brahmarandhra]222 is called fixation
(dhāran ̣ā).
26) Meditation (dhyāna) on one’s chosen deities with a concentrated mind,
which abides within the [supreme] consciousness, is called in this context med-
itation (dhyāna).223
27) The sages call absorption (samādhi) the constant contemplation
(bhāvanā) of the identity of the individual Self and the supreme Self.224
[Thus] the characteristics of the eight-limbed [ yoga] are stated.
28) The body, which has a length of ninety-six finger breadths, consists of
both.225 They know the kanda226 to be two finger breadths between anus and
penis.227
29) It shines in the form of a circle measuring twice its [breadth] [i.e. four
fingers in diameter].228 In it the channels (nād ̣ī) originate. The three principal
[channels]229 are stated [as follows]:
.
30) The channel [called] id ̣ā is situated on the left; the pingalā is held to be
on the right. The channel [called] susumn ̣ ̣ā, located between the two, lies in the
backbone.

̣
218 A similar verse appears in Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 3.58.
219 PS 19.52d lists the anus (guda) instead.
̣
220 PS 19.53c specifies lalātāgra, the upper portion of the forehead; cf. also RB, p. 900, 9,
who explains the “head” as the place where the forehead and the hair meet.
221 Cf. PS 19.53cd and RB, p. 900, 9–10. The brahmarandhra, the “opening of brahman”,
is a small opening on the top of the skull near the fontanel; its name is based on a belief
expressed in the older Upanis ̣ads that it is a place from which the ātman can leave the
body to unite with the brahman.
222 RB identifies the dvādaśānta (a place at the distance of twelve fingers) as the brahmar-
andhra, the “opening of brahman”. Verses 24 to 25 enumerate sixteen body parts,
based on the list of fifteen places called sthānas in PS 19.52cd–53 (there the throat
̣
is omitted). Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 3.62–4 lists eighteen almost identical places as the
“vital points” (marmasthāna); for a somewhat different list of eighteen
marmasthānas, see Triśikhibrāhman ̣a-Upanis ̣ad 2.129cd–133ab. These places are else-
where called “supports” (ādhāra); cf. the reference in verse 33.
223 RB, p. 901, 15 calls this the “filled” meditation.
̣
224 For a similar definition, see Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 4.59 and 6.59cd.
225 RB, pp. 901, 29–902, 9, basing himself on the first chapter of the ŚT, offers the follow-
ing possible explanations of what the two entities might be: Śiva and Śakti, fire and the
moon, or semen and blood.
226 The kanda (“bulbous root”, especially of a lotus), more specifically known as the kan-
dayoni elsewhere, is a structure named after its shape, above which the kun ̣d ̣alinī rests
and from which the nād ̣īs emerge.
̣
227 For a similar statement, see Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 2.10.
̣
228 The size is confirmed by a statement in Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 2.11.
229 ŚT 1.42 further lists seven secondary channels.
228 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

̣
31) The [susumn ̣ā] moves in both big toes, through the two roots,230 and then
through the head [until it] reaches the brahman’s place [i.e. the brahmarandhra],
having [throughout] the form of the moon, the sun and fire.
32) Located in its centre is the channel called citrā, dear to Yogins. They
know, inside of it [i.e. in the citrā],231 the brahmarandhra,232 the supreme,
which resembles a string of lotuses.233
33) And they know the ādhāras234 in the [susumn ̣ ̣ā], [variously] manifold
depending on different opinions.
This they call the divine path, the cause of the bliss of immortality.
.
34) The moon certainly moves in the id ̣ā, the sun in the pingalā. These two,
for their part, are known to be inside the susumn ̣ ̣ā by those who know the pri-
mary cause of [their] union.
35) The knowers of the Āgamas describe an extremely beautiful triangle
located inside the kanda in the ādhāra;235 [it is] the divine abode of the
[three] lights [i.e. the sun, the moon and fire].
36) In it the kun ̣d ̣alī,236 the supreme deity, throbs in the form of a streak
of lightning, the core of everything, having a form similar to a sleeping
serpent.
37) The kun ̣d ̣alī Śakti abides in the haṃsah ̣ [and] supports the [individual]
Self. The haṃsah ̣ always depends on the prān ̣a; the prān ̣a depends on the chan-
nels (nād ̣ī).237
38–9ab) Since the wind, which moves out from the ādhāra, pervading the
body of all beings, makes [its] departure ( prayān ̣a) [to] the outside, as is its
nature, through its own channels – to a distance of twelve fingers – therefore
it is called prān ̣a.238

230 RB, p. 902, 12 glosses śiphābhyām as mūlābhyām. The two roots may be the kanda (cf.
verse 28) and the mūlādhāra.
231 See Śiva-Saṃhitā 2.18 and 5.160 for a similar statement.
232 The term seems to refer here to a channel called brahmanād ̣ī or brahmarandhra.
233 The citrā, also called the citrin ̣ī, is inside the susumn ̣ ̣ā. It is in fact the citrā which
̣
resembles a string of lotuses, since the lotuses are strung on it (cf. S ̣atcakranirūpan ̣a,
verse 2).
234 Ādhāra means literally “support”. The term seems to include certain places in the
̣
susumn ̣ā (including the energy centres called wheels [cakra] or lotuses); cf. verse 64
and also the sixteen places listed in verses 24–5. RB, p. 902, 13 notes that different
authorities specify the number of ādhāras as twelve, sixteen or many. His list, quoting
an unidentified source, includes the six energy centres (RB, pp. 902, 14–903, 16; cf.
̣
also K, p. 37, 12–16 on S ̣atcakranirūpan ̣a, verse 33).
235 I.e., the mūlādhāracakra.
236 The kun ̣d ̣alī or kun ̣d ̣alinī (derived from the word kun ̣d ̣ala – “a ring, coil”) is energy in
the form of a coiled serpent.
237 Haṃsah ̣ is the sound of exhalation and inhalation produced by the individual Self. The
following verse explains how prān ̣a depends on the nād ̣īs. It moves from the
.
mūlādhāra up and out through its nād ̣īs, i.e. through the īd ̣ā and the pingalā channels,
which terminate in the nostrils.
238 For a similar statement, see Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ̣ hitā 2.7. Goraks ̣aśataka 40 also derives the
word prān ̣a from prayān ̣a.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 229

39cd–40ab) The Yogin, having assumed a posture on a comfortable, soft seat,

which is pure [and] overspread with a cloth, a deerskin and kuśa [grass],239 will
doubtless be devoted to the yoga path.
40cd–41ab) The wise man, having come to know of the methodical arising of
the elements in the body through [the action of] the prān ̣a wind should repeat
[the syllable240 corresponding to] each element to obtain firmness of body.
41cd–42) The course of the earth [element] is in the shape of [i.e. passes
along] the bridge [of the nose], [and] that of the water [element], down the
two nostrils. The upward course belongs to fire; horizontal is [the course] of
the wind. [The course] of ether would [then] be in the centre [of the nostrils].
[Thus] the arising of the elements is laid down.
43–4) When the earth [element] arises, the knower of the [individual]
Self should perform [the rites of] immobilization [and] subjection; the rites of
appeasement [and] prosperity when water [arises]; when fire [arises], [the rites
of] liquidation, etc.; when wind [arises], [the rite of] eradicating opponents,
etc.; while [the rite of] destroying by poison, etc.241 is prescribed when ether
[arises].
45–7ab) The attentive [Yogin], having blocked the sense organs firmly
with [his] fingers – having firmly blocked both ears with the thumbs, [his]
eyes with the index fingers, [his] nostrils with the middle fingers, [his] mouth
with the others – [and] recalling the identity of the [individual] Self, the
prān ̣a and the mind, should retain the wind properly. This yoga is dear to
Yogins.242
47cd) With gradual practice, the inner sound (nāda) will slowly arise.
48) The initial sound is like the humming of an intoxicated female bee; the
following [sound] is similar to the sound of a flute filled with wind from the
mouth of a flute player.
49–50ab) Afterwards [the sound] is similar to the sound of a bell [or] like the
roaring of dense clouds.243 For a man who practises in this way, unprecedented
knowledge arises, which destroys the darkness of worldly existence, is undecay-
ing [and] is characterized by haṃ and sah ̣.
50cd) The bindu and [vi]sarga are said by wise men to be identical with
̣
[respectively] male ( puṃs) and female ( prakrti).
51) From these two came into being haṃ and sah ̣ [respectively] one after the
other, [the first] ending in a bindu, and [the second in] a [vi]sarga. They are
called the male and the female: haṃ is male and sah ̣ is female.244

239 The cloth is placed on top and the kuśa grass below the deerskin. See also Bhagavadgītā
6.11cd: cailājinakuśottaram.
240 The syllable of the earth element is laṃ, vaṃ is the syllable of water, raṃ of fire, yaṃ of
wind and haṃ of ether.
̣
241 The variant reading ksudra, a technical term, gives the meaning “an evil (magical act)”.
̣
242 For a similar description, see Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 3.37–8.
243 The ŚT describes only four sounds; RB, p. 905, 14–23 (quoting two texts),
Matsyendrasaṃhitā 4.17–4.19ab and some other sources list ten sounds; see the discus-
sion in Vasudeva (2004: 273–80).
244 For a similar statement, see PS 4.17–19.
230 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

52) The two define the ajapā [Gāyatrī] [i.e. the haṃsah ̣ mantra],245 which the
[individual] Self approaches.246 The female ( prakrti) ̣ eternally resorts to the
̣ considering [him her] refuge.
male ( purusa),
53) When [ajapā] reaches [a state of] identification with the [two], then it [i.e.
the ajapā] becomes so ’haṃ.247 Having elided the letter s [and] the letter h [in so
’haṃ] furthermore, one should connect [what remains] according to the
pūrvarūpa248 [rule]. This then becomes the pran ̣ava [i.e. oṃ].249
54) The Yogin should always contemplate the pran ̣ava, which partakes
of supreme bliss [and] is eternal, whose one self-defining quality is
[supreme] knowledge250 [and] which abides in [its] identity with the [supreme]
Self.
55) Those who are good, being firmly established in the Self, behold the Self,
the primeval, which is extremely remote from the words of the Vedas [and]
which can be known in virtue of its being cognizable to itself – an ocean con-
taining wholly the elixir of bliss; that whose nature is tāra [i.e. oṃ].
56) Persons of merit, those who have restrained [their] sense organs, behold
the Self, [which is] the inner supreme consciousness; the truth; the uncaused; the
origin of the words of the Vedas; the cause of the worlds; that which embraces
[both] the stationary and the mobile; the incomparable one; whose form is [lumi-
nous like] the sun, fire and the moon; as that whose nature is tāra [i.e. oṃ]; the
eternal; [and] the abode of the quality of eternal bliss.
57) Worship that supreme light,251 which is apprehended through the seven
parts of tāra,252 which cannot be understood by measurements / means of
knowledge, is constantly sought after in the Upanis ̣ads, pervades everything
in the form of consciousness, is imperishable, firm [and] an ocean of concen-
trated nectar.253
58) They worship the golden purusa, ̣ [who is] the root of the trimūrti
[i.e. Brahmā, Vis ̣n ̣u and Śiva]; radiant; variegated; the seed of the Vedas,

245 The sound haṃ-sah ̣, that of, respectively, exhalation and inhalation, is known as the
“non-recitation” (ajapā) Gāyatrī.
246 Cf. RB, p. 906, 20, who gives the synonym ārādhayati.
247 The syllables of the haṃsah ̣ mantra reversed become so ’haṃ (“He am I”), after appli-
cation of the saṃdhi rule according to which the final ah ̣ of sah ̣ becomes o (see Pān ̣ini
.
6.1.109 enah ̣ padāntād ati, quoted by RB, p. 906, 26). The words “He am I” refer to the
supreme Self.
248 The s of so is elided and so is the h of haṃ. Then pūrvarūpa is applied. This gramma-
tical term signifies the substitution of a letter for itself and the following letter (or, in
other words, the reduction of two successive letters to the first of them).
Accordingly, the vowel o takes the place of itself and of the following vowel a. The
final word after the combination of the o with the ṃ is oṃ.
249 Cf. the similar statement in PS 4.19cd–21.
250 RB, p. 907, 11 explains caitanyam as jñānam.
251 The light which contains nectar may here be the seventeenth digit of the moon, the
nirvān ̣a kalā, inside the sixteenth digit known as the amā kalā. Both are crescent-
̣
shaped; cf. the description in S ̣atcakranirūpan ̣a 42–8.
252 The seven parts of oṃ are a, u, m, bindu, nāda, śakti and śānta (cf. PS 2.60cd–61ab,
19.43 and RB, p. 907, 27).
253 A similar verse is found in ŚT 6.67.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 231

etc.; the size of a thumb; pure consciousness; [and who] resides in the solar
disc.254
59) They meditate on [Vis ̣n ̣u] as reclining upon the coil of a serpent in the
Milk Ocean – [as] the primeval one – whose companion is Kamalā [Laks ̣mī];
whose lotus-like eyes are dilated; [and] who has the [dark] lustre of collyrium,
the four-faced [Brahmā] having taken refuge on the lotus [growing from his]
navel.
60) The blessed ones behold the eternal being ( purān ̣apurusa), ̣ 255 whose feet
are praised by the Vedas, who is dark like a [rain] cloud, who holds the śrīvatsa,
the kaustubha, the mace, the lotus, the conch and the wheel,256 whose abode is
the lotus of the heart, [and] who is the single root of the worlds.
61) From the bindu257 the nāda arises, [and] once the nāda comes into being
tāra, the body of the enemy of [Tri]pura [i.e. Śiva] [can become] the cause of the
worlds. May [that body] protect you, that which has the constituents (tattva)258
as [its] lotus-like face; which is endowed with many arms that equate to the syl-
lables [of the alphabet]; whose [additional]259 four faces are the Vedas; which is
the root of bliss; [and] which is flooded with a mass of divine nectar streaming
from the moon digit on [its] diadem.
62) The “solid mass” ( pin ̣d ̣a)260 is doubtlessly the kun ̣d ̣alinī, equivalent to
Śiva; the “position” ( pada), on the other hand, is doubtlessly the haṃsah ̣,261
the inner Self of all. The “form” (rūpa) is doubtlessly the bindu of infinite lustre;
the blissful union (sāmarasya) with Śiva is “form transcended” (atītarūpa).262
63) Those who are good speak of the union with the pin ̣d ̣a and the others,263
through blissful union [with Śiva], as the [type of] union that produces a seed
(sabījayoga). The dissolution into Śiva, who is endowed with the quality of
being eternal, [they call] the [type of] union that produces no seed
(nirbījayoga), [that is, the type] which is indifferent to rewards.
64) One should think of this kun ̣d ̣alī, the chief queen of the great serpent
awake in the root [cakra], as moving in the susumn ̣ ̣ā, as quickly piercing

̣
254 Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 4.49 describes the golden purusạ in the solar disc as an object for the
“meditation with attributes” (sagun ̣adhyāna).
255 The eternal being ( purān ̣apurusa) ̣ has already been mentioned in verse 3.
256 This description is somewhat unspecific. The iconographic form is most likely a four-
armed Vis ̣n ̣u bearing the śrīvatsa mark, wearing the kaustubha gem and holding a
mace, lotus, conch and a wheel in his hands (cf. PS 37 and ŚT 59).
257 I.e. the drop [of energy]. RB, p. 909, 13–4 states that it equates to Śiva and is the nasal
sound of oṃ.
258 RB, p. 909, 14 specifies the number of constituents here as twenty-four, not twenty-five
(as in his commentary, p. 916, 13 on ŚT 25.87).
259 I assume that the author had a five-headed form in mind, whose central head is made up
of the constituents and whose other four heads are the Vedas.
260 RB, p. 909, 15 explains pin ̣d ̣a as the pran ̣ava (oṃ), because it consists of a-u-m.
261 Cf. the statement in verse 37.
262 The terms pin ̣d ̣a, pada, rūpa and rūpātīta refer to four stages of creation (cf., e.g.,
Goudriaan and Gupta in Gupta, Hoens and Goudriaan 1979: 61, 178). These four are
also said to correspond to four cakras: pin ̣d ̣a to mūlādhāra, pada to anāhata, rūpa
to ājñā and rūpātīta to sahasrāra.
263 Cf. verse 62, which refers to pin ̣d ̣a, pada, rūpa and atītarūpa.
232 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

through the group of ādhāras264 like a blazing lightning [bolt], as worshipping

[her] husband with streams of divine nectar flowing from the lunar disc located
in the etheric lotus,265 [and] as returning to [her] house.266
65) Śakti, the kun ̣d ̣alinī, the mother of all, should be meditated upon as emer-
ging from her own [i.e. mūla-]ādhāra, and as having taken in hand that
haṃsah ̣,267 which is eternal, infinite [and] of imperishable qualities, [and
then] going to Śaṃbhu’s [i.e. Śiva’s] residence, [and] after herself experiencing
supreme bliss with him, returning to her own abode [i.e. the mūlādhāra] – she
who has the lustre of ten million suns [and] who beguiles the world.
66) Venerable Śakti, the kun ̣d ̣alinī, having led the unmanifest supreme
bindu268 of elegant lustre to Śiva’s abode, should be meditated upon, [she]
whose form [embodies] the three qualities,269 who resembles a streak of light-
ning, who – having beheld this city located inside the nectar of bliss, which
[city] shines like ten million moons and suns – goes to her own city [i.e. the
mūlādhāra]; [she] who by virtue of the qualities is spotless.
67) We worship the supreme deity, who, having on the way passed beyond
the mass of sounds270 produced from the agitation [caused by] the fusion of
the two winds [ prān ̣a and apāna], ascends into the light271 that shines with
the lustre of ten million lightning [bolts], [the deity] who is red like the fresh
javā/japā [flower], red lead and the dawn, who has reached the supreme Śiva
[and] who partakes of the concentrated nectar of bliss.
68) May that kun ̣d ̣alī, who moves between going and coming, bestow the
fruits of yoga. When she has ascended, this [kun ̣d ̣alinī] is a wish-[granting]
family272 cow [and] a wish-[granting] creeper for those who worship [her].
69) One should meditate on the deity who abides in the bindu inside the Śakti
located in the [mūla-]ādhāra [triangle],273 who resembles an awn of wild rice [in
shape], who ascends to the centre of the bow [i.e. the area between the eye-
brows],274 who partakes of eternal bliss, who has sprinkled the six lotuses

264 For the term ādhāra, see verse 33.

265 The reference is to the thousand-petalled (sahasradala) lotus, also called the thousand-
spoked wheel (sahasrāracakra), on top of the head (cf. RB, p. 909, 26), which is added
to the list of six cakras, but often not included as one of them. ŚT 25.69c and 77b
clearly refers to the six cakras/lotuses.
266 I.e. to the mūlādhāra (RB, p. 909, 27).
267 The haṃsa, the wild goose, is a symbol of the individual Self. The individual Self
( jīvātman) utters haṃ-sah ̣ with each exhalation and inhalation (cf. also RB, p. 910, 17).
268 Cf. the statement about the bindu in verse 62.
269 The three qualities are said to form her three coils (valaya), cf. ŚT 5.128c. According to
Śiva-Saṃhitā 2.23 and 5.79, the kun ̣d ̣alinī has three and a half coils, while
̣
Vasis ̣tha-Saṃ hitā 2.16 and Goraks ̣aśataka 30 refer to an eightfold coil.
270 I.e. śabdarāśi, the mass or totality of sounds, a stage of phonetic emanation associated
with the mūlādhāra. This stanza describes the kun ̣d ̣alinī’s ascent from the mūlādhāra.
271 This is a reference to the supreme Śiva.
272 The word kula has multiple meanings and can also refer to Śakti.
273 RB offers two possible interpretations. First he states that śakti is the triangle in the
mūlādhāra, inside of which is the dot (bindu), which is the abode of the kun ̣d ̣alinī
(RB, p. 911, 13–4). Alternatively, inside the triangle in the mūlādhāra is the seed syl-
lable of Kāma, also known as the śakti seed syllable. Its nasal is the bindu, which is the
kun ̣d ̣alinī’s abode (RB, p. 911, 14–21).
274 RB, p. 911, 23 explains that this is the ājñācakra in between the eyebrows.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 233

according to proper procedure with showers of excellent streaming nectar which

grant knowledge, who has the [red] lustre of a shining bandhujīva [flower, and]
who is full of knowledge.
70) One of pure mind should meditate on the venerable woman who abides in
the solar disc of the heart lotus; who rivals a streak of lightning [in brightness],
who dispels the darkness with [her] lustre, red like the rising sun; who goes to
the place, called nāda,275 curved like the half moon; who is full of knowledge
[and] is eternal; [and] who has imperishable form [and] rules over the [three]
lights [i.e. the sun, the moon and fire].
71) One should meditate on Ambikā properly, with unperturbed mind – [she]
who is full of knowledge, who in [i.e. by virtue of her] forehead276 defeats the
full moon, who sprinkles the god [Śiva] with profuse nectar having the [white]
lustre of snow and a pearl necklace, who delights the body, who is the mother of
syllables, [and] who abides, having pervaded everything with her form.
72) May the primeval mother, the deity partaking of speech, whose form [is
full of] the syllables that shine in the root [centre], on the forehead and in the
heart,277 bestow unimpaired prosperity on you – the great lady, the middle of
whose body is bent down under the burden of [her] fleshy high breasts, [and]
whose limbs are sprinkled with nectar streaming in abundance over each cakra.
73) May that deity, kun ̣d ̣alī, ascending with graceful movements from her
home abode, having cast a sweet smile on the lotuses pathway after pathway,
increase the lustre of the Self with nectar from Śiva’s house, she who has the
lustre of the rising sun.
74) May Śiva’s consort, the kun ̣d ̣alinī, raised by means of such practices
(kriyā) as the ādhārabandha,278 [she] who worships Śiva, the seed of the
three abodes,279 with nectar, bestow auspiciousness on you.
75) May Śaṃbhu’s wife bestow infinite prosperity – [she] who resembles a
heap of red lead [in colour], [bears] the moon digit as [her] head ornament,
whose face shines with three eyes filled with bliss, who is bent by [her] slightly
fleshy high breasts, [and] who is the source280 of sexual desire.
76) May Umāpati’s wife shine in [your] heart – [she] who adorns the direc-
tions with [her three] lotus-like eyes, which are both wide and narrow;281 whose

275 RB, p. 911, 25 seems to read nātha (“lord”), instead of nāda. K, p. 48, 18–9 on
̣
S ̣atcakranirūpan ̣a, verse 39, speaks about the nāda in the form of a half moon, which
is one of the seven causal forms (kāran ̣arūpa). These are bindu, bodhinī, nāda,
mahānāda, kalā añjī, samanī and unmanī. The first three are considered to be the
three causal forms and aspects of Śakti: above the ājñā energy centre there is the
bindu, identical with Śiva; above it is the Śakti bodhinī, having the shape of half a
mora; this is followed by the nāda, which consists of the union of Śiva and Śakti
and is like a half moon.
276 This is a reference to the ājñācakra; cf. RB, p. 911, 27.
277 The three places [lotuses or wheels] are described one by one in the preceding verses
69–71.
278 The (mūla-)ādhārabandha is probably identical with the mūlabandha, the root lock, a
yoga practice to awaken the kun ̣d ̣alinī.
279 The three abodes are the sun, the moon and fire (cf. RB, p. 45, 26).
. .
280 RB, p. 912, 23 glosses anangatantram as anangapradhānam.
281 RB, p. 912, 24 explains that the eyes appear wide because of their side-long glances and
narrow due to the goddess’s bashfulness about her glances.
234 GUDRUN BÜHNEMANN

lotus-like feet are rubbed by the tips of the diadems of the gods as they bow
down; who bears the digit of the waxing moon [on her head]; who has round
pitcher-like breasts; [and] who has the [red] lustre of the bandhūka [flower].
77) May the supreme deity of the three worlds bestow joy in [your] mind –
[she] who pierces those centres of the six cakras in sequence, which [centres] are
surrounded by the syllables, divided into [groups of] four, six, ten, twelve, six-
teen and two, which [syllables] begin with a, include ksạ and ha282 [or else]
begin with sa, etc. [in reverse order]; these [cakras] are sought refuge in by
Ḍākinī and the others, [and] frequented by deities, [namely] Brahmā and the
others.
78) One should contemplate Śiva’s consort, whose body is adorned with the
circles [= coils?] of the [three] gun ̣as,283 who emerges from the [mūla-]ādhāra
quickly, who [then] pierces the lotuses, who is full of intelligence, dense bliss
and knowledge, who pours out streams of nectar that flow forth from the
moon in the agitated [but] unmoved sphere/disc (dhruvaman ̣d ̣ala),284 [and]
who has the form of a dazzling lightning [bolt].
79) May the form of Ambikā always bestow auspicious [things] – [a form]
which is crowned by bliss, which is constantly sought after in the Upanis ̣ads,
which [bears] the half moon as [its head] ornament, presides over the whole
world, which is attentive to dispelling [its] devotees’ suffering, [and] which is
the seat of Īśvara.
80) I turn to the left, [female] half [of the body] of Maheśitr ̣[i.e. of the andro-
gynous Śiva], which displays soft tinkling anklets, which is the origin of the
worlds, [and] which is also the origin of words.
81) We continuously turn to Maheśitr’ṣ [female] half, which is as radiant as a
big sapphire, is bent down under the burden of [her] breast; whose beauty is
shared by multitudes of shiningly beautiful ornaments; which is the sole root
of the universe; [and] which is constantly sought after in the Upanis ̣ads.
82) The Yogin attains the fruit of yoga easily, which is always shining [and]
devoid of activity, for he has shut down all sense organs [and] with a steady

282 Ha and ksạ are the two final syllables of the alphabet. The fifty syllables of the alphabet
are inscribed on the petals of the six lotuses, one syllable on each petal, in the following
way (cf. ŚT 5.130cd–135 and also RB, p. 913, 18–12; different texts show variants):

Lotus Petals Syllables Deity <Yoginī >

mūlādhāra 4 va-sa Brahmā Ḍākinī
svādhisṭ hāna
̣ 6 ba-la Vis ̣n ̣u Rākin ̣ī
man ̣ipūra 10 d ̣a-pha Rudra Lākinī
anāhata 12 ka-thạ Īśvara Śākinī
viśuddhi 16 16 vowels Sadāśiva Kākinī
ājñā 2 ha and ksạ Śiva Hākinī
For a discussion of the correspondences between the lotuses and the Yoginīs according
to different traditions, see Kiss 2009: 78–9.
283 RB, pp. 914, 28–915, 17 understands gun ̣avrtta ̣ differently. He explains it as referring
to the circle inside the triangle in the root cakra. The qualities (gun ̣a) are sattva, rajas
̣
and tamas (cf. verse 66). K, p. 61, 7 on S ̣atcakranirūpan ̣a, verse 49 quotes an unidenti-
fied source according to which the circle is the kun ̣d ̣alinī Śakti, endowed with the three
qualities.
284 I.e. the thousand-petalled (sahasradala) lotus; cf. verse 64.
 THE ŚĀRADĀTILAKATANTRA ON YOGA 235

mind caused the Self to merge into the supreme Śiva, who is devoid of place,
time, etc., who has the nature of pure consciousness, who is void [of attributes,
and] who is without support [i.e. self-supported], having dissolved the group of
five causes.285
83) I bow to that Mahābala,286 who is cooled by the embrace of the creeper of
knowledge, by whom the ripe “Fruit of Liberation” (Muktiphala) has been
offered from the branches of the Veda [tree] to those who approach [him].
84) From that [Mahābala] was born the most excellent elephant among all
teachers, who habitually sported playfully in the ocean of the six rites (of
magic) (sat ̣ karmasāgara),
̣ 287 whose victorious title Ācārya-Pan
̣d ̣ita, spread out
over the triple world, good people proclaim.
85) His son was Śrīkrṣ ̣n ̣a, a teacher of teachers [and a man] of elevated power,
by bathing in the nectar of compassion of whose feet those who are [so] blessed
enjoy supreme prosperity.
86) Of that lord, who possessed an ācārya’s wealth of knowledge,
Laks ̣man ̣adeśikendra [was] the son, who obtained great fame in all [branches
of] knowledge (vidyā) and all [performing] arts (kalā).
87) This wise man here composed the Tantra named the illustrious “Forehead
mark of Śāradā” (Śāradātilaka), taking the complete essence from all the
Āgamas [and making the number of] chapters [the same as] the number of con-
stituents (tattva) [i.e. twenty-five], with the object of long giving joy to learned
[people].
88) May the wife of Śaṃkara, who is without beginning and end, be [mindful
of] your prosperity, who with [her] body, whose [one] half is merged into the
body of Śaṃbhu, regularly creates the form of the worlds and the worshipful
speech (i.e. the Veda) of true meaning, who is bent down under the burden of
[her] breasts, namely words and [their] meaning, [and] who extinguishes the
flood of suffering that occurs in worldly existence.
89) [May] Pārvatī always [be] pleased with [my] offering of the flower of
[this] literary work, [she] who grants us happiness, is favourable to donors,
[and] whose body is half Śaṃkara.
Thus [ends] the twenty-fifth chapter in the illustrious Śāradātilaka.

285 The five causes are specified in RB’s commentary, p. 915, 19–21 as upādāna,
samavāyin, nimitta, prayojaka and sahakārin.
286 Mahābala is the name of the author’s great-grandfather, author of the work titled
Muktiphala.
287 It is uncertain whether this statement also refers to a work entitled “The ocean of the six
rites”.