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Rudrayāmala Uttara Tantra
A Yāmala of the Vidyāpīṭha, a Śākta compendium of the eastern schools, and a title cited far more often than it can be found — the text the Vijñāna Bhairava names as its source.
Few titles are quoted more often in tantric Sanskrit than the Rudrayāmala, and few are harder to hold. Abhinavagupta cites it; Jayaratha cites it; the Bengali Śākta digests cite it constantly; the Vijñāna Bhairava names it as its own parent. The book that now circulates under the name will not account for most of what is credited to it — and that discrepancy is itself one of the more instructive facts about how this literature travelled.
What a yāmala isयामल
Yāmala means a pair, a couple, a union; the ordinary Sanskrit word for twins stands beside it. A Yāmala tantra is revelation arising from the union of Rudra and his Śakti rather than from Śiva alone, and the consequence is formal as well as doctrinal. Texts of this class are dialogues throughout — Bhairava and the Goddess in alternating question and answer, neither of them merely the audience. The teaching that Śakti and the possessor of Śakti are never separate is, in a Yāmala, a statement about the shape of the book as much as about the nature of things.
Within the Bhairava stream the Yāmalas belong to the Vidyāpīṭha, the goddess-centred half of the revelation, and the canonical lists count eight of them — a yāmalāṣṭaka. Which eight varies from source to source. Brahmayāmala, Viṣṇuyāmala, Rudrayāmala, Skandayāmala, Ruruyāmala, Vetālayāmala, Svacchandayāmala, Ātharvaṇayāmala are among the names that recur, in shifting combinations and sometimes with others in their place. As with the twenty-eight Āgamas and the sixty-four Bhairava tantras, the number describes how the tradition conceived its canon rather than what can be counted on a shelf.
One Yāmala survives in something close to its early form, and it shows what the class was. The Brahmayāmala, also called the Picumata, is preserved in a Nepalese palm-leaf manuscript copied in the eleventh century, and it is uncompromising: its deity is Kapālīśabhairava with the goddess Caṇḍā Kāpālinī, its practitioner carries the skull-staff and the skull-bowl, and its rites belong squarely to the cremation ground and the cult of the yoginīs. That is the world the Yāmalas came out of — older, fiercer and far more concretely ritual than the philosophical Trika that grew from the same soil.
Two Rudrayāmalas
The Rudrayāmala that the Kashmirian authors knew is not extant. Abhinavagupta and Jayaratha quote a text of that name; later digests quote it at length; and no manuscript answering to those quotations has been identified. What does survive, printed repeatedly in Calcutta and Varanasi since the later nineteenth century, is the Rudrayāmala Uttara Tantra — the "latter" Rudrayāmala, a long Śākta work whose language, cast of goddesses and ritual assumptions place it in eastern India and centuries after the Kashmirian citations. Estimates of its date differ and none is secure; few would put its present shape earlier than the fifteenth or sixteenth century, and portions of it are probably later still.
What the Uttara Tantra contains
None of that makes the surviving text uninteresting. It is a substantial and wide-ranging Śākta compendium, and it is one of the places where a reader can watch several currents run together.
- Mantroddhāraमन्त्रोद्धार · extraction
- The drawing-out of mantras from a lettered diagram. The syllables are not simply given; they are extracted from a grid by a stated procedure, so that a mantra arrives as an operation rather than as a word. A great deal of the text is taken up with this, and it is the most technical thing in it.
- The Goddess
- Tārā above all, but also Kālī, Bhairavī and material belonging to the Śrīvidyā, together with the hymns, protective kavacas and thousand-name litanies that attend them. The theology is that of the Mahāvidyās, the eastern Śākta cult of the ten great goddesses — one of the clearest indications that the text as we have it is not an early Kashmirian Vidyāpīṭha work.
- Cīnācāraचीनाचार · the way of Mahācīna
- The text carries the well-known story of Vasiṣṭha, who fails to propitiate Tārā by orthodox austerity, is directed to Mahācīna, and finds there a teaching conducted in wine and flesh and the company of women, which he is made to accept before he can succeed. It is one of the tradition's own accounts of why a transgressive rite exists at all, and it is largely through this text that the story is known.
- The subtle body
- The channels, the centres, the ascent of kuṇḍalinī, the retention and movement of breath. This is the material that made the book useful far outside its own school, and it is the physiology that the breath teachings assume throughout.
- Yoga and observance
- Long stretches on posture, prāṇāyāma and mudrā, on the discipline and the grades of the practitioner, and on initiation, the qualifications of the guru, and the calendrical and domestic ritual of a Śākta household.
A conduit
The Uttara Tantra's real historical importance is as a channel. Material passed through it into compilations that had a far wider circulation than any Vidyāpīṭha scripture ever enjoyed — the Bengali Śākta digests, the ritual handbooks that depend on them, and from there into the printed devotional literature of the nineteenth century and after. A very large number of hymns, armours and mantra-prescriptions in ordinary use carry a colophon assigning them to the Rudrayāmala. Some of them are in the printed Uttara Tantra. Many are not, and were attached to the name for the authority it conferred.
That is worth stating plainly rather than treating as a scandal. Attribution in this literature is a claim about lineage and legitimacy, not a bibliographical statement, and a tradition which holds that its scriptures are fragments of an unbounded revelation has no difficulty at all with the idea that a teaching may be from the Rudrayāmala without being in any particular copy of it. The historian's problem and the tradition's self-understanding are simply not the same problem, and the honest course is to keep them apart.
The Vijñāna Bhairava's claim
The most consequential of these attributions is the Vijñāna Bhairava's. Its colophons place it within the Rudrayāmala and the tradition has always cited it so: one hundred and twelve dhāraṇās, a dialogue between Bhairava and the Goddess, presented as an extract drawn from the greater Yāmala.
What the claim is worth needs care in both directions. It cannot be verified, because the Rudrayāmala it refers to is lost; and it cannot be refuted from the surviving Uttara Tantra, which does not contain the Vijñāna Bhairava and is in any case too late to be the text meant. But the Vijñāna Bhairava's own antiquity does not rest on the attribution. It was known and quoted in Kashmir in the tenth and eleventh centuries; Kṣemarāja began a commentary on it, the Uddyota, which breaks off after the opening verses; and Śivopādhyāya completed the exegesis long afterwards with his Vivṛti. The text stands on that evidence whatever its parentage.
What the attribution does tell us is what its transmitters took its pedigree to be, and the choice is exact. A Yāmala is revelation issuing from the union of the two; and the Vijñāna Bhairava's opening argument, before it reaches a single practice, is that Śakti and the holder of Śakti are never in fact two, so that to enter Śakti is to enter Bhairava. A text that begins there names as its source the one class of scripture defined by precisely that union. Whether or not the descent is historical, the claim is doctrinally well judged — and that, in a tradition where lineage is a statement of what a teaching is, is not a trivial thing to have got right.
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योषिद्वामभुजे धृत्वा सर्वकल्याणमालभेत् | बहुपुत्रान्विता कान्ता सर्वसम्पत्तिसंयुता
yoṣidvāmabhuje dhṛtvā sarvakalyāṇamālabhet | bahuputrānvitā kāntā sarvasampattisaṃyutā
तथाश्रीपुरुषश्रेष्ठो दक्षिणे धारयेद् भुजे | एहिके दिव्यदेहः स्यात् पञ्चाननसमप्रभः
tathāśrīpuruṣaśreṣṭho dakṣiṇe dhārayed bhuje | ehike divyadehaḥ syāt pañcānanasamaprabhaḥ
शिवलोके परे याति वायुवेगी निरामयः | सूर्यमण्डलमाभेद्य परं लोकमवाप्नुयात्
śivaloke pare yāti vāyuvegī nirāmayaḥ | sūryamaṇḍalamābhedya paraṃ lokamavāpnuyāt
लोकानामतिसौख्यदं भयहरं श्रीपादभक्तिप्रद | मोक्षार्थं कवचं शुभं प्रपठतामानन्दसिन्धूद्भवम् | पार्थानां कलिकालघोरकलुषध्वंसैकहेतुं जय | ये नाम प्रपठन्ति धर्ममतुलं मोक्षं व्रजन्ति क्षणात्
lokānāmatisaukhyadaṃ bhayaharaṃ śrīpādabhaktiprada | mokṣārthaṃ kavacaṃ śubhaṃ prapaṭhatāmānandasindhūdbhavam | pārthānāṃ kalikālaghorakaluṣadhvaṃsaikahetuṃ jaya | ye nāma prapaṭhanti dharmamatulaṃ mokṣaṃ vrajanti kṣaṇāt
वद कान्ते सदानन्दस्वरूपानन्दवल्लभे | कुमार्या देवतामुख्याः परमानन्दवर्धनम्
vada kānte sadānandasvarūpānandavallabhe | kumāryā devatāmukhyāḥ paramānandavardhanam
अष्टोत्तरसहस्राख्यं नाम मङ्गलमद्भुतम् | यदि मे वर्तते विद्ये यदि स्नेहकलामला
aṣṭottarasahasrākhyaṃ nāma maṅgalamadbhutam | yadi me vartate vidye yadi snehakalāmalā
तदा वदस्व कौमारीकृतकर्मफलप्रदम् | महास्तोत्रं कोटिकोटि कन्यादानफलं भवेत्
tadā vadasva kaumārīkṛtakarmaphalapradam | mahāstotraṃ koṭikoṭi kanyādānaphalaṃ bhavet
महापुण्यप्रदं नाथ शृणु सर्वेश्वरप्रिय | अष्टोत्तरसहस्राख्यं कुमार्याः परमाद्भुतम्
mahāpuṇyapradaṃ nātha śṛṇu sarveśvarapriya | aṣṭottarasahasrākhyaṃ kumāryāḥ paramādbhutam
पठित्त्वा धारयित्त्वा वा नरो मुच्येत सङ्कटात् | सर्वत्र दुर्लभं धन्यं धन्यलोकनिषेवितम्
paṭhittvā dhārayittvā vā naro mucyeta saṅkaṭāt | sarvatra durlabhaṃ dhanyaṃ dhanyalokaniṣevitam
अणिमाद्यष्टसिद्ध्यङ्गं सर्वानन्दकरं परम् | मायामन्त्रनिरस्ताङ्गं मन्त्रसिद्धिप्रदे नृणाम्
aṇimādyaṣṭasiddhyaṅgaṃ sarvānandakaraṃ param | māyāmantranirastāṅgaṃ mantrasiddhiprade nṛṇām
न पूजा न जपं स्नानं पुरश्चर्याविधिश्च न | अकस्मात् सिद्धिमवाप्नोति सहस्रनामपाठतः
na pūjā na japaṃ snānaṃ puraścaryāvidhiśca na | akasmāt siddhimavāpnoti sahasranāmapāṭhataḥ
सर्वयज्ञफलं नाथ प्राप्नोति साधकः क्षणात् | मन्त्रार्थं मन्त्रचैतन्यं योनिमुद्रास्वरूपकम्
sarvayajñaphalaṃ nātha prāpnoti sādhakaḥ kṣaṇāt | mantrārthaṃ mantracaitanyaṃ yonimudrāsvarūpakam
कोटिवर्षशतेनापि फलं वक्तुं न शक्यते | तथापि वक्तुमिच्छामि हिताय जगतां प्रभो
koṭivarṣaśatenāpi phalaṃ vaktuṃ na śakyate | tathāpi vaktumicchāmi hitāya jagatāṃ prabho
अस्याः श्रीकुमार्याः सहस्रनामकवचस्य | वटुकभैरवऋषिरनुष्टुप्छन्दः, कुमारीदेवता, सर्वमन्त्रसिद्धिसमृद्धये विनियोगः
asyāḥ śrīkumāryāḥ sahasranāmakavacasya | vaṭukabhairavaṛṣiranuṣṭupchandaḥ, kumārīdevatā, sarvamantrasiddhisamṛddhaye viniyogaḥ
ओं कुमारी कौशिकी काली कुरुकुल्ला कुलेश्वरी | कनकाभा काञ्चनाभा कमला कालकामिनी
oṃ kumārī kauśikī kālī kurukullā kuleśvarī | kanakābhā kāñcanābhā kamalā kālakāminī
कपालिनी कालरूपा कौमारी कुलपालिका | कान्ता कुमारकान्ता च कारणा करिगामिनी
kapālinī kālarūpā kaumārī kulapālikā | kāntā kumārakāntā ca kāraṇā karigāminī
कन्धकान्ता कौलकान्ता कृतकर्मफलप्रदा | कार्याकार्यप्रिया कक्षा कंसहन्त्री कुरुक्षया
kandhakāntā kaulakāntā kṛtakarmaphalapradā | kāryākāryapriyā kakṣā kaṃsahantrī kurukṣayā
कृष्णकान्ता कालरात्रिः कर्णेषुधारिणीकरा | कामहा कपिला काला कालिका कुरुकामिनी
kṛṣṇakāntā kālarātriḥ karṇeṣudhāriṇīkarā | kāmahā kapilā kālā kālikā kurukāminī
कुरुक्षेत्रप्रिया कौला कुन्ती कामातुरा कचा | कलञ्जभक्षा कैकेयी काकपुच्छध्वजा कला
kurukṣetrapriyā kaulā kuntī kāmāturā kacā | kalañjabhakṣā kaikeyī kākapucchadhvajā kalā
कमला कामलक्ष्मी च कमलाननकामिनी | कामधेनुस्वरूपा च कामहा काममदीनी
kamalā kāmalakṣmī ca kamalānanakāminī | kāmadhenusvarūpā ca kāmahā kāmamadīnī
कामदा कामपूज्या च कामातीता कलावती | भैरवी कारणाढ्या च कैशोरी कुशलाङ्गला
kāmadā kāmapūjyā ca kāmātītā kalāvatī | bhairavī kāraṇāḍhyā ca kaiśorī kuśalāṅgalā
कम्बुग्रीवा कृष्णनिभा कामराजप्रियाकृतिः | कङ्कणालङ्कृता कङ्का केवला काकिनी किरा
kambugrīvā kṛṣṇanibhā kāmarājapriyākṛtiḥ | kaṅkaṇālaṅkṛtā kaṅkā kevalā kākinī kirā
किरातिनी काकभक्षा करालवदना कृशा | केशिनी केशिहा केशा कासाम्बष्ठा करिप्रिया
kirātinī kākabhakṣā karālavadanā kṛśā | keśinī keśihā keśā kāsāmbaṣṭhā karipriyā
कविनाथस्वरूपा च कटुवाणी कटुस्थिता | कोटरा कोटराक्षी च करनाटकवासिनी
kavināthasvarūpā ca kaṭuvāṇī kaṭusthitā | koṭarā koṭarākṣī ca karanāṭakavāsinī
कटकस्था काष्ठसंस्था कन्दर्पा केतकी प्रिया | केलिप्रिया कम्बलस्था कालदैत्यविनाशिनी
kaṭakasthā kāṣṭhasaṃsthā kandarpā ketakī priyā | kelipriyā kambalasthā kāladaityavināśinī
केतकीपुष्पशोभाढ्या कर्पूरपूर्णजिह्विका | कर्पूराकरकाकोला कैलासगिरिवासिनी
ketakīpuṣpaśobhāḍhyā karpūrapūrṇajihvikā | karpūrākarakākolā kailāsagirivāsinī
कुशासनस्था कादम्बा कुञ्जरेशी कुलानना | खर्बा खड्गधरा खड्गा खलहा खलबुद्धिदा
kuśāsanasthā kādambā kuñjareśī kulānanā | kharbā khaḍgadharā khaḍgā khalahā khalabuddhidā
खञ्जना खररूपा च क्षाराम्लतिक्तमध्यगा | खेलना खेटककरा खरवाक्या खरोत्कटा
khañjanā khararūpā ca kṣārāmlatiktamadhyagā | khelanā kheṭakakarā kharavākyā kharotkaṭā
खद्योतचञ्चला खेला खद्योता खगवाहिनी | खेटकस्था खलाखस्था खेचरी खेचरप्रिया
khadyotacañcalā khelā khadyotā khagavāhinī | kheṭakasthā khalākhasthā khecarī khecarapriyā
खचरा खरप्रेमा खलाढ्या खचरानना | खेचरेशी खरोग्रा च खेचरप्रियभाषिणी
khacarā kharapremā khalāḍhyā khacarānanā | khecareśī kharogrā ca khecarapriyabhāṣiṇī
खर्जूरासवसंमत्ता खर्जूरफलभोगिनी | खातमध्यस्थिता खाता खाताम्बुपरिपूरिणी
kharjūrāsavasaṃmattā kharjūraphalabhoginī | khātamadhyasthitā khātā khātāmbuparipūriṇī
ख्यातिः ख्यातजलानन्दा खुलना खञ्जनागतिः | खल्वा खलतरा खारी खरोद्वेगनिकृन्तनी
khyātiḥ khyātajalānandā khulanā khañjanāgatiḥ | khalvā khalatarā khārī kharodveganikṛntanī
गगनस्था च भीता च गभीरनादिनी गया | गङ्गा गभीरा गौरी च गणनाथ प्रिया गतिः
gaganasthā ca bhītā ca gabhīranādinī gayā | gaṅgā gabhīrā gaurī ca gaṇanātha priyā gatiḥ
गुरुभक्ता ग्वालिहीना गेहिनी गोपिनी गिरा | गोगणस्था गाणपत्या गिरिजा गिरिपूजिता
gurubhaktā gvālihīnā gehinī gopinī girā | gogaṇasthā gāṇapatyā girijā giripūjitā
गिरिकान्ता गणस्था च गिरिकन्या गणेश्वरी | गाधिराजसुता ग्रीवा गुर्वी गुर्व्यम्बशाङ्करी
girikāntā gaṇasthā ca girikanyā gaṇeśvarī | gādhirājasutā grīvā gurvī gurvyambaśāṅkarī
गन्धर्व्वकामिनी गीता गायत्री गुणदा गुणा | गुग्गुलुस्था गुरोः पूज्या गीतानन्दप्रकाशिनी
gandharvvakāminī gītā gāyatrī guṇadā guṇā | guggulusthā guroḥ pūjyā gītānandaprakāśinī
गयासुरप्रियागेहा गवाक्षजालमध्यगा | गुरुकन्या गुरोः पत्नी गहना गुरुनागिनी
gayāsurapriyāgehā gavākṣajālamadhyagā | gurukanyā guroḥ patnī gahanā gurunāginī
गुल्फवायुस्थिता गुल्फा गर्द्दभा गर्द्दभप्रिया | गुह्या गुह्यगणस्था च गरिमा गौरिका गुदा
gulphavāyusthitā gulphā garddabhā garddabhapriyā | guhyā guhyagaṇasthā ca garimā gaurikā gudā
गुदोर्ध्वस्था च गलिता गणिका गोलका गला | गान्धर्वी गाननगरी गन्धर्वगणपूजिता
gudordhvasthā ca galitā gaṇikā golakā galā | gāndharvī gānanagarī gandharvagaṇapūjitā
घोरनादा घोरमुखी घोरा घर्मनिवारिणी | घनदा घनवर्णा च घनवाहनवाहना
ghoranādā ghoramukhī ghorā gharmanivāriṇī | ghanadā ghanavarṇā ca ghanavāhanavāhanā
घर्घरध्वनिचपला घटाघटपटाघटा | घटिता घटना घोना घनरुप घनेश्वरी
ghargharadhvanicapalā ghaṭāghaṭapaṭāghaṭā | ghaṭitā ghaṭanā ghonā ghanarupa ghaneśvarī
घुण्यातीता घर्घरा च घोराननविमोहिनी | घोरनेत्रा घनरुचा घोरभैरव कन्यका
ghuṇyātītā ghargharā ca ghorānanavimohinī | ghoranetrā ghanarucā ghorabhairava kanyakā
घाताघातकहा घात्या घ्राणाघ्राणेशवायवी | घोरान्धकारसंस्था च घसना घस्वरा घरा
ghātāghātakahā ghātyā ghrāṇāghrāṇeśavāyavī | ghorāndhakārasaṃsthā ca ghasanā ghasvarā gharā
घोटकेस्था घोटका च घोटकेश्वरवाहना | घननीलमणिश्यामा घर्घरेश्वरकामिनी
ghoṭakesthā ghoṭakā ca ghoṭakeśvaravāhanā | ghananīlamaṇiśyāmā gharghareśvarakāminī
ङकारकूटसम्पन्ना ङकारचक्रगामिनी | ङकारी ङसंशा चैव ङीपनीता ङकारिणी
ṅakārakūṭasampannā ṅakāracakragāminī | ṅakārī ṅasaṃśā caiva ṅīpanītā ṅakāriṇī
चन्द्रमण्डलमध्यस्था चतुरा चारुहासिनी | चारुचन्द्रमुखी चैव चलङ्गमगतिप्रिया
candramaṇḍalamadhyasthā caturā cāruhāsinī | cārucandramukhī caiva calaṅgamagatipriyā
चञ्चला चपला चण्डी चेकिताना चरुस्थिता | चलिता चानना चार्व्वो चारुभ्रमरनादिनी
cañcalā capalā caṇḍī cekitānā carusthitā | calitā cānanā cārvvo cārubhramaranādinī
चौरहा चन्द्रनिलया चैन्द्री चन्द्रपुरस्थिता | चक्रकौला चक्ररूपा चक्रस्था चक्रसिद्धिदा
caurahā candranilayā caindrī candrapurasthitā | cakrakaulā cakrarūpā cakrasthā cakrasiddhidā
चक्रिणी चक्रहस्ता च चक्रनाथकुलप्रिया | चक्राभेद्या चक्रकुला चक्रमण्डलशोभिता
cakriṇī cakrahastā ca cakranāthakulapriyā | cakrābhedyā cakrakulā cakramaṇḍalaśobhitā
चक्रेश्वरप्रिया चेला चेलाजिनकुशोत्तरा | चतुर्वेदस्थिता चण्डा चन्द्रकोटिसुशीतला
cakreśvarapriyā celā celājinakuśottarā | caturvedasthitā caṇḍā candrakoṭisuśītalā
चतुर्गुणा चन्द्रवर्णा चातुरी चतुरप्रिया | चक्षुःस्था चक्षुवसतिश्चणका चणकप्रिया
caturguṇā candravarṇā cāturī caturapriyā | cakṣuḥsthā cakṣuvasatiścaṇakā caṇakapriyā
चार्व्वङ्गी चन्द्रनिलया चलदम्बुजलोचना | चर्व्वरीशा चारुमुखी चारुदन्ता चरस्थिता
cārvvaṅgī candranilayā caladambujalocanā | carvvarīśā cārumukhī cārudantā carasthitā
चसकस्थासवा चेता चेतःस्था चैत्रपूजिता | चाक्षुषी चन्द्रमलिनी चन्द्रहासमणिप्रभा
casakasthāsavā cetā cetaḥsthā caitrapūjitā | cākṣuṣī candramalinī candrahāsamaṇiprabhā
छलस्था छुद्ररूपा च छत्रच्छायाछलस्थिता | छलज्ञा छेश्वराछाया छाया छिन्नशिवा छला
chalasthā chudrarūpā ca chatracchāyāchalasthitā | chalajñā cheśvarāchāyā chāyā chinnaśivā chalā
छत्राचामरशोभाढ्या छत्रिणां छत्रधारिणी | छिन्नातीता छिन्नमस्ता छिन्नकेशा छलोद्भवा
chatrācāmaraśobhāḍhyā chatriṇāṃ chatradhāriṇī | chinnātītā chinnamastā chinnakeśā chalodbhavā
छलहा छलदा छाया छन्ना छन्नजनप्रिया | छलछिन्ना छद्मवती छद्मसद्मनिवासिनी
chalahā chaladā chāyā channā channajanapriyā | chalachinnā chadmavatī chadmasadmanivāsinī
छद्मगन्धा छदाछन्ना छद्मवेशी छकारिका | छगला रक्तभक्षा च छगलामोदरक्तपा
chadmagandhā chadāchannā chadmaveśī chakārikā | chagalā raktabhakṣā ca chagalāmodaraktapā
छगलण्डेशकन्या च छगलण्डकुमारिका | छुरिका छुरिककरा छुरिकारिनिवाशिनी
chagalaṇḍeśakanyā ca chagalaṇḍakumārikā | churikā churikakarā churikārinivāśinī
छिन्ननाशा छिन्नहस्ता छोणलोला छलोदरी | छलोद्वेगा छाङ्गबीजमाला छाङ्गवरप्रदा
chinnanāśā chinnahastā choṇalolā chalodarī | chalodvegā chāṅgabījamālā chāṅgavarapradā
जटिला जठरश्रीदा जरा जज्ञप्रिया जया | जन्त्रस्था जीवहा जीवा जयदा जीवयोगदा
jaṭilā jaṭharaśrīdā jarā jajñapriyā jayā | jantrasthā jīvahā jīvā jayadā jīvayogadā