A LINK BETWEEN PURÄNA AND TANTRA: AGNIPURÄNA 143-147
by J. A. Schoterman, Utrecht (Niederlande)
In the first part of our paper we have put right some mistaken notions about the name of the Goddess Kubjikä: it appeared that Kubjikä is only another form of the
Kundalini Sakti abiding in the MUlädhäracakra, and not some 'Hunchbacked God¬
dess'(Mitra, 1882;repr. 1971,191; Bhattacharyya, 1974,10).
In^the second part we discussed the_/rMZ>///w-section in the Agnipuräna (AgP), the Adhyäyas 143—147. The first two Adhyäyas (143 & 144) deal mainly with the so-called AstävirnSatikramapüjä, the most fundamental Püjä of the Kubjikämata¬
tantra (KMT), the Satsähasrasarphitä (SatSS), and related texts '. As its name in¬
dicates, it is a Püjä of twenty-eight (Deities): 1) the four Pithanäthas, 2) the five Ratnanäthas, 3) the six Goddesses Däkini etc., 4)_the four Yugädhipäs, 5) the five Vimalanäthas , and 6) the four Gurus or Siddhas. Adhyäya 143 further explains the Batukabali, the Dvärapälabali etc. in connection with the Püjä; Adhyäya 144, more¬
over, links the Srisiddhanäthastotra with the A stävimiatikramapüjä.
Although the KMT certainly recognises the Astävirniatikramapüjä, it refers only casually to it: a full description of the Püjä, the Mantras etc., is not found in the
KMT. Only in the - probably younger - SatSS {Patala 47) and especially in the
Kubjikänityähnikatilaka (KnT; F. 49Aff.), we find an elaborate description of the Püjä with all its particulars. The SrTsiddhanäthastotra is only given in the SatSS and the KnT.
The last part of Adhyäya 144 {Slokas 30 cd —37) provides a DhyänaSloka of
Kubjikä, which has been dealt with by Marie-Th6r6se de MaUmann (1963, 159;
160). As she supposes, an analogue description of Kubjikä is indeed found in
Tantric texts: the KnT (F. 26Bff.) gives a DhyänaSloka of the Goddess, very similar to the AgP, but far more elaborate. There are, however, two striking differences between the two texts: the first regards the Nägas which Kubjikä wears, the second concerns Her attributes. The KnT assignes to Kubjikä the eight weU-known A'ägas,
Ananta or Sesa, Karkata, etc. (2). The AgP, however, mentions only seven Nägas:
the first, Ananta/Sesa, is omitted. In order to reach the number of ei^t Nägas,
though, an anonymous Näga is carried by Kubjikä in one of Her six left hands - a
Näga which is, of course, not mentioned in the KnT. The same feature we see in
case of the Goddess Manasä (Majumdar, 1971,556), for instance. According to the
KnT Kubjikä carries in Her left hands a blue lotus (nUotpala), a sword (khapängaj, a beU (ghantä), a book (pusta), a bow (dhanus), and a skuU-cup (kapäla); in Her six
1 On the KMT, SatSS, and other relevant texts, vide: Schoterman (1977).
2 Both the KnT and the AgP call the sixth Näga Kürma, instead of iahkhapäla (cf: Levy, 1905, 1, p. 323;ääradätilaka, 10,7 Comm.; AgP, 294,2).
XX. Deutscher Orientalistentag 1977 in Erlangen
345 A Link Between Pnrana and Tantra
right hands She holds a trident (triküla), a discus (cakraj, a thunderbolt/'ya/ra^, an elephant-goad (ahkuiaj, an arrow (iaraj, and a knife (karttrkä). Only the sword, the book, the skull-cup, the trident, the elephant-goad, and the bow (AgP: right hand!) are also mentioned in the AgP. The fact that in two Dhyänailokas , so much alike, there exists a considerable discrepancy with regard to the attributes of the Goddess, remains rather enigmatic for the present.
The Adhyäyas 145 and 146 (1—3) deal with the threefold A^yääia, to wit: Sakta, Sämbhava, and Yämala (sc: Sakti, Siva, and Sakti+Siva). The Säkta Nyäsa is repre¬
sented by Mälini Nädiphäntarüpä (cf: Schoterman, 1977, 935); the names of the
Goddesses are correct, but the accompanying Aksaras are in many instances com¬
pletely wrong'. The second Nyäsa, the Sämbhava Nyäsa, is represented by Sabda-
räii, the regular order of the Rfty Aksaras (A-KSAJ. In Adhyäya 146 (1—3) we find
a long Mantra, the Trikhandi, which obviously represents the Yämala Nyäsa; the
Nyäsasthänas are not given in case of the Trikhandi-Mantra. Mälini, SabdaräM, and
the Trikhandi^ are found in the KMT as well as in the SatSS; the Nyäsasthänas of
the Trikiiandi axe only found in the KnT (F. 1 IBff.).
Adhyäya 146 furnishes us with the only Hues in the Kubjikä-section of the AgP,
which correspond literally with the KMT (Patak 8), and the SatSS (Patala 15).
They run as follows:
akuläditrimadhyastham, kulädei ca trimadhyagam /
madhyamäditrimadhyastham, pindädei ca trimadhyagam ' //4//
trayärdhamätrasarny uktam, pranavädyam iikhäiivam /
The above lines present, in a concealed way, the Bija of the Sikhädütl of Kubjikä
(Schoterman, 1977, 936). One needs to know that the Deities Akulä, Kulä, Madhy-
amä, and Pindä stand respectively for the Aksaras KSA, HA, BA, and LA. Thus
akuläditrimadhyastham, '(The Aksara) which stands in the middle of the three
(Aksaras) beginning with Akulä" , indicates the Aksara HA (sc: HA in the middle of
KSÄ-HASA). This resuhs in the Bija HSPHREM^ of the Sikhädütl of Kubjikä'' .
Both the A^ and the SatSS provide a list of these Deities (Akulä etc.); the KMT
does not. The remaining part of Adhyäya 146 deals with the Astamätrkäs , each sup¬
plied with eight Yoginis, thus amounting to 64 Yoginis in total (cf: AgP, Adhyäya 52). Again, the 64 Yoginis are not mentioned in the KMT, but in the SatSS (Patala 15). Moreover, the SatSS furnishes a full iconographical description of each of the 64 Yoginis, which proves to be identical with their description in the Mayadipikä, as quoted by Hemädri in his Caturvargacintämani (II, p. 92 ff.).
Although Adhyäya I AI is called 'Tvaritäpüjä', it opens with the Mantra of
Guhyakubjikä (Schoterman, 1977, 936), and the Mantras of Her six Dutls. The
Mantra of Guhyakubjikä is found both in the KMT (Patala 10) and the §atSS (Pa-
3 E. g. AgP, 145,6c: Grasani (Nyäsasthäna = iirasj represents the Aksara THA , and not A ; the glyphs for THA and A are, of course, easily confused in the MSS.
4 In the KMT and the SatSS the Mantra is called Umämäheivaracakra.
5 AgP: pindam pade trimadhyagam.
6 Traya = E;Ardhamätra = AM.
7 The Bija of the - female - iikhädüti is obviously male (a Bija beginning with H- is male; a Bija beginning with 5- is female), but vide: Schoterman, 1977, note 86.
346 J. A. Schoterman
tola 16), but the Mantras of the six Dütis are only found in the SatSS (Patala 17).
The remaining part of Adhyäya 147 provides the Mantras of the Goddess Tvaritä,
which are only found in the SatSS (Patala 25). Tvaritä, together with Kubjikä and
the Goddess Khanjini, is regarded as an aspect of Devi (KMT Patala 16; SatSS
Patala 25); hence. Her featuring together with Guhyakubjikä is explainable.
Summarising this short survey of the Kubjikä-section in the AgP, we reach the
following conclusions:
I) The topics dealt with are found completely in the SatSS, except for the Dhyä¬
naSloka of Kubjikä, and the Nyäsasthänas of the Trikhandi (= KnT);
II) Only 1 1/2 Sloka of the Kubjikä-section corresponds literally with both the
KMT and the SatSS; to understand its exact meaning, however, the additional in¬
formation provided in the SatSS and the AgP is required; the KNlT probably
presupposes this knowledge on the part of its readers.
From the aforementioned it becomes plausible, that the author of the Kubjikä-sec¬
tion gained his knowledge in the first place from the SatSS, and the KnT (Dhyäna¬
Sloka & Nyäsasthänas of the Trikhandi), and not from the KMT. Where does this leave us?
According to Hazra (1963, 82) the AgP was compiled some time during the 9th
century AD in eastern Orissa or in the western part of West Bengal, and was soon able to attain much popularity, especially among those who had been influenced by Tantrism. Gyani (1964, Preface) declares: 'The Agnipuräna reflects the rehgious and social conditions of the period A.D. 700 or 800 to A.D. 1000 or 1100 and is an
epitome of the cultural life during the period'. On the other hand we have the
worship of Kubjikä, which seems to be restricted to Nepal, where it lost its popular¬
ity in the 16th century AD (Regmi, 1966, 585). The oldest known MS of the SatSS
dates from the 12th century AD (Van Kooy, 1977, 881 ff). The text itself prob¬
ably dates from the 10th or 1 1th century AD*. The KnT belongs probably also to
this period. Keeping this in mind, one might assume the Kubjikä-section was in¬
cluded in the AgP some time in the 11 th century AD.
As Hazra and Gyani have shown, the AgP has absorbed contemporaneous popu¬
lar Tantric currents. Unfortunately, the worship of Kubjikä is hardly accounted for, neither in Bengal nor in India as a whole, during the period of compilation of the AgP».
A possible solution to this problem might be found in the hypothesis of a Päla hegemony over Nepal: several Päla rulers from Bengal are credited to have wielded
some power over Nepal from the 9th up to the 11th cenmry AD (Regmi, 1965,
87ff.; 101 ff ; 144 ff.). Since the date of the /r«Z>/7fcä-section in the AgP now can be fixed in the 1 1th century AD, it was perhaps during the reign of Rämapäla (1077-
1120) that it was included into the AgP'". The reason why is still obscure, although 8 This date fits nicely in with the fact that the iconographical description of the 64 Yoginis in
the SatSS corresponds with that in the Mayadipikä, as quoted by Hemädri; since Hemädri lived in the 13*^ century AD, the Mayadipikä should be dated anterior to the I3th century AD.
9 References to Kubjikä during this period are rather scanty: kubjikäpitha (Kälikäpuräna 62, 56; 73), kubjikäpithäntaväsin {Kälikäpurätta 78,73) etc.
10 The supporters of a possible reign over Nepal by this Rämapäla base their argument on the colophon of a KMT-MS (Regmi, 1965, 144).
A Link Between Purana and Tantra 347
one should keep in mind that Kubjika is fundamentally the same as the Kundalini Sakti, one of the foremost Tantric concepts, both in India and in Nepal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bhattacharyya, D. €.: Tantric Buddhist Iconographic Sources (Delhi, 1974).
Gyani, S. D.: Agni-Puräna: A Study (Benares, 1964).
Hazra, R. C.: Studies in The Upapuränas, Vol. II (Calcutta, 1963).
Van Kooy, K. R.: Die Sogenannte Cuprflhandschrift des Kubjikämatatantra (ZDMG Supple¬
ment III, 2; 1977;pp. 881-890).
Levy, S.: Le Nepal, Vol. I (Paris, 1905).
Majumdar, R. C: History of Ancient Bengal (Calcutta, 1971).
De Mallmann, M.-Th.: Les Enseignements Iconographiques de L'Agni-Purana (Paris, 1963).
Mitra, R.: The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal (1882;repr. Calcutta, 1971).
Regmi, D. R.: Medieval Nepal, Vol. I & II (Calcutta, 1965; 1966).
Schoterman, H. A.: Some Remarks on the Kubjikämatatantra (ZDMG Supplement III, 2; 1977;
pp. 932-940).
Sanskrit Texts
Agnipuräpa (AgP), ed. by Achärya Baladeva Upädhyäya (Benares, 1966).
Kälikäpuräna, ed. by Sri Bi^wanäräyan Sästri (Benares, 1972).
KubjikänityähnikatUaka (KnT; unedited), MS No. 1 -239/201 ka in the DMG Catalogue.
Kubjikämatatantra (KMT; unedited), MS No. 5805 in the Catalogue of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Caturvargacintämani of Hemädri (Vol. II), ed. in the Bibbliotheca Indica (Calcutta, 1879).
Säradätilaka, ed. by Sri Mukunda Jha Bakshi (Benares, 1963).
Satsähasrasamhitä (SatSS; unedited), MS No. 5-428/54 ('Kulälikämnäya') in the DMG Cata¬
logue.
ZUM AUFBAU VON REDEN IM RAMAYANA'
von Renate Söhnen, Mainz
Für den Aufbau einer größeren Anzahl von Reden im Rämäyana spielt das form¬
bildende Prinzip der Wiederholung eine wichtige Rolle. Dabei kann es sich 1. um die wörtliche oder nur ganz geringfügig abgewandelte Wiederholung einer bestimmten Wortgruppe handeln, z.B. den „Refrain" am Schluß eines Verses, oder auch 2. um
die nicht-wörtliche Wiederaufnahme bestimmter Gedanken oder Themen, die z.B.
den sog. „Ringkompositionen" zugrundeliegt, bei denen die Gedanken oder The¬
men nach einem Zentmm oder Wendepunkt in spiegelsymmetrisch-umgekehrter Reihenfolge wiederkehren.
I. REFRAIN
Refrainbildungen verschiedener Art, wie sie in Jätaka-Versen häufig anzutreffen sind, hat besonders H. Oldenberg behandelt*, der auch auf eine Rede im Rämäyana
hinweist', Rämas Rede in Kap. 28 des Ayodhyäkändas", bei der der Refrain ato
duhkhataram vanam innerhalb einer längeren Aufzählung von Beschwerden und Ge¬
fahren des Waldes leicht variiert am Ende jedes Verses wiederkehrt. Ein weiteres Beispiel für eine solche „Refrainkette" ist noch Bharatas Rede in Kap. 75 des II.
Buches (mit unverändertem Refrain: yasyäryo 'numate gatah). - Beliebt ist auch
die drei- bis viermalige Wiederholung eines Refrains, z.B. 11,11.6-8 dreifacher
Schwur DaSarathas bei Räma; II, 41.2-6 Klage der Frauen im Palast über Rämas
Auszug: kva nu gacchati? II, 98.4-7 Beteuemng Bharatas: na me iäntir bhavisyati;
II, III .4-6 Vasisthas Überredungsversuch mtivarteh satäm gatim; oder auch Bha¬
ratas Bitte in Kap. 101 des II. Buches, bei der der Refrain prasädam kartum arhasi
in unregelmäßigen Abständen wiederkehrt. — Die Verwendung solcher Refrains
dient, wie es scheint, vor allem der eindringlichen Beteuemng oder Beschwörung, mitunter auch dem Ausdmck starker innerer Erregung, — so in dem eigentümlichen Beispiel der Rede Sitäs im III. Buch, Kap. 47, V. 33—48, in der Sitäs Entrüstung über Rävanas Ansinnen, sie zur Frau zu begehren, sich spontan niederschlägt; hier
smd es drei, auch thematisch voneinander verschiedene Gruppen von Versen, die
jeweils durch einen eigenen Refrain zusammengeschlossen werden: V. 33—36 aham
1 Ausschnitt aus den Ergebnissen einer in Arbeit befindlichen Dissertation über den Aufbau von Gesprächen im Rämäyana.
2 Jätaka-Studien. 2. Zum Stil'der Jätakaverse. 1918. (Kl. Sehr. II, S. 1082-1108), besonders S. 1092-1096: Refrain und Verwandtes).
3 Zur Geschichte des altindischen Erzählungsstiles. 1. Noch einmal Jätaka und Epen. 1919.
(Kl. Sehr. II, S. 1477-1495, bes. 1480 ff.).
4 Nach der Zählung der Bombayer Ausgabe, die auch für die folgenden Stellenangaben gilt.
XX. Deutscher Orientalistentag 1977 in Erlangen
