NEPAL RESEARCH CENTRE PUBLICATIONS

NO. 22
PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEPAL RESEARCH CENTRE

Edited by

ALBRECHT WEZLER
 KUBJIK, K Ll,

TRIPUR

AND

TRIKA

by

M a r k S. G. D y c z k o w s k i

FRANZ STEINER VERLAG STUTTGART

2000
Die D eutsche Bibliothek - C IP Einheitsaaufnahm e
K u b jik , K ill, T r ip u r a n d T rik a . By M ark S. G . D yczkow ski. - Stuttgart: Steiner, 2000
(Publications o f the N epal Research C entre; N o. 22)
ISBN 3-515-07772-3

Jede V erw ertung des W erkes ausserhalb d e r G renzen des U rheberrechtsgesctzcs ist unzulssig und strafbar. D ies gilt
insbesondere fr bersetzung, N achdruck, M ikroverfilm ung oder vergleichbare V erfahren sowie fr die Speicherung
in D atenverarbeitungsanlagen. c 2000 by Franz Steiner V erlag W iesbaden G m bH , Sitz Stuttgart. D ruck: U nited G raphic
Printers
Printed in K athm andu
 K U B JIK , K ALI, T R IPU R A N D TR IK A

M ark S. G . D yczk o w sk j

T his essay is about the goddess K ubjik.* The cu lt o f this obscure g o d d ess1 will be
com pared w ith that o f the m uch better know n goddess K ali, and references will occasionally be
made to the goddess T ripura. T he latter, like K ubjik, figures prom inently right from the start o f
her history in the Skta K aula T antras,2 the form er em erges initially in the B hairava T antras3 but
soon becom es a m em ber o f the K aula pantheon. F or those interested in N epalese studies an
im portant com m on feature o f these three goddesses and their ectypes is the central position they
have held fo r several centuries in the esoteric T antrism o f high-caste H indu N ew ars as their lineage
(kula) deities. T hus the aim o f this paper is tw ofold. O ne is to present a general overview o f som e
salient features o f the typology o f these form s o f the sacred. The other is to present a brief
introduction to N ew ar Sktism as the context in w hich the goddess K ubjik has been w orshipped
for m ost o f her history.
O ne o f the m ost basic features o f the com plex and m ulti-layered religion o f the N ew ars is
the thoroughness w ith w hich it has been perm eated with T antrism . T his is true o f both N ew ar
B uddhism and H induism . In w hat follow s I will deal exclusively with the latter. In N epal, as
elsew here, H induism displays a rem arkable capacity to preserve and m aintain older form s o f
religion alongside the new er, giving each its place in the econom y o f the expanded whole. T hus, for
exam ple, the present G orkhali kings, like the M alla kings before them , are still considered to be

* I should take this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge Prof. Wetzler and the members o f his team
in the Nepal Research Centre who have made this publication possible. I should particularly thank Dr.
Mathes for his sincere and unfailing assistance and Mr. Pierce for his excellent editorial work. Without him
this publication would be far more imperfect than it is. I should also mention Ntan Sarm who has worked
as an assistant for me and Pt. Gurusekara Sarm who introduced me to the living tradition of the goddess
Kubjik, Thaneshvar Thimil Simha and Divkar crya who have contributed much to my understanding of
Tantra by our lively discussions, Kedr Rj Rjopdhyya who is both a dear friend and my guru in a very
real sense and Niels Gutschow who generously offered his hospitality and advice. I acknowledge with
gratitude and deep sense of humility, the inspiration I received from Prof. Sanderson who some twenty years
ago suggested I research the cult of the goddess Kubjik, and SvmT Laksmanj of Shrinagar who initiated
me into Kashmiri Saivism. I should not omit to mention my dear wife and children and my parents who
always selflessly stood by me. The many others, such as David White and Rna Singh, who have helped and
instructed me will forgive me if I do mention them all individually and should rest assured o f my sincere
appreciation of their contribution to the development of this research.
1 See Dyczkowski 1987a: 95ff. for a summary o f the work published up to that time on this goddess.
Since then more work has been published. See the bibliography.
2 I refer here to the Kaula Tantras as Skta, not in a technical, but a descriptive sense. Skta as a
technical term denoting those cults, scriptures, or people associated with the worship of the goddess as Sakti
(meaning literally 'power') is absent from the terminology of the Tantras prior to the eleventh century.
Instead we find the term Kula and it cognate Kaula.
According to Abhinavagupta (PTv pp. 32ff.: see Pandey 1963: 594f.), the term Kula is derived from
the root kut which means 'coming together as a group. Thus, in a non-technical sense, the word kula means
'family'. A wide range of symbolic meanings that refer to metaphysical and yogic concepts are found in this
term by Tantric exegetes. Amongst the Newars the non-technical sense is never forgotten. Kula is not just
the divine family, i.e. aggregate of the god's energies gathered together in the figure of his Tantric consort, it
is also the human family of the goddess's disciples who, amongst the Newars, are also literally related.
3 Concerning the Bhairava Tantras, see Dyczkowski 1987a: 42ff also below.
2 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

incarnations o f V isnu, and iva Pasupati rem ains, as he has been for centuries, the patron god o f
Nepal. T hese gods along with the ubiquitous Bhairava, Siva's w rathful form , and the goddess
D urg. otherw ise know n as BhagavatT, and the eight m other goddesses (m trk ) w ho are arranged
in protective circles around the K athm andu V alley and its m ajor cities, and the m any G anesas w ho
protect the quarters o f N ew ar tow ns, villages and countryside are the basic constituents o f the
N ew ars' public religion. T hey are the gods o f the 'outside' public dom ain, w hat Levy has aptly
called the 'civic space' o r 'm esocosm '. Easily accessible to researchers, they have been the object of
a great deal o f study. B ut there is another 'inner' secret dom ain w hich is the N ew ars' 'm icrocosm '.
T his does not form a part o f the sacred geography o f the N ew ar civitas, although, from the initiates'
point o f view , it is the source and reason o f m uch o f it. The deities that populate this 'inner space'
and their rites are closely guarded secrets and, often, they are the secret identity o f the public
deities, know n only to initiates. '
The tw o dom ains com plem ent each other. The outer is dom inantly male. It is the dom ain o f
the attendants and protectors o f both the civic space and the inner expanse, w hich is dom inantly
fem ale. By this I m ean that w hile the d eities in the public dom ain may be both m ale and fem ale, the
male dom inates the fem ale, w hile the secret lineage d eities o f the higher castes are invariably
fem ale accom panied by m ale consorts. The interplay o f these tw o polarities generates the com plex
structures o f N ew ar religion. A gain, this, the inner dom ain is layered and graded in hierarchies o f
deepening and m ore elevated esoterism that ranges from the individual to his fam ily group, clan,
caste and out through the com plex interrelationships that m ake up N ew ar society. T hus the
interplay betw een the inner and outer dom ains is m aintained both by the secrecy in w hich it is
grounded and one o f the m ost characteristic features o f N ew ar T antrism as a w hole, nam ely, its
close relationship to the N ew ar caste system .4
It is com m only accepted by T antrics everyw here that the teachings o f the T antras should be
kept secret, although in actual practice the degree to w hich secrecy is m aintained varies and the
N ew ars are am ongst the m ost orthodox in this respect. But this other feature o f N ew ar T antrism is
in striking contrast to the precepts o f the T antras, especially the K aula T antras that tirelessly
adm onish equality.5 The qualifications required o f an aspirant are not those o f birth but purity o f

4 Quigley confirms that one of the aspects of Newar society on which everyone is more or less agreed
is that "caste divisions are underscored, as are all aspects of Newar social life, by pervasive ritual. While
certain rituals bring togther all the inhabitants o f a particular settlement, many others are primarily oriented
to an individual or a particular kinship group - a household, for example, or a group o f affines, or perhaps a
lineage." (Gellner and Quigley 1995: 300). Especially important amongst the 'many others' for the higher
castes are Tantric rituals.
5 It is worth stressing that although the Tantras enjoin that when initiates sit together to perform their
Tantric rites there should be no caste distinctions, they become operant once more when the ritual ends. The
two domains, the 'inner' Tantric and the 'outer' Smrta, are treated independently. Thus, for example, once
the aspirant has received initiation in the Tantric cult of Svacchandabhairava, which is an important part of
Newar esoterism, as it was of Kashmiri, the Svacchcmdabhairavatantra prescribes expiation for anyone who
even mentions prior caste: prgjtyudirand devi prayascittl bhavennarah I (SvT 4/544b; cf. ibid. 4/414.
Abhinavagupta enjoins the same for Trika Saivites in T 15/576). Further on, however, the Tantra enjoins
that 'one should not criticize the Smrta religion which teaches the path of right conduct.' xmrtam dharmam
na nindet tu crapathadariakam (ibid. 5/45; see Arraj 1988: 29-30 fn. 2. Note, however, that at the same
time strict distinctions were maintained between initiates of different Tantric traditions (see Dyczkowski
1987a: 166 fn. 34).
In this aspect, as in many others. Tantric ritual is analogous to its Vedic predecessor. Thus
Heesterman points out that after the conclusion of the Vedic sacrifice "about to leave the ritual enclosure, the
sacrificer, whether king or commoner, returns to his normal, unchanged self in society: 'Here I am just as I
am, as he has to declare in his concluding mantra ($B 1/1/1/6; 1/9/3/23). Nothing has changed."
 K u b jik , K l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 3

conduct. A ccordingly, the T antras devote long sections to listing the qualities required o f the
disciple and those o f the teacher. The teacher m ust exam ine the disciple to see if he is devoted to
the teacher and the deity. L ike the teacher, he m ust be a m oral person and not deceitful. C aste status
is never a consideration. Indeed, those o f low caste are believed to have a special pow er by virtue
o f their low status - thus reversing the com m on view that those o f high caste, especially B rahm ins,
possess it. The N ew ars are w ell aw are o f this principle, w hich is nicely exem plified by the many
w ell-know n stories o f the life and exploits o f the B rahm in G ayapati, better know n as G ayahbjy,
who was instructed in the use o f m antras by an outcaste (pode).6
But this is the exception w hich proves the rule. In actual fact, N ew ars cannot choose their
Tantric guru. N or are they all allow ed to have one. The rule is so rigidly applied that the nineteenth-
century chronicle, the B hsvam .ivali, m eticulously lists the nam es o f the castes w hose m em bers
can 'receive m antra' and those w ho can give it.7 Significantly, these prescriptions are attributed to
Sthitim alla, the fourteenth-century king w ho w as fam ous for having established the caste structure
o f N ew ar society. In actual fact, his contribution w as m ore probably a reform and extension o f a
pre-existing caste system , w hich we know from references in m uch earlier inscriptions, predated
him .8 B ut w hile som e credence may be given to Sthitim alla's legislation o f the caste system , we are

8 Gayahbjy was almost certainly a historical figure. He was a Brahmin who lived in Sulimh, in the
western part of the core area o f Patan, in the sixteenth century. There are many stories of the miracles he
performed by the powers he acquired with the help of an outcaste (pode). I am grateful to Ntan Sarm for
giving me a copy of an unpublished paper called 'The Story o f Gayahbjya in which he collects some of
these stories and data establishing the historicity of Gayahbjy. The following is a brief summary of one of
the most famous of them (see N. Sharma 1991: If. and 1993: 46f.).
The pious Gayahbjy used to go daily for his morning ablutions to Mrtyunjaya Ght ('Riverbank of
the Conqueror of Death') at the confluence of the rivers Vgmat! and Manohar. One day, on his way to the
river, it began to rain very heavily. He took shelter under the roofing overhanging the nearest house, which
happened to belong to an untouchable who was famous in Patan as a powerful Tantric. Inside the house a
child was crying. The mother who had tried in every way to calm it, and became exasperated, laid hold of a
knife and stabbed it to death. Soon afterwards, the father came home and seeing what had happened
consoled his wife and, taking the child into another room, brought it back to life. Astonished by what he had
seen, Gayahbjy took to standing outside the untouchable's house for a while every day when he passed to
take his bath. Although he was very curious, Gayahbjy was conscious o f his status as a Brahmin and so
would never ask to be admitted. Then one day the outcaste asked him why he came daily to stand outside his
house. Gayahbjy took the opportunity to ask the outcaste to reveal his Tantric secrets. The outcaste agreed
and told him to come after four days with a bunch o f wood apple leaves (belpaira), which Gayahbjy did.
Then they went together to the riverbank where the Brahmin bathed daily. The outcaste then told him to
bathe. When Gayahbjy had finished, the outcaste squatting on a platform where ancestral offerings
(Srddha) are made, wrote mantras on the wood apple leaves and threw them into the river, telling
Gayahbjy to eat them. When he had done so, he was astonished to discover that he knew all the mantras.
However, he had not acquired their power (siddhi). Instructed by the outcaste, Gayahbjy began to worship
Bhumde Ganesa in order to empower the mantras he had received. After some days, Ganesa appeared to him
and told him to go to the shrine of Blkumri on the night of the fourteenth day o f the dark fortnight
(pcahre) in March when the Dkinl witches gather to prepare magic collyrium (mohanl). This collyrium,
Ganesa told him, would give him the powers he sought. Eventually, Gayahbjy managed to acquire the
collyrium and, smearing it on his forehead, he attained the power (siddhi) he sought and became a great
Tantric.
1 See Bhsvamivali pp. 156ff.
* Slusser writes: "The Indian caste system was in effect in the Nepal Valley from at least the
beginning of the Licchavi Period [i.e. the fourth century], as inscriptions attest. Similarly, the complex
system of subcastes that ordain Valley social behaviour must be viewed as the product of centuries of
gradual accretion, not a sudden imposition of law. [...] Nonetheless, Sthitimalla may well have codified the
4 M ark S. G . D y czk ow sk i

not yet in a position to say to w hat degree, if any, he contributed to the forma) ordering o f esoteric
T antrism . Even so, we can say w ith confidence that the system , carefully graded and regulated by
caste considerations, w as well in place w hen the B hsvam svali w as w ritten and in all probability
for a num ber o f centuries prior to that.
O ne o f the reasons for this phenom enon is certainly the pow erful influence B rahm ins have
had on the form ation o f the N ew ar, essentially H indu, state through their influential patrons
(yajam na), especially the N ew ar kings and their officials. It is hard to resist this view w hen we
observe that the system is constructed in such a way that w hen it is functioning in ideal
circum stances, at least from the N ew ar B rahm ins point o f view , the N ew ar B rahm ins are the sole
dispensers o f the vital initiation that allow s access to it. The situation, then, is analogous to the
m onopoly B rahm ins have striven to achieve throughout their history everyw here in South A sia, and
w herever there are H indus, as fam ily priests (purohita) for the h igher 'tw ice-born' castes. In this
capacity they perform the sm rta rites o f passage (sa m sk ra ) that m ark a H indu's progress through
life from conception to death. In the case o f the higher N ew ar castes w ho are entitled to receive it,
the fam ily B rahm in puro h ita o r another N ew ar B rahm in, w hose traditional office it is to do so, may
give T antric initiation to those m em bers o f the fam ily w ho have passed through all the rites o f
passage preceding m arriage and desire it. T hus a N ew ar Brahm in m ay be both p u ro h ita and Tantric
guru."
Even so, the tw o priestly functions are alw ays clearly distinguished. T his is evidenced by
the fact that they m ay be perform ed by tw o different Brahm ins. B ut even in those cases, each
extended N ew ar fam ily lineage (p h u ki)'0 o f all but the low est castes is traditionally associated with
a specific B rahm in fam ily w ho perform s these functions. The initiation given to m em bers o f the
higher castes, that is, the ones eligible to receive the sacred thread, is into the w orship o f one o f the
goddesses belonging to six K ula lineages ( m n ya ) am ongst w hich K ubjik, form s o f K ali and
T ripura are the m ost im portant. She is the 'chosen d eitvl (istadevatj and lineage goddess
(kuladevat, m nyadeva t ) o f the aspirant's extended fam ily lineage (phuki).
W hile certain B rahm ins can give initiation to people w ho d o not belong to their lineages,
there is a second group o f people w ho are em pow ered to dispense T antric initiation only to their

particular social patterns that had developed by his time, and thus given local custom the force of law"
(Slusser 1982: 59).
9 For a general account o f these two aspects of the Newar Brahmin's function, see Toffin 1989.
10 Ishii provides a basic definition of the term p h u k i. He says that this term is "used principally among
males who have a close patrilineal relation to each other but reside in different households ... in a broad
sense, all the members of the residential family of a person who is referred to as phuki can be called phuki as
well" (Ishii 1987: 338 fn. 7). By 'residential family' Ishii means the household in which the members share
the same kitchen. For a detailed discussion see Ishii 1995: 141-146.
" In India the 'chosen deity' a person may have is literally that, a particular god or goddess to whom
that individual feels especially attracted. Coincidentally, this deity may well be one that has been
worshipped in his or her family. Indian kings regularly have such family deities. The Newar kings had
several chosen deities. The Licchavis (fourth to ninth century) had Pasupati and Vi;nu and a goddess called
Mnesvari. The worship of Mnevarl was maintained by the Malla kings. Ranajitmalla (ruled 1722-1769
A.D.), for example, refers to her in his inscription on the side of the gate to his Bhaktapur palace as his
'chosen deity'. (In this inscription the king refers to himself as frimatpaSupaticaranakamaladhlidhsarita -
iiroruhasnmanmneharistadevalvaraiabdha-. See A. D. Sharma 1954 for a detailed notice of this
inscription.) From the time o f Sthitimalla the Maltas also adopted the goddess Taleju. She was their lineage
goddess. However, this did not prevent them from having other 'outer' chosen deities. Siddhinarasirhhamalla
(1597-1619 A.D.) of Patan, for example, chose Krsna for himself. His son, &rinivasamalla chose
Matysendrantha who was, and still is, the 'chosen deity' of the city of Patan. Again, to close the circle as it
were, the chosen deity of Matsyendrantha is SiddhilaksmT, the goddess Taleju (see below).
 K u b jik , Ka l T, T r ip u r and T r ik a 5

own fam ily m em bers. T hese are the B rahm in's assistants the Josis (astrologers) and cjus (both
K shatriya castes). T he latter are also called K arm cryas, w hich is an appellation derived from the
Sanskrit nam e for a K aula teacher, nam ely, K ram crya. D. R. Regm i (1965-1966, 1, p. 715,
quoted in Levy 1991: 356) defines their function as follow s: "T hese cjus functioned as inferior
priests in all B rahm an led households. T hey accepted daksin (gifts in m oney) as well as food in
their host's house [....) But they could not chant the V edic m antras and also could not conduct the
|V edic 1 rituals. T hese w ere done by B rahm ans alone. The cjus and JoSis, how ever, were
indispensable for any [com plex] ritual. The Josi w as concerned with the task o f finding out an
auspicious tim e for any kind o f rite perform ed. The cju helped to arrange m ethodically the
requirem ents o f the ritual perform ance. He prepared the ground w ork for the actual rite. It w as left
for the B rahm an priest to use them ."
The Joi's functions m ay be m uch m ore com plex than those described here. Indeed,
now adays the Josis w ho belong to fam ilies traditionally linked w ith the w orship o f T aleju, the
M alla kings' lineage deity, have m any rituals to perform in the T aleju tem ples o f K athm andu and
B haktapur. In K athm andu, the Taleju B rahm in w ho w orships in the M alla kings' private chapel
(gan) is assisted by a Josi, not a K arm crya, in the perform ance o f the daily rites (n ityapj),
although K arm cryas do assist in the m ore lengthy occasional rites.12 In B haktapur, w here both
Josis and K arm cryas have ritual functions in the T aleju tem ple (gan) o f the M alla royal palace,
the JoSis have m ore to do than the K arm cryas. This is certainly not the w ay it was in the past.
This is clear from the fact that K arm cryas in general have m uch m ore extensive priestly functions
than do JoSis. T hus in B haktapur, for exam ple, w here K arm cryas have, as elsew here, num erous
patrons (ya ja m n a ) for w hom they perform T antric rituals, the Josis do not have any.
T his is the case even though Josis are generally considered to have a higher caste status than
K arm cryas. T he latter are o f varying status in d ifferent places. In B haktapur. w here the status o f
such auxiliary priests in general is considered to be low er than in the other cities, there are also
cjus belonging to the farm er (jypu) castes. T heir function, w hich they share with other
K arm cryas, is to w orship the m other goddesses w ho encircle and protect the city.
T hus we find that there is a hierarchy o f ritual agents o f varying status graded am ongst the
N ew ars according to their caste and ritual functions. A cardinal feature o f the situation as it is at
present is the fact that K arm cryas d o not receive initiation from B rahm ins. T he latter do continue
to act as their purohitas and perform their sm rta life cycle rituals for them . T here are reasons to
believe, how ever, that they did originally take initiation from them . K arm cryas assert, especially
the ones o f higher status, that they can com pile liturgies w hen required, and probably have done so.
But although there are m any am ongst them w ho claim that because they can d o this they are not
dependent on B rahm ins, it is they, nonetheless, w ho go to consult B rahm ins w hen in doubt
concerning ritual procedure, not the other way around. M oreover, their roles are alw ays those o f
assistants, and they cannot give initiation to people outside their lineage. T his is the case w ith Josis
also. T he B haktapur JoSis believe that they w ere originally B rahm ins and that this is the reason why
they can initiate their ow n lineage m em bers. Even so, in both cases B rahm ins perform ritual

12 The degree in which this relationship has been politicized is well illustrated by the reversal of roles
that takes place in the Taleju temple (not to be confused with the gan) of the Kathmandu Malla royal
palace. There, the main daily officiant is a Karmcrya who is, apparently, assisted by a Newar Brahmin.
The latter cooks the mixture of rice and pulse that is the deitys daily food offering (bhnga) because, in order
to avoid pollution, a Brahmin must do this. Thus, although Karmcryas have managed to take over almost
all of the ritual functions in this temple and so pocket the money offering and take home most of the remains
of the many food offerings financed by the Nepalese government, they could not eliminate the Brahmin,
who was originally their boss, altogether. But in this case, paradoxically, as he is the most senior because of
his ritual purity, he has been reduced to the status of a cook.
6 M a r k S. G . D y c zk o w sk i

functions for them that they cannot do alone. The m ost revealing o f these from this point o f view is
the necessary presence o f B rahm ins at certain crucial ju nctu res in the thirteen days required for the
death rites (antyesti). A lthough I have not as yet exam ined the liturgies in question, I have been
reliably inform ed by a R jopdhyya o f B haktapur that on one o f these o ccasions, if the deceased
K arm crya w as an initiate, a rite is perform ed aim ed at returning the m antra to the deity and the
guru from w hom it w as received. Even though the d eceased K arm crya received initiation from a
senior fam ily m em ber, on this crucial occasion it is a Brahm in w ho acts as the guru, thus revealing
the identity o f the original point o f entry o f the K arm crya's lineage to its ritual status.
Sm rta H induism , at least that part o f it concerned w ith the rites o f passage distinguishes, in
som e respects, very clearly betw een the priest, w ho can perform rituals, and the laym an w ho cannot
perform them him self and so m ust em ploy a priest for this purpose. B ut even in that case a great
deal o f ritual activity in a sm rta rite is undertaken by the priest's patron, although he do es so as
directed by the priest, not independently. H e can do this because he is em pow ered by an initiatory
purification at the beginning o f the rite, analogous to the V edic initiation (dtks ) w hich form ed a
part o f the prelim inaries o f each sacrifice (y a jn a ). By thus bestow ing on his patron the right to share
in his priestly functions, the B rahm in attem pted to free h im self o f the danger o f taking his patron's
im purites onto him self. S um m arizing H eesterm an's view on the classical V edic sacrifice, Q uigley
(1993: 59) explains:

In the classical ritual, the patron (yajam na) has already been purified. A cutely aw are o f the
dangers inherent in accepting a patrons gifts and thereby his im purity, the 'brahm in' has
m ade his sacrificial services 'superfluous' (H eesterm an 1985: p. 39). O r, put another w ay,
the patron has becom e his ow n priest w ith the result that death and im purity no longer
circulate betw een the parties.

But w hile N ew ar B rahm ins are aw are that ritual action m ay defile their classical
B rahm inical identity, their ranking o f sta tu s13 is only partially based on considerations o f relative
purity. T his is because, in the context o f T antric ritual, these considerations are tem porarily
suspended, to be replaced by the ordinances o f a different ritual univ erse.14 The corollary to this is
that, in the context o f Tantric ritual, the contact w ith sources o f d efilem ent (including his patron's
im purities) no longer serves to depress in the sam e degree the status o f a B rahm in o r anyone who
functions as a priest. T hus, even m ore so than in the non-T antric context, the em pow erm ent

13 Quigley pertinently points out that there is a gulf between the theory that Brahmins stand supreme in
the caste hierarchy and practice where their status is, for various reasons, subordinated to that o f their
patrons. Quigley refers to this theory as a "colonial interpretation of caste" (Quigley 1993: 84) with which
modem scholars often concur. But "why," he asks, "should they claim that the Brahman stands supreme
when, time after time, his status is shown to be intensely ambivalent, at worst vilely degrading? (ibid.)
Quigley writes that the main reason for the "near unanimous defence of the Brhman's supremacy lies in the
fact that authorities on Hinduism have, more often than not, illigitimately fused two very different concepts -
jti and varnn - or caste (Brahman) and [priestly] function (brahman). Here they have indeed made the same
mistake as colonial administrators." We should not forget, however, that the foremost of these authorities are
the Brahmins themselves! Moreover, it is not only scholars and colonials who have been misled by these
authorities but virtually all Hindus, even though many will agree that Brahmins can be, and very often are,
degraded by impurity. The contrast between Brahminical theory and actual practice is the basis o f the
energizing tension and dynamism that characterizes every Hindu society.
14 This procedure is well exemplified by the formulations of Srividya initiates in Bhskararya's
tradition in Benares. Brahmins may drink the ritual offerings of wine without defilement because, according
to them, as caste considerations are suspended for the duration of the rite, they are not, at that time,
Brahmins.
 K u b jik , K l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 7

transm itted to the initiate from the deity through the guru and the rite o f initiation enables him to
begin his life as an independent ritual agent. He is, as far as the T antric ritual to w hich he has
gained access is concerned, his ow n priest and can act as a priest, for the m em bers o f his lineage at
least. T hus T antrism further blurs the distinction betw een priest and laym an. T he T antric initiate is
not like the baptised C atholic C hristian laym an, a passive and, at best, receptive, spectator o f ritual
action in w hich his function is hardly m ore than consent. Like priests o f m ost religions, great and
sm all, throughout the w orld he "has a special and som etim es secret know ledge o f the techniques o f
w orship including incantations, prayers, sacrificial acts, songs and other acts that are believed to
bridge the separation betw een the divine o r sacred and the profane realm ."15
T antrism in this respect reflects the diffusion o f priestly functions throughout local
com m unities in South A sia, including the N ew ars, w here we see potters, barbers, w asherm en and
others acting in priestly capacities on particular occasions, w hile in som e cases, as happens with the
N ew ars (see below ), m em bers o r branches o f fam ilies function as sacrificial priests for their
cognate and affinal relatives (see H eesterm an 1985: 152). Even so, N ew ar K aula initiates cannot
perform rituals for others outside their lineage unless they them selves are B rahm ins o r (K shatriya)
K arm cryas. The only other lim itation on the com m on initiate's ritual activity is purely practical.
He m ay not have the tim e or the know ledge to do m ore than perform the relatively short and sim ple
daily obligatory rite (nityapj). For other rituals he may therefore call the K arm crya o r Brahm in
w ho is traditionally related to his lineage. In case there are no initiates left in the lineage or they are
old, disabled o r have m oved to distant places (and these contingencies have now adays becom e
com m on) even the daily obligatory rite m ay be perform ed by a K arm crya.
T hus initiates can be ranged along a graded hierarchy on the basis o f the degree o f
independence they enjoy as ritual agents. A t the top stands the T aleju R jopdhyya, w ho still acts
as the M alla king's p uro h ita and guru even though the G orkhali Shahs have been ruling since 1769.
He officiates at the innerm ost centre o f the netw ork o f H indu N ew ar esoterism - the M alla king's
Tantric shrine w here T aleju, his lineage goddess, is w orshipped, as the liturgies say. for the benefit
o f the king, his country and his people.
Ideally - and in the past this was probably the case - the T aleju B rahm in is accepted by
everybody as the sole head and foundation o f the entire system . H e is the ultim ate guru o f all the
gurus. In a sense, he is not only the ultim ate but the sole ritual agent. All initiates are his assistants.
They act in his place through the extension o f his em pow ering authority, transm itted to them
through the initiation he adm inisters. From this uncom prom isingly autocratic point o f view , all
those w ho serve clients (yajam na) with their priestly functions have been appointed to this task by
the R jopdhyya. T heir clients are really the clients o f the R jopdhyya w ho has delegated this
jo b to them . T he T aleju R jopdhyya insists that he can d o 'everything' and 'go everyw here'.
T heoretically he has access to every secret place and can perform any ritual. In actual fact,
how ever, at present at least, he cannot. T here are num erous public tem ples - for exam ple, the
tem ple o f G uhyesvari near Pasupati - w here the sole officiants are K arm cryas. M oreover, even if
there are m any R jopdhyya B rahm ins w ho have their ow n traditional clients, even the seniorm ost
R jopdhyya cannot enter a fam ily's Tantric shrine (gan) if he is not specifically authorized to do
so.
Even so, the R jopdhyya insists that the K arm cryas' priestly functions are m erely
supplem entary extensions o f his ow n. He asserts that his ancestors created the range o f
K arm cryas and the Josis to act as his assistants. T his is because although he can perform every
ritual action, including anim al sacrifice and the consum ption o f liquor (ali, sudh), he may choose

15 James 1974: 1007 quoted by Levy 1992: 346. Again, the Tantric situation reflects the earlier Vedic
one in which power and authority were subject to dispersal depending on the outcome of the sacrificial
contest.
8 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

not to do these things.16 M oreover, there are rituals or parts o f rituals that only he can perform . A nd
so he m ust attend to them . A m ongst them are the rituals that are considered to be the m ost
dangerous and pow erful. These are the m ost 'internal'. They are the rites o f T aleju w ho is
w orshipped in conjunction w ith her innerm ost energizing counterpart, the goddess K ubjik, the
lineage goddess o f the T aleju R jopdhyyas and. in all probability, o f all the other R jopdhyyas,
K arm cryas and Josis.
O f course, m atters do not seem to be this way to others. A s a result o f w hat the
R jopdhyya m ay call a m ass rebellion, m ost o f these other priests consider them selves to be
autonom ous agents. It is possible to m eet a K arm crya w ho bow s his head respectfully as he says
in a hushed voice that he is nothing but the servant o f the R jopdhyya, but m ost are far from this
fealty.17 In B haktapur, the K arm cryas w ho serve the upper castes (thar) affirm that they lived in
B haktapur prior to the arrival o f the R jopdhyyas, w hich took place hardly nine Or ten
generations ago, and that they w ere displaced by them from their original high statu s.18 They point

16 That this is the case is clearly proved by the fact that there are rituals that only Rjopdhyyas can
perform alone, the prime examples being those that require animal sacrifice that they must, therefore, do
themselves even though they invariably prefer to have the actual killing done by an assistant whenever
possible.
17 I am thinking in particular of an interview with a Karmcrya who, after performing the functions of
the Karmcrya in the Taleju temple in Patan for many years, resigned. When asked if this was because of
some quarrel with the Rjopdhyya priests, he was surprised. "Why should we quarrel." he said, "they are
our gurus and we are their assistants!" The reason he left was quite another. The government trust that
finances the Taleju and other temples in the Valley gave him only one Nepalese rupee a day as
remuneration. At present this is barely the price o f a cup o f tea. The tone and mood of this Karmcrya was
in sharp contrast with that of the main VidypTtha Karmcrya who performs the equivalent rituals in the
Bhaktapur Taleju temple. He is a senior science lecturer in Tribhuvan University and has several well-to-do
patrons. Moreover, the situation in the Bhaktapur temple, although not good, is considerably better than in
Patan, and so those who act as priests there are better rewarded. The Bhaktapur Karmcrya. who is in a
much better financial position and. as a university lecturer, enjoys a better social status, combined with a
self-assertive character, represents the kind of Karmcrya who is convinced of his own importance and
resents the inferior status to which he is relegated by Rjopdhyyas. He does not talk about his caste status.
He prefers to talk about his competence as a ritual agent. He goes so far as to boast that he can perform the
smrta life cycle rituals himself - which he is certainly not authorized to do. Clearly, competence to perform
ritual is amongst the Newars a finely graded measure of status, no less than considerations of relative purity,
which is the most basic measure of status in traditional Hindu societies.
'* The Bhaktapur Karmcryas accept the historicity of the story of Ullsa and Allsa Rj. These were
two Brahmin brothers who came to the Valley from Kanauj. Allsa Rj went to the hills where, it is said, his
descendants became the hill (prsatiya) Brahmins. Ullsa Rj came to Bhaktapur and his descendants are
said to be the present Rjopdhyya Brahmins o f Bhaktapur (Levy 1992: 346ff.). Another version says that
the two brothers pleased the king by their Vedic recitation and were asked to stay. One remained in
Bhaktapur, and the other in Kathmandu. There are several other legends (for which see Toffin 1995: 188).
Genealogies have been recovered that begin with Ullsa Rj (see Witzel 1976). Toffin ( 1995: 188) writes:
According to this document, this Kanaujlya priest arrived in the Nepal Valley in the middle of the
sixteenth century and died in 1576. He is supposedly the earliest 'Nepalese ancestor of the family.
However, these dates have to be treated with caution because other interpretations of the genealogies
are possible: the original ancestor could have migrated to Nepal in the fourteenth century, at roughly
the same time as Taleju was brought to Bhaktapur, or at the end o f the fifteen century during the
reign o f Raya Malla (1482-1505 AD).
The legends vary also for different cities, since 'Rjopdhyya' was not originally a proper name but
a title meaning the 'king's teacher', and it appears that several Brahmin families came at different times and
settled in various places in the Valley. Toffin remarks:
 K u b jik a , K l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 9

to the T antric shrines (gan) w here they, not B rahm ins, perform rituals on b eh alf o f the lineage
m em bers. A m ongst them , they say, are the oldest ones. T hey are the gurus there, they say, because
the B rahm ins have not been able to displace them.
T hese disputes are clearly extensions o f those that take place w herever society is ordered
into castes, a social order that has been aptly characterized as a "contested hierarchy". In this case,
the gradation o f ritual em pow erm ent is the d efining characteristic o f status. A ccordingly, it is this
that is the object o f contention. The status associated w ith T antric ritual em pow erm ent is reflected
in the distribution o f priestly functions am ongst the m em bers o f N ew ar fam ily lineages. Thus,
although every initiate is em pow ered to perform all the rituals associated w ith his ow n lineage
diety, in practice, the seniorm ost m em bers o f the lineage - the thakli (also called nyo) and, to a
lesser degree, his w ife - the nakin - have special privileges and obligations along with other
elders.19
Significantly, the thakli and his w ife m ust be present for at least the prelim inary stages o f
the rites o f T antric initiation o f m em bers o f their lineage. T raditionally it is the thakli who
perform s the w orship o f the lineage deity in its aniconic form as a stone (see below ). H e m ust be
present and often perform s priestly functions in the m ajor life cycle rites. In this he may
com plem ent the ritual activity o f the fam ily purohita. The p u ro h ita w ho, as we have said, m ust be a
B rahm in, perform s the S anskrit rites. T he thakli m ay at tim es perform additional non-Sanskritic
rites. A striking exam ple o f this is the kaytpj. A m ongst the upper castes this is done in
conjunction w ith the sm rta rite o f passage in w hich a sacred thread is given to a young m an as a
sign o f his entry into adulthood (upanayana). T his part o f the rite is basically the sam e as the one
perform ed in India, w hile the other part o f the rite is im portant enough to give its nam e to the w hole
ritual. E ssentially, this consists o f the donation o f a loincloth - kayt - to the young m an as a token
o f his transform ed status and full adm ission into his lineage as an adult. T his is done not by the
B rahm in, but by the thak li .20Low castes (but not the low est) w ho are not entitled to the sm rta rite
o f passage retain the rites associated w ith the offering o f the ka yt .
I believe that these are exam ples o f m any rem nants o f N ew ar religious custom s that pre
existed the introduction o f religion from India. N um erous anthropologists and historians have noted
in a large num ber o f contexts a hard core o f beliefs and ritual practice, both individual and
collective, that cannot be reduced to those o f scriptural H induism o r B uddhism . T his should not
surprise us. Indeed, we perceive the existence o f analogous cores throughout the Indian
subcontinent and w herever these religions have spread. It is this core w hich gives these religions
and the traditional, essentially religious societies to w hose developm ent they contribute, their
particular regional and local character. C ertainly there are m ajor problem s involved in identifying
the exact content o f this core in N ewar religion and social life for the sim ple reason that Indian

Nor does it seem that the present-day Rjopdhyyas are all descended from a single ancestor as
legend claims. Rather it appears that the first arrivals, no more than several families, continued to
receive reinforcements until quite a late date (at least until the sixteenth or seventeenth century). The
present Rjopdhyya caste is thus more likely to have been a product o f the amalgamation of
successive waves of migrants than of the fission and separation of the descendants of a single
ancestor (ibid. 191).
19 This is generally true of all Newars, whether Hindu or Buddhist. Thus, the lineages of Buddhist
farmer castes (jypu, maharjan) in Patan and Kathmandu have a group of five elders who lead their
community (Gellner and Quigley 1995: 181 fn. 4).
20 Gellner reports that amongst the Buddhist farmer castes (maharjan): "once a Maharjan has been
through the ritual of consecration of an elder (thkuli [= thakli] layegu) in some circles he is considered
able to act as a priest for such occasions as kayt pj (loincloth worship), thus making it unnecessary to
invite the Vajrcrya, domestic priest" (Gellner and Quigley 1995: 181 fn. 4).
10 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

religions and social institutions have influenced the N ew ars for m any centuries. M oreover, the
subject is so extensive and controversial that it w ould require separate treatm ent. E ven so, a few
features o f this core system o f beliefs that are relevant to o ur topic need to be provisionally and
succinctly tackled here, if we are to understand the specific ch aracter o f N ew ar religion and, m ore
specifically, the T antrism o f the higher castes w hich centres on the w orship o f the goddesses who
are the subject o f this essay.
T o do this let us begin by returning to the figure o f the thakli. T here are num erous
circum stances in w hich the thakli functions as the priest o f the lineage o f w hich he is the head.
A m ongst the low er castes he often operates in this capacity independently. In the case o f the higher
castes, his role as the lineage priest is eclipsed by the Sanskritic lineage priests, the guru, p urohita
and K arm crya. N onetheless the preem inent seniority he enjoys in his lineage is concretely
apparent in his priestly functions. Particularly im portant from the point o f view o f this study is his
role as the chief priest in the w orship o f a stone as the lineage deity, because N ew ar $aktism is also
centred on the w orship o f lineage {kula) deities.
The w orship o f these stones and. indeed the w orship stones as d eities in general, is a
characteristic feature o f N ew ar religion, both B uddhist and Hindu. W hen the founder o f a lineage
enters to settle in an inhabited space, he places a stone at its confines, thus delineating the territory
in w hich he and his descendants resid e.11 T his stone, often together w ith others in a sm all group, is
venerated at least once a y ear by his descendants as their lineage deity - digudyah . On the basis o f
the results o f the surveys carried out so far, it transpires that the m ain deity w orshipped in the stone
by the low er castes, that is, those not entitled to receive K aula initiation, is m ale. A m ongst the
farm er (jypu) lineages in B haktapur we find, am ongst others, M ahdeva and N ryana. The
potters w orship G anesa: stone- and m etal-w orkers (silp a k r), V iSvakarm an; and the copper- and
bronze-w orkers (tm rakr), M ahdeva. The stones are usually kept in a specific place to w hich
lineage m em bers go every year. The stones m ay be m oved, o r others selected elsew here into w hich
the deity is invoked.22 In the course o f the lengthy rite o f adoration the present and, if the stone has

21 Vergati writes: "What seemed to me specific to the Newars both Buddhists and Hindus was the
relation between the lineage deity and a particular territory. The divinity was situated obligatorily in the
same area as that in which the ancestors and senior members of the lineage resided. Even if people are
unable to explain in detail their genealogies they always know where their lineage deity is situated (Vergati
1995: 18).
22 A notable example of this in Bhaktapur was the shifting of the digu stone of the Taleju
Rjopdhyyas. The stone was kept in a small sacred grove called Sillighari. just outside Bhaktapur, where
numerous lineage stones are kept. Although the worship of digu stones is not usually done in secret, the
Rjopdhyayas do not wish to be observed when they perform these, or indeed, any rites. Accordingly, they
built a wall around the area where the stone was located. But the bricks were repeatedly removed from the
wall, making it hard for them to keep their rites secret. Thus they decided that they should move their stone.
Accordingly, some forty years ago, all adult male Rjopdhyyas of that lineage met around the stone. A
ritual drawing of lots took place in order to ask the deity in the stone for its consent to move it. When the
elders had decided on the basis of the outcome that this consent had been given, a new stone and
companions were installed in the new location. And so now the new stone is located in a garden of the royal
palace where the digu of the Malla kings is kept (see below).
The potential mobility of the deities in such stones is well illustrated by the unusual case o f the digu
deity of the Tamrakrs, the copper- and bronze-workers, of Bhaktapur. Although they always perform the
rites of their digu deity at Hanumn Ght. they do not have the usual set of fixed digu stones. They must go
to the river to collect fresh stones every time they worship their digu. They do this at random by simply
closing their eyes and taking the first stones of an appropriate size they happen to touch. Eight stones are
selected in this way. Seven of them represent guardians (kpetrapla), and the remaining one. the digu.
 K u b jik , K l I, T r ip u r a and T r ik a 11

been shifted, previous locations o f the stone are m entioned and the y ear o f its rem oval. T hus it is
possible to find people w ho know o f the stone's location even several hundreds o f years back.
It is also possible to share the sam e stone w ith others. T his is w hat happens in the
Prnacantp tem ple in Patan. T his and one oth er tem ple, also located in P atan,23 along w ith three
others in B haktapur24 are the only open public tem ples to the goddess SiddhilaksmT in the V alley.
Here she is represented by a large stone. A lthough the goddess o f this tem ple is com m only know n
as PrnacantJT, there can be no doubt the deity in the shrine is SiddhilaksmT. because the tym panum
bears an im age o f this goddess. M oreover, there is a lengthy hym n dedicated to this goddess
inscribed on a slab cem ented onto one o f the w alls. T he tem ple w as built by the R jopdhyyas o f
the locality (V al). The stone in the tem ple serves as the digudyh o f a large num ber o f fam ilies
living in Patan, including all the lineages o f R jopdhyyas in P atan.25
T he story concerning the founding o f this tem ple is still transm itted in the V alanim lineage
o f R jopdhyyas, w ho are relatives o f the present T aleju priests.26 T he hero o f this story is
V isvantha, the son o f G ayahbjy (see above fn. 6). He w as the puro h ita and T antric preceptor o f
K ing Siddhinarasirhham alla, w ho ruled Patan from 1597 to 1619. ViSvantha, the story goes, found
the goddess in the form o f a stone in the N akhu R iver, w hich in those days flow ed next to the
present location o f the tem ple. The nearby pond is said to be a rem nant o f this river. V isvantha and
a certain P rnnanda Svm I, w ho is said to have com e from Bengal, erected this tem ple with the
help o f the M alla king and oth er patrons. All the R jopdhyyas o f Patan go to this tem ple and
perform digupj in conjunction w ith their sm rta rites o f passage, especially w hen their sons are
given the sacred thread (vratabandha) and w hen they m arry. T hey do not w orship their digu
otherw ise.
Large num bers o f people, including m any from K athm andu w hose ancestors lived in Patan.
com e to this tem ple during the season in w hich the digu is w orshipped to perform the rites, using
the stone in the tem ple as a substitute for their ow n digu stones. R esearch has revealed that as m any
as h alf the upper caste fam ilies o f Patan w orship their digu here.27 The num ber o f people w ho make
use o f this stone in this w ay is so large that during the digupj season they often have to w ait a
long tim e before their turn com es, and when it does they only have tim e to perform a brief

23 The other temple is associated with the Kirantis of eastern Nepal, a people who are perhaps
descendants of the Kirtas who appear in many Newar legends as the earliest known rulers of the
Kathmandu Valley. Slusser informs us that "there are two sites in Patan where the Kiranti maintain
traditional ties. One of these, the SiddhilaksmT temple near Tyagal-tol, attracts certain Kiranti families for
the annual worship of their clan god, the Kuladevat (degu. devli)" (Slusser 1982: 96). Although the local
people do refer to the temple as one of SiddhilaksmT, the icon is not at all that of this goddess. Moreover, no
inscription found on or near the temple refers to the deity in it as being this goddess.
34 See plates 1-2 and explanatory notes.
25 Up to recent times, there were six lineages of Rjopdhyyas inPatan, collectively called the Six
Families (satkula). They are all connected with PmacandT. The six families are:
1) Balim, Patukva and Gbahl. These three belong to one family. They are descendantsof three brothers
who took up residence in these three places in Patan.
2) Sulim.
3) Val, also called Valnim.
4) Svatha. Their Tantric shrine (gafi) is in the Muchem quarter of Patan.
5) Thramlivi.
6) Nugah. This lineage came to an end three or four generations ago.
26 I was told this story by Ntan Sarm, a Val Rjopdhyya, who heard it from his grandmother who
belongs to the Valnim lineage o f Rjopdhyyas.
27 Ntan Sarm has made a survey of more than 6,500 houses in Patan as a part of hisdoctoral
research. This fact is one of his many findings. I am grateful to him for this information.
12 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

digupj. T he anim als w hich are custom arily sacrificed m ay be cooked and eaten in one o f the tw o
rest houses located in the vicinity specially for this purpose. T his appears to be a unique case.
T here are m any exam ples o f tem ples containing stones w hich serve as a substitute for digu
stones. B ut norm ally in such cases the original digu stones are located elsew here. T his alternative is
available to those fam ilies w ho have m oved far from their original hom es w here their digu is
located and find it hard for them to go there to w orship it. Pum acandl / SiddhilaksmT plays a sim ilar
role, w ith the im portant difference that, in the form o f a stone, this goddess functions as the digu
directly fo r those fam ilies w ho have no o th er stone.
T here is an old inscription on the tem ple w all w hich establishes that the tem ple w as indeed
constructed during the reign o f S iddhinarasim ham alla. T his m eans that this unique custom cannot
predate the m iddle o f the seventeenth century, unless there w ere other such stones, o r indeed this
one itself was being used for this purpose. If the legend concerning the finding o f the stone in the
N akhur R iver is true, then the latter hypothesis can be discarded.
The reason w hy all this is possible is because the digu stone is ju s t a tem porary dw elling
place o f the lineage deity. T hus an essential prelim inary to digupj is the invocation o f the
presence o f the lineage deity into the stone. TTtis can be done even w hen the stone is already
'occupied' by another deity. Indeed, N ew ars frequently invoke the presence o f deities in various
objects, including ritual d iagram s, jars, and the other im plem ents used in the ritual, sacrificial
offerings, the place w here the rite is perform ed, the sacrificial fire, them selves as p riests28 and in
other people. D eities m ay even be invoked into icons o f other deities.29 D espite m uch controversy
concerning this m atter, after study o f the rituals involved30 and penetrating enquiry, there can be no
doubt that the higher castes invoke their lineage goddess into the digu stone.31 O ne o r m ore

When powerful, secret deities need to be taken out in procession during festivals, bundles are carried
around the processional route. The general public is led to believe that they contain the 'original' form of the
deity. At times there are two such mysterious bundles, thus adding further to the confusion and speculation.
Even seasoned western researchers have been caught up in such 'intrigues'. Referring to the famous New
Year's festival - Bisket Ytr - in Bhaktapur, Vergati tells us that: "crushed in a large crowd I could watch
what was happening in the Main Chowk [of the royal palace where Taleju's shrine is located] at the time of
Hiskel jlr but I was never able to see the box which reputedly contains the yantra of the goddess Taleju"
(Vergati 1995: 9). But even if Vergati had been able to see the box or even its contents, she would not have
seen the deity because in actual fact, in this case as in many other such instances, the deity is not in what is
being carried but within the person who carries it. Prior to his emergence in the public space the bearer has
mentally extracted the deity or a part of it from its hidden location and projected it into his heart where it is
safe and well hidden.
29 This is why SiddhilaksmT or Pumacandl may not be the identity o f the lineage deity o f the families
who worship their digu in the temple o f Pumacandl referred to previously. It is common practice amongst
Newars, especially if they wish the identity of the deity they are worshipping to be kept secret, to project the
deity they are worshipping onto another one. In this way, it appears to the onlooker that a certain deity is
being worshipped whereas, in fact, that deity simply serves as the vehicle of the deity that is really being
worshipped.
30 It may appear at first sight that there are no written liturgies for digupj or the rites performed at
large festivals. But this is not the case for the higher castes at least. Thus the NGMPP has microfilmed a
manuscript of the liturgy prescribed for the worship of the digu of the Malla kings, Dvimmju. The text is
simply called Dvimmjupj and is NGMPP reel no. B 703/7. In order to find the written liturgies for the
secret rites performed in public festivals, one must first know the deities that are worshipped on these
occasions and the rites performed at that time. During Bisket Ytr, for example, the rite performed in secret
in the Maila palace in Bhaktapur is centred on the ceremonial raising of a banner in honour o f the goddess
SiddhilaksmT. Several manuscripts of this liturgy have been microfimed by the NGMPP. One is the
SiddhilaksmTkotyhulidhvajrohanavarsavardhanavidhih, NGMPP reel no. A 249/4.
 K u b jik , K l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 13

representations o f this goddess (yantra and/or icon) are norm ally kept in a T antric shrine, either a
separate building (ganch em ) or, m ore com m only, a room in the house (g a m ku th i) set aside for
this purpose.
The m ain officiant for this rite is the lineage elder - the thakti . If he is not initiated or
unable, the rite m ay be perform ed by another senior m em ber o f the lineage. But if none have been
initiated, it m ust necessarily be done by the lineage priest, w ho m ay be a B rahm in or, m ore
com m only for such rituals, a K arm crya.
A s I have noted already, the low er castes w ho are not allow ed to take Tantric initiation
w orship non-Tantric deities (and in som e cases B hairava) in the digu stone. The rites may also be
done by a K arm crya or a B rahm in for them , but it is m uch m ore usual for them to do it for
them selves. Even though they do not take initiation from a B rahm in, they also m aintain a room or
shrine w here an im age o f the deity is kept. B ut in m any cases the identity o f the deity is not kept as
scrupulously secret as it w ould be by the higher castes.
I believe that all these facts m ake sense if we postulate the existence o f an original cutural
substratum or substrata w hich predate the introduction o f B uddhism and H induism . I believe the
form o f this core culture m ay be discerned, to som e degree at least, by exam ining the practices and
beliefs that cannot be traced to the Sanskrit texts, B uddhist or H indu, those practices, that is, that
are not Indian. T his does not, o f course, exclude other possible influences, but these appear to be
m inor com pared to those from India. The society, culture and religion o f the farm er castes (jypu.
m aharjan) appears in m any respects to coincide m ost w ith this ancient core, although it has
undergone a steady process o f Sanskritization for m any centuries. A s G elln er writes:

It is rem arkable that although nearly all oth er N ew ar caste sub-groups have a m yth w hich
traces their origin to som ew here else, usually India, the M aharjans have no such myth. Even
at the level o f the sub-caste w ithin one city there appear to be no such m yths. As distinct
from this, specific lineages do o f course often have traditions w hich record their m igration
from som e other place w ithin the V alley. T hus, not claim ing to com e from outside, the
M aharjans have been seen to be the true locals. T his has led som e observers to see them as
descendents o f the original inhabitants o f the V alley and to look for ancient survivals in
their culture and social practices. (G ellner 1995: 160)

T his older religion appears to have been strongly centred on ancestor w orship w hich w as
based on the b elief that people, both m en and w om en, acquire the status o f deity as they grow old.
A ccordingly, N ew ars still undergo three succesive rites o f passage (called burn ja m kw a ) every ten
years from the tim e they reach the age o f 77 years 7 m onths 7 days 7 ghatTs (2 hours 48 m inutes)
and 7 pa la s (2 m inutes 48 seconds). A fter this ritual a person "leaves the w orld o f m en for that o f
the gods" (V ergati 1995: 12). If he lives to undergo the third ritual passage he is belived to be fully
deified. T hus the very first m em ber o f the clan w as the m ost senior, the m ost divine. I believe.

11 Vergati writes concerning digupj: "The annual ceremony always takes place according to the
following schema: the pj begins with a meditation by all the members of the lineage who, in their minds,
focus on the image of their chosen deity. The head o f the lineage (or the ritual specialist) invites the deity to
take its place in the stones. An animal victim is then slaughtered..." (Vergati 1995: 55f.). A little further on
she describes this procedure in greater detail: "Those who participate in the pj stand facing the stones. The
officiant is in front of them, also facing the stones. All are bare-headed, with hands joined at chest level,
fingers pointing to the ground. The participants attempt to visualize the image o f the deity and to project it
into the stone. Before the silent meditation (vhana [that is, invocation]) which lasts several minutes, the
digu dyah stone is only a stone: afterwards, it is the seat of the divinity throughout the duration of the
ceremony" (ibid. 57).
14 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

although no im m ediately apparent trace o f this b elief survives, that he was the original deity w hose
presence w as invoked in the digu stone.32 W hether this is true or not there can be no doubt that
from the start this religion w as dom estic. The dom estic unit w as not the fam ily, not even the
extended jo in t fam ily, as in India, but the p huki - the group o f closely related patrilineal fam ilies. I
suggest that the priests o f the p h u kis were the m ost aged m em bers. They perform ed the rites o f
passage for the p h u ki m em bers and the w orship o f the p h u k i's deities.
A nother im portant surviving feature o f this religion is the w orship o f protectors. T hey are
the original form s o f the G anesas w ho protect each locality, the B hairavas w ho protect w hole tow ns
and villages or large areas o f them , the M others w ho encircle hum an settlem ents, and others. Like
the digu deities, they have iconic counterparts w hich are usually kept apart except on certain
occasions w hen the tw o are brought together. In N ew ari the B hairavas and the M others can be
genetically referred to as ju (lit. 'grandfather') and jim (lit. 'grandm other'), im plying, it seem s,
that som e o f them , at least, w ere believed to have originally been deified hum an beings. T hus,
according to N ew ar legend, som e o f the B hairavas were originally kings w ho, as deities, continue
the royal function they perform as hum an beings o f protecting their people.33
All these beings w ere, and still are, w orshipped in stones. The Sanskritized nam e for such
stones is, appropriately, pitha, w hich literally m eans 'seat'. W hile the digu stones (w hich are never
referred to as pTthas) originally m arked the location o f the p huki and so are m oveable and had
hum an origin, the pitha stones are m arkers and delineators o f place com m on to the com m unity as a
w hole. T hey w ere not placed in their locations but discovered there. They protect larger o r sm aller
areas, according to their status, function and location, all three o f w hich are interrelated. T hus som e
m ark and protect areas that together co v er the w hole V alley. O thers protect villages, sectors of
tow ns, the roads, crossroads, houses and courtyards, even refuse dum ps. Such stones are to be
found everyw here, both in the countryside and - w here they are particularly profuse - in hum an
settlem ents. T hese stones are, indeed m ust be, w orshipped by those w ho live close to them .
O ccasionally the inhabitants o f a tow n or village decide that they should w orship all the stones in

32 I say this fully conscious of how controversial this view is. Thus Ishii writing about the Newar
village of Satungal says: "Although the digu dyah is the deity of the lineage there is not the slightest
suggestion of what one finds in other cultures, that the lineage god is a deified ancestor. Neither the legends
about the early settlers of Satungal nor the Srddha ceremony is related to this deity. Moreover, in some
cases, the same digu dyah is worshipped by many groups not patrilineally related, though all patrilineally
related people worship the same digu dyah " (Ishii 1995: 146). In reply one could say that srddha rites
belong to a separate ritual dimension. And we have seen that the same stone may be the abode of different
lineage deities for different people. It is possible that the ancestral origin of the digudyah and o f the other
ancient deities of the early inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley has been forgotten.
33 Anderson (1975: 156) writes that: "The estimated five million Bhairab images in Nepal are seen in
sixty-four different manifestations and forms depicting his combined human, demonic and animal
characteristics." These sixty-four manifestations are the male counterparts o f the sixty-four yoginTs. This
purely Tantric representation also depicts both the Bhairavas and their consorts as divinized human beings,
that is, perfect Tantric adepts (siddha) and the female adepts with which they unite. Here, as in many other
instances, the representations of the Sanskrit scriptures coincide in principle with popular local beliefs. The
human origin of one of the major Bhairavas in Kathmandu illustrates this thesis. He is represented by five
small stones in an open temple site near the Bagmati River between Tripuresvara and Klimatl, just south of
old Kathmandu. The Newars, Anderson informs us, "conforming with legends in which many Bhairabs are
identified as various Nepalese kings, say Pachali is the name of one such sovereign who ruled from Farping
village near Chobar Gorge" (ibid. 158). Another myth represents Pacali Bhairava as belonging to the Jypu
farmer caste and his lover a Khasai (butcher) girl. Chalier-Visuvalingam has published a lengthy and very
detailed article on the cult of Pacali Bhairava to which the reader is referred (see bibliography).
 K u b jik a , K l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 15

w hich deities o r other beings reside. W hen this took place in Patan in 1989 G utschow counted 442
o f them .3''
A n im portant clue to the m anner in w hich this earlier religion, centred on the w orship o f
such stones, is incorporated into the Sanskritic religions o f India, both H indu and B uddhist, is the
ritual that takes place w hen the iconic counterparts o f the stones are brought to them . T his rite is
essentially a form o f installation (prnapratisth) o f the deity into the stone and the icon (or its
representation), follow ed by w orship. W e w itness here the sym biosis o f the earlier and later
religions. T he stone draw s its life force (prna) from the icon and the icon from the stone. T he two
must therefore, at som e tim e at least, be w orshipped together. T his m ay take place ju s t once a year
or m ore often, according to custom . In the case o f the royal goddess T aleju, the stone w hich is the
digu o f the M alla kings (D virhm aju) m ust alw ays be w orshipped along with its equivalent iconic
form and vice versa even in the course o f the daily rites (nityapj). T hese rituals alw ays involve
the invocation o f the deity (vh a n a), w hich can be considered,' in som e respects, to be a reduced
form o f the fully developed rite o f installation. W e observe in this w ay how the Sanskrit m antras,
and especially the pow erful T antric m antras, used in such rites sanskritize the earlier aniconic
form s and how these latter are reaffirm ed in their function o f contributing their energy to the
em pow erm ent o f the deities w ith w hich these m antras originate. T hus the ancient guardians o f the
N ewars becom e the attendants o f the T antric goddesses o f the higher castes, em pow ering them
even as they are em pow ered by them to perform their functions as protectors o f place and lineage.
T he sources o f the history o f the developm ent o f these form s o f T antrism am ongst the
N ewars o f the K athm andu V alley include the com m on sources o f any aspect o f N epalese history,
nam ely, inscriptions, chronicles, the records o f land grants, business transactions, corporate trusts
(guthis) and the colophons o f m anuscripts containing dates or d ateable references. B ut particularly
im portant, and as yet virtually untouched, are the im m ense num ber o f liturgical w orks (paddhati,
pjvidhi) the N ew ars have w ritten to regulate, in part at least, their very m any and often extrem ely
extensive, esoteric ritual procedures. Indeed, along w ith ethnological and historical studies, a study
o f these texts, together w ith the T antras that are their prim ary literary sources, is essential in order
to understand the specific form N ew ar Saktism has assum ed o v er the past thousand years since its
introduction into the V alley from India.
T hese H indu texts (I am not concerned w ith N ew ar B uddhism ) can be broadly classified, in
term s o f this enquiry, into three basic types:

1) T hose liturgies that are constructed entirely from m aterials draw n from T antric sources, that is,
from texts w ritten in Sanskrit called Tantras or synonym s o f that term.

34 Gutschow writes:
The irreversible character o f urban space is closely linked to the idea that essentially the quality of
place' reveals itself through aniconic representations of gods and goddesses, namely, GaneSa,
Bhairava, and Durg. In Patan there are altogether 442 such representations, which are collectively
called pig, as the specific connotation remains mostly vague. These pig are unhewn stones, which
emerge out of the ground and reach eventually a height of one or two meters; or they are flat stones,
integrated into the regular pavement o f squares and streets. These stones have first been discovered
or 'found' by ritual specialists through Tantric power and in many cases the legends tied to this
discovery have survived and form the base for a ritual reenactment of that detection of the sacred
(Gutschow 1995: 112ff.).
One may hazard the suggestion that these discoveries are more often than not colonizations o f the
earlier, autochthonous, deities in the stones by their Tantric counterparts brought about by these Tantric
ritual specialists. Thus what Gutschow explains as the "aniconic infrastructure o f the town" that represents
"the power of the place which enables people to live there" (ibid.) has become a network o f Tantric energies
wielded by the protectors of place.
16 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

2) T hose liturgies w hich contain, usually in very m oderate degrees, passages draw n from the V edas
w hich, N ew ar B rahm ins insist, can only be recited by them . T hese are im portant but relatively few.
3) Those liturgies that contain in varying degrees m aterial draw n from o th er sources that are not in
written form . These include an im m ense range o f ritual activity that appears to be d erived from
local custom . It is w orth noting that very little o f this activity is, in the form it is at present,
intrinsically articulate. W hen som ething is said, the speaker m akes use o f a language w hich is not
local, nam ely, Sanskrit, even if it is usually quite corrupt and, not uncom m only,m ixed w ith N ew ari.
In order to avoid the controversial term 'tribal', one could call these sources, sim ply, non-Sanskritic.

For the sake o f clarity, it is w orth stressing that there is also a great deal o f ritual activity
that takes place 'w ithout a book', as the N ew ars put it. T his may also be to varying degrees
Sanskritic in the sense that it is both guided by the religious notions and pantheon com m on to
H indus throughout South A sia and/or related to form s o f the sacred that are local and, therefore,
non-Sanskritic. A lthough such non-literate ritual activity is im portant and, statistically, constitutes a
considerable am ount o f the ritual activity N ew ars engage in, that done 'with a book is considered to
be the m ost pow erful, how ever great the non-Sanskritic elem ents it m ay contain.
If we exam ine these liturgies referring to the sim ple three-fold classification outlined above,
we notice that the basic structure, even o f those o f the third type, is the one w hich is m ost
coherently and system atically elaborated in the first type, to w hich belong liturgies constructed
entirely from m aterials draw n from T antric sources. In this tangible and direct m anner T antrism
serves as a vehicle o f S anskritization at the very core o f N ew ar culture, radically rooted as it is in
religion that is to a very large degree ritualistic. In this and oth er w ays, notably its art, T antrism is a
ubiquitous part o f N ew ar culture. For high-caste N ew ars, and to proportionately varying degrees as
one descends the hierarchy o f the N ew ar caste system , insofar as the degree o f access to these rites
is a m easure o f caste status, esoteric T antric rites com bine w ith dom estic rituals including, as we
have seen, the sm rta rites o f passage and the w orship o f lineage d eities (digudyah). T hey also
form an invariable part o f civic festivals. In both cases they perform the essential function o f
energizing them from 'w ithin' to render them effective. This esoteric Sanskritic dim ension o f N ew ar
religious culture is m ost developed am ongst the higher castes because only they are allow ed to take
the initiation w hich authorizes them to perform and attend the purely T antric rituals in their m ost
com plete form belonging to the first group. The upper sections o f the low er castes have access to
such rituals, although these are centred on d eities w ho serve as attendants o f the esoteric deities o f
the higher castes.35 M oreover, as one goes dow n the caste hierarchy, rituals tend to contain, as one
w ould expect, greater proportions o f non-Sanskritic elem ents. A lthough not prom inent in the
esoteric T antric rituals o f the h igher castes, they do m ake their appearance in som e o f the more
elaborate occasional T antric rites o f even N ew ar Brahm ins.
A nother distinguishing feature o f the esoteric religion o f the h igher castes in relation to the
more exoteric religion o f the low er is that the form er is centred on the w orship o f goddesses, while
the equivalent religion o f the low er castes concentrates m ore on th eir m ale equivalents. I m ust
stress that I am contrasting the esoteric religion o f the high castes to w hich access can only be had
through initiation w ith that o f the low er castes w ho are not entitled to take such initiations.
But rather than exam ine the developm ent o f N ew ar T antrism that has taken place at the
hands o f the N ew ars them selves as reflected by these liturgical w orks, I w ish instead to explore
som e o f the salient features and developm ents o f the specifically T antric traditions that are their
original and m ost authoritative Sanskrit sources. In ord er to d o this I w ill focus prim arily on the

35 These attendants - for the most part one or other of the Eight Mothers who surround and protect
Newar settlements - are identified by initiates with the great lineage goddesses, especially Kubjik, because
they are emanated from them.
 K u b jik , K l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 17

Tantras and related m aterial pertaining to the early period o f the developm ent o f K aula Tantrism ,
that is, prior to the thirteenth|century o f the current era. T his is because, although the N ew ars
continued to absorb form s o f T antrism from N orth India throughout the period o f the developm ent
o f H indu, especially Skta. T antrism in that region, the T antric traditions o f the early period centred
on the goddesses K ubjik, KlT and T ripur have rem ained by far the m ost dom inant sources for
them .37
A m ongst these three goddesses tw o are especially im portant. O ne is K ubjik because she
appears, from the field w ork done so far, to be the goddess o f m ost, if not all, o f the higher-caste
priests o f the H indu N ew ars. T his is certainly true in B haktapur. It is probably for this reason, and
insofar as it is the priests w ho have m ade the liturgies, that K ubjik functions in innum erable w ays,
which are still the objects o f research, as the energizing centre o f the N ew ar esoteric Skta
pantheon.38
The other goddess is Klt. A lthough goddesses have num erous form s, as do South A sian
deities in general, som e o f KU's form s have especially w ell-defined identities. T hree o f these
figure prom inently in N ew ar esoteric Sktism . T hese are D aksinakfi, G uhyakl! and

34 It is possible to distinguish two great periods of development of Hindu Tantric traditions. The
dividing line between them are the works of the monistic Kashmiri Saiva exegetes beginning with
Vasugupta (ninth century) and ending with Jayaratha (thirteenth-century). Foi uncertain reasons, of which I
believe the major one to be the disruption brought about by the progressive Muslim conquest of North India,
there was a sudden catastrophic break in most o f the lineages of the major Tantric traditions in northern
India in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Most of the Tantric traditions that survived this break were
those found in South India at that time. One major exception o f particular importance for this study is the
Kubjik cult, which by this time was, it seems, well established amongst the Newars in the Kathmandu
Valley and has continued to develop there since then. Another is the cult of Tripur.
The new Tantrism that developed after this period in northern India was dominantly Skta, that is,
centred on goddess cults. A great deal of the contents of these cults were built up from the vague memories
of the earlier ones that had been lost but which were generally more extensively and systematically
developed than their successors.
37 The group of Ten Goddesses, the so-called Dasa Mahvidy, which became a very important
configuration of divine forms in North India from about the seventeenth century onwards, are well known to
the Newars. They even figure in the sacred geographies o f Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. From what I
have been able to gather from interviews, they are also to be found in some of the rooms or chapels (gan)
of higher caste initiates where they worship their Tantric family goddesses (kuladevat). Apart from the
aniconic stones in which they reside (pitha) encircling Kathmandu and Patan, some of them have temples.
One important temple is dedicated to the goddess BagalmukhT. It is located in the temple complex of
Kumbhesvara in Patan. Framed paintings of all ten of the Daa Mahvidys adorn the upper part of the outer
walls.
38 One striking example of the way this is done is found in most of the Newar liturgies of all these
Kaula goddesses. The initial purification of the hands and body o f the officiant that must precede all Tantric
rituals is done by mentally projecting mantras onto the body. This transforms the body, speech, and mind of
the officiant into that o f a deity and so renders him fit to worship the deity. The mantra for this process
(technically called nysa - lit. 'deposition') is invariable Kubjik's Thirty-Two-Syllable Vidy (the Newars
call it 'battJsT' which literally means 'thirty-two-(syllabled) one'). The Kaula initiation which is most popular
in Bhaktapur is called the Vasisthadikskarmapaddhati (which is probably a misnomer for
Vi.iistadikskarmapaddhali). I was given a copy by a Bhairavcrya o f Bhaktapur. The preparatory phases
of the initiation which render the disciple fit to receive the mantra of his or her lineage goddess require that
the teacher project the mantras of Kubjik onto the disciple's body. This is invariably the case regardless of
the identity of the lineage goddess of the person receiving initiation. The basic identity of the initiate as a
ritual agent is here clearly revealed to be Kubjik. I plan to deal extensively with this important and complex
aspect of Newar Sktism in fiiture publications.
18 M a r k S. G . D y czk ow sk j

Siddhilaksm l.39 E specially the last tw o are so well defined that even though they are both form s of
Kali, they possess separate and extensive Tantras o f their ow n from w hich the basics o f their cults,
that is, their m andalas and m antras, are draw n. These T antras are the G uhyaklltantra40 along with
the M ahklasam hit41 and the Jayadrathaym ala,*2 respectively. O f these tw o Siddhilaksm l

39 The correct Sanskrit name of this goddess is Siddhalak;ml, but she is known to the Newars as
Siddhilaksml. As these are her last and if not her only worshippers, certainly they are the most important
ones left, I prefer the Newari form to which I am, anyway, habituated.
* According to Divkarcrya, whom I gratefully acknowledge for the information, there is a
fourteenth-century palm leaf manuscript of this Tantra preserved in the Kaisar Library in Kathmandu.
Another incomplete manuscript has been microfilmed by the NGMPP from a private collection. The root
mantra of GuhyakH is taken from this Tantra. This is the form of the mantra used in the worship of
GuhyaklT at night (niSrcana) which takes place at the conclusion o f her procession (ytr) from the Taleju
temple in Kathmandu to her main temple in the Pasupati area (see Michaels 1994 for details). The liturgy
(the text of which is called GuhyeSvariniSrcanavidhih, NGMPP reel no. A 948/4) is centred on the Secret
(guhyal KlTs secret identity, namely, Kubjik, or, to be more precise, Kubjik's Weapon. The form o f the
mantra itself confirms this identity by addressing the goddess as Guhyakubjik as follows:

OM GUHYAKUBJIKE HUM P H A J MAMA SARVOPADRAVYA YANTRAMANTRATANTRA-

CRNAPRAYOGD1KAM YENA KRTAM KRAYTTAM KARI$YATI TN SARVN HANA HANA
DAMSTRAKARALI HREM HRlM HM HREM HM PHAT GUHYAKUBJIKYAI SVH

The mantra is found in the tenth chapter of the KMT. By omitting OM and SVH the Sword
Weapon (khadgstra) mantra is formed. This is the mantra of one of Kubjik's Maids (dull), namely, that of
the Weapon. She is identified with Guhyakll, also known as GuhyeSvari. The KMT goes on to inform us
that the source of this mantra is the separate, independent (siatantra) Tantra called Guhyakll consisting of
125,000 verses. (KMT 10/20-30) This means not only that the cult of Guhyakll pre-existed the KMT, but
that it was colonized by the Kubjik cult at a very early period of its development. As there is at least one
Nepalese manuscript of the KMT belonging to the first half of the eleventh century (see below), we know
that this must have taken place by that time.
41 Wright's History o f Nepal (1966: 148) refers to a Trihutiya (i.e. Maithili) Brahmin called Narasimha
Thkur who was instrumental in inducing King Pratpamalla to found the well-known Guhyesvari temple
close to the Pasupatintha temple near Kathmandu. This took place in 1654 A.D. According to this chronicle
he found the spot where the goddess was located "having perused the book Mahkla Sanhit (sic.)". A
similar reference is found in the RjavamSvali (6: 4). The worship of Guhyesvari in the Valley in
conjunction with Pasupati certainly predates the founding of this temple (Michaels 1994: 315). Indeed, the
couple and their residence in the Valley are mentioned in several early Tantras, including those of the
Kubjik cult. She is known, for example, to the Ni.fisamcratantra, of which there is a palm leaf manuscript
(see bibliography). The text is written in old Newari script which may be as old as the twelfth century or
earlier. But although the text is early, the exposition of the pithas found in this text does not agree with that
found in references from the NiSisamcra quoted in Kashmiri works (see Dyczkowski 1988: 156 fh. 251).
Several folios of this manuscript are missing; moreover, the order of the remaining ones is badly
disarranged. The reference begins on the bottom line of the first part of the fourth folio in the serial order in
which the manuscript was microfilmed. The unedited text reads:

neple samsthitandevam paSunmmpatirisyate I

guhye.nansamyuktam sthnaplasamanvitam II

The god who resides in Nepal is considered to be the lord o f the fettered (i.e. Pafupati). He is linked
to Guhyesvari and is accompanied by the guardian(s) o f the place.
 K u b jik , K l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 19

enjoys a place o f special honour as the secret lineage goddess o f the form er M alla kings, know n to
the public as T aleju.43 It is w orth noting that even in the case o f the cult o f the goddess
SiddhilaksmT, despite her central role in N ew ar Sktism , both in its m ost esoteric form s and its
public m anifestations, w here she figures as T aleju, the goddess K ubjik operates, as elsew here in
the rich com plex o f N ew ar Sktism , as the prim ary source o f pow er in num erous very secret, and
hence especially pow erful, ritual contexts. An exam ple o f this process is the secret connection that
the T aleju priest establishes betw een the tw o goddesses. It is this connection and identification,
enacted ritually at prim e m om ents in the liturgical cycle, that keeps the king's goddess pow erful.
T hus the source o f pow er and, ultim ately, the m ost fundam ental identity o f SiddhilaksmT - the
lineage goddess o f the king - is K ubjik, the lineage goddess o f his priest.
But despite her truly extraordinary im portance for N ew ar Sktas, the goddess Kubjik,
unlike the popular goddesses KlT and T ripur, is virtually unknow n outside the circles o f her
N ew ar initiates in the K athm andu V alley. Even so, the K aula T antras concerned w ith her cult are
num erous and extensive, as is befitting o f a goddess that has been given such prom inence. Her
virtually total obscurity outside N epal does not m ean that K ubjik is a N epalese goddess. The
N ew ars have been surprisingly prolific as com pilers o f liturgical w orks fo r their ow n rituals, but
there is, as yet, little evidence that they have com posed Tantras o f their ow n.44 It appears from the

The Mahklasamhit has been published (see the bibliography). There are no early references to
this text. Further research will disclose the degree of influence this Tantra, o f which there are numerous
Nepalese manuscripts, has exerted on the Newar cult o f Guhyakll.
42 This Tantra which, along with the Manthnabhairavalantra of the Kubjik school, is the longest
known in existence, extends for 24,(XX) verses. No part of it has yet been edited and published. It was well
known to the Kashmiri Saivites of the eleventh century who referred to it respectfully as
'Tantrarjabhattraka' - King o f Tantras. This was a major source of the Kashmiri KtT cult (as
KlasamkarsanT) as it is of the cult of the goddess Taleju (i.e. SiddhilaksmT) for the Newars.
43 Referring to the goddess KlT, Sanderson (1988: 684) states that: "the Newars, who maintain the
early traditions o f the region, preserve her link with the Northern Transmission. For them GuhyaktT is the
embodiment of that branch of Kaulism. Linked with her in this role is the white goddess SiddhalaksmI
(always written SiddhilaksmT in Nepal) one of the apotropaic deities (Pratyangir) of the Jayadra'haymala
and the patron goddess of the Malla kings (12(X) - 1768) and their descendants. This statement is, I suppose,
based on the study o f Newar Kaula liturgies. Thus, without having to ask embarrassing questions the scholar
has penetrated one of the Newars' most closely guarded secrets by studying their liturgies. This is a fine
example of how the work of the anthropologist in the field can be usefully supplemented by that of the
textual scholar. We may also note that if Sanderson is correct when he says that "GuhyaklT is the
embodiment of the Northern Transmission" for the Newars, it follows that the Northern Transmission has
been subordinated by them to the Western Transmission belonging to the goddess Kubjik.
44 The Kubjikopanisad, although not technically a Tantra, is virtually so in much of its content. This
text may have been produced by a Newar Brahmin. The Brahminical pseudo-Vedic character o f the text is
not only attested by the extensive quotations it makes from the Athan'aveda but by its own statement that "a
worshipper of Kubjik . . . should be a brahman from Parsara's clan and a teacher in the school of
Pippalda-Saunaka as taught in the Atharvaveda" (Kubjikopanisad 10/2). The relatively late date of the text
is indicated by the central place it gives to the Ten Mahvidys (see above fn. 36). That the text may well
have been written by a Newar initiate who was acquainted with the worship of both Kubjik and
SiddhilaksmT transpires from the central place given to SiddhilaksmT as the most important of the
Mahvidys and her identification with Kubjik in her form as SiddhikubjT. By the time the Ten Mahvidys
became popular in India, the worship of SiddhilaksmT and other related goddesses outside the Kathmandu
Valley had probably ceased. Moreover, the worship of SiddhilaksmT as one of the Ten Mahvidys in the
primary textual sources is very rare, if not unique to this text. Thus her place o f honour as the greatest, most
regal of these ten 'royal' goddesses, as they are described in this text, indicates that this text may well have
20 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

studies m ade so far that virtually all o f the very m any T antras found in m anuscripts in N epal were
laboriously copied and brought from outside the K athm andu V alley. D espite the very rich sacred
geography o f the K ubjik T antras, N epal is only very rarely m entioned. O n the other hand,
innum erable references in the texts clearly indicate that K ubjik w as originally an Indian goddess.
Specifically, the K ubjik T antras frequently refer to her as the goddess o f the land o f Korikana,
w hich corresponds to the long strip o f land betw een the W estern G hats and the sea, and, even m ore
specifically, to her connection w ith the city o f C andrapura. O f the m any places sacred to the
goddess in India m entioned in h er T antras, only C andrapura is identified as the hom e (vesm an lit.
'house') o f the W estern T ransm ission, w hich is that o f the K ubjik cult. The passage cited below
goes so far as to identify the place w ith the goddess's m andala, her m ost personal abode:

Thai, indeed, is the Western H ouse (vesm an) called the City o f the M oon (C andrapura).
This is the fir s t m andala a n d (first source of) authority f o r (the initiates) w ho recite m antras

W e know o f tw o C andrapuras that fit the descriptions found in the texts. O ne was an
im portant tow n in w hat is now the G arw al district o f the w estern H im alaya. N ot far from it is a
m ountain called C andraparvata. M oreover, both these places are approxim ately to the w est o f
K ailsa - w hich is w here these places are said to be located by the K M T, the earliest and root
T antra o f the K ubjik cult.46 O n the basis o f this and other references, and because o f the goddess's
m any associations w ith m ountains, I have expressed the opinion in a previous publication that
C andrapura w as located som ew here in the H im alayas (D yczkow ski 1988a: 91). T his was also the
opinion o f G oudriaan (G oudraain 1981: 52) but not o f Schoterm an (Schoterm an 1982: 37) w ho
preferred the South Indian location d etailed below .
T he other C andrapura is located in G oa, the ancient kingdom o f K ohkana. N ow adays it is
called C handor, and it w as the capital o f the ilhras, w ho ruled this area in the fourth century
A .D ., A t the beginning o f the eleventh century, the K adam bas o f G oa under S sthadeva (c. 1005
1050 A .D .) extended their authority o v er the w hole o f Goa, vanquishing the Silhras. T hey m oved
the capital from C andrapura (C handor) to G oapuri (G oa V elha) in about 1052.47 The follow ing
passage from chapter 43 o f the Satshasrasam hit confirm s the connection betw een C andrapura
and the K adam ba kings. The passage talks about an im portant founder figure called Siddhantha
(variously nam ed, OddTsantha, T usnlntha, and K rm antha in the text) and his advent to the city
o f C andrapura, o f w hich the T antra says:

There is a city there called C andrapura (the C ity o f the M o o n ) with (m any) citizens located
on the beautiful a n d extensive shore o f the w estern sea in the auspicious fo r e s t b y the sea in the
great land called K ohkana. 48

been written by a Newar Brahmin initiate who may have been one of the priests of the goddess Taleju /
SiddhilaksmT.
45 etad vai paHcimam vefma candrapuryeti nmatah I
mandalam prathamedam tu adhikram tu mantrinm II (KKh 3/121
46 meroh paScimadigbhge I (KMT l/59c)
41 S. Rajagopalan 1987: 3-4.
48 This and the following references are taken from my, as yet, unpublished critical editions. The
original readings, where they differ from the edited text arein square brackets.
pafcimasya samudrasya tire ramye suvistare III
konkankhye mahdese sgarasya l-rya] vane iubhe I
tatra candrapuram nma nagaram ngarairvrtam II (SatSS 43/27-8).
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 21

The text continues:

The king there w as ca lled C andraprabha a n d he belonged to the dynasty o f the Kadam bas.
Like the king o f the gods, he w as the ruler o f all the w orlds,w

T he text goes on to relate how the king took initiation from the sage and w as adm onished
by him to ensure that all his subjects d id the sam e. The T antra thus presents K ubjik as a goddess
of a royal cult, and she is indeed one o f the N ew ars' royal goddesses. A nd there seem s to be little
reason to doubt that, at som e stage in the early developm ent o f the tradition, K ubjik w as a South
Indian goddess.50 H ow ever, this South Indian C andrapura may not have been the goddess's original
home. The earlier K M T does refer to the land o f K onkana but does not stress its im portance in the
em phatic m anner the later K ubjik Tantras do. In fact, as H eilijgers-Seelen (1994: 2) points out:
"the texts them selves are inconsistent w ith regard to the place o f origin o f the K ubjik cult, but the
basic text [i.e. the K M T] seem s to locate this place som ew here in northern In d ia in the w estern
regions o f the H im alayas." The later T antras, nam ely the Satshasrasam hit and the
M anthnabhairavatantra, on the other hand, repeatedly stress the connection betw een C andrapura
and K onkana. T hese facts seem to indicate that the K ubjik cult was, as G oudriaan says, "originally
located in the H im alayan region" (G oudriaan 1981: 52). Subsequently, probably not m uch after it
began (w hich w as, probably in second h alf o f the tenth century), the centre o f the cult shifted to the
m id-w estern costal regions o f India w here, by a fortunate coincidence o r design, another
C andrapura w as located. T hat the cult w as already established in central India by the eleventh
century w ith its centre in this C andrapura is supported by the follow ing inscription from K arnataka
(N elam angala tluka) dated 1030 A .D . com m em orating the founding o f a S iddhesvara tem ple:

At the foot o f a w onderful tree in C andrapuri, [w hich is] situated by the w estern ocean,
dintljaJs installed. By m erely recalling his excellent lotus feet, the residual effects o f acts
com m ited in past lives are destroyed. H is disciple . . . w as C hydintha ["Shadow
dintha. His disciple w as Stam bhantha]. . . . H is son, versed in the m eaning o f the
K lgam a [i.e. K ulgam a], w as the ya ti D vlpantha. . . . His disciple w as bom M aunintha
munipa. The bearer o f the latter's com m ands was R upaSiva [the priest in charge o f the
...
te m p le ] devoted to the Saivgam a ,51

The Srimatotlara similarly describes Candrapura as being close to mountains and the sea
(samudrasyopakanthe 1/15c).
49 tatra candraprabha nma rj kadambavamtojah [-vamsajahl I
Ssit sanaloknm tridafdhipaliryalh II (Ibid. 42/33)
50 It is significant in this regard that Vidynanda. a fourteenth-century South Indian commentator on
the NitysadaSikrnava "seems to have possessed", as the editors of the KMT inform us, "a fair knowledge
of the texts of the Kubjik school because he repeatedly refers to them" (Goudriaan and Schoterman 1988:
18). Mahesvarananda, who was a disciple of Vidynanda and lived in the part of South India ruled at that
time by the Cholas, quotes from K ubjiksources in three places in his auto-commentary on the
Mahrthmanjan (two on p. 4 and one on p. 126). Although these references have not been traced in the
KMT, he appears to have been acquainted with the Kubjik Tantras which, although little known, must
therefore have been in circulation in South India in the fourteenth century. For the few other references
drawn from the KMT see Goudriaan and Schoterman 1988: 14ff..
51 Quoted by White 1996: 94 from Saletore 1937: 20ff.
22 M a r k S. G . D yczk o w sk i

It is possible that the R pasiva_m entioned in this inscription is the sam e R pasiva w ho
w rote, o r com piled, a com m entary on sections o f the Satshasrasam hit and the
M anthnabhairavatantra. If so, we know from the colophon o f his w ork that he resided at som e
tim e in K ashm ir52 and received initiation in P ravarapura (m odem S hrinagar) w here, as the colophon
states, "the venerable V itast jo in s the Indus".53 A lthough the K ubjik cu lt w as not popular in
K ashm ir, there is evidence attesting its presence there in the first h alf o f the eleventh century.54 W e
m ust be cautious how ever in m aking this identification because the S atshasrasam hit and the
M anthnabhairavatantra them selves cannot be dated earlier than the beginning o f the eleventh
century, both o f them apparently referring to m ajor M uslim invasions. T hus, the latter text states
that the dem on R vana incarnated in this A ge o f D arkness (kaliyu g a ) and descended onto the bank
o f the Indus (D yczkow ski 198a: 12, 98ff.). T his m ay be a reference to the conquest o f the Punjab
by M ahm d o f GhaznT w hich took place in the first quarter o f the eleventh century.55 The
Satshasrasam hit adds that in that A ge o f D arkness: "the K shatriyas, though broken in battle, will
act as if they are [still] pow erful."56 W e m ay accept this early date fo r the com piler o f the
com m entary and identify him with the R pasiva o f the inscription, assum ing that the early
developm ent o f the K ubjik T antras and related literature took place in a relatively short span o f
tim e and that it spread com parably quickly. T his m ay be one o f the reasons fo r the confusion
betw een the tw o C andrapuras in the texts. B ut w hether the K ubjik cult w as introduced into N epal
from the W estern H im alaya as H ielijgers-S eelen (1994: 2) asserts o r not is a m atter for further
research.
N ow adays, alm ost all the m anuscripts o f the K ubjik Tantras and related w orks are in N epal
o r are o f N epalese origin. The text w ith by far the greatest num ber o f m anuscripts is the KM T.
Sixty-six m anuscripts, com plete and fragm entary, o f the K M T have been found and exam ined by
the editors o f the K M T. T his is truly a m assive num ber fo r any sort o f text, especially T antric, and
represents yet another m easure o f the im m ense popularity and im portance o f the K ubjik cult
am ongst the N ew ars. All o f these m anuscripts except one, w hich is in old M aithili or G audi script,57

52 In the colophon o f the MBT tik (fl. 186), the author says of himself that he is "the ornament
(itilaka) of the venerable land o f Kashmir and resides in the venerable town of Pravarapura (i.e. Shrinagar)
(iriksmirade&atHakabhtaifipravarapurnlargala-)
53 -frivitastsindhusangame prrthan prrthit [prrthita] grhtt I Ibid.fl. 186.
54 See Dyczkowski 1987a: 7ff..
55 Mahmd of Ghazni became Sultan in 997 A.D. Soon after his coming to power, he began a series
of raids on India from his capital, GhaznT in Afghanistan. Historians disagree as to the exact number of these
raids. According to Sir Henry Elliot, they were seventeen and took place almost every year (Smith 1995:
205) up to 1027 A.D. Although many of these incursions drove deep into the country, Mahmd could do no
more than annex the Punjab, or a large part of it, to the Ghazni Sultanate (ibid.: 208).
56 SatSS 3/79cd. The translation is by Schoterman.
57 This is NAK MS no. 5-778/58 = NGMPP reel no. A 40/18. Mithil is the most likely major entry
point for the Sanskrit texts brought into the Kathmandu Valley. There are numerous links between the
Newars and the inhabitants of Mithil. These became especially close from the reign of Sthitimalla (1367-
1395 A.D.). He married RjalladevT, a member of the Bhaktapur royal family who was of Maithili origin.
Indeed, scholars dispute whether Sthitimalla himself was from Mithil. But whether he was or not, it is a
significant fact that the later Malla kings boasted that they were of Maithili origins. The repeated attacks on
the Valley from the beginning of the Malla period onwards by Maithili raiding parties demonstrate the ease
with which the Valley could be penetrated from Mithil. Again, Slusser (1982: 395) informs us that "the
script employed after the fourteenth century, now designated simply as 'Newari', is closely related to the
writing of Mithil". This fact is not only indicative o f the close connection between the literate culture o f the
two peoples, it also renders the transition o f a text from India through Mithil very easy. It is not impossible
that some old manuscripts thought to be written in old forms o f Newari are actually Maithijj manuscripts.
 K u b jik , KAU, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 23

appear to be o f N epalese origin. The oldest o f these m anuscripts is a short recension o f the K M T
called L aghvikm nya copied by Suhar$ajTva during the reig n o f L ak$m ikm adeva (1024-1040
A .D .) and is dated 1037-38 A.D. 58 The colophon o f a m anuscript o f another K ubjik T antra, the
K ularatnoddyota, inform s us that the original m anuscript from w hich it w as copied w as transcribed
by a certain V ivekaratna w ho cam e to the V alley (n e p la d eto ) and lived in K athm andu during the
reign o f H arsadeva,59 w ho is believed to have reigned betw een 1085 and 1099 A.D. (Slusser: I,
398). T hus we can safely say that the cult o f the goddess K ubjik had not only reached the V alley
by the beginning o f the eleventh century but w as already developing throughout it. Incidentally, it
is worth noting that it appears from the form o f V ivekaratna's nam e that he w as a renunciate. Thus,
although, as we have seen, R jopdhyya B rahm ins becam e the centre and m ainstay o f the esoteric
netw ork o f N ew ar T antric Sktism , this does not necessarily m ean that they w ere the original
propagators o f it in the K athm andu V alley. E ven so, they m ay w ell have played an im portant role
in its spread, as they certainly did in its application and adaptation to N ew ar culture and religious
life.'

58 The manuscript is NAK no. 5-877/57 = NGMPP reel no. A 41/3. See the introduction to the edition
of the KMT (p. 14), where the colophon is reproduced in full. Regmi (1965: 1965) has also referred to the
same colophon.
The manuscript is NAK no. 1/16 = NGMPP reel no. A206/10. It is a copy of a much older
manuscript. The copiest copied it completely, including the colophon. The reference is on folio 96b and is as
follows (the text has been emended. The original readings are in square brackets):

pakse five cfvinanmadheye tilhau trtiym dharamsuie'hni I

friharsadevasya ca vardhamne rjye mahnandakare t-mamdakarej prajnm II
nepladefam samupgalena ksthbhidhe * * * samsthitena I
svafisyavargasya nibodhanya paropakrya krtaprayatnah II
bhakty s\ayam .(rtkularatnapnamuddyotayantam l-mudyotasantaml brhadgamedam I
fnmatkulcryavivekaratnakenpi ISrimatkalcrya-} samlekhitam f-ta j panditena II

(The teacher) him self has come to the land o f Nepal and resides in Kathmandu (kythbhidha) and made an
effort to instruct his disciples and help others. (He came) when Srfharsadeva's kingdom was prospering and
gave great joy to the subjects (who resided there). (This effort was made and bore fruit in the form o f this
manuscript completed ) on Tuesday (dharamsuie'hni), in the bright h a lf (Sivapaksa) (o f the lunar month of)
A.fvin on the third lunar day.
This great gama which illumines the jew el o f the Srikula was copied (samlikhitam lit. 'written')
with devotion by the venerable Kulcrya and scholar Vivekaratna.

This reference informs us that Vivekaratna resided in ksthbhidha. that is, a '(place) called Katha\
There seems little reason to doubt that he is abbreviating the Sanskrit name 'Kasthamandapa' which I have
translated as Kathmandu. If the dating o f the original of this manuscript is correct and it belongs to the 11th
century, then this is the earliest reference so far recovered to the place which was to fuse with it
neighbouring settlements and ultimately give its name, after several centuries, to the city formed thereby.
Prior to my discovery of this colophon Slusser (1982: 89) informs us that when she was writing: "the first
record of Kasthamandapa as a place name is encountered in a colophon dated A.D. 1143 (N.S. 263)."
60 It is worth mentioning in passing that the rapid spread o f this, and many other Tantric systems, may
well be due to the large part peripatetic ascetics played in their propagation and, probably, in their original
redaction. The original redactors and propagators of the Tantras, as the language of the texts shows,
possessed only a basic and frequently defective, knowledge of Sanskrit. But even this could only have been
acquired by those who had access to the language. In this period, there were only two types of people who
would easily have had this privilege, namely male Brahmins and ascetics. I believe that the latter were
prominent in the initial stages of the formation and propagation of a wide range o f Tantric cults, including
24 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

So far there is no evidence for the existence o f the cult o f T ripura in the V alley at this tim e.
The reason for this m ay w ell be sim ply that the cult had not yet d eveloped sufficiently in India.
Early m anuscripts o f S aivasiddhnta A gam as and Pancartrasarhhits establish that the Tantric
cults o f Siva and Vi$nu prescribed by these scriptures existed alongside their Purnic equivalents
w hich drew extensively from them . T hese form s o f T antrism continue to be popular in South India
but gave w ay to K aula T antrism in N epal. The B hairava T antras, another im portant category o f
early Saivite T antras, are exem plified by the (now exclusively N epalese) m anuscripts o f the
B rahm aym ala and the S n ta n tra sa d b h va . A lthough these texts prescribe B hairava cults, they are
replete w ith rituals centred on the w orship o f the goddesses w ho are B hairava's consorts. In this and
in m any other respects they represent a point o f transition from the earlier S aiva to the later ak ta
cults.6' The Jayadrathaym ala, to w hich we have already referred as the root T antra o f the cu ll o f
SiddhilaksmT, considers itself to be a part o f the B hairava current.62 A nd the Sritantrasadbhva, as
we shall see, is an im portant source for the K ubjik tradition.63
T he Sritantrasadbhva is a T rika T antra, that is to say, even though it is a B hairava Tantra,
as are all o f the other T rika T antras that are still extant or o f w hich we know o f from references, it
describes and gives special im portance to the w orship o f a T riad (w hich is the literal m eaning o f the
w ord T rik a ') o f goddesses, nam ely, Par (lit. Suprem e), P arpar (lit. S uprem e-cum -Inferior) and
A par (lit. Inferior), w ho are w orshipped along w ith their consorts the B hairavas
B hairavasadbhava, R atisekhara and N avtm an, respectively.64 Sanderson succinctly defines the
term T rika as follow s:

those we are discussing here. In the subsequent phases o f domestication and institutionalization. Brahmins
played more important roles and in many places, as in the Kathmandu Valley, they became dominant. An
interesting and important hybrid, which nicely combines the two, is the renunciate Brahmin. This figure,
although unknown in the Kathmandu Valley at present, was immensely important in the development of all
forms of Tantrism in India.
61 I do not mean to say that the cults prescribed by these texts led an exclusive existence apart from
others. There always was, as there is now, overlapping of any one cult with others. Many of the cults of the
Bhairava Tantras may have predated a large part of those of the Saivasiddhnta gamas. The follower of
one may also have been initiated into those o f the other. One could say that this tendency to blend together
diverse cults is the practical consequence of the radical polytheism of Hinduism as a whole. By this I mean
that Hindus, like the ancient Greeks, never worship a deity alone. He or she is always accompanied by others
even though, unlike the Greeks, Hindus may perceive the deity as having an ultimate, absolute identity.
62 A typical colophon found at the end of each chapter (patala) of the Jayadrathaymala reads: iti
bhairavasrotasi vidypithe Jirafchede jayadrathaymale mahtantre caturvimJatishasare '(this is a chapter
of) the great Tantra. Jayadrathaymala, (otherwise known as) the Siraicheda, consisting of twenty-four
thousand verses which belongs to the Seat of Knowledge o f the Bhairava current'. See Dyczkowski (1987a)
for a detailed discussion of the canon of the Jsaiva Tantras and the classifications these works have devised
for themselves. See also Sanderson (1988).
63 As we have noted already, nowadays and probably for at least six hundred years, the esoteric cults
of upper- caste Newars are $kta. One wonders whether prior to this the cults of the Bhairava Tantras played
an equivalent role in some way, in the development of Newar Tantrism, of bridging the transition to the
Kaula Tantras from the Saivism of the more exoteric Saivasiddhnta and Psupaticults which, along with
the Vaisnava Pncartra, represented the earliest forms of Hindu Tantrism in the Valley, as indeed they did
in India.
64 This is according to T 15/323b-329b. Abhinavagupta does not tell us the source of this
configuration which, from the point of view of the Kubjik cult, is anomalous. The Vidy of the goddess
Kubjik is similar to that of the goddess Parpar, as reported in the T (see below). However, in her
Tantras, of these three, Kubjik's consort is invariably Navtman, never Ratisekhara. Another important
variant is in the form of the mantra of Navtman. According to Abhinavagupta (T 30/1 lc-12b) this is
 K u b jik , KA l I, T r ip u r and T r ik a 25

By the term T rik a I intend an entity in ritual rather than theology. I refer to the cluster o f
T antric aiva cults w ith a com m on system o r 'pantheon' o f M antra-deities. The distinctive
core o f this pantheon (ygah) is the three goddesses Par, P arpar and A par and the tw o
alphabet deities S ab d arasi[-bhairava 1 (also called M trk[bhairava]> and M linl. (Sanderson
1990: 32)

Significantly Sanderson quotes a verse from a K ubjik T antra, the K ularam oddyota, w hich
we have already had occasion to m ention above, to support his view . The m antras o f the three
goddesses are given in the KM T,66 w hile K ubjik h erself is occasionally identified with
SiddhayogeSvari, the principal goddess o f the T rika system o f the SiddhayogeSvarim ata, one o f the
forem ost authorities fo r the K ashm iri Saiva T rika.67 In the passage q u oted below , K ubjik is
equated w ith the three goddesses in the form o f A ghor, G hor, and G horatar. The
M linivijayatantra, another im portant authority for K ashm iri T rika Saivites, identifies them as
hosts o f energies that are em itted from the T rika goddesses.68 The passage is draw n from the from
the M anthnabhairavatantra'.

RHKSMLVYM. The prevalent form in the Kubjika Tantras and the one used in Newar rituals is
HSK$MLVRYM.
65 SabdarSiSca mliny vidynm tritayasya ca I
sngoprtgasamyuktam trikatantram karisyati I See Sanderson 1990: 32. A translation of this
important reference is found in Dyczkowski (1987a: 84). It reads:
The Trikatantra will be constructed by the conjunction o f the parts primary and secondary, o f the
three. Vidys along with M linl and Sabdarii-.
64 The Par mantra according to KMT 18/30b-31 is HSRAUM. According to T 30/27-28b it is
SAUH. Abhinavagupta tells us two variant forms found in the TriSirobhairavatantra , namely: SHAUH and
HSAUH. The mantra of Parpar is recorded in T 30/20-6a. also ibid. 16/213-6a, where the Vidy is given
in the reverse order. It consists of thirty-nine and a half syllables and is as follows:

OM AGHORE HRIH PARAMAGHORE HUM GHORARPE HAH GHORAMUKHI BHlMA-

BHlSANE VAMA PIBA PIBA HE RU RU RA PHAT HUM HAH PHAT

The Parpar mantra according to KMT 18/4-24 consists o f forty-two and a half syllables. It is given in the
Sabdarfi code in reverse order and is as follows:

AIM AGHORE HRlM HSAH PARAMAGHORE HUM GHORARPE HSAUM GHORAMUKHI

BHlMABHl$ANE VAMA VAMA PIBA PIBA HAH HE RU RU RA RA HRIM HRM PHAT

The Apar mantra according to T 30/20cd is HRlH HM PHAT- According to KMT 18/26b it consists of
seven and a half syllables and is HE PA HA RU PHA PHAT. KMT 18/28b-29 presents a variant (bheda) of
the same, namely, AIM HRlM HRM PHREM HM PHAT-
Even though all three mantras in the two sources contain significant variants, we can say for both of
the first two mantras, Par and Parpar, what Abhinavagupta says about Apar. namely, that "even though
it is basically the same, it presents itself in various ways" (T 30/28a).
67 devataih pjit nityam brahmacaryparyanaih I
siddhayoge.fvarikhytm Srikujkhym nammyaham II

I salute the venerable (goddess) called Kuj who is known as Siddhayogefvan and is perpetually
worshipped by (all) the deities and by those intent on celibacy . (KKh 5/82)
68 visayey\:eva samlinnadho'dhah ptayantyann I
rudrnn yh samlingya ghorataryo'parstu th II
26 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

I salute the venerable (goddess) called K uj who, residing in h er ow n Wheel, is perpetually

conjoined (w ith the Suprem e Principle), she w ho is C hord, G horatard a n d A ghord, and is
sustained by the know ledge o f G hora.m

The Srilantrasadbhdva is an im portant T rika T antra for the m onistic Saivites o f K ashm ir o f
the tenth and eleventh centuries. A bhinavagupta. w ho belongs to this period, refers to it as the
source o f a K aula rite o f initiation taught to him by S am bhuntha.70 A bhinavagupta refers to him as
his teacher in T rika Saivism , w hich A bhinavagupta used as the focus o f his m assive synthesis o f
the Tantric system s prevalent in the K ashm ir o f his day and w hich he calls, extending the usage o f
the term in the T antras, T rika. The S rttantrasadbhdva is the source o f the particular form o f the
mantras for the T rika goddesses found in the K M T, w hich incorporates three chapters o f this
Tantra.71 T his inclusion indicates that the author(s) o f som e part at least o f the K M T had access to
it. T his suggests that he was an initiate into this system or into a cognate one that allow ed access to
this Tantra. M oreover, this person o r group o f people w as certainly influenced by the T rika system
o f this work. I have gone into this m atter in som e detail because it is exem plary o f a general
principle, nam ely that m ost, if not all, T antric system s are built up at their origins by initiates o f
other system s. A s initiates they w ould have a firm b elief in the pow er o f the m ost im portant
m antras o f those other system s and w ill therefore naturally tend to incorporate them into the new
system they are building. M antras and seed syllables have pow er in them selves. T hey enjoy the
independent existence and identity o f d eities along w ith their attributes and lim bs w hich, indeed,
they are said to be. The incorporation o f m antras into a system is thus equivalent to the
incorporation o f iconic form s. S im ilarly, the perm utations o f single m antras are equivalent to the
perm utations o f their corresponding iconic form s.

mifrakarmaphalsaklim prvavajjanayanti yh I
muktimrganirodhinyasth syurghorh parparh II
p n avajjantujtasya fivadhmaphalapradh I
parh prakathilstajjnairaghorh siva.iaktayah II (MV 3/31-3)

The Ghoratard (energies), which are the lower (apard) ones, embrace the Rudra (i.e. individual)
souls. Having done so, they throw down (those) individual souls who are attached to the objects o f sense to
increasingly lower levels.
Those who, in like manner, cause (individual souls) to be attached to the fruits o f mixed (good and
bad) actions and block the path to liberation are the middling (parpar) (energies called) Ghor.
Those energies o f Siva who. as before, bestow the fruits o f Siva's abode on living beings are said to
be the supreme (par) ones which those who know (call) Aghor.

According to Abhinavagupta the three goddesses Par, Parpar and Apar correspond to the
powers of will, knowledge and action, respectively. They generate these three categories o f energy, the
Aghor, Ghor and Ghoratar, that function in these ways (see T 3/71b-5a, 3/102b-4a).
M ghor ghoratarghor ghorajnnvalambim I
nityayukt svacakrasth frikujkhyrh nammyaham ll(KKh 5/79)
7,1 T 29/21 lb-2a.
71 See the edition of the KMT by T. Goudriaan and J. A. Schoterman. Appendix V of this edition
contains a survey of the significant variants between KMT chapters 4 to 6 and the Sritantrasadbhva
chapters 3, 6, and 8. There are three manuscripts o f the Sntantrasadbhva, all o f them preserved in Nepal.
They are NAK 5/445 (A.D. 1097), 1/363 and 5 /1983.1 have already established the priority in time of the
Trika goddesses with respect to the Kubjik Tantras in Dyczkowski 1987a: 83-85.
 K u bjtk , K a m , T r ip u r a n d T r ik a 27

No T antric system discovered to date is w ithout sim ilar precedents. The Saivasiddhanta
incorporates in a m odified form the Pasupata iconography and m antras o f five-faced S ad iiv a as a
central part o f its m ost original core.72 C ults expounded in the B hairava T antras sim ilarly draw
from the Siddhnta, m aintaining, in varying degrees, a connection w ith it. A clear exam ple o f this is
the cult o f Svacchandabhairava w hich, although a B hairava cult, is very close to those o f Sadsiva
in the Siddhntgam as and contains elem ents o f Pasupata Saivism .73 It appears that these layers in
the form ation o f the cult w ere discerned by the N ew ars in their ow n way leading to the esoteric
identification o f P aiupati w ith a form o f S vacchandabhairava.7"
The cults o f the B hairava T antras included at least tw o species that were so strongly
orientated tow ards the w orship o f goddesses that they w ere m ore Skta (according to the later
term inology) than Saiva. T hese were the K ali cults and those centred on the w orship o f the Three
G oddesses. The next step w as the m ove into another class o f T antra and cult. T hese were the K ula
Tantras, w hich distinguished them selves from all the other types o f T antra by referring to
them selves as K aula and to the others as T ntrika collectively. T he K ubjik T antra represents a

72 See Bhatt 1961: 22 ff. concerning the mantras o f Sadsiva's five faces.
73 Arraj has examined the history and structure of the Svacchandatantra, the root text of the
Svacchandabhairava cult, at length in his doctoral dissertation. See bibliography. He discerns various strata
in the history of the Svacchandatantra. These are: 1) Srauta and smrta precepts and practice. 2) Rudra:
Specifically, part of the SatarudrTya has provided the Bahurpa formula o f rnkri/n-Svacchandabhairava,
used in the primary rituals throughout the Tantra (Arraj 1988: 31). 3) Vedic meta-ritualist and ascetic
speculation. This includes meditation on OM (pranava) and interiorized rituals focused on the vital breath.
4) Brahminical .ftw/ras: Arraj sees similarities in the implicit theory o f language with Bhartrhari. Other
f stras include logic, astrology and medicine. Their presence is, however, not great. 5) Philosophical
schools (darsana): These are, above all. Yoga and Samkhya, which have had great influence on the text. 6)
Epics and Pur anas: The influence of the Purnas is especially felt in the formulation of cosmologies. 7)
Vaisnava Pancartra: Its contribution may have been the modification of Samkhya cosmology through the
addition of My in the theistic scheme o f emanation. 8) Pasupata : This includes what Arraj has listed
separately as 'Rudra'. 9) Saiva: This group Arraj rightly, I believe, identifies with the Saivasiddhnta. Arraj
and Dyczkowski (1987a: 139 fn. 24) point out that Brunner-Lachaux in her lengthy notes on her translation
of the Soma.<ambhupaddhati frequently refers, especially in the section dealing with initiation in part 3, to
the Svacchandatantra and compares it at length with the statements of the Siddhntgamas and their
commentators.
74 Newar Kaulas worship Svacchandabhairava independently. But his most important role is as the
consort of Kubjik. He appears in this capacity in, for example, the important Bhairava fire sacrifice called
Bhairavgniyajha. In this context he is worshipped as Sikhsvacchandabhairava. In this form he is the
consort of Kubjik when she is worshipped along with six goddesses who are her attendants (dittt) and the
embodiments of the six limbs of her mantra. Apart from innumerable references in Newar liturgies, several
references to this form of Svacchandabhairava have also been found in inscriptions. I am grateful to Nutan
Sarm for pointing this out to me. Even at the initial scriptural level, when the Tantra was compiled.
Svacchandabhairava served an intermediary between the mild Sadsiva of the Siddhnta and the fierce
Bhairava of the Bhairava Tantras. Subsequently, in the course o f the development of his liturgies amongst
the Newars, he became the esoteric identity of Pasupati. In retrospect one could hazard to say that the
identification was already an open possibility in the Svacchandatantra. Arraj notes a number of Pasupata
influences in the formation of the cult at the scriptural level (Arraj 1988: 40-46). Especially important, I
would say, is the close similarity in the identity of Svacchandabhairavas five faces and those of Pasupati, on
the one hand, and Sadsiva o f the Siddhntgamas. on the other. Thus this cult, which is very important for
Newar Sktism, bridges the gap between Pasupati and Sadsiva on one side and on the other serves as an
intermediary between the Bhairava and the Kaula Tantric cults. The net result is that, as the consort of
Guhyakfi who is worshipped secretly as an aspect of Kubjik (see above, fn. 39), Pasupati is worshipped
secretly as Sikhsvacchandabhairava in conjunction with Kubjik.
28 M a r k S. G . D y c z k o w s k i

m ajor point o f transition betw een these tw o m odalities. The dictates o f the cult appear in m any
respects to be in an interm ediate and m ediating phase betw een the two. The cult o f the goddess
K ubjik is, as the T antras o f her cult tirelessly rem ind us, fully Kaula. Even so, they take care to
recall the link w ith the earlier B hairava T antras. The goddess and h er tradition is 'established in
Siva's sphere' (sm bhava m andalasth). W e are frequently told that the K ubjik cult appears 'at the
end o f the Kali A ge' (kalisynte). T his appeared to be such an im portant feature o f the K ubjik cult
that the K M T nam ed it the Pascim m nya^ literally the 'Last (or Final) T radition' o f the K aula cults.
Still, the initiate is adm onished fo respect and even w orship the 'previous tradition' (p n m n y a ).
T his consisted, collectively, o f all the earlier K aula schools. T hese w ere believed to B e lh e earliest
ones, all o f w hich w ere derived from M atsyendrantha and his six disciples. As the system
developed after the redaction o f the K M T, the nam e Pascim m n va rem ained but the w ord p ascim a
cam e to be understood as m eaning 'w estern', w hich is its other com m on m eaning. T his was
facilitated by the developm ent o f the parallel K ali cult w hich referred to itself as the U ttarm nya -
lit. 'N orthern T radition' o r 'H igher T radition', possibly because it did. in reality, develop in the
North o f India, specifically in K ashm ir and the neighbouring H im alayas. A s the P ascim m nya
developed it cam e to incorporate K ll to increasing, albeit m oderate, d egrees.75 H ow ever, this
elem ent, along w ith the addition, at a still later period, o f Tripur_cults,76 does not form a part o f the
essential core o f the system .
T he form T antrism has assum ed am ongst the N ew ars in the K athm andu V alley is deeply
relevant to our enquiry, not only because K ubjik, w ho is the prim e focus o f this paper, has been
made central and fundam ental to the w hole o f N ew ar ktism . but also because N ew ar Saktism is a
direct (although, o f course, not the only possible) historical developm ent o f processes o f synthesis
and syncretism that w ere already at w ork in the developm ent o f the T antras and their cults. In the
rest o f this paper I w ill exam ine som e features o f the exchanges, m utual influences, com m on form s,
and specific identities o f these cults in relation to one another and individually that characterize

75 We have already observed the manner in which the KMT colonized the cult of GuhyaklT. Also, see
below.
76 The goddess Kmesvari is known to the KMT. She is said to reside in Kmarpa where Kubjik
meets her in her colonizing tour o f the Indian subcontinent described in chapter 2. The following is a
summary of the relevant passage. The goddess goes to a place called Kmika. There is a river there called
Ucchusm which is in the forest of Mahocchusma. There is a lake there with the same name together with
another one called Nila. The goddess sports on both sides of the banks (of these lakes?). Again the goddess
(Kubjik), whose limbs are the universe and the principles o f existence, sees a goddess there who is "proud
with the pleasure of passion (kma) and burning with the Lord of Love (vasamatilakg). She is melting and
melts the three worlds with (her) desire. Seeing her the Mother smiles and asks her who she is and how she
has come there. She calls her "passionate one" and is pleased with her for having shown her all these
wonderful things. She tells her that she should be called Kmesyan. because in this way she has obtained the
fruit of the bliss of passion. Out of compassion the form of passion (kmarpa) has been fashioned before
her and so this great sacred seat (where the goddess Kmesvari resides)*which is called Kmarpa will come
into existence during the Kali Age. Her consort will be Candrnanda. He will be seated on the shoulders of
the Wind. Passionate, he will be Kmadeva (KMT 2/82~ 94j.~ThTTnpur cult has incorporated Kmesvari
into the early prototype of Tripur so well that most initiates into the Tripur cult would not be able to
distinguish the two. The relative antiquity of the Kubjik cult with repect to that of Tripur is, I believe, well
exemplified by the appearance of Kmesvari in this passage with no reference either here or elsewhere to
Tripur, her later, developed form. The consistent silence throughout the later Kubjik Tantras becomes
strikingly eloquent when we notice the appearance o f rituals centred on Tripur, in the form of
TripurbhairavT, in the Yogakhanda of the Manlhnabhairavatantra. Tripur appears also in the CMSS, a
relatively late Kubjik Tantra, as the goddess of the Southern Tradition (daksinmnya) wljere her identity
with Kmevari is evident (see Dyczkowski 1987a: 71).
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 29

these processes at w ork in the T antras. The relationship the texts have w ith their living social,
political, anthropological and cultural contexts - w hat they contribute to them and w hat they draw
from them - will be exam ined elsew here. Suffice it to say that we observe sim ilar, if not the sam e
principles operating in both dim ensions, nam ely, the ideal one o f the texts and the em pirical one o f
their hum an contexts. W e notice, for exam ple, in both cases an attem pt to furnish the cult o f each
deity w ith everything that is necessary to render it com plete. T heoretically this should m ake it
independent o f all the others. B ut this is never the case either in the texts them selves o r in their
application. Indeed, in o rd er to achieve this 'com pleteness' each cult assim ilates elem ents from
others. Even its m ost 'original' specific and specifying core is itself as m uch a product o f a long
historical process as is the uniqueness o f its m om ent o f creation. B ut this is not felt to be an
oppressive contingency; rather this continuity w ith the past is considered to be a m ark of
authenticity and authority.
C oncretely, in the case o f the goddess K ubjik, we observe that in som e respects she has
peculiar characteristics and traits w hich are virtually unique to her, w hile in others, she em bodies
many o f the com m on characteristics o f all the great goddesses o f H induism . It is above all this fact,
m ore even than the extent o f her scriptural sources, w hich qualifies K ubjik to be considered a
great goddess - a M ahdevI - despite h er extrem e obscurity to the rest o f H induism or, indeed.
H indu T antrism in India. T hus, like all the great goddesses o f H induism , o f w hich the popular
Purnic goddess D urg is the prim e archetype,77 K ubjik incorporates into h erself m any other
goddesses.78 K ubjik is an exclusively K aula T antric goddess and the T antras, especially the early
ones, are only secondarily concerned w ith m yths. T hus although the K ubjik T antras do contain
m yths recounting the origin o f the goddess K ubjik, there is no specific m yth in her case w hich
accounts for the process w hereby she includes o th er goddesses into herself as there is fo r the
Purnic goddess D urg. Even so, w e can observe the results o f this synthesis in her rituals, m antras,
m andala and visualized form s. A ccordingly, K ubjik is both a unique goddess and is exem plary in
many respects o f the oth er great K aula T antric goddesses, especially T ripur and Kli.
M oreover, ju s t as K ubjik's external form is unique to herself, d espite its com posite nature,
the sam e is true o f her inner nature, that is, her m etaphysical identity. K ubjik. like all the other
great goddesses o f the K aula and B hairava T antras, is essentially the energy o f universal, absolute

77 Cobum writes concerning the Devimhtmya,wel\ known as the source o f the myth of origin of the
goddess Durg: "Of the various features o f the Devimhtmya, one stands preeminent. The ultimate reality
in the universe is here understood to be feminine: DevT, the goddess. Moreover, the Devimhtmya appears
to be the first Sanskrit text to provide a comprehensive - indeed, well-nigh relentless - articulation of such a
vision. From the time o f the Rgveda onwards, of course, various goddesses had figured in the Sanskrit
tradition. But never before had ultimate reality itself been understood as Goddess." (Cobum 1998: 32)
Durg became the Sanskritic representation of many popular, local and regional goddesses throughout India
and has served for centuries as the public form of the secret lineage Kaula goddesses of the Newars and of
Kaula goddesses throughout India. Durg, or, more precisely, MahisasuramardinT, the Slayer o f the Buffalo
Demon, is indubitably a prime archetype in this sense also.
78 For example, in one place the goddess declares:
aham inyasvarpena par divyatanurhyaham II
aham s mlinidevT aham s siddhayogini I
aham s ktik kcit kulaygeivari hyaham II
aham s carcikdevi kubjikham ca sadvidh I

As my nature is the Void, / am the Supreme goddess f Par) and my body is divine. I am that goddess
Mlini, I am Siddhayogirti. I am that certain (inscrutable - kcit - goddess) Klik. / am indeed the mistress
o f the Kula sacrifice (kulaygefvari). / am that goddess Carcik, I am Kubjik who is six-fold. (KKh 3/76cd-
78ab)
30 M a r k S. G . D y czk o w sk i

consciousness (cicchakti) by m eans o f w hich it does and is all things. A ccordingly, K ubjik is said
to be both creative and d estructive.7* Even so, she is predom inantly concerned w ith em anation
(srstipradhna). H er cult can thus be contrasted w ith that o f K ali, w hich is predom inantly
concerned w ith w ithdraw al (sam hrapradhna). Even so, the spheres o f m anifestation are the
dom ains o f both deities. The rituals o f both goddesses represent both processes. B ut K ubjik, in
several o f her form s, is visualized, like T ripur. as a young 'erotic' goddess (see D yczkow ski:
19% ), sym bolizing h er fertile creativity. KtT, on the contrary, is fierce, thus sym bolizing the
reverse. E ven so, both types are essentially concerned w ith creation, and this is sym bolized by their
occasional portrayal in sexual union w ith their m ale counterparts.
K ubjik, as w e shall see in the passage quoted below , feels shy at the prospect o f her
coupling even though this takes place as the necessary corollary o f h er m arriage to the god. K li, on
the other hand, sits on top o f her partner, w ho is reduced to such passivity by the fury o f h er passion
that he can be variously portrayed as Siva in som e iconic form s o r as a corpse (Sava) in others.
R eferring to the earthly counterparts o f these divine couples, nam ely, the S iddha and his T antric
consort, the Y oginI, the T antras distinguish betw een these tw o types o f coupling by calling them
'pleasing union' (priyatnelpa) and 'violent union (hatham elpa), respectively. T he form er
generates the lineage o f accom plished adepts (siddha) and the w orld o f sacred places in w hich they
reside. Like a w itch w ho sucks out the vitality o f the unw ary m ale,8 the latter w ithdraw s the
ignorance w hich norm ally im pels the corpse-like S iva locked in 'reverse intercourse below to be
active and 'on top' 'churning' his energies into a dynam ic active state. The special intensity and
fertility o f K ubjik, w hose nam e m eans 'H um ped-B ack Lady', is further expressed by the
transgressive im age o f the solitary81 goddess bent double in order to lick h er ow n vulva. T hus she
m akes herself blissful freely and independently and is so fertile that she can generate the
im pregnating sperm w ith w hich she h erself is to generate the universe.82
But although both goddesses are represented in the context o f their ow n special sym bolism
as independent and, hence, com plete in them selves, both processes, w hich they respectively
govern, m ust go together. Indeed, they are tw o aspects o f a single process. In term s o f the
psychology o f their sym bolism only im plicitly expressed in the texts, K li is the radiantly Dark
G oddess o f light w ho is the shadow -like counterpart o f the shining light blue83 K ubjik. A nd so

19 mandalnte sthit nityam srstisamhrakrik I (ibid. 2/3ab)

80 On the subject of witches - called in various parts of India by such names as DkinT, Dyan, Dajan,
Den. DhakunT. CetakI and kinl - see Herrmann-Pfandt (1996) who explains that "a husband o f a human
DkinT has to cope with the danger of being sucked out or being brought to death through certain sickness"
(ibid. p. 49).
81 Kubjik is not usually portrayed in this way as a solitary goddess (ekavlr), although there are
prescriptions in the Tantras for her worship in this form. In a passage quoted below we find another reason
for her bent condition in relation to her union with her consort, in which she is portrayed in her much more
common coupled condition (ymalabhva). As usual, marriage and conjunction with the god tames the
goddesses even as it deprives her o f her independence. Thus, in that situation, she is not in a uroboric state of
self-regeneration but is said to be generated from the god.
82 This aspect is evident in one of her common names, i.e. SukrdevT, which means literally the
'Goddess Sperm. Similarly, in a verse which is a part of the so-called Samvaristra (SatSS I/I and KKh
1/1), which Newar initiates frequently recite in the course of their rituals to invoke Kubjik (vhana), she is
said to be the goddess whose 'mensis is sperm' (bindupusp). This appellation not only symbolizes in a
striking manner her androgenous nature (for which see Dyczkowski 1996) but also her powerful and
independent fertility.
83 Kubjik is said to be light blue 'like a cannabis flower' (atasipuspasamkS) as is her mandala, the
Samvartmandala.
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 31

they are distinguished, even as they are integrated, both by the discerning consciousness o f the
renunciate yogi and by the pow er o f the sym bolism o f the householder's ritual action.
T hus, K ubjik m aintains her dom inantly creative role, even when she is represented in her
destructive m ode and identified w ith K ail.84 In this aspect she functions like KlT w ho gathers
together the energies o f m anifestation and consum es them into her ow n essential nature, their
radiant source. The K ll T antras constantly represent their goddesses in this destructive m ode, ju st
as the K ubjik T antras stress that K ubjik is the em bodim ent o f the god's prim al intention to create
the universe w hich, created in a series o f graded em anations im pelled by this intention, adorns her
body.
Let us see w hat the texts them selves say. T he first set o f passages concern the goddess Kali.
They are draw n from the M ahnayaprakSa, an im portant, unpublished text83 o f the K ashm iri
KlTkrama by A rnasirhha, w ho belonged to the later part o f the eleventh o r beginning o f the
tw elfth century.

E xtrem ely voracious, the netw ork o f (KlVs) rays transcends both p ro cess (kra m a l and its
absence. A bodeless and w aveless, it is beyond the p la n e o f both contact (w ith p h en o m en a ) a n d its
absence. Thus there is nothing higher. This, the undistorted light o f the one g lorious energy o f
perfectly tranquil (consciousness), abides intent upon consum ing its ow n (cosm ic) nature.96

Again:

T his sam e (goddess KlT) is the D evourer o f W ithdraw al (sam hrabhaksini). (This aspect o f
the goddess is) generated to relish the ju ic e o f the aesthetic delig h t ( o f objectivity inw ardly
digested). E ndow ed with the innerm ost consciousness o f o ne's ow n nature. She is therefore well
established a n d fr e e ( o f a ll outer) support.*7

Again:

84 The root Tantra of the Kubjik cult, the Kubjikmala, hardly refers to the goddess KlT. Even so the
connection between the two goddesses is clearly established from the beginning of the Tantra. The god
Himavn has just praised the god Bhairava who has come to visit him in the hermitage in the Himalayas.
Bhairava is pleased by Himavn's devotion and offers him five boons. In response to these favours, Himavn
offers Bhairava his daughter whom he introduces as the young virgin (kumrik) Klik. We come to know
that she was Um in a previous life and that she is ultimately Kubjik. In the later Manthnabhairavatantra
she is called Bhadraklik. If the Newar Kaula initiates of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley were to study
this Tantra they would certainly see in this textual identification a sign that BhadraklT, whom the citizens
venerate as the founder of their town, is secretly Kubjik. For an account of the role BhadraklT played in
helping Ananda Malla to found Bhaktapur see Levi 1992: 487ff..
85 This short tract of about three hundred verses is one of a number o f such short tracts collected in a
manuscript preserved in the National Archives in Kathmandu. The manuscript is wrongly labelled
KlikulapaficaSatik (see bibliography). Prof. Sanderson gave me a copy o f the entire manuscript in 1981.1
am grateful to him for supplying me with this material. Almost twenty years have elapsed since he gave it to
me. To the best of my knowledge he has not published this text nor is he about to do so. I have therefore
taken the liberty of making use of this important material myself.
86 kramkramobhayottirnarcdmipuhjlighasmarah II
svarpam hartumudyukto nistarahgo'niketanah I
sparsspariapadtTtarpatvd vigatottarah II
pratnttipraSntaikamahimvikrtaprabhah I (MNP 222cd-4ab)
87 samhrabhakyani saiva rasasamcarvanolthil I
svarpaprntacitvattah samrdh nirjrm II (ibid. 29)
32 M a r k S . G . D yczk o w sk i

The w ise say that th a t is the eternal p ro cess called w ithdraw al (sam hra). It is the arising
o f the outpouring o f the rays o f th a t great, unconditioned consciousness which, sa id to be fr e e o f
the darkness o f both being a n d non-being, is intent on consum ing (alt things).88

T he follow ing passage is draw n from a K ubjik T antra, nam ely, the K ularatnoddyota to
w hich I have already had occasion to refer. The T an tra describes the origin o f the goddess K ubjik
as an em bodim ent o f the creative desire (icch) o f the god B hairava. N ote how , even though she is
the m ain deity, she is said to be the god's attendant as w ould befit a pious H indu w ife. B ut even so,
the universe is generated from them by m eans o f a union that is necessarily incestuous:89

The Will, inherent in the essential nature o f the transcendent, im perceptible, suprem e and
suprem ely b lissful Lord, shone fo r th (babhau). God, a roused by his ow n will, fa sh io n e d a suprem e
body (vapu) (for him self). That (body) p o ssessed every lim b a n d was endow ed w ith the p reviously
(stated) attributes ( o f deity). Shining like billions o f m oons, it (w as) an im m ense a n d m arvellous
m ass o f energy. The g rea t lord, the venerable KubjeSa, accom panied b y the encom passing
attendants (varana) o f the Srikram a (the tradition o f the god d ess K ubjik), sa t on the sea t o f the
W heel o f K now ledge, a d o rn ed with the g arla n d o f P rinciples o f E xistence (tattva). The L o rd o f the
gods, w hose nature is beyo n d conception, com tem plated his ow n im perishable a n d sa cred (bhvita)
nature, (the Self) o f the venerable W heel o f Bliss.
F ree o f o bjectivity a n d residing in his own fo u n d a tio n (dhra), (he contem plated him self)
in order to fa sh io n the w heel called (the W heel of) Bliss. Thus, O fa i r lady, as he contem plated
him self, billions o f aeons p a ssed fo r (the g o d w ho) abides in the a lo o f reality (kaivalyrtha) ( o f
transcendence). Then, the benefactor o f the universe, f o r the benefit o f (his) attendants
(praticraka) conceived the th ought w hich is suprem e Nirvana, nam ely: 'Who is o u r attendant?'
A biding thus f o r a m om ent, he a p p lied (his) m ind (m anas) to his ow n fo u n d a tio n (svdhi-
sthna).90 (Thus) he aro u sed (his) suprem e p o w e r w hose fo r m w as coiled. Fire cam e fo r th by the

88 tadbhakyanah parah prokto bhvbhvatamojjhitah I!

nirupdhimahbodharafmyullsamayodayah I
etadevocyate sadbhih samhrkhyo'\yayakramah II (ibid. 204cd - 5)
89 Compare this relationship with the one KlT - the goddess o f Time - has with her consort, Bhairava
Mahkla (the Great Time). Bhairava represents the vital breath (prna). Its movement impells the motion
of the mind and, with it, the flux of time. Kali is the divine consciousness who, intent on consuming the
energies of manifestation that arise out of her own nature, absorbs the vital breath and with it time into her
eternal nature (MP p. 7). Thus, far from being the god's pious bashful attendant, she devours him! When we
couple this perception o f the goddess with Rmakrsna's vision of the divine mother KH devouring the
children to whom she has just given birth, the reversal o f perspective is virtually complete.
90 One of the major contributions that the Kubjik cult has made to Skta Tantrism as a whole is the
well-known system of Six Wheels (fafcakra) visualized in the body as stations of the ascent of KundalinT.
Kubjik is KundalinT bent over in the form of a sleeping snake coiled in the first of these Wheels called
muldhra - the Root Foundation. In this case, the energy within the body of Kujesa is not in this Wheel,
which is located in the base of the genitals, but in the second Wheel along, namely, Svdhisthna - the
Wheel of the Self-Supported. In this context, the collocation of this energy here is appropriate. The Wheel of
the Self-Supported is the place where the erect penis makes contact with the cervix at the base of the womb
during sexual intercourse. Thus this Wheel is the centre o f the first point of contact in the union of Siva and
Sakti from which the emission (visarga) that generates the universe originates.
But although this makes sense, even so, given the prestige of the Six Wheel system in the Kubjik
Tantras, which is at the very core of the cult, one wonders at the anomalous role of this Wheel here. Is it a
hangover from an earlier formulation of the Six Wheels when there were only five ?
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 33

left-hand p a th in the Sky, w hich is both suprem e (transcendent) a n d inferior (im m anent). (Thus) the
Suprem e Lord, w ho is the suprem e (reality), em anated (srstavn) the suprem e goddess. O beloved,
that goddess w as M ahm y,91 endow ed with his (own divine) attributes. E ndow ed with the
attributes o f the Suprem e Lord, she w as delighted with suprem e bliss.
M y W heel called B liss (said the L o rd ) is fa sh io n e d by m eans o f both o f them. (Thus)
created, the suprem ely divine (goddess) w as en dow ed with the tw enty-five q ualities ( o f the
principles o f existence), and, because she resides in the tw enty-five p rin cip les o f existence,92 the
Suprem e G oddess w as beautiful.
E nergized by the (m antras called) the Five Jew els, enveloped b y the seven bodily
constituents (dhtu), her nature the w ine (sudh) (that inebriates h er consort) a n d divine, she is
coloured w ith the colour o f the principles o f existence (tattva). That goddess is (the god's) own will,
Bhairavl, (w ho is in the com pany) o f the G od o f the gods.92

91 The Tantra appears to imply that Kubjik, as Mahmy, should be identified with Durg, the
foremost public representation of the Great Goddess. Newar initiates into Kubjik's cult stress how Kubjik
is preeminent amongst all the great goddesses of Newar ktism because she is Mahmy in a more direct,
original sense than the other goddesses, even though they are also all identified with Durg (as
MahissuramardinT - the Slayer o f the Buffalo Demon), who acts as their public exoteric form.
We notice here that the usual thirty-six principles found in the Saiva Tantras, and generally
recognized also in the Kubjik Tantras, have in this passage been reduced to the more basic Sriikhya set of
twenty-five plus one, if we include the goddess herself. TTie Kubjik Tantras nowhere identify the goddess
with Nature (prakrti) which is an identification found in the Purnas and, probably inspired by them, in the
later Skta Tantras from not earlier than the thirteenth century. When this identification is made, Siva figures
as the Person (purusa), who is not just the individual soul o f the Smkhya who goes by the same name, but
the divine male counterpart of the goddess. The number o f principles in such cases is then usually about
twenty-five to twenty-eight, varying in detail according to the particular text and its cult. Is the set up in the
Kubjik cult of the Kularatnoddyota a first step towards the later conceptions or an archaic remnant of an
earlier pre-Tantric theistic Smkhya?
The original readings in the two manuscripts I have collated are noted in square brackets. These are:
MS K which is CSS MS no. C 348 - Bodlein Oxford and MS Kh which is NAK MS no. 1/1653 = NGMPP
reel no. B 119/3.
attlasyprameyasya Ik: atitasya-l parasya paramesthinah I
paramnandayuktasya icch svbhvaki babhau II
svecchay ksubhito [kh: kumbhito] devah [kkh : devaj sa
cakra [k: sa cakr; kh: samkn] param vapuh I
tacca prvagunairyuklam {kh: pnasturnairyyuktam]
samagrvayavnvitam [k: samamr-; kh: samamrvayavnvitamh] II
candrakotyarbudbhsam {kh: candrakopya-/ tejoriirmahadbhutam Ik: tejorsi-; kh: tejofam si-l I
jnnacakrsansinam [kh: -sansinal tattvamlvibhsilam II
.irlkramvaranopetam [k: -caranopetam; kh: -caranopeta] frikujeSam mahprabhum I
Mmadnandacakrasya bhvittmnamavyayam [kh: savitatmanamavyayamj II
acintylm sa Ik: acintayatsa; kh: acintayatma] deveSah [ h deveS; kh: devesauj
cakramnandasamjnakam I
kart um (k: kartam ; kh: IxirtaJ devo.apram eytm [k kh: devya pram eytm l
svakiydhrasam sthitah II
evamacintayat svayam /k k h : evam cintaya tastasyej kalpakotyarbudni [kh: asya kalpakotya-f ca I
atltni varrohe kaivalyrthasthilasya [kh: kaivalyrthai-/ ca II
athkarojjagaddht praticrakahetave [kh: -hetavaj I
cintm [kkh: cintj param aninnam [k kh: -nirvnah] ko.asmkam praticrakah II
iti sthitv muhrtam [ h -rtham; kh: mudruttaml vai [k: se; kh: me] svdhiythne [kh: -sthne]
mano dadhau I
kyobhayel [k kh: -yal] paramm [kh: paraml iaklim kundalkravigrahm [k kh: -klavigrahmJW
34 M a r k S. G . D yczko w sk i

The text goes on to say that the god fashioned a skull bow l filled w ith the energy o f the
goddess in the form o f w ine (su r ) w ith w hich he offered libations to h im self and his attendants.
The goddess is surprised by how the god can w orship h im self in this w ay through his ow n blissful
pow er represented by the wine. A ccordingly, she w ants to know m ore about this internal rite o f
adoration through w hich, as the T antra goes on to explain, the universe is created. T hus B hairava,
here called Srintha - the Lord o f the goddess Sri, that is, K ubjik - continues:

The goddess w a s established w ith devotion in the w orship o f the B eginningless L iturgy
(andikram a). B oth o f them w ere sea ted there and, in the union (m elaka) o f suprem e bliss, the
venerable L o rd o f K ula instituted (their) m arriage (pnigrahana).
N ow the goddess w as troubled (sankit) a n d her b ody w as bent with shyness (lajja). (Thus
her) fo r m a s the 'crooked o n e' (kubjik) cam e into being with (its) subtle, crooked lim p
(kincitkhanjagatiryaga)94 b u t even then, the Lord, bloom ing with jo y , took the h a n d o f the goddess
an d sat her on h is lap.
That is sa id to be the union o f Siva a n d Sakti. There, O goddess, they are also churned
together a s befits (sam paripadyatah) (the a c t o f union). There, O d ea r one, the m ale seed a n d
m ensis (rajas), the vital essence (dhtu o f the g o d a n d the goddess) are m ixed together.
The great and im m ortal D rop (m ahbindu) originated there, O fa ir-fa c e d one. E nergized
and shining, (it shone with the) light o f ten s o f m illio n s o f suns.9*

niykrmya vmamrgena bahirvyomni [kh: vahi-j parpare /kh: -para] I

srstavn [ h -vt] paramm devim [kh: devij sa parah ]k kh: parmj paramesvarah II
s ca devl mahmy priye taddharmadharmini I
paramesagunairyukl paramnandanandit II
tbhym tarn tu mamrabdam cakramnandasamjnakam I
nirmit param divy pancavimsagunairyut II
pancavimsatitattvasth [kh: -tatvaiica] obhit [k kh: Sobhitm] param eivari [k kh: -rim] I
pancaratnakrtfop saptadhtuparicchad [k kh: -dm] II
sudhsvarpini [k kh: sudhturpim] divy [k kh: divym] tattvargnurahjit [k kh: -tm] I
svakiyecch ca [k kh: svakiyaSira] s [k kh: so] devt [k kh: devi] devadevena [kh: bhedavadevanal
bhairavilk kh: bhairavij II (KRU 1/53-65)
M The goddess, identified, as we have already noted, with KundalinT, is called the Lady with a Limp
(KhanjinT) when she moves up through the Wheels of the god's body, halting for a moment as she pierces
through each one.
95 andikramapjym bhakty devl [k kh: devi[ nive.iit II
tbhym tatropavistbhym paramnandametake [kh: -melakam] I
pnigrahanasarhyogam [kh: pnigrahana-] krtavn Srikuletvarah II
alhaiviahkit [Ich: vm-J de\'i lajjaykuncit tanuh [kh: natuii] I
samjtam kubjikrpam kincitkhanjagatiryagam [k; khanjgatiyulam; kh: khamjgatiryyagam] II
tathpi tena devena harsaulphullayutena tu I
s devi grhya haslam [k kh: haste] tu svotsahge sannivefit [k kh: ma-[ II
.iivasaklisamyogah [kh: -yoga/h] sa eva parikirtitah I
tatrpi mathanam devi tayoh samparipadyatah II
tatra bljarajodhtoh [kh: dhto] sammiiritvam bhavet (k: sammifritvabhavat: kh:
sadyifretvabhava] priye I
tatrotpanno [kh: tatrojn] mahbinduramrto yo [kh: y] varnane II
diptivn bhsvaraicaiva [kh: diptivrtsvara-J sryakotisamaprabhah [k kh: -prabhuhj I (KRU
l/73cd-9ab)
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 35

The T antra goes on to describe how the D rop bursts apart and the universe is generated
from it step by step in a series o f em anations that range dow n to the physical w orld and its
inhabitants.
K ll thus creates oneness in, and through, the destruction o f m ultiplicity. C onversely,
K ubjik destroys, as it w ere, the prim ordial unity o f the original solitary god, through the activity
w hich brings about creation. B ut even though such distinctions can be discerned in the texts, and
they them selves also m ake them , the tw o cults share basic, com m on goals. T hese include a vast
range o f benefits collectively referred to as accom plishm ents - siddhi - consisting o f an am azing
num ber o f m agical and yogic pow ers. A longside these m undane aim s, we find soteriological ones
concerned w ith liberation (m ukti). T his is portrayed variously as a positive, perm anently blissful
condition and/or as the ultim ate condition resulting from the extinction o f all suffering and
contingency called N irvana. A ccording to the K ubjik T antras, the source and essence o f this
extinction is the goddess K ubjik herself. She is the V oid (vyom an, kha, ksa) o f the energy
B eyond M ind (unm ant).96 T his energy m oves up perpetually into the highest sphere o f absolute
being w hich this school calls 'Siva's m andala' (M m bhavam andala), rem inding us o f the close
association betw een the Saiva and the Skta Tantras. She then flow s dow n from it into the spheres
o f her em anations, w hile she continues to reside w ithin it. As the goddess behaves in this w ay, she
is called Sm bhavlsakti and R udrasakti.97 B oth o f these nam es fo r the suprem e energy o f
consciousness are also com m on in the T antras respected in the K ashm iri Saiva tradition.98

96 Like other major deities of various Tantric traditions, including Siva and even Visnu, K is
identified with the Void of consciousness. But her special domain is, as her very name suggests, time (kia).
Abhinavagupta explains in his Tantrloka :

Again, time (can be experienced) both as a succession (krama) (o f moments) as well (as eternal
time) free o f succession. Both aspects abide entirely within consciousness. Thus scripture affirms that Kali
(the Goddess o f Time) is the Lord's supreme power. It is that same power which, by its spontaneous
development (praroha), manifests outside consciousness the succession and its absence, encompassed within
its own nature, and so abides as the (life-giving) activity o f the vital breath (prnavrtti).
Consciousness alone, very pure and o f the nature o f light, severing objectivity from itself, manifests
as the sky void o f all things. That is said to be the voidness o f consciousness and is the supreme state yogins
attain by reflecting on objectivized manifestation with an attitude o f negation (neti neti).
This same void Self (khtman) is called the vital breath, the throb (spanda) and wave (Urmi) o f
consciousness. By virtue o f its inherent inner outpouring (samucchalatva), it falls upon the objectivity
(which it) separated from (itself) with the intention o f taking possession o f it. (TA 6/6-11)

The identification of the goddess with the energy of the Transmental (unmanI) is not unique to the
Kubjik Tantras. The gamas (i.e. Tantras) o f the Saivasiddhnta regularly prescribe the worship of Siva's
consort as the power of the Transmental. As in the Icbjik Tantras, Siva's consort in such Tantric texts is
also understood to be the intermediary between the spheres of emanation, which are within the purview of
the mind, and the transcendent above them; beyond mind. But whereas this conception figures occasionally
in these types of Tantric text, it assumes a central role in the theology of the goddess Kubjik.
97 rudraSaktih sad pjy pTfhnm klrtandapi I
siddhim sphut pradtri Snkujkhym nmmyaham II

I salute the venerable (goddess) called Kuj who, clearly apparent, bestows accomplishment, she
who is to be constantly worshipped as Rudra's energy and by praising the sacred seats (in which she
resides). (KKh 5/81)
98 For example, see MV l/44cd-5:
ajhnena sahaikatvam kasyacid vinivartate II
rudraSaklisamvistah sa yiysuh iivecchay I
36 M ark S . G . D yczk o w sk i

In her creative aspect K ubjik is especially identified w ith the energy o f bliss w hich resides
in the centre o f the m andala and the body. It is said to be the absolute itself, w hich is called the
'N euter'. B eyond the m ale S iva and the fem ale S a k ti," it is their source w ithin w hich they fuse into
one. T his energy o f bliss in its prim ary, unm anifest state pervades the V oid o f con scio u sn ess.100 At
the sam e tim e, in its active m anifest form , it is the triple energy (triSaktij 101 o f w ill, know ledge and
action. T ogether these energies constitute K ubjik's nature as the generative V ulva (yo ni).'02 The
seed o f the V ulva is the goddess's divine C om m and ( jfi) sym bolically situated in the centre o f the
triangle o f the V ulva, the goddesss mancjala. T hrough this energy the w orld is created, and through
it one attains the authority (adhikra) to perform T antric and K aula rituals, initiate others and

bhuktimuktiprasiddhyartham niyate sadgurum prati II

(It may happen) that the unity a person has with (the condition of) ignorance ceases. (Such a one) is
penetrated by Rudra's energy. By diva's will, he desires to go to a true teacher and is led (to one) so that he
can attain liberation and (worldly) enjoyment.

Abhinavagupta considers this passage, and the correct understanding of the function of Rudrasakti.
important enough to quote and comment on it twice in his Tantrloka (see T 4/33-5 and 13/199-203).
** The Kumrikkhanda o f the Manthnabhairavatantra declares that: Itis neither fem ale nor is its
form male, that bliss is the Neuter (absolute), (na stn na puruskram nandam tarn napumsakam I KKh
3/46ab). The goddess, who is the power of bliss (nandasakti), is accordingly called Napumsak - the
Female Eunuch. To the best of my knowledge this name is exclusive to the goddess Kubjik. Apart from this
usage in the literature of the Kubjik cult, this is certainly a very rare, if not unique, form of the neuter noun
napumsakam.
100 khastham nivartitkram avyaktam bhairavtmakam I
evamnandafaktistu divyalihg kramodit II

Located in the Sky (o f consciousness), its form has been completed (to perfection - nivartita) and,
unmanifest, it is Bhairava. In the same way, the power o f bliss is the divine (female) Lihg (divyalihg) that
has emerged from the sequence (krama - o f the lineage and the liturgy). (KKh 3/47)
101 These three energies are a standard set found not only in the Tantras but also inPurnic
representations of Sivas energies. The triad is well known to the worshippers o f the goddess Durg as the
three goddesses who are the consorts of Brahma, Vi$nu, and Siva. They represent the three qualities (guna)
of Nature (prakrti) with which the goddess Durg is identified. Newar Kaula initiates also link their
conception of these three energies with the qualities, representing this association by the respective colours
of their three goddesses, who are the black GuhyaklT, the red Kmesvan, and SiddhalaksmT who is white.
Two pictures of this triad can be viewed in the museum in Bhaktapur. Note the conspicuous absence of
Kubjik in this triad. This is because she is identified with Mahmy, which is, according to the Purnic
account, Nature, their original source. Thus she is present there, in a sense, as all three. Or, to put it another
way, she is their basic absolute and hence unmanifest, secret identity.
102 y s (aktirbhagkhyt Sambhorutsahgagminl I
kaulini brahmacaryena Srimndevi napumsak II

The energy called the Vulva (bhaga) who sits on Sambhus lap is, by virtue o f (her) continence. Kaulini, the
venerable goddess Neuter (napumsak). (KKh 3/63)

The Sanskrit of these texts is not infrequently deviant. Here is a particularly interesting example of
how deviant Sanskrit can be employed with a meaningful purpose. The expression 'Srimndevi napumsak'
combines an irregular masculine form of address (frim n) and, as we have already noted, the peculiar
transformation of a neuter noun into a feminine adjectival name (napumsak), both with reference to the
goddess, to represent her multivalent nature. Other cases o f deviant Sanskrit have not, and will not, be noted
here.
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 37

ultim ately lead them to the sam e realizatio n .103 The Tantra o f the C hurning B hairava
(M anthnabhairavtantra) tells us:

In the centre ( o f the m a ndala) is the P lace o f R epose; it is the expansion ( o f em anation -
prasara) and the experience ( o f ultim ate reality), the understanding o f w hich is one's own
(spiritual) authority.'0*

T his sam e energy is also in the centre o f the body, that is, betw een the tw o vital breaths o f
inhalation and exhalation. T here, K ubjik abides in the fullness o f h er am bivalence. B lissful in the
transcendent beyond w orldly pleasure and its consequent pain, she is horrifying in her alluring
beauty as the universal activity o f tim e in her m anifest universe:

It is said that the p o w e r o f bliss is m erged betw een the inhaled (prdna) a n d exhaled breath
(apna). Located in the m iddle o f the Stick o f the C avity o f Space (i.e. susum nd), she p e n a d es the
energy o f the consciousness o f the individual soul.
Slender, her lim bs variegated by tim e (kla) a n d m om ent (vel), she aw akens (the initiate)
to (ultim ate) reality. M erged in the p lane ( o f Siva), the O ne D evoid o f (m ere p henom enal) Pleasure
(nirdnanda), she is suprem e, im perishable a n d ho rrific.t0>
It is suprem e bliss and, a s such, is the eternal bliss which is the fin a l en d ( o f all existence).
(It is Siva), the O ne D evo id o f (m ere ph enom enal) P leasure (nirdnanda), (w ho) is tranquil. F ree o f
the eight causes (that constitute the subtle body), it is fr e e o f the q ualities (guna) a n d principles
(tattva) a n d devoid o f both that w hich is to be taken up a n d abandoned. 106

A s em anation itself, K ubjik is the m andala. T his m antjala is prim arily the triangle o f the
V ulva (yoni). T his is w hy the goddess is called V akr - C rooked. T his basic triangular form has
four com ponents located at the three co m ers and the centre. These are the fo u r prim ary seats (pitha)
o f the goddess. The goddess is the entire econom y o f energies. B ut she is not ju st the sum o f all
energies, she is also every one o f them individually. T hey are deployed in sacred space, and indeed
the energies are the sacred places them selves. Thus the identity o f each energy as the object of
w orship is detem iined by its location (sthdna):

The energy called the Vulva is endow ed with the m ovem ent o f the three p a th s (i.e. the three
m ajor channels o f the vital breath), a n d consists o f three letters (i.e. AIM , H RIM , SR IM ) a n d three
aspects (will, know ledge a n d action). (It contains) the venerable O ddiydna which, en dow ed with
the suprem e energy a n d w ell energized, is located in the m iddle. The venerable (sacred seat) called

103 This interesting and original concept, reminiscent in some ways of the Tantric Buddhist conception
of Bodhicitta - 'Mind of Enlightenment, is dealt with extensively solely in the Kubjik Tantras. All beings
whatever their status, gods, men or demons, have spiritual authority because they have received the
Command (djhd) of the goddess Kubjik. This Command permits them to exert this authority within their
jurisdiction. This doctrine may well have served to justify the configuration of Newar Kaula Tantrism
around this goddess in the radical manner in which it is at present.
IW madhye viSrmabhmim prasaramanubhavam pratyayam svdhikram II (KKh l/3c)
105 prndpnntare lind dnandakakiirucyate
kharandadandamadhyasth anucitkalaydpini I
klavelvicitrhgi tanvi tattvaprabodhaki 11
nirnandapade lind bhisani paramdvyayd I (KKh 2/5 - 6ab)
106 parnandasvarpena nitynandaparyanam II
nirnandamayarh fntam kranstakavarjitam I
gunatattvavinirmuktam heyopdeyavarjitam II (KKh 13/5cd-6)
38 M a r k S. G . D yczk o w sk i

Jlandhara is located w ithin the abode m anifested in the right corner. The venerable sacred seat
P u m a is in the lefi (corner) fo r m e d through the fe a r o f the fettered , w hile K m arpa is in its fr o n t
(low er com er)."*

It is interesting to note that this grouping o f sacred seats occurs in the B uddhist
H evajratantra and som e other m ajor B uddhist T antras. The sacred geography o f these T antras has
m uch in com m on w ith those o f their H indu equivalents o f the tim e, including the K ubjik
T antras.108 The triangle in the centre o f S n cak ra is also occupied by these seats, and the siddhas
w ho reside in them are also the sam e. B ut neither o f them are extensively w orshipped as happens in
the K ubjik cult. Indeed, there are good reasons to believe, w hich w e shall investigate in another
publication, that the innerm ost triangle o f S n ca k ra is the sam e one described in the K ubjik
T antras. It appears that the S rividy tradition, w hich postdates the earliest K ubjik T antras, w as so
inspired by the pow er o f this triangular Y antra that it chose to incorporate it as the centrepiece o f its
ow n com plex Y antra, the S n cak ra.
The K llkram a also thinks o f the suprem e pow er as sim ultaneously em anating and being the
sacred seat o f its energies:

O m other! This, the grea t sacred sea t (pitha) b o m fr o m You, is the en erg ized v ita lity '(o f
consciousness) w hich p o u rs fo r th w hen Siva becom es one with You by virtue o f y o u r perpetually
expanding body o f energy.
Within the fiv e elem ents, E arth a n d the others, resides the body o f Light, the im perishable
energy o f m anifestation. A n d this, the (divine) intellect, the suprem e vitality ( o f consciousness) is
You, O (goddess) Siv, w ho g enerates the W heel o f the Sacred Sea ts (pithacakra).
You, w ho alone p o ssess a ll the p o w ers o f the W heel o f the the S acred Seats, abide alw ays
a nd eveyw here. Perceived, O M other, by the w ise w ho are a t one with the fo r c e ( o f pu re
consciousness - udyam a), You are the unobscured daw ning ( o f enlightenm ent).m

107 y s Saktirbhagkhy tripathagatiyut tryaksar triprakr

tasyh iri-oddiynam parakalasahilam madhyasamstham sudiptam I
tacchrijlandharkhyam prakatitanilaye daksine caiva krte
vme fripm apitham paiujanabhayakrt kmarpam tadagre II (CMSS 1/4)

The above verse is in iragdhar metre. Apart from the standard oka, the metre in which most of
the Tantras are written, this complex metre appears to have been especially favoured by Tantric authors prior
to the eleventh century. The Buddhist Klacakratantra is almost entirely written in this metre. The above
passage is of special interest because it is quoted in the Vimalaprabh, a commentary on the
Klacakratantra by Sripundarika, who lived in the middle of the eleventh'century. In the usual derisive
manner of Buddhist commentators towards others who are not Buddhists, Pundarika refers to those who
accept the authority of the source o f the above reference as demons to be devoured (bhaksadaitya). They
have not known the supreme secret and their body is like that of the demon Mra who tormented the Buddha
( Vimalaprabh, vol. 3 pp. 146-8). This body is the triangular Vulva (bhaga) of the goddess, which this verse
describes and the Kubjik Tantras teach the adept should project into his own body. Here is yet another
testimony to the existence o f the Kubjik Tantras in the eleventh century outside Nepal, possibly in Bengal,
if this is the place where Sripundarika wrote his commentary, as some scholars believe.
108 pitham jlandharam khytam oddiynam tathaiva ca I
pitham paurnagiriScaiva kmarpam tathaiva ca II (Hevajratantra 1/7/12)

For details of pithas listed in selected Buddhist Tantras see Bauddha tantrom mem pithopapithdi
k vivecana in Dhi, Samath, Varanasi, 1986 vol.l, pp. 137-148.
109 amba toklivapus tvayonmesadrpay samarasah iivo yad I
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 39

T he K ubjik cult is called the Sequence o f the M other (a vv kra m a ) and also, as is the cult
o f Srividy, the SrTkrama. T he corresponding K li cult is the KlTkrama. The term kram a m eans
literally 'sequence' and, by extension, a lineage o r tradition. T hese are com m on, non-technical uses
o f the w ord. In a technical sense, kram a denotes a K aula liturgy, consisting as it does o f a sequence
o f actions and recitations o f m antras. U nlike the S n k ram a, the KlTkrama includes w ithin the
sequence o f the rite o f adoration (pjkram a) the sequences o f em anation, persistence, w ithdraw al
and the inexplicable (an kh ya ). The M dhavakula section o f the Ja yadrathaydm ala, to w hich
A bhinavagupta refers in his treatm ent o f K aula ritual, declares that:

(A ccording to this practice), in o rd er to attain both w orldly enjoym ent (b h o g a ) a n d

liberation, one m u st w orship the tetrad o f em anation, persistence, w ithdraw al a n d the inexplicable
together with the sacred seats a n d the burning g ro u n d s.'10

The four m om ents o f em anation, persistence, w ithdraw al and the inexplicable are
w orshipped as separate configurations o f goddesses. The cult o f Srividy, like the S aivasiddhnta,
and indeed m ost sophisticated T antric ritual, replicates through ritual action the cyclic creation and
destruction o f the univ erse.1" It is particularly well represented in the ritual program o f the
K llkram a. Indeed, in the KHkram a they are considered to be fundam ental aspects o f the goddess
herself:

(O Um), unfolding aw areness o f creation, p ersistence a n d destruction! The daw ning (o f

enlightened consciousness), unobstructed, eternal a n d im perishable, unfolds, illum ined by (the
devotion) o f y o u r de v o te e s...."1

M oreover, the three states are contained in a fourth one beyond them called 'N am eless'
(A nkhy). T his is the transcendental, pure dynam ic consciousness (sam vil) that generates, sustains
and w ithdraw s the three sta te s."3 A m ajor characteristic o f the KlTkrama, this notion is absent in

yat tadollasati vlryamrjitam pTtha esa hi mahmstvadutihitah II

y five sphuranafaktiraksay ksmdipahcakanivislabhtanuli I
s mahad bhavati vlryamagrimam yanmayltvamasi plthacakrashW
pithacakranikaraikadharmini tvam sthit ca satatam samantatah I
sadbhirudyamanirantartmabhirlaksyasem ba niravagrahoday II (CGC 76 - 8)
110 srstisamsthitisamhrnmakramacaiustayam I
pithafmafnasahitam pjayed bhogamoksayoh II (T 29/57)
111 Davis (1991: 42) writes: "The universe oscillates. It comes and goes, emerges and disappears . . .
Saiva daily worship also echoes the rhythm of the oscillating universe. The paired concepts of 'emission'
(srsti) and 'reabsorption' (samhra), with which Saivite cosmology describes the movements o f the
oscillating universe, are embedded as an organizing logic in the patterning o f worship."
113 nirjanasthitilayaprathlmike'grsanityaniravagrahodayah I
jrmbhitastvadanupksadipito . . . (CGC 81abc)
113 The root Tantra o f the Kashmiri KlTkrama is the Jayadrathaydmala of twenty-four thousand verses
to which we have already had occasion to refer as the most authoritative scripture o f the Newar cult of
Siddhilak;mJ. The Jayadrathaymala is a very important work for many reasons. One of these is the
relatively frequent reference to the phenomenology of the dynamic energy of consciousness which in this
text is termed samvit. This term is rare in other non-Buddhist Tantras despite the fact that it is the basic term
used for consciousness by Kashmiri Saivites. Even more striking, when compared with other Hindu Tantras
of this period (i.e. prior to the development of Kashmiri Saivism), is its surpisingly sophisticated idealism
which identifies subject and object through the act o f perception. Although, the Mahklasamhii is a K3IT
40 M a r k S. G . D yczk o w sk i

the basic form o f the K ubjik cult. Even though K ubjik is frequently called the N am eless, she is
not described as the fourth inexplicable consciousness w hich encom passes the triad o f creation,
persistence and destruction, as happens in the KlTkrama. Let us exam ine som e sam ple texts in
order to observe the difference this identification m akes. In the follow ing passages K ubjik is
called the N am eless (A nm o r A nkhy) and she is identified w ith the energy o f consciousness
called T ransm ental (U nm an):

There, a t the end o f the m ind, there is nothing else excep t the (energy) w hich is beyo n d the
m ind (m anonm ani). (A n d so), she is called the Transm ental (unm an), the suprem e (energy), who
transports the n ectar ( o f im m ortality).1'*

A gain:

A bove that is the T ransm ental (unm an) state; th a t state (corresponds to the) Sm bhava
(principle). (O ne attains it) once one has p ra cticed (im m ersion in) the one V oid w here everything
com es to an end. A n d once the Transm ental a t the en d o f the Void has been reached, w ho is it that
is not fr e e d fr o m b o n d a g e ? "5
E m anation (srsti) (generated) fr o m the sequence (kram a) ab id es a lone in the Vulva, fa c in g
dow nw ards. (This energy is) the T ransm ental (m anonm ani), the essential B eing ( o f a ll things -
sadbhv) a n d the g rea t w ave ( o f the energy o f consciousness) - w hose fo r m is L ig h t." 1

K ubjik is the energy 'beyond m in d w hich leads to the pure transcendent B eing o f her
consort. She is the Inexplicable (A nkhy), W ithout N am e (A nm ) not, prim arily, because she is
the sem per e te m u m o f G od's B eing w hich encom passes past, present and future in its inexplicable
sim ultaneity, although she is also this, but, above all, because she is, literally, beyond the m ind. She
is the final stage at the en d o f a vertical ascent through the expanse o f im m anence, at the extrem ity
closest to transcendence.
A gain, the location o f the m ultiple energies o f the goddess is not only represented by the
goddess's sacred seats. It also refers to the placem ent o f the letters o f the alphabet w ithin a diagram
called a p rastra. The letters o f a m antra are extracted from this diagram . T his is done by
indicating the position o f each letter in relation to other letters next to it. T his process is the
m icrocosm ic parallel o f creating the universe part by part from the phonem ic energies that
constitute the universal energy o f the goddess. T hus, K ubjik like other K aula goddesses, such as
M linl, is both every single phonem ic energy and so is the one 'L etter' (varn), and is also
transcendent and so is called "Devoid o f L etter' (avarna):

Tantra which postdates the Jayadrathaymala and makes extensive use of this fourfold division o f creation,
persistence, destruction and a fourth state beyond them, it is devoid o f the earlier idealism due to its
exclusive focus on external ritual. The paradigm is so basic, whether internalized or not, that it is not
surprising to discover that the Newar Kli rites are similarly dominated by this fourfold division.
114 nnyam tatra bhavet kincinmanasnte manonmani I
unman s samkhyt par hyamrtavhini II ( KKh 15/13)
115 tasyordhve unmanvasth ladvasth hi Smbhavam I
fnyamekam sambhyasya yatra sarvam nivartate II
Snynte tnmane prpte ko na mucyati bandhant I (KKh 9/18-9ab)
116 kramt srstih sthit yonau ek eva hyadhomukhi I
sadbhv s mahnrmirjyotirp manonmani II (KKh 24/44)
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 41

Vidy, the auspicious p o w e r (sakti), residing in letter a n d w hat is d evo id o f letter, is o f two
types. (O ne is the energy of) the syllables ( o f a ll m antras - aksar) (a n d the oth er is) the energy o f
consciousness. (B y know ing this the adept attains) success (siddhi). On the p a th o f the Vidy
m ental vigour (m edha) (is acquired) b y action p erceived (as correct) b y the scrip tu re ."1

E lsew here the goddess says:

She, O Lord, is the d eity a n d I have spoken o f her a s the deity. She has em erged fr o m the
cave herm itage (guhram a) and, d evo id o f so u n d (asvara), she transports so u n d (sva ra v h in i)."%

The m andala o f Sariivart, w hich is the fundam ental m andala o f the goddess K ubjik,
develops from the triangle m entioned above. It consist o f six parts w hich, draw ing from the
term inology o f tem ple architecture, are called prakra. The p ra k ra s are the encom passing series
o f w alls in a tem ple com pound, o r around a tree, w hich dem arcate the sacred space around the
centre w here the deity re sid e s."9 E ncom passing through her m andala all things in this w ay, the
goddess pervades all things because she is all things. From this point o f view , the draw ing o f the
m andala sym bolizes the deploym ent o f the goddess in the tim e and space o f eternal pervasion. This
takes place by a process the K ubjik T antras and the KlTkrama call 'churning'. T his is the process
o f em anation m arked by the em ergence o f the individual energies or aspects (k a l ) o f Kula, the
universal energy w ith w hich K ubjik is identified.120 The K ubjik Tantra o f the C hurning B hairava
(M anthnabhairavatantra) explains:

Thus, (reality), suprem e (transcendent) a n d inferior (im m anent), is d ivid ed by the division
(brought about by) the churning (m anthna) ( o f p o w e r a n d its possessor). In this way. P assion is

117 vidy nmksar iaklirdvidhairbhedairvyavasthit I

cicchaktiriti siddhih syt s varnvarnag iubh II
vidymrge ca medhastu fstradrslena karman I (KKh 14/2 l-2ab)
118 es s devat devatay khyi may prabho I
guh.iramd viniskrnt asvar svaravhim II (KKh 17/24)
1,9 An interesting feature o f this temple is that it is not the temple o f the great Sanskritic tradition, but
the archaic tree shrine of popular local folk tradition. Thus, in places, the texts apparently identify Kubjik
with a local goddess who lived in a tree or a stone underneath it. Accordingly, her Circle (mandala) is the
Circle of the Tree, the original circle being the shade of the tree o f which the tree, and hence the stone, were
the centre. Consistent with this symbolic representation o f Kubjik's abode is her name, ildevl - the
Goddess Stone, as the goddess in the centre o f this mandala. Interiorized, the Tree Mandala acquires the
encompassing enclosures that are normally built when the deity of the tree and the stone develop in
importance. Thus the development o f the Tree Mandala mirrors the development of the Hindu temple and
the local, rural goddess of the Tree becomes the Great Goddess of the temple and the city who is kept hidden
in her mandala. In the final section of this essay, I deal with the goddess's association with trees and
vegetation.
120 The Kumrik section of the Churning Bhairava Tantra defines the nature o f this activity as
follows: "(The act of) churning is said to be emanation itself, which is the arising of the aspects of the
(energy of) Kula" (manthnam srstirevoktam kaulikam kalasambhavam II KKh 17/35cd). Mahesvarnanda,
writing in South India during the thirteenth or twelfth century, quotes the Kramakeli in his Mahrthamanjari
(p. 172). This important work by Abhinavagupta on the Kashmiri KlTkrama had, along with many other
works of this tradition, reached South India from the North by that time. The same passage is also quoted by
Ksemarja in his commentary, the Spandanirnaya (p. 6), on the Spandakrik. The passage explains that the
god of the KalTkrama is called Manthnabhairava, lit. the Churning Bhairava, because "he engenders the
creation etc. of all things (by arousing) and churning his own power." In this case, the teachings of the
Kfikrama and Kubjik's Srikrama coincide.
42 M a r k S. G . D yczk o w sk i

p resen t w ithin em anation, the Passion w hich is the destruction o f desire (kma). A n d that is H am sa
(the G ander), the G reat S o u l w hich is the n ectar genera ted fr o m the (prim ordial) fire. These two
are called (Siva a n d Sakti. The triple universe is w oven w arp a n d w o o f (w ith them). T his is the
secret called the 'G reat C hurn in g ' (m ahm anthna).12'

The w om b o f energies, the V ulva, is, by a sym bolically significant reversal and conjunction
o f polarities, know n as the V ulva Phallus (yonilinga) w hich is said to be 'churned from above. The
inner, unm anifest pow er is aroused by its ow n spontaneous inspiration. T he upper part is the m ale
principle - the Phallus (L ih g a ) - the low er part the fem ale - the V ulva (Yoni). T he dro p o f the vital
seed w hich is generated thereby is the em pow ering C om m and (jh), w hich is both the source o f
the universe and the m eans to attain the suprem e state:

The divine Lihga, ch u rn ed fr o m above, is divided into six p a rts (prakra). These a re the
Sacred Seats (pitha) a n d the rest. The (goddess) called Vakrik (resides) there. She is the b liss o f
the C om m and (jn), p u re with blissfu l sexu a l intercourse (sukharati). She creates a ll things and
destroys (them). She is consciousness and, abiding in the suprem e state, she bestow s both (w orldly)
enjoym ent and liberatio n .122

A gain:

In this w ay R udra's energy, the m other o f persistence a n d destruction, h a s p erva d ed all

things with the three varieties ( o f the p o w ers o f will, know ledge a n d action). The p rim o rd ia l an d
fr e e G od o f the gods, w ho is both K ula (Sakti) a n d A kula (Siva), resides in the centre. H is
C om m and, in the fo r m o f a D rop ( o f sperm - bindu), is consciousness w hich bestow s
accom plishm ent (siddhi) a n d rem oves the fe a r o f the fettered . (The C om m and is the goddess)
Perpetually Wet (N ityaklinn) who, a roused by h e r ow n passion (svarakt), is fr e e a n d bestow s the
perpetual bliss w hich is delighted b y p h en o m en a l existence.
In the m iddle is the divine Lihga w hich g ives suprem e bliss. It is the D rop a n d the Sky. The
perpetually blissful nature, w hich is the churning o f the two, is divided into six parts. / salute the
(goddess) called K ubjik w hose b eautiful body is a roused a n d engenders p a ssio n there (o r 'makes
love there' - ku rva n tl tatra k m a m ).123

The N ew ars, follow ing a pattern com m on to K aula T antrism in general from the thirteenth
or fourteenth century, classify the lineage goddesses as belonging to six traditions (sadm nya).

tasmnmanthnabhedena bheditam ca parparam II

evaiii srstigatnahgam anahgam kmanlanam I
sa ca hamsam mahtmnam jvalandamrtodbhavam 11
dvvetau Sivafaktykhyau otaprotam jagattrayam I
etad rahasyamkhytath mahmanthnasamjhay II (KKh 24/27cd - 29)
pithdyaih satprakraistaduparimathitam divyalihgam vibhinnam I
tatrjhnandarp sukharativimal viSvakartrT ca hantn I
cidrp vakrikkhy paramapadagat bhuktid muktid ca I (KKh 2/10)
evam vyptam samastam sthitilayajanani rudrafaktistribhedaih
tanmadhye devadevamakulakulamayam tanmaydyasvatantram I
yasyjh bindubht paiubhayaharant siddhid bodharp
nityaklinn svarakt bhavamudilasadnandadtrisvatantr II
tanmadhye divyalihgam paramasukhakaram bindurpam kharpam
nitynandasvarpam tadubhayamathanam satprakrairvibhinnam I
kurvantlm tatra kmam kyubh itavaratan um Irikubjikkhyam nammi II (CMSS 1/5-6)
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 43

They are sym bolically arranged and w orshipped in the four cardinal directions along w ith the nadir
and the zenith. A ccording to a representative N ew ar liturgy, they are:

1) U pper: T ripur 2) Lower: H takesvari o r the B uddhist V ajrayogini 3) East: Pm esi 4)

N orth: form s o f Kali including GuhyakU, S iddhilaksm i and DaksinaklT 5) W est: K ubjik 6)
South: NiSeSf124

T hese six goddesses and their consorts, o r th eir equivalents, are w orshipped in the com ers
o f a six-sided figure form ed from tw o triangles. O ne triangle faces dow n and represents Sakti - the
lineage goddess. T he oth er faces up and represents S iva - the goddess's consort. T his figure, seen
very com m only in and around N ew ar tem ples and houses, sym bolizes the union o f opposites
represented by these divine, all-em bracing polarities. U nion takes place betw een the triangles, at
the com ers and in the centre, w hich is m arked by a dot, representing the fecund fusion o f the vital
seed o f the couple. K ashm iri Saiva texts explain that this figure also represents the sexual union of
the divinized hum an couple engaged in a special type o f K aula ritu al.125 N ew ar initiates are also
aw are o f this sym bolism and openly accept it. W hen questioned about this, one m an explained that
this is the reason w hy N ew ars in general, and K aula initiates in particular, p refer the householder
life. C elibate renunciates cannot perform all the rituals. W hat such statem ents m ean and im ply

124 I have drawn this information from Paicimajyesthmnyakarmrcanapaddhatih (fols. 87b-91b)

where the worship of the deities of six traditions is described as a part of the regular rite of the western
tradition (paicimmnya, which is that of the goddess Kubjik). It is important to note that, whatever the
tradition, the deities o f all six must be worshipped. Thus the initiation Newars receive not only initiates them
into the worship of their own lineage deity but also into the worship of all of the others. The lineage goddess
is not worshipped exclusively; but she is given pride of place. Moreover, whoever one's own lineage deity
may be, the mandala in which the deities of the six lineages are worshipped is enclosed by Kubjik's mantra
(see below). Thus Kubjik, in the form of her mantra, encompasses them all and thereby energizes them.
The contents of the six traditions are the ones prescribed by the Partantra. This may well be
because the Partantra is a Newar product. In 1947 a series of articles written by the Nepalese major-
general Dhana Samser Jahgabahdur Rn came out in the Hindi magazine Candi. In these articles the
author expounds the pantheon and related matters of these six traditions on the basis of the Partantra and
other texts considered authoritative by Newar 3aktas. Note that the Partantra (chapter six) prescribes the
worship of Vajrayogini as the deity of the Lower Tradition, stating that this is the tradition of the Buddhists.
Newar Kaulas have replaced her with Htakesvari who, along with her consort Htakesvara, governs the hell
worlds. This change is in consonance with the expurgation by Newar Kaulas of Buddhist influences in their
rites.
123 Referring to the symbolism o f the formation of the letter AI, Abhinavagupta says that the letter E is
represented by the triangle of the goddess's Vulva, which is "beautiful with the fragrance of emission
(visargmodasundaram - T 3/95a). Then: When the powers o f the absolute (the letter A) and bliss (the
letter ) become firm ly established there (in the triangle, which is the letter E), it assumes the condition o f
the six-spoked (mandalasadavasthili, i.e. AI) brought about by the union o f two triangles. (T 3/95b-6a).
Jayaratha comments that "in the process of the practice o f ritual sex (carykrama) the condition
corresponding to the Gesture of the Six Spokes (sadaramudra) arises by the encapsulation of the two
triangles, (one being that o f the) male adept (siddha) and (the other that of the) yoginl." The sides of these
triangles are formed from the three channels o f the vital breath (id, pihgal and susumn) that come
together in the genital region of each o f the two partners engaged in this rite. The vital breath is impelled
along these three channels by the energies of will, knowledge and action. When these extroverted energies
are experienced in conjunction with the inner energies o f the absolute and its bliss, as happens for a moment,
at least, in sexual intercourse, the three energies and corresponding vital breaths o f the partners work
together to generate the emission (visarga) through which the fecund seed of the couple is projected with
force through the centre.
44 M a r k S. G . D yczk o w sk i

exactly is never m ade explicit by any o f the people I have interview ed. So the reader m ust be
content, as I have to be, to w onder.
Just as this six-sided figure represents the six lineages, it is also com m only found in the
m andala o f the lineage goddesses, technically called the K ra m a m a n d a la T his is the case w ith the
K ram am andala o f the W estern T radition (pascim m nya), w hich the K ubjik T antras describe as
"the city o f the illum ined intellect (d h i)"'26 because it is the em bodim ent o f the teachings o f the
lineage (kram a) o f teachers w ho transm it the tradition (kra m a ) and because its constituent
elem ents, represented by m antras, are w orshipped in a fixed sequence (kram a) w hich constitutes
the liturgy - K ram a. T here are tw enty-eight such constituents and so the rite o f adoration
(p j kra m a ) o f this m andala is called the S equence o f T w enty-E ight (asfa vim satikram a). These
tw enty-eight constituents are represented by m antras arranged in six groups consisting o f four, five,
six, four, five and four parts. T hey are projected onto the co m ers o f the six-sided figure. A ccording
to one interpretation, they are as follow s:

1) The G roup o f Four: the intellect along w ith the energies o f w ill, know ledge and action.
2) T he G roup o f Five: the five types o f sensation, nam ely sound, form , taste, sm ell, and touch.
3) T he G roup o f Six: the five sense organs, nam ely the ear, eye, tongue, nose, skin and mind.
4 ) The G roup o f Four: the four states, nam ely w aking, dream ing, deep sleep and the Fourth.
5 ) The G roup o f Five: the group o f five gross elem ents - w ater, fire, earth, w ind and space.
6) The G roup o f Four: the three qualities o f N ature, nam ely sattva, rajas and tam as, along with
Siva, their m aster.

A ccording to contem porary N ew ar ritual procedure, the tw o superim posed triangles are
surrounded by an eight-petalled lotus. E ight m other goddesses (m trk ) are w orshipped on the
petals. T hey guard the d irections and the d ivine couple in the centre. O utside this eight-petalled
lotus is a sixteen-petalled lotus. The deities w orshipped here are the eight m other goddesses again,
but this tim e along w ith their consorts, the eight B hairavas, w ho are w orshipped next to them . The
coupling that takes place in the centre betw een K ubjik and her B h airava is thus reflected in this
encom passing circle w hich com pletes the periphery o f the core o f the m andala en ergized by these
couplings. T his is then enclosed in the final o u ter circle consisting o f a thirty-tw o-petalled lotus on
the petals o f w hich are w orshipped the thirty-tw o goddesses w ho are the energies o f the thirty-tw o
syllables o f K ubjik's m antra.
T he foundation o f each sophisticated T antric system , such as this one, is the m andala it
d escribes.127 It is through it that the rite o f adoration o f the principal deity o r couple, w hich is in the
centre o f the m andala, takes place. A ccordingly, we find that the six groups w hich are the vital core
o f the goddess's m andala recu r repeatedly in the K ubjik T antras, usually w ith som e further
reflection or addition draw ing, as it w ere, m ore each tim e from the configuration o f energies. The
com ponents o f the m andala are w orshipped system atically, part by part, each w ith its ow n group o f
m antras. The deploym ent o f energies in space is thus parallel to their deploym ent in tim e. B oth o f

126 yadetat kaulikam jnnam kramamandaladhipuram I (KKh 5/lab)

127 The core of a Tantric system o f the early period consists of the extensive description of the mandala
of its main deity and the rites associated with it. Certainly, such Tantric systems include numerous other
rituals and practices; nonetheless the system proper essentially consists of this. The many other matters that
are not directly associated with the worship of the main mandala or one o f its forms are accretions, additions
and appendages that may well be extensive and even significant, but they are not essential to the system. By
this 1 mean that the basic system would remain intact even if they were to be absent.
 K u b j ik , K l i, T r ip u r a n d T r ik a 45

these are held together by their sequence (kram a) in time and space.128 T here are three such
sequences. T hey are the S equence o f the C hild, the Y outh (also called the M iddle O ne) and the
Eldest. T hey are also called the Sequences o f the Individual Soul (nava), E nergy (s kta ) and Siva
(fm bhava). K ubjik is the goddess o f these sequences (kramadevT), and she m anifests as and
through them in the form o f their m antras. T his identity is acted out sym bolically by the w orship o f
a fourth sequence, w hich is conceived as containing the other three, nam ely the Sequence o f the
Fem ale S kyfarer (khecartkram a). The energies o f these sequences o f m antras are further reinforced
and applied in the ritual by equating the six parts o f the m andala w ith the goddess's six lim bs and
her six faces. T hese are w orshipped in all three sequences.
In this w ay the goddess is w orshipped as all that exists both externally, in the outside w orld,
and internally w ithin the body. T he latter aspect is represented in various w ays. F or exam ple, the
six parts o f the m andala represent six configurations o f the phonem ic energies that constitute
speech and m antras present in the body o f the goddess and o f each person. T hese are the standard

128 Abhinavagupta explains in his brilliantly profound manner: The extending process o f diversification
and development (kalan) along the path (o f the cosmic order) takes place in two ways, namely in a
sequential and in a non-successive manner. Succession (krama) and its absence essentially amount to (the
two ways in which form s are manifest) in the field o f phenomenal existence. Thus this can take place either
through the differentiated development o f single units (ekakalan, as happens, fo r example, in making the
transition from cause to effect) or (simultaneously o f a number o f units, as happens when viewing) a picture.
(T 6/6)
We may note in passing that Abhinavagupta is indebted for these concepts not to any Tantric
tradition but to Bhartrhari, the philosopher o f grammar, for this important exegesis of the Kaula term krama
(meaning literally 'sequence' or 'succession').
,a Nobody who has studied the Trika Tantrism elaborated by Abhinavagupta can fail to notice that
these three sequences bear the names of the three major categories into which Abhinavagupta, inspired by
his Trika teacher Sambhuntha, has classified practice both ritual and yogic (which one could say is roughly
equivalent, as'SBhinavagupta presents it, to what may be called mysticism). It appears that these terms were
originally used in the Tantras to denote phases in the liturgies of some of the rituals they taught, as is the
case with the Kubjik Tantras. Once again one is struck by the extensive use Abhinavagupta has made of the
language of ritual to talk about mysticism, that is, experience o f the sacred, and to formulate philosophical
and theological concepts. Indeed, he is so adept at speaking the language of ritual for such purposes that one
is apt to forget that a work such as the Tantrloka is, despite its extremely rich philosophy and mystical
soteriology, structured in the form of a liturgical work (paddhati). Indeed, Abhinavagupta himself tells us
right at the beginning of his Tantrloka that it is a work not of philosophy or a treatise on Yoga but a work
concerning ritual:

santi paddhataya.icitrh srotobhedesu bhyas I

anuttarasadardhrthakrame tvekpi neksyate II
ityaham bahuSah sadbhih iiyyasabrahmacribhih I
arthito racaye spaytm prnrthm prakriymimm II

Various are the liturgical manuals (paddhati) in use in the many diverse traditions. But fo r the
rituals (krama) o f the Anuttaratrika there is not even one to be seen. I therefore, repeatedly requested by
(my) sincere disciples and fellows, compose this liturgy (prakriy), which is clear and complete. (T 1/14-5)

The term prakriy may, in some contexts, mean a 'literary work but here I take it to mean 'liturgy'.
This usage coincides with that found in the expressions tantraprakriy and kulaprakriy. We are told by
Jayaratha, the commentator on the Tantrloka, that the rituals and practices in the Tantrloka belong to
these two types, namely Tantric ritual and Kaula ritual. The former is centred on the god, Bhairava or Siva,
and the latter on the goddess or goddesses.
46 M ark S. G . D y czk o w sk i

Six W heels (satcakra) o f w hat is now adays com m only know n as KundalinT Y oga. T his is a very
im portant part o f the ritual and cosm ology o f this tradition since the goddess K ubjik is essentially,
not ju st secondarily, identified w ith KundalinT.130 T hus the texts take great pains to describe these
Six W heels.
T his Y oga can be practised for realization coupled w ith w orldly enjoym ent. T his is term ed
anugraha ('grace'). It can also be practised to accom plish m agical acts designed to control and harm
others. T his is a form o f 'w orldly enjoym ent (bhoga) called nigraha ('restraint').131 The texts warn
that this should be practised only w hen the intended victim s have seriously transgressed the rule
(samayai) o f the tradition. Each w heel generates and sustains one or m ore o f the com ponents o f the
body, the flesh, fat, bone, m arrow and so on. Each o f these com ponents is governed by one o f
K ubjik's attendants w ho are the m istresses (nyik) o f each w heel. C alled yoginls, these are
dem onic goddesses o r w itches w ho can be invoked to perform m agic rites. T hus, each one o f the
six w heels can correspond to one o f the standard six m agic rites (satkarm a). A practice is recorded
for each one according to the m agic rite one w ishes to perform . A separate v id y 132 and m andala
(also called yantra) is prescribed for each one. Even so, they are all linked to one o f the three
varieties o f K ubjik's thirty-tw o-syllabled m antra know n as V ajrakubjI. In this w ay, a link is
m aintained w ith the suprem e goddess w ho is identified w ith KundalinT as the energy o f the vital
breath and speech.
A nother im portant aspect o f the deploym ent o f the goddess's pow er in tim e and space is the
transm ission o f her em pow ering C om m and (jn ) through initiation. The tem poral sequence
(kram a) in this case is the lineage o f the transm ission. T his is the goddess's fam ily (kula, anvaya,
santati) w hich belongs to her clan (g o tra ) and house (g rh a ).133 T hus the residence, place o f

All the major Kaula goddesses are identified with KundalinT. The goddess Kubjik differs from
other Kaula goddesses in that she is not KundalinT merely by ascription. Much of her mythology,
iconography and ritual is moulded primarily around her personage, metaphysical identity and activity as
KundalinT. It is not an extra feature of her nature which has been added on to the others from the outside, but
is part of the very essence o f her very specific iconic form and nature. Moreover, as Sanderson (1988: 687)
points out: "The system of six power-centres (cakras) is also characteristic o f the yogic rituals o f the
Kubjikmatatantra . Later it became so universal, being disseminated as part of the system of kundaliniyoga
beyond the boundaries of the Tantric cults, that it has been forgotten in India (and not noticed outside it) that
it is quite absent in all the Tantric traditions except this one and the cult of the goddess Tripurasundari." It
appears, moreover, that the cult of Tripur borrowed this from that of Kubjik. Evidence for this is the
addition in the Tripur cult of what are clearly three extra subsidiary centres to make nine. This is because
the mandala of Tripur is made of nine enclosures (varana). Kubjik's mandala, as we have seen, is made
of six parts (prakra) to which the six centres correspond without need of accommodation.
131 nigrahnugrahe .(aktirbhavate lava niScayam I
martyaloke vrajilv tu kuru kridm yathecchay II

It is sure that yours is the power to assist (anugraha) and to obstruct (nigraha). Once gone to the
mortal world, play as you w ill. (KKh 5/54)
133 Just as the male mantra embodies a god in sound form, similarly the female Vidy embodies a
goddess.
133 This a common analogy found in various forms and more or less emphasized in all Tantric
traditions. Indeed it reaches back into Vedic times. The analogy became concrete fact in the not uncommon
case of the Brahmin father who acted as the tutor and spiritual preceptor of his son. In this context, the
Brhadranyaka Upanisad envisages the transfer of spiritual knowledge literally as a transfer o f vital force
from father to son at the moment o f the fathers death:

When a father thinks that he is going to die, he says to his son, "you are Brahman, you are the
sacrifice, you are the world." [...] When a father who knows this leaves this world, he penetrates his son
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 47

initiation and preaching o f the teachers in the goddess's fam ily should all be recollected along w ith
each teacher. The goddess gives rise in this way to the sequence w hich is her external m anifest
form . The sequence (kra m a ) o f the rite and the sequence o f the lineage w ould not be com plete
w ithout it. A ccordingly, the texts prescribe that the M andala o f the T eachers (gurum andala) should
be draw n along with the M andala o f Sarhvart (that is, the kram am andala o f this school described
above), but w orshipped before it. N ew ar K aulas thus w orship the teachers o f their lineage along
with the legendary founders o f the cu lt o f their lineage goddess in a m andala that is draw n specially
for this purpose as part o f the prelim inaries o f the m ore elaborate rites o f adoration
(kram rcana).114
T he w orship o f the lineage o f teachers and sacred places transposed onto the body through
the ritual o f deposition (nysa) is basic, com m on practice in all m ajor K aula schools. T hus in
A bhinavagupta's presentation o f K aula ritual the w orship o f the m andala w ith these com ponents is
an essential prelim inary to ritual union w ith the T antric consort. He writes:

K ula is the w heel (cakra) w hich consists o f m antras, the (accom plished adepts a n d teachers
o f the tradition know n as) Siddhas, the vital breath, (em bodied) consciousness a n d the senses. The
pow erful (universal) consciousness w hich resides w ithin it is here ca lled K ulesvarl. She m ust be
w orshipped in the centre ... eith er alone (ekavtr) o r together with h er Lord. 135

The seed syllable m antra A IM is the form o f the goddess K ubjik w orshipped in the centre
o f her m andala along with B hairava, w hose form is the seed syllable called N avtm an. The seed
syllable o f the goddess T ripur is also A IM 13 and it is called V gbhava CEssence o f S peech') in
both system s. As this syllable, K ubjik is identified in one o f her form s w ith the goddess Par. Sljp
is thus linked to both conceptions, w ithout coinciding exactly with either. B ut note that although

together with speech, the mind and the vital force. [...] The father remains in this world through the son
alone. The divine and immortal organ o f speech, mind and vital force pervade him. (1/5/17; English
translation drawn from the The Brhadranyaka Upanisad, Mylapore: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1979).

Finding support from such traditions in the Brahminical world view, the Newars have understood
the Tantric analogy between a spiritual lineage and familial one literally.
134 Vajrcryas, the Newar Buddhist Tantric priests, do the same. Locke informs us that: "The Guru
Mandala rite is a ritual performed at the beginning of every pj performed by a Vajrcrya. The mandala in
question is the Mt. Meru mandala which is offered to the gums, i.e., the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha
and Vajrasattva." For a detailed account of this rite see Locke 1980: 81-95 from where this reference is
drawn.
135 mantrasiddhaprnasamvitkarantmani y kule II
cakrtmake citih prabhvi prokl seha kulesvarl I
s m adhye. . . pjy . . . II
ekavlr ca s pjy yadi v sakulefvar II (T 29/46cd-8)

I have published a diagram of the Gurumandala described in the Tantrloka to which the interested reader is
referred (see Dyczkowski 1987a: 81). Note that the mandala has been published upside down.
134 Cf: aimkrsanamrdhth vajrapadmoparisthitm I
siddhim mm dadate nityam .fnkubjkhym nammyaham II

I salute the venerable (goddess) called Kubj who, mounted on the seat o f the letter AIM and seated
on the Thunderbolt Lotus, constantly gives me accomplishment (siddhi). (KKh 5/73)
48 M ark S. G . D yczk o w sk i

she is frequently identified w ith the goddess Par she differs, in this context, from the Par V idy
o f the T rika w hich is S A U H .137
A IM is one o f the m ost im portant seed syllables in the m antric system o f the K ubjik cult. It
precedes m ost o f the m antras and V idys o f this school. Indeed, it is an im portant seed syllable for
all the K aula traditions prevalent in N epal. T hus the N ew ars regularly place it in the centre o f the
m andalas they m ake to house their lineage goddesses. M oreover, it is the first o f an im portant
group o f five seed syllables called the 'Five B rahm s (pancabrahm a)' or "Five Instrum ents
(pancakarana)'. In one version, these are AIM H RIM S r I M PH REM H S A U M .138 T hey are well
know n, in a variant form , in the S rividy tradition as the Five G hosts (pancapreta) w ho support the
throne on w hich T ripur sits, nam ely, B rahm , V isnu, Rudra, M ahesvara and Sadiva. T hey are
located in the innerm ost triangle o f Sricakra. The first three, w hich are said to be the seeds o f
creation, persistence and destruction, respectively, prefix m ost o f the m antras used in the w orship
o f Sricakra.
The consort o f K ubjik is a form o f B hairava called N avtm an. H is seed syllable, also
called N avtm an, is H SK SM L V R Y M . T his seed syllable, o r variants o f the sam e, w ere know n to
K ashm iri Saivites from the S vacchandatantra and other so u rces.139 It has tw o form s in the cults o f
both K ubjik and S rividy cult: one is H SK SM L V R Y M , w hich is related to the m ale aspect. T he
other is SH K S M L V R Y IM , w hich is related to the fem ale asp ect.140 The first form is also used in
the rites o f the Svacchandatantra. T he K ubjik texts hardly do m ore than note the existence o f both
form s: even so both are com m only prescribed together in the liturgies com piled by the N ew ars as
happens in the w orship o f Srividy.

The G oddess o f Fire

N ow we have dealt w ith som e o f the creative aspects o f the goddess K ubjik, we should
refer to the other, destructive ones. A s we have noted already, w hile K li destroys as she creates.

137 In this contrext, Kubjik as Par is not to be directly identified with the goddess Par who forms a
part of the triad Par, Parpar and Apar. The Vidy of Par (as a member of this triad) found in the KMT
is different. See above, footnote 65.
138 This is according to KMT 5/34ff.. Important variant forms of the last two syllables commonly found
in Newar liturgies and other Kubjik Tantras are KHPHREM (for PHREM) and HSAUM (for HSUM).
139 Ksemarja analyzes it in his commentary on SvT 4/102-3. There he describes how to write it in a
diagram and how each letter corresponds to a principle (tattva). It is also used in Saivasiddhnta ritual (see
S$P 2/11, P nakrana 2/10-1 la and Aghora.dvapaddhati p. 255).
140 At the beginning of the worship of Sricakra the teacher is invoked through what is called the Guru
mantra. According to one liturgical text, this is as follows:

aim hrim Stim aim klim sauh hamsah iivah so'ham hasakhaphrem hsk^mlvrym hsaum shkymlvryim
shauh svarpanirpanahetave svagurave .<n-annaprnmbsahitaSri-amrtnandantha.fngurufri-
pdukm pjaymi tarpaymi namah I

Taken from Sri Cakra, The Source o f the Cosmos, special issue. The Journal o f the Sri Rjarjeswari
Pitham (Rochester, NY 14623), p. 1. There are many lineages o f initiates into the cult of Srividy. Unlike
the goddess Kubjik who has been confined in great secrecy to the Kathmandu Valley for centuries, the cult
of Srividy has flourished throughout the Indian subcontinent for not less than eight hundred years. As
happens with other Tantric cults, individual lineages may produce liturgies (paddhati, pjvidhi) of their
own, in some cases in great numbers. The liturgical text quoted above belongs to an important lineage which
has initiates not only in India but also the United States. The interested reader is referred to this publication
for a list of names and addresses of some of these initiates.
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 49

K ubjik creates as she destroys. T his is expressed sym bolically by equating her w ith the all
com sum ing fire that b um s up the universe at the end o f each aeon, nam ely the Fire o f Tim e
(klgni), here called Sarhvart (lit. T h e Y ear' and so, the 'Fire o f the A eons') o r V davgni (lit.
'The Fire from the M are's [M outh]'). A ccording to the Puranas, this fire b um s at the bottom o f the
ocean. The w ater it causes to evaporate falls as life-giving rain. Sim ilarly, the energy in the centre
o f the C ircle o f the Fire o f the A eons (sam vartm andala), the m ain m andala o f the K ubjik
T antras, is said to consum e the O cean o f K ula.141 T his ocean is the m andala itself, w hich is m ade o f
the energies o f the goddess w ho is Kula. As the fire w hich b um s at the end o f a cosm ic age and
consum es all the w orlds, it rem ains hidden in the darkness o f the V oid produced thereby. It is from
here, the energy hidden w ithin the V oid, that creation proceeds. A s the goddess tells the god:

O H ara, w ithin this void fo rm , one with darkness, w as the m in d o f the b liss o f the p la y (o f
transcendental Being). It w as tranquility (itself) close to K ula (the energy o f the absolute) a n d I
knew nothing at all, O H ara, by speech, hearing o r sight. N or w as I aw are ( o f anything). The jo y,
fifty-fo ld ( o f the fifty letters o f the alphabet), w hich is the bliss o f liberation (kaivalya) w as within
the Fire o f the A eons (sam vart). Its w ill is the U nm anifest w hose fo r m is subtly m anifest. Then I
w as overcom e w ith w onder a n d (asked m yself): "W hat is this voidness?" A n d realizing that it was
terrible and deep, / w as frig h te n e d a n d (m y) m in d slum bered. H aving en tered into B hairava's
sacrifice, I rem ained there in (m y) suprem e fo rm . A n d as an atom ( o f consciousness) the Lion
(sim haka) (bore) a subtle fo rm . O Lord, the L ion Fire (sim hasam vartaka), fu l l o f darkness, becam e
m anifest (vyavrtaj . 142

141 prajvalantt svakiranaifcarubhirraudramandale I

She bum s intensely with her beautiful rays in Rudra's sphere (mandala). (KKh 13/12 lab)
Again:

krama mandalamadhyastham jvalantam diparpakam I

tallihgam tarn ca vrksam ca vidhin kramanyakam II

The (reality) in the centre o f the Krama Mandala bum s in the form o f (the flam e o f a) lamp. That is
the Lihga, that the Tree and, according to the rule, the master o f the Krama. (ibid. 8/77).

Although Abhinavagupta did not make use of Kubjik Tantras as his sources, he knew this
symbolism well from other Tantric traditions. He incorporates it into his own Trika system presenting it, as
he usually does, with a sophisticated interpretation based on a phenomenology of universal divine
consciousness acting in and through each act of perception:

This path is worthy o f being described in this way because the yogi quickly (drk) attains Bhairavas
nature, contemplating the sequence o f its configuration (prakriykrama) (contained in the initial impulse
towards perception) as is explained in the Spanda teaching. Experiencing all the (cosmic) path (in this wav,
the yogi) should dissolve it into the deities (who preside over it). They are (then merged), as before,
progressively into the wheel o f the body, vital breath and intellect. (Finally) all this (is merged) collectively
into his own consciousness. This consciousness which is fu ll o f all things and is continuously worshipped
(and practised) is (like) the fire o f universal destruction (which dries up) the ocean o f transmigration. (T
8/5-8)

Concerning the Spanda teachings see my trilogy on this school of Kashmiri Saivism, The Doctrine
o f Vibration, The Stanzas on Vibration and The Aphorisms o f Siva.
142 .fnykre tamaikatve ramannandacetasam I
Samanam kulasamklam kincijjnmyaham hara II
50 M a r k S . G . D yczk o w sk i

T his T antric goddess, w ho as we have noted above, w as in all probability a local folk
goddess, is thus im plicitly identified with the fire o f the V edic sacrifice into w hich the w orlds are
offered and from w hich they arise again. In this process the goddess h erself is as if transform ed.
Both these them es, nam ely the transform ation o f the goddess and her association w ith the V edic
sacrifice are explicit in one o f the rare m yths o f this K aula tradition. T his m yth is yet another o f
very m any versions scattered throughout the sacred texts o f India o f the story o f D aksa's
sacrifice.143 The com m on nucleus o f the story is sim ple. A B rahm in nam ed D ak$a sponsored a great
Vedic sacrifice to w hich he invited all the gods except Siva o f w hom he disapproved even though,
indeed because, he w as the beloved husband o f his favourite daughter, U m . T he god w as sorely
offended and, m uch angered, destroyed the sacrifice and his consort im m olated herself in the
sacrificial fire. T hus to Dak$a accrued the dem erit o f failing to com plete it. A K ubjik T antra goes
on to add its ow n slant to the story:

When the goddess cam e to know o f w hat h a d occurred, (she said): "My fa th e r D aksa's
sacrifice has been d estro yed by m e because (its destruction was) due to me. I am the sin n er (and
so) w ill pu rify m yself!" She sto ked the Suprem e Fire, b rilliant with w aves o f raging fla m es.. She
contem plated it burning fie rc e ly fr o m the m iddle o f the M andala o f G esture (m udrm andala). She
then assum ed the adam antine p o stu re a n d recalled to m in d the energy o f A ghoresvari. S h e'b u rn t
h e rs e lf with the F ire o f Tim e a n d becam e (like) a sm okeless, burning coal. (This) w ise woman, d ea d
and reduced to ashes, left the m orta l world.'**

The goddess w as then b o m to H im avn, the god o f the H im alaya range, as B hadraklik.143
Siva, recognizing her voice as that o f his w ife U m , again sought and obtained her hand in
m arriage. T hus he united w ith her once m ore and all the polarities o f existence w ere reunited. The
m ultiplicity o f all things fused back into their com plim entary opposite p ole, the one transcendent

na vc iruticaksubhym na ca buddhymyaham hara I

kaivalynandamhldam samvartntam iatrdhakam II
tasyecch kihciccinmtrama vyaktam vyaktirpinam I
tadham vismayampann kimidam Snyarpakam II
iti matv gahanam ghoram bhilham suptacetas I
pravist bhairave yajne sthitham pararpatah II
paramnusvarpena kihcidrpam ca simhakam I
simhasamvartakam ntha vyvrtam tamaskulam II (KKh 24/7-11)
143 The myth of the destruction of Daksa's sacrifice occurs for the first time in the Rgveda (1/51/5-7). It
I
is retold in the Aitareyabrhmana (13/9-10) and in the Satapathabrhmana (1/7/3/1-4). It occurs in both the
tepics and in the Purnas, including Mahbhrata, Sntipanan 284; Rmyana, Blaknda 65/9-12;
Sivapurna, Rudrasamhit, SatXkhanda 12-42 and VyavTyasamhit 18-33; Vyupurrta 30; Uhgapurna
100; Skandapurna, Mahetokhanda, Kedraknda 2; Brahmapurna 39; Krmapurna 1/15;
Matsyapurna 5; Bhgavatapurna 32; Devibhgavatapurna 6/38; Mahbhgavalapurna 4/1-10 and
Klikpurna 16-18.
144 jhtv cedam tad devi idam vrttntamgatam II
matsambandhcca daksasya aham s ppakrini I
piluryajam may dhvastam tmnam Sodhaymyaham 11
jvalajvlormisamk/amuddipya paramnalam I
jvalantam cintayitv tu mudrmandalamadhyatah II
vajrsanam tato badhv smrtghoreSvarikal I
klgnin svayaih dagdh nirdhmhgratm gat II
mrt bhasmagat sdhvi utttrn martyalokatah I (KKh 3/162cd- 6ab)
145 See above, fn. 84.
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 51

Being w hich is their original source. The m yth teaches in this w ay, am ongst o th er things, that the
adept m ust sim ilarly throw h im self into the purifying fire in the centre o f the m andala. T here he
w ill fuse w ith the Suprem e G oddess (Par) w ho, in her fierce aspect, is the T ransm ental
(m anonm anl), the energy w hich is the light o f consciousness144 described in the follow ing passage:

H orrific (ghor), she burns w ithout sm oke, (like) the fla m e on the w ick o f a lamp. Shining
like countless m illions o f Rudras, she is R udra's energy, a n d is both suprem e (transcendent) a n d
inferior (im m anent). (This) energy is the D rop (bindu) w hich is the deluge ( o f energy that fio w s)
right up to the earth a n d contains m illions o f m illions o f Rudras. Its radiant p o w e r (tejas) is the
Suprem e Energy, R udra's energy, the G reat G oddess.'*7

The L unar G oddess

A long w ith her associations w ith the cosm ic fire, K ubjik, like KlT, T ripur and, indeed,
m any other goddesses, has extensive lunar associations. The m oon alternates progressively betw een
light and darkness. It both bestow s and w ithdraw s its light. Sim ilarly the lunar goddess shines
darkly as it w ere. K, w ho as her nam e tells us with its double m eaning, is both L ady T im e and
the Black Lady, is in an apparently paradoxical m anner described as radiant light (bhs). K ubjik
also possesses these tw o aspects. In her case how ever, although she is also som etim es said to be
black (fy m ) or light blue, her brightness, rather than darkness, is m ore frequently em phasized in
the form s, m yths and sacred geography associated w ith her. T hus, for exam ple, she is said to reside
on the Island o f the M oon in the form o f a lunar stone, in the centre o f the island, sym bolizing the
lunar drop (bindu). H er lunar w hiteness is associated w ith the fertilizing sperm . H er lunar pow er
and am bigiously plural sexual nature com bine, and so she is called Sukr - Fem ale Sperm . She
lives on the triple peak o f the M ountain o f the M oon w hich is identified w ith M eru, the m ountain at
the centre o f the w orld. H er abode is the C ity o f the M oon and her house is the H ouse o f the M oon,
w here perfected yogis and yoginls reside. By entering this tradition, the initiate becom es a sacred
person in a sacred land, m ountain or island in the com pany o f perfect beings. It is a secret inner
w orld - the land o f the m andala.
Set in sacred space and sacred tim e, the sacred house o f the tradition is thought to be
regenerated in and through each cosm ic age. The present is a sum m ation o f the past; it is its
com pletion. T im e and space w ork together in the continuity o f the lineage, the fam ily and its
descendants (sa n t n a ). T o enter the secret, sacred places one m ust be a part o f this process. One
m ust be bom from it, sustained by it. and ultim ately m erge into it.
The 'process' (kram a) in this case is the sequence o f the phases o f the inner m oon. As Eliade
(1974: 155) notes:

T he sun is alw ays the sam e, alw ays itself, never in any sense "becom ing". The m oon, on the
other hand, is a body w hich w axes, w anes and disappears, a body w hose existence is subject

144 tadantaragat vidy y par param eivari I

s Saktirbhimarpena jyotirp manonmani II

Within that is the Vidy who is Par, the Supreme Goddess. She is energy in (her) terrible aspect,
the Transmental (manonmani) (whose) form is light. (KKh 13/117)
147 dtpavartiSikh ghor jvlini dhmravarjit I
rudrakotisahasrbh rudraiaktih parpar II
rudrakotidharo binduh Saklirbhmisamplavah I
tasya tejah par tokiirrudrafaktirmaheivari II (KKh 13/118-9)
52 M a r k S. G . D y czk o w sk i

to the universal law o f becom ing, o f birth and death. The m oon, like m an, has a career
involving tragedy, for its failing, like m an's, en d s in death. For three nights the starry sky is
w ithout a m oon. B ut this "death" is follow ed by a rebirth: the new m oon. The m oons going
out, in "death", is never final. O ne B abylonian hym n to Sin sees the m oon as "a fruit
grow ing from itse lf'. It is reborn o f its ow n substance, in pursuance o f its ow n destined
career. T his perpetual return to its beginnings, and this ever-recurring cycle m ake the m oon
the heavenly body above all others concerned w ith the rhythm s o f life .

In the body, the "rhythm s o f life" are m ost clearly apparent in the m ovem ent o f the vital
breath, and it is in this m ovem ent that the goddess's lunar nature is m ost clearly perceived. In this
context, K ubjik, the energy o f consciousness (citkal), has tw o aspects. O ne is the energy o f
plenitude - the Full M oon (prn). T he other is the energy o f em ptiness - the New M oon (am):

/ p raise (the god d ess) called the F ull (M oon) w ho resides a t the en d o f the sixteen (digits o f
the m oon) in the bright fo rtn ig h t, w hose fo r m is (round like) that o f a b u d o f the kadam ba tree, 148
and nature that o f nectar.
I p raise the goddess N ew M oon (am ) who resides in the centre ( o f the sphere o f the Full
M oon), she w ho is the lioness o f the n ectar o f union (utsahgm rtakesan), the original fo r m (bim ba)
o f (the goddess) K lik, a n d beautiful by virtue o f h er m oonlight fo r m (candrikkra).'**

The N ew 150 and the Full M oon are the tw o extrem ities o f the m ovem ent o f vitality. The
fullness em pties out until, exhausted, it reverts to its original potential condition w hich is the source
o f all energies. T he light turns to darkness and the darkness turns to light as K ubjik reveals her
dark aspect and KlT reveals her radiance. T his cosm ic cycle is repeated in the m ovem ent o f the
breath. W hen it takes place m indfully, in the m anner about to be described, breathing becom es the
epitom e o f tim e. Its ceaseless recurrence, w hich is life itself, m irrors w ithin the creation and
destruction o f the w orld, replicating thus internally the fire sacrifice (the perform ance o f w hich is
coordinated w ith the phases o f the m oon) through w hich the w orld is created and w hich m arks its
end.

I4* See the next section for Kubjik's association with trees and vegetation.
149 kadambagolakkrm soda.inte vyavasthitm II
Suklapakse naham vande pmkhymrtarpinTm I
tanmadhye klikbimbam utsahgamrtakesarim II
devim ammaham vande candrikkrarpinim I (KKh 3/121cd-3ab)
150 Abhinava writes about this energy:

Nectar (amrta) in the form o f the moon is divided into sixteen, then again into two. The other fifteen
digits are drunk by all the gods. The energy o f the New Moon (am) hidden in the cave (o f the Heart), is the
remnant which fills and satisfies the universe. The fifteen digits o f the moon empty themselves out in this way
one after the other. But this is not the case with the empty sixteenth (digit), which nourishes as does water
and nectar. (T 6/95-7)

It is worth noting that Abhinavagupta in his extensive survey of the Tantras refers only to the energy
of the new moon as the source of the other lunar energies. Perhaps the symbolic combination of the two,
namely, the emptiness of the new moon and the plenitude of the full moon, is a connection that is made only
in the Kubjik Tantras. It is certainly not common, even though the symbolism of the energy of the New
Moon (amkal) is well known to many Tantric traditions and both new moon and full moon are usually
considered to be particularly important times in Indian liturgical calendars.
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 53

A ccordingly, the K ubjik T antras, m indful o f the im portance o f this process, teach several
versions o f it. one o f w hich should be visualized in the follow ing m anner. The first stage engages
the energy o f the N ew M oon. It is the dark phase o f progressive m erger. T he adept should sit and
d irect his attention dow n to the genital centre w here he should visualize the rotating W heel o f Birth
(janm acakra). In the m iddle o f that m oving w heel, the W heel o f the D rop rotates in an
anticlockw ise direction, the reverse o f the original pure condition. W ithin that is the suprem e
energy o f consciousness, K ubjik, the T ransm ental (m ano n m a n l). By contracting the anus, inhaling
and then retaining the breath, this energy is raised up w ith, and through, the flow o f vitality that
travels up the central channel o f vitality in the body called S u su m n .151 L ike a w hirling w heel o f
fire, it enters first the navel and then the heart. Its m ovem ent beyond this station o f expansion
m arks its progressive depletion as it assum es increasingly subtle form s o f sound (n d a ). F inally at
the clim ax o f its ascent, it m erges into the prim ary energy (d ya sakti) o f the sphere o f Siva's
transcendental being (sm bhavam andala). T hus, through this process, the residual traces o f past
action are burnt aw ay.
T hen follow s the second phase, w hich involves the energy o f the Full M oon. Ju st as the
energy o f the N ew M oon w as elevated from below , this energy is elevated from above. The Tantra
o f the C hurning B hairava describes this process as follow s:

151 In the Upaniads this upward movement is described as one of the ways in which the vital breath
can exit the body when a person dies. It is the best way, the only one which leads to immortality. The others
lead to various forms of rebirth. The Chndogyopaniyad quotes an earlier authority as saying:

There are a hundred and one channels o f the heart.

One o f these passes up to the crown o f the head.
Going up by it, one goes to immortality.
The others are fo r departing in various directions. (8/6/6. This same stanza recurs in Kathopanisad
6/16. See also Taitteriyopanisad 1/6 and Prainopanisad 3/7/

Susumn is mentioned by name, perhaps for the first time, in the following interesting passage in the
Maitryupanisadf This is one of the earliest references to the Yogic process of leading the breath upwards
through this channel;

Now it has elsewhere been said: 'There is a channel called the Sushumn, leading upwards
conveying the breath, piercing through the palate. Through it, by joining (yuj) the breath, the syllable OM,
and the mind, one may go aloft. By causing the tip o f the tongue to turn back against the palate and by
binding together (samyojya) the senses, one may, as greatness, perceive greatness. " Thence he goes to
selflessness. Because o f selflessness, one becomes a non-experiencer o f pleasure and pain; he obtains the
absolute unity (kevalatva). For this it has been said:
After having first caused to stand still
The breath that has been retained, then,
Having crossed beyond the limited, with the unlimited
One may at last have union in the head. (Maitryupanisad 6/21. Both these passages are Hume's
translations)

According to later descriptions of this process, the breath rises, taking the heat of the body up along
with it (as happens when a person dies), in such a way that the central channel feels warm. Thus, sym - lit.
She Who is Pleasingly Warm - the alternative name for this channel, occasionally found in the early Kaula
Tantras, gives us a clue to the meaning of the word susumn as perceived by Kaula Tantrics.
54 M ark S. G . D yczk o w sk i

(The adept) sho u ld elevate (the goddess) in the fo r m o f sem en (retas) fr o m the m iddle o f the
D rop, the U pper Place. The sam e (energy) that had p reviously w aned aw ay (now) rains dow n the
nectar o f the Full M oon (prnm rta).
(The adept) sho u ld contem plate that crooked energy. E ndless a n d tranquil (saum yarp), is
(the goddess) C ihcinI (i.e. K ubjik) w ho is the Suprem e P ow er a n d the em anation (srsti) (that
occurs w hen) the w ithdraw al ( o f phen o m en al existence) takes place.
(In this state this energy is round a n d w hite) like a d rop o f milk. (C ontem plating it in this
fo rm , the yogi) should lea d it up to the en d o f the N am eless (anm nte). Then the consecration
lakes place by m eans o f that sam e d eity in its o riginal form .
O nce (the adept) has thus contem plated (this energy), b rilliant as the fu ll m oon, in the
W heel o f the H eart, the pla ce o f the F ull (M oon), he sh o u ld induce (her) to en ter h er ow n W heel by
m eans o f the m ind (citta).
She w ho is p ra ised (by all) a n d is suprem e bliss, laughingly m elts (dravate). She is the
N am eless (anm ), the energy which is consciousness (who resides) in the sphere o f the N am eless
(anm am andala).
(Thus the yogi experiences) the contentm ent (trpti) o f the night o f the F ull M oon, w hich
arises in this w ay laden with nectar. This is the consecration o f the C omm and, the entry ( g a m a )
( o f the breath that takes place) in the ph a se o f em anation.
O nce he has p u rifie d (him self) by (this p ro cess of) entry a n d exit (gam gam a), (the adept)
should w orship the Sequence (kra m rca n a ).'12

Such yogic visualizations o f the m ovem ent o f the vital breath are an im portant part o f the
K ubjik cult taught in the K ubjik T antras, w here they are num erous and strikingly sophisticated,
as is this exam ple. Even so, N ew ar initiates do not generally undertake such com plex
visualizations, although the Tantras prescribe them , as in this exam ple, as part o f the prelim inary
purifications that precede the regular K aula rites (kram rcana). I have been inform ed, how ever,
that T aleju R jopdhyyas do do so w hen they perform an extensive form o f deposition o f m antras
on the body called brhadnysa (lit. 'G reat D eposition'). As I have not had access to the liturgy that
prescribes this deposition, I cannot supply precise details at present. E ven so, it is clear that such
elevated and internal practices are virtually the exclusive dom ain o f only the m ost privileged N ew ar
B rahm ins. The reason these B rahm ins advance for this is that they alone have access to the m ost
pow erful divine form s and rituals, and so need to prepare and protect them selves in additional w ays
not necessary for the average initiate for w hom the usual, m ore external, ritual procedures are
sufficient. B ut to an outside observer the feeling is irresistible that here we have yet another
exam ple o f how these B rahm ins have attem pted to safeguard their spiritual and, hence, w orldly
prerogatives. M oreover, such m anipulations o f the original T antric traditions in their favour along

rdhvasthnd bindumadhyd retorpm samuddharet I

upaksin tu y p n am s prnmrtavarsini 11
vakrafaktirananttm saumyarp vicinlayet I
samhrasygame srstifcinciniparam kal II
nayecca anmnte tu ksirakanikopam I
tatobhisekastenaiva prksvarpena devat II
hrccakre prnasamsthne prnacandrasamaprabh I
evam samcintya cittena svacakre tu pravefayet II
prahasanti parnand dravate sbhinandit I
citsvarptmik iakliranmnmamandale II
tenmrtabhar trptih paurnamst pravartate I
gamam srstibhedena etadjnbhisecanam II
gamgamena samfodhya pafct kuryt kramrcanam I (KKh 13/134-140ab)
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 55

with the uniform ly central position given to this one goddess, K ubjik, w ho is their lineage deity,
suggests that it w as such people w ho set up the com plex system we find today and that has been
operating for several cen tu ries.1 3
That m ajor changes were brought about that greatly favoured them cannot be doubted.
A ccording to the legends in the K ubjik T antras, and indeed T antras o f this sort in general, the
founding figures w ere renunciates, not householders. The legends describe them as living a
peripatetic lifestyle. T hey w andered from one sacred place to another, encountering in these
'm eeting grounds' (m elpasthna) o th er accom plished adepts (siddha) and yoginls. A t tim es they
w ould interrupt their pilgrim age to live in caves or under trees w here, as the T antras tell us, they
w ould sit with their 'gaze averted upw ards' until they w ere granted a vision o f the goddess. T his is a
far cry indeed from the householder life o f the B rahm in guru, his K shatriya K arm crya assistants
and high-caste in itiates!154

T he T ree G oddess

T he root T antra o f the K ubjik school, the K ubjikm ata, does refer to the goddess's
assocation w ith trees, but in the later texts this association is extensively explored. The early
U panisads had already com pared the body o f a m an to a tree w ith its root the B rahm an.155
Sim ilarly, the m andala o f the goddess is the tree w ithin w hich she resides and o v er w hich she
presides in the form o f a Y aks ini, an ancient India folk deity o f vegetation and the earth. T he w hole
tradition and its teachings are represented as the T ree o f Consciousness that grow s o u t o f the D ivine
C urrent (d ivyaugha) o f the D ivine K aula tradition. T his Tree is suprem e bliss. Its best fruit is the
tradition o f the Siddhas (siddhaugha). Its branches include the places that are deposited in the body,
the aggregate o f letters, the R udras, S iddhas, the various types o f sacred places, the d ivine cave, the
A byss, the Sky, and the S kyfarer (khecara), each o f w hich is divided into m illions o f asp ects.154

153 One of the aims of the present on-going research is to discover since how far back this system has
been operating and how it evolved. A more extensive examination o f Newar Tantric liturgical works,
especially early ones, will hopefully supply us with new data and shed light on the matter.
154 Dumont writes: " ... the secret of Hinduism may be found in the dialogue between the renouncer
and the man-in-the-world. [...] In fact the man-in-the-world, and particularly the Brahman, is given the credit
for the ideas which he may have adopted but not invented. Such ideas are much more relevant and they
clearly belong to the thought o f the renouncer. Is it really too adventurous to say that the agent of
development in Indian religion and speculation, the 'creator of values' has been the renouncer? The Brahman
as a scholar has mainly preserved, aggregated, and combined; he may well have created and developed
special branches of knowledge. Not only the founding of sects and their maintenance, but the major ideas,
the 'inventions' are due to the renouncer whose unique position gave him a sort of monopoly for putting
everything in question" (Dumont 1980: 270, 275 quoted by Quigley 1993: 56).
155 The Brhadaranyakopanisad declares:

As a tree o f the forest, just so, surely, is man. His hairs are leaves, his skin the outer bark. From his
skin blood, sap from the bark flow s forth a stream as from the tree when struck. His pieces o f flesh are
under-layers o f wood. The fibre is muscle-like strong. The bones are the wood within. The marrow is made
resembling pith. (BrH 3/9/28, Hume's translation)
156 divyaughaparamnandam picuvaktram tu kaulikam I
tanmadhyoditacidvrksath mla.ikhsu\ istaram II

The Kaula Picu Face is the supreme bliss o f the Divine Current. The Tree o f Consciousness has
risen from the middle o f that and it has many roots and branches. (CMSS 1/28) The form o f this tree is
decribed up to verse 36.
56 M a rk S . G . D yczk o w sk i

T his tree is especially represented as a tam arind (cihca) that grow s on the Island o f the M oon, the
goddess's m andala. from the m iddle o f the triangle. T hus, in the later K ubjik Tantras, w here this
im agery is elaborated, the goddess is frequently called the Lady o f the T am arind (CincinT or
C inc).157 U nder the shade o f this tree, w hich is said to be the pure bliss present w ithin all b ein g s,151
one attains the suprem e liberating repose beyond pleasure and p ain .159 O ne o f the founders o f the
K ubjik cult w as called V rk$antha (the L ord o f the T ree') because he achieved the perfect repose
(viSrma) o f liberation under this tree w hen the goddess appeared to him . T here, in the shade o f the
tree, she transm itted the enlightening C om m and (jn) w hich gave him the authority (adh ik ra )
that em pow ered him both to attain this realization and to transm it the teachings w hich lead others to
it.
A nother tree closely associated w ith K ubjik is the kadam ba tree. A t tim es it is this tree,
rather than the tam arind, that sym bolizes the tradition and its grow th from the V ulva o f the
goddess's em pow ering C om m an d .1 A t tim es this tree is the m andala itself rather than a
developm ent o f it. T o be precise, it is the m andala that has been em pow ered by the C om m and o f
the goddess. The goddess thus fertilizes herself, as it w ere, to give birth to the cosm ic tree. K rsna
declares in the B hagavadglt that he is the asvattha w ith its roots in heaven and its branches here
below . Sim ilarly, the m andala em pow ered w ith m antras and the goddess's energy is the kadam ba
tree w hich, blazing w ith energy, em its its rays o f m antric pow er dow n into the phenom enal
w orld.161 B ut she is not only the source o f this tree, she is also bom from it. She is the bud o f the
kadam ba flow er. In this form she has engulfed into herself (kadam blkrta) all the energies o f the
m andala and the cosm ic o rd er that it represents. T hus she contains every potential for grow th and
unfoldm ent. W hen the flow er blossom s, she is its radiant energy w hich, led to the heart (the centre
o f ones being w here the S elf resides), com pletes the cycle. The tradition is nurtured by it and the
initiate, filled w ith light and the energy o f the tree can, like the sham an on his sham anic quest,
clim b it to the sum m it o f existence.

In one place this tree is said to be a kirhkuka which, like the tamarind, has beautiful red flowers:

kaktitritayamadhye tu kinukakradeval II
pindam lasy bhagkram vande trikonaplthagm I

In the midst o f the three energies is the deity whose form is that o f a blossom o f the kimiuka tree.
The shape o f her body is that o f the vulva; I praise her who resides in the sacred seat o f the Triangle. (KKh
3/l25cd -126ab)
159 nandam vimalam cincam . . . I nandam vypakam deva sarvabhtesvavasthitam II The tamarind
is pure bliss. . . . O god, bliss is pervasive and is present in all beings. (KKh 17/18abd)
159 Referring to the tree which grows from the triangle of the mandala, the CMSS (7/8cd) declares:
Supreme repose, devoid o f pleasure and pain, is there (tatra viSrntiparamam sukhaduhkhavivarjitam).
160 samketam vrkfamlam tu yonimadhye kadambakam I
tena vyptamidam meruh layam sarvayoginm II

The convention has as its root the tree which is the kadambaka in the centre o f the Vulva. Meru, the
abode o f all yogis, is pervaded by it. (KKh 17/30)
161 krtv tritayasarhyogam ksipt jnntamandale II
raimijvlkadambam ca cintayecca adhomukham I
navalaksakrte deva trailokyamapi sdhayet II

Once having form ed the conjunction o f the three (energies) and thrown the Command into the
mandala, one should think (o f it) as the kadamba (tree) aflame with its rays facing downwards. Once one
has (recited the Vidy) 900,000 times, one controls even the three worlds. (KKh 1 l/22cd - 23)
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 57

C onclusion

T here are num erous o th er sym bols associated w ith the goddess K ubjik. T hey, like the
rituals, sacred geographies, m antras, form s o f Y oga (especially those linked w ith the m ovem ent o f
the vital breath) described in her T antras, are surprisingly rich. T he texts have d eveloped in a highly
creative period o f the history o f T antrism and contain num erous traces o f its developm ent. A ll this
w ould be m ore than enough to w arrant extensive research o f this goddess. B ut there is m ore. The
application o f precept to practice is in the case o f this virtually unknow n goddess also surprisingly
extensive. T o trace its ram ifications we m ust seek to understand the w hole com plex netw ork o f
N ew ar T antrism and so, inevitably, a m ajor part o f N ew ar society and its history. N o doubt, this
study w ill reveal how text and context penetrate each other, like S iva and Sakti, to form a com plete
reality, internally ideal and externally concrete.
 58 M ark S. G . D yczk o w sk i

P la tes

Plate 1: T w o S iddhilak sm i tem ples. B haktapur

Plate 2: T he N tpw a(n)la tem ple dedicated to S iddhilaksm i in T a:m rhl square, Bhaktapur.
Plate 3: T he three im ages in N tpw a(n)la. S iddhilaksm i is in the m iddle. T o her left is
Sm aSnabhairava and on her right M ahkla.

B haktapur is unique insofar as it boasts three S iddhilaksm i tem ples, all three o f w hich
originally contained stone im ages o f the goddess. T hey w ere built by three successive M alla kings,
w ho ruled betw een the m iddle o f the 17th century and the first q u arter o f the IS* century. T his was
a period when m any o f the m ost beautiful and im portant tem ples w ere built in all three o f the cities
o f the Valley. The urge to build these tem ples by the B haktapur M allas indicates a need to
externalize the cu lt o f th eir lineage d eity to bring her pow erful, beneficial presence into the public
civic space. T his urge was part o f an overall resurgence o f T antrism throughout the V alley that is
visibly evident by the flow ering o f the vast com plex o f iconic form s that adorn the tem ples o f that
period. T his w as also the tim e when the liturgies o f Siddhilaksm i, the goddess T aleju, that still
govern the form o f her secret rituals now adays, w ere redacted by the gu ru s o f the M allas, the
T aleju R jopdhyya B rahm ins.
T he first o f these tem ples is in plain red brick with a tiled roof. It was built by
Jagatpraksam alla w ho ruled betw een 1643 and 1672 and is situated next to the palace. It contained
a stone statue o f the goddess that is now m issing. His son, Jitm itram alla w ho reigned betw een
1673 and 1696 built the second tem ple. T his is situated next to the tem ple built by his father (see
plate 1). It is a sm all, gray stone, sikhara type o f tem ple decorated with m ulti-arm ed im ages o f
form s o f the goddess M ahissuram ardinl. She is the public representation o f all the secret lineage
goddesses and, therefore, also o f S iddhilaksm i. T he im age inside the tem ple is still in place. It is
about one m eter high and carved in black stone.
The third tem ple is N tpw a(n)la, fam ous as the tallest tem ple in the Valley;
B hpatlndram alla, the son o f Jitm itra, w ho ruled betw een 1696-1722, built it. A ccording to a well-
known story, B hpatlndram alla had a dream in which he saw the B hairava w ho resides in the
tem ple in T a:m arhl square on a destructive ram page. W hen he aw oke, he felt the presence o f his
lineage goddess w ho told him to build a tem ple to her in order to control Bhairava. B hairava is the
god o f the low er castes, especially farm ers, w ho made up, and still do, the m ajority o f the
population. It is hard to resist the feeling that in actual fact B hpatlndram alla was w orried about
unrest am ongst his subjects w hose grow ing influence was represented in his dream by the increased
destructive pow er o f their god. In a culturew herem agical T antric action is felt to be m ore pow erful
than the outer use o f force, B hpatlndram alla accordingly built his tem ple on six high plinths with
five pagoda roofs so as to tow er above the B hairava tem ple to one side o f it in T a:m rhl square.
Indeed, ju s t the plinths are so high that the im age o f the goddess in the sanctum on the first story
stands above its counterpart in the B hairava tem ple. She is surrounded by sm all w ooden carvings o f
the sixty-four yoginls that are placed at the head and in betw een the supporting w ooden pillars
around the outside o f the sanctum to intensify her fem ale energy and channel it to the outside.
The iconography o f the goddess further reinforces her dom inance o v er the god. She stands
on B hairava w ho supports her with tw o o f his four hands. He is K lgni-rudra, the em bodim ent o f
the Fire o f T im e that consum es the w orlds at the end o f each cosm ic cycle. In the bronze
representation reproduced here (see plate 4), he looks up at the goddess and has tw o hands jo in ed in
an attitude o f devotion. As B hairava was the esoteric identity o f the M alla kings, they were the
interm ediaries betw een the com m on people, w ho w orshipped Bhairava, and the goddess w ho was
Plate 2
Plate 6 Plate 7
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 59

the M allas tutelary and hence that o f the entire kingdom . The hierarchy o f p o w er is m irrored for
the public to see in the increase by ten o f the strength o f the beings represented by pairs o f statues
positioned on both sides o f the stairs, a pair fo r each plinth, leading up to the sanctum .
It seem s that Jagatjyoti and Jitam itra w ere m ore liberal than B hpatindra. The im age in the
tem ple built by the first o f these three m ay well have been accessible to the public. A gain, although
the second tem ple is a closed one, parts o f the im age are visible through the w ooden latticew ork o f
the doors. As for N yatapola, the third tem ple, it is carefully sealed o ff from all those w ho are not
specially perm itted to en ter it. These are the T aleju R jopdhyya B rahm ins and the T aleju
K arm cryas. T he latter are the m ain priests o f this tem ple w ho perform the daily obligatory rites.
W hen m ore elaborate occasional rites require it, assistants aid them . One am ongst them m ade a
rough painting o f the im ages inside the tem ple. O n the basis o f this painting Jnnakara V ajrcrya
has m ade the ink draw ing reproduced in plate 3, the first ev er p ublished o f these im ages.
All three im ages are carved in black stone and are finely polished. The m ain im age in the
center o f SiddhilaksmT is o v er tw o m eters high. A s the doors o f the sanctum are considerably
sm aller than this im age, it m ust have been low ered into it before the ceiling w as built.
SiddhilaksmT has nine heads and eighteen arm s. She holds in the first seven o f h er right
hands, from the upperm ost dow n, a sw ord, trident, arrow , conch, m ace, solar disc and vajra. She
m akes a fear dispelling gesture w ith the eighth hand and, along w ith the ninth left hand, holds a ja r
(kala&a). T he corresponding hands on the left hold a skull bow l, stick, bow , flow er, w heel, lunar
disc, bell, m akes a boon bestow ing gesture and holds a ja r.
She has tw o legs. O ne is extended and the other bent. She stands on tw o o f the four hands o f
K lgnirudra w ho kneels o n one knee below her. K lgni has four arm s. The tw o that are not
supporting the goddess hold, on the right, a trident and, on the left, a double-headed drum . He
stands on a prostrate V etla w ho looks up at him and holds a skull-bow l in one o f his tw o hands.
T o the right o f SiddhilaksmT is M ahkla. He stands on a thousand hooded snake that is
supported by a lotus (not show n in this draw ing). In his right hands he holds a sw ord, ascetics staff
(khatvnga), w ide flat headed knife (ka rirk ), snake and rosary. In the left hands he holds a stick,
double-headed drum , skull bow l, noose and trident. He w ears an elephant skin and has four faces.
T o the left o f SiddhilaksmT is m asnabhairava. He is in the crem ation ground. H is left foot
is extended and is supported by three devotees w ho are praying to him . A fourth devotee is
kneeling on the other side o f burning funeral pyre into w hich all four are m aking offerings.
& m asnabhairavas right leg is bent and is supported by a squatting V etla w ho holds a skull-bow l
in one o f his tw o hands. B elow are four anim als. From left to right o f the god, they are a parrot,
dog, crow and a fox.

Plate 4: SiddhilaksmT

T his plate is by courtesy o f the N ational M useum , N ew D elhi. The bronze is described in
D aw son, J. E. 1999: 43 as S vacchanda BhairavT. U tpala, 10* century A D. C ham ba, H im achal
Pradesh. B ronze, 37.0 x 24.0 x 7.0 cm . A cc. No. 64.102. Sanderson (1990: 6 3f.) has established
that this is actually an im age o f Siddhilaksm i. I have been inform ed that a sim ilar im age m ade o f
eight m etals (astadhtu) is w orshipped as the tutelary o f the M alla kings in the chapel ( g a n ) o f the
royal palace in B haktapur. The goddess in the bronze reproduced here is seated on K lgnirudra
w ho supports her w ith tw o hands. H is other tw o hands are jo in ed at the palm s in a gesture of
prayer. Fire com es from his m outh as he looks up at the goddess in adoration w ho is looking at
him . T he goddess has five heads and ten arm s. H er right hands hold, from top to bottom , a sw ord, a
trident, a skull-staff and a skull-bow l. The fifth hand m akes a fear dispelling gesture. In the
60 M a r k S. G . D y czk o w sk i

corresponding left hands she holds a goad, a m anuscript, a noose, m akes a w ish granting gesture
and holds a hatchet.

Plate 5: K ubjik.

T his painting by Jnnakara V ajrcrya is based on the visualized form o f the goddess
K ubjik described in the P ascim ajyesthm nyakarm rcanapaddhati. T his typical N ew ar liturgy
represents the goddess in a form in w hich N ew ar initiates com m only visualize her. I have chosen
this source accordingly. T here are several variants, especially in the attributes she holds, o f the
corresponding form described in the K ubjik Tantras. Seven variant visualizations are described in
the M anthnabhairava -tantratik by R pasiya ffb l. 9ff). O thers are found in the KKh 29/33ff. and
49/25cd ff., K nT (fol. 1 l a ff.) and K RU 8/53 ff.. In this case she holds in the right hands, from top
to bottom , a trident, the m irror o f K arm a, a vajra, a goad, arrow and flat sacrificial knife. In the
corresponding left hands she holds a severed head, ascetics staff, bell, scriptures, a bow and a skull
bowl. She w ears a lion and a tiger skin and a garland o f hum an heads and is surrounded by a circle
o f stars (trm andala).
The paddhati says that she has a large belly and is bent (kubjrp). She is adorned with
snakes. T hese features are em phasized in several descriptions o f this form in the Tantras as well.
They indicate that she is the snake goddess, K undalinl. She is seated on a lotus that grow s from
S ivas navel w ho lies prone below h er on a throne (sim h sa n a ). A ccording to the K ubjik T antras,
the navel is the place w here she rests in the form o f a coiled snake and from w here she rises. The
im age therefore represents the goddess as K undalinl em erging from the god as his divine will
(icchsakti).
A nother interesting feature is the yellow colour o f the front (prva) face. T his is not the
usual colour o f this face according to the texts. A few learned N ew ar initiates affectionately refer
to K ubjik in N evri as m sukvah m j - the Y ellow Faced M other. A large bronze mask
representing this goddess is found in a tem ple close to that o f V ajrayoginI in the vicinity o f the
Sanku. The N ew ars associate the yellow colour o f her face w ith Brahm nJ, the first o f the eight
M others (m trk ). I suppose that this connection explains w hy the D urg dancers o f B haktapur
receive their em pow erm ent from B rahm nl (alias K ubjik) in a ritual perform ed at h er shrine ju st
after the nine day D urg festival held in autum n.

Plate 6: G uhyesvari

T his form o f G uhyesvari, painted by Jnnakara V ajrcrya, is described in the

G oraksasam hij_ (14/159-167) w here she appears as the em bodim ent o f K ubjik s w eapon
(astradtT). N ew ar initiates w orship tliis form as the m ost secret aspect o f G uhyesvari. The text
describes her as dark blue w ith a large, heavy body. She w ears a black garm ent and a garland o f
skulls. She has five faces and ten arm s. In the right hands she holds, from top to bottom , a trident,
m ace, noose, goad and sw ord. In the corresponding left hands, she holds a skull-bow l, shield,
arrow , severed head and pestle.

Plate 7: T ripursundari

T his painting by Jnnakara V ajrcrya is a typical N ew ar representation o f the goddess

T ripursundari. T his form is closely related to the goddess K m esvari. She sits on tw o layers o f
heads. The upper layer represents the gods o f the five gross elem ents, called the Five C auses
(p ancakarana ). T hey are, from left to right B rahm , Vi$nu, Rudra, ISvara and S adiiva. The low er
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T r i k a 61

set o f heads represent the seven M others (m trk). T hese are, from left to right, B rahm nl,
K aum ri, Vai^navT, V rhi, Indrn!, C m unij and M ahlaksm l.
T ripur is red, beautiful and w ell adorned. She has one head and four arm s. T he upper right
hand holds a goad, the one below five arrows. The left hands hold a noose and a bow.
 62 M ark S. G. D y c z k o w s k i

A b b re v ia tio n s

BfH B rhadaranyakopanisad
CGC C idgaganacandrik
C M SS C in cinim atasrasam uccaya*'62
CSS C andra Sam ser C ollection
GS G orak^asam hita
KMT K ubjikm atatantra
K Kh K um rikkhanda o f the M anthnabhairavatantra*
KnT K ubjiknityhnikatilaka
KRU K ularatnoddyota*
KSTS K ashm iri Series o f T exts and Studies
MNP M ahnayaprakia by A rnasirhha*
MP M ahnayapraksa by 5itikan(ha
MS M anuscript
MV M linlvijayottaratantra
NAK N ational A rchives K athm andu
N G M PP N epal-G erm an M anuscript Preservation Project
PL P alm -leaf m anuscript
PTv PartrirhSTkvivarana
SB ^atapathabrahm ana
Sm ^rim atottaratantra*
SatSS a(shasrasam hit*
SK h S iddhakhanda o f the M anthnabhairavatantra
SvT Svacchandabhairavatantra
S $P S om aiam bhupaddhati
T T antrloka
ZDM G Z eitschrift d er D eutschen M orgenlndischen G esellschaft

B ib lio g rap h y

P rim a ry S o u rc e s

K likulakram rcana o f V im alaprabodha N AK 5/88 = N G M P P reel no. A 148/10.

K likkulapancatotaka N A K 5/5183 = N G M P P reel no. A 150/6.
K ubjiknityhnikatilaka N A K 5/1937 = N G M P P reel no. B 415/22
T he K ubjikm atatantra, the K ullikm nya V ersion. C ritical edition by T. G oudrin and J. A.
Schoterm an. Leiden: E. J. B rill, 1988.
GuhyaklTlanlra. M S no. H 4811 = N G M PP reel no. H 297/12.
G oraksasam hit (part 1) edited by Janrdana Pntjeya. S arasvatrbhavanagrantham l (110)
V aranasi: Sam prnnanda Sanskrit U niversity, 1976.
C idgaganacandrik by K lidsa w ith the com m entary K ram aprakfik by Pt. R aghuntha M isra.
Sarasvatlbhavanagrantham l (115). V aranasi: S am prnnanda Sanskrit U niversity, 1980.
Tantrloka o f A bhinavagupta w ith the com m entary o f Jayaratha edited by Dr. R. C. D w ivedi and
Dr. N avjivan R astogi in 7 vols.. D elhi: M otilal B anarasidass, 1987.

162
I have edited the texts marked with an asterisk but have not published them.
 K u b jik , KAU, T r i p u r a n d T r ik a 63

N isisancratantra N A K 1/1606 = N G M P P reel no. B 26/25.

P artantra edited by D hana Sam Ser Jangabhdur R n: A llahabad: 'CandT krylaya, V . 2013.
P artrim Sikvivarana by A bhinavagupta edited and translated w ith notes by Jayadeva Singh.
D elhi: M otilal B anarasidass, 1991.
P aicim ajyesthm nyakarm rcanapaddhati N A K 14/876 = N G M P P reel no. B 191/8.
B rhadranyaka U panisad (third edition). Published by the president Sri R am akrishna M ath,
M ylapore P ondicherry: Sri R am akrishna M ath, 1979.
B rahm aym ala N A K 3/370.
B hsvam ivali. E dited by N ayantha Paudela. K athm andu: p urtattvavibhga neplarstriya
pustaklaya, 1963.
M anthnabhairavatantra N A K 5/4654.
M anthnabhairavatantratik by R pasiva. N A K 5/4878 = N G M P P reel no. A 176/4.
M ahklasam hit. Vol. 1. E dited by K isom tha Jh. A llahabad: G angnthajhkendriyasam skrta-
vidypltham , 1976.
M ahnayaprakSa by Sitikanfha. E dited by M. K. S s tri. KSTS no. 71. Shrinagar: 1921.
M ahrtham anjari by M ahesvarnanda. E dited by V rajavallabha D vivedi. Y ogatantragrantham l
5. V aranasi: S am prnnanda Sanskrit U niversity, 1972.
M lim vijayottaratantra. E dited by M. K. S s tri. KSTS no. 91. Shrinagar: 1937.
[RjavamSvalT): K thm ndu-U patyakko E k Rjavam Jvali. E dited by B lacandra Sarm .
PrcTna N epla , vol. 4 (Juiy 1968) - vol. 6 (Jan. 1969).
R auravgam a 1. E dited by N . R. B hatt. Publications de l'Institut Fran^ais d'Indologie 18.
Pondicherry: Institut Fran$ais d'Indologie, 1961.
V im alaprabhtik o f K alkin Sripuntjarika on the Srilaghuklacakratantrarja by S rim anjusriyasas.
E dited by V rajavallabha D vivedi and S. S. B ahulkar. V ol. 2. R are B uddhist T exts Series 13.
Sam atha, V aranasi: C entral Institute o f H igher T ibetan S tudies, 1994.
V asisthadikskarm apaddhati. Photocopy in m y possession o f a m anuscript in a private collection.
Sritantrasadbhva. N A K 5/445 = N G M PP reel no. A 44/2 (oldest PL ); N A K 1/363 = N G M P P reel
no. A 44/1 (PL): N A K 5/1985 = N G M P P reel no. A 188/22 - A 189/1.
Som atom bhupaddhati. T rans, by H. B runner-Lachaux. 3 vols.. Publications de lln stitu t Fran^ais
d'Indologie. Pondicherry: Institut Fransais d'Indologie, 1963, 1968, 1977.
Spandanirnaya by K sem arja. Edited w ith E nglish translation by M. K. Kaul. K ashm iri Series of-
T exts and Studies 43. Shrinagar: 1925.

S e c o n d a ry so u rce s:

A nderson, M ary M. 1975: The F estivals o f N epal. G reat Britain: R upa and Co.
A rraj, W . J. 1988: 'T h e Svacchandatantram : H istory and Structure o f a $aiva Scripture.' PhD . diss..
The U niversity o f C hicago.
B agchi, P rabodha C andra 1975 (reprint): Studies in the Tantras. C alcutta: U niversity o f C alcutta.
C halier-V isuvalingam , E lizabeth 1991: 'Le Roi et le Jardinier: Pacali B hairava de K athm andou'. In
C lasser les dieux en H im alaya e t en A sie du Sud, edited by V. B ouillier and G . T offin. Paris:
C ollection Puru$rtha.
C obum , T hom as B. 1998: D e v i the G reat G oddess.' In D evi: G oddesses o f India, edited by John S.
H aw ley and D onna M. W ulff. D elhi: M otilal B anarsidass.
D avis, H. 1991: R itual in an O scillating Universe: W orshipping Siva in M edieval India. Princeton,
New Jersey: P rinceton U niversity Press.
D aw son, J. E. 1999: B ronze Treasures o f the N ational M useum , N ational M useum , N ew D elhi
D hi, 1986: vol. 1. S araath, V aranasi: C entral Institute o f H igher T ibetan Studies.
64 M a r k S . G . D yczk o w sk i

D um ont. Louis 1980 [1966]: H om o H ierarchicus: The C aste System a n d its Im plications.
C om pletely revised E nglish edition. C hicago: U niversity o f C hicago Press.
D yczkow ski, M ark S. G . 1987a: The Canon o f the Saivgam a a n d the K ubjik T antras o f the
W estern Tradition. A lbany, N ew York: State U niversity o f N ew Y ork Press.
D yczkow ski, M ark S. G . 1987b: The D octrine o f Vibration. A lbany, N ew York: State U niversity of
New York Press.
D yczkow ski, M ark S. G . 1988: The A p h o rism s o f Siva. A lbany, New Y ork: State U niversity o f
New York Press.
D yczkow ski, M ark S. G . 1992: The Stanzas on Vibration. A lbany, N ew York: State U niversity o f
Nqw Y ork Press.
D yczkow ski, M ark S. G. 1996: K ubjik the Erotic G oddess: Sexual Potency, T ransform ation and
R eversal in the H eterodox T heophanies o f the K ubjik Tantras'. In Indologica Taurinensia edited
by T urin: C entro Piem ontese per Sludi del M edio ed E strem o O riente (C E SM E O ).
Eliade, M ircea 1974: P a ttern s in C om parative R eligion. C linton M a s s .: N ew A m erican L ibrary.
G ellner, D avid N. and Q uigley, D eclan (eds.) 1995: C ontested H ierarchies: A C ollaborative
E thnography o f C aste in the K athm andu Valley, N epal. O xford: C larendon Press.
G oudrin, T. and G upta, S. 1981: H indu Tantric a n d Skta Literature. A H istory o f Indian
L iterature, vol. I, fasc. 2. W iesbaden.
G oudrin, T. 1986: 'K ubjik's Sam ayam antra and its m anipulation in the K ubjikm ata'. In M antras
et diagram m es rituels d a n s Thindouism e, edited by A. Padoux. Paris: C N R S.
G utschow , N iels and M ichaels, A xel (eds.)1987: H eritage o f the K athm andu Valley. N epalica, 4.
Sankt A ugustin: V G H W issenschaftsverlag.
G utschow , N iels 1995: P calijtr in Patan: T he E xperience o f an U rban R itual in N epal'. In D as
B auw erk und die Stadt. The B uilding a n d the Town: E ssays f o r E duard F. Sekler, edited by
W olfgang Bohm . W eim ar: B. V erlag
H eesterm an, J. C. 1985: The Inner C onflict o f Tradition: E ssays in Indian Ritual, K ingship, a n d
Society. D elhi: O xford U niversity Press.
H eilijgers-Seelen, D ory 1994: The System o f Five C akras in K ubjikm atatantra 14-16. G roningen:
E gbert Forsten.
H errm ann-Pfandt, A delheid 1996: T h e G ood W om an's Shadow : Som e A spects o f the Dark N ature
o f D kinls and k in ls in H induism '. In W ild G oddesses in India a n d Nepal, edited by Axel
M ichaels, C ornelia V ogelsan g er and A nnette W ilke. Bem : Peter Lang.
H um e, R obert E rnest 1975: The Thirteen P rinciple U panishads: T ranslated fr o m the S anskrit with
an O utline o f the P hilosophy o f the U panishads. U nited States o f A m erica: O xford U niversity
Press.
IshT, H. 1987: 'Social C hange in a N ew ar V illage'. In G utschow and M ichaels (1987) (eds.).
IshT, H. 1995: 'C aste and K inship in a N ew ar V illage'. In G ellner and Q uigley (1995) (eds.).
Jam es, E. O . 1974: 'P riesthood.' In M a cropaedia, vol. 14, E ncyclopaedia B ritannica, fifteenth
edition. C hicago: E ncyclopaedia Britannica.
L evy, R obert I. 1992: M esocosm : H induism a n d the O rganisation o f a Traditional N ew a r C ity in
N epal. Indian edition. D elhi: M otilal B anarsidass.
Locke, John K. 1980: K arunam aya: The C ult o f A valokitesvara - M atsyendranath in the Valley o f
N epal. N epal: Sahayogi Prakashan.
M acdonald, A. W. and V ergati Stahl, A nne 1979: N ew a r A r t during the M alta Period. W arm inster:
A ris and Phillips.
M ichaels, Axel 1994: 'G oddess o f the Secret, G uhyesvari in N epal and H er Festival'. In W ild
G oddesses in India a n d N epal, edited by A xel M ichaels, C ornelia V ogelsanger and A nnette W ilke.
Bern: Peter Lang.
 K u b j i k , K l I, T r i p u r a n d T t .ik a 65

N epali, G opal Singh 1965: The N ewars: An E thno-Sociological Survey o f a H im alayan C omm unity.
B om bay: U nited A sian Publications.
Pandey, K. C. 1963: A bhinavagupta: An H istorical a n d P hilosophical Study. 2nd ed.. Benares:
C how kham ba.
Q uigley, D eclan 1993: The Interpretation o f Caste. O xford: C larendon Press.
R ajagopalan, S. 1987: 'Old Goa'. N ew Delhi: The D irector G eneral, A rcheological Survey o f India.
R n, D hana Sarhser Jangabahdur 1947: '32 sl k anubhava. C a n d i (sixth year): 221-5, 276-84,
324-33, 347-54, 376-84. A llahabad: C andi Press
R egm i, D. R. 1965 - 1966: M edieval Nepal. 4 vols.. C alcutta: Firm a K. L. M ukhopadhyaya.
Saletore, B hasker A nand 1937: 'The K naphta Jogis in Southern India'. Poona O rientalist 1: 16-
22 .
Sanderson, A lexis 1988: 'Saivism and the T antric T radition'. In The W orld R eligions edited by
Sutherland et a).. London: R outledge.
Sanderson, A lexis, 1990: 'The V isualization o f the D eities o f the Trika'. In L 'lm a g e divine: C ult et
m editation dans I'hindouism e, edited by A. Padoux. Paris: CNRS.
Schoterm an, J. A. 1980: 'A Link betw een Purnas and Tantra: A gnipurna 143-7. In ZD M G suppl.
IV. W iesbaden.
Schoterm an, J. A. 1982: The Satshasrasam hit C hapter I - 5, Edited, Translated an d A nnotated.
Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Sharm a. A ishw arya D har 1954: 'bhaktapurdhipaterranajitm allasya suvarnapatrbhilekhah'
(G oldplate inscription o f the B haktapur king R anajitm alla), Sam skrtasandesa, 1:10-12 (VS 2010
C aitra), 72-74.
Sarm , N tan 1991: Stories o f G ayahbjy: C om m ented by N iels C utschow . K athm andu: Patan
C onservation and D evelopm ent Program m e.
Sarm . N tan 1993: "Water and Im m ortality'. In Bagmati. An Ecological Project o f the G oethe
Institute. K athm andu: The G oethe Institute.
Slusser, M ary Shepherd 1982: N epal M andala: A C ultural Study o f the K athm andu Valley. In 2
vols. Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press.
Sm ith, V incent A. 1995: The O xford H istory o f India. Fourth edition edited by Percival Spear.
Delhi: O xford U niversity Press.
Toffm , G erard 1995: T h e Social O rganization o f R jopdhyya Brhm anas'. In C ontested
H ierarchies: A C ollaborative Ethnography o f Caste in the K athm andu Valley, N ep a l, edited by
D avid N. G ellner and D eclan Q uigley. O xford: C larendon Press.
T offin, G erard. 1989: 'La V oie des "heros": T antrism e et heritage vedique chez les brhm anes
R jopdhyya au N6pal.' In Pretise, P ouvoirs et Autorite en H im alaya, edited by V. B ouillier and
G. Toffin. Paris: C ollection Purusrtha
V ergati, Anne 1995: Gods. M en a n d Territory: Society and Culture in the K athm andu Valley. New
Delhi: M anohar C entre de Sciences Hum aines.
W hite, D avid G ordon 1996: The A lchem ical Body. C hicago: The U niversity o f C hicago Press.
W itzel, M. 1976: 'Zur G eschichte der R jopdhyya von B haktapur. Folia Rara 65: 159 -79.