The Buddhist Kriytantras and their exegesis:

the Trisamayarjatantrak and the Kalynakmadhenu

Handout, , July 23rd 2009
Harunaga Isaacson
. Contents of NAK 5-20, vi bauddhatantra 27 = NGMPP A 47/17
Exposure
3-4t
4b-5t
5b-6t(=7t)
6b(=7b)-8t
8b-9t
9b-10
11-12t
12b-13t
13b-14r
14b-15t
15b-16t
16b-17t
17b-18t
18b-19
20-21t
21b-22t
22b-23t
23b-24t
24b-25
26-27t
27b-28t
28b-29t
29b-30t
1

Text
kinvajrapajarapajik
kinvajrapajarapajik
kinvajrapajarapajik
kinvajrapajarapajik
kinvajrapajarapajik
kinvajrapajarapajik
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Kalynakmadhenu1
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Trisamayarjatantrak
Cakrasamvarbhisamayak
Cakrasamvarbhisamayak
Cakrasamvarbhisamayak
Cakrasamvarbhisamayak

Folio number
2
3
4
5
6
7
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
14
15
2
4
5
6

Thoku 3067, tani 389 The identication was made by Pter-Dniel Sznt on July 22nd,
2009; I am grateful to him for immediately communicating it to me.
2
Le part lost; numbered by second hand in the right margin.
3
Le part lost; numbered by second hand in the right margin.

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Exposure
Text
30b-31
Cakrasamvarbhisamayak
32-33t
kinvajrapajarapajik
33b-34t
kinvajrapajarapajik
34b-35t
kinvajrapajarapajik
35b-36t
kinvajrapajarapajik
36b-37t
kinvajrapajarapajik
37b-38t
kinvajrapajarapajik
38b-39t
kinvajrapajarapajik
39b-40
kinvajrapajarapajik
41(=42)-43t
Trisamayarjatantrak
43b-44
Trisamayarjatantrak

Folio number
7
84
95
10
11
12
13
14
15
18
19

. Views of the learned.

Kumracandra (Katipaykar on the Herukbhyudaya):
yogajna nyatkpbhinna vajradharajnam. tadgopanrtha
kriytantrdikam avatritam. tena tattantrnusria kliasiddhy siddhyanti na mahmudray. (f. 5v, ed. p. 160.)6
Hevajratantra I.viii.54--55 with Ratnkarantis commentary Muktval, discussing
the superior soteriological ecacy of Hevajra practice, as the highest form of Buddhist teaching:
gamntarebhyo sya tantrasya vieapradaranya lokadvaya samastetydi (54-55).
samastavedasiddhntai karmaprasardibhis tath|
siddhir na syd bhavec chuddhy punarjanmabhavntare|| 54
T
pc
F
prasardibhis tath ] A B C, prasaradibhi ES EF
M EN na ] A B C ES EM
T
ac
F
T
EN , n B
bhavec chuddhy ] B ES EM EN , bhavec chuddh A, bhave. . . (ddh)o
ac
T 7
C , bhaved buddh Cpc punarjanma ] B C ES EF
M EN , punajanma A
6
7

Kaiser Library MS 229 (= NGMPP C 26/2); edited in Dh 37 (2004), pp. 149-170.

Note that all (!) the editions print punarjanma as a separate word.

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na ca tena vin siddhir iha loke paratra ca|
na j
nta yena hevajra vth tasya parirama||8 55
T
na hevajra vth ta ] lost in B vth ] C, tath A, vyarthas ES EF
M EN
T
parirama ] B C ES EF
M EN , parirama A

ved bahistri. siddhnt rvakapit.akasya strnt, siddha punarbhavasynta9 ebhir iti ktv. karmaprasar ntikdayo mantrantivihit. ebhi sarvai
siddhir na syt (54c) samyaksabodhir na bhavatty artha. pramitntau bhavati
na vety habhaved (54c) itydi. udhyanti kleaj
neyvaraakayd anayeti uddhi

at.pramitla kao mrga. tay bhavaty eva bodhi, ki tu punarjanmabhav- A f. 66v

ntare (54d). punarjanma janmaprabandha, sa eva bhava sasra, sasravad
drghatvt. triu kalpsakhyeyeu janmaparaparety artha. tenntare vyavadhne
sati bhavatty artha. yogatantrais tv10 ihaiva janmani bodhir ukt. tebhya ko sytiaya ity hana cetydi (55a). ihaiva janmani janmntare v sannihite yottam11
bodhis tantrntare pi bhavati na s tena sahajnandena vin (55a). asya tarhi tebhya ko viea ity hahevajram (55c) itydi. tantrntarascitasya tasya samyakparij
nnrtha hevajram eva sdhakair j
ntavyam ity artha. ida tem uttaratantram
12
iti bhva.
Note also Ratnkarantis remark (ad HeTa I.ii) te ca prayog rsamjarvajrakdiu draavy. yogapradhnam idam tantram, ntra karmaprasarasya vistara.13

The last pda is a clich: cf. e.g. Pa

ncakrama 11 svdhit.hnakramo yena sdhakena na labhyate|
strntatantrakalpeu vrth tasya parirama||, Samvarodayatantra 3cd tasya yogam na jnanti vrth
tasya parirama, 2cd prvasevm vin karma vrth tasya parirama||. It is known even in nonBuddhist and non-tantric literature, occurring also as, e.g., Krmapurna 310d.
9
siddha punarbhavasynta ] co. , punarbhavasyntar A, punarbhavasyntare ETN

Cf. Tib srid pai mthar dis grub pas na grub mthao; cf. also Yogaratnaml ad loc., which reads the
same (or should read the same: Snellgrove prints siddhi but the Kathmandu MS has been corrected
om siddhi to siddha).
10
tantrais tv ] A, tantrev ETN
11
yottam ] co., yad uttam MS A ETN
12
Cf. om Ratnkarantis commentary Khasam on the Khasamatantra: ata eva sarvatantrnm
uttaratantram idam (Kaiser Library MS 227 = NGMPP C 25/8 f. 2v3); and om his commentary on
the Hevajratantra: etac ca sarvatantreu gopitam na vyaktkrtam. antam prakitam iti sarvnte smims
tantre prakitam. anena sarvatantrnm uttaratantram etad iti scayati (A f. 111v4--5, C f. 79v1,
T and N p. 212).
13
C f. 19r1; T and N p. 3

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Others, however, emphasize rather the inclusion of kriytantra/karmaprasara in the
tantric path to Buddhahood; cf. e.g. Kamalanthas Ratnval on the Hevajratantra
and (following him) Abhaykaraguptas Abhayapaddhati on the Buddhakaplatantra,
calling karmaprasara an an ga to the utpattikrama.
. Continuity between the Kriytantras and the Yogintantras.
Material essentially indistinguishable om the staples of Kriytantra is common in
many Yogintantras, and examples even of verbal parallelism are numerous. A procedure for attaining a life-span of 500 years in the Canamahroanatantra (chapter
12) is very closely based on one in the Siddhaikavratantra (chapter 3). A single example of a formula om the Laghuamvara which has a Kriytantra pedigree and is
paralleled in early (but not, as far as I can see, in later) aiva Mantramrga material
is . . . yasya nmn mantrena juhoti (chapter 47); cf. e.g. Majuriyamlakalpa 2
Nivsa Guhyastra 86b (yasya nmn tu juhvate), 134 (juhuyd yasya nmn);
Vnikhatantra 198cd (juhuyt saptartram tu yasya nmn tu sdhaka).
. The Trisamayarjatantrak.
Inuenced by Yogatantra: quotes e.g. the important Yogatantras Paramdya and
Tattvasamgraha. Refers also to the Vairocanbhisambodhi; quotes an otherwise unknown Trisamayottaratantra, probably also referred to as Samayottara which seems
like to be more developed than the Trisamayarja itself (see e.g. the quotation at f.
7v2 (exposure 17t), ending mahsukhavimne tu vahra mahsukha).
. The Kalynakmadhenu.
Repertoire of mantras (essentially that of the Siddhaikavratantra) with for the most
part clearly aiva provenance.
f. 4v5 anenjitanayana14 kmadevas strnm bhavati. Cf. Tantrasadbhvatantra
285ab tenjitanayanas tu kmadevasamo bhavet.

14

nayana ] em, nayana MS