Twelve kalis in Tantrasara

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Dear list members,

 

Some notes I have on the tantrasAra from a Pandit suggest a possible scribal

error in the section describing the 12 kAlI's in chapter 4 and he suggests

the following emendment.

 

He suggests that on page 29 of the K.S.T.S. edition:

 

....

2 tato bahirapi sphuTatayA kalayati,

3 tatraiva raktimayatAM gRhItvA tataH tameva bhAvam antarupasaMjihIrSayA

kalayati,

 

should read,

 

....

2 tato tatraiva raktimayatAM gRhItvA bahirapi sphuTatayA kalayati,

3 tataH tameva bhAvam antarupasaMjihIrSayA kalayati,

 

So that an epithet of raktakAlI is applied to kAlI 2 instead of kAlI 3 to

agree with the order of the kAlI's in the tantrAloka .

 

I see from Rastogi's Introduction to the TantrAloka pg. 109 and his The

Krama Tantricism of Kashmir pg. 143 and pg. 231 that there was a medieval

"controversy" or discussion about the exact number (12 or 13) and the order

of the kAlI's. He says (or at least I think he is saying this as I am

unfamiliar with the issues) that Jayaratha says that Abhinavagupta strongly

advocates 12 kAlI's in the order 1)sRSTikAlI 2)raktakAlI 3)sthitikAlI .....

but that their are other scriptures including paNcazatika that advocate the

order 1)sRSTikAlI 2)sthitikAlI 3)raktakAlI..... Also saying that Jayaratha

says this is no incongruity since these other scriptures are deliberately

concealing the "real" saMvitkrama while Abhinavagupta is deliberately

revealing the true order. (See also Dyczkowski's "The Canon of the

Shaivagama" page 179-180 for the order of the kAlI's in different

scriptures.)

 

 

Does the K.S.T.S. edition tantrasAra reading in fact change the order of the

kAlI's from the tanrAloka order of 1)sRSTikAlI 2)raktakAlI 3)sthitikAlI ...

to the other order of 1)sRSTikAlI 2)sthitikAlI 3)raktakAlI.... .

 

and if this is so would any of the specialists be willing to give an opinion

(either on the list or privately) whether in the K.S.T.S. tantrasAra there

is:

 

1) A scribal error (or deliberate change by a scribe).

or

2) A different order from the tantrAloka is given by Abhinavagupta. (To

conceal rather than reveal the true samvitkrama order from this audience

which is different from the audience of the tantrAloka?).

 

Many thanks,

 

 

 

Harry Spier

371 Brickman Rd.

Hurleyville, New York

USA 12747

 

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