Hevajratantra
The Hevajratantra is the most important scripture
of the yoginītantra class. Shortly after its appearance around 900 ce in East India (Davidson, 2004,
41), it engendered – or promoted in a codified
form – a widespread and influential cult of its eponymous deity and his retinue; its teachings became
of such authority that there were hardly any esoteric Buddhist authors who could afford to ignore
them. While the text continued the antinomian
tradition set out in the Guhyasamājatantra and
the Sarvabuddhasamāyogaḍākinījālaśaṃvara, it also
introduced a number of innovations – most importantly the doctrine of the four blisses – and it is
noted for skillfully blending the world of tantric
ritual practice and non-esoteric Mahāyāna doctrine.
Compared to the other emblematic yoginītantra,
the Herukābhidhāna, the Hevajratantra can be said
to contain much more theological and philosophical material, showing a confident grounding in the
Buddhist world.
The basic scripture was followed by vigorous
exegesis in the form of further, explanatory scriptures, commentaries proper, and a large body of
satellite texts. The tantra was translated into Chinese by *Dharmapāla (Fahu [法護]) in 1055 ce and
into Tibetan at roughly the same time by Gayādhara
and ’Brog mi Shā kya ye shes (D 417–418/P 10; the
two main chapters are numerated separately in the
Derge edition). While until the advent of the Yuan
dynasty it failed to gain momentum in China, the
Hevajratantra inspired hundreds of further works in
Tibet (Sobisch, 2008).
Judging from statuary and other material evidence, the teachings of the Hevajratantra were
transmitted in some form to various parts of Southeast Asia (see Lobo, 1998, for the Khmer realm; for
Sumatra, see Griffiths, 2014, 228–230, where the cult
survived until the 14th century; Reichle, 2007, 139).
That the Hevajratantra came to be the emblematic
esoteric Buddhist scripture is suggested by the fact
that the Śaiva exegete Jayaratha (fl. c. 1213–1236
ce) quoted it with approval, though without actually naming the text (e.g. Tantrālokaviveka ad
Abhinavagupta’s Tantrāloka 4.243, Shâstrî, 1921, 269;
there are two or three further possible quotations).
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The cult had among its initiates a number of
monarchs and courtiers. In India, the ruler of Khasa,
Aśokacalla is described as a worshipper of Hevajra
on an inscription from Bodh Gaya dated 1194 ce by
one of his dependents (Vidyavinoda, 1913–1914, 30).
The Mongol rulers Godan and Qubilai were initiated by the Tibetan masters Sa skya paṇḍita (1182–
1251 ce) and his nephew, ’Phags pa (1239–1280 ce)
respectively (Willemen, 1983, 16). A Čam inscription
from 1194 ce (Finot, 1904, 973, 975) celebrating the
military victory of Vidyānandana, the future king
Sūryavarman, over a Khmer expedition, records
the building of a Heruka temple (śrīherukaharmya),
which could possibly have been a Hevajra place of
worship.
The Hevajratantra was the first yoginītantra to
be fully edited and translated by modern scholars.
D.L. Snellgrove’s (1959) pioneering work was slightly
improved upon by G.W. Farrow and I. Menon (1992),
and some progress towards a comprehensive critical edition, which remains one of the great desiderata of esoteric Buddhist studies, has been achieved
by the awkwardly constituted but useful editions of
R.S. Tripathi and T.S. Negi (2001; 2006). R.F. Meyer’s
German translation (2005–2006) is not based on
such an effort. For the time being, it would seem
that the text was transmitted in a fairly stable form,
although signs of redaction and possibly slightly different recensions exist.
Structure and Synopsis of Contents
The Hevajratantra consists of two main chapters
(or “books”, “parts”) called kalpas, which are usually divided into 11 and 12 subchapters, and named
“The Chapter of the Awakening of Vajragarbha”
(who is the petitioner of most of the text) and “The
Chapter of Illusion,” respectively. (Below the kalpas
are indicated with upper case Roman I and II, the
subchapters in lower case, and verses with Arabic
numerals.) Because of this feature, the text is very
often referred to as “the king [of tantras] in two
chapters” (dvikalparāja). Some ancillary tantras
and commentaries state that the two chapters were
BEB, vol. I
Hevajratantra
extracted from a mythical Ur-tantra in 32 chapters.
There is a chance that the Hevajratantra itself refers
to some such concept (I.xi.12).
I.i: On the Vajra Family
The text opens with a modified etiological passage: it
does contain the customary opening formula (evaṃ
mayā śrutam etc.), but here the lord is said to have
been abiding in the womb of vajra women. This
opening is inherited from the Guhyasamājatantra.
Although the role of the petitioner is assumed
mostly by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha (a role
sometimes handed over to the consort of Hevajra
and other goddesses), the first words are spoken
by the lord himself. This is an exhortation to the
retinue to hear about Hevajra, who is the essence
of three beings (sattva): vajrasattva, mahāsattva,
and samayasattva. Vajragarbha intervenes and
asks for clarification regarding these three, which is
given. He then asks about the name Hevajra itself.
The answer is that he means great compassion,
whereas vajra means wisdom; the name symbolizes
the union of the two. A short overview of contents
follows. The lord then teaches the philosophical
background with which Hevajra/Heruka should be
visualized. Vajragarbha then asks about the tubes
(nāḍī) that pervade the body. These are taught to
be 32 in number, among them three are the most
important ones (lalanā, rasanā, and the central
avadhūtī). The names of the four wheels (cakra) are
also given: three are named after the three bodies
of the Buddha (nirmāṇa, saṃbhoga, dharma), the
last is that of great bliss (mahāsukha). A further list
of items in sets of four follows, with the implication
that all these sets are somehow correlated. It is to be
noted that the text displays a peculiar predilection
for sets of four. The subchapter closes with a single
verse on the yogic practice of “inner heat” (caṇḍālī;
better known in its Tibetan rendering, gtum mo).
This particular system of tubes and wheels, as well
as the practice of caṇḍālī, are innovations of the text.
I.ii: On Mantras
The second subchapter deals mostly with mantras,
which are given openly (that is to say, not through
encoding and decoding, although that process too is
used later). The mantras given include that for food
offering (bali), the seed syllables of the tathāgatas,
the heart mantra of Hevajra, a spell to shake a city,
the seed syllables of the yoginīs, the mantras of the
two-armed, four-armed, and six-armed ectypes of
Hevajra, the seed syllables for the empowerment
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of body, speech, and mind, a protective spell to
purify the ground for ritual purposes, spells for various aggressive rites, and other minor rites such as
weather magic, martial magic, and chasing away
wild animals.
I.iii: On the Deity/Deities
This subchapter describes the deity Hevajra with
some details for the procedure of visualization.
He arises from the seed syllable hūṃ, which arises
from a vajra, he is dark in color, and is surrounded
by eight goddesses who worship him. Their names
are Gaurī, Caurī, Vetālī/Vettālī, Ghasmarī, Pukkasī,
Śavarī, Caṇḍālī, and Ḍombī. It is noteworthy that
the latter four are named after various outcaste
groups. There are only minor differences between
this retinue and that of Heruka in the Sarvabuddhasamāyogaḍākinījālaśaṃvara. The symbolism of the
cremation ground, where the deity and its retinue
reside, is prominent. The closing part gives the
particulars for two ectypes, a four-armed and a
six-armed Hevajra. The former holds a skull bowl
filled with blood, a vajra, and embraces his consort,
here called Vajravārāhī (who is otherwise the consort of Śaṃvara). The latter has three faces, holds
a trident, a vajra, a bell, a chopping-flaying knife,
and embraces his consort, who in this case is called
Vajraśṛṅkhalā.
I.iv: On Consecration by the Deities
The very short fourth subchapter describes the visualization of being consecrated by the deities (i.e.
buddhas and goddesses) once the visualization of
oneself as Hevajra is completed.
I.v: On Reality
As the title suggests, here the subject matter is more
doctrinal than practical. Some verses are metaphysical statements reminiscent of the Prajñāpāramitā
literature, several verses teach details concerning
the yogin’s consort, but one also finds semantic
analyses of technical terms and names, both tantric
and non-tantric.
I.vi: On the Observance
This subchapter describes the post-initiatory observance (caryā), in which the practitioner is to assume
the physical appearance of the deity. He should first
gain a certain amount of mastery over yogic meditation in a solitary place. Then he should acquire
a young and beautiful consort, roam the land with
her, interact freely with all castes, eat and drink
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Hevajratantra
whatever is found; in short, he should free himself
of all restrictive social inhibitions. It is hinted that
during the time of the observance (the exact time
span is not given, otherwise typically six months),
the initiate is free of all ritual obligations except reverence to his guru.
between the tantric world of deities and the realm
of Mahāyāna/Abhidharma doctrinal concepts. For
example, the four central goddesses with Nairātmyā
are said to be the aggregates (skandha), a further set
of four are paralleled with the gross elements beginning with earth, the 16 arms of Hevajra are taught to
correspond to the 16 kinds of emptiness, and so on.
I.vii: On Secret Gestures
The seventh subchapter is for the most part dedicated to secret hand gestures (chommā) by which
male and female initiates can recognize and communicate with each other. The appropriate places
for such meetings (melāpakasthāna) are then listed,
with the appropriate days for practice. Further
doctrinal injunctions are given: the yogin is not to
discriminate between right and wrong deeds, appropriate and inappropriate diet, correct and incorrect
thought and speech. All movements and words are
to be considered mudrās and mantras of the deity
Heruka (i.e. Hevajra), for whose name a semantic
analysis is given.
I.viii: On the Circle of Yoginīs
This subchapter gives further details about visualization, especially about the retinue called the circle
of yoginīs (yoginīcakra). This consists of the main
consort, Nairātmyā in the middle, and 14 goddesses:
Vajrā, another Gaurī, Vāriyoginī, and Vajraḍākinī in
the inner circle in the intermediate directions, the
octet already mentioned above in the outer circle,
with Khecarī above and Bhūcarī below. Their iconographic details are given. About halfway through
the subchapter the text announces that thus far the
stage of generation (utpattikrama) has been taught,
with teachings on the stage of the perfected/fully
arisen (utpannakrama) to follow. This is described
in terms of sexual yoga, where the practitioner
experiences the series of four blisses (ānanda):
bliss (ānanda), supreme bliss (paramānanda), the
bliss of cessation (viramānanda), and innate bliss
(sahajānanda). The order is given thus, but later on
in the text the last two are given in reverse order.
There were two schools of thought on this matter
and quite a lot of exegesis has been created around
this controversy (Isaacson & Sferra, 2014, 94–109).
The subchapter closes with philosophical verses on
meditation and its benefits.
I.ix: On Purification
The ninth subchapter deals with the idea of viśuddhi
(for an in-depth analysis of the term, see Sferra,
1999), broadly speaking a series of correlations
I.x: On initiation
The penultimate subchapter deals mostly with matters related to initiation (abhiṣeka). A diagram of the
deities (maṇḍala) is drawn with colored powders in
a carefully purified place. A consort is presented to
the officiant, who copulates with her and makes the
disciple ingest the resulting sexual fluids. After some
elaboration on the four blisses, further details of the
diagram are given, such as the threads used to delineate the diagram, its ornamentation, the symbols
used in lieu of the anthropomorphic representation
of the deities, and so forth. The subchapter concludes with a somewhat obscure passage concerning the relationship between being embodied and
innate bliss.
I.xi
The last subchapter of the first kalpa is untitled;
some exegetes call it that “On Gazes” (that the practitioner should adopt according to the ritual he
wishes to perform), which is indeed the first topic
addressed. In addition, for each of the kinds of gazes,
phases of breath control and targets for practice,
such as grass and trees, are taught. A subsequent
passage describes a cannibalistic ritual performed
to obtain the power of flying; another, the practice
of the goddess Kurukullā for subjugation.
II.i: On Oblation into Fire
The first subchapter of the second kalpa does give
various details about the oblation ritual (homa) –
the shape and size of the fire pit for example – but
it opens with a question about the consecration
(pratiṣṭhā) of images.
II.ii: On Ascertaining Accomplishment
The main topic is the practitioner’s daily meditation: he should seek salvation by continuously cultivating identity with the deity or deities. After a short
solitary practice he should obtain a suitable consort
and continue with her. Various praises of the practice are given and it is stated that all can benefit
from it, even the greatest sinners. The text reinforces
the idea of gradual practice in two stages – that of
Hevajratantra
generation (utpattikrama) and that of the perfected
(utpannakrama) – and explains the reason why it is
constructed thus (Isaacson, 2001, 468–472).
II.iii: On the Fundamentals of All Tantras
and Secret Language
Here the yoginīs join Vajragarbha as addressees
and petitioners. The lord teaches elucidations on
the initial word evaṃ, the four moments of bliss
and the blisses themselves, the four initiations, the
maṇḍala, the vows binding the initiate, and further
miscellaneous matters, some of which are reiterations. The last passage teaches the initiates’ secret
codewords (sandhyābhāṣā).
II.iv: The Summary of the Entire Tantra
and Sealing
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II.vii: On the Feast
The title again describes only about half of the
subject matter covered. The subchapter opens with
details related to preparing and handling a book
containing the Hevajratantra: it should be written
on birch bark 12 fingerwidths long with human blood
as ink and a stylus made of human bone. It, just as
the painting, should not be seen by non-initiates
and it should be hidden on one’s body when traveling. The second part describes a communal feast
(gaṇamaṇḍala), which is to take place in a secluded
area such as a cremation ground. Under the supervision of a guru, the initiates should sit on tiger hides,
eat, and share liquor from a skull bowl.
II.viii: On Those to Be Trained
Exceeding a century of verses, this is the longest
subchapter of the text; it is correspondingly complex and often puzzling. The lord is asked to provide
elucidations on topics only briefly mentioned in
previous subchapters. He addresses the questions
with due digressions. First, he proclaims songs in
Apabhramsha, and then teaches various matters,
such as elucidations about the communal feast, the
seed syllables of the yoginīs, the nature of semen/
resolve of enlightenment (bodhicitta), the sexual
practices with one’s consort, the bodies of a buddha,
further songs, philosophical aphorisms on liberation, the food offering, and “sealing” (mudraṇa) – in
essence, a kind of viśuddhi.
The subchapter first teaches some physical and
behavioral characteristics that an ideal consort,
who has already been described as young and beautiful, should possess. The subsequent passage gives a
prayer (praṇidhāna) in which the yogin expresses his
hope to be continually reborn as a Hevajra initiate.
The final few verses describe an inclusivistic propedeutic model to convert and train beings. First, they
should be instructed in standard Buddhist morality;
then, they should be taught Vaibhāṣika doctrines,
then Sautrāntika ones, then Yogācāra, and finally
Madhyamaka; after this, esoteric Buddhism (Mantranaya) in general, which culminates with the
Hevajra. (For this important verse and some exegesis on it, see Isaacson, 2007, 291–292.)
II.v: The Glory of Hevajra
II.ix: On Decoding Mantras
Requested by Nairātmyā, Hevajra teaches the practice of the sixteen-armed, eight-faced quadrupede
Heruka and his retinue. This is the subchapter giving most of the details related to visualization, daily
practice, and incidental rituals. Details on the initiation rite are also taught; this passage includes a
direct reference to the emblematic yogatantra, the
Tattvasaṃgraha.
II.vi: On the Scroll Painting
After making love to his consort, Hevajra first
teaches the symbolism of the five bone ornaments
(mudrā) and only then details related to how a scroll
painting (paṭa) depicting the deities should be prepared. The text does not go into technicalities; it
rather focuses on the ceremonial setting up of the
actual act of painting.
The first topic to be addressed in this subchapter is a
rite to magically kill enemies of Buddhism. The text
continues with further viśuddhis and ends with the
system of decoding mantras (mantroddhāra).
II.x: On Recitation
The shortest subchapter of the text deals with the
various materials to be used for making the beads of
the rosary (again customized for various rituals), as
well as the corresponding diet.
II.xi: On That Which Has the Innate As Its
Purpose
The subchapter opens with teaching the bodily signs
of affinity with deity clans and closes with instructions on how to worship the physical consort (here
mahāmudrā) sexually.
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Hevajratantra
II.xii
The final subchapter is not named separately. It is
very short and teaches verses that are to be used in
sexual initiation.
Commentaries on the Hevajratantra
At present we have access in some form to at least
16 Indian commentaries. Among those available in
the original, a pithy but most sophisticated example is Ratnākaraśānti’s Muktāvalī (ed. Tripathi
& Negi, 2001; a project to reedit the text has been
announced by Isaacson), which “explicitly attempts
to show that tantric practice of the kind taught in
the Hevajratantra does not conflict with, but rather
is in perfect accordance with, the basic teachings of
(non-tantric) Buddhism” (Isaacson, 2002, 151[80]).
The author was active in the first half of the 11th century (Isaacson, 2001, 457).
Also available in the original is the Yogaratnamālā of (a) Kāṇha/Kṛṣṇa (or *Samayavajra, or
Śāntibhadra), who may have been a disciple of
Ratnākaraśānti (Isaacson, 2001, 458) rather than a
commentator from as early as the 9th century (tentatively dated so in Snellgrove, 1959, 13–14; accepted
without hesitation in Farrow & Menon, 1992, viii),
now available in two editions (Snellgrove, 1959;
Tripathi & Negi, 2006) and an English translation
(Farrow & Menon, 1992).
Vajragarbha’s Ṣaṭsāhasrikā Hevajrapiṇḍārthaṭīkā
is a commentary from the viewpoint of the Kālacakra
doctrine (ed. Shendge, 2004; Sferra has announced a
new complete edition, some chapters of which have
already appeared accompanied by translations: the
first in Sferra 2009a; the tenth in Sferra 2009b).
There are at least two commentaries available in
Sanskrit, which have not been translated into Tibetan.
Kamalanātha/Mañjuśrī’s Ratnāvalī (KLK 231), although
the work of an obscure author, can be shown to have
been rather influential on the famous Abhayākaragupta.
Kelikuliśa’s Trivajraratnāvalīmālikā pañjikā (a photographic copy is available at the NSUG Xc 14/36;
reported to have survived, KCDS, 146) is an attempt
to blend the Guhyasamājatantra doctrine and practice as taught in the Ārya school of exegesis with
that of the Hevajratantra (Isaacson, 2009, 91). Not
much else is known about this author; since the
manuscript is dated to the 19th regnal year of (a)
Madanapāla, he must predate the mid-12th century.
The Vajrapadasārasaṃgraha of Yaśobhadra is
suspected to be extant in Sanskrit, but for the time
being only the Tibetan translation is available
(D 1186/P 2316).
A further ten commentaries are available only
in Tibetan (D 1181–1182, 1184–1185, 1187–1188, 1190–
1193/P 2311–2312, 2314–2315, 2317–2318, 2320–2323),
including three that were possibly written in the
10th century (those of Bhavabhaṭṭa, Durjayacandra,
and Padmāṅkuravajra).
Satellite Texts
In spite of there having been several initiation
manuals for this system, some of which now survive
only in Tibetan, the only such work known to be
extant in Sanskrit is the anonymous and incomplete
Hevajrasekaprakriyā (ed. and French trans. Finot,
1934, 19–48; ed. and notes Isaacson & Sanderson,
unpublished). The only such work partially translated into English, that of a *Prajñāśrī (Snellgrove,
1987, 254–260), is very likely a canonized Tibetan
composition (Isaacson 2010, 273). Ratnākaraśānti’s
Hevajrābhyudayamaṇḍalopāyikā does not survive,
but the author himself refers to it (Isaacson, 2002,
152[79]).
Among the practical manuals surviving in Sanskrit
(and also perhaps among all such works), the most
influential was Saroruhavajra’s Hevajrasādhanopāyikā/
Hevajrasādhanopayikā (anonymous ed., 2003, badly
in need of revision; D 1218/P 2347). A commentary
on this text also survives, Jālandharipāda/Vajranātha/
Suratavajra’s Vajrapradīpā (the best ms. so far is
NSUG Xc 14/38; D 1237/P 2366), which is yet another
attempt to harmonize the meditation system proposed
by Ārya exegesis and Hevajra practice. Continuing
this tradition is Rāhulagupta’s Pañcakramānuttarahevajraprakāśa (bar an apograph, the only known
manuscript is dated 1272 ce, microfilmed by the
Institute for the Advanced Study of World Religions,
MBB-I-39, and the NGMPP, X 1504/1, this witness
also contains an appendix on external worship; only
partially matching translation D 1238/P 2367).
Very carefully crafted practical manuals are
Ratnākaraśānti’s Bhramahara on the generation
stage (utpattikrama; ed. Isaacson, 2002; annotations
in Isaacson, 2007) and the same author’s Hevajrasahajasadyoga on the stage of the perfected (utpannakrama; ed. Isaacson, 2001); this latter work also
has a commentary, which survives only in Tibetan
(Isaacson, 2001, 459).
A veritable treasure trove of practical manuals
(but also hymns and other miscellanea) is an
Hevajratantra
anthology preserved in a single, 14th-century manuscript from Nepal: the 272 folios preserve 45 works
(including an exception, the Vajrajvālodayā by
Ānandagarbha, which is a practical manual based
on the Sarvabuddhasamāyogaḍākinījālaśaṃvara),
a large proportion of which has not been transmitted to Tibet. (For a description and list of contents,
see Isaacson, 2010.)
Among further surviving materials deserving
close attention are Ḍombīheruka’s Sahajasiddhi
(Shendge, 1967), his Amṛtaprabhā (more likely a record
by a student, not a direct work; ed. Bhattacharya,
1928, 443–449; D 1306/P 2436), and [an] Āryadeva’s
Pratipattisāraśataka (about half of the original
survives in NAK 1–1679 bauddhastotra 14; D 2334/
P 4695; perhaps complete in ms. reported in
KCDS, 82).
Ancillary Tantras and Their Exegesis
Perhaps the earliest and certainly the most influential ancillary scripture inspired by the Hevajratantra
is the Ḍākinīvajrapañjara. A Sanskrit manuscript of
this work is reported to exist in China (KCDS, 140),
but for now we have access only to the Tibetan
translation (D 419/P 11). A short commentary, the
anonymous Ḍākinīvajrapañjaraṭippati (KLK 230)
is available only in Sanskrit, whereas the original of
Mahāmatideva’s Tattvaviśadā survives in part (scattered: folio 1 in KLK 134; folios 2–15 in NAK 5–20; last
folio in NAK 5–23), and in full in Tibetan (D 1196/P
2326). Two further commentaries exist only in
Tibetan translation (D 1194–1195/P 2324–2325). This
scripture already states that there was an extensive
Ur-tantra in 500,000 (units or verses) in 32 kalpas,
to which the commentator Vajragarbha, keeping
in line with a feature known to be that of Kālacakra
exegetes, claimed to have access.
Another very important ancillary scripture, the
Mahāmudrātilaka, survives in full in a codex unicus
(Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung, Hs.or. 8711, dated 1823/1824
ce); the Tibetan translation (D 420/P 12) is that of
a different recension. This text also mentions the
same mythical source in 500,000 (units or verses).
The main deity is similar to the 16-armed Hevajra,
but with 16 faces, some different implements and a
distinctive retinue of 32 goddesses. A commentary
on the entire text is known only from Tibetan, that
of *Gambhīravajra (D 1200/P 2330), a work that is
very rich in references to the teachings of various
siddhas, who are often identified by the region they
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inhabited (Kashmir, Jalandhar, Oddiyana, Bengal,
Assam are mentioned). A commentary on the opening lines and various selected topics is by the Kashmiri *Prajñāśrīgupta (D 1201/P 2331), a disciple of his
famous compatriot Ratnavajra, who states that he
wrote to honor the request of a Tibetan, Rin chen
rgyal mtshan. However, careless editing suggests
that the text originally consisted of draft notes for
himself and his disciples. Both were involved in several Tibetan translations.
A further, perhaps less significant ancillary scripture is the *Jñānagarbha (D 421/P 13) in four chapters, the opening of which explicitly refers to the
Mahāmudrātilaka. Oddly, the Mahāmudrātilaka
also refers to the *Jñānagarbha; however, the content referred to is not to be found in the version
available to us, and therefore we must suspect that
this was a different text. The text as we have it deals
for the most part with topics related to initiation.
A long, completely unstudied but perhaps important, ancillary scripture is the *Jñānatilaka (D 422/
P 14), on which two commentaries are available in
Tibetan (D 1202–1203/P 2332–2333).
This text, in turn, is referred to yet another, short
ancillary tantra, the *Tattvapradīpa (D 423/P 15), which
also contains a prophecy about the king Indrabhūti,
a seminal mythical figure who came to stand at
the top of several initiation lineages. This text also
attracted the attention of exegetes, whose works
are also available only in Tibetan: the *Ratnamālā
of *Mahāsukhavajra (D 1205/P 2335) is a commentary to the entire text, whereas *Prajñāśrīgupta’s
*Ratnamañjarī (D 1217/P 2346) elaborates only on
the opening line.
The Sampuṭodbhava (on the constitution of
which, see Szántó, 2013) is also mentioned by the
Tibetan tradition as an ancillary scripture, but this
is perhaps merely on the account of the large number of verses lifted over from the Hevajratantra and
their compounding with passages from other texts.
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Péter-Dániel Szántó