This painting is by the artist Himanshu Shrivastava.
The main schools of śrīvidyā are the Hādi and Kādi streams. It is not quite clear when these two streams emerged as two distinct schools. Luminaries such as śivānanda and Vidyānanda describe Hādividyā as Niṣkīla sampradāya (unlocked) while referring to Kādividyā as Sakīla sampradāya (locked). It is further explained that while the Hādi school is unbroken (avicchinna), the Kādi school is vicchinna or broken and hence locked. This statement can be taken with a pinch of salt as the great Bhāskararāya, Vidyāraṇya, etc. are from the Kādi school and it thrives well today, while the Hādi school is more or less extinct other than a few rare practitioners.
Several scholars such as śivānanda, Puṇyānandanātha, Amr̥tānanda are from the Hādi school. Vidyānanda, the author of Artharatnāvalī, interprets the text from both Kādi and Hādi perspectives, but always prioritizing the Kādi school first, then followed by the Hādi perspective. By referring to various works of authors belonging to both schools, it can be said that the Kādi school gives great importance to Karmakāṇḍa as well as Bahiryāga, while the Hādi focuses on metaphysics and Antaryāga. That said, both schools include both these aspects but in different measures.
Of the various different streams, only Kāmarāja and Lōpāmudrā vidyās are said to form six higher forms of aṣṭādaśākṣarī mantras as per the Kulōḍḍīśa Tantra.
श्रीपरावाग्भवाख्यैश्च ईश्वरीतारमन्मथैः ।
आद्यभूतैर्विद्यमाना सुन्दरी षड्विधा स्मृता ॥
The examination of the Gurumaṇḍala of the two schools reveals interesting facets. The Gurus in the Hādi school’s list of Siddhaugha and Mānavaugha are verifiable as historical personalities. On the other hand, the list of preceptors from the Kādi school are mostly mythical. Also, the list of teachers from the Hādi school is more or less uniform when various sources are compared. The list of teachers from the Kādi school is varied and mostly available through manuals such as śrīvidyārṇava. It is frequently pointed out by several celebrated commentators that Saundaryalaharī reveals Hādividyā first, then followed by the Kādividyā. Based on such observations, it has been postulated that Hādi is the more ancient of the two schools.
The list of preceptors of Hādividyā is recorded in several works such as Artharatnāvalī, r̥juvimarśinī, and Saubhāgyasudhōdaya. According to r̥juvimarśinī of śivānanda, the number of preceptors is seven in Divyaugha, four in Siddhaugha, and eight in Mānavaugha. Artharatnāvalī and Saubhāgyasudhōdaya list five in Divyaugha and six in Siddhaugha. Artharatnāvalī lists seven Gurus in Mānavaugha, while Saubhāgyasudhōdaya lists a long list all the way till the author in Mānavaugha.
Cidvallī and r̥juvimarśinī list only six names in Divyaugha: Charyānātha, Oḍḍanātha, ṣaṣṭhinātha, Mitrēśanātha, Lōpāmudrā and Agastya. Artharatnāvalī and Saubhāgyasudhōdaya add the name of Krōdhabhaṭṭāraka as the fifth name in the Divyaugha list, grouping Lōpāmudrā, and Agastya as Siddhaugha. The other Gurus in the Siddhaugha list are: Kaṅkālatāpasa, Dharmācārya (author of Laghustava), Muktakeśinī (Muktikēśinī), Dīpakācārya (author of Tripurasundarī Daṇḍaka). The seven Gurus in the Mānavaugha group are: Jiṣṇudēva, Mātr̥guptadēva, Tējōdēva, Manōjadēva, Kalyāṇadēva, Ratnadēvta and Vāsudēva. śivānanda, the author of r̥juvimarśnī, associates himself with Vāsudēva thus – tēna vāsudēvamuninā putrīkr̥ta śivānandamahāyōgī. In Saubhāgyasudhōdaya, after Kalyāṇadēva, the following names are listed: Paramānanda, Svātmānanda, Trilochana, Dēvēśa, Kēśavēśa, Puṇyānanda, and Amr̥tānanda.
Of the Siddhaugha group, ācārya Kaṅkālatāpasa is also known as Kaṅkāla, Kaṅkālatāpana, and Kālatāpana. There is no record of any work authored by this Siddha. The second in the list, Dharmācārya, is the author of the famed Laghustava. This is clarified by Amr̥tānanda in his Saubhāgyasudhōdaya – laghunutivararacanaviditavijñānaḥ. This Laghustava is the first among the Pañcastavī. A verse from the Laghustava – lakṣmīvaśīkaraṇacūrṇasahōdarāṇi – is quoted by Bhōjarāja in his Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa. Another verse from Pañcastavī – pādāmbujaṁ bhavatu mē vijayāya mañju – is quoted in the tenth ullāsa of Kāvyaprakāśa. Laghustava is widely published and is celebrated by upāsakas today. A commentary on it by Rāghavānanda is also available. Mahēśvarānandanātha, in his Mahārthamañjarīparimala, also refers to another commentary named Laghubr̥mhaṇī by one Paramēśvara. There is even a Jaina commentary on Laghustava written by Sōmatilakasūri.
While on this topic, it is only reasonable to acknowledge that the authorship of Pañcastavī – constituting Laghu, Carcā, Ghaṭa Ambā, and Sakalajananī stavas – is not without a differing opinion. Lakṣmīdharācārya, in his magnum opus commentary on the Saundaryalaharī, identifies Kālidāsa as the author of Carcāstava. He makes a similar observation about the Sakalajananī stava as well – Kālidāsabhagavatpādaiḥ sakalajananīstavē. We see a similar comment in a commentary on the Ambāstava by one Kāmākṣītanaya – kālidāsō mahakavistriṁśacchlōkairabhiṣṭauti.
Dīpakācārya, also called Dīpikācārya, Dīpikānātha, Dīpakanātha, and Dīpakalānātha is the fourth in the Siddhaugha list. ṣivānanda identifies him thus – dīpakācaryō daṇḍakakartā. By the word daṇḍaka, the reference here is to Tripurasundarī daṇḍaka, referred to by Vidyānanda in his Artharatnāvalī. Even Bhāskararāya refers to Dīpakācārya in his Setubandha. Jayaratha, in his vivaraṇa commentary on the Vāmakēśvarīmata, refers to Dīpakanātha as a pūrvācārya who first commented on the Vāmakēśvara Tantra.
Bhāskararāya, in his Saubhāgyabhāskara commentary on the Lalitā Sahasranāma, quotes from a hymn named Kalyāṇastava. This is known to be the work of Kalyāṇadēva, fifth among the Gurus of Mānavaugha. This Stotra is very popular even today.
Dēvī Khaḍgamālā, which is sourced from various Tantras, seems to belong to the Hādi school but the list is not exactly the same as the established list of Gurus listed above. For example, Muktakēśinī, a female Guru, is listed as Muktakēśīśvara. Also, Jiṣṇudēva is listed as Viṣṇudēva. Mātr̥gupta is replaced by Prabhākara and so on. The reasons could be many, including corruption of the names over a period of time. However, several sources such as Tripurārṇava, copies of Lalitōpākhyāna as well as Mālāmantrōddhāra chapter of Lalitā Pariśiṣṭa Tantra commented upon by Bhāskararāya himself – all of them accept the popular usage of the names currently used in the Khaḍgamālā, so such practice can be continued without loss of faith.
Note 1: Excerpts from Paramānanda Tantra, which primarily belongs to the Kādi school, but does list a Guruparamparā for Hādi as well. This Tantra asserts that Kādividyā is best suited in the current age of Kaliyuga.
आद्ये कृतयुगे देवि परा विद्या प्रचारिता ।
उत्तमत्त्वात्परा प्रोक्ता ततस्त्रेतायुगे शिवे ॥
पराप्रासादविद्या तु प्रसृता परमेशितुः ।
द्वापरे हादिविद्या तु सौभाग्या तु कलौ युगे ॥
लोपामुद्राख्यविद्याया ओघत्रयमथो शृणु ।
परप्रकाशश्च पराशक्तिः कामेश्वरी ततः ॥
वज्रेश्वरी च भगमालिनी लोपादिमुद्रिका ।
अगस्त्य इति दिव्यौघः कुलो धर्मादिचार्यकः ॥
मुक्तकेशीश्वरी दीपकलः सिद्धौघ ईरितः ।
विष्णुदेवो मातृगुप्तस्तेजोदेवस्ततः परः ॥
ओजोदेवो मनोजयः परमः स्वात्म एव च ।
ज्ञानश्च मानवौघोऽयं लोपामुद्रौघ ईरितः ॥
Note 2: r̥juvimarśinī
अस्याः सत्सम्प्रदायान्वितत्वं नाम ड्याण कामरूप जालन्धर पूर्णगिरि पीठचतुष्टयाश्रय श्रीमहात्रिपुरसुन्दरी कामेश्वरी वज्रेश्वरी भगमालिनीदेवी स्वरूपविमर्शक चर्यानाथ उड्डीशनाथ षष्ठीशनाथ मित्रीशनाथ लोपामुद्रा अगस्त्य कङ्कालतापस धर्माचार्य मुक्तकेशी श्रीमद्दीपकनाथ दिव्यसिद्धक्रमान्वितत्वात्, दीपकाचार्यौरसपुत्र सङ्केत पुञ्जप्रकाश जिष्णुदेव प्रभृति महायोगिवर्य मानवौघपरिगृहीतत्त्वाच्च ||
Note 3: The Lōpāmudraugha according to Saubhāgyasudhōdaya.
1 Caryānandanātha (Mahākāmēśvara) – Parā (Kṟṭitayuga, ḍḍiyāṇa pīṭha)
2 Oḍḍīśanātha (Krodhabhaṭṭāraka) – Mahābhagamālinī (Trētāyuga, sādikūṭa, Pūrṇagiri pīṭha)
3 ṣaṣṭhīśanātha (Subrahmaṇya) – Mahāvajrēśvarī (Dvāparayuga, hādikūṭa, Jālandhara pīṭha)
4 Mitrēśanātha (śrīkaṇṭha) – Mahākāmēśvarī (Kaliyuga, vāgbhavakūṭa, Kāmarūpa pīṭha)
5 Lōpāmudrā
6 Agastya
7 Kaṅkālatāpasācārya
8 Dharmācārya
9 Muktakēśinī
10 Dīpakanātha
11 Jiṣṇudēva
12 Mātr̥guptadēva
13 Tējōdēva
14 Manōjadēva
15 Kalyāṇadēva
16 Paramānanda
17 Svātmānanda
18 Kēśavēśa (Trilōcanēśa)
19 Puṇyānanda
20 Amr̥tānanda
Note 4: Tripurārṇava Tantra
परमेश्वरि मित्रीशषष्ठीशोड्डीशशब्दतः ।
चर्यानाथाच्च लोपामुद्रागस्त्यात् कालतापनात् ॥
धर्माचार्यान्मुक्तकेशीश्वराद्दीपकलादिकात् ।
नाथान्मयि पठित्वा तु विष्णोरथ प्रभाकरात् ॥
तेजसश्च मनोजाच्च कल्याणादपि रत्नतः ।
वासुशब्दाद्देवमयि श्रीरामानन्दतो मयि ॥
Note 5: The author of śrīvidyārṇava identifies Shaṅkara Bhagavatpāda as belonging to the Kādi school. Based on a personal conversation with Srī Svarūpānanda Sarasvatī, the śaṅkarācārya of Badarī and Dvārakā maṭhas (who is the most well-versed in Tantra amongst the current three pontiffs of Sringeri, Puri, and Dvaraka), śrīvidyā followed in śāṅkara pīṭhas is Kādividyā. This is true in the case of Bhāskararāya as well.
Note 6: Within the Hādi school, the popular Paramparā is from the ānanabhairava sampradāya. The below is the list for Dakṣiṇāmūrti sampradāya of Hādividyā.
Paramaśivānandanātha, Kāmēśvarī, Sarvānandanātha, Prajñādēvī (Divyaugha), Divyānanda, Chitrānanda, Kaivalyadēvī, Mahōdayānanda (Siddhaugha), Chidānanda, Viśvaśaktyānanda, Ramānanda, Kamalānanda, Paramānanda, Manōharānanda, Svātmānanda, Pratibhānanda (Mānavaugha).
Note 7: Popularly, Lōpāmudrā is associated with the Hādi Pañcadaśākṣarī mantra, for which she is the Guru to her husband Agastya. From Lalitōpākhyāna, it is understood that Agastya was also initiated into Kādividyā by Lord Hayagrīva. This specific vidyā is Kādi Saptadaśī, which was further transmitted by Agastya to Lōpāmudrā, and came to be known as Dvitīyā Lōpāmudrā vidyā. Though this is Kādi in nature, āvaraṇa krama for this mantra lists Hādi Gurumaṇḍala.
Note 8: Bhāskararāya, while commenting on the statement – tatra kādiryathā parā – points out that ancient and authoritative Tantras such as Tantrarāja glorify the Kādividyā. He also notes that the śruti reveals Kādi (kāmō yōniḥ). While all vidyās arising out of the Veda are essentially the same, they still differ according to the intellectual capacities of the upāsakas and by this logic, Kādi is considered as the higher of the two (in this context). He also notes that only Kādividyā is consistent with thirty-seven letters, indicating the Tattvas and the transcendent Brahman. He refers to more explanation in Varivasyārahasya and further points out that aspects such as this (and others that should be learned from Guru), are not consistent with the Hādividyā. He makes a significant point regarding the bīja – yadēkāśamādhāraṁ bījaṁ kōṇatrayōdbhavam, which is absent in the Hādi mantra.
Note 9: While it is true that the Hādi school has produced literature rich in metaphysical content, it may be noted that the well-known Bhāvanōpaniṣad which deals with Antaryāga, is a text of the Kādi school. This quasi śruti seems to owe its origin to the concepts discussed in the Tantrarāja Tantra, also called Kādimata.
Note 10: There are several hagiographic tales about the Yōginī Muktēśinī who probably lived around the eleventh century. She was initiated by Dharmācārya. One hypothesis that has been presented is that she initiated her partner who came to be known as Muktakēśīśvara. This theory was presented to me by one of the few surviving lineages of Hādividyā in Gujarat in the current day. However, due to lack of any authoritative sources other than hagiographies, it is difficult to arrive at any definite conclusion about either Muktakēśinī or Muktakēśīśa.