-Dr. S Rangachar
Often Tantra śāstra is characterized as ‘prayōga śāstra’ – a spiritual technique, a religious technology, a ‘Do-it-yourself’ śāstra for the aspirants. Tāntrikī śruti is called a Siddhānta āgama, a sādhanā śāstra. Amarasimha says:
tāntrikō jñātasiddhāntaḥ ||
He means thereby that Tantra is Siddhānta – an established system of knowledge and practices. He who is well-versed in the siddhānta is called a Tāntrika. The different established systems of thought such as the Mīmāmsā, Nyāya, Vaiśēṣika usually delineated as darśanas are also often referred to as Tantras. For instance, Shankara in his Brahmasūtra Bhāśya (3.3.53), while commenting on Pūrvamīmāmsā darśana, refers to it in the style – prathama tantrē – thereby implying that darśana and tantra are interchangeable terms. Often great scholars are conferred with the title ‘sarvatantra svatantra’ extolling their erudition and mastery of the śāstras. If Manu could call the Vedas ‘Vēda śāstra’, vēda śāstraṁ sanātanam (12-99), the Tantras can be called ‘siddhānta śāstra’ with equal force. For instance, Shankara calls Sāmkhya, a Tantra. Why, the Sāmkhya kārikā does so itself, by calling its own darśana a Tantra in Kārikā.
There is of course the long-standing controversy whether the Vedas are really apauruṣēya (authorless). While the orthodox believe so, Indologists are of the opinion that the authors of the Vedas may be assigned various dates up to 1500 B.C. Recent excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and also Tilak’s researches have pushed back the origin of the Vedas by many thousands of years. I do not wish to enter into the controversy whether the Vedas are apauruṣēya or pauruṣēya. The point relevant here is that the śrutis lose their claim as revealed literature. If the Vedas have their authors, then the Tantras will have to have their authors. These very same Indologists are of the opinion that the āgamas and Tantras are of later origin than the Vedas and that they are definitely later than the Purāṇas. They are of the further opinion that the Purāṇas themselves are newly created Post-Buddhistic literature specially formulated in such a way as to offset Buddhistic influences and boost Hinduism. If that is so, Tāntric literature is to be considered as of very late origin and cannot be deemed as pari passu with the Vedas as claimed earlier in terms of the accredited convictions of the orthodox schools.
The above argument of the Indologists that the Tantras are of recent origin later to the Purāṇas, can be easily refuted by pointing out that in the various Purāṇas themselves we find mention made both of the Vaidiki and Tāntriki forms of worship.
So also the allegation that the tantras are of Post-Buddhistic origin can be easily refuted. Buddha himself condemned the Tāntric worships of Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, Kātyāyanī, Gaṇapati, and others. Lalitavistāra, a famous Buddhist work, makes mention of Buddha’s denouncement of Tāntric cults in its seventeenth chapter. After Buddha, we find Buddhists themselves began to have their own innumerable Tantras. They veritably began to worship innumerable deities such as Adi Buddha, Prajñā pāramitā, Mañjuśrī, Tārā, āryatārā and so on. In other words, Buddhists could not resist the temptations of having their own Tantras on the lines similar to those of the Hindus.
Thus, if Buddha could denigrate Tāntric worship, the Tantras should have existed earlier to Buddhism.
Quite in contrast with the considered opinion of the Indologists, one of the Tantras themselves, namely Nārāyaṇīya Tantra points out that the Vedas themselves have originated from the Yāmaḷas, a class of Tantras of considerable importance and also magnitude. The principle Yāmaḷas are eight in number namely:
1. Rudrayāmaḷa
2. Skandayāmaḷa
3. Brahmayāmaḷa
4. Viṣṇuyāmaḷa
5. Yamayāmaḷa
6. Vāyuyāmaḷa
7. Kubērayāmaḷa
8. Indrayāmaḷa
Just as the original Shaiva Tantras or āgamas represent the Rudra or Sadāśiva tradition, the Yāmaḷas represent the Bhairava tradition and it is further narrated that the Yāmaḷas were first communicated to mankind by the following eight Bhairavas: Svacchanda, Krōdha, Unmatta, Ugra & Kapālin, Jhankāra, śēkhara, and Vijaya.
The Yāmaḷa tradition believes in a huge pantheon of gods and goddesses; the tāntric sādhanā here is open to all castes. Some of the Yāmaḷas describe that the r̥gvēda originated from Rudrayāmaḷa, Sāmavēda from the Brahmayāmaḷa, Yajurveda from Viṣṇuyāmaḷa and Atharvaveda from śaktiyāmaḷa.
Siddha Sarvānanda in his compendium called Sarvōllāsa means to convey the idea that the Yāmaḷas are so ancient that they precede even the Tantras. All these of course are highly controversial issues. According to Brahmayāmaḷa, it is believed that īśvara communicated the secret knowledge to śrīkaṇṭha. This śrīkaṇṭha reincarnated himself near Prayāga and communicated the Tantra in 1,25,000 anuṣṭubh ślōkas to various disciples and that one of those disciples was a Bhairava and that was how many Bhairavas came to know of it.
According to Mahāsiddhasāra Tantra, Bhārata is divided into three krāntas or sub-divisions and each krānta is said to possess 64 tantras. The three krāntas are:
1. Viṣṇukrānta
2. Rathakrānta
3. Aśvakrānta
Shaktisangama Tantra defines the krāntas:
1. The land east of the Vindhya hills extending up to Java comprises Viṣṇukrānta.
2. The country north of the Vindhya hills including mainland China forms Rathakrānta.
3. Rest of India westwards is Aśvakrānta.
Hindu temples could be found in Indo-China, Indonesia, Bali, and many other islands. Kālī, Tārā, Rudra could be found all over the far east and south-east Asia.
Even Egypt came under Aśvakrānta and worship of the Indian linga was very popular there. In the Br̥hannīla Tantra, it is said that the worship of Paramānanda was vogue in Persia. In Rhodesia, phallic emblems made of gold have been discovered. The worship of Ashtaroth, Astarte, Ishtar referred to in the Old Testament of the Bible is interpreted to be none other than the bījākṣara strīm of Tārā. Thus it is evident that tāntric worship was widely prevalent in ancient times in many parts of the world other than India even and that Indian influence was all over Asia, Africa, and the Middle East too. The ṣaṭ śāmbhava rahasya mentions four famous sampradāyas of Bhārata, four famous schools very popular all over:
1. Gauḍa in the East
2. Kerala in the Center/South
3. Kāśmīra in the North
4. Vilāsa, an eclectic sampradāya all over.
Whether we agree with the view or not that the Vedas themselves have their source in the Yāmaḷas, we can at least be convinced that the Tantras are of very ancient origin and they are not post-Purāṇic or post-Buddhistic literature.
Then there is another insinuation against the Tantras namely that the āgamas and Tantras represent a revolt against the Vedas. The objections quote the Bhagavadgītā sometimes, stanzas 45 and 46 in Canto II. Sometimes it is argued that the Tantras cannot be on par with the Vedas for the simple reason that in many places black magic is described in the Tantras, that in some parts they contain obscenities and that therefore they are not of good taste. In reply we may raise the question – what about the Vedas themselves?
Manu says:
śrutiratharvāṅgirasīḥ kuryādityavicārayan |
vāk śastraṁ vai brāhmaṇasya tēna hanyādarīn dvijaḥ ||
On certain occasions, a Brahmin can undoubtedly make use of the Atharvaveda. A Brahmin’s strength lies in his tongue (vāk) meaning thereby mantra. To overcome an enemy a Brahmin is permitted to resort to the practices enjoined in the Atharvaveda. The following sūktas deal directly with the so-called ‘black arts’ and magic in the Atharvaveda:
– First khaṇḍa – sūktas 14-17
- Second khaṇḍa – sūktas 17-31
– Third khaṇḍa – sūktas 25-30
- Fourth khaṇḍa – sūktas 12-16-36
– Fifth khaṇḍa – sūktas 14-23-27
– Sixth khaṇḍa – sūktas 37-105-130
Even in r̥gvēda and Yajurveda, there are references to abhicāra kr̥tya:
– r̥gvēda – Tenth maṇḍala – sūktas 14, 16, 163 and 58-60.
– Yajurveda – Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa – kāṇḍa 2, pra 4, anu 2.
To make a sweeping remark that all the Tantras teach is Black Art and nothing else is wrong and smacks of an unwarranted hasty generalization and bad faith. There may be separate Tantras exclusively meant for black arts and they are exclusively known by their distinctive appellations such as Gāruḍa, Vāma, Bhūta, etc.
If the Vedas themselves could advocate and enunciate a few items of black arts to bring couples together or punish the enemies of the Veda and Brahmins, why should anyone denounce an assemblage of Tantras? When we take into consideration any discourse on Creation in the Vedas, we can easily observe the similarity of views between the VaidikI and Tāntrikī śrutis. Everyone is aware of the Pañcabrahma mantras beginning with sadyōjātam prapadyāmi and ending with īśānaḥ sarvavidyānām. To understand the Pancabrahma mantras, we have to clearly know about the Pañca sādākhyas. So also about the mantras such as adhvapatē, etc. To understand the significance of these mantras it is absolutely necessary to have recourse into the āgamas. The brahma-svarūpa as suggested in the śruti is clearly explained and illustrated in the Tantras.
Tantra is defined as:
tanyatē vistāryatē jñānamanēna iti ||
That which amplifies and nurtures knowledge. Tantra is that branch of knowledge that not only enlarges and illustrates but also sustains śruti jñāna.
In Kāmikāgama, it is stated:
tanōti vipulānarthān tattvamantrasamanvitān |
trāṇaṁ ca kurutē yasmāt tantramityabhidhīyatē ||
Not only does Tantra promulgate profound knowledge concerning tattva (Cosmology) and mantra (the science of mystic sounds), it breathes life into them so to say, and makes them practicable. It helps in true practical realization through self-elevation.
One of the oldest tantras, the Niḥśvāsa Tantra Samhitā is of the view that Tantra is just a culmination of the esoteric aspects of Vēdānta and Sāmkhya for the reason that it upholds the ultimacy of puruṣa with the validity of the world as an expression of His śakti. Prapañcasāra cites vaidika mantras and Mahāvākyas. Meru Tantra describes mantras as part of the Vedas. According to Prāṇatōśinī Tantra, tantra is an extension of the Vedas. Niruttara Tantra calls tantra the fifth Veda. Kulārṇava Tantra reiterates that the śāstras have as their heart both the Veda and the Tantra.
Matsyamukha Tantra says that the tāntric disciple must be a pure soul (śuddhātmā) and a knower of the Vedas. Knowledge of the Vedas is largely considered as an essential preliminary to initiation into the tāntric cult. Mahārudrayāmaḷa says that a person bereft of Vēda-kriyā is disqualified for the study and practice of Tantra. Gandharva Tantra asserts that the tāntric sādhaka must be an āstika and have faith in the Vedas.
That Hinduism or Sanātana dharma as it should be rightly called is revealed in the six darśanas is a well-known fact. The six darśanas are the six stages through which the mind progresses in its quest for Brahman. The six darśanas are the six limbs. These six systems are not to be treated separately. Tantra thus is also precisely a darśana and a sādhanā śāstra. In general, it lays down different forms of practice for the attainment of the highest aim of human existence by one living the ordinary life of a householder. In this respect, Tantra corresponds to the upāsanā part of the śruti. It helps in achieving two ends namely:
1. Abhyudaya – General progress or uplift
2. Niḥśrēyasa – Attaining liberation or salvation
Tantra may aptly be described as sādhana reduced to a science. The siddhi achieved is a demonstrable fact, experimentally verified. Tantra not only helps in achieving the supreme end of self-realization and liberation but also helps to achieve the ordinary ends of living existence such as dharma, Martha, and kāma. The Tantra śāstra is based on the firm convictions that mantra is efficacious, that yantra is potent and that ultimate siddhi at the level of saccidānanda is a certainty. It helps in the coordination of karma, yoga, jñāna, and bhakti. Although it emphasizes will and effort on the part of the individual sādhaka, it glorifies self-surrender to the Almighty and seeking Her mercy and grace. It demands bhakti and prapatti. The Tantra employs both the exoteric rituals of the Vedic kind and the esoteric rituals of the yogic type. The Tantras in general simplify the Vedic rituals and make greater use of esoteric symbols.