TILOPĀ PROJECT

Śrī-Sahajaśaṃvara-
Svādhiṣṭhāna
FABRIZIO TORRICELLI

2018
 THE TILOPĀ PROJECT

Omnia sunt communia (Thomas Müntzer)

Seventeen titles extant in Indic and Tibetan sources can be ascribed to the
tenth-century Bengali yogin Tilopā―

1. Tillopādasya Dohākoṣa,
2. *Tilatailavajragīti,
3. *Śrī-Sahajaśaṃvarasvādhiṣṭhāna,
4. Vajraḍākinīniṣkāyadharma,
5. *Vajraḍākinībhāvanādṛṣṭicaryātrayasaṃketanirdeśa,
6. Saṃvaropadeśamukhakarṇaparamparācintāmaṇi,
7. Tattvacaturupadeśaprasannadīpa,
8. Mahāmudropadeśa,
9. Karuṇābhāvanādhiṣṭāna,
10. Viṣāntarabāhyanivṛttibhāvanākrama,
11. *Nimittasūcanāvyākaraṇa,
12. Ṣaḍdharmopadeśa,
13. Acintyamahāmudrā,
14. *Aṣṭaguhyārthāvavāda,
15. *Sekagranthamocanāvavāda,
16. *Nijadharmatāgīti,
17. Gurusādhana.

Their Tibetan translations can be found in the bsTan ’gyur, the bDe mchog
snyan brgyud plus related hagiographic material, and in the gDams ngag
mdzod. Since the arrangement of the above texts differs in the three
collections, they have an arbitrary order also here.
The virtual papers I want to share are parts of an ongoing project. Each
issue consists of the edition of a Tilopan text with parallel English
translation, critical notes, and glosses. Although imperfect, I wish the semi-
finished material of this construction site could be of some use to the
student.
Fabrizio Torricelli
 Śrī-Sahajaśaṃvarasvādhiṣṭhāna
dPal lhan cig skyes pa’i bde ba’i mchog bdag byin gyis rlab pa

Self-Consecration of the Glorious Sahajaśaṃvara

The Tibetan version of this Indic text can be read in the bsTan ’gyur and in
the bKa’ brgyud collection of the bDe mchog snyan brgyud. In both
collections the title at the beginning (rgya gar skad du...) is dPal lhan cig
skyes pa’i bde ba’i mchog bdag byin gyis brlab pa, that is, ‘Self-
Consecration of Śrī Sahajaśaṃvara’ (Śrī-sahajaśaṃvara-svādhiṣṭhāna).
The same text is entitled in the two colophons dPal lhan cig skyes pa’i
sgrub thabs bdag byin gyis brlab pa, namely, ‘Self-Consecration
[or/as/for/in the context of...] the Attaining Procedure of Śrī Sahaja’ (*Śrī-
sahaja-sādhana-svādhiṣṭhāna). In addition, the colophon in the bsTan
’gyur ascribes the translation to Mi nyag pa chen po and the bDe mchog
snyan brgyud to Nāropā and Mar pa Lo tsā ba Chos kyi blo gros.1
The beginning and the end (ll. 1–3, 27–32) of Tilopā’s Sahajaśaṃvara-
svādhiṣṭhāna correspond to the beginning and the end (ll. 1–3, 31–36) of
another text in the bsTan ’gyur with the same title, a Sahajaśaṃvara-
svādhiṣṭhāna composed by the eighth-century king of Uḍḍiyāna Indrabhūti
the Middle, i.e. Indrabhūti II (Snellgrove 1959, 1: 12–13), and translated by
Mi nyag chen po (Ō. 2176, Tō. 1459).2
The ‘great Tangut’ (Mi nyag pa chen po) mentioned in the bsTan ’gyur
colophons can be identified as the translator (lo tsā ba) Tsa mi Sangs rgyas
grags pa sMon grub shes rab, a master of the Kālacakra and Mahākāla

1
bsTan ’gyur D rGyud ZHA 74a3: ...rje mi nyag pa chen pos bsgyur ba; bD PHA
2b2 (p. 356): ...nā ro paṇ ḍi ta’i spyan sngar mar pa chos kyi blo gros kyis bsgyur
cing zhus te gtan la phab pa’o.
2
bsTan ’gyur D rGyud ZHA 6a2: ...rgyal po indra bhū ti ’bring po mdzad pa | rje
mi nyag chen pos bsgyur ba rdzogs so.

3
traditions, linked with Kālacakrapāda, Abhayākaragupta, and their milieu:
some information on him can be found in the studies of Ariane Macdonald
(1970), Leonard van der Kuijp (1993), and Elliot Sperling (1994).
According to a sixteenth-century biographical sketch in dPa’ bo gTsug
lag ’phreng ba’s mKhas pa’i dga’ ston, the source examined by Macdonald,
Tsa mi was from mDo khams smad Mi nyag. He went to India and, due to
his growing reputation as scholar and siddha, he was put in charge of the
monks at Vajrāsana (rDo rje gdan), i.e. Bodhgayā. Interestingly, his
disciple-to-be rGwa Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal arrived in Magadha from
mDo khams and, in spite of Tsa mi’s fame, was initially reluctant to study
and practise in India under another Tibetan.1
Was Tsa mi Lo tsā ba a Tibetan or a Tangut? In actual fact, there is
some indecision in later Tibetan literature whether he was from Tibet or
from the Tangut lands bordering the northeastern Tibetan region of A mdo.
In the latter case, Tsa mi would have been member of the people, called Mi
nyag in Tibetan, Western Xia in Chinese (Xi Xia), and Tangut in Mongol
(*Tanggud), that held an empire for a couple of centuries (1038–1227).2 In
Macdonald’s interpretation of the above source (1970: 177), Tsa mi would
have been a Tibetan born in Mi nyag (‘...ce Tibétain, né au Mi-ñag,...’), and
his pupil rGwa Lo tsā ba a Tibetan from Khams (‘...était originaire du
Khams...’), but Sperling (1994: 801–803) reads the same document in a
different way: rather than referring to the principality of Khams Mi nyag, in
Khams, the locution mDo khams smad Mi nyag in the text would designate
‘an area that broadly encompassed regions in both the northeastern portion
of the Tibetan Plateau (mDo khams smad) and the adjacent Tangut realms
(Mi nyag)’. Likewise, the mDo khams where rGwa Lo tsā ba was born
would be a ‘broad reference only to Eastern Tibet in general’.
1
dPa’ bo gTsug lag ’phreng ba, mKhas pa’i dga’ ston (TA, Lo paṇ chos ’byung
12a7–b3, pp. 527–28): ...tsa mi sangs rgyas grags pa ’di mdo khams smad mi nyag
gi yul du ’khrungs | rgya gar du mkhas cing dngos grub thob nas rdo rje gdan du
ston pa’i rgyal tshab mdzad | dus ’khor tsa mi’i rgyud gsum sogs bsgyur | rgwa lo
gzhon nu dpal ’di mdo khams su ’khrungs | rus rgwa yin pa rgan gzhon gnyis
phyin pas rgwa chen rgwa chung du grags rgya gar du su mkhas dris pas tsa mi
kho na mkhas zer bas rgya gar du yongs nas bod gcig gis gcig la nyan pa mi yong
bsam nas gzhan dris pas a bhya kā ra dang o ḍyan gyi paṇḍi ta wā gi shwa ra
mkhas zer ste de gnyis kyang tsa mi la chos nyan zhing ’dug pas slar tsa mi dang a
bhya la chos zhus.
2
As suggested (Davidson 2005: 334), the name Tsa mi is ‘probably a Tibetan
rendition of the Tangut ethnonym Xia with the Bhotic personalizing affix, mi.’

4
 A scrutiny of the colophons in the bKa’ ’gyur and bsTan ’gyur attesting
to Tsa mi’s translations and compositions gives evidence of his long-term
collaboration with Abhayākaragupta. Complementing Sperling’s list (1994:
813–14), we find fifteen texts that our Tangut scholar would have
translated, revised or composed under various names―1

Sangs rgyas grags pa
Sangs rgyas grags pa
Mi nyag Lo tsā ba
[Mi nyag Lo tsā ba]
Mi nyag chen po
Mi nyag pa chen po
Sangs rgyas grags pa
as reviser with Kre bo Shes rab dpal of the Śrī-
Vajramahākālakrodhanātharahasyasiddhibhava-
tantra-nāma (dPal rdo rje nag po chen po khros
pa’i mgon po gsang ba dngos grub ’byung ba zhes
bya ba’i rgyud; Ō. 62, Tō. 416), translated by
Abhayākaragupta (A bha yā ka ra gupta pā da) and
Khe’u rgad ’Khor lo grags;
as author of the Yogamālā (sByor ba’i phreng ba;
Ō. 2092, Tō. 1376), translated by Shes rab dpal;
as translator of the Śrī-Sahajopadeśa-svādhiṣṭhāna
(dPal lhan cig skyes pa’i man ngag bdag byin gyis
brlab pa; Ō. 2174, Tō. 1457), by Mahāśabara (Ri
khrod chen po = Śabarapāda);
as probable translator of the Śrī-Sahajaśaṃvara-
svādhiṣṭhāna (dPal lhan cig skyes pa bde ba’i
mchog bdag byin gyis brlab pa; Ō. 2175, Tō.
1458), another brief text by Śabarapāda (Ri khrod
pa chen po) added to the previous one;
as translator of the Śrī-Sahajaśaṃvara-
svādhiṣṭhāna (dPal lhan cig skyes pa bde ba’i
mchog bdag byin gyis brlab pa; Ō. 2176, Tō.
1459), by King Indrabhūti the Middle (Indra bhū ti
’bring po);
as translator of the Śrī-Sahajaśaṃvara-
svādhiṣṭhāna (dPal lhan cig skyes pa'i bde ba'i
mchog bdag byin gyis brlab pa; Ō. 2193, Tō.
1471), by Tilopā (Tilli pa): the present text;
as translator with Abhayākaragupta (’Jigs med
’byung gnas sbas pa) of the Śrī-Saṃpuṭa-
tantrarāja-ṭīkāmnāyamañjarī (dPal yang dag par
sbyor ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po’i rgya cher ’grel pa
man ngag gi snye ma; Ō. 2328, Tō. 1198), by
Abhayākaragupta (mkhas pa chen po de nyid);

1
The new entries (compared to Sperling’s list) are framed in black.

5
lo tsā ba Tsa mi chen po
lo tsā ba Tsa mi chen po
rTsa mi Sangs rgyas grags
Sangs rgyas grags pa
Tsa mi Sangs rgyas grags pa
Tsa mi Sangs rgyas grags pa
sMon ’grub shes rab
Mi nyag Lo tsā ba
1
Avadhūtayoga- codd.
as translator with Abhayākaragupta (A bha yā ka
ra) of the Śrī-Mahākālasādhana (dPal nag po
chen po’i sgrub thabs; Ō. 2628, Tō. 1759), by
Ārya Nāgārjuna (’Phags pa Klu sgrub);
as translator with Abhayākaragupta (A bha yā ka
ra) of the anonymous Śrī-Mahākālāntarasādhana
(dPal mgon po’i nang sgrub, but in the colophon
mGon po bya rog gdong can [kākamukha] gyi
nang sgrub; Ō. 2629, Tō. 1760);
as author of the Śrī-Bhaṭṭārakamahākālastotra
(rJe btsun dpal nag po chen po la bstod pa; Ō.
2642, Tō. 1776), translated by Se Lo tsā ba;
as translator with Abhayākaragupta (Ma ga dha’i
mkhas pa chen po de nyid) of the Vajrayānāpatti-
mañjarī (rDo rje theg pa'i ltung ba’i snye ma; Ō.
3310, Tō. 2484), by Abhayākaragupta (A bha yā
ka ra gupta);
as translator with Abhayākaragupta (A bhya ka ra
gupta) of the Vajrayānamūlāpattikarmavidhi (rDo
rje theg pa rtsa ba’i ltung ba’i las kyi cho ga; Ō.
4550, Tō. 3728), by Vajrāsana (rDo rje gdan pa);
as translator with Dus kyi ’khor lo zhabs chung
ngu (Kālacakraratipāda?) of the Advayayoga-
nāma-ādibuddha-sādhana1 (gNyis su med pa’i
rnal ’byor zhes bya ba dang po’i sangs rgyas kyi
bsgrub pa; Ō. 4612, Tō. ―), by Kālacakraratipāda
(Ka la tsa kra ra ti pa);
as translator of the *Caturaśīti-siddha-pravṛtti
(Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi’i lo rgyus; Ō.
5091, Tō. ―; Robinson 1979; Dowman 1985), by
Abhayadattaśrī (Mi ’jigs pa sbyin pa dpal =
Abhayākaragupta);
as translator with Abhayaśrī (A bhya shrī =
Abhayākaragupta) of the Dohāvṛttisahita-
caturaśīti-siddhāvadāna (Grub thob brgyad cu
rtsa bzhi’i rtogs brjod do ha ’grel pa dang bcas
pa; Ō. 5092, Tō. ―; Egyed 1984: 17; Dowman
1985: 385–86), by Vīraprabhāsvara (dPa’ bo ’od
gsal).
6
 We find further evidence of Tsa mi’s collaboration with
Abhayākaragupta in the mGon po’i rgyud skor, a collection of texts for the
practice of Mahākāla in the Phag mo gru pa tradition of the bKa’ brgyud
pas. Sperling (1994: 814–18) has pinpointed therein forty-one titles, the
colophons of which mention Tsa mi: in thirteen cases as author, in twenty-
eight as translator. Out of the latter, fourteen translations are linked in
various ways with Abhayākaragupta.1

Concerning the matter of the Sahajaśaṃvarasvādhiṣṭhāna, the text opens

pointing at three aspects of the psychophysical practices typically called
‘union’ (yoga), viz. ritual, imaginative, and actually performed. The
images, it is stated, are inconceivable and, by proposing some of them, the
author forces the reader to swing from one aspect to the other. The general
context is that of the Yoginītantras, namely those tantras involving the
presence of female yoga practitioners (yoginī) which flourished between
the tenth and the twelfth century, during the sway of the Candra dynasty of
Bengal (c. 850–1020) and the last Pālas (c. 750–c. 1180). More in detail,
we are in the context of the completion stage (utpanna- or niṣpannakrama),
that is to say the practices and experiences relevant to the three highest
tantric consecrations. We read for example in Zhang Lo tsā ba’s Zhang lo’i
thim yig (Torricelli 2001) that the six yogic doctrines (ṣaḍdharmāḥ) are
associated with the secret consecration (guhyābhiṣeka), the great bliss
(mahāsukha) with the consecration of the knowledge of the ritual consort
called prajñā (prajñājñānābhiṣeka), and the great seal (mahāmudrā)
pertains to the fourth consecration (caturthābhiṣeka).
As reminded by Ronald Davidson (2002a: 57; 2002b: 198; 2005: 37), it
is with the guhyābhiṣeka, in the course of which the guru copulates with a
ritual consort (karmamudrā) and the disciple tastes the ambrosia (amṛta) of
their ejaculate, that it is possible to undertake the set of rituals and yoga
practices called self-consecration (svādhiṣṭhāna). A ‘subtle’ physiology of
the yogin’s body is imagined, with its energy channels (nāḍī), wheels

1
His names as author are Tsa mi, Tsā mi, rTsa mi, Tsa mi Lo tsā ba, Tsa mi Sangs
rgyas grags pa, and Sangs rgyas grags pa; as translator, his names are Tsa mi, rTsa
mi, rTsa mi Lo tsā ba, Tsa mi Sangs rgyas grags pa, Tsā mi Sangs rgyas grags pa,
Me nyag, Me nyag Lo tsā ba, Me nyag Lo tsa ba, Me nyag Tsa mi Lo tsa ba, Tsa
mi Lo tsa, Mi nyag Lo tstsha ba, Tsā mi Lo tsha ba, and Sangs rgyas grags pa.

7
(cakra), and vital air (vāyu). A series of internal maṇḍalas is accurately
visualized in the cakras: by means of yogic breath-control, a psychic flame
is visualized as entering the central channel (avadhūtī) from the cakra four
inches below the navel (nirmāṇacakra), marked by a reddish brown
syllable A, where the left channel (lalanā) and the right one (rasanā) meet
with it. The flame ignites the maṇḍalas and causes the seminal essence to
drip down from the topmost cakra at the crown of the head called aperture
of Brahmā (brahmarandhra)―white syllable HAṂ―which is full of
ambrosia: A and HAṂ merge.
Common to many haṭhayoga texts, to begin with the Amṛtasiddhi
(Mallinson 2016), is the notion of three inseparable facets of the same
experience, viz. breath, imaginative thinking, and seminal essence. From
this perspective, we find for instance in the Sahajaśaṃvarasvādhiṣṭhāna
the sun/moon metaphor as it occurs in the yoga literature (Mallinson and
Singleton 2017). If we take the facet of breath into consideration, ‘sun’ is
for the downward breath (apāna) and ‘moon’ for the upward breath
(prāṇa): the two pull each other and, with their union, sun and moon
conflate. With respect to imaginative thinking, the subtle physiology of
yoga imagines three main energy channels, left, right and central, lalanā
(iḍā), rasanā (piṅgalā) and avadhūtī (suṣumṇā). The left channel is
associated with the moon (candra/soma), characterized by inertia (tamas
guṇa), and the right channel with the sun (sūrya), characterized by passion
(rajas guṇa): whereas the left and right channels cause time, the central one
consumes it. As regards the third facet, the seminal essence, it is imagined
as twofold, the male ejaculate (retas/bindu) and the female generative fluid
(rajas), the former being the moon and the latter the sun: when propelled
by means of breath-control, the sun/rajas conflates with the moon/bindu.

In order to get the meaning of a word, we transfer it from its own original
code to a more familiar one: in other words, we translate it. It is everyday
experience that something can be lost in this process, something can be
misunderstood, something can evolve. Everyone sees that semantic shift
affects not only the meaning of a word and our perception of what it refers
to, but also human modus operandi. If yoga is the case, let us take into
consideration the techniques of breath-control as described in the relevant
literature available to the yogins of the Pāla Age. Mindful that ‘in pre-
modern India it was breath-control that was the defining practice of

8
physical yoga’ (Mallinson and Singleton 2017: 127), an additional gloss is
needed pending more exhaustive studies.
In the fourth-century Brahmanical Pātañjalayogaśāstra, breath-control
(prāṇāyāma) is defined as the interruption of inhalation and exhalation
(2.49: śvāsapraśvāsayor gativicchedaḥ). This interruption, we read, can be
external, internal, or static (2.50: bāhyābhyantarastambhavṛttir): in
Vyāsa’s commentary, ‘external’ is described as absence of flow after
exhalation (praśvāsapūrvako gatyabhāvaḥ), ‘internal’ as absence of flow
after inhalation (śvāsapūrvako gatyabhāvaḥ), ‘static’ as absence of both
(ubhayābhāvaḥ), inhalation and exhalation; a fourth kind of interruption
transcends both external and internal sense-spheres (2.51: bāhyābhyantara-
viṣayākṣepī).
Further consistency of this scheme in four steps can be found in the
fifth-century Śaiva tantra Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā (Goodall et al. 2015) which
contains one of the earliest occurrences of the terms pūraka, recaka, and
kumbhaka (Goodall 2015: 77). In a relevant passage pūraka is for
inhalation (pūret, pūraṇāt), recaka for exhalation, kumbhaka for retention
(rodhāt), and supraśānta ‘[achieved] by moving [the vital energy] from the
heart into the navel and [by moving] the mind away from the sense-objects’
(Goodall 2015: 490–91).1
As regards the author of the text here presented, we can infer from the
eleventh-century anonymous commentary, the Tillopādasya Dohākoṣa-
pañjikā Sārārthapañjikā (Bagchi 1935; 1938; Torricelli 2018), the dohās
composed by Tilopā and, consequently, his ascetic approach itself are
clearly relevant to the Buddhist Hevajratantra, set out somewhen between
the end of the eighth century (Snellgrove 1959 I: 14) and the late ninth or
early tenth (Davidson 2005: 41), then translated into Tibetan in the second
quarter of the eleventh century (English 2002: 389). By and large, the
fourfold scheme of breath-control in the Hevajratantra is consistent with
the Pātañjalayogaśāstra and the Niśvāsa-tattvasaṃhitā. Let us start from it.
In the Hevajratantra (HVT I.xi.3), four kinds of gaze (dṛṣṭi : lta stang)
are dealt with, namely the gaze causing to fall or removing (pātanā : ltung

1
Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā Nayasūtra 4:110–113: avasavyena pūret savyenaiva tu
recayet | nāḍīsaṃśodhanaṃ hy etan mokṣamārgapathasya tu || recanāt pūraṇād
rodhāt prāṇāyāmas trayaḥ smṛtaḥ | sāmānyād bahiretāni punaś cābhyantarāṇi ca ||
abhyantareṇa receta pūrec ca abhya[ntareṇa tu] | [ni‹ṣkampaṃ kumbhakaṃ› kuryāt
trayaś ca a]bhyantarāṇi tu || nābhyāṃ hṛdayasaṃcārān manaś cendriyagocarāt |
prāṇāyāmaś caturthas tu supraśāntas tu viśrutaḥ.

9
bar byed), the one subduing (vaśīkaret : dbang du byed), the one attracting
or drawing in (ākṛṣṭiḥ : dgug pa nyid), and the one paralysing (stambhanā :
rengs par byed); associated with them, the four steps of prāṇāyāma
according to that system: recaka, kumbhaka, pūraka, and praśāntaka.1
We notice that Tib. rngub and dgang are here for Skt kumbhaka and
pūraka, the latter two Indic terms typically meaning breath-retention and
inhalation respectively. As a matter of fact, kumbhaka is accepted since the
classical age of indology as ‘stopping the breath by shutting the mouth and
closing the nostrils with the fingers of the right hand’, and pūraka as
‘closing the right nostril with the forefinger and then drawing up air
through the left and then closing the left nostril and drawing up air through
the right’ (MW). Conversely, the Tibetan dictionaries compiled in the same
age (Kőrösi Csoma 1834, Jäschke 1881, Das 1902, Roerich 1933)
translated rngub as ‘to draw in, take in, inhale, breathe in’, and so on,
which is consistent with its eight occurrences in the ninth-century Mahā-
vyutpatti as āśvasan from ā√śvas (MVy 1173, 1175, 1177, 1179, 1181,
1183, 1185, 1187), whereas ’gengs is translated as ‘to fill’, and so forth.
Our understanding of these terms can prove problematic as soon as we
compare the seminal English translation of the Hevajratantra made by
David Snellgrove (1959) with the later one of George Farrow and I. Menon
(1992). At first glance, the former translator pays more attention to Tibetan
than Sanskrit and the latter only to Sanskrit: whereas Snellgrove translates
kumbhaka (rngub) as ‘inhaling’ and pūraka (dgang) as ‘holding the
breath’, Farrow and Menon have ‘breath-retention’ for kumbhaka, and
‘inhalation’ for pūraka. This discrepancy between the two translations
illustrates the problem properly.2
A solution could be found on the basis of Kāṇha’s commentary on the
Hevajratantra, the Yogaratnamālā or, more exactly, Yogaratnamālā-nāma-
Hevajrapañjikā (dGyes pa rdo rje’i dka’ ’grel rnal ’byor rin po che’i

1
Hevajratantra I.xi.3: pātanā recakenaiva kumbhakena vaśīkaret || pūrakeṇaiva tv
ākṛṣṭiḥ praśāntakena stambhanā. Tibetan translation: ’byung ba nyid kyis ltung bar
byed || rngub pa yis ni dbang du byed || dgang ba yis ni dgug pa nyid || zhi ba yis ni
rengs par byed.
2
Snellgrove’s translation (1959 I: 85): ‘Overthrowing is accompanied by
exhaling, Subduing by inhaling, Conjuring forth by holding the breath, and
Petrifying by the tranquillized pose’. Farrow and Menon’s translation (1992: 140):
‘Overthrowing is performed by means of exhalation; Subduing by breath
retention; Attracting is by inhalation and Paralysing by the tranquilly-held breath’.

10
phreng ba zhes bya ba, Ō. 2313, Tō. 1183). According to it, recaka (’byung
ba nyid) is exhalation through the nostrils, pūraka (’gengs byed) is
inhalation, kumbhaka (bum pa) is breath-retention within, and praśānta (zhi
ba) is inhaled air made motionless (Farrow and Menon 1992: 140).1
Undeniably, we can recognize a sort of continuity as to the practice of
breath-control since the mysterious Patañjali to the time of Kāṇha. On the
other hand, it is reasonable to suppose that some semantic shift, as well as
some change in the yoga practice―possibly a different focus―took place
gradually in the course of the tenth century, that is to say at Tilopā’s time.
Mention to breath-control is made by Tilopā in three texts that we know
in Tibetan translation, viz. the present Sahajaśaṃvarasvādhiṣṭhāna (SŚS),
the Ṣaḍdharmopadeśa (ṢDhU), and the *Aṣṭaguhyārthāvavāda (AGAA):

SŚS 17 rngub pa dgang gzhil btang ba ||

ṢDhU 6 dbyung rngub dgang dang gzhil ba ||

AGAA II 114–115 rngub dang dgang dang gzhil ba dang ||

mda’ ltar ’phangs dang rnam pa bzhi’o ||

The same sequence is described therein―

1 2 3 4
SŚS rngub dgang gzhil btang
ṢDhU rngub dgang gzhil dbyung
AGAA rngub dgang gzhil ’phangs

Considering the above remarked discrepancy between the two English

translations of the Hevajratantra, there is a significant risk of
misinterpreting Tilopā’s view of breath-control as well. As a matter of fact,
it appears that figuring out what these four yogic steps are, what the
Tibetan translation of unattested Indic words is for, what our Bengali
Buddhist yogin really meant, entails taking the first two, rngub and dgang
(’gengs), into special account.
1
Yogaratnamālā I.xi 13: nāsayā niḥsacala-recako vāyuḥ | praviśan pūrakaḥ
pūritābhyantaraḥ kumbhakaḥ | praviśya niścalībhūtaḥ praśāntaḥ. Tibetan
translation (bsTan ’gyur D rGyud KHA 35a5–6): sna’i rtse mo nas ’byung ba nyid
kyi rlung ni ’byung ba nyid do || ’jug pa ni ’gengs byed do || nang gang bar gyur pa
ni bum pa’o || zhugs nas mi g.yo bar gyur pa ni zhi ba’o.

11
 In ostensible harmony with both, Tilopā’s view and the Hevajra
tradition, is Nāropā’s approach. In the *Ājñāsaṃyakpramāṇa-nāma-
ḍākinyupadeśa (ĀSPḌU, bKa’ yang dag pa’i tshad ma zhes bya ba mkha’
’gro ma’i man ngag), closely associated with Tilopā but not composed by
him,1 the above mentioned verse of Tilopā’s Aṣṭaguhyārthāvavāda (AGAA II
114–15) with the scheme rngub, dgang, gzhil, ’phang is quoted and
expanded on twice. Undoubtedly the first gloss follows the order of
Tilopā’s verse: [rngub—] one will draw in (dgug) as if by a hook;
[dgang—] fill (dgang) like a vase; [gzhil—] bind (bsdams) as if by knots;
[’phang—] eject (’phang) upwards like an arrow. The reader is warned
against the risk of neglecting this fourfold practice; then a further gloss
follows, though in a different order, as it quotes from the Hevajratantra the
passage associating the gazes with the four steps in prāṇāyāma (HVT
I.xi.3): removing by means of recaka, subduing by means of kumbhaka,
drawing in by means of pūraka, and paralysing by means of praśāntaka.2
The connection that Nāropā establishes in the above passage between
Tilopā’s scheme (rngub, dgang, gzhil, ’phang) and the Hevajra one (rngub,
dgang, zhi ba, ’byung) draws a parallel between the two and implies a
consensus between the two schemes. Nevertheless, his first gloss reveals
that something has changed: no longer does Nāropā interpret here

1
Since the anonymous bsTan ’gyur text of the bKa’ yang dag pa’i tshad ma zhes
bya ba mkha’ ’gro ma’i man ngag (Tō. 2331) is not complete (Torricelli 1997),
we refer here to the entire one included in Kong sprul’s gDams ngag mdzod.
According to the colophon therein, Tilopā’s involvement as author of the
*Ājñāsaṃyakpramāṇa-nāma-ḍākinyupadeśa would have been ‘from the
Akaniṣṭha heaven’ (gD NGA 45a5–6, p. 89): ...bla ma tilli pas ’og min gyi gnas nas
spyan drangs pa jo bo nā ro pa dang | mar pa chos kyi blo gros kyis bsgyur cing
zhus te gtan la phab pa’o. For an ascription of this text to Tilopā see Guenther
1963: 54 n. 1.
2
Nāropā, bKa’ yang dag pa’i tshad ma zhes bya ba mkha’ ’gro ma’i man ngag
(gD NGA 35b–36a1, pp. 70–71): ...rlung la sbyor ba bzhi ldan te | rngub dang
dgang dang gzhil ba dang || ’phang bar bya dang rnam pa bzhi || lcags kyu bzhin
du dgug par bya || bum pa bzhin du dgang ba dang || rgya mdud bzhin du bsdams
nas su || mda’ ltar / gyen du ’phang bar bya || sbyor ba bzhi ldan ma shes na || yon
tan skyon du ’gyur ba’i nyen || re tsa ka yis lhung (ltung) bar byed || kum bha ka
yis dbang du byed || pū ra ka yis kun nas ’gugs || zhi ba yis ni rengs par byed.
Likewise, in the Grub chen nā ro pa’i gdams ngag chos drug skor gyi bka’ dpe
tshigs su bcad pa, preserved in the gDams ngag mdzod, Nāropā quotes again
Tilopā’s Aṣṭaguhyārthāvavāda II 114–15 (gD NGA 49a3, p. 97).

12
kumbhaka (rngub) as ‘breath-retention’, but rather as ‘drawing in’; no
longer pūraka (dgang) as ‘inhalation’ but rather as ‘filling’.
Significantly, we can find an akin reinterpretation of the fourfold
prāṇāyāma in a Buddhist tantra composed most likely in the Kathmandu
Valley during the tenth–eleventh century, the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇatantra
(CMT), or Ekallavīrākhyaśrīcaṇḍamahāroṣaṇa-tantra (dPal gtum po khro
bo chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po dpa’ bo gcig pa, Ō. 70, Tō. 431), very
popular among the Newars of the Nepal Maṇḍala (La Vallée Poussin 1897;
George 1971; Gäng 1981; Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2016). In
that text, kumbhaka is unequivocally for inhalation, pūraka for retention,
stambhaka when motionless, and recaka for exhalation―1

HVT kumbhaka pūraka praśāntaka recaka

(rngub) (dgang) (zhi ba) (’byung)
‘retention’ ‘inhalation’ ‘quiescence’ ‘exhalation’
Tilopā’s AGAA rngub dgang gzhil ’phang
Nāropā’s ĀSPḌU dgug dgang bsdams ’phang
‘draw in’ ‘fill’ ‘bind’ ‘eject’
CMT kumbhaka pūraka stambhaka recaka
(kum bha ka) (pū ra ka) (rengs pa) (re tsa ka)
pra√viś dhāraṇa niścala nir√gam
(’jug) (gzung) (mi g.yo ba) (dbyung)
‘inhalation’ ‘retention’ ‘motionless’ ‘exhalation’

Since the time of Tilopā, Nāropā, and the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇatantra a new

assessment of prāṇāyāma made inroads into the traditional one and ended
up establishing a new continuity in Tibetan Buddhism, as evidenced for
example by the great yogin Mi la ras pa. In his Grol lam steng sgo rnam
par grol ba’i chos drug, an instructional manual (khrid yig) included in the
bDe mchog snyan brgyud and the gDams ngag mdzod (Torricelli 2000:
374), we read that the fourfold practice of breath-control is rngub, dgang,
gzhil, and btang. A brief explanation is provided: rngub― a bit of vital air
is inhaled and pressed down; dgang― the vital air is inhaled forcibly and
pressed down as much as possible; gzhil― when it seems no longer
possible, a bit of vital air is shortly exhaled and its residue is pressed down

1
Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇatantra 22.8: praviśan kumbhako jñeyah pūrakas tasya
dhāraṇāt | nirgamad recako jñeyo niścalaḥ stambhako matah. Tibetan translation
(bKa’ ’gyur D rGyud NGA 340a7–b1): ’jug pa kum bha kar shes bya || pū ra ka ni
gzung bar bya || re tsa ka ni dbyung bar shes || mi g.yo ba ni rengs par ’dod.

13
as much as possible; btang― when no longer possible, all the residue is
exhaled.1
Four centuries later, the ’Brug pa bKa’ brgyud polymath Padma dkar
po, describing breath-control in three places of his Chos drug bsdus pa’i zin
bris, confirms this view. In the first short passage on the essentials of vital
air (rlung gnad) we read that the dead air is exhaled (bsal) in three times,
the upper air is pressed down (mnan), the lower one is pulled up (’then),
and then both are held (’dzin) together as long as possible.2
In the second passage Padma dkar po cites and explains Nāropā’s
quotation from Tilopā’s Aṣṭaguhyārthāvavāda: rngub― inhaling
noiselessly through the two nostrils from a distance of about sixteen
fingers; dgang― pressing down (mnan) the inhaled air below the navel,
pulling up (’then) the lower air, then holding (’dzin) both together; gzhil―
when holding is no longer possible, inhaling shortly and breaking up (bcag)
the inhaled air simmetrically to the right and the left; ’phang― then, when
no longer possible, exhaling from the two nostrils, softly at the beginning
and end, and violently like an arrow in the middle.3
Rather than a description, the third passage is a sort of definition of the
vase-breathing technique (bum pa can): pressing down the inhaled air and

1
Mi la ras pa, Grol lam steng sgo rnam par grol ba’i chos drug (bD LA 11a4–b1,
pp. 497–98; bDe mchog snyan brgyud kyi rdzogs rim steng sgo rnam par grol ba’i
chos drug gi khrid yig (gD NGA 5b4–6, p. 294): ...rlung sbyor ba bzhi ldan sbyang
ba ni | rngub dang | dgang dang | gzhil dang | btang ba bzhi las | dang po rngub pa
ni | rlung chung ba gcig rngub nas gnon | de rjes dgang ba ni | rlung drag por rngub
nas thub thang gnon | de nas gzhil ba ni | mi thub pa ’dra ba dang | rlung cung zad
se gol gtogs tsam gcig phyir btang nas de lhag thub thang du gnon | btang ba ni |
de nas mi thub pa dang sangs rtser lhag ma ma lus par btang ngo.
2
Padma dkar po, Chos drug bsdus pa’i zin bris (gSung ’bum, ZA 3a4, p. 269):
...rlung gnad ni rlung ro lan gsum bsal nas | steng rlung mnan | ’og rlung yid tsam
’then pa’i kha sbyor tsam thub ’dzin pa. Cf. Evans-Wentz 1935 § 25.
3
Padma dkar po, Chos drug bsdus pa’i zin bris (gSung ’bum, ZA 5a4–b1, pp. 273–
74): ...brngub dang dgang dang gzhil ba dang || ’phang bar bya dang rnam bzhi ||
sbyor ba bzhi ldan ma shes na || yon tan skyon du ’gyur ba’i nyen || zhes pa’i don
phyi’i sor bcu drug tsam gyi thad nas sgra med du sna gnyis kyi nang du gzhug pa
rngub pa | de lte ’og tu mnan | ’og rlung cung zad ’then nas kha sbyor du ’dzin pa
dgang ba | mi thub la khad pa dang brngub chung byas | g.yas bcag | g.yon bcag |
cha mnyam du bcag / pa gzhil ba | de nas mi thub la khad pa dang sna gnyis nas |
dang po dang mjug tu shed chung zhing | bar du shugs che bar dbyung ba mda’
ltar ’phang ba’o. Cf. Evans-Wentz 1935 §§ 56–61.

14
holding the lower one.1

1
Padma dkar po, Chos drug bsdus pa’i zin bris (gSung ’bum ZA 9a6–b1, pp. 281–
82): ... rlung gnad ni steng mnan | ’og bsdam / pa’i bum pa can no. Cf. Evans-
Wentz 1935 § 151.

15
 dPal lhan cig skyes pa’i bde ba’i mchog bdag byin gyis
brlab pa
bsTan ’gyur N rGyud ’grel PA 128b5–129a4
Q (Ō. 2193) rGyud ’grel PA 125a5–b3
D (Tō. 1471) rGyud ZHA 73b5–74a4
C rGyud ZHA 72b7–73a6
bDe mchog snyan brgyud bD PHA 1a1–2b2 (1: 353–56)

/rgya gar skad du | shrī sa ha dza sam ba ra svā dhi ṣṭhā na nā ma | bod bD 1b
skad du | dpal lhan cig skyes pa’i bde ba’i mchog | bdag byin gyis brlab
pa zhes bya ba |

he ru ka la phyag ’tshal lo ||

1 rnal ’byor rnam gsum shes / bya ste || 1 C 73a

byin gyis brlabs dang rab brtags dang || 2
rdzogs pa gzugs brnyan bsam med do || 3

2 shin tu brtson ldan dpa’ bo des || 4

skad cig gcig gis sbyor ba yis || 5
bde chen lhan cig skyes pa’i sku || 6
mkha’ ltar dag pa’i ngang nyid las || 7
shin tu bla ma’i rnal ’byor bya || 8

3 la la ra sa dhū tī yang || 9
thabs dang shes rab gnyis med sku || 10
a haṃ bde ba’i rnam pa can || 11
tshangs pa’i ’khor lo rdzogs par bsgom || 12

• Skt tit. sam ba ra] D C bD : saṃ ba ra N Q • svā dhi ṣṭhā na nā ma] em. :
sva ti ṣṭā nā ma N Q D C : sa dha nā ma bD • Tib. tit. byin gyis brlab pa] D C
: byin gyis rlab pa N Q : byin brlab pa bD • 2 brtags] em. ex rab tu brtags pa
for parikalpita in Prajñāpāramitāsaṃgrahakārikā (Ō 5207, Tō. 3809) : brtag
D C : rtags N Q : btags bD; cf. rang rtags in Indrabhūti’s SŚS l. 2 • 7 dag pa’i]
D C bD : dga’ ba’i N Q • 9 tī yang] codd. : ti ya bD

16
 Self-Consecration of the Glorious Sahajaśaṃvara

In the language of India, Śrī-sahajaśaṃvarasvādhiṣṭhāna; in Tibetan,

‘Self-Consecration of the Glorious Sahajaśaṃvara’.

Homage to Heruka!

1 Three forms of union (yoga) are to be known, 1

2 [In the course of] consecration, [while] imagining, and
3 [During] completion: the images are inconceivable.

4 That extremely resolute hero (vīra): 2

5 Instantaneously, as he is in sexual union (yoga),
6 The great bliss (mahāsukha) is the co-emergent body (sahajakāya);
7 From that very state which is pure like space,
8 The perfect union with the guru (guruyoga) is to be practised.

9 Left channel (lalanā), right (rasanā), and central one (avadhūtī): 3

10 Means (upāya) and insight (prajñā) as not two [are] the body (kāya);
11 A with HAṂ manifest as bliss (sukha).
12 You will meditate until completion on the energy wheel at the
aperture of Brahmā (brahmarandhracakra).

17
4 srog ni ’dzin par byed pa ste || 13 N 129a
rtogs / pa thams / cad legs par bsdu || 14 D 74a
nyi ma zla ba’i / ’phen sdud kyang || 15 bD 2a
sbyor ba bzhi dang yang dag ldan || 16
rngub pa dgang gzhil btang ba yin || 17

5 bag chags bsregs pa’i me dpung gis || 18

tshangs pa’i ’jig rten g.yo bar byed || 19
’bar ’dzag / mkhas pa’i byin rlabs dang || 20 Q 125b
dwangs ma lnga yi ’od zer gyis || 21
’byung chen lnga po stobs su ’gyur || 22
rtags bcu yon tan brgyad dang ldan || 23
sna tshogs snang la rang bzhin med || 24

6 brjod du med cing bsam mi khyab || 25

rtog tu med pa nam mkha’i dbus || 26
ma ning zhes byar brjod pa ste || 27
kha cig zung ’jug zhes byar brjod || 28

7 sgrib pa dang bral chos sku ’dir || 29

me chu la sogs ’byung rnams dang || 30
rten dang brten pa’i mtshan nyid kyis || 31
dkyil ’khor thams cad ’di nyid do || 32

/dpal lhan cig skyes pa’i sgrub thabs bdag byin gyis brlab pa zhes bya bD 2b
ba | slob dpon chen po til li pas mdzad pa | rje mi nyag pa chen pos
bsgyur ba rdzogs so ||

• 14 rtogs] Q D : rtog N C bD • 15 sdud] codd. : sdug Q • 17 gzhil] D C bD :

zing N : zhid Q • 18 bsregs] N Q : bsreg D C bD • 19 g.yo bar] codd. : sreg
par bD • 20 rlabs] D C bD : brlab N Q • 21 dwangs] em. : dangs codd. : dngos
N • 22 su ’gyur] codd. : dang ldan bD • 23 rtags] codd. : rtogs N • brgyad]
codd. : brgya bD • 30 me chu] codd. cf. rakta in Indrabhūti’s SŚS l. 34 • col.
brlab] codd. : rlob bD • tilli pas] D C : tello pas N Q : tai lo pas bD • rje mi
nyag pa chen pos bsgyur ba rdzogs so] codd. : nā ro paṇ ḍi ta’i spyan sngar
mar pa chos kyi blo gros kyis bsgyur cing zhus te gtan la phab pa’o bD

18
13 As for the life force (prāṇa), you fixate on it and 4
14 All cognitive faculties will be fully conflated.
15 Propelling of sun and moon, as well as [their] conflation:
16 The fourfold practice [of breath-control], the proper one,
17 Is inhaling, filling, forcing, and exhaling.

18 The mass of fire burning habitual propensities (vāsanāḥ) 5

19 Sets the world of Brahmā (brahmaloka) into motion:
20 Blazing and dripping, the master’s blessing (adhiṣṭhāna), and
21 Through the radiance of the five elemental essences (pañcarasāḥ),
22 The five great elements (pañcamahābhūtāḥ) will be energy (bala).
23 Having the ten signs [of practice] and the eight good qualities,
24 Appearances in their variety are without intrinsic being.

25 Beyond words and inconceivable, 6

26 Beyond notions is the middle of the sky:
27 Designated as androgyne (paṇḍaka),
28 Some call it union (yuganaddha).

29 In this unobscured body of absolute reality (dharmakāya), 7

30 The elements fire, water, and so forth, as well as
31 The characteristics of the base and the based [maṇḍalas and deities]:
32 All maṇḍalas are like this.

The Self-Consecration as Attaining Procedure of the Co-emergent,

composed by the great master Tilopā [and] translated by Lord Mi nyag
chen po, is complete.

19
 Tibetan text of the Sahajaśambarasvādhiṣṭhāna by King Indrabhūti the
Middle (bsTan ’gyur D rGyud ZHA 5b3–6a2):

rgya gar skad du | shrī sa ha dza sam ba ra svā dhi ṣṭhā nam nā ma | bod
skad du | dpal lhan cig skyes pa bde ba’i mchog | bdag byin gyis brlab
pa zhes bya ba |

he ru ka ‹la› phyag ’tshal lo ||

1 rnal ’byor rnam gsum shes bya ste || 1

byin gyis brlab dang rang rtags dang || 2
rdzogs pa’i gzugs brnyan bsam med do || 3

2 sna tshogs gzugs can yid du ’ong || 4

yid bzhin nor bu’i gzugs ’chang ma || 5
zin na dngos grub chen po ’byung || 6
chos bshad nas ni dbang du bya || 7

3 yang na ri ba’i rin gyis slu || 8

shin tu gsang ba’i sgrub pa pos || 9
dbang gis yongs su smin pa dang || 10
lha ltar bltas la dngos grub blang || 11

4 me long nang gi gzugs brnyan ltar || 12

gsal la ’dzin med bde ba’i sku || 13
nyi shu rtsa lnga yum rnams rdzogs || 14

5 bltas dang dgod dang ’khrig pa yis || 15

mkha’ sbyor bde ba’i pho brang du || 16
bdag gi rgyal pos gar byas pas || 17
dpa’ bo rnal ’byor ma kun dgyes || 18

6 dpa’ bo mkha’ ’gro dgyes pa’i glu || 19

aṃ dang haṃ gi sgra brjod pas || 20
tshangs pa’i ri bo rtse nas nyil || 21

7 rgya mtsho’i lbu ba bltams pa dang || 22

gnas pa bzhi yi rim pa yis || 23
rdo rje sems dpa’ rang nyid ’gyur || 24

20
 dbang phyug dam pa’i gsang gtam ’dis || 25 8
nam mkha’ rdo rje grong du ’jug || 26
D 6a bde chen dag pa’i zhing / khams mthong || 27
thams cad lhan cig skyes pa’i sku || 28

shes rab rdo rje rnal ’byor ma || 29 9

gnyis med bde ba’i rnam pa can || 30
ma ning zhes byar brjod pa ste || 31
kha cig zung ’jug ces byar brjod || 32

sgrib pa dang bral chos sku ’dir || 33 10

rakta la sogs byang sems rnams || 34
rten dang brten pa’i mtshan nyid kyi || 35
dkyil ’khor thams cad ’di nyid do || 36

dpal lhan cig skyes pa’i sgrub thabs bdag byin gyis brlab pa zhes bya ba
|| rgyal po indra bhū ti ’bring po mdzad pa | rje mi nyag chen pos bsgyur
ba rdzogs so ||

The Two Texts of the Sahajaśambarasvādhiṣṭhāna

King Indrabhūti the Middle’s SŚS Tilopā’s SŚS

ll. 1–3: ll. 1–3:
rnal ’byor rnam gsum shes bya ste || rnal ’byor rnam gsum shes bya ste ||
byin gyis brlab dang rang rtags dang || byin gyis brlabs dang rab brtags dang ||
rdzogs pa’i gzugs brnyan bsam med do. rdzogs pa gzugs brnyan bsam med do.

ll. 31–36: ll. 27–32:

ma ning zhes byar brjod pa ste ||
kha cig zung ’jug ces byar brjod ||
sgrib pa dang bral chos sku ’dir ||
rakta la sogs byang sems rnams ||
rten dang brten pa’i mtshan nyid kyi ||
dkyil ’khor thams cad ’di nyid do.
ma ning zhes byar brjod pa ste ||
kha cig zung ’jug zhes byar brjod ||
sgrib pa dang bral chos sku ’dir ||
me chu la sogs ’byung rnams dang ||
rten dang brten pa’i mtshan nyid kyis ||
dkyil ’khor thams cad ’di nyid do.

21
 Abbreviations and Sigla
AGAA Tilopā’s *Aṣṭaguhyārthāvavāda
ĀSPḌU *Ājñāsaṃyakpramāṇa-nāma-ḍākinyupadeśa
bD bDe mchog snyan brgyud
C Co ne xylograph bsTan ’gyur
c. (circa) approximately
cf. (confer) compare
CMT Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇatantra (Dharmachakra Tr. Comm. 2016)
codd. (codices) all other manuscripts / sources
col. colophon
D sDe dge xylograph bsTan ’gyur
ed. edition, editor
em. (emendavi) I have emended
ex on the basis of
gD gDams ngag mdzod
HVT Hevajratantra (Snellgrove 1959)
l. / ll. line / lines
MVy Mahāvyutpatti
MW Monier-Williams 1899
N sNar thang xylograph bsTan ’gyur
n. note
Ō. Ōtani Catalogue
Q Peking Qianlong xylograph bsTan ’gyur
ṢDhU Tilopā’s Ṣaḍdharmopadeśa
Skt Sanskrit
SŚS Tilopā’s *Śrī-Sahajaśaṃvarasvādhiṣṭhāna
TBRC Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, Cambridge, Ma.
Tib. Tibetan
tit. (titulus) title
Tō. Tōhoku Catalogue
transl. translation, translator

22
 Indic Sources
Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇatantra ― Dharmachakra T.C. 2016
Hevajratantra ― Snellgrove 1959.
Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā ― Goodall et al. 2015.
Pātañjalayogaśāstra ― Kāśinātha Śāstrī Āgāśe 1904.
Tillopādasya Dohākoṣapañjikā Sārārthapañjikā ― Torricelli 2018
Yogaratnamālā-nāma-Hevajrapañjikā ― Snellgrove 1959.

Tibetan Sources
mKhas pa’i dga’ ston ― dPa’ bo gTsug lag
’phreng ba. Dam pa’i chos kyi ’khor los bsgyur ba rnams kyi byung ba gsal
bar byed pa mkhas pa’i dga’ ston.
 Photostat: Chos ʼbyuṅ mkhas paʼi dgaʼ ston. A detailed history of the
development of Buddhism in India and Tibet by the Second Dpaʼ-bo of
Gnas-naṅ, Gtsug-lag-ʼphreṅ-ba. Delhi: Delhi Karmapae Chodey
Gyalwae Sungrab Partun Khang 1980.
 TBRC W28792.
gDams ngag mdzod ― ’Jam mgon Kong
sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas. gDams ngag mdzod.
 Photostat: Gdams ṅag mdzod. A treasury of instructions and
techniques for spiritual realization. Compiled by ’Jam-mgon Koṅ-
sprul Blo-gros-mtha’-yas. Reproduced from a xylographic print from
the Dpal-spuṅs blocks. 12 vols. Delhi: N. Lungtok and N. Gyaltsen
1971.
 TBRC W21811.
bDe mchog snyan brgyud ― bDe mchog snyan
brgyud nor bu skor gsum.
 Photostat: Bde mchog sñan brgyud nor bu skor gsum. Collected
ancient instructions for the practice of the orally transmitted
teachings focussing upon Cakrasamvara by various masters of the
tradition. Arranged and edited by the Fourth ’Brug-chen Padma-
dkar-po (1527–1592). Reproduced from a manuscript collection from
Bhutan. 2 vols. Tashijong (Palampur, H.P.): Sungrab Nyamso
Gyunphel Parkhang, Tibetan Craft Community 1985.
 TBRC W23155.

23
Padma dkar po — Chos drug bsdus pa’i
zin bris. In gSung ’bum ZA 1–19a.
 Photostat: Collected Works (gSung-’bum) of Kun mkhyen Padma dkar
po. Reproduced photographically from prints from the 1920–1928
Gnam ’Brug Se-ba Byaṅ-chub-gliṅ blocks. Darjeeling: Kargyud
Sungrab Nyamso Khang. Vol. 22, 1974, 265–301.
 TBRC W10736.
Mahāvyutpatti ― Bye brag tu rtogs par
byed pa chen po. Ogiwara Unrai. 荻原雲來, ed. 1915. Bon-Wa daijiten
梵和大辭典. Tokyo. Rep. 1959. Tokyo: Sankibō. Revised ed. 1934–1974.
Tokyo: Suzuki Gakujutsu Zaidan.
Mi la ras pa ― Grol lam steng sgo
rnam par grol ba’i chos drug. In bDe mchog snyan brgyud LA 1–30b, pp. 477–
536. bDe mchog snyan brgyud kyi rdzogs rim steng sgo rnam par grol ba’i
chos drug gi khrid yig. In gDams ngag mdzod NGA 1–21a, pp. 285–325).
Zhang Lo tsā ba ― Zhang Lo tsā ba Grub
pa dpal Byang chub ’od zer. Zhang lo’i thim yig. In Byang chub bzang po, ed.
bDe mchog mkha’ ’gro snyan brgyud, KA: Zhang lo’i thim yig.
 Photostat: Bde mchog mkha’ ’gro sñan rgyud (Ras chuṅ sñan rgyud).
A manuscript collection of orally transmitted precepts focussing upon
the tutelaries Cakrasamvara and Vajravārāhī, representing the yig-
cha compiled by Byaṅ-chub-bzaṅ-po. Reproduced from a rare
manuscript in the library of Apho Rimpoche. Vol. I. New Delhi 1973,
1–5.
 TBRC W24891.

Other Sources
Bagchi, Prabodh Chandra ed. 1935a. Dohakoṣa (with Notes and Translation).
Journal of the Department of Letters 28, Calcutta University, 1–180.
―――ed. 1935b. Dohakoṣa with Notes and Translation. Calcutta: Calcutta
University.
―――ed. 1938. Dohākoṣa (Apabhraṃśa Texts of the Sahajayāna Schools). Part I
(Texts and Commentaries). Calcutta: Metropolitan Printing and Publishing
House.
Das, Sarat Chandra. 1902. A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanskrit Synonyms.
Revised and ed. by Graham Sandberg and A. William Heyde. Calcutta:
Bengal Secretariat Book Depôt.

24
Davidson, Ronald M. 2002a. Reframing Sahaja: Genre, Representation, Ritual
and Lineage. Journal of Indian Philosophy 30, 45–83.
―――2002b. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. Social history of the Tantric movement.
New York: Columbia University Press.
―――2005. Tibetan Renaissance. Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan
culture. New York: Columbia University Press.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee. 2016. The Tantra of Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa
(Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇatantram). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
On-line edition.
Dowman, Keith. 1985. Masters of Mahāmudrā. Songs and Histories of the
Eighty-Four Buddhist Siddhas. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Egyed, Alice. 1984. The Eighty-Four Siddhas. A Tibetan Blockprint from
Mongolia, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.
English, Elizabeth. 2002. Vajrayoginī. Her Visualization, Rituals, and Forms. A
Study of the Cult of Vajrayoginī in India. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
Evans-Wentz, Walter Yeeling. 1935. Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines; or,
Seven Books of Wisdom of the Great Path, According to the Late Lāma Kazi
Dawa-Samdup’s English Rendering; Arranged and Edited with Introductions
and Annotations to serve as a Commentary. London: Oxford University Press,
H. Milford.
Farrow, George W. and I. Menon. 1992. The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra
Tantra: With the Commentary Yogaratnamala. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers.
Gäng, Peter. 1981. Das Tantra des Grausig-Groß-Schreklichen. Berlin:
Stechapfel.
George, Christopher Starr. 1971. The Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra: Chapters I–VIII.
PhD Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.
Goodall, Dominic, Alexis Sanderson, Harunaga Isaacson and others. 2015. The
Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā: The Earliest Surviving Śaiva Tantra, Vol. 1: A Critical
Edition and Annotated Translation of the Mūlasūtra, Uttarasūtra and
Nayasūtra. Pondichéry: Institut Français de Pondichéry, Ecole Française
d’Extrême-Orient, Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg.
Guenther, Herbert V. 1963. The Life and Teachings of Nāropa. Translated from
the original Tibetan with a Philosophical Commentary based on the Oral
Transmission. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Jäschke, H. A. 1881. A Tibetan-English Dictionary. With Special Reference to the
Prevailing Dialects. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd.
Kāśinātha Śāstrī Āgāśe ed. 1904. Vācaspatimiśraviracitaṭīkāsaṃvalitavyāsa-
bhāṣyasametāni Pātañjalayogasūtrāṇi... (Ānandāśrama Sanskrit Series 47).
Pune: Ānandāśramamudraṇālaya.
Kőrösi Csoma, Sándor (Alexander Csoma de Kőrös). 1834. Essay towards a
Dictionary, Tibetan and English. Prepared, with the Assistance of Bandé

25
 Sangs-rgyas Phun-tshogs, a Learned Láma of Zangskár, by Alexander Csoma
de Kőrös, Siculo-Hungarian of Transylvania, During a Residence at Kanam,
in the Himálaya Mountains, on the Confines of India and Tibet, 1827–1830.
Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press.
Kuijp, Leonard W.J. van der. 1993. Jayānanda: A Twelfth Century Guoshi from
Kashmir among the Tangut. Central Asiatic Journal 37(3–4), 188-197.
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de. 1897. The Buddhist ‘Wheel of Life’ from a New
Source. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
(New Series) 29(3), 463–70.
Macdonald, Ariane. 1970. Le Dhānyakaṭaka de Man-luṅs guru. Bulletin de l’Ecole
française d’Extrême-Orient 57, 169–213.
Mallinson, James. 2016. The Amṛtasiddhi: Haṭhayoga’s tantric Buddhist source
text. Draft of an article to be published in a festschrift for Alexis Sanderson
(Toronto, March 2015).
Mallinson, James and Mark Singleton. 2017. Roots of Yoga. Translated and
Edited with an Introduction by James Mallinson, and Mark Singleton.
(Penguin Classics). UK: Penguin Random House.
Monier-Williams, Monier. 1899. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
Ōtani Catalogue = Suzuki, Taisetz Teitaro, ed. 1961. The Tibetan
Tripitaka. Peking edition. Reprinted under the supervision of the Otani
University, Kyoto. Catalogue and Index. Tokyo-Kyoto: Tibetan Tripitaka
Research Institute.
Robinson, James B. 1979. Buddha’s Lions. The Lives of the Eighty-Four Siddhas.
“Caturaśīti-siddha-pravṛtti” by Abhayadatta. Translated into Tibetan as
“Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi’i lo rgyus” by sMon-grub Shes-rab. Berkeley:
Dharma Publishing.
Roerich, George Nicolas. (1933) 1983–1993. Tibetan–Russian–English
Dictionary with Sanskrit Parallels. Y. Parfionovich and V. Dylykova, eds.
Moscow: Central Department of Oriental Literature.
Snellgrove, David L. 1959. The Hevajra Tantra. A Critical Study. Part 1:
Introduction and Translation. Part 2: Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts. London:
Oxford University Press.
Sperling, Elliot. 1994. Rtsa-mi Lo-tsā-ba Sangs-rgyas Grags-pa and the Tangut
Background to Early Mongol-Tibetan Relations. In Kvaerne, Per ed., Tibetan
Studies: Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the International Association for
Tibetan Studies, Fagernes 1992. Oslo: The Institute for Comparative Research
in Human Culture, vol. 2, 801-24.
Tōhoku Catalogue = Ui, Hakuju and Munetada Suzuki, Yenshō
Kanakura, and Tōkan Tada, eds 1934. A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan
Buddhist Canons (Bkaḥ-ḥgyur and Bstan-ḥgyur). Sendai: Tōhoku Imperial
University.

26
Torricelli, Fabrizio. 1997. The Tanjur Text of the Ajñāsamyakpramāṇa-nāma-
ḍākinyupadeśa. East and West, 47(1–4), 249–269.
―――2000. Padma dkar-po’s Arrangement of the bDe-mchog snyan-brgyud.
East and West 50(1–4), 359–386.
―――2001. Zhang Lo-tsā-ba’s Introduction to the Aural Transmission of
Śaṃvara. In Torella, Raffaele, ed. Le parole e i marmi. Studi in onore di
Raniero Gnoli nel suo 70° compleanno. Serie Orientale Roma 92. Roma:
Istituto italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente.
―――2018. Tilopā Project 1: Dohākoṣa. On-line edition.

27