Manthanabhairava Tantra

Das Manthanabhairavatantra is a lengthy Tantra belonging to the Pascimamnaya.

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• The Manthanabkairavatantra is a lengthy Tantra belonging to the Pascimamnaya. It also calls itself caturvimsatisahasra, that is, a "book of 24,000 verses" and is in fact not much short of this size. The oldest dated manuscript traced so far was copied during the reign of Somesvara and is

dated N.S. 300, i.e., 1180 A.D.

• The most recent was copied during the reign of Viravikrama Saha and is dated Sam. 1897, i.e., A.D. 1841. Forty-one manuscripts, many of which are more than 150 folios long, are listed

in Appendix C. One manuscript of a part of this Tantra is preserved in the Asiatic Society of Bengal. It is in Bengali script and was copied from a manuscript belonging to a monk in Bodhagaya dated N.S. 761, i.e., 1641 A.D.. It contains chapters 74-89 and is written on 199 folios of foolscap paper.

• Apart from this one, no manuscript of this Tantra has so far been

found that is not Nepalese. The MBT is divided into four sections, three of which are called "khanda. " Although a colophon of one of these sections states that this Tantra is divided into three parts,

• in actual fact it appears, on the basis of the descriptions in the catalogues, that they are not three but four.

These are listed below along with their approximate length:

Yogakhanda 4,500 verses

Kumarikakhanda 6,000 verses

Siddhakhanda 2,900 verses

Navanityayagadhikara - - 4,300 verses

Total 17,700 verses

In the Paratantra, the MBT is referred to as the "mahamanthana-satkaka"* which may be translated to mean the "Great Manthana (bhairavatantra) consisting of a group of six [thousand verses]" or also as ef> The Canon of the Saivagama and the Kubjika Tantras of the Western Kaula Tradition, S. 97 </ref>

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The tantra is dedicated to the worship of the goddess Kubjika. Kubjika is here identified with Carcika

Although originally an Indian goddess, Kubjika is almost exclusively worshipped in the Kathmandu Valley, where her cult has been kept scrupulously secret by Newar initiates for centuries. Almost all the manuscripts of her Tantras and related literature have been found there. Kubjika is a powerful development of Malini, the principal goddess of the Trika Tantras and Kali of the Kashmiri Krama tradition. Her cult belongs to a chain of early Kaula systems that culminate with that of the goddess Tripura and so sheds considerable light on them.

• The Section concerning the Virgin Goddess of the Tantra of the Churning Bhairava The Manthanabhairavatantra is about 24,000 verses long and is divided into three sections (khanda).

The one edited and translated here is the Kumarikakhanda. Along with the Kubjikamata, the Manthanabhairavatantra is the most important and extensive Tantra dedicated to the worship of the goddess Kubjika. Although originally an Indian goddess, Kubjika is almost exclusively worshipped in the Kathmandu Valley, where her cult has been kept scrupulously secret by Newar initiates for centuries. Almost all the manuscripts of her Tantras and related literature have been found there. Kubjika is a powerful development of Malini, the principal goddess of the Trika Tantras and Kali of the Kashmiri Krama tradition. Her cult belongs to a chain of early Kaula systems that culminate with that of the goddess Tripura and so sheds considerable light on them.

Kubjika's unique historical importance is mirrored in the extraordinary richness of the inner, spiritual dimensions of her cult. These are explored in detail in the introduction to the edition and translation of the text with extensive references from mostly unpublished Kubjika Tantras and those of related schools. The work took close to two decades to produce. In this time numerous working editions of unpublished Tantras and related texts were prepared by the author with the help of a team of five trained assistants.

Binding 1: Introduction - Volume One:

Ref

• Manthanabhairavatantram Kumarikakhandah: The Section concerning the Virgin Goddess of the Tantra of the Churning , 14 Vols, Mark S.G. Dyczkowski (Ed.), Verlag: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts/D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd., New Delhi, India (2009)
• Author Name Mark S.G. Dyczkowski (Ed.)Title Manthanabhairavatantram Kumarikakhandah: The Section concerning the Virgin Goddess of the Tantra of the Churning , 14 Vols Binding HardcoverBook Condition New

Jacket Condition NewEdition First EditionSize 19 x 25 Cm Publisher New Delhi, India Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts/D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd. 2009 ISBN 8124604983 / 9788124604984 ISBN 10: 8124604983 ISBN 13: 9788124604984