Swacchanda Tantra

Das Swacchanda Tantra ist ein Werk des kashmirischen Shivaismusses.

The Swacchanda-Tantram is one of the leading Tantras of the Dakshina-chara as it panegyrises and initiates into the secret worship of Ayhora, the Right mouth of the Swacdianda-Lhairava.

1 Unlike Mrgendra 'Matanga - Tantras' of the Dakshindchdra where the doctrines discussed are understood to represent the dualistic school of philosophy, the Swacchanda-Tantra adheres to the purely monistic side or the Adwaita System of the Saiva Philosophy and is considered to be one of the best authorities on the Saivaistic Initiation or Siva Dikshd, its cheif theme being meditation ( Updsand ) and ritual ( Kriyd ).
The very name2 of the book indicates its inborn tendency towards the pure monism which, to distinguish it from other systems of philosophy, may safely be designated as the Trika system of Kashmir.

• 1 Swacchanda-Bhairava ia represented as having the five faces Is'dna, Tatpurusha, Sadyojdta, Vdmadeva,

" Aghora, (respectively representing, in name, U'rdhva Vaktra, Purva Vaktra, Pas'chimo, Fakira,Dakshiya Vaktra, " Vdma Vaktra) which are the symbols of His fivefold glory i. e. Chit, A'nanda, Icchd, Jndna " Kriyd. The same divine faces are said to be the five respective sources of Urdhvd- mndya, Ptirvdmndya, Pas'chimdmndya, Dakshindmqdya " Vdmdmndya,

• 2 Swacchanda is synonymous with Swatantra or one possessed of Swdtantrya

or Free Will, the keynote of the Kashmir S'aivaisra,

Weblinks

• The Swacchanda-tantra, with commentary by Kshemaraja. Edited with notes by Pandit Madhusudan Kaul Shastri (1921)