An Introduction to the Khacakrapacakastotra

by Mark Dyczkowski
The Khacakrapacakastotra is an early work of the Kashmiri Krama school
probably written by Jnanetra also known as !i"nanda#$ who is reco%nised as
its founder& It seems that he refers to himself there in the third person as the
'primordial (ord) dyantha# Kh*+, -# who 'brou%ht down) the hymn into the
world .#& Ar/asi0ha tells us in his Mahnayapraka the (i%ht of the 1reat
Teachin% 2 that there are two lines of teachers who transmitted the Mahnaya
branch of the Kl3krama&
4
It be%ins with the %oddess Ma0%al who manifested to
Jnanetra in '53a)s seat) that is$ 6iyna#& The transmission continued down
throu%h Key7ra"at3 to 8mana and then *akrabhnu with whom the other line
be%ins& There is a reference in the 9:atara0%in3 to a ;rahmin ascetic called
*akrabhnu who$ cau%ht participatin% in a 'cakramelaka was imprisoned and
branded on the forehead with mark of a do%)s paw durin% the rei%n of kin%
<aaskara$ who ruled between =-= and =>? AD&
@
A manuscript of the
Phadvdaikstotra by *akrabhnu has been reco"ered in which he boasts of
how he cares nothin% about bein% in :ail as he knows the method by which to
consume Time a clear allusion to Krama practice# and that when he %ets out he
will co"er his forehead with the lip of his turban and continue his practice& Thus$
we may say with conAdence that *akrabhnu li"ed around =BB to =C.& There were
A"e %enerations after him up to ,ome"ara and Ar/asi0ha who were thus about
4@. years later and so li"ed about 4B@.D44BB& !i"nanda who was three
%enerations before li"ed about ?@.D=BB$ durin% which time the
Khacakrapacakastotra was written&
The Kl3krama
-
can be said to ha"e de"eloped throu%h four ma:or phases&
The Arst phase precedes Jnanetra and may ha"e started in the ?
th
century& It is
represented by the Kl3mata or Kl3kula of the Jayarathaymala& In this phase we
And the worship of numerous forms of Kl3 amon%st which Klasa0kari/3
emer%es as one of the ma:or forms of Kl3 and continues as the hi%hest form in
the later phases& Ehile the teachin%s of the Kl3 Kula are embedded in the J<$
which is a Tantra of the ;haira"a current$ the second phase is marked by the
emer%ence of Matsyendrantha as the founder of Kaulism as an independent
current srotas# of scriptures and associated traditions& +re"iously embedded in
the ;haira"a Tantras$ the Kulas of <o%in3s$ related more or less directly to the ei%ht
Kulas of the Mothers mtk#$ were deemed to be sources of especially secret
and powerful teachin%s transmitted in the esoteric ;haira"a Tantras&
Matsyendrantha appears as the founder of Kulas that eFist in their own ri%ht
independently of the ;haira"a Tantras& These are of two types& Ee could call the
Arst type nonDsectarian& The deities are Kule"ara and Kule"ar3$ the ;haira"a and
;haira"3 of the <o%in3kula& GFamples of scriptures of such Kulas are the published
Kaulajnaniraya and kulavratantra and the unpublished Kulapacik! The
second are Kulas centred on the worship of %oddess to which Matsyendra
contributed re"ealed scriptures& The "uhyasiddhi is an eFample of a Tantra
attributed to Matsyendra centred on the worship of Kub:ik& Another is the
#rmikaulrava that eFpounds the teachin%s of the ;ho%ahastanaya branch of
the Kl3krama& Matysendrantha$ who is totally unknown to the J<$ came to be
re%ularly represented as a founder A%ure in the ma:or independent Kula schools
that de"eloped from around the =
th
century& These include the tradition of the
%oddess Kub:ik$ the Kashmiri Kl3krama as well as Abhina"a%upta)s Trikakula& ;ut
note that he is unknown to the earlier eFtanct Trika Tantras 2 the
$iddhayo%e&avrmata$ the 'antra&ad(hva and the Mlinvijayottara! In the
scriptures of Kashmiri Kl3krama he appears in sthiticakra with the other
<u%anthas and his twel"e disciples$ the so called 9:aputras$ siF of which
founded their own linea%es& This is where they are placed in the )evpacaataka
and the Kramasad(hva! In the Kh*+, they appear in 1ocakra$ the fourth of the
A"e wheels& Jnanetra also praises them at the be%innin% of the
*oni%ahvaratantra! Abhina"a worships them at the be%innin% of the Kulaprakriy
in the ,iddhacakra$ the "urumaala of his Trikakula&
The third phase partly coincides in time with the second and the fourth&
This is represented by teFts such as the )evpacaataka and the
Kramasad(hva! These are Tantras re"ealed in the +ttarapha centred on the
worship of forms of Kl3$ notably Klasa0kari/3 and ,uk or 9"i/3& To these we
shall return a little later& The fourth phase be%ins with :nanetra& He 'brou%ht
down to earth) at least one Tantra 2 the *oni%ahvara 2 and wrote at least two
stotras 2 the Kh*+, and another still recited re%ularly by ,wami:i)s disciples& This
phase of de"elopment of the Kl3krama is no lon%er shrouded in the anonymity of
scripture& Initially in this phase$ as in the third one$ the Kl3krama is replete with
the worship of <o%in3s and is lar%ely de"oid of associations with the ener%ies of
perception that characterise its culmination in the followin% phase& Ee may refer
to it as the Mahrtha ,chool of the Kl3krama$ a term already known to the J<& This
de"elopment reaches a peak in the system presented by three teFts reco"ered to
date$ all of which are called Mahnayapraka& Althou%h it continues to refer to
the reality it eFpounds as Mahrtha$ we may call this Anal phase of de"elopment
the Mahnaya$ to distin%uish it from the pre"ious one&
+robably the Arst of these three Mahnayaprakas in chronolo%ical order
is by !iIhika/Iha& It is certainly Kashmiri& The followin% two$ Arst by Ar/asi0ha and
then another by an unknown author$ are probably from the south of India where
the monistic traditions of Kshmiri !ai"ism were popular for at least three centuries
from about the be%innin% of the Arst millennium& There$ in the land of the *ola
kin%s which rou%hly corresponds to modern Tamil Jadu#$ Mahe"arnanda wrote
his Mahrthama:ar3 probably in the late 4-
th
century& In this work he presents a
synthesis of fully de"eloped Kashmiri !ai"ism 2 called Trika 2 with the teachin%s of
the !r3"idy tradition sau(h%yasa,pradya#$ which had emer%ed hardly two or
three %enerations before him$ and the Mahnaya of Ar/asi0ha who is his authority
for his eFposition of the paca"ha&
The +aca"hakrama$ the ,eKuence of the Li"e *urrents$ is the procession
of ener%ies in the A"e cycles of creation$ persistence$ withdrawal$ the ineFplicable
anky# and illumination (hs#& This doctrinal core is already presented in the
Tantras of the third phase$ includin% the D+ and$ especially the Kramasad(hva&
The importance of this teFt in this respect is acknowled%ed by !ithika/Iha&
>
A
fra%ment has been reco"ered in one Jepalese manuscript& Another lar%e part of it
is preser"ed as a chapter of the Kulakaulanmata& There too we And conArmation
that it is eFpoundin% this Krama and knows it by that name&
.
Krama is the most ele"ated esoteric aspect of Abhina"a)s Trika Kula& The
%oddess of the Krama$ Klasa0kari/3 is ;eyond +ar +art3t# of the Trika e"en
as she inte%rates them into herself as Ankhy& It is e"ident from the %reat
attention Abhina"a pays to the Twel"e Kl3s that he understands the teachin%
concernin% them to be the fundamental one of the Krama system& Accordin% to
him the Twel"e Kl3s are THG uni"ersal acti"ity of consciousness
smnyaspanda#$ THG cycle of consciousness sa,vitcakra- sa,vitkrama# and
THG wheel of Gner%ies akticakra#& The most eFcellent of all the wheels and
cycles$ it contains them all& Thus they are the culmination% eFperience in all three
cate%ories of practice$ M/a"a$ !kta and !mbha"a&
N
In short$ accordin% to
Abhina"a$ the Twel"e Kl3s are the most "ital part of the Krama system of his
Trikakula&
Abhina"a was certainly well acKuainted with the basic Krama principles
concernin% the cycles of emanation and destruction$ and he also knew the main
%oddesses 2 8me"ar3$ Khecar3$ and the rest whose nature he eFpounds as
ener%ies of consciousness and perception in his commentary on the Partri,ik!
Howe"er$ he shows no si%ns of knowin% about the elaboration of the Krama
system that is$ the +aca"ha and the navacakrasa,pradya# we And in the
three teFts called Mahnayapraka& G"en Kemar:a$ his disciple$ does not seem
to know about it$ althou%h he refers freKuently to Krama concepts& In short$ it
appears that the system was de"elopin% and teFts were bein% added to it after
Abhina"a)s time and that of his immediate successor&
Thus$ instead of the +anca"ha$ Abhina"a subscribes to the doctrine of the
Twel"e Kl3s which is an earlier de"elopment in the Kl3krama& Abhina"a refers to
the 'riiro(hairava- a ma:or Trika Tantra$ as his authority for this& Abhina"a)s Trika
Kula mirrored the inte%ration into the Trika of the Kl3 Kula$ especially the cycle of
Twel"e Kl3s and those linked to it$ he found there& This$ it seems$ was an
emer%ent de"elopment in the primary sources& The relati"ely early J< knows the
Twel"e Kl3s with a thirteenth in the centre$ but does not treat this %roup at all
eFtensi"ely& *on"ersely$ we And the Twel"e Kl3s$ treated independently$ as
"irtually the entire content of the teachin% of a branch of the Kl3krama known as
the Klaka0kla Kula in the perhaps 4@
th
century# .icimatasrasamuccaya! It
is also called the ;hna"3 Kula or ;hna"3 Krama as it centred on the mystical
eFperience of the Twel"e ,uns embodied in the cycle of Twel"e Klis& There it is
presented as the essential teachin% of the Jorthern Tradition uttarmnya#
ori%inally transmitted by Jikriynanda to 8idynanda& The D+ acknowled%es
them as the earliest teachers of its tradition also and adds the two neFt in line$
!aktynanda and then !i"nanda$ who may ha"e been Jnanetra& The D+ also
treats the Twel"e Kl3s eFtensi"ely but as Ankyacakra$ not independently as we
And in the *M,, and$ eOecti"ely$ as Abhina"a%upta does$ who presents it as the
Eheel of the ,un in between the Eheels of Moon and Lire$ remindin% us of the
;hna"3 Krama of the *M,,&
Ee turn now to a brief summary of the most salient features of the
teachin%s implicit in the Kh*+,& The source of the 1reat Teachin% 2 Mahrtha 2 is
Ma0%al who embodies it& ,he is a <o%in3 who is identiAed in %eneral with Kl3 and
in particular with Klasa0kari/3& ,he re"eals the Mahrtha directly to :nanetra&
Appropriately she appears in the benedictory "erse at the be%innin% of the Kh*+,&
,he is the embodiment of Mahrtha and the PuF 2 Krama 2 of its ener%ies who
unfolds as 'the sound of the e%oity of emptiness) vyomha,kra%ho# @#& This
should not be confused with the perfect Iness purha,(hva# the +ratyabhi:
and the Trika present as ultimate reality& This other 'e%o) is pure Gmptiness ibid&#&
The ener%ies unfold in Gmptiness as aspects of this ,ound rva# and the %oddess
Kl3 who embodies it is essentially e%oless& As the M+ puts it$ Klik is 'one and
de"oid of all e%oity nirahamkaradharmi#& ,he shines perfectly and at all times
by "irtue of the process krama# which is the "ery nature of .akrevar- the
Mistress of the Eheel) M+ @>.#& Accordin%ly$ Jnanetra the ,olitary Hero
ekavra# who has realised this reality completely and hence realised his true
nature is 'de"oid of phenomenal nature# ni/sva(hva# and is mer%ed in the state
of unity samarasa#) -#&
6ne of the most immediately e"ident and strikin% features of the Kh*+, is
the presence of many <o%in3s and Kl3s& Ehile the latter continue to appear in
subseKuent de"elopments as the Twel"e Kl3s$ the <o%in3s disappear$ replaced by
their essential sonic nature as ener%ies of the letters and$ abo"e all$ as ener%ies
of perception& These$ we notice$ are not mentioned at all in this early sta%e of the
Mahrtha& The <o%in3s of the Kh*+, are worshipped in A"e Eheels containin%
se"enteen <o%in3s each& They correspond to the se"enteen syllables of
Klasa0kari/3)s 8idy& Thus$ as the ener%ies of the siFteen lunar "owels and
their transcendental source# and the syllables$ they unfold as aspects of the
,ound rva# that resounds in the 8oid of pure$ e%oless consciousness& The Li"e
Eheels are those of ;hs$ ,pace Kha#$ the Directions dik#$ ,peech %o# and the
Garth (h0#& This %roup of A"e that constitute the transcendental Eheel of the
,ky 8yomacakra# with its ?. <o%in3s& Lrom this emer%es another %roup of A"e$
which is it immanent eKui"alent$ to make up the Eheel of the Garth ;h7cakra#
-?cdD-=#& Thus the two sets of ?. <o%in3s make 4CB all to%ether& The A"e %roups
of <o%in3s mo"e in A"e spheres of emptiness& The ;hs <o%in3s deli%ht$ inebriated
with supreme bliss$ in the ener%y of the %oddess who is Mudr$ the Khecar3s in
Gmptiness$ the Dikcar3s in the radiance of the directions$ the 1ocar3s in the union
within the Heart of the ,elf and nonD,elf while the ;h7car3s in the 9oot centre
illuminate the *hannel of ;rahm& >?cdD.@#& These A"e spheres of Gmptiness
correspond to A"e sta%es of the de"elopment of absorption into consciousness&
These are the Deity)s ,peech kathana# that induces penetration vea# into
Gmptiness$ the worship of the Krama kramap0jana#$ the bliss ramaa# of entry
into the ,ound that resonates throu%h Gmptiness$ the Are of emanation of the
pure consciousness of Gmptiness that consumes duality$ and$ Anally$ complete
assimilation into the Gmptiness of the Deity)s essential nature&
As the eFpansion of Di"ine ,ound unfoldin% in Gmptiness$ the A"e spheres
of Gmptiness correspond to the A"e letters of the seed syllable of Klasa0kari/3$
KH+H9GQ& Also called +i/antha or ,a0hrab3:a it is embodied in the Kl3 who is
the mistress of all the Eheels cakrevar#& The se"enteen <o%in3s are the ener%ies
of the 1reat 8idy of Klasa0karsi/3 that the <o%in3s praise 4.B# as the Mistress
of the Eheels$ as they behold$ as the Kh*+, puts it$ 'the 1reat Eonder
mahacarya# in the *ircle of Gmptiness khacakra#) .N#& ,he who is the 'Arst of
all the secret formulas 1idy#)$ the li%ht of all thin%s$ who recites the mantra of
consciousness =C# is praised by the <o%in3s in each sphere .CD4>=#$ referrin% to
her with a "ariety of names&
Ee may now note briePy a few important features of the contents of the
A"e spheres of Gmptiness and the aspects of the %oddess illumined in this way
within the Gmptiness of pure consciousness& At Arst si%ht it appears that a basic
format of the Krama we And in all its representations from the Klikula that
preceded the Kashmiri Krama system to the one centred on 1uhyakl3 that
de"eloped after it in Jepal$ is absent& This is the well known di"ision into cycles of
emanation si#$ persistence sthiti#$ withdrawal sa,hra#$ the IneFplicable
ankhy#$ and in those branches that maintained the pentadic format$
Illumination (hs#& ;ut this is not really so& Dikcakra is said directly to be the
Eheel of Eithdrawal sa,hra# =.#& 1ocakra is called the Eheel of Descent
avatra#$ which is persistence sthiti# 4B.#& Ee may infer that ;h7cakra which
contains$ as we shall see$ the %ross elements and the -N principles$ is the Eheel
of Gmanation si#& The Arst two Eheels$ ;hs and Khacakra represent$
respecti"ely$ the perfectly pure transcendental illumination of Gmptiness and the
totality of all the 8oids and their ener%ies& Thus Khcakra is eKui"alent to
Ankhyacakra$ in which all the ener%ies and states of the Eheels are summated&
Howe"er$ althou%h the cycle of emanation and withdrawal is represented
by the Li"e ,pheres of Gmptiness this is not emphasised in the Kh*+, as they are
percei"ed in terms of what came to be understood as the +anca"ha 2 the Li"eD
fold LluF$ of the Mahnaya& Accordin% to the M+ of Ar/asi0ha this is %o"erned by
the ener%ies 8yoma"m also called 8me"ar3#$ Khecar3$ ;h7car3$
,a0hrabhaki/3 and 9audre"ar3 M+ @.D>Nab# their ener%ies$ which are the
whole of the Krama make up the Eheel of G%oity amitcakra# M+ 4B.# that
unfolds in the Gmptiness of the one fundamental$ e%oless ener%y& In other words$
the Kh*+, is primarily concerned with the eFpanse of the 1oddess who is all the
ener%ies of Gmptiness that unfold in Gmptiness as aspects of it$ rather than the
process throu%h which it takes place&
It is to these A"e aspects of the 1oddess$ characterized by the
conA%uration cakra# of her ener%ies that are the A"e spheres of the Gmptiness
she %o"erns to which we now turn&
4# ;hscakraR The Arst Eheel is ;hscakra& This Eheel is that
of the encompassin% Gmptiness of the (i%ht that shines as the
Eheels$ as their foundation and essential nature which is their
absence of phenomenal nature ni/sva(hva#& Thus the
Mistress of the Eheel$ who is the ,upreme Gner%y$ within the
1reat Abode of all thin%s the syllable KH+H9GQ#$ is beyond
them all and so is de"oid of aspects or speciAc names&
@# KhacakraR *akre"ar3 in the sphere of Khacakra is the Kl3 of
the ener%y of the 8iod NB$ NN#& Gmer%in% from ;hscakra
onto the plane of the 8idya of 4C syllables CN#$ which unfolds
in the ,pheres of Gmptiness$ she is Kl3 who is endowed with
the Kl3krama& This Eheel is the eKui"alent of Ankhycakra$
which is that of the Twel"e Kl3s& Accordin%ly$ she is praised as
the Kl3 whose (i%ht is twel"eDfold and 'whose brilliance is like
twel"e suns) N@#& As Gmptiness within Gmptiness C=#$ she is
the bliss of the 1reat *essation mahnirva# within the
dimensionless +oint bindu# of pure consciousness$ at the
climaF of Inaction nikriynta# CC#& ,he is praised as series of
Kl3s the last of which are thirteen Kl3s$ namely$ ,Ii Kl3
?@#$ ,thiti Kl3 ?-#$ ,a0hra Kl3 ?>#$ 9akta Kl3 ?.#
Dh"a0a Kl3 ?N#$ <ama Kl3 ?C#$ Mtyu Kl3 ??#$ ;hadra
Kl3 ?=#$ Mrta/a Kl3 =B# +ar =4#$ Kla =@#$ 8ar/a =-#
and 1horaca/ =>#&
-# DikcakraR Ten forms of Kl3 are praised in this sphere of
Gmptiness representin%$ presumably$ the ten directions in
directionless Gmptiness& This is the sphere of the seKuence
karma# of destruction sa,hra#& Accordin%ly$ the forms of the
%oddess are both per"asi"e and Aerce& ,he is the embodiment
of an%er caa# =C#$ ;h3makl3$ the 'Aerce one) ==#$ and the
wrathful 9audr3 4BB#& ,he is 'eFtremely %reedy to de"our
phenomenal# eFistence) 4B@# and yet she protects her
de"otees$ consumin% time and death that would otherwise
consume them 4B-#&
># 1ocakraR The fourth Krama marks the descent of deity)s
uni"ersal consciousness avatra# into the indi"idual ,elf& It is
the (i%ht of consciousness that shines in the midst of the
circle of the senses that illumines and impels them with its
ener%y 4BC#& The mistress of this Eheel is the %oddess of the
four <u%anthas and the twel"e princes$ who are the disciples
of Matsyendrantha$ the teacher of this A%e and she
incarnates as their consorts&
.# ;h7cakraR The Kl3 of this ,phere of Gmptiness is the Mother
of the Li"e Glements 44-# and hence is the womb yoni# of
the A"e ;rahms ;rahm$ 8i/u$ !i"a$ S"ara and 9udra#
4@-D4@N#& ,he is the ener%y of consciousness inwardly
present within the indi"idual soul purua# as she is in all the
thirtyDsiF principles 4>ND4>C#& Here she assumes the form of
the mind$ intellect and e%o 44># and the breath 44.# and is
the inner presence the ,iddhas intuite within themsel"es as
their ultimate %oal 44=#& Inwardly she bestows all the hi%her
yo%ic states of consciousness up to ultimate rest 4@B# and
the 1reat *essation mahnirva#$ she embodies& Eithin the
body and the world$ she is the source of all the means to
realisation and so ser"es as the brid%e between the di"ine and
human 4@>#& Thus she is the sacriAcial Are and is full of the
8edic scriptures 4@?#&
In this sphere the %oddess$ established in the 1reat 9eality mahrtha#$
assumes the form of all thin%s 4>?D>=#$ e"en as she is the 1reat Abode
mahdhman# that contains them& Thus she is like Jature prakti#$ the three
Kualities of which she embodies and insti%ates 4>-D4>.#& Her omniformity not
only eFtends to all the principles of eFistence$ she is also all the forms of the
%oddess and the female supernatural bein%s of the Kaula uni"erse that attend
on her& These include the Gi%ht Mothers and the %oddesses of the directions
alon% with <aki/3$ J%in3$ 8idydhar3 and 1andhar"3& ,he is the %reat <o%in3s of
the cult of the 2rahmymalaD Mahocchum$ Kple3 and *mu/ 4-.D
4-N#& ,he embodies the <o%in3s Jay$ 8i:ay$ Jayanti and Apar:it 4-C# who
attend on the Tumburu$ the ;haira"a of the 8m Tantras& ,he is all the 1reat
1oddesses represented by +ar$ Dur% 2 *a/ik$ 5m$ and A%hore3& Abo"e
all$ she is Klasa0kari/3$ the 1reat Time$ Klartri$ and Ka0kl3 4-@D4--#& ,he
is 'the manifestation of time 2 time in the %reat festi"al that takes place at all
timesT 4-@#&
4
M+ "erses 4.4D4NN$ !i"nanda was succeeded by Key7ra"at3 who transmitted
the Krama to 8mana$ This may ha"e been 8mandatta who wrote the
,a0"itpraka& It was then passed on to *akrabhnu then to De"atanaya then
Snik to Jandaka throu%h ,a::ana to ,ome"ara& The author of the *1* -B>#
who calls himself Klidsa recei"ed the Krama teachin%s from a disciple of
,ome"ara somaputra#& The other line be%ins with *akrabhnu& He initiated
+rabodhantha who wrote the ikstotra also unpublished#& He may ha"e been
the 8imalaprabodha who wrote the unpublished )evyardhaatik and
Klkulakramrcana! +rabodhantha initiated Jayaka after whom the line
continued throu%h +a0ka$ then J%a to Ar/asi0ha&
@
The Kin% <aaskra Uwas e"erV ready to eFercise control o"er the castes and
conditions of life Uamon% hisV sub:ects& 6n disco"erin% that at a cakramelaka a
;rahmin ascetic *akrabhnu by name had departed from proper conduct$ the
kin%$ in accordance with the law$ punished him by ha"in% the mark of a %od)s foot
branded on his forehead& Infuratiated by this$ the uncle of that U;rahminV$ the
ma%ician 83rantha$ who was the kin%)s own minister of forei%n aOairs then took
re"en%e upon him& 9T NW4B?D44B ,tein)s translation&
3
Note that the names Kl3krama and Kl3kula are interchan%eable&
>
M+ XXX
.
pacavhakrama, hy etat kathita, tava o(hane 3 KuKauM 4.W4.=ab&
N
,ee TM -WXXX for he Twel"e Kl3s in !mbha"opyaY TM >WXXX for !ktopya
and TM .WXXX for M/a"opya#&