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INTRODUCTION
and cannot be taken off without disturbing the unity of the work. This is the reason why we think that Mallişeņa must have been at least a redactor if not the author that is to say he has added much more of his own in Vidyānusāsana than the portion of Bhairava Padmavatikalpa traced by us.
We cannot even imagine that an author of Mallişeņa's proud position bearing titles of being universal poet and an adept in Garuda and Mantravāda could ever be supposed to be guilty of such wholesale plagiarism. From a statement in Jwālinīsādhanavidhāna in ch. IV of Vidyānusāsana that the three-lettered Vidyā of Jwālini is not written by the preceptor so it should be learnt from him personally, we think that the editor or redactor was guided in the editing or preparation of the text by a living Guru who would have written the Vidyā if he chose. This shows that the redactor had a kernel or nucleus in writing composed by the living Guru who could be approached to learn the three -lettered Vidyā of Jwālini. Probably the reference may be to Matisāgara who may have been living when Mallisena redacted the work under the guidance of the former. Probably Matisāgara might have been Vidyāguru to Mallisena being an adept in Mantravāda. It is significant that Vidyānusāsana is styled 'Arşa' (ancient or composed by ancient sages) at the end of all the twenty-four chapters of the work and no name of the author is mentioned. If it was of sole ownership of Mallisena he would not have failed to subscribe his name as he has done in his other works. The only proper conclusion to be drawn is that he was the editor and redactor of the work.
We may note here that we have been led, as a result of the comparison of the text of Bhairava Padmāvati Kaspa with Vidyānusāsana to believe that the former was composed after the redacted edition of Vidyānusāsana was prepared. Sarasvatikalpa, Jwalinikalpa and Kamacāndālīkalpa also appear to have been subsequently composed.
Vajrapaħjara-Vidhāna, and Bālagraha-Cikitsā are other Māntric works ascribed to him. Having had no access to them, we express no
