Book Title: Comparative and Critical Study of Mantrashastra
Author(s): Mohanlal Bhagwandas Jhaveri, K V Abhayankar
Publisher: Sarabhai Manilal Nawab
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TANTRIK SADHANA: AIM AND MEANS
63
and the worship of Kālī must also therefore be a night performance. The principal male devata of Tantras is Mahadeva who is admittedly a Vaidik God. Then again the serpent twining round devas or devis is foreshadowed by Sarparajni, the Serpent Queen, who is the same as Vak. It will be interesting to the Jain readers here to compare the fact that Lord Pars'vanatha has the king of serpents twining round his body and spreading his hood over him and Devi Padmavati who is the Lord's attendant deity and the serpent-queen raising upon her hood the Lord in contemplation in the flood due to heavy rains, as also the fact that there are certain Mantras set forth in the present work relating to S'riPadmavati for acquiring learning which means that her worship is as Vāk. The mysterious Kundalini is also supposed to confer knowledge (Jnana) to the yogi worshipper. Kundalini is the serpentine force in the body which when roused passes through the six Chakras or the centres in the spinal cord and goes upto the lotus with a thousand petals namely Sahasrara and the highest bliss is obtained. Practically every Tantrik school has adopted this Kundali Yoga for realisation. There is thus identification of Sri Padmavati with Sarparājni, Vägdevi and Kundalini.
There is identification of Śrī Padmavati with various Tantrik Deities also. Sir John Woodroffe states at P. 93 'Shakti and Shakta': "It is said that the Hangsatără Mahavidya is the Sovereign Lady of Yoga whom Jainas call Padmavati, Shaktas Shakti, Bauddhas Tara, China Sadhakas Mahogrā, and Kaulas Chakreshvari. The Kadis call her Kali, the Hadis Shrisundari and the Kadi-Hadis Hangsa."
TANTRIK SADHANA *
AIM AND MEANS
We have given a general indication of the nature and character of Tantras. We shall now describe only the most important features
* अन्यान्यशास्त्रेषु विनोदमात्रम् । न तेषु किञ्चिद्भुवि द्दष्टमस्ति ॥
चिकित्सितज्योतिषतन्त्रवादाः । पदे पदे प्रत्ययमावहन्ति ॥
