Vimalprabha Tika Part 02

Author(s): Samdhong Rinpoche, Vajravallabh Dwivedi, S S Bahulkar
Publisher: Kendriya Uccha Tibbati Shiksha Samsthan

Page 20

- 19 - Vol. I, p. 18, lines 1 and 2). The entire work was never translated into Tibetan, Chinese or Mongolian and the Sanskrit original has been lost. We have some fragments of the Malatantra, one of which is presumably the Sokoddesa, and the others being the quotations found in various works, e. g., Vimalaprabha, Nadapada's Sekoddesatika, Caryagttikosavyakhya, Dohakosavyakhya, Tattvajnanasamsiddhitika otc., under the titles-Mulatantra, Adibuddha or Paramadibuddha". The Laghtantra, which we shall hereafter refer to as the Kalacakra Tantra, probably follows the same order of Patalas as existed in the Mulatantra. The five Patalas of the KT seem to have been arranged with a specific purpose. The first two Patalas describe the two realms, namely, the 'recoptaclo realm' (bhajanaloka ) and the 'sentient realm' ( satt daloka ) respectively. The third Pafala describes initiation (abhiseka ) which aims at the purification of the sentient (sattvasodhana ). The fourth one describes the practice ( sadhan? ) which includes, among other rites, the meditation upon the mandala and leads the aspirant to the accomplishment 1. For the discussion on the relation of the Sekoddesa to the Mulatantra, see, John Nowman, "The Paramadibuddha (The Kalacakra Mulatantra ) and its relation to the early Kalacakra Literature", Indo-Iranian Journal 30(2), 1987, pp. 93-102. He indicates the existence of a Sanskrit text (on p. 102) but unfortunately does not give the details of the same. H. P. Shastri, in his Catalogue of Palm leaf and Selected Paper MSs in the Durbar Library, Nepal., Vol. II, Calcutta, 1915, quotes a metrical portion from a page of an unknown work, put in as the first page of Yogarat namala which treats of Seka (pp. 44-45 ). This portion is undoubtedly the beginning of the Sokoddesa. The text is corrupt, but could easily be emended with the help of Nadapada's Sekoddesatika and the Tibetan translations. For a corrected text and detailed discussion, see, S. S. Bahulkar, "Fragments of the Sekoddesa", Dhih XVII (1994), pp. 149-154. 2. For the quotations from this work, see, V. V. Dwivedi and Banarsi Lal (ed.), Lupta Bauddha Vacana Samgraha Part-I, Rare Buddhist Texts Series No. 6, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, 1990. In his article, "Second Soarch of Sanskrit Palm-leaf MSs in Tibet" (JBORS Vol. XXIII (1), 1937 ), Rahul Sankrityayan gives a list of MSs which he noticed in the Sha Lu monastery, in which is found a title Adibuddha etc. (No. 270, p. 40 ). The MS. has 5 leaves and is incomplete. This may be a portion from the lost Milatantra,