Mahanirvana Tantram

First Chapter

Upon the beautiful peak of the lord of mountains Mount Kailasa, adorned with various gems, covered with many trees and creepers, and filled with the cries of diverse birds. (1)

Having bowed to Sadashiva, whose power is immeasurable and who is the embodiment of the six amnayas the six traditional paths of Tantric knowledge, and having been inspired by the Adi Shakti the Primordial Power, I recount the Mahanirvana Tantra, which is the bridge across the ocean of worldly existence, for the sake of the great ones. Having repeatedly bowed to the Supreme Brahman and to the feet of the Guru, I explain the words of Shambhu a name for Shiva according to my capacity.

As the Kali Yuga the present age of darkness has arrived—an age that destroys all meritorious deeds mentioned in the Vedas and promotes infinite, highly censurable, and sinful acts—Parvati, contemplating how humans who are attached to worldly things and engaged in various sinful acts will find liberation, asked the compassionate Sadashiva, who was residing on the peak of Kailasa, for the means of their deliverance. This is stated in the following: "Upon the beautiful peak of the lord of mountains," etc. There, on that peak of the king of mountains, Kailasa, seeing the silent Shiva who was dwelling on the summit, Goddess Parvati, seeking the welfare of all people, bowed with humility and asked the question of Shiva. The construction of the sentence follows the order of the eleven verses. By the word "silent," the occasion for the story is indicated. The thirteen terms ending in the seventh case, such as "beautiful," are adjectives of "on the peak of the lord of mountains," while terms like "teacher of the moving and unmoving world" are in the accusative case.