The Heart of the Yogini

...considered a part of the Rudrayamala. Like the Rudrayamala itself, this part might be older than the Nityashodashikarnava. The Tripurasarasamuchaya is a specific composition by Nagabhatta. In it (2.25), a citation from the Tripurarnava is given. A manuscript of the Tripurarnava is likely present in the Sarasvati Bhavan. As it is currently closed, we cannot say anything about this with certainty. In Vidyananda’s Jnanadipavimarshini, the Udayakarpaddhati and Tripurasundarikalpalata are specifically quoted. It is quoted by this same name in the Rijuvimarshini as well, and in the Artharatnavali, it is referred to as the Mahatripurasundarikalpalata. In the 'Nepal manuscript' of the Jnanadipavimarshini, it is considered a work of Anantabhattaraka. The verse here is attributed to Anantashaktibhattaraka in the 'Baroda manuscript'. The passage 'kasturidhusrina' etc., quoted in the Dipika (2.96), belongs to the Udayakarpaddhati. We have written elsewhere about the importance of the Sanketapaddhati. Not only the Laghustava, but the entire Panchastavi is a work of Dharmacharya, and Jayaratha considers Dipakacharya, the author of the Tripurasundaridandaka, to be the first commentator on the Nityashodashikarnava. In the Prapanchasara, after describing general Tantric subjects, the method of Tripura worship is explained first in the ninth chapter while beginning the panchayatana worship. Subjects related to the Tripura tradition are also described in the Hansa-parameshvara and Rassarasangraha. We have also written about other ancient masters of the Tripura tradition. While introducing the literature of the Shrikula (Tripura tradition), discussion of all these is necessary because these texts have their own significance for understanding the ancient form and characteristics of this tradition, in comparison to many other Agamas that appeared from time to time.

Dr. Kanti Chandra Pandey, in the context of discussing Kaula Tantras, has also discussed some Nitya-tantras. There, he considers the Jnanarnava to be older than the Nityashodashikarnava.

1. See: Manuscript number 5-4904, folio 47a.
2. See: Manuscript number 1961, folio 38a.
3. Nityashodashikarnava, Introduction, pp. 46-47.
4. Agama aur Tantrashastra, pp. 86-87; Tantrayatra, pp. 74.
5. "Even today, countless commentaries have been created starting from Shri Dipakanatha" (Vamakeshvarimatavivarana, p. 115).
6. See the essay titled "Tripuradarshanasyaparichita Acharya Kritayashcha" published in Tantrayatra (pp. 72-75).
7. See: Abhinavagupta: An Historical and Philosophical Study, pp. 565-590, 2nd edition, 1963.