गुह्यसमाजतन्त्रप्रदीपोद्योतनटी काषट्‌कोटिव्याख्या:Guhyasamajatantrapradipodyotanatika- Satkotivyakhya (An Old and Rare Book)

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The Pradipodyotana-¡Ika-sajkojtvyakhya (PDSV) commentary of the Gubyasamaja-tantra (GST) is a rare as well as important text of the Indian Tantra literature. It consists of six standpoints of interpretations (satkotivyakhya) as the name of the commentary suggests. These are: (1) sandhyayabbasa (2) nxsandhya (3) neyartha (4) nitartha (5) yatharuta and (6) naruta. Throughout the text the commentator Candrakirti endeavours to explain the stiff passages on different issues from the above six standpoints of interpretations. It speaks about the erudite scholarship of Candrakirti having a high efficiency in the secret practice of the Yoga and the Tantra.

The Pradipodyotana-t1ka-satkotivyakhya has only seventeen chapters (patala) while the Guhyasamaja edited and published by Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, Gaekewad's Oriental Series, Boroda (1931) consists of eighteen chapters. The same text has been, later on, reprinted from the Mithila Research Institute, Darbhanga in 1965. The Guhyasamaja has been divided into two broad divisions, namely, purvardhakaya and uttarardhakaya and its commentary which is presented here deals with the former one, purvardhakaya. The commentary, is not always close to the version of the GST published by the Gaekwad's Oriental Institute. It leaves room to infer that the commentator might have used some other version which has not yet come down to us. In that respect the present commentary is immensely valuable.

As regards the manuscript of this commentary our indebtedness goes to my teacher the late Prof. Chintaharan Chakravarty who was an eminent scholar and practitioner of the Tantra in Bengal. His work entitled the "Tantras-Studies on their religion and literature" speaks about his eminence in the field.

The Tantra in the Buddhist thought

Traditionally, Gautama Buddha is said to have hesitated to preach the Truth he realised (sudurdarsa-gambhiro'yam dharmah) immediately after his attainment of Nirvana, and, on the request of the divine beings, later on, he administered his First Sermon 'Dharmacakrapravartana' to the group of the Five Bhiksus at Varanast Rsipatana Mrgadava. The Dharmacakrapravartanasutra, as it has now come down to us, has two parts. The first part opens with the statement that one should avoid the Two 'extremes (ko?i), one is, a worldly man performs rituals and ceremonies but at the same time remains addicted to pleasures; and, the other is, the life of a recluse dedicated to self-mortification. The second part of the stotra refers to the Four Noble Truths-Suffering, Origin of suffering, Cessation of suffering and the Eightfold Path to be practised for achievement of Nirvana. Buddha is said to have had deliberations according to the ability of grasping of a listener. He, therefore, did not preach the sermons which had been too difficult to understand by an ordinary being.

Traditions further mention that Buddha sermoned on the Tantra and secret practices in the assembly of divine beings including Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Trayastrimialoka beings. The other beings like Yaksa, Raksasa and Danava etc. had been also present there. It was presumed that the Tantra with its deep significance might not be properly understood by a mortal being unless and until one attains the higher stage of spiritual attainment (bhumi).