Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and Maṇiśailamahāvadāna

This study examines how the logic of localisation functions in Buddhist tantric literature and ritual as a powerful tool to convey knowledge and authoritative lineage via the immediacy of the manifest world. Literature composed in Newar (Nepāl Bhāṣā) and Sanskrit continues to link the pantheon of Bu...

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Main Author: Amber Moore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris 2020-01-01
Series:European Bulletin of Himalayan Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ebhr/240
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author Amber Moore
author_facet Amber Moore
author_sort Amber Moore
collection DOAJ
description This study examines how the logic of localisation functions in Buddhist tantric literature and ritual as a powerful tool to convey knowledge and authoritative lineage via the immediacy of the manifest world. Literature composed in Newar (Nepāl Bhāṣā) and Sanskrit continues to link the pantheon of Buddhist tantric deities to religious figures and multivalent sites in the Kathmandu Valley. Narratives of exploits (avadānas) and songs describe how heroes (vīras), heroines (vīreśvarīs) and magical female beings (yoginīs) reside and are encountered as site‑specific maṇḍalas of Buddhist tantric systems. This article examines two such sites in light of their related corpus of local literature: a unique solitary form of Vajrayoginī – Śrī Ugratārā Vajrayoginī – who is worshipped at Mount Maṇicūḍa near Sankhu, and Nairātmyā – the semi-wrathful consort of Hevajra – who is worshipped in Paśupatikṣetra, Deopatan. In this article, I look at local accounts, excerpts from the Maṇiśailamahāvadāna composed in Nepāl Bhāṣā, and offer an edition of the Sanskrit Tridalakamala practice song (caryāgīti). I utilise these sources to investigate how the sacred landscapes of the Buddhist vajra‑yoginīs in Nepal remain integral to the hermeneutics of reception of tantric Buddhism.
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spelling doaj.art-848936b9c6204e86b0a7572d74b30f202024-03-17T13:21:11ZengCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ParisEuropean Bulletin of Himalayan Research2823-61142020-01-0155387810.4000/ebhr.240Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and MaṇiśailamahāvadānaAmber MooreThis study examines how the logic of localisation functions in Buddhist tantric literature and ritual as a powerful tool to convey knowledge and authoritative lineage via the immediacy of the manifest world. Literature composed in Newar (Nepāl Bhāṣā) and Sanskrit continues to link the pantheon of Buddhist tantric deities to religious figures and multivalent sites in the Kathmandu Valley. Narratives of exploits (avadānas) and songs describe how heroes (vīras), heroines (vīreśvarīs) and magical female beings (yoginīs) reside and are encountered as site‑specific maṇḍalas of Buddhist tantric systems. This article examines two such sites in light of their related corpus of local literature: a unique solitary form of Vajrayoginī – Śrī Ugratārā Vajrayoginī – who is worshipped at Mount Maṇicūḍa near Sankhu, and Nairātmyā – the semi-wrathful consort of Hevajra – who is worshipped in Paśupatikṣetra, Deopatan. In this article, I look at local accounts, excerpts from the Maṇiśailamahāvadāna composed in Nepāl Bhāṣā, and offer an edition of the Sanskrit Tridalakamala practice song (caryāgīti). I utilise these sources to investigate how the sacred landscapes of the Buddhist vajra‑yoginīs in Nepal remain integral to the hermeneutics of reception of tantric Buddhism.https://journals.openedition.org/ebhr/240Newar Vajrayāna BuddhismcaryāgītiNairātmyāUgratārā Vajrayoginīsanctified landscape
spellingShingle Amber Moore
Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and Maṇiśailamahāvadāna
European Bulletin of Himalayan Research
Newar Vajrayāna Buddhism
caryāgīti
Nairātmyā
Ugratārā Vajrayoginī
sanctified landscape
title Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and Maṇiśailamahāvadāna
title_full Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and Maṇiśailamahāvadāna
title_fullStr Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and Maṇiśailamahāvadāna
title_full_unstemmed Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and Maṇiśailamahāvadāna
title_short Abodes of the vajra‑yoginīs: Mount Maṇicūḍa and Paśupatikṣetra as envisaged in the Tridalakamala and Maṇiśailamahāvadāna
title_sort abodes of the vajra yoginis mount manicuda and pasupatiksetra as envisaged in the tridalakamala and manisailamahavadana
topic Newar Vajrayāna Buddhism
caryāgīti
Nairātmyā
Ugratārā Vajrayoginī
sanctified landscape
url https://journals.openedition.org/ebhr/240
work_keys_str_mv AT ambermoore abodesofthevajrayoginismountmanicudaandpasupatiksetraasenvisagedinthetridalakamalaandmanisailamahavadana