Readings in the Jayottaratantra: Session Two

Recently I have located a 14th century palm-leaf manuscript of Jayottaratantra in the National Archives, Kathmandu, and am preparing an edition of it. Previously, we had no access to this text though the title appears in the list of ƒÄgamas found in the PƒÅdma- and PƒÅrame≈õvarasa·πÉhitƒÅ, and also in the PañcarƒÅtrarak·π£ƒÅ of VedƒÅntade≈õika. The Jayottaratantra, in fact, serves as the foundational layer of the JayƒÅkhya-sa·πÉhitƒÅ, one of the earliest available Vai·π£·πáava Tantras. The Jayottaratantra is quite concise and contains approximately 400 verses. Unlike the printed version of the JayƒÅkhyasa·πÉhitƒÅ that contains nearly 5000 verses, it is coherent and consistent. I will report on special features of this text along with those of other three early Vai·π£·πáava Tantras from Nepal, in one of my lectures.

However, in these two seminars, I propose to read the ninth chapter that deals with Yoga from my edition of the text. We will interpret the text, occasionally discuss philological problems, and compare the text with the corresponding chapter of the Jayākhyasaṃhitā.