135

■ Article ■
Yogico-tantric Traditions in
the Hawd al-Hayat

Kazuyo Sakaki

Introduction

When we study the mutual interactions of religions in multi-religious societies, it is

important to consider how indigenous thoughts and practices have impact upon or are
affected by those which have been later introduced into those societies. We see an
example of these interactions in the case of transmission of one yogico-tantric text to
the Islamic world.
In the context of the spiritual journey for realizing the Supreme Being or the process
of self-realization, the visualization of the universe, both phenomenal and spiritual, in
the adept's mind is the key concept of Tantra-Yoga and Sufism. The body and soul of
the adept is the epitome of the universe. The adept should first observe the functional
correspondences of the phenomenal world as an outer world and his mind as an inner
world. Then he should transform his inner world into a sacred space and experience
the divine in this inner sacred space. As allied disciplines, Yoga and Tantra are con-
cerned with the body, mind and universe in this common meeting space. In their ap-
proaches and disciplines, Indian Sufism and yogico-tantric traditions can share the
same concept of spiritual transformation.
The yogins use prana or the breath as an intermediary for this transformation pro-
cess. As long as prana exists, life continues. If it departs, life ceases. The prana exists
in the human organism as a vital principle. This is the basic concept particularly of the
Natha yogins. The realization of correspondence between the psychic force in the hu-

榊 和良 Kazuyo Sakaki, Hokkaido Musashi Women's Junior College, Indian Philosophy.

Articles: Yogaväsistha and the Medieval Islamic Intellectuals in India, in Manjula Sandev (ed.),

Yogavaisistha Maharamayana•\A Perspective, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2004, pp. 282-297.

Divine Names •\The Manifestations of the Divine Essence in Sufism and Bhakti (in Japa-

nese), Journal of the National Research Institute, 106-3,2005, pp. 35-47.

 136 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17, 2005

man body and the energy in the world as a derivative of the ultimate reality is acquired
in the inner transformative experience through ritualistic disciplines and meditation by
controlling the prana.
The Sufistic exercise of spiritual concentration for the recollection of God (dhikr) is
carried out by the retention of the breath (habs-i dam), attentive meditation (muraqaba)
and concentration (tawajjuh) in fixed postures. These methods are usually understood
to have been derived from the yogic traditions through Buddhist channels in the early
stages of contact with Indian religions [Husain 1959: 305; Ahmad, Aziz 1964: 135-
136]. Of course, there is a danger that exaggerating the adaptation of yogic practices in
Sufism may lead to a misinterpretation of its historical evolution [Schimmel 1980: 24].
However, as suggested in previous studies by Louis Gardet and others [Gardet 1952:
670; Goldziher 1963: 176-177;McGregor 1984: 11,21; Trimingham 1971: 58], yogico-
tantric elements have infiltrated into the practices of individual Sufis.
This study focuses on the yogico-tantric elements in translation works in the context

of religious interaction between Indian Sufis and yogis. It deals in particular with the

renowned Persian and Arabic translations of the Amrtakunda (AK) and other related

literature. As early as 1753, De Guignes noticed this translation preserved in the

Bibliotheque Nationale (former Bibliotheque du Roi in Paris), characterized it as a

"book of philosophical contemplation" and compa
red its contents with Greek philoso-

phy [De Guignes 1753: 791-792]. As I outlined in a previous essay [Sakaki 2000], the

translator of the AK tells us in the introduction that the first informant was a yogin from

Kamarapa (Kamak, Kandkhya, Kamru_, now called Guwahati in Assam) and the knowl-

edge was transmitted to an immigrant Islamic judge Rukn al-Din Amili Samarqandi

(d.1218) who was in Lakhnawati during the reign of •eAli Mardan Khalji (d.1206).

Although the exact date of translation is not mentioned in the text, the probable date of

transmission is around the beginning of the thirteenth century . The diffusion of the

translated texts opened up Muslims to a new world of transformation .

The translation is entitled Hawd al-Hayat (HH). The text was first translated into
Persian (HHP)1)and then into Arabic (HHA).2)Its long-term cultural influences have
been proved by the wide circulation of related works. Within the Sufi circle , a direct
paraphrase of the HH was made in the middle of the sixteenth century by the Shattari
saint, Muhammad Ghawth Gwaliyari. His rendering entitled Bahr al-Hayat (BH) con-
tained much more formulae and occult ways of meditation, and became widely popu-
lar. Since the middle of the seventeenth century, adaptations of the HH were also
found among the Muslim Yogic literature called puthi sahitya (originally means a
handwritten manuscript in Bengali), such as the Yoga Qalandar of Saiyid Murtada,3)
the Jnana Sagara and the jnana Pradipa of Saiyid Suitan.4)Thus the Sufis incorpo-
rated yogico-tantric culture in their own religio-philosophical system through the trans-
lations and paraphrases of the HH and the BH .5)
In a recent study, Carl W. Ernst emphatically states after "examining the Islamic
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 137

terms, names or even whole chunks of texts" that the HH shows "the Islamizing ten-
dency" of the original text. Furthermore, he assumes that it "cannot be identified with
any particular surviving text on hatha yoga" and "no trace of it can be found today in
any Indological literature" [Ernst 2003: 205-206]. However, in spite of the clearly
Islamic remaking of the original text that can be observed in the two additional intro-
ductory stories borrowed from the fragmentary Arabic version of the Gnostic Hymn of
the Soul and an Arabic translation of Suhrawardi's allegorical work entitled On the
Reality of Love (FT Haqiqat al-'Ishq), and the peripheral Islamic framework which
may have been adopted in the process of transmission, we need not go astray in deter-
mining the source texts. The HH clearly displays yogico-tantric influence in terms of
religio-philosophical content and terminology.
A translation may manifest cultural differences based on the translator's background
knowledge and intention. However, it should be an authentic and well-informed repre-
sentation of the source text. On the other hand, readers may understand the translated
text as a part of their own culture pervaded with concepts familiar to them. Islamication,
if it may be so called, may have occurred in most works translated into Islamic lan-
guages. The Muslim translators always kept in mind that the translation should not be
treated as heretic. They often included references to Qur'anic passages, pious phrases
and the Hadiths, and terminology relevant to the literary competence of the readers.
We find many examples of this kind in the translations of the Bhagavadgita, the fifty
Upanisads, the Yogavasistha and the Mahabharata.
Ernst points out in the last part of his article that "conclusion would be left to foreign
scholars who alone had the resources and the motivation to re-Indianize the text". His
remarks call for critical examination in several respects. First of all, the HH is not a
"single historical document on hatha yoga" [Ernst 2003: 226] . We can trace several
references to Hatha Yoga6)among the translation works of Sanskrit classics and com-
pendium in Islamic languages. By a critical scrutiny of existent unpublished manu-
scripts and prevailing sources, we will present some textual evidences to show that the
subjects of these Persian and Arabic translations are closely related with those of the
Indian yogico-tantric texts and suggest their anonymous Sanskrit origin.
The presentation of subjects in the HH is repetitive and not systematic as in the
digests of the literature of Hindu tantrism, which it assumedly follows. However, an
analysis of the contents and passages of the Arabic and Persian translations of the AK
reveals that they follow the yogico-tantric doctrines and disciplines of the Natha tradi-
tion. After examining the passages which are verbatim translations or largely modified
passages, references can be traced to Sanskrit Natha literature. In particular, they pay
serious attention to the body and the prana as a means to realize the notion of micro-
cosm-macrocosm correspondence. In order to support our argument, we also refer to
several other Persian translations of Sanskrit Natha literature.
 138 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies , 17, 2005

1 Two main subjects of the HH

1.1 The source translation of the HH

The HH may be a compilation of several yogico-tantric texts. As is shown in Ernst's
putative chart of literary transmission, one Persian manuscript preserved in the Vatican
library [Persian No.20, Rossi 1948: 47-49] may give us useful information on the
earliest stage of transmission of the AK. The AK was brought from India by a Roman
nobleman Pietro della Valle. The manuscript was given by his friend Mulla Zayn al-
Din and copied in 1622 in Lar by Mulla Jamal b . Muhammad Bahram Tabrizi [Ernst
2003: 223; Gurney 1986: 113]. As the cataloguer noticed , the title of the text is given
slightly varying forms in this manuscript. In spite of the three strokes for two conso-
nants without diacritical marks (nuqta) in the latter half, he reads Damerdbigaska (2a)
or Kamardbigaska (14b) or Kamardbigaska (28a, 56a) [Rossi 1948: 48] .
At the beginning of the Vatican manuscript, it is declared that the text is a transla-
tion (mutarjama) (lb) of the renowned work entitled D .M.R.D.-.-.J.A.S.K.A. There
are two other variations of the title of the original text in this manuscript , and the
transliteration of the first variation is K .A.M.R.D.-.-.J.A.S.K.A. (2a, 14b, 27a, 28a,
56a). Only once in 26a, it is called K.A .M.A.K. for (barayi) -.-.J.A.S.K.A. Taking into
consideration a typical transcription error in Arabic and Persian , the first letter D can
be read as K and the second D as W, so the first half would be Kamru or Kamak (an
abridged form of Kamarupa and Kamakhya respectively) .
I do not agree with Ernst's proposal of the title as Kamrubijaksa (Kamru-bijaksa)
[Ernst 2003: 203] because of the above mentioned reading of the latter half of the
original title. There is no proof for the interchange of Arabic letters kaf and sin , as in
Ernst's reading -bijaksa. In the New Catalogus Catalogorum and the Notices of San-
skrit Manuscripts, we find a tantric text entitled the Kamakhyapancasika or the
Kamakhyapancasika. This title is mentioned in the Yantracintamani by Damodara as
a text dealing with fascinating, killing and paralyzing females, kings and enemies by
means of charms and mystic diagrams [NCC vol.3: 362; Notices vol .1: 137-138;
Goudriaan 1981: 158].The Sanskrit original is not available. In spite of the three strokes
without diacritical mark, the exact title of the original Sanskrit work can be assumed to
be the Kamarupapancasika (KP). We will use this probable title for Vatican manu-
script.

1.2 Svarodaya: the knowledge of the appearance of svara

The KP contains seven chapters which are preceded by an introduction . In spite of
several repetitions and non-systematic construction , the essential subjects of the HH
are included in the KP. The subjects of the KP are by and large divided into two
categories: one deals with the knowledge of meditation ('ilm-i wahm) and yogic disci-
pline (riyadat), and the other is S.R.W.D.H. (2a) which is interpreted as the knowledge
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 139

of the mind ('ilm-i damir) (2b).

The S.R.W.D.H. part of the KP was translated into Arabic as an independent work
entitled Essence of the Breaths (Khawass al-Anfas). The manuscript of the text is pre-
served in the Asiatic Society of Bengal7)and is said to be based on the Sanskrit poetical
work entitled Camphor (Kaffir) narrated by K.A.M.K.Y.A.D.W.Y. (3ab). Careful
examination shows that this is the abridged translation of the first quarter of the KP.
Kaffir consists of six chapters after the description of K.A.M.K.Y.A. D.W.Y. and gen-
eral principles of breath (the characteristics of breath through right and left nostrils,
total number of breathing, five kinds of breath reigned by five kinds of elements) (3a-
6a): (1) how to confirm the right time to engage in activities ('azimat al-istif'al bi'l-
umur) (6b-10b); (2) (how to answer) the questions (suwal) based on the flow of svara
(10b-14a); (3) prediction based on the five kinds of breath entitled "mind (damir)"
(14b-15b); (4) the knowledge of death (ma 'rifat al-mawt) (15b-17a); (5) how to get
affection and get rid of hatred (mahabbat wa al-baghad) (17a-23b); and (6) the knowl-
edge of breath (ma'rifat-i nafas) (23b-28a).
Exact contents of the S.R.W.D.H. part of the KP are unsystematically mixed as
follows: (1) the principles for prediction of future events based on the flow of svara
through left and right nostrils (2b-4a, 11b-12a, 14b); (2) the rules of interrogations
(qanun-i suwal-i
) (4a-5b,
sayil 13b, 26b-27ab); (3) prediction based on the five kinds
of breath reigned by five elements (5b-6b, 11ab); (4) four kinds of ways to know the
approach of the end of life (danistan-i murg) (6b-8a) and the methods of averting the
signs (8ab, 19a-20b); (5) how to get affection and get rid of hatred (8b-10a, 12ab, 14a);
(6) the description of K.A.M.A.K.D.Y.W. (10ab, 15ab); and (7) general knowledge of
breath and praise of the knowledge of svara (10b-11 a, 13a-14a). Comparing these
contents with svarodaya texts, we may assume that S.R.W.D.H. denotes svarodaya
conceptually and terminologically, as I will demonstrate below.
In India, as in other regions of the world, people regard omens as a means of know-
ing the future. Beginning with the divination-rites traced back to the Vedic literature,
they have developed various methods of divination or prognostication [Thite 1978: 5-
17; Pingree 1981: 67]. These are not only used for divination but for modifying the
future in a favourable way by means of magical power. Among the texts dealing with
divination or prognostication, there is a genre called svarodaya. Svarodaya is a science
of predicting auspiciousand inauspiciousresults based on various arrangements(cakras)
of letters associated with time divisions and astrological entities on magical pictures of
animals and objects (also called cakras), and arrangements of lunar mansions, months,
and numbers relative to the directions. The most famous treatise in this genre is the
Narapatijayacarya (NJC) or the Svarodaya composed by Narapati in Mithila in 1177.
This book is allegedly based on the seven yamalas beginning with the Brahmayeimala
and various other tantric texts [NJC: 3-7; see Sakaki 2004].
The same term svarodaya is also used to signify another genre of this kind of pre-
140 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17, 2005

diction on the basis of the flow of the breath through the right or left nostril. The NJC
refers to it in only fifty-six verses in the section entitled hamsa carya .8)This science is
said to be transmitted by Siva, so the text is called ,Sivasvarodaya (SSV) or
Sivaparvatisamvada due to the style of conversation between Siva and Parvati . This
traditional science not only prevails in the form of an independent text , but is also
included in chapter four of the Vivekamartanda (VM) which is a compilation work of
the Naha tradition.
The popularity of this science is known from the references to it in the Garuda
Purana 1.67.6ab, Sarvadarsanagraha (chapter 15), a famous compendium of philo-
sophical sects by Sayana-Madhava and the subsequent Persian translations. In addi-
tionto the basic compendiumof the Nathatraditionknownas the Goraksasataka(GS)
[Sakaki2002: 168]translatedinto Persianwith the title Protectionof Breath (Pas-i
Anfas),9) the SSVintroducedby Al-Biruniis includedas a text belongingto the astro-
logicalliterature[Sachau1887:75; 1983:158].The SSVwas translatedintoPersianas
the Ocean of Knowledge(Muhit Ma'rifa)10) by KirpalDas. The author statedthat it
was the translationof Pothi Sarodayaby Sada Siva.Amongthe sixteenchapters, the
firstten chapterscorrespondto the SSVand therest dealswithRama-Bhakti , Samkhya-
yoga,Raja-yoga,Hatha-yoga,eight-limbedYoga,divineknowledge('irfa-n)and the
unityof God(tawhid).Anotherversionis theKnowledgeofBreath(Ma`rifat-iAnfds)10
ascribedto Sufi Sharif Abu'lFacllalso includedthis scienceamongthe nineteenaddi-
tional branches of knowledgein the kin-i Akbari [AA1870, vol. 2: 124-128;AA
1978,vol. 3: 244-250; cf. Sakaki2004: 134].Thusthe scienceof svara was widely
knownamongIndianMuslimintellectualsand religiouspractitioners.

1.3 Wahm: meditation and visualization

Another topic of the KP is wahm. In 15b-16a, the translator of the KP states that "the
book of dam and wahm" was taught by sixty-four women and explains wahm as the
knowledge of breaths (danish-i dam-ha). Here the word wahm refers to the way of
meditating on a specific letter in each of the nine specified places in the body. This is
then followed by the explanations of how to avert the symptoms of death. It may be
said that here wahm corresponds with dhydna through yogic disciplines.
We find many references of the application of the term wahm to yogic discipline
before the establishment of Indo-Muslim rule in the sub-continent. As early as the
ninth century, miraculous yogic practices were reported by the Arab Muslim travelers
and geographers as wonders ('ajd 'ib) which were brought about by the faculty of imagi-
nation (wahm). This faculty is a part of the five internal senses or psychological faculty
to explain instinctive and emotional response to perception and to cause miracles and
unnatural events as shown in the commentary on Aristotle's De Anima by Ibn Sina
[Goichon 1938: 79,160; Nasr 1993: 260-261].
The Book of the Catalogue (Al-Fihrist), dated the end of the tenth century, refers to
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 141

the wahm of Indian people and states "the art of illusion is a specialty of India and
some of the books on the subject have been translated into Arabic" [Fihrist 1978: 309].
There is a reference to wahm in an existing treatise entitled the Book of Omen (Kitab
al-Rumuz) written in 274 A.H. (887-8) by Ibn Abi Salt. He designates wahm as a
symbolic art of the soul (rumuz al-nafs) such as the charms (niranjat) of the Persians,
the mental control (wahm) of the Indians and the binding ('aqd) of the Byzantines
[Bellamy 1961: 230].
The term wahm is also used to describe the mental control of Indian yogis in the
Religious Sects and Philosophical Groups (al-Milal wa al-Nihal) dated 521 A.H. (1127).
Based on several Muslim source materials on Indian religion and philosophy since the
ninth century, Shahrastani classified these sects and groups into five: the Baraimas,
the followers of spiritual beings (ruhaniyat), star-worshippers, idol-worshippers, and
philosophers, and divided them into fourteen subcategories.'2)Among the subcatego-
ries of the Bardhima are the proponents of meditation and imagination (ashab al-fikra
wa al-wahm). They are said to be "well versed in the science of celestial orbits and
stars and the astrological judgments connected with them". On the other hand, "the
proponents of meditation attach great importance to imaginary thought (fikr)" and as-
sume it as "the intermediary between the sense world and the intelligible world". They
think "when their thought is freed from this world, the other world is revealed to it"
[Milal: 597-598; Lawrence 1976: 44-45]. For that purpose, they make effort to divert
imagination and thought from sense objects. In this way, a remarkable ability is ac-
quired through meditation and the imagination, and influences the movements of bod-
ies and the behaviour of souls.
For the Muslims, these were a source of wonder and object of curiosity. As the
translator of the KP claimed that this Persian book was a commentary (tafsir) on the
original (15b), the readers may have demanded an explanation. When taking this pas-
sage into consideration, it suffices to assume that the translators wanted to explain the
original ideas in terms familiar to their readers on the basis of indigenous sources.

2 Textual evidence of svarodaya

2.1 Correspondences of microcosm and macrocosm

Ernst remarks on the subject of breath control that "the concept of the sun and moon
breaths as associated with the left and right nostrils" is "the prominent hatha yoga",
but "the concepts of breath underlying these passages (in the HH) are not clearly re-
lated to standard Indian cosmologies" [Ernst 2003: 216]. However, a close examina-
tion of the Natha literature and Yoga Upanisads attests that most of the religious ele-
ments handed down in the HH have their roots in a wider Indian tradition to which
Hatha Yoga also belongs. The HH indeed shares several passages with the SSV and
related Sanskrit texts.
142 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17, 2005

In the beginning of chapter one, the HH says that the human being is a microcosm
('alam al-saghir) and whatever exists in the macrocosm ('alam al-kabir) exists in the
microcosm. Ernst equates the microcosmic-macrocosmic correspondences of the HH
to a variation of "the standard Islamicate cosmology" found in the doctrine of the
Universal Man (al-insan al-kulli) of the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa) , a secret
Arab confraternity founded in Basra at the end of the tenth century [Ernst 2003: 213-
214; cf. Nasr 1993: 101].
The same tenet is explained in the Mingling of the Two Oceans (Majma' al-
Balyayn)13)by Dara Shukoh as the idea of Indian monotheists (muwal:Oidan)begin-
ning with Vyasa. They conceive of the macrocosm as one individual self called the
mahapurus (mahapurusa) and describe the world as the different limbs of its body .
The identification of various regions and substances in the world with the limbs of
mandpurusa can be traced in the Bhagavata-purana 2-1. Here, the supreme intellect of
Brahman is metaphoricallyexpressed in the form of the cosmic person (vairdta-purusa,
viraj-purusa). The author may have compared the idea with the concept of the perfect
man who realizes the manifestation of the essence of the Absolute, known by one of
the famous technical terms of Ibn al-'Arabi. General correspondences between the
microcosm and the macrocosm are explained not only in the Epistles (Rasa 'il) of the
Ikhwan al-Safa' but also in the Tree of the Universe (Shajarat al-Kawn) by Ibn al-
'Arabi
. However, they are not consistent with each other .
Since the HH is a translation work, there is good reason to examine the ideas of the
HH in the light of the Natha literature. Conceptual and terminological correspondences
to the HHA are found in the Goraksasamhita (GS)14)and the Siddhasiddhantapaddhati
(SSP). In the Natha tradition, the self-manifestation of Siva is called para-pinda and
cosmic purusa. The individual human body (pinda) is evolved from the cosmic body
of Siva. On the basis of this concept, the Natha tradition developed a way to know the
inner nature of the human body through yogic practice (abhyasa). Among items men-
tioned in Ernst's list, the correspondences of the two nostrils to the sun and the moon;
two nostrils, eyes, ears and mouth to the seven planets; five sense organs to the stars;
the head to the sky; the body to the earth; bones to mountains; seven constituents of the
physical body to the seven climates (iglims) are exactly or partly found in the Natha
literature.15)
The sun and the moon correspond to the right and left nostrils in the microcosm.
This crucial concept is pointed out at the beginning of chapter one of the HH. The path
of breath alternates between the right nostril and the left. The breath does not flow
through both nostrils at the same time. Thus the sun and the moon in the macrocosm
exercise their influence on things in the microcosm. This is the basic concept of svara
in the SSV.This alternation is called udaya. Mastery over the knowledge of the svaras
brings about the knowledge of the present and the future and leads to emancipation
(mukti) (SSV 54, 56).
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 143

2.2 Nadi and prana

One of the fundamental notions about the svara is based on the movement of prana
through the channels (nadi). In chapter five, the HH describes three kinds of breath:
"one rises up
, one goes down in order to purify and the third circulates. The third one
moves through the body and if this is unable to penetrate, every activity of the senses
and movement will cease" [HHA 325-326; HHP 21b-22a]. This indicates the three
aspects of the prana in the subtle body (suksma-Sarira), prana, apana and udana. As
shown in GA.'13 and 14,16)Natha yogins regard the human organism as a combination
of the physical gross body and the subtle body which are linked at several psychic
points called cakras. The prana is carried through these points to promote life activi-
ties with different functions.
In the Natha tradition, our organic body is called a pot or a pitcher (ghata), accord-
ing to ghatasthayoga taught by Gheranda to Canda Kapali (GhS 1.2,9). The equiva-
lent word utilized in the HH is a waterskin (qirba) which keeps water cool. In chapter
four, the HH suggests as follows: the body is like a water skin filled with water or sand.
If you want to open it, do not put anything in it. Like the body, it does not afford to
protect the contents. It is necessary to vacate and purify it gently and softly without
damaging it [HHA 323; HHP 19b].
For training the body, the six purificatory processes (satkarmani: dhauti, vasti, neti,
lauliki, trataka, kapalabhati) are recommended before proceeding to the six practices
beginning with posture (asana). The purificatory processes are partly described in the
latter half of the second chapter of the HH. Among the six purificatory processes,
gazing (trataka) is recommended for diseases of the eye, and tongue cleansing
(jihvasodhana), which is included in the dantadhauti, is recommended for diseases of
the mouth and tongue [HHA 319-320; HHP 18ab; HP 4.17] .
Chapter four deals with asana as the second limb of the six-limbed disciplines propa-
gated by Natha Yoga. Following the purificatory processes, asana gives strength to
the body. Natha Yoga usually teaches the eighty-four postures of sitting and the HH
introduces five of them. They are identified as the lotus pose (padma-asana), modifi-
cation of the lotus pose called the wheel posture (cakra-dsana), the cock's posture
(kukkuta-asana), a modified embryo posture (garbha-asana) and the Galava posture
using only one foot (ekapada-galava-asana) [HHA 323-325; HHP 20b-21b].
As is commonly shown in the Naha literature and the Yoga Upanisads, the total
number of breaths in a day and night is also measured in the HHP .17)In the HHA, the
first kind of breath rises up to twelve-fingers (angulas) from the tip of the nose in
exhalation. This is prana. The reduction of the length of prana by eight fingers is
recommended for expelling diseases. Here normal exhalation and inhalation is mea-
sured in twelve fingers. This corresponds with SSV 226. According to SSV 221, the
prana measures twelve fingers in exhalation, so maximum reduction will be by twelve
fingers. As a result of this, the practitioner will be able to fly at the speed of hamsa,
144 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17, 2005

drink the nectar like water of the Ganges and conquer hunger and thirst.
It is interesting to note that, regarding the pranayama, when the translator of the
HHA explains how to confirm the way of breathing, he refers to the prophet Khizr (al-
khidr), Jonah (yunus) and Elias (ilyas) based on the well-known tradition, and how
foetus breathes in amniotic fluid, fish breathes in water without swallowing water and
trees breathe in water through their roots. The HHP changes them to the three precep-
tors of the Nätha tradition, Goraksanatha, Chaurangindtha and Matsyendrandtha. As
the sign of perfection of this practice, the practitioner shivers and reaches the water of
life (ma' al-haydt, ab-i hayat)[HHA 326-327; HHP 22b]. The three prophets and the
three Naha preceptors are the symbol of perfection of controlling breath and acquiring
divine knowledge.

2.3 Five kinds of breath

In chapter two, the HHA refers to the five kinds of breath and the direction of their
movement: "The breaths are five: fiery, watery, airy, earthy, and ethereal. The fiery
breath rises up, the heavenly breath spreads out, the watery breath moves into the
nostril from a distance of four fingers, the earthy moves into the nostril from a distance
of eight fingers." Ernst states that "it is hard to recognize any resemblance to the Indian
traditions on the breaths" and "the association with the elements is not found in stan-
dard Indian texts, and may be an Aristotelian touch added by the translator" [Ernst
2003: 217]. On the contrary, however, this is one of the major subjects of svarodaya
and is referred to in the Naha literature and Yoga Upanisads [G,' 155-160; VM6.146-
151; HP 6.12-16; YTU84-103].
Based on the concept that the physical body is made up of the five elements (water,
fire,wind, earth and akasa), the science of svara assumes that the elements abide in the
movements of our breath. When the breath flows through the nostril in a particular
condition, the five elements appear and exercise their influence on our behaviour (SSV
143). The svara jnanins know how to determine svara on the basis of eightfold signs:
the number of the elements, junction of the breathing (svasa-sandhi), characteristics of
breath (svara-cihna), location, colour, prana, taste and the movement (SSV 145-147).
The appearance of an element is indicated by the condition of its movement. If the
breath flows in the middle of the nostril, it indicates the presence of the element of
earth; in the lower part, water; in the upper part, fire; in the oblique direction, air; in a
rotating manner, tilcda (SSV 154).This statement corresponds in principle to the move-
ments of the five winds of breath described in HHA 318 and the characteristics shown
in KP 5b-6a.'8)

2.4 Svarodaya for divination

The next independent category in svarodaya is prasna (answering specific ques-
tions based on the time when the question is asked) which is included in main branches
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 145

of Vedic astrology and introduced from the Hellenistic world. Svarodaya inherits this
tradition. SSV 52 says that mastery over the knowledge of the past and the present
comes to those who practice thoroughly the moon and sun svaras.
As was shown in 2.1, the HHP clearly states that the sun and moon in the macro-
cosm correspond to the two kinds of breath. The priority of the svara through the left
nostril is shown in chapter two [HHA 318-319; HHP 17ab]. The observation of the
flow of svara gives a clue to the symptom (sutrat)to determine the right time and mode
for doing things in order to achieve success. If a person always breathes freely through
the left nostril during the day time and from the right during night, he will never fall ill
or grow old and feeble and will remain immune from the effect of magic and poison.
SSV 328 and 330 give exact corresponding explanations.
The svara-jnanins know the method to control the course of breath and the power of
breath. As mentioned above, in the KP, we find an independent chapter on the rules of
interrogations. Chapter two of the HH also instructs how to answer the queries. If the
questioner sits on the right side of the interpreter, when the interpreter's svara is flow-
ing from the right nostril, and asks a question about a lost person, the person will come
back safely. Or if the questioner is in need of something, it will be fulfilled. If the
questioner sits on the left side, when the svara of the interpreter is flowing through the
left nostril, and asks about a lost person or item, the person or item will be safely
recovered. However, if the svara of the interpreter is flowing from the right nostril in
this case, the person will be sick or dead. SSV205 corresponds to this type of query and
answer. The svara from the right nostril is favourable for travelling and good diges-
tion. SSV 116 and 121 correspond to these explanations.
Regarding conception, the HH relates as follows: if the breath course of the man is
on the right side during intercourse, his wife will beget a son. If the man's svara is
from the left nostril, the wife will beget a daughter. This theory regarding conception
(garbhakarana) appears in SSV286. The HH gives the following solution to the prob-
lem of the wife loving another man. During intercourse, when the husband's svara is
from the right side and the wife's is from the left side, the husband should put his right
nostril on the left nostril of his wife and drink her svara. This will enable the husband
to captivate the wife. SSV 276 and 280 attest this. Regarding warfare and quarrelling,
the HH says if the questioner's breathing is from the right side, and the questioner
stands to the left side of the enemy, he will gain victory. This is attested by SSV 258.
These descriptions are treated in KP 11a-14a in detail.

2.5 The sign of approaching death (arista)

A traditional concept of the evil omen of death called arista is included among the
methods of divination. Since the Vedic period, seers have sought to avoid untimely
death by the ritual of defying death (mrtyunjaya). The eighth chapter of the HH intro-
duces three kinds of ways to confirm the symptom of approaching death: observation
146 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17, 2005

of the afterimage of one's shadow in the sky (chaya-purusa), observation of the reflected
image in a mirror and observation of physiological signs [HHA 335-336; HHP 28b].
In the KP, the arista is treated in an independent chapter entitled "knowledge of
death (danistan-i marg) (6b)". There are four kinds of ways to confirm the symptom of
death. The first test is to check the movement of breathing. If there is no running breath
on the solar side (in the right nostril) or on the moon side (in the left nostril), it is a sign
that the prana resides in an irregular junction. If this continues for several days, it is a
sign of approaching death. The text indicates how many days are left for the person's
life.19)This kind of observation is found in SSV332-334, 362-363, 365,2°)though there
are differences in the length of time for which the person can still live. The rest of the
three kinds of tests are the same as those of the HH.
Einoo has examined descriptions regarding the three types of tests which suggest
that the way to avert untimely death is by performing yogic disciplines and rituals
[Einoo 2004: 871-886]. According to his elaborate analysis, this kind of religious and
magico-ritualistic method to avert untimely death and prolong life can be traced back
to the tradition since the Vedic period.
In the context of Yoga, Naha yogins thought that symptoms of approaching death
can be averted by yogico-tantric exercises and meditation. For them, this means libera-
tion while living (jivan-mukti), victory over death (mrtyunjaya), deceiving death
(Wdavaiicana)and acquiring immortality.For this purpose,the teaching of Goraksandtha
is declared to be "a ladder to liberation and a means of averting death and by this the
mind is turned away from worldly pleasure and attached to the Paramdtman" (G,' 5).
For the translators of the KP and the HH, these ways are beyond the realm of reason
and are required to be explained in the context of ritualistic disciplines through wahm.

3 Textual evidence of wahm

3.1 The method of conquering death

As shown in the previous section, according to the HH, when the symptoms of
untimely death or decay are found, the method to avert their unfavour-able effect is
meditation (wahm), which is described in chapter seven, using the postures instructed
in chapter four. Compared with the KP, the HH describes the procedure more briefly.
After a preparatory process, one should face toward the east, perform meditation on a
specified form with colour at a certain place in the body [HHA 336-337; HHP 29ab].
The seven places to be meditated on correspond to the locations of the cakras. The

anus (maq •ead), the place between anus and testicles (khusyatayn), navel (surra) , heart

(qalb), throat (hulqum), the place between the two eyebrows and the nostrils, and the

top of the head. According to the G,' (15-18, 22-24, 136-137, 141-142, 165-168,

170, 175, 177), these correspond to the muladhara-cakra, svadhistheina-cakra,

manipuraka-cakra, anahata-cakra, visuddha-cakra, ajna-cakra and the sahasrara-

 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 147

cakra.
The objects of meditation in this case are geometrical signs found among the yantras
which are well-known as symbols of elements in the Natha tradition and symbols of
the seats of deities in the Tantric tradition. We can identify the square as a diagram
(shakl) of the earth, the crescent moon, of the water; the triangle, of the fire; and the
full moon, of the akasa in several manuscripts.21)It is interesting to see that, as Ernst
remarks, the figures used as yantras have been Islamicated into shapes of Arabic let-
ters in the process of diffusion of the text. This Islamication is not so obvious in the
manuscripts preserved in the Indian subcontinent, but we find distinct differences in
the manuscripts preserved in Turkish libraries.")
At the end of meditation proceeding from the first place to the seventh place, all the
seven forms are combined together and water flows like semen (ma 'i mani). The HHP
has more elaborate expressions. At this stage, something white will shine in the mind
and rise up to the place of the moon. The name susumna is mentioned here. The pas-
sage reads, "when the moon and the sun will merge in the susumna, then the water of
life (amrta) will flow downward on your body." This reminds us of the result of the
khecarimudra, as pointed out by Einoo [Einoo 2004: 878]. This mudra can be formed
as follows: by cutting the tendon joining the tongue to the lower jaw, rubbing and
pulling out the tongue with the hand so that it will be lengthened and its tip will reach
an aperture at the roof of the mouth near the root of the tongue (kapalakuhara) be-
tween the eyebrows inside. As a result of this, bindu, white light, will flow downward
and prevent the loss of energy and untimely death. These descriptions are given in
97-101.
SSV370ab and VM4.196-198 give us instructions on how to avert the symptoms of
approaching death. Recommended ways are the practice of Yoga, bathing in a place of
pilgrimage (tirtha-snana), charity (dana), various austerity (tapas), righteous actions
(sukrta), repetition of sacred words (japa) and concentration (dhyana-yoga). The
kalavancana is taught by Bhairava in the twenty-first section (patala) of the GS. The
first test is dealt with in GS 21.210-223. Although the exact range of time to death
does not conform to the statement in the HH, various cases of lack of the part of the
body in the chaya-purusa are given in GS 21.223-227. The various physiological signs
indicating the approach of death are described in greater detail in GS 21.181-207. For
the procedure of averting the result of these signs, Bhairava repeatedly instructs that
kala or death is averted by various practices of yoga (yoga-abhyasa) (22.5cd, 7cd,
9cd). Various sacred words (vidya) are also enumerated, accompanied by names of
goddesses (matrka) in the same section of the GS.
The Kaulajnananirnaya (KJN) ascribed to Matsyendranatha deals with this subject
in the fifth chapter. Bhairava reveals how to avert the indication of death by meditation
on oneself sitting on the seat of the moon located in the genitals, navel, heart, throat,
mouth, forehead and the joint of the skull (5.5cd-17). Having meditated on the place
148 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17, 2005

which is called the seat of the moon and touched the upper moon (throat), the mind is
moistened by the drop of heavenly coolness, and one becomes liberated from decay
and death, delivered from all diseases (5.12cd-13). For Naha yogins, meditation on
the symbolical moon is indispensable for the transformation of the body and helps to
attain final liberation.

3.2 Result of meditation: siddhi and aisvarya

The ritual elements of the tantric tradition are usually included in the means for
accomplishment (seidhana), such as initiation (diksa), the construction of mandala,
oblation (homa), the recitation of mantras (bija mantra, vidya) , the assignment of
powerful syllables on the body (nyasa), and meditation on a deity's images (dhyana)
with the help of Kundalini-yoga.
In the first half of chapter seven, instructions are given on the seven types of medi-
tation together with sacred words, the interpretation of the sacred words, geometrical
forms, locations, colours, related planets, and the supernatural powers acquired by
meditation. In the context of Tantrism, magical rites are usually known as the six rites
(satkarmani) and are enumerated with some variations: appeasement (santi) or delud-
ing (mohana) or curing diseases; subjugation (vasya or vasikarana) under control or
attraction (akarsana); causing paralysis (stambhana); causing enmity (dvesa or
vidvesana); expulsion (uccatana) and killing (marana).23)Some procedures of the six
rites are contained in the latter half of chapter seven.
The description of the supernatural powers (siddhi, aisvarya) acquired through medi-
tation in the HH may be traced to KJN 7.20-25. According to the latter, several kinds
of supernatural powers are acquired through raising the Kundalinisakti with the help
of meditation and repetition of mantra. The powers acquired by the seven kinds of
meditation and additional powers described in the seventh chapter of the HH are in-
cluded in these powers mentioned in the KIN. The HH enumerates the following pow-
ers: the power to make the noose (i.e. evil influence) ineffective (pasastobha), the
power to punish or to favour another (nigrahanugraha), the power to enter another's
body (kramana), the power to kill someone (marana), the power to create trouble in
someone's mind (uccatana), the power to stop another, the power to make someone
unconscious, the power to expel poison (visanasana), the power to attract everyone
and the power to bring someone under control (vasikarana). In this chapter, each power
is related to a specified mantra with Islamic interpretation. Among the seven mantras,
some are related to the above mentioned aisvaryas described in the KJN. For example,
hum is effective for marana and yum yah for uccatana.

3.3 Visualization of seven spiritual beings and magical astrology

Shahrastani introduced the idea of a group of followers of spiritual beings. He called
spiritual beings (ruhani) in India apostles (rasul) and mediating angels (malak) [Milal:
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 149

601; Lawrence 1976: 47]. Among the Islamic philosophers and the Sufis, spiritual
beings denote the spirits of the planets or the angels who rule (mudabbir) each of the
celestial spheres. The HH instructs how to conquer the spiritual beings. At the begin-
ning of chapter nine of the HHA, the number of spirits is declared to be sixty-four: each
of the six main spirits has nine subordinate spirits and one spirit has ten followers. The
number sixty-four reminds us of the sixty-four matrakas.
The KP often refers to Kamak dev. KP 10a informs us as follows: Kamak dev is a
woman and a spiritual being (ruhani) with long life, which Hindus call dev. She lives
in the city of Kamru. The original text is said to have been taught by the sixty-four
joginis who were ordered by this dev. As shown in Yogini Tantra 2.1.5, Kamak or
Kamakhya is famous as one of the four pithas (seats of goddess), being a centre of
tantric culture associated with Kamakhya Devi. In the HH, the name kamru is referred
to only once as the original place of the yogin who brought the text. However, it may
be plausible to assume that the original text may have been a composite tantric work
dealing with the knowledge of svara and Kaula-sakta rituals associated with the mother
goddess under her various names.")
Chapter nine begins with the preliminary rituals to invoke the seven celestial spirits.
"If you want them to appear in the microcosm
, you should prepare a tablet (latch) of
white sandalwood and following the instruction in this book, draw an image that you
want. Entering into a clean house, with burned incense, draw a line around the place
where you will sit and lie and repeat the following sacred word (kalima) seven times.
Keeping yourself clean in body and clothes, without having anger and harm, blow
over your body".25)The whole process shows the preliminary tantric ritual of initia-
tion. The blowing in the last part is meant to purify the worshipper's body and make it
divine (prana-pratistha).
The descriptions of the spirits by mentioning their names, outer particulars and re-
lated planet are as follows. The first spirit is named K.A.L.K.A., commander
(muwakkila) of Saturn , four handed, in black; the second one is named B.T.R.M.Y.,
commander of Mars, in red, carrying a sword and a lance in both hands, riding on two
lions (asad); the third one is named M.N.G.L. (or K.L.K.L.A. in variants), commander
of Jupiter, in golden red; the fourth one is called B.D.M.T.A., commander of the Sun,
in golden yellow, riding on a goose (bay); the fifth one is S.R.S.T.Y., commander of
Venus, mirror in hand, in greenish white, riding on a peacock; the sixth one is N.A.R.Y.,
commander of Mercury, book in the hand, in reddish white; and the seventh one is
T.W.T.L.A., commander of the Moon, with seven bodies in seven colours. In KP 31b-
54b, some of the names among the sixty-four spirits are explained in detail with the
invocations to evoke them, and these seven are included among them.")
Hindus have assigned certain characteristics to each planet, and the ritualistic prac-
tices for propitiation of a planet can be traced back to the age of Grhyasutra. The
Puranic literature presents the astro-religious mythology of nine planetary deities, their
150 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17,2005

iconographical appearance, attributes, and religious gestures (mudra). According to

the analysis by Pingree, there are striking similarities in the descriptions of the at-
tributes, colours, geometrical shapes of the temple or vehicle (vahana) of the images
of planets in an Arabic magical text entitled the Goal of the Wise (Ghdyat al-Hakim)
(Picatrix translated in Latin) by the Spanish scientist al-Majriti in the tenth century
and the Nispannayogavali by Abhayakara Gupta. However, as Pingree points out, the
iconographic tradition of the nine planets (navagrahas) in India is far from uniform.27)
On the whole, it is rather difficult to identifythese female commanders except Sarasvati.
We have had little success in finding the exact source text for wahm, but some refer-
ences to it in the tantric literature may give us a clue to find the original sources of the
AK.

Conclusion

Tantric literature is an extensive subject. The doctrines and disciplines of the Natha
tradition are not limited to only the physiological exercises of Hatha Yoga. It inherits
Raja Yoga of Patanjali, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Laya Yoga, Mantra Yoga,
Mahavidya Yoga, svara Yoga, Kashmir Saivism, particularly Kaula Tantrism, eso-
teric astrology and Ayurvedic medicine.
The translations of the AK reveal influences from a variety of these genres. Interest-
ingly enough, KP 45ab and 46a refer to some of the five elements associated with
tantric ritual (panca-makara), wine (madya), meat (mamsa), fish (matsya) and sexual
intercourse (maithuna) in the course of wahm, however, the HH totally eliminates
these elements. This may be one reason that the general conceptual framework of the
Sufistic stages and disciplines was assimilated in yogico-tantric theory and principles
in modified forms. The translation works of the AK elicit dynamic and meaningful
evidence of the prevailing concept of sufico-yogico-tantric tradition in the process of
Islamic acculturation.
It is hoped that the subject will be taken up for further investigation and an attempt
will be made to throw light on the many obscure issues involved in this text.

Notes
1) As the putative chart by Ernst shows, among the Persian translations of the HH, we refer to
the dated manuscript preserved in the Salar Jung Museum Library Cat. No. 4435 (Majmu'a
2) 12b-31a (dated 13 Dhu al-Qa'da, 1066AH / 1657) as the HHP [Ashraf 1997: 164]. The
abridged translation of the manuscript preserved in the National Museum of Pakistan
(Karachi), Majmu 'a, N.M. 1972-104 (ff. 180-201) is done by Nazir Ahmad [Ahmad 1998:
1-18].
2) In spite of defects caused by misreading and omissions, in this essay, we will refer to the
edition of Yusuf Husain as the HHA. For an English translation of the abridged French
translation of the text, see Waseem 2003: 63-74. Yusuf Husain's edition was based on five
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 151

manuscripts. Ernst has collected forty-nine manuscripts of the HHA dispersed in the Is-
lamic world. Since he has declared in 1996 to publish the translation of this work with his
diplomatic edition of the Arabic text, we may expect a critical edition in the near future
[Ernst 1996: 13; 2003: 204].
3) Manuscripts preserved in the Dacca University Library, Nos. 386, 388.
4) Manuscript preserved in the Abdul Karim Sahitya Visharada Collection, Dacca University
Library, No.152.
5) cf. Enamul Haqq 1975: 139, 421; Tarafdar 1965: 214. For the reference on the School of
Manners (Dabistan-i Madhahib), see Sakaki 2000: 249-251.
6) For example, on the one hand, terms of Hatha yoga are explained in Persian translations of
Yoga Upanisads included in the Sirr-i Akbar and the Yogavasistha (translation by Nizam
Panipatti and another translation by Dara Shukoh) (5.78, 6.25). On the other hand, the
original works in Persian, such as the Shining of Gnosis (Shariq al-Ma'rifa) ascribed to
Faidi and the Means of Yoga (Sarmaya-yi Jog) ascribed to Mu'in al-Din Chishti, describe
the yogico-tantric terms from the point of view of Sufistic practice.
7) Manuscript preserved in the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Cat. No.1527 [RASB 1939, vol.2:
211-212].
8) This is included in the saksmasvarodaya [NJC: 53-67].
9) Manuscript preserved in the library of Aligarh Muslim University, Habib Ganj collection.
No.21/346 ff.14 [Razvi and Qaisar: vol.1 Pt.1, 143]. For a detailed examination of this
work, see Sakaki 2003.
10) Manuscript preserved in the Khuda Bhakhsh Oriental Public Library, Catalogue No.1455,
ff.78 [Abdul Muqtadir 1994: 133-134].
11) Manuscript preserved in the Asiatic Societyof Bengal. Ivanow Curzon Supplement I No.873,
ff.12 [Ivanow 1927: 75-76].
12) Fourteen subcategories are the followers of Buddhas (ashab al-bidadah pl. of bud), the
proponents of meditation and imagination, the proponents of metempsychosis or transfer-
ence under the Barahimas; the Basawiya, the Bahuwadiya, the Kabaliya, the Banddiiniya
under the followers of spiritual beings; sun-worshippers and moon-worshippers under the
star worshippers; the Manakaliya,tree-worshippers, the Dhakiniya, water-worshippers, fire-
worshippers under the idol-worshippers [Milal 1977: 596-609; Lawrence 1976: 41-55].
13) Majma' al-Bahrayn 1982: 69-72, 108-112; Tehran, 41-45. Here the identification of the
various regions and substances in the world with the limbs of the mandpurusa is described.
Alterations of the reading of both editions should be corrected by careful reading of the
original manuscripts.
14) This voluminous compendium of the Natha tradition is regarded as an enlarged version of
the Kubjikamata Tantra, which is the basic and older literary source of the doctrines and
practices of the Kubjika cult belonging to the Saiva-Sakta tradition. Dory Heilijgers-Seelen
has proved that this is also identical with the Srimatottara-tantra. Although she was con-
fused about the editions due to a text entitled the Goraksasamhita edited by C.L. Gautama,
Bareli 1974, the Srirnatottara-tantra is a modified version of the Goraksasataka with two
hundred verses. Giuseppe Tucci has made a brief survey on the yoga-prakarana which is
said to be the third part of the Goraksasamhita. The firstpart of this work, the kadi-prakarana,
contains mostly the doctrine of visualization and meditation on the goddess and brief yogic
practices such as mudra"and satkarmani. The bhuta-prakarana is a treatise on alchemy,
 152 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 17, 2005

and the yoga-prakarana deals with Hatha Yoga [Tucci 1971: 205-207; Heilijgers-Seelen
1994: 14-15].
15) The lunar mansion (naksatra), the sign of the zodiac (rasi), the planet (graha), the lunar
day (tithi) enumerated in SSP 3.12 were simply understood as sky, star mandala as stars
(nujum) and several kinds of mountains (parvata) as mountains (jibal) in the HHA. The
seven constituents of the body correspond to the dvipas in Natha literature. In GS 16.319,
the seven constituents are skin, blood, meat, fat, bone, marrow and sperm; and in SSP 3.7,
bone, marrow, head, eyes, hair, nail and muscle correspond to seven dvipas. In HHA 317,
they are skin, blood, flesh, ligament, gristle, bone and brain . In HHP 16b, skin, muscle,
blood, ligament, gristle, bone and marrow are enumerated. Differences in the constituents
may be due to anatomical knowledge in each tradition.
16) GS 13, 14.
satcakram sodasadharan trailokyam vyomapancakam/
svadehe ye na jananti katham sidhyanti yoginah //13//
ekastambhan navadvdran trisunyam pancadaivatam /
svadehe ye na jananti katham sidhyanti yoginah //14//
17) HHP 22b. For measuring the quantity of each breath, see Sakaki 2004: 141-142,153.
18) HHA 318. HHP omits this part. KP 11a-1 lb describes this subject more elaborately with
colour and locations. For a detailed examination of this part of the Sarvadarsanasangraha
and related Yoga Upanisads, see Sakaki 2004.
19) The precise numbers are as follows: if it stops for five nights , the number of years left to
live is three; for ten days, two; for fifteen days , one; for twenty-one days, there is six days
(probable reading is six months); for twenty-five days, three months; for twenty-six days,
two months; for twenty-seven days, one month; for twenty-eight days , fifteen days; for
twenty-nine days, ten days; for thirty-two days, two days; if it stops for thirty-three days ,
the person will die soon (KP 6b-7a) .
20) VM4.78-198 deals with this observation more precisely .
21) HHP 24b-26b. These diagrams are instructed to be drawn in the mandalah (mandala) at
the ritual called hum (homa) in KP 38ab and 42ab .
22) Among the dated manuscripts of the HHA preserved in the Suleymaniye Library in Istanbul,
Bagdatli Vehbi Efendi 2168, Rcd 1027/17 and Turkish translation by Hafiz Ihsan , 1368
A.H. show the Arabicized figures in the seventh diagram.
23) For classification of the six acts, see Goudriaan 1978: 258-273 .
24) In the KP, some of the names of sixty-four spirits called joginis clearly show similarities
with the various names of mother goddesses: Totala (T.W.T.L.), Kurukulla (K .R.K.L.H.),
Tara (T.A.R.A), Kamak (K.A.M.A.K.), Kalika (K .A.L.Y.K.A), Mangala (M.N.K.R.),
Sarasvati (S.R.S.T.Y.), Laksmi (L.K.M.Y.), Candika (C.N.D .K.A) or Camunda
(C.A.M.N.D.), Safi (S.T.Y.), Varahi (B.A.R.A.H.), Padma (P.D.M.A), Jagati (J.K.T.Y.).
25) HHA 337. HHP 29b makes the procedure short and omits the mantra completely .
26) The last one is mentioned as the main commander in KP 31a. The probable name of this
devi may be Totala, another name of the ninth nitya-sakti called Tvarita . Prapancasdra
13.26-31; Scaradatilaka-tantra 10.1-7; Tantraraja-tantra 14. [Buhnemann 2001: 11, 47-
48].
27) Pingree 1989: 7-8. For the early history of planet worship in India , see Yano: 2004: 331-
348.
 Yogico-tantric Traditions in the Hawd al-Hayat 153

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