The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Sri Heruka) - A Study and Annotated Translation (2007)
This is the first complete, critical English translation of the Cakrasamvara Tantra, also known as the Śrīherukābhidhāna and Laghusamvara. Composed in India during the eighth century, this text is a foundational scripture of one of the most important Indian Buddhist tantric traditions, as evidenced by the vast number of commentaries and ritual literature associated with it. Along with the Hevajra Tantra, it is one of the earliest and most influential of the Yoginī Tantras, a genre of tantric Buddhist scripture that emphasizes female deities, particularly the often fiercely depicted Yoginīs and Ḍākinīs.
The author’s introductory essay provides an analysis of the historical and intellectual contexts in which the text was composed, including its complex interrelationship with Hindu Śaiva traditions, and investigates the history of its adaptation by Buddhists. The translation was made on the basis of the surviving Sanskrit manuscripts of the Tantra and its commentaries, as well as parallel passages in related explanatory tantras (vyākhyātantra). It is also takes into consideration two different Tibetan translations of the root text, and several Tibetan commentaries. The translation itself is heavily annotated, with extensive translations from the Indian and Tibetan commentaries on the text. Includes a trilingual glossary and index. (Source: The American Institute of Buddhist Studies)
| Citation | Gray, David B. The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Śrī Heruka): A Study and Annotated Translation. Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies; Columbia University's Center for Buddhist Studies and Tibet House US, 2007. |
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- Cakrasamvara Tantra, also known as the Śrīherukādbhidhādna and Tantrarāja-śrīlaghusamvara-nāma. (D 368) rgyud, ka 213a1-246b7 (vol. 77). Translator(s): Padmākaravarman, Rin chen bzang po. In bka' 'gyur (sde dge par phud), Vol. 77: 426-492. Delhi: delhi karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang, 1976-1979.
Columbia AIBS ACIP. Author gives extensive lists of texts consulted in the fourth section of the introduction.
