The Kaula-sūtras is an unpublished Tantrik text composed in Sanskrit by Śitikaṇṭha (possibly the same Śitikaṇṭha who authored the Old Kashmiri Mahānaya-prakāśa) approximately 900 years ago; it is one of the most intriguing of all unpublished Tantrik texts, along with the Chummā-saṅketa-prakāśa and a handful of others. The author apparently intended it as a summary of Kaula doctrine, specifically of the Kaula āmnāya (lineage-based tradition) known as the Krama, a.k.a. the Mahārtha (Great Teaching) a.k.a. the Mahānaya (Great Way).
Here I present, without commentary, the first 14 Kaula-sūtras for your contemplation. If you wish to hear my explanation of these sometimes mysterious sūtras, please register for the upcoming retreat focusing on the teachings of the Krama lineage! :)
First, the introductory verses (translated with Dr Ben Williams):
Om̐ svasti prajābhyaḥ |
Om̐ śrīparādevyai namaḥ |
Om̐ blessings to humanity
Om̐ reverence to the auspicious Goddess Parā
[We] praise Durvāsas, the incarnation of Rudra, who took up the task of authoring aphorisms on that Doctrine that is beyond the six religious viewpoints (Vedic, Buddhist, Jain, Shaiva, Saura, and Vaiṣṇava), [thereby] gratifying [our] longing for [the divine] touch [of Śakti]. || 1
The revered Mauninātha and others, who are bees on the lotus mouth of Śrīnātha (i.e., his disciples), composed that Kaulika [work], [viz., the Chummā-saṅketa-prakāśa,] an excellent teaching that transcends the understanding of the six religious views. That was revealed to Durvāsas [in the form of] Niṣkriyānanda. Unmattanātha [the Avadhūta], for his part, having relished the Kula [teaching], revealed it [as the Vātūla-nātha-sūtras]. I will now write down [the essential teachings of] both of these in the form of aphorisms. || 2
avicchinam ovalli-kramāyāta-marīci-saṅkramaṇam evaiko guruḥ || 1 ||
There is but one Guru, the unbroken transmission of the rays of awakened awareness that are received through the succession of lineage.
tad-upalabdham eva tattvam eko devaḥ || 2 ||
There is but one deity, the Reality perceived by virtue of that [transmission].
tasyaikā sahajāhambhāva-bhūmiś cicchaktiḥ || 3 ||
It has only one Power of Awareness: the ‘ground’ that is the innate & natural I-sense (ahambhāva).
citaḥ prathamaṃ prāṇe pariṇāmāt prāṇaḥ kuleśvaraḥ || 4 ||
As a result of the transformation of Consciousness into Prāṇa as its first evolute, [we can say that] Prāṇa is the Lord of the Kula (Body).
tat-prapañco viśvam || 5 ||
Its expansion is everything [in the living world].
bhāva-svabhāvavat svataḥ svātantryaṃ kuleśituḥ || 6 ||
The autonomy of the Lord of the Body is innate just like the essential nature of all being(s).
samādhānād vyuthānavat tu śivād viśvodayaḥ || 7 ||
The world arises from Śiva as if coming out of deep meditative absorption.
vaṭa-dhānāvidhāraṇena viśva-vyavahāra-satattvānumānam || 8 ||
By breaking open the seed of the banyan tree, we can infer the essential reality of the everyday affairs of the world.
paṭṭakodghāṭaṇaṃ pustakopadeśaḥ || 9 ||
The teaching on the Manuscript concerns the opening of the boards.
(See Tantra Illuminated, pp. 268f.)
tatra ṣaḍdhāturasapānamattāntaś cakreśvarī vijṛmbhate || 10 ||
The Goddess of the wheel(s) of powers, intoxicated by drinking/savouring the essence of the six elements [of the body], unfolds internally in that [context].
drāvakākārānukāraṃ kulam || 11 ||
The body is represented by the letter A, the [underlying] flux/flow.
pūrṇakṛśāmadhyago bhairavaḥ || 12 ||
Bhairava is present in the center of the Voluptuous [/all-embracing fullness] and Emaciated [/all-devouring emptiness] [Goddesses].
kandabindusaṃghaṭṭān madhye sauradhāmodayaḥ || 13 ||
The arising of the luminosity of the solar in the center is due to the friction of the Bulb and the Bindu.
raśmikulodayo bhavodbhavo dinam apavargo raśmiviśrāmo niśā || 14 ||
The arising of the totality of the rays, the genesis of worldly experience, is ‘day’. Liberation, which is the reposing in the rays, is ‘night’.
~ AI art created by members of the Tantrik Yoga Now community using Midjourney ~