Aśeṣakulavallarī

Background of the Tantra

The Aśeṣakulavallarī is authored by Gaṇananāthabhaṭṭa from the Garga clan. At the outset of the work, he mentions that his teacher was Mahādevabhaṭṭa. The title "Bhaṭṭa," typically conferred by the Kings of Kashmir upon their ministers, was also used as a hereditary title for male family members and their descendants. This suggests that Gaṇananāthabhaṭṭa might have been of Kashmiri origin. The style and content of the text indicate that it was composed well after the 11th century.

Gaṇananāthabhaṭṭa states that his purpose in writing this work is to create a paddhati, a procedure, based on the Vāmakeśvaramata, the foundational Tantra of Tripurasundarī. He calls that tantra by the name of Vāmikāmata. The first chapter is dedicated to the visualisation and worship of the teacher and the spiritual lineage. The second chapter focuses on the initial purifying ablution. The third chapter begins with the worship of the door to the sacred space. The text is abruptly interrupted shortly thereafter.

Prologue

The text begins with the statement that even Śiva his faces is incapable of praising the great queen Tripurasundarī.

Chapter 1

How to meditate on the guru

Getting up early in the morning, the practitioner meditates on the guru in the sahasrāra lotus, resplendent and cool like a hundred moons. 

Chapter 2

Ablutions as a spiritual practice

The practitioner begins by cleaning his teeth, washing and bathing. Every step is infused with specific mantra syllables and mudrās.

The mantras to apply bhasma 

The practitioner applies bhasma, sacred ash, on the forehead with specific mantras.

Sandhyāvidhi

The practitioner then goes on to complete the sandhyā in the tantric way, with nyāsas, prāṇāyāma, and so on.

Arghya is offered to Sūrya with seed-syllables similar as in current-day Śrīvidyā. Following this, Gaṇeśa and Vaṭuka are invoked.

The various levels of the Śrīcakra's triangles are worshipped.

A tantric Gāyatrī of Tripurasundarī is then practised as japa.

Chapter 3

Sūryapūjā

A detailed nyāsa with seed-syllables is done. Following this, a tantric meditation of Sūrya as Mārtaṇḍabhairava is conducted. Then the practitioner engages in a detailed āvaraṇapūjā of Sūrya, with similar seed-syllables as are known from current-day Śrīvidyā. Arcanā is done of the svarṇapīṭha, the golden seat. The nine śaktis of Mārtaṇḍabhairava are worshipped with their seed-syllables.

The nine śaktis are 

• Dīptā

• Śūṣmā

• Jayā

• Bhadrā

• Vibhūti

• Vimalā

• Amoghā

• Vidyutā

• Sarvatomukhī

Dvārapūjā: Worship of the Doorway

The text continues with the worship of the doorway by invoking Gaṇeśa, Dvāraśrī, Kṣetrapāla and Dehalī.  The practitioner then enters the shrine room with their right foot. Having entered, they worship the deities in each corner of the shrine room. Deities that are worshipped with siddha akṣata in the room's corners are:

• Gaṇapati

• Durgā

• Vaṭuka

• Kṣetrapāla

• Kāmadeva

• Sarasvatī

• Śrī

• Māyā

• Durgā

• Bhadrakālī

• Svāhā

• Śubhaṃkarī

Removal of Obstacles

The verse for the removal of obstacles is repeated, similar to current-day Śrīvidyā.

Āsanapūjā

The seat is worshipped before sitting upon it. Different types of good seats are described, conducive for tantric accomplishment.

Mental drying up and burning of the body

A practice given is similar to the current-day bhūtaśuddhi in Śrīvidyā:

vījenātmanā paramanipokṣayediti vāyuvījena sasokṣaramiti

vahnivījena dehaṃ nirdahet | vam iti varuṇa-bījenāmṛtānta sā deham āplāvayet | lam iti bhūmi-bījena dehāvayavaṃ

kārayet | tato jīvaṃ svasthānamānīya maṃtradhyānaṃ samācaret | tadyathā |

Meditation on the Mantra using the Base of the Spine, the Heart and the Point between the Eye-Brows

mūlādhāre hṛdaye bhrūmadhyeṣu vahnisūryasomamaṇḍalāni daśayādasa ṣoḍaśadalātmakāni mūlavāśuṣakāmarājaśaktivījādhiṣṭhitāni paraspara

saṃśaktanādāgnāṇi taḍidūktaśitobhāni brahmarandhrāvadhi vibhāvya vakṣyamāṇo'mṛtakuṇḍalinī-rūpavinirgatābhiḥ parāmṛtadhārābhisturīya-vidyām uccarannātmatanum abhiṣicya karāṅgaṃ nyaset |

The mūlādhāra, the heart and the point between the eye-brows are known as the maṇḍalas of fire, the sun and the moon.

Nyāsas

Now the detailed nyāsas follow, somewhat similar to current-day Śrīvidyā practice. The text says to conceive of one's own body as the abode of the tantric seats. Some nyāsas are described that are unknown today.

Dhyānam

The text ends with the lengthy dhyāna verses of Devī taken from the Vāmakeśvarīmata.