Genesis of Vajrayāna Caryāgītimanjari: A Newā Buddhist Literature

Caryāgītimanjarī distills the core of Vajrayāna Buddhist philosophy, functioning as a sacred text (āgama veda) that conveys ancient wisdom. The caryāgīti songs bring to life scripture, knowledge, and tradition, expressing the arising of mahāsukha (great pleasure), which protects through song and dance. The text emphasizes the prominence of body (kāya), speech (vāka), and mind (citta), and holds a place of pride in the art, culture, religion, and literature of the Newā community.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Caryāgītimanjarī is an abstraction of Vajrayāna philosophy or an upaniśada of Vajrayāna Buddhism. It is a gist of Vajrayāna philosophy and its doctrine or a āgama veda – a divine religious text of wisdom. These caryāgīti bring to life the sacred scripture (āgama), a sacred knowledge (veda) of ancient time (purāṇa) and it is described (bakhāne) in caryāgīti. It is rightly said so on caryāgīti: āgama veda purāņa bakhāne 2 yoga dharma dīkśā gurupadeśa II dhu II The glory of caryāgīti is expressed in the stanza: The one called great pleasure (mahāsukha) has arisen, protects by virtue of the song (gīta) and dances (nrityatu). jātā eka mahāsukha nāmā 2 nŗtyantu gīta balena rakşena II II And to sum it up, an ultimate obeisance is paid to caryāgīti emphasizing the prominence of kāya (body), vāka (speech) and citta (mind):ākāśakāyasambhūta ākāśavākapravartaka I ākāśachittadharmāgra caryāpada namohstu te II II Caryāgīti commands a place of pride in art, culture, religion and literature of Newā community.