The Trisamayarājatantra is among the earlier specimens of Buddhist tantra; it is already quoted in the seventh or eighth century by Śāntideva in his Śikṣāsamuccaya. Its importance for later developments is shown, for example, by a related sādhana that appears at the beginning of many Nepalese manuscripts of collections of meditation texts.
No Sanskrit manuscript of the tantra itself, of which a Tibetan translation exists, has as yet come to light; but an old, incomplete, manuscript from Eastern India of a Sanskrit commentary survives in Nepal. A volume will be prepared containing a critical edition of the commentary, and studies of aspects of the Trisamayarājatantra in comparison with early non-Buddhist tantric traditions, making use of the Tibetan translation of the tantra and other material.
This research forms part of the Early Tantra project.
Researcher: Harunaga Isaacson