ལྷ་མ་ནམ་གྲ་ལ་བསྟད་པ intro.4

intro.4

There is no reference in the text of In Praise of the Goddess Revatī to any source for the lines of praise it contains. However, these verses are also found in The Great Tantra of Supreme Knowledge (Vidyottama­mahā­tantra, Toh 746) where they feature as part of a larger narrative in which they are addressed directly to Revatī by Vajrapāṇi.³ In this section of The Great Tantra of Supreme Knowledge, a group of gods and sages praise Vajrapāṇi and request from him a ritual for taming and pacification.⁴ Vajrapāṇi replies that he is pleased by their diligence in helping beings and by their entry into the king of maṇḍalas. At this point Revatī approaches but is unable to enter the maṇḍala herself. She nonetheless frightens the gods and the sages because she is powerful, diligent, and kills children. The gods and sages seek protection from Vajrapāṇi, who becomes wrathful and proclaims that all the hateful beings in the world will be destroyed. The gods and sages are grateful for this protection and respond by requesting Vajrapāṇi to praise Revatī in order that she may now be able to enter the maṇḍala. Vajrapāṇi replies by expressing, directly to Revatī, the same lines praising her family line and her qualities as appear in the present work.