A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c44.s35: Kṛṣṇānanda Vidyāvāgīśa
A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c44.s35
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Contents
Kṛṣṇānanda Vidyāvāgīśa
v3.c44.s35.1
Kṛṣṇānanda Vidyāvāgīśa, also called Śrīkṛṣṇavidyāvāgīśabhaṭṭācārya, was the author of the Ṣaṭkarmadīpikā.111
v3.c44.s35.2
Contents The work is a Tantric treatise on ṣaṭkarman in about 1,000 verses, arranged in nine chapters (uddeśa). It is written in the form of a dialogue between Śiva and Pārvatī.
v3.c44.s35.3
The titles of the chapters are: (1) sāmānyadharma, general observances; (2) kuṇḍādiniyama, general prescriptions on fire sacrifices, etc.; (3) nānāprakāraśāntiniyama, the attainment of śānti, especially the preservation of health and the cure of diseases; (4) vaśyakarman, subjugation; (5–6) stambhanakarman, immobilization; (7) ākarṣaṇa, attraction, and vidveṣa, the sowing of dissension; (8) uccāṭanavidhi, eradication; (9) māraṇa, the killing of adversaries.
v3.c44.s35.4
It is remarkable that not only chapter three, but also the series of chapters from three up to nine, are said to belong to a śāntikalpa. Chapter three contains verses on Tantric procedures aiming at curing several diseases, among which fever holds a prominent place; Ātharvaṇa, Garga, Hārīta, and the Tantrarāja are quoted on the subject of fevers.
v3.c44.s35.5
The Ṣaṭkarmadīpikā has all the characteristics of a compilation and refers to a large number of mainly Tantric and Purāṇic sources by name.112
The author and his date
v3.c44.s35.t1.1
Kṛṣṇānanda Vidyāvāgīśa, a famous Tantric scholar,113 who also wrote the Tantrasāra,114 was a Varendra brāhmaṇa who lived in Navadvīpa.115 His works may have been composed in the seventeenth century.116