Editing of the Sadhanamala : An Evaluation/ সাধনমালা-র সম্পাদনা : একটি মূল্যায়ন

Abstract

This paper critically examines the editorial approach to the Buddhist text Sadhanmala with a focus on its publication history, manuscript sources, and the principles guiding its modern edition. Drawing upon Binayatosh Bhattacharya’s pioneering two-volume edition, the study highlights how a corpus of nearly three hundred Buddhist ritual manuals and iconographic texts was consolidated to form a foundational source for the study of Vajrayana Buddhism and Indo-Tibetan iconography. The paper first clarifies the theoretical basis of ‘editing’ within Indian philological traditions, showing how etymology and textual criticism intersect to produce a ‘standard’ or ‘critical’ reading of a text. It then outlines the provenance of Sadhanamala: manuscripts held in the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Central Library of Baroda, and the National Archives of Kathmandu. The study emphasizes the fragmentary nature of these manuscripts, their varying scripts, and the necessity of collating incomplete or late copies to recover earlier readings. Special attention is given to Bhattacharya’s editorial method—his decisions on variant readings, orthography, and ritual descriptions—and how these choices shaped the presentation of Vajrayana deities such as Tara, Avalokitesvara, and Hevajra. The paper also situates Sadhanamala within the larger framework of Buddhist ritual and iconography, showing how it reflects a living tradition of visualization, mantra, and mudra practices that transcended regional boundaries from Bengal to Nepal and Tibet. By reconstructing the text’s historical layers, the paper underscores its value not only as a compendium of tantric rituals but also as a document of social, artistic, and theological exchange in medieval South Asia. Finally, the study argues that understanding the editorial history of Sadhanamala is essential for future scholarship on Buddhist art, as critical editions provide the foundation for iconographic identification and ritual interpretation. This paper thus contributes both to textual studies and to the broader field of South Asian religious and cultural history.