# Advayavajra’s Nairātmyāprakāśa: A Critical Edition

## TL;DR

This paper provides a critical edition and analysis of a Buddhist tantric ritual manual by Advayavajra, focusing on the yoginī Nairātmyā and its philosophical context.

## Contribution

The paper offers a new critical edition and commentary on Advayavajra’s Nairātmyāprakāśa, highlighting its unique philosophical and ritual elements.

## Key findings

- The Nairātmyāprakāśa incorporates Advayavajra’s philosophical views into tantric practice.
- The text shows influence from Ratnākaraśānti, reflecting Advayavajra’s intellectual environment.
- Nairātmyā is positioned as a central figure in the Hevajra system with a distinct textual corpus.

## Abstract

This article presents a critical edition of and commentary on the Nairātmyāprakāśa, a Buddhist tantric ritual manual (sādhana) composed by the eleventh-century scholar and siddha Advayavajra/Maitrīpāda. The text teaches meditations on Nairātmyā, the central yoginī of the Hevajra system, while also incorporating distinctive elements of Advayavajra’s philosophy and system of tantric practice. An introduction to the edition examines the figure of Nairātmyā and her associated corpus of texts. It also situates the Nairātmyāprakāśa within Advayavajra’s broader oeuvre and identifies traces in this text of the author’s intellectual and religious ecosystem, particularly in light of his textual borrowings from Ratnākaraśānti.