The Kriyāsaṃgrahapañjikā of Kuladatta and its Parallels in the Śaiva Pratiṣṭhātantras

Most people think that the prominent features of Tantric religions are their esoteric teachings. This might mislead us into supposing that these religions were limited to restricted communities. But in fact these religions extended overamuchwiderdomain.Weseethisif weconsiderthefactthatbothŚaivism and Tantric Buddhism offered a wide range of public social rituals.¹ Following Śaiva models, Tantric Buddhism offered various kinds of consecration ceremonies (pratiṣṭhā).² Śaivism produced Paddhatis and Pratiṣṭhātantras3 which teach the details of these public social rituals.Tantric Buddhism also produced a number of manuals which are closely comparable to Śaiva Pratiṣṭhātantras and Paddhatis. Of these, three manuals are particularly rich in information: the Kriyāsaṃgrahapañjikā