Sharadatilaka

A decorative calligraphic line ornament features two symmetrical inward-curling spirals at the center.

First Chapter

The Eternal Bliss is manifest, pervading this world of movable and immovable things with the fifty letters referring to the Sanskrit alphabet in sequence. May that Shabdabrahma the absolute reality as sound, which the wise call the inner consciousness, the seat of the moon, and the lord of speech, protect you always. (1)

May the inner consort of the Lord, with the crescent moon on his head, whose inner smile is radiant, whose eyes are as beautiful as the interior of a blue lotus, and who is the cause of the prosperity of the three worlds, graciously grant you auspiciousness. (2)

I hold my teachers, who are the very form of Shiva, upon my head; they are the sole means of crossing the ocean of existence, and the dust of their lotus feet brings the grace of a holy bath at a pilgrimage site. (3)

I shall speak the essence of the Tantras, the auspicious Sharadatilaka, which is the primary cause for the attainment of righteousness, wealth, desire, and liberation. (4)

The creation of word and meaning, along with the sages, the meters, and the deities, as well as the methodology of mantras and yantras mystical diagrams, are described in this Tantra. (5)

Shiva is to be known as both without qualities (nirguna) and with qualities (saguna). Without qualities, he is beyond nature; with qualities, he is manifest with all aspects. (6)

From the Supreme Lord, who is full of existence, consciousness, and bliss, came Shakti divine energy; from her, Nada primordial sound arose, and from Nada, Vindu the point of origin emerged. (7)

That Supreme Being is of the nature of Shakti, and it divides itself again into three: Vindu, Nada, and Vija seed. (8)