A study of the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet and their metaphysical role in the emanation of manifest reality as described in select Hindu Tantras.

摘要

In the Hindu Tantric traditions, the emanation of the universe holds within its manifestation the hidden truths leading to resorption. Yet these truths are not as hidden as one might think. In fact, they are constantly present through the concept of vac, "word," in the form of the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet.;This study offers an in-depth look into the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet as they take part in the metaphysical manifestation of the universe in three schools of Hindu Tantra: Kashmir Saivism, Srividya, and Pancaratra. Herein, I present the emanation of the universe in regard to the letters through the views of a select group of texts, commentaries, and modern scholarship. It is the goal of this study to isolate the various Tantric understandings of the alphabet while at the same time not losing sight of the alphabet's place in the larger process of emanation.