Sarvamnaya Tantra (Devanagari à ¤¸à ¤°à ¥Âà ¤µà ¤¾à ¤®à ¥Âà ¤¨à ¤¾à ¤¯ à ¤¤à ¤¨à ¥Âà ¤¤à ¥Âà ¤°, IAST SarvÃÂmnÃÂya Tantra) is a tantric tradition originating within Nepal. SarvÃÂmnÃÂya translates literally to "all transmissions." It makes reference to the ÃÂmnÃÂya categorization system, which depicts the various streams of Kaula tantrism as "transmissions" flowing from the different faces of à Âiva in different cardinal directions. This representation of Shiva with multiple or five faces is referred to as Sadasiva or Mukhalinga and is central to the Sarvamnaya tradition. The textual basis for the ÃÂmnÃÂya categorization dates back to eleventh century Kaula texts like the Ciñciá¹ÂëmatasÃÂrasaá¹Âuccaya and NityÃÂá¹£oá¸Âaà ÂëkÃÂrá¹Âava, which began associating existing practice traditions with different directions, a practice that was further developed by subsequent texts like the KulÃÂrá¹Âava Tantra. These transmissions include the Pà «rvÃÂmnÃÂya (Eastern transmission) centered around the Trika goddesses of ParÃÂ, ParÃÂparàand AparÃÂ, the UttarÃÂmnÃÂya (Northern transmission) centered around the KÃÂlikàKrama, the Paà ÂcimÃÂmnÃÂya (Western transmission) centered around the humpbacked goddess Kubjikàand her consort NavÃÂtman, the Daká¹£iá¹ÂÃÂmnÃÂya (Southern transmission) centered around the goddess Tripurasundarë and Sri Vidya, the UrdhvÃÂmnÃÂya (Upper transmission) centered around the ArdhanÃÂrëà Âvara half-goddess/half-à Âiva form, and the AdharÃÂmnÃÂya (Lower transmission), which includes Vajrayogini, Vajravarahi, and Ugratara of the VajrayÃÂna.
The defining feature of the SarvÃÂmnÃÂya Tantra is that it preserved the complete ritual and meditative practices of these transmissions and integrates all these different ÃÂmnÃÂyas into a sequence of practice. Initiates into the SarvÃÂmnÃÂya receive a series of dëkà Âas or initiations into each of these transmissions and learn to integrate their respective mantras, yantras, mandalas, deity forms, and meditative experiences into one another to attain a deeper realization.
The development and continuity of SarvÃÂmnÃÂya Tantra to some degree reflects unique features about Kathmandu Valley in which it developed. Kathmandu Valley had received a wealth of "pan-South Asian culture" from the 5th to 8th century CE, including NÃÂtha, Bhairava, à Âaiva, and à ÂÃÂkta traditions. By the eleventh century, these older traditions became integrated with the tantric amnÃÂya traditions, representing the capacity of tantric traditions to integrate and adapt. Lidke especially draws attention to the integrative dynamics occurring within the Khasa Kingdom at this time: "Drawing from Sanskritic cultures, the Khasa rulers, like their Bengali PÃÂla predecessors, interwove a vast array of indigenous languages, ethnic communities, and religious practices into a multileveled maá¹Âdala structure. Within this polyethnic, multicultural network, Bengali and Kaà Âmirë à ÂÃÂkta goddesses shared the stage with NÃÂth Siddha deities, PurÃÂá¹Âic gods and goddesses, and a variety of local shamanic deities." It is within this milieu that the SarvÃÂmnÃÂya practices and term became more widely utilized, until they were well-attested by the twelfth century.
Nepal provided not only an incubator for these different traditions to find integration, but a context in which these traditions could be preserved. This preservation is significant as, in other locations of crucial importance to tantra, such as Kashmir, the ritual aspect of the tantric tradition in particular contracted due to the collapse of institutional support and oppositional social climate. Nepal, however, offered several amenable features for the preservation of these traditions including a favorable climate that preserved palm-leaf manuscripts upon which texts were historically written, a vibrant community of practitioners who have continuously protected and reproduced copies of manuscripts, and a geographic location in the Kathmandu Valley that served as an important hub through which cultural products of adjoining tantric centers like Kashmir and Tibet flowed through and thus mixed. Although systematic philosophical schools did not become widespread within Nepal, as they did in Kashmir, the Nepali ritual texts reveal a corresponding philosophy that simultaneously affirms the world while seeing consciousness as the ultimate reality. The practice of SarvÃÂmnÃÂya continued due to the patronage and support of royalty in Nepal, who were often themselves practitioners. In one instance, King PratÃÂpa Malla described six of these transmissions in a poem he wrote and had engraved into golden doors of a à Âakta goddess temple in the mid-seventeenth century. SarvÃÂmnÃÂya Tantra continues to be practiced both within Nepal as well as internationally.
Like all tantric systems, SarvÃÂmnÃÂya has scriptural foundation in the ÃÂgamic literature. It bases its study and practice on representative ÃÂgamas from each of the transmissions it integrates, including the Pà «rvÃÂmnÃÂya or Eastern transmission texts related to Trika (e.g., MÃÂlinëvijayottara, ParÃÂtrëá¹Âà ÂikÃÂ, Siddhayogeà Âvarëmata, Svacchandalalitabhairava, TantrasadbhÃÂva), the UttarÃÂmnÃÂya or Northern transmission texts related to KÃÂlikà(e.g., JayadrathayÃÂmala, KÃÂlasaá¹Âkará¹£iá¹Âëmata, MahÃÂkÃÂla Saá¹ÂhitÃÂ), the Paà ÂcimÃÂmnÃÂya or Western transmission texts related to Kubjika (e.g., Ciñciá¹Âëmata, KubjikÃÂmata, ManthÃÂnabhairava, à Ârëmatottara), the Daká¹£iá¹ÂÃÂmnÃÂya or Southern transmission texts related to Tripurasundarë (e.g., JñÃÂnÃÂrá¹Âava, TantrarÃÂja, VÃÂmakeà Âvarëmata), and the UrdhvÃÂmnÃÂya or Upper transmission texts related to ArdhanÃÂrëà Âvara (e.g., KulÃÂrá¹Âava Tantra).