मृगेन्द्र आगम: विद्या एवं योग पाद (भट्ट नारायणकण्ठ वृत्ति सहित प्राचीनतम कामिक आगम परिशिष्ट)

INTRODUCTION. v
DATE OF COMPOSITION.
The Tantram under edition bears the stamp of the
"revealed texts" and is written in the form of a dialogue
between Hārīta and his desciples. The S'aivaistic cult
and the view of life depicted herein seem to have been
known in the early centuries of the Christian era.
Both Bādarāyaṇa and S'aṇkara, the greatest exponent
of the Vedānta philosophy, refer to and reject the view
of those S'aivites under the name of Pās'upata, the
former in the Sūtra Patyur-ā-Samañjasyāt (2-2-37) and
the latter in his Bhāshyam on this Sūtra. Mṛgendra,
though embodying a very, very old school of philosophy
and the form of divine adoration which perhaps can
claim among its votaries the two great logicians and
philosophers Kaṇāda and Gautama, is comparatively
late as an abridgment of the Kāmikāgama. Reference
to the frequent use of surgical instruments in performing
operations (see Pas'u-lakshaṇa-prakaraṇa, S'l. 18)
imparts to it a colour of modernity, and brings its
composition down to the age of Sus'ruta, Charaka anp
other Hindu surgeons.
The introduction in sanskrit with which the work
opens is much later in composition than the text proper
which begins as "Athānādi" etc. on page 48. This is
very well borne out by the use of rich vocabulary and
poetic imagery.
COMMENTARY.
The author of the commentary is Nārāyaṇa Kaṇṭha,
son of Vidyā Kaṇṭha and grandson of S'aṇkara Kaṇṭha
and father of Rāma Kaṇṭha whose commentary on the
Nares'varaparīkshā has already appeared in the Kashmir
Research Series under No. 45. On page 30 Nārāyaṇa
Kaṇṭha quotes the fifty-fifth stanza from Is'vara Siddhi
(see page 30 of Is'vara Siddhi No. 34 of Kashmir