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Dylan Esler

• This article is an in-depth study of \(\textit {De bar gshegs pa thams cad kyi phrin las (var. ’phrin las) ’dus pa phur pa rtsa ba’i rgyud}\) [The Phurpa Root Tantra that Comprises the Activities of all the Sugatas; hereafter \(\textit {Phurpa Root Tantra}\)], a seminal text on the tantric deity Vajrakīlaya from the \(\textit {bKa’ brgyad bDe gshegs ’dus pa}\) [Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas; henceforth KD] corpus revealed by Nyang-rel Nyima Özer (1124–1192, Tib. Myang ral nyi ma ’od zer) in 12th century Tibet. The study consists of two main parts: a detailed thematic overview of the contents of the tantra’s thirteen chapters, and a philological analysis of selected variants found among the different editions of the text, an analysis which elucidates the relationships between the various textual witnesses and allows us to construct a stemma. Given the increasing awareness among specialists of the formative role played by the KD corpus in the codification of the Nyingma (\(\textit {Tib.rnying ma}\)) school of Tibetan Buddhism, this article lays the groundwork for future investigations of this vast repertoire of tantric material. Our enquiry shows that despite being revealed by a named and famous visionary, the \(\textit {Phurpa Root Tantra}\) shares significant features with the (usually anonymously produced) scriptures of the \(\textit {rNying ma rgyud ’bum}\) [Ancient Tantra Collection; henceforth NGB]. The paper thus contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussion concerning processes of scriptural production in the context of Tibetan tantric religion.