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siddhas and the religious landscape ⁄ 229
cakra. 216 The accepted explanation seems to be that %avaripa is immortal and
still wandering the world, a revival of the old “eternal sage” myth found applied
in Buddhism to saints as diverse as Mahaka$yapa and Vimalamitra. For our
purposes, however, it is instructive to consider that the tantric directives for siddhas
to practice in tribal areas no doubt fueled both a fascination with and the
appropriation of their identity, all with more than a dash of Rousseauean romanticism
of the noble savage thrown in.
The poetry most closely associated with the %abare$vara/%avaripa persona
tends to play off the behaviors attributed to indigenous groups in the medieval
world. As seen above, medieval tribal peoples were depicted drinking, making
love, and sleeping frequently. One of the %avaripas employed these activities
as ambivalent tropes for the realization of emptiness.
The Vision of Emptiness
The reality of mind’s highest realization is declared as a seed in the realm
of space.
I embrace the nubile nonself by the throat and remain in the state of
awakening.
“Reject!” “Take!” — these delude the self.
Hey! %avari plays with all the fetters within great bliss. I embrace the
Empty Lady.
Hey! Body, speech and mind are matured.
By inspection throughout all times, %avari will become drunk.
In every form of joy, %avari falls asleep,
Passes out in the realm of space.
Hey! My reality is declared a seed in the realm of space.
The fruit shines like the Morning Star.
“Reject!” “Take!”—these delude the self.
I kill the elephant of mundane fetters and make an offering cake of the
five senses.
I reject all of my suffering.
“Reject!” “Take!”—these delude the self.
Not sleeping day or night, I act as the watchman of my own mind.
The woman born from it, stays alone, having gone to a secluded spot.
The chieftain is said to be Lokanatha.
“Reject!” “Take!”—these delude the self.
So I embrace the Empty Lady—%avari plays in great bliss. 217