Yoga Spandakarika

The Spandakarika, or "Song of the Sacred Tremor," is one of the most important Tantric texts in the tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism. In fact, it is said to have been transmitted directly to the sage Vasugupta from the hands of Shiva on Mount Kailas. In his commentary on these fifty-two stanzas, the sage Ksemaraja described them as the heart of the Mahamudra, the Great Cosmic Gesture. In Yoga Spandakarika Daniel Odier presents a full translation of the song accompanied by his own commentary and the commentary of more than thirty Tantric masters.

The sacred dance of Yoga Spandakarika, Tandava, is extremely subtle and difficult. Once mastered, the yogi or yogini is able to manifest the dance of Shiva, a tradition visible in the statuary of Tantric temples in India and Tibet. Daniel Odier passes on these vanishing teachings as he received them from his Tibetan master, Kalu Rinpoche, and Kashmiri yogi Lalita Devi.