1895.] 
f>3 
H. P. ^astrl — Buddhism in Bengal . 
could purify himself of his sins, should he daily repeat it standing in the 
Koijkana river, only keeping his head above the surface of the water. Ho 
accordingly did this for a period of six months, without perceiving any signs 
of success. At length, in a fit of rage he cast away the rosary on which he 
used to count his daily recitations of the Mantra. 
His Guru advised him to persevere in the work of penance, as it was 
sure that he would soon obtain his object. For seven days he performed 
the penance, with perfect concentration of the mind, and in the early 
morning of the eighth day, the goddess Vajra-yogini, in the shape of a pretty 
little girl, appeared before him. She said ‘ Why have you come to die 
in this country of Koijkana after crossing 800 arms of the sea and 900 
rivers?’ He reverently replied: i Ai mata Vajra-yogini , Tere Sarane! ’ 
O, mother Vajra-yogini, I have to come to take refuge in thee! Hear¬ 
ing this she touched the crown of his head with her hand and said, * Go thou 
to the great sage Virupa who has performed a profound Samddhi. He 
has been spiritually connected by the chain of Karma with you for several 
births. He is now in the Maharattha country.’ So saying she disappeared. 
At that time Virupa, wearing a cap made of a human skull had returned 
thither after visiting almost all the sacred cemeteries of India and acquir¬ 
ing the Maliamudra siddhi. He had become a great Tantrik, having 
acquired supernatural powers by the practice of the adept secret cult. 
Kala became his pupil and under his guidance gained siddhi by propitiat¬ 
ing the goddess Vajra-varahi, who is also called Vajra-yogini. 
The chief disciple of Kala Virupa 1 was called Dom Virupa Heruka. ■ 
He was in fact a Raja of Tripura (Tippera), which is a country in the 
eastern direction of Baqgala. When Acarya Kala Virupa visited Tripura, 
the Raja became greatly impressed with his teaching. He wished to be 
initiated in the mystic cult of the Tantriks. The sage was greatly 
pleased with his royal pupil and made him an adept in his mystic art. 
The Raja for a long time meditated on the subject of his propitiation, 
having always in view his Guru, and thereby acquired the preliminary 
stage of siddhi. When he perceived that the time of testing his spiritual 
capabilities had arrived, he heard a prophecy that the female energy 
( QaJeti) of his spiritual union was in the person of Padmavati, a maiden 
of the Dom caste. Accordingly he took her as his helpmate for gaining 
perfection in the Tantrik cult. The ministers, chiefs, and all the sub¬ 
jects of the kingdom repudiated this conduct of the Raja and ultimately 
were obliged to cast him out, both from society and royalty. The Raja 
with his Dom mistress left Tripura, and went to a jungle in the neigh¬ 
bouring country to practise the Tantrik cult in solitude. He became 
a great adept in the mystic science by keeping in his vows. Afterwards 
he visited many other places. He became known as Dom Raja or D5m 
Acarya. The term Dom signifies one of very low caste. A Dom lives out¬ 
side the city. He kills fish, birds, and wild animals, and subsists on them. 
1 According to some Tibetan writers this Virupa was a CharmaJcara by birth, but 
they have no authority to support the assertion. v Tok 7" jjj . 
