Embodied Ritual Somatics in Buddhist Tantra: Dance, Song, and the Path of Sahaja in the Caryāpaṭala (1.6) of the Hevajratantra

This essay critically examines the Caryāpaṭala (1.6) of the Hevajratantra through the conceptual framework of “performed liberation.” It argues that dance, song, mantra, and ritual movement in Buddhist Tantra are not merely symbolic representations of spiritual truth but embodied forms of contemplative realization. Situating the text within the ritual and cultural milieu of Pāla-period Bengal, the study explores how tantric embodiment operated through monasteries, manuscript culture, Siddhācārya traditions, and performative practices associated with the Caryāpada.
Drawing on the Buddhist doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination), the essay interprets tantric dance as a ritualized encounter with impermanence, emptiness (śūnyatā), mahāsukha, and sahaja. It contrasts this paradigm with the spectator-oriented aesthetics of Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra and Abhinavagupta’s theory of alaukika rasa, arguing that the Hevajratantra privileges embodied participation over aesthetic detachment.
The essay develops an interdisciplinary theoretical framework through engagement with Catherine Bell’s ritualization, Thomas Csordas’s embodiment, Victor Turner’s liminality, and Richard Schechner’s restored behavior. It further examines Yoginītantra traditions, feminine ritual agency, and gendered embodiment, questioning whether “performed liberation” can truly be understood as gender-neutral.
Finally, the study proposes “ritual somatics” as a heuristic category for understanding tantric contemplative movement, arguing that liberation in the Hevajratantra is enacted through disciplined sensory transformation rather than abstract doctrinal cognition.

Keywords: Hevajratantra; pratītyasamutpāda; ritual somatics; performed liberation; mahāsukha; sahaja