TANTRIC BUDDHISM (INCLUDING CHINA AND JAPAN)whether they are referring to one Kal)ha or many-given the common occur-
rence of a name like Kr~?l)a, we might well-suspect the latter. Even if they are
discussing the same Kal)ha, we cannot be certain that that KiiQha was the same
person who wrote the songs included in the Caryiigltikosa, let alone when, pre-
cisely, he might have lived-though the II th century seems the best guess.^14
Thus, for information about the Kal)ha of the Caryiigltikosa, we are limited to
the songs themselves - as indicated above, this is not without its advantages,
since the relative lack of biographical information about or commentaries on
KiiQha the songster will allow us to explore his meaning unburdened with an
excess of traditional interpretive baggage. Twelve of the nearly fifty songs in the
Caryiigltikosa are attributed to Kal)ha. Like other songs in the collection, they
are composed in a language that is probably best identified as Old Bengali,^15 and
in a style that derives its coherence not so much from syllable counts - which
are quite irregular - as from the end-rhymes that link the couplets into which
each verse is divided. Specifications in early manuscripts as to the riiga appro-
priate for each song, combined with our general knowledge of the authors'
milieu, makes it virtually certain that the caryiiglti originally were sung. As cele-
brations of and exhortations to enlightenment, they were, quite literally,
'performance songs' - performed for audiences and, presumably, inspiring
them to performance of actions that might lead them to liberation.
Three ofKiiQha's songs (Caryiigltikosa nos 10, 18, 19) have as a central topic
his relation to a :Oombi, a common term for a basket-seller, whose occupation
marks her as a member of one of the lowest castes. The three songs are as
follows^16 :
[10] Outside of town, 0 :Oombi, is your hut;
Touching you and touching some more, the brahmin boys go.
Hey :Oombi! I shall join with you,
Naked Kal)ha, the shameless skull-bearer.
The lotus is one, its petals sixty-four;
Atop it, the :Oombi dances with poor [Kal)ha].
Hey :Oombi! I ask you truly:
In whose boat, 0 :Oombi, do you come and go?
Strings you sell, 0 :Oombi, and also baskets;
For you, I have given up the actor's stage.
You are a :Oombi, and I a skull-bearer;
For you, I have donned a garland of bones.
Subduing the pond, the :Oombi eats lotus roots;
I kill you, :Oombi, I take your life![18] Easily, I stopped the triple world;
Sleeping, I sported in great bliss.
Hey, :Oombi, how goes your flirting?
The noble is outside, the skull-bearer is within.