KALACAKRA-TANTRA

(Sanskrit: Wheel of Time Tantra), chief text of a divergent, syncretistic, and astrologically oriented school of Tantric Buddhism that arose in northwestern India in the 10th century. The work represents the final phase of Tantric Buddhism in India, just prior to the Muslim invasion, but it has remained prominent in Tibet. At the centre of the text's mandala (ritual drawing) is an image of the deity Kalacakra, another manifestation of the Buddha Aksobhya, either alone or embracing his consort Visvamatr (Mother of the Universe). Surrounding them are more than 250 divine figures, arranged in an outwardly radiating series of concentric circles and squares. Many of these are Hindu deities, and many of the ideas in the text suggest non-Buddhist and even non-Indian origins. The most notable innovation in this tantra is its astrological frame of reference. The figures constituting the mandala are identified with planets and stars, and the structure of the mandalaone of the most complex in Tantric Buddhismis correlated with the temporal rhythms of the heavens.