Sarvamnaya tantra

Sarvamnaya Tantra (Devanagari सर्वाम्नाय तन्त्र, IAST Sarvāmnāya Tantra) is a tantric tradition originating within Nepal. Sarvāmnāya translates literally to "all transmissions." It makes reference to the āmnāya categorization system, which depicts the various streams of Kaula tantrism as "transmissions" flowing from the different faces of Śiva in different cardinal directions. This representation of Shiva with multiple or five faces is referred to as Sadasiva or Mukhalinga and is central to the Sarvamnaya tradition. The textual basis for the āmnāya categorization dates back to eleventh century Kaula texts like the Ciñciṇīmatasārasaṃuccaya and Nityāṣoḍaśīkārṇava, which began associating existing practice traditions with different directions, a practice that was further developed by subsequent texts like the Kulārṇava Tantra. These transmissions include the Pūrvāmnāya (Eastern transmission) centered around the Trika goddesses of Parā, Parāparā and Aparā, the Uttarāmnāya (Northern transmission) centered around the Kālikā Krama, the Paścimāmnāya (Western transmission) centered around the humpbacked goddess Kubjikā and her consort Navātman, the Dakṣiṇāmnāya (Southern transmission) centered around the goddess Tripurasundarī and Sri Vidya, the Urdhvāmnāya (Upper transmission) centered around the Ardhanārīśvara half-goddess/half-Śiva form, and the Adharāmnāya (Lower transmission), which includes Vajrayogini, Vajravarahi, and Ugratara of the Vajrayāna.

The defining feature of the Sarvāmnāya Tantra is that it preserved the complete ritual and meditative practices of these transmissions and integrates all these different āmnāyas into a sequence of practice. Initiates into the Sarvāmnāya receive a series of dīkśas or initiations into each of these transmissions and learn to integrate their respective mantras, yantras, mandalas, deity forms, and meditative experiences into one another to attain a deeper realization.