The fact that Bengal. Nepal and Tibet are mentioned side by side shows that Tantrism of Bengal and Nepal is regarded to be of the same nature as that of Tibet. It is concluded that even those Buddhist Tantras which build their symbolism upon the polarity of the male and female principle as sakti, but always as its contrary, namely prajna (wisdom) Uidya (knowledge) or mudra (the spiritual attitude of unification) and the realization of sunyata. They reject the basic idea of Saktism and its world creating eroticism. The main difference is that Buddhist Tantrism is not Saktism, the concept of Sakti, of divine power of the creative female aspect of the highest God (Siva) or his emanations does not play any role in Buddhism. While in the Hindu tantras the concept of power (Sakti) forms the focus of interest, the central idea of Tantric Buddhism is prajna (knowledge, wisdom).
According to Buddhist scholar Bhuban Lal Pradhan, Buddhist tantrics revere Guhyeswari primarily as a Tantric divinity and call her Nairatma (goddess of soullessness) or Hevajra-nairatmadevi (Hevajra being the male partner of Nairatma). The Vajrayanis also worship her as Patan Yogini of the nether world (Yogini being a Vajrayani equivalent of Mahayani Tara, the female partner of the Buddha). The Vajrayani work Herukachakrasamvara has given a detailed and elaborated account of Goddess Guhyeswari.
According to him, the tradition of worshipping female deity came into being in the 8th century A.D. Around the 8th century A.D. the influence of Tantrism and Vajrayana became widespread in northern India, mainly Bengal, Orissa and Asham. Nepal was not left untouched by this wind of sweeping influence.
Micheal Allen has made much more elebrate study of Tantrism in Nepal. In his book “The cult of Kumari” he writes: Amongst the Newars of Nepal, the numerically dominant ethic group of the Kathmandu valley, the influence of Tantrism on both Hinduism and Buddhism has ensured the importance both of sexuality and the worship of Sakti. In addition to the popularity of such non – Tantric female deities as Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati, the Newars devote a great deal of their ritual activity to the worship of the Devi in one of her many dangerous, mature and blood lusting forms (Kali, Durga, Ajima, Bhairavi, taleju). But the most notable and perhaps unique feature of their religion is the prominence given to the worship of Kumari, the living virgin goddess.
The importance the Lakshmikamadeva attached to the worship of Kumarimay well be related to the growing popularity of Tantrism, both of the Hindu and Buddhist varieties, throughout north India and Nepal during the 11th century. The fact that he selected a Sakya girl as the living Kumari could be due to the influence of Atisa, the great Indian mystic who is commonly accredited with having introduced Vajrayana Buddhism into Nepal towards the end of his reign.
The Mubaha Kumari is of special interest because for Vajrayana Buddhists she is by far the most important. It means that for any individual or group that wishes to perform a specifically Vajrayana ceremony that includes the worship of a living Kumari the first choice would be the Mubaha gorl. It is she who provides the most perfect representation of such female Tantric divinities as Vajradevi, Vajravarahi or trailyadevi.
According to a member of Mubaha which is also called Malasrimahaihara the first Vajracharya settlement in the valley had been in a town called Batisputali near Pashupatinath where they all stayed in a monastery called Pimbaha. At this time that dyapala at Pashupatinath was a Vajracharya who led the community in the performance of powerful Tantric pujas. The Vajracharyas of Mubaha and Tahsibaha have Guhyeswari as their ancestral deity (digu dya).
For the Mahayana Buddhism Prajna which cannotes wisdom is worshipped in two forms, as the sacred book Prajnaparamita and as the sexual partner of the Dhyani Buddhas. At this level, the true Kumari is especially identified with Tara, the consort of Amoghsiddhi. For the fully initiated Vajrayanist, or for the one who has gained the right to participate in the secret agama ritual. Kumari is worshipped as Prajna in the form of a yogini or dakini especially Vajradevi. And the beautiful and red – colored partner of Chakra Samvara (Heruka). Vajradevi is often identified with Vajravarahi (the partner of Mahamaya, another of Heruka's many forms.
In Vajrayana Buddhism the main aim is to understand what is sex and why it is that in sex we get supreme happiness. Life comes from the clash of opposites as in the meeting of two vital nerves in the play of the sun and the moon, and in the union of male and female. In order to understand the idea of the void (sunyata) which results from this union we need prajna, the highest knowledge. But prajna is itself female, or rather it resides within women. It was Manjushri who first compared Prajna with a virgin girl because he realized that it was pure and untouched creativity. In other words, though Kumari is virgin she is nevertheless potential creative and she will become the mother goddess.
Regarding the emergence of Vajrayana Buddhism. Therefore de Bary says that Mahayana Buddhism was, by the fourth the fifth century A.D. permeated with the ideas which were to lead to fully developed tantrism.
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