Source: TW
Some of his intimate knowledge on traditions typically preserved among v1s suggests that sarahapAda was probably a fallen v1 rather than a larper. However, his subversion of v1 orthopraxy could be seen in a similar vein as how modern v1s are overrepresented in leadership positions in anti-H movements.
shrIkIrti’s student?
The tale of the mahAbrAhmaNa sarahapAda from a Tibetan source. (adapted from Guenther and Schaeffer’s translations from the Tibetan)
In brief, around then, in the south, at vidharbha, which in Tibetan is known as the country of Beta, he was the youngest of five sons of a great brAhmaNa. They were all quite learned in all brAhmaNa knowledge.
One day, after being received by king mahApAla, they came to a resting place in a grove, where there were four brAhmaNa girls making offerings and one lower-caste girl. The brothers asked them: “Where do you come from?” Their answers set the teachings of the dharma deep in their minds, and the four elder brothers disappeared with the brAhmaNa girls into the sky-realm.
The youngest brother (the future sarahapAda) despaired and, according to the third karmapA, noble Rangjung Dorje, took ordination under the monastic son of rAhula, mahAyAna shrIkIrti. He became perfect in ethical conduct and was an incomparable scholar.
One time, he came to a grove and beheld a circle of girls like those previously, holding a tAntrika gaNa-chakra feast. He drank four different kinds of mead from a skull-cup, and the primordial awareness of the four joys was born in him. The four brAhmaNa girls revealed themselves as DAkinI-s and bestowed upon him the four empowerments.
The vajraDAkinI said, “This is your master,” and in the sky appeared the devaputra sukhanAtha or matiratna and glorious hayagrIva. They granted the teachings of spontaneous mahAmudra. His body became drunk with mead; his speech drunk with vajragIti-s, his mind drunk with co-emergent primordial awareness.
He journeyed to a market and beheld a fletcheress making arrows, and all appearances dawned as symbols. The fletcheress instructed him in the mudra-s. He shot an arrow made by her and thus came to be known as saraha.
Then they practiced tantra. The people beseeched him, so he sang the people doha, which teaches principally the enlightened nirmANa-kAya.
The queens beseeched him, and he sang the queen doha, which teaches principally the enlightened sambhoga-kAya.
The king himself beseeched him, and he sang the king doha, which teaches principally the enlightened dharma-kAya.
So singing, everyone was liberated, and the kingdom became empty. It is said that later the three texts were written on palm leaves and spread after falling into the hands of two brother scribes.
maheshvara’s order?!
Another Tibetan narrative regarding sarahapAda states he was one of two brAhmaNa brothers. The brothers are said to have mastered vaidika lore and are presented as worshippers of shiva: They thought, " In our house we make offerings to maheshvara, but if we made many offerings to the scriptures of the bhagavat buddha, would it not be much better for our maheshvara?" Then it claims they went to kailAsa and rudra himself told them to worship the tathAgata! Thus, they became bauddha-s at nAlanda and vajrAsana. Could this be preserving a real piece of historicity that saraha and his brothers were original shaiva brAhmaNa-s?