Opening Scripture and Source
Devi
This verse is not yet a practice; it is an opening statement that presents the text as a concentrated teaching. Devi says she has heard the Tantra and wants the essential point, not just many different explanations. It is like asking for the heart of a long book in plain words.
विज्ञानभैरव तन्त्रम् विज्ञानभैरव तन्त्रम् श्रुतं देि मया सिं रुद्रयामलसम्भवम् । विकभेदमशेषेण सारात्सारविभागश् ॥ १ ॥
vijñānabhairava-tantram | vijñānabhairava-tantram | śrutaṃ devi mayā samyak rudrayāmala-sambhavam | vikalpabhedam aśeṣeṇa sārāt sāravibhāgaśaḥ || 1 ||
Translation
The Vijñānabhairava Tantra, the Vijñānabhairava Tantra. O Devi, I have heard fully the scripture born of the Rudrayāmala, divided without remainder into distinctions, with its essence extracted from essence.
Devi introduces the scripture and frames it as a distilled teaching meant to reveal its essential meaning.