Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism: History, Practice and Doctrine

ISBN-13: 9781138583788 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 186 str.

Bjarne Wernicke Olesen

Opis

Hinduism cannot be understood without the Great Goddess and the goddess-orientated Śākta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, the highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship have only recently begun to draw scholarly attention. This book addresses the increasing interest in the Great Goddess and the tantric traditions of India by exploring the history, doctrine and practices of the Śākta tantric traditions.

Spis treści

Foreword Introduction  1. Śakti in Early Tantric Śaivism: Historical Observations on Goddesses, Cosmology, and Ritual in the Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā 2. The (Un)Dreadful Goddess: Aghorī in Early Śākta Tantras 3. Varieties of Melaka in the Jayadrathayāmala: Some Reflections on the Terms Haṭha and Priya 4. Snakebite Goddesses in the Sìākta Traditions: Roots and Incorporations of Tvaritā, Kurukullā, and Bherunòdòā 5. The Cāṇḍālī as Śakti: Untouchable Women in Some Tantric Texts 6. Śāktism and Haṭhayoga 7. Śāktism, Polity and Society in Medieval Malabar

O autorze

Bjarne Wernicke Olesen is a Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, UK, and a teacher of classical South Asian languages and religions at Aarhus University, Denmark.