Sakta Tantric Traditions of Kerala in the Process of Change: Some Notes on Raudra-Mahartha Sampradaya
In this paper I shall propose some hypotheses that have emerged from my fieldwork on the so-called sakta Tantra of Kerala (also known locally as Raudra or Mahartha). This Hindu tantric tradition weds ritualistic practices of Kashmirian Saivism (Krama-Trika) with the folk beliefs of Kerala. It could...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Equinox
2020
|
| In: |
Religions of South Asia
Year: 2020, Volume: 14, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 150–175 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Kerala
/ Shaktism
/ Tantrism
/ Regional identity
/ Religious change
|
| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism KBM Asia |
| Further subjects: | B
Mahārtha
B Tantra B Krama B Śakta B Goddess B Kerala |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In this paper I shall propose some hypotheses that have emerged from my fieldwork on the so-called sakta Tantra of Kerala (also known locally as Raudra or Mahartha). This Hindu tantric tradition weds ritualistic practices of Kashmirian Saivism (Krama-Trika) with the folk beliefs of Kerala. It could be said that the sakta (sakteyam in Malayalam) Brahmins of Malabar are representatives of the Mahartha Tantra of Kerala. I intend to shed some light on the sakta tradition and compare the data from my fieldwork with the scriptural tradition. Therefore, I would like to present here some of my observations from reading the ritual texts of the sakta Tantric Brahmins. Their ritualistic handbook (preserved in the form of a palm-leaf manuscript) forms a detailed ritual manual composed in a mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam. Interestingly, the ritual directions are given sometimes in Sanskrit and other times in Malayalam, but most often in a combination of both languages. Being primarily goddess-oriented, the text teaches the reader methods of self empowerment and reaching the enlightened non-dual state through realizing the potencies of Kali. This paper introduces the structure of the ritual handbook and concerns the ritual peculiarities of the modern Tantric practitioners in Kerala. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1751-2697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions of South Asia
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/rosa.19322 |