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This interesting compendium highlights the importance and stature of women Rishikas in the Vedic literature as epitomes of spiritual attainments, and emphasises that the gender discrimination as seen in the Hindu traditional thought was a later phenomenon. It provides a list of women Rishikas and mantras envisioned by them.
The volume presents a study of the famous women Rishikas mentioned in the Vedic literature.
The book describes the great respect offered to seers in the Vedic literature and the equal importance given to Rishikas when compared to Rishis. Discussing how even women of the Vedic period were epitomes of spiritual attainment, the book admiringly points out that the gender discrimination seen in the Hindu traditional thought was a later phenomenon (such as that women are not adhikaris for the study of the Vedas). It states that there are twenty-seven women mantra-drashtarah in the Rigveda. It provides a list of these women Rishikas and deals with the mantras envisioned by them. The Rishikas are mentioned in the study on the basis of those who praised the deities, those who conversed with the seers and deities, and those who praised the self. The Rishikas mentioned in the Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda are also mentioned. Rishikas whose individual contributions are taken up in detail include Vagambhrni, Surya-Savitri, Shraddha, Daksina, Aditi, Ratri, and Urvashi, among others.
The volume is bound to be a handy reference book for all those interested in Indology, particularly students and scholars of Vedic and gender studies.
This work examines the dichotomy of the male and female principles in South Asian and Mediterranean religious and cultural traditions: Hindu (Sanskritic), Buddhist, Greek, Latin and Western mystical traditions. It is a comparative study that explores the roots and nature of the dichotomy of the sexes in these traditions by delving into the sacred in terms of myth, concept, imagery and symbols. The book will be useful to all interested in comparative religion and cultural studies.
With numerous illustrations, this work examines the dichotomy of the male and female principles in South Asian and Mediterranean religious and cultural traditions: Hindu (Sanskritic), Buddhist, Greek, Latin and Western mystical traditions. It is a comparative study that explores the roots and nature of the dichotomy of the sexes in these traditions by delving into the sacred in terms of myth, concept, imagery and symbols. With extensive notes, it presents drawings of more than 60 symbols and concepts revolving around the male and the female principles. With sharp insights and reflecting painstaking research, it delves into the rich and complex meanings attached to the moon, sun, dark/light, phallus, rose, svastika, womb and weapons in various religions. The discussion shows the dichotomy of the sacred in all major religions, mostly the male being elevated and the female made subservient. It explains how dichotomies are all embedded within cultural icons and the dualism is often based upon a localised concept of a good and evil, or a right and wrong, polarity. The book will be useful to all interested in comparative religion and cultural studies.
The worship of Shakti (Mother Goddess) is almost a universal phenomenon and its manifestation is seen in different forms. This book incorporates a number of papers on multiple aspects of øàkta traditions practised in Varanasi continuing from hoary past to-date.
The worship of Shakti (mother Goddess) is almost a universal phenomenon and its manifestation is seen in different forms. Indian contribution has also been laudable and it is amply noticed through the figures of Mother-Goddesses even from the pre-Indus Culture. This was followed in the subsequent ages throughout India, and Varanasi being a great religious centre has also left an indelible imprint in this regard. This book incorporates a good number of papers on multiple aspects of Shakta traditions practised in Varanasi continuing from hoary past to-date. Beside philosophical, religious and cultural leanings the contents expose the iconographic, ritualistic and artistic rendering of the Divine Mother. Kashi or Varanasi has been a stronghold of religious and spiritual fervour; and several religious sects have contributed to its present texture. Saktism has also been a forceful current in the cultural stream of this holy city. This is evidenced by several Devi temples, Shakti-pithas, yantras, fairs and festivals associated with the worship of Mother-Goddess.
Saktapramoda is a liturgical paddhati-style compendium of sixteen independent ritual manuals. Of the sixteen texts in it, ten are dedicated to the group of ten Great Tantric Mahavidyas and, Kumari Tantra, which is another allied one devoted to the worship of a young maiden (Kumari). The rest are devoted to five deities: Ganesa, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga and Surya.
Shktapramoda of Deva Nandan Singh is a liturgical paddhati-style compendium of sixteen independent ritual manuals. The first ten works, comprising the major part of the text, are dedicated to the group of ten Tantric goddesses, referred to as the Ten Great Mahavidyas or Ten Supreme Powers the goddesses Kali, Tara, Sodashi, Bhuvaneshvari, Chinnamasta, Matangi, Tripurabhairavi, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi and Kamala. The next important text closely allied to the worship of the goddesses is the Kumari Tantra devoted to the worship of a young maiden (Kumari). The next group of works comprises the pentad of Tantras devoted to five deities: Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga and Surya. These five deities are invoked in almost all forms of ritual worship prescribed by the Vedas, Puranas and to a degree by the Tantras.
Each Tantra describes the dhyana of the deity, the yantra, mantras and the method of Tantric form of worship of the deity, along with praise hymns, protective formulas (kavaca) and litanies of divine names, be they a group of hundred names (shatanama) or a thousand names (sahasranama).
The first edition of Shktapramoda was published by Raja Deva Nandan Singh, an aristocratic zamindar of Muzaffarpur, Bihar, in the nineteenth century. The present edition brings together a fully edited and revised text with an elaborate introduction (in English), and a comprehensive index along with lithographic images of Tantric deities.
This study, in an ethono-historical perspective, explores the multi linear evolution of Sakti worship in Orissa: from the pre-/protohistorical times to the late medieval epoch, and its continuity into the modern period with contextual focus on its probable genesis, historical development, festivals, ritualistic patterns, and cultural sources including myths, legends and folklore.
In the Hindu world-view, Shakti is the Mother of the Universe: the highest primal power. She is, accordingly, the all-pervading, intagible energy principle that propels the cosmos and its endless human dimensions with the life-throbs of activity and culture. Many are her songs, countless her stories, numerous her names. Worship of Shakti, as a pan-Indian phenomenon, predates Sanskritic influences of every kind. Combining his extensive fieldwork with diverse published and unpublished sources: archaeological, historical and religious, Francesco Brighentis study traces its presence in Orissa. Which, perhaps, provides the best paradigm of an age-old Goddess cult, deeply rooted in the autochthonous religious traditions of Eastern India. It is the first, all-encompassing study, in an ethono-historical perspective, exploring the multilinear evolution of Shakti worship in Orissa: from the pre-/proto- historical times to the late medieval epoch, and even its continuity into the modern period with contextual focus on its probable genesis, historical development, festivals, ritualistic patterns, and cultural sources including myths, legends and folklore. The book also incorporates, besides a description of important Shakta centres in Orissa, a study of the Divine Mothers iconographic features in Her multifarious manifestations. Together with around hundred illustrations highlighting the varied representations of Shakti in sculpture, this study will interest not only the scholars of archaeology, history and religion, but historians of art as well.
Sharika Devi, the chief disciple of Swami Lakshman Joo, is a modern-day saint of Kashmir Saivism. A many-splendoured personality, she was constantly absorbed in God-consciousness while performing her worldly duties. This volume reminisces of her spiritual powers.
Kashmir has a long tradition of yoginis (female saints) and poetesses from ancient times. The life of Yogini Sharika Devi is a witness to this unbroken tradition till the twentieth century. This book delves into the life of Yogini Sharika Devi, who was always absorbed in spiritual practice and in serving her guru, Swami Lakshman Joo of Ishwer Ashram of Ishber, Srinagar, Kashmir. Being the chief disciple of Swamiji, Deviji was well focused on her sadhana and was devoted to the mantra of silence for her spiritual prosperity.
Thus she is one of the women saints of Kashmir Saivism. An ideal disciple of her Gurudeva, Deviji was a many-splendoured personality, constantly absorbed in God-consciousness while performing her worldly duties. A jivanamukta, as enunciated by her Gurudeva, she wholeheartedly dedicated her entire life to the service of her Master with single-minded devotion. Though she led a simple life, many were witness to her spiritual powers while she was alive.
This volume, being brought out at the centenary celebrations of her birth, is a compilation of tributes from various people who knew Sharika Devi from close quarters, and who were a witness to her compassion and spiritual powers on numerous occasions. A valuable part of the book is Sharika Devis own contribution to it in the form of her mystic poems. An introduction by the internationally known scholar of Kashmir Saivism, Bettina Sharada Bäumer, makes the book invaluable.
The book employs the multi-disciplinary methodologies of art historical interpretation to contextualise nearly the whole range of Saptamatrka icons within the larger historical evolution of accultured Brahmanical religion, mythology, theology and cultic developments.
The worship of Saptamatrika; the seven Mother Goddesses (or the seven Saktis, the divine feminine powers), is over a millennia and half old, pan-Indian phenomenon. And, over the centuries, the Matrika concept has come to have varied ideational, literary, visual and ritualistic manifestations which not just interconnect the totality of Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical religious traditions, but are integral components of the diverse historical processes of Indian society. A reputed scholar of art history here offers an insightful iconological study of Saptamatrika divinities: the Brahmanical goddesses found invariably as a single collective whole, consisting literally of seven (though sometimes eight or more) female deities, variably accompanied by different forms of Shiva, and Ganesha or Skanda. Employing the multidisciplinary methodo-logies of art historical interpretation, including the recent feminist interventions, Dr. Panikkars inquiry contextualises nearly the whole range of Saptamatrika icons within the larger historical evolution of accultured Brahmanical religion, mythology, theology and concomitant multifarious cultic developments. Also clarifying some of the basic principles of Brahmanical iconic tradition, his study has, for the first time, exceeded the accepted Art Historical procedures by incorporating the questions of class conflict, gender representations and ideology within the iconological discourse and has, thus, advanced the frontiers of Art Historical practice. It is a compelling, painstakingly researched work growing from the authors indepth survey of diverse Saptamatrika sculptures and an astonishing mass of both primary textual sources and research publications of more recent years. And, yet more significantly, it is enlivened with exquisite visual material: comprising nearly 200 photographic reproductions.
This detailed commentary views the Saundaryalahari compilation of 100 verses in praise of the Devi as Advaita Vedanta itself. The absolute joy of Advaita is presented in a pictorial language, subjectively as ananda, and objectively as saundarya.
The Saundaryalahari has fascinated and puzzled generations of scholars and laypersons; subject to continuing study and debate, till today, such details as the authorship of the 100 verses named the Saundaryalahari remain a matter of contention, particularly among scholars. While some attribute it to Shankara, others argue that the Saundaryalahari’s verses in praise of the Devi cannot have been authored by this staunch Vedantin; some argue that its value is essentially in the realm of what is loosely called “tantra,” while others extend the significance of the Saundaryalahari to include the preoccupations of Vedanta. Nataraja Guru is unequivocal in his belief that none other than Shankara could have composed this masterpiece of mystical poetry and identifies internal evidence in the verses themselves to support this view. The detailed commentary views the Saundaryalahari as Advaita Vedanta itself. The absolute Joy of Advaita is presented in a pictorial language, subjectively as ananda, and objectively as saundarya.
“प्रस्तुत ग्रन्थ “शक्ति उपासना” का वैभव राजानक महेश्वर राज़दान ने सायुज्य याेग के लिए शारदा लिपि के अन्तर्गत 126 दिव्य-नामावली के गुंथन में समर्पित किया है। चिन्मयी भैरवी के इस महामन् त्र काे ईश्वरस्वरूप स्वामी लक्ष्मण जी महाराज ने 1934 ईस्वी से संजाेए रखा अाैर तत्पश्चात् उनकी परम शिष्या याेगिनी शारिका देवी जी काे प्रदान किया। तत्पश्चात् सुश्री याेगिनी प्रभाजी ने इसे संजाेए रखकर देवनागरी लिपि में प्राेफेसर पुष्पजी से रूपान्तरित करवाकर महती कृपा की है। शक्ति उपासना के अन्तर्गत इच्छा, ज्ञान, क्रिया, शक्ति के नादानुसन्धान का उच्चारण क्रमिक है। चिन्मयी भैरवी शिव तथा शिवानी का एकात्म भाव स्वरूप है, अतः ित्रक शास् त्र की दृष्टि में सर्वाेपरि है, क्याेंकि सर्वव्यापी शक्ति विद्या-स्वरूपिणी है। प्रकाश तथा विमर्श सनातन शक्ति का ही प्रसार है। यामी शक्ति विश्वात्मिका हाेने के साथ अमृतेश्वरी का रूप धारण करके भक्ति, याेग तथा दैवी सम्पदा की अाेर स्फुरित हाेती है। अाद्या शक्ति चिन्मयी भैरवी निरन्तर स्फुरण करती है। शक्ति उपासना में ित्रपुर भैरवी श्रीप्रदा ज्ञान के द्वारा ज्ञाता के रूप में तथा ज्ञेय काे एक सूत्र में पिराेती हुई अमृत का पान कराती है। देवी का वरदान एवं सन्धिनी–ह्लादिनी शक्ति की अभय-मुद्रा उमा से कामेश्वरिप्रिया का प्रसार ही है। भुवन-मालिनी का रूप धारण करती हुई माेक्षप्रदा अमृतेश्वरी साधक के लिए ज्ञानाङ्ग एवं मन् त्र दीपिका है। शिव तथा शिवानी का एकात्मस्वरूप जानना मृत्यु से माेक्ष प्राप्ति का शाक्त अनुसन्धान है। “
The work it two volumes explores the physical and emotional interaction between Siva and Parvati as represented in sculptural works in the Indian subcontinent and examines a host of images supported by classifications of Siva-Parvati figures in texts like the Saiva Agamas and iconographic studies of the past decades. The images are related not only to religious beliefs but also iconographical.
The work explores the physical and emotional interaction between Shiva and Parvati as represented in sculptural works in the Indian subcontinent. In two volumes, it examines a host of images supported by classifications of Shiva-Parvati figures in texts like the Shaiva âgamas and iconographic studies of the past decades. It surveys an astounding sculptural diversity of Shiva-Parvati icons particularly forms of seated or standing Umasahita-murti, standing Alingana murti and Tantric forms of the deities. The images are related not only to religious beliefs but also iconographical research for instance, linking depiction of figures in certain postures and areas to their places of origin. With numerous charts, it highlights iconographical peculiarities, distribution and popularity, and identifies similarities and differences over periods of time and areas of making. Referring to sculptural collections in museums and private acquisitions, the painstaking research examines the sculptor’s technique of combining aesthetic harmony and beauty with the sacred in ontological symbols as of Umamaheshvara. There is a detailed mythological background concentrating on the individual character of Shiva and Parvati in their mutual relationship; their marriage and conjugal life; explicitly Shaiva motifs where the major concern is with the all-important Lord Shiva; and the physical and emotional interaction of Shiva and Parvati as man and wife. An entire volume is devoted to reproduction of the rich representative sculpture studied through more than 570 black and white photographs and over 160 colour plates. The volumes will prove useful for scholars of Indological art and art connoisseurs as well as general readers.
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