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Tantric Hedonism of ...
Tantric Hedonism of Mahanadi Valley (Uddiyana Pitha)
by: Jitamitra Prasad Singh DeoIt is the study of the yogic developments in the Mahanadi Valley which evolved erotic mysticism and examines the evolution of Tantric Cults. With numerous illustrations, it emphasises on the art and architectural expressions of tantric belief. Furthermore the concept of sex to super-consciousness has been described in detail.
$40.00
ISBN: 9788124602690
Year Of Publication: 2004
Edition: 1st
Pages : xviii, 290
Bibliographic Details : 46 B/w photographs; 18 Figures; Appendix; Glossary; Bibliography; Indices
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Size: 25 cm.
Weight: 850
This is a brilliant cultural-anthropological study exploring those hedonistic aspects of the pan-Indian heritage which, represented by centuries of the non-Vedic, Tantric tradition, affirm that the pleasurable, especially the sexually pleasurable, is natural as a means to achieve the highest mystical experience. Himself a Tantric initiate, Prem Saran offers a compelling, sympathetic analysis of Tantrism, its place in the Bengali and Assamese cultures, and its pervasiveness in pan-Indian thought and ritual generally. Prem Sarans is also a cultural critique of modern Indian values and life-ways. In addition, it is an exercise in methodology, employing certain anthropological tools and concepts like “Cultural Debate”, “Cultural Criticism”, “Hindu Renaissance” and “Pizza-effect” the last three having been developed by the late Professor Agehananda Bharati whom the author acknowledges as a “constant source of encouragement” during the last decade. Though tantra is juxtaposed to Vedic traditions as a heterodox, life-affirming tradition, which is both ancient and basic to Hindu interpretations of being, its hedonistic contents have been purposely neglected or suppressed, partly because of the continuing hold of Victorian morality (imbibed from the British missionaries and colonial rulers), and partly because the erotic route to mystical achievement has always been a secret, minority path. Tantra: Hedonism in Indian Culture will, therefore, fill an existing lacuna in the cultural-anthropology of South Asia. The book carries a Foreword by the distinguished anthropologist, Professor Mattison Mines of the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
Preface
Abbreviations
List of Plates and Figures
Transliteration Chart
Introduction
1. Tantric Hedonism of Mahanadi Valley
2. Yogic Development in Mahanadi Valley, Evolved Erotic Mysticism
The Early Upland Dwellers of Mahanadi River Valley
Primal Yoni or Bhairavi Pitha is located in Nuapada district
Yoni Worship Originated in Middle Right Mahanadi Valley
Yoga of Sexual Transformation
Uddiyana-Pitha Defined
Uddiyana-Pitha Identified
Study of Lata-mudra, Vajroli-mudra Sahajoli-mudra and Uddiyana-bandha
Study on benefits of Uddiyana-bandha and its Acquaintance with Mahanadi Valley
Uddiyana-pitha Represent Air Element
Kurmashiti is a gift of Kalahandi district
Yogini Tantra and Yoni Tantra
Study of Shyamakali and Dakshinakali
Shunya or Void in Yogic-Tantric Shaivism
Study on Traditions of Seven Tantric Maidens and Sasisena Kavya
Yoga of Sexual transformation in Jagannatha cult
3. Mahanadi Valley was not Bereaved of Lajja Gauri Cult
4. Epitomic Hatha Yogic, Tantric Sculptural Masterpiece of India
Study on Agamic Tradition
5. From Sex to Salvation
Savikalpa Samadhi
Nirvikalpa Samadhi
Pleasure
The Pancashakha of Orissa
Upendra Bhanja
Procreation
Samadhi
Vajroli-Mudra
Sahajoli-Mudra
Uddiyana Bandha
6. Koshali Style of Temple Architecture
Yantra and Mandala
Gross Elements
Koshali Style of Rekha Temple
7. Significance of Three Tantric Temples at Baud
8. Tantric influence on Temple Architecture of Mahanadi Valley
Visuals
Appendix: Translation of Pancashayaka
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
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Manthanabhairavatantram, Kumarikakhandah $388.00
The Manthanabhairavatantra is about 24,000 verses long and is divided into three sections (khanda). The one edited and translated here is the Kumarikakhanda. Along with the Kubjikamata, the Manthanabhairavatantra is the most important and extensive Tantra dedicated to the worship of the goddess Kubjika. Although originally an Indian goddess, Kubjika is almost exclusively worshipped in the Kathmandu Valley, where her cult has been kept scrupulously secret by Newar initiates for centuries. Almost all the manuscripts of her Tantras and related literature have been found there.
Kubjika is a powerful development of Malini, the principal goddess of the Trika Tantras and Kali of the Kashmiri Krama tradition. Her cult belongs to a chain of early Kaula systems that culminate with that of the goddess Tripura and so sheds considerable light on them. Kubjikas unique historical importance is mirrored in the extraordinary richness of the inner, spiritual dimensions of her cult. These are explored in detail in the introduction to the edition and translation of the text with extensive references from mostly unpublished Kubjika Tantras and those of related schools.
The work took close to two decades to produce. In this time numerous working editions of unpublished Tantras and related texts were prepared by the author with the help of a team of five trained assistants. -
Lalita-Sahasranama A Comprehensive Study of One Thousand Names of Lalita Maha-Tripurasundari $50.00
In the Hindu sacred literature, Sahasra-namas: the texts embodying literally “the Thousand Names” of a deity, constitute a genre in their own right. And Lalita-Sahasranama (LS) is a veritable classic in the traditional writings of the kind — a classic widely acknowledged for its lucidity, clarity and poetic excellence. A medieval work of unknown authorship eulogising Shakti: the Mother Goddess, this Sahasranama is not just a masterly exposition of Shri Lalita’s cult, but also sets out the deity’s diverse epithets — like, for instance, Kundalini, Nirguna, Saguna, Parashakti or Brahman — which continue to evoke reverence as mantras with ‘mystic powers’. Also included among these names are the goddess’s other panegyric descriptions that have come to have profound, esoteric connotations in tantric practices — epitomizing, thus, the fundamental tenets of tantrashastra. Here is a brilliant critical edition of Lalita-Sahasranama meticulously analysing, for the first time, each of Shri Lalita’s thousand names — by a variety of themes, like the Goddess’s conceptual representations, anthropomorphic forms, disposition, abodes, kinships/consorts, ritualistic worship, and her supremacy in pantheonic hierarchy. Also explaining and interpreting anew these thousand names on the basis of time-honoured commentaries, Dr. Joshi under-scores the high importance of Lalita-Sahasranama in philosophy, tantra, yoga, sahasranama literature, and rituals of various descriptions. The book includes the original Sanskrit text of LS, its romanised transliteration and, additionally, an Appendix listing Sri Lalita’s thousand names in the A-Z sequence.
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Kalikrama and Abhinavagupta $24.00
The Krama School of the Trika Saivism of Kashmir, more familiar as Kalikrama in the contemporary parlance, has turned out to be the most crucial among the monistic Saiva traditions of medieval Kashmir after the Pratyabhijna school, a scenario people could hardly envisage six decades back when it first came to the notice of modern scholarship. The doctrine of Kalikrama, lit. sequential order of consciousness deities called Kalis, constitutes the most pivotal aspect of this school marked by a synchronous resonance between the esoteric/Tantric and cognitive/metaphysical undercurrents of the system.
In order to delve deeper into the doctrine of Kalikrama the present monograph does some loud thinking in three important areas: (a) the role of cognitivization in the ultimate realization; (b) the theoretical background of the mystical experience built around the consciousness deity(ies); and (c) the inconclusiveness of the hidden meaning posing an epistemological barrier in the study of an esoteric Tantric tradition. In all these areas one cannot miss the imprints of Abhinavagupta’s profound contribution. As such, the present study journeys into three directions: (1) a short genealogy of modern Krama studies; (2) the epistemology of the esoteric internalization embodied in the doctrine of Kalikrama; and (3) the role played by Abhinavagupta as its foremost architect. As such, the present study needs be construed as a small step towards discovering the intrinsic epistemological ethos of an esoteric Tantric tradition. -
Tantra $20.00
This is a brilliant cultural-anthropological study exploring those hedonistic aspects of the pan-Indian heritage which, represented by centuries of the non-Vedic, Tantric tradition, affirm that the pleasurable, especially the sexually pleasurable, is natural as a means to achieve the highest mystical experience. Himself a Tantric initiate, Prem Saran offers a compelling, sympathetic analysis of Tantrism, its place in the Bengali and Assamese cultures, and its pervasiveness in pan-Indian thought and ritual generally. Prem Saran’s is also a cultural critique of modern Indian values and life-ways. In addition, it is an exercise in methodology, employing certain anthropological tools and concepts like Cultural Debate, Cultural Criticism, Hindu Renaissance and Pizza-effect the last three having been developed by the late Professor Agehananda Bharati whom the author acknowledges as a constant source of encouragement during the last decade.
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Abhinavagupta ka Tantragamiya Darsana $60.00
This volume on Tantra philosophy, by a highly esteemed author, is an unparalleled work in the realm of philosophical reflection. Having imbibed the art of reconstructive hermeneutical exegesis (tatparya-visodhana), the learned author has synergized Abhinavaguptas tantragamiya philosophical thought process with literature, culture, history, metaphysics, Tantric praxis as well as aesthetics. With unbiased academic integrity and objective conceptual authenticity he has unveiled the original internal thought process of Svatantracidadvaitavada, i.e. integral dynamic idealistic absolutism in its entirety. In this millennial decade of the immortal Acarya Abhinavagupta, this work, by virtue of its analytical and investigative insights, will serve as an intellectual homage and will stand out amidst the published literature, whether in Hindi or English, on the subject.
