Auspicious wisdom : the texts and traditions of Śrīvidyā Śākta tantrism in south India

Description: Rooting itself in Kashmir Shaivism, Srividya became a force in South India no later than the seventh century, and eventually supplanted the Trika as the dominant Tantric tradition in Kashmir. This is the first comprehensive study of the texts and traditions of this influential school of goddess-centered, Sakta, Tantrism. Centering on the goddess's three manifestations—the beneficent deity Lalita Tripurasundari, her mantra, and the visually striking sricakra—Srividya creates a systematic esoteric discipline that combines elements of the yogas of knowledge, of devotion, and of ritual. Utilizing canonical works, historical commentaries, and the interpretive insights of living practitioners, this book explores the theological and ritual theories that form the basis for Srividya practice and offers new methods for critical and comparative studies of esoteric Hinduism. -- from publisher

Table of Contents: Introduction
1. Kula Tantrism and Srividya Tradition
2. Earliest Historical Evidence for Srividya in Tamil Literature
3. Srividya in Text and History
4. The Goddess Lalita Mahatripurasundari: The Sthula Aspect
5. The Srividya Mantra: srividya
6. Sricakara: The Transcendent Aspect of Devi
Part Two: Interpreting Tantric Ritual
Appendix of Diagrams

Location: COLLECTION: Religious Studies -- AREA: Religious Studies -- SECTION: Commentary / Filing name: Brooks

Topics: In TinyCat -- See "Tags" above for our libraries topic areas. See "Subjects" below for LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) (note you can tour our library via Tags or LCSH, but LCHS are not available for all items in our holdings).

FY1992 /