This volume examines the formation and development of Śaiva tantric funerary practices (antyeṣṭi)... more This volume examines the formation and development of Śaiva tantric funerary practices (antyeṣṭi) and rituals of post-mortem ancestor worship (śrāddha) as preserved in the earliest extant strata of textual sources. These tantric scriptures and ritual manuals of the Śaiva Siddhānta cover a period from about the 5th to the 12th century CE. A close analysis of individual texts shows how the incorporation of death rites into the tantric repertoire was directly linked to the tradition’s development from once focused on private worship and limited to ascetics living outside society to a dominant religion throughout the Indic world. A focal point of the study is how, in this process, Śaiva ritual specialists catered to initiates who were established in the brahmanical householder society, with their death rites essentially coming to serve as the model for Śaiva equivalents. To make these rites more meaningful in terms of Śaiva doctrine, cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship were redefined as a means for liberating the deceased person’s soul, this through its funerary initiation and subsequent worship in manifestations of increasingly potent forms of Śiva.
The book first introduces the socio-historical context of early Śaivism, and then in five chapters traces the development of Śaiva funerary rites in the available text sources, examining also the extent to which Śaiva propagators were willing to tolerate doctrinal compromises to be able to include a wider clientele. The appendices contain editions and annotated translations of the passages on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship from the pre-9th century tantric scriptures Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṃgraha 22.9–20, Sarvajñānottara 12 and 13, and Kiraṇa 60 and 61, as well as the chapters on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship in the 12th-century South-Indian ritual manual Jñānaratnāvalī.
From the middle of the first millennium CE, South Asia saw the emergence and rise of Tantrism wit... more From the middle of the first millennium CE, South Asia saw the emergence and rise of Tantrism within all of its major religious traditions: Śaivism, the Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra, the Buddhist Mantrayāna, and Jainism. Despite the fact that Tantrism grew to become such an integral part of the religious landscape, our understanding of how early Tantric communities were actually organized and how they positioned themselves in society is still limited. This collection of articles by leading scholars offers new insights into the socio-religious history of premodern Tantric traditions.
Skandapur a IIb presents a critical edition of Adhy yas 31-52 from the Skandapur a, with an intro... more Skandapur a IIb presents a critical edition of Adhy yas 31-52 from the Skandapur a, with an introduction and English synopsis.
The Paśupatināth temple in Kathmandu, dedicated to the deity Śiva Paśupati, is Nepal’s national s... more The Paśupatināth temple in Kathmandu, dedicated to the deity Śiva Paśupati, is Nepal’s national shrine. The existence of this site and local Śaiva religious activities can be traced back to as early as the fifth century ce, but it was the ruler Aṃśuvarman (fl. 605–621) who first publicly declared his allegiance to the god of the main shrine by styling himself as “favoured by the Venerable Lord Paśupati” in his inscriptions. This allegiance would remain deeply implanted in the religio-political discourse of Nepal thenceforth. Mainly on the basis of the epigraphical record, this article investigates some historical and political processes responsible for shaping the links between Śiva Paśupati as a religious symbol and the ruling elite of Nepal in this early phase, a period in which powerful ministers gradually supplanted the royal elite. Thus, in the wake of Aṃśuvarman’s reign the Paśupatināth shrine had also risen to enough prominence to be included in the list of sacred Śaiva sites...
This article presents newly discovered data that provides new insights into eighth- century Nepal... more This article presents newly discovered data that provides new insights into eighth- century Nepalese history. The data is based on a stone inscription dated to Licchavi Saṃvat 173 (748 ce), here edited and translated for the first time. The inscription not only attests to the continuity of Licchavi dynastic rule through to the middle of the eighth century CE, but additionally reveals a matrimonial and military alliance between the Licchavis and a dynasty called Rāṣṭrakūṭa, possibly the Rāṣṭrakūṭa family attested in the Indragaḍh inscription dated Vikrama Saṃvat 767 (710–11 CE). In contextualizing the historical data that can be extracted from the surviving portions of the inscription, we examine and reassess some of the strategies used by the Licchavi Kingdom to negotiate its position in the tumultuous political landscape of greater North India during the seventh and early eighth centuries. In the introduction and annotations, the article also provides observations on t...
The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi per... more The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi period between 466 and 645 CE are the earliest dated sources for local Śaiva religious activities. This article aims at a comprehensive survey and analysis of this group of inscriptions, examining (1) their material aspects and locations, (2) donative patterns and related social and economic features, such as the prominent agency of merchants and women of high rank, and (3) religious concepts linked to the spiritual and soteriological reasons for establishing the liṅgas, as expressed in the donative formulas. In addition, these formulas will be compared to contemporaneous prescriptive literature (e.g. the Śivadharmaśāstra) as well as to Buddhist donative practices. As will be shown, the Pashupatinath temple emerged as a key site in the propagation and shaping of liṅga worship, with the accumulation of wealth and related socio-religious activities contributing to the appearance of local Pāśu...
The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi per... more The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi period between 466 and 645 CE are the earliest dated sources for local Śaiva religious activities. This article aims at a comprehensive survey and analysis of this group of inscriptions, examining (1) their material aspects and locations, (2) donative patterns and related social and economic features, such as the prominent agency of merchants and women of high rank, and (3) religious concepts linked to the spiritual and soteriological reasons for establishing the liṅgas, as expressed in the donative formulas. In addition, these formulas will be compared to contemporaneous prescriptive literature (e.g. the Śivadharmaśāstra) as well as to Buddhist donative practices. As will be shown, the Pashupatinath temple emerged as a key site in the propagation and shaping of liṅga worship, with the accumulation of wealth and related socio-religious activities contributing to the appearance of local Pāśupata groups and the elevation of Pashupatinath’s status to that of a national shrine.
This volume examines the formation and development of Śaiva tantric funerary practices (antyeṣṭi)... more This volume examines the formation and development of Śaiva tantric funerary practices (antyeṣṭi) and rituals of post-mortem ancestor worship (śrāddha) as preserved in the earliest extant strata of textual sources. These tantric scriptures and ritual manuals of the Śaiva Siddhānta cover a period from about the 5th to the 12th century CE. A close analysis of individual texts shows how the incorporation of death rites into the tantric repertoire was directly linked to the tradition’s development from once focused on private worship and limited to ascetics living outside society to a dominant religion throughout the Indic world. A focal point of the study is how, in this process, Śaiva ritual specialists catered to initiates who were established in the brahmanical householder society, with their death rites essentially coming to serve as the model for Śaiva equivalents. To make these rites more meaningful in terms of Śaiva doctrine, cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship were redefined as a means for liberating the deceased person’s soul, this through its funerary initiation and subsequent worship in manifestations of increasingly potent forms of Śiva.
The book first introduces the socio-historical context of early Śaivism, and then in five chapters traces the development of Śaiva funerary rites in the available text sources, examining also the extent to which Śaiva propagators were willing to tolerate doctrinal compromises to be able to include a wider clientele. The appendices contain editions and annotated translations of the passages on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship from the pre-9th century tantric scriptures Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṃgraha 22.9–20, Sarvajñānottara 12 and 13, and Kiraṇa 60 and 61, as well as the chapters on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship in the 12th-century South-Indian ritual manual Jñānaratnāvalī.
From the middle of the first millennium CE, South Asia saw the emergence and rise of Tantrism wit... more From the middle of the first millennium CE, South Asia saw the emergence and rise of Tantrism within all of its major religious traditions: Śaivism, the Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra, the Buddhist Mantrayāna, and Jainism. Despite the fact that Tantrism grew to become such an integral part of the religious landscape, our understanding of how early Tantric communities were actually organized and how they positioned themselves in society is still limited. This collection of articles by leading scholars offers new insights into the socio-religious history of premodern Tantric traditions.
Skandapur a IIb presents a critical edition of Adhy yas 31-52 from the Skandapur a, with an intro... more Skandapur a IIb presents a critical edition of Adhy yas 31-52 from the Skandapur a, with an introduction and English synopsis.
The Paśupatināth temple in Kathmandu, dedicated to the deity Śiva Paśupati, is Nepal’s national s... more The Paśupatināth temple in Kathmandu, dedicated to the deity Śiva Paśupati, is Nepal’s national shrine. The existence of this site and local Śaiva religious activities can be traced back to as early as the fifth century ce, but it was the ruler Aṃśuvarman (fl. 605–621) who first publicly declared his allegiance to the god of the main shrine by styling himself as “favoured by the Venerable Lord Paśupati” in his inscriptions. This allegiance would remain deeply implanted in the religio-political discourse of Nepal thenceforth. Mainly on the basis of the epigraphical record, this article investigates some historical and political processes responsible for shaping the links between Śiva Paśupati as a religious symbol and the ruling elite of Nepal in this early phase, a period in which powerful ministers gradually supplanted the royal elite. Thus, in the wake of Aṃśuvarman’s reign the Paśupatināth shrine had also risen to enough prominence to be included in the list of sacred Śaiva sites...
This article presents newly discovered data that provides new insights into eighth- century Nepal... more This article presents newly discovered data that provides new insights into eighth- century Nepalese history. The data is based on a stone inscription dated to Licchavi Saṃvat 173 (748 ce), here edited and translated for the first time. The inscription not only attests to the continuity of Licchavi dynastic rule through to the middle of the eighth century CE, but additionally reveals a matrimonial and military alliance between the Licchavis and a dynasty called Rāṣṭrakūṭa, possibly the Rāṣṭrakūṭa family attested in the Indragaḍh inscription dated Vikrama Saṃvat 767 (710–11 CE). In contextualizing the historical data that can be extracted from the surviving portions of the inscription, we examine and reassess some of the strategies used by the Licchavi Kingdom to negotiate its position in the tumultuous political landscape of greater North India during the seventh and early eighth centuries. In the introduction and annotations, the article also provides observations on t...
The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi per... more The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi period between 466 and 645 CE are the earliest dated sources for local Śaiva religious activities. This article aims at a comprehensive survey and analysis of this group of inscriptions, examining (1) their material aspects and locations, (2) donative patterns and related social and economic features, such as the prominent agency of merchants and women of high rank, and (3) religious concepts linked to the spiritual and soteriological reasons for establishing the liṅgas, as expressed in the donative formulas. In addition, these formulas will be compared to contemporaneous prescriptive literature (e.g. the Śivadharmaśāstra) as well as to Buddhist donative practices. As will be shown, the Pashupatinath temple emerged as a key site in the propagation and shaping of liṅga worship, with the accumulation of wealth and related socio-religious activities contributing to the appearance of local Pāśu...
The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi per... more The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi period between 466 and 645 CE are the earliest dated sources for local Śaiva religious activities. This article aims at a comprehensive survey and analysis of this group of inscriptions, examining (1) their material aspects and locations, (2) donative patterns and related social and economic features, such as the prominent agency of merchants and women of high rank, and (3) religious concepts linked to the spiritual and soteriological reasons for establishing the liṅgas, as expressed in the donative formulas. In addition, these formulas will be compared to contemporaneous prescriptive literature (e.g. the Śivadharmaśāstra) as well as to Buddhist donative practices. As will be shown, the Pashupatinath temple emerged as a key site in the propagation and shaping of liṅga worship, with the accumulation of wealth and related socio-religious activities contributing to the appearance of local Pāśupata groups and the elevation of Pashupatinath’s status to that of a national shrine.
Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions: Essays in Honour of Alexis Sanderson
The article investigates the history and scope of usage of the term lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā, one of th... more The article investigates the history and scope of usage of the term lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā, one of the most accessible and mainstream-conform classes of Śaiva tantric initiation. In essence, this category denotes a form of initiation that allows the practitioner to maintain his exoteric register of religious practice (the lokadharma), which in this context means the brahmanical mainstream. As such, it is contrasted with the śivadharmiṇī dīkṣā, which operates on purely Śaiva ritual and soteriological premises. It will be shown how the terminology of the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā was used in different initiation-classification schemes within the tradition, reflecting the changing modalities through which the interface between initiatory and exoteric practices was regulated in different Śaiva tantric groups throughout the early medieval period. Thus, the article will identify and analyse three scopes of application for this terminology, considered with a historical perspective: Firstly, the earliest extant occurrence of the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā will be traced in the context of initiation types for Sādhakas, that is to say tantric practitioners that seek benefits and super-natural powers (bubhukṣu) as opposed to pure liberation–seekers (mumukṣu). Here the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā constitutes an inferior type of tantric initiation that offers a spiritual path operating on the basis of exoteric brahmanical practice, a classification found in the Śaiva scriptures Svacchanda and Mṛgendra. Secondly, it will be shown how in the Jayadrathayāmala and Bṛhatkālottara the terminology of the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā is then recast in context of the liberation-seeker (mumukṣu), integrating the level of exoteric religious practice into the soteriological path for certain groups of practitioners. Thirdly, the case of the 12th-century ritual manual Jñānaratnāvalī will be discussed, where the terminology of the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā is used to broadly denote Śaiva initiation for householders as opposed to ascetics. The classification is here applied on the basis that practitioners who receive a lokadharmiṇī initiation are full Śaiva initiates – thus by default mumukṣus – but maintain their exoteric religious duties incumbent on them according to their socio-religious status in mainstream society (the lokadharma), a common principle amongst Śaiva initiates of the early medieval period. Thus, by the time of the 12th century the terminology of the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā had lost any association with an inferior type of tantric initiation as well as with the bubhukṣu context but evolved to denote the standard Śaiva householder initiate, a usage of the terminology that is also found in subsequent South-Indian Saiddhāntika sources. By tracing the history of the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā terminology in pre-12th century Śaiva tantric sources, the article thus also points to the complexities of interpretation of terminology relating to initiatory categories due to the changing strategies and socio-religious systems envisaged by the authors at different times and places.
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The book first introduces the socio-historical context of early Śaivism, and then in five chapters traces the development of Śaiva funerary rites in the available text sources, examining also the extent to which Śaiva propagators were willing to tolerate doctrinal compromises to be able to include a wider clientele. The appendices contain editions and annotated translations of the passages on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship from the pre-9th century tantric scriptures Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṃgraha 22.9–20, Sarvajñānottara 12 and 13, and Kiraṇa 60 and 61, as well as the chapters on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship in the 12th-century South-Indian ritual manual Jñānaratnāvalī.
The book first introduces the socio-historical context of early Śaivism, and then in five chapters traces the development of Śaiva funerary rites in the available text sources, examining also the extent to which Śaiva propagators were willing to tolerate doctrinal compromises to be able to include a wider clientele. The appendices contain editions and annotated translations of the passages on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship from the pre-9th century tantric scriptures Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṃgraha 22.9–20, Sarvajñānottara 12 and 13, and Kiraṇa 60 and 61, as well as the chapters on cremation and post-mortem ancestor worship in the 12th-century South-Indian ritual manual Jñānaratnāvalī.