Essay name: Devi Tantra, Mantra, Yantra (study)
Author:
Srider Basudevan Iyer
Affiliation: University of Mumbai / Sanskrit, University Department
This essay studies the history of Devi (the Goddess) in relation with worship using Tantra, Yantra and Mantra. The study explores the concept of the 'Female Principle' or Goddess, examining her role and significance in ancient Indian society.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
18 (of 55)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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chapter 1. Introduction 18 deliberate avoidance of the left hand in the worship. The Daksinac膩ra
is also referred to as Samay膩c膩ra. Dak峁峁嘺c膩ra holds the belief that,
"the idea of Sakti without the one who posses her ie. 艢iva .........is
not possible 38,
In Dak峁nac膩ra permits mainly the symbolic usage of the
paucamakira or the five things beginning with 'ma'. They are
1. Madya or Liquor, 2. M茫Esa or Flesh, 3. M膿na or Fish, 4.
Mudr膩 or Mystic gestures, grains and, 5. Maithuna or
Copulation otherwise known as Lat膩s膩dhana.
In right-hand worship, apart from the s盲dhakas only the spouses of the
s膩dhakas are allowed in this worship.
痴腻尘腻肠补谤补.
a.
39 V膩ma means excellent, left; and Vam膩 means a woman
Vam膩c膩ra is the school in which the Sakt墨 or V膩m膩 alone is the main
or the only deity to whom worship is offered exclusively 40. The
s膩dhaka's wife is referred to as Sakt墨. The practitioners of Vam膩c膩ra
make explicit use of the left hand in the ritual worship. 'Left' is the
reversal of the convenient as well as the conventional 'right'. A
striking feature of this school is the literal partaking of the Pa帽ca-
Mak膩ras. In V膩m膩c膩ra, apart from the use of wine, flesh and fish,
38 Lynda E.Gatwood, Opcit. P.64
39 Apte v.s. the students
40 Vankooji,Worship Of The Goddess According To The K膩lik膩pur膩峁嘺
