Tag Archives: bhairava

On the rise of the mātṛkā-s and the goddess Cāmuṇḍā

The roots of the mātṛkā-s in the śruti and the Kaumāra tradition The standard list of 7/8 goddesses known as the mātṛkā-s is a hallmark feature of the classical religion: Brāhmī, Māheśvarī, Kaumārī, Vaiṣṇavī, Vārāhī, Indrāṇī, Cāmuṇḍā, sometimes with the … Continue reading

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Matters of religion: the lesson by the lake

Sharvamanyu was with his preceptors Somakhya on Lootika on the shore of a lake in the midst of the mountains on a full moon night. It was the cremation ground for a lineage of Vs, who had historically specialized in … Continue reading

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The phantoms of the bone-pipe

As Vidrum was leafing through some recent case studies to gather the literature for his own production, he received a call from his chauffeur. He had fetched Vidrum’s new car. Vidrum went out to take a look at it. As … Continue reading

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The ponderous tale of the tombstones

“Since you are recording the diverse Vaidruma-s would you record the tombstone variation? While other matters like the sloths of South America, the megalithic culture of India, cave paintings, or even WW2 might be more interesting to the occasional reader … Continue reading

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The dance of the bhairava

bhairava on a cadaver from Nepal netrAku~nchana-sAraNa-krama-kR^ita-pravyakta-naktaM dino dik-chakrAnta-visarpi-sallari-saTA-bhArAvaruddhAmbaraH | hasta-nyasta-kapAla-kandara-darI-muktAbhra-dhArAH pibann unmukta-dhvani-bhinna-karNa-kuharaH kravyAd ayaM nR^ityati || netra= eye; Aku~nchana= closing; sAraNa= opening; krama= periodic; kR^ita= act; pravyakta= manifest; naktaM= night; dinaH= day; dik= direction; chakra= circle; anta= ends; [dikchakrAnta= … Continue reading

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On a paramAra warrior queen and some Saracenic structures in lATa

S and other members of aurvasheyI’s family have rich body of legend concerning their tAntrika paraMpara. We have discussed some of this with the intention of mapping it on the historical background which might have points of interest. We have … Continue reading

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Geopolitics of the tantra age: an attempt at a blunt assessment

The va~Nga-paNDita placed the following issue before ekanetra and me. He had seen a somewhat convergent theory amongst both Hindus and Hindu-haters. We lay this out as some kind of pUrva-pakSha for further study. -The beginning in the gupta age … Continue reading

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