Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions

Dominic Goodall studied under Alexis Sanderson at Oxford (doctorate 1996), joined the École Française d’Extrême-Orient (2000), and is now head of its Pondicherry Centre. He has published editions and translations of Śaiva works, Sanskrit poetry and Cambodian inscriptions. He is joint-editor, with Marion Rastelli, of the Vienna dictionary of tantric terminology (Tāntrikābhidhānakośa).Shaman Hatley studied under Harunaga Isaacson at the University of Pennsylvania (doctorate 2007), taught at Concordia University until 2015, and is now Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His research mainly concerns Tantric Śaivism, yoga, and medieval goddess cults, and his publications include The Brahmayāmalatantra or Picumata, vol. I, (Pondicherry, 2018).Harunaga Isaacson, PhD in Sanskrit (University of Leiden, 1995), was a post-doctoral research fellow at Oxford University (1995 to 2000), and held positions at Hamburg University (2000-2002) and the University of Pennsylvania (2002- 2006) before joining Hamburg University as Professor of Classical Indology in 2006. His main research areas are South Asian tantric traditions, especially Vajrayāna Buddhism; classical Sanskrit poetry; Indian philosophy; Purāṇic literature; and manuscript studies.Srilata Raman studied with Alexis Sanderson between the years 1986-1988, taking her M.Phil under his supervision at Oxford University. She is currently Associate Professor of Hinduism at the University of Toronto and specializes on the textual history of Tamil religion in both its Sanskrit and Tamil iterations, focusing on specific figures in both the Śrīvaiṣṇava and Tamil Śaiva traditions between the 12-14th and the 18-19th centuries.

'To sum up, this is an extraordinary volume on a wide range of subjects. A sizable portion of these essays are of major significance to their respective areas,and all have something worthwhile to offer the study of Indian history. It is a fitting tribute to the brilliant life and work of Alexis Sanderson.Michael Slouber, Western Washington University, Indo-Iranian Journal (2021) 'There is much to appreciate in this book. In brief: it makes a key chapter of the Śivadharmaśāstra accessible for diverse readers through a transparent critical edition and a clear annotated translation; it introduces the reader not just to this text, but to the active scholarly subfield investigating the corpus of early lay Śaiva literature commonly known as the Śivadharma; and it reflects on the methodological principles guiding a philological approach to this corpus. Notably, the book is available as an Open Access ebook thanks to the generosity of the J. Gonda Fund Foundation.' - Hamsa Stainton, McGill University JAOS, 141.4 (2021) "This collection of essays is an excellent starting point for a student setting out on the study of Śaiva, Śākta and tantric traditions. It reflects the exemplary standard of philological rigour promoted by Alexis Sanderson along with higher level reflection on meaning and history, showing theimportance and impact of these kinds of religion on later thinking and on other areas of Asia. Philology has often come under attack in recent years, but these essays show its importance in understanding religion and culture, and far from being a tool of colonialism, these essays demonstrate how the use of philology actually allows the voice of the other to be heard through the objective system of language and grammar. Professor Sanderson’s work provides a model and a benchmark for scholars to strive for, and the essays in this book are a fine collection that reflect the high standard of their inspirer. With work of this quality, it seems to me that there is an optimistic future for Indology and the history of Indian religions so long as our educational institutions continue to support them." - Gavin Flood, OLZ 119-3 (2024).

• PrefaceList of Figures and TablesNotes on ContributorsA Note on Alexis Sanderson and IndologyDominic Goodall and Harunaga IsaacsonBibliography of the Published Works of Alexis G.J.S. SandersonIntroductionPart 1 Early Śaivism1 From Mantramārga Back to Atimārga: Atimārga as a Self-referential TermPeter Bisschop2 Why Are the Skull-Bearers (Kāpālikas) Called Soma?Judit Törzsök3 Dressing for Power: On vrata, caryā, and vidyāvrata in the Early Mantramārga, and on the Structure of the Guhyasūtra of the NiśvāsatattvasaṃhitāDominic GoodallPart 2 Exegetical and Philosophical Traditions4 Further Thoughts on Rāmakaṇṭha’s Relationship to Earlier Positions in the Buddhist-Brāhmaṇical Ātman DebateAlex Watson5 Some Hitherto Unknown Fragments of Utpaladeva’s Vivṛti (II): Against the Existence of External ObjectsIsabelle Ratié6 Alchemical Metaphors for Spiritual Transformation in Abhinavagupta’s Īśvarapratyabhijñāvimarśinī and ĪśvarapratyabhijñāvivṛtivimarśinīChristopher D. Wallis7 On Vāgīśvarakīrti’s Influence in Kashmir and among the KhmerPéter-Dániel Szántó8 Reflections on the King of Ascetics (Yatirāja): Rāmānuja in the Devotional Poetry of Vedānta DeśikaSrilata RamanPart 3 Religion, the State, and Social History9 Not to Worry, Vasiṣṭha Will Sort It Out: The Role of the Purohita in the RaghuvaṃśaCsaba Dezső10 Buddhism, Kingship and the Protection of the State: The Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra and Dhāraṇī LiteratureGergely Hidas11 Adapting Śaiva Tantric Initiation for Exoteric Circles: The Case of the Lokadharmiṇī Dīkṣā and Its History in Early Medieval SourcesNina Mirnig12 Innovation and Social Change in the Vale of Kashmir, circa 900–1250 C.E.John Nemec13 Toward a History of the Navarātra, the Autumnal Festival of the GoddessBihani SarkarPart 4 Mantra, Ritual, and Yoga14 Śārikā’s MantraJürgen Hanneder15 The Kāmasiddhistuti of King VatsarājaDiwakar Acharya16 The Lotus Garland (padmamālā) and Cord of Power (śaktitantu): The Brahmayāmala’s Integration of Inner and Outer RitualShaman Hatley17 The Amṛtasiddhi: Haṭhayoga’s Tantric Buddhist Source TextJames Mallinson18 A Sexual Ritual with Māyā in Matsyendrasaṃhitā 40Csaba Kiss19 Haṭhayoga’s Floruit on the Eve of ColonialismJason BirchPart 5 Art and Architecture20 The Early Śaiva Maṭha: Form and FunctionLibbie Mills21 The Kriyāsaṃgrahapañjikā of Kuladatta and Its Parallels in the Śaiva PratiṣṭhātantrasRyugen Tanemura22 Mañjuśrī as Ādibuddha: The Identity of an Eight-Armed Form of Mañjuśrī Found in Early Western Himalayan Buddhist Art in the Light of Three Nāmasaṃgīti-Related TextsAnthony Tribe23 Life and Afterlife of Sādṛśya: Revisiting the Citrasūtra through the Nationalism-Naturalism Debate in Indian Art HistoryParul Dave-MukherjiIndex