Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine by David Kinsley Review : Pradip Bhattacharya
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BOOK DISCUSSION Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine by David Kinsley Review : Pradip Bhattacharya ground; and yet another who of rishi Ambhrin This oldest mantra straddles her consort on a funeral is also the most sublime of all pyre? David Kinsley’s book Tantric invocations to the Divine Feminine. n the uproar over the patriarchal Visions of the Divine Feminine Vak, experiencing the Supreme and male chauvinist prejudice (Motilal Banarsidass pp 318) is the Goddess, Adi Shakti, as her Self that is said to infest India’s most recent study to be published declaims, “It is I who, creating the I in response to this puzzle, and its universe and all worlds, wholly scriptures like a black plague, a basic particular importance lies in fact is lost. No other living religious pervade them like the wind. Though examining how the “left-handed tradition in the world presents such I transcend the heavens and this way” conceptualises the feminine a continuous and richly diverse earth, yet by my glory have I principle. record from prehistoric times of manifested creation.” It is precisely Being intensely individualistic, worshipping the Divine as Feminine. this sublimity that one seeks for in this form of worship is very different It was in Hindu Goddesses that the tantric vision and is left baffled from the Vedic and Puranic sacrificial David Kinsley provided a synoptic and bewildered by the deliberate ceremonies that involved the view of this beginning from the piling up of horror upon horror. The community. This group of goddesses prehistoric Indus civilization and the essence of the left-handed path is presents a veritable “anti-model” for pristine Vedic theogony, through the achieving transcendence through women, quite the opposite of the itihasa-purana and tantric plumbing the depths of the other doormat of a housewife. In them the pantheon, down to the village extremity. predominant theme is the oxymoronic deities. His work inspired several Actually, this group of ten spans coupling of death and mating, with investigations into this neglected the spectrum from the horripilatingly the goddess almost invariably naked area by Hawley, Wulff and Coburn. dreadful to the sublimely benign and in the dominant (“reverse”) But how to make sense of a exemplified with its celebration of position. In some cases even the tradition that worships a hag, or a Chinnamasta at one end and Kamala offerings are of items that are goddess who chops off her own at the other. One could, perhaps, argue traditionally branded as polluting. head and directs the spouting blood for a gradual progression towards the The sacrifices these goddesses into the mouths of two yoginis and latter end and even a successive demand are invariably of male her own; or one who, seated on a attenuation of the horrifying aspect. victims. This curious phenomenon, corpse, plucks out a demon’s The concept of Kamala comes as the that this in which conceptualisation tongue; another whose terrifying last, after Tripura-sundari, the beauty is entirely by male devotees, needs form has to be worshipped with of the three worlds is celebrated in deeper research. Kinsley provides polluted offerings in a cremation the Lalita Sahasranama, whose information, hitherto unknown, that symbol is the Shri Chakra, there are female sources on Tantric Bhuvaneshvari and whose body is How to make sense of a Buddhism which scholars have tradition that worships a ignored. Yet another instance of hag, or a goddess who chauvinistic blindness? None of The earliest hymn chops off her own head these western scholar have noted devoted to a goddess and directs the spouting that the earliest hymn devoted to a occurring in the Rigveda blood into the mouths of goddess occurring in the Rigveda is also the only one two yoginis and her own. X.125 is also the only one composed composed by a woman. by a woman: the seer Vak, daughter 38 MANUSHI the world symbolised by the inverted Mahabharata). This last group is triangle and Matangi, the outcaste, Despite being a widow, equally intriguing, for they are who insists upon being worshipped the hymn invoking associated with Karttikeya and steal with offerings of leftover food. These Dhumavati makes her or torment children until puberty. Like three are represented as lovely the creatrix of dance and the ancient Greek goddesss Hecate, sixteen year old maidens, the latter enjoyer of erotic activity they are said to reside at crossroads, two appearing without any consort and liquor. in caves, mountains, springs and while Lalita appears seated upon a cremation grounds and speak a reclining Shiva. Similarly, the other variety of tongues. All of these pulinda and shabara tribes they give MahaVidyas are quite independent characteristics point to a non-Vedic, siddhi in the left handed way. They of him and indeed their very folk or tribal character celebrated so are established with prostitutes, manifestations are in defiance of him. powerfully in the icon of gopis, tribals (Hun, Khas, Turani, Dhumavati, of course, appears as a Vindhyavasini even today which has Kol) and in Hastinapur, Ujjaini, widow, consort-less, originating, like been well analised by Hawley and Kamakshya, Kishkindhya, Bhot Bagalamukhi, in Sati swallowing Wulff’s Devi. country, Koshala, Raadh, Mahodaya, Shiva when he would not assuage One problem with Kinsley’s work Varendra land, Vidisha, Jalandhar. her hunger. However, the purpose lies in his failure to grapple with the This crone obstructs the Danava behind worshipping this form riddle of the Tantric approach. One is Sharabh’s way, telling him to lie with remains quite obscure. Despite being disappointed that he restricts himself her and not discard her as old. The a widow, the hymn invoking her to putting together painstakingly makes her the creatrix of dance and moment he holds her hand to lift her whatever details are available enjoyer of erotic activity and liquor. up, he falls dead. regarding the form and functions of Kinsley’s research reveals an Another version in this Purana each of the ten MahaVidyas and does important fact that each MahaVidya narrates that after Parashurama not seek to resolve this riddle. The is a facet of the multifaceted Great brought Kalika from Yashoda beside tantric’s tapasya, as M.S. Srinivasan Goddess, each containing all the the northern sea and established her explains so lucidly in “The yogic others. This is revealed in the in Ayodhya, nine Durgas emerged vision of Tantra,” is to see the invocatory versus addressed to any from her and were established in adorable mother behind all the of them which usually ascribe to her Mahodaya. Chapter 150 of Devi passions of the lower nature. The the names of many of the other nine. Purana speaks of her form as terrible and repulsive forms of the He does not, however, take into Vaivasvati, riding a buffalo, with boar- MahaVidyas are worshipped account the very different version like face, drinking from a skull and precisely in order to train the Tantric found in the Devi Purana 139.135. holding a staff. As Aghora, she has a yogi systematically to envision the Here Shiva invokes the Supreme terrifying face, clad in lion and deer Divine Mother even in all that appears Shakti of eight Vidyas to destroy skin, wearing a necklace of heads with to be dark and disgusting in life. Subal and Dundubhi at the request skull and pike in hand. As Karali of Thereby, he grasps the key to of Vishnu and the gods. Knowing the terrible face, her hair is put up, sublimate and master the forces of his weapons will be ineffectual, she she wears a necklace of skulls, her own lower nature, rising spiritually by discards her youthful form and mouth is full of meat and she delights those very things that cause man’s becomes over a hundred years old in black coloured offerings. As Vikata downfall. However much distorted by with withered skin, networked with she rides a camel, holds noose and the ego, every desire is in essence veins, and with sunken eyes. She has staff in huge hands, sports a the expression of some power of the pale lips, gaping mouth-cavern, limbs terrifying mein, has black sandal paste imminent Divine. Removing the a-tremble, a snake on the head, her smeared on her body, is surrounded distortion leads to each taking its left hand on the left thigh, the right by scorpions and cockroaches, proper place to perform its right hand on her back, encircled by eight delights in fish, fat and bloody meat. function according to the supreme law Vidyas astride ox, lion, elephant, Thus, the ten MahaVidyas are by no of bliss infusing all creation. Sri peacock, garuda, bear, black-spotted means unique. Their multiforms exist Aurobindo put it so well in Savitri: deer respectively. These Vidyas dwell in the nine Durgas, the eight Vidyas, none can gain heaven who has not specially with women in the inner and the seven Matrikas (sometimes passed through hell. apartments as clan-deities. To the 16 and even 92 in the Vana Parva of The author is a Kolkatta IAS officer. No.136 39.