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The Brahmayamalatantra or Picumata: Volume I: Chapters 1–2, 39–40 & 83: Revelation, Ritual and Material Culture in an Early Saiva Tantra
Author
Shaman Hatley
Specifications
  • ISBN 13 : 9788184702262
  • year : 2018
  • language : Sanskrit and English
  • binding : Softcover
Description
The Brahmayamala or Picumata is one of the earliest surviving goddess-oriented (Sakta) tantras, its core probably dating back to the late seventh or early eighth century. Though long forgotten, it is thus crucial to understanding the early history of the Tantric traditions. Spanning more than twelve-thousand verses and 104 chapters, this monumental work is transmitted in a beautiful Nepalese palm-leaf manuscript of the eleventh century, which forms the principal basis for this critical edition. Complementing volume II, edited by Csaba Kiss in the same series, this volume includes the first published edition and annotated translation of five chapters of the Brahmayamala. The volume also presents pioneering studies on topics these chapters illuminate: Tantric Saiva conceptions of revelation and the canon, the history of Tantric coital ritual, the mythology of Bhairava, and the iconography and symbolism of the skull-staff (khatvanga). As with other texts published in the Early Tantra Series, study of the Brahmayamala helps reshape our knowledge of Tantric Saivism and religion in early medieval India.