Dr Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen - Hinduism and the Goddess - Śāktism and Śākta traditions (part 1)

Dr. Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen explores Shaktism, the goddess traditions in Hinduism, their history, texts, and influence in South Asia and beyond.

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Key Takeaways

Shaktism is a major but complex and diverse tradition within Hinduism focused on goddess worship.
The Devi Mahatmya is a central text foundational to Shaktism's classical period.
Shaktism has influenced and been influenced by other South Asian religious traditions, including tantric Buddhism.
Modern spiritual practices like kundalini yoga have roots in medieval Shakta traditions but differ significantly.
Scholarly understanding of Shaktism continues to evolve with ongoing research and critical study of primary sources.

What the video covers

Introduction to Dr. Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen and his expertise in Shaktism and tantric traditions in India and Nepal.
Overview of Shaktism as a major Hindu tradition centered on goddess worship, especially the great goddess Devi.
Discussion of the historical and textual foundations of Shaktism, including the Devi Mahatmya from the Markandeya Purana.
Examination of the diversity within Shaktism, including tantric and non-tantric practices and its distinction from other Hindu traditions.
Exploration of the challenges in defining Shaktism and its complex historical development from the 5th to 13th centuries.
The influence of Shakta traditions on other South Asian religions, notably tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana).
The role of goddess worship in Hinduism from village to high caste levels and its cultural and ritual significance.
The impact of Shaktism on modern practices such as kundalini and hatha yoga and new age goddess worship.
Presentation of a working model of Shaktism as a major Hindu tradition alongside Shaivism and Vaishnavism.
Critical engagement with the history, sources, and scholarly study of Shaktism, emphasizing its ongoing research and complexity.

Chapters

What is Shaktism and why is it important in Hinduism?

Shaktism is a major Hindu tradition focused on the worship of the goddess Devi in her many forms. It is essential for understanding Hinduism as it encompasses a wide range of beliefs and practices centered on feminine divine power.

What is the Devi Mahatmya and its role in Shaktism?

The Devi Mahatmya, part of the Markandeya Purana, is a central text in Shaktism that glorifies the goddess and forms the classical foundation of the tradition, dating from the 5th to 8th centuries.

How does Shaktism relate to other South Asian religious traditions?

Shaktism has influenced and been influenced by other traditions, notably tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana), and its practices and concepts have spread across the Indo-Asian region, impacting various religious and cultural contexts.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Hey everybody, and welcome to the fourth and final lecture of the Shakhtar Tradition online lecture series called Shaktar Traditions: Work in Progress. This time, it is my pleasure to introduce Dr. Bjarney Weinick Olsen, who is a research lecturer at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

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and tutor and hinduism buddhism and sanskrit at the faculty of fiology and religion at oxford university dr biannu vannik olsen has done important and groundbreaking work in the field of shaktism and the tantric traditions in india and nepal and his research

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He is also a tutor in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sanskrit at the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University. Dr. Bjarney Vannik Olsen has done important and groundbreaking work in the field of Shaktism and the tantric traditions in India and Nepal, and his research

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two volumes called language of the gods century and danish he is the editor of goddess tradition in tantric hinduism and the co-author of a danish introduction to hinduism he is likewise written a number of articles in danish german and english

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interests likewise include the Indian languages, especially Sanskrit, Vedic, and Pali, the ascetic reformism, medieval Indian Nepal, and yoga and esotericism. In relation to this, his publications include a translation of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Danish introduction to Sanskrit in

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further ado to pass the word to briana thank you very much nina for that very kind introduction and thank you for the invitation to give this lecture on the rather broadcast hinduism and the goddess shaktism and shakti traditions

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two volumes called Language of the Gods: Century and Danish. He is the editor of Goddess Tradition in Tantric Hinduism and the co-author of a Danish introduction to Hinduism. He has likewise written a number of articles in Danish, German, and English.

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at the history and state of research on shaktism and how this influences our very understanding of what shaptism is and how we study it in this lecture i will therefore also address some of the questions and challenges we face and propose a working model for

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Personally, he has been my mentor and guide of inspiration throughout my academic life, and he is, and should be, a huge source of inspiration to everyone interested in the Shakti traditions. And so now, it is my pleasure, without

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shakhtar traditions it is generally agreed that hinduism cannot be understood without the indian great goddess and the goddess oriented shaykh traditions worship of the great goddess in her many forms from mild and benign saumia to while the horrific

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further ado, to pass the word to Bjarney. Thank you very much, Nina, for that very kind introduction, and thank you for the invitation to give this lecture on the rather broad Hinduism and the goddess Shaktism and Shakti traditions.

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itself since all hindus worship goddesses in one form or the other however there's also a sense in which the goddess traditions of south asia may be seen as an expression of a particular shatter imaginary and ritual practice that is distinctive

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In this lecture, I wish to go up from the particular and provide a brief overview of the history of medieval Shaktism, that is, goddess worship in South Asia in its classical formative period. But first, I wish to take a brief look

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goddesses with a tendency to elevate and identify one goddess as shakti as power or force with ultimate reality like all the major gods or high gods of hinduism such as vishnu and shiva but not brahma the independent goddess

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at the history and state of research on Shaktism and how this influences our very understanding of what Shaktism is and how we study it. In this lecture, I will therefore also address some of the questions and challenges we face and propose a working model for

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text called the devi mahatma or glorification of the goddess this text is considered the central quranic taste of shaktism and forms part of the markandeya purana which is one of the mahapuranas or great puranas of hinduism devi the

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how we may meaningfully speak of Shaktism as a major Hindu tradition, as is now common particularly within Quranic studies and the history of religions, relating textual details with broader theoretical questions and the long jury of the history of

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available on shaktis and shattered traditions both primary and secondary literature this notion of shaktism as a major hindu tradition is quickly problematized we find that shaktism is less easy to define than the other major hindu traditions and it can be

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Shakhtar traditions. It is generally agreed that Hinduism cannot be understood without the Indian great goddess and the goddess-oriented Shakta traditions. Worship of the great goddess in her many forms, from mild and benign Saumia to while the horrific

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shaivism sometimes also referred to as hindu tantrism by excellence while some would even reject the term shaktism altogether to this we may add a point of contention with regard to the history of shaktism and its origins in either

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Ukrainian forms, Hawaii's Hinduism at all levels, from village stages to high caste and Hindu goddesses to esoteric tantric goddesses. Indeed, the study of goddesses in South Asia is not so much a study of one aspect of Hinduism as it is a study of Hinduism

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historians apart from hinduism the traditions especially in the tantric forms have also had a profound influence on other south asian traditions notably tantric buddhism or vatsrayana in some cases to an extent that would allow for the term buddhism although the term has been

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itself, since all Hindus worship goddesses in one form or the other. However, there's also a sense in which the goddess traditions of South Asia may be seen as an expression of a particular Shakta imaginary and ritual practice that is distinctive

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shakti traditions or look to a lesser extent indeed the whole indo-asian region may be counted as the spear of shakhtar and tantric cultural influence finally some of the most popular forms of kundalini and hatha yoga new age goddess warship and so-called

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and sets them apart from other religious traditions. Thus, the great goddess Devi and her network of Shakta traditions in South Asia have been subsumed under the broad category of Shaktism, that is, tantric and non-tantric traditions focusing on a goddess or group of

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religion have only recently begun to draw uh broader scholarly attention and much source material remains unknown and unstudied drawing the boundaries around what we mean by shaptism critically editing and translating primary sources from its formative period and the historical

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goddesses with a tendency to elevate and identify one goddess as Shakti, as power or force with ultimate reality, like all the major gods or high gods of Hinduism such as Vishnu and Shiva, but not Brahma. The independent goddess

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said to provide a kind of test case for our understanding of hinduism as they continue to raise important theoretical and visual questions with regard to the study of religious traditions in south asia as well as to the more

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Devi, in her gentle and fierce forms, encompasses all the cosmological functions of creation, preservation, and dissolution, including the functions of concealing and revealing herself, liberating beings from Samsara, etc. This was first expressed in the 5th to 8th century

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might be considered the classical formative period of the shasta traditions this period spans the centuries from the culmination of pragmatics and spiritual baptism around the 8th century with the quranic david mahatma to the combination of tantric sharkism and the kulamaruka and

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text called the Devi Mahatma, or Glorification of the Goddess. This text is considered the central Quranic text of Shaktism and forms part of the Markandeya Purana, which is one of the Mahapuranas or great Puranas of Hinduism. Devi, the

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from the 5th century to the 13th century the approach taken here is therefore not that of explanation as the location of a course or the search for roots but rather explanation in the sense of understanding based on some of the most influential

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goddess, is therefore considered a high goddess, a Mahadevi, and Shaktism is often regarded as one of the major traditions of Hinduism, sometimes with hundreds of millions of followers next to Shaivism. However, when we turn to the material

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the central question for the research and shaktism and shakti traditions is the clarification of the distinction between cyber and shakhtar traditions as well as the relationship between the terms shaktism and tantras an attempt to address this question we'll have to take

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available on Shaktism and Shakta traditions, both primary and secondary literature, this notion of Shaktism as a major Hindu tradition is quickly problematized. We find that Shaktism is less easy to define than the other major Hindu traditions, and it can be

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1877 the tantras and the system they inculcate which for convenience may be called tantrism or from the shiatsu who follow it shaktism indeed tantrism or shaktism is hinduism arrived at its last and worst stage of medieval development as he formulated it and we see here that

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surprisingly difficult to discern Shaktism from Shaivism in its tantric forms. According to some scholars, Shaktism is not a major Hindu tradition but first and foremost an esoteric development within medieval tantric Shaivism, a Shiva-Shakti substance or a form of feminized

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scholars have argued that tantrism and shaktism should not be considered synonyms but rather two intersecting but not coinciding circles or even from households regimenting scholars of tantric and quranic studies have either confirmed this distinction between shaktism and tantrism or viewed them as

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Shaivism, sometimes also referred to as Hindu tantrism by excellence. While some would even reject the term Shaktism altogether, to this we may add a point of contention with regard to the history of Shaktism and its origins in either

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online resources to hinduism thus the question concerning the independent status of tantric shaktism directly relates to the question whether there are two or three major hindu traditions or network of traditions to be found within the category of hinduism apart from the

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the Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic religion, or perhaps in an independent process tradition which was gradually incorporated into Shiva and Buddhist practice. Indeed, one is tempted to say that goddess traditions in South Asia did not exactly evolve for the benefit of

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difficulty in defining the relationship between tantrism and shaftism is in fact due largely to the imprecision of these two notions which were inherited from a time when the tantric texts were as yet little known when we had not

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historians. Apart from Hinduism, the traditions, especially in the tantric forms, have also had a profound influence on other South Asian traditions, notably tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana in some cases, to an extent that would allow for the term Buddhism, although the term has been

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notion of tantrism from the very outset the study of shaktism has shared the same fate of becoming a somewhat neglected research area or in the words of douglas brooks an unwanted stepchild in the family of hindu studies sexism

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rejected by others. As pointed out by Alexis Sanderson, Buddhism from the 8th century onwards was completely transformed along the same lines as the Shakta developments which we see in Shaivism. Furthermore, Vaishnavas and Jainism and Sufism in South Asia have been influenced by

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makara including meat manxia alcohol maduro and bodily fluid travia produced during sexual intercourse micronut however with the counterculture of the 60s and 70s and the revival of the romantic fascination with eastern religions the infamous transgressive practices and exotic material culture associated

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Shakti traditions, or to a lesser extent. Indeed, the whole Indo-Asian region may be counted as the sphere of Shakhtar and tantric cultural influence. Finally, some of the most popular forms of Kundalini and Hatha yoga, new age goddess worship, and so-called

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scholars emerged who subsequently pioneered the field of tantric studies through philology and manuscript studies especially over the last three or four decades and although there have been important general works on tantrashivshaktism it is with the more recent work of

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tantric sex practiced in modern westernized contexts are rooted in medieval Indian Shakta traditions, although it should be noted that they often differ significantly from the original South Asian force. Nevertheless, these often very complex, challenging, and surprisingly influential forms of

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distinction between the tantric parts of the mantra monica and the sheraton cooler marker the latter originating in a very archaic and independent shakhtar tradition of skull carrying cappulic aesthetics coming in from the sides and preserving its own ritual system

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religion have only recently begun to draw broader scholarly attention, and much source material remains unknown and unstudied. Drawing the boundaries around what we mean by Shaktism, critically editing and translating primary sources from its formative period, and the historical

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onsite antigua indeed we are now able to meaningfully distinguish between tantric shaivism the mantra marker and tantric shaktis and the cooler marker at least on a ritual level and i quote from sanderson's keynote in 2011 which he described as a radical revision

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disentanglement of the Shakti traditions and the ways in which they interacted with other traditions therefore remain some of the primary tasks for research in this field. From the perspective of the study of religion, these complex forms of religion may be

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but it is also a very archaic and independent shattered tradition from the outside which has been preserved in spite of various attempts as reformation and assimilation so although much work remains to be done this lecture represents the view that we now know

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said to provide a kind of test case for our understanding of Hinduism, as they continue to raise important theoretical and visual questions with regard to the study of religious traditions in South Asia, as well as to the more

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indigenous term or phrase turning to the conceptual history of the term shakta in south asia we may agree with david white that it is a relatively late technical term applied to those cults scriptures or persons associated with the worship of the

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general and comparative study of religion. Although the Shaktism as presented here has had a long and influential history in South Asia, and many of its forms are now part and parcel of a global religious history, this lecture will limit itself to what

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being a network of shakhtar chantry traditions with their own characteristic practices and imagineer in a universal sarwa-samanya tantra like the nito tantra dating back to the early 9th century or perhaps as far back as the 8th century we find references to cooler practices

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might be considered the classical formative period of the Shakta traditions. This period spans the centuries from the culmination of pragmatic and spiritual baptism around the 8th century with the Quranic Devi Mahatma to the combination of tantric Shaktism and the Kulamārka in

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religious inclusivism in medieval india as pointed out by gavin flot it is the guru disciple nature of these initiatory traditions which restrict and ensure the transmission of teachings while at the same time leaving the boundaries porous enough to allow the influence and even

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Kashmir, Nepal, and South India around the 13th century. The classical formative period of Shaktism thus coincides with Alexis Sanderson's periodization of Shaivism and the country traditions into what he has termed the Shaiva Age in the early medieval period, that is,

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by royal officiants that can be inflected as required to take on the character of any of these divisions and deeds of others outside shaivism as sanderson has pointed out however although the distinction between shiva and shakhtar tantras is not always clear

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from the 5th century to the 13th century. The approach taken here is therefore not that of explanation.

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case in the 9th century when the kasmarian shiva scholar someone under wrote the shiva christie and the shiva siddhants in harayanapata wrote his commentary on the weekend and the 10th century gupty kamatra tantra speaks of the kaula shakti system as an

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independent tradition a sampradaya and it seems the term chakra came to be used increasingly in the following centuries to distinguish between chakras and other groups but are primarily as a tradition external term used by non-chakras about chakras thus in the original manual sumo shampoo

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party from the second half of the 11th century this yakitas were clearly considered an independent group here we find a special conversion ritual the lingua tara for the removal of other sectarian marks based on initiation or diksha which was

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necessary for the initiates to get rid of their bad karma and become shivers the soma shambu parity lists the shaktas next to other non-shiva traditions other sampradayas in need of a conversion ritual including traditions such as vaishnavas pashupatas charvakas

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jains and buddhists indeed we continue to discover tantric texture references where shakti's figured as a distinct group including the mentioning of shakti initiation in the torah participant and shakhtar worship puja in the ishana shiva gurudeva while the rudra yamala tantra refers to

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shaktas shivas and vice numbers as different castes as varana however we also find references to a characteristic religious strategy of shaktism namely to infiltrate other traditions as a kind of major discourse and present itself as the essence or the

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esoteric heart of those traditions and i quote sanderson's translation from the central local the kula recites within scriptures of other traditions like the scent in the flower the oil in a sesame seed the soul in the body or nectar and water

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and then in later texts the term shakta is adopted as a term of self-designation by the counters that is in the yonitantra's famous formulation of the color religious strategy of going incognito in the public sphere this is a sloka which you

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find in other texts as well in the collado tantra for example and i call from scooterman's translation of the only tantra privately as shakta outwardly as shiva among people available bearing various outward appearances the followers of the kula system that is the cowles

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they spread over the earth on court and we therefore have evidence from indigenous conceptual history that would seem to justify the use of the term shakta in its broadly accepted sense as both an insider and outside of german

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denoting independent goddess traditions and tantric hinduism and indeed contrasting them with the traditions of shiva and vishnu what emerges is a picture of two rivers shaivism and shaktism meeting in the second half of the first millennium ce and resulting in an inextricable network

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of overlapping tantric traditions as huthrin has pointed out they form a complex interacting system and distinguishing between traditions becomes more question of emphasis than of consistent principles of classification as sanderson has formulated it in other words speaking of

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traditions as a matter of emphasis implies looking for the semantic centers and prototypical forms of this religion allowing us to speak of degrees of prototypicality in a complex network of family resemblance structure of medieval esoteric traditions it follows from this

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that these tantric shakti traditions cannot be studied in isolation although they maintain a high degree of independence and are distinct in many respects they need to be studied and understood in that context while the term chakra may be justifiably

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used in a restrictive sense to refer to such medieval country college traditions as we have seen we also find that the term is used as an ism in a more inclusive sense to denote a major in tradition namely sharktism

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in this sense the country goddess traditions especially the cooler and counter traditions are taken as an index of an independent shaktiminder and are considered to form part of a major theistic tradition in the same manner as the shiva chandra

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traditions the aji marker and mantra marker are considered to form part of shaivism as a whole in this case the terms shakta and shaktism are used in the same anachronistic way as the terms shaivism and vaisnavism to invoke a conception of an overarching

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and syncretic religion encompassing the worshippers of the goddess as shakti and all the different aspects as well as the traditions which they follow in this inclusive sense of the term shaktism constitutes a model building of a major hindu tradition that is a

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conceptual model usually consisting of three forms of hindu religion often referred to as brahmanical orthopraxy popular local traditions and the renowned traditions in the case of shaktism we made from these pragmatics and critics charities some initiatory or tantric sharktism and

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popular shaptism the village shaptism or local sharktism in accordance with axomichio's technology for the three forms of hindu religions to this can be added a typology of three or four modes of hindu and shakhtar religiosity in the ritualism including tantra

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spiritualism devotionalism and heroism and michael's terminology these modes of religiosity correspond to the different paths of hinduism karma hashnah and bhakti marga with heroism biliamarka being a neologism referring to modern political hinduism although michels himself does not operate with the notion of

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shaktism as a major hindu tradition in contrast to example the kevin flores beard and heinrich from stephen hall we find that this typology of sharktism corresponds well with indigenous models and terminology as well as with much recent scholarship

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and fieldwork thus joe mcdaniel has developed a typology of sharktism based on her field work in bingo distinguishing between shakhtar bhakti tantric yogic shaktism and folk or tribal shaktism and while adding a fourth subtitles of jacques jacques apache

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shelter political party or shakhtar nationalism corresponding with misha's vieria marca however as pointed out by bihani sarkar in her recent work heroic shark season is not a new phenomenon but has been at the core of durka worship in ancient indian kingship

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since the beginning of the classical formative period of shaktism we therefore seem to have here an adequate and consistent model building of shaktism that can interact with other historical periods and forms of hindu religion that is a way we can meaningfully speak of

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shaktism as a major hindu tradition as a schematic diagram the notion of sharktism in an inclusive sense would therefore look like this so we have here a working model of shaktism on par with shaivism and vicenormation as a major hindu tradition encompassing

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three forms of religion and four forms of religiosity by this model we are also able to show what may be termed an area of confusion namely the meeting and overlap of two traditions in a complex network of cyber shakhtar

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chantry traditions in addition the intimate interaction between the three forms of shaktism is here marked by an arrow it is an approach where we attempt to maintain the conventional categories and map the overlap now turning to a brief overview

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of the history of shaktism we'll first take a look at origins of shaktism goddess worship is certainly an ancient phenomenon in south asia and hinduism has one of the largest oldest and most important living goddess traditions today despite the surprisingly small role

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played by goddesses in vedic religion some scholars maintain that practices associated with south asia and goddess worship may reach as far back as the indus valley civilization in the second millennium bc escopola has suggested that the inhabitants in

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harabah worship the predecessor of the warrior goddess durga while other scholars see a close relation between shakhtar traditions the indus valley civilization and fertility cults in the mediterranean associated with the worship of the great mother goddess the main capital of the indus valley

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civilization a large number of female terracotta figurines and clay seals with depictions of women have been discovered likewise a number of an iconic stone objects have been found which some scholars have taken to the proto-ionis representing the female organ of

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generation it is therefore tempting to assume that these figurines are prototypes of later into goddesses and indexes of an unbroken continuity and goddess worship in south asia this thesis would indeed be helpful in explaining what seems like several radical shifts in folky and

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emphasis in south asian religious history from the supposed worship of female deities in the indus valley civilization to the central role of male deities in the vedic sacrifices to the reintroduction of female deities in the epic and quranic traditions

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where goddesses become numerous and significant it seems logical to assume that the sudden increase in emphasis on female deities and the rise of the great goddess db in laser hinduism is a reminiscence as well as renaissance of ancient forms

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of non-indo-aryan goddess worship unfortunately our archaeological evidence is scarce and inclusive and the indus valley script has yet to be deciphered as far as we know the indus valley civilization may have had more in common with the ancient world and sumerian deities

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than with later hindu deities the discussion concerning ancient origins of shaktism therefore remains intriguing but highly speculative in the words of david kinsley a further discussion relates to the origins of goddess traditions in an independent shah chandelier for the sake of

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simplicity the discussion can be reduced to the two broad positions of either continuity or discontinuity with vedic religion that is to an author genetic development out of the vedic sexual corpus as opposed to an external influence from what might be termed

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a pan-indian religious substrate of goddess worship as jeffrey samuel has pointed out the latter position would indeed imply a pre-existing independent jacques miller or proto-shakta tradition of goddess worship the weakness of the first position remains namely that the vedic material does not

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provide a convincing basis for the development of later shahzad traditions the critique of the ladder position has been based on a similar agumenta ex cilantio due to a lack of direct textual evidence for an independent charter milieu or non-affiliated religious system

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however a number of studies including alexis anderson's more recent research has provided more evidence for such an independent chakra influencing both shaivism and tantric buddhism in early medieval india such developments in the history of religions are usually far from simple and we may have to

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accept the fact that the formation of justice traditions is the result of highly complex and often obscure processes of assimilation and transformation of elements from within vedic religion and later pragmatic sanskritic hinduism as well as elements from the outside

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that is from popular and local cults constituting an independent xiaximeneur nevertheless uh detailed studies of the genesis and development of individual goddesses sometimes allows us to study such independent local sharks and we use at least indirectly as well as the

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processes of assimilation and transformation yuku yokochi's remarkable study of vindhyavasini the goddess of the winter mountains in west central india is exemplary in this regard in her study yokochi meticulously shows the gradual assimilation of a local goddess into the brahmanical mainstream that is

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into the haribanja and the 8th century skanda purana by a text critical studies she's able to reconstruct a possible local proto-shakti myth for vinder barcendi which according to yokochi has existed independently of both vaisnava haribangs according to yokochi this proto myth

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already contained ragmanical elements such as the demons chamber and nishomba found in the first chapter of the diva mahatma in relation to the fierce goddesses found in tantric hinduism we are able to recognize roots and local cults of

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malevolent deities associated with certain illnesses and snakebites as has been depicted in the mahabharata the medical treatises thus michael schluber has shown how local goddesses of snakebite such as zwarita kurukula and bironda were popularized by the shiva garuda

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tantras and later incorporated into the influential shakti traditions of the 9th to 12th centuries indeed the goddess zwarita the swift one was in time identified with high goddesses such as cryptica durga and kali as well as with padmavati

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and the jaina tantras most likely due to the influential cult of tripura sundari in relation to the important questions of the relationship between tantric and quranic goddess traditions shloka has presented evidence that quranic chapters on snake bite goddesses

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were borrowed directly from tantric sources another important example is jessica vantaine birkenhold's groundbreaking study of the later swastani vrata qatar and the emergence of the 16th century swastani goddess tradition in nepal through her careful sex historical and ethnographic study of the rise of a

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local neighborhood deity to become one of nepal's most popular hindu traditions she provides a rare opportunity to observe a goddess tradition in the making by examining the literary historic historiography contained in the swastani rata qatar manuscript tradition the narrative development and its

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gradual transformation into a quranic text including linking the goddess fastani to the rahmanic sanskritic mainstream she provides important clues as to how we may understand the emergence of pan-indian quranic goddess traditions indeed based on such particular studies we may conclude with geoffrey samuel

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that local goddess cults however limited our direct sources of information seem to be in their certainty

Topics:ShaktismHinduismGoddess worshipDevi MahatmyaTantric traditionsOxford Centre for Hindu StudiesBjarne Wernicke-OlesenSouth AsiaTantric BuddhismKundalini yoga

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