Rooting itself in Kashmir Shaivism, Śrividyā became a force in South India no later than the seventh century, and eventually supplanted the Trika as the dominant Tantric tradition in Kashmir. This is the first comprehensive study of the texts and traditions of this influential school of goddess-centered, Śākta, Tantrism. Centering on the goddess's three manifestations-the beneficent deity Lalita Tripurasundari, her mantra, and the visually striking sricakra-Śrividyā creates a systematic esoteric discipline that combines elements of the yogas of knowledge, of devotion, and of ritual. Utilizing canonical works, historical commentaires, and the interpretive insights of living practitioners, this book explores the theological and ritual theories that form the basis for Śrividyā practice and offers new methods for critical and comparative studies of esoteric Hinduism.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Abbreviations Preface Studying Goddess-Centered Hindu Tantrism: Take Srividya, for example Reading Auspicious Wisdom Part One: Srividya Tradition and Texts Introduction Identifying Srividya in Sakta Tantrism Srividya and Smarta Brahmanism Orthodoxy and Orthopraxies in Srividya 1. Kula Tantrism and Srividya Tradition Oral and Written Tantric Tradition and the Development of Tantric Canons Srividya: Goddess Worship in the Srikula Tantras Srividya within and beyond Kula Tantrism 2. Earliest Historical Evidence for Srividya in Tamil Literature 3. Srividya in Text and History Determining Srividya Sources in South Indian Tradition The Srikula Trantras and Other Early Sources Gaudapada, Sankara, and the Sankara Tradition Ritual Source Books, Treatises, and Later Tradition Regional and Vernacular Sources of Srividya and Further Remarks on the Concept of Authority and Scripture 4. The Goddess Lalita Mahatripurasundari: The Sthula Aspect Lalita the Great Goddess The Making of a Great Goddess Lalita Tripurasundari and Her Subordinates The Iconographic and Mythic Lalita in South Indian Temples The Esoteric Interpretation of Lalita's Image and Mythology 5. The Srividya Mantra: srividya The Subtle Aspect of Devi Interpreting the Canon of Signs Mythical and Historical Derivation of the srividya Kamesvara and Lopamudra: kadi and hadi vidyas The srividya, Sakta speculations, and Triadic symbolism The srividya, Vedic gayatri, and Vedic traditions Esoteric Meanings of the srividya The srividya Appended to other Mantras Tripura Upanisad, Hadi, and Kadi Vidya Sodasaksari: The Sixteen Syllable Form of the srividya The Meaning of the Vidya, Initiation, and other Mantras Secrecy and the Articulation of the Mantra 6. Sricakara: The Transcendent Aspect of Devi Introductory Remarks Sricakra: Creation as the Form of God The Sricakra Deities Part Two: Interpreting Tantric Ritual Introduction: Why Theorize about Srividya Ritual? The Vaidika Tantric: Acquiring Power by Exploiting Incongruity The Fivefold Structure of Srividya Ritual Tantric Scholarship and Modes of Comparison Tantric and Non-Tantric Worlds of Convergence and Disjuncture Convergent and Utopic Maps of the World Ritual Strategies and Objectives Beyond Tantric and Vedic Ritual Ideologies: The Religious Virtuosi Appendix of Diagrams Notes Bibliography