Bhakti and Tantra intertwined: the explorations of the Tamil Poetess Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār
Towards contributing to historical understanding and theorizing of the relationships between bhakti and Tantra, this article analyzes their intersection in the poetry of the Tamil Saiva saint, Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār. This poet-saint is dated by scholars to 550 CE and is understood by Tamil Siva-bhakti t...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2016]
|
| In: |
International journal of Dharma Studies
Year: 2016, Volume: 4 |
| Further subjects: | B
Bhakti
B Tantra B Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār B Tamil language |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Towards contributing to historical understanding and theorizing of the relationships between bhakti and Tantra, this article analyzes their intersection in the poetry of the Tamil Saiva saint, Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār. This poet-saint is dated by scholars to 550 CE and is understood by Tamil Siva-bhakti tradition to have been the earliest bhakti devotee to Siva in a group that includes dozens of named others. However, her bhakti vision is distinctive in that she foregrounds the cremation ground in her poetry. Investigating the cultural literary context for her choice, this paper argues that she intertwines bhakti and Tantra in her formulations. While Tamil literature established a contrast between nāṭu (town) and kāṭu (cremation ground) and included Buddhist exploration of the religious significance of kāṭu, Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār's nearest of kin is the Saiva Tantrikas. Historically, she stands at the juncture between the established Atimārga and the developing Mantramārga Tantric groups, whose ritual practices represented the cremation ground as a potent place to access Siva. Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār's poetry concords with that view, but her emphasis is on an exploratory, unscripted encounter with the divine. Her poetry suggests a period of fluidity between the paths of bhakti and Tantra prior to their overlapping yet contested developments in the medieval period. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2196-8802 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal of Dharma Studies
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1186/s40613-016-0024-x |