Practice in the Tantric Religion of Śiva

Abstract

By the early medieval period the religion focused on Śiva was on the rise politically, socially, and culturally, coming to dominate the South Asian context and beyond to South East Asia. The origins of Śaivism, the religion of Śiva, are ancient and certainly those of devotion to Śiva, whose early form is Rudra, stretch back to the Vedic period. With the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad he becomes elevated to the supreme deity. But it is with the tantric revelation that Śiva comes into his own and it is this tradition that will be the focus of the chapter. The practices of the tantric revelation vary from fairly standard temple worship for those in mainstream society to fringe groups that performed unconventional and polluting practices (such as ritualized sex outside of caste restrictions) to go against orthodoxy in pursuit of power. The chapter examines these developments.