Yoginīmelaka: Representations of encounters with goddesses and women in the early Bhairavatantras
Dr. Shaman Hatley
(Concordia University)
Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg
Thursday, 4 December 2008, 4 pm
Summary
Visionary, transactional encounters with the deities, particularly goddesses known as yoginīs, comprise one of the central concerns of the Vidyāpīṭha division of the Śaiva bhairavatantras. Indeed, the entire edifice of ritual appears oriented at this level of the tradition toward bringing about power-bestowing “union” (melaka/melāpa) with the goddesses. This presentation examines representations of these encounters based on early sources such as the Brahmayāmala, Siddhayogeśvarīmata, and Tantrasadbhāvatantra. Such encounters were envisioned as transpiring in sacred places (pīṭha, kṣetra) or cremation grounds, in particular, with a wide spectrum of female divinities, but especially the yoginīs who traverse the skies (khecarī). It is shown how melaka becomes generalized as the ultimate goal of ritual praxis, as a medium for Śiva’s grace and gateway to the highest occult powers.
This presentation attempts to delineate the varieties of transactions envisioned between sādhakas and yoginīs in melaka. Several aspects are discussed: first, a distinction between “pleasant” (priya) and dangerous or “forceful” (haṭha) encounters, which appears linked to the variety of goddess encountered; second, exchanges involving chommā—secret verbal or nonverbal signs—which may be communicative in nature, prognosticatory, or a medium for the transference of power; third, substance exchanges, in which the sādhaka makes offerings of e.g. blood, while a yoginī may in turn transmit power through the gift of impure rice gruel (caru); and fourth, the transmission of secret lineage teachings (saṃpradāya) to the sādhaka. Depictions of melaka frequently blur the boundaries between yoginīs as goddesses and yoginīs as women, and one of the questions addressed concerns the manner in which representations of melaka afford insight into women’s ritual roles. Examples are discussed suggesting that female practitioners—embodied “yoginīs”—were believed to provide access to the goddesses of their initiatory clans, or to possess secret lineage teachings (saṃpradāya) which the male sādhaka might learn. The final section of the presentation outlines aspects of the transformation of conceptions of melaka in subsequent Śaiva sources, including yogic and doctrinal reconceptualizations, as well as use of the term melāpa to refer to ritual assemblies (Sanderson 2007: 284-87).
