Books in the Routledge Studies in Tantric Traditions series

Offers an English translation of The Paramarthasara and its commentary by Yogaraja (XIIth AD), along with a Sanskrit text, introduction, indices and appendices. Attempting to follow the principles of Yogarajas commentary, this book unfolds the metaphysical as well as mystic meanings of the text.

Provides an overview of the scholarly quality on Tantric mantras. This book presents a general summary on the nature of Tantric mantras, their phonetic aspect, structure and classifications. It explains the metaphysical-theological nature of Tantric mantras and gives an introduction to their beliefs and practices.

Describing one of the most important practices of hathayoga, this book draws on thirty Sanskrit works, as well as original fieldwork amongst yogins in India who use the practice, to demonstrate how tantric yogic techniques developed and mutated into the practices of hathayoga. It sheds light on the development of hathayoga and its practices.

Hinduism cannot be understood without the Great Goddess and the goddess-orientated ¿¿kta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, the highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship have only recently begun to draw scholarly attention. This book addresses the increasing interest in the Great Goddess and the tantric traditions of India by exploring the history, doctrine and practices of the ¿¿kta tantric traditions.

Using a commentary on the influential text, the Mañju¿r¿-n¿masäg¿ti, `The Chanting of the Names of Mañju¿r¿¿, this book deals with Buddhist tantric meditation practice and its doctrinal context in early-medieval India. The commentary was written by the 8th-9th century Indian tantric scholar Vil¿savajra, and the book contains a translation of the first five chapters. The translation is extensively annotated, and accompanied by introductions as well as a critical edition of the Sanskrit text based on eight Sanskrit manuscripts and two blockprint editions of the commentary¿s Tibetan translation.

Hinduism cannot be understood without the Great Goddess and the goddess-orientated ¿¿kta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, the highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship have only recently begun to draw scholarly attention. This book addresses the increasing interest in the Great Goddess and the tantric traditions of India by exploring the history, doctrine and practices of the ¿¿kta tantric traditions.