7

Flight of the Yogini : Tantrik Witches

188 to 218

p. 188

“seven of the names of the Yoginis listed in AP 52 and 164 are identical to those of the female Seizers

p. 189

listed in the 299^th chapter … . These are Raks.asi, Balakes`i, Lalasa, Tapani, Dhamani, Vayuvega, and Putana.”

[Kaula-jn~ana-nirn.aya 23:1a-7b] female pigeon and vulture, goose, wagtail, babbler, cuckoo, pecaki-owl, sarali (Pavo bicalcaratus), guli; she-jackal, ewe, she-buffalo, she-camel, she-cat, she-mongoose, tigress, cow-elephant, pea-hen, hen.

[Kaula-jn~ana-nirn.aya 23:10a-b] “horse, creatures [raptors] with talons, … snake ... scorpion,

mouse [and] frog.”

{cf. the mock-Homeric Battle between the Mice and the Frogs}

“To the sonless King Br.hadratha of Magadha comes the hermit Can.d.akaus`ika … . … A mango drops in the hermit's lap; he enchants it and gives it to the king. The king gives it to his two wives to eat : both become pregnant, and each gives birth to half a child … .

The Protectress Jara carries them off and joins them together, and they become a complete infant. … The king names his son Jarasandha (“Mended by Jara”)”. (Maha-bharata 2:16:10-10, 2:17:1-6)

{cf. S^lomoh's “verdict in the case of the child claimed by two mothers as their own.” (LB, p. 553)}

Jara declared : [Banerjea 1938, pp. 101-2] “I am a Protectress who stands eternally in every human dwelling. Gr.hadevi (“House-Goddess”) is my name … . ...”

“She is a Protectress who has assembled … the two halves of the future Jarasandha in order to more easily carry them”.

p. 193

[quoted from Rajata-ramgin.i 2:65b-117b – Stein 1900, vol. 1, pp. 62-5:] “his guru, Is`ana by name … found him reduced to a skeleton, from which the wolves tore away [the flesh] by force … . … Then once in the middle of the night … Is`ana smelled a heavenly perfume of incense. Upon hearing the terrific clamor [produced] by the ringing of many bells struck with great clappers and by the violent rattle of two-headed drums, he … saw on the burial ground Yoginis enveloped in a halo of light. … . … he noticed that the skeleton had been placed by the troops

p. 194

of witches in the midst of their circle, and that all its limbs were being mended … . … they had felt the desire for sportive enjoyment of a lover, and … had carried off that skeleton.

… then quickly bringing a male organ from somewhere, they made his body complete.

{the penis of Osiris was recovered from a crocodile (“SLPh”, p. 467, fn. 4) by means of H.QLt the goddess 'Magic'}

Next, the witches, magically drawing back … the spirit of Sandhimati … put it into that [body]. … he, the leader of their circle, was carnally enjoyed by them to their fullest desire. … Brahmins conducted him … to the sound of music”.

“three types of “yoga” whereby humans {men} are empowered to … the Yoginis who … so join them …, techniques that transform them into Siddhas … . These techniques bring … to … male interactions with these powerful beings {yogini-s} : the shared power of flight”.

“in … the tenth-century Ranipur-Jharial Yogini temple … a scene of copulation with an animal appears behind each standing Yogini image.” [Donaldson 1975, p. 88 n. 54]

“The Kapalika … sought the convergence of the Yoginis … (yoginimelaka, -melapa) through a process of visionary invocation in which he would attract them out of the sky, gratify them with an offering of blood drawn from his own body, and ascend with them into the sky as the leader of their band.

{This would be not by astral projection, but simply in a dream (a rather unusual one) of his. I have likewise experienced a dream of having a hypodermic needle stuck into my body (while my eyen were closed in the dream, so that I felt, instead of merely seeing, the pricking) -- through this means blood could be extracted (in a dream) via phlebotomy.}

The Kaulas translated {transformed/transmuted} this … mystical experience. The Yoginis became the deities of his senses (karan.es`varis), revelling in his sensations.

{In order for the Yogini-goddessess to revel in a mortal's sensations, they (the goddesses) must undertake spirit-possession of him, with him as spirit-medium. (This would be done praesumably only while awake.)}

In intense pleasure this revelling completely clouds his internal awareness {if clouded with bodily unawareness, how could he be experiencing any sensation?} : he becomes their plaything … (pas`u) {unconsciously?}. ...

{While undergoing such spirit-mediumship, he would usually remain quite unaware of their experiences of his material body. However, he could concurrently be undergoing astral projection out of his material body, which projection could have some relation to them.}

The Yoginis … converge and fuse with the kaula [practitioner's] inner transcendent identity {as melding into “cosmic consciousness”} … radiant “sky” of enlightened consciousness (cidvyomabhairava).”

{In order to the experiencing a “radiant “sky””, this would needs be one of the rememberable “dreamless-sleep” states (which are described as sensations of various dream-sky-glows) described in Bodish literature of dream-consciousness varieties.}

[quoting BhP 2:2:24-6] “Gone via the sky, [i.e.,] via the resplendent median channel that is the path of brahman, he goes to [the world of Agni] Vais`vanara. Hereupon, he … goes on to the sphere of Hari, [located] on high, [who] has the form of a dolphin [“i.e., S`is`umara].”

“evocations of the travel of the soul or meditating mind to other worlds are already found in a number of early Upanis.ads, including the Chandogya [5:10:1-7], Br.had[-]aran.yaka [6:2:15-16], Kaus`itaki [1:2-3] and Pras`na [1:9-10],

as well as in the Mbh. In its Dron.a Parvan … : having made a nocturnal offering to S`iva Tryambaka, Kr.s.n.a enters into a state of yoga … and then “visits” Arjuna, who is himself lying nearby, asleep (svapne) ... {and simultaneously, viz., during that dream} in a meditative state (dhyayantam). Speaking to Arjuna in this dream state, Kr.s.n.a exhorts him to request … from S`iva. … Now … Arjuna … sees himself traveling through space, holding Kr.s.n.a by the hand. {apparently a joint astral-projection, undertaken by Arjuna with the assistance by Kr.s.n.a} Passing Mount Himavant and other northern regions, the two come into the presence of S`iva (whom the text names Sadhana, “Practice,” here), who is accompanied by Parvati and surrounded by dancing bhutas.” [p. 320, n. 7:40 : “MBh 7.56-59 [“= 7.79-81 of the critical edition”], summarized in Scherer … (1982), pp. 255-60.”]

p. 201

“Kubera, lord of the Yaks.as, flies through the heavens on a man : for this reason, he is known … as naravahana, he who has a man for his vehicle.” [Hopkins 1915, p. 142]

p. 320, n. 7:43

“According to Dhawan ([1997], p. 188), the term nara in nara-vahana did not … mean “man,” but rather … a winged horse.”

p. 202

“s`ava-sadhana, “corpse-practice,” which entails … the use of use of … a dead man, as one's hot air balloon. … a certain Vid.usaka (“Jester,” “Fool”), comes to a cremation ground in the dead of night … :

[quoted from Katha-sarit-sagara 3:4:152a-57a :] “Suddenly, the corpse beneath the mendicant began making a “put-put” noise (phat.-kara), as flames belched from its mouth and mustard seeds shot out of its navel. … The corpse, which was inhabited by an enormous vetala, rose up, and the mendicant then climbed up on its shoulder. Thus mounted, [the vampire] began to move quickly away {through the sky}.”

p. 203

“the standard translation of “vampire” is inadequate, the vetala being more like a giant genie that comes out of the “bottle” of its corpse when forced to do so by practitioners”.

p. 320, n. 7:46

“the corpse used [is] in such practices as a battery that stores energy; while … [according to] Buddhist {Vajra-yana} sources, … it is the Tantric practitioner's own superheated … energy (pran.a) that, transferred into the corpse …, affords it the power of flight”.

[quoted from Rabe 1996, n. 104 :] “vimana … are “immeasurably” palatial residences of the meritorious celestials (devatas), capable in myth of appearing suddenly or of darting off again at the occupants' will, UFO-like. … By way of textual authority …, … cite Krishna Deva's [1990, vol. 1, p. 33] … mention of an early twelfth-century description of svargarohan.a-prasada, literally “temples for flying to heaven.””

“The divinely beautiful women portrayed in every conceivable state of undress and sexual position on the walls of such remarkable edifices as the eleventh-century Kandariya Mahadeva temple at Khajuraho are none other than female demigods … who welcome the … Virile Hero to their atmospheric haunts.” [Rabe 1996, nn. 107-9] {apparently an erroneous reference; this article apparently having only 99 nn. Instead, this article citeth, e.g. ; “According to the MahAbhArata [XII. 3657] :

Thousands of handsome Apsarases run up in haste to the hero who has been slain in battle (exclaiming) be my husband”

(which is an identification of Ap-saras-es with Norse Vakyrja in the Edda, and with the H.uri women promised to Gazzi [i.e., slain-in-battle] warrior-men in the Qur>an).}

{“KharjUra-vAhaka, the ancient name of Khajuraho, means scorpion bearer.” (Rabe 1996 – quoted from Desai, 1987, p. 384)

This is of Hellenistic provenience : Scorpio constellation praesideth over the genitalia, in allusion to (GM 41.d; “O”) the sexual relationship between KANDA[H]ON [= CAN.D.A-maha-roS.ANa] O[a]rion and O[u]pis the Huperborean priestess of Artemis. In Sumerian terms, it is an invitation for Bilgames^ via Scorpion-tunnel to partake of Ziusudra's paradisal herb of immortality; in MesoAmerican terms, a whore-goddess's transmogrifying-of-him-into-a-scorpion sexual invitation to Yappan.}

“The twelfth-century Pacali Bhairava image of Kathmandu has a giant vetala, more than five times his size, for his vehicle”.

“it is goddesses who ride pretas. These include Kali, Kubjika, and Camun.d.a … . A significant number of miniature paintings of Kali portray her corpse vehicle as a truly “inflated” male, a human dirigible, lying {prone} on his stomach. The goddess Kamakhya is described as standing on a “white ghost” in the Kalika Puran.a [72:63].”

“it has been argued tha the etymological root of the term d.akini is perhaps d.am (“to sound”), rather than … d.i (“to fly”)”.

{Actually, /d.akini/ is from /d.ak-/ 'hidden' [as in /d.akoit/], aequivalent to Skt. /guhyaki/, the females who, alike unto the male /guhyaka/, are the retinue of Kuvera.}

“at the heart {centre} of the Krama Kaula man[.]d[.]ala[-]s : called Kala-samkars.ani, “She Who Contracts Time,” she draws back time”.

{Experiential time is speciously contracted when is would seem shorter than clock-measured time.}

p. 211

[quoted from Rajata-rangini 1:331-5 :] “a Mistress of Yoga (yoges`vari) named Bhat.t.a {'lady'}, having taken the form of a beautiful woman, approached the king when night was falling. … Then … at dawn , together with hundreds of his sons and grandsons, that

p. 212

world-conqueror was transformed by her … circle of goddesses (devicakropaharatam). She who had become perfected (siddha) by means of that act left the mark of her rise into the sky (vyomakraman.a). Resembling the imprint of her two knees, it is visible down to this very day. Even today, the memory of the event is perpetuated in the lodges (mat.has) of Kheri, [in the form of] … that rock [bearing the imprint of her knees].”

[quoted from Katha-sarit-sagara 18:4:204-22 :] “A brahmin named Kandarpa from Ratnapura comes upon a deserted Mother goddess temple (matr.devagr.ha) in the night. Entering, he sees a brilliant light. He prays to the Mothers … . … He later hears the group of Yoginis speaking among themselves : “Today we must go to the gathering of the circle (cakramelaka) that is taking place in Cakrapura.” The Yoginis find him hiding there, and carry him off with them. … One of their number, named Sumana, marries him. … she carries him away with her, up into the sky.”

p. 215

[Dyczkowski 2000, p. 30] “Melapa[ka] is of two sorts in these [Kubjika] traditions, called “pleasing union” (priyamelapa) and “violent union” (hat.hamelapa), respectively.

In the former, the male practitioner's union with the human Yogini, … {together with} his consumption of her female discharge …, “generates the lineage of Siddhas and the world of sacred places where they reside.”

The latter is precisely that process by which the male practitioner is freed from the ignorance barring his path to … deification : “... [the human Yogini] withdraws the [male practitioner's] ignorance … 'churning' this energies into a dynamic, active state.”

p. 323, n. 7:103

[Skora 2001, p. 306] “in Krama … levels of practice, one for “melapa Siddhas devoted to union,” … a practitioner undergoes a kulayaga-type initiation followed by sexual union with the Duti, which … transforms him into a Virile Hero”.

p. 215

“the Yogini … in hat.hamelapa … extracts fluid from him, preying on him sexually … . … Here, the image is of female predators – jackals (s`iva), … represented … on Yogini temple sculptures and in Tantric literature … – preying on their male victims sexually even as they tear them apart with their teeth”.

p. 323, n. 7:104

“They are so described in the eighty-seventh chapter of the Ajn~a Khan.d.a of the Manthanabhairava Tantra … .

{As to the Ajn~a Khan.d.a : this may describe procedures for activation of the 2-petal Ajn~a Cakra, a process praeliminary for successful guidance of Kun.d.alini into Sus.umna Nad.i and thence upward through the other cakra-s. (Without firstly activating Ajn~a Cakra, the Kun.d.alini experience will be agonizing and horrific.)}

See also Atherton [1997], p. 102; Michaels … (1989), p. 52; Donaldson [1987], p. 349; Sharma [1978], p. 100”.]

“The one in which he offers them his bodily fluids, and in which they torment him, is called the “southern course,” which is further identified with the upward movement, from the lowest to the highest of the six internal cakras;

These two directions of exchange are further identified with the terms kula (the Goddess, as Clan[ned]) and kulakula {kula-akula} (the Goddess, complementing her male, Unclanned consort), respectively.”

the other, in which the goddesses bestow bliss, is conversely termed the “northern course” and is identified with the downward movement, from the highest to the lowest of the six cakras.

consumption by __ of sexual fluids

female

male

__-melapa

Hat.ha

Priya

__-graha

Ni

Anu

__ motion

countreclockwise

clockwise

__ movement

upward

downward

progress

Ud-kars.an.a, Ud-dhr.ti

Nis.-naya

course

southern

northern

clanning

kula

kula-akula

acquisition by male

power of flight

“clanning”

p. 217

“earliest mentions of the “Kubjika man.d.ala” describe this as a hexagon whose six goddesses are enumerated from the northwestern corner, and whose rituals are constructive when … made in a clockwise direction

and destructive when they are made in a counterclockwise direction (the term nigraha in KM 23.146 signifying both the counterclockwise direction and its destructive result).” (Heilijger-Seelens 1994, pp. 139-46, quoting on p. 145 Kubjika-mata 15:81ab]

p. 323, n. 7:107

“On Buddhist {Vajra-yana} Tantric classifications according to the rotation of the Yoginis, see Orofino [2001] p. 546 n. 20.”

p. 218

[quoted from O'Flaherty 1980, p. 269 (with italicization added by D.G.Wh.)] “The white vajra (penis) of the Father unites with the red padma (vulva) of the Mother; then the deities enter into union in the sky and enter the male adept through his mouth … : they descend, pass through his vajra and fall and mix into the lotus of the Mother. Then the mantra goes “upward from mouth to mouth” [“i.e., from the woman's back into the man's”]. This is regarded as the forward recitation of the mantra;

but if the direction is reversed, upward … into the mouth of goddess {or woman}, this is the fierce recitation … and {the couple} practices these in turn. This reverse direction has the seed-mantra travelling up the spine {of the man}, out the mouth of the man and into that of the woman, down into her womb and out into his vajra, up through the spine and so forth as the cycle continues and is continually reversed.”

p. 323, n. 7:108

“Sanderson … (1990), p. 36, … quotes the Prapan~ca[-]sara[-]tantra … 9.42 : “... the alphabet pouring forth from her mouth again and again … and emerging from his mouth in an unbroken stream.””