Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 50 minutes ago
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"Śāktism among the Śaivas" (part 2)
Prof. Alexis Sanderson
These lectures will give an account of the history and role of Śāktism, notably of the Trika and Krama, among the Śaivas of Kashmir from the ninth to thirteenth centuries, presenting these developments in the broader context of the history of Śaivism in the early medieval period.
0:00 intro
0:45 corrections and clarifications for previous lecture
07:40 Shaivism in Kashmir
07:47 term "Kashmir Shaivism" - misleading and reductionist
12:00 "exoteric" Kashmirian Saiddhantika tradition(s)
26:47 "mesoteric" Kashmirian non-Saiddhantika traditions of Svacchanda- and Amrteshvara-Bhairava
34:42 "esoteric" Shakta-Shaiva traditions proper, first: Kalikula, e.g. Jayadrathayamala
45:10 second: Krama
50:25 third: Trika
56:07 Abhinavagupta's exegetical project (Trika-Krama synthesis, Krama reading of Trika pantheon)
- gnostic
- ultimately anti-ritualistic
- possibility of sudden enlightenment
- figure of ascetic largely absent
- aestheticized, rationalized
- inclusivism, idea of successive initiations leading to Trika
1:03:35 "Shakta outreach"
The handout can be downloaded from our Śākta Traditions website under Prof Sanderson's lecture: saktatraditions.org/sakta-traditions-online-lecture-series-mt20
Please be aware of small corrections in relation to this handout made in the lecture. See 51:27.
The first part of this lecture can be viewed here: youtube.com/watch?v=l3A-KYFfcko&ab_channel=OxfordCentreforHinduStudies
Subscribe to get updates on the following lectures in this series.
Want to support our work? Make a donation here: ko-fi.com/ochsoxford
"Śāktism among the Śaivas" (part 2)
Prof. Alexis Sanderson
These lectures will give an account of the history and role of Śāktism, notably of the Trika and Krama, among the Śaivas of Kashmir from the ninth to thirteenth centuries, presenting these developments in the broader context of the history of Śaivism in the early medieval period.
0:00 intro
0:45 corrections and clarifications for previous lecture
07:40 Shaivism in Kashmir
07:47 term "Kashmir Shaivism" - misleading and reductionist
12:00 "exoteric" Kashmirian Saiddhantika tradition(s)
26:47 "mesoteric" Kashmirian non-Saiddhantika traditions of Svacchanda- and Amrteshvara-Bhairava
34:42 "esoteric" Shakta-Shaiva traditions proper, first: Kalikula, e.g. Jayadrathayamala
45:10 second: Krama
50:25 third: Trika
56:07 Abhinavagupta's exegetical project (Trika-Krama synthesis, Krama reading of Trika pantheon)
- gnostic
- ultimately anti-ritualistic
- possibility of sudden enlightenment
- figure of ascetic largely absent
- aestheticized, rationalized
- inclusivism, idea of successive initiations leading to Trika
1:03:35 "Shakta outreach"
The handout can be downloaded from our Śākta Traditions website under Prof Sanderson's lecture: saktatraditions.org/sakta-traditions-online-lecture-series-mt20
Please be aware of small corrections in relation to this handout made in the lecture. See 51:27.
The first part of this lecture can be viewed here: youtube.com/watch?v=l3A-KYFfcko&ab_channel=OxfordCentreforHinduStudies
Subscribe to get updates on the following lectures in this series.
