vidya
विद्या vidyāKnowledge; in tantra specifically the mantra-form of the goddess, the sonic body through which she is known and worshipped (as in Srividya, 'the auspicious knowledge').
Where this term appears
- Bhuta Shuddhi: The Rite That Burns the Body to Ash Lineages
Though it is most elaborated in the Shakta and Sri Vidya traditions, the parallel Shaiva Siddhanta ritual manuals prescribe their own bhuta shuddhi, which tells us the rite is not a Shakta peculiarity but a sha…
- The 64 Śākta Tantras Lineages
The 64 Śākta Tantras are the Goddess-centred tantric scriptures, named in a famous verse of the Saundaryalaharī. The number 64 is a traditional and symbolic…
- The Kularnava Tantra: The Kaula Path and the True Guru Lineages
…tive Kaula scriptures, quoted again and again by later Shakta and Sri Vidya writers as a pramana , a source you could cite to settle a question.
- The Types of Tantra Lineages
The Vidyāpīṭha holds the Goddess-centred ones, vidyā being feminine and meaning, in these sources, a female mantra-deity.
- What are Mudras? Lineages
A mudra is a "seal," and the word covers four different things that most people never connect: the hand-poses of temple images (like the raised palm of…
- What are the Āgamas and Tantras? Lineages
The Āgamas and Tantras are the revealed scriptures of the tantric traditions, a second body of revelation standing alongside the Veda. The word āgama means "that…
- What is Diksha? Lineages
Diksha is spiritual initiation: the formal rite by which a qualified teacher transmits a mantra, a lineage, and its saving power into a disciple. The tradition…
- What is Shaktism? Lineages
One is the Srikula, the family of Sri, gentle and regal, centred on the beautiful goddess Lalita Tripurasundari, worshipped through her diagram the Sri Chakra and the mantra-system called Sri Vidya.