Curwen on the fall of Rome and other things

People on twitter have had big debates about when the Fall of Rome was-was it when the Goths took it , viz. Romulus Augustus, in the late 400s AD? was it in 1453 when the Ottomans overran Byzantium?I don’t think so in either case.

I think it was when the Flame of Vesta was extinguished , by order of the Christian emperor / his lot and Roman religion was suppressed. because, quite literally … they stopped bieng Roman when that happened. And in antiquity that element aroudn the Flame going out – well, that woudl, overtly, be viwewed as the life of the city … extinguished. At least till relit. They stopped being Roman and then tottered on for a few more decades till the Goths.

What Macaulay wanted to do to Hindu India was done to Roman Rome. When it came to the Flame of Vesta – there was a procedure,straightforward if .. not someting one wanted to have to do. To rekindle said flame from the Sun. However, to re-light the flame of a .. wel, a religion, a people,that is not so simple. Once it goes out,once it is allowed to gutter and dwindle and turn to ashes and ember it is very difficult to go the opposite way -Curwen replied to themself a warning, therefore, to – well, we do not take our religoin and its heritage, its multi-millennia unbroken span , for granted but yes, were it to be as … suppressed as the Romans wound up , or the Germanics wound up a devil of a time getting it back. even without the .. thousand yeras, thojusand five hundred … of additional time to forget that those two spheres have had .

Of course, this brings me to antoher thought. Basically it was rathert noted that POland, being a country / realm , located on a bunch of flat plains on the main invasion route eithetr direction in Eastern Europe was therefore in perma-danger of being overrun and overriden – overwritten in fact and usualy taht would mean the potential .. end of the thing except in amidst the rising great powers , and the realization that it was likely taht .. basically Poland was going to get overrun and ‘incorporated’ , sooner or later ,,, the Poles decided to try something different sow the ‘seeds’ , embed the ‘roots’ of Polishness in such a broad and deep fashion amonst the people rather than just an assimilatable – or executable – elite and Poland would still be around, Polishness would still bre around for such time , one day in the perhaps distant future when those great powers were battened back down again, and there would be scope for Poland, the (nation-)state to spring back into existence. And lo … thoug hit took .. what, four centuries? it worked.

The Ogha-traya(the lineage of the divine,siddha(perfected) and human teachers) of Bālā Tripurāsundarī’s tradition as described in two hymns

Divyaugha(the Divine transmission/flow [of the tāntrika teaching]). In this case,they seem to be deifics of certain technical terms of advaya śaivāgama(Nondual Śaiva tantra would be a close enough translation). The terms which would be specific to the traipura tradition building on the older Śaiva tradition would be kāma and kāmeśvara. Amṛta hearkens back to the older Mṛtyuñjaya/Mṛtyujit based based traditions,a technical excursus of which is provided here and an introduction on the Netra tantra,centred on the nectarine Rudra Tryambaka/evolute Amṛteśvara(Lord of Nectar). As noted by the author of that blog:

 …the bhairava srotas underwent a syncretic development with a much earlier independent stream of the mantra-mArga, i.e. the worship of mR^ityu~njaya. This resulted in the system of amR^iteshvara bhairava and amR^iteshvarI which is expounded by the netra tantra.

  • Prakāśānanda
  • Parameśānanda
  • Paraśivānanda
  • Kāmeśvarānanda
  • Mokṣānanda
  • Kāmānanda
  • Amṛtānanda

After the transmission/flow of teachings amongst the divyaugha,comes the siddhaugha(the transmission/flow of tantrik teachings in the line of the perfected ones). In this case,they are the five faces of Śiva,deifics of a famous pentad of 5 mantras in Śaivism known as the Pañca-Brahma-s.

  • Īśāna
  • Tatpuruṣa
  • Aghora
  • Vāmadeva
  • Sadyojāta

After the divyaugha and siddhaugha,comes the mānavaugha(the first humans who brought down the tantrik tradition as expounded in the hymn). In this case they are

  • Gaganānanda
  • Viśvānanda
  • Vimalānanda
  • Madanānanda
  • Ātmānanada
  • Priyānanda

And then one goes on to worship the immediate quartret of gurus(one’s own guru,his guru,his guru’s guru and that figure’s guru) before going on to worship other figures in the Goddess’ retinue. The hymn in question is the Bala Khadgamala stotra.

The 1000 names of Bālā as ascribed to the Rudrayāmala tantra have a slightly variant list

The divyaugha there consists of

  • Prakāśānandanātha
  • Śivānandanātha
  • Śaktyānandanātha
  • Samayānandanātha.
  • Kauleśa and Devī are mentioned though I am not sure if they are epithets for Śiva and Śakti in this case.

In this case the gurus are the dialogic union of Śiva-Śakti/deifics of this contexts

Klinnāṅgānandanātha, Vedānandanātha, and Sahajānandanātha are the siddhaugha gurus listed in this tradition of the hymn. Their names are significant and reflect on the nature of the Goddess on Her practical manifestation.

The human gurus in the 1000 names are listed as Vimalānandanātha, Madanānandanātha, Bhuvanānandanātha, and Svātmānandanātha.

mysterious rites

The probable author of all the piśāca and piśācī sādhanās was a certain Prajñāpālita. His sādhanās of the same names all exist in the Tibetan Buddhist Tengyur. His teacher in that text is recorded as a certain Mañjughoṣa. Tārānātha records a certain Prajñāpālita as a disciple of Ānandagarbha. I can’t say if both names refer to the same person, though the dates align somewhat when looking at the claimed manuscript date.Also, it is to be seen if they are the same sādhanās in translation.

The names of the other sādhanās are also suggestive:gaṇacakra,mahāmāya(likely paired with Buddhakapāla?), Chinnamastā and Kurukullā, who all have strong prescences in Vajrayāna.

Could this manuscript and the later Hindu practitioners be a possible remnant of what would later be called Cīnācāra?

The village school master, and master of the mantra-shAstra possessed many a mysterious mantra. The most mysterious was a manuscript of a tantric from around 900 AD from Uttaranchal which had in an archaic script a whole collection of mantra-s, some found no where else.The pishAchi prayogas: 1) pishAchI karNagR^ihyA 2) pishAchI aulumbinI 3) pishAchI […]

mysterious rites

On Navamīsiṃha a Nepalese tantrik author(translated from Dr Madhav Lamicchane’s introduction to Caṇḍī-bhakti-vinodinī)

Navamīsiṃha’s full name was Navamīsiṃha Bhaṇḍel. He was from the Newari community that is known nowadays as Rajbhandari(which in Nepalbhasa is called Bhanī as well).Strong proofs for his exact date of birth are not available but it is surmised to be somewhere between 1704-1707 BS(1647-1650AD) as surmised by Vidyanath Upadhyay Bhatta in his edition of his work Tantracintāmaṇī . He was born in the locality of Naghal tole on a rāma navamī ,hence was called Navamīsiṃha. In 1752BS(1695AD) we see that he was in the post of the mahāmātya of the then king of Kathmandu,who by then was Bhupalendra Malla.He was an important courtier in the court of Bhaskaramalla as well. He passed away at 1760BS(1703AD). He was famed for his sādhanā and his tāntrika vidvattā ,and he composed a number of tantrik works listed below

  • Caṇḍī-bhakti-vinodinī:ṭhis features his work on the upāsanā of Caṇḍikā via the durgā saptaśati
  • Tantracintāmaṇī
  • Kulamuktikallolinī
  • Puṣparatnākara

On the historical origins of Dakṣiṇāmūrti(archiving an online conversation)

From X/Twitter

gunagarbhah:What is the earliest textual/iconographic depiction of dakShiNAmUrti/antecedents of this form of shiva?
blog_supplement:the term devasya dakShiNamurteH is very old and seen in the sutra texts of the pAshupata-s. This is generally taken to mean the southern side of the li~Nga or image: i.g aghora. choLa images of classical dakShiNAmUrti appear much later
gunagarbhah:The appearance of the mantras of classical dakShiNAmurti:-When do they first appear? (And yes,the earlier references I found seemed more like references to aghora).
blog_supplement:not so simple: he appears earliest TMK as a narrator in the unmattabhairava-tantra, a tradition later continued into shrIkula i.e. dakShinAmUrti-saMhitA. That implies that he existed earlier than unmattabhairava as a deity who was worshipped. Various saiddhAntika texts explicitly mention his installation like kAmika and kAlottara. However, I think the most primitive form of the mantra is that from lakShmaNa-deshikendra’s shAradA-tilaka. This I think is drawn from “para”-netra-like source which might be at least as old as the netra or some old bhUta texts…the 36 syllabled one beginning with OM hrIM… and ending with rudrAya shambhave hrIM OM.

Śivaśatanāma stotra from Mahāliṅgeśvara tantra (with locations of some of the Śivālayas specified)

पार्व्वत्युवाच

देवदेव महादेव संसारार्णवतारक।
शिवलिङ्गार्च्चनं सर्वं श्रुतं तव मुखात् प्रतौ॥
इदानीं श्रोतुमिच्चामि शिवस्य शतनामकम्।
यस्य स्मरणमात्रेण मुच्यते भवबन्धनात्।

श्रीसदाशिव उवाच

श्रृणु देवी प्रवक्ष्यामि यस्मात् त्वम् परिपृच्चसि।
यस्य स्मरणमात्रेण संसारान्मुच्यते नमः॥
अतिगुह्यं महापुण्यम् तव स्नेहात् प्रकाशितम्।
गोपनीयम् प्रयत्नेन न प्रकाश्यम् यथा तथा॥
मम नाम परार्द्धं च तथैव कथितं मया।
तेषां सारं समुद्धृत्य सारात्सारं परात्परम्॥
तत्र सारं समुद्धृत्य कथयामि शृणु प्रिये।
मम नामशतञ्चैव कलौ पूर्णफलप्रदम्।
केवलं स्तवपाठेन मम तुल्यो न संशयः॥
पीठादिन्याससंयुक्तमृश्यादिन्यासपूर्वकम्।
देवता-बीजसंयुक्तं शृणुश्व परमाद्भुतम्॥
नारदो’स्य ऋषि प्रोक्तश्चन्दो’नुष्टुबुदाहृतम्।
सदाशिवो महेशानि देवता परिकीर्तिता॥
षडक्षरं महाबीजं चतुर्वर्गप्रदायकम्।
सर्वातीष्टप्रसिद्ध्यर्थे विनियोगः प्रकीर्तितः॥
महाशून्ये महाकालो महाकालीयुतः सदा।
देहमध्ये महेशानि लिङ्गाकारणे वेष्टितः॥
मूलाधारे स्वयम्भुश्च कुण्डलीशक्तिसंयुतः।
स्वाधिष्ठाने महाविष्णुस्त्रैलोक्यपालकः सदा॥
मणिपूरे महारुद्रः सर्वसंहारकारकः।
अनाहते ईश्वरो’हं सर्वदेवनिषेवितः॥
विशुद्धाख्ये षोडशारे सदाशिव इति स्मृतः।
आज्ञाचक्रे शिवः साक्षात् चितिरूपेण संस्थितः॥
सहस्रारे महापद्मे त्रिकोणनिलयान्तरे।
बिन्दुरूपे महेशानि परमेश्वरः ईरितः॥
बाहुरूपे महेशानि नानारूपधरोह्यहम्।
कैलासे ज्योतिरूपेण कैलासेश्वरसम्ज्ञकः॥
हिमालये महेशानि पार्वतीप्राणवल्लभः।
काश्यां विश्वेश्वरश्चैव बाणेश्वरस्तथैव च॥
शम्भुनाथश्चन्द्रनाथश्चन्द्रशेखरपर्वते।
आदिनाथः सिन्धुतीरे कामरूपे वृषध्वजः॥
नेपाले पशुपतिनाथः केदारे पावकेश्वरः।
हिङ्गुलायां कूपनाथो रूपनाथस्तदूर्द्धतः॥
द्वारकायां हरश्चैव पुश्करे प्रमथेश्वरः।
हरिद्वारे महेशानि गङ्गाधर इति स्मृतः॥
कुरुक्षेत्रे पाशुवेशो वृन्दारण्ये च केशवः।
गोकुले गोपेशपूज्यो गोपेश्वर इतीरितः॥
मथुरायां कंसनाथो मिथिलायां धनुर्द्धरः।
अयोध्यायां कृत्तिवासाः काश्मिरे कपिलेश्वरः॥
काञ्चीनगरमध्ये तु मन्नाम त्रिपुरेश्वरः।
चित्रकुटे चन्द्रचूडो योगीन्द्रो विन्ध्यपर्वते॥
बाणलिङ्गो नर्मदायां प्रभासे शूलभृत् सदा।
भोजपूरे भोजनाथो गयायाञ्च गदाधरः।
झाडाखण्डे वैद्यनाथो वक्रेश्वरस्तथैव च॥
वीरभूमौ सिद्धिनाथौ राढे च तारकेश्वरः।
घण्टेश्वरश्च देवेशि रत्नाकरनदीतटे।
भागीरथीनदीतीरे कपिलेश्वर ईरितः॥
भद्रेश्वरश्च देवेशी कल्याणेश्वर एव च॥
नकुलेशः कालीघट्टे श्रीहट्टे हाटकेश्वरः।
कोचवधुपुरे चाहं जल्पेश्वर इति स्थ्तितं॥
उत्कले विमलाक्षेत्रे जगन्नाथो ह्यहं कलौ।
नीलाचलारण्यमध्ये भुवनेश्वर ईरितः॥
रामेश्वरः सेतुबन्धे लङ्कायां रावणेश्वरः।
रजताचलमध्ये तु कुबेरेश्वर ईरितः॥
लक्ष्मीकान्तो महेशानि सदा श्रीशैलपर्वते।
त्र्यम्बको गोमतीतीरे गोकर्णे च त्रिलोचनः॥
बदरिकाश्रममध्ये कपिनाथेश्वरोह्यहम्।
स्वर्गलोके देवदेवो मर्त्यलोके सदाशिवः।
पाताले वासुकिनाथो यमराट् कालमन्दिरे।
नारायणश्च वैकुण्ठे गोलोके हरिहरस्तथा॥
गन्धर्वलोके देवेशी पुश्पदन्तेश्वर्योह्यहम्॥
श्मशाने भूतनाथश्च गृहे चैव जगद्गुरुः।
अवतारे शङ्करो’हं विरूपाक्षस्तथैव च॥
कामिनीजनमध्ये तु कामेश्वर इतीरितः।
चक्रमध्ये कुलेशश्च सलिले वरुणेश्वरः।
आशुतोषो भक्तमध्ये शत्रुणां त्रिपुरान्तकः॥
शिशुमध्ये गुरुश्चाहं तथैव परमो गुरुः।
चन्द्रलोके सोमनाथः स्वर्भानुर्भानुमण्डले।
त्रैलोक्ये लोकनाथो’हं रुद्रलोके महेश्वरः।
समुद्रमथने चाहं नीलकण्ठस्त्रिलोकजित्।
जम्बुद्वीपे जगत्कर्ता शाकद्वीपे चतुर्भुजः॥
कुशद्वीपे कपर्द्दिशः क्रौञ्चद्वीपे कपालभृत्।
मीनद्वीपे मीननाथः प्लक्षद्वीपे कलाधरः॥
अहञ्च पुष्करद्वीपे पुरुषोत्तम ईरितः।
देवमध्ये वासुदेवो गुरुमध्ये निरञ्जनः॥
पुराणे परमेशानि व्यासेश्वर ईरितः।
आगमे नागभट्टो’हम् निगमे नादरूपधृक्॥
सर्वज्ञो ज्योतिषां मध्ये योगेशो योगशास्त्रके।
दीनमध्ये दीननाथ उमानाथस्तथैव च।
राजराजेश्वरश्चैव नृपानां नगनन्दिनि।
परम्ब्रह्मसत्यलोके ह्यनन्तो’स्मि रसातले॥
आब्रह्मन्तम्बपर्यन्तम् लिङ्गरूपि ह्यहम् प्रिये।
इति ते कथितम् देवी ममनामशतोत्तमम्॥
पठनात् श्रवनाच्चैव महापातककोटयः।
नश्यन्ति तत्क्षणाद्देवी सत्यं सत्यं न संशयः।
अज्ञानिनाम् ज्ञानसिद्धिर्ज्ञानिनां परमं धनम्।
अतिदीनदरिद्राणाम् चिन्तामणिस्वरूपकम्॥
रोगिणां पापिनाञ्चैव महौषधमिति स्मृतम्॥
योगिनां योगसारञ्च भोगिनाम् भोगमोक्षदम्।
एककालं द्विकालं वा त्रिकालं वा पठेद्यदि।
अथवा रजनीकाले निर्जने शिवसन्निधौ॥
यः पठेत् साधकश्रेष्ठः स एव श्रीसदाशिवः।
कृष्णां चतुर्दशीं प्राप्य पठेद्भक्तिपरायणः॥
स एव सर्वसिद्धीशो जायते भूमिमण्डले।
चतुर्द्दश्यांअमायां वा सोमवारे विशेषतः॥
यः स्वयं तत्प्रदोषे तु पूजयित्वा स्तवं पठेत्।
तस्य सङ्गे महेशानि तिष्ठामि च सदा प्रिये॥
यं यं काममुपस्कृत्य पठेत् स्तोत्रमनुत्तमम्।
तं तं काममवाप्नोति सत्यं सत्यं न संशयः॥
जले स्थले चाम्भरीके विदेशे शत्रुसंकटे।
वनमध्ये रणमध्ये सभामध्ये तथैव च॥
राजद्वारे महारोगे महाशोके महाभये।
सर्वत्रैवाशुभं हन्ति स्तवपाठप्रसादतः॥
आकर्षणम्वर्शीकार्यं मारणोच्चाटनादिकम्।
शान्तिपुष्टिस्तम्भनानि पाठमात्रम् प्रयोजते॥
अपुत्रो लभते पुत्रं मोक्षार्थी मोक्षमाप्नुयात्।
बहुकिं कथ्यते देवी शृणु मत्प्राणवल्लभे।
असाध्यं साधयेत् सर्वं स्तवस्यास्य प्रसादतः।
अहञ्च जगदाधारो ममाधारस्त्वमेव हि।
त्वत्समा प्रकृतिर्नास्ति मत्समो नास्ति पुरुषः॥
तव योनीं समासाद्य सर्वमेव करोम्यहम्।
एतज्ज्ञानम् महेशानि पाषण्डे मा वदेत् क्वचित्॥
मूर्खाय भक्तिहीनाय दुष्टाय सुदुरात्मने।
शिवभक्तिविहीनाय शक्तिनिन्दापराय च॥
न प्रकाश्यं महादेवी प्रकाशाच्छिवहा भवेत्।
शिश्याय भक्तियुक्ताय शिवविष्णुपराय च॥
अद्वैतभावयुक्ताय देवीभक्तिपराय च।
शतनाम महास्तोत्रं देयं पुण्यं महेश्वरी॥

इति श्रीमहालिङ्गेश्वरतन्त्रे श्रीशिवपार्वतीसंवादे शिवशतनामस्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम्

pārvvatyuvāca

devadeva mahādeva saṃsārārṇavatāraka।
śivaliṅgārccanaṃ sarvaṃ śrutaṃ tava mukhāt pratau॥
idānīṃ śrotumiccāmi śivasya śatanāmakam।
yasya smaraṇamātreṇa mucyate bhavabandhanāt।

śrīsadāśiva uvāca

śrṛṇu devī pravakṣyāmi yasmāt tvam paripṛccasi।
yasya smaraṇamātreṇa saṃsārānmucyate namaḥ॥
atiguhyaṃ mahāpuṇyam tava snehāt prakāśitam।
gopanīyam prayatnena na prakāśyam yathā tathā॥
mama nāma parārddhaṃ ca tathaiva kathitaṃ mayā।
teṣāṃ sāraṃ samuddhṛtya sārātsāraṃ parātparam॥
tatra sāraṃ samuddhṛtya kathayāmi śṛṇu priye।
mama nāmaśatañcaiva kalau pūrṇaphalapradam।
kevalaṃ stavapāṭhena mama tulyo na saṃśayaḥ॥
pīṭhādinyāsasaṃyuktamṛśyādinyāsapūrvakam।
devatā-bījasaṃyuktaṃ śṛṇuśva paramādbhutam॥
nārado’sya ṛṣi proktaścando’nuṣṭubudāhṛtam।
sadāśivo maheśāni devatā parikīrtitā॥
ṣaḍakṣaraṃ mahābījaṃ caturvargapradāyakam।
sarvātīṣṭaprasiddhyarthe viniyogaḥ prakīrtitaḥ॥
mahāśūnye mahākālo mahākālīyutaḥ sadā।
dehamadhye maheśāni liṅgākāraṇe veṣṭitaḥ॥
mūlādhāre svayambhuśca kuṇḍalīśaktisaṃyutaḥ।
svādhiṣṭhāne mahāviṣṇustrailokyapālakaḥ sadā॥
maṇipūre mahārudraḥ sarvasaṃhārakārakaḥ।
anāhate īśvaro’haṃ sarvadevaniṣevitaḥ॥
viśuddhākhye ṣoḍaśāre sadāśiva iti smṛtaḥ।
ājñācakre śivaḥ sākṣāt citirūpeṇa saṃsthitaḥ॥
sahasrāre mahāpadme trikoṇanilayāntare।
bindurūpe maheśāni parameśvaraḥ īritaḥ॥
bāhurūpe maheśāni nānārūpadharohyaham।
kailāse jyotirūpeṇa kailāseśvarasamjñakaḥ॥
himālaye maheśāni pārvatīprāṇavallabhaḥ।
kāśyāṃ viśveśvaraścaiva bāṇeśvarastathaiva ca॥
śambhunāthaścandranāthaścandraśekharaparvate।
ādināthaḥ sindhutīre kāmarūpe vṛṣadhvajaḥ॥
nepāle paśupatināthaḥ kedāre pāvakeśvaraḥ।
hiṅgulāyāṃ kūpanātho rūpanāthastadūrddhataḥ॥
dvārakāyāṃ haraścaiva puśkare pramatheśvaraḥ।
haridvāre maheśāni gaṅgādhara iti smṛtaḥ॥
kurukṣetre pāśuveśo vṛndāraṇye ca keśavaḥ।
gokule gopeśapūjyo gopeśvara itīritaḥ॥
mathurāyāṃ kaṃsanātho mithilāyāṃ dhanurddharaḥ।
ayodhyāyāṃ kṛttivāsāḥ kāśmire kapileśvaraḥ॥
kāñcīnagaramadhye tu mannāma tripureśvaraḥ।
citrakuṭe candracūḍo yogīndro vindhyaparvate॥
bāṇaliṅgo narmadāyāṃ prabhāse śūlabhṛt sadā।
bhojapūre bhojanātho gayāyāñca gadādharaḥ।
jhāḍākhaṇḍe vaidyanātho vakreśvarastathaiva ca॥
vīrabhūmau siddhināthau rāḍhe ca tārakeśvaraḥ।
ghaṇṭeśvaraśca deveśi ratnākaranadītaṭe।
bhāgīrathīnadītīre kapileśvara īritaḥ॥
bhadreśvaraśca deveśī kalyāṇeśvara eva ca॥
nakuleśaḥ kālīghaṭṭe śrīhaṭṭe hāṭakeśvaraḥ।
kocavadhupure cāhaṃ jalpeśvara iti sthtitaṃ॥
utkale vimalākṣetre jagannātho hyahaṃ kalau।
nīlācalāraṇyamadhye bhuvaneśvara īritaḥ॥
rāmeśvaraḥ setubandhe laṅkāyāṃ rāvaṇeśvaraḥ।
rajatācalamadhye tu kubereśvara īritaḥ॥
lakṣmīkānto maheśāni sadā śrīśailaparvate।
tryambako gomatītīre gokarṇe ca trilocanaḥ॥
badarikāśramamadhye kapinātheśvarohyaham।
svargaloke devadevo martyaloke sadāśivaḥ।
pātāle vāsukinātho yamarāṭ kālamandire।
nārāyaṇaśca vaikuṇṭhe goloke hariharastathā॥
gandharvaloke deveśī puśpadanteśvaryohyaham॥
śmaśāne bhūtanāthaśca gṛhe caiva jagadguruḥ।
avatāre śaṅkaro’haṃ virūpākṣastathaiva ca॥
kāminījanamadhye tu kāmeśvara itīritaḥ।
cakramadhye kuleśaśca salile varuṇeśvaraḥ।
āśutoṣo bhaktamadhye śatruṇāṃ tripurāntakaḥ॥
śiśumadhye guruścāhaṃ tathaiva paramo guruḥ।
candraloke somanāthaḥ svarbhānurbhānumaṇḍale।
trailokye lokanātho’haṃ rudraloke maheśvaraḥ।
samudramathane cāhaṃ nīlakaṇṭhastrilokajit।
jambudvīpe jagatkartā śākadvīpe caturbhujaḥ॥
kuśadvīpe kaparddiśaḥ krauñcadvīpe kapālabhṛt।
mīnadvīpe mīnanāthaḥ plakṣadvīpe kalādharaḥ॥
ahañca puṣkaradvīpe puruṣottama īritaḥ।
devamadhye vāsudevo gurumadhye nirañjanaḥ॥
purāṇe parameśāni vyāseśvara īritaḥ।
āgame nāgabhaṭṭo’ham nigame nādarūpadhṛk॥
sarvajño jyotiṣāṃ madhye yogeśo yogaśāstrake।
dīnamadhye dīnanātha umānāthastathaiva ca।
rājarājeśvaraścaiva nṛpānāṃ naganandini।
parambrahmasatyaloke hyananto’smi rasātale॥
ābrahmantambaparyantam liṅgarūpi hyaham priye।
iti te kathitam devī mamanāmaśatottamam॥
paṭhanāt śravanāccaiva mahāpātakakoṭayaḥ।
naśyanti tatkṣaṇāddevī satyaṃ satyaṃ na saṃśayaḥ।
ajñāninām jñānasiddhirjñānināṃ paramaṃ dhanam।
atidīnadaridrāṇām cintāmaṇisvarūpakam॥
rogiṇāṃ pāpināñcaiva mahauṣadhamiti smṛtam॥
yogināṃ yogasārañca bhoginām bhogamokṣadam।
ekakālaṃ dvikālaṃ vā trikālaṃ vā paṭhedyadi।
athavā rajanīkāle nirjane śivasannidhau॥
yaḥ paṭhet sādhakaśreṣṭhaḥ sa eva śrīsadāśivaḥ।
kṛṣṇāṃ caturdaśīṃ prāpya paṭhedbhaktiparāyaṇaḥ॥
sa eva sarvasiddhīśo jāyate bhūmimaṇḍale।
caturddaśyāṃamāyāṃ vā somavāre viśeṣataḥ॥
yaḥ svayaṃ tatpradoṣe tu pūjayitvā stavaṃ paṭhet।
tasya saṅge maheśāni tiṣṭhāmi ca sadā priye॥
yaṃ yaṃ kāmamupaskṛtya paṭhet stotramanuttamam।
taṃ taṃ kāmamavāpnoti satyaṃ satyaṃ na saṃśayaḥ॥
jale sthale cāmbharīke videśe śatrusaṃkaṭe।
vanamadhye raṇamadhye sabhāmadhye tathaiva ca॥
rājadvāre mahāroge mahāśoke mahābhaye।
sarvatraivāśubhaṃ hanti stavapāṭhaprasādataḥ॥
ākarṣaṇamvarśīkāryaṃ māraṇoccāṭanādikam।
śāntipuṣṭistambhanāni pāṭhamātram prayojate॥
aputro labhate putraṃ mokṣārthī mokṣamāpnuyāt।
bahukiṃ kathyate devī śṛṇu matprāṇavallabhe।
asādhyaṃ sādhayet sarvaṃ stavasyāsya prasādataḥ।
ahañca jagadādhāro mamādhārastvameva hi।
tvatsamā prakṛtirnāsti matsamo nāsti puruṣaḥ॥
tava yonīṃ samāsādya sarvameva karomyaham।
etajjñānam maheśāni pāṣaṇḍe mā vadet kvacit॥
mūrkhāya bhaktihīnāya duṣṭāya sudurātmane।
śivabhaktivihīnāya śaktinindāparāya ca॥
na prakāśyaṃ mahādevī prakāśācchivahā bhavet।
śiśyāya bhaktiyuktāya śivaviṣṇuparāya ca॥
advaitabhāvayuktāya devībhaktiparāya ca।
śatanāma mahāstotraṃ deyaṃ puṇyaṃ maheśvarī॥

iti śrīmahāliṅgeśvaratantre śrīśivapārvatīsaṃvāde śivaśatanāmastotraṃ sampūrṇam

Some of the locations of the more obscure Śivakṣetras specified here
Ādinātha refers to the temple at Maheshkhali,Coxs Bazar Bangladesh most probably.
Vaidyanātha refers to the Jyotirlinga temple at Baidyanath Dham in Jharkhand
Bhadreśvara is in the Chandannagar area(just before Chandannagar on the Howrah Bandel rail line)[another link about the temple]
Kalyāṇeśvara is near Belur. This particular place was revered by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
Kocavadhupūra is Jalpaiguri’s Jalpesh temple.
Candranātha is the Chandranath temple in Chittagong on Chandranath hill.
Siddhinātha is the famous Malleshwar Siddhinath temple in Mallarpur in the Birbhum district.
bhāgīrathīnadītīre kapileśvara = refers to the shrine of Kapileśvara in Murshidabad district,30 miles North of Tarapith. This was worshipped by the great Tārā sādhaka Śrī Bamakhepa as well.


अतीशवागीश्वरकीर्त्योः तारामन्त्रस्य पुरश्चरणविशये कानिचन वाक्यानि

From Stephan V Bayer’s The Cult of Tara:Magic and Ritual in Tibet

If one consults the Tantra of Tara the Yogini, the author says, it
would seem that little importance is attached to daily purity and so
on; but, according to the long-established tradition of Atisa, it is
best if the practitioner washes .the dwelling, the utensils, and himself with bathing water over which has been recited the “conquering” mantra, if he gives up meat and beer and so on while he is practising the ritual service, and if in short he keeps himself in a condition of bodily purity. He should avoid garlic and onions, which
pollute the strength of his speech, and beer and drugs, which produce drowsiness; he should avoid anything that might cause contamination or distraction, and he should wash himself again and
again with water over which the mantra has been recited. In this
connection, the text recommends the ritual of Bhavabhadra
for
the practitioner to cleanse away any lapses in his vows. And before
beginning the ritual, he should first determine by an examination
of omens ….

Finally, the handbook talks of the requisite number of recitations
in the ritual service, and our author quotes Candragomin: “Reciting
300,000 or 600,000 or 1,000,000 times, one accomplishes all functions.” And Vagisvarakirti said: “The count for the syllables of the
mantra is 100,000.” Thus the basic measure of ritual service is
100,000 recitations; but it is also held that in this “age of contention”
one should recite four times as much. Drubch’en rinpoch’e said:
“It is said that if one recites the 10-syllable mantra 10,000,000
times, one’s qualities will equal those of the noble Tara herself.”
That is to say, if one completes 10,000,000 recitations, one will have
the power to accomplish all functions and magical attainments. The
oral tradition ascribed to the Chenngawa, however, holds that if the
practitioner devotes himself to a ritual service of 100,000 recitations
he will be unharmed by any impediments; since she is a deity of
active function, it is quick and easy to succeed in her ritual service.
And since there is a great deal of evidence for this position in the
expanded commentaries upon the various histories of Tara, our
author concludes, we may place our belief therein.

Taranatha’s vignette on Amarasimha the Amarakosha’s author

Also the Acarya Amarasimha was a fully ordained monk
as well as the king’s scribe and could also discourse on the
metaphysics of both Mahayana and the Theravada. Supported
by the Tara Tantra, he was able to make the Noble Lady into
his personal tutelary divinity.Having made his abode in the
land of Malava in the west, he taught Abhidharma (Metaphysics)
to about 500 advanced students for about 24 years while
he stayed there, so it is said. All of those 500 students in
attendance on him gained exceedingly pure minds. Once there
was the heretic Naga King known as Lalita in that area and he
suddenly caused a fierce, unbearable rainstorm to fall and the
rain formed a fast-running river like the Yamuna. It drew very
near to the Acarya’s abode and also to many hamlets. The
Acarya prayed to Arya Tara and as a result the water swirled
round to die right of the Acarya’s home and the city of
Utajayana (Ujjain) many times and finally flowed off into
another great river, and only the Naga’s den and a small
Turuska village were carried away. Tara prophesied to him
in the following words, “Compose a work explaining key
terms!” and he wrote the work known as the Amara-kosa,
which to this very day is extremely widely known in India
among Buddhists and non-Buddhists. The king whose scribe
he was is said to have been Vikramaditya.

Despite the anachronism of the mention of Turuṣkas which is an accretion onto the tale of Amarasimha ,Taranatha is probably recording a genuine traditional tale of the lexicographer here genuinely(as transmitted by his Indian informer).

On the ‘gender fluid Norse’

About this article by the Guardian, quoting Tristan

The actual scientific report mentioned by the article heavily implies that the person is probably of Finnic or Sami origin and that such mixed gender role burials are not as unheard on among those people.

This is supported by their jewelry being of prominent local origin and style and nothing in the burial being supportive of a real nordic origin beyond minute cultural syncretism.

I’d also mention that the conditions of the burial are not actually consistent with a high status norse religious burial, due to lack of accompanying sacrifices like animals or slaves. This is at best some kind of middle class burial they scrapped together.

Secondarily, they were not buried with a sword, the sword was buried later between their grave and then covered up (Which seems emblematic of trying to seal the grave tbh, as if people thought it might rise as a draugr – Supportive of them having a bad reputation or as a safety precaution for a deliberate humiliation of the burial conditions.) and then buried with an unhilted sword on their person (meaning unknown with speculation it may have been deliberate as an insult due to their condition).

If we assume that this is a Norse XXY Burial with good reputation, it seems likely to me that this person was probably one of those sorts who displayed severe anatomical resemblances to women and that they were presumed and raised to be such. Its possible that this was kept as a family secret until death, leading to a post-mortem awareness of the condition and subsequent steps taken to “seal” the grave afterwards.

There is literally no chance that a “Non-Binary” individual would have been openly accepted in the Norse world. There is a term for this, its Nith, and constitutes the highest of religious crimes.

Secondarily, There is not such thing as a Germanic Shaman. Let me repeat, There is not such thing as a Germanic Shaman. The Germanic people did not practice Animistic beliefs and shamanism was not a religious custom. This is a form of denigratory primitivism by assuming that “primitive and pagan” cultures all behave the same way and hold roughly the same beliefs.

One of the few versions of the 7 line prayer to the Vajrayana master Padmasambhava I saw in an IA language

Posting it here because most versions I see are Tibetan(and the lines mean the same anyway)

ओड्डियाने वायव्ये । पद्मकेसरकाण्डे । सिद्धिर्लब्धात्यद्भुता । ख्यात पद्मसम्भव । बहुडाकीभिरावृत । तवैवानुसरामि । आयाह्यधिष्ठानार्थम्। गुरु पद्म सिद्धि हूम् ॥ इति गुरुरत्नसप्तपदप्रार्थना ।।

• HUM •At Oddiyana in the North-West • On a lotus pistil stem • With accomplishments supreme • Famous Lotus-Born! • By Dakinis ringed around • Practicing I follow you • Please come grant your blessings enow! •GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG •

Credit to a certain Nepalese guy Pawan Giri for sharing it on FB.

https://www.facebook.com/sevenlineprayer/posts/360271005657982 The Tibetan one. Also ‘Tsokyé Dorje’ would be ‘gaNachakra-vajra’