The Cross-Cultural Kingship in Early Medieval Kamar ¯ upa: Blood, Desire and Magic
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 10
Abstract
Kingship in early medieval Kamar ¯ upa (Assam) was influenced by the collision of orthodox ¯ and heterodox Brahmanic traditions with various tribal cultures. Since the last part of the S´alastambha ¯ period (seventh–tenth century) the royal tutelary deity of Kamar ¯ upa was the menstruating K ¯ am ¯ akhy ¯ a, ¯ an ancient kirata ¯ goddess. According to the Puranic tradition, the cult of Kam ¯ akhy ¯ a was absorbed ¯ within Hindu religious folds by the mytho-historical king Naraka of Kamar ¯ upa. According to textual ¯ and epigraphic records, Naraka was conceived by Pr.thv¯ı (Earth goddess) during her menstrual period, through a sexual intercourse with varaha ¯ (boar form of Vis.n. u). All early medieval dynasties of Kamar ¯ upa traced back their origins to Naraka, connecting their lines to the divine power but also ¯ to the menstrual blood—a substance considered extremely impure though powerful in Vedic and post-Vedic traditions. The king operated as a cross-cultural mediator: he was the only actor who was able to harness the produced polluted forces, through the Tantric rituals, in order to strengthen the political power. Thence, this essay aims to demonstrate, through inter- and intra-textual evidences, epigraphic records, and ethnographic data, that in Assam throughout the early medieval ages, the kingship grounded its roots in an osmotic cross-cultural process which was influenced by tribal traditions and orthodox and heterodox Hindu sects.
Authors and Affiliations
Paolo Eugenio Rosati
Keywords
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- EP ID EP25804
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8100212
- Views 271
- Downloads 8
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