Mātṛtantra texts of South India with special reference to the worship of Rurujit in Kerala and to three different communities associated with this worship
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- Catalogue identifier
- kali-fifty4-001
- Alternate titles and import identifiers
- KALI-50B4-001
- Author or attribution
- S. A. S. Sarma
- Record type
- Book
- Language
- English
- Date / edition
- 2019
- Source / repository
- Austrian Academy of Sciences — scholarly chapter
- Access
- Open access
- Subjects
- 50 Full-Text Sources — Batch 4, November 2026; Scholarship and historical studies; Book Chapters
Description and curator notes
Sarma investigates southern Mātṛtantra texts in which Bhadrakālī becomes a principal deity and relates their prescriptions to Kerala temple worship. The study distinguishes southern Brahmayāmala materials, the Mātṛsadbhāva and the Śeṣasamuccaya rather than treating similarly titled works as one textual witness. Its central sections explain Rurujit, the goddess as conqueror of Ruru, and compare temple arrangements, visualization and daily ritual. Discussion of the Mūssad, Piṭāra and Aṭikaḷ communities connects manuscript evidence to the social organization of priesthood. Especially useful is the caution against automatically equating these Kerala rites with Kashmirian Kālasaṃkarṣiṇī or Krama traditions. The complete chapter includes Sanskrit passages, translations, manuscript references and a bibliography; it does not reproduce complete editions of the ritual manuals it surveys.
Curator source KALI-50B4-001. Scholarship and historical studies. Research supplement dated 5 November 2026.
Except where specific checks are described below, source access, completeness and scholarly or devotional assessments are supplied by the curator document, not a new independent verification by this library. Comparative goddess identities, healing claims and devotional interpretations are attributed, not established universal or clinical facts. Full source content is linked, not reproduced.
This record covers the complete named chapter, not the complete parent book.
01. Mātṛtantra texts of South India with special reference to the worship of Rurujit in Kerala and to three different communities associated with this worship
Author/editor: S. A. S. Sarma | 2019
Type / language: Complete scholarly book chapter | English
Sarma investigates southern Mātṛtantra texts in which Bhadrakālī becomes a principal deity and relates their prescriptions to Kerala temple worship. The study distinguishes southern Brahmayāmala materials, the Mātṛsadbhāva and the Śeṣasamuccaya rather than treating similarly titled works as one textual witness. Its central sections explain Rurujit, the goddess as conqueror of Ruru, and compare temple arrangements, visualization and daily ritual. Discussion of the Mūssad, Piṭāra and Aṭikaḷ communities connects manuscript evidence to the social organization of priesthood. Especially useful is the caution against automatically equating these Kerala rites with Kashmirian Kālasaṃkarṣiṇī or Krama traditions. The complete chapter includes Sanskrit passages, translations, manuscript references and a bibliography; it does not reproduce complete editions of the ritual manuals it surveys.
Read the complete source: Open full-text document
https://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572%200x003c3854.pdf
Access check: Complete official full text freely accessible without payment or registration, checked 2026-11-05.
Source links:
https://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572%200x003c3854.pdf
Source access
Read or locate the original source at Austrian Academy of Sciences — scholarly chapter
Rights and reading conditions
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Citation
S. A. S. Sarma. Mātṛtantra texts of South India with special reference to the worship of Rurujit in Kerala and to three different communities associated with this worship. Austrian Academy of Sciences — scholarly chapter. 2019. https://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572%200x003c3854.pdf
This page supplies catalogue metadata and links. It does not reproduce the underlying source text. Historical, religious, healing and interpretive claims belong to the cited sources, not to an independent verification by this catalogue.