Whose Dharma? Śaiva and Śākta Community Rules (samayas) and Dharmaśāstric Prescriptions

Judit Törzsök (1)

1 Mondes Iranien et Indien - UMR 7528

In the tantric context, samayas are the rules a Śaiva or Śākta neophyte is to follow after he is introduced into his new community and receives an initiation name. The samaya rules are therefore part of what defines the Śaiva or Śākta Śaiva tantric community, at least according to the scriptures. This paper attempts to see what these rules are, how they are related to mainstream brahmanical rules prescribed by Dharmaśāstras and in what way they may actually demarcate various Śaiva and Śākta communities. Before turning to the samayas themselves, a nontantric Śaiva story is presented, which clearly shows that in spite of their overall conformity to traditional brahmanical prescriptions, lay Śaivas also saw themselves as following a different set of laws and rules. Then three different types of samaya sets will be examined: those of the Śaiva Siddhānta, the heterogeneous lists of early Śākta scriptures and the strictly 'nondualist' rules of later Śāktas. While these rules cannot reveal the exact relation of the respective communities to their contemporary society or to each other, they may betray something about the way in which these communities saw themselves within a larger context.

Les règles d'une communité appartiennent à son identité. Cette étude examine les façons dont différents textes shivaïtes (laïc ou puranique, shivaïte général du Siddhānta, śākta ancien, śākta de la branche ésotérique kaula) conçoivent et constituent leurs règles communautaires et quel est le rapport de ces règles à celles de l’orthopraxie préscrites dans les Dharmaśāstra. Il est étonnant de constater que les textes du culte ancien des Yoginī incluent plusieurs règles de l'orthopraxie malgré leur opposition explicite à d'autres. Ceci pourrait s'exliquer par l'intention des auteurs d'être reconnu et respecté dans un contexte social orthopraxique qui avait tendance à refuser le tantrisme.

Mots clés: samaya rules; sakta tantra; dharmasastra; orthopraxy; tantric community; women

Domaines: Religions

Judit Törzsök. Whose Dharma? Śaiva and Śākta Community Rules (samayas) and Dharmaśāstric Prescriptions. 2015. ⟨hal-01447972⟩