Kiss of the yoginī
Subtitle: "Tantric sex" in its South Asian contexts
By: David Gordon White.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Chicago; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 372
Subjects: Tantrism -- South Asia.; Sex -- Religious aspects -- Tantrism.
Description: "Kiss of the Yogini focuses on what White identifies as the sole truly distinctive feature of South Asian Tantra: sexualized ritual practices, especially as expressed in the medieval Kaula rites. Such practices centered on the exchange of powerful, transformative sexual fluids between male practitioners and wild female bird and animal spirits known as Yoginis.

It was only by "drinking" the sexual fluids of the Yoginis that men could enter the family of the supreme godhead and thereby obtain supernatural powers and transform themselves into gods.

By focusing on sexual rituals, White resituates South Asian Tantra in its precolonial form, at the center of religious, social, and political life, arguing that Tantra was the mainstream, and that in many ways it continues to influence contemporary Hinduism, even if reformist misunderstandings relegate it to a marginal position.".

"Kiss of the Yogini contains White's own translations from over a dozen Tantras that have never before been translated into any European language. It will prove to be the definitive work for persons seeking to understand Tantra and the crucial role it has played in South Asian history, society, culture, and religion."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-356) and index.