Abstract
The worship of Bhairava in ancient Nepal can be traced to the worship of aniconic stones. Many of the most important Bhairava of the Kathmandu valley are aniconic stones, stones that were likely worshiped under other names before being identified as Bhairavas, when tantra penetrated the Kathmandu Valley toward the end of the first millennium of the common era. These stones were worshipped by the local indigenous people of the valley. The fact that Bhairava is often referred to as Aju Dya (ancestor or grandfather) among the Newar, supports the conclusion that this Hindu god has served in the assimilation of lineage divinities deriving from the tribal infra-structure. In Kathmandu, due to the influence of Indian Bhairava tradition and philosophies of Tibetan religion, the cult of Bhairava assimilated uniquely. We consider temples of both the Karmacarya Hindu priests and Vajracarya Buddhist priests.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Commonalities and Differences
KEYWORDS
ANICONIC, STONES, BHAIRAVA, NEWARI, INDIA, TIBET, VAJRABHAIRAVA, YAMANTAKA, SHAIVISM, BUDDHISM
