Whose Tantra?

Reflections on Bazaari Tantra – A Critical Category of

Discourse in the Study of Tantrism

Madhu Khanna

There has been an active interface between the symbolic

representation of culture in our myths, legends, religions and
artistic representations on the one hand, and the articulations
of the modern industrial technological culture, on the other. As
in the case of so many disciplines, the scientific temper of
modern development ideology questions the ancient
expressions of Hindu religiosity. In most cases ancient practices
that are resistant to social change are under threat. In other
cases, the process of modernization and globalization has
generated a slow decay and a systematic withering away of old
religious and cultural varieties, resulting often in the collapse of
traditional systems of living. Moreover, the prominence of
religion in public life has opened up new areas of debate
between religion and politics. In the wake of this any discourse
on civilization representations (in this case the popular stream
of Hindu Tantra) would benefit greatly by asking certain
pertinent questions such as, can traditional representations
resist the onslaught of modernity and globalization? Or can they
co-exist, retaining their resilience and sacred power without
distortion of form and content? More importantly, does
globalization tend to appropriate and juggle with context,
meanings, and metaphors thereby creating and transforming
these ancient symbolic archetypal representations to fit into
their “political” agendas.

In the light of these questions my presentation sets out to

examine the all pervasive presence, visibility, forms, and
dynamism of popular forms of Tantric practices found in Indian
market places or “bazaars”.

I
2 Madhu Khanna

Contextualizing the category Bazaari Tantra

Scholars pursuing scholastic studies tend to confuse the

“aught” from the “is” in the study of Tantrism. I have used the
word bazaari in the title of my paper. The word bazaari needs
some explanation. A bazaar (market place) is a window to
popular culture, and popular culture with respect to this paper
is not understood as a sub-culture for the masses; or a sub-
culture that provides a form of control of the masses by
hegemonic groups of power. I am inclined to agree with Adam
Possamai1, that popular culture is a vehicle of “the auto-
determinism of social actors” and “a platform for our own
biography” in so far as it creates our lives, our views of
ourselves. The bazaars in India, then, may also shape the form,
content and aesthetics of religion and religious life. While
popular culture may amuse, instruct and entertain, it is also “an
inspiration for religion. One hypothesis of my paper is that
bazaari Tantra is engaged in shaping the scenarios in popular
culture through a wide range of mass-mediated cultural
products, such as religious icons, images, stores (named after
Tantra/Yantra), TV serials and the like.

In lineage-based traditional communities, religious practices,

norms of ethnic identity, taste and distaste are easily
transmitted from generation to generation. Today, the pattern
has reversed. People create their own individualized identity.
They choose the gods they want at a given place or time.
Popular emblems of culture in the open bazaar offer a library of
choices and invariably mould the construction of one’s
‘religious’ self. In the new social landscape of multiculturalism,
people draw their inspiration from vast religious resources.
Self-choice and auto-determinism of the market forces has
given rise to a hybridization of religions. And Tantra, for better
or worse, has found a new space in the public arena.

Another point to note is the distinctive feature of the Indian

bazaar and its encounter with Indian modernity. Kajri Jain 2 in
1
Adam Possamai, Religion and Popular Culture – A Hyper-Real Testament
(New York: P.I.E. Peter Lang, 2007), 20.
2
Kajri Jain, Gods in the Bazaar: the Economies of Indian Calendar Art
(Durham: Duke University Press, 2007).
3 Madhu Khanna

her monumental work (Gods in the Bazaar 2006) has outlined

the distinctive links of the nature of production, consumption,
and circulation of popular art. Contextualizing popular Tantra in
the context of Indian modernity, it may be said that bazaari
Tantra as is generally thought of, is not entirely an urban
phenomena. It cuts across the metropolises, the small towns,
the village, the street and the home, the public and the private,
capitalist, bureaucrat, worker, politician, the young and the old.
The ubiquity of bazaari Tantra and its sacred practices extends
to multiple sites such as public arena, political spectacle,
private and domestic spheres.

A very wide variety of tantric prayogas have become part of the

hyper consumerist religion loosing their esoteric symbolism and
potential strength. As they become part of a globalized
consumer culture, religious mythology and doctrines are freely
mixed. The hyper-real has blurred the boundaries between the
real and the unreal. This has had a profound impact on the
esoteric core (rahasya) and secret wisdom of Tantra. What was
once its hallmark over the centuries is moving to the exoteric.
The secrets of Tantra are no longer is the privilege of a few
lineage-based communities of devotees. The esoteric
knowledge is being ‘undressed’ by a host of false gurus and the
media at large. Because of the nature of its social location,
bazaari Tantra will continue to be regarded as a floating
category that is amenable to change by the swings and swirls of
the market forces. Some modern day tantrikas observed that
what was once confined to close circle of practitioners is now
liberated from the narrow confines of tradition. Tantra has now
become freer in its expression, through a variety of personal
inventions, due to the de-institutionalization that has taken
place from the growing thrust of modernity and modern day
globalization. The pervasive presence of the “esoteric-popular”
versus the “exoteric popular” in the past has changed the terms
of this discourse considerably. What was once the exclusive
domain of the elite group of lineages is now readily available for
popular consumption.

There is a large percentage of modern day tantrikas their

votaries of every shade and in the market. The sophisticated
tantrikas concerned with pure philosophical aspects of Tantra
speculations and quiet religious reflections. On the other end is
the unsophisticated, but literate/learned traditional pundits who
4 Madhu Khanna

attach equal importance to ritualistic instruction and a

sprinkling of philosophy. At the lowest rung of the ladder are
the bazaari tantrikas, who are unconcerned with Sastric,
doctrinal or speculative issues. Their main inspiration and
object of discipline comes from daily social concerns (vyavhāra)
and practical application of ritual formulae to solve survival
needs of the masses. The escalating rate of bazaari tantrikas is
ever on the increase. According to my informant there are
10,000 persons in Delhi alone who dabble with some form of
Tantra.1

The opening up of free economy and the explosion of the

information technology and the emergence of over a hundred
TV Channels in India have created a new space in the media for
appropriation, and reinterpretation of the sacred. In the public
domain Tantra has a visibility and presence. There are separate
magazines in the market or special issues devoted to the
subject.2 The well known Hindi magazine Kādambanī has been
bringing out a special number on “Tantra” for the last six years.
Zee TV has introduced serials on the awe-inspiring Aghora cult
of Tantra. Many TV ads sell new-age religions, and there is
growing market of cheap tantric books in the vernacular
languages.

Scholars have recognized the all-inclusive nature of Tantra

which reverberates between the twin aims of bhoga and moksa-
centered worship. Rarely a sharp distinction is made between
para and the laukika (high/elite) and the popular forms of
Tantrism. Indologists who presume the textual study of Tantra
base their researches on the assumption that greater part of
the Tantras are Sastra-centric. My own researches have shown
otherwise. The orally transmitted popular forms of Tantra have
paid an equally significant role in the history and evolution of
the Tantras. Lorenzen has also problematized the dual
character of Tantra: “Does the term Tantric religion cover only
those texts known as Tantras, Samhitas and Agamas, or does it
include a wide range of popular religious phenomena?” 3 A wider

1
According to my informant Saurabh Kwatra, a well-known astro-journalist.
2
See for example, Tantra Jyotisa in the bibliography.
3
David N. Lorenzen, “Early Evidence for Tantric Religion” in Who Invented
Hinduism: Essays on Religion and History, ed. David N. Lorenzen (New Delhi:
Yoga Press, 2006), 64-77.
5 Madhu Khanna

definition of Tantra embraces popular traditions, written and

vernacular that have a wider social base in Indian Society.

The popular (laukika / vyavaharika) form of tantric culture

represents a fluid space with many contradictions. There are
several persons who are half time tantrikas, who have
government jobs, are householders but claim to have acquired
powers (siddhis) either directly, or through their gurus. They
help people alleviate their sufferings by means of remedies
(upayas) known to them. Some are full time tantrikas who have
negotiated their way in the market and have acquired an
enviable status. In both cases the tantrikas maintains an
identity that is not static but in a process of formation. He is an
ideal representation of a ‘self – in process’. In this negotiation
the form of Tantra that he practices is not fixed but is
continuously produced and used in ways that can not be fully
pre determined. Although they do not form a clearly
identifiable cultural, social, or political group, the tantrikas in
the market place have had an enormous influence on the Indian
psyche. What is striking is that all forms of bazaari Tantra
works its way through the ethos of complex networks of
corporate capitalism and has accommodated to the profit-
seeking values of the capital oriented market system.

Under the agenda of globalization the increasing popularity of

telemedia, advertising has emerged as a dominant medium of
expression. There has been marked ‘shift’ in the image of the
market-place tantrikas. The traditional ubiquitous wonder
worker relegated to the private spaces is now being recast in
the language of modern media. To take a few examples:

1. “This is my challenge. When all efforts fail, I guarantee to

solve all your problems”.
Baba Jamil Khan Tantrika, New Delhi

2. “Grace transforms into destiny… why be upset? A meeting

with me will dispel your sorrows. I excel in Bengali, Shifali,
Black (magic), Sulemani, Rahamani ilm”.
Baba Kamal Khan Bengali Tantrika, New Delhi

3. I guarantee resolution of all your problems. I transform

hopelessness to hope (nirasha me asha).
Baba Abrara Khan Bengali Tantrika
6 Madhu Khanna

4. “Contact me immediately to learn about tantra-vidya…

when I have the solution… why wait…. Guaranteed
success”.
Baba M Sadiq

5. “Tantra, yantra mantra give success in all matters… invest

astrologically in shares and see your money growing. Fees
Rs. 1500/-“
Rajeev Khattar, Chennai

6. “Know the cause (of your afflictions) through jyotisha… its

resolution through Tantra”.
Shrimaliji, editor Jyotisha Tantra

The modern day advertisements in popular media in the

newspapers, popular journals and magazines reflect this shift.
The change in image is no doubt the result of the socio-
economic transition and the growing consumerism encouraged
by the liberal economy. The redefined image of the “glocal”
tantrika is a convenient site for negotiation between the
traditional esoteric vidyas of the past and the unlimited
consumerist aspirations of the urban middle class.

Popular forms of Tantra are not a separate and distinct category

or a sect, or a religious tradition, as it tends to loop and web
with a variety of sects, and sub-group of Hinduism. The face of
Tantra in the Indian bazaars is very different from the Tantric
tradition mirrored in the sophisticated Sanskrit texts. Bazaari
Tantra has created its own class of literature in the Vernacular 1
languages of India. In North India Hindi books, found in
hundreds, are sold in local bookstores, temple markets and on
pavements. The buzz-word Tantra is associated with magical
rites (jadu-tona), occult practices of the most depraved kind and
sinister religious activities verging on extreme. Tantra is looked
upon as a dark underworld of Hinduism, one that is feared for
the dangerous powers that it may unleash. In my exploration I
encountered that the responses of people were somewhat
contradictory. Although many people associated Tantra with the
black magic and immoral behavior, substantial number of

1
Some representative examples of popular Tantra literature in Hindi are given in
the bibliography.
7 Madhu Khanna

people agreed that the Tantrikas in the bazaars were very

powerful individuals who had variety of “mantra-yantra” and
“tantra saktis” to alleviate human suffering. The bazaari Tantra
had access to a domain of nature’s powers that the high caste
Brahmin priests lacked.

Bazaari Tantra may be distinguished from all other forms of

Tantra. Its exclusive concern is prayoga, or application of ritual
and yogic prescriptions laid out in Tantric Scriptures transmitted
orally through inter-generational lineage-based traditions. It is
built on a bedrock of sum total of traditional knowledge systems
such as folk-lore, popular culture, regional culture, disciplines
such as astrology, alchemy, liturgies, mantra-lore, ayurveda,
gemology, etc. Bazaari Tantra is entirely siddhi-oriented. It is
concerned with the acquisition of powers that can be applied for
alleviation of day-to-day problems of life. The tantrika are
looked upon as dream merchants, who can find a magical
answer to life crisis situations and claim to fulfill an individual’s
most cherished wishes. It uses both malefic and benefic
applications of rituals. At the local level Hindu and Muslim
Tantra, Bengali Tantra, Black magic (kala-jadu), Sufi and Shifali,
Kala-ilm, Sulemani, Rehmani, and sectarian religious sects with
tantric orientation co-exist together.

Siddhis and Potent Tools

Two potent instruments of tantric siddhis used by the tantrikas
are the yantra and the mantra (jantar and mantar in Hindi). In
the post-medieval Tantric literature, especially of the Saiva,
Sakta and sectarian sects, innumerable ritual manuals and
digests were compiled on the usages and ritual formula of
tantric mantras and their inherent spiritual powers. The Tantras
have devised their own mantrasastra, exclusive scriptures
dealing with the efficacy of mantras. These scriptures have
developed potent mantric formulas of the Tantric deities, spells,
incantations and charms for the attainment of magico-
propitiatory and magico-defensive powers. The other tool is the
yantra, a linear power diagram of great potency that is believed
to tap hidden psychic sources in order to achieve mastery over
the causal forces of nature. The occult yantra is distinguished
from all kinds of power diagram by its practical application and
utilitarian ends. The primary purpose is to gain control over the
forces of nature for positive or negative ends, but mainly for the
attainment of worldly rather that spiritual goals, especially
8 Madhu Khanna

those not easily attainable by secular or religious effort. As

practical magic, occult yantras have played an important role in
Indian rural life, and remain a living tradition.

The occult figures are not stereotypes but within the tradition
vary endlessly. Each shape is a means to communicate with
supernatural forces that work between heaven and earth. The
forms and functions of the signs and diagrams are as many and
individual as the human needs and purposes that they are
intended to fulfill; and it is claimed that there is no wish that a
yantra cannot satisfy. They are used for preventive medicine,
as good luck charms, for exorcism, to ward off calamities, to
gain wealth or learning, to enhance bodily charms, to restore
alienated affection, to ensure conception or the birth of a son,
to secure harmony and influence in the community, and so on. 1

In contrast to the uniformly beneficent siddhis, the tantrikas

have been associated with six magical rites (sat karmas) in
which the first one, Shanti rituals and yantras grant protection
from the ill effects of planets and curses, cure diseases and
dispel fears. Second: Vasikarana grants the power to attract
and being under one’s control men, women, gods and animals,
and have one’s desire fulfilled through them. Third: Stambhana
lends the power of preventing or restraining another’s action.
Fourth: Vidvesana grants the power of separating friends,
relatives, and lovers. Fifth: Uccatan transmits the power to
uproot. Sixth, Marana grants the power to liquidiate. The rites
have been given a doctrinal basis, and are ascribed symbolic
association with deities, compass directions, mantras, elements
and colors2. In my exploration I met two tantrikas who dabble
with these rituals.

II

Some Profiles of Bazaari Tantrikas

1
The Yantracintamani (Thought Jewel of Yantras), is solely devoted to eighty
occult yantras, which grants all desires, conscious or unconscious. The
Kamaratna Tantra is another occult text which lists a large number of occult
yantras and the rituals to accompany them.
2
See Madhu Khanna, Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity (London:
Thames and Hudson, 1979), 153-160.
9 Madhu Khanna

The Enabling Deities

In a generic sense all Hindu Tantric deities, theoretically can be
invoked in prayoga rituals, some Tantric gods and goddesses
play a greater role. The most popular gods in the popular
stream that claim superiority, and are invoked as sacred
functionaries is Siva-Hanuman, the who is looked upon as an
incarnation of Siva. The prayogas are performed on a Hanumat
Yantra with tantric bija mantras, following strict rules of the
ritual digests. Bhairava is invoked in his Vatuka Bhairava
aspect in his sattvic or tamsic form. Among the goddesses, the
most influential and widespread are the Ten Mahavidya
Goddesses who may be invoked collectively or individually for
mundane ends. Apart from these deities who are linked to, or
derive their power from Siva, there are lesser divinities of lower
status in the hierarchy of the Hindu pantheon. A large number
of spiritual powers (siddhis) and are attributed to the Yaksinis
and Yogini-sadhanas.

Table 1: List of problems for which Tantric remedies are

sought
 10 Madhu Khanna

S.No. Family & Career & Health & Evil Others

Marriage Business Healing Influences

1. Obstacles to Promotion Healing of Subjugation Magic

Marriage in Career all kinds of Enemies (Jadoo Tona)

2 Birth of Child Success in Secret Bhuta-Preta Problems

Politics Diseases of Mukti arising from
women Exorcism ill
(Gupt Roga) from Evil placement
spirits of planetary
conjunctions

3 Birth of Male Foreign Secret Protection Property

Child Travel Diseases of from Disputes
men (Gupt Enemies
Roga)

4 Forlorn Love Freedom Court

from Evil Disputes

5 Obstacles in love Dispelling

the result of
Evil
Prayogas

6 Divorce Nazar ‘Evil

Eye’

Informants and Sources: Baba Jamil Khan Tantrika, New

Delhi, Baba Kamla Khan Bengali Tantrika, New Delhi, Great
Baba Samani Bengali, Baba Abrara Khan Bengali Tantrika, Baba
M Sadiq, Srivaidika Pratisthan, S.Vijaya Kumar Chennai, Rajeev
Khattar, Chennai, Shrimaliji, editor Jyotisha Tantra, Tantrika
Pandit, Mahendra Mishra, New Delhi.
Kanti Charan Sharma of Aligarh, is a traditional Purohit who
learnt his vidya from his father. He is the official tantric
astrologer of high-ranking politicians in Uttar Pradesh and civil
11 Madhu Khanna

servants. He is quick to point out that the Chief Minister to the

Police Inspector come to him. He claims to have Yaksini-Siddhi.
The cult of the Yaksa-Yaksini male and female nature spirits is
traceable to the pre-Aryan autochthonous tradition. Yaksinis are
regarded as a class of supernatural beings but subordinate to
the ‘high’ gods of the Hindu pantheon. These deities occur in
Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina literature from very early times. He
explained:

The Yaksini, is the wife of Yaksa. They are said to be of

innumerable numbers. Legend holds that they are
empowered with powers that can be exploited for different
mundane ends. Yaksinis are swift, active and easy to
please…. they are eternal, they existed in primal time and
even created the gods, they will survive the holocaust….
once pleased by the devotee, they fulfill all wishes and
bestow fortune and desired prosperity. They assume
various manifestations and he recalled the names of fifty
Yaksinis: Chinchi Pishacani Yaksini, when gratified bestows
knowledge of past, present and future; Rati-Priya Yaksani,
bestows wealth; Kanakavati Yaksani bestows divine
eyesight (divya-anjana) whereby the devotes can identify
buried wealth; Svarnarekha Yaksani, bestows divine sight;
Chandrika Yaksini bestows immortality; Padmavati Yaksani
[originally, deity from the Jaina pantheon] fulfills all wishes;
Bhandara Purana Yaksani bestows abundant food; Vata
Yaksini bestows divine gifts; Anuragini Yaksani bestows
wealth. Yaksanis report to Kuber and Kuber to Lord Krishna.
I cannot reach Kuber. My siddhi is limited but effective.

The Yaksanis assumed a renewed significance in tantric-

prayoga in that their enabling rituals are described in late
Damara Tantra and other texts1. Jai Prakash Shastri, is the

1
Cf. Ram Kumar Rai, ed., Damara Tantra, Tantra Granthamala
No. 13 (Varanasi: Prachya Prakashana, 1988), 86-116 ; S.N.
Khandelavala Bhutadamara Tantra, Chowkhambha Surabharati
Granthamala 278 (Varanasi: Choukambha Prakashana, 2000),
64-71. Some unedited manuscripts in Sanskrit are also found in
the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta: Yakshini
Kalpa (No. 6028); Yakshini Paddhati (No. 8370); Yakshini
Prayoga (No 12327 ka). These sources attest to the popularity
of her worship.
12 Madhu Khanna

disciple of Hare Ram Sharma, who practices “Vanaspati

(=Herbal) Tantra” He has a shop in the village Fatehpura Beri,
in the outskirts of Delhi where he heals people through
Ayurvedic medicines, traditional herbs that embody tantric
divinities and tantric yantras. “I perform seva to humanity.
Today Tantra and mantra is identified with people who are
imposters. But it is not so. Mantra and yantras are spiritual tools
of salvation. They are employed to heal people”.

Figure 1: Two modern ads by practicing tantrikas

Anjana Chisti lives in a remote village, Padrona, near

Kaptanganj, in U.P. He can exorcise of demonic power (preta-
yoni-mukti), and claims that he has found a cure for alcoholism.
He is an established tantrika and runs the Society of
Paravijnana Samsthan, from where he is involved in the service
of humanity. His practice involves using mantras, and yantras.
Lakshmi Devi a desperate housewife went to him for a cure for
her alcoholic husband. “Chishti sab gave a metal yantra
inscribed with 41x41 numbers. Whenever my husband was in
full consciousness, I would wash the yantra in water, and make
him drink the consecrated water. This was repeated for three
month. Today, my husband works as a priest (pujari), at
Dabauli Devi Temple. He hates the name of alcohol. While, my
informant was relating this, a woman stormed into his room and
began to dance and scream wildly. Who are you asked Chishti,
“My name is Kaushalya and I am going to kill you”. The relative
informed that Kaushalya, was under the evil influence of a
13 Madhu Khanna

demon (preta-atma). The tantrika picked a lemon with a knife.

Chanting some mantras he blew his breath over the
consecrated lemon. He then touched her throat with the
consecrated knife. In a few moments, the lady was silent.
Chishti said that “the demon has left her body and the woman
is free from evil spirits”.

Tantra and Politics

The bazaari form of Tantra has penetrated highest level of

Indian society, inspiring political leadership and power. The
former Congress party Prime Minister, PV Narsimha Rao, is said
to have appointed a Tantric guru called Chandraswami as his
personal advisor. The guru was on trial for political corruption
and criminal charges. The Bhartiya Janta Party, of the Vishva
Hindu Parishad combine also had their share of Tantric advisers.
Lalu Prasad Yadava, the charismatic leader of Bihar, buoyed by
his political ambition is said to maintain tantrikas who help
advise him. In the last election Lalu Prasad Yadav was a
worried man despite the fact that his party was confident of a
‘vote bank’, the presence of other party rebels and over
ambitions grass-roots leader from the Yadav clan made him less
confident. For a man who had taken pride in debunking
superstition, and upper caste Brahmin astrologers, at the time
of election he was playing host to tantrikas who were advising
him to perform the pujas that will enable his flock to attain the
magical figure of hundred numbers in the election.

Bhagatji of Kamakhyawale, learned in tantra-vidya, lives in

Kamakhya, a well known pilgrimage centre of goddess
worshippers in North-East India. He claims to have vasikarana-
siddhi. “For fifteen years I performed her worship today, I work
in Airport Authority of India, as well as I heal people. I invoke
Kalimata, especially in the rite of subjugation of enemies
(vasikarana). This is my special siddhi.”

Mohammad Rizvin Khan in Mumbai works with Mumbai Police.

He claims to have mastered “Black Owl Tantra” (Kale Ullu ka
Tantra)1 and charges an exorbitant rate to perform rituals. I

1
Cf. Manuscript in the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta viz.
Ullu Kalpa (No. 6157).
14 Madhu Khanna

asked him why and how did he get this power. “I am poor and
am a son of a beggar. My sister died in an accident and I
wanted to know about the cause of her death. I began to
wander in the cremation ground. I have no guru. I discovered
my vidya observing the Aghoris. My “Black Owl Siddhi” came
naturally to me. “In Kaliyuga there is victory of fortune, as well
as that of sin. Hence, god as well as demons should be
worshipped. There is no good or evil. In Kaliyuga we should
worship both.”

Saurabha Kwatra, a journalist, is a Lal Kitab specialist. Lal Kitab

a collection of five books completed around 1939-1950. It is
primarily an astrological book of divination written in Urdu
language. Its authorship is disputed. One of the editions was
promoted by Roop Chandra Sharma in the last century. He is
the disciple of Goswami Kundanlal of Lahore, who had mastered
the prescriptions of Lal Kitab. The work prescribes remedial
measures for averting negative effects of the planet. Kwatra
describes it as a “wonder book of astrology. The only thing that
can change destiny is this book. All other forms of Tantra are
false. It does not accept any mantra or yantra or faith. It is
kriya-centered. The effect of the upaya begins when we decide
to do an upaya, not the time when the prescribed ritual is
performed”.

Imposter Tantrikas

The growing materialistic desire for acquisition of wealth has

given a fillip to a number of charlatans and fake tantrikas. In the
ever growing market of neo-tantrikas, imposters are not hard to
find. Take the case of Maulana Ismail in Sitaram Bazaar of old
Delhi, and Baba Sahib of Tagore Garden, who would trick the
patients by quoting exorbitant amount to perform puja and
kriyas at non affordable prices. Narayana Dutt of Jodhpur
charges Rs. 101/- for a darsana and a fee of Rs. 500/- to speak
for a fleeting five minutes. If the time is extended the fee would
be extended proportionately. Mahatma Vashikaran, who
promises to bring parted lovers together, would distribute ash
(vibhuti), with a sprinkling of a drug, until one day he was
exposed by the police to be drug trafficker.

Narayan Singh of Ujjain lured people by telling them tales of a

fictitious hidden treasure, and stories of treasure hunts where
15 Madhu Khanna

treasure lay in metal pots buried deep in the ground. The

goddess appeared to him in a dream and revealed the places
where the treasure was hidden and could
be retrieved by his tantric powers. According to a report in
Sahara Times, in their lust for easy money many lost there
wealth.1 On the other hand, Noorani Baba who hates the word
Tantric but calls himself a Siddha Purusha says, “a fake
imposter sells his spirituality for money. A real tantrika does
not take any money. He simply blesses, he is compassionate,
toward everyone. Each person is a powerhouse of energy and
therefore, one can cure one’s self. People only need to perform
sadhana. Tantra is to be employed for the good of humanity.”
He continued, “my method is not based on Hindu Tantra kriyas
but comes from the ayats of the Quran. Very few people know
about the mantra sura-e-jin. I work with inscribed yantras in
Persian and Urdu”.

II

The Tantric icon and the loss of the sacred

The most poignant articulation of globalization is perhaps
reflected in the way in which capital market forces de-
constructs, de-possesses and de-mythify the multi-layered and
meaningful religious representations that play an important role
in providing a cultural identity to a given community.

Scores of religious icons, murtis, are being hand-crafted or

manufactured today more so than ever before. Despite the
quantitative expansion in production, there is a qualitative
degradation in the art and symbolic content. One can clearly
discern subtle shades of the deconstruction, de-mythification
and desecration of the Hindu icon. On the highway from Delhi to
Jaipur or to Rishikesh, one encounters several examples of the
new found aesthetic. The roadside installs large images of
Hindu gods such as Hanumana and Shiva, almost fifteen to
twenty feet high. The images, made of concrete, have puffed up
torsos, stunted legs, disproportionate figures and the other-
worldly expression of comic-book heroes. These, and many
others, defy all norms of iconometry. Stacks of icons produced
en masse and sold in modern emporia evince the same
1
Cited in the monthly Hindi magazine Kadambani, 1996, 171, ff.
16 Madhu Khanna

disregard of conventional aesthetics. A number of images of

Ganesha found in print and sculpture use minimal iconic
element, exaggerating one part of the body while reducing the
other. In many instances (Madhubani painting from Mithila in
North Bihar, for example) one discerns a disappearance of
almost all iconic features and an introduction of impressionistic,
almost virtual images with "fake" iconography which is neither
drawn from the canon, nor constitutes an act of true innova-
tion.1

Most of these modern icons of ancient gods and goddesses are

responding to the market forces. They have lost their original
vigor and vitality and, in several cases, they are beyond visual
recognition. Their forms are dictated by the market forces
demanding exotic bric-a-brac for tourists. The blurring of
boundaries between the sacred and the secular, the loss of the
sense of the sacred, and the rituals that support them, have
created an asymmetrical relationship between the user and the
objects of adoration. The icons and other religious symbols have
fallen from their pedestals and are used as decorative items, to
embellish private and public spaces. The ritual implements such
as chalices are used as ashtrays, and ritual-bells, for calling
servants rather than dispersing anti-divine forces from the
atmosphere. The new aesthetic has forced the religious symbol
to become more and more ubiquitous and to disappear into
anonymity.

The aniconic Tantric murtis or the yantras, the linear geometric

configurations composed of bindu, triangle, square, lotus
symbols, juxtaposed, combined and intersected in various
combinations to form mandala-like patterns used frequently in
Tantric and Agamic worship, have fallen prey to the same fate.
The yantras are, essentially, sacred power diagrams and energy
patterns representing the totality of creation. One of the
greatest of all tantric yantras, is the Sri-cakra cult of the
Goddess Tripurasundari. The Sri-cakra embodies the creative
field of Siva and Sakti in all its phases of manifestations from
the germinal state of creation to the gross realms. The cakra is
the throne of the hundred and ten goddesses who are invoked

1
Observations in this section are based on my earlier article. See Madhu
Khanna. “In the Flow of Modernity: Some Reflections on Tirtha and Murti in
Hindu India” Evam: Forum of Indian Representations 2: 1 & 2 (2003): 99-114.
17 Madhu Khanna

in meditation. Tradition holds that there are nine hundred and

sixty variations of this timeless symbol. Stripped of its symbolic
content, the vision-inducing aesthetic symbol has been widely
used by contemporary designers to decorate public spaces,
such as the ceiling of a restaurant in a five-star hotel, as MTV
props, on table tops, and fabric designs. Lately, a distorted 3D
version of the Sri-cakra is being sold through extravagant
advertising. Media intervention has reduced this unique symbol
into a cheap commodity. The commodification of the Sri-cakra
has introduced innumerable versions of the "distorted" icon.
Media corporations such as SONY, Zee TV and Sahara Network
are perhaps the best examples of the cross-nation, cross media
formation. Modern ads are not simply centered on enhancing
sale of products for daily use but the thrust is about making
products out of sacred objects, and spiritual ideologies and
worldviews. TV channels today are heavily loaded with a
plethora of ads selling sacred objects of worship – icons, gems,
rudraksamala (sacred beads), talisman, yantra, mantras and
chants in audiocassettes and DVD Rooms. Bazaari Tantra uses
the ‘language of the market’ to seduce innocent consumers. A
classic example of consumerist re-branding is the way in which
Smriti Irani, a highly successful Indian soap opera queen of Sas
bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, appears on Sony and Zee TV channels
dressed in a traditional attire selling the sacred icon of goddess,
the Sri Yantra / Cakra as though it was a piece of chocolate. By
her mannerism and alluring words she ensures and promises
her customers a life free of poverty, sickness and ill luck if this
yantra was bought and merely kept in the house ! Apart from
the fact that the image being advertised is faulty in its
execution, the manner in which it is advertised induces one to
believe that success and efficiency of a religious symbol does
not lie in the ability and spiritual attainment of the practitioner
but in the commoditized object of adoration. The ad glorifies the
privileged class who is blessed with affluence to buy sacred
‘products’ at exorbitant prices while they are available for a
pittance in traditional temple markets. The ethical question
whether heavily laden sacred symbols should at all be
advertised goes unanswered.

Another commercially successful program on tantrikas is a

series “Kal Kapala Mahakala”, said to be based on actual stories
on the extreme form of Aghora Tantrikas who perform gory
rituals in the cremation ground. The program projects a
18 Madhu Khanna

haphazard, fragmented sessions of rituals in the cremation

ground, and misrepresented version of the lost knowledge of
tantric-kriyas in the cremation ground. Here one finds a
curatorial refashioning of the highly complex and symbolic
spiritual worldview, reduced to a pastiche of images of liquor,
skull-cups and the dark and demonic rites. The scenography of
the image with the camera focused on skull-ups and liquor to
rouse awe and wonder in the onlookers is a clear instance of
how the secular imagination systematically deconstructs and
robs archetypal symbols of their sacred meaning and potency.
As a corrective, art institutions should encourage viewing of
religious symbols from an informed perspective and with an
appreciation of its history.

Trade branding is yet another manifestation of the bazaari

Tantra and capital corporatization. Rajiv Ramchandani, a T-shirt
baron in India with sixty stores is a co-founder of a company
called “Tantra”. According to him he successfully managed a
multi-crore business by recoursing to cult brand tactics, “what
made his company called “Tantra”, a brand without a big
business packing, is cult branding – an invisible halo that
surrounds a successful product”. In Delhi and Calcutta alone
there are fashion houses, shops, and restaurants have
successfully used the brand label “Tantra” to promote their
businesses. These are few but pertinent examples of the
multiple forums of Tantra in the market place.

III

Does the linguistic formation of the term “Tantra” that changed

dramatically over the course of history provide contexts for
accommodating the bazaari forms of Tantra? Academic
appraisals on the term Tantra / Tantrism vary. There is no
fixed definition of the word Tantra 1. Different definitions are
given for the term Tantra which implies that the scope of the
term is yet to be fully determined. Tantra is perhaps one of the

1
For discussion on definition of Tantra see: Teun Goudriaan,
“Introduction, History and Philosophy” in Hindu Tantrism, ed.
Sanjukta Gupta, Dirk Jan Hoens and Teun Goudriaan (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1979); Andre Padoux, “Tantrism” in Encyclopedia of
Religion, Vol. 14, ed. Mircea Eliade et al (New York: Macmillan,
1987), 272-80.
19 Madhu Khanna

most complex words, partly on account of its intricate historical

development. The meaning of the word has changed especially
from the period of its formation to modern times. The first and
the earliest etymological usage of the word Tantra is traceable
to the Vedas in the sense of a ‘loom’ or ‘wrap’ (Rig. Veda X.
71.9; Atharva Veda X.7.42; Taitiriya Brahmana II 5.5.3; cf.
Panini V.2.70). In the Apasthamba Grhayasutras (1.15.1) and
the Samkhyana Grhyasutra (1.16.16) the word Tantra means
doing or making something. In later times the word Tantra was
used as a suffix to denote any system of knowledge, a treatise
or a book with its principle expositions. For instance, Sankara
uses the term in his Brahma Sutra (11.2.32) as ‘kapilasyatantra’
to denote the Tantra of Kapila2. The suffix Tantra has been
applied to any body of knowledge, a book, or a literary
composition. This simplistic meaning does not explain the
traditions that came to be recognized as the Tantras. The
generic usage has no special religious or metaphysical import.
The term Tantra here applies to a class of literature and stands
for a system of doctrines, or a book. For instance, the term
Agama (tradition) and Samhita (collection). Tantra in this
generic sense is any scripture by which knowledge is spread, or
expanded.

By eighth century the term Tantra had acquired a new

resonance and distinct overtones. A more comprehensive
technical definition is found in later literature where Tantra
stands for a technical branch of spiritual knowledge (tanyate
vistaryate jnanam iti tantram). This definition is taken from the
Kamikagamas of the Shaivasiddhanta (Tantrantara Patala)1.
Tantra here does not mean any scripture, but a definitive
scripture, which charts the shortest route to liberation. None of
the meanings however tell us what Tantra represents in its
entirety.

In the Agamas, there have been several attempts to describe

the contours of the Tantric tradition in their respective contexts.
Lengthy substantive definitions of Tantra that highlight certain

2
N. N. Bhattacharyya, History of the Tantric Religion (New Delhi: Manohar
Publications, 1982), 2 ff.
1
Cited in Srigangadhara Dvivedi, ed. Agamarahasyam (Jodhpur: Rajasthan
Oriental Institute, 1968), 5.
20 Madhu Khanna

signs (laksanas)2 that define the tradition are not applicable to

bazaari Tantra as they only heighten the difference between the
textual and the oral heritage. The popular usage of the team
“Tantra” in modern times associates it with subversions such as
black magic, forms of divination, mantra-lore, esoteric-astrology
etc. rather than it being used as an extension of cultivated
definition. The popular meaning of Tantra is in constant tension
with the cultivated ‘high’ definitions, so much so that the wide
popularity of its popular meaning has displaced the cultivated
meaning expounded in the learned literary tradition. Popular
nuances use the word in a descriptive way as indicating a
certain sphere of spirituality/religiosity, whereas, the Sastras
define it in an evaluative way. A large part of market made
Tantra accommodates itself to the earliest broad based
definition of Tantra described as suffix to denote any system of
knowledge, oral or written, a treatise, or a book.

For the practitioners of bazaari Tantra who I met, Tantra simply

means “a method (upaya) or a spiritual technique” for attaining
diverse siddhis, enabling spiritual powers that can be applied
for benefic or malefic purposes. In one sense these tantrikas
repeat expected patterns of ritual but with a difference. The
orally transmitted traditions does mirror, a more individualistic
and hybrid style of spiritual engagement that has lost its salvific
dimensions, and regional specificity. Bazaari Tantra has
transformed what may have been a mystical way of healing to a
more profit seeking activity, bhoga, in the absolute sense, over
the pursuit of moksa. Some bazaari forms legitimize and
validate their powers to Sastra, others disclaim the written word
over the experiential dimension of ritual. It appears to me that
bazaari Tantra is about different levels of inclusion and
exclusion, boundaries and transactions, about code making and
code-breaking with the sophisticated sectarian traditions of
Tantra.

It is worthwhile to consider whether the practical prayogas of

bazaari Tantra is a subset of the literary / written traditions?
The immanence of Tantric literature is one of the most
important elements of medieval India. A distinctly large part of
Hindu Sakta Tantras, such as the early Nitysodasikarnava, and
later compendiums Mantramahodadhi, of Mahidhara Tantrasara

2
Varahi Tantra, cited in Agamarahasyam, ibid., 3.
21 Madhu Khanna

of Agamvagisha; occult compilations such as Yantracintamani

and Kamaratna Tantra, are compendiums of ‘floating
knowledge’ about tantric practices, which were collected from
diverse sources possibly, practicing tantrikas, recollections of
former lineage-based traditions, to serve as a reference for
practitioners. These sources clearly speak of the application of
tantric prayogas through mantras, yantras, and siddhi-oriented
rituals, including the negative six ‘magical’ rites (satakarma).
Much of what bazaari tantrikas are doing has a pale reflection in
some of the above sources continuing old age practices but
deviating from the older norm. It may be noted that the texts
themselves get represented in a hundred different versions and
get recycled through their interaction with an oral audience. As
the situations and contexts change, texts renew or reinterpret
the rituals absorbing many subaltern oral elements. The
existence of a greater number of Tantra sources is replete with
practical formulations from the oral stream. Might we then look
upon such a large chunk of the written sources as printed
folklore! Bazaari Tantra, on the other end, has created its own
class of literature in vernacular languages of India.
22 Madhu Khanna

Figure 2: Tantra Jyotisa, a monthly Hindi magazine.

IV

Concluding Remarks
One of the fallouts of modernization is that it has brought the
discourse of the sacred and the secular into contest. In most
cases this contest ends in polemics. Invariably, it is materialistic
or commercial paradigm of profit seeking, within the modern
secular context that prevails.

Caught between clashing or rival world-views, pre-modern

cultures witness an era of “entropic modernity” or a process of
socio-cultural regression that is far removed from its
civilizational roots. In this scenario the figure of a bazaari
tantrika is one who is choked and bombarded by the external
needs to find an identity for himself to survive daily battles of
life. The only tools he has to his command are those
transmitted orally though prayoga through the lineage-based
communities. And like everyone else caught in the evil
networks of the global world, he too has had to juggle contexts,
meanings and methods of his transmitted heritage and wisdom.
Globalization reiterates that human selfishness is the primary
basis of society that one may apply any means necessary to
obtain monopoly and wealth and much of bazaari Tantra is
being pushed to the edges to submit to the unethical ethos. A
fundamental paradigm shift is needed in the civilization ethos
from greed, selfishness, ego-centered aggrandizement, and
violence to sisterhood, brotherhood, and cooperation, sharing,
to non-violence. This can only take place if there is a parallel
critique of the values of globalization. We need a culturalisation
of globalization rather than a globalization of ancient cultures!
This culturalisation means that there has to be a radical change
in the way we cognize our worldview, the way we think, the way
we experience the “other” and the way we act. It brings out the
relational aspect of texts and its oral contents. The intrinsic
value of world religions and inter-faith unity has to play a
greater role to put globalization on track. The point made by
23 Madhu Khanna

Richard King in his book Selling Spirituality1 that we need to

“recapture a space of the spiritual as a site for resistance” is
crucial if we are to survive the holocaust of global capitalism.
Bazaari Tantra, as I perceive, is a very significant category of
discourse for a number of reasons: (a) for a more conclusive
understanding of the composite and inclusive nature of Tantric
heritage and culture; (b) the critical role that orality of scripture
has played in molding Tantric practice; and (c) the changing
role of the sacred in the globalized economy. For all these
reasons bazaari Tantra needs to be addressed by scholars at
various levels for all these reasons .

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Agamahasyam, ed. Srigangadhara Dvivedi. Jodhpur: Rajasthan

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Bhutadamara Tantra, ed. S.N. Khandelavala. Chowkhambha

Surabharati Granthamala 278. Varanasi: Choukambha
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Brhatatantrasara of Srikrsnananda Agamvagisa, ed. Sri Kapil

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Damara Tantra, ed. Ram Kumar Rai. Tantra Granthamala No.

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1
Jeremy Carrette and Richard King, Selling Spirituality: the Silent Takeover of
Religion (London: Routledge, 2005), 179.
24 Madhu Khanna

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Kamaratna Tantra, ed. Hemchandra Goswami. Shillong: Assam

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25 Madhu Khanna

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26 Madhu Khanna

* I am grateful to Saurabha Kwatra for introducing me to several

Tantrikas.