The mode of worship
of Goddess Tripura Sundari "consists in the worship of a picture of the female organ
drawn in the centre of another consisting of a representation of nine such organs, the
whole of which forms the Sricakra. The pictures are drawn on a Bhurja leaf or on a
piece of silken cloth or on a gold leaf. With
reference to this worship it must be observed that there are two classes of Saktas;
(1) Kaulika and (2) Samayin. The former worships the gross material object, while the
latter have recourse to imagery. The worship of the pictures just mentioned is resorted to
by ancient (purva) Kaula, while the modern (uttara) Kaulas worship the organ of a living
beautiful woman. The Kaulas worship their Goddess by offering to her and themselves using
wine, flesh, honey, fish and such other things.
The Samayins of course abstain from such practices. There are
even Brahmanas who secretly profess the doctrines of the Sakta school and worship the
Goddess Tripura Sundari in accordance with the Purva - Kaula or Uttara-Kaula way. There
are no distinctions of caste when the worship of the Bhairavicakra is going on. Men of all
castes become Brahmanas, but they resume their own caste when the worship is over." 8
8. Bhandarkar, Op. Cit., pp. 146-147. |