Shmashana Adhipati
Encyclopedia
Shmashana Adhipati is a name given to a deity either male or female and also together as a consort, who rules smashan. The Shamashana Adhiapati literally translates to Lord of Shmashana
. The name Shmashan Adhipathi is given to different deities in Hinduism
and Tibetan Buddhism
.
scripts Lord Shiva
is considered to be lord of Shmashana
or Shmashana Adhipati. One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection. Also Kali
, his consort is known by another name Shmashama Kali. Kali's association with blackness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, whose body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit
: śmaśāna) in which he meditates, and with which Kali is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.Shmashana Kali
is also a protector.She can be used to chase away bad spirits. Thus, together Shiva and Kali are they deity associated with Shamshana as per Hindu religion are called Shmashana Adhipati. Also Bhairava
, another manifestation of Shiva
and his consort Bhairavi
are said to live in Shamshana. Also the famous Mahavidya
of Hindu and Tantric cult are said to rule over Smashan.
cult, Shmashana
, emerged to be a main area of their experiments called Shava (corpse) sadhana (worship). Aghori
s and Kapalika
are some of the people who indulge in such rituals in Shamshana. They invoke Kali
, Tara
, Yogini
, Chausath Yogini, Dakini
, Bhairava
, Bhairavi
and ghosts like Vetala
, Pishacha
, Brahm-Rakshasha
and worship them, give them sacrifices in Shamshana to have occult powers. They consider these deities as Shmashana Adhipati.
script a couple known as Shmashana Adhipati (Standard Tibetan
: pal dur tro dag po yab yum. English: the Glorious Lords of the Charnel Ground - Father-Mother) also called Chitipati is considered lord of Shamshana. They arise from the Secret Essence Wheel Tantra and is associated with the collection/cycle of Cakrasaṃvara Tantra. Primarily employed as a wealth practice, with emphasis on protecting from thieves, they also serve as the special protector for the Vajrayogini 'Naro Khechari' practice. Shri Shmashana Adhipati is now common, to a greater or lesser extent, in all the New (Sarma) Schools of Himalayan and Tibetan influenced Buddhism. It is important not to confuse the protector deities Shri Shmashana Adhipati, Father & Mother, with the skeleton dancers found in the various systems of Tibetan religious Cham dance. The word Chitipati again has its origin from word Chita (funeral pyre
as per Hindu
rites).
Dakini
, another tantric
deity
, associated both with Hinduism
and Tibetan Buddhism
, is said to roam in Shmashana
.
Shmashana
Shmashāna also spelled as Smashan is the name for Hindu cremation ground, where dead bodies are brought and then lit on pyre to be burnt.The word has its origin from Sanskrit language, Sham means Shava, a corpse. Shana means Shanya a bed. It is usually located near a river or water body in...
. The name Shmashan Adhipathi is given to different deities in Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
.
In Hinduism
As per HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
scripts Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
is considered to be lord of Shmashana
Shmashana
Shmashāna also spelled as Smashan is the name for Hindu cremation ground, where dead bodies are brought and then lit on pyre to be burnt.The word has its origin from Sanskrit language, Sham means Shava, a corpse. Shana means Shanya a bed. It is usually located near a river or water body in...
or Shmashana Adhipati. One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection. Also Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
, his consort is known by another name Shmashama Kali. Kali's association with blackness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, whose body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
: śmaśāna) in which he meditates, and with which Kali is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.Shmashana Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
is also a protector.She can be used to chase away bad spirits. Thus, together Shiva and Kali are they deity associated with Shamshana as per Hindu religion are called Shmashana Adhipati. Also Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
, another manifestation of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and his consort Bhairavi
Bhairavi
Bhairavi is a fierce and terrifying aspect of the Devi virtually indistinguishable from Kali, except for her particular identification as the consort of the Bhairava.-Symbolism:...
are said to live in Shamshana. Also the famous Mahavidya
Mahavidya
Mahavidyas or DashaMahavidyas are a group of ten aspects of the Divine Mother or Devi in Hinduism. The Ten Mahavidyas are Wisdom Goddesses, who represent a spectrum of feminine divinity, from horrific goddesses at one end, to the ravishingly beautiful at the other.The development of Mahvidyas...
of Hindu and Tantric cult are said to rule over Smashan.
In Tantric cult
In TantrikTantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
cult, Shmashana
Shmashana
Shmashāna also spelled as Smashan is the name for Hindu cremation ground, where dead bodies are brought and then lit on pyre to be burnt.The word has its origin from Sanskrit language, Sham means Shava, a corpse. Shana means Shanya a bed. It is usually located near a river or water body in...
, emerged to be a main area of their experiments called Shava (corpse) sadhana (worship). Aghori
Aghori
The Aghori or Aghora are a Hindu sect believed to have split off from the Kapalika order in the fourteenth century AD. Many mainstream Hindus condemn them as non-Hindu because of their taboo violation of orthodox practices...
s and Kapalika
Kapalika
In Hindu culture, Kapalika means bearer of the skull-bowl, and refers to Lord Bhairava taking the kapala vow. As penance for cutting off one of the heads of Brahma, Lord Bhairava became Bhikshatana, an outcast and a beggar...
are some of the people who indulge in such rituals in Shamshana. They invoke Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
, Tara
Tara (Devi)
In Hinduism, the goddess Tara meaning "star" is the second of the Dasa Mahavidyas or "Great Wisdom [goddesses]", Tantric manifestations of Mahadevi, Kali, or Parvati...
, Yogini
Yogini
Yogini is the complete form source word of the masculine yogi- and neutral/plural "yogin." Far from being merely a gender tag to the all things yogi, "Yogini" represents both a female master practitioner of Yoga, and a formal term of respect for a category of modern female spiritual teachers in...
, Chausath Yogini, Dakini
Dakini
A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...
, Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
, Bhairavi
Bhairavi
Bhairavi is a fierce and terrifying aspect of the Devi virtually indistinguishable from Kali, except for her particular identification as the consort of the Bhairava.-Symbolism:...
and ghosts like Vetala
Vetala
A vetala is a ghost-like being from Hindu mythology. The vetala are defined as spirits inhabiting corpses and charnel grounds...
, Pishacha
Pishacha
Pishachas are flesh eating demons, according to Hindu mythology. Their origin is obscure, although some believe that they were created by Brahma. Another legend describes them as the sons of either Krodh or of Daksha’s daughter Pishach. They have been described to have a dark complexion with...
, Brahm-Rakshasha
Brahm Rakshas
Brahm Rakshas or Brahma-Rakshasa are fierce demon spirits, as per Hindu mythology. It is actually the spirit of a Brahmin, a dead scholar of high birth , who has done evil things in his life or has misused his knowledge, who has to suffer as a Brahm Rakshas after his or her death. The earth-bound...
and worship them, give them sacrifices in Shamshana to have occult powers. They consider these deities as Shmashana Adhipati.
In Tibetan Buddhism
Further, as per Tibetan BuddhistTibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
script a couple known as Shmashana Adhipati (Standard Tibetan
Standard Tibetan
Standard Tibetan is the most widely used spoken form of the Tibetan languages. It is based on the speech of Lhasa, an Ü-Tsang dialect belonging to the Central Tibetan languages. For this reason, Standard Tibetan is often called Central Tibetan...
: pal dur tro dag po yab yum. English: the Glorious Lords of the Charnel Ground - Father-Mother) also called Chitipati is considered lord of Shamshana. They arise from the Secret Essence Wheel Tantra and is associated with the collection/cycle of Cakrasaṃvara Tantra. Primarily employed as a wealth practice, with emphasis on protecting from thieves, they also serve as the special protector for the Vajrayogini 'Naro Khechari' practice. Shri Shmashana Adhipati is now common, to a greater or lesser extent, in all the New (Sarma) Schools of Himalayan and Tibetan influenced Buddhism. It is important not to confuse the protector deities Shri Shmashana Adhipati, Father & Mother, with the skeleton dancers found in the various systems of Tibetan religious Cham dance. The word Chitipati again has its origin from word Chita (funeral pyre
Pyre
A pyre , also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite...
as per Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
rites).
Dakini
Dakini
A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...
, another tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
, associated both with Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
, is said to roam in Shmashana
Shmashana
Shmashāna also spelled as Smashan is the name for Hindu cremation ground, where dead bodies are brought and then lit on pyre to be burnt.The word has its origin from Sanskrit language, Sham means Shava, a corpse. Shana means Shanya a bed. It is usually located near a river or water body in...
.