© Equinox Publishing Ltd 2021, Ofce 415, The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Shefeld S1 2BX Religions of South Asia 14.1–2 (2020) 150–175 ISSN (print) 1751-2689 https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.19322 ISSN (online) 1751-2697 Śākta Tantric Traditions of Kerala in the Process of Change: Some Notes on Raudra-Mahārtha Sampradāya MACIEJ KARASINSKI 1 Hainan University Haikou China m_karasinsk@hainanu.edu.cn ABSTRACT: In this paper I shall propose some hypotheses that have emerged from my feldwork on the so-called śākta Tantra of Kerala (also known locally as Raudra or Mahārtha). This Hindu tantric tradition weds ritualistic practices of Kashmirian Śaivism (Krama-Trika) with the folk beliefs of Kerala. It could be said that the śākta (śākteyam in Malayalam) Brahmins of Malabar are representatives of the Mahārtha Tantra of Kerala. I intend to shed some light on the śākta tradition and compare the data from my feldwork with the scriptural tradition. Therefore, I would like to present here some of my observations from reading the ritual texts of the śākta Tantric Brahmins. Their ritualistic handbook (preserved in the form of a palm-leaf manuscript) forms a detailed ritual manual composed in a mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam. Interestingly, the ritual directions are given sometimes in Sanskrit and other times in Malayalam, but most often in a combination of both languages. Being primarily goddess-oriented, the text teaches the reader methods of self- empowerment and reaching the enlightened non-dual state through realizing the potencies of Kālī. This paper introduces the structure of the ritual handbook and concerns the ritual peculiarities of the modern Tantric practitioners in Kerala. KEYWORDS: Kerala, Tantra, Mahārtha, Krama, śākta, goddess 1. Maciej Karasinski is an associate professor in the Department of Foreign Languages, Hainan University. He has a PhD in Sanskrit, University of Calicut, and a master’s degree in oriental philology, Jagiellonian University. He studied at Sapienza University of Rome, participated in academic projects related to Sanskrit literature, and received an Indian Government Scholarship (2010). His current research concerns aspects of Krama ritualism in Kerala. Other interests include comparative literature and mythological motifs in contemporary novels.