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The Rose (theatre)

The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre (1576), the Curtain (1577), and the theatre at Newington Butts (c. 1580?) – and the first of several playhouses to be situated in Bankside, Southwark, in a liberty outside the jurisdiction of the City of London's civic authorities. Its remains were excavated by archaeologists in 1989 and are listed by Historic England as a Scheduled Monument.

History
The Rose was built in 1587 by Philip Henslowe and by a grocer named John Cholmley. It was the first purpose-built playhouse to ever stage a production of any of Shakespeare's plays. The theatre was built on a messuage called the "Little Rose," which Henslowe had leased from the parish of St. Saviour, Southwark in 1585. The Rose was the first of several theatres to be situated in Bankside, Southwark near the south shore of the River Thames. The area was known for its leisure attractions such as bear/bull-baitings, gaming dens and brothels. It was located in the Liberty of the Clink, a liberty outside the jurisdiction of the City of London's civic authorities. The Rose contained substantial rose gardens and two buildings; Cholmley used one as a storehouse, while Henslowe appears to have leased the other as a brothel. North of London, professional playhouses like the Curtain Theatre and The Theatre had already been open for over a decade. However, Henslowe recognized the ease at which audiences could ferry across the River of Thames and established a playhouse in this particular location.

The theatre was built by the carpenter John Griggs. The new building was of timber, with a lath and plaster exterior and thatch roof. In shape it was a fourteen-sided polygon, of about 72 ft in external diameter. The inner space was also a fourteen-sided polygon, about 47 ft wide. Modern calculations show that the dimensions and fourteen-sided layout were dictated by the use of the standard 16th-century measure of one rod as a base and the carpenter's "rule of thumb" method of dividing a circle into seven equal parts, subdivided.

Henslowe's documentation of the Rose Theatre has survived, and was placed in the library of Dulwich College by its founder, Edward Alleyn, in 1619. Alleyn was the principal actor of the Lord Admiral's Men. City records indicate that The Rose was in use by late 1587; however, it is not mentioned in Henslowe's accounts between its construction and 1592, and it is possible that he leased it to an acting company with which he was not otherwise concerned. In May 1591, The Lord Admiral's Men split off from the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company of London's most famous actor, Richard Burbage, at The Theatre. Their repertoire included plays by Robert Greene and especially Christopher Marlowe, who became the theatre's main playwright. Edward Alleyn married Henslowe's step-daughter in 1592, and the two became partners. However, the 1592–4 period was difficult for the acting companies of London; a severe outbreak of bubonic plague meant that the London theatres were closed almost continuously from June 1592 to May 1594. The plague took nearly 11,000 Londoners. The companies were forced to tour to survive, and some, like Pembroke's Men, fell on hard times. From 1592 to 1593, the Lord Strange's Men performed on the Rose Stage. From 1593 to 1594, the Earl of Sussex's Men performed in its place, suggesting that the Lord Strange's Men were among the deceased. By the summer of 1594 the plague had abated, and the companies re-organized themselves. The Queen's Men performed in 1594 and the Lord Admiral's Men, still led by Alleyn, resumed its place at the Rose by Springtime. At their height, in the year from June 1595, they performed 300 times, nearly thirty-six plays, twenty of which were new. The Lord Admiral's Men resided at The Rose for seven years.

Henslowe enlarged the theatre for The Lord Admiral's Men, moving the stage further back (six feet six inches, or two metres) to make room for perhaps 500 extra spectators. The original Rose was smaller than other theatres, only about two-thirds the size of the original Theatre built eleven years earlier, and its stage was also unusually small; the enlargement addressed both matters. Henslowe paid all the costs himself, indicating that Cholmley was no longer involved – either deceased or bought out. The renovation gave the theatre, formerly a regular polygon (with 14 sides), a distorted egg shape, a "bulging tulip" or "distorted ovoid" floor plan.

However, the Rose's success encouraged other theatre companies to set up roots in the Bankside. The Swan Playhouse opened nearby in the winter of 1596. People were drawn to the comedies and tragedies performed at the Swan in contrast to the history plays for which the Rose Theatre was renowned. In 1598, Alleyn retired, and Henslowe shifted his position over from landlord and banker to the full financial manager. When the Lord Chamberlain's Men built the Globe Theatre on the Bankside in 1599, however, the Rose was put into a difficult position. In January the following year, Henslowe and Alleyn built The Fortune Theatre north of the River of Thames. Prompted by complaints from city officials, the Privy Council decreed in June 1600 that only two theatres would be allowed for stage plays: The Globe Theatre in Bankside, and the Fortune Theatre in Middlesex – specifically, Shoreditch. Henslowe and Alleyn had already built the Fortune, apparently to fill the vacuum created when the Chamberlain's Men left Shoreditch. The Rose was used briefly by The Lord Pembroke's Men in 1600 and the Worcester's Men in 1602 and 1603. The lease ended in 1605, and Henslowe was ready to renew his lease under the original terms. However, the parish insisted on renegotiating the contract and tripled the price of his rent. Henslowe gave up the playhouse in 1605. The Rose may have been torn down as early as 1606. Henslowe moved on to build the Hope Theatre in 1613. He died three years later.

The Rose appears to have differed from other theatres of the era in its ability to stage large scenes on two levels. It is thought that all Elizabethan theatres had a limited capability to stage scenes "aloft," on an upper level at the back of the stage – as with Juliet at her window in Romeo and Juliet, II.ii. A minority of Elizabethan plays, however, call for larger assemblies of actors on the higher second level – as with the Roman Senators looking down upon Titus in the opening scene of Titus Andronicus. An unusual concentration of plays with the latter sort of staging requirement can be associated with the Rose, indicating that the Rose had an enhanced capacity for this particularity of stagecraft.

Excavation
An archaeological dig began in Park Street during planned large scale redevelopment. Investigatory trenches revealed several finds, which came to the attention of Sam Wanamaker, who was seeking the means to recreate Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and conveying updates to his contacts in theatrical productions early in 1988. An action committee was formed to 'Save The Rose Theatre', being assisted by both 'Entertainment Stars and a rotation of public volunteers, to ensure the site's protection, which was continually threatened by construction crews ignorant of the potential 'English Heritage' beneath.

In March 1989, the remains of The Rose were again threatened with destruction resulting in a physical stand-off between the two parties at the entrance of the building development. A campaign to save the site was launched by several well-known theatrical figures, led by Peggy Ashcroft and including Laurence Olivier and Judi Dench. Prior to the site being given full legal protections, a fundraising street party attended by several prominent entertainers was held on 23 April 1989.

It was eventually decided to suspend the proposed building over the top of the theatre's remains, leaving them conserved beneath, resulting in what has been called "one of the weirdest sights in London". A blue plaque at 56 Park Street marks the spot.

The handling of the Rose Theatre by government, archaeologists and the developer provided impetus for the legitimisation of archaeology in the development process and led the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher to introduce PPG 16 in an attempt to manage archaeology in the face of development threats.

When the Department of Greater London Archaeology (now MOLA) carried out the excavation work, the staff found many objects which are now stored in the museum itself. Portions of the theatre's foundations, under the ingressi (wooden stairs leading to the galleries), were littered with fruit seeds and hazelnut shells; it has been claimed that hazelnuts were the popcorn of English Renaissance drama. When combined with cinder and earth, they provided a tough floor surface "so tough, indeed, that 400 years later archaeologists had to take a pickaxe to it to penetrate it". Initially the floor of the yard (including the area beneath the raised wooden stage) had a screeded mortar surface but when the building was extended a compacted layer of silt, ash and clinker, mixed with hazelnut shells, was used. The nutshells were brought to the site from a nearby soap works, where the nuts were crushed for their oil, rather than evidence of litter left by the audience.

Today

In 1999, the site was re-opened to the public, underneath the new development. Work continues to excavate this historic site further and to secure its future. The foundations of the Rose are covered in a few inches of water to keep the ground from developing major cracks. In 2003 the Rose was opened as a performance space with a production of Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great.

Modern replicas
A replica of The Rose Theatre was featured in the film Shakespeare in Love and after 10 years in storage was donated by Dame Judi Dench to the British Shakespeare Company, who were planning to rebuild it in the north of England, although the plans have not progressed any further since they were announced in 2009. In 2008 the Rose Theatre Kingston opened in Kingston upon Thames. It is a modern theatre, but based on the plan of the original Rose, revealed by archaeology in 1989.

title: The Rose (theatre)


text:
Kamalatmika

In Hinduism, Kamalā (कमला) or Kamalātmikā, (कमलात्मिका) also known as Kamalālayā  is considered to be the Tantric characterisation of the goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi. In Shaktism, she is represented as the Devi in the fullness of her graceful aspect. She is believed to be the tenth and the last Mahavidya. She is also considered to be the last form of the goddess Adi Parashakti.

Iconography
In Shakti tradition, the lotus goddess is exalted thus:

"She has a beautiful golden complexion. She is being bathed by four large elephants who pour jars of nectar over her. In her four hands, she holds two lotuses and makes the signs of granting boons and giving assurance. She wears a resplendent crown and a silken dress. I pay obeisance to her who is seated on a lotus in a lotus posture.'

Let Kamalā protect us by her wonderful side-glances that delight the heart of Višňu. She is seated on a lotus, has a smiling face, and with her four hands holds two lotuses and makes the signs of giving favours and granting assurance. Her complexion is like the brightness of lightning. Her breasts are firm and heavy and are decorated with garlands of pearls.

She is resplendent like the rising sun and wears a bright moon disc on her brow. She is adorned with a crown and necklace of jewels. She is bent down due to the weight of her large breasts, and in her hands, she holds two lotuses and two bunches of rice shoots. She has three lotus-like eyes. She wears the kausțubba gem and has a smiling face."

The fact that Kamala is associated with elephants has two connotations: Firstly, elephants are harbingers of clouds and rain in Hinduism, thus indicating fertility; Secondly, as a powerful creature, it represents royal authority and divinity. Her relationship with the lotus suggests that she exists in a state of refinement that transcends the material world, and yet is rooted in it.

Relationship with Vishnu
While Lakshmi is portrayed as a loving wife to Narayana and is often depicted as massaging his feet in her submissive role, Kamala is rendered more independent in her role, more candidly performing her duties as the goddess who ushers in bliss and prosperity. While she is still deemed as the beloved of Vishnu, she is less performative of her marital and domestic obligations to him. She is also depicted to be a more fearsome goddess who is to be reckoned in her own right, some of her epithets in Tantric traditions including Bhima (terrible), Kalaratri (black night), and Tamasi (darkness), indicating that she is not reliant on him for his preservation and can fight evil with her own powers. In her Mahavidya context, she is also rarely associated with incarnations of Lakshmi such as Sita and Rukmini, though she is identified as two of the Saptamatrikas who are also forms associated with Vishnu, Varahi, and Vaishnavi.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Kamalatmika


text:
Matangi

Matangi (मातङ्गी, ) is a Hindu goddess. She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten Tantric goddesses and an aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother. She is considered to be the Tantric form of Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning. Matangi governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. Her worship is prescribed to acquire supernatural powers, especially gaining control over enemies, attracting people to oneself, acquiring mastery over the arts and gaining supreme knowledge.

Matangi is often associated with pollution, inauspiciousness and the periphery of Hindu society, which is embodied in her most popular form, known as Uchchhishta-Chandalini or Uchchhishta-Matangini. She is described as an outcaste (Chandalini) and offered left-over or partially eaten food (Uchchhishta) with unwashed hands or food after eating, both of which are considered to be impure in classical Hinduism.

Matangi is represented as emerald green in colour. While Uchchhishta-Matangini carries a noose, sword, goad, and club, her other well-known form, Raja-Matangi, plays the veena and is often pictured with a parrot.

Iconography and textual descriptions
The Dhyana mantra (a mantra that details the form of the deity on which a devotee should meditate) of the Brhat Tantrasara describes Uchchhishta-Matangini, one of the most popular forms of the goddess. Matangi is seated on a corpse and wears red garments, red jewellery and a garland of gunja seeds. The goddess is described as a young, sixteen-year-old maiden with fully developed breasts. She carries a skull bowl and a sword in her two hands, and is offered leftovers.

The Dhyana mantras in the Purashcharyarnava and the Tantrasara describe Matangi as blue in colour. The crescent moon adorns her forehead. She has three eyes and a smiling face. She wears jewellery and is seated on a jewelled throne. She carries a noose, a sword, a goad, and a club in her four arms. Her waist is slim and her breasts well-developed.

The Dhyana Mantra of Raja-Matangi from the Purashcharyarnava describes Matangi as green in colour with the crescent moon on her forehead. She has long hair, a smiling expression and intoxicated eyes, and wears a garland of kadamba flowers and various ornaments. She perspires a little around the face, which renders her even more beautiful. Below her navel are three horizontal folds of skin and a thin vertical line of fine hair. Seated on an altar and flanked by two parrots, she represents the 64 arts. The Saradatilaka, adds to this description that Raja-Matangi plays the veena, wears conch-shell earrings and flower garlands, and has flower paintings adorning her forehead. She is also depicted wearing a garland of white lotus (here lotus signifies multi-colored world creation), similar to the iconography of goddess Saraswati, with whom she is associated with.

According to Kalidasa's Shyamaladandakam, Matangi plays a ruby-studded veena and speaks sweetly. The Dhyana Mantra describes her to be four-armed, with a dark emerald complexion, full breasts anointed with red kumkum powder, and a crescent moon on her forehead. She carries a noose, a goad, a sugarcane bow and flower arrows, which the goddess Tripura Sundari is often described to hold. She is also described to love the parrot and is embodied in the nectar of song.

The green complexion is associated with deep knowledge and is also the colour of Budha, the presiding deity of the planet Mercury who governs intelligence. Matangi is often depicted with a parrot in her hands, representing speech. The veena symbolizes her association with music.

Legends
Matangi is often named as the ninth Mahavidya. A list contained within the prose of the Mundamala equates Vishnu's ten avatars with the ten Mahavidyas. The Buddha is equated to Matangi. A similar list in the Guhyatiguhya-Tantra omits Matangi altogether, however the scholar Sircar interprets the goddess Durga – equated to the avatar Kalki in the list – as an allusion to Matangi.

In a story from the Shakta Maha-Bhagavata Purana, which narrates the creation of all the Mahavidyas, Sati, the daughter of Daksha and wife of the god Shiva, feels insulted that she and Shiva are not invited to Daksha's yagna ("fire sacrifice") and insists on going there, despite Shiva's protests. After futile attempts to convince Shiva, the enraged Sati transforms into the Mahavidyas, including Matangi. The Mahavidyas then surround Shiva from the ten cardinal directions; Matangi stands in the northwest. Another similar legend replaces Sati with Kali (the chief Mahavidya) as the wife of Shiva and the origin of Matangi and the other Mahavidyas. The Devi Bhagavata Purana describes Matangi and her fellow Mahavidyas as war-companions and forms of the goddess Shakambhari.

The Shaktisamgama-tantra narrates the birth of Uchchhishta-Matangini. Once, the god Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi visited Shiva and his wife Parvati (a reincarnation of Sati) and gave them a banquet of fine foods. While eating, the deities dropped some food on the ground, from which arose a beautiful maiden, a manifestation of Goddess Saraswati, who asked their left-overs. The four deities granted her their left-overs as prasad, food made sacred by having been first consumed by the deity. This can be interpreted as the Uchchhishta of the deity, although due to its negative connotation the word Uchchhishta is never explicitly used in connection to prasad. Shiva decreed that those who repeat her mantra and worship her will have their material desires satisfied and gain control over foes, declaring her the giver of boons. From that day, the maiden was known as Uchchhishta-Matangini.

The Pranotasani Tantra (18th Century) and Naradpancharatra narrates that once Parvati longed to go back to her maternal house for some days and asked Shiva's permission to do so. The reluctant Shiva agreed on the condition that if she did not return in a few days, he would come to fetch her. Parvati agreed and went to her father Himalaya's place, where she stayed for many days. The lovesick Shiva went to Himavan's abode disguised as an ornament seller and sold shell ornaments to Parvati. In order to test her fidelity, the disguised Shiva asked for sex in return. The disgusted Parvati was about to curse the ornament-seller when she realizes by her yogic powers that it was none other than Shiva. She agrees to grant sexual favours but at the appropriate time. In the evening, Parvati returns to Shiva's abode disguised as a Chandala huntress. She is dressed in red and had a lean figure and large breasts and performs a seductive dance to lure him. She told Shiva that she had come to do penance. Shiva replied that he is the one gives fruit to all penance and took her hand and kissed her. Further, they made love when Shiva himself changed into a Chandala and recognized the Chandala woman as his wife. After the love-making, Parvati asked Shiva to grant her wish that her form as a Chandalini (the Chandala female form in which Shiva made love to her) might last forever as Uchchhishta-Chandalini and that her worship in this form precede his for his worship to be considered fruitful. This tale is also found in many Bengali Mangalkavyas. In these texts, however, Parvati is not explicitly identified with Matangi.

The Svatantra-tantra mentions that Matanga practised austerities for thousands of years to gain the power to subdue all beings. Finally, goddess Tripura Sundari appeared and from eyes emitted rays that produced goddess Kali, who had greenish complexion and was known as Raja-Matangini. With her help, Matanga fulfilled his desire. Matanga Tantra and many other texts including the Shyamaladandakam describe Matangi as the daughter of the sage Matanga.

Another tale is associated with the temple dedicated to Kauri-bai—an aspect of Matangi—who appeared in the low caste area of Varanasi. Kauri-bai is Shiva's sister who was obsessed with the Brahmin ways and purity and abhorred Shiva's heterodox practices like dwelling in cremation grounds, partaking of intoxicants and being in the company of ghosts and goblins. While Shiva simply ignored Kauri-bai's words at first, after his marriage his wife Parvati could not bear Kauri-bai's abusive words toward her husband and cursed Kauri-bai to be reborn in and spend her entire life within an "untouchable" area of Varanasi which Kauri-bai considered polluted. Consequently, Kauri-bai was indeed reborn in the low-caste area of Varanasi and felt very unhappy. She pleaded her brother Shiva—the Lord of Varanasi—who granted her the boon that no pilgrimage to Varanasi would be deemed complete without her worship.

Associations
Matangi is often associated with pollution, especially left-over or partially eaten food (Uchchhishta or Ucçhishṭa, उच्छिष्ट) considered impure in Hinduism. She is often offered such polluted left-over food and is in one legend described to be born from it. Matangi is herself described as the leftover or residue, symbolizing the Divine Self that is left over after all things perish. As the patron of left-over food offerings, she embodies inauspiciousness and the forbidden transgression of social norms.

Matangi is often described as an outcaste and impure. Her association with pollution mainly streams from her relation to outcaste communities, considered to be polluted in ancient Hindu society. These social groups deal in occupations deemed inauspicious and polluted like the collection of waste, meat-processing and working in cremation grounds. In a Nepali context, such groups are collectively called Matangi, who collect waste—including human waste—and other inauspicious things, and often live outside villages. Thus she is associated with death, pollution, inauspiciousness and the periphery of ancient Hindu society. She represents equality as she is worshipped by both upper and lower caste people.

Matangi is also associated with forests and tribal peoples, who lie outside conventional Hindu society. Her thousand-name hymn from the Nanayavarta-tantra mentions lines that describe her as dwelling in, walking in, knowing and relishing the forest.

Matangi represents the power of the spoken word (Vaikhari) as an expression of thoughts and the mind. She also relates to the power of listening and grasping speech and converting it back to knowledge and thought. Besides spoken word, she also governs all other expressions of inner thought and knowledge, like art, music, and dance. Matangi presides over the middle part of speech (Madhyama), where ideas are translated into the spoken word and in her highest role, represents Para-Vaikhari—the Supreme Word manifested through speech and that encompasses knowledge of the scriptures. She is described as the goddess of learning and speech, and the bestower of knowledge and talent. She is also called Mantrini, the mistress of the sacred mantras. She also represents the word of a guru, who serves as a spiritual guide. Matangi is described as dwelling in the Throat chakra—the origin of speech—and on the tip of the tongue. She is also associated with a channel called Saraswati from the third eye to the tip of the tongue. According to David Frawley, her description as impure refers to the nature of the spoken word, which labels things and stereotypes them, thereby hindering actual contact with the soul of things. The goddess is described as one who helps a person to use words in the right way and to go beyond it to seek the soul and inner knowledge, which lie outside the demarcated boundaries of tradition.

Matangi is regarded as a Tantric form of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and the arts of mainstream Hinduism, with whom she shares many traits. Both embody music and are depicted playing the veena. They are also both said to be the Nada (sound or energy) that flows through the Nadi channels in the body through which life force flows. Both are related to rain clouds, thunder and rivers. Though both govern learning and speech, Saraswati represents the orthodox knowledge of the Brahmins while Matangi—the wild and ecstatic outcast—embodies the "extraordinary" beyond the boundaries of mainstream society, especially inner knowledge. Matangi is also associated with Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of knowledge and obstacle removal. Both are related to the elephant and learning. Matangi is also regarded as his mother. Matangi is also described as a minister of the Mahavidya goddess Tripura Sundari or Rajarajeshvari, the Queen of Queens.

Worship
Besides the Mahavidya Bagalamukhi, Matangi is the other Mahavidya, whose worship is primarily prescribed to acquire supernatural powers. A hymn in the Maha-Bhagavata Purana asks her grace to control one's foes, while the Tantrasara says that recitation of her mantra, meditation on her form and her ritual worship gives one to the power to control people and make them attracted to oneself. Tantric sadhakas are regarded to have transcended the pollution by offering her left-over or partially eaten food (Uchchhishta) and thus overcome their ego. Worship of Matangi is described to allow her devotee to face the forbidden and transcend pollution, leading him to salvation or allowing him to gain supernatural powers for worldly goals. The Purashcharyarnava describes pleasing the goddess would result in her answering all the devotee's queries by whispering in her ear.

Matangi is often worshipped with the mantra syllable Aim, which is associated with Saraswati and is the seed-syllable of knowledge, learning, and teaching. A longer mantra is also used: Om Hrim Aim Shrim Namo Bhagvati Ucchishtachandali Shri Matangeswari Sarvajanavasankari Swaha "Reverence to adorable Matangi, the outcast and residue, who gives control over all creatures"

Her mantra may be repeated ten thousand times, repeated one thousand times while offering flowers and ghee in a fire sacrifice, or repeated one hundred times while offering water (Arghya) or while offering food to Brahmin priests. Her yantra (sacred geometric diagram), whether physically constructed or mentally envisioned, is used in worship along with the mantra. Offering certain items to a fire sacrifice—particularly those performed at cremation grounds, riverbanks, forests, or crossroads—while repeating the mantra is said to fulfill specific goals. An offering of Bael leaves is said to result in kingship; salt gives the power to control; turmeric gives the power to paralyze; neem twigs bring wealth; and an offering of sandalwood, camphor, and saffron together or a salt and honey mixture grants the power to attract people. A rice-flour bread prepared while repeating her mantra is said to give the power to attract women. It is likewise said that it is possible to make a person one's slave by feeding him or her the ashes of a crow whose stomach was stuffed with a conch and burnt in a cremation ground while repeating the goddess' mantra.

Leftover or partially eaten food (Uchchhishta) is recommended to be offered to Matangi with the devotee in the polluted Uchchhishta state, that is, having eaten but not washed, with the remains of food in the mouth and hands. An offering of leftovers to Hindu deities or being in the polluted Uchchhishta state is a taboo in mainstream Hinduism. Another taboo that is broken in Matangi worship is the offering to the goddess of a cloth stained with menstrual blood to gain the ability to attract a mate. Menstrual blood is considered polluted in almost all Hindu scriptures and menstruating women are kept away from Hindu worship and temples. The outcaste Matangi community of Nepal collect polluted substances and items related to death and bad luck such as sacrificial animal heads and clothes of the deceased, and offers them at special stones kept at crossroads called chwasas, where the Matangi "consumes" them as an offering, thereby getting rid of the pollution. The Tantrasara also advises offerings to Matangi of meat, fish, cooked rice, milk and incense at crossroads or cremations grounds in the dead of the night to overpower enemies and gain poetic talent. Oblations of Uchchhishta, cat meat and goat meat to the goddess are said to help achieve Supreme knowledge. A text proclaims Matangi's worship becomes fruitful only if the devotee reveres women as goddesses and refrains from criticizing them.

No fasts or rituals to purify oneself before worship—typical of Hindu worship—are prescribed for Matangi worship. Anyone can use any mantra for worship, even though he is not initiated or considered unfit for worshipping any other deity. A thousand-name hymn from the Nanayavarta-tantra and a hundred-name hymn from the Rudrayamala are dedicated to the goddess. The recitation of the Sanskrit alphabet, the chanting of mantras, the loud reading of the scriptures, and performance of music and dance are also described as constituting acts of her worship.

Temples
Matangi along with the other Mahavidyas finds place in the Kamakhya Temple complex, the most important Shaktipeeth for Tantra worship. While other Mahavidyas are worshipped in individual temples, Matangi and Kamala find place in the main Kamakhya shrine along with Kamakhya, in the form of a 'yoni'.

Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai is also considered as none other than Raja Matangi. Here, She is seen as two-handed and standing, holding a parrot.

The Modh community of Gujarat worship Matangi as Modheshwari, patron deity of the Modh community. Here, Matangi is seen in a Durga-like form sitting over a lion.

Other than the above, Rajrappa Chhinnamasta shrine also has a temple dedicated to Matangi and the other Mahavidyas. There are several temples in South India where Matangi is venerated as Shyamala or Mantrini, the Prime minister of Goddess Lalita in Srikula tradition.

title: Matangi


text:
Bagalamukhi

Baglamukhi or Bagalā (बगलामुखी) is the female form of a personification of the mahavidyas (great wisdom/science), a group of ten Tantrik deities in Hinduism. Devi Bagalamukhi smashes the devotee's misconceptions and delusions (or the devotee's enemies) with her cudgel. The word "Bagala" is derived from the word "Valga" (meaning – bridle or to rein in) which, became "Vagla" and then "Bagla". The Devi has 108 different names (some others also call her by 1108 names). Bagalamukhi is commonly known as Pitambari in North India, the goddess associated with yellow color or golden color. She sits on golden throne having pillars decorated with various jewels and has three eyes, that symbolises that she can impart ultimate knowledge to the devotee.

Bagalamukhi is one of the ten forms of the Devi, symbolising potent female, primeval force.

The main temples dedicated to Bagalamukhi or Bagala Devi temples are located at Shri Bagalamukhee Shakthi Peetham, Shivampet, Narsapur, Telangana State ,Bagalamukhi Temple, Datia Madhya Pradesh, Bugiladhar, Ghuttu Uttarakhand, Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati, Assam, Baglamukhi temple of Lalitpur, Nepal and of Banghandi, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.

Iconography
Another interpretation translates her name as "Kalyani". In Kubjika Tantra there is a reference to yet another interpretation of the meaning of the name ‘Bagala’. In the initial chapter of the text, there is a verse – ‘Bakare Baruni Devi Gakare Siddhida Smrita. Lakare Prithivi Chaiba Chaitanya Prakrirtita’ (‘Ba’, the first letter of the name – ‘Bagala’, means ‘Baruni’ or ‘She Who is filled with the intoxicating mood to vanquish the demon’. ‘Ga’, the second letter, means ‘She Who grants all kinds of divine powers or siddhis and successes to human beings’. ‘La’, the third letter, means ‘She Who is the foundation of all kinds of sustaining powers in the world like the earth and is Consciousness Herself’.

Two descriptions of the goddess are found in various texts: the Dwi-Bhuja (two-handed), and the Chaturbhuja (four-handed). The Dwi-Bhuja depiction is the more common and is described as the "Soumya" or milder form. She holds a club in her right hand with which she beats a demon, while pulling his tongue out with her left hand. This image is sometimes interpreted as an exhibition of stambhana, the power to stun or paralyse an enemy into silence. This is one of the boons for which Bagalamukhi's devotees worship her. Other Mahavidya goddesses are also said to represent similar powers useful for defeating enemies, to be invoked by their worshippers through various rituals.

Bagalamukhi is also called Pitambaradevi, Shatrubuddhivinashini and Brahmastra Roopini and she turns each thing into its opposite.

The Tantrasara describes her iconography: Bagalamukhi sits in a golden throne in the midst of an ocean in an altar. Her complexion is yellow (golden). Clad in yellow clothes, she is adorned by a garland of yellow flowers and decked with yellow (golden) ornaments. She pulls the tongue of a demon by her left hand, while raising the right hand to strike him with a club. Another description says that she has four arms and a third eye. A yellow crescent moon adorns her forehead.

Though generally depicted with a human head, the goddess is sometimes described to have a head of a crane and sometimes depicted ridding a crane. Sometimes, she is described associated with other birds: having a duck-head or a nose of a parrot.

Etymology and other epithets
Kinsley translates Bagalamukhi as "she who has the face of a crane". Bagalamukhi is rarely depicted with a crane-head or with cranes. Kinsley believes that the crane's behaviour of standing still to catch prey is reflective of the occult powers bestowed by the goddess.

Another interpretation suggests that Baglamukhi is a corruption of the word Valgamukhi; valga means "bridle" or "bit". Like the bridle or bit – placed in the mouth – is used to direct a horse, Bagalamukhi gives the supernatural power of control over one's foes. In this context, Bagalamukhi is she "whose face has the power to control or conquer".

Another etymology suggests that valga means "to paralyze" and symbolizes the power of stambhana, "paralysis" that the goddess is said to grant; this theory seems questionable to Kinsley.

Bagalamukhi is known by the popular epithet Pitambara-devi or Pitambari, "she who wears yellow clothes". The iconography and worship rituals repeatedly refer to the yellow colour.

Legend
In the Satya Yuga (the first epoch in Hindu cosmology), a great storm started destroying Creation. The god Vishnu was disturbed and performed austerities to appease the goddess Parvati on shore of Haridra Sarovar, the lake of turmeric. Pleased with Vishnu, the goddess appeared and brought forth her manifestation Bagalamukhi from the lake. Bagalamukhi calmed the storm, restoring order in the universe.

Another tale records that a demon named Madan acquired Vak-siddhi, by which whatever he said came true. He misused it to trouble humans and murder people. The gods beseeched Bagalamukhi. The goddess grabbed the demon's tongue and immobilized his power. Madan requested the goddess that he be worshipped with her; the goddess granted him this boon, before slaying him.

Symbolism and associations
Bagalamukhi is strongly associated with the yellow colour. She dresses in yellow clothes and ornaments. Various texts describe her affinity to the colour; yellow is an integral part of her worship rituals. Bagalamukhi is propitiated with yellow offerings by devotees dressed in yellow, seated on a yellow cloth. Yellow turmeric bead rosary are used in her japa (repetition) of her names or mantra (invocation). The colour yellow is linked to the Sun, gold, the earth, grain and fire, signifying auspiciousness, bountifulness and purity. The yellow turmeric is associated with marriage. This is why goddess Bagalamukhi is also known as Pitambhara devi.

Bagalamukhi is praised as the giver of supernatural powers (siddhis) or magical powers (riddhis meaning good fortune, prosperity, wealth)

In ‘Bagalamukhistotratram’, a part of ‘Rudrayamala’ (a famous Tantra work), there are hymns in praise of the powers of Goddess Bagalamukhi –

"“Vadi Mukati Rankati Kshitipatirvaishwanarah Sheetati Krodhi Samyati Durjanah Sujanati Khsipranugah Khanjati. Garvi Khanjati Sarvaviccha Jarati Tvanmantrinaamantritah Srinitye Baglamukhi Pratidinam Tubhyam Namah' (By the effect of Your Mantra good conversationalists become speechless; rich become beggars; devastating fire gets cooled. The anger of the angry person is removed; an evil minded person becomes good. The quick moving person becomes crippled. The conceit of the conceited person is reduced. Knowledgeable person nearly becomes a fool. Salutations to the compassionate Bagalamukhi!)"

Worship

Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, one of the primary centers of Tantricism, consists of shrines for each of the Mahavidyas, one of which is dedicated to the Goddess Bagalamukhi, located a few hundred metres away. Major temples to the goddess are situated in the Pathankot Mandi highway NH20 at Kotla and Bankhandi Himachal Pradesh in the north, and at village Badowan near Mahilapur districtt Hoshiarpur Punjab India and at Nalkheda at Agar Malwa district in Madhya Pradesh and Pitambara Peeth in Datia and DusMahavidhya Temple at Nikhildham Bhojpur -Bhopal Madhya Pradesh. In South India there is a temple at Bagalapeetam, Eraiyur Road, Vallakottai in Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu. Sree suryamangalam, Kallidaikurichi, Papankulam village in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.

A lesser known temple of the goddess is situated in Somalapura (Kalyani) of Sindhanur taluk, Raichur district of North Karnataka. It is believed to be a powerful Bagulamukhi Sidhdha Shakti Peeth. As per local legends, the temple was built by a great yogi after goddess' sakshaatkara fell in love with him. She promised to preside in the temple. As per another legend, the temple was built by great yogi Shri Chidanandavadhoota around 300 years ago. He composed 'Shree Devi Charitre', a popular text in Karnataka. Her prayers are said to pacify Brihaspati.

In Virupaskhi, a small village next to Mulabagilu of Kolar district Karnataka, another shrine dedicated to the goddess, as part of temple complex of Virupakshi temple. As per folklore, the Virupaskha linga was installed by great sage Atri Maharshi, father of Shriguru Dattatreya. The linga changes its color in 3 ways from sunrise to sunset. It is believed that King Vikramaditya built the Bagulamukhi temple at Virupakshi.

The Bagalamukhi Temple, Bankhandi, HP situated in the village of Bankhandi in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh is a prominent place of worship of the goddess, thronged by huge crowds during Fridays and other festive seasons.

A temple devoted to Bagalamukhi is located in the Newar city of Patan near Kathmandu, Nepal, the country where worship of tantric goddesses had royal patronage. The territory of this temple in Patan has several other shrines dedicated to Ganesha, Shiva, Saraswati, Guheswar, Bhairava, etc.

title: Bagalamukhi


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Flotation

Flotation (also spelled floatation) involves phenomena related to the relative buoyancy of objects.

The term may also refer to:

 * Flotation (archaeology), a method for recovering very small artefacts from excavated sediments
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title: Flotation


text:
Chhinnamasta

Chhinnamasta (छिन्नमस्ता, :"She whose head is severed"), often spelled Chinnamasta, and also called Chhinnamastika and Prachanda Chandika and Jogani Maa (in western states of India), is a Hindu goddess (Devi). She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten goddesses from the esoteric tradition of Tantra, and a ferocious aspect of Mahadevi, the Hindu Mother goddess. The self-decapitated nude goddess, usually standing or seated on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants.

Chhinnamasta is a goddess of contradictions. She symbolises both aspects of Devi: a life-giver and a life-taker. She is considered both a symbol of sexual self-control and an embodiment of sexual energy, depending upon interpretation. She represents death, temporality, and destruction as well as life, immortality, and recreation. The goddess conveys spiritual self-realization and the awakening of the kundalini – spiritual energy. The legends of Chhinnamasta emphasise her self-sacrifice – sometimes coupled with a maternal element – sexual dominance, and self-destructive fury.

Chhinnamasta is worshipped in the Kalikula sect of Shaktism, the Goddess-centric tradition of Hinduism. Though Chhinnamasta enjoys patronage as one of the Mahavidyas, temples devoted to her (found mostly in Nepal and eastern India) and her public worship are rare. However, she is a significant Tantric deity, well known and worshipped among esoteric Tantric practitioners. Chhinnamasta is closely related to Chinnamunda – the severed-headed form of the Tibetan Buddhist goddess Vajrayogini.

Origins

The Hindu Chhinnamasta appears as a significant deity in Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism, where she is called Chinnamunda ("she with the severed head") or Trikaya-vajrayogini ("triple-bodied Vajrayogini"). Chinnamunda is the severed-head form of goddess Vajrayogini (or Vajravarahi, a ferocious form of Vajrayogini), who is depicted similar to Chhinnamasta.

Buddhist texts recount the birth of the Buddhist Chinnamunda. One tale tells of Krishnacharya's disciples, two Mahasiddha ("great perfected ones") sisters, Mekhala and Kanakhala, who cut their heads, offered them to their guru, and then danced. The goddess Vajrayogini also appeared in this form and danced with them. Another story recalls how the Mahasiddha princess Lakshminkara, cut off her head as a punishment from the king and roamed with it in the city, where citizens extolled her as Chinnamunda-Vajravarahi.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Benoytosh Bhattacharya – an expert on Tantra and the then director of the Oriental Institute of Baroda – studied various texts such as the Buddhist Sadhanamala (1156CE), the Hindu Chhinnamastakalpa (uncertain date), and the Tantrasara by Krishnananda Agamavagisha (late 16th century). He determined that the Hindu Chhinnamasta and the Buddhist Chinnamunda were the same goddess, in spite of the fact that the former wears a serpent as a sacred thread and has an added copulating couple in the icon. In the Sadhanamala, the goddess is called Sarvabuddha ("all-awakened"), and is attended by Vajravaironi and Vajravarnini; in the Hindu Tantrasara, she is called Sarvasiddhi ("all-accomplished"), and is accompanied by attendants Dakini, Vaironi, and Varnini. In the Chhinnamastakalpa, she is called Sarvabuddhi ("all-enlightened"); her attendants retain their Buddhist names. Bhattacharyya concluded that the Hindu Chhinnamasta originated from the Buddhist Chinnamunda, who was worshipped by at least the 7th century.

While Bhattacharyya's view is mostly undisputed, some scholars such as S. Shankaranarayanan – the author of The Ten Great Cosmic Powers – attribute Chhinnamasta to Vedic (ancient Hindu) antecedents. Sukumari Bhattacharji, the author of The Indian Theogony, says that the Vedic goddess Nirrti's functions were inherited by later Hindu goddesses Kali, Chamunda, Karali, and Chhinnamasta. Hindu literature first mentions Chhinnamasta in the upapurana Shakta Maha-bhagavata Purana (c.950CE) and the Devi-Bhagavata Purana (9th–12th century). ElisabethA. Benard, the author of Chinnamastā: The Aweful Buddhist and Hindu Tantric Goddess, says that whatever her origins may be, it is clear that Chhinnamasta/Chinnamunda was known in the 9th century and worshipped by Mahasiddhas. Though essentially agreeing with Bhattacharyya's view, Karel R. vanKooij, former Professor of South Asian art history at Leiden University, goes further and associates the iconography of Chhinnamasta with the Tantric goddesses Varahi and Chamunda.

David Kinsley, an expert on Hindu goddesses and former Professor of Religion at McMaster University, agrees with the Buddhist origin theory, but sees other influences, too. Ancient Hindu goddesses, who are depicted nude and headless or faceless, may have also influenced the development of Chhinnamasta. These goddesses are mainly depicted headless to focus on the display of their sexual organs, thus signifying sexual vigour, but they do not explain the self-decapitation theme.

Other nude Hindu goddesses who might have inspired Chhinnamasta are the malevolent war goddess Kotavi and the South-Indian hunting goddess Korravai. Kotavi, sometimes described as a Matrika ("mother goddess"), is nude, dishevelled, wild, and awful in appearance. She is mentioned in the scriptures Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana, often as a foe of the god Vishnu. The ferocious, wild Korravai is the goddess of war and victory. Both goddesses are linked to battlefields; Chhinnamasta is not. Kinsley points out that while there are several bloodthirsty, nude, and wild goddesses and demonesses in Hindu mythology, Chhinnamasta is the only goddess who displays the shocking self-decapitation motif.

The beheading and rejoining motif also appears in the tale of the goddess Renuka; however the self-decapitation is missing in the legend. In the context of her legend, Renuka is given the epithet "Chhinnamasta" ("She whose head is severed"). The mahavidya Chhinnamasta is also associated with Renuka's son Parashurama, who decapitated his mother in the legend.

The name "Chhinnamasta" is also used as a generic name for goddess icons which do not have heads, such as those at Chinnamasta Bhagawati, Na-kati Bhavani shrine in Aurangabad district, Bihar and the goddess shrine in Uchchaith, Madhubani district, Bihar; these goddesses are not identified with the mahavidya Chhinnamasta.

The theme of self-decapitation and the severed head is recurring in Indian mythology. Legends from the Simhasana Dvatrimsika and the Kathasaritsagara speak of how the hero offers blood from his throat as an offering to a goddess. Rajasthani folk tales and songs tell about of warrior-heroes (jhumjharji or bhomiya) who cuts off his head before the war or is decapitated in action, but battles on – without his head – slaying foes until he avenges his beheading and dies. The decapitated body and head motif is not unique to Hinduism and Buddhism and appears across the world, including the Cephalophore saints of Christianity and in Celtic culture.

Legends and textual references
Chhinnamasta is often named as the fifth or sixth Mahavidya (Mahavidyas are a group of ten fearsome goddesses from the Hindu esoteric tradition of Tantra), with hymns identifying her as a fierce aspect of Devi, the Hindu Mother goddess. Kinsley says that three Mahavidyas – Kali, Tara, and Chhinnamasta – are prominent among Mahavidya depictions and lists, but that Chhinnamasta barely has an independent existence outside the group. The Guhyatiguhya-Tantra (c. 9th century) equates the god Vishnu's ten avatars with the ten Mahavidyas; the man-lion avatar Narasimha is described to have arisen from Chhinnamasta. A similar list in Mundamala Tantra (pre-16th century) equates Chhinnamasta with the avatar Parashurama.

Chhinnamasta appears in two distinct set of legends: the origin myths of Mahavidyas as a group and those explaining the genesis of Chhinnamasta as an individual goddess.

Mahavidyas as a group
A story from the Shakta Maha-Bhagavata Purana and the Brihaddharma Purana (13th century) narrates the creation of all Mahavidyas, including Chhinnamasta. The story is as follows: Sati, the daughter of Daksha, is the first wife of the god Shiva. When she and Shiva are not invited to the fire sacrifice organized by her father, she is insulted and insists on attending, despite Shiva's protests. After futile attempts to convince Shiva to grant his consent for her to attend, the enraged Sati assumes a fierce form, transforming into the Mahavidyas, who surround Shiva from the ten cardinal directions. As per the Shakta Maha-bhagavata Purana, Chhinnamasta stands to the right of Shiva, interpreted as the east or the west; the Brihaddharma Purana describes her as appearing to the rear of Shiva in the west.

In similar legends, the Mahavidyas arise from the wrath of other goddesses, specifically, Parvati (the second wife of Shiva and the reincarnation of Sati) and Kali (the principal Mahavidya). In one legend, Shiva and Parvati are living in the house of Parvati's father. Shiva wants to leave, but Parvati creates the ten fierce Mahavidyas who appear from ten directions and prevent him from leaving. In another legend, Shiva is living with Kali, identified as Shiva's consort in this context, but becomes tired of her and wants to leave. Kali creates the Mahavidyas who also obstruct his path from ten directions. Kali enlightens him and he ceases trying to leave.

The Devi Bhagavata Purana also mentions the Mahavidyas as war-companions and forms of the goddess Shakambhari. An oral tradition similarly replaces Shakambhari with the goddess Durga.

Chhinnamasta as an individual goddess
The Pranatoshini Tantra (18th century) narrates two tales of Chhinnamasta's birth. One legend, attributed to the Narada-pancharatra, tells how once, while bathing in Mandakini river, Parvati becomes sexually aroused, and turns black. At the same time, her two female attendants Dakini and Varnini (also called Jaya and Vijaya) become extremely hungry and beg for food. Though Parvati initially promises to give them food once they return home, the merciful goddess beheads herself with her nails and gives her blood to satisfy their hunger. Later, they return home after Parvati rejoins her head.

The other version, from the Pranatoshini Tantra and attributed to Svatantra Tantra, is narrated by Shiva. He recounts that his consort Chandika (identified with Parvati) was engrossed in coitus with him in reverse posture, but became enraged at his seminal emission. Her attendants Dakini and Varnini rose from her body. The rest of the tale is similar to the earlier version, although the river is called Pushpabhadra, the day of Chhinnamasta's birth is called Viraratri, and upon seeing the pale Parvati, Shiva becomes infuriated and assumes the form of Krodha Bhairava. This version is retold in the Shaktisamgama Tantra (c. 16th century), in which Chhinnamasta forms a triad with Kali and Tara.

An oral legend tells how the goddess Prachanda Chandika appeared to aid the gods in the god-demon war, when the gods prayed to the Great Goddess Mahashakti. After slaying all demons, the enraged goddess cut off her own head and drank her own blood. The name Prachanda Chandika also appears as a synonym of Chhinnamasta in her hundred-name hymn in the Shakta Pramoda (19th century). Another oral legend relates her to the Samudra manthan (Churning of the Ocean) episode, where the gods and demons churned the milk ocean to acquire the amrita (the elixir of immortality). Chhinnamasta drank the demons' share of the elixir and then beheaded herself to prevent them from acquiring it.

The central themes of the mythology of Chhinnamasta are her self-sacrifice – with a maternal aspect (in the Pranatoshini Tantra versions) or for the welfare of the world (in the Samudra manthan oral version described above) – her sexual dominance (second Pranatoshini Tantra version), and her self-destructive fury (in the first oral legend).

Iconography
The iconography of Chhinnamasta is described in the Trishakti Tantra (pre-16th century), the Tantrasara (Prachandachandika section), the Shakta Pramoda (Chinnamastatantra section), and the Mantra-mahodadhih (1589CE).

Chhinnamasta is described as being as red as the hibiscus flower or as bright as a million suns. She is usually depicted as red or orange in complexion and sometimes as black. She is depicted mostly nude; however, she is so posed that her genitals are generally hidden or a multi-hooded cobra or jewellery around the waist covers them. She is depicted as being young and slim. She is described as a sixteen-year-old girl with full breasts, adorned with lotuses or having a single blue lotus near her heart. Sometimes, she is partially or fully clothed.

The goddess carries her own severed head – sometimes on a platter or in a skull-bowl – in her left hand. Though no legend mentions a specific weapon for the beheading, she holds a scimitar, a knife or a scissor-like object in her right hand. Though generally depicted with two arms, manifestations of the goddess with four arms also exist. While her own severed head and the sword appear in two of her hands, the implements in the remaining arms vary: a scissor-like object, a skull-bowl collecting the dripping blood from her head or blood stream from her neck, or a severed head, sometimes identified as that of the god Brahma.

Chhinnamasta may have a lolling tongue. Her hair is loose and dishevelled and sometimes decorated with flowers. Alternately, in some images, her hair is tied. Additionally, she is described as having a third eye on her forehead and a jewel on her forehead, which is tied to a snake or a crown on the severed head. The crescent moon may also adorn her head. Chhinnamasta is depicted wearing a serpent as the sacred thread and a mundamala (garland of skulls or severed heads and bones), along with other various gold or pearl ornaments around her neck. Bangles and waist-belt ornaments may be also depicted. She may also wear a snake around her neck and serpentine earrings. Three streams of blood spring from her neck, one entering her own mouth, while the others are drunk by her female yogini companions, who flank her.

Both of the attendants – Dakini to her left and Varnini to her right – are depicted nude, with matted or dishevelled hair, three-eyed, full-breasted, wearing the serpentine sacred thread and the mundamala, and carrying the skull-bowl in the left hand and the knife in the right. Sometimes, the attendants also hold severed heads (not their own). While Dakini is fair, Varnini is red-complexioned. In other depictions, both are depicted blue-grey. Sometimes, her attendants are depicted as skeletons and drinking the dripping blood from Chhinnamasta's severed head, rather than her neck. The attendants are absent in some depictions.

With her right leg held straight and her left leg bent a little (the pratyalidha stance), Chhinnamasta stands in a fighting posture on the love-deity couple of Kamadeva (Kama) – a symbol of sexual love/lust – and his wife Rati, who are engaged in copulation with the latter usually on the top (viparita-rati sex position). Kamadeva is generally blue-complexioned, while Rati is white. Below the couple is a lotus with an inverted triangle, and in the background is a cremation ground. The Chhinnamasta Tantra describes the goddess sitting on the couple, rather than standing on them. Sometimes, Kamadeva-Rati is replaced by the divine couple of Krishna and Radha. The lotus beneath the couple is sometimes replaced by a cremation pyre. The coupling couple is sometimes omitted entirely. Sometimes Shiva – the goddess's consort – is depicted lying beneath Chhinnamasta, who is seated squatting on him and copulating with him. Dogs or jackals drinking the blood sometimes appear in the scene. Sometimes Chhinnamasta is depicted standing on a lotus, a grass patch, or the ground.

Another form of the goddess in the Tantrasara describes her seated in her own navel, formless and invisible. This form is said to be realised only via a trance. Another aniconic representation of the goddess is her yantra (a mystical geometrical diagram used in Tantric rituals), which figures the inverted triangle and lotus found in her iconography.

The scholar van Kooij notes that the iconography of Chhinnamasta has the elements of heroism (vira rasa) and terror (bhayanaka rasa) as well as eroticism (sringara rasa) in terms of the copulating couple, with the main motifs being the offering of her own severed head, the spilling and drinking of blood, and the trampling of the couple.

Chhinnamasta's popular iconography is similar to the yellow-coloured severed-headed Buddhist Chinnamunda, except for the copulating couple – which is exclusive to the former's iconography – and Chhinnamasta's red skin tone.

Goddess of paradoxes
Chhinnamasta is a goddess of contradictions: she "is both the food and the eater of food, thereby symbolizing the whole world by this act of being devoured and the devourer. The dichotomy of receiver and giver or object and subject collapses into one." Most of her epithets listed in her nama-stotra (name-hymn, which enlists the names of a deity) convey marvel and fury; few names are erotic or peaceful, which are contrary to Chhinnamasta's fierce nature and appearance. Her sahasranama (thousand name-hymn) echoes paradoxes; she is Prachanda Chandika ("the powerfully fierce one") as well as Sarvananda-pradayini ("the prime giver of all ananda or bliss"). Her names convey the idea that though she is fierce at first appearance, she can be gentle upon worship.

While other fierce Hindu goddesses like Kali depict severing the heads of demons and are associated with ritual self-decapitation, Chhinnamasta's motif reverses the ritual head-offering, offering her own head to the devotees (attendants) in order to feed them. Thus, she symbolises the aspect of Devi as a giver, like Annapurna, the goddess of food, and Shakambhari, the goddess of vegetables, or a maternal aspect. The element of self-sacrifice is the symbol of "divine reciprocation" by the deity to her devotees. As a self-sacrificing mother, she symbolises the ideal woman; however, her sexuality and power are at odds with the archetype. She subdues and takes the life-force of the copulating divine couple, signifying the aspect of the life-taker, like Kali.

Chhinnamasta's serpentine ornaments indicate asceticism while her youthful nude ornamented body has erotic overtones. Like all Hindu goddesses, she is decked in gold finery, symbol of wealth and fertility.

Destruction, transformation and recreation
The scholars Pratapaditya Pal, an expert on South Asian art and H. Bhattacharya, author of Hinduder Debdebi on the subject of Hindu deities, equate Chhinnamasta with the concepts of sacrifice and the renewal of creation. Chhinnamasta sacrifices herself, and her blood – drunk by her attendants – nourishes the universe. One invocation to her calls her the sacrifice, the sacrificer, and the recipient of the sacrifice, with the severed head treated as an offering. This paradox signifies the entire sacrificial process, and thus the cycle of creation, dissolution, and re-creation.

Chhinnamasta is "a figure of radical transformation, a great yogini". She conveys the universal message that all life is sustained by other forms of life, and destruction and sacrifice are necessary for the continuity of creation. The goddess symbolises pralaya (cosmic dissolution), where she swallows all creation and makes way for new creation, thus conveying the idea of transformation. The Supreme Goddess is said to assume the form of Chhinnamasta for destruction of the universe. Chhinnamasta is considered a fearsome aspect of the Divine Mother. She is said to represent Transformation and complements Kali, who stands for Time. Her hundred-name hymn and thousand-name hymn describe her fierce nature and wrath. The names describe her as served by ghosts and as gulping blood. She is pleased by human blood, human flesh, and meat, and worshipped by body hair, flesh, and fierce mantras.

The seer Ganapati Muni associated the Mahavidyas with prakasha ("Light") and nada ("Sound") in stages of creation. Chhinnamasta is the violent interaction between the Light and the Sound enabling Creation. Chhinnamasta severing her own head is interpreted symbolic of the disconnecting of the Source and the manifest Creation, similar to cutting the umbilical cord between the mother and the new-born. Further, Chhinnamasta is associated with thunder and lightning, interacting light and sound forces. Her epithet, Vajra Vairochani ("radiant like the vajra"), is linked to the vajra (thunderbolt) and its divine master - Indra, the king of heaven and the god of rain, thunder and lightning.

The head offering and subsequent restoration of the head signify immortality. The dichotomy of temporality and immortality is alluded to by the blood stream drunk by Chhinnamasta's head – interpreted as amrita and the serpent, which sheds its skin without dying. The skull and severed head garlands signify her victory over Time and fear of Death. Chhinnamasta's black complexion denotes destruction; her depiction as red or orange denotes life. By drinking the blood, she appears as the Saviour, who drinks the negativity of the world and transforms it to benevolent energies; in this interpretation, the blood is seen in negative light rather than amrita.

Chhinnamasta signifies that life, death, and sex are interdependent. Her image conveys the eternal truth that "life feeds on death, is nourished by death, necessitates death, and that the ultimate destiny of sex is to perpetuate more life, which in turn will decay and die in order to feed more life". While the lotus and the lovemaking couple symbolise life and the urge to create life, giving a life-force to the beheaded goddess, the blood flowing from the goddess conveys death and loss of the life-force, which flows into the mouths of her devotee yoginis, nourishing them.

Self-realization and awakening of kundalini

The head is celebrated as a mark of identity as well as source of the seed. Thus, the self-decapitation represents removal of maya (illusion or delusion), physical attachment, false notions, ignorance, and egoism. The scimitar also signifies severance of these obstacles to moksha (emancipation), jnana (wisdom), and self-realization. The goddess also denotes discriminating perception. Chhinnamasta allows the devotee to gain a consciousness that transcends the bonds of physical attachment, the body, and the mind by her self-sacrifice. One interpretation suggests that her three eyes represent the sun, the moon, and fire while another links the third eye to transcendental knowledge. Unlike other Hindu deities who are depicted facing the devotee, Chhinnamasta generally looks at herself, prompting the devotee to look within themself.

The Chhinnamasta icon is also understood as a representation of the awakening of the kundalini – spiritual energy. The copulating couple represent the awakening in the Muladhara chakra, which corresponds to the last bone in the spinal column. The kundalini flows through the central passage in the body – the Sushumna nadi and hits the topmost chakra, the Sahasrara at the top of head – with such force that it blows her head off. The blood spilling from the throat represents the upward-flowing kundalini, breaking all knots (granthis) – those things which make a person sad, ignorant and weak – of the chakras. The severed head is "transcendent consciousness". The three blood streams represent the flow of nectar when the kundalini unites with Shiva, who resides in the Sahasrara. The serpent in her iconography is also a symbol of the kundalini.

Another interpretation associates Daknini, Varnini, and Chhinnamasta with the three main nadis – Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna, respectively – flowing free. The goddess is generally said to be visualised in one's navel, the location of the Manipura chakra where the three nadis unite, and symbolises consciousness as well as the duality of creation and dissolution. Another tradition associates her with the Ajna chakra, the location of the "third eye" of wisdom between the eyebrows, the other meeting point of the three nadis.

The ability to remain alive despite the beheading is associated with supernatural powers and the awakening of the kundalini. The Earl of Ronaldshay (1925) compared Chhinnnamasta to India, beheaded by the British, "but nevertheless preserving her vitality unimpaired by drinking her own blood".

Control over or embodiment of sexual desire
There are two contrasting interpretations of Chhinnamasta with regard to sexual desire. The image of Chhinnamasta standing on a copulating couple of Kamadeva (literally, "sexual desire") and Rati ("sexual intercourse") is interpreted by some scholars as a symbol of a person's control over sexual desire, while others interpret the goddess as being the embodiment of sexual energy.

Her names, such as Yogini and Madanatura ("one who has control of Kama"), convey her yogic control over sexual energy. Her triumphant stance trampling the love-deity couple denotes victory over desire and samsara (the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth). Her subjugation of the amorous couple suggests that her worship will grant control over sexual urge and other impulses of the indriyas ("senses"), whose governing god Indra - she is associated with.

Images in which Chhinnamasta is depicted sitting on Kamadeva-Rati in a non-suppressive fashion suggest that the couple is giving sexual energy to the goddess. Images where Shiva is depicted in coitus with Chhinnamasta are associated with this interpretation. Chhinnamasta's names like Kameshwari ("goddess of desire") and Ratiragavivriddhini ("one who is engrossed in the realm of Rati – [copulation or sexual desire]") and the appearance of klim – the common seed syllable of Kamadeva and Krishna – in her mantra support this interpretation. Her lolling tongue also denotes sexual hunger.

The inverted triangle, found in Chhinnamasta's iconography as well as in her yantra, signifies the yoni (womb) and the feminine. The goddess is often prescribed to be visualised in the centre of the inverted triangle in the navel. It also signifies the three gunas (qualities) and three shaktis (powers) –iccha ("will-power"), kriya ("action"), and jnana ("wisdom"). The goddess is called Yoni-mudra or Yoni-gamya, accessible through the yoni.

Other symbolism and associations
Chhinnamasta's nudity and headlessness symbolise her integrity and "heedlessness". Her names like Ranjaitri ("victorious in war") celebrate her as the slayer of various demons and her prowess in battle. Her nakedness and free-flowing hair denote rejection of societal stereotypes and her rebellious freedom, as well as her sensual aspect.

The triad of the goddess and the two yoginis is also philosophically cognate to the triad of patterns, "which creative energy is felt to adopt". Besides the nadis, Chhinnamasta, Varnini and Dakini also represent the guna trinity: sattva (purity), rajas (energy), and tamas (ignorance). While discussing Mahavidya as a group, Chhinnamasta is associated with rajas (in the Kamadhenu Tantra and the Maha-nirvana Tantra) or sattva (based on her lighter complexion).

While the goddess is a mature sixteen-year-old who has conquered her ego and awakened her kundalini, the attendants are described as spiritually immature twelve-year-olds who are sustained on the goddess's blood and have not become liberated from the delusion of duality. In portrayals where the goddess's hair is tied like a matron and her attendants have free-flowing hair like young girls, the goddess is treated as a motherly figure of regal authority and power; the tied hair and headlessness represent contrasting ideas of controlled and uncontrolled nature, respectively.

Chhinnamasta's association with the navel and her red complexion can be connected to the fire element and the sun, while the lotus in her iconography signifies purity.

Worship
Chhinnamasta's individual cult is not widespread, but she is well known and important among Tantrikas (a type of Tantric practitioner) and is worshipped and depicted as part of the Mahavidya group in goddess temples. Temples and public worship of Chhinnamasta are rare, and her private worship by lay worshippers is probably uncommon.

Within the esoteric Tantric tradition, Chhinnamasta is a significant deity. She enjoys "active worship" in eastern India and Nepal; her temples are found in Nepal as well as in the Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. Benard remarks that she could not visit any Chhinnamasta temples in Bengal, however was "assured" that Chhinnamasta is a popular goddess in Bengal.

The goddess is venerated in the Kalikula ("family of Kali") sect of Shaktism, the Goddess-centric sect of Hinduism. Her individual worship is mainly restricted to heroic Tantrikas, and those who worship her say only yogis and world renouncers have the ability to meditate on her, using her icon. The lack of worship of Chhinnamasta by lay worshippers is attributed by Kinsley to her ferocious nature and her reputation for being dangerous to approach and worship.

Goals of worship
Tantric practitioners worship Chhinnamasta for acquiring siddhis or supernatural powers. Chhinnamasta's mantra (a sacred chant that is repeated by a devotee) Srim hrim klim aim Vajravairocaniye hum hum phat svaha is to be invoked to attract and subjugate women. Her mantra associates her with syllables denoting beauty, light, fire, spiritual self-realization, and destruction of delusion. The Shakta Pramoda and the Rudrayamala recommend the use of her mantra to obtain wealth and auspiciousness.

Another goal of Chhinnamasta's worship is to cast spells and cause harm to someone. She is prescribed to be worshipped for subjugation or enchantment of men and women (vasikarana), annihilation of foes (uchchatana), someone's death (marana) and causing hatred or hostilities between friends (vidveshana).

Acarya Ananda Jha, the author of the Chinnamasta Tattva, prescribes her worship by soldiers as she embodies self-control of lust, heroic self-sacrifice for the benefit of others, and fearlessness in the face of death. In a collective prayer to the Mahavidyas in the Shakta Maha-bhagavata Purana, the devotee prays to emulate Chhinnamasta in her generosity to others. Other goals common to worship of all Mahavidyas are: poetic speech, well-being, control of one's foes, removal of obstacles, ability to sway kings, ability to attract others, conquest over other kings, and, finally, moksha (salvation).

Modes of worship
The Tantric texts Tantrasara, Shakta Pramoda and Mantra-mahodadhih give details about the worship of Chhinnamasta and other Mahavidyas, including her yantra, mantra and her dhyanas (meditative or iconographic forms). The Sri Chhinnamasta Nityarcana by Shri Swamiji (1979) details the rituals for the daily worship of Chhinnamasta.

In her puja, Chhinnamasta's image or her yantra is worshipped, along with her attendants. The heterodox offerings of Panchamakara – wine, meat, fish, parched grain, and coitus – along with mainstream offerings such as flowers, light, incense, etc., are prescribed for her worship. A fire sacrifice and repetition of her stotra (hymn of praise) or her nama-stotra (name-hymn) are also prescribed in her worship. The Shakta Pramoda has her sahasranama (thousand name-hymn) as well as a compilation of her 108 names in a hymn.

Tantric texts tell the worshipper to imagine a red sun orb – signifying a yoni triangle – in his own navel. The popular form of Chhinnamasta is imagined to reside in the orb. The Tantrasara cautions a householder-man to invoke the goddess only in "abstract terms". It further advises that, if woman invokes Chhinnamasta by her mantra, the woman will become a dakini and lose her husband and son, thereby becoming a perfect yogini. The Shaktisamgama Tantra prescribes her worship only by the left-handed path (Vamamarga). The Mantra-mahodadhih declares that such worship involves having sexual intercourse with a woman who is not one's wife. The Shakta Pramoda tells the same, adding fire sacrifices, wine, and meat offerings at night. The best time to propitiate her is said to be the fourth quarter of the evening, that is, midnight.

Some hymns narrate that Chhinnamasta likes blood and thus is offered blood sacrifices at some shrines. The Shaktisamgama Tantra says that only brave souls (viras) should follow Vamamarga worship to the goddess. The Shakta Pramoda warns that improper worship brings severe consequences, with Chhinnamasta beheading the person and drinking his blood. Further, it explains the worship rituals to be followed by householders and those to be followed by renouncers. The Todala Tantra mentions that, as part of Chhinnamasta's worship, Shiva or his fierce form, Bhairava, be worshipped as Kabandha ("headless trunk") as the goddess's consort. The worship of Kabandha, to the right of Chhinnamasta, is said to grant siddhis.

Chhinnamasta is typically worshipped at midnight along with the other Mahavidyas at Kali Puja, the festival of Kali. However, householders are cautioned not to worship her. The Bakhrabad area of Cuttack district and the 86 Palli pandal of Kolkata have unique traditions of worshipping Chhinnamasta, instead of Kali, on Kali Puja.

Temples
Maa Chhinnamasta Temple.jpg ("She who fulfills one's wishes"), temple of Chhinnamastika in Himachal Pradesh, is one of the Shakti Peethas (considered the holiest goddess temples) and is where the goddess Sati's forehead (mastaka) fell. Here, Chhinnamasta is interpreted as the severed-headed one as well as the foreheaded-one. The central icon is a pindi, an abstract form of Devi. While householders worship the goddess as a form of the goddess Durga, ascetic sadhus view her as the Tantric severed-headed goddess. Chinnamasta chintpurni 06.jpg Another important shrine is the Chhinnamasta Temple near Rajrappa in Jharkhand, where a natural rock covered with an ashtadhatu (eight-metal alloy) kavacha (cover) is worshipped as the goddess. Though well-established as a centre of Chhinnamasta by the 18th century, the site is a popular place of worship among tribals since ancient times. Kheer and animal sacrifice are offered to the goddess.
 * alt=refer to caption]]

A shrine dedicated to Chhinnamasta was built by a Tantric sadhu in the Durga Temple complex, Ramnagar, near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, where tantrikas worship her using corpses. Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has a shrine of the goddess that is open only three days a year, around Chaitra Navaratri. Her shrines are also situated in the Kamakhya Temple complex, Assam and Basukinath temple complex, Jharkhand along with other Mahavidyas. There is a Chhinnamasta temple at Bishnupur, West Bengal. The goddess Manikeswari, a popular goddess in Odisha, is often identified with Chhinnamasta.

Chhinnamasta's shrines are also found in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. A shrine in the Changu Narayan Temple holds a 13th-century icon of Chhinnamasta. A chariot festival in the Nepali month of Baishakh is held in honour of the goddess. In the fields near the temple sits a small shrine to Chhinnamasta. A temple of the goddess in Patan built in 1732 contains her images in different postures and enjoys active worship.

title: Chhinnamasta


text:
Bhairavi

Bhairavi (भैरवी) is a Hindu goddess, described as one of the Mahāvidyas, the ten avatars of the mother goddess. She is the consort of Dakṣiṇāmūrti.

Etymology
The name Bhairavi means "terror" or "awe-inspiring".

Iconography

Her dhyana shloka in the Devi Mahatmya describes her form. She wears red garments and wears a garland of severed heads around her neck. She has three eyes and her head is adorned with a crescent moon. Tripura Sundari and Tripura Bhairavi are closely associated but different.

Legend
Bhairavi is also a title for a female adept in Kundalini, Tantra. A yogini is a student of Tantra or an aspirant. A Bhairavi has succeeded in Tantra with the help of 64 yoginis. Yogini or Jogini are 64 in number. Yoginis, female supporting deities of Bhairavi. Bhairavi is the supreme leader of all 64 yoginis. Bhairav also has 52 supporting powers called 52 Bhairav. Bhairavi is the consort of Bhairava according to the Puranas and Tantras. In Tantra Shastra all 64 yogini, 52 Bhairav and 56 Kalve work together.

Bhairavi is also called as Shubhankari, which means that she is the doer of auspicious deeds to her devotees who are her children, which means she is a good mother. She also favours violence, punishment and bloodshed to those who are irreligious and cruel, which also means that she is the mother of all violence to them. She is said to be seen as violent and terrible but is a benign mother to her children.

title: Bhairavi


text:
Jim Threapleton

James Edward Threapleton (born 8 November 1973) is an English film director. Threapleton has worked as an assistant director on a number of feature films, including Hideous Kinky.

Career
His first work as a director (and writer) was the film Extraordinary Rendition, starring Omar Berdouni and Andy Serkis, which premiered at the 2007 Locarno Film Festival.

Personal life
He is the son of RAF Officer Edward ‘Ted’ Threapleton and Louise Threapleton. The elder of two boys, he has a younger brother Robin. He and Kate Winslet, whom he met on the set of Hideous Kinky, married on 22 November 1998 in Reading, Berkshire, Winslet's hometown. They have a daughter, Mia Honey Threapleton (b. 12 October 2000 in London). The couple separated in September 2001 and divorced on 13 December 2001.

In 2008 Threapleton married his second wife, Julie Vuorinen, a school administrator and teacher to special needs students. They have two daughters, Olivia, born in 2009, and Georgia, born in 2013. He also has a son Skyler Threapleton who was born in October 2009

title: Jim Threapleton


text:
DNS root zone

The DNS root zone is the top-level DNS zone in the hierarchical namespace of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet.

Before October 1, 2016, the root zone had been overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which delegates the management to a subsidiary acting as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Distribution services are provided by Verisign. Prior to this, ICANN performed management responsibility under oversight of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Oversight responsibility transitioned to the global stakeholder community represented within ICANN's governance structures.

A combination of limits in the DNS definition and in certain protocols, namely the practical size of unfragmented User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets, resulted in a practical maximum of 13 root name server addresses that can be accommodated in DNS name query responses. However the root zone is serviced by several hundred servers at over 130 locations in many countries.

Initialization of DNS service
The DNS root zone is served by thirteen root server clusters which are authoritative for queries to the top-level domains of the Internet. Thus, every name resolution either starts with a query to a root server or uses information that was once obtained from a root server.

The root servers clusters have the official names a.root-servers.net to m.root-servers.net. To resolve these names into addresses, a DNS resolver must first find an authoritative server for the net zone. To avoid this circular dependency, the address of at least one root server must be known for bootstrapping access to the DNS. For this purpose, operating systems or DNS servers or resolver software packages typically include a file with all addresses of the DNS root servers. Even if the IP addresses of some root servers change, at least one is needed to retrieve the current list of all name servers. This address file is called named.cache in the BIND name server reference implementation. The current official version is distributed by ICANN's InterNIC.

With the address of a single functioning root server, all other DNS information may be discovered recursively, and information about any domain name may be found.

Redundancy and diversity
The root DNS servers are essential to the function of the Internet, as most Internet services, such as the World Wide Web and email, are based on domain names. The DNS servers are potential points of failure for the entire Internet. For this reason, multiple root servers are distributed worldwide. The DNS packet size of 512 octets limits a DNS response to thirteen addresses, until protocol extensions (see Extension Mechanisms for DNS) lifted this restriction. While it is possible to fit more entries into a packet of this size when using label compression, thirteen was chosen as a reliable limit. Since the introduction of IPv6, the successor Internet Protocol to IPv4, previous practices are being modified and extra space is filled with IPv6 name servers.

The root name servers are hosted in multiple secure sites with high-bandwidth access to accommodate the traffic load. At first, all of these installations were located in the United States; however, the distribution has shifted and this is no longer the case. Usually each DNS server installation at a given site is a cluster of computers with load-balancing routers. A comprehensive list of servers, their locations, and properties is available at https://root-servers.org/. , there were 1708 root servers worldwide.

The modern trend is to use anycast addressing and routing to provide resilience and load balancing across a wide geographic area. For example, the j.root-servers.net server, maintained by Verisign, is represented by 104 individual server systems located around the world, which can be queried using anycast addressing.

Management
The content of the Internet root zone file is coordinated by a subsidiary of ICANN which performs the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. Verisign generates and distributes the zone file to the various root server operators.

In 1997, when the Internet was transferred from U.S. government control to private hands, NTIA exercised stewardship over the root zone. A 1998 Commerce Department document stated the agency was "committed to a transition that will allow the private sector to take leadership for DNS management" by the year 2000, however, no steps to make the transition happen were taken. In March 2014, NTIA announced it would transition its stewardship to a "global stakeholder community".

According to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, Lawrence E. Strickling, March 2014 was the right time to start a transition of the role to the global Internet community. The move came after pressure in the fallout of revelations that the United States and its allies had engaged in surveillance. The chairman of the board of ICANN denied the two were connected, however, and said the transition process had been ongoing for a long time. ICANN president Fadi Chehadé called the move historic and said that ICANN would move toward multi-stakeholder control. Various prominent figures in Internet history not affiliated with ICANN also applauded the move.

NTIA's announcement did not immediately affect how ICANN performs its role. On March 11, 2016, NTIA announced that it had received a proposed plan to transition its stewardship role over the root zone, and would review it in the next 90 days.

The proposal was adopted, and ICANN's renewed contract to perform the IANA function lapsed on September 30, 2016, resulting in the transition of oversight responsibility to the global stakeholder community represented within ICANN's governance structures. As a component of the transition plan, it created a new subsidiary called Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) to perform the IANA functions which include managing the DNS root zone.

Signing of the root zone
Since July 2010, the root zone has been signed with a DNSSEC signature, providing a single trust anchor for the Domain Name System that can in turn be used to provide a trust anchor for other public key infrastructure (PKI). The root zone DNSKEY section is re-signed periodically with the root zone key signing key performed in a verifiable manner in front of witnesses in a key signing ceremony. The KSK2017 with ID 20326 is valid as of 2020.

ZONEMD record
While the root zone file is signed with DNSSEC, some DNS records, such as NS records, are not covered by DNSSEC signatures. To address this weakness, a new DNS Resource Record, called ZONEMD, was introduced in RFC 8976. ZONEMD doesn't replace DNSSEC. ZONEMD and DNSSEC must be used together to ensure the full protection of the DNS root zone file.

The ZONEMD deployment for the DNS root zone was completed on December 6, 2023.

DNS over TLS
The B-Root DNS servers offer experimental support for DNS over TLS (DoT) on port 853.

title: DNS root zone


text:
Talk:Chariot racing

older entries
There are a bunch of images in this article that have copyright problems. See that page for details. --mav 21:18, 3 May 2004 (UTC)

also this text is copied from http://encyclopedia.lockergnome.com/s/b/Chariot_racing#Roman_chariot_racing

 * No, they copied it from us. They don't say so specifically, although they do cite the GFDL, so I don't know if it is a problem. Adam Bishop 02:47, 20 May 2005 (UTC)

Lead
Please expand the lead. 12.220.47.145 18:36, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

Inline citations
Considering this is one of Wiki's earliest FAs, it has held up remarkably well, and has even improved over the promoted version (unlike many of the older FAs, which have deteriorated). Unfortunately, it's lacking inline citations. The article is in such good shape that it should be possible to avoid a featured article review if citations could be provided. I'll check back in later. Sandy Georgia (Talk) 16:37, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Funny you should mention footnotes, which was a big gripe in the article's FARC. I put a sour comment on the little gremlins in the FARC. My attitude toward footnotes has mellowed a little, though I still think they're often not necessary and always not beautiful. But just to get people off my back, I'll often add the little bugs. The problem with this article is that the original author does not seem to have the references available to him for those famous "inline citations." This is no problem for me, but the current mania for footnotes put the article on FARC in the first place. Casey Abell 13:39, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

 * I think I still have some of the books, but I wrote this a few years ago now, when Wikipedia was a much different place, and I was younger and dumber. I'm sure there is a lot more that can be said about chariot racing; I am not a classicist and I am not as familiar with the sources as I would like to be in order to add citations or more sources. I don't have the time or the inclination to add citations for the sources I did use, and if this becomes de-featured it would cause me no great distress... Adam Bishop 17:30, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

 * I wouldn't get distressed, either, though it's a little silly that a good article might get demoted just because it doesn't have gremlins crawling over it. Casey Abell 19:41, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Citations are gremlins? What is that supposed to mean? How is anyone supposed to verify any content in any article without inline citations? You could pretty much get away with saying anything on an obscure topic and get away with it if it wasn't for cited references that others could check (to see if your writing is full of bullshit or not).-- Pericles of Athens  Talk 00:34, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Article is lacking on subject of the chariot, esp. horses
The last paragraph of "Olympic games" could be very much improved by an account of the chariot. It doesn't seem that any other article provides the information I would expect: for example, the four-horse chariot, with two horses under yoke and two trace horses, the importance and mechanics of these elements--e.g. a strong right trace horse in a left turn, that kind of thing. Am I missing a diagram or any treatment of these chariot components and principles anywhere on Wikipedia? Wareh (talk) 00:30, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

WP:BIAS?
Surely at a lesser scale but the other chariot-heavy cultures—ancient Celts, Persia, India, and China—must've had some similar sporting events. Whatever the equivalents were should be mentioned in at least one separate section. — Llywelyn II   20:20, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

 * Is there something preventing you or anyone from adding such a paragraph or section? Cynwolfe (talk) 16:47, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

WP:ENGVAR/ERA
This edit established the usage of the page as British English and BC/AD dating. Kindly maintain them consistently pending a new consensus to the contrary. — Llywelyn II   12:03, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Chariot racing