The Transition to the Dangerous Divinities

The dangerous deities, which we are now ready to discuss, are in many contexts and for many purposes considered as independent deities. The "Goddess" who in some contexts is thought to derive from Siva, in others is not only independent and self-created but also usurps his role as the creator deity. For certain purposes in Shaivite and Tantric Bhaktapur, however, Siva is considered as their source. One aspect of this idea is related to the conception of Siva/Sakti, which is of basic importance in Tantric theory (chap. 9). Sometimes Siva is thought to transform himself into another god, such as Bhimasena. Sometimes Siva is thought to be first transformed into his dangerous form Bhairava, who may then, in turn, generate other dangerous gods. Siva's transformation into Bhairava is described as not a transformation of himself, but rather as a sending out of a force or power from within himself, an emanation, a ni:saran . Emanation is also the way in which the dangerous goddesses are said to be generated, as Siva is conceived as generating a powerful form of the goddess, who then, in turn, generates or is transformed into subsidiary forms.

We are now concerned with relations of a different kind than those that obtain between the "ordinary" gods. Those were familiar and relatively fixed social relations: spouse, child, friend. These relations are relations of metamorphosis and emanation and are often shadowy and uncanny. Their proper worship, uses, and meanings differ from those of the ordinary deities. They belong to a different realm of the world and of the mind.