The Young Goddess Who Dances through the Ordinariness of Life―A Study on the Tantric Traditions of Kerala

Drawing on both ethnographic and literary sources, this paper indicates that initiations into the mantra of Bālā are essential rites passage for various Tantric communities. We focus two previously unstudied texts: Bālāviṃśati stotra (“Twenty Verses Goddess”), a popular eulogy sung festive occasions in Keralan temples, Bālādīkṣāpaddhati (“A Treatise Initiation Mantra”), short treatise explaining rules initiation cult Kerala. The article contextualizes texts by providing commentaries practitioners interpretations gurus who initiate their adepts Śrīvidyā.