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Religion of Monarchs

Chapter 6 examines the socio-historical practicalities of a monarch participating in the Tantric sphere. The twelfth-century chronicle Rājataraṅgiṇī offers a useful guide. Its narratives demonstrate how practitioners who have shed caste identity through initiation still retain it in the social world. It focuses largely on monarchs, disapproving of their participation in Tantric rites. The chapter discusses literary evidence that demonstrates the widespread agreement on what qualifies as prohibited and the penalties for transgressions. It discusses evidence of royal patronage before turning to specific rites related to the king. These rites include marking the body and food of the king with preventative ritual objects and mantras and large-scale rituals that protect everything under the king’s purview. The chapter contrasts these public or semi-public rituals with the private rituals to maintain the monarch’s health.