321

J:AF

pancha makara

In Hindu TANTRISM of the “left-handed” sort, the

pancha makara or “Five M’s” (SANSKRIT words

that begin with that letter), sometimes called the

“five forbidden things (pancha tattva),” are the

elements in a special esoteric ceremony. They

are mamsa (meat, usually beef), matsya (fish),

madya (wine), mudra (parched grain), and mai-

thuna (sexual intercourse.) These five elements

are meant to involve the participants (there may

be one or more pairs in a tantric ritual circle) in

forbidden actions that aid in realizing the divin-

ity of mundane existence. By taking “forbidden”

elements, they are confronted with the fact that

even those things beyond the pale in human terms

partake in the truth of the divinity, usually charac-

terized as the goddess.

Beef is forbidden to all caste Hindus. It is

highly polluting, and eating it is condemned by

society. Fish is also not taken by most BRAHMINS

and is believed to have aphrodisiac qualities.

Parched grain also is known to stimulate sexual

appetite and therefore is not considered desirable.

Alcohol is probably the foremost of Brahmini-

cal prohibitions. In the DHARMASHASTRA of MANU

drinking liquor is equated with killing a Brahmin.

Sexuality outside marriage is looked upon as a

negative thing. The female sexual partner in tant-

ric sexuality is preferably of very low caste and not

the male partner’s wife.

Further reading: Agehananda Bharati, The Tantric

Tradition (New York: Grove Press, 1975); N. N. Bhat-

tacharyya, History of the Tantric Religion: A Historical,

Ritualistic and Philosophical Study (Delhi: Manohar,

1982); Sanjukta Gupta, Dirk Jan Hoens, and Teun Gou-

driaan, Hindu Tantrism (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1979).

Pancharatra

The Pancharatra (pancha, five; ratra, nights) sect

was one of the early traditions that developed into

VAISHNAVISM, the worship of VISHNU. It probably

dates to the last centuries before the Common

Era. The name may derive from the SHATAPATHA

BRAHMANA XIII.6, where the god Narayana, the

primordial and all-encompassing divinity, per-

forms a special “five nights” sacrifice in order

to transcend and encompass all beings. In later

Vaishnavism Narayana became the name of the

highest divinity; he was said to transcend BRAHMA,

SHIVA, and even VISHNU.

In the Pancharatra system, creation emerges

through vyuhas (arrangements) of the manifesta-

P