The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India
The Alchemical Body excavates and centers within its Indian context the lost tradition of the medieval Siddhas. Working from previously unexplored alchemical sources, David Gordon White demonstrates for the first time that the medieval disciplines of Hindu alchemy and hatha yoga were practiced by one and the same people, and that they can be understood only when viewed together. White opens the way to a new and more comprehensive understanding of medieval Indian mysticism, within the broader...
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The Alchemical Body excavates and centers within its Indian context the lost tradition of the medieval Siddhas. Working from previously unexplored alchemical sources, David Gordon White demonstrates for the first time that the medieval disciplines of Hindu alchemy and hatha yoga were practiced by one and the same people, and that they can be understood only when viewed together. White opens the way to a new and more comprehensive understanding of medieval Indian mysticism, within the broader context of south Asian Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam."White proves a skillful guide in disentangling historical and theoretical complexities that have thus far bedeviled the study of these influential aspects of medieval Indian culture."—Yoga World"Anyone seriously interested in finding out more about authentic tantra, original hatha yoga, embodied liberation . . . sacred sexuality, paranormal abilities, healing, and of course alchemy will find White's extraordinary book as fascinating as any Tom Clancy thriller."—Georg Feuerstein, Yoga Journal Asian Studies Review David White has done us a great service by presenting us with such a wide-ranging and thorough piece of research into a challenging subject, rarely met with in European-language works, although certainly still a popular field in India and Tibet.
PrefaceNote on TransliterationAbbreviations1Indian Paths to Immortality12Categories of Indian Thought: The Universe by Numbers153The Prehistory of Tantric Alchemy484Sources for the History of Tantric Alchemy in India785Tantric and Siddha Alchemical Literature1236Tantra in the Rasarnava1717Corresponding Hierarchies: The Substance of the Alchemical Body1848Homologous Structures of the Alchemical Body2189The Dynamics of Transformation in Siddha Alchemy26310Penetration, Perfection, and Immortality303Epilogue: The Siddha Legacy in Modern India335Notes353Selected Bibliography521Index555
\ Asian Studies ReviewDavid White has done us a great service by presenting us with such a wide-ranging and thorough piece of research into a challenging subject, rarely met with in European-language works, although certainly still a popular field in India and Tibet.\ \
