[brurdefdoro]

have seen that shaktaism in maharashtra is very strong....incidentally most kings seem to have modelled their worship after shakti or power personifying dieties since they beleived it wud bring them power in a fight / war...eg: tulja bhavani was the kula devi of the king shivaji's clan and also happens to be the tutelary deity of the nepal royals.

As per books by Susan Bayly, the nayakas were also shakti worshipping initially...there is one story abt krishnadeva raya taking a different lady every night before a war believing that the lady 'shakti' wud pass on her powers to him...he later sought and found peace in the vaishnava faith and gave up his kinky practices for good.

Hariharananda Paramahansa says in his book 'kriya yoga' that tantra somehow turned out to be the most misunderstood (and even abused) of all vedic texts, with westerners and new-age claimants.

Am wondering abt Krishna's origin - was it orissa or gujrat?