I. Brāhmaṇism, Tantra and the Double-Norm: Kṛṣṇānanda and the Context of 16th Century Bengal

O Devi, this Kula-dharma must always and in all places be carefully kept secret, like the child born of one's mother's paramour.

Kulārṇava Tantra (KT XI. 84)

Mahāmohapādhyāya Śrī Kṛṣṇānanda-Vāgīṣa-Bhaṭṭācārya -- more widely known as Kṛṣṇānanda Āgamavāgīśa -- lived and wrote during the 16th century in the city of Navadvipa, at that time the major center of theology and philosophy in Bengal. There is at present some debate over the precise dates of Kṛṣṇānanda's life, some identifying him as a contemporary of Śrī Caitanya (d.1533), some placing him in the first half of the 16th century and others putting him in the latter part of that century; however, the most common opinion is that the Bṛhat-Tantrasāra was composed in Navadvipa sometime between 1585 and 1600.¹⁷ A respected smarta brāhmaṇ, Kṛṣṇānanda lived in the midst of a religious and political context that was not entirely favorable to brāhmaṇic Hinduism; on the contrary, "Brāhmaṇism was passing through a precarious state of existence."¹⁸ Not only had Bengal been under Muslim rule for several hundred years, displacing brāhmaṇic authority and royal patronage, but within Hinduism itself, a number of powerful, non- and often anti-brāhmaṇic heterodox movements emerged in 16th century Bengal. Foremost among these was the devotional revival of Śrī Caitanya who opposed the ritualism and elitism of brāhmaṇic orthodoxy, calling for a personal, affective relationship with God.

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