Illness and Immortality: Mantra, Mandala, and Meditation in the Netra Tantra

Illness and Immortality examines a medieval Sanskrit text, the Netra Tantra, which is devoted to health and healing through a yogic practice dedicated to the chanting of mantras, the building of mandalas, and meditation. Patricia Sauthoff examines the role of such ritual elements in rites to alleviate illness and death. She includes analysis of the various forms of the deity Amrtesa or Mrtyuñjaya (Conqueror of Death), the nature of mantra, and the relationship between the tantric practition...