James Mallinson. The Khecarīvidyā of Ādhinātha. In Journal of Hindu Studies. 2008.

This remarkable book is the second volume of the Routledge Studies in Tantric Traditions, edited by Gavin Flood. Beautifully produced by the author, who was responsible for the typesetting, it combines an easy-to-read typeface (Garamond) with an elegant font for the Devanāgarī script. Due to the highly technical nature of the material, this winning combination of authorial attention to detail with a highly elevated sense of aesthetics, results in not merely a book but a work of art.

The preface and introductory material for this book tell an intriguing tale of how the author decided upon this topic, gathered his research materials, and interviewed practitioners. Khecarīmudrā entails inverting one's tongue to massage the upper palate. Advanced practitioners slowly wear away the flesh that constricts the tongue and eventually manipulate the tongue for ‘the insertion of the tongue into the abode of Brahmā and the raising of Kuṇḍalinī in order to flood the body with amṛta and defeat death by temporarily or permanently leaving the body’ (p.␣3). This practice, although odd, is widely known throughout India. My own Yoga teacher trained in this technique as a girl in Calcutta, and various Westerners have also been initiated into this practice. Rather than dwelling on the sensational aspects of Khecari Mudra, Mallinson seeks to provide the textual foundation for understanding it.