Śākta Brahmins of Kerala and their rituals with esoteric and exoteric dimensions

It is a well-known fact that Kerala inherited a distinct temple ritual cult. Broadly this can be divided into three traditions i.e., Tantrasamuccya, Irinjalakkuda and Śāktism of Piṭāras (bhaṭṭāraka) and Mūssads. The former, the Tantrasamucccaya tradition, consists of all the similar ritualistic traditions that took their root either before or after the composition of the Tantrasamuccaya. This tradition gained wider acceptance and dominance all over Kerala. With regard to Irinjalakkuda tradition, it is a less known cult, geographically constrained and prevalent only among the Brahmin settlements of this specific region. Though in practice Irinjalakkuda settlement follows a different custom of temple rituals, there are similarities with that of Tantrasamuccaya. While Tantrasamuccaya and Irinjalakkuda traditions have many things in common, the Śākta tradition of Piṭaras and Mūssads is totally distinct from both.