Can I find an original source of this story? It is especially interesting since I have also heard Adi Sankara state that "women are the gateway to hell, Naraka-Dhama"
Really interesting post. I'd never heard of the Amaru Shataka. Is there a translation you'd recommend?
Entering other people's bodies seems to be a common (or at least, an unsurprising) tack taken by adepts in stories. I remember in the Mahabharata, Bhishma recounts how a scholar named Sulabha entered King Janaka's body to debate him.
Can I find an original source of this story? It is especially interesting since I have also heard Adi Sankara state that "women are the gateway to hell, Naraka-Dhama"
Really interesting post. I'd never heard of the Amaru Shataka. Is there a translation you'd recommend?
Entering other people's bodies seems to be a common (or at least, an unsurprising) tack taken by adepts in stories. I remember in the Mahabharata, Bhishma recounts how a scholar named Sulabha entered King Janaka's body to debate him.
Yes, it was one of the main yogi tricks. I've been reading a lot about warrior yogis from the 16th - 19th century, and there is so much body-snatching! Here is the one I used: https://books.google.co.cr/books/about/Erotic_Love_Poems_from_India.html?id=jrxd0bVSl4oC&redir_esc=y