ṭhag

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Ṭhag (Prakrit, ṭhagga; Sindhī, ṭhagu). The anglicized Thugs or Thugees. They were devotees of the Goddess Kālī in the form of Bhavānī, to whom they offered the victims of their attacks, plus a third of the proceeds. Known especially for strangling victims, any method was acceptable provided blood was not shed. The British largely eliminated the Thugs by 1861, but the cult, with its affinities with left-handed Tantra, persists. There is still a temple devoted to Bhavānī at Mirzāpur, near Varāṇasī.

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