Devi: Goddesses of IndiaJohn Stratton Hawley, Donna Marie Wulff The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have severely limited the portrayal of the divine as feminine. But in Hinduism "God" very often means "Goddess." This extraordinary collection explores twelve different Hindu goddesses, all of whom are in some way related to Devi, the Great Goddess. They range from the liquid goddess-energy of the River Ganges to the possessing, entrancing heat of Bhagavati and Seranvali. They are local, like Vindhyavasini, and global, like Kali; ancient, like Saranyu, and modern, like "Mother India." The collection combines analysis of texts with intensive fieldwork, allowing the reader to see how goddesses are worshiped in everyday life. In these compelling essays, the divine feminine in Hinduism is revealed as never before—fascinating, contradictory, powerful. |
Contents
PROLOGUE The Goddess in India | 1 |
Three kinds of relations between goddesses and gods as typified by their | 15 |
G O DD ESSES | 18 |
DEVI The Great Goddess | 31 |
A modern rendition of Devi as the slayer of the buffalodemon | 37 |
VIND HYAVAS INI Local Goddess yet Great Goddess | 49 |
Vindhyavāsini goddess of Vindhyachal | 50 |
The triangle yatra | 64 |
Bathers in the Ganges during the festival of Makarasamkrānti | 139 |
SAR ANY USAMJ N A The Sun and the Shadow | 153 |
ŠERAN VALI The Mother Who Possesses | 173 |
BHAGAVATI Ball of Fire | 195 |
SATI The Story of Godavari | 227 |
BHARAT MATA Mother India and Her Militant Matriots | 250 |
EPILO GUE The Western Kāli | 281 |
O S S ARY | 315 |
KALI Blood and Death Out of Place | 77 |
1 Sri on the breast of Visnu | 96 |
Rādhā and Krishna taking shelter from the rain 1 | 117 |
GANGA The Goddess Ganges in Hindu Sacred Geography | 137 |
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asuras auspicious Bengali Bhadrakali Bhagavati Bhārat Mātā temple blood Brahmā Brahmin consort context cult culture curse dance Dārika death deities Delhi demons described Desika Devī Devi Māhātmya devotees divine Durgā earth episode essay female feminine feminist festival figure Ganga Godavari gods Hindu goddesses Hindu nationalist human husband incarnations India Kāli Käli's Kerala kirtan Krishna Laksmi Lord Mahābhārata Mahalaksmi Mahāmāyā Mahatmya male manifest Manu Mātāji mother mudiyettu myth narrative Nisumbha offer Pârvati performance pilgrimage pilgrims play possession prakrti Press Purana Purānic Rādhā recitation Religion religious Rig Veda ritual river role Rupa Rupa's sacred sacrifice Śakti Samjñā Sanskrit Saranyū sati Satyamitranand sexual shrine Siva Siva's songs spiritual Sri Vaisnava status story Sumbha Sumbha and Nisumbha symbol Tantric theology tion tradition University Vaisnava Vedic verse village Vindhya Vindhya Māhātmya Vindhyachal Vindhyaksetra Vindhyavāsini Vishva Hindu Parishad vision Visnu wife woman women worship Yama yantra