Cosmological, devotional, and social perspectives on the Hindu goddess / Tracy Pintchman -- From magic to deity, matter to persona : the exaltation of Maya / Bihani Sarkar -- Lalim, the graceful and enchanting goddess of Kaficipuram / Sanjukta Gupta -- Sri/Laksʹmi: goddess of plenitude and ideal of womanhood / Mandakranta Bose -- The elusive sarasvati : a goddess, a river, and the search for the universal in the particular / Elizabeth Mary Rohlman - Radha : lover and beloved of KrĐsĐnĐia / Tracy Coleman -- Sita : enduring example for women / Heidi R. Pauwels -- Here are the daughters : reclaiming the girl child (Kanya, Bala, Kumari) in the empowering tales and rituals of Sakta Tantra / Madhu Khanna -- Becoming a Living Goddess / Brenda Beck -- Bathukamma : the folk-song tradition of the flower goddess of Telangana in South India / Prabhavati C. Reddy -- A goddess from Bengal : Devi Manasa, Goddess of serpents / Krishna Datta -- Domestication of the disorderly devi : The CanĐdĐi Mangalakavya of Bengal / Saswati Sengupta -- A "Muslim" poet in the lap of a "Hindu" mother : Kazi Nazrul Islam and the Goddess Kali / Rachel Fell McDermott -- The divine mother comes to Michigan / Tracy Pintchman.
Summary:
This book explains how Hindus think about divinity in its feminine aspect, as the supreme creative energy of the cosmos. That energy is a single abstract idea but manifests itself in many forms, each imagined as a goddess with particular powers and functions.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.