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.
Devi
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Editors Hawley (religion, Barnard Coll.) and Wulff (religion, Brown Univ.) offer a collection of scholarly essays exploring the portrayals of 12 Hindu goddesses from a number of regions and time periods. Well written and thoroughly researched, the essays explore the multivarious roles of the goddess in a religion where the presence of the female divine is vital, real, and contradictory. The editors have divided the essays into sections discussing the goddess as supreme and goddess as consort; goddesses who mother and possess; and, finally, Kali in the Western goddess spirituality movement. Recommended for graduate collections on religion, women's studies, Asian studies, and sociology.?Gail Wood, SUNY Coll. of Tech. Lib., Alfred
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap
"Demonstrating the range and complexity of feminine imagery in Hindu tradition, Devi offers to scholars and beginners alike a fascinating and useful anthology."--Elaine Pagels, author Gnostic Gospels
"Thought-provoking and new, yet containing a few classics as well, Devi is a most valuable addition to studies of India--society, religion, culture, and art."--Vidya Dehejia, Smithsonian Institution
"A wonderfully informative group of essays about the main goddess figures of India. These sometimes dominate the male and sometimes stand alone, and they range from the fertile river Ganga to the awesome Kali, who is transforming herself in the West."--Ninian Smart, University of California, Santa Barbara
"Thought-provoking and new, yet containing a few classics as well, Devi is a most valuable addition to studies of India--society, religion, culture, and art."--Vidya Dehejia, Smithsonian Institution
"A wonderfully informative group of essays about the main goddess figures of India. These sometimes dominate the male and sometimes stand alone, and they range from the fertile river Ganga to the awesome Kali, who is transforming herself in the West."--Ninian Smart, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book on the Goddesses of India!,
By
This review is from: Devi: Goddesses of India (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society) (Paperback)
I have this version under the title Devi: Goddesses of India published in India. I am pleased with this book. Many books show Kali as a ruthless killer and destroyer, here you will read about a softer and yet liberating side of Kali for women and men. This book has many articles from diffrent authers which really gives the reader a look at diffrent devis from diffrent points of view. Once I began to read this book I could not put it down. I would also recommend anything by David Kinsley and Kali by Elizabet U Harding .
4.0 out of 5 stars
great read,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Devi: Goddesses of India (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society) (Paperback)
I'm in the process of reading this book- and am enjoying it. It is informing and looks at the Goddesses from different angles-which i really appreciate. I have learned quite a bit about Goddesses that I had never known before- and it has answered questions that even my parents and grandparents were unable to answer (all Hindu)
4 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Only one God, but many forms.,
By Adria Chappell (Louisville, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Devi: Goddesses of India (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society) (Paperback)
"The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have severely limited the portrayal of the divine as feminine." Please don't think because of the former comment that Hindus beleive in more than one God. The Gita says "God may take any form he/she pleases and at any time he/she pleases." These deities are manifestations ( dictionary definition of manifestation-- One of the forms in which someone or something, such as a person, a divine being, or an idea, is revealed. The materialized form of a spirit.)
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
There are multiple dimensions to posing the apparently straightforward question of who is the Great Goddess of India, the Devi, and how she is related to other Hindu deities. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
triangle yantra, sati immolation, religious realization, fierce goddess, goddess spirituality, divine consort, goddess traditions, wind form, other goddesses, great goddess, goddess waters, human vehicle, divine play Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Sri Vaisnava, Rig Veda, San Francisco, Oxford University Press, Bharat Mata, Devi Mdhdtmya, New Delhi, South India, University of California Press, South Asia, University of Chicago Press, Kali Yuga, New Age, Vishva Hindu Parishad, Devi Mdhatmya, Little Mother, North India, Merlin Stone, Motilal Banarsidass, Vasudha Narayanan, Vindhya Mdhdtmya, Amar Chitra Katha, Babri Mosque, Vaisno Devi New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
There are multiple dimensions to posing the apparently straightforward question of who is the Great Goddess of India, the Devi, and how she is related to other Hindu deities. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
triangle yantra, sati immolation, religious realization, fierce goddess, goddess spirituality, divine consort, goddess traditions, wind form, other goddesses, great goddess, goddess waters, human vehicle, divine play Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Sri Vaisnava, Rig Veda, San Francisco, Oxford University Press, Bharat Mata, Devi Mdhdtmya, New Delhi, South India, University of California Press, South Asia, University of Chicago Press, Kali Yuga, New Age, Vishva Hindu Parishad, Devi Mdhatmya, Little Mother, North India, Merlin Stone, Motilal Banarsidass, Vasudha Narayanan, Vindhya Mdhdtmya, Amar Chitra Katha, Babri Mosque, Vaisno Devi New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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46
books
cite this book:
See all 46 books citing this book
- The Divine Consort: Radha and the Goddesses of India by John Stratton Hawley on 7 pages
- All the Mothers Are One by Stanley N. Kurtz on 5 pages
- Book of the Goddess Past and Present: An Introduction to Her Religion by Carl Olson on page 306, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Return of the Goddess by Edward C. Whitmont on page 307, page 309, and page 310
- Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition (Hermeneutics: Studies in the History of Religions) by David R. Kinsley on page 219, page 306, and Back Matter
See all 100 books this book cites
- Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West by Rachel Fell McDermott on 9 pages
- River of Love in an Age of Pollution: The Yamuna River of Northern India by David L. Haberman in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Goddesses' Henchmen: Gender in Indian Hero Worship by Lindsey Harlan in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Goddesses' Henchmen: Gender in Indian Hero Worship by Lindsey Harlan in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Sexuality, Obscenity, And Community: Women, Muslims, and the Hindu Public in Colonial India by Charu Gupta on page 203, and Back Matter
See all 46 books citing this book
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