Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Indentities of the Hindu Great Goddess [Paperback]

Tracy Pintchman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2001

Explores the indentity of the Hindu Great Goddess and how it relates to the many goddesses worshipped in India.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

While Hindus recognize and revere a variety of different goddesses, they also tend to speak of one Great Goddess, Mahaµdeviµ, as a singular divine being who is the unity underlying all female deities. In this book, ten scholars reflect on both the diverse depictions of Mahaµdeviµ found in textual and devotional environments and the ways that the singularity and multiplicity of the divine Hindu feminine are negotiated. Seeking Mahaµdeviµ covers various geographical locations, from the Punjab and Bengal in North India to Kerala and Tamilnadu in the South, and makes use of evidence from ancient texts and contemporary interviews, male-authored documents and women's possession experiences, myth, ritual, and folklore. Arguing that Mahaµdeviµ has multiple, context-dependent identities that are constructed through human interpretive activity, this book highlights the great diversity of ways that those who worship Mahaµdeviµ conceive of and portray her.

About the Author

Tracy Pintchman is Associate Professor of Hindu Studies at Loyola University Chicago. She is the author of The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, also published by SUNY Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (June 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791450082
• ISBN-13: 978-0791450086
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,171,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)