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The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess

Online ISBN:
9780191821226
Print ISBN:
9780198767022
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess

Mandakranta Bose (ed.)
Mandakranta Bose
(ed.)

Professor Emerita

Professor Emerita, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia
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Published online:
19 July 2018
Published in print:
7 June 2018
Online ISBN:
9780191821226
Print ISBN:
9780198767022
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

The central purpose of the book is the critical exposition of the Hindu idea of the divine feminine, or Devī, conceived as a singularity expressed in many forms. With the theological principles examined in the opening chapters, the book proceeds to describe and expound historically how individual manifestations of Devī have been imagined in Hindu religious culture and their impact upon Hindu social life. In this quest the authors draw upon the history and philosophy of major Hindu ideologies, such as the Purāṇic, Tantric, and Vaiṣṇava belief systems. A particular feature of the book is its attention not only to the major goddesses from the earliest period of Hindu religious history but also—and especially—to goddesses of later origin, in many cases of regional provenance and influence. Viewed through the lenses of worship practices, legend, and literature, belief in goddesses is discovered as the formative impulse of much of public and private life. The influence of the goddess culture is especially powerful on women’s life, often paradoxically situating women between veneration and subjection. This apparent contradiction arises from the humanization of goddesses while acknowledging their divinity, which is central to Hindu beliefs. In addition to studying the social and theological aspect of the goddess ideology, the essays in this book take anthropological, sociological, and literary approaches to delineate the emotional force of the goddess figure that claims intense human attachments and shapes personal and communal lives.

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