Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas
by: David R. Kinsley
Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine deal with a group often Hindu Tantric goddesses, the Mahavidyas, who embody habits, attributes or identities usually considered repulsive or socially subversive. It is within the context of tantric worship that devotees seek to identify themselves with these forbidding goddesses.
PART I. THE MAHAVIDYAS AS A GROUP
The Ten Mahavidyas 9; Typical Literary and Iconographic
Contexts 14; The Mahavidyas as Forms of the Mahadevi 18;
Mahavidya Origin Myths 22; Interrelationships among the
Mahavidyas 38; Worship of the Mahavidyas 49; The
Mahavidyas and Magical Powers 55; The Significance of the
Term Mahavidya 57; Concluding Observations 61
PART II. THE INDIVIDUAL MAHAVIDYAS
Kali : The Black Goddess 67
Tara: The Goddess Who Guides through Troubles 92
Tripura-sundari: She Who Is Lovely in the Three Worlds 112
Bhuvanesvari: She Whose Body Is the World 129
Chinnamasta: The Self-Decapitated Goddess 144
Bhairavi: The Fierce One 167
Dhumavati: The Widow Goddess 176
Bagalamukhl: The Paralyzer
Matarigi: The Outcaste Goddess
Kamala: The Lotus Goddess
PART III. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS
Corpses and Cremation Grounds 233; Skulls and Severed
Heads 238; Sexuality and Awakened Consciousness 241; The
Conjunction of Death and Sexual Imagery 244; The Roles of
Women and Reverence for Women 246; The Potentially
Liberating Nature of Social Antimodels 251
religion and mythology 8.87 MB
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