Vicissitudes of the Goddess
Reconstructions of the Gramadevata in India's Religious Traditions
Published on 12. December 2013
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-0-19-932502-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book provides a detailed history of Hindu goddess traditions with a special focus on the local goddesses of Andhra Pradesh, past and present. The antiquity and the evolution of these goddess traditions are illustrated and documented with the help of archaeological reports, literary sources, inscriptions and art. Tracing the symbols and images of goddess into the brahmanical (Saiva and Vaisnava), Buddhist, and Jaina religious traditions, the book argues effectively how and with what motivations goddesses and their symbolizations were appropriated and transformed. The book also examines the evolution of popular Hindu goddesses such as Durga and Kali, discussing their tribal and agricultural backgrounds. It also deals extensively with how and in what circumstances women are deified and shows how these deified women cults share characteristics with the village goddesses.
Reviews / Votes
A coherent and convincing thesis on goddess worship...Padma's methodological approach combining anthropology, archaeology, history, and mythology is refreshing and boldly successful...Her synthesis of pre-Vedic, Buddhist, Jaina, Vaisnava, and Saiva material into the framework of village goddess worship enriches her findings and makes her study unique...Her appraisals of on-the-ground religious practices past and present offer much to experts and non-experts interested in a new lens through which to approach Indic religions. * H-NET * In this monumental book, Sree Padma traces the history of village goddess traditions in Andhra Pradesh, India from prehistoric to contemporary times. She engages an impressive array of textual, material, and ethnographic sources to explore both continuities and transformations in goddess cults. This book will change how scholars think about South Asian goddesses. * Tracy Pintchman, Director of International Studies, Loyola University Chicago *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
96 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
737 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-932502-3 (9780199325023)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Sree Padma
Vicissitudes of the Goddess
Reconstructions of the Gramadevata in India's Religious Traditions
Book
12/2013
Oxford University Press Inc
€67.90
Shipment within 15-20 days
Sree Padma
Vicissitudes of the Goddess
Reconstructions of the Gramadevata in India's Religious Traditions
E-Book
09/2013
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€24.99
Available for download
Person
Sree Padma is the executive director of the Inter-Collegiate Sri Lanka Education (ISLE) Program, a study abroad program in Sri Lanka. She also teaches at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, offering courses on the cultural history of south Asia. She has been a research associate in the Department of History and Archaeology at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, where she completed her Ph.D. She has taught at Harvard University as a lecturer and research associate in women's studies and history of religions and at Bowdoin College as assistant professor of history. She is the author of Costume, Coiffure, and Ornament in the Temple Sculpture of Northern Andhra (Agama Kala Prakasan, 1991) and the co-editor of Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra (State University of New York Press, 2008).
Content
Table of Contents ; Acknowledgements ; Introduction ; 1. Goddess Explained - Perspectives From the West ; 2. Contextualizing the Fertility Goddess and the Gramadevata ; 3. Fertility Symbols of the Goddesses: ; Historical Renderings and Contemporary Practices ; 4. Profiles of Anthropomorphic Goddesses in Myth, Ritual, and History ; 5. Bala Perantalu: ; Auspicious Virgin Mothers ; 6. Perantalu: ; Auspicious Wives ; 7. Deifying Victimized Women: ; Sacrifices and Murders ; Conclusion ; Bibliography