Tantric visions of the divine feminine : the ten mahāvidyās

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. Acknowledgments Introduction The Mahāvidyās as a Group The Ten Mahāvidyās Typical Literary and Iconographic Contexts The Mahāvidyās as Forms of the Mahādevī Mahāvidyā Origin Myths Interrelationships among the Mahāvidyās Worship of the Mahāvidyās The Mahāvidyās and Magical Powers The Significance of the Term Mahāvidyā Concluding Observations The Individual Mahāvidyās Kālī: The Black Goddess Tārā: The Goddess Who Guides through Troubles Tripura-sundarī: She Who Is Lovely in the Three Worlds Bhuvaneśvarī: She Whose Body Is the World Chinnamastā: The Self-Decapitated Goddess Bhairavī: The Fierce One Dhūmāvatī: The Widow Goddess Bagalāmukhī: The Paralyzer Mātangī: The Outcaste Goddess Kamalā: The Lotus Goddess Concluding Reflections Corpses and Cremation Grounds Skulls and Severed Heads Sexuality and Awakened Consciousness The Conjunction of Death and Sexual Imagery The Roles of Women and Reverence for Women The Potentially Liberating Nature of Social Antimodels Notes Glossary Bibliography Index 10 MAHAVIYAS FRONT COVER FINAL 1 mahavidyas1.pdf 2 10 MAHAVIDYAS 2 -1