Hindu Goddesses: Beliefs & Practices (The Sussex Library of Religious Beliefs & Practice) - Softcover

Foulston, Lynn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1902210433 ISBN 13: 9781902210438

Publisher: Liverpool University Press, 2009

Synopsis

This book explores the diversity of Hindu goddesses and the variety of ways in which they are worshiped. Although they undoubtedly have ancient origins, Hindu goddesses and their worship is still very much a part of the fabric of religious engagement in India today. With no prior knowledge necessary, the book is an introduction to a complex and often baffling field of study. Part I - Beliefs - provides a series of encounters with a range of Hindu goddesses starting with the idea of 'Goddess' as a philosophical concept. Topics include textual evidence for belief structures, goddess mythology, and the importance of 'the Goddess' in Tantrism. Part II - Practices - leads the reader through the tangled web of goddess worship, pausing along the way to examine the contrast between temple worship and local worship, the splendor of festivals, and the importance of pilgrimage to those places in India where goddesses are considered to reside. The Conclusion provides details of contemporary developments in goddess worship, such as the appearance of new deities who supply the needs of worshippers in the 21st century.

About this title

About the Author:

Lynn Foulston is the program leader of religious studies and philosophy at the University of Wales-Newport.She is the author of At the Feet of the Goddess. Stuart Abbott is a visiting lecturer at University of Wales-Newport and an associate lecturer at Cardiff University.

Review:

“This rich overview of goddesses’ role in Hinduism addresses goddesses as manifestations of Shakti, the elite philosophical position most often discussed in treatises on Hinduism, and from a popular perspective, as individuated beings, which is the ‘religion as lived’ perspective of the majority. . . . Highly recommended.”  —Choice

“This is a lucid, wide-ranging book that offers a comprehensive overview of the major beliefs and practices associated with Hindu goddess traditions. Lynn Foulston has done a masterful job bringing together a broad range of scholarship on the Goddess and making the material accessible to a general audience.”  —Tracy Pintchman, author, The Rise of Goddess in the Hindu Tradition

About this edition

• Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1902210433
• ISBN 13: 9781902210438
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 292