Devi: The Great Goddess : Female Divinity in South Asian Art

Devi, the Great Goddess of India, is beautiful, beneficent, terrifying, all-powerful, and glorious. Ubiquitous in India's social and spiritual fabric, she has, over the millennia, been painted, sculpted, carved, and wrought from silver and bronze in myriad shapes and forms. Devi: The Great Goddess brings together 120 of these diverse examples of Devi and a group of distinguished essayists who explore facets of Devi worship and tradition, including ritual, architecture, literature, history, and contemporary issues such as feminism and gender politics. The book appeals to readers compelled by the exploration and interpretation of the art, religion, and history of India.

Devi, the Great Goddess, "is encountered in manifold guises" and has "a thousand names," writes Dehejia, chief curator at the Freer and Arthur M. Sackler Galleries, in this splendidly detailed and animated study of the reigning Hindu female deity. In a set of enlightening essays that track the evolution of South Asian goddess worship from ancient times on into the present, Dehejia and her distinguished contributors consider a cross-section of Devi's (or Kali's, Durga's, Kumari's, and Lhamo's) diverse manifestations as found in India, Nepal, and Tibet. George Michell conducts a well-illustrated tour of notable Devi temples; Dennis Hudson chronicles Devi worship rituals; and Tapati Guha-Thakurta analyzes modern representations. Poetry dedicated to Devi is also translated and discussed, and then there are the glorious art works: sculptures and paintings of the Great Goddess as a warrior, wreathed in snakes or brandishing swords; a benefactress, virginal and nurturing; or a cosmic beauty, both voluptuous and threatening. In this time of increased awareness of female divinities, Devi, mercurial and powerful, retains her vitality and allure for Hindu and non-Hindu alike. Donna Seaman