Change, Continuity and Complexity: The Mahāvidyās in East Indian Śākta Traditions

The Mahā
vidyā
s are the representative Tantric feminine pantheon consisting of ten goddesses. It is formed by divergent religious strands and elements: the mā
tṛ
and yoginī
worship, the cult of Kā
lī
and Tripurasundarī
, Vajrayā
na Buddhism, Jain Vidyā
devī
s, Ś
aiva and Vaiṣ
ṇ
ava faith, Ś
rī
vidyā
, the Brahmanical strand of Puranic traditions, etc. This volume is the first attempt to explore the historical process, through which these traditions culminated in the Mahā
vidyā
cult and the goddesses with different origins and contradictory attributes were brought into a cluster, with special reference to socio-political changes in the lower Gaṅ
gā
and Brahmaputra Valley between the 9th and 15th centuries CE.
Based on a close analysis of Purā
ṇ
as, Tantras and inscriptional evidence, and on extensive field research on archaeological remains as well as sacred sites, Jae-Eun Shin discusses the two trajectories of the Mahā
vidyā
s in eastern Ś
ā
kta traditions. Each led to the systematization of Daś
amahā
vidyā
s in a specific way: one, as ten manifestations of Durgā
upholding dharma in the cosmic dimension, and the other, as ten mandalic goddesses bearing magical powers in the actual sacred site. Their attributes and characteristics have neither been static nor monolithic, and the mode of worship prescribed for them has changed in a dialectical religious process between Brahmanical and Tantric traditions of the region.
This is the definitive work for anyone seeking to understand goddess cults of South Asia in general and the history of eastern Ś
ā
kta traditions in particular. To aid study, the volume includes images, diagrams and maps.

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