Woman and Goddess in Hinduism

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. Introduction: A Hermeneutics of Intersubjectivity

   1. Introduction: A Hermeneutics of Intersubjectivity

      • Rita D. Sherma

      Pages 1-16

3. Theological Reflection

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17

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   2. Satī, Suttee, and Sāvitrī

      • Arvind Sharma

      Pages 19-31

   3. Female Beauty, Female Power: Seeing Devī in the Saundarya Laharī

      • Francis Xavier Clooney

      Pages 33-60

   4. Mystery, Wonder, and Knowledge in the Triadic Figure of Mahāvidyā Chinnamastā: A Śākta Woman’s Reading

      • Neela Bhattacharya Saxena

      Pages 61-75

4. Reclaiming Alternative Modalities of Feminine Power

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 77-77

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   2. Sītā Rasoīs and Śākta Pīthas: A Feminine Reclamation of Mythic and Epic Proportions

      • Phyllis K. Herman

      Pages 79-95

   3. Spreading Śakti

      • Karen Pechilis

      Pages 97-120

   4. The Kālī Practice: Revisiting Women’s Roles in Tantra

      • Loriliai Biernacki

      Pages 121-145

5. The Feminine Principle in Hindu Thought and Practice: Problems and Possibilities

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 147-147

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   2. Hindu Rituals on Behalf of Women: Notes on First Principles

      • Laurie L. Patton

      Pages 149-171

   3. The Feminine Concept of Surrender in Vaiṣṇava Discourse

      • E. H. Rick Jarow

      Pages 173-196

   4. Gandhi’s Reconstruction of the Feminine: Toward an Indigenous Hermeneutics

      • Veena Rani Howard

      Pages 197-217

   5. Conclusion: Reimagining the Hindu Feminine

      • Tracy Pintchman

      Pages 219-228

6. Back Matter

   Pages 229-243

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Offering multilayered explorations of Hindu understandings of the Feminine, both human and divine, this book emphasizes theological and activist methods and aims over historical, anthropological, and literary ones.

• concept
• construction
• epic
• hermeneutics
• Hinduism
• interpret
• knowledge
• subject
• tradition
• understanding
• women

"The role of the female within the Hindu tradition is both varied and vigorous, as the multiple contributors to this text reveal. They bring together scholarship and sensitivity in conveying unique dimensions and valuable perceptions of that role.This book is an important read for anyone seeking to comprehend female spirituality and divinity in the Hindu context." - Ramdas Lamb, Associate Professor of Religion, University of Hawaii at Manoa"The essays in this outstanding volume successfully avoid the common pitfalls of, on the one hand, objectifying and exoticizing the various Hindu categories and concepts with which they engage, and on the other, of deploying these same categories and concepts in a simplistic and uncritical manner. The hermeneutics of intersubjectivity that the authors skillfully apply to their materials should be a model for future work in the field of Hindu studies." - Jeffery D. Long, Associate Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College, and author of A Vision for Hinduism: Beyond Hindu Nationalism and Jainism: An Introduction"This book skillfully addresses all things feminine in Indian traditions: goddesses, female gurus, the lives of Hindu women, and more.Includes many excellent new translations of key passages from Sanskrit litereature." - Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount University

TRACY PINTCHMAN is a Professor and Director of the International Studies Program at Loyola University Chicago, USA.
 
RITA SHARMA is Director of the Institute For Theology Beyond Boundaries and Executive Director of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Taksha Institute, Hampton, USA.

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