Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine : The Ten Mahavidyas/David Kinsley. Reprint. 1998, 318 p., illustrations, $18. ISBN 81-208-1522-X.
Contents: Introduction. I. The Mahavidyas as a Group: 1. The ten Mahavidyas. 2. Typical literary and iconographic contexts. 3. The Mahavidyas as forms of the Mahadevi. 4. Mahavidya origin myths. 5. Interrelationships among the Mahavidyas. 6. Worship of the Mahavidyas. 7. The Mahavidyas and magical powers. 8. The significance of the term Mahavidya. Concluding observations.
II. The Individual Mahavidyas: 1. Kali: the black goddess. 2. Tara: the goddess who guides through troubles. 3. Tripura-sundari: she who is lovely in the three worlds. 4. Bhuvanesvari: she whose body is the world. 5. Chinnamasta: the self-decapitated goddess. 6. Bhairavi: the fierce one. 7. Dhumavati: the widow goddess. 8. Bagalamukhi: the paralyzer. 9. Matangi: the outcaste goddess. 10. Kamala: the lotus goddess. III. Concluding Reflections: 1. Corpses and cremation grounds. 2. Skulls and severed heads. 3. Sexuality and awakened consciousness. 4. The conjunction of death and sexual imagery. 5. The roles of women and reverence for women. 6. The potentially liberating nature of social antimodels. Notes. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.
"What is one to make of a group of goddesses that includes a goddess who cuts her own head off, a goddess who sits on a corpse while pulling the tongue of a demon, or a goddess who prefers sex with corpses? Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine deals with a group of ten 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. The Mahavidyas seem to function as "awakeners" symbols that help to project one's consciousness beyond the socially acceptable or predictable.
"Kinsley not only describes the eccentric qualities of each of these goddesses, but seeks to interpret the Mahavidyas as a group and to explain their importance for understanding Tantra and the Hindu tradition." (jacket)
[David Kinsley is Professor of Religion at MacMaster University, Canada. His books include Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition and The Divine Player.]