Review

Reviewed Work(s): Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahāvidyās by David
Kinsley
Review by: C. Mackenzie Brown
Source: International Journal of Hindu Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Apr., 1998), pp. 144-145
Published by: Springer
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20106560
Accessed: 25-04-2024 15:51 +00:00

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 144 / International Journal of Hindu Studies 2, 1 (1998)

helped and hindered the development of more effective treatments. This means that the
distinctions between 'modem medicine' and the traditional healing arts are, on the whole,
bluntly made rather than systematically laid out. The materials on the Hindu tradition
specifically are very focused and will be considered by some rather scanty since they do
not mention the developed indigenous healing arts (such as Ved?ntic medicine,
Ayurveda, or Unani Tlbb) or the relevant classical texts. Instead, Kinsley's comments are
confined to demonological healers in north India. These comments fit well into his
overall portrayal of traditional healing arts because the extended discussion of healing
centers at Pi?ac Mocan and the B?l?jT Temple near Bharatpur deals with specific, 'on the
ground' examples of local Hindu practices. Finally, while the individual chapters and the
book generally are neither heavily footnoted nor supported by an extensive bibliography,
Kinsley's portrayal of the issues reflects expertise and sensitivity. In general, this book
merits attention because it beckons engagement with a set of complex subjects that can be
interrelated to students' and scholars' great benefit.

University of Oxford, Belmom Paul Waldau

David Kinsley, Tantric visions of the divine feminine: The ten Mah?vidyas. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1997. x + 328 pp.

Imagine a nude female deity sitting on a supine but erect Siva, in inverted sexual position.
Visualize the goddess suddenly decapitating herself, deftly catching her head in her left
hand, and imbibing a stream of blood gushing from the truncated neck. Finally, imagine
yourself becoming that goddess, or rather, wanting to be that goddess. What motivations
could prompt such a desire? This basic question, applied to Tantric ritual and meditative
practices that focus on the outrageous visions of the divine feminine collectively known
as the ten Mah?vidyas, lies at the heart of David Kinsley's latest and fascinating book
exploring Hindu (primarily male) imagings of feminine dimensions of cosmic power and
awakening consciousness.
In trying to answer this question, Kinsley delves into the textual history, mythology,
iconography, symbolism, and ritual worship of the Mah?vidyas, both as a group (in Part I
of the book) and individually (in Part II). His literary references, drawn mostly from
medieval Tantric ritual manuals and mythic materials from the S?kta Pur?nas, are richly
complemented by interviews with priests, scholars, and practitioners of Tantric ritual,
primarily in Varanasi. An important visual source for interpreting these goddesses are
temple depictions and contemporary lithographs of the Mah?vidyas; the forty-one
illustrations included in the book form an integral part of the inquiry.
As a group, Kinsley informs us, the Mah?vidyas emerge historically about a millen
nium ago, although some individuals such as K?l?, the first and 'exemplary Mah?vidy?,'
have significant earlier or independent careers. The ten forms, while lacking any obvious
internal coherence, are overlapping embodiments of the great goddess (Mah?dev?),
representing many of her paradoxical aspects?the benign and horrific, creative and
destructive. Yet the fearsome, dangerous elements predominate, not surprisingly given

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 Book reviews and notices I 145

that the Mah?vidyas are either without male consorts or dominant over them, defying
conventional Hindu norms regarding the ideal woman as a controlled and obedient wife.
Also lacking is any strong association with the themes of fertility and nurturance?none
of the ten is portrayed as a mother. What they are associated with is inauspiciousness,
marginality, pollution, death, and inversions of hierarchy.
These qualities, emerging from the constant conjunction of sexual and death imagery,
point to the Mah?vidyas as vehicles of magical, unworldly power energized by contact
with forces beyond this life. To become one of these goddesses is to absorb her powers.
The ten also represent stages of transforming consciousness, as the term 'mah?vidy?'
(great knowledge, wisdom) itself implies. By acting as 'antimodels,' especially for
Tantrics but perhaps for conventional Hindus as well, the ten effect a breaking out, a
liberation from the confines of a world strictly governed by mies of caste, of purity and
pollution. To avoid 'hardening of the categories' (Kinsley's delightful term), a complete
blood transfusion may be required. The transfusion evoked by self-identification with
Chinnamast?, the 'Self-Decapitated Goddess' described above, seems to provide the
necessary jolt to transcend one's own egocentricity and to awaken one to the highest
spiritual truths, at least from the subverting perspective of left-handed Tantra.
Kinsley has entered upon much new ground in the study of Tantra, and he indicates
that his investigation is preliminary in many ways, a goad to other scholars. Among
questions others may wish to pursue, I suggest the following: How are the ten perceived
in other parts of India? How do they relate to other groups of goddesses such as the
M?trk?s (only briefly touched upon by Kinsley)? How do women relate to them, if at all?
To what extent do they or could they serve as antimodels for women? Kinsley's book will
be a solid and insightful starting point.

Trinity University C. Mackenzie Brown

P. Pratap Kumar, The goddess Laksm?: The divine consort in south Indian Vaisnava
tradition. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997. xi + 186 pp.

This book discusses the goddess Laksm? in certain south Indian contexts, primarily Sri
Vaisnavism, and in certain Pancar?tra texts. The book also contains a brief history of this
goddess in the earlier Hindu tradition. The research was undertaken for the author's
doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The primary focus of the book is textual. The author concentrates on a few Pancar?tra
texts that feature Laksm? and the philosophical/theological (and to some extent devo
tional) writings of important Sri Vaisnava leaders (Yamuna, R?m?nuja, Pillai Lok?c?rya,
and Venkatan?tha). In these writings, one of the central issues is Laksm?'s relationship to
Visnu. Such questions as the following preoccupy the texts (and the author of this book):
Is she separate from him? Subordinate to him? Identical with him? To a great extent, the
book is as much about Visnu as it is about Laksm?. The discussion is often detailed and
relies on primary sources which the author has translated. The philosophical/theological
issues are clearly stated and summarized.

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