The Goddess in India: The Five Faces of the Eternal Feminine

180 Pages·2000·14.627 MB·English

by  Devdutt Pattanaik

The
Goddess in India
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The
Goddess
in India
T F
HE IVE
F
ACES

OF THE
E
TERNAL
F
EMININE
Devdutt Pattanaik
Inner Traditions
Rochester, Vermont
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Inner Traditions International
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www.InnerTraditions.com
Copyright © 2000 Devdutt Pattanaik
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Pattanaik, Devdutt.
The goddess in India : the five faces of the eternal feminine / Devdutt Pattanaik.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-59477-537-6
1. Goddesses, Hindu. 2. Goddesses—India. 3. Women—Religious aspects—Hinduism.
4. Hinduism—Doctrines. I. Title.
BL1216.P37 2000
294.5’2114—dc21
00-024425
Printed and bound in Korea
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Text design by Kristin Camp. Text layout by Virginia Scott-Bowman.
This book was typeset in Goudy with Bellevue as the display typeface.
Grateful acknowledgment to the following:
Archeological Survey of India, for Lajja-gauri, p. 5; Vishnu and Laxmi, p. 9; Women in amorous embrace,
p. 12; Vishnu in the form of a boar, p. 16; Mother with child, p. 41; Princess in her toilet, p. 46; Tree
nymph, p. 52; Vishnu with nymph and monk, p. 60; Courtesan and sage, p. 68;
Laxmi and Vishnu, p. 104; Palmprints, p. 117; Nymph adorning herself, p. 124;
Yogini holding skull-mace, p. 125; Matrikas, p. 132; Durga, p. 142;
Three forms of the mother-goddess, p. 151
Kelkar Museum, Pune, for Laxmana and Surpanaka, p. 88; Sita and Laxmana, p. 90;
Sita’s chastity being tested, p. 113; Worship of the tulsi plant, p. 116
Private collections, for Ardhanari, p. 17; Man with three women, p. 35;
Man and woman in amorous embrace, 45; Women dancing with Krishna, p. 84; Metal effigy of
Renuka-Yellamma, p. 137; Kali, p. 149; Chinnamastika, p. 154
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For Sabitri, Seema, and Shami,
the three women in my life
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Contents
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Why This Book?
1
C H A P T E R O N E
Left Halves: Feminizing the Circle
4
C H A P T E R T W O
Earth Mother: Rotating the Circle
19
C H A P T E R T H R E E
Dancing Nymphs: Transcending the Circle
55
C H A P T E R F O U R
Cult of Chastity: Squaring the Circle
87
C H A P T E R F I V E
Goddesses with Unbound Hair: Reclaiming the Circle
122
A P P E N D I X O N E
A Brief History of Hinduism
156
A P P E N D I X T W O
Dates of Hindu Scriptures
159
G L O S S A R Y
160
S E L E C T B I B L I O G R A P H Y
166
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INTRODUCTION
Why This Book?
India has given the world the Hindu worldview, a way of looking at life that is quite
different from the Judeo-Christian-Islamic scheme of things. Hindu scriptures make no
mention of original sin. There is no talk of fall or redemption. No Eve is held responsible
for the loss of paradise. No god decrees that man shall rule over woman. Instead, power-
ful and awe-inspiring goddesses are enshrined in Hindu temples. Why, then, is Hindu
society patriarchal? Why are women described by Hindu lawmakers as temptations to be
veiled and shrews to be tamed?
This book seeks the answer in stories held sacred by the Hindus. Like all sacred lores,
sacred Hindu lore is a much-revered gift handed down by ancestors that gives an identity
to a people, a worldview to a culture, and a frame of reference to a civilization. It forms
the foundation of rituals, customs, and traditions. It gives the why of things. Just as tales
of Lilith, Eve, Jael, Judith, Jezebel, Ruth, Salome, and Mary express the Abrahamic atti-
tude toward women, so do tales of women from sacred Hindu lore capture Hindu views
on womanhood.
Beyond the din of masculine sagas, the sacred literature of the Hindus is filled with
plots palpating with feminine dreams and themes grating with female fury. There are
tales of goddesses who strike children with fever, nymphs who seduce sages, celestial
virgins who run free in forests, and chaste wives who fling themselves on funeral pyres to
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