Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134346
- eISBN:
- 9780199868056
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134346.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This collection presents 145 brief Bengali lyric poems dedicated to the Hindu goddesses Kālī and Umā. The poems — many of which are presented here for the first time in English translation — were ...
More
This collection presents 145 brief Bengali lyric poems dedicated to the Hindu goddesses Kālī and Umā. The poems — many of which are presented here for the first time in English translation — were written from the early eighteenth century up to the contemporary period. They represent the unique Bengali tradition of goddess worship (Śāktism) as it developed over this period. The author's lucid introduction places these works in their historical context and shows how images of the goddesses evolved over the centuries. The lively translations of these poetic lyrics evoke the passion and devotion of the followers of Kālī and Umā and shed light on the history and practice of goddess worship.Less
This collection presents 145 brief Bengali lyric poems dedicated to the Hindu goddesses Kālī and Umā. The poems — many of which are presented here for the first time in English translation — were written from the early eighteenth century up to the contemporary period. They represent the unique Bengali tradition of goddess worship (Śāktism) as it developed over this period. The author's lucid introduction places these works in their historical context and shows how images of the goddesses evolved over the centuries. The lively translations of these poetic lyrics evoke the passion and devotion of the followers of Kālī and Umā and shed light on the history and practice of goddess worship.
June McDaniel
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195167900
- eISBN:
- 9780199849970
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167900.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. The book identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred ...
More
This book provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. The book identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred texts, and practitioners. Drawing on years of fieldwork and extensive research, the book paints a portrait of this religious tradition.Less
This book provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. The book identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred texts, and practitioners. Drawing on years of fieldwork and extensive research, the book paints a portrait of this religious tradition.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195392722
- eISBN:
- 9780199777327
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392722.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
In the early 16th c., Bengali brahmin Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1476–1533) inspired a community of Kṛṣṇa worshipers in Bengal, Orissa, and Vraja. This study examines the ways those devotees came to be unified ...
More
In the early 16th c., Bengali brahmin Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1476–1533) inspired a community of Kṛṣṇa worshipers in Bengal, Orissa, and Vraja. This study examines the ways those devotees came to be unified through the intervention of a Sanskrit and Bengali hagiography, the Caitanya caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja. Devotees thought Caitanya to be god, Kṛṣṇa, and eventually saw in him an unusual form of divine androgyny, Kṛṣṇa fused with his consort Rādhā. His many Sanskrit and Bengali hagiographies depict scattered independent groups, each proposing a different theology and practice. Kṛṣṇadāsa’s hagiography sought to synthesize these disparate positions into a unified tradition by deploying a sophisticated rhetoric that would hierarchize theology, standardize ritual, and fix literary canon. This is a study of how Kṛṣṇadāsa, in the absence of any institutional authority, synthesized a uniquely Bengali Vaiṣṇava tradition. In the early 17th c., three devotees, led by brahmin Śrīnivāsa, carried the Caitanya caritāmṛta back to Bengal from Vraja. Within a decade of losing and then recovering the text, this trio placed copies in the hands of every Vaiṣṇava in Bengal and Orissa. The literary practices surrounding the circulation established the text as the final word by fixing a grammar of tradition, by which communities could continually replicate the original experience of Caitanya’s presence, by interpreting their own as a fractal history. So persuasive was this single document that today it has assumed iconic status, even taking its place on the altar alongside images of Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya.Less
In the early 16th c., Bengali brahmin Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1476–1533) inspired a community of Kṛṣṇa worshipers in Bengal, Orissa, and Vraja. This study examines the ways those devotees came to be unified through the intervention of a Sanskrit and Bengali hagiography, the Caitanya caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja. Devotees thought Caitanya to be god, Kṛṣṇa, and eventually saw in him an unusual form of divine androgyny, Kṛṣṇa fused with his consort Rādhā. His many Sanskrit and Bengali hagiographies depict scattered independent groups, each proposing a different theology and practice. Kṛṣṇadāsa’s hagiography sought to synthesize these disparate positions into a unified tradition by deploying a sophisticated rhetoric that would hierarchize theology, standardize ritual, and fix literary canon. This is a study of how Kṛṣṇadāsa, in the absence of any institutional authority, synthesized a uniquely Bengali Vaiṣṇava tradition. In the early 17th c., three devotees, led by brahmin Śrīnivāsa, carried the Caitanya caritāmṛta back to Bengal from Vraja. Within a decade of losing and then recovering the text, this trio placed copies in the hands of every Vaiṣṇava in Bengal and Orissa. The literary practices surrounding the circulation established the text as the final word by fixing a grammar of tradition, by which communities could continually replicate the original experience of Caitanya’s presence, by interpreting their own as a fractal history. So persuasive was this single document that today it has assumed iconic status, even taking its place on the altar alongside images of Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book chronicles the rise and subsequent fortunes of Hindu goddess worship, or Śāktism, in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present. The primary documents are ...
More
This book chronicles the rise and subsequent fortunes of Hindu goddess worship, or Śāktism, in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present. The primary documents are lyrics directed to the goddesses Kālī and Umā, beginning with those of the first of the Śākta lyricist devotees, Rāmprasād Sen (ca. 1718–1775) and Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya (ca. 1769–1821), and continuing up through those of the gifted poet Kājī Najrul Islām (1899–1976). The author has used extensive research from primary historical texts as well as from secondary Bengali and English source materials. She places the advent of the Śākta lyric in its historical context and charts the vicissitudes over time of this form of goddess worship, including the nineteenth‐century resurgence of Śāktism in the cause of nationalist politics. The main theme of the book is the way in which the images of the two goddesses evolved over the centuries. Kālī is sweetened and democratized over time, and much of her fierce, wild, dangerous, and bloody character disappears as she is increasingly seen as a compassionate and loving divine mother to her children. Umā, for her part, is gradually transformed from the gentle and remote wife of Śhiva to the adored daughter of Bengali parents, increasingly humanized and colored with regional Bengali characteristics. The book is arranged in two main parts: I, The lives and contexts of Śākta poets; and II, The changing genre of Śākta poetry. The author's translations of the poems on which this book is based appear in Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kālī and Umā from Bengal (OUP, 2000).Less
This book chronicles the rise and subsequent fortunes of Hindu goddess worship, or Śāktism, in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present. The primary documents are lyrics directed to the goddesses Kālī and Umā, beginning with those of the first of the Śākta lyricist devotees, Rāmprasād Sen (ca. 1718–1775) and Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya (ca. 1769–1821), and continuing up through those of the gifted poet Kājī Najrul Islām (1899–1976). The author has used extensive research from primary historical texts as well as from secondary Bengali and English source materials. She places the advent of the Śākta lyric in its historical context and charts the vicissitudes over time of this form of goddess worship, including the nineteenth‐century resurgence of Śāktism in the cause of nationalist politics. The main theme of the book is the way in which the images of the two goddesses evolved over the centuries. Kālī is sweetened and democratized over time, and much of her fierce, wild, dangerous, and bloody character disappears as she is increasingly seen as a compassionate and loving divine mother to her children. Umā, for her part, is gradually transformed from the gentle and remote wife of Śhiva to the adored daughter of Bengali parents, increasingly humanized and colored with regional Bengali characteristics. The book is arranged in two main parts: I, The lives and contexts of Śākta poets; and II, The changing genre of Śākta poetry. The author's translations of the poems on which this book is based appear in Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kālī and Umā from Bengal (OUP, 2000).
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The mythic figure Satya Pīr has a wide following among Hindus and Muslims alike in the Bangla-speaking regions of South Asia. Believed to be an avatara of krsna, or a Sufi saint, or somehow both, he ...
More
The mythic figure Satya Pīr has a wide following among Hindus and Muslims alike in the Bangla-speaking regions of South Asia. Believed to be an avatara of krsna, or a Sufi saint, or somehow both, he is worshipped for his ability to bring wealth and comfort to a family. At the heart of this worship is the simple proposition that human dignity and morality are dependent upon a proper livelihood-without wealth, people cannot be expected to live moral lives. Men have a special responsibility to create that stability, but sometimes fail miserably, making ill-advised decisions that compromise the women who are dependent upon them. At these threatening junctures, women must take matters into their own hands, and they call on Satya Pīr to help them right the wrongs done by their husbands or fathers. This book presents lively translations of eight closely related 18th- and 19th-century Bengali folk tales centered on Satya Pīr and the people he helps. While the worship of Satya Pīr is the ostensible motivation for the tales, they are really demonstrations of the Pīr's miraculous powers, which authenticate him as a legitimate object of worship. The tales are also very amusing, parodying Brahmins and yogis and kings and sepoys. These stories fly in the face of conventional wisdom about the separation of Muslims and Hindus. Moreover, the stories happily stand alone, speaking with an easily recognized if not universal voice of exasperation and amazement at what life throws at us.Less
The mythic figure Satya Pīr has a wide following among Hindus and Muslims alike in the Bangla-speaking regions of South Asia. Believed to be an avatara of krsna, or a Sufi saint, or somehow both, he is worshipped for his ability to bring wealth and comfort to a family. At the heart of this worship is the simple proposition that human dignity and morality are dependent upon a proper livelihood-without wealth, people cannot be expected to live moral lives. Men have a special responsibility to create that stability, but sometimes fail miserably, making ill-advised decisions that compromise the women who are dependent upon them. At these threatening junctures, women must take matters into their own hands, and they call on Satya Pīr to help them right the wrongs done by their husbands or fathers. This book presents lively translations of eight closely related 18th- and 19th-century Bengali folk tales centered on Satya Pīr and the people he helps. While the worship of Satya Pīr is the ostensible motivation for the tales, they are really demonstrations of the Pīr's miraculous powers, which authenticate him as a legitimate object of worship. The tales are also very amusing, parodying Brahmins and yogis and kings and sepoys. These stories fly in the face of conventional wisdom about the separation of Muslims and Hindus. Moreover, the stories happily stand alone, speaking with an easily recognized if not universal voice of exasperation and amazement at what life throws at us.
Rabindra Ray
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198077381
- eISBN:
- 9780199081011
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077381.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
Though Naxalbari is situated in Bengal, Naxalism was not restricted here. Membership in the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) [CPI(M–L)] extended all over India, and the greatest successes ...
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Though Naxalbari is situated in Bengal, Naxalism was not restricted here. Membership in the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) [CPI(M–L)] extended all over India, and the greatest successes of the party were, in the eyes of its members, in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. Bengalis, however, played a major role in the leadership of the party. The party turned to urban terrorism only in Bengal, particularly in Calcutta. There are peculiarities that permit one to consider it more than merely an Indian sub-culture, and allow one, if only tentatively, to call it a society. Chief among these is the evolution of a Bengali cultural identity based on the ideas, values and outlook of the so-called Bengali Renaissance. Not as easily demonstrable, but arguably the case, is a distinctiveness in the nature of Bengali social relationships, which this culture, so to say, expresses.Less
Though Naxalbari is situated in Bengal, Naxalism was not restricted here. Membership in the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) [CPI(M–L)] extended all over India, and the greatest successes of the party were, in the eyes of its members, in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. Bengalis, however, played a major role in the leadership of the party. The party turned to urban terrorism only in Bengal, particularly in Calcutta. There are peculiarities that permit one to consider it more than merely an Indian sub-culture, and allow one, if only tentatively, to call it a society. Chief among these is the evolution of a Bengali cultural identity based on the ideas, values and outlook of the so-called Bengali Renaissance. Not as easily demonstrable, but arguably the case, is a distinctiveness in the nature of Bengali social relationships, which this culture, so to say, expresses.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Princess Who Nursed Her Own Husband, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
The Princess Who Nursed Her Own Husband, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134346
- eISBN:
- 9780199868056
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134346.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This introduction to the book has five sections. These cover discussion of: the pathways to Bengali Hindu Śākta poetry (sources, precedents, and influences); the 164 compositions by 37 representative ...
More
This introduction to the book has five sections. These cover discussion of: the pathways to Bengali Hindu Śākta poetry (sources, precedents, and influences); the 164 compositions by 37 representative poets for the goddesses Kālī and Umā that are included in the book; family resemblances — the Śākta Padavali (collected poems to the goddess — a genre of poetry focussed on Kālī and Umā) as bhakti (devotional attitude) poetry; the challenges and choices in designing an anthology; and notes on transliteration, translation, and word definition.Less
This introduction to the book has five sections. These cover discussion of: the pathways to Bengali Hindu Śākta poetry (sources, precedents, and influences); the 164 compositions by 37 representative poets for the goddesses Kālī and Umā that are included in the book; family resemblances — the Śākta Padavali (collected poems to the goddess — a genre of poetry focussed on Kālī and Umā) as bhakti (devotional attitude) poetry; the challenges and choices in designing an anthology; and notes on transliteration, translation, and word definition.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134346
- eISBN:
- 9780199868056
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134346.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Translations of ten Bengali Hindu Śākta poems are presented, each prefaced by an explanatory introduction. The poems are: Kālī among the corpses: poems of battle; The cosmic goddess of ...
More
Translations of ten Bengali Hindu Śākta poems are presented, each prefaced by an explanatory introduction. The poems are: Kālī among the corpses: poems of battle; The cosmic goddess of transformation; The magician's daughter and her playful deceptions; “What kind of mother are you?” Cries of complaint; Petitioning the compassionate; “Oh my mind!”: instructing the self; Prioritizing paths: Tantra, devotion, and ritual; The experience of Kuṇḍalinī yoga; In defiance of death; and Adoring the daughter: Āgamanī and Vijayā poems for Umā.Less
Translations of ten Bengali Hindu Śākta poems are presented, each prefaced by an explanatory introduction. The poems are: Kālī among the corpses: poems of battle; The cosmic goddess of transformation; The magician's daughter and her playful deceptions; “What kind of mother are you?” Cries of complaint; Petitioning the compassionate; “Oh my mind!”: instructing the self; Prioritizing paths: Tantra, devotion, and ritual; The experience of Kuṇḍalinī yoga; In defiance of death; and Adoring the daughter: Āgamanī and Vijayā poems for Umā.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Wazir's Daughter Who Married a Sacrificial Goat, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
The Wazir's Daughter Who Married a Sacrificial Goat, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Unwilting Garland of Faithfulness, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
The Unwilting Garland of Faithfulness, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Fabled Bengamā Bird and the Stupid Prince, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
The Fabled Bengamā Bird and the Stupid Prince, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Disconsolate Yogī Who Turned the Merchant's Wife into a Dog, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
The Disconsolate Yogī Who Turned the Merchant's Wife into a Dog, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Mother's Son Who Spat up Pearls, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
The Mother's Son Who Spat up Pearls, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165296
- eISBN:
- 9780199835461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165292.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Bloodthirsty Ogress Who Would Be Queen, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
The Bloodthirsty Ogress Who Would Be Queen, a Bengali folk tale translated into English, is presented.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The central concern of this book is the influence of bhakti, or the devotional attitude, in transforming perceptions of Hindu deities and their famous poet‐saints. Methodologically, this study ...
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The central concern of this book is the influence of bhakti, or the devotional attitude, in transforming perceptions of Hindu deities and their famous poet‐saints. Methodologically, this study combines textual, historical, and anthropological approaches: transformations in the presentation of the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and their poets are charted through historical reconstructions of textual history and augmented, for the modern period, by fieldwork carried out in West Bengal, India, in 1988–90, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999. The book has three principal aims: the first is to introduce the life stories and contexts of Śākta poet‐devotees who, though not much known outside Bengal, represent an important three‐hundred year literary and spiritual tradition centered around Hindu goddesses; the second is to provide the material necessary for the Bengali Śākta padas (short poems written according to a particular meter and rhyme) to be noticed, discussed, and recognized within the larger field of bhakti literary studies; and the third is to contribute to a “history of ideas” about Bengali goddesses.Less
The central concern of this book is the influence of bhakti, or the devotional attitude, in transforming perceptions of Hindu deities and their famous poet‐saints. Methodologically, this study combines textual, historical, and anthropological approaches: transformations in the presentation of the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and their poets are charted through historical reconstructions of textual history and augmented, for the modern period, by fieldwork carried out in West Bengal, India, in 1988–90, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999. The book has three principal aims: the first is to introduce the life stories and contexts of Śākta poet‐devotees who, though not much known outside Bengal, represent an important three‐hundred year literary and spiritual tradition centered around Hindu goddesses; the second is to provide the material necessary for the Bengali Śākta padas (short poems written according to a particular meter and rhyme) to be noticed, discussed, and recognized within the larger field of bhakti literary studies; and the third is to contribute to a “history of ideas” about Bengali goddesses.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Introduces the textual and ceremonial influences on the emerging Hindu Śākta literature in eighteenth‐century Bengal. It traces the Sanskrit and Bengali textual precedents, and Vaiṣṇavism. It then ...
More
Introduces the textual and ceremonial influences on the emerging Hindu Śākta literature in eighteenth‐century Bengal. It traces the Sanskrit and Bengali textual precedents, and Vaiṣṇavism. It then looks at the ritual and devotional practices of the era.Less
Introduces the textual and ceremonial influences on the emerging Hindu Śākta literature in eighteenth‐century Bengal. It traces the Sanskrit and Bengali textual precedents, and Vaiṣṇavism. It then looks at the ritual and devotional practices of the era.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
An assessment is made of Rāmprasād Sen's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in the last chapter. The first part of the chapter ...
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An assessment is made of Rāmprasād Sen's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in the last chapter. The first part of the chapter looks briefly at the texts, editions, and musical notations. The remainder is mostly devoted to the Kālī‐centered poetry, with a short section following it on the Umā‐centered poetry, and a brief roundup. Many quotations are included.Less
An assessment is made of Rāmprasād Sen's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in the last chapter. The first part of the chapter looks briefly at the texts, editions, and musical notations. The remainder is mostly devoted to the Kālī‐centered poetry, with a short section following it on the Umā‐centered poetry, and a brief roundup. Many quotations are included.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
An assessment is made of Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in Ch. 5. The first part of the chapter ...
More
An assessment is made of Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in Ch. 5. The first part of the chapter looks briefly at the texts, editions, and musical notations. The remainder is devoted to the Kālī‐centered poetry, examining in turn the Śākta padas, and a Tantric meditation manual, Sādhak Rañjan (which is treated more briefly). Many quotations are included. A short conclusion assesses Kamalākānta's role in evolving trends in the goddesses Kālī and Umā.Less
An assessment is made of Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in Ch. 5. The first part of the chapter looks briefly at the texts, editions, and musical notations. The remainder is devoted to the Kālī‐centered poetry, examining in turn the Śākta padas, and a Tantric meditation manual, Sādhak Rañjan (which is treated more briefly). Many quotations are included. A short conclusion assesses Kamalākānta's role in evolving trends in the goddesses Kālī and Umā.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The discussion of Rāmprasād Sen's and Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the last two chapters is brought up to the present by referring ...
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The discussion of Rāmprasād Sen's and Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the last two chapters is brought up to the present by referring comparatively to the literary output of other important Śākta poets, so as to gauge trends and themes in the poetic genre as a whole. The first part of the chapter discusses the intersection of nineteenth‐century and twentieth‐century literature with interest in the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and the rest (the main part) examines in chronological order the poetry to the two goddesses of several major eighteenth‐century to twentieth‐century poets. The underlying interpretative questions are the ways in which and degrees to which these depart from the examples and trends set by Rāmprasād and Kamalākānta. Many quotations are included.Less
The discussion of Rāmprasād Sen's and Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the last two chapters is brought up to the present by referring comparatively to the literary output of other important Śākta poets, so as to gauge trends and themes in the poetic genre as a whole. The first part of the chapter discusses the intersection of nineteenth‐century and twentieth‐century literature with interest in the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and the rest (the main part) examines in chronological order the poetry to the two goddesses of several major eighteenth‐century to twentieth‐century poets. The underlying interpretative questions are the ways in which and degrees to which these depart from the examples and trends set by Rāmprasād and Kamalākānta. Many quotations are included.
