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Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine

The Ten Mahavidyas

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By David R. Kinsley

The University of California Press

ISBN: 0-520-20499-9

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Chapter One

Ten Hindu goddesses form a group known as the Mahavidyas. This group is important in tantric Hinduism and contains a few very well known goddesses, such a Kali and Kamala (Laksmi), and several obscure goddesses, such a Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, and Matangi. The book first deals with the group as a whole, discussing several theories and theological structures that might shed light on the goddesses as a unified collective. It then looks at each of the ten goddesses individually, tracing her history, describing her nature, and interpreting her meaning within Hindu tantra. Distinctive characteristics or themes emerge as central in Mahavidya theology and iconography. Several of the goddesses vividly represent inauspicious, polluting, or dangerous qualities. Several seem to represent "antimodels" for women, that is, they display characteristics that are opposed to the virtuous qualities of women as described in Hindu scriptures. Both sex and death feature prominently, and in conjunction with each other, in Mahavidya iconography. The book interprets the Mahavidyas as "awakeners," as spriritual "devices" that tantric adepts might employ to stretch their categories or expand their awareness beyond the conventional. The Mahavidyas have the potential to deconstruct accepted moral, religious, and social paradigmsby elevating for reverence goddesses that embody the forbidden, polluted, and marginal elements of Hindu culture.

(Continues...)

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