Shakti: An Exploration of the Divine Feminine

After reading the foreword by Shashi Tharor, I randomly opened the book to the page of Vindhayavasini, an almost unknown goddess I had come to venerate. She appears in the Kualajñananirnaya as Vindhya-pāda, a yoginī/goddess associated to the Vindhya mountains. As Dr. Chitgopekar explained, she is also known as Yogamaya. The text is accompanied with a gorgeous picture of the temple of Yogamaya in Mehrauli, a temple I visited regularly while living in Delhi, though I didn’t know she was also Vindhayavasini. My fascination continued as every page revealed unknown details or complicated myths of the feminine divine explained in a vivid, knowledgeable way that is always very accessible.

Extraordinary book on a topic which is very dear to my heart. Thoroughly illustrated in colour, covers all forms of Shakti known to me, and many new ones. Written by. an expert in the field. Highly recommended.

Beautiful photos and very informative. It is a large coffee table book.

Although this is a book from a lightweight publisher known mostly for picture books, there is an impressive amount of information here, well presented. This is a significant effort that should find a substantial audience interested in actual religious practice in India. Much use of David Kinsley's research and other American and foreign researchers. It treads lightly, of course, on some current controversial topics, but it presents a much more realistic view of Hinduism than can be found in most academic texts which tend to place more weight on the Advaita Vedanta tradition as being the dominant "religion" of India.