Hindu Goddesses/ Beliefs and Practices Foulston Lynn

Parti Beliefs
Sakti - The Divine Feminine
A conceptual understanding of sakti
The goddess's associations with maya Tind prakrti
Sakti manifested as the Mahadevi or Great Goddess
Pan-Indian goddesses as personifications of sakti
Essentially benign goddesses
Sri-Laksmi (Goddess of Fortune)
Sarasvati (The Flowing One)
Parvati (She who is Born of a Mountain)
Essentially fierce goddesses
Durga (The One who is Beyond Reach)
Kali (The Black One: The Power of Time)
Local goddesses as personifications of sakti
Goddesses in Textual Sources
Goddesses in the Vedas
Usas (Dawn)
Aditi (Mother of the gods)
Prthivi (Earth)
Ratri (Night)
Vac/Vak (Speech)
Indrani (Indra's wife)
Nirrti (Destruction, Disorder)
Goddesses in the Mahahharata
The mortal form of Ganga
The creation of Mrytu (Death)
The worship of Durga
The goddess Kala-ratri (Death-night) in the
Sauptikaparvan
Goddesses in the Devi-Mahatmya
Goddesses in the Sakta Puranas
The Kalika Purana
The Devi'Bhagavatam Purana
Goddess Mythology
Brahmanical mythology
The descent of Ganga
The churning of the milk ocean
The destruction of Daksa's sacrifice and the
immolation of Sati
Local mythology
Origin mythology
Renuka myths
The origin of smallpox in south India
Mythology that validates local goddesses
Mythology that localizes pan-Indian goddesses
Goddesses originating from humans
Sati
Tantrism and Hindu Goddesses
Defining Tantrism
The historical development of Tantrism and Saktism
Tantric goddesses
The Matrkas (Mothers)
The Saptamatrkas (Seven Mothers)
Yoginis
The Ten Mahavidyas
A Tantric Sakta tradition - Sri Vidya
Part II Practices
Goddess Worship
Orthodox or Pan-Indian worship of the goddess
Temple worship
Home worship
Abhiseka: ritual bathing and decoration of the
goddess
Bengali devotional hhakti
Ramakrishna - Kali's ultimate devotee
Local worship of the goddess
Snake worship
Tantric worship of the goddess
Nitya-Puja
Kundalini Yoga
Use of the panca-makaras
Cremation ground rituals
Goddess Festivals
Orthodox goddess festivals
Durga Puja
Festival proceedings
Laksmi Puja
Kali Puja
The festival Procession
Local goddess festivals
Mariyamman festivals and fire walking
A local festival in Orissa
The importance of possession in local festivals
Pilgrimage to the Temples of the Goddess
The importance of the River Ganges
The Sakta pithas
Important goddess temples
Kamarupa, abode of the goddess Kamakhya
The goddess Vaisno Devi in Jammu
Kalighat in Bengal
Minaksi, the fish-eyed goddess of Madurai
Kanyakumari, the eternal virgin of Tamilnadu
The Goddess in Contemporary Hinduism
Bharat Mata - Mother India
Vande Mataram
Bharat Mata and Hindu Nationalism
Santosi Ma - Mother of Satisfaction
Early knowledge of Santosi Ma
The importance of Jai Santosi Maa
Present-day worship of Santosi Ma
More new goddesses?
AIDS-amma
Manushi Swachha Narayani
The Raj Kumari of Nepal - A living goddess:
But for how long?
Kumari worship in Hinduism
Selection of the Raj Kumari