Path: ultra.sonic.net!remarQ-easT!supernews.com!remarQ.com!attmtf!ip.att.net!mercury.cts.com!nntp1.crl.com!nnrp9.crl.com!not-for-mail From: "Ahirbudhnyad" Newsgroups: alt.fan.kali.astarte.inanna,alt.mythology,alt.religion.tantra Subject: Book Review of Sorts: Chinnamasta Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 06:15:04 -0700 Organization: BBZ Broadcasting Lines: 50 Message-ID: <7k8841$mtr$1@nnrp9.crl.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: a097032.sfx1.as.crl.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.71.1712.3 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.71.1712.3 Xref: ultra.sonic.net alt.fan.kali.astarte.inanna:1918 alt.mythology:50301 alt.religion.tantra:127 Just got through reading "Chinnamasta: The Aweful Buddhist and Hindu Tantric Goddess", by Elisabeth Anne Benard (Motilal Banarsidass, 1994, ISBN: 81-208-1065-1). It's not a new book, but as I've never seen anyone mention it online and was very impressed with it myself, I wanted to give it a recommendation. Benard draws upon sources from literature and field experience to compile this thorough and easily-readable collection information regarding Chinnamasta, the self-decapitated goddess found in both Hindu and Buddhist Tantra (as Chinnamunda in the latter). The book discusses in some detail the iconography, mythology and Tantric ritual associated with her. Until this book, such a concise source on Chinnamasta wasn't available. Benard does a wonderful job of pulling together ancient and modern sources, from the Upanishads to David Kinsley, as well as translating into English for the first time such materials as the Chinnamastatantra from the Shakta Pramoda, the Chinnamunda Vajravarahisadhana and the Trikayavjrayoginistuti. She also makes several keen observations of her own regarding iconography and the 9-Rasa classification of Chinnamasta's 108 and 1,000 names. The several photographs of pictures and murtis of Chinnamasta, as well as brief accounts of her own experience at the temples and shrines of Chinnamasta in India, round it all out perfectly. For anyone interested in Chinnamasta, in the Mahavidyas, in Tantra in general, or even those with a general interest in ancient religions and mysticism, would do well to get a copy of this book about one of the most unique god-forms in existence. The author's pedigree, from the cover-flap of the book: "Elisabeth Benard became interested in India at the age of twelve years when her father first brought back Hindu images from a trip to India. For many years she looked at these images in her family library never dreaming that one day she would become a scholar in Indian religions. She researched in India under the auspices of the American Institute of Indian Studies and received her doctorate from Columbia University. She has lectured widely in the United States, including at the Smithsonian Institute and Asia Society, as well as in India and Japan. She has taught at Princeton, Rutgers University, College of Wooster and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Presently she is teaching Hinduism, Women in Religion, and Asian Religions at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Tzimon Yliaster Tools of CHAOS http://www.xiqual.com PO Box 26362, San Francisco, CA 94126