CONTENTS Introduction 8 Prarapaditya Pal The Defeat of the Gods and the Victory of the Goddess : The Divine Feminine in Indic Spirituality 22 Gerald James Larson Vessels for the Goddess : Unfired - Clay Images of Durga in Bengal 38 Susan S. Bean From Spectacle to Art : The Changing Aesthetics of Durga Puja in Contemporary Kolkata 54 Tapati Guha - Thakurta Durga in Kashmir 82 Pratapaditya Pal Dasai : The Celebration of the Goddess Durga in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 96 Anne Vergati Dance of Conception and Baby Shower : Tracing a Latent Aspect of Durga Puja in the Light of the Cult of Kumara 106 Gautama V. Vajracharya Constant Companion, Autonomous Spirit : Two Facets of the Feminine in Tamil Tradition 130 Rajeshwari Ghose The Muchilottu Bhagavathi Cult in Kerala 152 Pepita Seth The Fifty-one Shakta Pithas 164 Pratapaditya Pal The Hinglaj Shrine, Baluchistan 188 Ibrahim Shah Index 198 Contributors 200