Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams Kali and Uma in the Devotional Poetry of Bengal

by McDermott, Rachel Fell

• ISBN13: 9780195134353
• ISBN10: 0195134354
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-06-28
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book chronicles the rise of goddess worship in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present. Focusing on the goddesses Kali and Uma, McDermott examines lyrical poems written by devotees from Ramprasad Sen (ca. 1718-1775) to Kazi Nazrul Islam(1899-1976).

Table of Contents

Notes on Transliteration	xv
Introduction	3	(1)
Widening the Sakta Horizon in Bengal	4	(2)
Interpretive Interests: Transformations in a Bhakti Tradition	6	(3)
Methodology	9	(2)
A Personal Note	11	(4)
Part I The Lives and Contexts of Sakta Poets
The Historical Background in Bengal	15	(22)
The Rise of Zamindaris in Late Mughal Bengal	17	(3)
The Maratha Raids	20	(2)
The Expansion of British Power	22	(3)
The Famine of 1770	25	(1)
Zamindaris and British Policies in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries	26	(2)
Zamindari Patronage of Religion and the Arts	28	(3)
Why Sakta Poetry, Now?	31	(2)
The Nouveaux Riches of Calcutta and the Place of Sakta Poetry	33	(4)
Building Fences with Kali: Ramprasad Sen and the Popularization of the Tantric Goddess	37	(47)
Searching for Ramprasad	37	(3)
Manuscripts and Monuments: The History of Ramprasad's ``Recovery''	40	(23)
Creating the Composite Portrait: Three Case Studies	63	(15)
Making Inferences	78	(6)
``Born in Ramprasad's Line to Revive Bhakti'': Sadhaka Kamalakanta	84	(44)
Ambushed by Dacoits with Kamalakanta	84	(1)
Rajas, Citizens, and Devotees Unite: Preserving Kamalakanta for Posterity	85	(22)
Charting Kamalakanta's Changes: Three Case Studies	107	(15)
Historical Judgments Revisited	122	(6)
Inheritors of Tradition: Floating in the Sakta Stream	128	(33)
Wigs or No Wigs? The Guises of Kali's Bards	128	(3)
``Like Ramprasad and Kamalakanta'': Literary Heirs	131	(14)
More Moons and Meat: The Legacy of Bengali Sakta Sadhakas	145	(2)
Where are Kali's Daughters?	147	(7)
Selecting the Best Representatives of Sakta ``Pastness''	154	(7)
Part II The Changing Genre of Sakta Poetry
Setting the Literary and Religious Scene in Eighteenth-Century Bengal	161	(15)
On Whose Shoulders? Textual Precedents for Eighteenth-Century Innovators	162	(10)
Temples, Pujas, and Image Veneration: Ritual Resources	172	(4)
Dancing on the Heart-Lotus: Kali and the Ramprasads of Bengali Literature	176	(28)
Texts, Editions, and Musical Notations	176	(2)
The Kali-centered Poetry (Syama-sangita)	178	(22)
The Uma-centered Poetry (Uma-sangita)	200	(2)
A Mellowing Poet?	202	(2)
Keeping the Legacy Alive: Kamalakanta Bhattacarya and the Sakta Padavali Tradition	204	(28)
Texts, Editions, and Musical Notations	204	(1)
The Kali-centered Poetry (Syama-sangita)	205	(19)
The Uma-centered Poetry (Uma-sangita)	224	(6)
Ramprasad and Kamalakanta: Evolving Trends in the Genre	230	(2)
``Ma, Come and Stay Awhile'': Kali and Uma in Eighteenth- to Twentieth-Century Bengali Poetry	232	(54)
The Intersection of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Bengali Literature with Interest in the Goddess	232	(5)
Carrying the Tune: New Voices for Kali	237	(38)
Pining for Uma, Bringing Her Home: Songs to the Mountain's Daughter	275	(11)
Conclusion: Bhakti's Balm in Bengal	286	(19)
Tantra and Bhakti: The Pendulum Swings	286	(6)
Interpreting Bhakti's Role	292	(6)
The Changing of the Gods in South Asian Religious Traditions	298	(7)
Glossary	305	(12)
Notes	317	(94)
Bibliography	411	(12)
Index	423