Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams: Kali and Uma in the Devotional Poetry of Bengal
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).
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This book chronicles the rise and subsequent fortunes of goddess worship, or Saktism, in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present. The primary documents are lyrics directed to the goddesses Kali and Uma, beginning with those of the first of the Sakta lyricist-devotees, Ramprasad Sen (c.1718-1775) and Kamalakanta Bhattacharya (c.1769-1821), and continuing up through those of the gifted poet Kaji Najrul Islam (1899-1976). The author has used extensive research from primary historical texts as well as from secondary Bengali and English source materials. She places the advent of the Sakta lyric in its historical context and charts the vicissitudes over time of this form of goddess worship, including the nineteenth-century resurgence of Saktism in the cause of Nationalist politics. The main theme of the book is the way in which the images of the two goddesses evolved over the centuries. Kali is sweetened and democratized over time. Much of her fierce, wild, dangerous, and bloody character disappears, as she is increasingly seen as a compassionate and loving divine mother to her children. Uma, for her part, is gradually transformed from the gentle and remote wife of Shiva to the adored daughter of Bengali parents, increasingly humanized and colored with regional Bengali characteristics.
Notes on TransliterationIntroduction3Pt. IThe Lives and Contexts of Sakta Poets1The Historical Background in Bengal152Building Fences with Kali: Ramprasad Sen and the Popularization of the Tantric Goddess373"Born in Ramprasad's Line to Revive Bhakti": Sadhaka Kamalakanta844Inheritors of Tradition: Floating in the Sakta Stream128Pt. IIThe Changing Genre of Sakta Poetry5Setting the Literary and Religious Scene in Eighteenth-Century Bengal1616Dancing on the Heart-Lotus: Kali and the Ramprasad of Bengali Literature1767Keeping the Legacy Alive: Kamalakanta Bhattacarya and the Sakta Padavali Tradition2048"Ma, Come and Stay Awhile": Kali and Uma in Eighteenth-to Twentieth-Century Bengali Poetry232Conclusion: Bhakti's Balm in Bengal286Glossary305Notes317Bibliography411Index423
