An Abode of the Goddess

An Abode of the Goddess

By- Masahiko Togawa

This book, based on the field survey, is about a village society in Bengal, and its relationships with Hindu kingship on the ritual organization of an old temple. The village temple is well known for being one o 51 sakta-pithas scattered over the Indian subcontinent. Sakta-pithas mean centres of Sakti worship or seat of the goddess Sati (another name of the goddess Durga) in Bengali, where the body parts of the goddess Sati fell to earth after she had been cut to pieces by the discus of Vishnu. Every place believed to have a Sati’s limb became the centre for the worship of the sakti-cult, or an abode of the goddess (pritha-sthan).

The village temple prospered under the patronage of Maharaja Kirtichand (1702-40) of Bardhaman Raj, though the temple history is fr older than this. At the beginning of British rule, the Royal family of Bardhaman became the largest zamindar in Bengal. They exercised great authority over the local society which is still observable in the various ritual processes.

The temple organization consists of the ritual posts and roles assigned to the various castes, lineages and households, which are fundamentally based on the kinship relations in the village. At the same time, the temple organization is founded on the service tenures granted by the Bardhaman Raj since the early eighteenth century, and even the village untouchables are endowed with indispensable roles in the temple ritual as servants of the goddess. The analysis reveals the strong influences of the indigenous polity over ordinary life in the rural society.

 Masahiko Togawa is Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Hiroshima University, Japan.

 ISBN  81-7304-677-8    2006   362p.   Rs.236/ pounds 40

MANOHAR PUBLISHERS & DISTRIBUTORS
4753/23 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002
Phones: 23284848, 23289100
Fax: 23265162
E-mail: manbooks@vsnl.com
sales@manoharbooks.com

To order your copy at www.manoharbooks.com