[a] significant analytic overview of an important ritual s layered meanings this book is a critical reference work on the subject of Durg p j and promises to be a useful resource for anyone interested in further study. International Journal of Hindu Studies
As a study of the liturgy, this book is certainly meticulously researched, and the author takes great care to explain the various elements on the basis of readings of the available printed sources and to incorporate countless examples of stories, myths, and everyday references. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"This book fills a niche. There is no complete translation and step-by-step presentation of the Durga Puja. The Durga Puja is a topic which is significant not only for the study of Hindu goddesses, but also for all kinds of Hindu puja and for ritual studies in general." --Kathleen M. Erndl, coeditor of Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddesses
"The textual detail of the puja and its analysis is detailed, nuanced, and compelling. The descriptive material on the social, narrative, aesthetic, and performative dimensions is also well done. This will be the book on Durga Puja." -- Paul B. Courtright, coeditor of From the Margins of Hindu Marriage"
..".[a] significant analytic overview of an important ritual's layered meanings ... this book is a critical reference work on the subject of Durgā pūjā and promises to be a useful resource for anyone interested in further study." -- International Journal of Hindu Studies
"As a study of the liturgy, this book is certainly meticulously researched, and the author takes great care to explain the various elements on the basis of readings of the available printed sources and to incorporate countless examples of stories, myths, and everyday references." -- The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"This book fills a niche. There is no complete translation and step-by-step presentation of the Durga Puja. The Durga Puja is a topic which is significant not only for the study of Hindu goddesses, but also for all kinds of Hindu puja and for ritual studies in general." --Kathleen M. Erndl, coeditor of Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddesses
"The textual detail of the puja and its analysis is detailed, nuanced, and compelling. The descriptive material on the social, narrative, aesthetic, and performative dimensions is also well done. This will be the book on Durga Puja." -- Paul B. Courtright, coeditor of From the Margins of Hindu Marriage
The Durga Puja is an elaborate ritual of worship ( puja ) of the Great Goddess beginning on the sixth of a nine-night autumnal festival during the Indian lunar month of Asvina. Rodrigues (anthropology and religious studies, U. of Lethbridge) primarily describes the activities of ritual, but also comments on what it reveals about Hindu rituals in ge