Patricia Dold

Memorial University of Newfoundland, Religious Studies, Faculty Member

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I continue to teach and research on religion in South Asia as well as religion and gender, religion and violence. I currently serve as Head of the Department of Religious Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Divine Domesticities in Hindu Theistic Traditions

Religious Studies and Theology, 2014

Kinsley's Kali

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 2001

I intended this to be about David Kinsley as a scholar. As I wrote I realized it was more about h... more

Comptes rendus / Reviews of books: Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess: The Liturgy of the Durga Puja with Interpretations Hillary Peter Rodrigues Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003. xvi + 417 p

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 2003

... 56). In general, Rodrigues' nuanced and sensitive treatment -c 1-;. r1n~n .,,..c,,ii...-... more

Reviews of Books / Comptes Rendus: Kiss of the Yogini: ''Tantric Sex'' in its South Asian Context David Gordon White Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2003. xix + 372 pp

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 2010

Page 1. millennium was added. Yet concurrently there was a contrary feature of evangelicalism: it... more

Tantra as a religious category in the Mahābhāgavata Purāna

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 2009

... Tantra as a religious category in the Mah &amp;amp;amp;amacr; bh &amp;amp;amp;amacr; ... more ... Tantra as a religious category in the Mah &amp;amp;amp;amacr; bh &amp;amp;amp;amacr; gavata Pur&amp;amp;amp;amacr;n a PATRICIA AILEEN DOLD Patricia Dold is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, Memorial Univer-sity of Newfoundland, St. John&amp;amp;#x27;s NL A1 C 5S7; e-mail: [email protected]. ...

The Mahavidyas at Kamarupa: Dynamics of Transformation in Hinduism 1

Kamarupa, a temple and pilgrimage site near Gauhati, Assam, remains to this day one of the most w... more Kamarupa, a temple and pilgrimage site near Gauhati, Assam, remains to this day one of the most widely known pilgrimage sites of Hindu goddess (Shakta) traditions. It is often described as the most important of all the Shakta pithas or "seats of the goddess." The site is frequendy described as hotbed of black magic, of tantric practice characterized as the use of sex, alcohol, and blood sacrifice to gain personal power, and of human sacrifice. 2 Much of this nefarious reputation can be attributed to various outsiders each with their own religious, political and social agendas. Some of the site's infamy was no doubt promoted by locals, perhaps especially kings and their priests, to instill fear in political or religious rivals or to attract pilgrims. 3 However, the site's reputation does not give a complete or accurate picture. Data from the site itself and also from Sanskrit texts that were composed there and/or have detailed knowledge of the geography of the site as well as detailed injunctions for religious practice at Kamarupa, go far beyond the stereotypic and sensationalistic characterizations. For example, the Kalika Purana — which, like the Yogini Tantra, has extremely close connections to the site-gives elaborate visualization exercizes for a variety of deities including the various forms of the goddess at Kamarupa. It prescribes ritual procedures typical for Tantra: the use of formulae for recitation including mantras, geometric diagrams of deities (yantrd), gestures to install deities in and around the body (nyasa) and talismans {kavacd), and so on. It also prescribes ritual procedures that do not belong specifically to Tantra: offerings of flowers, water, etc., to a physical or visualized image of a deity and offerings made into fire {homà). Yet, the Kalika Purana echoes and contributes to the site's infamous reputation with its descriptions of blood sacrifice, including human, and of transgressive tantric practices such as the ritual use of

format_quoteSite data and Sanskrit texts reveal a complex spiritual narrative about Kamarupa, contradicting its sensationalized reputation.format_quote

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