Victory to the Mother

The Hindu Goddess of Northwest India in Myth, Ritual, and Symbol

Oxford University Press, 1993.
Paperback, 208 pages

Jay mata di!

or Victory to the Mother! in the Punjabi language can be heard blasting from loud speakers and shouted by crowds of pilgrims in contemporary Himachal Pradesh.

In an area where the patriarchal Sikh religious culture is predominant, there is an ever growing and highly popular Goddess culture that has survived among the Punjabi Hindus; but even some of the Sikh are part of this movement. This study is the doctoral research of the author who lived within the culture and participated in pilgrimages to the various Goddess temples within northwestern India.

The research focuses on the regional cult of the goddess Seranvali. Detailed information is also provided on the Seven Sisters, the seven major temples of Goddess worship in Himachal Pradesh; the most famous being Jvala Mukhi (or Jvalamukhi) in the Kangra District. This is the temple known for its natural gas flames emerging from fissures in the rock. Also of particular interest are the author's analysis of the Devi Mahatmya, the oldest and most popular text in the Shakta tradition, and her accounts of contemporary goddess possession outlined in Chapter 5.

I highly recommend this work for anyone searching for information on Jvalamukhi as there are numerous references regarding this temple throughout the book.

Review: Jane Sperr
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