Reviews of Books 563

teresting. This information is found mostly in the third section on the vemaculars, which describes,
for example, the way in which the theoretical knowledge of Advaita combined with the practical
knowledge of yoga in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Telugu works; how Advaita provided the
theoretical underpinnings for devotionalism in the Marathi philosopher-saint Jfianesvara; or the way
in which Narayana Guru in Kerala reconciled Sankara's Advaita with a concem for social reform.
The section on Advaita in the vemaculars is probably the volume's chief selling point, if for no other
reason than that it brings to the attention of English-speaking audiences a vast body of literature that
has generally received insufficient attention in modem surveys of Indian philosophy and literature.
Unfortunately, however, most of these chapters provide little more than brief synopses of the noted
works in the various vemaculars. At times reading like an annotated bibliography, the third section is of
value chiefiy as a reference source. Depending on the reader's interests, then, the third section may not
redeem the volume as a whole, for the first section's 376 pages on Classical Advaita contain little that
one cannot already find in a good survey of Indian philosophy like Dasgupta's A History of Indian
Philosophy. The Advaita Vedanta volume thus is of interest mostly for what it reveals about how con-
temporary Indian scholars understand the place of Advaita Vedanta in India's religious history, rather
than for any new information or fresh perspective that it might provide.

HUGH NICHOLSON
COE COLLEGE

Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess. Edited by TRACY PINTCH-
MAN. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 2001. Pp. 254. $65.50 cloth; $21.95 paper.

Recent debates about identity in South Asian studies have reached the heavenly realms of the great
goddess. The contributors to Tracy Pintchman's Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the
Hindu Great Goddess argue that the balance between a singular, unified goddess and the myriad of
her local forms must be constantly rethought and renegotiated. The goddess, too, has fluid and hybrid
identities that can change from local to universal and back to local again.
The tone of the volume is constmctive and coUegial, The authors' more explicit aims are; (1) to draw
attention to the diversity of Devi; (2) to outline the interpretive strategies of Devi worshipers in lived
devotional contexts; and (3) to encourage explorations of divergent perceptions of Devi in as yet un-
explored contexts (p. 5). In this approach the book builds on the groundwork laid by early studies of
Devi, such as Brown (1990, 1998), Cobum (1991), Emdl (1993), Hawley and Wulff (1996), among
many others.
The first five essays play on the relationship between the general Devi and her specific incama-
tions in local settings. C. Mackenzie Brown begins by noting differences within the (oft-maligned)
Sanskrit tradition itself, particularly the ways in which both the Devi Bhagavata Purdna {DBP) and
the Devi Gita (DG) "soften" the goddess from warrior to Vedantic Brahman {DBP) and Tantric world
mother {DG). Usha Menon furthers this exploration of core identity of the goddess in an Oriyan
village context, where Ma's wrathful side is both accepted as a crucial part of her personality, and is
at the same time domesticated by devotees in terms of accepted social mles. The clarity of the Oriyan
interpretation stands in stark contrast to the Jammu shrine of Vaisno Devi; there, as Mark Rohe argues,
virgin and mother identities are fluid, as are the Devi's actual representations in the pindis, or stones,
at the shrine. This vagueness, argues Rohe, serves to combine contemporary, even "future-oriented"
views of the goddess with more traditional ones.
Tracy Pintchman deepens the idea of a "traditional" value to the goddess in an essay arguing for
three basic characteristics to Devi in the Sanskrit Puranas: sakti, prakrti, and maya. Thus, while her
name might change from Purana to Puratia, her function as a "tripartite cosmogonic agent" does not.
Finally, Sarah Caldwell also rings an ethnographic note on the theme of play between the general and
the specific; she shows that the worship of Keralan goddess Bhagavati reflects values particular to
564 Journal of the American Oriental Society 124.3 (2004)

social groups: brahmin, Nayar/ksatriya, lowcaste and tribal groups, as well as women of different
caste status.
The next four essays pay specific attention to the process of construction rather than its varieties.
Sree Padma's essay shows that in urban Andhra Pradesh, the goddess' village function of protection re-
mains constant, while the "Sanskritization process" occurs only in superficial rituals, forms of window-
dressing. Elaine Craddock argues that, in the case of the Tamil goddess of smallpox, Bavaniyamman,
the theme of blood sacrifice connects her local identity and narrative with the larger, Sanskritic themes
of death and regeneration through the divine Mother. Jeffrey Kripal examines the process by which
Sharada Devi, the female leader of the Ramakrishna movement, became accepted in those orders as
Holy Mother. In his view, Sharada's use of silence (accepting others' interpretations of her) and her
voiceless presence in ritual (accepting roles assigned to her) helped Sharada to become Devi for her
devotees. Moreover, she used the model of unconditional love to help devotees conceive of social
realities which provided an alternative to the harsh behavioral codes of colonialism.
Kripal's theme of the psychological experience of devotees is deepened in Kathleen Emdl's essay,
which argues for devotional experience itself as a powerful category through which to study the
goddess. In addition to the two prevailing models of goddess studies—the historical and the psycho-
logical/structural—Emdl adds a third model: an experiential approach in which the so-called "con-
tradiction" between universal and particular is simply not a factor in devotees' world-views. Thomas
Coburn's final essay brings Erndl's appeal to agency to a theoretical conclusion: that Devi is a re-
lational concept that always must be grounded in dynamic interaction with persons and communities.
The articles in Seeking Mahadevl are refreshing and insightful analyses of the plurality of goddess
traditions. The volume's value lies in three distinct virtues. First, in classes on Hinduism as well as on
women and religion, faculty can now point to this collection as an example of why a "great" theological
tradition both is and is not accurate when it comes to the goddess. Second, the book's entirely con-
struction tone is a welcome relief from frequently less civil debates about South Asian identities. The
editors and contributors focus on new directions rather than the inevitable inadequacies of earlier works
on Devi traditions. Moreover, in footnotes as well as in the main bodies of the essays, both authors
and editors recognize the limitations of their own methods. For example, the shortcomings of the con-
structionist model are briefly addressed by the editor in the introduction; Pintchman reminds us, as
Hacking (1999) has done, that the "object" of the "construction" cannot disappear entirely in studies of
social processes. Especially important is Coburn's suggestion that sakti might be a better term to use,
even in English, than "the goddess" or "a goddess," with the inevitable awkwardness of the English
definite and indefinite article.
Third, the book makes an admirable attempt to integrate textual studies, such as that of Brown and
Pintchman, with the predominantly social-psychological tone of the other essays. More work needs
to be done in this regard, but the book does lay some preliminary groundwork for the integration of
textual and ethnographic analysis in the study of the goddess. Some of the essays (Caldwell and Emdl
in particular) leave one wondering about those odd moments when the textiial, the theological, and
the ethnographic perspectives threaten to overtake each other. For instance, if the seemingly "universal"
textual identity of the goddess is to be specified down to the region, village, caste, family, and finally
to the individual, what is left to study except individual expression? Surely those in favor of the "local
construction" arguments in the study of saktl would not want to take their views to this extreme, but
rather settle on a more dialectic relationship between the specific and the general, the village and the
ideology, the person and the text.
The volume as a whole might have benefited from a crisper organization of the essays, either into
more clearly delineated theoretical sections or into sections focusing on region. For example, the
reader might wonder occasionally exactly what the difference is between "varieties" of construction and
"processes" of construction—the organizational principle introduced early on in the volume. Is not
Rohe's analysis of the intentional vagueness of Vaisno Devi also about the process of construction,
and not just its varieties? Alternatively, the difl'erence between South and North Indian goddesses re-
mains a source of endless fascination for scholars and devotees alike, and might well have served as
an intriguing organizational principle.
Yet these are quibbles about an almost ideal work that one wants to perfect. The creativity of these
essays, as well as their ability to point to possible future paths of study, will be greatly welcome to
 Reviews of Books 565

general scholars of Indology as well as those interested in gender and religion and South Asia. After
reading them, one wants to continue to seek Mahadevi in all her changing forms.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, C. MacKenzie. 1990. The Triumph of the Goddess: The Canonical Models and Theological
Visions of the Devi Bhdgavata Purana. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press.
. 1998. The Devi Gita: The Song of the Goddess: A Translation, Annotation, and Commen-
tary. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press.
Coburn, Thomas. 1991. Encountering the Goddess: A Translation of the Devi Mdhatmya and a Study
of Its Interpretation, Albany: State Univ. of New York Press.
Erndl, Kathleen. 1993. Victory to the Mother: The Hindu Goddess of Northwest India in Myth, Ritual,
and Symbol. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
Hawley, John S., and Donna M. Wulff, eds. 1996. Devi: Goddesses in India. Berkeley and Los Angeles:
Univ. of California Press.
Hacking, Ian. 1999. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press.

LAURIE L . PATTON
EMORY UNIVERSITY

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D, By IRAVATHAM MAHA-
DEVAN. Harvard Oriental Series, vol. 62. Chennai: CRE-A and Cambridge, Mass.: DEPARTMENT OF
SANSKRIT AND INDIAN STUDIES, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 2003. Pp. xxxix + 719.

Early Tamil Epigraphy represents the culmination of Iravatham Mahadevan's lifework on the early
Tamil and Vatteluttu cave inscriptions dating from approximately the second century B.C. to the sixth
century A.D. Mahadevan has long been acknowledged as the most prominent expert in this field, so it
comes as no surprise that he now presents us with a comprehensive and definitive presentation of this
important corpus. Mahadevan's claim that "the cave inscriptions of Tamil Nadu, which have generally
been regarded as obscure, can now be read" (p. xi) is fully justified, as his edition gives convincing
interpretations for nearly every word in the corpus. The two main obstacles to their interpretation in
the past, namely "the lack of reliable texts and unfamiliarity with the orthographic rules governing the
inscriptions" (ibid.), have now been removed by Mahadevan's energetic and comprehensive fieldwork
and by his authoritative analysis of the orthographic systems, respectively.
The majority of the early Tamil inscriptions are either short dedicatory inscriptions in caves or name
labels on pottery, coins, rings, and seals. They are written in a locally adapted variant of the north Indian
Brahmi script, known as Tamil-Brahmi, which has several interesting varieties and systemic pecu-
liarities. Despite their brevity and stereotyped contents, the old Tamil inscriptions have major signif-
icance for the study of the history, culture, language, and especially paleography of early south India.
Mahadevan describes the goal of his "Commentary on Inscriptions" (pp. 539-639) as "to situate the
Early Tamil inscriptions in the mainstream of Indian epigraphy" (p. 541), and in this regard not only
this section in particular but the book as a whole succeeds admirably. For example, as one of many
instances of the wider importance of the early Tamil inscriptions for related fields of study, the Jambai
inscription "has finally settled the question" (p. 120) of the identity of the Satiyaputras mentioned in
As'oka's Second Rock Edict. With regard to literary studies, the analyses by Mahadevan and others have
provided historical corroboration for various persons mentioned in the Tamil Cankam literature (see,
e.g., pp. 85 and 117). For the history of religions in south India, Mahadevan has succeeded in dem-
onstrating that, contrary to what was thought by earlier investigators, "the Tamil-Brahml inscriptions
. . . do not reveal any internal evidence for associating the Buddhist faith with the Tamil caves" (p. 126),
hut rather that they are of Jaina affiliation. This conclusion further leads him to draw important con-
clusions about the early implantation of Jainism in Tamil Nadu, for which he finds linguistic evidence
for links with Karnataka, rather than with Bengal and Orissa as held hy some (pp. 108-9, 127-28).