A Goddess for the Second Millennium: Why Did Śrī Vidyā Flourish?

In this presentation, I discuss some of the reasons why the worship of the Goddess Tripurasundarī /Śrīvidyā flourished in the first half of the second millennium in Kashmir and south India and continues to thrive in the Indian subcontinent and in the diaspora. Examining Sanskrit tantras and commentaries to trace innovation and continuity, I discuss the non-threatening and pleasing nature of Tripurasundarī and her associations with love magic; the visually stunning Śrīcakra ritual diagram and the complementary mantra system, both viewed as exceedingly powerful; the tremendous range of practices from external ritual to yogic visualizations built upon a rich foundation of ritual and mantra system; and, finally, creative and skillful exegesis, which repeatedly adapted this tradition to its changing environments.
Anna A. Golovkova teaches at the Department of Religion at Bowdoin College. She received her M.A. in the Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University and an M.St. with distinction in Oriental Studies at Oxford University. She completed her doctoral studies at Cornell University in Asian Religions and South Asian Literature and Culture in 2017. Dr. Golovkova's research focuses on the history of Hindu tantric traditions, conceptualizing how religious groups negotiated their identities in pre-modern India. Her book project, A Goddess for the Second Millennium: Transgression and Transformation in the Hindu Tantric Worship of Tripurasundarī, explores unstudied transformations in a popular trans-regional tradition, now known as Śrīvidyā. Mapping ritual, philosophical, and doctrinal developments onto regional dissemination, she uncovers vibrant religious communities in Kashmir and south India, which renewed and revitalized the worship of Tripurasundarī through innovative re-examination of earlier texts and ideas.