Acceptance: 03/06/2026
Published: 25/06/2026
Abstract
The Daśamahāvidyās — the ten great Tantric goddesses of the Śākta tradition — represent one of the most philosophically sophisticated cosmological systems produced by Hindu thought. Far from being a mere catalogue of deities, this group constitutes a systematic metaphysical schema in which a single, undivided consciousness — identified with Mahāśakti, the supreme feminine principle — fractures itself into ten distinct modal expressions, each articulating a different facet of ultimate reality. This paper investigates the theological, ontological, and soteriological dimensions of these ten vidyās — Kālī, Tārā, Tripura Sundarī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Bhairavī, Chhinnamastā, Dhūmāvatī, Bagalāmukhī, Mātaṅgī, and Kamalā — drawing on Tantric scripture, Śrīvidyā commentary, and the philosophical framework of Kashmir Śaivism. The central argument is that the Daśamahāvidyās do not represent ten separate goddesses but rather ten modal operations of a single self-aware ground, each mode encoding a precise metaphysical function within the drama of cosmic self-manifestation and self-concealment. .
Author Name:
Anamika Yadav
Pages:
426-438
DOI Number:
10.5281/zenodo.20838741
Reference
Brooks, D. R. (1990). The secret of the three cities: An introduction to Hindu Śākta tantrism. University of Chicago Press.
Coburn, T. B. (1988). Devī-Māhātmya: The crystallization of the goddess tradition. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 56(2), 193–217.
Coburn, T. B. (1991). Encountering the Goddess: A translation of the Devī-Māhātmya and a study of its interpretation. State University of New York Press.
Flood, G. (2006). The tantric body: The secret tradition of Hindu religion. I. B. Tauris.
Frawley, D. (1996). The divine mother: A guide to the feminine power of the divine. Lotus Press.
Gupta, S., Hoens, D. J., & Goudriaan, T. (1979). Hindu tantrism. Brill. https://himalayavedicworld.com/das-mahavidyas-the-10-aspects-of-adi-parashakti.php
Jamison, S. W., & Brereton, J. P. (2014). The Rigveda: The earliest religious poetry of India (Vols. 1–3). Oxford University Press.
Kinsley, D. (1986). The portrait of the goddess in the Devī-Māhātmya. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 54(2), 321–338.
Kinsley, D. (1997). Tantric visions of the divine feminine: The ten Mahāvidyās. University of California Press.
https://www.manblunder.com/articles/dasa-mahavidya
McDermott, R. F. (1996). The great goddess Mahādevī: Characterization and continuity. History of Religions, 35(4), 350–369.
McDermott, R. F. (2001). Singing to the goddess: Poems to Kālī and Umā from Bengal. Oxford University Press.
Muller-Ortega, P. E. (1989). The triadic heart of Śiva: Kaula tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir. State University of New York Press.
Padoux, A. (1990). Vāc: The concept of the word in selected Hindu tantras. State University of New York Press.
Padoux, A. (2001). What do we mean by Tantrism? The Hindu World, 1, 17–25.
Sanderson, A. (1988). Śaivism and the tantric traditions. In S. Sutherland et al. (Eds.), The world’s religions (pp. 660–704). Routledge.
Shankaranarayanan, S. (2007). The ten Mahāvidyās. Samata Books.
Shankaranarayanan, S. (2010). Śrīvidyā: The tantric way of worship. Samata Books.
Vijnanananda, S. (Trans.). (1921–1924). Śrīmad Devī Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa (Vols. 1–12). Advaita Ashrama.
White, D. G. (1998). The alchemical body: Siddha traditions in medieval India. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 118(4), 489–506.
White, D. G. (2000). Kiss of the yoginī: “Tantric sex” in its South Asian contexts. University of Chicago Press.
Writer Name
Anamika Yadav
Pages
426-438
DOI Numbers
10.5281/zenodo.20838741
Our Social Networks
AD EDUXIAN Publication is dedicated to advancing educational research and providing innovative learning solutions. We offer a wide range of services including publishing, editing, design, and marketing to support authors and researchers in their academic and professional endeavors.
Never miss any important news. Subscribe to our newsletter.