Devi Goddessses in Indian Mythology Religious rituals play an important role in our lives, yet few today have the time to study or understand the meanings behind these. One reason perhaps is the multitude of deities. In this attractive book, liberally peppered with photographs largely taken by the author, the iconography of female deities, the philosophical conjecture hidden behind these female religious icons, and the mythology behind Hindu goddesses, is shown. The Shakta tradition in Hinduism is explored. This fascinating book covers the links between fertility and a mother goddess, female divinities in the Vedic period, the evolution of goddesses since then and those in the present era. It fills in the lacuna between an oral rendition and a written, complex philosophical version of religious thought behind these goddesses for those wishing to understand 'why', rather than 'how to'. It beguiles the reader with the old world charm that well written mythology and photographs convey. The goddesses of the Hindu pantheon are many - some ferocious, some gentle. All mirror common human traits and failures - devotion, determination, anger, jealousy and in their mythology echo universal attitudes, morals, ethics and principles. The number of goddesses in Hinduism is overwhelmingly enormous, and it is a daunting task to incorporate every one of these; rather the central female divinities of import and who have been worshipped over the centuries are included.