Cover

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Tantra and the Politics of South Asian Studies

Chapter 1. Matrix of Power: The Śākta Pīthas and the Sacred Landscape of Tantra

Chapter 2. Blood for the Goddess: Animal Sacrifice and Divine Menstruation

Chapter 3. Goddess of Power: Tantra, Kingship, and Sacrifice in South Asian History

Chapter 4. The Sacrifice of Desire: Sexual Rites and the Secret Sacrifice

Chapter 5. What About the Woman? Gender Politics and the Interpretation of Women in Tantra

Chapter 6. The Power of God in a Dark Valley: Reform, Colonialism, and the Decline of Tantra in South Asia

Chapter 7. The Power of the Goddess in a Postcolonial Age: Transformations of Tantra in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

Conclusions: Tantra and the End of Imperialism: Beyond "Deep Orientalism" and "Third-Worldism"

Notes

Select Bibliography

Index