"This book chronicles the rise and subsequent fortunes of goddess worship, or Saktism, in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present. The primary documents are lyrics directed to the goddesses Kali and Uma, beginning with those of the first of the Sakta lyricist-devotees, Ramprasad Sen (ca. 1718-1775) and Kamalakanta Bhattacarya (ca. 1769-1821), and continuing up through those of the gifted poet Kaji Najrul Islam (1899-1976).

Rachel Fell McDermott has used extensive research from primary historical texts as well as from secondary Bengali and English source materials. She places the advent of the Sakta lyric in its historical context and charts the vicissitudes over time of this form of goddess worship, including the nineteenth-century resurgence of Saktism in the cause of Nationalist politics. The main theme of the book is the way in which the images of the two goddesses evolved over the centuries. Kali is sweetened and democratized over time.

Much of her fierce, wild, dangerous, and bloody character disappears, as she is increasingly seen as a compassionate and loving divine mother to her children. Uma, for her part, is gradually transformed from the gentle and remote wife of Shiva to the adored daughter of Bengali parents, increasingly humanized and colored with regional Bengali characteristics."--BOOK JACKET.