Abstract
The article proceeds from the hypothesis that Bengal was peripheral to the main Brahmanical zone, and that many religious beliefs and ritualistic practices existed there, probably in much diversity, before Brahmanism established its dominance. Brahmanism absorbed, modified and unified the local cults. The article takes the cult of the Goddess Maṅgalacaṇḍī as an illustration of how it is specific to Bengal and drew on various local rituals and beliefs in goddesses locally prevalent previously, but now regionalised. The cult as it was being formed was also sought to be accommodated in the Punāṇic framework: thus Bengal was given its particular cults, while preserving its place in the Brahmanical world.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.