To Hindus, she incarnates the great goddess Taleju, a version of Durga. Today there are just ten kumaris in Nepal, nine of them in the Kathmandu Valley. They’re still selected only from families ...

David Kinsley writes: Texts or contexts exalting the Mahadevi [Great Goddess], however, usually affirm sakti to be a power, or the power, underlying ultimate reality, or to be ultimate reality itself.

Great Goddesses will be released in hardback on 5 September by Ebury Press, and we can’t wait to add it to our collection of books by and about brilliant women. You’re now subscribed to all ...