Malcolm McLean is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

• Preface Introduction Part I: The Life 1. The Search for the Historical Ramprasad 2. The Deconstruction of the Tradition 3. Reading the Life of Ramprasad Part II: The Work 4. Ramprasad's Mad Bitch Goddess 5. Ramprasad's Tantric Goddess 6. The Goddess as Ramprasad's Daughter 7. Reading the Songs of Ramprasad Conclusion Appendix: Isvarachandra Gupta's Biography of Ramprasad Notes Bibliography Index

"The author presents a brief, original interpretation of one of the most important, but least studied (in English) devotees of the Goddess. The book includes copious new translations (the best and most extensive in English, so far as I know). It is well informed, based on impressive familiarity with primary and secondary sources in Bengali and with postmodern discourse, but it wears its scholarship lightly. It consistently brings that scholarship to bear on the interpretive problem at hand, without unnecessary jargon or tangents." — Thomas B. Coburn, St. Lawrence University"I like the way the author has traced three strands in Ramprasad's concept of the Goddess: puranic/sanskritic; Bengali folk; and tantric, and argued that this melding of traditions was significant in the history of Kali worship in Bengal. The book is clearly and concisely written and treats an important figure in Hindu religious thought on the basis of Bengali materials that have not been translated or exploited by scholars." — David Kinsley, McMaster University, Ontario

Malcolm McLean is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

• Preface Introduction Part I: The Life 1. The Search for the Historical Ramprasad 2. The Deconstruction of the Tradition 3. Reading the Life of Ramprasad Part II: The Work 4. Ramprasad's Mad Bitch Goddess 5. Ramprasad's Tantric Goddess 6. The Goddess as Ramprasad's Daughter 7. Reading the Songs of Ramprasad Conclusion Appendix: Isvarachandra Gupta's Biography of Ramprasad Notes Bibliography Index

"The author presents a brief, original interpretation of one of the most important, but least studied (in English) devotees of the Goddess. The book includes copious new translations (the best and most extensive in English, so far as I know). It is well informed, based on impressive familiarity with primary and secondary sources in Bengali and with postmodern discourse, but it wears its scholarship lightly. It consistently brings that scholarship to bear on the interpretive problem at hand, without unnecessary jargon or tangents." — Thomas B. Coburn, St. Lawrence University"I like the way the author has traced three strands in Ramprasad's concept of the Goddess: puranic/sanskritic; Bengali folk; and tantric, and argued that this melding of traditions was significant in the history of Kali worship in Bengal. The book is clearly and concisely written and treats an important figure in Hindu religious thought on the basis of Bengali materials that have not been translated or exploited by scholars." — David Kinsley, McMaster University, Ontario

Malcolm McLean is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

• Preface Introduction Part I: The Life 1. The Search for the Historical Ramprasad 2. The Deconstruction of the Tradition 3. Reading the Life of Ramprasad Part II: The Work 4. Ramprasad's Mad Bitch Goddess 5. Ramprasad's Tantric Goddess 6. The Goddess as Ramprasad's Daughter 7. Reading the Songs of Ramprasad Conclusion Appendix: Isvarachandra Gupta's Biography of Ramprasad Notes Bibliography Index

"The author presents a brief, original interpretation of one of the most important, but least studied (in English) devotees of the Goddess. The book includes copious new translations (the best and most extensive in English, so far as I know). It is well informed, based on impressive familiarity with primary and secondary sources in Bengali and with postmodern discourse, but it wears its scholarship lightly. It consistently brings that scholarship to bear on the interpretive problem at hand, without unnecessary jargon or tangents." — Thomas B. Coburn, St. Lawrence University"I like the way the author has traced three strands in Ramprasad's concept of the Goddess: puranic/sanskritic; Bengali folk; and tantric, and argued that this melding of traditions was significant in the history of Kali worship in Bengal. The book is clearly and concisely written and treats an important figure in Hindu religious thought on the basis of Bengali materials that have not been translated or exploited by scholars." — David Kinsley, McMaster University, Ontario