Mother Goddess Research Articles

The Badoh-Pathari Saptamātṛ Panel Inscription

Abstract Located in Vidisha District, Madhya Pradesh, the area of Badoh-Pathari is home to a rock shelter with a sculpted panel depicting seven mother goddesses. A weathered inscription next to the sculptures was reported as early as 1926. The inscription is dateable to the fifth century on the basis of its palaeography and the art-historical dating of the site. Though partly effaced beyond hope of decipherment, roughly half of the text can be read with confidence, while some of the rest may be restored conjecturally, and some speculatively. The epigraph pays homage to Rudra and Skanda in addition to the Mothers themselves, and is thus a key resource concerning mātṛ worship in the Gupta period. It mentions the otherwise unknown local ruler Jayatsena of Avamukta (a region also named in the Allahabad pillar inscription), and may refer to the reign of Kumāragupta (I).

The Welfare of Cows in Indian Shelters.

Simple SummaryThe welfare of cows in traditional cow shelters (gaushalas), was assessed on the basis of the measurement of animal- and resource-based welfare parameters and description of the herd characteristics by the manager. A description of the condition of the cows and the resources provided to them is provided in this cross-sectional study. Small space allowance per cow, non-uniform flooring, little freedom of movement, and lack of access to pastures were the key welfare issues observed in the study. Very few cows were recorded as lame, but about half had carpal joint lesions and slightly less had lesions from interacting with shelter furniture. This study will inform the stakeholders about the concept of welfare auditing of the cow shelters, for better welfare and management of the cows in the shelters.Cow shelters (gaushalas) are unique traditional institutions in India, where aged, infertile, diseased, rescued, and abandoned cows are sheltered for the rest of their life, until they die of natural causes. These institutions owe their existence to the reverence for the cow as a holy mother goddess for Hindus, the majority religion in India. There is a religious and legal prohibition on cow slaughter in most Indian states. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the welfare of cows in these shelters, which included the development of a welfare assessment protocol, based on direct animal-based measurements, indirect resource-based assessments, and description of the herd characteristics by the manager. A total of 54 cow shelters in 6 states of India were studied and 1620 animals were clinically examined, based on 37 health, welfare, and behavior parameters. Thirty resources provided to the animals, including housing, flooring, feeding, watering, ease of movement, cleanliness of facilities, lighting, temperature, humidity, and noise levels in the sheds were measured. The study showed that the shelters contained mostly non-lactating cows, with a mean age of 11 years. The primary welfare problems appeared to be different to those in Western countries, as the major issues found in the shelters were facility-related—the low space allowance per cow, poor quality of the floors, little freedom of movement, and a lack of pasture grazing. Very few cows were recorded as lame, but about one half had carpal joint hair loss and swelling, and slightly less had lesions from interacting with shelter furniture. Some shelters also had compromised biosecurity and risks of zoonosis. These issues need to be addressed to aid in ensuring the acceptability of these institutions to the public. This welfare assessment protocol aims to address the welfare issues and problems in the shelters, by providing feedback for improvement to the stakeholders.

Totem Beliefs in Karachay-Balkar Folklore and Literature

The paper considers a set of the totemic beliefs as archaic views spread among ancient Turkic peoples, in particular the Karachays and Balkars. We have studied ways and forms of pagan manifestation in the ethnic traditions, cultural consciousness and Balkar literature. In the course of the study, we have touched upon issues concerning the mythoepic tradition and symbolic generalizations. We have used folklore to trace the continuity of artistic thought-tide in understanding and interpreting symbols (tree, stone, etc.). We have also identified mythologems (mother goddess) through zoomorphic images (deer, she-wolf).One can still find mythology and folklore samples in other nations’ literature presenting ancient legends of totem ancestors. They synthesized the rudimentary forms of religion. The characters of the stories were endowed with both zoomorphic and anthropomorphic traits.In addition to the traditional animal cult worshiped by the Turkic peoples there were the cult of ancestors, obeisance to the spirits of the dead. The ritual to distribute the meat portions of a sacrificial animal between members of the same clan also considered as a symbolic act.

MATER MATUTA, ‘FERTILITY CULTS’ AND THE INTEGRATION OF WOMEN IN RELIGIOUS LIFE IN ITALY IN THE FOURTH TO FIRST CENTURIES BC

This study explores social and gendered aspects of female fertility in popular religious practices in Italy in the last four centuries BC, and it investigates the role of supplication and votive dedications in promoting maternal health and family continuity. It tackles modern assumptions which have strongly aligned the religious activities of women in Republican Italy with their generative interests and specific ‘fertility cults’ or ‘women's goddesses’. Divinities associated with fertility are explored here, with particular emphasis on Mater Matuta who is often defined in modern research as a ‘mother goddess’. The study shows that cults purely concerned with fertility are unlikely to have existed. Fertility was only one of several fundamental personal concerns brought by women and men to the generalist and polyvalent deities of Republican Italy. Items associated with fertility, such as terracotta wombs, male and female genitals, and swaddled infants, always occur together with other anatomical ex-votos across a wide range of sites and were dedicated to many deities. Considering the archaeological and textual evidence, Mater Matuta can be shown to have occupied a more flexible and encompassing space in the pantheon, and her involvement in marriage, motherhood and childbearing was part of a wider repertoire of responsibilities. The study also focuses attention on a distinctive, but largely overlooked, votive assemblage from Capua which includes numerous tufa statues of women and babies. The paper proposes that they should be understood as votive objects offered to an unknown deity by Capuan women as thanks for support in the generative enterprise, personally and more broadly in the context of the city's religious and civic identity.

Из истории шаманства: образы шаманских духов-помощников на петроглифах Верхнего Амура и Алдана (статья вторая)

The article deals with the history of shamanism and interpret the images on the petroglyphs of the Upper Amur, Olekma and Aldan rivers, dating back to 2000–1000 BC. Important role in the petroglyphs is played by the images of the Supreme gods and forest spirits that were accessed by shamans and shamanic spirit-helpers. The opposition of light and dark spirits-assistants in the form of deer and bear riders symbolizing the two worlds of the universe – the upper and lower ones – stands out among the latter. The first rider was accompanied by mushroom-shaped spirits, the second one – by hammer-shaped, sharp-headed spirits. The first spirits were associated with the mushroom ritual drink from used during the ritual to communicate with the gods, and the second ones – with farriery. Images of one-legged and two-legged hunchbacks and mother goddesses were widespread as well. The scene of making a sacrifice to the spirits highlights two shamanic guardian spirits: the first is depicted with a radiant head; the second is a sharp-headed one, having similarities with main shamanic patron spirits of the Tungus-Manchus – Buchu and Manga. Images of spirits-assistants of shamans in the form of one-legged hunchbacks, deer and bear riders, mushroom idols and mother goddesses depicted in the petroglyphs of the Upper Amur and Aldan rivers also have direct correspondences in shamanism of Tungus-Manchu peoples (Evenks, Nanais, Udege) that testifies to participation of ancient Upper Amur tribes in ethnocultural genesis of Tungus-Manchurians. Some plots of the sacrificial ritual are genetically related to the Okunev culture, probably also being genetic and cultural impulses for the Upper Amur population of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The opposition of the spirits of the light and dark sides of the sky has analogues in the culture of the Yakuts and Buryats. Blacksmith ongons as the assistant spirits of the shamans are found in the Buryat culture. This indicates the participation of the Upper Amur tribes of the Bronze Age in the cultural genesis of some peoples of Siberia

Vietnam Government’s Protection Policy and Control of Viet Beliefs in Mother Goddesses as Intangible Cultural Heritage

Vietnam Government’s Protection Policy and Control of Viet Beliefs in Mother Goddesses as Intangible Cultural Heritage

Beliefs Worship the Village’s Tutelaray God in the Beliefs Life of Vietnamese People

Vietnam is a country with many beliefs and religions, including beliefs and religions imported from abroad, but there were also beliefs that appear on Vietnam itself. We can refer to typical folk beliefs such as: worship ancestors, worship of Mother Goddesses and many other typical folk beliefs, in the worship of the Vietnamese, beliefs worship “Thanh Hoang lang” (the Village’s Tutelary god) is one of the popular beliefs throughout the country. In villages of Vietnamese and communes, the beliefs worship Village’s Tutelary god is a sacred belief, a spiritual support for village communities for generations. Through the ups and downs of the times, the beliefs worship the Village’s Tutelary god had many changes, however, along with other folk beliefs, the belief of the Village’s Tutelary god has played an important part in creating the characteristic of beliefs and the culture of Vietnam. This analysis will join us in answering many questions related to the worship of the Village’ Tutelary god, namely: What is the Village’s Tutelary god? Why was the Village’s Tutelary god not the Tutelary god? Why have had there a worship of the Village’s Tutelary god in Vietnam? Beliefs of the Vietnamese people into the Village’ Tutelary god, the position of the Village’s Tutelary god in the religious life of Vietnamese people.

“The poor knight lived in the world ...” A. Pushkin in the life-creation and philosophy of love of D. Merezhkovsky

The article is devoted to the consideration of the reception of the A. Pushkin's poem “The poor knight lived in the world ...” in the D. Merezhkovsky’s life-creation and religious-philosophical concept of love. The image of the “poor knight” has become an integral part of the literary life of the writers in the symbolist circle, as evidenced by the studies of A. Lavrov, O. Matich, L. Sproge, M. Tsimborskaya-Leboda and others. He owes his popularity by F. Dostoevsky’s novel “Idiot”, where he acts as a kind of projection of the image of Prince Myshkin, as indicated by Merezhkovsky. With the image of the “poor knight” he associates all “chaste” literary heroes (Hippolytus, Myshkin) and writers (Chaadaev, Lermontov (in a certain period)), who have a platonic feeling for a secret lover. Merezhkovsky does not differentiate the editions of Pushkin’s poem (“Legend” and “Franz's Song” from “Scenes from Knightly Times”), since he is a man of ideas, in the framework of which the “poor knight” becomes the basis of his idealistic concept of platonic love, the bearer of pure feelings, and symbol of the ideal sweetheart, he defines A.M.D. As a result of the study, we determined that the unconventional interpretation of the abbreviation as Alma Mater Dei dates back to Merezhkovsky to the early medieval Catholic name of Our Lady, which converted to Christianity from Roman paganism, where it denoted mother goddesses. This fact in many respects determined the appearance of his neo-Christian concept of the sanctified Mother-Spirit flesh in the “Kingdom of the Third Testament”. The writer's frequent appeal at different periods of his work to the “The poor knight lived in the world ...” Pushkin, its original interpretation and commentary, as well as life practice, allowed us to define the image of the “poor knight” as a psycho-typological model of Merezhkovsky’s “life scenario”. The subject of further research will be the reception of Pushkin’s poem in the work of Z. Gippius, who also at different times refers to the image of the “poor knight” and acts as a co-author of her husband’s idea, but implements them in her own individual way.

PREVALENCE OF RESISTANCE TO CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT ANTIBIOTICS AGAINST Escherichia coli ISOLATED FROM HOLY RIVER GANGA, INDIA

Ganga is a divine water body which has acquired a status of mother goddess in Indian culture civilization. Ganga water is considered as sacred water and Hindu rituals from birth to death cannot be consecrated without Ganga water. The microbiological quality of holy river Ganga, life sustaining surface water resource for large population of northern India is adversely affected due to rapid industrialization and population growth. The current investigation surveyed on total number of 10 water samples collected from river Ganga flowing in different cities of India. The samples were analyzed for Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliforms and found to be in the range of 940 organisms to 33000 organisms per 100ml. Similarly, MPN Fecal coliform was done at an incubation of higher temperature, and resulted from lower of 109 organisms to a higher at 2800 organisms per 100ml of samples analyzed. The Ganga water samples also showed the presence of Escherichia coli and further its antibiotic susceptibility pattern was performed by Kirby Bauer Agar well diffusion method. Various clinical significant antibiotics were used namely Streptomycin, Kanamycin, Meropenem, Norfloxacin, Ciprofloxacin, Ampicillin, Sulbactum and Tazobactum. All isolated Escherichia coli strains were found resistant to Tazobactum. The isolated E.coli from upstream water of Varanasi has shown resistance towards four out of eight antibiotics used. Escherichia coli present in all the samples have shown susceptibility towards Meropenem and Ciprofloxacin.
 Keywords: Ganga water, microbiological quality, Most Probable Number (MPN) of Coliform, MPN Faecal coliform, Escherichia coli, Antibiotic susceptibility and resistance

A Sociological Assessment on the Examples of Veiling as an Indicator of Gender at the Ancient Anatolian Societies

Gender is, as distinct from sexuality, identified by society and culture that individual was born in. Just as people congenitally have some roles depending on their biological differences, they also have some other roles given by society and behaviour patterns expected to exhibit. It has diversely appeared in all periods of time and societies that to express of such roles, statuses and behaviour patterns. Throughout history, one of the most significant demonstrations of woman’s gender was to be veiling. Veiling is a socio-cultural practice that can be traced back to the earliest times in human history. In ancient societies, people, especially women, have differentiated each other through various forms of covering, which symbolize the status and roles they are placed in society. In the historical process, due to various social, economic, religious, cultural and political transformations experienced, the differentiation that took place in the social status of women led to some changes in the practices of covering. In archaeological finds belonging to ancient Anatolian societies, such as in the tombstones, women are sometimes depicted as a noble wife, sometimes a temple official, sometimes as a servant. In fact, some Anatolian societies have portrayed their master goddesses in an implicit way, including their heads. It is known that the depictions of the mother goddess cult (Magna Mater, Kybele, Artemis, Hera and Mary cults) are depicted as garnished in Old Anatolian societies in the later stages due to the interaction of eastern and western civilizations. It is known that the depictions of Mother goddess cult without clothes are depicted as garmented in Old Anatolian societies due to the interaction of eastern and western civilizations in later stages. In this article, some sociological determinations and evaluations are made about the practice of veiling in the light of some archaeological findings related with ancient Anatolian civilizations.

Nature, Nation, Science and Gender

The article explores the equation among nature, nation and gender in the nationalist context. Developing the argument that both nature and nation were feminised and deified as mother and mother goddess in the nationalist context, the article deploys feminist perspectives to critically examine this on a fourth-axis science. By looking at the relationship of the scientist, J. C. Bose, to these categories, the article hopes to unravel the complex relationship of the Indian scientist to nation, nature, gender and science. It is argued that due to being a ‘Sakta’, Bose had a symbiotic relationship to nature, and consequently to science, thereby presenting an ‘alternative’ to Western modes of relating to science and nature. The article submits that this alternative was cast in patriarchal constructions of both science and nature and views the associations of mother with nation and nature within larger feminist critiques of science. The article submits that while these sleeping metaphors set an alternative paradigm to the Western modes of relating to nature through science, they reproduced patriarchal constructions of the same. The article is an effort at grafting feminist perspectives on (a) science and (b) nationalism with postcolonial perspectives on science and modernity.

Holy Mothers in the Vietnamese Diaspora: Refugees, Community, and Nation

Holy mothers, specifically the Vietnamese-looking Our Lady of Lavang and Caodai Mother Goddess, are the crucibles of faith for many Vietnamese Catholics and Caodaists. Based on ethnographic data collected in California, which has the largest overseas Vietnamese population, I argue that Vietnamese refugees and their US-reared descendants have been able to re-centralize their fragmented communities through the innovative adaptation of holy mother worship. In particular, Vietnamese Catholics in the US have transformed the European image of Our Lady of Lavang into a Vietnamese woman and exported it to the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Caodaists have revived traditional religious rituals for the Caodai Mother Goddess which were repressed and prohibited for many years under communism in Vietnam. Through their shared devotion to holy mothers, these Vietnamese American faithful have also rebuilt relations with co-ethnic co-religionists living throughout the world. For both the Vietnamese Catholic and Caodai groups, holy mothers have emerged as emblems of their deterritorialized nation in the diaspora.

Kybele in Griechenland. Ankunft und Aufnahme der Göttermutter in der griechischen Welt

Cybele in Greece. The Arrival and Reception of the Mother of the Gods in the ancient Greek world.The following seminar-paper aims to show the arrival and reception of the phrygian Mother Goddess Matar in the greek world. It will first take a closer look at the early known sources, be it written or archaeological, of the Goddess Kybele. This article will further present, on the basis of these sources, the way the Mother of the Gods took from ancient Phrygia across Anatolia toAthens. Through her journey into the greek world Kybele had gone through an essential transformation to be accepted and worshipped as one of the primary Mother Goddess` of the ancient world.

The sanctuary of Zeus Krezimos in Metropolis in Ionia

The sacred site of Zeus Krezimos, just in front of the rocky part of the northern slope of the Metropolis acropolis, is considered to be the first cult center discovered in the ancient city. Although the exact location of the cult center of Ares, the god of the city, is unknown, it is thought to be on the acropolis in an exceptional situation. The only cult centers older than dedicated to Ares are the sacred caves of the Mother Goddess, whose name was given to the city. In these sacred caves located in Uyuzdere, 5 km outside the city, the Mother Goddess was worshiped until the advent of Christianity. During the excavation consequent upon the stylobate blocks discovered in 2015, in excavations at the sacred site of Zeus Krezimos, the discovery of an inscribed columns, a part of an altar and a sculpture base caused an excitement. It is not yet certain whether the columns had capitals. The inscribed sections on the column drums surrounding the courtyard are arranged in a way to face the courtyard. The base diameter of the columns erected on the surface of the stylobate extends out at some places, suggesting the possibility of a second function. The courtyard is covered in local limestone slabs. As a result of a trench opened in this area, it was understood that the floor was in-filled with rubble and marble pieces. In addition, rooms that were thought to have been used in cult ceremonies in the northern and eastern parts of the sanctuary, which is located behind the columns, were uncovered. Further, a certain area of the main rock was cut in a regular fashion and the fact that this is interconnected with the architectural structure is an example of a construction technique that has not been found elsewhere in Metropolis to date. As a result of the studies conducted on the inscriptions, it was understood that this area was a cult area dedicated to Zeus Krezimos. This cult area was known to exist at Metropolis but its exact location was unknown. The discovery of the Zeus Krezimos cult area in Metropolis is of great importance, inasmuch as the cults of Hera and Ares worshipped in Metropolis, which are also known from inscriptions but their locations have not yet been found. The fact that this sacred area was built right in front of a large rocky area and integrated with the rock also shows the cult at Metropolis was a continuation of the ancient tradition in Anatolia of worshiping the gods and goddesses on mountains and in rocky high lands. In studies conducted on the inscriptions, this cult was also understood to have had a connection with water due to the hydrobaphos attribute recorded of one of the civil servants working in the cult. This provides us with clues about a ceremonial ritual associated with rocks and the spring water from them. Today, although there is no water source in this rocky area, it is thought that such a source of water emerged from the rocky area at the time when the cults were still active. Consequently, the cult with Zeus Krezimos epithet is thought to have been a local cult associated with fertility and abundance. The fact that the Zeus Krezimos cult was specific to Metropolis is supported by the epigraphic evidence. The inscribed column drums in the sacred area carry lists of the names of the priests serving here. In past years, inscribed column drums relating to the Ares cult known to exist in the city were found, and on these drums the name lists of people serving in the cult area as well as those in the sanctuary of Zeus Krezimos were included. The cult of Zeus Krezimos was behind that of Ares in the hierarchy, but nevertheless families were active in it, those whose family heads were ambitious for themselves and their relatives put them into positions within the cult. There existed personal connections to other cults, some at the level of the priests, more often on the level of the Odrogos. The women of the families – with the function of priestess, of the hydrobaphos and the female servant – were subordinate, but still prominent. Also in this cult no wife was allowed in the position of the priestess. The priest “Hermas” and the hydrobaphos are propria of the cult.

Buddhist factors in the cult of Tianhou in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam

The cult of Tianhou (Vietnamese: Thien Hậu) originated in Putian, Fujian Province in Southern China, was officially entitled Furen, Tainfei and Tianhou by Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, finally become the popular sea goddess in Southeast China coastlines. At around the late seventeenth century, Southern Chinese immigrated to Southern Vietnam, including the Mekong River Delta, hence the cult was introduced into the region. The whole region has got a total of 74 Tianhou temples (of which the Chinese built 57, the Vietnamese built 17 and around 100 temples of gods in which Tianhou is co-worshipped. After over three hundred years of cultural integration and social development, Tianhou has changed from the main functions of a sea protector to powerful multi-functional Mother Goddess of both ethnic Chinese (also called “ethnic Hoa”) and a great number of Vietnamese people. This paper is to explore the structure and connotation of the cult of Tianhou in the Mekong River Delta from the perspective of cultural studies, and applies Western theories of hierarchy of need, superscription and standardization in popular religion and rituals as well as concept of distinction between acculturation and assimilation to analyze the transformation and adaptation of a symbolic faith under the specific background of the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam. The research also aims to investigate the principles of reshaping and constructing contemporary cultural identity of the ethnic Chinese people in Vietnam as well as the activeness and flexibility of local Vietnamese in dealing with the external cultural practices. This case study plays an important role in shaping a systematic look of cultural exchanges and multicultural harmonization in Vietnam nowadays.

مافی چارەیخۆنووسین لە ئەزمونى سەربەخۆیی وڵاتی کۆسۆڤۆ - شرۆڤەیەک بۆ ڕەهەندى یاسایی و سیاسی

This article is a triggering point to some independent researches about the deities worshipped in Kurdistan prior to the Christianity, one of which was the goddess “Shawshka”. Statues made of mud have been found in the ancient settlements such as Sarpeli Zahaw, Hawler, Noozi, Amed,…etc, and all of them were in the shape of a female. Archeologists and historians believe that those statues must have represented the mother goddess. Human beings (both male and female genders) have from the childhood the image of mother in their mind, since mothers are the ones who play the most important role in bringing up children, hence the cuddle of mother stays as the warmest and safest place for children. In the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, the class and level of mothers were different from those of the contemporary mothers. This article studies scientifically the role of “Shawshka” as the goddess of mother, love and war in the era of matriarchy. This research is an attempt to rewrite the feminine history in Kurdistan because many aspects of our feminine history, either hasn’t been mentioned or has been ignored. Key words: gynocentrism, matriarchy, Shawshka goddess, the Hurians, Kurdistan, mother goddess.

THE MOTHER ARCHETYPE IN THE POETRY OF N.A. KLYUEV

This article focuses on the mother’s archetype in Klyuev’s poetry. Archetypal variants of the mother’s image are mother goddess, mother earth, mother Motherland, mother wise old woman, who in turn have their artistic counterparts. The archetypal image of the mother-a wise old woman appears at Klyuev after the death in 1913 of the poet’ mother, when he begins to comprehend her role in his personal and creative life. In a series of “Isbania the song” the image of the mother acquires a sacred significance. She is portrayed as the guardian of the house, as a righteous woman, likened to the virgin, returns to earth as a “ethereal guest”. Another variant of the mother’s image, which dates back to the mythological Mother-the Raw earth, is “Mother nature”, “mother Earth, being the cradle”. The article also traces the development of images of Mother Russia, mother Motherland, Holy Russia, great Russia, feminized comparison: bride-Russ, Russ-beauty-girl, Russia-mother-in-law.

An Offering to the Mother Goddess Danu

An Offering to the Mother Goddess Danu

RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON KING ARTHUR’S REIGN IN MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY’S THE MISTS OF AVALON

The aim of the following paper is to examine the conflict between the cultof the Mother Goddess and Christianity, which affects King Arthur’s reign in MarionZimmer Bradley’s original retelling of Arthurian legends – The Mists of Avalon (1983).The religious conflict presented in the novel is inextricably linked with representationsof femininity and the figures of Morgaine (Morgan le Fay) and Queen Gwenhwyfar, whoare dedicated, respectively, to Avalon and the Church. By investigating both women’sbeliefs, actions, and relationship with Arthur, this paper will demonstrate how in Bradley’sretelling the transition from the worship of the Goddess to Christianity conditions KingArthur’s reign and ultimately contributes to his downfall.

Home and the World: A Look at the Gendering of Indian Nationalist Politics Through a Literary Lens

Works of literature are not often given much credence in terms of their value or use in the writing and interpreting of history. However, it is important to realize the potential for novels to illuminate and give new meaning to particular historical issues and events. Rabindranath Tagore, renowned Indian author, Nobel Prize winner, and independence activist, in his novel, The Home and the World provides us with a good case and point. This influential work of fiction, published in 1916, offers an intriguing look at the way that the nationalist identity of India became highly gendered and sexualized as various nationalist groups attempted to confront the building conflict between tradition and modernity. My presentation will discuss the idea of the woman as the mother goddess of the nation, as well as the role of masculine insecurity in the unfolding of nationalist political action, through Tagore’s fictional depiction of the Swadeshi movement in early twentieth century India. Along with this artistic depiction, I will discuss a number of important historians of Indian nationalism to expose the numerous contradictions within these nationalist programs and how those contradictions manifest themselves in increasingly gendered trends such as a greater push for masculine aggression and a redefinition of the ‘ideal woman’. What The Home and the World exposes is that, despite the efforts of nationalists to keep the inner domain of the home unaffected by modernity, their tactic of placing women at the symbolic head of the nationalist movement had broken down the traditional boundaries of the home.