At the Burning Ground: Death and Transcendence in Bengali Shaktism
Open this record in the interactive library
- Catalogue identifier
- kali-0072
- Alternate titles and import identifiers
- KALI-0072; doi:10.3390/rel14081014
- Author or attribution
- McDaniel, June
- Record type
- Article
- Language
- English
- Date / edition
- 2023/8
- Source / repository
- Religions
- Access
- Open access
- Subjects
- Kali Library Research Catalogue; Academic Research and Peer-Reviewed Articles; Bengali Kali Literature; Philosophy, Theology, and Comparative Religion
Description and curator notes
Explores the burning ground as both an actual place of cremation and an image of the human heart in Bengali Shaktism. McDaniel examines accounts in which sorrow, loss, or withdrawal from worldly attachments makes divine encounter possible. Kali’s presence may be understood as protection from unhappy rebirth, admission to her heavenly realm, or the realization of liberation. The article connects religious experience with ritual practice and devotional interpretation, making it especially helpful for contextualizing Śmaśāna Kali and cremation-ground symbolism. It does not present a universal meaning for every Bengali practice or a ritual instruction manual.
KALI-0072 — Kali Library Research Catalogue.
Access and reliability assessments below are supplied by the curator's 4–5 November 2026 research release, not a new independent verification.
Author / attribution: McDaniel, June
Publication: Religions · 2023/8
Religions 14(8), 1014
Format / language: Journal article · English
Identifier: doi:10.3390/rel14081014
Kali relevance: Direct study of Kali, cremation grounds, and Bengali religious experience.
Context: Bengal; Shaktism; death, sorrow, liberation.
Subjects: Academic Research and Peer-Reviewed Articles; Bengali Kali Literature; Philosophy, Theology, and Comparative Religion
Evidence / reliability: Peer-reviewed scholarly journal
Access / rights: Complete text checked 2026-11-04. CC BY 4.0 as stated on publisher page; attribution required.
Source and alternate access links:
Read complete text: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/8/1014
Source access
Read or locate the original source at Religions
Rights and reading conditions
Complete text checked 2026-11-04. CC BY 4.0 as stated on publisher page; attribution required. This library links to the source and does not reproduce its full text.
Citation
McDaniel, June. At the Burning Ground: Death and Transcendence in Bengali Shaktism. Religions · 2023/8.
This page supplies catalogue metadata and links. It does not reproduce the underlying source text. Historical, religious, healing and interpretive claims belong to the cited sources, not to an independent verification by this catalogue.