Why read Nine Nights of Power?

Book cover of Nine Nights of Power: Durga, Dolls, and Darbars

Book description

The autumnal Navaratri festival—also called Durga Puja, Dassehra, or Dasain—is the most important Hindu festival in South Asia and wherever Hindus settle. A nine-night-long celebration in honor of the goddess Durga, it ends on the tenth day with a celebration called "the victorious tenth" (vijayadasami). The rituals that take place…

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Asian history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Nine Nights of Power as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Caleb Simmons

Author

This book is a riveting exploration of the major goddess festival in India, Navaratri, and a follow-up volume of the popular Nine Nights of the Goddess.

I love this book because it dives into the regional diversity of the festival, taking me on a journey into the many ways that the goddess is celebrated throughout India and into the lives of her devotees. What I find so mesmerizing about Nine Nights of Power is the balance between breadth and depth that gives me a flavor of the diversity of the traditions with deep dives into the individual case studies.

From Caleb's list on The best books on goddesses in India.