On March 4, the Mittal Institute will host an author talk on Birthing the Goddess: The Feminine and the Idea of Birth with three of the book’s five authors. This collection of essays explore birthing myths and traditions from the research of five close friends who have a common interest in the mysteries of the Feminine Divine. We spoke with one of the authors, Stella Dupuis, who gave us a preview of the talk and some insight into the book.
Mittal Institute: The five of you are close friends—how did you come together as colleagues, and why did you choose this topic in the first place?
From left to right, front: Janet Chawla, Seema Kohli Back: Anamika Roy, Nilima Chitgopekar & Stella Dupuis
Stella Dupuis: While living in India, I connected with friends through our shared passion for the yoginis—female divinities deeply rooted in a lesser-known Indian esoteric tradition. We often gathered to discuss books, visit sacred sites, and even embarked on journeys to remote locations to explore these themes firsthand. These shared adventures and spiritual experiences forged a profound bond among us.
For our first collaborative book, Arian Books, a respected publisher in Delhi, invited me to write about the Goddess, given my previous work on the yoginis. I envisioned Experiencing the Goddess as a theme rich with diverse perspectives, making a collective volume the ideal approach.
Mittal Institute: What brought your group together again after Experiencing the Goddess, and how does this book differ from the first?
Stella Dupuis: After the success of our first book, Arian Books invited us to collaborate again. This time, the publisher suggested rotating the editorial role, and we unanimously agreed that Seema Kohli would be the ideal choice.
During a visit to South India with Seema, we discovered a nearly unknown, rustic temple dedicated to Lajja Gauri, the goddess who safeguards birthing. The ancient sculpture, as rare as those found in museums, left a profound impression on us. That encounter became the inspiration for our new book’s exploration of birth and creation myths.
Mittal Institute: The essays cover a diverse range of topics, from the birth of Radha, a female deity in medieval Indian traditions, to the Sati memorial stones of India. Why was it important to represent such a broad spectrum, and what are some of your favorite aspects of the book?
Stella Dupuis: Our decision to shape our individual essays around the theme of birth emerged naturally from our own research interests. At the time, Professor Anamika Roy was deeply engaged in studying Radha, a significant female figure in Indian mythology. Seema Kohli was creating a series of artworks titled Golden Womb, drawing from myths and her own creative intuition while also portraying the sun as a divine force of creation. Janet Chawla had spent years studying traditional birthing rituals in rural India. Her essay delves into her research, offering valuable insights not only for anthropologists but also for public health specialists seeking to understand the challenges and possibilities surrounding childbirth in rural communities. Thanks to her prolific career as a professor, writer, and researcher, Dr. Nilima Chitgopekar provides profound insights into Durga’s extraordinary birth, which granted her the power to vanquish evil. As for me, I have always been drawn to the theme of heroic figures whose legacies are often shaped by their deaths and subsequent rebirth in cultural memory.
One of my favorite aspects of Birthing the Goddess: The Feminine and the Idea of Birth is the dynamic interplay of diverse perspectives—how they converge and contrast to create a deeper, more nuanced understanding of birth, transformation, and divinity.
One of my favorite aspects of Birthing the Goddess: The Feminine and the Idea of Birth is the dynamic interplay of diverse perspectives—how they converge and contrast to create a deeper, more nuanced understanding of birth, transformation, and divinity.
Mittal Institute: Can you share a preview of your own essay—what is its premise, and how did you develop the idea?
Stella Dupuis: As a visually oriented person with a deep fascination for iconography, the themes of death and immortality have captivated me since my youth. In this essay, I explore how these concepts intersect in mythology, focusing on how heroic figures attain a form of rebirth through their extraordinary deaths—a recurring motif across cultures.
Mittal Institute: What do you hope readers take away from this anthology?
Stella Dupuis: I hope readers embark on a journey with us into the mythological depths of Indian tradition, where the Goddess is eternally reborn and where birth, death, and immortality intertwine in profound ways.
An Excerpt from Stella’s Essay
Giving Birth to Heroes: Birth, Death, and Immortality
The fear of losing life often evokes a deep emotional response, leading humanity to seek shelter in the divine. Throughout history, nearly all cultures have given birth to heroic deities—figures of immense power and protection. To invoke these beings, societies have given them form, with their images and attributes evolving in accordance with the cultural landscapes that created them.
Across the world, this process of “birthing” frequently begins with prayer. The isolated, vulnerable individual finds solace in surrendering natural events to extraordinary, supernatural forces.
In India, Lajja Gauri is a striking representation of this phenomenon. Depicted as a woman in the act of giving birth, she exposes her genitals, yet instead of a human head, she bears a lotus flower. The lotus, a symbol of unpolluted consciousness and fertility, reinforces her divine nature. Sculptures of Lajja Gauri, dating as far back as the first or second century, were found throughout India in a range of sizes, from small figurines to nearly life-sized statues.
The name Gauri translates to “brilliant,” “shining,” or “white,” while Lajja means “shame.” However, the imagery of the goddess suggests the opposite—she exhibits no shame in her nudity, proudly exposing the sacred gateway through which all human life enters the world. Notably, Lajja Gauri is absent from ancient texts detailing traditional sculptural practices, likely due to her tribal origins.
Living temple, Lajja Gauri, Sidanakola, Karnataka.
Her posture, with knees bent and legs spread, is reminiscent of Aditi, the primordial mother of all beings. The Rig Veda(10.72.3-4) describes this cosmic act of creation:
“The earth was born from Her who crouched with legs spread,
And from the earth, the quarters of the sky were born.”
A particularly compelling sculpture of Lajja Gauri exists in a cave in Karnataka, where women continue to visit, petitioning the Divine Mother for the blessing of fertility. Her enduring presence in these sacred spaces attests to the timeless power of birth, transformation, and the eternal cycle of life.
☆ The views represented herein are those of the interview subject and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mittal Institute, its staff, or its Steering Committee.