With a New Preface

Kali and Krsna are two of Hinduism's most popular deities, representing dramatically different truths about the nature of the sacred. The cruel and terrible Kali is thought to be born of wild, aboriginal roots. She is the goddess of thieves and often associated with human blood sacrifice. Krsna, in contrast, is the divine lover and inimitable prankster who plays a bewitching flute to draw all to him. But Kali and Krsna have much more in common than their contrasting personalities suggest. Kinsley shows that Krsna's flute can be interchangeable with Kali's sword, revealing important perceptions of the divine in the Hindu tradition.

David R. Kinsley is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.

"The Sword and the Flute is one of those rare books in the phenomenology/history of religions which in saying something about the religion of a non-Western culture also has potential relevance to how we 'modern men' might conceptualize ultimate reality. . . . There are relatively few works which succeed in vivifying 'alien' religious structures the way this one does."—Journal of the American Religious Academy

"The Sword and the Flute is a very personal document, as well as a useful academic study. It deserves a careful reading by the professional religionist and indologist, and it has much to offer the student and the reflective reader in these fields."—Journal of Asian Studies