Hymns to the Goddess

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Catalogue identifier: kali-0009
Alternate titles and import identifiers: KALI-0009; hymns_goddess_avalon_1913
Author or attribution: Arthur Avalon (John Woodroffe), translator/compiler
Record type: Book
Language: English
Date / edition: 1913
Source / repository: Luzac & Co., London
Access: Open access
Subjects: Kali Library Research Catalogue; Hymns, Prayers, and Devotional Poetry; Philosophy, Theology, and Comparative Religion; Translations and Commentaries

Description and curator notes

This anthology brings English translations of goddess hymns into one volume with introductions and explanatory notes. Its sources include the Mahānirvāṇa Tantra, Devī Bhāgavata, Caṇḍī, Mahābhārata, Harivaṃśa, and hymns associated with Śaṅkara. The collection begins with Ādyā Kālī material and extends to such figures as Tārā, Bhairavī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Durgā, Annapūrṇā, Sarasvatī and Mahālakṣmī. It is useful for comparing the language of praise, divine names, and theological equivalences across Shakta texts while keeping each hymn's stated source visible. The Ādyākālīsvarūpastotra provides especially direct Kali material, including the interpretation of names and seed syllables. Because this is a translated anthology rather than a single Sanskrit scripture, its separate hymns should remain distinguishable within the record. Some overlap with Avalon's Mahānirvāṇa translation is genuine textual overlap, not evidence for another independent name tradition. The complete anthology qualifies as its own published work; individual chapters should not be counted again as additional books. The scanned title page identifies London, Luzac, 1913, and the edition includes an errata section.

KALI-0009 — 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: Arthur Avalon (John Woodroffe), translator/compiler
Publication: Luzac & Co., London · 1913
London: Luzac & Co., 1913. Complete anthology, including notes and errata.
Format / language: Historical book / primary devotional or interpretive source · English; original: Sanskrit
Composition / textual history: unknown
Identifier: hymns_goddess_avalon_1913
Kali relevance: Substantial Adya Kali material with contextual hymns to related goddesses.
Context: Early twentieth-century translated Shakta anthology; identifies sources but is not a modern critical edition.
Subjects: Hymns, Prayers, and Devotional Poetry; Philosophy, Theology, and Comparative Religion; Translations and Commentaries
Evidence / reliability: Primary historical source in a freely accessible transcription; historical claims require comparison with modern scholarship.
Access / rights: Complete text checked 2026-11-04. Historical original and translation are public domain in the United States. Check local jurisdiction before reproduction; link to the hosted edition. Internet Sacred Text Archive requests attribution and noncommercial reuse of its transcription.

Source and alternate access links:
Read complete text: https://sacred-texts.com/book/hymns-to-the-goddess
Alternate / related form: https://sacred-texts.com/tantra/htg/index.htm

Source access

Read or locate the original source at Luzac & Co., London

Rights and reading conditions

Complete text checked 2026-11-04. Historical original and translation are public domain in the United States. Check local jurisdiction before reproduction; link to the hosted edition. Internet Sacred Text Archive requests attribution and noncommercial reuse of its transcription. This library links to the source and does not reproduce its full text.

Citation

Arthur Avalon (John Woodroffe), translator/compiler. Hymns to the Goddess. Luzac & Co., London · 1913.

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.