Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to Kali [Paperback]

John Sir Woodroffe/Arthur Avalon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

This is one more Book in the basket of Books by the Author on the subject of TANTRA.a must for any serious student of Hinduism

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born on December 15th, 1865,Sir John Woodroffe graduated in jurisprudence and the Bachelor of Civil Law examinations at Oxford/U.K.. In 1890, He moved to India and enrolled as an advocate in Calcutta High Court. He was soon made a Fellow of the Calcutta University and appointed Law Professor there.He was appointed Standing Counsel to the Government of India in 1902 and two years later was raised to the High Court Bench.After serving for eighteen years in the bench, he became Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court in 1915.After retiring to England he became Reader in Indian Law at the University of Oxford, and finally moved to France in his retirement, where he died in 1936. Alongside his judicial duties he studied Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy and was especially interested in the esoteric Hindu Tantric Shakti system. He translated some twenty original Sanskrit texts, and under his pseudonym Arthur Avalon.He published and lectured prolifically and authoritatively on Indian philosophy and a wide range of Yoga and Tantra topics. His most popular and influential book, a major contribution to the appreciation of Indian philosophy and spirituality, is The Serpent Power The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga (a best seller at amazon.com),which is the source of many modern Western appropriations of Kundalini practice. Other writings (published under his own name, as well as Arthur Avalon include: Shakti and Shakta Principles of Tantra (2 vols) The Great Liberation The World as Power The Garland of Letters All these books are listed on amazon.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 335 pages
• Publisher: Ganesh & Company/Chennai/India (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8185988161
• ISBN-13: 978-8185988160
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,625,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pioneering Translator....., January 30, 2011

By 

Nehal D. Patel "Connoisseur of Novels & Films" (Northeast Sector) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to Kali (Paperback)

Sir John Woodroffe was certainly a pioneering translator at the time. This volume (as well as his other translated editions) include copious usage of the original Sanskrit terminology. To a reader who has no familiarity with Sanskrit, this can be cumbersome. However, those readers who persevere and are able to navigate through the Sanskrit terminology will be richly rewarded. I think Sir Woodroffe's texts are geared more for the serious pupil of Tantric yoga. Neophytes should start with a basic primer. I personally enjoyed his reliance on the Sanskrit language because of the following considerations: 1) it's a tough process to translate old texts and having the original Sanskrit transliteration at hand allows the reader to become acquainted with the original language since exact translations cannot always be attained; 2) the Sanskrit terms can be keys to more in-depth investigation into other related concepts and textual material. Overall, I enjoyed the heavy usage of Sanskrit terminology and annotations. I highly recommend Sir John Woodroffe's translated editions for the erudite pupil/scholar of the esoteric aspect of Indian thought. Those who begin the long journey into reading and meditating upon these books will reap great rewards as well as the sheer joy of achievement.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dated and difficult, December 30, 2010

By 

Caredhel "monkey types-a-lot" (Sunnyvale, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to Kali (Paperback)

I wouldn't suggest reading this unless you are either Hindu or very familiar with Hindu religion and terminology--and someone familiar with those will no doubt find better works in Hindi, Tamil, etc. Although it was no doubt a welcome ground-breaker in its own time, this group of translations uses dated English and has little to offer, unless one is interested in the history of Hindu studies in the English language. Native terms (in transliteration) are used very often, sometimes in every sentence, and are attributed but not translated in footnotes. Although of course the authors are to be praised for their audacity in doing work on Hindu religious studies at a time when Western culture had little appreciation for them, the modern reader will find this very heavy going.