<b>About the Book</b><br />The Goddess or Devi¯ is God in Its Mother aspect. Devi¯, who is existence, consciousness and bliss, is thought of as a female, a male or pure Brahman. This volume Hymns to the Goddess is an endeavour of Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) to translate the Sanskrit hymns in praise of the Goddess or Devi¯, scattered in Tantra and Pura¯n?a texts, Maha¯bha¯rata, and in the hymns of S´an?kara¯ca¯rya, who was an incarnation of devotion and a great philosopher, Va¯lmi¯ki and Indra.<br /><br />After a general introduction, the book starts with a hymn to Ka¯labhairava, the spouse of Devi¯, followed by Devi¯ stotras. In these hymns, Devi¯ is praised as Bhairavai¯, Bhuvanes´vari¯, A¯dyaka¯li¯, Laks?mi¯, Ta¯ra¯, Mahis?amardini¯, An?n?apu¯rn?a¯, Sarasvati¯, Durga¯, Tripura¯ in Tantra texts; Sarvavis´vajanani¯, Ambika¯, Can?d?ika¯, Maha¯devi¯ and Jagadambika¯ in Pura¯n?as; Durga¯, A¯rya¯, Durga¯ in Maha¯bha¯rata; Tripurasundari¯, Gan?ga¯, A¯nanadalahari¯, Yamuna¯, Narmada¯ and Maha¯laks?mi¯.<br /><br />Hymn to Ka¯li¯ (Karpu¯ra¯di Stotra), another book within the book, is a celebrated Kaula stotra, having commentary on the hymns. It, in addition to mantroddha¯radha¯ra¯, contains stotras of dhya¯na, yantra, sa¯dhana¯, madya, ma¯m?sa, maithuna and phala-s´ruti matters.<br /><br /><b>About the Author</b><br />Sir John George Woodroffe (1865&ndash;1936), also known by pseudonym Arthur Avalon, was a British Orientalist whose work helped to develop in the West a deep and wide interest in Hindu philosophy and yogic practices. A lawyer by profession, he developed parallel interest in Sanskrit, Indian philosophy and religion.<br />Sir Woodroffe wrote or translated more than a dozen books: Introduction to the Tantra Sastra; Tantra of the Great Liberation (Mahanirvana Tantra); Hymns to the Goddess; The Serpent Power; Hymn to Kali: Karpuradi-Stotra; The World as Power; The Garland of Letters; Principles of Tantra (2 vols) and Is India Civilized? Essays on Indian Culture are some of them.