Saturday, September 19, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org

General Texts

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Texts

A Rāmāyana Petition — PT 982A five-line Old Tibetan petition from the Dunhuang caves, written in the form of a formal betrothal document using characters from the Indian Rāmāyana. Three civilizations on one scroll — Chinese Buddhist on the recto, Tibetan bureaucratic-epic on the verso.Bhagavad GitaThe Bhagavad Gita rendered into English blank verse by Sir Edwin Arnold — a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna on duty, knowledge, devotion, and the nature of the soul.Devi MahatmyaThe central scripture of Shakta Hinduism — the Goddess in three great forms destroys the demons that the gods cannot defeat. Translated from Sanskrit.Hindu Mysticism — S.N. DasguptaS.N. Dasgupta's 1926 Norman Wait Harris Foundation Lectures at Northwestern University, published 1927 — six lectures surveying Vedic sacrificial, Upanishadic, Yoga, Buddhist, and devotional mysticism in the Hindu tradition.How To Be A Yogi — Swami AbhedanandaSwami Abhedananda's introduction to the science of Yoga — Hatha, Raja, Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana Yoga, the science of breathing, and a closing chapter asking whether Christ himself was a yogi.Hymn to Kali — Arthur AvalonA Tantric hymn to Kali with introduction and commentary by Vimalananda-Svami. Translated by Arthur Avalon, 1922.Hymns to the Goddess — Arthur AvalonA collection of Hindu devotional hymns to the Divine Feminine, drawn from Tantric, Puranic, and classical Sanskrit sources. Translated by Arthur Avalon, 1913.Indian Idylls — Sir Edwin ArnoldSir Edwin Arnold's 1883 English verse renderings of eight episodes from the Mahabharata, including Sāvitrī and Nala and Damayanti.Indian Myth and Legend — Donald MackenzieIndian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913). A comprehensive survey of Hindu mythology from the Vedas through the great epics, covering gods, heroes, demons, and the philosophical traditions of ancient India.Kali the Mother — Sister NiveditaSister Nivedita's 1900 devotional essays on the Hindu goddess Kali, her symbolism, and her worship at the Dakshineswar temple.Love and Death — Sri AurobindoSri Aurobindo's 1921 blank-verse retelling of the Mahabharata story of Ruru and Priyumvada, in which a young man journeys into the realm of Death to win back his bride.Mahanirvana Tantra — Arthur AvalonThe Tantra of the Great Liberation, a foundational Hindu Tantric scripture framed as a dialogue between Shiva and Parvati. Translated by Arthur Avalon, 1913.Ramakrishna, His Life and Sayings — F. Max MüllerF. Max Müller's 1898 introduction to the Bengali saint Ramakrishna (1836–1886), surveying the Indian tradition of the wandering holy man before presenting 395 of Ramakrishna's own sayings and parables.Rudrayamala TantraA major Shaiva Tantric text attributed to the revelation of Lord Shiva to Parvati — the first English translation from a Nepali palm-leaf manuscript.Sadhana, The Realisation of Life — Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore's 1913 collection of lectures on Vedantic spirituality, delivered in English at Harvard, exploring the relation of the self to the universe, evil, love, action, beauty, and the infinite.Shakti and Shakta — Arthur AvalonEssays on the philosophy, theology, and ritual of the Shakta tradition in Hinduism. By Arthur Avalon, 1918.Songs of Kabir — tr. Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore's 1915 English translation of one hundred mystical poems attributed to the North Indian weaver-saint Kabir, with an introduction by Evelyn Underhill.Studies from an Eastern Home — Sister NiveditaSister Nivedita's 1913 essay collection on Hindu domestic life, festivals, and pilgrimage in Bengal and Rajasthan, published posthumously with memorial tributes from Patrick Geddes, Rabindranath Tagore, and others.The Bhagavadgita with Sanatsujatiya and Anugita — K.T. TelangThe Bhagavadgita with the Sanatsujatiya and the Anugita, translated by Kashinath Trimbak Telang (1882). Sacred Books of the East, Volume 8. Three philosophical texts from the Mahabharata.The Devi Bhagavata Purana — Swami VijñananandaThe Devi Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Devi Bhagavatam), translated by Swami Vijñanananda (1921-22). The great Purana of the Goddess in twelve books, covering the mythology, theology, and devotion of Shakti worship.The Garuda Purana — Ernest WoodThe Garuda Purana, translated by Ernest Wood and S.V. Subrahmanyam (1911). An encyclopedic text covering cosmology, astrology, medicine, ethics, and the journey of the soul after death.The Hatha Yoga Pradipika — Pancham SinhPancham Sinh's 1914 translation of Swami Swatmarama's fifteenth-century Hatha Yoga Pradipika, with the Sanskrit verses given in Devanagari and Roman transliteration alongside the English.The Institutes of Vishnu — Julius JollyThe Institutes of Vishnu, translated by Julius Jolly (1880). Sacred Books of the East, Volume 7. An ancient Hindu legal text presented as a dialogue between Vishnu and the goddess of the Earth.The Laws of Manu — George BühlerThe Laws of Manu (Manusmriti), translated by George Bühler (1886). Sacred Books of the East, Volume 25. The foundational Hindu legal code in twelve chapters.The Long Tibetan RāmāyaṇaThe most complete Old Tibetan Rāmāyaṇa from the Dunhuang caves — 276 lines spanning the cosmic backstory of Laṅkā, the origin of Rāvaṇa, the incarnation of Viṣṇu as Rāma, the birth of Sītā, the golden deer, the abduction, the alliance with Sugrīva, Hanumān's leap to Laṅkā, and the march to war. First English translation.The Prem Sagar — Lallu LalLallu Lal's Hindi retelling (1804–1810) of the Krishna narrative from Book Ten of the Bhagavata Purana, complete in Captain W. Hollings's 1848 English translation.The Ramayana and Mahabharata — Romesh C. DuttRomesh C. Dutt's 1899 condensation of the Ramayana and Mahabharata into rhymed English verse — his own literary abridgment of both epics in one volume, not a selection made by this library.The Ramayana of Valmiki — Ralph GriffithThe Ramayana of Valmiki, translated into English verse by Ralph T.H. Griffith (1870-1874). The complete epic in seven books, telling the story of Prince Rama, his exile, the abduction of Sita, and the great war against Ravana.The Sacred Laws of the Aryas — Georg BuhlerThe Sacred Laws of the Aryas, Part I, translated by Georg Bühler (1879). Sacred Books of the East, Volume 2. Contains the Dharmasutras of Apastamba and Gautama.The Sankhya Aphorisms of Kapila — James R. BallantyneJames R. Ballantyne's translation of Kapila's Sankhya aphorisms with commentary extracts, completed and revised in this third edition by Fitzedward Hall (1885) — the foundational sutras of the Sankhya school of Hindu philosophy.The Tibetan RāmāyanaAn Old Tibetan Rāmāyana fragment from the Dunhuang caves. Rāma's exile, the finding of Sītā, her abduction by the ten-headed demon, and the alliance with the monkey prince Sugrīva.The Upanishads, Part I — Max MullerThe Upanishads, Part I, translated by F. Max Müller (1879). Sacred Books of the East, Volume 1. Contains the Chandogya, Kena, Aitareya Aranyaka, Kaushitaki, and Isa Upanishads.The Upanishads, Part II — Max MullerThe Upanishads, Part II, translated by F. Max Müller (1884). Sacred Books of the East, Volume 15. Contains the Katha, Mundaka, Taittiriyaka, Brihadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, Prasna, and Maitrayana Upanishads.The Vedanta Sutras — George ThibautThe Vedanta Sutras with the commentary of Sankaracharya, Part I, translated by George Thibaut (1890). Sacred Books of the East, Volume 34. The foundational text of Advaita Vedanta philosophy.The Vishnu Purana — H.H. WilsonThe Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson (1840). One of the oldest and most important of the eighteen Mahapuranas, covering cosmology, mythology, genealogy, and the avatars of Vishnu.The Web of Indian Life — Sister NiveditaSister Nivedita's 1904 essay collection on Hindu domestic and religious life, caste, and India's civilizational synthesis, with an introduction by Rabindranath Tagore.The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali — BonGiovanniThe Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated by BonGiovanni. One hundred and ninety-six aphorisms on the theory and practice of yoga, organized in four books covering contemplation, spiritual disciplines, divine powers, and realization.Thought Relics — Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore's 1921 collection of short prose meditations on the self, power, love, and beauty, translated from his own Bengali.