Tuesday, November 3, 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.Five Lectures on Reincarnation — Swami AbhedanandaSwami Abhedananda’s five lectures setting out the Vedanta teaching of reincarnation, the subtle body and Karma, and weighing it against heredity, evolution, the doctrine of resurrection and the Platonic theory of transmigration.Hindu Literature — Epiphanius WilsonThe 1900 Colonial Press anthology Hindu Literature, with sketches by Epiphanius Wilson: Sir Edwin Arnold’s Book of Good Counsels, selected from the Hitopadeśa, and his Nala and Damayanti from the Mahâbhârata, cantos of the first book of the Rámáyana in R. T. H. Griffith’s verse, Sir Monier Monier-Williams’s translation of Kálidása’s Śakoontalá, and poems by Toru Dutt with Edmund W. Gosse’s memoir of her.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.Indian Poetry — Sir Edwin ArnoldSir Edwin Arnold’s English verse renderings from the Sanskrit — Jayadeva’s Gīta Govinda as “The Indian Song of Songs” (without its last sarga), the last two books and the “Night of Slaughter” of the Mahābhārata, and a selection of maxims from the Hitopadeśa — together with his ballads and poems on Indian and Islamic subjects, in the impression of 1904.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.Mârkandeya Purâna, Books VII and VIII — B. Hale WorthamThe Rev. B. Hale Wortham’s English verse translation of Books VII and VIII of the Mârkandeya Purâna, printed in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1881: the story of King Harišchandra, who gives his kingdom to the sage Višvâmitra, sells his wife, his son and himself, serves at the burning-ground as a slave, and is raised to heaven with his people for his truth.Nala and Damayanti and Other Poems — Henry Hart MilmanHenry Hart Milman’s 1835 English verse translations from the Sanskrit: the story of Nala and Damayanti from the Mahabharata in twenty-six books, the death of Yajnadatta from the Ramayana, the Brahmin’s Lament and the Deluge from the Mahabharata, and his Quarterly Review account of the descent of the Ganges, with his preface and 159 mythological and critical notes.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.Sree Krishna, the Lord of Love — Bābā Premānand BhāratiBābā Premānand Bhārati’s 1904 English exposition of Vaishnava teaching, published in New York by the Krishna Samāj: a Hindu account of creation, the ages of the world, karma, reincarnation and the path of loving devotion, a telling of Krishna’s life on earth from His birth to the death of Kangsa, and a closing book of messages in Krishna’s voice.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 freely available 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 Rāmāyana, Vol. I — Manmatha Nath DuttThe first volume of the English prose translation of Vālmiki’s Rāmāyana edited and published by Manmatha Nath Dutt at Calcutta in 1891, holding the Bālakāndam, from Nārada’s account of Rāma and the birth of the four princes to the breaking of the bow and Rāma’s marriage, and the Ayodhyākāndam, from the planned installation of Rāma through Kaikeyi’s boons, the exile, Daçarātha’s death and Bharata’s refusal of the throne, with the editor’s preface and 194 notes.The Rāmāyana, Vol. II — Manmatha Nath DuttThe second volume of the English prose translation of Vālmiki’s Rāmāyana edited and published by Manmatha Nath Dutt at Calcutta (its title page dated 1891), holding the Āranya, Kishkindhā and Sundara Kāndam whole, from Rāma’s life in the Dandaka forest and the carrying off of Sitā to Hanumān’s leap to Lankā and his return, with 430 notes.The Rāmāyana, Vol. III — Manmatha Nath DuttThe volume of the English prose translation of Vālmiki’s Rāmāyana edited and published by Manmatha Nath Dutt at Calcutta in 1893 that holds the Yuddha Kāndam whole, from Rāma’s praise of Hanumān and the march to the ocean through Bibhishana’s coming over, Nala’s bridge, the war before Lankā and the deaths of Kumbhakarna, Indrajit and Rāvana, to Sitā’s ordeal by fire, the return to Ayodhyā and Rāma’s installation, with 501 notes.The Rāmāyana, Vol. IV — Manmatha Nath DuttThe volume of the English prose translation of Vālmiki’s Rāmāyana edited and published by Manmatha Nath Dutt at Calcutta in 1894 that holds the Uttarakāndam, the last book of the poem, whole: Agastya’s history of the Rākshasas and of Rāvana’s conquests, Rāma’s reign, the banishment of Sitā, the slaying of Lavana, the horse sacrifice at which Kusa and Lava sing the poem, Sitā’s descent into the earth, and Rāma’s passing in the Saraju, with 98 notes.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 Vedânta-Sûtras with the Commentary by Râmânuja — George ThibautGeorge Thibaut’s English translation of Râmânuja’s Srîbhâshya, the commentary on Bâdarâyana’s Vedânta-Sûtras, published in 1904 as Volume 48 of the Sacred Books of the East: all four adhyâyas with every Sûtra and Râmânuja’s exposition of it, Thibaut’s introduction and notes, and the index of Sanskrit words by M. Winternitz.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.The Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana of Válmíki, Vol. I — Vihari-Lala MitraThe first of four volumes of Vihari-Lala Mitra’s English translation from the Sanskrit of the Yoga-Vásishtha, the dialogue in which the sage Vasishtha teaches the young prince Ráma, holding Mitra’s preface and two prolegomena on Yoga and on Om, the Vairágya and Mumukshu books whole, and the Utpatti book to Chapter L with the story of Lílá.The Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana of Válmíki, Vol. II, Part 1 — Vihari-Lala MitraThe first part of the second volume of Vihari-Lala Mitra’s English translation of the Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana, ascribed to Válmíki, holding chapters LI to CXXII of Book III, the Utpatti Khanda, in which Vasishtha teaches Ráma that the world is a creation of the mind, with the end of the story of Lílá, the tale of the fiend Karkatí who became a needle, the Sun’s story of Indu’s sons, Indra and Ahalyá, and King Lavana’s dream of a life among the Chandálas.The Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana of Válmíki, Vol. II, Part 2 — Vihari-Lala MitraThe second part of the second volume of Vihari-Lala Mitra’s English translation of the Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana, ascribed to Válmíki, holding the whole of Book IV, the Sthiti Prakarana or book of existence, and chapters I to LIII of Book V, the Upasama Khanda or book of quietism, in which Vasishtha instructs Ráma, with the stories of Sukra, of Dáma, Vyála and Kata, of Dásúra, of Janaka, of Bali, of Prahláda, of Gádhi and of Uddálaka.The Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana of Válmíki, Vol. III, Part 1 — Vihari-Lala MitraThe first part of the third volume of Vihari-Lala Mitra’s English translation of the Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana, ascribed to Válmíki, holding chapters LIV to LXXXXIII of Book V, the Upasama Khanda, in which Vasishtha teaches Ráma quiescence, living liberation and the stilling of the mind, with the stories of Uddálaka, Suraghu and Parigha, Bhása and Vilása, and the sage Vítahavya.The Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana of Válmíki, Vol. III, Part 2 — Vihari-Lala MitraThe second part of the third volume of Vihari-Lala Mitra’s English translation of the Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana, ascribed to Válmíki, holding chapters I to CXXVIII of Book VI, the Púrvárdha or former half of the Nirvána Prakarana, in which Vasishtha teaches Ráma on ignorance, living liberation and the extinction of the mind, with the tales of the crow Bhusunda, Siva’s teaching on Mount Kailása, Arjuna, the mendicant Jívata, the Vetála, Bhagíratha and the princess Chúdálá.The Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana of Válmíki, Vol. IV, Part 1 — Vihari-Lala MitraThe first part of the fourth and last volume of Vihari-Lala Mitra’s English translation of the Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana, ascribed to Válmíki, holding chapters I to CV of the Uttarárdha or latter half of the Nirvána Prakarana, in which Vasishtha instructs Ráma on egoism, the unreality of the visible world, meditation and final extinction, with the tales of the Vidyádhara, Manki, the world within the stone, the last dissolution and the Siddha’s psalm.The Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana of Válmíki, Vol. IV, Part 2 — Vihari-Lala MitraThe second part of the fourth and last volume of Vihari-Lala Mitra’s English translation of the Yoga-Vásishtha Mahárámáyana, ascribed to Válmíki, holding chapters CVI to CCXVI, the close of the Nirvána Prakarana and of the whole work, in which Vasishtha teaches Ráma on the intellectual vacuum, waking and dreaming, and final extinction, with the tales of King Vipaschit, the wonderful carcass, the gnat and the hunter, Kunda-danta and the wood-cutter’s gem.Thought Relics — Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore's 1921 collection of short prose meditations on the self, power, love, and beauty, translated from his own Bengali.