This is a rare and wonderful Anthology of all the Sacred Hymns, Stotras, Mantras and Prayers dedicated to Lord Ram who was a human incarnation or manifestation of the Supreme Being. The Book incorporates a comprehensive collection of sacred verses that are originally in Sanskrit and Hindi, and have been selected from a wide range of original classical texts, which include the different Upanishads, the Purans, the Sanhitas, and Tulsidas' book of prayer (called Vinai Patrika). A verse-by-verse Roman Transliteration of the original text is followed by English rendering that is accompanied by brief explanatory notes. The 'KINDLE' version of this book is available at www.amazon.com/kdp

When Agni, having entered the waters, burned, where the (gods) who uphold the order (of the universe) rendered homage (to Agni), there, they say, is thy origin on high: do thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman!

Translated from the original Sanskrit by Dr. H. Ramamoorthy and Nome This translation is an essential and classic work of Advaita Vedanta. It is a consummate work of the spirit, an astonishing description of direct Nondual experience and understanding. H.H. Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati, a Sankaracharya of the Kamakoti Peetham, has stated in glowing terms that the "Ribhu Gita" is to the Sivarahasya as the "Bhagavad Gita" is to the Mahabharata. First-hand descriptions of the experience of Nonduality are precious and rare. None is more powerful than this classic. Its uncompromising declaration communicates the uninterrupted direct experience of the Sage known as Ribhu. The language is accessible, forceful -- and points clearly beyond the limits of time and circumstance. The Indian cultural frame, traditional dialog between Guru and disciple, is subsumed into the directly penetrating insight that is absolute, beyond any concept. In this second edition, footnotes have been added presenting alternative meanings to the word or phrase immediately preceding the footnote number or show the Sanskrit word in transliterated form that has been translated into English. This second edition also contains an enhanced glossary from the original first edition. In addition, The 108 Names of Ribhu, in Sanskrit and English, is included in this new edition. May we all recognize in this text the freedom and happiness of the Absolute, our True Nature, as reflected in the words of the great Sage Ribhu!

The Mahāvidyās are the representative Tantric feminine pantheon consisting of ten goddesses. It is formed by divergent religious strands and elements: the mātṛ and yoginī worship, the cult of Kālī and Tripurasundarī, Vajrayāna Buddhism, Jain Vidyādevīs, Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava faith, Śrīvidyā, the Brahmanical strand of Puranic traditions, etc. This volume is the first attempt to explore the historical process, through which these traditions culminated in the Mahāvidyā cult and the goddesses with different origins and contradictory attributes were brought into a cluster, with special reference to socio-political changes in the lower Gaṅgā and Brahmaputra Valley between the 9th and 15th centuries CE. Based on a close analysis of Purāṇas, Tantras and inscriptional evidence, and on extensive field research on archaeological remains as well as sacred sites, Jae-Eun Shin discusses the two trajectories of the Mahāvidyās in eastern Śākta traditions. Each led to the systematization of Daśamahāvidyās in a specific way: one, as ten manifestations of Durgā upholding dharma in the cosmic dimension, and the other, as ten mandalic goddesses bearing magical powers in the actual sacred site. Their attributes and characteristics have neither been static nor monolithic, and the mode of worship prescribed for them has changed in a dialectical religious process between Brahmanical and Tantric traditions of the region. This is the definitive work for anyone seeking to understand goddess cults of South Asia in general and the history of eastern Śākta traditions in particular. To aid study, the volume includes images, diagrams and maps. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. During the height of Muslim power in Mughal South Asia, Hindu and Muslim scholars worked collaboratively to translate a large body of Hindu Sanskrit texts into the Persian language. Translating Wisdom reconstructs the intellectual processes and exchanges that underlay these translations. Using as a case study the 1597 Persian rendition of the Yoga-Vasistha—an influential Sanskrit philosophical tale whose popularity stretched across the subcontinent—Shankar Nair illustrates how these early modern Muslim and Hindu scholars drew upon their respective religious, philosophical, and literary traditions to forge a common vocabulary through which to understand one another. These scholars thus achieved, Nair argues, a nuanced cultural exchange and interreligious and cross-philosophical dialogue significant not only to South Asia’s past but also its present.