Digital Ebook (PDF) — Tantrik Texts Series, Volume VI: The Sanskrit Text with an English Introduction
Text / Tradition: Kālīvilāsa Tantra (Shakta / Kaula Tantra of the tradition of Kali) | Edited by Parvati Charana Tarkatirtha, with an English introduction by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) | Tantrik Texts Series Vol. VI, Luzac & Co., London, 1917
Key Features
The Kalivilasa Tantra — "The Play of Kali" — is a fascinating Shakta scripture presented here as Volume VI of the celebrated Tantrik Texts series edited by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe), the pioneering scholar who first brought the treasures of the tantric tradition to the Western world. Prepared by the learned editor Parvati Charana Tarkatirtha and accompanied by Avalon's illuminating English introduction, this edition made the Sanskrit text of a previously unpublished Tantra available to scholars and practitioners alike.
The Kalivilasa holds a distinctive and intriguing place within the tantric canon. Framed as a dialogue in which the teachings unfold across its chapters (patalas), it belongs, as Avalon explains, to a class of Tantras whose relationship to the present age is itself a subject of deep tantric discussion. It engages directly with one of the most debated questions of the tradition — the nature of the aspirant in the present Kali Yuga, and the proper place of the five ritual elements, the panchatattva or panchamakara, within genuine sadhana. In doing so, it opens a rare window onto the inner debates of the Shakta schools regarding the paths of practice, the qualifications of the seeker, and the guarding of the most secret teachings.
At its heart, the Kalivilasa is a Kaula text devoted to the Goddess, treating the worship of Kali and the mysteries of the tradition through mantra, ritual, and the symbolism of the sacred. As a small but often-quoted Tantra, cited in many later works, it forms part of the essential library of Shakta scripture, and its inclusion in Avalon's landmark series—alongside the Prapanchasara, Kularnava, and Tantraraja Tantras—secured its place among the foundational texts made available to the modern student of Tantra.
For the scholar of Sanskrit tantric literature, the student of Kali and the Kaula tradition, and the admirer of Arthur Avalon's monumental work, the Kalivilasa Tantra is a valuable and historically important scripture — presented here in its Sanskrit text with Avalon's English introduction in a single volume.
Ebook Details
- Format: PDF (digital download)
- Language: Sanskrit text with an English introduction
- Text: Kālīvilāsa Tantra (Shakta / Kaula tradition of Kali)
- Editor: Parvati Charana Tarkatirtha; English introduction by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe)
- Original Publication: Tantrik Texts Series Vol. VI, Luzac & Co., London, 1917
- Content: The complete Sanskrit text with scholarly English introduction, faithfully reproduced from the classic edition
- Ideal For: Scholars of Sanskrit tantric literature, students of Kali and the Kaula and Shakta traditions, readers of Arthur Avalon / John Woodroffe, and collectors of the classic Tantrik Texts series
Why You'll Love It
A historic Shakta scripture in a single download — the Sanskrit Kalivilasa Tantra with Arthur Avalon's English introduction, a rare Kaula text of the Goddess from the landmark Tantrik Texts series, offering the scholar and serious student a genuine window into the inner debates and secret worship of the Kali tradition.
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Bring home the Kalivilasa Tantra, "The Play of Kali," in this Sanskrit edition with Arthur Avalon's English introduction from the classic Tantrik Texts series, available exclusively at The Soma Store. As soon as your payment is complete, you'll receive your ebook instantly — the download will appear on the checkout confirmation page and be sent to your email as well.
