Dévímáhátmja: Oslava bohyně – Štipl Zdeněk (2023)

The Devi Mahatmya is the very first preserved work of Sanskrit literature that systematically deals with the figure of the goddess. Although there are many questions surrounding the exact dating of this not very extensive anonymous text, since its inception it has been a constitutive canonical text of a new religious movement known as Shaktism, which flooded India in the second half of the first millennium and remains a powerful force within it to this day. According to the religious-philosophical beliefs of Shaktism, God as the ultimate reality is identified with the woman who stands above the universe, yet is always inseparably present within it. The Devi Mahatmya has also become a liturgical text, as its verses have been recited daily for centuries in countless temples and households during rituals honoring the goddess. The narrative core of the text consists of three famous myths depicting the goddess's victory over the forces of evil, which have been represented in many artistic forms and variations in Indian culture. The hymns that praise the goddess are a fine example of this genre, which is so beloved in Sanskrit literature. The Czech translation is accompanied by a scholarly introduction that places the cult of the goddess in the historical context of the development of Indian religious concepts, the interpretation of the entire text, and its...