Abstract
The Devīmāhātmya is the first extant work of Sanskrit literature systematically dealing with the figure of the Goddess. Although there are many questions over the exact dating of this anonymous treatise, from the moment of its composition it has been a constitutive canonical text of the new religious movement, the so-called Shaktism, which swept India in the second half of the first millennium and remains present there as a powerful element to this day.
According to the religious-philosophical beliefs of Shaktism, God, as the ultimate reality, is identified with a female deity standing above the universe, yet meanwhile being always inextricably present in it. The Devīmāhātmya has also become a liturgical text, as its verses have been recited daily for centuries in many temples and households during rituals honouring the Goddess.
The narrative core of the treatise consists of three famous myths depicting the victory of the Goddess over the evil forces, which have received many artistic representations and variations in Indian culture. The hymns celebrating the Goddess are a fine example of this genre, so popular in Sanskrit literature.
The Czech translation is accompanied by a scholarly introduction, presenting the cult of the Goddess in historical context, an interpretation of both the whole text and its partial passages, and a number of explanatory notes.