Avalon, Arthur
Avalon, Arthur
Pseudonym of Sir John George Woodroffe (1865-1936), a prominent British administrator in India. He was educated at Oxford University and the Inner Temple, London, where he qualified as a barrister. He was advocate, Calcutta High Court, 1890; fellow and Tagore Law Professor, University of Calcutta; standing counsel to the Government of India, 1902-03; Puisne Judge of the High Court of Calcutta, 1904-22; and officiating chief justice of Bengal, November 1915. Upon returning to England, he was reader in Indian Law at Oxford University, 1923-30.
He published scholarly translations of rare Hindu esoteric religious scriptures and became a leading authority on Hindu tantra and yoga.
Sources:
Avalon, Arthur. The Garland of Letters: Varnamala; Studies in the Mantra-Shastra. Madras, India: Ganesh, 1922.
——. The Serpent Power. Madras, India: Ganesh, 1924.
——. Shakti and Shakta. 3d ed. Madras, India: Ganesh, 1929.