A History of Sanskrit LiteratureAmong all the ancient literatures, that of India is... undoubtedly in intrinsic value and aesthetic merit second only to that of Greece.-from the IntroductionIt is the oldest recognized language on the planet-indeed, Sanskrit was considered the language of the gods by ancient Indians. This is perhaps the first truly accessible volume ever published on the literature of the grand philosophers and poets of ancient India, and its power and importance has not diminished since it first appeared in 1900.This compact yet comprehensive overview of Sanskrit works covers the Rigveda, the Sutras, the epics, lyric poetry, drama, fairy tales & fables, and more.With profound insights into the mindsets of ancient and medieval India, this important volume will please students of history, world literature, and comparative linguistics.British scholar ARTHUR A. MACDONELL (1854-1930) was Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University. He is also the author of A Vedic Reader for Students, Sanskrit Grammar for Students, and India's Past: A Survey of Her Literatures, Religions, Languages and Antiquities. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 29 | |
| 40 | |
POETRY OF THE RIGVEDA | 59 |
PHILOSOPHY OF THE RIGVEDA | 116 |
THE RIGVEDIC AGE | 139 |
THE LATER VEDAS | 171 |
THE BRĀHMAŅAS | 202 |
KÄVYA OR COURT EPIC | 318 |
LYRIC POETRY | 335 |
XIII THE DRAMA | 346 |
FAIRY TALES AND FABLES | 368 |
PHILOSOPHY | 385 |
SANSKRIT LITERATURE AND THE WEST | 408 |
APPENDIX ON TECHNICAL LITERATURELAWHISTORY GRAMMARPOETICSMATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY MEDICINEARTS | 428 |
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES | 438 |
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Common terms and phrases
Agni Aitareya ancient appears Aryan Atharva Atharva-veda Atman Avesta belongs Benares Bharata Bombay Brāhmaṇa Brahmans Buddhist Bühler Calc called Çatapatha century B.C. ceremonial chapters character Çiva classical Sanskrit çlokas comm composed connected consists contains cows deities demons described developed Dharma Sutra doctrine doubtless drama earth epic existence gods Greek Grihya heaven Hindu hymns important India Indian Indra Indus Kālidāsa king Krishna language later Leipsic literary lyrical Mahabharata Manu mentioned metre metrical older oldest original Pāli Panchatantra Pāṇini passages period philosophy play poem poet poetical poetry post-Vedic Prakrit priest probably prose Purāņas Rāma Rāmāyaṇa recension regarded religious Rigveda rites ritual sacred sacrifice Samaveda Samhita Sankhya Sanskrit literature Sītā sixth century Soma soul stanzas story style Sūtra Taittiriya tion tradition trans transmigration treatise Tritsus Upanishads various Varuna Vedanta Vedas Vedic verses Vishnu White Yajurveda words Yama Yoga
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Page 32 - Rig-Veda deals almost exclusively with the higher gods as conceived by a comparatively advanced and refined sacerdotal class, the Atharva-Veda is, in the main, a book of spells and incantations appealing to the demon world, and teems with notions about witchcraft current among the lower grades of the population, and derived from an immemorial antiquity.
Page 11 - History is the one weak spot in Indian literature. It is, in fact, non-existent. The total lack of the historical sense is so characteristic, that the whole course of Sanskrit literature is darkened by the shadow of this defect, suffering as it does from an entire absence of exact chronology.
Page 18 - We Europeans, on the other hand, 2500 years later and in a scientific age, still employ an alphabet which is not only inadequate to represent all the sounds of our language but even preserves the random order in which vowels and consonants are jumbled up as they were in the Greek adaptation of the primitive Semitic arrangement 3000 years ago.84 Likewise, Growse refers to the 'Nagari alphabet...
Page 17 - ... the time of their composition, of writing schools and of a wooden slate, such as is still used in Indian elementary schools. Writing, as a subject of elementary instruction, is also mentioned in an inscription of the second century before Christ. The...