Hindu Scriptures - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520207785 ISBN 13: 9780520207783

Publisher: University of California Press, 1996

Synopsis

The very earliest Indian literature to survive is that of the Vedas. This diverse body of polytheistic hymns, prose treatises on sacrifice, and speculation about the soul of the universe has long been revered by orthodox Hindus as primary scriptural revelation. The hymns, which form its most ancient stratum, were handed down orally for centuries, even long after the development of writing in India. In this new edition of Hindu Scriptures R. C. Zaehner's original selection of hymns from the Rg-Veda and Atharva-Veda has been enlarged. This is followed by Zaehner's translations of five of the earliest Upanishads, the seminal scriptures for the monist doctrine of Sankara, the belief that the world we experience is a cosmic illusion that we project upon the one, unchanging undefinable reality, brahman. From the vast corpus of other texts revered by Hindus are drawn the Bhagavad-Gita; portions of the Law Book of Yajnavalkya, a treatise that attempts to codify every aspect of the life of the orthodox Hindu; chapters from the Kirana-Tantra, translated for the first time into English, which expound the doctrines of an early tantric cult of Siva; and the chapters from the Bhagavata-Purnana, which describe the dalliance of Krsna and the cowherd women of Vraja.

About this title

Review:

"Good has significantly revised R. C. Zaehner's book on Hindu scriptures by deleting some parts and adding the Yajnavalkya-Smrti (a work on conduct, legal proceedings, and penitential rites), the first seven chapters of the Kirana-Tantra (a work on initiation into the Saiva Siddhanta cult), and the Bhagavat-Purana (a work expressing popular devotionalism). . . . The book provides fresh translations of portions of the Rig and Athavara Vedas, some Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita."--"Library Journal

From the Back Cover:

With the addition of three fresh translations, including one work which appears for the first time in English, this new and expanded edition of Zaehner's invaluable anthology now spans more than twenty centuries and ranges from arcane hymns of the ancient Aryans and prescriptions that govern every aspect of the daily life of the orthodox, to rich poetry that describes with heady sensuality the dalliance of Krsna and the cowherd women of Vraja on the nights of the autumn moon.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0520207785
• ISBN 13: 9780520207783
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400
• Editor: Goodall Dominic