Hindu Scriptures (First Edition, Edited with New)

Jacket Description/Back: 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. Review Quotes: "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 JournalBiographical Note: Dominic Goodall was educated at Ampleforth College and at Pembroke College, Oxford. He is now attached to the Institute Francais de Pondichery in South India and is working on the manuscript collection there. Table of Contents: Note on the EditorIntroductionNote on the Texts and TranslationsGuide to Pronunciation FROM THE RG-VEDAIII, lxii, The 'Gayatri'I, xxiv To Varuna and OthersI, cliv To VisnuII, i To AgniII, xii To IndraII, xxxii To RudraIX, lxxiv Soma Pressed in the BowlsX, lxxxi To VisvakarmanX, lxxxii To VisvakarmanX, xc The Sacrifice of Primal ManX, cxxi Prajapati (the 'Golden Embryo') X, cxxix 'In the Beginning . . .' FROM THE ATHARVA-VEDAX, ii Primal ManX, vii Skambha (the Support) X, viii Skambha againXI, iv To the Breath of Life FROM THE UPANISHADSBrhadaranyaka UpanishadChandogya UpanishadIsa UpanishadKatha UpanishadMandukya UpanishadSvetasvatara Upanishad THE BHAGAVAD-GITA FROM THE YAJNAVALKYA-SMRTIThe Law Book of Yajnavalkya, Chapter 1 (Conduct) The Law Bok of Yajnavalkya, Chapter 3 (Reparations) FROM THE KIRANA-TANTRAChapters 1-7 FROM THE BHAGAVATA-PURANABook X, Chapters 29-33 GlossarySuggestions for Further ReadingAcknowledgments Note: Macrons, underdots, tildes, and other diacritical marks have been omitted in this web rendition of the table of contents. The book itself does include all necessary diacritical marks. Marc Notes: First pub.in U. K.by J. M. Dent, 1996; Avail. in cloth at $45.00 foreword by Jerry ThompsonPublisher Marketing: 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. Publisher Marketing: The Veda, the Upanishads, the Gita, the Dharma books, Tantra, and the Bhagavata Purana--these are the texts many Hindus would name as forming the core of their tradition. Here they are, at last, between two covers.--Jack Hawley, Director, South Asian Institute, Columbia University Review Citations:

Library Journal 09/01/1996 pg. 182 (EAN 9780520207783, Paperback)

Library Journal 09/01/1996 pg. 182 (EAN 9780520207820, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Goodall, Dominic Dominic Goodall was educated at Ampleforth College and at Pembroke College, Oxford. He is now attached to the Institute Francais de Pondichery in South India and is working on the manuscript collection there.