Book Links: Religion, Mythology,Philosophies

RELIGION & MYTHOLOGY

1) Vedic Religion: Primary Sources

1. a) Vedas (Samhitas). Including Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.
   

2. -Rig-Veda Sanhita: A Collection of Ancient Hindu Hymns (Vol I, Vol II, Vol III, Vol IV, Vol V, Vol VI). Tr: H.H. Wilson (1850-1888).
     This, like the next three, is a complete translation of the Rig Veda (or Rigveda), all of them valuable in spite of their age and imperfections. The Rig Veda is usually divided in 10 mandalas or books although sometimes is divided in 8 parts or astakas. Wilson has folllowed the last classification and his first volume contains astaka 1; the second volume,  astaka 2; the third, astakas 3 and 4; the fourth volume, astaka 5; the fifth astaka 6 and part of the 7; the sixth and last volume, the final part of the 7 and the 8 astakas. In each volume, the mandalas are also indicated facilitating the correlation between the two types of divisions.
   

3. -Rig-Veda (Vol I, Vol II). Tr: H. Grassmann (1876-77). 

   

   
     The first, complete, German translation of the Rig Veda is presented in two volumes. The first one contains the “family books” (2-8), the second one the remaining, chronologically later, books (1, 9-10).
   

-The Rig Veda. Tr: R. Griffith (1896).
  This one-volume translation of the Rig Veda and that of Wilson, mentioned previously, are the only complete ones ever made into English.

-Vedic Hymns. Part I. Tr: F. Max Müller (1891). Volume 32 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  Selection and extensive analyses of the hymns of the Rig Veda dedicated to the gods of the storms and winds (Rudra, Maruts, Vayu and Vata).

-Vedic Hymns, Part II. Tr: H. Oldenberg (1897). Volume 46 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  The totality of the hymns dedicated to Agni, the Vedic god of fire, contained in the books I-V of the Rig Veda, accompanied by numerous notes.

-Hymns from the Rig Veda (selected and metrically translated). A.A. Macdonell (1922).
  Brief, but careful, selection of 40 hymns of the Rig Veda, well translated and preceded by an introduction.

-The Texts of the White Yajurveda. Tr: R. Griffith (1899).
  The White Yajur Veda (or Yajurveda) consists of formulas in prose (mantras) pronounced by the priest in every step of the ritual sacrifice (some hymns were added later).

-The Veda of the Black Yajus School entitled Taittiriya Sanhita. Tr: A.B. Berriedale Keith (1914).
  The Black Yajur Veda adds to the formulas of the Yajur Veda an explanation in prose, similar in form and content to a Brahmana. There are four recensions of this text; this one belongs to the Vedic school Taittiriya .

-The Sama Veda. Tr: R. Griffith (1895).
  It contains hymns and parts of hymns extracted, mostly, from the Rig Veda to be sung in the Soma sacrifice. This translation includes the textual portion (Arcika), but it doesn’t include the melodies (Gana).

-The Hymns of the Atharva Veda. Tr: R. Griffith (1896).
  Somewhat later than the other three Vedas, this one gathers poems, prayers and magic formulas, used with different purposes including the healing of illnesses and wounds. In spite of its lower status, it is rather interesting because of its variety, and abundance of folkloric material.

-The Atharva-Veda. Tr: M. Bloomfield (1897). Volume 42 of The Sacred Books of the East.
 Partial but substantial translation of the Atharvaveda that offers an alternative to the preceding one.

2. b)Brahmanas
   

3. -Satapata Brahmana (5 vols). Tr: J. Eggeling (1882-1900). Volumes 12, 26, 41, 43, 44 of The Sacred Books of the East.
     The Satapata Brahmana (Shatapata Brahmana) is the most important of the Brahmanas, or texts specialized in Vedic ritual, composed at the beginning of the first millennium BC. Some early myths, told there to justify the performance of certain ritual acts, can be of interest to the general reader.
   

-The Aitareya Brahmanam of The Rigveda. Tr: M. Haug (1863).
  The complete text of another well-known Brahmana which, like the previous one, is an early source for Vedic/Hindu mythology.

100. c)Upanisads
     

-The Upanishads (2 vols). Tr: Max Müller (1879, 1884). Volumes 1 and 15 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  This edition includes the earliest and most important Upanisads (Upanishads). Volume I contains the Chandogya, Aitareya, Kena, Isa and Kausitaki Upanisads; volume II contains the Brihadaranyaka, Taittiriya, Katha, Svetasvatara, Mundaka, Prasna and Maitrayani Upanisads.

-The Thirteen Principal Upanishads. Tr: R.E. Hume (1921).
  A good translation of the main Upanisads (Upanishads) preceded by an extensive study of their philosophy.

500. d)Vedanga (auxiliaries of the Vedas)
     

-The Grihya Sutras (Vol I, Vol II). Tr: H. Oldenberg (1886, 1892). Volumes 29, 30 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  These texts belong to the Vedanga and, in particular, to one of its six branches, which is dedicated to ritual (kalpa). They are part of much larger texts, called Kalpa Sutras, and are concerned with domestic rites and rites of passage (birth, religious initiation, marriage, death, etc). In volume I, four different Grihya Sutras (Grhyasutra) are translated, authored by Sankhayana, Asvalayana, Paraskara and Khadira, each one provided with an introduction and copious notes. Volumen II contains the Grihya Sutras of Gobhila, Hiranyakesin and Apastamba.

-The Sacred Law of the Aryas (Vol I, Vol II). Tr: G. Bühler (1879, 1882). Volumes 2 and 14 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  These are the Dharma Sutras (Dharmasutra), another section of the Kalpa Sutras (see previous entry), which regulate the rights and obligations of the castes establishing, as well, the ideal conduct to be followed in the successive stages of life. Volume I includes the Dharma Sutras of Apastamba and Gautama, volume II those of Vasistha and Baudhayana.

-The Nighantu and the Nirukta: the Oldest Indian Treatise on Etymology, Philology and Semantics. Yaska. Tr: L. Sarup (1927, reprinted 1967).
  Composed by Yaska around 500 BC., the Nirukta is the only survivor of the  Vedanga branch (nirukta) interested in the etymology and precise meaning of the words of the Vedas. The Nighantus were preexisting lists of words used by Yaska and incorporated into his work.

-The Brihad-Devata. A Summary of the Deities and Myths of the Rig-Veda (Vol I, Vol II). Saunaka. Tr: A.A. Macdonell (1904).
  The Brihad-Devata belongs to the anukramanis or indexes listing the deities that correspond with each stanza of the Rigveda. Later than the Nirukta and influenced by it, could be dated to the 4th c. BC. Its main interest stems from the narrative of illustrative myths and legends. Volume I presents, after an introduction, the original Sanskrit, volume II the translation.

2) Vedic Religion. Secondary Sources
-Vedic Mythology. A. A. Macdonell (1897).
   Essential, even today, to learn about the gods and demigods of the Vedic religion, including as well mythology and eschatology. On the other hand, religious practices are ignored.

1. 3) Hinduism. Primary Sources
   

2. a) Bhagavad Gita
   -The Bhagavad-Gita. Tr: A. Besant & Bhagavan Das (1905).
     An acceptable translation in prose (though, in archaizing language) potentially useful for the students of Sanskrit as it includes the original devanagari text, and the meaning of each and every word.
   

-The Bhagavad-Gita with the commentary of Sri Sankaracharya. Tr: A. Mahadeva Sastri (1901).
  Sankara (Shankara), the founder of advaita (non dualist) Vedanta, and one of the most distinguished philosophers of India, comments the Bhagavad Gita. Difficult points of his commentary are clarified by notes extracted from the Tika of Anandagiri.

-Bhagavad Gita. Tr: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada.
  A modern translation by the founder of the Hare Krishna movement.

b) Sastras (Shastras)
This kind of treatises are concerned with the tri-varga, the three main goals in the life of a Hindu: dharma (virtue or law), artha (profit, prosperity) and kama (pleasure). Artha comprehends, as well, politics or Niti, considered as the prosperity of the state. 

-The Laws of Manu. Tr: G. Bühler (1886). Volume 25 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  “The Laws of Manu” (original title Manava-dharma-sastra) from the 2n-3rd c. AD., is the most popular of the Dharma Sastras (Dharma Shastras), normative texts that select and re-elaborate material from the Dharma Sutras (belonging to a previous era).

-The Minor Law Books. Tr: J. Jolly (1889).
  Similar in scope and nature to “The Laws of Manu”, but less famous and from a later period (around 600 AD), these two “codes” are attributed to Narada and Brihaspati (Brhaspati).    

-The Institutes of Vishnu. Tr: J. Jolly (1880). Volume 7 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  Another, quite well known, Dharma Sastra (Dharma Shastra). Its Sanskrit title is Visnu-smrti or Vaisnava-dharma-sastra).

-The Institutes of Parasara. Tr: K. Bhattacharyya (1887).
  Brief normative code, similar to the above and not earlier than the 13th c.

-Arthashastra. ¿Kautilya? Tr: R. Shamasastry (1915). 
  The Arthasastra (Arthashastra) is a key work detailing how the state and the economy were organized and functioned at the end of the first millennium BC.

-Kamandakiya Nitisara or the Elements of Polity.  Kamandaki. Tr: M.N. Dutt (1896). 
  An interesting treatise on politics or Niti, written between 700-750 AD., based in the Arthasastra, but more concise and literary than his model.

-The Kama Sutra of Vatsayayana. Tr: R. Burton (1883).
  The Kamasutra is much more than a compendium of sexual techniques, providing a unique insight of the Indian society of his time. It treats among other subjects: permitted and forbidden relationships, different kinds of marriage, courtship, courtesans.

-The Ananga Ranga. Tr: R.F. Burton (1885).

  Another text, much later than the Kamasutra, devoted, as well, to male-female relationships.

c) Puranas

There are 18 major Puranas and the same number of minor Puranas, each one consecrated to a particular divinity. Devi Bhagavata is an example of the latter, the rest in this list are regarded as major.

-Markandeya Puranam. Tr: M.N. Dutt (1896).

  One of the earliest Puranas (about 3rd c. AD). It includes a major interpolation: Devi Mahatmya dedicated to Durga.

-The Vishnu Purana. Tr: H.H. Wilson (1840).
  The Visnu Purana is a specially valuable early Purana (circa 5th c. AD) covering the main topics of an “ideal” Purana. This web version preserves the introduction and notes of the original edition.

-Srimad Bhagavatam. Tr: Swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada.
  One of the most popular of its kind, the Bhagavata Purana tells in detail the life and adventures of Krisna (Krishna) and the various avatars or incarnations of  Visnu (Vishnu). This translation is by the founder of the Hare Krishna movement.

-Garuda Purana. Tr: M.N.Dutt (1908).
  Discuss rites and ceremonies, places of pilgrimage, norms of conduct and astrology. There are interpolated treatises on gemology, the art of politics and ayurvedic medicine. Volume I contains chapters 1-89, and volume III the final chapters 171-258; volume II is not yet available.

-The Agni Puranan (Vol I, Vol II). Tr: M.N. Dutt (1904).
  This first volume (and the only one available for now) contains the initial 86 chapters of a total of 364.

-Srimad Devi Bhagavatam. Tr: Swami Vijnanananda (1922).
  A long minor Purana devoted to Devi (The Goddess), the supreme feminine deity of India who adopts multiple forms.

4) Hinduism. Secondary Sources
-Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature. J. Dowson. 6th ed. (1928).
  An encyclopedic dictionary still useful in spite of its imperfections and relatively brief size to deal with its enormous subject.

-Epic Mythology. E. Washburn Hopkins (1915).
  This book, arranged in a similar fashion to that on Vedic mythology (by Macdonell), expounds about spirits, rishis, semi-divine beings and gods present in the epics, referring to the sources frequently. On the other hand, myths, in spite of the title, are not treated in any detail.

-Puranic Encyclopaedia. Vettam Mani (1975).
  The scope of this long book (written in Malayalam and translated into English) is much broader than its title suggests, and not very different from the previous one. In reality, not only the Puranas but the epics themselves are its main focus.

-The Village Gods of South India. H. Whitehead (1921).
  A detailed study of rural Hinduism in South India by a bishop of Madras, still useful notwithstanding its inevitable prejudices.

5) Jainism. Primary Sources
-Jaina Sutras (Vol I, Vol II). Tr: H. Jacobi (1884, 1895).
  Acarangasutra and Kalpasutra are in volume I, Uttaradhyayana and Sutrakrtanga in volume II. These are four texts of the Svetambara Jainist Canon (composed of a total of 45). Acaranga (Acharanga) Sutra and Sutrakrtanga (Sutra Kritanga) are part of the angas, the most important subdivision of the Canon. The Kalpa Sutra is popular for its biography of the 24 tirthankaras; Uttaradhyayana, composed in verse, includes legends and doctrine.

6) Jainism. Secondary Sources
-The Heart of Jainism. S. Stevenson (1915).
  A serious and quite objective overview of the different facets of Jainism.

-Outlines of Jainism. Rai B. Jagmanderlal Jaini (1916).
  Jainism explained from the inside by one of its adherents, who was president of the All India Jaina Association and author of various books on the subject.

-Studies in South Indian Jainism. M.S. Ramaswami Ayyangar & B. Sheshagiri Rao (1922).
  Jainism in southern India from a historical perspective.

-Absent Lord: Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture. L. A. Babb (1996).
  This recent book deals, mainly, with Jain ritual and the relationship between devotees and indifferent or absent divinities, in a branch of todays Jainism. At the same time, it gives a general panorama of the religion and its connexions with Buddhism and Hinduism.

7) Buddhism. Pali Canon

  The Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism is the Tipitaka ("Three Baskets") divided in three parts. The first one is the  Vinaya Pitaka or “Basket of Discipline” containing rules for the life of monks, but including as well some important discourses on Buddhist doctrine. The second part of the Canon, the Sutta-pitaka or “Basket of Discourses”, contains the kernel of Buddhist doctrine and it is subdivided in 5 sections or nikayas: the first 4 (Digha, Majjhima, Samyutta and Anguttara) collect discourses, attributed to the Buddha and his disciples, grouped by length; the fifth and last section, the Khudakka, is miscellaneous being composed by 15 independent works (some of them, like the Dhammapada, very famous). The third part of the Canon is the Abhidamma Pitaka centered on the last foundations or constituent factors of reality  (the dhammas). Some  Theravada works later than the Canon appear at the end of this section as extracanonical.

1. 
   

a) Vinaya Pitaka

1. -Vinaya Texts (Vol I, Vol II, Vol III). Tr: T. W. Rhys Davids & H. Oldenberg (1881-85). Volumes 13, 17 and 20 of The Sacred Books of the East.
     A great deal of the first “basket” of the Canon is translated here. Volume I includes the Patimokkha, a series of 227 rules on monastic discipline, as well as the first part of the Mahavagga (1-4). Volume II includes the remaining sections of the Mahavagga (5-10), and the first part of the Cullavagga (1-3). Volume III contains the final portion of the Cullavagga (4-12).
   

2. -Bhikku Patimokkha. Tr: Bhikku Nandisena (2007). 
     Another, and more recent translation of the Patimokkha, composed of 227 rules regulating the conduct of Buddhist monks.
   

b) Sutta Pitaka

-Dialogues of the Buddha: The Digha Nikaya (Vol I, Vol II, Vol III). Tr: T.W. Rhys Davids (1899-1921).

  Complete translation of the Digha Nikaya, the first part of the Sutta Pitaka containing the long discourses atributted to the Buddha. Volume I includes the 13 discourses of the Silavagga, volume II the 10 discourses of the Mahavagga, and volume III, the 11 discourses of the Pathikavagga.

-Bhuddhist Suttas. Tr: T. W. Rhys Davids (1881). Vol 11 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  It contains 7 discourses from various parts of the Sutta Pitaka. Three of them belong to the Digha Nikaya (Maha-parinibbana, Tevijja, Maha-sudassana), three to the Majjhima Nikaya (Akankheyya, Cetokhila, Sabbasava), and one, the first pronounced by the Buddha (Dhamma-cakka-ppavattana), comes from the Samyutta Nikaya.

-Handful of Leaves III. Tr: Thanissaro Bhikku (2003). It is listed erroneously as volume 2.
  Selection of 194, out of 2300, discourses of the Anguttara Nikaya, the fourth section of the Sutta Pitaka. Well translated and of considerable extension (350 pages), this book is a very good introduction to this huge part of the Canon. 

-Khuddakapatha. The Short Passages. Tr: Thanissaro Bhikku (1994).
  This manual for novices is the first of 15 works of the Khudakka Nikaya (the fifth, miscellaneous, section of the Sutta Pitaka).

-The Dhammapada and The Sutta-Nipâta. Tr: M. Müller & V. Fausböll, respectively (1881). Volume 10 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  These are the second and fifth texts of the Khudakka Nikaya. The Dhammapada is a celebrated and elegant synthesis of Buddhist doctrine. The Sutta Nipata contains poems about ethics and society. More modern translations of the Dhammapada can be found below.

-The Dhammapada. Tr: J. Richards (1993).
  A modern and adequate translation.

-Dhammapada. Tr: Thanissaro Bhikku (1998).
  Another good and modern translation, more poetic than the previous one.

-The Udana. Trad: D.M. Strong (1902).
  Third work of the Khudakka relating experiences of the nirvana.

-Ittivuttaka. Trad: Thanissaro Bhikku & J.D. Ireland (2005).
  Fourth work of the Khudakka on ethical principles.

-Theraghata: Verses of the Elder Monks (selection). Tr: Thanissaro. Bhikku (2005).
  Translation of about a third of the Theraghata, the eighth work of the Khudakka, containing poems attributed to the first Buddhist monks, describing their experiences and their life before their conversion. 

-Psalms of the Early Buddhist: Psalms of the Sisters. Tr: Rhys Davids (1909).
  Complete translation of the Therighatha, the ninth work of the Khudakka, similar to the previous one, but written by nuns. 

-The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's Former Births (Vol I, Vol II, Vol III, Vol VI). Various translators. Ed: E.B. Cowell (1895).
  Until now, 4 out of 6 volumes of this series  are available in the web. They contain the jataka, the prose narratives of the 547 former lives of the Buddha, added to illustrate a short poem. Only the poems belong properly to the Canon constituting the tenth work of the Kuddaka, but most of them are incomprehensible without the accompanying stories. Volumen I contains jatakas 1-150, volume II jatakas 151-300, volume III jatakas 301-438, and volume VI jatakas 538-547.

c) Abhidamma Pitaka
-Buddhist Manual Of Psychological Ethics Of The Fourth Century B.C. Tr: C.F. Rhys Davids (1900).
  Translation of the Dhammasangani (“Summary of the Dharma”), the first of seven books of the Abhidamma Pitaka. It enumerates and classifies the dhammas or  elementary psychophysical phenomena.  

d) Extracanonical Works
-The Questions of King Milinda (2 vols). Tr: T.W. Rhys Davids (1890-1894). Volumes 35 and 36 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  The Milindapanha resorts to a fictional dialogue between king Milinda (the Indo-Greek Menander) and the monk Nagasena to expound and clarify some obscure points of Buddhist doctrine.

-The Path of Purity being a translation of Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga. Part I (Of Virtue). Tr: Pe Maung Tin (1922).
  First part of the Visuddhi-maggha (“The Path of Purification”), signed by Buddhaghosa, one of the few philosophers of the Theravada.


8) Mahayana Buddhism
Due to the disappearance of Buddhism in India most of the Sanskrit Mahayana texts were lost or preserved fragmentarily, but fortunately many survive in Chinese and Tibetan translations.

-Buddhist Mahayana Texts. Tr: E.B. Cowell, F. Max Müller & J. Takakusu (1894). Volume 49 of  The Sacred Books of the East.
 They include the poem Buddhacarita (“Acts of the Buddha” or “Life of the Buddha”) by Asvaghosa (Asvaghosha), the short and long versions of the Sukhavativyuha (basic texts of the Pure Land sect), the Diamond Sutra, the short and long versions of the Heart Sutra, and the Sutra of Meditation on Buddha Amitayus.

-Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Tr: C. Patton.
  The Diamond Sutra, translated from the Chinese version of Kumarajiva. Other versions at the same site.

-The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Tr: C. Patton. Other versions at the same site.
  The Heart Sutra, translated from the Chinese version of Xuan Zang.

-Lankavatara Sutra. Tr: T. Suzuki (1932).
  “Descent to Lanka” is a text close to the Yogacara philosophical school, proposing and idealist view where the mind is the only reality.

-Saddharmapundarika or The Lotus of the True Law. Tr: H. Kern (1884). Volume 21 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  This is the influential Lotus Sutra (Sad-dharma-pundarika), a basic text of the Tendai school and one of the most popular of Mahayana Buddhism. Translated from the Chinese, in 27 chapters, because the original in Sanskrit has been preserved fragmentarily.

-The Lotus Sutra. Tr: B. Watson (1993).
  An excellent recent translation of the Saddharmapundarika (Sad-dharma-pundarika) from the Chinese version of Kumarajiva, in 28 chapters (see previous entry).

-The Awakening of Faith. ¿Asvaghosa? Tr: T. Richard (1907).
  Translated into Chinese by Paramartha, and from there into English, this is the Sraddhotpada Sastra (Shraddotpada Shastra), attributed to Asvaghosa (Asvaghosha) but most likely composed in Central Asia.

-Engaging in Bodhisattva Behaviour. Santideva. Tr: A. Berzin (2004).
  Translation of the Tibetan version of the popular Bodhisattvacharyavatara (also called Bodhicaryavatara) of Santideva (Shantideva), a philosopher of the Madhyamika school who lived in the 8th c. AD.

-Siksha Samuccaya: A Compendium of Buddhist Doctrine. Santideva. Tr: C. Bendall & W. Rouse (1922).
  Another, very popular work of Santideva, explaining how to achieve the six “perfections” needed to become a bodhisattva. 

-Buddhist Legends (Vol I, Vol II, Vol III). ¿Buddhaghosa?. Tr: E. W. Burlingame (1921).

  Attributed, very doubtfully, to the Theravada philosopher Buddhaghosa (Buddhaghosha), this is, in the original, a commentary of the  Dhammapada illustrated with 299 legends. Only the legends had been translated in this edition, but not the exegesis.

9) Buddhism. Secondary Sources
-The Tree of Enlightenment. An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism. P. Della Santina.
  A good introduction to Buddhism divided in four parts: Foundations of Buddhism, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Abhidharma.

-Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism. D.T. Suzuki (1907).
  Mahayana interpreted by a Japanese thinker that contributed to the understanding of Buddhism by the West.

-Guide to Tipitaka. Ed: U Ko Lay (1986).
  Explains, step by step, the content of the Pali Canon.

-The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa. B. Churn Law (1923). 
  Buddhaghosa (Buddhaghosha) was one of the few philosophers of Theravada Buddhism. Churn Law tales his life and legends about his life, examines his legacy, analyzes his interpretation of Buddhism and his philosophy, mentions his successors.

-Of the Progress of the Bodhisattva: the Bodhisattvamarga in the Siksasamuccaya. R. Mahoney (2002). This website requires (free) registration.
  Doctoral thesis that investigates the structure, content and meaning of the Siksa-samuccaya of Santideva, one of the most popular works of Mahayana Buddhism, concluding that its main goal was to clarify the confusion that an aspiring bodhisattva might find when facing the vast literature of the Great Vehicle.

PHILOSOPHY

a) General Works
-A History of Indian Philosophy (Vol I, Vol II, Vol III, Vol IV, Vol V). S. Dasgupta (1922-1955).
  A monumental reference work, though partly dated and unbalanced. The Vedanta, for instance, concentrates most of the author’s attention but Buddhism very little. Nearly all of the philosophical schools are reviewed in the first 400 pages of volume I; the rest of this volume as well as the next three are devoted to Vedanta (volume II includes a philosophical analysis of the Bhagavad Gita). The last, and briefer volume, explains the Saiva philosophy of South India.

-The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha or Review of the Different Systems of Hindu Philosophy. Madhava. Tr: E.B. Cowell & A.E. Gough (1882).
  A general survey of the philosophical systems of his time (14th c.) by Madhava, from the perspective of non-dualist Vedanta. Particularly interesting for being one of the rare sources of information about the materialists (the Lokayatas or Carvakas).

b) Purva Mimamsa & Vedanta
-The Mimamsa Sutra of Jaimini. Tr: M. Lal Sandal (1923).
  The foundational text of the Purva Mimamsa school explained by its translator (the original in devanagari is also included).

-The Vedanta Sutras with the commentary by Sankaracarya (Vol I, Vol II). Tr: G. Thibaut (1890, 1896). Volumes 34 and  38 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  The Vedantasutra (also called Brahmasutra) is one of the key texts of Vedanta with the Upanisads and the Bhagavad Gita. Composed by Badarayana, between I-III c. AD., is extremely sparse, to the point of obscurity, requiring a commentary to make it comprehensible. Here, it appears alongside the commentary of Sankara, the leader of advaita Vedanta. The original title of the exegesis of Sankara is Vedantasutrabhasya (Vedanta Sutra Bhashya).

-The Vedanta Sutras with the commentary by Ramanuja. Tr: G. Thibaut (1904). Volume 48 of The Sacred Books of the East.
  Here, the Vedantasutra appears alongside the commentary of Ramanuja, the founder of visistadvaita or “qualified dualism”. Written in the 11th c., the original title of Ramanuja’s work is Sri bhasya (Shri Bhashya) or “Eminent Commentary”.

-Brahma Sutras by Swami Sivananda.
  A modern commentary of the Vedantasutras.

-Mandukya Karika. Gaudapada. Tr: anonymous.

  One early (circa 6th c.) and brief text of the Vedanta school, its first section being a short commentary of the Mandukya Upanisad where various states of consciousness are analyzed (wakefulness, dream state, deep sleep, the absolute). The rest proposes a monistic and idealist view influenced by Buddhism.

c) Samkhya
-The Sankhya Karika. Isvarakrishna. Tr: H.T. Colebrooke & H.H. Wilson (1887).
  The 73 karikas or stanzas of the foundational text of the Samkhya school (Samkhyakarika), attributed to Isvarakrishna and written between 4th-5th centuries AD, accompanied by the traditional commentary of Gaudapada and by another of the translator. Not to be confused with the Samkhya Sutra, a much later text (see below “The Samkhya Aphorisms of Kapila”).

-Tattva-kaumudi of Vachaspati Misra. Tr: G. Jha (1896).
  This work, its title meaning “Illumination of the Principles”, is a commentary of the Samkhyakarika, authored by Vacaspati Misra, a versatile philosopher of the 9th century that participated in almost every Hindu school.

-The Samkhya Aphorisms of Kapila. Tr: J.R. Ballantyne (1885).
  This is the Samkhyasutra, an anonymous collection of aphorisms of the 14th century, not to be confused with the Samkhyakarika. It is  a late and detailed re-exposition (526 aphorisms) of the school’s postulates. This edition includes excerpts of traditional commentaries and notes.

d) Yoga
-The Yoga Philosophy: Being the Text of Patanjali, with Bhoja Raja's Commentary. Tr: J.R. Ballantyne & G. Shastri Deva (1885).

  Bilingual edition of the Yogasutra (Yoga Sutra), the basic text of classical Yoga (circa 2nd-4th c. AD), accompanied by the medieval commentary of Bhoja explaining in detail each aphorism.

-The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali interpreted by William Q. Judge. Tr: W.Q. Judge.
  Reasonable translation and commentary of the Yogasutra.

-The Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Svatmarana. Tr: P. Sinh (1914).
   Fundamental text of the Hatha Yoga or “Yoga of Strength”, written in the 15th century by Svatmarana, which while proclaiming its continuity with traditional Yoga promises rapid results using esoteric and intensive procedures.

e) Nyaya & Vaisesika

-Indian Logic and Atomism: an Exposition of the Nyaya-Vaicesika Systems. A.B. Keith (1921).
  A detailed examination of both schools starting with their history and literature in order to explain the epistemology and metaphysics of their systems.

-The Vaisesika Sutras of Kanada. Tr: N. Sinha (1923).
  The foundational text of the Vaisesika (Vaiseshika, Vaisheshika) school in a well-planned edition where each aphorism is presented in devanagari, transliterated, and translated word by word, followed by an extensive commentary of Sankara Misra and excerpts from other two.

f) Saivism

-The Shiva Sutras. Tr: M. Magee (1978).
  The Sivasutra (Shiva Sutra), containing about 80 extremely brief and concise aphorisms, is one of two basic texts of the Northern Saiva school centered in Kashmir. This translation is quite faithful.

-The Spanda Karikas of Vasugupta with the Nirnaya by Ksemaraja. Tr: M.Kaul Shastri (1925).
  The second foundational text of Kashmirian Saivism (the other is the Sivasutra). Composed of 52 stanzas written by Vasugupta (or by his disciple Bhatta Khalata), it is accompanied here by the essential medieval commentary of Ksemaraja. This is a bilingual edition: in the initial half of the book is the Sanskrit original in devanagari and in the second its translation into English.

-Siva-jnana-bodham: A Manual of Saiva Religious Doctrine. Meykantatevar. Tr: G. Matthews (1948). pdf
  Basic text of the southern  Saiva-siddhanta school, consisting of only 12 sutras, translated directly from the Tamil original.

g) Jainism
-Samayasara (The Soul Essence). Kundakunda. Tr: Rai B. Jaini (1930).Volume 8 of The Sacred Books of the Jainas.
  Kundakunda (Kunda Kunda) was the first Jain systematic philosopher (circa 2nd-3rd c. AD). In this work he analyzes the nature of the soul and its contamination with karmic matter. Original Prakrit text, Sanskrit equivalent, translation into English and commentary.

-Samaya Sara or the Nature of the Self. Kundakunda. Tr: A. Chakravarti (1950).
  Another translation of the work mentioned above.

h) Buddhism
-The Path of Purity being a translation of Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga. Part I (Of Virtue). Tr: Pe Maung Tin (1922).
  First of three parts of the Visuddhi Maggha (“The Path of Purification”) of Buddhaghosa (Buddhaghosha), a remarkable Theravada philosopher. 

© 2009 Alejandro Gutman