book excerptise:   a book unexamined is wasting trees

William Theodore de (eds.) Bary and A.L. Basham and R.N. Dandekar and Peter Hardy and V. Raghavan and Royal Weiler

Sources of Indian Tradition v.1: From the Beginning to 1800

Bary, William Theodore de (eds.); A.L. Basham; R.N. Dandekar; Peter Hardy; V. Raghavan; Royal Weiler;

Sources of Indian Tradition v.1: From the Beginning to 1800

Columbia University Press, 1958, 535 pages

ISBN 0231086008, 9780231086004

topics: |  india | reference | ancient


An impressive collection of translated texts from the Indian classics.

Excerpts

The VaisheSika sutras, written by KanAda, dates from the 4th c. BC. Time and space are among the nine substances of which all corporeal and incorporeal things are comprised. The full list: earth, water, light, air, ether (AkaSa), time, space, soul (or self), and mind.

II.2.6. "Posterior" in respect to that which is posterior, "simultaneous", "slow", "quick", such cognitions are the marks of time.

II.2.9. The name time is applicable to a cause, inasmuch as it does not exist in eternal substances and exists in non-eternal substances.

II.2.11. That which gives rise to such (cognition and usage) as "This (is remote etc.) from this," -- (the same is) the mark of space.

The Padarthasamgraha of PrasastapAda (4th c. AD)

6. Throwing upwards, throwing downwards, contracting, expanding, and going -- these are the only five actions ... all such actions as gyrating, evacuating, quivering, flowing upwards, transverse falling, falling downwards, rising and the like, being only particular forms of going, and not forming distinct classes by themselves. - I.i.7


42. Time is the cause or basis of the production, persistence, and
destruction (or cesation) of all produced things; as all these are
spoken of in terms of time.

43. Space is the cause of the notions of East, West, etc. That is to
say, it is that from which arise the ten notions -- of East,
South-East, South, South-West, West, North-West, North, North-East,
Below and Above -- with regard to one corporeal (material) object
considered with reference to another material object as the starting
point or limit. Specially so, as there is no other cause available for
these notions.
	(Padarthadharmasangraha, vii.i.24, vii.ii.22)

90. Distance and proximity form the basis of the notions of "prior"
and "posterior". They are of two kinds: (1) due to space, and (2) due
to time. Those which are due to space afford ideas of particular
directions. Those which are due to time afford ideas of age.
	(Padarthadharmasangraha, ix.ii.1? p.414)

Digha NikAya, (Buddhist text) p.119


[SPACE]
SangAla, a householder's son, got up early, went out from Rajagaha,
and, with his clothes and hair still wet from his morning ablutions,
joined his hands in reverence and worshipped the several quarters of
earth and sky -- east, south, west, north, above, and below.

Buddha advising Sangala: "There are six dangers in roaming the streets
at improper times: the man who does this is unprotected and unguarded:
so are his wife and children: he incurs suspicion of having committed
crime: he is the subject of rumours; in fact, he goes out to meet all
kinds of trouble.

Devotional and Social structures in Hinduism


From the introduction:
... greater emphasis is placed upon the social and devotional aspects of
[Hinduism], which have affected greater numbers of Hindus, than upon the
philosophical speculations which have generally commanded the first attention
of educated Indians and Westerners and have already been widely reproduced in
translation.  p. vi
      [AM: By 1958, we are beginning to get whiffs of change in Indology]

Basavaraja, the apostate Jaina who argues for a more humanitarian view of
religion:
    The lamb brought to the slaughter-house eats the leaf garland with which
    it is decorated ... the frog caught in the mouth of the snake desires to
    swallow the fly flying near its mouth. So is our life. The man condemned
    to die eats milk and ghee. ... When they see a serpent caged in stone
    they pour milk on it: if a real serpent comes they say, Kill. Kill. To
    the servant of God who could eat if served they say, Go away, Go away;
    but to the image of God which cannot eat they offer dishes of food.
				         [p.216]

Chapter XIII: Moksha, the fourth end of man


  This book is noted for its poor ascription of authorship; perhaps it was
  largely collaborative.  However, the preface says: "V. Raghavan of the U.
  Madras prepared Chapters IX, XII, and XIII".

	(V. Raghavan, was an "eminent scholar and recipient of various
	awards, including the Padma Bhushan, who was the head of the
	Department of Sanskrit of the University of Madras between 1955 and
	1968 and author of more than 120 books and 1,200 articles.
			- The Hindu )

this popular religious movement began in S. india in the tamil-speaking
area where saints arose from the time of the pallava rulers of kAnchi
(c. 4th to 9th c.).  in reclaiming [from the jainas] the kings and the
people for hinduism, they went about singing their psalms to deities
enshrined in different temples.

from the tamil country this movement of saint-singers of philosophical and
religious songs in regionsl lgs spread to the kannada-speaking area, whence
the spark was ignited in maharashtra; then the hindi-speaking areas took it
up and the whole of n india was aflame with this resurgent and fervent
faith.  this popular presentation of the teachings of the upanishads, the
philosophical schools, and the puranic lore, coincided with the linguistic
phenomenon of the growth of the neo-indo-aryan lgs of the north and the
flowering forth of the literatures of the dravidian family of lgs in the
south. p.346

The lord as lover: this mood of devotion - devotee is the beloved and
   yearns for the Lord as lover.  Is found already in the Vedic hymns; it
   is quite common in devotional literature and the outpourings of the
   mystics; in music, there is a whole body of songs, chiefly in dance,
   which adore the Lord in this manner. 350

Devotional Saints in the South Indian tradition

tirunAvukkarashu: vAgIsha, 7th c. AD:  "master of speech" or appar, was
reconverted to shaivism from jainism by his sister tilakavatI, and in turn
converted the pallava king, mahendra varman.  348

jnAnasambandha: 7th c.  vanquished the jains at the pAndyan capital of
mathurai and reconverted the pAndyan king to shaivism.

mAnikkavAchakar: "the ruby-worded saint", 8th c. - minister of the pAndyan
court at mathurai, fough buddhism and revived shaivism.
    i am false, my heart is false, my love is false; but i, this sinner, can
    win thee if i weep before thee, o lord, thou who art sweet like honey,
    nectar, and the juice of the sugar-cane!  please bless me so that i might
    reach thee.  [from Tiruccatakam 90]

nammAlvAr: most important and prolific of the AlvAr psalmists.  (w:880–930
A.D )

    He is not a male, He is not a female, He is not a neuter; He is not to be
    seen; He neither is nor is not; when He is sought, He will take the form
    in which He is sought, and again He will not come in such a form.  It is
    indeed difficult to desribe the nature of the Lord.

I am he whom I love, and he whom I love is I: We are two spirits dwelling in
one body. If thou seest me, thou seest him, And if thou seest him, thou seest
us both."* - Al-Hallaj, 1388, p.405

Contents


Part One : Brahmanical tradition

Chapter I: The Cosmic Order in the Vedic Hymns
Chapter II: The Ritual Order in the BrĀHmanas
Chapter III: The Ultimate Reality in the Upanishads

Part Two: Jainism and Buddhism

Introduction: The Background of Jainism and Buddhism
Chapter IV: The Basic Doctrines of Jainism
Chapter V: Cain Philosophy and Political Thought
Chapter VI: TheravĀDa Buddhism
Chapter VII: MahĀYĀNa Buddhism: "The Greater Vehicle"
Chapter VIII: The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt and the Decline of Buddhism in India

Part Three: Hinduism

Introduction
Chapter IX: The Four Ends of Man
Chapter X: Dharma, the First End of Man
Chapter XI: Artha, the Second End of Man
Chapter XII: KĀMa, the Third End of Man
Chapter XIII: Moksha, the Fourth End of Man

Part Four: Islam in Medieval India

Introduction
Chapter XIV: The Foundations of Medieval Islam
Chapter XV: The Mystics
Chapter XVI: Religious Tension under the Mughals
Chapter XVII: The Muslim Ruler in India
Chapter XVIII: The Ideal Social Order
Chapter XIX: The Importance of the Study of History


Authorship

RN Dandekar: Chapters I, II, III, X, XI; Bhagavad Gita section in XIII
		Bhandarkar Inst Pune
AL Basham:   IV, V, VI, VII, VIII Oriental & Afr stud U Lond
V. Raghavan: IX, XII, XIII U. Madras
Peter Hardy: XIV, XV, XVII, XVIII, XIX [islamic] Oriental & Afr stud U Lond


The second edition is substantially revised, with a section on Sikhism and
many other details. 


amitabha mukerjee (mukerjee [at-symbol] gmail) 2013 Mar 20