This new edition includes numerous printed Sanskrit texts and works and three Indian journeys the author had undertaken. All the words are arranged etymologically and philologically with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages.
This collection, presented to Michael Friedrich in honour of his academic career at of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, traces key concepts that scholars associated with the Centre have developed and refined for the systematic study of manuscript cultures. At the same time, the contributions showcase the possibilities of expanding the traditional subject of ‘manuscripts’ to the larger perspective of ‘written artefacts’.
This volume deals with the Sarvāstivāda school of Buddhism, the major philosophical school of Hīnayāna. First a general outline is given of the school's origin in the (Indian) Buddhist synods. Part one ends with a general survey of Sarvāstivāda Literature. In the actual corpus the philosophical texts of Sarvāstivāda are treated in detail. The organization of the work follows the geographical spread of Sarvāstivāda. In these Parts special emphasis is laid on the Central Asian history of the school, as well as on how the school eventually reached China ('Abhidharma and Kosa Schools'). Treatment is based on the Chinese versions of the major works of the school (Sūtrapiṭaka, Abhidarmapiṭaka and Vinayapiṭaka). All in all, this major work throws a new light on the relationship between Sarvāstivāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda and provides an innovative view on the Dārsṭtantika and Sautrāntika Schools.
Two prominent translators present the first complete English-language edition of one of India's greatest works of classical literature: the Purananuru. This anthology of four hundred poems by more than 150 poets between the first and third centuries CE in old Tamil—the literary language of ancient Tamilnadu—was composed before Aryan influence had penetrated the south. It is thus a unique testament to pre-Aryan India. Beyond its importance for understanding the development of South Asia's history, culture, religion, and linguistics, the Purananuru is a great work of literature, reflecting accurately and profoundly the life of southern India 2,000 years ago. One of the few works of classical India that confronts life without the insulation of a philosophical facade and that makes no basic assumptions about karma and the afterlife, the Purananuru has universal appeal. It faces the world as a great and unsolved mystery, delving into living and dying, despair, love, poverty, and the changing nature of existence. To this hidden gem of world literature George L. Hart and Hank Heifetz add a helpful appendix, an annotated bibliography, and an excellent introduction describing the work and placing it in its social and historical context.
This work offers a critical analysis of the Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian sources in Rhazes’ (d. 925 CE) Comprehensive Book (or al-Kitāb al-Ḥāwī), a hugely famous and highly unusual medico-pharmaceutical encyclopedia originally written in Arabic. All text material appears in full Arabic with English translations throughout, whilst the traceable Indian fragments are represented here, for the first time, in both the original Sanskrit and corresponding English translations. The philological core of the book is framed by a detailed introductory study on the transmission of Indian, Syrian and Iranian medicine and pharmacy to the Arabs, and by extensive bilingual glossaries of relevant Arabic and Sanskrit terms as well as Latin botanical identifications. The World Award for the Book of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran has selected this title as one the best books of the year 2015 in the field of Islamic/ Iranian Studies.
This book on urban water bodies, catchment areas and drainage pattern is set against the backdrop of the unprecedented heavy rainfall that severely deluged metropolitan cities and other parts of India in recent years. The recurring natural catastrophes in water-stressed cities of India and alarming rate of diminishing water bodies, wetlads and catchment areas needs a re-visit to an entire urban water-cycle. This book, thus, discusses how the processes and implementation of colonial urban development policies and projects have radically transformed the water bodies and their catchment areas – traditional water holding systems of Varanasi city. In this imperative colonial process, through the case study of Varanasi, the book mainly engages with the reasons behind the elimination of the temple tanks and ponds after the annexation of Varanasi by the British from 1775 till 1947. The book investigates the colonial notion of ‘dry city’, and how this notion crafted the process of separating land and water bodies, which arguably resulted in the reclamation and draining of water bodies, and also gave rise to water pollution. Additionally, the book analyzes the elimination of water bodies and loss of catchment areas through the ongoing processes of restoring the ancient city’s natural and cultural heritage. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)