Indian Wisdom
Examples of the Religious, Philosophical, and Ethical Doctrines of the Hindus

A pioneering Victorian overview of Hindu philosophy and law, and Sanskrit Vedic and epic literature.

Monier Williams (Author)

9781108007955, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 March 2010

600 pages
21.6 x 14 x 3.4 cm, 0.75 kg

First published in 1875, this book reflects a growing nineteenth-century British interest in South Asian culture and literature. In it Monier Williams, the Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford, outlines the patterns of thought and customs of the Hindu religion. He also describes the character and content of Sanskrit literature, which had not previously been attempted in English. According to Williams, Sanskrit literature holds the key to a full understanding of Hinduism. He makes it unequivocally clear that Britain's colonial hold over India involves a particular responsibility and indeed opportunity to study the three religions confronting Christianity there, namely Brahmanism, Buddhism and Islam. Monier Williams writes about the Vedas (the sacred texts of Hinduism), the different traditions of philosophy and the five schools of Hindu law. He elaborates on the epic poems and the doctrine of incarnation embedded in them, and compares this ancient poetry with that of Homer.

Introduction
1. The hymns of the Veda
2. The Brahmana portion of the Veda
3. The systems of philosophy
4. The Nyaya system of philosophy
5. The Sankhya system of philosophy
6. The Mimansa system of philosophy
7. Irregular systems and eclectic school
8. Smriti: The Vedangas
9. Smarta-sutra
10. The law-books
11. Metrical version of some of Manu's moral and religious precepts
12. The epic poems
13. The Maha-bharata
14. The epic poems compared together and with Homer
14. The artificial poems.

Subject Areas: Buddhism [HRE]