A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume I [Paperback]

Surendranath Dasgupta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2004

In this benchmark five-volume study, originally published between 1922 and 1955, Surendranath Dasgupta examines the principal schools of thought that define Indian philosophy. A unifying force greater than art, literature, religion, or science, Professor Dasgupta describes philosophy as the most important achievement of Indian thought, arguing that an understanding of its history is necessary to appreciate the significance and potentialities of India's complex culture. Volume III offers an examination of the Bhaskara school of philosophy, the Pancaratra, the Arvars, the Visistadvaita school of thought, the philosophy of Yamunacarya, the Ramanuja school of thought, Nimbarka's philosophy, the philosophy of Vijnana Bhiksu, and the philosophical speculations of some of the selected Puranas.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Volume IV of this five-volume study provides an examination of the Bhagavata Purana, Madhva, the controversy between the Dualists and the Monists, the philosophy of Vallabha, Caitanya and his followers, and the philosophy of Jiva Gosvami and Baladeva Vidyabhusana. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass, (April 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8120804120
• ISBN-13: 978-8120804128
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,326,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the Greatest General History of Indian Philosophy, August 29, 2003

By 

John D. Kronen (Minneapolis, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of Indian Philosophy (5 volume set) (Paperback)

Last year (for reasons I will not go into) I was crazy enough to agree to teach a course on Indian Philosophy. This was crazy because I am not a specialist on Indian Philosophy (my dissertation was on the thought of Francis Suarez, a late medieval Roman Catholic thinker), I never even took a course in Indian Philosophy, and Indian philosophy is extremely complex and sophisticated. But I knew that there was one work out there which would give me a solid grounding in the entire history of Indian Philosophy, Dasgupta's classic five volume A History of Indian Philosophy. While teaching the Indian Philosophy course last spring, I read parts of this magistrial work every day, and at least one volume of it was always by my bedstand every night.

This work cannot, of course, by itself give one a complete understanding of all the complexities of Indian Philosophy. But what is amazing about it is that it is more than just an introduction; Dasgupta often goes into great detail about the incredibly intricate debates which raged between various schools of Indian thought over the centuries. In volume 4 of his work, for example, he devotes a hundred and fifteen pages to describing the arguments and conter-arguments of the monists (Advaita Vedantins) and the dualists (Dvaita Vedantins). Much of this part of his work deals with very complicated and abstruse arguments, and I was never able to completely digest it. But I have found that, by reading other works on Indian philosophy, I am able to understand more and more of Dasgupta's great work, and so, after being away from it for a while, I periodically return to it, as if to discourse again with a great master about the most profound topics raised by the gurus of old.

This treatise is, in short, a gem. Not only is there no other comparable work on Indian philosophy as a whole (Radakrishnan's Indian Philosophy being a pale second to Dasgupta's work), there is nothing comparable to it on Western Philosophy. Scholars of Indian thought, as well as any one who wishes to risk attempting to begin to seriously study this great and ancient tradition, must be eternally grateful to Motilal Banarsidass Publishers for reprinting this magisterial work at such a bargin price.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A World In Itself - Best Book on The Subject, February 11, 2006

By 

cvairag (Allan Hancock College) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of Indian Philosophy (5 volume set) (Paperback)

Surendranath Dasgupta was one of the most profound scholars of modernity. He was among the first of his generation to realize that the onus of the contemporary thinker is not as much in the initiation of new ideas, as in the gathering and, more importantly, sorting of the mass of information by which we are engulfed. This magisterial history is the fruit of a lifetime of study, a magnum among magni, a revelatory reading of the development of every major school of Indian thought, simply, one of the greatest books. In the words of the Oxford Journal, "the collection of data, editing and the interpretation of every school of thought is a feat unparalleled in the field of history of philosophy". I would stress `interpretation'. Dasgupta is a true vivekan, a master of discrimination in these matters, judicious, with a seemingly infallible sense of the main and the germinal, and a cultivated ability to correctly assay the merit and weight of arguments with the myriad of ancient traditions discussed within these pages.

The organization of the compilation in five volumes is as follows:

Vol I: Vedic, Buddhist, Jaina philosophies, i.e., the foundational thought of Indian (perhaps all) philosophy in this aeon; the six systems of Hindu thought, viz., Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisesika, Mimamsa, Vedanta.

Vol II: Studies in the Sankara school of Vedanta, philosophy of the Yogavasistha, the Bhagavadgita, and speculations in the medical schools.

Vol III: An elaborate account of dualistic and pluralistic systems such as the philosophy of the Pancarata, Bhaskara, Yamuna, Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Vijnanabhiksu, and philosophic speculations of some of the Puranas.

Vol IV: Philosophies of the Bhagavata Purana, Madva and his school, Vallabha, Caitanya, Jiva Goswami, Baladeva Vidyabhusana.

Vol V: Philosophy of Saivism: the southern schools of Saivism, viz., Saiva Siddhanta, Vira Saivism, philosophy of Srikantha, Saiva philosophy in the Puranas and other texts.

The book takes a lifetime to read as well - but do not despair, Volume I alone offers an in depth view of the essence of fundametal Indian thought - and is superior to any other introduction to the subject. Also Dasgupta's literary talents are on par with his notable scholarship, which makes for fun reading as well as a great education.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb resource, July 24, 2009

By 

Subhash Kak (Stillwater OK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of Indian Philosophy (5 volume set) (Paperback)

Dasgupta's book continues to be a superb resource on Indian philosophy even though it was first published a long time ago.