A History Of Sanskrit Literature [Hardcover]

Arthur A. MacDonell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2007

A classic work on the history of Sanskrit. Invaluable for the student of linguistics and philology. The work represents a complete history of Sanskrit literature in a condensed and succinct form. It embodies a general study of the Vedic, Epic, Puranic, classical and philosophical literature. It sheds light on the life and thought of Ancient and Medieval India as reflected in the literary productions of those periods. It provides information both interesting and instructive. Even with the lapse of time, the utility of this small work has not diminished. This title is cited and recommended by: Books for College Libraries; The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature; and the Catalogue of the Lamont Library, Harvard College. At the time of original publication in 1900, Arthur A. MacDonell, M.A., Ph.D., of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, was Boden Professor of Sanskrit and Fellow of Balliol.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 484 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC (July 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0548113181
• ISBN-13: 978-0548113189
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,013,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning your Vedas from your Tantras, May 22, 2009

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S. Pactor "reader" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History Of Sanskrit Literature (Hardcover)

I typed "Sanskrit Literature" into Amazon and found <a href="http://www.amazon.com/History-Sanskrit-Literature-Aurthur-Macdonnell/dp/1596053100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243002397&sr=1-1">A History of Sanskrit Literature</a> by Aurthur A. Macdonnell. Even though this book was written in 1900 I thought it was great- if only because the age meant that the complexity level was low. There is no way around the statement that "Sanskrit literature is difficult to fully grasp." First of all- it goes way, way, way back- way beyond the Greek texts (or Persian texts), so we're talking about the common linguistic ancestor of English, Spanish, German, Greek, etc. Second of all, "Indians" were not that big into chronology or dating events, so it's hard to put one thing after the other "western history style." Third, there is no defined 'center' to the production of literature: these texts are generated all over the map- though north west India seems to be a focal point and finally, the texts are generated over thousands of years.

All that being said, MacDonnell does a more then capable job of putting me in the state of mind where I can order the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140449892/sr=1-2/qid=1243002783/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1243002783&sr=1-2&seller=">Rigveda</a> and know that I'm getting the foundational text in the field. I find it's pretty rewarding to read about this ancient culture that we have in common with everyone who speaks English, German, French, Spanish, Hindi, Parth, Urdu whatever. Unforutnately the Germans thought it was pretty cool too which is why we all cringe when we learn that this founding culture are often called "Aryans." Oops! Western Intellectual History gone wild.