A History of Indian Literature Vol II. Buddhist Literature and Jaina Literature

History of Indian Literature is a classic work covering the entire gamut of Indian secular and religious literature including epic, Iyric, dramatic and didactic poetry, as well as narrative and scientific prose. It includes not only the large number of works of religious literature - hymns, sacrificial songs, incantations, myths and legends, sermons, theological treatises, polemical writings, manuals of instruction on ritual and religious discipline but also the Iyrical and dramatic works, including the two great epics, the fairy-tales, fables, prose-narratives, the belles-lettres and works on various sciences.

The inclusion of this vast material, covering almost three thousand years of literary activity, could not be compressed into a single volume. Hence this was divided into two volumes by the author. Volume I includes, besides an introductory chapter, the Vedas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Tantras, while volume II deals with the Buddhist and the Jaina literature with an Index at the end of each volume.

About the Author:

Maurice Winternitz was born in Austria on 23 December 1863. After the completion of his studies at his native town, he entered the University of Vienna in 1880 for higher studies. In 1885, he was awarded doctorate for his theses on 'Ancient Indian marriage ritual according to Apastamba, compared with the marriage customs of the Indo-European peoples.' In 1898 he went over to Oxford as an amanuensis of Prof. Max Muller where he stayed for 16 years during which he worked for the preparation of the second edition of the Rgveda. During this period, he began the task of cataloguing the Vedic manuscripts in the Bodleian Library and the Whish Collection of South Indian manuscripts at the Royal Asiatic Society, London, besides working on a General Index to the 49 Volumes of the Sacred Books of the East series. In 1899, he was appointed Lecturer of Indo-Aryan Philology and Ethnology at the University of Prague and, in 1911, to the chair. In 1904, he established a special library of Indology and Ethnology at the University. He came to India, in 1922 at the invitation of Rabindranath Tagore. During the sojourn in India, he delivered lectures at Universities and learned societies. He also wrote over 450 articles. He died on 9 January 1937.

Preface to the German Edition
From the Preface to the German Edition
Preface to the English Translation
List of Abbreviations used in the Notes
Directions for Pronunciation of Indian Names and Words

SECTION III. BUDDHIST LITERATURE

The Pali Canon or the Tipitaka
The Vinayapitaka of the Pali Canon
The Suttapitaka of the Pali Canon
1. The Speeches and Dialogues
2. Narratives, Songs and Sayings
The Abhidhammapitaka. Buddhist Scholasticism
Non-Canonical Pali Literature
Buddhist Literature in Pure and Mixed Sanskrit
Remnants of the Sanskrit Canon
The Mahavastu
The Lalita Vistara
The Poet Asvaghosa and his School
The Avadana Literature
The Mahayana-Sutras
The Masters and Poets of the Mahayana
Mahatmya, Stotras, Dharanis and Tantras
Buddhist Literature and Universal Literature

SECTION IV. JAINA LITERATURE

Jinism and its Literature
The Canons (Siddhanta) of the Jainas
The Non-Canonical Jaina Literature
Appendix I. The Year of Buddha's Death
Did a Gotama Buddha live?
Appendix II. What is Pali?
Appendix III. Bhabru-Bairat Edict of Asoka
Appendix IV. Time and Life of Buddhaghosa
Appendix V. The Date of Kaniska's Reign
Appendix VI. The Year of the Death of Mahavira

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS

INDEX

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