A History of Sanskrit Literature

by Arthur Anthony Macdonell

107 Banbury Road, Oxford,
December 1, 1899.

Contents

CHAP.						PAGE
I.	[Introductory]					1
II.	[The Vedic Period]					29
III.	[The Rigveda]					40
IV.	[Poetry of the Rigveda]					59
V.	[Philosophy of the Rigveda]					116
VI.	[The Rigvedic Age]					139
VII.	[The Later Vedas]					171
VIII.	[The Brāhmaṇas]					202
IX.	[The Sūtras]					244
X.	[The Epics]					277
XI.	[Kāvya or Court Epic]					318
XII.	[Lyric Poetry]					335
XIII.	[The Drama]					346
XIV.	[Fairy Tales and Fables]					368
XV.	[Philosophy]					385
XVI.	[Sanskrit Literature and the West]					408
	[Appendix on TechnicalLiterature—Law—History—Grammar—Poetics—Mathematicsand Astronomy—Medicine—Arts]					428
	[Bibliographical Notes]					438
	[Index]					455

A History of
Sanskrit Literature

Chapter I

Introductory

Since the Renaissance there has been no event of such world-wide significance in the history of culture as the discovery of Sanskrit literature in the latter part of the eighteenth century. After Alexander’s invasion, the Greeks became to some extent acquainted with the learning of the Indians; the Arabs, in the Middle Ages, introduced the knowledge of Indian science to the West; a few European missionaries, from the sixteenth century onwards, were not only aware of the existence of, but also acquired some familiarity with, the ancient language of India; and Abraham Roger even translated the Sanskrit poet Bhartṛihari into Dutch as early as 1651. Nevertheless, till about a hundred and twenty years ago there was no authentic information in Europe about the existence of Sanskrit literature, but only vague surmise, finding expression in stories about the wisdom of the Indians. The enthusiasm with which Voltaire in his Essai sur les Mœurs et l’Esprit des Nations greeted the lore of the Ezour Vedam, a work brought from India and introduced to his notice in the middle of the last century, was premature. For this work was later proved to be a forgery made in the seventeenth century by a Jesuit missionary. The scepticism justified by this fabrication, and indulged in when the discovery of the genuine Sanskrit literature was announced, survived far into the present century. Thus, Dugald Stewart, the philosopher, wrote an essay in which he endeavoured to prove that not only Sanskrit literature, but also the Sanskrit language, was a forgery made by the crafty Brahmans on the model of Greek after Alexander’s conquest. Indeed, this view was elaborately defended by a professor at Dublin as late as the year 1838.