Les deux upanishad (litt. : enseignements, doctrine) présentées dans ce volume sont les plus anciennes et les plus importantes parmi la centaine de textes que compte ce corpus. Elles transmettent à la fois des données essentielles sur le rituel védique, ses formules, ses gestes et son sens, mais elles constituent aussi une source d'information de premier ordre sur les cosmologies des anciens Indiens. Témoins du passage d'une société ancienne très ritualisée à un monde qui se dote d'institutions et de nouvelles conceptions religieuses, elles sont une source d'information précieuse sur l'histoire religieuse, sociale et intellectuelle de l'Inde ancienne.
L'introduction de Patrick Olivelle permet de comprendre ce que sont les upanishad, quand, où et par qui elles ont été composées et d'appréhender leur place dans le corpus védique.
The Pancatantra is the most famous collection of fables in India and was one of the earliest Indian books to be translated into Western languages. No other Indian work has had a greater influence on world literature, and no other collection of stories has become as popular in India itself. A significant influence on the Arabian Nights and the Fables of La Fontaine, the Pancatantra teaches the principles of good government and public policy
through the medium of animal stories. Its positive attitude towards life and its advocacy of ambition, enterprise, and drive counters any preconception of passivity and other-worldliness in ancient Indian society.
Patrick Olivelle presents the Pancatantra in all its complexity and rich ambivalence, examining central elements of political and moral philosophy alongside the many controversial issues surrounding its history, including its numerous versions and translations, and the reconstruction of the original text by Franklin Edgerton. This new translation vividly reveals the story-telling powers of the original author, while detailed notes illuminate aspects of ancient Indian society and
religion to the non-specialist reader.
From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time.
Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
The Very Interesting People series includes the following titles:
1.William Shakespeare by Peter Holland
2. George Eliot by Rosemary Ashton
3. Charles Dickens by Michael Slater
4. Charles Darwin by Adrian Desmond, James Moore, and Janet Browne
5. Isaac Newton by Richard S.Westfall
6. Elizabeth I by Patrick Collinson
7. George III by John Cannon
8. Benjamin Disraeli by Jonathan Parry
9. Christopher Wren by Kerry Downes
10. John Ruskin by Robert Hewison
11. James Joyce by Bruce Stewart
12. John Milton by Gordon Campbell
13. Jane Austen by Marilyn Butler
14. Henry VIII by Eric Ives
15. Queen Victoria by K. D. Reynolds and H. C. G. Matthew
16. Winston Churchill by Paul Addison
17. Oliver Cromwell by John Morrill
18. Thomas Paine by Mark Philp
19. J. M. W. Turner by Luke Herrmann
20. William and Mary by Tony Claydon and W. A. Speck
From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time.
Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
The Very Interesting People series includes the following titles:
1.William Shakespeare by Peter Holland
2. George Eliot by Rosemary Ashton
3. Charles Dickens by Michael Slater
4. Charles Darwin by Adrian Desmond, James Moore, and Janet Browne
5. Isaac Newton by Richard S.Westfall
6. Elizabeth I by Patrick Collinson
7. George III by John Cannon
8. Benjamin Disraeli by Jonathan Parry
9. Christopher Wren by Kerry Downes
10. John Ruskin by Robert Hewison
11. James Joyce by Bruce Stewart
12. John Milton by Gordon Campbell
13. Jane Austen by Marilyn Butler
14. Henry VIII by Eric Ives
15. Queen Victoria by K. D. Reynolds and H. C. G. Matthew
16. Winston Churchill by Paul Addison
17. Oliver Cromwell by John Morrill
18. Thomas Paine by Mark Philp
19. J. M. W. Turner by Luke Herrmann
20. William and Mary by Tony Claydon and W. A. Speck
Manu's Code of Law is one of the most important texts in the Sanskrit canon, indeed one of the most important surviving texts from any classical civilization. It paints an astoundingly detailed picture of ancient Indian life-covering everything from the constitution of the king's cabinet to the price of a ferry trip for a pregnant woman-and its doctrines have been central to Indian thought and practice for 2000 years. Despite its importance, however, until now no one has produced a critical edition of this text. As a result, for centuries scholars have been forced to accept clearly inferior editions of Sanskrit texts and to use those unreliable editions as the basis for constructing the history of classical India. In this volume, Patrick Olivelle has assembled the critical text of Manu, including a critical apparatus containing all the significant manuscript variants, along with a reliable and readable translation, copious explanatory notes, and a comprehensive introduction on the structure, content, and socio-political context of the treatise. The result is an outstanding scholarly achievement that will be an essential tool for any serious student of India.
