Sacred Books of the East

Sacred Books of the East

The Sacred Books of the East is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Islam.

All of the books are in the public domain in the United States, and most or all are in the public domain in many other countries.[1] Electronic versions of all 50 volumes are widely available online.

List

Volumes of the Sacred Books of the East
Vol.Title and contentsGroupTranslatorPublished
1The Upanishads, part 1/2:[2]HinduMax Müller1879
2The Sacred Laws of the Âryas (Dharmaśāstra), part 1/2: HinduGeorg Bühler1879
3The Sacred Books of China, part 1/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
  • The Shû King (Classic of History)
    • Book of Thang
    • Books of
    • Books of Hsiâ
    • Books of Shang
    • Books of Kâu
  • Shih King, the Book of Odes (Classic of Poetry)
    • I. Odes of the Temple and the Altar
    • II. Minor Odes of the Kingdom
    • III. Major Odes of the Kingdom
    • IV. Lessons from the States
  • The Hsiâo King (Classic of Filial Piety)
ChinaJames Legge1879
4Zend-Avesta, part 1/3: ZorJames Darmesteter1880
5Pahlavi Texts, part 1/5: ZorE. W. West1880
6Qur'an part 1/2 – chapters I-XVIIslamE. H. Palmer1880
7The Institutes of Visnu.HinduJulius Jolly1880
8The Bhagavadgîtâ: HinduKâshinâth Trimbak Telang1882
9The Qur'an, part 2/2 – chapters XVII-CXIVIslamE. H. Palmer1880
10Dhammapada: a collection of verses

Sutta-Nipâta: a collection of discourses, one of the canonical books of the Buddhists

BudMax Müller (Dhammapada from Pāli, Sutta-Nipata from Pāli)1881
11Buddhist Suttas: BudT. W. Rhys Davids1881
12Satapatha Brahmana, part 1/5: HinduJulius Eggeling1882
13Vinaya Texts, part 1/3: BudT. W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg1881
14The Sacred Laws of the Âryas, part 2/2: HinduGeorg Bühler1882
15The Upanishads, part 2/2: HinduMax Müller1884
16The Sacred Books of China, part 2/6 – the texts of Confucianism: ChinaJames Legge1882
17Vinaya Texts, part 2/3 BudT. W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg1882
18Pahlavi Texts, part 2/5 ZorE. W. West1882
19The Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king: a life of Buddha, by Ashvaghosha, Bodhisattva; translated from Sanskrit into Chinese by Dharmakṣema (A. D. 420).BudSamuel Beal1883
20Vinaya Texts, part 3/3:
  • Kullavagga, IV–XII.
BudT. W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg1885
21The Saddharma-Pundarika or The Lotus of the True Law.BudH. Kern1884
22Jaina Sûtras, part 1/2 JainHermann Jacobi

from the Prâkrit

1884
23Zend-Avesta, part 2/3:
  • Sîrôzahs
  • Yasts
  • Nyâyis
ZorJames Darmesteter1883
24Pahlavi Texts, part 3/5: ZorE. W. West1884
25The Laws of Manu: with extracts from seven commentaries.HinduGeorg Bühler1886
26Satapatha Brahmana, part 2/5 HinduJulius Eggeling1885
27The Sacred Books of China, part 3/6 – the texts of Confucianism: ChinaJames Legge1885
28The Sacred Books of China, part 4/6 – the texts of Confucianism: ChinaJames Legge1885
29Grihya-sutras, part 1/2 – rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies:
  • Sankhyayana-Grihya-sutra
  • Āśvalāyana-Grihya-sutra
  • Paraskara-Grihya-sutra
  • Khadia-Grihya-sutra
HinduHermann Oldenberg1886
30Grihya-sutras, part 2/2 – rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies: HinduHermann Oldenberg (Apstamba),

Max Müller (Yajna)

1892
31Zend-Avesta, part 3/3: ZorLawrence Heyworth Mills1887
32Vedic Hymns, part 1/2
  • Hymns to the Maruts
  • Hymns to Rudra
  • Hymns to Vâyu
  • Hymns to Vâta
  • Bibliographical list of the more important publications on the Rigveda
HinduMax Müller1891
33The Minor Law-Books: BrihaspatiHinduJulius Jolly1889
34Vedanta-Sutras, part 1/3
  • Commentary by Sankaracharya, part 1 of 2
  • Adhyâya I–II (Pâda I–II).
HinduGeorge Thibaut1890
35The Questions of King Milinda, part 1/2 BudT. W. Rhys Davids1890
36The Questions of King Milinda, part 2/2 BudT. W. Rhys Davids1894
37Pahlavi Texts, part 4/5
  • Contents of the Nasks
ZorE. W. West1892
38Vedanta-Sutras, part 2/3
  • Commentary by Sankaracharya, part 2 of 2
  • Adhyâya II (Pâda III–IV)–IV
HinduGeorge Thibaut1896
39Texts of Taoism, part 1/2 ChinaJames Legge1891
40Texts of Taoism, part 2/2 ChinaJames Legge1891
41Satapatha Brahmana, part 3/5: HinduJulius Eggeling1894
42Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Together With Extracts From the Ritual Books and the CommentariesHinduMaurice Bloomfield1897
43Satapatha Brahmana, part 4/5: HinduJulius Eggeling1897
44Satapatha Brahmana, part 5/5: HinduJulius Eggeling1900
45Jaina Sûtras, part 2 of 2: JainHermann Jacobi

(from Prâkrit)

1895
46Vedic Hymns, part 2/2: HinduHermann Oldenberg1897
47Pahlavi Texts, part 5/5: ZorE. W. West1897
48Vedanta-Sutras, part 3/3, with the commentary of RâmânujaHinduGeorge Thibaut1904
49BuddhistMahâyâna Texts, part 1/2:

Buddhist Mahâyâna Texts, part 2/2:

BudEdward Byles Cowell (part 1, from Sanskrit), Max Müller, and Takakusu Junjiro (Amitâyur)1894
50General index to the names and subject-matter of the Sacred Books of the East.IndexMoriz Winternitz, with a preface by Arthur Anthony Macdonell1910

References