Reading Primary Sources in Indian Philosophy
A Guide
- Textbook
Reading Primary Sources in Indian Philosophy
A Guide
- Textbook
Available for purchase via Bloomsbury etextbooks on publication date
Description
This introduction to thinkers, texts, and themes in Indian philosophy covers sources ranging across roughly 2,000 years.
The guide helps readers engage with the diversity of the Indian subcontinent: it treats multiple philosophical traditions, from Buddhism to Vedanta to Nyaya, and multiple topics, from metaphysics to ethics to epistemology. The focus throughout the guide is on how to read texts philosophically.
Tackling complex ideas and philosophical concepts, each chapter follows the same format. The historical context appears before the central themes and arguments are discussed. Textual excerpts accompany both close readings and explanation of philosophical reading practices, teaching readers to unpack arguments with textual sensitivity. A glossary and further reading suggestions give additional support. The volume also includes one of the texts discussed in translation: the first-ever English translation of Abhinavagupta's Seed of the Banyan Tree of Tantra, a key text in the non-dual Shaiva tradition.
For anyone coming to Asian philosophy for the first time, here are the skills and tools you need to read and understand major texts in Indian philosophy.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- PDF/UA-2, 1.4
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
Has alternative text descriptions for images
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
Table of Contents
Contributors
Series Foreword
Acknowledgments
Pronunciation Guide
Timeline
Introduction
1 Dimensions of Equanimity (samatvam) in the Philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, Keya Maitra
2 The Discourse Setting the Wheel of Truth in Motion (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta): The Buddha's First Teaching, Jessica Locke
3 The Dhammapada: The Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering, Raman Sachdev
4 Nyayasutra 1.1.10 and Early Nyaya Commentators: Inferring the Self's Existence, Malcolm Keating
5 Vasubandhu's Twenty Verses: Mind, World, and Beyond, Ethan Mills
6 Selflessness and Compassion in the Bodhicaryavatara: Santideva's Argument for Universal Altruism (BCA 8:90–103), Stephen E. Harris
7 Approaching Sankara's Brahma Sutra Bhasya: An Integrated Theory of Perceptual Error, Emma Herzog
8 Jayarasi's Lion of the Destruction of Principles (Tattvopaplavasimha): The Destruction of Inference, Christopher Paone
9 Abhinavagupta's Seed of the Banyan Tree of Tantra (Tantravatadhanika): An Introduction to Non-dual Saiva Philosophy, Klara Hedling
10 The Self and the World in the Teachings of Gunatitanand Swami (Swamini Vato), Bhakti Mamtora
Appendix: Translation of the first chapter of Tantravatadhanika
Glossary
Index
Product details
| Published | 10 Dec 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 184 |
| ISBN | 9781350552647 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Series | Reading Primary Sources in Asian Philosophy |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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