Author: Abbe J A Dubois
Publisher: Rupa
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 842
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8171673457
Description
As a trustworthy authority on the state of India from 1792 to 1838, this work will always retain its value not only to Sanskrit scholars , but to all who take an intelligent interest in this wonderful country - India.
Translated from the Author's later French Ms and edited with notes, corrections and biography by Henry K Beauchamp with a prefatory note by F Max Muller, this 1999 edition of a classic work is sufficient proof of the high value which is still attached to the Abbe's observations and of the wide popularity which this work still enjoys.
The impression may be felt in many minds that a book written so long ago can be of little practical use at present; but the fact is that the Babe's work, composed as it was in the midst of the people themselves, is of a unique character, for it combines, a recital of the broad facts of Hindu religion and Hindu sociology with many masterly descriptions.
Contents
Portrait of Dubois
Editor's Preface to Third Edition
Prefatory Note by Max Muller
Editor's Introduction
Author's Preface
PART I
GENERAL VIEW OF SOCIETY IN INDIA, AND GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CASTE SYSTEM
ONE
Division and Subdivision of Castes.
TWO
Advantages resulting from Caste Divisions.
THREE
Expulsion from Caste.
FOUR
Antiquity and Origin of Caste
FIVE
The lower Classes of Sudras.
SIX
The Poverty of the Hindus
SEVEN
The Mythical Origin of the Brahmins.
EIGHT
Different Kinds of Brahmins.
NINE
The Different Hindu Sects.
TEN
The Gurus, or Hindu Priests.
ELEVEN
Purohitas, or Priests who officiate at Public and Private Ceremonies.
TWELVE
Mantrams - Their Efficacy.
THIRTEEN
Explanation of the Principal Ceremonies of the Brahmins and of the other Castes.
FOURTEEN
Ceremonies to be observed after a Woman's Confinement.
PART II
THE FOUR STATES OF BRAHMINICAL LIFE
ONE
The Brahmachari - Ceremony of the Upanayana.
TWO
Conduct of the Brahmachari
THREE
External Defilements.
FOUR
Internal Defilements.
FIVE
Defilements of the Soul
SIX
Marriage amongst Brahmins and other Hindus.
SEVEN
The Second, or Grahastha.
EIGHT
Brahminical Fasts.
NINE
The King of Food expressly forbidden to Brahmins.
TEN
The Various Occupations of Brahmins.
ELEVEN
Religious Tolerance amongst the Brahmins.
TWELVE
The Morality of Brahmins.
THIRTEEN
The Outward Appearance of Brahmins and other Hindus.
FOURTEEN
Rules of Etiquette amongst Brahmins and other Hindus.
FIFTEEN
The Ornaments worn by Hindus.
SIXTEEN
Brahmin Wives.
SEVENTEEN
Rules of Conduct for Married Women.
EIGHTEEN
Mourning. - The Condition of Widowhood.
NINETEEN
The Custom which at times obliges Widows to allow themselves to be burnt alive on the Funeral pyre of their Deceased Husbands.
TWENTY
Adoption - Rules regarding the Partition of Property.
TWENTY ONE
The Learning of the Brahmins.
TWENTY TWO
The Poetry of Hindus
TWENTY THREE
Brahmin Philosophy.
TWENTY FOUR
Chronology of the Brahmins.
TWENTY FIVE
The Epistolary Style of the Brahmins - Hindu Handwriting.
TWENTY SIX
Hindu Fables
TWENTY SEVEN
Hindu Tales
TWENTY EIGHT
Niti Slokas, Moral Stanzas.
TWENTY NINE
The Funeral Ceremonies of Brahmins.
THIRTY
The Various Ceremonies observed after Burial in Honor of the Dead.
THIRTY ONE
The Third Condition of Brahmins.
THIRTY TWO
Sacrifices of the Vanaprastha Brahmins.
THIRTY THREE
Penance as a Means of Purifying the soul.
THIRTY FOUR
The Fourth State of the Brahmins, that of the Sannyasi.
THIRTY FIVE
A Sannyasi's Principal Duties.
THIRTY SIX
The Funeral Ceremonies of Brahmin Sannyasis.
PART III
RELIGION
ONE
Origin of the Trimurti and the Primitive Idolatry of the Hindus.
TWO
Metempsychosis - Explanation of the Religion Doctrine.
THREE
Hindu Feasts
FOUR
Hindu Temples.
FIVE
The Principal Gods of the Hindus.
SIX
The Worship of Animals.
SEVEN
Inanimate Objects of Worship.
EIGHT
The Administration of Civil and Criminal Justice.
NINE
The Military System of the Hindus.
Appendix I : The Jains - Differences between them and the Brahmins.
Appendix II : The Eka-Dasi, or Eleventh Day of the Moon.
Appendix III : Siva-Ratri, or Siva's Night.
Appendix IV : Rules of Conduct for Women during their Periodical Uncleanness.
Appendix V : Remarks on the Origin of the Famous Temple of Jagannath.
Appendix VI : Trial by Ordeal . Its Different Forms.
Index