The first readable and accurate translation of twenty of the most authoritative Hindu documents pertaining to ascetic ideals and the ascetic way of life, this text opens to students a major source for the study of the Hindu ascetical institutions and of the historical changes they underwent during a period of a thousand years or more. Beginning with an analysis of the historical context that gave rise to Indian ascetical institutions and ideologies, Patrick Olivelle moves on to elucidate the meaning of renunciation-the central institution of holiness in most Hindu traditions-and the function and significance of the various elements that constitute the rite of renunciation. The Samnyasa Upanisads will be an unparalleled source of information and insight for students of Hinduism and Indian culture and religion, and for cross-cultural courses in asceticism, mysticism, and holiness.
Patrick Olivelle is Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of The Origin and the Early Development of Buddhist Monachism (1974), Vasudevelframa Yatid-harmaprakasa: A Treatise on World Renunciation (1976-77), Renunciation in Hinduism: A Medieval Debate (1986), and Samnyasapaddhati of Rudradeva (1986-87).
**Contents and Sample Pages**
Vedas (1190)
Upanishads (502)
Puranas (627)
Ramayana (757)
Mahabharata (370)
Dharmasastras (165)
Goddess (507)
Bhakti (252)
Saints (1543)
Gods (1289)
Shiva (391)
Journal (181)
Fiction (68)
Vedanta (376)
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