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.

Volumes of the Sacred Books of the East
Vol. Group Published Translator Title and contents
1 Hindu 1879 Max Müller The Upanishads, part 1/2:[2]
2 Hindu 1879 Georg Bühler The Sacred Laws of the Âryas (Dharmaśāstra), part 1/2:
3 China 1879 James Legge The Sacred Books of China, part 1/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
  • The Shû King (Classic of History)
    • Book of Thang
    • Books of Yü
    • 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)
4 Zor 1880 James Darmesteter Zend-Avesta, part 1/3:
5 Zor 1880 E. W. West Pahlavi Texts, part 1/5:
6 Islam 1880 E. H. Palmer Qur'an part 1/2 – chapters I-XVI
7 Hindu 1880 Julius Jolly The Institutes of Visnu.
8 Hindu 1882 Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang The Bhagavadgîtâ:
9 Islam 1880 E. H. Palmer The Qur'an, part 2/2 – chapters XVII-CXIV
10 Bud 1881 Max Müller (Dhammapada from Pāli, Sutta-Nipata from Pāli) Dhammapada: a collection of verses

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

11 Bud 1881 T. W. Rhys Davids Buddhist Suttas:
12 Hindu 1882 Julius Eggeling Satapatha Brahmana, part 1/5:
13 Bud 1881 T. W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg Vinaya Texts, part 1/3:
14 Hindu 1882 Georg Bühler The Sacred Laws of the Âryas, part 2/2:
15 Hindu 1884 Max Müller The Upanishads, part 2/2:
16 China 1882 James Legge The Sacred Books of China, part 2/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
17 Bud 1882 T. W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg Vinaya Texts, part 2/3
18 Zor 1882 E. W. West Pahlavi Texts, part 2/5
19 Bud 1883 Samuel Beal The Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king: a life of Buddha, by Ashvaghosha, Bodhisattva; translated from Sanskrit into Chinese by Dharmakṣema (A. D. 420).
20 Bud 1885 T. W. Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg Vinaya Texts, part 3/3:
  • Kullavagga, IV–XII.
21 Bud 1884 H. Kern The Saddharma-Pundarika or The Lotus of the True Law.
22 Jain 1884 Hermann Jacobi

from the Prâkrit

Jaina Sûtras, part 1/2
23 Zor 1883 James Darmesteter Zend-Avesta, part 2/3:
  • Sîrôzahs
  • Yasts
  • Nyâyis
24 Zor 1884 E. W. West Pahlavi Texts, part 3/5:
25 Hindu 1886 Georg Bühler The Laws of Manu: with extracts from seven commentaries.
26 Hindu 1885 Julius Eggeling Satapatha Brahmana, part 2/5
27 China 1885 James Legge The Sacred Books of China, part 3/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
28 China 1885 James Legge The Sacred Books of China, part 4/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
29 Hindu 1886 Hermann Oldenberg Grihya-sutras, part 1/2 – rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies:
  • Sankhyayana-Grihya-sutra
  • Āśvalāyana-Grihya-sutra
  • Paraskara-Grihya-sutra
  • Khadia-Grihya-sutra
30 Hindu 1892 Hermann Oldenberg (Apstamba),

Max Müller (Yajna)

Grihya-sutras, part 2/2 – rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies:
31 Zor 1887 Lawrence Heyworth Mills Zend-Avesta, part 3/3:
32 Hindu 1891 Max Müller Vedic 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
33 Hindu 1889 Julius Jolly The Minor Law-Books: Brihaspati
34 Hindu 1890 George Thibaut Vedanta-Sutras, part 1/3
  • Commentary by Sankaracharya, part 1 of 2
  • Adhyâya I–II (Pâda I–II).
35 Bud 1890 T. W. Rhys Davids The Questions of King Milinda, part 1/2
36 Bud 1894 T. W. Rhys Davids The Questions of King Milinda, part 2/2
37 Zor 1892 E. W. West Pahlavi Texts, part 4/5
  • Contents of the Nasks
38 Hindu 1896 George Thibaut Vedanta-Sutras, part 2/3
  • Commentary by Sankaracharya, part 2 of 2
  • Adhyâya II (Pâda III–IV)–IV
39 China 1891 James Legge Texts of Taoism, part 1/2
40 China 1891 James Legge Texts of Taoism, part 2/2
  • The Writings of Kwang Tse, XVII–XXXIII
  • The Thâi-shang tractate of actions and their retributions
  • Other Taoist texts
  • the Index to vols. 39 and 40
41 Hindu 1894 Julius Eggeling Satapatha Brahmana, part 3/5:
42 Hindu 1897 Maurice Bloomfield Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Together With Extracts From the Ritual Books and the Commentaries
43 Hindu 1897 Julius Eggeling Satapatha Brahmana, part 4/5:
44 Hindu 1900 Julius Eggeling Satapatha Brahmana, part 5/5:
45 Jain 1895 Hermann Jacobi

(from Prâkrit)

Jaina Sûtras, part 2 of 2:
46 Hindu 1897 Hermann Oldenberg Vedic Hymns, part 2/2:
47 Zor 1897 E. W. West Pahlavi Texts, part 5/5:
48 Hindu 1904 George Thibaut Vedanta-Sutras, part 3/3, with the commentary of Râmânuja
49 Bud 1894 Edward Byles Cowell (part 1, from Sanskrit), Max Müller, and Takakusu Junjiro (Amitâyur) Buddhist Mahâyâna Texts, part 1/2:

Buddhist Mahâyâna Texts, part 2/2:

50 Index 1910 Moriz Winternitz, with a preface by Arthur Anthony Macdonell General index to the names and subject-matter of the Sacred Books of the East.
  1. ^ sacred-texts.com
  2. ^ Müller, Max. [1879]. The Upanishads, Part 1.