Coomaraswamy, Ananda K.; Sister Nivedita

Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists

New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1967. First Edition Thus. Softcover. "As the Iliad and the Odyssey provide a key to ancient Greek civilization, so the two great epic poems of India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are our best sources for the beliefs of the Indian people- their gods and heroes, their myths and legends. In fact, so plentiful a treasury is the Mahabharata, the older of the two poems, that it has been said that whatever is not contained within it is not true of India. Gathered together in this single volume are the most important stories of Indian mythology, taken mainly from these two epics, with additional tales from the puranas and vedas and from assorted narratives of Krishna, Buddha, and Shiva. The stories range from the initial stages of mythology, when man viewed everything in the universe anthropomorphically, to the final stages when mythology had reached its maturity." (from back cover) First published in 1913, this classic interpretive compilation of ancient Indian mythology was written by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947), the great Ceylonese (now Sri Lankan)-British-American curator-historian-philosopher; & The Sister Nivedita (1867-1911), an Indian Hindu Holy Woman & an acclaimed scholar. Here we offer the first American edition thus of this classic work, trade-format softcover in sewn binding, first edition thus of 1967 with no references to further printings on copyright page, "...an unabridged republication of the work originally published by George C. Harrap & Company in 1913" as stated thereon. A sturdily exemplary Dover production, with black-&-white reproductions of 32 historic illustrations that appeared in color in the original edition, as also noted. A relatively affordable but collectible version of a most informative & rewarding work of scholarship. In fine-verging-on-very-fine condition with very mild rubbing, mild fading & faint scratching to glossy front, back covers & spine; a bit of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; very slight rubbing to edges of text block; slight browning to upper edge of same. Interior very fine with only a hint of browning to blank margins/edges of inner covers & page leaves; tiny bumps at corners of a few of same. Fine- Very Fine. [Item #5349]

Price: $30.00