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.
| Vol. | Group | Published | Translator | Title and contents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hindu | 1879 | The Upanishads, part 1/2:[2] | ||
| 2 | Hindu | 1879 | The Sacred Laws of the Âryas (Dharmaśāstra), part 1/2:
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| 3 | China | 1879 | The Sacred Books of China, part 1/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
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| 4 | Zor | 1880 | Zend-Avesta, part 1/3: | ||
| 5 | Zor | 1880 | Pahlavi Texts, part 1/5: | ||
| 6 | Islam | 1880 | Qur'an part 1/2 – chapters I-XVI | ||
| 7 | Hindu | 1880 | The Institutes of Visnu. | ||
| 8 | Hindu | 1882 | 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 versesSutta-Nipâta a collection of discourses, one of the canonical books of the Buddhists | |
| 11 | Bud | 1881 | Buddhist Suttas
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| 12 | Hindu | 1882 | Satapatha Brahmana, part 1/5:
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| 13 | Bud | 1881 | Vinaya Texts, part 1/3:
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| 14 | Hindu | 1882 | The Sacred Laws of the Âryas, part 2/2:
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| 15 | Hindu | 1884 | Max Müller | The Upanishads, part 2/2: | |
| 16 | China | 1882 | The Sacred Books of China, part 2/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
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| 17 | Bud | 1882 | Vinaya Texts, part 2/3
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| 18 | Zor | 1882 | Pahlavi Texts, part 2/5
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| 19 | Bud | 1883 | 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 | Vinaya Texts, part 3/3:
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| 21 | Bud | 1884 | The Saddharma-Pundarika or The Lotus of the True Law. | ||
| 22 | Jain | 1884 | Hermann Jacobifrom the Prâkrit | Jaina Sûtras, part 1/2 | |
| 23 | Zor | 1883 | Zend-Avesta, part 2/3:
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| 24 | Zor | 1884 | Pahlavi Texts, part 3/5:
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| 25 | Hindu | 1886 | The Laws of Manu: with extracts from seven commentaries. | ||
| 26 | Hindu | 1885 | Satapatha Brahmana, part 2/5
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| 27 | China | 1885 | The Sacred Books of China, part 3/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
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| 28 | China | 1885 | The Sacred Books of China, part 4/6 – the texts of Confucianism:
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| 29 | Hindu | 1886 | Grihya-sutras, part 1/2 – rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies:
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| 30 | Hindu | 1892 | Hermann Oldenberg (Apstamba), Max Müller (Yajna) | Grihya-sutras, part 2/2 – rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies: | |
| 31 | Zor | 1887 | Zend-Avesta, part 3/3: | ||
| 32 | Hindu | 1891 | Vedic Hymns, part 1/2 | ||
| 33 | Hindu | 1889 | The Minor Law-Books: Brihaspati | ||
| 34 | Hindu | 1890 | Vedanta-Sutras, part 1/3
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| 35 | Bud | 1890 | The Questions of King Milinda, part 1/2 | ||
| 36 | Bud | 1894 | The Questions of King Milinda, part 2/2 | ||
| 37 | Zor | 1892 | Pahlavi Texts, part 4/5
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| 38 | Hindu | 1896 | Vedanta-Sutras, part 2/3
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| 39 | China | 1891 | Texts of Taoism, part 1/2
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| 40 | China | 1891 | Texts of Taoism, part 2/2
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| 41 | Hindu | 1894 | Satapatha Brahmana, part 3/5:
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| 42 | Hindu | 1897 | Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Together With Extracts From the Ritual Books and the Commentaries | ||
| 43 | Hindu | 1897 | Satapatha Brahmana, part 4/5:
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| 44 | Hindu | 1900 | Satapatha Brahmana, part 5/5:
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| 45 | Jain | 1895 | Hermann Jacobi(from Prâkrit) | Jaina Sûtras, part 2 of 2: | |
| 46 | Hindu | 1897 | Vedic Hymns, part 2/2: | ||
| 47 | Zor | 1897 | Pahlavi Texts, part 5/5:
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| 48 | Hindu | 1904 | 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:
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| 50 | Index | 1910 | General index to the names and subject-matter of the Sacred Books of the East. |