Charles Wilkins · 1787

The Heetopades of Veeshnoo-Sarma

USD 3,270

The Hĕĕtōpădēs of Vĕĕshnŏŏ-Sărmā, in a Series of Connected Fables, Interspersed with Moral, Prudential, and Political Maxims

The first English translation of the Hitopadesha.

The Heetopades of Veeshnoo-Sarma is a monumental milestone in the history of global literature and Orientalist scholarship. Translated from an ancient Sanskrit manuscript by the English linguist and typographer Sir Charles Wilkins, this 1787 volume is celebrated as the second book in history to be translated directly from Sanskrit into the English language—preceded only by Wilkins' own groundbreaking translation of The Bhagvat-Geeta in 1785.The text is an English rendering of the Hitopadesha (literally meaning "Good Counsel" or "Beneficial Advice"), a famous 12th-century compilation of Sanskrit animal fables and moral maxims traditionally attributed to the sage Narayana, though framed historically via the narrator Vishnu Sharma (rendered here as Veeshnoo-Sarma).Historical Context and Imperial BackingLike his translation of the Gita, Wilkins’ work on the fables was deeply tied to his time in Bengal under the patronage of Warren Hastings, the Governor-General of the East India Company. Hastings sought to understand the legal, moral, and cultural bedrock of Indian society to better govern its population. Wilkins, often dubbed the "Caxton of India" for his pioneering work engineering the first movable typesets for Bengali and Persian scripts, mastered Sanskrit under local pandits. Upon returning to England in 1786 due to health reasons, he prepared this volume for the Western press, printing it with R. Cruttwell in Bath. A pioneering publication in the transmission of Sanskrit moral and narrative literature.

An increasingly rare First Edition of the first printing of the Hitopadesha, before William Carey’s India printing in Serampore from 1803. This is the second Sanskrit book translated directly into English, just two years after the seminal work of Wilkins in The Bhagvat Geeta from 1785.

Attributed to Veeshnoo-Sarma, this foundational text of the Hindu society bears the hallmark of the mastery in Sanskrit literature, of teaching the public about morals through lively stories and poems. This particular text comprises of a collection of animal fables and moral tales designed to instruct on earthly wisdom, advice and good counsels. The word “Hitopadesha” comprises of two words – “Hito/ Hito:” meaning ‘Good’ and “Upadesha” meaning ‘Advice /Counsels’. The main text is divided into four sections: How to win friends, what causes losing friends, waging war and how to make peace.

Read the illustrated scholarly note accompanying this work.

Edition

First edition

Status

On request