The Light of Asia, subtitled The Great Renunciation, is in a form of a narrative poem. The book endeavors to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who after attaining enlightenment became The Buddha, The Awakened One. The book presents his life, character, and philosophy, in a series of verses. It is a free adaptation of the Lalitavistara. A few decades before the book's publication, very little was known outside Asia about the Buddha and Buddhism, the religion which he founded, and which had existed for about twenty-five centuries. Arnold's book was one of the first successful attempts to popularize Buddhism for a Western readership.
The Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
Contents:
The Light of Asia
The Song Celestial or Bhagavad-Gita (from the Mahâbhârata)
The Essence of Buddhism
Hindu Literature: Comprising The Book of good counsels, Nala and Damayanti
Indian Poetry:
The Indian Song of Songs (Hymn to Vishnu -11 Sargas)
Miscellaneous Oriental Poems:
The Rajpoot Wife
King Saladin
The Caliph's Draught
Hindoo Funeral Song
Song of the Serpent-charmers
Song of the Flour-mill
Taza ba Taza
The Mussulman Paradise
Dedication of a Poem From the Sanskrit
The Rajah's Ride
Two Books From The Iliad Of India
“The Great Journey.”
“The Entry Into Heaven.”
“Night of Slaughter.”
The Morning Prayer.
Proverbial Wisdom From the Shlokas of the Hitopadeśa…
Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) was an English poet and journalist. The literary task which he set before him was the interpretation in English verse of the life and philosophy of the East.
