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Abbot Joseph Pascal Parraud (Translator, 1752-1832), Charles Wilkins (Author, 1749-1836). Le Bhaguat-Geeta, ou Dialogues de Kreeshna et d’Arjoon ; contenant un Précis de la Religion et de la Morale des Indiens. Traduit du sanscrit, la langue sacrée des Brahmes, en anglais, par M. Charles Wilkins : et de l’anglais en français, par M. Parraud, de l’Académie des Arcades de Rome. A Londres, et se trouve à Paris, chez Buisson, 1787, Octavo, 6-CLXII pp. and 180 pages, in contemporary binding.
The increasingly scarce first French translation by Parraud of “The Bhagvat-Geeta, or Dialogues of Kreeshna and Arjoon; in Eighteen Lectures” by Charles Wilkins in English, published two years earlier in London in 1785.
The English translation of the Bhagavad Gita is the greatest accomplishment of notable Orientalist Wilkins, founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Published by the East India Company in 1785 under the patronage of Governor General Warren Hastings, this translation had a profound impact on some of the greatest Western intellectuals of the time, including Carlyle and Emerson. Soon after, efforts were underway to translate this extraordinary text into other languages, this French translation being the pre-eminent of all. As a beautiful testament to skilled pre-Revolutionary French printing, this edition by Parisian publisher Buisson bears the signatory hallmark and increasing importance of oriental religion, specifically Hinduism, within the literary minds of France.
The Bhagvat Geeta is part of the sixth book of the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic. During the battle of Kurukshetra, the Lord Krishna (friend and charioteer of Arjun) offers words of wisdom to the Pandava prince Arjun and this set of philosophical dialogues between them is a central text of Hinduism. The poem consists of 700 Sanskrit verses divided into 18 chapters (here, “lectures”). In Hinduism, Krishna is regarded as the human incarnation of God Vishnu. One may recall the famous Radha-Krishna love-songs and stories that form the bedrock of romantic literature in Sanskrit and other languages such as Maithili, Bengali etc.
Condition– In beautiful contemporary binding, Pages are remarkably clean; a beautiful, collector’s copy in very good condition!
Bibliographic Details
Title: Le Bhaguat-Geeta, ou Dialogues de Kreeshna et d’Arjoon
Publisher: Buisson, Paris
Publication Date: 1787
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Edition: First
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