Ÿäbara (first century BCE)

(‘one who lives in the mountains’,

‘savage’)

A celebrated MÏMÄßSAKAand author of

the Ÿäbarabhäsya, a lengthy commen-

tary on the Mïmäƒsäsütra.

ÿabda (‘word’)

The object of lengthy treatises by gram-

marians and theologians, who attrib-

uted mysterious powers to it. As ÿabda-

brahman, BRAHMANin the form of a

word or a sound, the word has absolute

power. Basically there are two schools

of thought as regards the nature of the

word: one believes that words are mere

conventional signs of communication;

the other holds that there is an eternally

pre-existing model (akøta) of all words,

which ensures that words are under-

stood the same way everytime they are

uttered.

Ÿacï

The wife of INDRA.

saccidänanda, also

sat–cit–änanda (‘being/truth (sat)

• consciousness (cit) – bliss (änanda)’)
  The most popular designation/defini-
  tion of the supreme being (BRAHMAN) in
  Hinduism.

Sacred Books of the East (SBE)

A series of 49 volumes of translations

(into English) of sources of all Eastern

religions (Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism,

Islam, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoro-

astrianism) planned and edited by Max

MÜLLER, and originally published by

Clarendon Press, Oxford, from 1879 to

1904 (reprinted 1965–6 by Motilal

Banarsidass, Delhi). It was also intend-

ed to include the Bible, to make the

series fully representative of all major

book religions. However, church

authorities did not allow this for fear it

would make Christianity appear to be

on the same level as all other religions.

While many of the works selected have

been translated again more recently,

some of the translations have not been

superseded as yet. SBE contains 21 vol-

umes on Hinduism: selected hymns

from Øgveda andAtharvaveda, some

major Upani•ads, the entire Ÿatapatha

Brähmaæa, several Dharmaÿästra works,

the Manu-smøti, the Bhagavadgïtäand

Ÿaökara’s and Rämänuja’s complete

commentaries on the Brahmasütra.

Sacred Books of the Hindus (SBH)

A series of 38 volumes of texts and

translations of sources of Hinduism

planned and edited by Major B. D.

Basu, originally published from the

Panini Office in Allahäbad (1911–34;

reprint AMS, New York, 1974).

S

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