Rethinking Criteria - Shorter "South Asian" Reading List

Continuing to try a slightly different instantiation of my "reading" list criteria listed in my last blog post, and try to apply to a select list of South Asian texts, I get the following results:

 

I. Mahabharata (1)

II. Ramayana, Kalidasa (2)

III. Rg Veda, Early Upanisads, Samyutta Nikaya, Nagarjuna, Amir Khusrau (5)

IV. Shankara, Patanjali, Umasvati (3)

 

Given the wish to avoid including texts of same category in the same period, Ramayana is out and so the initial list of the 7 are clear. Now early Upanisads are still in the Vedic series, and clearly Shankara needs to be included if a South Asian list includes any philosophical texts (Darsana), it is probably prudent to put it in the short list.

 

So the final list of 6 are: Mahabharata, Kalidasa, Rg Veda, Samyutta Nikaya, Amir Khusrau, Shankara.

 

Nagarjuna is hard to judge, it should be in if in the East Asian list Zhiyi is in; but having 3 texts out of a total of 25 (if each of East and South Asian has 6 texts, the total World list will have 25 texts, this is the general balance established in the List of 150) Buddhist feels high. So this is a maybe.

 

 

 

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