Early Buddhist Ballads: Their Relevance to the Older Upanishadic Literature Book

Contents: Preface. Introduction. Part I: 1. Nature, origin and growth of the ballads. 2. The social conditions of the period. Part II: 3. Literature known to the ballads. 4. Some parallel passages. Part III: 5. Some fundamental problems in the Upanishads and the ballads. 6. The problem of existence and emancipation. Part IV: 7. A comparative table of terms. 8. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

This book touches upon the most interesting and vital topic of continuities in ancient Indian thought, with special reference to the possible links in ideas and concepts between the Upanishads and the formative stage of Buddhism as represented by the early ballads. The first part deals with the nature, growth and origin of the ballads and also makes observations about the social conditions of the period to which these belong. In the next part Katre examines possible references to Brahmanical texts in the ballads and passages common to these texts and the ballads. He then undertakes a penetrating comparative study of how some of the core concepts of the Indian thought such as Atman, Karma, existence and emancipation are dealt with in the ballads and the Upanishadic texts. The book concludes with the statement that the philosophy of the early Buddhist ballads is a mixture of old and new ideas.