[Mahabharata] Bopp, Franz (translator).
Ardschuna's Reise zu Indra's Himmel, nebst anderen Episoden des Maha-Bharata.
Berlin: Königl. Akademie d. Wissenschaften, 1824. xxvii, [78], 122 pages. Octavo.
The first printed edition of four episodes of the Mahabharata (Indralokgamanam, Hidimbabadha, Brahamanavilapa, Sundopasundopakhyana) in the original Sanskrit, compiled by the noted linguist Franz Bopp.
$200
Bopp was an early pioneer of comparative linguistics, publishing a detailed treatise examining the relationships between the grammars of various European and Asian languages. In 1819, he began publishing excerpts of the Mahabharata, beginning with Nala.
The only other portion of the Mahabharata to be printed in Sanskrit before Ardschuna's Reise, was the Bhagadvagita, which had been set in type twice, once in Europe and India. Bopp appended to the Sanskrit text some notes and a German translation of a portion of the Mahabharata.
In all, an early and important publication of one of the world's major epics. OCLC locates about 20 copies of this edition, but only 5 in the United States. Small ink spot on title-page and some curling to corners of final ten leaves, else near fine in later plain wrappers.
$200
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