A deeper understanding of the Indic world—particularly the language, history, culture, and society of pre-modern India—requires a renewed and sustained engagement with Sanskrit texts. The Sanskrit Text Society is founded on the conviction that such texts must be read anew, studied critically, and made accessible through reliable editions and scholarly translations.
To this end, the Society seeks to publish a wide range of Sanskrit texts in a dedicated series, accompanied by authoritative translations intended for scholars, students, and informed non-specialists. These publications may present the Sanskrit original and its translation either within a single volume or across separate volumes, depending on the scale, complexity, and significance of each work. The series will encompass texts of diverse genres and intellectual traditions and will be organised thematically, as well as in accordance with established traditional classifications, including Vedic, Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, Bauddha, and Jaina canonical corpora. Select works of particular importance will also be published together with their classical Tibetan and Chinese translations, where such materials are extant.
The Society pursues these objectives in close collaboration with the Bodleian Library and the Faculty of Oriental Studies, as well as with other departments and colleges of the University of Oxford engaged in the study of early Indian languages and the cultural heritage of classical India. In addition, the STS works in partnership with like-minded institutions and individual scholars in the United Kingdom, across Asia, and internationally, fostering a broad and cooperative scholarly network dedicated to the study and transmission of Sanskrit textual traditions.
