Front Matter / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Formulations: The System of Human Marks in Jyotiḥśāstra / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Reformulations: The System of Human Marks in the Purāṇas / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Consolidations: The System of Human Marks in the Nibandhas, Kāmaśāstra and Ratiśāstra / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Assimilations: Independent Treatises on the System of Human Marks: Sāmudrikaśāstra / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Numerology in the Indian System of Human Marks / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Texts and Translations / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Gārgīyajyotiṣa Chapter I Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Gārgīyajyotiṣa Chapter II Śtrīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bṛhatsaṃhitā 68 (67) Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bṛhatsaṃhitā 70 (69) Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Utpala’s Samudra Chapter I (Puruṣalakṣaṇam) / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Utpala’s Samudra Chapter II (Strīlakṣaṇam) / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Śārdūlakarṇāvadānam (Divyāvadāna 33) / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Agnipurāṇa 243 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Agni Purāṇa 244 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa 2.8 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa 2.9 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Garuḍapurāṇa 1.63 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Garuḍapurāṇa 1.64 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Garuḍapurāṇa 1.65 Narastrīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa 1.5 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa 1.24 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa 1.25 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa 1.26 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa 1.27 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa 1.28 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Skandapurāṇa, Kāśīkhaṇḍa 37 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Anaṅgaraṅga, Chapter 8 Strīpuruṣasāmānyasāmudrikalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Gārgīyajyotiṣa Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Gārgīyajyotiṣa Chapter I Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Gārgīyajyotiṣa Chapter II Śtrīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bṛhatsaṃhitā Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bṛhatsaṃhitā 68 (67) Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bṛhatsaṃhitā 70 (69) Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Utpala’s Samudra Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Utpala’s Samudra Chapter I (Puruṣalakṣaṇam) / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Utpala’s Samudra Chapter II (Strīlakṣaṇam) / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Śārdūlakarṇāvadānam (Divyāvadāna 33) Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Śārdūlakarṇāvadānam (Divyāvadāna 33) / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Agni- and Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇas Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Agnipurāṇa 243 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Agnipurāṇa 244 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa 2.8 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa 2.9 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Garuḍapurāṇa Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Garuḍapurāṇa 1.63 Puruṣalakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Garuḍapurāṇa 1.64 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Garuḍapurāṇa 1.65 Narastrīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa Introduction / Kenneth G. Zysk -- Bhaviṣyapurāṇa 1.5 Strīlakṣaṇam / Kenneth G. Zysk.

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In The Indian System of Human Marks , Zysk offers a literary history of the Indian system of knowledge, which details divination by means of the marks on the bodies of both men and women. In addition to a historical analysis, the work includes texts and translations of the earliest treatises in Sanskrit. This is followed by a detailed philological analysis of the texts and annotations to the translations. The history follows the Indian system’s evolution from its roots in ancient Mesopotamian collections of omen on the human body to modern-day practice in Rajasthan in the north and Tamilnadu in the south. A special feature of the book is Zysk’s edition and translation of the earliest textual collection of the system in the Gargīyajyotiṣa from the 1st century CE. The system of human marks is one of the few Indian textual sources that links ancient India with the antique cultures of Mesopotamia and Greece.